called police this morning. a stabbing on a platform inside a metro station. good evening, i'm jim vance. >> i'm doreen gentzler. get ready for a chilly, rainy, tuesday night. it's spreading through several states. we have team coverage as the storm spoils thanksgiving plans for many people. we begin with doug kammerer in storm center 4. hey, doug. >> hey, guys. if it was a normal tuesday,itis not that big of a day. it's just rain. some of it is on the heavier side. right now storm team 4 showing on the radar all the rain across the region. the rain continues to move in. it will continue to pick up in intentionty. we have moderate rain across most of the region to the south. we are looking at the heaviest rain starting to make its way our way. the rain gets heavier for the rest of the night tonight.

let's take a look and show you the winter weather advisories tonight. western loudoun county, frederick, to the west and panhandle of virginia reporting light ice going on. we are not talking about a lot here. still seeing a bit in the way of freezing rain. it should subside later on tonight as warmer air moves in. notice to the south, this is where we are seeing the heavier rain. once again, the heaviest rain comes through between now and 3:00 a.m. tomorrow. then, we get another huge change in the weather. we'll talk about that in a bit. right now, chuck bell is live in sterling with the storm team 4 x 4 monitoring the traffic and the weather all day. chuck? >> reporter: you betcha. route 7 behind me is busy with rush hour traffic, lots of rain on the road. if you are headed out, dress in layers, take your umbrella or hat. storm team 4 x 4, we have been

in and around it all day. 38.9 degrees. a third inch of the rain since the 4:00 news started. the rainfall rate is beginning to increase. the one really nice thing, doug, is the wind, not an awful lot of wind just yet. as you have been talking, we better enjoy the wind free chilly rain. the northwest winds, they are going to be returning tomorrow. back to you, doug. >> blowing that hat off your head. winds upwards of 20 to 30 miles an hour. the windchills will come tumbling down again and that leads to thanksgiving. if you are traveling, get the latest weather conditions on your smartphone or tablet. search nbc washington weather. >> thanks, doug. the roads are a mess and it's only going to get worse as people continue their travels for thanksgiving. transportation reporter, adam tuss is out on i-95 in laurel right now. adam? >> reporter: jim, the rain has

been coming down all day here as we have been hearing from the weather folks. a cold rain. let's give you a live look at 95 here in laurel. the traffic closest to us, yeah, take a look at that, going pretty slow. that is i-95 north headed toward baltimore, headed toward many holiday destinations. take a trip and look at the highway sign. major delays on 95 north. if you are coming this way, expect a heavy, heavy commute. on the other side, that's 95 south headed back down toward d.c. that seems to be moving better right now. the rain continues to come down here. we have the cold and road spray. you want to have the windshield wipers on and the headlights on. we talked to one gentleman going from augusta, georgia to philadelphia. hopefully he's there by now. reporting live along 95, ad am

tuss, news 4. some flights leaving the airport are delayed because of the cloudy conditions. delays are expected to increase the closer we get to thanksgiving at airports all over the country. some airlines, including delta and u.s. airways are already waiving the fees they normally charge passengers to change their flights because of the forecast. we are following another developing story. this is at a popular local public pool. we are hearing from a family of a woman who says she was beaten and sexually assaulted in northwest d.c. hours before kids showed up for swim practice. jackie bensen is outside the pool with details. jack jackie? >> reporter: police closed the wilson pool to the public. d.c. police, including detectives and crime scene investigators were on the scene at the wilson pool, d.c. department of parks and

recreation all afternoon and evening. they looked at security camera video and examined an area of the locker rooms closed off to the public. the police are investigating allegations of a possible assault. a relative of a 22-year-old woman claims she was sexually assaulted here. the woman's uncle says she and another woman came here with two men after hours. one had keys to the facility. she said she was beaten and sexually assaulted. >> one of her girlfriends brought her up here. i don't know, these young guys think they can do whatever they want to do. i don't know, you know, this is really crazy. they just do what they want to do. >> reporter: the woman's uncle says his niece told him they drove her home afterward. family members later took her to the hospital. obviously, this is early in the investigation. no charges have been filed or arrests made. live in northwest, jackie

bensen, news 4. >> thanks, jackie. republicans in florida are calling for one of their own to resign. a spokesman says right now congressman's priorities are to finish rehab. he represents the ft. myers area and pleaded guilty to cocaine after a federal sting operation. many groups in florida are calling for him to step down. eight spas are shut down after alleged illegal activity inside. investigators say they got complaints and saw suspicious ads online for different spas in gaithersburg, rockville, damascus. they are charged with license and permit violations. their investigation was prompted by the previous shutdown of six others that housed prostitution rings. the fbi is joining the search for whoever is responsible for the murder of a postal carrier.

police found the 26-year-old shot several times on saturday. that was in maryland. he was working his delivery route on reed street. the postal inspection service is offering a $100,000 reward. they are providing technical assistance in the investigation. two shootings in four days on one block. tonight, we have learned an officer investigating the first shooting was the one who fired the shots in the second. last night, that officer was questioning people in a homicide on g street in southeast. police say a man wanted for questioning got into a fight with the officer. robert brown is the man's name. he was shot and killed. the investigation continues. we want to go to the news 4 live desk where jim handly has an update on the stabbing at the vaness metro station in northwest washington. jim? >> the stabbing happened at the

vaness station. we want to show you pictures of the suspect, a woman. police are investigating the stabbing. metro officials tell us a woman stabbed a man after a fight on the platform. that was just about an hour ago. this is cell phone video as the man was taken away on a stretcher. he's in the hospital right now. this evening, police still looking for that women. they are reviewing surveillance video from the station hoping to get a good look at the suspect. we understand she is in her 20s. from the live desk, i'm jim handly. d.c. fire chief says while there is room for growth, the department is making progress. he spoke to the d.c. council about a report that shows improving response times. councilmembers worry about the fire department falling into old problems with broken down equipment. the chief says that won't happen. >> we purchased enough ambulances to respond to most calls, if not all calls.

the way the ambulances are set up, they have a better air-conditioning system. i don't expect to see a repeat of that. >> the chief says they are hiring nine new paramedics next week and buying 30 new ambulances. oh my goodness, where do you start on this one. 3-8, rg3 down on his butt play after play after play, no offense, spotty defense. what kind of defensive secondary is out there. dianna russini is here with what the coach had to say today about all that awful stuff that happened last night. >> tell us how you really feel. coach mike shanahan admits in his four years with the redskins, his team has never been dominated the way they were last night by the 49ers. it's no longer talk of playoffs, but talk of who is keeping their spot on this team. >> i think the players are smart enough to understand if you are 3-8, everybody is playing for their jobs, you know?

it's the nature of our pliz, i don't care if it's players, coaches, support staff. you have to find a way to win. if you don't, everybody is accountable. >> everybody's job is on the line. you always have to think about it. any day you can get cut, released or fired. >> so this team has five more games left on the schedule, including the giants sunday night here on nbc 4. still to come in about 30 minutes, chris cooley has been in this situation before. he shares how this redskins team can still finish strong. doreen? >> thank you, dianna. drama inside the stadium. >> walking in a fedex field is like going inside a bank vault. two employees say they were robbed of concessions money. i'm talking thousands after last night's game. i'm tracee wilkins. we'll have the latest in the investigation coming up on news 4. plans to give nationals park a makeover.

but, they want taxpayers to foot the bill. george zimmerman armed and loaded. what police say they found when zimmerman was arrested at his girlfriend's house. >> nasty out there. >> really nasty. it's only going to get worse tonight. the heaviest rain is still to come. i'll show you what comes in next.

tonight, some court documents reveal what investigators found when they searched the home in florida or george zimmerman after he was arrested on a domestic abuse charge. he had five guns including a .12 gauge, three handguns and 100 rounds of ammunition when arrested. his girlfriend says he pointed a shotgun at her during an argument. zimmerman pleaded not guilty. creigh deeds says he wants to use his personal tragedy to help others. in an interview he said he feels he was kept alive for a reason and that he wants to help improve the state's mental health care system. his 24-year-old son gus was released for mental health due to the shortage of beds before

he stabbed his father and killed himself. bob mcdonnell promised to do what he can to help. >> i do know from some of the previous data that's been collected and the things we are finding out that action is needed and we'll take devisive action. >> deeds is recovering from the stabbing at his virginia home. this spring, the supreme court will hear a challenge to the affordable care act. by then, it will be nearly a year since the court rules the law was constitutional. the issue is whether the owners can refuse to cover contraception on religious grounds. steve handelsman is on capitol hill. >> reporter: this won't be a do over, but the high court will take another look at a big question about obama care. how much can the government make americans do on health care or in these cases how much can it make the owners of companies do?

obama care requires private employers to provide free birth control coverage. the mennonite owners of this wood specialties store with 950 employees in pennsylvania saying that violates their religious rights. >> they are saying i don't know how i can do this bassed on my religious conscience. >> reporter: a federal court sided with president obama who made including contraception a campaign issue exempting only schools in the like run by churches. >> woman who work at these institutions will have access to free contraception like other women. >> reporter: the owners of hoby lobby won their case, a federal ruling they do not have to cover birth control for 13,000 employees. now the supreme court will decide. >> we don't think you need to leave your views and preferences

at the door and instead conform to the religious views of the individuals who own the company. >> reporter: officials said they will make the deadline to fix healthcare.gov. young people are signing up. >> double the amount of folks enrolled in november than in october. >> reporter: the deadline is december 23rd to get coverage january 1st. it will be next summer before the supreme court rules on obama care birth control coverage. i'm steve handelsman, news 4. cold, rainy, nasty day out there. is this going to continue all night, doug? >> it is going to continue all night and through the early portion of tomorrow. then, a big change during the day tomorrow. first, take a look at storm team 4 radar and notice the green across the area and look to the south, fredericksburg, warrenton, culpeper, this is where we are seeing the first areas of moderate to heavy rain and that's something we are

going to watch continue move in through the region. the areas here in pink, they are small areas for freezing rain. we have seen it in some of the isolated spots. winchester, frederick and damascus all reporting freezing rain throughout the afternoon. we are going to see temperatures rise a bit. the freezing rain should come to an end and the winter weather advisory goes until 8:00. the rain continues to come up from the south. this is a monster of a storm. snow to the north. rain in the middle. a possible tornado down toward the southern carolina coast. a confirmed tornado near florida. what does it mean? winter weather advisory through 8:00 for light, icy. back toward the west, it includes west virginia through the day tomorrow for the potential for snow, an accumulating snow, too. current temperature, 39 in d.c. 40 degrees in honeytown. 38 toward fredericksburg.

33 toward martinsburg. close to the critical number of freezing. here is the heaviest rain, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 tonight. if you are thinking of leaving at this time, we are going to see more and more problems. the roadways are a mess and will continue to be that way throughout the night. tomorrow afternoon, more rain, rather tomorrow morning. in the afternoon, we see the snow coming from the west. i think everybody will transition to at least some snow during the day tomorrow. we'll talk more about that. right now, it's all about the travel. veronica johnson has more on what you can expect travel wise tomorrow. >> that's right, doug. this is a system not just impacting our area, but so much of the eastern sea board, as you said. in terms of the snowfall, it's confined to the north and west. so, so many locations impacted with heavy rain and high winds. who will be impacted by the

snow. as we zoom in here, you can see areas around 70 and 68 off to the west of our area, these are the locations throughout western maryland that will be seeing the heavy snow. you can see it there. it's heavy rain. i-95, d.c. to baltimore. the winds will start ramping up. pittsburgh, 70. pennsylvania, that's where the assumelating snowfall will be and roads could become slick and ice covered. it's looking like all rain but again, rain and high winds, that's what's going to be ramping up throughout the day tomorrow as the storm system advances to the northeast. doug? >> the winds here, upwards of 20 to 30 miles per hour. up in boston, 50 to 60 miles an hour and that causes a lot of flight delays. here are the windchills. upper 20s to lower 30s.

tomorrow, around noon, windchills in the 20s to 30s. tomorrow evening, back to the 20s and eventually the teens. we are going to see teens for windchills through the day on thanksgiving. we are forecasting the coldest thanksgiving in more than a decade with a high of 37 degrees. a windchill between 20 and 25. 40 degrees on your friday. then slowly, slowly climbing out of the icebox, 45 on sunday. 50 on monday. the next storm system moves in during the day on tuesday. right now, it is wednesday and thursday. the all important thanksgiving holiday and hanukkah starting on a cold note. >> speaking of hanukkah, the white house will light the menorah. festivities include a musical performance by the u.s. air force band as well as doughnuts. free tickets are available online. a candle will be lit each day

during the eight day jewish holiday. thieves traveling up i-95 to sell illegal cigarettes. the i-team looks at ways to crack down on the struggling. what happened before a deadly fire inside a church? >> reporter: i'm mark segraves. >> reporter: i'm mark segraves. plans for a roof on

i started part-time, now i'm a manager.n. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month. i got education benefits. i work at walmart. i'm a pharmacist. sales associate. i manage produce. i work in logistics. there's more to walmart than you think. vo: opportunity. that's the real walmart.

we have learned the washington nationals have been talking to city officials about putting a roof on the ballpark. mark segraves broke the story on news 4 at 5:00 and joins us with details including how much it would cost and who would pay for it. mark? >> most of us remember the battle over the stadium. it cost $700 million to build the ballpark. now the team wants taxpayers to come up with another $300 million. multiple sources tell news 4, team officials have met with several district leaders including the mayor's office to propose adding a roof to the ballpark. they have gone as far as creating designs of what the roof would look like as well as estimates of what it would cost. that projected cost would be about $300 million. the team wants d.c. taxpayers to foot the bill.

a roof over nats ballpark means fans wouldn't have to sit out in the rain and the stadium could be used year round. the request comes when they are considering building a soccer stadium. they provided the verizon center for $50 million there. sources close say district officials are reluctant to use tax dollars to put a roof on the ballpark. we reached out to the nationals for their side of the story. they declined to comment. jim and doreen? >> thank you. next, icy roads and massive delays. the holiday nightmare in virginia. flames spread through a church in a maryland beachtown. we'll tell you more about that. >> reporter: we have two fedex employees saying they were robbed last night. police

right now at 6:30, it's wet out there. it is cold and absolutely miserable. some people are seeing rain but others are seeing ice. >> whether you are planning to travel or waiting for somebody to arrive, the weather is the story tonight.

we go to storm team 4 chief meteorologist, doug kammerer. >> we are seeing the rain across the area. the ice to the west. if you are traveling west to the morgantown area or west virginia or the pittsburgh region, you are looking at that potential for wintry precipitation and freezing rain. the chance for snow, too, during the day tomorrow. two to four inches of snow in parts of the area. three to nine around the oakland area. that's the area of most concern in our immediate region. as we look toward what's happening here for the evening hours, we are going continue to see the rain moving in. you can see that on storm team 4 radar. the heaviest rain to the south. it's making its way our way right now. we have seen the steady rain all day long. the heaviest rain to the south entering charlottesville area. it will come our way. things are only going to get

worse as we move through the rest of the night. david culver has been on the beltway in tyson's corner all day long. david, last time i saw you, nearly a standstill your way. >> reporter: it's still that way. we were talking and i asked about the possibility of the ice forming farther west. i was speaking to drivers coming from the west into town for the holiday, they came from warrenton and they confirmed there were icy spots out there. meanti meantime, we have this elevated look over tyson's area. you can see it's a mixture of commuters along with the early holiday travelers competing for the same roadway. >> it's pretty miserable. >> yeah. >> reporter: how it is driving? >> not bad until gainsville. >> reporter: all of this makes for a slow, wet drive. >> 81 to 66 up here and i'm

headed to reston. >> reporter: the end in sight for peg davis. she says the slick surfaces slowed her down. >> there's ice in the trees back in warrenton. i think it's freezing up. >> hustle, hustle, hustle. >> reporter: she says things from her post at the rest stop. >> it can get crazy out here on the holidays. >> reporter: case and point, this truck fire that closed 66. diane snapped this picture of the flames and smoke. >> the cab was engulfed in flames. kind of like disintegrated. >> reporter: it made for a slower commute. we touched base with the folks at v-dot. they said in light of the holiday season, they are lifting the normal lane closures they use. for the next five days, beginning tomorrow, it's going

to ease the commuters. hopefully we won't see this as we enter the travel holidays. that is the latest, live from tyson's, david culver, news 4. >> download the storm team 4 weather app to your mobile device. search nbc washington weather in the apple store or on google play. new question tonight about an alleged stun gun robbery at fedex field. police are investigating the incident where two workers reported being robbed. tracee wilkins joins us live from landover with the details. >> reporter: as you know, security on game night is very tight. people who carry large amounts of cash work with police. it has workers and the police wondering how this robbery could have happened. >> she says -- >> reporter: this fedex employee

who did not want to be identified says he was in the stadium when word spread that two workers who cash out vendors were robbed. >> reporter: they got put in a freezer? >> to the side of the vending room. >> reporter: prince george's county police are not confirming all of what this worker says happened. they are investigating allegations of them being robbed. >> it revealed they were counting cash when two suspects endered demanding cash. during the robbery, the suspects stunned both victims and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. >> reporter: how do you get a stun gun into fedex field. they check everything. they wouldn't let me bring my purse in that is this big. >> i'm not sure. it's part of the investigation. hopefully we'll have the

answers. >> reporter: the worker wonders the same thing. >> that's what i was thinking. employees walk in, we get security checks. >> reporter: the incident is being investigated by the police department. we don't disclose our security procedures. this worker is expecting visible changes for sunday's game. >> security no matter where i go. >> reporter: more than an hour ago, a source told me there appears to be inconsistencies in the case at fedex field. it is still under investigation right now. we are still in contact with prince george's police to see what is going to happen. when you think about it, trying to get in and out of fedex field after robbing it doesn't seem like a good location. i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. >> thanks. one victim of a fire at a church in ocean city is now at

the burn center in baltimore being treated for life threatening injuries. another person critically injured and another killed. a man who works nearby shot this video. that church has been part of the community for more than 100 years. >> a place for people to gather. it's family members. it's everyone's a family. we all work together. >> reporter: parishioners say the church was holding a clothe the needy today. investigators have not released what caused the fire. the victims have not been identified. >> the closest statewide race in virginia election history will have a recount. the campaign of attorney general mark obenshain makes the recount request official tomorrow morning. yesterday, they declared democrat mark herring the winner by 165 votes statewide. a tiny fraction of the 2 million

votes cast. coming up, a local couple lost six members of their family during a typhoon in the philippines. they are watching and waiting. the i-team is getting answers about cigarette smugglers leaving virginia. the redskins are about as miserable as the weather right now. one star player is saying there's a big reason for it. we'll have that coming up in minutes. we continue to monitor the traffic and the weather. doug is back with a look at the

commuters in montgomery county are a step closer to a new and faster way to travel. a plan establishes new routes for lanes just for buses. it got unanimous approval. it would cover dozens of miles along georgia avenue, route 355,

randolph road. the head of metro told d.c. lawmakers that the transit agency will need billions of dollars in the next decade to keep up with demand. richard is in charge and asking d.c., maryland and virginia to come up with an extra $50 million next year. after that, $110 million each to buy more rail cars, buses and make infrastructure improvements. he says without that money, riders can expect more delays. more than two weeks since the typhoon hit the philippines destroying property and disrupting thousands of lives. the heart ache is still felt in our area, too. their relatives live in a small fishing village south of the area wiped out by the storm. six of their family members were

killed by the typhoon. ten others are missing and presumed dead. >> my cousins, so, really, really hurting me a lot. >> my whole family has always decided to forego christmas gift exchanges and we are going to be together as a family and do what we can do to help out norma's family in the philippines. >> a house they bought in the philippines for retirement was destroyed by the typhoon. several relatives used to live there, now they are in a makeshift shelter and eating rice every other day. >> cbs ordered the "60 minutes" correspondent and her producer to take a leave of absence. her report on the deadly attack

in benghazi, libya was widely criticized as inaccurate. today, an internal cbs review concluded the report was not properly vetted. it focused on a security contractor who went to the mission during the attack last year. "the washington post" and "the new york times" uncovered information contradicting his account. earlier this month, logan apologized and said she had been misled. smuggling cigarettes. a crackdown is under way. the i-team looks at how it could affect you. doug? nasty? >> veronica johnson is watching the rain right now. it's not even close to being done. wait until i show you what comes in tomorrow.

virginia state crime commission is meeting monday to talk about a new law cracking down on cigarette smuggling. there's a special unit focused on that trade. other states are cracking down now, too. scott macfarlane looks at the impact some of the changes might have on the tobacco trail. walk inside this room at the new york city sheriff's office and the problem is evident. six months of unannounced inspections kept close to $250,000. >> this is a legitimate pack in my right hand. most people wouldn't know it. >> reporter: these smuggles cigarettes are coming up from virginia. >> you can make $6,000 in an afternoon loading up the trunk of a chevy impala. >> reporter: he studies cigarette smuggling.

>> we found 20% of the cigarettes purchased in virginia end up flowing out into other markets. >> reporter: virginia is a hot spot. 30 cents a pack compared to new york's $5. >> you can turn around and sell it in new york for $100. >> they tell the news 4 i-team they are getting organized. phoney companies buy in bulk. >> we have identified 20 businesses that are fake businesses. >> we are out almost on a daily basis. >> reporter: efforts to curb the behavio behavior. dozens of states raised the tax rate. a move that could reduce smoking but ramp up smuggling in those states. >> the states driving it are high tax states. >> the tobacco industry -- log

on to www.nbcwashington.com, click on investigations and you can find out how to report tax abuse you see. scott macfarlane, news 4 i-team. >> thank you, scott. how bad is it going to be? >> depends on where you are going. a lot of people sitting home waiting for people to come to them. for them, it's not too bad. for those on the roadways, it's bad. i was talking to adam tuss earlier, looking at the roadways, they are a mess. a lot of accidents tonight. you can see why. just the rain continues to fall across the region and that rain is only going to get heavier as we move through the night tonight. sitting at 39 degrees. not only is it raining, but it is a cold rain. winds northeast at 10 miles an hour. the winds are a factor today and tomorrow. up to 36 in gaithersburg. 35 in reston. up to 41 in honeytown. temperatures are coming up a

bit. it's really good news for areas to the north and west. they were dealing with freezing rain. it's no longer the case. still back toward the west, you notice back toward frederick county, virginia, the panhandle still seeing a bit in the way of freezing rain. here is the heavier rain to the south. look at prince william county moving along 66 and up i-95. fairfax county, your rain is increasing in southern maryland and 301 toward the nice bridge toward the northern neck, too. you are going to continue to see the heavier rain move in. this heavy rain will continue to move up from the south. it will get heavier for a six hour period, then lighter rain into early tomorrow morning. then guess what we see? the cold air moves in from the west. as it does, we will all change from rain to snow. first off, go through tonight. the heavy rain. early tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., we are seeing the rain. most on the lighter side.

still steady in parts of the region. the cold, the snow, back to the west. west virginia and western portions of maryland. coming through our area late in the afternoon tomorrow, it turns very cold and windy. windchills tomorrow, back into the 20s by late in the evening. thanksgiving, our tour key guy needs a coat. it's going to be one cold thanksgiving. we are forecasting the koeldest thanksgiving in a decade. the windchill in the 20s. 40 degrees on friday. 42 on saturday. the weekend is looking better. we will warm to 50 degrees on monday. but, let's talk one more time about the thanksgiving holiday forecast. windy and cold. windchills between 20 and 30 degrees, if you are thinking about playing that outdoor football game, it's looking wet and cold. as far as the snow is concerned, people wondering, are we going to see the accumulation? the answer is no. we'll see more flights. >> guys. >> think about the family

togetherness cooped up inside the house thursday. dianna is coming up next with sports. the football fans aren't going to have much to cheer about on thanksgiving get togethers. >> no, they are not. frustration, that's one word to describe this team or this season. it was a monday night mess at fedex field last night. what is next for the 3-8 redskins? chris cooley gives them an "f" but says there are goals that can sti

i'm hearing in the fourth quarter the fans were leaving. >> in droves. >> i guess you can't blame them. >> fourth quarter. >> they made it to the fourth quarter. >> try the third, that place emptied out. it was a heart breaker. they were giving up on their redskins team. i don't blame them, traffic stinks out there. you have heard of black friday, today is black tuesday at redskins park. last night's performance was put best by coach shanahan, one word, embarrassing. a poor week of practice may have led to their poor performance

last night. problems from start to finish. rg 3 started, 1 for 6. it was the first game, college or pro, where he offense didn't score a touchdown. let that sink in there. think about that. colin kaepernick put up his best numbers since week one. now it's time for the soul searching to begin again. >> each man has to look at himself individually and say what can i do better? how can i play better? what can i do to get this thing turned around? nobody is happy sitting here at 3-8. this is unacceptable. >> we had a lot of high expectations. this game is hard. you can't live on what is going on in the past. what have you done for me lately? right now, we struggling. but we got a lot of great character and we are going to find a way out of this.

>> reporter: welcome to the cooley report, former redskin, chris cooley who was sitting in that booth thinking i want to get on that field because there is no tight end performing at a high level. >> i'm not good enough to play for that team. i'm not going to say anything about myself contributing. it's tough for a group of guys i care about. it's hard not to have an emotional connection with them. ultimately, they played poorly. they did okay things defensively for the first time, now it's offense that is dead, stagnant, lethargic. >> reporter: where do you go from here? what is the goal, i know win, but what is next? >> it's an interesting question. you are really, truly starting to look at that evaluation process that mike hints at last year. you are in it now. you want to find out who wants to be on this team, what you

like out of certain players, what you could do with your quarterback. they are so average offensively. it's so predictable and it's really tough to watch. i see there's no energy among the players. they have to go back to work. as a player, the only thing to do is go back and go to work and continue to try to get better. >> reporter: do you remember what it felt like when you realized playoff hopes are dead? >> yeah, i do remember. that happened to me a couple times. no, it's absolutely no fun. at the same time, there are individual things that can be accomplished from every player. there's growth among the players that can occur. they have to embrace that. it's such a sad thing to say and harder as a fan. i want to watch them go to the playoffs and win football games. i don't want to say we are going to evaluate and get better. it's awful to say. i have guys i care about a lot

and i want to see continue to improve. that's what they have to look at now. >> let's keep the positive attitude going. the wizards won three of the last four and picking up momentum, they host the lakers. they are going to be without one of their biggest stars. he will leave with a lower stress to his leg. it's the same leg that caused him to miss the final eight games last year. terps took down a team. a minute to play, they made the biggest shot of the game. maryland wins 56-52. hugs all around. they are back in action friday when they host morgan state. we have good things going on despite the redskins are going to try to finish strong.

no? >> try to stay positive. >> we are going to stay positive. nbc "n

on our broadcast tonight, travel nightmare. a massive storm unleashing snow and ice and rain and soon high winds across enough of the country to screw up travel across the country. and already it's a tough go for millions on the move for thanksgiving. birth control battle. the fight over obama care and religious freedom. it's headed to the supreme court. double agents. tonight a secret government plan exposed. how the u.s. turned guantanamo bay prisoners into spies and turned them loose. and a few good men and how they are changing a thanksgiving tradition forever. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is nbc "nightly news" with brian williams.