right now news 4 midday, dead in the water. an suv plunges into the antacostia river leaving a trail of clues for the investigators. the rain is gone for now. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. hour-by-hour forecast on the next rain arrival. >> would you be embarrassed to call donald trump president? a surprising poll and what it's saying about his campaign. news 4 midday starts right now. an at that cost yeah park. take a look behind me. this is a boat ramp and pier from which now an investigation is launched because just a few hours ago this was a crime scene. this is about 10:00 last night,

late last night, when a call went in to npd that a car went into water. the car traveled down the pier ended up on its roof underwater. inside police found an adult male. he's not been identified. this person was pronounced dead. now later this morning that car was finally taken out of the water and towed away to further the investigation, but at this point we have no word on how the car ended up there, whether the person found inside was a driver or an occupant of the car and exactly who called 911 to let them know that this had happened. by the looks of the dock you can see that the car must had been traveling with some speed, certainly some power to take out all of those posts on one side of that pier, roll off and end up on its roof with a man dead inside. we are live at antacostia park. derrick ward. >> family and friends gathering to remember 19-year-old paul mcginnis. his funeral starting right now

in restin, virginia. dc police found him dead at an alley behind a bar. family members say he had been out celebrating his cousin's birthday. police are investigating his death but not as a homicide. storm team 4 radar showing that most of the rain has exited the metro area now. we are still getting a few showers here in southeastern virginia and on the eastern shore. getting a few sprinkles out here in the mountains of west virginia. most of those though will be passing well west of the metro area over the next hour two, maybe into the northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of fredericksburg and hagerstown. just a few sprinkles. that rain, we have a steady rain this morning on the eastern shore. continues to pull away. right now storm team 4 radar showing not much rain, maybe a few sprinkles in damascus. look at the new hour-by-hour

timing. thank you, tom. another new poll about the presidential election. big question in this one, if having donald trump as president would embarrass you. well, half of the people polled said yes. in the republican race, trump is still leading at 28% with senator ted cruz close behind. hillary clinton has 60% support among democrats in the poll and 47 to 40% advantage over trump when all voters weighed in. and the rhetoric is getting nasty between the two front-runners. hillary clinton flatly refusing to apologize for accusing donald trump of creating propaganda for isis. trump says there is no proof what he says is being used to support isis. a statement intelligence experts support. now political experts say this latest scuffle is nothing but great news for both campaigns. >> this allows each of them to be front and center, to act as if they're their party's nominees, to dominate the discussion. that's what you want when you're in a presidential race. >> president obama commented on the campaigns yesterday.

he acknowledged that trump is tapping into voter anger and fear joompt it will be june before baltimore police officer william porter is back on trial in the death of freddie gray. porter was the first of six officers to face charges. last week a hung jury forced a mistrial in this case. now all five of the other officers are scheduled to be tried before porter p investigators say gray died of a spinal injury that he got in the back of a police van back in april. the next officer to face a jury is caesar goodson, the driver of the police van. new today, a new partnership in virginia. governor terry mcauliffe announcing a new merger. they'll fight life threatening illnesses including cancer and heart disease. they will launch a recruitment program to bring researchers into this area. d.c. police are asking for any information they can get about a deadly stabbing they're

calling a homicide. police say a man was stabbed to death last night. the attack happened on 24th street northeast near g street. police say they're looking for three suspects right now. this morning virginia's attorney general dealt a big blow to gun right advocates. virginia will no longer recognize conceal carry handgun permits from other states. 25 states had reciprocity agreements with virginia. mark herring said selfering the out of state agreements can prevent gun violence. developing in syria right now, isis is claiming responsibility for an attack on an elementary school. tv reports there say a shell hit the city school in deir ez zur. metro just got another step closer to adding a new station. in 60 seconds where a proposed stop may soon be

new developments about a nuclear program in iran. reports this morning say that russia is building two nuclear power plants there. iran approved the deal to limit its nuclear activities only a few months ago. reports in iran say construction on the sites will begin next week. we're learning more about a plan to build a metro station in northern virginia. metro is officially including the station in its system now. that means it shows up on maps and proposals. this is all according to the washington post. the potomac yard station will cost $270 million and is expected to open five years from now. metro will build it. alexandria leaders say the station will create tens of thousands of new jobs. more trouble for chipotle. in 60 seconds the places dealing

well, you didn't need your winter coat out there this morning, did you? it may be hard to believe, but this is the first day of winter. snow might not fall for at least another month, but it shouldn't be that hard to remember what it looked like when we did have snow this time of year. you're looking at the multiple feet that fell six years ago on december 19th, 2009. we had a blizzard hit our area then breaking records on the other side of the thermometer. we ended up digging out of 18 inches of snow in some places, and a lot of you probably wishing you had it right now. tom? yes, the snow lovers have been curled in a corner and sobbing uncontrollably for the last couple of weeks. i mean, we just have no chance for a white christmas. got a better chance of maybe the 'skins winning the super bowl. on christmas day it does look like it's going to be wet. wet day here along the 95 corridor through new york city and jersey.

on the eastern shore getting lingering rain. rain has ended, a few sprinkles on the mountains of northern virginia. here's timing on rain tomorrow. by 6:00 a.m. it begins to move into the metro area from the south and then we stay wet for the rest of the morning into the afternoon. more showers coming through, maybe moderate to heavy briefly at times. then by mid to late afternoon most of the rain will be ending tomorrow. that's the way it looks. look at christmas day in a few minutes. [ cheers and applause ] not often do you see cheering like that at nasa. pretty cool thing happened here. take a look at the video. last night spacex successfully landed a rocket back on earth at cape canaveral. they launched 11 satellites into space and returned the rocket back to earth in one piece. it caused a big celebration in the control room. spacex says the landing will save money, time and material. a disappointing development for a lunchtime favorite for a lot of you.

you may want to think twice before grabbing some chipotle. the centers for disease control and prevention says it's investigating a new batch of e. coli cases. monday they said five people got sick, kansas, north dakota and oklahoma this time. the cdc doesn't know yet whether this outbreak is connected to a larger one that began back in october. it is one of the busiest times to shop, but soon it'll be a busy time to return. the places most likely to give you a hard time when it comes time to give back.

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army sergeant and former p.o.w. bowe bergdahl will be in court for an open hearing. the army recently announced he would face a general court martial. bergdahl is accused of leaving his post in afghanistan in 2009. he was captured by the taliban. he was freed last year in a controversial exchange for five guantanamo bay prisoners. one item that's growing in popularity this holiday season, guns. nbc's gabe gutierrez shows us why people say they're buying guns as gifts this year. >> reporter: at this gun range outside atlanta business is booming. >> i'm here to promote safety for my grandchildren. >> reporter: just in time for christmas. >> actually a semi-automatic. >> ever since the paris attacks we've had a lot of customers coming in buying, you know, first guns, buying guns to protect their homes, their families and themselves.

>> reporter: louis cole is on the hunt for the perfect gift for his wife. >> this is for her. like any good husband i asked for the list of christmas items that you'd like to have. one of the items was a firearm. >> reporter: last month the fbi ran more than 2.2 million firearm background checks for buyers, 24% more than the previous november. generally gifting guns within your own state is allowed under federal law and in many states the person receiving the gift is not required to get a background check. >> kind of ammo would you like? >> a lot of people just don't understand firearms and, you know, if you don't understand something, it's easy to be afraid of it. i think it's a large piece of american culture, especially growing up in the south. i don't even think twice about guns. >> reporter: it's not just weapons sales that are soaring, but accessories. this company, the well armed woman, is aiming for a different demographic this holiday season. >> it is a significant gift of love to arm the people that you

love with the tools and the training to protect themselves. >> reporter: this morning the space under ashleigh's christmas tree is crowded. a new rifle for her husband. >> i just pulled the trigger on it and picked it up for him. >> reporter: a gift she hopes is right on target. right now cloudy and fairly mild here. certainly for december. we've got the bulk of the rain that we have earlier this morning crossing the eastern shore heading out over towards the atlantic beaches. a few sprinkles are tending to dry as they head towards the northern shenandoah valley. right now around the metro area, maybe a few sprinkles near damascus. a few scattered across northern virginia. most of the area is drying out. mid 50s north and west. low 50s now and it's climbing up to around 60 degrees in southern maryland and parts of southern virginia. we ought to make it in the low 60s by 2:00. remaining mostly dry through the

afternoon. cloudy near 60 by 5:00 p.m. by 8:00 p.m. back down to the upper 50s. the warming trend coming in a couple of minutes. >> thank you, tom. the woman police blame for this dead ri scene should be in court later today. one person died when she drove into pedestrians sunday night on the las vegas strip. more than 30 other people were hurt. authorities say they're worng very hard on this case. >> we haven't determined to exact fact what the motive was. we believe that she -- she had some disassociation with the father of her child. >> right now lakeisha holloway is in jail under a suicide watch. her daughter was in the back seat during the crash sunday night. the 3-year-old is now in protective custody. following new developments in the attack on a nato base yesterday where six american service members died. that suicide bombing was the deadliest attack on u.s. forces in afghanistan in more than two years. we've learned the identity of one of the victims. joseph lemm was in the new york

air national guard and was a detective with the nypd. new york's governor directed flags to fly at half staff in lemm's honor. the taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. we're still waiting to learn the identity of the other five americans that died. it will be another month to see if a texas state trooper will be arrested in the death of sandra bland. the medical examiner ruled bland's death a suicide but her family believes she was murdered. a grand jury has decided not to indict any sheriff's deputies or guards from the jail where she died. new details on a massive fire. also a reminder this day not to overload electrical outlets this holiday season. that's what firefighters say may have happened at the annapolis yacht club earlier this year. they say an electrical problem with an artificial christmas tree sparked the fire. they say if you have a real tree, keep it watered, don't let

it dry out joompt listen to this. there's a proposal in d.c. right now to raise fines for some speed cameras to $1,000 but don't worry, aaa says the fine is too expensive for most residents. the $1,000 fine would be for drivers caught going more than 25 miles an hour over the speed limit. aaa says d.c.'s current fine of $300 is already higher than both ryland and virginia. a 13-year-old boy led michigan police on a high speed chase. his 8-year-old sister was riding shotgun here. this is dash cam video of the chase. the boy eventually lost control of the car, crashed it into a grassy median. the sibling tried to make a run for it. the boy was arrested, the girl was returned to her mother. 'tis the season for gift gieg. in two months it will be the season of returning. >> reporter: like most people, shoppers at the americana in glendale are buying gifts this

holiday season hoping their loved ones will be thrilled. if not, they assume an exchange or store credit is a slam dunk. >> i'm assuming if you have a receipt and it's not totally damaged and screwed up, that shouldn't be a big deal. >> reporter: but a new survey by go banking rates warn some popular retailer's policies can cause serious return headaches. the financial websites studied the rules of 31 major store chains. we skyped with the study's author to find out what the website described as the worst place to take something back. >> store 21 only allows 21 days and that's much shorter than the average 60 days. they were one of the only stores that we found that doesn't offer a cash refund. you can only get store credit or an exchange. >> reporter: rounding out the bottom three according to the survey, k-mart which has a 28-day return window and won't accept returns made without a receipt. and barnes & noble, which gives you just 14 days to make a

return. the refunds are issued in the original form of payment. go banking rates also identify stores that make the returns the easiest with nordstrom coming out on top. >> they don't have a return policy. they don't have a time limit. they don't have a strict laid out this is what we will do and what we won't. >> second best return policy, l.l. bean. bed, bath and beyond came up third. we reached out to forever 21. while they had no comment about the survey, a store clerk said it's relaxing the store policy for the holiday season. it was a multi-million dollar stadium being compared to a bike helmet. in 60 seconds the new look for in 60 seconds the new look for the 2020

who coined the term "side bread?" because there's nothing "side" about this bread. it may look like the moon. but it's the star of the show. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. that sound. like nails on a chalkboard. but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound. the sound of the weekend. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop.

you i'm eun yang with a look at what's trending. sarah palin is finally getting her revenge on nineteen faye. >> she's a tv writer who left a small town for the big city. >> no snowflakes? >> palin reversed roles playing fey in a spoof of the hit nbc show "30 rock." did you recognize that? the conservative independent journal is behind this production. and a new look. take a look at this. japan has a fresh design for the home of the 2020 olympics. the minister in charge of the 2020 games told nbc news the wood lattice structure was in harmony with the surrounding environment and exhibited japaneseness. tokyo dished the first design back in july. it cost nearly double the original estimate taking it to $2.1 billion. wow, that is a big price tag. this next story gives a whole new meaning to the saying going dutch. we found it on cnn.

ministers in the netherlands say, yes, it is legal to pay for driving lessons with sex just as long as both parties are 18 or older. quite a lesson. that's what's trending. back to you. >> very interesting. thank you, eun. prosecutors say he gave the boston marathon bombers the gun to kill a cop. in 60 seconds a friend who now finds himself before a judge.

good morning. today's rain has ended maybe just a lingering sprinkle or maybe a little bit of drizzle off and on as we get into the evening hours. as we stay dry much of the afternoon, the last of the rain is on the eastern shore continuing to pull off the atlantic ocean. they're drying out. cloudy the rest of the day. highs reaching the low 60s by mid afternoon. rain likely on wednesday. up into the mid 60s. might get an inch of rain

tomorrow. thursday, might get some sun back christmas eve day into the mid 70s. that will shatter the old record of 69 for washington. upper 60s near 70 on christmas day. there is a small chance of a few sprinkles or a passing shower. now it appears for christmas day between perhaps the late morning into early to mid afternoon. otherwise, clouds around. mild day into the weekend. we may get a bit of sunshine breaking out saturday and sunday. small chance of a shower saturday and more rain maybe monday. back to you. >> thank you, tom. today a sentencing link to the boston marathon bomber. steven silva loaned the tsarnaev brothers the gun. sean collier dyed days after the bombing. 260 ores were hurt in the attacks. silva will be sentenced on drug and gun charges. a developing story now in india where a plane crashed and ten people died. if you take a look at some of the smoke and the fire outside the new delhi airport,

investigators are trying to figure out why that plane went down. it was a para military plane apparently. the crash killed the eight engineers and two pilots on board. drivers in virginia about to get happier. the new addition that is going to make a lot of people smile. will they or won't they roll? i'm adam tucks in charles county, maryland, where a lot of school bus drivers say they might strike.

i'm adam tuss in la plate, maryland. a lot of parents wondering if these buses will roll this afternoon. bus drivers say they might strike and it all has to do with their pay. the dreary rain matching the mood of some parents here in charles county. >> i've heard that maybe this afternoon i may have to pick my child up because the buses may not be running, so just trying to negotiate the day to try to figure out how to actually do that. >> reporter: austin henderson not thrilled with the news of a potential strike. >> i don't think it's fair but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. >> reporter: get this, there are about 26,300 students in the county and of those 23,000 take the bus, a huge majority. katie o'malley simpson, the school's communication director, says all buses in the county are run by contractors and the school system won't know if

there's a strike until later this afternoon. >> the high schools are the first to dismiss and a couple middle schools and that's at 2:15. bus drivers have to be to their contractor's lots by 1:45. we should have a better idea at that time. >> reporter: regardless, she says extra drivers are being called in. a letter has gone out to parents with a hotline to call. teachers say, a strike or no strike, the bus drivers are making a point. >> i think it's a way to get attention. it puts people out, but it's very inconvenient. >> reporter: we've posted a lot more information in our nbc washington app including that hotline number to call. if you're a parent, just search bus strike. in laplata, adam tuss, news 4. learning new details about a shooting in rockville. montgomery county police say someone shot a woman as she drove to a metro station last night. witnesses reported hearing seven shots near the rockville swim center. the victim was hit once in the leg and is expected to be okay.

officers used dogs to search the area for the gunman but did not find anyone. cloudy now. temperatures in the 50s most of the region. most of that rain we had earlier this morning is now on the eastern shore and pulling off of the atlantic seaboard. later today have an umbrella ready. we might get an additional sprinkle or a little bit of a drizzle. otherwise, we'll stay cloudy. you might need a jacket even though it's hovering in the low 60s for shopping. holiday shopping forecast by 3:00 p.m. in the low 60s. cloudy sky. ever so slowly drifting back down into the upper 50s as we get into the evening hours. good shopping weather for holiday shopping under a cloudy sky into the evening hours. barbara? >> thank you, tom. today the mother of a 27-year-old teacher will demand more answers about her son's death. alonzo smith was in the custody of private security guards known as special police when he died on november 1st. this is a d.c. police body

camera video from that night. police say they detained smith because he was high on pcp they said. when dv officers arrived he was not breathing. today smith's mother will hold a news conference to have an independent investigation into her son's death. we're learning about a stabbing near petworth. that's in northwest d.c. this happened on sunday night. sources tell news 4 jose ochowa was texting with a girl and arranged to meet her near that park that night. his body was later found in front of an abandoned building near eighth street. police have no suspect or motive for the stabbing. 11 people have been arrested for having ties to isis in bosnia. they say they were inciting and recruiting for terrorist attacks. two places of worship and several homes were searched in the raids. police say they found evidence linking those people to isis. prince william county police have arrested the man accused of

sexually assaulting an elderly woman. the assault happened at the cariant heart vascular clinic in manassas. the victim said thomas purcell assaulted her joompt we are working to learn the condition of a cyclist hit by a car in d.c. police say this crash happened on connecticut avenue where it crosses over rock creek park. ties to the confederate army could force three virginia schools to change their names. our media partner wtop said the fairfax county school board made a policy change that would allow a board to rename a school if there is a compelling name. right now robert e. lee, w.t. woodson and jeb is looked at for

being renamed. nasir abe worked for the french immersion school in greenbelt. he was accused of ignoring allegations that a teacher spanked a student there. last week they said they found no evidence of abuse. abe told our bureau chief, tracee wilkins, he was fired. >> there ace still a huge disconnect in terms of traps parns si in the way it was hand zbl ld. the teacher is now teaching montgomery county. if you're a virginia resident and you drive and you hate your license picture, we've got some good news for you. neutral expressions are no longer necessary when taking that picture. the state is using new technology that allows you to smile. if you want a new picture go to any dmv and go mobile opportunity. china's capital of beijing. take a look at the dense

pollution there. some parts of the city have dangerously high levels of chemicals in the air. the city is under a red pollution alert for the second time this month. expected to be over tomorrow. there's a curve when it comes to learning technology. in 60 seconds a surprising number of toddlers who might be number of toddlers who might be smarte that sound. like nails on a chalkboard. but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound. the sound of the weekend. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. it's always worth remembering... that icing the cinnamon rolls is a privilege not a right. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop.

right now crews are searching for more than 70 survivors from the big landslide in china. we know at least one person died there. we told you a mountain of soil and construction waste collapsed yesterday. there are new question about the accident including reports city leaders knew about the dangerous buildup for months. if you're taking the 95 expressway home they say you'll probably enjoy the trip. they asked 1700 drivers about how they felt. 3/4 said that they were satisfied with the lanes. among the people who used the

express lanes, 70% say they'd support extending them south. the main reasons people use those lanes is to get to work and to travel for vacation. it's become an unwelcome holiday tradition for one california family. people stealing their christmas decorations. thieves have hit homes seven times. this one particular home seven times in the past ten years. this time surveillance cameras caught people stealing plastic candy canes from the front yard. one year someone stole a $500 ornament. it's not about the missing stuff but someone taking advantage of her christmas spirit. your 2-year-old can probably use your tablet, you know that. a new survey out of ireland found more than 91% of 2-year-olds can effectively swipe and tap smart phones and similar devices. more than half could unlock them to make a phone call, order a pizza. you never know with these kids these days. >> i've seen it happen. bill cosby is going after

another one of his accusers filing a lawsuit against super model beverly johnson who he says made false accusations against him to revive her career. cosby's suit centers around the fact that she said that he drugged her and tried to assault her. cosby's wife was there that night and claims he never spent time alone with johnson. cosby, who has been accused by dozens of women, has never been charged with a crime joompt a new company is dealing with massive data breaches. in 60 seconds how more than

take a look at this. they are getting snow in california right now. a lot of folks are celebrating. most of the snowfall is in the higher places though, in other words, ski resorts, but it's real snow. it's their first big snowfall in several years. in utah, colorado and nevada they're also getting snow today. not here. we are just way too warm.

we're in the 50s now. the rain we had earlier this morning, that's right now along the atlantic beaches, locally north and west. there might be a few scattered sprinkles here, turquoise in northern montgomery. western loudoun county. right around martinsburg. it may get closer to winchester another hour or two. here's hour-by-hour timing. the areas in the yellows and oranges may be coming down harder. you'll have that. 8, 9, 10:00 in the morning. a wet morning commute. during the afternoon much of the rain will begin to pull east of the metro area by around 4:00 p.m. we'll be on the eastern shore by late afternoon tomorrow. that's the way it looks. >> tom, thank you. whether you're excited or depressed about the warm weather, we learned it's causing a lot of actual headaches for some people. according to the university of pittsburgh this warm, wet weather means seasonal allergies are sticking around until later into the year.

not only is there poll lynn in the air now, mold spores are causing problems. hello kitty has been hit with a data breach. more than 3 million users may have been exposed. hackers got away with user full names, e-mail addresses and passwords. it's not clear if financial information was compromised, too. well, it might be a holiday race but presidential candidates aren't slowing down. where the race is getting where the race is getting tig

why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop.

candidates are spread across the country today campaigning before taking a break for the holidays. nbc's tracie pots has their common target. >> reporter: donald trump in a blue state focusing on hillary clinton. >> she's a liar. >> reporter: on lindsey graham dropping out. >> i'm extremely sad. >> reporter: and a new attack on the the media. >> i'd never kill them. i hate them. >> reporter: jeb bush. >> his family is so ashamed. >> reporter: bush says. >> it's not funny anymore. >> reporter: taking aim saying we're making the right moves against isis. >> no, we're not. we're not in the right place. >> reporter: chris christie who's behind in the polls tells his party they need to focus on clinton, not on each other. >> i'm saving my brawling for september of 2016 because it's going to be my job to make sure that hillary rodham clinton doesn't get within ten miles of

the white house. >> reporter: marco rubio also drawing distinctions between democrats and republicans. >> the democratic party is controlled today by radical elements that lean to the left that want to see more government control over our economy and our lives. >> reporter: today the top democrats are in iowa where voters will decide in just six weeks. ben carson's in south carolina today. he is courting those southern conservatives who now find their home state candidate, lindsey graham, no longer on the ballot. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. now to a story you'll only see on news 4. an employee from national institute of standards and technology is on an isis hit list. the woman has been notified by the fbi. she was told agents would monitor the situation and give her extra patrols when she is on or near the campus. security analysts say these types of lists are becoming more common. >> very few instances where we

see a real clear link to i'm attacking this because isis said so. it's a new normal. has been for several years. >> craig rice says this shows that maryland has high value targets and they should use grant money to protect the community. right now cloudy. temperatures are in the 50s. there's the view of national harbor. there's the capital wheel. you can see the calm waters of the potomac under a gray sky. no more rain around the region. most of that rain is from delaware to norfolk continuing to head out to sea. over the next 12 hours by 2:00 likely in the low 60s with a cloudy sky. remaining cloudy the rest of the afternoon into the evening hours. by 6:00 p.m. back down to around 60 degrees. by late evening into the upper 50s. so great weather to get out and get some shopping done for the afternoon and evening as the pavement will stay a little bit damp though throughout the rest of the afternoon into the evening hours. maybe some fog around tomorrow. more rain moves in on wednesday.

vanderbilt university is now saying excessive rain caused a tree to fall on several people during a school tour. ten people were hurt yesterday including prospective students, parents, and a student tour guide. the group was standing outside a gym building when the tree suddenly fell. all the victims are expected to be okay. five tennessee police officers who killed a lone gunman have received purple hearts. you may remember the shooting back in july. muhammad youf self abdul had a ziz killed people. president obama called it an act of terror. the police officers got into a gun battle with the suspect and killed him. chattanooga's mayor said the officers bravely rushed towards danger. an update in bob mcdonald's corruption case. he filed with the supreme court officially making his case for appeal. the government's interpretation of an official action is wrong. he also criticizes how the jury

was reviewed before the case. last year bob mcdonald and his wife were found guilty of trading political influence for $165,000 in gifts and loans. if you're flying this week, you certainly are not alone. the tsa is bringing in extra eyes to watch the sometimes chaotic security check points. the tsa tells us there are nearly 20 layers of security that passengers may not notice. the one thing they tell us that you could notice would be the belaf i don't remember detection officers. they walk around and ask passengers everyday questions. >> so i like to find out where they're going, what they think about tsa, but i'm also looking for the prohibitive item. i ask them directly, do you have any prohibitive in your bag. >> the tsa says wrapped presents are okay to yar onto the plane but you can't have prohibited items inside. those presents, like all bags, will have to pass through the x-ray machines, too joompt doctors are warning about how computers, tvs, and tablets can affect your children.

kids who are three or younger don't have fully developed eyes yet we understand. doctors say too much exposure to the blue light from the screens can lead to macular degeneration down the road. they're also suggesting a solution to limit the dangers of too much screen time.ñi >> when the children are on their devices it's important for them to start wearing eye protection. >> pay attention to the brightness. >> the eye wear protection can be worn as a coating on glasses and sunglasses and could be covered by insurance. the american academy of pediatrics also advises limiting small children to a maximum of two hours using screens a day. we're following a developing story in texas this morning. flis searching for a black pickup truck. you see it right here. they believe fugitive ethan couch and his mother may be using it. couch missed a probation appointment on december 10th. prosecutors say if his mother is helping him run, she will face charges, too. >> if i find out that she helped him at all, i assure you we will

file criminal cases with her and we'll prosecute her as fully as we can if she helps him at all. >> the 18-year-old was serving a ten year probation for killing four people in 2008. authorities say he didn't realize the consequences of his action because of the affluent upbringing. county police say that leonard slaughter hit officer patrick mccarthy about two weeks ago. they say police tried to pull slaughter over minutes before but he drove off, stopped, hit mccarthy again. he's facing charges of reckless endangerment and assault. christmas tree controversy in 60 seconds.

i'm eun yang. here's what people are clicking on this morning.

we saw this trending on buzz feed. kathryn gordon has been teaching at a high school in maine for decades and she's been decorating with this pink tree, but for the first time this year she says her principle asked her to put it away. she posted this on facebook saying that her tree is not a religious symbol and there weren't any parent or student complaints. she's sad about these developments. today is the first day of winter. a lot of you are using #firstday to celebrate the start. thanks for that. a lot of people online are also curious about the science behind what's happening. we found this picture from the university of wisconsin on facebook. it shows the shadow of the sunset moving across the u.s. the winter solstice happened here at exactly 11:48 last night. that means we are officially past our darkest day of the year although it's been so warm here it's hard to imagine it's winter. now you think it's warm here, how about the other side of the hemisphere. extreme heat is making kooalas

in australia pass out. poor guys. we saw them on buzz feed. they're spraying water on them. when i think of

neighbors are stepping up to help a virginia family hit by a real life grinch. they stole the decorations. jennifer drake and her family put up dozens of those inflatable figures all over their yard. police say last weekend someone took five of them. since then neighbors have donated several replacements. drake says she's not interested in pressing charges. >> you didn't just hurt our family because of the hard work we've put in to bring everyone joy, you've hurt an entire community. if you have them, bring them

back. >> the family has been able to replace a few of the items. they say they're feeling the love from the community and not letting this get the best of them. right now cloudy around the region. the last of the rain we had this morning is now exiting the eastern shore getting a few scattered sprinkles here near martinsburg near hagerstown. getting into the shenandoah valley in another hour or so. most of the region staying dry. highs reaching low 60s. rain likely in the mid 60s. balmy on thursday. the mid 70s. a little sun coming out for christmas day. a lot of clouds coming out in the morning in the low 60s, near 70 by mid afternoon. a chance of a shower or sprinkle middle of the day. it's a small chance. sun back, 50s on saturday. maybe a sprinkle. sunday into the 60s. back to you. that is it for news 4 midday. thanks for joining us. back in the afternoon first on 4. >> you can get your news and

weather updates any time with the nbc washington app. we hope you'll have a

>> today, what's behind khloe kardashian's revenge body. plus, you won't believe what netflix has done for your viewing pleasure. it is a christmas crisis for a mom who can't cook. chef, tom colicchi comes up with dishes to satisfy kids. it all starts right now on "meredith." [cheers and applause] did