susan hogan has what you need to know about these changes. >> refunds this filing season have dropped more than 8%. r wasverage refund last y just over $2,000. this year, the average is coming in to about $1865. so we went to a tax expert to find out why. >> people are saying, well, what happened to my tax cut? i thought i was supposed to pay less in taxes. >> jay is a certified public accountant in arlington. he says there are two main reasons people may not see a big refund check this year. >> they weren't having enough tax withheld. >> if you didn't change your withholdings ago year when the ew tax law went into effect, chances are the irs started taking out fewer taxes. meaning your take home pay went up, even if you didn't even notice it. the othereasoneeou may s a smaller refund, a cap in the deduction for state and local taxes also known as s.a.l.t. it is now limitedo $10,000. >> and in high-tax states, even around here,ou arlingtony where you have people who are paying 10, 12, 15 plus thonand dollars real estate tax, alone, you're limited to 10,000, not only for theeal estate

. >> i'm actually susan hogan from nbc 4. >> to expose an illegal practice that could bng putti i your famidanger. >>> and a potentially harmful viral challenge that has parents all over the country sounding the alarm. >>> news 4 at 11:00 starts now. >>> we begin tonight with some big changes in our forecast. good evening, everyone. i'm doreen gentzler. >> and i'm jim adlai. don'trite off winte just yet, folks, we have got more in store. take a look at stormeam 4's future weather outlook. it's showing snow that could lead to a day off for some students and teaers here on friday. >> chief meteorologist doug kammerer joins us now with a look at the ti tng and impact it could have for us. doug? >> the closer we get to this, the bigger the impact looks as we continue to gin more and more rmation in. byorhis time tw afternoon, we're going to be watching this. by tomorrow night, the snow will be moving all across our area. look what happens here by about 5:00 in the morning. everybody seein snow. i do think everybody will see it, even down to the south, yledericksburg, parts of southern md.

consumer reporter susan hogan working for you with advice for making he most out of your profile. f >>or every online dating sale -- >> it has been thatood. >> there is an online dating success story. getting from here to here takes a lot of time unless you've got a little help. >> i help people with all aspects of online dating from first click to first date. >> when it comes to as or first date, erica edwards says it's not one size fits all. dating iggest online sites are the apps. tinder, bumble, hinge, cof meets bagel and the list goes on. >> for those of you older than 30, try a site that requires a little skin in the game. >> if they're looking for something more serious, go to a paid site where you know people have at least put a credit card in. >> as f your profile picture, clean up your act. no selfies in the mirror because, one, it's corny. two, we're all looking at the background. we see your messy kitchen. we see theunmade bed. >> and when writing your profile, be specific. >> , iould avoid anything i call empty adjectives. adventurous, spontaneous, attractive. anythin

. >> susan hogan is working 4 for for the top blands. >> reporter: soft sheets are a pressure to sleephat if you paid over $200 and your sheets shrunk this much. testers put fitted sheets through a strength test, pushing the fabrics and theeams to their limits. and then, they checked to see it they different depths. theheets were washed and dried 25 times. samples were cut andsu md before and after washing. >> out of the package, all of theheets fit a standard's mattres mattress. after a year, only half of them did. the queen sheets from matouk fit excellently on all mattress sizes. although they're prices, these are the only sheets th an 18-inch mattress after a year's worth of washings. and the fabric was strong. they could save you money over the long run. the l. bean pima percale sheets got excellent marks for strength and are a "consumer reports" best buy. susan hogan, news 4. >>> still ahead,ays after h said he was beaten by men using guyslurs, jussi smollett speaks out. >>> and fourou things need to know about the next couple days here. tomorrow will be very pleasant. up in the

susan hogan shows how it might putting the child and parent at risk. ♪r: >> reporte in new mom ann's world with twin baby boys, everything is double.th books, the cribs, two sets of little feet and, of course, double the worry. >> we want to protect them. they're our first children. >> reporter: that protection includes something ann never even thought of until recently. >> my husband and i were watching the news, and it came up that a 2-year-old had their identity stolen. >> reporter: more than 1 milliod childrenheir identities stolen in 2017, according to a recent sdy. 66% of the victims were under 8 years old.fe thderal trade commission passed a law last year allowing rents, like ann, to free their children's credit. the law also included free credit freezes for adults. >> we froze our credit, thene went to freeze the boys' credit, e d it was such a problem. >> reporter: unlikeezing your credit, where you can do it all online, freezing a child's credit requires parents to send sensitive information about yourself and your child by mail to all three

susan hogan has a look at a push to protect you and your family. ak> we are staying on top of today's big breing news stories, including the arrest of singer r. kelly. the r&b star is charged with sexual abusespllegations anning more than a decade. the charges involve four tvictims, at leastee of whom were younger than 17. kelly is skid yuulch to appear bond court in chicago tomorrow. >>> fresh off his super bowl win, new england patriots owner bob kraft is back in the spotlights. >>> chris paloan reports he's been arrested for paying for sex at a massage parlor in florida. reporter: after a lengthy undercover investigation, police in jupter florida have charged 2 dozen men with soliciting prostitution. >> that woulde mr. robert kraft. >> the owner of the new england patriots? >> yes, sir. >> what is he being chargedwi ? >> the same offenses as the others, and that is soliciting another for prostitution. >> reporter: police say he faces twoisdemeanor charges for visits to the day spa. >> is there video evidence of the alleged acts? >> yes, sir, for

susan hogan working for you explaining why thousands of people got letters threatening to garnish your wages. they were not bcanged but it wasn't right eith e. >>> it's friday, that means t chucd joins us next to talk about t national emergency declaration. >>> i'm tracking rain and snow in areas to the west. what's it bringing to our area for saturday? for saturday? what abo that big storm early for saturday? what abo that big storm early ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we err about 15 minutes a from a news conference where police from aurora, illinois are about to update us on that deadly shooting that killed one person and injured four police officers. >> we've been watching the story since 4:00 this afternoon with information trickling out bit by bit. we l expect torn more this hour so keep it tuned to 4.ne >>> every week we like to take a breath and we'd lik to drink bourbon but we can't just yet. we like t take stock of the important stories in politics. >> each week when you think you can't top last week, itap hnspe again. president trump declares a national emergency to build a wall, and then he

susan hogan uncovers odometer fraud. >> there's no trace the odometer has been tampere with. >>> for tomorrow we'll be dealing with snow and then rain showers and another storm system impacting yr sunday, will that lead to some delays on monday? we'll be talking about at, plus taking a close look at tomorrow, when does the snow in move when does it exit? ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪ ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪ ♪ any any any any ♪ng did you know tran your car at a dealer could cost you money? a recent study found consumers who trade in their car pay an avera of $990 dollars more. so don't trade in... sell it.... to we buy any car. learn more andtiet your free online val now at we buy any car dot com ♪ find out how mebh your car is worth atuyanycar.com ♪ >>> a wintery mix coming right e for the morning commute. you're taking a look at what's to. come tomorr doug and amelia are tracking snow and some school delays just ahead. >>> a consumer alert now about a potential dangere roads. >> new tahows more than 26,000 vehicles in the d.c. region have had theirle odomete

. >> susan hogan is breaking down auto insurance for you. >>> prepare for more potholes. road crews tell us they're seeing a spike in calls where we're seeing the worst potholes today. >>> they're everywhe. but look at this. something else that's everywhere, 60s and 70s. but the 40s to the west. i'll yupdate on. >>> back now with a loo we've had some record breaking warmth across the dmv today. we hit 72. can you believe that? breaking our old record of 70 degrees. as you know, good things don't always last. doug is back with when winter returns and wnou y'll his update just minutes away. >> sometimes ged things c with a downside. you may enjoy the swings in temperatures but theoads don't love it so well. >> potholesre sure to start dotting the landscape all over our region. transportation reporter adam tuss is out on pothole prol today. >> reporter: get ready, because the ground's about to be ripped over with pholes all across the region. >> you'll see more of these as we go into the spring season. >> reporter: road crews filling the craters and with the record moisture

news 4's susan hogan working for you to help you find that perfect match. >> so glad i don't have to d kl with thad of stuff. we're dealing with the rain, though, across our area. the sn, theeet, the freezing rain. it's all out there tonight and will be tomorrow morning, too. much mor >>> here we go again. another round of winter weather headed right for us. cold, soggy, nasty morning commute is expected several schools have delayed two hours tomorrow. theull list isn our nbc washington app. and doug's full forecast is up in three minutes. >> swipe left,t,wipe ri to wink or not to wink, online dating isn't for the faihe of t. >> no, it's not. but 40 million americans use the dating sites in hopes of finding a match. this valentine's week we're working for you single fogs, helpou make the most of your quest to find love. >> here's consumer susan hogan. >> we recently spoke with a number ofll singles of different ages and asked them what is the number one issat ust bugs them? well, online dating struggles top their list. for every online dating fail -- >> it hasn't bee that good. >> th

thege j all award-winning members of our news 4 team, ann yang, tracee wilkins, and susan hogan.hey had a lot of tough decisions to make he. >> i've done this a lot with you now. this by far, they were amazing. >> the attention to detail and the time that it took to put these ent together, i am just blown away. >> reporter:ow here in no particular order, the final four. "mission impossible". "the bird box". "back to the ture". "and e.t.". there you have it the final four. which one would you pick? coming up at 6:00, the judges' . choi jim, wendy. >> that's a tough one. >> you know what i liked this year, you had so many video entrances, it's not just the still pictures. and the music that went with it. >>nghey danced, we laughed and cried. >> ited a a different dimension, texture. see you at 6:00. wh> meane, it's throwback stthursday. time we did one of these, pat wound up psyching out d.c. bomayor muriel wser. we went, what? he offered her a snow stick and took it away. took it away. u can see his redemption my name is elaine barber, and i'm a five-year cancer survivor. survivin

susan hogan breaks down the new findings. >>> we'll take y liveou does your customers connecting to the wifi ever slow down your busiyess? it does slow things down. aggravating. it's a nightmare. so our gig-speed network is fast. and we go beyond fast by making it easy to create separate networks for your buness and your customers and even control how much bandwidth each of those gets. so your business won't miss a beat. this is a big game changer. this is the new wave, and whoever doesn't get on, i thinbethey would be lefnd. wifi pro runs on the gig-speed network. pay just $49.95 a month for fast internet and get a $300 prepaid card. comcast business. beyond fast. >>> an update now on the life breaking news we told you about. these are live pictures from chopper 4 over the scene of a double shooting on annapolis road. both victims are men, one reportedly in critical can be found in products from la tays to lotions, and baked goods. now some people are using cannabis oil to help their pets. as doreen gezler explains they're hailing the health benefits even though the product is not regu

. >> susan hogan is joining us next with four tips to help you build your emergency fund. >>> then halftime heat,bo super acts defending their performances before taking the stage. both sidesf the controversy and what to watch for this weekend. >>> and thenow is starting to clear out for some of us. here's a live look at the rar. doug is back with what's >>> s b we'rek now with a look at the current temperatures in your neighborhood. doug says by this time tomorrow those numbers are gng to double. and that's good news for david culver and shomari stone, who are doing this again. this wasast year's polar plunge. they'll be at the y navyd tomorrow afternoon, jump time is 2:00. you can catch them hopping intol icedd pools tomorrow at nats' park. >> not for the faint of heart. >> it's not. >>> apple said it fixed the bug that allowed people to ease drop onther people's phone. they're releasing a new software update next week thathe fixes bug. >>> apple is also reportedly delving deeper into augmented reality. the new i phones in store have 3d cameras that capture images within feet of the phone

susan hogan working for you with more on that. >> this is a big deal. we're talki about virginia's prepaid 529 program. one ofns several opt offered by the state. we learned enrollment has fi dropped signtly over the past few years. in 1996, aeight semester contract cost $14,000. today thatame contract costs $67,000. an increase, 478%. t no plan ceo tells me that a lot of people can'the afford prepay option anymore because of huge increases in higr educatio costs. there are two bills making their way through the virginia legislature, that would help lower the costs for families. because of this uncertainty, enrollment for the prepaid 5 plan has been temporarily suspended. it will reopen for a brief period between march 1st andt april 3h. this does not impact virginia's two other 529 plans, only the prepaid option. we're going to continue to track the bills and let you know of any developments. my husband and i figured it out when we went to reenroll jasa, that it was suspended and we couldn't. >> which means you're going to stay on top of this. >> absol

our consumer reporter susan hogan shows us the a dosnd don'ts for putting together a profile. >>> if he wasn't so good at hockey, he may have become a -ah, the old crew! remember when we all used to go to the cafeteria and just chow down midday? -you mean, like, lunch? -come on. voted "most likely to help people save $668 when they switch." -at this school? -dyou get caught in the laminating machine? -ha. [ sighs ] -"box, have a great summer. danielle." ooh. danielle, control yourself. i'd like to slow it down here co with a special dt for a special girl. danielle, this one's for you. >>> the caps have enjoyedhe comforts of capital one arena over the last two weeks but ile playing at home is great, finding a home iser be forward nick dowd said if he wa't a hockey player he'd have become a vet. he's using his animal passion to help give back toomard trails. >> what kind of dog are you looking for today? >> it's hard to explain the bond you create with the animal and if you have kids, the bond that ites cre with the kids as well. >> no bad hairays here, though? right? head.a little bed

. >> susan hogan is working 4 r for the top bran.porter: soft sheets are a pressure to slee unless the corners keep popping off of your mattress.yo what ipaid over $200 and your sheets shrunk this much. testers put fitted sheets through a strength test, pushing the fabrics and the seams to their limits. and then, they checked to see if they fit different depths. the sheets were washed and dried 25 times. samples were cut and measured before and after washing. >> out of the package, all of the sheets fit a standard's tt ss. after a year, only half of them did. the queen sheets from matouk fit excellently on all mattress sizes. although they' prices, these e the only sheets that fit an 18-inch mattress after a year's worth of washings. and the fabric was strong. they could save you money over the long run. the l.l. bean pima perca sheets got excellent marks for strength and are a "consumer t reports" by. susan hogan, news 4. >>> still ahead, days after he said he was beaten by men using guy slurs, jussi smollett speaks out. ed>>> and f

>> consumer repor susan hogan is here with tips we can easily follow. >> it's no secret that heating and cooling our a houses typically the largest energy expense. did you know the second largest isng hea water for laundry, washing dishes and bathing. th ce costs be brought down with these tips. how long do you spend in a hot shower? >> 10 minutes. minutes. >> usually 20 minutes. if there's music 30. minutes.5 >> on the weekend i'll spend 45 minutes. >> reporter: nearly 20% of water used in our homes the shower.of a standard shower head releases 2.5 gallons of water every minute. r consumerorts says replacing with a water sense head that uses 2 gallons per minute or less can save you nearly 3,000 gallons a year. and a few habit changes can make a difference. first try a shorter shower. and quit letting the water run when shaving or brushing your teeth. after scraping, there's no need tosinse dis before putting them in the dishwasher. for best results in energy sang cs runder your replacing ur old dishwasher. 90% of your clothe's washer energy goes to heating the water. using warm wat

susan hogan is working for y outo ♪ -morning. -morning. -what do we -keep an eye on that branch.ight get windy. have a good shift. fire pit. last use -- 0600. i'd stay close. morning. ♪ t ready to switch. protected by flo. should say, "protected by alan and jamie." -rig -should it? when you bundle me and auto... run, alan! ...you get more than just savings. you get 'round-the-clock protection. >>> have you done your income taxes yet? if not within you may be in f a big surprise thanks to the changes in the tax de. >> we've seen complaints popping up on social media on this from peoplemaho ny see a refund and now find out they owe the irs. susan hogan is working for you with what you need to know about these changes. >> according to the soirs, refus ar this filing season have dropped more than the average refund last year was just over $2,000. this yearvehege is coming in to about $1,865. t we want to expert to find out why. >> people are saying what happened to my tax cut? i thought i was supposed to pay less. >>ay is a certified public accountant in arlington. he said there are

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you. >>> look at this, we ha 53 d.c., 28 state college, 62 in richmond. hich way are we going next and en do we have a chance for snow? it's in the forecast. i'm back in a few minutes. >>> staying on top of breaking news, a baby girl kidnapped in a stolen vehicle in good news is she's been found safe. the other concerning news is the thief and the car still on the loose right now. back in 90 seconds with >>> we have breaking news if you're just joining us, police in prince george's county say a man stole an suv with a baby girl inside. officers tell us the little girl is now safe,e but they still looking for that man and the stolen vehicle. stay tuned for updates right here on news4.e >>>nt to warn you in advance the video we're going to show new this nexttory may be a bit disturbing. surveillance cameras capture an attack in a d.c. nightclub. the fac a of three suspects are visible, look at that and take note. mark segraves explains that police hope these images help them catch the shooter and his accomplic accomplices. >> reporter: secur

susan hogan here with what you need to know about the changes this year. >> have you seen the twitter feeds? people are going crazy. according to the irs refunds so far this filing season have dropped more than 8%. the average refund last just over 2,000 this year t average is $1,865. we went to a tax expert to find out why. >> people are saying what ppened to my taxcut? i thought i was supposed to pay less in taxes. >> jay is a certified public accountant in arlington. he said there are two reasons people may not see aefun r d teck if they weren't having enough taxes withheld. >> if you didn'tou changer withholdingsast year, are the irs started taking out fewer taxes, meang yourake home pay went up. the other rea you may see a smaller refund, the cap for a deduction in state and local taxes. it's now limit to $10,000. >> and in high tax states, even around here, around arlington county, where you have people paying 10, 12, 15 plus thousand dollars on estate tax alone you're limited to 10,000 not only for the real estate tax but the state income tax also. >> while it's too late for 20

susan hogan has howour digital footprint may drive up your rates. >> it's crazy. right now auto insure can't use our online behavior t setes but they're looking at whether the data is relevant to determining risk factors, and the impact it o could have our bottom line. >> every click, swipe, tap, collectively says something about us. it's our digital footprint. and it's how companies track us and learn a about our consumer behavior. website ando to a shop for a pair of shoes but they don't buy it, later they're on social media ty see those shoes marketed to them. >> the zebra a care insurance comparison website wanted to know what it would look like if auto insurance companies tracked our online activities. >> how much netflix are they streaming or what size clothes are they buying? that tells them how active and healthy they are,ig which m affect their health insurance premium. >> researchers admit there's no evidence that auto insurance companies use any of the data to setur rates, but the auto insurance industry is trackingl activity for other reasons, such as

. >> susan hogan is working 4 for for the p brands. >> reporter: soft sheets are a pleasure to sleeps keep popping off of your mattress.id what if you paver $200 and your sheets shrunk this much. testers put fitted sheets through a strength test, pushing the fabrics and the seams to their limits.th and then checked to see if they fit different depths. the sheetsere washed and dried 25 times. samples were cut and measured before and after washing.pa >> out of thage, all of the sheets fit a standard's mattress. after a year, only half of them did. the queen sheets from matouk fit excellently on all mattress sizes. ththough they're prices, these are the only sheet fit an 18-inch mattress after a year's worth of washings. and the fabric was strong. they could save you money over the long run. the l.l. bean pima percale shee got excellent marks for strength and are a "consumer reports" best buy. susan hogan, news 4. >> still ahead, days after llid he was beaten by men using guy slurs, jussi st speaks out. >>> and four things you need tot know abo next couple days around here. 14 the homeo

susan hogan is helping cut the clutter in your kitchen. a professional organizer helped susan organizeer own kitchen. how many things of dry oregano you have? >> only one at a time. that.etty good about i would like to thank jim for this tie. i took it. kind of a rainy start. it will be an siimprve picture for today. >>> questions for jussie smollett. another twist into the investigation of the allegedy attack b the "empire" actor. >>> and he led the skins to three super bowls. bu former football coach, joe gibbs, is calling yesterday's daytona 50 his biggest career daytona 50 his biggest career win (alex trebek) $8,000. over $8,000. now, why is this number so important? because $8,508 is the average cost of a funeral. if you've already planned how to help sever your final expen like this one, great. but if you havou't, i'm here to tellbout the number one most popular whole life insurance plan through the colonial penn progm. if you're between age 50 and 85, the goodatews is it's not too l because you can start here, right now. so call now.

back to you. >> susan hogan with good advice from our newsroom. >>> 9:44. a live look outeid right now on this saturday. 40 degrees here in northwest. lauryn ricketts tracking some wet weather. she' break that down aso where it might impact yo live from the starlite lounge. ♪ one plus one eqatls too little too♪ ♪ a sock-a-bam-om ♪ who's in the room? ♪ love is dangerous ♪ but driving safe means you pay less ♪ ♪ switch and save ♪ yes, ma'am excuse me, miss. ♪ does this heart belong to you? ♪ ♪ would you like it anyway? [ scatting ] >>> have you heard, whiskey making a comeback. the person lifting the glass is not your old granddad. women and younger drinkers are invigorating the modern whiskey t industry. the district has i first dill stillry owned by women. >> at republic restorative, where thebourbon, like owners, is becoming a big deal. >> nice. that's cool. >> yup. ter: two years ago, two childhood friends opened this craft distillery. >> it was not over a glass of water. it was over some whiskey that we came up with this idea. >> carusone comes from poli

it turns out those old electronics could be worth a good chunk of chan consumer reporter susan hoganng for you, helping you cash in on you old devices. >> reporter: robin newhouse is treating herself to a new lapt t, which meansre will be one more old laptop hiding in her kitchen cinet just above the drawer full of outdated tablets. >> i always feel bad throwing them away but i don't really know what to do with them. >> reporter: the tech team at consumer reports says don't throw them away. they may not be the latest models, but they could be worth ommething. >> big electronicsnies when they're putting out their new products, they do a lot to make evething seem exciting and fresh, but your old stuff that you have lying around is still perfectly good. if it's working, it's a great way to make some extra cash. >> reporter: there are plenty of online classified services you can use, but if you want something simple, think about eco atms. they're popping up across theun y where you can sell mp3 plays, tablend cell phones. just plug your device in at the kiosk and it will examine it to de

. >> susan hogan is working for you, with the results thatou ca keepafe on the roads. >> the assuranceute forh way safety, recently tested 11 different small suvs see how well their automatic pergency braking systems detect and brake forple in the road. researchers tested three different anscenarios. dult entering the road from the right. a child darting out from behind two parked cars and an adult walking in the lane near the edge of the road. the bmw x1 earned no credit in the ratings, hitting the dummy in all of the tests. the mitsubishi outlander reduced its speed in the test, earning i bac rating. the other nine models earned advanced and superior ratings. the detection systems used cameras and radar sensors to scan for pedestrians and some standard in many of the models. you can see the complete list of suvs and how they rated right now obc our washington app. all you have to do is search pedestrian crashes. back to you. >>> mitsubishiold us it will study the test results as it develops new vehicles and systems. theoutlander has scored good types of or in other crash tests by the

news 4 susan hogan sat down with leslie's grandmother to talk about her mission to protect other studentsn. >> nothing that i do will bring wesley back. nothing can be done to do th. but i will do and haveer done hing within my power to see that a tragedy like this never happens to another family, at least in virginia. >> the new law bans the use of motorized partitions if students are in the rm unles they have additional safety devices such as a motion sensor. require annual training for operators of mote orized petitions. >>> chicagoolice are dismissing a tip that jussiu smollet was seen inn elevato with the two brothers questioned in the case. the brothers were questioned and released. they now claim they were hired to strage the attack on smollet, again. so far he has not reed to speak with investigators. >>> back now to our storm team weher alert. hundreds of flight in our area have been canceled or layed. new 4z molette green is at reagan nation pretty empty right there now, right? >> actually quite the opposite. people are coming in pretty steady and stopping right here at the rddep

there were htedeliberations with susan hogan and tracee wilkins. it wasugh. pat challenged you to re-create your favorite movie screen in the snow. it came to a three-way tie between "e.t.," "bird box" and "mission impossible." the peacock family's "bird box" eaene won. it was almost to be with a name like peacock, right? >> that's a good look. >> those babies probably didn't know what mom was doing. >>> let's check on the rain. ll right. we're going to have several days with pretty high rain chances, t though it is going to rain every minute of the next three days. this morning, and for the rest of your friday, the higher rain chances will be on the southern half of our viewi area. tomorrow, everyone has a chance, mainly later in the day. andsunday's rain chance, primarily first thing in the morning. a big plume of moisture in the deep south and ohio valley. raining across most of us, fredericksburg and southern maryland. the extent of the rain is in the city of washington here. lower rain chaes toda from montgomery county, to frederick, rstown.d, ha higher

susan hogan is working for you with what you can doo help keep your family safe. >> nwell, th law allowsto freeze our child's credit, but a local mom's concern that the process to do this may actually be putting both her and her children's information at risk. >> we want to protect. their our first children. >> for ann that protection includes freezing her twin son's credit, but unlike freezing your credit where you can do it all online, a freezing child's credit requires parents to send sensitive information, like full social security numbers and rth certificates by mai to all three credit bureaus. >> just trusting that somebody trustworthy picks it up and goes through lots and lots of different hands. > news 4 contacted the credit bureaus. they understand why parents would be uncomfortable sending these documents by mail, but assured us the process is safe regardless, ann says she's not convinced. because i'm too scared to send it through the mail. i'm hoping they'll find another route to say, well, if you don't ngfeel comfortable d this, then we can do this. i anon't know what this th

susan hogan is helping cut the clutter in your kitchen. rganizer helpe susan organize her own kitchen. that's a lot of stuff. >>> good morning, everybody. after rain last night, theain is coming to an end. not going to have a big impact on your monday plans at all. if you have the afternoon off, the sun will be shining. there's an increasing charee for winter weather and soon. the forecast is coming up. >>> plus, questions for jussie smollett. another twist in the investigation into the alleged attack on the empire star. why hs the one that police want to talk to. >>> and he led the skins to three super bowls. but joe gibbs is calling yesterday's >>> news 4 today, starts now. >> it is 6:29. we take a live look outside on this monday morning. the capitol wheel there lit up. it's so pretty. but the rain that started last night is on its way. and sunshine will greet us this president's day. we're going to enjoy the sun and the mild temperatu'rs because due for a doozy in a dayle of >> that's a meteorological term. doozy. if you're headed out t

consumer reporter susan hogan reported on this. earth do my social media behavior have to do with how much i pay for carce insur >> well, right now nothing. but eventually, perhaps it will. this is the report is called the zebra and did research calle the what if. what if car insurers had access tour social media, what would that look like in terms of our rates. health insurers can do that anda loan compani we will have access. it's all about risk factors, so if our car insurance company suddenly looked at our, you know, if they saw a picturen our social media with us drinking and see a picture of us inome risky behavior what they take too in account, they do use some of that social foot print whenudinvestigating f if they arin investigating fraud they will have access to our digital footprint. right nowsurers cannot do it by law, only a few things they can look at to determine insurance ras, but they are saying this data is out there and available. are we using it to theest our ability and could we use it more? ant's not something

. >> susan hogan there, good point.or? (laughs) - well, according to this discipline slip i was allegedly talking during quiet time, again. but there were no witnesses except the teacher's pet. - oh really? - her testimony shouldn't be admissible so i'm here to appeal the decision. - [monster] oh. - [narrator] fund your kid's potential. - well, i'll see you in law school, kid. (laughs) - [narrator] all the way through grad school. tame the tuition monster at virginia529.com. remember the way we used to do things? hey man... like connect with friends? dig it! or get in shape? or sell a house and pay a real estate agent a big commission. [crash] at redfin, we charge you a 1% listing fee. and because redfin.com is america's #1 brokerage site our agents get more eyes on your home so you sell for thousands more than the one next door. don't get stuck in the past. sell with a redfin agent. >>> sock oftenlpÑi{rj sunday morning.w3

f> susan hogan with an important lesso those looking for love. >> you have a checklist of your perfectomeone driven, successful. >> personality. >> someone good looking but someone i'momtible with. >> what if your idea of what you think is your idea of a perfect match is just wrong? >> someone who makes us feel all the things we deeply desire is not necessarily the height that we imagine, the career that he imagined. >> life coach sarah oliveri developed a dating approaches s belis a game changer. >> i'm encouraging people, when they day, throw the attributesc iteria out the window as much as possible. instead, bece attuned to your feelings and develop a very specific list of what all the emotions are that yoooreng for. >> for example, say you're looking for someone who's think about why that is, and how do tall people make you feel? >> so the feeli might be attracted, protected, feminine, any of those things. so we translate the whole criteria ofttributes into an emotional criteria. >> and when you do find a connection, sarah says power down thepp and meet up. >> this is why i say, do

. >> susan hogan has been following this story since the beginning. and she sat down for an exclusive terview with wesley's grandmother. >> she's a fighter, a remarkable woman. when we first met her three weekn ago, w she testified in front of virginia lawmakers in support of this ll, i was literally in awe of her strength. then last week she invited us to her home in williamsburg where she shared more about wesley and her mission to protect other students in virginia. when you think of wesley t what one word that comes to your mind? >> kind. >> reporter: he may h only been here a short nine years, but wley touched so many lives with his kindness. >> he did things lik stopped and helped a first grader tie his shoes. >> reporter: after his tragic death last year, wesley's classmates wore these t-shirts, the message be like wesley. >> i have trouble calling it an accident. >> what do you cal it? >> a tragedy, maybe an incident. but it's so muchore than a accident. an accident is something that happens that's really unavoidable. >> repor ar: a billroved

. >> susan hogan is working for you, with the results that can keep you safe on the roads. >> the assurance institute for highway safety, recently tested 11 different small suvs to see how well their automatic emergency braking systems detect and brake for people in the road. researers tested three different scenarios. an adult entering the road from the right. a child darting out from behind two parked cars and an adult walking in the lane near the edge of the road. the bmw x1 earned no credit in the ratings, hitting the dummy in all of the tests.th mitsubishi outlander reduced its speed in the test, earning i basic . the other nine models earned advaed and superior ratings. the detection systems used cameras and radar sensors to scan for pedestrians and some standard in many of the models. you can see the complete list of suvs and how they rated right now on our nbc washington app.ve all you o do is search pedestrian crashes. back to you. >> mitsubishi stld us it will y the test results as it develops new vehicles and systems. the outlander has scor good and superior in other types of cra

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan is w yking for with the result that can keep you safe on the roads. >> reporter: well the insurance institute for highway safety recently tested seven small suvs to see how well their emergency breaking systems detect and break for people in the road. researchers tested three different scenarios, an adult entering the road from the right, a child rodarting out behind, two parked cars and an adult walking in the lane near the edge of theroad. the bmw1 earned n rating. hitting the dummy in automatic tests. the mitsubishi outlander reduced its speed, the other nine modeln ea earned advanced and superior ratings. the detectionystems used cameras and radar sensors to scan for pedestrians and comes standard in many of the models. you can see tomete list of suvs and how they rated right app.n our nbc washington all you have to do is search pedestrian crashes. back to you. >> mitsubishi says it will study test results as it develops new systems. it says the outlander has scored superior. bmw did not respondo our performance on the performance of the x-1. >>>

and susan hogan is working for you tonight with what you need bto know whenking a hotel to avoid them to be everywhere. >> they're the worst. >> we were just talking about this. nothing kills a vacation vibe more than a b hotell peppered with those unexpected fees, resofees, parking fees, utility fees. there are ways tovoid those added costs on your next tip. liz looks relaxed now but you should have seen her the day she checked out of her hotel while visiting her daughter at college. the bill included an unexpected daily charge for the in room safe. >> it's sneaky. if it costs extra for them to put a safe in your room, build it in. >> consumeror repts readers shared hundreds of stories of hidden fees while traveling. also towel fees, beach chair es and some hotels charge recycling fees. >> they know the consumers are shopping forprice. so they keep prices low and make up revenue on the back end. >> reporter: what's the best way to make up for the unexpected charges? reach out to theotel directly. ask about additional charges for anything other than the room and taxes. plan onhecking

d susan hogan is going to explain what parents need to know before they hand over tt information. >>>ined locally anden then around the world to help other countries who are fightg terrorism. >>> but a local whistle-blower tells the news 4 i-team today more should be done to keep them safe overseas. >>> and boy, if you love dogs you're going to love thisan sto or to hear it. coming up the i-team finds out ederal authorities are doing to investigate the problem with this. >> we'll see w youh those >>> for the first time today accused killer and kidnapper jake patters appeared in court. prosecutors in wisconsin say he stormed jamie's home, shot skilled her parents and kept the teenager hidden in a remote c cabin. he'll be back in court in te detective say he held her captive for 48 days before he managed to escape. >> repair crews throughout the region are taking advtage of th warmer weather and going on a pothole blitz. these teams were hard at work today fixing potholes in largo. >> we've been seeing them all over the places lately. we're seeing more of them thanks in part to the rece

susan hogan organizing her pantry without breaking the bank. >> yes, you do, wendy rieger >>> plus voters get their say in a special election in virginia this week. what the outcome could tell usa t the leadership crisis in richmond. >>> the drama playing out, the >>> the drama playing out, the male eagle i never thought i'd say this but i found bladder leak underwear that's actually pretty. always discreet boutique. hidden inside is a super absorbent core that quickly turns liquito gel. so i feel protected and pretty. always discreet boutique. dowh use a toothpaste that ens my teeth? or one that's good for my teeth? now i don't have to choose. from crest 3d white. the whitening therapy collection. now with chaoal or coconut oil. it gently whitens. plus, it has a fortifying formula to protect your enamel. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. with licensed agents available 24/7. it's not just easy. it's having-a-walrus-in-goal easy! roooaaaar! it's a walrus! ridiculous! yes! nice save, big guy! good job duncan! way to go! [chanting] it's not just easy. it's geico easy. oh, duncan. st

tonight, consumer reporter susan hogan to clear the clutter in the kitchen. check this out.organizer recently helped sus oanize her pantry. she'll share the easy steps you can follow to get yourself organized and save on your grocery bill by not buying things you already have. >>> speaking of buying, attention all shoppers, it is presidents' day, the last day ol the ann holiday sale all weekend. winter apparel, home goods an ectronics are some of the biggest discount items of the year.ay experts s home decor and mattressesge see the b markdown. >> we are seeing huge savings in furniturend decor. highlights, coddle is 30% off site wide from now until midnight tomorrow. chairs, ottons mattresses. at houzz.com, up to 80% off ec select for the bedroom, living room. even your family room. >> experts say you can also get as much as 30% off electronics including tvs. >> okay. >>> more sales to talk about. the sales only going to be getting bigger at payless shoe urce stores. liquidation sales began yesterday at all 2,100 of the stores across the u.s. and the best sales still toome.

susan hogan working for you for what you need to know in that situation. >> so many people ask us this and it's confusing. many peopleo opt out of the rental company's insurance assuming their own autoinsurance is going to protect them, right. that's not always the case. you want to follow these tips to save on your next rental while making sure you're covered. when andrea travels on vacatio or for business, she frequently rents cars but she's confused about whether to add the rental company's insurance. >> it's hard to know if you're fully coverage and if you have the right coverage. >> consumer report says to check for coverage under your personal auto insurance and the credit card you're going to use.di over recently stopped offering rental car insurance gether. if a credit card is primary coverage, there could benefit to using it. >> should there be a claim, the credit card could be in line to cover it. >> remember to be covered through your credit card, you need to pay for the entire rental with that card and also decline the rental agen's coverage. >> however, if you are going to

susan hogan is f working you with what you can do to help keep your family safe. >> this new law allows us to freeze our child's credit, but a local mom's concern that the process to do this may actually be putting both her and her children's information at risk. >> we want to protect them. >> reporter: for ann that her cin sons credit but unlike freezing yourredit where you can do it all online, freezing a child's credit requires parents to send sensitive information like full social security numbers a birth certificates by mail to all threeredit bureaus. >> you're just trusting that somebody trustworthy picks it and it goes through lots and lots of different hands. >> reporter: news4 contacted the credit bureau. they understand why parents would be uncomfortable sending tsese documy mail but assured us, the process is safe regardless and says she's not convinced. >> no, because i'm too scared to send it through the mail. i'm hopinghey'll find another route to say, hey, if you don't feel comfortable doing this,e then can do this and i don't know what this other this s but i'm hoping it

. >> susan hogan in the newsroom with good advice there.r 6:44, yime as we give you a live look outsideslight breeze on this saturday morning. lauryn ricketts tracking some wet weather and potentially some snow we'll check in with her. >>> we are less than 15 minutes away from the start of the "today" show here onbc 4. let's take you up to new york. we have sheinelle jones and a peterxander standing by. busy day, no doubt. probably for you all. >> first, the latest on the mass shooting in illinois, where five people were t killed atir workplace. what we're learning about the gunman, his possible motive,nd the her officers who ran in while bullets were flying. >>> also ahead this morning, answers to your burning tax questions. we're going to help try to clear uponfusion over the new tax laws that have many americans getting smaller refunds or even tax lls. > and the college freshman who is so good at hackingalhe's actu being paid to do it for the pentagon, stanford, and big companies. we'll explawhy. >>> i'll let my family sleep later in northern virginia this morning, but you'll wan up

susan hogan helping youyo organe pantry on a budget. good evening p.story tonight and probably the next three days. r orm team 4 tracking a win blast. >> a mix of snow, ice, freezing rain all coming our way in the middle of this week. >> this is a storm that could force schools to close their doors and lead to tricky conditio o on area roads. >> let's get things started with doug. >> if you have plans tonight no problem. tomorrow you'reood to if you want to get to the store. and then wedne probably not going anywhere. here is tomorrow night at 11:00. notice we are all dry around the d.c. area. but here comes the snow makin w it up here across our region. by wednesday morning, here'sn 10:00 a.m.wednesday. notice everybody, northern virginia, west virginia, maryland all seeing the storm in as snow. it is all snow all morning long before weee the changeover to ice. look at the significant icing from the blue ridge back towards the appalachians. this is a major event before rmnally changing to plain rain. the winter s watch in effect across much of the are

consumer reporter susan hogan is going under cover to find out what you need to know before you buy a used car. we'll have that for you tonight on news 4 at 11:00. >>> and doug is back wit more about the weather changes. it's already cold and more on the way. l a more cold. you know, this is january cold that we're talking and unfortunately we're heading into the monthf march. something's definitely wrong. i don't know w broke the thermostat. check this out, guys. look at the temperatures here. notice dallas it says 62, now 37.current temperature is really amazing. this is why we're so cold today. this is called cold air damming where the cold air comes in and sits on the east side of the mountains. look at pittsburgh, 53. the cold air all the way down into thein car. 29 in new york. look at buffalo just about three hour drive fro pittsburgh, 17 degrees. that cold air moving on in. it would b really nice if we got into the warmer air, unfortunately that's just not in the cards. right now what is in the cards is snow. you can see the radar picture is all clear. we're going to stay that

susan hogan shows us the one thingyou're doing that could be keeping you from finding a tc ma >> likew how to dance. >> or just trying to dance. >> plus a dating expert reveals some secrets to success. you don't want to miss that. >> especially in this town. >>> we'll see you soon with those storido your customers connecting to the wifi ever slow down your business? yes, it does slow things down. aggravating. it's a niurtmare. soig-speed network is fast. and we go beyond fast by making it easy to create separabu networks for your ness and your customers and even control how much bandwidth each of those gets. so your business won't miss a beat. this is a big game changer.e this is w wave, and whoever doesn't get on, i think they would be left behind. wifi pro runs on the gig-speed network. pay just $49.95 a month for fast internet and get a $300 prepaid card. comcast business. beyond fast. >>> new reaction now to that big news com out of new york. a jury has convicted el chapo on all counts of drug trafficking. >> reporter: one of the things we should tell you is that once that verdict

consumer reporter susan hogan working for you protecting your mo and your safety. >> reporter: wendy, imagine how ba i you would be you just spent thousands of dollars on a used car only to fin out i worth thousands of dollarsto le. make matters worse it's agued with hidden issues. odometer fraud is not only illegal, it cod also put your mily in danger. it didn't take us very long to find a number of cars for s oe in area with potential odometer roll backs. some rolled back 60,000 miles. so when we called the dealer they assured usas mileage w exactly what their but the car fax reports told us a different story. >> the real dange here is that there's literally no trace that the odometer has been tampered with. so without getting the information, having a mechanic inspect it, it's very difficult to tell someones taken 50, 100,000 miles off the car. >> we found a potential odometer roll back, so that's when we went undercover to get some answers. coming up tonight at 11:00, what you need to know before you buy. >> some great stuff there. susan, thanks so much. >>> they can drive your be

. >> our consumer reporter susan hogan working forh you w some important information you need to know. >> i'lle tell you th no doubt that freezing your child's credit is really the best thing you can do to protect their identity. and thank you to a new law you can do this now for free. but a local mom say she thinks therocess to do so may actually be putting her and her children's information at risk. in new mom itanne's world twin baby boys everything is doubled. the books, thecribs, two little sets of feet and of course double the worry. >> we wantro toct them. they're our first children. a reporter: and that protection includes somethie never even thought of until recently. >> my husband and ily were actuatching the news, and it came up that a 2-year-old hay their ident stolen. >> reporter: more than 1 million children have their identity stolen in 2017, according to a recent study. 66% of the victim were under 8 arsld. the federal trade commission passed a law last year allowing parents like anne to freeze their children's credit. the law also included free credit freez for adults