to the roadways, we're talking about wet pavement. on 66, very wet in this area as you make your way eastbound. even westbound as well. no issues between hay market and the beltway. even traveling on 66 unside the beltway. no construction or accidents at this time. that's good news. heading to the beltway this time in montgomery county. we're talking about the rain coming down, possibly freezing rain in the air wra. you can see wet here. if you're traveling the beltway, so far in prince george's county and -- even in virginia, no reports of accidents. urge you to give yourself extra time. eun, over to you. no major problems at the local airports at this point. reagan national airport, most flights are taking off and landing on time right now. things appear to be moving smoothly at dulles and bwi marshall. we urge you to check your flight status before heading to the airport if you're traveling today. here in our area, the possibility of freezing rain could not come at a worse time.

a lot of folks will likely see that move in during the rush hour. melissa mollet live in jermantown with a check on things there. >> kind of is bad timing. you can see that freezing rain really is coming down a bit more than it was earlier. looking at the light, it i will lum it's a it. >> on the pavement, this is the problem. it's very, very slick. this has only been giving us this freezing rain, a little bit of snow and sleet for the past, i don't know, 45 minutes in jermantown. you can see that little bit still causes a problem. let's walk across here if we can. the grass not an issue. the tiniest bit of accumulation on some of the grass blades. you can see in the distance here. the road in germantown, 118 not any issues right now. of course, state highway has lots of crews out all over the area trying to keep things safe and try. there we go. a plow driving by right now.

we've talked to a couple of drivers as they come into the gas station where we are in germantown this morning. here's what they had to say about the roads right now. >> the roads are good. not bad right now. they're pretty good. >> make you nervous that they're talking about the sleet coming in. >> not really. i used to work for county roads as well. i am not that nervous. >> being from alabama, i don't get nervous about it. i just be cautious about other people and what they have going on and try to go from there. >> so again, guys, this is what you want to be careful of. i can move this out of the way with my hand. but it is really, really slick. be careful as you head out this morning walking and driving. melissa mollet, news 4. back to you. >> we'll come back to melissa for an update in a bit. thank you. >> okay. you can get the forecast wherever you are by downloading the storm team 4 weather app. you can take and upload photos so other viewers can see what conditions are like in your

neighborhood. >> new this morning, the senate will announce it has agreed to the framework for sweeping changes for the country's immigration laws. the bipartisan deal would create a more effective system to stop companies from hiring illegal immigrant. would create a path for citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. president obama will tout the immigration changes tomorrow in las vegas. will be the first trip for the commander in chief's second term in office which began last week. the president is also expected to discuss the upcoming debate over gun control regulations. nevada is a state with a growing hispanic population and overwhelmingly supports gun ownership. we're learning a grand jury voted to indict the parents of jon benet ramsey. after a three-year investigation, alex hunter, the district attorney, announced there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone. sources say a grand jury voted to indict the couple for child abuse. hunter didn't prosecute because he wasn't sure he could get a

conviction. the ramseys were eventually cleared in 2008. mourning the loss of more than 230 people killed in a nightclub fire in brazil. it injured more than 100 others in the southern part of that country. it happened in santa maria. many of the victims were under 20 years old. the club only had one exit. investigators believe a band's pyrotechnics started the fire that quickly spread through the club. manslaughter charges could be filed in this case. today, egypt's president will meet with fellow leaders to discuss how to stop violence that's escalating once again this weekend. mohammed morsi took to egyptian television on sunday to say he wouldn't hesitate to take action. skirmishes between the police and demonstrators leftore than 50 people dead. morsi declared a month long state of emergency and curfew in three provinces. let's check in with angie

goff at the live desk. >> breaking news out of california. chris brown in trouble with the law again. police are investigating the grammy award winning singer for allegedly being involved in an assault on another man all over a parking spot out in west hollywood. this apparently happened last night and police say that the fight allegedly ended with brown punching that victim. tmz also reporting that franco shan, a grammy nominated singer was part of that fight. we shekd out ocean's twitter feed. he mentioned he was jumped by chris and a couple guys and he cut his finger. that's the latest out of west hollywood. angie goff at the live desk. back to you. >> thanks, angie. 5:05 is the time. montgomery and prince george's county called in a two-hour delay for schools this morning. a surprising discovery about ariel sharon who has been in a coma for years. another miracle can on the hudson.

hear from rs rescue crews. we have rain and sleet falling in our area this morning. what it could mean for your morning commute. your w

welcome back. 5:08. look outside. there's snow, sleet, this wintry mix making for a big mess out there. this is outside our windows in northwest washington. we'll see this throughout the morning across our area.

it's going to be a mess. >> we'll get an update from tom in a second. it took more than a week but the caps have a win. they beated the sabres 3-2 yesterday afternoon. alex ovechkin broke his own personal drought collecting his first goal of the year. next up, the caps are off to ottawa to take on the senators tomorrow night. let's go caps. we have school closings and delays coming in. prince william county two hours late along with montgomery, prince george's and d.c. schools two hours late. federal government opening at noon today. this is all because what we're seeing coming down right now that could create problems on the roads. let's start with a check on the forecast with tom. >> good morning, we've had this precipitation that initially was evaporating drying out before it reached the ground. in the last 20 minutes or so shall it's beginning to reach the ground. all the areas in the gray and white, a combination of sleet and snow or all snow. the areas in green, rain reaching the ground. southern prince george's into

southern maryland. farther north and west, this is across loudoun county. most areas in the gray are getting very light snow with a little bit of sleet. east of there, into montgomery county, most of montgomery county getting light snow, also light snow in northwest washington. this is all heading to the south and east. this is going to be with us here for another hour or two. the combination of snow and some sleet but then it will change to freezing rain. temperatures are right at or a little bit above the freezing mark. most of the region, hour by hour through the morning rush hour, sleet and snow making things slick 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. then after that, light icing. a thin glaze of ice on elevated surfaces and temperatures holding a little bit below freezing through 9:00 a.m. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. danella here with a look at traffic. check it out. good morning. well, in your first 4 traffic report, checking roadways and it looks like folks are using caution. around our region. let's head over and take a

closer look along gw parkway. checking for reports of accidents, incidents. nice and clear. shooting over to the dulles toll road. no issues to report between the greenway and the dulles toll road, even connecting to the beltway. light volume on the dulles toll road. let's talk about the interchange. on the beltway, as you make your way from the dulles toll road to the interchange, no issues to report. even at 66 in virginia, you are clear. we'll take a closer look at maryland in ten minutes. aaron and eun over to you. this just into our newsroom, alexandria schools now on a two-hour delay as well. the other delays are on the bottom of the screen. the list is growing. main u.s. river could be in trouble. a big day at the white house. the group expected to get special greetings from president obama this afternoon. here is a live look at the roads at this hour. the incoming rain could make things messy as the morning progresses. another check on weather and traffic coming up at

the countdown to the super bowl. how you can join the r

it is 5:15. a look at massachusetts avenue in front of union station. we checked with amtrak, marc and vre. no major delays because of the weather but things are changing as we go this morning. that's right. closing arguments begin in the case -- >> we got fresh school delays and closings first. alexandria -- arlington county public schools closed today. first school system in the area to completely close. >> alexandria is on a two-hour delay along with prince george's, all that on the bottom of the screen. closing arguments begin in

case of a former culpeper police officer. he's accused of shoot and killing patricia cook last february. he took the stand in his defense while jurors got to leave the courtroom and see the scene of the shooting for themselvesment harmon-wright claims self-defense saying he was afraid cook was trying to kill him with her car. a baltimore man accused of murdering a 16-year-old will be back in court. michael johnson is charged with killing felicia barnes. barnes visiting from north carolina was found dead in the susquehanna river months after she went missing. during opening statements last week, prosecutors say of this a witness who says he saw johnson murder barnes. the defense team says there's no dna evidence linking him to the crime. the state department is among those calling for the release of an american pastor jailed in a prison. he was sentenced to eight years behind bars. he was convicted on charges of attempting to undermine security by spreading christianity.

a state department spokesperson says the agency condemns iran's persecution of religious freedom. this 33-year-old woman made a trip alone to turkey mainly for photography and was supposed to return last week. but family members say the wife and mother of two never made her flight home. police in istanbul say her passport and medical cards are still in her room. her family is working with the fbi and the u.s. embassy in turkey to find her. surprising developments in the former israel prime minister arial sharon's condition. he may be brain-dead even though he's been in a coma for seven years. they showed him pictures of his family and played recordings of his son's voice while undergoing a brain scan. they noticed significant brain activity. doctors say it does not not mean he's conscious or will emerge. he's been in a vegetative state since 2006 when he suffered a

voc. in the wake of the tragic shooting in newtown. gun violence prevention and children's safety focusing on issues related to the massacre at sandy hook elementary school. it gives residents a chance to weigh in. there was three subcommittees on school safety, mental health awareness and gun control. lawmakers on capitol hill will tackle gun control. the senate judiciary committee will begin hearings on wednesday following president obama's suggestions to curb gun violence. some of his suggestions include universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. the president could face opposition from his own party. pro gun democratic senators in alaska, arkansas and montana are all up for reelection in 2014 and have said they are unsure about the president's proposals. today a rally in support of repealing the death penalty in maryland. this afternoon the relatives of five murder victims will join a rally in annapolis.

they're supporting the push to repeal the state's death penalty. it's organized by the maryland citizens against state executions. a large barge carrying 80 dpals of oil hit a bridge causing an oil spill in the mississippi river. officials with the coast guard have not said how much of that oil spilled into the river. oily sheen was reported as far as three miles down river from the accident. this crash happened early sunday morning. officials say two barges were damaged but they believe only one actually hit the bridge that caused the leak. had morning, investigators are trying to figure out what caused a small plane to crash into the hudson river in new york. this is new video from overnight. a man and a woman were rescued from the icy water yesterday afternoon. they're expected to be okay. the single engine plane left the airport in new jersey on a sightseeing trip. a father and son helped rescue the couple. >> the lady was mumbling some stuff. i don't know what she was mumbling about. they were both very stiff being

like numb. very cold. >> this month marks four years since the so-called miracle on the hudson when a u.s. air flight landed on the river. all 155 people on board survived. that's an amazing rescue effort for sure. >> it is. just in the last hour or so, the precipitation is coming down more. the mixture of sleet and snow and freezing rain in some places. so we're now getting a first set of school closures this morning. >> loudoun county schools are closed, arlington county schools closed as well. several delays as well. all of that information running on the bottom of your screen. >> a live look outside now. want to see exactly what you're dealing with? tom kierein has the details. >> good morning. we've had light sleet and snow in washington. the live view from the city camera, not obscuring visibility too much. visibility is dropping a bit for the areas in white on the radar. that's light snow across fairfax county, loudoun, montgomery counties moving into prince

george's county in northern anne arundel. farther west, it's changing to sleet and freezing rain. the areas in pink, northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. northern prince william. still light snow, much of pair fax county from near springfield, fairfax city, toward reston at herndon. farther west into loudoun county. east of there into the district, it's all light snow now all across washington and all across montgomery county. northern prince george's county from bowie up to laurel and around college park and paragraph they are north up toward columbia and howard county getting light snow now. it is beginning to drop temperatures down to 30 in gaithersburg. whatever is falling is freezing on untreated surfaces. lingering salt from the previous snow event we had. a lot of it is melting on roadways. be extra cautious. if it looks wet, that could be ice. we have temperatures at or below freezing much of the region now

and through 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., we're going to have that sleet and snow changing to light icing by 7:30, 8:00 this morning and continued light icing through 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 this morning. we'll have a thin dplglaze of i forming through the rest of the afternoon. as we get into tomorrow, warming up into the 50s and some sun back. could get rain on wednesday into the mild 60s. maybe even thunder and lightning wednesday afternoon ending wednesday night. turning colder after that. might get snow showers or flurries. still cold with sunshine returning. first 4 traffic now with danella and we'll have that coming right up. first, back to you aaron and wrun. >> thank you, tom. we're getting a new update for you in the newsroom. charles county public schools on a two-hour delay today. starting to come in fast and furious. >> loudoun, arlington closed. montgomery, prince george's, prince will i don't mean on a two-hour delay. let's check on the roads.

approximate you're heading out at this early hour, here's danel danella. there's a situation along the marc train. train number 870. running 17 minutes behind because of a disabled freight train. the delays may increase. brunswick east train number 890. metro vre no delays. let's talk about the roads. tom mentioned that approximate you're traveling in columbia, maryland. here's a look at it along 29 and 32. wet pavement in the air wra. the good news is so far, no accidents reported around the area. i'm checking in maryland, montgomery county, even in virginia. so far in hour traveling area, pretty clear here. continuing along 29 as you get down to fairland, you can see again slick spots. again, no accidents to report in this area. i'm back in ten minutes. eun and aaron, back to you. >> thank you. parents listen up, for the first time, the american academy

of pediatrics released a set of guidelines to curb the growing number of children with type two diabetes. experts say kids with blood sugar so low that it can't be determined whether they have type one or type two should be put on insulin therapy. everyone else should be treated with the drug met form en and talk to a doctor about changing diet and exercise routines. the increase is directly linked to spikes in childhood obesity. president obama will get to experience one of the perks of being commander in chief today. he will welcome lebron james and the miami heat to the white house. the president will celebrate the team's 2012 nba title. he will also recognize the heat's ongoing support for the military. the ravens are getting ready to head to new orleans to prepare for super bowl xlvii. they'll get quite the sendoff. thousands are expected at a rally later today to celebrate the team before they travel down to the pbig easy. former players will be in attendance.

they're looking for their second super bowl championship. as for the san francisco 49ers, they're already in new orleans. they arrived yesterday. it's the team's first trip to the super bowl in almost two decades. they're looking for their sixth title, which would tight them with the steelers for the most championships of all-time. this morning, the cia thriller "argo "wgs is taking over hollywood. >> the actor goes to the cast of argo. >> argo took home top honors for outstanding cast at the s.a.g.'s. ben affleck starred had it. he's not the only one celebrating. anne hathaway won outstanding female actor in a supporting role for "les miserables." >> i have loved every single minute of my life as an actor. i have been the recipient of so much love and support from this

room. thank you for nominating me alongside incredible women and incredible performances. thank you for this award. >> daniel day lewis won for his performance in lincoln. modern family won and alec baldwin and tina fey took home awards for their acting on 30 rock. >> the sag awards and golden globes they're thinking it might upset at the oscars. i would do argo over lincoln. >> argo over lincoln. >> uh-oh. aaron gilchrist said it here. we shall see. the time right now is 5:26. another major school system announced it will be delayed today. culpeper county in virginia. two hours? >> two-hour delay. we'll continue to track this winlter weather. a wintry mix. this is a live look outside of our station. the rain and snow mix has begun to fall.

the latest on schools and businesses and update on roads. why the wait may be over for the

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right now we're keeping an eye on your morning as this winter storm moves into the d.c. area.

in the last two hours, we've seen freezing rain begin to fall in parts of northern virginia and maryland. snow as well. more expected to fall as the morning progresses. had workweek is off to a messy start. several schools and governments are closed or delayed because of the weather. federal offices will not open until noon today in the district. employees have the option for unscheduled leave or telework. d.c. public schools and the government are two hours delayed today. in maryland, prince george's and montgomery county schools are opening two hours late. charles and howard county schools are on a two-hour delay. in virginia, arlington county and loudoun county schools are closed today. stafford and prince william schools are on a two-hour delay. the same for alexandria city public schools x culpeper, warren and page county schools are delayed two hours as well. frederick schools in maryland are two hours delayed as well. good morning. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist.

i'm eun yang. we're going to have much more on the weather, the roads and of course, a complete list of the closings, delays running on the bottom of your screen. while you were sleeping, road crews were hard at work prepping for this morning's commute. in the district, transportation workers arrived at 4:00 this morning and were on the roads by 5:00. maryland deploying about 350 trucks in our area to salt roads across the region and virginia deployed about 650 trucks at midnight. >> we're keeping close tabs on the local airports this morning as well. here's a live look at reagan national airport. okay, we don't have the live look. we're hearing that no delays or cancellations so far because the weatherment things appear to be moving smoothly at dulles and bwi marshall. check your flight status before you leave your house. >> the metropolitan washington airport authority tweeted that some airlines may choose to de-ice this morning. that could mean delays sporadically. check your flight before you leave out. let's see what's coming down. here's tom kierein. >> we have a combination of

rain, we have sleet and snow and freezing rain. all precipitation types all happening simultaneously in the viewing area. look at storm team 4 radar. where you see white, it's snow, the green is rain, the pink is sleet. north of washington, it's all snow across montgomery county, frederick counties in maryland across howard county and into prince george's county. paragraph they a farther south, it's snowing in calvert county, charles county. west of there, light snow in fairfax and arlington and across the district getting snow right now. temperatures are at or below freezing much of the region and then as we get the snow and sleet changing over to rain, we're going to have it stay pea low freezing for the next several hours. 6:00 a.m., 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 a.m., all these time frames, we'll be near the freezing mark. we'll have light icing, a thin glaze of ice causing slick spots on elevated surfaces. i'm back in ten minutes.

danella has a look at first 4 traffic but first the latest updates on any closings that we have. >> tom, thanks so much. right now, just rainfalling in loudoun county. let check in with tony tull live. >> reporter: we've been monitoring the rainfall here morning for the last hour and a half. it's been switching in between freezing rain and regular rain. you can take a hook at the roads right now. they're heavily saturated. as tom mentioned, the temperatures hovering around freezing. that's going to cause slick spots. maybe black icement we have seen a lot of plows out putting down salt and sand. vdot has deployed about 650 trucks this morning. as you see one going by. our live shot right now. if you look at the sidewalks, we've been showing you this, this morning. we had a lot of freezing rain pellets that started to accumulate and make the sidewalk really, really slick. as it has become more of a liquid rain, it's pretty much

taken the isice away from here. conditions are unfavorable and unassuming. very slick spots. we're going to continue to keep up with you guys all morning long in leesburg along route 7. right now, over to danella. >> thanks, tony. brunswick east line, there's a disabled freight train and it's slowing you down. delays are growing. at last check, approximate you're taking train number 870, the delays are 28 minutes. brunswick east line, 21 minutes of a delay. good news. metro right now is not reporting delays. let's talk about the as we've seen from live pictures in the area, it is getting pretty wet outside. delays are growing as you make your way northbound from quantico to dumfries. accidents reported. give yourself extra time this

morning. eun? thanks so much. 5:34 now. new this morning, police in annapolis are investigating a shooting that left one dead and another in critical condition. officers responded to the 300 block of harry s. truman parkway around 1:00 this morning. a man and a woman both had gunshot wounds. the man was pronounced dead at the keen and the woman taken to the hospital. it started as a domestic argument police think. potential major changes to america's immigration laws. a bipartisan group says it has  agreed on the framework of a deal that would create a path of citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. the deal would address better poureder security and create a more effective system to prevent companies from hiring illegal immigrants. the bipartisan effort included democrats chuck schumer and dick durbin and republicans john mccain and marco rubio. the new semester begins this morning at montgomery college. some students may not suddenly be able to afford tuition.

it's because of the dream act there. undocumented immigrants who are still in high school but want to take courses at the community college have to pay almost triple the rate of their peers. that's because the dream act requires students to graduate from a maryland high school to be eligible for instate teu tigs. they're working to fix the loophole. billions of dollars of aid for hurricane sandy victims. the long awaited disaster aid package. the house approved the package last week. this week marks three months since the superstorm slammed into the east coast. the bill is expected to pass. hillary clinton is beginning her final week as secretary of state. we've learned that friday will be her final day as head of the state department. tomorrow clinton will take part in what's being called a global town-ter view at the museum. it's a meeting and television interview. on friday, she'll attend -- last

night on 60 minutes, clinton said her campaign battle with now president obama in 2008 helped maybe their relationship stronger. >> i think there's a sense of understanding that sometimes doesn't even take words because we have similar views, we have similar experiences that i think provide a bond that may seem unlikely to some but has been really at the core of our relationship. >> clinton still will not discuss rumors that she is thinking of running for president again in 2016. it is now 5:37. new developments in the debt deadly nightclub fire in brazil. the accusations being made this morning by survivors. new developments in the jon benet ramsey murder. the surprising decision that may have helped the parents avoid trial. we're all over this winter storm as it rolls drew the d.c. area. the impact on your commute next with weather and traffic o

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facing breast cancer every year. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information today. it was 3 days of pure joy. ♪ and it's beautiful welcome back. taking a live look at union station where the wind is blowing and you can see the wet roads out there. some untreated surfaces could have a light glaze but apparently it stopped snowing but there is freezing rain coming down in parts of the

region. >> because of that, lots of school systems are closing or delaying. spotsylvania and frederick, maryland schools on a two-hour delay. it's coming in fast and furious in the last 30 minutesment keep your eye on the bottom of the screen. the information is being updated the second it oms in. >> schools are reevaluating as time goes on. it's important to stay tuned. because all throughout the morning, we're going to have changing conditions. right now, we've had light snow here in washington our nearby suburbs. it's beginning to change over to rain, that's rain that's dping to fall and freeze on untreated surfaces. the areas in white, we're getting some snow and the freezing rain. including the district and into montgomery county, howard county, northern prince george's county. farther south, southern prince george's county and anne arundel and northern st. mary's.

a little light rain and wet snow and sleet in fairfax and arlington as well as the rest of virginia. these are the temperatures near freezing. the combination of that rain hitting those surfaces at that that are at or below freezing could create a light glaze of icing between now and 9:00 or 10:00. by 11:00, above freezing. everything should begin to melt. more rain perhaps later had afternoon. i'll be back in ten minutes. danella has a look at traffic with your first 4 traffic on this monday morning. >> starting in beltsville, slick roads may be to blame for this accident. this is powder mill at cherry road. we'll talk about delays along i-95 at partnerships william parkway. very wet roadway. northbound and southbound. northbound from quantico, it will take you about 38 minutes to get to the beltway. now, continuing on to 395, your travel lanes are open and so far, no accidents to report in

either direction. aaron and eun. thank you, danella. this just in. calvert county schools on a two-hour delay. again, all the delays, closings running on the bottom of your screen. >> it is 5:42. making it easier for nursing students to get a degree in our area. the new claim by survivors of a nightclub fire in brazil. we continue to watch the roads. these conditions in maryland,

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welcome back at 5:46. the midwest is digging out from the winter weather we're getting. take a look at this. the winter storm bearing down on us dumped freezing rain on the midwest. parts of chicago and minneapolis buried beneath more than a quarter of an inch of ice. that knocked power out for

people and caused a lot of accidents. more than 200 crashes in minnesota alone. coming up on 13 after the hour. a close eye on the road. another round of wintry weather moving in. it is here. ice is a big concern. melissa mollet is live in germantown with a check on conditions there. melissa, good morning. >> well, good morning. you probably see, it's really coming down a bit more than it was. it's just that icy sleet. the really dangerous stuff that can put that nice little coating on roads and make things pretty nasty. you probably see better if you take a look at the gas station out here in germantown. look at that light and you can see it really coming down. if we walk over here ux you can see it accumulating here in this parking lot. even out of the live truck, you can see here, i can very easily slide. you can just imagine how the roads are going to be, especially in untreated areas in neighborhoods. it's just that little kind of pellet, icy, grainy stuff that can be really, really nasty. be careful when you head out.

even walking on your sidewalks. when we're heading out to 70 this morning, we saw a lot of trucks on the side of the roads. salt trucks and plows. just waiting and watching. that's the deal right now. i'm sure a lot of them are out and about. again, this morning they're waiting and watching to see what's going on. something i want to mention. i know we're talking about the school closings this morning. montgomery county on a two-hour delay. urbana elementary school we just found out is totally closed because of lack of heat. that's what happens winter time. you get this nice icy coating on the roads. we have to be careful and unfortunately, that school closed today for a lack of heatment aaron, back to you. >> thank you, melissa. of course, you can stay on top of the forecast no matter where you are. download the free storm team 4 weather app for your smartphone and upload photos so other viewers can see what conditions are like in your neighborhood. >> new details are coming into the news 4 newsroom about the nightclub fire that killed more

than 230 people and injured more than 100 others in brazil. survivors say security guards at the club in santa maria tried to block the only exit. investigators believe a band's pyrotechnics started the fire early sunday morning that quickly spread through the club. manslaughter charges could be filed. there was a three-day mourning period declared. many were under the age of 20. new details emerging about the murder of jon benet ramsey 17 years ago. according to a boulder newspaper, a grand jury voted to indict ramsey's parents three years after her body was found in her home. alex hunter r, the district toerp, decided against prosecuting them because he wasn't sure he could get a conviction. they were eventually exonerated in 2008. three people are in prison after police found a man's body in the woods in glenn burney maryland. eric banks was arrested and charged with first degree murder. they arrested his daughter also.

27-year-old erica banks, as well as a 24-year-old trimane calhoun on illegal possession of a handgun. the three suspect and the victim were acquaintances and are still trying to figure out exactly what happened. a former maryland lawmaker who firefighters pulled from her burning home last week has died. 83-year-old christina jones was a former state delegate from prince george's county. she was rushed to a hospital after her home in temple hills caught fire. she was the first african-american to represent the county in the general assembly. the cause of that fire still under investigation. >> today a rally in support of repealing the death penalty in maryland. this afternoon, the relatives of five murder victims will join a rally in annapolis. they're supporting governor martin o'malley's push to repeal the death penalty. it's organized by the maryland citizens against state execution. the fate of a wrongful death lawsuit piled in the wake of the virginia tech shootings could be decided next month. three virginia justices will

hear the lawsuit. they decide whether the full court takes up the case. two victims' families filed the suit. they claimed their daughters could have survived if virginia tech had warned the campus sooner. the jury found in favor of the families. a judge upheld the decision of the jury but reduced the damages awarded in the case. both parties have filed appeals. today virginia lawmakers will consider making repairs to the aging general assembly building. the four-building complex has asbestos and inadequate electrical system and various concerns about the roof x windows and exteriors. some estimate that work could o cost as much as $112 million. parts of the complex was built back in 1923. it will soon be easier for community college nursing students in virginia to earn their bachelors degrees. the commonwealth will sign a deal today with george washington university today. it will lou students to transfer associate degree credits to gw's school of nursing.

those students will be guaranteed admission at gorge washington if they meet established academic requirements. it is 5:351 now on a messy monday morning commute for a lot of folks. lots of delays and closings. that information has been coming in fast and in some cases changing. keep an eye on the bottom of the screen as we look at the forecast. >> tom kierein has a look at the forecast. >> the situation is changing minute by minute. i appreciate the weather watchers sending in observations. as we take a look at storm team 4 radar, look at your screen. the areas in the pink and the white, that's where we're getting that combination of some sleet and snow and freezing rain. now, the combination of the snow and the sleet is piled up a little bit. only a light amount in montgomery county and howard county. northern prince george's and farther south and east of there. but farther west, now, it's changing over just to all rain south of washington and in the district of columbia. it's a combination of sleet and some rain.

it's rain that's falling into air that's below freezing. when that rain hits elevated surfaces like tree limbs and power lines, those can then begin to get a light glaze of ice on them. that's what's going to be happening here for the next several hours through the rest of much of the morning hours. that includes northern virginia, the district, nearby counties in maryland. we're right at or a little below the freezing mark. the difference between the sleet and freezing rain. sleet are the tiny balls of ice that fall down and bounce around. most of that has ended now. freezing rain is liquid rain that falls and then freezes on elevated surfaces like tree limbs and power lines. we'll have that. all these counties in the purple color, northern virginia, the district, most of maryland until noontime. by then, temperatures should be above freezing. so hour by hour, between now and 10:00 a.m., a little bit of the sleet and snow and now the freezing rain. light icing continuing, 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. with temperatures right at or maybe a little below freezing. tree limbs and power lines may

get a light glaze of ice with tiny icicles forming on the fence posts an fences and we'll see that continuing until about oh, 11:00 or so. then by noontime, it's going to be warming up above freezingment near 40 by late afternoon and aum the way into the next few days, a warming trend. 50s tomorrow with sun back. 60s on wednesday. and maybe some afternoon showers. then heavy downpours, maybe thunder and lightning late wednesday afternoon into wednesday night ending by midnight. sun back on thursday and colder. colder weather for friday in the 30s. maybe snow showers and flurries on saturday and sunday. just in the 20s in the morning, afternoon highs 30s to near 40 and partly sunny. turning much colder into next weekend. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the morning. danella with a look at first 4 traffic. >> good morning. i'm tracking the situation along the marc train. this is the brunswick east line. significant delays because of a disablds freight train. looks like it's stuck. your delays are growing.

bruns lick east train number 870 looking at a 46-minute delay. a 23-minute delay on brunswick -- if you haven't left yet, you may want to jump on metro. less no delays at this time. over to the earlier accident. still tracking it at powder mill road at cherry hill road. the crash there may be slowing you down. use caution. aaron, over to you. thank you, danella investigators are hoping the manufacturer of a battery monitor answers questions. they're turning their attention to a company that makes a system -- the temperature of the 787's lithium-ion batteries. one of the batteries overheated and forced it to make an emergency landing in japan. another caught fire while parked in boston. american airlines and u.s. airways appear to be moving closer to joining forces.

shartia brantley is here from cnbc with that story. >> u.s. airways and american airlines in the final stages of merger talks and a geel deal could be announced within the next two weeks. the board of american's parent compamr, plans to meet today and tomorrow. amr hasn't made a final decision on a merger. reports say the company still considers its own restructuring viable option to reviving the airline. you may recall, american filed for bankruptcy in november 2011. meanwhile, barnes and noble plans to close about a third of its retail stores over the next decade. the company's ceo tells the wall street journal he sees the chain having 450 to 500 stores which would mean shutting about 20 locations a year. barnes and noble have been closing about 15 stores a year over the past decade while it was opening 30 or more. the store openings has slowed as

consumers shift from niz physical to digital books. definitely a sign of the times. shartia brantley, thank you. 5:56 now. a group of service dogs trained to help the blind could be without a home and leaving hundreds without the help they desperately need. >> for ten years, the church has hosted the puppy training program. the group uses the space every sunday but the church says they need the space back now. organizers say they understand that the space is in demand but it is ideal for their very important training. >> we do work outside as much as possible. it is very important that we have a nice room and in a central location in the area. >> the program will be kicked out of the church beginning next month unless some other changes are made. you're waking up to nasty winter weather to start your week. freezing rain and sleet coming down. it is icing over in some places

because of the weather. the federal government is opening late today. many schools are delayed or closed. we'll run down the list coming up. "news4 today" continues in just a moment.

the big story. winter weather, while youe