know is that the roads are wet, and they could freeze. here is how the ride home is shaping up for a lot of people so far. a car caught fire on i-270 north of route 121 in the clarksburg area of montgomery county. the northbound lanes shut down causing traffic backups for miles during an already challenging drive home. >> we're about 20 or 30 minutes, we blocked two lanes of 270, obviously traffic backed up as we started getting into the rush hour there will be miles and miles of traffic northbound on 270. rfrnlt the snow fell without stopping for hours in parts of montgomery and frederick counties. many side streets and neighborhood are snow covered, the snowplows are out. >> i think it will be slick tonight and tomorrow. >> reporter: no after-school activities at urbana high school the frederick county school system canceled them across the district. montgomery county schools also called off after-school programs as the temperature dropped and roads became slick.

this afternoon parents like shayna callahan are mostly concerned about getting their children home safe. >> i do worry because some places aren't cleared, and the kids have gone to school so you know the buses and things will be out later, just increased traffic on the roads. >> reporter: those northbound lanes of 270 are back open right now. fortunately, no one was hurt in that car fire. watch our web site nbcwashington.com for updates in the morning on any possible school delays or cancellations. in montgomery county kristin wright news4. we only had a handful of delays and cancellations at our airports. crews treated the runways, none had to be closed. they still advised to check with their airlines before they headed out. a reminder we'll keep you weather advisories and alerts on our nbc washington app. download it now for the latest forecasts. now to breaking news about that mansion fire in annapolis

this week. fire officials just announced the bodies of two people found in the rubble. the remains have not been identified and four other people remain unaccounted for tonight after flames erupted in the home early monday morning. news4's darcy spencer is live in annapolis with what we're learning right now. >> reporter: well jim, a press conference just wrapped up here at the anne arundel county fire department. we have been reporting on this story all week mentioning the thought that there could have been victims inside that house that never made it out alive. we are now confirming with the anne arundel fire department this afternoon that they did recover two bodies inside the debris of that burned-out mansion, and their work is not over. they're continuing to search for additional victims. now, there are a total of six people missing from that mansion that went up in flames early monday morning. that fire was reported 3:30 a.m. don pile and his wife sandy were believed to be in that house with their four young

grandchildren. atf investigators were able to go into the debris for the first time today to begin looking for victims, and it seemed like it happened pretty quickly. they were instructed by relatives about where to look in the house, where the victims may have been sleechping at that hour. let's hear more about how the discovery was made. >> they searched with a cadaver canine resulted in positive alerts. as we started to process the scene, we located the bodies of two individuals. the office of the chief medical examiner for the state of maryland took possession of the bodies and transported them to baltimore for autopsy and identification. >> reporter: now, investigators are not saying whether they believe that the remains that were found were children or possibly adults. they say that's going to have to happen at the medical examiner's office. like i said, their work is not over. they are still at the house going through all that debris. they are looking for victims.

that's the number one priority. they are still searching for a cause, why did this happen and why did those victims not make it out alive? reporting live from annapolis, darcy spencer news4. a federal grand jury has indicted the man accused of planning to wage jihad on capitol hill. christopher lee cornell is charged with attempting to kill u.s. officials and solicitation to commit a violent crime. the fbi says he was plotting to attack the capitol using pipe bombs and then shooting government workers. they arrested him last week outside a gunshot in cincinnati. he allegedly purchased two assault-style rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition. the two indictments can carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison. a new era of politics in maryland today. republican larry hogan is the state's 62nd governor. at his inauguration hogan said today is the beginning of a new spirit of about bipartisan cooperation in annapolis. news4

news4's chris gordon was there for the inauguration. he has reaction from both political parties about maryland's future. lawrence j. hogan jr. -- >> reporter: as snow fell in nap litigation larry hogan took the oath of office becoming the 62nd governor. >> during my term as governor. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie was invited to introduce the inaugural address because he believed his fellow republican larry hogan would win in maryland known as a heavily democratic state. >> governor larry hogan, who is ready, willing, and able to lead this state into a bright new future future. >> reporter: governor hogan pledged to put partisan politics aside. >> let us sit down together and come up with real bipartisan commonsense solutions to the

serious problems that face us. that's what the people of maryland voted for. it's what they want and it's what they deserve. >> reporter: montgomery and prince george's county executives attended the inauguration hoping governor hogan will keep state funds flowing for local needs. >> the reality is what happens with the budget. certainly as far as the hospital is to start but also school funding. we're in desperate need of funding for the maintenance of our schools but also for the building of new additional schools. >> reporter: governor hogan ended his inaugural address saying that 100 years from now he hopes citizens look back and say, this is when the maryland renaissance began. chris gordon news4. >> we just got an update on virginia governor terry mccullough's condition. no word on when he'll be released but his doctor is happy with his condition. he did have a full schedule today with meetings with his staff.

he broke seven ribs when he was thrown from a horse during the holidays. he was taken to a hospital earlier this week to drain the fluid that was building up around his lungs. harry reid will have to work from home next week after undergoing eye surgery. you may remember earlier this month the senate minority leader had an accident while using an exercise band at his home in nevada. reid's office says the surgery on monday is necessary to help recover vision to his right eye. they say his broken ribs from the exercising accident are healing well. it's a done deal. the nats have their man, and he is worth $210 million. diana is just back from the park where she joins us from the live desk. he must have quite an arm. >> oh, that he does. it's the biggest contract in nats history. it makes scherzer the highest paid right handed figure in baseball. despite the figures he said it wasn't just the money that drew him to washington but it certainly didn't hurt i. asked him what it was like when he found out he was going to make 210 million bucks.

>> it was jaw dropping. you just can't even fathom it. for me, like i seaid, it's aum about winning. i don't play for money, but at the same time when you have an offer like that it just makes you go wow. >> max scherzer will wear number 31 for the nats. in addition it gives the team the best starting rotation in all of baseball. we'll talk more about that news4 at 6. back to you. news4 staying ahead of the investigation into that deadly underground emergency on metro's yellow line. we're expecting new developments just hours from now. we'll explain what resist's next as lead investigators are expected to speak on capitol hill. the son of the late marion barry charged. you may have heard about the measles outbreak that may have started at disneyland. up next the facts about vaccination. we'll explain when you

we're learning new information now about a deadly shooting at a boston hospital. police believe dr. michael davidson was targeted because of his connection to a patient. davidson was a heart surgeon at brigham and women's hospital. he was confronted at the

hospital yesterday by stephen pa certifiry. he shot him twice before taking his own life. davidson had operated on paceri's mother last year. she later died. no one else was seriously hurt in the shooting. california health officials just disclosed that 59 measles cases have been confirmed this month, and 42 of them involve an initial exposure at disneyland or disney adventure park in anaheim. five disney workers have contracted the virus and oregon's first days in eight years has been reported. a patient is a man who recently visited one of disney's parks in california. the outbreak is now linked to cases in five western states and mexico. da doreen gantsler is here with more. >> this measles story just keeps expanding. measles is one of the most contagious illnesses in the world. if you haven't been vaccinated.

you can contract it just being in a room where someone who has the disease once was. the good news is that most people and especially most people here in the d.c. area have been vaccinated. but if you were born at a certain time, you could still be at risk, before the age of 6 most children get two doses of the mmr vaccine. it immuneizeeizes against measles mumps andrew bella. if you've had them, you should be immune. but if you were born between 1957 and 1989 a lot of you, you may not have gotten that second booster shot. that could leave you at risk for contracting the measles virus. now, most colleges and universities do require that second booster vaccine. and if you've been pregnant doctors also check for immunity. so there is a good chance you've had it if either of those apply to you. but if you're unsure, this would probably be a good time to ask your doctor about a measles booster advantage seenvaccine.

fairfax county may raise fees at parks and rec sites. it applies reservations at the picnic shelters to the athletic fields you can rent. the park authority has been accepting e-mail comments but residents can also weigh in verbally at a meeting tonight at the herrity building on government center parkway. you'll want to avoid this area in falls church. a large water main break ruptured on east broad street near fairfax street. crews were able to fix the broken pipe but we just learned the street remains closed to traffic right now. no word yet on when it will be open. it's that season where they bust. >> is this not the most beautiful -- this is our front yard.h a beautiful snow. >> it is. >> driving in it's just lovely. it isn't sticking to the streets here. >> because it's not sticking to the streets, it's a little too warm out there, but the warmer temperature, meaning temperatures just above freezing makes the snow sticks to the

free trees a little better. not bad at all. we saw snow in parts of our area others just saw rain. but most areas the streets have been okay. take a look. this is our tower cam right outside our station. we got about an inch to an inch and a half in northwest d.c. right outside the station. take a look at this. this is reston. we start at 10:00, nothing going on. and then the snow moves in. it moves in quickly and quickly we start to see couple lating snowfall. but by 3:00 it is out of there. that time lapse was from 10:00 to 3:00. this time lapse here on radar also from 10:00 to 3:00. you can see 3:00 it's just starting to end. 10:00 is when it started to move in. we did have pretty good snow making its way through the region. damascus at 3.8 inches just over a four-hour period of time. snowfall rates upwards of an inch per hour in some location as this really developed. notice to the south this was almost all rain mixing in from

time to time as a mix of rain and snow. but most of it was rain. we did not see any problems down into this area. parts of our region picked up 2, 3 regions, around herndon they picked up 1 to 2 inches. that's what we forecast yesterday. that's why we sent amelia siegel out there today. amelia roads aren't too bad. >> reporter: it's really not bad on the roads. i'm here on parcher avenue just outside hutchison elementary. i was here earlier talking to students about the weather including the fast-moving storm system. you can see video from earlier. like you were saying we were tracking heavy snow early afternoon, but it came to an end around 2:00 2:30 in the afternoon. hutchison elementary school was reporting that warmer temperature like you were talking about, 35 degrees, so the roads only wet, not snow covered. snow on trees from earlier i noticed it's either falling off or melted. not a lot of snow anymore. and for the most part traffic not heavily impacted by the snow

in herndon, virginia. but as we come out live right now, looking at the temperature, 34 degrees. it is going to continue to fall below freezing. so here's the concern. not necessarily the roads but the sidewalks. you can see that slushy mess. it's still looking like it's above freezing. you notice that it hasn't harden hardened yet. overnight the temperatures will drop to freezing. students walking tomorrow morning, definitely they'll be dealing with icy patches. as we look further to the road parcher avenue, barely even wet. the snow has been over for a good three hours haven't noticed any commuter issues here in herndon. >> you know where herndon virginia is my hometown, right? >> reporter: yes. >> just tell everybody hi when you go by. i tell you, the big issue as we mentioned is the freezing temperatures. already down to 30 in gaithersburg, 31 in annapolis the rest of the area will fall below freezing tonight, too. once again, heads-up early tomorrow morning. we will see some icy patches

with the temperatures around 30 in the d.c. area. dry and melling during the day tomorrow. we'll see sunshine. tomorrow evening the side roads will be a little wet, but that's about it. temperatures get up to 44. that impact forecast for tomorrow on the low side. really almost no impact from the weather. it will be cool but we'll see some sunshine during the day. future weather timing out our next storm. nothing tomorrow. friday the day is dry. we'll see cloud cover but that's about it. through 6:00 but after that if you have dinner plans, maybe headed to a movie, look what 11:00. we've got the rain. we've got the mixture of rain and snow. we've got the snow back to the west. then on saturday it's all snow to the north and west rain down toward the south and east. still need to figure out where the rain/snow line is going to be, but this looks like a pretty potent system. it will bring more snow than this one did during the day today in most areas that received snow today. 44 tomorrow, 42 on friday with that late mixture, 80% chance of rain and snow on saturday with a high of 37.

on sunday we'll see late snow once again. most of sunday is dry with a high temperature of 40 but then we'll see the next system move in here and it will be snow monday a high temperature of only 35 degrees. i do think monday everybody has a chance of seeing snow even you folks toward fredericksburg and southern maryland that have been jiped over the last couple of storms. it stays cold too some of the coldest air of the season. right now president obama is in boise, idaho, to push the economic proposals he outlined in his state of the union speech last night. here is a live look, the president speaking before a crowd at boise state university. it is the first visit mr. obama has made to idaho as president. he heads off to kansas next. my brother's keeper is also a project supported by president obama. news4's zachary key shows us exactly why the district is focusing on boys and young men of color and more on how a $20 million initiative is aimed at

help ing helping. >> 45 minutes undivided attention. >> reporter: mallory with reading partners is a group that's found success connecting mentors with those struggling to read is just one of the partnerships mentioned today. >> this is a collective movement. we need you. >> reporter: in the library of this new high school plans to make a $20 million investment to improve the outcomes of students who need it the most. >> we must be relentless in our pursuit of equity for our african-american and latino young men. >> reporter: right now, their outcomes in the classroom are not good. the empowering males of color initiative is a three-pronged approach to bridge the gap across the board k-12. mentoring and fostering a love of reading targeted funding for schools and a new all-male high school. the school, still in the early planning stages will be located in southeast d.c., and it will be modeled after the urban prep academy out of chicago.

founder, tim king. >> urban prep not only has achieved a 100% college acceptance rate for all of our graduates, unheard of for nonselective public schools serving low income minority males. >> reporter: what can you do? the call is out specifically to men of color to step up. >> all of my students are black or latino and i have zero black or latino tutors active tutors here. male tutors. >> reporter: the road to success isn't a paved road. it takes help. it takes the effort of people like you. if you'd like to volunteer as a mentor check out the nbc 4 app for all the info. reporting in northeast d.c. zachary kiesch news4. well don't you hate when that happens? these montgomery homeowners didn't have to look far to find the person who drove into their house. and it can make the difference between life and death, but medical alert products are being used to target some of the most vulnerable patients. our consumer reporter erika

a maryland family can't stay in their house tonight because the neighbor across the street drove into their home. we're told the neighbor was attempting to back into their driveway but went forward instead, ending up in their neighbor's house. no one was hurt but it caused significant damage. it happened this morning along

locksford terrace in wheaton. friends and family are going to say good-bye to a newlywed killed last week in his ashburn village home. the wake for corey madison begins at 6:00 tonight. he just got married three months ago, lived in ashburn village with his new wife denise and their five combined children. denise's ex-husband broke into their home thursday night. men nguyen has been charged with the murder. a new warning from leesburg police about synthetic marijuana. they're seeing a spike in the number of people needing medical help after smoking or inhaling the product often labeled as k-2 or spice. synthetic marijuana is a type of incense. it contains powerful chemicals that can cause dangerous health effects if ingested. it's now illegal to use or sell in virginia. last year leesburg police

investigated 40 k-2 related incidents. this year they've already had 14. it's a plea for help from virginia parents. right now at 5:00 why a mom and dad are fighting to let their kid have marijuana, and they are taking that battle all the way to the virginia general assembly. and a major development in the case of that shooting on a metro bus. we'll find out who p

technology has improved our lives, in small ways. in big ways. but what about this? couldn't this be better too? at redfin we asked ourselves the same question. which led us to create new ways to take you inside a home or instantly schedule a tour. but we paired that with our own agents who aren't paid on commission but on your happiness. and that's what makes it all work the world has changed and now real estate has too.

. right now at 5:30 what's next for the son of the late marion barry after he was released from police custody? also demo drama. a husband uses a bulldozer to tear down his home but he didn't tell his wife first. why not wait and let her get her things out? >> i tried calling her. she didn't answer the phone. >> why this do it yourself project turned into a dangerous situation. and the super bowl bound new england patriots are accused of using deflated balls to get an edge. get the science behind this football flap. the son of the late marion barry is out of jail tonight after pleading not guilty in an outburst at a local bank. >> despite that plea marion christopher barry is still apologizeing to the people that he hopes will elect him to his late father's council seat. pat coolllins is live at d.c. superior court.

>> reporter: wendy i'm going to have someone meet you when you get off. better yet, i'm going to go out and go around the corner and then come back. threatening words from ward 8 council candidate marion christopher barry. marion c. barry, formally known as christopher barry officially charged in superior court with assault, threats to do bodily harm and destruction of property. this comes as a result of an outburst last week at this pnc bank in chinatown. according to court records obtained by news4, barry tried to withdraw $20,000 from an account. it was denied because he was already carrying a negative balance of $2,000. barry got upset began to curse, and told a bank employee i'm going to have someone meet you

when you get off. better yet i'm going around the corner and coming back. barry then picked up a metal trash can and threw it over a plexiglass window near a teller and broke a security camera. in a tweet today, marion christopher barry said, i apologize to my ward 8 community and my supporters for the incident that took place last week. now, marion christopher barry entered a not guilty plea. he was let out on personal bond pending further court action in the case next month. live at superior court, pat collins, news4. >> thank you, pat. an arrest today on a scary bus shooting. delante brown was arrested overnight in prince george's county on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. police tell us more charges could be added when he's extradited to the district. brown's accused of firing into

an x-2 metro bus in northwest d.c. monday night. two passengers were injured. there were about 40 people aboard the bus. we had a picturesque snow today. it was lovely but there is something coming this weekend that may not be so charming. >> yeah. i'll tell you, this was a fairly pretty snow in pars of the area. other parts just had rain to the south. that's what this system was supposed to give us this little clipper system. we've seen a couple of them this winter. let's show you how it's been over the past couple of hours. that storm system is making its way in our region. now it's up toward new jersey. there's the rain/snow line just to the south of washington. washington for the most part stayed almost all snow, but it was all rain down toward southern maryland and back down toward the south. there's another little clipper system to the west bringing rain to the ohio valley. this one should pass us to the north, not seeing much. this was the predicted amounts

we gave you of snow mostly rain to the south, 1 to 2 inches in places like leesburg and portions of montgomery county, 2 inches plus some areas up to 3 inches. we did a pretty good job with this forecast. however, some locations still picked up a little bit more than that. >> reporter: that they did, just north of d.c. i've got to hand it to wendy, she's right. it's very pretty out here the snow just hanging on some of the branchs, the big flakes. take a look at the amounts, montgomery county loudoun county those areas through howard county the big winners on snowfall, wolf trap virginia 1.6 inches loudoun county, prince george's county a lot less just 0.5. same in fairfax, amounts around only an inch but damascus the big winner at 3.8 inches. and it will be those areas to the north for montgomery for frederick county and loudoun county where we'll see possible delays because of the secondary

roads really slushy with the re-freeze. meanwhile, around here in front of nbc 4, we have puddles for sure on the blacktop. that could freeze but i don't think we'll see major problems tomorrow morning, as doug said. we have another system to think about for the first half of the weekend, friday into saturday morning. >> that's right. not just the one on friday and saturday but also one into sunday and monday. so we have two storms back to back. we'll continue to keep you posted on those, the latest coming up in the next 15 to 20 minutes. good evening, everyone. i'm jason pough here at the verizon center. we're getting set for a huge game tonight. prince george's native kevin durant making another return home. the thunder of oklahoma city will take on the wizards tip-off at 8:00. this game is absolutely huge. want to give you a sense of just how big it is. "the washington post" sports section right here has kevin durant's picture on it. you see him wearing a t-shirt

with his picture on it holding a championship trophy in a wizards uniform with the hash tag bring k.d. home. this movement has a lot of hash tags you'll see on social media tonight. the main one that you will see is k.d. to d.c. he's a free agent in the summer of 2016 and fans want him to return to the nation's capital. fans going out of their way, ordering wizards jerseys with durant's name on the back of them. talked to a few wizards players. they say it's a bit strange seeing your own fans root so hard for an opposing team's player. >> it's strange because, i mean he doesn't play for us. who knows what he's going to do in the next couple of years. i mean it's kind of weird and it's kind of cool at the same time imagine and picture that. but at the same time you never know for sure. >> it's fun. it's something you probably wouldn't have thought about two three years ago having guys thinking about free agency.

it's a long haul away from what we're capable of seeing and what will happen. all we can do is focus on this season and our team here. >> reporter: now, this arena is going to be absolutely crazy tonight for the thunder and kevin durant. also the wizards having a great season themselves second in the eastern conference. tip-off tonight is at 8:00. the thunder actually beat the wizards earlier this season so you know the wiz kids want a little payback. you can watch the game over on comcast sportsnet. from the verizon center jason pough, news4 sports. well it was a home and then it wasn't. and the man who did this do-it-yourself demo didn't tell anyone not even his wife. but that wasn't the only concern about this plan. plus a new scam warning for some of the oldest patients out there tonight. how a device that's supposed to save a life could cost you a lot of money. we'r

our wednesday's child this week says he wants to be a rapper or a policeman or a mechanic when he glows up. >> at just 11 he's still trying to make up his mind about his future. barbara harrison introduces us to donald. >> a chocolate milkshake and funnel cake. >> chocolate milkshake and funnel cake. are those your two favorite things? >> yes. >> we heard that donald loves milkshakes so parked nearby was a brand-new truck. >> what would you like donald? >> chocolate milkshake.

>> no problem. chocolate shake! >> you want a hot dog also? ketchup, mustard, nothing? >> i want bread, too. >> reporter: donald recently turned 11 years old and is anxious to be adopted. he's been in foster care for more than half of his young life. >> he was living in a home with a lot of chaos. he was suffering from neglect. >> reporter: we looked at the long list of milkshakes and donald was invited to make a few himself. he watched carefully to see how it's done. >> do you want to help me scoop the ice cream, donald? >> reporter: while the lack of early parental attention has left him with challenges social works are hopeful having a family will help him grow in many ways. >> reporter: tell me about the family you'd like to have. >> i'd like a mom and dad and dog and brother and sister. >> we're really looking for a family that has a lot of patience can really give him a lot of time and attention and

affection. >> reporter: and perhaps a family that can turn out a really great chocolate milkshake milkshake. barbara harrison news4 for wednesday's child. >> what a great story. great kid. if you have room in your home and heart for donald or another child, call our special adoption hotline, 1-88-to-adopt-me or search wednesday's child on nbcwashington.com. they want marijuana for their sick children. we're going to follow one northern virginia family's fight that is taking them to richmond. plus we're just eight hours from an update on the tragedy on the y

well, we dodged today, but there's more in store. doug it looks like they're lined up ahead of us. >> they could be lined up for the next week or so the first one coming in during the day friday. rather friday night into saturday. first off, out toward the airport, what we saw officially just under a half inch out there. it's all metlted now. still wet roads the issue, 36 at the airport dropping to around 33 by 11:00. a little chilly this evening.

but notice already below freezing 32 in rockville, 29 baltimore, 32 back towards dulles. now we're good to start to see that freeze happening over the next couple of hours. so it's not going to take a lot to produce slick roadways. give yourselves extra times, the turns, bridges, overpasses. they're the first freeze. this is the area that saw some of the heaviest snow howard county frederick county, northern montgomery and loudoun county areas, martinsburg. lows in the 20s so everything will freeze here. watch out for that tomorrow morning even though we're dealing with sunshine. nothing on the radar now. our storm system is out of here. that was wednesday's system. how about saturday's system? here it is off the coast. how much snow will be involved? how much rain and how much warm air? then monday we get another system coming down out of the north and combining with the system off the coast that will once again give us more cold

air. next week will be very cold but we're also talking about an all-snow event on monday where saturday the rain/snow line will be in effect once again. that's something we'll continue to hone in on as far as the forecast is concerned. 44 for a high not bad. friday looks pretty nice but we'll see rain and snow move in late friday. it will continue most of the day on saturday. some areas could pick up a lot of snow from this one, high of 37. late snow on sunday most of the day looks okay. then it's all snow on monday as we get into some really cold air, some of the coldest air of the season making its way in here. we'll talk had much more about the next couple much days at 6:00. right now, met fro's deadly smoke incident at l'enfant plaza is part of a closed door meeting. transportation reporter adam tuss is on capitol hill where they will be giving an update once they're through. >> reporter: we should get more

answers tonight about what happened a week ago in that tunnel at l'enfant plaza and the deadly smoke-filled episode. a group of lawmakers is meeting with the national transportation safety board behind closed doors on capitol hill right now. there are plans to speak about that meeting to the press around 6:15 tonight. then following that we'll hear from the ntsb itself acting chairman chris hart expected to take questions. >> there's always room for improvement, but we'll be looking in the emergency response aspect of the investigation. we'll be looking at the communications because that's a crucial part of the emergency response. >> reporter: now, stay with us here on news4. we'll update the situation on air, online and on social media as details become available. on capitol hill adam tuss news4. >> and we will bring you the news conference live on the nbc washington app. you can watch it from your phone or tablet. tonight the future of one of reston's community golf orss is still up in the air. the fairfax board of zoning

appeals delayed any decision that involves the reston national golf course. that property owner rn golf management believes the property along sunrise valley drive is zoned to allow housing. well, two hadyears ago the county disagreed with the interpretation and a community group is fighting to keep the land as a golf course. an attorney representing the property owner tells us they are simply seeking to confirm what the property rights are what they believe them to be. right now several parents from northern virginia are making their way to richmond hoping lawmakers will make it easier for their children to use medical marijuana. news4's david culver met up with a fairfax family who says this will ease their daughter's debilitating seizures. >> reporter: you look at jennifer collins and you see an ordinary 15-year-old. she's balancing classes and a high school social life. but you don't really see the suffering.

at least not right away. was that one right there? >> yeah. >> reporter: several times during our interview we noticed her eyes flutter indications she's having a seizure. you have how many seizures a day roughly? >> well, my eeg said around 300 seizures a day, but my neurologist stopped counting then. >> reporter: jennifer's mom beth said they spent five years trying to find something that worked. >> we went through 15 different pharmaceuticals all of which had horrendous side effects as well as they didn't work. >> reporter: jennifer's parents made huge sacrifices. last year the family split up jennifer and her mom moved to colorado. she uses cannabis oil, medical marijuana in liquid form, without the so-called high. she combined it with depakote. >> we saw not only a reduction in seizures but we were able to lower her depakote by half. >> reporter: but the distance was tough. >> being separated was -- excuse me.

very difficult. >> reporter: so they moved back home and started their campaign to persuade virginia's lawmakers that medical marijuana should be made accessible to those like jennifer. >> the medicine we want for children is a nonpsycho active oil. >> it's really hard for people to understand what we're fighting for if they don't witness it. >> reporter: opponents say there should be more trials to determine its effectiveness and safety. in fairfax, david culver news4. >> now, you can read the three bills proposed for the general assembly by going to nbcwashington.com and search "medical marijuana". medical alert products serve as a safety line especially for the elderly who live alone, but there is a phone scam out there. consumer reporter erika gonzalez has a warning about criminals targeting those most vulnerable. >> hi this is john from the shipping department. >> probably got calls from six, eight times. >> reporter: john jensen is talking about phone calls

pitching a free medical alert system. >> let's see. it says here that the system has already been paid for. >> reporter: it's a product often marketed to senior citizens that serves as a lifeline in case of an emergency, a way to call for help. >> i never signed up for anything. i'm really too young for that sort of thing. >> reporter: jensen said the caller sounded like a real person. >> i was calling to schedule delivery of your medical alert system. >> it didn't sound like a tele telemarketing call. it sounded like somebody calling up with a shipping error. >> reporter: instead, it was an illegal robocall. and after months of annoying phone calls, jensen filed a complaint with the federal trade commission. his one of more than 15,000 complaints the ftc said it received last year all robocalls pitching free medical alert devices. >> they claim that a friend or family member has already purchased this device for the senior citizen in question. that is almost always not true. >> reporter: this man heads the national do not call registry

program at the ftc. the ftc recently shut down a florida-based company that made more than $20 million off consumers from calls like the one jensen got. in addition, the ftc warns, the caller tells the consumer that it's endorsed by hospitals or a company when it's not. >> it also says that the shipping has already been paid for so to schedule the delivery of your emergency medical alert system, press 1. >> reporter: and when the consumer pressed the button it verified the company reached a working number. >> then says we need your credit card information. >> reporter: the credit card information was used to pay for a monitoring system associated with the device. >> the monitor service usually costs a fee, and that is not disclosed in the initial robocall. >> reporter: so how can you protect yourself? for starters do what jensen did. just hang up. never interact with a caller. if you haven't already, register your phone number on the national do not call registry at do not call.gov.

and finally, know that telemarketing robocalls are illegal and file a complaint. >> they stopped it. they put one bad guy away. i hope they put some more. it just shows that complaining does do something. just call. >> reporter: erika gonzalez news4. there is a controversy threatening to take the air out of the patriots super bowl excitement. an nfl source is telling nbc sports that footballs used during the patriots win over the colts were underinflated. why is this a big deal? less air in those balls makes them easier to throw and catch in the cold rainy weather. the nfl has yet to rule on this matter. if the patriots are found guilty they could be fined and lose draft picks. and news4 is your super bowl station. next week we kick off super bowl week. i'm headed for phoenix for full coverage leading up to the big game between the seahawks and the pats on february 1st. like my facebook page and follow

along. he didn't tell the city. he didn't call his wife. nenext the unusual home demo project that put an entire neighborhood in danger. and just as maryland's new governor takes the reins, he's already facing a classroom crisis. new at 6:00, the issue that could affect thousands of local students.

walmart has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the friend of tracy morgan's friend.

mcnair was killed last summer when a walmart truck slammed into their lynx mowimo. the settlement is confidential. the ntsb report shows the driver was speeding on the jersey turnpike. so you pull into your drive way, and the house you've had for a decade is gone. >> it happened that fast. now imagine that your spouse is the one who brought it down some of your belongings still inside. >> that's what happenedn middletown new york. jen maxfield takes a look. >> reporter: diane andershack drove up to find her home reduced to rubble. >> she was very upset. she came and she was in the middle of the road screaming about her house what happened to her house. >> reporter: the man driving the bulldozer that razed her home in middletown yesterday was diane's own husband, 48-year-old james ryne. >> reporter: why not wait and let her get her things out? >> i tried calling her.

she didn't answer the phone. >> reporter: but she only got one day's notice? >> how many days should i give her? >> reporter: police say ryne didn't notify anyone and didn't have the gas or water shut off causing a potentially dangerous situation. he's charged with criminal mischief. neighbors say the home had into disrepair, but it was demolished with clothing and furniture and personal papers still inside. now everything is piled in two dumpsters. >> she's very upset. she had a lot of personal things in her house that -- i mean, there was -- it was like no warning. >> reporter: ryne says he and his wife moved out weeks ago. he adds that the home's foundation was so badly damaged it had to be knocked down. >> reporter: do you think you did anything wrong? >> no. i didn't do nothing wrong. the house had to come down. that's it. >> reporter: most people get permits before they tear a house down. >> i'm working on it. >> reporter: jen maxfield "news 4 new york." >> whoa that's a piece of work. >> something tells me he'll be

single soon. that husband is free on $300 bond. he'll be back in court later this month. next at 6:00 doreen gantsler begins with a fire tragedy. now at 6:00 a mystery deepens, two bodies pulled out of a mansion, four still missing and another day working in the light ends with investigators in the dark. right now local lawmakers getting briefed on how and why a metro tunnel filled with deadly smoke. we expect to hear from them this hour. first, the snow. it coated the ground the frees and a lot of cars and more could be on the way very soon. we have team coverage tonight. >> news4's kristin wright traveled north and west to find the areas with the most snow. let's get first to storm team 4's doug kammerer. >> you mentioned northwest, the areas that saw the most snow out of this event. this little clipper came in quickly and moved out just as fast. some areas picking up pretty

good snow totals. this is a five-hour loop from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. that's it a five-hour period of snow right around d.c. take a look. by 3:00, it was out of here. but not before producing some pretty good snow totals in through parts of montgomery howard frederick and portions of loudoun counties. down to the south, this was not snow. this was rain for you folks into southern maryland toward the northern neck. enough nothing on the radar. the only thing we'll be watching now is the re-freeze moving into the overnight hours, temperatures already below freezing. that could be the issue as we make our way into earlier tomorrow morning. we'll talk about that and plus there are two storms on the way. yeah we're talking more snow in the forecast. this is what it looked like earlier today in downtown annapolis near the maryland statehouse when the first wave of snow began to cover the region. our team coverage