thank you so much for joining us. angie goff alongside my friend adam tuss looking christmassy with your tie. >> one week to go. >> yes. >> it looks like weather wise today out of the entire weekend is the best day to get out and get things done. because after yesterday, we've seen a hugeñi change, tom. >> yeah, we had a wild swing in our temperatures overnight. winds shifted into the south sweeping in much milder air. in fact, right now we're hovering near of 60 degrees in the metro area. fredericksburg, 64 degrees now. storm team 4 radar showing a cold front coming in. that's going to change everything. right now it is raining. all that area you see in green from new orleans to new england and the closest edge of that rain we had one little wave of some very light sprinkles passing into our northern and western suburbs. that is continuing to track east. grab an umbrella if you're headed out the door. a few sprinkles here. the more moderate rain, that will be arriving here later on this morning and into the afternoon as temperatures will drop out of the

are now down into the 40s through the afternoon. look at all the changes on the way for the week ahead and your christmas weekend. that's coming in a few minutes. >> ice coated roadways across our region making travel very difficult and dangerous. tow trucks responded to dozens of crashes from montgomery to fairfax county and even first responders who were called, they got into accidents like this. this is a fairfax county firetruck slid off the icy roads. >> a lot of bad accidents out here. fire trucks running off the roads. and i'm getting stuck. >> even metro buses started service later in the day because of the dangerous roads. winter weather wreaking havoc across the country. it made for a deadly day across the roadways. >> that's right. we begin a terrible crash that was caught on camera out side of baltimore. a chilling moment caught on

a tractor-trailer burst into flames just moments after slipping off an icy highway bridge jumping the barrier and then plummeting to the ground below. that crash set off a chain reaction. debris causing a 55-car pileup killing two and injuring several others. mirror images seen throughout the country. icy conditions causing accidents. >> it put the fear of god in me. i'm going to go home. i'm going to stay in today. >> reporter: and even more pileups like this one in new mexico involving 40 cars. in indianapolis, people spent the night stranded inside their vehicles on an interstate gridlocked for more than nine hours because of ice. >> turn the car off most of the time.

>> reporter: others took matters into their own hands. driving the wrong way to an exit ramp desperate for an escape despite the danger. freezing temperatures making it even more difficult for rescue crews. here in the northeast, it's bawl cleanup and prevention. this is 350 tons of salt designed to melt that ice on the road. >> it's slippery in spots. it's hard to seat ice, that's the problem. all of a sudden, you hit something and you're sliding. >> reporter: drivers across the country are on alert. >> this is the north. you have to be ready for anything. >> a mess. this morning everything is back up and running at our local airports after lots of flight cancellations and delays yesterday. you can seat long lines inside dulles international airport. planes had to be de-iced. most flights are now back on schedule. of course, you want to check with your airline before you head out. if you weren't able to atte attend the national museum of american history and culture on saturday because of the power outage, the museum will honor your passes for any future dates except for january 20th. that's inauguration, right? pepco says an underground cable failed. they don't think it was related to the weather.

impacted. covering prince george's county this morning, fire investigators say that because of that house fire had been ruled accidental.ñi someone was heating a candle war on the stove. this is saturday afternoon. and then the smoke alarms were not working. one person was hurt. they are expected to be okay. one family was displaced. new developments in the case of a seized u.s. drone. china says they'll return the underwater drone it took in the south china sea on thursday. the nation says it took it so ships could safely pass. the drone was being used to collect unscientific dat yachlt president-elect donald trump tweeted the u.s. should let china keep it much not cure if trump's tweet will change the agreement. >> immediate and unconal access was demanded for alepo. they want to deliver humanitarian aid to people trapped there. they're trying to complete the r evacuation of rebel held areas after evacuations ground to a

halt on frichlt. a new deal is being negotiation to complete the evacuation of rebel held areas after evacuations ground to a halt on friday. donald trump is waking up at his estate in florida this morning. yesterday he visited mobile, alabama, to mark the last stop of his thank you tour. this is the same place, the same site he drew the biggest crowds during the campaign. he says it's where it all began. he thanks the people of the south for his victory and defended first lady michelle obama's comments about the current corporate state of affairs in america. >> michelle obama yesterday said there is no hope. but i assume she was talking about the past, not the future. because i'm telling you, we have trem

>> that defense marked a stark contrast for the president-elect who is known on the campaign trail for slipping rebuke for those who speak ill of him. >> they announced a new venue for the deplora ball to celebrate trump's inauguration. it will take place at the national allege pret club at 8:00 p.m. last week arlington's ballroom turned await pro trump group and sold tickets before fully securing a contract. and you're going to want to be sure to watch "meet the press." chuck todd will speak with former defense secretary robert gates and also former clinton campaign chairman john podesta. chuckle join us for a live preview in a few minutes. a pilgrimage walk will be held for unit ti, understanding and inclusion. some n. response to a recent surge in hate speech

religious minorities. derrick ward is live at the washington hebrew congregation in northwest d.c. with more. hey, derrick. >> good morning. you know, this is an annual event. it happens every year. every year there seems to be a more pointed reason to have this in the first place. and i think this year is no exception. as we said, we're live at the washington hebrew congregation where in about 2:00 an interfaith pilgrimage will kick off. now they're going to be starting here. they're going to go over to the washington national cathedral and they will end at the islamic center. now it's just shy of a mile. but along the way, there will be prayers, music and reflection. and again, there is to address what they see as a rise of extremism. fear, rhetoric, and even vee lens that threatened to wear the fabric of society. people are from all faiths invited to take part in this. whether even they are members of a church or not. they say this is just a time to reflect upon those things and maybe brin

more than is needed -- more than has been at this time. and needed responses to this from an even just a social perspective. again, starts at 2:00. going to go about less than a mile. they say they'll go a long way towards healing. we're live in northwest, derrick ward. >> thank you so much. from ice on the ground to maybe an ice dreefrpg r drink. that i about. that we're breaking down the dramatic warmup in your storm team 4 forecast. and a milestone anniversary for a nationwide event honoring our veterans. sights and sounds from across america in just a moment. at t.j.maxx, marshalls and homegoods, we've always believed the holidays should be about joy.

htful gifts, everyday. let's bring back the holidays.

thousands of volunteers are giving back this season.

wind and ice yesterday, volunteers laid wreathed at every head stone at arlington national cemetery. it's all part of wreath as cross america project. >> we planned all year long for specifically for arlington. we did 1228 different locations around the country this year. >> it's absolutely incredible that people have stepped up to the plate to help remember the sacrifices that these folks have made. >> a lot of people here don't have any family anymore. >> it's very horrible. i mean, you know, they're coming out here for people they never met. families they don't know. >> the first time i came here was at my grandfather's funeral. >> with the holiday season there are a lot of families that like to come out and visit the grave site of their loved ones. the fact they cannot for one reason or another, it's nice that the community and the

many people will come out to support the people that have lost their lives. >> they say you die twice. once your body dies. and then once when people stop saying your name. we encourage everyone to put the wreath down and say the name. >> cedric william the third. >> that's an important tradition that you can use to honor military families and our community. well, we put together a slide show of the remembrance. we invite you to take a look in our nbc washington app. time is 9:11. we're tracking a winter warmup. we'll tell you how many layers that you may or may not need today. and the tragic story of a child killed in a road rage incident. the latest details when we return.

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it's a no brainer. good morning, dark gray clouds racing over the metro area. it's balmy and breezy. temperatures are hovering around 60 degrees. and grab an umbrella before you head out the door. we have rain moving in from the west. a little bit of light rain now advancing east. and some of the heavier rain is way out in the mountains. that will be arriving later this afternoon. i have new hour by hour timing on the rain. and we'll have a look at your holiday week coming up and christmas weekend in a few minutes. thank you, tom.

director general of the international atomic energy agency is in iran to hold talks with senior iranian officials. his visit is aimed at reviewing implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. the trip takes place several days after american lawmakers voted to extend some sanctions against iran for another ten years. now iran believes that the u.s. violated the nuclear deal by renewing the sanctions and ordered plans to be drawn up by nuclear powered sheds. it's an action that is expected to increase tension with washington. speaking about relations, improving them between the united states and cuba is proceeding slowly. but demand up is for cubans trying to get visas to travel to the u.s. more people are seeking visas to visit family rather than permanently immigrating. many wonder if the process of normalization will continue in the trump administration. the british royal family is using social media to show off a new photo of the queen. take a look.

>> they look good. connor golden was always on the move. >> he loves to explore. >> wind surfing in the sun and snowmobiling in the snow. but in new york in july, his life changed. after he stepped on an explosive placed in central park. it tore through his leg. he is now working with a prosthetic lower limb for which the family is paying thousands of dollars. >> he's going to overcome the barriers put in front of him. >> connor is away at college in florida. but back home in fairfax, there was another barrier for his parents to overcome. >> it's maddening, frustrating. >> at a time when his son is facing the challenge of a lifetime, kevin golden

will be simple. >> that's not how it turned out. and we've been just scraping and clawing away at trying to get coverage. >> the goldens and their medical provider tell the i team they sent notices the insurance company was unable to process their claims. several times they were asked to provide additional documentation. >> at a time when you're trying to be focused on the other more important things, you have to be dealing with insurance company. >> the review of federal regulations and federal audits show getting coverage for prosthetics is not always simple. patients face new rules changing what treatment and what equipment gets covered and how much is covered. federal administrators submitted proposed rule changes potentially stiffening the requirements that must be met before medicare pays for some prosthetics and doing so with newer technology

private insurers some of whom fall the fed and medicare's lead. >> there's an expectation that upon losing a limb that the insurance policy will in fact pay for a prosthetic that replaces what you lost. >> dave mcgill is with the association for advancement of orthotics. >> if you ask the insurance companies, the central part of the narrative is this is about cost containment. we can't pay unlimited amounts of money all the time for whatever anybody wants. >> prosthetics can cost thenz of thousands of dollars and the overall kest of medicare spiked 25% for them in recent years. because the prosthetic is expensive, so, too, is the fraud. a 2011 federal audit found they paid $61 million in one year for prosthetics for people who never even had an office visit with the doctor who referred them. members of congress say people with amputations are still facing too many financial hurd nlz their recover friday from private insurance. >> they should be able to get some better treatment than they are kerntly receiving.

charlie denlt proposed new law to prevent insurance carriers who offer the coverage from putting them back to the lifetime limit. >> because what happened in new york to connor we might be able to drive greater awareness and spark some action. >> as for connor, days after the i team qurd about the holdup, they say it will pay for his prosthetic and regrets any inconvenience the family experienced saying the medical provider of the family close is out of network. it's a step in the right direction for a teenager whose dad says won't slow down. >> his inspiration to get through this and continue on with his life has been really powerful. >> but with more prosthetic's eventually needed, the family worries about future hurdles to come. time right now is 9:20 on this sunday morning. gray. definitely different than yesterday. and this is a roller coaster of a forecast. >> incrib

where we were yesterday morning. now we're talking temperature in the low 60s. keep up with all the wild swings and check out the radar and our exclusive ten day outlook when [ou're away from your tv. grab your umbrella if you're about to head out the door. we had a few sprinkles come into the metro area. there is the gray sky over washington now live view from our tower camera. temperatures right now in fredericksburg, 65ñr degrees. by contrast, look at cumberland, maryland. they're at only 36. so there is a cold front between here and there. it is triggering some rain. these balmy temperatures won't last much longer. the rain now moving out of the mountains and into the shenandoah valley we had a few sprinkles in advance of that. the general flow is for the cold

here's the new hour by hour timing as we get into the afternoon hours. we'll see much of the rain tapering off. a couple waves coming through between now and it 2:00. after that, we'll see it ending. and there is snow showers out in ut mont anz mountains as the colder air sweeps through. low 40s by 6:00 p.m. by 9:00 tonight, getting cold. back down into the upper 30s. and then by dawn on monday, the upper 20s. afternoon highs tomorrow upper 30s. looks like good weather. kind of cold for the game on monday night at fedex field. near 50 on wednesday afternoon. might get sprinkles of light rain on thursday. after that, looks nice into the christmas weekend. that's the way it looks. >> thank you so much, tom. just in time for the holidays, a royal family photo. the story behind the new release whether we come back.

>> the past week was dominated 25rujuj about russia's interference with 2016 presidential race. it's a story that definitely not going away. >> there's been a lot of twists and turns. the biggest headline is with donald trump simply has not taken seriously the accusation that russia and even vladimir putin himself directly worked to influence the outcome of the presidential race. >> so questioning the c.i.a.'s findings to highlighting damaging information shed by the hacks of democratic groups, trump has been pushing back against mounting evidence of russia's involvement. >> and that raises a really important question. why? does trump think the accusations undermine his victory? that he truly has some kind of affinity for russia or putin? will he reject intelligence from the future that conflicts with his own world view? >> this is a big story with big implication so stay ts.un

he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast.

the british royal family is using social media to show off a new photo of the queen. take a look. >> they look good. >> i haven't seen anything like this. they come out of kensington palace. and in honor of queen elizabeth's 90th birthday year, they released this individual dwroe. it was taken on the last night of her birthday celebration in may at windsor castle. she looks great. >> yeah, absolutely. you can see we have a breeze in the air. we have more news and weather as you prepare to get out and enjoy your sunday. >> time now is 9:26. stay with us.

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believe there are still more amazing sights to this season. believe that there are some wonderlands that are in your reach. and believe that this will be your best holiday ever. at nemacolin woodlands resort, we believe in helping you make memories that last a lifetime. book your holiday package now at nemacolin.com. ♪ just about 9:29 right now on the dot on this sunday morning. it's gray outside and the weather over the last few days has been something around here. >> you can't make it up. so yesterday we did have some of the treacherous conditions that we've seen all year. >> right. >> we saw what it did to our airports, what it did to our

today it's like the complete opposite. not only is it not as cold, i think 20 to 30 degrees difference. we're looking at a balmy start to our sunday which will make it good for those that need to do that last minute shopping. rain, too, it's waves of rain. >> yeah. >> absolutely. wild temperatures. let's check in with storm team 4 meteorologist who has made his way out to the storm team 4 weather deck to tell us what it's like out. there. >> it is a raining lightly here now. and you definitely need an umbrella if heading out the door. but still balmy. we have our temperatures hovering right around 6 o degrees. much of the breeze here, wind gusting up a little bit. 20, 25 miles an hour. it's going to stay blustery as we look at storm team 4 radar. we're continuing to seat rain advancing in from the west. that rain will be getting closer into the metro area. some of the heavier rain out of the mountains now. that will be arriving around noon time into early afternoon between now and then we'll have this light rain

time to time along with a bit of a blustery wind. and then big changes on the way towards tonight and as we get into the week ahead. we'll have an update on that and look at your christmas weekend coming up this half hour. >> tom, thank you very much. no doubt if you were on the roads yesterday morning you likely came across a number of accidents. those crashes caught on camera by drivers who had pulled over. it included this tragic crash involving a fuel tanker. my goodness, if you haven't seen this, you see the truck skid off the road and flip and explode into flames. the truck driver died. the truck explosion sent off a chain reaction crash involving 55 vehicles. one after another cars slid into another on the highway. one person was killed and at least 15 other people were hurt. in minnesota, it was not ice but snow that forced drivers to slow down. there have been 500 crash as cross that state. all of those crashes have happened since friday when

one person was killed and about 45 others were hurt.ñr a 3-year-old shot and killed after a road rage incident. this happened overnight in middle rock, arkansas. the 3-year-old was riding in the backseat when w. his grandmother on the way to the store when the grandmother got to the store, she realized that her grandson had been shot. the boy was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. >> i certainly have no information to say that anyone in this family has done anything to cause this young person's life. but this is about as frustrating as you can be as a public safety official or just a plain citizen. >> the grandmother saying the road rage incident happened after she was going too slow at a stop sign.

♪ it was a warm welcome as thousands of wreaths arrived yesterday for the veterans who lie at arlington national cemetery. more than 44,000 volunteers placed a wreath at each of the 245,000 head stones in the cemetery. it is all part of wreath as cross america. saturday marks 25 years of the tradition. if you want to see pictures from yesterday, open up our nbc washington app. >> there is one week left before christmas. today you can expect it will be a total mad house at the mall. but what some shoppers in fairfax county do not know and are not going to see are undercover officers making sure that everybody is safe. news 4 explains. >> it's the last weekend before the christmas holiday and many are heading to the malls and stores to get their shopping done. >> trying to get last minute

shopping in, yeah. >> what's it like out there? >> it's pretty crazy. a lot of the shelves are empty. >> shoppers hoping the wait will pay off with bargains and deep discounts. >> been pretty crazy, actually. there's a lot of people doing their last minute shop right now. >> according to the national retail federationmost people got a head start on their holiday shopping over the thanks giving weekend. but the group says 90% of people still have items on their holiday list. >> there is always a police officer around. you just may not know who he is. >> this lieutenant heads up the christmas anti-theft team. he says undercover officers are deployed at tis onz corner and tysons galleria. >> we look for unusual shopping behavior, criminal activity and

do everything question to try and keep the shoppers safe. >> we asked what was one thing shoppers could do to prevent themselves from becoming a victim of crime when they're out and about. >> don't get so caught up in your list or in your cell phone that you forget to notice where you're going, the people that are around you. >> in fairfax county, darcy spencer, news 4. every year local children's wishes are granted for the holidays through the toys for tots program. there are bikes, dolls, games, everything a kid could hope for under the tree. look at all. that yesterday first responders from our area spent hours helping hand out those toys in prince george's county. it's a reflection of how much the community cares. >> we look forward to this. snob ordered to be here. they do it because it's an opportunity to give back. >> so many people showed up yesterday that lines stretched outside. look at. that the toys for tots event has been helping people in prince george's county for more than a decade.

oh, my stars, you didn't tell me that puty was going to be here. i was hoping to catch up with you. >> my old friend. >> they all look like -- they all look like them. >> john goodman there making a surprise appearance on "saturday night live." he played donald trump's nominee for secretary of state, rex tillerson. last night's cold open also featured russian -- a shirtless russian va v. lad mere putin who came down the chimney. alec baldwin returned as donald trump and he took some shots at trump's tweet saturday where he misspelled unprecedented. trump later corrected that tweet in real life. and they also did a hillary skit using love actually scene when she went

the q cards? >> it's ashame they don't have enough material. >> i know. >> i wish they had more material to work with. it was funny. if you taped it, watch it after you watch us today. >> holly and jolly perform. >> yes. >> okay. we also do want to remind oun a political note to join "meet the press" chuck todd for "meet the press" at 10:30. he'll join us in the next hour to talk about the latest in the trump transition and how americans feel about it swrechlt new numbers in. absolute lie. you're taking a look at the capitol building with the rain drops. man, we're in for a changing forecast. tom has a look at what you need to wear when you go out shopping to day. stay with us.

a woman is dead and five others hurt after a large tree fell on a wedding party in california. they were all taking pictures under the 100 foot tall tree when it happened. four of those injured suffered mostly scrapes and bruises while another had moderate injuries. >> we have all of our victims, you know, and people that are casualties of this vent out of the park. the park is secure. the main thing right now is just to do a triple check of the park. walk through, make sure there is nothing we missed and make sure that everyone is accounted for. >> now authorities don't know exactly why that tree fell but they say the ground was saturated from heavy rains over the past few days. a platoon of u.s. marines

through the streets of columbus to ohio state university where a memorial service was held yesterday. his wife annie was there also to say good-bye. nbc's ann thompson tells us about their love that lasted a lifetime. >> reporter: john and annie glenn, lives so intertwined, annie never knew life without john. >> i had known my husband since i was 2. and he and i were in love when we were in the eighth grade. and he promised me that life would never be dull. >> reporter: and it wasn't. >> hi there. i feel fine. >> reporter: but for all his accomplishments, astronaut, senator, presidential candidate, it was her triumph he celebrated. >> the first time she was able to speak normally compared to other people was in her late 50s. >> i stuttered ever since i can

really remember. >> something annie coped with in their hometown of new concord, ohio. but the spotlight on the mercury 7 astronauts made it much more difficult. >> are you all right? tell me what's wrong. >> yeah. >> a dramatized in the movie "the right stuff". >> if you don't want the vice president or the tv networks or anybody else to come into the house, then that's it as far as i'm concerned. they are not coming in. >> a decade later, together they found a program for stutterer's that set her free. >> i couldn't -- i couldn't talk over the telephone. >> reporter: when she finally could and rang her husband --

>> whether i called john, he cried. >> it was very emotional for mechlt i know what was like for letter before. >> nasa administrator charlie bolden had his own phone conversation with annie this çó april. >> she said how you doing? i said well, i just called to wish you a very happy 73rd wedding anniversary. she said, charlie? you know, i think it's going to last. >> humor would get them through. before each dangerous mission as pilot and astronaut, glenn would tell annie and their two children he's just going to the corner store for a pack of gum, including when he returned to space at age 77. >> the last thing he handed me was this. >> a souvenir from america's hero to the woman he adored. ann thompson, nbc news, new york. coming up, we have a look at the latest starñr wars movie an the leading lady. have you seen any of this? super cool.

good morning. a breezy, balmy and wet sunday morning. we've got a front triggering rain. all that area you see in the green and yellow, that's rain coming out of the mountains. it's not raining right where you are now, it will be in another few hours as that rain advances from the west and heads off to the east. and our temperatures will be dropping out of the low 60s where we are now back down into the 40s during the afternoon. cold start to the work week. we'll look at that and your christmas weekend in just a few minutes. tom, thank you very much. it's an explosive new

of real estate heir robert durst. a new revelation about what he told prosecutors after his arrest following "the ji in. -- jinx." >> it was the spell binlding moment in the hbo documentary series "the jinx." >> i wrote this one. i did not write that one. >> new york real estate aye confronted about two women in his life, his wife kathleen who disappeared in 1982 and is presumed dead and close friend susan berman, killed in 2000. in the jinx, he caught on a hot mike talking to himself in the bathroom after producers pressed him about handwriting similarities between a letter he wrote to better man and one written by the killer. >> and killed them all, of course. >> was it a confession of the mumbling of a millionaire high on drugs? in court documents filed by

told investigators, "i was on meth. the whole time i was high on meth." in trpss if a nearly three hour interview the day after he was arrested, a prosecutor asked durst if you killed susan, you would tell me? durst responds, no. in the interrogation, there is no confession to the murder of berman but durst did tell the prosecutor maybe there were two people who killed susan. durst saying in the days following the jinx's final episode, "i just didn't really, really, really think i was going to end up arrested." after his arrest, investigators found a gun in his hotel with a d., a latex mask, cash, and a map of cube yachlt durst now in jail awaiting trial. his attorney has long maintained his innocence. >> bob is not guilty. did he not kill susan berman. >> today we called his lawyer for comment who told us we can only quote him as saying i think we just got. [ beep ] telling us he planned to elaborate me

los angeles on wednesday. in honor of queen elizabeth's 90th birthday, the british royal family released this new pto. it shows her with her son prince charles. it was snapped in may at windsor castle. >> now it would have been cool if she tweeted it out or on her facebook page. >> i like how prince charles has a little swagger. hand in the pocket. >> good for her. 90. >> well weeshgs not talking about 90s today. we were at 60. now it's going down, right? >> a little bit. yeah. we will be dropping tonight. between now and then, what a wild weekend it's been. yesterday morning's chaos with the icing and overnight we had the dramatic warming. and now, yes, we're hovering in the low 60s with some rain around. we'll tah

yesterday. that's for sure. and as we get into the evening hours, turning much colder. and now it is though quite mild. look at fredericksburg, 65 degrees. right in the metro area, we're around 60 degrees. but off to our west though, it's dropping back down into the 30s. behind the front that's producing rain. all the area in the moving color here is rain. and that's advancing into the shenandoah valley now. this little band of just sprinkles coming into the metro area. it is tracking east. we may get a break for an hour or. so this other band that is coming into the valley, that will be moving on in a little later on this morning. here's the hour by hour timing. we should see that band coming through. another one coming through between noon and 2:00 and 3:00. we'll have that rolling through. and then by 3:00 to 4:00, most of it is over and heads off to the east and we stay cloudy overnight tonight. temperatures dropping out of the 50s by noon toim into the 40s by

low 40s. upper 30s get cold by mid evening this evening and then by dawn on monday down to the upper 20s. afternoon highs monday into the upper 30s to near 40 degrees. near 40 again on tuesday afternoon after a cold start with sunshine. increasing clouds on wednesday. near 50 during the afternoon. that's ahead of some light rain and cooler temperatures moving in on thursday. but drying out just in time. big travel i did on friday. and into the christmas weekend. looks very nice. we'll have sunshine both friday, saturday, and again on christmas day. high saturday the 50s. christmas day right around 50 degrees. >> not white but not bad. right? >> i'll take it. yeah. >> it's expected to be huge opening weekend for "rogue one." >> star wars. "star wars" in other words rejoice. i'm one of them. the movie took in an estimated $71 million. nbc's mike wilber has a look at the newest installation of "star wars."

>> let's get this overwith, shall we? >> "rogue one" falls between three and four. this time we have a new protagonist played by felicity jones. >> i want to help. >> good. >> good. >> good. >> her character is not a fan of the empire. >> the world is black and white for jen. she definitely hates the empire. she hates storm troopers and she loves her rebels. >> the captain says you are a friend. i will not trust you. >> this is a big budget film but apparently that's not how it felt behind the scenes. >> it never felt like a real big film. it always felt -- i mean you have this very authentic documentary style of shooting. it felt az bit like we were making a documentary. it was very kind of -- he often would operate the camera and he would just let us go. he said i don't need to be hitting marks and overthinking

what you're doing. i just want it to feel very fluid and relaxed. and i think because of that you can't help but give a little bit of your soul. >> super cool. how is this for a remake? bethlehem on broadway? we're going to explain all this stay with us.

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a church in new york city reenacted the birth of jesus in times square yesterday. they staged a nativity play called bethlehem on broadway. had more than 100 actors, animals, llamas, donkeys, goats, mini horses all featured in the production. there the church group put on ghout the day. i love that idea. >> you never know what you're going to see in times square. >> not everyone can go to the theater, too. so to bring that out for the public to enjoy is perfect. >> we're looking at four minutes before the 10:00 hour. we're back in just a moment. join us right now during commercial break. we are live on facebook at the na nbc washington facebook page we're talking about everything. weather, last minute shopping, star wars. let us know what you want to chat about.

horrifying deadly crash. this is one of many across our region as the winter blast moved through. tom's got the latest ton day's dramatic warmup. >> a new location for the controversial deplora ball. the brand new details just coming into our newsroom. one week away, folks. christmas is fastly approaching. that means many of you are going to be out at the stores trying to snatch up those last minute deals. what to look for as you head out this week.