Transcripts For WRC News4 Midday 20140127

Barbara harrison. Its monday, january 27th, 2014. And right now, the Columbia Mall in maryland is getting ready to open its doors again after a shooting that left three people dead. The mall will reopen this afternoon at 1 00. On saturday, Howard County police say 19yearold Darion Aguilar shot and killed Brianna Benlolo and Tyler Johnson at a zumiez store and then took his own life. Investigators say theyre still not sure of the motive or if aguilar knew either of the victims. Were also getting our first look inside the mall this morning. News4s Megan Mcgrath is live with more on that. Megan, good morning. Reporter well, barbara, the mall is set to open to the general public at 1 00 this afternoon, but a short time ago, the press was allowed in. They gave us a tour of the mall, the area wherest shooting occurred, as well as the two memorials that are now here at the mall. Take a look at the video here. Zumiez, the store where the shooting happened, is boarded up. The names of the two employees who were gunned down Brianna Benlolo and Tyler Johnson are written on the white plywood. Customers in the message there, theyre encouraged to write messages of hope and encouragement and condolences book in the malls center court. Now, nearby, stores still seem in a bit of disaay. Claras, for example, a couple of doors down from zumiez, has merchandise on the floor that hasnt been picked up. Theres also a salon nearby where you can still see hair on the floor, because when the shooting went down, people just ran for cover. They got to safety, some cases they left the mallen tirely, they were not worried about picking up after themselves or what they may have knocked down inside the stores, and thats were still seeing evidence of that even this morning. There are two memorials to the victims. We have videos of that. One is at the center court. Thats inside the mall. Thats where the book of condolences is. They will passed along to benlolo and the johnson families when theyre filled up here at the mall. There are now flowers and peopln float blossoms in the fountain. Theres also another memorial outside of the mall. Its by the starbucks entrance. Theyre white orchids and candles and also a sign that reads, forever in our heart. The malls general manager says that they also plan a candlelight vigil here at the mall for thursday evening. They dont have the specific details yet, but they are going to be releasing those soon. But they do plan to hold that vigil. The mall is opening at 1 00, and we are now starting to see some of the employees beginning to arrive here at Columbia Mall. Barbara, back to you. Thank you, megan. And we now know more about the two People Killed in the shooting. One of the victims is 21yearold Brianna Benlolo. She worked as a manager at the zumiez skater store. Her grandfather tells the Associated Press she had a 2yearold son. He also says brianna came from a military family, who moved from colorado to maryland. We discovered she lived in college park just blocks away from the suspected gunman. Briannas coworker, 25yearold Tyler Johnson, was also shot and killed. His family is trying to figure out how his connection or what his connection might have been to the shooting. Tyler didnt have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl. And, you know, he would have mentioned it if he did. He never did. See any reason why anybody would want to hurt him. Just cant understand it. I think thats half the grief is just not understanding, you know, youd like closure wont happen until you can understand that. Johnsons family says he was a caring young man who helped others deal with their drug problems. Johnson graduated from Centennial High School in elle cot city. He recently moved to mount airy. He was taking classes at montgomery college. Investigators are trying to figure out why Darion Aguilar opened fire at mall. They spent the weekend searching his home where he lived with his mother, and they were looking for answers there. News4s Melissa Malay is live outside his home in college park. Melissa, good morning. Reporter good morning, barbara, to you, as well. At this point, very quiet in Darion Aguilars home in college park. He lived in this home here behind me with his mother. A different scene from over the weekend. Over the weekend, very active here. Police shutting down the road, searched the home, took computers and journals, and some of the entries showed a depressed teen. We know he graduated last year and the principal put out this letter saying, many of us have known this young man and, therefore, may be upset or concerned. On monday, we will have counselors on hand to speak to students who wish to talk with someone. Now, heres what else we know about aguilar. Police say the 19yearold legally purchase add 12gauge shotgun last month. He had no criminal history. Police say they still have no motive in shooting, no connection between aguilar and the two victims that were killed. A woman who says she is aguilars mother spoke with reporters through the phone of a family friend. Take a listen. Theres never never had a gun before. Never been interested in guns. Never been interested in anything like that. I dont know what happened. I just dont know what happened. I dont know what happened. I feel for those other parents, too. I do. Reporter now, aguilars mother did file a missing persons report for her son on the day of the shooting. Prince georges county police came to his home, found his journal and said some of the entries were worrisome and tracked his cell phone to Columbia Mall, which at that point, when they showed up, it was a crime scene. Live in college park, maryland, Melissa Malay, news4, back to you. Thanks. As we learn more details, stay with news44 and nbcwashington. Com, and you can download the nbcwashington. Com app and get updates anytime on your smartphone. Now to the return of that frigid weather out there. Temperatures are in the 40s right now. But were in store for another major drop. Storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast. Tom . Barbara, good morning. Starting off this morning, we had temperatures around freezing, got into the 40s last few hours. And now, its near 50 degrees. The warmest its been in a week. Theres the sky over washington. A few clouds floating through. Thats the live view from the storm team4 sky watcher camera on this monday morning. Now, temperatures around the metro area in the upper 40s, near 50 in washington, nearby suburbs, prince georges county, and in Fairfax County. Much of montgomery county, some of the chillier air beginning to arrive in gaitherburg, now down to 39, dulles at 39. And farther west and north, its colder. Its near freezing in hagers town and martinsburg, winchester, some of the colder air coming into the shenandoah valley. South, 55 in culpeper. Southern maryland in the upper 40s. And this cold air is going to really begin to move in. Have the heavy coats ready, because youll be needing them by later this afternoon, as the cold air does quickly push on in. The temperatures will be dropping all the way down into the teens by late tonight, and highs only in the teens on tuesday. Your hourbyhour forecast, exactly when the cold air arrives and what it leaves, thats coming up in a few mines. Barbara . Thank you, tom. Angie goff is following breaking news. Trey radel is resigning from congress. The Florida Republican is giving up his house seat following a cocaine conviction. His formal announcement is expected sometime today. In november, radel pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and was sentenced to oneyear probation. He made a public apology and then checked into rehab, and just a few weeks ago, radels office said he had plans to return to Congress Despite many calls from many republicans to step down. Im angie goff at the live desk. Back to you. Thanks. This could be another tough day for the d. C. Police department. Later today, lawyers will file three lawsuits against the department and some of its officers. The suits accuse police of wrongful death, excessive force, and violating citizens constitutional rights. Last week, chief kathy lanier testified before the d. C. Council about some of her officers misconduct. And right now, fire investigators are looking into what caused a massive fire at an alexandria town home early this morning. It happened on Town Manor Court in the mount vernon area. Police and fire crews arrived on the scene shortly after 3 00 this morning. Officials believe the fire started in the garage and quickly spread to the home. One of the two homeowners had to be rescued when he was trapped on an upper level. The other barely escaped. He had dogs, so he was up there trying to get them. And unfortunately, he got stuck up on the third floor, i had to run back down, and went out the back door. That injured man was rushed to the hospital and is being treated for severe lung damage. Four of the five dogs he went in to rescue survived. One of them did not. And new today, we just got word of a local teacher will be sitting next to the first lady during the state of the Union Address. Coming up, more on that teacher and who else will get the honor of sitting next to the first lady. And the suffering has already started in the midwest where schools are closed right now in chicago because of the deep freeze. Storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is back with how low the temperatures will fall here tonight. Stay with us Edward Snowden is making new allegations against the u. S. Government. He says the government wants to kill him. Snowden says hes received death threats, buzzfeed also reported that someone at the pentagon would love to kill him. An analyst at the nsa told buzzfeed the same then. D. C. Delegate elinore Holmes Norton will respond today to what she calls republicans war on women. Shell try to remove a provision from the bill that bans the district using local tax dollars on abortions for lowincome women. It bans federal subsidies for Health Insurance plans that cover abortion. Congress gets back to work today, the house in session less than an hour from now. The senate convenes at 2 00. Lawmakers from both chambers will be back on capitol hill tomorrow night for president obamas state of the Union Address. Nbcs tracie potts has more on whats on everyones agendas. Reporter next week, america hits the debt ceiling again and wont be able to pay its bills. Some republicans insist to raise the ceiling, democrats must give up something. Of course, we should do something. We shouldnt just write a blank check. I do not believe that Republican Leaders will follow ted cruz over the cliff once again. Reporter it sounds like lawmakers may actually compromise on unemployment. Surely, in a 3 billion 3 trillion expenditure, we can find a place to pay for unemployment insurance. Reporter but raising the minimum wage . That may be a tougher fight. Its about debating not who wants to cure poverty. Republicans want to help people who are unemployed, we want to help people get jobs, but about what policies work. We should not play russian roulette with americas economy. We should not kill off jobs because of another political squabble. Reporter president obama lays out his vision in the state of the Union Address tomorrow night. The Republican Congress is not going to rubber stamp the president s agenda. The president will not sign the Republican Congress agenda. We have to find areas where we can work together. Reporter tracie potts, nbc news, washington. D. C. s teacher of the year will be sitting with the first lady during tomorrow nights state of the Union Address. Two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing and former nba player Jason Collins will also be there. Collins, youll remember, became the first active male professional athlete playing in a major Sporting League to announce he is gay. And with more on the state of the union, were joined by domenico, and good morning. Good morning to you. Well, now we know who at least some of those who will be sitting next to the first lady. The big then is, do we know what the president will talk about . Some of the folks might hint at what the president may want to talk about. Talk about education, Economic Opportunity and expect to hear that word quite a bit tomorrow night. Opportunity. Inconequality. The subtext is, of course, the midterm elections. President obama wants to do two things. He wants to avoid looking like a lame duck president , because most historians give president s six to eight months to get their agenda done. And were past that time. And he wants to mitigate the damage done by the health care rollout. And republicans really want him to use that in the midterms while democrats want to use something they feel, 60 , twothirds of the country agree on, income inequality, the gap has widened, and increase that minimum wage for one thing. Youve mentioned all domestic issues. What about Foreign Policy . Foreign policy is really going to shift to the back burner here. Not surprisingly, americans really wary of getting into any more wars. You may hear him talk about afghanistan, because troops are supposed to be pulling out there this summer from afghanistan. And we may hear him talk a little bit about iran and trying to get that iran deal in place. Okay. Lets move ahead to the announcement, or expected announcement from trey radel from his spokesperson. Yeah. Saying hes going to now step down, which is not what he had said he just released a letter that he sent to Speaker Boehner and to governor Charlie Crist in florida, saying he acknowledges personal struggles, that he has dealt with those personally but doesnt feel that he can adequately and fully represent south florida to the best of his ability now. That resignation is effective 6 30 tonight. That follows his arrest after being Illegal Drugs from right. He is the first member of congress to plead guilty on cocaine charges. All right. Well, thanks so much, domenico. Thank you. For nor from domenico, check out first read on nbcnews. Com. Were bracing for it, because weve been warned. Storm team4 meteorologist tom kierein is here to tell you what you can look forward to later today. Hey, tom. Cold air is coming in as we speak. It is . When we went on the air, it was 51 degrees, and now, on your screen, its down to 45. We have dropped six degrees here just about the last 15 minutes. Its going to continue to go down, and heres whats coming. As we get into the afternoon, the temperatures will continue to drop, and well have some cold blustery winds gusting to around 40 miles an hour, and then, we will have a frigid tuesday. That super cold air arriving late tonight. Right now, though, sunshine in washington. Thats a live view. 51 at reagan national. Balmy there. And temperatures are beginning to drop, north and west of us. Southwesterly breeze there, its going to shift into the northwest this hour. In fact, look, hagerstown down to just 33. Martinsburg 35. Winchester 36. What a contrast of where we are, right near 50 around the metro area. And thats the cold air really beginning to come in, and actually the winds are shifting here in northwest washington into the north and west. So the cold air is beginning to arrive. And the view from space showing weve had quite a bit of cloudiness this morning. Breaks in the clouds, a little sunshine in prince georges county, charles, and stafford, spotsylvania, southern falkier, and farther north and west, quite a bit of cloudiness. Storm team4 radar not picking up rain or snow. And we have temperatures getting into the afternoon, as of 4 30 this afternoon, look at the temperatures. It will be near freezing in washington. Well be in the 20s north and west of the metro area. South and east, though, still above freezing by Late Afternoon. Then, as we get into the evening hours, as of 10 30, temperatures down into the teens to just near 20 degrees. Much of the region, right around the metro area, mid20s. And mid20s in Southern Maryland. In the low to mid teens out in the mountains, getting in the dawn hours on tuesday, and look at these temperatures, without the wind. It will be down to 13 in washington, just in Single Digits north and west. Temperatures down to near zero in the mountains by dawn tomorrow, Southern Maryland, Northern Neck, eastern shore, starting off in the low to midteens. Here are the wind chills, as of 10 00 tonight. Wind chills near 10 degrees. Then the wind chills by dawn on tuesday, 0 to 15 degrees below zero, wind chills. Starting off tomorrow morning. So the much colder air beginning to move in, and during the morning, air temperatures will be down Single Digits starting off tomorrow morning at dawn. Then during the afternoon on tuesday, i think well be in the upper teens. Quite a bit of cloudiness around during the day. Maybe a few flurries in Southern Maryland, Northern Neck, eastern shore. Sun back on wednesday. Still cold. A bit warmer. Ought to be getting above freezing on thursday. Then friday, saturday, sunday each day, well have temperatures into the 40s. It will feel like spring again. But right now, it is the warmest it has been since last about a week ago. Yeah. It actually felt like summer this morning when i walked out. Thats all over. Grab your heavy coat. Youre going to need it this afternoon. Thank you, tom. Okay. The national zoo is sharing some good news today. Well have that announcement, plus an effort to avoid waste, or could it be harmful to sell outofdate food . Emotional moment last night at the Grammy Awards that has a lot of people talking this morning. First, heres a look at whats hot on nbcwashington. Com. If youre feeling a little down today, youre not alone. This morning, many of us are in the recovery phase after dealing with the sunday night blues. Thats when many working adults apparently begin to dread going back to the office on monday. A new survey from monster. Com says 78 of adults experience the sunday night blues. So how do you fight it . The Cleveland Clinic says you should start having some sort of sunday night activity like maybe making a big family dinner. Well, musics biggest night is still buzzing online this morning, and many of you are talking about how the grammys substituted shock value for something more sentimental. By the power vested in me by the state of california, i now pronounce you a married couple 33 couples, many of them samesex couples, got married during the awards show as macklemore and ryan lewis performed same love. Madonna joined the performance and Queen Latifah presided over the event. Macklemore was one of the big winners taking home four grammys. That tied the haul of daft punk. They won best record and album of the year. In less than an hour, the library of congress will make a major musical announcement. At noon, the library will confirm the acquisition of music and records from one of the creators of jazz, max roache. The newly acquired collection spans several decades and includes some collaborative pieces with roache and other legends like dizzy gillespie, and roaches family will be present at the announcement in southeast d. C. And right now, there is a call for unity in our area after the tragedy at the Columbia Mall over the weekend. Coming up, how people are being asked to show their support, and the cruise ship headed back to florida after hundreds on board got sick, how a tenday vacation turned bad quickly, plus storm team4 meteorologist tom kierein is back with your hourbyhour look at todays changing weather. Were coming back in a minute. St well, its been a little more than 48 hours since the deadly Maryland Mall shooting, and this morning were getting our first look inside the mall. The mall in columbia let our cameras take a look just a little while ago. Theres a memorial to the victims of the shooting. In about 90 minutes, the mall will reopen to customers. Its been a busy crime scene since saturday morning when a shooting left three people dead, including the gunman. News4s angie goff joins us with how this story is unfolding on social media. Angie . Reporter this is a story weve watched unfold online, and new this hour, you talked about it, but the photos of the memorial set up for the victims inside the mall, tweeting them out. Also the Howard County Police Department sharing this photo. It shows a Memorial Wall replaces the front of where the zumiez store is. They tweeted for people to come to the reopening at the mall at 1 00, so about an hour and a half, and notice th the hocounited, and were seeing a lot of that after the county executive tweeted out this. Even if you arent a Howard County resident, show your support by using the hashtag, and he said thank you for joining us in the healing process, and those who knew the suspected gunman, Darion Aguilar, took to twitter. This student, wrote, he was literally the nicest, most chill person at blake, and he had so much potential to do good. Aguilar graduated from Blake High School last year. Barbara . All right, thanks so much for that report. Right now, investigators are trying to figure out why Darion Aguilar opened fire at the mall. Howard county police say he lived with his mother in college park. Over the weekend, officers searched their home and took computers and aguilars journal. Investigators say some of the entries show a depressed teenager. They also havent found a connection between aguilar and two victims that were killed. Egaguilar had no criminal histo. Police say he bought the 12gauge shotgun legally last month. A family friend says aguilar was recently promoted to manager at a local Dunkin Donuts store. This morning, the ceo of zumiez store chain says hes following the investigation very closely. He says the police briefings, quote, pain all of us in the zumiez family who are grieving the loss of brianna and tyler. Counselors have met with the store team. The emotions are very raw and real as coworkers and friends, we are pulling together, he went on to say. In Fairfax County right now, a yelp lawsuit that challenges freedom of speech is gettingnd way. According to the washington post, d. C. Contractor Christopher Dietz is accusing a former customer of a yelp review. Perez says she stands by the review. First amendment advocates say companies are trying to stifle negative but important consumer reviews with lawsuits. However, Business Owners say they are forced to take aggressive action because false claims can live online forever. Well, the deep freeze is plunging back into our area today, but believe it or not, were not getting the worst of it. The latest round of winter chill is hitting other places harder than us. Schools are closed today in chicago because of extreme wind chills that could reach 30 below zero. Went y wendy is braving the cold and has more on the arctic temperatures. Oh, man, this is terrible. Reporter much of the nation hasnt thawed from the first arctic freeze, and now were bracing for another. Its a complete and utter mess. The roads are just completely covered in snow. Reporter from ohio to new york, snow and ice have blanketed the region, causing treacherous conditions and accidents on roadways. In buffalo, the wind even overpowered this 18wheeler and challenged crews trying to help. The wind chill is terrible, and the wind is bad. So weve got to watch the empty trailer, doesnt get blown over, too. Reporter whether People Choose to brave the elements or they have to to get the job done, Time Outdoors in these frigid temperatures must be limited. Its really safer to stay inside. Reporter but warmth indoors is also being threatened by this relentless weather pattern. A shortage of propane across the midwest has some looking for alternatives. I have a highefficiency woodburning fireplace in the living room. Reporter okay. And you go there three cords of wood a year, but were going through it pretty quick. Reporter and the end of winter is nowhere in sight. Just got to tough it out, you know, and wait until things get better. Reporter but well have to wait on Mother Nature a little longer. Temperatures are supposed to stay below zero here for the next two and a half days, and the wintry mix will reach the deep south tomorrow. Brutal even by winter standards. In chicago, wendy woffolk, nbc news. More on when well feel the change. Tom kierein is outside with the latest on our forecast. Do you feel the temperature change already, tom . Yeah, it really has. Its dropped about seven, eight degrees in the last half hour or so here in northwest where the winds are beginning to pick up. Weve got a blue sky here now, and lotting of sunshine. I think clouds will be rolling back in as the super cold air arrive later. Now, as we look at temperatures, 52 at reagan national, while its only near freezing in hagerstown and out in the mountains. The cold air really beginning to push in now. The temperatures will continue to drop into the afternoon. Heres the hourbyhour forecast. Look at that temperature. It looks like a slide all the way down into the teens by late this evening. In fact, by 4 00, i think well be near freezing. Wind chills in the teens. The winds gusting 30 to 40 miles an hour, diminish by late tonight. And then, by dawn tomorrow, i think well be down to the Single Digits much of the region, wind chills subzero. Afternoon highs on tuesday, a lot of clouds tomorrow into the upper teens, but a lighter wind, maybe a few flurries in far Southern Maryland sand a dusting of snow on the eastern shore, tomorrow night into early wednesday morning. Elsewhere, though, should be dry. Sunshine back wednesday, thursday. But still near freezing for highs and morning lows teens. But warming, finally, friday into the weekend, looking much better, highs in the 40s, friday, saturday, and sunday. Barbara . All right, tom, thanks. Environmentalists will be in richmond today to ask Terry Mcauliffe to draw more attention to Climate Change in the commonwealth. The virginia marchers for climate will march around capital square. Today is virginias Conservation Network lobby day. Creigh deeds says hes confident his personal tragedy will help change the Virginia Mental Health system. He said he hopes the support hes received will translate into votes for legislation hes pushing. Legislators are at this point still talking the talk. Now, weve got weve got hard work to do. Theres powerful Interest Groups opposed to the legislation. The Sheriffs Association of virginia, different Law Enforcement groups, the aclu, you know, theyre coming up with all kinds of reasons why we cant have more time. But im confident that were going to work through this and were going to get the votes to get this done. Deeds son, gus, stabbed him before taking his own life back in november. He was only home that day, because an emergency Custody Order against him had exred. Deeds wants to extend how long emergency Custody Orders can last. Don buyer wants to return to politics. The former Lieutenant Governor plans to enter the race for congress. He has his eyes on jim morans seat. Moran is retiring, as he announced recently. Bier, a democrat, was Lieutenant Governor for two terms. He lost the 1997 race for governor. Bier must collect 1,000 signatures from residents in virginias 8th congressional district. Hell then face several other democrats in the primary. They include delegate mark sickels. And this will be a busy week for marylands house of delegates. We expect the house to vote on a bill to help marylanders with issues with the state Health Exchange website. It will give them coverage in the maryland Health Insurance plan. The house will also likely deal with an expansion of graces law. This law, as it stands now, punishes anyone who bullies kids through social media. Lawmakers will discuss expanding that to include adults. Most washtonians do not favor building a new soccer stadium. A washinon post poll shows 6 out of 10 d. C. Residents dont want a new stadium for the citys mls team d. C. United. One of the biggest factors for people, costs. The stadium would take at least 150 million in possible funds from the city. Those against the proposed bill say there are better ways to spend that kind of money. Currently d. C. United plays at rfk stadium in southeast washington. Now, preparations are under way for this weekends super bowl near new yorks times square. A milelong stretch of broadway has been renamed super bowl boulevard for the week. Concerts, games, and family activities are all set for this week ahead. The game is happening at Metlife Stadium across the river in new jersey. Itll be the first time the super bowl is played in the outdoors, in cold weather. Well, all of the excitement over the super bowl could mean some savings and d. C. s Chris Clackum explains why it may not be a bad idea to change the way you watch this weekends game. Reporter a survey shows 30 of us are planning to buy a new television this year, and of that, a third are buying right now. In the days leading up to the super bowl. But getting a bigger, better view of the game is only one reason for the surge in sales. I think the main reason why youre going to see deals on televisions around this time of year is that most of the new models are coming out in march. Reporter that means the 2013 models have been discounted to make room, and just in time to help buyers make an educated choice, Consumer Reports says just come out with its list of the best performers. We looked at primarily 60 inch, because a lot of people buying a tv for the super bowl are looking for a big tv. Reporter Senior Editor jim wilcox says itll cost you at least 1,500 to get one of the bestperforming tvs, or up to 3,500 for one from flagship manufacturers, like lg, panasonic, samsung, or sony. But hes also high on lowerpriced models like the vizio eseries that walmart is offering for 800. The thing is, it has great picture quality and a lot of features. It has a smart tv platform, and so, youre really not giving up any features for this tv, and its only 800. Reporter that price also plays into what fatwallet found in its survey, that nearly half the buyers say theyll be look mostly at the cost of a new tv. Chris clackum, nbc news. 11 41 is the time. The national zoo welcomes three new bundles of joy. Coming up, well also tell you about a store thats opening and only selling outofdate food. 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Thats 1. 888. 410. 4404 to get internet and phone for just 99. 99 a month. 100 fiber optic speed and reliability that makes you Small Business ready. Thats powerful. Just in. Move over, bao bao, theres a new baby in town. In fact, theres two. The national zoo announced the birth of two new african lion cubs. Take a look at this Youtube Video we have that they posted. But right now, theyre actually working on getting a live lion cam up, so that you can see mama naba and her new babies born on friday. Its moms first litter in four years. Both babies, as you can tell, they appear to be healthy, moving, nursing. But were told that three were actually born. One was stillborn, which experts say is not uncommon in a litter. As for when you can see them up close and personal, the zoo says probably late spring. They need to give naba time to bond with her babies, but that lion cam, the live cam, should be up, they say, by 4 00 p. M. Today. No word yet, barbara, on any names, but i feel another contest coming on. Oh, its exciting news, thanks a lot. I know. Well, you can thank last weeks Winter Weather for some lower gas prices. Aaa says demand for gas dropped, which means less pain at the pump. It might not last long, though, with february around the corner. Prices could rise as manufacturers get ready to start making summer blend gas. In the district right now, aaa says a gallon of regular will cost about 3. 54 a gallon. In maryland, the average is 3. 36 a gallon, across virginia, the average is 3. 17. And in west virginia, 3. 36 on average for a gallon of regular. Right now, in northeast d. C. , dozens of people are trying to land a job working with the new d. C. Streetcars. The department of Employment Services on minnesota avenue is hosting a job fair for the open positions. It started almost two hours ago at 10 00 this morning and recruiters will be taking resumes until around 2 00 this afternoon. Theyre looking for people with good mechanical skills to fill the maintenance tech and material handler positions, and friendly workers to take the service attendant and operator slots. If you cant make it today, you can still apply through the midtown employment group. How much money would it take for to you volunteer to have the flu . Well, right now, the National Institute of health is looking for willing patients, and the hospital is paying 3,000 for your time. First, doctors will squirt the live virus into your nose, then youll spend nine days quarantined inside a specialize isolation ward in nih. It may sound bizarre, but the research aims to show how the body flights off influenza. Scientists hope to use the research to improve flu vaccines. And this morning, u. S. Health officials are investigating how a dangerous stomach bug infected nearly 300 people aboard a cruise ship. According to the soecenter dise control and prevention, passengers became sick from the noro virus aboard the ship. It left cape liberty, new jersey, last tuesday bound for the caribbean. The fastmoving stomach bug left many passengers quarantined to their rooms. It was a terrible experience. Ive been on this boat before. We had an amazing time when we were here. This time, its just been awful. The ship made a stop in puerto rico to be sanitized, and is now heading back to the states two days early. Once back in port, Royal Caribbean says the ship will undergo another thorough cleaning. Royal caribbean also says they will compensate passengers. Our country throws out an estimated 165 billion dollars worth of food every year, much of it still perfectly good. Thats the idea behind a new Grocery Store that will open in june. Its called the daily table, and it will sell deeply discounted foods that had recently expired. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer reports. Reporter shopping for a healthy meal, single mom davine is at the food bank looking for affordable groceries past their prime. So what if its a day or two old, or three days past due, its still very much edible. Reporter she is exactly the customer doug is looking for. This summer, the former president of trader joes will open a new Grocery Store that sells expired food for pennys on the dollar. Theres a lot of food out there that is wholesome and healthy, that is just being disposed. Reporter row says hell offer fresh produce. Use as ingredients or to be able to sell. Reporter perfectly good dairy. A fatfree milk. Reporter and most other Grocery Store products at deep, deep discounts. Grocers receive a lot of product that is perfectly sound, but has a sellby date, oer a bestbuy date. They pull that off the shelf right at the day, some do it several days before, and its being tossed, and thats a crime. Reporter according to a recent study, 40 of food produced in this country is dumped in the trash every year. 165 billion worth of edible food tossed out. Those date labels you see on foods, sell by, used by, they are actually not federally regulated, and theyre not meant to indicate safety. Reporter with that in mind, on this lot outside boston, he will open the daily meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of the very cold conditions heading in our direction. Stay with us. We are less than two weeks now until the start of the winter olympic games. That means the olympic torch is inching its way to sochi. [ applause ] take a look at this. Its video from yesterdays relay in russias caspian coast area. Today, the olympic flame is in the dagestan region. There have been several deadly attacks there recently. For safety reasons, olympic organizers cut the number of torch bearers from 270 down to 67. Well, safety concerns may be keeping americans away from sochi. This morning u. S. Tour operators say fewer americans are going to these games than for the last 20 years. Some say its because of last months deadly doublesuicide bombing and online threats promising an attack. A member of the International Olympic committee stopped by the today show this morning. She says security is top priority at the winter games. Are you confident in the russians ability to pull this off and to secure the olympics . Yes, because its not only the russians. Its the whole world that secures the games. The u. S. Is involved in making sure our team and the other athletes are secure. Its something that belongs to the world, and theyve been working on this for seven years. President putin says all of the concern is just an attempt by the west to discredit russia. Well, were following several big stories here on nbc4. The First Time Since the weekend deadly shooting in maryland, the mall will open its doors. The mall let us inside the building a little while ago. A gunman opened fire at a skate shop saturday morning, killing two people before killing himself. Right now, investigators are trying to figure out if the gunman knew the victims. A man is recovering in the hospital right now after suffering severe lung damage during a massive townhouse fire. The homeowner was rescued from the third floor of his home after attempting to save his dogs earlier this morning. Fire investigators havent disclosed a cause of that fire. Well, take a look at our current temperatures. You can see the big difference between hagerstown thats in the 30s and fredericksburg, in the 50s, but tom is saying everyone will feel the drop. And, tom . Seems like every minute were losing another degree. Weve lost about nine degrees here in northwest washington just in the last 45 minutes. And its going to continue to drop into the afternoon. Theres the temperature scale. And that red line, the temperature dropping from the 40s now all the way down to near freezing by around 4 00. And then, after sunset, the 20s. And then down to the teens by midnight. Wind chills will be in the teens from Late Afternoon into this evening, and then subzero wind chills tomorrow morning. Winds will be blowing around 30 to 40 miles an hour. Already people are tweeting in about the cold winds blustering, coming in from the north and west. And itll be near 8 degrees tomorrow morning, afternoon highs in the teens, but subzero wind chills in the morning. A lot of clouds around on tuesday. Might get light snow far Southern Maryland, Northern Neck eastern shore, tuesday night, wednesday morning. Elsewhere dry. Sevenday forecast, warming trend for the weekend. 40s, friday, saturday, sunday. A warming trend. Thanks, tom. Okay. Later today, youll have a chance to catch a free preview of one of d. C. s top parades. 18 local singers are auditioning for the chance to perform at the National Cherry blossom festival parade. Up to four solo or group vocalists will be selected to perform in the parade. Tonights live audition at the Hard Rock Cafe along e street northwest is free and open to the public. It starts at 7 00 this evening. You can catch the winners in the National Cherry blossom festival parade which comes up on april 12th. And thats news4 midday for today. We thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for more news at 4 00, 5 be cloo, 6 00 and 11 00. We hope youl for news4 midday. To one another and to a life shared together with the music of love. I now pronounce you. History last night. At the grammy. 33 straight and gay couple married by queen latifa latifah. Serenaded by madonna and last tonight grammy welcome to access hollywood live. And what did you think last night . Of beyonces