>> announcer: news 4 midday starts now. >> a story that caught many by surprise. pope benedict will be stepping down at the end of the month. we'll look at what steps will be take en to replace the pontiff. good morning and welcome to news 4 midday. >> it's monday, february 11, 2013. we begin with the developing story from the vatican. pope benedict xvi announced this morning he'll step down as leader of the catholic church. nothing like this happened before in the modern mechanics of the church. angie, two obvious questions. why and what happens next?

>> good morning to you. even with the answers we have people remain in shock over this announcement. he also gave his blessing in finding the next leader of the catholic church. leading the prayer this morning at the vatican, pope benedict xvi told a small group he's leaving at the end of the month. in a statement he says his strength due to his age has deteriorated making him unable to fulfill the demands of the position. the vatican said he's not leaving because of difficulties with the papacy. benedict is the first pontiff to step down in more than 700 years. a vatican spokesman told the "today" show there was fair warning about the decision. >> clearly he doesn't physically feel up to the job. i think this was an act of humility to admit that.

a couple top officials have known for some time, certainly several weeks i was told that just this morning. i only found out a few hours beforehand from the pope's chief of staff. >> the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the cardinals around the world. they will gather in a conclave to elect a new bishop in rome after the pope steps down february 28. the vatican says it hopes to have a new pope by the end of march before easter. benedict won't be able to vote for his successor because of a rule that excludes cardinals over 80 from closed door proceedings. they can attend preconclave gatherings where the older more experienced cardinals are sought after. so 2000 morning are speculating that pope benedict will have some say. >> catholics across the nation are reflecting to new that is the pope is stepping down.

news 4 h's tony tull is live in washington with what they are saying. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there was a press conference and a q & a. first thing out of his mouth was he was surprised. he was at his home office when he heard he got a phone call. he was just in rome in october and said there was no indication from the pope that something like this was going to come down. no definitive action. he said there are transitions within the church. this is not new, but this situation specifically is something new. he said because of the pope stepping down this spoke about his measure oh of a person. >> he is a very humble and honest person. his love for the church is such that he's concluded it would be better not to try to lead this

huge flock without the full strength of all of his energies. >> barbara, the cardinal said the life of the church will go on. this seat will be vacant on the 28th of the month. we did spend time at the basilica this morning. a lot of people leaving mass there giving reaction as well as at st. matthew. they were shocked to hear the news. >> wow. i admire the pope. to see him retire due to his health it's like he didn't last long. i thought he was a healthy guy taking on the weight of the world like jesus. >> they said his faith in modern engagement was a good thing and he was on twitter.

that was a big thing. it may be an indication of what they are looking for for the next pope. that's the latest from the news conference in the northwest. more on news 4 at 4:00 this afternoon. >> pope benedict visited the nation's capital in 2008 for a three-day visit. it was part of his visit to the u.s. he celebrated mass in d.c. in front of 46,000 people. during his visit he met with then president george bush and leaders of the washington archdiocese. >> we could see sun this afternoon. tom kierein joins us with the forecast. good morning. >> still low clouds lingering over the metro area. this is what's been happening. we have had the rain move to the northeast. cloud cover breaking up. weather watchers are seeing sunshine near the blue ridge. bright and sunny now. winchester and the panhandle of west virginia, too, from

charlestown to martinsburg, berkeley springs up to cumberland. all getting sunshine now. east of there, it is mostly cloudy. a few thin spots. a little sun trying to break out in southern prince william county into charles county. that's going to continue to move off to the east and the cloud cover should begin to erode. where the sun has broken out, winchester is at 50 degrees. petersburg, 59. stanton, virginia, at 58 degrees with sunshine there as well. we are still generally in the mid 40s around the metro area. once any sun breaks out we'll have the temperatures climb. right now in montgomery county in the low to mid 40s in much of prince georges county, arlington and fairfax. i will be back with the chances for more snow in the next seven days. a look at that coming up. >> how about in the southern part of the country? the national weather service is in mississippi after the tornado tore through several towns.

students are being asked not to return to campus until further notice. as many as ten are hurt. none of the injuries are considered serious. >> to the north there is a lot of cleaning up to do after this weekend's bli skard from pennsylvania to maine. people saw as much as three feet of snow. about 135,000 people are still without power. almost all of them in hard hit massachusetts. along the coast, high winds brought storm surges that damaged many homes. transportation leaders say air and train service should be back to normal by the end of today. we'll check on the traffic around here with danella. good morning. >> good morning. in the first 4 traffic tracking an accident. northbound i-95 north of lorb ton. the crash has two left lanes getting by. at one point single file to the left. delays are under a mile. i know it's foggy.

look closely. you will see the cars jammed as they continue to make their way northbound. i-270 in both directions northbound and southbound. no issues to report. keith? >> new today a shooting at a delaware courthouse leaves three dead including the gunman and his wife. the man killed his wife and another woman and wounded two others. the gunman is dead but police won't say if he was shot by police or if the wounds were self-inflicted. right now firefighters are still trying to figure out what sparked an early morning fire in northeast d.c. it broke out at a 4:00 this morning on field place along the d.c./maryland border. investigators believe it started outside the home and spread to a home next door. no one there was hurt. but the house was badly damaged. >> virginia governor bob mcdonald will try to sell his transportation plan to the

people of virginia. people in our area. he'll be in mclean to lay out the impact the plan will have on northern virginia. the governor wants to eliminate the gas tax and raise money to jeb generate money for projects. democrats blocked the move last week but a senate committee will now take up the house version of the bill. >> prince georges county police are offering $25,000 to find the person who killed a 71-year-old woman. she was found in her capital heights home saturday with what they are calling trauma to her body. they took her to a hospital where she died a short time later. police returned to the neighborhood to gather more info and hand out flyers. she lived with her daughter, both disabled. if you have information about the crime, please contact prince georges county police. >> our time is nine minutes after 11:00. coming up, the inspiring story

behind the man receiving the medal of honor today from president obama. >> plus, a $1 million reward for the ex-police officer wanted in the killings of three people in california. an update on the leads investigators are following now. stay with us.

>> announcer: you're watching news 4 midday. >> president obama will honor a hero from the war in afghanistan today. he'll award staff sergeant clint romashay the medal of honor. he and his fellow soldiers battled the taliban for more than 12 hours when the outpost came under fire in 2009. eight americans died. he will be only the fourth living service member from the war in afghanistan to receive this medal of honor. >> he will also be a guest of the first lady for tomorrow's state of the union address. the looming budget cuts will

likely play prominently in the president's speech. $85 billion in cuts will take effect march 1 if congress and the white house cannot come to an agreement on a budget. republicans are blaming president obama for the looming cuts known as the sequester because the white house proposed them in the first place. democrats say the cuts were only meant as a threat. >> when the president proposed a sequester it was to work together to solve problems. it was supposed to be so awful the super committee would reach bipartisan agreement. because they rejected revenue it never happened. >> i'm questioning where this thing is going because he's not moved in a serious way. we remain anxiously waiting for him to come to the table to work with us. >> bottom line you could live with the sequester if it happens? >> i don't want to live with the sequester. i want reductions in spending that make sense.

>> president obama has urged congress to come up with a short-term fix by the end of the month until lawmakers can reach a more extensive budget plan. >> today, nasa launches what it's claiming is its most advanced new at lite into space. the land sat data continuity mission launches today in california. nasa calls it the most advanced, capable spacecraft of its kind ever built helping to monitor environmental change and natural resources. it's about the size of an suv and will likely be in orbit for years. once in space the u.s. geological survey takes over the operations. tom kierein joins us now. talk about this not such nice weather, tom. >> some call it gloomy. >> a little bit. >> i call it dismal. i look on the bright side. look at this picture. it tells the story. low clouds with a little bit of fog. a little drizzle from the fog right there over the jefferson

memorial. you can barely make it out. the fog will be lifting and things will be improving here into the afternoon. he said hopefully. now 42 at reagan national with wind out of the south. now mid 40s. prince georges county mid 40s. mid 40s in montgomery county. arlington and fairfax mid 40s. a little bit of sunshine breaking out to the west and to the south where warrenton now is at 48 degrees. closer to washington, it's just low clouds and sun breaking out now in culpepper now. they are at 50. winchester has sun breaking out at 52 degrees. milder to the west. in the upper 50s west of there in west virginia. some of the mild air will be moving in after the rain this morning. the area in green was light rain. now getting breaks in the clouds here south and west of

washington. a little sunshine breaking out. we will have that as we get into the afternoon. the temperatures soaring. as soon as the sun breaks out we have to really jump quickly, climbing into the upper 50s by mid afternoon. 3:00, 4:00 or so. then after sunset it won't get too cold. we'll be into the mid 40s by midnight. going forward through the rest of the afternoon into the evening the cloud cover breaking up. into tuesday, beautiful day. lots of sunshine tomorrow. a brisk northerly wind. highs in the 40s to 50s. then as we get into wednesday big changes will e begin to move in. all this area in lavender is a zone of potential accumulating snow. there is a large area of it from the mountains into the washington, d.c. area. right along there up 95, south and east of there it looks like rain, the areas in green. there could be several inches of snow. too early to say how much. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted. tomorrow blustery winds near 50.

the wintry mix on wednesday. gone late wednesday night. then on thursday, 30s in the morning. afternoon highs in the 40s and partly cloudy. toward the weekend, friday looking nice with sunshine up near 50. then another storm comes our way. saturday we could get a more powerful storm. could get snow, sleet and rain on saturday changing to all snow. saturday night ending as flurries. gusty winds on sunday. highs only 30s. morning lows in the 20s. stay tuned to nbc 4. we'll keep you informed as winter is not quite done yet even though pitchers and catchers report for the nationals this week. baseball season is right around the corner. must mean spring is on the way. >> florida, here we come. >> we'll check on the midday traffic now. >> danella, what's the latest? >> still watching i-95 northbound in virginia just past lohrton road.

the right lane is blocked. the left lane was getting by. delays are growing. a live look at you make it past route 1. just jammed here. from the bridge we'll take you 19 minutes to get to the beltway. a smooth ride to the beltway. let's go to 29 and maryland. clear at lockwood drive. from columbia to silver spring, no issues in either correction. back to you. >> 19 minutes after 11:00 is the time now. still ahead how yoga is helping war veterans. >> plus, chocolate. a valentine's day staple. most people could make it a staple every day. in minutes we show how it can be added to a savory dish. >> first a look at what's hot on nbc washington.com.

>> announcer: you're watching news 4 midday. >> nothing says valentine's day like chocolate. what about adding it to a savory dish? nick stefananelli is here to tell us how to do that. this is something you can serve as a main course? >> we are serving it thursday for valentine's day. >> chocolate in it. okay. i know you have a menu for valentine's day? >> a four-course mean you. appetizer, pasta, main course and dessert. it's for two to share. >> is this dessert or a main? >> this is risotto, one of the pasta courses. onions, butter, oil and rice. we're toasting it and we'll deglaze with prosecco. everybody will be drinking champagne for valentine's day. >> it's a sparkling wine.

>> we have a finished product over here which is 25 minutes cooking. this is a dish of love. it's a good dish for valentine's day. >> smells wonderful. you add stock to the risotto. >> after the alcohol evaporates, cover it and slowly as a the stock evaporates, we keep working it down until the rice is cooked. it takes 20 minutes or so. >> the risotto rice is tougher, harder to get it to soften. >> you want it al dente with creaminess. so it's soft but with a bite. >> you keep adding it until it gets to that texture. >> tun till it gets to the texture we have here. >> that's where we want to be. >> you want it as dry as possible. then finish it with a little bit of butter. >> just a little bit? >> a little bit of butter. we have white chocolate which has fat, too. so be careful. >> is it sweet? >> it is. you will have a balance of the nutty parmesan cheese saltiness and the sweet chocolate to

combine for a nice harmonious balance that ties in with valentine's day. if i can borrow your spoon. >> you can. we'll turn this one off. stir, incorporate everything. >> that looks wonderful. >> you have a nice creamy consistency. finish it with a little bit of black pepper. do it off the heat so you don't run the risk of scorching the chocolate or cheese. >> is this sweet? >> it will be sweet and salty. you get the balance of both. we'll put a seared sweetbread on it at the restaurant. you can put a piece of roasted meat on top or serve it by itself for a great vegetarian dish. >> can i have a tiny little taste? i know it will be hot but i want to tell people whether it's -- mm. really, really yummy. >> surprising. it's not too sweet. not too salty. >> wow. i wouldn't know it was chocolate. it's really, really good.

chocolate, i love. >> you think of chocolate as a sweet ingredient. when you play with it savory it changes and plays with your mind a little bit. >> wow. >> we're on 12th and h. >> the menu for the night. we're happy to have had you with us. >> everybody will be standing outside the door waiting to taste it. happy valentine's day to you. >> you as well. >> coming up in the next half hour we'll have more on the surprise announcement that the pope will be stepping down in two weeks. we'll tell you why he'll have no say in choosing his successor. plus, what's being done to find the former police officer accused of killing three people? the skies are expected to clear today. rain maybe snow even. tom kierein will be back in a moment. stay with us. we'll be right back.

right now on news 4 midday pope benedict xvi is stepping down february 28. the pope made the announcement this morning during a meeting with vatican cardinals. the 85-year-old said he made the decision because of his age and poor health. the cardinals will elect a new pope next month. pope benedict cannot vote for his successor because he's over 80. jury selection is under way in the trial of man federal agents call one of the most dangerous men ever in prince georges county. jason scott killed two mothers and daughters in 2009. scott is already serving time for a crime spree including burglaries, home invasion and sexual assault. they say he used a computer at the u.p.s. facility where he worked to target his victims. >> police in california are resuming their search for an ex-police officer accused of killing three people. someone reported seeing christopher dorner there.

investigators believe he's targeting lapd officers as a revenge plot after he was fired a few years ago. >> these families are targets of dorner's and are likely victims. >> the lapd announced it would be re-opening its investigation into dorner's firing back in 2008. the concern led to police adding more security at the grammy awards. officers were stationed outside the staples center and across the street and checked participant credentials every few minutes. >> today the white house will get more input from law enforcement agents on how to crack down on gun violence.

law enforcement agents will be part of the movie. so will congressional leaders and deputy attorney general james cole. >> we'll check in for the latest on the forecast. snow. did you say maybe snow? >> could be on wednesday. >> then again on the weekend. the rain has stopped. we have a gray sky. >> sun breaking up. we may see sun around the metro area later this afternoon as temperatures the high temperatures where there is more sun and the temperatures overnight under a clearing sky will be right back down to the 30s tomorrow morning. sun back on tuesday.

seven-team outlook and a wintry mix on wednesday. could be snow north and west of oh i-95 right around the metro area. could be a combination. sleet, slow and cold rain south and east of the metro areas. the timing on that is beginning by the afternoon on wednesday. then ending late wednesday and before dawn on thursday. not a major storm. thursday, friday, the sun comes back. over the weekend, we could get another storm coming in with snow and sleet and cold rain on saturday. ending with snow and a maybe flurries on sunday. colder with highs in the 30s. morning lows in the 20s. barbara? >> thank you, tom. let's check on the traffic with danella. >> some good news on i-95 northbound in virginia. the earlier look at pohick road. 19 minutes from the bridge to the beltway.

we'll head to the beltway now at the wilson bridge. clear. into montgomery over the american legion bridge. >> troops are turning to yoga. that's gaining wide acceptance in circles. kim weeks will explain. you brought along sarah plumber, a marine corps captain. you're seeing more people with military backgrounds turning to yoga. >> most definitely. >> providing a place for many of the veterans with ptsd or trauma related issues to come into the present moment. >> you told me you served two tourses of duty in iraq. you said before the show that before going into your second tour, yoga saved your life.

explain what you meant by that. >> well, that's right. yoga did save my life, keith. i actually dabbled in it years before as an athlete at the university of virginia. the first time it really stuck as something more than a physical practice was during my second deployment when i realized it was as simple as getting on the mat and breathing meant i was still alive and i could cope with different traumas that time. >> with that said let's do a couple of poses. let's get into the first pose. >> she was telling me as we prepared for the segment this is how she starts every time she practices. >> this is what you would do in iraq? >> yep. >> am i disturbing you? was that the concentration part? >> that's okay. just basically getting

physically grounded helps you mentally and emotionally calm down, get centered. starting with a very simple breath-linking movement. inhaling, sit tall and exhale to twist. >> i know you can't speak for all the troops. what were some of the specific thoughts that went through your mind as a person who saw the casualties of war in iraq as you sat down to do your. >> if we can find things to simplify and get out of our heads where we are creating these situations either recreating what's happened in the past or creating something in the future that's not yet real. getting into your physical body allows you to be present and calm down and simplify and reduce stress. >> that said let's get into the second pose. >> what she's talking about is

one of the most common effects of ptsd is being not in the present moment. she's warming up and doing a pose called warrior 3. it's a beautiful pose. she'll come back into it now with her left leg back. >> would your troops do it with you? were you able to motivate troops to do it with you and show you benefits as well? >> the great part is one of my staff sergeants, my marines gave me my first yoga dvd and got me hooked on yoga. >> bottom line is going forward quick, a comment from you both. you would encourage others who might be dealing with post traumatic stress to get into this. >> absolutely. i'm so passionate about what i do and why i teach yoga and nutrition through sempersara.com. giving weekly advice through free newsletters and my just roll with it boot camp tied to my book "just roll with it"

where i describe how yoga saved my life and other traumas i dealt with. >> the idea is in this area there are lots of resources for military personnel. i encourage anyone with ptsd to look up a yoga cd and find support. >> kim, thanks so much. sara, truly an inspirational story. i hope others can use what you said as a great example. thank you. wonderful segment. the time is 11:38 on news 4 midday. still to come, the big grammy winners plus the keys to buying flowers for valentine's day. i know i can use a lot of help in that area. i know i'm not alone. stick around. we have great advice coming your way. stay with us. lucky charms?!

♪ yer always after me lucky charms! whoa. i forgot how good these taste! [ lucky ] ♪ they're magically delicious

♪ the one and only, cheerios >> announcer: you're watching news 4 midday. >> and the grammy goes to -- mumford and sons. >> mumford and sons took home

the grammy for album of the year. they are part of a new generation of singers celebrating big wins. gotye and kimbra won record of the year for "somebody a that i used to know." fun got song of the year for "we are young." kelly clarkson won best vocal pople album. let's check in with bertha coombs joining us live with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. >> investors are taking a breather after gains on positive economic data. airports in the northeast are re-opened after the weekend blizzard. a new storm from the upper midwest is causing travel problems. more than 400 flights so far today. according to tracking service flight aware. amtrak service to boston on a limited basis.

amr, reportedly getting close to reaching an $11 billion merger deal. the ap reporting the two have pushed back the deal. apple may be set to take on dick tracy. several reports say the tech giant is experimenting with a wristwatch-like device made of curved glass that would perform some of the functions of a smartphone. a lot of nay sayers say why would you need such a thing? a lot of kids don't carry watches. they use their phone to tell time. it might be something they are planting out there to tantalize people that. >> now to a story where guys need to listen up. flowers are very popular gifts on valentine's day.

sometimes we all know it's hard to know which ones to buy. christian from h. bloom joins us with advice. first of all, thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having us. >> let's start with the colors and what they mean. >> it can be overwhelming to walk into a flower shop and have so many choices. you want to not psych yourself out too much. pay attention to this tip and you can figure out ways to convey extra meaning. >> they buy pink for the sake of saying they didn't buy red. they buy lavender for the sake of saying they didn't buy pink. let's talk about the colors and what they represent. that's true love, right? >> red is the traditional valentine's day flower. it means pure romantic love. >> when i think of pink, i think friendship. >> it's a gift for your sister,

mother. anyone not romantic who you want to honor that special day. >> when i look at white i see white at a lot of funerals. >> it's a traditional funeral flower. also popular in weddings. we like to think of it as purity as in first love or true love. it can also mean silence or secrecy. if you have a forbidden love that could be a good flower for you as well. >> undercover love rs go with white. now as we move to orange. i have never really even thought about orange flowerses. you gave me the tip of all tips in the hallway before the show. >> yes. orange is the color of passion. if you're having a spicy valentine's day this is a good color to start things off. >> if you're mom and dad you want red. if you have a new honey, a sizzling honey, you want orange. >> it's bright, dynamic. a lot of people love it. >> lavender. >> lavender means enchantment or you have me spellbound.

>> i can work with with that. yellow. friendship again? >> yellow is straight on friendship. that's a great one for co-wor r co-worke co-workers, friends, everyone you want to give flowers to on valentine's day. >> how do people know how much to buy, how many flowers to use, what kind of flowers to mix with what? what's your big recommendation for people? >> you really can't go wrong. it's a fun way to use your imagination to put together combinations you may not think about. for guys let's make it easy. >> make it easy. >> we put together cool bouquets for you that any girl will love. >> starting with which one? what would you advise? i have a honey. i love her to death. it's a great relationship. what do i do? >> bended dogwood and flexi

grass for a dynamic arrangement. >> are there flowers that stick out? >> sometimes the other flowers get overlooked. tulips, gerbera daisies. the spring flowers are coming out. they are available in a wide range of colors so you can find something special. >> especially if that is their favorite flower. >> your hero collection. skip the white if you're really in love. what does that mean? >> it's a really exciting thing we have going on for this valentine's day. it's supposed to help guys become hero to the people they love. check it out online. >> not just getting flowers on valentine's day. >> it's a commitment. >> a lot of people want to be a hero. don't with be a zero. thank you, kristin. i'm sure you cleared it up for people with a lot of simple

questionses. those were simple answers. >> thank you. >> somebody will have a good valentine's day. 11:48 here on news 4 midday. coming up, a special group of visitors in studio who deserve a ton of honor and a world of respect for what they have been through. plus tom kierein back with another check of the forecast. stay with us. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits.

delicious. but say i press a few out flat... add some beef sloppy joe sauce... and cheese fold it all up and boom!

i just made an unbeatable unsloppy joe pillsbury grands biscuits. let the making begin. [ malcrrkkhshziiiizzlllee. to this symphony of flavor: beautiful. shhhhshshshshhshshhhhhsshhhshs. gorgeous! here comes the crescendo. kkerrrrbbuuuuuucraaackkk. just...incredible. pillsbury toaster strudel. if beethoven made breakfast.

we're keeping up a news 4 midday tradition. we have special guests in studio today. family members of military men and women recovering from injuries in the area. wae want to welcome them, tell them how happy we are to see them. welcome them back for valentine's week. we're glad to have you. tell us your name and why you're here. tell us where you came from. >> i'm ramona from boston, massachusetts.

i have been living in walter reed with my son corporal mark lang. happy valentine's day. >> he's recovering from an injury. >> yes, ma'am. hopefully soon we'll be on our way home. >> tell me your name. >> jessica lopez. >> from. >> california. >> who are you here with? >> my son corporal joshua lopez. >> how is he? >> he's doing very well. he lost his lower right leg but he's recovering well. he's in good spirits. very motivated. >> we're happy to have you. please give him our love. tell him your name. move over so we can see you. >> my name is kerry bright from virginia beach. i'm here with my husband sergeant first class bright. he's recovering from a bladder tumor. >> how is he? >> he's doing wonderful. >> say want to say hi?

>> hi, honey. i love you. >> julie patrick from ohio. >> who are you here with? >> my husband dpreg. >> is he recovering from an injury? >> yes. he had a left leg amputation. hi, greg. love you. >> you? >> rita hinds from virginia. >> you are in the area with who? >> my daughter, captain tiffany boom. >> how is she? >> she's doing okay. >> well, we wish her well. >> thank you. >> is she in the hospital now? >> no. she's an outpatient. >> give her our love and tell her we are thinking of her. we're glad you're with us. >> your name? >> lisa harris. i'm here with my son specialist charles harris recovering from a double amputation. >> is he in the hospital? >> he's out now. >> how's he doing?

>> he's doing well. >> we have one gentleman here caring for a loved one as well. >> i'm mike from north carolina. i'm here with my son james pierce who is recovering from a suicide vest bombing. he's doing great. hey, james. >> please give him our love. we're happy you joined the ladies to come. there are a lot of fathers and husbands of wounded warriors in the area now with their loved ones. we want to surprise you with something in case you want to step back. we hope we are surprising you now. come on in. anna lisa from nieman marcus. we have jackie davis from p.r.i. partners. we have gifts from bobbi brown, h bloom, flowers out there somewhere. maybe we can get those for you in a few minutes. we are so glad you came. there are wonderful things inside. even things from nbc 4. we look forward to you opening those up.

inside, there are promises for makeovers for all of you. wonderful gifts. our regular dermatologist is giving you all facials. knee man marx has wonderful presents and new hair cuts. you can find out all about it when you open them up. we'll be right back in a few minutes. first a look at some stories we're following. keith? >> that's awesome. truly awesome. let's look at some of the stories we are following on news 4 this afternoon. jim handley joins us with a preview of things to come. hey, jim. >> coming up, a busy afternoon a at 4:00 and 5:00. we continue to follow the announcement from the pope today that he'll step down at the end of the month. we'll hear from local parishioners and what they have to say. the action heats up today on the season of "the biggest loser" tonight. we catch up with one of the contestants from maryland to find out about a his big battle to shed a lot of pounds. all the day's news and your first forecast. big changes coming up here at 4:00 and 5:00. back to you for now.

>> all right. let's look at the forecast. tom, how is it looking? >> we have low clouds. we had the morning rain move to the east. breaks in the clouds west of washington. temperatures are hitting the 50s. panhandle of west virginia. under the low clouds in the 40s. that i know colludes the metro area now. 44 at reagan national. montgomery county in the mid 40s. so is prince georges. look at culpepper up to 54. sun breaking out there. winchester up to # 54. petersburg, west virginia. 62. stanton, virginia, near 60. southern maryland warming into the 50s as well. now 55 degrees now and some of the mild air will sweep in. should sweep away the clouds as well as we get into the afternoon hours. we'll have the cloud cover beginning to move on out. we'll have the temperatures climbing nicely as we get into the latter part of the afternoon. tomorrow, looks like sunshine is

back. we'll get into the afternoon urs on tuesday up near 50 degrees. as we get into wednesday there is a possibility of a wintry mix on wednesday afternoon. we get to thur and friday. looking partly cloudy and then the weekend. we could get another winter storm. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted on that. that winter storm moving on through perhaps on saturday into sunday. may give us accumulating snow as well as the smaller storm perhaps on wednesday. right now we are getting nice breaks in the clouds off to the west and north. we ought to get sunshine back by later this afternoon. barbara and a keith? >> thank you, tom. we want everyone to know over the next few days all this week you can see the results of the makeovers of our wonderful wives and mothers of our military war wounded. thank you so much. we are honored to have you here. nieman marcus, bobbi brown, h

bloom, pri partners for the gorgeous blooms. >> happy valentine's day! >> thank you for your children and your wives and husbands for all their tremendous service to this country. give them our best. that's news 4 midday. thanks for joining us. tune in to news h at health c s and 6:00. >> we'll be back tomorrow. hope you will join us. have a terrific day. see you in the morning.