president obama just made aware of the reports that kim yong il died early saturday morning. he's now monitoring the situation along with others at the white house. it is monday afternoon right now in north korea. state television there waited two days to make that announce. kim apparently died during a train ride from a heart attack according to south korean media. tonight his country is on emergency status, and the south korean military has been put on alert. nbc's bruce hall has more. >> reporter: even in death, many of he details of kim yong il's life are elusive, cloaked in secrecy that surrounded much of his rule in north korea. in 1964 kim graduated from kim i will song university and was group groomed to take over the country. in 1991 he achieved real power when despite his lack of military experience, kim yong il took control of the armed forces. with his father's death in '94, he took over the leadership.

north korea fell deeper into povr poverty, struggling to feed and provide for its own people. in the wake of the september 11th terrorist attacks kim yong il and north korea were thrust into the forefront. president bush labeled north korea one of the world's most dangerous regimes. >> states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil arming to threat then the peace of the world. >> reporter: they played a cat and mouse game with the nuclear program. he continued to threaten the world with nuclear attack. some called him vain with' delusional persona, but others said he was a cleaver manipulator willing to take risks to preserve his family's regime. bruce hall, nbc news. >> north korea now in several days in mourning. kim's son, kim jong un is now in

command of the country. it is the end of an era for americans. the last troops crossed into kuwait today where troops launched the invasion nine years ago. it cost 4500 american lives and $800 billion from the u.s. treasury. hundreds of soldiers from virginia are home from iraq just in time for the holidays now. they returned to norfolk this morning. katie has more on today's emotional reunions. >> reporter: little charlotte has only seen her daddy on the computer. >> she was born on the night that they took off for iraq. they were leaving the country the night that she came into the world. you want to hold your son. >> reporter: mom melissa credits family and friends with helping her take care of an nye born and two energetic little boys that miss their dad.

>> i don't know when he's coming. it's either 15 or 10. >> reporter: luckily for franky he's talking in terms of minutes and not days. >> i'm going to run up and hug him and say welcome home, dad. >> reporter: the crowd grows and so does the anticipation of those long-awaited hellos, moments no one wants to forget. >> thank you. that's awesome, guys. >> reporter: the buses arrive, and the families are ready. as soldiers pour through the door, they get a hero's greeting, most little ones know exactly who they're looking for. >> daddy. >> reporter: after words of thanks and congratulations, the big moment is finally here. for this family it's extra special. >> it's good to see you. >> yeah. see the baby. >> you remember me? >> uh-huh. >> this is charli. >> hi, sweetheart. >> reporter: a family reunion

and introduction of sorts, but it's clear charli knows whose arms she's in. >> it's incredible. watched her grow up on facebook. glad to be home. >> reporter: for making the world a safer place to live to keep his family safe at home, boast missions this soldier does with pride. >> all i want for christmas is daddy home. i made it just in time, didn't i, charli? love you, sweetie. >> that was katie colette reporting. 4,000 troops remain in kuwait for several months to help final i see the move out of iraq. tomorrow a military hearing will resume for the army private accused of spilling secrets to wikileaks. today lawyers argued that his supervisors should have seen enough red flags to revoke his access to secret information. they cited at least two instances in which manning flew into violent fits of rage. his closest supervisor refused to testify today invoking his

right against self-incriminat n self-incrimination. tonight the redskins are giant killers. they're sell bralting a win and season sweep. i didn't write that, but i like it too. akeem has the highlights from the game. there were kwift. >> this was a fun game to watch. this is an exciting end of the year. i know it's not really good for the redskins right now with their record, but a win is a win. it's nice fooz a win, especially a win like this. the redskins can party like it's 1999. for the first time in 12 years the redskins sweep the season series from the new york giants. in case you were wondering, one of the number one songs in 1999, "hit me back one more time" by britney spears. pay attention to this. first play of the game for the redskins, they try trickeration.

roy tosses it back to grossman. he underthrows santana moss and picked off by webster. grossman with a turnover in 16 straight games. he had two interceptions in the game. second quarter on third and 8. this is good. grossman to stan tantana moss. redskins were 6-9 on third down in the first half. washington in front 10-0. third quarter, giants down 17-3 trying to come back here. eli manning looking for nix. instead, deangelo hall, one-handed interception. wow. manning had three ints and no touchdowns in the game. the redskins win it 23-10 improving their record to 5-9. >> i think everybody really concentrated on their job. i thought collectively to play the way we did you have to have everybody doing their job and really being focused. we had nice interceptions and good pressure. big-time third down play by our

entire team. i was really pleased with how they kept their poise and kept fighting back and got it done. >> coming up on redskins final reaction from the players joyous players singing hit me baby one more time. tim tebow and tom brady square off in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the year. tim versus tom. this is a good game, also. there's so much good stuff. >> you get excited on sunday night, don't you? >> i'm a little pumped. what can i say? tonight a man is dead after a record 15th police shoot inning prince georges county this year. that man accused of pointing a gun at an officer. his family is telling a very different story. this centers on a deadly confrontation late last night in the 7500 block of greenleaf road. darcy spencer is live in the newsroom with more. darcy. >> he had just left police headquarters. he was on duty in an unmarked vehicle when he came across

rodney edwards on the ground. police say as the officer approached to help, edwards pointed a gun at him and that's when the officer fired his weapon. 35-year-old rodney edwards shot and killed by a prince georges county police officer saturday night. family members say edwards was sitting here on a curb in front of a relative's home on greenleaf road and palmer park just before 10:00 p.m. that's when he was shot. they want to know why. >> the doctor came in and said he's been shot five times. he's 5'2" shot five times for what. >> they say the officer left a toys for tots event at police headquarters. police say when the officer spotted edwards on the ground, he stopped to see what was wrong. >> as the officer was exiting his vehicle, this male subject sat up, pointed a handgun at the officer. the officer feared for his safety and discharged his weapon. a .38 caliber handgun was

recovered from this individual at the scene. >> reporter: this was the 15th officer-involved shoot inning prince georges county this year, and that's a record. >> it highlights the dangers that officers deal with every day here on the street. a situation can escalate from 0 to 100 very quickly. >> reporter: edwards' relatives are disputing the police version of what happened. they say he had just been dropped off by a friend. one of his arms was paralyzed, and that he did not carry a gun. >> he got out of her car and sat down on a curb and said that he'd been drinking. he's going to sit down here for a minute, and then turn around and within five minutes five shots rang out. >> reporter: relatives complain that police wouldn't let them get close to the shooting scene. >> they blocked me off and told me i couldn't come near him and see what was going on with my family. it hurt! >> the officer who shot edwards has only been identified as a

two-year veteran of the force. he's been placed on administrative leave as the shooting is investigated. there is a crime camera near the shooting scene. edwards' relatives hope video will shed light on what happened. a live look now at capitol hill where last night it looked like a compromise was reached and senators packed their bags and headed home for the holidays. tonight that deal is it? jeopardy. the key issue is the extension of the payroll tax cuts. the senate okayed a deal that calls for a two-month extension, but republicans say that's not enough and the real deal needs to be worked out. the house scheduled to vote on the plan the senate passed tomorrow. if it doesn't pass in the house, things go back to square one. >> it's pretty clear that i and our members oppose the senate bill. i believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road. >> to play games with the middle class tax cut is very, very

unfair. we should make sure that every middle class family gets it. >> if the house doesn't pass the senate plan, this issue could get put on hold until the new year. if that happens, the tax cut could expire on january 1st. tomorrow thousands of people in d.c., maryland and virginia will all have a different commute. it's the first workday that drivers get to try out two huge new traffic changes. take a look here. the first, the inbound span of the new 11th street bridge. it officially opened to traffic today. the outbound span of the bridge is set to open next week. third span will open about a year from now. when everything is finished you can go from 395 to northbound 295 without taking pennsylvania avenue. the second big change, a smooter ride on i-66 in northern virginia. a new fly-over ramp takes drivers from 66 eastbound onto the inner loop of the belt way. you can merge from the right to the left now.

it is expected to be finished next fall. still ahead on news 4 tonight, lowe's responds to protestors accusing the home improvement chain of prejudice. a happy homecoming. this soldier's surprise is one you don't want to miss. chuck will tell us if we will have a mild monday. stick around. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪

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an update now on our breaking news. north korean leader kim yong il dead at age of 69. he died saturday morning. north korean state television waited until monday afternoon to make that announcement, though. according to south korean media kim yong il died during a train ride. his son, kim jong un is now in control of the country. we'll have the latest on this story tomorrow morning. we'll turn to chuck bell and talk about warmer.

>> you can tell a difference in the city for now, but there are cold spots out there. ma nas sis is down to 21 degrees. some spots may be into the upper teens by first thing foam morning. monday is getting off to a very cold start, but a little sunshine will make monday a very pleasant afternoon. outside we go. live over washington, a mostly clear sky is in place right now, and the winter dying back as well. as a result, temperatures are tumbling very, very quickly. current temperature at national airport, a relatively 34 degrees, but boy, there's some cold air out there. the dew points are down in the upper teens and low 20s. with a clear sky and light breeze up temperatures are tumbling. 29 degrees at dulles, 28 in leesburg, 27 in warrantton and 26 in honeytown, maryland. temperatures continue to fall for the remainder of the overnight hours. 31 in haggerstown, 25 in

culpepper, and 34 in annapolis. 8:00, temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. lunchtime near 50 degrees with plenty of sunshine, and back in the mid-40s by 6:00 tomorrow evening. clouds on the increase by the end of monday, though. rain chances return as early as tuesday. clear skies on out there for now as high pressure is in charge. a clear, cold night coming. monday gets you started with sunshine, nothing wrong with that at the front half of the work week. this next weather front is sliding in here late monday night into the early morning hours of tuesday morning. with it is a chance of light rain and drizzle tuesday morning. into the day on wednesday with a real big push the moisture coming our way from the gulf of mexico. for overnight, clearing skies and much colder and some spots into the upper teens. a lot of low 20s to low 30s around the area. mildest in the city and along the bay.

tomorrow not a bad day at all, mostly sunny and milder and a light breeze from the southwest tomorrow. 52 tomorrow. that's an 8-degree improvement over today. not much in the way of actual measurable rain. the steadiest and heaviest of the rains are during the day on wednesday, should be out of here late wednesday night. thursday looks dry. a huge weekend coming. christmas is next sunday. big travel day on friday. unsettled weather but notice major rain or snowstorms it doesn't look like to interfere with holiday travel. >> thank you, chuck. coming up in sports tonight, the season of giving it is. the redskins give their fans a reason to celebrate. this is a big merry christmas to our kids in washington, d.c. john and jeanette from anderson air force base in guam. >> merry christmas, kids. >> love you al

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akeem did back now. mixed emotions about this redskins win. >> you're right. the victory -- the victory gives the cowboys sole possession of first place. i say, forget it about it. >> i'm with you. >> playing the new york giants, a win is a win. eli manning and rex grossman were both in the giving mood on sunday. manning threw three interceptions and rex had two. fortunately for rex and the redskins, bad turned into good as washington sweeps the season series from the giants for the first time since 1999. former giant barry cofield gets then purched up. they go with trick rags.

row tosses it back to rex and underthrows santana moss. grossman with a turnover in 16 straight games. once again, grossman doing what he did in previous pictures. intercepted this time by kenny phillips. rex and the redskins bounce back. second quarter, on third and 8. grossman to santana moss this time. perfect pass. redskins 6-9 on the first down. ensuing giants possession. eli manning going deep for d.j.ware. gets a hand on it. wins that, and makes the incredible interception. great play by him, his second int this season. redskins take advantage. dorell young gets the hand-off, powers his way in. his first touchdown of the season. new york native knocking down

the giants, redskins up 17-0. third quarter. giants down 17-3. trying to come back here. eli manning looking for nix, and instead deangelo hall, one-handed pick. see it again. this is nice. manning had three ints and no touchdowns. the redskins win 23-10 improving to 5-9. in philadelphia michael vick and the eagles hosting the new york jets. first quarter, philly up 7-0. vick takes the hand-off and connects with tight end brent selleck, 26-yard touchdown. see it again here. selleck up tips the ball to himself. that's impressive. rumbles in for the score. he had five catches for 156 yards. eagles up 14-0. rolling. big day for fill kphilly, up 25e fourth quarter. mccoy breaks a tackle. off to the races, 33-yard

touchdown, his third td of the game. eagles beat the jets 49-19 and go to 6-8. romeo cornell's first game as chiefs head coach taked on the undefeated packers. k.c. defense bringing heavy pressure. number 91 sacks aaron rodgers and forces the fumble. packers recover. this is a great play by the big man. he crushing rodgers. he had three sacks nmt game. hand-off to jackie battle for the touchdown. the chiefs upset the packers 19-14. green bay's bid for a perfect season over. they fall to 13-1. coming up on redskins final, dan hellie goes one on one with shanahan after the big win in new jersey. plus, the colts finally off the schneid. that's coming up on redskins final in a few minutes. also some basketball news. an update on free agent nick

young. good news on free agent nick young. we'll have that, plus more stuff and more stuff and more. there will be a lot of good stuff. i don't have enough time to tell you. still ahead tonight, a teenager with a serious story here. a desperate call as she hides from intruders in her house.

laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. you can choose your channel package. ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪ now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon

only at verizonfios.com. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. i'm 13 years old. i don't know what to do. i'm in my room. >> 13-year-old chloe hid under her bed whether two men broke into her suburban detroit home and helped police capture the

suspect. chloe kept her cool even when the robbers came into her bedroom. >> i pushed myself off like the wall under my bed. i was under there for at least ten minutes while they were walking around. >> two 19-year-old suspects were captured as they were leaving the home. they face charges including home invasion, larceny, and resisting a police officer. tonight lowe's is responding to protests against its decision to pull advertising from a reality show about a muslim community. >> two, four, six, eight. stop the hate. >> last week lowe's stopped advertising during "all american muslim" on tlc after a christian group accused the show of promoting islamic fundamentalism. today lowe's issued a statement calling it a business decision and saying that the company never meant to offend anyone. after the break, a soldier's afte[ monica ]k, a soldier's i'm away on a movie shoot

and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger!

[ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. you can choose your channel package. ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪ now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon only at verizonfios.com. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

once you strip away everything else christmas is about family. for one little boy in kansas, there was only one thing he wanted. >> what is that? >> 3-year-old r.j. shots went to a sporting goods store in kansas city, kansas, to see santa today. kansas made good on the request for his father to be home for christmas. he has served two tours in iraq and will serve in cuba in january. thanks to planning by mom and santa, soldier and son will do a special tour together. >> i can believe in santa claus forever now. >> sure thing. >> that's our news tonight. we'll have the latest on the

laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. tre's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag,

united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. hello, and welcome to "redskins final." for the first time in 12 years the redskins sweep the season series from the new york giants. however, that news isn't entirely pleasing to redskins

nation. here's why. the victory gives dallas sole possession of first place in the division. news flash. the players don't really care about that. defensive tackle bera barry cof said a party broke out for us. let's hit the highlights. not a good start for rex grossman and the redskins. first play of the game, it's a flea-flicker. back to rex, and he underthrows santana moss and is picked off by corey webster. grossman has a turnover in 16 straight games. things not so good for the giants either. eli manning fires wide open for nix. tom coughlin is not happy. later, redskins with it on third and 17. rex finds dante stallworth, good for a 16-yard gainer. redskins were 6-9 on third