Us. The unthinkable appears to be unavoidable. All eyes on capitol hill and no sign congress and the white house will compromise and stop a budget disaster that will impact many of you. Four days, thats it, before 85 billion in spending cuts go through if a deal isnt reached. Civilian Defense Department workers workers could lose 20 of their paycheck. And up to 20,000 People Living here may have to take a one day a week furlough for weeks. The president is still pushing a plan to raise tax revenue to offset the cuts. In a few hours we may have a better idea if there is any hope to avert the sequester. Speaker john boehner is having a News Conference at 4 00. New 4s will have the latest. President obama is meeting with state leaders from both parties at the white house. They are in washington for the National GovernorsAssociation Annual meeting. Youre looking at the first lady as we speak. The president didnt mention the on going budget battle during a dinner last night with most of the governors but told them, weve got more work to do. Meantime, two governors from our way are teaming up to urge congress to do whatever it takes to avoid the sequester. Martin omalley is a democrat of course. A lot of hard fought job gains in virginia and maryland. A hammer, not a policy. Now here we are a week away from getting it done. Our top priority the white house released a state by state break down of cuts. The d. C. Area will likely be hit hard by the sequester. News four will have you covered in every development in the show down. A press conference will outline the air travel. Well have more on that at 11 30. Check nbcwashington. Com for updates throughout the day. Turning to weather we have bright sunshine. Look at the blue sky. Its cold though. Storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us now with the latest on the forecast. Good morning. We have a lot of sunshine. This is another view of our sky from the nbc 4 sky watcher camera mounted high on the tower in northwest washington. You can see a luminous sky over washington. A lot of sunshine through the high clouds. Theres the gleaming Potomac River in the distance. As we scan around here to the south there is some high cloudiness looking into fairfax county. The cloud cover to the north. We are scanning into louden county. You can see high cloudiness there as well. Now scanning over toward montgomery county. A lot of high cloudiness there as well. Those are the high rises there. Off in the distance is downtown bethesda. Temperatures in fairfax. Those locations in the upper 30s to 40. In the district of columbia, low 40s now. Near 40 in Prince Georges County. There is a winter storm watch for tonight into tuesday afternoon. Way off to the west, counties in the blue collar, a possibility of snow, sleet and icing. Elsewhere, rain. Details on that when it will come in, how much. Thats all in a few minutes along with the 7day outlook. Thank you, tom. New this morning, crews are working to repair part of the Memorial Bridge after an suv smashed through it and plunged into the Potomac River. Megan has more for us now. Whats going on now . Have they gotten that car out . Reporter the crews finished plugging the hole in the wall here. You can safely call it a gaping hole. One of the workers said it was 28 feet wide. This is a temporary fix. You can see the jersey barriers in place here. They have to come back at a later date to permanently fix this wall. We are going to get more information on that. The chief of maintenance for the g. W. Parkway, engineers from the National Park service and other experts have to come in, take a look and come up with a larger plan in terms of the permanent fix. We have video of them actually doing the work this morning. They were lowering the jersey walls into place. Traffic is still moving on the bridge. We are told this is not considered to be an issue of safety for people traveling over the bridge. So no lane closures because of the actual hole itself. Of course when they come back to make the permanent fix they will likely have to close lanes down. We will stay on top of it and let you know when you close lanes on the Memorial Bridge, it is a problem for motorists. Thats something well keep a close eye on. Take a look at the video shot last night. The suv that left the roadway right around 10 00, then went over this wide sidewalk through the ball strad wall into the Potomac River. This is a rather shallow section of the river fortunately. He was able to get out of the car, swim to safety. Were told hell be fine. Unclear what caused him to lose control of the vehicle. Thats still under investigation. This bridge is owned by the u. S. Parks service. I spoke to a spokesperson this morning. She said it is regularly inspected. None of those inspections raised issues with respect to the retaining wall as. This is a historic bridge built in 1932. We will be keeping on top of the timeline for repairs, let you know exactly when they happen and how they will impact traffic. When you close a lane on the bridge there are issues. A death of a teenager gunned down as he walked to school. Ross was the first to be this year alone. Three of the killings happened in the last week. At the same time we are expecting to find out who Police Believe murdered a 78yearold woman this month. She was found in her home and died from trauma to the upper body. Right now police are looking for a person of interest in the killings. Virginia, take a look at this man. Hes John Wesley Jeffreys and police want to talk to him. They wont offer many details about the case. We can tell you that jeffreys is wanted on several charges. Albert haynesworth is back in court where a judge will determine if he can have charges against him dismissed. A waitress accused him of sexually abusing her. The government agreed to drop the charge if he completed community service, stayed away from the waitress and didnt get arrested for the next 18 months. The time is 11 08. Still to come, the changes the pope approved hours ago that could speed up the effort to find his replacement. The first lady makes an [ wind howling ] [ female announcer ] it balances you. [ water crashing ]. It fills you with energy. And it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. In a convenient two bar pack. This is nature valley. Delicious granola bars made with the best ingredients in nature. Nature valley. Nature at its most delicious. Right now john kerry is in germany for his first overseas trip as secretary of state. Earlier today kerry met with brit Prime MinisterDavid Cameron as part of a trip over seas. Part of the trip is the friends of syria conference in rome to discuss the on going civil war. Some members of the Syrian Opposition are threatening to boycott the meeting. New today the highest ranking Catholic Leader in Great Britain resigned this morning in the wake of misconduct allegations there. Cardinal keith obrien will not take part in the conclave to elect the next pope. Three priests and a former priest accused him of inappropriate behavior going back to the 1980s. Cardinal obrien didnt mention the allegations in his resignation. New today Pope Benedict xvi changed the rules allowing the college of cardinals to begin the process to elect a successor sooner than planned. He waiveded the usually 15day transition period and said the conclave can begin when all the cardinals arrive after he steps down on thursday. The archbishop from washington is already in rome. He will say goodbye to the pope and elect his successor. The cardinal celebrated a mass for the pope at the basilica at the shrine of the Immaculate Conception in northeast washington. A one of a kind performance at a historic event. Psy performed at his native country south koreas inauguration sunday. The inaugural honors the first ever female president. Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of seoul, south korea, to witness the historic day. I didnt see her join in. She just watched psy do his thing. One of the hottest things to come out of that country. Ever. As far as music for sure. Tom, whats going on with the weather . Its nice and sunny. Looks pretty. The sun angle getting higher and higher. Tluz this photograph was not accompany bid a name or a location. There is a beautiful lavender crocus as well including your name and location. Send your photos to nbc wet wither nbcwashington. Com. Getting signs of spring. Dewpoint very dry at 20. We have dry air around. Keep the skin location handy. Heres whats happening all morning long. We have had high clouds drifting in from the south. They are just passing over the region. Weve got it in the upper 30s to 40 in montgomery and Prince Georges County. Snow drops and crocuses as well as in the suburbs of montgomery, arlington and fairfax and much of the region. Temperatures in the low 40s. College park now at a 45. Thats the warm spot. Ought to be near 50 by later this afternoon. Farther east, near 40 around the bay, Southern Maryland and northern neck. To the west, upper 30s to near 40 into the mountains of West Virginia and maryland. Its above freezing there. These are the expected highs this afternoon. Should be into the mid and upper 40s. Most of the region upper 40s, maybe briefly near 50. Parts of Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland by mid afternoon. Going forward, here is the timing. By 5 00 p. M. Lots of sunshine. A few high clouds around. By dawn on tuesday it will be cloudy as we do have some moisture moving our way in various forms. Well have this area in green. Rain. This is as of noontime. Rain getting close to the metro area from the south. Lavender could be wet snow and sleet here shenandoah valley. West could be snow with sleet and freezing rain as we get into tuesday evening. Farther to the west there enough freezing rain to cause icing on trees and power lines. It will all be gone wednesday. Maybe a little patchy fog and drizzle early in the morning. The rest of the day today, upper 40s to near 50 by mid afternoon. Then by this evening, temperatures drop back down to the upper 30s by midnight. By dawn tomorrow in the low 30s. Just a cloudy morning. By midday well see rain moving in and the wintry mix out of snow, sleet and icing there, too. Its all rain elsewhere into tuesday. It will feel like spring. Near 50. Maybe sprinkles around friday, saturday, sunday. Partly sunny with highs in the 40s. Chilly for the weekend. Thank you, tom. And the oscar goes to argo. Congratulations First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance at the oscars announcing argo as the best picture winner from the wous. Argo beat lincoln and Silver Linings playbook to capture the award. Ben affleck said he learned valuable lessons on his road back to the oscars. I never thought i would be back here and i am because of so many of you who are here tonight. Because of this academy. Because of so many wonderful people who extended themselves to me when they had nothing to benefit from it. It doesnt matter how you get knocked down in life. Thats going to happen. All that matters is that youve got to get up. An emotional ben affleck. This is his second oscar. He won 16 years ago. For the movie goodwill hunting. Oscar winners and losers took home swim suits from a local designer. She joins us with a look at what the stars are wearing. Youre watching news 4 midday. Last week we told you about Everybody Wins at the oscars and gift bags containing thousands of dollars worth of gifts for celebrities at the oscars. Emily is the founder of the swimwear company. She sent wonderful bathing suits out there to go in the bags. Just the winners and the main celebrities. Yes. The nominees. Thats who is receiving the swim suits. It was exclusively picked. They asked you to do this. Definitely. They invited us due to the colors and prints we have. They picked us up. I understand for the grammys, too. And the oscars. Lets look at what youve got. Do you know who gets each suit . Yes. I already have news about it. Lets look at the bathing suits as they come out. Tell us about the first one. This is francinis style. Naomi watts would look great in this one. They will pull out to see the whole suit. Yes, if we could go down a little bit. It is a halter, onepiece. We have a belt that goes up and down. It just has this wild print. The new tiger stripe print. I can see it on naomi watts. That would look good on her. Thank you so much. Do you have one for everyone who won . Exactly. For nominees and win withers as well. Basically for the nominees. Here we have the alini style. Jessica chastain, of course, would look great in that. Shes got the body for it. Its a beaded style. We have a print thats really different. Its an african print on this one. We understand there are about 45,000 worth of gifts in the bags. Thank you very much. Do people know in advance what kinds of things will be in there . Well, they know who to send and where to send to which celebrity. This is the mariana style. This would look great on jennifer lawrence. There is a little bit of ruched and the belt side of it. It hides little imperfections if you have any. Good thing so many actresses get into good shape for the oscar night. Yechs. Many of these may not be able to fit in these skimpy suits. Thank you so much. Beautiful. The next one . This is a celebrity favorite. They really like this style. Its a monokini. It is one piece. We have here thelma style. One piece. Who do you think will have it . This one most probably Jessica Lawrence jennifer lawrence. Looks like you have come up with something for everyone. Does adele get one . I dont think so. Not this time. Adele is one of my favorites. I love her, too. We dont care if she wears a bathing suit or not. She has a voice everybody is in love with. Thank you so much. Its wonderful. How did they find your bathing suits . Basically we were here at fashion week and the celebrity gift lounge came and contacted us. Thanks to the dudley salon of the beauty of the girls. They all look beautiful. Thank you for sharing the secrets of what everybody will be wearing on the beach. Out there in hollywood. Our time now is 11 111 26. Coming up, difficult decisions could be coming to local airports if congress doesnt do something to stop looming budget cuts. What Lawmakers Said about the cuts minutes ago. Plus, the d. C. City council is meeting now. Well have the latest on a vote expected any minute to reprimand jim graham. And tom kierein is back with a look at how much right now police in Prince Georges County are ready to announce an arrest in the death of a teenager. 18yearold markel ross was killed as he walked to school. Right now president obama is speaking to the nations governors at the white house. Its no surprise that the big topic of conversation at this weeks meeting of the National Governors association is the looming sequester trags. Congress has until thursday to reach a deal before billions of across the board spending cuts kick in. Thats a live picture of the president speaking. The proposal includes asking states to allow veterans to receive licenses or credentials based on military experience. We want to make it easier for those who were medics or drivers in the military to oh get new jobs as paramedics, nurses, physicians assistants or truck drivers. Mrs. Obama added that these initiatives will help the more than 1 million Service Members set to come home and begin their transition to civilian life. Right now we are leash learning how the sequester will affect air travel. Tony has details on how it will affect the nations airports. Hey, keith. Local members of congress are wrappinging up a News Conference about how the cuts will impact you the next time you fly. Around 600 million would be cut prosecute the f. A. A. Budget affecting airports around the nation and here in your region including that airport as you take a live look at reagan national. The 600 million in cuts mean the f. A. A. Would see furloughs in effect for over 47,000 employees. That means a day off for each employee once every two weeks. It breaks down to longer waits at the Airport Security line. Maybe another hour for you to wait as well. Air Traffic Control towers are cutting back hours at smaller airports. Heres how jim moran put it into perspective. This will translate to decreased air Traffic Control, more flight delays and ek no miracle losses for industries ta depend on the f. A. A. Says the re new will be affected from things like landing fees, concessions and parking lot charges. Back to you. Tony, thats not the only industry that can be affected. Federal employees make up 40 of ridership. Federal funding for the Capital Improvement program would be slashed by about 12 million dollars. Ta money is used for the most part for safety improvements and modernization. Well post updates on nbc washington. Com to keep you up to speed when you cannot watch news 4. Todays d. C. Council holds a rare vote. They will vote to reprimand jim graham over ethics violations. Councilman graham said he wont fight the vote to reprimand him. Two separate investigations found that he improperly tried to barter who would get unrelated contracts for the district and metro system in 2008. He faces no civil or criminal charges. The man who shot president reagan more than three decades ago is plaking a plea for freedom today. A judge is looking at whether with hinckley should be allowed more visits to his mothers home. Hes lived at the hospital since shooting the president in 1981. The hospital thinks he should be allowed to live full time in williamsburg. Tomorrow the u. S. Support will hear arguments tied to a Common Police practice in maryland. Justices will hear arguments on whether police should be able to take dna from anyone arrest bud not convicted of a crime. The Public Defenders Office said it breach it is right against warrantless searches. Suspects and crimes arent entitled to those rights say some. B. P. Is in court over the Oil Spill Disaster in the gulf of mexico. The company could have to pay the largest environmental fine ever. A civil trial is under way in a new Orleans Civil Court to determine bps civil liebt in the spill. The trial is looking at the causes of the explosion ta killed 11 workers on the rig causing millions of barrels of oil to pollute the water. B. P. Has agreed to a 4. 5 billion settlement for criminal charges. Right now much of the midwest is getting buried after another blizzard hits. People in colorado, missouri and texas were still digging out when this storm hit. Some in colorado were seen shoveling in the streets. The National Weather service says as much as 15 inches of snow could fall by the end of the day. In kansas city postal workers delivered a weeks worth of mail. Nearly every business in the city was snowed in and shut down after last weeks blizzard. No snow in our area right now. Tom has more on the forecast. It feels like spring but its still cold. We have a milky blue sky and temperatures are in the 30s to 40. There is a live view over the Potomac River. As we look at temperatures in montgomery county, near 40. Also near 40 in Prince Georges County. Low to mid 40s in the district of columbia. Arlington, fairfax and Northern Virginia. Late tonight into tuesday the areas in western maryland, allegheny, garrett and eastern West Virginia under a winter storm watch for a combination of snow and sleet. A little bit of icing. Tomorrow late morning, no accumulation there. Well get rain elsewhere throughout the afternoon on tuesday into tuesday night ending wednesday morning. A little sun back wednesday afternoon with with highs in the upper 50s. Partly sunny friday, saturday, sunday with highs in the 40s. Colder toward the weekend. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the united states. Thats why february is devoted to raising awareness of heart health. Dr. John martin from the Heart Health Foundation joins us to talk about big myths concerning women and Heart Disease. Im the president of Cardiology Associates the largest Cardiology Group in washington. When we talk about heart health its a myth that its a mans problem. Women think Heart Disease is a mans problem. If you look back 50 years that may have been the case. But 30 years ago in 1984 women took over the top spot. More women die every year from Heart Disease than men do. We talked about how there is a big push for Breast Cancer across the country and there should be. Its definitely a disease that affects millions of women nationwide and worldwide. Heart disease affects people more than Breast Cancer. It may be the biggest misconception women have. They are focused on cancer, especially Breast Cancer. The dominant color for women in health care is pink. Statistics show ten times more women die every year of Heart Disease than Breast Cancer. Heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined. Women and men. Do they have the same heart attack symptoms . What youre looking at as you go through the three panels here, the top is a wide open artery with red blood cells working its way through. In the middle panel it moves through. This affects black women more . Yes. Over 50 of black women are affected by cardiovascular disease. What are we seeing there . This is the narrowing of an artery like stepping on a hose keeping water from coming out. What are the symptoms men as opposed to women. Men feel the squeezing pressure or chest pain. Thats what men typically experience. Women can have the same thing but commonly feel nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, pain in the jaw. Symptoms they may tribute to something completely different and dont think at all they are suffering a heart attack. As a result, they seek care later and unfortunately the outcomes are different. That leads into the next question. Its not true this only impacts older women. There is a misconception that this is grandmas disease but it affects women of all ages. It happens later in life in women and is a leading cause of death in women over 65. But it is the second leading cause of death between 45 and 63 and the third between women 24 and 45. Affects women all ages. Even if a woman is fit with no Family History she should be concerned. Absolutely. You can look in the mirror and feel healthy and look healthy but the silent assassin. High cholesterol, high Blood Pressure cause the build up of plaque inside the arteries. 64 of women who die suddenly of cardiac disease never had symptoms before it happened. They had no clue. Dr. Martin, as we wrap up, the bottom line is this is something shocking, im sure to everyone watching. What should people do to stay on top of this . Give people a simple method to stay on top of this. The message is be aware. Understand what your risks are. Hopefully you dont become one of the statistics. Thanks for having me here. The time is 11 41. Still ahead, abs of steel. The yoga workout to help you achieve that. Plus, have you seen gas prices recently . Is the climb over . The latest survey results and the reason prices have hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. Thats true. But you still have to go to the gym. The one and only, cheerios the one and only, cheerios announcer youre watching news 4 midday. Two Northern Virginia lawmakers want part of the just passed transportation bill to bes toed out. Senator adam e venn and delegate scott skovell launched an online petition against an extra fee for owners of hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles. They say drivers trying to be environmentally friendly shouldnt be punished with a tax. Governor mcdonald said the commonwealth needs new ways to earn revenue. He says he will review it. Rising gas prices may have reached their peak. The price of crude oil is starting to go down. That hasnt helped the pain in your pocketbook, has it . Aaa reports gas prices up 46 cents in the past month. They say a series of factors are driving up the prices including u. S. Refineries shutting down for seasonal maintenance. The refineries are making the switch to a summer blend of gas earlier than usual. Aaa reports the average for a regular gallon of gas is 4. 02 in d. C. Maryland, 3. 79. Virginia at 3. 70. General motors says its ready to start producing the cars of the future. Gm released plans to turn its cars into wireless devices on wheels. The automaker will be wiring the 2014 models with with 4g mobile technology. Car buyers can choose a standard internet package or connecting to wifi. Gm said in the incar internet and wifi that will reach speeds ten times faster than any of the current offers. Stocks are missed on wall street. Well check p in with cnbc. Brian shaktman has ha that and the days headlines. Fascinating day in the markets. We were up and about a hundred points or less than that. The dow is now in negative territory. Basically traders are saying there is positive Energy Behind the italian elections. Thats what a the markets are focused on today. Want to talk about a growth story. Ikea in europe now. Czech authorities found horse meat dna in the meat balls. They serve food at their furniture outlets and now ikea pulled the meatballs from 14 countries. No mention of confirming the horsemeat dna in other countries and no mention of the united states. Obviously this is a huge controversy in europe about horsemeat in Food Products you just dont want to know about. Thats a controversy overseas. Also something in new york city. Its a lawsuit involving macys and jc penney and a Martha Stewart with living. Macys has an exclusive agreement with Martha Stewart to sell her products in their stories. But jc penney opened a store within a store and say because it is not actually sold in their store but a store within with jc penney they dont infringe on the contract that macys has between Martha Stewart living and macys. Playing out ceos in the courtroom. Martha stewart stuff sells well at macys. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. Thanks, brian. Have a great day. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Yoga ball can be great for two reasons. To strengthen the core and a help with with stretching and relaxing. Kim weeks is here and you brought along this ball that people see and either they are drawn to it in the gym or stay away. Either today run to the corner and start doing crunch city or say, i dont want those crunches today. Shell sit down with her profile to the camera. Its useful in life and in yoga. You can see shes got to work with her core to sit up straight. Shes sitting on a ball that has air in it that has bounce which is exactly what the spine also has. I read a story this week where one school in westchester pennsylvania e removed chairs from desks. Today no longer have chairs. Students have to sit on yoga balls. Thats what their primary seating is in class. So it helps your posture. Helps your alertness. And it helps productivity. You cant pull the high school move of, like, sliding back and sliding from the teacher. Do you have the answer . No. If im on the yoga ball i better have the answer. The spine, the body ultimately the core holds the spine up. You can see a if she were to slouch. Its easier to do it on a hard metal chair, a couch, car seat or something than on a ball where she has to go from side to side. She has to if she slouches shell fall. Give me the main benefit as opposed to using it at a gym. What can alyssa do on the ball different from the person doing crunches in the corner . Thats a good question. Doing crunches does more harm than good. When youre using your shoulders and neck like shes not now. Lift your chest up. Shes using her deep abdominals. There are four layers of abdominals ta hold up the spine. If youre crunching over and focused on the washboard stomach you are shortening the spine, tightening your neck, jaw, chest and everything else. You would recommend that people start to use the ball in this fashion. Yeah. I would say if you have 19. 99 for a ball like this at target you can sit on the ball and work your core before you do something as complicated as this. Thats complicated. But you can work your core sitting on the ball watching tv. I hope you will think about it and do it between now and next monday. I dont think well do that between now and next week. Well start somewhere. Thanks for the lesson plan today. The time is 11 51. Still to come, who gave rg3 a shout out at the oscars . And this is a pretty picture. Tom kierein is back with another check we have breaking news for you. It is official. D. C. Council member improperly tried to barter who would get unrelated contracts for the district and metro back in 2008. Graham denies wrongdoing and faces no civil or criminal charges. The vote ended up 112 for the reprimand. We have more breaking news. This time from the live desk. Just into the newsroom the names of those arrested in two high profile Prince Georges County murder cases. We are hearing from chief mark mcgovernmeth. Trayvon bennett hn arrested for the murder of ross. Also 46yearold james. You might remember ross was killed last september as he walked to school in capital heights. 71yearold geraldin h e mcintire was killed at home this month. February 9 of 2013. The names of those arrest ed by mark mcgob. Thanks, angie. Its a clean sweep. 2 for 2 for argo after taking home the golden globe for best picture. The thriller took home the oscar as well with. Ang li beat out spielberg for life of pi. And daniel daylewis won for lincoln. Jennifer lawrence became the second youngest best actress winner. She took home the statue for her role in Silver Linings playbook. Jennifer lawrence had a bit of an embarrassing moment as she went to accept her oscar. She tripped up the steps and was going to accept the best actress award after make it to the stage she told the crowd the only reason they are giving her a standing ovation is because they felt bad for her for falling. She can always pick herself up. We know rg3 is hollywood on the field. Now away from the game as well. Take a look at these socks with the slogan no pressure, no diamonds. They belong to sean fine. He won an oscar for best short documentary. Fine has history with the redskins. His father is a long time photographer for the redskins. Well look now at the stories well follow for this afternoon. Pat lawson has a preview of the things to come. We have a lot of big stories we are watching closely today including more on the arrest in the murder of Prince Georges County student mamarquell ross. Well have the latest this afternoon. Also at 4 00, fighting robo calls. Find out where they are coming from and what not to do if you want them to stop. See you at 4 00. All right. Thank you, pat. We have time for a final check on the forecast. Looking like spring. Well show you the flowers earlier. You may see some in the yard. You may find some today as the temperatures warm up into the mid 40s around the metro area. We may get snow, sleet and icing developing tonight into tuesday afternoon. Way out there to the west. The counties in blue. Western maryland. Highlands of West Virginia. Elsewhere, rain likely tomorrow afternoon around the metro area into tomorrow night. We might get an inch of rain by the time it ends wednesday morning. Sprinkles thursday. Partly sunny friday into the weekend and highs in the 40s. Have a good day. Thank you. Thats it for midday. Tune in at 4 00, 5 00 and 6 00 later today for the news. Well be back tomorrow at 11 00 a. M. Hope you will plan to join us