be be you icy potdomac is evidence of frigid weather that just won't go away, it seems. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell is in for tom kierein is joins us with his first midday forecast. hi. >> barbara, good afternoon to you and good morning, everybody. sunshine trying to get through. it's a hazy, gray sky outside. temperatures, as you mentioned, have plummeted since yesterday. 24-hour temperature change, how about minus 40 degrees in culpepper, 36 degrees colder here in washington. a huge polar plunge. current windchills are at or below zero. wi temperatures are inching their way into teens right now and we'll struggle to make it to a high of 20 today. check on the infirmed and elderly neighbors to make sure they're doing okay.

outdoor pets need extra shelter or warmth and pipes, cut off the outdoor water supply or keep your cabinets open, as this bitter cold will freeze them up. little bit of light snow inching toward southern maryland. this is the leading edge of what could be a more substantial snow chance coming in later tonight. we'll be detailing more of our snow map here in a little bit. snow chances on the up and up. lingering cold and "weekend outlook" a few more minutes away. barbara? >> come on in here. we're looking forward to seeing you. this deep freeze putting a strain on power companies so much so that petco and dominion power are both asking you to conserve electricity, peak hours between 5:00 and 9:00. the power companies want you to set the thermostat lower than usual also. and use appliances like washers, driers and dishwashers during off-peak hours. as the temperatures plunge, heating bills soar. news 4 megan mcgrath is live with how to keep that bill down.

how cold is it out there in dupont circle? >> reporter: it is brutal. it is brutal. i'm not exactly looking very stylish today. style doesn't matter. i'm in gortex. you just have to wear what you have to keep warm out here. very, very cold, which means that a lot of people, their furnaces are getting quite a workout here today, trying to keep up and keep their homes warm. that, of course, means that their bills are probably going to see quite the spike this month. now, there are some things, some easy and actually cheap things that you can do to keep that heating bill under control. and if you do get into a jam, there are a number of programs out there, if you qualify, that can help you out, even perhaps pay a portion of your heating bill. you can tell by the way people are bundled up. we've been hit by another arctic blast. and when the mercury dips this low, the furnace works overtime. >> oh, my gosh, my heat didn't turn off last night actually. >> that can mean higher heating bills. anthony canner has seen it.

>> more expensive. bills get higher. >> to help keep your heating bill as low as possible, there are some things you can do around the house. make sure your windows and doors are sealed. add weather stripping and calk if cold air is getting in. storm doors help, too. set the thermostat to 68 during the day and 60 at night. and make sure the filter in your furnace is clean and clog free. and if you find yourself unable to pay your bill, there is help. one thing you can do is divide your payments evenly over the course of the year. >> customers can basically level out their billing for the entire year. that way they can avoid the peaks in the winter and the really cold weather like we're experiencing now. >> reporter: now, there are a number of other programs out there as well. they vary from utility company to utility company, so you're going to have to check with your particular power company and see what they've got. in some cases you may be able to get a rebate if you qualify. there are also assistance programs out there that will help you pay a portion of your

bill if you qualify. that program that i mentioned that we just heard about there where you even everything out over the course of the year, you don't need to qualify for that. anyone who signs up can get that program and kind of eliminate those spikes that you see in the wintertime as well as in the summertime, when the air conditioning is really kicking in. but right now, no air conditioning. we've got natural air conditioning coming straight at us from up north. and it is very, very cold out here. reporting live in dupont circle, megan mcgrath. barbara, back to you. >> you look pretty stylish. you can pull down those flaps over your ear. >> you can't see my salt-covered gortex pants. that's why you're saying that. >> as long as you're warm. thanks a lot, megan. >> sure. news 4's aaron gilchrist has more on the state of the union address. >> during tonight's state of the union speech, president obama will announce that he is signing an executive order to raise the

minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour for neufeld contractors. t the president says trying to boost morale as well as increase productivity. it would likely impact kitchen staffs on military bases and construction workers on government sites. house speaker john boehner just ended a news conference and he responded to the president's pla plan. >> we know from increases in minimum wage rates in the past that hundreds of thousands of low-income americans have lost their jobs. so the very people that the president purports to help are the ones that will get hurt by this. >> this executive order is in line with the expectation that the president plans to go around congress to get things done before he leaves office. we'll learn more details about it tonight during the state of the union. i'm aaron gilchrist live at the news desk. >> thank you, aaron. it could be a mess if you

work on capitol hill. pretty much every street around the capitol will be closed this evening ahead of president obama's state of the union address. several streets will close at 6:00. others wil close at 7:00. we'll have more on the state of the union in just a few minutes. tune in to nbc 4 at 9:00 to see that speech. fairfax county public schools making changes, following the hiring of seven convicted felons as teachers. a new online background check is in place. northern virginia reporter dave culver is live in vienna and has reaction from parents in the school district, too. hi, david. >> reporter: the reason we're here at madison high school is because this is where the controversy started. a special ed teacher was left go from the school last year. she worked here seven years. the reason they let her go, they say they mistakenly hire aid convicted felon, along with six others. >> there's a lot of really good, capable teachers and i think, you know, probably a little more

focus should be on taking care of the teachers that we have and not hiring felons probably. >> reporter: that's one fairfax county mom's take, after a madison high school math teacher was let go last year for a felony she committed some 20 years back. the petition filed by fairfax county public schools. in 2006, dalia butler truthfully disclosed her felony conviction. that conviction happened back in 1992. butler was convi of conspiracy to import narcotics. she spent 42 months behind bars. the document goes on to say that the county mistakenly hired butler, thinking that she was eligible for employment. how did the school system find out about it? in 2012, butler apparently asked if her conviction would interfere with a promotion. at that point, the school system investigated and they found six

other felons working within the school system. all were let go to comply with policy. >> we have systems in place. it cannot happen again. and the reason has come to public light now because it's taken that long to go through the legal process. >> reporter: going through our social media page, both on facebook and twitter. butler is getting a lot of support as well. frank posted that she served her time in prison and society needs to give a second chance. join the conversation. head over to nbc washington facebook page or go to our twitter account. i did go by butler's home today. she did not want to comment. live in virginia, david culver, news 4. >> thanks, david. new this morning, a man hit hospital. the crash happened just before 10:00 last night on pennsylvania avenue and parkland drive in district heights, prince george's county, of course. it shut down traffic on pennsylvania avenue overnight. everything is back open now. investigators say the man may not have been in the crosswalk at the time he was hit.

the driver did remain on the scene. and right now, howard county police investigators are meeting to discuss the shooting at the mall in columbia. they're trying to determine the motive behind it. extra security will be on hand at the mall this week. the shooting happened saturday at the zumies skater store. the site remains boarded up with a sign in loving memory of brianna benlolo and tyler johnson. >> i feel okay. i hope it doesn't happen again. >> i can't say i'm 100% secure in being back but i'm not really scared either, if that makes sense. >> we've also been digging into the past of the suspected gunman, darion marcus aguilar. we learned he had no history of mental illness in the state of maryland. he worked at a dunkin' donuts near his house in college park. investigators are still looking for a connection between aguilar

and the two victims. investigators are trying to track down a man who came to the store with him. investigators searched the store last night. he paid $430 in cash for a 12-gauge shotgun and bought two boxes of shells. police believe that shotgun was used in saturday's shooting. sources confirm the gunman fired four shots that hit and killed two people. at least two other shots were fired before aguilar turned the gun on himself. right now, news 4's tom sherwood is at the hecht warehouse. vincent gray is helping to break ground there. these drawings of what the development will look like when it's finished, including homes, shops and restaurants. right now, president obama is planning a trip to prince george's county. coming up, the popular store he will visit and the message he's trying to spread. plus, how much money do you make and

we're going to show you a woman that you can look out for when you're watching the state of the union address tonight, vice admiral michelle howard, one of the first lady's guests there tonight in the gallery. howard lives here in the district. she will become the navy's first female four-star admiral. she'll also be the first african-american woman to achieve the four-star rank in military history. look for her tonight. the mayor of the town at the heart of the new jersey traffic scandal will also be at the state of the union. ft. lee mayor will be a new jersey congressman's guest tonight. he accused christie's administration of causing traffic problems in ft. lee because he wouldn't endorse the governor for re-election.

well, ahead of the state of the union, a new poll is out this morning by nbc news and "the wall street journal" that shows a majority of americans believe that the nation is headed in the wrong direction right now. with more on the poll's results, we're joined by mark murray, nbc's senior political editor. >> good morning, barbara. >> more than six in ten americans believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. will the president try to change that tonight? >> we'll be watching whether folks want to listen in. for the last several years americans have been upset by the political polarization that's gone on in washington. they're upset at the president, congress or both. being able to actually have the president say listen to what i have to say over the next 40, 50 minutes is important. this pessimism has been so evident over the past ten years, according to our poll. >> this is nothing new? >> nothing new and goes all the way back to 2004. >> before the obama administration? >> yeah. >> another finding, 68% of americans say the country is

either stagnant or worse off. the president is expected to talk about that and have an action plan tonight. is that right? >> that's right. you know, those poll numbers are kind of striking. a lot of the economic evidence to the contrary where people point out that the u.s. economy, stock market, all these things are so much better than where they were in 2008 and 2009. one of the thing that is president obama -- one of his tasks is to tell the american public that's so disappointed and dissatisfied to say, look, things are better. it's up to us to actually, in congress and in washington make things better. but this country is improving. >> poll also says it's not just the president's fault. right? >> right. in congress, approval rating is at just 81% disapprove of congress. >> 81% disapprove? >> right. president obama's numbers aren't great. congress' are so much worse. it shows you the overall atmosphere. everyone is upset. they're upset at the president, congress, republican party, democratic party and that's why there's so much dissatisfaction. >> the gop planning to do things

a little bit differently? >> their official response is from kathy mcgorris-rodgers, congressman from washington state. you'll have a separate female republican from florida give the latino, spanish-language response then tea party response by senator mike lee. one idea might be to hit as many target audiences as possible but sometimes you end up muddling your message, too. >> let's hear what gabby giffords has to say about an ad that's going to be on the state of the union tonight. >> what is congress afraid of? nine out of ten americans support background checks. so do you think gun control is something that the president will speak about tonight?

>> the main reason why, this hasn't gone anywhere in congress. the senate ended up fill filabustering that legislation. >> we'll be watching tonight and hear from you tomorrow on this. >> absolutely. thanks, barbara. >> for more from mark and the rest of the nbc news political team check out first read on nbc news.com. president obama will head to prince george's county tomorrow and speak about the economy at a costco. it's one of four stops he will make tomorrow to promote proposals he is going to announce tonight. the president will travel to the pittsburgh area, milwaukee area and nashville. we're all talking about the weather around here. >> we are. >> everybody talks about the cold, but nobody ever does anything about it. that's what we're most upset about it. >> what could you do? >> we could get on the flight and head on down to miami beach

but the cold air has gone all the way down to the gulf coast and winter storm warnings are up from the big easeny new orleay s all the way to the outer banks in north carolina. that's cold if you can get the threat of ice all the way down to the big easy. storm team 4 radar this morning, little patch of light snow now moving to far southern maryland out to the lower parts of the eastern shore. this isn't adding up too much but we're way below freezing. these white, fluffy snowflakes will have an opportunity to stick here. southern counties you're likely to see the accumulating snow coming up overnight tonight into tomorrow morning. leading edge of the snow just into far southwestern virginia. the outer banks of north carolina, sleet and snow from nags head and kittyhawk all the way to hatteras. snow from birmingham, jackson,

mississippi, to the great state of louisiana. all that moisture is coming east. the cold air has gone way south. southeastern most virginia right along the northernmost edge of that. included in that advisory, winter weather advisory, st. mary's county as well as northern neck, lower parts of the eastern shore. you have to get all the way to the southern tip of the del marva before you get to the winter storm warnings. for us, right now, cloudy. 15 degrees with the northwest wind at 10. so, temperatures which are only in the low to mid teens around town are suffering to single digit above and single digit below windchills. really need to bundle up. go ahead and download our storm team 4 weather app as well. it will be a big player tonight into tomorrow. want to just show you the computer model forecast for what's going on. cloudy and bitter cold today. snow chances ramp up after 7:00

tonight and persist until about 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning until they finally start to fade back on away. sunshine is back tomorrow. the cold sticks for about two more days after that. we want to give you some ideas on where the computers are estimating the snowfall. model one, six inches in southern maryland. that one may be out to lunch. model number two, three inches. that's a good estimator there but a little aggressive on the amounts in and around town. our local model at the tv station, also about three inches down in southern maryland but nothing around town. here is the way i see it breaking down. coating to maybe an inch in prince george's county, two to maybe as much as four inches of snow across only southernmost maryland. i'll be showing you that map again before our show is done. peek at your seven-day forecast. cold for the next couple of days. good news, just in time for the weekend. temperatures back to near average. back into the 40s and that will feel nice after a few more days in the deep freeze. >> have you enjoyed the

challenge? >> i love a challenge. >> trying to stay warm. we'll send you out and have you take that challenge. right now a debate is taking place on capitol hill to changes on the military retirement system. a look at the military retirees taking a cut. plus what your nails say about your overall health. you can read them. first what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

new this morning, a new report says your child's reading level is connected to your salary. that, according to researchers at the annie casey foundation. it found that students in d.c. virginia have some of the largest gaps in proficiency in the country, students from low-income families making the

grade compared to 61% of wealthier families. in virginia, 1% of students from low-income families were proficient cpared to 56% from high-income households. 24% of kids from low-income families were competent compared to 58% from more affluent families. what comes to mind when you think of the state you live in? what about other states? a map tweeted out by amazing maps looked at the words most commonly used to describe each of the 50 states. maryland was described as rich while virginia was given the title of strict. the district wasn't given a word but that might be better than what some other states were called. nevada is thought of as empty. georgia, backwards and illinois known as corrupt. winter weather is causing problems across the country right now. we have a look at what airports are seeing the worst this

morning and how weather is aaffecting air travel here. chuck bell is back with when we will see an improvement in these very cold temperatures and the extreme measures being taken right now to secure the super bowl. stay with us. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] when your small business has verizon fios,

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with just nine days until the winter olympics begin, defending their choice to have the games hosted by sochi, russia. he is, quote, sleeping very well and is confident that russia will make sure the games are safe and secure. that, despite continued threats from insurgents. white house chief of staff denis mcdonough told the "today" show this morning that the white house is watching the situation closely. >> we're obviously in very close touch with the russians, offering assistance, watching the situation develop there very

closely. we'll develop our contingencies to be ready. when we get more information we'll provide that to the american people so they understand and know exactly what we know. >> russia has practically locked down sochi and the surrounding venues. they've also put more than 50,000 police and military on the ground to defend the games. more security concerns at another sporting event in super bowl. more than 100 local, state and federal agencies in both new york and new jersey are mounting a massive operation to make sure that that game is safe. jeff rossen has more on the high-tech tools that they're using. >> reporter: we're just days from the big game and metlife stadium is already in full lockdown. the entire perimeter surrounded by a 2 1/2-mile long fence and surveillance cameras are up to catch every angle. how big of a security event is this? >> it's enormous.

>> reporter: ran the nypd's intelligence unit. if you had to list the top three concerns for law enforcement, what would they be? >> priority order being a suicide bomber, a vehicle laden with explosives and a mass shooter or mass shooters, similar to the kenyan mall or mumbai incident. >> reporter: new jersey state police will be on the water because the stadium is surrounded by a swamp, where a terrorist could hide. >> this right here where we're at is a vulnerability for the stadium. if you come through this marsh, within feet you're on stadium property. >> reporter: in the air, choppers armed with special infrared thermal imaging and night vision to spot suspects even in the dark. on the ground, customs and border protection, using the special oversized x-ray machines to check every truck coming in for weapons and dirty bombs. fans will be greeted by 3,000 security guards and 130 metal

detectors at the gates. >> as fans arrive on game day, they should plan for entry screening that will be very similar to what they experience at an airport. >> reporter: over the river, new york city is on high alert, too. times square has been transformed into super bowl central, hosting many fan event this is week leading up to the game. the nypd now using the state-of-the-art smart cameras. it's an artificial intelligence system they showed us recently, detecting unusual behavior and spotting suspicious packages in real time. >> the system gives the officers an alert, says it's an abandoned package at the chrysler building. >> even an image and circles the package for you? >> it shows you exactly where the package was left. >> reporter: they'll also track license plates all over the city. for anyone on the terror watchlist. they'll also be using boats like this, armed with radiation

detectors. focusing on cars and trucks crossing the bridges. >> if there was a car driving with a dirty bomb on that bridge could you detect it from this boat? >> from this area, yes. >> reporter: from the sea and the air, fans will notice the massive security presence. >> you have to balance safety and people still having a good time. >> that was jeff rossen reporting. right now there is no specific threat against the super bowl. and right now, congress is trying to get to the bottom of recent changes to military retirees' pensions. the senate is holding a hearing on those changes which were part of the recent budget deal. congress reduced the cost for working age retirees. >> i believe that the reduction is wrong because it targets a single group, military retirees,

to help address the budget problems of the federal government as a whole. >> the cuts are set to take effect next year. democrats and republicans say they both support repealing the cuts. they can't agree on how to cut spending elsewhere, though, in order to do that. right now a major winter storm is dumping snow and ice on parts of the south that rarely get below freezing. take a look at the snow in alexandria, louisiana. freezing rain is falling there right now. there have been reports of icing, but so far the weather isn't to blame for any injuries or deaths. governor bobby jindal declared a state of emergency, asking motorists to stay off the roads today. several major u.s. airports have reported delays and cancellations. 2,900 domestic flights have been canceled, including about 70 in and out of reagan, 40 in and out of dulles and 40 more in baltimore. atlanta's hartfield canceled 45%

of its flights and in chicago, 20% of all flights in and out of o'hare have been canceled due to the cold snap. we'll check in again on chuck bell, who is outside on the weather deck. what's it feeling like out there right now? >> it's plenty cold outside, barbara. the good news is that the wind has eased up a little bit. bad news is that we're still only about 14 degrees on the front lawn. views from our tower cameras around the area, taking a look at the fairly cloudy sky in places. view from our tower here, looking southbound across the cathedral. very gray sky there. prince george's county looking northbound toward the woodrow wilson bridge. no ice in this area is thick enough to support people safely. stay off the ice for sure. out in reston town center, bitter cold. temperatures out of the single digits. storm team 4 radar shows opportunities for light snow

down across southern maryland, keeping a very close eye on that. temperatures will be stuck in the mid to upper teens for the remainder of the day. as far as snow potential from sundown tonight until sunrise tomorrow, coating maybe as much as an inch of snow downtown. winter weather advisories up for calvert and st. mary's county. could get as much as two to four inches of snow in southern maryland. we'll be talking about the seven-day which, yes, bar brarks includes milder weather. >> we want to hear that. thanks. see you later. montgomery county officials are working to see what caused a house fire in wheaton. out of the windham lane home as you see there. propane tank on the property fueled much of this fire, making it difficult for crews to put it out. no one was hurt but there was significant damage done to the home. >> a 10-year-old maryland girl is lucky to be alive after falling 30 feet down a well. it happened yesterday around

4:00 in the afternoon in pasadena, maryland. it took rescue teams 30 minutes to get her out of that well. firefighters say the girl only suffered mild hypothermia, because the temperature inside the well 30 feet down was much warmer than the air temperature. it's unknown how she happened to fall or how long she was inside that well. your kids may have a lot more classmates next year if you live in fairfax county. the school bored is considering a budget that could mean larger class sizes. more than 700 employees would have to be laid off to pay for mandatory teacher raises. we had a reporter in fairfax last night when the school board heard from teachers and students about the proposal. >> this budget reeflects that w matter. i hope when you make your zigs about the budget, you will consider how much the class size impacts actual learning and the desire to learn. >> they will vote on the proposed budget this coming may.

taking in the skies -- the sights, that is, excuse me, at the national mall will cost you a little more if you want to park an the street. national park service plans to install 1,000 parking meters along the mall in west potomac park by the end of this year. the meters will cost you $2 an hour. the plan will also add a new circulator bus routes that will encourage the use of public transportation. this morning, folk music fans and musicians are morning the loss of pete seeger, best known for songs like "if i had a hammer," "turn, turn, turn" and "where have all the flowers gone." his family says he died in a new york city hospital yesterday. he was 94 years old. the colleges in our area being called good values. we'll tell you what they are. plus there's a lot of fine print in those home warranties. coming up, what you should know before purchasing one of those. stay with us. we'll be right back.

two virginia universities are being ranked among the best in the country. number three public university in the country that offers a great education at a great price. william and mary in williamsburg made the list at number eight. north carolina chapel hill was rated number one. princeton review released the list based on admissions, tuition and financial aid data from each school. if you drive a toyota camry hybrid and you've noticed problems with your brakes the government wants to hear from you. national traffic and highway safety administration are checking into claims that brakes are failing in these cars, focusing on the 2008 models. two crashes, no one was hurt in.

hands are a dead give away. and tell their age? why? >> you can somewhat. the nails get more dry and brittle as you get older. you also get more of the longitudinal, you get ridges in the nails. a lot of that has to do with what happens at the matrix, which is below the cuticle here as the skin ages. >> okay. you've got some nails to show us. you're going to tell us quickly what those problems are as you look at them. you see this as a doctor? >> all the time. >> what's wrong with this? >> you see how the nail is like splitting, like slate? this is due to dryness. we have clubbing of the nails. you want to have your doctor check you for liver and heart disease if you see this come up and about. >> and that? >> this is a fungus under the nail. so, going for frequent manicures, pedicures could potentially cause that. >> oh, wow! >> and this streak of pigment, you want to make sure this isn't relad up.

>> i do say don't slip because you did have an accident out there. >> it wasn't even ice-related crash. i wasn't paying attention to where i was going and that curb was right there in front of me. >> fortunately, it's crusted over in most areas. if you're going to get out and exercise, it's okay. >> you have to be careful, though. >> that's it. i just had to share with you the news about the possible snow after 7:00 tonight, he says. so glad you were with us this morning. we invite you to tune in tonight for news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 and tomorrow morning we'll be back here at 11:00 for news 4 midday. hope you plan to join us. until then, have a terrific day and we'll see you in the morning.