news 4 continues now at 5:00 a.m. costly commute. drivers will find out today how much they will have to pay to use a venue road. plus a serial rapist striking in our area. police are hunting for a man they say has preyed on women for a decade. >> body shop bust. what they found inside this business. good morning. welcome to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, december 17th, 2009. >> it's cold out there. degrees right now. we have some big changes in the weather headed our way on this december 17, 2009. maybe have a white christmas? yes, may still be on the ground. it does appear we could have a major snowstorm bing tomorrow night into saturday. last couple of days it looked like it would miss us and pass to the southeast. it looks like it will be passing closer to us. down to 28 in washington. 20s to near 30 degrees. winds gusting 10 to 15. that's enough to bring the wind chills down to teens. temperatures out in the mountains in the teens and eastern shore in the upper 20s. clear sky this morning. few clouds developing in southern virginia. highs reaching near 40. then becoming mostly cloudy tonight, cloudy the rest of the day. friday night and into saturday, initially light snow friday night but then moderate to heavy snow on saturday with some strong winds could pile up the snow and should all be ending by saturday night. temperatures only near freezing for highs on saturday. sunday windy and cold with highs near 30 degrees. jerry, how is the traffic? >> we're doing pretty well along i-95 northbound heading out of newington to the capital beltway. let's see how things are progressing as the early morning commute gets out of 270 out of frederick. passing clarksburg and germantown, all is well. >> it's thursday. >> you scared me. you scared me. every d counts. >> 17th day of december. drivers who take the intercounty connector will learn if they will pay to use the highway. >> it is currently under construction and today the maryland transportation authority will vote on a proposed toll plan. under the new proposal the rate will be between 20 and 35 cents per mile. that could mean a round trip fare of $8 to $12 per day. >> virginia transportation officials can vote to slash $9 million from thoir budget. the new measures are the results of years of declining revenue which they blame on dwindling automobile and gasoline sales. budget troubles in prince george's county schools could mean fuoughs, fewer teachers and larger class sizes. the superintendent proposed a $1.7 billion for the 2010 school er. that's a $110 million budget cut according to "the washington post." calls for the elimination of some 490 jobs, including more than 150 teaching position. under the plan, many middle and high school classes could increase by one student per class. it's unclear whether this means layoff. however some of the job cuts would be the result of attrition. cuts stem from a drop in federal fupding. the school system exhausted its reserve funds from recent years. this morning this growing fear and concern over a serial rapist. he's linked to crimes along the east coast. the suspect's dna has been found in four states at 13 crime scenes in a time span over a decade. the most recent happened right here in our area. >> reporter: in the dale city, virginia neighborhood where two teenagers were attacked on halloween, there is heightened anxiety. police say the girls were victims of a serial rapist. >> this is not good. i'm scared now because i have daughters. >> reporter: investigators trace the first crime to february 19, 1997 in forestville, maryld. 25-year-old woman was raped at gunpoint. six months later, suitland, an 18-year-old woman was raped. july 1998, temping hills, maryland, two girls were raped. to virginia, june 1999, a 19-year-old woman was raped at gunpoint near route 1 in alexandria. january 2000 an 18-year-old was raped by a man with a knife. six months later, prince george's county a woman is raped at knife point. november 2000, linebackers, a 35-year-old woman escaped a rape attempt. may 2001, leesburg, virginia, a 41-year-old woman was raped. three months later temple hills, maryland, rape victims were 14 and 20 years old. december, 2001, alexandria, a 29-year-old woman is raped at knife point. then a break for five years. >> this person was out of contact, out of this region or, whatever, for five year period. >> reporter: the suspect is tied to crimes in rhode island and connecticut before returning to northern virginia and the halloween attack. criminal profiler pat brown noticed two of the victims were raped in the same incident. >> very intimidating. to control two at once is quite something. >> reporter: jackie benson, "news4 today." >> police ask anyone with information on this case call crime solvers. an undercover string. d.c. police ran the sting out of a fake auto body shop out of northeast washington over several months. police said they used informants to put the word out on the street they were interested in guns and black market drugs. 143 guns were sold. police seized heroin and cocaine. it was being smuggled by a ring that was linked to canada. reggie jones accused of being involved in the shooting death of -year-old arvel austin earlier this month. sources close to the investigation says jones used his squad car while serving as a lookout during an atelted drug robbery. witnesses say they saw jones driving away from the scene even after people in the neighborhood asked for help. the accused gunman is austin's own son who was arraigned. both are being held without bond. cincinnati been galgs receiver chris henry is battling for his life this morning after falling out of a pickup truck during an apparent fight with his fiancee. officers in charlotte, north carolina, found the nfl player li lying in the middle of the road yesterday. at some point henry fell out of the truck. he was taken to the hospital. doctors are calling it life threatening injuries. >> a senator saying sorry. >> senator chuck schumer with some choice words on a flight to d.c. why he's apologizing. >> roger. >> plus new details on that major mistake in the sky, the pilots who over shot their airports. >> dropping like a rock. time for weather and traffic. good morning. starting off cold and crisp under a clear skies. winds have diminished. temperatures around the region are below freezing. we're in the 20s. 28 degrees in washington. the wind chills are down in the teens in many locations with winds around 10 to 15 miles per hour. off to a clear start. few clouds developing through central virginia. we may have a few of those clouds developing this afternoon, but overall a mostly sunny day. sunset clouds coming in. then tonight becoming mostly cloudy by dawn. increasing clouds friday. looks like after sunset friday night some light snow developing. could get heavier saturday with gusty winds all ending saturday night. sunday windy and cold. jerry, how is the traffic? >> we'll start up in maryland with a live look along the 270 corridor. route 118 heading down to montgomery village looks like we're moving along pretty well at 124 and points south. over on the beltway in virginia, a bunch of overnight road work. both directions between tysons corner and annandale, wrapping that up. northeast no early issues to report. barbara and joe, back to you. our time 12 minutes after 5:00. tiger woods gets some good news. >> the golfer receives a major accolade desspied his personal problems. >> plus senator charles schumer offering an apology to a flight attendant. >> and they just kept on going. >> new information about those pilots who got lost in the sky. our time right now 5:14. here's a look at the top stories we're following today. a toll proposal for the intercounty connector could become final this morning. the maryland transportation authority is scheduled to vote on the plan today. it could mean rates up to 35 cents per mile. virginia transportation officials will vote today on a plan to slash nearly $900 million from the state budget. this is the fifth time spending has been slashed since june of 2008. the new msures is as a result of years of defer cling revenue. investigators are on the hunt for a serial rapist in our area. his crimes span for man a decade the most recent was halloween night. he attacked two teenagers. d.c. police conducted a successful undercover sting. collecting guns and drugs off the streets. the "washington examiner" newspaper reports undercover cops set up shop in northeast washington and used informants to put word out on the street they were interested in drews and black market guns. today president obama heads to copenhagen for the climate change conference. nbc news "wall street journal" poll is out on the policy. the news is not good. brooke hart is live on capitol hill. >> reporter: the political climate has very much changed his president obama took office and not in his favor. it's the toughest polling news for president obama since he took office, full of hope. >> we have chosen hope over fear. >> reporter: the latest poll shows worry is back. 55% says the country is on the wrong track. president obama's approval has dipped to 47% from 60 early on. >> americans suspect that they are in a nation in decline. a president who promise ad new beginning. seems to be the one writing the closing chapter. >> reporter: the public has soured on health care reform as debate dragged on. 32% think the president's splan a good idea. 47% say bad idea. and analysts say the economy, unemployment in the double digits have poisoned the mood. the president's actions a target. >> after spending a trillion $on a stimulus bill what have we done? >> reporter: house democrats last act yesterday? >> the iowas are 217 and nays 212. >> reporter: passed more stimulus, $154 billion. >> we're on the road to recovery. >> reporter: how angry is the country? the polls show the tea party movement is more popular than democrats or republicans. but democrats in charge of congress have the most to lose. their own poll sterlings said for them, red flags are flying at full mass. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. back to you. president obama is praising the house for passing a bill that will create more jobs. $154 billion bill passed without any republicans voting for it. the unemployed will continue to get benefits. president obama says more still needs to be done those. the bill did not include his proposaled $250 social security tax cred or tax credit for those who make theirs homes for energy efficient. >> new news on those pilots who overshot their destination in october. the pilots are stick with their story. they told investigators they were distracted while trying to navigate the new pilot scheduling system on their laptop computer. the pilots say they were startled when the phone rang and that's when they had learned that they had flown by their destination teterboro airport in minnesota by more than 100 miles. nobody was asleep in the cockpit. no arguments took place. i can't tell you anything that went on. >> according to the ntsb air traffic controllers made eight attempts to reach the pilots via radio and sent text messages to the cockpit. both pilots are appealing the revocation of their licenses. >> new york senator charles schumer is apologizing for a poor choice of words. the flight attendant asked him to shut off his cell phone. he made an off the cuff remark. schumer said it's harry reid calling, i guess health care will have to wait until we land. a spokesperson for schumer issued an apology. >> maybe the time difference is throwing them off. the wizards having a tough time out west. dan hellie has this morning's "sports minute." >> reporter: good morning, everybody, your "sports minute" starts with the wizards. the guys out west in sacramento last night. wizards trying to snap a five game losing streak, antawn jamison was doing his job last night. he scored 16 points in the first quarter but just didn't get enough help in the ends. the wizards lose another one. they had won nine straight against sacramento. they have now lost six in a row this season. the wizards at golden state on friday. redskins rookie linebacker, orakpo named defensive player of the week. orakpo with 11 sacks this season, 3 1/2 shy of the rookie record. he had four sacks against the raiders on sunday. even with all the controversy surrounding him, et cetera hard to ignore what tiger woods accomplished. he was named athlete of the decade by the associated press. in the last ten years woods has won 64 tournaments worldwide and 12 majors. tiger received 56 out of 142 votes cast by the ap editors. more than half of those votes were submitted after tiger as november 27th car accident. that's your "sports minute." i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great day. >> time again for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> gets talk about some changes coming in the weather. >> still cold and the winds are still blustery this morning. good morning. temperatures below freezing. all around the region. down into the mid-to-upper 20s. 28 in washington. from the benning neighborhood in washington to lanham, fran conia, wind chills are just in the teens to near 20 degrees. we have a mostly clear sky in central virginia. lots of sunshine this morning, few clouds this afternoon with a high near 40. becoming mostly cldy by late tonight. by dawn tomorrow near 20 degrees. increasing clouds on friday. looks like friday night we could get light snow and likely moderate to heavy snow from time to time on saturday along with gusty winds. highs near the freezing mark. looks like a significant snowstorm for saturday. the heavier amounts will be along east of i-95. windy and cold on sunday. cold and dry monday and the u.s. into christmas eve. clear dry road surfaces. good morning. over the key bridge no worries. gw parkway doing fine. nothing happening in rosslyn this early morning hour. picking up volume 95 northbound. headed north out of newington towards springfield and points beyond. no hangups. out on the rails this morning, one early morning delay, marc rail, penn train 401, nine minutes behind schedule. vre and metro doing fine. >> a sign of change. >> proof that 2009 is coming to an end. >> no more waiting. everybody can get a swine flu shot. >> caught red handed on a rooftop. police nabbed . a suspected bank robber tried to get away from police by jumping from rooftop to rooftop in cambridge, mass. a lot of screaming and yelling going on. an exploding die pack. police tried to get him to give up. the suspect eventually did give up. folks in times square are looking ahead to new year's eve and did a test run on the 2010 light display. the numbers 1 and 0 were light on wednesday. this year a more enviroentally-friendly display. the bulbs are the more efficient l.e.d. lights. the 7-foot tall numbers were delivered via petty cab. a rush hour many would like to forget. plus a budget crisis in prince george's county. hundreds of teachers positions on the chopping block. the search for a serial rapist. >> no more vaccine restrictions. everyone in the district can get their swine flu shot. >> drivers get ready to dig deep. a venue road may shorten your commute and lighten your wallet. good morning, welcome to "news4 today", i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it is thursday, december 17, 2009. looking outside, we got a picture from i-95 and backlick road where traffic is moving well in both directions. we'll check traffic after we take a look at weather. >> tom kierein will tell us about the forecast. >> looks like we could have a significant snowstorm beginning friday night into saturday. so plan accordingly if you have weekend travel plans. may be snarled across virginia, maryland and district of columbia. everything dry and cold. mid-to-upper 20s around the region. wind chills in the teens. winds gusting to 15 miles per hour. temperatures out of the mountains frigid down the mid-teens this morning. eastern shore upper 20s. view frompace showing a clear sky. few clouds in central virginia. we may see a few of those clouds later this afternoon and winds will be a bit blustery but not as gusty as yesterday. they will die down later. sunrise this morning 7:21. sunset at 4:48. then tonight becoming mostly cloudy by dawn friday just near 20 and afternoon highs tomorrow with increasing clouds into the upper 30s. then it looks after sunset friday evening perhaps mid to late evening light snow and then heavier on saturday with gusty wind. and the winds will be around 25 to 30 miles per hour. quite strong on saturday night into sunday. jerry, how is the traffic? >> good morning. no weather related traffic concerns as thursday morning gets understand way. doing pretty approximately 95, 395, no rarely concerns. travel lanes are open all the way around. good news there. let's see how we're doing elsewhere. the drive on the beltway, by college park, moving along very well. no worries there. out on the rails, we have one delay, on marc rail, penn line rain 401, still ten minutes behind schedule. vre and metro, no delays. joe? drivers who take the intercounty connector will learn what thehave to pay to use the roadway. it's currently under construction between gaithersburg and laurel. it could soon cost more than $6 to travel the road each way. news 4 megan mcgrath joins us from the roadway in laurel with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. later today we'll find out what the toll structure on the icc will be. there's a proposal that's been out there for some time and it's expected that that proposal will pass. there are a lot of folks out there who think the toll would be simply too high, you run the risk of defeating the purpose. it would be so expensive that people would not be taking the new toll road. let's take a look at the specifics of this proposal here. now, it would cost anywhere from 20 to 35 cents per mile, depending upon the time of day and that's for a two axel car. also the maximum toll, depending when you take it, if you take it the full 18 miles is $16.5 for a one way trip. when are these peak toll times, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., then 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. the maryland transportation authority votes later today. again they are expected to pass this proposal when they meet later on this afternoon. now they are trying to strike a balance here. if it's too cheap everyone will get on the icc and it becomes too congested. if it's too expensive then they fear not enough people will take it and then they won't ease congestion on other roads. they are trying to strike a balance here with the toll structure. so, again, later today they are expected toote on that final toll structure proposal. it is expected to pass. so if you take it one way during a peak period it will cost you over $6. back to you. ouch. thanks very much. here's a good reason to follow the rules of the road when you leave the house this morning. more than 200 drivers are facing some big fines because they did not, troopers were out in force yesterday along interstate 66, 395 and the dulles toll road enforcing the hov restrictions. police stopped 209 hov lane violators. the majority of those violators were first time offenders. it comes with a $125 fine. several other people were cited for failing to wear a seat belt and driving on a suspended license. the return of street cars to d.c. streets is now within sight. street cars were last seen almost 50 years ago. the new street cars will hit the streets by the fall of 2012. this past weekend they took delivery of the street cars. they will operate tracks that have been laid in anacostia in northeast d.c. things will look differently by the time you fly out of ronald reagan washington national airport. beginning today all northwest flights will fly out of terminal b. it will be located next to their parent company delta. all northwest signs will be removed. all customers of both airlines should check in with delta. now to the swine flu. today d.c. begins offering the vaccine to anyone who wants it. large shipments have been pouring in allowing officials to open vaccines to outside of the priority groups. a clinic will be held today at fort davis community center. residents can get the vaccine at pharmacies and doctor's offices. budget troubles for the prince george's county schools. a budget cut of $110 million. according to "the washington post" the budget calls for the elimination of 490 jobs including more than 150 teaching positions. under the plan many middle and high school class could increase by one student per class. it's unclear whether that would mean layoffs. however some of the job cuts to be with result of attrition. the cuts stem from a drop in federal funding and the school system has exhausted its reserve funds from recent years. and the city of alexandria, virginia is experiencing budget troubles. there's a $43 million budget gap for fiscal year 2011. the city plans to cut $600,000 for public transportation. right now transit officials are trying to figure out service cuts and fare option trois to meet those cuts. our time right now 5:36. they risk their lives to save a stranger. >> two strangers share an amazing story. >> i mean, it just went up. >> how they pulled a woman from a burning car on the beltway coming up. >> plus a traffic stop turns terrify if iing. new video just released of a shootout. >> hot cocoa, hot coffee, you want something hot this morning. it is freezing outside. check of weather and traffic comi weather and traffic. good morning on this thursday morning. our temperatures around the region are below freezing. we got a clear sky. now 28 degrees in washington. we're in the mid-20s in greenbelt, herndon and wheaton. we have a wind that's a little diminished from yesterday but still enough of a wind to give us wind chills down into the teens to near 20s degrees. off to a clear start here. few clouds in central virginia this morning. might see a few clouds this afternoon. mostly sunny with a high near 40. then becoming mostly cloudy tonight, sun friday morning and increasing clouds on friday. could have a significant snowstorm developing in virginia on friday night and into the metro area by late friday night into saturday morning and occasional heavy snow on saturday. especially here in washington. and points south and east. southern maryland through central virginia and the lower eastern shore. they could get the heavier amounts of snow before it all ends saturday evening with gusty winds. windy and cold on sunday. we'll take a look at the next week in ten minutes. jerry, how is the traffic? >> very quiet as we check out downtown traffic on 395. eastbound, westbound, between the anacostia potomac rivers. let's see how we' doing along i 270 out of frederick heading towards germantown, rockville. little bit of volume. no hangups. all overnight road work on 270 has been wrapped up. back to you. taking on ticket master. why lawmakers are urging anyone to take action. plus a woman in prince george's county fighting for her pet. a big pig that the county says has to go. two men brave the flames to pull a woman to safety. hear their story coming up. >> suspected in attacks dating back ten years. the here's a look at the top stories we're following today, a proposal to charge drivers a toll to use the intercounty nextor. vote on the plan today could mean rates up to 35 cents mr. pile for cars and suvs. virginia transportation officials will vote on a plan to slash $893 million from the state budget. this is the fifth time spending has been cut since june of last year. transportation officials say the new measures are as a result of years of declining revenue. >> d.c. police complete ad successful undercover sting taking $1 million in narcotics and 123 illegal guns off the street. the "washington examiner" newspaper reports undercover cops set up a fake auto shop in northeast washington, and they used informants to put the word out on the streets that they were interested in drugs and black market guns. a d.c. police officer has been arraigned on felony mder charges. reggie jones is a six year veteran with the metro police department. he's accused of being involved in the shooting death of 40-year-old arvel austin earlier this month. sources close to the incident said he used his squad car during an attempted drug robbery. this morning there's fear and concern over news that a serial rapist is at work. >> his dna has been fnd in four states and 13 crime scenes. tracee wilkins has the latest on what's happening right now in our area. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. police say for 13 years the serial rapist has targeted our area. they are asking the public to look at the facts in this case and then seriously consider whether they know who is responsible. you may not think this person could be capable of this type of crime. police believe this man has lived or may currently be living in one of the areas where these attacks have occurred. it began in prince george's county. six rapes there have been connected to the suspect beginning in 1997 in forestville and ending in 2001. then on the virginia where rapes in fairfax county, leesburg, prince william county and manassas have also been linked to the attacker. the latest attack happened in the dale city neighborhood in manassas where two teenagers, trick or treaters were raped on halloween. police say in december of 2001 there was another rape in alexandria before the attacker left our area for five years. they say that during that period was linked to attacks in rhode island and connecticut before returning to our area. police believe someone knows who this man may be. >> do not be afraid to give us a name. the key point we have dna in these cases. so, if you have a name we can investigate the person and we can exclude or rule out anybody that the dna does not match. >> reporter: police say this man has targeted black, hispanic and white females who range in age from teenage years to 40 years old. police ask anyone with information to call 1-866-411-ti. you can get up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case. barbara and joe? >> thanks very much. the army psychiatrist charged in that deadly shooting at fort hood is recupperating in a private hospital room. he's now been placed under guard at the brooke army medical center in san antonio. he'll be hospitalized for two more months. he's charged with 13 murders and 32 attempted murders in the november 5th attacks. to connecticut where this dramatic new video shows a state trooper in a shootout with a suspected gang member. it happened earlier this year. it shows the trooper pulling a taxi driver over for speeding. when the trooper approaches the taxi, the passenger in the back seat begins firing an assault rifle. that sent the cab driver and trooper running for cover. the passenger of shot and killed after a standoff with police. police in utah now say they are treating the disappearance of a mother of two as a criminal case. investigators suspect foul play was involved in the disappearance of 28-year-old susan powell. she was reported missing december 7th. police also say they are growing more suspicious of home run husband who has been uncooperative. he's not been named a suspect but investigators want to know more about a camping trip he said he was on the day his wife disappeared. this morning health officials in miami say a man who died from legionnaire's disease did not come in to contact with the disease there. the doctor won't say where he contracted the disease but there's no significant public health risk. 300 people were removed from the hotel on saturday while the health department inspected the water system there. the former guest died in october and two others fell ill in november. some lawmakers on capitol hill are speaking out against the proposed merger of ticket master and live nation. entertainment industry and consumer groups joined congressmen in d.c. on wednesday to voice their opposition to the rger which was unveiled in february. a representative is asking the justice department to stop the plan. he says the merger would give ticket master and live nation too much power in the concert industry. >> there's no question in my mind that if we, if the justice department allows ticket master and live nation to join together this would be the most brazen merger and monopoly that i've seen in a long time. >> ticket master is the nation's biggest ticket seller and live nation is the largest promoter of live entertainment and second largest ticket seller in the country. retailers are trying to extend the holiday buying season by offering a free shipping date today. they will waive shipping fees and deliver by christmas eve. stores are trying to lure customers with the promise of free shipping. they are hoping customers will take advantage of that offer. >> first lady playing santa. she was in quantico, virginia for a big toy delivery. all of them came for a toys for tots collection. she made an appeal for more toys for older children. well, if we get the weather that we think we may be getting it will look a lot like the holiday season. >> certainly feeling like it too. this morning we've got the cold weather in place and the ground is frozen now. so, yes, any snow we may get over the weekend will stickn the roads as well as on the grassy areas and looks like we could get a significant snowstorm beginning tomorrow night into saturday. right now no travel problems. a clear sky over the potomac. a cold 28 at ronald reagan washington national airport. temperatures down in the mid-20s this morning and out in the mountains down in the teens. wind chills are in th teens. winds gusting to around 10 to 15 miles per hour. on the eastern shore, temperatures in the upper 20s. frigid morning in the most. mostly clear skies. few clouds in central and southern virginia. few of those clouds will be in other later on this afternoon. be prepared for a potential, major snowstorm developing for us. right now it's taking shape here along the gulf coast in the form rain. that may clause flight delays later on from new orleans to houston to brownsville, texas. lake-effect snow upstate new york. but some northern rocky snows. this low pressure forming along the gulf coast looks like it will be tracking closer to us than yesterday. as a result we have a chance for a significant snowstorm begiing tomorrow night. so for today, thou, no travel problems. just breezy and cold with bright sunshine. by noon mid-30s. may however to near 40 for a couple of hours. by midnight the 20s and only near 20 by dawn tomorrow with increasing clouds. maybe a little sun tomorro morning and cloudy the rest of friday with highs in the upper 30s and we'll have a possibility of a some light snow moving from the south to the north on friday night and becoming heavy at times by saturday morning. some moderate to heavy snow is now appearing to be likely for saturday, ending saturday night with some strong winds. looks like the heaviest snow amounts will be in virginia, the district of columbia and areas east of interstate 95 southern maryland and eastern shore. next week should be cold and dry. >> nice and dry this morning along i 270 southbound, heading down passing route 124, montgomery village to route 28. moving smoothly. increasing volume but not terrible. traffic is moving well tohe split. the trip over towards american legion bridge a little bit of volume. virginia, you're lding up rather quickly along i-95. several stretches but no accidents, broken down cars, dry pavement up and to the 14th street bridge. brunswick train 874, 19 minutes behind schedule. still looking good, vre and metro. barbara? >> thank you, jerry. president obama is heading to copenhagen, denmark this evening. he'll join more than 110 world leaders at the climate change conference. so far negotiations are at a stalemate. the president is under pressure to help reach an agreement on greenhouse gas while not signing a deal that could kill american jobs. most environmentally attentive businesses in montgomery county are getting special recognition. 11 companies are getting certified as being green. those companies have been working hard to reduce their carbon footprint, conserve water and recycle. marriott international, petco customer service center, clean currents and bethesda green were recognized. this morning there's a worldwide fight to save the life of a pig. gwendolyn has lived in pat brown's backyard for 20 years. keeping livestock in a single family home is a zoning violation in prince george's county. brown fears if the pig is removed the animal will not survive. >> i've contacted the pig sanc turn ary, they wrote a letter andaid she will die. they can't adjust. >> seeking support pat brown put her pig's picture on the web. prince george's county officials say she can appeal. it will go to court. a judge can decide the fate of this poor potbelliedpig. >> crushed like a beer can that's how two men who witness this violent crash on the beltway described this jeep that burst into flames. those two men ran towards that jeep fire and saved the driver's life. news 4 elaine reyes has the story. >> the only thing going through my mind there's probably someone stuck in that car pip got to get to it. >> reporter: these two men were sittinin morning traffic on the beltway on their way to work. >> after the tractor-trailer comes by we see a jeep wrangler on flames and crushed like a beer can. >> the jeep come flying out in a fireball. >> reporter: john grabbed his fire extinguisher and evan ran to the jeep. >> i'm ripping open the canvas top trying to get in. and i see the girl screaming, help me. we tried pulling her straight out. >> we had split seconds. because when we got her out, i mean it just went up. the black smoke, the cloud, i mean it was completely in flames. >> took her out about 50 yards away from the accident. put her down on the ground. laid her flat. covered her up with blankets and coats. she was screaming in pain. her lower back hurts. >> the victim 27-year-old vanessa lenares was able to talk to her rescuers. neither he nor john consider themselves heroes. >> i would hope somebody would do it for me if i was trapped or if he was trapped or somebody we loved was trapped. we would hope somebody would at least try. >> reporter: elaine reyes, news 4. >> the woman is hospitalized but is expected to be okay. >> mayor . one-two punch of winter weather, freezing cold temperatures are here and staying and now meteorologist tom kierein says a snowstorm is not too far behind. costly commute. the new plan expected to be approved today to ease traffic congestion, like your ride to work could be the most expensive in the nation. good morning. thanks for waking up with us today for "news4 today." i'm barbara harrison. good morning. i'm joe krebs on this thursday, december 17, 2009. taking a live look outside. it sort of looks cold out there with that beautiful sky. 28 degrees here in the nation's capital. tom has the news for you. i guess folks, kids will be happy to hear. everybody. it's coming on a weekend. >> i would like to apologize to all the students and teachers it's not happening on a school day. we could get a storm on saturday. but snow lovers you can gently fold the crying towel and place it in the closet. temperatures around the region are below freezing. in the 20s. 28 in washington. winds are up a little bit. wind chill in the teens. few clouds in central virginia. off to a clear and dry start here. no travel problems today. breezy and cold morning. we'll have lots of sunshine today. by 9:00 near 30. by noon mid-30s. mid-afternoon hovering near 40 degrees. sunrise at 7:21. sunset at 4:48 back down into the mid-30s or so and overnight tonight we'll be mostly cloudy and by dawn friday near 20 degrees and little sun tomorrow morning. clouding up on friday. friday evening some light snow. but then getting heavier at times by dawn saturday and occasional heavy snow on saturday, especially in virginia, southern maryland, along interstate 95 points south and east. gusty winds to follow as we clear out on sunday. how is the traffic? >> doing fine. certainly picking up stroinl pre-dawn darkness along interstate 66 from haymarket. westbound side carrying a light volume of traffic. getting busy at the interchanges. interstate 270 pretty much the same story out of frederick. no early issue there's. if you're heading to points north, accident at route 3, chapel road. drivers who take the intercounty connector wl find out today how much they will have to pay to use that toll roadway. the 18.8 mile highway is currently under construction. runs from gaithersburg and laurel. if a new proposal say proved it could soon cost more than $6 to travel each way. after the roadway is completed. megan mcgrath joins us from laurel with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: that's right. later today we'll find out likely what it will cost to take the intercounty connector when it opens. they will be giving the final vote on the toll structure later on this afternoon and they are expected to approve a proposal that's been out there for a while, a proposal that many think places tolls that are simply too high but it is expected to get a final vote and be approved later on today. let's take a look at it. under this proposal the toll would be anywhere from 20 to 35 cents a mile, depending upon the time of day that you are traveling. the maximum toll if you take the full 18.8 miles would be $6.15 if you travel during the peak time. when are those peak times. 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the morning. 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the evening, during the evening rush hour. now the maryland transportation authority votes later today. if they pass the toll it would be among the highest in the nation. what they are trying to do here is strike a balance. if they make it too cheap then everyone will get on the icc and immediately become congested. too expensive not enough people will take it and that won't ease the pressure on other area roads. so they are trying to strike a balance here with the toll structure. some areconcerned, though, what's out there and what's expected to be approved later today might be too high, but, again, the maryland transportation authority meeti later on this afternoon and during that meeting they are expected to give final approval to this proposal. joe, back to you. also today virginia transportation officials can vote to slash nearly $990 million from their budget. if approved the state would cut $893 plans. this is the fth time spending has been slashed since june of last year. transportation officials say the new measures are as a result of years of declining revenue which they blame on dwindling automobile and gasoline sales. new today budget troubles in prince george's county schools could mean furloughs, and larger class sizes. the superintendent proposed a new budget for the 2010 school erthat represent as budget cut of $110 million. according to "the washington postthe proposal calls for the elimination of 490 jobs, including more than 150 teaching positions. under the plan many middle and high school classes could increase by one student per class. it's unclear whether it means more layoffs. however some of the job cuts would be the result of attrition. the cuts stem from a drop in federal funding, and the school system has exhausted its reserve funds from recent years. this morning, there's anxiety over news that a serial rapist is on the prowl in the d.c. area. the suspect is linked to 13 cases up and down the east coast, connecticut, road, maryland, virginia. his attacks have spanned a decade. his most recent attack was in our area on halloween. he assaulted two teenagers. a criminal profiler points out that in several of the cases he's attacked two victims at the same time. >> very intimidating. that's why he's getting away with these rapes. to control two at once is quite something. >> police asked if anyone with information on the case to call crime solvers. an undercover store front sting led to a cache of guns and drugs taken off the street. "washington examiner" reports that the police ran the sting out of a fake auto shop for several months this year. they used informants to put word out on the street they were interested in drugs and guns. police seized $1 million in heroin and cocaine. it was all being smuggled by a ring that ran all the way up to canada. starting today the district will off terrify swine flu vacce to anyone who wants it. large spments have been pouring in. the first free clinic opened to all d.c. residents will be held today at the fort davis community center in ward 7 from 5:00 to 9:00 tonight. residents can also get the vaccine at pharmacies and doctor's offices but in some cases that may cost you. a star nfl receiver is battling for his life following an accident in a domestic dispute. and also coming up the u.s. senator apologizes to a flight attendant for cursing at her. find out what started it all. after years in court a father finally wins an international custody gun battle. could anything stop him from seng his son again today >> it's cold out there. tom says get ready . new today, italian prime minister is out of the hospital four days after being attacked by a mentally ill man. this new video shows the prime minister being released from a medical center in milan a short time ago. he suffered broken nose and two broken teeth on sunday after a man hit him in the face with a statuette after a rally. it will likely take him about a month to fully recover. the man responsible for the attack later apologized in a letter and called his attack superficial and cowardly. let's get a check on traffic and weather on the 1s now. here's tom kierein in storm center 4. >> you should not have any travel problems off to work and school on this thursday morning but it is cold. layer up. you'll have hat head today but that's okay. so will everybody else. in the upper 20s in the region to teens out in the mountai and the winds are around 10 to 15 miles per hour. wind chills are in the teens and off to a clear start, a few clouds in central virginia. we may have a few of those later on today with highs in the 40s. tomorrow morning near 20s. friday night some light snow, moderate to heavy snow accumulating on saturday with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. should end by late saturday night. now, jerry, how is the traffic? >> take a live look. chopper 4 over in college park. very close to yesterday's scene of fiery crash on route 1. no issues. just volume. i-95 southbound down from 198 as well as the beltway, just volume. travel lanes open. headed downtown, 66 towards route 50 towards the roosevelt bridge, moving nicely. we'll check out the american legion bridge. so far so good. barbara and jerry, back to you. more information on that wayward flight. what a difference a year makes. a new poll finds america is here's a look at some of the top stories we're looking at today on "news4 today." investigators are on the hunt for a serial rapist in our area. he's located to 14 cases in four seats over more than a decade. the most recent attack was on halloween night. the final vote to make the intercounty connector a toll road will take place this morning. it could mean rates up to 35 cents per mile for two axle vehicles. troubles for prince george's county schools could mean furloughs, fewer teachers and larger classes. there's a proposed budget cut of $110 million. the district is offering swine flu vaccine to anyone who wants it. it will be held today at fort davis community center in ward 7 from 5:00 to 9:00 tonight for anyone who want its. president obama heads to copenhagen for the climate change conference that's underway. the news is not good for him. brooke hart reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: the toughest news for president obama since he took office. worry is back. 55% say the country is on the wrontrack. barack obama's approval rating has dipped from 47% from 60 early on. >> americans suspect that they are a nation in decline. a president who promised a new beginning. seems to be the one writing the closing chapter. >> reporter: the public has soured on health care reform as debate dragged on. 32% think the president's plan is a good idea. 47% say bad idea. and analysts say the economy, unemployment in the double digits have poisoned the mood. the president's actions a target. >> after spending a trillion dollars on a stimulus bill what have we done? we've created more unemployment. >> reporter: house democrats last act yesterday? >> the yeas are 217 and nays 212. >> reporter: passed more stimulus, $154 billion. towards public works. states and cities and benefits to the jobless. >> we're on the road to recovery. >> reporter: how angry is the country? the polls show the tea party movement is more popular than democrats or republicans. but democrats in charge of congress have the most to lose. their own pollsters said for them, red flags are flying at full mass. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. the poll asked people whether they thought america is in a state of decline. 61% answered yes. while 35% said no. barbara? >> gentleman president obama is praising the house for passing a bill that will create more jobs. it's a $154 billion bill that passed narrowly without a single republican vote. the unemployed will continue to get benefits. president obama says more still needs done, the bill did not include his proposed $250 social security check or tax credits for small businesses who make their homes more ferj efficient. the senate won't start on the bill until next year. new information about those northwest airline pilots who over shot a minnesota airport by 150 miles. the national transportation safety board said pilots were listening to the wrong radiofrequency and looking at their laptops talking about company policy. the report released shows when a flight attendant called the pilot he was surprised when she asked about the flight's arrival time. the a has revoked both pilots licenses however they are fighting to get them back. this morning new york senator charles schumer apologized for a poor choice of words. he was on a flight from new york to washington when a flight attendant asked him to turn off his cell phone. he made an off the cuff comment under his breath. schumer reportedly said it's harry reid calling, i guess health care has to wait until we land. a spokesperson for schumer issued an apology. chris henry is battling for his life after he fell out of a pickup truck during a fight with his fiancee. officer in north carolina found the cincinnati bengal lying in the road yesterday. it all started early yesterday afternoon when henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck his fiancee was driving. at some point he then fell out of the truck. he was taken to the hospital with what doctors call life threatening injuries. the wizards road woes continue. they lost to the kings ernight, 112-109. dan hellie has this morning's "sports minute". >> reporter: good morning, everybody, your "sports minute" starts with the wizards. the guys out west in sacramento last night. wizards trying to snap a five game losing streak, antawn jamison was doing his job last night. he scored 16 points in the first quarter but just didn't get enough help in the end. the wizards lose another one. they had won nine straight against sacramento. they have now lost six in a row this season. the wizards at golden state on friday. redskins rookie linebacker, orakpo named defensive player of the week. orakpo with 11 sacks this season, 3 1/2 shy of the rookie record. he had four sacks against the raiders on sunday. even with all the controversy it is hard to ignore what tiger woods has accomplished. he was named the athlete of the decade. he's won 64 tournaments worldwide and 12 majors. tiger received 56 out of 142 votes cast by the a opinion editors. more than half were submitted after tiger as november 27th car accident. that's your "sports minute." i'm dan hellie. everybody have a great day. >> time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's go meteorologist tom kierein in storm weather 4 with big storm news. >> significant storm beginning tomorrow night. right now, greenbelt, herndon, wheaton, clear sky with temperatures in the 20s. lots ofun in the 40s. increasing cloud on friday. upper 30s tomorrow. late friday night, light snow moving to the north. getting heavier by saturday. accumulations developing. ending saturday night. windy and cold on sunday. beginning of next week should be clear and dry as we get towards christmas day. how is the traffic? >> we'll take at that live look. the drive in from the west, interstate 66, no hangups to report all the way on in. little bit of volume. pre-dawn darkness sunshine is not an issue. headed to points west that's moving along nicely. to the north on route 1 just below 895 a building fire. accident on route 3. chapel road. other than that looks like we're doing okay. rails we do have some delays on marc rail. brunswick train 874 up to 45 minutes late. they are having some mechanical issues with that particular train. brunswick 890, six minutes late. vre and metro looking good. >> custody battle that made international headlines may be over. a pair of good samaritans describe their heroic actions. they describe saving a woman from a burning car on the beltway. a lot of folks in times square are looking ahead to new year's eve and they did a test run of the display. numbers 1 and 0 were lit. this year a more environmentally-friendly display. the bulbs have been converted from halogen to l.e.d. lights. to continue with the green theme, the seven foot tall numbers were delivered via cab. a brazilian court ordered the boy be returned to his american father within 48 hours. despite the ruling, the father is not declaring victory yet. he has been fighting to get his son back for years. his wife took their son to brazil. she divorced and remarried. she died last year. shaun's stepfather is fighting for custody. job cuts, furloughs and larger class sizes, the big budget cut proposed for prince george's county and hear about the two good samaritans that pulled a woman out of her jeep. and a snowstorm this weekend. weather and traffic together on weather woe, you're waking up to freezing cold temperatures and look at that, can you even see your breath out there. meteorologist tom kierein says we could see a significant snowstorm that could slow down your weekend plans. a serial rapt wanted in four states over the last decade is linked to an attack on two teenagers in northern virginia. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. it is thursday, december 17, 2009. let's take a look out there again. just as you can see your breath was that yours we saw? it is cold out there this morning. hopefully you can't smell it. >> oh. >> anyway, it won't matter. over the weekend whether you can do either because it is looking like a major snowstorm here for friday night into saturday. right now frigid start out of the mountains. only in the teens. upper 20s elsewhere. now 28 in washington. off to a clear start here with a few clouds in central virginia at this hour. and going to be a bit breezy this morning, wind chills down in the teens now. now near 30 by 9:00. by noon mid-30s. early -- mid-afternoon 40 degrees. sunrise at 7:21. by dawn tomorrow mostly cloudy, near 20 degrees. afternoon highs in the upper 30s on friday with increasing clouds. looks like late friday night perhaps late evening, clouds from the south. heavy to moderate snow through saturday with strong gusty winds as well. accumulating snow on saturday. ending saturday night. how is the traffic, jerry? >> doing pretty well this morning. good morning. chopper 4 checking things out in montgomery county. top side of the beltway, inner loop and outer loop around connecticut avenue still moving well. outer loop picking up volume. clear dry surfaces so far this morning. the trip up to the north, be careful. you folks coming out of urbana or coming down to clarksburg, reports of icy patches in a couple of spots on 355, near 121. let's see what's going on american legion bridge picking up a lot of volume. out on the rails, still doing fine. metro and vre. marc train 874 mechanical problems. 45 minutes behind schedule. brunswick train 890, six minges late. this morning fear and concern over news that a serial rapist continues to attack women and girls in our area. he's been positively linked to crimes up and down the east coast. the suspect's dna has been found in four states and at 13 different crime scenes. his attacks span more than a decade. tracee wilkins has the latest on the manhunt going on right now. >> reporter: police say for 13 years the serial rapist has tar get our area. they are asking the public to take a look at the facts this was case and then seriously consider whether they know who is response sill. officials say you might not even think this person could be luck capable of this kind of a crime. police believe this man has lived or may be currently living in one of the areas where these attacks occurred. it began in prince george's county. six rapes there have been connected to the suspect beginning in 1997 in forestville and ending in 2001. then on to virginia where rapes in fairfax county, leesburg, prince william county and manassas have also been linked to the attacker, the latest attack happened in the dale city neighborhood of manassas where two teenager trick or treaters ages 16 and 17 were raped on halloween. then police say in december of 2001 there was another rape in alexandria before the attacker left our area for five years. then during that period he was linked to attacks in rhode island and connecticut before returning. police believe someone knows who this man may be. >> do not be afraid to give us a name. the key point we have dna in these cases. so, if we have a name, we can investigate the person, a name provided to us and we can exclude or rule out if the dna does not match. >> reporter: police say this man has tar geed black, hispanic, and white females who range in age from teenage to 40 years old. police ask anyone with information to call. an undercover store front sting led to a cache of drugs and guns taken off the street. "washington examiner" reports the d.c. police ran the sting out of a fake auto body shop over several months. they used informants to put word out on the street they were interested in guns and black market drugs. 123 guns were sold to the cops. police seized a million dollars in heroin and cocaine. a woman struck inside this burning jeep wrangler on the beltway has two fellow drivers to thank for jumping into action and saving her life. this all what happened in prince george's county in college park. police say a tractor-trailer truck crashed into the back end of this jeep driven by 27-year-old vanessa lenares. the fuel tank ruptured and her vehicle burst into flames. she was trapped inside. two men who saw the accident jumped out of their car, grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to help. >> i'm ripping open the canvas top trying to get in. and i see the girl screaming, "help me." we tried pulling her straight out. >> we had split seconds. because when we got her out, i mean it just went up. the black smoke, the cloud, i mean it was completely in flames. the woman is still recovering but is expected to be okay. new today budget troubles in prince george's county. hools could mean furloughs, fewer teachers and large class sizes. the superintendent proposed $1.7 million budget for the 2010 school year. that represent as budget cut of $110 million. according to "the washington post" the proposal calls for the elimination of 490 jobs, including more than 150 teaching positions. under the plan, many middle and high school classes could increase by one student per class. it's unclear if this means layoffs. however, some of the job cuts would be the result of attrition. cuts stem from a drop in federal funding and the school system has exhausted its reserve funds from recent years. president obama is heading to copenhagen, denmark this evening. he'll be joining more than 110 world leaders for the climate change conference. so far climate negotiations are at a stalemate. the president is under pressure to help reach an agreement on greenhouse gases while not signing a deal that could kill american jobs. the u.s. has offered a 17% reduction from 2007 emission levels by 2020. >> let's go live to matt lauer to see what "the today show" is working on. good morning. coming up on a thursday here on today our exclusive interview with new jersey dad david goldman before he heads to brazil where an appeals court says his son must be returned to him. and the tiger woods saga, is his wife planning to divorce him? we'll wrap up our series on plane spotting. that's when we start on a thursday morning right here on "the today show." joe, back to you. >> an airport is a good place to do that. that's where you want to be. >> that's the greatest chance of success. >> thanks very much. >> all right. see you tomorrow. coming up, a vote today on a road project that could cost you big bucks every day. in case you need an excuse to do online shopping we have one for you. >> we're off to a cold start and we could see snow this weekend. your weather and traffic together on the 1s coming up next time for weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning. it's 6:41. blustery and cold this morning. winds gusting 15 to 20 miles per hour. wind chills in the teens. temperatures in the 20s. high today near 40 with lots of sun and clouding up tonight. sun tomorrow morning near 20. highs upper 30s with cloudy sky. late friday night light snow moving from the south to the north across virginia into the district and madd. then some moderate to heavy snow at times on saturday ending saturday night. some gusty winds into sunday. we'll take a look at the next week in ten minutes. how is the traffic? >> new york avenue, smooth sailing so far. it's coming over the anacostia, third street tunnel and beyond usual. traffic light slowdowns, very brief. trip around town loading up along 95 and several long stretches. the good news is at this point no accident or incidents. main lanes looking relatively okay. hov lanes moving along very nicely indeed. elsewhere the drive in on 270, very heavy and slow past father hurley boulevard. new plan expected today to ease congestion. the zoning battle in prince george's county and woman's pet pot bellied pig. >> mayor adrian fenty is with us. we'll talk about the history gay marriage bill and what he'll do to keep that from getting overturned. ready for tha i'm here with d.c. mayor adrian fenty. he joins us every week at this time for connecting with the mayor. are you ready? this week the council passed that bill to legalize gay marriage in the district. have you signed it yet? >> it hasn't arrived on my desk but i will sign it. >> when are your expecting it? >> i'm expecting it faster than normal. it normally takes between 10 and 20 days to get to my desk. the council thinks they may have it to me by friday. >> what are you hearing about the reaction on capitol hill. will they let it pass? >> i think so. we're not taking anything for granted. knock on wood i haven't heard a lot from congresswoman norton. a lot of work to make it go through. >> how about you? you doing any lobbying on the hill? >> what i normally do we stay in close communication with the congresswoman. we stayed in close communication with the oversight committee. hopefully it won't be needed. >> a six year veteran of the d.c. police force was charged with murder. we've been covering this morning. reginald jones was on duty, he was a lookout for this robbery. what was your reaction when you heard this? >> well, it's extremely unfortunate. you know, the chief has said all the right things. one, that we're not going to try and eep it under the rug. it happened. you know, she's described him as a bad apple. but, she's said agencies and organizations shouldn't be judged by their bad apple but how they deal with it. the chief stood up before the cameras, said what happened. immediately, obviously, the officer was put under arrest as he reported to work, and that's exactly what you would expect and i think a lot of people agree that she and her team are doing a fantastic job. this is a huge exception to otherwise the hard-working great police department. >> does this raise the question about closer scrutiny of the police who are on the force right now and those who you are recruiting? >> this gentleman came before our team. he's six years into the job. i would say you should always go back and look and make sure you're doing the proper level of oversight and training, et cetera. at the same time, you know, officers, unfortunately, are human beings. i don't know what would make someone do something like this. make any individual commit a crime, especially when it led to a murder. but we'll do everything possible to prevent it from happening again if there's a possibility of doing that. >> moving on, the d.c. council sent a strong message this week that there's too much cronyism in the city contract. they voted to eliminate one of your fraternity brothers from a contract. what your going to do to go forward to steer clear of this kind of thing and the allegations of cronyism? >> again this is about the fourth time that we've talked about this particular issue. you've used some strong words -- it's fine for them to be throwing around but people have their rights, and as you know, you know the facts as well as i do. first this was an independent agency of the government, housing authority, it doesn't report to me at all. so, to say that my executive branch had anything to do with anybody getting this contract is just false. the other thing that should be mentioned, every contract that we've ever negotiated over a million dollars in the three years since i've been mayor has been sent to the council. and there's no allegations that the housing authority didn't follow the procurement laws. i don't think we should cast aspersions or say things that are increase because they voted a particular way. i'm not going presume how they voted but what facts or facts. this was a procurement process independent of my branch of government. one quick question. approaching the end the year. your favorite moment of 2009? >> 2009? just being with my kids and my wife. that's alway the best thing that you can do as a father and husband. >> all right. thank you so much. >> thank you. if you have a question or comment to adrian fenty, just send us an e-mail. we may use it on the air next week. >> merry christmas, happy holidays to you guys. >> you may notice some changes the next time you fly out of ronald reagan washington national airport. beginning today all northwest airlines planes will fly out of terminal b instead of terminal a. it will be located next to delta airlines. because of the merger all northwest signs will be removed. all customers of both airlines should check in with delta. citigroup is giving homeowners on the verge of a foreclosure and early holiday gift. courtney reagan joins us with more on that story. >> reporter: citigroup will halt foreclosures and evicktions for 30 days. the move only applies to loans owned by citi. and there's a vote whether ben bernanke should have a second term as fed chairman. on wednesday "time" magazine named bernanke as person the year. dominos is delivering change to its his recipe. they are overhauling the entire pie. the new pizza should be available by december 27th. the pizza delivery industry has been hit hard by the economy. sales are down 6%. dominos' move comes weeks before the biggest payday, super bowl. >> that could be risky, like the new coke. >> yeah. remember when that happened >>. retailers are trying to extend their holiday buying season by offering a free shipping day today. 700 retailers will waive shipping fees and deliver by christmas eve. now that black friday and cybermonday has passed stores are luring customers with the promise of free shipping. this morning there's a worldwide fight to save the life of a local pig. yes, a pig. gwendolyn the pig lives in pat brown's berlin heights backyard. lived there for 20 years. now she finds herself in the middle of a fight to keep her. keeping or raising livestock or nonhousehold type pets in single family homes is a zoning violation in prince george's county. brown fears if the wig is we moved the animal won't survive. >> i contacted the pig sanctuary in west virginia and they wrote a letter she can't be moved, if they move her she will die from depression. pigs like this can't adjust and they stop eating, drinking. it's a death sentence. >> reporter: seeking support, pat brown put her pig problem and pig's picture on the web. it's gotten attention around the world. the matter is on appeal. it will go to court and the judge will have to decide the fate of this potbellied pig. >> i wonder what she eats like? >> can only imagine. >> tom, tell us about the weather. >> it does appear, we may have a snowstorm here for the weekend, so plan accordingly. right now a mostly clear start. few clouds on the eastern horizon. sunrise at 7:21 this morning. the temperature 28 at ronald reagan washington national airport. mid-20s in the suburbs and rural areas. and we have wind chills, yes this morning once again we have some rather blustery winds. wind chills down in the teens. winds are as gusty as yesterday. temperatures in the upper teens. eastern shore in the upper 20s. a few clouds drifting into the region this morning, be with us throughout much of the day, in and out. overall quite a bit of sunshine. dress warmly, we have that blustery northwest wind with the bright sunshine. temperatures will be holding steady in the 20s for another couple of hours or so. hit 30 by 9:00. by mid-afternoon near 40 with a few clouds in and out and mostly cloudy tonight increase clouds on friday with highs in the upper 30s for a morning low near 20. does look like light snow developing late friday night, moderate to heavy snow at times on saturday ending saturday night. we'll give you amount estimates tomorrow. then some gusty winds coming in on sunday and into monday, the u.s. -- cold. 270 at the split, that's the spur right side, those folks head down to georgetown road. all volume. now, we did have a couple of icy spots to look out for, reported along 354 in clarksburg, silver hill road. suitland road be careful because of potential for icy conditions. 66 no early accident. out on the rails this morning still having some issues on marc rail. brunswick train 874, 45 minutes behind schedule. brunswick train 892, six minutes late. vre, manassas 324, minor delayed and metro rail looking good. today drivers who will use the intercounty connector will find out how much it will cost them to use it. the 18.8 mile highway is currently under construction between gaithersburg and laurel. it could soon cost more than $6 to travel each way. news 4 megan mcgrath joins us from laurel and has more on this. >> reporter: good morning. you can see that construction is well under way over my shoulder here. can you see some of the supports here for an overpass here across 95, and the big question here is what will it cost to take the icc once construction is complete? later today we're expecting to learn more about that, the final vote on the toll structure is expected to take place this afternoon, and it could be as much as 20 to 35 cents a mile, if you took the whole thing, $6.15. we're expecting that vote later today. and we're going to take at that look at some of the top stories we're following right now. investigators are on the hunt for a serial rapist in our area. he's linked to 13 cases in four states opinion his crimes spanned more than a decade. he attacked two teenagers walking home from trick or treating on halloween night in dale city. prince george's county schools could have fewer teachers and larger class sizes. there's a proposed budget cut of $110 million. the district is off terrifying swine flu vaccine to anyone who wants it. the first free clinic will be topped all d.c. residents. it will be homeland today at fort davis community center from 5:00 to 9:00 this evening. >> president obama is heading to copenhagen, denmark this evening. he'll join 110 world leaders at the climate change conference. so far negotiations are at a stalemate. out the door forecast. cold and dry this morning. in the 20s. afternoon highs near 40s. clouds in and out. tomorrow increase clouds. morning lows 20s. light snow developing late friday night, moderate to heavy snow on saturday ending saturday night. how is the traffic >> pretty well at this hour. just volume. in maryland volume as well along i 270. >> that is "news4 today." thanks for starting your thursday with us. >> we hope you have a terrific thursday. join us tomorrow at 4:55 a.m. have a great day. >> bye.