vehicles -- >> the verdict is in. there is no electronic based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in toyotas. >> reporter: in a ten-month investigation by the national highway traffic safety administration and nasa, engineers worked to see if electrical or even electromagnetic radiation issues were to blame. in the end -- >> the only causes of unintended acceleration is floor mat entrapment and sticky pedal. >> reporter: problems toyota claimed it fixed in recalled vehicles. fixing the company's image, though, could take longer. >> they really need to get their focus back on doing what they do best, which is building good reliable cars at a reasonable price. >> reporter: today toyota reported quarterly profits down 39%. but then raised its sales forecast for the year. so while some may have trouble forgetting scenes like this, the company at least is showing confidence. its darkest days are behind it. now, toyota has started installing override systems in new vehicles that cut the throttle when the brake and the accelerator are hit at the same time. last year, congress tried to make those types of systems mandatory. that failed. but the government is again looking at that as a possible solution. doreen? >> kristen dahlgren on capitol hill, thank you. >> you bet. windy out there today. doug, are we done with that now? >> we have a couple more hours to go, i think, jim, and then those winds are definitely going to be calming down. gusting upwards of 40 miles an hour earlier. we'll show you what we're dealing with outside. 34 degrees, winds out of the northwest at 16 miles an hour. that gives you a windchill of 24. but notice the camera shaking. we are seeing gusts, these are the current wind gusts of 26 in washington, 30 in frederick, and down to the south fredericksberg around 29 miles per hour. we're talking pretty good winds. they will begin to die down as the sun continues to go down. it just set about a half hour ago, so that's good news. anytime the sun goes down, you normally see your winds die down as well. 19 in sterling, and 20 in monassus. cold night, winds will diminish but the temperatures will go down to the teens in most locations. we're in for a very cold wednesday morning. i'll let you know how cold things are going to stay in the next couple of days in my full forecast. several first graders in a montgomery county school are accusing their teacher of physically assaulting them at the school. susan burke is the teacher's name. she was arrested today. nine kids, 6 and 7 years old, claim that she choked them at the greencastle elementary school back in december. those allegations surfaced last month, and burke was put on administrative leave then. we'll have a full report in the next half hour. and we'll hear from parents in that school community. federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without parole for the man convicted of murdering chandra levy. he was convicted of murdering levy in rock creek park nearly a decade ago. sentencing will be on friday. he's facing a minimum sentence of 30 years, a maximum of life in prison. his lawyers plan to ask the judge for a whole new trial. the latest now on the crisis in egypt. egypt's vice president announced the government is working on reforms to ensure the peaceful transition of power. still, thousands of protesters remain camped out in cairo's main square. they say they won't leave until president hosni mubarak leaves. today they held one of the biggest protests yet as ron allen reports. >> reporter: the crowds in liberation square were huge today. this from the looks of it was one of the biggest crowds we've seen over the past couple of weeks. the protesters have targeted tuesdays and fridays as the days they want to get up the big numbers. they can't ask people to come out to the square every day, so they're trying to target specific times to really get the numbers up. meanwhile, on the political track, more pronouncements from the government about plans, timetables, things they're going to do to bring about reforms here, but no concrete steps that people want to see where the government can prove it's really going to carry out on its word. again we're here at the stalemate, where both sides have dug in their heels. there's no indication that the government is going to give in to the protesters' key demands. president hosni mubarak seems as entrenched as ever. but the vice president is taking an ever increasing high profile in terms of being the face of the government on tv, and before the public. bottom line is the protests continue to grow, yet the president continues to cling to whatever semblance of power he has these days. many people think he's a figurehead, but the bottom line is the protesters want to see him gone. for now that doesn't seem to be happening. back to you. >> ron allen reporting. it appears the crisis in egypt has surfaced on a local level. the secret service has confirmed that the agency is investigating vandalism at the egyptian cultural center. the words on the building read, an end to hosni mubarak. the building is adjacent to the embassy on new hampshire avenue in the district. the graffiti was discovered this morning. in the safest and wealthiest neighborhoods are buying guns, than those in less affluent and high-crime areas. newly released police records show more than 1,400 firearms have been registered since 2008. the u.s. supreme court struck down the district's handgun ban. nearly 300 were registered in the northwest washington neighborhoods of georgetown, l palisades and chevy chase. police say one explanation may be the cost of a firearm. a basic revolver now comes at about $400. mayor vincent gray says he's disappointed in the new handgun permits in the city. he shared a childhood experience today that he had that had a strong impact on his view of gun ownership. tom sherwood has our report. >> reporter: mayor vincent gray is a native of washington and longtime supporter of gun controls. he said he was disappointed to see the "washington post" story tuesday, when so many gun permits issued since the supreme court ruling that struck down the city's tougher gun law. many of the permits in wealthier areas. >> it troubles me to see that there are people who may be purchasing guns. i'm sure in accordance with the current law in the city. >> reporter: he told a story of how when he was a child -- >> my father used to keep a gun in the house. >> reporter: he narrowly missed being killed while his older brother was cleaning the gun while his parents were away. >> i was standing right in front of him. i had to go to the bathroom. and i went to the bathroom. and while i was in the bathroom, i heard this loud boom that went off. and when i came out, i realized what had happened. he didn't realize that there was a bullet in the chamber. and the gun went off and went right through the furniture where i had been standing. and had i been standing there, i probably wouldn't be standing here. >> reporter: the district has shown a drop in gun violence in recent years. but gray says tough laws are still needed. >> i don't want to see us turn into a place where people feel like they have to be packing in their house in order to protect themselves. >> reporter: tom sherwood, news4, washington. >> when asked how his father reacted to that childhood gun incident, gray said that gun sort of disappeared. an arbitrator has ordered the district school system to rehire about 75 teachers who were fired two years ago. the arbitrator ruled that the teachers all on probation had not been given clear reasons for their dismissals. by then chancellor michelle rhee. the arbitrator said it violated the teachers' union contract. the district has 20 days to decide whether it will appeal the arbitrator's decision. if the teachers are rehired, they will receive clean personnel records and back pay. coming up, a desperate search for workers after an explosion ripped through a chemical plant. >> someone has claimed responsibility on moscow's busiest airport. president obama has given up one of his bad habits. eggs, good old eggs are changing, and they may be better for your diet. what you got, lindsey? >> maybe the cleveland cavaliers should have some. the terps glad to have a game tomorrow night. prepare for a shark invasion at an explosion at a petroleum plant near houston sent flames shooting 100 feet into the air this afternoon. it happened just after 2:00 p.m. heavy fire continues there at this hour. so far, no reports of any injuries, but one person may be missing. company officials say it is natural gas that's burning and it is not an environmental hazard. no word right now on what may have started this fire. now, some jarring surveillance video out of turkey. we warn you, it shows the moment that a truck slams into the side of a bus full of passengers. first passengers were just sitting and talking onboard the bus and then looked out the window and saw a huge truck headed toward them. it was too late for anybody to get out of the way. it happened last friday. the stunned bus driver picked himself up and staggered out of the vehicle after the crash. 18 people were injured. but nobody was killed in this crash. some of the claims for responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at russia's biggest airport last month. it happened on january 24th at the airport in moscow. 36 people were killed. nearly 200 others injured. a leader of islamic rebels posted a video on a militant website last night. his name is doko umerov. he said the attacks will continue until an islamic state is set up in the region. measures in the patriot act sanction roving wiretaps, and authorize the fbi to access anything deemed relevant to a terrorist investigation. the patriot act was passed after the september 11th attacks. critics long have said the law lacks basic privacy safeguards. if congress doesn't act, the surveillance measures will expire at the end of the month. president bowl has kicked his smoking habit. michelle obama made a comment with reporters today. according to the first lady, her husband hasn't smoked in almost a year. she said it's a personal challenge for him, and she's proud of him. the president's smoking habit has been well publicized. he acknowledged sneaking in the occasional puff in 2009. you can hear from the first lady tomorrow as she sits down with matt lauer on the "today" show beginning at 7:00 in the morning. if you're keeping a close eye on your cholesterol, the government says eggs may not be so bad for you after all. the u.s. department of agriculture says eggs have more vitamin d than the last time they were analyzed in 2002. erica edwards has tonight's news4 for your health report. >> we've known for a while that the eggs are not the cholesterol bad guy we thought they were. >> reporter: a new analysis of eggs show they now have 14% less cholesterol, and 64% more vitamin d than the last time they were sampled a decade ago. the dietary cholesterol in eggs has historically given them a bad rap. >> it's saturated fat that causes your cholesterol to go up. and eggs are relatively low in saturated fat. >> reporter: still, the old saying, everything in moderation applies. current nutrition guidelines suggest we shouldn't get more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day. a single egg has 186 milligrams. experts suspect the changes came from improvement in hens' diets nationwide. some chicken feed is supplemented with vitamin d. the bottom line? >> if you like eggs, eat them. >> reporter: bacon, however, is a story for another day. erica edwards, nbc news. coming up, that polite armed robber has been arrested. >> a charity event in virginia turned x rated when a city official took the stage. doug comes back with our forecast. thank you very much. i appreciate it. and i really am sorry. if i ever get back on my feet again, sir, i'll bring it back. >> police say they have arrested the man who's believed to be the so-called polite robber. the surveillance video shows the guy robbing a seattle convenience store of $300 last saturday. he said he had bills to pay and children to feed. police arrested him near that store. they say it was not his first time. they say the guy they picked up has convictions for armed robbery and for forgery. a woman in her 70s fended off a group of robbers and said she would do it again. she noticed a rowdy group. she told police she thought a boy was being beaten up and that's when her motherly instincts kicked in. she ran up and started swinging her purse at the group. she said when she realized they were robbers, she just kept on swinging. four of those six robbers were arrested. watch out for her. >> yeah. so we've got colder weather coming in? >> it's going to be kolgd out there. blowing in on those 40-mile-an-hour winds. we talked about the change from yesterday as we get a high near 50, and then today windchills of 25. cut it right in half. i'll tell you what, we're not going to see much warmer temperatures until the end of the week. outside right now, we are on the cold side. a few clouds from time to time. even a couple of flurries today as the winds have really been gusting out of the northwest about 30 to 40 miles per hour. from time to time. high temperature today was 40 degrees. that was at 3:45 this morning. yesterday we told you the temperatures would be falling all day, and that's what they've been doing. winds out of the northwest at 16 miles an hour. that gives us a windchill of 24 degrees. a very cool evening out there. you definitely needed the coats across the area. 24 currently in hagerstown. 33 in quantico. waldorf coming in around 33 degrees as well. watch what happens when you add in the winds. 31-mile-an-hour wind gusts in quantico. that gives you the windchills that are in the teens right now. even the single digits. 13 in frederick. 9 in hagerstown. leonardtown coming in with a windchill of 24. a very cold evening. that cold air is going to stick around. but what's not going to stick around are the winds. very good news. say good-bye to the winds. they will be pushing off to the north and east. the cold air remains as high pressure trying to settle on in here. the storm passes down to our south and east. that could bring light snow, overnight winds tonight and early thursday morning for areas south of the d.c. area, south of the beltway for the most part, then that storm moves on out of here. thursday we see plenty of sunshine. i think we'll see an increasing amount of clouds tomorrow. then tomorrow night a little bit in the way of a storm. on thursday, we're talking about more sun. we're not talking about a big storm. let's time it out for you on our futurecast taking you through tomorrow night. this is tomorrow night at 2:00 a.m. look at the snow coming right up into the washington, d.c. area around fairfax county and points to the south and east. this is overnight, as most of us are sleeping. by 7:00, it's well down to our south and east, towards leonardtown. watch out in this area, you could actually see some light accumulation. maybe a light dusting. but the rest of us, that's about it. if you're north of washington, you're not seeing anything at all from this system as it continues to move on out. we're going to watch this very closely. if it does try to inch further to the north, we could be talking about a little more snow. but it's not going to be a big deal any way you look at it. tonight, partly cloudy, this evening, continued windy and cold. 29 to 35 degrees. winds out of the northwest at 15 to 25 miles an hour. gusts to 35. through probably around 8:00. then we'll start to see the winds begin to die down. tomorrow morning, a cold start. 13 to 20 degrees. winds out of the west at 5 to 10 miles an hour. even a wind at 5 miles an hour with a 13-degree temperature will put that windchill in the single digits. tomorrow, increasing clouds. light winds, 34 to 37 degrees. winds out of the southwest at 7 to 15. high of 35 degrees on thursday. then we start to get into what i think could be a nice stretch. 43 on friday with sunshine. 45 on saturday with some sunshine. a little bit on the windy side saturday. and then does look like we should get in the 50s sunday and monday. staying nice into the day on tuesday, with more sunshine there. we're entering a dry patter, in what looks like the next week to two weeks temperatures at or maybe a little above average, which is an extended period that we have not seen this winter at all. >> it will be welcome. >> it sure will. >> the term nice stretch. sounds pretty good after what we've been through. after the last winter storm, tens of thousands of us were left in the dark and cold. some for days. today maryland lawmakers grilled pepco on the company's response, asking why it took so long to restore electricity to all the customers. jane watrel has more from annapolis. >> reporter: pepco's ceo made it clear before a packed room at the maryland state legislature, the january 26th power outage was unacceptable and apologized. >> i'm accountable for the performance of this company. i care about pepco, and our customers. getting and keeping the lights on is personal to me. as i mentioned, i see this had as defining my legacy as ceo. >> reporter: 220,000 residents lost power during the ice and snowstorm. some for days. 180,000 of them were pepco customers. the ceo has pledged to spend $256 million over the next five years on improvements. while lawmakers were cordial, they also had pointed questions. >> what's going on? what is the problem with the equipment that we keep having frequent outages, be it in bad weather, or good weather? >> at the core of our problem, we have old infrastructure. we've been spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year over the last ten years, but we haven't spent enough. >> reporter: it admits it needs to do a better job of communicating with its customers. >> we'll look at all of our communications and restoration processes and doing a top-down review to find areas we can improve in that. we know we need to engage in more training of our customer -- everyone who communicates with customers to ensure those interactions work best. >> reporter: pepco's ceo says he knows that the customers are frustrated. and there will be a top-to-bottom review on how the power company handled the january 26th ice storm and its aftermath. in annapolis, jane watrel, news4. coming up tonight, the hawk that was trapped in the library of congress finally is out in the wild. bmw inspectors are looking into the death of a d.c. lobbyist. some students say they were kicked, punched and coached by their first grade teacher. this is chris gordon in annapolis. same-sex marriage, will maryland join the district of columbia, and a half a dozen other states that have legalized it. i'll have a report ahead. coming up in sports, the capitals prepare for the best in the west at verizon center tonight. the cavaliers, the new kings of nba futility. the maryland terps, glad they're preparing for a game and not more a government report has been released on the massive recall of toyota automobiles recently. nasa engineers found that there were no electronic flaws in the toyota cars. that were capable of causing high-speed accelerations. they found that loose floor mats could jam the gas pedal, which would cause the cars to speed up. new statistics coming out about gun registration in the district. sales among those living in wealthy and safer neighborhoods outnumber those in high crime areas. more than 1,400 firearms have been registered in the city since 2008. some parents in montgomery county are furious after learning that a first grade teacher may have choked, kicked and punched several young students. >> her name is susan burke. she was arrested today. she's been on a