i'm pat lawson muse. welcome to "viewpoint." it was established nearly a century ago and it's been officially celebrated for 40 years, but every year the debate persists about black history month. while african-american history in this country is rich and irrefutable, the month set aside to recognize it is still discussed and debated among black and white americans. our guests this morning are dr. karsonya whitehead, a member of the association for the study of african-american life and history, and she is associate professor of communication and african and african-american studies at loyola university. sylvia cyrus is executive director of the association, which is also called in washington, d.c., and edwin henderson is founder and president of the tenner hill heritage foundation. welcome all of you. >> thank you. >> so, why nearly a century after carter g. woodson, the african-american historian established it, are we still debating whether or not we still need black history month? >> well, i think because america really has

. >>> i'm pat lawson muse with breaking news at the live desk. a double shooting at a high school in glendale, arizona. the associated press says two teenagers have been shot. our nbc affiliate is reporting the school is on lockdown right now. they say it's not clear whether those teens are students at the school. meanwhile roads are closed all around the campus which has around 2,000 students. we'll keep an eye on this breaking news story and bring you updates as we get them here at the live desk. melissa? >> thank you, pat. >>> montgomery county firefighters are working to find out what caused two big fires overnight. chopper 4 shot this video over a gutted barn at woodmont country club in rockville. it collapsed in on itself, just a mess. completely destroyed. firefighters are making sure there's no damage to the environment and also are on standby in case of any no one was hurt, not in rockville or potomac, where a chicken choop caught fire. firefighters say some chickens died. the fire department has not said how the fire started. >>> anothe

senator muse is the husband of news4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> the national mall's newest museum will open in less than seven months and barbara harrison is giving us a look at african-american history and culture and telling the story of one of america's greatest athletes. he was a boxer known for having harrison shows us, this story comes from something his glove literally said. ♪ >> reporter: in 1964, 22-year-old boxer cassius clay left to train at the fifth street gym in miami where his fight was against sonny listton. when the museum opens, one of the featured exhibitions will be the story of cassius clay, muhammad ali and his celebrated career. >> we have several pieces of material from the fifth street gym where he had trained when he was cassius clay. >> reporter: inside one of the giant processing rooms for the thousands of items being readied for the exhibition, rene anderson shows off a prized piece from the prize fighter. >> this is practice gloves from cassius clay. it is been a confident person. >> i'm young, i'm hand some, i'm fast, i'm pretty, and can't possibly be bea

muse is the husband of news 4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> a warning for pet owners about leaving small animals out in the cold. a woman out walking her dog friday in a park in brooklyn with its paws frozen to the ground. she took the lab pit mix to a vet. it is unclear if the dog will make a full recovery. >> tieing your doug out is never the answer. please reach out for help. things could go bad very quickly. specially when it is extreme temperatures. freezing could take place in a matter of minutes. >> lawmakers in new york are considering a bill to increase penalties for leaving pets out in the extreme cold or heat. >>> smoke from a mechanical room forced people out into the cold at the gaylord hotel in national harbor. the smoke fimmed -- filled a stairwell but there was not a fire and nobody got hurt. there were a lot of people there today because the hotel is coasting a convention. a few people were treated for unrelated illnesses. >>> meanwhile, the frigid temperatures here, i can't remember the last time i saw you put wind chills up are now. >> lows so far this season, deeping

we should tell you muse is the husband of news 4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> we've been telling you it's dangerously cold outside. and you don't want to be out there for too long. tom is tracking a big change that could lead to a messy monday morning commute. >>> two officers hurt in a shootout in louisiana. why police say a man took off and led them on a violent car chase. >>> just days after a cruise ship had to turn luxury line ser setting out again. you've probably seen this video of 30-foot waves crashing and pounding 9 bothe boat. the anthem of the seas has been cleared to set sail again. it left new jersey yesterday afternoon. >>> two louisiana police officers and a suspect were hurt during a shoot-out early saturday morning. police say the two officers responded to reports of a man damaging property at an apartment complex in baton rouge. that's when the suspect took off and led police on a two mile chase. the suspect eventually stopped, got out of his car with a rifle. police say at least two dozen shots were fired. >>> there are only so many ways we can say it, the bottom line

muse is the husband of news 4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> we've got breaking news out of prince george's county now. detectives working a homicide on armstrong lane in upper marlboro. somebody called police to do a welfare check around 3:40 this afternoon and found a man dead. he'd been shot. police have not identified him or the circumstances surrounding his murder. you can say with news 4. we're working to get more information on this case. >>> two bank robberies within minutes of each other in montgomery county and police want to know if responsible for both. the first happened at 9:20 this morning at this pnc bank on old georgetown road in bethesda and 25 minutes later a man robbed the m & t bank on montgomery avenue in kensington. nobody injured. >>> all right. to the race for the white house now and the final republican debate before the south carolina primary. gop hopefuls square off in greenville tonight, officials took part in a walk-through and adding finishing touches to the stage. according to the latest poll, donald trump is leading the race with senators ted cruz and marco

i'm pat lawson muse. an elementary school volunteer and youth choir director has been the focus of a lot of media coverage because he's accused of recording vile sexual acts between children on school grounds. police say deonte carraway may have abused up to 30 children. a new lawsuit claims the principal knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it. that story has riveted the attention of many in the washington area. many people wondering how something like thiscould happen ongrounds, how no one could thouknow. who could be at fault here? >> i think the pointer is pointed at the administrators. this was constantly being reported on this week that the children knew. and if you're talking 30 children and these are young kids, so you know they are talking to each other, i think that you probably could point the fingers atted a h ed a hiad tors more than anything else and maybe this is why children have a problem with saying things because adults don't take them seriously. >> it's hard to believe that the

. >>> i'm pat lawson. an officer will receive a medal of honor. the risk he took

. >>> i'm pat lawson muse. bill cosby is back in a pennsylvania courtroom now. we could find out any minute whether cosby will face trial in a sex assault case. a judge is expected to make a decision on this today. here is cosby arriving to court just a few hours ago. a woman said cosby drugged her and sexually assaulted her in his home in 1974. he is arguing that he signed a restricted clause. >>> they are to decide if a convicted murderer should get another trial. he is back in court right now. he is serving a life sentence in the strangling death of his girlfriend. this week's hearing is expected to last three days. >>> a record number of people who served sentences they did not commit were set free last year. in 2015, 149 people were exonerated. on average, those who were set free spent 15 years in prison before being cleared of their charges. the national regist exonerations includedç every g everything, including murder. >>> some schools will be adding summer programs for students who need a little extra help with reading or math. it will also allow stude

senator muse is the husband of news 4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> 6:35. turn tragedy into purpose today. officer noah liota was killed by a suspected drunk driver this december and now maryland law enforcement leaders are rallying in annapolis for a tougher interlock law. if it pass, anyone convicted of driving drunk would feed an in-c in-car breathalyzer. >>> the man accused of killing his house mate near the university of mary washington will be in court. steve briel is charged with killing grace mann last year in fredericksburg. today the state's attorney will ask for a mental health evaluation on briel. prosecutors say he sfraadvantag gelled mann after an argument. >>> in hthe day head on metro, workers will replace rails between the smith seassonian >>> a it is an exciting time for those involved in the soon to open national hugh smuseum. this week barbara harrison is getting unprecedented access inside the top secret collection center. one highlight, a prize piece from a prize fighter. the smithsonian will celebrate the story of muhammad ali's caree

muse we should tell you is the husband of pat lawson muse. >>> we've been telling you it's dangerously cold out and you don't want to be outdoors for two long. tom is tracking a big change that could lead on so a megs city monday morning commute. >>> two o why police say a man took off and led them on a violent car chase. >>> just days after rough seas made a cruise ship turn around, the luxury line sr is setting o again. 30-foot waves pounded the boat. anthem of the seas was damaged, but the ship has been cleared to set sale again. the ship was cleared by royal caribbean and the coast guard. >>> two louisiana police officers and suspect injured during a shoot-out early saturday morning. list say t police say they were responding to reports of a man damaging property at an apartment complex in baton rouge. they say the suspect took off and led police on a two mile chase.suspect eventually stopped and got out of his rifle. police say at least two dozen shots were fired. >>> in the week ahead, college students will lobby for a new state policy to fight sexual assault. the yes means yes b

. >>> i'm pat lawson. an officer will receive a medal of honor. the risk he took someone from the taliban. >>> take a look at snow that's coming up. >>> more on the developing story out of prince william county. as we mentioned earlier, lockdown lifted at four prince georges county schools. duvall high school, the guard school, and two others all back open after being locked down for an hour. the shooting didn't happen at any of the schools. it was actually near a bus stop in the 9900 block of glenham. the shooting appeared to be random. they say they're investigating, but the good news is in the last five minutes or so, we learned that police have reopened greenbelt road as well as aerospace road. >>> mclain high sol an ongoing miss investigatiinve forcing that closure. all students are said to be safe. >>> we are finding out new information of that man charged with killing his wife and the prince william county police officer. ron hamilton was in court twice today. derek is live at the courthouse in manassas and can tell us what happened. good m

. >> and i'm pat lawson with news of what needs to be done to clean up a slick spill. news4 begins right now. >>> storm team 4 radar showing the leading edge of the snow now coming through west virginia into the ohio valley. you can see rain in these areas in green of west virginia. farther south there is rain and snow mixed in the mountains of western north carolina. all of this coming from a circulation of the atmosphere. coming over indiana right now, the center of that circulation passing right over us by later tonight and into tomorrow. the leading edge of that in the form of rain from morgantown, west virginia to elkins, west virginia. that is going to be moving into the shenandoah valley, but it's another five or six hours or so not until late afternoon there, and then eventually getting into the metro area ahead of some rain. we have winter storms in the counties in blue, frederick, northeastern maryland and an advisory for lighter snow out in the mountains. we'll give you the timing and the amounts. that's coming up. >>> molette green continues our east covera

senator muse is the husband of news 4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> happening today, the prince george's county than who set up a hit on his uncle from prison will be sentenced. brian mayhew and two others face life sentences in the death of mayhew's uncle. mayhew ordered the murder from jail to prevent his uncle there testifying against him in another murder case. the sentencing is set for 2:00. >>> today a virginia state's attorney will ask a judge to order a mental health evaluation for former university of mary washington student charged with murder. steve preel is beingbriel is ac killing grace mann. the psychiatrist to evaluate briel. briel's lawyers plan for use the insanity defense. >>> people are rallying in support of apple. the fbi wants the company to break into the san bernardino shoot are's iphone. apple says if it does, it could compromise the security of any iphone and it refused to do it. in d.c. the rally will actually be held outside the fbi headquarters. it begins at 5:30 this evening. >> if you're either eating your breakfast, might want to put your fork todown for a

by way of all the necessary information, senator muse is the husband of our colleague pat lawson muse. >>> a developing story now involving the attack on a woman near the metro station. we learned the attack happened on a metrobus and the bus driver came to the rescue. four people tried to take a woman's purse about 3:30 this afternoon. the woman was 61 years old, slightly impaired, but she fought back. then the driver chased the robbers into the metro station. police took four teenagers into custody. the woman who was attacked is injured but we're told those injuries are not serious. today for their alleged role in a violent attack on metro. they're accused of beating a man at the gallery place stop on the red line. they were arrested four stops away at the woodley park station. mark segraves has details you will see only on news4. >> reporter: the six wilson high school students charged in the january 28th attack at the gallery place metro station have all been allowed to return to school, but a judge has ordered that they cannot use metrorail, a condition some of their attorneys sa

. >>> full disclosure, state senator muse is the husband of news4 anchor pat lawson muse. >>> president barack obama hosting the nation's governors at the white house today. he says terrorism tops his list when it comes to common issues that the federal government has with the states. virginia governor terry mcauliffe brought up the issue of sequestration saying congress is failing to pass a budget and that hurts the they pushed it off for two years, but you know as well as i do the percent of debt to gdp in two years, we are going to be right back in this situation. we have to begin to think long term. we need leadership decisions to grow our country so the economy can grow and everybody can benefit. >> we're working with other nations to prevent terrorists from entering the united states. we're unwavering in our efforts to prevent attacks at home, and that's where the partnership with your states come in. this is a shared mission. we have to stay vigilant. across the country we've got more than 100 joint terrorism task forces. >> president obama's other top priorities with the state,

our pat lawson muse is here with the latest on this story. >> lawyers fortunately keepers withdrew their request for a bond hearing after prosecutors upped the charges against her. they had charged her with disposing of nicole lovell's body. now they say she was involved before the girl was killed. nicole lovell, known to loved ones as coley had survived a lot. a rare liver tumor and lymphoma and she beat the odds against a serious respiratory infection at age 5. >> coley had a passion for pa a pand pand pandas, music, dancing, "american idol." >> reporter: her mother fought back tears as she spoke about her daughter. >> a very preliminary determination of the cause of death is stabbing. >> reporter: authorities now say they believe lovell was killed on the same day she climbed out of her bedroom window after reportedly showing friends text messages from an 18-year-old man she was planning to meet. those texts were on a messaging app called kik which police say has been used by sexual predators. the investigation quickly zeroed in on 18-year-old david eisenhauer, a track star and enginee