right now, conditions are getting worse at the scene of a large sinkhole in the district. we're live with new information about the repairs, plus the impact this is having on the surrounding community. good morning, everyone, and welcome to "news4 midday," i'm barbara harrison. it's friday, january 31st, 2014. and right now, a huge mess to clean up along massachusetts avenue in southeast d.c. part of the road has been closed all day near ft. dupont park because of a huge sinkhole there. new on "news4 midday," we now know about what may be causing

this problem. news4's megan mcgrath has been there all morning long and joins us with an update. >> reporter: barbara, they had an eight-inch water main that broke on the corner here overnight. that's been repaired, but they thought the water gushing from that broken pipe had eroded the ground beneath the road causing this enormous hole that you see here beside massachusetts avenue. now, we've had a new development just within the last couple of minutes. if we pan over here, you can see the folks gathered at that manhole, just a little bit ago they pulled open the manhole cover, and when they looked down, they still saw flowing water, something they did not expect to see, because they actually fixed that eight-inch pipe. so they're still trying to identify potential sources for this hole. we also have involvement of some of the utility lines in the area, and we are now being told that this repair job could take as long as a week.

>> 20 1/2. >> reporter: ddot crews measure the cracks that have formed on massachusetts avenue in southeast. >> inch and a half. >> reporter: there are concerns about the structural integrity of the road. just look at the way the curb has pulled away from the asphalt. the road is now closed to traffic. the problem is a huge sinkhole that opened up along the side of massachusetts avenue at 34th place. water from a broken eight-inch water main caused the earth to just give way. >> oh, my goodness. that's absolutely scary. >> reporter: yvonne coates lives in the neighborhood. >> it's a bit unnerving. that's amazing. >> reporter: and came to take a look for herself. >> a major thoroughfare for commuters. so i'm sure it's going to impact them tremendously. >> reporter: the broken water main has been fixed, but the embankment will have to be shored up and the road repaired. >> that's scary right there. >> reporter: before this stretch of mass av is safe for cars.

>> it is shifting a little bit. the curbside obviously is the edge of it, and it's going to fall in anyway. but the rest of the roadway right now is stable, but it is compromised, just not safe. >> reporter: and if you take a look here at these long cracks that are here in the asphalt, this is because the ground beneath the roadway is unstable, and we've got quite a few cracks in the area, and this is going to be a huge job in terms of repairing it. they've got a leaking valve that we've now -- we are now learning about, too. so they're going to have to pack a repair to that, a water pipe. so what we just learned a little while ago is that they're going to have to cut water to this area again starting at 2:00 this afternoon. folks who live in this immediate vicinity, they can expect to be without water for about eight hours, and the repair job, of course, is going to take a long time. we're told that it may not be done until sometime next week. so a real mess here on massachusetts avenue in southeast. barbara, back to you ithe studio.

>> all right, thank you, megan. and new this morning, dozens of people who lived in a northwest d.c. apartment may have to find someplace else to stay this weekend. their building caught on fire. three people were hurt in the fire on mount pleasant street. doctors expect all of them to survive. firefighters still don't know what caused this blaze. prince george's county firefighters battled a fire inside a laurel townhouse for the second time in less than 48 hours. take a look at these pictures. we're told the fire inside the home along compton avenue started before 3:00 this morn g morning. crews were able to quickly put it out. firefighters battled a large fire at the same complex on wednesday night. that fire destroyed three units. the cause of both fires is under investigation today. taking a look outside right now. we're in for a weekend warm-up, believe it or not, after a week of bitter cold. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast for midday this friday. tom? >> do we need it, too, after the

cold mornings we've had the last couple of mornings. today, we had the clouds around this morninmorning, holding in warmth from yesterday. a live view overlooking washington. seeing clouds receding off to the east now. camera looking over toward virginia now, as we pan off to the right. and you can see the cloud cover is continuing to recede a bit off in the distance, we can see prince george's county. now the camera looking into fairfax county, in the foreground, the american university and the temperatures under this now mostly sunny sky in the metro arebing into the 30s. reagan national now is at 36. and we're above freezing, just about everywhere, except annapolis at 30 degrees, so is manassas and frederick. but shenandoah valley, leray up to near 40 degrees and warmer as we get into the afternoon and the weekend. a look at that and the chance of some snow on monday. that's coming up in a few minutes, barbara. >> all right, thank you, tom.

and we're learning more about two people found dead inside a southeast d.c. home. police found the bodies yesterday afternoon in a house on 17th street. news4's shomari said it was a young couple who died. the two young children were in the home at the time. they're now with family or child protective services. now, man convicted of assault for shooting a police officer is being sentenced in prince george's county. kelly gillis faces up to 55 years in prison. prosecutors say that as he drove away, he fired at two county police officers who were working security at the club. one of the officers was shot in the leg. and we are waiting to hear the results of a hearing for the man charged with killing a convenience store clerk. montgomery county police say 36-year-old shaun king stabbed a clerk 75 times unprovoked at the 7-eleven on stoffer school road

last week in gaithersburg. the clerk later died. today's hearing could determine if king is competent to stand trial. and new this morning, we're learning more about the mental state of the gunman who killed 12 people in the navy yard. the associated press reviewed aaron alexis' medical records. veterans affairs doctors say alexis had no mental health issues despite a number of issues and run-ins with police. alexis complained of minor physical issues, though, but denied having any suicidal thoughts or thoughts of killing anyone else. one doctor who treated alexis for insomnia wrote, quote, no problem there. and lawyers for the man charged with the disappearance of a virginia teen are trying to have their client's trial moved. randy taylor is charged with the murder and abduction of 17-year-old alexis murphy. she disappeared back in august in lovingston, virginia. murphy has not been found. and taylor maintains his innocence to this day. his lawyers say the media's

attention in this case has gotten so much atoengs, that is, that it will hinder a fair and impartial trial. aaron gilchrist is following breaking news at the live desk. >> barbara, we're learning about a growing lawsuit against the federal government. federal employees suing the federal government. we've learned that 1,000 people have joined a lawsuit that was already representing 1.3 federal workers who were deemed essential employees during the government shutdown at the end of last year, essentially what this lawsuit says is that because those federal workers were not paid on their normal pay day, they are then entitled to liquidated damages under the fair labor standards act, and so they're seeking for these federal employees to get those damages, because of the time that they were not paid on time during this lawsuit. at this point, the government has not responded to this amendment to the lawsuit that was filed back in november, and so, they have until next month to respond to that and to the call for notices to be sent out

to 1.3 federal employees that this lawsuit is moving through the legal process. that's the latest from the live desk. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, aaron. you'll have to drive more carefully the next time you're in the district. more than 100 traffic cameras will start writing tickets, and they'll bust you for more than just speeding or running a red light. derick ward is live in northwest washington that one of the new cameras will be patrolling. derrick? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. if you've driven in traffic in the district, you are used to them. on the corner of wisconsin avenue, just up the block, another one, with enough cameras to shoot an imax film, but, of course, we've gotten used to them. as of tomorrow, they'll be something else to get used to. by now, we're accustomed to them. the silent sentries at the ready. but as of the first of february, there'll be 100 more online and watching. cameras that will capture pictures of motorists who don't stop for pedestrians in the

crosswalk. >> they still don't stop. >> reporter: they're also now cameras that will flash those who roll through a stop sign, or motorists who block the box, and even nab truck drivers who traverse streets deemed too narrow for them. >> definitely a revenue grab. >> reporter: the coffers have swelled, but it's also about safety for pedestrians and cyclists. fatalities among those groups remain high, while the fatalities for motorists have gone down. you can't argue about success. >> i like arguing about my parking tickets. i was right, darn it. >> reporter: the program was supposed to get online at the beginning of the month, but society officials extended the grace period where the new tickets issued were warnings. those days are over, and city officials hope the dangers of getting around the city. but change always meets resistance. >> is that a breathalyzer, as well? >> good question. >> yeah, i think that's next. >> reporter: now, roll through a stop sign or block the box, that will get you a $50 fine.

all of the other infractions will get you a $250 fine. we are live in northwest, derrick ward, news4. >> thank you, derrick. and new today, amanda knox is speaking out. >> you need a lot of help. i can't do this on my own. >> an emotional plea after a guilty verdict that could put her behind bars. plus, what made police detain her ex-boyfriend overnight. and president obama's realistic view after vowing to go around congress if necessary to get some work done. plus, a meeting happening right now at the white house to [ male announcer ] when your small business has the power

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♪ ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ ♪ hey! you got that medley crunch ♪ ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ i'm aaron gilchrist at the live desk. we're getting new numbers in showing d.c. has a record amount of money on hand in case of an emergency. the mayor, vincent gray, announced the district's 2013

financial report. it's showing a record $1.75 billion in the district's rainy day fund. now, this report also showed that d.c. has a $321 million surplus for fiscal year 2013. the extra money will go toward a number of different programs including housing efforts and health benefits for d.c. retirees. that's the latest from the live desk, barbara. back to you. >> thank you. amanda knox's ex-boyfriend is a free man. raffaele sollecito and knox were convicted yesterday for a second time. officers found him at a hotel near italy's board where austria. police briefly took sollecito into custody. he was forced to turn few his passport. his lawyer said he was there to visit his girlfriend. amanda knox is speaking out about the verdict. she says she will not return to italy to face murder charges.

>> i will never go willingly back to the place where i -- mm. i'm going to fight this until the very end. >> knox says the court's decision is unfair, considering she has already been cleared. meanwhile, we're hearing from meredith kercher's family. they say the lack of closure since the 2007 murder has taken its toll. >> losing somebody close to you is difficult, losing somebody at that age, and obviously in horrific circumstances that meredith was killed is horrendous. you know, to have media attention -- worldwide media attention and it's been drawn out over six years make it is incredibly difficult for us. >> the presiding judge has 90 days to write the arguments behind the jury's ruling. after that, lawyers have 90 days to appeal the decision. knox's lawyers say they will file an appeal, then. president obama says he's confident he can still get things done in washington despite his constant disputes with house republicans. he told cnn's jake tapper he

hasn't lowered his expectations for his presidency. >> and so, in no way are my expectations diminished or my ambitions diminished, but what is obviously true, we have divided government right now. the house republicans, in particular, have had difficulty rallying around any agenda much less mine. and in that kind of environment, what i don't want is the american people to think that the only way for us to make big change is through legislation. >> the president has threatened to sign executive orders if legislation continues to stall in congress. and some encouraging signs of immigration reform as republican leaders meet this week away from the capitol. nbc's deputy political editor domenico montanaro joins us this morning. good morning, demenco. >> good morning. >> it looks like we could see an immigration bill this year. >> there is some movement. the republicans introduced an outline of what they think could be some things they would get behind. speaker boehner is really the

person pushing this, and he had to speak to his conference to try to get them all on the same page on this. now, there's no -- you know, there's no legislation behind this quite yet. it's not clear that conservatives are going to be in favor of this. in kt fa, the heritage foundation, weekly standard magazine, national review all said this would be amnesty and are against it. so a lot of fights to come, but you know that leadership wants to get something done. the president is in favor of what the house wants to do, and you're seeing democrats shift their tone away from path to citizenship, accepting path to residency possibly. >> yeah, but not all republicans are behind this latest plan. >> not the a all, exactly. the point -- and this has been a problem for republicans in presidential primaries and other -- we saw this push in 2006, in 2007. john mccain practically had his presidential ambitions completely catered -- cratered until he had to basically do an

apology tour in new hampshire to say, look, i got it, i get the message. he even went up with that build the dang fence ad in his 2010 race, so there's no means this will sail through. >> shifting gears a little bit. we could see an expensive campaign in california. tell us why. >> yeah, no question about it. henry waxman is, you know, retiring, he said, after this term. he's not going to run for re-electi re-election, and that means could you see a whole host of democrats going for this race. and it's the los angeles area. so as we know, new york, los angeles, number-one, number-two markets in the country. a lot of money. one name we've actually heard already, sandra fluke, the woman who had, you know, talked a lot about birth control, became the face of that, spoke at the democratic national convention, she's considering a run. >> well, we'll be watching that one. >> we'll see. >> all right. thanks, domenico. have a great weekend. >> same to you. >> for more check out first read on nbcnews.com. and tom's here now to bring us up to speed on what we can

expect this weekend. we're talking about a warmup, and is he talking about snow? >> yes, that, too. >> oh, no. >> but first -- but first, let's talk about the warm-up. >> all right. >> and some snow. look at this wonderful snow photo taken with a zoom lens of one isolated snowflake. this was taken near salisbury by one of my twitter followers. here's another one that jen campbell took of an isolated snowflake with a zoom lens, absolutely gorgeous. you can use the magnifying glass and see patterns like that. earlier this week, i visited the bedo school in ft. washington in prince george's county. had a terrific time talking to all of the students there at the bedow school in ft. washington, and they asked some great questions. we talked a lot about why there are different seasons and why weather -- how it changes and why weather can be so changeable in our area. had a wonderful time there at the bedow school in prince george's county. good-bye, january. we had 6.6 inches of snow in

washington, and the temperature, four degrees colder than average. that's the reason why we've been so cranky for all month. and as we look now at temperatures, it's above freezing. it feels great. we're in the mid to upper 30s around the metro area. right near the bay, a little bit breeze off the water there, annapolis, right around 30 degrees. elsewhere, near 30 up near the pennsylvania border, panhandle of west virginia. it's already near 40 north central virginia, where i think actually they'll be getting near 50 degrees. nothing on radar now. near 50 during the afternoon. these are the highs expected. midafternoon into the mid-40s around much of the metro area. it will feel like springtime, and it will, too, as we get into tomorrow. and then this evening, temperatures will drop back down into the 30s but stay above freezing through the evening. by dawn tomorrow, getting down to the upper 20s. afternoon highs on saturday near 50 degrees. it'll feel wonderful. sunday, even warmer. i think we're going to make it in the low to mid-50s sunday afternoon, and maybe a few

sprinkles in the afternoon. then it's monday in the morning that we might get a little bit of snow, watching this storm, it will be passing south of us. but close enough maybe for a little bit of wet snow in the morning. warmer road temperatures, so i think it may only be a light accumulation on grassy areas. after that, well, we could get some freezing rain on tuesday night that might cause a little bit of icing, and then some rain on wednesday, highs near 50. and then, sunshine back on thursday and near 40 degrees. so enjoy the springlike feeling in the air coming for the weekend. >> oh, tom, i haven't been able to walk for days. >> i know. it's about time. >> all right. thank you so much. with this big football weekend ahead, many kids have dreams of going pro. but just how many parents have safety concerns that could keep their athletic children off the football field? plus, news no student wants to hear. why several teens must retake a critical exam. first, here's a look at

in "news 4 your health," more americans are using tanning beds than previously reported. universities found more than 35% of adults use tanning beds. 59% of college students admitted to tanning that way, while 17% of teens say they've tried tanning at least once. researchers say this trend could be the reason for increased melanoma rates among caucasian women in recent years. and new today, we're just two days before the super bowl, and a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll says almost half of americans would encourage their children not to play football, because they're worried about concussions. there's a striking split when it comes to how those of different income levels see the issue. 47% of americans making more than $75,000 a year say they

don't want their children playing football. 28% of those with the lowest incomes, $30,000 a year or less, agree with that. still, 57% of americans surveyed say that they would have no problem if their child wanted to play organized football. 11:26 now. new today, a window company's response after using the sandy hook tragedy to promote its business. plus, any minute now, we expect to hear from president obama at the white house. his new plan to help get more people employed. and just as we get used to this warmer weather, we have

i'm aaron gilchrist at the news4 live desk, and an incident at the capitol, you may remember the congressman that threatened

a new york 1 reporter. capitol police now saying that they have investigated this incident, and they will not be pursuing charges against representative michael grimm. they said that it is a part of their responsibilities to look into these things. they determined that there was no complainant, nobody complaining, and they have closed the matter. no charges filed after this incident. of course, the congressman has since apologized to that reporter from new york 1 in new york city. that's the latest from the live desk. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> thank you, aaron. today, a kentucky community is reacting to the deaths of nine family members after an early morning fire destroyed their home. neighbors anfri tson and eight of her nine children who were killed yesterday. a fire broke out in the watson home thursday morning. the flames were so intense, firefighters couldn't even go inside. the tightknit community of mullenberg county says they are stunned by this loss. >> losing a child alone,

especially several children, several family members, it just makes you want to hold yours tight and not let go. no words to express how anybody feels towards something like that. it's sad no matter which way you look at it. >> the father and an 11-year-old girl were the only ones who survive that fire. they were flown to a medical center in tennessee. fire investigators say the fire was started by an electric baseboard heater in a bedroom. and today, the man accused in the colorado theater shooting will be in court for a hearing. a judge will consider allowing a crime scene reconstruction expert to testify for the prosecution against james holmes. lawyers will argue opinions on blood splatter evidence and bullet trajectory calculations are unreliable. the judge still has not issued a ruling on a motion requesting holmes undergo another psychiatric evaluation. well, if found guilty, the boston bombing suspect could

face the death penalty. dzhokhar tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty for the bombing last april that killed three people and wounded more than 260. prosecutorss tsarnaev and his brother planted two bombs at the finish line. no trial date has been set, but yesterday attorney general eric holder announced that prosecutors would seek the death penalty. a south carolina company is apologizing for an advertisement that used a police photo of sandy hook elementary school. commercial window shield sent an ad in an e-mail, and it showed the shot-out entrance to the connecticut elementary school where 20 children and 6 educators were killed. the e-mail said their product could stop bullets and keep out intruders. the company says it did not intend to profit from the tragedy, and it understands e-mail was insensitive and disrespectful. a d.c. fire lieutenant and a firefighter are doing different jobs this morninwh

have to retake their online essay tests from home. the students now have from february 6th until the 11th to hand those tests in. now, here's a story that struck a nerve with parents across the country. about 2,000 people have commented on a utah school district's facebook page, even after it apologized for throwing out some students' lunches. those kids owed money on their food accounts. the district says it started notifying parents about the negative balances this week, but some of them did not get the message. >> checked the balance, and oh, and i come back up, and i'm, like, what's going on, and i had an orange, and she said, you don't have money in your account. >> the school gave the kids fruit and milk. a district spokesman said the situation should have been handled much more delicately. president obama's addressing a crowd at the white house. let's go back to aaron gilchrist at the live desk and see what he can tell us about that. >> the president talking about jobs, as he has been much of the

the 2014 tax filing season begins today. the irs is encouraging people to get their taxes done early through efile or free file. they say those are the easiest ways to get your refund back sooner. the government shutdown pushed back the filing date by ten days, april 15th is the tax deadline. >>. >> and there are new rules this tax season for d.c. residents. you can now choose to receive your refund on a prepaid visa card instead of a check or direct deposit. the debit cards only apply for individual income tax refunds. in an effort to combat identity theft, the office of tax and revenue is asking taxpayers to include their date of birth and their tax return -- or on their tax return. the information will also be .sed to notif

>> let our lives, let the superbowl party begin. new york is ready philadelphia eagle cheer leaders are ready. welcome to "access hollywood live"rockefeller center i'm billy bush. >> we should mention by the wa way, they are not going to the superbowl. >> eagles not in the superbowl. >> girls come back i want to talk about why you are