>> meagan fitzgerald. thank you, meagan. >>> school leaders are taking part in a community town hall meeting at 7:00 tonight at st. matthew's. police say none of the threats was credible. >>> the muslim association of virginia is condemning terrorism and isis. their response comes after two men from woodbridge were arrested friday on terrorism charges. joseph farrokh was stopped at the airport. the friend who drove him to the airport also faces charges. >> i felt like real desperate trying to get the girl out because i felt like she was my family too. >> a heroic rescue in temple hills and an important reminder for all of us. he felt he needed to act when a young woman got trapped in her burning home yesterday morning. she was in the basement when the fire started. he held off flames with a garden hose until firefighters pulled her out. >> when they brought her out, she started moving and coughing and they took her right away to the hospital. >> the woman had second degree burns over 40% of her body and al

meagan fitzgerald has the story you will only see here on news 4. >> reporter: when it's lunchtime, many say there's nothing better than having a good place to have a quick bite. >> i come here pretty much every day. >> jettie's is one of those places and for many folks so is surfside in dupont. >> yes, it is the tacos and everything -- the only thing you can get. as of last month, all jettie's and surfside locations no longer accept cash. bill blair owns the restaurants and say the policies are in place because of crime in the area. >> we've been robbed a couple of times in the past year and we just decided it was time to take the cash out of all the stores and that solves our problems with our employees getting robbed. >> i don't have the details yet. >> at a press conference today about robberies in the area, metropolitan police chief cathy lanier says blair's concern is

. >> meagan fitzgerald is in southeast. are you near capitol hill or where are you? >> exactly. right near capitol hill and near the eastern market metro. and the roads especially and it's starting to accumulate and stick to the roadways fairly quickly. right now crews are out here and they're starting to plow and there are two inches of snow on the roadways. we are told this morning at around 6:00, that's when the city had their full launch, their full deployment of hundreds of pieces of apparatus including the snowplows. you can see the metro employees and they're treating the walkway there as we've been seeing some folks getting off of the metro and heading home to hunker down and that's exactly what the city's asking folks to do. hunker down and stay inside and there's not much to do out here anyway and we want to the walk down here and show you many of these businesses with the dunkin' donuts and the restaurants. they're all closed up and a few remaining open for a little while longer, but a lot of folks

i'm meagan fitzgerald. what the state department is saying about the situation. live desk next. live desk next. >>> blift that sound. like nails on a chalkboard. but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound. the sound of the weekend. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. it's always worth remembering... that icing the cinnamon rolls is a privilege not a right. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. >>> i'm meagan fitzgerald at the live desk where we're following americans missing at the embassy. late last night they said three were missing from baghdad, but now we're learning they're only saying some. a dubai-based news service reports they were kidnapped taken by militants. no one has taken responsibility at this point, but the state department says it's actively working to locate the civilians. eun? >> thank you, meagan. >>> new video shows a major setback in relanding a rocket from space. a rocket exploded after landing. take a look. the rocket had just delivered an ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit. elon musk reporting that a piece from

. >>> i'm meagan fitzgerald here at the live desk where we're following that developing story out of iraq. u.s. officials are still working to learn how three americans were kidnapped. it happened yesterday in baghdad. the u.s. state department is actively working to locate those civilians. a dubai-based news service reporting that the americans have been taken by militia that so far no one has claimed responsibility. the state department says the iraqi government is fully cooperating. eun? >> thank you, meagan. >>> harsh words from the muslim association in virginia they're condemning the acts of isis. joseph farrokh was stopped aet the airport on friday. he was trying to go to syria to join isis. the friend that droesh him also faces chargeses. >>> a neighbor was firing bullets. this happened in north stafford. detectives believe two groups were shooting at one another. no one was hurt. they have identified two people involve bud they're looking for two others. >> 5:07. a vote on a supreme court just in virginia is expected this week. it's causing controversy. state senator glen st

news 4's meagan fitzgerald is live in fairfax with tonight's top story. hi, meagan. >> reporter: hey, doreen. when a german town woman, state delegate, kathleen delay said she was encouraged to draft legislation to keep that from happening again and we spoke with many gun dealers who say that's not the answer. they need to enforce the rules and laws that are already on the books and they say in doing so that can help prevent them from selling guns to the wrong people. there are many reasons why law-abiding citizens choose to buy guns. earl curtis hears about it every day. >> people are more afraid than anything else. with the terrorist shooting in california people want to learn how to handle a gun safely. >> reporter: curtis is the president of blue ridge arsenal. he says sales have increased ever since tuesday when president obama revealed a series of executive actions to prevent mass shootings. obama said anyone selling guns on the internet in stores or at gun shows must be licensed. he says a background check must be conducted and he said more will be

. >> i'm meagan fitzgerald. >> i'm david culver. welcome to saturday morning. >> great to be here. >> bei bei, i feel like this is the u.s. version of the roiyal baby it feels like. >> it's a perfect day to see him, too. it will be warm today. can't be mad at that. >> no. let's get a check of the forecast as we start off on saturday. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein, good morning, tom. >> you want to dress like bei bei this morning, we're starting off chilly, upper 30s to 40 degrees. the rain we had is long gone but the pavement is still wet. national harbor live camera showing some light fog over the metro area right now. some of the rural areas, the fog reduced visibility down to a quarter mile. the rain that we had from overnight is pulling off up into new england, pulling away, a few lingering sprinkles out here, north and west of the metro area, the panhandle of west virginia and the blueridge otherwise. just low clouds and patchy fog around early on this saturday morning. temperatures right now are in the low to mid-40s

news 4's meagan fitzgerald is live with more on how the threat of gang violence is impacting kids here. meagan? >> reporter: well, doreen, police tell us that out of the four suspects that were arrested and connected to the ms-13 gang the youngest was a 16-year-old girl. gang experts say that recruiters are targeting kids as young assel emenas el ementry school. two bodies found in two parks has undoubtedly brought about concern for many residents in alexandria. one man nearly decapitated in beverly park and another stabbed to death in four-mile run and what's concerning is the fact that four suspects involved in the cases are connected to the ms-13 gang. >> gang vile keolence can impac anyone in the community. >> this expert works alongside active gang members and has asked us to conceal his identity. the ms-13 gang activity is increasing and recruitment is happening in schools, but says there is a particular student they're looking for. >> they're looking for kids who don't fit in at school who may be victims of bullying, physical assaults and those are the kids who they're targeting

our meagan fitzgerald is there live with more. meagan? >> reporter: and jim, police have identified that drunk driver as 25-year-old malik lloyd. they tell us as soon as the accident happened he left the scene. if you take a look behind me this is what happened. you can still see crime scene here and it happened in front of this popular nightclub. we had an opportunity to speak with the manager here. he said at 1:30 this morning this area was packed with people still ringing in the new year. >> we want to show you some video that we shot shortly after it happened. police say lloyd struck another car before driving up on the sidewalk and crashing into a light pole. seven people were injured. one is in critical condition and another in serious and we're told, five others are expected to be okay. investigators say they found lloyd on the same block not far from where the crash happened. >> many people who were walking into the club tonight say this incident is a reminder of how important it is to drink responsibly. >> the new year and what i

our meagan fitzgerald has our report. >>> for many folks, jettie's and surfside isn't just about good food. it's also about convenience, but as of the last month, the eight locations in d.c. will no longer accept cash. >> i really apologize about the inconvenience. we only take credit or debit. >> bo blair owns the restaurant. he says the reason for the change is simple. no cash means less to worry about. >> we just decided it was time to take the cash out of all the stores and that solves our problems with our employees getting robbed. >> over the last year, blair says thieves have stolen hundreds of dollars in cash from the stores. >> at a press conference today about robberies in the area, metropolitan police chief cathy lanier admitted blair's new policy change is concerning. >> we don't want people to change anything about their routine whether it's a business or individual. i mean, our job is to make sure people feel safe. >> reporter: but in the meantime, the changes at the shop are permanent. the customers can either pay by card or download the restaurant's app. >> that's unde

>> meagan fitzgerald.hank you. >>> tonight some gun control activists in virginia are angry about a compromise between virginia's governor and the gop leaders. virginia will once again honor concealed weapons permits from other states. the proposal would also require state troopers to be available at gun shows for background checks and take guns away from people under a long-term protective order. governor mcauliffe says the deal is the most significant step in gun regulation in more than two decades. >>> a different landmark gun law in our area is quietly going away. it passed 16 years ago with great fanfare creating the bullet database to hopefully help solve crimes but as the news4 i-team's scott mcfarlane reports, maryland is throwing in the towel saying it didn't work. >> reporter: calvin braxton's family heard the police siren. >> it occurred just around the corner from my mom's home. >> shot and killed in a restaurant parking lot in 2014. >> i felt like a piece of me was taken away instantly. it rea

. >> as news 4's meagan fitzgerald joins us, the family is using the dupont circle restaurant as a welcome distraction from the pain of grief. >> a free sandwich today. >> arlene and her son jonathan town. own bob and pop's. it's a family-owned restaurant with an emphasis on family. >> that's pete, christina and penelope. >> pete is arlene's youngest son. >> i was sailed he was a really sweet little baby and a very sweet little boy. >> and jonathan's only brother. he was also 30-year-old staff sergeant peter taub a disciplined and respected airman with a passion to protect his country, but his family says he was also quite the jokester. >> one of the things he loved was to be in his suit and he said, mom, i would just put my leg up on the desk like that and everybody would see these bright color polka dot socks. >> reporter: pete deployed to afghanistan on october 11th and arlene says she'll never forget their last conversation. >> we were on skype probably for about a half hour. >> days later on december 21st, life instantly changed. >> i was working in the back office and he came tearing

meagan fitzgerald is in herndon, virginia, now with what the power companies say you should be doing right now. meagan? >> reporter: jim, they're asking folks to be proactive and to stock up on the necessities so we've been seeing folks going in and out of grocery stores all day and take a look behind me here. the steady stream of cars at the gas station. that's been a condition stand throughout the day and as you mentioned, power companies say there are two factors they're concerned about that could mean thousands of outages across our area. folks are getting ready to be snowed in. >> getting gas and a shovel. >> reporter: and stocking up on the essentials in case the power goes out. >> we have some batteries and fruits and milk. >> reporter: over at dominion virginia power they're stocking up to make sure they're ready, too. >> we're more focused on when we'll need our resources and being prepared to come out of the gate running, so to speak to do the restoration. >> reporter: chuck penn is the spokesperson for dominion virginia power and he says this entire area will be filled with

meagan fitzgerald is following this story all day and joins us live from the scene. >> reporter: chris, police tell us that 19-year-old helene ngassa was crossing the intersection on morris drive. she had just left her apartment complex which is just behind us here and just yards away from where this accident happened. the crash happened just after 6:00 this morning. investigators say the of 6-year-old driver traveling northbound on route 197 hit the 19-year-old who was crossing near morris drive. witnesses told police the teen was not in the cross walk and the driver had a green light. we are told he remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation. >> the victim was transported to prince george's county hospital center where she was pronounced dead. >> reporter: police tell us the driver has not been charged. coming up at 5:00, hear from a woman who was on scene shortly after this accident happened. barbara? >> thank you, meagan. >>> chilling new video shows the ambush of a philadelphia police officer overnight. thgunman fired at least 11 shots and reaching through the driver'

news 4's meagan fitzgerald in alexandria now with what we know about the infamous gang and the impact it's having on the community. meagan? >> reporter: like i told you this morning, another gang member that police say killed a man back last year was in court this morning just behind us here who was arraigned and charged with first-degree murder. now this was the murder of a man in the four-mile run park and the examples of the gang members that have just been arrested contributes to the fact that there is an increase in the area of this gang activity. >> law enforcement officials say the ms-13 gang is known for committing violent murder, robbery, sex and dug trafficking. while experts say the gang started in los angeles and it has quickly spread across the country and central america. >> el salvador is considered for many their hub or where they're most active at this time. >> reporter: this regional gang task force expert works alongside active gang members and has asked us to conceal his identity. he says the latest crimes we've seen in our area are just an example of the resurgenc

meagan fitzgerald talked to a driver who was there moments later and is live at the scene with what weare learning about this tragedy. meagan? >> reporter: helene ngassa was leaving her apartment complex just behind us at 6:00 this morning. she was crossing over 197 right near this intersection here at morris drive is where police say she was struck. we spoke to a woman who was driving past while police are still investigating. >> reporter: drivers and pedestrians who use route 197 to get around will tell you it's always busy. >> just never to the point where you feel comfortable crossing the street. >> just after 6:00 friday morning laurel police say 19-year-old helene ngassa was crossing 197 near morris drive when she was struck by a driver. audrey barnes is the spokesperson for the city. she says ngassa was not in the cross walk. >> she was struck by a vehicle that was traveling northbound on 197. witnesses say the driver had a steady green light. >> reporter: officials took this video of officers blocking part of the northbound lane while they wrapped up their investigation. janet

. >> i'm meagan fitzgerald. >> i'm david culver.saturday morning. >> great to be here. >> bei bei, i feel like this is the u.s. version of the

meagan fitzgerald, news 4. >>> thanks, meagan. chris lawrence at the live desk. we want to get you right out to chopper 4 video. we're over the scene of a two-alarm apartment fire. what you're looking at there are fire rescue crews on a ladder trying to pull people out of that apartment building as we widen out there. you can see that fire is centered and it looks like on one unit near the top floor. this is a six-story building and let me give you some perspective here andme this is on new hampshire avenue and near montserrat road. prince george's county firefighters are handling the scene. within about the last ten minutes or so we saw them extend that ladder into the apartment complex and now they have slowly been making their way out and you can see some of the folks who are on that ladder getting pulled out of there right now. that is some distance from where the ladder is extended to where the truck is actually parked right across the front courtyard there as that fire continues to burn in that top floor. there we go, we're zooming in now and you can see so

meagan fitzgerald. thanks so much. >> reporter: a former federal police chief is in court trying to avoid prison time. he admitted to trying to make methamphetamine in a federal building. >> news 4 i-team reporter scott macfarlane and has more from federal court in greenbelt, maryland. >> reporter: the former high-ranking federal law enforcement officer has admitted to the crime, but for eight hours today, defense attorneys and prosecutors have argued over the punishment and those arguments will continue well into the evening. >> prosecutors opened today's hearing saying chris bartly abused his position of trust. bartly admits he tried to make meth while on duty inside the secure government facility he was supposed to be policing and he's pled guilty to a felony facing up to five years in prison and he did so with facilities holding a nuclear reactor and explosives on the campus. near i-270 in gaithersburg. prosecutors showed photos of the lab and showed a picture of drain owe he bought as part of the e

news 4's meagan fitzgerald live for us outside the prince william county courthouse with new developments tonight. meagan? >> reporter: and jim, you know, within the last hour here, the judge struck down 13 of the 39 charges brought against one of those former daycare workers sarah jordan. he said there just wasn't enough evidence. now, today, throughout the day the judge heard from five licensed therapists that have experience in diagnosing trauma in children. they were brought about by the prosecution. now, these five therapists did sessions over a period of time with 13 of those students who investigators say were abused. now, we want to show you some video here of where this all happened. it happened over a six-month period in 2013 at the minnieland academy in woodbridge. investigators say former daycare worker sarah jordan and kierra spriggs tripped children, sprayed them with water from a hose and encouraged them to bite and fight each other. today, five therapists testified against jordan. they told a judge they used a technique called play therapy on the 2-year-old and determined

. >> i'm meagan fitzgerald. welcome to "news 4 today." today will be warmer than average day we're hearing. >> starting off cold, tom kierein, but you're thinking it will get milder temperature wise. >> yes, enjoy this while you can. we have that tremendous, dramatic drop on the way here over the next 24 hours. we have patchy, dense fog around. there is sun over the fog. that's a live view from our tower camera overlooking washington, which is under that fog somewhere. but above that, we have a mostly clear sky. there's another view from another one of our tower cameras as we look off to the national harbor camera. you can barely make out the boats in the harbor. very dense fog there. there's the capitol camera. you can see it off in the distance. we have patchy fog that will be with us here for about another hour or so. temperatures are still rather chilly. we're in the low to mid-40s around the chesapeake bay. metro area hovering in the low 40s to upper 30s north and west, near 40 shenandoah valley, patchy dense fog as well as in some o

. >> let's check in with news 4's meagan fitzgerald joining us live from the national mall.lier, megan, we saw folks out there dancing with you. >> we did. we'll show you that in the next 30 minutes or so. the snow is still coming down. at times when it's mixed with the wind, i call it sideways snow, the snow that hits you from all different directions. certainly not pleasant. if you don't have to be out here, you should stay indoors. >> i want to show you video we shot coming from bethesda to the mall. it's sped up. snowplows were out there. these roads are snow packed. at many times we saw mounds of snow even in the middle of the street, several mounds of snow along the side of the streets. it's difficult to maneuver on these roads. as we've been saying, as you've heard public officials say, stay off of the roads if you can. it's not worth being out here and getting into a crash or something worse. stay inside. the snow is pretty to look at. once you're out in it, it's a bit of a different ball game. >> meagan fitzgerald live along the national mall. folks behind her busy

back to you. >> meagan fitzgerald. >> metro will stop running trains at 11:00 p.m. tonight. metro busses stopped running an hour ago. both trains and busses are going to shut down for the entire weekend. capitol bike share is also going to shut down this weekend at 7:00. it will stay closed on saturday. you can still return a bike to the nearest station. it will be hard to pedal it though, i think. >> but usage fees still apply for those that continue after they close. the storm is having an impact on east coast air travel. 2800 flights canceled and most of them in charlotte and raleigh, north carolina according to flight tracking service flight aware and our area is next and another 3200 flights have been canceled for tomorrow mostly in washington and philadelphia. major airlines say they hope to have their schedules back on track by sunday afternoon. >>> as doug and veronica have reported. this storm is coming from the south and this is what it looked like when it came through southern virginia earlier today. folks in roanoke are dealing with freezing rain, sleet and snow.

. >>> and we begin with that breaking news in laurel and "news4's" meagan fitzgerald. meagan? >> reporter: yes. a child was crossing the lane when she was hit and killed by a driver. the victim was 19-year-old was hit. the 66-year-old driver remained on the scene. according to all reports we're told the driver had the green light and she was crossing in the middle of the street. we're told she was transported to prince george's hospital where she was pronounced dead. we're told this is an ongoing investigation. >>> a philadelphia police officer is recovering this morning after he was shot at point blank range. police say a man was trying to kill the officer. they say the suspect walk up to the officer's car and fired at least 13 times. he hit the officer in the left arm. the officer fired back and hit the suspect three times. the suspect is in the hospital. we do not know his condition. >>> i'm megan mcgrath live outside woodbridge high school where two messages threatening violence have been found written on walls inside the school. police have no information that these are c

as news4's meagan fitzgerald tells us at least one stranded neighborhood in mclean has found a way to help each other through this snowy ordeal. jr. just until a couple hours ago this neighborhood behind me was just one of many in fairfax county that was still buried in snow. a driver who says he does not work with vdot plowed some of the neighborhood but many folks here say for the last few days, they've been depending on each other for help. the snow provides a beautiful scenery. but after being snowed in for three days, neighbors along noble drive say they're ready to get out. >> it's fun but i think everybody is getting cabin fever at this point because they haven't plowed our neighborhood. >> reporter: lena's neighborhood is just one of many around fairfax county still buried in two feet of snow. many folks have cleared their own driveways but they're nowhere to go. >> we own a snowblower with a 20 inch mouth. we did our driveway, my father lives next door, we did his driveway. >> reporter: so these neighbors are helping each other. holly says the kids have been walking to the st

i'm meagan fitzgerald in for erika gonzalez. as kids return to school they'll be dealing with the coldest day so far this season. storm people 4 meteorologist amelia segal joins us with what you can expect at the bus stop and as you head back to work tomorrow morning. >> meagan, right now the coldest air not just of the season, and it will greet us tomorrow morning and it will be frigid by tuesday morning. so what to wear at the bus stop tomorrow morning? kids near their warmest coat, gloves, hat, scarf, the whole nine yards and rain boots and umbrella not necessary. we're just tracking extremely cold air moving into the area. 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and it's already breezy and we saw the flag there at union station and winds increase throughout the day tomorrow. not only is it cold, but we're dealing with a feels like temperature from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and the thermometer reading 29 degrees mostly to partly sunny skies tomorrow and into the afternoon hours it becomes windy and how cold it will feel and when we start to warm back up,

our meagan fitzgerald is live at the reeves center. >> we'll get to her in just a second. they've been warning us about the fact that the plows are out there. the storm isn't over. so, you know, as quickly as they're able to push some of the snow off the roads, a lot of roads are becoming covered again. this is a live picture from -- >> georgetown pike you mean. georgetown pike in great falls and fairfax. that's a long, windy road. treacherous even when there is no snow on the ground. >> this picture, doesn't appear to have been really touched in terms of plows going through there. i think this is probably representative of what you might see if you trice to venture out on your neighborhood street. >> we had ddot on earlier in the show elling us their plan of action was to do this at the same time. >> maybe if you heard a plow come through your neighbored aand woke up this morning and looked out the window and it didn't look like a plow came through, that's the reality. it may take many passes before you can get out on your street. >> as far as virginia is concerned, we as

meagan fitzgerald is out there now reporting live.she's managed to catch a dancer. >> he was good. >> he was on beat. we'll see more scenes like this later on this morning near the national mall. remember, you can always share, tweet us your pictures. we have people getting married, we have the tomb of the unknown soldier, standing guard, dong their duty they've done 24 hours a day for 365 years -- 365 days, 24 hours a day. send us your stuff. use #blizzard 2016. e-mail us, ic@nbcwashington.com. tag us. we'll do our best to get your stuff on the air. >> we just checked flight aware. the blizzard caused more than 500 cancellations at our airports. bwi marshall, 214 cancellations, reagan national 191 and dulles more than 185. nationally more than 4,500 flights have been canceled. it will be monday before you can ride the metro. even then, the agency is not sure if they'll be 100% up and running. it's the first time since hurricane sandy that the entire metro system has been officially shut down. >>> a fairfax county family's st. bernard

meagan fitzgerald is live in fairfax. meagan, have we heard who else is going to be there? >> reporter: yes, chris. we understand that there are several groups that have been invited to this event including gun owners of america and the brady campaign to prevent gun violence. so folks from both sides of the issue here and there's no doubt there will be passionate questions thrown at president obama. the town hall meeting comes just two days after president obama revealed a series of executive actions he'll take to try and prevent mass shootings. the president says anyone in the business of selling guns on the internet in stores or at gun shows must be licensed and a background check has to be done before the sale. he also says hundreds of atf agents will be hired to make background checks more efficient. gun shop owner like curtis of blue ridge arsenal doesn't agree with obama's plan. >> we have laws in place that need to be enforced. if they're enforced they will work. they would not have prevented newtown and wouldn't have prevented aurora. >> reporter: university officia

they're revving up for this weekend and as news 4's meagan fitzgerald reports you can expect a quick response to potential problems. meagan? >> doreen, that's right. the county executive says they've activated their snowplow plan and tomorrow they say you can expect to see more than 300 of these plows which are just behind me here on the roadways. they'll remain on the road for the next several days. there is also a plan in place, we are told, in case residents lose power. in less than 24 hour, this is what the dmv can expect. snow, possibly in historic proportions. >> one place where everybody can be here. prince george's county executive says his county is ready. >> this will be the hub of all the act that's going on when the snow actually comes in. >> this is the emergency operation center. baker says it will be fully staffed with several state and county officials that will closely monitor conditions and quickly respond as issue arise. ? our representatives from utilities and someone from the wsse will be here and pepco and the utility so that we're coordinating in case of any out

news 4's meagan fitzgerald is live outside the courthouse. >> reporter: chris, a judge found sarah jordan, a former daycare worker guilty of 13 of the 17 charges against her. they include charges like cruelty to children, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and assault and battery charges. when the judge returned this verdict many of the parents who were in court were visibly emotion emotional, but it seemed as though jordan didn't show much emotion at all. witnesses who told the judge over the last three days that the abuse happened to 13 toddlers in 2013 in the minnieland academy in woodbridge. an employee who testified saying jordan sprayed kids with hoses and stepped on their toes and encouraged kids to fight each other. today in court the judge heard testimony from two of jordan's supervisors about the allegeda, buice. they said it was against school policy for any teacher to use a water hose on any student and jordan took the stand and denied the allegations against her. we spoke to one of the parents shortly after the judge read the verdict and take a listen at his response.

news 4's meagan fitzgerald is in herndon with what that city wants you to do ahead of this storm. meagan? >> many of the people we spoke with are actually doing what power companies have been suggesting and they've been using the last couple of days to prepare. you can see folks loading up on gas and we've also seen folks going in and out of grocery stores, getting the necessities so that they are ready and we had an opportunity to speak with some power companies. they say they've called in hundreds of additional resources for that worst-case scenario. >> it's been a while since we've seen this, but in less than 48 hours, we'll likely be reminded that it really is winter. that's why power companies like dominion virginia are gearing up now. >> are you planned for where you'll put your resources and you deploy those resources. >> chuck penn is the spokesperson for dominiak virginia power and they've been closely monitoring the forecast and they had extra line crews and personnel standing by to help restore power for if and when it happens. >> we're more focused on when we'll need re

. >> news 4's meagan fitzgerald has more on how jordan's own testimony could have impacted the verdictagan? >> doreen, meagan took the swns stand and denied allegations against her including the fact that she used a waterhouse to spray children in the face. two of the supervisors took the stand and they were questioned about school policy and the statement they made didn't match up with jordan's. for the last three days, the prince william county judge heard testimony from several witnesses including parents like blake buckner who say their toddler was abused by their teacher sarah jordan back in 2013. >> the teacher was making him the class bully, pretty much. >> reporter: buckner says jordan would encourage toddlers to fight and bite each other in their classroom at minnieland academy in woodbridge. witnesses testified in court that over several months jordan physically abused students as young as 16 months. she saw jordan tripping kids and spraying them in the face with the water hose. jordan admitted to using a hose, but denied hurting children with the water. in court today, two o

news 4's meagan fitzgerald is at the courthouse with more. meagan, what's going on?reporter: and doreen, the defense argued there just wasn't enough evidence for those charges to stick and the judge agreed. now today in court, the prosecution brought in five therapists with experience in diagnosing and detecting trauma in children, but the defense cross examined and tried to discredit their testimony. prince william county police say abuse surrounding former daycare workers sarah jordan and kierra spriggs happened in a six-month period in 2013 while the women worked at the minnieland academy, they sprayed children with water from houses, stepped on their toes and encouraged children to fight and bite each oather. in court today, five therapists who worked with five of the children shortly after the allegations testified against jordan. they said play therapy was a technique used in identifying trauma in toddlers. an expert said the way one of the children repeatedly buried two kitten figurines in sand was one indication of trauma. the defense questioned the experts s

. >>> i'm meagan fitzgerald in alexandria. an ms-13 gang member appeared in court and edwin umana is being held without bond. alexandria police say 22-year-old eduardo almendares was found dead in a park. he was motivated by the ms-13 gang to kill the victim. this type of criminal activity is on the rise in our area. coming up at 5:00, a gang expert speaks about who these members are and the impact they're having on our community. >>> weather and some changes that are moving in on us as we head to the weekend. let's go to storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer. is the temperature going to move in the right direction now? >> it moved in the right direction, pat. yesterday the coldest day we've seen so far and a high of 32 and windchills in the teens all day and today, take a look at the numbers. wow! what a difference a day makes and 21 degrees warmer in d.c. with a high of 53 and we got to 53 and 55 in martinsburg and some incredible warmth that moved under a southwesterly wind and that warmth will stick around, too. this ev

. >>> our live team coverage continues with news 4's meagan fitzgerald and she's live with how prince george's county is preparing for the storm. meagan? >> reporter: well, pat, the county tells news 4 that they insist they are prepared. if you take a look behind me here, this is part of the operation and inside this dome, we are told is some 40,000 tons of sand and throughout the day crews have been loading up, heading out to put them down on the streets. >> prince george's county officials say much of today's focus has been on strategically placing snowplows so they're ready to go tomorrow. meanwhile, other trucks were out salting and treating nearly 800 miles of road throughout the county. public works officials say much of the focus was on residential street as well as bridges and overpasses. starting tomorrow morning public works officials say more than 300 snowplows will be working around the clock at least until monday. county executive rashan baker said the emergency center will be fully staff. >> our representatives from utilities. so someone from the wssc will be here, pepco

. >>> i'm meagan fitzgerald at the live desk.if you're having issues this morning, we can tell you are not alone. the site is experiencing some issues and according to the guardian, it is down worldwide. the company put out a notice not long ago, it says they are aware of the problems and they are working to try and resolve the issue. we'll let you know as soon as it is fixed. >>> my ex-boyfriend is out in cameo looking to kill a cop. >> we're now hearing the 911 calls from the town in ohio where a police officer was killed. sheriff deputies in knox county received a call this a man was armed and wanted to kill an officer. deputies found an officer shot dead not long off that. his gun and cruiser were gone. deputies tracked down the woman's boyfriend and took him into custody. >>> off the coast of hawaii, search teams have found three life rafts from the marine helicopter that crashed last week. the search continues for 12 missing crew members. those marines were on board the two helicopters when they collided during a training m

. >> meagan fitzgerald has more on the family's concerns about this criminal case. >> reporter: chris, the family of the victim are concerned that they might not get justice. they say the man who attacked him as he was leaving this lounge behind us here on august 22nd is out on bond, so they fear he may avoid jail time. >> he came here. he finished his goal, he had a cpa and he worked for american airlines. >> reporter: he came to this country from ethiopia for a better life. he lived in texas with his wife and two young children. >> he came from dallas, texas, to washington, d.c., to attend one of his friend's wedding. >> reporter: this the victim's older sister. she says on august 22nd he and some friends went to the peace lounge on georgia avenue. when they left, court documents say he was attached by at man who punched him in his face and took off. the victim fell back hitting his head against the pavement and later died. >> so bad. we cannot grove enough. every day we have questions. >> the family says they were angered when the suspect was given bond. now they fear they might no

. >>> i'm meagan fitzgerald at the live desk. we're following breaking news. a 2-year-old is being airlifted to a hospital after the toddler shot itself at a home in waldorf. it happened just within the past half hour. police say they got a call from the father saying he was sleeping when he heard a loud bang. he found his 2-year-old shot in the leg. the toddler is expected to be okay and chopper 4 is on the way to the scene right now. we'll send you updates on the nbc washington app as they become available. pat? >> thanks, mae begaeagan. d.c. public school children headed back to classes even as thousands of other students spent another day at home. some schools are keeping their doors close as crews continue their work to try to clear the snow. you can check the complete list in the nbc washington app. >>> crews are clearing the roads, and air travel is slowly getting back to normal. here is a live look at reagan national airport. more than 3,500 flights across the country were delayed and another 300 were canceled. storm team4 is tracking a new potential p

. >>> i'm meagan fitzgerald outside of the prince william county courthouse. testimony continued today against the former daycare worker at the mini land academy in woodbridge. she's charged with abusing children. today, the prosecution brought in several therapists to testify against former daycare worker sarah jordan. her former colleagues already testified saying jordan dumped water on a little girl's head and saw her trip a child who was running. therapists who worked with several of the children after the abuse occurred in 2013 describe why they believe the toddlers were traumatized. coming up at 5:00, hear some of the behavior therapists described in court today while assessing these children. >>> first at 4:00, more money than you'd know what to do with. the powerball jackpot just grew again with more than 24 hours to go until they finally pull the lucky numbers, how much it's worth now. >>> and storm team 4 is keeping a close eye on the radar this afternoon because the moisture is already moving into parts of our area. for some of us it's rain, others

news 4's meagan fitzgerald has been at the scene and has a look at how many other pedestrians have been hurt in that same area. >> reporter: residences who live around here say this is what route 197 usually looks like. >> it's busy at all times. >> there's a lot of traffic and cars back and forth. >> just after 6:00 friday morning, laurel police say one of those cars hit 19-year-old helene ngassa near morris drive. police say she wasn't in the cross walk when she was struck and the driver had the right of way. >> he's been identified as a 66-year-old man in upper marlboro and he did stay at the scene and was cooperative with our investigators. >> reporter: audrey barnes is the spokeswoman for the city. she admits the area around 197 has seen several fatalities in the past. >> i'm right around the corner within the last month or two we had a fatal 197 at 198. >> the city says over the last eight years, there have been at least three other fatalities along 197. one of them happening in the same area where ngassa was struck. they're e they're encouraging drivers and pedestrians to be awar

. >> meagan fitzgerald has more on what they're doing to keep you safe. >> starting tomorrow at 3:00, that operation center will be fully staffed and it will be operating 24 hours a day at least until monday. they also tell us that some 300 snowplows will be on the street for the duration of the storm. you could call it the calm before the storm. tomorrow this time prince george's county executive rashearn baker says the emergency operation center will be fully staff with state officials. >> homeland security preparedness will be here, police department and public safety. >> reporter: that also includes raptives from the power companies. so if electricity goes out, crews in the field can respond quickly. baker says the command center will monitor the conditions around the clock at least until monday. public works officials say snowplows were out all day treating roads and focusing mainly on neighborhood streets, but many residents want to know what happened wednesday night when an inch of snow led to a travel nightmare across the dmv? baker insists the county was aware. >> we have pre

news4's meagan fitzgerald is in mclean where neighbors say they're just not used to this much snow. >> reporter: and, chris, i can tell you there was a lot of frustration this morning for neighbors here in this mclean neighborhood on noble drive because their naked was covered with two feet of snow, but if you take a look behind me things quickly changed. just within the last hour a snowplow driver drove through here to dig these folks out, but take a look at what things looked like earlier today. for the last three dayings, neighbors have been hunkering down while the snowstorm dumped upwards of two feet of snow. but now the storm is gone. many folks wants to get out. from neighbors on noble drive, that doesn't seem likely anytime soon. many driveways are shoveled out, but every street in their neighborhood is buried in snow. >> if something goes wrong, people need to get out, that would concern me. >> they missed us obviously, but, you know, why that happened, i don't know. >> reporter: because we receive more snow than virginia typically sees, they didn't have enough heavy equipmen

news4's meagan fitzgerald is in mclean where neighbors are working together to try it get through. >>eporter: hi, doreen. a lot of residents woke up this morning with a lot of frustration after looking outside and seeing that their neighborhood streets were still unplowed, but vdot says they're aware of the issue and are working as quickly as they can. this is what some neighborhoods still look like across fairfax county. some driveways are cleared out but entire neighborhoods remain unplowed. >> our neighborhood never is first to be plowed. >> reporter: it's a frustration shared by a lot of folks. in fact, neighbors who live on riding bridge place in mclean took these pictures after they say a vdot plow driver got stock clearing their street. neighbors say they ended up digging out the driver but their street still looks like this one. >> we are very fortunate in our cul-de-sac and along noble drive to have great neighbors that really pitch in and help each other out. >> reporter: that's how holly reamer says they've been able to get through the last few days. >> it's like a block pa