thank you for joining us and happy friday! jc is off today. we're bracing for the a rival of some winter weather this weekend, just how severe will it be or not severe at all? howard has the details. >> you know, we've only had 2- inch the entire season so likely this will be the biggest thing we've seen all winter. and even if we get two to three inches, which i think is decent

thinking right now, that would do it. but we could get twice that if things come together. today mostly sunny skies, no real problems and the storm itself waiting for the piece of energy still around new mexico. so our thinking is the coastal storm comes across sunday. we've got plans saturday, saturday night, don't cancel them. even sunday early might not be too bad but start as a little rain, in the metro and south and east. at rain will change to snow during the late morning, early afternoon. the way it looks now. although north and west you'll be cold enough, all snow. and critical times for the storm late morning, 11 a.m., to about 11 p.m. sunday evening. no checklist. there's certain things we need to get snow, we have enough cold air, not the coldest but cold enough. moisture, it plenty of moisture with this system so the last thing we need is the storm track and it's looking okay. maybe not the greatest but okay. back a couple winters ago, lot of these would have been tagged

high. so lot of things going for it and it looks like we'll get some snow. the snow threat, low area-wide, medium across the metro and eastern shore, and the highest threat for snow is going to be south and west of town. we'll have more during big weather. >> thank you. a two-year-old child is fighting for her life now after firefighters rescued the toddler from her burning home early this morning. this is around 2 a.m., on hill mar drive. celia has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: at this early point in the investigation, firefighters believe the flames could have started in the kitchen with that little girl trapped inside her bedroom directly above. >> flames shot up. i was worried about the kids. >> as was everyone outside the townhome. firefighters say an adult and a wheelchair in the basement when he heard the smoke alarm and called the children's mother upstairs. the three family members managed to pull a nine-year-old

to safety, but firefighters had to rescue the 27-month-old girl from her second-floor bedroom window. >> she was transported with cpr in progress. >> the chief says the toddler had no pulse when pulled from the fire. thankfully her pulse was restored a shorted time later. >> oh, my lord hope she makes it. >> his home suffered some minor smoke damage next door. but thankfully, firewalls prevented the flames from spreading. >> police officer went upstairs in the bedroom said help me get downstairs. i said that bad? >> as daylight breaks, relatives arrive at the scene and hopes of retrieving what they can from inside the charred home. as the rest of the family holds vigil at children's hospital. we're told one firefighter was injured, suffering burns to his ears. but he is expected to be okay. now the girl's pulse was restored but she does remain in critical condition now.

the 9-year-old suffered only minor smoke inhalation. there's no official cause of the fire yet. the gay marriage bill is expected to be debated once again in the maryland house of delegates today. an amendment to changing the start date from october 2012 to january 2013 is what delayed the vote last night. the tally of votes so far for for and against very close at this point. advocates of same sex merge admit they're a few votes short of the 71 needed to pass the bill. governor o'malley supports the gay marriage bill. delegates could vote as soon as today. house and senate are expected to vote on the deal to extend the payroll tax cuts now. the tax break would continue to save 160 million americans about $20 a week if approved. president obama praised congress for spiking a deal and promising to even the extension immediately, as soon as it passes. we turn now to the latest on the race for the presidential nomination in the g.o.p.

he is campaigning to beat mitt romney in his home state. g.o.p. hopeful rick santorum will be shaking hands for the seconds day in michigan. he is leading in the polls now and touting himself as a true conservative. and he is also criticizing mitt romney for opposing the auto bailout in detroit. mitt romney is in idaho today. newt gingrich in georgia. ron paul in washington state today. place your bets! prince george's county executive baker is throwing his support now behind a luxurious las vegas style casino. plans call for a $1billion gambling house to be built at national harbor. baker appeared on our 6 a.m. newscast to talk about it this morning. >> bringing a billion dollar casino to prince george's county, high end retail, having shows, las vegas style shows, will make national harbor an entertainment district, which is what it is now, and will attract and bring tourists to prince george's county. that way generating revenues

for the county. >> the casino proposal would have to overcome many hurdles to get done. it's unclear whether or not the residents of prince george's and prince george's county would support it and the assembly. so who would think that one of country's highest profile murder trials could turn on a price of a laptop? the murder trial the lawyers are now arguing over the value of the computer george huguely store from yardley love. bruce leshan has a look at that and some surveillance video. bruce. >> reporter: yes, mike, the video is really quite interesting, but it's not clear how much weight that jury is going to assign to it. it shows george huguely and yardley love together, just the night before her death. the sometime boyfriend and girlfriend caught in a twisted, sometimes violent relationship fueled by college drinking are holding hands at a local

watering hole. huguely's aunt narrarated the tape for the jury, calling him georgie and pointing out yardley embracing huguely's two young cousins. on cross-examination, the aunt admitted this was a public social event, that the two might be expected to be cordial even if having trouble in their relationship. then there is that laptop we talked about. the prosecutors say it was worth about $250 or more, the defense puts the value at about $100. they put on an expert who said that it's really important because the prosecution has charged huguely with murder in the commission of a robbery and grand larceny, and for it to be grand larceny, the laptop has to be worth more than $200. he is also charged with the first-degree murder count but that count requires prosecutors to prove that huguely actually intended to kill yardley. but if you kill someone while you're robbing them, it does not matter whether you intended to kill or not.

you are still guilty of murder. now, the trial has been postponed again because one of huguely's lawyers is sick. the judge is going to hold an unusual saturday session, and he is hoping to get this case to the jury tomorrow. and it's going to be up to them. mike. >> bruce leshan, thank you. okay, one of the key questions is whether or not george huguely, the defendant in the case, is going to take the stands in his own defense. with us now is university of district of columbia law school dean shelley. this seems like every time we watch a case on television, it seems like you probably shouldn't did that from a defense lawyer's perspective. >> there's nothing the defense lawyer boo like better than to have an incredibly likable and believable and sympathetic character, and let's look. here's a guy who lost 40 pounds george lagunaly. doesn't drink anymore, been in jail two years. he's had a chance to become a

different person. so if the -- here's the problem, though. defense attorney doesn't get to pick. it's george huguely's decision. >> so scary for a defense attorney snugly because they think, okay, he is pretty confident but i'm not so confident in his ability to pull this off. he's on the stand. >> exactly right. and the fact is he could make or break the case. you know, if he says, i was drunk, i was drinking all day, i went to make up with my sweetheart, yardley. we had been breaking up and making up. tough time coming to the end of college. i want to go to san francisco, she wants to go to new york. i wanted to just talk to her and get back with her. and we got into a tussle, and when i left it never crossed my mind that she would die that evening. but i didn't go there to kill her. i didn't kill her. >> and that's the hope he could say. >> exactly. >> if on the stand. let's talk about the jury for a

second. the jury has to weigh some evidence from both sides of prosecution and the defense, regarding medical testimony. they each had their experts on the stand. the prosecution contends it was blunt-force trauma that killed her. the defense says it may have been asphyxiation. is it difficult for the jury to weigh medical testimony? how does that play out for the jurors? >> well, defense counsel i'm sure tried to pick people who a could listen to the medical evidence and understand. this condition called positional asphyxiation is like sids, sudden infant death syndrome. she was found facedown on a pillow. there's no evidence he shoved her down -- that he killed her. >> right. >> the claim is that he shook her and pushed her her head against the wall. so facedown, did she suffocate? she was almost twice the legal limit in terms of alcohol, 1.4.

she was taking a doctor, had an emotional battle with him, and was that it? and do we have a reasonable doubt about that? that it was not blunt-force trauma? it could have been this? that will be the question for the jury. and they have to be smart and thoughtful and really i'm sure they'll take it very, very seriously. >> shelley broderick thank you for your time and analysis. it will continue to move forward. coming up on 9news now, a trip to the zoo takes a surprising turn for a couple of visitors. you can say flying monkey and oh, yes, we'll explain it! >> outside the funeral home the day before whitney houston is laid to rest. i'll have that story coming up.

whitney houston's family will hold a private wake for her later today, before her funeral tomorrow. some of the biggest names in entertainment will be saying their final good-byes to

houston in newark, new jersey saturday. allison has more. >> reporter: the funeral home is reportedly hosting the family of whitney houston today for a small, private viewing of the late pop star. for days fans have been paying their respects here and at the nearby new hope baptist church. the site of her funeral and where the singer first found her voice. >> i wanted to come today and pay my respects because i might get so crowded i can't get in here. >> in falk, a full six blocks around the church will be closed to cars and people tomorrow for houston's private funeral. but her family is allowing the service to be broadcast on tv and streamed on the internet. viewers will get to hear whitney's godmother aretha franklin and stevie wonder single kevin costner her co- star in the bodyguard is expected to speak. so is clive davis, her mentor. and despite early reports that houston's ex-husband bobby brown was asked to not attend,

he will reportedly be part of the service. >> i think that the people who love you should be there in your final sendoff. >> houston's body arrived here monday and doors have been closed ever since in preparation for tomorrow's funeral. at the funeral home fans can leave a message in a condolence book. fans throughout the state will be reminded of houston's passing when flags are flown half-staff tomorrow. cbs news, newark, new jersey. and you can watch the live uninterrupted coverage of whitney houston's funeral on bounce tv and on our digital channel, 9.2 and comcast twan 207. you can see the service live also on our website, wusa9.com. it's scheduled to get underway at noon. we are following breaking news now out of southeast washington, where there is a fire on the roof of anacostia high school. that's on 16th street

southeast, heavy smoke there. this is a live picture right now from our towercam are in arlington. that school just finished undergoing a major renovation in november of last year. students were evacuated. we have a crew on the scene and we will get you more information. students were evacuated, we have a crew on the scene. and we'll get you more information as soon as possible. we will be right back.

welcome bam video from the

memphis zoo. a monkey felt a little threatened! it tried to exhibit dominance by attacking a zoo visitor. and you can hear the little person crying there. there was a thick glass fortunately, and wow, that is some video! check it out one more time. >> great dismount too. >> boom! he nailed the landing! all right. weather time now. changeable to put it mildly. >> yes, it's nice now, little breezy. 50s today. 50s tomorrow. and then potentially some areas of virginia maybe even the district could see heavy snow on sunday, depending on the exact track of the storm. >> if they converge. >> there will be some heavy snow. right now south and west of d.c. could get the bulk of it, but it wouldn't take much to get this storm to lift a little bit further north, and then we'll get in it. right now you put me on the spot. we'll get two or three inches. but that could double. that could double. depending on the exact track.

let's get-go with the afternoon day planner because it's looking good out there. little breezy, still has some gusts, 20, 25. see up so 30 this morning and we're looking at temperatures by 3 p.m. at least 53 if not 55. we'lled we're going about 55 for the high. this evening the winds will die down, clear skies and dry air. we'll cool off quickly. low 30s in town by morning. and some upper 20s in the suburbs. let's talk about the weather headline. no issues tonight and saturday. it will be fine. cold tonight, mild tomorrow. still okay saturday night. going out saturday night, don't cancel your plans. pre sip will roll in late i don't have nine and sunday morning. sunday some rain at the start, changing to snow. but north and west cold enough for all -- and several inches of snow possible in the metro. but potentially even more than that, south and west. we've got 52 now in town. 40s north and west. 51 in southern maryland with the sun shining brightly and

our weather camera, 52 degrees and gusts over 20. our storm system is down in new mexico, spinning in the upper level of atmosphere, throwing moisture back into texas and the gulf coast. that's going to help us surface low get going and it will move northeast and arrive here sunday morning with precipitation. it should be cold enough for rain to snow event. d.c. south and east but even all snow north and west, but the bulk of the heaviest moisture will stay south, maybe along the 64 corridor, but somewhere between 64 and 66 could get the bulk of this. the mountains here -- sunday morning, i think this moisture will be further north than the models are showing. this whole thing will pull away by sunday night. several inches of snow not out of the question. it's a weird considering how warm we are but it's coming. 52 and breezy, lesser amounts as you head towards the pennsylvania border. 54 miles tomorrow. 40 on sunday. rain changing to snow. temperatures dropping in the afternoon. we'll clear out by president's

day, 44. and then by wednesday, more showers possible, temps in the 50s. chef jeff is in the house when 9news now returns!

another look at the breaking news, a fire on the

roof of anacostia high school, the picture from twitter, how thick that smoke was as you look at the live picture now from one of our tower cams, it seems as if some of the smoke is dissipating. we have a crew on the scene gathering information, and again, no students were injured. they were evacuated. here's the tweeted picture when the smoke was very thick. we'll have more coming up in our news later today and on wusa9.com. now to something fun! chef jeff tracy is here. >> great to be here! >> they're here to do a little special dish, one of the coolest versions of shrimp and grits. i've never seen this before! >> we sell a lot of shrimp and grits at the rant but want to create one for the st. jude's gala coming up in tuesday. it's the 11th year i've participated in the event, and it's the tastiest fund-raiser, great cause, supporting st. jude's, helping out all the kids, and we're facing life threatening diseases so you get 40 of the best chefs here at the national building museum on

tuesday. and everybody tries to -- coming up and come up with the best foods they k and everybody gets to have a great time. >> and showcase it, and tickets are still available. we can link you to the website on wusa9.com. so, santos, what are we starting with? >> peppers, we -- red onions and sausage, and shrimp. and we're going to finish it with a little butter. >> andouille sausage. >> we've got a pork product so it's good! >> okay. guaranteed good. >> absolutely love shrimp and grits so this will be a fantastic dish. >> small sausage. >> and we're actually made some grits, and then we put them in -- we took the grits and put them in muffin continues, and sort of baked them off. if i can just steal this, i will -- pull those out. >> we've got about less than 30 seconds to go. >> no worries, no worries. and here are the grits as they come out. i had no idea that you could do

grits like a cupcake! >> absolutely. >> and you just hollow them out. and hollow the -- and end up -- >> 15 seconds. let's see the finished product. here with we are. information on tickets on wusa9.com. chef jeff tracy, thank you for joining us. have a great day, everybody!