captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live and in hd, this is abc7 breaking news. >> gabrielle giffords announced she intends to resign from congress. she is expected to formally stepped down in the coming days. we will have much more on this story in just a moment. we wanted to let you know about a freezing rain advisory in effect right now. >> looking at quiet conditions right now across the area, but things are going to change. temperatures are in very cold. temperature is right now struggle to make it above freezing in many locations. we have 32 degrees at reagan

national airport. 28 in gaithersburg. 28 in frederick. talking about a freezing rain advisory in effect for the entire metro area until 6:00 tomorrow morning. the further west you go, washington county, west virginia that is where the freezing rain advisory will extend until 9:00 tomorrow morning. more details and a full forecast in just a few minutes. >> back to the breaking news. gabrielle giffords announced she will formally resign her seat. it is expected to happen this week. we're following all the latest developments. >> she plans to make an appearance at tuesday night's state of the union address. that is likely to be the last thing she does as a congresswoman. >> i will step down this week.

>> in this emotional video posted on the internet today -- >> thank you for your prayers. >> gabrielle giffords says leaving congress now is the best thing for her estate. >> i have more work to do on my recovery. >> jared loughner is accused of murdering six people and wounding 12 others. gabrielle giffords has been relearning how to walk and talk. >> i am getting better. every day. my spirit is high. >> her recovery has prevented her from participating in congress. one big exception was in august, when lawmakers and cheered as she showed up to help pass an increase in the debt limit. in november, she told diane sawyer she hoped to return. >> do you think you will go back

to congress if you get better? >> yes. >> she now feels it is best to resign as of this week. >> thank you very much. >> occur ariz. -- per arizona law, the governor will have to call for a special election in april to replace gabrielle giffords. >> thank you very much. to the death of football coaching legend joe paterno. his family announced his death this morning. he was 85 years old. the reports from state college pennsylvania. >> it seems appropriate that those would come straight here to beaver stadium to say goodbye. >> he was a tradition.

>> the news came quickly that a long time football coach at lost his -- had lost his battle with cancer. his family released a statement saying -- his family goes on to say "he was a man devoted to his family his university, his players." >> he represents pan state. >> on the street, the. kids were up to give his family's summer -- the barricades were up to give his family some privacy. back at his dacha the committee is pressing for his family. -- the community is pressing for his family. >> we love him. >> his family -- joe paterno

made an incredible impact. >> we will have much more on his legacy, coming up in sports. and again tonight at 11:00. >> we're following a developing story near the white house. the demonstrators are marking the 39th anniversary of the controversial roe v wade decision. a former arkansas gov. mike huckabee was the featured speaker. tomorrow, march for life is planning a much bigger rally at noon. president obama issued a short statement saying he intends to protect a woman's right to choose. the winner of the south carolina primary was back in d.c. today. newt gingrich had a busy morning appearing on talk shows. this afternoon he went to church.

>> this has been such an amazing narrative. two weeks ago mitt romney et. all but certain to be the republican nominee. that is all over. three different primaries, three different letters. newt gingrich is the comeback kid. >> how are you feeling this morning, sir? >> on the sunday talk show, the former house speaker pulled no punches about the media coverage of his personal life. >> deliberately trying to set the stage and read the game. >> i am the one candidate to can clearly defeat obama. >> his stunning south carolina of said is seen as a game changer. >> of this race is getting more interesting. >> mitt romney attacking him. >> when my opponent attack

success and free enterprise they are not only attacking me, and they are attacking every person who dreams as a -- dreams of a better future. >> this idea that mitt romney is not going to be defeated, as conservatives -- is faults. >> ron paul says he is staying in, too. >> people want and need to this message. >> much of the focus is on this man. >> we proved in south carolina that people in power with the right ideas beats big money. >> mitt romney will release his tax returns on tuesday. he admits not doing so earlier was a mistake. gingrich has new ads on the internet. the florida primary is a week away. >> thank you. still to come, a major apartment

fire in maryland. the battle to contain the blaze this morning as dozens watched their homes burned. a key figure in the o.j. simpson murder trial has passed away. the ravens disappointing loss to the patriots. >> a mystery at a fairfax county lake has boaters delighted and

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>> and another body has been recovered from that crippled the italian cruise liner. divers found the body of a woman earlier today. the woman was wearing a life vest. today's recovery brings the death toll to 13, with 19 people still missing. only eight of the 13 bodies had been identified. a key player in the o.j. simpson murder investigation is dead.

the detective died friday of complications from cancer. he spent 28 years on the los angeles police force. he was one of the first detectives to arrive at simpson's, in 1994 after the stabbing death of nicole brown simpson. the matter was -- he was 70 years old. investigators are trying to figure out what sparked an early morning fire. the fire broke out in the fourth floor unit of a six-story apartment building. three units were ruined. everybody in the building got out safely. >> my small detector did not go off. -- my smoke detector did not go off. >> 70 firefighters were called in to battle the blaze. the fire caused half a million dollars of damage. still to come, store march forecast, we will have much more on that freezing rain advisory. a unique site in fairfax county.

dozens of bald eagles descend on

it's a mysterious phenomenon has some fairfax county residents delighted. dozens of bald eagles descended on a neighborhood in west springfield. >> there is one building in the tree right now. >> a quick scan of the trees along the shoreline reveals bald eagles perch in the branches. >> the most we have seen as 28. >> some of the trees are in the back yards of homes. >> to have 20 in your back yard is unusual. it is a beautiful thing. >> shortly after they started

arriving were one out on the internet. pretty soon, birdwatchers and nature lovers started to flock here as well. >> we came out with their binoculars and cameras. >> it is pretty unusual. >> in the past couple of weeks things began dying off in large numbers. the vast quantity of dead fish lords the eagles to the suburban neighborhood. -- lured the eagles to the suburban neighborhood. as far as the cause of the fishkill -- >> and nobody can say exactly what is going on here. >> they sent an inspector to taxed -- test the water for toxins. they're hoping it is the result of the fluctuations of temperature. >> you don't get to see this

every day. >> they are right could you imagine the photographs of the people could have gotten? >> we have some changes on the way for the overnight hours. looking outside right now, the jefferson memorial, it is quiet. things are going to change over the next couple of hours. there is a newly issued freezing rain advisory in effect we will talk about that in a few seconds. pennsylvania avenue, no problems right now. our high only managed to make it to 32 degrees. well below average for this kind of -- this time of year. it was 76 back in 1927. it is 30 at the airport. wtop radio at 28 degrees.

their daytime high was just one degree warmer, about 29. our final stop texas over to a sterling, 29 degrees. -- our final stop takes us over to sterling, 29 degrees. hagerstown 28. right at the freezing mark at fredericksburg. a warm-up, milder air just to the south and west of us. these milder temperatures are arrived here on tuesday. give it a little bit of time. our skies will remain mostly cloudy for the overnight hours. that is why we have the freezing rain advisory. until 6:00 in the morning for the district and surrounding counties but maybe a little bit

longer off to the west of us. this is going to wind down fairly early in terms of the freezing rain. this is what it looks like at midnight tonight. tomorrow, you will want to grab the umbrella. a cold front arrives tomorrow night. behind it, a little bump in temperatures. sunshine on tuesday. 26 to 33 degrees tonight. temperatures tomorrow will be in the low 50's, but look at the nice warmup on tuesday. we will look for possible unsettled weather on thursday and friday. temperatures at this point, once we get through tonight, will be well above average. anything that falls from the sky will fall in the form of rain.

>> thank you so much, steve. >> we will talk about the nfl playoffs. we had a busy day in sports. the capitals are in pittsburgh and a battle with the penguins. there is one ticket punched for the super bowl

>> the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers. moving you forward. >> it was the game of the postseason in the nfl. sit back and enjoy highlights of the ravens and patriots. this is awesome. until the very end. look at this play.

tom brady the rose to the end zone. -- throws to the end zone. that is amazing. flacco throwing to the end zone. he has got it -- no. that would have been the game folks. oh, my goodness. patriots go to the super bowl. his family says he fought until the very end but early this morning, joe paterno lost his battle with cancer. the 85-year-old checked into a pennsylvania hospital two weeks ago. last night his condition took a turn for the worse. his family and friends gathered in the hospital room to say goodbye.

tambrands -- tmim brant talked to joe paterno recently. >> i had a couple of chances. every time i thought about leaving, i thought, why? is it an ego trip? i figured i would stay. >> joe paterno was 85. a matchup of the nhl. what a game earlier today between the capitals and the pink ones. -- penguins. alex ovechkin sheets and scores. -- shoots and scores.

evgeni malkin gets the puck to neal. he finds the back of the nets. the capitals lose 4-3. home at the horizon center against the celtics. first quarter late in the game, the wizards are down by five. the wizards are down by three. the celtics are just a better team. they are a veteran team. garnett had 17. the celtics went 100-94. the lady terps lost a heartbreaker today.

the final 80-72. >> is it too soon to say maybe next year? >> you can go there. >> thank you very much, we will be right back.

>> this picture is a rainbow over the potomac. take a look at it. our forecast for tomorrow, 45 to 54 a day time high. we have a freezing rain advisory for tonight for most of the area. no snow at site.

>> a roller-coaster winter. >> thank you so much for joining