preview. i couldn't believe it. i thought, more snow? it kept fanding. >> it looked like it stopped. and it'snong again. >> i can't say what you said before we started the show. >> had some choice words for chuck bell. >> i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. the drizz we got overnight has led to cancellations. prince william county schools are closed today. >> alexaria city, arlington and page county stools a s and page nty stools archools ara two-hour delay. >> the snow started late last night. it was nothingike last weekend. but it is a preview for what we may see this weekend. >> melissa is standing by with a check on the road conditions. we begin with chuck bell.

what is happening here? >> what? it's winter. it will be winter through the weekend. s you hate winter, you need to get a ticket and gewhere else. it is cold and it will be wet and windy and frigid. winter storm watch for the hen d shenandoah and parts of maryland. you can see the last of the snow on thee chesapeay now. it will be a drying weather pattern. it will be improvingre. a lot of hyslss, up 270 and parts of the beltway. melissa will keep you ahead of problem urere's. temper just above the freezing mark, around .to a little colder in parts of the shenandoah. we'll see all of the precipitation come to an end.

we'll get sunshine with a high temperature near 45 degrees before the bottom falls out this weekend. >> that sounds pa s balmy at th poin the main roads look good. bridges, overpasins, they're to freeze first when it gets cold here this weekend. this is 27 montgomery county, side streets were a little sprough. silverng, 16 feet at colesville aad. tree brought down by a trick. the beltway, inner loop and outer loop, no problems. this morning,eg we're with leftover snow and slick roads. >> you want to take yr time and watch for slous conditions. justin finch joins us from montgomery county. how are you roads looking where you are? >> reporter: you wre right.

yot to leave yourself extra time. the snow we saw earlier, is starting to slack up. now, seeing this morning, we saw, too, the overpasses, the ramps. we are seeing snow accumulate there. the salt trucks and the plows are working the s.ro know that again, as the snow falls down, areas that weren't perhaps -tweated or melting before, you may see thosere as problem spots today. the neighborhood streets have a lot of slush on them. now, we're just above freezing up and down with wary of the shiny patches on the that could be slippery. as of right now,he highways look great. it's the main roads and the sidewalks that you want to be careful of thismorning. >> justin finch, live for us in montgomery counyo. than a second round of snow

during the government shutdown has people sick of the weather. as justin mentioned, there are slick spots on the road in maland and virginia. a furloughed empyee tells us the gloomy weather does not help. >> with the shutdown. it'seally affecting people. coming off of the holidays. not getting paid. it hurts peoe. >> if you know someone who needs shelter, go to our washington app for a list of resources and shelters available now. workers and businesses and marriage licenses are affected by the government shutdown, now in day 28. >> add to that list, metro. the agency with a budget deficit says it's losing$400,000 every weekday.

federal workers make up 40% of metro ridership. the ceo says, metrons could er staffing or service adjustments, such as scaled-back use of eight-car trains. everyone using metro may have to wait lonr or ride trains that are more crowded. in 2013, metro lost about $5.7 million during the 16-day sh down. the working relationship between mpncy pelosi and president t appears to be another casualty of the shutdown. a day after she suggested he postpone the state of the union address, he canceled a trip. denying her and others use of a government plane.

lady ws confirms, first melania trump traveled to florida on a vacation. afterba lash, the president canceled his trip to switzerland. > developing overnight, a bombshell report by buzz feed. >> theeport sclclaims from president trump directed michael cohen to lie to congress over the trump tower in maosorw. >> this r has not been confirmed by nbc news. according to buzz feed, two federal law enforcement officials say president trump supported koe ed cohen's plan t russia and meet with putin to jump-start negotiations. the source told buzz feed, that the president personally instructed him to lie, claiming that negotiations ended months

earlier than they did. on the campaign trail, president trump denied having business dealings in russia. but the two law enforcement sources say they had ten face-to-face meetings during the mpaign. and ivanka and donald trump jr. were gting updates. cohen is going to testify publicly before congress on february 7th. this morning, we're getting a new look at a report suggesting the number of children separated from their parents at the u.s./mexico rder is much higher than previously reported. the office of the inspector general found thethhildren in thousands. this report looks back on the practice during 2017, as well. and get ready. this weekend, thousands of people are expected to attend two major i rallies the

district. today, d.c. hosts the march for life. aaffic and parking restrictions will beund the capital one arena and china town. on saturday, the women's march will begin at freedom plaza. thes are cause big crowds on the roads and on public transportation. adam truss lhas you know wt you need to know about getting around town this weekend. w >> reporter:hington, d.c. about to get very busy as we two two marches back-to-back. this is for the women's march to close this area on saturday. but first, capital o arena, that's the hot area for closures for the march. they expect freedom plaza to be the center point for all of it. in years' past the women's march has produced huge number of crowds. they movedt f of the national mall.

if you're coming here over the next couple of days, plan ahead. metro will have normal service. off-peak fares on saturday. check aheade to mur best plans. back to you. we're following a developing story in montgomery a support team of counselors will be on-hand at herbert hoover middle school after a acher suddenly died in her classroom on thursday. in a letter tore s, the principal said she passed away after experiencing a medical emergency while teaching. she was an english teacher. the teacher ask that she be remembered and celebrated for her kindness and commitment to others. 4:09, now. this morning, there are more questions than answers about a double-shooting in bowie. these images show the shooting suspect, being walked out of a wooded area by police y afternoon. prince george's county police say five people were inside a car when the suspect shot two

people. two other people inside. >> brandished a handgun and fired several shots.r the drind the passenger were both inside the vehicle. >> this is chopper 4 searching for the car. the driver who is shot is critically injured. we're told that a gun was recovered in the woods. police are is not sure if it was one used inhe shooting. surprisingly, no one was seriously injured in this accident. somehow, a car landed on top of another one ina alexand yesterday. witnesses say the car drove along the sidewalk, along daws avenue, hit a building and then landed on a park car. there w lot of smoke and the driver seemed shaken but he was not hurt. last week, news 4 introduced yo l to twoal sisters who

found found a stweweet way to make en meet. >> they created the furlough cheeseca cheesecake. the pair receivednt pof orders for the cheesecake. but the recent request may take the cake. they we asked to appear on "ellen." they didn't know it at first. >> here's nikki and jackie. ey both work for the government. they are huge fans of the show. we can see them, but they can't see me. i'm going to surprise them noing cisco tegy. hello, ladies. hi >> i can see clearly. i love when ellen does this. >> that was awesome. >> pretty wild moment there. you can see the full interview

today. and how ellen plans to help these sisters. you can see ellen at 3:00 and stick around for news 4 at 4:00. >> w hoping something like that would happen to them. they don't have to sell cheesecakes for much more. 4:12 now. still ahead. $67 billion. that's how much cash americans are expected to spend every year on prescription drugs by 2025. >> the money you spend on medication is only going up. how to buck the trend and save money. plus, information you want to know before you bookour next flight. america's airlines have been ranked. who comes out on and why. its slushy mess outside for most of us here this morning. hegood news is, rest of your friday is going to be dry. get outside and enjoy it we hav everything in the book getting thrown at us for the weekend into early nextweek. everything except the heat wave, that is that is sh.ow

fact: some of your favorite foods stain teeth. unlike ordinary whitening toothpaste, colgate optic white has hydrogen peroxide that goes low the tooth's surface for a smile that's 4 shades visibly whiter! colgate optic white. whitening that works.

you're watching news 4 today. >> welcome back. the numbe of people aemploying for unemployment benefits has soared. most of them are furloughed government workers. >> most of them applied forid in the first two weeks. that's more workers than in the previous week. fewer than 1,000 workers apply for benefits eacweek. there's a surge in the number of furloughed workers tapping into the retirement accounts. data from federal agency shows a 34% jump in the number of hardship withdraws.

as the numbers continue they are expected to grow. if you didn't have enough money withheld from your paycheck, the irs says will wave the penalty for those who paid 85% of their tax penalty for 2018. new tax laws changed withholding tables. some may have been confused. normally, taxpayers pay 90% of what they owe in order to avoid a penalty for underpayment. are you having trouble falling asleep? like everything else these days, there's an app for that. several apps. sleep sco labs uses sonar to track sleep from your bedside. phillips has a band that vibrates and encourages people to slip on theirarides.

these hones have features that help you sleep more soundly, unless it yells at you. "the wall street journal" out wit rankings ofight major airlines. delta keeps their top spot. the airline has been in one of the top three spots for the last eight years. last elyear, canceled fewer than 1% of itsflights. frontier airlines sunk to last place with aboutf 15% its flights being delayed last year. happening right now, two skie are in the hospital, in critical condition, after they were buried in an avalanchis happened at the taos ski valley resort in new mexico. that's the highest ski peak in the state there. ski pole had been detonating bombs to prevent avalanches. officials say no other victims were found. if you think we've had a lot of snow, look at the snow in

california's sierra mountains. as much as two feet of snow fell in a 24-hour span. add that to the strong winds that were pushed at that point, i would not drive. even snowplows had a tough time. where are you going? >> look at the snow on the roof. >> look at that. the s wedows aren't cleared. >> they are probably going to have dinner at the donner's house. the donner party. >> oh, sorry. >> it's 4:00 in the morning. i'll use that joke in an hour and see if you like it then. >> n'yeah, we are in the thick of it around here. >> it's too early. >> we are in the thick of r, sure. a very slushy start this morning. good news. today is not going toad be a

day. we'll dry out quickly. lots of melting today.at tempes in the low and mid-40s today. any slipperiness and size icine will be gone by later in the daa it will be ugly around here for the weekend. still keepi this winter weather advisory for this rn g. winter storm watches for the shenandoah valley and northern maryland. there's a real chance for significant freezing rain tomorrow. late morning into the afternoon. ou friends and neighbors here in the shenandoah valley along i-81, be on the lookout for freezing rain tomorrow. you see the system zipping on out. we'll get quiet weather for the afternoon into early parts of tomorrow. the cold air is going toe stuck in the shenandoah valley tomorrow. big rain and temperatur. mo of the d.c. metro area will 40 degree probably will hang on barely above freezing. freezing and sleet a stoious concerrrow.

there goes all of the stuff out here this morning. dry weather for this afternoon. dry weather for the evening. temperatures around the freezing mark by early tomorrow. clouds come in quickly. temperatures, just near freezing in the shenandoah valley for most of the day tomorrow. future weather. by 5:00, light snow in the d.c metro area. becoming all-rain. this could be a prolonged period of sleet or freezing rain in the shenandoah valley. it's all-rain late saturday night. and sunday, a quick drop in temperatures. on your way out o thedoor, temperatures in the freezing mark. highs today in the mid-40s around town. an ugly windily mix, becoming rain into early sunday, ending with a little shot of snow and plummeting temperat we'll be down into the low 20s

by sundayng eveni and windchills near zero or below monday morning. >> you have to better news than that. >> i wish i could say that i did. but i don't. we have a closure that will make problems for people in washington, d.c. we were told a tree and wires wererought bun by a dump truck. it is a traffic light that came down andwi s. in northwest, arkansas avenue, in northwest, arkansas avenue, between decatur and (alex trebek) $8,000. over $8,000. now, why is this number so iortant? because $8,508 is the average cost of a funeral.

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you're watching news 4 today. >> 4:24 right now. americans spend more money on prescription drugs than other people in any other country. >> it turns out that some drugs may cost more wit insurance than without it. susan hogan is showing us ways you can lower your bill at the pharmacy. >> reporter: a recent study found that one out of every five prescriptions, consumers were using more using their insurance than ifhey pay the retail price. one reason this haened, is gag clauses. they prevent the pharmacist from telling you there may be a lower price. >> gag clauses surfaced five

years ago. we worked with state legislatures to pass st e-by-state laws. and then, this past october, two bills were passed in congress that put an end to this practice at a national level, which is a terrific win from consumers. >> we can help the consumer a ole lot mo a lady came in for an antibiotic ointment. we ran it through her insurance. the cash price was just $15. >> the number one thing to do is ask. is this the lowest possible price on my medication? there are other ways to be money-smart with meds. >> make sure you're taking a generic. ask, can i get amothreh prescription or a 90-day fill instead of a 30-day fill. you typically can o save co-pay, sometimes two. >> and that was consumer reporter susan hogan reporting. there's another tip. we have more detail about apps

that can save the pharmacy. search prescription drugs in the nbc washington app. good mornin everybody. storm team 4 weather alert for you. temperatures just at or near the eezing mark. watch out for flslippery roads d sidewalks this morning. all about the temperature drop. plus, we're keeping on eye on the ro bs. we'rk live with everything you need to know to get your friday sta rt i'm alex trebek here to tell you about the colonial penn prram. if you're age 50-85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. e three what? the three p's? what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, priceand price.

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news 4 begins with a storm team 4 weather alert. >> just about 4:30. de live look out for you right now. not too bad in this picture. most of the snowhat fell overnight has stopped. >> it was coming down hard at points. this was the scene here in northwest washington overnight. you probably need to grab the snow scraper for your car and

wear your boots. we were coming intoork this morning, too. >> we have a few delays f schools to tell you about this morning. only a few of them. prinls william county sch are closed today. >> alexandria city, arlingtonag and county schools are on a two-hour delay. we're working with you with team coverage. >> justin fin is out on the roads for us, checking out the drive. we want to begin with chuck bell. we haven't seen thet of winter yet, huh? >> no. not even close. it's only literally january 15th, the mid point of meet logical winter. we're just barely crestingorhe hump winter. and the polar vortex that was brking down a few weeks ago, is going to send us shot number one of bitter cold air sunday into monday. right now, winter weather advisory is still in place for e