back toward leesburg. 57 in manassas. 60 in la plata. 61 in fredericksburg and we'll continue to see these numbers stay right around this area right on through the rest of the evening tonight. they may even go up a little bit. storm 4 doppler radar nothing to show you around the immediate area but a few showers making their way in toward western maryland and the portions of west virginia, too. watch out for those. mostly light showers but as we widen out here there is another big storm back to the west. chicago expecting 4 to 8 inches of snow and that cold front making its way our way. we are going to feel the changes. when you wake up tomorrow morning, you are in for a big surprise. at least your body is as temperatures will be plummeting as we move through the rest of the night. i'll have the complete forecast coming up and show you exactly what you can expect. jim? >> we'll see you then, doug. thank you. an elementary school in southeast washington was locked down today for several hours after a series of shootings right outside the school. three teenagers were shot within a few blocks of each other in

the vicinity of martin luther king jr. elementary school. news 4's derrick ward is live on the scene with details. >> reporter: if you look behind me beyond that fence there is a playground, some basketball fields, and larger field on the other side and it's bor ae's bo an elementary school and recreation center. it was part of a vast crime scene that stemmed from that triple shooting earlier this morning. it was around 9:30 this morning. the school day had just gotten under way. then gun fire. police say an officer passing by heard the first volley. >> we did find one victim immediately. >> reporter: then more gun fire resulting in more crime scenes on wheeler hill road and 4th street police encountered them. >> two different groups were pursued by officers and we have a total of three victims, two shot in the leg. one shot elsewhere in the body. >> reporter: that is believed to be the most seriously injured of the victims with an abdominal

wound. a brief pursuit led to the apprehension of two people whom police have not yet named a suspect. >> we have recovered at least one weapon. >> reporter: and mayor gray called the crime and where it happened an absolute outrage. >> especially shooting in front of an elementary school, you know, some of these kids could have been harmed. obviously psychologically this has an impact. >> reporter: parents and guardians were upset with the proximity to young ones as were authorities. >> regardless of what was behind somebody pulling out a gun to shoot at another person to do it in front of a school this time of the morning? >> reporter: now police have not released the names of the victims. however, the investigation does continue. coming up on news 4 at 6:00 we will talk to some parents whose children were safe but still caught in the middle of all of this. we're live in southeast. now back to you. >> all right. thank you. we'll see you once again at 6:00 tonight. police say speed and wet roads may have caused a deadly wreck on the beltway that happened late last night on the outer loop near 355 and

montgomery county. investigators say a toyota corolla struck a guard rail on a curved part of the road crashing into a concrete barrier wall and killing the driver. he is identified as 43-year-old dung fan of sterling, virginia. police say alcohol was not a factor in the crash and no one else was injured. fairfax county's jeb stewart high school is one of the most diverse schools in the country but this week students there have come together to deal with a tragic situation. a classmate was killed and they're all pitching in to help his family. julie joins from us the newsroom to tell us all about this. >> reporter: students started 2012 with terrible news. a long-time classmate had been killed in a car accident. carlos hernandez was riding in a car police believe had been speeding. its driver possibly drunk. but students had channeled their shock and grief into action to help the victim's family lay their teenage son to rest. it all started with this t-shirt bearing the picture of 18-year-old carlos hernandez.

long-time friend alec ross wore it to a candlelight vigil. it quickly filled with signatures from dozens of jeb stuart high schoolers. the students also learned carlos hernandez' family couldn't afford to hold services or bury their loved one. >> that's where i got my idea to make shirts and help the family pay for a funeral or hospital expenses, whatever they need help with. >> reporter: carlos hernandez died on january 6th four days after the car he was riding in lost control along graham road and plowed into this tree. today detectives gathered more evidence in their investigation. police say hernandez wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car. the news stunned the jeb stuart class of 2012 even though hernandez left the school last year earning his ged. >> we've known him since middle school. he was never, never sad. he was always happy. he always kept a good, positive energy. >> reporter: now students have thrown their energy into a fund raising drive. at school they set up every day in the lunch room collecting cash, selling t-shirts, holding

bake sales. >> today at the varsity game we'll have donuts, cookies, and brownies. >> reporter: an online website is also being used to collect contributions. >> we are hoping this helps at least for the funeral, donation for his family. whatever his mom needs. >> his family needs help. like any change that you have, any -- like if you go into your couch and find change, anything, just come and donate. >> so far students have come up with about a thousand dollars in change and t-shirt proceeds. another $2500 has been raised online. school staffers are impressed. >> sometimes we, you know, we under estimate what kind of things that young adults like this can do. and they've just all pulled together and they pulled together as a community here at stuart and also the community here in falls church. they managed to pull everybody together to support the family. >> reporter: the students will end their fund drive tomorrow and present a check to carlos hernandez' parents. coming up at 6:00 a closer look at the hard lessons learned by

his classmates because of the accident. back to you now. >> great to see them all come together. we'll see you once again at 6:00 with the story. there is a koefgs video that appears to show four american marines urinating on three dead taliban militants. today defense secretary leon panetta condemned the behavior depicted in the video and ordered an immediate investigation and promised to take action against those responsible. nbc chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski -- always get tripped up on that name -- joins us from the pentagon with the latest on this. mick, do they know who these guys are? [ no audio ] >> well, alas, he can hear us. we cannot hear you, mick. we'll have more on that in a minute as soon as we correct that audio. our apologies.

now to decision 2012 and the republican race for the white house. today the gop candidates are in south carolina, site of the next key primary. it could turn out to be the final battleground for some of the presidential hopefuls. despite mitt romney's convincing win in new hampshire, a new south carolina poll shows he is in a dead heat for first place with newt gingrich. rick santorum and ron paul are running neck and neck for third spot on the poll followed by jon huntsman and rick perry. >> one of the reasons we're here in south carolina is because we don't quit. we've got the heart of the warrior. >> south carolina voters go to the polls on january 21st. while republicans settle on a nominee president obama's supporters are forking over big bucks. the president's re-election campaign and the democratic party generated $68 million over the past three months for his campaign. that brings the total raise last

year to $220 million. conservative republican delegate bob marshal is throwing his hat into the virginia senate race and says he will file paperwork to enter that race next week. he has already created his own campaign organization in virginia. marshall enters a crowded field including former governor george allen who is trying to win back the seat that he lost six years ago to democrat jim webb. marshall lost the gop nomination in 2008 so former governor jim gilmore. metro's board of directors met today to discuss the general manager's new budget proposal which along with fare hikes would mean more employees. according to "the washington post" the proposal will add 1,000 new workers. that would bring metro's total staff to more than 12,000. the big issue at hand for metro's board members is the proposed 5% increase in bus and rail fares. >> costs go up. the demands on the system in order to plain tain maintain it,

change and it has to be paid for. there will be public hearings and discussions before metro's board can vote on any of the proposed fare hikes. the earliest the increases could go into effect is july. we'll head back to the pentagon and jim miklaszewski. we were talking about that controversial video, mick, that has outraged a lot of people, marines apparently urinating on the corpses of taliban militants. do we know who these marines are? [ no audio ] >> all right. we just can't seem to fix that. but we will so please stay tuned because we do want to hear more from mick about that story. meanwhile we'll regroup and when we come right back a whole lot more on news 4 tonight. a baby discovered alone at the occupy d.c. camp. her father has been arrested and

is telling his story of what happened. a couple is charged with using drywall to barricade their daughters inside a room. we'll hear about their fate. plus an announcement today that seven area grocery stores will shut down. stay with us.

the prince william county parents who barricaded their children behind some drywall were in court for sentencing today. john robby got three years' probation and a three-year prison sentence but the judge then suspended that jail time. christina moore will be sentenced in may. the couple was accused of nailing a five-foot-high sheet of drywall in a bedroom doorway to keep their young daughters from getting out. the girls were 1, 2, and 4 years old at the time. the couple said they did it because they needed a break. they pled guilty to child abuse and neglect charges back in october. a man accused of leaving a baby alone in the occupy d.c. camp pleaded not guilty in court today. samuel mac says he was getting food for the little girl and left her with another person.

we're outside d.c. superior court with more. >> reporter: wendy, 39-year-old samuel mac has been charged with attempted second-degree cruelty to children. u.s. park police say he abandoned his 13-month-old baby girl yesterday morning in the cold and rain in a tent at the occupy d.c. encampment in mcpherson square. samuel mac stood quietly in court number 119 of the d.c. superior court today. his head was down as magistrate judge wingo read the misdemeanor charge. the judge called his actions neglectful. this woman says she called police yesterday morning after she found 13-month-old dejay crying alone in a tent. >> her hands were like popsicles. >> reporter: these images are exclusive to news 4. u.s. park police say d.j. was left in dangerous conditions at the occupy d.c. encampment. >> in the mid 40s, a light rain in the district of columbia, and an unattended 13-month-old who is dressed in just a onesee.

>> child protective services arrived and took the baby into their care. according to court documents the child had been left alone 30 minutes before being discovered. police then say it was 40 more minutes before mac returned to the tent. the paperwork states he told police he left the child in the care of a man named shawn garnet in order to go get food for the baby. however, police say mac returned empty handed and they found no sign of a so-called shawn garnet. today magistrate jung wingo ordered mac to stay away from d.j., mcpherson square, and surrounding streets. he has been released on personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to return to court next month. meanwhile, protesters say they had never seen mac before much less the baby. we're live tonight outside the d.c. superior court. news 4. back to you. >> where's the baby now? do we know? >> reporter: the baby is still

in the care of child protective services and when we spoke to them they said they're going to look for other family members to see if the baby might be able to go with one of them. if that is not an option, then the baby will wind up going into foster care. >> all right. thanks. cute little baby. >> yes. >> pretty nice temperatures today but get ready. hold on. we'll take another big tumble tonight. >> and somebody said, you know, this is just really weird weech. we saw snow the other day. near 60 today. tomorrow morning a wind chill of about 25. >> no. >> what do you think of that? all right. i love the weather rollercoaster. we're on it. a lot of you, who is excited for the cold air? a lot of you say bring on the cold air as long as it comes with snow. we still haven't seen much in the way of snow this season and this is not going to be the exception. we are not going to see much in the way of snow at all as this cold front moves on in there. but yes there is a chance, a little one. 55 degrees the current

temperature outside. nice and mild today with plenty of sunshine. it was really just another spectacular winter day. it feels like april in the month of january. we've seen a very warm december and january and that streak looks like it's about to come to an end. winds out of the south right now at 8 miles per hour. temperatures may actually go up a couple more degrees before we -- it's all said and done with before we see the temperatures cool down. 61 right now at fredericksburg. 58 la plata. 50 patuxent river. cool along the chesapeake because of the water. 49 degrees in annapolis. as we widen out here you can really see the disparity between the warm air ahead of the system and the cold, frigid, arctic air behind it. here we are at 55. cincinnati is at 34. st. louis is at 17 degrees right now. you can see that arctic plunge making its way down across the region and we will notice that plunge during the day tomorrow. as a matter of fact, by the time you wake up tomorrow you are going to notice it big time. storm 4 doppler radar also showing the massive storm system. here is the storm we saw last

night bringing all of that rain even some thunder associated with it last night. this another storm right on its heels. chicago under a winter storm warning. 4 to 8 inches of snow for the chicagoland area. for us, i think we are going to get a couple showers out of this as the frontal boundary makes its way across our region. here is that front. you can see a couple showers and thunderstorms out ahead of that too trying to make its way in through our area overnight tonight. so very warm out ahead of this. here is the cold front. and notice the rain changing to snow here on the back side. yes, it could happen in parts of our area but that would be well to the north and west of washington and i don't think it's going to last long enough to become a big deal. we could see some icy spots. around hagerstown, maybe frederick and martinsburg and portions of winchester would be the areas along i-70 and i-81. windy and cold tomorrow and not just cold. we're talking about winds gusting to 40 miles per hour and that'll keep our wind chills in the 30s and upper 20s all day

long. on your friday it's going to stay cold for the weekend too. get ready to bundle up over the next couple days. we haven't had to do it a whole lot. you have to do it this weekend. clouds on the increase this evening becoming breezy. nice and warm 53 to 58 degrees. but here is where we change things. overnight tonight we're really going to flip a switch. the winds will pick up. wind chills by tomorrow morning will be in the 20s. all across the area. 31 to about 34 degrees with winds gusting to 25 miles an hour early. tomorrow afternoon mostly cloudy. windy and cold. wind chills in the upper 20s to around 30 all day long with those winds gusting to near 40 miles per hour. it does look like we stay on the chilly side. 36 on saturday. 35 on sunday. 40 for a high coming up on monday. most of you though will stay in the 30s even monday, too. so we've got cold air coming in and it is probably going to feel like the coldest stretch we've seen this season. >> okay. >> thank you, doug. still to come a spike in crime in upper northwest d.c. there have been several armed robberies as people are arriving home from work. >> plus d.c. drivers owe the

district tens of millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets. if you're one of those offenders you can wipe the slate clean without paying late fees. wizards tickets for a buck. a lot of fans say they're going to the games for rock bottom prices.

who thought we'd hear this. tickets to a wizards game are cheaper than a gallon of gasoline. stub hub.com has tickets to the wizards games for next to nothing. right now the team is ranked last in the league with a 1-9 record. the next game is at the verizon center against the philadelphia 76ers on saturday. ticket prices start at five bucks on stub hub and tickets start at $3 for the home game against the houston rockets on monday. some fans have bragged about buying tickets for less than a buck. maryland public schools have been ranked number one in the nation again. education week gave the state an overall grade of b plus in its annual report. maryland got especially high praise for the early education programs and for its college prep for high school students. it's the fourth year in a row maryland has topped the list when it comes to public ed. close behind with a b average virginia, new york, and massachusetts. the district of columbia was given a c minus. the former barnes and noble

store in georgetown will become a nike shoe store. barnes and noble closed last month. no word on how soon nike will open at the northwest location. the building's owner also manages and coowns the shops in georgetown park. right now the majority of that building store fronts are empty. a spokes person told the georgetown current that the company is not renewing leases as they expire. and that they're emptying the mall in preparation for, quote, redevelopment. after an eight-year hiatus the martin luther king day parade is back. boxing champ lamont peterson will be one of the grand marshals and joined by local civil rights leaders and district dignitaries. the parade begins 8:30 monday. starts at the friendship public charter school in southeast, marches down martin luther king junior avenue to leckie elementary school. organizers say they are happy to be restoring the d.c. tradition. today marks the two-year anniversary of the terrible earthquake in haiti. that quake had a magnitude of 7

and devastated the haitian capital. more than 220,000 people were killed, nearly 2 million people left homeless. many of them are still living in tent camps or on the streets. the presidential palace also remains in ruins. more than $1 billion in aid was raised but many haitians say they haven't received any help. haitian officials say a deadly cholera epidemic after the quake complicated the recovery effort. still ahead an ominous announcement. seven northern virginia grocery stores shutting down leaving hundreds of workers without jobs. imagine what it's like. you're walking home. all of a sudden a guy comes out of nowhere, puts a gun in your face and says, give me what you got. city robbery victims telling their story coming up. news 4. and if you've been avoiding paying a d.c. parking ticket the city is offering you a deal now. what you need to do to wipe the slate clean.

a school in southeast was locked down for hours today after three shootings in the area. three teenagers were injured in shootings within blocks of the martin luther king elementary school. one of them was taken to a hospital. two people were taken in for questioning. >> students at one of the area's most diverse high schools are coming together to help the family of a former classmate raising money for his funeral expenses. former j.e.b. stuart high

schooler carlos hernandez died january 6th killed in a car accident. students are organizing several fundraisers to help raise monday foir his family. on wall street stocks made minor gains as investors received several weak economic reports today. the dow was up 21. the s&p 500 closed three poins higher. let's get to the latest on our weather from doug. big changes. >> i would call them huge changes. we use that word a lot as far as changes are concerned but this is going to be a huge change as temperatures out there right now inju are mid 50s close to 60 and tomorrow morning a 30-degree temperature drop. storm 4 doppler radar right now showing shower activity in through west virginia, hampshire county over toward jefferson county to the west of martinsburg. also watch this. we pan out here. there are thunderstorms right now into western portions of west virginia and snow just to the west of that. lexington, kentucky reporting 28 degrees with moderate snow and,

hey, that cold air is going our way. yay. >> don't get too excited, doug. >> there have been a rash of armed street robberies since the year began and the incidents have striking similarities. so far police tell us the armed robbers have struck seven times. they operate in neighborhoods south of western avenue down to warren street and between wisconsin avenue east to connecticut. pat collins is live in northwest where victims are speaking out tonight. pat? >> jim, two stories from two of the robbery victims. we shielded their identities. we began with a woman who was robbed down on warren street. >> i was terrified. my first thought was that i was going to be raped or killed.

>> this is the story of a woman we call ann. she is 23 years old. it was sunday night about 6:30. she was coming home from the grocery store and had a bag in each hand. she was walking down this alley. this is where she was jumped. this is where she was attacked. this is where she was robbed. >> he had me in a choke hold and when i kind of screamed out and in surprise, he had a partner who put a gun in my face and told me to be quiet. the fellow with the gun grabbed my purse off my arm, told me to let go of it. >> we now hear from a woman that we call charlotte. another victim. she was robbed tuesday night on livingston street right across from the playground. it was around 9:00 at night. she was on her way home. the gunman jumps from behind a bush. she startled and she ends up on

the ground. >> he kind of came up close and yelled, you know, don't move and give me everything you have. give me everything you got. so i gave him my brief case. >> scared? >> yes. >> reporter: terrified? >> yes. scared and terrified. but, you know, lucky at the same time. >> reporter: since the first of the year there have been seven similar armed street robberies in the second police district. they usually involve two suspects armed with a gun. they strike between six and 10:00 p.m. and they steal cell phones to keep victims from calling the cops. commander michael reese is in charge of the district. >> we have increased our uniform patrol and our tactical deployment. we are in constant communication with other bordering patrol districts as well as montgomery county. >> reporter: and you're doing things you can't tell us about. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: now the armed

robbery problem not just limited to the second district. in the fourth district take a look at these numbers. since the first of the year, 14 armed robberies and two carjackings. cops had their hands full in the fourth district as well. jim, back to you. >> all right. pat collins, thank you. now to the controversy surrounding a video that appears to show four marines desecrating corpses of three taliban militants. the video has gone viral on youtube. it appears to show the marines urinating on the corpses. defense secretary leon panetta has ordered an investigation and tonight pentagon officials say they know the soldiers in that video. they were marines from camp lejeune, north carolina, who returned from deployment last fall. the response from the state department to the white house has been quite strong. >> it is absolutely inconsistent with american values, with the standards of behavior that we expect from our military

personnel. >> the person or people who held the camera can also be charged because the photos of the -- photos of corpses are banned. the timing of the video is not good. u.s. forces and diplomats are stepping up efforts to cut a peace deal with the taliban and today the taliban responded to this saying it proves that americans are, quote, wild and inhumane. a sweeping announcement today from a grocery store parent company, 113 under performing stores will shut down and thousands of employees will lose their jobs. many of those jobs will be in northern virginia. the stores affected are all food lion, bloom, and bottom dollar stores. on the chopping block in northern virginia are six bloom stores. they come in herndon, ashburn, fairfax, annandale, and leesburg. also the bloom store in alexandria on richmond highway will be closed. 42 bloom and bottom dollar stores in virginia and maryland will become food lines. those conversions will begin

immediately. the affected stores will close within 30 days. the company tells us 4900 workers will lose their jobs. tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the air florida crash. tonight on news 4 at 11:00 we are going to look back on that awful day. we were in the midst of an incredible snowstorm when an air florida 737 took off from national airport and stalled at lift off. coming down on the 14th street bridge and then plunging into the frozen potomac river. five passengers came to the surface touching off an extraordinary rescue. >> the only thing you can do is just go out there so i kept running and jumped in the river. watch my story tonight on news 4 at 11:00. air florida 30 years later a retrospective of what went wrong and what some ordinary people did on that day. when we come right back on news 4 at 5:00 tonight

mississippi giver haley barbour issues controversial pardons for more than a hundred convicted criminals. among them four convicted killers who served, were serving their work release inside the governor's mansion. identifying a life threatening condition before it's too late. coming up the screening that drasticall i want a baby.

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more than 160,000 people die from strokes every year. >> but many of those deaths can be prevented if people can just get screened. doreen gentzler joins us with more on what you can do to prevent a stroke. >> hi, wendy and jim. strokes happen when there is a sudden interruption in the blood supply to the brain. it's usually caused by a blocked artery, something that is very preventible in most cases. that's why getting screened for things like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes is so important. >> i just was feeling a sense that i never had before. and i just couldn't control myself. >> reporter: 78-year-old willy says the symptoms came on suddenly, blurry vision and weakness. the northeast washington man didn't think too much about it but his family urged him to go to the hospital. >> i wasn't worried because i was one of those guys that

really loved the lord and was trusting him. >> reporter: but sure enough doctors here at providence hospital found something very wrong. he was asking a stroke. >> he had strokes on the right side of the brain that deals with motor and sensory that affects the arm and face. hold your hands up like this for me. >> reporter: providence hospital neurologist says the stroke was caused by blocked arteries in his brain. the result of high cholesterol and hypertension, two risk factors that could have been treated early if he had just been tested. >> anybody over 50 that have family members at risk, and, you know, family members with risk factors of these things don't even know about them themselves and should be screened for it. >> reporter: besides high blood pressure and high cholesterol he says other risk factors can

include diabetes, obesity, tobacco use, and living a sedentary lifestyle. by screening and treating those risk factors studies show up to 80% of strokes can be prevented. >> as far as i'm concerned it's vitally important. you feel bad and you want to get to the doctor as soon as you can. >> he didn't get to the hospital in time to get stroke reversing medication. that has to be given within three hours of the stroke. but doctors gave him other types of treatment including blood thinners and blood pressure drugs. >> he is more or less recovered from his stroke. he's doing great. >> now i can -- i'm in control. i know what i'm doing. >> you can get screened for stroke this weekend at the nbc 4 health and fitness expo. that'll happen this saturday and sunday. you can join us from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the washington convention center. admission is free. there are so many people out there who don't want to go to the doctor.

they think they feel fine or maybe they don't know if health insurance will cover it or maybe they don't have health insurance. this is a really easy way to find out. come join us early in the morning. get a quick blood pressure check, cholesterol test, screening for diabetes and find out. maybe you don't need stroke prevention measures but maybe something simple like a small lifestyle change or blood pressure or cholesterol could save your life this weekend. >> a lot of the results come back on the spot. >> and it's free. you can't beat that. still to come got any d.c. parking tickets just sitting there waiting for you to pay them? time to wipe the slate clean. you can clear your record without paying any of the late fees. >> in sports george mason off to another fast start on the court thanks in part to the new man leading the way. we'll introduce you to thei

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if you owe a bunch of overdue parking tickets to the district as many of us do you are running out of time to take advantage after limited amnesty program. already it's brought in millions of bucks but the six-month program ends in two weeks. tom sherwood joins us to tell us what you need to do. >> we all hate parking tickets. i may have some of yours right here. if you've got really old ones sitting around this is a good time to pay them off. d.c. writes millions of parking tickets for millions of dollars every year. but a lot of them don't get paid even though they double in penalty after a few weeks. many people just don't like the city's aggressiveness. >> i'm not too happy about the parking ticket situation. >> now b 2 at window number four. >> reporter: now a six-month amnesty program in which you pay the face value of any ticket written before january, 2010, but not any penalties, is ending in two weeks, january 27th. some are rushing to pay

thousands in back tickets. how much did you owe in tickets? >> try 3,000. >> reporter: the d.c. dmv even alerted people already referred to collection agencies. >> they sent out about 108,000 notices to individuals alerting them that they have tickets with their collection agency that's eligible for ticket amnesty. >> reporter: it's a lot of money involved. $233 million without the added penalties and suburban d.c. drivers owe the most. maryland, 1.7 million outstanding tickets worth $88 million to the city. virginia, 1.1 million tickets worth $53 million to the city. d.c. motorists 795 million tickets worth $40 million. all other jurisdictions combined to account for another million tickets valued at $51 million. amnesty would help. >> it allows for all tickets

issued prior to january the 1st of 2010 whether parking, moving, or photo, you'll have the penalty waived. and if you have a $500 ticket that's $250 that you don't have to pay. that is significant savings. >> reporter: motorists can pay at dmv offices, by telephone, or on their computers. again, the d.c. ticket amnesty ends january 27th and it doesn't happen often. the last one was ten years ago, wendy, so pay up. >> wow. all right. thank you, tom. we've been warned. >> a lot of dough. you want to park in the parking garage the next couple days. it is going to be very cold out there, doug. >> it is going to be really cold out there. a lot of you will be turning on the heat overnight tonight. maybe even the air conditioner some of you this afternoon down to the 60s with a lot of sunshine. tonight definitely the heaters. 55 is the current temperature. still on the mild side but watch what happens. storm 4 doppler radar shows a few showers trying to make their way into our area right now but that is just the leading edge of what is going to be our storm

system. you can see all of the snow into portions of kentucky, even some chances for thunder snow into eastern kentucky. for us, though, there will be rain and then a very brief switch over to snow in some areas mostly to the north and west. temperatures are going to be the big factor. these are the wind chills for tomorrow morning. down to 27 in washington by early tomorrow morning. this is 9:00. 23 in leesburg. 21 in frederick, maryland and manassas down toward prince william county coming in with a wind chill tomorrow of 24 degrees. guys, temperatures are about to go down. >> nice. >> big time. in a big way. thank you, doug. so george mason has a new basketball coach. >> they do and they're doing well. the ironic thing is when the college basketball season started it looked like we were going to get shut out in the d.c. area. not a single team was predicted to make the ncaa tournament. now multiple teams could be playing during march madness, mason leading their conference and seemingly hasn't missed a beat even with the departure of

jim larinaga. we take a look at where mason has been and where they're going. >> americans love the underdog. in march of 2006 they found one in george mason university's basketball program. >> three to go. a three. no good! by george, the dream is alive. >> the final four run gave us tremendous visibility and gave us tremendous opportunities to fund raise our applications were up for admissions. just the visibility of the -- to be able to tell a story how great a university is. >> against all odds jim led patriots' march through the ncaa tournament with reckless abandonment. known as much for just being a good guy as a winner on the court his legacy was never in question. just how long the green and gold would be able to keep one of the hottest coaches in the country was not as cut and dry. >> well you always want to keep good people whether it be the basketball coach or any coach or

any administrator and you want to make them feel really well personally and professionally. but you also know that sometimes success brings other things and you have to deal with that. >> reporter: on april 22nd, 2011, he took his talents to the big leagues accepting a job at the university of miami. >> i can tell you right away i am very excited to be here. no question about that. >> i didn't understand at first. but once we sat down and talked about it as a team with all the coaches before they left, i kind of understood why there was a change that he needed to make. >> reporter: the kind of news that derails many programs but it didn't take long for the athletic director to find a candidate with his own tradition of winning. enter paul huet. >> we wanted somebody with a sense of community who could fit into the community, coach basketball, and could relate to the players. and that came screaming off the page right away.

>> huet was the head coach at georgia tech for 11 seasons where he racked up almost 200 wins and scripted a final 4 trip of his own. but after a few chaotic seasons in under performing teams he was let go. >> very few of us are fortunate to end on their own terms but obviously tom o'connor and dr. meriten thought enough of me to offer me the opportunity here and i was very thankful for the opportunity. >> reporter: it is still early but if first impressions are worth anything hewitt may have been the perfect fit. >> i knew who he was and knew he had lots of success in the past. i was excited that we got such a high caliber coach. >> with the fast start the team is off to only the sky is the limit. >> when things continue to get better and better and they still are. i never had any doubt. i knew a new system, we were young at the same time, it was going to take a while to get adjusted to. once we settled in it would be good success. it's working out. >> i am very familiar with the area. back in 1985, i lived here for a short period of time and really

enjoyed my time here and my wife loves the area so we're looking forward to making our home here and staying here for a very long time. >> news 4 sports. you can already tell coach huet a very smart man. make your wife happy when here in town and your life as whole lot easier. >> it's zwlau ae's just that si. >> if only we all actual di that. >> hi, jim. coming up tonight at 6:00 more fallout from the harry thomas jr. scandal. tonight a man accused of helping the former d.c. council member cover up the theft of government money is facing charges on his own. plus mitt romney's rivals taking aim at him now ahead of the south carolina primary. we'll tell you about a new survey that looked at some of the most outrageous excuses people came up with for being late to work. they should have heard ours. those stories and more in a couple of minutes.

>> thank you, jim. after the break on news 4 at 5:00 outrage after mississippi's governor pardons more than a hundred convicted criminals including more than 20 killers. coming up the families of crime victims speak out. and for all your news follow news 4 online. search nbc washington on facebook and twitter. we're coming right back.

and welcome back. over the past few days outrage has been building in mississippi over a controversial decision by former governor haley barbour. >> barbour pardoned hundreds of inmates as one of his last acts in office and 21 were convicted murderers. mark potter with the story. >> reporter: on his last days in office haley barbour the highly regarded mississippi governor ended up angering and confusing so many constituents. without explanation he granted pardons or early releases to a long list of more than 200

convicts including 21 murderers and many others serving time for violent crimes. >> pardoned means this individual can drive a school bus, go to law school and get a degree, move in next to you. >> reporter: among those granted pardons were five prison trustees who because of good behavior worngd ked at the governor's mansion in jackson. four were convicted murderers. among them david gatling sentenced to life plus 30 years for shooting to death his estranged wife tammy as she held her 6-week-old son and for also shooting her friend who survived. >> i cried at first. >> reporter: tiffany ellis brewer is tammy's sister and says her whole family is furious with barbour for releasing gatlin causing them to now live in fear. >> he is a cold, calculated murderer and why wouldn't he come back and finish what he start started? you know? being a trustee at the governor's mansion does not change a murderer. >> reporter: also among those

pardoned earnest favre the brother of retired nfl quarterback brett favre. earnest was convicted after drunk driving incident in which his friend was killed. in a written statement barbour's office said approximately 90% of those who received clemency were no longer in custody and a majority had been out for years but shortly afterward a mississippi judge issued an order blocking the release of any more prisoners and ordered the five trustees pardoned after working at the governor's mansion to appear at a hearing later this month. >> a slap in the face to me as a prosecutor for serving 20 years that we have to go back and try to round up all of these convicts that have been turned loose and try to fix the mess that he's created. >> well that is it for news 4 at 5:00. >> news 4 at 6:00 starts right now. three shootings in three

separate locations in the district have prompted a lockdown at a nearby elementary school. >> a father arrested for leaving his baby alone at the occupy d.c. camp. tonight he is in court to explain why. and opponents are sharpening their attacks against mitt romney more than a week before the south carolina primary. good evening. i'm doreen gentzler. >> i'm jim vance. deplorable, reprehensible, and unacceptable. those are the words being used to describe a video that appears to show four u.s. marines desecrating the corpses of taliban terrorists. steve handelsman is on capitol hill now with where investigators have already identified two of them. >> reporter: that only helps part of the way. you put something out on the internet it's out there forever. so even if the u.s. marine corps now has some or all of the so-called low level perps in this ugly case what they did is still being done.