tonight a stolen tractor trailer barrels down the bw parkway as police give chase. that truck came from baltimore. it is not clear what the driver's intentions were or where he was going. but the chaos caused a traffic nightmare. the truck traveled 25 miles before it came to a stop in the median of the bw parkway. shomari stone has more. >> reporter: all lanes are back open. a lot of folks are wondering what is going on. if you had family and friends trying to make it home around 9:30 or 10:00 this is what they were stuck in.

>> traffic moved at a snail's pace after a police chase. a man stole the tractor trailer cab, sped off through prince george's county and crashed. police arrested the stolen tractor trailer driver. investigators say he is wanted in mississippi. at one point the tractor trailer was stuck in the median. the police had to block all lanes while a tow truck backed up to take it away. the story is still drop dropping. the police tell us that the suspect will be formally charged and they will release his name once that happens. back to you in the studio. >> thanks. there are reports that the virginia attorney general will run for governor in 2013. he has received national attention for being one of the first attorneys general to file a lawsuit against the president's health care law. he is one of the most aggressive on immigration checks.

virginia has a one this of term limit. so the current governor cannot run. the tsa says that a woman traveling from las vegas to reagan national tried to board a flight with a stun gun that looked like a cell phone. officers stopped her at the security check point. the tsa said it is a good reminder that threats can come in all shapes and sizes. she was allowed to board her flight. police are worried about a ban of robbers. they are ruthless, fast and dangerous. jackie bensen is at d.c. police headquarters with more on this. >>. >> reporter: saturdayly convenience stores are frequent targets of crime but these robbers are especially aggressive and dangerous. imagine that this is your day at work, being confronted by armed gunmen wearing ski masks, having a gun held to your head, fearing for your life. this 28-year-old man was one of

the victims. he says it is like something you see on tv. >> confused, you know, i don't know how you can explain at that time. it is like movie and a gun to the head. >> reporter: he says he can't quit because he has to support his children. >> i have to pay the bills. >> reporter: d.c. police believe the men robbed three convenience stores in northeast d.c. one twice in a 28-hour period from sunday to monday. it wasn't only store employees who were terrorized. customers were ordered to the floor at gunpoint. >> please look into stores before you enter. you don't want to walk into something like this. if you see something suspicious, you know, call 911. >> reporter: at the store that was robbed twice a new 7-eleven a message for the robbers. >> don't rob your neighborhood

store period. >> there is a $10,000 reward for information this case. >> thank you, jackie. they're assessing the damage at a tailor shop after a car came careening through the front of the building this afternoon at abraham's tailor. the driver may have hit the gas instead of the brake. one person was inside the shop when it happened but wasn't hit. the owner of the hair salon said the whole building shook. >> i was the first one that went in there and thank god the lady was okay. she was able to talk to me while she was in the car. by i was suspecting to see somebody dead in there. >> the driver suffered minor injuries. building engineers are trying to figure out if the building is still sound. the man wanted in carjacking and abductions in maryland has been locked up. he was preying on seniors who

were out shopping. and the crime spree started somewhere else. jane watrel with the story of his first victim. >> reporter: his first victim was different than the rest. a 37-year-old married father of two who thought he was a good samaritan when a man asked him for a ride to the metro and he agreed. instead he was robbed at knife point and threatened with his life. >> he put his knife in the dash board and he put off his pocket and he said this is afghan i want to blow your head. >> reporter: he describes his 45 minutes of terror after being car jacketed by henry levi sanders under arrest for assault, robbery, carjacking and kidnapping mostly elderly men. >> i'm glad they caught him. >> reporter: he was buying paint supplies at this home depot the

sunday before thanksgiving when sanders, seen here in the surveillance video pretended he needed a ride to the metro. >> drove from home depot in a mile and he put out his knife and he say give me your wallet and give your your money and i want to kill you. >> he was forced to withdraw money at this atm and is in this bank video with sanders as he says he was ordered to remove cash. but instead of complying the district man had another idea, putting in fake p.i.n. numbers. >> he said i will kill you after that i run. >> reporter: he considers himself fortunate to escape. so does another one of his alleged victims. a 79-year-old man. police arrested sanders tuesday without incident at the westfield shopping center where three of the crimes took place there's relief. >> i was happy to hear they

caught the guy. >> good for the cops. kudos. >> reporter: henry levi sanders will appear in a courtroom tomorrow afternoon. he also faces numerous charges here in montgomery county. reporting live, i'm jane watrel. back to you. >> thanks, jane. the woman wanted for a series of crimes across the area has been locked up. police arrested stephanie schwab this afternoon after trying to rob a bank in virginia. cops caught up with her after a chase on the beltway. she has been charged with robbing two banks and carjacking a woman at tyson's corner. she is also accused of assaulting a woman in baltimore county on thanksgiving. a former tv talk show host who wants to open medical marijuana facilities in the district pleaded his case tonight. montel williams spoke to residents in northeast. he has applied for two

cultivation center licenses on queen's chapel road. neighbors said they are worried about crime and the site's location across the street from a strip club. william's organization will refurbish the warehouse and rebuild the neighborhood. >> the building could be a flagship facility to bring revenue into ward five. >> williams is applying for a license to dispense medical marijuana at another site in the city. he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and says it gives him relief from his pain. >> the police chief wants the firefighters to work shorter shifts. he proposed changing shifts to 12 hours. currently, firefighters work 24 hours just eight days a month. many live as far away as south carolina. he says the change could save the city more than $30 million

in personnel expenses. the union plans to fight the effort to change. for second time in a matter of months, billy graham is back in the hospital. billy graham is said to be in stable condition tonight. he is being treated at a hospital near his home in north carolina for possibly pneumonia. he is 93 years old now. he has served as a spiritual adviser to several presidents and taken his message of faith to people all over the world. the first civil suit has been filed in the penn state sex abuse scandal. a man filed a lawsuit claiming he was sexual by abused by former assistant coach jerry sandusky more than 100 times. penn state is trying to head off other possible trouble. it bought website names under the triple x domain. the move is an attempt to block

the adult entertainment industry from using penn state's name. coming up a story about horse slaughter houses returning to the u.s. why animal rights groups are upset about that. also ahead a look at a tunnel under the border in which agents found $65 million worth of dope. a great white shark spotted off the coast of north carolina. wait until you hear the story of the guy who took this video. what's ahead is the coldest night we have seen in a couple of weeks out there. already 41 degrees. but the wind chill is something to talk about. t[ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable

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an iraq war veteran is keeping a promise to his sons thanks to community support for a treehouse. he built the treehouse after a recent deployment to iraq but someone complained to the zoning board about it. he applied for permission but was turned down. when he appealed he found out he had support from people he never met. >> for all the adversity in the situation is it great that the neighborhood can rally around something that is beneficial to the neighborhood. it's what you would hope the end of the story would turn out like. >> they will have to take the treehouse down in five years. the federal aviation

administration is promising changes before the holiday traffic season this christmas. they want to prevent nightmares on the tarmac. last month 28 planes arrived unexpectly at bradley international airport in hart forth, connecticut during a snowstorm. many were grounded for hours. several were there for more than seven hours. officials blame poor communication between the airlines and the airports and promise a new system will be online soon. in california federal agents uncovered an elaborate tunnel under the border today. inside the tunnel they found $65 million worth of drugs. the tunnel was six football fields in length and ran between san diego and tijuana mexico. inside that tunnel which had tracks for electrical rail cars they found 32 tons of marijuana. investigators say they are working to link the tunnel to a

particular mexican cartel. a funding cut at the department of agriculture could open the door for horse slaughter houses. the department of agriculture says there haven't been horse slaughter houses open in the u.s. since 2007 but if one should open inspections will take place. animal rights groups promise to make life miserable for anyone who opens a slaughter house. a man from boston this is what he saw when he was out fishing off the coast of california. that, folks, is no rock fish. -- i meant north carolina. he grabbed his phone to capture the moment after seeing what he thought was a dolphin fin. this is a huge great white. it circled the boat for 20 minutes. fortunately the shark was not aggressive. that video was authenticated by the north carolina aquarium.

>> oh, my goodness. the holiday season is underway in new york city mayor bloomberg was on hand to light the christmas tree at rockefeller center. it's a norwegian spruce. and on it nearly five miles of l.e.d. lights and a crystal star. tomorrow the festivities move to washington. the national christmas tree lighting ceremony begins tomorrow at 4:30 in the afternoon. police will close 15th and 17th streets between constitution avenue to pennsylvania avenue and e street. that begins at 4:15. >> doug will be there tomorrow. will you need to bundle up for that? >> not as cold as last year. but this year just on the cool side. rockefeller center they had justin bieber. i'm disappointed he won't be there with us. >> some of us -- >> you are okay with that?

but they will have great acts out there tomorrow. it will be a great time just like last year. is it the 89th tree lighting. we will be live tomorrow night. out there right now is it a cold night. tonight a little colder because of the wind that was out there. we are seeing winds upwards of 10 to 20 miles per hour across the region creating wind chills. we saw a high temperature of 51 degrees. the clouds quickly moved in and the clouds did not allow us to warm up at all. today was the cool estacada esto weeks. i'll show you the wind chills in a second. but these are the temperatures. 34 in frederick. 39 in culpepper. in late november almost december, normally that would be okay but it's then you add in

the wind chill. 28 in gaithersburg. 32 right now in manassas. and 34 in the district. a very cold night tonight when you step outside. even that 10 to 15-mile-per-hour wind will create the cold wind chills. 39 in reston. and 32 degrees is the way it feels out there in camp springs in prince george's county. the satellite and radar showing clearsi clearing skies. we will wake up to one of the coldest nights in the last couple weeks. chilly air behind the storm system. during the day tomorrow the high pressure builds in. that means more sunshine than we saw today. stilton chilly side with temperatures about where they were today. but sunshine out there it will feel a lot better. and on friday we see a bit of a shift in the wind. the temperatures in the mid-50s with sunshine. that is a pretty nice december afternoon coming up here during the day on friday ahead of a cold front that cools things

down just a bit on saturday. tomorrow morning mostly clear with a light breeze. 25 to 33 degrees. a five to ten-mile-per-hour wind will put the wind chill between 20 that 25. tomorrow afternoon, though, maybe you can take the coat off. we will see plenty of sunshine. will the be cool but a nice afternoon. 47 in some of the coolest areas to 52. not all that bad when you consider the average is around 52 degrees in the district. the next couple days, 56 on friday gorgeous. 52. there is the cooler air on saturday. back to 56 on sunday. and then we will see a chance for some rain. and another very interesting storm that will come across the country and extedepending on wh it sets up it could mean rain or a cool down for us. >> interesting means hard to forecast? >> that's what it means. but i choose interesting. >> thanks, doug.

>> the closer we get the less interesting it becomes. coming up the story of a hunter and his dog. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars

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none of us are surprised that bruce is taking the high road? >> no. i think that is what most of us expected from this guy. a couple of rough days for bruce bow drew. but after listening to him talk you sense he is at peace with getting fired. he received a text message

monday morning that said call me. shortly after that his four year magic carpet ride with the capitals was over. he has gone from a career minor leaguer to the fastest coach in nhl history to reach 200 wins. >> i was a little worried because i wasn't getting the effect that i think that i usually get with the teams that i've coached. that was bugging me more than it was probably bugging anybody else. and so that's -- i -- you know for the good of the what we had built, you know, we have to preserve the great tradition of hockey here. and we have to keep it strong and so something had to be done. >> boudreau staying with his family and currently with his mother visiting in toronto. we know he will get another head coaching job in the near future

perhaps even this season if he decides to. >> let's hope he takes some time to go fishing. five games to go the redskins finally feeling good after a win. but they could be without laron landry on sunday. his groin injury is worse than originally thought. the skins coming off their most explosives performance on the offensive side of the ball in weeks. rex grossman had a great game. finally something for the team to build on. >> to pull out the victory and stop the bleeding it is gratifying but we are not patting ourselves on the back too much. we are getting ready for jets. >> we haven't got a win in a while. that boosted a lot of guys' confidence and morale around here. we definitely want another one. there's no secret about that. we are going to come out and prepare as best we can.

>> do you remember when maryland was interested in former texas tech football coach mike leach. he is now the head coach at washington state. the terps fans wondering what life would be like with him in college park. they will be wondering if he does well in washington state. college hoops now we are talking mason and bucknell. george mason with the ball. aldrich buries the three. mason up at the half 33-25. second half, bucknell with the ball now. ayers drains the long three. that makes it 57-56. mason clinging to a one-point lead. look at the pass. mike morrisson down to byron allen mason improves with the win over bucknell. charged up golden gophers

hosting virginia tech up north. a slow start. the hokies up. da vee la under the basket. hokies up 28-25 into the break. two minutes left in the second half. hokies up 53-52. rodney williams down low. and throwing it down. [ female announcer ] at verizonfios.com,

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>> announcer: it's "the tonight featuring rickey minor captions paid for by captions by vitac >> jay: thank you very much.