>> now come abc 7 news at noon, on your side. jummy: a virginia school shutdown their doors today and told students to stay home after security concerns. it all stems from the backlash after a teacher gave students and arabic calligraphy assignment. >> thousands of students out of school today and it is not because of the holidays. it is all because of a controversial jogger fee

assignment. parents outraged this afternoon accusing the teacher of trying to make students renounce their faith. a jogger fee teacher asked students -- geography teacher asked students to copy the islamic statement of faith which translates into "there is no god but a lot and mohammed is the messenger -- no god but alla h and mohammed is the messenger." some parents feel this was an attempt to indoctrinate their children. the superintendents that the assignment was meant to teach world geography in an interactive way. >> why couldn't we just write hello or goodbye? normal words. >> lash out and say my kid is missing school because somebody open their mouth -- that is not fair. some people don't really

understand what exactly was put into that worksheet that the kids were sent home with paid >> the decision to close the school was one made after consulting police. there is no specific threat. a significant number of parents complain. students will continue practicing calligraphy. samples used will have nothing to do with islam. jummy: in other news, the former federal police officer who pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine and a federal science lab in gaithersburg is in court today. he will be sentenced in montgomery county. there was an explosion on the campus of the national institute of standards and technology. he admitted his meth lab caused the explosion. turning to the war on terror, a 19-year-old pennsylvania man accused of preparing to launch

an attack in the united states is now behind bars. authorities say he pledged his allegiance to isis and used twitter to spread propaganda. authorities found a tactical backpack and his harrisburg home. he is accused of publishing id information for 100 u.s. service members and calling for violence against them. he is expected in court for a preliminary hearing on december 23. we are learning chilling new details this noon about the childhood friend of syed farook. enrique marquez purchased the rifles used in the mass shooting. he has been arrested on terror charges including conspiring to purchase materials for terrorists. >> he was brought to court in the back of this fbi vehicle appearing in handcuffs to face terror and other charges after

10 straight days of interrogation. marquez revealed that he and farook planned terror attacks together, dating back four years. earlier plot attacked students at this community college. >> it makes you feel unsafe. it is really unsettling. >> another plan targeting drivers on this california freeway during rush hour. farook persuaded marquez to convert to islam eight years ago and radicalized him using online videos from al qaeda. the terror attack killed 14 and wounded 22 others. marquez went on facebook "my life turned ridiculous -- might go to prison for fraud etc."

he warned of a terror sleeper cell. >> he said when it happens, it's going to be big. >> prosecutors say marquez called 911ing suicide. marquez said my neighbor did the san bernardino shooting. he used my gun in the shooting. >> he's being held in an alley detention center without bail until monday. -- in an l.a. detention center. jummy: president obama will be with relatives of the victims of the san bernardino terror attack. 14 people were killed and 22 others injured in that the summer second shooting. the meeting will be private. -- in that december 2 shooting. president obama heads to hawaii for his annual christmas vacation. but first, the president will make his new year's news conference in the district. he will take questions from reporters at the white house.

it will start at 1:50 this afternoon and you can watch it live here on abc seven and news channel 8. if you're headed out today, you can see it is a chilly start to the weekend. doug hill is here with a look at our first forecast this noon. doug: a bit of sunshine in rosslyn. 44 at reagan national. it will get colder tonight. with the winds cranking up, it will feel like midwinter tomorrow morning. northwestern wins at 60 miles per hour at the moment. -- 16 miles per hour at the moment. 36 income related. in winchester. -- 36 in cumberland. 39 in winchester. went makes it feel a few degrees cooler. partly cloudy now. more sunshine through the afternoon. a definite chill in the air.

more chilly temperatures straight through this upcoming weekend. life details and a look ahead to christmas day in a few minutes. jummy: it is time for a check of traffic this noon with jamie sullivan. jamie: 395 traffic a bit heavy heading northbound. continuing north with bumper-to-bumper traffic. the exit ramp locked because of a disabled vehicle. 20 minutes from the springfield interchange to the 14th street bridge. only at an average of 14 miles per hour. heading north on 270 three montgomery county, not bad at all. really well at the 270 spur. towards gaithersburg, still in the green. heading out of town for the weekend, not an issue for you

toward frederick and hopping on 270. nothing to worry about in d.c. nothing to worry about traveling north 16th street headed toward silver spring. jummy: good news, that's for sure. police investigating a deadly crash that shut down part of route 202 late last night. a car traveling southbound lost control and crossed into the northbound lane, hitting another car head-on. the driver of the hit vehicle died at the scene. the driver who lost control had non-life-threatening injuries. to the race for the white house the democratic candidates facing off tomorrow. it comes as the democratic national committee says bernie sanders campaign illegally

gathered information from hillary clinton's campaign. they have fired the staffer responsible. >> we did not gain anything out of it. jummy: the dnc has temporarily blocked the sanders campaign from accessing its database. tomorrow night's debate starts at 8:00. you can watch it live on abc seven. the senate approved the $1.1 trillion spending bill. the house approved it this morning. the legislation funds the government through next september. it now goes to the president's desk for final approval and he has promised to sign it. this is the last item of business for congress before their holiday break. coming up, radon -- elevated levels found in local schools. what the new testing reveals. helping out those last-minute shoppers. what to expect if you are heading out this weekend and

important tips on how to save money. doug is back with a look ahead at your weekend forecast.

>> are watching abc 7 news at noon, on your side. jummy: an update to a store you first saw here on abc seven. dr. mcconey public schools retested radon and some schools are still showing elevated levels. -- montgomery county public schools. they're working on mitigation measures and are hoping the results this posting the results of their tests online.

the school system left dangerous levels of the cancer-causing gas unaddressed for years. the school system has apologized and promised to be better in the future. pope francis has recognized a second miracle at your beaded to mother teresa. -- attributed to mother teresa. she is set for canonization. italian media are speculating sometime in september. she cared for the poorest of the poor and won a nobel peace prize. she died september 5 -- with one week until christmas, time is running out to get all that shopping done. some tips on getting the best deals out there. >> are you a procrastinator like i am? is your wrapping paper still unwrapped?

the stores in downtown silver spring will be very busy this final pivotal weekend because 80% of shoppers according to the national retail association still have at least one gift left to go. one in three people typically wait until the week of christmas to do the majority of their shopping. their opening stores extra early. we spoke to some of those procrastinators and what their game plan is. >> one gift in. >> how many to go? >> about seven. >> nowhere near. i did not have the money until now. i'm just lazy. >> i'm normally the last guy in the multiple forecloses. -- in the mall before it closes. >> you will want to price match. when you tend to buy late, you

spend more. look for this coupon codes online to help you out. -- those coupon codes online to help you out. if you are buying online and want to mail your gift, you might be out of luck. that standard stripping -- shipping rate has expired. jummy: best buy trying to draw in shoppers today, offering a brand-new 16 gigabytes version of the iphone 6s for one dollar. customers who trade in a working iphone five can snag a $200 gift card. customers need to sign a two-year contract with verizon or sprint. tim cook says the company expects to sell a record number of those iphones this holiday season. need a new phone? jummy: just got on -- doug: just got one.

shopping is all done. jummy: looking forward to getting my gift next week. doug: here is what is going to happen around here today. a bit of sunshine. yesterday, we were in the clouds and fog and rain all day. it started clearing at 4:00 in the afternoon. janice took a beautiful picture. not in the usual -- unusual to have a few blossoms here and there. spring is coming. we have not had that bad of a deal. we are way up in the list for the warmest december's on record. we will have a chilly weekend. congressional country club in bethesda, 41 degrees. breaks in the overcast.

dryer northwesterly winds, skies will clear out. 40 degrees in hagerstown, 39 in winchester. 44 in baltimore. 44 in the nation's capital. highs this afternoon will climb up a couple of degrees. 45 in fairfax. germantown avenue 44. 47 degrees over northeast washington around gallaudet. high pressure to the south comes around the top side. that's i get the westerly winds. it is pushed yesterday's cold front well off to see. lake-effect snow cranking up for the first time this season in a big way later tonight. high pressure will continue to drive eastward. we will get reinforcements of this cold wind out of the northwest. a bit of a break as we head

through the day on sunday. the numbers will be deceiving here. we will be gusting with a high of 44 tomorrow. the winds will make it feel no warmer than the 30's. in the morning, teens to low 20's. here is the next seven days for you. 44 tomorrow. 49 on sunday. great football weather expected. it very unsettled pattern here, monday, tuesday, wednesday into christmas eve with partly to mostly cloudy skies. you cannot miss the warming trend. from the 50's on monday through the 60's by wednesday and thursday. we will see of gets any cooler christmas day. jummy: we will see what 4:00. an american husband-and-wife team helping more than 100 kristin -- christian refugees in iraq find new homes.

2020 is following their journey. elizabeth joins us with a sneak peek at tonight's ep. >> an amazing story come amazing journey we were on with these 149 christian iraqi refugees. the biggest refugee crisis since world war ii. many countries are not welcoming these refugees come including here in the u.s. two americans help rescue 149 iraqi christian families from a church courtyard where they been living after isis invaded their town and threatened them to convert to islam or leave and be killed. an amazing journey, lots of twists and turns. very bold, very dangerous. one of the americans was a former cia operative. an amazing couple. really heartbreaking to see what these refugees have endured. so heartwarming to see them as

they finally flee and get rid of isis and all those dangers. jummy: at a time when so many people across the country are saying that we should hold off on having these people come over here. what is this couple's inspiration? >> they were very moved by the fact that these christians came from the oldest christian town in iraq, which has been overrun by isis. christians in iraq are an endangered species, nearly extinct, all being driven out of iraq by isis. it is easier in some respects to evacuate christian refugees because of their religion. they were easier to vet and people are less afraid of them than they are of the millions of muslim refugees still stuck in camps all over the earth searching for places to go. this group of 149 12 countries turned the americans down before

the country of slovakia said yes. jummy: definitely a story we want to watch tonight. you can watch 2020 tonight at 10:00 right here on abc seven followed by abc 7 news at 11:00. coming up on abc 7 news at noon, fans across the country feeling the force. the record the movie is already breaking. no spoilers here. we will be right b

jummy: star wars the force awakens is already smashing box office records around the world. last night, the first showing in the u.s. earned $57 million.

for lifelong fans, the box office does not matter. >> it was amazing. it feels totally true to the old films. an emotional roller coaster. jummy: fandango reports of selling more tickets ever than any other movie in the 15 year industry history. you might not be ready for the holidays. prince william and kate are. the family's christmas card features the couple with their children, prince george and princess charlotte. the royal couple says they are looking forward to spending the first christmas together as a family of four. doug will be back with one last look at the chilly weekend

jummy: as we head into the weekend come a bit cooler than we been experiencing the past few days. doug: 19 or 20 in minneapolis. we don't have that. we have sunshine increasing this afternoon. 48 today. tomorrow, 44. lighter winds on sunday. jummy:

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>> welcome to armed forces appreciation week. you've joined us for a very special show. lieutenant commander jason davenport of the navy reserves is about to face a question worth $250,000, and he is just three questions away from the million. can he do it? we're about to find out on who wants to be a millionaire." [dramatic music] ♪ ♪ hey, everybody. i'm chris harrison. welcome to the show. are you guys ready for a very special "millionaire" today? [cheers and applause] we might meet a millionaire today. our returning contestant has been a part of the navy for almost 20 years. there's no one, no one i woulde $1 million to. from las vegas, nevada please welcome back lieutenant commander jason davenport.