>> the governor of new york fired his emergency management director. the move comes after steven kerr diverted crews to remove a tree that fell on his long island driveway last week. this happened shortly after sandy ravaged new york city and crews were responding to thousands of calls. kerr apparently wasn't even home at the time. he was in albany. no major concern about rhett roadways around our area. 41 degrees to get things started. tom kierein is here with our forecast. >> all i've got to say is whew, what a good thing it missed us. it's still spinning just south of nantucket. it's kind of slowing down and stalling out. actually, just in the last couple radar updates, looks like it may be drifting a little to the northwest. it has been pounding new jersey, new york, most of new england with heavy snow. many locations in connecticut have had ten, 11, 12 inches of

snow, wind-driven with 60-mile-an-hour winds, and now thankfully the snow has ended. eastern long island and up into new england, they're still getting bands of heavy snow, that stretches all the way up into maine and eastern canada. this storm system is looking like a hurricane spinning away here. here's nantucket. it's just south of nantucket in martha's vineyard. there's cape cod. it does look like it may be trying to track off to the north and northwest, which is going to keep new england in wind and rain and snow here throughout much of the rest of the day today. for us, thankfully, all we had late last night, early this morning had been some flurries and sprinkles, a little bit of sleet. just getting a few sprinkles southeast of washington, off to the west, western fairfax and loudoun county. we stayed above freezing and we will through the rest of the morning. we're in the upper 30s to around 40 degrees. rest of the day today, might have an isolated sprinkle or a flurry that otherwise will be drying and a bit of blustery

wind. a little sun back this afternoon, into the low 50s. i'll be back in ten minutes. danella with a look at first 4 traffic. >> roads in prince george's county not seeing any problems right now. let's talk about the beltway. i'll give you a live look as you make your way past 5. no issues there. inner loop and outer loop getting by. as you make your way northbound and southbound, between the beltway and the 14th street bridge, smooth sailing. making your way into the district, no issues the report. aaron, over to you. this morning, all eyes are on wall street. take a look at the numbers. the dow fell more than 300 points. the nasdaq and s&p also suffered big losses yesterday, triggered by fears of the pending financial cliff. nbc's tracy potts live on capitol hill now with more on the political efforts to avert that potential crisis.

tracy, good morning. >> aaron, good morning. good morning, everyone. the president is back here in washington fresh off his election victory. he's already been on the phone with top democrats and republicans talking about this. this time, will it work? can they really reach some sort of deal here? we've been talking about this fiscal cliff for months. what is it? a lot of things happening at once. there's extended unemployment benefits expiring, the ones democrats had pushed for. 2% payroll tax cut expiring. that was money in your pocket this year. the bush tax cuts expiring january 1st. medicare payment cuts are looming. and this is a big one. automatic spending cuts, 500 billion of which will hit the pentagon. congress has got to deal with these things. are they willing to compromise? >> we won't solve the problems of our fiscal imbalanceover night and certainly won't do it in a lame-duck session of congress and it won't be solved by taking a plunge off the

fiscal cliff. what we can do is avert the cliff in a manner that serves as a down payment on and a catalyst for major solutions enacted in 2013 to begin to solve the problem. >> those automatic spenting cuts that i talked about that will hit the pentagon, that was all part of the deal to try to bring down the deficit. before the election, president obama said if re-elected, he thought he could get a deficit deal within six months. now the clock is ticking. >> thank you, tracy. a 17-year-old girl managed to break free of her attacker after police say she was assaulted as she studied at a public library. patrons at the thomas jefferson library in falls church said they heard screams coming from a restroom just before closing tuesday night. the girl told police that she had seen the man staring at her while she worked in the library. she said when she ducked into the lady's room for safety, the man followed behind her. >> she yelled at him to get out

and that sort of thing, and then he touched her and assaulted her and she screamed and called for help and kicked him. and he fled. >> the girl was not seriously hurt. also in fairfax county, police say a ninth woman has reported being groped. all these acted happened in just the past two months. police believe the man in this sketch is potential for all nine attacks in springfield. the two latest incidents both happened last thursday within about a half-hour of each other. several of these attacks have involved girls under the age of 18. 30 people are out of their homes this morning after the second fire in less than a month at an maryland apartment complex. this latest fire sparked yesterday afternoon damaged about a dozen apartments in the seven oaks neighborhood. the fire and smoke were so intense, firefighters were forced to only attack the fire from the outside. investigators do not believe the two fires in the neighborhood are connected, but they are still trying to determine the cause of yesterday's fire.

good morning. according to a "chicago sun-times" source, u.s. representative jesse jackson jr. is talking with federal officials about a plea deal in connection with his alleged misuse of campaign funds. the source saying "no one has pled guilty," but plea discussions are ongoing on top of the investigation surrounding jackson jr. misusing funds to decorate his home. he is also being investigated for allegedly buying a $40,000 rolex for a female friend. we will continue to stay on top of this. still to come this morning, new york mayor michael bloomberg weighing in on an "snl" spoof of himself that went viral. and her dresses always get the fashion world talking. now we're learning more about who the first lady was wearing election night. we saw some flurries overnight and we're off to a chilly start, but big

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welcome back. for all your fashionistas out there, if you thought the first lady's election night dress looked familiar, you are right. turned out she's worn it before. the dress was made by american designer michael kors and she we're that same magenta dress twice before, in 2010 once for a medal of honor ceremony, and at a party in 2009.

the first daughters, if you'll remember, we're brightly colored a-line skirts, all looked beautiful. and i think someone who was as photographed as much as michelle obama, it is pretty unusual to wear the same dress on a night you know everyone's going to be watching. but i think it just shows that she's trying to say, look -- >> shut up about it. i think that's what she's saying. >> i don't know if she's saying it like that. >> she went to her closet, she pulled out a dress. >> the way she wears it, you probably would not have guess that she's worn it twice before, right? >> i would not care. >> see, we wouldn't care. tom kierein is caring about the weather for us this morning. what's in store? >> we just missed a powerful coastal storm yesterday. time for your weather and traffic. we had a little bit of sleet between 11:00 last night until about 2:00 this morning. eastern new york state and long island and much of new england getting pounded with snow and

wind and rain right now. locally, storm team 4 radar showing a few sprinkles. extreme southern prince george's, there may be a few flurries mixing in there. it is a cold morning out on the mountains. all those areas in dark blue or below freezing in the 20s. but closer to washington and throughout most of maryland and virginia, we are in the upper 30s to around 40 degrees. hour by hour today, we'll have the winds sort of increasing. we might have a few sprinkles and flurries, and then by noontime, still mostly cloudy. you might get a few breaks in the clouds by then, but then during the afternoon, partly sunny, winds gusting 25, 30 miles an hour as we struggle to make it into the low 50s by midafternoon. a look at traffic now with danella. >> checking on more road work. if you're traveling this time the dulles toll road westbound,

ramps to the beltway are shut down but should be opening around 5:00 a.m. traveling this time northbound i-95, that earlier accident was blocking two of your left lanes. right now looks like it's just in the left shoulder lane. either way, stick to the right. right lanes will get you by the accident there. it involves an overturned box truck. if you're crossing over the american legion bridge, no issues to report. it is now 4:42. coming up, a live report from new jersey, now coping with yet another crippling weather event. unwelcome guest does a little redecorating in a carpet store. >> a name change for one of the

check thoout this geyser ins angeles. fire crews were able to get it under control. no word yet on what caused that incident. virginia governor bob mcdonnell says his administration will look up ways to keep voters from waiting in long lines in future elections. this was a scene in prince george's. voters waited in long for hours to cast their ballots. mcdonnell said even he had to wait the vote. >> i stood an hour and a half or an hour and 15 minutes. i made a lot of new friends, i have to say. but learned a lot about virginia standing in that line. but i think overall that wasn't enough, because we were favored with pretty good weather. >> the governor says that, as far as he knows, every virginian who wanted to vote was able to do so. d.c. already preparing for inauguration day. many think it will be a smaller crowd for the swearing in than four years ago. on that day, metro saw the most

ridership ever with more than one and a half million trips on trains and buses. next year, that number is expected to be cut in half. >> we don't know. we put a range on it somewhere between 500,000 and 800,000. we'll get more updated numbers from the park service, from secret service as we get closer to the date on what to expect. >> about 100,000 commemorative smart trip card are being ordered. they will cost $15. inauguration day will be monday, january 21st, which is also the martin luther king jr. holiday. one of the city's most popular museums offering a front row seat. the newseum is offering inauguration day package for $100. you'll be able to watch the swearing in on the museum's giant tv screen, watch the parade go down pennsylvania avenue, and you are free to tour the museum as well. tickets go on sale today for newseum members and will be available to the public starting november 15th. 11 days after hurricane

sandy left a path of destruction on the new jersey coast and in new york city, the northeast is facing another wallop from mother nature. this time as much as a foot of snow could fall in some places already flooded by sandy. danielle leigh is live in trenton, new jersey, now with a look at the conditions there. >> good morning. people here are waking up to a couple inches of snow on the ground, the first of the season. but for the hundreds of thousands still recovering from hurricane sandy, this was the last thing they needed. rain, snow, and wind at times over 60 miles an hour is drenching homes. entire communities already rearranged by hurricane sandy. >> it's overwhelming. >> it's very sad. it's very sad to see us getting pounded again. >> reporter: waves lashed out on beaches nearly washed away in last week's superstorm, leading to new fears of flooding. people are seeking shelter once again. >> a shelter is available.

>> reporter: even as crews rushed to problematic power lines, hundreds of thousands just getting their lights back on are back in the dark. >> it's a little insult to injury, but that's mother nature. >> reporter: for others who never had their power restored, this cold weather is miserable. >> it's cold. very cold. you sleep at night with blankets and socks and everything else on. and it's just horrible. >> reporter: the storm is forcing airlines to cancel more than a thousand flights and leading to accidents on the roads. >> it's slippery. >> reporter: new setbacks all along the northeast. >> i hate setbacks. i don't tolerate them usually very well, but this one i can't control. the weather is what it is. >> reporter: millions now preparing to spend another day climbing out from a new beating thanks to this season's first

winter storm. now that the worst of the storm has passed, the main concern here is those slick road waist for travelers. but peop"peoplepeople are holdi bit of good news. forecasters say things are going to dry up and warm up for the next couple days. they may get a chance to focus on that recovery. reporting live in trenton, new jersey, back to you. >> thank you. we'll turn to meteorologist tom kierein right now. is it too earl tly to talk abou that warm-up? >> no. >> what does july look like? >> we've had like 12 days in a row with colder than average temperatures and we're starting to think this is the new normal. but it isn't. this time of year usually in the low 60s. we may actually get there perhaps on saturday and sunday, just in time for the weekend. >> yea! >> but not now. it's cold. it's still cold. there's a live view from our camera. there's the washington monument.

jefferson memorial. thankfully we've got dry pavement throughout most of the region now after we did have some overnight flurries and some sleet and a little bit of sprinkle activity, which is still picking up a little bit. 42 and cloudy at reagan national and the wind out of the northwest gusting to around 15, 20 miles an hour, may actually increase a bit as the day progresses because we are still being affected by that powerful coastal storm in the form of sol wind and a few scattered sprinkles coming through here now. but powerful winds gusting to near hurricane force along the southern and southeastern coast of massachusetts and than duct and in martha's vineyard. right now it's just about due south of nantucket. you can see the circulation around this powerful coastal storm. inland, it has been dumping tremendous amounts of snow. up to a foot of snow in parts of connecticut. five, six, seven, eight inches in massachusetts as well as right around new york city. they had six, seven inches of snow there in queens and all the

way out along long island. all across new jersey, the snow has ended there, but much of new jersey had five, six, seven inches of snow. but for us locally now, we just have a few scattered sprinkles here in western fairfax county, and in southern maryland, southern calvert, st. mary's getting a few sprinkles, maybe a little bit of wet snow mixing in in parts of delaware, just to the west of salisbury east of cambridge. right now we're all above freezing. thankfully we are near 40 degrees. it's going to stay above freezing here for the rest of the morning. but right now, out of the mountains, a few locations there that are at or a little bit below freezing. it's in the low 30s and upper 20s there. hour by hour today, the wind are going to be increasing. in fact, maybe some gust around 30 miles an hour later this morning, and during part of the afternoon, as we get toward the middle of the afternoon, though, some sun should break out. we'll be in the low 50s. winds diminishing by late afternoon. the sunset at 5:00.

overnight tonight, we ought to clear out. four-day forecast, here comes that warm-up. looks like it's going to be cold tomorrow morning. near freezing on friday with welcome sunshine tomorrow and a lighter wind. over the weekend, chilly mornings, but mile afternoons. saturday and sunday, low to mid 60s both days, and looks like we're going to continue that in to monday, which is veterans day observed. we will have a partly cloudy sky. but then a bit chilly. some showers may move in on tuesday as the front comes by and a bit cooler after that as we dry out on wednesday. i'll return in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella. >> checking on the roads. right now seeing an accident. but luckily it is just in your right shoulder lane. as you're traveling 395 northbound at glebe, very light volume to the 14th street bridge. heading over to 32 -- actually,

29 at 32. if you're traveling along 29, make your way between columbia, traveling towards bridge cheney and even to the beltway. very light volume for this time of morning. in bethesda, the uso celebrating the ground breaking for a new warrior and family center on the grounds of the walter reed national medical center. the cottage-like facility will provide space for wounded service members to meet privately with their families. it will also offer recreation and counselling service -- counciling services for families. check out this unwanted visitor. surveillance video shows a deer prancing through store. there he goes right there. an employee first thought it was a burglar because she heard banging and breaking glass. when she got a closer look, she realized it was a deer and the deer made a mess of the store. he took about 40 minutes to coax

the deer outside. the deer left a piece of antler behind. the older brother of the late michael jackson trying to change his name. jermaine jackson filed a petition to change his last name to be spelled with an s-u-n instead of s-o-n. jackson has been promoting his new book. he says he wants to change the spelling for artistic reasons. maybe he wants to separate himself from the relevant jacksons. >> did you say the relevant? jermaine is a recognizable jackson, wouldn't you say? jermaine jackson? >> sure. >> jacksun. >> remember prince went to the artist formerly known as prince. if you want to change your name for artistic purposes, would you put it with a symbol? >> no. >> how about a smiley face? >> no.

>> definitely not. 4:54 is your time now. michael bloomberg's updates on hurricane sandy are some serious business. >> but he is giving a quick shoutout to "snl," and his sign language interpreter who was featured in one skit. >> i did want to bring -- did you see "snl"? [ laughter ] >> i did. >> thought so. >> with her dynamic interpreting, lydia is an internet sensation right now. here's how "snl" paid tribute to her. >> i'd like to thank our city's first responders. the firemen. police officers. emergency medical technicians. i'd also like to thank my staff with the special thanks to my sign language translator lydia callous, who brought some pizazz. >> and then you see this one

here. "snl" also poked some fun at new jersey governor chris christie with that skit. and giving you a little pizazz there, a little bang pow with the interpreter at his side. i don't think she ever actually did any signing, though. traditional signing in that one. >> we know those signs. >> so funny. and i love that they can laugh at themselves. and the fact that, look, if you made it into an "snl" skit, you're doing pretty well. >> you've arrived. >> that's right. good stuff. well, it's now 4:56. that coastal storm is causing a travel mess. not just in the northeast, but right here as well. >> next up, we're going to hear from a guy who as we speak is trying to get out of reagan national airport. we'll have his story coming up at 5:00. right now, you're watching "news4 today."

rain, sleet, even snow. our region got it all. now this intense coastal storm wreaking havoc on the entire northeast. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this thursday, november 8th, 2012. a very cold, and in some cases