hello, everybody. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm angie goff. >> and i'm chris gordon. it is sunday, february the 19th. weather a big story. now, there used to be an ad that said it is not nice to fool mother nature. >> that's right. >> this weekend, it isn't mother nature that's doing the fooling. >> yes. with each successive computer run, the storm we've been following all week long, it's a little bit further behind schedule and it's a little further to the south. and for snow lovers, ugh, you know, let's just pretend we never had any expectation to get anything at all, and that way, if we get something today, it

will seem good. >> it's all about the mindset. >> you have to go into this storm expecting absolutely zilch, which is what a lot of people are going to get. then maybe for us snow lovers, maybe half an inch in washington is as good as we can do. outside right now, just a veil of high clouds overhead and temperatures are not all that cold. mid-to-upper 30s around town. a little colder into northern maryland. 27 frederick, 29 hagerstown, 28 cumberland, maryland. right at freezing in martinsburg, west virginia, but still 40 degrees in frederic fredericksburg. here's your sunday planner. we might get a little break of sunshine early. we'll probably make low to mid-40s today. that's strike one. snow and 45, not so much. the winter weather advisory's been pushed further down to the south. that's strike two right there. winter storm warnings remain way down. if you're traveling today. don't take interstate 81 down into southwest virginia, take 95 through richmond. it will still be snowing, but a lot more snow in southwestern

virginia. there it is on the radar. not a whole lot going on just yet. the main area of low pressure is still near jackson, mississippi, and it's headed for wilmington, north carolina, strike three! >> you're out. >> yeah. >> go home! >> here's what to expect. a little light snow possible by late this afternoon. looks like the 1-inch accumulation line will probably stay south of the washington area. 1 to 4 inches likely southern shenandoah valley. roanoke might get six to eight inches of snow. here's chuck's chances. 60% chance of just flakes, 30% chance of up to an inch, and only a 10% chance that we'll get more than an inch. again, if you want to see snow, the shenandoah valley is the big winner. here's the four-day forecast. what little snow we get today is gone tomorrow. >> yeah, all right. thank you, chuck. >> doing the best i can. >> i know. i know. we don't fault you. >> okay. >> thank you, chuck. a charlottesville jury will

now decide the fate of a murder and fate of a university lacrosse player on trial for murder. deliberations will begin on wednesday after the holiday weekend. they must decide unanimously george huguely had the intent to kill his ex-girlfriend or if yeardley love's death was an accident. in closing arguments, the prosecution said huguely broke down a bedroom door to love's apartment and beat her. lawyers urged the jury to return a verdict of first or second-degree murder. those were the prosecutors. huguely's defense attorney acknowledged that his client contributed to love's death but says involuntary manslaughter is the most they should consider. the fbi says it's close to making more arrests in connection to a thwarted plot to bomb the u.s. capitol. federal authorities arrested amine el khalifi friday. investigators say undercover agents gave el khalifi a fake bomb and a gun. prosecutors say he was headed to the capitol to blow himself up

inside. officials at a mosque in fairfax county say el khalifi prayed there shortly before his arrest. it's the same mosque where anwar al awlaki once served and then became an al qaeda leader in yemen. today, whitney houston will be laid to rest in her home state of new jersey, buried next to her father not far from where she grew up. the burial comes after an emotional homecoming yesterday it was a service that family and friends attended. they filled the church, they praised the singer's life, work and her faith. nbc's mark barger has a look back at the ceremony. ♪ >> we celebrate the life, the love of whitney houston. >> reporter: and for almost four gospel-infused hours -- ♪ -- nearly 1,000 invited family and friends did just that. >> such a beautiful human being.

>> reporter: some speakers talked about houston's talent. >> you wait for a voice like that for a lifetime. >> reporter: others focused on her faith. >> and this is more important than anything she's ever done in her life, whitney houston loved the lord. ♪ >> reporter: but everyone was united in their affection for the late singer. >> and people didn't just like you, whitney, they loved you. ♪ >> reporter: but after a chorus of voices celebrating whitney houston's life -- ♪ please, don't cry >> reporter: -- it was her voice that provided the day's most powerful moment. ♪ and i will always love you >> reporter: in newark, new jersey, mark barger, nbc news. ♪ seeing your faces, i can't

even explain how i feel. >> whitney houston's ex-husband, bobby brown, performed last night just hours after leaving the funeral early. brown said in a statement, he left to avoid causing a scene. he walked to the casket, touched it and walked out of the church before the service started. later saturday night, brown performed in connecticut with his old r&b group, the new edition. he appeared energetic and thanked the crowd for keeping his spirits up. houston and brown divorced in 2007 after a 15-year marriage. maryland's state senate is expected to vote on and pass a bill legalizing gay marriage in the coming week. on friday, the house of del bai gates approved the bill with 72 votes, one more than the minimum needed to pass it. last year, the big passed in the senate but failed in the house by a slim margin. opponents of same-sex marriage

say they're going to try to gather some signatures for a petition which would turn the issue over to voters in the upcoming election. >> it could very well go to referendum, and we understand that. so, we're going to watch and see what the senate does, but at the same time, we are very prepared to be in the place of taking this to the voice of the people. >> if it does go to referendum, we're going to talk to people about why marriage equality is important for the state of maryland, why two people who love each other should be able to go to city hall and get a marriage license. >> if the bill becomes law, maryland would be the eighth state, plus d.c., to legalize gay marriages. same-sex couples would have to wait until january of 2013 to get legally married. in "decision 2012" this morning, a scandal involving a high-profile sheriff in arizona has now rocked mitt romney's presidential campaign. county sheriff paul babao resigned as co-chairman of

romney's campaign. it came after a phoenix newspaper revealed that he's gay. babeou is also disputing misconduct claims. the newspaper reported that he threatened to deport a man if he revealed the two ever had a relationship. babeau discussed the claims at a press conference yesterday. >> when that relationship ended, he then at a later point, as other people were brought into the campaign, not in a volunteer status, but on a paid status, he then took control of those items, the social media and the website and started posting information on there that was not complimentary. one, that's illegal on several levels. and also claimed and purported to be me, which is identity theft. >> babeau is also running for a state congressional seat and says he will continue his own

campaign. republican presidential candidate ron paul says the u.s. is "slipping into a fascist system." he said the country is dominated by government and businesses. he made the comment at a rally last night in kansas city. his event upstaged other republican party banquets in the area, including one with virginia governor mcdonell as the keynote peeker. >> chuck has been challenged this weekend. >> i know. >> you know, you have to call it like you see it, you know? sort of like being an umpire in baseball. we'll keep with that baseball analogy to the last hour, no doubt about it. still a mention of snowflakes in the forecast, don't touch that dial! people! look at you!

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well, if the weather was a game of baseball, you're ready to go home! >> done! ready to put on -- >> three strikes, you're out. >> ready to put on the big teddy

roosevelt hat and run around the baseball park like a loser! you know, just no good. >> you're not a loser. >> this whole winter. >> for people who aren't big into the whole snow thing, you're making their day, so -- >> and i keep telling myself, all the money we've saved on heating bills, you know? we really have. this winter has been mild every month, december, january and now february. at least five degrees warmer than average for every single winter month. and today, when we have a little chance for some snow in the forecast, alas, we're probably going to be just a little bit too warm on the onset. and so, what little amount of precipitation we're going to get, we might waste it on rain drops. what good is that? outside we go, then, on a sunday. if you're a snow hater, rejoice. you know, the crisis averted here in the washington area. but again, be real careful. if you're traveling today, down into southwestern and south central virginia, they are actually going to get real snow, unlike in the washington area,

which is just short sheeted out of any accumulation. 38 degrees right now here in washington, a north wind at 12 miles per hour, continuing to funnel in some cooler and drier air. but still, it's not all that terribly cold outside. and with temperatures trending up, generally into the low and even the mid-40s for a time today, at the onset of the precipitation late afternoon or evening time frame, it may start out with a little light rain before we get any snowflakes mixed in, and thickening today,

little light rain at the beginning before any opportunity for snow rolls in late evening time frame. and as far as amounts? oh, this is going to be bad. a trade to maybe two inches for you folks down south of manassas, down towards culpeper and washington, virginia, rappahannock county, so be on the lookout. increasing clouds today, light snow late in the afternoon, into the evening time frame. snow returns for the holiday and if we had enough snow to make a snowman, he wouldn't live very long, because we'll be back near 60 degrees by thursday-friday time frame. so, keep your expectations low

with this one. we're not pulling it all back completely, but you know, i've got my handle on both ends of the rug, just in case. >> thank you, chuck. >> all right. moving over to sports, it's a busy saturday of college hoops. >> hakem dermish has a look at the local spirit as well as highlights from the caps games in this morning's "sports minute." good morning, everyone. your "sports minute" begins with hockey. last night, the capitals in tampa bay playing the second of back-to-back road games. caps already down 1-0. matt hendricks with the puck and steven stamkos steals it and scores his league-leading 40th goal of the season. caps lose 2-1. they continue their road trip monday against carolina. georgetown on the rooz road against providence. hollis thompson scored 14 points, including this first-half buzzer beater. hoyas win 63-53. georgetown improves its record to 10-4 in the big east. in charlottesville, 22 virginia taking on maryland.

the terps committed 15 turnovers and the cavaliers out-scored the terps 40-13 in the second half. the cavs win big and maryland's worst loss of the season. virginia tech hosting georgia tech. 3 1/2 seconds to go. g jerrell eddie gets it to hudson for the win and he buries it. hudson before that had just two points in the game. huskies win a thriller, 74-73 in overtime. george mason hosting lamar on bracket-buster saturday. pearson had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the patriots beat the cardinals 75-71. george mason has won five in a row. elsewhere, st. joe's defeats george washington 73-66. that's your "sports minute." i'm hakeem dermish. have a great day. >> looks like your george mason may be going to the dance this month. >> the patriots, yes! well, let's hope. but the green mug? i'm going to go along the lines

of chuck and say it brings good luck. so, five in a row. go patriots. get that out of here. >> oklahoma. >> we don't need that nonsense. all right, next up is "reporter's notebook" -- >> a look at the stories affecting our community. >> and then, we're going to be back in about 15 minutes with your morning's top stories, and of course, chuck and your sunday forecast. for now, here's jim ndly. good morning, and welcome to "reporter's notebook." i'm jim handly. heated exchanges, scandals and investigations into d.c. politics, an abortion bill voted on in virginia and talk of a gas tax increase in maryland. let's start with this closed-door retreat for the d.c. council on valentine's day. not a lot of love shown in this closed-door room. >> no, a lot of contention. david catania and marion barry got at it. it formally started on legislation, on issues about a hospital in southeast washington. catania's been very, i believe, supportive of that issue, and i think he and marion barry have

some differences, and it just got worse and worse with "f" words, f-bombs, apparently, and just very, very frank language. and it really didn't sort of add to the idea of having a let's all meet somewhere and have a retreat and learn to like each other and work better. things kind of turned sour. as i understand it, mr. catania said i'm not taking back to what i said to mr. barry, planned barry wasn't happy al at all. >> is there a lack of, not decorum, but a lack of respect for one another in some instances? >> well, you would think so. any time you have a retreat to discuss procedures of ethics, and this has been the question throughout the council the whole year that they've been in office, the whole thing about ethics. now, they were discussing the new ethic rules, most likely the ones that were introduced by ward 4 council member -- the good lady up there, bowser, mrs. bowser. but the point here is that this was the wrong atmosphere.

you're talking about ethics, you're talking about how you're going to get along and it turns into a cursing match for one council member. i don't know what's wrong with david catania, but this is the second time around that he's gotten in some kind of a friction with another council member over the past two weeks. >> i don't know what's wrong with him, but he'd better straighten up really quick. i can tell you he's lost my vote and support. we'd had a conversation on my show about this that lasted almost three hours. not one person called in and supported catania on this. this started off with the financial officer. now, remember, they have a sunshine rule. so, there was a reporter there. >> right. >> and it started off, i believe, with the financial officer testifying or discussing an issue, marion barry asking a question, catania then proceeding with, you know, i mean, serious, serious curse words, and then calling him the most despicable human being.

so, again, people lose their tempers. i can understand that. but what i don't understand is when you don't have the decency to simply apologize. okay, i blew it, i'm sorry, you know, i shouldn't have spoken that way. his actions were despicable. that's what really upsets me, that language was despicable. so, it's like calling the -- the pot calling the kettle black. >> does this hurt him if he aspires for higher office? which some are saying he does. >> it could -- >> pardon me, anger management issues are serious. they're brought up. they've been brought up -- rahm emanuel at the white house. we've covered him at the house. we knew he was quick to call, you know, to call the kettle black, if he wanted -- >> now mayor of chicago. >> now mayor of chicago, but it has come up in his career, but

it hasn't hurt him. >> but this is different from emanuel. this is a local washington, d.c., situation, where people don't forget. and you can rest assure, marion barry, whether you like him or not, he is a pillar in this town. and regardless of all of that, the fact is that a council member that we're supposed to be looking up to as voters. >> right. >> we're supposed to be looking up to, they can only resort to cursing out each other. that's wrong. >> another councilman, jack evans today -- >> so, what do you tell children? >> how are you going to tell that kid, any place, southeast, northwest, where else, oh, don't curse. oh, yes, mommy, but i saw the 6:00 news. >> well, and we did not air that, but we did tell about it. jack evans says these investigations, the probes, if things don't get cleared up soon, it's going to hurt us on the hill as a city. >> well, it could, and it has. these kinds of things before -- there are members of congress

who are only too happy to get into district affairs, citing the constitution, that the congress has final power over the district. technically, that's true, and that is in the constitution, although defenders of the city say you ought to give us a little more leeway than you do. but anyway, the question is, will they get involved? they have an awful lot else on the plate on the hill, as i watch every day. they've got the debate over the contraception rules by the president, they've got the middle east, they've got the horrendous economic times going to the cliff almost on several issues over deficit, debt and payroll tax cuts. they've got a lot on them. it's a question of whether anyone will really notice this enough to make an issue out of it or whether they have political fish to fry elsewhere. don't know yet. >> well, that's the whole point. you're talking about republicans on capitol hill that do want to make an issue of the district of columbia. its inefficiency, it's not a working government. we've had a whole half year of investigations and criminal

accusations, 130 people taking money, embezzlement, and now two council members can't get along amadeus. >> but that hasn't been a big deal on the hill that much. >> that's true, dave, but i go back to the point i made last week about image. image is a big thing, and it doesn't look good on capitol hill. >> i tend to side with dave on this one. i think in this political year that they've got their, you know, capitol hill has their hands full. and remember, it's an election year. >> sure. >> d.c. doesn't really count. these members of congress are looking at major social issues like contraception and other issues like balancing the budget, budget deficit. i doubt if it gets enough -- if it gets news in the metro section of the newspapers. i just don't think it matters when it comes to -- >> except when one person on

capitol hill wants to take issue with the district of columbia. this is what he's saying. >> but i'll tell you when it will matter, and that will be after the november election. then they'll start all over again. >> sure. >> let's move to virginia and something controversial happening down there, a two-part kind of piece of legislation having to do with abortion. and some are calling it, it could push virginia to some of the strictest laws in the country. where do you see that shaking out? >> well, the way i see it shaking out is it's just another effort to delay or to put barriers up against women's rights to have an abortion. as simple as that. that's the way i look at it. >> well, it's true that the more conservative than ever virginia house is intent on a social agenda, and they have -- two proposals have now cleared there, and one would require, would say that the conception,

in effect when the sperm hits the egg, in effect, you have life. so therefore, the morning after pill, early abortions, you can't have them. >> is this close to the personhood we've heard about? >> it's the personhood movement in several legislatures and even on the hill. the other major would have a sonogram go into the woman's body to determine the status of life or the status of development of the fetus. and critics say that that's intrusive, it's unusual, it's not needed. and of course, the pro-choice people say that the other issue or relative to personhood is equally out of place. >> yeah, mississippi even rejected it. opposed to the referendum and the transvaginal ultrasound. here's the other issue, it's very expensive. i mean, it's several hundred dollars. so, what happens? poor women can't pay for it.

so, that means they can't get abortions. >> and that's my whole point about the women's rights. this is a delay, a barrier. the whole thing here is we're legislating what goes in women's bodies. isn't that a medical question? >> the question goes to the senate, and that's a 20-20 tie. but it looks like the lieutenant governor would be -- the tea leaves indicate it will pass and governor mcdonell will sign it. >> and this whole issue, church, legislators, whoever it seems like a panel of men keep making decisions about women's rights. >> and a political party that's always telling everybody they want to stay out of everybody's bedroom and individual rights. >> sex and men and america have problem with women. >> all right, we're going to take a break there and come back to talk about issues in maryland. stick around on "reporter's notebook."

and welcome back to "reporter's notebook." we want to talk about guns in virginia right now and a measure for concealed permits, anyway. they won't have their names kept private if they do have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. >> well, guns fans here, gun supporters don't like this at all. they try to remain incognito, as the word sometimes is used, because they felt they could be targets of people who are anti guns, that it would be unsafe for them. antigun people felt, no, if you buy a gun, it's a public record, it's a public issue, you should be in public and, you know, you should own up to the fact that you own a firearm, but it was defeated in committee. so, for the moment, that initiative seems to have hit a stall. >> well, you know, i'm a little confused here, because i think of virginia state, virginia tech. you know, the problems they had at virginia tech and other college grounds where virginia wants to put guns on college

campuses and things like that. but here, you're talking about the privatization of a person owning a gun. that has to be public record. i mean, a gun is a very, very type of instrument that causes fatality, can kill people, things like that. and whenever we have these homicides, we always have a problem trys to trace where the gun came from, how the gun -- so, i have to go along with -- people i talk with, they very much want people to be known if they have a gun. they want it to be public. >> i think this is one that was pushed by law enforcement. and as it relates to investigations. >> right. >> again, you know, you can have a concealed weapon. but what happens, like in the case of virginia tech, and you wanted to find out who did the weapon belong to in the commission of a crime? well, now you can't go -- if the law had passed, you wouldn't be able to find out because the records would be concealed.

so, i think this passed primarily because law enforcement agencies wanted it that way. >> exactly. >> and i think that's why you got this law. >> let's move into maryland and the governor's proposal to phase in a 6% gas tax hike. it's dependent upon prices not rising too high. we've seen them take it off in recent weeks, so what does this mean for that? >> well, the governor is putting a real full court press on this. he says i need this money to improve the infrastructure. and you know, we simply have to do it, which is interesting. it's in effect a tax hike, but in maryland, for the reasons the governor's offering, some people think he might have something going here, although there's opposition to it. republicans say it's one more burden on working class people, he shouldn't do it. but the interesting thing is what you just brought up, jim. part of the law says, if there's a spike in gas prices, this slows things down or they don't do it or they move ahead. we've certainly got a spike in

gas prices now. so will this sidetrack the entire bill? >> this is where i think he's walking on a fence. absolutely right for several reasons. if he wants a 6% gas tax, the infrastructure, transportation, we know all those issues, but do people want to put more into paying the gas prices already are going up do i want to spend 10 cents more or 6 cents more? and that's the way i think he's on the fence. he's saying i'd better get the feelers back on this as to whether this is going to go through or not. so what'd he do? he said we'll delay it if gas prices went up. excuse me, governor, gas prices went up this week. >> timing is everything. >> it is. >> everything in politics. and remember, when he proposed it, we had low gas prices, relatively low gas prices. now we're looking at gas prices getting close to almost $5 a gallon. >> exactly. >> so, the reality is, it's not going to happen, and he might as

well just wait until next session -- >> when the gas prices go down. >> not going to happen. timing is everything in politics. >> it is, you said it, and we are out of time, joe. thank you, gentlemen. great to see you all again here. >> thanks. >> good conversation this morning. we'll see you again next week. we thank you for having us in on "reporter's notebook." now back to "news 4 today." enjoy the rest of your weekend. good morning, everyone. i'm chris gordon. >> and i'm angie goff. welcome to "news 4 today." taking a look at our top story this morning, we turn our eyes to chuck. >> yes. >> are you ready to deliver? >> yeah, i'm ready to deliver the forecast. >> i've got people on the facebook page, they want snow. >> okay. so do i, just for the record. >> this time you know what you're going to do. >> well, what i'd like to do is

find some way to get a little more moisture and cold air in place so we could actually have a real snowstorm, but unfortunately, i'm not the one in charge of actually making the weather, so we'll go ahead, we'll put a positive spin on it. for everybody who's up early on a sunday morning, getting ready to head out to sunday services, no problems at all. you'll have no issues driving out and about the town area all morning, and really, through much of the early to mid-afternoon hours. so, look at that, our eastern sky there, nary a cloud to be found. there are clouds just to our west and southwest. you can see them sort of sneaking in over the capitol dome there. so, clouds will be on the increase, but it's a nice way to get your sunday morning started. it's barely cold, 38 in washington, 32 gaithersburg, 36 manassas and falls church, 37 waldorf and la palladlai plata. there's your "day planner." we'll have sunshine and mid-40s today! that is not good for snow chances. winter weather advisories are

posted, but south of fredericksburg, towards charlottesville, harrisonburg, roanoke, blacksburg, that's where the real snow's going to be. so if you are making a long-distance drive today, i-95 will have some impacts, but interstate 81 will be tough sledding, for sure, for drivers today. so be on the lookout for that. the main area of low pressure for wilmington, north carolina. light snow, light rain possible by late this afternoon, but i think the accumulation stays south of the washington area, likely in the southern parts of the shenandoah valley. here's chuck's chances now. 60% chance of just flakes, 30% chance of about an inch. this is in the washington area. and only a 10% chance of getting more than an inch of snow. 4 inches or more likely, though, once you go south of charlottesville, down to southwestern virginia, so keep that in mind if you're traveling today. i-81 would not be a preferred

method of travel. i-95 is a lot easier. 46 today. the snowman we're thinking of possibly making will barely be bigger than your coffee cup and he'll be gone by lunchtime tomorrow. >> okay. >> sorry for snow lovers. >> all right, thank you, chuck. >> okay. in the news this morning, prince george's county police are investigating multiple shootings. police say the shootings stemmed from an argument between the suspect and one of the victims. the shooting happened around 12:30 this morning in the 5500 block of marlboro pike in district heights. police say four people were shot and taken t the hospital. they all suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. the suspect led police in a car chase for about 20 minutes before finally being caught and arrested near the beltway and telegraph road. relatives are trying to cope with the loss of a teen who was killed this weekend. 18-year-old tie yeesha williams hit by a car and left behind to

die. she leaves behind a son. the accident could prevent a similar case. >> i lost my sister. >> reporter: relatives are grieving the loss of tiesha williams. she was 18 years old, the mother of a little boy about to turn 2. she died in a car crash in prince george's county early saturday morning. police say the driver left the scene. >> i just want to say, if anybody knows the whereabouts of who the driver was, please come forward and alert the authorities. >> reporter: the single-car crash happened at suitland road and hill mar drive in suitland about 1:30 in the morning. relatives say four people were in the car. tiesha, who was one of the passengers, was ejected. >> she was up here at the grandmother house of my grandson and a friend of hers left out with somebody, and i get a call that says she's been in an accident. so, i came out here to find out

and get some answers of what happened to her. >> reporter: relatives say it appears the car hydroplaned on standing water, went airborne and struck a tree. they say there have been other crashes here and they want the county to investigate and correct the problems with this road. >> if you look over there now, you can see there was an accident over there recently. so, i don't know how many accidents in the same zone, but we do know that it caused tiesha williams' death and we need to deal with that and the county should deal with fixing this area so no one has to deal with this again. >> reporter: prince george's county says they have identified that driver but are not releasing his name. once in custody, he will face some very serious charges. in suitland, darcy spencer, "news 4 today." d.c. police are trying to figure out how a woman's body ended up in the potomac river. rescuers pulled the remains from the water yesterday. they were located near the entrance to rock creek parkway in georgetown. police have not released the

woman's identity. another massive fire in honduras, this time at a street market in the capital. police say 11 people were injured in the blaze which ripped through several blocks in they guce gal pa. luckily, no one was killed and authorities are still looking into the cause. this fire comes days after a fire at a prison that killed more than 350 people. angie? prosecutors have ordered drug tests on the captain of a capsized cruise after traces of cocaine were found. italian authorities say captain francesco schettino deliberately steered the "costa concordia" into shallow waters to impress tourists. the boat hit a reef and capsized last month, killing 32 people. lawyers representing survivors of the disaster say lab tests show cocaine near a hair sample, hair strands or in a urine sample. the captain faces manslaughter charges and accusations of

abandoning his ship before all the passengers could evacuate. the time right now is 6:39. coming up, espn issues an apology to jeremy lin. why the major sports network is back-tracking from one of its headlines. and she thought her dog was being put to sleep, only to find out he was still alive and living with another family. how the mix-up happened and where the dog is now.

welcome back. we're about a week and a half away from our next republican primary, and rick santorum is emerging once again as a formidable candidate. is mitt romney in trouble? joining us now is moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. thank you, david. good morning. >> good to be here. >> most polls are showing santorum is leading romney in romney's, i guess, native state,

you could say. what changed the tide for romney here, because this is a state he carried back in 2008? >> well, i think santorum is building off momentum where he won several contests, didn't produce any delegates, but won three in a row. and it all of a sudden caused people to say, wait a minute, i thought romney was going to wrap this up after he won florida, and that was not to be. santorum's running a very strong, conservative primary campaign. mitt romney's not doing. a lot more talk about contraception and gay marriage issues which he's much more comfortable talking about in a primary race, and i just think that conservatives look at romney and say they're not connecting with him, that he seems to have a lot of vulnerabilities in a general election and republicans are taking another look. >> ronald reagan used to say the 11th amendment was thou shall not speak ill of a fellow republican. with all the infighting in the party, do you think a stronger or weaker candidate will emerge?

>> you know, any primary process, despite that commandment, will be rough between candidates. in this case, i think what's most harmful is the rule change, which means the delegates are only delegated proportionally, which almost by design makes it a longer contest, and that's troublesome for the party because you don't have the opportunity to coalesce around one candidate. and this year, in this cycle, you have so many republican primary voters who are simply dissatisfied with the choices. so, if romney lost michigan, you could really have the party freaking out, because there would be a question of, all right, who is capable of getting that emergencyic number, 1,144 delegates? it will be a real question and more calls for perhaps people getting into the race. >> well, if romney does lose michigan, this is a critical state, can we recover? >> good question. he still has organization and has the ability to grind this out and that's still what a lot of people think will happen, but it may not be the case where a

party has the nominee that is beloved and that's not the way you want to go into a general election cycle. >> so what's coming up on "meet the press"? >> we'll talk about this. i'm interested in talking about the social issues still dominating the campaign. gay marriage in our area is a big story with what happened in maryland. we've got chris van hollen and paul ryan, paul ryan, of course, the budget chair, and van hollen, the ranking member. we'll talk about the economy as well and leadership in washington and how big of a fight that's going to be into the fall. >> and a pretty entertaining "press pass." >> brian stokes mitchell is a broadway star and did a performance about honoring duke ellington. i thought it was a good time to take a look at arts for a bit. one of the great voices, great broadway stars. >> did you get him to sing? >> i did, actually, i did. it made the people working for me a little nervous, but it was great. he was terrific. >> all right, david gregory. >> that's right after the show. >> tune in. thank you very much. when david got to the set, the first question he asked was what about snow? >> well, then you need to

explain this to my kids. >> i've got my cell phone. you can call them directly, tell them what's going on happen. >> the call's going out to david's house and your houses, keep your expectations low, low, low for this sunday event. your detailed forecast is next.

welcome back, everybody. we are talking your weather. it is our top story this morning. >> right. >> because we are going to see flakes. now, how many, that's another question. >> right here -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> computer models, and they're like, which model are you looking at? a couple days ago, we were looking at the cindy crawford and now we're looking at a different one. pick a less attractive model and

that will be the one. i don't dare throw a name out because someone will be like, what's wrong with that person? a less attractive model is what we're talking about, because each run, computer models are taking the moisture further south and are delaying it longer and making it warmer, and each and every time for snow lovers, this is an uglier forecast, no doubt about it. if you hate snow, we're back to the cindy crawford model once again because it's a nice day, partly cloudy skies. this bonus sunlight early in the morning is really helping put one of the final nails in the coffin. we still have a chance of getting some snowflakes around here this evening, but boy, every degree we climb here in the early-morning sunshine's going to do nothing but help inch our temperature further and further above the 40 degree mark this afternoon and really hurt snow chances. it's 38 in washington. winds out of the north at 12 miles per hour, and there's no super cold air close by at all. hagerstown, one of the cold spots at 29 degrees this morning, but fredericksburg, st.

mary's city, solomons island, annapolis, all flirting with 40 degrees early this morning. so, a little bit of morning sunshine will help push temperatures into the mid-40s for a brief time this afternoon, then heading back down into the upper 30s and low 40s as we head towards sunset this evening, that's 6:00. the winter weather advisory has been pushed further to the south. no advisories in the immediate metropolitan area. if you're traveling on i-81, you're headed in snow, southern and central shenandoah valley, roanoke and blacksburg will be the biggest winners of this event. the moisture's already coming into the colder air there. as a result, roanoke, blacksburg could get four to six inches of snow today, but the low pressure is by mississippi, aiming for the lower carolina coastline. snow lovers, we need it to be heading for the outer banks, not for the southeast coast of

carolina. here's how i see it breaking down. cloudy and dry to start. most of the steadier snows are going to stay well down to our south and the heavier snow staying well south of our area for today and eventually disappearing completely as the sunshine returns tomorrow. up close and personal. the clouds filling in. some light rain at the start by 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 this evening. then even by the chance we get to turn it over to snow, i think no more than an inch in washington. increasing clouds today, light rain and snow by late afternoon and continuing into about the midnight hour, then quickly ending after that. then, presidents' day, becoming sunny, cool and breezy, temperatures once again tomorrow back up into the 40s. the extended forecast here, mild weather, yes indeed. the wrong seven-day. we're starting with monday instead of sunday. let's see if -- well, yeah. so, 40s today, 40s tomorrow. latest on the forecast can always be found on our website, nbcwashington.com. and i've been tweeting it out over the course of the weekend as well. so just sort of stick with that.

not a lot of snow and temperatures back mid-50s to near 60 by wednesday-thursday time frame. so, not a whole lot of winter in that seven-day. >> that's all right. it's okay. it's okay. >> it is february. >> you will get through it. >> i know. one of these days. >> thank you, chuck. well, the new york police department is receiving criticism for reportedly monitoring muslim students at schools outside city limits. the "associated press" learned that detectives kept tabs on students at yale, university of pennsylvania, even as far away as buffalo, which is 300 miles outside of new york city. police say they were simply monitoring muslim student associations, but civil rights advocates say it's a violation of their freedom and noted that all of the people the police monitored did not have criminal records. espn says they've launched a full investigation into a controversial headline about knicks point guard jeremy lin. the headline ran early saturday morning after the knicks lost to the hornets friday night,

snapping a seven-game winning streak with lin in the lineup. an anti-asian slur was part of the headline which was on espn's mobile website. news 4 has decided not to show or repeat that headline. the sports network apologized for the slur and said disciplinary action would be taken. elizabeth smart is now a married woman. the 24-year-old senior at brigham young university got married yesterday in a private ceremony in hawaii. now, she was kidnapped, you may recall, from her utah home in 2002 when she was just 14. she was found alive nine months later with a couple who abused her and held her captive. smart met her husband while on a mission trip in france. an albuquerque woman who thought she was putting her dog to sleep had to say good-bye to her pooch twice. the chihuahua named lolo was attacked by another dog and a veterinarian told the owner lola

would probably die if not eighteenth nized first. four months later, an animal clinic contacted the owner about changing information recorded in lola's microchip. turns out, lola was living with another family. the woman said she was never told her dog might survive. >> if they would have come to you and said we saved your dog, it would be $1,500, what would you have done? >> i would have said, okay, put it on my card. >> the new owners changed lola's name to tinker. lisa gossett says she'll let the dog stay at her new home because tinker is happy there. >> very generous. both owners obviously love the dog. >> it's a bizarre story. as david gregory was telling us, the presidential election is about eight months away. >> yes, he was, but yesterday there was a different sort of presidential election going on at nationals park. it was the annual nats mascot tryouts. candidates dressed up as washington, lincoln, jefferson

to prove they did handle the costume. the mascots raced in the fourth inning of every nationals home game and teddy roosevelt has never, never won a race. i even saw him on a segway one game and still lost. >> and i told you about this twitter -- >> let teddy win! his own twitter handle. very strong following. >> i'm going to sneak into that teddy costume one of these days and get teddy across the finish line. >> bring it home. >> there's still more "news 4 today" after the break. >> also "viewpoint," so stay with us. ♪

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the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. ♪ welcome to "news 4 today." i'm angie goff. >> and i'm chris gordon. it is sunday, february 19th. taking a look at this morning's top stories now. memorial services for whitney houston continue today in new jersey with her burial. yesterday, family and friends honored the singer's life at her funeral. it was held at the same church houston attended as a child. a jury will begin deliberations wednesday in the murder trial for a former university of virginia lacrosse player. george huguely is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, yeardley love, in may of 2010.

the 24-year-old from chevy chase, maryland, faces life in prison, if convicted of the most serious count of murder. and prince george's county police have one person in custody after allegedly shooting four people and leading police on a car chase from maryland into virginia. it happened in district heights around 12:30 this morning. all four shooting victims have nonlife-threatening injuries. and if you got one of those nice, heavy-duty snowblowers, don't even think about firing it up. >> you've gone an insurance policy if you bought one of those. >> it's important to start it up just to make sure that it still runs, but from a using it standpoint, i don't think that it's going to get out of the garage today. at the rate things are going it may never get out of the garage around here this winter. outside, you only need two things to make snow, moisture and cold air, and right now we have neither outside. it's a relatively quiet start and 38 degrees already in washington, 39 in st. mary's county, 40 in fredericksburg, only 28 degrees in frederick, maryland.

that's one of the cold spots this morning. and with a little bit of early-morning brightness in our skies, we'll get a sliver or two of sunshine in the front half of the day, putting temperatures into the mid-40s. that doesn't sound like a snow forecast at all. winter weather advisories have been moved way down to our south and west, south of fredericksburg, toward the mitch mond area. stay away from i-81 if you're driving today, as that's where the majority of the snow is going to be. for us, a whole lot of something to. light rain, light snow possible late this afternoon into this evening. i think the one-inch accumulation line stays south of washington, not even getting an inch of snow here. one to four inches of snow likely central and southern shenandoah valley. so, a 60% chance of just flakes, sort of like just jack? just flakes. 30% chance of about an inch and only a 10% chance that we'll get more than an inch of snow. again, snow lovers, it's not going to be far. just drive two or three hours southwest of washington and you'll get some snow. >> a little road trip on this sunday.

>> road trip! >> all right, thank you, chuck. >> okay. up next is nbc 4's "viewpoint." >> that's right, and we're going to be back in a few minutes with an update on your news. good morning, everybody, and welcome to "viewpoint." i'm jim handly. this sunday morning, we're talking about black history month this february. its importance and significance to younger african-americans. our guests are gladys gary vaughn, former president of the links. we also have sylvia cyrus, and darryl michael scott with the association of african-american life and history. welcome back to all of you to "viewpoint." great to see you again. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> great to be here. >> let's start out, i want to hear more about asala and its roots and beginnings, but let's start with black history month and all the way back to 1915 and how it came to be. >> okay. well, interestingly, the first celebration was 1926, but it

really originated in 1915, when carter g. wilson started the association. it appears that one of the impetuses for him doing that was that there was a 50th anniversary celebration of emancipation in chicago. so, while he was there at this public celebration of black history, he came up with the idea of starting the association, and so, we had our origins there at a public celebration, but it was 11 years later that negro history week began with carter g. woodson. in 1976, the association expanded the celebration from a week to a month. >> wow. and here we are and making it relevant still today to so many younger people. we were talking in the newsroom and this is a question you've all heard before -- why do we celebrate it every year as one month? why not year round, some people argue? >> well, the association has always believed since the days of carter g. woodson that african-american history should be studied and celebrated every

day of the year. and woodson used to talk about the need for a shift from negro history week to negro history year. so woodson was the original 365 guy, but he also believed that february negro history week was still important, because that would be when people would come together to celebrate what they had learned about a given theme for the entire year. so, woodson was really of negro history week, plus 365 kind of guy. he was not an either/or proposition to him. >> tell us about the organization and when it began and what it does today. >> the association for the study of african-american life in history started in 1915 with dr. woodson and some friends. whab and what he realized was that at that time, no organization, no publications were promoting the contributions of african-americans in this country and around the world. and so, he set out his life's work to make certain that

information was available to everyone, particularly teachers, individuals who were really doing the work of american history, to make sure that it was included. and since that time, we are now, as you know, celebrating our 97th anniversary. we still are a vibrant membership organization, individuals who are history professors as well as history lovers and history makers, young people, can join this association and be about the work of studying our history, publishing our history, disseminating our history. >> gladys, you are now a board member, so congratulations. >> well, thank you. >> how does one become a member, because this is a membership or? >> well, for me, it was a matter of looking on the website, really, and i was reminded of the extraordinary work that asala had done, so i picked up the phone and called sylvia and told her that i was going to

join for the long haul, and i did, and i started volunteering again. and that bit of work became really precious work for me and i have continued since that time. and subsequently, my name appeared on the ballot, and i was elected a member of the executive council, which really is quite an honor for me to have been elected. >> talk about the work that you do outside of february, the rest of the year. >> the rest of the year, yes. >> exactly. well, we have one major event that happens in the fall, this year in september. we'll have an annual conference in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. as you know, this association sets the theme for black history month, or the annual black history theme. and this year's black history theme is black women in american culture in history. so, in september, individuals will come from around the

country and some international members will come and present papers and talk about the work that they've done in research of black women and other topics and just have a wonderful dialogue and exchange at that conference. we also have luncheons and receptions and that whole kind of thing, which really lends itself to great dialogue. so, that's one of our really big events. then on a local basis, we have branches or chapters around the country, and they, too, have events talking about local history and spurring the interest in black history and inclusion around the nation. >> in fact, you have a big luncheon coming up this saturday right here in town, and that is honoring several prominent women. >> absolutely. our number one woman of the day that day will be dr. jeanetta cole, who is a perfect speecher for our luncheon, as she is the only individual that's trained both hbcus that train

african-american women at bennett college and spelman college. but in addition, we have 18 other women who we have selected from around this country who we think epitomize our living legacies. and so, we've created an award that we're giving to those individuals, and credential, dr. cole is one of them, but local individuals like peggy cooper kay foot, denise barnes, bernese johnson regan and others, bishop mckenzie, the first ame bishop, a female, which is very exciting for us. so, there are a number of ladies that we will be honoring and paying tribute to. and so far, we already have 1,000 people who will be coming out to that event. >> it's sold out, in fact. >> it actually is. >> but there's a book signing we want to tell people about, but we have to go to break.

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to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep. and welcome back to "viewpoint" as we continue to celebrate black history month with our friends from asala. gladys, we were talking about the theme this year for black history month, and several events that you've got coming up, one coming up this saturday, is honoring african-american women and their many contributions. why did you come up with that theme for this year? >> the theme really is a continuation of many aspects of african-american history. and last year, the theme had to do with the civil war. this year, we have segues into african-americans, african-american women. now, for me, having worked as a professional african-american woman, having headed african-american women's organizations, having served on

boards, in a sense, it's kind of high time that -- >> uh huh? [ laughter ] >> -- that this dimension of african-american history be highlighted. you know, many of us know the names of people who are celebriti celebrities, but the women who do the work every day, who help build the nation, who help move and build in communities, those are the people that we want to be celebrate d under this. last week, i was privileged to give a presentation and i chose to talk about black women and agriculture. that's the group of women that you could consider an unsung group of women, women who have labored in the fields, women who

have built communities and women who have started organizations to make sure that people in their community had what they needed, that the children got scholarships, that the churches did what they were to do. those are the kind of women that we want to be celebrated during this celebration. >> and the grassroots, who are not just talking the talk, but are living it. they are hands on out in the community every day getting the job done. >> they are doing it. they're out getting the job done. this is a wonderful opportunity for the national body asala to send a message all over the world that we need to begin to celebrate the contributions of these women. >> we're going to put your history knowledge to the test. refresh our memory of what we learned in high school or should have learned about dr. woodson and all that he wanted almost

100 years ago now. >> carter g. woodson's story is a truly american story, and he's a role model for so many people today, or should be a role model for so many people today. carter g. woodson was born of parents who were slaves, and he did not have a formal education while a child. he was largely self-taught. so, once he got the rudiments of language, he started reading on his own and did not go to high school until he was almost 20 years old. and so, woodson at 20 goes to high school, finishes high school quickly, and decides to go on to college at berea, then to go on to the university of chicago, and ultimately to harvard to get a ph.d in history and he was motivated by meeting all the black men who fought in the civil war. it was from that that he went and wrote about the contributions of black people in the making of history, and this

is also why he created negro history week, because he wanted to take the celebrations of douglas and lincoln and turn them into the celebration of the contributions of a people, not just stellar individuals. into the study of a people and a race and how they shaped history and how their contributions should make us rethink the place of african-americans in american society. >> you mentioned when he was 20 years old. you see 20-year-olds every day as a professor at howard. tell us how interested and how much they appreciate african-american history, or do they, they generation? when they didn't have the struggles that their parents or grandparents did. >> well, our students tend not to take things for granted, i must say. our students are fairly conscious, but our students actually learn differently from how most of us learned. and so, the great challenge of our age is to reach our students

who read extremely well but don't like to read a lot. and in fact, it's hard to capture their attention. and so, the great trick of this generation's educators is to learn how to reach students in media that they appreciate. and so, that's the ongoing struggle in higher education today, that students do learn, they love to learn, they're fairly highly skilled, but they don't -- it's a lot like -- well, they want information, they want it quickly, and they want to move on to the next thing. >> sure. it's all about now and what the next big thing is. >> right. >> but history is so important because we wouldn't be where we are today without it, and we're still making history, and that's what you point out, why this month is so relevant, because we are still making history. >> right. people often raise the question, and they say, well, why do you still need black history month? after all, you have a black

president. and my best answer to them is one that's very straight forward, because black people are still making history, and that history in general, it's not just a political statement to say we're going to talk about black history because we're making a political statement. history is important in and of itself, and one or more interesting things about it, if we were to get rid of black history month, we would get rid of the longest running celebration of american history, because there is nothing comparable to black history month. there is nothing. and before black history month was, february was black history month, it was american history month and it did not last. so, american history month lives on through black history month. get rid of it and you would have gotten rid of all long-running celebrations of american history. >> after this short break, i want to ask you why february and

also acknowledge your acknowledgement the other night in town, quite an award you received. we'll be right back on "viewpoint" as we continue the conversation on black history month. stick around.

good morning. i'm angie goff. here are some of the stories we're following this morning. whitney houston will be buried today. her burial plot will sit next to her late father's in westfield, new jersey, not far from where she grew up. yesterday, family and friends gathered for the singer's funeral in the same church houston attended as a child. jury deliberations are scheduled to begin wednesday in the murder trial for a former university of virginia lacrosse player. george huguely is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, yeardley love, in may of 2010. the 24-year-old from chevy chase, maryland, faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious count of murder.

prince george's county police have one person in custody after allegedly shooting four people and leading police on a car chase from maryland into virginia it happened at district heights around 12:30 this morning. now back to "viewpoint." we'll be back with your top headlines in 15 minutes. and welcome back to "viewpoint" on this black history month day. we're celebrating today, as we are all month long, with our friends from asalh. i want to first of all acknowledge and congratulate you. you were honored at a big dinner with the congressional black caucus foundation. tell us about the event and what it meant to you. >> the association and i were greatly honored to receive their organizational award for promoting and preserving black history. they have a wonderful a voice program and project where they maintain the papers of members of congress from the congressional black caucus, and we have supported that.

we've had individuals who serve on the advisory board. and every opportunity we get to support that, we do. >> a couple of weeks ago, barbara jordan, they mentioned her papers and the significance of those as well. that's part of it. >> exactly, exactly. bernard forrester was one of the awardees from texas southern and kevin chschappel, both with tie to the association, so i felt like a proud mother that day that the awardies were connected to the association, but it was a fabulous event for a fabulous foundation that does really, really good work in terms of the community. >> how does one become a member? i mean, we're putting up the web address. how does one become a member and get involved, particularly younger people? how do you reach out to them? >> exactly. as dr. scott mentioned, the way young people learn and communicate is much different than those of us who have been around a little bit. and we're addressing that and need young people to get involved, because we know that the stories of black history and our struggle and triumph are

really important and serve as the wind beneath the wings of so many of our young people. so, we have done things, like we have a facebook page and we tweet, not me personally, but there are people out there who do that for us. but we need young people to get involved, because our history is so important, because as is so often said, if you don't know your history and address it, you're going to be forced to repeat it. and so, you can become a member of this association very easily. you can go to our website and go to the join asalh link at www.asalh.org. and for a small fee, you can become a member and get our mailings or find out about events. it's a very, very great organization when you want to get more information that can help you planning programs throughout the year. >> what kind of frbs has it made

was i was going to get involved in an organization that for me represented my roots. and so, i started volunteering. i started with the luncheon committee, the committee that sponsors the luncheon that we'll take next saturday. and then i got increasingly involved in the activities of the association and what it does is helps me what it means to be an authentic black woman because i'm learning more and more about the contributions of women in almost every sphere it is and what it took to build this nation.

a lot of things i didn't know about, i'm getting a broader understanding just by my association with the professionals and the volunteers in asalh. i had been for years promising myself that i would attend an asalh convention. well, last year, i got my act togeth together. >> and you did it. >> and i went. i drove to richmond, and it was an extraordinary occasion for me. i read black history, i read american history, and i thought i knew a lot. i remember saying to sylvia, i don't know anything. >> after that, yeah. >> after that. i don't know anything. >> really, yeah. >> but i learned an awful lot that day. and i learned new sources of information. and i had already begun to bring younger people whom i knew to the asalh luncheon, and i decided i would continue that

practice and hope also i could get more of them to come with me to the convention. but it is a marvelous way to learn about the contributions of people of african dissent to the nation. one marvelous session had to do with the hip-hop culture, which in my view, i had kind of dismissed. changed my mind after i went to the asalh convention, when i understood not only the magnitude of the hip-hop culture, but really, what it is actually meaning for certain dimensions of american culture. and so, all i can say is that it has been an extraordinary experience for me. it's an organization i dearly love. growing up, it was called the association of negro history, but i learned that way. >> and it all started on the website, which we want to flash

up one more time. if you're finterested in learnig more about asalh, just go to asalh.org. asalh.org. you notice i keep putting "a" in hmm. what's going on with dad? he seems different. he's not talking about work. he's not tucking in his shirt. he's not checking messages every nine seconds.

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welcome back to "viewpoint" as we celebrate black history month this february. dr. scott, we have a couple big landmarks coming up in two or three years, is that right, a centennial? >> absolutely. in 2015, the association will be celebrating its centennial, and that would make us -- well, we are now the oldest black learned society in the world. and so, the fact that we're going to make it to a centennial is a very big deal for us. and what makes the centennial sweeter even yet is that in 2015, we expect that the smithsoni smithsonian's national african-american museum will open that year. and also, we're hoping that the national parks service will be

able to keep on schedule and open carter g. woodson's home in 2015. >> that's on ninth street around the shiloh baptist, is that right? >> absolutely. so, 2015 is a wonderful time for us. we are looking forward to it. it's three years away, but that's only tomorrow. >> that's a nice goal to be shooting for, nice vision. and you have something else coming up, a luncheon honoring some very notable women. tickets are sold out, but there is a book-signing that's open to the public. >> absolutely. at 10:00 at the renaissance hotel located on ninth street. individuals can come and partake in a wonderful event. we'll have over 25 authors of historical books. there will also be children's books, novels that talk about black history. that event is free and open to the public, so if individuals will come between 10:00 and 12:30, they can walk around and just have a wonderful exchange with authors, find out why they wrote books and what inspired them and really have an opportunity to tellfellowship w

the community. so we encourage people to come out saturday at 10:00. >> great way to spend the day and learn along the way. thank you for all the work you do. great for seeing you again. thank you for coming on "viewpoint." >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and thank y for watching "viewpoint" this morning. now back to "news 4 today." enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone. good morning. it's 7:31. i'm chris gordon. >> and i'm angie goff. welcome to "news 4 today." well, we're talking to chuck this morning about this slow-moving system coming our way. >> yeah, and it just goes slower and slower and it's aiming further down to the south, so as a result, our snow chances are going south with it -- >> but we will still get some flakes. >> we will get some flakes, yes, indeed. don't count on a lot of flakes.

if you were counting them individually, it might seem like a big number, but it's not looking like a whole lot today. temperatures are not anywhere near freezing in most locations now. as you look outside in our eastern sky, we're going to get a sliver or two of sunshine here in the very front part of the day. temperatures, though, are already in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees and even just a little bit of daylight in that thin veil of cloud cover will put temperatures into the low to mid-40s, and that's trouble for snow lovers, no doubt about it. it was never going to be a big storm, and now with each degree we pick up, that is less and less potential for snow. here's your "sunday planner," low and mid-40s for a time this afternoon. i think we'll be dry for the remainder of the morning and the first flake drop potential doesn't come until this evening so that's another problem for getting snow, waiting forever. winter weather advisories are way down to south, down sowdz charlottesville and harrisonburg. winter storm warnings in southwestern virginia, so don't

drive south along i-81 between harrisonburg and blacksburg. that's where the worst of it's going to be, three to insix inches, but we're not getting much. light snow and light rain possible late this afternoon into this evening. i think the one-inch line of snow stays south of the washington area. one to four inches likely central and southern shen dough valley. so just a 60% chance of only flakes, less than an inch, 30% and 10% chance of getting an inch or more. >> we know you're continuing to monitor the situation. >> i'm on it and i'm doing everything i can to get more snow out of the situation. wednesday, a charlottesville jury will begin deciding the fate of a former university of virginia lacrosse player on trial for murder. jurors must unanimously agree george huguely had the intend to kill his ex-girlfriend or if yeardley love's death was an accident. in closing arguments, the

prosecution said huguely broke down a bedroom door to love's apartment and beat her. prosecutors urged jurors to return a verdict of first-degree or second-degree murder. huguely's defense attorney acknowledged that his client contributed to love's death but says involuntary manslaughter is the most they should consider. the fbi says it is close to making more arrests in connection with that foiled plot to bomb the u.s. capitol. federal authorities arrested am amine el khalifi on friday. investigators say undercover agents gave el khalifi a fake bomb and a gun. prosecutors say he was headed to the capitol to blow himself up inside. officials at a mosque in fairfax county say el khalifi prayed there shortly before his arrest. this is the same mosque where anwar al awlaki once served as imam and then became an al qaeda leader in yemen.

this will be another emotional day for the family of whitney houston. today they'll bury the singer in her home state of new jersey. yesterday, a crowd filled a church and celebrated the singer's life and her faith. nbc's mark barger has a look back at the ceremony. ♪ >> we celebrate the life of whitney houston. >> reporter: and for almost four gospel-infused hours -- ♪ -- nearly 1,000 invited family and friends did just that. >> such a beautiful human being. >> reporter: some speakers talked about houston's talent. >> you wait for a voice like that for a lifetime. >> reporter: others focused on her faith. >> and this is more important than anything she's ever done in her life, whitney houston loved the lord. ♪ >> reporter: but everyone was united in their affection for the late singer. >> and people didn't just like

you, whitney, they loved you. ♪ >> reporter: but after a chorus of voices celebrating whitney houston's life -- ♪ please, don't cry >> reporter: -- it was her voice that provided the day's most powerful moment. ♪ and i will always love you >> reporter: in newark, new jersey, mark barger, nbc news. ♪ >> seeing your faces, i can't even explain how that feels. >> whitney houston's ex-husband, bobby brown, performed last night, just hours after leaving the funeral early. brown said in a statement, security repeatedly asked him and his children to move seats, so he left to avoid causing a scene. he walked to the casket, touched it and walked out of the church

before the service started. later saturday night, brown performed in connecticut with his old r&b group, new edition. he appeared energetic and thanked the crowd for keeping his spirits up. houston and brown divorced in 2007 after a 15-year marriage. well, maryland state senate is expected in the coming week to vote on a bill that would legalize gay marriage. on friday, the house of delegates approved the bill with 72 votes. that's just one above the minimum number they needed to pass it. last year, the bill passed in the senate but failed in the house by a slim margin. opponents of same-sex marriage say they will try to gather signatures for a petition which would then turn the issue over to the voters in the upcoming election. >> it could very well go to referendum, and we understand that. so, we're going to watch and see what the senate does, but at the same time, we're very prepared to be in the place of taking this to the voice of the people. >> if it does go to referendum, we're going to be talking to

people about why marriage equality is important for the state of maryland and why two people who love each other should be able to go to city hall and get a marriage license. >> the maryland senate is expected to pass the bill and governor o'malley said he would sign it into law as the sponsor of the bill. same-sex couples would have to wait until january 2013 to get legally married in the state. in "decision 2012" this morning, a scandal involving a high-profile sheriff in arizona has now rocked mitt romney's presidential campaign. sheriff paul babeau resigned as chairman of romney's campaign after it was revealed he's gay. he is disputing misconduct claims. the newspaper reported that he threatened to deport the man if the mexican immigrant revealed their relationship. babeau said once the relationship ended, his ex hacked into a social networking site. >> these were photographs that are mine, that i sent to an

individual that was meant only for their, not to be splashed on tv. and there has to be bounds for privacy. >> babeau is also running for a state congressional seat and says he'll continue his own campaign. well, republican presidential capped date ron paul says the u.s. is, in his words, slipping into a fascist system. he says the country is dominated by government and business. paul made the comment at a rally last night in kansas city. his event upstaged other republican party banquets in the area, including one with virginia governor bob mcdonell as the keynote speaker. with no clear-cut leader right now, the race for the republican nomination could be down to the wire. "meet the press" moderator david gregory joined us earlier this morning and said this could be harmful for the gop when it comes to the general election. >> i think what's most harmful

is the rule change, which means the delegates are only allocated proportionally, which almost by design makes it a longer contest, and that's just more troublesome for the party because you don't have an opportunity to coalesce around one candidate. and in this year, in this cycle, you have so many republican primary voters who are simply dissatisfied with the choices. so, if romney were to lose michigan, as we were talking about a moment ago, you could have the party really freaking out, because there would be a question, all right, who is capable of getting that magic number, 1,144 delegates? >> and be sure to tune in to "meet the press" today at 10:30. david has budget committee chairman paul ryan and member of the house budget committee, maryland's own chris van hollen, in studio. chris? well, president obama is looking for a new slogan for his 2012 campaign. the president has reportedly been testing different slogans while speaking to crowds,

including "winning the future" and "we don't quit." advisers say the new slogan will reflect the idea that the president still has lots of work to finish to help the country. senior adviser david axelrod says the re-election team will keep their slogan under wraps until they know who their republican opponent is. gas prices are continuing to rise, and experts say it could get even worse. right now, national gas prices average out to about $3.54. now, that's 16 cents higher from a month ago and 25 cents higher since january 1st. in d.c., gas is at $3.76, 23 cents higher than a month ago. virginia drivers are paying $3.53 a gallon, which is 21 cents more. maryland gas is at $3.61, 21 cents higher than a month ago. and in west virginia, gas is $3.61, 13 cents more. experts believe gas prices around the country could jump up

to $4.25 by late april. taking the bike. >> you're taking the bike? >> i'll be taking the bike. >> all right. >> the time now is 7:42. still ahead, espn issues an apology to jeremy lin. why the major sports network is backtracking from one of its headlines. and she thought her dog was being put to sleep only to find out it was still alive and living with another family. how the mix-up happened and where the dog is now, ahead. okay, people, let's get started.

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen! (laughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. breakfast? in this house? in the morning i can use all the help i can get. that's why i love nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast and even whole-wheat waffles. it's a quick and easy way to give my family a breakfast they'll want to eat. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa. they love the taste

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well, the "today" show is next here on nbc 4. it starts in just 15 minutes. >> yes. we want to get a preview. lester holt joins us live from new york. hi, lester. >> hi, chris and angie. good morning. coming up, we'll take you inside the funeral for whitney houston, the four-hour service involving family and friends who remembered the superstar. what was the mood like inside the church? why did ex-husband bobby brown storm out after a brief appearance? we'll find out and talk to people who attended the service. then, life as a deadly

sharpshooter. we'll meet the former navy s.e.a.l. who holds the record for the most confirmed sniper kills in u.s. military history. what is the world of the elite navy s.e.a.l.s really like? he'll tell us. and jenna takes a driving lesson with top gear usa. she recently went on a once in a lifetime joy ride, when they go for a spin, can see they really mean it. those stories and more later on "today." but chris and angie, back to you. >> lester, jenna always gets the fun assignments! >> well, i ride in a new york city cab. it's pretty much the same thing, you spin around and scream. >> thanks, lester. we'll be watching. >> all right. new this morning, prince george's county police are investigating multiple shootings. one person is in custody after ledging shooting four people after an argument. the shooting happened around 12:30 this morning in the 5500 block of marlboro pike in district heights. police say that the four victims were taken to the hospital and they all suffered

nonlife-threatening injuries. the suspect led police in a car chase for about 20 minutes before finally being caught and arrested near the beltway and telegraph road. this morning, prince george's county police are investigating the death of a young mother hit and killed by a car. 18-year-old tiesha williams leaves behind a little boy. her family is trying to deal with the loss. they also say changes need to be made to the road where williams was hit. news 4's darcy spencer has the news 4 exclusive. >> i lost my sister. >> reporter: relatives are grieving the loss of tiesha williams. she was 18 years old, the mother of a little boy about to turn 2. she died in a car crash in prince george's county early saturday morning. police say the driver left the scene. >> i just want to say, if anybody knows the whereabouts of who the driver was, please come

forward and alert the authorities. >> reporter: the single-car crash happened here at suitland road and hilmar road in suitland at about 1:30 in the morning. relatives say four people were in the car. tiesha, one of the passengers, was ejected. >> she was right here at the house of my grandson and her and her -- i mean, a friend of hers left out with somebody and i get a call that says she's been in an accident. so, i came out here to find out and get some answers of what happened to her. >> reporter: relatives say it appears the car hydroplaned on standing water, went airborne and struck a tree. they say there have been other crashes here and they want the county to investigate and correct the problems with this road. >> if you look over there now, you can see there was an accident over there recently. so, i don't know how many accidents in the same zone, but we do know that it's caused her death and the county should deal with fixing this area so nobody has to deal with this again. >> reporter: prince george's

county police say they have identified that driver, but they are not releasing his name. once he's in custody, he will face some very serious charges. in suitland, darcy spencer, "news 4 today." d.c. police are trying it figure out how a woman's body ended up in the potomac river. rescuers pulled the remains from the water yesterday. they were located near the entrance to rock creek parkway and georgetown. police have not released the woman's identity. authorities in honduras are investigating the cause of yet another massive fire. this time, it started in the middle of the street market in the capital. the fire damaged several vendor stands and tents. luckily, no one was killed. this fire comes just days after a fire at a prison that killed more than 350 people. prosecutors have ordered drug tests on the captain of a capsized cruise after traces of cocaine were found.

italian authorities say captain francesco schettino deliberately steered the "costa concordia" into shallow waters to impress tourists. the boat hit a reef and capsized last month, killing 32 people. lawyers representing survivors of the disaster say lab tests show cocaine near a hair sample but not in the hair strands or in a urine sample. the captain faces manslaughter charges and accusations of abandoning his ship before all of the passengers could get off. we have spent the morning keeping a close eye on the weather. >> we sure have. and with each passing blow from the computer models make it a little more pessimistic about snow chances around here. i'll let you know how far our chances have fallen, northwest.

♪ oh, baby, give me one more chance ♪ >> oh! >> all right, sing it, girl. that's maryland's own erin willich from gaithersburg, who sung her way into the competition on season two of "the voice." big tigger and i were keeping close tabs on this season, and we are going to be live chatting about it tomorrow on news 4 at 4:00 p.m., then also chatting live online.

hope you can join us starting when the show starts at 8:00 p.m. nbcwashington.com. of course, you can watch it on nbc 4. should be good times. get a lot of interesting characters in there. listen to that voice! >> wow! >> i know, got a lot of talent. >> i've followed your tweets and these chats. they come through like a stock ticker. i don't know how you keep up with it. >> there is a lot of action in the chat room, but we're able to sit there and pick out our favorite and talk about how we think they performed. >> well, erin there, she's great! >> she's fantastic. >> "baby give me one more chance." >> absolutely right. for us, give me one more chance. that's exactly what we want, another snow chance, because this one, i assure you, will be more of a miss than a hit across the washington area. no hit for snow lovers, for sure. outside we go now on a sunday morning. overhead we see a little veil of cloud cover sneaking in. this will be the trend. clouds will continue to increase, lower and thicken as we go through later on into the

morning and into the afternoon hours. so, we get a little sliver or two of sunshine early you your sunday morning, but that's not going to last long. 38 right now in town, winds out of the northeast at 10 miles per hour. there's no real super cold air anywhere in the mid-atlantic. 32 hagerstown and winchester, 37 in charlottesville, 40 in fredericksburg. your sunday planner, plenty of cloud cover and temperatures inching into the low and mid-40s. that's not good news for us snow lovers. the winter weather advisory has been pushed even further down to our south and southwest. if you're traveling today along the i-95 corridor from here to richmond and into southern virginia, not a huge impact on i-95. i-81, though, is going to be a different story. they could get three to six, maybe even eight inches of snow into far western virginia. not around here. plenty of moisture. the snow's already broken out across the roanoke valley. the low pressure is till back

here in mississippi and unfortunately, it's aiming for wilmington, nevada. we needed that track to come further north to get anything in the way of snowfall chances. high pressure will steer winds around to the northeast for the remainder of the day. cloudy and dry to get your day started. any chances for heavier snow will stay down across western and south central virginia, and all that is gone and off the coast fairly quickly. high pressure and yes, indeed, sunshine returns for your presidents' day. now, here's our forecast then for today. increasing clouds, light rain and light snow possible late this afternoon into the evening time frame. total accumulations here in washington i think less than an inch. i think the one-inch line stays well south of town. highs today mid-40s. tomorrow, after a bit of a cloudy start, breezy and sunshin sunshine-filled tomorrow afternoon. the forecast, 46 today with a 60% chance of the snow coming well to our south.

48 and sunny tomorrow, 50 with increasing clouds tuesday. a little chance of rain on wednesday. thursday, mild with a high near 60 degrees. you can stay in touch with me and ahead of the forecast and ahead of the weather by following me on twitte twitter, @chuckbell4. i post my forecasts and graphics and stuff on there as well. >> thank you, chuck bell 4. >> you're welcome, chris gordon 4. all right, espn is apologizing for a controversial headline about knicks star point guard jeremy lin. the headline ran early saturday morning after the knicks lost to the hornets friday night, snapping a seven-game winning streak with lin in the lineup. an anti-asian slur was part of the headline, which was on espn's mobile website, news 4 has decided not to show or repeat that headline. the sports network said disciplinary action would be taken and has launched an investigation into who wrote the headline. an albuquerque woman who

thought she was putting her dog to sleep found out the dog is alive and with another family. she took her chihuahua lola to the veterinarian after it was attacked by another dog. the vet told her lola would probably die if not euthanized first. four months later, the veterinary clinic called the owner about changing information in lola's microchip. turns out, lola went to a second chance clinic and veterinarians there saved her. the woman says she was never given the option to keep her pet. >> if they would have come to you and said, we saved your dog, it's going to be $1,500, what would you have done? >> i would have said, okay, put if on my card. >> well, the new owners changed lola's name to tinker. lisa gossett says she will let the dog stay at her new home because she's happy there. well, it's almost time for baseball season, and that means the presidents are back at nationals park. >> and yesterday, a presidential election of sorts took place.

it was the annual nats mascots tryouts. they dressed up to prove they could handle the 45-pound costume. the mascots race from every fourth inning of the nationals home games and teddy roosevelt has never won a race. poor teddy. let teddy win. >> i was looking at lincoln's nose. did you see that? >> he took a dive in the infield dirt. >> looked like he got punched right there in the nose. go teddy. that's it for "news 4 today." we'll be back in 25 minutes with another local news update. >> and join us again at 9:00 a.m. for a full hour of news. until then, have a great day. [ dog barking ] mom! breakfast? in this house? in the morning i can use all the help i can get. that's why i love nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast and even whole-wheat waffles. it's a quick and easy way to give my family a breakfast they'll want to eat. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients,