>> i walk out of here with a beautiful memory of great holiday with their family. >> it sort of gives them the feeling that somebody cares about them. and somebody in the community, the community does care. >> now customers also donated toys and other gifts for the families. and after our story first aired last night, the diner's phone started ringing. more people offered to make donations to help out. >> feels good to give. we have breaking news right now on "news4 today," a maryland home up in flames. the news 4 crew is at the scene with more on what sparked this overnight fire. plus, fatal fireworks. the death toll rising after an pl explosion destroys a market. and activists spending the night on d.c. streets. what they are hoping you learn from their night out in the cold. it is 5:00 on the dot. good morning, i'm aaron

gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. a little bit of a relief for today. >> chuck bell is in storm team 4 weather center with a look at the cold weather. >> a cold start this morning on the beginning ofs astronomical winter. the winter solstice is just 43 minutes away. winter is here, everybody. temperatures are cold. typical of the first day of winter. 27 now in washington. 32 in leesburg. a colder 20 in dulles. and the cold spot this morning is warrenton, down to 18 degrees. as you plan out the day, certainly a cold start. the 20s between now and 8:00 to 9:00. noticeably milder this morning and later on today. temperatures near 40 degrees by 11:00. and the mid to upper 40s later on today. so i think you'll really notice and appreciate the change in air masses as we start to get things milder. so mid to upper 40s today. the upper 40s to lower

tomorrow. unfortunately, i've had to put a little chance for rain over the holiday weekend. more about the timing of when you may be dashing through the rain drops coming up in a couple more minutes. we'll go over to miss mollet talking about the inner loop. this just cleared out of the way, so i like to talk about this. inner loop express lanes open near 66. no problems there or elsewhere on the beltway. 95 in maryland from 32 down to the beltway looking quite good here. you can see you're on time, perhaps speeding a little bit to get there around ten minutes today. south capitol street at southern avenue, a live picture of everything looking good. nice, dry roads. love that. bottom of the beltway, everything in and out of town here through prince george's county also looking good. outbound 4 here seeing a little bit of a slowdown just outside the beltway. we'll get a check on that and be back in 10. thank you, melissa. to this developing story in rockville, maryland. just four days before christmas, and this is what one

to face. their home is completely burned. >> justin finch is live at the scene now. justin, tell us about how this fire started. >> reporter: hey there, good morning. fire officials say damage to this home comes in at close to $600,000. and they say that's because of a fire that began with ashes left in this garage here behind us. about 10:45 last night, fire crews responded to this house in the 1700 block of pasture brook way in rockville. neighbors called 911. there were two adults inside and they got out with no reports of any injuries. now, some 75 firefighters responded to this scene here and found heavy fire and stamped out the blaze in just a few hours. and soon after, fire officials concluded that hot ashes appear to have sparked this fire. and also, as you can see, back live here, extensive damage to that garage. this home pretty much gutted by this fire here. and back to those ashes, when you have those in your

are asked to take them, put them in a metal ash can and keep the ashes outside. you may even have to douse them with water and keep them cool. this process can take days, but it's important, they say, to keep the ashes away from your home, especially at this time of the year. and again, no injuries to report. back to you, aaron and eun. >> a good reminder, justin finch. thank you. we have calls into prince george's county fire to figure out if anyone was hurt in this fire overnight. take a look, this happened in greenbelt in an apartment complex on hanover parkway. so far all we know is what we can see in this video. firefighters are putting out smoke and hot spots. several people, including families with children, are standing outside. we have no idea if they lived in that building. we'll have an update on the nbc washington app here on "news4 today" as soon as we find more information. and now we'll go to erika gone za les with more on the explosion near mexico city. >> reporter: we have new video just into the newsroom of the firks

mexico, especially well stocked for the upcoming holidays, this place went up with thunderous noise and lights sending stone and brick flying. sadly, the death toll has climbed to 29 people. 72 were injured or severely burned, including ten children. and there are more still missing. nbc news has learned that this same market ignited a decade ago. and when that happened, more than 100 people were hurt. obviously, a story that we'll be following closely. from the live desk, i'm erika gonzalez. thank you. 5:05 and right now there's a manhunt happening in germany. security teams are trying to track down the person who drove a tractor-trailer into a crowded christmas market in berlin. 12 people were kill in that attack. >> it's been considered an act of terrorism. isis claiming responsibility here. police arrested someone yesterday and then said they had the wrong guy and had to let him go.

berlin at the scene of the crash. you can also see police are out in force there. and in berlin markets, they are closed there, but they are open in other parts of germany right now. and the u.s. officials say they don't know of any attack in our area. in new york, officers were suited up with weapons at hand patrolling streets near rockefeller center. security is also beefed up in chicago. here in washington with inauguration day around the corner, law enforcement agents are increasing their presence. peter nushan says officers are monitoring and evaluating places like the outdoor holiday market in northwest. expect to see more park officers near the national mall. as we mentioned, president-elect donald trump's inauguration is 30 days away. and this morning his team is pushing back on the controversy involving the president-elect's son. >> eric and

were listed as honorees for the january 21st event called opening day. according to the initial brochure, if people donated they would get a photo op with donald trump or hunting or fishing trip with his sons. the transition team released a statement saying the event, quote, are merely initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the trump family. top final brochure now shows no photo ops or hunting trips with the trumps. and right now dozens of activists are braving the cold for a good cause. they are trying to bring awareness to homelessness here in the district. council members, community leaders and members of the homeless community marched through the streets last night before setting up in freedom plaza for a cold night's sleep. some even held a casket and signs to symbolize the 40 people they say died living on the streets this year. >> it's like health care. it saves people's life. >> now the

mayor muriel bowser and the d.c. council to invest millions to end homelessness next year. and it is 5:08 right now. and d.c. police are searching for a group of men who roughed up and robbed a man near the u.c. metro station last night. >> the group of 10 to 15 men was possibly wearing masks. the attack happened at the corner of 13th and u street northwest before 7:00. if you saw anything, call police. and d.c.'s paid family leave bill passed. it's called one of the most generous bills in the country. still ahead, why d.c.'s mayor says it's better for people who live in maryland and virginia than in the district. plus, a hidden danger for women under 50. a condition that could increase your heart attack risk that often goes undiagnosed. and still ahead, a redskins player going above and beyond this holiday season. why he spent hours at the american girl store making something special for a stranger. your time is 5:08.

at t.j.maxx, marshalls and homegoods, we've always believed the holidays should be about joy. where days are filled with magic, not madness. it's why we have amazing prices. let's bring back the holidays.

this morning about 340 people in columbia heights are waking up to heat and warm showers. pepco says an underground cable fault caused them to lose power yesterday morning. the outage also caused three closures on columbia road northwest. all the roads are back to normal. and let's turn to meteorologist chuck bell now. folks will be

for? >> really not a whole lot to worry about for today. that's the good news. it will be a little warmer than yesterday because it was a chilly day to be outside yesterday. dog walking yesterday afternoon was only in the mid to upper 30s. it will be about a 10-degree improvement today. the fitness forecast, how to keep the holiday pounds at a minimum. the mid-20s at lunchtime. back into the 30s by early this evening. a lot of people are getting on planes and flying around the country. flight delays are possible for tomorrow. seattle, l.a. and phoenix. friday, a little more impactful around the country. portland, san francisco, st. louis and dallas/ft. worth. saturday, out west in the inner mountain regions, l.a., salt lake city, atlanta and boston could have delays. and on christmas day itself, the upper midwest will be the hardest hit with a chance for rain and snow showers. what about our holiday weekend? saturday and sunday? what was a

for rain is now a legitimate chance for showers. not expecting anything that heavy, but on and off rain showers during the day on saturday. dry for christmas day and the beginning of hanukkah. the five-day forecast is coming up in a few more minutes. let's go to melissa mollet. it's a lot of m's. no problems in and out of town when you're taking a look at 95 as we fly up 95. you can see it doesn't look bad at all. when we're talking about quantico to the beltway, that will take you 18 minutes. you're on time. there we'll look at prince georges county in a couple minutes. new dramatic video of a tragic crash, a deadly

the peruvian government says several officers were kill ed. the road the bus was on was unpaved. you can help honor the life of montgomery county police officer noah leotta by donating blood in gaithersburg. leotta was killed by a drunk driver in december of 2015. the blood drive goes from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the county public safety headquarters. donors should sign up at the red cross website. and arlington county officers are looking for a man accused of trying to take a 10-year-old girl. he tried to lure the girl inside with candy. this happened on 15th street south after she got off the school bus. he allegedly t h

grab her backpack. the girl ran away and told adults later that night. a scary situation when a mother and her two children were hit by an suv in herndon. rescue crews pulled the mother from underneath the vehicle. the three were hit when they were crossing mcnair farms drive. no charges have been filed against the 20-year-old driver. fairfax county police don't believe alcohol or speed were factors in this accident. everyone is expected to be okay. it is official, antoine wilson will be the next chancellor for d.c. public schools. he'll start to work in february. the d.c. council confirmed wilson yesterday. he replaces kaya henderson who led the district for five years. wilson has worked in education for 20 years and was superintendent of the oakland county school district. you may have heard a lot about the district's paid family leave plan. it was approved yesterday by d.c. council, but not everyone is celebrating. here's what you need to know about the plan. the bill is expected to go into effect in 2020.

will be put in place on employers. it is expected to generate $250 million a year. that money will be handled by a new government agency. the bill guarantees up to eight weeks of paid leave to new parents working in the private sector. news4 was there after the bill passed to get reaction. >> this is helping my family and my loved ones. and it is going to help a lot. >> now opponents argue that the majority of people who will benefit do not live in the district. d.c. mayor muriel bowser is among the opponents and says she will not sign that bill. but her signature is not needed because the bill passed by a veto-proof margin. in news4 your health this morning, there's new information out about a type of heart attack striking seemingly young, healthy women. it's called scad that stands for spontaneous coronary

typical heart attack treatments including stints can tear the arteries further. >> it may be the best thing. so that is an important learning because we were making things worse in the past. >> doctors don't know what caused scad, but you need to know the symptoms of a heart attack including chest and jaw pa pain, arm pain as well. from the office to the classroom to the newsroom, a lot of treats are making the rounds right now. doctor jessica

indulging in sweets often leads to head pain. if you decide to take a cheat day or two -- >> or seven. >> she says four things to know to help you get back on track. >> try to remember to drink plenty of fluids. stay well hydrated. but the next day, take it easy. try to eat healthy and get some exercise. get some rest. but trying to stay on your routine the best you can is the most important. >> now if you need some motivation, dr. elane recommends using apps like myfitnesspal to track your progress. and you can compete with your friends. >> it's really hard. one of our producers gives us these delicious christmas cookies for all of us. i dare you to eat one. >> i ate two out of, like, eight. >> dwayne ate all of them. he opened the bag and ate the whole thing. >> the bag is still at my desk. i can enjoy them, too. >> you can share them with me. >> good luck with that. we want you to share your holiday stories with us this upcoming weekend. post to nbc washington and use #nbc4dc. >> war

pretty heartwarming and hilarious pictures out there. angie goff is here with a live look at that. >> we should take a poll about the cookies, how many make it home with the whole bag? nobody does. >> i can't share. >> i had one yesterday. it was so good. it's the hurt that's good. well, we have a lot to talk about. lights, lights, lights all over maryland, virginia and d.c. we all love a good christmas tree. they come in every shape, every size. a lot of you sharing what -- your dogs, your animals, your pets. we love them, too. please keep them coming. this is my tree, we did a troll theme nice and pink. east to decorate. stick a bunch of stuffed animals in there. we also want you to be very safe. remember to turn the lights off when you go to bed. and also leaving the house. send us #nbc4dc. we'll do our best to spread the

how about that? look at this wrestling one, eun? so cool. >> i love the creative ideas. ben has to water the tree in the morning and jake in the evening. it is part of the choresle. they have to do it. >> that is good. chuck, what is going on in the weather? we did a snakes on a tree theme at our place this year -- yeah, go to reach your hand into the tree -- just kidding. just teasing. weap we didn't actually do that, but the first day of winter. the winter solstice is all official now. no matter how you want to slice it, obviously, as a meteorologist, i would be the first one to tell you winter started december 1st. if you doubted winter was around, you must not have been here when windchills were down to zero. outside this morning, we are on the cold side. the mid-20s to upper 20s in the shenandoah valley. and near 30 by the bay. the mid-20s down towards

fredericksburg. your wednesday, hump day, is a good day to be outside. cold this morning, but we'll have a fair amount of sunshine coming your way later this afternoon. and temperatures 5 to 10 degrees warmer today than yesterday. you'll notice it for sure. have the nbc washington app downloaded. give me a follow on twitter @chuckbell4 on twitter and facebook. the next couple of days getting you through the rest of the weekend into the holiday weekend, 47 today. 52 tomorrow. a lot of clouds tomorrow. we should be dry all the way through the rest of the work and school week. saturday, a chance for passing showers during the daylight hours on saturday. we should be dry by midnight saturday night. just in time for santa claus. then on christmas day itself, mostly sunny with temperatures in the 50s. perfect for anybody who gets a model airplane to fly around on christmas day. that's one of my favorite christmas memories. a model airplane to

a . a new crash at rockville pike, we have a vehicle on its side. we'll get more. and we have a work zone near benning blocking the right lane. this is 270 at old 100. right now top of the beltway here, these routes in and out of town are okay. outer loop at rockville pike, we'll get more on that and be back in a few. thank you. a redskins player spending hours at the american girl doll store. >> but he's not shopping for a family. he's making a little

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nothing compared to a little girl's christmas list. >> he navigated the american girl store at tyson's working to check off a minnesota girl's christmas list. six months ago the 4-year-old girl watched the minnesota police officer shot and kill her mother's boyfriend, fernando castille. >> it was such a traumatic event. i want to bring joy to her and end it on a high note. >> he was drafted making less than $200 a week playing arena football. now he considers himself in a position to give back. >> good for him. i love that. >> i'm sure she appreciates it. we have been feeling winter weather for weeks, but today, astronomical winter begins. another look at the first winter forecast. and how (my hero zero by lemonheads)

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a fireworks market blew up yesterday. there's also a long list of missing people, including a 1-year-old. and the aftermath of the berlin attack. police across the country and here in washington are stepping up their presence. nbc's edward lawrence has the latest on how officers in some of the major cities are trying to keep you safe. >> it is very personal to me. good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. we are dealing with stuff on the beltway. we'll detail that for you in a second. first, we have troubles on the beltway so early in the morning. >> so do i. >> hopefully we get that straightened out. weatherwise, astronomical solstice. winter is just 14 minutes from now. you can clap your hands and say,

that means the sun will have reached its southernmost point and will begin coming back to the north. so today is our shortest day of the year. only nine hours, 26 minutes of daylight. tomorrow we get three extra seconds of daylight. don't spend it all in one place. the next chance for rain is up on saturday. but smooth sailing for santa saturday night into christmas day and the beginning of hanukkah. and a milder pattern coming our way next week. for today, nothing too much to complain about with temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. we'll hear more about the beltway issue, melissa. you'll hear about this a lot from me. the outer loop on rockville pike, this is a crash on the shoulder with an overturned vehicle. we have two right lanes blocked because of the response. if this sticks around, we'll see slowdowns and send chopper 4 that way in a little bit. also hearing about a brand new crash on 66 as i show you 66. we'll talk about that in a couple

major problems there. 270 northbound/southbound also rolling along just fine. we'll talk about the problem on 66, the one at the top of the beltway and then travel times in ten minutes. thank you. your time is 5:32. and now to this developing story, the montgomery county fire department said misplaced fire ashes caused this home to go up in flames overnight. look at these pictures here. they say the fire caused more than $600,000 in damage just days before christmas. be sure to put ashes in water before dumping them out and far away from anything flammable. and north carolina lawmakers will return to the state capitol today for a special session. they are expected to repeal the controversial hb-2 law also known as the bathroom bill requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate in most public buildings. it caused a major backlash against the state with entertainers canceling events and the nba pulling next ye

psychologists and counselors are on hand at a gaithersburg elementary school in montgomery county today. this after a janitor was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a student. police say a 6-year-old told detectives that ron greene sexually assaulted her while complaining the girl's bathroom. he faces second-degree charges and is on administrative leave from the school. and questions surround a deadly encounter between a fairfax county sheriff's deputy and a man just released from the hospital. we should warn you, this video may be disturbing. yesterday the fairfax county police released this video of the confrontation that happened a few months ago. it shows 29-year-old jovani gomez pacing around the bus stop after being released from the fairfax hospital. he was holding a 3-foot sign post when security officials approached him. he hit one of the officials with the post. he later encountered a deputy at the

gomez later died. hospital officials tell news4 because of hipa they cannot release details on what gomez was treated for at the hospital. and we know 67-year-old francis robinson is the woman found dead in a fairfax county lake. family members say she had alzheimer's. she wandered away from her home monday night. her family saw her around midnight that night and then discovered she was missing the next morning. police do not suspect foul play. and searching for people who wander away from their homes because of dementia requires special skills and training. people who do that often travel in a straight line and downhill, which may lead to water. the news4 i-team has taken a look at that training some police officers in our area have had to find people who do wander off. open the app and search

th dimentia to find that story. and nearly 600 people have been invited to sing carols outside a man's home on christmas day. they were sbad to learn his legendary display wouldn't be on this year. they are expecting a couple dozen carolers to happen in the evening on sunday. >> i bet you that crowd continues to grow as people find out what is going on to bring him cheer. i love it. and it's the final countdown. believe it or not, you can still get your presents to your loved ones before christmas. how about that? you have to move and fast. today is the last day to send priority mail packages to arrive by sunday. tomorrow is the last day for priority shipping express, which could cost you a lot more. we're talking double or triple the prices. some post offices in our area are open for extended hours this week. and they will even be open on christmas eve. i'm just letting

expect lines and crowds. and chaos. and new this morning, the families of pulse nightclub victims suing social media sites. why they claim facebook sparked that deadly nightclub attack. and it was one of the biggest drug busts ever in our area. and it was made by accident. how an officer happened find 250 pounds of marijuana. and we are just minutes away from the astronomical start of winter at 5:44 a.m. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell has a look at the forecast coming up next.

5:39 and another chilly start this morning. chuck bell is here with what to expect today. >> another cold morning with temperatures down into the 20s this morning. not much wind out there thankfully, but a little breeze we have has windchills down mostly into the mid to upper 20s. so the kids on their way out to the bus stop for the last days before winter vacation, temperatures are in the mid-20s. how about the mid to upper 40s by later on today? so you will certainly need the winter coat and the mittens early on. but later on this afternoon, i think you're going t

b-plus for today. the afternoon high up near 47 degrees. the ten-day outlook is coming up in ten minutes. now it's time to go over to melissa mollet with beltway issues growing. this problem is growing outer loop before rockville pike. take a look, everything is pushed under the far left side of the roadway. the overturned vehicle is on the right side of the roadway, but right now we have a big police and fire response kind of blocking some of those lanes here this morning. eastbound 66 at 123, the left lane is blocked slowing things just a bit. westbound 50 before kenilworth, we have a crash on the left side. right now 270 south looks okay. the top of the beltway is looking slow. chopper 4 will be there soon. we'll have live pictures from above. 66 inbound looks okay. 95 northbound, no big worries. remember to listen to wtop 103.5 f.m. when you hop in your car today. thank you. a case of cruelty exposed. a little girl found locked in a box. the charges nine people are

now coming up. plus, camped out as activists are sleeping outside for a cause. more on their msage just ahead es

right now on "news4 today," the cause that has many argument viss camped out. and a cruel crime exposed. nine people facing charges after a little girl is found locked in a wooden box. and new this morning, social media lawsuit. families of the pulse nightclub victims pointing the finger at facebook. why they blame facebook for the deadly nightclub attacks. and security stepped up around the globe after terror in berlin. what's being done to keep our streets safe through the holiday season.

but first, good morning, everybody. it is now exactly 5:44 in the morning. you can almost hear the sun now come to a complete stop. it will be turning around and coming back to the north starting later on today. the winter solstice is here. the shortest day of the year today. only 9 hours, 26 minutes of daylight. we'll get plenty of sunshine to enjoy it. the days start getting longer tomorrow. you may not notice it too much tomorrow. we only get an extra 3 seconds of daylight. but longer is longer, let the march to spring time begin. absolutely, thank you. the district's death with dignity bill will now head to congress. yesterday mayor muriel bowser signed the measure to allow some terminally ill patients to end their lives with the help of a doctor. congress will have 30 days to look over that bill. it will become law unless lawmakers take action against it. about 250 pounds of marijuana was seized in a major drug bust in montgomery county. this happened on i-270 near the clarksburg outl e

routine traffic stop. 53-year-old steve tosey was driving a minivan doing about 66 miles an hour in a 55 zone. officer rob sheehan made the arrest. when he topped tosey he smelled marijuana. after questioning him, tosey admitted to hauling that pot. >> he was calm, surprisingly. he was straightforward with us on the stop about how much he had in the car. >> now according to court documents, tosey said he was coming from pittsburgh and headed to virginia beach. he says he really doesn't have an address. he finds different places to live for weeks at a time. and this is a scary story for anybody with children. deputies in indiana said they discovered a little girl was regularly locked up inside a box. >> it's horrific. take a look at the size of the box there. look how small it is. it was lined only with a dirty blanket and a pad. the sheriff's office

was kept inside for evenings and extended periods of time. sometimes she was even locked inside that box. >> what kind of health issues are my grandkids going to have later in the future because of this? i mean, it could affect them for life. i pray not. like i said, we would love and care for them kids in a flat minute. >> and that was one of the girl's grandfathers he heard from. deputies charged nine different people after they found the little girl in the box. the woman who lived with the girl said she chose to stay in the box at night. 5:47. and right now people are waking up in the cold for a good cause. they are bringing awareness to the homelessness issue here in the district. >> dozens of activists along with members of the homeless community are camped out at freedom plaza. erika gonzalez is live this morning with more on the message to the ma

>> reporter: hi, aaron and eun. they camped out here overnight to bring attention to the needs of the homeless population here in d.c. and hopefully the end result that they would like is to eventually put an end to homelessness in the district. the scene last night of people marching through freedom plaza is now this scene here this morning. a lot of people braved a very cold night to be out here and draw attention to this. the group made up of activists, council members and members of the homeless community. last night in the video of the folks marching down the street, you're seeing some folks holding a casket and signs to symbolize the 40 people they say died living on the streets this year. now, a spokesperson for the fairness coalition says $8 million is what is needed to house more than 500 people that are in need. and they will make that plea to mayor muriel bowser in hopes of ending homelessness in the district. so back here live out on the scene in freedom

see still a number of people that have decided to stay out here for the night that have camped out here for the night. and for other people, this is day-to-day life. tell me about this evening and how this has been for you guys. >> well, it's been a wonderful experience with the people of status coalition to have the chance to come out here and recognize those people who passed away. >> reporter: well, we appreciate your time and hope that you guys continue to stay warm. and we will see you throughout the morning as well. live from freedom plaza, i'm erika gonzalez, back over to you. >> if you see homeless folks who look like they need help during the cold, winter months. go to the nbc washington app and we have information for resources available in d.c., maryland and virginia to give them a place to stay. and new this morning, the families of three victims of the pulse nightclub shooting in orlando have filed a lawsuit against facebook, google and twitter. they are refusing youtube of placing ads on isis videos on

of allowing isis accounts to fester. the families' attorneys say the gunman, omar mateen, was a radicalized person by that type of propaganda found on the sites. >> these companies are allowing isis to use their sites as an instrument of terrorist operations. >> now there is no word on how much money they are asking for. 49 people were kill in thatted shooing last june. and we have breaking news out of indonesia, angie goff is live with more. >> just got this in, police have killed three suspected militants and diffused bombs that were to be used in an attack. now investigators are saying that this trio, they were planning a holiday suicide bombing near a residential area. this is just outside of jakarta. they say that the suspects were killed when they engaged in a shoot-out with police. a fourth man is still in custody. police are saying that he's the person who led them to where the attack was

eun, back to you. thank you. right now as people are still out searching for those last-minute gifts, police are on high alert. >> it is in response to the attack in berlin. u.s. officials are concerned that isis wants to inspire similar attacks in this country. nbc's edward lawrence is live on capitol hill now. edward, there are no credible threats here in the u.s., so why are police mobilizing like this? >> reporter: it's a situation where they want to be prepared and visible to be a deterrent if something could happen. in new york city, a special squad is patrolling times square. shoppers with bags and other areas of the city are mingling with police officers carrying assault rifles. it's the same scene in philadelphia where the police commissioner says he doesn't want to alarm people unnecessarily, but they want to be out there. chicago, dallas, los angeles, also here in washington, d.c., you will notice more police presence at the area where people shop for those holiday gifts. and also where they congregate in public areas for this holiday celebration. >> all right.

hill for us this morning. thank you, edward. it is now time to check the forecast right now. it is a cold start on this wednesday morning for us. >> busy on the roads, too. chuck bell will tell us what it's going to take to get warm around here. >> well, first thing we need is the sunshine. on the shortest day of the year, that is always a tall order, indeed. the sun is not up until 7:23 this morning. one of our latest sunrises of the year. skies are mostly clear to partly cloudy depending on where you live. just a few fair weather clouds drifting over the metro d.c. area right now. it's cold, some of the outlying suburbs are down close to 20 degrees. we'll be mid-20s at 7:00 this morning. mid-40s at 3:00 this afternoon. and back into the upper 30s by early this evening. but hometown highs today, 43 is your high in gaithersburg. 42 in frederick, maryland. parts of central virginia, down to culpeper and southwestern virginia, we're in the low 50s for today. here's a check on the ten-day forecast planning out the long

near 50 today. low 50s tomorrow. a lot of clouds around. some on and off rain showers. no heavy rain, but showers likely on christmas eve. they should be dry by midnight. christmas eve is going into early christmas morning. christmas day, a little more optimistic for sunshine. and milder weather for the last week of the year. things are going downhill on the roads fast. here's melissa mollet with first 4 traffic breaking news. take a look at this problem on the top of the beltway this morning. chopper 4 first helicopter on the scene here, this is the outer loop before rockville pike. and chopper can sort of zoom out for us here and show us, we have a two-mile backup right now with everything on the right side of the roadway. no difference because this has started to build here quite quickly for folks, even though it's out of the roadway. another problem, inner loop or inbound 395 before the 14th street bridge, police and fire rescue are at the scene. and at this moment, things are shut down. we did have that right lane getting by. it should be getting by here in the next couple of

left lane blocked here this morning. westbound 50 before kenilworth. we have a crash on the left shoulder there. and northbound 295 before benning road, we have a work zone blocking the right lane. more on this problem and the top of the beltway coming up. thank you, melissa. if you're getting ready to do traveling, i know a lot of people are. here's where you may be most likely to run into airport delays over the next couple of days. nothing to worry about for today. tomorrow, a lot of people start to think about heading out of town or if you're expecting people from other cities around the country, airline delays most likely mainly out west tomorrow, seattle, portland and los angeles. and friday, a much busier travel day. some of the problems start to get in towards the middle of the country. portland, san francisco, rain showers there, but also st. louis and dallas/ft. worth could have some showers around on friday. that may slow things down a little bit. saturday, certainly a big day for a lot of people flying in and out of the city. and l.a., salt lake city, atlanta and boston, they all have inclement

here, too, so there could be slightly delayed airline travel around our area. then headed to christmas day south, most of the troubles are across parts of the upper midwest. we'll give you a breakdown of today hour by hour coming up in a few more minutes. thank you, chuck. well, everything should be back to normal on the southwest airlines website and app. the airline's 30-year-old reservation system went dark yesterday morning. according to "the wall street journal," the airline is allowing people who are flying through today to change plans if needed without penalty. this was the second outage for southwest since july. and u.s. safety regulators are looking at dozens of claims from drivers who say their vehicles are rolling away after they're parked. the investigation covers 2014 to 2016 dodge durangos and 2013 and 2016 models of the ram 1500. so far there have been 43 complaints involving crashes or fires that involve some injuries. no deaths, though. the investigation is centered on the new rotary

good morning, i'm landon dowdy at cnbc headquarters. volkswagen agrees to a settlement with u.s. regulators and will pay $1 billion to buy back or fix an additional 80,000 diesel cars as part of the emission cheating scandal. this covers those with 3-liter engines. volkswagen is spending $17 billion to resolve claims over polluting diesel cars. i'm landon dowdy. thank you, landon. if d.c. has been feeling a bit more crowded to you lately, it's because it is. the latest census numbers show the district has the highest population in 40 years. more than 681,000 people now call d.c. home. the city's population hasn't been this large since the '70s between july of 2015 and july of 2016. about 900 new residents move here each month. and a baby boom

into d. d.c. homes. i think it's a great place to live. >> i would agree. and if you're thinking about leaving your kids at home for new year's eve, it's going to cost you. >> yeah, for sure. that's because it is likely going to be extra to hire a babysitter. care.com made a list of the top ten most expensive cities for babysitting on new year's eve. the d.c. region came in at number five with an average hourly rate of close to $16. portland is topping the list at nearly $17 an hour. booking early can help you save some money. or if you wait until last minute, it will cost you more money. new at 6:00, flames erupt at a prince george's county airport building. justin finch just arriving on the scene to bring us up to speed. it could be a make-or-break day for an accused serial killer. the key evidence that could be allow in the robert dur is, t murder trial. and take a live look outside this morning where we are a little more

winter. but it may not feel like it. whewe could see a warm un p.

now at 6:00, an explosion rocks a fireworks factory. how christmas may have factored into this catastrophe. and a two-story rockville home goes

it. and here we go, the astronomical start of winter. we are now 15 minutes into the winter solstice. good morning, everybody. it's 6:00 a.m. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. the winter solstice is here. we have been talking about winter being here for a while. >> well, december is a winter month. so from a weather perspective, december 1 was the beginning, but now there's no more waiting for the official beginning. it's official. >> it's official when you say it's official. >> that's exactly right. i'm the person in charge of that thing. so it is indeed the beginning of the winter season now. officially no matter how you slice it, the solstice occurred 15 minutes ago. we'll be dry the next couple of days and turn milder. but i have increasing chances for showers coming up on your christmas eve. right now, though, it's clear and dry and cold. it's in the 2