right now, windchills range from zero degrees to the teens. that is a small improvement from just a few hours ago. the extreme cold is far from over. that cold war is causing problems for people trying to get around the city this morning. leaving people like this waiting longer than they had expected. and we could find ourselves today, whether the u.s. is going to have its olympics here in d.c. coming up in a few years. we'lling telling you that. because that's going to be announced later today. good morning, everyone and

welcome to news 4 midday. i'm barbara harrison. a windchill advisory remains. amelia segal in the weather center. >> it is frigid outside despite plenty of sunshine and a little breezy as well. only adding that additional chill to the air. right now, the temperature in washington at 18 degrees with winds at about the 12 miles an hour. out of the west. when you factor in the winds, it feels like it's 5 right now in washington. mon nas sus and culpepper feeling like they're 18 degrees. gaithersburg feeling like it's 1 below zero. still need to bundle up. the gloves the hat, the warmish jacket. temperatures only feel like they're in the teens. tomorrow morning, it's another cold start. overall, temperatures will be warmer but it's going to be breezy friday morning. so it will feel like

temperatures still in the teens. one weekend day significantly colder than the other. i'll let you know what weekend day that will be. it will be dry both saturday and sunday. the district is doing what it can to keep the homeless warm today. a cold emergency plan will remain in effect through tomorrow morning. it allows the city to set up warming centers. a cold emergency is issued when the windchill is 20 degrees or below. the cold made for a messy morning. the weather called multiple incidents that led to some big delays out there. one of our news 4 staff members took this picture of crowds on the red line. but the riders weren't the only ones feeling this sting out there. news 4's megan mcgrath. >> reporter: barbara, a tough morning for metro. a cracked rail just outside the falls church station. that was one of a number of problems we saw this morning.

it wasn't just people riding the rails that had difficulty. these frigid temperatures really were tough on everyone. it may have been 10 degrees but that didn't stop these people from camping out in a parking lot, all to score free chicken in a chick-fil-a contest. >> it was really cold. there was points where i couldn't feel my feet and you had to go inside. >> reporter: frigid temperatures are bad enough when you're moving around but if you're just standing there in a slug line waiting for a ride it's even worse. >> it's cold. it's not fun. >> reporter: what did you do to dress for it? >> i changed my coat. added a thicker coat today. so i need something on my head. >> reporter: the cold weather wreaked havoc on the rails this morning. single tracking cautioned delays on several lines. cracked rails part of the problem. train breakdowns the other issue. metro says the below freezing temperatures caused brake problems on some trains.

doors wouldn't close on others. leon minor got stuck under >> 30 minutes at one station. was only one stop away. so we was underground for 30 minutes. >> reporter: metro is reporting some improvement this morning. they just tweeted out about six minutes ago that the red line trains are now on or close to schedule. that green and yellow line trains are no longer single tracking. so some improvement as repairs are made. some of those broken down trains are pushed out of the way or removed from the area. but still a tough morning for a lot of people. if you are going outside, it looks beautiful out here it really is quite sunny, it is still very very cold. don't be deceive. make sure you dress appropriately. reporting live in falls church megan mcgrath news 4. barbara, back to you. >> all right, thank you, megan. the cold weather caused problems on the 95 express lanes. chopper 4 was over the scene earlier this morning.

we heard back from vdot. they said some of the gates could not open. they did not open automatically because they were frozen. the problem slowed down the opening of the lanes during the early part of the rush. the lanes were operating normally around 6:00 a.m. this today, we get news whether d.c. will be the choice to host the summer olympics ten years from now. news 4's aaron gilchrist breaks down what could happen today. >> the district and three other american cities are all hoping to be chosen here. the united states olympic committee is meeting in denver today and they're also considerin boston san francisco and los angeles for this bid. members are expected to announce their decision as soon as this meeting is over. we don't know how they're evaluating the candidates. but if you remember there were d.c. area leaders, politicians, sports figures, people like you that put together this video in hopes it would help their case. now, it's fun to imagine what the olympics would mean for this area.

new stadium maybe. however, if d.c. is chosen today, it's still going to be a long time before we have an idea whether we have any real hopes for the games. the international olympic committee will not announce its finalists until spring of 2016 and then the final winner won't be chosen until september 2017. we will send you a breaking news alert as soon as a decision is announced. >> thanks aaron. trash collectors in montgomery county are back at work. they have been striking for two weeks now. they say they want better working conditions and higher pay. they've not finished negotiating with the company yet with their contract. a federal mediator urged the workers to return to the jobp new developments out of france this morning. suspect sightings 24 hours after a deadly attack. plus the proposal president obama will make today that could

help you buy the home of your dreams. stay with us

we have a developing story out of france. a police officer in a paris suburb was shot and killed this morning. french police say just after 8:00 a.m. local time the female officer stopped to investigate a traffic accident when someone started shooting. a street sweeper was also shot.

the shooting is not related to yesterday's mass shooting at the french magazine charlie hebdo, however. the manhunt for two brothers believed to be behind the massacre is happening right now. let's go to richard jordan at the live desk to find out more. richard. >> the big concern is of another attack with the two main suspects still at large. earlier today, there was an incident at a gas station. this was in northeast, about athere. two men robbed that gas station. apparently they resembled the two main suspects in yesterday's mass shooting. police went to check it out. doesn't seem like it was the same guys here. but their pictures have been circulating all across france and the world. the two brothers said and cherif kouachi are accused of shooting up that magazine charlie hebdo yesterday, killing two people including two police officers. an 18-year-old man surrendered. he turned himself in yesterday in northeastern france.

the three men are accused of going into that magazine and shooting several of the journalists working there as well as two police officers. the magazine is known for its satirical depictions of islam and other religions. now, one of the brothers the older one, cherif kouachi, is known to french police, charged in the past with association with criminal enterprise and was arrested in 2008 accused of recruiting people to be islamic extremists. so the search continues for them right now. we'll be monitoring developments from the live desk. >> the group justice for john deere is protesting today. the police accountability group is protesting over his death. among the group's focus is the transparencey of the fairfax county police department and the circumstances surrounding his death. the protest will highlight the need for a citizen review board. close to 2,000 people are

expected to attend the protest. the protest will take place outside the maxi building in fairfax. a developing story out of florida. the unthinkable crime. a father is accused of. plus, the fight to save the life of a teenager with cancer is now in the hands of a court. why the teen is refusing treatment. >> frigid outside, barbara, but spectacular sunshine. we'll be dry through the weekend. our next storm system potentially as early

new details into the live desk of an unthinkable crime in florida. a father in custody charged with the murder of his daughter. police say the 25-year-old was in st. petersburg. he pulled his daughter out of his car and threw her over a bridge into the tampa bay. it was a 60 foot fall into the water. that girl's body found just about an mile from the bridge. there were attempts made to resuscitate her but she died overnight. police say an officer spotted johnchuck driving about 100 miles per00mile s s per hour past the police cruiser and stopping on the bridge. >> the suspect then went to the other side of the vehicle.

pulled out a child. put the child's face toward his chest. then he walked to the side of the bridge. and he threw the child into the water. >> again, that father is now charged with first degree murder. as to why he would do this police say they have no idea because he's not talking. barbara, back to you. >> right now, a teen's cancer battle is being debated in a connecticut courtroom. the connecticut supreme court will decide whether the teen can stop chemotherapy treatments at a hartford children's hospital. doctors say the girl's chances of survival increase 85% with treatment. the girl calls chemo poison and her mother stands by her daughter's wishes to refuse treatment. >> she has always even years ago, said that if ever she had cancer or diagnosed with cancer she would not put poison into her body. >> the court will only decide

whether the girl must receive treatment up until the time she is 18. regardless of the ruling once she becomes a legal adult, she has sole ability to decide whether to stop the treatment. >> and today in an effort to expand home ownership, president obama plans to cut mortgage insurance premiums. he wants the government issuer of home loans to cut mortgage insurance premiums. cnbc's diana olik reports. >> now that we've made it harder for reckless buyers to buy hopes that they can't afford let's make it easier for qualified buyers to buy the homes that they can afford. >> reporter: this time the president will announce a drop in the annual insurance premium at the fha, the governor's insurer of low down payment loans from the current 1.35% of loan to .85%. that will provide the average fha borrower of savings of about $80 a month on a $195,000 loan according to core logic.

this action will help millions of families save billions of dollars in mortgage payments in the coming years. the president said in a statement previewing the details. >> this is a matter of getting the pendulum back to a balance point where you're not overpromoting home ownership but you're not barricading the doors needlessly by overcharging homebuyers who could come into the market. >> reporter: fha was bleeding cash and required a taxpayer infusion in order to shore up its reserves it more than doubled its premiums leaving much needed first-time buyers out in the cold. fha's insurance fund recently moved back in the black. the change will help borrowers but it could also help the fha itself. fannie mae and freddie mac recently announced their new low downpayment loans. borrowers the fha cannot afford to lose. >> this is great for the fha. they've been losing market share

to fannie and freddie. this allows them to solidify their position in the market to rebuild their finances and it opens the door for a lot more people to enter the housing market. >> reporter: the president will also address new efforts to assure fha lenders of when they will and will not be held responsible for loans that default. diana diana olik cnbc washington. right now, the senate is moving forward with plans to vote on the keystone xl pipeline. you're look live as the energy and natural resources community get the bill ready to vote on the senate floor. the controversial pipeline that would run from canada through the u.s. to the gulf of mexico has been debated for several years now. many republicans say it will create needed jobs. democrats have raised environmental concerns. president obama has threatened to veto that bill. well the deadly attack yesterday at a french newspaper is bringing up new security concerns in this country. for more on that we're joined by nbc's mark murray political

eder to. terror attacks like the ones yesterday in france raise the debate again, privacy versus security. which way do americans stand on this for the most part? >> a lot of it depends on what's actually occurring. there has been this pendulum swing between security and privacy right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. we really saw this country become more of a security nation. where more americans said they're more concerned about security than they are violation of their privacy rights. but then once kind of al qaeda and everything moved away a bit, when edward snowden, the story started to appear privacy actually became the bigger issue for a lot of americans. you can make the argument now as isis has been news yesterday's attack in paris, you could see something where the pendulum swings back to the security side of things. >> privacy versus security is bound to be an issue with the upcoming 2016 presidential election. one candidate already said how he feels, right? >> that's right, we're talking about rand paul. we're not going to have a

fortune teller to let us know what 2016 is going to look like. if the pendulum does swing more towards the security side of things that's a little bit of bad news for rand paul. he's somebody who is a libertarian, believes the government has been doing too much encroaching on american's privacy. if these terrorist stories go away then that pendulum switches back to privacy where we're talking a whole lot more about rand paul, edward snowden, other things like that. >> president obama talked about the improving economy. so did the majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> well it was in a statement he released where he was starting to take some of the credit for the improving economy. saying because americans anticipated republicans becoming the senate majority that this is why the economy isn't improving. it is very hard to have it both ways here. have basically made the democrats and president obama own the economy over the paso big political effect for them but it's hard -- >> take credit for it --

>> when it start to improve, take credit for it absolutely. >> for more check out first read on nbcnews.com. a warning today. the steps you need to take to protect your pets in this weather we're having. and a health alert for people who recently visited disneyland.

ring ring! progresso! i can't believe i'm eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sister's weddingwell it's only 100 calories, so you'll be ready for that dress uh-huh... you don't love the dress? i love my sister... 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. you say avocado old el paso says... zesty chicken and avocado tacos in our stand 'n stuff tortillas . (record scratch) you say and n' stuff tortillas old el paso says... start somewhere fresh

a health alert from disneyland.

the theme park said at least nine people affected with the disease visited the theme park between december 15th and the 20th. we're talking about the measles. health officials are trying to nail down what sparked the outbreak but they believe someone who visited the park likely had the disease. they say that person was also likely not from the u.s. since measles hasn't been common in this country since 2000. many who contracted the disease were not vaccinated. it's been 50 years since man made his first ever spacewalk. today to mark the anniversary, the smithsonian kicked off the outside spacecraft exhibit at national airspace museum. some incredible photography. more than 200 men and women have now made spacewalks. the king elvis presley would have been 80 years old today. a big celebration is planned at the manks that presley called home. graceland is holding a major auction, including his first

driver's license and a signed copy of his first single for sun records. two private planes owned by the king are also up for sale through a private auction. lisa marie and the hound dog 2 are expected to fetch at least $15 million. right now, we have some bright sunshine out there. it's still very cold outside. storm team 4 meteorologist amelia segal is back with when it will start to warm up for real and when we can see more snow as well. plus a very special surprise for a local teacher and

right now, it is cold here. believe it or not, there are places in the country worse off than we are. >> i'm weather channel meteorologist reynolds wolf. we are in the deep freeze today. and will remain that way through sunday. all city schools are closed for the time being due to the cold air and also due to the cold effects it's having on the brake braking systems of many of the school buses. the city has set up two mobile units for people to go in and take shelter from the cold air. let me tell you, they've been here before. they've actually dealt with a cold snap just like this last year, roughly the same day, except they did have a bit of snow. let's send it up to the twin cities and my friend dylan

dreyer. >> the snow has picked up so now not only are we dealing with windchills around 10 below zero we've got this wind that's tossing this snow around. it's going to reduce visibility pretty quickly on the roads. you can see it's already covering the streets as well. now, today, actually wasn't as cold as it has been. minneapolis schools were reopened today. but we'll see what happens tomorrow morning when those windchills are back down around 20 to 30 below zero. this is cold that's stretching all the way to the northeast and down into the southeast too. but here in minneapolis, it is another frigid

webuyanycar.com has helped thousands of people let go of all the hassle that comes with selling or trading in. we make selling your car truck or suv fast, safe and fair with three simple steps:

one -- get your free online valuation. two -- drive to your local car-buying center. three -- walk out with a check in as little as thirty minutes. buying cars is all we do. all makes and models and no dealership pressure we'll even settle your loan or lease. so, don't wait. get your free online valuation now at webuyanycar.com.

restaurants, which is why maybe you don't get excited about a cookie plate and you choose instead to have a cocktail. let's talk about the baked alaskan you tasted. >> it's been around since the 1800s. this is such a retro desert like the salad. what makes it so exciting they're really making it have flare again. you're having a great dinner. they're pouring flaming booze on top your cake. the ones i had were delicious.

>> with a big meringue on top i guess. >> yeah. >> what about a bodino? >> it's just a pudding. and what's interesting about bodino is it started recently this sort of revival at an italian restaurant in l.a. and now we're seeing it across the country. it's an italian pudding. this one's really fantastic at asteria marini. it's pistachio, lemon, lots of reasons to eat it and it's fun to share. >> you say there's a dessert for dessert haters. as you say you actually are sort of. >> right. if you prefer the espresso to having the dessert, this is a really fun dessert at eto. this is what i'm talking about when i say whimsy is coming back. they take everything from cocoa powder to crushed up amarati

cookies. it's a perfect pairing. just a couple slices of cookie. >> it's a cookie though no meat? >> it's just fun to order. >> we'll have some fun eating desserts and paying for it later. >> that's right. >> thanks a lot. >> thanks barbara. >> for more ideas from livonia for your weekend, go to washington post.com. as we begin a new year for wednesday's child, we always like to remind you of the many successes we actually see each year. as the children we feature find homes with loving adopted families. we want to give you a peak at how some of those kids are doing right now in their new homes. >> reporter: what do these four all have in common? they were all once wednesday's kids. children who wanted a family to love them. we revisited them in 2014. this time with their adopted families. back in july victor dropped by

our nbc studios on his way home from his adoption ceremony with his brand-new family. new dad. >> tony nice to meet you. >> we saw victor about four years on wednesday's child. >> reporter: he reminded her of their son alex. >> she started going, that's a lot like alex. he needs a pump he needs a better wheelchair. he looked at each other and said he just needs parents. >> reporter: monty's new parents saw him on wednesday's child and were reminded of their son hayden. >> it was meant to be. >> reporter: they called it a match made in heaven. it's what the hammers say about finding justin. mabel and her husband said they knew when they saw justin he was meant to be a part of their family. thomas spent a lot of years moving from one foster home to another. until he was finally adopted a few years ago by joy, a classmate's mom. he's now in college and mentoring foster kids. >> i think it serves as a sort

of, you know inspiration message to just say, you know, i could -- i could come from this place, i could make it. >> reporter: thomas like monty, victor and justin are all inspirational messages to kids who are waiting. and to prospective parents who can learn that fulfilling a child's dream will make their lives simply better. >> if you have room in your heart for another child who's waiting, call our special adoption hot line. the number's 1-888-to adopt me or search wednesday's child on nbcwashington.com. we have lots more wonderful children to introduce you to this year. coming up the fruit that could make a big difference in your health. plus an update on today's extreme cold. storm team 4's amelia segal is back with how fa

developing today on news 4, we're following the latest developments in that manhunt for two brothers in france. they're believed to have been involved in that mass shooting at a french magazine yesterday. we'll bring you up to date on the ongoing search this afternoon starting with news 4 at 4:00. and this afternoon, we will also keep an eye on metro and the evening commute. this morning, there were weather related problems on the red line. and a cracked rail slowed travel on the green and yellow lines as well. we're hoping to hear this afternoon if d.c. will be the u.s. olympic committee's pick to host the summer games in 2024.

it's up against boston san francisco and los angeles today and then whoever wins will then have to beat out cities from around the world to actually win. download the nbc app for breaking news alert as soon as today's decision is made, you'll get it on that app. you may want to add some avocado. a new study shows including this favorite in your diet can have some important benefits to your heart. nbc's erica edwards reports. >> reporter: as if guacamole fans needed another reason to adore avocados there's that evidence of their benefits. >> i love guacamole. >> reporter: penn state university led a study that included a moderate amount of fat. the only difference in the moderate fat diet was the inclusion of one whole avocado a day. within a month, all of the eating plans lowered

participant's levels of ldl or bad cholesterol but one was superior. >> the avocado diet decreased ldl cholesterol almost twofold more than the other diets. >> reporter: it's also found in many nuts and vegetable oils but it's unclear if other foods would have this same cholesterol fighting impact. healthy fat does not mean low fat or low cal. if you add one avocado every day at 250 calories a day a pop, you could gain two pounds in a month. >> it's really important for consumers to appreciate that, you know they have to switch out calories when they're incorporating avocados in their diet. >> reporter: the advice is replace junk food and saturated fat with healthy fat. sadly, that means cutting back on chips that go so well with

guacamole. erica edwards, nbc news. >> there will be a special healthy cooking demonstration at the health and fitness expo. the expo's at the washington convention center. the hours are 9 to 5 on saturday. 9 to 4 on sunday. it's all free. a lot of us from here are going to be there to say hi to you. amelia segal joins us. >> i will be there on saturday with tom and chuck. we'll have weather q and a. i'll post the times of those q and a sessions. i think we can all say the sunshine is the added bonus with the chill of 23 degrees for a high. windchill temperatures this afternoon only feeling like they're in the teens. tomorrow morning, it's definitely not as cold. but it will be breezy for your friday morning. so temperatures will feel like they're in their teens as you're heading off to work.

warmer tomorrow. high of 37. keeping a close eye on monday for rain and the potential of some wintry mix as well. i'll have the latest on that system coming up on news 4 at 4:00. >> great, okay thanks a lot. a new year means a new snow stick. yesterday, pat collins handed out the first snow stick of 2015 for the best snow hat. four hats were actually in the running for the big prize. the cat in the hat, the hamburger hat, the monsters incorporated couple. there they are. the babies first snow hat. as the news 4 today's team judged all of theend, the winner was monsters incorporated couple. congratulations again. >> what a great hat. >> and did you -- we don't get to see your hat. >> not today. but i love their monsters inc. hat. >> yeah that was great. that's news 4 midday. be sure to tune in for fuse 4, 5, 6 and tonight at 11.

we'll see you tomorrow. news 4 midday will be here at 11:00 a.m. we hope you plan to join us.