before most of you were out of bed this morning, road crews were out there getting ready for the bad weather. the same road crews are planning ahead for what could be a hazardous start to the weekend. the extreme cold making it tough on firefighters who were forced to call for extra help this morning in the dangerous conditions. and with the cold air in place and precipitation on the way, it looks like it's going to fall as some sleet and freezing rain. we're going to time out your saturday morning and let you know when it's going to be the iciest coming up. good morning, welcome to "news4 midday," i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm erika

temperatures so low,er in there was liquid, ice quickly formed. the icy roads caused by a water main break, but tonight the slick conditions could come from a wintry mix. so we want to start our coverage with storm team 4 meteorologist lauryn ricketts. >> wintry mix definitely right. you know erika, temperatures, 24 right now. that is it. we've got plenty of clouds, so we may have to bump off, shave a few degrees off the daytime high. still below freezing as we continue into the afternoon. due to the cloud cover. but boy, is it chilly this morning with a lot of places reporting temperatures in the single digits. in fact dulles airport, broke a record from 1989. they made it to 9 degrees today. the old record in '89? 10 degrees. you can see the radar right now, nothing going on. it may look like a little bit of snow in the shenandoah valley. it'so

evaporating before it hits the ground. a little bit of lake-effect snow, that's not what we're going to see overnight tonight. we're going to sleet and freezing rain, but it's not going to be from the lakes, from a whole separate system. we have a winter weather advisory outlined in purple. a storm watch in the blue. both of those go until early tomorrow morning. mainly because of the icy conditions that we're going to see. your friday looks good, once we head after midnight is when we'll start to see some problems. we'll time out everything and let you know what to expect for this messy winter weekend coming up in just about 15 minutes. guys? thank you, lauryn. another advisory if you don't have to, don't go outside. because we have you covered. we sent justin finch out there instead to brave the bitter temperatures. this is really working for you, huh, justin? >> hey there, good morning, bitter indeed. we're overlooking one of 18 v-dot stations now in ready de

tuesday to get the roads ready for the wintry mix coming in this weekend. they, like all of us, trying to get in front of the brutal cold. before wiping off your windshield, you may have to shake off some ice. this frosty brush at this mclean gas station, a reminder of what may await drivers as temperatures struggle to rise >> you got to slow down, you got to be careful. >> i've been driving a long time. >> chopper 4 above an icy obstacle to the a.m. rush, virginia outer loop beltway lanes closed by the dulles toll road, after an overnight car fire froze over. it took crews a few tries to salt and treat the roads. v-dot crews have been at work since tuesday prepping roads ahead of a wintry mix forecast. drivers could see trucks working late tonight. >> the timing is great, it comes after rush hour, so we won't have trucks intmi

>> before sunrise, we found drivers running through their cold weather drills, keeping tires inflated and gas tanks at least half full. as good as they treat their cars, they're also taking care of themselves. keeping warm with coats and coffee before a coming week of celebrations. >> happy about the holidays, but not about the cold. >> tell me how many layers you have on? >> i have a bunch of layers, a lot. >> and back live, salt stacked and brine on standby for tonight. we're told again you may see v-dot trucks on the road tonight and into the early morning. if you see them and hear the pinging of salt on your windshield or car, that is a signal you're too close, you're asked to hang back as the crews get to work for us. back to you. >> thank you, justin. this dangerous arctic punch is affecting people in a large part of the country. temperatures are well below freezing from the midwest to the mid-atlantic. in indiana two children died after they fell through ice on a en

girl, were outside playing before dinner in the town of jasper. the boy's mother saw them in the water. but by that time it was simply too late. and they died at the hospital. you can stay on top of the conditions out there. and you can set weather alerts at your home page on the nbc washington app. just make the change in the settings and that way you know exactly what's going on here. new criminal charges against the man charged with taking an assault rifle into a d.c. pizza restaurant and opening fire. edgar welch just made another appearance before a federal judge. welch told investigators he believed fake news reports about comet ping pong. so he drove to washington to take action. news4's mark segraves has been in court watching the welch case every step of the way and joins us live outside the federal courthouse now. good morning, mark. >> good morning, barbara. this is the fifth time that edgar welch has appeared in a d.c. courthouse. it's the second judge and he's on his second attorney. that's because prosecutors moved

superior court here to federal court. for the first time today welch, through his attorney entered a plea. not guilty on all three counts. welch is facing 35 years in prison. this all began when welch went into comet ping pong on connecticut avenue with an assault rifle, saying he believed fake news reports that children were being held in captivity there. he fired the weapon at least three times. there was a standoff, he finally surrendered to police. welch has not made any other comments in court. his attorney did tell reporters when asked about his state of mind, that welch does understand the charges against him. the attorney did make two motions, or not actually motions today, but requests of the judge. one, she said she's upset that prosecutors did not alert her that additional charges were being brought against her client. he had, she had to learn about that through news media. then she said she believes there were protocols violated when a "new york times" reporter interviewed welch inside the d.c. jail. and she asked theud

sure in the future that no one else gets to see her client without her knowledge. welch is being held without bond, he's back in federal court next year, early january. that's the latest, reporting live from u.s. district court, mark segraves, news4. orange line trains are running normally after a fire this morning. that happened during the morning commute at the landover metro station. prince george's county fire was called in for a fire underneath a car. the fire was extinguished and passengers got off the train safely. but firefighters arrived. metro moved the train from the station to a rail yard. right now, some people in stafford county don't have any water, because of a water main break. this happened around 6:00 this morning near the intersection of jefferson davis highway and coal landing road. crews are still there working to repair the significant break. people in mostly the northern end of the county are being affected by that water main break. meanwhile, a devastating fire has left a family of f

homeless this morning. this happened on sea island court in silver spring, just after 1:00 a.m. news4's megan mcgrath has more from the scene and the challenges that firefighters have had to face because of the frigid temperatures. >> well just a terrible situation, a family of four had to flee their burning home on sea island court last night. go out into the cold. you can see behind me here, the ice that has formed on the house salt of the freezing temperatures out here and the efforts of the firefighters. they believe that the fire started in an upstairs bedroom. that family tried to get a handle on the fire themselves, but just couldn't. when firefighters got here the house was pretty well fully involved with flames shooting from the rooftops, so extensive damage here. and because of the extreme temperatures, firefighters say it was a very, very difficult fire to put out. >> single-digit temperatures and we, obviously used water to gh

so those conditions are pretty treacherous. >> the smoke detectors inside the home did work, and they alerted the family. everyone was able to get out without injury. but an extensive amount of damage was done here. in silver spring, megan mcgrath, news4. thank you, megan. a warning from alexandria police, they say you should be extra vigilant when you're using your phone outside. police say in the last few weeks, more than a dozen people had their phones stolen. police say that in those weeks, that this is what happened. the thefts were happening around the braddock road metro station, most of the people were talking on their phones or using them in some way at the time. a few who had them stolen were in the process of selling their telephones. today, president obama will hold his final news conference, of 2016 before he and the first family leave for their holiday trip to hawaii. this as the white house

why it kept details about russian hackers under wraps before the election. meanwhile, president-elect donald trump continues his thank you tour. nbc's tracie potts has more from capitol hill. >> in four years we're going to win it by even more. >> president-elect trump reveling in victory overnight in pennsylvania, and asking along with some democrats, why did the white house wait so long to act on russian hackers trying to influence the election? >> whether you attack us by meek or mouse, it's an attack. so it does require a response. >> mr. putin is well aware of my feelings. >> president obama, in a new interview this morning on npr. >> we need to take action and we will. at a time and place of our own choosing. >> nbc has learned the obama administration warned russia, including president vladimir putin, not to interfere. >> this could only happen with the approval of the highest levels of the russian government. >> intelligence sources believe putin personally directed the use of hacked emails.

going public because they didn't want to appear political and thought hillary clinton would win. >> they didn't want to be criticized for putting their hand on the scales. >> in retrospect, it certainly seems as though it was a mistake. >> at a thank you party last night for donors, someone who was in the room tells nbc, clinton did not mention trump. but did take credit for standing up to putin. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. honoring an american hero, the two days of memorials planned for john glenn. a look at how members of the public will get a chance to say good-bye today in ohio. and the shipping rush is on, today is one of the last days retailers will be offering free shipping. the reason the rush to get them to your door on time. a look

today thousands are expected to pay their respects to an american hero. right now, receipt mains of john glenn lie in state inside the ohio state house. nbc's jay gray is in the buckeye state and has more on the memorial for the former astronaut and senator. >> these are the men who had the right stuff. >> a fighter pilot. astronaut and statesman. john glenn was an american hero. but his home and heart were

in ohio. where crews have prepared the state house for thousands of visitors expected to pour through the rotunda later today. to pay their respects as his body lies in state ahead of a weekend memorial. he was a pioneer, the first american in orbit, but always it seems, down to earth. a trait he shared with congress after returning from his first historic flight. >> as our knowledge of this universe in which we live increases, may god grant us the wisdom and guidance to use it wisely. >> glenn continued to push the envelope and search for knowledge his entire life. returning to space at 77 years old. astronaut steve robinson was on that mission. >> he savored the whole thing. and he didn't make a big poetic deal about it at all. john glenn was the most honest, and straightforward and clear thinking individual you can imagine. >> and icon, honored and

columbus, ohio. in 2010, he was led away from his home in handcuffs. this morning he's waking up in a halfway house. just yesterday, former prince george's county executive jack johnson was released from prison. after doing time for a public corruption scandal. he pleaded guilty to shaking down contractors for large sums of money. news4 captured exclusive video of his arrest six years ago. his wife, leslie, was also arrested for hiding evidence. in a phone conversation, johnson advised her to side hyde some of the money in her underwear while investigators werout side the home. new this morning, you have a few more days to sign up for insurance through the affordable care act. the deadline was extended by four days. apparently nearly one million people fought to get through to call the call center operators and log on to healthcare.gov to buy insurance by last

deadline. the new deadline for january 1st coverage is now december the 19th. well it's that time of year -- just before the holidays, comes the shipping crunch time. >> today is the deadline for fedex's standard ground service. it's also free shipping day. news4 consumer reporter susan hogan takes us inside a very busy fedex facility to show us what the holiday rush is really like. >> hey, guys, this is so cool. i am right now at fedex. this is like the heart of the christmas season where the packages are coming in. this is the facility here in alexandria. where they're going to peak season, which started on monday, see hundreds of thousands of packages come through. so maybe someone's little gift is in this box. and it's a pretty amazing sight. joining me now is sort of like the santa claus of fedex. tony. tony er

sight to see. tell me about the volume we're going to be seeing. >> during the peak season fedex is anticipating another record-breaking year. we're expecting to double in our capacity throughout the next couple of weeks. >> weather plays a huge role. tell me what's going on right now. i'm sure you guys are keeping a strong eye on that. >> absolutely. we have to keep track of our weather throughout the whole country. our meteorologist in memphis actually, we employ 15 meteorologists down in memphis. >> no competition, chuck bell. so they're watching it. right now how do things look? >> things look very well. everything is running pretty smoothly right now. >> this is really neat. so we're going to throughout the show kind of walk you through the whole process as to how these packages go from wherever you ordered them to here and then to your doorstep on time. that's the big goal, right? >> absolutely. >> walk us through this, this is really cool. what are we seeing

>> our off-load area and our sort facility. the packages go down our sort and will be loaded into vehicles along the sort belt. those are the off-load containers. >> they just bring them from the truck to here, right? >> absolutely. a big operation, isn't it? >> and we're paying extra, so they better get here on time. an update on military medals found at a local goodwill and the search for the person they belong to. more of the harsh weather gripping much of the country, this traffic pile-up happened in pennsylvania. it's just one of the issues facing people across the country. at ikea, we believe everyone should be able to afford a welcoming home for the holidays. and that nothing should get in the way of a good conversation. we believe that room for one more shouldn't cost more.

spend your holiday overjoyed and under budget with ikea. 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.

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let's show you some video of a beautiful portland, maine this morning. where the temperature was 1 below zero. but it felt like 22 below zero. nbc's blake mccoy looks at how much of the country is suffering the extreme cold. >> this morning, for so much of the country, the arctic temperatures are brutal. and sticking around. >> it's cold. >> it's just terrible out here. >> the frigid air will combine with more snow today and into the weekend for the northern half of the country. millions bracing for another messy morning commute. in pennsylvania, i-80 is back open after whiteout conditions

led to this 59-car pile-up thursday. in cleveland, demands to clear the snow-covered roads faster. >> we pay our taxes, we deserve service. >> while in portland, oregon, already crippled by snow and ice, they're trying to thaw out. >> look out! >> after this school bus was sent sliding this week, kids used their snow day to take out sleds and slide past it. ♪ ♪ >> christmas is just over a week away. with more bad weather coming. shoppers in chicago are not deterred. >> what in the world are you thinking doing your christmas shopping today? >> it has to get done sometime and i won't sleep if i don't get something done. so it's panic. it's called panic. >> so did they get more snow in chicago overnight? >> i think so, yeah, yeah. i mean it is just brutal in chicago. that's one place i don't want to be during the winter. >> what exactly does minus 22 feel like? >> anything -- >> does it f

than -- >> i've never experienced it. >> the wind, that's what they have in chicago. we had it here yesterday. >> it was a mess, brutal yesterday. >> didn't want to spend any time outside. today it's a little bit better but the temperatures are still in the 20s. at least we don't have the wind that cuts right through you. so at least that's a good piece of news, but we have bad news in the forecast because we've got a little bit of a wintry mix for tomorrow morning. and moving in just after midnight. if you have plans tonight, a-okay, looking good and dry. but a little gloomy if you can see the picture to the right from our tower camera. on saturday, temperatures are rising, so the wintry mix that's moving in overnight through tomorrow morning will turn to just plain rain. temperatures are going to be in the 40s by noon. so again. that temperature will continue to rise as we go through the day tomorrow. current temperatures, we've got teens off to the north and west coming through winchester, martinsburg, even through montry

county, maryland. here in d.c., 24 degrees. a warm 24 degrees. we're headed to the upper 20s for daytime highs. we'll keep the clouds around for most of the day. i thought we would squeeze out a little sunshine, but i think mostly cloudy day. but we're dry through the remainder of the day. overnight, a different story. we've got a winter weather advisory that's outlined in purp purple. we've got a winter storm watch outlined in blue. that is where i do believe the blue areas are where we could have some slick roads by early tomorrow morning. as we get the wintry mix moving in and before it actually changes to just plain rain. so today, very chilly as we continue through the day. upper 20s, that's about as good as we're going to get. temperatures pretty much staying steady overnight in the mid to upper 20s, we're not going to fall too far, too fast. but the mix is on the way after about 11:00 p.m. let me time it out, you're looking good all day. if you have holiday parties tonight, you just want to get out and finish some shopping, you're good to go. we could have a little period of

but this is what we're worried about. the sleet and freezing rain. think it's going to be more freezing rain than sleet. this is 5:00 a.m. we could get a nice little glaze of ice around here. especially those areas in the winter storm watch could get a little bit more. maybe .1 of an inch or more. by 8:00 a.m., the warm air wins out and you can see the rain changes over about 11:00. if you need things to do tomorrow, get out after about 10:00 or 11:00. then we've got sunday to deal with. sunday's temperatures could be around 60, we're going to plan that out for you. that's all coming up in ten minutes. we are working for you and happy to report we're helping get our military hero's medals back home. >> robert emminger's silver star and purple heart were donated to the goodwill store in annandale months ago. this morning we received an email from emzminger's great

he told us the family mistakenly donated the medals when they moved. we put him in touch with goodwill and now the medals are going back home where they belong. >> a great story. >> i saw that story yesterday at the 4:00. so somebody called. >> just incredible. we're watching the up's and down's on wall street. a look at how the new "star wars" movie. a survivor sharing her tore story, her

i'm molette green at the live desk, arson is the cause that conclusion just in from montgomery county fire investigators. we showed you the burned-out home in silver spring that went up in flames overnight. an adult female who lives in that home faces one count of first-degree arson. three counts of reckless endangerment. right now investigators are questioning this woman. flames broke out overnight in a second-floor bedroom of this home. people in that house tried themselves to put out the fire, but they could not get a handle on it. no injuries. look for updates on this story throughout the day inside our app and later today on news4.

taking a look at the big board at the new york stock exchange, the dow jones industrial average was rocketing towards 20,000, not quite there yet. however, "star wars" could make up the difference. the new "rogue one" movie is out today, if it does well, it could mean games for disney, which is a component of the dow. disney's stock is actually down for the year. a teenager who survived the deadly apartment explosion in silver spring says she hasn't given up on the american dream. four months ago seven people died in that natural gas explosion at the flower branch apartments. news4's shomari stone shares the story of her perseverance. >> it was my dream for two years to come to the united states. >> 17-year-old bitseat getaneh's american dream turned to a nightmare. >> i'm very sad. >> after a natural gas explosion destroyed the flower branch apartments in silver spring. >> but i was very excited to come here and then this accident happened.

including on her arms, hands and face. but she doesn't allow it to bring her down. >> i'm happy. because i'm alive. >> she flew to the united states from ethiopia on august 10th. she was going to stay with a family friend in an apartment here for a few weeks. then she was going to move to oklahoma, to enroll in the 12th grade at a boarding school. on the first day she moved in, she went to sleep and woke up to the fire. she got out, but the couple she was staying with, saideh abrahim died. >> they were so nice to me. i met them only that day but they were so nice to me. >> the explosions killed seven people and displaced 50 families. bitseat getaneh's tuition money, $2,000 in cash, clothes, books, went up in flame. >> i want to continue my life, like it used to be. >> bitseat tells me she plans to pursue her

account to help her get back on her feet. we linked it to our nbc washington app. you can find it there. in silver spring, i'm shomari stone, news4. you can run into some delays on metro in the coming days, melissa mollet has a look at the best ways to avoid trouble spots this weekend. >> i'm melissa mollet with your first 4 traffic and a look at metro this weekend. remember this is the last weekend for safetrack surge 11 on the silver and orange line. still means single tracking this weekend and into the beginning of next week between east falls church and west, that's through next wednesday december 21st. blue and yellow lines running every 24 minutes, same situation on the green line and on the red line, a regular weekend schedule. i'll see you monday morning for "news4 today." ♪ ♪ he was born right here in d.c. and now aaron spears, the grammy-nominated

do something for the kids here in his home town. he's planning a holiday toy drive in d.c. and it happens this weekend. aaron spears joins us to tell us about his unique plan to get folks to bring a new toy for a child this christmas. and joining him, cressa williams, the founder of the organization, building hope incorporated. welcome to both of you. you guys, thanks for coming, too. you go to building hope incorporated sometimes, right? great, all right. they know they don't have mics, they're being nice and quiet. >> camera shot. >> tell us about your idea. how did you come up with this idea and why? >> basically my brother and jamar, we were talking about we wanted to do something for the community. the climate right now has been kind of dark with the election, people unhappy about that. and you know like a the although of the injustices, a lot of people are suffering and you know the violence and things in the city. it's just kind of been a dark

to uplift. and inspire and kind of enlighten the mood and just do something outside of ourselves to kind of pay it forward. >> carissa, tell us about this program, how long have you had building hope incorporated? >> it was founded in 2003, based on the idea of making a difference for our single moms. one life at a time. we started with housing and furniture. and then our outreach just kind of exploded into our christmas drive. our back-to-school drive. we do a program with 150 children called princess for a day. so it was basically to make a difference in the lives of people one life at a time and it's just grown and grown and grown. >> so how are you going to help them? what are you going to do? >> so basically what i decided to do was, a lot of the equipment and the gear that i've been able to kind of like collect over the years, i want to be able to give those things away. >> your music gear. >> music gear. a drum

to raffle off. in order for people to get the items they have to have a raffle ticket. in order to get a raffle ticket, they have to bring a toy. all the toys we collect go to building hope. >> we have completed and we'll be doing the first drive on sunday for 350 children. then we have a list of add-ones as a result of the toys we receive from him we will add those and start receiving and do it for the add-ones monday and tuesday, so combined we should be serving over 500 children with three gifts each. >> you don't have a whole lot of time left. >> we've been doing this. >> you want to tell me what you're going to do, this is going to be on sunday, right? >> sunday, at 6:00. the venue is called the blind rhino. we'll have the raffle, but then musical guests, gwenny korhas

kenny korhas and black alley, incredible bands. we want to make sure we have something for everybody, music, a great time of people coming together, positive environment, great times. >> bring money to buy a raffle ticket or toys. somehow it will end up with kids getting toys and you got something from channel 4, you want to put on what you're going to take home with you? >> put your shades on. >> at least one gift so far. thank you so much for coming to tell us about it. >> thanks for being so generous. >> don't they look great? >> batman, i see you, you too cool. you are too cool. >> erika, back to you. up next, harsh winter weather blanketing the country. the impact it's having on travel.

the weather having a ripple effect on travel.

lots of delays. at our airports and at reagan national, ten flights canceled today. at dulles airport, there were nine canceled flights. and at bwi marshall, 11 flights canceled, those were inbound flights. in chicago, hundreds of flights have been canceled or delayed today. >> this is the kind of weather, we were talking about earlier. when you get home, i mean it stays with you and so even with your slippers and stuff on, it's hard to get the cold out of you. >> you need to take a hot shower i think that's the only way. i'm having problems with my hot water. something has happened to my hot water heater. >> that's not good. >> as we get into the end of the week, you're going to go outside and you're going to feel the heat. because temperatures by the end of the weekend are going to be nearing 60 degrees. i don't think we've been concentrating on this wintry mix coming our way. the roller coaster in temperatures is a story in itself. we're 24 degrees right now. we cim

single digits. mostly areas around the beltway and d.c. we dropped into the lower teens. but still, it is cold out there. and its going to continue to be cold today. but it's going to continue to be dry throughout the day today as well. we're not worried about any precipitation coming before this day ends. now after midnight, that's a different story. that's when winter weather advisory and the winter storm watch go into effect. winter weather advisory in purple, winter storm watch in blue. those are in effect until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. now this is the area in blue that i do believe will be a little more slick, a little more ice accumulation to areas south. and we're looking at sleet and also some freezing rain with a little glaze of ice throughout the region by the time you wake up. a lot of people asking me about wreeths across america. arlington national cemetery, i'll be out there. we'll have freezing rain early in the morning around check-in time and it will eventually change to plain

out there in the early afternoon. the showers will start to taper off. temperatures are going to go up. we start below the freezing mark and eventually we move up. in fact we'll move into the 40s as we get into tomorrow. here's a look at the futurecast you can see we've got the clouds in place. i don't think they're going 0 goer in today. mail a little snow around midnight. everything comes in after midnight. freezing rain and sleet with a little glaze, it will change over to rain as warm air wins, and by tomorrow afternoon we start to dry out. i do believe we'll be dry through the evening. sunday morning, the rain moves back. look at the temperatures sunday morning, 55 through noon we're in the 50s. then we drop dramatically, could end with a little bit of snow on late sunday night. guys? angel tree donations delivered and the heartwarming response. the amazing pasta-making that takes place at the embassy of italy this time every year. part

embassy row. more on those traditions after t break. he

we're a little more than a week away from christmas. while we any there's no place like home for the holidays. a lot of our visiting diplomats will spend the holiday here in d.c. >> a few years ago we decided to spotlight the customs and traditions those diplomats bring with them to the u.s. in a special we call christmas on emb

weekend on "news4 midday" we will be sharing with you some of our favorites. today a visit to the residence of italy. ♪ ♪ >> beyond these grand iron gates, firenze house, home of the ambassador from italy to the united states. has christmas time gleaming holiday lights that cast a glow through the frosted windows. ♪ >> buona sera. >> good to see you. >> welcome. >> ambassador claudio and his wife lau

italian spirit of home here for the holidays. with the sounds of wonderful sweet smells of christmas in italy fill the air. >> what a gorgeous fireplace. wow. >> above the fireplace the magnificent madonna and child adorn the chimney wall. >> this is the school of botticelli. >> around the corner, and elaborately carved creche they brought with them from italy. it's displayed throughout the christmas season. the swaddled baby jesus is placed in his traditional cradle. a tradition followed by many families throughout every region of italy. >> ma every family in their home has a traditional nativity. >> written a book about the statues that pop late the manger scenes. many of them now found in churches and museums around the world. >> this also obviously

over the world. so decorations, lights. beautiful tree in everybody's home. i think it's really the heart of part of the christmas celebration. >> i think it is the most important holiday of the year in italy, christmas obviously it is very much a family event that is where family gathers. >> and i remember the excitement when i was a little girl and, it was christmas day and the toys were waiting for me under the tree. >> and who brings the children's gifts in italy? >> babo natali. >> father christmas. >> there's another event which is very italian, it is the 6th of january, the epiphany. that's when a second thing happens. that is when during the night,

old lady which flies on a broom and she brings additional gifts to the kids. >> but babo natali's arrival is imminent and in italy what they leave for him to eat is very special and varies from region to region. >> what did you leave for him to eat? >> it depends on family tradition. thing in our family we did the crepe. >> food is no doubt a very important holiday tradition in italy. >> thank you so much, nice to see you. >> this has been the busiest part of the house as they get ready to entertain other diplomats and friends for christmas. >> we are busy, but we are also very happy to have you here and show you what we can do in italy. >> rising slowly since the night before this yeasty concoction which turn into the christmas breads, pandoro and

and pasta for many onas day. >> our tradition is to make a capiletti, kind of a ravioli but in the shape of a hat. >> in a big bowl, ingredients are added to make the special dough that will be rolled and stretched and cut into squares for capiletti. they'll be filled with tiny morsels of ground meat and cheese and with nimble fingers working quickly, dozens of delicious tiny pasta are folded and twisted that cook in a savory broth that adds a wonderful aroma and taste to this special holiday delicacy. >> this is particular pasta for christmas that need to be served consomme, we say con brotho. >> the guests at the party are washington elite and s

neighbors and friends. among them a number of italian-americans living and working in washington. >> christmas eve is the most important night of the year for my family. >> for us it's very important. christmas eve. >> honoring his family's italian heritage, even supreme court justice samuel alito rolls up his sleeves on christmas eve. >> the main thing we do is having seven fishes on christmas eve and i've inherited the responsibility of preparing the seven fishes. >> ♪ ♪ his risotto and lasagna, so much more, to mangia and music from italy as well. ♪ >> and more music. ♪ >> it's christmas italian style. brought to

italian ambassador, who are serving their country and serving christmas gifts very well indeed. in italy they say merry christmas to all. well thats with one of our favorites of all time. on monday, on "news4 midday," we're going to look at the holiday tradition celebrated by the ambassador of ireland. and don't forget to join us christmas day for our christmas on embassy row special. 2016. >> very special piece well done. really. >> thank you. saving christmas, a closer look at a program that we have all heard of. but may not know the big difference that they make each year. and our weekend weather lleck, when we will finay feel

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when you're little, there's nothing like waking up christmas morning to the shiny presents under the christmas tree. the salvation army is making that happen for thousands of families across the area. it opened its new angel tree distribution center in hyattsville on thursday to store thousands of donated bikes, toys, and other presents. news4's kristen wright was there for the ribbon-cutting. >> sonia edwards is so grateful that her children will wake up to presents under the tree christmas morning. thanks to the sal

>> to me as a single mom of four unemployed, trying to make ends meet, this is like a miracle for my family. >> salvation army angel tree volunteers loaded a donated bike and other gifts into sonia's van. >> without them there would be no christmas. >> families in need came to the new angel tree warehouse in hyattsville to pick up thousands of bikes, toys and other presents. tiffia garcia lopez sees this kindness as a blessing from above. >> to me it's a great blessing, because i have a child with special needs and we're a low-income family. >> denise simmons was moved to tears when the salvation army delivered presents to her home. news4 is an angel tree sponsor. >> my kids will be so blessed this christmas. and i just -- i'm so happy. i'm so happy. it's been a rough year for me. >> ebony is a single mother of five. she can't wait for christmas morning now. >> my house will be

house up. >> more than 6,000 children in prince george's county and d.c. will receive angel tree gifts. and about 40,000 kids across the area. volunteers say meeting the families means a lot. >> we have three generations here today helping out. we're exciting about giving back. >> sonia brought the salvation army the christmas card with her children's smiling faces on it. >> they've been a tremendous help to my family. i'm truly grateful she said there's always hope and an angel watching. kristen wright, news4. now, your storm team 4 forecast. stories like that just remind you of exactly what christmas is about. all right. and what the weather is about. weather alert. not only today, but also tomorrow morning. now today temperatures are going to be nearing 30 degrees. but by tomorrow we're going to be near 50, a wintry mix in the

sunday. thanks so much for joining us. >> don't forget you can get

♪ stand by, everyone. we're live in five, four, three, two, one. ♪ i just want you for my own more than you could ever know ♪ ♪ make my wish come true baby all i want for christmas is you ♪ ♪ you >> that is our jam. does it get better than this. a little mariah, christmas mashup with the stars. happy friday. and happy national ugly christmas sweater day. >> what? >> as we come to you wearing our finest. >> i love these. >> the sweaters. they're not ugly. they're kind of cute. >> i love a little cardigan. i think this is great. >> we are bringing you holiday cheer courtey of cordon