accidentment agaaccident. again, fatal accident. the investigation is underway into exactly what happened here. when we have more information, we'll bring it to you live. >> thank you very much. let's go to danella to see what kind of impacts this is having on the traffic on the beltway. danella? good morning, traveling the inner loop of the beltway, you cannot access connecticut avenue. also, if you're on connecticut avenue, you cannot get on the inner loop of the beltway. a work-around for you. traveling northbound on connecticut avenue, you're going to make a right on university boulevard, then a right on georgia avenue. and you can reconnect to the beltway at this time. now, other issues, we have i-95 northbound shut down. this is at route 80 near the maryland toll house. be aware that we have a tractor-trailer fire. if you're heading out of town, heading to pennsylvania, even new york, your i-95 is shut down at this time. going to keep watching both accidents for you. traveling in the district, we had new york avenue shut down at florida avenue. that looks to be open right now. so again, if this is your

commute, you're good. i'll be back in ten minutes with a look at both the accidents. over to tom. we have a lot of fog on the road. how long is this going to last? >> all the way to mid morning. thanks. we have dense fog. it's really thick. in fact, right along the president obama, right where reagan national is located. south and east, much of southern maryland has very dense fog. visibilities are down to near zero across parts of central virginia. right now, we have it near 40 degrees at washington. in the mid 40s elsewhere across much of west virginia, virginia and maryland. and the densest fog, here's the latest visibilities. down to 1/3 of a mile at reagan national and throughout much of southern maryland, down to a half to 1/3 of a mile. culpeper, visibility, zero. some really thick fog there. west and north, it's really not as bad. the visibilities are around five to ten miles per hour. we still have quite a bit of cloudiness around. there may be a few lingering sprinkles around the panhandle of west virginia.

there's the live view from the city camera. reagan national airport is lost there in the fog. you can barely make out the lights of the airport now. by 9:00, a lot of the fog will be dissipating. we still may have poppy fog around. sun -- patchy fog around. sunrise at 6:57. mostly sunny through the rest of the afternoon with mild temperatures for february, mid 50s by mid-afternoon. we'll have the friday evening planner in ten minutes. that's the way it looks right now. eun? >> thank you very much. preparation in prince george's county. two children are in the hospital after a fire ripped through their home. firefighters tell us the flames started in a townhouse along hillmar drive in district heights around 2:00 a.m. the flames started in the kitchen. a 3-year-old and 9-year-old were taken to the hospital. we're told the 3-year-old is in critical condition. we have a crew on the way to the scene. we'll bring you the latest as soon as it becomes available. now to a developing and shocking story out of long

beach, california. law enforcement officers shooting each other. one federal agent is dead and another injured in the shootings at an immigration and customs enforcement or i.c.e. office. a long beach official says it appears that an agent who worked in the office opened fire on his superior after getting into an argument. federal investigators say that a third agent then opened fire on the shooter, killing him. authority believe the shooter was acting alone and this was an isolated incident. today congress is expected to vote on the payroll tax cut extension. the bill keeps the 2% point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year, it also reduces unemployment benefits from 99 weeks to, at most, 73 weeks. there was some controversy over the bill as the payroll tax cut is not paid for, adding $100 billion to the deficit. this is congress' last day before going on break next week. this morning an elementary school in virginia is closed because of a norovirus outbreak.

the teachers and students at cople elementary school. virginia health department officials says if your child experiences any symptoms of norovirus keep him or her home at least 48 hours after the symptoms have ended before sending your child back to class. metro is helping george washington university in a cleanup effort to prevent the norovirus from spreading there. officials are asking students to wash hands more often, and metro wiped down the surfaces at the foggy bottom station which services both the g. with campus and hospital. the national harbor in prince george's county could be home to a las vegas-style casino. some county residents like the idea, but it's causing controversy with county leaders. in a statement, an executive says we should develop a world-class facility that

features gaming, live shows, and lodging. he wants to build the facility in a vacant area of the harbor. baker estimates the facility would cost $1 billion and bring 5,000 jobs to the county. county residents tell news4 they like the idea of creating jobs, given the tough economy. >> think it's a good thing for the community. i definitely think it's a good thing, you know, because it's definitely rough out here. definitely rough. >> a lot of people want jobs. it's hard to find jobs. >> i don't mind. it brings money to the county and jobs. they're leaving the county to do it anyway, go to other places, so why not? >> prince george's county members of the maryland legislature have complained about the proposal. they say they had no advance knowledge of it. some fear it could damage a proposed slots bill. the journalism world is mourning the loss of one of its own. will pulitzer prize winner died from an asthma attack.

shadeed worked at the "washington post" before going to the times time. he was recently reporting on the uprising in lebanon. maryland lawmakers could vote on the same-sex marriage bill as early as this afternoon. the effective date would be from october to january next year. the sponsor of the amendment says the move will allow more time to bring the subject of gay marriage to voter referendum. advocates for same-sex marriage have been working this week to collect the last couple of votes needed to reach the 71 required to pass the bill. new jersey lawmakers voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage there. the state assembly voted to approve it 42-33. the bill is expected to arrive on governor chris christie's desk today. however, he's promised to veto the legislation. right now there are not enough vetoes to override -- rather, not enough votes to override a veto.

now to decision 2012 where rick santorum defended a comment made by one of his financial backers. foster freese, a businessman who has donated hundreds of thousands to the campaign, was on "andrea mitchell reports." in a response to the debate over birth control, he said, "back in my days, they used bayer aspirin for contraception. the gals put it in between their knees, and it wasn't that costly." later, santorum refused to denounce the comments saying he disagrees with the use of contraception. he did say, however, that birth control would still be available if he were to become president. right now the controversy isn't hurting santorum, who's leading mitt romney in michigan with a week and a half to go before the state's primary. santorum leads romney 34% to 30.4% among likely republican voters, with newt gingrich and ron paul a distant third and fourth. this primary is a big one for romney, who was born in michigan. if he does not win the wolverine state, it could spell big

trouble for his campaign. the murder trial of a former university of virginia lacrosse player is set to resume today after it was postponed because of george huguely's -- one of george huguely's attorneys was sick. wednesday the defense called the first witness, the medical expert said love died in a pool of blood while laying facedown on her pillow. prosecutors say huguely killed his ex-girlfriend in a jealous rage in may of 2010, slamming her head into a wall. huguely says he's not guilty. earlier this week the judge said if a verdict is not reached by today, court will be held tomorrow. 4:38 the time now. ahead on "news4 today," a slip-up that landed a person in jail. the discovery the secret service made after a plane got a little too close to president obama's helicopter. an emotional bobby brown reflects on the death of whitney

houston. plus, more on that winter storm that is moving into our area.

weather weather -- weather & traffic on the 1s, good morning. we have dense fog deal with this morning. visibilities are down to near zero across parts of north zero virginia. culpeper, visible near zero. these are the visibilities, .3

of a mile, manassas, the district, southern maryland including prince george's county. montgomery county and points west and north, visibilities around five to ten miles. really the fog is confined to areas in northern virginia, the district, and points south and east where temperatures are in the low 40s. in the mid 40s farther west and north. we have a partly cloudy to mostly cloudy sky. there may be a few sprinkles coming from the clouds in the panhandle of west virginia, northern shenandoah valley, and loudoun county. here's the day planner. sunrise, 6:57. fog breaking up mid morning. sunshine during the afternoon, highs reaching the mid 50s. overnight tonight, we'll have a clear and breezy evening. temperatures down to near 40 by midnight. we could have low impact from the storm on sunday. details on that in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? breaking news on the beltway. if you're traveling the inner loop of the beltway, we have a serious accident that right now has all of your inner loop lanes shut down at connecticut avenue. the accident is just past

connecticut avenue involving a tractor-trailer. you can see this is a live shot now. congestion is building. let me show you on the map, if you're traveling the inner loop of the beltway, again, the accident is just past connecticut avenue. so you have to get off at connecticut avenue. once you're on connecticut avenue, continue to travel northbound on connecticut avenue, make a right on university boulevard, then a right on georgia avenue. you can reconnect to the beltway at this time. also, another serious accident involving a tractor-trailer on fire. right now has all of your northbound i-95 lanes shut down. this is at route 80 near the maryland toll house. going to keep watching this accident for you. this is going to impact you if you're thinking of heading out of town this morning. another thing you're dealing with on the road is fog. a live look now at 395 at edsall. no accidents in this area. but low visibility. please give yourself extra time to slow down this morning. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you. 4:43. come to coming, cashing in on her note right, the money amanda

knox is getting to share her story in a book. plus, an unexpected surprise. the unexpected addition to the white house tour c

welcome back. the american exchange student accused of murdering her roommate in italy signed with harper collins to publish a memoir about the four years she spent in an italian prison. she was convicted in 2009 of murder while studying in italy. the verdict was overturned last october. the terms of the deal have not been released. the associated press reports the deal is worth about $4 million. a developing story in thailand. police say they're on the hunt for two more suspects in a botched terror plot against israeli diplomats. yesterday authorities in bangkok arrested a group of men

suspected of planning terrorist attacks. earlier this week there were two separate attacks on israeli diplomats in india and in the country of georgia. israel blames iran for these attacks and says this is more evidence that iran needs tougher sanctions against it. meanwhile, the united nations general assembly voted for an arab league plan to call for president bashar al assad to step down. u.s. ambassador to the united states, susan rice, says this is a clear message that assad has never been more isolated, and there must be a move to democracy. the u.n. also said there were possible crimes against humanity taking place in syria, and the people there need help immediately. final preparations are underway for whitney houston's private funeral tomorrow in newark, new jersey. aretha franklin and stevie wonder will sing. meanwhile, a los angeles radio station suspended radio host john coleville and ken shampoo for making insensitive and inappropriate comments about the late singer. the radio hosts said houston was

"cracked out for 20 years," amg other things. kfaim says that management does not condone, support, or tolerate statement this kind. houston died saturday at the beverly hiltdon hotel. investigators are trying to determine the cause of death. she was 48 years old. ♪ houston's ex-husband bobby brown was in prince george's county last night. he's on tour with the r&b group new edition. during the show, he paid tribute to houston. >> i'm going to throw two up for whitney. [ cheers ] >> that's my love. life is life. you have to move on sometimes. i love her like i love god.

>> brown is expected to attend houston's funeral tomorrow at the new hope baptist church in newark. one of baseball's best catchers has passed away. gary carter died yesterday after a nine-month battle with brain cancer. nicknamed "the kid," carter was an 11 time all-star who played for the expos, mets, giants, and dodgers before retiring in 1992. he was the first player to be inducted to the baseball hall of fame with the montreal expos' cap on his plaque. carter was 57 years old. today the maryland state senate will vote whether to discipline one of its own. last night, an ethics committee unanimously recommended to send -- a sense sure against prince george's county democrat ulysses curry and suggested he be stripped of his leadership roles. curry failed to disclose earnings from shoppers food warehouse while voting on legislation that benefited the chain a few years ago. the court ruled that while it was a conflict of interest, his

actions were not criminal. an aide to former maryland governor robert ehrlich will spend 30 days on house arrest for his involvement in a robo call scheme. paul shuric was convicted of conspiring to committed fraud. he tried to suppress a black vote with a robo call that went to voters in prince george's county in 1998. the call said martin o'malley had won before polls closed. yesterday, a final fare to joshua weissman. he died last week responding to a car fire on i-395 in shirlington. weissman was buried at ivy hills cemetery at a memorial dedicated to other first responders. this morning the faa is investigating reports that an intoxicated pilot was prevented from boarding a flight in omaha.

frontier airlines flight 1894 was supposed to leave for milwaukee at 6:00 a.m. yesterday morning. the flight was delayed for two hours. a frontier airlines spokesperson says they started its own investigation, but since it is a personnel issue, the company cannot comment on the specifics of the case. the pilot's name has not been released. you might say president obama played a role in a drug bust. a plane flew into the protected airspace while the president was on board. the plane was escorted to a nearby airport. authorities found more than 20 pounds of marijuana on board. the secret service says the president was never in danger. some people visiting the white house got more than they expected. first lady michelle obama dropped in on a few of yesterday's tours. >> don't cry! it's tough to see, but the first

dog bo is next to mrs. boinl -- mrs. obama. mrs. obama and the dog ushering people through the public rooms. the first lady even shook hands with one teenager wearing a ron paul t-shirt. little awkward there. the first lady's impromptu meet and greet lasted an hour. she spoke about sightseeing in d.c., food, and her let's move campaign. >> and i wonder if bo shook hands -- shook paws. >> he's very popular, that bo. >> getting big. >> what a treat. fun. >> that was really nice. >> it remains to be seen if i'll be popular by sunday. we'll find out about that. >> snow lovers. >> yes, we have the potential for the biggest storm so far. the most we've had in any individual storm has only been a couple of inches. we may get a little more than that on sunday. right now, though, ever woo --

have to deal with fog. .3 mile at reagan national as well as southern maryland, central virginia near zero visibility. that's at culpeper. farther west and north, visibility in leesburg is ten miles. so the fog pretty much confined to northern virginia, southern maryland, temperatures in those regions are right in the low 40s now, and farther west and north, mid 40s. shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge and into the mountains. and as we look at what's been happening the last 12 hours, we've had the cloud cover breaking up a little bit which has allowed fog to form. we may be getting sprinkles here, the specks of green, northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. this is the view from our city camera. barely able to make out the lights there at reagan national, it's so foggy. temperatures by 9:00, mid 40s, fog dissipating. lots of sun, special the mid 50s. here's the planner, a clear and breezy, chilly friday night. down to the low 40s pie midnight. then by -- by midnight. then by dawn, near 30.

increasing clouds, near the mid 50s. we could get rain developing by late saturday night, predawn sunday. that does now look like it's going to be changing over to snow during the day on sunday. ending sunday evening. then we get sun back on monday into tuesday. maybe some rain midweek next week. here's the storm impacts. i'm expecting an area in lighter blue are the areas of low impact, meaning maybe only a couple of inches of snow. the moderate impact zone farther west and north, southwest and -- that area, they could get perhaps four inches or more. we'll have a much better idea in the amounts as we get closer, especially later today and into tomorrow. now danella, how's traffic? still following breaking news on the beltway. traveling the inner loop of the beltway, your lanes are shut down right now at connecticut avenue. have a fatal accident there. and your road is closed. if you're traveling on the beltway, they're going to put you on to connecticut avenue. from there, you want to head northbound, and you want to make a right on university boulevard,

then a right on georgia avenue. you can reconnect to the beltway at that time. if you're traveling the beltway in virginia, we're seeing fog on many of the roadways here. please slow down and give yourself extra time. no accidents on the beltway in virginia. traveling on i-95, still following that accident there, this is near the toll -- the maryland toll house, all of your northbound lanes are still closed at this time. back to you. >> thank you. coming up, a warning for parents, you may need to double check your kid's toothbrush. the problem the fda says one model can cause for kids. keeping drivers focused on the road. the changes the government wants automakers to ma

good morning. welcome back. virginia lawmakers killed a bill that would have cracked down on texting and driving. right now it is a secondary offense. you can only be ticketed for texting if you're pulled over for another offense like speeding. the proposed bill would have made it a primary offense, but that lost. texting isn't the only thing distracting drivers. safety experts say the whole dashboard is just as bad with everything from navigation to your cell phone and even the climate control linked to interactive dashboard displays. a lot can be going on right in front of the driver. now the national transportation safety board wants to disable certain features while you drive, especially like web

browsing. yeah, it could easily distract. car dealers say the electronics are built in with safety in mind. >> it's designed to keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel. it's designed to be a safety feature as well as convenient. if they started making it mandatory to not put technology in or restrict the use, it would hurt sales. >> but shopping or looking for flights on the web while driving could be tricky. safety experts say that they don't want to get rid of all the features, they just want them to be available only when the car is in park. the fda issued a warning about a battery-powered toothbrush. the warning is for the arm and hammer spin brush known as the crest spin brush. the fda says there have been several reports of injuries including chipped teeth, cuts to the mouth and gums, swallowing and choking on broken pieces, as well as injuries to the face and eyes. the fda says users should inspect the spin brush for damage or loose bristles before each use.