station fills with smoke this afternoon. >> chris gordon is outside the courthouse station. chris, you went into the station and saw the smoke for yourself. tell us what happened. >> reporter: we saw it and we smelled it. we'll take you in there because we took pictures of it. let's set the scene and show you the video. fire crews from arlington county, falls church and the metropolitan washington airports authority were on the scene. here's what happened. there was a burning insulator arcing along the inside track of the orange line about 200 yards from the courthouse station heading toward roslyn. metro cut power to the third rail so crews could get to the fire. metro police using an extinguisher put the fire out. the arlington county fire department confirmed it was no longer a danger, but there was an electrical smelling burning and smoke filled the station. on orders from the arlington county fire department, passengers were evacuated from the platform. everyone was told to get out of

the station. metro single tracked orange and silver line trains through the station. they didn't stop, however, here. the station was closed temporarily for more than an hour. passengers were directed to buses. >> clear the station, please. thank you. >> they just told me it's closed and just to go either from the other exit or this one. soy just came out. >> reporter: what do you have to do to get home? >> oh i'm going to -- and then i will see. >> reporter: how are you going to get home? >> on a bus. >> reporter: back live here at courthouse station it is reopened. trains are running in both directions. and what we can tell you at this point the good news is there were no injuries. that's the latest live in arlington virginia, chris gordon news4. >> chris thank you. while this unfolded in arlington, our transportation reporter adam tuss was with metro officials in a meeting

with the ntsb. adam, you learned new detameils about last month's deadly incident at l'enfant plaza. tell us what you learned. >> reporter: this has been a bad news day. the ventilation system here at l'enfant plaza was not functioning the way it should have on january 12th. basically, inside the l'enfant plaza there's a series of fans. one is supposed to pull smoke out of the area the other supposed to push fresh into the area. we actually had to chase down metro leaders after a meeting to get their take on all of this. basically what we learned is the fans that were inside the l'enfant plaza, according to the national transportation safety board, were actually pulling smoke over that train that was stuck in a tunnel in l'enfant plaza plaza. we also learned that the train that was stuck it has its own ventilation system kind of like the air conditioning on your car. that was also not turned off so that was pulling smoke onto the

train. both of those brand-new revelations that were learned today from the national transportation safety board. stay with us. we'll have much more on the story coming up all throughout the evening. we'll hear from metro as well. reporting live at l'enfant plaza, adam tuss, news4. more breaking news now. moments ago, president obama made the case for his formal request to congress for the authority to wage war on isis. >> there is wide agreement now that something has to be done, but the details are likely to spark a battle between the hawks and doves in congress. news4's steve handelsman live at the white house with the details. >> reporter: no question this announcement at the white house, the president detailing his war powers proposal, the first such request to congress by any president since 2003 to wage war is going to spark opposition, even though the president in his remarks said he's optimistic this will pass in a bipartisan fashion. it looks unlikely. let me tick off the details. the president promises a

three-year time limit, but he wants an okay from congress to allow no geographic limits to what u.s. forces can do. translation, he wants u.s. ground forces to be able to go into syria and for that matter other nearby nations, opponents charge any nations on earth to go after isis and allied organizations. president is promising no enduring offensive ground combat operations, but he's admitting this is going to be a tough fight. here's what he said. >> now make no mistake. this is a difficult mission and it will remain difficult for some time. it's going to take time to dislodge these terrorists especially from urban areas. but our coalition is on the offensive. isil is on the defensive. and isil is going to lose. >> reporter: democrats may be on the defensive in this political fight. here's why. the president's own party is full of members in the house and senate who say they're worried about sending any u.s. ground

troops into this fight at all. republicans say the president shouldn't have put a geographic limit or a time limit on it. he put the geographic limit but put it at three years. finally, pat and jim, the president is saying he doesn't promise this thing could be over, that isis could be beaten in three years. he's merely saying it needs to be reviewed in that time period. now comes the debate and the vote. who knows when that will happen. back to you. >> thank you, steve. we've got breaking news now from fairfax county. test results from that suspected case of the measles came back negative. the person involved began experiencing symptoms yesterday and stayed quarantined at home during the testing. gep again, the test was negative. according to the cdc 121 people nationwide have the measles. d.c. police chief kathy lanier says today she is happy and relieved by a verdict in the whistle-blower lawsuit. and she says she has gotten support from officers in the department. today the jury ruled against the

d.c. police captain who filed the lawsuit. hilton burton claimed he was demoted after publicly disagreeing with chief lanier after police escorts for celebrities. but after a day of deliberations, the jury decided that burton's comments were not protected by whistle-blower laws. burton says he disagree was the jury's verdict but respects their decision. a high school student was killed on her way to school when her suv collided with a school bus this morning. the crash happened just over a mile from middletown high. neither the bus driver nor the student on board was seriously injured. frederick county police are continuing to investigate. coming up at 5:00, mark segravest+x tell us about the young victim. one minute a woman was driving along a local road, the next debris from a bridge was crashing onto her car. she was traveling along suitland road near the beltway around this time yesterday when it happened. you'll hear her frightening sorry at 5:00, but first news4's

richard jordan explains some of the steps to find out just what happened. >> reporter: these inspectors are banging on beams and taking a close look under the overpass. the missing pieces are obvious. >> it looks like it needs to be repaired a lot. >> reporter: tuesday concrete from the bridge suddenly fell and hit a car. the 14 1/2-foot drop made a big impact. the windshield was smashed, concrete crumbled the car. the driver was horrifyied but not hurt. today road crews cleaned up the rest of the debris and those who travel beneath the bridge are looking for new ways to get around. >> i go under this bridge every day. this is the way i go to work. i might find a different route because this is very dangerous how they need to do something about this. this is very serious. it could have been even worse. it could have been the whole bridge falling. if a piece falls the whole thing might fall. >> reporter: repairs were made immediately after the incident.

the additional fixes can't come soon enough ff's. >> it's in bad shape. you can see the rust and the concrete breaking off. >> reporter: last year the maryland state highway administration inspected the bridge and found it structurally deficient. that means that repairs ss need to be made but nothing that warrants actually closing the bridge or the road that goes under the bridge. some drivers that use that road are a little exceptxep except i cal richard jordan news4. just 92into the newsroom we now know how much time a ship captain could spend behind bars after abandoning his ship. how long and why he's not turning himself in just yet. their story captured the country's attention, but now a big move that erases ajan team's big victory. flurries in our forecast and off to the west we've got

advisories and a winter storm watch. there they could see several inches of snow. what happens after this, oh the bottom drops out. coldest air of the season set to move in. i'll show you how low we go when news4 at 4 returnsal.

we now know the punishment for the captain of the costa

concordia cruise ship. francesco schettino was sentenced today to 16 years in prison. the verdict was delivered by a panel of three judges in italy. they found the captain guilty of manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing a shipwreck. the captain blames technical issues. the costa concordia ran aground back in 2012 killing 32 people. the captain won't have to go to prison until the appeals are over. new 4 has confirmed that son eded eded that santander bank are closing its maryland locations may 8th. customers will be able to bank online and through the bank's mobile app. another big jump in the jackpot. just a few hours before a lottery drawing that could make

somebody very rich, how much bigger can it get? >> just bought my tickets, and you might want to spend that money on some extra layers. a huge drop in temperatures just hours away. veronica is coming back with just how low we'll go. you're watching news4 right here at 4.

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you guys can just leave your coats right over here. wow. your bedroom is amazing. oh, thanks. we worked with a designer from havertys. total refresh. oh, i cannot believe people. what? covering up your new bed like that. it's okay. what kind of animals did you invite to this party? we can help. much better. refresh your space with an extra hundred off every thousand at havertys. plus enjoy 36 month no interest financing. havertys. discover something you. >> announcer: you're watching news4 at 4. someone could be going home a huge winner in tonight's $500

million powerball drawing. no one has won the powerball jackpot for more than two months so it's just been growing. it started out at $40 million. people are now scrambling to the stores to get a chance at all that money. >> first thing, i would put a lot of it away for my kids in some kind of trust or something like that. put a little bit away for my wife and i, then probably dream vacation, probably brand-new truck. then get the gym that i always wanted because i run a fitness business. >> just to name a few. you can buy tickets until 9:45 tonight in the district, 10:00 in virginia and maryland. but remember your chances of winning are 1 in 175 million. >> not bad odds, right? kids who took the nation by storm on the little league field are now in the middle of a firestorm. the little league championships stripped edped of their title today. >> jim, you know how kids are zoned for certain districts in

school? well chicago's jackie robinson west little league falsified boundary map that's allowed the team to use players who lived outside the area. the team actually represents. here's what we know. team officials met with neighboring little league districts to claim players and build what was basically just a super team. the team's manager has been suspended from little league activity in wake of this controversy. over the summer, the kids from this team captivated the country becoming the first all-african-american team to win the u.s. little league title. the kids, manager, coaches, even came to d.c. to meet the president and first lady. with the title stripped from jackie robinson west, it's now been awarded to the team that was runner-up mountain ridge little league from las vegas. back to you. the crippling snow made for a frustrating commute this morning. boston's trains buses and commuter rails experienced major delays, limited schedules led to

overcrowded rides and some really unhappy commuters. the snow has slowed for now, but another powerful storm is expected to move in this weekend. this marks one of the snowiest winters in boston's history, already topping at least 70 inches. >> we can barely get a flake, veronica. >> that's right. we're barely getting a flake tomorrow, but snow at least in the forecast, light snow flurries. and it's all going to be wrapping up around this time tomorrow. so let's talk about the cold air, the wind, all tv we'll have to deal with in different stages. this evening, though pretty light wind, your temperatures close to freezing by 11:00. and you will notice more clouds moving in increasing clouds. we've got a mostly sunny sky now, our temperature from 37 to 35 between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. not really the heavy, heavy coat weather, but that's coming right up. storm team 4 radar, not much here, light showers down around la ray, all of that advancing eastward. but we're going to start to see

this system right here it's a weather front and just off to our west. that's what's going to make its way into our area through the overnight, early part of the day tomorrow. and with it not just clouds but also some flurries. let me stop you here at 7:00 a.m. you can see overcast xries askies to the area, off to the west the side. screen, petersburg and up around cumberland maryland, light snow. that's the white that will be coming into the area. really our best chance of seeing some snow flurries will be between noon and about 5:00 tomorrow. you can see it passing through the area. those flurries wrapping up around southern maryland light snow, areas west though, that snow could continue throughout the afternoon, early part of the evening tomorrow. that's just one reason why some of the high spots there could see around 4 to 6 inches of snowfall. winter storm watch for some of the highest elevations and off to the west, western maryland. our forecast tomorrow, chance of flurries noon to 5:00.

in the afternoon, winds gusting over 30 miles per hour. in fact, could get close to 40-mile-per-hour gusts around areas southern maryland and close there to the potomac. 35 to 42 your range in temperatures but it will feel progressively colder. upper 20s by lunchtime. then when you head outside and leave work heading home, temperatures will be in the teens those windchill values, what it feels like on your skin. we're going to be bundling all up now over the next couple of days. you can see these graphics and a lot more kind of explaining what our weather will be coming up on my facebook page. head there and also you can like me on twitter. 31 degrees at 7:00 a.m. 41. we jump 10 by 11:00 a.m. progressively colder through the day. keep that in mind if you're going out to exercise. really layer up. windchills in the 20s and teens gusts increasing with flurries having no impact on area roads or travel throughout the day tomorrow. here is a look at your storm team four-day forecast from

flurries tomorrow to a real chance of seeing some light snow saturday late into sunday. i'll take you through the afternoon/evening hours coming up later in the newscast and tell you what to expect on valentine's day. all in a few. making sure your children don't get the measles. why it could be easy to confuse for something else and why young children are now at especially high risk. say cheese as long as you don't do this. we'll tell you how a way to take a selfie is being banned again. the matchups are getting intense in our bracket compensation for the best snl character. >> that's right. it's down to matt foley who lives in a van down by the river and wayne and garth. you can vote right now on nbcwashington.com.

a developing story in the shadow of the chapel hill, north carolina, university. this afternoon, police say a dispute over parking is behind the murders of three people there. craig hicks is accused of shooting three members of the same family, all college students, at a condo complex. the victims are muslim. the violence has triggered a nationwide response with some questioning the motive behind the murder. nbc's brian mooar is in north carolina and will join us with the latest in just a few minutes. we're learning new details

now about a deadly stabbing in an upscale hotel in downtown d.c. this afternoon family friends and business associates identified the victim there you saw earlier as david messersh messerschmidt found stabbed to death at the donovan at thomas circle yesterday. messerschmidt lived in the district and worked as an attorney. ahead in our next hour, news4's pat collins will have reaction from those who knew him. an update to a story we first brought you in november. the man who hit and killed a bicyclist in montgomery county is charged with two moving violations but not in the death of the man he struck. just three days before thanksgiving, police say john klein of hagerstown was driving along darnstown road in gaithersburg in a truck belonging to the wssc and was turning into a shopping center when he hit a man on a bicycle there. andrew mow laws yoe of gaithersburg died at the scene. a big declaration from the

white house today. first at 4, president obama laying out the specific whz it comes to the fight against isis. we'll have the late breaking detaileds. a show of support right here in washington for bobbi kristina brown, the new information is the daughter of the late whitney houston battles for her life. and the sad connection to her mother's death. thank you, cable for

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>> announcer: you're watching news4 at 4. right now at 4:30 metro grilled over last month's deadly smoke incident. now the ntsb is urging quick action on three recommendations. after one woman died and dozens were treated last month near the l'enfant plaza station. we have the three ntsb letters posted on our nbc washington app right now, but it comes as metro deals with another station that filled with smoke today. this time the courthouse station here in arlington had to be evacuated. it caused trains to bypass the

station for a time. no word on any injuries. and powerful words against isis as president obama asks for war power. news4's wendy rieger has details from the live desk. >> well, within the past hour, the president unveiled his request to the nation but already lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are skeptical about several details. here is what the request entails calls for things like air strikes in iraq and syria, the training of local forces and humanitarian aid for civilians for a limit of three years. it also asks that no geographical limit be placed on where military actions can take place. the president also said this is not an authorization for another ground war but has left the option open of using ground forces. >> we had actionable intelligence about a gathering of isil leaders, and our partners didn't have the capacity to get them.

i would be be prepared to order our special forces to take action because i will not allow these terrorists to have a safe haven. >> democrats are calling that specific point a loophole that could lead to a larger war. republicans on the other hand says the language doesn't go far enough. back to you. just four more days to enroll in a health care plan under the affordable care act. open enrollment ends on sunday. 10 million americans have already signed up or renewed their coverage. but millions more could be hit with penalties if they don't sign up. >> so let's say if you're a family that earns $40,000, that's going to cost you about $600. that money could be going to paying for your health insurance premium which could save you thousands of dollars in the event that you get sick. >> we just checked the latest enrollment numbers for our area. more than 341,000 virginians have selected plans on health care.gov. maryland runs its own insurance

marketplace and more than 211,000 people have signed up so far this year. and d.c. health link officials tell us more than 80,000 have been covered through their marketplace since it launched in october of 2013. it was three years ago today that whitney houston was discovered dead in a los angeles hotel room. her daughter bobbi kristina remains on life support this evening, and now we're learning more information about the young woman's personal life. one of her neighbors reported seeing people fighting outside her home in georgia. it happened in the week before she was found unconscious. whar's troy johnson is here in the studio to talk more about bobbi kristina in our "talk around town" segment. there's been an outpouring of support a vigil today at the white house. what are your listeners saying about the similarities between whitney and bobbi kristina? >> it's interesting. her life is hanging in the balance and people are aware of

that. whitney houston is such a beloved person, and, you know bobbi kristina had her own right grew up with all of us. we saw her kind of develop as a young person while they were doing their reality tv show. so those kinds of things have people pray forge her recovery. they're certainly concerned about it. and on this really, really sad anniversary, the third year anniversary of whitney houston's death. the correlation and ties are really something that's visceral. people are really concerned about it. >> bobbi kristina very young still, just 21 years of age. but her sudden situation is bringing up a serious topic in many homes. what are we hearing about? >> well, the finances of caring for someone who's in the hospital. now, of course, bobbi kristina's situation is much different from everyone else. she has a trust fund and certainly her family is there as a support system. but many people aren't prepared for some of those situations when there is an extreme medical condition in the family. so they say, listeners i've

talked to they're concerned about having a living will. it's on their radar now because you want to make sure that if something goes wrong that you're prepared for those situations. and just generally planning well for your life and the care that you're going to have at the end of your life is something that a lot of people are echoing now that they've seen obviously bobbi kristina way too young to be thinking about these things just at 21 years old. but it raises the question for all of us. should we be concerned, whatever our age is about how we take care of ourselves when we're in a crisis situation? >> so important for a family discussion. >> absolutely. >> and bobbi kristina's situation is changing awareness about another topic. we're talking about mental health and depression, addiction, things like that. what are your listeners saying about that? >> well, it's certainly a pervasive issue in the black community, in communities of color. oftentimes mental health issues are not being addressed in the community. maybe people are concerned about the financial cost. maybe they're concerned about

not wanting to be characterized as someone who may need some mental health help. so that's always been a problem in the community, something that needs to be addressed. we want to make sure that if you know someone that needs some help, there are resources available to you. the d.c. department of behavioral health, you can call 888-7-we-help to get emergency psychiatric care. and young people, this is important, can get help for dealing with drama of family, death, drugs school gangs or violence, the maryland crisis hotline is 800-422-0009. and in virginia 211 offers mental health crisis services in your area and also information on how to find immediate help. these are good numbers to keep in mind. there are certainly other services. but making a quick phone call could help someone willout. >> you're helping some people on a tragic story. thanks for share issing that, troy. see you next wednesday. back to you, pat.

metro wrants to know what you think about its plan to save money. metro is now taking public comments about that. they plan to raise fares by 10 cents, also looking at scaling back bus routes and increasing wait times between trains. metro is going to hold a public meeting tomorrow at 1:00 in the afternoon at its headquarters. you can also comment online. metro says it would cut back on how much money it needs from eight local jurisdictions, metro needs $919 million in the upcoming budget year. breaking down the fine print. consumer reporter erika gonzalez did some digging and explains why your valentine's day gifts could cost you. and storm team 4 is tracking the change in our weather. >> it's a big big change. cold and windy two words that will be used often in our forecast over the next couple of days. tomorrow around 40 but those windchills way down at 25. and way, way down this weekend. wait until you see my forecast

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the measles outbreak has a lot of people talking and has raised a lot of questions about your children's health. we've been talking about it this afternoon on my facebook page. join the discussion. in news4 your health now, a family allergy and asthma doctor is here from gaithersburg to answer our questions. dr. jackie, not long ago you had

a patient in your office that had a rash that turned out to be measles. how easy is it for you to mix those two up? >> it's not at all. especially if it come was the story of not being vaccinated. you get rash and red eyes. >> we know measles is potentially fatal, but talk about the long-term effect of this virus on someone who doesn't die. >> this is very important for people to realize. you get into pneumonia and can get encephalitis, swelling ever the brain mental retardation and deafness and sadly 1 out of 2 will die. >> very serious. you don't vaccinate babies until they're at least a year old. but with measles spreading like it is, are all of these babies at much higher risk? >> there is. there's nobody around them that's actually gotten protected. this is interesting. these are babies from upper income brackets. think about where this started, in disneyland. this didn't start in a place where there's no access to health care. >> some parents choose to delay

vaccinations. how risky is that? >> that's actually very risky. there's a study that showed by getting them later in life you have an increased risk of getting seizures because you have an increased risk of having a high fever because of the vaccination. so these vaccines are really meant for a younger group. the vaccine is literally meant for when you're a year old. that's when your immune system can best use it. >> who for medical reasons should not get the vaccine? >> there is a list of people who shouldn't. anybody who's had a bad reaction to the measles vaccine before particularly if you've had a problem with the antibiotic known as knee owe micen that is in it. it is perfect fine if you're egg allergic, even though it's plead from a chick embryo. if you're pregnant don't get vaccinated at the time of pregnancy pregnancy. if you're thinking about getting pregnant, wait until four weeks after you get the vaccine to get pregnant. then anyone with a compromised immune system someone with hiv or cancer. but nowhere is it documented

about the risk of autism. that paper was dispelled and retracted from the journal in which it was printed. the risk is real. the disease is significant. we almost had it eradicated in 2000. now we're back. >> dr. jackie thanks. just as the cold weather moves in local families are in from the cold thanks to a creative new idea from their neighbors. three students with bright futures their lives cut short over a parking spot. why it's stirring so much controversy around the country right here first at 4.

the latest developments now in that triple murder at chapel hill north carolina. police believe an ongoing dispute over parking spots prompted a man to shoot his three neighbors to death. >> the suspect is in custody. the killings have triggered a nationwide response. nbc's brian mooar joins us live from chapel hill. some are raising questions about the motive behind the murders. brian? >> reporter: yeah, pat and jim it's not very easy to answer some of these questions. the questions here not really about what happened but why. >> we're sad. we're heartbroken. >> reporter: a family grieving the loss of their two daughters and son-in-law in ray killing in chapel hill. police say it was a dispute over a condominium parking space, but the family believes it was something more than that.

>> this was an execution-style this was a hate crime from a neighbor. our children spoke about it's not what i believe, it's what i my daughter believed. she said, dad i think he hates us for what we are and how we look. >> reporter: showing no emotion, 46-year-old craig steven hicks appeared inside a north carolina courtroom where he was formally charged with three counts of first degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths of three muslim college students. >> i heard abouth q eight shots. >> reporter: police say hicks turned himself in tuesday night shortly after 23-year-old dia bare acot, 21-year-old yuser ma haumd and 19-year-old ra san muhammad were found shot to death inside a condo near the university of north carolina. at the scene, family members pleaded with police for information about their loved ones. >> tell me how my son is. what's the situation? if he's dead, tell me he's dead. if he's alive tell me. >> reporter: a facebook tribute posted by the families of the

three victims highlighted a video that barakat a unc dental student had recorded about working with syria refugees in turkey. news of the killings spread across social media hash tag muslim lives matter and hash tag chapel hill shooting raised questions about whether hate was a possible motive. pain and questions in a community reeling from an act of violence. the suspect's wife says this tragedy really waez about thes about the parking spot. she said there's a lot of documentation to prove that, something prosecutors will be looking into in this case. in the meantime the community is gathering for a candlelight vigil at the university of north carolina chapel hill. they want members of all faiths to join together in mourning the loss of three lives. live in chapel hill, north carolina, brian mooar, news4. >> brian thank you. turning to the weather now, veronica, what's this about

waves of cold? >> right. several waves of reinforceing cold air. it just gets progressively colder with the core of this cold, this arctic blast, frigid low temperatures over us during the weekend. we'll give you the timing of that come up. first, though we'll head outside and take a look at conditions and what you can expect tomorrow morning. because right now again the temperatures are in the 30s. by around 25 to 30 miles per hour. this is 7:00 p.m. tomorrow.

gusts over 35 close to 40 miles per hour. right up i-95 around fredericksburg, around quantico into d.c., close to baltimore even around annapolis. very windy conditions. so your wind intensity impact for tomorrow, are we going to see any downed branches, big branches or poles? no. but i do think we could see small limbs and a lot of garbage flying around. if it is garbage day for you, make sure you anchor those cans down. travelwise, flurryies but no impact on area roads. gusts increasing so keep that in mind if you'll be exercising. the big thing is a feel like factor starting at 30s, by sunday afternoon way down with windchill temperatures 15 degrees below zero. that's mighty cold and why we've been telling you it will be a layer up kind of weekend coming our way. doug's in the storm center with more on the timing of this wave of cold. >> veronica, you mentioned it coming in two waves. that first wave will come

tomorrow during the day. we will see our temperatures drop, windchills even by tomorrow evening down close to zero. overnight that first wave of cold we've got mild air today, very nice conditions, cold air to the north mild to the south. but here comes that cold air for tomorrow. by tomorrow night into the day on friday, you will feel that cold air. but then it gets much, much colder during the day on sunday. we will see that air coming straight out of not just the arctic but straight across from siberia windchills well below zero. we haven't seen much of this in the last couple of years. last year we saw it two to three times. this weekend we may see it a couple more. >> we're ramping up. that's why i like showing this. someone asked me yesterday why didn't i show this? just 36 more days to go until spring. hey, i'm one counting that down. outdoor impact for the weekend we're at 42 on saturday 21 for sunday. again, cold with that late-day snow on saturday. and again cold continues into the early part of next week. we've got a lot more on that

wave and chance of snow coming up on news4 at 5. >> thanks veronica. guess what else is coming up? valentine's day, saturday. if you're thinking about sending flowers you might also want to think about the delivery fee that goes along with it. >> and our newlywed erika gonzalez, big day for you guys. >> yes. >> our consumer reporter erika did some comparison shopping and found big differences on fees alone. >> yes. we cannot stress this enough. it really does pay to shop around. take a look at some of the differences i found including one company that does it for free. i made some calls. hi, i wanted to see -- i talked to four big companies online to find out what it costs to have flowers delivered on valentine's day, saturday. the prices you see reflect only the delivery fee i was quoted for a dozen red roses for valentine's day delivery. some companies offered a few dollars less to be delivered the day before. i also found a couple of companies like 1-800-flowers and ftd with an annual delivery fee

service. you pay a lump sum up front and don't pay for delivery fees that year on other orders. if it's worth your money good. but keep in mind if you don't cancel the service at the end of the year, your credit card is automatically charged for renewal. then i sat down with the co-founders of urbanstems a d.c. start-up with no delivery fee. it was started by these two frustrated college friends. >> i was in the longest relationship and sent a lot of flowers. >> we really think flowers are awesome. the experience of sending them just wasn't. we knew there had to be a better way. >> reporter: if you're looking for options this may not be your cup of tea. urbanstems sells just three types of seasonal arrangements at $35, $45 or $55 and plus tax. they're sent out i'm told within the hour with a handwritten note via bicycle. someone like andy will message a picture confirming they've arrived. on valentine's day he'll be

joined by about 40 other messengers to meet demand. right now the company only delivers within the district and some parts of arlington. delivery fees, something to think about as you place your orders locally or online. keep in minds these are the figures i was quoted today. they are subject to change. so if you're going to send flowers, jim handly, do not procrastinate any longer. >> i may be biking some flowers. that's a fun job. >> bike some flowers. wouldn't that be interesting to see all the smiles on valentine's day. point being, don't wait longer. shop around. >> thank, erika. dozens of struggling families in fairfax county will be sleeping warmer on these cold nights thanks to a new strategy by a local charity. our daily bread has opened a crowdfunding web site to help pay heating bills for at least 75 families. these 75 families are in addition to the hundreds of families already being helped by the group in more traditional ways. organizers hope this new idea

will catch on. if you'd like to help with the effort, visit nbcwashington.com and search "heating". >> what a great program. another reason to leave your selfie sticks at home, more museums in new york city are asking you to leave the stick at home when you visit. they say that art can be damaged from those extendible rods. museums in our area have taken similar stopeps. the smithsonian banned tripods and camera stands. >> reporter: they've identified the man who was murdered in the donovan hotel. he lives in d.c. he's a lawyer with a big firm. i'm pat collins, the st a new form

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media and technology together for more people. together is more wi-fi access in more places. it's a home you control with the touch of a finger. it's reimaging tv to give more people more choices. it's bringing technology and people together in ways you never thought possible. comcast and time warner cable. together is better for more people. the trial is under way now for the man accused of killing the so-called american sniper. chris kyle's life is now the subject of a major movie. nbc's jay gray reports. the issue at trial is the accused killer's mental state at

the time of the shooting. >> reporter: for the first time today accused murderer eddie ray rouse stood before a jury and after assuring the judge he understood the specifics of the proceedings and entering a plea the debate began over the central issue in this case, whether rouse understood what he did and the consequences two years ago when he shot and killed former navy s.e.a.l. chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield. >> on february 2, 2013 -- >> reporter: district attorney allen nash told the jury rouse smoked marijuana and drank whiskey and despite awareness of mental illness he was aware of what he was doing when he fired the deadly shots. >> the evidence will show that mental illness don't deprive people of the ability to be good citizens, to know right from

wrong, to obey the law. >> reporter: but lead defense attorney tim moore outlined rouse's life in and out of mental institutions describing a troubled young man diagnosed with major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress and psychosis psychosis. >> he thought he had to take their lives because he was in danger. >> reporter: and now as the trial begins his life is in the hands of a rural texas jury. jay gray, nbc news, dallas. breaking first at 5 tonight, double trouble for metro. >> a small fire fills arlington's courthouse station with smoke just as the ntsb reveals some alarming information about ventilation in metro's tunnels. >> the courthouse station was evacuated as firefighters rushed

to the scene. >> we have live team coverage for you. adam tuss has the new recommendations from the ntsb. we're going to start with chris gordon live in arlington. >> reporter: we have fresh information for you within the past half hour an inspector and investigator with the ntsb was here at the courthouse station. now, we arrived just about 2:00 this afternoon. take a look at the pictures we took and what we saw. there were half a dozen fire trucks at the station. it was still open at the time so we went down the escalator to the platform of the orange and silver lines. we smelled the smoke first and then we saw it. it was smoke from an electrical fire on orders of the arlington county fire department, all passengers who were on the platform were ordered to leave. they were evacuated. they left the station which was closed for about an hour. then i spoke to a fire department lieutenant who was on the sce