their principal were on it, on their way back to howard county on a field trip going to d.c. the man was heading towards a sh shopping center and the bus going north of 29 when it hit him. police say they are still looking into whether the pedestrian had the right of way. right now, officers are trying to reconstruct the accident, looking at forensic evidence on the road and talking to the bus driver and witnesses. meanwhile, police have this advice. >> what we are telling citizens, this time of the year, a lot of pedestrians get stuck on the roadways and be cautious and make eye contact with her drivers and be careful. >> reporter: the children on the bus were not hurt. 12 of them were there fortunately, all just fine and we're told they've been taken back to howard county. you should know the northbound

lanes of route 29 here just in this area are closed at the moment. we don't know how long that will be the case, just until police are done with their investigation. the post office is offering a $50,000 reward on attack on a mail carrier in the district. two men jumped the carrier on his route off hawaii avenue northeast yesterday evening. they beat him and robbed him and threatened him with a gun. pat collins found out what may have saved the carrier's life. pat. >> reporter: this is the part where they dumped him. after they duct taped him, after they pistol whipped him, after they threatened to kill him. he's a postal and pastor and his out loud prayer may have saved his life. this is the truck at this popular post used to bring mail

to this neighborhood for years and years. people who live here are most upset by what happened to their postman pastor. >> one of the nicest postal workers you could ever meet. when we heard about it, we were devastated. very devastated. >> reporter: this is the way police tell the story. this 200 block northeast. the pastor postman the neighbors call "the rev" is delivering mail and men get out of a car. they have a mask on and a gun a ands for "the rev" into the van. you know what we want. what did you do with the package? what did you take out of the package. the rev doesn't know what they're talking about. they start hitting him in the head with that gun. one of them takes the muzzle of

the gun and puts it up to the face of the rev and says, i'm going kill you. tell me where it's at. that's when they say the postman pastor starts to pray. he prays out loud over and over again. that's when they say the suspects back off, bind him up induct tape and drag him to a nearby apartment and toss him out onto the pavement. in the end, what did they get? they got the postman's wallet, $35 in cash, and some credit cards. the post office is offering a $50,000 reward in this case. live in northeast, pat collins, news4. take a look. police say the two men in this surveillance video are linked to several robberies in prince george's unty. this video is from the robbery of a liquor store on old anapa lis road last week and robbed two gas stations in bowie and

during one the men sped off on a black motorcycle. there's a $10,000 reward being offered to find these guys, persons of interest on an armed carjacking on the busy u-street corridor near 70th and u-street northwest. new details on the alleged attack on the wife of a virginia state delegate. scott is live. school science teacher is in jail for attacking the wife of leader there. they rested claire kennedy ogleby for the attack. og ogleby struck her in the head several times and is in the hospital and expected to recover. ogleby has been suspended from her job and police charged her with burglary and malicious wounding. the two did know each other but hadn't seen each other for over a year. we hear a lot about bedbugs

in dorms and apartments and hotels. how about an administration building? the bugs have been found in the lobby and other areas of the mccord building in woodbridge, virginia, according to the "washington post." that is the building where overflow crowds gathered this week while prince william county supervisors discussed their tax rates. a pest control company is using pesticides and steam to kill the b bedbugs. there's work under way to repair gravel roads damaged by winter weather in virginia working 12-hour shifts this week in a loudoun and prince william counties. over 400 miles of gravel roads and temporary fixes have to do until more permanent fixes can be done come summer. four school buses in prince williams county were damaged this morning from vehicles sliding into them this morning out of 800 the district had on the road.

all accidents were minor. one needed another bus to transport the children to school. once the school nurses checked out the kids who were on the buses involved in these crashes. big weather story now is changing from snow to the cold. we could be in danger of a re-freeze tonight. storm team meteorologist, doug kammerer is checking the cold. how low are we talking? >> we are talking temperatures that will get down close to the single digits in parts of the area overnight tonight. it gets even colder the next few days. first, we had the snow. look at the time lapse as we put this in motion. look what happened towards reston earlier today and picking up 1-2 inches in parts of that area. then we saw a clearing sky. blue skies and sunshine hoping to melt that snow we saw earlier. there's the radar showing the snow continuing through the 10:00, 11:00 hour.

and we see things break out. we're not talking snow now. as we move through the rest of the night tonight. look where we go, through the d.c. metro area, temperatures stay around 19. many of you will be close to that 9 degree mark. 35 degrees for the temperature at noon tomorrow. 37 for a high tomorrow. a cold afternoon on thursday. that's nothing when you compare to it friday and then a potential major storm. we'll talk about it all in my forecast. president obama is on his way back to the white house right now. he went to minnesota to pitch his plan for $300 million to get federal highway and rail programs from going broke by august. the president will ask congress to fund half the money with an overhaul of corporate taxes. the president and congress don't want to raise gas taxes to update roads and railways. some relief could be ahead if you are a metro commuter.

d.c. and virginia are giving a total of $45 million to help deal with crowded trains. adam tuss is live with reaction from riders. >> reporter: hey, wendy. i asked metro riders what they really want. aside from trains and buses that show up on time, they'll also tell you they want more comfortable ride. that's what this announcement is all about, less crowding. what does metro need? >> i don't know. money. >> reporter: they do need money. >> they need money. >> reporter: rider susan will be happy to hear more money is coming for the system, a commitment to ease the crowding of the commute. governors mccollum and o'malley and d.c. gray announcing $75 million specifically to help with crowding. >> in addition we've agreed in principle the three jurisdictions each will contribute, put up $25 million so we can purchase some more

high capacity trains on metro. >> reporter: if you want to run longer trains, you have to build in the necessary power to do that. that's really where this money is going, helping upgrade the power system so that longer eight-car trains can run. susan says she knows how hard it can be to get on a train in rush hour and worries about expanding this system. >> it scares me a little bit. you can't really get on the train in the morning with all these other -- the silver line and all these other lines coming in. i'm a little concerned about that. how are we going to aecccommoda all these people. >> reporter: metroseed to focus on what it has right now, says this man. >> there's always some kind of work or breakdown. >> reporter: they have a plan that goes into the next decade to figure out ways to help ease the crush of riders along the system. backing out live of the metro

station, which lines need to ease the crowding the most? where should that happen? the head of metro telling us about that and you will hear about it live at 6:00. reporting live, adam tuss. news4. tomorrow, directors will get an update on plans to raise fares. train rides would see an overall 3-4 appearance increase on buses. cash fares to $2, smarttrip to $1.85. the metro access fares would change with bus and rail fares. a one-way fare wouldn't go over $7 and parking up a quarter. still ahead, two virginia daycare workers charged with child abuse and go to court. new information tonight about the woman struck and killed by a ride-on bus in maryland. a local woman is held up in airport security because her d.c. driver's license isn't issued by a state. >>

plus mayor

they're on the opposite sides of almost every issue. today, president obama and john boehner sat down in a rare private meeting about immigration bills and the

spending. a photo shows the two at the end of the one hour meeting. their last face to face talks took place december 2012. december mayor vincent gray is talking about the results of a recent nbc poll showing gray in the lead against a split field of seven challengers but the poll also shows two-thirds of the voters say it's time for a new mayor. >> with just five weeks to go before the april primary, mayor gray is talking about his chances for re-election and the voters who think he's unethical. he spoke with tom sherwood. >> reporter: a last minute adjustment here, a last minute adjustment there. mayor gray today kept to his official schedule shrugging off the worse parts of the nbc4 wau maris poll. it shows the mayor leading a crowded field but two-thirds of the democrats say it's time for a new mayor. a challenger could consolidate

anti-gray votes to catch him. that's in part because 46 appearance believe the mayor was unethical in his 2010 election victory. 24 appearance think he did something illegal. the campaign is still the focus of a federal criminal probe. have apologized for what happened in the campaign. i've said all i know to say. i don't know what else to say. i said i didn't do anything and i'm saying it again. >> reporter: nearly 75 appearance believe d.c. is on the right track. continue to believe i've go done a great job. >> reporter: mayor gray says he's doing a good job even though the polls shows voter dissatisfaction with him very similar to what adrian finty said four years ago. >> they were upset with adrian finty for a variety of reasons and you won. will we see a repeat of that? >> i don't know, i hope that since i'm up for re-election. >> . >> reporter: jack evans trails in the polls but says the

investigation is keeping this race competitive. >> the mayor is struggling when 75 appearance of the people say we're going in the right direction, the mayor should be in the 50s, not the 20s. >> reporter: tom sherwood, news4. >> there are signs of progression on the latest attraction. an engineer working on the capitol wheel tweeted these photo photos today. the first hurdle, getting the base together. it arrived on a barge that floated up the potomac. when it is done, it will stand 175 feet into the air. that capitol wheel is set to open to the public in may and hopefully it will be warm by then. >> we sure wouldn't want to get on that today or tomorrow. >> no. >> the good thing about that is they are enclosed. i'm excited. >> and heated? >> i don't know about that. >> only body heat. >> i think there's a small snack

bar in there, too, but i'm not really sure. as far as the weather goes, we saw a small storm earlier in the day and sunshine in the afternoon. tonight, a little different than last night. tonight, we just get cold. that's the reason why. not the sunshine, the clearing skies. the clearing skies and breezy conditions will allow temperatures to fall quickly. sitting at 35 degrees, winds at the north/northwest at 17 miles an hour and puts our windchill at 25. a very cold afternoon and we're just getting started. 34 in manassas. 30 at martinsburg. it will continue to drop as far as temperatures are concerned. look where we are tomorrow morning. 19 in d.c., 10 in fredericks, nine in hagerstown and 17 at fredericksburg, a very cold night tonight. and it will be colder making our way friday. that was not the case a couple hours ago, we did see the snow

come through the washington area, towards winchester, just a few snow showers for you, what you saw. in the metro area we picked up 1-2 inches and it did cause problems on the roadways around the 7:008:00 time frame. what do we expect the next 24-48 hours. the arctic air very cold. very cold overnight period and gets even colder on friday. wait until i show you the windchills. 15 in gaithersburg, 24 in manassas, 18 in martinsburg, 6:00 tonight. tomorrow morning, look where we go? 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. windchill of 10 in d.c., 5 in gait thesburg, 6 in martinsburg, you say, hold on a second, don't get any colder on me. tomorrow afternoon, temperatures in the 20s and teens and tomorrow morning the coldest morning. look at these windchills, near 1 and zero in gaithersburg and 6

in fredericksburg. we are in for major cold air the next few days. a high of 40 team, 28 omorrow. 28 on friday. and maybe some snow showers on saturday. and shower on sunday with high temperature of 48. all bets are off with this next storm system. monday and tuesday, another potential storm coming through, could be major. 38 degrees monday, 32 on tuesday. will it be rain or snow or ice? the answer is still out there. we have right now continuing to monitor that situation and we will be watching that storm very closely. that is one to watch for sure. ladies, i apologize for the forecast i just gave you. >> it's not your fault. scam alert. an old trick that could compromise your identity is cropping up in northern virginia. a woman struck and killed on a ride-on bus in maryland.

and a deadly road rage fuels fistfight learned his fate. >> reporter: if only getting the attention from your favorite player was so easy. the arta

the paralympic torch relay began in russia and will travel through several cities and arrive in sochi in one week and it will tick off next friday. meanwhile, heading to florida from vero beach, a balmy 75 today. not too tough to be envious of folks enjoying the warmth, sun and a little baseball down there. >> there's a lot more to spring training for the nats fans. our diana rusinny has been there all week and learned the art of the autograph. >> i have -- >> reporter: you don't have a lot of chances. how do they get your attention? >> usually like that. >> reporter: you grab who and what you can. >> reporter: have you ever signed a purse before? this has to be my first purse. >> i am surprising my husband. the patrick air force base are coming for the opening and we

will be tailgating. i'm bragging about this all day. >> reporter: did that make your day? >> it did. he's one of my favorites. >> reporter: getting an autograph from a favorite player like zimmerman, is a sport in itself but it takes two key things. >> you call their name and put on your cute face. >> reporter: looking cute is not a problem for 10-year-old wyatt johnson from mcclain. he was in virginia last nights when he got a surprise. >> he was going to the nat store to pick up his gear and he brought $11. on his way, we stuck an envelope underneath his seat and said, can you grab the nenvelope? >> i opened it up. it was paper that said, congratulatio congratulations, wyatt, you just won a four day trip to spring training. i asked, when are we going and i looked in the back -- >> reporter: no way? that's how you came down here so you had no idea, thinking you

will get a hat or jersey and now you're here? >> yeah. >> reporter: his dream is coming true here in florida while his sister and mom are back in virginia, and he has a message. >> sorry, guys. >> reporter: in vearea, florida, diana russini, news4 sports. two women ahead charged with abusing children at a virginia daycare. >> reporter: accused of stepping on toddler's toes and spraying them with hoses. today, two former daycare workers faced a judge at prince william's courthouse. coming up, i will tell you how that jruled. >> reporter: a 62-year-old woman hit and killed at a ride-on bus at t

right now, police are working to learn more about a deadly pedestrian accident in silver spring. and elderly man was hit by a howard county school bus this afternoon at 29 and tech road. dozenhildren and their principal were on board the bus headed 40e78 home on a field tr. the post office is offering a $50,000 reward for two men who attacked a mail carrier. it happened last night. the two threatened to shoot the carrier but told they backed off

when the carrier started to pray. eventually, they left him tied up. a school science teacher is in jail tonight accused of attacking the wife off a virginia delegate. police say a claire kennedy ogleville attacked nancy tre mon tin on monday and is seen here with her husband, leader delegate. she's been suspended from her job and facing a number of charges. the alleged victims are too young to speak. this morning, two former daycare workers told a judge they watched their colleagues abuse toddlers. sara jordan and kiera spriggs are facing two child felony charges and worked at this daycare up until last year. in court today for the emotional testimony. former mini land daycare

worker koreschi escorted for her safety out of prince williams county courthouse today she took the stand against her two former co-workers both women facing felony child cruelty charges. here are alleged abuses laid out in court today, stepping on a child's bare toes, tripping a toddler, spraying a child with a high pressure hose and slapping a child's wrist with a rubber band. here's how her testimony played out. the prosecutor asked, did you see miss kiera spriggs do something to a child's feet. through a translator, she was stepping on the child's feet. did you see sarah jordan do anything with water? she pressured the water to spray and scared the child and the child ran. then came desiree edwards testimony. the young woman started hyper ventilating on the stand and

became nauseous and the judge handed her a waste basket in case she couldn't stomach the nerves and she told the court i saw miss kierra spriggs bite the child's finger and visibly saw sarah jordan trick the child. pointing out some of the children weren't well behaved. the judge ruled these charges will move forward to a grand jury. ahead at 6:00, i'll bring you one of the parents' reaction to the testimony. david culver, news4. new surveillance pictures just released today for suspects wanted for several gas station robberies thinking this man is wanted for at least three robberies in silver spring this past summer. police say they were able to enhance the quality of the surveillance pictures and releasing the pictures in hopes someone recognizes the suspect. a fairfax county jury

recommends lee cena spend 20 months in jail and pay a fine for road rage conviction. he was found guilty after two men fought after a traffic altercation. a judge will officially sentence cena for assault this may. scammers are calling residents claiming to be from the sheriff's office. the caller says the person who answ answers skipped jury duty and has to immediately pay a fine or be arrested. the fictitious fines are up to $350. the victims are then told to pay using a prepaid card. you get a call like that, police say you should call them. fans of gogo music in prince george's county spoke up against restrictions against dance clubs. they say the legislation is depriving residents of their culture. the bill was introduced by

council member karen tokes in twenty 2011. the trend to curb violence associated with these establishments and many operating without a license and the gogo supporters are not convinced. >> i felt like we were treated like animals and criminals. we're all law abiding citizens and taxpayers. i'm a maryland residents prince george's county resident and deserve the same respect and courtesy and same civil rights everyone else enjoys. >> since this law went into effect club related homicides have dropped in prince george's county from 10 in 2011 to one each of the following years that the bill was in place. area drivers be wear, maryland state police are cracking down on folks who talk on their cell phones while driving. troopers stopped 27 violators just yesterday. the crackdown happened along route 70 east of frederick and east of 75.

the issue is aimed at reducing the number of crashes from distracted driving and they should avoid any activity that takes their eyes off the road. a maryland bill would make it harder for distracted drivers who cause accidents to avoid jail time. jake's law, if passed, would create a penalty up to three years in jail and $5,000 fine. the bill is named after 5-year-old jake owen, who died after a driver hit his parents' car while talking on the phone. right now, crashes caused by cell phone distracted driving typically result only in a traffic violation. >> jake's mother, susan, was in annapolis today. she's hoping this proposed law will help keep the same types of accidents from happening to other families. devon mciver was found guilty of negligent driving after he was seen on his cell phone and plunging into the car killing jake. >> if you cause a crash because you're talking on your cell phone or texting or updating

your facebook, that it is not just a traffic ticket, there are serious consequences especially if lives are lost and there are serious injuries. >> and identical bill is in the state senate. the sponsor drafted that bill for a penalty for distracted driving crashes where someone is killed. thousands of new homes and commercial properties could soon be coming to stafford. the developer is proposing adding 2900 homes and nearly 2 million square feet of commercial space between courthouse and ramoth church road to the west of 75. the development would be called george washington village, if approved without changes it would be stafford community's largest development. a driver's license not valid for traveling. a woman panics after security questions her d.c. license

because it's not issued by a state. the story gone viral. >> reporter: some say it was the worst morning commute of the winter. how come schools didn't open late? i'm mark segraves and i'll have that answer coming up. good news in the forecast. next sunday the sun will set after 7:00 at night and spring officially begins in 28 days on march 20th. how about that? good news out there. we will be talking much more about that. only 21 days to go to spring. unfortunately a lot

our wednesday's child this week is a bright young man who just celebrated his 14th birthday. he's hoping this is the year he might get adopted. >> he said his biggest win would be finding a forever family. >> reporter: it's called labyrin labyrinth. it's like entering a maze of mind stimulating games. this store is amazing. i hear you like games, is that right? >> reporter: kathryn donahue welcomed charlie who loves all kinds of games. >> what are some of your favorite games? >> mainly like strategy and

magic and stuff like that. >> reporter: she assured him he'd find what he likes among the 4,000 games that line the walls here. charlie caught on quickly to this game. >> reporter: do you have friends you can play with? >> a bunch where i am at right now. >> reporter: he's in a group foster home and likes playing games when he's not in school. >> he's getting along well with his classmates and his teachers love him. >> reporter: what do you really want? >> to be adopted and be with a family that cares about me and helps me and shows me stuff i didn't know and how to do. >> charlie is an easy going young man. he is very interesting, loves information. >> reporter: she says he just needs a home and family where people love him. >> i was adopted and i really really hope you get to find a forever family really really fast. i'm so thankful for my parents. >> reporter: i didn't realize that. >> yeah, i was adopted. >> reporter: he's hoping that's

what will happen to him. >> i'm sure. you seem like an awesome kid. we want to give you a couple things. >> reporter: charlene had some things for charlie to take home, a labyrinth t-shirt and a wish he will some day have the family he longs for. wednesday's child. >> if you have room in your heart for charlie or any kids still waiting, call our hotline or search wednesday's child on n nbcwashington.com. the massive theft of starting customer data takes a big bite out of the company's profits. >> new findings on older fathers. are children of older men at risk of greater mental illness. >> new information about the woman

this evening we're hearing from the daughter of the woman killed in that deadly bus accident near the rockville metro station last night. chris gordon has more on the investigation and what the family plans to do to make sure this type of accident never happens again. >> it's so unfortunate it happened. i want everyone to know my mom was so special and that any she talked to she touched. >> reporter: the tragic death occurred 15 miles from their home in falls church, virginia. 62-year-old castillo moved here

long ago from the philippines. she worked as a housekeeper raising 22-year-old jenna and a son who's 18. last night, mrs. castillo had just arrived at the rockville metro station and was walking to meet her husband at 7:20 p.m. she was struck by this ride-on bus, transported to the hospital, where she died of her injuries. >> understand that we're going to need some time and, you know, we're going to figure out how to make these problems not happen again and no other family and no other person suffer the way we did. >> reporter: the montgomery police collision reconstruction unit is investigating the cause of the accident. today, captain thomas he head of the unit reviewed this with me. the ride-on was making a left turn from park road into the entrance to the bus stops. >> my understanding is the bus was waiting for traffic to clear before it made the turn.

we don't believe speed is a factor. >> reporter: was the pedestrian, victim in the crosswalk? >> too soon to tell. we can tell they were in the area of the crosswalk. >> reporter: there were two passengers on board the ride-on bus at the time of the accident but they left before investigators could question them. police would like those passengers and any other witnesses who may have seen the accident to call in so investigators can determine exactly how it happened. in rockville, chris gordon, news4. no charges have been filed in connection with this accident. police say it's going to be weeks before this investigation is completed. a d.c. woman claimed she was stopped by airport security because her valid d.c. driver's license wasn't good enough. this happened at an airport in phoenix. according to the "washington post," the transportation security administration agent took a look at ashley brant's license and then shook her head. she then asked brant if she had a u.s. passport.

seems there may have been a little bit of confusion because d.c. is not a state. tsa requires a state issued id to board a plane but a supervisor came to the rescue and determined that d.c. license was legit. brant was soon on her way to the gate and finally on her flight home to washington. target didn't hit the mark when it came to fourth quarter sales. the company, victimized by that massive data breach, announced today its profits were down more than 40 appearance. hackers stole close to 40 million credit and debit card records during the holiday shops season. however, target's stock did go up today. we asked cnbc how it's possible. we were told even with the dismal results, target beat the analyst's expectations and executives say business is bouncing back. if you are part of delta airlines frequent flyer plan, you will be interested to know there may be some changes in the works. the airline says next year's sky

miles program will reward passengers who buy the most expensive flights rather than those who fly the most miles. delta thinks this move will attract business travelers. other airlines are likely watching to see what happens here. a good evening to use those miles to get out of dodge quickl quickly. >> and head south, doug. >> you have to headway south, cold air across the nation, florida the one exception. a very nice ending to what has been a little bit of a cold day. started off with snow and we saw that transition and now looking at a very nice evening at least picture-wise. outside, it's cold. 35 in d.c. dropping to 32 at 7:00, all the way down to 19 by early tomorrow morning. a very cold start to your thursday. on the radar, nothing to talk about. we did see that storm come through earlier and did provide us with 1-2 inches of snow early on in the day by 10:00, 11:00 and the snow was out of here and

we saw melting in the forecast. 32, bethesda and 34, gaithersburg and 35 in alexandra. we will be seeing windchills tomorrow between 20 and 25. windchill on friday morning will be near zero, a very cold start to friday morning, low of 14 and high of 28. 43 degrees saturday with a chance of flurries and snow showers, not a big deal. sunday chance of shower activity with high of 48 and watching our next system monday. we talked about it yesterday, cold air to the north and mild air to the south. where does our storm bring? the cold air? the cold air, we're talking about a substantial winter storm, moderate to strong storm wintry mix is likely for this and storm 4 watching this close. if this brings more in the way of warmer air we're just talking about a rain event. it still could be a pretty big storm. and we stay cold making our way through the middle of next week. news for your health. children born to older dads may

be more likely to develop autism or have adhd. officials looked at all births in sweden between 1973 and 2001. children born to fathers in their 40s were three times likely to develop autism than dads in their 20s and also 13 times as likely to have adhd. the researchers caution the study does not mean all children born to older fathers would have the issue but rather it suggestinsuggests increased risks. we have a story about beating the odds. doreen has an interview with a man whose transplanted heart has lasted longer than the one he was born with. >> it's not often doctors define something a miracle. tonight, we're meeting thomas cook, a man who's celebrating 25 years living with his donor

heart. >> even the doctors tell you it was 30 appearance medical and 70 appearance miraculous. >> reporter: at age 25, thomas cook was in a life or death situation. a congenital condition called marfan's syndrome was causing his aorta to detach. >> when i walked into the hospital i didn't think i was going to come out. >> reporter: his only option a heart transplant. >> i got a heart at the last minute. i never had to wait. it was a miraculous heart transplant. >> reporter: that transplant was one of the earliest ever done at med star washington hospital center where they had only started doing the surgery two years before, in 1987. doctors at the time had no idea how long his transplanted heart would last. >> in 1989, this was new technology. >> reporter: turns out that heart was a perfect match. so perfect this month, cook celebrated 25 years of living with his donor heart. doctors say it's a rare

accomplishment. they now know in most cases a transplanted heart lasts only 13 1/2 years on average. >> he's a very unique individual in that his body accepted the new donor organ as if it was his own. >> reporter: dr. steven boyce of the med star heart institute says 1 out of 10 people will have this unique situation, where their immune system doesn't fight the new organ. they don't know why it happens in so few people but susan knight agrees miracles have something to do with it. that's because her son, jeff, was cook's heart donor. he died in a motorcycle accident in southeast d.c. at the same time that cook was fighting to stay alive in the hospital. >> i kept in touch with the transplant center. every couple of years, they told me it was a 25-year-old man. a couple years later, his name is tom and a couple years later, very conscientious, goes for all his check-ups. >> reporter: 15 years ago, cook and knight met and since then

the two have become close. knight even calls cook her fourth son. she even surprised him at the party to mark his 25-year-old miracle. cook urged the community to make miracles of their own getting involved with organ donation. >> they can do for other people what jeff did for me, save a life, an entire life. >> thomas cook has dedicated much of his life to promoting organ donation, especially in western maryland. that's where he lives. he s the region didn't have much in the way of resources for potential donors and he helped start the western maryland organ ambassador program. you can learn more about it on our website. n nbcwashington.com. imagine you lose your son and 25 years later his heart continues to give life to somebody else. >> that's lovely. thanks. 30 minute drives turn into hour-long commute, some calling this morning's commute the worst

of the winter but some local schools, most, opened right on time. was it the right call? hollywood star power on capitol hill. why ben affleck stopped by the senate. they were controversial figures in this county then but are they still controversial now? this is a map of the pressure points on my feet.

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here's a look at what's trending today. a bit of tinseltown on capitol hill. two of the biggest stars lending their power to causes. and ben affleck and suffering in the congo. and another actor speaking in the senate on behalf of the national alzheimer's association. many calling this morning's commute one of the worst ever. the snowfall peaked while many were heading to school. >> many classes push ed it back by two hours for the start but not in montgomery county. the district is getting a backlash from parents and students. >> reporter: that's right. you know, it was really bad out there this morning. the snow came down hard. but then the sun came out and most of the snow melted away and early this morning, things were

a mess. >> there was accidents on every major road. old georgetown and rockville pike. yes, it was a desperation. >> reporter: the snow couldn't have come at a worst time. just as rush hour was starting and kids were heading to school. >> it was definitely icy coming in, the roads were very slippery and i really expected them to open two hours late and i was very surprised. >> reporter: school officials across our region were faced with the same problem. >> the challenge with a two hour delay we would have thrown the buses out right at the height of the problem and there wasn't enough snow for a cancellation. >> we balance it out with the idea we want our kids in school. >> reporter: the big challenge today, most school districts like to make the decision about closing or delaying schools before 5:00 a.m. by that time, the snow hadn't started. >> it started at 6:30. you know, i guess the schools did the best they could. i'm not angry about it but it was a disaster. >> reporter: while parents we spoke with ir understanding,

students took to wtwitter to sound off. your decision today endangered kids. you didn't have the guts to have a delay? slipped while walking to school and had to get stitches. thank you. >> we hear from parents and students and parents are concerned about students' safety, we get that, and so are we. >> reporter: we talked to school officials in d.c., maryland and virginia. they all told us while they had a few minor problems and minor accidents with school buses including a few delays getting kids to school, overall things went very well. there were no major accidents and no reports of any injuries. mark segraves, news4. right now at 6:00, a new warning about the consequences of pulling all u.s. troops out of afghanistan. that is what most americans want but not what the president or army thinks is best.

a school bus with children on board hits and kills a pedestrian this morning. new details at 6:00, about what started as a return from a field trip. >> neighbors talking to news4 about the attack on a postal worker in d.c. tonight, a big reward for information that leads to the arrest. >> president obama drew the line today for afghan president hamid karzai. sign a bill lateral security agreement to protect american troops or the u.s. will completely pull out of afghanistan by the end of the year. steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with concerns about what that could mean for the future of al qaeda. >> reporter: for homeland security. in 12 years there's been more than 2300 american dead. the pentagon, commander in chief still don't like the idea of pulling all american forces out. but it's now become their new plan. president obama is fighting to save his original plan for afghanistan. it's being wrecked