sen. franken: i am announcing that in the coming weeks will be resigning from the noted states senate. >> this comes after several sexual misconduct allegations and he is admitting to at least one. >> he left with parting shots. >> he reinforced that some of the allegations were not true and others he remembers differently. franken used that moment to put the spotlight on the accusations made against president trump and roy moore. franken: i, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that i am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval

who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. note, franken to said he will resign in the coming weeks. it makes you think what else he may say pending the outcome of next week's senate race. mark david will pick franken's successor. barbara comstock calling for protection of accusers. >> i believe this is a watershed moment and we need to take this opportunity to fundamentally asnge how we address this congress and beyond. rolemstock will play a big in sexual harassment training on the hill which has passed and is fighting for an end to nondisclosure agreements when it comes to settling harassment cases.

>> can you believe this video? wildfires roaring. absolutely out-of-control in southern california. it is literally exploding. the level of concern is at an all time high this afternoon. arehree of the fires between 10% and 20% containment. north of your the biggest fire burning is still glowing. coastm the smoke lined inland the firefight intensifying again today. the thomas fire in ventura county burns out of control. 96,000 acres burned, one of four wildfires still raging. >> [crying] >>

the fires inflamed by intense santa ana wind, gusting at hurricane force, and unpredictable threat. >> a wind-driven event, wind is king . >> tirelessly maintaining some ground along los angeles that burned up along the busiest freeways in the country. >> this is frightening. there are a lot of homes here. >> officials repeating the warning that the risk is far from over. >> we still ask that folks stay away from their homes. we are not completely out of the woods yet. >> at this nursing home and in neighborhoods, thousands of new mandatory evacuations took place. that --k the things pictures and things like that that are dear to me. >> residents the returning finding other described -- edit destruction and small signs of -- finding better destruction and small signs of

ring out of the rubble and dropping to his knee and proposing again. a new wildfire in san diego forcing more evacuations. for firefighters there is little relief in sight. the strong wind expected to continue into the weekend. videowant to show you going viral. what is happening here is this rabbit running on the road that darts toward the flames. watch what happens next. >> ther eyou see that. you can hear the car zipping by, but he sticks his hand next to the fire and grabs the rabbit. an unbelievable display of humanity.

historic. the claims reach $1 billion it will be the 16th such weather event of the year and that will tie a record set in 2011 since the national atmospheric oceanic surge began in 1980. droughts, floods, winter storms and freezes. this could be the third billion-dollar event in california alone. we will have updates through 7:00 tonight. world news tonight with david muir will go live from southern california. you can stream live websites on the wjla abc 7 news app. >> two students are shot to death in northern new mexico. the shooter also killed. nobody else was hurt. police have not released the names of the victims or the shooter. the school is in the town of aztec which is three hours north of albuquerque. vdot isea

chance. it has been pretreating roads with brine today. timing is everything. josh knight has the forecast. looking are realistically at the chance for our first flakes of the season. let's start with futurecast. going on for us and most of our friday will be quiet. everything is staying farther to the southeast. it is friday night and going throughout the first part of saturday that some of these weather models want to wiggle this system. the problem is that we will have a lot of dry air around the area. you want to see the snowflakes, the dry air will eat away at what this model is trying to do. there is a lot of disparity

one model run to the other. we want to make sure everybody else is ready with the chance that we could see that first taste of wintry weather. that is still on track to be a better chance. temperatures in the mid 40's and we will be dropping pretty quickly. to passouse is expected a two-week spending bill to prevent a government shutdown keeping the government functioning all the way up to the weekend. tomorrow is the last day the -- rnment is funded and if >> pamela butler's killer pleaded guilty, years after her disappearance but the family is seeking closure because her body was never found. look for prepare to her daughter's body along i-95

>> we would like to get closure. >> as another christmas approaches and doma butler's living room they are hopeful that search -- that the search will turn up remains of her loved one who disappeared nine years ago. said that the terrain has changed. >> that is jose rodriguez-crews who pleaded guilty to months ago. he was pamela butler's boyfriend and said after an argument that he strangled her in their home buried hert d.c. and body, for years claiming he knew nothing. >> i didn't do anything to her. >> new evidence showed his former wife disappeared the same way years earlier. he said in exchange for a 12 year sentence he would lead authorities to butler's body. >> he wanted to find her and get this over

we have been doing this for almost nine years. it is taxing. >> so what if the search turns up nothing and authorities believe that rodriguez crews truly tried to help find the remains? >> he promised us a body. if we didn't get what we are promised, i would try to get him some time for that. >> the ex-wife who lived in virginia -- authorities are looking at rodriguez crews as well. -- rodriguez-cruz as well. >> there are calls for changes on interstate 66. from a few dollars all the way up to $40. that is only for solo drivers. carpooling is free outside hov hours. sam sweeney has calls for change less than a week in. >> some strong words this afternoon from t n

the democratic delegation calling for an immediate suspension of this program. 2013, they were promised tolls the most at $17. they have now gone up to $40. it lasted for six minutes. vdot put a a response in only 39 cars paid that toll, but thousands averaged tolls below that. the delegation says we wanted to go back to normal, back to hybrid vehicles allowed to use it, they want more slug lines, more park-and-ride's and they want each of those hours to go back to what they were. they said it is not fair for people have -- to have to change their lives because their constituents cannot do that. they said if the program is suspended will the people who paid the money get it back

question requests i don't want to make any commitments, i don't know how much has been collected if it is in escrow or what will happen but we need to take it pays by piece. first we need to suspend the tolls. >> vdot did put out a statement calling this political rhetoric saying the program is working exactly as they intended and as of yet there is no response from the secretary of transportation. next, your birth control possibly linked to a breast cancer risk. >> don't get mad, get even. that is what one mother did to a porch pirate who stole a present for her infant. >> it was a little bit of a relief. it was fun to see that it was gone. >> she left some think that porch pirate. we will show you what. a mgm national harbor opened year

we have done the research. >> still ahead, we should either breaking news this time yesterday. now we know just how much damage there is. it will be a long time before th

>>

finds women who take birth control could be increasing their risk of breast cancer. the risk increases by almost 40%. the longer that you take contraceptives is a big factor. there is no change as to whether the contraceptive is a newer or older generation of drugs. >> maryland took a gamble on bringing mgm to prince george's county, but that was when the casino first opened. is the gamble paying off? brad bell is at the national harbor were a lot has changed over the past 12 months. brad: this has really become a fixture here. so many promises were made about this place. is it a success? the truth is in the numbers. they are telling us they have had 6 million visitors since they opened. the national air and space museum on the mall gets

7.5 million per year. one year ago tomorrow, mgm national harbor opened its doors to much fanfare and a bolt -- bold promise. >> to forever change the business and tourism landscape. >> in what year it has become the highest grossing casino and maryland. gaming revenue approaching $600 million. it is become prince george's taxpayer.p says george himmler, and he is counting. oppositionfears and to the casino. crime was a concern. neither has proven to be a serious problem. been little violence and not much theft. neighbors who were worried now say it is not bad. >> i haven't seen anything bad

marilyn says the casino was sold to voters as a cure-all. she says it is not. >> we have one day per week trash pickup. we have leaves everywhere. the roads are horrible. we are not getting any help from that. it's just down there. >> she is clearly not a gambler. we are going through all of these numbers. at 6:00, we back will talk a little bit more about how much mgm has paid into both state and local governments. pretty big number. seen porch pirate videos. one angry mother in oregon didn't get angry, she got even, by leaving a smelly surprise. >> how many dirty diapers are in their? >>

diapers. [laughter] >> how dirty? >> he has been sick the last week. >> oh! >> too much information. [laughter] that's still package was for her four-month-old son. she taped up that box filled with dirty diapers along with a note and the next day it was gone. >> a little bit of a relief. it was fun to come home and see that it was gone. we had quite a good laugh thinking of someone opening the box of dirty diapers thinking they would get something good and its not. >> he wonder if that will deter them next time. [laughter] >> this time of year it is best to make sure your packages are sent to work or another safe location so they are not stolen. in at brownips are university beginning nextea

replaced undergraduate student loans with scholarships and financial aid packages. brown says it raised the $30 million to make the change but needs another $90 million to make this permanent. >> the fight over president trump's decision to drastically shrink two national monument is starting to heat up. they are fired -- filed the fourth lawsuit challenging the move. the interior secretary ryan .inke he called the company's claim and nefarious lie. -- called the company's claim a nefarious lie. josh: we have a chance for snowflakes to move in. wary of what you see. clear skies across a lot of the area.

there. we are looking at this breeze out of the southwest at eight miles per hour. dry air that will help us to cool off. the combination of clear skies and dry air allow things to cool quickly. there are a few flurries toward elkin and western maryland and pennsylvania. don't think we will get anything to hit the ground. what you will find is a few more clouds will move in later on. 6:00, working down to the low 40's by 9:00. coming up shortly, we will check in with bill kelly who will be out doing weather on the go. look at a chance to see how things are looking this year. 26 to 34 overnight tonight. it will be called. most of us tomorrow waking up near the freezing mark. it feels like 32 at 9:00

and by lunchtime it feels like we are in the 30's and it will stay that way through friday evening. we are not drastically below average but it is a bit cooler .han would be normal what a stunning to happen as more and more of these versions are starting to indicated different -- similar sort of thing. saturday, watch this shift. is he the blue color that looks like we will get a bunch of snow come a but this is really going to run into some dry air. it will eat away at those snowflakes. that stops us from getting too much. a lot of areas around the metro may get a few flakes and that is about it.

there is a slim chance that this over performs a little bit. what i would expect his get your first flakes of the season and then look forward to the next chance. throughout the weekend, flurries on saturday, well above freezing. 37 on sunday and another windy and cold day, even colder for tomorrow. that is a strong cold front bringing us a high of 35 next wednesday. can relet another mix for the middle part of next week. you can't avoid the car commercials this time of year. >> these devices found in d.c. and one we have never seen before. at 4:30 we will show you why this one is different and

>> tis the season for car shopping. >> if you are in the market you will want to hear this. >> the safest vehicle list for 2017 has been released. lisa, the stakes were higher than ever. iihf included -- iihs

included tougher criteria like a passenger-side crash test. honor5 got the highest which includes acceptable passenger-side protection and headlights. what they have been a good job of improving overall safety sufficient headlight illumination has been lacking. and subaru had the largest hour of vehicles in the top picks list. that across manufacturers, the vast majority of winners qualify only one actually equipped. automatic emergency braking systems and good headlights are not part of base packages. we have the complete list of picks on our website or download the abc 7 app. 4:30, there next at is a chance we could see some wintry weather friday

new guidance ahead. >> a major detour for drivers that could potentially last into the new year. how long a bridge is expected to be closed, coming up. >> when we return, caught on v ideo. brand-new christmas lights set a home on fire. the important alert

>> you're watching abc seven news at 4:00 on your side. >> yesterday a truck at the side of this bridge in frederick. jonathan: you knew it would be bad. it is going to be off-limits for weeks. brianne carter has the timeline. we knew that it would be bad, but we did not expect this. brianne: we are hearing potentially into the new year where all of this could still be in place. detours.losures and it is just beyond this sign with a decades-old bridge was struck and now the popular commuter route will be closed for up to two months.

because -- it is because of the age of the bridge. installedto be made, and inspected before the bridge can safely reopened to traffic. traffic is being detoured to 27 0. some drivers tell us that could add 20 minutes to their trip each way. >> i don't even know how to go this way. i'm going back to urbana to get on the highway. i didn't even know it would be closed. >> that is a big inconvenience for a lot of people. a lot of people that live in the green valley and new market use this way as the back way. >> we have had a number of people who live in this area and frequently use this route. it does lead back to 270 to get folks around the closure. meanwhile, we have other folks who say that this will be a larger concern as we head into the holiday season.

with josh knight. you can feel the chill when you step outside. josh: it is not even that breezy today but that little bit goes a long way. it feels about 43 as you get into the shenandoah valley. let me show you what happens here the rest of the night. we will watch those temperatures drop pretty quickly thanks to the clear skies that will be around the next few hours and we have a cold air mass that has stuck with us. even the 20's in a few areas. 42 for tomorrow, back to 43 on saturday. an even stronger cold front for sunday and temperature stuck in the 30's. next week we briefly bounce but not much, just in the mid-30's before an even stronger cold front comes through.

model. the is probably one of least exciting for the snow lovers but i wanted to paint the picture of the different things we get to look at. you can see that system starting to set up tomorrow night. you'll notice that with this one d.c. stays dry. what is most likely to happen? it is often a blend in the middle of the two. a few flakes for the weekend but not looking for anything blockbuster. where we could have some issues would be farther south and off to the southeast especially toward the beaches. low is a big player for us and that will determine what you see over the course of the weekend. the big story will be the

cold front in 10 minutes. >> don't let the winter catch you by surprise. he will get updates based on your location a matter where you go. now with the holidays coming up a lot of us are using cash machines and atm's. police are uncovering dozens of skimming devices that are virtually undetectable to the naked eye. this is troubling, rich. >> it sure is. behind me is the d.c. digital evidence lab. scientists take these devices apart, they have dozens of them and say that they are more and more undetectable. >> this is a rare look inside the digital lab. these new devices are called deep insert skimmers that can be inserted inside the reader of an atm where you insert your cred

sd card can be mounted on the side of the machine or connected remotely like on a key filed. bad guys don't even need to touch the machine to get information. >> sometimes they are paired with cameras which -- the skimming device will read credit information and the camera will record your pin number at the same time and then it will transmit the data. >> that is why experts say it is very important to cover your keypad so the fact is to know what your number is. atm's andppening at gas stations. at 6:00 we will explain how you can keep your money safe. >> president trump says that the fbi's reputation is in tatters. this was a tweet a couple days ago.

today the fbi director christopher wray presented a different picture of the bureau. >> what i can tell you is that is tens oft i see thousands of agents, analysts, and staff working their tails off to keep america safe from the next terrorist attack, gang violence, child predators, spies from russia, china, north korea, and iran. was sworn in as a director 2.5 months ago. >> protest in the west bank over president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as the cap at her of israel. world leaders advised against it other jewish community seems to be split.

committed to peace in that region. laser pointed, a right at a police helicopter blinding the pilot. >> wait until you see what the pilot did when officers on the ground were too busy to confront the guy. >> there is a promotion for free food next week but there is a catch. now here is a first look at how you can start friday with good morning washington right here on abc seven. >> tomorrow on good morning washington, we are tracking cold temperatures and when we could even see flurries in the area. we reveal seven steps to surviving the holiday season after d

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>> chipotle is trying about anything to get you back in the door. away queso for free, but you have to buy an entree and you have to be wearing an ugly holiday sweater. what

consider a nice holiday sweater and you get it for free? achelle: a teacher is using photo of tom brady at the crosswalk. he wants to get their attentions of a slowdown. it is working. the teachers has more drivers mile per houre 20 limit sign since the picture went up. jonathan: the power of brady. ronda rousey was the most feared woman in the octagon and now the mixed martial arts star maybe taking her talent to the ring. jonathan: people believe she is finalizing a deal to join wwe. she did make a cameo experience -- appearance. it is unclear if she will be a full-time performer or if she is just stepping back and cross training and will stay in the octagon. michelle: plot twist. lasthan: coming up next,

airlines had solved their christmas scheduling error. now we are learning how much it will cost that airline. >> it is extremely painful. michelle: lasers pointed at a police helicopter. they were angry.

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michelle: a man in britain pleaded not guilty to encouraging terrorists to target prince george. authorities say he sent a photo of the prince next to the silhouette of a terrorist with the message -- even the royal family will not be left alone. georgia's third in line to the throne. a judge sentenced a south carolina police officer to 20 years in prison. he sent -- michael slager shot and killed walter scott after he was running from the scene. michael slager pleaded guilty to violin

shot. jonathan: look at the screen right now. this bright light is what two police helicopter pilot say they saw on patrol. it is a laser pointing right at them. it could have had catastrophic consequences. police are that there were no officers available on the ground. they landed the helicopter and chased this guy down. the pilot said they counted a. total of 10 flashes blinding them. >> it landed us -- a total of 10 flashes blinding them. >> it blinded us for a couple of seconds. >> police say he initially denied it but later confessed and said it was just for fun. he did not realize how far that beam of light could travel. >> lawmakers are voting on legislation that would make it against the law to fly a drone while drunk. there are no laws on the books like that right now in our area. the faa already has boules --

operation of drunken done -- drones. >> the school did not have a single student test proficient any -- in any of the exams last year. our investigative reporter has to looking into the system as part of the baltimore initiative. what he has found is not unique to maryland. ♪ >> frederick douglass high school is one of baltimore's oldest and most storied schools. it is produced graduates like a supreme court justice thurgood marshall. that was 1925. school graduates only half of its 900 students. tested one of them proficient in any state exam. douglas is not alone. 016, six

baltimore did not have a single student proficient in any state testing. here's how it works. high school students are tested by the state in math and english. their scores place them in one of five categories. a four or five is considered proficient. one through three are not. 185 students took the state math test. 165 fell into the lowest level. just one student approached expectations and scored a three. >> is the school district at fault? >> i would not say this could district is at fault. >> janice ling is the executive director of teaching and learning at baltimore city schools. nothe school district takes responsibility for six schools that don't have any kids proficient? >> i don't think of saying we have no responsibility. i think it is a lot of things coming together at the same time. >> these six schools are getting extra resources, increased teacher and principal

and sharper focus on student need to increase test scores. >> it is not satisfying for us to see the data and the numbers look like that. >> the kids are not learning. >> the former city councilmember carl stokes says that this shows the dire state of public education in many schools. >> if the school is not working, they must close that school and put those young people in school s that are working. jonathan: baltimore is not alone in having public schools that struggle. our i-team has launched its own investigation called "faking the grade." what are you seeing in your kid's school or where you work? contact us. you can do this anonymously. will just a few minutes we start with the dev

one in new mexico. new information on the gunman is coming into our newsroom. >> just river pearl harbor. >> -- remember pearl harbor. >> this was a unique moment at the white house. what prompted those heroes to break out in song. we will also talk to the last living american witness to one of the biggest moments of the 20th century about not only pearl harbor but the war. burglaries in one community, the crime alert. jonathan: abc 7 is on your side now. mortgage rates rising in the past week inching back toward 4%. the average 30 year fixed-rate loan is at 3.94%. historically low when you consider. consider the life of the loan at this time last year and you are saving big-time. michelle: the number of first-time filings for

straight week. the labor department's numbers come a day before the complete jobs report for november comes out. the unemployment rate fell to a 17-year low. jonathan: general electric is cutting 12,000 jobs. just this year, the company stocks have lost half of their value. check to see if you have any shares in your funds. the company says they are cutting their stock dividend in half. the american airlines scheduling glitch will cost the company big-time. the early estimate is $10 million for the mistake. the software error accidentally granted too much time off for pilots. the union and airline negotiated increased pay to lure them back in. no flights were canceled. it is not clear if there was. an impact on ticket sales. jonathan: they give all the

it's like my dad says, those planes aren't going to fly themselves. we are for a change in our weather. josh: the first flakes of the season. that is the best way to look at this forecast. the colder temperatures will stick around for us over the next week and a half. there is a good chance throughout the rest of 2017. we are at 46 in clifton, 45 for herndon. it will be a couple degrees cooler downtown but for a lot of us we are hanging in the same spot. move inud cover can more quickly but temperatures will not fall as fast. low 40'soking into the and upper 30's by the time we get to 7:00 or 8:00. your commute is chilly, otherwise the weather is not going to be an issue. 28 degrees for wind chill by tomorrow morning. 22 in luray, 26 for hagerstown. tomorrow morning will be a

at the bus stop, make sure that kids have a heavier coat. if you're getting off to the metro stop, we have a couple of stop -- blocks to walk. we're starting off in the upper 20's to the mid-30's. 39 by recess time. lots of cloud cover tomorrow. it will take away from any warmer feelings that we have today. let's run through what happens later. i will show you a different look at what could happen. that is just some snow showers and rain mixing in. as we go throughout the afternoon, maybe a few more flakes start a bump into the area. this is the latest model. was totallyurs ago dry. this system has wiggle room. back to you. jonathan: coming up for us,he

powerful weapon could be one person and their computer. next up, a look at the challenging and changing battlefield. michelle: abc 7 is at zoo life. live pictures from the national zoo.

michelle:

passed 82-week spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. there is a warning tonight that the weight we think of war and our military may need to change. >> fire! >> what does war look like? there is a growing sense that war will soon look less like this and more like this. >> there is no cruise missile, no tanks, no planes. you can undermine someone's stock market. you could cause a run on the banks. >> kevin freeman points to the warfare,"stricted written by chinese military officials in 1999. >> they say that a single computer hacker could be more powerful than a nuclear bomb. >> on capitol hill there seems to be agreement. intensified the

, two of the greatest factors contribute in to the terrorism threat landscape. highlyinternet is protected on the military level, but recent hacks of uber and yahoo! show that the vast majority of internet is not. >> the cyber attacks are not accounts,e .net their hitting the .com accounts. >> whether it is a lone wolf attack, or trying to influence public opinion. these are very effective weapons. the landscape of warfare is clearly changing. >> lawmakers are calling for more action. not just from the. government but private companies. . they say that without that partnership, combating the cyber threat will be almost impossible. 5 right now at

stormwatch i seven eyeballing the potential for a wintry mix. al franken making it official and taking a parting shot at the president. where is pamela butler's body? her family reacts to a major break that could end nine years of wondering. abc 7 news at 5:00, on your side. the firstow at 5:00, blast of winter is prompting action on the highway. spent the day pretreating hundreds of miles of virginia roadways. they will do it all tomorrow. >> it is all because of the first snow threat of the season. bill kelly has been tracking this. he joins us life -- live from zoo life. is this a case of road crews being extra cautious? bill: it is a good call for them to do that. what we will be tracking is where th l

models that want to bring us know. but a majority of them keep it well off to our east. i ame show you what talking about. you see the clouds. we will start with the overall picture over the dmv. watch as we pull this wider. we will go to the south. we will focus over the next 24-36 hours is the weather down likee south through places south carolina, north carolina, that is the system that will be working up here and that will be affecting us tomorrow evening and into the first part of saturday. in terms of tonight, you are fine but the surface temperatures will play a role. er above freezing come although it is 30. 41 in d, 45 college park, leesburg, same thing. we will dropped her medically tonight. we will see temperatures stay in the 40's range