aaron gilchrist has the report. >> reporter: a celebration of what is possible. are looking at 61 students from various high schools and everybody's excited because they are all going to college. >> phenomenal. it's life changing. i'm going to a great school and the money's covered. it's life changing. >> reporter: the posse foundation is making higher education happen for these young people by identifying kids with great potential and partnering to make the possibility of college a reality. >> we are looking for a diversity of students but looking for students who would be overlooked which is why our three level interview process is important. >> reporter: six colleges accept a posse of ten students and commit up to $140,000 per student for their education. not just a free ride but an investment in the future. >> will the give me an opportunity to make my parents proud and also give me an opportunity to excel at something i have always loved. >> we have a great opportunity to make the change in the world and in the college that i'm excited. >> i'm trying to be a

. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist in for joe krebs. it is 45 degrees outside our studios and the rain has ended in the district but there's a lot of wetness on the ground. tom kierein is tracking all the wetness for us. >> that's not sunrise. that's lights reflects off the ceiling of the low clouds that are still with us. the rain has ended i'm happy to say. we did get rain from noon yesterday until about an hour ago. we had about an inch of rain, enough to cause ponding but no real flooding. there's still a few lingering sprinkles now in frederick county and across the bay north of chestertown and northeastern maryland. we'll continue to dry out and we'll have some sunshine breakling out as the day progresses. temperatures right now in the low to mid-40s in prince george's, arlington, fairfax and montgomery counties. it's in the low to mid-50s near the bay of the eastern shore. blue ridge, shenandoah valley and into the mountains. here's your day planner. it's going be a mild day. we're on the up part. the up part will be tonight. it

i'm aaron gilchrist in for joe krebs. >>> and i'm eun yang. we're going to take a live look outside right now. it's 5:00 a.m. 46 degrees. look at those heavy dark cloud over the nation's capital but the rain has moved out and nice weather heading our way, at leastfor one day. >> yeah, briefly. this roller-coaster ride has just been incredible and it's going to be coing today with a warm-up. we're on the upside today. then we'll be on the downside later today. there's the rain. a all that moving color is rain except that white part at the top. new england, snow. there's snow there. could be flight delays. closer to us, though, high definition radar is showing that area in yellow and orange in montgomery county, that's a batch of moderate rain that's continuing advance north and east. still some lingering sprinkles in prince george's county and anne arundle. temperatures around the region are in the low to mid 40s. up right near the bay and southern maryland, it's in the mid 50s there. upper 30s, shenandoah valley and mid-30s over washington. th

i'm aaron gilchrist. we begin in italy where the death toll has risen to five. two americans were among the nine passengers still missing after the ship ran aground near tuscany. rescue crews freed three more people. dive teams recovered two more bodies. the ship's captain faces manslaughter charges after authorities say he left his post before the 4,200 people on board were safe. >> we know that the cause of the problem was water on board. that could be just because they find some rocks. so we don't know why the ship was so close to the coast. >> under italian law, the captain could face 12 years in prison for abandoning a ship in danger. >>> the search is on for student. dar si spencer joins us live from howard university with more on the search. >> reporter: the university as well as students are using social media to try to locate the student. this is one of the facebook pages that has been set up. you can see her picture has been posted and there are various articles about the case. the student was last seen leaving this dorm room just five days ago. ariann

. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome to "news 4 today" on this thursday, january 12.oday family and friends will gather to remember ronald waldred jr., killed by a roadside bomb. they turned o it to honor him as his casket was brought back home. family and friends lined the streets with the american flag paying their respects to the army specialist. tomorrow he'll receive a full funeral. >>> human groups are outraged as they show marines euro naning on corpses of taliban forces. they told nbc news it appears to be legitimate. the video shows four u.s. marinesure european ure innating. >> as a human i think it's horrible and disgusting and as americans it's great shame and i hope they're disciplined appropriately. >> it's unbee fitting and unbecoming act should be punished to the fullest extent

. >>> and news4's doreen gentzler and aaron gilchrist will be watching the results from florida come in and hosting a live web chat at the same time. you can join the conversation on nbcwashington.com. >>> 6:04. breaking news. at least 11 al qaeda militants were killed in an overnight air strike in yemen. witnesses say a drone targeted a caravan just east of the city of lawdar in southern yemen. at least four of the militants were local al qaeda leaders. no civilians were hurt. al qaeda is attempting to use political unrest in yemen to gain influence among the people and the government there. >>> today secretary of state hillary clinton will meet with united nations security council to talk about syria. clinton says she will support a plan that condemns the syrian president's regime, demands the regime stop cracking down on its citizens, and implements an arab league peace plan. the measure calls for the syrian president to transfer his power to his vice president and allow elections. the u.n. says the regime has killed more than 5,400 people since the uprising began in march. >>> 6:

i'm aaron gilchrist. that standoff included threats from a man who said he had weapons. police took him into custody, but they were worried about what he might have left behind. darcy with the latest on this developing story. >> that man was taken into custody about an hour and a half ago, but police officials literally cleared the scene just minutes ago. the investigation was taking place in a garage behind the massey building. the bomb squad was brought in to mange sure he didn't have any weapons in his car. it was a barricade atop a parking garage in the fairfax county courthouse. >> the negotiators were able to convince the subject to surrender, which he did. >> police received a call ooirt from the suicidal man or his family members around 3:30 saturday afternoon. police located him in the car. negotiators were called in to talk him out. >> he made some vague threats about harming anyone who may approach the vehicle, but obviously air negotiators were able to convince him that there was a better course of action. >> police say he made threats and indicated he had we

. >>> and as results from florida come in, news4's doreen gentzler and aaron gilchrist will host a web chat. go to nbcwashington.com. >>> breaking news now. at least 1 al qaeda militants are dead after an overnight air strike in yemen. a drone targeted forces in lawdar, south of yemen. at least four were al qaeda leaders. no civilians were injured. al qaeda has attempted to use political unrest in yemen to gain influence among the people and government there. >>> today, secretary of state hillary clinton will meet with the united nations security council to talk about syria. clinton says that she will support a plan that condemns the syrian president's regime, demands the regime stop cracking down on its citizens, and implements an arab league peace plan. the measure calls for the syrian president to transfer his power to the vice president and to allow elections. the u.n. says the regime has kilned more than 5 -- killed more than 5,400 people since the uprising began in march. >>> former prince george's county executive jack johnson will remain out of prison for two more weeks. johnso

. >> reporter: aaron gilchrist, news 4 bethesda. . we are getting a look at the intense rescue of a caver trapped 200 feet below ground. look at these pictures. the guy got stuck in between rocks caving in the clear spring area. teams from montgomery, frederick and washington counties were called in to help get him out. it took more than four hours. >> it was pretty complex. we couldn't put a straight rope down to him. the cave changed directions and levels. there were six, seven foot drop offs they had to climb down and lift him over i. was an interest ing rescue. >> the man spent six hours last night trapped in the cave. he got out without serious injuries. >>> police are looking for the man who tried to rob an elementary school employee in fort washington, maryland. it happened in the middle of the school day at fort foot elementary school and forced the school to go on lockdown. the robber took off without getting any money. it is not clear whether he had a weapon. >>> a new road block could be looming for the silver line's extens

i'm aaron gilchrist. three other people were injured in that car crash. this all unfolded in bethesda on jones bridge road near lancaster drive. tonight, neighbors say it is a dangerous stretch of road, and now they're calling for action. news 4's darcy spencer joins us live from there with the latest. darcy? >> reporter: aaron, yes, residents are saying this is, in fact, a dangerous stretch. and so far, montgomery county police have not released the identities of the two young people who died in this crash. a short while ago, a young man came here to the scene to pay his respects. he says he knows one of the people who died in the crash, a friend lost at the start of the new year. it was a sudden and violent crash involving only one vehicle, this chevy trailblazer. the suv recked on jones bridge road in bethesda around 3:00 new year's morning, killing two passengers who were in the front and backseat. >> oh, it was a huge smash. i thought my neighbor's roof was falling down because of the new construction. there was class and just a huge smash. and after

i'm aaron gilchrist. january 8th, 2011, 19 people shot, six of them killed when a gunman mowed down a crowd. congresswoman gabrielle giffords was shot in that incident. she was shot in the head and she survived. tonight she is in arizona to remember those who did not. nbc's jinah kim joins us live now from tucson with more. jinah? >> reporter: good evening, aaron. it's hard to believe that it's already been a year. we all remember that event. where i am right now is the university of arizona where people are already starting to gather for a candlelight vigil that take place about 2 1/2 hours from now. now, thousands are expected to join congresswoman giffords for this final anniversary event in a weekend filled with emotional but very healing observances. across tucson, the bells began ringing at exactly 10:11 a.m. it was on this day, at this hour and minute one year ago that 19 people were gunned down at this safeway grocery story parking lot in one of the worst massacres in arizona history. today, bells

i'm aaron gilchrist. we are also following breaking news in the race for the white house tonight. former utah governor jon huntsman is ending his campaign in the race for the republican nomination. nbc news confirmed tonight that huntsman will endorse mitt romney. huntsman finished a distant third in the new hampshire primary. tomorrow the gop presidential candidates will debate in myrtle beach. that's ahead of next week's south carolina primary. right now they are locked in a battle for the palmetto state. and mitt romney is the front-runner there. he's got momentum coming from iowa and new hampshire. but south carolina is a state where 60% of voters are evangelical christians. the republican candidates have been courting these voters going into the primaries in south carolina. today rick santorum picked up an endorsement from the conservative family research council. jon huntsman also picked up an endorsement from the state. that is the largest newspaper in south carolina. he was still polling behind romney and newt gingrich, though, and still he's expected to drop out tomorrow.

i'm aaron gilchrist. we begin, though, with the weather and some dangerous roads out there. vdot is telling people to delay their trip to work tomorrow, advising telework until 10:00 a.m. the federal government has also decided on an 11:00 a.m. dlied arrival with unscheduled leave and telework for federal employees. alexandria schools, jefferson county schools, and morgan county schools will all open two hours late tomorrow. prince william county schools also two hours late. the d.c. government and d.c. public schools will open on time. let's head to meteorologist chuck bell. >> we have a very cold air mass in place and warm air riding up over the top, which is trying to rain down into the cold air. as a result, we have a chance for some freezing rain and, more importantly, some freezing drizzle as we go through the overnight hours into the predawn hours. just about everywhere is impacted. the only county not affected is st. mary's county. everywhere else is under the freezing rain advisory through 9:00 tomorrow morning. temperatures are very, very cold indeed. 32 now in was

i'm aaron gilchrist. this happened at a time when emotions were already running high. tomorrow police say they will start a crackdown on camping. some protesters say they have a plan, though. news 4's darcy spencer joins us live now from mcpherson square with more on that. darcy? >> reporter: occupy d.c. protesters are now on notice that those inspections are going to begin tomorrow at noon. and the people you see here behind me who were sleeping in tents, they very well could be doing that for the last time tonight. >> i have done nothing wrong! >> reporter: this protester known as lash was tasered by police at the occupy d.c. campsite at mcpherson square. the graphic video was posted on youtube. >> we all know you're coming tomorrow! >> reporter: a news 4 photographer also captured these images of the man after he was tasered. witnesses say he was angry about the signs being posted warning protesters that after sunday night they couldn't sleep here anymore. >> but it did sound like it was -- could very well have been excessive. and i understand he is in the hospital

. >> news 4's doreen gentzler and aaron gilchrist will be holding a chat tonight at 8:00. >>> michelle obama will be the guest on the tonight show with jay leno. she's expected to talk about life in the white house as well as let's move, her initiative for kids. >>> if you were going to play hooky, this was the day to do it. >> we're here and a trooper too, our storm 4 trooper, meteorologist veronica johnson. are we going to get you back indoors ton in the. >> reporter: i suppose so. i told you two yesterday, i said, who's taking the day off, right? >> that's right. as you can see, we're here. >> me too, right. hopefully there are a few folks out there that got a chance to take today off. it's really nice out here. you can get by with going short sleeves like me, until the wind starts blowing, it is going to be cooling down tonight. this will be the last of the warm air for the month. because we're rolling out of january and getting ready to start february. 65 degrees right now, your average for the end of january is 44 degrees. there's that wind. it's at 17 miles per hour right now, i

. >> i'm aaron gilchrist in for doreen gentzler. >> i'm jim vance. republicans in iowa will take part in the first official con it's to name their party's nominee. three different candidates say they can win. mitt rock knee, ron paul and the latest candidate to surge in iowa, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. steve handelsman is in des moines now with the latest. >> good evening from des moines. this is iowa caucus headquarters where they will post the results tomorrow night. rick santorum doesn't have a campaign bust. but his pick-up truck could be carrying the staunch conservative to a finish in iowa. could rick santorum win? >> we have raised more money in the last few days than the last few months. he surged to 22% after christmas and climbing. more than any candidate in iowa, rick santorum came to small towns. this is poke city, a few thousand people and here he is today in the rising sun cafe and it's standing room only. the surge is grabbing voters. >> reporter: more saying they are for santorum makes you think you will join? >> possi

doreen gentzler and aaron gilchrist will be hosting a live web chat starting at 8:00 tonight. >>> if you stepped outside, what a lovely spring day we've had yet again. down in washington and the old dominion trail in fairfax county. there were a lot of people out taking in the lovely spring like weather. >> what do you think of the weather out here today? >> it's fantastic. i hope it stays this way. >> they love it. >> it's a great day, i wanted to -- late january, mid-60s, get outside and enjoy the weather. >> it was so nice to be outside, and our chief meteorologist went out to the front lawn to catch the last of the day's rays. hey, doug. >> i love how we sent our cameras to my home down in herndon, virginia. good afternoon to everyone out there. no matter where you were, everyone got above the 60 degree mark during the day today. we set a record of 66 at the airport. right now, 64 degrees at national airport with plenty of sunshine out here, winds out of the southwest at 15 miles per hour, the sun is going down, we're seeing mostly clear skies across the region. around the rest o

i'm aaron gilchrist in for pat law son muse. >> we'll have a report from iowa in a bit. first the mercury is about to do another nosedive on us, folks. but for how long? veronica johnson joins us from storm center 4 with the latest. that 29, that's hard to even look at. >> i know. an ominous looking sky. this is indeed the coldest air of the season that we've gotten and cold enough for sure to produce some snow across the area. we've seen it ever since early this morning. there were a few isolated accidents around i-83 in maryland as well as i-70 and two 70 in what you're seeing. it is more snow that's coming through the area. all this, snow streamers, oriented northwest to southeast and originating from the great lakes. just off lake erie. gaithersburg seeing more snow. along i-270 and we've got more areas of snow to the south. leonard town, fredericksburg and right southwest of warrenton. hanging on for about another three, maybe four hours. i wanted to open it up and show you the lake effect snows. keep your eye on that one little area coming off lake erie. because yo

you can watch the show with eun yang and aaron gilchrist during our live web chat starting with the redt arrivals at 7:00 tonight. the 69th annual "golden globes" start at 8:00. should be fun! >> it should be fun. >> i can't wait to see who he roasts. gervais, i'm talking about. >> i'll get over myself and watch. >> get over yourself. >>> well, there's much more to come this morning on "news 4 today" -- >> police brutality or proper use of force? the story behind this controversial video and why some people say police should never have been on the scene in the first place. >>> welcome back. our favorite "wednesday's child" stories are the ones that let us share with you the success of our efforts to find families for kids who really need them. >> this morning, we're taking you back to the ritz carlton in pentagon city, where we first met a little girl named katrina, who was hoping to find a forever family. barbara harrison takes us to see a very young lady now called kate. >> hi, good morning! >> great to see you. is this katie? >> katie, hi! >> this was katie's first trip back to the r

news4's aaron gilchrist joins us live from the salvation army in northwest d.c.here all the warm coats are being distributed this morning. >> reporter: hey. the coats were collected through the month of december. goal was simple. share the warmth. here's what they call the coat drive. that's the goal, major steve more sis with the salvation army. he is here with us today. surrounded by folk that helped with the project. let me ask you first to talk to us about why what the need is for a project like share the warm zblth o warmth. >> winters are cold in washington. the idea 20 years old, some of these partnerships have been here, let's get coats that are in our closets that are not getting used and get them to people who otherwise, frankly, might freeze to death. it really is a life or death situation. salvation army is thrilled to be engaged in that process. >> reporter: what we are see sing folks here today, first day with -- get to come out and pick through some of the coats and take some home for themselves and their families and you have a community that has

i'm aaron gilchrist. time is 7:56. big chill moved in overnight. now after we have had our sunrise it has been holding steady just in the low to mid 30s over the last couple of hours. below freezing farther west up north. it is going to struggle to make it back just to near 40 the rest of the day. winds gusting 40 to 50 miles an hour this afternoon. then bluster and cold saturday. highs in the 30s. cold and dry sunday into monday. >> all right. thank you, tom. a look at that time roads next. stay with us. ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' a sunny day ♪ ♪ sunny day ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' the taste i crave ♪ ♪ subway ♪ i'm makin' it, makin' it how i like ♪ ♪ it's meant to be ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ i'm feelin' subway today [ male announcer ] hey, capital area! are you feelin' subway®? then heat up your day with the big hot pastrami melt! it's fresh toasted and piled-high with pastrami, then topped with pickles, mustard, and cheese. head into a subway® restaurant today for this melty, mouthwatering sub! ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ let's go >>> traveling northbound, ac