burns out of control. plus a potential snag for the post inauguration that's set to bring thousands of women to the nation's capital. good afternoon, everybody. i'm jim handly. >> and i'm pat lawson muse. we get to jim in just a moment with an update on those massive wildfires. first, today, the rain. all day it's been. on again, off again. we're not out of the woods yet. >> we have team coverage for storm team 4. let's go to doug kammerer and lauryn ricketts in the storm moment. >> we have some showers out there right now. but the bulk of the rain is moving out. we didn't see all that much u. >> maybe a tenth of an inch in some of the region. it came down in some spots, but now it's exiting out of the area. >> the good news is there's another storm on the way.

through d.c. all of this moving to the north. these are extremely light showers that will continue to do so. download the nbc washington app. that's one front. we have another one that moves down. severe weather around louisiana and mississippi where numerous tornadoes are expected. that system moves our way and we see another chance of rain tomorrow. more rain moving in but once again may not be all that much. also very warm tomorrow. temperatures in the upper 60s to near 70. cooler late week and we're tracking your weekend. we're tracking the latest on the radar. but as we mentioned, download the nbc washington app today. a great idea to do so to track the rain. >> thank you. i'm here at the live desk monitoring reports on the powerful wildfire that's sweeping through the smokey mountains right now.

than 100 buildings were destroyed in towns like the resort destination of gatlanburg. 14,000 people were forced to e evacuate today. the mayor vowed to rebuild. >> we will remain the premier resort community that we are. our guests love the area and it >> the wildfire is burning close to dolly parton theme park. this afternoon she released a statement saying in part, i've been watching the terrible fires in the great smokey mountains and i am heartbroken. i am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe. pst a blessing my dollywood theme park and so many businesses have been spared.

we're going to be monitoring that and bring you with any new updates. back to you in the studio. >> jim, thank you. president-elect donald trump cabinet is growing. nbc news learned he plans to normal name elaine ciao. she served as labor secretary under president bush for eight years. . she was also deputy transportation secretary under president george h.w. bush. she was born in woman to hold a cabinet position. she's married to mitch mcconnell. more criticism today for trump's health and human services secretary nominee tom price. price is a republican congressman tr georgia with a background as an orthopedic surgeon. a a trump spokesperson says price will lead the charge to repeal and replace president obama's affordable care act.

americans want with medicare, health care and planned parenthood. other republican leaders are not becoming the president-elect's latest controversial tweet. trump wrote that nobody should be allowed to burn the american flag. and the possible consequences for doing so should include loss of citizenship or jail time. the supreme court ruled in 1989 that the flag burning is amendment. house majority leader kevin mccarthy says there are no plans tr congress to take action against anyone burns the flag. the poverty center is calling for the president-elect to be more forceful in denouncing the big industry expressed by supporters for and since his election. the group released two reports today accusing president-elect trump, his own words, of

country. they say it lost nearly 900 incidents of bias against women, muslim, jews and the lgbt community in the ten days after the election. >> he needs to speak out forcefully and repeatedly against bigotry. he needs to apologize to the communities he's injured and demonstrate that they will be protected and valued in his administration. >> in his previously told supporters a accused of harassing minorities to stop it. last week he also told journalists that he did not want to energize the white nationalist movement. more groups than ever before want to second a a message to the incoming administration during the inauguration. but there's a new challenge for human protest efforts that along the national mall. chris gordon is live now near the capital to explain this.

making changes and there are more to come. they have learned that a large number of groups will be demonstrating around the mall on the day before and after the inauguration. the national service says they are considering the application for permits in the order in which they are submitted. it will be different from the obama inauguration. theru followed by the women's march on washington gathering for justice. it started a as a post on facebook right after the election. more than 119,000 have expressed interest in joining the women's march. but the national service says they applied too late for permits to rally at the lincoln memorial and march to the white house. the national park service, which issues permits for rallies and demonstrations around the mall, says it has more requests for

received for any previous inauguration. >> we had at least 15 applications that have been submitted for first amendment events around the inaugural weekend. . those applications are processed in the order in which they were received. and we do have a number that have requested the same areas and same times as the gatherings. >> the national park service is correct. there were groups that permitted or put in request for permit for lincoln e memorial prior to us. we knew that going in. and we were fine with that. >> ahead, how the organizers of the women's march on washington are changing their plans to accommodate the large crowds they expect here on saturday, january 21st. that's the latest live at the u.s. capital. back to you. >> chris gordon, thank you.

tonight. thousands of people are waiting hours in line to pay their respects to fidel castro. some of the mourners at the memorial say they are thankful for his years of service. as venezuela's president arrived, he said it was hard to be in cuba without castro. and just a short time ago, his younger brother, now the president of cuba, paid his respects at a somber military ceremony. raul castro joined the throngs of people during the two days his ashes will be there. those ashes will be buried at santiago where he launched his revolution. david culver is in cuba and joins nus our next hour to show you how the people in cuba are paying their respects to castro. they were on their way to represent their country on a global stage when tragedy struck.

figure out why a plane carrying a soccer team crashed. . it's that i'm of year when thieves could take your package deliveries right off your front doorstep. things you can do to make sure thieves don't take what's yours. the white house is getting ready for the holidays. we'll take you inside and e show

hundreds of workers at reagan national airport took part in a nationwide protest just a few hours ago demanding

cleaners and wheelchair attendants want their pay raise ed to $15 an hour. they just authorized the strike vote during the holidays. they marched for about a mile outside of the airport. it's all part of a growing labor movement called the fight for $15. we talked to one worker who says the cost of living is rising, but his pay is not. >> just because i have been here for the last 11 it was just $8. we cannot afford to live because we have to feed our families. we have to pay rent. >> there were at least 20 protests across the country including an airport in chicago, new york and los angeles. a few people were arrested. authorities say the demonstrations have had little impact on airport operations. right now, we're learning more about man behind the attack at ohio state university.

today with more campus police. police say just minutes before the suspect drove into a crowd of people and began attacking them with a knife, he updated his facebook page with angry comments about the treatment of muslims all over the world. investigators are trying to determine what pushed the somali imfwrant over the edge. today isis claimed responsibility for the attack and said he was a soldier. but he never mentions isis in his facebook poss. attack is in critical condition. first black friday, then cyber monday. now giving tuesday. what it means and the simple

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right now at 4:15, the storm team is hard at work keeping an eye on the radar. and more rain headed our we'll check in with doug kammerer in just a few minutes. new details in the murder of a 16-year-old district police tell us they are looking for this man. 30-year-old sooed evans. he could be instrumental in solving the murder of a woman shot multiple times friday morning in southeast d.c. he a peered to fire a weapon, but it's not clear if he fired the shot that killed her. >> he should be considered armed

his whereabouts, they should contact the police. if you see him, call 911. >> police say e events was seen on sur footage in the area. he's been in trouble with the law before and not allowed to carry a firearm in the district. authorities say six survive ed and 70 died in the plane crash in colombia. >> the plane was carrying a member of brazilian's pr match. chris has the latest ob on the crash investigation and fans who are mourning. >> reporter: iowa aviation authorities say the plane lost radar contact after declaring an emergency just before 10:00 monday night. the pilots radioed in they were experiencing an electrical failure on board the aircraft the up and coming soccer team from southern brazil. the team was traveling to

championship. what was supposed to be a sl brags amid-their fairy tale rise quickly turned into a tragedy. rescuers worked through the night and throughout the day today scouring the wreckage a at the crash site. seven passengers were rescued alive but one of them died at the hospital bringing the total number to six. grief is pouring in from all over the soccer world. the federation cancelled all scheduled matches in a show of solidarity and the club who would have been their opponents in the final have asked the confederation to award the brazilian team the title. turning now to the weather. more rain on the way. >> we are going to see some rain. we're still seeing shower activity. plus the area not a bad afternoon. now we have seen a a couple showers, but at least it's mild.

we have cloud cover across the region. temperatures in the 50s. temperatures may actually rise tonight. rising as we move to the 11:00 hour. that shows you where we're going to be tomorrow during the day. very warm day tomorrow for sure. . right now, 57 in dulles. 67 down towards the river. so a very mild afternoon for sure. we're still talking about drought. g below average since september 1st. that puts us in a moderate drought situation. we did not see much rain at all. we need to see more. a few more showers across our region. right now around the gaithersburg area. seeing some shower activity.

you make your way towards damascus and clarksburg. then down to the south, seeing these showers developing and moving to the north. right now around quantico and wood bridge, if you're leaving work or leaving your house, you're going to need the umbrella for a little bit. very light rain. what's not light rain is down to

a couple showers remaining. but most of the day tomorrow will be dry. another chance of rain tomorrow night around 10:00 as the front swings through. that allows cooler temperatures to make their way into the day on thursday. but highs tomorrow in the upper 60s to low 70s. more rain back to the north and west. maybe a couple breaks of sunshine down to the south and east. a very warm day for sure out there on your wednesday. it looks like thursday, friday and saturday and even into sunday, much cooler. 56 on thursday. but not a bad day the weekend roigt now upper 40s. we're not seeing a lot of wind. it will be cool but not bitterly cold. lauryn ricketts back in a few minutes with a look at the it timing on your forecast as far as the rain is concerned. >> thank you, doug. homeless in the nation's capital. now the district could change who it helps. who could no longer be allowed in the city's homeless shelters. tis the season for thooefs to steal packages from your front door. simple steps to keep gifts out

tomorrow on news 4 today, we're pressed for time during the holidays. we're working for you with four businesses you didn't know were open 24 hours a day. plus tracking more rain and another wet commute

she spoke to mark segraves about the plan and what's being done about homeless camps. >> behind me is the encampment put up by homeless people. last year the same popped up just across the street. the bouzer administration forcibly removed those tents and put up fencing so they couldn't come back. this it year she says she's likely going to do the same thing again. she won't let these tent encampments remain. >> encampment violates our law. it's not safe. and it's not safe for people to be exposed to the elements. more than just in the winter months. >> reporter: in addition to removing the tents, the mayor is proposing changes to the law to make it easier for district officials to say no to people who apply for emergency shelter.

spends $80,000 a day on housing. >> news 4 is working for you in the community. today is giving tuesday. and a chance to volunteer and make donations to charities. giving tuesday began four years ago to give a bosse to charities that generate contributions a at the end of the year. this movement adds some organization to that effort. >> social media is fueling the ide o a group that helps online donating easy. some charity recommendations. >> i really love dreams for kids d.c. what it does is empowers disabled kids by supporting their wishes. another really good one is in northern virginia. it helps people who are the

you'll find a list of ways that you can give locally. just search give d.c. decking the halls on pennsylvania avenue. our first look at the white house holiday decorations the obamas prepare for their final christmas in the white house. a chance encounter. a local doctor tells his incredible story about his unexpected face to face with fidel castro. how he says he will remember t controversial cuban leader. and storm team 4 keeping a a close eye on that rain.

stronger is rebuilding a newborn's heart... and restoring a father's faith. stronger is being a typical kid... despite a rare disorder. stronger is seeking answers and not giving up until you find them. because we don't just want kids to grow up. we want them to grow up stronger.

4:30, breaking developments out of tennessee this evening. we have just learned three people have been killed by the wildfires. emergency officials say firefighters are now going house by house locking forn strong winds spread those flames overnight. 14,000 people have been forced to e evacuate. now at 4:30, there's word of two new cabinet picks. but the news has been overshadowed by another tweet from trump tower. brian moore has the latest on this. >> let's start out with the first part as candidate dth promised to drain the swamp in

team. if there was any question about president-elect trump's determination to dismantle obamacare, his answer is the appointment of georgia congressman tom price as secretary of health and human services. a a third generation doctor, price is an outspoken opponent of obamacare at the forefront of the repeal and replace movement. it is privatiing medicare and medicaid. changes that could affect a third of the u.s. population. democrats are promising a a fight. >> we say u to our republicans who want to privatize medicare, go. try it. make our day. >> the president-elect is also reportedly capped former labor secretary elaine ciao as transportation secretary. her husband senate majority leader mitch mcconnell clearly has her support. >> metlet me be clear.

>> another twitter controversy declaring anyone who burns a flag should face consequences. not all republicans agree. >> in this country, we have a long tradition of respecting unpleasant speech. i happen to support the supreme court's decision on that matter. >> a court that included the late justice antonin scalia that voted twice to uphold the right to burn a flg in protest. not oat ed that american citizenship should only be given up voluntarily. >> thank you, brian. we're expecting several more cabinet announcements in the coming days. be sure to download the nbc washington app and turn on breaking news alerts. we'll send the news directly to your phone. a new drawing may bring peace to a local family. they found a boy who locks like this dead in maryland.

happens next. >> every year hundreds of thousands of children are reported missing. the national center for missing and exploited children is dedicated to finding them. >> we never put out an image we're not confident would look like this child in life u. that's the goal here. to put out an accurate depiction of what the child would lock like in the the hopes of getting their name back, providing answers to a possible searching family and to law enforcement. >> right now the center is working on a cold case out of frederick county, maryland. child were found near cunningham falls state park back in may and those remains are still unidentified. so tonight at 5:00, how this center created this image and how they hope it will find some answers about who this child was. kristin wright, news 4. we're here in the storm

>> we're going to be dealing with the fog into the overnight. also dealing with warm temperatures. >> we like that. >> you got to take the good with the bad. what was bad we didn't see a lot of rain. we need that rain as a drought buster. we didn't get a lot of it. a tenth of an inch across the region throughout the day today. now we're seeing a few light showers mainly south of washington right now. you can see they are moving to the north and east right woodbridge. and charles and prince georges county. a few around baltimore. these are going to be moving to the north and east. coming up, if you need to download the nbc washington app as you're headed out on the roadway, getting home to show you where the showers are going to be. they are highly scattered. temperatures right now temperatures are going to stay there into the evening. we're going to be dealing with

for the morning commute. we'll time out the rain for tomorrow, coming up. 24 students were take on to a hospital after a school bus crash. now police are investigating whether rain played a a role. it happened at the intersection of berry road. we're told none of the students were seriously hurt. our news partners say it took about 20 minutes to rescue the driver of the car. she was taken to the hospital, but we'ro okay. tis the season for gift giving and gift stealing. so local law enforcement officials are passing along some tips to anyone expecting package deliveries to their homes over the next month. the loudoun county sheriffs office says you should ask delivery services to leave your packages in places that are not visible from the roadway. you should also request a specific delivery time for your packages. ask a trusted neighbor to look

and if your delivery doesn't come on time, you should contact the package carrier immediately. as we mentioned earlier, today is is giving tuesday. the joy of giving is the theme of this year's holiday decorations at the white house. >> as sure is the final christmas there. it's called the gift of the holidays. the display reflects on such gifts as service. gifts for family, friends, volunteerism and good health. some of the 56 ginger bread houses made of legos and larger than life replicas of beau and sunny. visitors will see lights, glitter and trees decorated with handmade ornaments in almost every room and hallway. in the spirit of giving, 92 volunteers from all over the country helped decorate. >> to do this is just an extraordinary opportunity. so anyone that has the

of giving with your friends and family, head to our nbc washington facebook page where we posted a special gallery of the decorations. a recall that was already big is getting bigger. this afternoon, which household products could catch fire. remember last week when ellen came to d.c. for that special white house honor. now she's talking a about it for the first time, including how she felt when she wasn't allowed

an unusual problem on the roads today in prince georges county. crew hs to clean up card board that fell off a truck. it happened near ivy lane. no one was hurt, but as you might imagine, it slowed things down while crews cleaned it up. at a new outdoor soccer court. it's located at the south gate community center on pine crest road in fairfax county. the community teamed up to a used tennis court into a court expected to be bustling. it is the first outdoor soccer court in that area u. they are co-workers in tennessee and they are the envy of offices everywhere. a a group of 20 co-workers

they got it from a store in lafayette tennessee. for the past eight years the group played the lottery twice a week and spent $60 each time. they are all employees of the north american stamping group. everyone has said they claim they will continue working. we'll see. >> even the small checks are giant checks. for the first time since receiving the presidential medal of freedom, ellen delaware res is talking about it on her show. . >> we remember president obama thanked ellen for unspiring her audience with the countless things that it bind us and inspire us to be better. >> i don't know if you heard but last week i received the presidential medal of freedom. i don't even know how to express in words how honored i felt getting that from the president of the united states.

goodness, gracious, that was a moment for her. ellen forget her i.d. and was forced to wait outside on a bench while someone retrieved it from her hotel. the tweet prompted millions of views that got her inside in just a few minutes. she also managed to get all of the attendees, celebrities and dignitaries to participate in that manikin challenge. they pulled that off flawlessly. not a muscle cuban leader fidel castro, a local doctor is remembering his once in a lifetime meeting with the controversial leader. he's telling his story only to news 4. plus the warning from police about scammers trying to take advantage of you just as we head into the holays.

first at 4:0 international custody battle 16 years ago in miami. today he's recalling fidel castro as a man he likened to a father. gonzales is now nearly 23 years old. he says he wanted castro to be proud of him for all he'd achieved. gonzales didn't have any good words for president-elect donald trump and says he hopes trump follows through on promises to

interest and vivid memories with a controversial leader. >> closely examines. >> some arriving with flowers. >> reporter: he's watched closely as some mourn and others celebrate the death of fidel castro, whom he unexpectedly came face to face with during a it was january 2002. anderson was on an exchange trip with the medical alumni association. the group also celebrating the holiday attended an evening gathering in the plaza. suddenly castro walked into the room. >> i got out to meet with you

work. >> anderson and his group assumed castro's appearance and remarks would be brief. >> e he said martin luther king is one of my heroes. so i had to get up and give you all a few minutes. he spoke for about five hours. >> after addressing the group, castro invited them to a late night banquet. he sat right down next to dr. anderson. >> this is something i never expected. he was just so interested in mingling with the group. >> reporter: now while people pay their last respects and the world bids farewell to castro, and while history will judge him by his policies and politics, anderson will judge by when he remembers and by what he saw.

people that we uncounter. >> the group returned to cuba hoping to see castro again, but they were unable to do so. as a a reminder david culver is on the ground in cuba right now. watch for his first report from havana in about 30 minutes. a little chillier than cuba. and we are definitely getting some fog and rain. that rain is not going away any u time soon. >> the first round is almost done. we're seeing a few scattered showers right now, but the second round knocking on our doorstep right in time for your wednesday morning commute. we could see some rain showers on and off through the day tomorrow.

clouds and spotty u showers. rain coming back in by daybreak. at least the first part will be droi. a little on the fog si side. and wednesday we're going to have showers in the morning and then again some showers in the afternoon and into the evening. now we had some rain move through the area today. now we're just left with a few spot si showers rolling through the area. mainly south of washington. these are moving to the north and to the east and we'll continue to mov chesapeake bay. but again, all in all, not bad. our next round just getting going in the deep south. that's going to continue to move to the north and east as well. look where it's going to move through into tennessee and kentucky. western portions of north carolina where they have having those wildfires where they need some rain. they could see some severe weather and some strong wind gusts with that as well.

hopefully they get rain down there and put out those wildfires. current temperatures for us, we're up to 59 in washington. frederickburg, you were up to 67. a lot of maryland stayed in the 50s. but temperatures are going to pretty much stay put overnight. and some cloud cover, we will be breezy tomorrow with winds out of the south. that will help bump up the temperatures. you can see we dry maybe even a little bit of clearing before more clouds roll back in by daybreak. here we go if you're early rising. you may be all right. the rain moving in quickly. . it will start to taper off mid-morning. and then by later on tomorrow afternoon, i would say late afternoon and into the evening, wohl see our second and final round of rain moving through the area as that system moves through the region. we clear out on thursday. thursday looks fantastic. still on the breezy side. tonight we have the fog.

few showers tomorrow evening, tomorrow night and clearing out on thursday. friday u looking good too. but as we get into the weekend, it's going to be a lot cooler. temperatures are going to be in the 40s. we really have to watch sunday. right now i have it dry, but we may have to add showers back in. it's too early to tell. we have it dry with our next chance of rain until tuesday. doug has your commuting forecast with the rain showers. he'll time that out a little a warning now about a utility scam targeting residents of howard county. here's how it works. . scammers pretending to work for a local gas or electric utility company are calling residents and demanding immediate payment for service or threatening to turn the service off. the callers ask you to make a payment with your gift card. once they have your access code, they cash out the card or sell it to a third party. if you get a call like that, you're advised to hang up the

consumer affairs. a consumer alert now. more than 2 million dehumidifiers have been recalled following hundreds of fires. >> susan hogan is here with a list of major brands impacted. >> this is a recall that literally has expanded over the years the consumer product safety commission announced it three years ago, but after more than 2,000 reports of dehumidifiers er reminding all of you to stop using them. the manufacturer has recalled frij dare, ken mother, g.e. just to name a few. the household appliances were sold at major retailers. the recall includes a variety of sizes, pint capacities, colors

the model numbers and codes are located on the back, front or side of the unit depending on which one you have. they were sold between 2005 and 2013. you can find all of the entire brand list, model numbers and the codes expected. you can find it on our nbc washington app. just search dehumidifier. >> thank you. thousands of homes, businesses and now an amusement park all in the danger zone as flames me now word that tragedy has struck. an update on the spreading wildfire that everyone is watching. >> you're watching news 4 right

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a woman is undergoing a mental evaluation after she reportedly opened an emergency exit and then jumped from the wing of a grounded united airlines flight. authorities say the plane just landed at houston's george bush airport when the passenger let herself off the plane and ran across the tarmac. there was no warning sound or alarm once the door was opened. >> the attendants told everybody to stay seated and leave their seat belts on because we weren't at the gate. it was kind of surreal. >> the woman isn't facing any charges. it's not clear why she jumped

now to developments in tennessee where thousands of people are being evacuated from their homes to escape fast-moving wildfires. we learned the wildfires killed three people. itv? shows structure after structure either damaged or destroyed and still smoldering. one of the hardest hit areas, the city of gatlanburg. mark barger has more. >>re devastation. hundreds of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire that e erupted overnight into an inferno. >> this is a fire for the history books. because it is unlike anything most have ever seen. >> reporter: several wildfires in east tennessee fuelled by u high winds and dry u brush raced out of control and quickly spread. wind gusts reaching 87 miles an

it's nowhere to be trying to fight a fire. >> reporter: flames claim kaim close to a hotel trapping terrified guests. 14,000 people were evacuated in gatlinburg. >> i'm glad they did because the flames were right up on it and didn't even know it. >> some evacuees made it out on their own driving through roads choked by smoke and flames. others were escorted out on foot by state troopers after downed trees blocked roads. homes and businesses lost, lives forever altered. >> to see that disappear what may appear to be the blink of an eye, it's so hard. >> surrounding counties changed overnight, but vowing to rebuild. planning his victory tour while filling out his cabinet. what the latest picks by president-elect trump are

sudden unexplained death. it's a problem in our area. >> the steps being take on to make sure other parents do not feel this pain. a challenge that could escalate annen counter between police and some in our community. the lessons recruits are doing to deal with the death. first at 5:00, she was just 16 thanksgiving. now police are looking for a man who they say has been arrested before and they say he could likely be the key to solving this case. good evening, i'm jim handly. >> his name isside evans. we have more on why evans is being sought in this case.

tonight they are calling him a person of interest. but tonight in the city of washington, he is the most wanted man. police say they have video of them holding a gun and firing that gun into that courtyard where a woman was shot and killed. the 30-year-old named as a person of interest in the shin >> we ask he turn himself in and take responsibility for his actions. . help bring closure to the family. >> reporter: shot and killed last friday by a stray bullet. it happened near her home near the public housing complex.