a moment. right now at 6:00, edward snowden speaks out. why he says no matter what happens next, his mission is accomplished. the data breach at target. the new reason this breach could end up costing the store more than just customers. get yourself ready. it is much colder this morning than it was this time yesterday. we're seeing temperatures in the 30s. let's go straight to storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein to get ready for this christmas eve. >> it has dropped 25 to 30 degrees since yesterday. this chilly morning, we've got winds blustery, gusting 15 to 20 miles an hour. wind chills are down into the

20s to just near 30 degrees even though it's in the mid 30s in washington. it feels like upper 20s with the wind gusting out of the northwest 15 to 20 miles an hour. now those winds are going to be increasing in the afternoon out of the north and west as a disturbance comes over us. we have a chance of a snow shower and blustery winds in the afternoon. highs reaching upper 30s to low 40s. winds gusting 25 to 30 miles an hour. it will feel again like only in the afternoon even though temperatures will be around 40 degrees. don't be surprised if you see a snow flurry with the gusty winds during the afternoon. then a cold christmas eve tonight under a clear sky. our temperatures will be down into the upper 20s by midnight and then by dawn on christmas day the low 20s. during the day tomorrow bright and sunny for christmas day, highs only reaching the mid 30s christmas night. clear and cold back down into the 20s. most of the pavement is dry around the region now.

maynard edwards in for danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. i-270 at maryland 121 north. as you can see, no problems to report at all. here's the beltway north of the 270 spur running at full speed. we have very light volume and good road conditions all around the area. you won't have much of a problem. here's a look at rockville pike near nicholson. if you're one of the early morning shoppers, you won't run into too much problem on the road. aaron and barbara, back to you. >> maynard, thank you. 6:02. while millions of people are already at their holiday destinations, it is business as usual for federal workers today. the offipm will be open. they said that's their standard policy for business when christmas is on a wednesday. new this morning, four people are in the hospital after a serious crash at joint base andrews. police say the car slammed into a poll along allentown road. that happened around midnight.

take a look at the damage. we're told one of the victims suffered live threatening injuries. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. d.c. police issued a warning around gallaudet university. a woman was robbed and sexually assaulted over the weekend. the woman was walking alone around 2:00 in the morning on saturday when the men approached her from behind with a knife and forced her into a nearby alley where they assaulted her. since the woman was attacked from behind, she wasn't able to give police a good description of her attackers. extra police patrols have been sent to that area. a man is fighting for his life in the hospital this morning after a hit and run accident in southeast d.c. according to police, this accident happened on stanton road southeast near sudlan parkway during rush hour. the man hit by the car, allegedly a gold nissan, was air lifted to a nearby hospital. doctors say his injuries are life threatening. this woman is wanted by police in maryland as a person of interest. officers believe she may be

connected to a violent fight at a mall on black friday. take a look here. the attack happened at the annapolis mall. police say two people jumped a 17-year-old girl at a victoria's secret store punching her in the head repeatedly. edward snowden says his mission has been accomplished. he told "the washington post" that he's satisfied because journalists have been able to report about the nsa's surveillance programs. he also says he's not trying to bring down the spy agency, he is working to improve it. president obama said last week he would consider some changes to how the nsa collects data on millions of americans. four minutes now after 6:00. the federal government stepping in to investigate the credit card breach at target. the retailer says the justice department has launched a probe into how hackers were able to steal 40 million customer accounts. target says it has already started its own investigation in partnership with the secret service. and that breach may wind up costing target more than

business. security experts say it's likely that banks that serve affected customers will sue target for the money to help reimburse cardholders. the banks may be looking for money to issue new cards and have extended hours. to give you an idea how much it may cost the store. the largest security breach in u.s. history back in 2007 cost the parent company of t.j. max $256 million in settlements. now if you try to call target customer service, chances are you will find the phone lines pretty jammed. target says it has more than doubled the number of people answering phones. even with that extra help the backup is huge. the retailer says as of yesterday it has spoken with 17 million customers. as we reported before, he had war snowden says his mission has been accomplished as we just mentioned. he told the washington post that he is satisfied because journalists have been able to report about the nsa's surveillance programs. he also says he's not trying to bring down the spy agency, he's

working to improve t. president obama, as we've just reported, said he will consider changing the way the nsa collects data on millions of americans. thieves stole a family's christmas present right from under their tree, but it's how they got into the house that may have you second guessing the safety of your own home. plus, how much sleep do you need to function properly? the new trend is just -- how long americans are sleeping each night, we'll tell you what those trends are. and get ready for a cold morning and even colder night. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein will let you know just how much tempera

welcome back. it's 6:09. some pregnant women can breathe a sigh of relief this morning after new findings show nuts will not increase the odds of having a child with a nut allergy. this new research published in "the journal of the american medical association" involved 8,000 children born to female

nurses in a long-running study of all the children, only 140 were allergic to nuts. those kids whose moms ate nuts a few times a month were less likely to have allergies. if you don't feel like you get enough sleep, you're not alone. a new gallup poll says nearly half of americans don't get enough sleep. they suggest you sleep 7 to 9 hours a night. 40% surveyed say they get 6 hours or less a night. 40% say they sleep for seven hours a night. >> do you know how many hours you get? >> i think maybe five. >> yeah, that's a good night for me, too. >> five is what i get. >> do the best i can. >> tom says he gets all the sleep he needs because he goes to bed at 5:00. >> smart man. >> yeah, i get my eight hours. it makes a huge difference. live view from the nbc east camera. time for your weather and traffic on this christmas eve morning. it is a cold morning.

in fact, temperatures are near or below freezing. our northern western suburbs and much of maryland and virginia, south and east of washington, most locations are having the wind pick up. the wind chills are only in the 20s right now. for the day today we'll have it holding steady in the low to mid 30s between now and 8:00. lots of sun and then clouds building by noon. should be near 40 hovering in the low 40s for a few hours in the afternoon. upper level disturbance passing over may trigger a few passing snow showers, maybe a few snow flurries during the middle of the afternoon with those gusty winds. it'll feel colder, too. wind chills only around 30 during the afternoon. temperatures drop overnight tonight. i've got your cold christmas forecast coming up at 6:21. now maynard edwards, how is the traffic rolling now? >> well, we have a new crash reported tom westbound 50 at 28. here's a live look from chopper 4 and all the westbound lanes of route 50 are closed that the point in time, but as you can

see the tow trucks are on the scene. would he we expect that to clear out quickly. 66 at sully road, light volume and decent speed at this hour. the key bridge m street in the district, you're not going to find any problems there either. it's a good commute on christmas eve. back to you in the studio. time now 6:11. right now many of you are packing your bags and getting ready to catch a flight. we'll let you know about any delays that we're seeing nationwide. plus, a heads up if you plan to hit the road to see the family this

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coming up on 15 after the hour. right now we're checking for major issues at any local airports. things are moving smoothly at reagan national as well as at dulles and bwi marshall. we just looked on flightaware.com. there is nothing serious to report at any major airport in the country right now. you may still run into trouble if you're driving out of town. more than half of all-americans will be driving to their destinations this holiday season. that is according to trip advisor. that number is up 5% from a year ago. most people say flying is just too expensive right now.

here's some good news for you if you're driving out of town. virginia is suspending highway lane closures in temporary work zoengs. the lanes will be open from noon today until noon on thursday. the closures will be suspended again next week for people traveling for new year's. new this morning, at least 14 people were killed in an explosion at a police station outside of cairo, egypt. investigators believe the blast was caused by a car bomb. the explosion was so strong it caused part of the building to collapse. more than 100 people were hurt. no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion but the interim government is blaming the muslim brotherhood for orchestrating the attack. also new this morning, a bomb scare in pakistan's capital delayed the first hearings in a high traes son case against former president mushara. an explosive device and two pistols were found less than a mile away from his residence. the charges stem from his decision to fire and detain judges in 2007 after declaring a

state of emergency and suspending pakistan's constitution. he's due back in court january 1st. if you have a doggy door in your house, you might want to make sure you have a way to lock it. a california family can tell you why. thieves used their doggy door to break into their home. the burglars stole the kids' presents mr. right under the christmas tree. they also took jewelry, electronics and an urn containing the family's parents' ashes. >> i'd like them to maybe recover some things, particularly my mom and dad. >> the family does have some clue about who may have broken in. a neighbor's security camera captured this video of the thieves walking in and out of that house for two hours. today an appeals court in utah could block same-sex weddings in that state. a u.s. district court overturned the gay marriage ban on friday. yesterday a judge agreed to let same-sex marriages continue though while the state appeals that decision. so far at least 700 couples have obtained wedding licenses.

for now utah joins d.c. and maryland as the 18th state where same-sex couples can legally wed. we're less than an hour of the second of three space walks at the international space station. it's meant to replace and repair the failed cooling system. the fix should take about 6 1/2 hours we're told. the two american astronauts were out on saturday doing the prep work. they'll be back out this morning to possibly finish the repairs. and more than half the country will have snow on the ground this christmas. that's because of the winter storm that blew across the upper midwest and northeast over the weekend. the storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people. you see all the ice in the video here. many of those folks still don't have electricity and may not until next weekend. extreme weather also being blamed for at least a dozen deaths around the country. tom says we could see some flurries, just kind of conversation piece i guess later this afternoon, tom. yeah, as people are hurrying in and out of the mall parking lot, maybe a few scattered flurries flying through the air.

if you're traveling about to hit the road, here is your travel forecast for the region. don't have any travel problems. there are a few snow showers up around pittsburgh, over towards cleveland and if you're driving that way, just be aware of that. there are also some other snow showers here western new york state. up and down the atlantic seaboard from florida to maine, you should not have any weather problems travel wise. looking farther to the west, we have a few snow showers in montana, wyoming, parts of idaho, north dakota, south dakota. should be only a minor delay if you're flying in there. up and down the east coast should not have any travel problems from texas to the desert southwest and along the california coast, california all the way up to seattle not having any travel problems weather wise. it's a cold morning. our wind chills by 1:00 this afternoon will be in the 30s. those temperatures will be in the low 40s. winds will be blustery. the wind chills likely this afternoon in the 20s and low 30s. wind chills tonight start to get even colder. winds will still be gusting into

early this christmas eve. look, wind chills down into the teens by mid evening with winds gusting 15 to 20 miles an hour into this evening. temperatures by noontime, near 40. a lot of clouds during the afternoon. upper level disturbance might trigger a passing snow shower during the middle of the afternoon, maybe between 1:00 until around 4:00 or 5:00. passing snow shower, few flurries. a partly sunny afternoon. then clearing out tonight and turning much colder. in fact, by dawn on christmas morning we'll be down into the low 20s. a clear night tonight for christmas eve. should be in the upper 20s by midnight and low 30s christmas day. clear and cold christmas evening and down to the mid 20s by dawn thursday. thursday afternoon mid 40s and partly cloudy. highs again mid 40s on friday. 20s in the mornings into friday and saturday. afternoon highs saturday, low 50s on sunday. little bit colder starting off next week with increasing

clouds. maynard edwards in for danella checking the road conditions. everything pretty dry, right, maynard? >> yes, everything dry. volume is down. we had a crash cleared westbound 50 had been closed. it is reopened. tow trucks pulled away in the last 30 seconds or so. good news there. 50 at 28. here's a look at the 14th street bridge. as you can see, no problems on that ride. just 12-minute ride from 495 to the 14th street bridge. and here's a live look at d.c. 295. starting to pick up morning volume. running very well. back to you in the studio. >> thanks, maynard. it's highway versus runway in the battle of holiday survey. trip advisor shows a little more than half of the americans traveling for the holidays will be hitting the roads and that's up from last year. most of the people questioned said they're driving for cost reasons. the average cost is up 9% from last christmas while gas prices are about 4% lower and may continue to fall.

right now you can keep an eye on santa's every move with norad's santa tracker. you're looking live right now at the jolly old elf there in the sleigh. the satellite is tracking the big guy. norad will provide up-to-the-minute reports. key stops from santa's trip. this year there are a few extra things on the website, too. you'll find games the kids can play. even santa's favorite music list because that's what people do now, they put their ipod list out there. >> oh, yeah? santa has his on there? have you seen his list? >> i have not seen it myself. i might check it out later. see if i can add some things to my list. while you're enjoying your holiday goodies and gifts, you could be putting your pet in danger. >> nbc's curt gregory has more on what to look out for this holiday season. >> reporter: there's a lot of interesting stuff around the house at this time of year, but what's a treat to some of your

guests may be very dangerous to the animals who share your home. just ask the companies who sell health insurance for pets. >> they see a 285% spike in the number of calls and claims related to chocolate ingestion in that week around christmas and new year's. >> lilies, poinsettias, holley. >> reporter: it's not just candy, plants to table scraps to decorations on presents. >> the list is so long i couldn't possibly name them all. >> reporter: which is why professionals recommend that you avoid the internet for information if you have a concern and consult with your vet or the aspca's 24/7 poison control center. new, shiny decorations hanging from a new place to investigate can quickly become dangerous and costly. >> the bills for your animal accidentally ingesting something can easily be more than $1,000 depending on what they ate, how

fast you notice it, and just how toxic or dangerous that item is. >> reporter: the water in a christmas tree stand can be harmful to drink, as can more palatable libations. a cup left on the floor is an inviting temptation to those who don't know when to say when. >> and they don't know enough to moderate themselves and only have one little taste. they tend to drink a lot if they do try and drink it. >> and that can be a problem for all sorts of visitors this time of year. curt gregory, nbc news. >> boy, guess if they get into the booze. >> that's a who will did i party, isn't it? got to be careful for sure. >> absolutely. chocolate, too. as i mentioned before, that can really be dangerous for dogs. we're going to tell you how a local man secretly saved christmas for dozens of northern virginia families. plus, enrolling for health insurance. the extra time you now have if you're trying to buy coverage through healthcare.gov. and grab your coat as you

head out of the door. we're in for a cold day and storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is keeping his eye out for a small chance of snow.

my husband. right now we are watching temperatures sit in the 30s, even 20s in some places. if you're about to head out the door for the day, it is far colder this morning than it was yesterday. but so far things are dry outside. we're going to check in with storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein for your forecast. when do you think we might see some precipitation, tom? >> this afternoon might get a few snow showers and flurries. that's part of our big weather story for this christmas eve day. this morning a chill in the air. winds are gusting to around 15 miles an hour. so the wind chills are down into the 20s. even though temperatures are in the low 30s in the metro area, feels like mid and upper 20s. the winds. dropping wind chills into the 20s. most of maryland and virginia, around the bay, wind chills around 30 degrees where

temperatures are in the mid to upper 30s. yes, later this afternoon, disturbance passing over us may give us a passing snow shower. maybe a few scattered flurries. that's going to mean generally around 1:00 until around 5:00 p.m., that's when there is that possibility. i don't think we'll have any accumulation, just flurries or quick passing snow shower and blustery wind gusting 25 miles to 30 miles an hour. temperatures upper 30s and 40s but it will feel colder with that gusty wind. temperatures around 30 in the afternoon. then a cold christmas eve tonight and into christmas morning. in fact, many areas as we clear out tonight down into the upper 20s by midnight. then by dawn low 20s on christmas morning. tomorrow, sunny, highs mid 30s. christmas, clear, cold, down into the 20s. maynard edwards is checking into travel on this early christmas eve morning. good morning, tom. we have a crash just reported. the left lane is blocked. police are not quite yet on

scene. be cautious in that area. here's a live look at 495, 95 mair ri land 4. volume building but running at speed. live look 95/495 at good luck road. look at 66 from chopper 4 and we're doing good on a christmas eve commute. the rales are operating on an s schedule on marc and vre. you can follow us on first 4 on twitter to find out what that means. we're watching a wreck that is apparently shutting down a major east coast interstate. you're looking at live pictures we're getting in here. this is interstate 95 in flagler county, florida, south of st. augusti augustine. north of daytona beach. this accident has been deadly. we know it involves some tractor-trailers possibly here. state police there obviously trying to direct traffic around a scene that will keep them busy for at least a few hours. we'll keep an eye on this for you and let you know if we learn

more information. today really is your last chance to sign up for health insurance if you want to be covered when 2014 begins. the white house extended the deadline to enroll for obama care by one day. nbc's danielle leigh is live with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: barbara, good morning. the administration is trying to make sure that anyone who tried to sign up yesterday and wasn't able to finish that job is able to do so today. they're trying to create this cushion. i did visit the website this morning and in a blog they're advertising this one-day extension. it reads, we can still help you get covered. the reason for this grace period is because a record number of people tried to visit the site yesterday. more than 1 million people and that lid ed to delays and what they're calling huing. not everybody was able to get through that. some republicans did blast this change as proof that this law is not ready for what they call primetime and insurers are also warning that there could be some more errors coming up because some of the paperwork that they're getting has mistakes. they're saying that's going to

take some time to sort out in january. here's the next deadline you need to know about, december 31st. that is when premiums are due. many insurers are giving consumers until january 10th to pay that. live on capitol hill i'm danielle leigh. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, danielle. it may be too late to enroll in a plan if you live in the district. the d.c. exchange's deadline was still last night. in maryland you have until friday to enroll. the state pushed back its deadline. today is the deadline in virginia since it follows the federal government's time line. >> 6:31. just about 32 right now. police in prince gorges county hope social media will help them solve a murder case. 19-year-old rashaad pinkney was shot in land over mills on saturday. hundreds of people attended that party. it was well publicized too. people are scouring social media hoping to learn more about who was there. his grandmother is also looking for some answers. >> he slept in the bed with me

when he was young. he called me mama. yes. and i was always protecting over him. that's my only grandson. >> it is still not clear who fired the shots or whether rashaad was the actual target. police say the home where the party happened was under foreclosure. a worker at a pop pew layer fairfax animal hospital is out of jail this morning after being accused of stealing the credit card of a client where she worked. police say 21-year-old filandandra thompson took the card from a customer at the town and country animal hospital on fairfax boulevard. fairfax police began an investigation after a customer called to say that she had lost her credit card at that business. she said her card was used to make several purchases. thompson is charged with felony credit card theft and fraud. and this morning d.c. police are asking for your help in finding the men who broke into a radio shack. take a look at this surveillance

video. police tell us two men broke into the store along brentwood road in north d.c. last thursday morning. it's not clear how much money or goods the men got away with. the new head of prince gorges county schools has hired some help to improve student's performance in the classroom. kevin maxwell added four new executive level positions. they cost the school system $1.5 million. the new positions will help make the school system more organized. 6:34 your time now. you know, he doesn't even know the families that he's helped this christmas quietly paying off their lay away debt. >> but one secret santa hopes his actions will inspire you. northern virginia bureau reporter david culver has the story from sterling. >> reporter: when you see stories with a shadowy figure like this, it's often because the person is scared to speak out, but this man, who we'll call nick, isn't afraid, he's humble. >> any investment you make in the happiness of a stranger

really pays a return 100 fold. >> reporter: we tracked nick down after hearing of his generosity. last week he walked into this toys"r"us in sterling, bought just a few presents for his kids and dozens more for at least seven other families. his second time this month, paying down the lay away. why do it? >> i would say the bigger question is why not. i heard of people doing it so i went to the manager and i asked if i could do that. they said, yes. and they printed out a list of people's lay away items, all the ones that were going to be due within a week. >> reporter: we checked with our affiliates and found nick is not alone. in wisconsin a mystery person walked into this walmart and paid for 13 families who had gifts on lay away. in florida, this man went straight to this lay away counter and covered the debts of 76 people. >> the dollar amount doesn't matter. it's just the act of trying to make a difference when you hear somebody in need. >> reporter: some things you should know about nick. he lives comfortably but he's far from ostentatious. just a few gifts under his tree

for his family. he wants his actions to spread. >> i would say if the story touches you, that you should take up my torch and its light will lead you off the path of cynicism and indifference and its fire would warm your heart and it's warmed mine. >> reporter: in sterling virginia, i'm david culver, news 4. what a wonderful story. we have some relief for last-minute shoppers. we're live at macy's which was open overnight and we'll show you the deals stores are offering to fight the dipping sales. plus, employees at a sandwich shop laid off through e-mail. the protests they were a part of that cost them their jobs they think. big change overnight. it is cold now down into the 20s and near freezing much of the ♪ checkin' target off my list, ♪ ♪ last minute deals on toys and gifts. ♪ ♪ that's my holiday, ♪ that's my kind of holiday.

♪ wrap it up, pop, lock and shop, ♪ ♪ buyin' presents that i forgot. ♪ ♪ that's my holiday.

welcome back. 6:39. the holiday shopping frenzy meeting wrapping up but the day after christmas has the biggest price markdowns. shoppers will find huge savings on wrapping paper, seasonal decorations, kids toys and clothing, but don't expect to find great deals on those tech products. the best prices on big screen tvs and other gadgets, those come in late january, of course right before the super bowl. a chicago sandwich shop is not in the holiday spirit it seems. the boss fired its employees suffer night via e-mail. the firings come a few weeks after workers for snarks sub shop participated in that fight for 15 seeking higher wages. owners say the firings had nothing to do with the strike, that's what they say. instead, the owners are blaming the slow christmas season. the owner says the restaurant will close for a month so it can be remodeled and become a burger joint. employees can re-apply for their

jobs after the restaurant reopens they say. coming up on 6:41 now on our tuesday morning, this christmas eve. we were warm this weekend but we are getting the christmas feel in the air now. >> looks like we have a beautiful sunrise about to start out there. horizon just beautiful blue. tom. sun's not up until 7:24 but we're seeing the first light of day. a cold cobalt blue sky over the potomac river starting off this christmas eve morning. live view from our city camera, and it is cold with temperatures down to the low 30s. wind chills in the upper 20s. wind chills by 1:00 will be in the low 30s. wind chills mid afternoon even though temperatures will be in the low 40s, it'll feel like the 30s with blustery winds and the wind chills then drop as we get into tonight. temperatures down into the upper 20s. look at wind chills down into the teens tonight. so if you're going to be heading out to do some shopping today, you'll definitely need to layer up because we're going to have these wind chills with us much

of the afternoon and into tonight as well. now as we look at the day ahead we'll have our temperatures by noontime should be right around 40 degrees then as we get into the middle of the afternoon we'll be hovering the low 40s. there is a smal chance of an isolated snow shower popping up by mid afternoon with a blustery wind. much colder tonight. we'll look at that the rest of the week. the u.s. travel forecast will be coming up at 6:51. let's check with maynard edwards and the metro. what's going on with that? >> yellow line problem, tom. eisenhower near the movie theater. delays in both directions due to a switch malfunction. that will hang you up for a few minutes this morning. chopper 4 is cruising i-66 and the beltway. starting to see some volume. speeds and road conditions very good. crash 95 northbound approaching the fairfax county parkway. doesn't seem to be blocking traffic. you should get by that without too many problems.

here's a live look at the woodrow wilson bridge. no delays and no problems as the sun starts to peak up over the horizon. it is christmas eve, but many of us still have some gifts to buy. the nationwide help procrastinators are getting this year. plus, target facing lawsuits from the recent security breach. the huge investigation two senators are now asking for. and problems found in the evaluations d.c. schools gave teachers. the mistake that cost one teacher their job. we're stationed here in jamaryland.

merry christmas and happy new year. 15 before the hour right now, and the time is quickly approaching and some last-minute shoppers are taking advantage of extended mall hours right before christmas. news 4's megan mcgrath live at tyson's corner where she's seeing a few gift givers trickle in. megan? >> reporter: well, we are seeing shoppers. we're also seeing deals. take a look at this gorgeous ring here. $7,000 with the discount here and it's a 40% with an extra 10% and a 15% off if you use your macy's card, it takes it do you know to $3,400. what a beauty. i think every woman needs one of these during the holiday season. macy's has been open around the clock since friday. they're going to stay open until 6:00 tonight, and there are early bird shoppers galore like

theresa here. what are you finding? >> good findings. good deals and macy's is my favorite store. i've been shopping all year. >> is it nice not having the lines, the crowds? >> yes. yes, it is. most definitely it is. >> do you do this every year or is this a first? >> this is my first coming in this early. i'm on my way to work. the before the crowd rushes in. >> will you be done? >> yes, i will be. >> all right. merry christmas to you, too. we have this gentleman, maurice, over here who's going to make some lady very, very happy. we're not going to spoil the surprise. we're not going to tell her what you bought but it's in a small package, lovely item. >> yes. >> talk about just being able to shop this early in the morning. >> i enjoy coming down, not having the lines. that was really great. not having traffic. coming out of maryland over to virginia. great deals at macy's. i love shopping here. >> have you ever done this before? >> never. never done it before, however, i will be doing it again. >> all right. well, thanks for joining us and

have a great christmas. yeah. and lots of folks here starting to show up. it was a little slow early this morning but it's definitely starting to pick up. back to you guys in the studio. >> thanks, megan. >> thank you. if you are brave enough to venture to the mall today, you will need to be very patient. >> that's right. finding a place to park can really spark mall rage. you've probably seen it. our transportation reporter watched people battle for spots yesterday in ties sons corners. drivers getting out of cars to hold spaces, other drivers cutting off fellow shoppers when they saw an opening and then taunting the other drivers once they scored that illusive spot. adam made sure they left their animosity in the parking lot when they walked in the mall. >> when i pulled up next to you -- >> that was fine. >> were you planning to take that spot? >> no, i was waiting for the other parking spot. >> gotcha. wanted to make sure i didn't mess you up. keeping the peace. >> merry christmas. >> give you a sense of how

serious of an issue it is. aaa came up with a list of tips for surviving the holiday parking lot. that list, skip the main entrance. try to find a spot far away from the store that you're going to. and get a little exercise when you walk there. while millions of people are already at their holiday destinations, it's business as usual for federal workers, the office of personnel management says the government will remain open often christmas eve. opm says that's been their standing policy when christmas falls on a wednesday. the government has remained open 6 of the last 9 times it's happened since 1946. coming up on 11 before the hour now. new this morning, four people are in the hospital after a serious crash near joint base andrews. the car slammed into a pole on allentown road. one of the victims did suffer life threatening injuries. police in prince gorges county are still trying to figure out what caused this crash. d.c. police looking for two people who sexually assaulted woman near

gallaudet university over the weekend. according to officers the men attacked her from behind on west virginia avenue northeast on saturday. the woman was walking alone around 2:00 in the morning when the men approached her from behind with a knife and forced her into a nearby alley where they assaulted her. extra police patrols have now been set up in that area. edward snowden says his mission has been accomplished. he told the washington post that he's satisfied because journalists have been able to report about the nsa's surveillance programs. he also says he's not trying to bring down the spy agency, he's working to improve it, he says. president obama said last week that he would consider some changes to how the nsa collects data on millions of americans. the federal government stepping in to investigate the credit card breach at target. the retailer says the justice department has launched a probe into how hackers were able to steal 40 million customer accounts. target says it has already started its own investigation in partnership with the secret service. 6:50 now. target also says it's met with

several attorneys about this case. cnwc's morgan brennan joins us with information on the lawsuits the store is already seeing. morgan, good morning. >> good morning. thank you. yes, target's general counsel met with several states attorneys general to discuss the retailer's massive target breach. they face 15 class action suits and they want the u.s. trade commission to investigate the incident. >> morgan brennan at cnbc. thank you for that. appreciate it. and we are talking weather now because we've got some weather to talk about. changes coming. it's cold. >> look who came down the nbc 4 chimney to anchor this morning, barbara harrison. so great to have you with us. >> so great to be here. not so great to be up early this morning but i get to see all my friends here, my early morning friends. >> merry christmas. happy new year. >> don't forget i'm back here at 11:00 a.m., midday.

>> we'll be here all morning to get people through the morning. a lot of shoppers may be heading out right now and as you're heading out to hit the roadways or traveling, no traffic problems locally. there's a beautiful blue sky at dawn in washington. the live view from our hd storm team 4 sky watcher camera early on this christmas eve morning. and we are starting off with just a few clouds to our east. a few clouds over the mountains. otherwise, no travel problems around our region. virginia, maryland, into the mountains or up and down between washington, philadelphia to new york. if you're heading west up towards western pennsylvania into pittsburgh and then west of there, northwest up towards cleveland. there are some scattered snow showers but they shouldn't be causing too many travel problems. some other problems in western new york state. no travel problems from maine all the way to florida and between washington all the way to chicago and the midwest, st. louis, minneapolis, st. paul. much of the inner mountain west. if you're heading to denver, no

travel problems there. a few snow showers northern wyoming to montana. the dakotas. along the west coast from california up to seattle should not be having any travel problems there. here we are off to a cold start though. a big change from yesterday. we've dropped about 30 degrees since yesterday morning. we're down to just around 30 degrees now and the winds are gusting around 15 miles an hour. so it feels even colder than that. the wind chills are down into the 20s and will stay that way through much of the day even though temperatures climbing into the low 40s. we'll have winds increasing. chance of some scattered snow showers and flurries mid to late afternoon. then we clear out tonight and get cold tomorrow. tomorrow morning low 20s on christmas day highs just mid 30s. bright sunshine. light wind. then a dry and settled pattern as we get into thursday, friday and your weekend. highs 40 each day into saturday morning, lows 20. monday, highs low 40s. maynard edwards, good morning. how is travel locally on the roads? >> tom, we have a crash we're dealing with 95 northbound

approaching the fairfax county parkway and that is off to the right shoulder. it is not causing any problems, but we do have a couple of problems to contend with. the american legion bridge, not one of them, normally it would be gridlocked this time of day. no problems. happy holidays there. 270 in falls road. a ride-on bus overheated. this was originally reported as a vehicle fire. it is not. a few folks tap the brakes to take a look at it but it's not posing any road hazard at this time. thank you. a man is recovering in the hospital after a vehicle struck him in southeast washington. police say a vehicle hit the man on stanton road newer suitland parkway. the driver was behind the wheel of a gold nissan. the man hit was air lifted to a nearby hospital. doctors say his injuries are life threatening. this woman is wanted by police in maryland as a person of interest. officers believe she may be connected to a violent fight at a mall on b friday.

the attack happened at the annapolis mall. police say two people jumped a 17-year-old girl at a victoria's secret store punching her in the head repeat deadly. the victim said the beating was unproel voekd and she didn't know who the women were who did it. six minutes before the hour. 2014 could be a better year for one d.c. teacher who was fired last year. the school system trying to hire that person back now. turns out he or she was fired because of a poor performance review. the problem is it should have been higher. the value he or she added was miss calculated. 44 teachers this the district received inaccurate evaluations. a couple of firefighters stopped by a laurel home. the firefighters teemed up with santa to deliver gifts and goodies to a needy family. over the last year the fire department collected information about families in need in the area. later this month they choose one family to help out. the kemp family won. >> we were at the point where we

wasn't celebrating christmas. it makes me happy that we get to celebrate now. >> the firefighters brought food baskets for everyone and toys for the three boys. here's a look at four things to know at 6:55. in about 15 minutes two american as throw snauts will step outside the international space station for a second space walk of the week. they'll be replacing and repairing the failed cooling system. today is the final day to make last-minute christmas purchases. places like toys"r"us, macy's and kohl's are staying open until at least 6:00 tonight. today is the new deadline to sign up for health insurance. tune in to 23450us midday to find out some of the problems this extension could cause. four people are in the hospital after a serious crash at joint base andrews. police say the car slammed into a pole along allentown road at midnight. the cause of the crash is under

investigation y investigation. if you're heading out the door to do shopping, layer up and wear a warm winter coat. we'll be in the mid 30s. by 40 at noon. a blustery wind, it will feel like 30. followed by a cold christmas day. highs mid 30s. light wind tomorrow. maynard edwards, any problems on the road? >> a ride-on bus has overheated. a few folks tapping the brakes. eisenhower on the red line, they're delayed due to a malfunctioning switch. back to you in the studio. >> maynard, thank you. as many of you enjoy your christmas with your families, we want our hard working crew to do the same. we'll see you thursday morning. tomorrow you do have a christmas special. >> yes, i do. 6:30 tomorrow evening. we'll take you for christmas around the world with christmas around the world. 6:30 tomorrow evening. the "today" show is coming up next. we'll be back in