southwest of the area northeast of charlottesville to head north in our area as well. this is where the rain is. all over the place in the east coast. the surge is pushing south/southwest. severe outbreak across ohio and indiana. farther south in mississippi. a large tornado on the ground. violent pattern. give you an update on the travel weather tomorrow for christmas eve. we will have showers in the metro area and maybe isolated thunderstorm mid-to-late morning. the showers will be scattered south through the carolina, southwest virginia. an area through ohio and the midwest will be clear. we have more showers and thunderstorms possible across the extreme southeastern section of tennessee. a major snowstorm for the texas, oklahoma, panhandle. it's rainy, windy and warm. set a record for the high

tomorrow. leon: take a look at this, folks. this is down south as well. multiple tornado warnings. now a twister spotted in northwestern mississippi. we following the breaking news and will let you know anything new as we learn it here. to the west. snow is causing problems in oregon. 80-mile-per-hour winds ripped the roof off a building in southern california. it seems like no matter you are heading you will run into some weather. make sure you check the forecast first. here at home now, the rain is slowing things down on the roads. brianne carter live in the mobile track 7. moving around the area. brianne carter we checked in with you 30 minutes ago. you were at a dead stop on i-95 at quantico. how does it look now? it doesn't matter what direction. this is near the ackerman. similar seen in many part of the region tonight.

there is a better option if you head out of town. $25 it will cost you to use express lanes all the way. today is the busiest day. it's not just the roads. some people going through security could be a change. a festy and busy time of the airport. peel try to get home for holidays. >> yes. i transferred in atlanta and there were a ton of people. >> millions take to the skies and the t.s.a. changed the policy when it comes to the full body scanners that you go through at airport security.

previously any passenger could ask for a physical screening. generally the passengers still have the option but under the new rules system passengers will be required to undergo the screening as parented by security consideration to safeguard security. they started to screen the passengers for prohibited item under layers of clothes. the report says devices do not have the ability to store the images. adriana and her family are headed to costa rica for christmas. she says in traveling, the security is top of mine and she is okay with the change. >> i believe safety should be the number one priority.

>> back live, northbound lane. southbound lane it is a very slow crawl. so if you are at home getting ready to hit the road pack patience as well. there are slowdowns on the thoroughfare. we will continue to keep an eye on the roads. and your holiday get-away throughout the night. reporting live, brianne carter, abc7 news. leon: thank you. drive carefully. remember to take the storm watch seven team with you on the road. the forecast is available online. facebook and twitter. download the storm watch weather act on your smart phone that is all free and available in the itunes and the google play stores. a year and a half after a land slide forced families from the home in piscataway drive the road is back open.

it's the only way they have access to the homes. despite it being closed most moved back in this year despite the challenges. >> i had to walk a quarter mile from the car and carry the garbage out and carried the groceries in for six months. new information on a story we brought you first on 7. montgomery county schools included a report on a video at a brawl at montgomery blair high school in silver springs. principal called the report inaccurate. that was the first letter to the parents about the incident. the police report said that several officers who broke up

the fight and the administrators had some minor injuries. we posted the video and the police report online to see. judge for yourself. a man who shot and killed a guest at holiday party will remain behind bars. frank trujillo appeared in court and charged with gunning down mario perez following an argument tuesday morning. trujillo claimed perez was drunk and was threatening his family. bond was denied. we have a demonstration you need to see. a woman is fighting back from crime after someone swept a package off the front porch. what happened when she saw the man in the surveillance video in person. >> don't mess with the kids. don't mess with my kids or marco's kids or hillary's kids. don't mess with anybody's kids. leon: the political cartoon that tipped off ted cruz. his words.

what the artest says cruz did to make the young daughters fair game for satire. we are tracking the weather slowing down the holiday rush. doug's complete forecast in minutes on "abc7 news at

leon: we now know what lit up the night sky from las vegas to california. that's right. that streaking through the sky was debris from a russian rocket that burned up as it

re-entered the earth's atmosphere. the officials say the russian sl-4 rocket launched on monday. republican presidential hopeful senator ted cruz is lashing out over a political cartoon that portrayed his daughters as monkeys. you see them here? it was published in the "washington post" before later being pulled. the artist, pulitzer prize winner, defended it saying senator cruz made them fair game when they appeared in a campaign ad. cruz fired back showing all candidates' children should be off-limits. the cartoon ticked him off. >> all of us learned in kindergarten don't hit little girls. it's not complicated. don't make fun of a 5-year-old girl and 7-year-old girl. leon: cruz's republican candidates also said it was inappropriate. new information on the postal

worker that landed a gyrocopter on the capitol land and is now running for congress. he wants to take on debbie wasserman schultz. he wants to challenge her for the congressional seat that includes the area in miami. he said the gyrocopter flight was a protest for campaign finance reform. up next at 6 verz -- fighting back against crime. how a woman took matters in her own hands when she found a person she thinks took a packm off her front form. whether you're driving or flying, expect weather delays. chief meteorologist doug hill will break down the problem spots. robert: i'm robert burton. in sports one more win for redskins and they're in. but it's at 8:30 in philly. why kirk cousins says he has no problem handling the pressure.

which truck brand do you think offers best in class hd towing, best v8 horsepower, and has this year's motor trend truck of the year? ram. chevy. whato you think? the ford. here's the answer. that's the chevy silverado hd, the chevy silverado, and the chevy colorado. chevy, chevyvy, chy. or trade up to this silverado all star and get a total value of ten thousand dollars when you finance through select lenders. plus, find your tag and get twenty-five hundred bonus cash on select silverado models in stock. find new roads a at your local chevy dealer. for the holiday shipping procrastinators tonight. is the absolute last minute to ship. the usps deadline to get your gift to the doorstep tomorrow has passed. for fedex it's 7:30 p.m. tonight. for the ups it's at 7:00 p.m.

a ups store in arlington said if you get there before they close down in 8:00 they will try to get a truck for your package. the cost is in the neighborhood of $30 or more depending on the size of the package. in recent weeks we have shown you incident of people swiping packages off front porches. yesterday we told you about a person who is accused of stealing a package from inside a police station of all places. tonight "7 on your side"'s jennifer donelan found a victim who took matters in hir own hands and is fighting back. >> another package thief. however the victim in this story essentially solved the case herself. >> i feel like i was a police officer. i did the detective work. i should get their paycheck for that day. jennifer: three packages filled of toys for her 2-year-old son were stolen off the porch in d.c. the porch light didn't scare him away. >> he stood on my porch for a while. jen the police came, saw the video and left. she is upset because they

didn't look at all of it which she later did and saw the thieves through the boxes out in the alley. >> i called back and said he went to the side of the house. jennifer: no one followed up. >> no. jennifer: three days later who did she see outside the house again? >> walking past my car. i said that is the guy that stole my son's christmas packages. jennifer: she called 911 again. >> he asked me questions like where is he walking? to give that information i had to continue to follow him. jennifer: several blocks and nine minutes later the d.c. police officers arrive and arrested the alleged package thief. >> we want to applaud her for that. in that, we fail to communicate with hershiser. we have since spoken with her.

>> pleaded not guilty. jennifer donelan, abc7 news. >> a live christmas tree fire earlier this gutted the annapolis yacht club is something you may not have thought of. artificial christmas trees can catch fire and burn like the real counterparts. look at this today. montgomery county firefighters helped with the demonstration. you can see the tree from going from smoldering to completely involved in flames in seconds. it filled the air with the smoke. that could be a real problem if it happens in your house. leon: a drug arrest with baked

treats laced with marijuana. they announced arrest of nicholas cunningham and evonne lidoff following an undercover investigation. the thieves vehicle were painted with the words kushgod.com and a picture of a marijuana plant. they were selling brownies and the other baked goods laced with marijuana. >> there is evidence to proceed with the prosecution. we have significant evidence. we believe additional evidence will be uncovered as a result. >> the food items for the brownie, cupcake and gummy bears. they claim they were given in exchange for donations. and not being sold. what will they think of -- this is fruitcake season. doug: that will be next. leon: then sugar cookies. doug: then people will love fruitcakes. leon: only way they will eat one. doug: busy tonight. get started. a lot of ground. rain will come to an end most tonight in the area. that is good news.

steady rain. drippy and drizzly around the area. the heaviest rain moved out. the low this morning was 54. so far this month on the 23rd and every day this month today except for the 19th which was below normal. every day is above average. every day has above average temperatures. i think that sooner or later we will get a change of the jet stream and blast of cold air in here. but not yet. potomac. 63 in dale city. 36 in anacostia and pet worth right now. another batch of rain coming in. we get a break. but the western suburb is bringing more rain to the

south. that will move up in the evening hours. the heaviest element of rain will move through northeast of baltimore and beyond. then we just have patchy showers. the violent weather continues over northwestern texas of ohio. southeast section of memphis to northern mississippi. a severe weather outbreak. number of outbreak tornado warnings. large damaging tornadoes in northern section of mississippi. that line will come through here mid-morning tomorrow. we may have an isolated thunderstorm of our own. the forecast overnight, isolated showers. breezy warm temperatures that may rise a degree overnight in spots as the gusty winds increase. tomorrow morning just maybe isolated thunderstorm along with the abandoned showers coming through. here we go. through the morning at 9:00, 8:00, 10:00, that mid-morning to the late morning time frame. that should be out of there. i don't know if we get clearing that is possible in the afternoon. with we have gusty winds. highs of -- we have gusty

winds. 73. easy record. tomorrow showers possible. can't rule out showers christmas day. saturday is mild. 64 degrees. check out the next seven days. this is what we have. 30% chance of rain thursday, friday, saturday. monday; tuesday, wednesday, chance of rain. go up and go down and 70 for sunday. cooler monday. right back to the 50's and the 60's heading toward the very end of 2015. leon: good. maybe it will play in the red red' hands. robert: one more win. 8:30 saturday in philly. can kirk cousins handle it? a guy that he looks to, to keep him calm up next. the decision is in odell beckham jr. does he get the suspension overturned? that's next in sports.

robert: the redskins could punch a ticket to the postson. you better believe you will find them in a sticky situation. can cousins handle the pressure? we know he can. jay gruden is never cracking

under pressure. remember against the giants when they hold off a furious new york crowd. >> there was no panic his voice or woe is us. to fear we let them creep back in the game. it was resolve. that mind set will go a long way. robert: the nfl upheld the one-game suspension of the receiver odell beckham jr. who was suspended after the actions against the panthers where he drew three personal fouls including a helmet-to-helmet hit. navy gearing up for military bowl against pittsburgh. the big talk is will they stay after being courted by byu.

>> i made a decision. we're at peace with it. excited to be here. this had been my life. great release and comfort. leon: final note the wizards are at home against the grizzlies. tip off at 7:00. doug: another batch of rain coming through. heavy rain. some areas have high water. flash flood warning. baltimore city. morn anne arundel county. that will stay north. steve rudin is watch things and we will update the rain and talk about the record warmth for christmas eve and update the weekend outlook for you all at 11:00. leon: keep telling yourself rain ain't snow. doug: true. leon: "world news tonight" ahead with david muir up next. leon: "world news tonight" ahead with david muir up next. see you at 11:00.

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breaking news. deadly storms and tornadoes. holiday havoc as extreme weather moves in. tornadoes touching down. whiteout conditions. icy rods. more than 70 million americans facing severe storms. also developing at this hour, thousands of flights delayed or canceled. tens of millions making this the busiest travel day along america's highways. tonight, we're in the middle of the holiday gridlock. off-limits? the political cartoon targeting senator ted cruz and picking on his young daughters. rival candidates calling it disgusting. tonight, how cruz is firing back. hospital outrage. the woman demanding medical treatment, removed from a hospital in handcuffs. collapsing outside, then dying. her family the demanding answers tonight. and,if