>> good morning to both of you. steady rain overnight will continue up through about 7:00 or 8:00 this morning for most of the immediate metro area. a lot of puddles out there on the roadways. hydroplaning an issue, slow down, keep your speeds down and travel delays headed up the northeast corridor, could be significant. rain since midnight, a quarter to half an inch of rain has come down. storm team 4 radar, route 50 to the bay bridge, also soaked in rain this morning. rain starting to break up a bit out towards the southern parts of the shenandoah valley. that drying will come toward the metro. future weather, hour by hour, last wave of rain coming through here, 7:00 and 8:00. by 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, cloudy skies, drying out a bit. by later on today, a little nicer. need your umbrella and warm coat, only in the 40s now. i'll let you know how mild it will be later on and give you the travel outlook coming up in ten minutes. cleaning up the crash on inbound 50 at 410, just inside the beltway in prince george's county. you can see emergency equipment

is actually on the right-hand side and the tow truck is leaving at the moment. hopefully that will be cleared up shortly. not chopper 4 but at massachusetts avenue and macomb street. reports of high standing water there. be careful as you move through the area. and if you are traveling out of southern maryland or on 50 into or out of the beltway area, you'll find there is a lot of rain out there. keep your speeds down. it is going to be a tricky morning, especially with slick roadways. right now, millions of people are waking up to winter weather advisories. nasty weather now hitting the northeast. look at what people in illinois and iowa dealt with last night, part of the same system that flooded missouri and caused tornados in texas. it could drop up to a foot of snow in some places in the northeast. you can imagine the travel impact. erika gonzalez is monitoring that from the live desk. >> good morning, angie. chuck has been talking about the nasty weather this morning. that means a nasty travel day

for a lot of folks trying to get back home. let's talk about the airport chicago, the worst hit city more than 50 cancellations already today. four new ones in the last hour. there have been more than 40 flights canceled. thousands of flights didn't take off across the country. frustrating travelers today. and coming up, david culver joins us live with a look at the impact at reagan national airport. it will be a while before some texas families are back in their homes. more than 1400 homes are damaged after this weekend's storms. nine twisters hit the dallas area on saturday. the tornado that hit garland, tex texas, was the worst. it was an ef-4. the storm killed three others including a baby and a toddler. a dozen homes are underwater in the northeastern part of the state. rescue teams used boats to get people to safety. about 400 roads are closed across the state now. the governor declared a state of

emergency. a developing story this morning, we're working to find out the identity of a body found on a playground in prince george's county. one family is worried that their loved one could be the victim. the man was found stabbed to death behind gaywood elementary school. douglas reyes showed up at the scene last knight worried it may be his disabled son who isn't answering his phone. >> some people might want to steal something, think he has money or cell phone or something. he has cell phone. he's not answering. >> tonight, the reyes family will hold a candlelight vigil at the park. developing this morning, ethan couch and his mother are in custody in mexico. couch is the man who said he had affluenza. he said he was too wealthy to tell right from wrong when he killed four people in a drunk driving crash two years ago. texas sheriffs were searching for the 18-year-old after he missed a meeting with his probation offer a few weeks ago.

they believe a twitter video showing couch playing beer pong prompted he and his mother to run. the glenmont metro station is back open after a smoke emergency. we're going to learn what caused that track fire last night. metro says the fire erupted on the track between the station and the railyard. smoke filled the station forcing passengers to evacuate the platform. the station had to be shut down for about an hour. metro's new gm is scrambling to secure funding for a position designed to keep you safe. the firefighter job within metro is meant to improve communication. >> communication between the agency and fire crew s responding to an emergency was created after january' deadly smoke emergency near lanfant plaza. next month, metro and fire officials will meet to discuss how to come up with the money. did you leave anything behind on your holiday travels this year? the tsa says it recovered a large amount of lost valuables

from checkpoints at local airports. we have seen everything from coats and belts to laptop computers. somebody even forgot an unwrapped drone. look at that. some of you told news 4 you realized you left stuff behind, but time is working against you. >> don't have time to go back, get back on the train, go through security, come back through security again with my watch. wouldn't have made it. >> tsa records show this year alone the agency recovered 500 laptop computers at dulles international from lost items to airport security. edward lawrence joins us in -- a little later in the broadcast with big changes to airport security by the tsa. i'm erika gonzalez at the live desk. a terror attack thwarted. we're getting word two people were arrested over the last couple of days in belgium in connection to a terror plot that could have happened on new year's. attacks targeting popular spots

in brussels. isis propaganda recovered and is now being looked into. we should make clear this is in no way connected to the paris attacks. at the live desk, erika gonzalez. want to show you a look at your commute this morning. chuck is tracking the impact you can plan for. >> other parts of the country dealing with major damage from heavy snowfall. the places expected to get hit even harder today. and take over on the beltway. how police are responding to a large number of atvs and dirt large number of atvs and dirt bikes that got in t

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. welcome back. check this out. new video in of that major mess on the beltway you may have been stuck in yourself. a group of at least 100 dirt bikes and atv riders took over the highway during the busy holiday travel weekend. the disruptions were on the inner loop in prince george's county, i-295 and u.s. 50. motorcyclists drove the wrong way and even brought traffic to a stand still sunday afternoon.

maryland state police say they have this video and they're looking into it. amazing video tracking severe weather for you all morning long. want to show you what it did in wisconsin. citgo gas station collapsed there. the canopy fell on to two cars. it destroyed one of them, no one was hurt according to police. they say heavy snow and ice on the canopy brought it down. the gas station is closed today. ten minutes after the hour, up to speed on the forecast, if you're off to work this morning. chuck bell, what do you say? >> i say if you're traveling up to the northeast corridor, towards philly, new york or boston, you better really pack your patience as all the heavy rain we have been dealing with overnight is running into colder and colder air. winter weather advisories for new york city, hartford and boston and snow across northern new england. for us, the first batch of moderate rain is moving out, a wave of moisture to our south. we're not done with the rain chances just yet. traveling conditions, rainy weather for the morning commute, that will slow things down for sure. i-95, north and south, rain from

new york city to the carolinas. delays easing a bit for air travel, call your carrier. planning out your day, steady rain through 7:00 or 8:00 this morning. most rain done by noon time. few peeks of sunshine in the 60s. that will feel nice for sure. and the mild weather lingers for most of the rest of the year. but i think you'll find the first weekend of 2016 to be a cold one. seven-day forecast in ten minutes. kim mccormick with traffic. >> if you're traveling on the beltway, looking live at the beltway in georgetown pike. taillights inner loop to the american legion bridge, which means headlights are the outer loop headed toward the dulles. things moving along nicely here. we have wet roadways and that will cause some problems. in the form of hydroplaning and high standing water reported at massachusetts avenue and macomb street. be careful. high standing water all over the area. if you're traveling out of frederick on the southbound 270, down to the beltway, still moving at posted speeds, but be careful, slick roadways and high speeds do not mix very well at all. especially on the on and off

ramps. when you walk out your door and get in your car, tune into wtop on your radio and you can get traffic updates on the 8s. 5:12 now. controversial decision in cleveland, reaction and the explanation to why an officer won't see charges in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy. how flights are affected in

storms are moving through and you can expect some rain as you're heading out. chuck is tracking when the showers will be in your neighborhood. right now, all that rain and snow are canceling and delaying flights in our area. you want to check yours. news 4's david culver is live. >> reporter: the trouble in the skies just depends where you're headed to this morning.

we have seen a few folks walk up to the departure screen, walk up and have disappointing looks on their faces. i want to point your attention to one screen in particular, the second screen. if you look at it, you'll notice what really is the trouble spot this morning. chicago. four out of the five flights headed to chicago this morning before 8:00, they're either canceled or delayed. all of this comes after what was just a mess of a day yesterday. flight aware.com reporting several delays really thousands, 3,000 flights were canceled altogether. another 5,000 delayed. chicago and dallas, two major hubs, those were the problems there and we have been checking around with other local airports. here at reagan national, about nine cancellations this morning. bwi, marshall, dealing with nine. dulles not too bad, a couple of delays. take the advice of checking your phone, making sure you got the apps with the flight information on it ahead of coming to the

airport. we'll save you time and trouble looking at what's behind me. >> david culver, thank you so much. 5:17, today the maryland man convicted of stabbing two people near a metro station in montgomery county will be sentenced. reginald cooper faces up to 60 years in prison. cooper attacked two men at a bus stop outside the rockville station last december. both victims described. a close call in hawaii, a man questioned by the secret service after his drone flew past president obama's motorcade. he said he had no idea the motorcade moved on. he had no idea about it and moved on. the motorcade did. the man was not arrested or charged with anything. if you got a drone for christmas, don't forget you have to register it now with the faa. today is the wake for one of the six u.s. soldiers who died at a suicide bombing last week. joseph lemm was a detective with the nypd before he deployed.

his body was returned yesterday. five other people died including staff sergeant pete r toves. the victim of an attempted sex assault used in neighborhood blog to warn people about her attack. the victim says the attacker tried to steal her purse last tuesday. he pushed her into a stairway and tried to take off her shirt. he ran off when she started screaming f you have any information, call dc police. d.c. police investigating a deadly shooting in southeast. > . no suspect information was released. this isn't first murder on that block. another man was shot and killed back in march and an arrest in that case has been made. a busy intersection in ro rockville after a deadly accide

accident has been reopened. the bike is stuck under the suv. the driver is okay. montgomery county police say 19-year-old frank powers was on the bike. he died at the hospital. >> simply put, given this perfect storm of human error, the stakes and miscommunication by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police. >> no charges for the officers involved in the death of 12-year-old tamir rice. he is the cleveland boy who police shot after mistaking his pellet gun for a deadly weapon. a grand jury says there is indisputable evidence that the boy was drawing what looked like a pistol from his waistband before officers opened fire. tamir's family says it is sad but not surprised by the decision. they did ask anyone who was disappointed to express themselves peacefully. new details in the atv crash that killed a man and hurt his stepdaughter. jerome odom died when his suv --

when an suv hit his atv sunday night. neither he nor his stepdaughter was wearing a helmet. it is illegal to ride atvs on county maintained roads. a big rescue effort under way to save 17 miners stuck for days underground. the mine collapsed in china on christmas day. one person died. rescue teams say they're using ropes to send food and letters to the miners who are still trapped in that mine. coming up 5:21 now on this tuesday morning. if you can hear us, it is probably raining where you are. >> that's right. it looks like our commute is going to stay a wet one, right, chuck? >> i'm not listening. i don't want the rain to affect me. outside this morning, it has been raining pretty steadily all night and there is a lot of deep puddles on the sides of the roads this morning. extra careful if you're walking or biking to work this morning. and if you're driving, slow down, take it easy out there, steady rain likely here through about 7:00 or 8:00 this morning.

a lot of puddles out there. take it easy, pedestrians and bikers out there. travel delays are likely. i'll be tweeting out updated radar images on instagram and twitter accounts. twitter or follow us on our facebook page and have our nbc washington app ready to go. we'll be sending out push alerts should the weather start to slow things down. weather on your plans today. red lights this morning, rain slowly coming to an end. it will be a slow travel into work today. but by lunch time, and there after, back to very nice weather. we should get a little sunshine back today. temperatures back into the 60s. keep in mind, 44 is an average high. so another day with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average. if you're traveling today, northeast into the northeastern corridor, be on the lookout, rain along i-85 and 95 down to our south. most of the rain in the metro, the first little wave is pushing out. another batch of rain down to our south and west. that could impact us between can 6:00 and 8:00 this morning. rain and fog, visibility down

just a touch. here is our high resolution model. this is updated hourly. as we go over the next little bit, here goes first wave pushing out between 5:00 and 6:00. next wave between 7:00 and 9:00. that's going to be our last best chance for some moderate rains to come on through. things will start to clear out a bit there after. it will be a very mild afternoon. peek or two of sunshine, in the 60s today. start off cloudy and dry tomorrow. another chance for rain tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. not as much as we had today. new year's eve looks good. new year's day looks nice as well. sunny conditions, even though it will be seasonably back down to cold levels, highs near 40 and lows back down near 30. sunshine coming back for first weekend of 2016. traffic time now. here is kim mccormick. massachusetts avenue, macomb, they're headed out to another area in the district. that's going to be the suitland

parkway and i-295. there is reports of high standing water there. be careful as you make your way into and out of the district right down by the douglas bri . bridge. powder mill road, things moving along nicely. wet roadways are go to cause some problems for you. it is going to slow things down. just pay attention and keep in mind the ponding on the roadways cause s hydroplaning and be careful on the slippery on and off ramps. the bear is in the cave with him. >> can't get out because of where the bear is or too injured? >> i think the bear is on top of him. >> so dramatic. for the first time we are hearing the terrifying moments. boy scouts realized their leader was attacked by a bear. we told you how christopher came face to face with the bear in a new jersey forest last week. the scouts ran out of the cave and called 911. they then used food to lure the

bear out. he managed to call 911 from inside the cave. >> 911, where is the emergency? >> split rock reservoir blue trail. >> are you bleeding? >> left arm, left leg, neck and head. i'm getting cold pretty quick. >> the scouts also made a fire to alert first responders to the location, so smart. the scout leader was treated for bites and scratches but is going to be okay. 5:24. the secoretary of homeland security will speak in new york city. he expects to congratulate almost 1,000 graduates. could higher speeding fines in the district lead to lower taxs? lawmakers in d.c. want higher fines for drivers who exceed the posted speed limit by more than 25 miles per hour. or regulators want that. the d.c. council passed a schedule of cuts that would go

into effect as revenue climbed. the administration proposed the fines as part of the vision zero plan to eliminate pedestrian deaths in the nation's capital. the new hikes would increase some fines significantly including from $300 to $1,000 for some driving offenses. in news 4 your health, a new drug may help those suffering with the serious head injury. first responders in texas are testing a new drug called txa. the plan is to use it on patients suffering with serious head trauma, suches atho s as t involved in bad car accidents. >> this drug hopefully will allow us to get ahead of the game as far as the bleeding in the brain. >> doctors say the drug stabilizes the blood clot in cases of trauma. they say the drug has little or no side effects. >> i feel like i want to wake up and have my mom, but i can't, she's gone, she was murdered. that's all that sits in my heart. >> this morning we are hearing

from the children of the 55-year-old chicago woman accidentally killed by police in a shooting. betty jones' kids say they never imagined their mom would die opening her front door. and we're also learning the father of the other man killed in the shooting has sued the city. antonio legrier filed a wrongful death suit. on saturday, police shot and killed 19-year-old quintonio legrier as they responded to a domestic situation. the family says the college student suffered from a mental illness but was not violent. police say he was combative. bettie jones lived upstairs and was hit by gunfire as she opened the door. today it is going to look a lot like new year's eve in times square. they host their annual confetti test today. this is video from last year's test. officials say that 3,000 pounds will be released when the clock strikes midnight on january 1st, 2016. the confetti will include pieces

of handwritten wishes from people who submitted them at a wishing wall nearby. > it is a little wet out there on the weather alert day. the four things you need to know about how long the rain could stick around throughout the morning. big changes are coming for airline employees. how the tsa is taking new action at airports across the country. and donald trump picks a new fight. why he's taking aim at a newspa

. rain is moving on through as we start the 5:30 half hour. when you can expect showers in your neighborhood, what your commute will be like and how long it is all going to last. chuck is tracking everything you need to know this morning. 5:30 now. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> good morning. i'm angie goff in for eun. chuck is standing by with four things you need to know. i want to know, chuck, when do we dry out? >> just in time for new year's eve. that is some welcome news for sure. weather alert mode for you this morning. a lot of wet roads and deep puddles out there early this morning. mild weather will last a little longer. we'll make it into the 60s today. more rain coming back into the picture for tomorrow and new year looks like it will start out dry but cold. right now, chilly and wet. temperatures in the 30s and 40s now. first little area of moderate rain pushed out of the area, but more rain down to our south and west from charlottesville to richmond and fredericksburg up

i-95. not done with our rain chances just yet. rain will be coming to an end by 9:00 a.m. in the shenandoah valley. before 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 this morning, into the metro area and by early this afternoon, down to our south. that's not the only rain chance we have. but rain chances are diminishing as we head to new year's eve. that forecast in 20 minutes. here is kim mccormick. wet roadways creating slick conditions. traffic is moving fairly well. they are on their way to the location of another spot of high standing water. that's going to be the suitland parkway and i-295. be careful as you drive into and out of the district on that roadway. if you're on the beltway, telegraph road, down to virginia, things moving along well for you. no reports of any significant issues. watch for high standing water, ponding and hydroplane possibilities on the slick on and off ramps. right now, 5:31. big changes on the way for airline employees. the tsa says it is all in an effort to keep you safe.

edward lawrence is here with the latest. >> weather is causing delays at the airports here and across the country. employees getting to work will see delays at security. the tsa announced they will increase random searches for airline and airport workers. that comes after incidents over the past two years where we have seen smuggled weapons like guns and laundered money come into airports across the country. in fact, just last year there were five people arrested at boston logan airport for bringing $400,000 in cash through a restricted entrance bypassing most of the security procedures. in a memo from american airlines ahead of security, he reminded employees that if they travel after work, they have to leave, go back through security with their carry on luggage before they can board a flight there. this also comes after employees from an -- could have been an airport employee responsible for a bomb that got on to a plane, a russian plane going from the

sinai to russia and now, again, that was outside the united states. still, the tsa inside the united states is taking no chances. and those increased random searches have already started. reporting live here at washington, on capitol hill, edward lawrence. back to you. 5:33. designated area for uber to pick up -- to park before it picks you up at the airport is costing you more money. now a $4 airport surcharge every time you use one of those ride sharing services. that's whether you're being dropped off or picked up at reagan national and dulles. travelers say they don't mind t the convenience they say is worth the extra charge. >> all our luggage fit, the seats are nice and big, so i'm not complaining. >> traditional cab companies complained about the new privileges. the airport authority says if it works for customers, it works for them. more than 1,000 of you have shared this picture on our nbc washington facebook page or by retweeting it. this teenager from maryland has

been missing for moren this a week. karen sandoval is 14 years old. prince george's county police say she was last seen eight days ago in college park. you can head over to the nbc washington app to get another look at her photo. to decision 2016, two presidential candidates among some of the most admired people. president obama took the top honor for the annual gallup poll being named the most admired man. hillary clinton topped the list of most admired women for the 14th straight year. in second place, republican front-runner donald trump tied with pope francis. donald trump also making headlines for calling the biggest newspaper in new hampshire a pile of garbage. it compared him to movie's biff tannin from back to the future. coming up after news 4 today, donald trump will be on

the "today" show. that's coming up after this broadcast starting at 7:00 a.m. 5:34 now. today, a prince george's county church is in court hoping to avoid eviction. the new horizon christian faith church in mount rainier received an eviction notice days before christmas. the church admits it is behind on its rent payments. they say they have made some major improvements to the church over the past 13 years and made regular payments in the past few months. this morning, we're learning what led up to a deadly shooting earlier this month. robert king found shot to democrdeath on sage way. police say he was doing a drug deal when they got into an argument and both pulled guns and fired. they were both hit. nyots was found at a hospital looking for treatment and arrested on gun and drug charges. we're getting hit with rain on this weather alert day. chuck is tracking when you can expect it to clear up and what to expect for new year's eve. check out this site that

took some people by surprise. where smoke and ash are rising up from a volcano.

♪ find your sweet spot today with dunkin's chicken apple sausage sandwich. enjoy sweet apple and savory sausage together for under 400 calories. america runs on dunkin'. you could see more signs of bus only lanes in arlington. officials say the lanes should be open in the spring. part of the crystal city transit way, a five mile route that connects the crystal city.

crews will install shelters, roof decks and real time information displays at seven stations in the next few weeks. check that out. wow. this volcano is putting on quite the show out in mexico. it is creating a bonanza of fans. these are back-to-back eruptions at the volcano near the west coast. the volcano is one of only a dozen in mexico, considered to be active. it has been emitting smoke and fire since mid-july. wow. >> pretty impressive. a lot of hot air there. chuck bell, good morning. look at that -- look at the radar behind you. >> yeah. >> all lit up. >> i know where you were going. hot air. let's go to the weather guy. outside this morning, we had a lot of rain overnight. not done yet. another batch of rain getting ready to move into the metro now and another one down here southwest of charlotte. that's the last wave of rain we have to deal with between three

and four hours away. after that, we'll start to dry out just a bit. heading out for a walk here early this morning, grab your umbrella and warm coat. only in the 30s and 40s with the rain right now. rain ending by mid to late morning. mostly cloudy lunch hour. temperatures mid-50s by lunch. in the mid-60s by later on today and already thinking about new year's eve, i'm optimistic, a little breezy, chilly, but dry. temperatures near 40 degrees as we ring in 2016. looks like cold start to the new year, that forecast is in ten minutes. for now, it is traffic time. here is kim mccormick. >> we do have a problem on the top side, outer loop of the beltway, west of georgia avenue. what you're seeing, headlights, that's the delay caused by a crash just west of georgia avenue, but before connecticut avenue. we had two right lanes getting by, they briefly stopped traffic and is the result. stacking up back toward georgia and silver spring. high standing water still reported in the district. suitland parkway and i-295. mobile unit headed to that area.

if you're traveling on 66, from manassas to the beltway and quantico to the beltway, still moving along fairly well. be careful. keep the speeds down. when you leave the house, get in the car, tune into wtop on your radio dial for a update on the 8s. china launched a major upgrade in space technology. how a new tool will show space and planet earth like never before. get a few unwanted gift cards over the holidays? how you can trade them for cold hard cash.

this is a storm team 4 weather alert. >> rain might slow you down as you head out on tuesday morning. showers moving through the area. how long will it all last? chuck has been tracking showers all morning long for us. a quarter to half an inch of rain has come down just since midnight last night. we're not done with rain chances yet. last wave of rainfall due in here for the tail end of the

morning commute. we'll break down when that comes through when we get the sun back and when our next chance for rain is. that's coming up at 5:51. crash on the top side of the beltway, west of georgia avenue. that quickly cleared to the right shoulder. delay coming in from silver spring to connecticut avenue. be careful. it is slippery out there. especially open the on and off ramps. right now they're cleaning up from all of this in england. heavy rain caused some widespread flooding in several cities in the country. look here. it is up to these first responders' chests as they wade through the water. the british prime minister plans to visit the hardest hit areas today. state health officials tried to do that earlier this month saying the clinic did not have a doctor with privileges to admit patients into local hospitals. the clinic may not resume

abortions until it hires a doctor with the correct privileges. new details this morning, a delay for the officers on trial in freddie gray's death. prosecutors filed new motions, one of them to keep the defense from showing evidence about gray's criminal history. because of them, the judge pushed back officer caesar go e goodeson's trial. he faces murder charges, the most serious of all six of officers involved. gray died after investigators say he received a neck injury in the back of a place van that goodson was driving. william porter's trial ended in a hung jury earlier this month. janet howell who represents parts of arlington proposed a bill to remove information from the online system that is available to the public. she said it would help fenders to get and keep a job after they have served their time. in news 4 your health,

patients that suffer from an overdose from painkillers keep on taking the drugs. researchers from boston medical center say morehan 90% of overdose sufferers continue to use the drugs. researchers also found that in about 70% of those cases, the opioids war descri s were descr same doctor. they were twice as likely to suffer another overdose. ult2,000 patients were test using both methods. the ultrasound diagnosed a higher proportion of invasive and negative cancers but also had a larger persianage of false positives. nasa says we have nothing to worry about from an asteroid that will come close to earth today. close approach in nasa terms. still millions of miles away. after today's asteroid there is another nonthreatening coming up in late january. >> the word they use is skim. >> we'll be fine. time is 5:47.

motor head's legendary front man and bass player ian lemmy died yesterday after a short battle with an aggress ive cancer. the band posted he found out he had the disease just a few days before he died. the band is best known for their 1980 anthem ace of spades. lemmy was 70 years old. we're learning when several detainees will be released from the prison at guantanamo bay. president obama says the first of 17 prisoners will be released next week. another three will appear before a review board next month. after this group of detainees is released, 90 will be left at that prison. >> i'm loving it. i love surprises. >> i can't wait. i can't wait. i can't wait. i was so happy that they got into the playoffs. is with like, oh! >> redskins fans excited to be heading to the playoffs now. the team is also ready to cash in on all that excitement. starting today, redskins stores, dig's and modell's all expect to start selling official nfc east

division champions gear. >> what were they like? >> oh! a perk may have you excited to take mistraass transit to th office. federal employees get more money to pay for the rides. you can get up to $255 a month to help pay for trips on metro, that's double what you used to get. metro hopes the incentives will bring back commuters. high praise in the mostly democratic state. a new university of baltimore poll found larry hogan's approval rating is 63%. that is higher than senator barbara mikulski, usually the most popular politician. 57% of voters believe the state is moving in the right direction under governor hogan. so a coyote in san antonio is more than just a mascot. >> yes. he made his way into the at&t stadium in texas last night during the timberwolves and spurs game. the mascot came to the rescue,

dressed as, yeah, batman. get it. >> just hanging out? when do mascots start dressing up for halloween? >> every guy has a batman costume waiting, just in case. >> so does every coyote. >> he's quite the hero. after catching the bat, it was not hurt, and it was later released outside. >> oh, man. how does that happen? so we're looking at 5:50 now. the warm weather we have experienced recently could affect the cherry blossoms come spring. the national park service says it is not unusual to see an autumn bloom in december, but this warm snap lasted longer than expected. the spring may not be produce the best cherry blossom show we have ever seen. the national park service wants to show everyone that pink and white blossoms will show up, still be pretty, no matter what. if you sit at your desk this week wondering where everybody else is, you're not the only one wondering that. 59% of people will work part of

this week. 28% of people took off for the whole week. of those still stuck at the office, just 79% expect to actually be productive. even fewer expect to be highly productive in the final days of 2015. if you're one of those people that slooking for a job now, this is actually primetime. time because there are certain companies and industries that are looking to fill positions before the end of the year. >> get in there. >> don't sit back and relax. 5:51. weather alert day. you will hit some rain as you head out. >> we have been tracking it hour by hour all morning long. storm team 4's chuck bell lets us know how long the showers will stick around. >> weather alert for you here for the next hour or so, first wave of moderate rain moves out, still another batch coming our way. we're not done with the rain yet. could have ponding on the roadways and travel delays likely. what to expect for today, rain

first thing this morning. grab the raincoat and the umbrella, slow go here for the front part of the day. rain should end at or before noon time for most of us and with a sliver or two of sunshine, back in the 60s again later today. unprecedented warmth here in the month of december. so weather and your plans, big impact on your plans and travels for early this morning. but by later this afternoon, and into this evening, no weather worries at all. radar shows all the rain, the heavy rain from late last night is now in philadelphia. and new jersey. headed northbound. if you're going to new york's hartford or boston, big delays in that direction. down to our south, the last batch of rain we're dealing with from charlottesville to richmond, coming up the i-95 corridor. that's the last of the rain we need to concern ourselves with. already though, next patch of showers moving on west side of 495 now. everybody will get wet here. one or two more times this morning. future weather, high resolution model, this updates hourly now. first little wave moving out. here comes the next batch

between 7:00 and 9:00 this morning. more showers coming through. could be briefly moderate at times. after 9:00 or 10:00, things start to dry out. we should be mostly cloudy at noon time and breaks of sunshine coming our way for later on this afternoon. things get better for the second part of the day. 63 for later this afternoon. tomorrow, showers on the second part of the day, but new year's eve and new year's day look great. and it is going to feel like january around here this weekend. full sunshine, but temperatures actually close to average, which will feel cold by comparison. focus on next 24 hours at 6:01, another check on the radar. 95, prince william parkway in virginia, things moving along nicely. northbound where the taillights are. southbound, headlights. moving nicely. there is a crash on the outer loop, off on the right shoulder. delays eased fairly quickly. if you're taking vre, s schedule, you are on time this

morning. and marc rail running on time as well. a couple of bakers in oregon are done paying damages to a same sex couple. these bakers refused to make a cake for the couple against the state's anti-discrimination law. the judge ordered the bakery to pay $135,000 in damages. china has another satellite in space. you're looking at the launch of the galpin 4. the satellite has a huge specialized camera on it. this is going to be used to identify to prevent natural disaster and predict the weather. a new pilot program aims to prevent heroin overdose deaths. 31 deputies have been trained to use a new nasal form of narcan. it can be a life saving tool when seconds count. the test program will run in the western part of the county. google is making its

presence known in classrooms across the country. more than half of k 12 laptops or tablets purchased by schools were chrome books. in total, google programs are used by more than 50 million students and teachers around the world. landon dowdy, the consumer products safety commission is now investigating 22 reports of hover board fires in 17 states. overheating batteries is the main concern. but the largest incident -- the latest occurring on monday when a hover board caught fire at a mall in texas. no one was injured. several u.s. airlines have banned hover boards from checked and carry on luggage. looking at 5:55 now. we have a solution for your unwanted gift cards. maybe you got one to a store where you never shop or maybe you would rather just have the cash. well, we sat down with a consumer expert who went through four websites to see which one gave you the most back for your

gift cards. >> buy your cards at less than face value and resell them. that means you get less, sometimes a lot less than they're worth the at the store. >> well, you'll generally get more money back from gift cards from popular retailers. $100 gift card to walmart, for example, came back around $90. now if you don't want to wait for an online exchange, you can use one of those coin star kiosks you see at your local grocery store. your return goes down, though. that same $100 walmart card gets you $71 at the kiosk. an suv crashed into a new york store and all caught on camera. see it here. the 88-year-old woman was pulling into a parking space when she hit the gas instead of the brake. it sent her car over the curb and through the glass front window. the car hit a man that had just walked into the store. but he is going to be okay. the number of women ceos at major american companies dropped in 2015. the number went from 25 in 2014

to 21 this year. experts say the growth rate for a new female ceo is only one per every two years. evidence of the decline comes after a study earlier this year stated female ceos generally outperform their male counterparts. whole foods is about to pay a lot of money to deal with the accusations that it is charging too much for groceries. the store says it plans to spend $500,000 to end new york city's investigation. the city's department of consumer affairs originally asked for $1.5 million and checked out whether the chain lied about how much some food weighed. investigators said they found mislabeled packaging on he evev type of food they tested. we're getting you ready on the weather alert day. look at storm team 4 radar and all that blue, green and the yellow. chances are you will have deja vu this time tomorrow. chuck bell explains why in the 24 hour forecast. his actions sparked outrage and protests and this morning we're learning new details about

the chicago police officer accused of killing laquan mcdonald.

this is a storm team 4 weather alert. >> we're in weather alert mode. look at storm team 4 radar here and the rain slamming our area right now. it could have a big impact on you this morning. couch captured.

the manhunt comes to an end in mexico. we're learning about the affluenza teen's arrest. get them while they're hot. where you can pick up your gear today. take a look at your tv screen right now. this is what you are going to be up against today. a live look at the top of the beltway near route 1. look at the wipers going this morning. it is going to work out, all because of a weather system shaking things up across the country. more on that in a minute. first, let's kick things off with storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. >> good morning. on your weather headlines for today, weather alert for you here this morning, very rainy start to the day. rain should be over before lunch. it will turn into an incredibly mild afternoon, back into the 60s. we won't get to enjoy it for long, rain chances back tomorrow. stay ahead of the weather by following me on twitter at chuck bell 4 and our facebook page. and our nbc washington app.