injured in 2010. three deliberate thrill killings of three afghan civilians in 2010. january 21 of this year, an iraq war veteran shot and killed a mt. rainier national park ranger. today a man suspected of sending suspicious letters to members of congress will be in court. police arrested christopher lee carlson. a grand jury indicted him on threatening a member of congress and threatening to use a biological weapon. over the past month, several lawmakers and members of the media received letters that contained a nontoxic white powder. maryland senator barbara mcski was one of the recipients. these letters are not connected with those that arrived at d.c. schools and restaurants last week. 50 degrees now. i believe we have at least partly cloudy skies, right? >> that's right. >> yeah. and by the way, you didn't get up an hour early. the clock we have not set ahead yet. the body clock -- >> hasn't caught up. >> the body clock is at 3:31 in the morning. but our actual time now, daylight time is at 4:31. good morning. right now around the region, we've got the moon up in the sky. took this picture about an hour or so ago. and the moon in the southern sky is in a mostly clear to partly cloudy sky around the region. we have temperatures that are mild. after yesterday, low 60s after a frosty, cold start. we did manage to make it to the low 60s yesterday. now this morning warmer than it was yesterday morning. right now, generally in the upper 30s, low to mid 40s. all across most of virginia, maryland, and the eastern shore. leesburg, chilly 36. frederick, 34. southern maryland, la plata now at 44. this is the hometown forecast for la plata today. by late in the morning, 50s. by noontime, 60 there. during the afternoon, peaking the upper 60s in southern maryland with clouds closing in. tonight. we'll have rain likely moving in by late evening. temperatures by midnight back into the 50s. we start off tuesday morning, maybe with a few lingering showers there. and the view from space showing clouds that have been drifting through from time to time over the last couple of hours. those will be in and out this morning. we'll have some sunshine. here's the forecast for the next several days. we'll have our temperatures into the 70s each day. maybe some thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon. and now danella, good morning, how's traffic? good morning. traveling along i-66, had some construction happening right at gallows road. that's now out of the roadway. it was on your left-hand side. the good news, you don't have to worry about it now. travel speeds are really good at 61 miles per hour. crossing over the wilson bridge, not seeing any issues for you in either direction. actually as you make your way to van dorn, are you in the clear on this area of the beltway, as well. travel speeds here 61 miles per hour. only taking six minutes to get from the wilson bridge to van dorn street. now back to you both. >> all right. thank you. the state of virginia will begin its defense today in a lawsuit filed by the parents of two students killed at the virginia tech mass shooting nearly five years later. the university's president says he does not believe he made a mistake that day. 32 people were killed during the massacre on the campus in april of 2011. the families of two of the victims filed the wrongful death lawsuit against the school. they say university officials botched the response to the shootings. they're each seeking $100,000. also today, the trial will begin for a bristol, virginia, mother accused of killing her child last june. prince william county police say karen murphy left her 2-year-old son in the back of the family minivan for more than seven hours. murphy's been charged with felony murder and child neglect. her attorneys argue this was simply a tragic accident. if convicted she could face up to 40 years in prison. this morning d.c. police are on the lookout for a man and woman seen leaving a restaurant shooting in columbia heights. a witness tells news4 two men were argue being a woman when one pulled a gun and shot the other in the chest. this happened yesterday morning at the ihop on irving street and 14th in northwest washington. the victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. police have not released his identity. the restaurant was briefly closed while police interviewed witnesses. it has since reopened. and the archdiocese of washington suspended the catholic priest who denied communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral. the archdiocese placed father marcell glanismo on leave for "intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others." he serves at st. john newman catholic church in gaithersburg. the archdiocese says the suspension is not related to the communion incident last month, though. artist barbara johnson says the priest denied her communion because she lived with another woman. the archdiocese apologized for what happened. it's a fight for the south in decision 2012. tomorrow mississippi and alabama both hold primaries where three gop presidential candidates could pull off wins. rick santorum has said that newt gingrich should step aside so a head-to-head contest between him and mitt romney could happen sooner rather than later. a win in alabama could significantly boost romney's lead in the delegate county. newt gingrich says winning both states would keep him in the running. the former house speaker from georgia has mostly campaigned in the southment and so far, he's only won his home state and south carolina. right now romney has 377 delegates. santorum has 146 followed by gingrich with 112. and ron paul with 31. the challengers need 1,144 delegates to become the republican presidential nominee. george mcdonnell and martin o'malley had different political views yesterday. they were guests on "meet the press" and clashed on social and economic issues that are front and center this political season. >> a clear contrast here. if you look at the presidential campaign, be honest. there's been a lot more time spent pandering to the extreme right wing ideologues of the new republican party than has been spent talking about jobs and the economy. so i believe that the president's looking strong, is strong, is focused on the economy. that's going to carry him through this election. >> mcdonnell agreed saying the economy and jobs have to be the number-one issue for the upcoming election. he said that while the declining unemployment rate is a good thing, mitt romney can get it even lower than president obama. for the first time in more than a month, gasoline prices have actually dropped. most of us won't notice a difference when you pull into the pump. according to aaa prices went down a fraction of a penny per gallon. taking a look at the averages in our area this morning, d.c. drivers are paying about $3.96 for a gallon of regular. maryland's average is $3.77. in virginia, you're paying about $3.67 this morning. in west virginia, it is $3.84 per gallon. a new poll shows a record number of americans do not like how president obama is handling this pain at the pump. just 26% of those in a "washington post" survey approved of the president's job performance with regard to gasoline prices. that's his lowest rating in the poll. most who responded to a "washington post" survey said that high gasoline prices are taking a toll on their family financesment 59% gave the president negative ratings on the overall economy. it is now 4:38. remembering a fallen journalist. how family and friends plan to honor the life of a reporter killed in the violence in syria. sharing a different side of whitney houston. what the daughter of the late singer is saying about her mother just weeks after her death. if you hadn't noticed, spring has sprung around the area. weather & traffic on the 1s. good morning, it's 4:41. tom kierein, storm center 4. this morning off to a milder start than we did on sunday morning when it was frosty in the rural areas. now this morning we have clouds that are closing in from the west ahead of a front bringing rain into ohio, kentucky, indiana. hooks like that will be arriving this evening. between now and then, we'll have a little sunshine this morning. temperatures now in the upper 30s to the low to mid 40s near washington. farther to the west, it's dipped to the mid 30s in parts of northern fauquier, loudoun and frederick counties. into the upper 30s in western maryland, much of the mountain region. sunrise at 7:23 this morning as we're in daylight saving time. by 9:00, partly sunny, temperatures into the upper 50s. and then mostly cloudy by noontime, into the mid 60s. may get up to around 70 and hold steady for a few hours during the middle and latter part of the afternoon with a lot of clouds around. this evening, does look like rain moving in. sunset at 7:13. that rain moving into the metro area by about 8:00 or 9:00. occasional showers through the rest of the evening. by midnight, we'll be down into the upper 50s. a look at the rest of the week and a peek at the weekend. that will be in ten minutes. now danella, how's traffic? still looking good. happy monday to you. if you're traveling along i-270, we'll fly over it together now. travel speeds look good. in fact, heading out of clarksburg, making your way to germantown, 62 miles per hour as you travel southbound to the spur. you're clear. no issues through rockville. and i'll give you a live look now traveling on i-270 at the split. you see traffic's flowing just fine. no major delays. no accidents to report at this time. i'm coming back in exactly ten minutes with a look at the beltway in montgomery county, as well as prince george's county. for now, back to you all. >> all right. see you then. thank you. 4:43 the time. still to come, honoring her life. how people are remembering a lululemon employee killed by a co-worker one year ago. plus, march distraction. the time many of us will be spending or wasting as we get [ siren ] people across japan marked one year since disaster rocked their country. a tsunami slammed into japan's northeast coast after a 9.0 earthquake. the strongest ever recorded in japan. crowds stood in silence yesterday afternoon marking the moment the tsunami hit. nearly 20,000 people died in that disaster. most lived in a small city along japan's northeastern coast. today an american journalist killed in syria will be laid to rest. marie colvin was killed three weeks ago along with a french photographer during a bombing in homs. there will be a funeral service and private burial in new york city. she was a war correspondent covering conflict across the globe. she worked for the british paper "the sunday times" for 25 years. colvin was 56 years old. efforts to agree on a cease-fire in syria have stalled. the united nations envoy, kofi ano ann annan, said he made little progress in meeting with cokofi annan. both sides have rejected peace talks demanding the other side end the conflict. attorneys for former penn state coach jerry sandusky will appear in court. they're requesting more information it the young men who have accused sandusky of child sex abuse. sandusky is accused of sexually abusing boys ranging from 8 years old to 17 from 1996 to 2009. prosecutors say the incidents happened in his home, on the penn state campus, and on the road during bowl games. sandusky is confined to his home, awaiting his trial that is set to begin in may. sandusky denies the charges. the coast guard suspended the search for four commercial fishermen who disappeared off the washington state coast. the four men are presumed dead. they sent a distress signal early saturday morning. the coast guard searched through the night after finding debris, an empty lifeboat and oil sheen several miles off the coast. the search was called off after 30 hours. 4:47 now. whitney houston's daughter says she's doing well and coping with the loss of her mother. on oprah winfrey's "next chapter," bobbi kristina brown says she still feels her mother's presence. brown says she and her mom were best friends and always took care of each other. she also defended her mother's reputation. >> saw her cry, you know, and i held her through that. you know, we held each other through that. we have so many people saying so many other things. but they don't know who she really was. and a lot -- everything that people are saying about her, you know, all that -- all that negativity, it -- it is garbage. >> houston died last month in a beverly hills hotel bathroom. authorities are still trying to determine an official cause of death. this weekend marked one year since a woman brutally killed a co-worker at the lululemon athletic store in bethesda. family, friends, and the community honored the memory of jana murray. they left flowers and balloons outside the store where she was beaten to death. the store held an open house and displayed pictures of murray. her brother and his wife ran an 8k race in her honor. >> just to commemorate an activity that jana enjoyed. a race that she's run in the past. my parents and my brother and his family stayed in houston area and went to the gravesite. >> he says that his family held a private service for jana at her gravesite. a jury convicted brittany norwood for murray's murder. she is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. this morning investigators are trying to determine what caused a brush fire in montgomery county. about 50 firefighters battled the fire in gaithersburg. it broke out along watkins mill road and quickly spread to several acres. it was brought under control a short time later. no one was hurt. an offer for the virginia state fair to return to its old stomping grounds. but if it will happen is uncertain still. according to "the richmond times dispatch," richmond international raceway offered to host the state fair. last week the owner of the event filed for bankruptcy, fired its staff, and canceled the fair. the raceway hosted the fair just outside richmond for 63 years before it moved to a park near kings dominion in 2009. the georgetown hoyas are going dancing. the men's team learned their seed and partner yesterday. they were pleased with the results. [ cheers ] >> the hoyas received the number-three seed in the midwest region. the first task is against the 14th seed belmont bruins on friday in columbus, ohio. georgetown has played belmont before, crushing them in the first round in 2011, which saw the hoyas go to the final four. maybe it means good news this year. >> maybe again. the virginia cavaliers are also dancing. they're a ten seed in the west bracket and will open against the gators on friday in omaha. this is virginia's 17th tournament of appearance. the weather of this game will play either missouri or norfolk state. the field of 68 is set. now it's your time -- your turn, that is, to fill out the bracket. >> and there are many of you who definitely go mad this time of year with college hoops. admit it. a new study survey from -- new survey from yahoo! sports shows fans spend an average of 75 minutes, that's a lot of time, filling out brackets. people fill out an average of 4.5 brackets, 4.5 brackets, 14% filling out more than six. really? doesn't that defeat the purpose of filling out six? keep a close eye out for coughs and colds, bosses. one in seven say they've called in sick to work so they can watch all the games. >> 75 minutes or more to fill out the brackets -- if your boss says are you working, yes, i'm working. >> serious business. six brackets, really? >> covering all your bases. sports metaphors. >> tom, tell us about the forecast. 4:51. time for weather & traffic on the 1s. good morning. good weather to shoot some hoops outside. we've got mild pattern here for the week ahead. and this morning, there's the washington monument, live view from our city camera. starting off this monday, the first monday of daylight time. 48 at reagan national. and we have a few clouds coming through. and we have a light breeze, as well, coming in from the south. and the view from space showing just a few clouds passing over us right now. got that moon in the southwestern sky. this area in green, this is rain. right now coming into ohio, out of indiana, kentucky, advancing to the north and east. getting close to us by tonight. between now and then, a dry day. in the upper 30s and low 40s out of the mountains. shenandoah valley, many locations from winchester to stanton, virginia, in the low to mid 40s. panhandle of west virginia, martinsburg, chilly 37. a couple of chilly spots, too, frederick down to leesburg and manassas. in the 30s there. but much of southern maryland, charles county into prince william county, it's in the low 40s to mid 40s down southern maryland, far southern, into st. mary's and northern neck. here are the highs for this afternoon. we ought to make it up to around 70 degrees around the metro area. a bit cooler around the bay. wind off the bay water. temperatures still in the 40s. manassas may get up to 73. la plata up to 70. cooler where some rain will be moving in this afternoon in the mountains. sunrise today at 7:23. the day planner will have it clouding up getting into the afternoon. near 70 by mid-afternoon around the metro area. tonight, we'll have the rain moving into the metro area after sunset off and on through the evening and by dawn tomorrow. we'll have it down to near 50. maybe a lingering shower. partly sunny, the mid 70s. might have an isolated thundershower tomorrow afternoon. then sunny, into the mid 70s. wednesday and thursday. a chance for more rain maybe friday and saturday. still mild. danella, good morning. how's traffic? good morning. so far area looks really good. if you're taking the beltway, we'll take a live look at the beltway in prince george's county. central avenue. very light volume, especially on the inner loop and outer loop. not seeing any issues for you all. i'll give you your travel speed. making your way from route 50 heading to i-95, you're at 64 miles per hour. that trip only taking you nine minutes at this time. now let's take a look at the beltway in montgomery county. no issues to report in this area, as well. a live look at connecticut avenue, light volume. not seeing any accidents. nothing to warn you about. outer loop travel speeds really nice, 60 miles per hour. only taking ten minutes to get from i-95 to i-270. now in ten minutes i'm coming back with a look at your rails. don't want to miss it. back to you both. >> thank you. well, "saturday night live" poked a little fun at rush limbaugh, losing advertisers from his radio show. this comes after his recent rant about a georgetown university student. >> but despite losing those and 89 other sponsors, i am not worried because i have new, better sponsors, great american companies like -- snow total >> sherman's imitation mayonnaise. it might not be mayonnaise, but -- >> as many as nine companies have pulled their ads from limbaugh's radio show. it's in response to degrading comments he made about a female georgetown law student. he criticized her for supporting a federal requirement making religious-affiliated employers cover birth control in health insurance policies. limbaugh has since apologized for his comments. >> "snl," always funny. >> tough to imitate rush limbaugh. >> it is. 4:55. 49 degrees. coming up, hidden defects that could put your children's safety at risk. coming up at 5:15. what to look for on your home's staircases to avoid serious falls. first, we lost that valuable hour of sleep this weekend. we'll take a look at the impact daylight savings time could have on your health. plus, wasting time at the computer. 4:58. having a few extra pounds could help you as you age. researchers at tel aviv university found that extra weight has a protective effect on people 85 years and older. researchers say those with a little more weight have lower rates of osteoporosis. extra fat also provides extra energy in times of trauma and stress. despite the results, experts say people should not strive to pack on pounds because it does increase your risk for other illnesses. i'd say that if you get to 85, eat what you like. >> there you go. exactly. >> enjoy that. well, the day is just beginning. if you already feel tired after losing that hour of sleep over the weekend because of daylight savings time -- >> be careful. studies show there is an increase of car accident and work-related injuries the week after the time change. according to aaa, there is an 8% increase in traffic accidents this week. there are also health risks including an increase in workplace accidents and even the number of heart attacks. doctors say today and tomorrow, there is a 10% uptick in heart attacks reported. >> be appropriate to -- also let me add this -- a new study says the lack of sleep this weekend results in a massive productivity loss today. a penn state professor is calling it