counting on. >> we will win tonight if the voter turnout is high. >> reporter: his workers are signing up first-timers. >> i have never felt as strongly about an election as i do this time. >> reporter: sanders has a big lead in new hampshire polls. senator, in order to do well after new hampshire to achieve the political revolution you talk about, you've got to win here in iowa, right? >> no, of course not. you know, that's media mythology. of course we want to win here in iowa, but if we end up getting two delegates less than hillary clinton has, why is that the end of the world? >> reporter: on the republican side, marco rubio visited volunteers. >> it's going to make a big difference tonight. >> reporter: ted cruz who rose to a lead in iowa polls, then slipped, was in jefferson. >> we have now been to all 99 counties in the great state of iowa. >> reporter: cruz filled the hall last night. he's counting on evangelicals. donald trump today drew a smaller crowd than usual hours before trump needs a big turnout of first-time iowa voters.

>> win, lose, or draw, i love you folks all. >> reporter: all eyes on trump tonight. will the leader in gop polling grab his first ever election victory? i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, des moines, iowa. and the weather in iowa is becoming worrisome especially for the candidates who believe a high turn out will improve their chances. there is a blizzard barrelling across the plains headed straight for iowa. the city of des moines could get upwards of a foot of snow. that storm is not expected to begin in earnest until most of the caucusing is over. >> it's been a contentious battle in iowa. aaron gilchrist continues our coverage now. he talked to "nbc nightly news" anchor lester holt about the impact this race could have on the election. >> it's exciting. we love having everybody come

here. >> reporter: iowans have become used to all the attention they get around caucus time. the celebrity spotting, the billboard wrapped buses. >> the first in the nation status is pretty neat, and i think iowans take it seriously, so i think it's important, and you got to get out and vote. >> reporter: dan and his wife see it the way a lot of iowans see. >> what i see is a tremendous pride and enthusiasm. pride they're the first in the nation and i think there's, frankly, real enthusiasm. >> reporter: we met "nbc nightly news" anchor lester holt at a local coffee house and got his analysis on why the iowa nominating contest matters outside of iowa. when people talk about you what's at stake in iowa, what's the logic that you explain to folks about this particular point in the election process? >> well, we have always heard that this is -- the state is not a kingmaker. if you win the primary, it doesn't mean you're guaranteed the white house, but what i think is the more significant

impact is what the people do here tonight will force some people out of this race. i don't know who they are right now. we can all, you know, speculate, but that's a pretty big influence. >> reporter: now w a surrogate from each campaign being able to speak at the caucuses tonight, it could take a while before we hear some real results, at least an hour some say because the democratic process is so complex. it could take much longer. in des moines, aaron gilchrist, news4. and we've been asking you to weigh in on the importance of tonight's caucus results. more than half of you think it will help narrow the field of candidates, but a third of you think it's no more important than the primaries in the other states. stay with news4 for updates on the iowa caucuses on air and online. we'll have the results for you tonight on news4 at 11:00. you can also watch live streams of the victory and concession speeches on our nbc washington app. looking at our weather now, there's a bit more rain moving in for the evening. veronica tracking all of this. >> yeah. this rain we have out there right now generally light. it's going to hang on for a few

more hours up until about 8:00 or 9:00. nothing too bad on area roads. i don't think it will get icy at all because when our temperatures drop this rain will be out of here but we could have some issues midweek on wednesday with more rain that comes to the area and even higher temperatures throughout the area for midweek. here is a look at the rain as we zoom on in. right now around 495, roads are wet. waldorf around gaithersburg. in fact, a pocket of some slightly heavier rain up there. now around gaithersburg. 120, alexandria, all wet around 495. dunkirk and we have dry pockets starting to show up. from light rain today, we only had a tenth to maybe a quarter of an inch of rain in a few locations. by wednesday another system, the same system that's going to bring the blizzard conditions to areas of iowa, it will bring a half to upwards of an inch of rain to this area. we'll talk about the issues coming up. thanks, veronica.

new tonight, we are hearing from the father of a teenage girl who was abducted and murdered in virginia. nicole lovell was her name. she was just 13. today divers went back to a pond near the virginia tech campus to search for clues that might be related to her death. police will not say just what it is they're looking for. in the meantime, two engineering students, both with ties to howard county, have been charged with lovell's murder. they were in court as was lovell's father who was desperately searching for answers. >> these two individuals took my daughter from this planet and i want to know why. i want to know all the information i can get. >> those arrests have also shocked people in the area who knew both suspects. tracee wilkins is in howard county now with more on their reaction to these arrests. >> reporter: david eisenhauer, the yun man who is charged with this murder, went to high school here at wilde lake high school. we talked to some students who say inside the school people

were saying they cannot believe that he has been charged with this. it's the same thing we heard when we visited the neighborhood of the two suspects. >> i'm sure they're heart broken. i'm sure they're like shredded to tears. >> reporter: neighbors of the suspects charged with the murder of 13-year-old nicole lovell couldn't believe their neighborhood kids, now college students, could be connected to any murder. >> i just feel sorry for the family. >> reporter: david eisenhauer is facing kidnapping and first-degree murder charges. natalie keepers is charged with improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact. both are virginia tech engineering students, now being held without bond. and keepers' laurel neighborhood, those who knew the neighborhood were shocked. >> when i heard that on tv today, i was like, well, why would anybody in their right mind mess around with a 13-year-old girl? let alone kill her. >> reporter: and eisenhauer's columbia neighborhood, one neighbor described their family as quiet. >> i can't imagine what they're

going through, but i don't think anybody on the block really knows them. >> reporter: at wilde lake high school in howard county. >> it's a difficult situation for everyone involved. >> david eisenhauer's former principal reacted to the news of the charges. david was a standout student and track star at the high school, considered one of the best runners in maryland. his former principal said he was recruited by several schools for track, including virginia tech. >> very goal-driven, focused on his academics but he was also very focused on running. he was an outstanding runner. >> reporter: we're still unclear about how eisenhauer knew this 13-year-old. we just know that they had a relationship of some kind. we tried contacting families for both of these suspects, and they were not available for comment. reporting live in columbia, i'm tracee wilkins. doreen, back to you in the studio. >> thank you. now to a deadly police-involved shooting in the district. an officer shot and killed a man after they say he reached for a weapon. it turned out to be a bb gun.

it happened near clay terrace and 53rd street northeast. it's the fourth police shooting in this area in less than a year. pat collins is in northeast with the developments right now. pat? >> reporter: doreen, in all of last year police intentionally fired their weapons on 15 occasions. 20% of the time they did it in clay terrace. clay terrace, march 27th, 2015, an armed robbery suspect shot and wounded by police. clay terrace, august 10th, 2015, a woman with a knife acting erratically shot and wounded by police when she didn't drop it. her mother intervenes to subdue her. clay terrace, november 19th, 2015, a man with a knife shot and killed by police when he doesn't drop the weapon.

clay terrace, 2:00 a.m. this morning, police say a man shot and killed by an officer as he reaches for a gun. it was a bb gun, but police say it looked like the real thing. why so the many police-involved shootings at clay terrace? the chief says there's a lot of trouble there. so much trouble they have a cop stationed there 24/7. >> we have a lot of violent crime there. we have had homicides in not too recent history just in that same block. >> reporter: it was just last week that an audit showed the use of force by d.c. police was significantly down. for example, in 2014, police fired their weapons 30 times. in 2007 31 times. in 2012 9 times. and last year 15 times.

now, the u.s. attorney's office reviews all police-involved shootings. doreen, back to you. >> pat collins reporting. thank you, pat. a popular nightclub in the district has been shut down for four days as police investigate a deadly stabbing inside. investigators are still searching for the person who attacked two men inside barcode on 11th street northwest. a man named robinson pal was killed. his mother told us he was out celebrating last night and getting ready to start a new chapter in his life. >> tomorrow he was going to fly to california for his vacation before he start a new job. >> the other man stabbed is in stable condition. ahead at 6:30, news4's meagan fitzgerald is live with what the club owner is doing to help with the investigation. there's now some new legal trouble for the campaign committee that helped elect d.c. mayor vincent gray back in 2010. a new audit of the campaign finance found the committee was in the words of the report not

in substantial compliance in reporting thousands of dollars in receipts and expenditures. campaign finance officials will review that audit looking for possible violations of the law. the youaudit is separate from t investigation into the shadow campaign that helped get mr. gray into office. that investigation closed with no charges against the former mayor. they're still cleaning up after the storm. how much longer some people will have to wait to get the mail delivered and the trash picked up. he said he was making mistakes right before the deadly crash. new details about that amtrak engineer and what he was doing before the crash, including whether or not he was on his cell phone. that's coming up. a long time judge has admitted to misconduct on the bench but he's not going to face any jail time. the victim rightsays the punish

does not fit the crime. what's black and white and soon to be seen all over? i'm carol maloney at the super bowl and coming up,

he says he was in a dream-like state. the engineer of the amtrak train that flew off the tracks near philadelphia gave investigators new clues about what may have happened last year. transportation reporter adam

tuss has been going through thousands of pages of new material released by the national transportation safety board, and he's live at union station with details of that report. adam? >> reporter: doreen, the question about this crash has always been about speed. we know the train was going way too fast around a curve, but why? was the engineer distracted by something like, say, a stone? tonigh cell phone? tonight new details. the engineer said details have come back to him about that tonight but investigators say definitively he was not distracted by his cell phone. they found the phone in his bag and no texts, calls, or data were used on that phone during the trip. speed though, speed was definitely a problem. the engineer talked about trying to correct mistakes with the train's throttle and get the train to an appropriate speed. he also said he put the train's throttle as fast as it could go right before it hit a curve. the train was supposed to be

going 50 miles an hour. instead, it was going 106. >> i call it a liftoff. we were going around a curve at a very -- what seemed like a high speed. >> reporter: jeff cutler was on that amtrak train and talked to news4 afterwards. >> the feeling was to me we're lifting off. we're in the air. that's a sense of uncontrol that i never felt on a train before. >> reporter: engineer brandon bostian's comments in this new ntsb report mirror that feeling. he told investigators i remember holding onto the controls tightly and feeling like, okay, well, this is it. i'm going over. so i tried to brace myself. a surveillance video from the scene shows dramatic sparks and flashing as power lines were rained apart. the ntsb has ruled out any issues with the tracks, the signals, or the locomotive involved with this crash. it's important to note there's no smoking gun in this new report. as far as an exact cause, could be the spring before that's now

out. >> thank you. a rough ride for some passengers on an amtrak train traveling from d.c. to new york last night. a mysterious object struck the acela express train as it passed through the bridesburg neighborhood of philadelphia. a passenger snapped this picture of a crack in the window. nobody was hurt. the incident happened near the same area where that amtrak train derailed back in may killing eight people. a d.c. fire officials is facing federal charges tonight in connection with a child pornography case. prosecutors say earl walker received and possessed child porn at his home in pennsylvania between 2011 and 2012. walker has been with the fire department for more than 20 years. he's currently serving as a lieutenant. he's on paid administrative leave now. if convicted he could face up to 30 years in prison. an update now to a story you saw first here on news4. long-time maryland judge has admitted to breaking the law.

former charles county judge robert nalley pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of misconduct on the bench. it is reported the judge will avoid prison time. >> reporter: he didn't apologize but the judge admitted he committed a crime, what the feds call deprivation of rights. he admitted ordering a sheriff's deputy to use a stun device to shock and inflict pain on a criminal defendant in his courtroom in 2014. he was removed from the bench in charles county a few weeks after. news4 broke the story when the feds pressed federal charges last month. we told you nalley faced a year in prison for the misconduct, but by pleading guilty today, he'll get only probation. the victim in the case, a maryland man named delvin king, spoke at the judge's plea hearing today saying it's a, quote, slap on the wrist that nalley will serve only probation and no prison time. this isn't the first controversy involving the judge. while serving on the court in charles county, the 72-year-old

admitted deliberately letting the air out of the tires of a courthouse worker he suspected was parking in his parking spot. >> scott macfarlacfarlane, than. the agency in charge of all alcohol sales in montgomery county is looking for a new leader. it's the latest development into the troubled department of liquor control. the county executive sent out a memo saying director george griffin would be leaving his position after working for the government for 21 years. the agency has been under intense scrutiny over the last year and a half facing complaints from retailers about botched deliveries, missing inventory, and allegations of theft from employees first uncovered by the i-team. in an e-mail obtained by news 4, griffin told his staff he met with the county executive on friday and both agreed a management change would allow for a fresh start with liquor control. a nationwide search is under way

to find his permanent replacement. to watch the i-team's beer bust series, visit our nbc washington app and click investigations. a second case of the zika virus has been reported in virginia. we're learning more about that victim and officials in the meantime continue their effort against this global health threat. a double stabbing inside a popular d.c. nightclub quickly turns fatal. now the bar is closed for up to four days while police investigate. coming up at 6:30, how the owner of the club says he's cooperating with the investigation. plus, lawmakers take a new step that could cut back on your summer vacation and mean an earlier start date for thousands

and now, your storm team4 forecast. >> the rain started about midday, about lunchtime. now we'll see lingering showers for two, maybe three hours across the area. not getting anything too heavy across the area on storm team4 radar but the roads will be wet for a while longer. 50 between 7:00 and 9:00. we drop to the upper 40s by 9:00 to 11:00 and low 30s by tomorrow morning. but the rain is out of here so we don't have to worry about icing for the early part of the day tomorrow. it's moving from west to northeast through the area.

the beltway still looking at rain showers. same i think up i-95. folks having to deal with the small umbrella this evening, but coming up midweek, you are going to have to get the big golf-size umbrella ready. here is the pocket of heavier rain. columbia, maryland, 144 up route 140. you can see the dry conditions back to the west from leesburg, warenton, gaithersburg. showers will be scattered about the area generally light from 8:30 to 9:00. we could have a little bit of fog early tomorrow and more fog possible it's ilities by midwee. it could be widespread and dense fog early wednesday morning with zisabilit visibilities around zero. big spread throughout the area for early tomorrow morning. 36 in town. that's cold enough you will need a warm jacket and i think you

will be able to get by with just a jacket. even the kids early tomorrow morning, because we'll rise to a high of 51 degrees. there will be clouds moving in but don't let the clouds worry you because it is looking dry. 45 to 50 degrees the spread in temperatures tomorrow vir sersu what we had today which was make march or april. the next time we get that warmth, also midweek. the weather, tomorrow will have a low impact on the area. dry all day, a little on the cool side but it is quiet. a good day to get out and get the run in if you missed it today. there's your 45 degree temperature at 11:00 a.m. 50 degrees already by 1:00 and we say in that pocket of 50s i think through most of the afternoon tomorrow. and then it's rising emperatures for wednesday afternoon. here is really the next big change you're going to notice is when we get the rain it will be heavy rain by the time we get to midday on wednesday. just generally some light showers for the early morning rush on wednesday. 57 your temperature at 1:00.

60 at 5:00 p.m. temperatures will continue to go up with that rain. we could see some flooding with streams and rivers. that is why it's a weather alert day on wednesday. we have an 80% chance of rain. the other thing we're going to see on wednesday are the winds. they will start picking up. 35, 40-mile-per-hour winds. possibility of flooding on wednesday. we'll give you the extended forecast, a look ahead to the weekend, and we'll show you which areas could see flooding on wednesday. not everyone i think. it's all based on snow pack and a number of other things we're considering. we'll have that in just a few. >> veronica, thank you. a mother desperate for answers in her son's murder. tonight a local nightclub owner is turning over a key piece of evidence to police, evidence that could lead to an arrest. i'm julie carey in richmond, virginia, where the governor firing back at some of the gun control activists who blasted his gun compromise plan. what he has to say about their agenda just ahead. and the first votes in iowa

only about 90 minutes away now. chuck todd will tell us who gets chuck todd will tell us who gets the advantage with the high

you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) hey candidates, answer the call already.

you're watching news4 at 6:00. first at 6:30 tonight, we're learning more about the man who was stabbed to death inside a popular d.c. nightclub.

that victim was out celebrating a new job when he was killed. >> that stabbing happened inside barcode. meagan fitzgerald reports what the club's owner is doing to help with the investigation. >> reporter: this all happened just before midnight. we're told barcode was packed with people when a fight broke out. hours later, a maryland mother found out her son was dead. >> my son was a good boy, respectful to everybody. >> reporter: chand palisade she raised all of her children to be kind and loving but said 29-year-old robinson was special. >> when he turn 18, i said looking for some place to need. no, stay with mommy. >> reporter: he was an electrician and was getting ready to fly to california to celebrate his 30th birthday. but before he left his mother said he and his friends went to barcode on sunday night. just before midnight police say a fight broke out inside and two people were stand.

chanda says hours later she found out robinson had died. >> i was shocked. i could not do anything, not even talk. not even cry. >> reporter: they have temporarily closed the club down for four days while they investigate. a notice on the door says a bloody knife and glass were found scattered inside. a spoke with the club owner, and he tolls me he's fully cooperating with police and has turned over all surveillance video and chanda is hoping that will be enough to bring the suspect to justice. >> people is inside the club. >> reporter: police say the second victim is in stable condition. they're asking anyone with information about this chaase t can tact the department right away. virginia's governor is defending the gun deal he struck with republicans in the legislature. he says gun control activists who don't like his plan are more interested in a national agenda.

today the governor talked about the proposals in an inclusive one-on-one interview with our bureau chief julie carey. >> my job is to keep virginians safe. >> reporter: governor teary ak you a life said that's why he was willing to take a deal. he said activists have a different agenda. friday every town usa sent out this letter blasting mcauliffe for the deal. >> i love every town. they have been big supporters. they have a national agenda. i have a state of virginia agenda. >> reporter: it does not close the gun show loophole but it puts police on site to do voluntary background. >> would i love mandatory? sure. i did the next best step i could do. >> reporter: perhaps more significant, a measure to require anyone subject to a long-term protective order to give up or sell their gun.

>> we're becoming only the 16th state in america to take guns away from individuals under protective order. julie, this is virginia. this is historic. >> reporter: but mcauliffe's plan also gives gun rights supporters a big win pulling back a plan to stop honoring concealed carry permits from other states. lori haas has worked for tighter gun laws ever since her daughter survived the virginia tech massacre. >> we're very supportive of the domestic violence piece. we're somewhat supportive of voluntary background checks. >> reporter: but haas said the governor gave up too much. >> clearly opened a big wide door and given the gun lobby is strong footing to two of their top goals, permitless carry and blanket reciprocity with every state in the nation. >> reporter: legislators have already started to move on some of the bills that would make the gun compromise plan law. some votes, in fact, scheduled for tomorrow. in richmond, virginia, julie carey, news4. back to the iowa caucuses and after more than a year of

polling, campaign speeches, and strangers knocking on their doors, voters in iowa will launch the nation into the next step in the 2016 presidential race. nbc's political director chuck todd is in des moines now with a look at how turnout could shape the election. >> well, it's finally here. we've been talking about iowa now for more than a year, but now iowans are going to cast these first votes. look, the big unknown today is turnout. who shows up? if you tell us who shows up, how many of them show up, we have a pretty good idea who is going to win. average turnouts, good for hillary clinton and the democrats. good news for ted cruz on the republican side. if we see a surge and interest in this campaign matches the media saturation, that gives bernie sanders a shot to pull the upset for hillary clinton and that gives donald trump a shot to not just win here, but maybe sail to this republican nomination. it's going to be quite a fight. >> indeed, it will.

we invite you to join us online. our live caucus results will be updated every two minutes on nbc washington.com. you can also watch live streams of the victory and the concession speeches on our app as well as expert analysis of the results. virginia students are a step closer to starting school before labor day. the republican-controlled house voted to approve a measure today that would allow local boards to set their own calendars and begin classes before the september holiday. it does require that schools close for the long labor day holiday weekend. the bill now moves on to the state senate. virginia has tried to make the change before but got strong opposition from retailers and tourism groups who say the early start time would hurt business. in the district we're getting somewhat of an idea of what classes might be like inside the city's new all-boys high school. it's scheduled to open in the fall. mayor muriel bowser today spoke to eighth graders along with ben

williams. he's going to be the principal of that new high school. students will be chosen to attend the school through a lottery. the mayor added she benefitted from going to an all-girls high school and college. >> and not only will you be able to focus on your studies, but you will have a great opportunity for leadership and to learn how to be men. >> that new school is in northeast d.c. it will be formally named when it opens in august. okay. it's february, we've got wet weather, but it's not snow, it's rain. and that means that road conditions with our temperatures as high as they were today, we're not seeing any issues on roads. just a little wet right now. as far as temperatures dropping to freezing, that's not going to occur until tomorrow morning when this rain is out of here. there's the back edge.

early tomorrow morning dry, chilly. we're at 40 degrees. our temperatures go way up again and we've got more on that chance of flooding midweek in a few minutes. coming up, a new step in the fight against the zika virus as top health officials work to keep it from spreading. also a dangerous e. coli outbreak linked to a popular restaurant chain some time ago.

virginia now has its second zika virus infection. the college of william and mary announced on saturday that a student had contracted the virus while traveling in central america over winter break. the school says the student is expected to recover fully and does not pose a health risk to anyone on the campus. last week virginia health officials announced the first known zika case in the commonwealth. as in the william and mary case, the patient contracted the virus while traveling outside the

country. those cases highlight growing concern about the virus here which appears to pose a significant risk in pregnant women. zika has been linked to a birth defect where babies are born with undersized brains and skulls. the link has not been proven yet but today the world health organization held an emergency meeting and decided to declare zika poses a global health emergency. that means research and aid will be fast tracked to tackle the infection. >> this is a real important way forward to determine what is the link and what's going on in lt tin america and other countries where zika virus is occurring. >> world health organization estimates 4 million people in the americas could be infected with zika in the coming year. the group last declared a global health emergency in 2014 during the ebola outbreak. the e. coli outbreak that's been linked to chipotle restaurants appears to be over, but we may never know what

actually caused it. the centers for disease control says the most recent illness was reported back on december 1st. 60 people in 14 states were made sick during the outbreak, but investigators at cdc were not able to find a single food item that could be responsible. the investigation is now officially over. the company, chipotle, says it now has tougher food safety procedures in place at all of their restaurants. the express lanes on i-95 and the beltway are going over well with many of you according to a new survey. the fairfax times reports that 75% of the people who use the toll lanes are satisfied with them. that's according to a study commissioned by the private company that operates the lanes. two out of three drivers support extending the 95 express lanes along i-395 according to this study. virginia transportation officials announced that project in november. coming up, we have sports

coming up, and the nfl has struck a deal that's going to make thursday night football a little different than what you're used to. getting back to normal. i'm mark segraves. what local governments and the post office says about getting

we still have a lot of snow left behind from that historic blizzard a few week ago, but things such as trash pickup and mail delivery are finally starting to get back to normal. our mark segraves explains when those services might return to your neighborhood. >> reporter: letter carriers were out on the streets today

clearly happy the weather is making their jobs easier than it was last week when not everyone was getting mail. >> is it better today? >> yeah. >> reporter: in a statement today, the post office apologized for delayed mail delivery during the storm. we're working around the clock to make up for the delays caused by the storm. we're pleased mail service is rapidly approaching normal levels. all post offices are open and are attempting to make every mail delivery where safe. mail isn't the only service residents are looking forward to having restored. trash has been piling up since the snow fell. >> remember, montgomery county, parts of the county are not served by governmental services. they have different arrangements, so it's not a one size fits all. >> reporter: in the district trash collection resumed a normal schedule today. this man was thrilled to see the crew get to his home. >> return of the trashman, what does that signal to you?

>> it means baseball season can't be far behind. that's what it means to me. i shoveled a lot of this stuff and i shoveled a lot of that stuff, and i'm glad to see it melting. >> reporter: now, if you're a district resident or business and your trash didn't get picked up today and it was scheduled to be picked up today, you can call 311 and they'll get a crew out to you as soon as they can. in the district, mark segraves, news4. if you haven't completely dug out from last week's blizzard, you could still face a fine in prince george's county. the county issued 337 tickets last week for sidewalks that hadn't been shoveled. those tickets are 100 bucks each. officials say if there's still snow on the ground, offenders could be ticketed a second or even a third time. if you know a sidewalk that needs cleaning in prince george's county, report it on the nbc washington app by searching snowy sidewalks. a little bit of help clearing that snow today by the