could cost tens of millions of dollars. >> last year the school board said yes, but they didn't have the money for it. now they're saying if we can push all school start times 20 minutes, no cost they can do it. >> you think about all the bus shifts the driver all that sort of thing that goes into it which costs money. 4:31. and we're looking at a pretty nice start forto the day. start to the day. some let's check in with tom kierein to get your broadcast. yeah no problems really getting off to work and school on this friday morning. there might be a little bit of patchy ice on sidewalks. otherwise we're mostly dry. rain arriving tennessee valley coming into the carolinas. it's all vachbsing off to the north and east. but still not arriving in to the metro area until late this afternoon, maybe just after sunset. our temperatures are down into the 20s. shenandoah valley all the way to the bay. by the water, near 30. elsewhere, we are in the defense. prince george's county montgomery fairfax counties. just a few high clouds are drifting over us how. this is a live view from our tower camera. we'll have a little sunshine in and out this morning. through noon temperatures will be hovering right around freezing by 8:00 a.m.. then by noontime should be near 0 degrees. then hitting the mid-40s by will play a role on any accumulation of snow on roads. when it arrives, road temperatures will be well above freezing and the rain and snow not arriving until maybe away 6:00 7:00 p.m. and into this evening. as it does move through during the evening hours, we'll be dropping back down to the near freezing mark by midnight tonight and that's when it will start to stick some of the snow north and west of the metro area and by dawn tomorrow up to a little below freezing. so we'll have it accumulating by this time tomorrow morning. next weather and traffic on the 1s coming up at 4:41 we will have amelia segal joining us. 5:11 i mean. and now let's check the roads. do have construction around town here. right now in bethesda wisconsin avenue southbound there at east-west highway. still have take road work left lane blocked. beltway at river road, everything flowing there. old apnap police road nappolice-annapolis at church that has a water main break. regular annapolis road is fine there. megan mcgrath is on the scene. we'll talk to her in just a minute. taking a look at prince george's county overall looking good and everything in and out of town moving fine. northbound 95 in maryland here southbound just fine. same thing bw parkway. 4:33 now. more than 200 of you gathered at a community center to discuss the recent state of violence. there have been six murders in the past months four more than the same time last year. you were able to share your thoughts along with police priests and activists. community leaders are concerned about the growing crime. >> i am a mostly upset to see hour young black men killing each other. >> neighbors say recreational centers need to stay open longer they also want more police patrols and parental involvement to help stop the violence. there is anger and anguish this morning for the family of a 13-year-old girl hit and killed by a woman learning to drive. a judge sentenced the driver esperanza vasquez to days this jail and a small fine. the victim's father spoke to news 4 last week upset that there wouldn't be a steeper punishment. the "washington post" says vasquez cried as she apologized in court. prosecutors say it was a tragic accident and did not reach the level of criminal negligence. 11 days after one person died in that underground emergency at the l'enfant plaza tr now taking immedia steps to make the system safer. metro board says train operators will be able to turn off ventilation systems to prevent smoke from being pulled into railcars. new signs will go up to help riders and first responders find emergency doors. still the head of the metro employees union says it's not enough. >> one of the things that i'm most afraid of is that they haven't grasped a true safety culture. >> investigators are also looking into a communication breakdown. a senior metro transit police officer tells you news 4 firefighters rejected his help. you can see a breakdown of the ten safety measures on nbcwashington.com, including what they mean just search metro. new maryland governor larry hogan is promising a balanced budget. he introduced his proposal yesterday. key items includes funding for the purple line and 2% reduction it also includes record education spending. you should know there will be cuts in some jurisdictions including prince george's county where it costs more to educate students. it would be the state's first balanced budget in a decade. >> our budget puts maryland on sound financial footing without raising taxes or fees and without eliminating agencies or departments or services without laying off a single state employee and without any furloughs whatsoever. >> some lawmakers did express concerns saying they just don't have enough specifics about what those cuts will be. if you'd like to take a look for yourself we posted a link to the proposal on nbcwashington.com. search hogan budget. today president obama will host mayors from across the country at the white house. the mayors will spend the day interacting with cabinet members and white house officials. the goal is to expand partnerships between cities and the federal government. today the 2015 washington auto show is on. d.c.'s annual showcase of the fastest and finest cars in the industry will be open for ten days. you can take a close look at 700 different cars. d.c. mayor bowser will kick things off at 11:00 a.m.. always cool to see. and you'll also also want to check our the drive time auto show special this weekend. veronica johnson will take you inside for all the show's highlights. you can catch drive time saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. right here on nbc. all our meteorologists are into cars. tom kierein loves cars. >> wonder if there's a correlation. a type of rear round school is closer to reality for some students in northern virginia. how one school system is trying to break statewide tradition by when students return from summer break. fighting isis. what iraqis say the u.s. is not doing enough of to help combat militants and the new terror threats facing our men and women in uniform. it will be dry for the morning commute, but by the time you clock out for work you'll want an umbrella. tom is tracking the rain and snow hour by 20 minutes before the hour. a big change could be coming to the school calendar in manassas park. we told you when the school district received a grant to study year-round school. school leaders are ready to present their plan to the community. it includes breaking statewide tradition and starting the year two week before labor day. students would also have more breaks during the year vacations and two intercessions, school days only fordents who need have a help or enrichment. we're posting the information on the nbc washington facebook page. the virginia lottery is searching for eight virginia k through 12 public schoolteachers who go that extra mile for the students. winners receive the coveted title a cash prize and classroom supplies. a panel of distinguished educators and community leaders will select the winners. if you are 18 or older, you can nominate your favorite super teacher. i bet you there are a lot the who are doing a great job. 4:41 is our time. here is a live look outside. 35 degrees here in tenleytown. no moon in that picture. all clouds. >> weather and traffic on the 1s. yeah, just some high clouds drifting over the region right now. all the pavement is dry. maybe a little bit of patchy ice on some sidewalks. when you're driving in your drive time commute should be good. just partly cloudy. temperatures hovering right around the freezing mark by 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.. above freezing after that. early afternoon should be okay but rain and then a wintry mix arrives after sunset. and by then, we'll be dropping back down into the low 40s. a look at the rain/snow timing hour by hour and snow totals forecast for tomorrow that's coming up at 4:51. melissa, how are we doing now? >> still a water main break in bowie. old annapolis road at church road. that cut through right now is completely shut through. megan will be talking with us more about this. 95 into and out of town bw parkway in and out of town no problems there. beltway at colesville everything looking good. inner loop between 395 and brad dwk, dock construction with one lane blocked. 4:43 now. a first in the nation action is receiving a big applause from an hal advocates. what the state is doing to combat animal cruelty. plus what the super bowl season is bringing out of shop 15 before the hour. here is a look at storm team 4 radar. all that mess is a system moving our way. it will bring some rain that will turn into snow for us. tom kierein is timing out when you'll see the most snowflakes. the u.s. is saying the tide is starting to turn in the battle against isis. john kerry says iraq and either allies have made significant progress battling the militants. tracie potts is live on capitol hill now with more. >> reporter: we are flushing them out, that's what secretary of state john kerry said in london after meeting with the allies on this fight against isis and the pentagon backs that up saying thousands of isis fighters including some of their leaders have been killed. iraq's government, not necessarily seeing it that way. brand new this morning, the kurds have launched a new and major offensive, but the prime minister of iraq has said that we're almost on our own. he's calling for more weapons, more training, and more support from the u.s. and its allies. defense second chuck hagel says he disagrees with that and comments like that are not helpful, that we've provided thousands of missiles, armored trucks small arms an ammunition. they're opening up a fourth training camp soon. so some tension there between the united states and iraq on whether or not the u.s. and its allies are doing enough to fight isis. >> tracie potts live for us. thank you. and today we will learn more about how the historic talks between the u.s. and cuba are going. the assistant secretary of say the and cuba's foreign relations minister will hold a news conference today. the two countries are trying to re-establish full diplomatic relations. but sharp differences remain on the topic of human rights. we now know what sparked will this massive fire that destroyed a new jersey condo complex. firefighters say the flames started during a plumbing repair job. a blow torch apparently set the walls on fire and spread from there. that infer thoughno burned for more than 15 hours. friends are mourning 73-year-old dennis lee. he was an active member at american legion post 85. firefighters pulled him out of his burning home early yesterday morning. he died from breathing in too much smoke. he had lived in the house on south randolph for 30 years. firefighters are still trying to figure out what caused the fire. tonight "dateline" will tell the story of a largo man who police say killed five women across prince george's county. p jason scott will spend the rest of his life in jail. he was sentenced to 85 years for two of those murders. i sat down with dennis murphy. he says scott stalked his victims in his own backyard. >> his m.o. was to put on his gear the ski mask with only the eyes showing, and crawl around the backyards of the neighborhoods where he lived. he would see the people during the day and at night he had this secret life and he was out there. >> you can watch more on tonight's "dateline" starting at 10:00 right here on nbc 4. 4:48 now. today is a special one for the men and women who protect lawmakers, staff and visitors every day on capitol hill. the latest group of u.s. capitol police academy cadets will graduate. the ceremony starts today at 11:00. it will include awards presentations for marks man ship driving, academics and physical fitness. and the retirement of colors by the ceremonial unit. congrats. back to business as usual for governor mcauliffe. a spokesman says the governor resumed his schedule of meetings and private events after he was released from the hospital yesterday. mcauliffe posted these pictures on flickr with some school kids at the executive mansion. he broke several ribs while on vacation over the holidays. on monday he checked into the hospital for shortness of breath and had fluid removed from his chest. kind of getting used to the cite of that scaffolding over the capitol. a new phase of the recent orstoration is under way. crews are removing the paint from the exterior. they expect to use 1200 gallons of paint. crews have completed the installation of 720 l.e.d. lights along the scaffolding on they can work after dark. this is the first restoration of the capitol dome since 1959. as the patriots prepare for the super bowl they just conditions shake that deflate-gate. new england's quarterback tom brady says he has no idea how the game balls became deflated during last week's afc championship. brady says he picked the balls before the game and didn't see them again until he was on the field. >> i don't know everything. i also understand that i was in a locker room preparing for a game. i don't know what happened over the course of the process with the footballs. >> brady's take on the ball controversy is the same as coach bill belichick's p. belichick says he wasn't even aware there was a problem with the balls until monday morning. the nfl is investigating, but has yet to interview the patriots. >> and as the nfl sorts out the deflate-gate many of you are already preparing for your super bowl parties. correspond to national retail federation americans will spend on average 67$77 getting ready, that's up from $68 last year. fans will splurge on everything from athletic gear and decorations to game day food and t vchls. and when it comes to tvs more americans are waiting until the super bowl to make that big purchase. shop adviser says 57% more people are buying new tvs for the super bowl than at christmastime. i guess it motivates you if you want to watch it on a big screen look for a good deal. >> always surprises me though. like what happened to last year's tv? that was not good enough anymore. need a bigger one. >> just move the furniture. tom kierein is here. and we're still talking about -- nice haircut by the way. >> oh, yeah. got it yesterday. >> we were talking about the potential for some snow rain, that you will stuff. >> and i don't want to deflate any enthusiasm for snow lover, might be just enough for sledding on saturday. kids will be out of school. right now though it's rain. all the area you see in green, it's coming into tennessee. leading edge just now into southwestern north carolina and extreme southern south carolina. so it's still way far away from the metro area. leading edge of this rain ought to make it in here about 13:30. that will be around 6:00 pchl or so when it does begin to arrive into our southern suburbs. here is the timing on snow arriving. is this as of 6:00 p.m.. the green area is rain but this pink and lavender area, that is some snow that will start to develop in our northern and western suburbs. then start to snow in the washington area, north and western suburbs by 9:00 p.m.. all this green area is rain. so it's coming in a little bit sooner than it was looking like yesterday. then it may go to rain for a time overnight tonight in the metro area. but it ought to say snow north and west of us during the rest of the night and by dawn tomorrow maybe must have snow for you to have to shovel a little bit as you get going on saturday morning. then the rest of saturday maybe lingering snow showers through around noontime. and then some rain after that, as well, south and east. this as of 3:00 p.m.. most of it east of the bay by then. and then it's completely gone. we clear out on saturday night. so the total amounts expected light blue zone, maybe an inch or so. far north and west, could get 3 inches. higher spots could get up around 4 inches. panhandle of west virginia, up near the pennsylvania border. the preliminary look now later today, doug and veronica will have an updated look as we get new model information. right now it's cold. we're in the 20s. afternoon highs reaching the mid-40s. that will play a role on any accumulating snow because i think our pavement temperatures will stay above freezing through the evening hours. as the snow and rain moves on through. and by dawn tomorrow, it probably will be sticking on some untreated surfaces. sun back on sunday. could get more snow on monday with highs in the 30s. cold after that highs only near 30 on tuesday and wednesday. a bit warmer on thursday. that listmelissa has some construction. and maryland 95 north bound approaching powder mill road, which is where this camera is we have the two right lanes blocked for emergency road work there this morning. so hopefully that is out of the way before folks really start heading out of town. 270 at montrose everything looking good. 66 nice and green. lots of movement. exactly what we like to see. maryland 95 -- excuse me, have a 1r59virginia 95 at cardinal that's fine. old annapolis road at church, a water main break. again, just old annapolis road. to get around it, take annapolis road instead. are you looking for a good might cap to help you sleep? ahead at 5:00, there is a new coffee you might want to try. yes, i said coffee. lower gas prices have put extra money in our pockets, but where do all the savings go? why you probably don't even see it. and you throughout the break, keep an eye on radar as a rain and snowstorm approaches. a couple could face jail time for using american girl dolls to rep off stores. the scam involved buying them from a discount website and then returning them for a full refunds. the couple could see a hefty fine and ten years in prison if found guilty. this morning gas is $1.25 cheaper than it was a year ago on average. so what are you doing with all that extra money? cnbc reports the gas savings gave an extra $18 per month per month in 2014. but you didn't save it. apparently we spent the money shopping online eating fast food and dining out at restaurants whenever we could. virginia is leading the way with the first animal law unit in the nation. it aims to combat animal abuse and cruelty. the unit will include designated attorneys to help police and welfare groups this n. prosecuting serious cases of abuse and cruelty. this video shows some puppies rescued from a puppy mill in virginia. some had broken legs and one had gone blind. p the attorney general says policing cruelty is about more than protecting animals. those who harm animals are often connected to drug dealing or illegal gambling. for most of us giving up a pet will be a difficult experience. but to those who train service dogs it's a matter of routine. sara lee is being trained in virginia. the dog will be part of their family for about a year and a half and then placed in service probably with someone with special needs. p. >> we don't consider it giving they will up, we consider it giving them to. so it's a gift from us to the recipient. they always thank you and tell you how happy they are. >> trainers like the masters family are needed. you can visit nbcwashington.com and search service dogs. absolutely essential for a lot of folks who need those types of animals. so anybody who can help out -- >> dogs are incredible companions. they offer so much. all right. stay with us. news 4 today continues now at 5:00 achl. snow and rain showing up on radar. tom kierein says not to worry about it this morning, but if you have plans tonight or tomorrow you could run into some problems. >> let's get right to tom now. >> and you see on the radar that we do have some of that rain now arriving to our south and west. right now temperatures are a little below freezing. the leading edge of that rain now into the carolinas an tennessee. it's advancing to the north. and getting in to the metro area in a little over 13 hours or so. right around 6:00, 7:00 or so. so be prepared for a cold morning this morning. and then during the afternoon, we'll stay dry. but then rain arriving by around sunset. and then it changes over to a mix of some snow and sleet north and west of the metro area. rain south and east overnight