rapes that have terrorized a maryland community. >> police believe they have the man responsible for four attacks in the bladensburg area. wendy rieger has breaking details. >> pat and jim, things have been happening quickly today in this case. earlier today an arrest warrant was announced and just within this past hour police got their man. james william diggs is now charged with first-degree rape. he's charged with the most recent attack which just happened about two days ago on 38th 1/2 cottage city. diggs is also a person of interest in three other rapes all want two-mile radius dating back to september. since that initial atashgs police have released a sketch and surveillance video and canvassed that community. a news conference will be getting under way any minute now. chris gordon is there. and we'll send out updates on our nbc washington app and nbcwashington.com as we get them. we are soaking up a little sunshine after we what we all hope is the last blast of

winter. >> but in many places it's the street or the sidewalk it is still tough to really get around out there. we'll get the latest on the cold temperatures from overnight and this morning from our storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson in just a bit. first news4's kristin wright is out in the thick of it this afternoon. >> reporter: it's the day after a big storm and that means you never know what you're going to get in terms of road conditions and sidewalks. here in southeast washington this sidewalk looks good. it's pretty clear for the day after the biggest snowstorm of the season. but just right over here just a few feet away you have half the sidewalk that's clear and half the sidewalk that isn't. and here in the same block just right across the street you have a sidewalk that's completely covered in snow. imagine trying to attempt to get anywhere on sidewalks like this. people have tried. not just here but the dayacross the

area. shoveling is not easy. not all of us are able to do it. on news 4 at 5:00 meet a group of local students that's helping out. if you're headed out tonight, metro may be the best option as soon as roads are dried out and many of them are still drying out. all rail lines are running on a normal schedule right now. there were delays this morning due to adisabled trains. metroaccess is also running again after being suspended yesterday and all metro bus routes are back in service. some buss are still taking detours because of the piles of snow and the icy streets. >> drivers along a busy interstate in kentucky traffic is slow but moving again on i-65. hundreds of people were stuck in their vehicles for more than 24 hours. the national guard rescued people and put many in shelters overnight. dozens of cars slid off the road and became stuck in ice-covered snow yesterday. some areas of kentucky they saw about 20 inches of snow.

a sand truck out to help drivers here instead led to a huge backup. take a look. chopper 4 flew over the inner loop of the beltway this morning when a sand truck got stuck under an overpass near georgia avenue and lost its load there. but at one point the backup stretched for eight miles. the truck was removed. bridge inspectors looked things over and found no structural damage to the overpass. virginia is recovering from its share of traffic troubles. this car caught fire on the beltway's inner loop near route 123 in tyson's corner. firefighters got there and found the sports car in flames. luckily, no injuries but the inner loop was backed up for miles. and pedestrians across our region finding it tough going as well. many sidewalks are still frozen over this evening. it's a dangerous situation if you aren't too careful. still, we caught up with a man in arlington who's taking it all in stride.

>> i left arlington a year ago and moved back home to england. good to be back but no it's good to be back visiting arlington and i've missed -- we don't get that much snow in the south of england so it's quite nice to be back here and seeing it. >> and they're seeing it in the neighborhoods too. our news4 cameras spotted a lot of folks tackling the job of digging out their cars scraping off, clearing their driveways before heading out today. definitely no easy task. the backs, the arms, the shoulders all getting a workout. even with the sun shining it is down right cold throughout. >> and the snow makes it feel colder. we're in for another cold night. let's get to storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson in the weather center. how cold v.j.? >> last night we saw temperatures throughout the area drop to the single digits and teens. and here we go again tonight. so anything snowwise that wasn't cleaned up today, and we did have melting from the stronger march sunshine, yes, that's only going to refreeze. talk about the snow from

yesterday, 4.8 inches record for national for baltimore and dulles too, 6.2 baltimore marshall 9.5 inches of snow there in dulles. but look at this. the snow throughout the area. that's the dark xwlublue covering the ground with the higher amounts to the west. itted to show you this map because more than 50% of the nation is covered in snow today. that is remarkable. pattern change for us and it all has to do with the big thaw. springlike temperatures coming our way and it will be sooner than you think. might even be able to do a wardrobe change. but look at 11:00 p.m. 23. we'll talk more about that cold coming our way tonight in a few. we just learned what's been causing a bit of a traffic tie-up in downtown d.c. a smoking manhole 13th street northwest near i street caught drivers off guard. there was white smoke billowing from the hole. it's a pepco utility manhole. d.c. fire investigators say the smoke came from an underground cable that sparked due to all of

the ice-melting chemicals on the road. a new connection today for the party drug overdoses at wesleyan university and students from our area. police in connecticut tell us a fifth student named abi man is now charged with multiple drug counts. he's from rockville. four other students are also linked to the distribution of a bad batch of mali blamed for putting a dozen people in the hospital last month. two of those accused students are frals maryland one from bethesda another from baltimore county. now to the latest on actor harrison ford's real-life plane crash drama. the "indiana jones" star is still recovering in the hospital after the vintage plane he had been piloting crash landed on a golf course in santa monica california, and crews have now moved the plane to a hangar where the national transportation safety board will take a look at it. we'll have an update on the investigation and on ford's condition and take a look at his other aviation mishaps in our next half hour. also developing right now,

this fire still burning out of control after a train derailed in a small illinois town. more than 20 cars came off the tracks. about this time yesterday spilling crude oil. you can see the thick, heavy, black smoke. because there are still flames firefighters and investigators have barely had the chance to tell if any oil has actually spilled. no one nearby was hurt and investigators believe the area is secure. a prince william county man is in jail accused of child sex offenses. thomas farantino was arrested on four separate charges of abuse. he's listed online as running a child care center out of his home. it's not clear how the alleged victims are connected to the suspect. case will go to a grand jury sxwroop the justice department this afternoon says it know who is's behind a huge e-mail data breach. three people are charged with hacking e-mail service providers in the u.s. two of the suspects are vietnamese citizens. the other is canadian.

the justice department says today it is one of the largest reported data breaches in u.s. history. terrifying firsthand casualties as a plane slides down a runway and nearly into the water. now hear from the woman aboard who wondered if she would ever see her children again. your smartphone could soon get a re-up. why you now have more time to make sure your phone stays on.

we could know more monday about the former corrections officer charged in a series of shootings in maryland. his bond hearing has been postponed until monday due to the bad weather this week. police say evidence linked him to five shootings starting february 24th and ending with shots fired at an nsa building on tuesday. a court clerk for the city of ferguson missouri has now been fired for sending racist

e-mails to co-workers. and two police department employees who were placed on administrative leave are no longer working for city. this all stems from that justice department department leased this week that found the pattern of racial bias within the city's police force and justice system. today the mayor said city leaders plan to meet with justice officials in a couple of weeks to work on a plan to improve operations. if you own an iphone here's some good news for you. apple is extending the iphone 5 battery replacement program. the original deadline was march 1st but it will go through january of next year. apple launched the program back in august after widespread xlabts about short battery life. the battery replacement program covers iphone 5s that were sold between september of 2012 and january of 2013. you can check to see if your phone is affected on apple's website. the national mall will be a busy place this weekend. first at 4, we're looking ahead

to what so many people will be celebrating despite the cold weather. half a century later, the solemn look back that everyone will be talking about tomorrow.

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afternoon about a letter written to the accused boston bomber from one of his victims. rebecca gregory lost a leg in the blast. she testifies in court this weekend. the letter tells the accused, dzhokhar tsarnaev seeing him face-to-face took away her fear. she called him a nobody and said while he sits in solitaire confinement awaiting a decision on his life she'll be out enjoying all her life has to offer. her letter has gotten thousands of likes and shares on facebook. canadian police just released a cell phone video of the gunman who stormed parliament last october. in the video, the gunman says he did it because of canada's military involvement in afghanistan and iraq. it was recorded in his car shortly before the attack. he signs off by saying "thank you." a canadian soldier was killed in the rampage. authorities then shot and killed the gunman. the release of the video comes as canada's parliament is about to pass new anti-terror laws. it was a critical turning point in the civil rights movement. tomorrow marks the 50th

anniversary of bloody sunday. tomorrow president obama and the first family will travel to selma, alabama, to help mark the anniversary of that march. nbc's jay gray is live now in selma tonight with a closer look for us. good evening, jay. >> reporter: hey, there. good evening, jim. the people who gathered here walked across the bridge behind me 50 years ago facing slurs and fists, billy clubs, even bullets. still they refutzed to back down. this weekend they're being honored for their sacrifice even as they say their fight continues. 50 years later, the struggle continues in selma. a place are unemployment is above 10%, nearly double the national average. a small town like so many. framed by empty and rundown buildings. >> each day presents itself with a new challenge, a new experience. but i am very hopeful in the city that i was born and raised in that a new day is on the horizon for us.

>> reporter: defined by their past. this weekend marks half a century since blood di sunday when hundreds of peaceful protesters here were met with violence during what's been described as the last revolution of the civil rights movement, a march for equality and the right to vote. >> we were determined to get the right for all people regardless of the color of their skin to be able to determine their own destiny. >> reporter: dr. frederick reese was a foot soldier in the march on montgomery. >> yes, i saw blood flowing. panic broke out in the crowd in a state of disbelief that this was happening in the united states of america. >> reporter: a country that now led by its first african-american president, this weekend will celebrate the sacrifices made in selma. progress but those who took the first steps stress not the end of their march. >> i will always be marching

and my biggest march is for young people because they are the voices of hope. >> reporter: a hope that comes from the history here. yeah now, an 85-member congressional delegation also leaving washington for the celebration here this weekend, joining as you talk about the president and first family and former president george w. bush here. that's the latest live in selma, alabama. jay gray news4. >> jay, thanks so much. so veronica is this the last of this cold stuff? are we going up from here on out? >> this is winter's last stand. it's going down. and it's going to stay down. >> shut it down! >> i think cold will have a moderate impact on our area. as you can see we're talking about record cold air again, but, again, this is the last of it. so already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. take a look at storm team 4

radar here. not much to show. but in fact those are clouds off to the north and west. that's the satellite you're looking at there around cleveland, around pittsburgh. for us high pressure has moved in so a clear sky tonight, calm winds will allow the temperatures to really drop in a hurry again. 28 degrees is where we are right now. again, we've been below freezing helping us out the stronger march sunshine. by 9:00 as soon as that sun goes down it's going to start getting icy again. 23 degrees by 11:00 p.m. and again, we'll just continue to drop 11 around sandy spring german germantown gaithersburg 8 degrees around frederick, mt. airy folks around hagerstown 9 for your start tomorrow 7 in cumberland the 12 degrees there in culpeper virginia waldorf area 13 degrees to start your day tomorrow. but a lot of sunshine we're going to have and that's going to allow the mercury to really rise in a hurry from the teens to the 20s to the 30s and quickly to the 40s by i think around 1:00.

but a spread too, in the temperatures throughout the area. arias north of us in and around d.c. 44 to 46. south and west temperatures closer to the 50-degree mark. nonetheless, lots of melting expected across the area. i don't think we'll see any big-time flooding taking place from the melting but watch your basements carefully because those are the area when you get the rapidly melting snow that can sometimes have poor drainage and water coming in. temperatures for the next couple of days will be a lot like late march. so storm team 4 issuing a spring fever alert. we're not going to know what to do with ourselves. the snow will start to vanish. some of the spring flower buds might start to pop. i want's going to be like our own march madness around here before march madness actually happens. 46 the high for tomorrow. a few clouds. melting. sunday higher temperatures milder air, 50 degrees.

take a look at your storm team 4-day forecast. this weekend, not bad. we're getting closer to average. average right now is at 53 degrees. we're at 46 there on saturday. sunday again don't forget we spring forward. and you know what that means too. that means that we lose an hour of sleep, pat. not good but a lot of folks are going to be tuning in and we hope you do too to news4 for a very special show that we've put together in honor of women's history month. >> yeah. the female anchors here at news4 have put together tributes for our mothers, doreen barbara, angie, veronica, and ung and i, will share how hour mothers inspired and guided us through the years. join us for a special report. >> great perspective on everybody. like a window into our worlds. you have to watch. it's a must-see.

>> you do have to see it. it's going to be amazing. the pat collins snow stick challenge. you sent us your pictures. time to look at the contenders for an official pat collins snow stick. and congress might have take an snow day, but many are still jumping in when it comes to an investigation surrounding hillar and remember you can stay ahead of what's happening in the news and the weather with the nbc washington.

this week marks the 150th anniversary of president abraham lincoln's second inauguration. and you can expect to see extra crowds extra large crowds on the national mall tomorrow because of that. the national park service is holding a commemoration ceremony at the lincoln memorial. that starts at 9:30. we'd love to see your pictures so send them to us. >> we called it march snow mania and asked is you to tweet a photo of your best snowman. >> we've seen a lot of good ones too, and now one person will be able to measure the snow using an official and famous pat collins snow stick. >> we need a drum roll here. pat shows us some of the creative entries for this latest challenge. take a look.

♪ it's the final countdown ♪ >> reporter: we may be a southern city but when it comes to making snowmen, there's no shortage of talent around here. the snow stick challenge. best snowman gets an official pat collins snow stick. we got scores and scores of entries. look at this one. he had his very own snow stick. his very own microphone too. i don't know about you, but i sort of like the look. though it was freezing and windy outside, a lot of the snow sculptures had a warm-weather theme. just because it's cold doesn't mean you can't be cool. we're one month away from opening day, and you could tell a lot of people had baseball on their mind. snowmen, snowmen, snowmen of every shape and description. how do you pick a winner?

well first you pick a blue ribbon panel of judges. nbc 4's general manager and noted talent scout jackie bradford. and two of our honored reporters, richard jordan and scott mcfarlane. they watched, they took notes. they did their due diligence. they got the job done. ♪ it's the final countdown ♪ >> reporter: coming up news 4 at 5:00 the snow stick challenge final four in northwest, pat collins, news4. >> we don't know who won yet. >> can't wait to find out. tough competition, though. >> it is tough this year. lot of entries. >> very talented you snowmakers out there. it's one of the biggest questions of the last week. what color is the dress? >> the social media firestorm all in good fun but now it's taking a serious and more graphic turn. plus caught in a snowstorm, now an emotional idea of what happened inside an airplane that

was sliding down the runway and heading toward the water. >> you don't realize how fast a plane is coming in to land when

right now at 4:30 breaking news in a series of rapes in a local community. prince george's county say this man, james william diggs, is under arrest tonight for raping a woman in cottage city on wednesday. he's also a person of interest in three other cases. the ntsbth in ntsb has wrapped up its field investigation after harrison ford crashed his small

vintage plane on a california golf course. he is expected to be okay sxwroop many streets and sidewalks still in bad shape. storm team 4 is tracking pretty dramatic changes ahead. it was a scare at one of the nation's busiest airports. federal investigators are working to find out what caused this plane filled with passengers to stop just feet from icy waters. >> that laguardia runway had been pleau v plowed but there was freezing fog that might have brought an icy coating. >> barbara harrison has some surprising accounts from passengers on board. barbara? >> sounds like a scary moment far lot of them. one woman on that delta flight is giving an account of what went through her mind. she's a mother and happen s to be star of a reality series "jersey bell." here's a look am tat simulation of the plane as it skidded on runway. jamie sullivan told savannah guthrie this morning she felt like the plane had no brakes. >> and then i saw the rocks and then i saw the water and i

would's at that moment your mind goes what happens if you go into the water? do planes sin snk do they float? will i ever see my kids again? >> reporter: take a look at this. we have video passengers took with their cell phones. jamie was sitting in the front row. she says the most emotional moment for her actually came after the plane stopped and she saw the pilot walk out of the cockpit. >> and i looked right at him and he looked right at me and i sort of became unglued in that moment because here's this man who saw what i saw and his only concern was for his passengers. he walked right up to me and put his arm and me and said "i'm going to get you off this plane." and he did. >> jamie flies regularly for work and normally feels safe she says on planes. about two dozen people were actually hurt on that flight but none of the other injuries were serious, thank goodness. >> thanks barbara. the next nbc 4 allstate community shred scheduled for

tomorrow has been canceled because of the snow. the new date has not been set yet but of course we will keep you posted. shredding is one of the easiest ways to help prevent identity theft. nbc 4 and allstate are proud to offer this free service. i'm jason pugh at the live desk. college sports world being rocked by scandal this afternoon. the syracuse men's basketball team slammed with penalties today for committing academic drug and gift violations. head coach jim boeheim, the second winningest coach in division i men's basketball has been suspended the first nine acc games next season. syracuse will have to vacate wins in which ineligible students participated over a five-year period. the punishment also includes syracuse paying back money it earned from the ncaa tournament appearances and it loses scholarships as well for the next four years. the university already self-imposed a postseason ban on the team this year after

fighting violations in their own investigation. in addition both the basketball and football teams will be on probation the next five years at syracuse. from the live desk i'm jason pugh. the unemployment rate is down for the 12th straight month. 295,000 people who had been out of work found jobs in february. house speaker john boehner is using the report to blast president obama for vetoing the keystone pipeline, which he said would have created another 42,000 jobs. well while the city digs out from this winter storm we learned many residents are in need of a place to stay. there are more than 5,000 people living in the district's homeless shelters right now. that includes 1,400 children. and the city is housing many of them at local hotels because of a lack of space at the main facility at d.c. general. news4's mark segraves has been tracking the shelter numbers this winter and posting them

regularly on twitter. democrats on capitol hill coming to hillary clinton's defense this afternoon. lawmakers on the house committee investigating the terror attack in benghazi libya, are asking the panel's republican chair to withdraw a subpoena for clinton's e-mails. they say he's unfairly targeting the former secretary of state for political reasons. the government is still investigateing clinton's use of a personal e-mail server to conduct official state business which all came to light this week. and a couple of updates you should know about if you're riding metro this weekend. trains will be running across the entire green line after all the track work that had been scheduled to shut down stations between green belt and college park has been canceled. and you may have to wrap up your nighttime plans sooner than usual tomorrow. trains will stop running as early as 1:00 a.m. sunday to adjust to daylight-saving time. marion barry would have

turned 79 years old today and in honor of his life and legacy city leaders anded a miders revealed this mural of the former mayor and civil rights advocate. the 12 x 16 painting is in ward eight and can be seen from i 295 northbound. an effort also under way to find out other ways to recognize mr. barry like possibly naming a a street or school after him. coming up tonight on news 4 at 5:00, the local artist who created the mural tells news4's mark segraves why it's for the entire city and not just ward eight. last week social media exploded over the color of a dress. >> but now it's making waves on social media for more serious reasons. you remember it. everybody seemed to be divided over whether this dress was gold and white or black-and-blue. well it turns out it was, indeed black-and-blue. >> but check this out. the salvation army of south africa is using the dress for a new psa about domestic violence saying why is it so hard to see black-and-blue?

that's in quotes. the ad's creative director wanted to take advantage of the popularity of the dress to spread the message. the psa has already been retweeted thousands of times. wrong place, wrong time and all caught on camera. first at 4, why very little could have prevented a teenage girl from being hit bay car. it's supposed to be a fast new, and secure way to spend your money. but now it seems it's already facing big problems. could it impact your cash?

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all right. take a good look folks. it is amazing that after being struck by that car in this video the young woman there was only a little banged up. whole thing caught on camera. a few cars crashed along the icy street on rhode island avenue as drivers tried moving out of the way and stopping at vehicle lost control. the girl was hit on her way to school when the car came right toward her and a few others as you saw. >> screamed to everybody to get out of the road. turned around and saw her and moved as fast as i could to get

out of the way. >> everyone involved in this incident walked away okay. wow. apple pay is now the latest company to be hit by hackers. officials told "the wall street journa that stolen credit cards from recent data breaches have been used to open accounts with apple's mobile payment system. the criminals are then using those cards when they purchase various expensive items. most of the unauthorized purchases have been at apple stores. apple pay itself hasn't been breached but in response to this banks are tightening their verification process for customers looking to open new accounts. there may be a good reason that you get to the bottom of your popcorn bucket quicker in some movies than others. researchers at the cornell food and brand lab found that people tend to eat more when they watch tearjerkers. studied participants watching a sad movie ate 55% more popcorn than those watching a comedy. maybe they're too busy laughing.

who knows. this doesn't have to be a bad thing. experts say sad movies prompt emotional eating of whatever it is in front of you, even fruits and veggies. well, a big surprise here. 70 years in the making what she has this afternoon that's an emotional link to her past. help is on the way. the part of our area that needs some extra attention after the latest winter blast.

fist at 4, digging out after the winter storm. it may have been a snow day, but a lot of folks stills went to school. they weren't studying though. they were doing this. they grabbed their sleds, school boards and had some fun. this is outside northwest high school in northwest washington. >> pat, we could have spent the rest of the day doing that. >> could have. or we could have done the news. yeah. then there's that. a lot of people were sledding snowman building too. running out of time though. >> storm team 4 is tracking some quick changes. doug and veronica join us with team coverage in just a moment. a lot of folks suffering through this winter weather are anxious for spring to arrive. are you? there could be some relief this weekend when you set your clocks ahead by one hour. chris pollone has the benefitmore

on the benefit of daylight-saving time. >> reporter: for something we can't see, touch, or taste, we sure do worry about it a lot. >> three, two, engine starts. >> reporter: nothing would ever get into space without a lengthy countdown. and what fun would moving from one year to another be if we didn't have a ceremony that marked the exact moment it happens? turns out there might be some benefit to losing an hour of sleep, getting a little more daylight in your life could be good for you. >> we benefit from being near daylight and it's because it lowers our blood pressure puts us in a better mood gets our body producing serotonin and also melatonin, which allows us to sleep better at night. >> reporter: any symbol of spring, no matter how insignificant, will certainly be welcome in places like here in boston, where some of the biggest snowbanks might not melt completely until may or june. >> our bodies are designed to be in the outdoors is when we sit all day at a cubicle, that's not good for us. >> reporter: being on saving

time, remember no "s" on saving if you want to sound smarter, has been around for about a hundred years. over the years it's been argued it helps cut energy consumption from lights and heating, lowers crime rates, accidents and even sells more french fries at fast-food restaurants, all ideas that have been widely disputed. research has also shown some people report feeling groggy or disoriented for days after adjusting their clocks. that's you, take comfort. we fall back to standard time in november. and with that i'm out of time. thanks for give megasome of yours. chris pollone, nbc news, boston. >> so it's time get it to change our wardrobe is that what you just said? >> that's what i just said. time to get in there and start, you know pushing some of the winter stuff back get that spring stuff out. time for us to start doing it too. we talk about a pattern change. we'll have more on that coming up. first, though, a lot of folks

wondering is it okay we had sunshine today, a nice dry day with good conditions, a lot of slop though on area roads. get that car washed this weekend and please get in line early because nobody likes the long lines. we've got a couple dry days ahead. on storm team 4 radar right now, scanning the area live of course with the sunshine it's dry. next time i think we'll see anything show up on this radar is days out. even then talking act rain showers. so how did we do this season with snowfall and what about this pattern change? how long will it stick around? here's doug kammerer. >> most of our snow really in the past couple weeks. almost no snow in november or december january a lilt bit. let's look at the numbers. well eel show you what we're talking about. this is down towards reagan national airport. look what we've seen the last couple months. november not much at all pap trace in november, a trace in december but then we started getting things going. a backloaded wimtder. 3.6 inches in january, almost 10 in february almost 5 inches from this past storm.

that puts us at 18.3 inches. that's above average by about 4 inches. an above-average winter for snowfall for sure. the cold air has been there. you know that. but the best news of the day is all of that cold air moouchs right back up into canada. we get on the warm side and we're talking about temperatures finally closer to average. average now up to 53. v.j. we think this is a pattern that may last for at least one to two weeks. >> that's right. as we go ahead and take a look at what's next for us the warmth this weekend. we're going to start come ought of it. get out and enjoy things tomorrow as we go from the teens to around 20 degrees at 7:00 a.m. 30s by 11:00 a.m. 40s by 1:00 p.m. a lot of melting snow tomorrow and a lot of kids that are going to be outside. but, again, keep in mind, it's a cold night for us. that spring pattern, it's going to stick around for a while. if you can't get out tomorrow you have sunday you have early part of next week of course too, 50 degrees, culpeper close to that in manassas and warrenton, you folks in d.c.,

46. your high temperature for tomorrow at 44 pax river. not too bad across the area. this could be one of the last great weekends as the fact we just had snowfall and it's going to be nice and mild temperatures in the 40s. right now liberty, their base 45 to 50 inches of snow. meanwhile you've got a base of 30 to 60 there around areas of snowshoe, just to that southwest pocket of virginia there. 50 trails open and snowshoe right now pap good weekend for going skiing. 13 days until spring. it hits march 20th. look at this. i think we're going to also start to see some of the spring flowers start to pop. 60 degrees on wednesday. it's been a while, of course since we had back-to-back 50s, not since around christmas. we've got more on our pattern change coming up on news 4 at 5:00 guys. how bad has this winter been? well for the third time this season arlington county has had to stock more road salt. 2,000 tons were added today. the county has already used up its midseason resupply along with its original order.

they say crews have been mixing in sand to help the salt go further. now to some stories we're working on in our newsroom this evening pap story that got a lot of attention in the midst of the snowstorm yesterday. a local woman about to give birth and stuck in the snow. we'll tell you how she's faring now. and a young girl's death not in vain. how it could save more local children for years to come. i'm wendy rieger at the live desk. congressman chris van holland is already getting a major endorsement in his bid for senator barbara mickkulski's seat. harry reid is endorsing him. that was unexpected primarily because mikulski just announced her 2016 retirement and the democratic field competing for the seat is hardly set in town. at the live desk i'm wendy

rieger. taking action to stop violence at the hands of loved ones. some of the most trusted community lead national weather service maryland will soon be better equipped to handle domestic violence. >> reporter: i'm darcy spencer in prince george's county, where the state's attorney says the church community has to be involved in solving the problem of domestic violence here in the county. there were 19 domestic-related murders in the county last year. several of the victims were children. on monday the state's attorney is holding a one-day seminar right here at the first baptist church of glenarden involving pastors as well as staff members to make sure they're on board to know how to handle it when there is domestic violence among those in their congregations. >> the reality is we cannot just pray. we never discourage folks from praying but we need to support that praying with education and training and helping to give the right and consistent advice across churches. >> reporter: on news 4 at 5:00 i'll tell you the one thing a judge told the state's attorney

that made her realize this training had to happen. in prince george's county darcy spencer, news4. a new honor this afternoon for a local company. >> custom inc. is the only company from virginia to make the fortune 100 best companies to work for. and today they celebrated with a snowman contest. the company tells us this is the sort of thing that helps make custom inc. a fun place to work. the company is ranked 62. this is not the first time the company has made a fortune top 100 list. to hear the secrets behind their success, visit nbc washington and search custom ink. the winner of the contest was a snow pig. cries for help from inside the cockpit. >> engine failure. immediate return. >> this afternoon, what we're learning about a plane crash with actor harrison ford in the pilot's seat. why it's not his first mishap with a plane. >> reporter: a national chide

porn investigation that led police to this fairfax neighborhood.

katherine wallace had no idea what was about to happen when she walked into a room full of veterans at the senior center in indianapolis where she lives. they handled over her husband's world war ii dog tags lost 70 years ago. seems a frenchman found the tags on a beach recently and wanted

to return them, and that's not all. >> he also sent a bag of sand that he dug up where he found the dog tag near utah beach. >> you're kidding. >> katherine's husband, james wallace, was a member of the allied troops who landed at normandy. an update now on harrison ford's progress. he's still in the hospital with some broken bones after that plane crash in southern california yesterday. nbc's kirk hawkins has details on ford's condition. the crash investigation and the bystander who is helped save him. >> i hope he's going to make it. >> reporter: the final moments of ford ford's flight caught on camera. >> oh no. oh no. >> reporter: the 72-year-old actor and pilot radioed the tower. >> engine failure with immediate return. >> ryan 178 runway cleared to land. >> reporter: after clipping at least one tree, the world war ii

plane crashed into a golf course next to the santa monica airport where ford had just taken off. >> i hope he's all right. >> reporter: witnesses watched the emergency landing. >> the plane instantly stalled and he was gliding that the point. >> reporter: doctors playing golf rushed to help. >> i wanted to do my best. i happened to be there and i tried to my best to help someone in disstress. >> reporter: as the vintage plane was moved friday morning big the faa and ntsb investigators are now trying to figure out why the engine shut down. >> there's a lot of different things that can make an engine quit. >> we're in trouble here. >> reporter: a pilot in trouble one of ford's legendary roles, in real life he's also an experienced aviator. walking away from a serious helicopter crash in 1999. >> i like to challenge myself. always make sure that i don't overchallenge myself. >> reporter: battered but okay, ford's publicist says he's expected to make a full recovery. curt hawkins, nbc news, los

now at 5:00, the cold weather still causing a lot of problems out there. jim and wendy? >> that's right, pat. right now arctic air is helping keep some spots treacherous. doug kammerer will tell us about the near record-setting cold. we're going to feel it tonight. when this weather pattern is finally going to get out of here. breaking news first tonight. a suspected rapist just arrested. prince george's county police say they think he could be responsible for a series of attacks on women. >> right now he's only been charged in one case. detectives say he's a person of interest in three other rapes that date back to september. >> automatic these attacks have occurred within a two-mile radius of each other. police tell us the most recent happened last night in the 3800 block of 38th avenue. that's in cottage city. >> news4's chris gordon is live in palmer park where a news conference just wrapped up. chris? >> reporter: well good evening. the suspect, james diggs, is being questioned right now here at prince george's county police headquarters. it appears they have now charged him with two rapes and believe

that he is responsible for two more. police today focused on cottage city maryland after issuing an arrest warrant for 48-year-old james william diggs of bladensburg, charging him with first-degree rape. then late this afternoon, there was a break in the case. >> within the last hour our fugitive squad captured diggs in waldorf. he was arrested without incident and he is currently at headquarters being interviewed. >> reporter: two nights ago a woman was grabbed from behind a knife put to her throat in a secluded area of cottage city. police are tieing this most recent attack to one that happened the night of february 25th on 54th street. and they hope to link the suspect to two more assaults from last fall. >> he is charged in the rape that occurred this past wednesday and the rape that occurred on february 25th. the previous two he is a