fog, parts of northern virginia, maryland around the bay. watch for that. as you get closer to the metro area, you'll be running into better visibility. right now, visibility's great there at reagan national. the washington skyline clearly visible. not much fog around the metro area. under a cloudy sky, 45 at reagan national with a light, southwesterly breeze. that will warm us up today. already into the 40s throughout much of virginia and maryland. parts of the shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia into maryland, into the 30s. most locations are above freezing. southern maryland around the bay, northern neck, near 50 degrees. here's the view from space. over the last 12 hours, we've had fog dissipating. still patchy, dense fog around much of the region. still cloudy now. but by mid morning, we should have sunshine breaking out and dissipating, low to mid 50s this afternoon. a look at the evening planner in ten minutes. danella, good morning. good morning. still looking really good on our roadways. if you're crossing any bridges at the memorial bridge, volume's nice. not seeing any incidents for you. traveling over the 14th street bridge heading into d.c., you're in the clear. no delays or accidents at this time. traveling in southeast, crossing the sousa bridge, again, no issues here. also check the douglass bridge, as well, and didn't see any problems. looking great. if you're taking the rails, they're open with no reported delays on the metro, marc, or vre. back to you. >> thank you. this morning we're getting our first look at mitt romney's tax returns. the subject was a source of controversy for the presidential candidate because he initially refused to release that financial information. angie goff joins us with a closer look at the numbers. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. mitt romney released his 2010 tax returns just after midnight. and they showed that on top of being one of the wealthiest candidates to ever run for president, he is also paying much less in taxes than any other candidate on the trail. romney's taxes show that he made more than $21 million in 2010. now that's seven times the income of challenger newt gingrich and $20 million more than what president obama made. after taking out more than $4 million in itemized deductions, it looks like romney wound up paying just more than $3 million in taxes. now that equals out, if we were to put it in percentages, to a tax cut rate of about 14%. 13.9%. that's about half of what gingrich paid. the reason romney pays so little is because most of his profit is from dividends or interest on investments. much of which are foreign holdings. he also invests heavily in family trusts. until last year, he invested in a swiss bank account. romney donates a significant amount to charity, nearly $3 million last year alone. his largest donation to the mormon church. they received about half of all his donations. back to you. >> documents were also released by the gingrich campaign showing that the former speaker's relationship with freddie mac. the consulting firm released from its contract with the government housing agency. he was paid $300,000 for consulting services in 2006 and again in 2007. he's been accused of lobbying for the agency but maintains he acted as a historian and consultant for freddie mac's top lobbyist. the firm started consulting for freddie mac in 1999 at a rate of $25,000 a month. but he says that they can no longer find those contracts. just two days after his 12-point loss to gingrich in the south's first primary, mitt romney took a much more combative tone at the first debate in florida. >> i'm going to point out things that i think people need to know. >> you ought to stop and look at the facts. >> romney attacked gingrich for what he called a lack of leadership as speaker of the house and called him a "influence pedlar." he also took heat from gingrich who came close to calling the former governor a liar. >> i think it's about leadership, and the speaker was given an opportunity to be the leader of our party in 1994. and at the end of four years, he had to resign in disgrace. >> this is the worst kind of trivial politics. i mean, he said at least four things were false. we have an ad in which both john mccain and mike huckabee in 2007/2008 explained how much they think mitt romney can't tell the truth. >> the harsh words will likely continue until florida's primary. tens of millions have been spent by candidates and pacs by tv attack ads. a poll suggests newt gingrich is the front-runner in florida. in a rasmussen survey, 41% of floridians support the house speaker. romney received 32%. rick santorum finished third with 11%. and ron paul had 8%. a national gallup poll shows a virtual tie for first place. 29% backed romney with 28% backing gingrich. ron paul finished ahead of rick santorum with 13% and 11% respectively. president obama is putting the final touches on his third state of the union address. with his re-election campaign underway, the president's speech will focus on the economy. he'll also touch on manufacturing, clean energy, education, and american values. as one of her final acts as a member of congress, gabrielle giffords and her husband mark kelly will watch the speech from the first lady's box. indiana governor mitch daniels will deliver the gop response. and herman cain will deliver the tea party's response. don't forget, you can watch the address tonight right here on nbc 4. it begins at 9:00. all the roads near the capitol will be closed off during the state of the union address. parts of constitution avenue, independence avenue, and pennsylvania avenue among others will close down at 7:00 tonight. police expect the roads to be open shortly after the speech is completed. today, d.c. police chief lanier will testify before a house subcommittee about the occupy d.c. encampment in mcpherson square. republican congressman darrell issa who chairs the committee is holding the hearing. in the past he's said he wants the protesters removed from federal land citing concerns about rats, public safety, and damage to the park property. a controversial effort is underway on capitol hill to rededicate the d.c. war memorial to all americans who fought in world war i. the memorial sits on independence avenue west of 17th street near the tidal basin. it was dedicated in 1931 to salute the 26,000 washingtonians who fought in world war i. representative ted poe is sponsoring a bill to turn it into a national monument. city leaders plan to fight it. congress allocated $7.3 million in stimulus funds to restore the monument. get your walking shoes ready. smert closing the north entrance at the dupont circle station on 19th street northwest on the 1st of february. it will remain closed for up to 8 1/2 months while crews tear out and install three new escalators. during that time, riders will have to enter and exit the station at dupont circle using the south entrance, on q street northwest. >> i bet the riders will be happy to see new escalators. >> absolutely. >> goodness. it is 5:08. 44 degrees. even members of congress hate airport security. the dispute with the tsa that had this u.s. senator missing his flight back to d.c. plus, a frightening accident caught on tape. what this snowmobiler is saying. it's such a tough... yeah. the spectrum is from lg. and the r2 unit is from... from naboo. naboo. yeah. the spectrum's got a 4.5" screen, fits nicely in your hand. r2-d2 needs a starfighter. starfighter ? that's like a million dollars in gas. yeah, it's pricey. it's got verizon's 4g lte for lightspeed downloads and a true hd screen to watch movies. i'm going to go with the... it's a good choice. ... phone. the lg spectrum powered by verizon 4g lte, for true hd mobile entertainment. why not save on car insurance? [ coin drops ] [ high-pitched voice ] thanks. [ normal voice ] you're welcome. get a free quote at progressive.com. weather & traffic on the 1s. good morning, 5:11. i'm mostly cloudy in storm center 4. we're off to a milder morning. we have patchy, dense fog around parts of the region. watch out for that. and it's in the low to mid 40s in montgomery, arlington, fidel castro, prince george's counties -- fairfax, prince george's counties, low 40s in the west and north. most locations above freezing. near 50 in parts of southern maryland, northern neck, and lower eastern shore. we have low clouds lingering along with the patchy fog. clouds should break up as the day progresses. sunrise at 7:21. mid to upper 40s and holding steady mid morning. climbing to around 50 by noontime. actually hit mid 50s by mid-afternoon. maybe even warmer than that in virginia with lots of sunshine. and then tonight under a clear sky, down to the low 40s by midnight tonight. a look at big changes on the way. could get more rain later this week. we'll look at that in ten minutes. danella? looking nice in the area if you're traveling route 50 making your way from the beltway heading out to the bowie area. seeing green in both directions. no delays and not seeing any accidents at this time. a live look at 301 again, travel lanes are open. i'll give you a travel speed for you here making your way westbound on route 50 heading from 301 to the beltway. you're at 66 miles per hour. and if you're taking the rails, they still look really good with no reported delays on the metro, the marc, or vre. all are running on or close to schedule. back to you. >> thanks. 5:12. 44 degrees. ahead on "news4 today," passing on his chance to meet with president obama. why one member of the boston bruins was a no show when the team went to the white house. running into problems while on vacation. why kate in one of the first rulings of the year, the u.s. supreme court unanimously agreed the police need a search warrant to track a suspect by secretly attaching a gps device to his vehicle. the ruling comes after a hearing on an appeal in november from a d.c. man convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and sentenced to life in prison. d.c. police attached a gps tracking system to his jeep, following his movements for 28 days. the federal appeals court eventually overturned the decision, and the supreme court agreed. kentucky senator rand paul says he was detained by airport security in nashville on his way back to washington. tsa agents stopped the republican after a scanner found something unusual near his knee. the tsa says agents escorted paul from the screening area because he refused a pat-down. paul has been a long-time critic of the tsa. >> it's not because of who i am. americans are going through the airport every day being subjected to indignities. nobody's thinking about who could or would attack us. >> the white house says airport security acted appropriately. paul missed his flight but got a later one. the senator is the son of congressman ron paul who, is of course, running for president. three days of memorial service begin today for legendary penn state football coach joe paterno. events start with a viewing at the pascarella spiritual center on campus. he'll be buried tomorrow. a public ceremony will be held in the afternoon. his death came three asthma after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. penn state fired paterno after his former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky was accused of sexually abusing several young boys. president obama offered his condolences to the family saying he and the first lady would keep them in their prayers. investigators are analyzing oil samples taken from a capsized cruise ship in italy. an oily film was spotted near the wreckage. investigators believe it is slight and slick and not from heavy fuel from inside the ship's tanks. the "costa concordia" hit a reef almost two weeks ago. 17 people are still missing, including a couple from minnesota. search crews found two bodies yesterday, bringing the number of those recovered to 15. today the governor of alabama will survey the damage after at least two tornadoes killed two people and injured more than 100. the twisters also destroyed more than 200 homes across the heart of alabama. the storm hit early monday while most people were asleep. many were not prepared for the tornadoes to hits in january. >> we were anticipating more of having to be ready for like ice or snow or frozen rain, you know. not tornadoes. >> rescuers spent the day going from house to house searching for people who might be trapped in their homes. now they will begin the cleanup. this morning, we're getting a look at a dramatic avalanche rescue caught on tape. a washington state man and his friend were out for a day of snowmobile riding. that's when an avalanche cut loose. it heads right for one of the snowmobilers, burying him alive. >> get out, get out! >> where you at? can you breathe? >> we got you. >> we got you, buddy. >> we got you. we got you, you're good. >> we got you. we've got his head. we've got his head. >> shovels. shovels. >> shovels, shovels! >> they knew where i went in the snow, and that was the saving grace is knowing exactly where i went in the snow. they started digging that area. >> wow. while trapped under the mounds of snow, swanson says he. like he was stuck -- says he felt like he was stuck in concrete or frozen icecubes. he's home and is expected to make a full recovery. >> he is very lucky. >> indeed. amazing efforts that those men went to to rescue him. >> thank goodness. sharp eyes and getting to the right spot to start digging. let's go to tom and look at the forecast for today. what's it going to be like? we are starting with patchy fog in the rural areas this morning. it's not as widespread or quite as thick as it was yesterday. but there are some areas of patchy, dense fog in montgomery, howard, and frederick county, parts of loudoun county and to the south, quantico and near the tidal potomapotomac. fairfax county and montgomery county in low 40s. near 50 southern maryland, northern neck, eastern shore. farther west and north, 30s. most locations above freezing, martinsburg right at the freezing mark. watch out. there may be slick spots on untreated surfaces in the panhandle of west virginia. we do have quite a bit of cloudiness moving west to east. clouds will break up as the day progresses. here's the day planner. sunrise at 7:21. and temperatures will be still holding steady in the 40s through mid morning as the sun breaks out by later this morning, we'll get it warming quickly, near 50 by noontime. during the afternoon, hitting the mid-to-upper 50s. in the upper 50s maybe in virginia. then clear tonight. down into the low 40s by midnight. by dawn tomorrow, near 30 degrees to the upper 20s in a few locations. we'll have some sunshine tomorrow morning. a few clouds in the afternoon. highs in the mid 40s. then on thursday, rain likely developing, looks like midday into the evening. and maybe lingering into midday on friday. highs, 40s to near 50 both days. then over the weekend, some sunshine saturday. clouds around on sunday. turning colder, too, and cold start to next week. danella, how's traffic? still looking good in the area. if you're traveling on 295, in fact from the baltimore beltway making your way to the capital beltway, no issues for you. i'll give you a live look if you're making your way from 175. a little volume as you head southbound on 295. again, travel lanes are open. no accidents to report at this time. and traveling on i-270, still very, very foggy in spots. this is a view at clarksburg road. traveling southbound, lanes are open, no major delays. northbound, quiet at this time. but i do want to warn you, give yourself extra time because you are going to run into fog for quite some time. i'll let you know when this clears. i'm back in ten with another look at traffic. back to you. >> thanks. 5:22. breaking news in georgetown. firefighters are on the scene of a carbon monoxide scare. this is happening near 33rd and m street northwest. news4's erica gonzalez is live with the breaking details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. we were talking to some residents here. we're at the corner of m street and 33rd. we are in georgetown. if you take a look behind me, the building that is right above georgetown cupcake, 1208 33rd street. residents tell us there are eight to ten units in that top building. and all of those folks had to be evacuated about 3:00 to 3:30 this morning is what they tell us. a young lady told us that she was in the shower. she heard an alarm ring, and the alarm said that there was a detection of carbon monoxide present. shortly thereafter, fire crews arrived, told everybody to evacuate. when we arrived on scene, there were more than a dozen people inside ambulances. fire crews told us they were just inside trying to stay warm. nobody has been treated from what we can tell thus far. crews have not spoken with us yesterday. what we saw a few minutes ago were fire crews scaling this building on top of 1208 33rd street, as well as inside georgetown cupcake. the bakers inside georgetown cupcake showed us where fire crews were looking, trying to detect the co2. they said they were allowed to stay inside the building. that there was no harm for them. we're still waiting to hear from fire officials. again, we're at the corner of m and 33rd street for a possible carbon monoxide detection in this area. back to you. >> can you tell now if anyone's being treated on the scene or if anyone's been taken to the hospital at this point? >> reporter: no, not at this point. when we arrived, there were multiple people inside the ambulances. the fire crews said they were just in there trying to stay warm. most people said it was just pretty scary. they didn't feel anything. one person did say that she started to feel dizzy. she said, "i'm not sure if it was psychological just because i was hearing the alarm say carbon monoxide detected." we'll have to see from fire officials what they say. >> erica gonzalez live in georgetown. thank you. this morning we're hearing from the hockey player who snubbed the white house. the boston bruins were invited to the white house to to celebrate their 2011 stanley cup championship. the most valuable player, goalie tim thomas, chose to stay home. in a statement thomas said that his decision was based on his belief that the federal government has too much influence on americans' lives. thomas posted a message on his official facebook page saying it was not about politics or a specific party because "in my opinion, both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country." capitals star alex ovechkin will miss ice time thanks to a big hit against the penguins this weekend. the nhl suspended ove for three games for this hit against penguins' defense man. it's a harsh punishment, too, since ovechkin wasn't penalized on the play and mccullough wasn't hurt. the capitals franchise player will miss big games, too, against boston and florida. he can return february 4 for the game against the montreal canadiens. this morning, an island of people is speaking out against a royal visit. >> according to "the daily mail" newspaper, people vacationing on the island of mustique are annoyed with extra security. the duchess of cambridge and her family are vacationing on the privately owned caribbean island. guests at both of the island's hotel vs. reportedly been -- hotels have reportedly been questioned by security while walking on the beach. officers are taking extra measures to make sure there are no pictures taken of kate middleton or her family. prince william is expected to join them later this week once he finishes his tour of duty with the royal air force in north wales. everybody's got to vacation someplace. >> that's right. there you go. >> sounds like a nice place. time is 5:26. coming up, another night of nastiness. the barbs mitt romney and newt gingrich exchanged in the latest splun presidential debates. plus, discovering new problems with the nation's military cemeteries. we have congressmen who also say that you came and lobbied them -- >> i didn't lobby them. not true. >> you have congressmen who say that you lobbied them with regards to -- >> another night of attacks as newt gingrich and mitt romney go after each other in the latest republican presidential debates. finally bowing to pressure, we're getting our first look at mitt romney's tax returns this morning. good morning to you, i'm eun yang. >> good morning to you, i'm joe krebs. welcome back to "news4 today." it is tuesday, the 24th day of january. let's take a live look outside now. we see some low-hanging clouds out there, as well. tom said they're going to get even lower. but the temperatures are kind of mildish, 44 degrees. milder than they have been. >> yeah, above freezing throughout much of the region. we don't have any of that iciness threat that we had yesterday morning. we still do have some patchy, dense fog around the region. allow yourself extra time for that. watch out for deer lurking in the fog. visibilities have been reduced under a quarter mile in parts of the rural area of northern virginia and in maryland. the top of the washington monument is disappearing now. monument's looking a little shorter. 45 at reagan national with low clouds. we've got a southwesterly breeze that will be warming thing up as the day progresses and the sun breaks out. not now. low clouds and patchy fog. it's into the 30s. blue ridge west. most locations, though, above freezing there. blue ridge east into the parts of northern maryland and around the bay, it's into the upper 30s to near 40 there. but then farther south through the middle part of the bay and around southern maryland, northern neck, eastern shore, near 50 degrees already on this january morning. and so far this january, we have had ten days where the temperature's gotten to 5 or higher at reagan national. today's going to be number 11 as we will likely make to around 50. may hit the low to mid 50s by the middle of the afternoon locally. maybe warmer in virginia with lots of sun around. the evening planner in ten minutes. how's traffic? you know, as you mentioned, definitely seeing a lot of fog in our area. some spots more than others. i want to show you i-66. very foggy at this time as you head east and west on i-66. your travel lanes are open. and your eastbound speed looks good, although you are seeing volume at fairfax county parkway. a travel speed for you making your way from fairfax county parkway to the beltway, you're at 62 miles per hour. continuing on i-66 inside the beltway, not seeing any problems for you yet. this is as you make your way past east falls church metro station. still, again, seeing volume eastbound. no major delays just yet. travel speed is 58 miles per hour. back to you. >> thanks very much, danella. this morning we are getting a first look at mitt romney's finances. the former governor released his 2010 tax returns after midnight under increasing pressure from his gop challengers. they show he made more than $21 million in income last year and paid just over $3 million in taxes. that's a tax cut rate of 14% -- tax rate of 14%, less than half of what newt gingrich made. romney said his taxes became a distraction in south carolina, and it was a mistake not to have released them earlier. with just a week until florida's primary, romney did not waste any time going on the attack in that state's first debate. his main target was new front-runner newt gingrich who beat romney by 12 months in south carolina. but gingrich let fly a few barbs of his own. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from capitol hill with more. good morning. >> reporter: joe, good morning, good morning, everyone. four candidates on that stage, but it was really gingrich and romney dominating this conversation. mainly about the money that they made. you talked about romney's taxes. more on that today as his trustee and campaign officials and even a former irs commissioner come out to talk with the media to explain what he calls a complicated tax return. his estimate for this year, a 15% tax rate, less than a lot of americans who make a lot less are paying. and that came up as part of the debate last night. so did that consulting that newt gingrich did for freddie mac. the housing giant, during the time of the crisis. he has put out his contract showing that he did consulting, and as he said last night, lobbying had nothing to do with it. >> i have never, ever gone and done any lobbying. you know, there's a point in this process where it gets unnecessarily personal and nasty, and that's sad. >> my question to governor romney and to speaker gingrich, if you believe in capitalism that much, then why did you support the bailout of wall street? >> reporter: that's rick santorum. where was ron paul in all of this? he was asked if he might drop out and run as a third-party candidate. he said, "i have no plans, i have no intentions," but he did not specifically rule that out. next up, the debate on thursday in jacksonville. and then that primary one week from today. joe? >> it stays very interesting. thank you very much. tracie potts reporting live. thank you. later today, president obama will address congress and the nation with his third state of the union. with his re-election campaign already underway, the president's speech will focus on the economy. he'll also touch on manufacturing, clean energy, education, and american values. indiana governor mitch daniels will deliver the gop response. herman cain will deliver the tea party's response. as one of her last acts as a member of congress, gabrielle giffords along with her husband mark kelly will watch the speech from the first lady's box. don't forget, you can watch the state of the union address tonight at 9:00 here on nbc 4. the man accused of trying to kill president obama by firing a gun at the white house will be in court today. oscar ramiro ortega hernandez is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon. last week, a grand jury indicted him on charges of assaulting three federal officers and damaging federal property. he also faces four separate firearms charges in addition to the attempted assassination charge. hernandez was arrested last november and initially charged with firing several rifle rounds at the white house. new from overnight, investigators are trying to figure out what caused a row house fire in the district. the fire broke out in the 4200 block of foote street northeast before 1:00 this morning. officials say the fire began in the second floor bathroom. they say the home was undergoing some renovations. no one was inside at the time of the fire. the family next door has been displaced. firefighters had to pull part of their ceiling away to make sure that the fire did not jump into their house. a lawyer for the suspected east coast rapist is requesting a mental health evaluation for his client. aaron thomas is currently in a prince william county jail. investigators say he's responsible for a string of attacks up and down the east coast dating back to the 19 points in. according to the -- 1990s. according to the "washington post," a hearing has been moved to march so a mental health professional can determine if thomas is competent to stand trial. his court-appointed attorney says thomas has engaged in self-destructive behavior and won't communicate with his lawyers. and prince george's county police are investigating the circumstances behind the murder/suicide of a young couple in laurel. police were called to their apartment on bramble court sunday night for reports of shots fired. when officers showed up, they found the bodies of 19-year-old heir is beard and 20-year-old adam ausley. he shot his girlfriend, then turned the gun on himself. the couple had been dating for three years. this morning a former cia officer is accused of repeatedly leaking classified secrets to reporters. authorities arrested john kiriakou. he told reporters that he took part in the interrogation of terrorist suspect abu zabaida. he was charged with violating the espionage act by passing classified information to journalist. prosecutors say the information included the identity of a covert cia officer and the name of another cia employee who interrogated zabaida. kiriakou is out of jail after posting a $250,000 bond. the department of veterans affairs says it's discovered several problems at military cemeteries across the country. that's according to the "washington post." this comes after an investigation revealed widespread burial problems at arlington national cemetery. a report from arlington claimed thousands of graves were misidentified or misplaced. the new v.a. investigation says there are dozens of misplaced headstones and at least eight cases of people buried in the wrong place at national burial grounds in texas, ohio, new mexico, new jersey, maryland, and pennsylvania. most of the problems are blamed on sloppy renovation work. 5:38. people who live in maryland could soon see their sewer bills go up. governor martin o'malley has proposed an increase in the so-called flush tax when he unveiled his legislative agenda to the general assembly last night. an increase would pay for upgrading wastewater treatment facilities and would reduce pollution in the chesapeake bay. under the propofol, the average fee -- proposal, the average fee would go up about $5 a month. right now the average is $2.50 per month. the time is 5:38, as i said already. putting the occupy d.c. camps in the spotlight. the questions lawmakers are raising about the ongoing protests downtown. plus, new legal problems for the domestic diva. why macy's is taking martha stewart to court. a damp, cold start to the day. people! look at you! texting...blogging... all this technology, but you're still banking like pilgrims! get high yield free checking at capital one bank. why earn bupkis, when your checking could earn five times the national average!! and free atms anywhere. five times the national average!!! that's new school banking. sign up for high yield free checking at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet? somebody help me down. with gold bond intensive healing cream. it targets the underlying causes of itch and irritation. gold bond. intensive healing for lasting relief. 5:41. time for weather & traffic on the 1s. good morning, mostly cloudy in storm center 4. it's damp and chilly with low clouds around and patchy, dense fog in some of the rural areas of virginia, west virginia, and maryland. 45 at reagan national. low to mid 40s montgomery, arlington, fairfax, and prince george's counties. down into the 30s farther west and north. most areas are above freezing. we have the low cloud cover above us. clouds are breaking up to the south and west. looks like we'll get sunshine breaking out. here's the day planner. sunrise at 7:21. we'll have fog gone by mid morning. noontime, near 50 and sunny. climbing into the low to mid 50s much of the region. then overnight tonight, it will be clear, getting chilly again, down to the low 40s by midnight. looks like some rain coming in later there week. we'll look at that and the weekend in ten minutes. how's traffic? good morning, seeing volume increase in the area. let's check travel speeds around the beltway starting in montgomery county. making your way on the outer loop from i-95 to i-270, you're at 56 miles per hour. in virginia this time on the inner loop, making your way from i-95 interchange to the dulles toll road, you're at 60 miles per hour. if you're taking the rails, two delays on the marc. first brunswick train 870, a ten-minute delay. camden south, this time train 841, you have just a six-minute delay. joe and eun, back to you. >> thanks. our time is now 5:43. a late start for the government, but why not some schools? the question parents are now raising after what they consider to be an inconsistent round of weather delays. here's one place you don't want to find yourself when behind the wheel. yikes. the problems winter weather is causing for these driver [ kimberly ] when i was 19, i found myself alone with two children and no way to support them. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. 5:46. today d.c. police chief lanier will testify before a house subcommittee about the occupy d.c. encampment in mcpherson square. republican congressman darrell issa who chairs the government reform committee is holding the hearing. he wants the protesters removed from federal land citing concerns about rats, public safety, and damage to park property. areas still recovering from last year's east coast earthquake can get information on disaster aid later today. the 5.8 quake shook much of the east coast back in august. so far the federal government has approved more than $25 million in disaster aid for virginia. state and federal officials are holding town hall meetings in culpeper, guchland, and flavana counties. the first is tonight at culpeper at 7:00. family and friends are mourning the loss of a woman hit and killed in the parking lot of an elementary school in prince george's county. a driver in a maintenance van backed over 48-year-old bernette tucker may at samuel chase elementary school in temple hills yesterday morning. her family tells news4 that she was walking to the bus stop to go visit her father. her daughter, tameka butler, is devastated. >> heartbroken. i lost my best friend. breaks my heart that my mother had to die like that. >> no students were on school grounds at the time because it was a student holiday. the driver is cooperating with police, and no charges have been filed in the case. this morning, you may want to put away your smartphones and ipods while walking on the streets of washington. d.c. police chief lanier says street robbers are targeting those high-tech devices. lanier talked with a packed audience last night at shepherd elementary school in northwest washington. she said many of the recent street crimes have something in common. thieves stole victims' mobile devices. >> this is not only nationwide, this has been a problem in other countries, as well. smartphones, small, mobile devices. primarily smartphone technology, which is very popular, can be resold very quickly on the black market. >> law enforcement officials from montgomery county and prince george's county who represent the neighborhoods near ward 4's border also attended the meeting. thousands of people for and against abortion rights gathered outside the u.s. supreme court on the anniversary of the roe v. wade case. the case legalized abortion 39 years ago. a huge crowd held a candlelight vigil last night. earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people marched on capitol hill at the supreme court to protest the decision. a secret service agent says he got goosebumps after watching john hinckley jr. during a recent trip to williamsburg, virginia. the agent was assigned to watch hinckley secretly. in court he says he saw hinckley become fixated on a row of books in a bookstore about presidential assassinations and about president ronald reagan. hinckley shot reagan in 1981. a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. he's been hospitalized at st. elizabeth's hospital in the district since then. he's seeking more unsupervised time in williamsburg, virginia, to visit with his mother. prosecutors are fighting the request. tonight the montgomery county council will hold a public hearing about adding cameras to county school buses. the cameras would not monitor students. the council is considering a bill that would allow cameras on county school buses to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped buses. violators caught on camera could be ticketed for $250. and this morning, some fairfax county parents want to know why their children had to go to school on time when the federal government had a weather delay. the government announced a two-hour delay sunday night when the forecast called for possible icy roads for the morning commute. monday morning, that forecast changed. and fairfax county officials felt a late start for schools was unnecessary. parents feel there was a disconnect in an area heavily populated with federal workers. >> i was surprised. i was watching the news early in the morning to see who may have been delayed and who wasn't. and i kind of -- i think the decision was right in fairfax county. but it did make me wonder with the government delay why that was. >> parents are hoping for better coordination as communication improves between the government and local jurisdictions. and make sure you stay connected to "news4 today" throughout the day. follow us on facebook and twitter. to find us, search news4today. time again for weather & traffic on the 1s. >> here's tom. >> hey, if you have a problem with your gps or cell phone today, maybe getting disconnected or disrupted, it's because we're getting a big solar storm hitting us. we had a big solar flare on the sun a few days ago. it's impacting earth. it's going to be hitting us by later this morning. the most intense part of that solar radiation is going to be hitting around 9:00 this morning. you may have communication disruptions around then. it's also triggering spectacular auroras which i put on my facebook page. you ought to see the photo in norway. we have cloud cover that's getting lower and lower. it's just above the capitol now. we can see that clearly from our vantage point from our city camera which is across the river in alexandria. right now, it's at 45 at reagan national. elsewhere, in the low 40s in montgomery county. and fairfax counties. prince george's county, most locations mid 40s as well as well as southern maryland. northern neck, eastern shore, near 50 degrees. we have patchy, dense fog around the rural areas of maryland, virginia, and west virginia. 30s shenandoah valley and into the panhandle of west virginia and western maryland. most locations are above freezing, although martinburg at the airport, it's at 30 now. watch out for iciness there. and we have some breaks in the clouds south and west. still all cloudy most of the region. getting a few sprinkles on the eastern shore, but those are moving away. sunrise at 7:21. we'll get sunshine up by mid morning. 40s for another several hours. near 50 by noontime. during the afternoon, our temperatures should be climbing after we bottom out in the low 40s by midnight and near 30 by dawn tomorrow. we ought to be climbing into the mid 40s by tomorrow afternoon. and then as we get into thursday, looks like maybe rain moving in, and that may linger into thursday night through midday friday. here's a look at the weekend. we should have our temperatures climbing into the upper 40s by saturday afternoon with sunshine, cloudy and colder sunday, monday, sunny but cold. danella, how's traffic? good morning. definitely seeing congestion increase in our area. and i want to look at i-270 if this is your commute this morning. not only are you seeing delays, but as i show you the live camera, you will see fog, as well. heading out of urbana, slow passing clarksburg. once you get to clarksburg road, 121, that's where it clears up for you. again, germantown passing gaithersburg and into rockville here, nothing but green. your volume does increase as you get to rockville. this is falls road, and you see we have fog here as you travel south on i-270. your lanes are open. you are seeing just a bit of volume here, again, as you make your way through rockville and connect to the spur. northbound you're in the clear. give yourself extra time because we are seeing some fog. back to you. >> danella, thank you. 5:53. the commute was tough in utah yesterday. look at this. snow-covered roads made travel treacherous. check the video that's gone viral. shows cars struggling to travel a snowy road in bountiful, utah. i like that name. at first drivers are barely able to manage the slick surface. but as video goes on, things just get out of control. whoa! goodness. cars start spinning out and crashing into each other. just trees and snowplows and oh, my goodness. >> ah! >> oh, into the plow. that hurt. even four-wheel drive vehicles had no chance on the slick roads. that's the thing -- don't think because you're in an suv four-wheel drive you'll be okay on icy roads. >> you may be worse off because the high stature, you hit something, could flip easily. >> yes. dangerous. on other subjects. get your walking shoes ready. metro is closing the north entrance at the dupont circle metro station on 19th street northwest. that will be on the 1st of february. it will remain closed for up to 8 1/2 months while crews tear out the old escalators and install three new escalators. during that time, riders will have to enter and exit the station using the south entrance on q street northwest. a new study suggests women are more sensitive to pain than men. the stanford university study examined information from more than 11,000 patients between 2007 and 2010. the study says even when men and women have the same condition, women said they experienced more pain than men. researchers say a number of factors including a person's mood and whether they take pain medication is likely to influence how much pain they say they're in. yeah, if you're taking pain medication, you're not feeling as much pain. you know what i'm saying? closing arguments are scheduled for today in a lawsuit involving garth brooks. the country singer says he donated $500,000 to an oklahoma hospital so it could build a women's center named for his late mother. the hospital never built the center, and brooks want his money back plus punitive damages. the hospital claims it never promised naming rights. the jury could begin deliberations as early as today. martha stewart has new legal troubles. macy's is suing martha stewart living omnimedia to block a deal with jcpenney's. they plan to open mini martha stewart shops inside stores beginning next year. in the lawsuit, macy'ss stewart is violating -- macy's says stewart is violating an exclusive pacts with the company to sell product at its stores. who needs a bar when you have starbucks? the coffee cup trying to break into the nightlife scene. a small number of stores in atlanta and southern california plan to begin selling beer and wine by the end of the year. those locations will also get a menu upgrade with flatbreads and cheese plates. five stores in seattle and one in portland already offer alcohol. and several stores in chicago will get the upgrade later this year. of course, i guess an upgrade may be a matter of opinion. in that case. >> that's right. today, hollywood is rolling out the red carpet to get ready for the announcement of the nominees for the 84th an due academy awards. >> the biggest source of suspense surrounds the nominees for best picture. there are new rules this year. there will be anywhere between five and ten nominees for best picture. some of the movies getting buzz this morning, "the girl with the dragon tattoo," "descendants," and "the artist." one of joe's favorites. the announcements will be made live during the "today" show. the oscars will be handed out on february 26th. >> look forward to that. >> yeah. overnight, mitt romney released his tax returns. what all the fuss was about ahead. then at 6:15 this morning, when the shuttle "discovery" will take one last flight. what makes the sleep number store different? the sleep number bed. with the sleep number bed, it's not about soft or firm. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. on a traditional mattress, there is no adjustment. you get what you're buying that day. with our bed, you change the setting to something you like. this way, if you change your mind once you get home you can adjust it. wow! that feels really good. it's hugging my body. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. your body changes over time. the bed can adapt with you. not only does it work for you today, but it's going to 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