wrong. it says that carol glover was helpless and trapped on that yellow line train as she breathed in that toxic smoke. >> the $50 million lawsuit contends that carol glover's death on january 12th was preventable. today, her son said their mother would still be alive if it hadn't been for metro's negligent negligence. >> we want to seek justice not only for our family but for this area. and for everybody who rides the metro system. >> the lawsuit outlines how metro failed to properly maintain the third rail. inspect and maintain the ventilation system calibrate radios and remove that train to a safe location. a preliminary report by the ntsb says that smoke in the tunnel was caused by severe electrical arcing. these photos show the damage caused by the fatal event. the family's attorney pat regan who represented victims of the 200 the 2009 fort totten accident says metro needs to do better. >> metro needs to have a safety plan to get folks out of these tunnels in a timely manner. >> the sons say this is a quest for justice and nothing else. >> this isn't about money. if i could have my mother back i would give up all the money in the world. i really would because she meant that much. >> the ntsb investigation is likely to take several more months. as for a judgment in this case it may not come for several years. reporting live in southwest washington, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. >> metro has not responded to the lawsuit but it did issue a news release this afternoon touting a drop in major crime in the system. overall, serious crimes dropped 27% in 2013 to 2014. the biggest decline was in thefts of mobile devices. robberies and bicycle thefts saw steep declines. in addition to the 13% drop in sexual harassment complaints. >> an elderly man is in critical condition tonight after fire ripped through a townhouse in north bethesda. that fire started overnight in a home on brewer house road. montgomery county fire and rescue says the 73-year-old man was able to escape after the smoke alarms went off. he suffered second and third degree burns. investigators think an electrical outlet might have started the fire. and some frightening moments today right in front of the hungarian ambassador's residence which is in georgetown. that's where d.c. fire was called to reports of what was called mini explosions. pepco is investigating whether a transformer problem could be to blame. >> a health care at the district of columbia's community college. they are notifying students and staff that one student had tuberculosis on the downtown campus. our caroline tucker tells us how many have been exposed and why many students are angry at the school. >> a student who attended classes at the university of the district of columbia's community college on north capital street has tuberculosis. u.d.c. was told january 12th when d.c.'s tuberculosis unit at the department of health notified school officials. >> that student is under the care of d.c. d.o.h. and will not be returning to the public until he has been cleared by d.o.h. >> according to the school the student took classes in the fall of 2014. they've identified 60 students and three staff members who had close contact. they were all sent a letter in the mail. >> primary concern. >> u.d.c. posted a memo on its website and also put out a tweet about it today. students here though don't think that's enough. jasmine reid checked her e-mail but said nothing was sent out to the student body. >> i think that's crazy. something is going on. >> there should be something signs posted on the window somewhere just to let students know. there should be a massive e-mail. >> definitely should have notified us when we went in the building today. we shouldn't have to go in and try to find this information out soon. >> a u.d.c. spokesperson said the website is their main notification system. a t.b. testing clinic has been set up for next week for those directly in contact with the student. >> everybody has to protect yourself on that. >> others that might have symptoms of a cough lasting several weeks, blood in the saliva, fever and loss of appetite are urged to go to the doctor or health center. caroline tucker abc 7 news. >> after weeks of speculation, former massachusetts governor mitt romney confirms that he will not run for president in 2016. the republican made that announcement during a conference call with staff this morning. romney lost to president obama in the 2012 presidential election, you should know by now. he also failed in his bid to seek the g.o.p. nomination in 2008. coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00 tonight, our senior political reporter scott thuman will tell us what this means for the republican ticket in 2016. >> the clock is ticking for montgomery county's superintendent, joshua starr. that's because he only has until the end of this month which is tomorrow night to decide whether to apply to keep his job. montgomery county reporter kevin lewis live tonight with how it came down to this and what's next. kevin? >> alison i cover montgomery county on a daily basis and i can tell you that talk of superintendent josh starr's uncertain future has been swirling around this county for months now. >> does superintendent starr want to stay in montgomery county? >> what gives you that confidence? >> he told us so. >> the council president george leventhal says superintendent joshua starr's fate is a hot topic. >> there's been a lot of speculation in the media and as far as i know, the reports are accurate. i mean i've spoken with board members who feel it's time to go in a new direction and i've spoken with board members who want to keep the superintendent starr. >> more than 90% of our students are reading although grade leveld of kindergarten. >> starr, a harvard grad and father of three came here in 2011. they credit his student prowess and health and well being. >> he was late to the table on deciding things. >> but former ptsa member theresa gibson says he's made many fumbles, slow handling of repeated topics like bell times and muslim holiday recognitions. starr, gib says it also very unapproachable. >> i think that over time his unresponsiveness to constituents, it adds up! >> as it stands the superintendent has until this sunday, february 1st to say whether he wants his contract renewed. if his answer is yes the board of ed must make its decision by sunday, march 1st. >> now around noon today, the board of education released a statement on this issue. it essentially said this is a very big decision and it's currently being discussed behind closed doors. but that statement also mentioned that a public vote will ultimately decide superintendent starr's fate here in montgomery county. we're live in rockville, i'm kevin lewis, abc 7 news. >> and another note here. one of those problems facing school leaders could cost residents more in the form of property taxes. the montgomery county executive says a tax increase may be the only way to fill a budget gap caused by a decrease in state funding and a sluggish economy. a public hearing is planned for monday night at the bethesda chevy chase regional services center in bethesda. >> the growing backlash against pop-up houses in district is prompting calls for action. residents have now launched a petition calling for more say in transforming row houses into apartments. sam ford is live in northwest with the new twist in this story. sam? >> leon i'm in the 1400 block of taylor northwest where these stop the pop d.c..com signs cover the block and where advocates say while the council member muriel bowser was on their side they're not so sure about mayor bowser and they've launched a petition campaign. this afternoon, we ran into work under way for another pop-up house under construction in northwest. this one in the 1400 block of sheppard. with d.c. real estate prices soaring, more buyers are turning single family row houses into pop-up multiunit apartments to the chagrin of existing residents. these dots represent just some of the pop-ups being built in this one neighborhood. >> cracks to foundations. cracks in brick walls. >> she's part of an effort called "stop the pop d.c." and launched an on-line petition a week ago asking mayor bowser and the city to put a moratorium on such construction until the zoning commission develops regulations. >> so she wrote a letter herself asking for what we are now asking her for. >> mayoral candidate bowser's letter last july to dcra i would encourage you to place a hold on any building permit request for such pop-ups until the issue is settled at the zoning commissioner. mayor bowser today. are you for a moratorium at this point? >> no i'm for action at the zoning commission. >> the advocates think that's a change. >> we're just asking her to honor her own wishes. >> bowser was finished talking about it. >> ok. so you're not for this -- >> ok. is there any other questions? >> for residents like sondra who lives next door to a pop-up owner who had a water pipe burst and flood her basement? >> we're frustrated. yeah. >> as for stop the pop dc.com advocates, they say they have gotten 300 signatures in their on-line petition since it was launched last week. they say they're going to try to deliver to mayor bowser and other city officials next month. reporting live from northwest washington, sam ford, abc 7 news. >> ok sam. thank you. keep us posted. well coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00, a ban on balloons? the reasoning behind a proposal that would put new restrictions on the birthday party staple. >> plus breaking down the super bowl ads including whether the one you're seeing may have been part of a carefully orchestrated plot. >> secretary of state john kerry fined for something he didn't do while he wasn't even in the country. >> this vehicle recentsly got hit by a fire truck responding to an emergency. why that fire company is not going to pay for this damage. >> and the "7 on your side" help center is live tonight giving you a chance to ask the experts, just dial 703-236-9220 for the experts on the phones. we'll check in and see how things are going there. as abc 7 news continues. >> a maryland woman has found herself in a battle with howard county after her car and others were hit by a fire truck on its way to responding to an emergency. thousands of dollars in damage was done but the county won't pay for it. abc 7 investigator chris pabst looked into why. >> this vehicle recently got hit by a fire truck responding to an emergency. i'm chris pabst. coming up wool tell you why that fire company is not going to pay for this damage. >> now, we learned about chris' story through a tip to "7 on your side" and if you'd like to reach out to our investigative team, send an e-mail to tips at wjla.com or call the hotline and we may a look at your problem. alison? >> secretary of state john kerry is in trouble for failing to do what thousands of other new englanders did do this week. the city of boston fined kerry $50 for not shovelling the sidewalk in front of his home. this is what it looked like outside of kerry's mansion in beacon hill. kerry was traveling, by the way, with president obama to saudi arabia when the blizzard hit. state department spokesperson, though, says kerry will pay the fine and he adds the sidewalk has now been cleared. >> how about that? he gets fined for snow while he's in the desert. >> i know. >> good point. >> irony or what? >> good point. we saw some snow here. >> we did. it was an interesting day with those squalls happening around here, doug. >> uh-huh. >> yep we had snow squalls. in fact start the time lapse here of washington lee high school in arlington and this really captures the view from a lot of the part of the area today. we count on this animation, four separate snow squalls blowing through arlington and you may see them in your neighborhood and the sun comes back out and the snow falls again and nightfall skies are clearing. i'll tell you what it's going to be really cold tonight and we've got these strong winds that are going to continue through the evening hours. right now, we have 30 degrees reported in springfield on our weather bug network. winds gust to 39 miles an hour. wind chill of 17 degrees. this is live data. sustained winds out of the west at 18 miles an hour. 23 degrees in germanlike 9. that will be the story. later tonight when the temperatures get into the teens and even lower and the winds still flare up to 30-mile-per-hour gusts, it's going to be extremely uncomfortable outside. that's why the wind advisory remains in effect across the entire region until midnight tonight for wind gusts over 30 and for a short time over 40 miles per hour. it's 36 at reagan national but north and west temperatures are falling quickly into the 20's. and the strong winds that brought us the snow squalls and flurries will bring in the much colder air tonight straight from canada. again, wind gusts within the hour a 44-mile-per-hour gust at washington dulles. 29-mile-per-hour gust at reagan national. 39 at andrews air force base so the winds are for real and this cold air that's coming in tonight is something to contend with. we have outdoor plans. as far as what we're basing our forecast lows on are the temperatures moving from from the north and west. and we think an average wake-up temperature of 16 degrees. range of air temperatures from 8 to 19 above. we're expecting wind chills at times to be near zero. plenty of cold air up stream is being pushed in and push all the way through the mid-atlantic coast to the south. but ultimately, we'll see a little bit of a warmup. not tomorrow. tomorrow, we're going to really be hard pressed to get much above 28 or 30 degrees for a high temperature. then comes sunday we start to change a little bit. let's give you the picture here in our futurecast, this model has done very well this winter season handling rain/snow situations so we have another one coming. for tomorrow, we have sunshine. bit of a breeze. very cold temperatures. but early on sunday morning, the clouds will be increasing for the storm center that's going to be coming in from the west and the way it's analyzed in this solution is mostly rain for our area. the pennsylvania line being the cutoff. those of you continuing straight west colder air it's snow. to the south it's rain or a mix. i think that's exactly what's going to happen here. later in the afternoon, sunday and sunday evening will start as snow or a mix. may hang on to snow a little bit longer at the higher elevations but ultimately most of what falls is going to be rain overnight by the morning and early by monday morning, it will quickly be out of here and the snow will be retreating out to new england and clearing skies later monday and through tuesday as well. in advance of the system winter storm watch posted from iowa through illinois indiana, ohio pennsylvania garrett county and adjacent sections of west virginia. you notice south of that the temperatures are going to be too warm, not necessarily at the surface. i mean we had snow squalls and it was 41 degrees today. it's what the temperatures are a few thousand feet up with the precipitation that is manufactured and there, we'll see it's going to warm up overnight late sunday into monday morning. and that's why we think south will be rain. more measurable snow north and in fact, up at punxsutawney pennsylvania, monday morning heavy snow may pull phil out of the cage when they do the forecast. here's what we have for you the morning. sunshine gusty winds for today. range of temperatures. it will be breezy. here's what we have for you. temperatures will not make much of a recovery tomorrow but they will on sunday. in fact, we may rise from 38 to near 40 degrees by sunday night. and then could all end as a little brief mixture snow flurry activity early monday morning before it clears out. and then sunny, cold weather tuesday, wednesday. another chance of rain or snow mix on thursday. >> all right. we'll hear from the groundhog himself on monday. >> yes. monday they'll be there with the top hats and the scroll and let everybody know what the deal is. >> can't wait. >> thank you doug. >> folks you have 10 weeks to get your taxes ready and that may seem like a long time. you have to keep in mind that's 10 weeks that the scammers out there have to steal your social security number and snag your return. >> that's right. consumer investigator kimberly suters live in our help center with our ask the tax expert phone bank. hi kimberly. >> hi alison. these experts are very busy and people have a lot of general tax questions but also specifically about fraud. let's give you the phone number to call if you fall into one of those categories. the number you want to call 703-236-9220. the "7 on your side" phone bank is up until 6:30 tonight. our team will try to get to as many calls as we can for those general questions about filing your taxes we have the virginia society of c.p.a.s. for specific questions if you've been targeted by an i.r.s. impostor or you think someone might have stolen or abused your social security number our experts can guide you to resources. they can tell you how to report a tax-related scam. and how to protect yourself. the other thing they want you to do, they want you if you have one of these tax fraud experiences or i.r.s. impostor contact you, they want you to share that information and share it on facebook and share it with your friends. tell them what happened to you. warn people. 400,000 people have been affected by the tax impostor scam. and also by their social security numbers being stolen. and then their taxes being filed fraudulently. if you have any questions about that, we have some of the country's best experts right here in the "7 on your side" help center. go ahead and give us a call. leon alison back to you in the studio. >> all right, kimberly. check back with you. earlier, we told but a maryland woman's battle with howard county after a fire truck sideswiped her car. abc 7 investigator chris pabst finds out why the county says they're not liable for thousands of dollars in damage. >> if the average motorist is driving down the road slides on ice and slams into another vehicle doing thousands of dollars in damage that motorist would be liable to pay for the damage. but that wasn't the case here in howard county, maryland. when a fire truck slammed into this car. >> it's messed up. >> despite the current condition of ann simone's 2004 honda. >> seriously messed up. >> that statement is not directed towards her car. >> i didn't do anything wrong! >> two sundays ago, around 10:30 in the morning, a fire truck left this station in columbia maryland for an emergency call. at this hill on route 108, the truck slid on ice hitting five parked cars. simone's damage is estimated to be around $3,000. most of which her insurance will cover. but she is still out about a grand for her deductible and rental car. >> i can't afford it. if i had been the one to hit somebody, i would have had to pay for the damages! >> according to the police report obtained by "7 on your side", the truck is owned by howard county which won't pay for the damages. abc 7 received this statement. "howard county pays claims for property damage only when the damage is caused by the careless or wrongful actions of our employees. the county blamed the crash on "weather conditions" beyond anyone's control." >> i'm going to fight it. i'm going to fight it any way i can. >> chris pabst, abc 7 news. >> wow. see how that plays out. >> absolutely. >> interesting. >> all right. coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00 making the menu. how pizza could be the make or break item to prevent you from o.d.ing on calories this super bowl sunday. >> yeah. >> that's true. plus bye-bye balloons. which state is considering a ban that could impact the celebration staple? >> and breaking down the super bowl ads including why some believe that one company pulled off a prank that got them massive exposure for free. >> first, here's what's ahead tonight in primetime here on abc 7. i know grandma's house isn't the most exciting, but it's only for a few hours. look what i've got. when you get verizon fios, you get beautiful hd picture quality, super fast internet, and america's most reliable network. so you won't miss a second of that movie, that game they love, or those moments with family. can we sleep over? please! come on! make your house the house. you get more from verizon fios the tv service rated #1 in hd picture quality and signal reliability based on customer satisfaction studies plus america's fastest most reliable internet. and for peace of mind, get a price quote in writing and professional installation from a highly trained verizon technician. hurry now to get this deal that can't be beat. get a fios triple play online for just 79.99 a month -- a price guaranteed for two full years. and when you sign a two year agreement, get an incredible $300 bonus. this great deal won't last. visit verizon.com/worryfree to learmore today. xñaó5ñ >> the annual tradition of ranting and raving about super bowl ads was turned on its ear this year when one ad angered so many people that was pulled before it aired. >> but was the outrage the result of a careful strategy. rebecca cooper live in our satellite center with a preview of the big ad both controversial and some heart warming, right? >> that's right, alison and leon. heartwarming and some humorous. it's not even game day and already, some ads are generating plenty of big buzz. >> what do you write to it? >> can you explain what internet is? >> in this ad, katie couric and brian gumbel make fun of their past selves to promote b.m.w.'s new i-3 all electric car. >> i mean what is i-3 anyway? >> can you explain what i-3 is? >> on a tougher topic in the wake of the ray rice controversy. >> order a pizza for delivery. >> ma'am, you've reached 911. >> this ad tackles domestic violence. is there someone in the room with you? just say yes or no. >> yes. >> washington ad exec carrie hatch says the one minute p.s.a. is a smart play for the nfl. >> we all know some of the problems they've had last fall. this is an opportunity to work with an agency get a really meaningful message to a very important audience at an important time. >> go daddy got so much negative feedback when they prereleased this puppy ad they already pulled it apologized and promised a new ad in its place. many think this was a deliberate publicity play to upset dog lovers. >> just sold you on this website i built with go daddy. >> i can guarantee you this we're all going to tune in for how they fixed it. and that is the ultimate purpose of the teaser. >> this was a big play for ohio glue maker lock tite. they spent their entire advertising budget for the year on 30 seconds of dancers that look nothing like britney spears. and already, the company has generated lots of free media by betting it all for one ad in the super bowl. leon and alison a record number of companies are advertising for the first time in this year's super bowl. experts say that's a good indicator for the overall health of the economy. reporting live in the satellite center rebecca cooper, abc 7 news. >> all right. we'll be watching. >> thanks rebecca. our super bowl coverage will continue. ahead at 5:00, the local connection to the budweiser ad this year that's melting hearts across the nation. >> virginia soon could have one of, if not the, toughest laws in the country against releasing these into the environment. i'm stephen tschida. i'll tell you all about it in a moment. >> and the "7 on your side" help center is live tonight giving you a chance to ask the tax experts for help. dial >> well a staple at celebrations across america could soon be outlawed in virginia. >> that's because the virginia senate has set its sights on balloons specifically those filled with gas that's lighter than air. stephen tschida is live tonight with the reasoning and the reaction. stephen? >> leon supporters of this legislation say these lighter-than-air balloons really affect wildlife. in particular sea turtles who eat them and birds. now, a recent survey of virginia's coastline found 150 balloons per mile. >> they're lighter than air and a hot seller at total party in arlington. >> big portion of our business. >> some lawmakers in richmond believe when released into the air, the bright party standards filled with helium or other gases are taking a toll on the environment. in particular, beaches and wildlife. a measure from the virginia beach state senator aims to prohibit the release of these flying balloons. that measure got a green light from a senate committee and is moving ahead. latex balloons typically break down but mylar balloons like these last a long time. they understand the rational on the proposed restriction and doubts it will affect the popularity of the product. >> knowing that the release of balloons can harm you know wildlife and potentially pollute, i can see -- i can see, you know a ban on that. >> but for some people and balloon lovers especially. >> let them release them. >> this proposal is one of mounting restrictions on party behavior. some are skeptical of released balloons really doing that much danl. >> i'm going to release one this evening. >> i don't think she was serious there. this measure goes to the full senate next. if it does indeed pass the fine will be $5 per balloon intentionally released into the atmosphere. reporting live stephen tschida abc 7 news. >> thanks, stephen. >> they love their balloons. the d.c. summer jobs program first started by the late marion barry is officially under way. this morning, the d.c. mayor muriel bowser launched the program under a new name. the marion barry summer youth program. the program provides six weeks of meaningful employment and job readiness training to youth ages 14 to 24. >> i was 14 with my first summer job. my son is in the eighth grade going to the ninth. this will definitely help him assist him with his discipline. >> within the first 30 minutes of opening on-line enrollment today, 1500 young people had signed up for a summer job. >> let's get a look at the day's other top stories. a multimillion dollar lawsuit was filed against metro by carol glover's two surviving children. glover died during that smoke incident at l'enfant plaza metro station earlier this month. her sons are suing for $50 million and say they just want to help make the system safer. >> the d.c. health department is working with the university of the district of columbia to investigate a tuberculosis exposure at the community college on north capital street. in a letter the school says faculty and students that were in contact with the patient have been identified and are now on the process of being notified and tested. >> and the growing backlash against those pop-up houses in the district is prompting calls for action. some residents have now launched an on-line petition calling for a moratorium on transforming row houses into multistory apartments. d.c. mayor muriel bowser says she favors action at the zoning commission instead of a moratorium. >> george zimmerman will not face charges in a new assault case. he was arrested january 9th in florida. that's when authorities say he destroyed his ex-girlfriend's cell phone and threw a wine bottle at her. decide she decided to drop those charges and denialed the incident ever even happened. this is latest run-in with authorities for zimmerman he was acquitted in the shooting death of tray von martin. >> a police impersonator is behind bars after police tell us he pulled over the wrong car, rather, in prince william county. shawn robinson of alexandria turned himself into the police yesterday. investigators say robinson followed and pulled over a man in dumfries when robinson discovered he pulled over an off-duty officer, he took off. the officer was able to get robinson's tag number. >> time for a check of the traffic situation with bob in the wtop traffic center with the details. how does the evening commute look now, bob? >> plenty of volume out there here on beltway in green belt in both directions flowing pretty slowly but with all the lanes open. there's a new problem on the baltimore washington parkway. northbound after green belt road, there's a crash and the fire department is heading in that direction so delays out of riverdale. things are generally in pretty good shape elsewhere. things are running pretty well on 66 as you travel west out to centreville. going to be a lot of volume and 95 south slows down south towards stafford. inner loop out of tysons quite heavy. no incidents along the way. 270 north bog down from montgomery village to germantown much once you get to frederick county, the pace is good and the traffic on 95 as we see there is heaviest. have a great weekend. i'm bob emler on 103.5 wtop radio. >> thanks, bob. coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00 from despised to hero? why a telemarketer is being credited with possibly saving a woman's life. >> plus we'll introduce you to the officer who helped convict a man that our sam ford introduced as the boyfriend from hell! >> and new at 6:00 tonight, bicycle thieves caught on camera. tonight, 7 is on your side with how a home owner is fighting back as police try to make arrests. >> it's always great when our colleagues here at abc 7 share story ideas and our d.c. bureau chief sam ford and his photographer told me about the woman you're about to meet. they said we have to interview her. tonight's working recently named arlg ton county's law enforcement officer of the year and you're about to see why. >> we first met sergeant angela comer in 2013 when she was a lead detective in the case that reporter sam ford called the boyfriend from hell. >> we were convinced that she was physically in danger. >> comer helped convict a man who tormented and stalked his ex-girlfriend posting her name on prostitution websites getting her fired from her job and sending sexual videos of her to her daughter's friends. comer's work on this case earned her the title of arlington county law enforcement of the year in 2013 and gained national attention. but if you look at this picture again, you'll see her. irving comer. not only was he an arlington police officer, too, he was the very first african-american police officer in arlington county. >> i don't understand why. why did he do that? that had to be scary to be the first. >> comer started out in banking and business. but at 27 decided to follow in her father's footsteps. although he was nervous about his youngest daughter being a cop. >> my dad did not want me to. but i did it anyway. >> she knew she wanted to be like him. giving back and serving her community. >> i was always proud of him. he wasn't like a big police officer, he was just dad to me. but he's always been a guy that's going to help somebody out. >> in her 17 years with the department, sergeant comer is the most proud of her work helping children. she has four children of her own through birth and adoption. comer hopes to leave them with a proud legacy like her trailblazing father. >> he's very proud. he was proud at the academy. he pinned me at the academy. he pinned me when i made sergeant sergeant. he's very proud. >> sergeant comer still gets advice from her dad about tough cases. she says whether she likes it or not. sergeant comer said she's impatience and aiming to move through the ranks. in her words, the sky is the limit. leon? >> we are so lucky to have families like the comers here, aren't we? up next on abc 7 news at 5:00 telemarketer turned hero. quick decision that may have saved a woman's life. >> social security number been stolen or do you have a general tax question? "7 on your side" with an ask the tax expert phone bank coming up. >> telemarketers in nevada ended up being heroes. they called to sell a product. they heard the woman on the other end of the line being assaulted. they called the sheriff in her town 900 miles away. when authorities arrived, they arrested a man holding the victim gasping for air. >> it's the number one complaint from consumers to the federal trade commission. stealing your identity and then your tax return. consumer investigator kimberly suters is here tonight to help with an ask the expert phone bank center. >> i'm excited about this one. when people call they say do you have a general tax question or question about tax fraud? we have experts from both sides here. you can see here this is one of our c.p.a.s who is helping out a caller right now. this is the number to call. 703-236-9220. now, identify theft is a nationwide problem. look at these numbers. according to the f.t.c. in 2014, 330,000 americans were victims of identity theft. of those, 30% were defrauded on their taxes. 11% saw unauthorized credit card fraud in their name and then 8% were hurt financially by utility fraud. what to look for in these 10 weeks leading up to tax filing time? >> if the i.r.s. says that you have already filed a tax return or if the i.r.s. says your tax return is incomplete, there's a possibility that somebody has used your identity with the i.r.s. >> "7 on your side"'s experts are here to direct you to resources for reporting fraud but also to help you protect yourself. they're taking your calls until about 6:30 tonight. and go ahead, go ahead. i know -- they're up and down because she has experience with the f.t.c. and tax fraud. he has experience as a c.p.a. and so they're passing callers off to one or the other depending on what their expertise is. so be patient if you haven't been able to get through. your calls will be taken until 6:30 tonight. you can always e-mail us if you don't reach us on the phone at tips at wjla.com. now, from the help center the "7 on your side" help center send it back to you in the studio. leon? >> tonight, we're meeting the local man behind one of the most talked about super bowl ads. that budweiser ad showing that puppy running going through trial and tribulations to get home. well fairfax native john dantonio was on the creative team behind this ad and we spoke with him on skype. >> i think we know what it's like whether you lose someone or a pet or you're separated from something for a period of time, it's something you care about. i think that's something that we try to -- we try to bring out in terms of real human stories. >> that's right. we'll see this ad as a sequel this year to the commercial that was in last year's super bowl. arguabley one of the most popular ads. >> everybody was talking about it. >> that's right. i wonder maybe they'll be an ad with a groundhog this year. your favorite. groundhog day is the next day! >> yeah the timing works out just right huh? i think when the groundhog, when he's checking out monday morning in punxsutawney probably heavy snow in that part of pennsylvania. here, a little bit of rain and maybe a little bit of a mix. let's get to the weather story. cold out there, i'll tell you that we're in the 30's. areas north and west of town dropping into already and it's only beginning because these winds, look at the wind gusts from the past hour. had them on in gaithersburg to 44 miles an hour. same in manassas. and now with temperatures falling and the winds staying up, it's going to feel progressively colder. notice the wind chills in the teens to 25 now at reagan national. wind chills sings digits in hagerstown. plan ahead. it's going to be bitterly cold. overnight lows 8 to 19. wind chills could briefly touch zero. here's the weekend. sunny, breezy for a high temperature with lots of sunshine and then looking on sunday, looks like we'll have cloudy skies and wintry mix of snow and rain developing in the afternoon and evening. most of it i think, will be rain. could change back to snow. get to the maryland-pennsylvania line and northward, then you've got substantial snow. that's a 90% probability developing sunday into early monday morning for the wintry stuff. clearing monday afternoon. beautiful weather tuesday and wednesday and then another chance of rain or snow by the time we hit thursday and friday. in honor of the biggest weather day of the year punxsutawney phil says back to you, leon alison and robert. >> thank you phil. >> nice. >> from a groundhog to a tiger. >> i don't know if i want to see this. got some ugly stuff here. >> let's just say everybody in this studio probably got a better score than tiger including our floor director stephanie. how are you doing? there's no easy way to say this. tiger woods was garbage at the waste management in phoenix today. didn't do so hot for his first tournament of 2015. he actually recorded the worst round of his pro career. 11 over par at 82. six bogeys two double bogeys recollects triple bogey and two birdies. he finished 132nd in a field of 132. i don't think he'll be making the cut for this one. >> hitting golf balls one thing and playing golf at home is another. playing tournament golf is a completely another. and i got to continue with the process. i've been here before. it wasn't that long ago that i changed my swing with shawn and i was player of the year only a year ago. so goto keep things in perspective. >> i know. former redskins offensive tackle chris sandals has landed a new coaching job. >> i've played in big time games in the nfl, pro bowl. played at big time college games championship. >> we used to watch chris samuels anchoring the offensesive line. he's the head football coach at osborne football what he calls his dream job. >> it appears former football for me and the funnest time that i've had, you know was in high school. >> after his 10-year career with the redskins samuels has worn many hats from interning under mike shanahan to coaching alongside nick sabin at his alma mater, alabama. which plains why his m.o. is simple. no nonsense. >> actually, i caught two guys talking while i was talking. immediately, i put my foot down and let them know that's not the way we're going to do things. i asked both of them did you want to come out and talk? i'll sit down and let you talk and they both shut their mouth and listened. at the end, it was all fun. >> now samuels has more time to be a family man watching his son grow as well as his future players. >> they brought me all kind of joy, you know, just to see the kids excited for me to come in and, you know had the opportunity to coach them. and you know, i'm really excited, you know, i love football and just to teach, you know, kids the game and hopefully kids will you know become better people and also receive scholarships. >> wow. >> i don't think you want to talk while he's talking. >> no. >> not a good idea. >> wow, they hit the jackpot at that school. >> definitely. >> that's really cool. >> way to go. doing well and looking well. >> exactly. >> all right. coming up next here on abc 7 news at 5:00 tricks to keep from going overboard at your super bowl party. how the staple of pizza, wings an as a small business owner you wouldn't deliver just half of what you have to offer to your customers. so why are you settling for half-fast internet? only verizon fios comes with speedmatch-- upload speeds as fast as your download speeds so files go out in a snap. call today to get $200 back when you switch to fios internet and phone for just $99.99 a month with a 2-year agreement and get $200 back. just call 1.888.774.4418 today. >> prepare yourself folks, the second biggest eating day of the year is upon us. >> that's right. super bowl sunday is second only to thanksgiving in terms of calorie consumption. but there are some simple things you can do to keep your calories under control. liz bonis breaks down where to hold back and where to cut loose! >> you see, much of what leads to the land mine for your waistline, according to registered dietician nancy zwick is a concept that many of us do on game day and many of us don't know we do it. >> it's called mindless eating. people put the chip in dip and before they know it they've consumed probably five to 1,000 calories and not realizing it. >> her advice is to go easy on the alcohol, especially early in the day. the more you drink, the less will power you have to pace yourself. second, remember that chicken wings are kind of like fried butter. often more fat than meat. pizza is often the better choice on game day. but how you top that off could make a big difference in your nutrient and calorie density for the day. so here's a couple ofeneral guidelines if pizza is on your menu. >> pizza is one of those wonderful healthy foods that we also know it can be very very high in calorie. >> so zwick suggests you make a toppings bar with individual crusts so guests can choose everything from turkey pepperoni to ham or chicken. like cheeses and every vegetable you could ever want makes her toppings bar. she says all of this simply leads to a slice with goodness no matter how you like your pizza. >> so that way you have a variety of things to choose from but it's going to be healthy. you're going to keep the calories hopefully in check. and they're going to enjoy. >> all right. and one other calorie land mine. all those sour cream based dips that are out there, so for a healthier option you can go for salsa. or guacamole instead. so eat up. >> all right. that's it for us here on abc 7 news at 5:00. >> tonight at 6:00, a home owner is victimized by theft but they aren't taking this crime sitting down. 7 is on your side with how that home owner is fighting back. >> plus the family of a woman killed in the metro smoke incident is suing the transit agency. what the lawsuit claims that metro failed to da. >> major news when it comes to the race for the white house in 2016. why mitt romney is not running. abc 7 news at 6:00 starts right now. >> for the second weekend in a row, we could see wintry weather across our area. chief meteorologist doug hill is tracking this winter weather alert from the storm watch center. what's the latest? >> right now it's just windy and cold outside. 32 degrees outside of the belfort weather center because of the high winds. advisory will stay up until midnight tonight around the area. recently received a report of a 45-mile-per-hour gust in reston and frederick. 43-mile-per-hour gust in gainesville. charles county 41-mile-per-hour gust. this is live data. it will get more comfortable outside tonight and we drop into the teens. look at the wind gusts. they are really strong and they'll continue for several more hours. tomorrow, well, we'll start the day with temperatures between 8 and 19 degrees. it will be sunny throughout the day tomorrow. but then sunday we deal with a storm system. going to bring us some sleet and snow and some rain. the question is how much of which? we'll answer that question coming up shortly, maureen. >> thank you doug. tonight, 7 is on your side with a new case in which home surveillance cameras caught thieves in the act. this incident happened in northwest washington. fighting back against crime investigator jennifer donaldon spoke with a man who decided to install cameras outside of his row home. she's live from northwest with the hunt for two thieves. jennifer? >> this is like most of the alleys in d.c. it's pretty standard.

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