You know, it makes it that much harder, at two precious little girls. To give an idea of the strength of the fire, it is still smoldering at this hour even after the first call came in at 11 20 last night. The neighbors say what the wind kicking up, it was a tough situation. There was nothing the firefighters could do about the two children. We know that the mother and baby are out of the hospital, and the Frederick CountySheriffs Office is investigating the cause of the fire right now. They did not know what started it. Thank you, kimberly. A separate house fire in springfield has left one person injured. Newschopper 7 flew over the scene, with the flames consuming the home so intense that actually melted the siding on the home next door. An electrician in side of the house at the time was injured. No word on what their condition tonight. Breaking news from anne arundel county, executive john leopold has resigned, just three days after his charges of misconduct. Richard reeve has the details. The clearest emotion that you are hearing tonight is relieved at the county building at john leopold has resigned. Tuesday, a Circuit Court judge found him guilty of it two counts of misconduct in office. Those two counts involve the use of his security detail for political activity and making his secretary and members of his security detail and the catheter bag after he had back surgery in 2010. He is 69 years old. He issued his resignation yesterday to the county executive. Here are some excerpts from the resignation letter. Thatit was a compelling and hu experience to sit through two weeks of the trial. I acknowledge the serious errors in judgment that i made, and do not want these errors in judgment to further distract the county. He will be sentenced on march 14. Now the heart work begins now the hard work begins. Theyll have to elect a new council member, and that will take about a month. Richard reeve, abc 7 news. The morning commute today turned into a long ordeal for thousands of commuters thanks to the illtime that snow, blamed in part for a 10car pileup on the George Washington parkway. That had a ripple effect, backing up traffic on the parkway and i66. It took more than an hour to clear the scene. D. No serious injuries reported. Doug hill has the forecast. How does it look . This morning, a little bit of snow, a little at the wrong time creating big problems. The belfort furniture weather center, the snowfall totals mclean, va. , about a half inch, more than an inch in olney and frederick. If went to the east, towards the Eastern Shore, that is where the heavier snow bursts were observed. Steubenville 3. 5 inches, but even there the snow is starting to melt even though it is very cold. A live look outside, fair weather clouds gusty wind, cold temperatures. We will have the cold and wind losing the clouds tonight. 32 fredericksburg, and the wind is knocking the wind chill down to single digits. It will be a very cold night tonight. Start the day with sunshine tomorrow but the next disturbance is headed here with the possibility of more snow tomorrow night. Accumulation in the metro area was very minor. To the east, a burst of wicket weather washed over kent island bringing whiteout conditions and leaving a blanket of snow and ice. Stephen tschida has the latest. The sunshine came out but it is bitter cold with the wind on kent island. Earlier today, the combination of the wind, water, and the snow made for a major mass. The sudden storm shellacked the area and ice. There are still remnants of the snow which pelted the areas on car, leaving license plates illegible. And also painted yards white. The snow hit so hard and fast, driving became almost impossible. It was a white out on the way to work. You cannot see anything. After the snow stopped the wind picks out already keeping the snowball rolling across the island all day. When this man got to work, he had to endure the wind. It is kicking pretty good. While the aftermath looks nice, it is cold. Real cold. Bob blanchard outside to inspect his property for damage. It tore the blades of the wind mill. The cold is causing concern on the roadways. A lot of the island is a slushy mess. Some of the lowlying areas got hit with a storm surge. Pockets are still scattered across the island. The water was up to the doors. Despite the cold, there is some melting today. On the roadway, there are large puddles of water across kent island and kent narrows puddles of water on the pavement and walkways. As the temperatures dip, they will likely freeze over, so what will be dicey for the motorists and pedestrians as well. Stephen tschida, abc 7 news. The timing of this note this morning made for a tough call for area School Districts. One School District canceled school after children were already on the school buses. Well have more on that later. The onetime financial chief officer for the district is retiring. He is stepping down effective june 1. This week, he announced the district has a 400 million surplus. In the past he has taken heat over the internal controls of his office and a federal investigation is underway. A judge ruled that an alleged serial killer is competent to stand trial in the murder of a largo mother and daughter. He is accused of killing them in march of 2009. The Police Believe he may be tied to other modern other motherdaughter slings as well. The murder trial is expected to begin february 11. Overseas, the u. S. Embassy in turkey attacked this morning the white house calling it a terrorist act. A suicide bomber struck just outside of the gate, killing a guard. Suzanne kennedy is monitoring the story from the satellite center. Turkish authorities are looking into whether this was in retaliation for the arrest of dozens of alleged terrorists. The attack could have been far worse, but the attacker was not able to get past the initial checkpoint. The explosion went off at 1 15 local time at the u. S. Embassy. Two people were killed, at the suicide bomber and the turkish guard. Preliminary indication is that it was connected with a left wing militant group. Turkish authorities were quick to condemn the these are against peace and welfare of our country. We will stand tall, stay together, and overcome this. It took place inside of the security checkpoint, at a Side Entrance to the building. Ambulances swarmed the area as the Police Presence was stepped up. The guard was killed was standing outside of the checkpoint, while the two who were wounded or more protected. The white house this afternoon, reaction to the Second Attack at a u. S. Embassy in less than six months. We do not know at this point who is responsible or the motivations behind the attack. The attack itself is clearly an act of terror. U. S. Staff was not injured as they took shelter after the explosion. There was no damage inside of the embassy. The u. S. Embassy is warning americans in turkey to stay away from all diplomatic facilities and to be cautious in large crowds. Suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. Todays attack marred the be final day in office of Hillary Clinton, who left the state Department Office for the final time this afternoon after formally resigning. John kerry is being sworn in as her replacement. We will have more on clintons legacy at the state department coming up. The white house is proposing a work around for religious nonprofits that object to providing their employees the birth control. He looks to give women free access to contraception, either through insurers for a third party, allowing religious groups to distance themselves. U. S. Conference of catholic bishops did not comment, saying that it needs more time to study the regulation. I will make sure the rest of the story dies out. A fire chief defense his men after an accident that injured seven people and shut down the beltway for hours. New details about the woman who was killed after a homeless camp flooded in laurel. The super bowl pregame tailgating seems to have beg the big easy is packed tonight, and head of the super bowl sunday. Ravens fans are making sure their team knows they have their back. It is a sea of purple, and not just for mardi gras. Brad bell has more. New orleans is a party town and in the French Quarter the party has begun. The past 24 hours we have seen a huge influx of people in town, and most of them seem to be cheering for the ravens. Lets go ravens the purple has arrived. The super fan occasionally known as sandy is rocking her full game day get up three days before kickoff. From bourbon street over to the canal, she is not alone. There are tens of thousands of ravens fans who have converged here in new orleans some with tickets, some without. More than twice as many ravens fans booked trips to the big easy. They have arrived in droves. This is what we prayed for. What a blessing. I think right now, lots of ravens fans, lots of football. The atmosphere is football carnival. The crowds gathered at the espn sat at the French Quarter. While it is not quite a parade, there is a steady stream of jerseywearing fans, some more vocal than others. We talked with some fans were so serious, they came to town without tickets and they did not even plan on buying tickets. They just want to be here to soak up the atmosphere. Brad bell, abc 7 news. I know it is the super bowl, but how proud would you be if that was your mom on tv . That was not just any purple wig. Tonight, we will host the ravens road to the super bowl on abc 7, and tim brant will be checking in from new orleans, all starting at 8 00 on abc 7. Looking forward to it. I will get my purple wig. They are playing inside of the superdome. And it is nice there. And that it will be fine, a lot more than a year. We have an active weather pattern. The time lapse on the weatherbug a nice amount of snow, gusting, delaplane but the sun was enough to melt off most of the snow in the area, but it will remain very chilly overnight. At the beach, snow on the boardwalk. A lot of the Eastern Shore got more than the western shore because the upper air system accelerated and intensified at leaving the beaches. The sunshine came out things improved. 28 degrees in washington, 23 gaithersburg, 25 orders part, 25 hagerstown. 21 hagerstown, 25 frederick. Gaithersburg, washington dulles, they feel like nine degrees winchester in martinsburg feels like a relatively balmy 15. Plenty of cold air will dip to the southeast lifting back to the north. That will be sunday. Another push monday. Were not getting the worst effects of the cold air mass. The air temperature in minnesota, six degrees below zero detroit metro, 16 the above. It is cold, but the trajectory will not bring the coldest of the cold here. We are having this succession of upper whether upper level weather systems that will bring us snow tomorrow night maybe monday night into tuesday. But no major snow. The air mass with the High Pressure moving in is dry. This is why the accumulation levels will be low. The futurecast, one of the models that we look at, 6 00 p. M. 4 00 p. M. , the snow working through. That will be with us overnight. The temperatures not really warm until sunday afternoon, after the snow is over, 39. Whenever falls tomorrow night and sunday morning will most likely melt in the afternoon. One of the computer models that we look out, the inhouse computer model suggests as we get through midday sunday after the snow ends, estimating 1. 8 inches in the d. C. Area, 2. 2 baltimore, just one of the models, one of the projections of what it may be. Certainly not a big system. Fairly minor system, this time coming saturday night, sunday, monday so no rush hour involved. 17 the average wake up temperature, but enough breeze to make it feel colder. 32 about the high. Clouds increase midday. Late afternoon evening, chance of snow. That will be overnight into sunday morning. Punxsutawney phil will come out tomorrow. Well see if we have six more weeks. Thatearly tuesday morning, another chance of snow. But look at the warmup next week. You might laugh, but i have a beanie baby Punxsutawney Phil at my desk at home. Do you put him into a hole first . Yes. A little known fact about doug hill. We still love ya. We have breaking news from olney, where two have been seriously hurt at a crash. Live pictures from newschopper 7, just in front of a middle school. Were hearing at least two people are seriously hurt and the roadway a shutdown. Tonight on 20 20, six years after Anna Nicole Smiths death her partner is opening up about the challenges of raising their daughter alone. She will come home and start crying i want my mom. After you turn the corner, you say, i want her, too, but you have a special mom who is now an angel. And she wonders why she cannot play with her on the airplane. Will have special coverage of the ravens road to the super bowl at 8 00, followed by a shark tank and that 20 20. A big congratulations to Theresa Yates from woodbridge. You are going to disney world. The grand prize is a week at disney world with her family. Congratulations. Coming up, a georgetown icon accused of not paying their taxes. What georgetown cupcake has to say. Anger in some parts after school s a former Culpeper Police officer has been sentenced to three years for the shooting death of an unarmed woman. Jeff goldberg was in the courtroom and has the reaction tonight. When the morning began, we were not sure if you would have a hearing today or if the judge was going to grant the defense a mistrial after issues of jury misconduct revealed a couple days ago. The judge decided the verdict was fair and legitimate and Daniel Harmonright is now in jail for what could be three years. Before Daniel Harmon right was led into jail after sentencing, his lawyer said this about punishment. I dont think anybody can do anything worse to him. After the judge ruled wednesdays verdict would stand, despite jury misconduct during deliberations, the trial moved on to sentencing. Harmonwright again taking the stand, fighting back tears saying, i am depressed all the time. I think about this every waking second of every day. This will never go away from me ever. This former marine testified about his integrity and character. He is not somebody who was intending to do Something Like this. The prosecutor closed by telling the jurors, there has not been an ounce of genuine remorse. He lost it and slaughtered this woman. Tuesday he was convicted of manslaughter for the killing of patrick cook on january 9 2012. They recommended he be sentenced to 36 months in jail. And i think the incarceration sends the message this was wrongful behavior. He still feels like he did the job he was hired to do and there is nothing else he could have done. He feels victimized by this procedure. Following the verdict no comment from any members of the jury or family and friends. The defense plans to appeal the decision, while the official sentencing date is april 10. Jeff goldberg, abc 7 news. Still to come the snow brinks select roadways, but most schools went on as planned. Some say that was the wrong decision. Plus, new information on the flooding that left a homeless woman dead. A fire chief speaks out. Tonight a lanham fire chief is disputing the official count that of what caused the crash that injured seven people. One of the men, a firefighter, had to have his arm reattached after the crash on the beltway. Jennifer donelan has the story which you will only see here on 7. The fire chief said that his crews have enough to deal with and is setting the record straight. The 30yearold volunteer firefighter continues to recover after his arm was severed early wednesday morning during a beltway accident involving his fire engine and a tractor trailer. He was able to open his eyes. The volunteer fire chief said there is more angst after this. We believe the driver of the tractortrailer was the favored driver. That was before the preliminary findings wednesday afternoon. We believe they were attempting to make a uturn on 495. They were slowing down for the call. He said the firefighters were driving on the inner loop as they arrived at an accident called on the opposite side of the beltway. Dispatched then told them they were not needed. He says that his guys to would slow down were about to continue forward on the innerm. The driver noticed the tractortrailer bearing down on them. He said they put their foot on the gas to speed up. I credit the driver of the apparatus for saving lives. Abc 7 obtain this picture. When asked about it, the fire chief said if the engine had been making a uturn, there would be damage on the drivers side. He also said the driver, and afghanistan were fat was the first to reach the firefighter and Afghanistan War vet was the first to reach the firefighter who had lost his arm. I cannot wait for this erroneous story to go away so that we can get back to serving the community. We were told the firefighters involved in the accident were interviewed yesterday. We spoke with p. G. County police, who say crashes of this magnitude involve Detailed Analysis and report issued wednesday was preliminary. Jennifer donelan, abc 7 news. Today marks 10 years since the disaster in the atmosphere that cost seven astronauts their lives. The ceremony was held at the Kennedy Space center for those who were killed when the khanate when the Space Shuttle columbia broke up on reentry. A piece of the heat shield was injured during liftoff. At arlington cemetery, flags flown at half staff and astronaut buzz aldrin paid his tribute. Laurel Authorities Say the woman found it killed at a flooded out homeless camp was 26 years old. Her body was found inside of a tent just outside of the city. The area was flooded after wssc opened floodgates upstream after torrential downpours. The cause of death remains under investigation. The other top stories, 4 family members and a volunteer firefighter remain hospitalized after an earlymorning house fire that left the two sisters dead. Investigators say that a 3year old and her 6yearold sister suffered smoke inhalation of trapped inside the burning house. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Anne arundel county executive john leopold resigned. Tuesday he was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in office that included using his security detail for political purposes. Youll be sentenced next month. And whiteout conditions to residents and kent island, md. Cleaning up from the blanket of snow and ice. The police are blaming the light snow for causing an Early Morning pileup involving 10 cars on the g. W. Parkway, with no serious injuries. By the time the snow fell, the school buses were already on the road, so most School Systems chose not to delay, leaving some parents wondering if that was a mistake. Just hours before the sun was shining on this country road in Loudoun County, this was a wintry mess. The roads or really bad snowcovered icecovered. Person tried to drive to school this morning. Unfortunately, he ran into a ditch off the road. But i think he was going at a reasonable speed, but the Road Conditions were bad. Not bad enough to cancel school. At 4 00, 5 00 in the morning when they normally make the call, there was no situation. Loudoun county schools stayed at opened. When the school moved in, it was too late to reverse course. By then, the school buses were on their way in and commuters had already left. Then how do you call people back . It was a perfect storm of the inconvenience. Six school buses hit by sliding cars, with no injuries, and some students with long waits for the school buses stuck in traffic. The county is so big, Loudoun County covering more than 520 square miles all the way to west virginia. Well let me be nice weather in one part of the county, or else it may be completely different. It is hard. People out west say, we have nothing here, where we canceling. Some schools delayed up to an hour, others started just a few minutes late. A black history celebration had the students dancing by the end of the day, far removed from the inconveniences a few hours earlier. Time now to check the traffic situation on this friday. We have delays at 395, left down side westbound side past its toll road towards duke street. Southbound delays forced the pentagon and seminary road. Towards the occoquan and dale city heading towards quantico. I27 delays past emerge as you work your way it towards montrose road, additional delays near 117, father hurley boulevard passed 121, slow traffic. Slow on the inner loop of the bill would pass the American Legion bridge towards the i270 spur. New hampshire avenue, picking up past 95, college park passed 50 ports to 02. Passed 50 and 202. There is a pull down near turkey foot lane near seneca road. Theyre alternating traffic past the scene. That is the latest. Back to you. A new survey shows how some marines feel about leon panetta lifting the longtime band of women on the front line. 17 of respondents said it would likely leave the court if women moved into combat positions. Before he lifted the ban 31 of female marines said they wanted to move into combat roles. Coming up, the tsa has dogs tasked with sniffing out bombs but are they capable of handling that dangerous task . First, we get the latest on the terrifying standoff of the 5yearold caught in the middle. And at 6 00, a look back at the life of the former new york mayor ed koch, who died today. Today marks for days cents a 5yearold boy was abducted in alabama. And the standoff shows no signs of letting up. Kris van cleave is tracking the story. The 5yearold it is easing, described as mildly autistic, requiring medication. This is a nightmare for his family that the whole nation is watching hoping the little boy gets back to his parents arms. As of Police Surround the underground bunker where ethan is being held captive, the total with the school bus where he was taken from. For the first time, were getting aid look at the man who was holding the boy his drivers license picture. He is the man at the center of the standoff that continues to drag on. We just want the whole world that heres this to join together in believing this young child will get back home today. He is a defenseless kid. But him go back to his parents. He is crying for his parents and grandparents he does not know what is going on. Let him go. Tuesday, he stormed the school bus demanding to take two boys. The bus driver fought back, opening the back door so the kids could escape. The man shot and killed the driver, and then took ethan. There is nothing any greater than giving your life for a kid. And the police say he is holding ethan in an 8by6 foot bunker. They have dropped down medicine to ethan through a pipe, but it will not discuss their communication. I hope they get you and you live the rest of your life in prison. The police are not saying much about their communication with the suspect, a tactic to keep ethan safe and the doctor levelheaded. At the School Bus Drivers funeral this sunday. Kris van cleave, abc 7 news. Up next, a change for the victorias secret. At their plants to cater specifically for Breast Cancer patients. Their plans to cater specifically for Breast Cancer a mainstay of post 9 11 Airport Security is under scrutiny. The tsa does not really know how good their bomb sniffing dogs are. Bomb sniffing dogs are a familiar sight at the nations airports, but what if they do not actually sniff out bombs . In the report says the government has wasted about 100 million without knowing if the new program will work. Aviation Security Experts say the dogs are being used at airports in ways they have not been previously used. Most of the time theyre hitting luggage, stationary objects. They essentially walk through a terminal and detect a scent and then they start following it. This is relatively new here in the u. S. This tsa video shows a bomb sniffing docked at locking in on an explosive device on this man posing as a passenger. Success. But that does not happen with every dog. In another video, the woman on the left has an explosive training device in her backpack but the bomb sniffing dog walks right past. He pursues a passenger with nothing dangerous. The report from the gao found the tsa does not know how good the dogs are when people are moving in multiple directions with multiple scents. More thasnn 700 dogs have been deployed. We of burned a lot of money and time. Some bomb sniffing dogs are not getting their monthly training so they may be getting set to work unprepared. February is National Childrens dental health month. The p. G. County Health Department teamed up with the maryland dental action coalition, offering free dental care for children, kicking off their Oral Health Literacy campaign. Sometimes we do not understand the choices so this helps. The dental program will provide free screenings and applications for children up to the age of 18. It is free but you have to make an appointment. Victorias secret is developing a of bras for women who have had mastectomies. There was an online petition highlighting the challenges of women who have had mastectomies. It gained more than 118,000 signatures. That is a great idea. Lets see what is coming up tonight at 6 00. Gordon peterson is live in the newsroom with a look ahead. We continue to follow developments on the suicide bombing of the u. S. Embassy in turkey. It comes on the last day of secretary of state Hillary Clinton is a an office. Also, the white house says that former senator chuck hagel will be confirmed as the defense secretary, despite the beating that he took on the hill yesterday. We will see you at 6 00, and thank you for allowing me to invade your aerospace. And it is that what you are doing . Lets check in with doug hill about the weather. For the first time this winter, we are kind of on target chronologically right in the midpoint of winter, and certainly feels like it. 25 degrees in arlington. At the time lapse from Damascus Elementary School in upper montgomery county, the snow coming in, the sunshine comes out, and even though it does not get above 24, 25, a lot of melting from the direct sunlight, and a cold night tonight. We may replayed this whole scene tomorrow night and sunday morning in damascus and many other locations. 21 hagerstown, winchester, gaithersburg, 28 quantico and the nations capital. The wind chill is now six degrees in gaithersburg and winchester, 13 manassas, 15 in the nations capital. The air temperature will drop overnight between 1320 degrees clear skies, but will have enough breeze to drive the wind chill into single digits. The futurecast tomorrow and through the day, clouds increase rapidly, the temperature stay cold, chance of snow by the afternoon and evening. By the time that pulls out some day sometimes on sunday, we could have 12 inches, according to the computer model. We get rid of that system sunday maybe do it again tuesday morning, and finally warm up the end of next week. Something great to check out at wjla. Com a blog about road salt, it is it too much on the ground is it safe . We will have more coming up. Back to you. Just hours away from the super bowl, any guess which team we might be covering . I did not try to color quarter net, but i am predicting the ravens. Nice dress. The weekend countdown is officially on for the super bowl. Both head coaches posed by the lombardi trophy for pictures, but only one will hold it sunday night. Tim brant has the story from new orleans. What a day at has been a new orleans, the day that everybody has waited for at the super bowl. It is the day they pose with the lombardi trophy, the two coaches. The story all week has been jim and john, the first time brothers have ever opposed each other at the World Championship game, and there they were standing together at the lombardi trophy. Afterwards, they said this. The week has not been any different from my standpoint or our standpoint than a normal week of football during the season. Coachingwise, it has been the scene. We are fiercely loyal, no doubt. We all say that. Not just of one another but we always have been. The band of brothers are the brothers on the sideline, the ravens sideline and the 49ers sideline. That is the brand of brothers at the competition. That is the band of brothers at the competition. The brothers posing together at the lombardi trophy. We will have a lot more from new orleans. Thank you. You want more ravens coverage . We have you covered. Tune in for the primetime special, ravens wrote to your lainez, at 8 00. Ravens road to new orleans. The campaign to change the redskins name is nothing new but it has picked up a fraction from some local columnists and a school in upstate new york. The commissioner Roger Goodell had this to say about a name change. I dont think anybody wants to offend anybody, but this has been discussed several times. I think dan snyder and the organization have made it very clear they are proud of the heritage and the name, and i believe the fans are too. Always a hot topic. But the Team Everybody is talking about right now is the ravens. We will have some stuff that you really want to see. Up next, tax problems for a popular business. We are talking about georgetown cupcake. Anyone who has been to georgetown cupcake, which is a lot of people, you know the deal the stand in line sometimes with in a while before ordering. Despite their popularity, the city said they cannot pay up to 200,000 that they owe in taxes. Natasha barrett has the story from georgetown. The officials at the d. C. Tax office said they tried to get in touch with georgetown cupcake several times, by mail, over the phone, and heard nothing until last night. The Popular Store along m street in georgetown is known for its devoted customers who lined up around the store, and it has a hit tlc reality show, featuring the owners who are sisters. It is really ought to. It does not make sense, to forget about Something Like that. This week, the d. C. Tax office filed a lien against georgetown cupcake for more than 189,000 in unpaid sales taxes, saying they failed to pay their sales tax for three months last year, august, september and october. And everybody has to pay their taxes, so maybe it was in the state. A customer from ohio visited the store for the first time today. They employ a lot of people. I think there are a good business. But they seem honest. And the georgetown cupcake released this statement georgetown cupcake has paid their taxes in full, and any misunderstanding has been resolved. The lien was released less than 24 hours after it was issued. As of a couple hours ago, the d. C. Tax office said the sales tax has been paid officially today. Live from georgetown, natasha barrett, abc 7 news. Thank you. That will do it for us here at abc 7 news at 5 00. Abc 7 news at 6 00 starts right now. Captioned by the National Captioning Institute www. Ncicap. Org two people are dead tonight and turkey after a suicide bombing. And the turkish government believes it is the work of a leftist group. They killed a tu