closer to washington, low to mid teens through much of the region. near 20 by the bay. the view from space showing a clear sky. we also have meteors streaking through our sky right now. highs today will only be reaching around the freezing mark. a look at your evening planner coming up in ten minutes. danella's back. good morning. happy new year. >> good morning. happy new year. great to be back. not a lot of problems on the roadway. had some construction i saw driving in. this one outer loop new hampshire avenue on the left side of the roadway. if you're taking the inner loop, did see some construction on the right side of the roadway, and you're clear in both directions f you're traveling on i-95, no issues there. continuing on to 395, not a problem at this time. now back to you both. >> danella, thanks. 4:30 now. the votes are in from iowa, and it reflects a divided republican party. mitt romney defeated rick

santorum by a mere eight votes. >> and one candidate is reevaluating his campaign while others are looking to other states to boost their chances. nbc's tracie potts joins us from des moines, iowa, with more on the caucuses and what it all means for the candidates. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. after a very long night here in iowa and results early this morning, mitt romney finally able to claim victory in these kauss in what we believe to be the closest victory ever, so close, in fact, that we had to wait until every vote was counted. >> congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 iowa caucuses. >> reporter: hours after the candidate spoke, iowa republicans called it. mitt romney wins by just eight votes. >> this is a campaign night where america wins. on to new hampshire. >> reporter: senator john mccain's expected to endorse romney in new hampshire today. >> thank you so much, iowa. >> reporter: it's a big win too for rick santorum.

he got 25% after polling in single digits just a few weeks ago. >> we will in new hampshire. we'll leave tomorrow. we'll spend our time there. and with your help and god's grace, we'll have another fun night a week from now. >> reporter: ron paul came in third and thanked an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. >> we will go on. we will raise the money. >> reporter: but romney's biggest challenge may come from newt gingrich, who vowed to fight negative ads by attacking romney's record. >> if the truth seems negative, that may be more a comment on his record than it is on politics. >> reporter: coming in next to last, rick perry announced he's suspending his campaign. >> with the voters' decision tonight in iowa, i've decided to return to texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race. >> reporter: michele bachmann

came in dead last but gave no indication that she's quitting. >> i believe i am that true conservative who can and will defeat barack obama in 2012. >> reporter: republicans moving on to new hampshire with a virt actual tie at the top. this was the smallest win in the iowa caucuses in at least three decades. that is the latest live this morning from des moines, iowa. i'm tracie potts. back to you. >> tracie, thank you. entrance polls before the caucuses showed why santorum and romney fared so well with iowa voters. the survey showed santorum was popular with tea party and evangelical voters, who make up about 60% of all caucus voters, while about one-third of voters wanted a candidate who could beat president obama in november, and about half of voters see mitt romney as that effort. meanwhile, ron paul used his strong grass roots effort to win over younger voters and led a preference for all caucusgoers under the age of 30.

stick with nbc 4 and nbcwashington.com this morning for more on the iowa caucuses, what the candidates are saying, and the run-up to the polls next week in new hampshire. d.c. council member harry thomas is in talks with prosecutors to reach a plea agreement. no agreement has been reached at this time. thomas is being investigated for misspending $300,000 in district funds. fbi and irs agents raided his home last month. he has not been formally charged with any crimes, though. thomas promised to repay all of the money, but yesterday he failed to make a $50,000 payment to the district, and if he is ten days late, he could face more penalties. the d.c. council will meet at 10:00 this morning for its first legislative meeting of the year. snowstorms could bring more headaches for property owners and businesses in the district. council members will vote on a

bill today that would allow districts to issue tickets to property owners who don't clear snow from adjacent sidewalks. homeowners could face $25 fines. businesses could face fines of $250 or more. the proposal says that sidewalks would have to be cleared within eight daylight hours after a snowfall has stopped. if the bill passes, it won't take effect until after this winter. this morning d.c. police are trying to figure out who shot and killed a man inside his home. the deadly shooting happened last night in the 1500 block of 45th street northeast near the d.c. and maryland now. investigators have not released any details about a possible suspect or motive in the murder. this is the second murder in d.c. this year. and montgomery county police found opened and closed beer inside an suv that crashed on new year's, leaving two people dead. police say 20-year-old nicholas kaitlin and 18-year-old kate gallagher died when the suv they

were riding in crashed into a tree in bethesda, virginia. the driver and two other passengers survived. all lines of the beltway is open again in the tysons corner area as crews demolishing the old lewinsville bridge are through with their work from overnight. it's one of 20 bridges being replaced as one of the hot lanes project. the new bridge opened back in august. for the next month or so, crews will be demolishing the bridge during the overnight hours, and that means the lanes on the inner loop and outer loops of the beltway will have to be closed from time to time during the demolition. the "washington examiner" is reporting that inspectors from the d.c. department of health came to mcpherson square to investigate an increase of rats in the area. protesters shut down their kitchen after the inspection. they hope to reopen tomorrow

when health officials return to the karcamp. mayor vincent gray reportedly ordered the inspections. he'll receive a report on friday about conditions at mcpherson square and the occupy d.c. camp at freedom plaza. we'll find out tomorrow how the pentagon plans to implement proposed budget cuts. the plan will include $450 billion in cuts over the next decade. it would also include cuts in personnel, delay or cut back weapons production, and try to control health care costs within the military. if congress deadlocks on the spending, the pentagon may have to find an additional $550 billion in cuts. virginia lieutenant governor bill bolling says he will limit his tiebreaking vote in the senate's upcoming session. the 40 members will be evenly split between republicans and democrats when the virginia general assembly convenes next wednesday. bolling says he can vote on most issues that result in a tie but will not vote on final passage of bills such as the budget,

amendments, and the election of judges. we're getting the first taste of winter weather this year. bitter cold winds are blasting the region. we found people bundled up braving the cold in arlington. we talked to a construction worker along route 50 who worked all night. he says he stays home by working hard in this frigid weather. >> keep moving and keep your body warm. we'll be okay. >> in silver spring, we found some people making the best of that cold weather. dozens of people hit the ice last night at the ice skating rink in veterans plaza. >> the place to be. >> there you go. i don't know. i think it's too cold to be outside for ice skating too. ahead on "news 4 today," a day in court for a suspected arsonist as his mother weighs in on the dozens of fires he's

weather and traffic on the ones. good morning. 4:41 on this wednesday morning, a frigid start. temperatures around the region are down to the single digits in parts of the shenandoah valley and western maryland and the mountains. closer to washington, low to mid teens now. 17 at reagan national. near the bay, it's near 20. and the view from space showing a clear sky here now.

we do have clouds to our southwest. we'll have a few of those clouds developing as the day progresses. here's your day planner. sunrise at 7:27. by 9:00, it will just be in the low 20s. then getting quite cloudy by noontime, the upper 20s. then near the freezing mark during the afternoon as we cloud up. then this evening, here's your evening planner. we'll have a lot of clouds around but not as cold. it will be down in the upper 20s by midnight. a look at the warming trend for the end of the week and the weekend in 20 minutes. danella, how's traffic? so far a nice commute if you're getting ready to head out of the house. if you're traveling up i-270, not seeing any issues. heading towards clarksburg up the beltway, not seeing any problems. if you're making your way 270 north, no accidents, south as well, connecting to the beltway, no issues for you. i-66 at sully road, both east and west, no issues on i-66. travel speed from the fairfax county parkway to the capitol beltway, it will take you 11

minutes, and your speed 57 miles per hour, not so bad. i'm back in ten minutes with another look at your traffic. >> thank you, danella. 4:42. 19 degrees. 19 degrees, joe. still to come, new developments in the christmas morning fire that killed five people in connecticut. why the children looking out for santa claus likely played a

the man responsible for setting more than 50 fires in southern california makes his first appearance in court today. harry burkhart went on a rampage last week setting fire to cars and houses. his mother faces legal troubles

of her own. dorothee burkhart was in court yesterday and seemed surprised that police arrested her son. she claims he is mentally ill. ashes were removed from the fireplace in the connecticut fire so the children wouldn't worry about santa claus coming down the chimney of the the smoldering embers started the fire that killed 10-year-old lily and 7-year-old twins grace and sarah badger and their grandparents. the girl's mother escaped the fire along with a friend. a funeral service will be held tomorrow in new york city with the girls. police in new york city arrested a man on hate crime charges after an arson spree. ray legend confessed to throwing molotov cocktails inside a deli shop, two homes in queens, and an islamic cultural center. no one was injured. legend is now in the hospital for a psychiatric exam. this morning a couple wanted for a deadly crime spree in two states is waking up in jail. police arrested logan mcfarland and angela hill in the nevada

desert near the utah border. they were spotted by airplane wandering in the desert. the two are accused of shooting and killing an elderly couple in utah and then shooting a woman in the head outside a casino during a carjacking in nevada. police in montgomery county need your help finding this robber who they're calling the bandage bandit. they say he held up a cvs in montgomery village on christmas eve, and he wasn't after money. he wanted prescription drugs. police say the robber went to the pharmacy counter and told the pharmacist he had a gun. he demanded prescription drugs and made off with an undiscloseded amount of oxycont oxycontin. no one was hurt. a u.s. park ranger in washington state had close ties to the d.c. region. margaret anderson was shot while trying to catch a man who didn't stop at a checkpoint in mt. rainier national park on new year's day. before anderson moved to washington state, she patrolled the c&o national historical park and also worked as a medic there. those who worked alongside her

said that anderson would be missed. >> she was great. she was spunky, one of the nicest, sweetest people you would ever meet. >> she was outstanding. i think in this world there's some people that are just make the world a better place, and she was one of those. >> police say that 24-year-old benjamin barnes killed anderson. he was an army veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. authorities found his body on the park grounds. thinking of buying a hybrid car. a lawsuit one california woman is filing against honda might make you think twice about it. heather peter says her honda civic hybrid didn't get the great gas mileage she was promised. instead of getting 50 miles per gallon, she claimed she got 30. peter said she never would have purchased the car if that was the mileage she'd receive. a technical expert from honda says mileage varies depending on how the car is driven. the alexandria waterfront in

old town will hold a support rally. waterfront for all will host the rally at pork barrel at 7:00 tonight. the redevelopment plan was overturned. the longstanding ban on hotels along the waterfront. those against the plan are concerned about the impact of more hotels and housing along the potomac river. the public hearing and possible city council vote is set for january 21st. a longtime music store in dupont circle announced it is closing this year. the owners of melody record shop on connecticut avenue northwest. they say they would love to stay open but changing technology and a difficult economy have taken their toll. they say for the past 34 years melody has adapted from vinyl, to eight track, to cassettes, cds, and back to vinyl. the store will close for good this winter. an official date has not been announced. a family is waking up with their dog after he vanished from his home in owings mills. dodger reunited with his owners

thanks to high tech help. someone found him in severna park last night and used a microchip to track down his owners, who are now living in north carolina. dodger has a few scrapes and missing some teeth, but his family is happy that he is back home. >> that's what happens. you run the world for a while, you might miss some teeth after four years. you don't get regular food. >> that technology is really incredible. the humane society will do it for -- i forget how much. $30 or less, and it helps you keep track of your pet. it's a good idea. >> i need one of those installed in my keys or my glasses. >> i'm not going to say my children because i'm going to get phone calls, right? oh, my goodness. this morning speaking of children heading off to school, you have to convince them they've got to wear their very warmest winter gear. mittens and hats and your heaviest coast. layer up this morning. it is a frigid start.

right now it is a frigid 17 degrees at reagan national. it's very dry. winds out of the north/northwest around 5 to 10 miles an hour. windchills in single digits. it's not much wind, certainly not as much as we had yesterday, but look at these temperatures. it is down to the upper single digits. that's near 10 degrees now. shenandoah valley and around the blue ridge and as well out in western maryland and much of west virginia. closer to washington, only the low teens to near 10 degrees. just west and north of washington. south and east in prince george's county and fairfax county, mid-teens. upper teens eastern shore and much of southern maryland. a few clouds coming in from the south and west. those clouds are covering the sky over the southern shenandoah valley and west of fredericksburg, but closer to washington we have a clear sky. you may see a few spraetreaks o light. we've got a meteor shower under way. you may see a few if you take a couple of seconds to look up at

the sky. i know it's so cold. you don't want to spend much time looking up at the sky. here's your day planner. we'll have sunshine this morning and quickly clouding up this afternoon. we'll make it above freezing early afternoon. with the cloud cover in tonight, not as cold. during the early evening hours, down in the upper 20s by midnight. by dawn tomorrow, not as cold. should be down in the 20s. during the day on thursday, warmer weather with sunshine into the mid-40s. even milder on friday and saturday. near 50 degrees friday, saturday afternoon, mid-50s. clouds around on sunday. small chance of a sprinkle, and then into next week, highs mid-40s and clouds in and out. danella, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. we have an early morning accident on the beltway at river road affecting both the inner loop and the outer loop. if you're on the inner loop, cars passing single file on the right side of the roadway. fire and police are both on the scene here of this accident. and if you're traveling on the outer loop, had a car down here.

it looked to be a fire truck. looks to be out of the way. just to be safe, as you're approaching river road, it's going to be on the left side, right around the shoulder lane as they're responding to the accident here. i'm going to keep watching this and let you know when you get your lanes back. if you're taking the beltway in virginia, this is the view at robinson terminal. not seeing any problems in either direction. virginia tech fans have a sour taste in their mouths this morning after last night's allstate sugar bowl. the hokies fell to michigan 23-20 in overtime. virginia tech scored a touchdown in ot, but it was negated when officials ruled the receiver never had possession of the ball. their place kicker then missed a field goal. that still would have given the hokies the lead. michigan's place kicker later came through in the clutch by nailing a field goal to win the game for the wolverines. virginia tech finished the season with an 11-3 record. still something to be proud of. >> indeed. the newfound consistency in the new year has given the caps their fourth straight win.

they beat the calgary flames 3-1 last night at the verizon center in a game they dominated from the beginning to the end. it all started with alex ovechkin who scored his fifth goal in three games and his 17th this season. niklas backstrom also had assists on each goal, and defenseman mike green played his first game after missing 23 straight games due to an injury. good to have him back. >> nice to see them coming together, winning some games. time is 4:54. coming up, that morning caffeine jolt that a lot of us need is

good morning. welcome back. be prepared to pay a little more if you're flying delta airlines to europe. delta just added a $3 surcharge for flights between the u.s. and europe. the new charge offsets the european union's new carbon law, which charges airlines for carbon emissions on flights to and from the continent. delta is the first airline to implement a surcharge because of the new law. the morning stop at starbucks is about to get a lot more expensive for a lost us. the coffee chain is raising prices, includeing in washington d.c., about 1%. it averages out to 10 cents for

its 12-ounce tall drinks. starbucks adjusts prices based on individual markets. if you're looking for quality education at an affo affordable price, you don't have to go very far. k k kiplinger is out with its list of the best values in the country. university of virginia ranked third in the nation. william and mary in fourth. university of maryland at college park finished in the top ten at number eight. james madison ranked 28. and george mason was 50th on the best values list. the university of north carolina at chapel hill was first on the list for the 11th consecutive time. we could see gas prices going up again. congress chose not to renew a 30-year federal subsidy for ethanol which expired sunday. that means gas prices could cost 4.5 cents a gallon more starting as early as this week. >> you don't like that. >> no, don't like that.

a police officer in illinois is being sued for allegedly asking a woman on a date after issuing her a speeding ticket. >> what do you think about this? . lawsuit says two days after the ticket was issued the officer left a note on her car outside her chicago apartment asking her out. part of the message said, "i did cost you $132. least i could do is buy you dinner." the woman says the officer violated her privacy by searching motor vehicle records for her address. she is seeking unspecified payments in damages. >> he thought he was being clever trying to ask her out. >> the pickup line didn't work that time. >> no. it's too bad. stay with us. "news 4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 io