. >> steve handelsman. >>> no smokers allowed. the virginia company that will no longer hire people who light up. >>> the freak accident that left this truck dangling in midair. >>> and fighting the city in a. how magic johnson's trip here to washington cou

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: president obama made clear his second term priority is decreasing unemployment. >>> a growing economy that creates middle class jobs that must be the north star that guides our efforts. >> reporter: to cut the deficit more he would reduce spend but to fix climate change. he would demand nor tox cuts on the wealthy. >> and a tax cut that they won't pay a lower rate than their hard working secretaries. re the commander in chief announced he's pulling 30,000 troops out of afghanistan within a year. >> our war on afghanistan will be over. >> reporter: on gun control, mr. prk demanded congress not dodge that the parents of hadiya pendleton killed in chicago deserve a vote. >> gabby giffords deserve a vote. the families of newtown deserve a vote. >> reporter: and he called for immigration reform. so did florida senator marco rubio in the republican response, but the gop demands smaller government. >> that's why i hope the president will abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead, work with us to achieve real growth in our economy. >>

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> thanks, steve. virginia senator tim kaine visited marines at quantico today. coming up 6:30, we'll report how sequestration will impact businesses around the base. >>> tonight fire ifitious in prince george's county say smoke detectors might have made the difference between life and death for members of a family in glennarden, a father and two daughters died. the mother and two other children escaped the early morning fire. chris gordon joins us from the scene with the latest on the investigation. chris? >> reporter: good evening. just a short time ago, county fire official told me they are not releasing the names of the victims here or the cause of this fatal fire. early this morning, you had three people die here despite heroic rescue efforts. >> we do have some success, but overall it is an extreme tragedy. >> reporter: it began about 4:00 a.m. firefighters arriving less than five minutes after receiving emergency calls from neighbors. they faced very dangerous conditions, fire showing and heavy

steve handelsman on capitol hill now where there's not been a whole lot of negotiating going on. steve? >> no progress reported, jim. a lot of political posturing continues here on the hill. democrats led by the president trying to make sequester look terrible. republicans, they have governors involved today are saying, look, this whole thing doesn't have to be so bad. but both sides have basically given up on trying to stop these automatic spending cuts. lawmakers return to the house and the senate is back in session. but with no deal, no talks reported under way to put off sequester friday, president obama pressured republicans. >> these cuts do not have to happen. congress can turn them off any time with just a little bit of compromise. >> reporter: republicans won't compromise on taxes. >> listen, the president says we have to have another tax increase in order to avoid the sequester. well, mr. president, you got your tax increase. it's time to cut spending here in washington. >> reporter: more pressure, the white house sent out 50 reports detailing how the 83 billion in cuts

steve handelsman is on capitol hill where there has been a lot of talk but not much action. >> reporter: talk without negotiation. the new nbc news "wall street journal" poll finds america split over whether president obama is you don't know pieing our nation. in the midst of this manufactured crisis. but 64% of that poll, two out of three say, republicans are taking a partisan approach and that discrepency that would explain the obama battle plan on display today in virginia. to dramatize the effect of the inevitable across the board cut and blame them on repgs p republicans. president obama went to a shipyard at newport news. workers here could be furloughed. >> these cuts are wrong. they are not smart. they are not fair. >> reporter: workers fear sequestration. >> we can't work and make money, you can't go out there and shop. >> i'm worried about it. we build good ships here. i love my job. >> reporter: across the nation, this was montana. sequestration has millions concerned. >> we might be faced with closing school early or something like that. >> reporter: there is an anti-obama b

steve handelsman has more now from capitol hill. >> the next few weeks will be another struggle.blicans and president obama. over three key issues. gun control. the obama call and public clamber to do something is boiling down to universal background checks. a possible deal being worked out by senator schumer, mansion, coburn and kirk, a bipartisan quartet. two rated a by the are a and two rated f. issue two, immigration. more republicans are leaning towards allowing illegal immigrants to stay, but no actual plan has been proposed yes. issue three is the biggie that everyone says they hate. sequester. >> mindless, arbitrary, across the board cuts to take place on march 1. >> spending cuts and social services end in descent unless there is finally a deal to cut spending. president obama is making clear he wants in any such deal. another tax hike object wealthy, reducing the write-offs on perks like private jets. >> we've got to be able to close some tax loopholes and detuxes that the average american can't take advantage of and trays revenue and do a job in a way that allows us to

republicans say, hey, we're at war. >> steve handelsman. >>> no smokers allowed. the virginia company that will no longer hire people who light up. >>> the freak accident that left this truck dangling in midair. >>> and fighting the city in a. how magic johnson's trip here to washington cou [ male announcer ] when your business is powered by verizon, you can do more business per second. and with more reliable internet, that's more per second. and with a dedicated line, it's more per second. and with an additional line, it's more... table for 15? [ male announcer ] ...per second. but most importantly, it's more... mmm! [ male announcer ] ...per second. get verizon high-speed internet and phone for just $84.99 a month when you sign up online with a two-year price guarantee. plus a $200 verizon visa pre-paid card and an additional line included. verizon. >>> tonight we are awaiting autopsy results on a man who held a 5-year-old boy hostage for nearly a week. his body was removed last night from the underground bunker. the deputy coroner was allowed into the bunker be

we will begin with steve handelsman, who has the latest on negotiations on capitol hill. >> democrats are trying to make sequestration look terrible. republicans are trying to say it doesn't have to be so bad. neither side is really doing much to try to prevent it. lawmakers return to the house, and the senate is back in session. with no talks reported under way to put off the sequester friday, president obama pressure republicans. >> these cuts do not have to happen. congress can turn them off any time with just a little bit of compromise. >> republicans will not compromise on taxes. >> we are not willing to put revenue on the table. the cuts are going to occur. >> the white house sent out 50 reports detailing how the $83 billion in cuts would impact each state. in alabama, 27,000 defense department's employees would be furloughed. 500 at risk kids would lose child care. 2100 kids would not get needed vaccines. but at the white house today, governors were split about what lawmakers ought to do. a democrat from connecticut. >> they need to get out of that box that sits under the dome

steve handelsman has the latest. >> this hearing might have focused on cia waterboarding. there was some of that, might have focused on u.s. intelligence failures that led to the death of four u.s. diplomats in benghazi action and there was some of that. mostly it was a hard look at the growing phenomenon of america going to war by remote control, and what the rules on that ought to be. >> we look forward to hearing your testimony. >> reporter: at his senate confirmation hearing, the issue is not john brennan's ability to be cia director. he's a former top agent, white house counter-terror chief when osama bin laden was killed, but protesters delayed the hearing, objecting to what they call cia torture, and u.s. drones flying in pakistan and yemen. 6 firing missiles. the administration's legal justification was finally released to congress today, plus a proposal for a closed court to review attack plans. >> to assure that drone strikes are carried out in a manner consistent with the values. >> reporter: brennan says they have been and will be and the public needs to know i

steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with more on that. steve? >> pat, thanks. good evening. if his inaugural address is my indication, this could be a tougher talking president obama. but no way to know for sure until tonight. will president obama talk compromise in his speech or vow to win his way on the big issues? >> everything i have to say tonight. >> reporter: the headline could be the obama announcement that he will bring home 34,000 u.s. forces from afghanistan but he will warn the military could be hurt by spending cuts march 1. the sequester. outside the capitol union members protested the automatic cuts that will also hit social servic services. preventing sequester cuts calls for a deal on taxes and spending the president is called for in previous state of the union speeches. there's still no agreement. >> we had a spending debt crisis. not a receive knew debt crisis. you have to make the right diagnosis. >> reporter: the obama prescription is to spend more and put americans back to work and pay for that by higher taxes on the wealthy. the liberal agenda he laid

steve handelsman on capitol hill now where some lawmakers seeing immigration in a new light. steve. >> it does feel different up here on the hill where a lot of republicans are rethink their opposition to the so-called path to citizenship. for millions of people in this country illegally rethinking after the issue hurt republicans in the fall and helped democrats. president obama pushing for immigration reform this year met with activists who said he agreed with them good what critics call amnesty. >> pathway to citizenship for undocumented community. >> reporter: roughly 10 million to 12 million people illegally in the u.s. many accept pay below the legal minimum. afl-cio unions are onboard to end that. >> prevent what's wrong from driving down the wages of everybody else. >> reporter: analysts say that under president obama, the u.s./mexican boarder is more secure. the net number of migrants not increasing. activists demand, reform, now. >> not contingent at all on additional enforcement, whether it is border security or any other types of enforcement. >> reporter: at the fi

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> the stand-off is over. but a 5-year-old boy could be scarred for life. we are learning more today about the time he spent as a hostage in the underground bunker and what prompted authorities finally move in. >>> time is money. find out how many dollars we are wasting every year by sitting in traffic. >>> behind these doors, that's where it all goes down. i'm angie goff. we are going to take behind the scenes for a sneak peek at (woman) 3 days of walking to give a break cancer survivor a lifetime-- that's definitely a fair trade. it was such a beautiful experience. (jessica lee) ♪ and it's beautiful (woman) why walk 60 miles in the boldest breast cancer event in history? because your efforts help komen serve millions of women and men facing breast cancer every year. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information today. it was 3 days of pure joy. ♪ and it's beautiful >>> you are taking a live look at the 14th street bridge where in just a short time you can expect, as we all can, it will be pack

steve handelsman has more. >> jim, it looks like it's going to play out in a tough fashion. deja vu for democrats and republicans. and the fear up here on capitol hill is that the longer these big, big disputes drag out, the tougher it might be to settle. >> house will be in order. >> the next few weeks will be another struggle. actually several between republicans and president obama. over three key issues. gun control. the obama call and the public clamor to do something is boiling down to universal background checks, a possible deal being worked out by senator schumer, manchin coburn and kirk. two rated a by the nra and two rate the f ziemt immigration is the next. allowing illegal immigrants to stay but no actual plan has been proposed yet. issue three is the biggie that everyone says they hate. sequestering. >> mindless, arbitrary, across the board cuts to take place on march 1st. >> spending cuts in social services and in defense. unless there's finally a deal to cut spending. president obama is making clear he wants in any such deal another tax hike on wealthy, reduci

steve handelsman on capitol hill now with more on this. >> that's for sure. based on the speech excerpts just released by the white house, i will read a couple of it is clear that the president and his people want the american people to remember that he mostly talked about jobs here tonight. here's a quote. every day we should ask ourselves three questions as amation. the president will say tonight. how do we attract more jobs? how do we equip our people with the skills needed to do those jobs? the obama answer is federal programs targeted at that that he would pay for by additional taxes by closing loopholes on the wealthy. saying to make sure this government works on behalf of the many and not just a few. those are some main topics. but his tone tonight remains a question mark. will president obama talk compromise in his speech or vow to win his way on the issues? >> everything i have to say tonight. >> reporter: the headline could be the obama announcement that he will bring home 34,000 u.s. forces from afghanistan. but he will warn that the military could

steve handelsman joins us from capitol hill with more. hi, steve. >> you're right, doreen. thanks, good even. even though the pontiff warned he might abdicate if he thought he couldn't do the job, no modern pope had ever done that. pope benedict's decision to step down came as a surprise, shock in new york. >> wow, that's big form. >> reporter: the first for abdicate in 600 years. >> for him to retire like that, you know, to me it's like losing a father. >> reporter: the 85-year-old cited fading health, saying in a statement -- i have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of my ministry. vice president biden is a practicing catholic. >> this is a man of great integrity and looking out for what he believes is the best interests of our church. i admire him for it. >> reporter: benedict used twitter, but had visibly slowed down as the papacy became more demanding, thanks in part to energetic predecessor john paul ii. new york's cardinal timothy dolan on benedict's reaction. >> almost, i don't know if i'm up

steve handelsman has our story. >> reporter: pope benedict's decision to step down came as a surprise, that's big. i can't give a reaction. it hasn't sunk in yet. >> reporter: the first pope to abdicate in over 600 years. chicagoans were stunned. >> to me it's like losing a father. >> reporter: he cited failing health, with the statement that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of my ministry. vice president biden is a practicing catholic. >> this is a man of great integrity and looking out for what he believes is the best interests of our church. i admire him to if. >> reporter: benedict used twitter, but had visibly slowed down as the papacy became more demanding, thanks in part to energetic predecessor john paul ii. cardinal dolan on benedict's react. >> almost in the beginning he shrugged and said, boy, i don't know if i'm up to this, but with god's grace and mercy, i'll give it my best shot, and he's done well for eight years. >> a man in the full possession of his physical powers is going to be needed. >> reporter: the college of ca

i'm steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. >>> it appears the former commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan will not be the next leader of nato troops in europe. military sources tell nbc news that general john allen will withdraw his name from consideration of that post. sources say he doesn't want to drag hi family through the nomination process because of the e-mails he exchanged with socialite jill kelly. he was cleared of any wrongdoing after the e-mails were discovered during an investigation of former cia director david petraeus. >>> the future of the papacy is becoming clearer. we now know when the selection process is likely to start and how pope benedict xiv will spend his final days on the job. >>> if the drink diet soda, listen up. we'll tell you about a new link between sugar-free diet soda and diabetes. >> what do you do when you've won the super bowl of dog shows. if you have high blood pressure and get a cold get coricidin hbp. the number one pharmacist recommended cold brand designed for people with high blood pressure. and the only one i use to reliev

i'm steve handelsman respect news4. >>> if you were in the district today mayor gray said he would welcome an increase to $9. that would mean $10 an hour in the district, because the city's minimum wage is set at $1 more than the fell wayne. the mayor talked about the issue as he toured a economy xhempl kitchen in northeast washington. >> i think again from the workers' perspective, it's a good thing. you do the math and still you work 2,080 hours a year, that still puts you at $20,000, which is very challenging. >> the nearly 8,000 square foot facility rents out temporary space to small businesses, businesses that often pay minimum wage. >>> in appears now that some household items came in contact with a kerosene heater. that is what started a deadly fire in charles county maryland last night. this is dash-cam video that shows what firefighters saw when they arrived at stuckey road in indian head. 66-year-old geraldine key could not escape. she was killed in that fire. seven others did manage to get out safely. a firefighter was burned, but is expected to be op. firefighters say their job