rails on the highway. alison: the number of deaths is still rising. the scene unfolded an hour south of seattle early this morning. lindsey mastis joins us with the latest development today. >> tonight there are reports that six people died. all were on board the train. we are hearing the frantic moments as the amtrak tries to make sense of the derailment. >> emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the going. >> calls for help after 13 amtrak cars jumped the track on the highway palo the trait troopers say five were hit with two semis. there are injuries on the ground and fatalities aboard the train. how did it happen? >> we were coming across the corner, taking the bridge to i-5 and went on the ground. >> it was making the inaugural

as part of a $181 million project. the ntsb is on the way to take a close look at the scene, the project and interview those operating the train. the ntsb team is traveling from d.c. to the crash site. we are hearing report that six people died, that is not confirmed and we are told that the death toll could be higher. jonathan: a hectic scene there in pierce county. larry: investigators will be there all day to piece together what happened. tom roussey has a detailed look at where the train cars fell off the track. >> the bigger picture this train was supposed to be going from seattle all the way to portland, oregon. on the way to olympia the capitol. look at the new secti

where it happened. interstate 5 where the traffic was headed southbound this way. the train was headed this way and the train is hanging over the side where it happened. this is an aerial view from the helicopter over the scene of what it looks like. we are hearing stories of the passengers on the train and not seriously hurt. they said everything was going fine and moving at what was the normal speed at 80 miles per hour. then they say there was a jolt. and from there it moved quickly. they felt themselves being lunged forward. a passenger describes what it was like after that. >> i looked around there was glass and a particular smell i can't describe. >> i'm kind of hiding behind some cavalier

but, you know, it's rough. topaz heard from her how she is trying to deal with something so horrible. she said she was taking a nap when it happened. so emergency taking a nap and waking up to all of that going on. so this is terrible situation in washington state. out of the 14 cars that were a part of the whole train on the tracks, 13 of the 14 derailed in this area. reporting live in the newsroom, i'm tom roussey, abc7. larry: wow! we will stay with abc7 for breaking updates by downloading the smart phone app or get the tech alerts sent to your phone. alison: we have new dash cam video to show you shooting suspect that took baltimore police on a chase last week. this shows the moment when carter sped away from the officers when they asked him to get out of the car. second later you hear gunshots and it was carter firing at the officers. the investigators say he is responsible for a

shooting that left a man dead. larry: the police chief charlottesville was criticized over how the department handled the nationalist rally and today he announced he is retiring. they did not give an official reason for departure. alison: breaking news. tonight several people are checked out after a carbon monoxide leak at rockville home. crews on the scene in the 100 block of washington street. maryland bureau chief brad bell is live with the breaking details. brad? brad: as you can see the fire department is still on the scene of the house in the downtown section of rockville close to the courthouse. look, this is really what made all the difference. the people were able to go ahead and get out of the home. now the alarm sounded and they came out. fire department arrived. they went in. listen to this. they found 200 p

million. everybody got out of the house, got fresh air and they are okay. the cause we are told is work done on the surface and something wasn't connected. the exhaust gases were getting all through the home. the fire department is talking about this as a good news story. they have this in the home. the fire department stressing you have to have these and you have to test them to make sure that they actually work. in this case, we are seeing the proof that saved lives. the levels were very, very high. in rockville, brad bell, abc7 news. alison: thank you very much. now we turn to the weather. what beautiful day it was today. el considers it's mid-december -- especially considering it's mid-december. fall hanging on for a few days at least. bill kel

later this evening. hi, bill. bill: good evening. if we look around the region there is not much going on. we had a few areas of drizzle to the west. not out of the question. this is how it will break down. you don't have to worry about the freezing conditions on the highway. it's good and mild for mid-december. we will go warmer tomorrow. as we look out in the forecast. i want you to stick around. we are talking about a lot of changes back and forth. specifically we have christmas eve, christmas day in the forecast. the travel, that type of thing. interesting the way thed if models are ounce -- interesting the way the models are bouncing. alison: you mentioned travel and we want to tourn the massive power outage that crippled the world's busiest airport. atlanta's airport made project

normal. danya bacchus with how they are recovering and a big apology. danya: long delays and long lines. it could be days before all effected passengers make it to the final destination. >> delta was able to get the kids a flight direct. i have two stops. >> the electrical outage brought the busiest airport to the knees for 12 hours. >> hundreds of flights were grounded and 30,000 passengers surrounded by darkness. >> people are helpless. they can't get down the stairs. i mean it's a nightmare. >> monday the power was restored but the travel headache continues. >>

to birmingham and try to get to wherever. you know, nearby. not. >> the hours' long blackout caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility. pictures show the damage from the fire that knocked out the backup system. georgia power investigators are now trying to determine the cause. a spokesperson says most of the stranded passengers have been rebooked and they should be back to a normal schedule on tuesday. danya bacchus, abc7 news, atlanta. alison: well, we should say larry smith was actually there at the airport. we happy you made it back in time for the news. you weren't so lucky trying to get to the morning show today. what was it like? larry: it was crazy to see people sitting around. no computers, no power. a picture of the backup. they weren't allowing any cars to get near the terminal so even if you had your luggage and tried to leave, this was your final destination, you couldn't get a car. you

way to a shuttle. they were passing out free water. if you were like me and you already had a ticket and you weren't checking bags it was fairly easy. otherwise, delta passengers were in line for quite a bit of time today. the one problem today still because there was no electricity no train service from the rental car center to the term a -- terminal. if you've been to atlanta it runs the entire link. on facebook live we put videos up to show you the walk if you have time to kill. >> hopefully you had your walking shoes. it seems like from the pictures and stuff that you took people were calm. >> that is the big thing i was surprised. very few panicked. one woman was calling out for someone, she lost her traveling partner, possibly a child. i don't know. i tried to help her out. i did help two people tell them where to catch shuttles. they thought i worked there. even people who worked there didn't know what to tell

and no knew what was going on. give credit to the atlanta airport today to try to rectify things as fast as possible. going as smoothly as they could considering the task at hand. alison: glad you made it back. larry: thank you. alison: thank you, larry. with the busy holiday travel season here what can you do if the flight snaffu happens to you? are you entitled to a refund? do they have to put you on another flight? "7 on your side" and we'll have answers tonight at 6:00. larry: okay. well, new developments on the tax bill now. the house rules committee will meet tonight to set up a vote by the full house tomorrow. the president appeared confident of victory in the speech highlighting the new national security strategy. president trump: we are days away from passing historic tax cuts for american families and businesses. it will be the biggest tax cut and tax reform in the history of our country. larry: congress must st

to prevent a shutdown. two-week funding extension expires friday at midnight. alison: trump's statement that he won't fire robert muler is doing little to ease fears on capitol hill. lawyers for the president is expected to meet with mueller's team this week. the new national security strategy unveiled by the president this afternoon does not specifically mention russia interference in last year's election. larry: still to come, a deadly plane crash in indonesia with potential connections to our area. what neighbors are saying about the people they believe were on board. >> cell phone store thefts in fairfax and prince george's county and there may be a connection. we'll explain in a live report coming up. >> explorer, do you accept your mission? >> mission to mars. how the d.c. middle schoolers are exploring space and the future in science.

alison: thievesro

dozens of phones. larry: now they are investigating another set of robberies. richard reeve is live at the headquarters. we understand that there may be a connection here. >> well, larry, that is the interesting thing about this case. cell phone store robberies in two different jurisdictions. there is a connection. the getaway car. take a look at the photographs. there are three men under arrest by the prince george's county police. just in the last hour or so. authorities told us about the arrest of steve alexander and eubanks and robinson of southeast d.c. they all three face charges accused of robbing a cell phone store in capitol heights sunday afternoon following saturday night robbery of the store in alexandria around 10:00 p.m. minutes before closing time.

thigh stole dozens of phones of $70,000 to $80,000 but the getaua crashed into another vehicle. the accomplish ran off and stole a minivan from a woman in a plaza that was involved in sunday's arrest in capital heights. >> people in the vehicle at the time it was found. people are traumatizedded from the robbery. nobody was really that prepared. so they don't know if the men arrested here are r

the alexandria crime. there may be a d.c. connection coming up as well. alison: the thomas fire in california torched an area larger than new york city, washington d.c. and san francisco combined. larry: it's expected to burn in the new year. the firefighters are doing their best to save homes but there is only so much they can do. if you have winds that severe you can't save every home. >> there is some hope to tell you about because the winds are dying down. and the humidity is going up. but not much rain forecasted in the next ten days. larry: meanwhile, the

emergency situation. two dozen people are dead and two dozen are missing following the massive landslides. major flooding destroyed brunches and left some towns isolated. bill: i am going back to your story and i picture the atlanta airport. if you were on the end turn, i didn't think about the train. alison: had to walk the entire length. bill: not a small walk. larry: to go to the "c" concourse if you know atlanta. i got to the gate i was at a mile and a half already. there are some people who just slept along the walkway. camped out. >> what a unique experience. this is the time lapse from earlier. it's very nice. notice how still the potomac is as well for the great majority of this.

there to stir it up. otherwise a calm day. clouds are kicking in there at the end with the beautiful sunset. nice. temperatures in the 50's. some spots warmer than that. 59 for redskins. 60 around charlottesville. 49 in hagerstown. 52 in cumberland with the light winds. a little breeze around cumberland. a lot of the readings are coming in at zero. no wind at all. we have calm conditions out there. if you are heading out tonight a few clouds working through. but this is a quiet evening. light coat. you should be good to go. great everything to get out and about. relax and check out the nights. great night for the zoo lights that is calm. the winds are light and comfortable. it's 49 by 7:00. the day tomorrow we have the highs in the upper 50's. to near 60. normal in the mid-40's. we are way above that.

now with the seven-day forecast, i got to this quickly because i want to spend time on it for you. we have 60 degrees on the day on tuesday. a lot of you are traveling i'm sure. we look at the next few days. the temperatures bounce around and there are cooler temperatures coming in for wednesday and thursday. that is where we should be. first day of winter on thursday. 45. the normal high temperature. it will be good. travel plans the next few days and the beginning of friday. i don't see weather related problems what so ever. even the low temperatures barely at freezing or above. here is what we are watching. friday evening, mainly late. we are watching the evening rain. working in to saturday. saturday looks like we will bounce back up. upper 50's to 60. with a 50 to a 60% chance of the rain showers. models go back and forth. by the time we get to christmas eve and christmas day they diverge. especially on monday. i don't talk about the moldals to show you this. i want you as this advances. g.f.s. is one

it's an american model. it has us in upper 30's to low 40's. european model has us near 70 degrees. that big of a temperature spread between the twod mods. basically what is happening is we have very cold air mass to sink down to the middle of the country. it will cross our area. the question is exactly when it does. that will play a difference. so for example mid-next week. that is when i see it in the cold air mass. the highs in the 20's. the reason i bring this up and i generally would not focus at all on day six and seb this strongly. i'm only doing that because it's christmas. that is a very important day. travel plans may be affected and that time of thing. we are going middle ground on it to keep an eye on sunday and monday. but the next few days if you are traveling around it's looking nice. that is great news. we as forecasters don't like when the models are so

the weather is still, still way up in canada. larry: update on the train crash in washington state in a few minutes. alison: the less than the warm welcome the education secretary betsy devos got in baltimore. kellye: i'm kellye lynn in northwest where the app is bringing video act

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in tonight's spotlight on education, we go to the northwest and kellye lynn shows us the interactive experience. >> the eighth graders are about to embark on a mission to mars. >> explorer, do you accept your mission? >> it's cool. it's something new. we haven't doe this ever. >> gather the evidence and take wheels. >> it looks like a

interactive experience on the inside. >> they will be learning about science and exploration but also how open futures. >> they will visit 14 schools to reach 3,000 students. >> we are learning how to solve clues and become engineer. >> let's all work together. >> the path that could lead to science, technology, engineering and math. in northwest, kellye lynn, abc7 news. >> emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the

track and we are on top of the developing story out of washington state with the new details from a news conference that wrapped up in the last 15 minutes. alison: president trump blasting the previous presidents. this tame for the efforts to keep if u.s. safe. larry: but first, a flight bound goes down the indiana and what we learn about those who may have been on

alison: tonight the federal aviation investigators are working to pinpoint what brought a plane carrying three people and two dogs out of the sky that was headed for frederick, maryland. stephen tschida has new information about the people on board. >> the plane disappeared on saturday night. when rescue workers arrived they found the smoldering debris. >> once the plane crashed it bores into

wi believe there was a k9. >> another dog on board survived and showed up at a nearby house after the crash. the pilot lived here in potomac and flew his daughter and her friend to kansas. >> this is a tragedy. >> authorities in indiana conducted autopsies to try to definitively i.d. the victims. as far as the dog which survived it was taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment of the injuries. stephen tschida, abc7 news. larry: traffic deaths in virginia up significantly from last year. we are learning 800 people killed on old dominion road through saturday but the department of transportation says that is up from 700 deaths from the same period last year. 40% of the traffic fatalities involve vehicles hitting a fixed object like a tree or a pole.

other updates from the site of the derailment in washington state. 50 people are hospitalized and a dozen with critical or serious injuries after the derailment. the derailment happened on a new stretch of track that made the inaugural run on a route supposed to be faster. there were trial runs done in weeks leading up to today. several vehicles were hit by the train cars. we'll have another update that is coming up at 6:00. at the "live desk," i'm lindsey mastis. alison: new developments now in january deadly shooting at a florida airport. federal judge delayed the trial of santiago who is accused of opening fire and killing

larry: kristine frazao details the four pillars of president trump's plan. kristine: a vision laid out on the future of the u.s. national security. president trump: we are engaged in a new era of competition. we accept that vigorous military economic and the political contests are now playing out all around the world. >> the former trump administration official says must was crafted in his time in the white house. >> this is a document that is unapologetic for who america is and what we stand for. >> president trump says it centers around protecting the american homeland, people and the way of life. peace through strength and advancing our interest. including being tough with china. >> the

efficacy if there isn't the option to use force. it must have an iron fist. >> even some critics of president trump are calling the national security strategy more traditional and even tempered. the problem is what he says now contradicts what he says or tweets in the future sending mixed signals to long-time allies. >> many corners of the globe depend on -- not on the u.s. troop but the commitment. >> the defense official says always putting america first has proven harmful in the past. >> at world war i and world war ii we tried to go et alones. one of the message is when america leads the world looks for partnership with us. >> who they are with and what they stand for is a prime focus in the year ahead. in washington, i'm kristine

alison: a mixed response for secretary of education betsy devos at the university of baltimore. some of the graduates there turned their backs on betsy devos as she delivered the commencement speech. 3,000 people signed a petition calling on the school to disinvite her because of what they say are her hostile views on public education and the indifference to civil rights. >> after major call for senator al franken to resign, an aboutface now for some lawmakers. alison: and a huge mistake. that is what smiley says pbs has made. he is speaking out about allegations against him. details are next. >> a tradition is dates back to 1939. postmark from bethlehem. i'm cheryl conner. coming up we take y

bill: hey, there. we get to the christmas eve forecast this weekend. show you what is going on. temperatures in the 40's. clouds moving through. mild evening. no weather related problems. light jacket. i think you will be good to go. this is the christmas eve weekend forecast. 60 on saturday. that is what we look at now. relatively warm pattern. by christmas eve on sunday it will divert. mid-ground. 50 on currently and bringing a chance for showers each day. i don't see snow on either two days by the time we get to monday that is when it will be all over the board. the christmas day forecast. we are keeping it mild for this time of the year but it is something that bears watching for sure. right now with major travel headaches looking at t

q: joe manchin said that al franken should remain in the

of the allegation of the sexual misconduct. take a listen. >> i definitely think he should submit himself which he willingly has done and offered to do and go through the process of an extensive ethics review. i have seen a person with his caucus turn it off and that has med me sick. i am very upset with the process. q: manchin called on the minnesota democrat to pledge by whatever the ethics committee recommends. franken has yet to set a date for him to step down. minnesota governor mark dayton, though, already chosen franken's replacement, the current lieutenant governor tina smith. from the "live desk," i'm q mccray, abc7 news. alison: thank you. tavis smiley has been suspended from pbs. the long-time radio commentator, tv shauk show host and author is

misconduct. today he is talking about the allegation. >> i have never cursed or exposed myself inappropriately to anyone in 30 years. over six different networks there has never been an allegation. >> he applauds the women who have had the courage to come out and tell their truth and lead us in a conversation about how to create healthy work spaces. larry: coming up, brazen thieves came close to ruining newlywed couple christmas. >> magicalling 911 -- imagine calling 911 and they know the car make and model, medical history and information about your

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alison: caught on camera. look at this. santa fe couple christmas decorations were stolen in minutes. one suspect took the lights off the bushes. another one stole the candy canes. look at this. one by one. the homeowner said it took them hours to put the display together. they used the money from the wedding because this is their first christmas as a married

couple. >> he took it off so calm. it's not the first time doing this. >> instead the couple went out and bought more decorations and they put them up the next day. larry: good for them! >> "7 on your side" with health matters as they struggle to find a sal lution on the -- solution on the opioid crisis. we explain a new drug disposal program. >> the number of the people dying of the opioid overdoses in d.c. is twice homicide rate. today the company vice president announced three of the 65 d.c. stores will have unwanted drug disposal bins. the city officials applaud that. we want the public to go into the medical cabinets they have at home.

prescription drugs in there that we no longer need. >> if keeping opioids out of the hands of the young. the health department said a typical opioid abuser in d.c. is not young. >> on average a 55-year-old african-american male using the drugs for many, many years. adding fentanyl to the picture just makes it extremely volatile and toxic. they end up overdosing. >> the number of the d.c. deaths of opioid soared from 83 in 2014 to 216 so far this year. >> if you have a disposal unit, you have a an issue of theft.

>> they want 270 sites nationwide. alison: freddie mac has a plan to deal with the affordable housing. they unveiled three-strong strategy to help people find homes they can afford. the number of the affordable homes dropped 38% 2010-2015. larry: literally freezing out rats. that is the man. -- plan. the fog comes off that is not deadly to us but it can overwhelm the rodents. other cities have seen it work so they will give it a shot in d.c. then comes the clean-up. okay. christmas came early at the emerson house senior home in bladensburg. alison: the residents got a nice visit from santa. holiday meal boxes. those were put together by

responders. >> we have had some in the senior home. if it weren't for us to bring baskets in, they couldn't bring in the family to have a dinner that they serve. most of them don't have it. >> it means a lot to me. alison: by the end of the week the volunteers will deliver 2,500 boxes across the county. good for them. all right. we want to show you this. check out the adorable christmas card from the royal family. prince william wearing shorts. he always wears shorts. so cute. not william, but the little one. his wife kate, prince george wearing shorts. princess charlotte, are all wearing blue. they are always matching. they have the annual card there. the family typicals wear similar collar scheme at the joint pub -- similar color scheme at joint pu

larry: we have video to show you just in abc7 news. check this out. the flames in the house in burke. it broke out last night. puerto rico governor ordered review of how many died. they will look on the deaths due to natural causes. alison: christmas came early. rick and jamie lost everything from hurricane harvey and rick was paralyzed from a fall two weeks earlier so over the weekend the furniture store

house full of new furniture. >> thank you for everything. alison: they gave refunds to the customers after the astros won the world series. remember that? larry: yeah. the same guy who had them in the store, too, right? alison: i believe so. larry: he just gives and gives. alison: love that. weather wise was balmy today compared to what we have seen. larry: bill, is this going to stick around? bill: it is. more balmy tomorrow. i agree. very nice out there today. 51 is the current temperature. the sun is down for a while. the winds are light as well. it plays a role. you don't worry about the wind chill factor.

>> let me show you the future cast. we have low 30's at 7:00. so very few of you will have to shape off ice. the winter will start officially on thursday and we talk about that coming up. larry: thanks. alison: all right. erin is here with the sports. how is

redskins got a nice victory. since they have been eliminated from the playoff. skins are playing for pride. sunday they showed the dedication to finish the season strong with a victory over the cardinals. washington will look to do it all on christmas eve when they host the broncos. gruden was asked about the pressure to just finish at 8-8. which would mean the redskins would have to win the final two games. here is what he had to say. >> i don't know what the perception is or will be. 7-9 or 8-8 or whatever it is. i know the perception wasn't a good enough year for anybody. they continue to work hard through the tough times.

erin: yesterday he scored his first cupdown but after the game he was at the locker room. he was a free agent and woke up to a dream he played for the redskins so the dream came through. >> we have been grinding and we never took a day off. we want to be ready to make a super bowl run. erin: i think he means next year. great news for the capital star winger t.j. oshie. he is expected to return to the line-up in dallas. he missed the last six games with a concussion. the caps went 5-1 in the absence.

welcome his return yesterday. >> they face many responding to

alison: police in firefighters in alexandria have a new tool. smart 911 gives them instant access to a caller's profile with important, potential live life-saving information. >> 911. >> the city of alexandria is encouraging residents to sign up for smart 911 to create online profile linked to a phone number. in this mobile era, even just an address associated with the phone number can be critical information. residents can share as much as they want. emergency contact, car model and the plate number, medical history. >> if you have problems walking or if you had a previous heart a

want the responder to know. >> smart 911 is free. and it's already in use in d.c. and some other local cities. when necessary, profiles can be shared between the jurisdictions. businesses are encouraged to sign up and upflood the floor plan. >> they help the fire department know where things are. like where is a shutoff valve, apartment complex if they have gate, they can download the gate code or if the officers get in there faster. >> they have been distributing the flyers promoting smart 911. in three months 500 phone numbers have been registered with the program and many include details about dependents, children, elderly or disabled and even pets be included with option to upload photo, vet contact info and more. some might be leery about sharing the private details with the law enforcement but the city says the information is secure. made available only to dispatchers and the first responders when 911 is

in alexandria, mike carter-conneen, abc7 news. jonathan: breaking right now -- >> there are cars everywhere. down on to the highway. >> we were catapulted to the seats in front of us. >> you knew that something horrible happened. >> tragedy on the tracks outside of seattle. tonight a search to figure out what went wrong. michelle: also happening now, the major break in a crime wave stretching across the area. >> it was an unforgettable moment. a girlfriend tackling her boyfriend to end a high speed chase where the shooting was involved and video of how it all got started. >> from abc7 news, this is a breaking news alert. >> as we come on the air at 6:00, startling images of a deadly dissaster in washington state. twisted wreckage. the aftermath of a new train route maiden voyage. we know several people are dead and others are hurt. michelle: after 13 train cars jumped the track t

interstate. one of them left tangling from a bridge. lindsey mastis is following developments from the abc7 "live desk." lindsey: every car was one derailed sending more than 50 people to the hospital. there are reports that six train passengers died but we are waiting for official numbers from the investigators. look above at the scene and they are jumble and one train hit several vehicles on the highway below. for those injured we learned two people are in critical condition. another 11 have serious injuries. one passenger describes what she saw. >> there was glass and particular smell i can't describe. i stepped out, i didn't realize i was standing on another train car. >> the derailment happened during the inaugural trip. a new faster route that is part of the $180 million project. investigators with the ntsb are on