a very good learning experience, especially those newer to this body. everything we do around here does not have to wind up in a fight. >> reporter: pressure to get this passed built all week from the american public tweeting in huge numbers. it means more money for struggling americans and extended benefits for those on unemployment. >> this is a good christmas present. a good kwanzaa present, a good hanukkah present for america. >> reporter: president obama finally got the chance to leave washington and join his family in hawaii. as i said, the battle is over for now. congress will begin negotiating a year-long deal in january. both parties are deeply divided on how to pay for that. live on capitol hill, i'm jennifer johnson. back to you. >> let the holiday begin.

thank you, jennifer. >> thanks. deadly violence and protest rocked the middle east and north africa today. twin suicide bombing in damascus killed 40 people and injured 100. they said it from the beginning, this is terrorism. they are killing the army and civilians. meanwhile, in egypt, tahrir square, thousands of protesters gathered to denounce the military run government. they want them to hand it over to civilian rule. searching a neighborhood after a woman was brutally beaten overnight. she was attacked in her home in the 500 block of drum avenue. somebody broke in through a window and beat the victim with his fist so severely in her face he broke her nose and eye socket. she lost consciousness and laid there on the the floor all night. she woke up with just enough

strength to crawl to the phone and call 911. a neighbor saw her as paramedics brought her out of the house. >> this morning, i saw the lady with the blood. i was scared, you know. i was scared. i don't know. [ inaudible ] >> police say the 70-year-old victim is in critical condition tonight. a possible pipe bomb was found in loudoun county, virginia. it's causing evacuations in sterling tonight. people living in homes in manning square near church road and magnolia were told to leave the area. the device will be taken away and destroyed. more people are hitting the roads this holiday season as fewer people fly. this was the scene around 4:00 this afternoon on i-95 in virginia. traffic backed up from richmond all the way to springfield. derrick ward checked out the travel on the ground and through the air. he's at reagan national airport.

hey, derrick? >> how are you? if you are traveling more than 50 miles you are going to have company and lots of it. it's the mode on the move literally and in terms of growth. business for bus lines have seen a 32% increase in the last year. low prices are obviously part of it. 20 bucks to the big apple is hard to beat. there are more ways to pass the time. >> lots of youtube. my iphone. my friend, girl talk. >> reporter: the train is holding its own after years of predictions and the demise of the passenger rail. there seems to be light left in the iron horse. >> we finished with our best thanksgiving ever. along with that, our best annual year ever with just over 30.2 million passengers in the last fiscal year. >> reporter: with 92 million americans expected to travel more than 50 miles over the holiday. 84 million are expected to drive. gas prices are up over last

year. no surprise there. it will be cheaper to rent a car. still, despite the fare increases, baggage fees and challenges of taking wing for some trips you have to fly like this family's christmas travel that started in italy. >> this is easy. this is easy. we were expecting more traffic and a lot more confusion. >> reporter: crowds weren't an issue at midday at reagan international. most of these travelers have the warm embrace of home, family and food on the other end of their journey. >> i'm going to see my nana and her dog. >> it makes it all worthwhile, i guess. it is christmas. >> reporter: you know, we talked about how few crowds there are here at reagan national airport. of those millions of people that are traveling, they have been

spreading it out over the period leading up to the big holiday. of course, last minute travel is expensive and nobody needs that these days. we are live at reagan international. >> thank you, derrick. if you are headed out of town, pack your flip-flops. there's not a lot of snow around here. we don't know about the other spots. storm 4 meteorologist, doug kammerer, how is it looking across the us of a? >> not much anywhere. to the west, the mountain snows toward denver, they saw a big snowstorm that way. there's no big area of storminess around. one storm coming through the great lakes. chicago bringing snow that could affect detroit and parts of michigan. to the south, el paso, texas snow showers in that region and parts of west texas. but, that is it. the entire nation, really the entire nation is on the dry side. you can see the snow showers toward the great lakes through the day tomorrow. then snow and rain around dallas and houston. that could be the one problem

area tomorrow, east texas. watch out down there if you are traveling to east texas or louisiana tomorrow. rain, other than that, nice. the warmest air to the southeast. atlanta to orlando looking at nice weather. for us, the weather is nice, too. 41 in gaithersburg. 48 in washington. 43 in manassas and 50 in fredericksburg. i'll be back to show you the christmas forecast in a minute. >> thank you, doug. if you are not traveling, maybe you are still shopping. professional procrastinators are at the malls tonight to finish their shopping. jane watrel is at tyson's corner in the middle of the madness. >> reporter: i am in the middle of the madness. we are in the final stretch of the holiday shopping marathon. tens of thousands of shoppers at malls around the metro area. many believe by waiting until the last minute, wait iing for e last minute to shop, the deals

are better. shoulder-to-shoulder shopping as locals try to finish up buying gifts. >> everyone is here trying to buy stuff. last minute shopping. you know, it's hard to find things. >> 50% off. >> like american eagle is 40% off, so, there are good bargains. >> reporter: for a more leisurely pace, shoppers are hitting the boutique district in alexandria where park sg free through monday. it's a collection of dozens of unique stores. >> they are getting a one-of-a-kind thing. there's not ten of something hanging on a shelf, on a unit. >> reporter: she says this store is the first place she looks for gift giving, especially ones for herself. many items have never been worn. >> something maybe didn't work for somebody and they like to pass it along and they find something that fits for them. it's kind of recycling. >> reporter: this is the most important time of the year for retailers. it's estimated some can make up

to 40% of their revenues. experts say stores are expected to ring up $453 billion during the holiday season with shoppers appearing more willing to spend. >> we have it done. last minute. >> start late, finish late. >> reporter: all in all, experts are reporting there appears to be renewed confidence among shoppers. the research firm shop track reports sales from november through last saturday were up 2.5% over the projections. people are cautiously optimistic. retailers are cautiously optimistic this could turn out to be a very good season. back to you doreen. >> be careful getting back out of tyson's. >> reporter: i will. >> let's look at the shoppers trying to get through the montgomery mall in bethesda. it's a battle for a shopping

spot if you are a last minute shopper. that's a live look from above mopt gulf of mexicomontgomery m. >> carry these packages while you are at it. >> meet me periodically. i'll throw bags at you. the head of d.c. school says a shake-up is needed. running for cover after a powerful earthquake rattles new zealand again. >> reporter: a local hospital's urgent need for blood. that story, straight ahead. a washington christmas tradition that lasted 47 years is coming to an end this weekend. >> hakeem, what is coming up in sports? >> a goalie catching fire before he tangles with the devils. the maryland basketball team xñd

new details tonight about the final moments before a plane crashed on a new jersey highway killing all five people on board. the pilot declared an emergency when the transmission was lost. it crashed tuesday morning after taking off from the airport. it was accumulating ice when it started to assent. a series of powerful earthquakes rocked new zealand today. people running for cover while buildings shook. the 5.8 magnitude quake hit 15

miles north of christs church. there are no reports of damage. people suffered minor injuries earlier when a quake in christ church killed 150 people. the national institute of health performs a record number of bone marrow transplants this month. now, there's a need for blood and platelet donations, something they need to heal. the search is on for donors willing to help. we go inside the nih blood bank. >> reporter: huge success in the national institutes of health bone marrow matching program means more patients are getting more transplants. in the past few weeks they have had ten. with those procedures comes the need for blood and platelets. >> we are in an urgent need. >> reporter: the atrium is

filled with christmas trees, menorahs and gingerbreads. >> the giving part seems to be missing. >> the blood that is given here stays here. they collect 30 pints of blood every day. because of the additional transplants, right now, they need 40. >> patients with blood diseases don't respect the holidays. the patients needed the transplants performed urgently. without transfusions they will not make it. >> repter: terry has been donating for 37 years. his healthy son eric was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. >> i'm typed to patients. a lot of times my blood goes to the patients i'm typed with. it goes to somebody that needs it right away. >> reporter: donating is relatively easy. they take you to a cubicle.

this is where they will take a quick health history. right down the hall for a blood or platelet donation. >> very comfortable, warm, happy experience. >> reporter: they have a plethora of parking spots, special badges for donors, movies and snacks to make the process as easy. >> while you are in the spirit of giving, remember one of the most precious gifts is the gift of life. >> there is an immediate need. the campus uses 7,000 units of blood every year. for more information on how to donate blood or platelets or get on the bone marrow registry, log on to www.nbcwashington.com. >> that's a nice gift to give in a relaxing respite for the holidays. >> costs you nothing. >> what you are giving to someone else is huge. >> the gift of life. so, kind of got cooler out

there. >> mother nature -- >> the wind brought you -- >> yeah, the wind is going to continue through the evening. we are seeing temperatures now that are down to the low 40s. that creates a windchill, not too bad. the high temperature, 53 degrees, again today. well above the average high. geez, it seems like this streak is going to continue with this nice weather. we are going to get cooler as we head into christmas weekend. it's going to be a cool night. 48 degrees. winds out of the north-northwest at 10 miles per hour. the breeze will provide a chill to the air. 42 in martinsburg. 41 in gaithersburg. in those areas where we are in the low 40s now, a 10-mile-an-hour wind produces windchills in the upper 30s. you are going to need the jacket or coat tonight. closer in, let's look at the numbers. reston, 44 degrees. rockville, 41 degrees. college park, 46. camp springs coming in at 45

degrees. what are we going to see the next couple days? one thing we are not going to see is rain or snow. that's unfortunate. a lot of you were hoping for snow. others are e-mailing me and saying look, we love this warm weather, let's keep it around. you are going to get cooler over the next couple days. look at the cold air to the west. morgantown, west virginia, 37. the cold is trying to move in. because of the mountains, the cold air cannot get over the mountains. we will stay mild. temperatures cool down a little bit tomorrow, they are mild. cloud cover across the region. i'm expecting partly cloudy skies as a system passes by to the north. we'll provide cloud cover overnight into the day tomorrow. we saw partly cloudy skies with the northwesterly wind. watch what happens tomorrow. we see the wind appear 10 to 15-mile-per-hour winds tomorrow.

it's going to be on the cool side tomorrow. we have the redskins that play the vikings at fedex field tomorrow. it's going to be a cool day for the game because of this time of year, it's in the shade. you want to dress warm for that. then, we see santa claus race by. i think he goes the other way. i don't know if he reverses course every year. winds out of the west or southwest. sunshine. right now, looking at a very nice holiday weekend. partly cloudy this weekend. breezy, cool, but not bad. 45 to 49 degrees. some of the coldest areas cooler than that. we are looking at numbers, 26 in the coldest areas to 36 around the city with some cooler. sunrise tomorrow 7:24. we picked up a minute of daylight over the last couple days. >> yeah! >> sun and clouds cooler. 42 to 47 degrees.

it will be on the cooler side. you will need the jacket tomorrow as you step out. look at sunday, 50 degrees. there it is, again, it says christmas. if you are looking at a smaller tv, 46 on monday. 51 on tuesday. that's our next best chance for rain. it is going to be rain. >> there's santa. 47 on wednesday. 48 on thursday. temperatures each of the next seven days look like they could be above average once again. we are going to continue to watch as the warm trend comes in. the average low is 31. not a single day below that number. >> that's great. >> you know we are going to stay warm. >> what did you think it said on the 25th of december? >> doreen wasn't sure. >> it's very tiny. >> we have it on the big monitor. >> she says does that say free ham?

no, it's christmas. >> all right, all right. i'm happy about that minute of daylight. i'm thinking about the people in alaska with three minutes of daylight. the winter, mighty long. still ahead, a car is stolen with a dog inside. >> ahh! >> the car was found. now, the question, where is cody.

d.c. school's chancellor is just completing her first year as head of the city school system. she says the long troubled scoop schools are making progress, but we have to blow up old ideas of how we teach modern children to learn. tom sherwood is here to tell us about her first anniversary. >> she replaced the hard charging michelle. many didn't know what to expect. they do now. just over a year ago, kaya henderson replaced michelle as chancellor of the d.c. public schools, many wondering if school reform would falter. >> fromáíw6ington,tz the politics --

>> reporter: on the politics hour, she explained a style that's kept reforms coming. without the harsh tones of michelle. >> it seems to me, a lot of the rancor has fallen to the wayside. >> i'm a lover, not a fighter, tom. >> reporter: good nature aside, she is harsh herself on the need to blow up old ways of teaching that drives some modern day students away from education. >> these kids come with a different set of sensibilities, a different set of things that engage them. we have to blow up school. nowhere in our lives do we sit down and have a rotating cast of characters stand and talk to us for 45 minutes. >> reporter: the renewed schools are investing in technology to reach those students. >> they come alive. they are in it. they are competing against themselves or against other students and learning.

learning. >> reporter: under new national stand ards in place, they are focusing on literacy, the ability to read. >> it's primary focus is on literacy. kindergarten through 12th grade, we are doubling down on teaching reading, exposing our children to literature, fiction and nonfiction. one of the most exciting things about technology is that it opens up a world of exposure to our kids. >> going into 2012, she has to deal with closing more schools. she'll need all that good nature to do it. >> she looks like she's on the right track. she's got exciting ideas that are kind of outside of the box. >> she's friendly. she's ten nashs. >> she would have to be. >> she's like michelle with a smile. >> okay. >> all right. tom -- >> don't call me michelle.

>> let's hope she's not watching right now. hey, tom, we want to congratulate you for a special honor. we are proud of you. he's one of the washingtonians of the year. he was honored for his years, many years covering washington. tom will be honored at a ceremony in january and also for your work in the community with the theater lab and other things. >> northwest current. >> a park in southwest washington. they had nice things to say about me. >> you love the city. >> in spite of what city politicians say about you, you are a nice guy. >> i like to think we are work ing for the betterment of our city. >> the local city, not the nation's capital, the local city is only as active as the people in it.

>> congratulations. >> i'm going to take a poinsettia as a reward. >> we have plenty. we won't miss it if you take one. they are multiplying every half hour. shots fired. mall doors pushed open overnight. chaos in the country over the air jordan sneakers. one group thinks congress lawmakers have not been nice this year. >> reporter: it's one thing to take a man's truck, but to take his dog, too? the search for cody. i'm pat collins. the story coming up, news 4. coming up in sports, the georgetown hoyas give them a

news 4 at 6:00 continues. here is a look at our top stories tonight. a 70-year-old woman is in critical condition after someone climbed through a window and beat her up last night. this was capital heights, maryland. a woman woke up and used her remaining strength to call 911. a pipe bomb was found in loudoun county. it's causing evacuations. the device will be taken away and destroyed. the house senate passed a two-month extension. the president signed it then left to meet his family in hawaii. 160 million workers will not see a 2% tax hike on january 1st.

a prince george's county family is devastated. their dog was stolen before christmas. >> the thief took off with cody, the little dog inside. pat collins has more on the hunt to bring cody home. >> reporter: this is ed riley. he works at the maurice electrical supply in landover. this, this is cody, a 3-year-old miniature schnauzer. she's not just a dog. he's very much a part of the riley family. >> it's like a kid. be like having your kid taken from a department store, you know. we don't know where he is. if he's safe or got run over or whatever. i mean we just don't know. >> reporter: yesterday, ed's wife was out of town. he brought cody to work with him. he parked his truck over here near the wall of the warehouse. he left cody inside, rolled the window down a little bit so

everything would be all right. from time-to-time he came out to feed and walk cody and check up on him. around noon, he came out to take cody to lunch. no truck. no cody. >> if you don't know what's going on, you worry yourself to death. we were back over here at 3:00 this morning figuring maybe he just might show up. >> reporter: police believe in broad daylight someone smashed his yukon, took his truck and his dog. used the yukon in a number of purse snatchings. that's where they found that stolen yukon truck. the motor was ruing. the ignition had been busted. the back door open. no sign of a dog inside. you need the dog? >> absolutely. >> reporter: it's going to be a

tough christmas if you don't? >> absolutely. absolutely. we are not even thinking about another one right now. i don't know, we'll see. this is our third one. itis just like a kid. >> reporter: cody has a microchip, which could make it easy for him to be identified and hopefully returned to the riley family by christmas. i'm pat collins, news 4, prince george's county. >> the riley's are offering a $1,000 cash reward for cody's safe return, no questions asked. police believe this man was involved in a robbery. it happened at the central avenue store. there's a $1,000 cash reward there as well if you can give police information that leads to his arrest. home for the holidays for 200 members of the air national guard. they got a hero's homecoming at

joint base andrews in time for christmas. they couldn't wait to get their arms around their loved ones. this is the ultimate gift. they have been gone two months. they wanted to make it home safely from afghanistan. >> happy to be home. >> home for the holidays. >> i'm happy to be home. >> i'm very grateful. my children wanted their dad to be home for christmas. that's one thing they asked for. >> officials say there are 91,000 american troops still serving in afghanistan right now. it's down from the peak of 101,000 back in june. shoppers here at home and across the country battled rowdy crowds today to slip their feet into a pair of nike retro air jordans. the sale caused a footwear frenzy that was violent. we take a look. >> reporter: mad dashes turned to mayhem at stores across the

country early friday. the crush of the crowd in indianapolis so strong it knocked a door off the hinges and fellow shoppers to the floor. >> i tripped over the girl that fell. a few people on the ground. i jumped over them and kept running. >> reporter: all the pandemonium for a pair of these, air jordan 11 basketball shoes. >> they ran there when they opened the doors. everybody was going to every store. >> reporter: scenes were similar at two other malls near indianapolis. in seattle, they used pepper stray when things went beyond unruly. >> a fight was caused, that's it. everybody was trying to stop the fighting. they started spraying. >> reporter: a surprise given how docile some were in seattle. >> i'm going to get three pair for myself. then i'll probably wear one pair and put two pair up for a couple years. >> reporter: sales were suspended after someone fired a

gun into the air rattling a crowd of fellow shoppers. the crowd outside a store in annapolis, maryland grew to 500 before sunrise. they are reissues of the one that is debuted in 1985 during the season michael jordan led the chicago bulls to an nba record 72 wins. today, they are instant collectibles commanding top dollar. >> the highest i have seen is 600. >> reporter: what did you pay? >> 200. i'm going to resell them. >> reporter: they retail for $180, a price for some that's far exceeded in value. the greater washington board of trade is not too happy with congress this christmas. they sent 535 lumps of coal to the capital one for each member of the house and senate. they have been in gridlock, and

unpredictable this year. the greater washington area paid the price because it's difficult for businesses to make sound decisions. coming up next, what would you do if the bank accidentally put $1 million in your account? one man did something he's not supposed to do. ♪ turning off the music. a christmas tradition coming to an end this weekend in the

welcome back, everybody. i'm meteorologist doug kammerer here in storm center 4 on this friday before the holiday weekend. i think it's going to be a nice weekend out there. right now, 48 degrees in washington. 41 in gaithersburg. starting to cool off across the area. you'll need a jacket as you step out tonight. 10 to 15 miles per hour will make it feel cooler. storm 4 doppler radar, no rain to talk about. if you are traveling on the roadways, they will be dry. as we widen out, the only area of precipitation besides it mountains to the west is back toward chicago and around lake michigan. they are seeing snow in that region. it's very, very light. it's not going to cause problems. traveling around the east coast or the west over the next 24 to 36 hours is looking good. tomorrow afternoon, a little bit

cooler. high temperature around 46 in washington. 45 in manassas and leesburg. winchester 43 degrees. to the south, fredericksburg, coming in around 48. a mixture of sun and clouds during the day tomorrow. a nice afternoon for december, saturday. sunday, well, sunday we are looking at christmas day, we are look i looking good. high temperatures around 50 degrees. a very nice afternoon on christmas. a little bit of a cold start to your christmas morning with temperatures in the mid-20s in most locations to around the freezing mark around the city. looking good saturday and sunday. >> sounds good. thanks, doug. imagine for a moment if a bank accidentally transferred $7.7 million into your account. >> wow. >> happened to a guy in new zealand. his thought was take that money and run. he is in jail now. he fled new zealand and was on the run for more than a year.

police caught up with him at the hong kong border. he's back in new szealand hopin to make bail. more than $5 million is still missing. he knows where to stash it. >> he needs to watch "catch me if you can," the movie. hakeem, what's coming up in sports? >> dan hellie delivering a special holiday poem. doing big things between the pipes. the colts looking for

let's hear it for the caps. >> they are doing well. they always play well against new jersey or have of late. they have won five of seven games. >> don't jinx them. >> i don't believe in that. when the capitals play new jersey, it turns out to be a devilish good time. washington has more wins over the devils than any team in franchise history. they count on michael for another win. the youngster had a 4-0-1 record in his career against new jersey. he was solid once again making 20 saves. he started in three straight games and stopped 72 of the 75

shots he's faced. that's impressive. he certainly has the talent to be a number one goaltender. he has to remain consistent. tonight, a tough test against new jersey. the 23-year-old is confident. >> i was playing the last two games, you know. i was feeling more confident each game and, you know, i think that helped me in winnipeg. i'm feeling good in practice so it's been good so far. >> when he's making those saves x we can be at ease and know that if we give up a shot, he's there to make a big save for us. sometimes breakdowns do happen. just having that confidence. he has that ability to make the big save. >> if you are playing good, your energy is up in the room. you know, we are happy he's doing that well. you can see it when he's on the ice, when he makes the saves and

stops the puck and plays it. it's very, very positive. he can play in the playoffs if he wants to. >> you can see the game on cok m comcast sports net. roy helu is questionable in the game tomorrow. brown is trying to recover from a groin injury. meanwhile, if the indianapolis colts keep on winning, they might lose the number one overall draft pick. here is the scenario. they are guaranteed to have the top pick, if they lose their final game of the season. last night, the injured peyton manning hosting the texans. going for the second straight win. the first half, down 10-6 from the 23-yard line looking for wayne. not even close. he overthrows wayne. the colts miss a field goal. colds trail by one.

off his hands, into the air. watch closely. jones grabs it. colts nearly get an interception. check it out. makes the catch by jones. look at peyton manning there. it only leads to a field goal. they get the ball back. third and seven. connects with wayne this time good for 34 yards and a first down. the pay off. looking for wayne. makes the catch. it's the game winner. touchdown, colts. indy comes back to beat houston, 19-16. they won two in a row. look out. the final game is against jacksonville next week. college basketball news, howard will make a season debut against radford. howard broke his left foot in october. he won't start but will play. they have won four of the last

five games. last night in washington, 16th ranked georgetown rolled over memphis extending the win streak to eight. they lost to la jolla in maui. clark gets the steal. he goes straight to the bucket. up and in. ten steals in the game. final seconds of the half. pick it ahead to similars. check it out. throws it down with authority. georgetown executing in transition. monster dunk from sims. hoyas up at the break. second half, georgetown leads by 15. porter find as wide open clark on the wing. he buries it. he went from a game high 18 points. misses the hook shot. the ball tipped up in the air. watch this. he gets it. passes it to thompson.

he gets the shot to go. 17 points. georgetown defeats memphis 70-59. 10-1. hoyas a battle at the young center against louisville wednesday. tonight, dan hellie is a lyrical legend. as a teenager, he wrote several poems to his high school sweetheart. he wrote us a holiday poem. we are going to give it to you now. visions of sugar plums not in his head, but a redskins victory is. twas the night before christmas and out on the field all the plays were made properly and a victory sealed. when he went back to pass, he was quickly -- rex in his helmet and kyle by his side, visions of the new year without beck along for the ride. on london, on kerrigan on d. hall, the defense is improving and haslet is having a ball.

the offensive line -- opening holes for royster and helu. wilson and o.j. come through with the snatches. oh the future looks bright for the burgundy and gold. maybe this christmas a gift will appear, perhaps a high draft pick to celebrate the new year. they are the best in the off season, giving us hope of all sorts. it's all we can cling too here on nbc sports. >> dan is going to kill me. i made that up. i don't know if he wrote poems to his high school sweetheart. >> i want to hear those. >> he is a lyrical legend. >> i think he should read that in front of the fireplace. >> that would be great. >> thanks for that. our hearts are warmed. coming up next, nasa is releasing video of a new comet. >> plus the founder of the coral

arts society is playing his final holiday concert this final holiday concert this weekend. i sweated the details. all the phone calls, the emails, the lost weekends. and then after twenty-two years, just like that, i was laid off. today there are so many americans like matthew. he worked hard and played by the rules. suddenly, he's out of a job. it's been a struggle not being able to find a job.

but it's been our faith and family and friends that have helped us get through this. citizens energy was created to help the forgotten ones keep warm. we asked the big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. only citgo and the people of venezuela answered the call. and this year, in spite of soaring prices, washington actually cut fuel assistance for families in need. so if you need help staying warm this winter give me a call. because in times like these, no one should be left out in the cold.

we have breakinging news from virginia tonight. the republican party of virginia says texas governor rick perry failed to qualify for the

presidential primary. he did not have the 10,000 signatures from registered voters. according to the richmond times, the gop is determining if newt gingrich has enough signatures to continue in virginia. we'll have more at 11:00. a commander at the international space station caught a rare glimpse at a heavenly body. it shows the comet lovejoy watching a lightning storm when the comet appeared in view. it is hands down the most spectacular thing he has seen in space. >> wow, that is nice. >> the artistic director and founder of the coral art society is ready to put on a final performance before he retires. tomorrow night is the last christmas performance for him. he's done it for 47 years now. here is barbara harrison. ♪

>> reporter: for the last 47 years, nor man scribner led this chorus. he founded it calling it is k -- this singing group changed over the last five decades, he has remained the steadfast maestro in charge. ♪ >> reporter: like every december over the last 47 years, the group is rehearsing for the most popular yearly event. ♪ >> reporter: it's holiday concert of classics from around the world. ♪ >> that has to be a violent

interruption. >> reporter: he takes the singers through warm-up drills, honing their voices to produce the sounds that brought them the highest accolades on road trips around the world. ♪ >> go up. >> reporter: they brought crowds to their feet in paris, london, rio and russia. >> we are going to begin with "glory to god in the highest." >> reporter: the greatest similar phonic masterpiece and pushing the envelope to include work by some of the world's contemporary composers. this year's concert features treasures from russia. as a gift from the russian ambassador, his legacy will be honored with special guest singers and the orchestra from russia. ♪

>> reporter: and this year's concert closes the final season at the help for scribner. one of washington's best across the globe. barbara harrison, news 4, washington. >> i hope those christmas concerts continue. they are spectacular. >> yeah. >> one more check on the weather, doug? >> it could not be better. a lot of people would enjoy cooler weather. we have that tonight and early tomorrow. starting off on a cool note on saturday. 46 degrees. winds out of the north-northwest. we are going to see a windchill this evening. if you are thinking of heading out to the redskins game, the redskins, if they win this game tomorrow, they could do absolutely nothing, right? hakeem, what's up? they could have a better record, yes. 45 degrees tomorrow at game time. partly sunny. it's going to be cool.

most of the stadium this time of year is in the shade. you will be on the cool side as you head out tomorrow. then, of course, there's christmas on saturday. the redskins on saturday. christmas on sunday. >> there he goes. >> very fast. christmas 50 degrees for the temperature. i think a nice christmas afternoon with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. a nice afternoon for the next couple days. we talked about sunday. mond monday, 46 degrees. the next best chance of rain is actually going to be on tuesday. that coming in at 51 degrees ahead of the storm system. could be another soaker, quarter inch to half inch of rain. he's fast again. >> he's busy. >> very busy. 47 degrees on wednesday. 48 on thursday. nice in the middle of next week with sunshine. 53 degrees for the end of next week. another warm up ahead of another storm system that moves by.