[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> a huge blast of winter weather is making its way across the country. it will affect about 100 million americans, making for travel problems. alex raise is in chicago.

>> sunday started early for the midwest to the snowplow drivers and shovelers, a massive winter storm is moving across the region dumping inches of snow and promising blizzard like conditions for chicago. >> everyone is on the job today so that people can get to their jobs tomorrow. >> while a brief you had it out they stuck to the sidewalks. >> i'm not moving my car today. >> in nebraska, ottawa, snow already covers the roadways, sending car skidding off the roads and drivers turning into truckstop's. >>from new york city to boston, a serious concern for commuters. >> if you have the option to stay home or avoid travel, we ask you to do it. >> the big apple praying for

snow, ice, and rain. >> the biggest threat is ice. >> travel is already an issue at airports. more than 2000 flights canceled nationwide. crews at o'hare airport working overtime to stay ahead of the snow. even in phoenix, big delays because of fog. one of the big concerns in chicago, blowing snow, wind gusts of 40 miles per hour. there is a blizzard warning in chicago until midnight. >> resistance is growing to a proposed depot for hundreds of school buses. kevin lewis explains. >> cars may soon give way to yellow school buses. this is an alternate education facility. >> this does not make sense from any angle. >> he is part of the grassroots opposition. >> day by day, more and more

people in the county are finding out about this. the county council and the board of education and the superintendents of schools all need to understand how hungry they are. >> mcps would vacate its current bus depot by 2017, moving 370 b uses to the blair ewing center. the students would relocate to the center in aspen hill, which opponents say is older, smaller, and in need of repair. >> demolishing a perfectly good building makes no sense. >> others fear clogging the already busy road, plus the and firemen impact. mcps contends it is in a tough spot saying they are not a lot of wide-open spaces to house the depot and at this time the blair ewing site is the best option we have. we will work with the community on the project, but the clock is

ticking and we don't have a lot of options. >> this is a mad scramble to figure out where to put the buses, but i think this is just about the worst idea. >> the arlington county board wants to build an elementary school on the land of thomas jefferson middle school. it is supposed to help with a surge of enrollment. caroline tucker explains why the county rejected the idea. >> arlington county elementary parents will say that schools continue to be squeezed to the max. something that extra space needs to come from somewhere. >> we have to expand the schools, or look for opportunities for land that we can use. >> the board rejected a plan to build an elementary school on county-owned land next to thomas jefferson middle school. >> it is about the impact.

ending up with a network of schools that make sense for the next 50 years. because once we build it, it is there. >> the land was slated for future park land. >> the board made a great decision preserving this park for future generations, at least for now. >> the county left the door open for arlington public schools to come back after it does analysis of county sites in school editions and does an estimate of funding needed. >> if we get an answer to those questions, we are happy to take it up again. >> the school board had approved an alternative that would put conditions on randolph and other schools. the parents are just waiting. >> the council does a great job for the children. hopefully they solve this problem. or we will have to move out and look for other options. >> a spokesperson for arlington county public school says it is

too early to say what the school district or the school board will want to do next. a decision may take a couple of weeks. caroline tucker, abc 7 news. >> former virginia governor bob mcdonnell will remain free while appealing his corruption conviction. a hearing is scheduled for may 12 in richmond. he was sentenced to two years in prison after jurors convicted him of taking gifts and loans in exchange for promoting jonnie williams' products. mcdonnell's wife was also found guilty. coming up -- students at uva will notice something different at campus tomorrow. how the school to increase security. and she thought her home was protected, but as 7 on your side found out, all she paid for was a false sense of security. >> snow and sleet are transitioning to rain. what expect as you are heading out the door monday morning.

>> the university of virginia will provide additional security for student starting tomorrow. the school contracted with a security firm to provide unarmed security guards. the ambassadors will patrol the popular group of restaurants and bars and be positioned near off-campus housing. the confirmation hearing for

secretary of defense nominee ashton carter will take place wednesday. carter was deputy defense secretary during the president's first term and also worked at the pentagon in the clinton administration. several senators have already voiced support for the nomination. a d.c. woman is furious after paying for an alarm service she says she was not getting. 7 on your side reporter horace holmes helps find a solution. >> monica had state home security install an alarm system in her home. she thought that her home was safe and secure. in fact, she actually lived under a false sense of security for two years. every night, every time she left the home, she would arm the system. >> this past august, it started weeping. >> she called technicians, who looked and determined that the

alarm system had never been connected to the monitoring center. >> i had a system two years that i paid and i just had a little beep from the door for $25 per month. >> she called save home and told them i want a refund and i want to stop my service with you. the company agreed to refund her money and cancel the contract. you would think this was the end of the story, but the bills did not stop. for five months, with late fees and finance charges growing. >> then i get a letter saying they turned me over to a collection agency. >> 7 on your side called safe home headquarters in talked with the vice president of sales. he did not apologize, but said that an outside company not affiliated with safe home installed and made a mistake for stop he said they completely refunded the money and the billing was an administrative mistake. are you happy? >> yes, i am. >> in the district, horace

holmes, abc 7 news. >> if you have a story that you want 7 on your side to investigate, senate e-mail to tups@wjla.com or call 1-866-236-3401. the clock is ticking for the most recognizable plane in the world. and eileen whelan is tracking the winter weather.

>> we were talking about the weather. the big story tomorrow, the wind? >> the wind advisory will come in at noon. high profile vehicles, the evening commute, winds could be gusting near 50 miles per hour monday. >> in about 10 minutes. >> exactly. right now, the wind is relatively light. stormwatch 7 doppler, store machine mode. people are reporting they are seeing just a chilly rain fairfax and loudoun counties, folks in d.c. reporting a changeover to rain. it indicates where there may be

some snow or sleet falling, and that is where the temperatures are closer to freezing. that is why the national weather service is keeping the winter weather advisory weather advisory in effect until 8:00 in the morning. they have extended it to include the southern half of montgomery county and northern loudoun county. these are the spots that may be slick on the roadways. gaithersburg currently 34 degrees. bwi, 32. those are some spots that i'm a little cautious, that you want to be cautious with because the roads may be slick. 38 degrees at reagan national. the temperatures will be rising overnight. a lot of snow through the vignette and new york. a little bit of a void in the precipitation through central and southern virginia. once the moisture moves to the northeast, we get a break, but the back edge of moisture will greet you monday morning. futurecast, most of the winter

weather replaced by rain. some of that through the morning commute, so the roadways will be wet. you know what that does to the monday morning commute. allow extra time, make sure the kids have the umbrella in the morning. the rain quickly exits by about 11:00, sunshine by lunchtime. the wind really starts to gust very high and the colder air slides in. tomorrow, the temperature starting off in the 40's. by lunchtime 46. then we quickly fall by the evening commute come into the mid 30's, with wind gusts between 30 and 40 miles per hour possibly 50. the windchill in the evening will be in the single digits and teens. we have a wind advisory in effect for the entire viewing area, going into effect tomorrow at noon lasting through late tomorrow night. keep that in mind.

the wind will be up, overnight lows in the teens, talking about single digit windchill values. the wind will subside tuesday, sunny skies, 32. the rest of the week looking quiet, 40 six wednesday, 33 thursday with a chance of flurries. tomorrow any rain that falls will be in the morning. it will look brighter in the afternoon, but it will be all about the wind. make sure to bring in the trashcan. you may be searching for it. >> the next version of air force one will look a lot like the current one from the outside. the pentagon selected boeing's 747-8 to be the next flying white house. it is 20 feet longer than the current aircraft. no word on how many airplanes the pentagon will order. the two 7547's that most people

think of as air force one turned me five years old this year. the sikorsky marine one presidential and vip helicopter fleet dates back to the 1960's and 1980's. coming up, the blankets are bringing more than warmth to children in need.

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>> thousands of newborns and children are getting comfort for my soft fleece blanket, the handiwork of dedicated teens and their adult leaders who call themselves the blanket angels. that is why they are leon harris' heroes. >> twice a month, a group of seventh and eighth grade girls at saint pius thex school come here to tie knots. they are making fleece blankets. 13-year-old abby has been ably get angel from the beginning. >> i started this with my sister. >> that was six years ago. now her sister and two other

founding angels are freshman in college. the group has grown to 30 girls and close to 23400 blankets have been delivered to newborns and children spanning from d.c. to baltimore. >> she said it made her day to think that somebody can have a blanket and be happier. it'od feeling. >> that's why the girls come back week after week. >> i know that a sick kid might not be getting better, but they are at least feeling better because of the blankets we are making. >> barber and maureen are a big part of the group's success. their granddaughters started blanket angels and since the first delivery they have been hooked. >> it's a lot of of work but it's very rewarding. >> for a mom who has a baby in

nicu, and she gets this blanket, it is like a ray of hope. >> leon harris, abc 7 news.