announcer: now, "abc 7 news at noon," on your side. jummy: taking a live look outside, a damp wednesday out a look at your forecast. brian: it took an hour and 40 minutes for me to get in today. i want to show you the showers, the heavier batch lifted to the northeast. but we still have some lingering to the west in the midday hours. out toward brunswick or through loudoun county, western loudoun,

showers overspend the area, but heavier bands could move through later tonight. there could be cymer was a funder, but there is much-needed rain. we will talk about how m coming up in a bit. to recap, showers through the latter half of the evening. keep a slicker. you're pretty good. later this evening, heavy rains return but unfortunately right in the heart of the evening rush. jummy: thank you. right now, the bad weather not only affecting us here in the dmv, the south was really battered by the storms overnight. you can see tornadoes ripping through parts of alabama,

four children remain >> in critical condition. there is a tornado right there. >> overnight, 23 tornadoes reported from louisiana to tennessee. this is what it looks like in northeast alabama after a twister slammed into homes, damaging businesses as animals roamed the roads. three people killed, all in the same trailer. four center was destroyed. in mississippi, strong winds over 60 miles per hour, flipping over trucks and damaging barnes. >> an 18 wheeler and things that were actually tilted over or near tilted over. we are lucky that no one was hurt here tonight. the storm, decimated. police in force to make sure everyone is ok.

the south end. jummy: that was rob marciano reporting. download our storm watch 7 weather app. it is the best way to stay on top of the storm exactly when they happen. also developing at noon, the desperate fight to fend off those raging wildfires that turns deadly in tennessee. lindsay janus is in the heart of the fire zone in gatlinburg. >> go, go. >> the governor is the largest forest fire in tennessee in 100 years, responsible for at least three deaths. >> completely gone. >> more than 14,000 forced to flee the resort towns of gatlinburg and pigeon forge. dollywood theme park narrowly escaping after desperate attempts by firefighters to snuff out the flames. several cabins were destroyed,

lapse shows how quickly the flames spread, sweeping across a nearby mountainside. these aerial shots show homes flattened, buildings reduced to rubble, cars burned out. the only thing standing here, a charred washer and dryer. the mayor says the next 24 hours will be critical in putting out fires like this one. this man searching frantically for his mother. >> she called me at 8:30 and said the house told her to get out immediately and we got disconnected. i have not been able to get back in touch with her since. she is not anywhere to be found right now. jummy: knew this noon, a man arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl in southeast washington. sam sweeney has details on why the suspect is linked to the incident. sam: less than 24 hours after d.c. police made it clear that they knew who the man was in

evans turned himself in. police say evans was seen firing a gun on surveillance video at the time 16-year-old breyona mcmillian was shot last week. she was in front of her apartment in southeast near capitol hill and the navy yard. investigators do not believe she was the intended target. at this hour, it remains unclear who fired the fatal shot. evans is charged with unlawful possession of a he has not been charged with murder. >> it was devastating to her family, to her mom, and to that community. they were rattled. we held a meeting monday night with a lot of folks from that community, and i think the biggest emotion you could feel -- of course there is anger, but the biggest emotion you could feel from the crowd is heartbreak. sam: evans is a convicted felon and has spent several years in prison in the past.

he could provide critical information to help investigators solve the case. sam sweeney. back to you in the studio. jummy: happening right now, police and prince george's county are investigating a homicide. they tell us the victim is an adult male who was found in the middle of the road. john gonzalez has more on the investigation. john: prince george's county police have another homicide on their hands this afternoon. this road, crittenden street, has been hours. investigators are trying to stay one step ahead of this fast-moving storm trying to collect clues as quickly as the rainwater is running down the street. we understand that at around 6:45 this morning, police got a call about a man lying on the street when -- lying on the street. when police arrived, they found him unresponsive, unconscious,

as trauma to the upper body and very suspicious. right now they do not have any strong leads or any arrests. it is unclear if this man was killed here on crittenden street , or if he was left to die from somewhere else. that is part of the investigation, and of course the dense fog and heavy rain is not helping please. >> even with these poor conditions, investigators are on the scene actively investigating, working to anyone who may have seen or heard anything is encouraged to call police. john: police are communicating with relatives of the victim. they have not released an identity. jummy: developing now in manassas, a man shot and killed inside a food lion grocery store. this happened at the front entrance while customers were still inside around 7:30 last

trying to track down a suspect, but they say there are conflicting stories about what happened. no one is under arrest right now. the good news is, people do not -- police do not believe there is a threat to the community. we want to get to some breaking news from capitol hill. house democrats have reelected nancy pelosi as the house minority leader. erwin comes despite the's -- the party pastas -- her win comes despit transition to the white house, he is moving quickly to fill cabinet positions, tapping billionaire wilbur ross as secretary of commerce. this comes after he named roman sacks executive steven mnuchin -- he named goldman sachs executive steven mnuchin to the treasury department. he had dinner with mitt romney last night. he is being considered for secretary of state.

he tweeted that he is holding a news conference on december 15 and plans to announce he is officially leaving his businesses. he says it is vital in as president not to have conflicting interests. switching gears and covering metro now -- this noon today marks one year since paul wiedefeld took over the job as general manager of metro. a lot has happened since he arrived. we are in the 11th surge of safetrack, the safety overhaul program between east falls church and ballston. right now metro is in the middle of a contentious budget battle. the biggest sticking point in his plan, laying off to 1000 workers -- laying off up to 1000 workers and reducing service. our transportation reporter, brianne carter, will be at the meeting today. she will have more coming up

dozens dead, only six survivors from the plane crash in colombia . right now, the search for what went wrong. >> at that point i made the decision to use lethal force. mr. scott never stopped. jummy: emotional testimony in charleston, south carolina. why the officer charged with the fatal shooting death of michael scott says he felt threatened. road rage? it was all caught on camera. jamie: we do not have any huge issues this afternoon, but we do have the rain. roads are wet, especially traveling this afternoon. not as may people on the road, which you may think this is the time to travel at a high-speed because not many people are out there. but we really need to be cautious. slowing third street tunnel due

directions. on connecticut avenue, a car spun out, so the avenue connecting connecticut avenue is slow. the beltway not a terrible ride at all. we are mostly in the green. inner loop, a little heavy approaching the wilson bridge. you can see some activity, anyone -- everyone getting by

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fender bender that turned chaotic in the u.k. they are arguing after their vehicles collide on a road in northern england. then it escalates into these moments when two of the drivers start trading blows with each other as traffic is just going. it did not end. the driver of the flatbed decided he would backup his car into the other. then he gets a shovel and starts beating out the window of the truck. then he gets into the car there, and starts fighting with the then he gets back into his car and drives away. police are still looking for that driver. back to cuba, where fidel castro's ashes have become a four-day journey from havana to santiago. flags were waived, and chance of

president obama did not attend the memorial service but instead sent a pair of u.s. representatives to pay respect. no u.s. officials are expected to be present for castro's funeral, which happens sunday. we want to move further south to colombia, the investigation into that deadly plane crash that claimed the lives of 71 people. among the victims, members of a brazilian soccer team who were on their way to a tournament. >> from this crash scene, teams recovered 71 bodies of those who did not survive, and the black boxes, which could answer why the commuter jet crashed, taking a brazilian soccer team. stunned fans overnight holding a vigil, the shock seen on the face of one of the young us to fans and two injured players who did not make the trip to the team's first ever final. the jet was headed to the

that airport before. >> even in the daytime it is a -- there is oftentimes weather, and it is a very high altitude. >> the pilots reported an electrical failure and technical problems. how did the six people survive? the wreckage will provide an answer. contributing, those passengers who were near exits, and those near window seats fared better. >> every mishap is a little bit unique in its own right. >> the odds are already on the flyers' side. within 95% of plane crash victims survive.

of being elected president orwellian nobel prize than you do of dying in a plane crash. jummy: the trial of an officer who shot an unarmed black man continues today. officer michael slater took the stand yesterday, saying the 2015 shooting was in self-defense because walter scott was trying to use his taser against him. prosecutors asked him how dangerous he could be running away, but slat ger maintains he was still a threat. >> i fired until the threat was stopped. jummy: slager is having trouble saying why he picked up the taser from one location and put it near the body. prosecutors say it looks like he was planting evidence. we have new details in the case of the missing mother found alive in california. authorities are now backing off

peppini's abduction was a host. she vanished and was found three weeks later on thanksgiving day. her husband says she was covered with bruises. she was bound. >> it is not a symbol, but it was a message. >> to whom? >> it could be a message to her . it could be a message to others. jummy: authorities are still hunting for her captors. they are described as two armed hispanic women driving a dark suv. we want to talk about the forecast. brian is here, of course. it is rainy and foggy. it is gross. brian: the bottom line is we need this rain, so the good news

too. it will be another around this afternoon and into the evening, probably after dark tonight, and then tomorrow we dry out again. we picked up half an inch of rain today, on top of what they picked up yesterday. across the region we have gotten close to an inch with close to more to come. -- with more to come. we want to show you the doppler swirling out there right now. we want to check out some of the showers in the northwestern portion of the area, toward frederick, western loudoun county. frederick. basically along 15 northward, a heavy pocket in leesburg, a heavy pocket to the south of frederick. we had thunder and lightning detected earlier. while this batch surges to the north and west, this is where they desperately need to win people -- where they desolate -- where they desperately need the rain. this will be headed in our direction, and i think it

middle of the afternoon. in the afternoon we dry out a bit, temperatures try to warm. 5:00, showers running up along the mountain chain. through dinnertime and bedtime tonight, the showers will continue, moving west to ease before they eventually mosey out of here. by tonight we start to get in the clear and temperatures will drop back. it will be more seasonable. upper 60's. then tonight we slip back into the 40's with showers developing as we head through the overnight hours. it will start to taper, then by tomorrow, back to breezes and 56. 52 is where we go on friday. watch the weekend. we get a bit cooler. only in the upper 40's for saturday and sunday. computers are all over the place with what happens sunday and monday. there could be a shower late

helpful overall to the region. jummy: brian, thank you. coming up here on "abc 7 news at noon," not one, not two, but 20

jummy: we found out a few days ago that someone in tennessee was carrying around a powerball with millions. it was 20 workers, actually. they work for an auto parts manufacturer, and they play powerball together for years. never in a million years did they expect this to happen. they are all keeping their jobs for now, but much more comfortable.

light came on. i do not have to get frantic about that now. jummy: so awesome. after the split, each winner

jummy: happening today, a fond farewell to a montgomery county police officer retiring after 16

badge and gun at 84 years young. he joined the force as a rookie right here 23 years old, back in 1955. he served montgomery county his entire career, making him the longest serving officer at a single agency in maryland. he will come back to the department this week as part of the volunteer corps. congratulations. brian: spitty, drizzly. near 70 with a little sunshine per than breezy and more seasonable as we head to the end of the week. looking good saturday when we collect toys for tots at national harbor. stay tuned for the forecast

>> as you may know, when i'm not hosting "millionaire," i host "the bachelor" and "the bachelorette," and i am thrilled that some of the great people i've met on those shows are here today playing for charity. that's right. it's "bachelor" fan favorites week on "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] ? ? welcome to "bachelor" fan "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] today's bachelor fan favorite is a wine maker and the bachelor from season 16. let's see what he's up to now. from san francisco, california, please welcome ben flajnik. [cheers and applause] what's up, brother? >> what's up, man? >> good to see you. >> good to see you too. [cheers and applause] whoo! >> he's still got it. >> kinda.