at 6:00 a.m. right now on news 4 today, a daring rescueç effort happening in china, 11 miners freed but more then a dozen still trapped below. >> it started when a christmas eve party ending in murder. now police say they have the killer in custody. and where severe weather is creating mild destruction and creating a disaster where families celebrate the holidays. i'm wendy rieger sitting in for angie goff. >> i'm david culver.

>> it is kind of foggy and ee e eerie, dare i say even a little sexy out there this morning, amelia? >> i agree with you, wendy. we are dragging areas of fog out in the shenandoah valley right now. it's damp from the rain we had yesterday. today's the day you want to keep that small umbrella handy, scattered showers possible, really at any point. it's only going to be light activity. here's the latest on storm team 4 radar. most the area is dry. you can see light rain moving through far western maryland. this is continuing to advance up into pennsylvania. a wider look at the picture. you can see really no rain on the map track moving into the area. you will want to have an umbrella handy and jacket as well. it will be noticeably cooler with temperatures in the 50s throughout the day. 59 degrees is currently the temperature. as we work our way through the morning hours, temperatures will actually slowly fall. by 9:00 a.m., 56. 11:00 a.m., 55. david i'll have more on record

warmth returning to the area coming up in my full forecast. >> amelia, we'll check in with you then. thanks. a violent night after christmas in the district. there were two shootings overnight, the first in northeast. police were called to 48th place just before 1:00 this morning. it's there they found the man. he had been shot several times. police say he's in stable condition at this hour. no word on a suspect or motive. around the same time, someone shot a man severalç times, thi in southwest, on 1st street. the victim is expected to be okay. police on the lookout for two suspects. investigators believe a white sa sedan may be involved. 11 people rescued from the collapsed mine in china. 18 are still trapped that rescue effort has been going on since early friday morning. crew members did send down a camera and saw three miners walking around, confirmed that 11 are not in danger. they also know where the others are trapped and they have made contact with them.

pulling them out is going to be dangerous because of the risk of a secondary collapse. a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook parts of pakistan and afghanistan overnight. dozens injured as walls and in some cases, entire homes, just collapsed. this is in the northern pakistan city of peshawar. 41 people were taken to area hospitals. the quake began just after midnight and lasted just under a minute. police say they have a killer off the industries in falls church. investigators say it started with a christmas eve party, ended with murder. jackie bensen with who police say is responsible. >> reporter: a 911 call led police to the falls church area where they found the body of edgar armando serrano of annandale. >> when we arrived we found an individual who has died with trauma to the upper body. we're currently investigating

that death. >> reporter: serrano was pronounced dead at the scene. just prior to the fight, the victim had been at a christmas eve party at a home just around the corner an camp alger avenue. they believe 39-year-old santos narcisco osorio chased the man down the street and attacked him with a sharp object. they suspected early on that the two knew each other. investigators need the public's help with information about this béimb. anyone with information is asked to call fairfax county police. in falls church, jackie bensen, news 4. a driver going the wrong way on the beltway killed a man on christmas day. i victim was from ft. washington. maryland state police say the man was driving the wrong way on the interloop and ran head on into moreno dunn's car. paramedics air lifted the other

driver to the hospital. engine related problems forced a plane from virginia to return to rochester, new york. the faa says commute air flight 8535 declared an emergency around 3:00 just after takeoff on friday. the plane had been heading to washington dulles airport. the faa is investigating this morning. a developing story this morning. 15 people are dead after storms and tornadoes slammed several southern states. the deadly storm swept through mississippi, tennessee and alabama yesterday. nbc's mark pot per has the latest on the cleanup. >> reporter: in holly springs, mississippi, families spent christmas day trying to salvage what they could. >> the grinch who stole christmas. but spared our lives. >> reporter: the season of giving took on new meaning in this community. >> merry christmas to you. >> with donations pouring in, christmas toys along with food

and clothing. >> we came out with the clothes we had on our backs. >> when something happens like this, we all come together and make sure everybody is taken care of. >> reporter: around clarksdale, as many as 20 homes are gone. >> my heart goes out to these people. they're in pain and it hurts me to see them suffer. >> reporter: so far, 14 people are confirmed dead across three states. the youngest was 7-year-old nicholas pulmori who was killed in mississippi. >> there's a parent out there who doesn't have their kid. >> reporter: max and ellen croxton died in her home, their daughter took to ajebook, adding i know i will see them again one day. it doesn't make the heartache any less painful. in tennessee, 70-year-old antonio and his 69-year-old wife annie were killed. three teenagers also died in that state. the warm weather system that spawned these twist ares are blame for the torrential rain in

georgia. >> that's our picnic table that's on the deck. >> reporter: that trapped dozens in their homes. in alabama several families had to be rescued and millions are bracing for more flash floods through the night. mark potter, nbc news. at 6:07, today a first of its kind interfaith celebration happening in the district. celebration of the birth of jesus and the prophet muhammad will take place today. that happens on the steps of the lincoln memorial, kicking off at 1:00 this afternoon. a 3-year-old american girl wandered away from her family's hotel in austria christmas eve. police were able to locate her parents but get a load of what happened before that. a receptionist at another hotel found the little girl on the street, called police. the child was wearing a night shirt, her diaper, socks. police took the girl to other hotels. no one recognized her. they eventually took her to the police station where she fell asleep, while police kept up the search for her family. after an hour they located the

parents who thought the little girl was still asleep in her adjacent room. people gather in shenzhen and remembering the victims of last sunday's landslide disaster. sirens sounded six days after the landslide took place. the force buried dozens and 33 buildings collapsed or were damaged in the land slide. so far, 75 people still unaccount for. the landslide covered a 94-acre area, causing a natural gas pipeline to explode as well. it's the season of giving but not all those gifts are real. how scammers are using stolen and fake presents to turn a profit. and the damage is done. it may have been on purpose. why investigators think the byr,! place of a former president was intentionally set on fire.

you're watching news 4 today. the fire that damaged bill clinton's childhood home may have been started intentionally. investigators in hope, arkansas, found graffiti and think an arsonist torched the place. president clinton's grandparents owned this home and he lived there until he was 4 years old. stadium plans for the 2020 olympic games in tokyo getting back on track. we can show you the winning stadium design. it's a smaller, cheaper version of the original idea. now, earlier this year, the government nixed the stadium plan as the cost kept going up. the architect says while winning the bid comes with hype and

pressure, he's keeping the design ground. the stadium will cost $1.2 billion if it stays on budget. it's december 26th which means time to head to the store and return all those gifts you don't like. not all those returns will be in good faith. the national retail federation estimates over 3% of the holiday returns this year will be fraudulent. holiday return fraud is expected to cost the retailers $2.2 billion. let's take a live look outside on this saturday morning where it is one of the warmest holiday weekends in years. and the new year on the way. so is some change a coming. amelia is tracking what you can expect. a little girl calls it her christmas miracle. why she's crediting pope fra

good morning. welcome back. area volunteers are giving food to the people who need it the most this holiday season. >> we go inside a program who delivered hundreds of meals to the homeless and this is still growing. >> reporter: more than 300 volunteers showed up at berk community church to make and distribute nearly 600 hot meals for the homeless. they are helping the 25th project, a nonprofit group started by jay harriet. >> why did you do it? >> because i was this close from being homeless and so the eviction notice was on my door

and i didn't have anything. and so we started it, it's just grown and grown. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: meals were handed out here in franklin park at 14th and kay streets northwest, in mcpherson square, at a woman's shelter and the homeless encampment. >> if it weren't for the generosity of a lot of these people, a lot of us would be starving. >> i feel blessed. thank you. i appreciate everything. my birthday was last night, christmas eve. >> reporter: i asked the bostic family why they volunteered. >> our heart goes out to other people during christmastime, just to spread love and make sure someone else is happy. that brought joy to our heart. >> i've been doing this all my life. i think it's nice to give back to those who don't have as much as i do. >> reporter: the 25th project has a major charity event on the 25th of every month. for example, in february, they collect soup and socks to give to the homeless. trying to keep this christmas

spirit alive all year long. in the district, chris gordon, news 4. a 12-year-old is thanking pope francis for her christmas miracle.ç doctors diagnosed grace west with stage 4 neuroblastoma when she was 10 years ole. she went through eight chemotherapy sessions, surgery, immu immu immunotherapy. she found out she was cancer free about a year after seeing pope francis. >> it was a moment of victory, i beat it, i beat it, i'm gone. i think the pope made the miracle happen and everybody that prayed for me in the community really made it happen. >> grace met the pope through the make a wish foundation. >> that's a great use of your make a wish. >> yes. >> it's the second one. there was a baby that was brought to the pope as well. and the parents make the same claim, that the baby has now been healed since meeting the

pope. >> always good to see a child be cancer huff free. >> for sure. >> it is wonderful. >> lovely to see you this morning. merry christmas. >> i feel like i'm in a hallucination right now but i'll get over that. it's muggy out there still. >> today, temperatures not really going to move too much. temperatures are in the 50s. we'll have near steady temps throughout the day. it's cooler than yesterday but it's still 15 degrees above normal. that's your first weather headline. a few scattered, light showers around today, not going to be tracking heavy rain like we were yesterday on storm team 4 radar. near record warmth in the forecast for tomorrow, 70s for highs tomorrow. and then as soon as we go up, we're back down. cold blast makes its way into the area on monday. the weather having a low to maybe moderate impact on your day to day because of the spotty, light showers. otherwise, it's cooler, open up the windows, turn off the air, enjoy fresh air temperature right now.

washington 59, know namanassas, gaithersburg 55. generally in the mid-50s for most of us. 11:00 a.m., temperature ever 55. a chance of showers at any poin% today. nothing heavy. by 5:00, temperature around 53 degrees. i think future weather overdoing the rain here a little bit. you still get the idea. notice we're really not seeing yellow showing up, just the lighter shades of green, that indicating the only a chance of scattered light showers. even as we work our way into the evening hours, can't rule out isolated showers. the real weather story will be the cooler temperatures, tomorrow, the warmer temperatures. 7:00 a.m. on your sunday, temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. as we work our way toward the midday hours, sky cast 4 bringing in hazy sunshine. temperatures near 70 degrees lunch time tomorrow. then we move into the low to mid-70s, high of in washington of 72 to 73 degrees. if we hit 73 for a high temperature, that will a new

record high temperature, even tomorrow evening at 9:00 p.m., if you're out going for a run or walking the dog, temperatures still in the low to mid-60s as we close out or start to close out 2015. future weather showing you the wider view tomorrow if case you're traveling. notice rain in parts of pennsylvania, west virginia, ohio. back into kentucky and tennessee as well. can't rule out a shower here for a sunday night. then monday, i'm stopping at 8:00 p.m. in the evening. notice in pennsylvania, the chance of a wintry mix, maybe some snow there. if you're heading to places like erie, pennsylvania, tuesday morning, still tracking a wintry mix or snow at 6:00 a.m., potentially snow showers in state college as we work our way throughout the day here on tuesday. rain is likely. scattered light showers today. about a 50% chance you're dealing with a bit of rain, not a huge deal. sunday high of 73. mostly cloudy skies tomorrow. can't rule out a shower on monday, especially later in the day. it's looking like rain holes off until tuesday.

look at the temperature on monday. a high of only 49. we actually see temperatures start off around 49 and then fall to 43 degrees by the evening hours. right now, guys, new year's eve, the evening hours looking dry and chilly with temps in the 40s. >> thank you, amelia. it was a difficult diagnosis for a little boy from montgomery county. how he became an inspiraéinn for others by helping families like his own. a lot of high-tech gadgets on the wish lists this year. which ones are being called a hacker's dream for how easy they are to break

a little boy from montgomery county has already been through much more than a child ever should have to. >> news 4's kristin wright shows us how he's still making a difference and using his difficult experience to help others. >> reporter: this boy missed days like this bowling when he was sick in a hospital bed. his own immune system attacking his liver. >> they said i had auto immune hepatitis acute liver failure. >> reporter: doctors thought the 12-year-old needed a transplant. >> i thought he had the flu. >> reporter: deveer is responding well to treatment at medstar georgetown university hospital but there's no cure and his immune system is weak. on a good day, he can bowl. always remembering these fighting words from his doctor. >> she told me to make a purpose every day. and think of something you want to do every single day.

i said i want to raise money for kids that have the same thing as me. >> reporter: dvir hosted a fund-raiser. it helps families of children at the medstar transplant institute. youth bowling coach bill robinson didn't hesitate to give. >> when you think about your health, you think about the things god blessed us with. you always want to help others who are a little less fortunate. >> reporter: mom is so proud. >> he's looking forward to what is the next fund-raiser going to be. >> reporter: a daily dose of medication and steroids is keeping the rare disease in check right now. >>ç every day is a blessing fo us. >> reporter: dvir needs few words to explain how he's feeling. >> good, amazing. >> reporter: on news 4 at 6:00, what's flex for dvir's treatment? in gaithersburg, kristin wright, news 4. many gadgets could be susceptible to hackers. this according to intel security list. they say smart watches and those fitness trackers, among --

>> there we go. santa claus has nothing to do with this. >> this is all technology here. among the most hackable gifts. none of the elves make these. it's the blooj took conneue tooy that makes these a hacker's dream. >> maintain all of the materials that came with that particular product. they're going to outline for you some of the preset pass words or settings on those particular devices. >> keep your systems up to date with the latest software. that can't also help keep all those hackers away. you may have been tracking santa, speaking of santa -- >> yes. >> in the skies this holiday season. today, taking a much needed break. >> he's been busy. >> yes. >> take a look. norad tracker shows that santa delivered more than 7 billion gifts. each year the north american aerospace defense command switches on the site so we can

track santa all over the world. you can see that he was -- he's been there and done that now. now he's heading to florida. have an umbrella handy if you're getting ready to head out. amelia is tracking showers you might be running into today and how long they're going to last and what you can expect in the week ahead. in alabama, a tornado tearing through a community on christmas day. how hundreds of families are dealing with the damage left behind.

6:30. a look at some of this morning's top stories that we're following for you. police called to 48. >> place in northeast just before 1 clg. they found a man who had been shot several times. police tell us at this hour he's in stable condition. no word on a suspect or motive. fairfax county say they have a killer off the streets. investigators say it started with a fight at a christmas eve party in falls church. they believe santos narcisco osorio chased the victim down the street and killed him. and a driver goes the wrong way on the beltway. this happened near the exit to branch avenue. paramedics air lifted the other driver to the hospital. tough news to start us off on this 6:30 half hour. here to make us smile and take in this day after christmas, got

wendy rieger with us. >> aren't you happy? >> aren't you happy? >> are you glad you got up this early in the morning. >> are you feeling good? >> yes. i never went to sleep last night. i came straight here. >> the cocktail dress looks nice, too. >> exactly. it is still muggy. we could have fog this morning if you have to get out. amelia, it's not going to be a bright, shiny day, is it? >> no, it's not. tracking clouds and spotty light showers. right now, storm team 4 is mainly dry and that fog in the shenandoah valley, areas of fog until about 10:00 a.m. elsewhere locally in the d.c. metro area, i'm not getting reports of dense fog. here's the latest on storm team 4 radar. dry right now. nothing back to the west to track moving in. today is the day you want to keep the small umbrella close by and have the jacket.

today noticeably cooler, temperatures in the 50s throughout the day. but that's still well above normal. 59 degrees is where we're at currently. temperatures will slowly fall during the morning hours and kind of hang out in the mid-50s throughout the day. i'm going to have more on when a steadier rain returns to the forecast, wendy, coming up in ten minutes. >> thank you. developing story this morning out of maryland. police are investigating a double shooting in prince george's county. police were called to thrift road in clinton at about 2:00 this morning after reports of someone with a gun. there they found two people in a vehicle who had been shot. police say it looks like the shooting took place on parkview lane and the victims drove to thrift road. both victims are alive and are expected to be okay. right now there are no suspects or motes. hundreds of families cleaning up after a tornado alabama. we have to show you some of this destruction that was left behind. it upped down just about 5:00 yesterday afternoon, south of birmingham. several homes destroyed by the

powerful storm that downed trees, took out power. one person taken to the hospital. that person expected to be okay. emergency and utility crews, they work through the night, just to make sure homes were safe. >> we have people from alagasco and alabama power to make sure all gas and power were turned off to the homes in this area. >> you can listen to it coming down in that area. about a dozen tornadoes swept through the south yesterday killing about 15 people. a developing story out of syria. a top rebel commander is dead. syrian earle officials say they killed him near the syrian capital yesterday. he headed one of the most powerful insurgent groups that have the backing of saudi arabia. his death comes a month before expected peace talks between government and opposition representatives in çgeneva. his group controls large parts of the damascus suburb.

a christmas eve disaster. this in nigeria. a gas tanker exploded there, killing at least 100 people. it happened at a crowded industrial gas plant where folks lined up to refuel cooking gas cylinders, just in time for christmas. most dead were customers of the plant or folks who lived nearby. federal investigators are calling a fire that broke out at a houston, texas mosque suspicious. it started in the afternoon at savoie mosque. no one was hurt. they said they did find multiple points of origin for the fire. you ready for skiing happening today? one of maryland's biggest vacation destinations set to open, not feel like ski weather. we're talking about the wisp resort many mchenry. only one of its 35 trails will be open to guests mainly because of those warm temperatures we've

been telling you about. they've got the special carpets that allow folks to ski and snowboard on this synthetic surface. >> it's gotten that bad. >> pull out the carpet. >> by some estimates up to a million americans woke up on christmas morning with a drone under the tree. the popular gift has the government worried about the crowded skies and close calls with airports. but it looks like unmanned aircraft are revolutionizing business, improving safety and changing the way we see the world. as nbc's tom costello reports, the pace of change is catching many by surprise. >> check. it's locked. >> reporter: ski season was still weeks away at wolten valley, vermont this fall when the annual lift inspection came in the form of a fly-by, air sharks snapping photos and shooting video of the pulleys and cables that will carry 150,000 skiers this winter.

>> pitch it into the wind at 5 degrees. >> reporter: then a close-up looking for cracks in the turbines. >> now we don't need to send somebody up there to check on it. >> reporter: a big improvement in safety and the cost savings approaching 90%. nationwide, this is the year drones have gone from gimmick to revolutionary to indispensable, providing instant aerial recon of a farmer's crops, surveying commercial aircraft for storm damage, measuring the shrinking arctic ice pack and surveying offshore oil rigs. among the most common use for drones? commercial real estate along with film and photography. already the faa issued more than 2,100 exemptions for commercial drone use. >> reporter: in maryland, kevin kinsey invested in a drone and hd cameras to help realtors market their homes. >> we're sitting here on a 50-acre farm. you can't capture that with a photograph. >> reporter: the business of drones is taking off. california leads the country with the most operators,

followed by florida and texas. in marian, texas, usaa insurance is testing drones hoping inspectors will no longer have to spend 45 minutes looking at roof damage. >> with a one-minute flight time to gather the data, you're reviewing 15, 20 minutes. >> reporter: it's about speed and spectacular imagery. from weddings, mountain bike racing as well. as we all get a new bird a's-ey view of the planet we share. tom costello, nbc news, westminster, merrill. you can pick some things. family, not one of them. the surprising amount of folks who would prefer not to stay with family over the holidays. >> stop the presses. developing in australia, more than 100 homes were destroyed by a massive brush fire. how firefighters are getting how firefighters are getting some help t

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.

we have a developing story this morning. heavy rar firefighters in australia. torrential downpours have helped to control a huge bush fire that's destroyed more than 100 homes. hundreds of firefighters spent christmas day battling this blaze. the fire was trig ired by a lightning strike. residents of two towns near the coast in victoria who were evacuated are slowly heading back home. with several cuban relatives in town, i'm going to tread very carefully with this next story. it's a question about when you travelespecially for the holidays, who do you stay with? >> i stay with marriott. my good friend, marriott. >> awn the marriott is great. it seems a large number of folks choose not to stay with family. >> i think that's a good choice. >> according to the survey by

the hyatt regency hotels say 60% of people prefer to stay some place else t. the top reason, not enough space. other reason folks put on there they stay away from family is being away from the craziness of the holidays and having to share a bathroom. bathroom is a big one. >> yes. >> it's season of returns. the places most likely to give you a hard time when you head back to the stores today. >> let's go outside for just a minute. >> look at that. >> you know, my new year's resolution, i'm riding the ferris wheel. >> let's go. >> amelia is updating her

let's check in with our friends at the "today" show. >> what's going on, guys? >> good morning. coming up on a saturday morning here on "today," more wild weather across the country. a tornado touching down in alabama. water rescues overnight and a major winter storm set to pound the nation's midsection today. we have it all covered. >> get ready for the mad rush at the malls today as people return those gifts that may have fallen a tad bit short of expectation. this morning, what you need to know before you hit the stores. from politics to terror to big events in the world of sports. we'll take a look back at the

newsmakers that shaped the year that was. all those stories and a lot more when we get you started on a saturday right here on "today." >> all right. see you then. >> thanks, guys. as harry just said, the day after christmas is when you rush to the stores to get your returns -- is that what we're talking about? >> yes, the official day. >> suddenly i'm thinking you're not david. >> tell us about the weather as people rush to the malls. >> yes, okay, let's talk about road conditions. generally today, tomorrow and on into monday we're looking at pretty good road conditions, light showers in the forecast for today. tomorrow you'll probably have the air conditioner on your in car, at least the windows down. it will be mild, warm, hot for this time of year tomorrow. and then on monday, some showers are possible, mainly later in the day. still for the most part, roads should remain okay. damp road conditions out there early this morning, fog in the shenandoah valley, elsewhere,

fog really not an issue impacting visibility. i'm just not seeing that. temperatures coming in in the upper 50s right now. 59 in washington as well as manassas, 55 for those of you in gaithersburg and with skycast 4, notice the temperatures throughout the day today, we really don't move too much. we'll fall a few degrees and then we'll hang out in the 50s throughout the day for the most part, most of us will be in the mid-50s. washington at 56 at 9:00 a.m., the suburbs at 53. skycast 4 tracking plenty of clouds throughout the day today. 55 at noon.ç even as we work our way toward the afternoon hours, we're still tracking temperatures in the low to mid-50s this evening. if you're heading out, the chance of a shower still in the forecast. otherwise at 9:00, temperatures in the low 50s. you probably want to have at least a light jacket today. krogh can lose it tomorrow. here's the high temperature tomorrow in your neighborhood. 73 degrees for a high temperature in washington. 72 in gaithersburg and 74 for those of you in leesburg. if we hit 73 tomorrow, that's

going to be a new record. monday, we return to cold temperatures. 49 for a high on monday. and that's actually going to be the temperature at breakfast. by lunch we will have fall noon the mid-40s and by dinner time, low 40s with the chance of showers at 30% at that point and a 50% chance today you're dealing with a shower generally light in nature. we're not going to be tracking heavy rain or thunderstorms. on tuesday, rain is looking likely with the high temperature of 61 degrees. keeping it dry on wednesday, mostly cloudy, high of 59. for thursday, new year's eve, it's looking like we'll have showers around, mainly during the first half of the day with the high of 57. if you're heading out during the evening hours, it's looking mainly clear, breezy and chilly with temperatures around 46 degrees at midnight. by friday, new year's day, high temperature of 47 degrees and partly sunny skies. thanks, amelia. the day after christmas is known as the official day of holiday returns.

>> before you hit the stores, nbc's randy mack has a look at the stores with the harshest return policies. >> reporter: like most people, shoppers at the americana in glendale are buying gifts this holiday season, hoping their loved ones will be thrilled and if not, they assume an exchange or store credit is a slam dunk. >> i'll assume if you have a receipt and it's not totally damaged and screwed up, it shouldn't be a big deal. >> reporter: a new survey by go banking rates warns some popular retailers policies can cause serious return headaches. the financial website studied the rules of 31 major store chains. weç skyped with the study's author to find out what the website describes as the worst place to take something back. >> forever 21 allows 21 days, three weeks to return something. that's much shorter than the average 60 days we found. they were one of the only stores we found that doesn't offer a cash refund. or you can only get store credit or exchange.

>> reporter: rounding out the bottom three according to the survey, kmart which has a 28-day return window. 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 the the stores that make returns the easiest. with nordstrom coming out on top. >> they actually don't have a return policy. they done the have any time limit. they don't have a strict laid out, this is what we will and won't do. >> reporter: second best return policy, l.l. bean. bed, bath & beyond came in at number three. forever xxi, a spokesperson said it's relaxing the return policy just for the holiday season. if you bought something on or november 9th you have until january 9th to return it. a local musician helping

severely wounded veterans in our area. by teaching them to play, write and record music. >> they're learning through a program called music corps. it's challenging them in a completely new way. ♪ i'm only halfway home >> reporter: tim donnelly lost a lot of things in afghanistan. ♪ i've got to journey on >> reporter: both legs, part of an arm. ♪ wide river to cross >> reporter: not his voice or his will. >> i have no idea what i would be doing right now. i have no idea whereç i would if i hadn't gotten involved in music corps. >> reporter: he knows we was on foot patrol when he saw the taliban militant who would change his life. >> he was the one who had the trigger for the ied and he set it off while i was standing right next to him.

>> reporter: he remembers no sound. and then floating. >> that was me flying through the air. i hit the ground and that kind of jarred me awake. >> reporter: flash floored a few months to walter reed. and a man offering the marine a new mission. >> you can be in your room staring at the ceiling or come and do music at a high level. >> one, two, three. ♪ >> we work on music at a high level. we rock out at a high level. >> reporter: arthur bloom has music degrees from juilliard and yale. >> don't give away the cross bite starting too early. >> reporter: he tells vets, this ain't kumbaya. but soldiers and marines are trained to do tasks thousands of times. >> these guys take an instrument and they're going through scales for hours. and they're going through the same pieces of music for hours. just to get it right. ♪ >> reporter: music corps

recruited cheryl crowe and yo-yo ma as mentors. arthur works with 50 vets a year but thinks 50,000 may need music corps. where do you want to take this program? >> everywhere. we want to be able to offer the program to more people in d.c., to california, texas, around the country. so that every veteran that needs it, gets it. ♪ ♪ a wide river to cross >> i feel like applauding. wasn't that a good story? isn't that great. >> really cool. >> music corps also tracks down special instruments for these troops who areç missing an armr a leg. it then books studio time for the rehearsals, all of this of course takes money. >> speaking of the money, if you're interested in helping

author, head over to our nbc washington app and search music corps. >> good story. 6:53 now. let's set you out with four things to know on this saturday morning. two shootings overnight, the first in northeast left a man in the hospital. police were called to 48th place before 1:00 this morning. they say he is in stable condition. no word on a suspect or a motive. around the same time, a man was shot several times in southwest. that shooting on 1st street. the victim is expected to be okay. police are on the lookout for two suspects. investigators believe a white sedan may be involved. fairfax county police arrest a man in connection with a christmas eve homicide. the victim attended a party before he was attacked. and one man is dead, killed after a car going the wrong way on the interloop slammed into him on 495. this was near the branch avenue exit. the other driver was air lifted to a hospital. remember this moment of the week? it was the crowning mistake that

host steve harvey will not forget. and the creative way the host

. an snault on the international space station had a slipup on christmas eve. nothing a quick tweet couldn't fix, though. his name is tim peak. he started the phone call by saying, hello, is this planet earth? i'd like to apologize to the

woman i just called byç mistak. not a prank call, just a wrong number. steve harvey showing he does have a sense of humor about the miss universe pageant blunder. >> he posted a message to everyone on twitter yesterday. it read merry easter, y'all. sunday night as everyone, even the astronauts out in space know. he mistakenly awarded the miss universe crown to miss colombia when actually miss philippines was the winner. >> people are loving him for his receive deprecating humor there. >> you have to do that to yourself when you make a mistake yourself when you make a mistake th

it's the holidays, which means a house full of people, who all want to get online. so hurry and get verizon fios. only fios has the fastest internet and wi-fi available, with speeds from 50 to 500 megs. and right now, for only $79.99 a month online, you get 50 meg fios internet, tv and phone for your first year. plus, with a 2-year agreement, fios gives you $400 back,

and all the premium movie channels for a year. so go online or call now for this great offer. get out of the past. get fios.

good morning. christmas day nightmare. a tornado touches down in birmingham, alabama. >> when they say you take cover, you take cover. >> the twister leaving some residents trapped in debris while flash flooding led to daring high water rescues. the threat is not over yet with 50 million people lying in the path of the storm today. everything from possible tornadoes and heavy snow and floodi flooding. we're on top of it all. trouble down under. a popular tourist destination as firefighters work to douse the flames. the fire is expected to burn for weeks. return rush. malls across the country bng