debate on gun control as massive crowds take a stand on the issue here in the nation's capitol. we're just hours away from another round of winter weather. this time could spell trouble for your monday morning commute. good morning welcome to "news4 today." i'm chris gordon in for richard jordan. >> glad to have you with us chris. i'm angie goff. it's sunday, january 27, 2013. we're starting off with very cold temperatures this morning. >> we'll get some sun today and

then the bottom could drop out a little later on. let's get your first forecast with storm team 4 meteorologist kim martucci. good morning, guys. already the national weather service has issued a winter weather advisory, mostly for freezing rain. it's not for today. it's for tomorrow morning. of course, during a rush hour. it's for these counties in our western suburbs, including loudoun and frederick county, maryland and points west. it's for your monday morning, okay? we're going to be talking about those details coming up very shortly. in the meantime, what you need to know is we have subfreezing temperatures again. we will hold on to some middle 30s today and then we have to talk about that icy mix coming our way. more details to come in a bit. i'll see you in a little while. kim, thanks. in the week ahead, congress will begin debating new gun control measures. the judiciary committee will begin hearings to try to curb

gun violence. some include universal background checks and ban on assault weapons. the president could face opposition if his own party. pro gun democratic senators in alas a, arkansas and montana are up for reelection and are upset about this. the debate was front and center on the national mall as hundreds gathered for a rally supporting more strict gun control measures. several of the demonstrators from were newtown, connecticut. derrick ward spoke to some of them as well as on both side of the gun control debate. >> there was a victim from virginia tech. i was shot four times. >> there was a father of a child killed in ohio. >> the pain for the other ones. >> there was a resident of newtown whom this wasn't always an issue. >> not as much as when it hit home. >> and another whose right to arms is being victimized. >> my sign is about gun rights

protect us from tyranny. >> gun rights supporters marched in rally, signs of mourning and defiance. the people behind the march and rally say it serves as a warning for a powerful gun lobby. >> if legislators thought therapy scared, they're about to be scared of moms that aren't going to rest until we get action. >> moms and dads and brothers and sisters. the latest set of survivors of yet another mass shooting. the march is for them. >> to stand with you until we -- >> some along the march route said it was because of people carrying automatic weapons that these folks could demonstrate and express opinions publicly. the organizers say that's exactly their point. >> congressman van hollen on the -- >> to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons.

these are weapons designed for the battlefield. >> safety is as important as the right to own a gun. no one is trying to take your guns away. >> the march is also about hope. ironically, the flip side, may be reason debate. derrick ward, news 4. >> the group one million moms for gun control held rallies across the country in san francisco, boston and indianapolis among other cities. lawmakers are also under pressure to agree on spending cuts to help control this year's budget and one of the biggest advocates for the cuts, congressman paul ryan will be joining david gregory on "meet the press" later this morning. he chairs the house budget committee snd is pushing for changes to social security and medicare. the former vice presidential nominee will sit down for an exclusive interview today. he will be discussing the budget battle as well as the future of the republican petr.

you can catch meet the press on nbc4. friends and colleagues will say goodbye to a gallaudet university professor who died in a fire. she and her daughter died wednesday morning in a house fire in falls church of. both were deaf. snyder gardner taught math at gallaudet university. she helped to coach the girl's soccer team at the model secondary school on gallaudet's campus. the memorial service is in the he will stad auditorium at 2:30 this afternoon. this morning a virginia man in his 80s is recovering from burn injuries after he tried to put out a massive house fire with a bucket of water. cell phone video shows the intense fire broke out last night at a million dollar home in the 9,000 block of shelly crass now lane in fairfax, virginia. fire investigators say the man brought his wife out safely and went back inside to try to fight the fire. they say he did not call for help right away.

>> it was pretty shocking. it was the -- the flames were coming out of the roof. probably 30 feet above the roof. very intense fire. so it took a while even with all the water they put on it to knock the fire down. >> one firefighter suffered a minor burn on his hand. the cause of the fire remains under investigation. a traffic alert for you. crews are bringing down a bridge along a busy virginia highway and that could mean big delays. crews are working to bring down the courthouse road bridge along route 50, arlington boulevard. if you are traveling westbound, expect a detour through 8:00 tonight. traffic will be detoured through august as crews rebuild that bridge. this morning, using your credit card could be a little more expensive. starting today, retailers are allowed to charge you as much as 4% simply for paying with visa or master card. some businesses successfully argue that, because they have to

pay the credit card companies for each transaction, they should be allowed to pass the fee along to you. but not all retailers will do it. those who do are required to tell you. the good news is that many large retailers say they have no plans to start charging. also today, it costs a little bit more to send mail. first class stamp from the u.s. postal service went up to 46 cents overnight. if you already have those forever stamps, you do not need to add extra postage to your mail. the cash-strapped postal service is trying to make up for billions of dollars in losses as more people turn to e-mail and other mailing services. more for stamps, more for tolls, more for credit cards. happy new year, right? >> not complaining? >> not complaining at all. 6:07 is the time right now. coming up the sudden change that left hikers stranded in the

mountains this weekend. do you sleep next to someone who snores? why it may be more than annoying. >> we'll see the sun today but a much different forecast we spend a lot of time on the feed because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. no animal by-products. no meat and bone meal. when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from.

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that i put on my children's plate. that's why we use all-white meat, breading that is whole grain with omega-3 and no preservatives. it is my goal to make the highest quality, best-tasting nugget on the market. i want consumers to go, "dang, that's a good nugget." there he is. the newest racing president. ready to put his running shoes on. william howard taft. you can just call him bill. made his debut yesterday at the washington convention center. our 27th president has lots of connections to baseball. he was the first president to throw out the first pitch and reportedly started the tradition of the seventh inning stretch. there -- george -- actually, he followed william howard taft followed teddy roosevelt. now there could be a real

rivalry. >> there we go. >> did they slim taft down a little pit? looks trimmer. >> 330 pounds, 6'2" stature. >> a white -- >> i like the mustache. >> all right, guys. little chilly. but not as cold as yesterday morning. today should be just uneventful. we'll take it, right? >> yeah. >> but i hear a but monday -- >> wait until you see my back a doo seven-day forecast. it's out of the imagine nation of my 2-year-old's head. there's a lot in it. grab your coffee and hold on tight. you won't know if you should bring out the spring wardrobe this week or keep the winter wardrobe out. it is 28 degrees now. we have mostly cloudy skies out there. winds aren't blowing around too much. they'll be calm a good part of the day. that's good news. no major windchills. here are some metro numbers for you. middle 20s up the road on 270. also to the west in dulles where

it's 24. annapolis, good morning to you on the bay with 24. the cold spot in huntingtowne, you guys have 22 as you're waking up. this is your future weather. you can see what time this graphic is for. up here in the timeline. this is at 6:00 this morning. we're going to get some sunshine in here throughout the day today? no rain, no snow. ooh, like that. we're saving the good stuff for tomorrow morning around the rush hour. in fact, there's a winter weather advisory in effect for your western metro counties, including loudoun and frederick county. you are under that from 3:00 later tonight until 10:00 tomorrow morning with icing possible. we could see icing also around the beltway but just not much of a glazing as they're expecting off to the west. milder 40s will be moving in after tomorrow morning's bit of a hiccup for your rush hour. now, let's break down the weather forecast for you. today, 37. nothing going on. no big deal. it's tomorrow morning, that 40% of that ice, freezing rain maybe

mixing in with some sleet, the timing is the rush hour. not the best of times. because of that, we have that winter weather advisory that i told you about. now, we're going to focus on good news. my pick of the week is tuesday. we'll have high temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average. it will be dry and we'll have sunshine. wednesday will be the warmest day this week. up around 67. but we're going to get a soaking half inch to inch rain on wednesday. then, right behind that, we're going to have really cold weather once again as we close out the week. even on friday now, since yesterday i made a change, angie. i threw some snowflakes on the map for friday afternoon as a little system tries to zip through in our cold air. you see the roller coaster. high as 67 and highs as cold as 34. february starts on friday. maybe it's something do with that. >> aum over the place. thanks, kim. a look at stories affecting

your community. >> we'll be back in 15 minutes with the morning's top stories and your sunday forecast. good morning. welcome to reporter's notebook. i'm pat lawson muse. we begin in virginia this morning with a redistricting power play in the state senate. senate republicans unexpectedly introduced a bill on monday to redraw all 40 state senate boundaries. a vote on the bill was taken when a key democrat, senator henry marsh, iii of richmond was away because he was attending the inauguration of president barack obama. in marsh's absence the plan passed by a vote of 20-19. because marsh wasn't there, some are saying this was underhanded and no way to conduct business. some say it was shrewd politic. what do you say? we come across this all the time. they've lumped minorities into areas and dill uted their

strength. there won't be as many jurisdictions as there have been. republicans say no, we're strengthening them, giving them more access, creating more abilities for them to rule. and this is what people do. we're trying to strengthen our position in the senate and the democrats tried to o do the same thing when they were here. so what's the big deal? >> it sounds like the virginia republicans have been dancing. they tried to i.d. situations, they tried a lot of different ways to get some power. this is another strategy theirs to get some power. but it's unconstitutional number one according to the laws in virginia. you can't have two redistricting in one year. so this, to me, is a desperation of republicans trying to get more power in the senate. >> i interviewed a senator marsh this week on my show. jerry is right. first of all, it was

unconstitutional. secondly, they knew that he was going to be at the inauguration because he's been at every democratic president inauguration. he certainly wasn't going to miss president obama's second one. in addition to that, the reality is that you now have the governor who initially said i would sign it. then he backed up because i think he realizes the constitutional question, the state constitutional question. then there's another point. and that is, they didn't have any hearings. >> right. >> no hearings. they just took the vote. they also didn't get pre-clearance on the voting rights act which is required by the state of virginia. >> this could be the strongest thing. what i've gone over and what we generally do, everybody does thatment you try to get more people in, you pack more people in the district. you do that.

one, if they violated the constitution by holding this kind of a vote more than they should, that's one thing. if they haven't followed the voting rights act, those are two strong considerations that he brings up. >> the governor hasn't said he'll sign it. senator marsh, i believe, accuses the governor of dancing around it, though. >> that's exactly what he says. governor's party is in control of the house of representatives where the bill goes next. and that, as we speak this sunday morning, the governor could in fact kill the bill on monday morning. >> he could kill the bill but this whole situation puts the republican leaders in virginia in a fencing-type situation. what i'm saying, pat, is there's mcdonnell who is backing off but also cuccinelli, the state's attorney who is going to say -- >> attorney general. >> support my republican colleague but unconstitutional. >> be interesting to see how it plays out. in maryland the move to repeal

the death penalty picked up steam this past week. a new poll shows a majority of maryland residents support life over capital punishment. the support 61-33%. this would seem to really provide a huge boost for governor martin o'malley's position. >> he's got momentum on this because of the polls. the move now is to get it passed and then perhaps there be a challenge in a referendum or something. some kind of a question on the ballot. this is something the governor has argued for, for a long time. he's lobbied very hard for it. there seems to be general support tore it. these newest polls, as you say, confirm what people suspected, that there's less and less appetite for capital punishment in the state of maryland. >> it has a lot of support behind the governor. the naacp number one and many churches in maryland also support this whole effort against capital punishment. so i think, like dave is alluding to, i think the climate

right now different. i'm interested how this would play out throughout the nation. the time different against capital punishment. >> joe, do you think it's a done deal at this point? >> if these numbers hold, remember this -- i'm sorry, 2011, it was 56% in favor of the death penalty. this is almost a reversal. so i think that if these numbers hold, it's a done deal. but then as david reminded us in the back, referendum. i mean, it could then be met with a referendum. >> that could tell a different story. >> this past week, some 800,000 people descended on the nation's capitol and the region for the second inauguration of president barack obama. there was much done differently this time. but many say things went a lot better this time. would you agree with that? how would you grade the region as a city on how we handled this inauguration compared to his

first? >> i would get in trouble. >> you would get in trouble? >> tom scherer would write an interesting piece and my dear friend and colleague talked about parades and all of those kind of things and the security and all. i thought it went off very well because of the security. and also, i've covered -- we all have covered inaugurations. it was a lot different this year. but i felt a lot safer watching this thing when mr. and mrs. obama got out of that limousine and walked up the avenue. i felt that they were well-protected. i felt the crowds -- i talked to some people going down there on u street, that's my hangout, on u street sunday night where most of these people are going down there and all of them felt that they were secure. >> dave, joe? >> well, i covered it. i'm sure you all were there in your various positions. but i was up in the stands right by where the president was going to speak watching down on him. able to look out at this expanse and more to the point, trying to

get there very early in the morning and it was tough. unfortunately, as well as it went and i think personally if i can give a personal opinion one time, if my editor is watching, one time. it seemed generally to be going rather well. lots and lots of people, though. lots and lots of rules and security. we have gotten more towards an armed camp. red zones and green zones and tickets and things and bureaucracy. it's obviously needed to do because you've got to protect the president, you've got to protect the people. the hardest part pour me was getting to where i was going to broadcast. it was difficult to get through a lot of checkpoint. you know, if they don't have checkpoints and some insane or crazy person gets in and does mayhem, that's worse. >> i have to wake dave up early. i got in okay but it was 4:00 in the morning. >> they closed the third street tunnel. didn't have that issue. >> i think, one, they

underestimated the number of people that would show up. that's number one. number two, the biggest problem that i seemed to have was the street closing. you never knew where a street closing was going to happen. i don't think they really communicated that way. but generally speaking, much better than it was four years ago for the people who attended the inauguration. i have heard far fewer complaints. i think the weather played a great deal in it. the other complaint i had was my god, they have got to do something about controlling crowds with metros. they cannot handle that crowd. the -- you know, they shut down several metros right after the inauguration because of the crowds. >> yeah. i got caught in a street closing. i can speak to that. i will amend my opinion. there were problems. but overall, what i'm hearing from my reporting is went a lot better this time than last time.

>> going to take a break. we'll be right back. stay with us

welcome back. the fight over d.c. school closings. they're threatening to sue the school systems over the planned closings of schools. they say it unfairly targets poor and mostly african-american schools. school's chancellor, kaya henderson says closing underutilized will help boost the performance in the schools that are open. what's the problem here for these activists? dave? >> there's always a concern that the schools that are "underutilized" and not used. one, they're african-american schools. and then other schools underutilized and got performing are white schools. is the administration being equitable in both issues. kaya henderson believes it is.

the resource of the city could be much better spent elsewhere and in other ways. she has, as jerry will get into, changed some of the schools that are going to be ended. it has put some back on the list. that's raised a few eyebrows too. >> this is a big story. it's going to be going around. they're talking about a court suit against the school board. already last week there was a big protest in front of the mayor's house because people are very displeased about this. she reduced the number of closings to now 15 schools. >> from 20. >> from 20. interesting in the washington post showing that closing the schools will not save that much money. the reason why is because, number one, if you close the schools, you have to relocate people. you have to fire people. you also have to use storage because of the materials and you have to transfer these materials to other schools. when you're talking about closing these schools, it's going to cost as much as the money you think you're saving.

>> you also have two other things going. one, there an unequal standard, a standard for one community and a standard for another community. >> that's the point. >> so if there's going to be closings, then there ought to be the same standard across the board, number one. number two, probably within two years shall the majority of students will be in charter schools. so there's some concern that this is an effort to push a lot of d.c. public students into these charter schools that are growing fast. i think it's 45% now. >> guess what. when the black kids go to the charter schools, free public education will be for the gentrification of the city where white kids will had go. d.c. council member jim graham is seeking a seat on the board of the children and youth investment trust corporation. that's the same group that played a key role in a scheme by

former council member harry thomas to steal more than $350,000 in taxpayer funds. jim graham wants a nonvoting seat on this board. my question to you is, why? >> he says he wants to be right on there, hands on to effect the changes he made as a council member. he came down very hard on these organizations and this issue with the harry thomas affair, when kickbacks were, in effect, given to favor charities and then from those favored charities, they went back to harry thomas according to court records. he doesn't want that to happen. he's trying to work hard to do it. he said the best way is to be on the board. a lot of people think it's not a great idea. >> it's not a great idea. he can do that as a council member. when i first saw this story, i said this is a conflict of interest. you're talking about an elected official going in to have, as i wrote it down, some political influence. that was the statement. political influence in an

organization that has a trust fund that gets its money from the governor. that's a conflict of sp. >> it's a conflict of interest. i don't think he's going to get the vote. he has to get the majority of votes from the council. i don't think it's going to happen. robert bob doesn't want it. sent a letter saying issue withdraw. i personally think -- to answer your question, i asked the same question. why? why do you want this? and jerry's response was that -- >> i think some person asked him to be on the board. >> it's a conflict of interest. he doesn't have to do it. and robert bobb said we'll take a staff person from your office but not you. >> always appoint staff to represent their point of view. >> he should appoint someone and call it a day. >> in a time of political kickbacks and corruption charges and the aura over the council and the mayor, this kind of -- right. in this situation, true eyebrow raiser.

>> we've got to go. thank you. thank you for being with us. that's reporter's notebook. "news4 today" continues it. . good morning. welcome to "news4 today." i'm angie goff. i'm chris gordon. it is sunday, january 27, 2013. our time right now is 6:30. storm 4's meteorologist kim martucci has a lot up her sleeve. >> when do we get to thaw out, kim sm. >> a lot has to come out today. we have so much to talk about in this weather. this first hit i want to tell you about the temperatures are not so bad as yesterday. if you recall, we had lots of teens. had morning, we have 28 degrees inside the beltway. we can handle that. we're going to be taking highs right up into the middle and maybe upper 30s to our south and west. fredericksburg, you'll work on 39. up to the north, fredericks high

39. hagerstown, 33. annapolis 35. southern maryland, good morning, your high today 38 with some sunshine. this purple stuff is a winter weather advisory. it is in effect for tomorrow morning for freezing rain. i'll get the time down for your commute and the wacky weather roller coaster ride coming up when i see you in a little while sdwliefrjt k sdwliefrjt. kim, thank you. from brazil, a fire kills 90 people. this is in the southern part of that country. no word yet what started this massive fire. new this morning, japan announced that it has launched two intelligence satellites into orbit and there is growing concern about north korea planning to test a nuclear weapon. japan reportedly was planning to launch these satellites before north korea's recent rocket launches. north korea says launched a

satellite into orbit last month, a move that was condemned by the u.s. and other countries. it's believed the satellite was actually a missile and the country planning more launches despite the u.n. security council's impending sanctions. a developing story now. the u.s. embassy in cairo shuts down this morning because of intensifying viviolence. take a look at this video into the newsroom. opponents of ee jips president mohamed morsi are clashing near tahrir square. they threw molotov cocktails at police who fired back tear gas. it's at the two-year anniversary of the revolution. 32 people died yesterday in a fight that broke out after 21 people were sentenced to death for a soccer riot. had morning, venezuelan president hugo chavez is undergoing more medical treatment in cuba. venezuela's information minister says chavez is suffering from breathing problems.

he remains in cuba where he underwent another cancer surgery more than six weeks ago. chavez hasn't been seen in public since his surgery. despite the health setback, venezuela's vice president says that chavez is in his "best moment." desperation for a new york city family after a 33-year-old woman disappears in turkey. family members say this woman never got on her flight home are tush i last week. police in istanbul say her passport and medical cards were still in her room although she was gone. congressman michael grim of new york says his office is working with u.s. and turkish investigators to find here. in arizona, a daring rescue. after floodwaters wash away a hiking trail leaving dozens of hikers stranded. as many as 50 adults and children were stranded as rain flooded a canyon near tucson. rescue teams had to work from the ground and from a helicopter. the hikers were soaked but

otherwise okay. d.c. police shut down a northeast nightclub following a shooting nascent five people to the hospital. officers temporarily closed d.c. sound stage located on benning road. early yesterday morning a man walked up to the club and opened fire, injuring five people. police are still looking for the suspect and they have not said when the club will be allowed to reopen. a teen is behind bars this morning charged with robby hotel guests in silver spring with a sawed off shotgun. 18-year-old jackson julius crashed a room party at the homewood suites hotel on coalsville road. he took cash and other items from the eight guests and then took off. officers found him on a ride-on bus with his loot and the weapon. he is currently being held on $150,000 bond. in virginia, a person out walking their dog find a dead body along a wooded path. the man's body was found near tamarack way.

this is in herndon yesterday. police believe the man was in his 30s. they haven't released a cause of death. investigators say the man may have been exposed to the cold and was not wearing proper winter clothing no word yet on his identity. had morning, a homeowner in his 80s is trying to recover after trying to put out a massive house fire in fairfax with a bucket of water. news 4's darcy spencer has our report. >> this cell phone video shows flames shooting through the roof of a million dollar single family home on shelly kras now lane in fairfax. >> it was shocking. the flames were coming out of the roof, probably 30 feet above the roof. very intense fire. so it took a while even with all the water they put on it to knock the fire down. >> fire investigators say a man in his 80s who lives in the home had to be flown to a local burn unit after trying to put the fire out himself with a bucket of water. >> he was injured. he's been flown to washington

burn center with respiratory-type injuries. >> the flames broke out on the second floor around 7:30 and quickly spread. officials say the victim brought his wife out to safety, then went back in without immediately calling 911. >> there was a delay in notification of the fire department can. he made several attempts to fight the fire and then retreated from the home. >> investigators are still trying to figure out how the fire started. >> we also would love to find out what happened. everyone in the neighborhood i talked to is anxious to find out what the cause is so we can take preventative action approximate we have to. >> investigators tell me that one firefighter was also taken to the hospital after suffering minor burns to his hand. in fairfax, virginia, darcy spencer, "news4 today." new york city mayor michael bloomberg gives $350 million to his alma mater, johns hopkins university. $100 million going to go to scholarships for students in need. $250 million will go to several different university programs.

bloomberg had given johns hopkins university $1 billion since he graduated from there back in 1964. the new york mayor says he doesn't know of any other institution that can make a bigger difference in lives around the world through its groundbreaking research. we're coming up on 6:37 sunday morning. some of you may be awake this early because someone next to you is snoring in bed. >> listen up, don't think it's just annoying. why snoring may be a sign of a serious health condition. also ahead, the game stopper that forced them to turn off the lights at a basketball game this

welcome back. next week immigration becomes

the main focus of the obama administration. >> changing tactics but not necessarily where it stands on policies. meet the press moderator david gregory joins us to talk a little politics. good morning, david. we want to start with immigration. this seems like second term, president obama is wasting no time to push his message when it comes to reform. are you surprised how fast these conversations are happening? >>. no because republicans have a vested interest. in their examination trying to reach out to latino voters, this has been a good way do that. the republican party ride to take on before under president bush and they were unsuccessful. they're really speaking constructively, democrats and republicans together. it doesn't mean that the legislation is going to happen because there's still a question of what you do with illegal immigrants who are here now. dhou they go to the back of line as it were. do they have to leave the country? there are difficult elements to it. i think it's something that is going to be an area of

bipartisan. >> wanted to ask you about democratic and republican shifting. senator tom harkin announcing he will not seek reelection is a bit of a surprise, the head of an influential committee. then you have paul ryan, who is going to be your exclusive guest. if there was one lesson approximate this election, wasn't it that republicans need to broaden their base and attract minorities. >> paul ryan someone who speaks about connecting to his mentor jack kemp about how to apply conservative principles to help people get ahead in the country. to really speak to the poor in this country. to as you say expand that base. reach beyond who they're reaching now. what is difficult for ryan is his budget approach. some people see it targeting the poor and leaves out shared sacrifice on the part of the rich.

that approach will be difficult in terms of that goal. particularly over the next couple of years. >> there's so many things to talk about. of course, we've had the big massive rally on the mall in d.c. we have the white house and the democrats. really need republicans to go against their own party. what they believed in this whole time to get on board with had thing. is there any evidence that that will happen. >> i think it's difficult for democrats. they've got a democratic problem too. they have red state senators up for reelection who are not going to run a vote on an assault weapons ban or magazine ban. there's hope within the white house that they might be able to get a universal background check. getting some of the other high-profile bans will be more difficult. >> outgoing secretary of state clinton testified before

congress. we know she said as to benghazi, what does it matter if it was a terrorist attack or a walk in the park she said for people. we have to make sure it doesn't happen again. does ha help or hurt her hopes for presidency? >> i think she came out fine. i think republicans have sharpened their attacks against her and will use benghazi for that. some of the charges that republicans have launched about benghazi are difficult to prove. they're political argument. but there's no question that the criticism is there. it's been made by the president even and the independent board about how poorly the security situation was handled. i think the feeling was that she held her own pretty well. you also got a glimpse into how this issue and perhaps others will follow her as republicans start to see her as a potential nominee of the democrats. who coming up on the show? >> paul ryan and we'll talk about the issues about looking at the testimony this week through the 2016 lens looking at joe biden, the vice president, as well as hillary clinton how there's positioning going on for

2016. >> lot going on. thanks, david. in news 4 your health. snoring may be a sign of a more serious medical condition. nns's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman reports on new research. >> i give him a shout. >> you need to wake him up or turn him over or something so that you can sleep. >> new research shows snoring should not be ignored. in fact, it may be an indicator of cardiac disease. the number one killer in america. for the first time, doctors say snoring alone may be an early sign of heart disease. likening it to other well-known risk factors like obesity, smoking and high cholesterol. >> we wanted to bring to light the fact that snoring may in fact lead to adverse health. >> researchers at the henry ford hospital and university of heb neb measured the thickness of the carotid artery. those who snored, regardless of other risk factors for heart disease, had significantly

greater thickening of those blood vessels. that thickening is associated with an increased risk of heart disease or stroke. >> snoring was number one independent of the other risk factors and also was more likely to lead to that thickening than the other "traditional" risk factors. >> snoring is a telltale signs that a person's airway is partially blocked. the vibrations and strains that occur can also put pressure on blood vessels in the head and neck. over time, the critical blood vessels narrow making it harder to pump blood into the head and brain and putting in turn, undue stress on the heart. >> for all of you senatorers out there. >> it's like an elephant. >> like a buzz saw. >> the earthquake that we had a few years ago. >> consider this a wake-up call. snoring is not just a joke. it's a reason to see the doctor. >> dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. forget about trying to keep warm, many decided yesterday to

make a freezing cold dip in the potomac. >> 3, 2, 1. >> more than 100 braved the subfreezing temps and got down to their bathing suits at national harbor for the keep winter cold polar plunge. as you can probably guess, most people ran in and then ran right back out. the event raises awareness for climate change. brave the cold. brave sous and a little suspect i would think. it would take a lot. i would have to be doing it for charity or -- >> i don't know. you can definitely tell it's winter. there are not a whole lot of tan lines out there. >> got that right. certainly. some people might go in with so much clothing on and then you come out and i'm thinking isn't that counterproductive when it gets all wet. >> weren't we all cold this weekend without going into the -- >> i know.

i was running from the building to the car. i could barely make that jaunt. >> you will be able to do so in your pregnant beautiful way morecely on tuesday and wednesday with 60s with us. >> that may have been the official announcement by the way. r. on tv. let's acknowledge it. >> beautiful one at that, angie. grab your coffee. it's a little nippy outside. we have warmer weather compared to where we've been. we spent 108 consecutive hours below freezing from tuesday midnight until noon yesterday. ha he is when -- that's when we ticked up to 30 degrees. we'll be in the upper middle 30s today. it's 28. here's a look at weather headlines for you. we are going to be dealing with some slippery weather monday morning. then we're going to have april-like warmth in the middle of the week followed by a soaking rain on wednesday. maybe as much as a half to an inch of rain for your wednesday

evening drive. numbers around the metropolitan area show 25 gaithersburg, dulles 24. manassas at 25. camp springs is 26. annapolis is waking up with 24. your planner for today, will be up around 31 by 11:00. 35 at 3:00. a high around 36, 37. chilly day, below average. warmer than where we've been. we'll make up positive things in the weather forecast. the sun will shine for a little while today and be replaced by clouds tonight. look at this. tomorrow morning, there's definitely icing possible for your commute. especially far western suburbs. you could get a glaze on the ground off to the west. all this is milder air trying to come in with moisture. so any icing in the morning will change over to rain showers with temperatures in the 40s by the afternoon on monday. as far as your weather goes like this, today 37. monday 41. but that is after the morning ice which is going to be affecting that morning commute. we have a winter weather

advisory in effect monday morning from 3:00 a.m. until about 10:00 a.m. for some freezing rain and sleet possible. then as we look ahead, we look at this wonderful warmup, 67 wednesday. early in the day, followed by a 70s change of rain. after that, we're windy on thursday night and cold. friday's high temperature will be trapped down in the 30s. a little system is going to zip through the cold air on friday. maybe to bring snowflakes. have the winter attire monday morning, spring attire tuesday, wednesday. build an ark thursday morning. and maybe sledding, we'll see if it sticks much on friday. >> up and down. this is one crazy search-day forecast. >> we have a little bit of everything. that's really a mixed bag. >> every day something different. >> thanks, kim. the hit movie argo won the

top honor at the producer guild awards. won outstanding producer of motion picture award. beat out lincoln, zero dark thirty and "les miserables." argo won at the top golden globes. it goes into the academy awards with momentum, i guess you could say. the oscars are next month. >> have you seen argo sm. >> haven't seen. >> i did. as you said, ben affleck is not up for director. >> he got snubbed everywhere. >> he's winning everything else. >> looking forward to the oscars. >> up next, we have the surprise at a basketball game that had people using their cell phones for light. plus, the president -- what president obama says he may not let his child do if he had a

welcome back. president obama says if he had a son, he's not sure he'd let him play football because it's too dangerous. the commander in chief talked with the magazine, the new republic, and said the game's violence is taking its toll on the players. he also said the game will probably have to make changes that will make things less exciting for fans but safer overall for players. hurts to see rg3 every time you roll the tape. >> i can't even watch it. >> speaking of football, some redskins get ready for the pro bowl. later today in hawaii. >> going to be a good game. >> it's official. the wizards, they're on a roll. did we think we'd be saying that any time soon? jason pugh covers it all in this morning's sports minute. good sunday morning. i'm jason pugh. your sports minute starts now on the hardwood. the wizards continue their winning ways at home taking on the bulls at the verizon center. john wall was dealing last night

seven assists to go with 15 points. the wiz win it 86-73. they've won five straight in front of the hometown fans. get used to that face nats fans. william howard taft stole the show as the newest racing president for the nationals. >> i hope he wins. teddy's got competition now. hopefully, he wins one at least. or we could start another tradition. have another losing president in the race. >> don't forget, tonight at k, the pro bowl kicks off here on nbc. a few redskins will take the field. london fletcher makes a second trip while ryan care began and lorenzo alexander will be making their trips to honolulu. trent williams will be at the game but won't participate due to injury. that was your sports minute. i'm jason pugh. have a great sunday everyone. in basketball, the ref will call a penalty if there's an extra person on the court. but when it's something else,

when something else joins the game, when things really get interesting, here's what we found. a bat found its way into the marquette providence game yesterday. it interrupted play for several minutes. everyone had to laugh when providence used his assistant coach for protection. several attempts to catch it failed. they actually had to turn off the lights to try to trick the bat into hiding. >> how spooky. i would run out. i would run right out. i wouldn't want to risk a bat landing on my head. >> it's major basketball. >> i know. wow. don't see that every day. there's still more news for today after the break. also, news 4's viewpoint. stay with us. if you don't feel good when you leave the bathroom,

you've got the wrong toilet paper. you want it to get you clean... gently. as long as i use quilted northern ultra plush® i'm happy... and positive i'm clean. quilted northern ultra plush with the innerlux layer. for a comfortable, confident clean, or your money back. good morning. well come news 4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm chris gordon. we're in for sunny skies but that will change quickly. let's go to meteorologist kim martucci with the forecast today. >> chris, that all changes quickly tomorrow. in fact, the weather service has issued a winter weather advisory already. it goes into effect in the wee hours tonight through the morning commute. all those counties in purple off to the west, including frederick county, maryland and loudoun county, virginia. could have a glazing and freezing rain and sleet. around here, the temperatures

are cold but nothing we can't handle. waking up to 29. today we'll take you up to the middle 30s with limited sun, clouds coming in by the evening, guys. >> thank you very much, kim. we'll keep an eye on that. taking a look now at our top stories. a virginia man in his 80s is recovering from burn injuries after he tried to put out a massive house fire with a bucket of water. fire broke out last night at a million dollar home in the 9,000 block of shelly krasnow lane in fairfax. one firefighter suffered a minor burn to his hand. friends will hold a memorial was for a gallaudet university professor who died in a fire. she and her daughter died wednesday morning in a house fire in falls church. both were deaf. the memorial service is at 2:30 this afternoon at elstad auditorium an the gallaudet university campus. a traffic alert. expect delays as crews bring down the courthouse road bridge

along route 50, arlington boulevard. westbound traffic is forced to detour through 8:00 tonight. traffic to and from courthouse road will be detoured through august as crews rebuild the bridge. and those are se of the stories that are making news today. next is nbc4's viewpoint. >> we'll be back in a few minutes with an update. good morning. welcome to viewpoint. i'm pat lawson muse. central union mission is the oldest social service agency in the district of columbia. for more than a century now it's provided food and clothing and emergency shelter and job training and recovery programs for families, needy families in this area. that's the topic of our discussion this morning. my guests are, rutherford cook who is assistant director of overnight guests at central union, david treadwell is executive director and debra chambers is director of community outreach. welcome back. >> thank you. >> nice to see you again. the city's homeless shelters are normally closed during the day.

but last week during the inauguration we saw that they were kept open. how much of an incompetent packet did that make and what did you do on inauguration day? >> it's important for us. we can stay open because we're not a city shelter per se. we're privately funded. if it's bad weather, we say open. whether it's bad rain, extreme heat or extremely cold. but for inauguration day, that's a time for celebration in our country. so we put up two large television sets. one in oir day room downstairs for our guys and then the other in our chapel so that the guys could enjoy the inauguration events and then we had hors d'oeuvres out and served the noon meal and they could can leisurely enjoy the activity. >> our people enjoyed this occasion. we are largely minority and so they were especially pleased. this is a great time for them. >> with the region's economy improving, the country's economy improving, it would seem that maybe the rising tide would

raise allhopes. are things improving any for your populations? >> we have increasing numbers. those coming to us seeking help, shelter, food, supplemental servic services. we have not seen that. what are the greatest problems you're facing at this particular time sm. >> our client find hard to find affordable housing to balance the bills that they have to pay along with buying up food and other basic necessities. we're able to help supplement. >> mr. cook, the city is an expensive place to live now. we're seeing more and more families not just the poor and needy being forced out. middle class families having a tough time finding place to live. >> absolutely. we get -- there are a number of guests who come in who are participating in our work

program, for example. individuals who perhaps economic reasons who are working, have a job and but they have no place to stay. we have put together a work program that will allow them to have a place to stay over a set period of time whereby they can save a portion of the income to get back on their feet at a later date. you give them job training and you basically provide a safety net for them so to speak? >> absolutely. but the men who are in the work program are gentlemen who are working. they have a regular job. >> what kinds of jobs are they doing? >> they are doing working construction. we have a number of guys who are in the food services industry who are working as chefs. who are working as waiters. we have a number of men who are delivery drivers.

so it covers a vast cross section of employment that they're able to continue to do their jobs. >> it must be frustrating for them, difficult, to know they can work but can't get ahead any faster. >> it is a challenge for them. having been in their own place and being faced with the challenge much losing their residence but needing to continue to work, there is a period of adjustment for them. so we try to alleviate the problems that they might otherwise encounter by helping them to continue to work, to have a hot meal at the end of the day. a nice place to sleep. to be able to come in and get a shower and then in the next day go back out to work. >> many of them have families? >> some of them do have families. we try to provide as much

support for them in sustaining their families as they once did. >> mr. treadwell, how many men are you able to serve on a weekly, monthly basis? >> in an evening, we have about 140 men in shelter, in training, in a bed of some sort at the mission. we also indirectly reach others because of so much work with the families. what we're encountering today, it's easy to emphasize homelessness. but it's also poverty. the work that debra and her team do with food has grown so much because of that 140 is just the tip of the iceberg that we actually do have in housing overnight. whether overnight temporarily or in a long-range transformation program or whether they're one of our specialized programs, such as the work program, rutherford was describing. even more than that, there's so many in the community that need food. our food worth has gone from

about a million dollars a year to $5 million worth of food a year that we're distributing. that's where we've seen the tremendous growth in both the need and our ability to meet the need. >> okay. we've got to take a break. we'll continue our discussion with central union mission right after this.

welcome back. we're talking with central union mission. you are on a tremendous mission here. you just mentioned, mr. treadwell, how much more food you're having to collect and distribute. from a million dollar worth of food to 5 million d today? >> that's correct. we value lightly. it's really worth more than that. where does all that food come from? >> we get food from as far away as new jersey. weave we have two primary trucks. one that stays on the road, goes out and picks up out of state food.

the other is local. the grocery stores in washington and the region are very good to us. we're good partner with the food bank and then we redistribute that food to smaller charities so we can scatter it around the city and around even prince george's, montgomery county, fairfax county as needed so it's a big partnership. lot of work goes into that. >> mrs. chambers, tell us about the food depot. >> we do a food depot, it occurs every day. we have citizens in need of receiving supplemental food that come, they become a part of the program. we do screen them to make sure they're financially in need. they're able to come twice a month. they get a bag full of groceries, nutritious food, meat is in the bag and they're able to help supplement what they receive from other sources. >> where else do they get help? >> some get it from the state, some on social security, a lot of seniors on a fixed income. they wind up needing more food at the end of the month.

having to make difficult choices between paying for their medicine or having food. this helps them out in that situation. seniors who get food also have activities. >> yes. >> they're enrolled in our food depot program. but once a month we sold a seniors luncheon. they come, we have recreation, bingo, coffee and doughnuts. we celebrate their birthdays, we have theme. this coming one is valentines as you can imagine. they'll all wear red and excited. we have volunteers come in. it's a iem for them to have community interaction and to be encouraged. statistics show the growing numbers of children depending on free and reduced priced lunch. i was moved to read in december that during the winter break when they're out of school, they don't eat. right. >> how big a problem this? >> we've encountered that firsthand with mcfarland middle school in a partnership we had there. we tried to supplement the

families whose children were on the weekly program. weekend are a problem because there's no extra food for the weekend that's provided. we were trying to provide bags of groceries. what we've learned is this is so widespread that we use our food depot and our distribution through other smaller charities around the city to do wrus that supplement. especially if the families have children. it is a need -- saturday mornings children in this city are likely to be hungry unless the family is helped out in some way. >> this is because schools can't afford the -- they provide the free and reduced lunches during the year and during the summer. >> federal programs primarily cover during the week, the weekends far too often are left open. >> we know it's a problem not just in d.c. but wealthy jurisdictions. we're seeing the numbers increase there, too. >> p of what we see is poverty in general. they may not be homeless as i mentioned earlier.

we need to be there to respond either way. the city is working very hard to have single room occupancy facilities. sros. they want to get people in their own places and all that. in the meantime, you still have people that in the emergency situation have just been put out. we've got to be there for them. i don't see the numbers of beds declining for emergency and temporary situations. >> many of the men are working every day. what do they do with the money they earn? >> well, we have in the work program, we have a requirement that they save 50% of everything that they earn. >> they save? >> they save it. it's a savings institution of their choice but they have to show us on a recurring basis that they are saving. with that, we don't charge them to stay at tfacility. they get meals for free, bedding

for free. we provide all of the services that they need for free which helps them to put away 50% of their earnings. so that over a short period of time, they're able to accumulate sufficient savings to get back into a place of residence of their choice. >> you get them back on their feet. >> get them back on their feet. >> we're talking with central union mission. we'll continue our discussion right after this. ♪

♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. i'm angie goff. here are some of the stories we're following. d.c. police shut down a nightclub after a man opened fire sending five people to the hospital. officers temporarily closed d.c. sound stage on benning road northeast. they closed it yesterday. police are still looking for the suspect. congress will take up proposed gun control measures this week.

the senate judiciary committee will begin hearings on wednesday. it includes universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. republican congressman paul ryan will sit down for an exclusive interview with david gregory this morning on "meet the press." he's going to talk about the budget battle and the future of the gop. meet the press starts at 10:30 here on nbc4. now back to viewpoint. welcome back. we're talking with and about central union mission. the programs have a specific component that targets the region's growing latino population. poverty rates are just as high among the latino community members as they are in the rest of the population. but it's handled differently. explain that. >> we find that they need food

and clothing. in fact, they draw more of our clothing and about as much of our food as the rest of the community. but when it comes to housing, they tend to put multiple families into one apartment. they will look after each other in a different way and sort of take care of the housing need themselves. but their food needs are tremendous. so we're there for them for that need. >> what about the jobs and the job training for them? >> they have the opportunity to participate in a jobs program as any other guest. >> do you have as many hispanics in your job training program as nonhispanics? >> not on a regular basis. there are from time to time individuals who come in and request to be placed in the work program. by and large, they are regular overnight guests who are participating in that program. >> the hispanic family program

is what? >> it's set up differently. meets and we rent mt. gilead baptist church during the week. they have their own training programs. pat, what we've learned is many of our hispanic women cannot read spanish. so we have to do literacy classes first in spanish before we can teach them to read english. so you get into the community, you learn the basic needs and then you start providing the services that meet them. >> what about the children? >> the children speak wonderful english. when we focus on spanish, it's more for the parent than for the children. >> you have a number of programs for children that provide school supplies, you get them gifts during the holidays. what else do you do? >> we have a summer camp. seven weeks in the summer we provide a week-long residential program where children can come and spend the week there. they have swimming, ropes course. they're able to enjoy the flesh fresh outdoors and be aware from the inner city.

it's a wonderful experience. the parents lot of opportunity, be able to send their children away and know that they'll be taken care of safely. one of the rise populations that we're helping out is the grandparent that is raising by themselves their grandchildren. mommy and daddy for whatever reason are out of the picture. so they're able to participate in the many services and summer camp for them is quite -- >> tell us about camp bennett. >> it's a 220-acre scenic area in brookfield, maryland. we use it to house our homeless. they go out there for a period of time o get in touch with their own faith. we use during the summer for our children in the summer camp and then as well the community is able to participate in some of the services that we have there. we have a gymnasium and so we find multiple wroos for summer camp. >> your programs are spiritually-based.

obviously, that's pretty important for people who have been through a lot of stress, who have lost jobs. families have broken up. tell us how you restore them from the inside out. >> first of all, it's important that we are compelled by our faith to serve the poor. but we never compel faith for anyone to receive services. we offer it. i like to say we never push but we pull. what we try and do is begin by building hope. i know that you've been through this in life. that you understand about faith. without hope, someone who has had sand kicked in his face his whole life, you want to show him that there is something better and it's achievable for you. we make that visible. >> your men are learning to get back on their feet and having to

learn to save their money. but wages are a challenge for many people who are making minimum wage. many people can't save and live on the money that they make. >> right. >> how do you approach that problem with them and when they move out of your shelters and back into the world? how do you teach them to handle, manage, balance? >> we have counselors who work with the men as well. we have a social director who also provides counseling support to the men. but the other point that you raised about the spiritual side of their lives, we have chapel services every night. we conduct bible study every night. and so the men have the opportunity to continue to develop them testifies spiritually by participating in our chapel services or by

sitting in our bible study classes and as i said, we conduct those every night. we try to help the whole person. both from the standpoint of the work that they do but also from a spiritual development standpoint. >> all right. we're talking with central union mission and if you'd like to help this organization, you'll find their name and contact information there on your screen. we'll be back ri

central union mission is about to move back into the heart of the city. you have a renovation project under way. the old gail school is being renovated as your new home. you expect to move in next august. >> we are looking forward to next august. we have been working on this pro correct for about 12 years. trying to relocate to the heart of the city where we can reach men when they first arrive. we'll be two blocks from union station. the bus station will be moving in close by. we'll have a new

state-of-the-art facility dedicated wrus to the ministry part of what we do. this will be about helping men off the streets. it will not have administrative offices in it. it will be the training will take place there, the feeding of the men will take place there, cleaning men up, getting them back on track will all take place at 65 massachusetts avenue. >> why is it important to be in the city doing what you're doing? >> we want to be where the homeless population is. especially where we're relocating to, we're near union station. the goal is to catch men as they're coming into the city and reach out and help them before they get lost in the downward spiral of life on the street. >> mr. cooke will that help them in terms of their ability to get to and from their places of employment? are most of them working in the city? >> absolutely. most of the men in our work program are working in the city. in particular, to some of the places that they're working are right in that immediate area.

so logistically that's going to work to their benefit. >> i understand there are naming opportunities for your new facility. >> that's right. the altar has been named. but we've got classrooms, we've got desks to be purchased, tables to be bought, chairs to be purchased. rooms that are still available that can be named after someone's family or someone's loved one or in honor of someone that someone appreciates. there are many opportunities. they can all be found on the website. >> you depend heavily on volunteers. volunteers, whether men, women? >> yes. anybody who is able to come and serve. we see about 2200 unique volunteers annually. we need them to help us with all kind of services, such as serving food, helping with maintenance around the building, upkeep with professional services are also a needed and valued. you can, again, volunteer on the website. but definitely welcome all kind of volunteers.

>> are you finding people more generous with their time with their resources during these tougher times? >> absolutely. america is a great country. we do tend to look inward and are generous and we find that people are very willing to sacrifice their time and to help somebody in need. you know, you're always rewarded when you reach out to someone else. people enjoy that. it's a great opportunity at the mission do that. >> mr. cooke, getting families back on their feet is a tremendous boost for them. how do your clients generally do after they leave you? >> most of them are able to continue to thrive back in their environment. in fact, we post success stories of the men and in the past couple of newsletters, we've posted stories of men who are excelling in the work that they

do now that they're back out in the community and taking care of themselves and their families. so the success rate of the program is very high. >> all right. reunions must be really happy occasions. >> absolutely. rutherford cooke, assistant director of overnight guests. debra chambers and david treadwell of central union mission. thank you for sharing with us this morning. >> thank you for having us. it's always a pleasure to be here. >> all right. thank you for joining us for "viewpoint." i'm pat lawson muse. "news4 today" continues. stay with us. lawmakers get ready to take up debate on gun control as thousands bring the ush u front and center to the capitol this weekend. >> we're hours away now from another round much winter weather. had time it could spell trouble

for your monday morning commute. good morning everyone. welcome to "news4 today." i'm angie goff. i'm chris gordon. social security sunday, january 27, 2013. >> we're getting new information actually into the newsroom right now. a very terrible story. a major fire that breaks out in brazil. the latest in a moment. but first, we want to get straight to o the forecast. >> let's go to kim martucci, our torm 4 meteorologist in the storm center. >> good morning, guys. it's a little cold outside. but not as cold as yesterday. yesterday, on this map, we had lot of temperatures in the teens. well, this morning, we're in the 20s. in fact, it's 29 inside the beltway at our nation's capitol. this afternoon, we will take a trip into the middle 30s and in some spots, like the southwestern suburbs, culpeper over to fredericksburg, upper 30s. up to the north, frederick, hagerstown, 33 to 35. you'll see the sun for a little while. we have a winter weather advisory of the i'll tell you about this when i see you next.

kim, thank you. breaking news from bra sfwlil. nbc news confirmed that 180 people died in a nightclub fire. that number significantly up in the last half hour. this happened in santa maria brazil in the southern part of the country. fire officials saying the fire started when a band was performing at the club. at least 200 people were hurt. no word what started had fire. in the week ahead, the debate over gun control will once again take centerstage. the senate on capitol hill, the senate judiciary committee will begin hearings on wednesday to review president obama's suggestions to try to curb gun violence. some of his suggestions include universal background checks and a ban on high ammunition rounds. but there will be plenty of opposition to the regulations as well, including some from pro gun democrats. senators from gun friendly

states like alaska, arkansas and montana are all up for reelection in 2014 and have said they're unsure about the president's proposals. thousands of gun control protesters gathered for rallies across the country including right here in washington, d.c. the rally on the mall had some special meaning for some demonstrators. nbc's brian mooar has our story. >> thousands of demonstrators joined a qui march through the streets of washington. to send a message to washiton about gun violence. among those in attendance, about 100 parents from newtown, connecticut. the scene of last month's deadly elementary school attack. i feel hopeful. cautiously optimistic. i hope this is just the start of a bigger movement to keep not only our children safe but the citizens. >> the rally was one of several organized in cities across the united states from san francisco

to new jersey. >> i'm hoping that the power of regular people will actually assert itself in contrast to the lobbying power of the nra. >> the national rifle association says it's gearing up for an all-out battle, insisting that gun bans make no one safer. vice president biden is spearheading a public push for new gun ledge hags that will strengthen background checks, limit high capacity ammunition magazines and get assault weapons off of america's streets. >> this is about action. no more talk. if not now, when? >> the american debate over guns hitting home in the nation's capitol. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. the nra's vice president wayne la pierre is set to testify during wednesday's hearing. he says the nra will not budge on any of the suggested measures. angie? >> today a community will pay

their last respects to a gallaudet university professor who died in a fire. laura snyder gardner and her daughter mary ann died wednesday morning in a house fire in falls church. both were deaf. snyder gardner taught math at gallaudet university. e also helped coach the girl's soccer team at the model secondary school for the devon gallaudet's campus. the memorial service is at 2:30 this afternoon at gallaudet university in northeast d.c. a man in his 80s is recovering from burn injuries after trying to put out a massive house fire with a bucket of water. cell phone video shows the intense fire broke out in a million dollar home in fairfax, virginia. fire investigators say the man brought his wife out safely and then went back inside to fight the fire. >> there was a delay in notification of the fire department. he made several attempts to fight the fire and then retreated from the home.

>> one firefighter suffered a minor burn on his hand much the cause of the fire remains under investigation. a traffic alert for you this morning. watch out for delays as crews demolish a bridge along a busy virginia highway. crews are bringing down the courthouse road bridge along route 50, arlington boulevard. westbound traffic along route 50 has to detour through 8:00 tonight. if you plan to drive to and from the courthouse, that's going to be detoured through august as crews work to rebuild that bridge. well, depending on where you shop, you may be getting hit with a fee just for using your credit card. starting today, retailers are allowed to charge you the fee that they have to pay to the credit card companies. it could mean as much as 4% of our transaction if you pay with visa or master card. the fee, though, is not mandatory. in fact most retailers say they won't even do it. retailers that do charge you are likely to require a clear disclosure on the register or on

their website that they're charging you the fee. >> it's happened again. start today, stamps will cost you a little bit more. a first class stamp from the u.s. postal service went up a penny overnight. overnight. to 46 cents. if you already have those forever stamps, you don't need to add extra postage to your mail. but cash-strapped postal service is trying to make up for billions of dollars of losses as more people turn to e-mail and other mailing services. it's 7:36. coming up, how chefs are sharing their recipes for more healthy eat and saving money at the same time. plus, the big mistake some hikers made that left them stranded in the mountains this weekend. medication overdose. the main ingredient pharmacists say people are using too much of to fight a cold or flu. keep it here. you're watching "news4 today." [ male ] that's one creamy muller.

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good morning. 7:39. one of the longest serving u.s. senators says he's stepping downment i'll take it from there, chrisment thank you. democrat tom harkin from iowa will not run for reelection next november saying it's someone else's turn to represent the hawkeye state. he said he'll spend the last two years of his term working to implement the president's health care initiatives. harkin was elected to the house of representatives in 19474 and served there for a decade before becoming a senator in 1984. 2014 is a pivotal year for republicans who will look for a rebound after tough losses in 2012. meet the press moderator david gregory joined us earlier had morning and says one of the leaders of the gop is now congressman paul ryan who faces an uphill battle when it comes to implementing the budget debate. >> the difficulty for ryan is his budget approach which a lot of people see as draconian, something that target the poor and leaves out shared sacrifice

on the part of the rich. that approach, i think, will be difficult in terms of that overall goal of shifting the party. >> ryan will sit down for an exclusive interview with david gregory later today on "meet the press." you can catch it right here nbc4 at 10:30. a high-speed chase caught on camera. take a look at this. police chased the three men suspected in a robbery. they followed them in that car through several cities in oklahoma on friday. now at one point the speeds topped 100 miles per hour much that was a tractor-trailer during the chase, the passenger unhooked that trailer. the driver crashed into a light pole but that didn't stop him. the driver ran away but police were quickly able to catch him. police arrested all three men. it's amazing not more people were hurt. it is not what hikers expected. dozens set out only to find that

their trail was gone. washed away by rising floodwaters. leaving them stranded. sam has more on the daring rescue. >> hikers had no problem getting into the mountains, but by the time they got back down, their trail was gone. >> we all started wondering how we were going to get across, where we would get across. some people talked about crossing on their own which would have been a bad idea probably. >> that happened at a few different washes. search and rescue deputies found the hikers and strapped on flotation devices. >> team member was behind us with a hand on that flotation device and they strung april rope across. so we had to grab the rope and sidestep across the river. >> into the night, the arizona dps helicopter was in the air rescuers were look for more people stranded in catalinas. they even prepared water bottles with chemical lights to throw from the chopper. they read, stay where you are, help it on the way, call 91.

it was a situation deputies were ready for. >> people do not take the quickly changing weather conditions into account. we're ready to deal with it and bring these people to safety. >> their pants and shoes were soaked but a lot of people learned their lesson. >> don't hike in the rain. pump one. listen to my girlfriend who told us we shouldn't hike in the rain. >> that was sam sauls we had will report. the "today" show is next at 8:00. >> erica hill joins us with a preview. >> guys, good morning. coming up on a sunday morning here on "today," much more on the dangerous mix of snow and rain that's expected to slam parts of midwest later today. plus dramatic images to show you this morning. a helicopter rescue of a young boy and two women plucked from raging floodwaters. more on that for you and a little girl being hailed as a miracle baby. born with her heart outside her body. this little girl and they are family embarking on a new chapter.

we've got their story. plus little controversy with the subway sandwich. some customers complaining that the foot long sandwich coming up a little short. being good investigative journalists, we took a look for ourselves and we have the results. we'll be talking about a new book when we get started on "today" on a sunday morning. >> erica, a lot to look forward to. thanks so much. and in the week ahead, investors will be keeping a close eye on the markets this week. the dow and the s&p 500 are both within range of closing at all-time highs. this just a few years after both markets cratered because of the economic downturn. >> confirmation hearings begin on thursday for president obama's nomination for secretary of defense. chuck hagel. hagel will meet with the armed services committee. there was some opposition to hagel's nomination even from democrats. it appears he will be confirmed without much of a problem.

for you techies, we'll get a look at blackberry's latest smartphone. the blackberry 10. it makes or breaks for the company that's what people are saying, whose products have been eclipsed in recent years by competitors such as apple and samsung. many say it will decide whether blackberry's parent company, research in motion, stays in business. the blackberry 10 will be unveiled on thursday. this morning, actor burt reynolds steams seems to be on the road to recover o i. he's being treated for flu and dehydration in a florida intensive care unit. his manager says the actor's fever is down and should be out of the icu very soon. he's 76 years old. looks marvelous. >> he sent a statement out saying his mustache is doing okay, too. the hit movie argo won the top honor at producer's guild award. it won outstanding producer of

motion picture award. beat out lincoln, "les miserables" and others. it goes into the academy award with a lot of momentum. the oscars are next month. well, cooking healthy meals on a budget can be tough. but one group is making it easier for families in need. nbc's miguel almaguer reports. >> a working mother of two married to an army staff sergeant and studying to become a nurse. these days stacy has a lot on her plate. she's feeding her family on a very tight budget. >> i want to provide healthy meals for my children. it's very expensive. they're among the more than 100,000 families who have turned to cooking matters. >> that's just part of eating healthy on a budget. >> with 2500 chefs in 32 states, the free, nonprofit program teaches low-income families to prepare low-cost healthy meals. >> it's really so critical with

so many people struggling. we don't have money to give them. but chefs in straw tiers and others -- >> fruits, grains and veggies are the foundation of a healthy diet. >> we'll put everything in here. >> the class begins in the kitchen, then takes families into the grocery store. >> this is 12 ounces. >> this woman, a single mother of two, is learning to read label, compare prices and eat fresh. >> before this class, you think of eating healthy as being like bland and nasty. you can eat health had i and still have tasteful food. cafe says it changed her family's life and saving families money too. this family cut their grocery bill in half. more importantly, they've learned lifelong lessons. >> not only am i cooking healthier, better meals but i'm saving a lot more money. this is something that i'm going to pass on to my kid. >> cooking matters. giving families a recipe for

success. >> miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. there are two local part mers that participate in the program. the capital area food bank and the virginia cooperative extension. really great to have programs like that. >> good to hear miguel. >> that was great. >> today might be a good day for comfort food. >> oh, yeah. mac and cheese. little hot chocolate. >> grilled cheese, tomato soup. >> perfect, perfect. >> i'll tell you what. maybe some cucumber salad sandwiches as we think about our spring weather moving in. it's going to feel like mid-april. i'm not kidding you as we any about tuesday and wednesday. not so much this morning. it is 29. it's great to see you. we have sun and clouds breaking out across the area. northwest wind blowing at 9 miles an hour. as we look around, here are some numbers around the metro. slowly inching their way up. it's still chilly out there.

24 dulles, 27 leesburg. warrenton has 30. camp springs, though, coming with 27. all righty. here's your weather scoop today. 31 at 11:00. 35 into the afternoon. a high of 36 in d.c. the clouds are going to be filtering out the sun later in the day. you know what happens in the at fear. warm air always arrives upstairs first. that's what the clouds are going to be. warmer air coming here. that's going to be a problem because an monday morning, the colder air that's heavier and denser will be trapped at the surface. so the moisture laden rare will run into that -- once the warm air scours everything out. we'll have april-like warmth during the middle of the week followed by a soaking rain on wednesday. as much as a half to an inch coming our way. let's focus on, i guess, the good news. unless you're a snow lover. we'll talk about the warmth. here it is. out in texas today, it's going

to be marching into the middle mississippi valley tomorrow, monday. and then on tuesday, it takes a big step forward into our region. it's even going to be warm up across new england as we think about the middle of the week. 67 is my targeted forecast early wednesday. i did some research for you. the average high for april 15th is 67. that's what we're looking to get on wednesday. had front is going to chase it all away. we might even get thunderstorms in the afternoon. i'm going to break down the forecast day by day. we'll start with the worst part of the forecast which will be unfortunately, your monday morning commute. a winter weather advisory in effect from 3:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. for our western counties. we could get icing around the beltway. you want to allow extra time possibly monday morning. then wednesday we have this crazy day of 67 early with that heavy rain coming at us. that will affect your afternoon rush hour. and then look what happens. this is the upside down thursday.

warm start of 52 and then a cold finish with 45 in the afternoon. we're going to be talking about temperatures so cold that we might get snowflakes on friday next week. yeah. so a high of 67 on wednesday. down to 34 on friday. that's a 33-degree swing with some flurries or snow showers possible. best day of the week, you asked me which day is a good one. no rain but warm. tuesday. terrific tuesday. >> you got itment. >> thank you, kim. you bet. this just in. want to update you on the breaking news we talked about an hour ago. brand new video in from that deadly nightclub fire in brazil. nbc news confirming at least 180 people have died. this happened in santa maria in the southern part of the country. we're getting reports that most of the deaths are due to smoke inhalation. firefighters also say that many who died were trampled while trying to run out of nightclub. crews expect to find more bodies as they continue to search

inside the building. as many as 500 people were inside that nightclub when the fire started. >> probably not all accounted for. we'll continue to update. >> yes. we'll be updating that throughout the morning as well as on twitter. if you follow at "news4 today," we'll have the latest there. this time of year, pharmacies are busy with people looking for cold and flu medication. but be careful how much you load up on pills and liquids. another reason to read the back

in news 4 your health. for those fighting the flu, be sure not to overmedicate. several over-the-counter remedies may have the same ingredient that could be dangerous when taken all at once. nbc's kevin coakley reports. >> minnie wilson has done it. >> basically by accident. >> taken too much of a good thing to fight the flu. >> you try to get well. so you're drinking the liquid that had anti-histamine in it and the pills and something to dry you up. kind of like an overdose of the medication. >> pharmacists say it happens

too often. >> people who unknowingly double dose on over-the-counter cold and flu medications. >> they're running a temperature, so they're already taken acetaminophen. or they're taking aspirin. but most people take acetaminophen. it's a great product except it's in everything. when they start doubling up on this. it could do real damage to your liver. >> as this year's flu rages shall the poison control sener is hearing from many more people who accidentally double dose. >> tendency for a lot of folks is to think that sometimes a little bit of medication helps, more is better. that can sometimes be dangerous. >> some combinations can be lethal. symptoms include dry mouth and blurry vision. feeling your heart race and being out of breath. minnie wilson remembers well. >> too dry and what's been -- you sneeze and of course may have a nosebleed. things like that. >> that was kevin coakley reporting. the food and drug administration reminds people never to take two

medicines that contain a seat men fin at the same time. the capitals come back home still searching for their first win of the season. the caps take on the sabres this afternoon at the verizon center. they almost had a first w on friday against the devils. game descended to overtime but the devils scored, winning the game 3-2. the o.t. loss gave the caps a point making them the last team in the league to tally a point. the ravens will relax today before heading down to new orleans to prepare for super bowl xlvii. the ravens will travel to the big easy tomorrow and that's where they're going to practice before sunday's big game against san fran. the purple and black are looking for their second super bowl title while the 49ers are aiming for their sixth title. five ravens will miss today's pro bowl because of super sunday. the redskins are also well-represented today at the

pro bowl. london fletcher, ryan car began, lorenzo alexander will be playing. offensive tackle trent williams will sit out the game after receiving seven stitches during a brawl at a bar in honolulu on friday night. police are investigating the incident. they say that williams was not at fault. you can watch the 2013 pro bowl right here on nbc4 coverage beginning at 7:00 tonight. not all the redskins action is over just yet. we do want to bring you an update on the breaking news we're following in brazil. this is the scene from a deadly nightclub fire there where at least 180 people have died. crews expect the death toll to climb. had happened in santa maria, brazil. witnesses saying that people inside were pushing and shoving trying to get out in a panic. after the flames spread and engulfed that nightclub. had venue can hold as many as 2,000 people.

i've been reading reports on this. some officials saying that the majority of those who died in this fire, 180, that's a big amount, were are due to smoke inhalation. so in addition to that, people being trampled, just a very chaotic and traumatic scene out there. we'll continue to keep you posted on the situation as well as the "today" show. i know they're following it closely as well. they're next. that's going to do it for this edition of "news4 today." we'll be back in 25 minute with another local news update and of course, your weather. join us again at 9:00 a.m. for a full hour of news. until then, have a great day.