Reporter the medical examiner testified that the cuts frazier suffered could have killed her in minutes, if not seconds. Reporter now, the jury had a number of options for convicting simpson, anything from firstdegree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Butagain, they found her not guilty on all charges. Coming up at 6 00, we talked with students at Bowie State University about that and get their reaction. Tracee wilkins, news4. We have a developing story in fairfax county. A former teacher arrested and accused of sexually assaulting students decades ago. This Afternoon Police in mclean, virginia, arrested chris ton kloman. A woman says she ran into him at the Washington Episcopal School in bethesda last year while he was working as a substitute teacher there, teaching young kids. And thats why she came forward 43 years after the alleged incident. She said she was 12 at the time. This investigation revealed additional female victims and investigators think there could be even more. Right now, route 97 in Montgomery County is still closed because of a school bus flipped onto its side after being clipped by a car around 1 30 this afternoon near Rolling Hills drive near the howard and Montgomery County line. Police say the car was trying to turn when it collided with the bus. One student onboard at the time wasnt hurt. Both drivers did suffer some minor injuries. Tonight a Death Investigation in whoeton about 1 30 this afternoon, police got a call that a man fell out of a tree and died. When they showed up to a home on randolph road here, that tree also collapsed. Detectives dont know how the man died. Former cia director David Petraeus went to capitol hill today to tell lawmakers what he has learned about the attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi. Keith rsell is at the live desk with details on what lawmakers are saying about his testimony. Wendy, general David Petraeus told lawmakers he consistently told congress there were terrorist elements involved in the attack on the u. S. Consulate in libya. Petraeus said there were extremists in the group that killed u. S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, describing them as affiliates of al qaeda. Following closeddoor sessions with the tej committees, the big question became did petraeus alter his stance from a previous briefing. He said on september 14th his story was different from his presentation today. Democrats say its been the same the whole time. General petraeus was not asked about his affair with paula broadwell, but did take it upon himself to apologize for his actions. Live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. The white house said president obama had a constructive meeting with congressional leaders on the looming fiscal cliff. The president met with top house and Senate Leaders for more than an hour this morning. They began talks into ways they can avert the cliff of automatic tax increases, and spending cuts that are set to take effect on january 1st. Our challenge is to make sure that, you know, we are able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground, make some tough compromises, build some consensus to do the peoples business. And what folks are looking for, and i think all of us agree on this, is action. They want to see that we are focused on them, not focused on our politics here in washington. Congressional leaders expressed confidence they can reach a deal that would cut the deficit before christmas. Turning to the weather, is there any warmup in sight for our weekend . Chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer is here. How about it, doug . Maybe a little warmup. Were talking a very small one. Today, a high of 54 degrees. Not too bad out there, with some sunshine. Right now, sitting at 49 across the area with winds out of the north at about 8 Miles Per Hour. What are we going to be seeing over the next couple of days . Well, it is going to stay cool. You can expect more numbers like this right on through next week. 46 right now at gaithersburg, 48 leesburg, right now 53 degrees down towards fredericksburg. The rest of the evening into tomorrow morning, 45 degrees at 9 00. You will need a jacket if youre heading out to dinner or a movie tonight. By the time you wake up tomorrow, most areas around the district in the metro area into the mid30s. But many of you outside the beltway will once again be in the upper 20s to start your saturday. Ill talk about the rest of the weekend and your thanksgiving week coming up in a minute. Thank you, doug. Well, it was sunny today. So santa ditched the reindeer for a convertible. And became the first person to use the brandnew 495 express lanes in virginia. He was heading to his day job at Tysons Corner center. The new slick road, tells you what you need to know before you head out to it. Reporter literally just hours to go now until you can start using the brandnew express lanes here on the virginia side of the beltway, and this close to opening still questions. Sorting out all the details of this new transportation option can be tough. So lets cover the basics first. Two new express lanes in each direction. Now in place between just north of the dulles toll road and the springfield interchange. If you want to use the allelectronic lanes and do not have a car pool of three or more people, youll have to pay an ezpass toll that rises and falls based on the amount of traffic in the lane. Youre promised at least 45 Miles Per Hour even during rush hours. If you have a car pool of three people you can ride in the lanes for free but you must have the new ezpass flex. That allows you to switch to car pool mode. You can get that flex in both virginia and maryland. So how will project leaders make sure drivers are hov 3 . When they enter the lanes, if they have their ezpass flex in car pool mode, that will communicate to us that they have three people in the car. Well have alerts on the toll entries and other means to be able to notify the Virginia State police that will be out there enforcing the hov free. Theyll visually check theyre following the rules. Reporter violations can range from 50 to 1,000. Now, if this is also a limited access highway, meaning you cant get on and off at all of the points of the regular beltway. Kind of like 395. The best advice that we can give drivers on the beltway, all drivers whether they believe theyll use the express lanes or not is to study. Coming up at 6 00, well tell you more about the enforcement aspect of these lanes and the hefty fines that go along with it. Along the beltway, in Tysons Corner, adam tuss, news4. For a list of frequently asked questions about the new express lanes in virginia, just go to nbcwashington. Com and search express lanes. A d. C. Principal is out of jail tonight, Coolidge High School principal Thelma Jarrett pled not guilty to simple assault in court today. She was released on her own recognizance. A former employee said she and two other women attacked her during a november 2nd football game. She said she was kicked and punched in the School Parking lot. Jarrett will remain on administrative leave during the investigation. A child is now back with social services. Police found the 1yearold girl in Prince Georges County this morning. Her parents took the child instead of turning her over to social services in halifax county, virginia, yesterday. Eric black and Jennifer Carlisle are now in custody. Were just Getting Started on news4 at 5 00 tonight. Parents in Loudoun County getting fired up over potential school redistricting. Aroma therapy, acupressure, and tibetan singing bulls. Well tell you how local doctors are using these alternative treatments to help children cope with chronic pain. Forget about that financial cliff. Tonight, trouble for the twinkies. Im pat collins. Ill have the story coming up. News4. Aroma therapy. You might find it at the spa, or use it to make your home smell good. But could it help cure kids pain. Its being used at local hospitals. The answer to that question surprised me. Aroma therapy is just one type of alternative medicine used at Major Medical centers. Doctors say these kind of treatments can help calm down nervous kids, and that can help them to start healing. Its like the throbbing and aching, and sometimes stabbing. Reporter 14yearold Hannah Miller is describing the mysterious pain on her side thats plagued her for more than a year. Ive been through test after test. Lab work repeatedly. With an ultrasound, cat scans, xrays. Reporter but no one could figure out what was causing her pain. When she finally visited the complex Pain Medicine clinic at Childrens NationalMedical Center, doctors diagnosed hannah has having chronic pain, and suggested an unusual course of treatment. Go ahead and put your other hand on top. Reporter it didnt involve drugs, just smelling scented oils, rerks iki and tibetan ringing bowls. Its better than medication i could have given her at time. Reporter this is the clinical director. She said alternative medicine is becoming mainstream, as more and more studies back up their use. And while they dont always know exactly why these treatments work, the doctor said they seem to help kids relax and that can spark healin so if they think that this is part of play and relaxation, and theyre having things that are pleasant for them, theyre also going to be feel like they can get better. We just have to figure out which works for which patient. Reporter registered nurse marion is the hospitals expert on these techniques. She is the one doctors call on when theyve run out of treatment options. Her regimen includes aroma therapy which has young patients smell different oils depending on their problems. Also, tibetan singing bowls and ancient instrument thats supposed to shift energy. And this. Theyre great. They wont hurt me. Reporter the emotional freedom technique, or eft, is when patients tap their fingers on acupressure points around their body while talking out loud about whatever is bothering them. A lot of times people think im crazy. Especially the doctors. They say, oh, youre doing that tapping thing. When they see it work, theyre the first ones to call me to ask me to do some tappy thing with some kid. Reporter she said shes not sure how it helps, but it does. Hannah miller says her pain is now diminished. It just makes me, like, calm down. Reporter hannah said the pain is still there, but now its tolerable. Both she and her mother believe shes finally on the right path toward healing. I hope it all goes away. I hope she lives a normal life. Hannah millers treatment isnt completely drugfree. She still takes one medication and undergoes physical therapy. Right now Childrens NationalMedical Center is using alternative medicine in their pain clinic as well as kids dealing with a lot of fear and anxiety about just being in the hospital. But theyre testing aroma therapy for nausea, especially for people who get sick coming out of anesthesia. People have been skeptical about these things. I dont think they can always say exactly how they work, or why they work, but i think that the mainstream medical community is becoming more open because of yre integrating it all. And it works. Its not always meant to replace traditional medicine, but to augment it. Exactly. Fascinating. Nice to see theyre breaking out of the borders for all of these different philosophies. And its working. Thanks, doreen. Doug joins us now. Come on, youre working for us, as we say. For storm team 4. Were working for you. And we are working for you. Of course, the weekend, weve been talking about this weekend, of course, into next week for the holiday, as that coastal storm was looming. But it looks like now, Better Weather is out there. Weve been talking about it the last couple of days, how we think the coastal storm will miss our region. That is very good news for us. Were not going to have to deal with the rain and the wind associated with that. Although if youre heading down towards ocean city, places like that, youll see wind and tidal rises down there. Winds out of north about 8 Miles Per Hour. A little bit of a windchill. So its still quite chilly for this time of year. 45 in winchester, 48 in leesburg, 53 in fredericksburg. Gaithersburg coming in at 5 degrees. Youll need the jackets and coats as you step outside tonight. It is friday night, a friday evening and looking pretty nice for you as long as youre bundled up for it. Should be great. Nothing as far as the rain is concerned. We did see a few showers early this morning mostly in southern maryland. Thats with the First Coastal system moving offshore. The clear skies will allow temperatures to cool once again overnight tonight. High pressure dominating. Thats why we saw all the sunshine today. Tomorrow, the high will move off towards the east a little bit. Still going to be cool. I still think well see a lot of sun. Tomorrow will be very similar to what we saw during the day today. Sunday, area of High Pressure slides farther to the north and east. As a result, our northeasterly winds begin to pick up. Well see the winds pick up, well see a few more clouds late in the day on sunday as the coastal storm develops down to the south. Monday, the storm itself, you dont see too much down there, but what you will see is some cloud cover during the day on monday. So expect clouds, expect cool temperatures. Monday not a bad day, but youll see a lot of clouds. How about the meteor showers. Thats going to be happening overnight tonight into early tomorrow morning. These will be the low temperature numbers. 37 in washington. And if youre in a clearing, and maybe away from some light pollution, this should be a nice night to see the leonids. Look off towards the east between midnight and dawn, face to the east and look straight up for the most part. On average youll see about ten per hour in those unlit areas. So if you want to get out and enjoy that, make sure you bring a blanket along with you, because youll need it. Clear skies tomorrow. Starting 26 in the coldest suburbs to about 37 inside the d. C. Metro area. We are going to be looking at a pretty good saturday, i think. Not bad at all. Mostly sunny. Still cool. But a nice afternoon. High temperatures 51 to 55 degrees. Then the allimportant mustwin game against the eagles. Of course, dan hellie last night said it isnt a mustwin, its a cantlose. Low 50s at 1 00. Clouds and sun mix, cool. You will need your jacket out there if youre going to the game. Just know that if youre going out towards fedex field. I think im going to the game. I think i got tickets. Not sure. Fourday forecast, 54 on your saturday. 53 on sunday. I do expect a lot more cloud cover on monday. And then i think we start to break out of the clouds as we move towards thanksgiving. Thanksgiving right now looking pretty good. Maybe a little breezy. But high temperatures around 60 degrees both thursday and on friday. So not bad for the holiday. And that should make people happy. Im excited. Im going to the game. Hellie is on the phone, hes not feeling so hot. You may have to come in. You could do it from the game perhaps. Thank you, doug. We have breaking news right now. There is a Large Industrial fire in garland, texas, near dallas. Take a look at this. Witnesses heard several explosions. Firefighters are standing back and waiting, which is common with fires at chemical facilities. Investigators have not said what is in these containers, but as you can see, the valvoline logo is out among them. No reports of injuries on this just yet. But its massive. It just started about 45 minutes ago. We will keep you up to date on this breaking story. Still ahead on news4 at 5 00, food critic digs into a new pizza place. The dash to grab up all the twinkies, the ho hos, and wendys favorite, snowballs. Yeah, baby. How this impacts our local economy. In sports, time for the High School Football playoffs. Well go live to chantilly. High school football, crosstown rivals, huh . Its a busy weekend for football. We turn our attention to one of the few undefeated teams in the area. The westfield bulldogs, ranked fourth. They have their work cut out for them against chantilly. These two faced off earlier this season in a nailbiter, with the bulldogs squeaking out a threepoint victory. Zachary joins us live from westfield. Loving this rematch, zachary. I dont know if there is any bigger event in town than this, carol, during the regular season westfield took the victory 2421. This time, chantilly just down the road from home with an opportunity to knock off the bulldogs in the allimportant playoffs. But it wont be easy. The bulldogs have something in common with many of the other highly successful teams weve seen this year, and that is, they all have a head coach who possesses the unique ability to connect with these young players. And the bulldogs head coach kyle simmons is not the exception. Hiphop music is blasting from the speakers. Typical game practice, and kyle simmons has his guys living on the edge, just where he wants them. Youve got to be crazy to play dn. Youve got to be crazy to wear your hair like this, too. I told the team if we went undefeated, we all dye our hair for the playoffs. I did something extra, ive got the black tips. Reporter there are coaches and players coaches. Its clear simmons is the latter, but being a bulldog isnt outlandish behavior, or even a cheap slogan, its earned. Being a bulldog means that you have the utmost respect for your teammates, and that you work hard. And thats how you get respect is working hard every single day. Thats about the culture that is here. Its about the guys that were here before them and theyre carrying on that legacy of pride, and the traditions that we have here. And the kids really bought into that. This game is about business. Weve got to work to achieve things that we want to achieve. Youve got two minutes. Reporter when 40 guys graduated from last seasons team, this is supposed to be a rebuilding unit. I explained to them were going to have young kids playing, that there were some sophomores, freshmen at the time sitting in the meetings that were going to be on the field. Mentally and emotionally i tried to prepare them for that six months out. And although we were young and inexperienced to begin the season, i dont feel thats the case any longer. Reporter for the upper classmen, all those little question marks turn into one big chip on the shoulder. First, it was motivation that people were doubting us. A lot of people, we call them haters, so we had a lot of haters out there. We showed them up early in the season. Late in the season we want to keep the streak alive. We havent beaten chantilly, centerville or oakland in the playoffs ever. We want to make that a first this week. My initial goal was to get a home field game the first round. Now the goal is state championship. Reporter coach kyle simmons said the vibe this week at practice, hoping the beat rolls on for them tonight in the playoffs. You know, carol, it is a beautiful facility out here. I had an opportunity to talk to a couple of the folks running around here. This is all theyre talking about. But do you think i could get away with one of those mohawks . You would look good. A fohawk. Well find out if the blonds have more fun. Dont do it, zach. These guys say dont do it. Well have highlights for this game coming up at 11 00 tonight. Highlights of the game, no highlights of the hair. Thank you, carol. Coming up next on news4 at 5 30, a worker strike causes a massive shutdown of hostess factories. Could this be the end of the twinkie and ho ho . How long could the thanksgiving leftovers last in the fridge . Letters written decades ago wash ashore during hurricane sandy. Have a good night. Here you go. You, too. Im going to dream about that steak. Im going to dream about that tiramisu. What a night, huh . But, um, can the test drive be over now . Head back to the dealership . [ male announcer ] its practically yours. But we still need your signature. Volkswagen sign then drive is back. And its never been easier to get a passat. Tts the power of german engineering. Get 0 down, 0 due at signing, 0 deposit, and 0 first months payment on any new volkswagen. Visit vwdealer. Com today. Fast forward through the headlines. Evidence was released today from the murder trial of alexis simpson, the former Bowie State University student was cleared on all charges in the stabbing death of her roommate dominique frazier. In 911 tapes from the night of the stabbing, simpson can be heard in the background screaming, im sorry, and why did you all jump me. The much anticipated 495 express lanes are set to open at 2 00 tomorrow morning. The 14mile stretch of toll lanes run along the virginia side of the beltway from the dulles toll road to the springfield interchange. Drivers will be able to go at least 45 miles an hour, even during rush hour. You can avoid the toll by getting the new ezpass flex and car pooling with three or more people. Fast foreward to the weather. So excited about that. Traffic over there was horrible during the day yesterday. So good thing theyre going to open those up. I want to show you whats happening right now across the eastern half of the nation. We saw a few showers across portions of our area this morning. All the way from denver, through washington, raleigh, up to boston, not a single drop of rain during the afternoon today. Temperaturewise, it has been cool over that same period. 49 in cincinnati. Look at jacksonville, florida, right now a temperature of 54 degrees. Boston at 41 degrees. Were seeing very cool air for this part of november. All the way down toward the south. Its going to continue to stay here right on through the next couple of days and into the weekend. Ill show you what to expect for that thanksgiving holiday coming up. Well, tonight the twinkie, the ho ho, the snowball and classic cupcake, all american snack foods of that classic company could be in jeopardy. Hostess, the company that created the tasty treats, announces its closing its doors because of a labor dispute with its workers. Pat collins tells us about the impact this could have on our area. Reporter i remember as a boy the old wonder bread bakery. It was near griffith stadium when the senators played. And you could smell that bread baking. You knew it was time to play ball. And after the game, if you were really, really good, maybe a twinkie. They taste good. Theyre really yummy inside. A lot of good yumminess inside. Reporter now we hear because of a labor dispute, wonder bread, hostess, and the iconic twinkie may be going the way of the stud ebaker. Whats a stud ebaker . Know what i mean . Reporter thats joe. Hes been delivering twinkies for 28 years. Are you going to miss the twinkie . Yes. My father did it for 25 years. Reporter show me your twinkies. How many boxes . I have ten. Six here and four in the front. Reporter your husband sent you . Yes, he did. Reporter your husband made you do it . Yes, he did. Reporter hes been eating twinkies how long . His whole life. Reporter people stocking up on twinkies for all sorts of reasons. The twinkie collector. A souvenir. I dont like them. Reporter but you bought them anyhow. Yeah. For a souvenir. Reporter the twinkie historian. My children have never had a twinkie before. Reporter and you dont want them to go through life without that experience . They have to have that cultural experience. Reporter twinkie connoisseurs. Show me your twinkie. Ive got the chocolates, and ive got the traditional. Reporter you were 6 years old when you had your first twinkie . Thats correct. Reporter and youve been eating them ever since . Cant you tell . Reporter its one of those nostalgic things. Theyve been around for a good while. So you buy them. Reporter now, if you stock up on twinkies, you dont have to eat them all at once. There may be a sellby date, but we all know twinkies never get old. Im pat collins, news4, washington. Loaded with preservatives. They dont care. Road trip trips make up the bulk of thanksgiving travel. Aaa tells us its about the same as last year, its also cheaper to drive in virginia. The average price of gas is 3. 25 a gallon. Thats 4 cents less than a year ago this time. Air travel during thanksgiving is expected to drop by 3 this year. But aaa says those who do fly this thanksgiving will find lower fares. A virginia familys 20year effort to correct a historical error is paying off. This weekend, a country lane in Loudoun County will be renamed. Leesburg resident christina has been pushing for this road to be named after the oneroom schoolhouse she attended as a child in the 1930s. Tonight parents in Loudoun County are outraged over proposed changes in Elementary School attendance zones. Northern Virginia Bureau chief julie carey talked to parents who feel theyre being picked on. Reporter in Loudoun County, the signs have been made, the petitions are being signed and social media is on fire. Parents across the ash burn and dulles north areas are up in arms over a proposed boundary change for Elementary Schools. Two new elementaries open next fall. Seven existing buildings are overcrowded. In one of the Fastest Growing areas in the country, drawing new School Attendance bound vis a frequent and necessary growing pain. We have 2,500 new students every year on average, opened 37 schools since 2000. Weve more than doubled our student population since then. So inevitably somebody has to move. Reporter this is the original boundary change map proposed by the administration known as a base lane, but more proposals have been added. In fact, there are now seven under consideration. Now meet the parents of dn 29 on the boundary map. Their kids, about 135 who live here, go to Sanders Corner elementary now. But two of the proposals move into a different school. Cedar lane. Trouble is, the same Community Moved from cedar lane to sanders in 2008. They feel picked on. Whether or not that was the intention, it feels discriminatory, that the townhouses and condos are singled out to move, when we moved only four years ago. Reporter for mom alex, it comes down to something even more basic, her secondgraders happiness. Weve been making friends. All our friends are there. We like it there. We would love to stay there. Reporter yarbrough and dozens of other parents are expected to turn out december 3rd for a public hearing. But the School Board Vote will be december 7th. Its all open, a blank slate. We welcome ideas. But people have to realize that eventually at the end of the day, somebody has to move. Reporter julie carey, news4. Coming up at 6 00 tonight, concerns from a School Neighborhood that fears being split in two. But still straight ahead on news4 at 5 00, a new pizza place that opened in northeast d. C. And tom gives us his take on it. Drinking booze really adds Mary Gonzales had a cold, she also has asthma. So she sees her allergist who has a receptionist susan, who sees that shes due for a mammogram. Mary has one that day. Thats when she finds out she has a tumor. She has a Successful Surgery and because her Health Provider has an amazing connected system, she has her life. I dont know what you have but i have kaiser permanente. Kaiser permanente. Thrive the owners of a new pizzeria in the district packed up everything they own and drove across the country to set up shop in the brookland neighborhood. Tonight Washington Post food critic tom sietsema joins us. Pizza maker used their own hands and turned this storefront into a sunny pizza parlor. Rolled out in may, they have fewer than 30 seats in two cramped rooms. But therein is a lot of pleasure. The front room basically a hallway dominated by a 6,000pound oven is the chefs domain. Turn the corner and you find a slip of a bar, a photograph of a bay of naples at night and a chalkboard that reveals lelands sudsy passion. Ten beers on tap, ten by the bottle, plus well cocktails. A little of what ive sampled is worth taking space away from the chefs typically thin, lightly blistered and pleasantly yeasty pizzas. There are more than a dozen, including a zippy pizza scattered with sliced salami. Youre missing half the fun if you dont imbibe, or at least listen to him expound on his favorite subject. Pizza and beer nuts outside the borders feel good about this slice of bliss. Wow. How did we go from twinkies to that. I want some of that. Im so hungry. Coming up, did breaking dawn break records. And love letters written decades ago washed ashore from sandy. And a family in virginia gets a phone call they didnt expect. Im liz crenshaw. Should you think about starting to defrost that thanksgiving turkey this weekend . Thats the question. The answer is coming up on ask liz on news4 at 5 00. Liz is already talking about thanksgiving. Its only less than a week away now. Right now were dealing with cold temperatures. Ill show you what to expect for the weekend. Yes, thanksgiving is in the next sevenday forecast. We now want to go back to garland, texas. All the employees inside this Industrial Complex did get out. But that is one heck of a fire burning there. An industrial fire in garland, texas, near dallas. Several explosions occurred there. The smoke plume is going up 7,000 feet. And theyve had to evacuate residents in the nearby area for obvious reasons. So that is what they are tackling on this friday evening in garland, texas. You can see the firefighters have already arrived, and you can see theyre starting to use water. But good luck with that. Fortunately, again, it looks like no one was left inside. All the employees did get out. Well, in news4 your health, you may want to avoid drinking a lot of alcohol if youre trying to lose weight. You get as much empty calories from booze as soft drinks. They account for 6 of calories adults consume, alcohol about 5 . Researchers at the centers for Disease Control and prevention point out that like soda, alcohol has few nutrients. Except on thanksgiving. Then all that stuff is out the window, okay . Any warmup for the weekend . How about it, doug . A warmup for the weekend. We can say maybe a smidgen. Tomorrow will be maybe a degree warmer than it was today. But it may actually feel a little warmer as well see a little more sunshine and little less wind tomorrow. Take a look out there right now. This is down to national harbor, where, of course, theyve got ice that kicks off tonight. Theyve also got the Tree Lighting at the gaylord hotel. A nice night down there for them. As far as the rest of us are concerned, a little on the cool side. As far as the temperatures go. Right now, currently sitting into the 40s. 48 degrees out at the airport. What are we seeing right now . Take a look at my graphic, because i think im on the wrong thing here. Ill just click this guy and click this guy and click this guy. It gives me this guy. Which is the moon. Look at that shot. A beautiful shot of the moon tonight. A Crescent Moon off in the distance. Just gorgeous with temperatures sitting right now at 49 degrees. Winds out of the north at 8 miles an hour. Were under clear skies right now. As far as the temperatures around the rest of the region, 48 in rockville, 43 already in gaithersburg. A little chilly there. 52 in manassas. We are going to see a cool night tonight. And a very cool start to your day tomorrow. Dont expect any rain. And dont expect any rain this weekend. And probably for the next seven days. I have the next seven days dry for the most part. The only chae could be on monday as that coastal low off the coast could give us a little bit of moisture trying to get in here monday. Right now im keeping the forecast dry. Lows tonight, 27 in martinsburg, 27 in culpepper, 37 in washington. Going to be a cold night if youre thinking about looking at the leonid meteor shower taking place later tonight and into tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon, highs in the 50s. Maybe 55 in la plata, 52 in gaithersburg. Once again, there should be abundant sunshine. We take on the eagles at fedex field. Temperatures will be in the low 50s around 1 00. If you get out there, it will be cool out there. Cool, but nice football weather for this time of year. I think were looking okay there. Over the next couple of days, 53 on your sunday, 52 on monday. More clouds on monday, breaking back out into the sunshine on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, all looking pretty good. And the temperatures hopefully getting back up to close to 60 by thursday afternoon. Happy thanksgiving, everyone. All right. Well, so, how long does it take to defrost a frozen turkey, and how long should you cook it . We have a question about the turkey leftovers. A thanksgiving of ask liz on this friday. How about that. We were just talking about this one. Your first question about frozen turkeys. How long does it take a frozen turkey to defrost . A long time. No one wants to wake up on thanksgiving with a frozen bird. The usda helped us with tips. They said the safest way is in the refrigerator. It does take 24 hours of defrosting time in the fridge for every four to five pounds of turkey. That means 12 to 16pound turkey is going to take three to four days in the fridge to defrost. Go check your frozen bird now and see if he needs to get in the fridge this weekend. For faster defrosting, usda said you can cover your turkey in cold water by putting it in a plastic bag or large bowl. It takes 30 minutes per pound. But 12 to 16pound bird will take six to eight hours. But you have to change that water every 30 minutes, and keep that water cold. A much more dangerous way to defrost. Something new this year. Usda said it is safe to cook a frozen turkey from the frozen state. However, the frozen cooking time is going to take 50 longer. Keep that in mind as we move to our next question. What about a tofurkey . Now on to cooking that turkey. Assuming you choose to thaw your turkey, how long do you have to cook it . Forget about your grandmothers recipe. Todays turkey cook at a different rate than the old birds. The usda recommends setting your oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit, and 1 1 2 to 5 hours depending on the turkey size. The most factor is the internal temperature. Make sure it reaches a minimum of 165 degrees. You check that temperature with a thermometer in the inner most part of the thigh and wing. And in the thickest part of the breast as well. Dont guess, dont look, dont ask granny. Get a thermometer. What about leftovers, how long can you keep the turkey leftovers in the refrigerator . Well, if you have any leftovers, if jim handly is not coming over, as youre putting away the turkey, keep the usda rules in mind. Cut the turkey up into small pieces, not a big chunk in the fridge and refrigerate the stuffing and turkey separately in shallow containers within two hours of pulling the stuff out of the oven. Also, they want you to eat your leftover turkey and stuffing within about four days. For more thanksgiving and cooking safety tips, go to nbcwashington. Com, and search turkey tips. All right. So we hope you have a safe cooking thanksgiving this year. Im going to have a pizza the day after thanksgiving. Handly . Ill drink to that. Theres a new landmark in south d. C. Canal park opened to the public today. The outdoor space has water features and sculptures. But many people think the best part is the ice skating rink that also opened for business today. Canal park is located at second and m Street Southeast near the Navy Yard Metro station. And thats not far from nats park. We are told a restaurant with outdoor seating will open at the park in the next few weeks. Heres whats trending today online. The redskins wont have to face michael vick on sunday when the eagles come to town. The quarterback was ruled out for the game. So a rookie qb will start against the skins. The final installment in the twilight series brought in more than 30 million for the midnight showings in the sufficient. Breaking dawn part two came in higher than any other twilight movie, but not as much as midnight showings for harry potter. Love letters written decades ago are found after they wash ashore from hurricane sandy. Coming up on news4 at 6 00, a ceasefire fails. Israel and Palestinian Militants are trading air strikes yet again. A report from gaza city falls church, virginia, is reaching out in the wake of superstorm sandy. A Volunteer Fire Department is donating this 2002 ambulance to island park, new york. Flooding destroyed the fire trucks and ambulances this crews there relied on to provide emergency services. Firefighters from falls church will leave monday morning to drive that vehicle up to its new home. Good for them. A new jersey woman and her son found dozens of love letters in the sand from decades ago. Nbcs mara explains how they tracked down the owner. Reporter in atlantic heights, new jersey, amidst the destruction from hurricane sandy, a message in a bundle. Washed up during the storm, a neat pile of letters tied with a pink bow. The day after sandy struck, Kathleen Cheney was surveying damage near the beach when her 14yearold son, patrick, spotted the stack. You knew what they were . I watched enough romantic movies, yeah. I just knew. Reporter the letters seemed to be in bad shape. They were pretty wet and really sandy. I had to kind of dust them off. Reporter but after drying by the fireplace, cheney was finally able to read them. 56 handwritten love letters addressed to a darling lynn, signed by your loving doc. The letters didnt just withstand sandy, but time. They were written 70 years ago, postmarked in the 40s, some penned during world war ii. My love, i miss you more than words can say. My darling lynn, guess this is about the third letter ive written to you today. Reporter touched by the love story, cheney began looking for dottie and lynn online. This week, 200 miles away in virginia, Shelley Farnham got her message on a genealogy site and immediately knew it was the story of her aunt dottie and uncle lynn. Lynn and dottie were very affectionate with each other. She had a habit in the morning as she got out of bed, to reach down and wiggle his toes a little bit, kind of like, okay, time to wake up. Reporter dottie was just 18 when she fell in love with lynn in 1941. They were apart for seven years while she was in Nursing School in new jersey and he was in the army. They finally got married in 1948, had two children, and were together 44 years, until lynn died of cancer in 1992. That last morning he didnt wake up. Reporter dottie, now 88 years old, lives in a nursing home, and remembers little of her darling lynn. Really, lynn, it doesnt to me where we live as long as we call it a home of our own. Reporter rediscovering the longforgotten words of a young girl swept off her feet, now swept ashore. Right now, the middle east is on the brink of an allout ground war. Former cia director David Petraeus reveals why the terror connection to the libyan attack was kept secret. The beltway express lane set to open. But it comes with a warning for anybody trying to cheat the system. We start with breaking news out of the middle east. The u. S. Navy is ready to help americans