of the face, saying it was intended to represent the change in the auto industry and new technologies. all right. stay with us. "news4 today" continues right now at 5:00 a.m. a murder investigation underway in maryland after a man is killed within blocks of police headquarters. plus, the days may be numbered for occupy protesters camping out at d.c.'s mcpherson square. good morning, everyone, i'm aaron gilchrest in for joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this friday, january 13. it's january 13, friday the 13th, 2012. >> is that ominous? >> some people think friday the 13th -- >> i don't buy into that. >> i don't either. my birthday's on a 13 so i like 13. the weather is ominous, right, tom? unlucky that way. it was near 60 yesterday afternoon. now temperatures are near

freezing in our viewing area. to the north and west, it's snowing. right now in northern montgomery county into frederick and washington counties in maryland, we've got cold rain falling right here in washington. look at the radar, there's a big area of snow that stretches to our north and way to our north and west, all the way up into michigan. here's the closeup view of the radar. we've got rain in the area in green and blue. in the district, southern montgomery county, prince george's county and southern fairfax. and into southern maryland. but where you see the white there, that is snow. northern montgomery county from near montgomeryvilleage north up into frederick carroll county and eastern washington county. a quick-moving area of snow that may be putting down a brief coating on grassy areas. it's melting on roadways. the air temperatures are too warm. hagerstown down to 32 now. martinsburg at 33. 32 in winchester down to stanton, virginia, in the upper teens now much of west virginia. 39 at reagan national. montgomery, arlington, fairfax

countys now dropping rapidly. we've got gusty winds. these are the latest wind gusts. we've had them gusting to nearly 40 miles per hour over the last couple of hours. sunrise, 7:26. the strong gusts of wind will be with us throughout the day with the sunshine in and out. cold temperatures hovering near 40. look at the evening planner in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? good morning. you've got to be careful. we have strong wind gusts, wet roadways, some areas possiy are going to slick over, especially on the bridge and ramps. you've got to slow down. a live camera on prince george's county, local roads look good. you can tell they are slick. give yourself extra time this morning. please slow down. traveling in montgomery county, this is a look at 16th street and east/west highway. again, light volume. no accidents to report at this time. but give yourself extra time. and if you're traveling along the dulles toll road, i'm not seeing any issues for you. and as you connect on to the beltway, beltway looks good in the area, as well. back to you both. >> thanks. new overnight, a murder in palmer park, maryland, blocks

from the prince george's county police headquarters. this happened in the 7700 block of bender road. police responded to a call for a shooting around 10:30 last night. when they got there, they found a male victim, took him to the hospital, and he died. police have not said if they have identified a shooter. demonstrators will occupy d.c. -- in occupy d.c. could be forced to move out of mcpherson square. news4's tracee wilkins has details. good morning. >> reporter: this is coming from the head of the city. the mayor saying there are serious issues with this camp behind me. he's citeding everything from a rat infestation to the possibility of disease spreading here as reasons to get these folks out of mcpherson square. the occupy d.c. protesters have been camped out at mcpherson since october. it's one of two camps, with the other being located at freedom plaza. in a letter to the national parks service dated yesterday, mayor vincent gray suggested mcpherson protesters move to freedom plaza where conditions are a little cleaner.

there's been a strong surge of rats in and around mcpherson square since this camp was set up. according to the associated press, a california u.s. representative has also expressed concern about the camp and questioned why the parks service has allowed the camp to stay here. a spokesman with the parks service says the protesters have a right to free speech, and it must be protected. so we don't know exactly what's going to happen here. obviously no one's packing up just yet. we'll have to wait and see what the national parks service is going to do in response to the mayor's request. i'm tracy will kiee wilkins liv northwest. back to you. >> thank you. this morning the pentagon in damage control mode after the release of a disturbing video showing some u.s. marines desecrating the bodies of dead afghans. the video shows four marines in full combat gear urinating on three dead militants. it was first posted on the internet. the pentagon has identified all four marines in that video. two of them are in custody at camp lejeune.

one may be back in afghanistan. secretary of state hillary clinton calls that video deplorable. >> absolutely inconsistent with american values, with the standards of behavior that we expect from our military personnel. >> nbc news has learned the pentagon tapped the same man who oversaw the repeal of don't ask, don't tell to lead the investigation into this incident. experts expect swift and strong punishment that could run up the chain of command. we could learn today which republican presidential candidates will appear on the ballot for virginia's primary. a federal judge in richmond is expected to rule on a lawsuit filed by texas governor rick perry. he filed the suit after failing to submit the 10,000 signatures required to appear on virginia's ballot. if perry wins his case, he along with newt gingrich, rick santorum, and jon huntsman could be put on the ballot. all of the candidates have their work cut out for them in hopes of catching mitt romney.

he has the biggest lead yet according to the latest tracking poll. he's well ahead of the field with 34% of the vote among registered republican voters. more than twice the percentage of republicans who favor rick santorum, who is in second place with 15% of the vote. newt gingrich is third with 14%. ron paul is behind him with 13%. rick perry and jon huntsman are bringing up the rear with 5% and 2% respectively. 5:06. for the first time in three years, teachers and staff in fairfax county public schools could be seeing bigger paychecks. superintendent jack dale introduced next year's budget last night. it includes a 9% increase in spending. most of that is aimed at hiring 700 new employees. most of them will be teachers. to help accommodate nearly 4,000 new students expected to enter the system next year. it would also unfreeze pay for current teachers and raise custodian salaries. >> i liked that they were going to try and compensate the teachers more. i know that they have been

waiting a long time and not getting some of the compensation that's due to them, and they work very hard. >> and summer school which had been cut in previous years would also return in limited form. maryland public schools celebrating this morning, as well, after being ranked number one in the nation for the fourth year in a row. education week gave the state an overall grade of b-plus in its annual report. maryland got especially high marks for its early education programs and for its college prep for high school students. virginia close behind with a b average along with new york and massachusetts. the district was given a c-minus. now 5:07. 37 degrees. remembering a tragic day. a look back at the air florida crash 30 years ago today. ready to learn his fate, what lies ahead for joran van der sloot for the murder of a woman in peru. plus, a cold, blustery start to your friday.

good morning. time for weather and traffic. mostly cloudy in storm center 4 early on this friday morning. getting a variety of precipitation where you see the green and blue in washington, prince george's county, calvert, anne arundel counties. the area in white is snow.

now snowing in northern montgomery county, western howard into carroll and frederick counties. coming in harder in carroll and frederick. fast-moving flurries. maybe a very light dusting on grassy areas in northern montgomery county into frederick and howard and carroll. steps still above freezing. so all -- temperatures still above freezing. so now south and east, dropping. and in the upper 30s in southern maryland where an hour ago it was in the 50s. these are the latest wind gusts. we've had them gusting to around 20 to 40 miles per hour. they could gust to 50 miles per hour later today with the sunshine out. it will be cold with highs only hovering to near 40 degrees. then down near freezing by midnight tonight. and the winds will diminish a bit tonight. look at a cold weekend and into next week in ten minutes. how's traffic? good morning. let's start out in maryland. have an accident, eastbound i-70 past route 27. your left lane is blocked by the accident there. if you're traveling in prince george's county, this time

southbound 210 prior to livingston road, that accident is in the process of being cleared but is blocking the right lane at this time. and on the rails, they're looking great. metro, marc, and vre aren't reporting delays at this time. i'm back in ten with another look at traffic. back to you. >> thank you, danella. 5:12. 37 degrees. ahead on "news4 today," the video is still stunning decades after this tragic moment in d.c. history. a look back at the air florida plane crash 30 years after the accident. and on a lighter note, hollywood's big night. just ahead, a look at what you can expect during the golden globes.

today mark 30 years since the tragic air florida plane crash. a plane hit the 14th street bridge just after taking off and

landed in the frozen potomac river. we have more on how this happened and the dramatic rescues that followed. melissa? good morning, aaron. it of course is very hard to look back and remember that day. the plane had been de-iced at national airport, but sat for an hour being taking off in the snowstorm. immediately the pilots knew there was a problem. just after takeoff, they careened into the 14th street bridge, smashing cars and killing four. then plummeted into the frozen potomac river. bystanders dove in to help the five survivors. there was no plane to be seen. 78 people had been killed. those survivors, as you see, were bobbing in the frigid potomac. helicopter pilot don usher and a medic using only a rope helped pull them to shore. >> it was only as we were doing the rescues and realized how big of an aircraft we were dealing with, and how few people were there that we started to understand the magnitude of what had occurred. >> reporter: now the air florida crash wasn't the only tragedy

that day. a half-hour after the crash, a metro train derailed during rush hour killing three passengers. coming up at 6:00, usher talks with news4 about one particular rescue. a rescue that almost didn't happen. aaron? >> thank you, melissa. and tonight, news4's wendy rieger will have more on the air florida crash. she spoke with the only photographer who captured those images of the rescue, chester panzer. you can see the report at 5:00. it's now 5:17 this morning. the obama administration and iran analysts believe iran's threats to close the strait that ships millions of barrels of oil in the middle east. "the new york times" reports the u.s. is using a secret channel of communication to warn iran's supreme leader that the u.s. would respond if iran closes the shipping route. the tension between the two countries has intensified in the past two weeks. the u.s. has sanctioned three companies connected to iran because of iran's nuclear

program. an alabama judge signed an order declaring natalee holloway legally dead. the girl's father filed a petition last summer to make the declaration, hoping it would bring closure for the family. her mother has said that she opposes the move but will not take legal action to stop it. natalee holloway was 18 when she was last seen during a senior trip to aruba in 2005. no one was ever charged in connection with her disappearance. and her body has never been found. the prime suspect in natalee holloway's disappearance will be sentenced for another woman's murder today. joran van der sloot pleaded guilty on wednesday to the 2010 murder in peru. family members of the victim plan to be in court for the sentencing. under guidelines the judge judges could sentence joran van der sloot as to many as 30 years in prison. today former presidential candidate john edwards could be at the center of a court hearing.

his lawyers asked to delay the trial because edwards is sick. they say he's been diagnosed with a serious medical condition but won't say what he is suffering from. edwards is charged with using campaign funds to hide his pregnant mistress. edwards has not -- has pled not guilty. the trial is scheduled to start january 30. this morning, we're learning disturbing details about some of mississippi governor haley barbo barbour's controversial pardons. legal experts say it appears many of the 200 pardon were put together in haste with missing information from the clemency warrants. some warrants did not include what the original sentence was or when the crime was committed. barbour has infewer mated many mississippi residents with his pardons of convicted criminals including murderers and other violent felons. the sister of one murder victim whose killer was pardoned calls the governor's actions reprehensible. >> as if nothing happened. as if my brother does not matter. as if the victims do not matter. >> a judge has blocked the

release of any more pardoned prisoners until barbour's pardon can be reviewed. meanwhile, democrats in mississippi are drafting legislation that would require the governor to consult with police and victims' families before pardoning violent criminals. time now this morning to look at our forecast. we've been dealing with some dropping temperatures and some precipitation today. a live look outside as traffic is starting to get going. tom kierein says you'll need, what, a coat? the big one today? >> yeah, the big puffy coat. and your mitt emittens and wint gear. yesterday, near 60. now we're talking snow and wind anduch colder weather this morning. that's a live view from our city camera. the winds have diminished a little bit since the front came through a couple of hours ago. when the front did come through, we had gusts to 40 miles per hour last hour. let's take a look now at the radar. and it is showing some snow, especially up into pennsylvania, western new york state, and then all the way into the midwest and around the great lakes.

closer to us, yes, it's been snowing in northern prince george's county -- rather, montgomery county into howard county. and now extreme northern prince george's and perhaps into anne arundel they're getting a few flurries. right here in southern montgomery county, perhaps here in northwest washington, getting a few flurries, too. this is moving very quickly as a result. any snow that's falling is really not accumulating much at all. maybe just a bit of brief dusting in frederick county into carroll county, meaning grassy areas. all the road temperatures are above freezing thankfully. and it is raining now throughout the rest of prince george's county into charles and calvert and st. mary's and across the bay. it's quickly exiting and going to be ending here around the metro area perhaps in about another 20 minutes, half-hour or so. still, getting flurries along interstate 270 and through much of northern montgomery county. western howard. that's going to continue for about another 20 minutes or so. right now, temperatures are continuing to drop. it's still above freezing, though. that snow that is falling most areas is melting on most surfaces.

39 at reagan national. low 30s now in montgomery county and prince george's and arlington and fairfax counties, the upper 30s. farther west, it's near or below freezing blue ridge west. and into the mountains, some locations there are down to the teens. these are the latest wind gusts. we've had the gusts diminishing a bit after they were near 40 miles per hour. they'll be diminishing eye little bit more for -- a little bit more for appropriations another hour or so and then stronger into the afternoon. we could have gusts of 50 miles per hour midday and afternoon. we'll have clouds racing through. only near 40 throughout much of the daylight hours. after sunset at 5:08, down into the 30s. near freezing by midnight. and tomorrow, well, it's going to be partly cloudy, blustery, and cold. near low 20s in the morning. afternoon highs only in the mid to upper 30s. even colder sunday morning, but lighter winds. some sunshine sunday, highs only in the mid 30s. martin luther king constitution day should be milder. still cold and lighter winds, maybe rain on tuesday. cold and dry after that. how's traffic? good morning.

a couple of accidents slowing you down this morning. first let's start with eastbound i-70 past route 27. the good news is, this accident is in the left shoulder. if you're making the commute in germanytown, an accident route 118, germantown road, citizens lane. the fire department on the scene there. if you're traveling along 395 at seminary road, as you're making your way northbound -- excuse me, soukd, this accident is in the right shoulder lane. northbound lanes not seeing any major congestion and no accident for you there. and along 270, you know, as tom mentioned, coming out of clarksburg, i am seeing flurries there. nothing sticking to the roadway. once you get around father hurley, you will see volume heading toward the spur. right now, are you accident free. now back to you both. >> thanks. this morning, actress heather locklear is waking up in the hospital. paramedic rushed locklear to the hospital yesterday after her sister called 911 for a medical emergency at locklear's house. no word on what caused that

emergency. heather locklear starred in "t.j. hooker," "dynasty," and "melrose place." this weekend, can watch the 69th annual golden globes awards here on nbc 4. ricky gervais will return as host. the awards show honors the year's best in film and television. also is seen as a preview for the academy awards. here some of the favorites -- george:y in "the descendants" and brad pit n "moneyball," committeeing for best actor in a drama. and meryl streep and viola davis in "the help." she was amazing. they're competing for best actress in a drama. watch the globes sunday on nbc 4. and guess what -- aaron and i -- i don't know if you like this -- we like to chat. we'll host a live webchat during the golden globes. for full disclosure, it is a school night for me. i can only do it for a little bit. aaron is going to watch the whole thing. we'll talk about best dressed, worst dressed, gossip --

>> it says we'll start at 7:00 on sunday night. join in the conversation. we'll get everybody's opinions about who wore what and which movies got slighted and which actors gave awful speeches, the whole nine yards. >> i love seeing what everyone wears. that's one of my favorite parts. >> 7:00 sunday night, nbcwashington.com. it was close but no cigar for the cavaliers in their bid to beat the hated duke blue devils. virginia missed two three-pointers in the closing seconds of the game. they fell to duke 61-58. the cavaliers haven't won at duke since 1995. the loss also snapped virginia's 12-game winning streak. uva 14-2 on the season. the cavs are off until next thursday when they will take on georgia tech in charlottesville. it has been an up and down year for the capitals. two players are being recognized for their all-star ability. captain alex ovechkin and defensi defensiveman dennis wideman have

been selected to play in this year's nhl all-star game. ove's fifth straight appearance at the exhibition which ties a franchise record. for wideman, it's his first trip to an all-star game. he's currently the fifth highest scoring defenseman in the league. the all-star festivities take place on january 26 through 29 in ottawa, canada. looking for a little fun activity this weekend but you don't feel like spending a lot of money? you are in luck. tickets to tomorrow's wizards game are just going for $5 on stub hub. that's cheaper than a movie ticket. you will have to watch the wizards. they're 1-9 now. they're struggling. but hey, they need the fan support. and they're taking on the first place philadelphia 76ers. and if $5 is more than you want to spend, tickets for monday's game are going for just $3. it's expensiving to to see the movies or niguel. >> you can go to the game. i haven't been to a wizards game. >> it's fun.

>> so much for the importance of a good head coach. >> apparently a lot of football fans think there's a little divine intervention going on with the nfl playoffs, especially when it comes to the denver broncos. according to a new survey, 43% of people think god is helping tim tebow and the broncos win. it appears that republicans have more faith in the tebow-god connection than democrats. 54.2 republicans surveyed say the man upstairs is helping the broncos. 38.2% of democrats think that's the case. >> praying before and after games and plays is nothing new. you remember, joe gibbs, who was the head coach, redskins, man of very strong devout faith. i think because tim tebow has the pose and it's become a percent of the story -- >> he's popular. >> right. we'll see. >> the question stands to reason and people's response, too. so who knows? >> all right. it's now 5:27. 37 degree. coming up, a little girl found abandoned at the occupy d.c. camp is waking up at home. what the girl's mother is

telling us about the ordeal. plus, he's more popular with voters than some of the gop candidates. why a presidential run could be (ringing) hello? this is the sea calling. the sea? yeah! (laughing) what's it like there? brrrrrrr! how do you deal with that? a coat, a hat. gloves. scraping ice off a car. (making scraping noises) i don't want to rub it in, but where i am, it's 82 and sunny. get me outta here! (laughing)

cold, windy, even snow near the d.c. area.

expect a shock to the system when you step outside your house this morning. plus, several republican presidential hopefuls are hoping today is the day that can get their names on virginia's primary ballot. good morning and welcome back to "news4 today," i'm eun yang. >> good morning, i'm aaron gilchrest in for joe krebs. welcome to "news4 today" on this friday, january 13. dun, dun, daaa -- >> you're not even superstitious -- >> i'm not. i wanted to give that to you. every any 13th in history has been followed by a saturday. >> get out of town! >> just putting it out there. whatever your superstitions are -- >> you are not the average bear, aaron gilchrest. i'll tell you right now. we'll get to the forecast, tom. >> good morning. we've had a wide variety of weather -- >> that's an understatement. >> around midnight in the 50s, now it's into the 30s, snow on the radar. we've got cold rain. we've got winds that are gusting to nearly 40 miles per hour.

it's going to be getting even stronger later today due to a strong cold front coming through. look at the contrast in temperatures. that area in lavendar and dark blue, that is subfreezing air that's now surging into our region. on the eastern shore, ocean city's 51 degrees. elkins, west virginia, 19 degrees. that contrast in temperature is what's been triggering the rain and the snow. right now, in fact, the snow is ending in montgomery county. but look like there's a little snow there in northern prince george's county, as well as northern anne arundel. it's quickly moving off to the east, and we'll have the precipitation ending shortly. and temperature will continue to drop down to near freezing here over another hour or so. then we'll only struggle to make it back to near 40 at noontime. the latest gusts have been up to 30, 35 miles per hour. hagerstown just had a gust up to 40 miles per hour there. the strong winds will be with us from time to time, getting stronger this afternoon. gusts of 50 miles per hour, and we'll only struggle to make it back to around 40 degrees.

then colder for the weekend. a look at that coming up. how's traffic? good morning, still seeing the crash. this one is if you are heading 395 making your way southbound at seminary road. it's just blocking the right shoulder lane here. and you are able to pass. northbound getting a little busy awe make your way toward the 14th street bridge. i'm not really seeing any accidents or major delays yet, however. traveling i-95 after you pass fairfax county parkway and make your way toward the interchange. are you hitting the brakes just a bit. good news on i-95 in virginia, north as well as southbound, are you accident free at this time. and if you're taking the rails, a great day for you because so far no reported delays on the metro, marc, or vre. over to you. >> thanks. new from overnight, a murder in palmer park, maryland, blocks from the prince george's county police headquarters. it happened in the 7700 block of bender road. police responded to a call for a shooting around 10:30 last night. when they arrived, they found a male victim, took him to the

hospital, and he died. we are still waiting for police to release more information about the victim and a suspect. today a second person charged in connection with the crime that led to d.c. council member harry thomas jr.'s conviction is due in court. formal charges were filed against marshall banks. he's the founder and president of a nonprofit group which helped filter government money back to thomas. the former council member pled guilty last week to stealing more than $350,000 in city money. marshall's hearing today will be in the same courtroom where thomas appeared last week. demonstrators with occupy d.c. could be forced to move out of mcpherson square. d.c. mayor gray sent a letter to the national parks service requesting officials to evict those at the square and move them to the camp at freedom plaza. gray says the health department found deplorable conditions at mcpherson squafeepherson square rat infestation. this morning a baby found

alone in a tent at that occupy camp is waking up with her mother. police arrested samuel mack wednesday after he left the 13-month-old baby alone in a tent in the cold and rain. news4 spoke exclusively with the baby's mother who did not want to be identified. she says mack is a friend who occasionally watch the little girl. she says she had no idea he was taking her to outfield d.c. >> my aunt said her clothes have been smelling like mildew when he's bringing her back and stuff like that. and it's rats down there. i'm thankful -- i thank god that she's here. that nothing happened to her. >> police say the child was left alone at least 30 minutes before someone noticed her alone. mack pled not guilty to child cruelty charge. he is nudue in court next month. we could learn which republican presidential candidates will appear on the ballot for virginia's primary. a federal judge in richmond expected to rule on a lawsuit filed by texas governor rick

perry. he filed that suit after failing to submit the 10,000 signatures required to appear on virginia's ballot. if perry wins the case, he along with newt gingrich, rick santorum, and jon huntsman could all be put on the ballot. social conservative leaders expected to decide this weekend who they will support in the race for the republican nomination. more than 150 conservatives will meet on a texas ranch today and tomorrow to discuss which gop candidate to support. family research council president tony perk ins will be among them. they will hear from all candidates. as far as who the social conservatives will support, perk inseen movement toward former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. if you think the race for president needs a little humor, you may be in luck. comedian steven colbert is hinting that he could ender it the race -- noter it the race for the white house. he says he's transferred control of the super fook his friend, jon stewart, and has formed a committee to look into what

weather he could run for president in what he calls the united state of south carolina. colbert is from south carolina. one poll shows him getting a greater share of the vote than jon hunt man, who is a real candidate there. a warning now for pepco customers this morning about a scam that's going around out there. the utility company says nearly two dozen customers have gotten calls about a so-called green dot visa credit card offer to make payments. the call also advises customers to call another number and wire money. pepco says you should call its customer service immediately if you're contacted. it has also notified federal officials about the scam. leaders in d.c., maryland, and virginia will meet with metro officials today to discuss transit issues in the region. d.c. mayor vincent gray will host virginia governor bob mcdonnell and maryland governor martin o'malley at the wilson building this afternoon. metro's general manager, richard sarles, and board chairwoman katherine hudgens are also scheduled to attend. all three jurisdictions appoint members to the metro board and fund the transit agency.

gray's office says the issues up for discussion include safety and metro's governance. expect delays on the metro trains in the coming days. the transit agency is using the long holiday weekend to do major track work on the blue, orange, and red lines starting tonight at 10:00. shuttle buses will run between l'enfant plaza and market plaza on the blue and orange line. federal center, southwest, and capitol south will be closed. on the red line, lanes will be single tracking between dupont circle and friendship heights as well as between tacoma and forest glen. trains should be back to normal schedules by tuesday morning. you got that? >> no, i'm sorry. i don't. >> quiz next block. all right. >> i'll walk. 5:38. 37 degrees. making the grade. we look at how the district, maryland, and virginia stack up against each other and other states when it comes to education. paying more for your next vacation. the airlines that are hiking fares.

"and what's your name?" "oh, it's flo." "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today. weather and traffic on the

1s. 5:41. good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. apha fast moving system has tur rain to snow. it snowed for a half-hour to 45 minutes to an hour and left a dusting in parts of frederick and washington county. but much of montgomery county did not stick. still getting a few flurries flying through the air along the route 29 corridor from silver spring up toward columbia. and there's also a mix of rain and snow now in northern prince george's county and in northern anne arundel from bowie over toward annapolis. and that's continuing to rapidly move away. and behind that, we've got the cold air surging in. it's only in the low to mid 30s now throughout most of the region. and it's windy. we've had the winds gusting to nearly 40 miles per hour. these are the latest gusts. we'll have them gusting to near 50 miles per hour this afternoon. sunrise will be at 7:26. sunset, 5:08. we'll have sunshine in and out. it will be windy and cold. highs only near 40 degrees. then this evening, the winds will diminish a bit, and the temperatures will be down near freezing by midnight. colder saturday morning.

a cold weekend to follow. the latest on that and a look at the martin luther king jr. holiday. that will be in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? good morning, a couple accidents slowing you down this morning. let's first start along i-270 heading southbound at 80. an accident, it's blocking the left lane here. and you're very slow making your way from route 85 as you approach the accident. and also if you're traveling, this time in virginia along i-95 northbound, just prior to the beltway, we have an accident on i-95 northbound in virginia. and only the left lane gets by and it is causing you big delays right about now. at fairfax county parkway, you're jammed as you make your way toward the beltway. now traveling along 395 at this time, this time in the southbound lanes, disabled vehicle is still in the right shoulder lane, and police are on the scene. so far, no major delays heading southbound. northbound getting just a little busy. you're clear as you make your way toward the 14th street bridge. and on the rails so far, still no reported delays on the metro, marc, or vre. back to you.

>> thank you. 17 before the top of the hour now. catching a glimpse of a different side of the first lady. why some area students will get to see michelle obama cut loose on the dance floor today. plus, a chance for drivers to catch a break. how the district is hoping to get people to pay off those unpaid parking tickets.

virginia's governor wants state employees to contribute more to the state's pension plan. governor bob mcdonnell told workers he wants them to increase their contribution was 5% to 6% over the next two years. those natured contributions might -- those increased contributions might be offset by a proposed performance bonus of up to 3%. the governor proposed a similar increase last year. the general assembly shot down the idea, though. you're used to checking your child's report card to make sure they're doing well.

have you ever thought about checking your state's report card to see if school official are doing well in educating your children? education week, the country's leading education journal, is sending out their grades for all 50 states. and good news -- some of the area schools are at the top of the class. maryland's public school systems actually marks first in the nation with a grade of b-plus. and the fourth year in a row state has topped the list. maryland gets high marks for early education and for college prep courses for high school students. virginia isn't far behind, either, with a ranking of b in the nation. education week recognizing them for their high standards of learning and called them a perennial strong finisher. unfortunately, the news is not that great for the district. they have some homework to do with a grade of c-minus. that puts them at the bottom of the list ranking better only than nebraska and south dakota. one of the biggest concerns, though, is that the achievement in grades k through 12, they

received an f. the race for gym webb's -- jim webb's race for senate seat is getting even more crowded. state delegate mob marshall says he will file paperwork to enter the race next week. he will revenue run against former governor and senator george allen, trying to win back his seat. tim cain among the democrats raining for senate in virginia. the u.s. will soon have a smaller military present in europe. defense secretary panetta says the army will withdraw two combat brigades from the continent. it's part of a new defense strategy that will accommodate hundreds of billions of dollars in budget cuts over the next decade. under the new strategy the army will rotate units in and out of europe, most likely from u.s. bases. they've sacrificed their careers for their spouses and their country. nbc 4 is helping military families with today's military spouse career forum and hiring fair. the event will be held at the washington convention center today. it will feature free makeovers,

resume and interview coaching, and national employers with open positions looking to hire. the fair goes from 8:30 until 2:30 today. you have to register to attend, though. there will be free licensed childcare for those with little ones. for more information, go to our website, nbcwashington.com. family and friends held a vigil for a teen gunned down over a pair of basketball shoes. police say someone shot david robinson in the back and stole his $200 nike sneakers while waiting for a bus on foote street in washington sunday morning. robinson leaves behind a girlfriend expecting a child. police say shots were also fired at the getaway car. they're offering a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. the national harbor in prince george's county is closer to get not an outlet mall despite traffic concerns there. the "washington post" reports the county's planning board gave preliminary approval to bring more than 80 high-end outlet stores to national harbor development. the unanimous decision followed six hours of testimony from more

than three dozen people. tangier factory outlets already signed a deal with the developers to build a $100 million shopping center on 40 acres of land off of oxen hill road. 5:51. hold on to your hats literally. the weather is changing. it's cold and blustery. the winds started whipping when i got in my car this morning. >> changing every minute. temperatures continuing to drop and the winds getting gusty, too. when the cold front came through a couple of hours ago, we had gusts to 40 miles per hour. winds have settled since then. right now a look at the radar. it's snowing over a pretty wide area from michigan all the way into new york state, pennsylvania, western maryland, and west virginia. closer to washington, we did have snow in montgomery and frederick and howard countys and points north and west into washington county. now there's just some lingering snow mixing with rain in and around anne arundel county, i-97 to baltimore. that's quickly moving north and east. exiting the eastern shore, getting light rain. the temperatures are continuing to drop.

we're down into the low 30s in montgomery and fairfax counties. arlington county, upper 30s. so is washington and prince george's county. and it's still in the 40s in southern maryland, northern neck. only in the low 30s, shenandoah valley, points west in the mountains of west virginia. some locations are down into the teens now. these are the latest wind gusts. hagerstown just had a gust of 39. pax river, 32. we'll have the gusts increasing as the day progresses. farther to the west, there's a winter weather advisory for these mountain region out in western maryland, into northern west virginia. they get three to five inches of snow today. sunrise, 7:26. we'll have a blustery wind gusting to 50 miles per hour. and later this morning, during the afternoon, clouds in and out and temperatures struggling just to recover, back up to near 4 degrees. then this evening, cold under a partly cloudy sky, sun set at 5:08. near freezing at midnight. saturday, mid 30s, partly cloudy. lighter winds on sunday, but frigid in the morning. in the teens, afternoon highs in the mid 30s with sunshine.

and then for martin luther king jr. day, a bit warmer, but still cold. highs only around 40 or so. morning lows mid 20s. maybe some warmer rain moving in on tuesday, into the 50s. then cold and dry after that. danella, how's traffic? good morning. on i-95 in virginia as you make your way to franconia road, had an accident, it was blocking the left lane. just at last check, it was blocking the right lane. but it looks like it's cleared out of the way, which is good because we have been see something delays all the way back at fairfax county parkway. you're jammed. the good news is earlier that accident looks to be completely cleared. hopefully you will see some relief as you make your way on i-95 north. also seeing delays on i-66 as you're making your way all the way from 234 and continuing toward centreville. your lane are packed. the good news is, on 66, not seeing any accidents for you as you make your way east or head west. you're in the clear. and on the rails, a minor delay, about ten minutes on the brunswick east train, number

870. however, metro/vre aren't reporting delays at this time. back to you. >> thank you. if you have a parking ticket in the district, now is the time to pay. there are just two weeks left in the city's ticket amnesty program. it allows people to pay only the face value of any ticket written before january 2010 without paying any late fees. payments can be made at the dmv, by phone, or on line through friday, january 27. you won't save money on airline tickets these days. delta started a wave of fare hikes earlier this week. ticket prices jumped by as much as $20. usairways, southwest, airtran, american, and united quickly followed suit by matching fares. experts say the more expensive ticket are in response to rising fuel costs. consumers will also see a jump in advertised ticket prices by the end of the month. that's when new rules will force airlines to include taxes and fees in the prices they quote. lots of taxes and fees. mercedes benz is apologizing for using a controversial image

in a car promotion. the automaker showed this famous picture at the international consumer electronics show in las vegas tuesday. the argentine communist spearheaded the revolution that brought fidel castro to power in cuba. the photo became a symbol of communist revolutionary movements in the '60s and '70s. in the ad, mercedes put its logo in place of gevarra's face. the company said the image was intended to represent the revolution in the auto industry and its new technologies. come to the health and fitness expo this weekend. just -- it's tomorrow. stop by the washington convention center saturday and sunday. admission is free. doors will open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on both days. i'll be there tomorrow at some point. >> in the afternoon, you're moderating a panel on childhood obesity. >> tomorrow or sunday -- i'll be there both days at some point. >> you got to figure that out,

aaron. i'll be there saturday morning doing a cooking demonstration to meet and greet. join us, please visit. we'd love to see you. >> absolutely. we have a right to fight for our country, the same as every other american. we will not if away. >> a scene from the new hollywood movie "red tails" that will be featured at the white house tonight. president obama and the first lady will host tuskegee airmen along with cast and crew members of the film. the movie futures the legendary fighter pilots who fought during world attack -- world war ii. some students will get to see moisichelle obama's dance moves. she'll have company from nickelodeon. the cast of "icarly" will join her to promote an upcoming episode featuring mrs. obama. she's thanking military families for their work. on the show, amanda cosgrove plays the daughter of an air force colonel. the white house says the first lady will participate in "random dancing."

a staple of the nickelodeon show. and aaron thinks it should be a staple of life. i mean, of all shows, all moment time. >> if it was like in the movies where people burst into song and dance in the middle of the street -- flash mobs are a good idea. i like them. >> you think? more later in the newscast. it is a special morning for the entire nbc family. >> that's right. today we are celebrating a milestone for one of the staples of american television. the "today" show celebrating its 60th anniversary this morning. dave gaoway kicked off what would be six decades of iconic television in 1952. since then it's a who's who was some of america's best-known television personality who have graced today's set. this morning, many of your favorites including barbara walters, hugh downs, bryant gumbel, katie couric will return live to look at america's favorite morning show. catch that here starting at 7:00. >> people really organize their mornings by the "today" show. it's become a part of our lives. all right.

ahead, the showstopper. why the conductor of the world famous philharmonic stopped ms. performance.

♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. overni