proper licensing to run the facility. her attorney says she is cooperating fully with police and believes they misinterpreted what happened. one group's efforts could lead to new developments in the search for relisha rudd. today marks exactly one month since she disappeared. reli relisha was last season with 51-year-old kalil tatum. the black and missing foundation is getting involved. it specializes in looking for young african-american children. a former police officer who helped create the group says relisha may appear very different now compared to this video. >> he may have altered her appearance. he may have cut her hair. she may be dressed like a little boy. and so that's why it was so critical to get his picture out there because someone may notice him before they even notice the little girl. >> a camera captured the two in a hotel on february 26th. that's what you see here. that was the day he left with her from the family shelter at d.c. general.

the amber alert was not issued until last wednesday. the next day, tatum's wife, andrea, was found dead in an oxon hill hotel. tatum is wanted for that murder. there's a $50,000 reward for information that leads to tatum and to relisha's return. former virginia governor bob mcdonnell want most charges against him and his wife thrown out. his lawyers filed a motion asking a federal judge to dismiss nine of 11 counts against them. he said the couple never did anything to help the dietary supplement company they're accused for promoting in exchange for gifts and money. the mcdonnells have already pleaded not guilty. the trial is set for july. it looks like the winter weather's sticking around. >> yeah. 4:31 the time. weather & traffic on the 1s. spring is not too far off, tom. right? >> right. it just -- a good maybe 48 hours away. still feeling like winter. rewind the clock about two months. feels more like late january than late march. all this area in red is where we

have moisture that froze up on roads. southern maryland, all these areas that got the snow yesterday, watch out for slick spots especially the bridges and overpasses. a lot of them have been salted, but some have not. look also on your sidewalk and front steps this morning. temperatures are below freezing. we're just hovering near 30 degrees nearby suburbs, much of virginia and maryland in the upper 20s, near 30. shenandoah valley and mountains, as well. around southern maryland, the bay, a little above freezing there. so still just wet there. by 8:30 this rnin we'll have temperatures still below freezing, in the 20s throughout most of the region. and then by noontime, we will see it warming, finally above freezing. that will probably happen around 10:00, 11:00 this morning, getting above freezing. mid 30s around noontime. next weather & traffic on the 1s at 4:41. a look at your wednesday windy forecast. that's hour by hour in about ten minutes. danella, good morning. how's traffic? good morning, tom. along i-95 northbound, that's

where we'll start in virginia at 123. there was an earlier accident tying up the left lane. a brief delay for folk travels g traveling this way. there's congestion for folks northbound. the other thing i was watching, 16th street southbound near spring, there was an earlier accident there blocking all southbound lanes. that's long gone. so back at 4:41. back to you both. >> thanks. some good news in that search for the missing malaysia airlines flight 370. the search is back on right now. bad weather had forced the search to be called off yesterday. news4's molette green has more from the live desk. right now, we know that four planes have reached the search area. three more are on the way. in all, 12 planes will fly over the southern indian ocean. and two ships are also in the water looking for any sign of the missing jet. the search zone remains huge. even though it's been cut down to an estimated 622,000 square

miles, that's about the size of alaska. but time is running out to zero in on those pingers that are coming from the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders. their batteries could give out within two weeks. experts warn that despite the massive multinational search, it still could take years to find the wreckage. we're staying on top of today's search efforts throughout the morning. back to you. >> thank you. 4:33. this morning, the secret service has not said what punishment three agents will face after an incident involving alcohol overseas. the men were in the netherlands ahead of president obama's arrival on monday. saturday night into sunday morning, one agent apparently got drunk and passed out outside a room. two other agents were with him. all three were sent home on administrative leave. nbc news asked about their records. they were told all three have not faced any prior disciplinary action. we are learning a sailor killed in a navy base in norfolk had connections to this region.

the sailor's father told her sister station there his son is from the maryland/d.c. area. he died yesterday when a civilian with credentials got on to the "uss mahan" and took another person's weapon. the navy says the sailor who died was responding to help. the security who responded killed the civilian. right now the navy is not releasing the names of those involved. we expect a major announcement later today from d.c. mayor vincent gray about the future of united medical center. according to the "washington post," the mayor wants to replace umc with a new medical center on the st. elizabeth's campus. it needs $300 million to do that. it's the only full-service hospital east of anacostia. new poll numbers show gray is in a fight to keep his job. these are the results of a new nbc 4/marist poll in the race. less than a week before the democratic primary. the mayor trails d.c. council member muriel bowser by 2%

points. that's within the margin of error. gray led bowser by 8% last month. neither say they're surprised by the results. >> virtual dead heat. i think it's kind of what we expected. >> we've seen over the last several weeks a growing energy around our campaign and what we're doing. >> whoever wins the democratic primary will probably face d.c. council member david i can tanya in november's general -- david k kitania in november's general election. on nbcwashington.com, you can search "decision d.c." if you need help with early voting which is underway in the district now, we have a guide on line for that, too. some people trying to sign up for the new health care program will get a little extra time. the obama administration says people who started to apply on healthcare.gov but can't finish by the monday deadline will have until the middle of april. the administration says it's seen a surge in visits to the website as the deadline gets

closer. 4:36. molette green's following a developing story from the live desk. new this morning, we're just getting to hear some of the 911 calls from the deadly washington state mudslide. take a listen. >> there's like a mudslide, and everything's gone, the houses are gone! >> are there any injuries? >> yes! there's people yelling for help. >> and a grim update this morning. the official death toll stands at 16, but it could jump to 24 and keep going up. more bodies have now been located, not recovered, but located in the rural town that's about 55 miles north of seattle. crews are still working off a list of 176 still missing. they're using search dogs and even their bare hands to try to find the victims trapped under massive debris. also this morning, many questions about why an entire community of homes was built on land that engineers considered unstable. tune in throughout the morning for more on the story. back to you. >> thanks. the time is 4:37.

new accusations this morning against target involving that massive data breach that put your personal information at risk. the company prepares to sit in the hot seat on capitol hill. cold -- rather, a live look at the tidal basin. cold and icy to start the morning. the wind will be what we're talking about in the hours ahead. the conditions in store for your day with weather & traffic on the 1s. aheaden, taking in the cherry blossoms -- also ahead, taking in the cherry blossoms. it's supposed

welcome back. today, target's cfo heads to capitol hill to testify on the massive credit breach. john mulligan will testify in front of the senate commerce economy committee. it said target missed multiple attempts to catch hackers. the report says there was no indication that the retailer responded to warnings that malware was being installed on its systems. target declined to comment ahead of the hearing. mark your calendar. the national parks service will reopen finally the washington monument on monday, may 12th. the monument has been closed for repairs since the east coast earthquake caused major damage in 2011. those repairs cost $15 million. you can start making your tour reservations on line april 16th. go to nbcwashington.com, and search "washington monument" for more information on the extended

hours. a local emt received a special honor for his actions during the navy yard shooting. [ applause ] >> that is noah smith. he was one of two people from the department of transportation who stopped and helped a victim amid the chaos. last night the american ambulance association awarded him with the recognition of valor. the department of transportation is right next to the navy yard, and that building 197 where gunman aaron alexis shot and killed 12 people last september. >> of all the chaos, there were a lot of stories of bravery that came out of that. >> absolutely. people who run toward danger and try to help. talking about our weather now, the snow has stopped. there could possibly be some slick spots out there, tom. yeah. we have temperature that are at or below freezing. so are the road temperatures. what stayed wet is causing patchy ice, especially the bridges and overpasses. watch out for that. later today, winds will develop. here's your windy wednesday, hour-by-hour forecast. by 8:00, temperature will be in

the upper 20s, near 30. the winds will start gusting. gusts to around 30 to 40 miles per hour between 8:00 in the morning until about 2: 0 in the afternoon. windchills only in the teens. next weather & traffic on the 1s at 4:51. a look at the warmer pattern heading our way. danella, how's traffic? breaking news now. back up to bw parkway we'll go. it's almost like yesterday in the sense that your southbound lanes are blocked again. instead of it being at 175, now they are blocked at 100. again, bw parkway southbound at 100, southbound lanes are blocked. that's arundel mills boulevard. i'm getting more details, but that's just happening now. i'm back with an update in ten minutes. back to you. >> 4:43. a live look at the tidal basin. a breeze out there. we're still waiting for the cherry blossoms to bloom. when they finally do, we'll show you what you need to watch for so you don't need to fork over

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welcome back at 15 before the hour. we're following a developing story. nasa says an engine snag delayed the arrival of a soyuz spacecraft carrying three astronauts to the international space station. the russian spacecraft will reach the iss tomorrow. it was expected to reach the space station today. nasa says the crew is in good spirit and is in no danger. more security concerns at the nation's tallest building. two cnn producers were arrested yesterday for trying to sneak on it the one world trade center site. the men tried four times to climb fences and push through gates before being arrested. cnn says the men were this to do a story on the security breaches but were not asked to sneak on to the site. this comes a day after four men were arrested for this base jump

from one world trade center back in september. this video posted to youtube just yesterday. one of the men was a former construction worker who helped three daredevils gain access to the top of the building. a teenager was also arrested for sneaking to the top last week. in both cases, a hole in construction fencing was used to get in. this morning, we are getting a look at the designs for the new sandy hook elementary school in connecticut. last night newtown's public building and site commission saw the design concepts for the first time. 3d renderings show the plan for the new school. it provides open-air learning areas within stone walls to create the sense of safety. people living in the area say they are happy with the designs. >> architecturally making it a more open school. and incorporating nature into the school. >> now, architects will not touch the actual site of the shooting which has been torn down. that building's been torn down.

it's not clear what will go in that place. leaders hope this the new school will be open by 2016. president obama in belgium now trying to convince european allies to punish russia for its actions in ukraine. he's meeting with world leader at the european union summit. the president's trying to make the case that russia is threatening europe's order. some european countries may be reluctant to act against russia. it provides oil and gas to many nations. also is an important trade partner. first lady michelle obama leaves china today. she along with her mother and daughters have spent the past week touring that country. they wrapped up their trip visiting pandas in the city. with spring break top of mind, anyone planning to take a cruise should listen up. we're into day two of a cruise ship safety hearing today at the ntsb. this comes after high-profile accidents that include a fire on the carnival "triumph." it left the ship adrift for days

without power in the gulf of mexico. the coast guard announced yesterday that it has already started unannounced inspections of some ships. 12 before the hour. deputies in loudoun county trying to get the word out about a sex assault as they search for the men involved. an 18-year-old woman says she was walking her dog near greenfield court in sterling when four men came up and started making lewd comments. she told detectives one man grabbed her arm. another touched her inappropriately. she then pushed them away and was able to walk off when a car drove up. these two men face charges for pretending to be cops. arlington police say austin jones and samuel apples showed their fake badges to customers at a bar on jackson street. not only do they face criminal charge, they're also banned from that business. a 20-year-old la plata man is accused of attacking a man and using a chainsaw to cut up the guy's property. police arrested joel galloway on sunday in charles county. the victim told officers galloway tried to force his way into his house along bullet neck road in marlboro -- marbury,

excuse me. this happened early that morning. we're still working to find out why. meanwhile, galloway faces assault charges. if you can, take a second look at these pictures. sheriff's deputies in frederick county, maryland, want to talk to this woman about some recent bomb threats. they say she may be connected to two bomb threats at the frederick county courthouse on friday. the threats came about three hours apart and shut down the courthouse for more than an hour while k-9s searched the building. nothing was found. if you know who this woman is, call the frederick county sher snos on the ground, the national cherry blossom festival is underway. but you have to be careful when you park because you could get a ticket. later this morning, aaa has some good information for those of you planning to go to the festival. the tidal basin looked more like a winter wonderland yesterday, and even though those buds -- this is unbelievable, guys. the buds, they're still closed. the festival is still expected to be one of the most profitable periods for the district's parking enforcement agency. i can absolutely see that

because you have so many tourists coming in. they don't really know what they're doing. >> that's our gift to you for coming to d.c. >> their families venturing out from the suburbs for the first time. that always happens. people say -- we got to go to d.c. and see it, and show the family the city. >> tom, this weekend will be nice for people to try to get out. >> yeah. a lot of the san mateo will be melting by later today. it's still on the ground this morning. this is my favorite photo from yesterday. take a look at this. >> just give in, right? >> we're done. this one posted by jenna st get twitter, and we will share. also love this photo -- beautiful scene. love spring snow. if you're going to get it, might as well be beautiful. this posted by nadia yesterday. post photos, and we'll share on facebook and twitter. and our storm team 4 facebook page, as well. storm team 4 radar showing one little band of some snow. the lingering effect of the storm yesterday on the eastern shore. that's quickly tracking off to the east.

a few other scattered flurries shenandoah valley in the mountains. elsewhere, skies beginning to clear out. we have slippery conditions, all these areas in red where we got the snow. that snow melted, and then it's refrozen overnight. some of the water on the roads has frozen up, especially bridges and overpasses. watch out for this for another three or four hours. going to take a while before we get above freezing. we're hovering just in the upper 20s to near 30 most of the region. we'll stay this way through about 9:00 this morning. you need a winter coat today. gloves and hat, warm footwear, dress for a winter-like day. we'll have the winds really picking up, gusts 30 to 40 miles per hour will be developing starting around 8:00 this morning. the peak winds after that until around 2:00 p.m. windchills only in the teens and in the 20s by later this afternoon as we reach around 40 degrees. tomorrow morning, the mid 20s. but afternoon highs should make it to around 50 degrees and partly sunny on thursday. then friday, warming.

but some rain likely. off and on rain showers during the day on friday. and now it's looking like that's going to continue into the weekend, as well. on saturday, we'll have highs reaching the low 60s during the afternoon. saturday morning, tune in. our storm team 4 tracking spring, weather specials saturday morning, 10:00, on nbc 4. sunday, partly cloudy, best day of the weekend, high around 60. mild pattern into next week. highs in the 60s on monday and tuesday. danella, good morning. dealing with an early traffic accident, right? >>hat. still following that breaking news, tom. it's along bw parkway. we saw something similar yesterday where southbound lanes were shut down. today this is at arundel mills boulevard. the accident here has about a mile backup, just got off the phone with police. this is what they're saying. it's a two-vehicle accident. one vehicle in the woods. the other vehicle in the shoulder lane. your right shoulder lane. it is on its side. so two tow trucks need to come out.

again, southbound lanes all blocked, but you can get by in the shoulder lane. back in ten minutes, we'll talk about i-95 northbound in virginia and why you're seeing big delays already. back to you both. >> all right. thank you. more proof that where you live could have a big impact on your overall health. new for you on "news4 today" at 5:00, the factors that impact your health, and the local counties that are receiving the highest marks. first, new developments involving a virginia teen and his fight against a rare disease. plus, could be -- could this be true -- new information that be tr[ male announcer ]ion that at northrop grumman,

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comeback questions heating up again for michael phelps. his coach told the "baltimore sun" that the swimmer is in good fluff shape to return to competitive swim -- good enough shape to return to competitive swimming "sometime soon." last year he re-entered the drug testing program for international competition. he's also been seen working out regularly at the north baltimore aquatic club. the swimmer has been noncommittal about returning to competition and to the olympics. this morning a northern virginia boy fighting for his life is improving after taking an experimental drug. last night amy hardy posted on our facebook page saying her son, 7-year-old josh is, out of icu. hardy says they are still waiting for josh's kidney function to return. she thanked everyone for their

prayers. josh is at st. jude's children's hospital in tennessee. he's battling a rare viral infection that is nearly gone now. a social media campaign helped convince a drug company to put josh in the drug trial. the treatment has not been approved by the fda yet. cuts coming to schools in spotsylvania county may not be as bad as first thought. the school board said its budget shortfall is $315,000 less than initial estimates. it's working to close that gap and avoid cutting some programs. the county also considered not replacing unfilled jobs. the spotsylvania county school board says it still plans to offer employees a 1% cost of living raise. that's the first raise of its kind since 2008. all school systems in maryland can apply for waivers now to avoid making up five snow days. the maryland school board voted to authorize the state superintendent to grant the waivers on a case-by-case basis. so far, 15 school systems have applied for those waivers. all 24 school districts in maryland surpassed their number

of inclement weather days built into the calendar. four years ago, the state superintendent waived up to five days because of the harsh winter. the university of virginia is looking to diversify its student body. the school's president, teresa sullivan, wrote a letter to 80 high schools in low-income areas of virginia. she invited principals to send some of their best students to visit charlottesville. personalized text messages also went to high-achieving students with financial need. uva has taken criticism for its lack of dwefrlt. last year a -- diversity. last year a nonprofit group called uva one of the least diverse schools in the country. today, maryland delegates the discuss the budget, considering changes to measures that would balance the books next year. the housenate approved it. the house will consider it next week. a senate panel approved a measure that would make pot more accessible to patients. this bill has many changes to

legislation. the house of delegates already passed. medical marijuana has been legal in maryland, but only academic medical centers have been able to use it. no facility has come forward to do just that. loving this story. this morning, eight students at d.c. public and charter schools won't have to worry about paying for college. they got a big scholarship surprise. [ cheers ] love that face. george washington university awarded ballou senior tyland jackson a scholarship during a school pep rally. the $200,000 scholarship covers tuition, room and board, and books for all four years. >> they've been doing this since 1989. they say 90% of the students who get the scholarships graduate from college. >> awesome. given the opportunity, take full advantage. stay with us, "news4 today" continues right now at 5:00 a.m.