>> now at 11:00, it is one of the busiest nights of the year on the road and in bars. what local police are doing to keep you safe from drunk drivers. a family of four left homeless before thanksgiving. >> everything is gone by the

flash of our eyes. >> how a tribute to the couple's late son sparked the flames. surveillance video shows the moment before a woman was raped and tonight they're still looking for a suspect. first tonight our weather, temperatures are dropping as the winds pick up out there. tomorrow could be the coldest thanksgiving in more than ten years. doug is here to tell us what's coming and when. >> hey, guys, it's ridiculous how cold it is across our area right now as temperatures drop into the low 30s, even the upper 20s. the wind really starting to kick in. take a look. the current wind gusts across our region, anywhere from 17 in the d.c. metro area to 36, near 40 mile per hour wind gusts. 32 miles per hour towards leets burg and 40 in cambridge.

add that with the already cold temperatures and it feels like 23 in d.c., 12 in gathersburg. it's going to be brutally cold tonight and it's going to start off about as cold as temperatures will be hard pressed to reach the low 20s. 27 inside the d.c. metro area. wind chills in the teens to start, in the 20s by 11 and those wind chills will stay in the 20s all day long. high temperature tomorrow 37, the coldest thanksgiving since the year 2000. tonight a warning on what has become one of the busiest nights of the year for area bars, some people call it blackout wednesday. police are stepping up patrols trying to keep people safe. jackie benson is in bea these d tonight. >> the bars are jumping here and police are looking for drunk

drivers. it's called a safety zone. police officers park their cruisers to narrow rock ledge drive down to one lane to slow down drivers and more easily detect violations. the enhanced enforcement has become a staple of the wednesday before thanksgiving. a night of partying for those in their 20s and 30s who are back home for the holidays. >> everyone comes here to relive the glory days. >> the wednesday before thanksgiving. >> it's an annual ritual. >> reporter: montgomery county police say the word is getting out about the extra enforcement. people are calling taxi cabs to get around and police have detected a bump up in hotel occupancy, smart choices for those who wish to avoid a network of enforcement on this night. >> it's a good spirit of communion and a good chance to connect with folks who have

similar mind-sets and grew up in similar areas. >> reporter: the enhanced enforcement of drunk driving will continue through the holidays. jackie benson, news 4. to the holiday travel conditions, more than 1 million people in the d.c. region plan to head out for thanksgiving, most planning to drive. tonight traffic is heavy but it's moving. you can't say the same in los angeles where this aerial view shows cars crawling along. some got out on the highway and ran with their luggage to make their flights. around d.c. and philadelphia, part of interstate 76 are flooded after a crash that caused a shutdown for hours. >> no major delays for dull us but there are more than 600 cancellations across the country

and more than 6,000 flights delayed because of the bad weather. the majority of the effected flights were in boston, new york and philadelphia. planes as far south as nashville had to be deiced before they could take off. nbc tomorrow costello recorded this video of turbulence on a flight into washington. other passengers worried about missing thanksgiving all together. >> i like my chances of getting there. i just don't know if i'll be on time. >> several airlines are waiving the fees for travelers who have to reschedule because of weather delays. you can get weather conditions any hour of the day by going to the storm team 4 weather app. search nbc washington in the apple store or on google plus. new surveillance video of a potential sex assault suspect and his victim. the attack happened at 11:00 last night in friendship heights. the video shows the woman walking down wisconsin avenue and the man following her.

another camera shows the two crossing the street together. police say the woman was robbed and then raped in an alley behind a drugstore. police are hoping this surveillance picture will help them solve a sex assault case in charles county at a liquor store. police believe the man in the picture raped a woman behind the store. investigators are also canvassing the area looking for witnesses. tonight a family of four has been left homeless one day before thanksgiving. a fire gutted their home in upper marlboro yesterday and we're told it started after a tribute to the couple's late son. >> i mean, everything is gone. we don't have anything. >> reporter: erica marshall can't hold back tears. she and her family lost everything they own when their home went up in flames. >> everything is just gone, just by the flash of our eyes.

>> reporter: this cell phone video captures here parents house engulfed in smoke tuesday afternoon. she lived here with byron, her father george and mother diane. all they have is the clothes on their backs and the shoes on their feet. >> it's just so hard to believe this happened to me. >> reporter: the fire started after diane lit a candle in the living room to pay tribute to here late son raymond. she blew out the match, put it in a trash can and walked out to take her medicine. >> it was just so fast. >> reporter: everyone got out okay. the firefighters determined the cause appears to be accidental. the red cross put up the family in a hotel for the next couple of days. it's going to be really tough for this family to come back to their home and see all this mess here in their front yard. their house, a charred mess. just take a look right down here at this. despite what happened they say it's going to take them a while to get back on their feet but

they're thankful this thanksgiving because they still have each other. >> i'm blessed i still have my family. >> reporter: thankful for life in the midst of pain. news 4. in southern california now the scene of a dramatic standoff in a suburb of los angeles. a man is how old led up inside e with two hostages. one may be a 14-year-old girl. >> reporter: this has been going on for 8 hours and it's not over yet. this is new video from outside the home. this is the city of englewood. s.w.a.t. teams and police officers are working to get these two female hostages out of this home safely. they're being held by a man barricaded inside with a gun. this started with reports of a domestic dispute. a 14-year-old girl was seen running, screaming out of the house when a man grabbed her and dragged her back in. when officers pulled up to the home, the suspect started shooting at them, according to police. one police officer was shot but

was protected by his body armor. he's hospitalized but expected to be okay. no word on the relationship between the expect and these two female hostages. at the live desk, back to you. a major merger between two airline could mean cheaper flights out of reagan national airport. a bankruptcy judge cleared the way for american airlines to merge with usairways. part of that will require the two airlines to decrease the number of flights out of reagan which clears the way for low cost carriers like southwest and jet blue. it will create the world's largest airline. the first family continued its annual tradition of volunteering at a d.c. food bank today. for the third year in a row, president obama, first lady michelle and their daughters volunteered at the capital area food bank in northeast. they helped hand out food to families picking up thanksgiving dinner.

the capitol area food bank distributes 30 million pounds of food each other and serves over 475,000 needy residents in the washington area. the national menorah is lit tonight marking the start of hanukkah. the jewish festival of lights began at sun down. it's the first time hanukkah and thanksgiving overlapped in 125 years. it's not expected to happen again for another 179,000 years. a police officer put his life on the line to save a stranger. they call it people watching and tonight we got to do some of the best kind around. i'll have that story coming up live from reagan national airport. and they're already beginning to line up. tonight people in our

tonight, a police officer in cape may, new jersey is being celebrated after he saved a man from a burning vehicle. it was all caught on the dash cam video. on monday he came upon a truck that was burning, the man inside was unconscious. he dragged the man to safety before he went back to the blazing truck to make sure nobody was inside. the driver is in critical condition. tomorrow family and friends will gather to celebrate everything they're thankful for. a lot of time and effort goes into getting to your

destination. we're at reagan national airport to hear why some decided to make the trek out. >> reporter: whether it costs you airline points or several under dollars in order to get here, you're visiting cousins, parents, it matters to be with the ones that you love on thanksgiving. the lines are short -- >> this has been a breeze. >> reporter: but the hugs are long. >> we go through all the hassle and travel because family is number one. >> reporter: at reagan national airport gratitude is in the air. >> the number one thing that i'm thankful for, the usa. >> reporter: thanksgiving is so close you can practically smell the turkey. >> how much does one way for an inflatable turkey. >> blown up it's $17.99. >> reporter: patrick kevin and their dog are taking a quick trip. >> you're going to spend one day in dallas and one day in california? >> yes. >> do you know that california

is on the other side of the country? >> yeah. >> what we do for family, so. >> i love that. >> who is coming into town? >> my daughter, amy. >> come here, sweetie! >> reporter: they live for their reunions. >> when you are coming in and see the tarmac, what are your thoughts? >> this. >> reporter: abbey knows the feeling all too well. 14-year-old daughter iz bell has been in texas for months but she's finally home and there is no place like home. all of the flights here at reagan national are in tonight and as far as tomorrow is concerned there is only one over there on the boards that is just 20 minutes delayed for tomorrow so it looks like it's going to be another smooth day here at reagan national tomorrow on thanksgiving. happy thanksgiving, everyone. we're live at reagan national

airport. >> happy to you, too, erica. the holiday shopping season officially kicks off tomorrow for many retailers on thanksgiving that is. not stores are not waiting until black friday to open their doors this year though. we found some people already camped out, braving the cold at the best buy in springfield. while some people have promised not to shop on a holiday, guys outside the store say this has become their holiday tradition. >> i bring my cousins and uncles. they visit us so it doesn't really ruin it. we have our own thanksgiving out here. >> best buy will open tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. some stores will be open all day tomorrow. kmart opens at 6:00 in the morning. we have posted a list of all the malls in the area that will be open on thanksgiving.

just go to our website nbcwashington.com and search black thursday for the complete list of hours. stay tuned and we're going to have black wednesday and tuesday. >> i'm worried about people camping out in this cold and all the people tomorrow morning who are planning to, like races and -- >> the turkey trot. >> all kinds of stuff, yeah. >> these guys that you saw what they had on, a coat and another coat and a blanket. it's not enough, trust me. it's freezing outside right now. the wind is just going right through you. take a look and we'll show you first off what is happening towards union station. windy conditions. those winds gusting upwards of 10 to 20 -- >> union station has changed. >> it's amazing. look at times square. how about all of the cars. you think we have bad traffic? try driving in times square. there's union station. look at that flag blowing in the wind across the area.

those flags really blowing and that is going to be the case all night tonight. 32 degrees is the current temperature, winds out of the west northwest at 13 miles per hour but the gusts upwards of 30 miles per hour and our wind chill at 23. that's actually one of the warmer wind chills across our region. as far as the numbers here's the current temperatures, 28 win chester, 27 in gathers burg. many of you are sitting in the teens for the wind chills. same case tomorrow morning. radar is dry and it's going to stay that way. we have had a couple of snow showers make their way through the area and maybe a couple of more. here's the shower activities and then making its way up towards union station towards the times square area and boston. we're still seeing that northwesterly flow. these are lake effect snows,

that's right, even in the month of november. here's the future wind chills. 7:00 a.m., you're thinking about the stores that open so early, 17 in d.c., 10 in winchester. incredibly cold morning and not to mention the fact that we're not even into december and winter doesn't start for a month. 27 in the d.c. metro area around noon. we will see winds calm just a bit so by the afternoon around 4:00 our wind chills close to the actual temperatures, about 30 degrees in washington, about 28 towards leachburg. that tells you it's going to be one cold day and one cold morning. actual temperatures 22 to 27 degrees with winds 15 to 25 miles per hour. high temperatures all day tomorrow will be in the 30s and it's going to be one chilly afternoon. i think we'll see sunshine but it's not going to help all that

much, tomorrow your thanksgiving the coldest since the year 2000 when we saw a high of 38 degrees. friday less wind, sunshine. friday is looking like a nicer day, 42 on saturday, 47 on sunday and next week another storm could move in and we could get another chance of rain or snow. something to watch out for as you're making your way out the next couple of days. we are going to need the coats for sure. once again that high tomorrow only 37 degrees, bundle up. a lot of turkeys might be going early to get that oven started. sports coming up.

we talk about a turn around, this time last year the wizards were 0 for two months or whatever it was. now we got a streak going. >> they're figuring out a way to win. they have figured it out. john wall, this guy doing some good things, he called himself the best point guard in the league. tonight against the bucks he didn't need to be the best player on the floor. thanksgiving eve he can be thankful for a wizards team effort that gave them an overtime victim rory tonight. playing the bucks that are on a

nine game losing streak. trevor coming up with the steal, takes it in for two of his 14 points. wizards take a two-point lead. ten seconds to go, bucks down three, hold the mayo here. o.j. mayo knocks down the three and we are tied at 87. >> get it? >> thanks. still with a chance to win it in regulation. of course they're going to go to john wall but his shot off the mark. he did have 19 points in the game. over time. wizards win 100-92. let's talk maryland hoops. an exciting new hire for them. juan dixon joins as an assistant coach. he led them to their one and only national title in 2002.

some of his responsibilities will be scouting and monitoring. to the ice, braiden and the cats hosting ottawa. cats let 3-1 but in the third period they're down 4-3 until john carson shots and scores. ottawa's zach smith comes out of the box. a minute later chris neil hits smith in stride, beats holepy for the game winner and the caps lose their fourth straight. when you are winning it's never as good as you think and when you are losing it's never as bad as you think. for the redskins it must feel like it's caving in. everything is analyzed and overanalyzed like this. media outlets have countdown how few times they have picked up

robert griffin the third off the ground. some believe this means there is tension there. roberts said get out of there. >> first of all, me and my offensive linemen are fine. there is no problems there. >> to be honest i don't even know what you are talking about. whatever is discussed is not a thing. >> if i'm around i'm going to help him. if i'm 20 yards away blocking somebody i probably won't help him. >> it's not like you're stepping over him. >> sounds like a silly story to me. >> when you are losing this is what happens, people just spend their time wasting it on dumb details. >> last thing you want to do is pick up the opponent guy off the

♪ black friday deals up in the store. ♪ ♪ getting presents and so much more. ♪ ♪ that's my holiday, ♪ that's my kind of holiday. ♪ buy today, come back for more. ♪ ♪ save next time you shop in store. ♪ ♪ that's my kind of holiday.

♪ it's black friday ♪ we're shopping deals ♪ in little black dresses ♪ cute hair and heels. ♪ let's go! ♪ that's my kind of holiday. how about this for an unexpected delay. just before she left for the airport her dog ate the passport. one-year-old chloe chewed the corner of it. sandra thought it would be okay. the airline refused to let her board. so the rest of the family went

on the trip. she said she figured she could sort it out quickly. but no, it took her three days to get a replacement before she could get the next flight to mexico. sandra says chloe is still a good girl, she still loves her even with all the holiday

>> announcer: it's "the tonight show with jay leno," featuring rickey minor and "the tonight show" band. tonight, jay welcomes garth brooks, stormchaser jim edds, and "kid metaphors."

and now, jay leno! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jay: thank you. thank you very much. thank you. and happy thanksgiving. well, it's almost thanksgiving. so, happy thanksgiving. here's an amazing statistic -- over 43 million people will be traveling over the holiday weekend. in fact, more breasts and legs will be grabbed at the airport