being announced today, but the head of the union that remits metro's frontline employee, the bus operator, the train operators, she does say more needs to be done. >> one of the things that i'm most afraid of that they haven't grass and true safety culture. >> jackie jeter is the head of amalgamated transit union local 689 which represents metro bus operate and rail operators as well as others. today, new safety procedures train operators cutting off ventilation systems so smoke can't get on a train and new markings on the outside of trains that give first responders a better idea which doors are emergency doors. but jeter, a former train operator herself, says the issue with metro is deeper than that. >> where i draw back from is the fact there is not as much of a -- i won't say interest but there's not as much as a hurry

to actually establish a safety culture so that these types of accidents do not occur. >> reporter: today at metro headquarters the acting chair of the nlt sb chris hart sat in on a safety meeting and spoke about the changes metro's making. >> we're always very pleased to see parties take immediate action when they see problems during the course of the investigation. the parties are up close and personal with the issues and when they see a problem, it needs to be addressed and they need to address them. >> reporter: metro add theys ear not being directed to take these actions but are doing so on their own. coming up in my next report at 6:00 still so many questions about what happened that day at l'enphant plaza. news4 as learned about major face-to-face communication problems between d.c. firefighters and metro transit police. you'll want to hear that. reporting live at metro headquarters adam tuss news4. and continuing our team coverage right now, news4's derrick ward is live outside the king street metro in alexandria where he is hearing from riders about these safety changes and

just how safe they feel on metro. derrick? >> reporter: well indeed, you know everybody who gets on a train, i'll pay the fare you get me there safely, that's the pact. when things go wrong, they can go wrong quickly. metro has found ten ways they think they can keep that pact going. when things go wrong, they can go wrong quickly with devastating results. >> i just hope they -- >> one of metro's proposals, considering slowing the trains. >> i wouldn't think that would be a consideration. >> reporter: metro reasons that lower speeds would require less electrical current, so there'd be less stress on the electrical infrastructure a short on the current carrying third rail was an early factor in the january 12th incident. though lower speeds would mean longer daily commutes. >> if it means getting to your destination a little bit longer than, you know then it has to be done. >> reporter: we showed riders some proposals. they come amid a federal investigation that has yet to wrap up. metro's deputy general manager

says the steps being taken don't necessarily mean the issue being addressed was the reason for the problems in the l'enphant plaza tunnel. >> i think they're trying to do the best that they can. >> reporter: do you feel safe? >> i do. >> reporter: operators will also now be instructed to turn off the train's on board fans immediately when smoke is encountered, since they draw in air from outside the train cars. riders say it looks like officials are on top of things. >> now they are. oh yeah. >> reporter: there's also a plan to place clearer signage on the exterior of railcars so that rescuers can get in if they need to. an early post incident report says it wasn't clear that there's an emergency door mechanism beneath the cover above the train doors. firefighters outside the train may have had trouble instructing passengers inside how to do it. >> do you think you know how to get out of the train in an emergency? >> no not really. >> reporter: and hopefully she won't ever have to but metro says the ten proposals announced today are things that they can

be doing now, changes that can be made immediately. >> hopefully they pay better attention. >> reporter: some changes will happen among first responders police and in control center because lot of them will affect the passenger directly. coming up on news4 at 6:30 what passengers can do to keep themselves safe. live in alexandria derrick ward news4. we want to know what you think about making metro safer. we've got the list of ten changes that metro says have to be made immediately on our facebook page. going go there during the break and tell us what you think. you can also find complete coverage on the incident and the emergency at nbcwashington.com. just search metro. all right. are you ready? storm team 4 coverage tracking two storms that are going to run right into your weekend. here's our chief meteorologist doug kammerer looking ahead at the next round of winter weather. how bad is it going to be? >> that's the thing wendy. right now it's looking better

and better as far as less and less winter-like weather. because of the temperatures. they've been on the warm side and will continue to be until this event starts tomorrow night. look at the numbers today, upwards of 50 degrees in d.c. same in fredericksburg 45 towards frederick. we need some kind of cold air to move in and that's not going to happen. storm team 4 radar showing nothing around our region. we won't see anything until tomorrow evening, but we are watching this storm, and it is a big storm and it is a perfect scenario. a lot of moisture out of the gulf moving up the coast. that's the kind of storm that could bring us a lot of snowfall. this one will also bring a little more warm air associated with it so this is not going to be a big snow et vent for us. we are still going to get some snow though pip eel break it down who has the best chance to see snow. two storms another moves in on sunday night. the first part of the weekend and the last part of the weekend affected by two storms, both of which could gives us a little snow. guys?

>> thank you, doug. we are learning more about a man in his 70s two died after a house fire in south arlington this morning. his name is dennis lee. he lived in that house for 30 years. it's on south randolph street just off walter reed drive. it took 70 firefighters to get everything under control. ahead in our next half hour news4's pat collins will have more on lee and the friends who are remembering him tonight. accused serial killer charles sevens is headed to a hospital for a mental exam. julie carey was in the courtroom and reports severance had several outburst today telling the judge his attorneys don't represent him. he's charged in connection with the murders of three well-known alexandria residents. prosecutors say the initial mental competency exam ordered was incomplete because severance refused to be interview twid forensic psychologist. they hope placing him in a hospital will help him get the

help needs and a more extensive exam. the judge agreed and he will be moved from the arlington county jail to a state psychiatric facility. a longtime friend of severance's who has visited him in jail recently says he understands why sechbs severance is refusing to cooperate snipt doesn't surprise me at all. i know his opinions about the mental health industry. and i know what he's been subjected to and if i was in his shoes i wouldn't be willing to talk to anybody either. >> at the end of the hearing today the judge asked severance if he had anything to say. he replied, "i'd like the this defense to completely argue i've been denied a right to a speedy trial." the judge told him he had a very competent legal team. a new report on the new competency exam is due march 19th. it has been more than four decades since the supreme court's landmark decision in roe vs. wade. today thousands gathered downtown to mark that anniversary.

both abortion and anti-abortion rights advocates gathering outside the high court to have their voices heard. their demonstrations come after republican lead. >> announcer: the house scrapped a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. >> some don't have a voice and we have a voice for them. we have to speak for them. >> i may or may not choose to do that myself. i wouldn't want my daughter or my sister or anybody else to have to get a back-alley abortion. >> the house did go on to pass a separate measure that would prevent federal funding from going toward aborgs. even if it passes in the senate president obama has vowed to veto that bill. between the future of jobs health care option metro's purple line and kids' education maryland governor larry hogan is addressing pretty big issues. chris gordon has details on how the governor's budget proposal will impact our area. >> reporter: maryland lawmakers

got a final brief tagt budget at a meeting at the governor's residence nap's where we learned there will be funding for a new medical center for prince george's county even though it votes heavily democratic. >> there's money in there for it i think $30 million, which is considering where the vote came from that's nice. >> reporter: prince george's county executive baker had asked for more none but is happy the $30 million is in the budget. >> we think we're going to be able to build this regional medical facility yet it will provide jobs and opportunities. >> reporter: in annapolis, governor hogan introduced his budget with a theme, "balance today, balance tomorrow." >> maryland's fy-2016 budget establishes balance without slashing agencies laying off workers, and while fully funding education and all of our other essential priorityiespriorities. >> reporter: but there is some bad news for prince george's fed rick and montgomery county schools. the governor's budget cuts in

half what's called the geci or geographic cost of education. montgomery county executive ike leggett says that could hurt teaching. >> he's indicated a 50% reduction in the gci which would be approximately a $17 million hit to montgomery county. >> reporter: supporters of the proposed $2.5 billion purple line got some good news. the budget continues funding the 16-mile-long light rail system that will run from new carrollton to bethesda. five purple line stops are planned for the university of maryland one right in front of the student union. if construction begins it's expectd to take about five years to complete. reporting from prince george's county, chris gordon, news4. virginia governor terry mcauliffe is on the mend and felt well enough today to joke around with some school kids. these are pictures of the governor posted on flickr at the executive mansion. mccauliffe broke several ribs after he was thrown from a horse while vacationing over the holidays and earlier this week

he had to be hospitalized because he had shortness of breath and fluid gathering around his lungs. the mansion fire tragedy, two more bodies found in those ashes as the family releases information about the children who were lost in that fire. mcdonald's and a racism scandal. black workers say they were fired from virginia restaurants because they didn't fit the profile. we have the explanation. and a fight to get students more shut eye. fairfax county may not be the only school system that will be

we have breaking news. this is empirial drive. a man in his 20s was shot several times. no arrest. we have an update on the deadly mansion fire in annapolis. two more bodies have been found in the rubble a couple and their four grandchildren were inside the mansion at the time. two are still missing tonight. darcy spencer has the update. >> reporter: this breaking news came down just a few minutes ago from the anne arundel county fire department. they confirmed two additional bodies were found. two were found yesterday so, four victims have been found, two remain unaccounted for.

the atf national response team cadaver dogs found two bodies wednesday and detected additional remains deep in the debris. investigators are using forensic mapping software to help find the cause. >> going to be three things you're going to determine, that there was an incendiary device that started a fire or that it's going to be some kind of accidental fire whether there was an electrical malfunction or just undetermined. >> reporter: agents say what may look like a pile of ash to the average person looks different to someone trained in what to look for. >> kind of the bread and butter of what this team does and they're very confident that they'll be able to come to a conclusion and determine, you know hopefully the cause and origin of the fire that occurred. >> reporter: anne arundel county fire recruits brought in by bus to help in the search for evidence. for the first time we are hearing from relatives of the victims who were feared dead inside this charred debris with where a multimillion-dollar

mansion once stood. the early morning fire may have claimed the lives of don and sandy pyle and their four grandchildren, lexi boone, katie boone, 8-year-old charlotte boone and 6-year-old wes boone. in a statement, the family says "we wish to express our gratitudee and support being shared with us during this tragic event. we are blessed family friends, and neighbors have come together for us in our time of need." all four bodies have been transported to the medical examiner's office in baltimore for positive identification. on news 4 at 6:00 we'll talk about what this family was doing the night before this terrible tragedy struck. live in annapolis, darcy spencer, news4. juror parents are weighing in on possible changes to the start times at one of our region's largest school district montgomery county. a public hearing is under way in rockville. a second hearing is scheduled late they are evening.

news4's jackie bensen is inside the county council building with more. >> reporter: the hearing room was packed with parent, the testimony passionate and emotional at times. these montgomery county students came to the school board hearing in ba jamapajamas to make a point. >> before the school year i wasn't used to waking up at 6:40 in the morning so i kept asking can i wear my pajamas to school? but apparently it's against dress code. >> reporter: the majority of dozens of people to speak in the two days of hearings were parents. they told stories of the inconveniences and sometimes heartaches of high school start times they feel are simply too early for their teenagers' physical and mental health. >> then he was double-teamed by the sleep problems related to early school start times. his anxiety became so overwhelming he was physically harming himself and he wassed is dal. >> reporter: the majority of those who spoke said advancing the first bell even 35 minutes

is long overdue. >> they're half asleep and they sleep through their first couple periods every day. and this they're not functioning optimally for that reason. >> reporter: there is no set timetable for school board members to make a decision on this hot-button issue. jackie bensen news4. you did not want to sleep through this day, a gorgeous day. >> it was nice. >> really nice. temperatures near 50 degrees, some sunshine across the area and this is one reason why this next storm is really not going to be all that big of an issue for us. couple of good things too, here as we'll make our way through the next couple days. first off take a look at this the sun going down tonight right about now, a very nice sunset across our region. we had temperatures today up into the upper 40s to around 50. right now sitting at 46 degrees. that down sloping coming off the mountains warms the air moving towards the area. that's why places like fredericksburg are at 47 d.c.

46 gaithersburg at 37 and 38 back towards hagerstown. there is some cooler air back there, but we were above average today. nothing on the radar right now. we're not going to see anything for about the next 24 hours but we're about exactly 24 hours out from our next storm. a few clouds from time to time but not too much out there. we will see some cloud cover overnight. here's the storm. again, this is a very big storm. you can see what's happening. tons of rain a little bit of cold air on the backside here and we need some of that colder air to move into our region if we're going to get some snow. we have the moisture. you can see a ton of moisture anytime we're down toward the gulf of mexico. the moisture out of the gulf we call it the gulf open for business and it is this time and laugh lot of moisture. most of that moisture moves off the coast and also bring in milder air. tomorrow not bad early, friday a.m., maybe some sunshine out there. as we move through the afternoon, notice around 6:00 we start to see the rain move in maybe a mix back towards the west back toward the mountains here and then the rain and snow move in.

notice what this computer model is doing. really telling us hey, not exactly sure what's happening here but it looks like rain to the south, a mixture in this area and the best chance of snow will be back to the west. as the storm moves up the coast and does wrap in some colder air, i expect to see some snow even around the d.c. metro on saturday. who has the best chance to see some accumulating snowfall? well down to the south and east sorry, guys looks like mostly just rain for you, minor amounts, minor accumulation along the i-95 corridor. and in the areas that normally get the snow minor to moderate argets maybe 2 to 4 inch some areas maybe a little more if you're able to stay all snow. this could still be a bigger storm. right now it look like we'll be on the warmer side. 44 for tomorrow 45 down in in gaithersburg not a bad day at all early, but then as i mentioned we will see that rain move in first with that snow coming in later on into the evening hours. so late mix, 41 degrees on saturday with mixed during the day and another mix coming in late sunday into monday.

now, monday interesting, too if enough cold air moves in we could see mostly snow in parts of the region. i expect to see some accumulation at a monday storm. once again, though it looks like it gets a little too warm and only talking a couple of degrees. next week we got plenty of cold air. we don't have any chances for snow though. >> all right. thank you, doug. major progress for the mgm casino casino. news4 got an exclusive look at what's changed at the national harbor. we'll give you a sneak peek. northern virginia parents are fighting to get their kid manl. and today they took on lawmakers who could make that happen. find out who

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here we are less than ten days dill the super bowl supposed to be talking about two teams. all we're talking about footballs. >> deflategate is all anyone is talking about. this is literally what we're discussing. this is the nfl's regulation air pressure and this is the alleged patriot way of how they filled the footballs. i'm going to give you to these guys. first, patriots quarterback tom brady says he has nothing to do with this and no idea how it happened. >> i get the snap i drop back i throw the ball. you know i grip it and i try to throw the ball. that's the extent of me touching the football. i don't sit there and try to

squeeze it and determine that. if that's what the colts want to do that's what they want to do. >> decided to go out to redskin park the other day and take one that was inflated to 13 and one inflated to 11. what's the difference? i found negligible difference when it came to being able to throw the football. remember the weather was crappy up there a well. >> it's cheating basically. however you want to spin or try to get around to it, you know, what are we teaching our kids today? when you're deflating the football you're trying to get an edge on the grip of the football especially in bad-weather conditions. >> everyone's got an opinion about it. >> i can't tell the difference. >> you have to flatter version. they feel like the same. >> i can tell just a little bit. one feels a little flatter. >> i'm sure a pro football player would be able to tell. >> and if all you do is pass and that's what you want you know subtlety counts. >> right now the nfl is investigating but we found out through that tom brady press conference they have yet to even interview him.

>> what i love who knows what's going to be a controversy. you know? the more i'm in this business the more controversies i'm learning about. who'd have thought. interesting. >> here's the thing. it's not going away. we'll learn a lot more. we'll see what happens. but right now tom brady stands by the fact that he had no idea and the head coach bill belichick today in his press conference said no idea how this happened. >> theismann said today he backs belichick, believes him 200%. so he's backing him pap lot of people think belichick threw brady under the bus today. >> coming at you. ready? >> i got to see this. >> i got it! >> whoops! this is why we can't have nice things. >> no we can't. our furniture is busted. more to come including more on the weather and the rest of today's news. and mcdonald's is accused of firing workers based on their race. a new lawsuit focused on action that was taken at virginia restaurants. and a the burglar got in that has the

an entire community on alert.

new details on a fire that broke out on randolph road in

south arlington off four mile run drive. pat collins live at the scene. pat? >> reporter: jim, when you see the pictures you'll better understand what happened here. you see, for three decades this man lived in this house in southarm and today he died here. the victim of an angry and fast-moving fire. look at the flames as they knife through the roof of this south randolph street house in arlington. the smoke billowing out the windows. jose ramirez, he heard the cries for help. >> he said id help help me help me. >> reporter: then you saw the flames? >> then we saw the flame, yeah. >> reporter: it happened in the dark hours of the morning, and it had deadly consequences. more than 70 firefighters called ed to battle back this blaze.

kill in the fire 73-year-old dennis lee, a retired odd-job contractor. he lived in this house for 30 years. >> then for something like this to happen -- >> i think it's a terrible tragedy, very scary. >> reporter: now a short time after firefighters arrived on the scene, they found mr. lee unconscious inside. they pulled him out of the house. they tried to save him, but it was not to be. >> they removed the victim from the home. the medics were waiting for the victim. they immediately began treatment and then initiated transport to virginia hospital center. >> reporter: and after that? >> after that he was pronounced dead at virginia hospital center and the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was smoke inhalation. >> reporter: now, one of the things untouched by that fire a gigantic dallas cowboys flag outside near the front door.

there's a story behind that flag and i'll have that story coming up for you at 6:00. live in arlington, pat collins, news4. for the second time this week a fire at the capitol hillton on 16th street northwest. d.c. fire told news4 it happened in the duct work in the basement. nearly 12 hours later, crews are still on the scene as a fire watch staying in case it reignites. just two days ago the hotel was evacuated for a similar fire. guests say the alarms didn't sound that time. no one was hurt in either of these incidents. >> police need your help finding the man accused of raping a woman inside a howard county apartment building. this attack happened yesterday at the columbia landing apartments on tamar drive in columbia. the victim says the man tried to talk to her then pulled her into an empty apartment and

raped her. she had seen the man around the complex in the last week and police believe he may be living in the empty apartment. so far no other similar attacks have been reported. do you have flight attendants for friday night? you might want to listen to this. storm team 4 is tracking two storms that will impact our weekend. doug? >> first impacts us friday night into saturday. the second storm will be with us late sunday into the day on monday. they both will give us a little way in the rain ofway of rain and snow. first area of low pressure will come up on saturday. what we have here notice the mild air that is just off the coast. what we're going to see with that mild air, that will be making its way into the region during the day on saturday. because of that this will mostly be a rain event. that sets the stage for storm number two, and once again, storm number two will have a little bit of mild air to overcome so that too, will start off as a little bit of rain. because of that in that storm

track a little farther west both storms should be more rain than snow but some areas will still see some accumulation. i'll update you on who i think has the best chance to see that accumulation coming up in just a couple minutes, guys. we'll talk about that pattern as we get into next week too. >> all righty. and montgomery county is taking new steps to combat human trafficking. county executive leggett sending new bills to the county council that target the so-called bodywork byes that offer services like reflexology and acupressure. leggett says they can off been covers for human trafficking operations. the new bills would force those companies to be licensed. >> requires owners to allow inspection at any time the business is occupied anyone who operates a bodywork business must not allow anyone to perform sexual activity. >> those licenses would be issued by the health department and they would have to be renewed every year. some lawmakers in virginia

are making a push tonight to loosen the commonwealth's marijuana laws. one of them is senator adam ebbin of alexandria. he wants to decriminalize marijuana. his bill would eliminate jail time for possession of pot and make it punishable by a maximum $100 civil penalty. >> millions of americans use marijuana and we've got to start having our laws reflect reality. prohibition on alcohol was not something that worked so reducing it to a civil penalty is a step in the right direction. >> reporter: the aclu and naacp have joined ebbin in calling for decriminalization. the world's largest fast-food chain is facing a civil rights lawsuit over alleged discrimination at several virginia stores. that suit is accusing mcdonald's of a pattern of racial and sexual discrimination and harassment. it was filed by ten former employees. after more than a dozen african-american workers were fired from three stores in virginia last may. the former employees are

claiming they were told they quote, didn't fit the profile that mcdonald's desires at its restaurants. mcdonald's issued a statement say, "it long-standing history of embracing the diversity of employees and discrimination is completely inconsistent with our values." crews have just begun a major ten-year-long project to renovate the cannon u.s. house office building and news4 has learned the severity of the disrepair of the historic building. our scott mcfarlane reports crews had recently removed 10 to 15 large pieces of the building that had fallen to the ground or were poised to fall. no one was hurt. work crews have recently place netting along the top of the cannon building to prevent any further er collapsing. the $752 million renovation of the building will take a decade and starting in late 2016 will require some house members to move offices. >> this piping you can see the

conditions is over 50 years old. we have some piping over 100 years old. it's in far worse shape. we're just at a point where we can't continue just to do small repairs. it needs to be a full-scale replacement. >> this is the first significant upgrade to the cannon building since is 1930s. and we're now in the new phase into the massive restoration of the u.s. capitol dome. scott tells us crews are now is begun removing the paint from the exterior of the dome. they're working behind scaffolding and the so-called containment areas outside. crews have completed their assembly of the scaffolding and they've completed installation of 720 l.e.d. lights so they can keep working through the night. this is the first restoration of the capitol dome since 1959. they expect to use 1,200 gallons of paint. they got it on tape. a deadly police shooting. during a traffic stop. >> you reach for something, you're going to be [ bleep ] dead i'm telling you. i'm telling you.

>> why police say this was a lawful stop. and news4 got an exclusive tour of the progress of casino construction down at mgm at national harbo

arizona is now reporting its first case of measles linked to that outbreak at disneyland. a woman in her 50s contracted measles during a visit at one of

disneyland's theme parks in california back in mid-december. she's since recovered from the highly contagious virus. arizona health officials have alerted people with whom she came into contact. there are now at least 60 confirmed cases of measles linked to that disneyland patients ranging in age from 7 months to 70 years old. only on news4 tonight, we got a private tour of what will become the largest casino maryland. until now most of the work at the mgm casino at national harbor has been underground. now tower cranes are being put in place to get the foundation ready. this billion-dollar resort is designed to be a green ecobuilding with minimal fossil fuels and carbon emissions being used. >> this is a concrete batch plant. we're going to have three batch plants right here on site. that way the trucks that haul the cement, the thousands of cubic yard of cement to our site don't have to go out onto

the roads. >> right now it's just lot of dirt a lot of construction vehicles. in a couple months the first level of that garage is expected to be built. the casino expected to open next year. this is one way to get out of school -- someone made this dramatic entrance. find out why investigators think this was intentional. a northern virginia couple robbed at gunpoint inside their northern virginia home. >> i was looking for my phone and looking for a panic button but this does not have the panic button. >> reporter: how they say the robber got in and what you can do to stay safe

they had just settled in for a fight. >> but instead one couple faced the barrel of a gun in their own home. northern virginia reporter david culvert speaks with the woman who owned the home and what she says that could keep you safe and secure. >> reporter: monday night, carolyn putting away dishes to clean. when in her peripheral vision she noticed something moving next to her face. a gun? >> yeah beside my eye act barrel of a gun. yeah. so i looked up and just kept looking higher and higher and higher because he was about six foot tall and thin and his face was completely covered in black and it was just two slits for eyes and this was it. >> reporter: while carolyn was rearranging her dishwasher she says the robber got in through that clowed garage right there, somehow unable to unlatch the emergency pulldown. we found videos online that show how easily it could be done. carolyn screamed when she

realized what was happening. her husband ran into the kitchen. >> money, he wanted money and we me and my husband were at the house. >> reporter: as carolyn's husband was explaining that to the thief, she inched toward the door but the robber got ahead of her, clearly desperate. >> he's standing just about where you are saying money, i need money, what about your jewelry box? let's yo go upstairs and see your jewelry box. i just said the only jewelry i have are my wedding rings, take it take it. and he took the rings off my fingers and while he was fumbling around to put it in his pocket i ran out. >> reporter: barefoot in the dark and cold. the robber went back to take carolyn's husband watch and wedding ring then ran. >> the worst part is feeling powerless. >> reporter: carolyn has since began upgrading her security system to include cameras and lights and she's manually locking the garage door while home alone. ahead at 6:00 steps neighbors

are taking to keep secure. and how police are responding to the crime. getting kids to be more active during a school day is the goal of a new proposal in the virginia general assembly. a state senate committee approved a proposal that requires public cool kids to have 20 minutes of physical activity per day, for kids kindergarten through fifth grade. the only lawmaker to impose it says it could impose a financial burden on the smaller rural schools that don't have gyms. students at high school near richmond got an unexpected day off because of this. take a look at the damage after a stolen van crashed into their building and caught fire. about 1:30 this morning. by the time police got there, no one was in the van. and the school sprinkler system went off, stopping the spread of the fire, but still left a lot of damage. investigators say they believe the crash was deliberate and they're looking at surveillance video to see if they can find the driver. a park in our area currently closed off will have a familiar

look to a lot of kid when it reopens this summer. watkins regional park in upper marlboro maryland. that park is about to undergo a million dlar transformation. when it's all done it will have a playground inspired by the classic kid' novel "the wonderful "wizard of oz."" the park is expected to reopen sometime in june. a preschool in kansas was excited to get an unexpected visitor today. >> you're our president! >> you're right. >> reporter: they know him. president obama met with a group of 4-year-olds in the head start classroom in lawrence. the head start program is known for its high quality early education. studies done in the d.c. area have shown that students improved in areas of language early prereading skills and health and wellness. boy, that doesn't happen every day. >> no. let's get a check on the forecast because something doesn't happen every weekend like will happen this weekend. >> if you have plans tomorrow night, pay attention to the forecast. you will not need the shovels

tomorrow night. you'll need the umbrellas tomorrow night as it's mostly going to be a rain event. look beautiful, beautiful shot a nice evening after what has been a very nice afternoon. sunset tonight was at 5:18. currently sitting at 46 degrees. temperatures though dropped to about 40 degrees around 9:00 38 degrees at 11:00. it will be chilly but not all that bad. 37 in gaithersburg right now, 39 in bowie, 41 in dulles a pair of 39s towards warrenton and the manassas region. a nice night. storm team 4 radar all clear, at least in our area. to the south and east there is a potent storm system bringing a lot of rain and did bring a lot of snow toward areas of the west. but this storm will not only bring rain with it it'll bring some warmer temperatures too, at least in the upper levels of the atmosphere. that means getting snow out of this is going to be really hard to do. i'm not expecting much at all. mainly rain down through the south. i really think that's going to be the case, even in d.c. this is mostly rain minor

amounts of snow if we see any accumulation at all. best chance for accumulation is where it always is back to the west and especially west of the blue ridge. we'll put in upper montgomery county here parts of loudoun county and back toward the west. this is where we could see a couple inches of snow as the colder air tries to work its way in. here's friday. this is sky cast 4. take a look at this. during the morning hours not too bad. we've got some cloud cover making its way in here even during the afternoon, i think things will be okay, even around 2:00 in the afternoon, some sunshine but the clouds start to come in. watch what happens by the time we get to about 7:00 8:00 this is when you'll need the umbrella. you see the clouds starting to build, then here comes the rainmaking its way in through the area, some coming down fairly heavily around 11:00, 12:00, 1:00 in the morning. if you're out for a late night, you'll need the umbrellas for sure. 41 degrees on saturday. with that mix early in the day, could change to snow later on in the afternoon. but once again not expecting a lot. same deal on sunday into monday. little too warm.

right now i'm thinking monday could be a mix as well with rain and snow likely. we'll talk more about that at 6:00. all next week just going to be cold. today we are celebrating the distinguished gentleman who made the phrase "today on the hill" famous. yep. that guy. wtop's capitol hill correspondent dave mcconnell. it's his 50th anniversary with t.o.p. he started in 1975 and quickly found himself on the hill covering congress. from his perch he's seen 12 presidential elections, five inaugurations, and some of our town's greatest tragedies. and for decades we have been lucky to have this solid and steady journalist keeping us informed of the complex often comedic undertakings of those who are creating the laws of our land. pat lawson muse caught up with dave today. >> covering the hill is something i always wanted to do. i love the capitol building. and i really get a kick out of everything that happens there. and it's always interesting and

it's always interesting to talk about and report about it too. >> we've been lucky to have dave in our studios every the show "reporter's notebook." we hope for years to come we can turn to mcconnell to learn what happened "today on the hill." congratulations, dave. on your mark get set, start your engines. d.c.'s largest annual public show has officially rolled into town. this year the washington auto show is taking on a new dimension. it opens to the public at the convention center tomorrow and instead of the normal five days the show's time frame is now doubled to ten. still can't check out all the cars. through february 1st more than 700 new makes and models of cars will be on display this year. if you're looking for ways to save this time of year look no further than your auto insurance policy. erika gonzalez tells us how switching plans could save you hundreds. >> one way to save some money, by switching to less expensive auto insurance. and you can do so without waiting for a policy to renew.

>> even if you paid, you know for the next year of insurance, if you switch companies you'll get the unused part of your policy back from the company that you were insured with so you can change at any time and make big savings. >> robert is our go-to for consumer reviews on quality and cost of company services. check checkbook dot according to found the big companies in our area charge more than average and that could mean a savings of $300 to $1,000. also take a look at what your deductible is. if you've got a $250 deductible for instance it may be worth it to your wallet now to up that to $1,000. that could also parlay into a 15% savings. and if your car's best years are behind it robert says think about doing away with collision damage coverage all together. just another way to put more money back in your wallet.

it was supposed to be a routine traffic stop, but in an instant that changed. what police say this man did that made hem pull their guns and shoot. and nbc 4 is your super bowl station. next week we kick off super bowl week. i'm bound for arizona for full coverage leading up to the big game. that's my properly infacilitated football there. seahawks take on the pats february 1st, so like me on facebook and follow along.

this was a tense traffic

stop that was captured on a police dashcam. it led to a deadly shooting on a street in new jersey. >> some in the community are now calling for a special prosecutor saying this officer's actions were unjust. sidney long takes a closer look now. >> show me your hand. show me your -- hands. show me your hands! don't you move! don't you -- move! >> reporter: it is compelling dashcam video that could decide whether or not the use of deadly force was justified in the december 30th shooting death of jerome reed. about visits and friends of reed gathered today alleging he was targeted and that officers involved in have a history of harassment. >> jerome reed complied to the officers' demands, got out the car, and he received a hail of bullets. >> reporter: a high-ranking south jersey officer who watched the video multiple times tells nbc 10 he sees a defiant and belligerent passenger after police grabbed and tossed a silver handgun from the car.

the driver leroy tutt puts his hand out the window. at the right, show, it appear reed is shoving at the door the officer, no hands in sight. the prosecutor's office suggested under the open public records act. >> police that try to harass me -- >> reporter: as neighbors sound off about wanting the cop involved off the force and a tainted investigation, hutson shared why reed's widow, scheduled to speak with us about the video, wasn't able to do so. >> she's very distraught. she's seen the media, you know, play out her huhsband's death over and over again. >> reporter: this after the officer who spoke to us says you can hear fear in the officer's voice. an officer's level of using deadly force is a lot lower than the average citizen. on news 4 at 6:00, the investigation into the metro tragedy takes a new turn. >> and someone is already pointing the finger at who may be to blame. sweeping new safety

measures now at 6:00 metro tries to make your ride safer after last week's deadly incident while the blame game ramps up behind the scenes. >> plus more on that mansion tragedy. investigators find more victims after a huge fire as we learn what two grandparents and four children were doing just moments before the home went up in flames. we begin tonight with storm team 4. most of the snow has melted but more could be moving in tomorrow. >> like a lot of these storms the impact comes down to timing. chief meteorologist doug kammerer is in the storm center. >> this one comes down to timing and also to temperature, and the temperature for this one is going to be critical depending on who gets rain and who gets snow. right now it looks like most of us will just get rain from this storm. now, take a look at the high temperatures today. this kind of tells the story here. 49 in d.c. 50 in fredericksburg 51 in warrenton. we really nee move in if we are going to get a big snowstorm. that cold air is just not here. the radar, all clear right now. look down to the south and west a big storm system down here a

lot of moisture out of the gulf of mexico, the moisture is there, the cold air is out. we'll start to see this rain move in. it will mix with some snow early on tomorrow night. we'll talk about the timing of this who gets what and who sees the best chance for accumulating snowfall in just a minute. >> thanks doug. the metro system is making changes after it was rattled to it core by a deadly emergency last week. they say this is going to improve safety. >> today metro announced it will now allow train operators to turn off train ventilation systems without permissions from higher-ups and there will be new signs to help first responders and riders find the closest emergency exit. >> a lot of people are still asking if these measures go far enough. >> there's stale lot to be figured out when it comes to the breakdown in communication o