new this morning, trouble on the tracks. the slight setback when crews

started testing the new streetcar today. >> the new streetcar just added this weekend, and it's a big change for people living there along the h street corridor. >> and we are going to get a live report from derek ward in just a moment, but first, a lot more sun today. here's chuck with the forecast. hey, chuck. >> yeah, we're all very happy to see the sunshine, making a comeback. and we get to see the sunshine for a couple of days now. so a nice day to get outside and enjoy it. temperatures are pretty close to average on the sunday afternoon, the view from the tower camera looking back out over the boston area, lots of sunshine across arlington county, and even further to the west, through fairfax, prince william, loudon, lovettsville, plenty of sunshine, and cloud cover through northern maryland. the wind gusts are starting to increase out to the west, and those increasing winds are coming into the rest of the area. so morning clouds, then clearing, turning breezy today, temperatures in the upper 30s in northern maryland to low to mid-40s around town. not a bad day today, but way

colder than average for the next couple of days, so get out the heavy, winter coats, you'll need them through wednesday. the rest of the seven day coming up. >> u.k. cchuck, thank you. from venezuela, nothing was found on a grounded air france plane. it was headed to paris. passengers and crew were not allowed to board last night. that left many people stranded. the flight was suspended because of a false tip that explosives were on board. now, road crews are starting to test the first modern day d.c. streetcar on h street in northeast, but they hit a snag. let's check back with news4's derick ward to find out what happened. good morning, derrick. >> reporter: good morning. this is an end of the testing phase, so they expect to have a setback, and had something like that this morning. you can see here, the trolley car, the product of the czech republic, and it's actually moved. it used to be a little farther west of here, up h street, near union station. now, they moved it down earlier this morning, about 6:00, and

they found some issues with the overhead lines, and they've actually gotten vehicles up there. we want to show you video of some close-ups of this. and this thing is commanding a lot of attention. it was when it was brought in on friday, and it is this morning. it is a harbinger of change on h street, a whole new mode of transportation, new in the sense there hasn't been a streetcar on these streets for at least half a century. so once this thing does start running, it will be quite a fixture here, and planners hope it will bring folks who h street. once again, now, in the testing phase. and we talked to an engineer about what they were doing this morning. >> this morning we are going through and doing final adjustments, final tweaking. we're going to outfit a high-rail truck with a panograph

and make sure there aren't any conflicts with the live streetcar tomorrow. >> reporter: we're told another test will be taking place on monday, and the ceremonial test will be wednesday, the mayor down here, lots of people will be glad to see this. and there are some people who thinks it's not necessarily a good idea. either way, it's here. we're live on h street, derick ward, back to you. >> thanks. in the day ahead, the senate is expected to reconvene at 1:00 this afternoon. senators will begin working on bills and nominations to be considered this week. here's a live look on capitol hill. no votes are scheduled for today. tomorrow, senators will take votes on the nominations of ann patterson for assistant secretary of state, and jeh johnson for secretary of homeland security. on tuesday, the senate is expected to consider a budget agreement, while on wednesday, senators may vote on the defense bill. >> something we're going to be watching here in the week ahead, tomorrow, a recount begins in fairfax county in the disputed race for virginia's next

attorney general. in november's razor thin election, herring narrowly defeated shane by 167 votes. if the recount does not overturn the victory, it would mark the first time democrats held all major statewide offices since 1969. both virginia governor bobp observers are taking note of his stock with just a month ago. >> we sat down with him about his achievements and scandals. >> reporter: the highwater marks for governor bob mcdonnell are clear, from its landslide win, mentioned as a possible vice president candidate and chosen to chair the 2012 gop convention's platform committee. last february, mcdonnell won passage of the signature achievement, the sweeping transportation funding bill. >> transportation was the issue that nobody thought could actually get passed in a

substantive way to make a generational game change, and i think we got that done, so a couple of high fives after that. >> reporter: soon, the news of a scandal broke. for months, a federal investigation has been under way into gifts and loans given to the governor and his family by a political donor and ceo of a dietary supplement company. >> it tarnished his reputation. it did. people saw him as a straight shooter type, very ethical. what ultimately just happened was so outside the understanding of bob mcdonald, that so many people had. >> reporter: mcdonnell says he hopes his record will be judged by much more than the scientific controversy. >> in retrospect, i understand why people raise concerns and that's why i decided to retu return -- or return gifts and pay back loans, i've tried to restore that trust with the people of virginia. look, it's been a painful year for me. i never in 37 years have people raise questions about my ethics, about my -- about my judgment. >> reporter: as he looks ahead, mcdonnell will step away from

elective office for the first time in 22 years. he and his wife will return to their home. mcdonnell says one thing he's drawn to is higher education. >> i have really loved the time i've spent with the university leadering over the last four years. >> reporter: and on virginia campuses like george mason university, there's already a buzz about reaching out to governor mcdonnell to have him teach and guide future political leaders. >> there's a remarkable political story there in terms of his successes as governor in policy, but also the political downfall because of the star scientific scandal. >> reporter: in richmond, julie carey, news4. >> you can watch the entire interview online at nbcwashington.com. a trip to nowhere. the ride on the rails that has amtrak issuing an apology this morning. then, busted. the suspicious activity that led to police to uncover drugs this weekend. you can join us online now. we're on facebook and twitter. coming right back here in a moment. stay with us. [ male announcer ] some things are simply better at home.

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anne arundel county police made several drug-related arrests. police busted a 21-year-old and 24-year-old of gaither, and officers say they pulled them over yesterday morning during a traffic stop. the officer smelled marijuana coming from the car, and they searched it, and found 19 grams of weed inside fake energy drink containers. they also discovered 475 in cash. both of the men are charged with drug programs. anne arundel police also arrested two other men in a separate drug investigation. police arrested 26-year-old donald harris and 34-year-old dominique sanchez. investigators found crack cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a sawed-off

shotgun and money. these two are facing several charges. a warning to some metro riders, be prepared for more delays because of scheduled track work if you are using the red line, orange, or blue. you're going to want to factor in extra travel time. metro is saying trains will be running about every 20 minutes on those lines. track work was scheduled for the green line, but it's been pushed back a bit due to yesterday's weather. meanwhile, nearly 300 people were stranded on an amtrak train last night just outside of alexandria. they were headed right here for union station and according to amtrak officials, the train hit a tree, which had fallen on the tracks. amtrak took six hours to get a rescue engine to the broken-down train, and many passengers took to social media to vent and attempt to find answers from amtrak. many of which weren't happy with what amtrak had to say. >> and we didn't know how long we would be there. they didn't really tell us anything. >> yes, i'm mad about it. i don't really want to take another train for a while.

>> amtrak issued an apology and said passengers who want a refund may ask for one. >> this morning, what may just be the trick for feeling some relief for a sore throat, and it may already be in your medicine cabinet. now, here's chuck. >> sunshine and a brisk northwesterly wind are returning for your sunday afternoon. the question now is, how cold is it going to be for the work and school week? the answer

this morning, the body of nelson mandela is in his final resting place, buried in his hometown village, qunu. the official state funeral wrapped up earlier this morning. some 5,000 people attended the powerful service, which was filled with singing, prayer, and heartfelt tributes. >> the long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense. our own journey continues. we have to continue building the type of society you worked tirelessly to construct. >> today's funeral and burial marks the end to those ten days

of mourning across south africa. here in washington, many people in our area are getting ready to remember mandela just a few hours from now. the group africare is hosting a candlelight vigil tonight at howard university. mandela once served as the honorary chair, and once appeared at the campus for a special convocation ceremony in 1994. the vigil is set for tonight from 5:00 to 6:00 at the yard at howard university. and remember, news4's jim vance is covering the story for us from south africa. watch a live report tonight on "news4 at 6" with reaction as people say good-bye to nelson mandela. 10:15. turning to the weather. it's looking great outside. >> a nice day to be outside. today, the sun is shining. a bit of a breeze. we'll have to contend with that for the next day or so. yes, indeed, after a long stretch, it felt like, not an awful lot in the way of sunshine, and yesterday flat-out miserable with the cold, rain, the snow, the ugliness, it's all

gone. we get sunshine back today, and sunshine to keep, everybody, for the next couple of days, as well. that's definitely good news. more sunshine than clouds for most of the coming week. right up until next weekend when you would like the sun to be shining for the last-minute holiday shoppers. next weekend is looktr increasi. a nice day outside. temperatures are pretty typical stuff for the middle of december. we're now 47 degrees at national airport, as of the 10:00 hour. so we really have warmed up very, very nicely. winds out of the west now, averaging 9 miles per hour. what's going on here is as the wind comes out of the west, it comes down the front range of the mountains, and when you briere down, you increase the pressure on it, and it warms it up. this is bonus territory here, and have to move my forecasted high temperature to 49 or 50. right now, 47 downtown. that's the downtown, but most everyone back in the upper 30s and low 40s now. but it will still be a pleasant day to be outside, in and around the metro area, temperatures at least in the mid-40s.

it will become breezy later this afternoon. so if you're going to be outside, don't be fooled by the sunshine and what will feel more milder than average. the wind will keep it feeling awfully school. we started to talk about the last -- about 30 minutes ago, and now fixed the spelling on the word "christmas" for the second time today. the snow chances for christmas day. the chances of having snow fall on christmas day. this is statistically speaking. 8%. only 8% of the time in the 145 years of weather records we have in washington have we actually had snow fall on christmas day. what about having snow at least on the ground, even if it fell christmas eve or the days before? the odds of having snow on the ground christmas day, about twice that good -- about 15%. the last time we had snow on the ground for christmas day was december of 2009. so it really hasn't been all that long. any chance for snow this christmas is still, i think, a little better than average. i think about a 25% chance we'll

have at least some snow somewhere around the area on the ground by christmas day. here's the reason i see that coming. in the short term, it's going to be breezy and sunny today, as the colder air comes in late this afternoon. the temperatures are going to dive after the sun goes down tonight, and it's going to be really cold outside tomorrow morning. be ready for upper teens in northern maryland and the shenandoah valley. low 20s in the western and northern suburbs, and mid-20s in town and in southern maryland. clouds increase a bit during the course of the day tomorrow, but not much of a rain or snow threat as we go through the week. here's the all-important seven-day forecast. today nice, in the 40s. tomorrow, cold, in the 30s. tuesday and wednesday, also cold, with highs in the upper 30s to low 40s. as we get further into the week, look at this, thursday, almost 50 degrees, and by the time we get to next weekend, indeed, a chance for rain coming back. here's the early look at next weekend. saturday, mild but rain likely, well in the 50s and even sunday, rain likely with temperatures back near 50.

but that rain on sunday, the cold air comes back in monday and tuesday, and next tuesday's christmas eve, and as the moisture leaves and the cold air comes in, we may be able to wring out a snowflake or two in time for christmas eve or christmas day. more to come. and don't start planning on it just yet, but it's out there. >> all right. >> okay. >> okay. thanks chuck. next relief for a sore

this morning, all eyes on the senate as it considers key nominations and a test vote on the federal budget. >> and we could see movement on the nomination votes today, but now, a budget deal is in limbo. joining us now, david gregory of "meet the press." joining us with your perspective. >> good morning. >> good morning. we know the deal has big support on both sides of the aisle, but it's not a done deal? >> yeah, i think it will be fine in the senate, talking to leaders at the end of the week, on both sides. there are republicans who are opposed to it. but nevertheless, they think it will get through. mostly republicans want to avoid the spector of another standoff over the budget. they know what that means for them politically, having gone through the government shutdown earlier on, so they don't -- they just don't want to deal with that again. >> passing a budget was one of the president's top items on his agenda for this term. so now that he's almost passed this -- >> it's a very modest deal.

he hasn't taken on any of the big stuff, nor have they done that here. it was interesting that you'll hear in the interview with senator murray that she does not think any kind of grand bargain is achievable at this point. i'm not certain, as i talk to republicans, that it's achievable with barack obama as president. so that may just be the state of things. keep your eye on immigration. that's something speaker boehner would like to pursue early next year as a test to see whether he can wrangle together republicans on this. >> and talking about speaker boehner, i feel like we saw him in a way we haven't seen him before, a big win for him in a sense. >> well, he really took on the right frank, the tea party conservatives, the caucuses and the outside groups. he's personally frustrated with the role that they've played opposing this deal and other deals. he knowsize personally felt the wound that some of these actions have had on the republican party, and i think he wants to avoid that. we'll see if that means the infighting gets worse and means

less can be accomplished. that's one of -- one of the questions i have after this week. >> and you'll be talking national security this morning? >> yeah, this is important. the future of the nsa and all of the electric troonic surveilland they'll be talking about what the president is considering and how we dismantle a security state at this level. is it ever possible to do that, even if the nature of the threat changes? that's one of my questions for him. >> covering a lot this sunday, david gregory, thank you so much. >> okay, thanks. >> "meet the press" is a few minutes away at 10:30 here's on nbc 4 right after "news4 today." if you live in d.c., you may not get trash and recycle bins anytime soon. the "washington post" reporting that the d.c. council is rejecting the proposal by d.c. mayor vincent gray. he wants to shift $9 million to pay for the new trash cans. if it's ever approved, 75,000 d.c. households would get the new bins. a new cure for a sore throat

might already be in your medicine cabinet according to doctors at cardive. gargling with dissolved aspirin can work, and it also works as a pain reliever. drinking it defeats the purpose. just gargle, and you're done. tomorrow, you can weigh in on a proposal to change school times at montgomery county public schools. superintendent joshua starr is recommending moving the high  school start times 15 minutes later to 8:15 in the morning. middle schools would begin ten minutes earlier at 7:45. he wants to expand elementary by 30 minutes. the public forum is happening tomorrow night at richard montgomery high school. that's in rockville. let the mega millions madness begin! since there was no winner on friday, the jackpot has grown to $550 million with a cash option of $295 million. the next drawing will be tuesday at 11:00 at night.

your odds of winning, as they stand right now, are 1 in 259 million. >> not sure how telling of a day this will be. we'll get to weather in a emmo. finally, runways and highways will be filling up as early as friday for all of the holiday travel. for many, this will be the last full work week of the year. most people take off sometime between next weekend and also new year's eve. >> yeah, so we can expect the roadways and airports to be busy, at least towards the end of the week. >> yeah, luckily, no big winter storm looming anywhere, at least in the computer models, and most of the reliable computer models go out about five, seven day, get further out than that, it gets wishy-wash ya at times, but for now, nothing major in the pipeline for this coming week. here's the seven-day forecast forecast. a nice day today. temperatures well into the 40s, maybe now even near 50 in and around town, and enjoy it. because the cold air comes back in tonight, and it will stay chilly around here for monday, tuesday, and wednesday. cold morning s, teens and 20s. a nice return, milder air comes

back in thursday, near 50, and friday, saturday, even sunday of next weekend, way into the 50s. might even be near 60 degrees. you can always stay in touch with storm team 4, the twitter addresses. you can also like us, like us on the storm team 4 facebook page. please like us. i put them up there so everyone can see them. i put mine up, hey, way to go with the team there. >> i noticed our handles aren't there. >> yeah, where's ours? >> and you can't predict too far into the future, but snow chances for a white christmas? you -- >> they're out there. better than average. but it's not a guarantee. >> all right. well, we'll be watching in the days to come. >> be extra good the last week. >> all right. >> that'll do it for "news4 today." "meet the pres