dulles south mayor adrian fenty said the city is ready but needs residents to cooperate. >> our snow emergency is to get assistance from people who normally park on snow emergency lanes. those are your hour routes and evacuation routes. no cars will be able to park there. we need them to plow all the way to the curb. >> once again that snow emergency takes effect at 9:30 a.m. today. if you are parked on a snow emergency route after that time your car will be ticketed and towed. the storm hasn't even hit yet but already causing massive travel problems. airlines are cancelling flights ahead of the snow and now travellers are stuck finding another way out of town. news 4 jackie bensen continues our team coverage of this winter weather. >> reporter: at ronald reagan washington national airport people angled for seats on what may be some of the last planes out. and the last planes in to the nation's capital ahead of a looming, massive snowstorm. the baggage claim area was full of people who took advantage of relaxed airline ticket change policies to avoid the strong possibility of not bei

mayor adrian fenty in a live press conference.hour full deployment shifts. every person we have available up to about 750 people, every truck we have available including 200 government trucks, 70 private trucks, all being put together in a full deployment. so thank you, thank you, thank you to the hard-working workers. let's give them another round of applause. all right. we want to talk about a couple of things. first of all, the district of columb public schools will be closed tomorrow. we know that for sure. we will not make an announcement about the rest of the government probably until tomorrow morning. so stay tuned for that. that will affect trash collection. if the government is open, then we'll continue to collect trash at people's fronts. we encourage them to put in -- put their trash into bags at their front door. if the government is closed, there will not be trash collection. we will just move on to the next day. we are now in a snow emergency, which means that all of the snow emergency routes are -- need to be cleare

mayor adrian fenty said money concerns will not stop the full arsenal from keeping streets safe. >> we definitely will go over budget for this year, but we will have whatever resources are necessary. >> the mayor says money may be shifted to help. there is also federal funding available to help pay for snow emergencies. >>> the parts at the center of toyota's massive recalls are arriving at dealershipes a cross the washington area tonight, but it may be a while before all toyota owners can get their gas pedals fixed. there's taking a toll on the company and its employees. craig melvin has more on this story. >> reporter: here it is. this is what drivers, dealers and toyota have been waiting on. mechanics can probably get it in in about 30 minutes and get on the pedals about 30 minutes. some local dealerships will start tomorrow. such a small fix for what's become one of the biggest problems in the history of toyota. >> that will be installed into the pedal and that will correct the friction problem. >> reporter: fitzgerald is one of the largest area deerships. wednesday they received 1

mayor adrian fenty reminded residents if they're traveling the snow, be prepared, take extra time and think about alternate transportation. >>> if you use metro, you may have to adjust ur plans this morning. metro rail is expected to open at 5:00 a.m. and operate on a normal schedule. metro buses, however, different story. they will be only traveling on emergency snow routes. the main road ways wre the stleets are passable. metro access is offering regular service. some trips may be delayed due to poor road conditions. >>> authorities believe slick roads are to blame for a tanker truck overturning in rockville. the accident shut down the road and sent some diesel fuel leaking onto the roadway. the driver, however, was not hurt. >>> 4:37 is your time. 33 degrees. we're just getting started on this early edition of "news4 today." >> most of the snow has moved out. it looks like rain -- no, thaels not rain. those are all the trucks out on the roads, right, clearing the roadways. it is beautiful outside. we have just now heard that loudoun county schools are closed today. we'll have a ful

mayor adrian fenty has declared a snow emergency. >> we will plow a lot of snow but we will use a lot of snow and salt and everything else to keep the roads safe. >> washingtonians are in a race against time before the heavy snow flakes start falling. >> we are hunkered down and will get some firewood inside. >> mostly, they plan and avoiding the storm altogether. >> of just be inside. >> some washingtonians are looking forward top to two feet of snow. >> i love cold weather. i cannot stand the heat. >> a good attitude to have a nw. we have seen some drizzle and light rain turned to snow flurries. before you go out to enjoy this know, district officials urge you to stay out of the street. that is a problem we saw in the december blizzard. sidewalks are hard to navigate so pedestrians walk into the streets. >>> you talked to people with good attitude and that is what you need if you are traveling. airlines have already cancelled hundreds of flights out of the three area airports. southwest is suspending all of its flights out of dulles and bwi. that is starting at 2:00 p.m. courtney ro

. >>> now we're awaiting a news conference by adrian fenty. we'll bring that to you when it happens. >> right now, tom sherwood is out on freedom plaza in d.c., in beautiful downtown washington. the visibility is improving out there, tom. >> yeah. we were going to show you the capitol back there is much better. still a little windy down here. even some tourists out and about, people taking pictures. i don't know if you can see them beyond the snow over there. a lot of people walking about now that the weather has let up a little bit. the mayor is expected to announce that the d.c. public schools will be closed tomorrow. they just don't think the roads and the walkways are going to be clear enough for the students to get -- and the people who work in the schools and the teachers and the administrators to get into the schools. we don't know yet about d.c. government itself. but, again, the mayor is about to hold a news conference shortly with those details. it's getting much better out here. >> we can see it. thank you, tom. >>> nothing was stop

mayor adrian fenty joins us live in our studios tomorrow at 6:45. f you have a question, e-mail that question to fenty@nbcwashington.com. >>> we're following a story this morning from iran. state tv say it is country launched another rocket into space. iran says the rocket carried a mouse, turtles and some worms. officials didn't elaborate on the rocket or what research purposes it may have. iran has put two rockets into space over the past two years. western countries are concerned this technology could be used for launching warheads. >>> it's been seven months since michael jackson died. now charges could be imminent in his death. e associated press says prosecutors will file a criminal complaint to charge his doctor, conrad murray, with involuntarily manslaughter. this could give the public an earlier look at the evidence, and if the case were brought before a grand jury. investigators think murray gave jackson a lethal dose of a powerful anesthetic. >>> today aig could be facing anotr bonus backlash. according to "the washington post" the insuran

mayor adrian fenty says the city is ready but needs residents to cooperate. >> mainly our snow emergency is to get assistance from people who normally park on snow emergency lanes. those are your traditional rush hour routes and evacuation routes. no cars will be able to park there. we'll need them to plow all the way to the curb. >> once again that want snow emergency takes effect at 9:30 this morning. if you're parked on a snow emergency route after that time your vehicle will be ticketed and towed. >>> the plows and salt trucks are ready to go in maryland. state highway officials said they spent about $50 million on snow removal this year. that's double the annual budget. they say weekend storms are more expensive because of the long hours and overtime costs. >>> local airports are scrambling to get ready for this winter blast. yesterday crews at dulles were still trying to clean up from the last storm and they also had to focus on the big storm that's heading our way today. prep raugss are und way at bwi marshall. at reagan national, the same story. we have more on the last minute ru

s mayor, adrian fenty, said that tonight will be quite tough. >> look for plows to come down your street. but know that you're not going to clean up all of this mess in a couple of hours. it will take time, but we'll work as hard as humanly possible to have the city back up and running as quickly as humanly possible. >> the mayor says peoe should expect to see plows onajor streets and even the side streets that have not yet been plowed. >>> check on conditions now in the district. tom sherwood is down at freedom plaza where he's been all day, northwest d.c. tom, how is it looking? >> jim, it's pretty quiet down here now. some people have come out and are taking pictures. but now people have gone back inside. we just heard from mayor fenty about what to expect. just a very short time ago we talked to the director of public works. he's the person in charge of all the -- all the trucks out here doing all of the work. let's hear what he has to say about what to expect tonight and tomorrow. it's been a rough day and a rough couple of days, but you're going into the night tonight. what can peo

mayor adrian fenty was delivering meals and he updated residents on the preparations. >> i don't know how these crews could work harder than they have. they are doing double shifts. they have been working through the night. you guys have been to our briefing. you have seen these guys. they are amazing. they are working on very little sleep and you know, more snow than washington, d.c. has ever seen. >> after delivering the meals to the seniors, mayor fenty encountered a howard university student who is trying to dig her car out of the snow. >>> time for a check to see how the roads are right now. are we talking gridlock? >> gridlock in some places, that's for sure. in terms of road conditions, of course, interstates fairing better. side streets not so much. things quickly change, especially on routes like 270 here, where snow is coming down in many places, especially further up north. we are seeing some moderate snow coming down, moderate traffic as well. no major problems. let's switch over to 66 in virginia, where we have a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane. you can see, so w

mayor adrian fenty joins us live in our studio tomorrow morning at 6:45. if you have a question for him, e-mail fenty@nbcwashington.com. >>> mayor governor martin o'malley is focusing on job creation and protection as he sets his agenda for this legislative year. governor o'malley says jobs are an important part of making sure maryland's economic recovery does not stall. in his state of the state address, the governor proposed a $3,000 tax credit to businesses that hire someone who is unemployed. he's also proposed major investments in the capital budget, hoping to create more than 20,000 construction jobs. >> progress requires that we focus the energies of this session on three primary actions, creating jobs, saving jobs, and protecting jobs. >> unfortunately, over the last three years, he's done everything he could to hurt job growth in maryland. >> now it's an election year conversion and he says he's going to create jobs with a little tax credit? very incredible. >> the governor is also pushing for a bill that would make it harder for mortgage companies

mayor adrian fenty just wrapped up a press conference on the storm. the city has declared a snow emergency. >> we declare a snow emergency in d.c. because we want people to move and keep their cars off of snow emergency routes. we need the big trucks to be able to go all the way to the curb to be able to pw on these routes that are so important for rush hour, for buses, for emergency vehicles and for residents. >> the d.c. government will close at 2:00 today. that includes all government offices, libraries, and rec centers. >> road crews will be out in force today to battle this storm and keep the roads clear. in virginia, crews have 240,000 tons of salt and sand available. maryland has stockpiled even more, 266,000 tons. in d.c., all five of their salt domes will be activated for this storm. >> amtrak is shutting down ahead of the storm. most trains south of d.c. have been canceled for today. that includes all southbound northeast regional trains between washington and richmond and newport news, with the exception of train 67. there is no alternate t

adrian fenty is mayor of the district of columbia. >> so today, all of this type of equipment will beout in the tight, narrow, residential neighborhoods on the hilly streets, digging things up. what we hope is to be able to get people out of their neighborhoods by tomorrow and get them back to work. >> suarez: all forms of travel along the east coast remained difficult-- if not downright dangerous-- with ripple effects across the nation. airports tried to get back up and flying, to an extent, in the face of up to 6,000 canceled flights this week, by some estimates. washington's three airports re- opened with limited service. philadelphia international resumed some flights. and new york's three major airports-- newark, jfk and laguardia-- were all trying to get back to normal. but even today, 2,000 flights were cancelled nationwide. >> they said the next available flight for me to leave is the 16th. >> suarez: major highways were still in bad shape, not to mention many local and neighborhood routes. crews in maryland had to rescue stranded drivers from eight-foot drifts. governor marti