also coming up children are among the dead after government shelling near the capitol damascus as wells the city of homs. >>> ukraine's conflict has claimed 5,000 lives says the u.n. in the country's east, where people are living in fear. >>> and heading for radical shift, greeks will soon vote in a election that could see the left party come to power. ♪ >>> tributes have been touring in for saudi arabia's late king abdullah. heards from around the world have attended his funeral. power has now passed to his half bother salman. and in an unprecedented move one of the grandsons have been named as deputy crown prince. erika wood reports now on the funeral for king abdullah. >> reporter: dignitaries from all over the middle east and beyond arrive to pay their respects the mayor of kuwait the prime minister of egypt, and leaders from countries like qatar and the united arab imrates. the ceremony was a transfer foreign dignitaries to greet his family including his successor, salman bin abdulaziz al-saud. the kingdom of bahrain said: and u.s. president barack obama said: and a similar sentim

dozens are killed from shelling near damascus. >>> and pro-russian forces in ukraine are capturing groundrom the army. >>> and fight for survival greece's prime minister rallies supporters as he tries to avoid a wipeout in sunday's election. ♪ >>> hello, the funeral of the formal saudi king has taken place in the capitol hours after his death. he was buried after friday prayers in an unmarked grave in accordance with tradition. leaders from across the arab world attended the funeral. heads of state from turkey and pakistan and others paid their respects to the late heard. the new king has promised continuity and has called for solidarity among muslims. erika wood has this report. >> reporter: -- from all over the middle east arrived to pay their respects. just after they arrived, they gathered for a simple funeral, lasting less than an hour the ceremony was a chance for foreign dignitaries to greet his family including his success or salman bin abdulaziz al-saud. international leaders passed on their respects through statements. the kingdom of bahrain said: and u.s. president barack obama

it's almost 20 -- only 20 kilohmters from damascus. so, the army this is stratemptionic pivotal and hezbollah, the leader of hezbollah in a major television interview said we know what israel and the rebels are doing in cubanquinatra. hezbollah is not just basically fighting on the lebanese/syrian boarders but has chosen it because it borders lebanon on and jordan. this has tremendous strategic value for israel syria, hezbollah and iran and that's what happened today is a real danger. what happens today could see escalation that spirals out of control even though i doubt whether hezbollah would go out of its way at this particular moment to go all the way, all out war. hezbollah, which was at the time as nasrallah the time and place to retaliate againstitsisis attacks on syrian and hezbollah targets. >> okay. thank you very much. talk to you later on this evening. thank you. a march took plates in index square the scene of thelast year's aepts government protests. many said i am from abaka, a town near where it was hit. separatists hav

. >> in the capital damascus, signs of the war are less pronounced. here too for years of fighting have taken their toll. he is a taxi driver. he fled his home on the outskirts after the fighting spread their. now he says he is safe but struggling to survive on just 80 euros a day. >> i paid 100 euros a month for a 100 square meter flat. now i am paying six times that for two ground-floor rooms. that's all i have for me, my wife, and five children. >> get in the midst of the war there are still moments of contemplation. every week the screenwriter has a lecture followed by a music session. here in damascus it's difficult to tell who still backs the regime. people are reluctant to voice criticism. just trying to get on with their lives. >> in the beginning when a grenade hit, people talked about it for a long time. now they only worry about it for five minutes. it's good people are more concerned with life than with death, but it's also worrying that news of death has become normal. >> in aleppo, the front line runs through the heart of the old town. a

you are seeing it in damascus. the reports are that the military leaders from iran in damascus and syria have concern about that. even the free syrian army view the army more as a side than isis. -- assad than isis. >> thank you for joining me. >> thank you for having me. >> islamic state is threatening to kill two more hostages unless they free an iraqi woman for her connection to hotel bombings. the voice is the voice of a japanese journalist who was seized in october. people in new england will spend the next few days digging out of lots of snow after a brutal blizzard pounded the region will stop most of massachusetts is expecting at least two feet. that is half of a meter. the bbc has this report. >> new york city in a state of emergency. a curfew was and forced and band people from leaving. new yorkers were told to get out of the freezing cold. >> this would normally be bumper-to-bumper and the sidewalks would be filled with people heading to work. that is the silence. there is a ghostly feel to the most vibr

. >>> children are among the dead after syrian government shelling near the capitol damascus as wellthe city of homs. >>> yemen slides keep into chaos after the resignation of the government and the president. and ukraine's conflict has claimed 5,000 lives says the u.n. we are in the country's east where people are living in fear. ♪ >>> tributes have been pouring in for saudi arabia's late king abdullah. leaders from around the world have attended his funeral. power has now passed to abdullah abdullah's half brother, salmon. and one of the late monarchs grandsons has been named as deputy crown prince. we will have more on that in a moment. but first erika woods reports on the funeral. >> reporter: dignitaries arrive from all over the world to pay their respects. among them the mayor of kuwait the prime minister of egypt, and the leaders of neighboring countries. after they arrived they gathered for sample funeral, lasting less than an hour the ceremony was a chance for foreign dig that tears to greet the family. international leaders passed on their respects through statements. the k

>> more than 50 people are killed in syrian government air strikes near the damascus suburb of hamarea. hello, this is al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. i'm flawnt. floabt. folly bal thibault. the fight against ebola virus. the first experimental vaccined to architecture. africa. >> we begin with syria where at least 55 people have been killed in fighting in the city near homs. most of them died in an area near a market. government attacks on rebel strongholds. there have also been attacks in homs country side, barrel bomb attacks. and the lebanese army says eight have been killed along the porous border with syria. fightersfighters are linked to the el nusra front. killed several syrian fighters. hisham jibert says an attack like that was expected. >> we always said also, within the three four months and since october, that those insurgents who were kicked out by lebanese army will come back one way or another. we do estimate that is more than 2000. most of them from i.s.i.l. and el nusra. whether the army did cut their logistic support it was normal for them to look at a

quick 50 miles north of damascus were on thursday, rebel fighters captured two positions previously controlled by the government. we're hearing some automatic and five from surrounding area. the government apparently has told them they have until tonight to surrender and if they don't it will face a counter attack. >> in july 2012, freelance journalist austin tice posted that video report on his facebook page from syria. his page hasn't been updated since. weeks later he disappeared. he has now been missing now for 884 days. almost 2.5 years. >> what we know is he is still alive, not held by isis. the syrian government denies having him. it is been more than two years that austin is missing. after all the emotion and the american beheading of james foley, we know they're still an american journalist allied in syria. >> as reporters without borders campaigns to free austin tice, his parents will join us in our new york studio. then in a democracy now! exclusive, we speak to environmental activist eric mcdavid. in 2007, who sentenced to 19 years in prison for conspiring to bomb sites in californ

that pink area between damascus where we had a little bit of light snow.h to cove the ground but conversational snowflakes to say the least, all running southeast-bound and drying up as it goes. see the general trend on improving weather picture for us. as a result a cloudy start now. temperatures in the 40s. most neighborhoods, and getting more and more clearing as the afternoon goes along and as a result tempera the upper 40s. breezy at times. more sun and clouds today. no bitter cold in the week. and tracking more rain or snow this weekend. more than whip the seven barbara? >> chuck, thank you. >>> searching for the parents of a toddler found wandering the streets alone in southeast washington. police found the little boy just before 1:00 this morning along morris road. the child was not wearing shoes. right enough to the toddler is with child protective services. >>> and right now a woman killed in metro's underground emergency is being remembered by her family and friends. >>> about an hour ago they walked in for a memorial service for carol glover. i

one of those was close to the international damascus airport fear and concern is at this point, because this is a major ex exlation, that it would lead to a more volatile situation now that a number of hezbollah fighters and leaders have been killed in this attack. >> thank you for the news and the analysis. that's nisra al shamili and earlier we her from our correspondent in jordan. the new sri lancan government appears to be moving closer to india and away from china economically that is. in fact, sri lankan is in his first trip abroad. frank structure projects awarded to chinese firms by the previous administration here is an idea of what it's all about, a 1 and a half billion dollar port run by the chinese easy the new government complains the chinese have too much control in a high security area. they relied heavily on china borrowing mosh 9 -- $6,000,000,000 to rebuild inactive from a structure roads, airports, et cetera, et cetera. china says the projects have parliamentary approval and the new government has no right to stop any project implemented let's talk about this a bit. a

syrian government forces have launched more air strikes and shelling east of the capitol damascus.in rebel held areas trying to establish a homemade air defense system to protect themselves. and syrians hoping to enter lebanon will now face tougher rules and they will now have to declare their reasons for entering the country and provide documentation. more than 1.1 million syrian refugees are now living in lebanon after escaping the war. a suicide car bomb targeted a foreign vehicle east of the afghan capitol and at least one european trainer and two afghan policemen and six civilians wounded in the attack. pakistan house of parliament set to vote on whether to set off special courts to try terror suspects in the wake of taliban attack on a school last month which killed 148 people and most of them children and such courts could allow them to overrule judiciary and lifted a ban on executions following the attack. let's go now to mohamed and explain to us why this need or why does the government see the need to shift the military courts to try these cases in the military courts rat

♪ >>> first to a developing story out of syria, where there has been more fighting near homs and damascuslet's go to nicole johnston. >> reporter: we're still getting the information, jane but so far we know an attack has been carried out east of damascus. now the information that we have is that some 35 people have been killed at least. 60 people were injured and that this attack took place as people were leaving the mosque after friday prayers. it happened near the main square of the town. this is a rebel-held town. the other attack that we're hearing about is the town of hula four people have been killed, and this is in the countryside around damascus. act viszs have been telling us that there have been quite a big increase in the number of air strikes carried out by the government because the weather has cleared up. on some days there are more than 100 air strikes being carried out in those rebel-held areas. >> what about the border fight with lebanon? what happened there? >> reporter: we're still getting more information on that. that has been underway since early this morning. and w

out at the border between jordan and syria and waited until i finally convinced somebody to call damascus and get in. it was one of the best countries i visited. i never had to pay for a tank of gas and even at the border with all of the stamps to get this visa into the country and i had to get one for my motorcycle as well. i had to import that. here is what they said: wait mr. allen the chief inspector wants to see you and i am thinking great they are not going to let me through. they show up the border where i am waiting and ready to go and i have been there over a day. and he said before we go in the middle east it all about having peace. we get together and have a beer here. and here it is let's have shy. we sat on the side of this dusty border stop on the dirt road and drew an outline of the map of syria and pointed out here is where you need to go. but the people are warm and it is sad that the government, you know, and it brings tears to my eyes to think about what is going on there now because i had a positive experience in syria. that is where we connect with people. i had good

tent and camped out between jordan and syria and i waited until i finally convince somebody to call damascus and give me the okay to go into syria. i'm telling you it was probably, maybe because expectations were low but it was one of the best countries i've visited. i never once had to pay for a tank of gas. any gas station i will went into the embrace me and said mr. allen you are our american friends and even at the border even though i had all the pomp and circumstance to get this visa into the country and i had to get one for my motorcycle too too, here's what they said. wade mr. allen the chief inspector wants to see you and i'm thinking great they are not going to let me through. there are guns -- guards with guns of the big iron gate. the chief inspector shows up where i'm waiting with my motorcycle gear and i had been there for over day. he said before we go we must have chai. we get together here and have a beer. here it's less have chai. he sat on the side of this dusty border stop on a dirt road and drew an outline of the map of syria. on that he pointed out here is where you nee

first up let's go to damascus and i want to show you this.t snow total yesterday in damascus of 3 1/2 inches. that's the way it looked with the fog but with sunshine and temperatures close to 40 degrees. look at this. most of it melts away. and i think we'll see the possibility of damascus getting a little more snow as we get into saturday. but first for tonight, partly cloudy and cold. 24 to 32 degrees with diminishing winds. saturday's weather all dictated by this area of low pressure that you see over east texas. that's going to come up the coast and give us snow or rain mriks mix and right now, this is the way we'll lay it out for you. clouds late in the afternoon and by early evening, rain possible. 43. through the day saturday, rain and snow. some sleet. a mix. 43 for a high. nice day on sunday at least through morning with sunshine. as far as how much we're thinking maybe an inch or two northern and western areas as well north and west of the city. everybody else small amounts because of the slush, the mush and the temperatures. defini

you can see that on the other map and even approaching damascus and attacking south damascus.t enough. attacking south i know you received a classified briefing, so you know more than i. and committing to bomb faster than new members are trained makes no sense. the united states should work with jordan and turkey to establish a no-fly zone and a buffer zone to protect refugees. the long-term goal for any alliance that is formed should be the regime change or at least a collapse of the existing government framework similar to the collapse of the soviet union. i'm ron oestreich -- iran's stated objective -- i run -- iran cannot be permitted to college its nuclear objective. congress should do two things in reference to i ron -- iran. they should legislate ratification of any deal by the senate. the political situation intro afghanistan -- in afghanistan has improved considerably but the security situation remains at risk while the security situation in the south is relatively stable, the situation to the east is not. haqqani network has not been rooted out of of their support zo

and even approaching damascus and attacking south of damascus. the plans for training and assisting the free syrian army is not robust enough. 5,000 in one year p i know you received a classified briefing on it so you know more about it than i. and permitting hasad to bomb makes no sense. the united states should establish a no-fly zone and shut down assad's air power. on iran, the long term goal for any alliance that is formed should be iran's regime change or at least a collapse of the existing government framework similar to the collapse of the soviet union. and the reason is clear. iran's stated regional hegemonic object sieves are in-con grew he is with the peace and stability of the middle east. iran cannot be a being a dwired to develop a nuclear weapon. slade, we are already about there. congress should do two things. one, authorize increased sanctions now with automatic implementation if talks are extended or fail. and two, legislate ratification of any deal by the senate. on afghanistan, political situation in afghanistan has improved s

. >>> at least ho people have been killed in government shelling east of the damascus. dozens more were wounded in airstrikes which hit a grocery market and the main square. a government barrel bomb attack on northern homs has also left four people dead. we have more from neighboring beirut. >> reporter: dozens of people have been killed and injured in airstrikes. now this is east of damascus, also report of airstrikes carried out in homs's countryside. activists have been saying there have been a large number of airstrikes over the last couple of days across syria and this is because the weather has improved and the skies are clear, so the government has been carrying out those airstrikes. now, the war in syria has spilled over into lebanon on friday. we had syrian rebels attack the lebanese army in the close to the syrian border. it is an area that is around 65 kilometers long, 10 kilometers wide, and we know there are fighters from al nusra front and syrian rebels who have sense pledged their allegiance to the islamic state in iraq and the levant. the lebanese army s

quick 50 miles north of damascus were on thursday, rebel fighters captured two positions previously controlled by the government. we're hearing some automatic and five from surrounding area. the government apparently has told them they have until tonight to surrender and if they don't it will face a counter attack. >> in july 2012, freelance journalist austin tice posted

if you're in those areas, damascus frederick, you have the best chance of seeing a coating of ice tomorrow. rain and freezing rain arrive overnight tonight. a coating of ice is possible especially for those of you north of washington. everybody is dealing with a wet morning commute and a slick commute for some. coming up in 15 minutes i'm going to have more on timing when exactly the rain and freezing rain arrive in the area and when this comes to an end. >>> news 4 is closely monitoring how our communities are preparing for this possible freezing rain. d.c. is deploying hundreds of plows like these tonight. v-dot had 1,500 trucks out this weekend. in fact they want you to delay your commute tomorrow morning so they can treat the roads. we'll have a full list of school closings and "news 4 today" will start early tomorrow to get you prepared at 4:00 a.m. >>> a northern virginia neighborhood is on alert tonight after an elderly man was stabbed in his own home. police are back in the northridge neighborhood in alexandria hoping someone has video that can lead them to the man who did it. zach

damascus about 3.5, now up to 3.8 in that area. hughesville, virginia 2.8, greenbelt, maryland about 0.5, about the same as the airport picked up. i'm watching not just one but two storms. we are talking snow with both of them one could be a little bigger. we'll talk mohr about that at 5:15. >> the storm team was on the roads as the snow started to fall in leesburg. we saw the first flake bz 11:00 this morning. the roads were already pretreated ahead of this storm. no accumulations on the roads when we were out there. the sidewalks were covering up pretty quickly, however. >> also began snowing right around lunchtime in great falls, maryland. looked like a postcard on lowe's island. many schools decided to cancel afternoon activities to help keep students safe. kristin wright is live in germantown maryland, where getting around has been a challenge for some drivers. >> reporter: that is right. main roads like 118 here looked pretty good. everybody is moving just fine. but the problem, as you know is that the roads are wet, and they

. >> killed in the syrian capital damascus in 2008. syrian problems of province of konetra. it is believed israel used helicopters to target the fighters. >> hitting up and coming leaders within their military establishment. possibly hitting another irgc link meaning islamic guard link. >> hezbollah is a lebanese sheer organization opposed to israel and fought a war against it. fighting in support of president bashar al-assad. this isn't the first time israel has attacked targets in syria since the civil war started. israel's repeated air strikes and attacks on syria. his forces have been stockpiling weapons which could include long range missiles. >> now this huge attack against hezbollah, his credibility online basrala would like to retain contacts with israel that's why i don't think hezbollah would be passive. it's a matter not if, but when. >> this attack is a serious blow to hezbollah. the group says it will retaliate at a place and time of its choosing. victoria gaitenby al jazeera. >>> let's get a report from nicole johnston. nicole are we expecting a big show of sup

and not from damascus to the outside, so create the constitutional process and have some sort of anpper chamber parliament consisting of the various identities and a combination of which could be to the chamber which could be primarily sunni because they have 60%. for so some sort of a political arrangement. i would like to hear the secretary of state alpine those. they would have to defeat isis and then the forces and organize the victory parade into damascus for me it is just kind of in a long shot. >> my question is less dramatic. if someone is interested in going to the foreign service, what advice would you give them or do you feel like and rational relations degree is the best way to go about it? >> i think that going to school is the best way to -- [laughter] we have a good track record of people passing the exam but scholarships for everyone. i wish. [laughter] that's huge that issue of scholarships. but let me say i think with the foreign service is looking for isn't necessarily equals deep only on diplomatic history but also people know a lot about the world around them an

storm watch weather bug camera at damascus elementary school which is located in damascus, maryland and this morning it was clear. most of the area south and east was cloudy this morning. most of the city enjoyed sunshine the entire day. few clouds in the late afternoon. things are settling down nicely. partly cloudy skies now. they'll last through the evening. temperatures are starting to head down. numbers right now at 29 in frostburg and a little higher elevation in allegheny county maryland. 34 at leesburg, 35 in waldorf. morning lows range through the teens and 20's. we won't be terribly cold tonight. we're in the upper 30's in some spots now. we'll drop to about 25 to 30 degrees overnight with partly cloudy skies. and as we get through the day tomorrow, we'll warm it up a little bit more and get into the 40's. that should be a very pleasant day. there's the official range of the forecast from 24 to 30 with partly cloudy skies. as far as what's happening weatherwise, area of high pressure that's built in today chased away some of the cloudiness but down to the south, there's more c

and then south and east of there, near damascus parts of howard county getting perhaps a little bit ofs trying to reach the ground. farther to our west a few of these flurries trying to reach the ground too here along the blue ridge in western fauquier county into rappahannock county. the main event is still west of us. that will be tracking near us by later today and bringing us some snow. so we do have a winter weather advisory all these counties in color, northern virginia, the district all these counties in maryland and into west virginia this is in effect until 6:00 p.m.. it's snow developing late this morning. heaviest between noon and 4:00 p.m. when we could have a little bit of delay activity as we get in to the afternoon hours. here is the timing. snow arriving in the northern shenandoah valley accumulating snow. thatment won't be until 9:00 10:00. and then most of it passes just north to the metro area. most of it is done by around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.. overnight tonight, we'll have it refreezing. so a coating to an inch away the metro area. rain farther south. and then farther

let's give you time lapse at damascus elementary school located in damascus maryland. you notice the snow cover around the streets, that's about it. cold today. not much melting in the next couple of days because of the persistent cold. 28 degrees in gaithersburg and 33 at washington dulles and the wind chill is still a factor. winds are diminishing. instead of the teens, we're having wind chills in the lower 20's across the area. feels like 28 in the nation's capital. partly sunny wake-up for your thursday morning. temperatures will range from 16 in leesburg and manassas. 19 in gaithersburg. 24 in arlington. 21 degrees in bowie. and just about everybody else in the viewing area will be somewhere in between those numbers. we'll see the clouds increase through the day. some areas may see blue skies earlier but the cold front advances, a little rain a little snow. old wintry mix moving through. we think very low impact. temperatures above freezing and maybe a flurry early in the morning and windy and cooler. highs in the lower to mid 30's on friday. weekend looks good un

damascus at 3.8 inches just over a four-hour period of time. snowfall rates upwards of an inch per hour in some location as this really developed. notice to the south this was almost all rain mixing in from time to time as a mix of rain and snow. but most of it was rain. we did not see any problems down into this area. parts of our region picked up 2, 3 regions, around herndon they picked up 1 to 2 inches. that's what we forecast yesterday. that's why we sent amelia siegel out there today. amelia roads aren't too bad. >> reporter: it's really not bad on the roads. i'm here on parcher avenue just outside hutchison elementary. i was here earlier talking to students about the weather including the fast-moving storm system. you can see video from earlier. like you were saying we were tracking heavy snow early afternoon, but it came to an end around 2:00 2:30 in the afternoon. hutchison elementary school was reporting that warmer temperature like you were talking about, 35 degrees, so the roads only wet, not snow covered. snow on trees from earlier

even as they dream of a life in europe like this journalist from damascus to be identified. he does not have a passport. his wife and children are in lebanon. >> when you are fleeing death you don't care about the risks. because there is no legal way to enter europe, i am practically forced into the hands of these smugglers. i will probably troubled by myself first. once i have achieved asylum, i will send for my family. >> somewhere out there on the horizon, the cargo ship is waiting to take off with 1000 refugees, a trip that will earn the traffickers more than $4 million. they often anchor beyond turkey's territorial waters to ensure the coast guard will not come nosing around. but even then, the trafficker assures us we will not have to fear the turkish police. >> if you were to be arrested all they would do is take your picture, and then they would set you free as soon as you hand over your cell phone. and you won't need your cell phone anyway. >> syria's desperate refugees used to huddle on fishing boats like this one, praying they would reach the north shore's. today,

a few places reported frederick, damascus, olney. that's it where maybe some lighter snows are actually reaching the ground across parts of west virginia, paw paw, cross junction, northern frederick county. this is the area where we have the few school closures we've reported this morning. cumberland, down 219, 220, 522, this is where we're seeing some of those issues potentially more so than areas closer toward d.c. so the day planner calling for temperatures which will start at least in town mid- to upper 30s. not move much. 38 or so for the high. by noon better chances of seeing the snow in areas north, northwest with perhaps a little snow or mix here in d.c. south of interstate 66, south of d.c., does look like the moisture will be limited. this trace to an inch, even this may be wishful thinking. 1 to 2 inches from loudoun and montgomery and howard. i'm leaning more toward the 1 than the 2 and more on the grassy surfaces than the roads. we'll have temperatures in the 30s today. we have residuals of road salt as opposed to januar

the camp south of the capitol of damascus is cut off from the outside world. erica wood has more on the living conditions there. >> reporter: the palestinians refugee who is once sought shelter here because of trouble back home are now desperate to escape. because of fuel prices generators are an expensive luxury that most cannot afford. >> the generate operates but not regularly. my electric generator operates every other day. >> every effort is made to reinstate power and cut off again. >> the citizens department has averted huge efforts to offer supplies to other cities. the regime has cut these lines. >> locals rely on rechargeable batteries, but it is not a dependable source, and it is expensive. >> we need $1.30 every day to recharge the battery. every single day we need $1 for the laptop and mobile phone but we don't have jobs. the situation is very bad. >> the u.n. says there are around 18,000 palestinian refugees living in the yarmouk camp in an area two square kilometers. 400 food parcels are needed each day to meet the minimum requirements for those

civilians have also been injured by shelling in a residential area east of the capital damascus. reports say more than 30 people were wounded in the city of duma. >>> for the first time syrians hoping to enter lebanon will face stricter rules. they will have to declare their reasons for entering the country. lebanon is trying to maintain its security and monetary situation. nearly 1.1 million refugees have fled to lebanon. >>> former head opted not orun for reelection. hoja the coalition's ambassador to turkey received 56 votes while the secretary general received 50. >>> palestinian president mahmoud abbas is in discussion to call for end of israeli occupation of palestinian territories. the u.n. rejected an earlier draft last week. >> we will go against again to the u.n. security council in maybe a week. the only arab member in the security council we may go again and again and again. we will never be bored in going to the security council until they recognize us. >> myanmar has marked the 60th anniversary, the first time since 1962 that such an event has been held. as erica wo

a little bit of snow in damascus on the backside of the system. the skies quickly cleared. we have clear skies overnight. a good bit overrated shady side elementary school in maryland, over 1.5 inches of rain. the temperatures right now are in the middle to upper 30's. tonight, falling closer to freezing. after so much rain, i think there will be some slick spots in the area in the predawn hours. be aware of that saturday night. otherwise, saying goodbye to system number one in our attention turns to system number two. this is an alberta clipper. it will track towards the southeast, then rapidly intensify off the coast and bring a big snowstorm to new england. it will bring us some snow, too, in fact futurecast at 7 a.m., nice and clear, beautiful start to the day. clouds increasing through the day. as the system moves closer, western maryland, northern maryland by 6 p.m., starting to see a little rain/snow mix. the main event rise -- arrive sunday while we are sleeping. 7:00 monday morning, snow across most of the region. the purple is an indication of possibility of sleet

if you live in damascus winter wonderland. 3 1/2 inches reported there.n frederick county in new market, 2.5. 2.2 inches at dulles. officially .4 of an inch at reagan national airport. beautiful images from across the area. this is in calvert county. beautiful. these are the big fat flakes sticking to the trees and limbs. all will melt away quickly especially by tomorrow. temperature will approach 50 degrees with some sunshine. back edge of the clipper rapidly moving off to the east and taking the precipitation. we're staying cloudy and for tonight, we wanted to stay cloudy for as long as possible. that will prohibit a rapid drop in temperatures. so we have a couple of hours below freezing. we'll deal with that. we don't want six, seven, 10 hours below freezing. that will increase the likelihood of icy spots. be careful. we think by the time you wake up in the morning in the late overnight hours before sunrise, 25 to 31 degrees. the range of temperatures across the viewing area. and on the surface map, there's the clipper heading out of here. meanwhile, t

airy and damascus. fairfax, manassas woodbridge half inch to an inch mark during the morning hours tomorrow. most should wrap-up by around noon tomorrow. and then it just gets cold. 36 on your tuesday. but 28 on wednesday. 24 on thursday. look at the low. 13 for an overnight low thursday morning. many of you will be down between 0 and 5. that's the actual temperature thursday morning. friday we start to rebound a little bit. back into the 30s. 36 on friday. 34 on saturday. 39 on sunday. so we're in a very cold stretch here as we move through the next couple days. and notice what's happening here. a chance of a flurry on wednesday. but this is when we start to see dangerously cold air moving in. remember to bring the pets indoors, for sure. windy with gusts upwards of 20 to 30 miles per hour maybe higher. and because of that we'll be seeing wind chills in the teens during the day, but subzero, especially early thursday morning. i think our wind chill could be between 0 and minus 10. so we're talking some

. >>> syrian president has visited the embattled district on the outskirts of damascus.tter account said i wanted to personally thank the soldiers who were fighting there. >>> fighting is ongoing in western libya, near the air base. fighters belonging to the dawn of libya group are trying to secure the base. bad water has prevented forces from conducting air strikes. >>> lebanon's former prime minister has died at the age of 80. he first served between 1990 and 1992 but was forced to resign when the lebanese pound crashed. he was forced to resign for a second time after the assassination of the prime minister. >>> saudi arabia's king has been admitted to hospital for health tests. his half brother is next in line for the thrown. >>> israel's high court has rejected a petition to ban the demolition of homes belonging to palestinians. it includes the homes of two men who killed five israelis in a synagogue. >>> petro poroshenko says 2014 was the most difficult year since 1946 when world war ii ended. in the east soldiers rang in the new year on the battlefield. they have b

let's get started with pretty pictures from damascus during the day. typical of the northern suburbs. started with clear skies this city and most areas south and east started with cloud cover. through the day, we got rid of the clouds most everywhere and turned into a partly sunny to mostly sunny day area wide. few scattered clouds. that will be the picture tonight and tomorrow. very pleasant colder tonight but not terribly cold. 42 and 32 are the high and low at reagan national. not that far off from the averages of 43 and 28. here's a nice tantalizing thought. back a long time ago. 77 is the record high in 1932. we're down now past sunset. temperatures starting to fall. 32 in gaithersburg. 32 at manassas and culpepper. 35 at the mid shore and east end. we'll see the numbers slowly drop off during the evening hours and area of low pressure in the south taken a lot of cloudiness and it's a fast mover. it will move out to shore and allow the approach of another cold front. partly cloudy tonight. as this moves out we'll get a bit breezy tomorrow but we'l

. >>> well, the camp south of damascus is cut off from the outside world but al jazeera has obtainedrare access. we have reports on the living conditions there. >> reporter: there is no way for them to get in or out. the palestinian refugees who once sought shelter here because of troubles back home are now one again desperate to escape. there has been little to no electricity, and because of fuel prices heat is a luxury they generally cannot afford. >> my electric generator operates every other day depending on the circumstances. >> every time efforts are made to reinstate power, it's cut off again. >> the services department has exerted huge efforts to offer supplies from other cities, but the syrian regime has cut these lines. >> locals rely on rechargeable batteries. but it's not a dependable source and it's expensive. >> we need $1.30 every day to recharge the battery. and every day we need $1 for the lab top and mobile phone. but we don't have jobs. the sways is very bad. >> the u.s. said that there are around 18,000 palestinian refugees living in the yarmouk camp in an area ju

the damascus neighborhood has seen intense fighting in recent months. a british-based human rights group reported today more than 76,000 people were killed in fighting in syria in 2014. that makes it the deadliest year since the war began in 2011. in the u.s., general motors announced three new recalls today, on top of one yesterday for faulty ignition switches. the recalls affect 92,000 trucks and suv's. in the last year g.m. has recalled about 15 million vehicles around the world for ignition and key related problems. the fast-food chain chik-fil-a has announced it is investigating a possible data breach. in a statement on its website, the restaurant chain said it has received reports of potential unusual activity involving payment cards used at several of their locations. the locations were not disclosed and chik-fil-a officials said they first became aware of the suspicious activity on december 19th. still to come on the newshour. imprisoned al jazeera journalists to be retried in egyptian court. how will minimum wage increases in twenty states help

developments, syrian government air strikes have left 40 people injured just outside of the capitol damascuse air attacks caused them to partially collapse. this video is said to show the aftermath of the air strike. 20 children are report edly among those injured. >>> and the syrian government has reportedly developed barrel bombs in northern homs province. to the south at least two people were killed in a car bomb attack. >>> in israel 13 people were injured in a stabbing on a bus in central tel-aviv. police say the attacker is a palestinian man from the occupied west bank who entered israel illegally. most of the injured were taken to hospital. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: another stabbing attack in israel. this time in tel-aviv police say a palestinian man boarded a public bus and stabbed its driver first then moved on to stabbing passengers before fleeing. the authorities say he was apprehended by security forces 400 meters away from the bus and shot in the leg. >> translator: i saw the bus standing at the junction people were running away from it. i went outside, i saw the t

elsewhere there are reports of five people killed in a syrian government airstrikes northeast of damascus. many were injured in that attack, which is said to have been targeting housing it could be another month before afghanistan has an unity government after parliament rejected half of ashraf ghani's nominees. only eight of his 25 candidates were approved. afghanistan has been without a government since ghani and abdullah abdullah agreed to share power after disputed elections in september. >>> thousands of protesters have been on the streets of the southern yemeni to rally against shia houthi rebels. they're demanding that the houthi leave city and government institutions, which they have taken over. >>> russia's government is preparing to make huge public spending cuts as part of an economic rescue package. the kremlin will use savings to pump out $35 billion into the economy, which has been battered by falling oil prices and western sanctions. the crash in russia's currency the up ruble has led to credit agencies to cut russia's credit ratings to just six. >>> days after being sworn

hezbollah fighters were killed among them was the son of a senior hezbollah founder who was killed in damascusn 2008. iran and hezbollah had vowed revenge against israel. the latest escalation on the lebanese syrian and israeli border brings to memory the 2006 war between hezbollah and israel. that conflict killed hundreds of people and destroyed large parts of southern lebanon. >>> we're joined now from west jerusalem. it's still a confusing picture in terms of israeli casualties what more have you been hearing there? >> reporter: darren we have just been able to confirm with the army some new information. the army is telling us that there were casualties. however, it is not giving a number and it's not specifying whether there were soldiers or civilians who were killed or injured in the attack, but for now we're getting a confirmation from the army that there have been casualties as a result of this attack which was an anti tank missile fired from lebanon at an israeli army vehicle this morning. now we are also hearing reports that the united nations peace-keeping force along the border betw

only a few spots left over into the 30s for damascus and rockville. most places have already made their way into the 40s. we are going to see a cold front arrive tonight. it doesn't bring rain or snow. it does bring cooler temperatures but it's not a drastic change. the sun stays so that's good. we are going to see the clear skies remain. there are a few fair weather clouds but they're not too big . for tonight if you do have evening plans or early risers tomorrow, grab those jackets. it's going to be into the some spots you'll dip down into the teens. if the winds stop, the temperatures are going to plummet. if the winds stay about 10 miles per hour which i think they l we'll stay in the dosover night -- 20s overtight tonight. for tomorrow we'll --over night tonight. for tomorrow we'll stay clear. we're seeing rain as early as 8:00, 9:00 right through the 95 corridor. it does start to push off to the east by the afternoon. so the timing has moved up on this. we're talking more of an morning event than an evening event. if you're in gaithersburg, you

some have a good coating on the roadway here to damascus and we're getting reports now in sterling that you have 1/2 inch of snow on the ground. here's a look at a time lapse from oakdale high school and it shows the snow showers moving in. look at how quickly it started accumulating on the grassy areas while the parking lot is still looking wet. that's one of the main reports i've been hearing over and over is that it's thick on the grass but most of the streets are doing fine. we'll have to watch those side streets, though, especially north and west of town. here's a live picture for you from montgomery college inrockville. big, fat flakes. i can see them coating the cars but again, that looks like wet pavement in that region. so here's what we're expecting for the rest of the afternoon. snow will continue with some rain mixing in at times. mainly south of d.c. this will last until about 4:00 or 5:00 this afternoon and we'll be exiting the region. i think this will impact our evening commute with mainly wet roads but we will see slick spots where snow accumulations will be reaching on

that's north of damascus. you can see the ramp in is completely snow covered during this burst of snow we've had here which has been going on only about 15 minutes. the temperature outside the vehicle right now, 27 degrees. the stuff that's falling, despite some of the salt and brine left over on the road is sticking on places like ramps like this. there are plenty of hazards tonight, particularly underneath those bursts and showers topper was talking about. let me take you back out to the west where i was in hagerstown earlier today. as topper just reported snow pretty much over out there throughout the day today. they were able to keep up with all the light snow falling throughout the day, keeping salt on the roadways. it was the rural lanes and side streets that didn't see any salt. those are going to be crispy and icy this evening because the temperature is very cold and it's going to get windy tonight. back live in the mobile news room lockdown dashboard camera as i come up this ramp, you can see the snow

>> some of the side streets north of town near frederick and maybe damascus will be a bit slippery and certainly your sidewalks and driveways. we have winter weather advisories to north until 1:00, a little freezing drizzle, freezing rain rolling through parts of hagerstown due west of frederick into cumberland, not a huge deal, temperatures right around freezing. radar the past couple hours, a little mixture towards hagerstown and light drizzle around winchester, a couple sleet pellets. most of the activity is along the border. north of 70, yeah, you'll see slick spots tomorrow. good news is temps won't fall enough. 34 in gaithersburg, 36 in frederick, 34 leesburg and up to 39 the high so far downtown. so the futurecast by morning temperatures in the 30s. we'll come back, talk about why temps will start in the 30s and end up in the 20s and talk about very strong winds and perhaps a snowy super bowl. >>> it was a quiet day at a local pharmacy until this happened. check out this security video. one, two, three suspects jump the counter and then threaten the pharmacist. they grab a bunch