really cold out there and even a bit of snow. >> months of campaigning and millions of dollars. in one hour the iowa caucuses begin and we're close to seeing which the voters will choose. and we'll show you a man who use bandages when he holds up a cvs pharmacy. >> we begin with the first vote of the 2012 presidential campaign. io iowa goes to the caucuses. they moved it to january in 1976 and candidates have paid very close attention to iowa ever since. mitt romney, rick santorum and ron paul have a chance while the others are still holding out hope. here's the latest on these candidates and decision 2012. >> reporter: good evening from iowa caucus headquarters in des moines. this is all about a pretty small

group of voters. roughly 3 million in the state of eye warning 120,000 would be considered good. it is relatively informal. they meet in small groups. they chat about the candidates and then they vote. the rest of the race for the white house is sure to be shamed by who they pick. backed by younger voters who like him want less government and more privacy, ron paul figures he could win tonight. at valley high school, paul urged 18-year-olds to caucus. >> it is a wonderful opportunity to restate our sound principles about why this country had been great. >> reporter: but one switched. >> when i saw mitt romney yesterday was when i decided he might be the new candidate i'm leaning towards. >> reporter: today romney backed off his prediction of a win. >> i think it is hard to predict what will happen but i think i'll be among the top group. >> reporter: meaning him, ron paul and rick santorum. finally in the spotlight, the social conservative came to valley high. teacher sylvia flores was

watching. >> you need to focus in on who is that candidate who has the vision for america? >> i do believe that he is somebody who will do what he believes in. >> reporter: now you might caucus for rick santorum? >> i might. >> reporter: his surge was strong. >> you assume you will win tonight? >> i don't assume anything. i'm just working hard. >> reporter: mitt romney's big fear is the come baghdad by the candidate who charged romney is not truthful about his negative ads and his policy switches. newt gingrich today on romney. >> do you still believe that he is a liar? >> sure. >> why do you feel that way? >> because he doesn't tell the truthful. >> reporter: after months of iowa campaigning, tonight is the night. >> on to victory. >> reporter: conventional wisdom says they eliminate the losers but don't necessarily pick the nominee. there will be announcements

later on. i'm steve handelsman reporting, back to you. >> if we can, put this in a little perspective for us. in the grand scheme of things, how significant is a win in iowa? >> reporter: everyone of these candidates really wants to win. it gives them the buzz. it will mean more contributions. it will help. but it is that a guarantee. the old conventional wisdom, this is the third piece we've talked about tonight. there are only three tickets out of iowa. meaning unless you're first, second or third you don't have a prayer to win the nomination. don't tell that to john mccain. last time, the nominee, fourth in the iowa caucuses. so we're not clear what it means. we're not clear who the front runner is so stay tuned. >> we'll sue you later tonight. >> and democrats in iowa will caucus and they will hear from president obama via video conference. the president and the first family returned to washington

this morning. they arrived after spending the holiday in hawaii. to be the president will be in a video conference to talk to the people in iowa. >> cold snow out there tonight. is there more coming? >> i think so. we'll see more cold weather tomorrow. maybe few flurries. take a look at some video that we shot a little earlier today. this is toward montgomery village in toward maryland. we did see not only snow today but this is where we shot some snow the other day. look at that. a little in the way of some accumulation on those roads. and any time you have the temperatures hovering around freezing and we see the snow showers, you know you'll see at least some accumulation on those roads. it could become slick. a pretty good picture there. 27 degrees. the current temperature out there. the winds north northwest at 17 with the windchill of 14 degrees. a very, very cold evening right now. most areas well into the 20s. 21 right now in gaithersburg. 23 in leesburg and we'll

continue to go down from there. still a few snow showers. the biggest area, and this is coming down pretty good. i would not be surprised to see some accumulation along route 50 between winchester and middleburg. if you are driving to the west and you'll go past middleburg, expect to see some problems. most likely seeing some accumulation from this band as it continues to make its way through frederick county, virginia, clark county, virginia, and now into northern fauquier and southern portions. i'll let you know how long this will stick around. >> thanks. there it was, the guilty plea in a murder that really alarmed people in the clarendon section of arlington. the victim was a 57-year-old man named carl diener. he lived in the lion village neighborhood. he was walking to his dog at a nearby gym when he was beaten, stabbed and killed in the early morning hours of december 29, 200 nape. after an 18-month investigation,

the police arrested a man named roger clark iii. today clark pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. there was a plea agreement that calls for a sentence of no more than 25 years. clark will receive his sentence in april. a man's body found in the belhaven marina in the companion rhea second quarter of fairfax county has been identified. 23-year-old was found monday morning by two fishermen. the chief medical examiner trying to figure out how he died. in the district today, council chairman kwame brown hinted that he is preparing for the possibility that harry thomas jr. might be unable to do his job or might even resign. brown told reporters that residence of ward 5 in his words are going to be taken care of. despite thomas's legal troubles. >> this thomas investigation has been going on for months and sources say it could be nearing an end. >> my integrity -- >> reporter: the ward 5

councilmember thomas has struggled to combat allegations he misspent more than $300,000 in city furnds on his own lavish lifestyle. the investigation began earlier last year when d.c. attorney general irving nathan got thomas to agree to repay $300,000. but without admitting legal wrongdoing. last december 2, federal agents swarmed over the house in northeast washington, spending much of the day there hauling away expensive vehicles. and other items. now several sources tell nbc 4 that the federal authorities are nearing an end to their possibility criminal case against thomas. with the councilmember increasingly distracted from representing his northeast ward 5. d.c. council chairman kwame brown was asked tuesday if thomas could still be a productive member of the council. brown responded in a way that suggests he is preparing for thomas' legal battle to continue, or his resignation. >> we'll do everything we can to make sure the residents of ward 5 continue to have things move

forward. whether the economic development projects, sure that we have a stand alone middle school in ward 5 ready to go. whether we make sure that any of the services are taken care of. we'll continue to make sure that the residents of ward 5 are well represented. >> thomas has denied any legal wrongdoing but increasingly has with drawn from council debates and other activities as he struggled with his legal troubles. in addition to thomas, chairman brown himself and mayor vincent gray also under separate investigations into possible wrongdoing, raising questions about the entire city government. >> until the investigation by the u.s. attorney are resolved, involving the mayor, the chairman and councilmember thomas, it will always be with us. it will be a cloud hanging over our head. getting the new ethics bill passed was a good first start. a good first bill that we did. these investigations will always be the lynchpin before the council can move forward. >> and there was more trouble

for thomas. agreed in court to repay $17,000 in overdue student loans and he owes another $50,000 payment by tonight on his repaying of that $300,000 in city funlds that he allegedly spent on himself. >> that's one little problem that harry thomas has. a larger problem that the city has. this thing has been dragging on and on and on for the longest time. and like jack said, this city is not going anywhere until -- >> he gets something done. any indication on when they're going to move on this? is the investigation over? >> the u.s. attorney is aware that people expect him to do something one way or the other. and he says there is a lot of behavior in this city that maybe is bad. that maybe, you wouldn't like politically is bad. he has to decide whether it is federally criminal or not. so that's what he is doing. he said he is aware of the urgency but he is taking it step by step. many people believe the thomas case of the three cases is the

one that is closest to the end. but i don't know where that goal line is. >> everyone kind of wants to it wrap up. >> the federal attorney has this issue. >> thanks. on wall street, stocks started the 2012 trading year on a positive note. the dow picked up 179 points. at one point in the day it was up more than 250 points. the nasdaq closed with a 43-point gain. the s&p 500 ended 19 points higher. today's gains came as investors got better than expected global economic news. the u.s. military likely will be changing the way it fights overseas because of massive budget cuts. defense secretary leon panetta will release the pentagon's revised strategy for u.s. missions abroad. he will do that on thursday. brian moore reports the white house and the pentagon have some tough choices to make. >> reporter: the defense secretary leon panetta is putting final touches on the

pentagon budget that will slash more than $450 billion in spending over the next decade. the white house says it is a plan to balance national security with harsh economic reality. >> the important part of this process is that the strategy come first and the reductions come, are driven by the strategy. they're not across the board. they're not random. >> reporter: with the mission in iraq now finished, the pentagon can no longer afford the fight two simultaneous wars. and it is retooling to face 21st century threats from unconventional he said ms. but military experts worry about another bottom line. readiness. >> are you trying to save dollars at the expense of protecting interests? or are you trying to protect interests while saving dollars? you can't do both. >> reporter: the biggest fear is what happens if congress dead

locks on how to splash spending. the pentagon has to find an additional $550 billion in cuts. secretary panetta has told congress, that could be disastrous. >> it is a ship without sailors, it is a brigade without bullets. >> reporter: the pentagon fighting to cut spending without harming our military. republicans have been trying to take the bigger defense cuts off the table. but president obama says he's not going to allow any easy outs. on capitol hill, brian mooar. secretary panetta is expected to reveal details on changes in the number of u.s.

troops that will be serving throughout the world.

[ male announcer ] for some reason those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

in+=!6 montgomery county police are investigating a robbery with a strange twist. they say the suspect walked into a cvs drugstore christmas eve covered in bandages. pat collins is live now in montgomery village with the details on this and the surveillance video. >> reporter: he looks like a helpless patient. but the cops say don't get fooled. he is really an armed robber in disguise. take a look at this guy. what does he look like to you? >> he looks like somebody who is really hurt. he got his arm in a sling and his head is bandaged. >> painful. >> reporter: when you look a him? >> i feel sick. >> reporter: if he tried to rob you, what would you do? >> i would probably feel sorry for him at first. >> try to kick him where it hurts. >> i would run. >> reporter: what if i am he claims he's got a gun?

what would you do? >> i would run. >> reporter: faster. >> faster. >> reporter: now over the years, we've seen robbers use all sorts of disguises to try to defeat security cameras and avoid arrests. there was the donald. well, with maybe a little thicker hair. the construction worker with the i'm not a member of the human race, my home is out there in outer space. >> reporter: now comes the bandage bandit. vulnerable, nonthreatening. but more importantly, hard to pick out of a lineup. >> you might think this guy as the anti-santa. you see, this happened on the eve of christmas. the day before the great day of giving. this guy is on the take. with bandages wrapped around his

head, his arm in a sling. he goes into that cvs and there he makes his move. >> efs wearing blue jeans, a blue sweatshirt. the unusual part of his description was his face was wrapped in bandages. and his arm was in a sling. >> reporter: he looked like a patient. >> he looked like a patient. he looked like a mummy. the suspect walked through the entire store, straight to the pharmacy counter, ill applied he had a weapon, presented a note demanding drugs, prescription medication, received an undisclosed amount of oxycontin and turned around and left the store through the front door. >> reporter: the investigation continues on as police try to identify this bandaged up bandit. aaron, back to you. >> pat collins, thank you. for the first time since the 9/11 attacks, they have

reopened the west gate. the vehicle entrance near allentown road was considered unsafe after september 11th. the gate is now reopened to pedestrians and the county is hoping that it will bring in more money now. one of the largest employers, more than 21,000 people serve or work there. some of the county's economic leaders have already put together a group based on spurring redevelopment around the base. doug kammerer is here now. there was no transition. it just went from fall to, i don't know what this is now. >> we had 60 on sunday. today, the, i saw the windchill got to about 24. that is a heck of a difference in two days. a big transition as you made your way outside. winter finally arriving. it won't stick around very long. a lot of us be only saw the cold air but we saw some snow. a little in the way of some snow coming down. we call these snow showers as they made their way through the

area, coming down directly from the great lakes. they made that trip in about 12 hours time right from lake erie right toward our area. some areas even picked up accumulation. a little bitearlier, this was out toward winchester. take a look at the?: isma parkin snow. this was early this morning. accumulating snow including winchester and also areas of frederick county, maryland. this is from ellicott city. veronica johnson said she tried to do a couple 360s but the snow just wasn't thick enough at that time. for the record today, got up to a high temperature, 34 degrees after a low temperature of 29 degrees. finally felt like winter out there. so many of you have been saying we just want to see some winter-like weather. today we saw that winter weather. the good news is for you folks that like it, there is a little more to come.

for those of hue don't, we'll go back to where we've been over the last couple days and months. 27 degrees, the current temperature. 19r-s to the south, 25 around about 9 degrees12: martinsburg, 13 at leesburg. 14 down toward patuxent river. a very cold evening. the numbers will continue to go down. about 11:30, about 12:30, about 13 in washington. maybe around 6 in frederick. we're still dealing with the windchill. by tomorrow among, 7:30 to a windchill in the single digits toward cold 13 back toward martinsburg and maybe 21 in manassas. the good news is the winds aren't

the temperatures will be a lot colder. and i would rather have that than whipping winds coming through. this is really the last ban here through frederick county, virginia, in through clark county. all of that coming down. here it is right here making its way all way down from the lake. let's take a look at the ones that came through montgomery county. people are saying this came from the great lakes? you betcha. seeing1iímery . we'll go right through central pennsylvania and right on down through our area around gaithersburg around 1:30 in the afternoon. rockville, bethesda, all seeing a pretty good snow shower. it lasted 15 to 20 minutes. not a lot of accumulation. not cold for long. we're in the deep freeze with the cold air. the trough will look back to the north. here comes the mild there once again. we're talking about the temperatures getting back to 50 23 friday and saturday could be in the mid 50s. the mild air definitely making

its way back in here before we finished out the week. cold with scattered snow showers. 23 to 28 degrees. single 5 ac 20 i'm thinking 12. the actual temperature out toward some of the colder suburbs with windchills in the single digits tomorrow. actual temperature around 20 degrees inside the district. here's the next tuesda days. 46 on thursday. 51 on t 56 on saturday. and another, it does look like another cooldown comes in monday and tuesday of next week. i don't see any more days with temperatures in the 30s.núa#her. >>

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

>>f2cn,pcf1 o area. townág?# anljí townág?# anljí a look at the changes he'll q÷q. an allegiant jet skidded off the runway in ohio and got stuck in the mud. this happened in a snowstorm last night. there were no reports of injuries. everybody get a safely.1y some of thed&xs,pos(be runway. >> when it comes to getting a quality college education at an affordable price, some of the

best schools are right here in the washington area. kiplinger magazine is with its annual list of the 100 best values and public colleges across the country. the use of virginia was ranked third. the college of william and mary ranked fourth. the university of maryland is p; the university of north carolina at chapel hill was first on that year for the 11th consecutive time. still to come in our next half-hour, the battle over a tree house and a trampoline in >> reporter: coming up in sports, two future nfl stars shining bright on the big stage. the wizards trying to hang tough against the celtics while the coach flips out.

hi. welcome to carmax. hi. i was on carmax dot m and i think i found the one. great car. and i think, it's right over there... (sighes)... finding your perfect car is easy at carmax because we carry only the highest quality used vehicles. and at carmax dot com, you can choose from nearly 30 thousand cars with most available for transfer to the store nearest you. so come find the one for you today... at carmax. busy day! yes it is! ♪ sunny day ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' the taste i crave ♪ ♪ subway ♪ i'm makin' it, makin' it how i like ♪ ♪ it's meant to be

♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ i'm feelin' subway today [ male announcer ] hey, capital area! are you feelin' subway®? then heat up your day with the big hot pastrami melt! it's fresh toasted and piled-high with pastrami, then topped with pickles, mustard, and cheese. head into a subway® restaurant today for this melty, mouthwatering sub! ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ let's go

the park ranger who was shot and kill at mt. rainier in washington state on new years day has a connection to our area. her name is margaret andersen

and she lived and worked here in washington before she moved west. darcy spencer spoke with some of anderson's former co-workers. >> reporter: margaret andersen is the ranger who was gunned down while on duty at mt. rainier national park new years day. >> she was great. she was spunky. she was one of the nicest, sweetest people you'll ever meet. >> reporter: ally worked with her at the national historical park where she patrolled the grounds up until a few years ago. >> there have been so many e-mails floating around from volunteers to staff members. everybody remembering margaret. and everybody climbed of asking, you know, is that our margaret? so yes, it is. >> reporter: andersen was also an emt, often providing first-aid care to those injured at the park. police believe this is the man responsible for her death. benjamin barnes, an army veteran also suspected in a quadruple shooting. police say he shot andersen while she was a check point at

the park. barnes' body was found on park grounds, apparently succumbing to the cold. >> she was outstanding. i think in this world, there are some people that make the world a better place. and she was one of those. >> reporter: the ranger also worked closely with andersen who was married to another ranger. the andersens had two young daughters. >> he is also law enforcement ranger at the same park. he was on duty at the same time. >> reporter: and he heard what was going on. >> yes, he did. >> reporter: the rangers we spoke to say the killing doesn't make them feel their joks are more dangerous but it is a reminder that tragedy can strike. even had a national park. >> it is really sad. it can happen anywhere but when you think of the parks, you don't necessarily think about that happening. but our law enforcement rangers, you know, anything can happen themselves bring their same rangers into the parks. >> reporter: darcy spender, news4. >> the suspect in that shooting

is said to have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since he returned from military service in iraq. a maryland man dubbed the duck tape rapist. today he accepted a plea deal. he was convicted of four sex assaults in maryland and pennsylvania. he is already serving 35 years in prison for a rape in montgomery county. there is a new man at the helm of public safety in loudoun county. mike chapman is the new sheriff in town. while he just started that job, he already has big plans. >> reporter: day one on the job and the new loudoun county sheriff found himself in front of the board of supervisors, advocating for a new $8 million substation. he defeated steve simpson in november sxhas already brought in a new leadership team. one that includes administrators from dea and fbi. he himself is a former dea

member. >> i decided to have a blend of the institutional knowledge and bring in some outside experts who i personally work with. >> reporter: he said with form he federal agents in top positions, his department will be able to work cooperative to attack the top problem in the county. drugs. >> you integrate effort and talent. when you seize a drug dealer's home or car, you share those assets. it come back to the county which will be a great benefit. >> reporter: the sheriff is not all that's new here. for the first time since the board of supervisors was elected in 1992, every member of a republican. and one of the boards' first order of business, setting up a government reform commission to find ways to consolidate county services. >> also look at programs ways that we might be able to take some parts of the government and privatize it. and to the private sector, look at whether or not we simply should still be providing those services as a county. >> reporter: the new board will

also focus on improving transportation in an area that is still one of the fastest growing in the nation. in loudoun county, news4. another goal for this new board is to make it easier for new businesses to open in loudoun county. in montgomery county, executive leggette was trying to help get accustomed to the new bag lawful businesses must charge 5 cents for each paper or plastic bag given to a customer. he gave out hundreds of reusable bags at stores in rockville and wheaton and in jerl an town. he says the law is not designed to generate revenue for the county. >> if we get more money, we're not being successful. we would prefer to have more people using the bags. >> it will help with litter clean-up in the county. plastic bags are one of the most

common items found in the streams in the county. lawmakers in maryland busy bracing for a challenging four months ahead. the general assembly will tackle with several issues including deal with a $1 billion budget deficit. there are also higher tafls to solve the problem. same sex marriage and whether to expand gambling in the state are some of the other issues on the agenda. the 2012 season begins next week. a mystery at a thrift store in maryland has been solved. some cash found mixed in with clothing has been claim. last week the workers at the st. james thrift shop in mt. airy found $1,300 inside a robe that someone had donated. they weren't sure if that was a gift or if it was a mistake. after the story aired on news4 last week, the thrift shop says a couple that wishes to remain anonymous came forward to claim the money. the thrift shop confirmed that

it indeed belongs to them. they're cutting a check to them this week. still ahead, why fairfax county is dmapding a father take down his child's tree

hello. right here in storm center 4 on a very cold night tonight.

if you've been wondering where win has been, it has finally arrived. 27 degrees at the airport with the windchill of 14 right now. those winds still gusting out of the north northwest at 17. but higher gusts to around 25. we're still dealing with some snow. right now the snow is accumulating. most of the area, not seeing the snow. you can see where it is back toward winchester and then right around front royal and through northern fauquier county. we'll zoom into winchester. some pictures out of the winchester area do show another inch of snow has fallen. and it is still falling there right along route 50 and 81. and as you move through millwood into portions of southern loudoun and northern fauquier, starting to see some accumulation there. now along route 66. if you're heading out 66, and right now you're beginning to make your way toward fairfax county. you're beginning to leave prince william county and go through northern fauquier county, expect to see some snow there. i would not be surprised to see

the snow make its way toward maybe warrenton and manassas. watch out for that. you could see some accumulated snowfall there. maybe a quick dusting. maybe toward half an inch. most of the snow showers though beginning to fall apart. that will be the story the rest of the night. the bigger story is the temperature. look at this. 20 degrees in washington but teens just about everywhere else. 12 in frederick, maryland. 13 in leesburg and manassas. baltimore ravens in a playoff run and starting today, the fans can crop off letters to the team. the letters will be collected at drop-off, and dropped off to the teen's training facility every wednesday that the ravens are in the playoffs. they'll then be posted in the calf tear. i can't purple mailboxes are at giants stores in baltimore. cockeysville, glen burnie,

owings mills, pikesville, timonium and towson. it will not be in montgomery, prince george's, fairfax, alexander re, a et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. >> so don't worry about it. i wonder if they'll have time to look at it. what's up down there? >> reporter: we're doing a little streaking in this sportscast. i hope it's okay with you. the capitals, streaking. trying to make it four wins in a row. the terps doing the same. the wizards streaking also, only in the other direction.

the caps have their slow period in december and now in january we're going to crank it up. could that be it? >> reporter: i like that. they're trying to keep this going into the new year. like stella, they're looking to get their groove back. they've won three games in a row. it is their second longest win streak in the season. their longest winning streak since dale hunter took over as head coach. mike green is finally back. the all-star defenseman missed 23 games. they need this guy and finally, mike green going to be back on the ice. he was plagued by injuries all season long. has not played since november 11th because of a strained groin. he also missed time with a

sprained ankle. he's the best scoring defenseman in the nhl over the last few years and for this team to be successful, they need green playing and playing well. he is not expected to play heavy minutes tonight but just being back in game action is a step in the right direction. >> i'm just happy to be back, focused, preparing to do it tonight. >> you have to ease yourself in. i don't think i'll be jumping up all over the ice or what not. i think it is important to get my game back and it is better that i try to do it slowly rather than quickly. >> it is no secret he is one of the best in the league. he can change the game so quick. it's good for us and everybody is happy. >> every player wants to play. he's sitting out games, you know. it's no fun. the fun starts when you start to skate. and then it is even better when

you start to play games. so we have to monitor him. maybe he'll do a good job on the bench. >> green is ready to go. the capitals are playing well. the wizards are not. they are going 0-5. the wizards remain the only winless team in the nba. no end in sight. they'll play the orlando magic tomorrow. the magic, 4-2, the wizards did show some signs of life against the celtics but they lost their coach in the process. they're trying to get it done last night without head coach flip saupders. saupders and doc rivers meeting for the second time in as many nights. rashard lewis gets knocked down by celtic. andre blatche has to hold it back. and he is gone. actual game action. boston turns it over.

the wizards going the other way. john wall feeds dre. he gets the bump and the bucket. hits the free-throw to get within four. blatche played well. 28 points in the game. his best game of the year. a minute later, the celtics up by 6 and ray allen hits one of his six three-pointers in the game. boston wins it 100-92. the wizards fall to 0-5. >> the whole situation with flip being ejected early, that played a part in the game, too. a lot of players wanted to play extra hard. >> right now with a team like this, you're trying to teach them not only how to play but how to win. you have to have steps like this. did we get the win? no. we played right down to the wire. >> reporter: to college hoops, the terps have won six straight games. quite a turn-around for a team that wasn't expected to play very well this year.

and part of the reason why is they have two of their best players added to the team recently. that of course, the point guard is an assist guy. then you have alex who returns from a ten-game suspension and could end up being the best player on the team before it is said and done. mark said he expected an instant impact from both players. >> i knew they were good players. i knew they would help right away. you saw the albany game. it was the first game of the year for us. we were really good at times. we weren't good at times, other times. and then you saw a tremendous improvement from albany to stanford. >> it is great to have them back. they add a lot of depth in the bench and give us scoring opportunities. he pushed it in transition, head

to head. that was a plus. he gave us sides and he can do a lot of things to help the team. >> college football, the bold extravaganza continues. it will be michigan and virginia tech in the sugar bowl in new orleans. and virginia going for the first 12-win season in school history. last night in the fiesta bowl, there was a lot of talent on hand in this one. stanford and oklahoma state. justin blackman, the best in wide receiver football. luck going deep for ty montgomery and he's got him. 53-yard touchdown. luck ma ha good game. 27-31. 347 yards with a couple of touchdown passes and an interception. in the second quarter, it would be blackmon's turn. he makes the tough catch.

breaks the tackles and he is off to the races. 67-yard touch. blackmon, 186 yards and three touchdowns. this goes to overtime. of a a stanford missed field goal, the cowboys with a chance to win and it looks like they do here. brandon, a pretty good quarterback in his own right to colton. initially it is called a touchdown. the call is reversed. he was ruled down at the one. oklahoma state goes on to kick the field goal and they down stanford in the feast he is at a bowl. so virginia tech going at it. the capitals going at it with the calgary flames here, trying to get four wins in a row. hopefully these guys back on track. jim? >> thanks, dan. coming up after

in the last two months fairfax county has asked two military families to take down their tree houses. tonight one airman is speaking out. he said he built the tree house with his children and finished the project just before being deployed overseas. jane watrel has the story. >> reporter: it is a labor of love for phillip blevins. the springfield man spent two years building this ecofriendly tree house with his sons. after the air force family transferred from colorado. >> we contacted the county and said we're at building a tree

house in the backyard. and they told us that for a tree house, unless it was going to be something extravagant, that we didn't need any permission or paperwork to go along with that. >> reporter: two months after finishing the tree house, blevins was deployed as part of operation enduring freedom. someone anonymously brought it to the county's attention saying it was too close to the fence line. denise blevins called the zoning official and asked for a delay. >> i said there is nothing i can do. my husband is deployed. what am i going to do? he said that he would just talk to his supervisors and see if we could delay any action on it. and he did. >> reporter: but on friday, the family got a court sum onss saying the tree house has to be moved or torn down. and has 21 days to comply. this is the second time a military family has been in a zoning scrape in fairfax county. last month there was a ground swell of outrage from the neighbors of mark, an iraqi war veteran who finally won

permission to keep his children's tree house after a second try for a zoning variance. the blevins family is hoping for the same outcome. >> it's very frustrating. the kids love it. this is something we did for them. i don't know how you move four live trees and salvage this. >> reporter: with moving the tree house out of the question, the blevins say they have contacted an attorney in the hopes that fairfax county might change its mind. in springfield, jane watrel, news4. news4 contacted a spokesperson for fairfax county. they said they're currently looking into the matter. coming up in our 11:00 broadcast, republicans in iowa getting together to pick who they want for their presidential candidate in 2012. we'll have the report from des moines. also a store in dupont circle shutting down after 34 years in business. and a police officer in suburban chicago is in trouble tonight. because of what he did after he

wrote a speeding ticket to a pretty woman. we all want to know more about that so join us at 11:00. >> doug is here and the cold is not going anywhere. >> we've got some pretty good snow faug in northern virginia. most of us not seeing it. if you're down to the south of washington, we're looking at the snow around i-66. the current temperature, down to 26. the windchill right now at 16 degrees. yeah, it is on the cold side for sure. there is that snow. still this lake effect snow coming through. right through northern fauquier county and now entering parts of prince william county to the west of manassas. that's where it is falling, between warrenton and the manassas area around the area of the plains. out route 50 and 66. if you're traveling west, you could see some accumulation. we have seen about an inch of snowfall in the last two hours toward winchester. so heads up as far as that is concerned. you can see most of the snow showers starting to die down and we'll continue to do so as we

make our way through the night. the overnight low temperatures, 13 in leesburg. 13 in manassas. la plata, waldorf, calvert county, around 20 degrees for you folk. tucks tuck river, a very cold night tonight. le areas in the single digits to lower teens when you wake up. and the quadrantid meteor shower happening between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning. 60 to 100 per hour. it could be a really nice show. the moon going down around 3:14. you should have a dark sky, especially if you're in a darker area toward the suburbs. it could be a really nice meteor shower. it is the coldest night of the season, to remind you. high temperatures. 35 in washington, 33 in gaithersburg. 34 in manassas. we're talking about another cold day. the good news here is, for those of hue are opening it will warm

up, you'll get your wish. 51 on friday. a really nice day on friday. it could be a little breezy both days but not too bad. a little system coming through on sunday. watching that one closely. i think it will be mostly rain. >> all right. and at 11:00, please tell us who or what it is? >> a waxing moon? four years ago, the willy family lived in owings mills. they had a collie. that dog disappeared from their house one day. they searched all over for dodger. they called the animal shelters but it seemed he was gone forever. then somebody found dodger and took him to the anne arundel county animal shelter. they did that last tuesday. the workers there found the microchip on the dog. they contacted the microchip company. it turned out that the willy's no longer live in oceans mill. the company was able to find