now at 11:00, spinouts, power outages, flight delays. an ice storm creating big

problems on the roads and in the sky. and it's headed our way next. plus, celebrations on the streets of south africa and on the steps of the iembassy here n d.c. a tribute to the legacy of nelson mandela. cops caught up in controversy. >> it's devastate for all of us. >> tonight, dc's police chief is talking about the scandal that's tarnished her department's reputation. tonight, dangerous winter storms packing a one-two punch. the first round moved in today with a lot of rain. a second system will bring us snow and ice. there's already a winter storm watch in effect for this weekend. from texas too new england, millions are impacted, february deaths have been blamed on the storm so far. ice and snow are are a major problem on the roads and highways with spin yous and accidents on highways in several states. in the air, thousands of flights have been canceled. it's not over yet.

>> we have team coverage tonight. jackie bensen tells us how locals are preparing, but we begin with chief meteorologist doug kammerer who is tracking the system. >> the first system has been nothing but rain for us but it has been colder as we move through tonight. temperatures early this morning into the low 60s. right now we're not 30s. storm team 4 radar is showing us where that rain is and it's just about everywhere. we're seeing light to moderate rain around the district, around the i-95 corridor and stafford county and the west. seeing that moderate to heavy rain continue. this will be a steady rain as bemove on through the night tonight into very early tomorrow morning. we will be getting colder as a result. we hind this storm system we have seen a lot in the way of snow back towards the west and a lot of ice down towards the southwest. this was a monster of a storm for dallas, texas. that's where jim canner to from the weather channel has been all day long. at the temperature map today you knew

that we were going to have some problems. 30 degrees below zero in jordan, montana, and 85 in orlando. that's 115-degree temperature spread. nothing good can come out of that and nothing has. we've had major snow and ice and sleet here, all aft way from texas on northeast on to ohio. the second storm as you've been talking about is going to impact d.c. is just now starting to move so the west coast. as a matter of fact, they have snow today on the pacific coast beaches. maybe even tomorrow some snow in las vegas before it eventually pulls out and impacts the northeast on sunday and monday. either way, 7/8 of the country will remain in an icy grip with many record lows for the southwest. back to you. >> thanks, jim. that is going to be the worry for us. it's not going to be the snow. it is going to be the ice. this will be a significant ice storm for many portions of area. winter storm watch in effect for sunday all of the way through monday morning. one to two inches of snow and ice around the i-95 corridor.

potentially two to four back towards the west. again, that includes snow and ice. i'm going to break it down for you. i will show you ho is going the get hit the hardest because some of us will get walloped. some folks here are hunkering down before the storm moves through this weekend. today's rain didn't keep everybody indoors. jackie bensen continues our team coverage live from arlington. >> reporter: the people we talked to tonight said they are very, very grateful, very hopeful that this will all be out of the way by monday. at a home depot store in falls church customers were picking up things to combat this weekend's temperature drop. last year's relative lack of snow and ice meant many found they had snow and ice melt left over. >> i'm ready for the snow and ice. >> reporter: how so? >> i have my shovel and also i have my ice melt. >> reporter: did you buy it new this year or left over from last year? >> left over from last year. >> reporter: with the worst weather predicted for sunday, most people were making plans to

stay close to home. >> staying inside. stay warm. we got our christmas cards all ready. we're going to sit by the fire and we got our tree all ready. we're going to get it insidend decorated. >> reporter: rain that happens at or near freezing level is always a concern on the roadways. some local governments have placed road crews on stand by. >> two, one. >> hundreds of people stood through pouring rain for hours to watch a soggy but very festive lighting of the national christmas tree on the elips. we've noticed here in arlington that in the last few minutes the winds have picked up here so it looks like this weather that doug has been talking about is starting to blow in. living in arlington, jackie bensen, news4. >> our coverage conversations. in ten minutes jay gray takes a closer look at the hard hit areas and for the latest weather in your neighborhood any time, head to nbcwashington.com. our other top story. more tributes around the world for nelson mandela.

here's a live picture from johannesburg, south africa, as the cloud gathers outside the former president's home. the mood has been upbeat with people singing and dancing. many say they would rather celebrate his life than mourn his death. >> president obama and the first lady will be among the dignitaries traveling to south africa next week to pay their final respects to the antiapartheid icon. there will be a public memorial service in a stadium in johannesburg on tuesday. mandela will lie instate for three days. his funeral is next sunday. in new york city, the empire state building is lit in the colors of the south african flag. the landmark building will be like this through tomorrow night to honor mandela's memory and legacy. here in washington, more tributes at the south african embassy. shomari stone is live where people held a candlelight vigil a few hours ago. >> reporter: good evening.

despite this rain, the cold, the miserable weather, people have been coming here to the south african embassy in front of the nell san mandela statue dropping all these flowers that extend on this table right in front. a lot of folks tell me that they are honoring nelson mandela and i asked why, and many of them tell me because he proves that one man is capable of making a difference. ♪ >> reporter: mourners sing hymns. ♪ honors the life and legacy of nelson mandela at the south african iembassy. at the front entrance people sign condolence books that read friends and relatives, they say mandela is a friend who had compassion for humanity and made a sacrifice for the oppressed. spending a quarter of his life in prison for fighting against apartheid. >> that was really an evil time. >> reporter: eileen signed her name. visiting d.c. from south africa.

>> just see and know and experience a man with such love and compassion that can come out of prison after 27 years without any hatred. >> reporter: she along with hundreds of people pay respect leaving flowers, cards, candles, and personal notes at the foot of the whmagestic icon anything statue raising his fist for justice. the outpouring of love from d.c., maryland, and virginia overwhelmed south african ambassador. >> what are you going to miss most about nelson mandela? >> i just think his presence. if the last year we've not seen him speaking, we've not -- we've always been reassured that he's there, that his values are with us. >> the world has lost an icon. and we must in all reverence thank god for the life of nelson mandela. >> indeed, he truly will be

missed. now live outside the south of course can embassy. you can see the flag here. this touched me. it says, quote, you are truly free now, may you rest in peace, our hero. as you can see, nelson mandela touched the lives of many people and supposed you missed the prayer service tonight. it will continue 7:00 up until tuesday so you can come either, you know, saturday, sunday, or monday. and also, the washington national cathedral will hold a memorial on wednesday at 11:00 in the morning. live here in front of the south african embassy, i'm shom mari stone. 180 pounds of marijuana found hidden in cars at a holiday inn express in laurel tonight. a canine sniffed out the drugs. a nevada man has been arrested. the drugs have a street value of half a million dollars. police chief kathy lanier is

responding to two scandals hurting the reputation of her department. officer mark washington appeared in court today acushicuse of ta nude pictures of a is a-year-old girl while on duty. he can be released on bail if he turns over the deed to his home and stays on home arrest. investigators are also looking into claims from another teenager who claims a police officer tried to force her into prostitution. >> so many police officers come to work every day and put their life on the line for absolute strangers and never give it a second thought. and then one action like this tarnishes all of us. it's devastating for all of us. >> both officers work out of the seventh district station in southeast. tonight a $10,000 reward is being offered for help finding two gunmen who held up a couple and their young child in their home. police released this surveillance video of the suspects. they allegedly forszed their way into a home in bethesda last week as the mother was walking inside. they stole some stuff then took

the family's cadillac escalade. police found the vehicle a short time later. the family was not physically hurt. covering prince george's county. tonight, mgm's proposal to build a cathedral at the national harbor appears to be the front runner. consultants delivered their report to the maryland video lottery today saying the harbor's location is best. they believe the central spot will be more profitable in the long run than the larger parks casino proposed for ft. washington. parks disputes that. rose croft is the third proposed site. this is just a recommendation. a final decision won't be made until the end of the month. next up, shattered glass. customers nok s knocked out on . details on what led up to this crash. a deer goes airborne after an accident and slams into a jogger in northern virginia. we're on top of that early morning storm. it's already left its mark

across the midwest. doug breaks it down to let us [ male announcer ] you know what's so awesome about the internet?

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tonight 15 people are recovering after a car crashed into a trader joe's store. the car pinned a man under groceries and cash registers broke and glass went everywhere. two people were seriously hurt. the rest suffered minor injuries. police are still investigating what led up to the accident but right now it appears the driver just lost control. a woman hurt in another freak accident is out of the hospital tonight. a deer went airborne and hit her as she was jogging in ashburn

here near the dulles green way last night. another woman had hit the deer. the impact is what sent the animal flying. the driver was also treated and released from the hospital. the official start of winter may still be a couple of weeks away, but mother nature isn't waiting. dangerous and now deadly storm is blanketing much of the country right now. nbc's jay gray reports from one of the hardest hit area, little rock, arkansas. >> reporter: as the snow and ice moved across the middle of the country it turned deadly. the storm is being blamed for at least nine deaths. one of those victims killed when the weight of the ice pushed a tree on to his home in arkansas. road crews battled the conditions all day. plowing, salting, and sanding where they could. but from texas through ohio, it was next to impossible to stay ahead of the storm. >> it felt like my car was kind of weaving back and forth. just because it was so slick. >> it is a massive storm system.

nasa satellite images show the blanket of white. while below the clouds the weather has grounded more than 2,000 flights. >> what am i supposed to do? >> reporter: there was nothing anyone could do to stop the weight of the ice from bringing down the roof at this marina or cracking a water main in communities outside of dallas. the ice is also snapped tree limbs and power lines as many as 300,000 are without electricity in the bitter cold right now. crews are rushing in as fast as they can but there's concern the problems will grow. as the storm continues to deliver high winds, snow, ice, and misery. as it marches to the east. jay gray, nbc news, little rock, arkansas. >> wow. >> wow. and that is headed for us. are we going to get that kind of icing? >> it's not going to be quite that bad but i do think some areas will be close. i mean, we're going to see very similar scenario like that play out here. especially to the west of i-95. that's where people need to take precautions. this fortunately for us will

happen on a sunday. we have the option to stay at home for most of us if we can. that might be what you want to do. some of the latest models thinking this may last in through monday morning as well. that could mean some big problems on the roads. out there right now we already have some big problems. that's just because of the rain. you know what happens. any time we get rain across the area that does cause problems on the area roadways, storm team 4 radar is showing you the rain and some of the rain is on the heavy side. over towards charles county and the river, back down towards culpeppel pepeper and frederick maryland. moderate to heavy rain. in around the d.c. metro area, most of this on the light side but it's still steady and it will continue to be as we look back towards leesburg and montgomery county. it will get heavier. this is just storm number one. this storm is turning off towards the east and moving quickly now. the cold air is starting to move in behind it. it had a lot of snow behind it but we're not going to see any snow out of this. this will only bring our

teeratures down. right now, most of us are in the 30s. i think that's where we'll start off during the day tomorrow. that cold air will allow for winter weather to occur and that's why we have a winter storm watch in effect. we're not going to see a lot of snow but one to two inches of snow and ice. this is what the official watch says, too. along the i-95 corridor and to the west. two to four inches now. this is snow and ice. we're going to see the snow first and then it's going to transition. let's take you hour by hour through future weather. here's the rain around 11:00. watch what happens tomorrow morning. it's gone. we're chilly and breezy. all day on our saturday. saturday will be a dry day. if you have any errands to run, tomorrow is the day to do it. i think we'll see some sunshine during the afternoon. chilly conditions but cold enough that when this moves in, this will first start out as snow across much of the area. here we are at 11:00. notice snow across most of the area. down to the south though. it's the freezing rain. and the sleet, that's what's going to be the most problematic during the day on sunday, is going to be the ice.

look at this. everyone here in the purple, in the pink, that is the ice. rain down towards southern maryland. you folks will not see nearly as big of a problem, st. mary's county and charles county. the rest of the area, 6:00, look at the amount of ice we have across the area. let's talk about that area. back to the north and west. first off, one to two inches of snow. maybe a little bit more in the higher elevations. in and around d.c., a dusting to an inch. before the ice starts. if you think about getting out, doing sledding, do it early. once the ice starts it's not going to be nice at all. back to the northwest. leesburg, sterling, frederick, snow to ice. ice accumulates .1 to .5. if that occurs, this is what you can expect. icy roads, branches down, and power outages may be wide spread. this is something we need to prepare for sunday night into monday. make sure you're ready for your power to go out and places back towards the west. ice on sunday. 45nd rain on monday. 40 on tuesday. a chance for some snow. but that's just some light snow.

and then it's just cold wednesday, thursday, and friday. highs will only be in the 30s. one more time about monday morning. we will go on at 4:00 on monday morning. i do think there will be some late openings. maybe even some closures due to that ice. stick around and make sure you tune in to us at 4:00 monday morning. >> you will be here sunday. >> yep. >> thank you, doug. >> you bet. the rain didn't stop the excitement at the community tree lighting in arlington tonight. this is part of the annual miracle on 23rd street and the kickoff to the holiday season. santa arrived on a fire truck, sirens blaring an lights flashing carrying his umbrella. what else? >> yeah. so, do you have your ticket? somewhere out there tonight could be the nation's newest multi. millionaire. here are the newest numbers for the big mega millions drawing. sound familiar?

tonight's jackpot is an estimated $297 million with a cash option of $158 million. it is the biggest mega millions prize since last year's $164 million jackpot. that was a big jook pot. this one. >> i don't hear any screams around here. i think we're -- >> doug's not bolting for the door. >> no winners here, apparently. still ahead, a painful loss for the wizards in more ways than one.

a tough one for the wizards tonight. jason, what happened? >> a tough one because they

played a bad team and they lost. the wizards came into tonight with a .500 record and normally that's nothing to write home about. but the eastern conference is so bad this year the wiz are the third best team with that record. they came up short against milwaukee. top draft pick was active for the first time this season. he played 14 minutes. didn't score tonight. webster trying to score here in the first quarter. but webster comes up awkward on his left ankle. he left the game and did not return. he left in a lot of pain there. later on. fourth quarter. john wall trying to pick up the slack. jumper is good. the wiz up by five with under 1:00 to go. wall scored 30 points tonight but t. they're to the going away quietly. brian knight ties the game with that three. his only three made of the night was a huge one. in overtime, he took over.

continued hot shotting. 20 points a game. milwaukee wins, 109-105. randy wittman making the blame for the loss, sort of. >> i got to figure out a way with these guys from a motivational standpoint. we came out and played like it was a pick-up game in the first half. that's where we lost the game. the game was lost there. let's move on to high school football now. it's time to crown a few state champions. northwest and suitland, two of the biggest high schools in maryland, met in a state title showdown in baltimore. it's a little wet in baltimore tonight. >> a little? >> the fans didn't care. neither did the players. leading 12-2. looking downfield to singleton. that is a 30-yard touchdown. suitland still trail, 12-8. northwest starting to pull away in the fourth quarter. sophomore quarterback mark piers to matt watson. 77 yards to the house. northwest, they win their second

state football title. 33-16 is your final. here in the district. friendship taking on hp woodson for the d.c. state athletic association championship. second quarter. woodson already up 6-0. cooper to martially. makes the catch off the tip. they're 12-0. woodson leads it. third quarter. it's more cooper this time. he's going to find payne, 54 yards for the touchdown. go ahead and make it 19-0. they won the turkey bowl last week. the d.c.s.aa title this week. 25-8, your final score. >> that was a huge win because, you know, if you look in the papers and this isn't even a football game. nobody gave us a chance. these guys worked hard just like friendship worked hard. i give all credit, all respect to the coach but we're pretty good football team and we showed it today. >> congrats to hw woodson or these schools played great high school football. so much better to play in the

rain when you win. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> losing, not so much.

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that's our news for now. the "tonight show" is next. >> we leigh you with the sights and sounds of the christmas tree lighting down on the elipse. good night, everybody. ♪

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and "the tonight show" band. tonight, jay welcomes -- president george w. bush, the music of ben harper with charlie musselwhite and "jaywalking." and now, jay leno! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jay: thank you very much! [ cheers and applause ] welcome to "the tonight show." oh, boy. getting ready for thanksgiving?