when they say he was rear-ended by a woman who was driving drunk. fairfax police chief, he had ro roessler, moving around okay today, but last night was a different story. he was rear ended, as he was sitting at a stoplight on lee highway, sending him to the hospital. >> i started getting a real bad headache and my back started tightening and my legs starting cramping. >> you just had hip replacement surgery. >> yeah, i did. >> so it got worst and worst, and you requested transport to the hospital? >> yes. >> reporter: you've seen the chief's car. now take a look at the striking car. a nissan suv. police say there were two people in that car. no one hurt. the driver, 40-year-old christie edgar, charged with dwi. sources say she had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal

words of warning now from the chief. >> this is serious business. this kills people. this is the holiday season. this is horrible. and for those that are listening out there, if you're a driver, and you decide to drink, why don't you think. spend a little money and plan, take a taxi. >> reporter: christie edgar was held overnight. she was released this morning. susan, back to you. >> all right, thanks so much, pat. a d.c. public school employee has been arrested on drug charges. news 4's mark segraves broke this story this morning, rita gray, accused of conspiracy to import at least five kilos of cocaine into the united states. court documents say gray intentionally and knowingly conspired to bring the drugs in through florida, d.c. police arrested her last wednesday. the drugs have a street value of about $500,000. gray has been placed on

the search is on for a group of men behind a brazen home invasion robbery overnight in prince georges county. police tell us the suspects posed as police officers. then made their way am inside this home on franklin avenue here in lanham. at least two of the suspects had handguns. neighbors are alarmed. >> you know, i've been in this neighborhood for 16 years, to wake up this morning and see a news report that someone came and invaded someone's house, that's really disturbing. >> prince georges county, tracee wilkins is outside with more on the search for the suspects and what they may have been after. tracee. >> reporter: the chief of police addressed the situation, because to him, it is very important that people who are posing as police officers be caught and taken off the streets immediately. >> you know, everybody goes to work, come home, expect peace. >> reporter: people who live on franklin street in lanham are ti

early this morning. >> i've been here for 16 years, to see a news report that someone came and invaded someone's house, that's really disturbing. >> reporter: pris georgnce geor county said they banged on the door until they were left in. they identified themselves as police officers. >> these individuals were in black clothing, carrying weapons, my understanding, one of the men had a crowbar. >> reporter: they took what they wanted and left. police say this was a targeted attack. the person they were looking for was not at home at the time. >> this has to do with marijuana, and from that, we'll let this proceed, but that individual that they were seeking is something to do with the marijuana trades, our understanding. >> reporter: police say the two victim whose were in the house are innocent and not harmed by the gunman. for the people who live on the dead end street, it is a crime, hitting too close to home. >> don't come to my house. now he, leave me alone. i am a peaceful rs

ex military and i do know what to do. >> reporter: coming up at news 4 at 6:00, the chief has information for folks who live in prince georges county, and what to look for, when the police are knocking at your door. i'm tracee wilkins, back to you in the studio, susan. >> thanks, tracee. a man pulling a gun in the capitol visitor center has entered a guilty plea. back in march in 2015, police say laurie dawson pointed what they thought to be a handgun at an officer at a security screening, an officer wound up shooting dawson when he refused to drop it. the gun wound up being a beebee gun. dawson will be centered in february. he could face up to 20 years in prison. a big changed to in the charges against the man arrested for opening fire inside a d.c. pizza restaurant. prosecutors dropped all local charges against edgar welch today, but welch is now facing a new federal weapons charge.

mark segraves is live outside comet pizza with a look at why those charges were changed. >> reporter: that's right. edgar welch was facing four local charges and when he appeared before a superior court judge this morning, prosecutors said they were dropping the charges. they then immediately rearrested him, and charged him with that federal crime of transporting a gun across state lines, with the intent to commit a crime. and it is the new charge document that give us even more details about the level of violence that welch anticipated here at comet pizza, and the planning that had gone into his attack. edgar welch began planning his attack on comet pizza as early as three days before the incident according to the fbi. newly released documents showed welch tried to recruit two friends to join him and specifically looking for friends with military experience. in one text, the fbi says welch told a friend he was going to raid a pedo ring, possibly sacrificing the lives of a few for thli

madison welch has appeared before a d.c. superior court judge since sure rending outside comet ping-pong last weekend. he was facing four charges, after police say he fired an ar-15 inside the pizza rest ran restaurant. welch shown here in pictures from his facebook page, saying he came to investigate what are known to be fake news reports about children being 4e8d captive. having cut most of his hair and beard off, also for the first time, his parents were in court. welch's parents did not answer questions from reporters this morning. but in an interview with the "washington post," welch's mother said press coverage of her son had been, quote, harsh. want people to know he is not the monster he is portrayed to be, she said of her son, adding i'm sorry and i'm sure he is sorry fny

caused. >> despite welch having made four court appearances since being arrested, he has yet to enter a plea, facing ten years on the federal charge. prosecutors could wrap the local charges back into the federal case at a later date. that's the latest, jim, back to you. mark, thank you. turning to presidential politics now, and donald trump's latest picks for key cabinet positions in his future administration. first, to the president-elect selection for the top diplomat. rex tillerson, here he is for secretary of state. he is ceo of exxon mobile, been with the company since 1975. he has no government experience, but has done extensive work overseas for. tillerson earned the russian order of friendship for an oil deal with a russian owned company. >> it is three agencies of government when i get there that are gone.

what's the third one there? let's see. >> rick perry, back in 2011, talking about government agencies he would eliminate. the third, department of energy. perry is a former texas government and two time presidential candidate. as a primary rival, he criticized trump, calling him a quote, barking carnival act. eventually gave his support. susan. >> thanks, jim. former vice-presidential hopeful, tim kaine weighed in on trump's pick for secretary of state, calling tillerson's ties to russia, quote, troubling. the virginia senator also said he has concerns about tillerson and exxon mobile's role in climate change denial. we also want to tell you about we would like to know about trump's secretary of state and what you guys had to say about it. you can weigh in by voting on our facebook right now. it appears most of you actually

61%, hate the change. >> nothing to say? >> i want to take a picture right now. >> among the more unusual visitors to trump tower, kanye west appeared in the lobby this morning with the president-elect. the two didn't answer questions about the visit or whether west may be a performer at the inauguration. west tweeted this afternoon, he wanted to meet with trump to quote, discuss multicultural issues. turning now to our forecast, where storm team 4 is tracking a blast of very frigid air headed our way. >> doug kammerer has a look on what's coming up. >> the coldest december temperatures in years across the region, as temperatures will dip into the 20s, single digit business thursday afternoon. right now, not all that bad. as a matter of fact, high temperatures today averaged -- the average, 47. that's exactly where we were in the d.c. area, and no real cold air anywhere in the region.

not tomorrow. but on thursday. we're watching rain down to the south, snow to the north. we do have snow in pittsburgh, up towards state college and williamsport, right around fredericksburg, tracking that as well. the cold area, cool now, but here comes the cold, the polar vortex making its way down, the true polar vortex coalest air we've seen in about six years in december. what to expect on saturday. tough forecast, in about 15 minutes. >> thanks, doug. a developing story in rockville, a man charged with two life sentences for killing his neighbors, the new reaction from the family of the victims. plus, a high profile arrest at the opening of the mgm grand casino, prince georges county liquor board charged in a dui crash, the minutes after that accident. and a new procedures t

reading glasses, this woman becomes the first to try out the surgery. >> it is my lucky day. >>

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inspecting possible government contracting violations, looking into potential wrongdoing in a separate probe, tom sherwood is here with the latest. >> susan, here is the issue. did the mayor's office try to steer contracts to a favorite developer. may mayor bowser is paying thousands for the new soccer stadium. and a similar but separate land clearing project at st. elizabeth's southeast for a future $60 million wizard's practice arena. a d.c. council committee held three closed door hearings on allegations that the top contracting official, chris weaver, abruptly quit in august, in two senior officials were relieved of duties after they tried to steer the the contracts

one of the officials, alao is suing the city for $10 million, contending the administration embarked on a crew side to defame him. the council probe is extending into next year. >> i expect to get everything wrapped up, i'm hoping by january and we can release what we can release, have our reports with recommendations. >> now informed, sources tell news 4 that d.c. inspector general, dan lucas, has expanded the probe to do his own investigation. the i.g.'s office has more law enforcement powers. in a statement, he said the inspector general is always interested in pursuing suspected wrongdoing. we're paying careful attention to the contracting matter. we will respond according to our legislative mandate. d.c. city administrator, rashard young, testified to the council that the administration did nothing wrong. the mayor's office said today it looks forward to the release of full and

appropriate time. the i.g. has several options, could find no wrongdoing or refer the case for criminal prosecution, jim. >> tom, thank you. new details in the arrest of the chairman of the prince journals county liquor board on dui charges. that arrest happened last week on the opening night of the mgm national harbor. police tell us charles caldwell was leaving the events when he got into an accidents according to the police report, caldwell repeatedly told officers who he was and if there was a way to quote, make it go away. >> it is an unfortunate set of circumstances, but as has been sad by people involved in it, our officers acted professionally, courteously and discharged their duties is what i expect. >> caldwell is 72 years old. the report says he lost his balance a number of times during a field sobriety test. he said he has balance issues. virginia's voter i.d. law will remain in

ruling by a federal appeals court. a panel rejected a challenge that suggested the law was meant to suppress voting by minorities and young people. the panel cited virginia's ability to get a free photo i.d. at voter registration offices. lawyers for the democratic party argue nobody knows about that, and it doesn't violate the voting act. more redevelopment, coming to the busy southwest water front neighborhood. the national harbor service will hold -- national park service, rather, will hold a public hearing on plans to redevelop the buzzard point marina. the hearing will discuss ways to bring more green park land and access to the water. it is a problem a lot of people know too well. as you get older, there is a good chance you may need a pair of reading glasses. but a local woman just underwent a surgery that has made things come back into

what is called rain drop surgery. >> the words are quite fuzzy, so. >> you would give up? >> if i had reading glasses i could see it. >> jennifer is describing a situation known as over 40 eyes, the blurred close-up vision, people begin to experience it around their 40th birthday. newspaper and magazine articles get harder to read and instructions like those on the back of a medicine bottle are almost impossible. >> no way i can read that. even the front is blurry. even the larger font, i can't read it. >> she came to this office in washington because her husband had recently gotten lasix surgery here to correct his distance vision. she was hoping they might have something to fix her problem too. >> better, right? >> oh, my goodness, yes. >> the doctor found her vision to be correctable with the right lens, but jennifer said she had tried contact lenses, but they didn't work for her. >> i have very dry eyes,

use restasis everyday. >> the doctor told her she was this luck because they the fda just recently approved rain drop surgery. she could be the first person in the washington area to have it done and she was thrilled with that news. >> it is my lucky day. >> renowned eye surgeon, dr. mark witten has had a lot of luck with the lasix surgery. >> 150,000, i've done my share. >> on this day, he was launching a tested, but still new pioneering visionary leap forward. no fear of failure, jennifer was ready, eager to be among the first to benefit from this new cutting edge technology. with raiszor thin precision, ra drop inlay made mostly of water a

taking off for places like telescopes, we watched and waited for a perfect landing. >> perfect. doing just great. >> try the article again. >> i'll try it again. >> oh, yeah. there was two stepping under the stars. chronning by country legend george straight and texas chocolate cake as george bush -- >> wow, i can't believe it. >> i can see it. >> i can't believe it. i'm signing up. >> barbara harrison, news 4, washington. >> all right, susan, you can look again. >> i can't see anything. >> that worked. >> that's cool. i mean, i'll tell you, i cannot read. >> everyday, it is getting worst for me. you saw how sheen cou could rea an event today that brought together wrestling superstars and wounded warriors. plus, storm team 4 with

stronger is blasting without risking her bones. stronger is less pain, new hope, more fight. it's doing everything in your power, and everything in ours. because we don't just want kids to grow up. we want them to grow up stronger. and with your support, they will. make a gift today at childrensnational.org/givenow

temperatures today in the 40s, last year it, we set a record high temperature of 71 degrees. now, we're not anywhere near there. it doesn't feel like christmas last year. take a look at this shot tis

out of the great falls area, the firehouse over in great falls. the firemen did a great job decorating this house, right along the pike right there in great falls, a beautiful area, as you're making your way out and about. temperatures feel a little more festive this time of year, but it will be a lot colder, feel like christmas in alaska the next couple of days. 44 degrees, winds out of the southeast, not too bad right now. we have about 24 hours to really get ready for the cold. 44, d.c., 44 in quantico. on the radar, not much to show except for shower activity down tots south. it will be a trend overnight tonight. two systems, one to the north, bringing snow, one to the south, bringing rain. that, both systems will move through. we love the d.c. split here in the region, rain to the south, snow to the north. i want to show you the future, by around 8:00, 9:00, it brings in shower activity

shower activity, could mix with snow to the northern areas, but not expecting much at all. we may start with sunshine, maybe breezy conditions early, but notice tomorrow night, here comes the arctic cold front, maybe a little flurry activity and that moves out and gets plain cold. look at the numbers right now. 4, d.c., 12 chicago, 5 in minneapolis. watch how the pink moves down across the region over the next 48 hours, right into the area. by thursday afternoon, this isn't the wind chill. these are the temperatures, 22 in d.c., 1 in chicago. so the cold air, really moving in. and with the wind chill, it is going to feel even colder. how about a wind chill of 12 by 8:00 thursday morning, 7 in leesburg. same thing for the afternoon, we won't warm that much. temperatures go down and by 8:00 on friday, we're still in the single digits, just about everywhere for that wind chill. sore

across the region. now, not tomorrow. tomorrow, not all that bad. some sun, mixing with clouds tomorrow. 41 degrees by 11:45. by 3:00, it is thursday, the day that we're going to notice the temperatures plummeting, 29 on thursday, 29 on friday. 45 for our temperature on saturday. we'll see ice early saturday morning, we think, that's why we have weather alert days thursday, friday and saturday. saturday, changes over to rain. we see another bought of showers on sunday, with a high in the 60s. and then right back down into the 30s. boy, do we have a lot of charges the next couple of days. your body won't know what to wear out there across the area, what temperatures it will be dealing with. back in just a couple of minutes, about 20 minutes, and talk more about the saturday storm at 5:45. >> we won't leavehe studio, doug, that's the safest bet. thank you, buddy. no practice for the redskins today, but that doesn't mean the team members aren't busy. how they're helpino

area. cracking down aggressive towing companies, what arlington is doing to make sure you're protected when you park. life in prison without the possibility of parole. that's the sentence given to killer of a rockville couple, dick and jodi valardo, found on mother's day two years ago. what the killer said in

this evening, some closure for the family of a couple violently murdered inside their rockville home. >> prosecutors say a neighbor killed jodi and dick valardo last year, stole their money and then fled on a cruise ship. today, that killer learned he'll spend the rest of his life in prison. news 4 joins us live from montgomery county courthouse with details. >> reporter: neither prosecutors nor the defense attorney could explain a motive for this brutal murder of dick and jodi volardo, their children, asking the judge for a maximum sentence, described the hor hor of finding their bodies. andy, their son, said the sentence, life without parole, lifts a heavyweight from their shoulders. >> we have a long way to go. we miss two incredible people that we miss evyd

that at least the monster that created this tragedy will never see the light of day. >> reporter: the judge said it happened in the satheir home, savagely attacked by their neighbor. the judge said the only way to protect the community is to give you the sentence of life without parole that prosecutors have requested. >> under maryland law, we don't have a deathpenalty. the sentence was dead on the right sentence. >> reporter: the defendant spoke in court saying he was sorry for what happened. he never planned their death, and it is difficult to imagine what happened. so horrible for this, i deserve to be locked up. ahead, what his defense lawyer

might have happened. what could have pushed his client to kill two neighbors, who trusted him. that's the latest from the montgomery county circuit court, susan, back to you. >> thanks, chris. state workers in virginia could get a one time bonus next year. in a new proposal guy governor terry mcauliffe, including a 1.5% bump that would be paid out in december 2017. mcauliffe's proposal comes as the commonwealth is facing an $860 million shortfall for the next two fiscal years. the governor will presents it to state lawmakers this friday. a new vre extension into prince county board to scrap the extension on friday. vre wanted to extend services into gainesville and hey market, supposed to provide

commuters a new way to get to work, but the costs outweigh the benefits. they're working on an alternative to the extension. the arlington county board votes on a new law that makes it harder for companies to tow your car, increased by predatory towing, where trucks are stationed near a lot, just waiting to tow someone. arlington currently allows tow truck companies to authorize their own tows. the new law would force tow drivers to receive authorization from the businesses that own the parking lots. a group of wrestling superstars made a stop here in our region to pay tribute to at the naval support activity in bethesda to play ball with a group of wounded warriors, the wrestlers and service members bla played basketball

wheelchairs. the wwe has a show and tribute to the heros tonight at verizon center. fedex field looked more like the north pole today. carol maloney joins us on a special treat for local students. >> hey, susan, this was by far, one of the jolliest things they've hosted. prince georges county invading fedex field not for a game, but to take part in the annual santa shop, the santa skin santa shop. ryan grant, one of the many players involved in the santa shop, 300 pound offensive lineman getting decorated by some happy kids, and the locker room transformed into santa's workshop. grew up in

loves spreading the cheer. >> a lot of kids need a light of brightness in their life, i guess, being a red skin, i'm happy to be here. >> it is my favorite event. it is the holidays, the kids love it, they get to interact with players and get some gifts today. so before christmas, they love it. they bring the en errner gee an is great to see. >> like i said, seeing their face, it is, if you could make one kid's day, you had a good day. >> he made all their days for sure. i don't know who was a bigger hit, the players or santa. too close to call. the redskins xs and os, we'll tell you why this is an especially big week for josh norman, coming up at 6:00. >> nice work off the field today. carol, thanks so much. when we come back tonight, a mother of four killed while trying to cross a street in northern virginia. the steps now being taken to keep ohe

to help her family. plus, how a woman trying to rescue the family dog from an icy pond found herself in a life threatening situation. >> i thought of my whole entire family, and i thoughtalways win.

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the captain of a ship that

will spend the next 18 years in prison. he was fined $9.5 million by a sicilian judged to. he inadvertently rammed an overloaded fishing boat into a cargo ship last april. 700 people died. most of them, migrants trying to get to italy illegally. a crew mate was also convicted and faces fiefr years in prison. the bloody four year siege of aleppo may be coming to an end. nbc news has confirmed a cease-fire agreement has been reached. it would allow civilians trapped in the city to evacuate. the russian government says tonight the entire city of aleppo is now under the syrian government control. they are expected to pick up antigovernment fighters and their fate remains unclear. humanitarian arrangements are being made also. thousands have died in aleppo since the civil war began. a new study

picture why the zika virus is able to do such harm in infants. zee k zee cass has the ability make copies of itself and stick in the placenta for seven months. it continues to multiply in an infant's brain, even after birth. the cdc hopes the new findings will help them develop treatments for zika, moving forward. they are in millions of homes all over the country, but now safety officials say you should stop using a popular food processor. what you need to do, if you own one of the nearly two dozen models of those cuisinart nkts a spike of pedestrian fatalities, stepping up plans to improve safety. i am going to show you one approach that gives pedestrians a head start at the traffic

light. little light rain is passing just south of the metro area on this tuesday evening. coming up, a look at the polar plunge, and a winy mixtr f

here is what you

fairfax county police chief says he is angry after a woman was driving drunk. she had a blood alcohol was twice the legal limit. charges against the man accused of firing a gun inside the comet pizza restaurant dismissed from d.c. superior court. the case against edgar welch, turned over instead to the federal courts. he'll face charges of transporting the gun across state lines. court documents also say that welch plotted for days before the incident, and tried to recruit others to help him. and a sentence of life without parole, handed down it a man accused of killing his neighbors in montgomery county on mother's day last year. prosecutors say he killed them inside their home, stole their money and then fled the country on a cruise ship. now to breaking news, police chase is just ended in the last minutes,

looking at are from arlington county, chase going along southbound 395 at route 7, that's where it ended. we're told the suspect somehow stole a housing authority police cruiser, and police tell us that's where it started, in d.c., where they were trying to arrest the suspect. the woman stole the cruiser and took off, went through the 3rd street tunnel and hit multiple cars, we're told. we'll stay on top it and have more developments on the air and in the app as soon as they come in. at the live desk, i'm scott mcfarland. alexandria city council will be bringing up pedestrian safety, after the mother of four children was killed. she was struck by a turning suv. julie kerry joins us live from the del ray neighborhood where the victim worked. julie. >> reporter: it is busy here tonight. the community's mission on mount

rose cruz was hit, meantime, the city council getting a report with troubling statistics as safety advocates are pushing for more improvements more quickly. you don't have to drive too far in alexandria to find changes that have already been made to improve safety. on king street, traffic lanes narrowed, spike lanes added, crosswalks improved, speed limits dropped to 25 from 45. intersections where all lights go red so pedestrians can cross in any direction. still, the vice-chairman says there is a perception of danger. >> whether it is backed up it doesn't matter. they have the per accepts they're not safe. >> reporter: but the data the council sees backs up the fear. while overall crashes are down, accidents involving pedestr

pedestrian fatalities are up, four have died, including rose cruz last week. the security camera, showing the moment before she was struck. jim durham, chairs the city's bike and pedestrian advisory committee. >> we believe people walking first and to put people safety first. >> reporter: durham points to something in place at this intersection as an example of how that can be done. a pedestrian was killed here last year, but now the light has what is called leading pedestrian interval or lpi. it gives the pedestrian the walk sign first. lpi gives the pedestrian a head start. i can get well into the crosswalk before the regular traffic light goes green. we timed the jump on traffic between three and four seconds. durham wants the city to move quicker to consider lpi at more intersections. >> a traffic engineer mike look at it and say three cycles think it may impact how people get

saves people's lives. it would is helped in this lady's case. >> reporter: even before this recent traffic fatality, the city was getting ready to launch a major traffic initiative involving changing the mind set of the entire community. when i join you on news 4 at 6:00, i'm tell you what vision zero means. back to you in the studio. >> thanks, julie. as officials try to make safety improvements, we're learning about dangerous intersections in fairfax county. police recently identified about a dozen areas where there have been serious or deadly crashes, majority happening on roads with higher speed limits of course, often at night and late fall and winter when it is darker in the evenings and mornings. the most dangerous on the list appears to be backlick road in springfield. the federal government working to make things safer on the road. the department of transportation propose aid new role that could have passenger cars and

talk to each other. it is called vehicle to vehicle technology, and it allows cars to transmit locations, speed, direction, every ten seconds to vehicles around them. something dot officials think could significantly reduce traffic deaths. once a final rule is issued, the dot is calling for half of all new vehicles to be installed with that technology with in two years. unprecedented recall is impacting a popular appliance that may be in your kitchen right now. cuisinart recalling 8 million food processors all over the u.s. sold between 1996 and 2015. that's after nearly 70 people reported finding metal blade pieces in their food. cuisinart says overtime, the processors can crack and break off. >> 8 million products out there and the largest kitchen appliance recall in our history. and because of that, we want consumers to move quickly and it is the holiday sea

the cooking going on, we are that much more concerned about the risk. >> now, anyone where a cuisinart food processor should stop using it and contact the company for a free replacement blade. more on the impact of this recall ahead on nightly news with lester holt, coming up right here at 7:00. grocery bills that could get out of control, especially around the holidays. well, there is an app to help you shrink your grocery bill. a local dad from arlington developed it. fed up with his family's grocery bill, so he works as a software developer and got down to business on creating money saving grocery app called basket. >> we spent at least $300 a week. >> that's right, the app includes sales coupons and reveals what your shopping list will cost at grocery stores near you. one mom tried it with her own grocery list and tonight on news 4 at 11:00, we'll tell you how much she saved. and we'll explain how it works, only on

it is -- >> looking forward to that. >> i tell you, i spend $300, easily in my family. we're tracking the cold. >> killer. >> really cool. tom joins us now, people want to be getting hot soup, hot chocolate when they go out for their list. >> absolutely. as any way you want to try to think about this polar vortex coming our way, to stay warm, you can keep up with it all with susan hogan's favorite app, it is the nbc washington app. >> that's right. >> and we have the latest storm team for the forecast on there. and you want to really dig deep in your closet to find your warmest winter gear, even the ugly sweater, yes, it is okay. we'll forgive you. look at the pink sky over washington now reflecting a lot of the holiday lights on the bottom of the clouds, as well as all the city lights. but it is dark here. there is the live view from the tower camera and the temperatures right now are right down into the low to mid40

storm team radar, a batch of moisture passing to the south, just a few sprinkles just to pass fredericks burg and 95 near richmond, generally stay well south of the metro area. it will be moving on through, an then later this evening, still another chance, maybe of a few sprinkles until about 11:00, otherwise just clouds around, back to 40 around 11:00. not a lot of cold air arriving yet. it will be mid 30s by dawn with sunshine tomorrow morning and hovering near 40 by 11:00 tomorrow morning. for the commute tomorrow, we'll have dry roads, noontime temperatures, low 40s, and then by 5:00, 40s. here comes the cold air on thursday, the polar vortex arrives with much colder temperatures coming in during the day on thursday. we'll be near 30, predawn. then by the evening, only near 20 gr

degrees during the day. winds may be gusting to 30 miles an hour during the day on thursday. then friday, well, it will be frigid, but thankfully we won't have the brutal winds, we'll be in the teens in the morning, upper 20s. we'll be in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees, cold enough for snow, maybe a little sleet, maybe a little bit of freezing rain. minor accumulations, and then it all changes to rain during the afternoon. now, the threat of the wintry mix is mainly right in the metro area, and our northern suburbs and up toward maryland and perhaps into west virginia and up into pennsylvania. it is just to our south, there is not going to be any wintry mix. then on sunday, we'll get sunshine, perhaps in the morning. we'll soar into the low 60s on sunday, rain showers come through. after that, we plummet down to the 20s by dawn on monday. i'm getting woozy just thinking about it. roller coaster ride on

>> tom, thank you. a northern virginia family is asking you to keep an eye out for a giant christmas star. mike and lois win zel sent us this picture of that 6 foot star, they've been displaying it on their rooftop of the oakton home for more than 20 years now. someone stole it from their holiday display last night. not sure how the thieves got away, because the star was zip tied to the roof. if you think you've seen it, you're urged to give police a call. well, a mom caught up in the moment tries to rescue a family pet from a frozen pond. a dramatic chain of events that ended with her needing to be rescued as well.

this time of year, it is so important to keep an eye on your pets and kids, especially on frozen ponds. >> a woman in illinois is alive thanks to quick action by her son. >> the little boy kept so calm during a frightening situation. >> tell her that she needs to come back to shore. >> the police say you need to come back to the shore. >> a dram mattatic rescue, as h mother and dog struggle for help in an icy pond. >> i'm not going to die this way. i can't. >> she retraced the footprints in the snow

home, where the dog led her. >> she went running out there, and as soon as she got out there, the ice gave. we pushed the canoe down here, as fast as we could. >> cathy got into the canoe, her son, pushing it into the pond with her on board. but she soon found herself waste deep in painfully freezing water. >> i started yelling, as loud as i could. >> i went inside and grabbed the phone. >> he called dad, then police. >> you need to come back to the shore! >> good job. good job. could she hear you? >> i was scared. >> i heard the sirens coming. >> relief? >> relief, yet my dog is still in the pond. and they wouldn't rescue her first. they rescued me. >> after 30 minutes in the water, the family dog was saved and treated for hypo therm mia. the rescue

what cathy is thankful for. >> lucky. i can't stop hugging my son for doing what he did. news 4 at 6:00. starts now. we begin tonight with donald trump's most high profile cabinet pick yet. that of secretary of state. >> there is already some strong push back about this choice, exxon mobile rex tillerson is widely respected in the business, but has close ties to russian leader, vladimir putin. that doesn't sit well with bo lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. steve handles man joins us now. >> they had chemistry together, according to the president-elect's chief of staff and they share a belief that it is a good idea to try to make deals with your adversaries. tillerson is like

nominated him as secretary of state, the president-elect emphasized a difference. the thing i like best, trump tweeted, rex tillerson has vast experience dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments. that's what a ceo of exxon mobile does. it is a global business. praised from former secretaries of state, condoleezza rice and james baker. but tillerson cut oil deals with russia, accepted the order of friendship from vladimir putin and opposed u.s. sanctions when russia invaded ukraine, worrying john mccain and other republicans. democrats, upset that russia hacked into our election. >> totally unacceptable. and it must be investigated. >> vow a hard look at tillerson. >> we're going to have to drill down during the confirmation hearings to understand his relationship with mr. putin. >> reporter: but talking to putin is the new white house policy. >> president-elect trump said throughout the entire campaign in debates at the most critic