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.

>> wait, it's on sunday, sfligt. >> yes. >> that means i'm going to start on saturday. >> oh, my gosh. >> no i love. that that's the routine. that's what you do. you wait until the very last minute. >> why do you want your stress level -- >> it's fun at the last minute. >> okay. >> good morning. as we head into the 10:00 hour on this sunday morning, i'm adam tuss. >> and i'm angie goff. if you're headed out and get a jump-start compared to what adam is doing, it looks like you're dealing with milder temperature this morning. but tom, it looks like things will drop fast later tonight. >> you don't need the ice scraper this morning. you'll need an umbrella. we had light rain come over the metro area the last hour or. so looking to the west, we have some sculpted gray clouds hovering over northwest washington in the foreground. off in the middle distance is chevy chase and friendship heights. the clouds are drifting over and way up on the horizon, they are in the we have. they are producing rain. and we are seeing that here in the storm team 4

that area is steadier rain now is in the panhandle of west virginia and the northern shenandoah valley. that is tracking into our metro area here over the next hour or so. and our temperatures that are hovering right now in the low 60s will drop back down to the upper 40es by early afternoon. then the low 40s to upper 30s by late afternoon into early evening. a look at more big changes on the ware for the storm team 4 ten day outlook coming up this half hour. >> ice coated roadways across our region making travel difficult and treachery. tow trucks responded to dozen of crashes from montgomery to fairfax counties. even first responders like this, they were called to scenes and got in accidents as well. like this fairfax county firetruck which slid off the icy roads. >> we had accidents out here. fire republics running off the road. i'm getting stuck. >> well, even metro buses started service later in the day because of how dangerous enk was. >> the winter weather caused

havoc across the county. and we begin with this terrible crash that was caught on video right outside baltimore. >> reporter: a chilling moment caught on cell phone video. 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 were not able to taenld the national museum of african-american history and culture saturday because of the power outage, the museum will honor your passes for any future date except for january 20th. pepco says an underground cable failed. they don't think it was related to the weather. several businesses were also impacted. covering prince george's county this morning, fire investigators say that because of that house fire had been ruled accidental. someone was heating a candle wax 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 data. president-elect donald trump

tweeted the u.s. should let china keep it much not cure if trump's tweet will change the agreement. the u.n. security council expected to vote today on a resolution demanding immediate and unconditional access for the united nations and its partners to parts of alepo aimed at delivering humanitarian aid to civilians still trapped there. this comes as a new deal is being negotiated to control rebel held areas in east alepo after ground 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 corporatst

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 tremendous hope. >> 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 press 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. he will also join f

some very special kids get a special visit from who else? old st. nick. we'll tell you why the connection is so important and the unique story here in a moment.

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a very special treat for special children. santa claus paid a visit at children's national medical center. >> in this particular case, santa knows what they're going tlouchlt he made a recover riff his own a year ago. amy cho has our story. >> reporter: for all the little boys and girls at children's medical, santa claus is coming. >> are you feeling better today? to town. >> hi, william. merry christmas you to. he is video chatting each of the patients. his virtualr

physical presents spread christmas cheer as only santa claus can. >> it's cool. >> being santa is the most wonderful job in the world. i get to travel all over the place and visit nice boys and girls. i don't wish this on anyone. that has to spend the holidays in the hospital. >> reporter: he knows the feeling all too well. before he was rolling down this hallway on a screen -- >> merry christmas to you all. >> reporter: last christmas a heart tack on the job left him rolling down a hospital hall on a stretcher. >> take me out the back door so the children don't see me. >> the heart attack was in the dangerous part as widow maker. bailey's doctor was able to work some christmas magic. >> blessed to take care of frn we get to take care of. it is a little special though to take care of santa. >> so i guess my personal experience being there at christmas time, i don't want anyone else to have to go through that either. >> reporter: now his doctor helps with checkups. and his elves help with

>> do you want a barbie or lego? >> and together they all make sure sanlta is ready. >> bye-bye. good to see you again. >> reporter: to take the reigns. >> thank you for your help. >> in the district, amy cho, news 4. love it. and even santa needs a checkup. >> that's right. that's right. and it's great he was there to inspire them and so wonderful. there are countless children who will be waking up christmas morning and not able to go down and unwrap presents to see what santa brought them. so to bring christmas to them, wonderful. >> love his joy and dedication. that is a full beard. >> real deal. we're back after thi s.

a balmy and gray sunday morning. we have a cold front now crossing into the appalachians. it's heading off to the east. it is triggering rain showers. we've had few sprinkles in the metro area over last hour. but some of those more moderate showers are now into the shenandoah valley. they'll be getting closer us to during the afternoon. i have new hour by hour timing on that coming up in a few minutes. well, a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll finds that half of americans approve of donald trump's cannhand willing his transition. >> that number is significantly below the approval score of barack obama and clinton in their months before the inauguration. let's bring in the moderator of "meet the press" chuck todd.

this is a very contentious election. you have a person that has a popular vote by a significant margin, three million votes for hillary clinton. donald trump bot 46% of the vote. he's up to 50%. so what i think is it's a reminder that trump is leading a divided country. and like george w. bush, george w. bush, we didn't have at the time at this point in time we were debating the recounts. there was no transition at the time to ask. so there is no comparable number there. but he, too, sort of -- when you have a decisive win, you get ben fist the doubt. when it's not decisive, you see the divide in poll numbers. i think this is going to be a struggle for donald trump. he needs an early win when he gets in there and that first quarter to sort of get the stain of the post election tumult behind him. i think this is what this poll indicates that obviously his people approve and a handful of others do and that's it right now. >> right. >> and looking over this poll, the

me is there was a question about whether or not he felt the president-elect is going to be able to change government. it seems like a good majority of them, 6 will 8%, right? >> to me, absolutely. i think there is no doubt -- if you look by his picks, i mean, just some of them are unconventional. people are criticizing him. but what is the one cohesive message he is sending? he's willing to be a disruptor. he is willing to be a change agent. he is not done anything he didn't campaign on when it comes to when he look at the appointmentes. so he has been trying to send a message and the public is receiving that message. that's its strongest -- if you're him, that's part of the poll you like the best. the fact that people do believe you're going to bring change. they see that you're bringing change. so he better deliver on it. >> yes. last week the president and his press conference which was wide-ranging and really fascinating talked about a sobering moment when you go from the campaign to actually walking in the oval office. is donald trump's -- the

dust up with russia now and the weight of that situation that he is immediately stepping into? >> i think. so the fact of the matter is -- i think the confirmation hearing of rex tillerson which will begin in early or mid january before the inauguration is going to set that tone. >> yes. >> and how that goes and as more and more -- we know that president obama wants to release some report before he leaves office. so, yes, this is going to be an issue that hang officials his head. how he handles it, i am politically i am surprised he is not at least endorsed on congressional committee. look, i think at some point having a commission might be the better thing to do. i envision a commission that will have a bob gates who i will have on the show. you can picture how he would be heading a 9/11 type commission thing to oversee something like. this he would be seen as the fair operative. and obama defense secretary,

fan at the same time has always been considered skeptical of russia. so he would be the right kind of person. look, we have a problem. the public is not believing our institutions whether it's us or the government institutions themselves. so there needs to be some more public investigation of this. this is serious. >> oh, yeah. >> it is mucking with our democracy. hard stop. doesn't matter who wins or loses, hard stop. >> now they're saying prove it. >> yeah. >> we're in a tough spot. >> it's a tough spot. you proveit the wrong way and people can die. there are agents, you know, we have agents that got us information. so that is a box, that's for sure. >> all right weechlt have intense conversation on "meet the press" coming up in 11 minutes or so. can you join chuck todd at 150:150 10. 306789. >> john glen made his final trip through his home state of ohio. a platoon of u.s. marines escorted

state university where a memorial service was held. his wife annie was also there to say good-bye. nbc's an 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,

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

letter before. >> nasa administrator charlie bolden had his own phone conversation with annie this 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. tomorrow electors in state capitols around the country the voluntarily to choose the president. >> so a dry day on monday after the rain showers do move on through. storm team four 10 day outlook, afternoon temperatures will be near 40 with sunshine on tuesday. wednesday, into the upper 40s. and then maybe a few rain showers around on

then friday and saturday, heading towards the christmas weekend, we'll try out with sunshine. maybe even mid 50s on saturday. christmas day, maybe right up or right around 50 degrees. now right now as we look at temperatures, it is balmy. we are in the mid 60s just to our south near 60 just to our north. and those rain showers are getting closer to us. thy'll be movinge i

check it

queen elizabeth's 90th birthday, the british family released this photo of her with her son prince charles. it was released through social media. the picture was snapped on the last night of her birthday celebration in may at wind sore castle. congratulations to her on 90. that's great. >> yeah. she looks wonderful. they had a huge celebration. a lot of people rejoicing this morning after what we dealt with yesterday. good riddance freezing rain. that's all i have to say. >> have an umbrella with you for the afternoon with rain showers coming through from time to time. there is the radar. the more moderate rain coming to leesburg and frederick and win chester to hagerstown. there is more out of the mountains. they're showing that this is really going to begin to break up by the time we get to around 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon. and after that, then come the colder air. we'll be down into the 20s by dawn tomorrow. so between now and then, a big drop. rol c

we go here over the next several days. and monday for the commute it will be dry and cold in the morning. in the 20s. temperatures in the 30s throughout the day tomorrow. then near 40 on tuesday. wednesday near 50. could get sprinkles on thursday. then dry toward the end of the week and for the christmas weekend. looks nice. >> all right. you're going to want to bundle up tomorrow. tomorrow is the biggest shipping day before christmas. >> get the presents out. >> that's right. thank you for joining us on "news 4

this sunday the putin connection, how big a role did russia's hacking play in the election? a lot says hillary clinton. >> we're also learning more every day about the unprecedented russian plot to swing this election. >> not much says donald trump. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's just aother excuse. i don't believe it. >> hard to know says president obama. >> not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. >> i will talk to john podesta in his first interview since the election. and to the former head of the cia, robert gates. plus, how the democrats lost touch with white working class voters. >> we get portrayed as racist and rednecks. that's not the case. >> my