it's a busy hour of news starting in the district where the mayor will sign new law on body cameras. i'm melissa mollet and what it will mean to you. >> rain is creeping closer to us. i'm storm team 4 tom kierein. i have the hour by hour timing coming up. i'm aaron gilchrist. 19 levies being watched along the mississippi river and bill cosby charged with sexually assaulting a woman at his home 12 years ago. the announcement made just minutes ago. i'm erica gonzalez with a major announcement in chicago with a series of high profile shootings. news 4 midday starts right now.

we begin with the breaking news from the live desk this morning. bill cosby expected to being arraigned on felony sex assault charges in just a couple of charges. the district attorney montgomery county, pennsylvania, just outside philly just charged the 78-year-old with aggravated indecent assault. it is a felony. the prosecutor says the case dates back to 2004 when cosby developed a relationship with a woman who worked with the temple university women's basketball program. they say cosby invited her into his home. the prosecutor went into more details about what she said happened that night. >> mr. cosby urged her to take pills that he provided to her and to drink wine. the effect of which rendered her unable to move, respond to his advances. >> prosecutors say that is when cosby assaulted this woman. this case was actually settled -- a civil case was settled by this woman and bill

cosby in 2005. the prosecutor reopened the investigation this past summer after a judge unsealed some documents from that case and these other complaints that we've been hearing so much about these past few months. they re-opened the case and were able to file these charges. we expect bill cosby in court expected to be arraigned. bond will be set and we may see a bill cosby mug shot before the day is done. that is the latest from the live desk. good morning, i'm molette green inside the wilson building inside the mayor's ceremonial room. check it out. this is the desk where mayor muriel bowser will sit and is expected to sign some sweeping police body camera legislation. this legislation outfits and funds some 2800 cops at a cost of $5.1 million. the pilot program has already put these cameras on about 400 officers. supporters say it's a big game changer for public safety allowing the access to this

footage through the city's open records law. >> with having the cameras visible, then they can always quickly go back and review the evidence. >> i think that if it makes everyone safer in the city, the cops safer, then i'm definitely for it. >> reporter: and this is exactly what the d.c. city council wanted to allow citizens more open access to most arrest footage, something mayor bowser initially did not want. now this legislation does keep footage private that is taken inside of someone's home or in situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking cases. now bowser is expected to be here and sign this legislation in about 45 minutes and we'll see you then live for another update on this. back to you. >> all right. thank you, molette. the search has started once

again for the owner of this boat. crews went back to the potomac at 7:45 this morning. they found the boat on the virginia side of the river across from fort washington yesterday morning. coast guard and virginia marine police crews tell the washington post they found a life jacket in the water nearby. new developments in what's next for ethan couch. it could be months we're learning before the so-called affluenza teen returns to the u.s. we're learning about a new legal move that the u.s. marshall service says will keep him in mexico. you may know couch as the teen who used his wealth as a defense in a deadly drunk driving crash. he and his mother fled to puerto vallarta after cell phone video caught him near a beer pong game. if he was drinking, that would violate his probation. aaron gilchrist at the live desk. we are keeping an eye on a developing situation out in the

midwest whereby video has been taken. a man is rescued where the water is surrounding around the doorstep. some people who have boats are trying to help him. there have been some concerns about 19 levies along the mississippi river failing. the federal government has been watching those as we understand it. they are no longer in danger. still, we know there have been at least 20 deaths in missouri and in illinois as a result of flooding over the last few days. 150 homes, duplexes have been evacuated in parts of missouri today as well because of the massive flooding we've seen both from rivers across this part of the midwest and from manmade lakes in some cases, one in branson, missouri, was a threat. so as the day goes on we know the national guard has been called to help with any evacuations that are necessary and the emergency management folks in missouri are keeping an eye on anymore possible flooding. that's the latest from the live

desk. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> right now we have sunlight breaking out. a live view from the storm team 4 tower camera. you can see curtains of sunlight. there's the potomac river reflecting some of the sun. there's the national cathedral. not producing any rain locally. all clear on the storm team 4 radar. removing some color and rain and showers and thunder and lightning here north of raleigh durham. that's tracking up closer to us as we get into the afternoon hours. this whole line of moderate showers coming into the metro area. to the south and east and onto the eastern shore by later on in the evening. i have hour by hour timing coming in now. i'll show you that coming up in a couple of minutes. thank you, tom. now to chicago where we expect a major police overhaul today. mayor rahm emmanuel will announce some training and say that every officer have a taser. his announcement will come in a public appearance cutting short

a family vacation to cuba. that came after a deadly shooting of a 19-year-old man last week and a 55-year-old mother of five. education secretary around any duncan is expected to touch on the recent chicago shootings. he's giving his farewell address. his resignation takes place tomorrow. he expects to return tomorrow. tonight you can watch jerry tooin seinfeld's car ride with the president. the comedian and cars getting coffee appears on crackle at 11:30 p.m. this time president obama is seinfeld's guest. they drive a 1963 corvette sting ray, coupe and apparently never leave the white house grouchbds doing it. the ceo of facebook has a new year's resolution after losing her husband. a story we have watched all morning. miners found alive after being trapped for days. the rescue mission sti neighborhood,i feel like

it's got a lot of what we were kinda talking about. the kitchen is light and bright,new. we should definitely go see it. [agent] hi...welcome i'm maggie.melanie.maggie. so nice to meet you. [mother] this is brendan. [agent] hey brendan. living room. [dad] hey. [mother] hey sweetie. [dad] sorry about that. what about this? this looks good. [brendan] no. [mother] isn't it so great?i think we found it. [agent] hey brendan,you might like this room. [announcer]redfin pays its agents based on your happiness...

that's real estate, redefined. here are some of the stories lighting up social media. what was the biggest meme? the dog and pants. according to the washington post this dilemma exploded when they found the image on facebook. he tweaked it to 24,000 followers. that gets retweeted 30,000 times. post christmas week it seems that people have a lot of time on their hands, a little bit more than usual. choose life and meaning over tragedy. that's the message from facebook c.o.o. sherm saaryl sandberg. she turned to her closest friends to help her through the ups and downs. she's looking for a joyful 2016

after such a traumatic 2015. do you know somebody who is perhaps missing an ee mu? are you missing an emu? a five foot emu has been caught in riverside county in california. it was caught yesterday. officers believe the emu may be somebody's pet. animal control officers are hoping the big bird's rightful owner will come forward and claim it. whatever. we're back in 60 sec

new developments in china right now. several miners are trapped underground. we learned today that at least eight are still alive after the mine they are in collapsed christmas day. they got in touch with them by lowering an infrared camera underground. they're getting ready to rescue them now. another nine miners are still unaccounted for. one died in the accident.

tom? right now we have some lingering fog off to our north and west. frederick county, western loudoun,÷xas shenandoah valley. most of this fog will be gone by around noontime today. then here comes the rain getting the leading edge of this rain just south of richmond. the new timing on the showers moving on in. the area in green is where we will likely get green moving closer. by 3:00. 4:00 it comes into fredericksburg. it gets creeping closer to the metro area by 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. the showers move through mainly south of the metro area. by 7:00 to 8:00 it begins to break up as it heads off to the east. a few lingering sprinkles into the evening hours. most of it will be done by late this evening, about 11:00. a look at your new year's eve and new year's day forecast coming up. you can spend new year's day taking in fresh air in our area. the national historical park is hosting a hike competition. hikers can win prizes by answering secret questions about the trail. after the hike you're encouraged

to post your hiking pictures on social media. the great falls tavern visitors center in the potomac is the headquarters. the january 1st hike also kicks off the national park service centennial celebration. a damaging report out by "the wall street journal." who the paper says was spying on benjamin netanyahu in a recent visit to the u.s.

right now family and friends are gathering to remember a new york police detective killed on patrol in afghanistan. ♪ ♪ detective joseph lemm will be laid to rest today. lemm a 15 year vet with the department was on routine patrol last week when a suicide bomber drove a motorcycle into the convoy and blew himself up. the taliban has claimed responsibility for that attack. also killed in that attack, the son of a local attack owner bub and pop's opened for business today. it closed last week after the owner's son was killed. peter talb was one of six u.s. service members killed. the sign hangs on the front of the restaurant saying might his be the last death. new claims about the nsa. "the wall street journal's" reporting u.s. intelligence

agent spied on israel earlier this year. president obama promised not to spy on allies two years ago after it came out that the country tapped angela merkel's phone. they targeted israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu this time while he was speaking out against the iran nuclear deal. we're learning about a deadly head-on collision in new hampshire. they were on the job near wakefield when police say a car going the other direction crossed the center line and hit the car. the other driver died. hillary clinton was campaigning in a nearby down of berlin. its aide not clear whether the agents involved were part of her detail. now to decision 2016. the presidential race is one man down but the rest of the presidential candidates are hitting voters hard this week. donald trump says he will now ramp up his campaign adds heading towards the election. edward lawrence joins us now. edward?

>> reporter: donald trump has a new tactic and a new target. he says he will start spending $2 million a week on campaign ads. >> so i'm going to be doing big ads in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and they're going to be very substantial and i think they're very well done. i've seen the first two or three of them. we're very proud of them. >> reporter: some experts worry this may be the wrong move. >> i think it's also a little bit risky. what if they look conventional. if it ain't broke, don't fix it. the notion that donald trump would start running a conventional campaign should concern him a little bit. >> reporter: a new rasmussen poll shows trump and clinton in a tossup if the election were today. that may be why he's now attacking hillary clinton through her husband, former president bill clinton, calling him the sexist one. meanwhile, senator marco rubio picks up an endorsement in south carolina from trey gowdy. >> some get desperate and nasty.

that's fine. we'll continue to campaign on what i'm going to do when i'm president. >> reporter: rubio defended his record in the senate. the republican field shrank by one. governor george pataki dropped out. he had ss than 1% of the voters in a national poll. right now we're learning more about a chemical leak in prince william county. health officials say a toxic leak in new opossum point is not contaminating drinking water wells. that's according to inside nova.com. earlier this month they confirmed the power plant's leak of coal ash for years. that's a tongue twister. >> i know. hey, if you plan on getting some running in, maybe to work off some of the holiday over indulgence, we have good weather between now and 4:00. hovering in the mid 50s. after that we'll have showers

coming through off and on into the evening hours. the metro area north and west, much of that time should be dry. you ought to be able to get your run in during the afternoon. have an umbrella handy or a poncho. then during the day tomorrow for new year's eve, we'll have highs reaching the upper 50s and partly sunny. as we ring in 2016 going to be a little bit breezy. by the evening hours. by midnight we'll be down to the low 40s and then by dawn on friday, new year's day, the upper 30s. partly sunny new year's day. over the weekend turning chillier. sunshine with highs near 50. highs in the 40s monday/tuesday next week. the eagles are looking for a new head coach right now. there's already a list of contenders. by now you've heard chip kelly was fired after the redskins eliminated the eagles this past weekend. two eagles players told the associated press the team lost confidence in him. according to "comcast sportsnet." the eagles current offensive

coordinator pat schumer is on the list. sean mcdermott, adam gase and josh mcdaniels are candidates for any team including the birds. a loss to the redskins lost somebody multiple times this year. the saints fired defensive coordinator rob ryan after new orleans loss to the redskins 47-14 back in november. then kelly was fired after the 'skins won their third game in a row against the eagles. next up for d.c., dallas and cowboys jason garrett could be in the hot seat as well. all right. video that you need to stick around for. >> mike tyson on a hoverboard. it does not end well. i tried it this week.

right now a recovery.

the firefighter was out for an early morning workout. she found the baby outside in a box. the umbilical cord was still attached. that little girl is in good condition. we do a lot to keep our children safe at school, but it might be too much. we're told why some researchers are comparing schools to prisons. >> kids don't necessarily have the skills to understand that what looks like a prison is not a prison. >> anthony pavueo says heightened security measures may not be keeping kids safer. >> going through check points, security guards are not, going through metal detectors. that leads to the idea of fear. >> fellow researcher james halden says there's no such thing as a failed security. >> going into the school unless we make them prisons.

>> reporter: he says this prison environment can lead to over surveillance and over discipline of certain students, especially minorities. >> there's research that talks about influencing how teachers are viewing their students and how they perceive their students as potential threats. >> he says school resource officers can be a constructive addition but too many go in with the mind set of enforcing the law rather than serving as educato educators. montgomery county school leaders believe that they've created a safer environment, not a more fearful one. they say the presence of school resource officers in our schools help build relationships and community while increasing actual and perceived safety in the school building. the police department says that sros are not looked upon as an imposing figure but as a mentor, confidante and protector. >> security is part of a formula. we also need to be thinking about educational success and educational progress. >> the researchers say they are not opposed to security measures

overall but that relationships are the most important tools against violence. that was bethanie daig reporting. that was montgomery county virginia, not maryland. >> oh. >> the sound is awful. the champ goes down. mike tyson became the latest victim of a hoverboard spill. the former heavy weight champ posted this. seemed like a good idea to ride my daughter's hoverboard but guess not. he was amazingly not seriously hurt. boy, does it sound like it. >> it's not easy. we had one for a couple of minutes at christmas. i couldn't stop going in a circle. it was funny. i had to jump off. i hurt my ankle. >> then what did you say, put it in a box, send it back? >> yeah. >> more hoverboard chaos in a minute. why a writing priest in trouble. don't forget, you can catch

news 4 midday from wherever. open the nbc 4 washington app, hit watch live tv. you can do it riding a hoverboard. >> no, we don't recommend that. we don't recommend that. >> stay w

new this morning. a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit canada. no one was hurt. we're hearing reports everyone is okay in southern california this morning after a 4.4 quake hit near san bernardino overnight. this one had several after shocks and there were thousands of people who felt it. luckily, nobody hurt. tom? developing now, no new leads after another 24 hours searching for a missing country singer.

oklahoma authorities say heavy rain is making it hard to find 24 strickland. he's the lead singer of an arkansas band called back road anthem. he went duck hunting north of tulsa sunday. they started looking for him after finding his friend monday. coming up after the break, a call for prayer from the pope this morni

right now the sky is finally clearing. if you are on the roads this morning, the storm team 4x4 you ran into patches of heavy fog. meteorologist tom kierein is tracking that. we'll have more on that in a couple of minutes. first, the major missouri flood. look at that. water completely here filling the streets. morgan ratford tells us how people are preparing for the worst. >> reporter: a city submerged. >> it's very clear missouri is in the midst of a very historic and dangerous flooding event. >> reporter: 16 counties under flood warning including the area where the missouri and mississippi rivers meet. >> this one came up a little quick. >> reporter: volunteers turned out on tuesday in the blistering cold to fill sand bags in st. louis where a flooded waterway threatened hundreds of homes. >> grab everything and walk out. >> pretty much. >> reporter: rachel shambliss and her family are preparing for what's to come. torrential rains pushed already

swollen rivers and streams to virtually unheard of heights forcing water over levies and rivers at all-time highs. in some areas 20 to 30 feet above flood stage. floods forced scattered evacuations and the closure of highways and homes. a waste plant sent sue wage directly into nearby rivers and streams. it's a frightening flashback for those who went through the devastating 1993 flood that destroyed over 10,000 homes and impacted hundreds of towns. experts predirkt the mississippi river will reach 15 feet above flood stage becoming the worst flood on record second only to 1993. >> we've got a lot of water that we have to get out of the state, so to speak. we have countless roads that are going to stay under water for several days. >> again, everybody get their message out. this is not done yet. we still have a lot of dangerous situations out there. >> my goodness.

that was morgan radford this morning. pope francis is praying for the people impacted by the floods and the other severe weather we've been seeing. at the vatican he called for prayers for everyone in the u.s. and great britain and latin america who are threatened by heavy rain, winds and floods. tom? as i was saying, some showers coming closer to us out of the carolinas coming into southern parts of virginia. a little thunder and lightning, too, around the raleigh durham area. it looks like it will weaken as it tracks closer to us. you'll need a jacket. it will be hovering in the lower to mid 50s. have that umbrella as well. by 2:00 should be in the mid 50s. still the a little bit of sun around. some of the showers around passing through 5:00, 8:00 p.m. south and east of the metro area temperatures will begin to drop back by late this evening as the showers taper off by midnight tonight. some of us already counting

down to 2016 and if you're counting, we've got 36 hours and 26 minutes left. at times square police say they are prepared not only will there be thousands of officers, part of the increased security includes an antiterror squad with the nypd. the former executive director of the fbi told the "today" show police are especially ready for any lone wolves. >> that really is the largest concern, those that might be flying under the radar undetected who are inspired because they're online, social media, et cetera, and then get this call to arms. >> nbc's new year's coverage in new york begins tomorrow at 11:30 p.m. right here and after news 4. until then, one more test before the ball really drops. crews are dropping the waterford new year's ball to make sure nothing goes wrong. the ball weighs about 10,000 pounds. it's up above times square right now. new details, the u.s. capitol could be getting ready for a close up if a new proposal goes through.

d.c. delegate eleanor holmes said in the new year she'll pitch a bill to allow commercial filming and photography on capitol grounds. right now filming can't happen beyond union station. norton says the bill will help boost the district's economy. this morning a priest is in trouble for this video which shows him on a hoverboard celebrating mass. this is in the philippines. you can hear the congregation clapping and enjoying him sing and whiz around the christmas eve service, however, his bosses were not very happy and the archdiocese suspended him. the priest apologized and said it wouldn't happen again. >> lighten up. >> kind of funny. >> go around blessing people. >> get around more quickly. get some more people. after the break, the latest on a dangerous mistake. >> a plane accidentally lands on a taxi way instead

new details in the arrest of "glee" star mark salling. they first broke the news of the arrest yesterday. he faces child pornography charges. the publication says police found hundreds of images after serving a search warrant to the 33-year-old's home. a run away surveillance balloon could end up costing the army hundreds of thousands of dollars. you may remember back in october when the balloon broke free from the aberdeen proving ground. the "baltimore sun" reports the army has received more than $300,000 worth of claims from people who say their property was damaged. the unmanned balloon carries radar designed to stop airborne threats targeting washington. congress cut the bill recently. airline investigators are trying to figure out how a plane accidentally landed on a taxi way instead of a runway in seattle. both the faa and alaska airlines have launched an investigation

into the landing at ctac international airport after a plane accidentally landed on a taxi way instead of that runway we were just mentioning. nbc's natalie moralis tells us this isn't the first time that's happened at that airport. >> this morning faa officials tell nbc's king 5 news they're investigating why an alaska airlines passenger jet landed on the central taxi way, not the runway at seattle tacoma international airport on december 19th. just a few minutes before landing the air traffic control tower opened up the runway to alaska flight 27. >> 27, roger. thank you. we'll take 1-6 center. >> change to 1-6 center. >> instead the crew did not make it over to the center runway. the pilot mistakenly landed on the tacky way, the unmarked strip of concrete in between the runways. using a flight simulator instructor shawn pratt marks out the runways are marked but a

mixup is possible. >> 1-6 is the center and 1-6 and here's taxi way tango. >> reporter: while no one was hurt in the incident, experts say had another plane been parked on the taxi way, the results could have been catastrophic. >> although this was a dangerous condition and it's a condition that could be avoided, it's something that can be learned from. more rain. tom is back with what you can expect this afternoo

toyota is expected to make an announcement next week. it's talking about road conditions that was used to improve mafg for self-driving vehicles. toyota expects the technology to be ready by 2020 sending data from on board cameras and gps devices leaving self-driving cars with more information. with your cnbc business report

i'm landon dowdy. at 11:41, we're at 50 elsewhere north and west. 40s in shenandoah valley. still some fog lingering. most of it should be gone in the next hour or so. low 50s. mid 50s around the chesapeake bay. love the sunrise at ocean city. this is posted on my twitter page by john middlebrook. you can share it on facebook. and share it on instagram. for the afternoon, for this evening some caution for traveling around the region as a result of rain coming through. occasional showers mainly south and east of the metro area but also right in the metro area. that's for the afternoon and evening. good weather for travel around tomorrow morning. it's the most common new year's resolution, but a new study shows good intentions to lose weight just aren't enough. >> no, no, no. the national center for weight and wellness show overweight or obese adults average six unsuccessful attempts to shed pounds. the biggest roadblocks are hunger and struggling to make

healthy food choices. 40% of people to have success with prescription medication. most find a little help from over the counter weight loss products. right now we are waiting for d.c.'s mayor, muriel bowser, to sign important legislation on police body cameras. keeping you updated on breaking news. bill cosby charged with sexual assault. stay with us. neighborhood,i feel like

it's got a lot of what we were kinda talking about. the kitchen is light and bright,new. we should definitely go see it. [agent] hi...welcome i'm maggie.melanie.maggie. so nice to meet you. [mother] this is brendan. [agent] hey brendan. living room.

[dad] hey. [mother] hey sweetie. [dad] sorry about that. what about this? this looks good. [brendan] no. [mother] isn't it so great?i think we found it. [agent] hey brendan,you might like this room. [announcer]redfin pays its agents based on your happiness... that's real estate, redefined. we are working to find out

what time bill cosby will be arraigned this afternoon. we expect that could happen sometime around 4:00. he will go before a judge to face a felony sex assault charge today. no response from cosby's lawyers yet to the aggravated indecent assault charge filed against the 78-year-old earlier this morning. prosecutors montgomery county re-opened a 12-year-old sex assault case. he gave a former temple employee pills and wine near his home in philadelphia in 2004 and assaulted her when she couldn't move or respond to him. now ten years ago cosby acknowledged sexual contact with this woman but said that it was consensual. he settled a civil lawsuit then. today's charges could carry a sentence anywhere between five and ten years if bill cosby is convicted. that's the latest from the live desk. back to you, erica. right now d.c. mayor muriel bowser is moments away from signing what her administration calls one of the nation's most

innovative and transparent police body camera programs. news 4's molette green is live with the details for us in northwest. >> reporter: erica, good morning, yes. we are still waiting for the mayor to show up here to the ceremonial room inside the wilson building to sign off on the sweeping police body camera. some high ranking police officers are here and some rank and file members here to witness this event. bowser's signature fully outed some 2800 cops that patrol the streets and patrol. this is sweeping legislation. it gives the public access to footage that's recorded during arrests. by springtime you will be able to see many more mpd officers outfitted with these body cameras. the only footage off limits will be video captured inside someone's home or incidents involving more personal nature such as domestic violence cases. tom sherwood is also closely

watching this developing story and will have more on this later today on news 4. of course, we'll have much more on this inside our nbc washington app. the mayor hasn't shown up yet. her press secretary tells me that she is on time so she should be here in just moments. that's the latest live. back you to. >> thank you, molette. maryland community is mourning today after the death of a physically disabled man. more than 100 people gathered last night to remember douglas reyes. reyes was stabbed and killed while sitting on a bench in an elementary school playground on monday. prince gorges county police have arrested alex jones. jones told news 4 her son had mental problems but he's never had any trouble with the law. >> my son is diagnosed with multiple mental disabilities and even if someone had provoked him, he has never defended himself. >> police say jones confronted reyes and then pulled out a knife and stabbed him. developing news out of mexico where a new legal move

could keep an international fugitive and his mother in mexico for months. ethan couch and his mother are in custody but they have won a temporary stay against deportation. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more on where the investigation goes from here. >> reporter: this morning the so-called affluenza teen is in custody, but ethan couch may only face a few months of jail time for failing to check in with his probation officer. the tarrant county distric attorney says he may go free on his 19th birthday this coming april due to texas law. the case could be transferred from juvenile to adult court, but even then a judge could only sentence him to 120 days in jail. >> based on what he allegedly did, running from police for about two weeks, should he face more time in jail? >> you know, he should face more time in jail because he killed four people. >> reporter: as for his mother, tanya couch, she faces a charge of aiding and abetting a felon. if convicted, she could spend up

to ten years behind bars. >> her entire focus has been on protecting ethan. her entire focus has been on making sure he didn't see any justice done, making sure he was not accountable. >> reporter: the two-week international manhunt for the pair ended here at this apartment complex in the mexican resort town of puerto vallarta. a neighbor says this image captured the moment of the arrest. >> this butcher told nbc's kerry sanders he saw ethan couch come into the shop and his hair was died black. he killed four people near fort worth while driving drunk in 2013. during sentencing he argued that the 16-year-old did not fully understand the difference between right and wrong due to his affluent upbringing. a judge gave him 10 years probation. families of the crash victims are now relieved the search is over. >> my clients are glad because it moves it to the next chapter of what's going to happen to him

as opposed to it hanging over their head for months on end where is ethan. >> texas sheriff overseeing this case says that he hopes a judge is able to get ethan couch's case to an adult court. that opens the possibility of jail time, the sentence in a much more serious probation. and now your storm team 4 forecast. >> sunshine trying to break out. temperatures now into the low 50s and rain now getting closer to us. thunder and lightning in the carolinas. much of this passing just to the south and east of the metro area as we get into the afternoon hours. highs mid 50s. the rain exiting this evening. some sun in and out during the day on new year's eve. if you're heading out. tomorrow evening to celebrate the new year, temperatures by 9:00 p.m., the mid 40s. by midnight as we ring in the new year around 40 degrees. upper 30s by 2:00 a.m. heading home. then on new year's day should be partly sunny with highs in the 50s.

welcome sunshine and partly cloudy saturday and sunday and into monday. highs near 50 degrees. colder start next week with highs in the 40s. thank you, tom. a new report out of new york saying a postal worker threw out hundreds of gifts this holiday. this is a grinch. according to "the new york post" the worker was overwhelmed by all of the extra deliveries this month. the article said he bought three white trash bags and stuffed the mail into the garbage and said, i can get a new job. he was arrested and charged with delaying and destroying mail which could lead to a prison sentence. a look back at the stories t

here are just some of the store also that lit up social media this year. >> we take a look at some of the whacky things that made us smile and laugh. >> reporter: no matter how bad things look, you should remember that life is filled with reasons to celebrate. in every country, in every culture. even if you're not very good at

it. the world showed us all kinds of ways to enjoy life in 2015. there were cold ways and hot ways. dry ways and wet. looks like a lot more wet. loud ways and even louder ways. many parts of the world celebrated the colorful holy festival this year. in fact, people celebrated just about everything in 2015. wheels, snow, gravity, gravity and snow. tomatoes, pies, slippery oysters, and donuts in space. orange you glad you live in italy where they throw oranges for an ancient rebellion. or if your head is smooth as citrus take a look at the bald man tug of war with suction cups. it's not just people that made the year worth while. no laughy section would be complete without a cute animal

section. ♪ ♪ >> wow, it's coming down. >> reporter: so here's to the people who reached new heights, elevated their game in 2015, the ones who rose above the negative headlines and made a splash. here's hoping that the next 12 months are known not for the scary moments but for the spectacular. i want that dog that can scare the bear. >> that was great. i hadn't seen that yet. we're sitting here going, whooo! >> after the break, the latest on the debate to salt or not to salt. and when you can expect more rain headed our way.

in news for your health, salt may not be as bad for your heart as we think. data this week shows patients with moderate heart failure who stuck to a low sodium diet were

85% more likely to die or be hospitalized for heart disease compared to those who didn't restrict salt intake. doctors say this does not mean you can go crazy on the salt. they say a lot more research still needs to be done. storm team 4 seven day outlook, afternoon highs into the mid 50s. likely showers coming through especially south and east of the metro area around 4:00 ending by mid to late evening. some sun back for new year's day. in the 50s. if you're going out it will be dropping down to the 40s under partly cloudy sky. partly sunny, highs around 50 degrees. a bit cooler with highs around 50 on saturday with sunshine and you'll reach the 50s. highs only in the 40s next week. happy new year. >> that's it for news 4 midday. thanks so much for joining us. we're back on the air this afternoon first at 4:00. remember you can get news and weather any time by going to the nbc washington app.

have a great day, everybody. we'll see you tomorrow morning. >> yes, we w

>> announcer: today on the meredith vieira show. we'll brick down last week's republican debate and what is behind halle berry's divorce and john edwars. >> oh, daddy. >> he's doing a reading with the studio audience. can he connect with loved ones? it starts right now on meredith. ♪ [applause]