cumberland, maryland. doug kammere nr with a look at what we can expect in these parts over the next several hours. >> yeah, guys, we're finally seeing the squall line making its way our way. seen some areas of shower, some areas of flurries coming through the area earlier. back to the wests, we're seeing a squall line come through. hagerstown, a coating, half an inch of snow, thundersnow in that area as the line made its way on through. ex-attends frtends from the maryland/pennsylvania border to the shenandoah valley. d.c. area, shower activity. it's very light. this is rain for the most part maybe mixing with light snow. it's back to the west, look at this down around frederick, frederick, you're about to get this in the next 15 to 20 minutes. martinsburg, shepardstown, heavy snowfall moving on through. this will put a coating down on the surfaces, possibly the street surfaces because it's coming down that fast around

winchester, shenandoah county seeing that, too. heads up around 66 and front royal. i want to zoom in on the frederick area. again, this is the area we're going to continue to watch over the next couple of hours and really over the next one hour as this one band moves on through. we have a car up there, storm team 4 by 4 is up there, we're going to take that for you coming up in about the next 15 to 20 minutes as that band moves on in. and behind it, we just get cold. brutally cold. i've got that forecast in just a few. we have new details coming into the live desk about a developing situation in the persian gulf. right now, ten american sailors are in iranian custody and sources tell nbc news two u.s. navy boats left kuwait and were heading to bahrain when one had a mechanical issue. they both drifted into iranian waters near farsi island. the revolutionary guard detained the boats and crew. these are recent pictures of similar riverine boats in persian gulf. u.s. officials say nine men and one woman were on board. iran's government-run news

agency reports they found the boats two kilometers inside iranian waters. basically a little over a mile. president obama and secretary of state john kerry have been involved in talks to get that crew released. and the pentagon says iran has agreed to let the sailors go and the boats to be on their way. vance? >> thanks, chris. those developments come ahead of the president's final state of the union address tonight. >> new pictures show him putting the final touches on his speech. the white house says expect a difference tone this year. one that looks at the administration's accomplishments. but critics argue the president hasn't done enough. >> we have team coverage tonight including a local businessowner who's been invited to sit in the first lady's box. >> we begin with steve handl handelsman on capitol hill. >> reporter: the 2016 campaign for president and the hyperpartisanship is already cutting into what president obama believes he can realistically ask for in this speech. now there's this persian gulf

business. the president basically told the american people we can trust the government of iran enough to do a nuclear deal, so if that government has these ten u.s. sailors and two u.s. boats in custody as the president comes up to the capitol, that seems sure to cut into his credibility. keeping loose before a speech that president obama says will actually sum up the state of the nation. it's pointless, he told staffers, to push any new initiatives. mr. obama admitted to nbc's matt lauer congress and the nation are too divided near the end of his presidency. >> you wanted to unite people. >> right. >> and they're not united. is it a failure? >> it's a regret. i could not be prouder of what we've accomplished. >> reporter: by his first state of the union in 2010, partisanship had already struck. still mr. obama will say tonight his moves for economic recovery and obamacare are helping the whole nation. >> part of what i want to do in this last address is to remind

people, you know what, we got a lot of good things going for us. >> reporter: but after the isis-inspired attack in san bernardino, on the cop in philadelphia, after paris, americans are afraid, say republicans. >> the world is on fire. that foreign policy is getting away from us. that we are less safe. >> reporter: near michelle obama tonight will be an empty chair. a symbol of the children killed by gun violence. >> i'd like to see another empty chair for the 250,000 syrians that have been slaughtered. >> reporter: because, john mccain says, mr. obama will not intervene. but in this political year with republican candidates charging america is in crisis, president obama is readying a speech with the opposite message. speaking for the gop in its response after the state of the union tonight will be south carolina governor nikki haley. she will say to fix what america's problems are americans should elect a republican president. speaking of republicans, for the first time, visibly sitting

behind the president tonight, new house speaker paul ryan of wisconsin. keep your eye on him. ryan tweeted today "the president and i don't agree on much. might be hard to hide that in my facial expressions." doreen, back to you. >> steve handelsman, thank you, steve. all new at k 6:00, we're hearing from local man who was invited tonight. mark davis will be attending tonight's state of the union as one of the president's guests. news 4's mark segraves in northwest with his story. hi, mark. >> reporter: that's right. mark davis says it was a friend of his in nepal that got him interested in solar energy. hearing a speech about then-senator barack obama about reinvesting in renewable energy convinced him to quit his job, learn a new skill and start a brand new business. >> bought into his plan. really did. >> reporter: that was eight

years ago. in 2009, mark davis opened wdc solar in a small warehouse in anacostia. his plan was to do more than just sell solar panels. he wanted to spread the word about renewable energy and he wanted to help intercity youth. >> we held training sessions, we train young men and women to become solar installers. and we install solar systems on low-income family homes at no cost to the residents. >> reporter: since 2009, davis' company has trained more than 60 young men and women to be solar installers. people like ramo herbert and alan swanson who weren't thinking about a career until they met davis. >> my vision first was to get a job and get some money. >> reporter: but now you see a future? >> yeah, i see a future for myself now. >> now that i have these skills, it works great when it comes to construction and demolition. >> reporter: wdc solar has installed panels on 125 homes in d.c. as for sitting in the first lady's box for the state of the

union tonight, davis never thought he'd be getting a call from the white house. >> so i get this call, i'm like, somebody's kidding around, stop playing with me, i do not have time for this. you know? i'm trying to get to work. >> reporter: davis says he doesn't know what the president might say about him during his speech tonight but he says he does have a message for communities like d.c. around the country. >> we need programs like this in those communities to make sure that these young men and women have an opportunity because they deserve an opportunity to work in this industry. and my job is to make sure they get that. >> reporter: now, before davis takes his seat in the first lady's box tonight, he's going to get a chance to have a one-on-one meeting with the administrator of the environmental protection agency to talk about expanding his program across the united states. after tonight's state of the union address, that's exactly what davis is going to do, he's off to new york to train students up there how to be solar installers. jim? back to you. >> thanks, mark. you will want to avoid

driving anywhere near the capitol tonight. several roads were just closed. more will be shut down at 7:00. here's a look at the streets affected now, will be closed until the speech is over and the president is back at the white house. coverage of president obama's state of the union address begins tonight at 9:00. you can watch it right here on nbc 4 followed by an analysis on news 4 at 11:00. tens of thousands of dollars in cash stuffed in bags sitting in locked cabinets in the executive's office at the d.c. public schools' athletics department. an internal investigation obtained by the news 4 i-team scott macfarlane reveals that and a serious of oather money problems inside d.c. high school sports. scott macfarlane broke this online and is here with reaction. >> reporter: the turkey bowl is the football game of the year at d.c. high school sports. they raise big bucks at the gate.

an internal review of the d.c. public schools' athletics department shows $54,000 generated at the 2014 game and $26,000 collected at the 2013 event were not deposited into the bank for weeks afterward and that in all more than $350,000 in proceeds earned in d.c. public schools' sporting event ticket and food sales since 2011 were allowed to sit idle for weeks after the games. the audit doesn't name her but puts blame on a former athletic director who resigned in fall 2015 saying she was grossly negligent. that whom is stephanie evans. auditors say at one point in 2015 there were bags of cash, locked bags they said, holding $32,000 worth of money inside her d.c. ps athletic offices in northeast waiting to be deposited for months. >> anybody who runs a business, anybody who runs a non-profit, that's not how it's done. >> reporter: terry lynch is a longtime d.c. ps parent who says students are victims when money is mismanaged. >> there's cash sitting in an

office and worst of all it's cash that should be accounted for, depositede and put to work for the youth sports programs. >> reporter: the auditor said evans had no excuse not to quickly deposit the money. her offices in northeast are are less than a mile from the bank in which d.c. ps keeps its money. in fact, it's a quick drive right down this same street to the bank parking lot. in fact in the auditor's words, be she ventured out of the office, there's an 80% chance she'd drive right past the bank. so the i-team's review found the athletic department only moved into that building months before evans resigned. auditors say the athletic department used the district's student activity funds to cater a seafood luncheon, hospitality suite for top brass, game officials and guests at major sporting events. the report said it was extravagant food. inappropriate says david grosso, cha chair of the d.c. council education committee. >> this needs to be spent on student activities, things like that. >> reporter: d.c. schools wouldn't answer questions about

what changes have been ordered, issuing us a statement saying d.c. public schools takes proper management of funds seriously and saying we've taken the necessary steps to ensure such funds are properly handled. >> i have a lot of confidence they're going to fix this problem. we've spoken with them. they are the ones who did this audit. >> stephanie evans in a statement said the practice of late deposits began before she arrived and she reported concerns about financial practices in the department when she started the job and asked to hire a business manager and was rejected. she says no questions were raised about hospitality expenses and a central office administrator helped her plane t plan the event. we have her full statement on our website now, nbcwashington.com. >> scott macfarlane, thank you. one year later, a look at the changes and challenges in the wake of this deadly smoke incident on metro. two men wearing masks go into that house demanding money. when they don't get what they want, they open fire. now a man is dead. murder in waldorf.

coming up, news 4. growing pains for a new 911 call center. we'll tell you about the communication issue some police communication issue some police officers now have to de

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well, let's take a look, this is that squall line up toward the maryland/pennsylvania border along 15. look what's happened here along the emmittsburg area. that snow came through quickly and quickly put down about

upwards of a half an inch of snow up toward that region. now it's about to make its way right on through frederick, maryland. take a look at the storm team 4 radar and show you where this is. here's that area right here we were just looking at. this is the squall line coming through frederick county, maryland, jefferson county, west virginia, the i-81 corridor here. we'll continue to watch it moving down to the south and east. not only a coating of snow, very quickly, but 40 to 50 mile an hour winds. we'll continue it keep you posted. >> thanks, doug. the state department is warning americans in turkey to be on guard after a deadly suicide bombing that's been linked to isis. it happened today in a popular tourist area in istanbul about 25 yards from the famed blue mosque. ten people were killed. at least 15 were injured. at least eight victims were citizens of germany. they were all part of the same tour group. turkish authorities identified a bomber as a syrian with ties to isis. back in october, two isis suicide bombers killed 100

people at a peace rally in ankara. the capital of turkey. a senior justice department official says no decision has been made yet on where mexican drug lord joaquin el chapo guzman will stand trial. the safe house where guzman was hiding is still heavily guarded but nbc news was allowed inside. the walls are riddled with bullet holes. mexican marines released helmet cam video of the intense fire fight during the takedown and for the first time we're seeing the mirror that concealed the secret passageway guzman used during the battle. he descended into an underground tunnel but was captured a half a mile away. now his lawyers are fighting the effort to extradite him to the u.s. and the process could take years. police believe the victim may have been targeted but they are still trying to figure out why. a man shot and killed early this morning off crane highway in waldorf. we're told it started as a home invasion. tonight, we're hearing from people who live nearby.

pat collins with our report. >> reporter: dominic johnson was awakened by the shots. >> it was just repeated fire. >> reporter: gunfire? >> yeah. >> reporter: how many? >> four. >> reporter: willburg newman saw the police on the ground and the helicopter in the sky. >> i've been here five years. that's the first time i heard anything. >> reporter: like this? >> yeah. >> reporter: in this house, on this quiet street in waldorf, a robbery turns into a case of murder. police say it happened about 4:15 this morning. two masked men go in looking for money. when they don't get what that want, they open fire. a 34-year-old man ends up dead in the hallway. other people in the house run for their lives. one man jumps out a window. a woman in her 20s who they say was partially dressed disappears. this woman, the official resident of the house, also escaped injury. she was a longtime friend of the murder victim. this man who asked not to be identified explains.

>> she'd been like a mom to him. >> reporter: to the victim? >> right. >> i think he needed somewhere to stay, and she let him stay with them. >> reporter: police back at the scene today to continue their investigation. they're trying to determine why the gunman targeted this house. >> i think as the investigation moves on, we'll learn more about this house and what was going on inside. >> reporter: clearly, there is more police work to be done here. in waldorf, pat collins, news 4. prince george's county has launched a new 911 communications system but that system is not communicating with everyone. public safety officers who depend on the laptops in their patrol cars for information won't be able to use those computers for the next month or so. bureau chief tracee wilkins is in riverdale bark tonight with more. tracee? >> reporter: now, there are some officers who are retired and probably wondering who cares if you don't have a laptop because they're used to their radio and pen and paper. but for these young officers who have been trained to work where these computers, it's a little

disheartening to turn them on and find out they can't communicate with 911. >> with any technology, when we flip the switch, if anyone expects it to work perfectly is not living in today's world of technology. >> reporter: for many new officers the laptops in patrol cars are like a lifeline, but now that tool has gone dark. >> prince george's county 911. >> reporter: prince george's county 911 center installed a new 911 system. it went online yesterday. it's now going to take a few weeks for public safety officers to connect to it with the laptops used in many patrol cars. that includes county police, the sheriff's department and some municipalities. >> it allows them to receive information related to the calls for service that they've been dispatched to. it allows them to communicate with the other officer as well as communication. >> reporter: the laptops have to be updated and the officers trained. it could take three to four weeks for everyone to be online. prince george's 911 call center spokesmen say this was a part of their plan for the new system

and it should have been expected that the computers would go dark. riverdale park police chief david morris of the municipal chief's association says his officers are working around this inconvenience the old-fashioned way. >> what has not been lost is the ability of the officers to continue to communicate with the dispatchers through the radio just like we've done forever. >> reporter: your calls to 911 will not be impacted. officials say things are working well inside the actual call center. chief morris says he's excited about what this new system will be able to do once it's completely online. >> the county's working through these issues, the technology issues, that we expect to encounter. >> reporter: this system is actually going to allow all of the public safety departments to communicate with one another when it is completely online. the county police officers should be the first to be online in the next week and another agencies will follow. it's also important to note that prince george's county and even

when they were having problems with the old 911 center was still considered one of the top 911 agencies in the country. . reporting live in riverdale park, tracee wilkins, back to you in the studio. coming up tonight, allegations of abuse inside a local daycare. we'll tell you about the unusual behavior from some of the young victims and why some charges against the suspect were suddenly dropped. i'm julie carey in richmond, virginia, on the eve of the 2016 general assembly, governor terry mcauliffe tells me about his top legislative priority and why he won't give up one fight he keeps losing. >> aim for common sense gun restrictions.

well, would you say it's starting to fell like winter out there? snow showers are actually falling now across parts of our regi region. temperatures, those are falling, too. >> so much, so, doug, you're talking about serious winter temps? >> big-time. you're going to notice a difference next couple hours. heading out to dinner take the coats, jackets. 9:00, 10:00, you're going to notice the difference. frederick, maryland, the snow is falling right now. d they have know falling around this area. the same squall line that came through hagerstown and dropped half an inch. that squall line is weakening. the snow is coming down around

the frederick area. frederick county, maryland, you're going to continue to see this snow. take a look at the rest of the region. what we're dealing with right now in our area, 43 degrees, winds out of the west at 20 miles per hour, so the wind is also going to be a big factor here tonight. 43 in d.c. but 31 in hagerstown. 32 martinsburg. so, much cooler just back to the west and here's the radar. not much going on in the d.c. metro area but here's where that squall line is. some very heavy snow. right now in toward clark county, virginia, down in toward parts of winchester area, front royal reporting heavy snow. hagerstown, martinsburg, shepherdstown, frederick, this line of frederick weakening just a bit but it is moving down to the south and east. this line starting to take over. mart martinsburg, you already had one area of heavier snow, you're about to get another one in about the next 15 to 20 minutes. same thing for you folks in front royal. it is coming down. we could see a quick coating. maybe even on the roads. so give yourself a lot of extra time this evening. that's the last of it.

you can see this first line. now the second line. that's going to be about it. it is moving in toward the d.c. metro area. not until between say, 7:00, maybe 8:00. that's going to be really about the last of it. then it's out of here. in behind it, we got that cold air. these are the areas to watch as far as the roads. we've already had a lot of problems toward hagerstown. up around the martinsburg area. northern portions of frederick county. as that line drops to the south, we could have problems as far south as, say, leesburg, blue mont, then right on down toward front royal where we continue to see that. i mentioned the winds. look at the winds. gusting over 20 miles per hour. around cumberland, 40 mile an hour wind gusts. 26 manassas. 35 in easton. winds will continue to be an issue right on through early tomorrow. the wind advisory goes until midnight tonight. for everybody here on the highlighted side in the brown from lee leesburg, d.c., leonardtown. winds gusting upwards of 50 miles per hour. could see trees down, maybe branches down, maybe scattered power outages as well. that's what we're going to watch for tonight.

then tomorrow, it's just plain cold. highs only in the upper 20s. 27 martinsburg. 32 in d.c. with the wind, we'll be talking windchills in the single digits early tomorrow morning. when you wake up and step out the door, you're going to notice it. 5 to 10 degrees around 7:00 a.m. windchill around noon between 10 and 15. and around 4:00, 15 to 20 degrees. so once again, an incredibly cold day tomorrow. that's really the coldest we have until thursday. thursday back to 45. 46 on friday. most of the day dry but we could see rain late friday into early saturday. and then it gets even colder. coming up at 6:45, you think this is cold? wait until you see the rest of the seven-day forecast at 6:45. >> i think we can wait. thank you, doug. up next, changing the culture at metro one year after that deadly smoke incident. tonight we'll get some answers to tough questions about your safety. disturbing new details in the murder of uva student hannah graham. we'll report what a woman claims she witnessed in the moments before the teenager's death.

one year after a dead lly smoke incident on metro more than 80 lawsuits filed. >> i try to blank it out, but it's hard to. >> how the new gm plans to change the culture at the troubled agency. a former daycare worker on

trial for abusing more than a dozen children. plus, the chilling premonition from a witness just before the murder of uva student hannah graham. 87 separate lawsuits were filed against metro today. one year after a deadly smoke incident at the l'enfant plaza station. passengers are still dealing with the effects. one describes feeling helpless being trapped on the train. the other is haunted by the image of the woman who died. >> we were told the best thing you can do is stay put, if you open the doors or get off the train, the train can't move, so you'd be jeopardizing everybody else if you tried to get off the train, so there was nothing to do but just wait and hope that the smoke didn't get worse. >> bringing her through the train and her being unconscious and everything, that's the main thing that sticks into my head because that was a memory that i

still live with of them carrying her through the train. >> 61-year-old carol glover of virginia is the woman who died. the 87 lawsuits filed today are in addition to the lawsuit already filed by her family. meanwhile, there was blunt talk today about whether metro's safety took a back seat to keeping the service running. transportation reporter adam tuss is live at l'enfant plaza with a look at how the new leadership is trying to change that perception. adam? >> reporter: that's right, doreen. over the years there has been that perception, run the trains, worry about safety and the fixes later but now that perception is changing. >> those are two competing tasks. being ablg to keep service running and us needing to shut it down to provide that safety. >> reporter: mark is the prince george's county fire chief. he's also the chair of the region's council of governments fire chiefs, taken an active role in metro's safety.

he says simply metro has been forced to become safe and more transparent about any potential safety issue. >> so that is part of the culture change that has begun to occur. before there was a struggle about who would make those decisions. >> reporter: a year later and still no cause for all the smoke, but time and time again these images were documented inside the tunnel just outside the l'enfant plaza station. rusted out equipment, leaking walls, even leaking pipes and all of it was leading to a big mess of water near high-voltage metro equipment. all it was also being documented in metro's own reports which talked about damage and p premature loss of service life to elements like rail, rail fasteners and other track components. but thinking back to a year ago, with those people on that train, he says it should have been different. >> i liken it to someone trapped in a building that's on fire for 45 minutes. put yourself in that position and ask the same question.

i can't even imagine what they were going through, and i feel for them as a responder and as a rescuer who wants to get in there and do the right thing and get to them and in this case, that's come and gone. >> reporter: it's been a tough year for metro, guys, but the chief does make the point that metro's in a better position now than it was a year ago. he says things like radio communication and overall responsibility, frankly, have improved. doreen, back to you. >> adam tuss, thank you. tonight the head of the fairfax county school system says there are no plans to cancel classes on primary election day despite a new request by the board of supervisors. county leaders are worried a plan by the republican matter to require voters to sign a loyalty pledge could anger some people. schools are scheduled to operate on a two-hour delay march 1st to allow for the morning rush of voters. the superintendent, karen garza, says she will talk to the elections office about security concerns. tonight, there is a new account of a final hours of uva

student hannah graham. a witness claims she saw the teenager with the suspect, a man named jesse matthew. the woman's account is outlined in a search warrant affidavit released today. it says the woman saw matthew put his arm around graham while they were at a downtown mall in charlottesville back in cement of 2014. the woman then followed matthew and graham to a bar where the woman told a friend, quote, he's going to mess her up. also in the documents were the results of a bloodhound search that found graham's scent in matthew's car and in a dumpster near his apartment. matthew's trial begins in july. police services will soon be improving for people in the dale city lakeridge area of prince william county. construction has begun now in the central district station along davis ford road near the prince william park way. it will be the third police station in the county which is adding about 25 additional officers each year. the new station is expected to

be complete in august of next year. president obama and his family are spending their last year in the white house. and there is already speculation about where they will move come next january. as tom sherwood reports now, they could stay here in washington and some local leaders are weighing in on that location. >> reporter: the white house is huge. lots of family living space. the obamas have hinted they may stay in d.c. once the president's term ends to allow daughters sasha and malia to finish schooling at sidwell friends. mayor muriel bouwser says welcome. >> i know they're going to pick a beautiful home that can support their security detail and all of that. >> reporter: do we need another motorcade in town? >> are you kidding? do we want president barack obama to live in washington, d.c.? you bet. >> reporter: real estate agents suggest homes in the $4 million to $6 million range in the exclusive neighborhoods of

kalorama or mass heights where hillary clinton has a secure home. >> staffing would be very easy for them to set up here in washington. >> reporter: at the greater washington board of trade today, business leaders liked the idea, too. >> i think the moving vans should be local moving companies and keep him very local. >> reporter: former prince george's states attorney says they're welcome there. >> there's a house for sale across the street from us, so it would be neat to have the obamas in the neighborhood. >> reporter: the moving vans arrive just about a year from now. tom sherwood, news 4. a convicted serial killer has delivered a message to the media. one thing charles severance never mentioned in his eight-page letter. and one-on-one with virginia's governor terry mcauliffe. we have a closer look at his top priorities for 2016. first here's doug. >> the snow making its way in through northern virginia, loudoun county right now, right along 66 then right around frederick, maryland, continuing to watch it as it moves on down toward the district. we'll continue to monitor it right here from the storm center

coming up. three questions for the us senate.

congress just voted to label genetically engineered salmon; why not other foods? gmo crops are doused with heavy doses of an herbicide the world health organization says probably causes cancer. isn't that reason enough to label? 64 other countries label gmos. why don't american shoppers have the same information? tell your senator, high tech gimmicks like qr codes aren't the answer. we need clear on-package labeling.

terry mcauliffe is now halfway through his term as virginia governor. he's delivered on some big campaign promises, but has failed so far on a few others. today in an interview with bureau chief julie carey the governor explained why he'll keep fighting for gun control even as republican lawmakers try to block him. >> it's been fun, i mean, i really have loved this job. >> reporter: it may be fun now, but when he took office, governor terry mcauliffe faced a bleak picture, a huge budget deficit. what a difference two years makes. >> today, we now have the largest surplus in virginia history. so we went from a large deficit to the largest surplus. >> reporter: with job creation and economic development his top priority, mcauliffe crisscrossed virginia and the globe, most recently traveling to cuba, the middle east, and india. >> certainly if you look at it in terms of economic development, as a sale salesman

the state, terry mcauliffe has don't that remarkably well. >> going to add 2,500 instructional folks back into the classroom. it's important to do that. >> reporter: but the governor has failed with a signature campaign pledge, medicaid expansion. so he's pitching it a different way this year. another disappointment, his failure to enact gun control measures. mcauliffe recently angered gun rights activists by using an executive order to ban open carry of weapons in most state office buildings. >> you know, i'm the governor that had to call, you know, two families last year. the parker family and the ward family after those two journalists were killed on live television. >> reporter: mcauliffe said he's not giving up on gun control. >> just because you don't think it will pass doesn't mean you don't try. >> reporter: increasingly the governor will also play a role in presidential politics as virginia becomes a battleground yet again. he's long backed close personal friend, hillary clinton. >> she's strong, she's tough. she can win the general election. >> reporter: so how worried is he about polls showing bernie

sanders with the lead? >> elections are tough, anything can happen. >> reporter: no question, another priority for governor mcauliffe in the year ahead, delivering virginia for democrats in november. in richmond, julie carey, news 4. maryland lawmakers will head back to work tomorrow. one of the issues expected to be a priority this session, tougher drunk driving laws. there are growing calls for change after last month's death of a montgomery county police officer. lawmakers are also likely to provide some kind of help for baltimore. the governor asked for money to clear some of the blithe in that city. and expect to hear about proposals to battle the heroin problem in the state. lawmakers could approve legislation to make the life-saving drug narcam available without a prescription. coming up, a wintery mix moving -- did i say that right? >> no. >> wintery wix moving through parts of the area. doug will get it right when he comes up. one of two daycare workers charged with abusing children was back in court today.

the judge heard from five therapists who testified that some of the children were likely traumatized. coming up, hear how the defense attorney is trying to discredit

the virginia daycare worker on trial for child abuse could learn her fate tomorrow. today, the defense tried to discredit a therapist who treated the children and late this afternoon, the judge dropped 13 of the 39 charges against that daycare worker. news 4's meagan fitzgerald is at the courthouse with more. meagan, what's going on? >> reporter: and doreen, the defense argued there just wasn't enough evidence for those charges to stick and the judge

agreed. now today in court, the prosecution brought in five therapists with experience in diagnosing and detecting trauma in children, but the defense cross examined and tried to discredit their testimony. prince william county police say abuse surrounding former daycare workers sarah jordan and kierra spriggs happened in a six-month period in 2013 while the women worked at the minnieland academy, they sprayed children with water from houses, stepped on their toes and encouraged children to fight and bite each oather. in court today, five therapists who worked with five of the children shortly after the allegations testified against jordan. they said play therapy was a technique used in identifying trauma in toddlers. an expert said the way one of the children repeatedly buried two kitten figurines in sand was one indication of trauma. the defense questioned the

experts saying, "hiding the cat, could to be hide and seek?" the therapist responded by saying, "it could have been, play therapy is not 100%, it's not a science." nevertheless, all five therapists with years of experience testified that the children they observed for months showed signs that some type of trauma likely occurred. now, court will resume again tomorrow morning at 10:00. we're told that the defense will likely ask the judge to drop even more charges. a verdict is likely to come tomorrow as well. and also as far as that second daycare worker is concerned, she is expected to stand trial in march. eight pages. that is the length of a hate-filled letter that convicted serial killer charles severance sent to the "washington post." he wrote that letter in jail and mailed it to two "post" reporters back in december. the paper describes the letter as rambling, vulgar, and filled with slurs against gays, jews,

and women. however, severance does not mention his recent conviction. he was convicted recently in three high-profile murders in alexandria back in november. the sentencing is set for january 21st. well, we've been talking about the conversational snow coming our way all day. and now we're getting a little bit of it. you can see just a little bit of -- little bit of snow falling right there on the capitol. kind of pretty with the illuminated scaffolding in the background there. they'll be busy there tonight. >> that's the light snow. they'll be busy tonight. not because of the snow. i thought you meant they'll be cleaning the snow. i don't do that news stuff. i know there's another event going on down there. >> a little thing. >> not going to be a problem for them getting in there, but we are still seeing snow. you noticed it around the capitol. the heavier snow just off to the west. that's what we said we would see today. just little areas of snow showers moving on through. some of them, though, coming through at snow squalls.

what's a squall? that's just a heavier shower, but it can put down about a coating of snow in five to ten minutes. that's how fast it comes. 40 degrees coming up at 7:00 tonight. snow shower, again, between 8:00 and 9:00 i think then around 11:00, temperatures just on the cold side. that's when the winds and the windchill really develop. 36 the current temperature, gaithersburg. 42 camp springs. 43 annapolis. 37 lee leesburg. snowing right now at a good clip around the leesburg area. here's the snow back to the west. this is that clip making its way. the clipper that's making its way in. this is the squall line. hagerstown reporting upwards half an inch of snow. winchester reporting some accumulating snowfall. frederick, let's zoom on in toward the loudoun county region, see where i'm talking about. loudoun county through route 15, middleburg, down toward marshall, along 66. moderate to heavy snow in parts of this region. it's all moving down toward the south and east. if you live in reston, herndon, sterling, expect that snow to be on your doorstep in the next 15

to 20 minutes. over toward gaithersburg, lighter snow for you folks but, again, in the next 20 to possibly 30 minutes you could see the whole thing moving on through and this is it. behind it, it's just the cold and that's what this is bringing in. wind advisory in effect tonight. gusts upwards of 50 miles per hour. we've already seen some gusts up to 40 miles per hour. that's what we'll continue to see overnight tonight into early tomorrow morning. the winds about 20 to 30 miles per hour. tomorrow, windchills single d t digits when you wake up. high of 32 tomorrow. 35 on saturday. better on through saturday. then look at next week. we got a high of 32 tomorrow, a high of 28 coming up next monday. the cold just getting started. that's part of the winter forecast. >> doug, i want to make sure you get a graphic ready for when that mintery wix -- >> working on that now. >> hard to catch a break up in here. >> thanks, buddy. we got sports coming up. we know the caps are good,

this is the xfinity sports desk bought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. >> football teams did surprisingly well but the caps have been smoking lately. >> smoking. today we're finally able to give them some love again. we're back to being on the ice, calling all brokenhearted d.c.

sports fans. the ice is going to warm your heart. washington capitals back at practice today. hottest team in the league. looking for more in the new year. halfway through, the nhl season, coach barry trotz's boys, seven losses out of 42. holtby and company know they're doing something special. when you're a threat, you're always a target. the daily message to the team, do not let up. >> don't be satisfied with where we are. i don't think we're a team that looks at our past and goes, pats ourselves on the back. i think we look at, hey, you know, we got vancouver coming in here, they're a good challenge. >> each game's on its own so you you know, as long as you're piling up points. you want to pile up points. you want to win each game. we feel with the team we have, put our best foot forward, we have a chance to win games. that's where we're at. >> ow, did anyone see that cut on his nose? get him a band-aid.

speaking of banged up, the wi wizards down three starters. john wall is playing through pain and winning. watching john wall last night you would not have known he has an mri scheduled on this knee for thursday. 17 points, 10 assists. a win over the bulls. wall's mri is cautionary, says his knee is sore when he bends it. whitman says he's going to play tomorrow. between wall and gortat, only two good knees now. tweeted a picture of him in a hospital gown. a small cut on his knee swelled up. he's running a fever. checking him for staph infection. that sounds scary. good luck to him. the maryland men back on the road fresh off their last win in wisconsin, terps facing the michigan wolverines tonight with the utmost confidence. game-winner saturday. just the latest in maryland's thrillers this season. terps stay with it late in the game with it all on the line. here's guard sulamon. >> what that means within our

circle, we make winning plays. whatever that means, whether it's diving on the floor for possession, making the extra pass, it's winning time. you know, that shows a lot of character about this team, we're not just saying it, we're actually living by it. all right. if you missed it, went to bed early last night, you missed a good one. alabama winning their fourth national championship in seven seasons. the play that changes the game, a surprise onside kick. >> wow. >> fourth quarter, clemson completely caught off guard. marlon humphrey easily coming up with it. bama with a huge recovery. game tied at 24. two plays later the bold move paid off. o.j. howard, caught his last touchdown 2013, had two on the night. alabama beats clemson 45-40. nick saban's fifth national championship. one away from tieing the legend. and back to the caps who hit the jackpot, of course, when they drafted ovy. he's currently one of many caps buying up powerball tickets. >> of course. >> a picture of ove in action

making the rounds on social media. which makes great eight laugh out loud. >> i say it's funny. who's going to take a picture of me? people are crazy. >> how many tickets are you going to buy? >> i don't know. like, maybe one, maybe two, wooe we'll see. not a chance i'm going to win, but if i win -- >> he's rich but doesn't have $1.3 billion. >> do you ever buy powerball -- >> i bought one, too, yeah. i'm going to buy one today, too. heck, yeah. i got house payments, man. >> you don't play, you never win. so i'm going to play. >> professional athletes. they're just like us. they want $1.5 billion. who doesn't? >> not a one of them would quit if they won. they're not just like us. >> you're right. they'd probably show up for work. finally want to give a shout-out to wtop's george wallace, guys. today, d.c.'s sportscaster of the year. the award announced today. >> good for him. >> isn't that so cool? >> way to go, george. >> king george. he helps us out here.

we want to say hello. >> indeed. we'll see him again soon we hope. >> that's right. >> he's the kind of guy you never want to get mad at you. >> no. >> can you -- >> i've never seen him mad. >> every time we interview him,

there is breaking news tonight. iran seizes americans. ten u.s. sailors on two navy boats taken into custody by iranian authorities. tonight the scramble to free them. one last time. president obama's final state of the union address. what he will tell the nation. why he is aiming for a more hopeful tone and what he told matt lauer about donald trump. and our interview with joe biden. the generous offer the president made in one of his darkest hours. tourists murdered a deadly suicide bomb at a center where thousands of visitors flock every day. now isis is claiming responsibility. and massive pile-ups, slick roads and chain-reaction crashes in several states, and dozens of vehicles in