ed. behind bars again. the man accused of carjacking a metro rider is busted and his shocking criminal past comes to light. ready, set, shop. we are getting you ready for black friday from shoppers to getting an early start to how you can save a few dollars. plus, thanksgiving day gets interrupted by gunfire. the scare that shocked families in a quiet neighborhood. >> it's supposed about family. why are people shooting? i don't -- i don't understand. someone banged on the door of an apartment then opened fire. good evening, i'm chris lawrence. >> i'm erica gonzalez. that thanksgiving day shooting happened at lunchtime in columbia, maryland.

news 4's shamari stone has the details. >> i'm upset. >> reporter: yvonne moody is disappointed on thanksgiving, a day she's supposed to be filled with joy. >> everybody's supposed to be getting together with family. it's supposed to be about family. why are people shoot something. >> reporter: detectives say a masked man knocked on her neighbors' apartment in columbia, maryland. the masked man opened fire, shooting a 29-year-old man several times in the apartment. take a look at the shattered front window, blinds hanging out. med tlics air lift it had 29-year-old to the hospital in critical condition. the shooter got away. i'm a couple blocks away from where the shooting happened. howard county police stopped that black suv right there. they say a man stepped out and he was bleeding. medics rushed him to the hospital. police are questioning the man. they haven't told us how he hurt his hand forhe's connected to 2 shooting. josiah wilson was cooking dinner inside his house at the time. >> my first reaction? freaking out. honestly, this kind of stuff

never happens in this neighborhood. >> reporter: especially on thanks giving. >> seeing that going down was very interesting to say the least. and we're still getting ready for thanksgiving. >> reporter: meanwhile, police search for the suspect. they don't think this was a random shooting. >> i don't understand why we can't just have one day without violence and a whole bunch of craziness. >> reporter: in columbia, maryland, shamari stone, news 4. tonight we've learned the suspect in a metro carjacking has served time for a similar crime before. derian robinson was arrested early this morning in baltimore, county. police believe he's the man who carjacked a woman from the vienna metro station two weeks ago. the victim was forced to withdraw cash from several atms before she was released at the new carroll ton metro station. robinson served time in a maryland prison for a similar carjacking back in 196. let's take a turn to storm team 4. thanksgiving day has been on the chilly side but black friday is really going to get cold.

>> storm team 4 keith meteorologist keith is tracking it. happy turkey day to you. >> my stomach is on the hurting side right now. we'll get back for seconds. let's show you what's happening outside. storm team 4 radar showing what we've seen all day around parts of the area. a shower here, a shower there, even a couple flurries. we have a few of them now through portions of the red rick county area and down through portions of the northern -- the western panhandle of west virginia. as far as what we're going to be seeing on the wide side, look at this. notice where the air is coming from. directly out of the great lakes region. that's going to mean much colder air as we move into the night tonight and tomorrow. so your black friday forecast going to be on the cold side. 42 in d.c. but 32 back towards columbus, 30 in pittsburgh. 29 in elkins, that's the cold air rushing in. tomorrow morning i'll show you what you'll be waking up to coming up in a couple minutes. airlines are still trying to get back on track after yesterday's winter weather.

about 900 flights in the u.s. were delayed today. about 100 were canceled. more than 5,000 flights were delayed or canceled yesterday the, one of the busiest travel days of the year. thousands of people along the east coast have spent their thanksgiving day without power thanks to a winter storm. more than 300,000 people in the northeast are still waiting for the electricity to come back on tonight. new hampshire and maine were the hardest hit. it could be days until power is restored to everyone. thanksgiving dinner was barely in the oven when shoppers started hitting the the stores. we saw people inside this radio shack in bethesda. the store opened for a few hours but closed at noon for the holiday. those aren't the only shoppers we have seen. the calendar may say thanksgiving but for a lot of folks out there, it's already black friday. >> that's right. a lot of you are in for a very long night ahead. we are live tonight as the shopping rush begins david

culver and derek ward are out there this evening. david, what is it like so far? >> i tell you what, the crowds you're seeing behind me now just materialized over the last hour or 45 minutes or so and of course it's going go on now black friday starting a lot earlier and it's definitely under way here. macy's and some of the other stores here opened their doors promptly at 6:00 p.m. as we can see folks going in there now. people showed up relatively late in the day but, of course, the day -- the shopping season is starting earlier this year. folks were getting here about 5:00, 5:30 and, of course, again, this is thanksgiving. early this year. here in montgomery they realize for a lot of folks this is really family time together and folks may not gather at other times of the year so they're trying to make this more than a retail experience, they want to make this a family experience as well. >> we'd love to have people come down. we've just executed $106 million transformation here at the property. it's absolutely a new space and we love for people to come down

and join us to celebrate thanksgiving. >> it's sad because i know people want to be with their families and i understand that. that's my only thing. i am happy to be able to get it done quicker for christmas, but otherwise, yeah, sad. >> reporter: you will see something that you've seen at least for the past year here at the westfield and that is the merry makers. these folks who are unabashedly happy and merriment they'll be running around the mall doing random acts of kindness for folks, offering prizes, maybe carrying your bags, buying you a cup of coffee, you never know what you will get from them. but you will definitely see them and this mall is going to be open until midnight tonight and will open up again at 6:00 a.m. folks expect to see more than 100,000 people over the next 24 hos. live at westfield montgomery mall, derek ward, back to you. >> grabrave souls shopping alre. >> men don't want to be part of that experience. >> but husbands get extra points

for doing it. some of the stores just opened a few minutes ago. david culver is live in springfield. david, people lined up to get inside that target where you're at, right? >> they sure are, erica. it's noneny, the signs say black friday deals but here we are still in thanksgiving and a lot of folks didn't have much of a thanksgiving. in fact, they've been in line all day. these are some of the first folks going through. the folks at target are doing this in an organized way. they want to make sure there's no stampedes and they're letting in 30 at a time. i can show you some of the video. the first folks went in just at 6:00, as soon as it hit, waiting in line for about seven plus hours, organized again, they said, some of the staff from target were giving them coupons, handing out stuff for them to keep warm as they waited. most of them didn't even eat thanksgiving meals. they just waited in line. happy thanksgiving to you, too. i caught up with cassandra earlier, she was one of the first in line. she said this is more than just about shopping. >> i'm a former military person.

i'm retired from the military now and we actually met some former service members on the line, too. so you never know who you can meet out here when you've been waiting seven hours in a tent. >> reporter: this target is part of the brand newly reopened springfield town center so springfield town center also open at this hour. we were in there a little bit earlier before doors open, staff were just getting the stores open but they have opened up the mall itself, some of the stores within are trickling open. they don't want to open all at once. so i asked the general manager, i said at what time are you going to be closing tonight? he said, oh, no, no, we're staying open all night into tomorrow black friday and then they're closing at 10:00. you know, part of 2 frustration is that these big stores and the malls now have to compete with online retailers, so what they're doing at the new springfield town center is they're telling folks if you live within a certain vicinity of the town center, drop your belongings off here, whatever you buy and we'll bring it to

your house. we're live in springfield, i'm david culver, news 4. >> not a bad get, thank you, david. we have breaking news out of prince georges county. flames and heavy smoke inside this this apartment building right now along good hope avenue. this is in temple hills. we just got this picture from the scene. we're still waiting to hear if anybody is inside that home. as soon as we get more on that, we will pass it along to you. while some of us were watching macy's thanksgiving day parade, behind the scenes police had their hands full. about 50 protesters were allowed to walk near the parade but a small group of them broke away, tried to overturn a trash can and run toward the parade route. they organized the protest on twitter using #stoptheparade. a lot of them were criticizing the ferguson grand jury decision and other cases where police officers used deadly force. investigators say two men arrested ahead of monday's proi test in ferguson wanted to kill two prominent figures in the michael brown case. police arrested the pair last

friday on federal weapons charges. according to the st. louis "post-dispatch," they wanted to assassinate ferguson police chief tom jackson and st. louis prosecutor robert mccullough. investigators say the men also plotted to blow up the st. louis a arc but it was unclear if they had the passty to pull off that plot. before you start that thanksgiving nap, we have a warning tonight about those thanksgiving leftover. i know you have a lot left over. we'll tell you what you can do to keep you and your family sa. >> reporter: police officers and community members collaborate for thanksgiving to remember here in langley park, maryland. i'm zachary key shaw, i'll have that coming up. plus the story exploding on our facebook page all day. this little guy was lost but found himself in just the right place this thanksgiv

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for 26 years, food and friends have delivered meals to their clients in the washington region. today volunteers cooked up turkeys and all the trimmings, volunteers at food and friends devered 3500 meals to people living with hiv/aids, cancer, and other serious illnesses. >> what we do is not only provide the food, but it's the friendly face of the volunteers at the door, individuals and families who do these delivering

that make a special welcome and present this gift of food and of caring from the community and it makes a big difference for people who are often isolated, often alone. >> not only do these meals serve the person who is recovering but they can also invite family and friends over. so i think they're serving meals for at least four. >> that's a lot of turkey there. volunteers wrapped over 9,800 pounds of that good stuff. well, police prince georges county were also in the giving spirit today. >> yeah, it was a chance to build bonds with the community and they did it with flare. prince georges county bureau reporter zachary quiche was there. >> reporter: this is in your opinion what thanksgiving is all ant? >> yes, i think everybody, having them as one. >> reporter: they lined up and packed them in, more than a thousand people came out for a warm and free thanksgiving dinner here in langley park today. part of it was about the turkey

with all the fix abo the blendi traditions and cultures. >> an immigrant thanksgiving, we don't know what to do with it at first because we don't do turkey and stuffing, but we add our own, we add tortillas, tacos, sandwichesment all this stuff. but giving thanks is something that's international. >> reporter: giving thanks with latino flavor. it's about gratitude, it's about family but for the police officers who work in the community it's also about buildings relationships. >> so we get to the people, get to know the faces, they feel more comfortable to make sure they know us around the community. >> reporter: it's become an annual event for the prince georges police department and the benefits are two-pronged, serving those who could use the help in creating open and honest relationships. 107.9's diamond boy, a neighborhood favorite, came out to support police. >> that's what we're doing here. we're backing them up. it's not that we're trying to take credit, just trying to spread their word. >> reporter: a day to give thanks, a day to give back. reporting in prince georges county, news 4.

this may very well be the best story of the day. >> probably, yeah. >> firefighters in prince georges county are hoping to reunite a family with a dog this thanksgiving. >> this story has almost a thousand likes on our facebook page. a small dog wandered into a fire station this morning, but his owners have yet to be found. take a look at this little guy. early this morning the yorkie walked into fire station 806 in spring dale, maryland. firefighters spotted him and immediately brought the dog in from the cold. >> someone just happened to see him walking around and opened the door and just let him inside and, we noticed he had some type of collar on so he had to belong to somebody so we took him in and let him sleep in all night long. >> reporter: firefighters spent part of the morning going door to door trying to find the dog's owner. so far no luck. he also doesn't have a microchip so if you know who the dog belongs to, call fire station 806. >> sweet little guy. >> i have to think, what is the

over/under on the amount of phone calls they're going to get from people who say "i will adopt that dog." >> "well take him." meanwhile, chief meteorologist is here, jacket's a little night? >> something's not plague right down there. when you mix all of those foods, they don't get along sometimes. that's what's going on right now. let's look at the weather because, again, weather not too bad today. yeah it was on the cool side after yesterday's snow and rain but at least we didn't see any of that today. the windchill at 37. winds not all that strong but we have seen gusts over 20 miles per hour so we have a bit of a windchill. 36 in leesburg, 39 martinsburg, 37 manassas, 42 towards the hunting town region. as we look at the radar, we're not seeing too much but we are noticing a couple showers, couple snow flurries around, too. frederick county towards the martinburg area and through berkeley and jefferson county.

we'll see a few more of these tonight. they're all coming down from the north and west. we had a storm system pass us just down to the south and these are coming from the lakes, that moisture coming right down from the lakes, too, that will create cooler temperatures and a very cool day for your become friday. 26 in in frederick, 28 towards culpepper and 26 in winchester. we had snow melting during the day today so give yourself extra time back here, we could see refreezing of those roads. high temperatures tomorrow on the cool side. 39 for a high in d.c., 36 in gaithersburg, 35 winchester 40, towards culpepper and 41 in fredericksburg so fooler than by five to ten degrees. one of those places to go tomorrow, the reston town center. their holiday parade taking place around 11:00. i'll be out there at 10:00 with 33 degrees. 38 around the noon hour so it

will be a bit on the chilly side. get down there earlier, i'll billion the master of ceremonies. what to wear for black friday? she's got the right idea. a nice little coat, nice hood. just about everything tomorrow because it will be a little bit of a chilly afternoon. talk about the day today. day tomorrow, rather. 39 degrees on your friday. 47 on saturday. notice how we go up here. 47 saturday, 60 sunday. we continue to climb up to 6 degrees on monday. right now sunday and monday really looking quite nice but we have another front, that front moves through late in the day on monday could get the chance for showers during the evening hours monday but the day will stay on the dry side. look what it does for tuesday. gives us another chance for shower active any the form of rain, i think, temperature of 44 on tuesday. 53 on wednesday with a better chance of some rain, not a big storm, however, but it will help to cool things back into the 40s. so a little bit of a roller coaster. that coaster will continue as we

make our way into next week. >> all right, thanks, doug. the notre dame cathedral in paris has a christmas tree this year thanks to russia. cathedral officials told foreign embassies they needed money for the huge tree and russia was the first to offer. tensions have been very high between russia and the west over violence in ukraine. russia's ambassador to france says the tree is a message of peace. serving ties with bill cosby. who's making a change in light of serious allegations against the comedian. >> the 45th annual turkey bowl was one for the records books but for one person on the sideline, it was his last official game. i'll have that story comi plus, let the black friday madness begin. we are going to tell you why getting that big bargain m

we're staying on top of breaking news out of prince georges county. flames and heavy smoke are breeking out along good hope avenue in temple hills. this happened in a second floor apartment and you can see flames shooting out of the building. firefighters are trying to figure out if anyone is still inside. there's been no word on injuries or how it started but we have a crew headed to the scene and as soon as we learn more we'll pass

it along to you. she was nicknamed the queen of crime and known around the world for her murder mysteries featuring detective adam stagleash. tonight we've learned crime novelist pd james has died. the 94-year-old's publisher announced james passed away today at her home in oxford, england. british prime minister david cameron tweeted that she was one of the uk's greatest crime writers who thrilled and inspired generations of readers. the berklee college of mousse i can is distancing itself from bill cosby because of his sexual assault scandal. the the boston school will no longer award a scholarship in his name. more than a dozen women claim he tried to rain them years ago. cosby has not been charged and won't comment on their accusations. his attorney says these claims are unsubstantiated and are coming from 30, 40, even 50 years ago. a heads-up for our area. if you're headed out to visit friends or start your holiday shopping, metro buses a training are running tonight b

only on a sunday schedule. that means you can park free at all metro lots and trains will run until midnight. for bus service, check the timetables for details on how often each line is running. if you use metro access, it will be available during the same hours as metro rail and metro bus. the wait for black friday is over. shoppers are expected to be cautious with their dollar this is holiday season, but that won't stop some from running out to get the deals. retailers are offering deep discounts to entice consumers who may be holding back. the most sought after items are electronics, of course, including tvs, video games, laptops, and tap tablets, falling gas prices and the soaring stock market are helping put more money back in consumers' pockets. if you're one of those shoppers on the market for a new t, you are in luck, big tvs are expected to be cheaper than ever. according to market research firm npd, shoppers will be able to find 40 to 55-inch tv sets on

sale in the $200 price range this holiday season. got you thinking, "do i need a tv"? we have a new holiday gift guide on nbcwashington.com. you can check out the photos and the coolest toys for kids as well as my four tips for black friday's success. >> sometimes giving thanks takes on a different meaning. we'll show you how one thanksgiving tradition got a little bit emotional this year. fighting to remember. you'll meet the local woman whose lifetime of fighting now takes a powerful turn this thanksgiving. >> i tried the pity part of it, it didn't work well for me and i said so what are you going to do? are you just going to cry or

thousands of d.c. families got a healthy start to their thanksgiving by running in the trot for hunger. look at those little guys go. the annual 5k attracted some colorful characters and a charitable spirit. proceeds from the race benefitted the homeless throughout our area by providing food, clothing and health care. >> that was just one of many events. folks across our area came together this thanksgiving to help those who otherwise probably would not have had a hot meal to eat. >> no matter where you are in

our area, there was plenty to go around. news 4's kristen right has the story. >> we have over 200 volunteers who will giving thanks by giving back. >> reporter: a 30-year thanksgiving tradition. the nigknights of columbus in arlington and a team of volunteers preparing meals to feed family this is thanksgiving. in the dining room, place mats, hand made by girl scouts. it's more than a meal. >> it's people are in need of a meal but it's also people in need of company. >> it's nice to, like, help someone who doesn't have the advantage we have. >> at the fillmore silver spring, an open invitation to live jazz. the fillmore partnered with shepherd's table to share music and food with those in need. robin kilpatrick, homeless now for 14 years, is thankful to have a place at the table at hope restored's common unity dinner. >> this is just right. >> reporter: it's the beginning

of a new thanksgiving tradition. >> we are bringing together individual from various walks of life together to identify how we're commonly united. >> reporter: in fairfax, virginia, governor terry mcauliffe carve it had turkey at the catherine. can. hanley family shelter run by shelter house. more than 100 meals. amber eckert and her children are just thankful. >> in that we could wake up and have people with us, we're not alone. >> hard times. families that have poor luck, but also families that are trying to thrive. >> reporter: kristen wright, news 4. the supreme court justice is spending the thanksgiving at holiday at home tonight just a day after she came out of surgery. ruth bader ginsburg was sent home this morning after surgeons placed a stent in her heart on wednesday. ginsburg is 81 years old and still works out with her trainer twice a week. she was exercising tuesday when she started having some discomfort. paramedics took her to med star washington hospital center where they discovered a blockage in

her right coronary artery. ginsburg expects to be back at work monday when the court hears its next round of oral arguments. president obama spent part of this thanksgiving day calling u.s. troops. this photo was released showing the president making calls from the oval office. he called representatives of each of the five service branches, the army, air force, marines, navy and coast guard. the president expressed his appreciation on behalf of a grateful nation. hundreds of u.s. soldiers are celebrating the holiday in afghanistan, even though they kbnt at home. they still enjoyed a traditional thanksgiving meal at the dining hall at nato headquarters in kabul. >> i will be home next year and i'm looking forward to that more than anything. looking forward to my boys, they're young and going to boy scouts and taking them everywhere and just spending time with family and friends. >> this is the last thanksgiving celebration before the u.s. nato

combat mission ends on december 31. well, the turkey bowl has been a trags tdition at d.c. fo years but this turned out to be one of the best in recent memories. the warriors defeated the blue knights for the public school title. this may have been the last turkey bowl for a man who's been a fixture at the game. >> this was an all east end turkey bowl and they played like it was the championship of the east end also as well as the city of the district of columbia. >> we look forward to the turkey bowl. it's a tradition in d.c. >> reporter: the turkey bowl has been played 45 times and mayor vincent gray has been to most of them. first as a student athlete, then as a parent, and for the past ten years as an elected official he hasn't missed a game. >> it's just a real honor to be out here. i'm a product of the d.c. public schools, i'm a product of the district of columbia and it's really just an honor to be able to be out here and be a part of such a great experience for our

young people. >> reporter: council member yvette alexander, the only other elected official to attend the game, knows what it means to the students to have mayor in attendance and what it must be like for him knowing this is his last game as mayor. >> i guess it's very heart wrenching for him but you can best believe that he's here in the district still. he'll be at a turkey bowl. not as an elected official but as a fan and as a proud d.c. resident. >> reporter: thousands of fans showed up to watch the game, enjoy the world famous blue marching band and, of course, to have some fried fish. the game came down to the final seconds with woodson winning their 14th turkey bowl, more than any other high school in the district. as mayor gray congratulated each player individual, he asked each senior about his college plans. >> you going to college next year?

>> yes, sir. >> today this will feel like the biggest experience of their life, but their lives are really ahead of them. i want to make sure they recognize the importance of going on to a college, to get themselves prepared for the next steps in life. >> reporter: as woodson celebrated their victory, gray reflected on this theme, his last time to hand out the championship trophy. >> it's absolutely an incredible honor to be able to do this, mark. you know, to see the enthusiasm among the players, see some so many people turn out for this game. it's always a great crowd that's here and this was no different than the years past so this is a part of my tradition and no matter what title i have in the future, i'll be at this game. >> at the turkey bowl, mark seagraves, news 4. there's a new proposal in virginia for stores to require a tobacco license. the state's crime commission says this would help combat illegal cigarette sales but opponents say most of the state's convenience stores are law abiding and state officials should focus on the bootleggers.

virginia has the second-lowest tobacco tax in the u.s., experts say the smuggler cans buy premium cigarettes in virginia, the second-lowest tobacco tax in the u.s., then resell them in other states to make a profit from anywhere from $170,000 to $4 million. the recommendation does require approval from the general assembly. police returned to the home of former nfl player aaron hernandez this week. he's accused of killing odin loyal lloyd in 2013. according to a local newspaper, state and local authorities were looking for sneakers they believe were worn the night of lloyd's murder but they didn't seize any evidence. police say hernandez and two co-defendants were seen in home surveillance video wearing sneakers. investigators want to compare those shoes with sneaker prints taken from the area lloyd's body was found. looking overseas, there are reports tonight that islamic state militants have cut the phone lines in iraq. isis controls the city of mosul

and people who live there say the militants have blocked all phone networks. they say the militants are doing it to stop informants from tipping off their whereabouts. residents say it's chaotic in mosul, but the internet operates under a different network and people can still access that. out west in california, there's been a third night of unrest after the michael brown ruling. police arrested about 130 people during a rally in los angeles last flight. investigators say the protesters refused to disperse, some of them got confrontational with officers and others vandalized buildings. the ones who couldn't afford to post bail have to spend the entire thanksgiving week end in jail. giving thanks from beyond the grave? we'll tell you why the late joan rivers had so many people doing a double take at their twitter feeds. hidden dangers lingering in your leftovers. the warning tonight that will make you want to clean up that thanksgiving meal right away. doug? big day for thanksgiving today but obviously black friday tomorrow. take a look at the numbers. sunny and cold for your friday

a.m., temperature around 30 in the city and only in the upper 30s in the afternoon. we'll talk much more about that, plus what t

hundreds of people in bethesda out for the annual turkey chase this morning. runners raced in a 10k. there was also fun for toddlers and a 50 meter race. the event raced money for the bethesda chevy chase rotary club and the ymca. the cheese take factory served a thanksgiving feast to those in need in northwest washington. this is video from the salvation army's sherman avenue community center but this event was held across the country at salvation army shelters in 13 cities. they served more than 6,000 families today. volunteers not only served turkey and the trimmings but the cheesecake factory's seasonal pumpkin cheesecake. after a long day of cooking, the last thing you want to do is putting away those leftovers. >> but it needs to be top of

mind. experts say you've got to worry about it asap for safety's sake. bacteria like salmonella can grow as hot food comes down to room temperature. now, the scary part of this is that the bacteria can't be smelled or tasted. the usda says store leftovers in the fridge as soon as you can within two hours of the food coming out of the oven. and you need to eat all of that leftover turkey and stuffing within about four days to stay safe as well. >> a thanksgiving feast is certainly something to savor, but it turns out the real benefit is giving thanks. new research shows people who feel grateful are generally healthier and they have fewer aches and pains. the study also linked gratitude with getting a good night's sleep and the feeling may even help people overcompopose post-traumatic stress. joan rivers died in septemberut today her twitter account was active.

>> the new tweet came from rivers' daughter melissa. it reads "i finally figure out my mom's password. p happy thanksgiving, xo, melissa." the tweet has almost 4,000 retreats. rivers was rushed to a hospital in late august after going into cardiac arrest. she died several days later. she was 81 years old. >> and i'm thinking like he's going to have to do more tests because there's no way way i can have that. call it the surprise of a a different life. it's a chilly thanksgiving night, doug will tell us what'

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imagine how you'd prepare thanksgiving if there was a good chance it would be the last one you remember. >> that's exactly what a maryland woman is doing. benita spikes is one of an estimated 200,000 americans under the age of 65 who are now battling alzheimer's. pat shows us how she is fighting to remember. >> reporter: my children, four children, great grands. >> reporter: everyday, ben me a spikes writes in her journal about people she's determined not to forget. >> my husband michael, the organizations that i work for. >> reporter: remembering has become her day-to-day challenge. >> i have to find myself every morning. >> reporter: spikes is a 61-year-old lobbyist whose daily fight is now against early onset alzheimer's. >> i'm losing a little everyday. >> reporter: but for years she's worked on behalf of crime

victims. >> when i worked with union members i saw many mother's sons killed in the streets of d.c. >> reporter: before coming here, crime hit her own family. her husband michael was shot to death in a new york convenience store in 1994. his killers never caught. yet because the couple always opposed capital punishment, spikes carried michael's picture daily as she fought to repeal maryland's death penalty. >> i think no human should decide who lives or dies. but i'm not soft on crime. >> reporter: repeal came in 2013, the same year she was diagnosed. now spikes writes as she fights to remember all she's done and she reads to find comfort. >> "i sought the lord and he answered me. he delivered me from all my fears." >> she's filled her apartment with mementos and photos to remind her of her work and as markers of the legacy she wants to leave. >> i think people need to know that it is a process and if you watch yourself going through it,

you can watch yourself do it. until the bitter stages. i tried the pity part of it, it didn't work well for me and i said so what are you going to do? are you just going to cry or be sad? or are you going t fight? you've got to -- you're in the middle of it, you have to choose a side. i chose to fight. >> reporter: pat lawson, news 4, prince georges county. spikes still serves on governor o'malley's board of victims services and she still works with repeal efforts in states that still have the death penalty. right now thousands of people in new jersey are spending thanksgiving in the dark after a winter storm dumped up to a foot of snow in pars of the state. the heavy snow knocked down trees and power lines and right at this hour crews are out trying to get the lights back on to more than 10,000 customers. a lot of those people affected right now are just relying on generators and fireplaces to keep warm. and it's certainly chilly out there, too.

>> that was the same storm that came through our area. the major cities didn't get hit that hard, just like d.c., but just a few miles away in the mountains of west virginia, we saw upwards of 12 to 18 inches and that was in our area. so, yeah, they're dealing with the same thing well up there. now evening planner tonight, und cloudy size, temperatures dropping to the 30s, 39 at 7:00, dropping to 35 around 11:00. we will be rather breezy tonight, too. so we're going to put in a windchill. currently 36 in rockville, 33434 in gaithersburg, 37 manassas and 40 toward belt park. still water on the sidewalks this that will refreeze. watch out. storm team 4 radar showing shower activity up towards jefferson county, washington county, maryland, up towards portions of the baltimore area. a few showers and flurries continue to develop as we're watching more moisture make its way down from the lakes. now, what's really happening here, we're not going to see much more of that moisture, the mountains do a good job of

stopping them but we are going to see the cold air filter in and that's why i it this it will be a cold day tomorrow. partly sunny, breezy and cold, temperatures 35 to 41. but it won't feel that warm. look at the feels like temperature as we move through the night tonight. by 11:00 down to 31, d.c., 21 in martinsberg. tomorrow a lot of people getting up early for black friday deals. look at the windchills, gaithersburg 17, 21 manassas, 24 in d.c. let's hope the lines outside are not that long. even tomorrow afternoon around 2:00 we're still in the up 20s to around to 30 so a very cold friday and what looks like a one day event as far as the cold air is concerned. so that's the good news here. we get to 47 by saturday. much nicer day saturday. 60 on sunday. sunday looks great. monday looks even better, especially early the day with the high temperature of 6. we'll see partly sunny skies each day, then temperatures come down, a little roller coaster, 44 on tuesday with another chance of rain late tuesday into

the day wednesday. >> thank you, doug. here's what's coming up next in sports. the drama continues for the redskins. what robert griffin, iii, told reporters about being benched for colt mccoy. coming up on this thanksgiving night, how did you celebrate? were you at a turkey trot this morning or out shopping? we'll tell you how the troops celebrated overseas. also, we'll talk about shopping and tips for you in this holiday season, including on car loans. turns out black friday is the fastest-growing day for car sayles. also, a touching story from ann

well, the benching shocked a lot of people. a lot of people are wondering how he's going to react. >> a lot of people toying this decision because you think rg 3 is the future but you may not think that's the coach. the redskins head coach made the decision to go be koult mccoy over robert griffin, iii, the timing unfortunate for griffin. this weekend would have been the time that he faced the man that was taken one spot ahead of him in the 2012 nfl draft, andrew luck. griffin did speak for the first time since being benched while

leaving the practice field today saying "you know, it's coach's decision, i'm here to help this team win." now, yesterday routen explained why he decided to bench the team's franchise quarterback. >> when you're preaching production, you're preaching accountability and all that stuff and it's important that you hold everybody to the same standard. and like i said, i know robert can play better, i know we can coach him better but the bottom line is we didn't get much production from the offense with him as a starter and that's why we had to make a change. it's not all him. it's offensive line sometimes and sometimes we turn the ball over and poor field position. ultimately it's the responsibility we have to put the best player in at that position and now that's colt. else in where in detroit, 75th year the lions have hosted the game on thanksgiving taking on the chicago bears today. the bears had the upper hand early on, first quarter lions deep in their own territory, chicago strips the ball from matthew stafford and they recover it, that's jared allen.

the bears, they would take advantage, just two plays later jay cutler to alshon jeffrey goes up and makes that catch. second touchdown of the game. chicago is up 14-3 but the lions, they did come back. stafford to calvin johnson 25 yards touchdown strike there. megatron was just getting started. second quarter detroit is leading 17-14. stafford to johnson again, that pickup gave him 10,000 receiving yards for his nfl career. later on in the drive it's johnson beati ining corner baca fuller for the score. he had 36 yards receiving, two touchdowns. the lions top chicago 34-17. another big thanksgiving tradition, the 45th annual turkey bowl in the district. blue taking on hd woodson. pick this one up in the second half. woodson down 12-7. quarter back rashad cooper using

a wide open antonio shaw and shaw runs it in for the score. woodson has a 4-12 lead. later on, down 16-12, trying to connect here on the long pass in the end zone but it's going to get picked off here by woodson's charles peeler. this would seal the victory, woodson wins its second consecutive turkey bowl and its fifth in the last seven years. >> at the turkey bowl luncheon on monday i told them, you know, in life everything is about a moment. what are you going to do with your moment? are you going to use it, abuse it or let it go? this is their moment. we finished this one. we brought it home. we still have a little work to do. >> woodson will face the winner of this weekend's game between gonzaga and friendship in the d.c. state championship game. that game will take place on december 6. let's move on to college basketball now. georgetown and number two wisconsin going at it today in the battle for atlantis tournament. fans from the great state of wisconsin taking over the

bahamas. we're going to pick this one up late in the first half. georgetown is down two. lg peak, the freshman, gives it up to smith, rivera knocks down the three pointer. the hoyas are up one. second half action, they're opening up the lead. smith rivera gets the steel here, there's the finish. how about this? georgetown is up by six at this point on that play. wisconsin there, you know they're going to make a run. duke from the corner knocks down the three-pointer, wisconsin is back up by two. now they're up three. sam deck we are the ball passes it to bronson canes, wisconsin is up 5. georgetown can tie it with this three pointer right here but smithive are ha ive arrivera's mark. jrjtown falls to wisconsin 68-65. even though it's a loss,

that will look well when the tournament community looks at their resume. we'll see you tonight after the game. hopefully you've had some seconds and

on the broadcast tonight, no place like home. that nasty winter storm that hassled millions lightens up for thanksgiving celebrations allowing many stuck travelers to make it to the table on time. the dash for deals is already upon us. stores opening even earlier further blurring the line between the holiday and holiday shopping. everything must go, big end of the year deals to be had at car dealerships. but don't make the same mistake that so many do on your car loan. and smash and grab, these are the real door busters this holiday. a rash of bold burglaries, thieves ramming their way into stores. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams.