. >> debra alfarone joins us from the weather terrace with more on what this storm has done so far. >> snow as we all know can do a heck of a lot of damage around here. so imagine what it can do to a place like texas. we start tonight in lubbock, texas, where icy roads cause multiple car crashes and even had tow truck driver planning to stay away. >> just a regular tow going here to there, we wouldn't go do it. it's not safe enough. >> reporter: 120 miles up i-27 is amarillo. folks there received up to a foot of snow, but you know that famous line about neither snow nor rain? >> this is what we do. this is our job. >> reporter: but letter carriers like tex roberts would appreciate a little help. >> it would be great if the homeowners would make a path for us on their porches and ály make sure it's not icy and slippery. >> reporter: heading east to little rock, arkansas, not much snow or ice, but the city is ready even if they aren't happy

a lot of people get away with murder. >> reporter: debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> next how the u.s. military is helping crews searching for air asia fli >>> as search crews recover more wreckage from flight 8501 officials say they've found the tail of the crashed jetliner. >> sonar identified five large pieces on the ocean floor, but strong currents are keeping search and rescue teams from getting closer. the uss fort worth is deploying helicopters and small boats and sonar equipment. >> it can find something as big as an airplane or small as a golf ball. >> earlier today victims' relatives were offered the chance to visit the site where the plane crashed into the sea. of the 162 passengers missing only 17 bodies have been recovered so far. >>> speaking of cold air blasts, a lot of frigid air is moving in. we're bracing >>> always watching always tracking wusa9 first alert weather. >> welcome back. i'm first alert meteorologist erica grow taking a live look with the michael and son weather cam, the full moon getting shrouded by some of that cloud cover, kind of an eerie sight as clo

debra alfarone was there and joins us live now from annapolis. >> reporter: so many people had so many questions, mainly how can a 16,000 square foot mansion burn to the ground and no one get out alive? tonight we are learning investigators are saying if it wasn't for the existence of this christmas tree in the home, this could be entirely different. >> the fuel from the christmas tree created the significant amount of fire and heat for the fire to spread as quickly as it did. >> reporter: an immeasurable tragedy sparked by something that was supposed to bring happiness, a christmas tree. an electrical fire near a real christmas tree as tall as 15 feet high led to an inferno that don and sandy pyle and their four grandchildren alexis, kaitlin, charlotte and wes were unable to escape. >> as a father of two, i can't imagine the horrendous pain of losing these innocent children. >> reporter: this video from the national fire prevention association shows a dried out tree on fire on the left and a watered tree catching on fire on the right. investigators are cautious to say they don't know

debra alfarone brings you inside a story that might make you realize we're all more alike than you think. >> reporter: in a room inside d.c.'s largest homeless shelter are more than a dozen people. one with a violin, all with a story. >> we were always getting our electricity and phone cut off and one missed payment away from losing the roof over our head. >> reporter: rachel barton pine is playing it forward. as a child her family struggled with poverty. at age 20 her left leg was severed. her right one was mangled in a chicago train accident. >> my family had left the family by that point and sure enough, he became homeless. >> reporter: she credits a shelter not unlike the 1 we're in today with helping her dad turn his life around. barton pine now plays as a soloist with orchestras around the world. >> her story is almost like mifather was homeless. >> reporter: although admittedly beautiful, it's not just her music. >> she's like michael jackson with that violin. >> reporter: it's her message. >> she's a normal person that has a background like all of us and she had to go through man

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone. fire investigators say if that christmas tree that was more than 60 days old was not in that mansion, this story could have a did he different ending. >> the investigation -- a very different ending. >> the investigation team concluded the christmas tree and the furnishings was ignited. >> as a father of two, i cannot man the -- man the horrendous pain of losing two children. >> reporter: this video shows a watered tree on the right and a dried out tree on the left. investigators don't know if the tree at the pyle mansion was dry, but it was cut down over 60 days prior to that fire. >> this fire was the result of a tragic accident that occurred at the absolutely worst possible time, while the pyles and their grandchildren were sleeping. >> reporter: investigators did say there were smoke alarms in the home and they are working. they say they'll try to recreate the fire with a similar tree to see if they can learn exactly why this happened. in anne arundel county, debra alfarone, wusa9

in fairfax county, debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> right now one man is being treated for burns after this townhouse caught fire in alexandria this afternoon. and the authorities would have gotten started in one home and quickly spread to others as they would try to determine what sparked that blaze in the first place. >>> the dump truck crunches two police cruisers as we told you about this last night. but now we've got the video in a big update. this surveillance video shows the truck ramming in to those two parked police counties of prince george's county police cars. now the officers were nearby, but they did not get hurt as this all happened yesterday at the wood moore mall in glenn artist. police have released the man's name. he is now charged with the attempted murder of those two police officers. >>> well imagine this you start off 2015 with a million backs in your -- bucks in your pockets. she matched the first five numbers of the megamillions drawing. bad news is she could have won $172 million if she just matched that megaball number, but $1 million is still cool. she bought the

debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> i know what you may be thinking. what about the commute tomorrow morning? the bad weather could make that a little tougher as well, so our morning newscast will start 25 minutes early at 5 a.m. we'll have crews dispatched to the harder hit areas and our meteorologist will keep an eye on these freezing temperatures. when you're away from can get the latest weather, news and school closings on your phone. download the wusa9 news app free on apple or android. >>> our other top story, today a judge sentenced former virginia governor bob mcdonnell to two years in prison for federal corruption. peggy fox has been covering this story from the very beginning. she joins us live from richmond with more on what the former governor said as he left the courthouse. >> reporter: i can tell you this. family and friends are relieved with this two year sentence. it could have been much higher. the judge said he was using his discretion, although he said he needed to give a significant sentence because he said while it may have been bo

. >> i'm debra alfarone. the scene of last week's tragic mansion fire here in annapolis. investigators believe they've found the sixth and final victim in the charred remains. >> reporter: cold, snow-covered lonely. as if this make shift shrine to the little lost angels and their grandparent could be anymore sad. wusa 9 has the only camera rolling as the crane used in the investigation left the scene today. police haven't confirmed if any of the bodies fire investigators found in the charred rubble at what used to be 936 childspoint road are the couple or their grand kids. fire investigation consultants out of pasadena, maryland. wusa 9 had the only camera rolling as their truck rolled in. we can exclusively confirm tonight the family's insurance company hired them to investigate. anne arundel county fire investigators say they believe they're going to be here for another two days as they try to figure out what happened. in annapolis, debra alfarone, wusa 9. >> fire investigators said they do anticipate being on the scene of the deadly fire for another two more days. >>>

. >> debra alfarone spoke to riders and you may not be too terribly surprised to hear ha they had to say about this. >> reporter: if it passes riders would say 10 cents more tallied the train or bus. -- to ride the train or bus. what do you think people say about this? >> oh my gosh. >> i know for the price it's too high. >> reporter: not only that, if metro's board's plan is approved. your train could come less frequently. at peak, it would increase from every six minutes to every eight. off peak, from every 12 minutes to every 15. >> it's not fair at all because it takes me $15 to get from maryland to here and back and the parking, it's a lot of money. $15 a day? >> i think they -- met reneeds to be a little bit careful when it proposes price increase to also propose service improvements at the same time to build the confidence of people riding the metro. >> reporter: no surprise riders don't like this. the surprise is, more people are are riding metro trains after last week's deadly incident. wusa9 requested ridership info specifically. the tuesday after this horrific tragedy, rid

debra alfarone is live at marshall high school with more. >> reporter: one word to describe the school system to keep it open? it failed. this is as good as it gets. seriously, this is fine as you lead up to marshall high school but that was a really unpopular decision. lots of people tweeting me earlier saying it was really just hell getting out there on the roads. i want to show what you it looked like earlier. video of snow conditions throughout fairfax. let me tell you a little bit more about this decision to keep the schools open. i spoke to fairfax county public schools. they told me -- the spokesperson told me they made the decision early this morning around 5:00 a.m. using the best information they had. well, people took to twitter, voiced their displeasure. by displeasure, i'm really using an understatement. there's a lot of word i could use that i won't that i saw on twitter. several accidents on the roads this morning, though. i did call fairfax inova hospital and they told me that they're seeing more students than they normally see getting into fender benders with minor inj

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone at fairfax county public school headquarters where they admit now they made the wrong call when they decided not to close schools this morning despite the snow falling. >> i was really scared and nervous. >> reporter: 16-year-old junior maddie morgan said she saw so many accidents this morning and her car was sliding so much on her way to woodson high school she had to make a choice. >> my car slid and i hit the curb. that's when i decided that i needed to stop. >> reporter: the decision to keep fairfax county public schools open despite road conditions like this was met with an avalanche of ahh. #closefpcs trended on twitter worldwide. this school bus got stuck in springfield, a scene played out on road after street after highway. steve smith has been teaching history at woodson high school 12 years. >> it was a bad commute this morning, one of the worst ones ever and this was not that much snow, but it was very wet and icy. >> reporter: fairfax county public schools told me they made the call to keep school open at 5 a.m. by this afternoon they did an

debra alfarone brings us the story of drugs, a music mogul and a double identity. >> last night he was in jail. today he's back to work for the start of virginia's legislative session. the bizarre story of joe morrissey coming up. >> right after the break a new claim of responsibility in the paris newspaper at >>> among the school closured today southern maryland, but the decisions -- closures today southern maryland, but the decisions there were more controversial because they have more snow. scott broom has tracked this from his mobile newsroom and is life now in waldorf. >> reporter: i am. i'm monitoring the homecoming rush hour tonight on route 301 and acton lane, no problems at all. it snows in some places and not others. here in southern maryland in charles county and st. mary's county it does snow, at least enough to cancel school, but millimeters is all it takes for the wheels of my mobile newsroom suv to skid, slip and slide when driving on untreated side streets and there were plenty of those here in charles county and farther south in st. mary's county this morning and very

a 69-year-old woman from montgomery county vanished nearly a month ago and tonight debra alfarone talks to her family, that story at 5:30. >> two threatened hostages remain in the hands of isis tonight. what will the terror group do now that >>> the survivors of the alexandria woman who died in a smoke filled metro train earlier this month plan to sue metro in federal court tomorrow. >> more than 80 other passengers have already sued or plan to sue soon. bruce leshan talked to one of them today and joins us live from the l'enfant plaza metro station. >> reporter: the lawyer representing 68 of these victims says she is not after punitive damages. she says that she is really just trying to force metro to reimburse these people for their lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering. >> i still have questions of why. why were we down there so long? >> reporter: 2 1/2 weeks later. >> the train is not on fire. there is no fire in the tunnel. there's just heavy smoke. >> reporter: denine baker says she is still having nightmares, still cannot sleep, still has a pounding pain in her head. [

i'm debra alfarone at gw university hospital with what's making the difference for them. >> reporter: maryland's first female episcopal bishop charged today with drinking, driving, texting and then killing a cyclist in the process. i'm scott broom with baltimore city police. when i come back, the sh 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 when you get more guaranteed from verizon fios, with tv service rated #1 in hd picture quality and signal reliability based on customer satisfaction studies, plus america's fastest, most reliable internet. get a price quote in writing and professional installation from a highly trained verizon technician. hurry now to get an offer that can't be beat. last chance to get a fios triple play online for just 79.99 a month -

debra alfarone is crunching the numbers joining us live. what do you know? >> reporter: at this point if this proposal goes through you could be paying a dime more if you get on the train or bus. many people not surprisingly outraged about it, especially as we were talking about before, after that deadly smoke incident on board metro. so you will want to wait for that. >> come next september to ride metro. >> oh my gosh. for the price it is way too high. >> not only that, but your train could come less frequently to peak every six minutes to eight. off peak from every 12 minutes to every 15. >> it is not safe at all, because they would take me $15 to get from there and here. he proposes to keep your plans as is, but he asked jurisdictions for 18% more than they usually give to fund the system. >> i think that metro needs to be a little more careful when they also propose the improvements at the same time. for those riding the metro. >> reporter: no surprise that they don't like this. the surprise is more people are riding metro trains after last week's deadl

debra alfarone is live at the fairfax county courthouse with the very latest. deb? >> reporter: and lesli, jesse matthews was in court today here on a motion when he is tried for that 2005 alleged sex assault. the judge ended up saying no to the cameras. there may soon be justice for hannah graham and morgan herring ton. in fighting our requests from the other media, the fairfax public defender stated that they are most likely going to be much more serious charges coming. either murder or capital murder charges. it's where the bodies of both hannah graham and morgan herrington were found. he's been linked frenzily to the disappearance. and he's been charged with graham's abduction, but not charged with either victim of murder. the judge here in fairfax ruled against cameras, saying that the statute prohibited them for coverage of sex offenses, but it's what they said that shined a light on what might be next for matthews. we asked the attorney what they thought of that ruling. >> and down in that county they are more concerned about the pre-trial publicity because t

debra alfarone has been investigating all day long and she's live in southeast. what happened? >> reporter: apparently someone saw that little boy walking right around here and flagged down a pacing come. the good news is tonight he's -- a passing cop. the good news is tonight he's okay and even is back with his family. that has a lot of people asking questions and reacting. >> oh, my gosh, sad, sad. >> reporter: it was almost 1 a.m. monday morning when someone saw something they couldn't believe, a 2 or 3-year-old toddler walking here on morris road in southeast, no shoes on alone. >> i think that's a disgrace. i think that's a disgrace. >> reporter: police say they were flagged down and took the children to d.c.'s child and family services agency. >> it was a good thing that someone found the kid and got him to child protective services. >> reporter: not long after child and family services reunited the boy with his parents. some we talked to before we found out details balked at this. >> she should ne kid back. >> they need to do something about the parents. >> accidents hap

debra alfarone joins us from near the scene with the very latest. >> you're right. we just got word a little while ago about the sixth victim, the body being found here. i did get off the phone with the medical examiner. they've not positively i.d.'d any of the remains yet. they don't have a timeline for that. but right here on child's point road this investigation continues. >> reporter: cold, snow covered, lonely. this make shift shrine to the little lost angels and their grandparents john and sandy pyle could be anymore sad. wusa 9 had the only camera rolling as the crane used in the investigation left the scene today. police haven't confirmed if any of the bodies fire investigators found in the charred rubble at what used to be 936 childs point road are the family. >> don't make assumptions. because i think assumptions can be dangerous. >> reporter: he started the anne arundel news network last year. he asked experts for answers to questions people asked him. like why isn't the state's attorney on the scene. >> if the investigator leaves the scene he has to have

. >> our debra alfarone has been tracking down whether pope francis is making washington part of his u.s. trip in september. what have you learned, deb? >> reporter: they have not confirmed anything yet, but that did not stop us from nosing around. this is what we found. it's official. pope francis will visit philadelphia for the world meeting of families in the end of september, but will he be stopping here, here and here? an official with the d.c. board of trade says the pope is coming to washington and also new york. this was echoed by the catholic news agency reporting the vatican's secretary of state confirmed d.c. and new york are likely stops. the archdiocese in new york tells me that they are anticipating the pontiff's visit, even having informal talks on what pope francis might do, but they're still awaiting confirmation. the archdiocese of washington says they can't confirm a papal visit to d.c., but if it happens, what would the pope do? house speaker john boehner has invited pope francis to address a joint session of congress and what's a stop in the nation's capital with

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone in annapolis where neighbor and school administrators are now saying the remaining four people unaccounted for in this annapolis tragedy are the couple's grandchildren. it's tragic news for so many people to take in. >> it's really sad. it's emotional. >> reporter: kaitlin is trying to be strong. but little brother kyle can't hold back tears. they're two students at the nearby sheaf ridge school who say they now missing four -- sheaf ridge school who severin school who now are missing four friends. pyle was the coo of a reston- based cyber security called science logic. his linked in profile shows an impressive career in technology. one connection calls him a great leader. >> he had such an impact on everyone that he interacted with and it made a big difference. >> reporter: pyle's wife sandy always had wanted a castle according to an article in the baltimore sun and don wanted a beach house, the home their happy compromise. it is thought sandy was home with don when the fire broke out, but that's yet to be confirmed. neighbors say the remaining four p

debra alfarone has the details of that lawsuit from the newsroom. >> mark and anthony glover say it's not about the money. it's about making sure no one else has to go through the heartbreak they're going through to. >> this is not a monetary issue. it is not about us getting money. it is a deep concern that we have for other metrogoers. >> reporter: anthony glover and his brother marcus don't want anyone to experience the devastating loss their whole family is grappling with. >> my mother was a gift from god to our family and to our community. >> reporter: the brothers are sue wag matt a for $50 million say -- suing wmata for $50 million saying it was their negligence that killed their home. the lawsuit alleges she fought to breathe as the smoke gradually sapped the life from her body. among the wmata fails, the ventilation system, radio ibility, failure to shut down power quickly and a less than timely 45 minute evacuation. >> we want to seek justice not only for our family, but for this area and for everybody who rides the metro system. for me personally and i can say for my brothe

alfarone >> reporter: trying to save a woman's life, they gave her what little breath they had aboard that train. >> she's like, i can't do it, i can't do it, i need help. >> reporter: it's tough to talk about the woman jonathan rogers of dc says he helped give cpr to inside this metro car tuesday afternoon. >> she passed out it was obviously she passed out and people were taking her pulse i don't feel anything, a few of us were rotating doing compressions and mouth to mouth and we did it for like, 20 minutes and eventually just, it wasn't doing anything. >> reporter: he says a man carried the lifeless woman out and he never saw her again. as we now know the train was evacuated after about 40 minutes. rogers says when he got home, he hugged his wife a little tighter, petted his bulldog teddy a little bit more, grateful for coming home, knowing one rider didn't. >> i hope that family ams doing all right. because, you know, i wish we could've done more for her. >> reporter: rogers says the mostly clear act of just snapping the pictures and rolling the video helped him to calm down, he s

in the newsroom debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> a 16-year-old girl missing from christiansburg, virginia, has been found safe in little rock, arkansas. aysia lewis disappeared after leaving her high school monday afternoon. police determined she left with a 33-year-old man named don qwesenberry who drove from his home in illinois to join her. >> as a father, the last three days my heart's went out to this family. i can't imagine the stress that this family has endured and i'm elated today that aysia is on her way back home to her family. >> police say they used aysia's social media contacts to trace the pair to little rock and tonight qwesenberry is behind bars and will be extradited to virginia. >>> tonight the search continues for a missing 17-year- old in stafford county. daniel marston left his home wednesday night last seen in the potomac estates area. loved ones are worried because they say he's got mental health issues and it's been bitterly cold outside. he's never wandered away before. >>> the jewish synagogue that fired its rabbi over voyeurism charges now says their former lead

debra alfarone has been looking into this story all day in south east washington. >> reporter: apparently the little boy was found walking here and someone flagged down a cop. he is okay tonight, but he had quite a journey from when he left here to when he came back. >> oh, my gosh. that was sad. >> reporter: it was almost 1 a.m. monday morning when someone saw something they couldn't believe, a 2 or 3-year-old toddler walking here on morris road in south east, no shoes on, alone. >> i think that's a disgrace. i think that's a disgrace. >> reporter: police say they were flagged down and took the child to d.c.'s child and family services agency. not long after child and family services reunited the boy with his parents. >> accidents happen. >> reporter: mindy good is the director of communications for cfsa. she can't comment about specifics because of confidentiality, but sources say the child was in the care of a baby-sitter. after being put to sleep he managed to push his way out of a first floor window. good tells us why he's back with his family. >> this little guy believe it or not wo

. >> tonight debra alfarone updates us on the fight for justice for ethan saylor, a 26- year-old man with downs syndrome and how his mother is trying to make a difference. >> reporter: dozens come out in the rain to remember ethan saylor, a young man who died two years ago today at the hands of police at a frederick movie theater. patty saylor, his mom, spoke today about the fight for justice for ethan. two years ago tonight ethan went into a movie theater in frederick. he came out, wanted to see it again and went pack inside. that's when three offcounty frederick county sheriff's deputies had an altercation. in the end ethan died. patty spoke to the crowd and shared her grief. >> justice is remembering -- this is when i cry. justice is remembering a life that matters. he mattered for 26 years and he still matters. ethan was love and he gave love. >> reporter: the saylors filed a civil lawsuit. they say they just want to know what happened that night. here back at the vigil lots of people did not let bad weather stop them from coming out and remembering ethan. >> through of the saylo

debra alfarone takes us minute by minute through the metro tragedy. >> reporter: it started at 3:14 when metrorail's unit 222 reported a debris fire on the tracks at gallery place. five minutes later the fire department responded. at 3:22 the same train reported heavy smoke at l'enfant plaza. 3:24, metro requested medical and fire units to l'enfant plaza reporting some people could barely breathe. the first rescue unit arrives at the station seven minutes later. at 3:33, a caller on the stalled yellow line train reports the tunnel is filled with smoke. that same caller calls back nine minutes later asking is help on the way. a metro transit official told him to stay on board because the tracks were still live. at 3:44 ramada confirms power is shut down. at 4:09 there's report of a patient having a seizure on the train and an adult female is undergoing cpr. at 4:25 medic 27 transports that woman to george washington university hospital. cpr still in progress. >> also this morning, the first lawsuit connected to the incident was announced. malvert rich was a passenger on the train and was

debra alfarone, wusa9. >> we just heard from pepco they hope to have the power restored by 10:00 tonight. that is what they said. >> at that point, it should be what? 3 below? >>> actual temperature about 12. we are dealing with pretty cold air. there is no shortage of arctic air for the whole country. it will stay cold for the next four days. now let's start with a live look outside. we are looking at at bitterly cold evening. it is only 21. dew points zero. this is a dry air mass. relative humidity only 40%. you have to keep yourself hydrated. keep the pets hydrated. winds northwest at 21. they will be gusting over 30 as we go through the nighttime hours. here is the latest windchill map. want to feel warm? 16 below in oakland and 23 below in davis. it is a different world out there but the winds are stronger out there. they will get strong here gusting over 30 miles an hour after midnight. that will dry windchills to zero to 15 below. late tonight, early tomorrow morning. the bus stop temperatures 5 to 16. even with the delays, windchills will be around zero. be careful walking to get

. >> and i'm debra alfarone. new year's celebrations across the country and world already underway including here in alexandria. >> mola lenghi joins us live from first night alexandria. how is the crowd? >> reporter: happy new year, ladies. when it comes to ringing in the new year and partying, alexandria does it right. on one side you got the potomac river over here, hundreds of people partying, enjoying themselves, listening to music. on the other side you've got the historic old town backdrop. up there there are live music acts, theater, arts, entertainment, all sorts of enough to do. they can really -- stuff to do. if they can get ahold of these freezing temperatures, it might be a perfect night. tonight there are plenty of new beginnings. there's a new marriage. >> it's amazing. >> reporter: why new year's eve? why do it tonight? >> we like to party. this is the night for it. he'll never forget it. >> reporter: as far as forgetting your anniversary. >> not going to happen. >> reporter: it was his idea, wasn

. >> i'm debra alfarone. 25-year-old hari simran khalsa was on a retreat in mention dough when he disappeared while -- in mexico when he disappeared while hiking several days ago. it appeared he died as a result of a hiking accident. >> jim osman outside the spiritual wellness center where he taught. >> reporter: yes, he was indeed a yoga instructor, but he was a whole lot more. an outpouring of support from the sikh community tonight in sterling to remember the life of 25-year-old hari simran singh khalsa, a yoga instructor here whose body was found in mexico today after some sort of hiking incident south of mexico city. >> we have very heavy hearts. we really love this young man. he's 25 years old, young man born into our community. his parents are westerners who embrace sikhism like i did. >> reporter: khalsa was last heard from by his wife tuesday. he sent a picture of himself from the mountain top and the message looking down on you. two hours later he messaged he accidentally summited another mountain and vanished. search crews have been looking for him ever since. >> he had a kind hear

. >> i'm debra alfarone. all this happening less than two hour into the new year. bruce leshan has more on this sad start to 2015. >> reporter: i'm bruce leshan in woodbridge where the new year got off to a tragic start. a 21-year-old woman was tracked down and allegedly stabbed to death by her own estranged husband. police say erica sherwood sought refuge at a friend's home on concord drive in woodbridge after a simmering argument with her 22-year-old husband john. but they say john hunted her down. she let him in and then he allegedly chased her through the small house stabbing her repeatedly. the friend finally ran across the street to call 911. >> the girl ran over to this house and knocked on the door and she had the baby in her arms. >> reporter: police say there is no history of trouble between john and erica sherwood, no protective order, no prior domestic violence calls, just a short family argument that ended in murder.

. >> i'm debra alfarone. >> surae chinn has been talking with the family tonight. what have they said to you? >> reporter: they're extremely saddened. they have heavy hearts tonight. they are in shock that their beloved yoga instructor has passed and was killed alongside a mountainside in mexico. they are expecting a lot of the friends gathering here. they're still trickling in. a lot of them are inside. they expect several hundred people throughout the sikh community to come here in prayer mourning the loss of this young yoga instructor who died after falling while liking in mexico. 25-year-old marry simran khalsa went on that hike tuesday. there was a -- hari simran khalsa went on that hike tuesday south of mexico city. he had texted his wife the last picture on the summit of a mountain. a last text to a friend indicated he was lost. his family believes he fell, hit his head and died instantly. many of the couple's friends ar

. >> reporter: our debra alfarone called the commonwealth attorney and they said it is not their practice to comment on cases they are working on. >>> frederick county officials are looking in to the mauling death of this 87-year-old man as they said that their family's pit bull is to blame. >> i'm scott broom in frederick county, maryland where co- workers of a beloved truck driver and animal lover are completely stunned. after he was mauled to death by his own family pit bull. >> they would climb and sleep with them at night. >> and he loves the dogs. it was an 84-pound pit bull as he and his son's fiance were taking down the christmas decorations at home about 2:30 yesterday. mauling the victim's head, neck, arms. the dog was a 4-year-old male who was adopted from the rescue organization by smith and his son in may. >> oh, he loved animals. they said that the dog would get nothing, but love. >> and he is such a kindhearted individual. who would show you that there. >> they were put down as they are still looking in to what could have possibly triggered the attack. in frederick, marylan

captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >>> i'm debra alfarone with new details of why that annapolis mansion went up so quickly taking in it don and sandy pyle and their four grandchildren. >>> police make an arrest after a hit and run in arlington. >> lots of reaction today on social media to first lady michelle obama's decision to leave her head uncovered while visiting saudi arabia. i'm bruce leshan. i'll have a look coming up. >> good evening. i'm jan jeffcoat. >> i'm derek mcginty. >>> we begin with tense times at a big high school on the eastern shore. that is where racially charged hate images the instagram timelines to a lot of students there and we've learned of two vicious attacks caught on video. >> we are working with our colleagues to get to the bottom of these events. scott broom is live at the salisbury daily times to tell us what our team has learned. we must warn you some of the videos and language is disturbing. scott, what have you learned? >> reporter: well, it is disturbing. the videos you're about to see and the graphic ins

. >> and i'm debra alfarone. >>> eloquent, unwavering is how many will remember former three term new york governor mario cuomo who died at age 82 tonight. >> reporter: he was new york's liberal lion, the state's longest serving democratic governor in modern history, but mario cuomo came from humble beginnings, the son of poor italian immigrants. he had hopes of a baseball career but gave it up after one season in the minor leagues. he headed instead to st. johns law school where he graduated at the top of his class. he and his wife matilda had five children before he launched his political career losing to ed koch in new york's 1997 mayoral primary. >> and i will faithfully perform the duties of office. >> reporter: he was elected governor in 1983 and served three terms balancing 12 consecutive budgets and leading new york through two recessions. cuomo emerged on the national stage in 1984 at the democratic convention in san francisco delivering the keynote address. he highlighted the failures of the reagan presidency. >> there is despair, mr. president, in the faces that you don't s

debra alfarone is live at dupont circle where some people may need to dc up on that offer. >> reporter: can you imagine having no water, heat, and electricity? i don't have to tell you how chilly it is. 18 degrees at last point back there. it is pretty cold and it is almost as cold inside some apartments as it is outside. on a day when the wind sounds like this, when a temperature like this is an optimistic take on what it really feels like. a day of power outages affecting thousands. summers still has no heat, no power, no hot water. >> i have been driving around the past two hours trying to charge my phone and stay warm. >> we had a significant number of outages. 6100 total. that lasted throughout the day. our crews were able to get people their service back by 11:00 last night. >> reporter: she is one of more than a hundred shivering. >> how are you coping? >> i'm freezing. >> i share space with a couple of other companies. didn't have power so didn't come in yesterday. >> reporter: we saw several businesses closed today. >> i was out last night. wanted to go to safeway on 17. it wa

i'm debra alfarone. >> and i'm jan jeffcoat. >>> the holidays are a time filled with joy for many of us, but police say the period between thanksgiving and new year's can see a surge in domestic violence. early this morning in woodbridge a particularly brutal case and bruce leshan is live with the latest. >> reporter: john sherwood is locked up tonight charged with tracking down his wife erica and stabbing her to death while her friend who was trying to shelter her watched in horror. police say erica sherwood sought refuge at a friend's home on concord drive in woodbridge after a simmering argument with her 22-year-old husband john. they say john hunted her down. she let him in and then he allegedly chased her through this small house stabbing her repeatedly. >> obviously not all marriages are perfect. there are instances where there needs to be that separation and she created that separation. >> reporter: the friend awoke to screams. police say she saw sherwood chasing his wife and slashing at her. they tried to hide in the bathroom, but sherwood allegedly attacked them both. the fr

debra alfarone spoke to anthony and marcus glover today and joins us live from the newsroom. how are they doing? >> marcus and anthony say they aren't bitter. they know the lawsuit won't bring their beloved mother back, but they don't want anyone to go through the heartbreak they're going through. simply put, their mom was their light. >> she was always happy. i don't -- i can honestly say not just because she's my mom. i can honestly say i haven't met anyone as nice and giving, as happy as her. >> reporter: anthony glover and his brother marcus don't want anyone to experience the devastating loss their whole family is grappling with. >> my mother was a gift from god to our family and to our community. >> reporter: the brothers are suing wmata for $50 million saying it was their negligence that caused their mom, 61-year- old carol glover's death after smoke filled a metro train january 12th. the lawsuit alleges she fought ever more agonizingly to breathe as the smoke gradually sapped the life from her body. among the alleged wmata fails, the ventilation system, radio compatib

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone with breaking news. we now know the cause of that annapolis mansion fire and if it wasn't tragic enough, the fire was started from something that was supposed to bring those four grandchildren joy. >> reporter: we're here at uva where sororities have been ordered to stay away from fraternities for this big party weekend coming up. some women call the order irrational and sexist and many say they're being punished after that rolling stone ago that alleged a gang rape -- article that alleged a gang rape at that fraternity house that has been since ruled debunked. >> that women to keep out of fra houses over the weekend -- frat houses over the weekend is sparking outrage tonight. >> the mandate comes from the national leadership organization and as peggy fox tells us, many sorority women are fighting back. >> reporter: some students here think this ruling is punishing the entire greek system here for something that never happened. that rolling stone article that depicted a gang rape at that fraternity house

debra alfarone is live in frederick where a vigil is set to start shortly. >> this vigil will start in about an hour or so. since ethan's death there's been the establishment of a first ever groundbreaking commission by the state and what they've done so far is they've made sure every police recruited within the entire state gets specific training that helps lead their interactions with people who have intellectual disabilities like ethan. this has been a long arduous fight for his mom pattie saylor and it's the kind of thing that hits you right in the gut. >> it's a big hole in our lives. >> reporter: patty saylor invited us along for her fight for justice since ethan died. she shared her pain, her grief, her struggle as those deputies were cleared of wrongdoing and a grand jury declined to indict. >> i replay what i think are the five minutes 10 minutes in which he died in my mind no less than five times a day. >> reporter: ethan went inside a theater to see the movie a second time while his aide went to get the car. that's when the three deputies moved in. >> all of the sudden i hea

. >> i'm debra alfarone. >>> the new year brings a new mayor to washington d.c. the city swore in muriel bowser today and she's promising things big and small. >> bruce leshan is live at the convention center where this inaugural ball begins soon. >> reporter: muriel bowser promised that the city will do the things that people expect the city to do, pick up the trash, pave the roads, clear the snow, but she also said she has a grander expectation, winning the 2024 olympics for the d.c. region. the city's seventh elected mayor and second woman and second youngest and a mayor who is promising a fresh start after beating an incumbent who spent nearly his whole term under threat of indictment for campaign violations. >> let's acknowledge mayor gray. [ applause ] >> reporter: muriel bowserer ticked off a list of claw -- bowser ticked off a list of challenges, but she promised to make the city stronger than she found it. >> so it's my charge to make it greener, healthier, safer and more physically stable than we find it today. >> reporter: in the audience supporting he

live at fairfax county public school headquarters, debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> investigative reporter russ ptacek takes an in depth look how people in fairfax county took to twitter to voice their displeasure about the decision not to close schools a little later in the newscast and in a few minutes how other districts handled today's snowy roads and treacherous conditions. >>> the snow is done falling from the sky, but the stuff on the ground is not going anywhere. first alert meteorologist erica grow joins us now and it sound like we're in for a cold night. >> not only cold, but then it turns frigid. so tonight the winds will start to pick up, but the temperatures plummeting. that's going to allow refreezing on those roadways and we have plenty of snow on the ground, especially look at that at the u.s. capitol building. we picked up 4-inch, 2.8 in montgomery village, 3.8 in glenarden and about 3 1/2 in silver spring and chevy chase about 3 3/4 inches. baileys crossroads picked up 3.1, a little over 4 inches in ashburn, just under 4 inches in herndon, leesburg 3.2 inches officially a

debra alfarone brings us that story in a little bit. >>> now to some breaking news at 5:00, one time convicted killer michael johnson is a free man. today a judge in baltimore dismissed all charges against johnson involving the murder of north carolina teen phylicia barnes. the judge cited insufficient evidence. barnes disappeared while visiting her sister in baltimore back in 2010. her body was found months later in the susquehanna river. johnson was the sister's ex- boyfriend and he was convicted of second degree murder back in 2013, but a judge ruled that prosecutors withheld evidence and granted johnson a new trial and that case led to a mistrial. >>> a mix of rain and snow has our first alert weather team declaring a yellow alert for tomorrow. chief meteorologist topper shutt joins us now. it sounds like this has the potential to impact both commutes going and coming. >> it could, could be minor impact in the morning, maybe just wet roads and more snow falling in the afternoon, but a much different situation than two weeks ago. we don't have the arctic air. we don't have as much