to review the measure before scheduling a vote on it or trying to change it. the white house hopes to have president obama's signature on the legislation by the time the new congress takes office. that is at noon on thursday. that would minimize the impact of not having a deal in place by the start of the year. another spending battle is brewing on capitol hill. the government is close to reaching its debt limit. the treasury is taking steps to delay reaching the 16.4 trillion dollar borrowing limit. yesterday it stopped issuing new debt for two government retirement funds. that will not affect current retirees. treasury secretary timothy geithner announced last week that his department will adopt measures to save $200 billion keeping the government from reaching its limit for about two months. we'll have much more on this deal throughout this evening on news 4 at 5:00 and then again at 11:00. you can also read about it throughout the day by going to nbcwashington.com.

at some point numbers will be fun again but not right now. >> absolutely. but it is a chilly start this morning. not as bad as it has been the past couple of days. >> this is true. 4:31 is our time right now. our first check on the forecast in this new year. welcome back tom kierein. >> we do have a few flurries out here in west virginia. a few scattered sprinkles in southern maryland, parts of st. mary's county and across the bay near cambridge and south of there. northern neck maybe getting a few flurries. well, a few sprinkles and flurries moving into the mountains. right now temperatures around the beltway and in the nearby suburbs near freezing. reagan national at 39 and it's near 40 in southern maryland and right around the chesapeake bay, parts of the northern neck. farther west, though, there's milder air moving in ahead of that front producing the

precipitation. it's up around 40 degrees in the mountains. hour by hour throughout the day, a lot of clouds by nn time. our temperatures into the upper 30s and a few scattered flurries. might see a few of them at 8:00, 9:00 this morning and during the afternoon maybe mixing with some sprinkles. we may get up around 40 degrees by mid-afternoon. sunrise 7:27. sunset at 4:57. that's the way it looks right now. good morning. we have some breaking news on the roadways. we have an accident on the ramp to northbound 95 in virginia at fairfax county parkway. the ramp has been closed. it is a one-vehicle crash. as you can see in the video here. a lot of police activity on the roadway and that ramp is shut down. another accident blocking traffic this morning at northbound rock creek parkway at p street northwest. traffic has been diverted to k street northwest.

alexis davis in for danella this morning. thank you. a stabbing hours into the new year. it happened near talbert street and martin luther king boulevard southeast. two women traveling together were attacked. one was stabbed, the other beaten. the suspect ran and ran off the bus. the victims suffered serious injuries. no word on the motive or the search for a suspect. also new this morning, police are investigating a seven-car crash in northeast d.c. the chain reaction crash happened along new york avenue near blade ens burglary road around 1:30. five people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. police are still trying to figure out what caused the crash. new york avenue was shut down in both directions as a precaution. it has since reopened. 4:33 is our time right now. today is the day many couples in maryland have been waiting for. same-sex marriage became legal at the stroke of midnight and

it's exactly how some couples decided to bring in the new year of the annapolis wedding chapel, one of many in the state to stay open past midnight for couples who got their marriage licenses last month. one couple we talked to yesterday could not wait until midnight. >> i'm just excited and thankful that we could have this day. i'm just happy. >> sabrina, you may kiss your wife again. >> maryland voters approved same-sex marriage back in november. gay couples can marry in nine states plus d.c. several other new laws take effect in maryland. parents now have the ability to freeze their children's credit to prevent identity theft. people who have served in the military can have their veterans status noted on their drivers license and in montgomery county, a ride in an ambulance can cost you as much as $800 for out of county residents. we go across the river in virginia where it now costs more to take the dulles toll road.

it now costs 50 cents more. that is $2.75 each way. that adds up to an additional $260 a year if you take the toll road to work each day. the rate hike will help pay for construction of metro's new silver line. next year, get ready. they're going up again. they'll go up 75 cents. now making your total to $3.50 for next year. 4:35 right now. this morning people in prince william county are mourning the loss of a police officer killed in the liep of duty. 35-year-old chris young was responding to an accident yesterday when he slammed his motorcycle into a minivan in bristow. when the vehicles collided, they burst into flames. young died. young frequented a nearby chick-fil-a. they packed hundreds of sandwiches for the officers and responders to the crash and his family. >> most of the police officers come into a restaurant every morning for breakfast or once a

week. so we know them on a first-name basis. when word got around it was one of the officers injured and had since passed, we sprung to action. >> the driver of the minivan was not hurt. there is still no word on whether charges will be filed against that driver. date of birth tors treating hillary clinton for a blood clot are confident she'll make a full recovery. she's still in a new york hospital. she checked in sunday after an exam revealed a clot between her brain and skull. doctors found it while doing follow-up tests related to a concussion. she's in good spirits. she could be released as soon as they determine the right dosage for her medication. hundreds of thousands of people gathered in new york to bring in the new year. >> 4, 3, 2, 1! happy new year! >> nearly a million people jammed times square to see the

crystal ball drop at midnight. people kissed and cheered to celebrate the new year. revelers partied into the wee hours of the morning across new york city. everything went off without a hitch. crews cleaned up a ton of confetti and trash. to the west coast now. tens of thousands of revelers watched the fireworks at the seattle space needle in washington state. they rang in the new year at 3:00 this morning our time at least. >> closer to home, hundreds of people gathered in alexandria for the first night celebration. >> fireworks lit up the sky in old town at the stroke of midnight. there was a lot of fun for the whole family. children have the chance to get their faces painted and families enjoyed live music and good food. >> i i thits pretty good. we're new to the area. having something we can bring the kids to and just enjoy the outside time and different environments and just really nice to have something to come

to with the kids. >> first night alexandria is the largest family friendly party in the region. >> looked like a lot of fun. >> happy new year to you. >> same to you. 4:38 is our time. ahead on news4 today, a new challenge for d.c. police heading into the new year. we'll tell you what's facing the department as it marks the lowest murder rate in the district in decades. also ahead, a look at the preparations going into the granddaddy of new year's parades. we're starting the new year off with a little bit of snow in the forecast. what you can expect as you head out the door next with weather and traffic on the 1s.

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crew rs putting the finishing touches on the tournament of roses parade. teams have been hard at work decorating the floats with flowers. the theme of this year's parade is oh, the places you will go. the parade hosted by al roker and actress allison sweeney, who you might remember from the biggest loser and days of our lives, you can watch the 124th tournament of roses parade live at 11:00 here on nbc4. we've been mentioning maybe a few sprinkles of snow. but it doesn't feel as cold as it has been before. i'm wondering how that's possible. >> let's get tom kierein to explain it this morning. hello, tom. >> we have cold air aloft and that's enough to turn

precipitation into flurries this morning. at the surface, cold. a mostly cloudy sky. few breaks of the clouds west and north of us. way off to our south and west, getting a few flurries this area in white, southern west virginia. the areas in green, a few sprinkles. light rain falling in parts of the northern neck, lower southern maryland, eastern shore. the areas in light blue, well above freezing. the darker blue well above freezing. northern virginia and into west virginia, reagan national at 39. hour by hour throughout the day, we'll have a light wind. still cloudy at 6:00. by noon a few of the flurries in and out. to our south, a few sprinkles. near 40 degrees by mid-afternoon. overnight tonight, if you're heading out this evening, chance of a few flurries early evening, otherwise cloudy to the low 30s by midnight. i'm back in ten minutes with your seven-day outlook. now a look at traffic with alexis davies. >> we have an accident on the ramp at 95 in virginia at fairfax county parkway. that ramp is closed. we look at live video. police are on the scene working

that accident. use caution in that area. elsewhere, a two-car accident at rock creek parkway at p street northwest. the northbound traffic is being diverted on to k street northwest. elsewhere around the beltway, we have a minor accident on the outer loop in virginia before gallows road. it's on the shoulder, not affecting traffic. use caution. a live look at the beltway elsewhere. 495 and the interchange. erika, aaron? >> thank you so much, alexis. 4:33 is the time now. thanks for joining us. building toward the future, the district's big plans to replace the frederick douglass bridge. >> why the redskins big

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whether to file charges in a deadly tour bus crash. the charter bus lost control on the icy highway that you're seeing there. crashed through a guardrail and down a 100-foot embankment over the weekend. nine people died and 20 others hurt. the bus was on its way back to canada after a trip to las vegas. >> 14 before the hour. police are searching for the driver who ran over a 16-year-old girl from northwest washington and then kept going. she was attempting to cross busy new york avenue friday night when police say a 2003 pontiac bonneville heading east on a green light struck her who was in the street but just outside the crosswalk. the driver of that car stopped but then a tan-colored suv with disease plates ran over her while she was on the ground and took off. she died the following day. family members say it still hasn't sunk in. >> i don't believe she's gone. she's just on a vacation. >> yeah. she's sleeping right now.

it's crazy. >> she was a student at dunbar high school in chuks ton circle. if you have any information, police would like to hear from you. a new york city couple is being investigated for credit card theft and then along with that. they found that they had bomb making manuals, a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition inside their apartment. the two were arrested over the weekend. when they arrived at their greenwich village apartment, they found a cache of bomb making materials and handwritten notebooks containing chemical formulas. one of the manuals have a cover page that read the terrorist's li encyclopedia. scientists put into the launch of a long-range rocket last month. kim says that improving living standards is the most important

task for 2013. he called for the development of more advanced weapons. >> hugo chavez spent the holiday with his daughters in havana according to a tweet from chavez's son-in-law. he wrote compatriots don't believe ill-mentioned rumors. chavez has not been seen this public nor heard from in weeks. he admitted chavez suffered complications after surgery in cuba. his fourth operation in 18 months. for the first time in 50 years, d.c.'s homicide rate is expected to fall below 100. as of yesterday afternoon, there were 88 homicides in the district. 20 fewer than 2011. that's far below the nearly 500 reported in the laid '80s and early '90s. even with all the progress, tommy wells tells news 4 he's concerned the police department and its union have failed to reach a new labor agreement. >> one of the things i would

talk to the chief about and the mayor is that we need a contract for our policemen and women so that they're paid fairly. >> wells will chair the council's public safety committee. he's preparing a run for mayor next year. >> a group wants the department of education to investigate the decision to put the university of virginia on a warning. last summer, the school tried to fire its president teresa sullivan, although she ultimately kept her job. that prompted the agency, the southern association of colleges and schools commissioned to issue a warning. but now the american council of trustees says the agency overstepped its bounds, citing what they call a power struggle with the president, faculty and trustees. virginia attorney general ken kuch nellie is focusing more on his run for governor. he just hired a campaign manager. he's the former executive director of the virginia republican party. he's now the presumptive gop nominee since lieutenant

governor bill bolling announced he isn't running for the nomination. boling still may run as an independent. the redskins appear to be happy with the direction head coach mike shanahan is taking the team. the washington post reporting that the 'skins are thinking of negotiating a contract extension with shanahan. he's currently in the third year of a five-year deal. the redskins were 11-21 during his first two years in washington. but he's just led the team to its first division title in 13 years. the redskins will host their first playoff game in more than a decade next sunday. whatever the outcome of that game, prince george's county will likely win pretty big here. the game could bring millions of dollars to the county. it expects to make a half million dollars in amusement and admission's taxes alone. >> tough economic times right now. values have gone down over the years. property taxes gone down. so any time we get an influx of

revenue that allows us to provide more services to the county residents. prince george's county expects more than 80,000 people to pack fedex field next sunday for the game. hotels near the stadium already booking up and fans are stocking up on the 'skins gear at the team's fedex field store. >> very nice. congrats again to the 'skins. it's a nice place to be for sure. >> nice to be at the top. it's chilly outside. yesterday i think the winds were picking up. more of a blustery day. meteorologist tom kierein joins us. the mention of snow in the forecast. >> we're starting off 2013 calm and settled. a lot of people good evening or good morning as the case may be. we are starting off with just some clouds. thankfully, we had good travel weather overnight for all of the revelers. there is the wilson bridge under a cloudy sky. right now, reagan national at 39. we've got a light southerly breeze as we get going early on this tuesday morning first day

of 2013, new year's day, starting off with a lot of clouds. looking at the satellite, radar, few scattered sprinkles south of roanoke and near richmond and over toward southern maryland, lower eastern shore. also getting a few flurries in southern west virginia. this is all part of a front that's arriving here later today. ahead of that, it's rather cold around northern virginia and many of the suburbs. we're right near freezing. south and east generally in the low 40s. out of the mountain, a few locations, shenandoah valley. it's at or below freezing behind the front. around the metro area, it's near the freezing mark in montgomery, arlington, fairfax and prince george's county. much of northern virginia and much of maryland except near the waters. as the day progresses, by later this morning, by 6:00, we're still going to be cloudy with a light wind in the low 30s to upper 30s. then by late morning, we may have a few scattered flurries. don't be surprised to see flurries coming down, especially by late morning and around

noontime. by then in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees. a few scattered sprinkles to our south. here's how things are looking for tomorrow. afternoon highs into the upper 30s after a cold start and partly cloudy. then on thursday and friday, cold in the mornings, afternoon highs near 40 and partly to mostly cloudy. that's going to continue into the weekend. cloudy on sunday and first part of next week a little sunshine returning highs in the 40s. i'm back in ten minutes. alexis davies in for danella with traffic. good morning. >> good morning, tom. at the beltway, no incidents reported. traffic is flowing smoothly. we have an incident on the ramp to northbound 95 at fairfax county parkway in virginia. the ramp is closed due to a vehicle accident there. as you can see in the video, still lots of police activity on the scene. elsewhere on the roadway, 270 southbound is looking good as you travel from any point down to the strict. all lanes are open. here's a live look at the beltway just east of 270. we're looking at a ten-minute drive from 270 to i-95 in

maryland. aaron, erika? thank you, alexis. we have a heads up for metro ride evers. trains and buses running on a sunday schedule today. the rail system will open at 7:00 this morning and close at midnight. parking is free at all metro-operated lots today. the new year brings new plans to replace the aging frederick douglass memorial bridge in southeast washington. mayor gray unveiled the design which would span the anacostia river less than a thousand feet away from the current bridge built in 1950. the project would also include constructing a traffic circle and oval on both sides and reconstructing the 295 suitland parkway interchange. construction expected to start in 2015. that project estimated to cost about $660 million. >> on the other side of the world, nato troops serving in afghanistan celebrated the new year with a party. soldiers from different countries gathered in kabul for

a dance party. looks like everybody had a good time too. >> nato has more than 100,000 troops in afghanistan including 66,000 u.s. forces. nato will withdraw almost all of its forces there 5/20/14. check this out. no shiny crystal here. in atlanta, people brought in the new year with the 24th annual peach drop at midnight. the peach weighs 800 pounds, thousands of people cheered as the fireworks lit up the night sky in atlanta. it's the southeast's largest new year's eve party. then in our region, 7,000 people celebrated the new year at big night d.c. at national harbor. the fourth year for the party at gaylord national resort. plenty of music, dancing and good food, party at 3:00 in the morning. >> looking classy for the new year. >> starting off the new year on a good foot. man, that wakeup call was real

early this morning. >> all right. plenty of coffee. >> coming up on four minutes before the top of the hour. it may ease your fears the next time you travel. coming up at 5:15, why 2012 proves to be the safest year ever for airline passengers. >> that gift you brought for a friend or family member may end up back at the store. >> why you had better hurry to catch

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holiday gift returns are expected to jump nearly 40% this year according to the company that manages returned merchandise for retailers. analysts attribute the surge to the increase in online shopping. clothing and electronics top the returns list. retailers recommend consumers copy or scan receipts and keep tags on anything that you might want to return. they also say shoppers should take the item back soon because some stores have limited return windows. today is the last day to see one of the country's most important documents. >> the emancipation proclamation has been on display for three days. president lincoln issued it during the civil war. it freed all slaves in states rebelling against the union. historians consider it a steppingstone to the ratification of the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery. you have until 5:00 tonight to see the document.