stations. and they're not happening on the tracks. first we turn to storm team 4 and what many of us hope will be winter's last gasp. snow is headed our way right now and remember folks, we'll tell you about any school delays and closures right here as they come in. it is not done with us yet. this hello, everybody. >> i'm wendy rieger in for pat lawson muse. i'm in the storm team 4 with my little buddy, meteorologist veronica johnson. >> she likes me now. >> i love you now because tomorrow we get to say, i know i'm falling over tomorrow we get to say for the first day of spring, wintry mix. what's going on? this is crazy. take a look on radar here the rain moving a little earlier than what it looked like yesterday. of course we told you around 2:00 a.m. we would start to see our first rain and snow mix across the area. but look at this.

we have showers already well north and east of roanoke, virginia. this is a storm system that will impact areas in and around virginia maryland right on up into philadelphia and new york. showers now around charlottesville charlottesville, around areas like richmond. some very light showers there. your winter storm warning in these counties shade in pink -- washington berkeley morgan allegheny county -- that goes till 2:00 p.m. starts as early as 3:00 a.m. in the purple northern faulkier county northwestern howard county into northern baltimore, what we're expecting is a mixture of rain and snow starting around midnight. some roads during the morning rush will become snow covered. your temperatures this is what's going to help us out. we're in the upper 40s to low 50s across the area. road temperatures a little higher than the airplane temperatures you saw. leesburg warrenton, the highest impact 70 270, winchester

thurmont. those are the areas that could have some delays and some accumulation. in just a couple minutes i'll give you a time line take you hour by hour, show you the snow that will be moving in and through and how much you're expecting in your neighborhood. we could know in less than an hour what's next for yuf student martese johnson after a press conference from his attorney. his bloody arrest early yesterday sparked a state police investigation, a new national conversation about the use of police force, and as news4's david culvert shows us ongoing demonstrations in charlottesville. >> reporter: today's been a day of impromptu protests on the grounds of the university of virginia. students coming together those who either know martese johnson or have never met him but still connected to him because they're classmates after all. they've come together pushing for justice. >> seeing the photo of his face brutally beaten and also gushing with blood, it had such a significant impact on my

mind-set mind-set. >> reporter: the mood on grounds today slightly more subdued compared with last night. >> no justice! >> no peace! >> reporter: hundreds of students made their way up and down charlottesville's corner. the site where alcoholic beverage control police arrested martese johnson early monday morning after he was turned away from a pub. it led to this bloody and disturbing picture that's gone viral and mobilized his peers. >> i thought about how this poor man's mother would feel when she saw that photo because i knew how it made me feel. >> reporter: we're told his mother has flown from chicago, flown to virginia to meet with family attorneys as well as university officials to decide how they're going to move forward in this process. in charlottesville, david culvert, news4. >> this all comes on the same day as a scathing report from the national urban league on the state of black america. news4's steve handelsman is working on that part of the story for us and we'll check in with him at 4:30.

i'm scott mcfarlane at the live desk. we just sent you a push alert to your phone about this breaking story. transportation reporter adam tuss has learned two handrails that contained lights along metro's brand-new sieve line have caught fire recently. this is a picture of one of those handrails. you can see some charring on the white paint. one handrail caught fire at the greensboro station march 8th and the next day another caught fire at the corner station. metro has branded this issue an emergency condition and according to the director of the dulles rail project a third handrail caught fire in november 2013 while construction was still under way. while metro operates the silver line, it was built by the metropolitan washington airports authority. that organization hasn't yet commented on the fires. metro says the lighting systems have been remove and temporary lights have been put up since. much more coming up on news 4 at 5:00 president adam will have details on what metro plans to do about the fires moving forward. i'm scott mcfarlane. now a third alleged victim

has come forward against a d.c. police officer who's accused of sexually assaulting teenaged girls. and prosecutors say the department knew about his sexual misconduct for years. news4's mark segraves is in d.c. superior court. >> reporter: for the second time this week, d.c. police officer darrell best was back inside the d.c. superior courthouse. this time just like on monday he did not dispute any of the prosecution's evidence. but when best asked the judgment to release him pending his next court hearing, that's when prosecutors revealed there are more victims. d.c. police officials knew of officer darrell best's sexual misconduct as far back as we have then when best was disciplined for groping and kissing a 20-year-old female cadet who he supervised at the police academy. in 2008 best was demoted after he sexually harassed and touched a female employee inside the fifth district headquarters. ne he's now charged with

sexually assaulting two teens. one girl says she was raped inside the church where best is senior pastor. the second victim says she was assaulted inside police headquarters. today prosecutors revealed a third victim has now come forward. the judge ordered best to be held without bond until his next court date in late april. prosecutors say they expect more victims to come forward. coming up at 5:00 isle tell you how the police department has now changed officer best's status. at d.c. superior court, mark segraves news4. we're also following developments right now out of western maryland where three people were shot and killed inside this homecoming up in knoxville. so far we've learned all the victims are adults. chopper 4 over the scene on valley road here. that's southwest of frederick. deputies went there around 8:00 this morning after a relative asked them to check on the well-being of the people there. we'll bring you more details as they come in to news4. we just learned the name of the man who was killed in a

house fire in springfield this morning. fairfax fire says it is 56-year-old paul church who was in the house on rolling road when it ignited in flames. investigators still don't have a cause of that fire. at one point, firefighters had to evacuate when part of the interior collapsed. three others were injured in that fire. news4's kristin wright will have an update on this investigation. that's coming up on news 4 at 5:00. it had people pulling their cars over. chopper 4 captures flames along a busy highway in our area. we'll tell you what our cameras saw that firefighters tell us could put you in danger. and paying tribute first at 4, the permanent tribute to a fallen officer who will soon be known by generations of local kid.

the accused boston marathon bomber will face a whole new set of criminal charges after the marathon trial ends. the massachusetts district attorney plans to prosecute dzhokhar tsarnaev for the death of m.i.t. officer sean collier. collier was shot the night of the frantic search for the bombing suspects. it marked the first of several crimes the brothers allegedly committed during the manhunt's final hours. tsarnaev already faces the death penalty if convicted of engineering the bombings.

he could also face a life sen teps if found guilty of killing collier. a maryland man is accused of trying to kill two prince george's county police officers with his dump truck. and he is not competent to stand trial. this incident occurred in erl i li january at a shopping center in dplen arden. it was caught on surveillance video. gene brandon rammed two police cruisers nearly hit the officers who were standing close by. last month he was charged with attempted murder but after the judge's ruling today he will be sent to a mental health hospital for treatment. he will not stand trial. brandon claimed at the scene that the officers he thought had killed his brother. still no word today on what kautzed this fire in silver spring this morning that damaged three neighboring restaurants. more than 100 firefighters were at the scene here on georgia avenue. it happened around 2:00 a.m. the bombay gaylord restaurant had the most damage. the flames gutted out the entire dining area. the investigation into what

started this fire still under way, the but the montgomery county fire spokesman says it likely was sparked by something electrical. and royalty on pennsylvania avenue. inside big moment of charles and camilla's trip to washington and what's next on their itinerary. one of the nation's biggest retailers gets ready to pay big for putting people's identities at risk. and winter's last gasp.

the director of the u.s. skrechs says trying to debunk news accounts of the latest scandal, joseph clancy told the senate today that initial accounts that suggested two agents crashed a car into a white house barricade were overblown. he says a surveillance video shows the vehicle entering the

white house complex at extremely low speed, one or two miles an hour and pushing aside a plastic barrel not crashing into it. target may pay $10 million to settle a class action lawsuit against its massive data breach in 2013. today a minnesota judge said he would grant a preliminary approval. this allows target shoppers to begin filing claims ahead of another hearing for final approval. victims will be eligible for up to $10,000. data thieves hacked as many as 40 million accounts that affected as many as 110 million people. prince charles will be honored in washington tonight for his passionate dedication to conservation efforts. >> the prince and his wife camilla, the duchess of cornwall are wrapping up a whirlwind visit to the nas's capital. chris lawrence has the latest. >> you cannot say they have not put a lot in on this trip. it's been a busy visit and they

met with president obama and vice president biden today. reporters were only allowed for a minute and weren't given any details about their conversation. but white house officials have said the goal of this visit is to reinforce historic and cultural ties between our two countries. afterward, the duchess of cornwall attended a reception at the national museum for women and the arts. the museum is dedicated to recognizing women's creative contributions and it's really the only one like it in the world. the royal couple got a look at residential d.c. this morning visiting president lincoln's cottage near the neighborhood of parkview. it served as lincoln's systemer retreat during the civil war and it's where he developed the emancipation proclamation. it shares a campus with the arnold forces retirement home what we know as the soldiers home. charles and camilla also got a tour of that facility as well. we also tagged along as prince charles toured a school in our

area. zachary kiesch is editing that story right now and you' seal it on news 4 at 5:00. now to the snow in our forecast. local schools are telling parents today to prepare for the morning. >> we'll keep you updated from storm team 4 and from the live december income the morning on delays that are occurring. veronica how bad is it looking? how bad could it be? >> to put it into context, this will be a storm system br we could have a handle of delays. really it's a conversational event. i think most roads across the area will be fine. most. until we get north and west of d.c. and real hi more of an annoying event than anything else for us. come on, it's the first day of spring tomorrow! all right. take a look at storm team 4 radar. that blue that you see there, that's some very, very light rain showers that are trying to get going and trying to fall. just south and west of charlottesville. reports of some very light showers coming in. and in the highest spots, the mountains of southwestern virginia maybe a few flakes of snow mixing in with rain right now. evening planner forecast 52

degrees. this is what i like, the fact we're at 5 the2 degrees because the road temperatures they'll retain the heat for quite some time. mixture of rain and snow at 11:00 p.m. 40 degrees, rain and snow starting to push into the area earlier around midnight. talking act a few slick spots, 32 to 35 degrees. that's early tomorrow morning with already some light accumulation mainly north and west of d.c. all right. put the temperatures on for you as the moisture starts to come into the area 40 degrees, d.c. 36 degrees up in frederick, 39 in leesburg. again, still plenty warm but watch what happens as this system comes in starts cooling the atmosphere. we'll start to see the temperatures drop in the low to mid-30s up here 34 in martinsburg. that is snow that you're seeing at 7:00 a.m. starting to overspread the area. really 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. starts to overspread the area. this is 9:00 a.m. snow throughout much of the area except down through southern maryland around culpeper

around manassas. these are the areas that will stay primarily rain. by 1:00 and 2:00 conditions start to improve across the area. by 6:00 7:00 the system pushes out with mainly cloud cover. around and inch to under ap inch d.c. annapolis, down toward the south and west where you folks around warrenton, around leesburg on up toward baltimore, 1 to 3 inches of snow expected nap's mainly on the grass, on cars on some of the sidewalks. 3 to 4 inches. this is the location that could be most problematic with the snow that falls tomorrow. hagerstown frederick, winchester toward frostburg, 3 to 4 inches and maybe an isolated location or two that picks up more than that. early morning hours, slick spots north and west. we're looking at some cautious nary conditions that we all should be taking. midday wet roads, but probably still some slow traffic, still cautionary. by the afternoon, we get the green light. i think we're above freezing and doing fine for the afternoon rush. highs tomorrow anywhere from 37

to 41 degrees across the area so we'll see those temperatures rise by afternoon. a look at your four-day forecast here. the problem event tomorrow. again, more annoying and confers nal than anything else. your weekend will be doing much better rising temperatures. we veal a detailed look at the weekend coming up in just a little bit. more of a detailed look of the road impacts across the area. we're going zoom very tight throughout the area and show you which zone may be impacted the most with falling snow during the morning rush. guys? >> thanks veronica. new at 4:00 driving along and seeing this flames spreading quickly along a busy road and it put some nearby homes in danger. chopper 4 flew over this brush fire along the intercounty connector. it came within inches of spreading into people's yards. we noticed a woman standing at the edge of her property appearing to use her coat to try to stop those flames. montgomery county police tweeted that if that happens to you, you should stay away from the flames

and call 911. this afternoon, president obama has a lot of people talking about voting. >> but not in a way you might expect. the president suggested that if american voters wanted to quote, counteract the role of money in politics then maybe voting should be mandatory. he added that people who tend not to vote are younger and lower income and that some groups try to keep them away from the polls. more than 20 countries require voting for everyone including australia. taking extra steps to make sure that a safety device in your car doesn't actually put you in more danger. something in the water? a lot of you are about to notice a different smell for the water that comes into your home. and download the nbc washington app and turn on alerts.

thank you, cable for the slower internet upload speeds. for making me wait longer to share my photo albums. thank you cable, because if we never had you we wouldn't know the incredible difference verizon fios makes. in customer satisfaction studies, fios is rated #1 in internet speed and reliability - 8 years running. plus, fios has the fastest wi-fi available from any provider. period. see the difference for yourself. get a fios triple play online at an amazing price, guaranteed for two full years! plus, get a $300 bonus with a two-year agreement. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

for some people in our area might notice a slight change in the taste and smell of your tap water soon. d.c. water, arlington county and fairfax water will temporarily switch the disinfectant in drinking water from clor mean to chlorine. this is an annual routine to clean and maintain drinking water systems. local water authorities will conduct system-wide flushing to

enhance water quality. the cleaning is scheduled for march 23rd through may 4th. . honda had added nearly 105,000 vehicles to a recall. each car has driver's side air bags made by takata. deflators can explode and spew small pieces of metal. they include civics from 2004 and accords from 2001. honda has now recalled 5.5 million cars. to check if yours is impacted, go to our nbc washington facebook page and search "recall." it is a sign of the times, those iconic yellow cars in new york city are jut numbered by uber drivers. there are over 14,000 uber dplooifrs the big apple, but for every uber ride in the city there are ten yellow cab rides because uber drivers tend to work part-time.

local children had been learning about the actions of an officer killed in the line of duty for generations to come. the prince william county school board nominated to name an elementary school board after chris young. he was on his police motorcycle responding to a call on new year's eve 2012 when a minivan hit and killed him. the new school is along devlin road in bristow. they are the phone calls that caused an international stir and now there appears to be a break in this case as investigators look into who threatened the daughter of president john f. kennedy. storm team 4 busy tracking what everyone hopes is went ears last stand. some of the area will soon be under a winter weather advisory. what will you see?

right now at 4:30 within the hour we could learn more

about the controversial beating of a uva student. video and photos of martese johnson went viral after his arrest yesterday morning and it is spurring protests across campus. a third victim has come forward after d.c. police officer darrell best was arrested for sexual misconduct. mark segraves has also learned that the d.c. police department may have known about this alleged misconduct for several years. a deadly triple shooting in western maryland was a double murder/suicide. they were found inside this home in knoxville, maryland southwest of frederick. we're also tracking the arrival of more snow. veronica. >> i know. just sounds so strange to say so late in the season. so here's the deal guys. we could see a few delays tomorrow a few school delays in the zones here in hot pink. this is where i think delays are really likely to happen tomorrow from washington county for areas like jefferson and berkeley county right over to allegheny county areas of western

maryland. that's where they're under a winter storm warning and expecting arias of snow. for loudoun county baltimore county, a winter weather advisory that goes as late as 2:00 p.m. moving in around midnight, mixture of rain and snow and on the radar now, there it is. we're tracking it as it makes its way northeast getting closer and closer to us. we've got more data that continue to come into storm team 4. we'll have that for you as we take another look at amounts and zoom into your neighborhood to see who's going to be impacted the greatest from this storm system. where could that snow stick the most? from police violence to racist chants at white fraternities there has been growing concern about problems faced by the african-american community. >> today the urban league released its annual report on the state of black america and the focus is on another urgent issue, economics. news4's steve handelsman live on capitol hill with details. steve? >> jim, wendy, thanks. urban league's ceo told me when

it comes to black employment and income and net worth, we're in a state of emergency. the urban league report finds the biggest problem facing african-americans is not their treatment by police or what students at university of virginia charge last night was mistreatment after student martese johnson was bloodied by cops. the report finds social justice for blacks improving less crime in violence but finds a stunning and worsening economic gap between white americans and african-americans who now have a median net worth of just $6,300 versus $111,000 for whites. black income is $34,000 versus $58,000 for whites. and the black unemployment rate is more than double the rate for whites. it's a tale of two nations, says marc morial the head of the urban league. >> this is not a sustainable thing for the united states of america and we're a nation that

believes that upward economic mobility is tied to education, perseverance and hard work. >> reporter: not race. >> not race. >> two steps forward and one step back. >> reporter: frustrated african-american leaders today demanded better schools and job training. >> our young boys especially are falling further and further behind. >> reporter: fix that says the urban league and we'd lessen the friction that led to the racism found by the justice department in ferguson and suspected in other communities across america. the urban league says economically latinos in america are doing a bit better than blacks but when it comes to income and net worth, are also falling far behind whites. i'm steve handelsman news4. israeli prime minister general benn. minetten ya hue appears to be backtracking on his preelection vow that no palestinian state would be established on his watch.

in his first american television interview since he won that election netanyahu told nbc's andrea mitchell that he wants a peaceful two-state solution. but he added that circumstances would have to change for that to happen. he also downplayed the recent tensions between israel and the u.s. >> i think there's an unbreakable bond between israel and the united states. the president has said that i've said that. >> what about between you and barack obama? >> well i think that is reflected in the relationship between the president of the united states and the prime minister of israel. >> andrea will be joining us live from jerusalem on news 4 at 5:00 with new details from this interview. and the man accused of going on a deadly shooting rampage in mesa arizona, made his first court appearance today. ryan giroux is accused of shooting six people killing one of his victims. the string of shootings included a motel shooting carjacking and a home invasion. police arrested the gunman after spotting him on an apartment balcony and they hit him with a

stun gun. investigators are trying to figure out his motive. and there's a delay in the decision on whether charles severance is competent to stand trial for those three high-profile murders in alexandria. news4's julie carey broke the news this morning on twitter and since then we learned that the competency hearing that was supposed to be happening today has been rescheduled for april 23rd. these photos show severance in court today. severance is charged with killing three people in alexandria over a span of ten years. today his lawyers told the judge they needed more time to review a psychiatric report and that request was granted. two people are recovering right now from critical injuries after a fiery accident apparently caused bay deer. police tell us a driver swerved to avoid the deer here along georgetown pike near old dominion drive. this was early this morning. he lost control, hit a fence, a tree then a utility pole before that vehicle landed on its side there in the wood. one of the back seat passengers

was rescued by a passerby as the car burst into flames. northern virginia bureau chief julie carey spoke with that good samaritan and we'll hear from him coming up here at 5:00 tonight. and we now know the name of the pedestrian who was hit and killed in clarksburg. 67-year-old betty vest was crossing frederick road in clarksburg last night when a car hit her. she later died at the hospital. police say there were no crosswalks in that area and it's not known at this point if there are any charges against the driver who did stay at the scene. well, it's the time of year when most people are looking far new home. so what can you do to make sure that you're getting the perfect home for the perfect price? and putting on a dangerous show. a police chase quickly turns into a death-defying display that has everyone talking.

hey, the peak season for home sales is right around the corner but many home buyers settle for the first mortgage they're offered. >> and that could mean overpaying hundreds of dollars every year. consumer reporter erika gonzalez tells us how to be a savvy home buyer. >> reporter: going to open houses or checking advertisements are ways to get a sense of the real estate market in your area but before you jump to buy, "consumer reports" says you need to do what christina and her husband did and spend time looking for the best mortgage. >> we wanted to make sure that we had a great rate locked pla-in place for 30 years, for the term that we had the mortgage. >> buying a house is a major purchase.

just a small difference in the mortgage interest rate can make a big difference in your monthly payments. and that really adds up over the years. >> reporter: with a 30-year mortgage at $155,000, if you get a fixed interest rate of 3.75%, you'll pay $718 per month. if the interest rate is just half a point higher 4.25%, the monthly payment jumps to $763 an increase in $16,000 over the life of the loan. "consumer reports" says you need to educate yourself not only on interest rates but on the types of loans available, closing costs, and other possible fees. a good place to start is on the consumer financial protection bureau's website at consumerfinance.gov. >> the next step get quotes from several lenders. they can be large banks or mortgage companies. consider credit unions and small community banks too. >> reporter: bankrate dot come a useful website if you want to broaden your search nationally.

once you've bought a home, the work few yao put in getting the best mortgage will pay off for years to come. >> "consumer reports" also says while consulting with a mortgage broker can be helpful, you might not want to rely solely on those recommendations. >> if off tip or a story idea for the news4 consumer watch, send us an e-mail or give us a call to those numbers and the e-mail right there on your screen. one company makes a big change. what it's doing to allow more of our nation's veterans to get some incredible opportunities. storm team 4 tracking a big change for you. v.j.? >> take a look at the time line. here comes the rain here comes the snow, that's 10:00.

thank you, cable for the slower internet upload speeds. for making me wait longer to share my photo albums. thank you cable, because if we never had you we wouldn't know the incredible difference verizon fios makes. in customer satisfaction studies, fios is rated #1 in internet speed and reliability - 8 years running.

plus, fios has the fastest wi-fi available from any provider. period. see the difference for yourself. get a fios triple play online at an amazing price, guaranteed for two full years! plus, get a $300 bonus with a two-year agreement. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v [ female announcer ] business travel isn't just about the going. it's also about the going home. and being connected all along the way. whether you're working or recharging do business travel

on your terms. acela. take off. yeah you heard right, we are about to get some snow for

the first day of spring. >> say it ain't snow. how many times can we say that? so how much will you see and when oh when? we have team coverage for you this afternoon, chief meteorologist doug kammerer joins us in just a moment from the storm center. but first veronica johnson to break it to us gently. >> it is time for us i think to hide because it's ban long enough winter now, yes, more snow accumulating snow where there will be some delays in parts of our area. let me start you first with if you're going to be commuting by foot in and around d.c. and here's what you can expect tomorrow morning. we'll be starting off with that very critical temperature close to freezing. there will be few locations that dip down to freezing. i think generally around 34 degrees most neighborhoods tomorrow morning. those road temperatures usually about two or three degrees higher but rain and snow early on 34 then by the time we get to the late morning a little more rain will start mixing into the system. really it's between about 4:00 a.m. when the system first comes in and starts overspreading the

area up until about 8:00 especially north and west. that's where roads could become a little slippery in spots. we take it up to moderate because of the slick spots possible north and west and maybe a few delays. that's your snow impact forecast for tomorrow. let's check on radar right now because here's a live look. you can see the showers starting to creep more and more to the north and the northeast, p the white, that's the snow in the highest of elevations areas of west virginia. but this will continue to come in. and i think by the time we get to 10:00 p.m. 11:00 p.m. when doug's doing the evening broadcast broadcast, that's when we seal start to see rain showers around here. then by midnight 1:00 a.m. it converts over to snow. 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. your highest chance of seeing the snow and rain will be early in the day, 6:00 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 a.m. a.m. and by lunchtime we'll quickly start to see the system start to make its way and pull out of here. so by the evening rush there will be very little impact on area roads. we go from a low impact to a moderate impact most locations

by 5:00 a.m. there's your big flakes that will be coming down for the morning rush at 7:00 a.m. big wet flakes with again, impacts mainly to the north and west of our area. with more on an that and what your area could see, meteorologist doug kammerer. >> that's the big concern for tomorrow morning. this snow is going time pact us during the morning rush. this is once again a timing event. this is one of three or four that we've seen this winter. take a look. we'll show you who will be impacted the most. notice i-95 corridor d.c. woodbridge frederick, southern maryland this is a low-impact event for this area even though we could see some accumulating snow we don't think it will be an issue on the roadways. the roads should be a-okay. temperatures to the low 50s, road temperatures way up there. moderate impact. let's look at this area here. northern faulkier county around the marshall area front royal, chantilly, sterling, gaithersburg clarksburg moderate impact for you especially the secondary roads and areas of higher elevation. the highest impact will be

around frederick, charlestown, hagerstown that's the area we think even some of the major roads could be cover thed covered there. we'll see some delays for sure. >> 3 to 4 inches expected here 1 to 3. another look at this map and how much we're expecting, mainly rain around st. mary's and calvert county. your range in temperatures tomorrow 34 to 41. look at saturday. up to 60 degrees. nice and mild for the weekend. but the trend as we look forward into next week midweek especially we go way up and then way down guys for the first week of april. so the seesaw is going to continue. we veal more on the snow impacts for tomorrow coming um on news 4 at 5:00. >> thanks veronica. a local politician are will not be seeking another term after details surfaced of an alleged assault in the past in 2006. current loudoun county supervisor shun williams in '06 was arrested for assaulting his

then girlfriend while they were in ocean city. records say he grabbed her by the hair struck her and knocked her to the ground. this week he announced he will step aside as the county's vice chair. he will finish out his term as a board member. and he says he did receive treatment for alcohol abuse after that incident sxwroop a japanese man is in police custody tonight and may be connected to death threats against u.s. ambassador caroline kennedy. a japanese broadcaster is reporting that a resident of okinawa, japan, has been arrested now for allegedly making bomb threats against the u.s. embassy in tokyo. he is also considered a possible suspect in death threats against kennedy. those threats against the daughter of former president john f. kennedy came to light this week. they were allegedly made last month in phone calls to the embassy. this is scott mcfarlane at the live desk. new concerns for metro tonight. this time handrails catching fire on the silver line. it's a story transportation reporter adam tuss broke online

this afternoon and here's a picture of one of those handrails. two have caught fire since march 8th and we've learned another caught fire during construction in 2013. the lighting systems have now been removed. temporary lights have since been put up. coming up on news 4 at 5:00 adam detail what is metro plans to do about the fires. at the live desk i'm scott mcfarlane. a local company's information technology program that employees -- teams veterans is working so well in its -- that employs teams of veterans is working so well that in it first month it has nearly doubled. >> the enthusiasm they bring to engage in the different areas of our company has been fantastic. >> we first told you about freddie mac's strategy of employeeing teams of veterans last summer. the tech services firm sharp decisions hires and trains vets who are trying to transition from military to civilian life. freddie mac had discovered the work ethic in team spirit of

veterans has been wildly successful. project are being done ahead of schedule and under budget and now new teams are getting started. >> really i'm the most excited about the opportunity to have a career with benefit, to work for an organization where i know they will be loyal, i will be committed and we can get the job done. >> thomas smith is just one of the original vets in the program. to learn more about how this has helped his life go to the nbc washington app and search "veteran." well it's here march madness is under way, folks. georgetown and vcu playing today, virginia and maryland tomorrow. carol maloney is with the terps tonight as maryland hits the practice court for the first time. >> reporter: the road to final four begins from here columbus. maryland has made it. you know that saying it's great to arrive but the trip is always the most fun, that seems to be the case for photographer chris kerwin and i. like a lot of fans we decided to drive, leaving the nbc studios

in d.c. supposed to take six hours. we took our time two stops, 404 miles door to door so after 7 hours 20 minutes we arooifd at nationwide arena in downtown columbus. inside the terps hit the floor for the first practice this afternoon, getting ready to face valparaiso tomorrow. maryland looking way relaxed and focused and ready to make the most of this opportunity, taking a moment though, to reflect on how far they've come. >> taken a lot out of us and it's ban long ride and, you know, it's been worth it, you know the struggles and the things we've had to endure to get to this point. it a but it's all worth it because i wouldn't rather do it with any other bunch of guys. >> maryland, we know they're excited and ready. if you think that's all there is to know think again. more on news 4 at 5:00. from columbus i'm carol maloney, news4 sports. let the games begin. are you less product aift home and at work during the ncaa? >> it's our nbc washington flash

survey of the day today. call or next the number on our screen. you can also cast your vote on the nbc washington facebook page and twitter pages. a that's the fourth manhole cover to explode today. this was in indianapolis. firefighters were responding to a different explosion when this blast sent them running for cover. indianapolis power and light says electrical arcing in the cables is blamed for that. they've warned people not to walk near the manhole covers for day because they weigh close to 100 pounds. no one was hurt in these explosions but hundreds of people are now without power in indianapolis. they're calling him a daredevil on the streets. a traffic stop turns into a death-defying stunt show that could have put a lot of people in harm's way.

a daredevil chase near los angeles. a motorcyclist put everyone around him in danger. >> he performed stunts while he was leading police on a pursuit. how police finally made an arrest. >> reporter: what started as a high-speed pursuit in highland turned into an hour-long spectacle. news chopper 4 above through

every twist and turn. >> look at that. he just missed that car. >> reporter: police tried to stop the motorcyclist for reckless driving. he not only fled he put on a show. >> look at him. he's going play it out. he's standing up on his motorcycle. this isry deck louse. >> reporter: at one point the man stops in this cul-de-sac. >> here he is stopping. what is he doing there? >> reporter: he seems to be adjusting his ear buds only to take off again, just missing the door of this cop car. >> a ground unit right there, blows by him. may have hit that door. >> reporter: after more tricks the motorcyclist pulls into this ontario gas station. turns out he had quite the audience waiting for him. even in cuffs he continues to taunt authorities, even accusing them of trying to hurt him. >> you seriously have to try to kick me off my bike? >> reporter: this man says the suspect standing on his speeding motorcycle almost hit him. >> i thought he was crazy. i thought he was a lunatic. >> reporter: the man one of dozens of spectators who came dangerously close to the suspect. >> it was scary.

he didn't need to be doing that. >> reporter: the suspect expressing some remorse as he fled away by police. >> i'm sorry i disappointed them and put them in the middle of this. right now at 5:00 a winter rewind. snow rain cold all coming back. >> here we go folks, and it will have an impact. just how much depends on where you are. storm team 4's chief meteorologist doug kammerer tracking the approaching weather. what are we in for? >> snow early tomorrow morning and once again it's the timing of all of this that has the area in a little bit of concern. but, again, most of you down to the south and east aren't going see much at all. it's all to the north and west. show you what we're dealing with right now, current temperatures into the low 50s in some areas. that makes you think, how can we get snow? we don't have it right there. the moisture well to our south. but as temperatures go down tonight once the sun goes down temperatures will fall as they always do this system then moves in. that's when we see this rain change to snow and it may even start off as rain in apartments

of the area. winter weather advisory in effect for western loudoun, northern faulkier and everybody to the north and west winter storm warning for berkeley county towards washington county area and areas west. some areas will see a big impact. we'll talk about that more in a couple minutes. now to a story we broke this afternoon on the nbc washington app. this involves your safety on metro. news4 transportation reporter adam tuss has learned about several fires caused by the lights in the handrails. this was at two stations along metro's brand-new silver line. ed a sam there now to tell us if this was a problem known before the stations opened today. adam? >> reporter: that's right, wendy. this is an odd situation. there was a fire during the construction of the silver line. the handrails there, a fire during the construction. recently right here at the tyson's corner station and tallas greensboro station, two of these