tom kierein joins us with some answers. tom? good morning. just a few high, thin clouds drifting over the area. venus going to be rising right before sunrise. and jupiter now setting in the west. you see that out of the mountains. there's a little bit of a thicker cloud cover over the metro area. it's thinned out to our south. and where it has cleared, it's colder, down into the upper 30s from near fredericksburg toward warrenton and culpeper, manassas, that area. generally in the low to mid 30s there. closer to washington now, we're in the low 40s. montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties. out in the mountains, many locations there hovering near freezing. by 6:00 a.m., upper 30s, low 40s. a blustery wind gusting to 15, 20 miles an hour or so. that will diminish as the morning progresses. by noon, upper 40s, a partly cloudy afternoon. just climbing to the low 50s. not much of a warmup today. but that's still about ten degrees warmer than the average high for early january.

sunrise, 7:27. sunset at 5:06. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. danella here with traffic. good morning. traveling the roadways, they look clear. before that, let's talk about the rails. taking metro, marc, vre, rails are open. not seeing delays as of yet. now, let's look at 395. we talked about this a little bit earlier. traveling southbound 395 at seminary road. you still have that disabled tractor-trailer. not in the travel lanes, off to the right shoulder lane. in fact, 395 north and southbound, travel lanes are open, no issues to report. over to 66 heading out of haymarket, nice and clear really between the bypass and the beltway. checking live cameras in both directions, no incidents to worry about. even inside the beltway on 66, clear commute for you. over it you. >> thank you. 5:01. gun rights advocates and owners will make their case as vice president joe biden's task force looks to curb gun violence in the country. the nra, other gun owner groups and sportsmen will make their way to the white house this morning. yesterday the task force met with victims' groups and

gun-control supporters who say they were encouraged by the conversation. right is biden says the task force will use the discussion to take quick action. >> the president is going to act. there are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. we haven't decided what that is yet. >> representatives from walmart will also join the talks. they originally said they could not attend. the task force hopes to put forth a series of proposals in about a month. president obama is busy forming his cabinet for his second term. he could announce as early as today his choice for treasury secretary. the president expected to nominate jack lew to fill that key post. lew is currently the white house chief of staff. he's also served as white house budget director for presidents obama and clinton. if he's confirmed, he would succeed timothy geithner at the treasury department. the president also looking for a new labor secretary. hilda solis resigned yesterday. she will likely return to her home of california and run for a seat on the los angeles county board of supervisors. three cabinet members say that

they will stay on the job for the president's second term. attorney general eric holder, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius, and veterans affairs secretary eric shenski. five militant are dead in the fifth drone attack of the new year in pakistan. intelligence sources say the drone fired four missiles at a house near the pakistan/afghanistan border. several people were also injured. about 40 militants have been killed in strikes in the north waziristan tribal region since the new year, including a senior al qaeda commander. afghan president hamid karzai will continue his tour of d.c. today with meetings with top national security leaders. he met with defense secretary leon panetta at the pentagon. later tonight he will meet with secretary of state hillary clinton. yesterday karzai met with senators on capitol hill. they discussed how many troops will remain in his country after combat forces pull out in 2014. karzai scheduled to meet with president obama tomorrow. this morning, the u.s. court of appeals will hear arguments regarding pictures of osama bin

laden's corpse. a freedom of information act's lawsuit requests the release of more than 50 photos of bin laden after he was killed during a raid by navy s.e.a.l.s in may, 2011. there is debate over whether the images would compromise national security and whether the images would reveal the equipment or techniques used in the raid. this morning, robert griffin iii begins his road to recovery. he is in florida where he had major reconstructive surgery to his right knee. dr. james andrews repaired his torn acl and lcl yesterday morning. he expects rg3 to be healed in six to eight months which could mean he would be back in time for the start of next season. this was griffin's second major surgery to his right knee. he tore the acl in college. all right. today metro has some good news for rider as part of its annual budget. there are no fare hikes planned for the coming fiscal year, and that reflects a plan enacted a

few years ago to only raise fares every two years. last year fares went up about 5%. the $2.5 billion budget contains plans to continue fixing old tracks, as well as upgrades so the tracks can handle more eight-car trains and the addition of express bus routes. flu cases across the country are skyrocketing. the centers for disease control says high levels of flu-like illnesses have been reported in 29 states so far. in boston, they've already had 700 flu cases, including four deaths. that is up tenfold from last year's flu season total. in southeast virginia, hospitals in the hampton roads area urging visitors and patients to wear masks while in the facility. the best advice doctors are giving is to get a flu shot now. 5:05. we have breaking news. melissa, good morning. good morning. we have new video that just came in to the newsroom. if we can look, seven people have been killed and 17 hurt in

baghdad after a car bomb went off. another went off 30 miles away. the first blast went off as commuters gathered to catch rides to different parts of the city. the second was a roadside bomb that hit the convoy of a university official headed to his office. his two bodyguards were killed. but he was not hurt. at this point, no one has claimed responsibility for either attack. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news4. >> thank you. it is 5:06. 46 degrees. coming up, the claims that former penn state coach jerry sandusky in a courtroom today. and a time-honored tradition. the special touch planned for president obama's swearing-in ceremony. waking up to cold temperatures. oh!

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welcome back at nine minutes after the hour. i made the mistake of turning the heat off in my apartment yesterday. i thought it was going to be warm. it never got there yesterday for me. >> i feel like we didn't see enough sun in the early part of the day to warm it up as much as i thought it would be. >> now in the district, warmer. >> a little bit warmer. >> tom kierein's going to explain for us. >> some places. yes. >> it was ten degrees above average. what do you want? >> that's true. i know. >> still chilly, the average high this time of year is 43. we got into the low 50s yesterday. we'll do it again today. ten degrees above average is

unusual for january. a few high clouds drifting over us now. we're already near the average high in the nearby suburbs, low to mid 40s, montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties. now, upper 40s, near 50 in the district of columbia. right near the bay waters. to our south, many locations, north central virginia, 30s, that includes warrenton and fauquier county, hometown forecast by 7:00 a.m., a cold 35 under a partly cloudy to clear sky and partly cloudy for the lunch hour there. in the upper 40s. here is the regional forecast. we'll have afternoon highs much of the area, should reach near 50 degrees or so by early to mid-afternoon. not much of a warmup from where we are now. and we've got a blustery wind gusting at around 25 miles per hour. that's going to settle down. you need to layer up this morning. it's feeling like january. but then, yes, about ten degrees above the average high by early to mid-afternoon. seven-day outlook, big warmup for the weekend. that's in ten minutes. danella? still checking on the situation in howard county. if you're trying to make the

commute on old frederick road, it's closed in both directions. this is between brachton and raleigh tavern lane. be aware of that this morning. also checking on an accident. this time in gaithersburg, maryland. traveling westbound quince orchard road at longdraft road. the intersection will see a crash. police are on the scene. good news, traffic getting by unaffected. we'll take a live look at the american legion bridge in both directions. traffic nice and smooth. in fact, heading toward the wilson bridge. no issues to report at this time. i'm back in ten minutes. aaron and eun? >> thank you. coming up on 5:12. ahead on "news4 today," after a work zone tragedy, the mother of one crewman has a plea for all drivers this morning. the treasure that turned up at a goodwill. how the store will use the donation to do its own good deed. ♪

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a call to action for virginia lawmakers after governor mcdonnell delivered his state of the commonwealth address. he's proposing a number of sure-to-be controversial things including a $3.1 billion transportation plan including money to be pumped into the northern part of the state to ease traffic congestion. he says lawmakers made it to act before traffic deters companies from bringing jobs to the area. >> i'm asking you, this session, please do not leave without approving a long-term transportation funding plan for virginia. so we must reform and reinvest in transportation infrastructure where job growth and quality family time will suffer. >> mcdonnell also wants to eliminate the state's gas tax and propose making up the difference by slightly raising the state's sales tax. he also pushed for an education plan that includes teacher pay raises, new jobs, and investment in charter schools. a new crackdown on drunk drivers is underway in the

district. a new law signed by mayor gray yesterday means anyone convicted of driving under the influence can be ordered to use ignition lock devices if it's -- even if it's their first offense. the devices prevent a car from starting unless the driver proves that he or she has not been drinking. the law also increases the penalties for driving drunk with a child in the car. testing drivers to see if they have been drinking is also getting easier for d.c. police. the city unveiled new breath machines that replace faulty equipment that forced police to abandon the tests two years ago. new officers will again be able to use the machines to catch drunk drivers throughout the city. >> i don't think there's an acceptable excuse for it. someone who's driving under the influence or driving drunk is actually like a moving missile. >> about 1,400 people were arrested last fall in a crackdown from halloween through the holidays. today a former d.c. police officer will be sentenced for

his role in a bizarre shooting of three people. kenneth fur faces as many as ten years in prison. in august, 2011, he solicited a transgender woman for sex outside a cvs in northwest d.c. when she refused he became angry and allegedly threatened her and one of her friends with a gun. a few minutes later, fur confronted them, jumped on the hood of their car, and shot through the windshield hitting three people. all the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. in the meantime, a current d.c. police officer is under arrest this morning for sexually abusing a minor. officer wendell palmer is charged with first-degree child sexual abuse for incidents that happen whenned the victim was a juvenile. police iran saying how old the child was when the incident happened. palmer is on paid leave. former penn state football coach jerry sandusky heads to court this morning. attorneys for the convicted child sex offender are expected to argue they didn't have enough time to prepare for his trial last year. last summer a jury convicted

dusk of 45 counts of child sexual abuse. the case rocked penn state university with allegations of a cover-up that led to firings and even sanctions from the ncaa. sandusky maintains his innocence. 5:18. a judge will likely decide tomorrow whether prosecutors have enough evidence to put the suspected gunman in the colorado movie theater shooting on trial. at a hearing yesterday, prosecutors showed pictures they say the suspect, james holmes, took of himself with his arsenal hours before the july shag spree. they also claim holmes scouted out the theater and took pictures of it a month before the massacre. 12 people were killed and more than 50 others were injured. 5:18. caught on tape. now a 19-year-old daycare employee is facing child abuse charges. police say jonathan cummings admitted to kicking a toddler. the daycare was being run out of a home in upper marlboro. police say it was not licensed and has since been shut down. police are looking into whether cummings was involved in any other abuse cases. this morning, two construction workers from our area are dead after a car

entered the work zone they were in and hit them. 42-year-old luis tadeo of bowie and 41-year-old victor jackson of northeast washington were killed yesterday morning. police say a car suddenly veered into a construction area and hit them near the town of northeast maryland. that's near the delaware line. jackson was the father of 15 children. >> he was about his children. all of them. he knew all the kids. and that's going to be the hardest part. >> the driver of the car was not hurt. no word on what led to that crash. residents in a small canadian town are calling on their country's government to help save several whales trapped in ice. a resident shot this video of the 11 killer whales who were sharing a single hole in the ice to breathe. that sholl shrinking as temperatures ton drop. one marine biologist believes

the whales got stuck during a freeze. the government is assessing to figure out what it can do to save the whales. a big announcement from queen elizabeth this morning. the queen issued a decree saying prince william and catherine's baby will receive the title of princess if it is a girl. this is a big deal. follow me here. under ordinary circumstances only the eldest son would get the title of prince. a girl would usually get the title of lady. the royal bundle of joy is due sometime this summer, and it's completely the queen's prerogative here actually. that's why she's able to say, nope, princess. going to make her a princess. >> it is her first great grandchild. she will -- not her first great grandchild, is it? >> first great -- i think it's the first grandkid's kid. i think so. >> we'll figure this out. >> there's a lot of them. >> right. a nice honor. she will be princess baby william or baby kate. >> and if her father became king, she would be next in line after him i believe.

5:21. time for weather & traffic on the 1s. tom? >> thank you for that "downtown abbey" summary. the jefferson memorial issued a partly cloudy sky. we have a bit of a blustery wind blowing around the region. it's been gusting around 20 to 25 miles per hour. live view from the nbc 4 h.d. city camera. a few wispy high clouds drifting over. and we've got some cold temperatures to the south of washington. in fact, from parts of southern maryland across the potomac into north central virginia, down near freezing in a few spots. culpeper, 30. manassas, 34. closer to the metro area, low to mid 40s. that includes prince george's, arlington, fairfax, montgomery, and charles, calvert, st. mary's, anne arundel, low to mid 40s there. farther north and west above freezing. a few locations way out in western maryland, highlands of west virginia have dipped near freezing. later today, here's the four-day forecast. low first. that's about ten degrees above the average high.

and again temperaturewise tomorrow. a lot of clouds on friday. does look like a cloudy pattern. we'll have an area of low pressure passing close to us during the day tomorrow. that will likely bring us some needed precipitation. it's just rain, sorry, snow lovers. it does look like it's going to be rain off and on friday afternoon into friday night. chilly rain, expect that friday afternoon if you're going out friday night. and then on saturday, we ought to get the sunshine back. it will feel like april in january. afternoon highs, low 60s and partly cloudy. and yes, soaring to near 70 degrees for a brief time sunday afternoon. even though it's cloudy, we'll have a persistent southerly and southwesterly flow that should warm us up. and it's not going to last long, though. looks like it will be turning cooler on monday and tuesday. a chance of rain moving in. that's sort of the beginning of a big pattern change. and it's going to be acting certainly more winter-like as we get toward midweek next week. highs will only be in the 40s.

after that chilly rain on monday and tuesday, some sun back on wednesday. does look like the colder pattern's going to linger end of next week and probably into the following weekend. and what it's going to be doing for the inauguration we don't know yet. it's too far ahead. we'll keep an eye on it. stay tuned. i'm back in ten minutes. a look at your first 4 traffic now with danella. good morning. good morning. checking things out in our area, let's head over to prince george's county. checking a lot of roads there. in fact, traveling in clinton, maryland, also brandywine, local roads look good. 301, 5, even 4, pennsylvania avenue, as you head to the beltway. i'll give you a live look at what that looks like. you see the beltway getting action in both directions. no major delays just yet. no incidents in the area. and shooting over to 29, yesterday folks traveling southbound near burt mills avenue had delays because of a crash. today no issues at all. in fact, between columbia all the way to silver spring heading to the beltway, you're nice and clear in both directions. i'm back in ten minutes. back to you. >> thank you.

central virginia felt the earth shake under its feet again. a 2.0-magnitude earthquake was recorded around 6:30 last night. the epicenter just about a half mile from the town of louisa. it has been almost a year and a half since the east coast earthquake struck that region. the 5.8-magnitude quake caused major damage in louisa county and sent shockwaves up the east coast. scientists say last night's tremor could still be an aftershock of the east coast quake. look closely at president obama when he take the oath of office during his second inauguration. you'll notice he'll have his hand on two bibles. one was used by abraham lincoln, the other by martin luther king jr. that is extra significance for this inauguration because it's taking place on the federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader. the president used the lincoln bible when he was sworn in four years ago. he'll use his wife's family bible for a private swearing-in at the white house the day before the public ceremony. you can see relics from the first presidential inauguration now at mt. vernon.

george washington's estate is displaying items from that historic event in honor of president obama's inauguration. you'll be able to see the suit washington wore. you can also see part of the first draft of washington's inaugural address. the suit will be on display until the end of april. the inaugural address will be on display through march. imagine sharing part of your home with someone for a year and not even knowing about it. in washington state, a retired woman said she couldn't figure out why she could smell what she thought was marijuana, as well as why parts of her house were suddenly cold. she called a furnace repair man. he crawled into the crawl space below her home and that's when they figured out what was going on. >> the good news is i got the vents fixed. but he said, the bad news is, somebody's been making their home under there. i said, you've got to be kidding. i'm glad i could share with him, but i wish they would have let me know. >> she's gracious about it. police found beer cans, a liquor bottle in the space. they say the intruder cut into

her heati ing deduct to see get warm. neighbors said they never heard anyone coming or going. police have not found the intruder. police in washington state say that they have arrested a -- a naked burglar. and apparently we have the pictures to prove it. a man wearing only underwear and his girlfriend's belt around his neck tried to break into an apartment in spokane. police arrested the 22-year-old. they say the same man also burglarized several homes nearby over the weekend with his pants and underwear around his ankles, as you see there. more like his knees maybe. he's being held on $50,000 bond right now. >> was the belt like a -- an accessory to the outfit or something? >> i can't begin to guess. >> we won't. >> i got nothing. >> okay. 5:26 -- >> i doctor d look up the queen thing. she's got two great grandchildren. little ones. >> i meant to say that, i think william has cousins. >> yes. >> all right. 5:26. new, the emergency that woke up a family overnight and had them running for their lives.

and a star quarterback recovering from a knee surgery. it's not just rg3 with the storybook case. a live look from national harbor looking toward the wilson bridge now. pretty sight. chilly spots along the water this morning.

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a look at the headlines. vice president joe biden's gun-control task force will meet with the nra today at the white house. >> this morning, robert griffin iii is in florida recovering from reconstructive surgery on his right knee. the doctor expects the redskins quarterback to be healed in six to eight months. two fires forced families from their homes overnight. one happened in mitchellville, the other in fairfax county. >> we'll have much more on those stories throughout the morning. first, good morning, i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrest. welcome back to "news4 today" on this thursday, january 10, 2013. a live look at union station this morning. calm winds in that area. temperatures right now seem to be running the gamut. we've got sort of mid to upper 40s in the district. as you go to some of the outlying areas, temperatures are even in the 30s now. >> that's right. still cold out there in many places. we're going to find out when we'll have a warmup. meteorologist tom kierein here now with your forecast. tom? >> you see that flag is flapping

a little bit. >> yeah. >> we've got a little bit of a breeze that's been gusting around 15, 20 miles per hour. a few high clouds drifting over northern virginia, maryland, the district now. it's just high, thin clouds. the areas in dark blue are down into the 30s. that includes much of northern virginia. the lighter blue areas closer to washington around the bay, eastern shore, it's generally in the low to mid 40s. farther west, out of the mountains, many locations at or below freezing around the metro area. montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's county, dropping now down to near 40 degrees there. and as the day progresses, not much of a warmup. ought to be in the upper 40s by noontime. and then by early to mid-afternoon, we ought to peak in the low 50s. we'll have a gentler wind moving in. that will be later this morning and during the afternoon. sunrise, 7:27. sunset at 5:06. a look at traffic with danella. good morning. good morning. we'll start with the rails. if you are taking marc, have a delay on the marc train. brunswick east, train 870 was

running at a six-minute delay. now the delay is gone. among with metro, vre running on or close to schedule. to the roadways, 66 past sudley, eastbound picking up speed -- steam westbound. nice and clear. eastbound, though, just seeing your congestion increase as you head toward centreville road. no delays just yet. but you are starting to pick up in volume. inside the beltway as you pass east falls church metro station, eastbound looking crowded. again, no major delays in both directions. no accidents to report. i'm back in ten. back to you. >> thank you. 5:32. while you were sleeping two fires forced families from their homes. first in fairfax county, a fire started on the back porch of a townhouse in oakton. it broke out jest after midnight on bushman drive not far from i-66. the fire went to two alarms that spread throughout the home. everyone did get out okay. the cause is under investigation. and just about two hours later, a fire started in the basement of a home in mitchellville, maryland. firefighters were called to the 3200 block of lottsford vista

road around 2:00 this morning. the fire spread to the rest of the home. no word on if anyone was injured or how the fire started. today, vice president joe biden's gun-control task force will meet with gun owners and advocates. the nra, other gun owner groups, and sportsman will make their way to the white house this morning. representatives from walmart will also join the talks. yesterday, the task force met with victims' groups and gun-control supporters to start a conversation about curbing gun violence after the sandy hook elementary school massacre. the task force hopes to put forth a series of proposals in about a month. a georgia mother who shot an intruder in her home is becoming the nra's example of responsible gun ownership. melinda herman grabbed a handgun and hid with her two children in a crawl space after a man broke into her house. when the manhunted down herman, she shot him five times. the nra tweeted a link to the story and support for herman's actions have poured in on line. the intruder is still in intensive care.

secretary of state hillary clinton has a full day ahead after making her first public appearance in about a month. clinton stepped in front of cameras for a -- for the first time since suffering a concussion and a blood clot near her brain. today she begins her work at 9:15 and will stay busy with high-profile meetings including sitting down with afghan president hamid karzai and attending a dinner with him later tonight. a sharp rise in the number of flu cases has led one major u.s. city to declare a public health emergency. this flu season shaping up to be one of the worst in decade. emergency rooms in boston flooded with people complaining of flu-like symptoms. the city already has 700 flu cases including four deaths. that is up tenfold from last year's flu season total. >> we're seeing a huge increase in patients coming in with the nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and upper respiratory infections with the fevers and the coughs, body aches. >> now in southeast virginia, hospitals in the hampton radarea now urging all patients and

visitors to wear masks while in the facilities. there the best advice doctors are giving -- get a flu shot now. president obama is looking within his own administration to find his next treasury secretary. he could announce as early as today that he will nominate jack lew to head the treasury. lew is the white house chief of staff now. he's also served as white house budget director during the obama and clinton administrations. lew would succeed timothy geithner who's announced plans to step down at the end of the month. if lew is confirmed, you may be thrown for a loop when you look at five or ten dollar bills literally. this is his signature. you see it's loopy there. the treasury secretary's signature appears on the front of paper money. so you'll see that on newly printed money. perhaps he'll take the lead from his predecessor, timothy geithner's signature apparently was a little messy. so he cleaned it up when he became the treasury secretary. so now when you look at the dollar bill, you can read his name. the redskins are pretty hopeful now that robert griffin

iii will be able to play by the start of next season. he underwent major reconstructive surgery on his right knew yesterday. dr. james andrews reported his torn acl and lcl. he expects rg3 to be heeled in six to eight -- healed in six to eight months. this was griffin's second major surgery on the right knee. he tore the acl in college, too. a local quarterback knows firsthand what rg3 is go to go through. tray wilson tore his acl last season. he is still going to rehab his knee at least twice a week. his surgeon expects him to be okay to play nextier in college. and trey says he knows robert griffin iii will be fine going forward. >> he handled it really professionally the first time. and then he came back his senior year at baylor and just tore it up. so feel like maybe if i can come back for college and do the same thing. >> trey hopes to play next year at wesleyan university. >> we wish him the best.

>> both of them. yeah. 5:36. coming up, a song a virginia station is pulling from the air because of the lyrics about guns. and paying contributed, the permanent memorial in the works to honor d.c.'s own godfather of go-go, chuck brown. paying up. how a district leader is making good on a bet. okay, i need a better pizza. one made with only real cheese. a pizza my family will love. (announcer) freschetta naturally rising crust pizza. freschetta. made better to taste better.

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licensed phone-ups available 24/7. call 1-800-progressive. welcome back. we've seen varying temperatures throughout the region. colder in special spots. we're hoping for a quick warmup. >> very january. >> it is. you said -- january, you're crazy. >> let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein for our thursday forecast. yeah, acting temperamental. clouds over point north and west where it's milder. where it's cleared to the south, parts of the southern maryland, northern neck, central virginia, fredericksburg near charlottesville, parts of culpeper and into fauquier county, at or below freezing. closer to washington, it's in the low to mid 40s. the nearby suburbs. points north and west near 40. it is above freezing from eastern west virginia all the way to the atlantic beaches except for isolated spots here to our southwest. here's the hometown forecast for frederick, maryland.

near freezing at 7:00 a.m. by lunch hour, partly cloudy, 40s. partly cloudy for the region. afternoon highs only into the low 50s. i say only because it's not going to warm up much today. that's ten degrees above the average high. i'm back with your seven-day outlook in ten minutes. a look at traffic now. danella? good morning. i have an update on the crash in howard county. so your road is shut down. old frederick road is closed between brachton drive and raleigh tavern lane. this crash involved a transformer fire earlier. now the road still has downed wires. so it's not expected to be clear until later in the day. you can expect it to be closed through the morning rush. let's head to i-270. delays are little, not bad. 109, slow as you make your way toward 95. i'll show you what it looks like. slow here. but you know, one you pass clarksburg road and then traveling through germantown, all the way to rockville, you're clear in the area. aaron and eun? >> thank you very much. coming up on 5:42 now. and just ahead, deep trouble for a busy waterway that could

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today the ntsb will talk with the captain and crew of a ferry that crashed into a dock in new york city. more than 70 people were hurt, two of them critically. the ferry was headed from new jersey to lower manhattan when it slammed into the dock yesterday. all five crew members passed alcohol tests after the crash. investigators also say weather was not a factor. this mild weather is proving to be extremely costly in the midwest. water levels in the mississippi river are so low, barge traffic has come to a virtual standstill. lake michigan is also dealing with low water, and that's forcing barges and other ships to lighteden their loads. >> we maintain to a certain project depth, and now we're,

you know, we're two feet below the long-term average on lake michigan and huron. ships are having to load two feet less than they would normally. >> the barging industry is crucial to the economy. a typical barge can move 1,500 tons. the equivalent of 70 rail cars or 25 trucks. caught in the act, police are looking for a man they caught on camera breaking into cars in chevy chase. take a look at this. officers say this guy didn't have any trouble getting into the jeep because the doors were unlocked. the car was parked outside a home in village park plaza in chevy chase over the new year's holiday. no word on what he got away with. the suspect there is still at large. also in chevy chase, police are on the hunt for some high-end thieves. two men stormed into this jimmy choo store on wisconsin avenue. the crooks got away with seven handbags yesterday afternoon. a similar incident occurred several months ago right across the street. witnesses say four men ran into the store and ran out with their arms full of designer bags.

police say it is too early to tell if the robberies are connected. 5:47. new today, maryland schools make the grade for the fifth year in a row. maryland public schools are ranked the best in the country right now. education week released its quality counts 2013 list, giving the state's public school system a b-plus grade, that is the highest grade over any state in the country. the list evaluates things like graduation rates, achievement gaps, support for teachers, and education funding. in the meantime, virginia was not far behind in fourth place with a b grade. d.c. placed 45th on the list with a c-minus. it is a remarkable story of recovery. a lake braddock high school senior and baseball player is back at school six months after being paralyzed. today will be nick ballenger's third day back. in july he suffered a devastating injury while on his vacation in hawaii. first paralyzed from the neck down, he is regaining the use of his body and even took his first steps at homecoming this fall.

nick says he is focused on one thing -- >> my goal is to be able to walk across that stage on june 18 to get my diploma and go down the stairs. >> on sunday night, the four seasons hotel will hold a benefit dinner for nick featuring d.c.'s top chefs. to learn more and the get tickets go to nbcwashington.com and search fundraiser. a popular song is being pulled from a frederick, maryland, radio station over lyrics about children running from a gun. ♪ all the other kids with their pumped up kicks better run and run outrun my gun ♪ >> that is the line from the hit "pumped up kicks" by the group foster the people that has prompted many radio stations to pull it from the air. now key 103 is following suit. the station's coo says the song was manually removed from the play list after the tragedy at sandy hook. but a computer glitch kept it running as recently as tuesday.

the song is being removed completely. it is one of the busiest bridges in our area. our cameras captured a badly deteriorating frederick douglass bridge. designs are already in the works to replace the bridge over the next five years. if you under the current structure, you see rust, cracks, even holes. as many as 8,000 cars use the span every day. engineer say the bridge is technically safe to use but simply making repairs won't fix the problem. >> when we weigh those things to consider, like your old car, you don't keep replacing the transmission, the engine, the exhaust. you start to think about a new car. >> the new bridge which would be just a few thousand feet down the anacostia would cost an estimated $660 million. construction could start as early as next year. today we will see how the district will honor the late godfather of go-dpmpt -- go-go. ♪ >> mayor gray will sign legislation that finalizes plans to build a chuck brown memorial.

it will be built in langdon park in northeast washington. the mayor will unveil the memorial's design, as well. chuck brown died last may. he was 75 years old. today a sign of a seattle victory in redskins territory. a friendly game wager will be settled for mayor gray and seattle's mayor. the two worked out a deal before sunday's game that the team that lost had to fly the other city's flag in front of the city hall for a day. and because the burgundy and gold lost to the seahawks, the seattle flooding will fly along pennsylvania avenue all day today. it will come down tonight at dusk. how about this one -- we've had a summer, we had a summer full of wild weather. it got a texas man thinking. he invented this hail protector. like a slip cover for your car. but it clinches together to form a tight seal. you see it there. the hail protector fits into any regular outlet and is remote control operated. it inflates in about five minutes, creating a sort of a

bubble around your car if you will. the hail protector will cost you $300, much better than the thousands it could cost to repair damage done by hail. if you get some golf ball-size or bigger hail, it could do some serious damage. >> seriously. we've seen baseball-size hail. looks like fun. you could put -- put it around a bunch of things. >> one of those why didn't i think of it things. he'll make millions i'm sure. 5:51. time for weather & traffic on the 1s. tom? >> that is a great idea. love that. it's school visit season. earlier this week i traveled to the vienna elementary school. they bought my weather book, the "national geographic" weather book that i authored -- >> whoa, whoa. whoa, whoa, whoa, when did you write a book? how did i miss this? >> this was 10, 15 years ago. >> just a "national geographic" book -- >> children's book. and vienna elementary, always happy to sign for them. these students asked great questions. these are fourth graders at the vienna elementary school. we talked about hail and tornadoes and hurricanes and all different kinds of severe weather. had a great time.

they've already had a unit on weather at the vienna elementary school in vienna, virginia. a teacher there on the left of the scene in the ballpark, jane foster invite -- in the back, jane foster invited me to talk to these bright, happy students about different types of weather and the importance of paying attention to the forecast, especially when the weather could be severe. and yes, they want snow like the rest of us. they were pining for snow, doesn't look like we'll have any here in the foreseeable future. although it's going to be getting colder next week. not now. it's a milder morning. we've got a few high clouds drifting over vienna's elementary school now. and the temperature there is in the low 40s. into montgomery, arlington, prince george's county, generally around 40 degrees now. reagan national at 47. these areas in darker blue, a little colder parts of charles county, across the river into prince william and fauquier and culpeper counties. temperatures there are near freezing. here's the temperature graph for today. we'll have our afternoon highs with a partly cloudy sky climbing to just the low 50s. so not much of a warmup from where we are now.

and by later today, we'll have the cloud cover coming and going. then going all cloudy tonight. a cloudy day tomorrow. highs in the low 50s. could get rain off and on friday afternoon into friday night. ought to dry out saturday morning. and then saturday afternoon, the low 60s. it may soar to the upper 60s to near 70 degrees on sunday. partly sunny to cloudy at times. then some chilly rain on monday, tuesday. yeah, turning colder midweek next week. i'm back in ten minutes. danella with the first 4 traffic. good morning. good morning. tom, i'm checking out things along i-95. and here's what you're dealing with, if you're traveling north and southbound, stafford not bad. when you goet to quantico northbound, slow in this area. closer to dale city, you'll hit the brakes. here's aive look past prince william parkway. checking travel speeds, not bad yet. 14 minutes to get to the beltway. southbound, you're clear. let's head to 395. this time southbound at seminary road. we saw this early this morning. still here, disabled tractor-trailer off to your right shoulder lane. southbound travel lanes are open.

northbound, as well. clear to the 14th street bridge. aaron, over it you. >> thank you. 5:54 about now. soon, new regulations will go into effect to prevent another foreclosure crisis. cnbc has that story and more. good morning. good morning, aaron. the government's consumer finance watchdog is rolling out new rules today aimed at curbing risky mortgages. the rules which take effect next year will impose a range of requirements and restrictions on banks and lenders. they'll have to verify and inspeblth borrowers' financial records and will be prohibited from saddling people with payments totaling 43% of their annual income. interest-only and no-dock doc loans that hope to inflate the housing bubble will be banned. there will be limits on loans that offer teaser rates that balloon after a few years. meanwhile, plastic is proving to be popular at starbucks. a new survey by ugov.com finds more than a quarter of consumers say they bought or plan to buy

one of the coffee chain's reusable plastic cups to cut down on paper waste. starbucks introduced the cups nationwide last month. they sell for $1 each. and as an incentive to go green, starbucks is giving a ten-cent discount when you bring in a cup for a refill. >> all right. thank you. it turns out that the single life may not be the best on the wallet. a survey by couponcabinet.com says that 42% of single adults in the u.s. say they feel more financially strained than their married peers. and more than half say they feel they pay more in federal income taxes. on the other hand, married couples say they feel they get the short end of the stick when it comes to household expenses. see that, aaron? >> i didn't need a survey for that. that's expensive. >> what about -- >> what about people with children? that's a whole other -- >> all right. a view of the white house we don't often get to see, the funny side. at least that's how it's portrayed in nbc's sitcom, "1600

penn" which premieres tonight. bill pullman stars as the president as he juggles his quirky family and tries to take care of his family at the same time. >> you actually are gilchrest. my gosh. but ever think that that name was a presidential name? >> you know, it maybe crossed my mind once or twice. but if there's a storyline for president gilchrest to wake up watching the morning news and think maybe he's got a long, lost brother -- >> that's it -- >> reporter: might not be a bad idea. >> i think so. i think it would be a great storyline. >> reporter: i see the show going for years to come. with that storyline is the point i was making there. if -- you see the premiere of "1600 penn" at 8:30 followed by a second episode at 9:30. should be fun. >> indeed. all right. let's get that moving along, the storyline. today is the day we'll find out which actors and films will receive nominations for the 85th annual academy award. >> i am the president of the

united states clothed in immense power! >> topping the list of contenders is the latest film directed by steven spielberg, "lincoln." "les miserables," "argo, "zero dark thirty" and "zango unchained" will be nominations. and you can catch the star-studded event on nbc 4. the red carpet special will begin at 7:00. the ceremonies begins at 8:00 followed by news4 at 11:00. still need to go see a bunch of movies on the list. >> a lot of them yet to see for sure. and matt lauer, savannah guthrie, the crew will be out for the preshow special tomorrow -- sunday night, then back on the "today" show -- >> we saw "lincoln" and think it's going to win a bunch of awards. >> awesome. later, the car that not only parks itself but picks up, too. plus, the simple test that doctors say could give women a jump on two forms of cancer. and we are looking at a wide range of temperatures to kick off your thursday. ♪

♪ i'm halfway to your heart ♪ you have to let me know ♪ so i don't make my worst mistake ♪ ♪ turn around and let you go [ female announcer ] when sweet and salty come together, the taste is irresistible. made with sweet, smooth peanut butter and salted, roasted peanuts. sweet and salty nut bars by nature valley. nature at its most delicious. at 5:59, the vice president is planning to hear concerns by the nra about gun violence. why the nra will not be the only ones in the et