continues right now at 5:00 a.m. our wild winter weather continues as we begin to see snow in our region. we're looking at what the system will bring and how it might impact your morning commute as you get ready to head out the door. we have crews out and around the region this morning. looking for the first signs of this winter weather. >> megan mcgrath is starting to see flakes fall in southern prince george's county. she's in brandywine. megan, good morning. >> we are seeing some flakes here and there. it comes down for a little while. then it stops. we're sort of in the lull right now. i am seeing a flake here or there. approximate prince george's county, this is route 301 and cedarville road. traffic is running normally at speed. everything is fine. this is not expected to be a major storm here. we want to make that clear. we're talking about a dusting in some areas. we have seen the trucks out there this morning.

we've seen the telltale white lines, sort of a striping on the pavement which indicates they're pre-treated. not expected major problems but this all happening in the rush hour that can can create slick spots a just anxiousness among some drivers. we're going to continue to watch it. again, we're just seeing very, very light flurries right now. no problems to report. of course, we'll continue to keep an eye on it all morning long. we'll toss it over to tom kierein. how is it looking, tom? >> thanks, megan. great to see your observation there. i want to reiterate, thiis a minor event. again, just getting a few scattered flurries, maybe a little bit of light snow. the bright white areas. just to the east of megan, may be snowing a little bit heavier. again, it's very light. it's passing snow showers. like megan said, there will be a lull, then flurry activity and then a lull and maybe some

moderate snow for a brief time and then it moves on out. a little more of that in st. mary's county and scattered across calvert county. farther west, a few light flurries trying to reach the ground. manassas, one much my twitter followers said at prince william hospital, in the parking lot they're seeing light snow beginning to reach the ground. southern fairfax county and in the district and our northern eastern suburbs. just a few scattered light flurries there. the temperatures are at or below freezing. south of washington, it's generally a little above freezing. a lot of that snow falling south of washington is melting on roadways. by 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. much of the region will be a little bit below freezing and scattered snow showers until 9:00 this morning. again, only maybe a dusting at the very most in the light blue zone. maybe an inch in the darker blue areas. eastern shore, southern maryland and less than an inch there. enly, 1 to 2 in the higher elevations. it's going to be turning much

colder tonight. details in ten minutes. first 4 traffic with danella on this friday morning. how are we looking? >> on the rails we're looking great. no reported delays. on the metro, marc, vre, all are on or close to schedule. still a downed tree in the kensington area. cedar lane closed between beach drive and rockville pike. disabled vehicle, i-95 northbound in lorton. checking cameras in the area o show you the volume. light in both directions. northbound, should be no issue around the disabled. possibly in your shoulder lane. aaron. let's go to the live desk. melissa mollet has breaking news. >> that's right. good morning. this is just in. 12 people have been killed after a bombing in northwestern pakistan. dozens were hurt. the bomb was placed at the exit of a mosque as friday prayers were letting out. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. new this morning, a fireworks truck exploded along a

bridge in china killing at least five people. it happened earlier this morning in the central part of that country. the blast sent cars down 100 feet to the ground below. crews are still searching for survivors. there's reports of conflicting numbers of casualtie some as high as 26. happening today, nasa will observe a day of re remembrance for the tenth anniversary of the space shuttle columbia disaster. nasa officials will hold that observance at the astronaut memorial in arlington national cemetery. a wreath laying will take place at the kennedy space center. there will be ceremonies honoring the 17 people who died in the apollo 1 disaster and the challenger explosion. questioning how a student made it past metal detectors with a gun and shot a classmate. a 14-year-old was grazed by the bullet in his neck. he's out of the hospital. police say the student gunman could face charges. many parents were upset that the building was put into lockdown

for two hours before teu dents were dismissed. school leaders plan to meet today to review the situation and emergency protocol. lawmakers are reviewing a set of recommendations to protect virginia students in schools. a task force presented 24 ideas to o the general assembly in richmond yesterday. among the proposals, more juvenile record sharing between schools and criminal justice officials and lockdown drills with students each semester. the task force said the controversial idea of arming security officers or principals needs more study. >> approximate we put anyone armed in the school, they have would be held-trained. i think everyone is in agreement that the -- it's not perfect but the closest remedy of that is a well-trained certified police officer or deputy sheriff in every school. there will be a final report in eun. governor bob mcdonnell created the task force in response to

the newtown, connecticut, shootings. a crack at closing the gun show loophole. a senate committee will discuss a bill for voluntary background checks to be set up at all gun shows. there would be a fee for the background checks. gun sellers would -- who take advantage of the system would get civil immunity if the person they're selling to turns out to be banned from owning a gun. members from the obama administration and members of congress continue to push for stricter gun laws. vice president joe biden is leading the effort. in a press conference, biden admitted that reducing the number of firearms in the u.s. won't prevent mass killings like the one in newtown, connecticut. but they will help. the president's plan puts a ban on assault weapons, bans high capacity magazines and aum buyers undergo background checks. an emotional day at the state department. this is hillary clinton's last day as secretary of state. she'll say goodbye to state department employees at a public ceremony and john kerry sworn in

as her replacement this afternoon. clinton says she knows she's leaving the state department in good hand. prince george's county fire department is launching an internal investigation into the serious beltway crash. a fire engine was rear ended by a tractor-trailer as it made a u-turn on the beltway which is legal for emergency vehicles, but investigators are looking to see if the turn broke the department's guidelines on u-turns. the crash injured seven people, including a firefighter who had to have his arm surgically reattached. 5:07 now. the investigation into the problems with the 787 batteries is heading to the u.s. japan's civil aviation bureau has been investigating the problem since the beginning of the year. they say they're sending investigators to seattle where the aircrafts are assembled. innian, two separate battery fires forced all of the boeing planes out of commission. u.s. and japanese investigators will work together to determine why the batteries are overheat and how to fix the problem.

police are asking for your help tracking down a missing teenager. why new orleans won't be the only city beefing up its presence in time for the game on sunday. >> why the flooding from yesterday could make it a rough commute for some today. >> we're watching the winter weather moving our way. when you'll see the snow start

right now you won't be able to use one commuter lot if you catch the marc train at laurel station. this is what that lot looked like last night, covered in water. heavy rain forced the river from its banks there. crews are still waiting for that water to fully recede. the station lot at the second lot of the station is expected to be full by about 7:00 had morning. marc suggesting commuters use the savage or mer kirk stations instead. laurel tickets will be honored there at no extra charge. they evacuated part of that area yesterday. definitely heed the warnings this morning. >> indeed. we're dealing with winter weather again. tom kierein here. 5:11. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning, it's a fast-moving weak disturbance passing over the region now and giving us scattered flurries and a few scattered snow showers. areas in brighter white, north and west of washington. east of washington, central prince george's county getting the flurries beginning to reach the ground. anne arundel, parts of calvert

and st. mary's. farther west, a few scattered light flurries in prince william, stafford, spotsylvania, fauquier. south abdomen and east, generally above preezing. any of tsnow falling is melting on roadways. much of maryland, the district, the areas in the darker blue might get a dusting to half inch to an mch at the most. southern maryland northern west. some of the high spots only in the shenandoah valley, turning much colder today. only in the low to mid 30s for highs with strong gusty winds. when the sun comes back later this morning, winds gust to go 40 miles per hour. danella has a look at traffic now. good morning. today in the first 4 traffic office, still problems from yesterday. if you're traveling in kensington along cedar lane, it's blocked and this is between beach drive and rockville pike. your closure is in both

directions because of a downed tree. we'll head down i-95 in virginia at prince william parkway. accident lined up to the right shoulder lane. travel lanes open as you head to the beltway and your volume between prince william parkway to the beltway is clear this more than. no report much delays along the metro, marc. vre. all look good. thanks, danella. why some people may be disappointed by their tax return this year. not just (woman) 3 days of walking

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megan mcgrath is live outside and spotting flakes from this had live picture. we have an update in a few minutes. also today, keeping close tabs on the labor department.

it will release its january jobs report this morning. today is february 1st, of course. economists expect the unemployment rate to remain at 7.8 for a third straight month according to the research firm fact set. they believe the economy added about 155,000 jobs last month. it averaged about 150,000 per month for the past two years. it appears the obama administration is ready to make a more active role in the crisis in syria. vice president joe biden will meet with the head of the syrian opposition. they'll meet tomorrow in munich at a security conference. this will be the highest level meeting since it began its uprising nearly two years ago. more than 60,000 people have been killed in that war. a vote is expected on the confirmation of chuck hagel as second of defense. he spent hours answering questions from the senate armed services committee. lawmakers wanted clarification on various positions hagel has taken in the past. he had one con stentious

explanation with john mccain. >> were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder had this country since vietnam? >> i'm not going to give you a yes or no. i think it's far more complicated than that. >> if confirmed, hagel, will replace leon panetta as defense secretary. he'd be the first vietnam veteran to hold that position. at this hour, a search for a missing teenager in takoma park, maryland. this is a picture of 16-year-old vanessa hendersonment she was last seen on hudson avenue about noon yesterday. police believe she's wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and pink and black nike sneakers. she's about 5'6", 130 pounds and has a birthmark under her right eye. she has an acoustic guitar with her. if you have any information, call police. virginia congressman jim moran's son will not face voter fraud charges in connection to his father's reelection bid.

arlington county police and prosecutors say they will not charge patrick moran. an undercover video released in october showed him discussing plans to cast fraudulent ballots. police have closed their investigation because the person who made the video would not cooperate with them. virginia governor bob mcdonnell's transportation funding package is on the road to passage. the senate finance committee voted in favor of the bill. that's after a house committee passed similar legislation. both bills are up for floor votes next week. mcdonnell wants to get rid of the gas tax but raise virginia's sales tax from 5 to 5.8%. extra revenue goes to transportation. there is opposition to this. there was a prius parade around the capitolment they are against part of the proposal creating a $100 annual fee on alternative fuel vehicles. if you live in d.c., your unpaid parking tickets may come back to haunt you. this year, the district is take

money out of tax refunds from residents with outstanding traffic fines because of a new law that was passed recently. here are other fees that could take a chunk out of your refunds. unpaid child support, overpayment of unemployment benefits. tommy wells is thinking about running for mayor. the ward 6 council member will launch an exploratory committee. that done mean you'll run in -- meanwhile, current mayor vincent gray has not said whether he'll run for reelection. if you're getting your kids ready for school, listen to this one. millions of bottles of common cough syrup are being recalled this morning because of a possible poisoning risk. the child going down

in france and italy. more foreign producers are aiming for the u.s. market. i just started drinking wine about three years. most of that increase is me. >> all you. >> if you're curious. >> they have you to thank then. 5:21. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. >> tom kierein is here with the forecast. snow coming, om in. >> a few flurries in washington, you can barely see them at all it's so light. south of us, the bright white zone getting heavier snow but not very heavy from southern fauquier county, southern fairfax into prince george's and anne arundel. farther north and west, a few

bright bans of light snow reaching the ground now in -- right along the blue ridge from near leesburg and towards hagerstown and frederick in maryland. the storm team radar, this bright ban is where it may be snowing light to moderately, southern fairfax from burke, virginia toward alexandria and across the potomac through central and southern prince george's county. parts of anne arundel, eastern charles, st. mary's, getting that light snow that's just trying to accumulate a little bit. maybe only on grassy areas. road temperatures are generally above freezing. everything has been pre-treated for the most part. temperatures at or below freezing, including montgomery, fairfax, northern virginia, south and east, it's going to beginning to drop towards the upper 20s and low 30s in prince george's county where that snow is coming down harder. again, maybe a dusting at the most in the light blue zone.

maybe up to a half inch to an inch in parts of southern maryland. farther west, along the blue ridge, in the high elevations, as well as along mass nut en mountain, the highlands, maybe an inch or two in the high spots. this is a very minor event. it's moving quickly. it's all going to be done by 9:00, 10:00 this morning. later this afternoon, sun breaks out, wind picks up. highs mid 30s. feeling like teens. the temperatures are going to plummet by saturday. cloudy, cold, highs near freezing. might get another round of some passing snow showers and highs on sunday afternoon maybe mid and upper 30s. cold again on monday and still cloudy. tuesday, up near 40 during the afternoon. might get a few flurries or a few scattered passing snow showers tuesday night into wednesday morning. near 40 wednesday and thursday. inl back with frequent updates throughout the morning as this snow event comes through. first 4 traffic with danella

now. first 4 traffic office. this is a crash northbound 355, montgomery county at perry parkway. the intersection is temporarily blocked but how cars are working their way around is they're basically turning on to perry parkway, doing a u-turn and continuing back on to north bound 355. this is just in. i'll give you an update in ten minutes. still tracking the accident i-95 northbound lanes off to the right shoulder lane at prince william parkway, you can see an accident lined up to your right shoulder lane. your travel lanes are open. northbound 395 in the hov lanes at duke street, left shoulder lane blocked by an accident therement aaron? thank you, danella. black history month kicks off today. the smithsonian museum getting a donation from gabby douglas. she was the first african-american woman to win gold in the individual all around competition at the 2012 london games. the virginia native is giving the wrist tape and uneven bars

used to help her medal. she'll donate the leotards she wore in her first competition. the items will be on display at the american history museum until the african-american museum opens in in 2015. the capitals will be back on the ice tonight trying to forget about the lead they blew last night. ovechkin gave the caps the lead in his second goal of the season. two minutes.maple levs score go caps. police in baltimore are already getting ready for sunday night. the department is bringing in extra officers to make sure ravens fans don't get out of hand during and after the super bowl. they're closing some streets in the hotspots at halftime. that means could be hard to find a parking spot before the game or to get around town after the game. >> speaking of the super bowl, for the first time, pop singer beyonce addressed the inauguration lip-synching controversy. she broke her silence in a way

that only she can do in a super bowl press conference. take a listen. >> o say can you see. ♪ by the dawn's early light ♪ >> she sang the star-spangled banner a cappella in new orleans to prove to her critics that she can sing. she sang along with her voice track at president obama's second inauguration to ensure the best possible performance. beyonce says she will sing live on sunday during her halftime show. organizers added oscar winner jennifer hudson to the super bowl lineup. she will sing america the beautiful with a choir from sandy hook elementary in newtown, connecticut. the group will pay tribute to the 20 children and 6 adults killed in diesecember's rampage. another super bowl performance is causing a stir this morning. the long kiss that has people

talking. the crackdown being considered on texting while driving. the latest information from alabama where a boy is still being held in an underground bunker. we'll tell you what police were able to deliver. a snowy start to the month. a snowy start to the month. weather and traffi we gotta sell the car. where would we even start? get the car. hi howard. get in. hi, good to see you. start with an actual written offer when selling your car, no strings attached. carmax. start here.

right now we're tracking winter weather and snow to end your week. just enough to make the roads slick. >> we're keeping an eye on the road conditions in virginia and maryland. crews are driving around and they're reporting that it looks like the main roads have been treated. welcome back to "news4 today" for this friday, february 1st, 2013. i'm eun yang. i'm aaron gilchrist. there was a tweet from mia the pug, saying big fat flakes coming down in alexandria. want to get to the forecast. here's meteorologist tom kierein. anybody else seeing snow, tom? >> yes, a wide area getting scattered flurries and some of the big fat flakes. as we look at the radar, this is moving quickly. this is all going to be done here by 9:00, 10:00 this morning. where you see the brighter white areas, where it's coming down higher, some of the fat flakes in loudoun county, northern fauquier county, parts of the blue ridge, from near winchester

and front royal, martinsburg to frederick. prince george's county, this one band, there's big flakes falling now. mainly on grassy areas, because the road temperatures are a little above freezing, they've been treating everything overnight. mainly wet roads. a minor event. flakes falling in anne arundel, the rest, charles, st. mary's, calvert, generally scattered flurries. there's another band of big flakes southern fauquier from culpeper to northern stafford. southern fairfax near alexandria. this is all zipping off to the east. it's going to be done wiquickly. the big story is how cold it is. around maryland and virginia, hour by hour through the day, we'll stay near the freezing mark, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 with the scattered snow flurries.

we'll show you the afternoon forecast, we'll take a look at that and frequent updates throughout the morning. stay with nbc4. a look at traffic. danella has your first 4 traffic this friday morning. >> good morning. tom, still tracking this early morning accident. this is as you head 355 northbound. frederick avenue. this is at lake forest boulevard. crash has a car off to the median here. you can see it just sitting there. northbound lanes are blocked on 355. what people are doing are they're making a right on to lake forest boulevard here. then doing a u-turn, if you're traveling westbound lake forest boulevard, police are blocking the road. you can get by in the far right lane and you can continue northbound 355 or straight westbound on lake forest boulevard. also an update on the accident 395 northbound. hov lanes off to your shoulder lane here. still seeing the accident there. travel speed not bad. 12 minutes to get to the 14th street bridge. i'm back in ten. aaron over to you.

>> thank you, danella. >> 5:32 now. there will be a changing of the guard today at the tate department. hillary clinton will step down officially as secretary of state after four years on the job. nbc's tracie potts has more on her legacy and what's next. >> four years, 112 countries, over a million miles traveled. hillary clinton in an interview said one of her greatest accomplishments is restoring faith in america's leadership. asked about her legacy, she talked about that and also about failures like benghazi. she said the world is a dangerous and complicated place. palestinians deserve a state, she says. but the bigger question is, what is she going to do from here and is she running for president in 2016. here's what she told andrea mitchell. >> i have no position on any of this. i have no opinion about itment i am still secretary of state.

i can't really engage in politics. for the foreseeable future, i don't think that i will be at all political. >> that's not a solid yes, it's not a solid no. it keeps us talking about it for the next four years or until she announces if she is or isn't. eun. >> tracie potts live on capitol hill. thank you. negotiators are talking with a gunman holding a 5-year-old boy hostage. 65-year-old jimmy lee dykes stormed a school bus in midland city on tuesday. he's accused of shooting and killing the bus driver who refused to let him take the children. he did end up taking a boy named ethan into that bunker. investigators say the boy has his medicine, crayons, coloring books and a tv to keep him calm. new developments in the deadly explosion in mexico city. right now, rescuers are searching through the rubble for survivors. a bomb exploded near the mexican

oil company yesterday afternoon. it injured more than 100. investigators are trying to determine whether it was an explosion or an attack. 5:35 right now. there was a hacking attack at the wall street journal. chinese hackers got into the system to monitor the coverage of china. since the a computer attack, they did an overhaul to bolster cyber security. "the new york times" announced chinese hackers stole employee passwords. the chinese government says it has nothing to do with the attacks on the times computers. 5:30 now. the funeral arrangements for a civil rights pioneer have been announced. former maryland delegate christine zones died after rescuers pulled her from a burning home in temple hills. jones was the first african-american to represent prince george's county in the maryland general assembly. she was 83 years old. the funeral services will happen at bethlehem baptist church on martin luther king avenue in southeast. the viewing is next thursday

from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. the service is next friday at 11:00 a.m. we're monitoring former new york city mayor ed koch's help this morning. he's in intensive care at a new york hospital much the 88-year-old was hospitalized earlier this week with fluid in his lungs. his cardiologist wants to be able to examine him more closely and he says the former mayor appears to be anemic. the fire department is focusing on its role in wednesday's crash on the beltway that left a fire truck and tractor-trailer mangled. this fire engine was rear ended as it tried to make a u-turn on the beltway that is a legal turn for emergency vehicles. investigators want to know if had turn broke department guidelines sfwliefrnl the crash injured seven people, including one before who to have his arm surgically reattached. trying to find out if a serial suspect --

a cheerleader not chosen to cheer at the super bowl, they say it may have something to do with her weight.

[ telephone rings ] good evening, this is flo. [laughs] yes, i'm that flo. aren't you sweet! licensed phone-ups available 24/7. call 1-800-progressive. welcome back. a live picture of snow falling

in virginia. this is a picture of i-95 north. you will see snowflakes falling right now if you look into the light. >> i'm sorry. i thought carrie ann, look into the light. schools will open two hours late. warren county, virginia, hampshire, hardy, jefferson, mineral county schools will open two hours late. want to check in with tom kierein. he'll know when the smoe is falling, where it's falling. what's going on, tom? >> it's falling throughout much of the region this morning. as we take a look at the -- latest view of storm team 4 radar is showing an area of light snow continuing to move south and east. these little bands of white. those are areas of light snow. also light snow in frederick county, loudoun county, fauquier county, parts of the shenandoah

valley. you can see it's really fast-moving. this is moving very quickly. the bright bands here, that's where we're getting the bigger flakes falling in stafford, fauquier, into prince william and into southern fairfax county. there's one bright band here too. right across central prince george's county into southern anne arundel. that's where they're getting big flakes falling. a lot of it is melting on roadways. scattered snow showers st. mary's, calvert, eastern shore. also getting the big flakes that are mainly accumulating on grassy areas. temperatures are right a little bit above freezing from annapolis down to huntingtowne and west. most locations, places are a little below freezing. might be a light dusting on grass. the areas in the dark blue, up to a half inch to an inch in those locations. farther south and west, might be a few isolated spots along the blue ridge, the mountain perhaps in far western maryland.

the highlands and west virginia where they might get an minch o two. big story today is the wind. and the cold. it is certainly back o winter on this first day of february. highs only reaching low to mid-30s. the winds will be blowing at 40 miles per hour. it will feel like teens and 20s. plummeting to near 20 tonight and colder by the morning. a look at the weekend in a few minutes. a look at traffic with danella. still checking on the accident northbound 355. this is at lake forest boulevard. the intersection here is partially blocked. you can work your way around it. you have to use caution. i want to just point out this car resting in the immediamedia prince william parkway, earlier had an accident. it's now gone but you can see just light flurries on i-95. as far as delays, though, as you make your way from prince william parkway, your volume is

increasing northbound. no major delays just yet as you head toward the beltway. over to the rails, camden south looking at a 13-minute delay on train 505. over to the brunswick east train, number 890. a minor delay of eight minutes. aaron and eun. thanks so much, danella. we're getting dread frederick county and page county schools opening two hours late this morning. >> we'll bring you more information on "news4 today." we'll tell you about cold weather wardrobe that one local leader wants o ban. the super bowl hasn't happened but already the commercials are causing a buzz. the latest one is stirring up in terms of controversy. next, what nasa is

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we're looking live into northern virginia this morning. i-95 north at the prince william parkway. you can see if you look cloezly there, closer to the bottom of the screen, there's a light. you see snowflakes are falling in that part of virginia right now. several other parts. we're scrolling at the bottom of your screen. school delays coming in this morning. nasa will observe a day of remembrance for the tenth anniversary of the space shuttle columbia disaster. officials will hold an observance at the astronaut memorial at arlington national cemetery. there will be ceremonies honoring those in the apollo 1 disaster as well as the challenger explosion. there will be a wreath laying ceremony today also. police are looking into whether a serial groper attacked two women. both say they were groped in springfield. a 30-year-old woman on dinwiddie street said someone approached her from behind, grabbed her and groped her. a few blocks away, a 25-year-old woman says she was walking when

she felt someone groping her. she screamed and the man ran off. both victims' description of the attacker matched the suspect sketch in 15 similar assaults. 5:47 now. a d.c. community leader wants to ban something you may use to keep warm to crackdown on crime. faith wheeler is calling on the district to ban ski masks citywide. d.c. law makes it illegal for anyone over the age of 16 to wear the masks lyle committing a crimement the attorney general general says they rarely prosecute anyone under that law. still, she says they're used too often by criminals. >> few criminals want to be identified otherwise they wouldn't wear the mask and runaway. it's one of many, many, many tools that should be explored. >> i don't think that banning ski masks is going to reduce robberies in the district of columbia. >> d.c. police say they do not see ski masks as evidence of

someone's intent to commit a crime. virginia lawmakers now considering a new list of recommendations on gun control and school safety. among the 24 presented proposals, immunity for those who report potential danger and easing juvenile record sharing between schools and criminal justice officials. the task force recommended schools designate assessment teams to monitor threats and do lockdown drills with students every semester. >> it's important just to get the students used to knowing what to do and to take it seriously. governor bob mcdonnell created the task pouforce in response to the newtown, connecticut shooting. arming principals or security officers needed more study. there will be a final report on that in june. a new bill could close a loophole to bring background checks at virginia gun shows. legislation headed to make it

voluntary at gun shows. only licensed dealers or gun shops require background checks before someone can buy a weapon. you could get relief if you call in sick. lawmakers are considering a bill to guarantee workers seven paid sick days a year. the baltimore sun says employees would earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. there's an uphill battle saying it hurts small businesses. tommy wells is thinking about running pour mayor. the six council members says he'll launch an exploratory committee. he does hope to make a decision this spring. current mayor, vincent gray has not said whether he will run for reelection. the super bowl may be more than 48 hours away but we've already seen a number of commercials that will air during the big game. we've heard about a number of protests about knows ads. check out the latest commercial to ruffle some feathers.

♪ arab american groups are offended by this ad showing an arab in the desert racing toward a giant coke bottle. they call the ad racist and want coke to change it before sunday's game. the company said it had a productive conversation with arab groups but his not -- represented by walter. together, they're perfect. some people say that this go daddy commercial starring israeli model and some other guy, that guy there who gets to kiss her is a little too hot for tv. go daddy has a history of provocative ads during the super bowl. the "today" show will have a look at some of the other ones this morning. always worth watching the super bowl for those commercials. >> we kept that up for a long

time. little bit much for early in the morning. we're tracking weather for you this morning. megan mcgrath in brandywine where the snow is starting to pick up, megan. >> reporter: well, yeah. since we last spoke to you, the snow is falling heavier now. we're not talking about a major snow event here. we're talking about flurries around the area. some spots could see a slight accumulation, a dusting. we're here in brandywine along route 301 here. the road that's behind me. near cedarville road. the traffic is running at speed. mo problems on the roadways. as we've made our way around the area this morning, we've seen salt trucks out there. when you look on the asphalt, you can see the white squiggly lines that they've been pre-treated, the brine placed down on the major roadways. not expecting any major problems this morning. whenever you have snow, there is the potential of having slick spots as of course is happening

during the morning rush hour. we'll keep an eye on it. right now, not an accumulation on the grassy areas and the roads are looking just fine. as you can see, the snow is falling a bit heavier now. reporting live in brandywine, megan mcgrath, news 4. back to you in the studio. >> megan, thank you. you can see the snow falling from her live shot. >> it's very light. this is a minor event. i want to stress it's not a big deal for us. to the heartbreak of these students at the burke school in washington. i visited there earlier this week. it's off connecticut avenue. all of the sixth graders are heartbroken over the fact that we're not getting much snow. talked to them about different types of weather earlier this week. great time. i want to thank the teacher for the invitation to visit these very bright sixth graders at the burke school in washington, d.c. as we take a look now at the latest radar, this system is rapidly moving off to the east.

a few flurries in washington and fairfax county and prince william. across parts east of us where megan is. you can see the brighter white in anne arundel, parts of eastern charles, northern st. mary's county. the eastern shore getting some of the big flakes from cambridge to easton and near chester town. farther west, a few scattered flurries and few passing snow showers. they'll be off and on for a couple of hours or so. it's going to come to an end. temperatures near freezing. a dusting maybe on grassy areas to maybe an inch on the locations in the eastern shore and part of southern maryland. maybe an inch or two from snow showers. not locally in the area. into the mid-30s this afternoon. it will feel colder with the winds. teens tomorrow morning. maybe near freezing on saturday with clouds around and maybe a

few more snow showers saturday night into sunday morning. still cold sunday, monday and cloudy. tuesday, wednesday, thursday, might get flurries. late tuesday night and into wednesday morning very early is the latest timing on that. i'm back in ten minutes. frequent updates throughout the morning. good morning, tom. checking on 395 northbound in the hov lanes. still the accident in the shoulder lane. if you're traveling from the beltway to edsall, not bad. let's head to 66. good story to tell here. no issues between the bypass all the way to the beltway in both directions. your volume really light. it's friday. happy friday to you. >> still checking on the accident near lake he's forest mall. as you travel 355 northbound, accident still blocking that intersection. you can work your way around it. but you got to use caution. eun, over to you. >> 5:55 now. lawmakers could vote to toughen the texting while driving laws.

if caught, violators get a $20 fine if they're pulled over for another offense. it would be hiked up to $250 and a police officer could pull you over for just texting while driving. another bill would consider this had a reckless driving offense which could mean jail offense. voting on legislation today. you can check out hundreds of the boldest and coolest cars on the road. the washington auto show opens at noon today at the washington convention center. it features more than 700 makes and models from 42 manufacturers. there are classic cars as well. the auto show runs through next sunday. tickets are $12 for adults. $5 for kids between 6 and 12 years old. free approximate you're under 5. >> if you stop by the toyota section of the auto show this weekend, say congratulations. cnbc's shartia brantley is live to explain. shartia, good morning. >> good morning, eun. toyota has once again topped an annual consumer survey on brand

perception as all of the major brands saw their scores rise from last year. consumer reports say the brand leaders have a stronghold on the minds of americans. the magazine says it's getting harder for automakers to stand out as consumers seem to think many excel in areas that matter the most to them, such as safety. ford, honda, chevrolet and mercedes-benz round out the top five. the survey comes about a month after the detroit auto show where the industry shows off their latest and greatest models. back to you. all right. shartia, thank you. overnight, an emergency landing to tell you about with a scary twist. we'll tell you what happened when the pilot passed out. we're tracking snow moving into the area. you've seen the snow where megan is in southern prince george's county. seeing it in western virginia as well. school closings are starting to come in, delays. >> we'll have the delays for you at the beginning of the 6:00 hour and we'll have them

scrolling at will bottom of the screen as well. this newest winter storm. you're watching "news4 today."