killed by a falling tree. there are reports of more than 100 cars flipped by twisters and high winds on interstate 75 in georgia. some incredible video there. >> it is that. the question this morning is what does mother nature have in her bag of tricks today? tom kierein's here with our forecast. wow, it's going to be changing minute by minute. we had heavy downpours overnight. right now, storm team 4 radar showing just a few lingering sprinkles, fairfax, montgomery, the district, prince george's county. the heaviest rains have now moved off the atlantic seaboard. getting snow showers out of the mountains. here's some of the rain totals. radar estimates, this area in green had as much as three to as much as four inches. parts of montgomery county and fairfax county. right in the district, generally had about an inch and a half to two inches. and all the areas farther east have had from an inch to a half inch as far as -- west, as well. they could probably see those streams and creeks out of their bank this morning. all these counties in green have reports of creeks and streams and rivers out of their banks.

the monocasee in frederick, at or above flood stage for the day. watch out for that on the rural areas. winds have been picking up. gusts over 40 miles per hour, frederick county, washington county, panhandle of west virginia, locally we've had gusts to around 30 miles per hour. and they're only going to be increasing as the day progresses. now we've got a wide variety of temperatures, 60 in washington. it's dropped back to the 40s now. the shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, up into western maryland. hour by hour through the day, we'll have changes going on each hour. we'll still be in the 50s by 6:00 a.m. much of the metro area. by 8:00, down to near 50. near 50 by 9:00 a.m. sun breaking out. we'll have gusts of wind to around 40 miles per hour. i'm back in ten minutes with yet another update. now a look at traffic, your first 4 traffic this morning with danella. good morning. good morning. checking a couple of incidents in our area. first we'll talk about the traffic lights. it's out along new york avenue at fairview avenue in northeast.

when you come there, treat it as a four-way stop. use caution. of course, flooding in parts of montgomery county, as well. first we'll check out woodfield road, closed at churchill downs road. if you see highstanding water, turn around. in montgomery county, no reports of high standing water. we'll have a more in-depth look in ten minutes. tracking a wreak along georgia avenue. this is as you make your way southbound at aspen hill road. through the commute if you want to avoid delays, connecticut is a great alternative. i'm back in ten minutes. aaron and eun, back to you. >> thank you. we have breaking news. >> good morning. we're getting information into the newsroom. u.s. officials are saying an israeli airstrike destroyed what they believe to be anti-aircraft weapons en route to hezbollah. militants in lebanon. it's believed the shipment contained sophisticated russian-made aircraft missiles

which could be game-changing if they were to make it into the hands of hezbollah fighters. they deny the reports saying two people were killed and five wounded. that's the latest from the live desk. back to you. 4:33 now. a developing story now. police in alabama are working to free a 5-year-old boy from an alleged kidnapper. he's been held in an underground bunker for 30 hours and holding. a gunman came on board a school bus and shot the driver. we learned overnight about the alleged kidnapper. police sources say he's a 65-year-old man who is described as a loner and survivalist who distrusts the government. today will be a busy day on capitol hill. the senate will decide whether to put off the debate over the debt ceiling until spring. it will vote on a bill to allow government to keep borrowing money without congress' permission until the middle of may. the house already passed the legislation. president obama said he will sign it if the senate fails --

rather, if it fails in the senate. the treasury warns the government may not be able to pay its bills in a matter of weeks. 4:34. chuck hagel will tell a senate committee why he should be the next defense secretary. the senate armed services committee will hold hagel's confirmation hearing. the former republican senator and vietnam veteran will likely face tough questions, especially about his stance on israel and iran. he prepared by meeting privately with more than 50 senators and leaders of public interest groups. right now, vice president biden is preparing for his first trip overseas for the obama administration's second term. he leaves today for europe. the white house says he'll visit germany, france, and the u.k. the vice president's first stop will be at the munich security conference. he spoke at that meeting four years ago at the start of the president's first term. president obama says he hopes for some form of immigration reform this year. in an interview with telemundo, the president says he is looking for the reforms to be completed within six months.

the president's plan includes a path to citizenship for 11 million inmates already in the country. the -- inimmigrants already in the country. the president says democrats and republicans must come together to solve the issue. the senate and house are working on separate proposals. this morning, no reported issues on metro's green line after chaos and confusion during the evening rush. the transit agency says the trouble started when an insulator started smoking. an emergency responder with d.c. fire powered down a section of the track between the anacostia and navy yard stations. two packed trains came to a stop inside the tunnel. passengers say metro failed at keeping them updated on the situation. >> people couldn't breathe, that was the main thing. they were trying to open the doors. main thing for me, no safety measures were given, no information was given to help people in panic situations. they couldn't breathe. we couldn't breathe. >> metro officers were tied up trying to get people out of tunnel who ditched the trains. that meant a lack of help directing passengers on to

shuttle buses outside the navy yard station. a metro bus is now out of commission after becoming the scene of a stabbing. a rider stabbed a man twice in the chest. the attacker jumped off the bus as it approached 11th and h streets. rescuers took the victim to the hospital. we're told he should be okay. police do not know if the attacker knew the victim or if the stabbing was random. we are learning new information overnight from that chain-reaction beltway crash. an arm of a prince george's county firefighter to h to be reattached. 30-year-old lieutenant ryan emmons is in guarded condition. a fire truck from lanham hills was trying to turn on the beltway when a tractor-trailer rear-ended it. a jeep was also involved in the crash. the driver and a passenger in the jeep and the driver in the tractor-trailer remain in the hospital. no word on their conditions. three firefighters were treated and released. while you were sleeping, a crackdown in bangladesh after another deadly factory fire.

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welcome back at 4:39. while you were sleeping, a crackdown in bangladesh after another deadly factory fire.

first, all flash flood watches have been lifted. heavy rains that came down still have back roads flooded and left standing water on highways. >> megan mcgrathing is on one of those streets -- megan mcgrath is on one of those streets in annandale, virginia. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, we are seeing an improvement in the situation. the rain has tapered off. there are still trouble spots out there, including this one in fairfax county. now i'm standing here on the northbound side of annandale road. as you see, we still have some standing water here in these lanes. you can look down the road here apiece. you can see the road has been closed by police. we're talking about the northbound lanes of annandale road. for a while everything was shut down because of water on the southbound side. look at this car driving by. in the last five minutes, they were able to reopen southbound lanes because the water had receded.

in terms of how long the northbound side will remain closed, i talked to the officer a little while ago. they're here, they're watching it. as soon as it recedes they will reopen it. they're not going do it yet. just a little too deep. their concern is that someone at speed in the dark would hit this big pool of water and lose control, hydroplane. they'll keep this shut down until the water level goes down a little bit. and we're seeing this not just in this location but around the area. we've seen quite a bit of rain overnight. and so low lying areas, areas with poor drainage, expect to see standing water, just take it easy out there. and you may encounter detours. reporting live in fairfax county, megan mcgrath, news4, back to you in the studio. >> thank you. every time there is high water, the firefighters say do not try to drive through it. it is too dangerous, not worth the risk. >> and somebody will. need to heed the warning. let's check in with tom kierein. 4:41, time for weather & traffic on the 1s. tom? >> the rain has pretty much

ended. next threat, wind. disgust to 50 miles per hour, temperatures dropping. we're in the low 50s. it's going to drop into the 40s later this morning. and then continue to drop. by late evening, we'll be right back down to the low to mid 30s. i'll be back in ten minutes with your seven-day outlook coming up at 4:51. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. good morning. well, you were talking about the wind, and seeing wind restrictions, this is as you cross the bay bridge westbound. elsewhere on 50 as you make your way to new york avenue, no reports of accidents in either direction. keep in mind that local roads, especially low lying areas, may see flooding. let's head to maryland, refer road at wendyfield lock road. flooding in -- pennyfield lock road. flooding in the area. >> thank you. not a dream, the burglary that a local woman didn't even wake up for. also ahead, the actions of jurors that could keep a former culpeper police officer out of jail. plus, the new look that could be in store for a busy prince george's

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[ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. good morning. i'm at the live desk. bangladesh police announcing they have arrested two owners of a garment factory that caught fire last weekend killing seven workers. the two are supposed to face negligence and murder charges. labor rights groups and industry workers have called for the arrest of the two owners, citing their alleged negligence. this fire took place just two months after 112 workers were killed in another factory fire. that's the latest from the newscast. back to you. 15 before the hour now. the u.s. navy says it now plans to take apart a ship that ran aground on a coral reef off the philippines this month. the uss guard yawn mine sweeper is stranded in a marine park that's recognized as a world heritage site in the sulu sea. the navy planned to lift the

ship off the reef but now says it's a complete loss and is trying -- that trying to move it now would do too much damage to the coral. it's expected to take more than a month to dismantle that ship. two, one -- >> that's a look at nasa's new communications satellite being launched into space last night. it will be used to communicate with the astronauts living on the international space station. it will also be able to transfer images from the hubble space telescope. this is nasa's 11th time sending a tracking and data relay satellite into space. the first was launched in 1983. lawyers for the florida neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing trayvon martin say their client is broke and needs donations. george zimmerman claims he acted in self-defense when he shot 17-year-old trayvon martin. it happened inside a gated community in sanford, florida, last february. zimmerman's lawyers are trying to get june's trial date pushed back to november. his attorney put up a request on line asking for public donations. he wants to raise $30,000 a

month for zimmerman's defense. so far his attorneys have spent more than $300,000 on fees and living expenses for zimmerman. and this morning, a gun control task force now has ideas from people of newtown, connecticut, on curbing violence. hundreds packed an auditorium to offer their suggestions. it was the first public hearing in newtown since 26 people were killed at sandy hook elementary in december. the task force was created in response to that tragedy. speakers included families of the victims, first responders, and community leaders. think you're a sound sleeper? you probably have nothing on one northwest d.c. woman. mica rothman was taking a nap on tuesday afternoon when a burglar busted into her house. police say he stole laptops, credit cards and an iphone among other items. an officer spotted the alleged burglar looking suspicious. he used pictures on the iphone to track to the house rothman shares with a roommate. when police returned, rothman was still asleep.

>> can ask anyone who's lived with me that i sleep very soundly. takes a lot to wake me up. he was probably quiet on top of the fact that i am not easily awoken. >> that kind of sleep can be dangerous. the suspect, charles procter, is charged with first-degree burglary. two dictionaries and a thesaurus could get a case thrown out of -- could get the case thrown out for former culpeper police officer convicted of manslaughter. a court clerk found the books in the jury room after the verdict. jurors found daniel harmon wright guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of patricia ann cook. the panel looked up the word "malice" which suggests confusion with jury instructions. the judge questioned each juror and will hear from attorneys in this case. harmon wright's attorneys want a mistrial. the judge will announce tomorrow how to proceed. prince george's county is considering plans to revitalize major corridors near green line metro stations.

last night, leaders held a public meeting on plans for new development on branch avenue. there are also plans for southern avenue, naylor road, and suitland parkway. planners are considering adding big box stores, class-a apartment space, high-end apartments and a new high school. not everyone is happy with the plans. >> people were coming to catch the subway and going downtown. they're parking cars here. and that's basically it. >> prince george's county has these great subway stations, but they're underdeveloped. we need a good spark. we need to get developers here. >> the development plans will go before the prince george's county council, and planning board for approval this summer. 4:49. hybrid car owners in virginia drive to richmond today to protest governor mcdonnell's transportation plan. they're angry the governor wants to impose a $100 fee on alternative fuel vehicles. that's one element of mcdonnell's plan to generate more than $3 billion for transportation projects. he also wants to eliminate virginia's gas tax. he says replace it with a sales tax increase.

the plan passed a major hurdle yesterday. a house committee voted in favor of it. a senate committee will discuss that proposal today. virginia schools may soon get report cards, too. the house education committee voted in favor of a bill that grades public schools on an a to f scale. the house will now take up the legislation. the committee backed several other bills. one would create a board to oversee failing schools. another would require teachers to be trained in administering cpr. the committee also endorsed legislation allowing schools to create their own calendars and open before labor day. home-schooled students in virginia will keep an eye on richmond today. the senate education and health committee will debate the so-called tebow bill. it would allow home-schooled students to play sports at public schools. the committee killed a similar bill last year. the bill is named after nfl quarterback tim tebow who was homeschooled in florida and allowed to play high school football. he went on to win the heisman trophy and two national titles at the university of florida. all flash flood watches in the area have been lifted now.

still, you need to keep an eye out for high water. heavy rain that came down while you were sleeping still has some back roads flooded this hour. standing water can be found on some highways. >> all right. be careful this morning. let's get more on what to expect today weatherwise. meteorologist tom kierein here. 4:51. >> what's the next weather threat? wind. i think we'll have strong winds here. could have gusts of 50 miles per hour. and we've already had gusts over 40 miles per hour this morning. most of the rain has ended. look at all that heavy rain that came on through. and now just a few lingering sprinkles in northern virginia and prince george's county. all these areas in green, the creeks and streams and all of these -- in all of these counties are running high. we still have flood warnings for creeks and streams and rivers in montgomery, frederick, loudoun county, fauquier, rappahannock, and culpeper and some of the counties out in western parts -- parts of western maryland and west virginia. watch out for the high water near the creeks and streams. and the monocasee river in frederick is going to be running

above flood stage later today. look at the latest gusts. hagerstown, a gust to 46. martinsburg, 43. leesburg, 43 mile-per-hour gusts. wind gust around washington have been over 40 miles per hour. had a gust at camp springs in prince george's county to 47 miles per hour. we do have this wind advisory, all these counties in color. all the way through the day, into 6:00 p.m., gusts to 50 miles per hour possible. that may cause, unfortunately, some more scattered power outages. right now, temperatures are dropping. northern/western suburbs into the 40s. in washington, it's dropped five degrees in the last half-hour down to 55 at reagan national. still upper 50s in southern maryland. the colder air coming out of the gusty northwest winds going to be sweeping right on through. right now in montgomery county, generally upper 40s to near 50. mid 50s prince george's county. much of arlington, fairfax county now still holding steady in the low to mid 50s. it's going to continue to drop there throughout the day hour by hour. we'll have temperatures, sunrise at 7:15.

temperatures still may be in the 50s much of the metro area. by 6:00 a.m. by 7:00 a.m. and 8:00, 10:00, it's going to be near 50 and upper 40s. the four-day forecast, flurries or snow showers tomorrow. another windy day on friday. 20s in the morning. afternoon highs in the upper 30s. teens saturday morning. mid 30s saturday afternoon. could get flurries saturday night. maybe snow showers sunday in the 20s. sunday afternoon around 40. next week, 20s on monday morning, monday afternoon, 30s to near 40. then milder. as we get into tuesday and wednesday. i'm back in ten minutes. danella has a look at your first 4 traffic. good morning. good morning. tom, you were talking about the high winds, we're seeing a bridge warning -- bridge warning in effect for the bay bridge. be aware of that, large tractor-trailers lining up, waiting for the wind restrictions to go away. flooding in the area. we'll start in maryland first. gold mine road at chandlee mill

road. beach drooim drive closed between connecticut avenue and kensington parkway. virginia, a closure at pageland lane at artemus road, highstanding water there, as well. back to you. >> thank you. a new ad campaign aims to change the world's perception about the word "jihad." ads are up at three metro stations and show images of muslims expressing their jihad. the council for american islamic relations says the word has become santa ana mouse with terrorism -- synonymous with terrorism but they say it means struggling in the way of god. this morning, six metro stations will close for track work. buses are replaces trains on the orange line and at federal center and benning road on the blue line. capital south, eastern market, potomac avenue, stadium armory, minnesota avenue, and deanwood stations will all be closed.

there's also single tracking on the red and orange lines. and on sunday night, on only th green and yellow line. the d.c. tax cab commission decided it needs more time before requiring all cabs to accept credit cards. d.c. cabs will likely take credit cards in may at the earliest. the commission says it doesn't want to rush the new rules. you might remember a judge overturned a plan to install all d.c. cabs with veriphone smart meter systems because of a flawed contract process. cab owners can get credit card readers from any company. 4:55. watching the roads after a night of heavy rains. >> coming up in minutes, a look at some of the trouble spots. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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good news for anybody with a sweet toolth. the company famous for the twinkie is not going anywhere. the company announced it accepted a $410 million buyout offer. it was going out of business. that happened in november. you remember that. the company now says it plans to change its management and branding strategies so shoppers should look for twinkies to be

back on shelves very soon. livingsocial is hoping this year goes better than last. the d.c.-based deal web site lost $650 million in 2012 according to the "washington post." the company also let go 10% of its work force. there were bright spots for livingsocial, though. despite the losses, its revenue jumped to more than $500 million last year. that's more than double the $250 million it generated in 2011. new this morning, a scam alert before you try to get that tax refund. virginia's taxation department says people are getting robocalls about its way-to-go prepaid mastercard. the automated caller tries to get the listener to give personal information. the taxation department of the says it does not make automated calls nor solicit personal information in that way. montgomery county raised twice as much money as expected from its new bag tax. the "washington examiner" reports montgomery county raised $2.1 million from january through november. that number is expected to go up once the final numbers from december are