have to be paid. please attack ted, please attack ted. let me just say this. it doesn't -- >> this is a debate, sir. >> another lively gop debate even without the frontrunner. the consensus this morning, senator ted cruz has little new traction despite attempts to establish himself on a donald trump-free stage. nbc analysts used the word muddled to describe the final debate ahead of the iowa caucuses. chuck todd said immigration tied some of the candidates this knots especially ted cruz and marco rubio. >> we both matt identical promises. marco made the choice to go the direction of the major donors to spupt amnesty because he thought it was politically advantageous. >> he led the charge to finally fix the immigration problem that has existed how for 30 years.

and then he cut and run. >> mark murray tweeted donald trump may get a boost from last night's debate even though he wasn't there. results from the spin room show trump's name was the most searched in every single state. while the debate was going on, i held his own rally at drake university and claims to have raised more than $6 million for veterans. ahead at 4:45, where democratic candidates stand according to a new poll plus a look ahead at what last flight's debate means for iowa. amelia segal has four things to know about the forecast. four things you need to know today, we will be dealing with icy spots again this morning and tomorrow morning. your saturday morning, as well. it will be blusry later today, so when you factor in the wind, it will feel like temperatures are in the mid to upper 20s during the afternoon and early evening hours. but overall this weekend on into early next week, we are looking at a big temperature warm-up based on the temperatures i

thinkness most of the snow will have melted by monday or tuesday. i am watching next we can to track rain moving through the area that could lead to flooding concerns. we were talking about that being a little bit of a worry, but i will take the melting because it would be nice to get things more clear on the roads. 66 to the beltway, you're running on time at 8 minutes. listen to wtop when you hop in your car. federal government going back to work on time this morning, as to no doubt we'll have more of a normal morning commute take. northbound 3rd street tunnel diversed at mass ave because they have snow clearing equipment there. no word southbound. no problems on the beltway and all the main routes in and out of up to. see you at 4:41. today lawmakers in virginia will announce a major compromise on gun laws. it includes concessions from democrats and republicans. one measure will stop people from carrying a firearm if

they're under a permanent protective order for a domestic violence offense. in the past republicans have rejected repeatedly that particular measure. >> if we can get a bill through that actually takes firearms away from folks who are the subject of a protective order, the perpetrator, take the firearm away for two years, that will go a long way. >> republicans have ready agreed to require state police to be present at gun shows to perform volunteer background checks. sfwla check back with us take for an update on the murder case surrounding former white house intern sandra levy. the man convicted of killing her is expected in court this afternoon as part of his retrial. his lawyers say a witness deliberately misled juries. levy disappeared in 2001, but her body was in the discovered for a year. the new trial begins in harmg. we will find out this morning where the district plans

to place additional toordable housing. at 11:00, mayor bowser will announce the 12 project winners that will get about 90% in funding. the projects are expected to add about 800 affordable units in the city. leading tropical medical expert is warning that the zika virus could spread through north america and even in africa. the zika virus which is linked to severe birth defects is spreading rapidly across latin america. it's carried by a particular type of of mosquito. >> we're dealing with a population that has never seen it before, so they're naive, so there is no immunity at all. >> right now there are reported cases in virginia, minnesota and california, but officials say in those case people were infected while traveling abroad. now the latest in the federal land stand over in

oregon. the fbi has released video. you can see lavoy finicum nearly run over an agent before crashing through a police barricade. initially he gets out of the vehicle with his hands in the air surrounded by trooper, but then he reaches toward his jacket. we've stopped the video just before finicum is shot and killed. just a handful of armed protesters remain at that wildlife refuge. suspect in a deadly assault is headed back to court today. the vehicle temp was visiting northwest d.c. from dallas for a wedding when he was randomly attacked. he died after falling and hitting his head on the ground. safety is the top concern this morning one day after a violent attack at the gallery place metro station. six d.c. high school students could be charged with felonies in this incident. investigators say when the

victim got off at gallery place, a teen punched him. others jumped this punching and kicking the map when they hopped on a departing train. this is the latest in asaults af will months. >> anything can happen anywhere. >> metro says police are constantly monitoring riders and thousands of surveillance cameras operate throughout the stations. it is official, last weekend's snowstorm was one for the record books. it was the fourth most powerful to hit the northeast in more than 60 years. 24 million people were hill with at the least 20 inches of snow. and it affected more than 100 million people in dozens of states. one we one of the soon forget. the non-emergency call center in montgomery county goes back to normal hours came. you can call 311 between 7:00

a.m. and 7:00 p.m. mop througnd through friday. 311 should only be used to get county information, not emergency. parents are happy some school districts have finally reopened. loudoun county is not one of them though. crews are working around the clock to clear high school parking lots still. the school district employed 90 pieces of its own contract and added 40 contract trucks to help out. the district has 89 schools to clear. students in alexandria and falls church head back to class today. well, it will get colder before it gets better. what you can expect this weekend and how soon we could start seeing temperatures back up in the mid-60s. how a plow driver received a big bonus where he least expected it.

he worked around the clock, earned himself some money, but the big payoff came when he took a break from plowing. >> gerald bought a scratch off lottery ticket and you can guess the rest of the story. he won $225,000. a huge day for him. the unfortunate thing for him, he couldn't enjoy it right away. he had to go back to work. he says he was just in the right place at the right time. >> good for him.

so happy that he received the money. very good. right now we're getting a better idea of what kind of problem you'll face as you make your friday morning commute. let's take a live look from the storm team 4 x 4, this is 26th street in northwest washington. you can see the pavement is clear, but a lot of snow piled up on either side. i don't know if you can get your cars through that area. but we'll check on the road conditions for you. >> and also the forecast for you. weather and traffic on the 1s. >> and because of the icy spots again this morning, the weather having a low to moderate impact on your day. by the afternoon and early evening hours, the focus is the winds. it will make it feel much cooler than your thermometer in your car will be reading as you're coming home from work this evening. so here is your hourly forecast. 7:00 a.m., around 34. again dealing with icy spots on area sidewalks and roads. a flurry or two is possible around the midday hours today. temperature of 38. a high today of 39. we'll hit that at about 2:00 p.m.

and feeling like teens and 20s this afternoon and this evening. brand new crash here this morning. outer loop at gallows road, right side of the roadway is blocked. we'reing some slow d downs right now. northbound 3rd tunnel diverted at mass ave because of snow removal. same situation 270 north at 121, you have to stay left to get past the plows. 270 south bound, no worries. it was a dramatic rescue that put firefighters to the test. how they're now being honored for heroism. donald trump makes his own stage while his rivals debate in prime time. we're breaking up to the big

. i'm a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat, ugly. and ben, you're a terrible sturn surgery. now that we've gotten the donald trump portion out of the way -- >> ted cruz addressing the elephant not in the room is the term they used last night. we're get being our first hint whether donald trump may benefit from his boycott of the final debate. senator ted cruz faced attacks while trump raised for wounded warriors. >> reporter: the fact that trump was not there didn't seem to stop people from talking about him either at the debate or outside. this morning we're check willing social media reaction on twitter. he was the number one topic, more than a third of folks during the debate talking about donald trump. and while they were talking

about him, he was actually talking about the debate, too. listen. >> they wanted me there and they said how about now. they called a due minutes ago. how about now, can you come over? i said hasn't it already started? >> reporter: it was interesting at one point the only person that he called out by name saying jeb bush, boy, i bet he wishes i was there. and interestingly jeb bush was mockingly saying the same thing at the debate. so even though he wasn't physically there, there was plenty of ted cruz at this final debate. >> so was there anyone else who really stood out in the debate? >> reporter: as you might expect, ted cruz and marco rubio and ted cruz was the giant on the stage without donald trump being there and you could tell because he was attacked by a number of candidates especially on immigration. he mixed it up with rand paul on immigration who accused him of flip-flopping on amnesty. marco rubio says that he wants to cut defense. so even at one point ted cruz accused the moderators of turning all of the candidates on

him. it was actually one of the most watched moment during that debate. >> tracie potts on capitol hill for us. thank you. as we mentioned, iowa caucuses are set for monday night. i'm headed to des moines this weekend. i wanted to take you inside the caucuses just a bit, though. these are essentially neighborhood meetings that became the first in the nation presidential contest back will in 1972. so why are they so important? it's an early indication of who might drop out because of lack of support and a lack of money. who does well there can term who you will get to vote for in virginia's primary in march and maryland's in april. there has only been one instance when a fourth place finisher in iowa went on to become the party's nom these. and iowans do have a history of choosing big winners here. ronald reagan, bill clinton, george w. bush and barack obama all won the caucuses and the presidency. a look now at where the democratic candidates stand. a new nbc maris poll shows

hillary clinton and bernie sanders neck and neck among democrats in iowa. clinton leads sanders by just three points among likely caucus goer. she has 37 points in south carolina. but in new hampshire, sachbders holds a commanding 19 point lead. that's where clinton has challenged sanders to another debate. sanders accepted the challenge. thousand both sides will wait for the party to sign off. tonight be sure to watch nbc "nightly news" with lester holt on its new interview with hillary clinton. it begins right here after news 4: at 6:00 p.m. today the man charged in the disappearance of two sisters heads back to world. lloyd welsh made his first appearance yesterday charged with the disappearance of 12-year-old sheila lyon and her sister katherine. the sisters were walking from their home to the wheaton plaza mall. their bodies have never been

found. starting this year, all military combat jobs are open to women. many are wondering if that means women could be drafted one day. selective service director lawrence romo will break down the details at 10:00 this morning at the national press club. romo will also talk about why young undocumented male immigrants are required to sign up for selective service. 4:49. sunday is the deadline for open enrollment for obamacare. folks will be out informing residents about the plans veil and the possibility of an irs tax panelity. it's either $695 or 2.5% of am income, whichever is greater. a d.c. firefighter cannot the retire and will now face a trial board after a botched emergency response. this is the station the fire

lieutenant worked out of in tenleyto tenleytown. the station is blocks away from where a 911 phone call was made about a choking toddler. according to an internal review, the dispatcher did not tell the status and the 18 month old later died. earlier this month, the lieutenant handed thin reiremet paperwork. he's expected to appeal. people across several states could hear military jets took to the skies. the sonic booms actually traveled from new jersey to connecticut. they came from f-35 and f-18 fighter jets. the navy says it was doing shall training runs off the jersey coast. jets are based in maryland. another arrest has been made in southern california as the hunt continues for three skipesd

inmates. they arrested a woman who taught at the bail. they say the 44-year-old gave the inmates masks and possibly even tools. officials also believe the men stole a white van on sunday and could be living in it right now. they are considered armed and dangerous. police need your help identifying the thieves who have targeted two montgomery townhouse communities. there have been seven burglaries in two neighborhoods in silver spring just a couple miles apart. the suspects into the this by breaking windows or doors while nobody was home. investigators say this picture shows them just about to use a credit card stolen from one of those homes. if you know who they are, give police a call. firefighters in fairfax are being rewarded for their bravery. peta is offering a group of city and county firefighters after they rescued a dog from the lake. milo, a large saint bernard,

will be reunited later today with his heros. despite the 8 free windchill, firefighters in ice rescue suits jumped in to that lake last friday and pulled milo to safety. i just didn't imagine what that is like in those conditions. that's a big tg. >> we're lucky these guys know what they're doing and they are willing to jump in. 4:52. storm team 4 meteorologist amelia segal keeping an eye on the potential warm-up. >> yes, throughout the weekend, temperatures will warm up a little bit each day. but first off, we're dealing with more icy spots this morning with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. 30 in washington, 21 in manassas and 27 right now in leesburg. as we work our way throughout the day, we'll have mostly to partly sunny skies. and highs warm generally in the mid to upper 30s across the area. a high today in the district of 39 degrees. but here is the thing. the winds will pick up around

the midday hours. it will be breezy to windy for the second half of the day on into the evening hours. so when you factor in the wind, it will only feel like temperatures are in the upper 20s throughout the day today. so you certainly want to bundle up. probably have not only the warm coats, but the gloves, hatses scarves. dining out tonight, blustery and cold with icy spots forming once again. temperatures mostly in in the 20s. but if you'll be out later, it will start to feel like temperatures are in the teens. tomorrow warmer, a high of 44. sunday, a high around 50. and look at monday, a high of 63. can't rule out a late day shower especially north of washington. otherwise not a pad day. tuesday more melting going on with a high around 60 degrees. after the weekend, low nos where around freezing, so you won't have to worry about the concern of refreeze for next week. on wednesday, a high likelihood of rain with a high of 65 degrees. and wednesday is the day most of

you will be watching for the potential of flooding due to melting snow and potential for an inch of rain on top of that melting snow. a big problem on the beltway? >> yeah, take a look outer loop at gallows road. so right now you can see on camera we just have the left lane getting by. is this this is an overturned vehicle. inner loop at braddock, that crash is now out of the way. northbound 3rd street tunnel diverted to mass avenue oig because of a snow removal situation there. and clarksburg road, take left to get past the plow. we'll see you being at 5:01. it was anxious elaborate tree house that divided a neighborhood. who had the final say as some fought to it down. >> and we're staying on top of road conditions for you this friday mor

maichael phelps took time ot to help out the arizona basketball team. now you see what they call the curtain of distraction. you see all the gold medals? maybe it will blind their eyes or something. he's also wearing a gold swimsuit, i think. and a bow tie. and don't forget the swim cap.

the player missed both foul shots, so maybe this whole thing worked. there is michael phelps and look at his partners. >> two fat guys, come on. tell it like it is. and there is he in a speedo with 18 gold medals hanging around his neck. >> he's ripped for a reason. his training is no joke. >> cover it up. >> are we a little bit, aaron? today police officers in montgomery county are honoring a fallen hero. officers invite you to help by donating blood in honor of noah. it's at the public safety building in gaithersburg. he was struck by an suv driven by a suspected drunk driver as he was conducting a traffic stop. a tree house must come down. that is the word from the

district's public space committee. the tree house was built in an alley in archibald last august. the homeowners received temporary permits from the district for the tree house, but yesterday a permanent permit was denied. it hangs over into public space by about 2 feet. and neighbors complained. it is unclear when the homeowners will have to it take it down. here is proof that police officers need to be ready for any situation. >> p one alexandria officer learned that firsthand after pulling over an erratic driver yesterday morning. >> i have a middle in the road having a baby. >> ja >> yeah, inside the car a pregnant mother being rushed to the hospital. the with himoman's mother was d and said the officer did not hesitate and jumped in to help. >> i said push and the baby come. >> he wasn't waiting.

he was ready to come out. >> and he is so precious. >> it's her third baby, his name is joshua. even is healthy and doing great this morning. right now at 5:00, your commute could get a little messy today. it's a cold start this friday morning. we're tracking what you can expect for your ride into school and work and what you can expect for the weekend. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. we made to friday. oh, my goodness, what a long week. we still have to check our forecast, right? >> a peel i can't smelia segal for us. similar to every other morning this week, dealing with icy spots because of the wed having a low to moderate impact on your day. and heads up to later today. we'll be noticing the winds breezy to windy conditions. and that will add a chill during the afternoon hours. currently temperatures in the 20s across the area. so everybody is below freezing. 29