season. >> we've got team coverage across the d.c. region tonight. let's get started with adam tuss. he's in busy tyson's corner. hi, adam. >> reporter: just slightly busy, doreen. if brave, this is the place tonight. we have been watching here. every so often they have these orange cones set up. a couple hitting the cones out here. you want to be careful. and, of course, the traditional method of getting here to tyson's corner has always been driving. the silver line is open this year. that means a lot of people are taking metro to get here. in fact, metro ss ridership at the tyson's corner station is up 77% throughout the day today, compared to last friday. that is quite an increase. and you know what when you hear about how long some people have within been waiting to find a parking spot, you understand why metro may be the best option. >> you've been sitting for 40 minutes? >> 40 minutes. >> reporter: frustrated? >> yep, i'm about to see if i can go somewhere else and walk over. >> reporter: and back here now live, remember, if you come here

and shop and don't want to bring your bags on the train, tyson's corner mall will deliver your bags to your house for 5 bucks. you have to live within a ten-mile radius to get that offer. reporting live in tyson, adam tuss, news4. >> thanks, adam. the fight broke out at the westfield annapolis mall and caused panic a couple hours ago. sparked some rumors that shootings were going on twitter. police have said there was no gunfire at all. you can see how packed the parking lot is there. chopper 4 was flying over the mall and police say this appears to have been started with a fight involving some young people. over the district, crowds of protesters swarmed the front of the walmart on h street today. workers striking for higher wages, demanding $15 an hour. this was one of 1600 protests in stores across the country, including maryland and virginia. walmart says it's unfortunate the group is trying to disrupt the holiday spirit for their own

agenda. a lot of black friday shoppers out today at montgomery mall, but not all hunting for deals. news4's zachary kiesch joins us live with a different perspective on the black friday rush. hey, zac. >> reporter: hey, doreen. you know, i have friends, but never as many friends as when the camera is out. i've been hanging out with my friends here at montgomery mall all day long. i have this feeling that only a live shot has the ability to kind of put a hiccup in the shopping going on here, unless, of course, you are one of the few that got dragged out of the house and had no intention of shopping. as a matter of fact, i see one of them sitting right over here. behind the hum of shoppers, there are an army of quiet and patient folks who just came along for the ride. >> every day after thanksgiving, i get all the girls together, give them each a couple hundred bucks and let them go. >> reporter: in the middle of the chaos, tim schwartz. his fix, coffee and a good book. >> last year, i was sitting at this very table at this very time. it's like dejavu all over again.

>> reporter: the sound of cash registers and well practiced demos, we know a couple things. 140 million americans will take part in black friday and will spend over $13 billion. it's still too early to know exactly how much is spent here, but patty green says traffic is up. >> yep, we're looking good compared to last year. up about 43%, so we're excited about that. >> reporter: tannen found some stuff she likes. >> this cute sweater from zahra i impulsively picked up in line and had to buy. >> reporter: not everyone here is in the mood. like david. >> there is always a place in the mall where you can sort of sit and disappear, even amongst the throngs of people. >> reporter: the good ones find a way out of it, and for all the others, they just deal with it. for tim, it's a book on mindfulness and meditation. you're being tested right here. right? >> i am in the moment. >> reporter: and the experts can see, they expect the spending to continue all weekend long.

we mentioned the billion-dollar number. that is supposed to be up to $35 billion by the end of the weekend. so friday, saturday, sunday, they're expected to be here all weekend long. reporting live from montgomery mall, zachary kiesch, news4. >> thanks, zac. doing your shopping online this year? what you need to know before you buy, ahead in our next half hour. storm team 4 is tracking big changes on the way for the weekend. it was cold today but going to be giving way to warmer air. chief meteorologist doug kammerer in the storm center. hey, doug. sounds like changes on the way. >> yeah, and i think it's a good change, too, chris. we have been talking about such cold numbers over the past couple days today. really, the coldest since we hit 74 on tuesday. and then we had the snow and then today just cold. no snow across our area right now, although we did see snow showers earlier today. one thing we have been seeing is the wind chill, down to 23 right now in gaithersburg. 32 in washington. 31 towards ft. belvoir and 29 in camp springs.

so a very chilly friday night as we're going to be out doing any of the shopping tonight. make sure you bundle up. tomorrow, starting off on a cold note too. and temperatures this evening, if you're going to be out and about, will continue to drop to 35 degrees around 9:00. 32 by 11:00. but we are going to warm up in a big way. i've got that for you coming up soon. thank you, doug. a developing story tonight. ray rice is once again eligible to play football in the nfl. the former baltimore raven won his appeal of his indefinite suspension. rice was barred from the league after video surfaced of him punching his then fiancee in an elevator. but rice argued the nfl punished him twice for the misconduct. and a judge agreed with him. coming up in sports, we'll take a look at what the appeal means for rice and if there's a chance he'll actually play again. we're getting new details about a shooting that interrupted a family's thanksgiving dinner. police have now identified the victim who was shot several times in columbia, maryland. it happened at an apartment on stevens forest road. investigators say a masked man

walked up to the apartment and banged on the door. when someone opened the door, elijah couplings was shot several times. he's in stable condition tonight and while investigators say they don't think this was a random shooting, they don't have anyone in custody. new at 6:00, we learned more information tonight about a story we told you about on news4 at 5:00. charging documents show the two men who kidnapped a woman in northeast thanksgiving morning strangled her and tasered her in the face repeatedly as she cried for help. one of the men is in jail but police are searching for a second man. mark segraves has more on the investigation. >> it's just a lot of fear going on right now. >> reporter: it was just after 3:00 thursday morning. police say a woman was attacked by two men with a stun gun. they took her away, sexually assaulted and robbed her. >> are you serious? it's terrible. >> reporter: within hours, 31-year-old paul xavier williams of northwest d.c. was in

custody. >> they're so close to home. it's right here. i mean, it's too close, you know. i don't wish it on any other neighborhood or anything like that. but to have right here like that, you know, it's really sad. >> reporter: this is not the first time williams has been arrested. according to court records, he was arrested just blocks from here a few days ago. charged with misdemeanor assault and theft. he was released, pending a court date next week. >> that's our system. that's your justice system. i don't get it. >> reporter: police records show this latest attack is not an isolated incident for this neighborhood. take a look at police data from crimes within 1,000-foot radius of the school. five sexual assaults. 13 robberies. ten more robberies using a gun. and in the past year, a total of 42 violent crimes. and if you add in nonviolent crimes like burglaries and stolen cars, the numbers almost double. 82 total crimes within a few blocks of this school.

>> it's really sad, you know. it really is. i don't have the words to say it, but we have got to pray for these people. >> reporter: police continue to search for that second suspect in this most recent attack and warn he may be armed with that stun gun. they asked anyone who knows anything about this attack to give metropolitan police a call. reporting in northeast, mark segraves, news4. because this most recent charge was a violent felony, a d.c. superior court judge ordered williams held without bond just a few hours ago. the charges from earlier in the week were not serious enough to keep him in custody. again, elijah jackson shot in that shooting. in another case, the suspect in a metro carjacking case is expected to be kproo extradited to fairfax county and we're working to find out when. darian robinson is being held in baltimore county where he was arrested thursday morning. he's accused of carjacking a woman two weeks ago. police say he pulled a gun and then forced her to get cash out of several atms in maryland.

then finally let her go at the new carrollton metro station. he served time in a maryland prison for a similar carjacking in 1996. new developments now in a story we have been following all day. we learned the name of a man accused of opening fire in downtown austin, texas, and shooting hundreds of rounds of ammunition into government buildings. police say larry mcwilliams started shooting about 2:00 a.m. and tried to set the mexican consulate on fire. in the course of about ten minutes, mcwilliams unloaded more than 100 rounds and hit the police headquarters in the u.s. courthouse. police shot mcwilliams and he later died. and investigators are still trying to figure out why he did this. black friday protests erupted in ferguson, missouri and around the country tonight. the latest fallout from the grand jury's decision. begging on the streets with babies in their laps. are these women dress desperate or using children to scam us.

a turkey comes crashing through his windshield. wait until you hear what he a secure retirement.

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from ferguson, missouri, to some of the country's biggest cities, thousands went to the mall today to call for a black friday boycott. these protesters walked with their hands up through a mall just miles from ferguson. in new york city, more than 150

people gathered outside macy's chanting for shoppers to get out of the store and into the streets. and in chicago, protesters held signs saying police were more concerned with protecting retail stores than with protecting people. chuck todd with nbc's "meet the press" joins us now with more on the fallout from the decision in ferguson. days later, people are still protesting, and it's not just in ferguson. it's all over the country. what do you think? is the message getting across? is this -- >> you know, i don't know if it is. one of the things we're going to discuss in "meet the press" the state of race relations in the air of obama. talk about where are we in this. we talk about this trusting government can issue all of the time, particularly among conservatives lacking trust in government. here is a case, african-americans lacking trust in a government agency. in this case, law enforcement. so i mean, is it that, or is it historic or what is it? i think getting to the root of this is -- we always say we're

going to use moments like this have discussions about race and never actually have these discussions about race. we talk about it for about ten minutes and then move on. my guess is we're probably in that same pattern here. and if washington holds -- look how washington has reacted. president has seemed very hesitant to get involved in this. no republican has talked about this at all. rand paul a little bit. outside of him, if you are not a missouri republican, you haven't put out a single press release. so isn't parking a conversation some people think is necessary. >> let me follow up on that. the president really stepped out when henry louis gates was arrested. he was outspoken on trayvon martin. why is the white house handling this case differently? >> it's funny. i think it's feeling burned by the came bridge incident. i think this is because law enforcement -- with trayvon martin, he had no qualms about stepping up. and i think, in fact, he thought he went out of his way, and he thought, you know what, this is a moment i need to step up. this is a moment where his unique way that he was brought

up, biracial household, speaking to both black america and white america, explaining black america to white america, explaining white america's reaction to black america, this is the role he was made for. he has not felt the need to do that with ferguson. he has done what i would call the political minimum. enough to make sure people can't say he hasn't said anything. but i think they view this -- my gut is they view anything he does anymore than that as adding to the polarization and the last thing they want. >> likely a subject under discussion. >> we have a great panel, professor charles ogletree from harvard, ben carson from obviously johns hopkins. cheryl ineye mutliand tom cotton from arkansas. so pretty packed show for a holiday weekend. i feel pretty good about it. >> looking forward to it. thanks, chuck. and, again, you can catch "meet the press" here on nbc 4, sunday morning starting at 10:30. doug is back with more on

our weather forecast. cold tonight, but then getting better? >> yeah, and i think -- i think people are ready for warmer weather. we had a couple days nice and warm early this week but the bottom fell out just in time for thanksgiving, just in time for black frooit. how about the weekend and what is that looking like? better for sure. look outside right now towards the woodrow wilson bridge. a nice shot towards national harbor. current temperature at 37 degrees. notice that wind chill. still down to about 32. so a very chilly night. and we're going to continue to see those cool numbers. current temperatures, 32 in leesburg. 30, manassas. 30 in gaithersburg. 31 in huntingtown. so we are already talking about temperatures below freezing and they're going to go way down later on this evening. 23 the current wind chill in gaithersburg. 25 in martinsburg. 28 in culpeper. that wind of 10 miles per hour really does help to produce much more of a chill in the air. nothing on the radar. we saw a couple showers. couple of snow showers earlier this afternoon. some came down at a pretty good clip around portions of montgomery, loudoun county, right through northwest.

that all coming with the northwesterly flow bringing in the colder air. as we widen out. here is some good news. a warm front. a warm front and cold air does mean snow. so we've got snow around the chicagoland area. that snow trying to make its way our way. but it's going to go well to our north. what comes in behind it, behind the warm front, behind the warm front always warmer air. and that warmer air today, 60s and 50s. 59 in wichita. 67 in dallas. close to 70 today. that's the kind of air we want to be in. you can see what we're in right now, though. 26 pittsburgh. 24 in buffalo. get that cold air out of here and bring in warmer air. that's exactly what mother nature has in store the next couple days. but not tonight. tonight, chilly. 30 degrees in d.c. 22 in manassas. 22 in martinsburg. low of 21 in winchester. these will be the numbers around 6:00, 7:00 tomorrow morning. and then we'll start to moderate a little bit. tomorrow afternoon's forecast, much nicer than today. partly sunny, not as cold and with less wind. going to be a pretty nice

afternoon. temperatures 43 to 48 degrees. so still chilly for this time of year. but we're not talking bitter cold like today. tomorrow's impact forecast, will be in the low side for sure as we be seeing sunshine and less wind. it will feel a lot better. even better on sunday. high temperature of 60. now the winds do pick up on sunday. they'll be upwards of 25 miles per hour. but it's a warm direction as far as the wind is concerned. that high of 60 coming in with a high of 61 degrees on monday. monday we'll see a chang chance of a shower late in the day, 30% chance. then tuesday, we see the cold air move in, a 20-degree temperature drop from monday to tuesday. a chance of showers in the morning and some of these could fall in the form of snow in some parts of area. not a big deal at all. but it's something that we'll watch. it could be early on tuesday morning with a high of only 42. back up to 53, back down to 48. back up to 53. the roller coaster ride continues. i hope you paid your admission, because this ride looks like it's going to stick around for a while. >> thank you, doug.

here's a thanksgiving story we haven't heard before. a driver's windshield was torn apart, but he says it's destiny. it was a 30-pound turkey that came flying through his window on thanksgiving. this happened in lubbock, texas. the truck driver wasn't hurt. the bird, though, not so lucky. the driver pulled over to call for help and soon figured out what to do with the big bird. >> the whole family came out, and i asked ifhey could use it. obviously, there was nothing i could do with it. they were pretty excited about getting it. everybody was happy i was okay, and after that, it was hysterical. because what are the odds of that, hitting a big old turkey on thanksgiving. >> he'll be telling that story for years to come. >> the turkey will get bigger and bigger with each telling. >> the truck driver was able to make it home in time for thanksgiving dinner with his family. not that turkey. they were forced out by fire. now residents coming back to their apartments to salvage what

they can. hear from one of the men who helped get everyone out. and a lost dog that juanterred into a prince george's fire station to escape the cold is on the move. where gizmo is headed next.

a little lost dog showed up at a firehouse in prince george's county early thanksgiving morning and now we have new information where he's headed. this story has gotten more than

1,200 likes on our facebook page. firefighters have dubbed this little yorky gizmo. they tried knocking on doors but nobody recognized the dog. this morning prince george's fire transferred gizmo to an animal management facility in upper marlboro. if you happen to know gizmo's owner, you should call animal management in prince george's county. a thanksgiving day fire forced more than 70 people out of their homes yesterday, and today residents at the temple mills apartment complex are cleaning up. >> news4's derrick ward has the story of one man who took it upon himself to be more than just a good neighbor. >> reporter: residents of this apartment building returned to pick up what they could after a three-alarm fire interrupted thanksgiving dinner. she returned home when she saw smoke and flames on the second floor. >> the apartment right next door to ours caught on fire. i was like, oh, my god. >> reporter: david gomez is here too to help move his father out. the fire started across the hall from his second floor apartment.

his entrance today a lot different from his hasty exit yesterday. >> with we took all our family out and started knocking on all of the doors, telling people, let's go, let's go. >> reporter: people were dangling from balconies as firefighters started to arrive. gomez helped one neighbor escape and was trying to get back in to help another. >> it was difficult, because i couldn't breathe and i wanted to go in and get the guy. so i went to the apartment and grabbed some paper towels and put them in my nose and i tried to get in again and i couldn't. and then i just prayed to god and i said i'm sorry, i can't do it. >> reporter: today, david gomez's nissan frontier is here to load what's left after the fire. last night, this simple vehicle was called into action for quite another task. as people hung from their balconie balconies, gomez and his father decided the truck could be of use. he pulled it up to the building. >> i told my dad, bring the truck and park it over here and he jumped in the truck and went in the balcony and he gave me the guy, and i just grabbed him and we brought him down.

>> reporter: everyone survived the fire. several apartments are uninhabitable. as for gomez and his actions, he sums them up quite succinctly and with humility. >> we helped them. >> reporter: derrick ward, news4. these faces have seen war firsthand on the front lines. now they're sharing their stories in a new art exhibit. >> reporter: black friday coming to a close but business owners right here in old town alexandria looking ahead to tomorrow. small business saturday. i'm going to show what they're doing and hope you'll shop small. a package thief caught on this home surveillance camera. i'm darcy spencer in upper marlboro. what the homeowner says police should be doing to combat this

oh, it was a cold black friday across our area. take a look at the high temperatures across the region. 37 leesburg. 36 in winchester. 38 in martinsburg. 38 in camp springs. 42 in d.c. that was at 10:00 in the morning. after that, temperatures began to fall into the upper 30s around 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon. while much-needed change coming. we have seen this pattern of the jet stream dipping way down, only in the 60s today in florida. poor florida, right? but for us, it has been on the cold side for sure with the 30s and 40s. over the next couple days, 30s

and 40s. back to the west, here come the 50s and 60s out of the south. i'll be back to show just how warm things are going to get and what else may come in behind our next system moving in early next week. guys? >> okay, thank you, doug. you don't have to wake up super early or endure long lines to get bargains this weekend. >> that's right. a lot of smaller, local stores are counting on your business tomorrow. and they're offering some pretty good incentives to get it. news4's david culver live in alexandria now. but there is a lot happening to get people in the holiday shopping spirit. hey, david. >> reporter: there sure is, chris and doreen. we're right in the town square of city hall here in alexandria. behind me, this christmas tree. still dark, as you can see. we are hoping to bring that to you illuminated live at this hour. meantime, black friday drawing to a close, and a lot of folks here, especially the shop owners, they're focused on tomorrow. small business saturday. along king street, plenty of encouragement for you to shop small. from the signs to the door mats,

this local push paid for by american express. >> what does it say about alexandria, do you think? >> they care about their businesses. >> reporter: but these sisters tell me, even without the campaign, shopping local is on their mind. >> we try to buy local. >> this is 10% off. >> reporter: this is only susie's second year open. she says last year business was just okay. but already this year -- >> they were lined up at the door and ready to come in. it has been awesome. >> reporter: more than 200 people waited in the cold friday morning for fiber space to open. their so-called door buster, 30% off yarn. that's right, yarn. while crowded at times, you won't find a big store shopping hysteria in old town. even a store with that name, calm inside. >> it's that personal touch. you come in, you know, we know your name. it's like cheers. >> reporter: and that's what many customers prefer. >> we're still offering a discount. >> reporter: avoiding the camping out and stampede shopping. >> no. >> never done that.

never will. >> reporter: not your idea of holiday shopping. >> no. >> reporter: a lot of stores to choose from here in old town, alexandria. more than 85% of the stores are loll loll lolley local owned. delray, as well. the city wants you to come down here, they're so desperate they are giving you parking free. that's on the street and the garages. you won't have to pay a thing. behind me, you can see the tree still not illuminated. we'll stand by for that. if we can get it, we'll bring it in this broadcast, otherwise tweet it out at david underscore culver. live in alexandria, david culver, news 4. >> all right. you make holiday shopping look fun. now to keeping you safe and secure while you're shopping online. consumer reporter erika gonzales sat down with the first person put in charge of safeguarding all u.s. computer networks. here are some tips you can use to keep your information from falling into the wrong hands while online shopping. >> reporter: online shopping at the office, the coffee shop or

in the comfort of your own home. >> mainly convenience. it's a lot easier. >> i can wait until the last minute and still get something delivered in to days. >> reporter: easier, yes. safe, that's the question shoppers have this holiday season on the heels of recent retail security breaches. >> i know there are risks out there. i take everything i can do on my side to be -- to protect myself. >> reporter: those words from a former cyber czar, howard schmidt is the first-ever cyber security czar for the united states. working for president obama's administration in 2009, to oversee the country's computer network safety. so what's different? five years later? >> i think what's new in 2014 is the fact that you are now being singled out. they're more focused on what your habits are. it's not like a major enterprise that has your information. it's just a local system. and these bad guys get into those systems, steal your credit

card, steal your information -- >> reporter: so what does the former cyber security czar recommend to protect your information? first, if you receive an e-mail with a link luring you to click and shop, the first way to protect yourself, don't click. instead, schmidt says type the web address in yourself to make sure you're going to a secure site. second, consider downloading the store's app on your mobile device for coupons and weekly ads. >> that is a connection between you and the company. and it's even safer than doing it from a desktop where you have to, you know, click e-mail and everything else. >> reporter: third, avoid typing out your credit card information. instead, use mobile payments like paypal or apple pay or google wallet. >> it's going to give me the ability to distance myself from having a financial transaction with individuals, because it goes to the big services they provide for finances. not only safer by using the services but they also have built-in protections. >> reporter: fourth, when

shopping online, make sure you can see the site is secure. >> on the address bar, oftentimes it will be green. which indicates it's a secure connection between your computer system and their computer system. the other thing, and a lot of people forget about this, in most web browsers, there is a little lock down there. >> reporter: and finally, get an extra layer of security through a free security app called sim an tech validation and i.d. protection. this is what schmidt has on his phone. it protects online accounts with a unique security code used in addition to his user name and password. >> it has a six-character number that changes every 30 seconds. >> reporter: online shopping can be convenient. just make sure you take the right steps and stay safe and secure. >> we have reached a point where we are just -- we take care of everything online. >> reporter: erika gonzales, news4. >> the threat doesn't end. after you order the gifts online, there are thieves looking to grab your packages right from your front door.

news4's darcy spencer reports from upper marlboro on why one woman says police aren't doing enough to stop it. >> reporter: brandi ordered a set of m & m ceramic mugs like this and had them shipped to her home. unfortunately, they were stolen. right off her front porch. >> when i looked on my camera and actually saw someone had taken the mugs from my doorstep, i was basically just surprised. and then i was disappointed. and then i was angry. and i kind of felt invaded. >> reporter: she turned the video over to police, hoping they could identify the thief. but then she didn't like what they told her. that to prevent these types of crimes, she shouldn't have deliveries made to her home when she's not there. >> i was a little frustrated, because as a homeowner and taxpayer, i feel like the police should be more vigilant in fighting this type of crime soit not more common, rather than telling me as a homeowner to have my packages diverted to work or get signature confirmation. >> reporter: police say during this time of year, criminals are looking for an easy steal, and

you have to protect your purchases. it's hard to know why certain houses are being targeted. are thieves following delivery trucks or simply driving around neighborhoods looking for something to steal? this is video from a home surveillance camera in northwest d.c. another package stolen. charles matthews lives nearby. he has an agreement with his neighbor. they look out for one another. >> my neighbor and i have a system where if i'm not home and they see something on my porch, they'll get it and i'll do the same for them. >> reporter:terrel has reluctantly changed her wise. >> while i'll continue to have things delivered to my home, i will be either home to accept the packages or get them signature confirmation. >> reporter: in upper marlboro, darcy spencer, news4. the faces of war. a new art exhibit is telling the personal stories of those who fought in iraq and afghanistan. >> i hope to tell people that

everyone has something to say. >> reporter: up next, the artist >> reporter: up next, the artist shares his inspiration for thi ♪i want it all!

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♪ get out and move it along. ♪ you can see it in their faces and read it in their words. >> they saw combat in iraq and afghanistan, and now they want to tell us about it. >> lee ann trotter reports about a new kind of art exhibit about americans who went to war. >> reporter: 100 faces of war experience. a personification of post 9/11 veterans, designed to statistically represent those who served in the military. >> i'm hoping it's the start of a conversation. >> reporter: artist matt mitchell started working on this project in 2005, after realizing how disconnected he was to anything war-related. >> no veterans that i knew, no one in my family was in military service. and i found it very disquieting that i could live my life as if nothing was happening.

>> reporter: nine years later, he painted 100 portraits, military and civilian men and women resembling a cross-section of different ranks jobs and races. each person was asked to submit an essay about their war experience. >> they're unscripted, uncensored, unedited, and they can say whatever they want wanted. there is nothing -- no directing. matt just painted them and let them talk. >> he committed suicide a year after coming back. >> reporter: this was the first portrait he painted for the exhibition. >> he was a marine, corporal. and a convoy driver. >> reporter: he interviewed jeff lucy's parents and they provided a letter their son had written to his girlfriend. a kind of letter all servicemen are encouraged to write before going on a dangerous mission. >> it taught me and i hope it teaches other people that everyone has something to say. >> that was lee ann trotter reporting.

the new exhibit, 100 faces of war experience, will be on display at the national veterans art museum in chicago through may 1st of next year. just up the road, women on the streets of new york city have been begging for money with babies on their laps. why some say it's all just a scam. >> the folks who are actually scamming their fellow new yorkers and using their children as pawns, that's disgusting. >> nbc new york goes under cover to find out

we all encounter panhandlers. but would you be more likely to hand over cash to a panhandler holding a baby? some women are banking on you doing just that.

>> yeah, at our sister station in new york, the i-team uncovered a disturbing trend and now the mayor himself is taking action. melissa rousso reports. >> i appreciated that report a lot. as a parent, i was very troubled. >> reporter: mayor de blasio disturbed at what our i-team investigation found. that women working together are using babies to panhandle all over manhattan. the mayor says in response to our investigation, he has directed the nypd to get to the bottom of it. >> nypd is on the situation now. >> reporter: in recent weeks, we documented at least nine women begging with babies, mostly on midtown sidewalks. they may need the money, but the way they earn it doesn't seem to be coincidence. the i-team found they know each other. we followed them, commuting together and meeting for lunch. nonprofits that help the needy tell the i-team the women refused shelter and services because all they really want is cash. >> it's a group of women who trade off the same children that they work in shifts.

we have a network of not-for-profits that could certainly help these women if, indeed, they were looking for help, which they are not. >> reporter: when the women are approached by undercover members of the i-team and offered money, they're willing to stop and chat. >> i live with my mother. >> reporter: the same women respond very differently when questioned with a camera instead of cash. >> you are very crazy. >> reporter: a long-standing state law makes it a misdemeanor to use a child in begging or picking rags, a sign of just how old that law is. but the police, based on what the i-team observed, don't seem to enforce it, though they do sometimes warn the women of potential consequences. >> if you want to keep that baby -- someone is going to call 911 and they'll show up and attack your daughter off the ground. they're going to call child services. >> i have not seen it. >> reporter: children services commissioner gladys carryon tells the i-team she is surprised nobody has called, including the police.

>> it really is disturbing that no one would think of calling that in. >> reporter: clearly, the women were not interested in speaking to the i-team. we were shoved, twerked, repeatedly given the finger. that was our producer's phone being smacked to the ground by this woman, who blamed the president. for not giving her papers to work in this country. >> the city has an executive order they can avail themselves of city services without their immigration service. and obviously the welfare of the child is first and foremost. >> the folks who are actually scamming their fellow new yorkers and using their children as pawns, that's disgusting. >> melissa spoke with local and state officials in new york and they told her it's very hard to follow up on complaints they get from citizens, because these women change their locations and citizens don't know their names or where they live. it's that time of year. plans to get a live christmas tree this year?

plan to pay a little more. christmas tree growers expect a boom in business after the demand for real trees and their prices have been going down for years. prices will vary widely depending on the type of tree you want. the christmas season is officially arrived in alexandria. >> 3, 2, 1! >> ooh! >> there it is. officials lit this year's tree just a few minutes ago outside alexandria's city hall. it is certainly beautiful. that is one big tree out there. more beautiful than ever. >> david culver and his crew out there for about three hours waiting -- >> waiting for it. >> waiting for that. >> it happened five minutes after. i guess we heard santa was a little late in arriving. of course come on, santa. >> he was all over the place today. town center. and again for the 6:00 tree lighting. >> and all those shopping malls for the photos. >> exactly right. he's a busy guy. you guys need to give him space

here. let's take a look and we'll show another place santa showed up at reston town center earlier today. the reston holiday parade at 11:00. angie goff and i served as emcees for this event. 10,000 people coming in. i've got to tell you, this was really a fun event today. the parade itself was an hour long. all kinds of participants moving in and around. a day of family festivities across the area. those are some arenas right there. they performed in uggs, look at that. for all the people who came out today. temperature wise, on the cold side. 37 degrees. 36 at 7:00, dropping to 32 by 11:00 and the only word you can use, really, is just plain cold. and we have a wind chill, but wind chill not that much colder than the actual temperature now. 30 degrees, the actual temperature in bowie. 33 in camp springs. down to 29 in huntingtown. so that tells you we're in for a very cold night.

and a cold start to our saturday morning. nothing on the radar. earlier today, we did see a couple snow showers around parts of the region. but they did not amount to a lot. they just made things pretty for a little bit. the snowflakes coming down across the region. high temperatures tomorrow, a little bit better. by about 5 to 10 degrees. 47 in d.c. 43 in martinsburg. 47 culpeper and leesburg coming in at around 46 degrees. but it gets even better. doreen, i know. you love this. a big biker, sunrise tomorrow at 7:06. 34 at 8:00 a.m. 40 at 11:00. 45 at 1:00. are you biking tomorrow? >> maybe i will now that you're recommending it, doug. >> well, doreen, i would recommend you go between 11:00 and 1:00. >> that works for me. >> it will be pretty nice if you're doing biking, whether it's running, whatever it is to get off the thanksgiving holiday pounds. 60 degrees on sunday. another great day to get out but breezy. 61 degrees on monday. 42 on tuesday. watching another storm system that will come through, bring those temperatures down.

a big 20-degree temperature drop from monday to tuesday. but we'll also see a chance early on tuesday for some showers. maybe even some snow showers early on tuesday. but once again, they will not amount to much. and then we get back down to around average as we end next week. >> all right. thank you, doug. >> you bike when it's 40 degrees outside? >> we'll find out. >> there you go. we certainly will. >> i need to use the thanksgiving colorado res, that's for sure. >> jason is here with what's next in sports. >> ray rice wins his appeal. we'll tell what's next for the former ravens running back. plus, the capitals looking for revenge this afternoon, trying to make short work of the trying to make short work of the boys from long island.

♪ let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together ♪ ♪ i've got some real estate here in my bag ♪ ♪ it took me four days to hitch-hike from saginaw ♪ ♪ "i've come to look for america" ♪

this is the xfinity sports desk, brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. sure, a lot of people thought ray rice, that story was done. he was gone. >> there's more to it now. >> five games remain in the nfl's schedule. it will be interesting to see if a team picks him up for the remainder of the season. the baltimore ravens have most on following the ray rice domestic violence incident. rice has not been able to move forward. the running back was suspended indefinitely by commissioner roger goodell. today that suspension has been lifted. rice won his appeal. he's now eligible to sign with any nfl team. rice was suspended indefinitely at the beginning of this season after video surfaced of him punching his then fiancee in atlantic city. the ravens released rice on

september 8th. judge jones ruled rice did not lie or mislead the nfl. rice said in a statement today, the quote, i am thankful there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue. i will continue working hard to improve myself and be the best husband, father and friend while giving back to my community and helping others to learn from my mistakes. let's move on to the redskins now. robert griffin iii is out. colt mccoy is in. this weekend, the redskins will travel to indianapolis. mccoy he'll face one of the best young quarterbacks in the entire nfl. andrew luck leads the league in passing yards and is third in passing touchdowns. if the skins plan to keep pace with indy, jay gruden needs to see a few things from his quarterback. >> he's got to keep his poise, number one. he's going to be excited. monday night football, the first couple drives, he's shaky. heart beating too fast. you've just got to calm down and play within himself. the big thing for him is just to

stay poised, have a belief in the system and the players around him and let them go. >> he does have poise and gets the ball where it should go. and distributed accordingly to whatever defensive look he's seeing. and we're optimistic to see how it goes on sunday against a very good indianapolis defense to where, you know, coach presents a lot of looks you have to be ready to adjust to. >> colt may not have the poise, but he certainly has the percentage. here are the top five best single-game completion percentages for redskins' quarterbacks. colt's performance against the cowboys on monday night, fourth-best of all-time. he was 25 of 30. not the best company other than joe theismann. >> trying to give the guy some credit. let's move on to hockey. the capitals on the ice today, early game at verizon center. the fellas taking on the islanders. of the alex ovechkin and caps lost two nights ago. schmidt needed to get his head

in the game, tightening up the helmet there. lead by a goal, johanson flying up the ice and chad johnson, can't stop that one. caps go up 2-0 in this game. the islanders did not -- or they did get on the scoreboard. john tavares, right place, right time. wide open net, easy goal. that one tied the game at 2. second period. same score. tom wilson up the near board, passes to ovechkin who fires and scores. watch it again. three islanders' defenders all focusing on wilson. that's a bad idea when ovechkin is there for his 12th goal of the year. caps, they're on top right now, 3-2, this game in the second intermission. let's move over to college basketball now. some bad news for the maryland basketball team. dez wells, the senior having an outstanding season, he is out four weeks with a fractured wrist. so a tough, tough break right there for the terps. also georgiato georgetown, they

were taking on butler. roll to the highlights. swimming with the stingrays. here it is, josh smith. pretty good game. check this out, though. butler, they shared the ball well. roosevelt jones gives it up to cameron woods there. butler up 21-15 at this point. second half, here is the big guy, josh smith. he can pass it too. that's the freshman. isaac copeland, georgetown. 50-49 lead. a few minutes later, the hoyas turn the ball over too much in this game. this is a 5-2. kellen dunham knocks down the three-pointer. butler, they go on to pick up the win, 64-58 is your final. tough loss for georgetown. >> you think dez wells is going to be back -- >> i hope so. >> part of the big ten? >> i hope so. they're going to need him. key component to that team. >> all right. thank you, jason. the white house christmas tree arrived this morning, pulling up on in a horse-drawn

carriage. first lady, michelle obama came out to welcome, along with her daughters. >> christmas is coming. "nbc nightly

on our broadcast this friday night, cleared to play in the nfl. ray rice wins the appeal of his suspension. tonight, our first look at an nbc news exclusive matt lauer interviews his wife. what a rush, shoppers blitz into the stores where some of them encounter protesters angry over the events in ferguson trying to stand between shoppers and deals. buried in snow, two young boys found themselves trapped by a snowplow setting off a frantic search and rescue. and food fight, how a curious thanksgiving recipe has managed to tick off an entire state known for its niceness. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this