news4's steve handelsman is live on capitol hill. >> thank you, wendy.re they like to call the gop party the party of no, and symbolized by the government shutdown, and this is the gop trying a sort of makeover. >> reporter: the house republicans retreated to maryland's eastern shore to plot election year strategy and promise fed-up voters a change, and less negativity. >> it is important that we show the american people that we are not just of the opposition party the, and we are actually the al te terntive party. >> reporter: republicans say they will offer their own plan for health care soon, and for immigration reform, but it is not ready. >> and whether that is a so-call so-called path to the citizenship or legalization will be seen. >> reporter: and sep or the marco rubio pushed a bill for immigration reform through the house, but it is stuck in the senate. and your colleagues are not sure there should be a path to the immigration? >> well, there is no movement or supporter for that we are going to round up and deport 12 million people, but there i

steve handelsman is on capitol the hill with more on that. >> well, this is no little committee, but a board set up by congress in 2004 and so it is significant that the board's findings today and its suggestions are the opposite of what president obama said he would do a week ago about the controversial program first revealed by edward snowden. >> reporter: the privacy and civil liberties board investigated in depth the phone data collection, and the phone program, and every call logged and save and the board concluded it is not legal. >> the government should end the bulk tone records program. >> reporter: and the program did not stop the boston marathon bombing. >> the expectations of the program have fallen short of the highly desirable results expected. >> reporter: some members found that it helped ongoing investigations, and the white house said that 215 is useful. >> up with of a number of tools that we are able to employ to help protect the united states from terrorist attack. >> reporter: last friday, president obama said he won't stop 215 at the nsa. >> they are not abusin

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. >>> and virginia lawmakers are headed back to work right now in a violent incident involving one of their own is to set the agenda for mental health treatment that could keep people safe in the commonwealth. >>> and a cache of guns and bomb-making materiels found inside of the house, and what the homeowner was planning to do with all of this. >> i'm tracee wilkins in prince georges county where officials are struggling to deal with the broken water main . >> the first potential death from cold weather is now under investigation in prince georges county. for those who had to work out soo outside in the county, frigid temperatures made it difficult. tracy wilkins is live now in the area. >> this is believed to be a waet weath weather-related death. they are awaiting autopsy reports. you can see the water main break here in kettering and it is one of the reasons that many parents thought it was a good idea for their kids to stay home from school. >> reporter: it is literally freezing cold. many parents felt that the kids should have had the da

outside of the state capital, trenton, new jersey, i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >> thank you, steve.ne carries the nation's most valuable cargo, and still ahead, a rare sitdown interview with the hand-picked crew that flies the president. >>> and job searching. local companies are looking for a few good men and women are the the nation's military, and hiring our heroes is coming up next. >>> you are watching "news4 at 4." >>> a mixed floor today on wall street with little to be understood from the jobs are report. the nasdaq was up four points and the s&p 500 closed up 18. >> that jobs report found that there were only 74,000 jobs added and that is the weakest in three years. and ton employment rate is 6.75%, and analysts say that people gave up looking for work and there is a record number of women not in the labor force, and 20,000 fewer women held jobs in december. >>> well, nbc4 is partnering with hiring our heroes and sponsor i sponsoring an event that links veterans and civilian job matching with their skills. >> and news 4's richard jordon spoke to some of them todayt ta conve

steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with more on this. steve? >> well, thank you, pat. it is a statistical fact the longer you are out of work, the harder it is to get hire d and president obama said today, that is is not fair. >> reporter: corporateeo came to the white house, and the heads of ebay, and boeing and marriott and others to join president obama's push to help the long-term unemployed. 4 million americans have been out of work for more than six months, and studies show that fact alone hurts their prospects. >> so if are the are two people who are identical, and one person has been unemployed for longer than the other person, then the employer will say that maybe the person who is unemployed for shorter period of time is a little bit better. >> reporter: mr. obama has 300 companies to hire without taking into account how long someone has been looking, and he signed an order to make that the government policy. >> so today, i am directing every federal agency to make shure that we are evaluating th candidates on the level without regard to their employment hist

news 4s steve handelsman is live with details. >> reporter: thanks, good evening. the number one goal of the affordable care act was to get insurance for the tens of have coverage. now that that coverage is taking effect, those who got the coverage, they are pleased. in northern virginia dale is happy. despite high blood pressure, for the first time in a long time, he's got health insurance. for $141 a month, he gets a subsidy. >> i have obamacare. i was jumping up and down. i was excited. i thought i should have had this a long time ago. >> reporter: a big goal is less use of hospital emergency rooms by the uninsured who were seeking non-emergency care at everybody else's expense. tens of millions in america can now get it. >> they can go to doctors and be treated for conditions they may have been delaying care of postponing care for that it will really make a difference to how people use the health care system. >> reporter: a study finds, when the poor get insurance, many go to the e.r. more often. in beltsville, maryland, this 55-year-old has arthritis and other

our steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with the detalils. hi, steve. >> hi, bar ra ra.at conclusion is the opposite of the conclusion drawn by president obama is a week ago about this controversial program revealed by edward snowden. >> i think that the third party -- >> reporter: the privacy and the civil liberties board analyzed in depth, the 215 program, the phone program, which phone connects to which and every log of every phone call saved. and they said it is not illegal. 215 did not stop the boston marathon bombing. >> and the results of the program have been limited and falling far short of the highly desirable outcome promise d for it. >> reporter: and the board found that phone logging uncovered no new terror plots, although some members found it helped ongoing investigations, and the white house said that 215 is useful. >> one of the number of tools that we are able to employ to help to protect the united states against the terrorist attack. >> and last friday,b president obama said he won't stop 215 at the nsa. >> they are not abusing authorities to listen t

. >> and news4 steve handelsman is out there in it, and he is in the thick of it up on capitol hill. thank you, pat and steve. the weather team based on my observation of the hill has it exactly right, it is the about the snow, but more than that, it is about the chill. the chill that is coming. and it is kind of scary. the federal government is shutdown, but old man winter is working overtime. >> reporter: the storm struck the midwest this morning, and medium to heavy snow on indiana interstates. >> and all you can do is to take your time. >> reporter: and you see the big truck in the background? the car skidded underneath it. and the snow ended in chicago and it moved east right over the i-95 corridor, and it got more intense. stronger winds and inches of accumulation from virginia to boston. >> and pretty much snow from top to bottom on the map. >> reporter: and a foot or more forecasted in the many areas. >> treacherous. and really bad. >> reporter: this is laguardia airport in new york, and thousands of flights canceled op the east coast, and driving less of an option with the h

steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with details. hi, steve. >> reporter: hi, thanks. good evening. snowden's ucla lawyer denied that the russians helped snowden do the -- aclu lawyer denied that the russians helped snowden do theleaking. that lawyer also helped snowden deal with the consequences. if edward snowden can't come home, he's got a backup -- the russians taking an uron fist to the games this sochi -- an open fist to the games in sochi. his russian lawyer said russia would extend snowden's asylum status when it runs out in august. snowden does not want to stay. he said in his web chat, "returning to the u.s., i think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but it's unfortunately not possible." because he's denied whistleblower protection. snowden's american lawyer, ben weisner, says the leaker ought to be offered clemency. >> i don't think edward snowden should, as the justice department says, plead guilty to a felony, lose his freedom and civil rights for his act of conscience that did all of this good. >> reporter: attorney gener

kitchen, and we are joined by steve handelsman. >> yes, that is right.holding up ideals that martin luther king stood for are a part of this holiday along with h honoring him. >> reporter: people honored at the memorial in washington, and others in denver and philadelphia, but in southeast washington, there were shoes, and one of the many service projects on this holiday. a shoe give a wway for kids. 800 pairs for mlk's memory. >> i feel great, because we are trying to do something for martin luther king junior like. >> helping each other? >> yes. and anthony got new kicks. 2-year-old anthony, do you like those shoes? dad likes that love. >> my daughter say yes, and come out to show the love to the people on martin luther king birthday. >> reporter: and president obama and his family were at the kitchen to make burritos for the needy. >> reporter: and some say that no way america could have chosen the first black president without the 1963 speech reenact ed in kansas. >> 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. >> reporter: and if king had not challenged ame

news 4's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: thanks, pat. with the whole world watching today, chris christie gave the kind of performance that may have been -- that's made him seem by many as a prospect for the white house. he dealt out the harshest condemnation of his top staffer, who he said told lies. new jersey governor chris christie apologized for the bridge scandal. >> ultimately i am responsible. >> reporter: but christie said he never knew until yesterday what he denied for weeks that one of his top aides ordered lanes close frommed george washington bridge, jamming traffic for delays, delaying police and ambulance crews, to punish the fort lee mayor for not endorsing christie. >> i had no knowledge of this, the planning, the execution or anything about it. >> reporter: the increme nating e-mail went from the deputy chief of staff to a christie loyalist at the bridge agency. david wildstein, who has resigned. today refused to testify about the scandal. >> i respectfully assert my right to remain silent. >> christie says he fired ke

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >> very good work, steve. >>> and three weeks until the olympics in sochi, russia. tonight the russian security forces are on high alert, and tonight, new information of what they are calling the black widows could be threatening the games. >>> and a postal worker speaking out about mail carriers and what out about mail carriers and what happened to today a another by an intruderht by the reservoir... who forced his way in through her bedroom window... and for so many, traumatized again by facing the criminal in court. i'm jennifer wexton, and as a prosecutor i put violent offenders in prison. in the virginia senate, i'll fight just as hard against tea party republicans who would take away a woman's healthcare and her right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest. on election day, help me stand up for her. >>> firefighters say that a number of people were killed in a massive explosion in nebraska. they don't know how many at this point. this happened this morning at a feed processing plant in omaha and 38 employees in there at the time. 10 people were t

steve handelsman from nbc news is out in the snow for us tonight. it doesn't get any better than that. good evening, steve. >> reporter: hi, larry. good evening. i don't think the snow is the big story. here in washington it's snowy. it's snowy all up and down the east coast. there will be a big amount of accumulation. on the back side is the cold. here's some investment advice. go long on parkas. buy down futures. it's freezing out here. here on capitol hill, the government workers were told, most of them anyway, stay home and try to work from home. that may be the case tomorrow. no decisions made. a lot of schools closed, mostly because of the snow, and also because of the cold. and tremendous transportation disruption all up and down the east coast. and then airports that serve all the big east coast airports, at least 3,000 flights canceled. and so, larry, they're worried here in washington because of the bitter cold. 10 to -- mine nus 10 to minus 15 forecast. pretty much the same through baltimore, philly, new york, up into maine. it's a real ch

i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >>> prince george's county voted to gradually raise its minimum wa wage. and governor martin o'malley is pushing for a statewide increase to $10.10 an hour. people who came to see the president said they agree with paying workers more. >> if you expect people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, you need to be able to equip them with the ability to do it. >> it gives everyone an opportunity. that's what this country should stand for. >> reporter: many residents said they're glad the president chose prince george's county to make his pitch. >> new york congressman michael grimm apologized today to a reporter he threatened after last night's sta"state of the union" address. congressman grimm is from staten island and upset that a political reporter, michael scotto, asked him about an ongoing federal investigation into campaign fund-raising. today, grimm admitted he over reacted and called scotto to apologize. >> i'm a human being and sometimes your emotions get the better of you. bottom line, it shouldn't happen you shouldn't lose your cool and that's