things could look very different overnight and into tomorrow morning. v-dot is asking drivers to stay off the roads between 3:00 and 9:00 a.m. because of the concerns about the icing. crews have already started pretreating roads, and they will be on stand by starting at 7:00 tonight to treat roads as needed. if you've got the nbc washington app, do you know whthat you can see storm team 4 as soon as you open the app? who knew. just open the app. going into settings and set weather as your home page. >> this bitter cold made it even more difficult for firefighters. they had to work to battle a house fire in silver spring overnight. everyone did get out. but the family's 19-year-old daughter has now been charged with arson. megan fiagan fitzgerald live inr spring with the latest. >> we talked to the homeowner who seemed relatively calm given the fact his daughter has been arrested and his home behind me here is a total loss. you can see

crews were out here throughout the day boarding up the windows. the homeowner tells uz he did what he could to try toesh tinguish the flames but it was likely those actions that cost him his home. >> when the firefighters arrived, heavy fire conditions, essentially through the roof. >> a fire at 1:00 in the morning during one of the coldest days of the year was no doubt a challenge for firefighters. >> the equipment gets a little stiff, the ladders are hard to operate. your tools get stiff, your clothing gets wet. or steamy and then freezes up. so it's difficult. >> but pete, with montgomery county fire and rescue says the homeowners likely made things even more difficult. the owner didn't want to go on camera but says he used a blanket to extinguish the flames, but it quickly grew larger. that's when he says he grabbed a fire extinguisher, but it didn't work. >> fortunately, nobody was hurt. >> no, there

injuries, but the home is a total loss. restoration crews arrived on scene and boarded up windows and not long after, investigators determined it was the homeowner's 19-year-old daughter who started the blaze in the first place. >> i don't think there was an intent to burn down the whole house necessarily, but materials at hand and it just got away from them. >> that 19-year-old is also facing three counts of reckless endangerment. at 6:00, we'll tell you what firefighters say you absolutely should not do if you're confronted with a burning structure. >> thank you. >> with this bitter cold descending on us, we're learning the heat is back on for most people in a silver spring apartment building. we first told you about their problems at the warwick apartments earlier this week. today, the tenants association says the heat has returned for many of the units, not all of them. people with no heat still using space heaters.

get the heat turned back on for the entire building. >> developing now, the fbi is now supporting the cia's conclusion that russia interfered with the presidential election in part to help donald trump. in a letter to employees. john brennan says he spoke with james comey. in the message, brennan said there is, quote, strong consensus on the scope, nature, and intent of russian interference. the director of national intelligence, james clapper, is also in agreement with the cia's findings. the three agencies say they also agree on the need to complete the review ordered by president obama. >> and donald trump continues to mock the white house response to that suspected russian hacking. trump tweeted out a few hours ago, quote, are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that the head of the dnc illegally gave hillary the questions to the debate? trump has consistently questioned the validity of the hacking, even as some republicans have called for a

congressional investigation into these cyberattacks. >> president obama addressed the russian hacking during his year end news conference at the white house. the president defended his actions, the actions he took before the election. he says intelligence agencies let the american people know what the russians were up to, but his office stopped short of talking about intent because of the hyperpolitical environment in the country. >> at a time when anything that was said by me or anybody in the white house would immediately be seen through a partisan lens, i wanted to make sure that everybody understood we were playing this thing straight. >> early in the news conference, president obama defended his record, saying the country is more prosperous and more respected across the world than it was when he first took office. >> when donald trump takes the oath of office and is sworn in as the 45th president of the united states, then he's got a different set of responsibilities and considerations. >> thees

the president-elect trump. >> a guilty plea today from the man who went on twitter and threatened to bring guns and bombs to a maryland high school. now, we're learning why he did it. chris gordon has more from high point high school in beltsville. >> high point high school was on high alert. students and staff shelters in place. 20-year-old alejandro avilae posted a report saying i will bring an ak-47 with two pistols to the stadium. i'm also armed with bonds. his lawyer said he had no weapons but he meant to scare students at the school. >> there was going to be a protest or a demonstration because donald trump had won the election. at the school. and ironically, he being the son of immigrants, mexican parents there, was in favor of donald trump having won the election. >> he told detectives he

2014. today, he pleaded guilty to making a threat of mass violence. he was given a three-year suspended sentence, two years supervised probation, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. >> he said immediately that it was meant to be a joke and that he didn't mean to harm anyone. and that he was sorry for what he did. i think that certainly helped play into how quickly we were able to move this through the court system and get the guilty plea today. >> ahead at 6:00, how the prince george's county state's attorney just a few years ago pushed to get maryland to pass a law making threats of mass violence a crime. the law which today resulted in his conviction. reporting from beltsville, maryland, chris gordon, news 4. >> this weekend, a new phase of construction is set to start near the third street tunnel. that could mean even more detours and delays. it starts tomorrow. you'll see the lane shifts along parts of mass avenue between second and fourth streets in the

crews are building a new on-ramp to i-395 and they're replacing the underground utilities. this work is expected to last about six days. this is all part of that third street tunnel project, they're filling in what is now the open part of the tunnel. >> d.c.'s mayor wants the man accused of shooting an assault rifle inside a pizza restaurant to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. mayor bowser spoke just hours after edgar welch pleaded not guilty in court. mark segraves was in court where welch's lawyer raised new concerns about an interview in "the new york times." >> very disturbing. speaks to how irresponsible rhetoric has -- can have very significant consequences. >> edgar welch told police he was investigating what are known to be fake news report about comet ping-pong in upper northwest when he launched his att

restaurant. he faced 35 years in prison. today, he pled not guilty to all three charges. >> we want justice served. i think he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. >> while welch said he was motivated by the fake news reports, it was a real news report that was discussed in court today. he told a "new york times" reporter in an interview from the d.c. jail, the information he read online wasn't 100%. before a federal judge, welch's attorney raised concerns about how "the new york times" reporter was able to interview welch in jail without his attorney's knowledge. asking the judge and the jail to insure it won't happen again. in a written statement, a spokesman for "the new york times" tells news 4, in accordance with the times policy, our reporter identified himself as a "new york times" reporter before the interview. though under no obligation to do so, our reporter contacted mr. welch's lawyer before and after the interview. his lawyer never responded. it's unclear if jail staff

followed probable procedures in allowing a reporter to talk to welch. requests for comment from the d.c. public defender and the department of corrections were not returned in time for this report. welch did not oppose prosecutors' requests he be held in jail until his next court date in january. from u.s. district court, mark segraves, news 4. >> we have a cold weekend and there's no doubt we'll be facing slick roads out there. julie carey recently spent time with a local driving instructor to get a refresher course on what to do when your car starts to spin. >> welcome to a driving course created by a veteran law enforcement officer. his team of instructors uses this specially ekwipted skid car to show young drivers what it's like to fishstale or spin out on a slick road. his first reminder to students about winter driving -- >> four-wheel drive does not equal four-wheel traction. car with four-wheel drive or all-wheel drivean

turn any better than a car without. >> and if your vehicle does start to fishtail, resist braking. at least at first. >> you want to look where you want the car to go. you want to steer into the direction of the skid. applying breaks can sometimes cause the car weight transfer toward the front of the car and unload the back a little more. >> he says if you haven't controlled the skid after the rear of the car goes back and forth about three times, you have to use another approach. >> at that point, we have a saying called both feet in, where you mash the brake pedal all the way to the floor and hold it. >> you might still hit something, but that way, it will be at a much lower speed, and keeping speeds down in snow and ice is the key. julie carey, news 4. a man thinks he's met a woman on facebook and arranges to meet her, but now at 5:00, how things went very wrong after that. it's way too cold out there, t

to the tropics in d.c. >> grab your hankys. it is national ugly christmas sweater day. and a lot of our colleagues here at news 4 couldn't help but dig them up out of the bottom of the boxes. thanks to everyone who shared their pictures. you can see a selection in the nbc washington app. search ugly sweater day, and enjoy.

well, it's another very cold evening, and now we could be in for some ice and freezing rain tomorrow. many of us are under a winter weather advisory this evening. if you happen to be out later tonight, you may see a lot of -- i think a lot of these. they're snow plows. >> salt trucks will be out. it has been a while. will be out in force starting at midnight. treating the roads so they don't freeze over. they have also pretreated some major roads and side streets in residentialal areas. >> people are trying to stay out of the cold and have some fun with it. kristen wright joins us in southeastand she's going to ice skate for us. ha

in ten years. you want me to do more? i can. it's been a while. it's been about ten years. we'll see how this goes. but you know, we went out looking for people enjoying the weather. and this is where we ended up. >> i love it. of course, i love the warmth. and the beautiful plants. this is my love. >> it's about 80 degrees in the conservatory. >> i'm going to stay inside. >> because right outside botanic garden, there's ice. the birds don't seem to mind it, but shannon -- >> i don't like it. it's so cold. >> they're visiting from north carolina. >> i

i can't do it. i'm too cold. >> but they're here on a bitter cold day. >> if it's snowing now, i would be like, it's snowing. it's okay. it's not so it's just cold. good fernando, chico and puppy are dressed for it. >> got to be a good mother and put their coat on. >> the holiday rush starts now at reagan national airport. you should be prepared if you're headed to the airport to catch a flight. officials are urging travelers to use metro if it's possible. if you need to drive, allow plenty of extra time and avoid the peak times of 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. if you're parking at the airport, reserve a space ahead of time online, and officials remind you that there are two exits for reagan national, on

use the second exit for direct access to terminal a and economy parking. >> well, this is called holiday shipping crunch time. it even has its own song. you get that feeling when packages are waiting at your door. now we're getting a look at what happens before that. susan hogan goes inside. >> so i am at fedex in alexandria. this is the processor plant that is massive, and right now, they're going to be doing their peak season. hundreds of thousands of packages that are going to go through here. let me show you this vast place. show this. look at this conveyer belt. this is just an amazing system that they have here. and the most amazing thing to me is how they track it. joining us is tony. tony, you're the spokesperson for fedex here. how do they track this? how do these packages not get lost? it's amazing to think. >> each package gets an average of 12 scans put on ithr

and each one tells us a specific place that it is, whether it's a city that it's in or it's a van that it's in going out for delivery. >> you have airplanes also. it's not just the system on ground. >> absolutely. fedex has 650 aircraft that they fly to 220 countries around the world. we are ready for our peak season and we think we have been prepared for this. >> today is free shipping friday. monday is supposed to be the busiest shipping day of the year. >> absolutely. looking to break our record. going to be one of the biggest days in fedex history. >> thank you so much, guys. we're here in alexandria and this is a great place to be. it gets you in the spirit of christmas to see all of those packages and think one of those could be coming to your doorstep soon. >> and how much christmas gift shopping have you done while you're at work? it's our nbc washington flash survey. >> none. >> that's because i'm doing it all for you. many of you claim you

done it at all. but there are plenty of you who have owned up to doing at least 50% of your shawing from your desk. it's a faster computer. you can weigh in -- still weigh in. just head to the nbc washington facebook page and let us know what you're doing there at work. and when you go, you can see that our facebook page is just awash with photos of your fashions today. >> it's national ugly christmas sweater day. and you can blame some of them on the dmv tees of merryfield. they carry custom vintage ugy sweaters. it might be the place to shop if you're trying to outugly your competition. >> a lot of the so-called ugly sweaters have a lot of cartoony imagery. sequins, beads, bells. but a lot of the real ugly ones jusare ugly, the way the colors, they just almost look like they were made to be

>> just ugly. >> the company has come back after a fire last season damaged its original shop in fairfax. if you want to post your picture to instagram or facebook, please post a picture of you in your ugly sweater. and make sure you use the hashtag #nbc4holiday. >> a holiday celebration at a local school will be one to remember for a long time. the man in the red with the white beard wasn't who the students thought. who was really inside that made for a big, big surprise. >> i can't wait to see that video. weather advisories. winter weather advisories in the purple. freezing rain in the south. we'll explain what it means to you and what you can expect when

our storm team 4 is in weather alert mode this evening. not just because of the freezing cold but also because we've got dicy weather coming in overnight. >> amelia, i just saw her not three minutes ago racing down the hall to get out there. she's fast. >> she's trying to take as little time outside as possible in the cold air. >> i found this in the weather office. omg, sno. we're having ice. >> it will be oh, my god, ice tomorrow morning in some locations. that's what we're going to focus on as we move through the night. it looks pretty, but

it's cold out there. and it's going it continue to be. take a look at the numbers, currently 27 degrees. winds out of the south at 7 miles per hour. the rest of the area, only in the 20s. and look at thurmont, 16. 23, gaithersburg. 28 even down to charlottesville. everything that falls will be frozen when it does so. radar showing not much in our area. as we move to the wider view, what we're going to watch is this area back to the west, and really, the storm itself not getting together yet. it's back here, you can see the first inklings of moisture, back towards st. louis and to arkansas, that's moving our way. a little more moving off the ocean. coming together right over our area where we have the winter weather advisory in effect, including areas in the purple. freezing rain advisory to the south. what's the difference? a winter weather advisory means we could see multiple types of weather, maybe snow, sleet, and then some ice out of that

just freezing rain, and it won't be much, but it doesn't take a lot to produce the advisory. doesn't take a lot to produce the problems out there on the roadways. speaking of problems on the roadways. that's why amelia was running outside to tell you all about what you can deal with during the day tomorrow, because amelia, it's going to be a mess in many areas. >> just before i came out here, i was running out here, but i was looking also at maryland. you can get the road temperatures there. and all of the road temperatures in maryland, where they report, coming in in the teens and 20s. so when we see freezing rain tomorrow morning, it's going to be a huge issue, especially on neighborhood roads, those secondary roads. you want to plan for ice, avoid travel if you can tomorrow morning. by the afternoon, actually, the best time of the weekend, main roads probably will be okay because we have been out seeing all of the areas, maryland, virginia, d.c., treating the roads today. south of d.c., potentially even dry in spots like fredericksburg. ok

by 11:00 a.m., just wet roads. then looking like a rainy sunday. more wet roads on sunday. >> and sunday is a completely different scenario than what we're waking up to tomorrow. and that is because of the temperatures. they're going to be rising. let's take you through the next couple hours. overnight tonight, just the cloud cover. by 11:00, some snow trying to form, but it's so dry, moe of it doesn't hit the ground. if it does, it's very light around fredericksburg. here's the problem, 6:00 a. tomorrow morning, notice how south the freezing rain goes. d.c. to the north, the biggest impact. by around 9:00, just d.c. to the north, down to the south, changing over to rain as the warmer air moves in. by 11:00, all just about out of here. and most of saturday is dry. if you have outdoor plans tomorrow afternoon, no problem. if you have them tomorrow morning, here's where you could have issues. again, the biggest impact will be to the north. winchester, leesburg, no issues down to the south. maybe ice around 6:00 a.m., but

warrington, d.c., possibly icy, but it's this area again and through montgomery county, frederick, the panhandle of west virginia, those are the areas we're most concerned about early tomorrow morning. if you do out until after 9:00, 10:00, good idea to wait a little bit, and then we see the temperatures rise. 48 by saturday afternoon. 63 on sunday, by noon on sunday, at 63 before we come crashing back down into the 30s on monday. next week, much nicer. no weather updates next week. i'll see you back here at 5:45. >> from aleppo to washington. the desperate and heartbreaking plea from a young girl who was caught in the middle of a dangerous situation. >> a man came to this district heights apartment building thinking he was meeting the woman he had been speaking with on facebook. come to find out, it was all a setup, i'm tracee wilkins

now at 5:30, an emotional homecoming for a marine surprising his son. you can see it on my facebook live, but the story behind it, that's ahead on news 4. >> and the news 4 i-team getting a first look at the write-in votes some locals voted for. they really got our attention, and some that weren't even votes at all. >> storm team 4 weather alert. on top of the cold, we could be in for an

so. >> but first, a robbery. it started out as a conversation on social media. >> tonight, four people are in custody after police say they duped a guy on facebook and wound up robbing him. >> our prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins has the story from palmer park. >> started as a chance encounter on facebook. the man who met this young woman wanted to meet her in person. >> he got to her apartment. she was nowhere to be found. >> police say the victim parked his vehicle in this district heights apartment complex, thinking he was going to meet the woman he was speaking with on facebook. that's when he was robbed. >> three armed individuals there to rob him. they stole several items from him at gunpoint before fleeing the area. >> this all unfolded on wednesday in the 3300 block of walters lane and district heights. prince george's county police saythy went back to investigate the apartment after it

follow-up investigation of the apartment and spoke to a young lady who lives there. while they were conducting that investigation with her, they searched the apartment and found two males inside the closet hiding with a backpack. >> precious holder was charged, so were three other suspects. laquan hall, monty beckman, and rico stewart. stewart is a juvenile but was charged as an adult because of the fully loaded weapon that was found on him. >> they were all four taken to our district three station where they have been charged with this crime. >> coming up on news 4 at 6:00, police have tips for how to meet someone online. and what prince george's county police found inside of that apartment when they searched it. i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. >> developing now in syria, the evacuation of residents from the city of aleppo ground to a screeching halt today. the convoy of buses seen leaving the city with no passengers. a cease-fire

down after a confrontation on one of those buses. thousands of people are still trapped in the eastern part of that city this evening. a mother and daughter have posted multiple updates on their -- of their struggle on twitter. richard engel posted this update earlier today where the two made a plea to first lady michelle obama. [ inaudible ] >> hello, mrs. obama. please help us. >> syria's president has called the twitter account propaganda promoted by terrorists for their supporters. >> the body of astronaut john glenn is lying in repose at the state house in columbus, ohio, this evening. a marine guard is standing with his casket at the state house and will remain in place through a

afternoon. that service will take place at ohio state university and is open to the public with vice president joe biden expected to speak. john glenn, a former u.s. senator and the first man to orbit the earth, died last week. he was 95 years old. >> sports stars, religious figures, kids. fictional characters. they all received write-in votes for president during the past election. that's in just one local community. in a public records request, scott mcfarland and our news 4 i-team obtained copies of every write-in vote. thousands of people didn't just write in a name. >> in a polarized, heated election, many voters chose a candidate not listed. some instead of picking a person for president, wrote in a message of protest. we saw ballots that read, god help us, unacceptable choices, and return us to england. we lost. we did see votes for celebrities, too. tom brady,

colbert, and singers bono and paul mccartney included. and 13-year-old ryan staples and his brother gavin got a vote from their father who says the kid are good students and smart and stubborn, though he admits they're both addicted to their iphones. have to work on that. and social studies teacher christopher caldwell got a vote, he thinks from one of his former students. they talk about the election every day for two months in class and said considering how unprepared i would be, they show how disenchanted voters are. maryland voters told the i-team they likely would not read the names of write-in votes so we made the records request and found cartoon characters and local politicians named too. to see more of what we found, go to our nbc washington app and look for investigations. back to you. >> scott mcfarland, thank you. the white house hosted a forum this morning to talk about what needs to be done to help advance equity

girls of color. this is the last time the president's white house council on women and girls will meet. the manual talked about the importance of self-empowerment. >> we have started a movement. we have said what it is we expect. we cannot put that genie back in the bottle. not just asking the federal government to act for us, but acting for ourselves. >> the forum featured leaders from the academic world, the private sector, and the public sector. they all discussed ways to break down barriers. >> skyrocketing prices led to outcries from millions of parents and from capitol hill. we'll tell you about the sure sideline that a cheaper alternative is on the way. >> precious war medals accidentally donated to good will. a lot has happened in the 24 hours since we brought you the story. who stepped in to make sure they end up in the right hands. >> i'm melissa mollet with your first 4 traffic and a look at metro this weekend. this is the last weekend for safetrack surge 11 on the silver and orange line.

into the beginning of next week. that's true through wednesday. blue and yellow line trains running every 24 minutes this weekend. same situation on the green line as well, and on the red line, a regular weekend scdule. havehe a

asting 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

apparently, a lot of people are signing up for

much so that the government has pushed the deadline back a few days. applicants now have until midnight monday to sign up for health insurance. coverage that will take effect on new year's day. the federal exchange handles sign-ups for 39 states. some 4 million people had signed up by the end of last week. the deadline was extended last year as well. following a major backlash that included a congressional inquiry, mylan is set to release a generic version of its epi-pen. it will charge $300 for the generic version. that's less than half of the branded two-pack of injections. it should start to arrive in pharmacies next week. epi-pen prices have soared more than 500% since mylan bought the rights to the drugs in 2007. mylan's ceo blamed the price hike in part on insurers and pharmacy benefits managers. >> health officials in maryland say people who got a naloxone or

department's training program should check their devices. that's according to the baltimore sun. which reports a recall involving the atomizer could include about 1200 kits. its a's an anti-overdose drug o. those overdozes have become a major problem in maryland. in harford county alone, they have had more than 250 overdose cases this year. >> there's an ambitious new plan to make train travel better in the busy northeast corridor. federal railroad regulators endorsed that plan today, and that includes rebuilding the tracks from washington to boston over the next 30 years. this new infrastructure will allow the trains to go up to 220 miles an hour. tracks, tunnels, bridges would also be expanded to allow for more trains. the plan is expected to cut travel times between washington and new york by about half an ho

billion. a big surprise, eight months in the making, just in time for the holidays, who was really inside the santa suit that really made one student's christmas. >> and take a look at the future temperatures. tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., most of us including just about everybody in the suburbs below freezing. anything that's falling from the sky is freezing on contact. i'll have more on freezing rain tomorrow, a just a rnda my cancer started as ovarian cancer and it

coming back in different places. we went from everything being fine to everything not being fine. i really needed someone who could think outside the box. we did the genomic testing pretty early in christine's course. with our treatments we've had great success for her. they gave me treatment options i didn't know about before. there's an atmosphere of hope. i want to be around just to be a grandma. the evolution of cancer care is here. learn more at cancercenter.com/philadelphia appointments available now.

storm team 4 weather alert because of the cold. we have icy conditions expected overnight that will last into tomorrow morning. people getting ready today, checking their tires, filling up the gas tank. they didn't have much luck as they were washing the windows. the squeegee and windshield washer fluid frozen solid. squeegee popsicle for you there. >> amelia is there with a check on the weather. this is the kind of forecast that people tend to not take quite as seriously. >> exactly. >> how confident are we in this, that we'll get ice? >> we're very confident there will be freezing rain around tomorrow morning. snow is one thing. you take it easy, you can manage the roads. freezing rain, a completely different story. if you can, just a good idea to avoid travel tomorrow morning. by the midday hours, we're above freezing, and by the afternoon, sunshine out there. take a look at the headlines. freezing rain around tomorrow morning. a rainy day on sunday, and then looking ahead to

looking mild and looking dry. currently across the area, we're in the 20s. 27 in washington. 23 in gaithersburg, and 28 in n annapol annapolis. we're not going to fall overnight tonight, near steady or slowly warming temperatures. and with that, i want to show you future weather. here we are, 4:00 a.m., notice the area still mostly dry, just cloudy. look what happens by 6:00, 5:00 a.m. the pink is freezing rain. green just plain rain, and we're seeing a lot of pink on the map. this is freezing rain falling. and as we continue on into the midmorning hours, 9:00 a.m., still tracking pockets of freezing rain. but warmer air moving in from the south starting to change over to just plain rain in areas like prince william, louden county as well. by 11:00 a.m., just some showers starting to wind down. otherwise, cloudy skies. temperatures at 11:00 a.m. above freezing aeverywhere, and notic the map at 3:00 p.m., a lle

temperatures in the 40s tomorrow afternoon. traveling tomorrow evening looking good, looking dry, and we continue to warm tomorrow around 8:00 p.m. we're going to be around 52 degrees. again, really just tomorrow morning where you want to stay home, stay indoors, and wait for better weather to move back in. so kids sports tomorrow, a lot of activities potentially canceled. we have wreaths across america as well. it will be nice for the afternoon hours. outdoor exercise, icy and wet in the morning hours. ifio rr getting the christmas tree this weekend, go tomorrow afternoon. it's going to be rainy on sunday. look at your sunday planner. rain in the morning hours between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. 57 degrees at that point. raining around lunch time, but look at the temperatures. 63. we go from about 26, 27 right now to 63 by noon on sunday. 3:00 in the afternoon, we're in the 50s. still rainy at that point. rain comes to an end around 7:00, 8:00 at night, and tepe

the potential for some slick spotsimab monday morning for th commute, especially in the suburbs because we start off at 31 degrees. a cold day, a high of only 35. another cold day on tuesday then we start to warm up. 47 is normal for that time of year. thursday, frield, not looking bad. christmas eve day near 50, and right now, christmas skies looking balmy compared to today. >> sounds good. well, if you don't like this, take a look at this. you could be here. this is pulaski, new york, north of syracuse. heavy lake effect snow combined with 50-mile-per-hour winds created this. people up in that area have been dealing with even more snow all through the day. >> i'm feeling warmer already. >> there you go. as we all try to stay warm out there, it's important to know that frost nip can happen even when you wear layers. frostnip, if any part of your body starts to tingle or goes numb, that's a sign you need to

can set in after warning signs like uncontrollable sieve shivering, clumsiness, and confusion. pets, young children, and elderly are especially vulnerable in the extreme cold. >> in northern virginia, child christmas wish, he wanted his dad to come home early from deployment to be home for the holidays. as our bureau reporter david culver shows us, it was a surprise visit from santa that ended with a heartwarming homecoming. >> through the front windows of this elementary school, you got a glimpse of red. could it be santa? so it seemed, making an early visit? the man who just walked into that elementary school here in stafford, that's not santa cl s claus. that's a stafford marine home early, visiting his son, to surprise him, one he didn't exmicate to happen until after christmas. for the past 8 1/2 months, david has been deployed

he got word he would be coming home early and wanted to surprise his son, jackson. >> show me. awesome. >> sitting in the front row, the first grader anxiously awaiting the special guest reader. jackson, like the others, mesmerized as the reading began. with each page turned, he focused in on the story, never thinking the man reading was anyone but santa. i mean, he was pretty convincing. >> jolly good, i chuckled. >> mom recording the whole thing. >> merry christmas, virginia. >> as the story ended, the teacher stepped in. >> let's start with jackson. >> i want an xbox one. >> anything else? >> my dad. >> the xbox would have to wait, but dad, he was right there. >> i think i have a bit of christmas magic for you. layer by layer, santa

transform transformed. jackson's jaw dropped. his eyes teary, his christmas wish come true. >> i love you. >> the pay-off at the end. you got to get that look. >> i was excited. because i hadn't seen my dad in a long time. >> father and son now catching up on the important things. >> i got two new hot wheels. >> just in time for christmas. in stafford county, virginia, david culver, news 4. >> that was very sweet. made me cry. oh, my gosh. >> i know. >> it's been another busy week, and that makes me cry as well. >> nbc responds to more viewers and they have recovered thousands more dollars, too. susan is here with the week's recap and tally. >> i can't follow that story. >> good luck. >> it better be good, susan. >> definitely very, very good. you dig right in and called us, and we heard you. this week, we helped a couple with travel overseas for their son's wedding, and we got a man a deserved discount that should have been

bill. >> the pryors got hundreds of dollars in airline fees waived after calling nbc 4 responds. the couple booked a family trip to peru for their son's wedding, but the date changed and the trip insurance didn't cover the airline rebooking fees and additional $900. >> the $900 was for nothing, we felt, and it was upsetting. >> after we contacted the airline, it waived the fee. >> we can't thank you enough. >> a viewer from district heights, maryland, got more than $2,400 back after he called nbc 4 responds. he said a supply contract company damaged his property while damaging materials after no help from the supplier's insurance company, he finally received his money after we stepped in. >> and finally, a maryland man is getting a discount of more than $1,600 after a popular cable carrier failed to give him an employee benefit on his bundle subscription. the discount will now be distributed over the next two

years. >> and we have been adding up the money recovered for our viewers, and so far, we have recovered, yes, more than $716,000. >> that's great. >> it is great. and if you have a consumer problem you need help solving, let us know about it. here is how you can contact us. you can dial 8-44-nbc-dc 44, or go online to nbcwashington.com/responds. >> and doreen, you're never here this time of day. you never get to see. >> like a slot machine rolling and rolling. >> exactly. >> hey, let's head out to joint base andrews for a live look at president obama getting ready to depart for his final holiday viekz while he's in office. the first family heading to hawaii once again. that's where they have regularly gone to celebrate christmas in the last eight years. an excellent time to depart for hawaii. >> good move. so that's the helicopter bringing them from the white house where they'll board the plane and be on their wa

they're avoiding the holiday rush, travel rush. >> good for them. >> a precious and priceless military medal found in a goodwill bin. after we first brought you the story yesterday, many of you jumped in to help return them to their rightful owner. we'll show you what happened today to bring us one step closer to a reality. >> and that doesn't look like the return of the medals there. that's a story new at 6:00, holiday healing. how this tank and hundreds of pounds of salt could hold the key to relaxat

a special surprise for a navy veteran in d.c. the foundation's hiring our heroes awarded this new truck to troy davidson. davidson is a former mechanic for the blue angels, has been driving trucks for months. davidson says he plans to stay at his current company, but now he'll be staying there as an owner/operator. >> last night, we brought you a story of two military medals that ended up at a local goodwill. they belong to a heroic soldier who died in world war ii. we were there as the soldier's great nephew saw those medals for the first time. >> when the employees were sorting through donations, they noticed two items that weren't like the others. a purple heart and a silver star. the name enscribed, he went

clemson university. they website says in 1945, he was just 22 when he died a hero. staying in front of enemy fire so his troops could run to safety. >> this is a brave soldier who gave his life for our country and he deserves his medals, deserve to be with his family. >> but nobody knew where the family might be. after news 4 ran a story last night, we got e-mails from several people, including one from a man in south carolina. his name is also robert ensinger after his great uinkle. >> remembering the people in our family, the history, and not forgetting what they did. the people who came before us. >> he said his aunt and uncle used to live in northern virginia and when they moved, the medals must have ended up in the donation pile. >> i'm pleased that when they realized they were gone, it was a shock, but they're very happy that they have been returned. >> i never expected we would find the family so quickly. i'm pleased, shocked, but pleased. it's a good day. >> and today, he got

those medals that had been lost for so long. >> i just wanted to show you the medals. i have them here with me. and i hope that you can see these. >> oh, man. yes. >> so we're excited to get them back to you. >> as it turns out, the ceo of goodwill will be in south carolina next week, so she plans to return these medals to the family in person. in arlington, news 4. first at 6:00, most of us under a winter weather advisory tonight as we head into the weekend. >> bitter cold combined with freezing rain could create some big problems. but our team is working to get you prepared. >> let's begin with doug in the storm center with a look at the conditions and what's ahead for all of us. hi, doug. >> hey, guys. right now, just the cold that's out there. any time you get moisture moving into an atmosphere that is this cold, it has to be frozen at least at the start. that's exactly what we're going to be dealing with tomorrow.

air coming in aloft, we have very cold temperatures at the surface now. still only in the 20s all day today, we only made it to 27 degrees today in d.c. 18, pittsburgh. 27 in richmond. there are freeze advisories or freeze and rain advisories all the way down toward south carolina. that's how big the system is going to be. it's not much now. a little snow here, a little back to the west. that's it. it's really taking shape overnight tonight. we have this winter weather advisory here in the purple. freezing rain advisory down to the south. it does not take much to get a freezing rain advisory. you just need enough to possibly coat the roadways. a better chance of freezing rain in the purple. this is what we're watching closely. i'm going to break it down for you. i'll take you hour for hour, show you exactly what to expect tomorrow morning. it's that critical time period tomorrow morning between 5:00 and 9:00 a.m. >> thank you. you may be wondering what the roads will be like in this frigid weather. salt trucks are expected to be out in full