man arrested for threatening to shoot up his co-workers inside a government office building in d.c. news 4 at 6:00 starts now. >> we begin tonight with a manhunt all over europe for a terror suspect on a deadly attack. >> investigators are looking for this man, anis amrin connection to monday's truck attack that killed 12 people at a christmas market in berlin. police have already questioned his family in tunisia. we also know amri has been under surveillance for several months this year, but there was no evidence that he was planning a terror attack. nbc's ann thompson has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: the manhunt is intensifying, as the person responsible for driving a truck at 40 miles per hour through a christmas market near memorial search is still at large. police warning people here to be particularly vigilant. as christmas markets are cautiously re-opened. it comes after an embarrassing day for

the 23-year-old pakistani asylum seeker detained just hours before the attack released last night when police determined there wasn't enough evidence to connect him to the crime. the media arm of isis describing the attacker as a soldier of the islamic state, now claimi inini responsibility for the incident but offering no proof. authorities say they won't rest until the perpetrator of the horror is found. investigators going through cctv video and searching the truck for clues. in the cab, a man found shot. identified as the employee of the polish truck company. the attack wounding the holiday heart of the city. underneath the festive decorations, heavily armed security forces on alert for trouble. but also helping berliners express their grief at what was once such a happy time of year. this morning, berlin's mayor urges people here not to be afraid. at this moment of

i'm anne thompson in berlin, now back to you. in the meantime, donald trump is in florida today where he met with high-ranking military officials and the leaders of major military contractors including the leaders of lockheed martin based here in bethesda. jennifer johnson joins us with the latest on this from capitol hill. jennifer? >> reporter: very busy day for donald trump. he does not take over the white house for another 30 days but today his focus was very much on that german terror attack. president-elect donald trump met with military leaders at his florida estate today, two days after the isis truck attack in berlin. >> an attack on humanity, what's that it is. it's an attack on humanity and it's got to be stopped. >> reporter: and now adding fuel to trump's plan for a possible ban on muslim immigrants or a registry. >> you know my plan all along, and i'm proven to be right. >> reporter: trump's pick for national security adviser generali

this as the state department tried to assure americans today that isis is getting weaker. >> make no mistake, this is a group not anywhere near the capability it was even just a couple years ago. >> reporter: trump and flynn vowed to stop isis, but for now president obama is still running the show. >> i do think that people understand who has the nuclear codes today and who's going to have them on january 20th. >> reporter: trump today also met with a dozen military leaders and the ceoss of both boeing and lockheed martin, both companies under fire for price tags for a new air force one and f-35 fighter jet. >> primarily f-35, we're trying to get the costs down. a program that is very, very expensive. >> reporter: trump said all of his meetings were very productive. the president-elect also appointed today dr. peter navarro to head up the newly formed national trade council and another familiar name, carl icahn, the billionaire businessman, has been named

special adviser to the president. live on capitol hill, jennifer johns johnson. donald trump's transition team is pushing back against questions of potential conflicts of interest that concern his adult son. the controversy stems from a newly formed charity called opening day. tmz obtained a brochure that says donors who gave $1 million could party with the new president the day after he's inaugurated. big spenders would also get a photo op with the president and a hunting or fishing trip with donald trump jr. and/or eric trump. the non-profit journalism group, center for public integrity, reports the opening day foundation was created one week ago. the paperwork listed eric and donald trump jr. on the board of directors. transition officials tell nbc news the trump sons were not aware they were listed as directors. they say the details in the brochure were initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the trump family. the revised final brochure removes reference to

trumps although the sons are still listed as honorary co-chairs. transition officials say the foundation filing is being revised to take the trumps' names off the paperwork. tonight, new reaction from the man who lives inside that house. a dump truck slammed into that house after it hit a couple of cars. happened on owens road in oxen hill, maryland, this morning. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins joins us with details about all of this. >> reporter: jim, the family who lives inside this house is not here tonight because it's not safe for them to be there. meanwhile, prince george's county police are working with state police to try and figure out what led to this dump truck plowing into the home. >> right now we're just going through the process and we're taking it one second at a time. >> reporter: this homeowner says he was at work when he got the call that a dump truck had landland ed in his living room. >> unfortunate set of circumstances. we're just going to do

can to muscle through. >> i heard this bang, great sound like an earthquake or something. >> reporter: it was an accident that shook an entire block. >> i saw the dump truck into my neighbor's house. >> reporter: luckily no one was inside the house in the 900 block of owens road in oxen hill when it happened but two separate vehicles struck by the dump truck with people inside, two of them kids. >> both of them crying then the driver of the car, he was trying to console them. i saw the little boy was bleeding. i went back in and got some paper towels to kind of absorb the blood. >> i feel bad for them because nothing ever happened like this as far as i've been driving. i've been driving trucks since i was 16. i'm 62 now. >> reporter: the driver said he was coming down this road when a box truck passed him on the right-hand side, clipping him and locking his right wheel. he says he lost control, slammed into one vehicle, and then hit another vehicle in the opposite lane before running into that house. >> kept on going. i think it went up 7th avenue.

>> reporter: prince george's county police are investigating the driver's story. workers at a nearby construction zone say the dump truck was going too fast. and they never saw another vehicle strike the truck. >> we'll determine if there was a white vehicle involved, determine what took place, how the driver of the dump truck was also operating his vehicle. that's all part of the investigation. >> reporter: maryland state police will also investigate that dump truck to see if there was anything wrong with it. reporting live from oxen hill, tracee wilkins, back to you in the studio. now to a story you'll see only on news 4. a contractor for the d.c. government has been arrested for threatening a shooting at his office. the threats led to a lockdown and new active shooter training for employees. news 4's mark segraves broke the story on twitter and has more details now. >> reporter: he worked here for the chief technology officer for the district of columbia for several years without any problems. but in early december, edwin melton was told his contract wasn't going to be

that's what prosecutors say prompted melton to threaten to kill three of his co-workers. court documents say melton called a co-worker about 8:30 on the morning of december 7th and said "there might be a mass shooting at 200 i. street. ""he went on to say we would "put slugs into the chest" of three co-workers who he named. the co-worker he called them alerted police. melton showed up to work later that day but didn't have a gun and made no threats. he left work before police arrived and placed the building on lockdown. 200 i. street houses several d.c. agencies including child and family services. so security is higher at that location than other government buildings. days after the incident, police conducted active shooter training for employees. immediately after the alleged threat was reported, we worked closely with npd and building security to secure our facilities. we provided multiple mpd-led trainings on how staff should

octo is conducting a thorough review of existing processes and procedures to ensure our staff is as safe as possible at all times." melton was arrested the next day at his home in virginia. police did confiscate his cell phone. they believe the threatening call was made from. they did not find any guns. melton's attorney declined to comment except to say that melton denies the charges. in the district, mark segraves, news 4. the arlington woman who made hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit in a counterfeit handbag scheme is going to prison. she was sentenced to 30 months for running a multiyear scheme to rip off department stores around the country. as our i-team first reported in june, she bought expensive bags then returned cheap knockoffs for refunds and sold the real ones online. part of her punishment, she must repay the department stores the same amount of money she stole from them. to our weather now, first day after winter, and it

almost like fall. amel amelia, what's going on out there? >> well, the temperatures finally warmed up. we were only in the 30s yesterday. 37 was our high. today, a good 10 degrees warmer. and tomorrow, well, we continue to warm up. and the good news over these next few days, we're looking at dry weather. so if you're getting out of town, at least the weather cooperating. evening planner, right now we're down to 45. our highoday at the airport, 48. by 9:00 we're already in the 30s. 39 by 9:00 p.m. mostly cloudy skies overnight. we'll wake up tomorrow morning in the low to mid 30s. a chilly start on your thursday but you probably can leave the gloves and scarf and hat at home. you want the warm coat and sunglasses as well. plenty of sunshine in the forecast tomorrow. as far as travel weather is looking, take a look at your travel forecast. tomorrow, dry roads. friday, dry roads as well. then some rain is in the forecast or saturday. that will lead to wet roads. i'll have the timing on the rain coming

>> thanks, amelia. still to come tonight, new questions about what sparked a deadly explosion at a fireworks market in mexico. two people now homeless just days before christmas. the simple mistake blamed for this destructive fire at their home in maryland. an unusual case of murder in a friendly neighborhood park. the victim shot, scantily clothed. his body set on fire. tonight, an arrest. details (my hero zero by lemonheads)

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30 people out of their homes just days before the holiday. the fire started at a condominium on hand-ovover park in green belt last night. one man says his daughter smelled smoke in her room and woke him up as the alarls began sounding. >> i looked up into her room. i saw flame coming out through the vent. >> 18 adults, 13 kids and 12 pets all made it out of the building safely. the top floors of that building were damaged by the fire. the lower levels got waterlogged. they're still trying to figure out what started that fire. another fire ripped through a house in rockville overnight. montgomery county fire posted these photos from the scene on pattu pasture brook way. two people w

fireplace ashes. caused more than $600,000 in damage. news 4 is working for you with safety device to help dispose of fireplace ashes. fire investigators say use only metal noncombustible containers with a lid. never put ashes in trash bags or in cardboard boxes. always use a metal container with a lid and cool the ashes with water. keep the containers away from your home. never store them on decks or porches or garages. we posted a lot more information on our app, just search "fireplace safety". in mexico, the death toll is rising after a massive explosion leveled a fireworks market. some of the badly burned survivors are being flown here to the u.s. for treatment. the market was stocked with more than 100 tons of fireworks. it was full of holiday shoppers when the explosion occurred. nbc's kerr ary sanders outside mexico city now with our report.

surveying the damage here say they cannot believe how powerful the explosions were from the fireworks. it's believed now as you're looking at these huge explosions, one yesterday, followed by another, another, in all, six explosions, a chain reaction, one that the authorities still can't say what set it off but they do know that this marketplace here basically an outdoor flea market with 300 stalls had in excess of 100 tons of fireworks. the authorities now say that they know at least 31 people died. they expect that number to climb. they're searching for more than 30 people who are lost in the debris. it's now believed even though they're calling this a search and rescue, it's now believed that they may not find anybody else alive. more than 70 people injured. some of those who were so badly burned are now likely to be flown to the united states to galveston where they'll be treated by doctors there. bottom line right now, as you look at the devastation here,

this have happened? was this simply an accident? or could it have been something more? kerry sanders, nbc news, mexico. an employee arrested for bringing a loaded gun into the headquarters of the u.s. department of homeland security has pleaded guilty today to a federal gun charge. our scott macfarlane broke the story in june and joins us with new developments in the story you'll see only on 4. scott? >> doreen, good evening. jonathan winke arrested for having a loaded gun within close proximity to top homeland security officials this summer. shortly after his arrest in d.c., the feds rated winke's home in martinsburg, west virginia. prosecutors found illegal guns, homemade gun silencer and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition. winke was charged with multiple gun crimes and in a plea agreement finalized this afternoon, he pleaded guilty to one charge of unlawful making of a firearm. he now faces a maximum -- or

maximum, ten years in prison when he's sentenced. likely in early 2017. a federal agent told the court this summer there was probable cause to believe winke was planning to commit workplace violence at dhs headquarters. he declined multiple requests from news 4 to comment on his case. he was placed on leave at the department of homeland security after his arrest. it's one of two employees arrested there this summer for illegally carrying firearms on the job. jim and doreen. >> thanks, scott. the news 4 i-team is also reporting tonight that jeffrey thompson is going to be released from federal prison in kentucky today. that's file video of thompson, he's the one in the yellow tie there. thompson was at the center of o scandal in the d.c. election six years ago. he admitted to setting up a $660,000 slush fund that helped vincent gray in the mayor's race. we invite you to go to our nbc washington app during the break where you can see past coverage

of that case. a controversial law u in north carolina getting national attention now. we'll tell you what's next for the so-called bathroom bill. amid growing criticism from the lgbt community. ride-sharing companies are cutting into their bottom line. why barwood taxi says it's not the end of the road for the company despite filing for bankruptcy. ahead on news 4, i want you to meet richard stone here, this is a guy who not only decorates his home in alexandria but helps decorate his entire neighborhood. some 20 homes. you're going to find out what motivate

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well, if you're dreaming of a warm christmas, amelia's got just the ticket for you, right? >> we're looking at a pretty mild christmas. now when you think back to last year, guys, our highs were around 70 degrees christmas eve day. and christmas day. now, we're not going to be that warm this year, but we are going to have high temperatures around 50 degrees. that is your second weather headline. but before we get to the afternoon hours, we'll have some rain around on saturday morning. so we will, again, have some wet roads but saturday afternoon, saturday night, roads will be completely dry. good for travel and christmas day here is looking dry as well. now, looking ahead to new year's eve, if you're going to be outdoors to ring in 2017, the weatis

the 30s. currently, we're in the 40s. 45 degrees in washington. already down, though, to 36 in gaithersburg and baltimore. it is going it be chilly out there tonight. we'll be waking up to temperatures in the low to mid 30s. 35 in washington at 7:00 a.m. and some clouds around during the morning hours. but as we get into the midday and afternoon hours, plen of sunshine. unlike today. by lunchtime tomorrow, we'll have a temperature around 49 and a high tomorrow of 52. so almost 5 degrees warmer than today. tomorrow night, it's dry. it's cool. and we'll have a temperature around 41. also notice this picture in the background, great photograph by tom. he took this this morning. as we welcomed in the winter solstice. at 5:44. find out more information about sunrise and sunset times as we're looking at longer day lengths on my facebook and twitter pages. all in all tomorrow, the weather having a low impact on your thursday. at the bus stop, in the 30s. warm jacket. i'm sure the excitement of the holidays, thei

bouncing off the walls and just warm with all the energy they have. if you're traveling tomorrow throughout the day, locally, it's looking good. even if you're heading in the mid-atlantic area, it's still looking dry. and exercise, you want some long sleeves. i had gloves today. you probably don't need those tomorrow. if you're getting last-minute holiday shopping done, again, dry, but chilly. i want to show you future weather. first we'll show you storm team 4 radar. dry right now. and i'm going to show you future weather tomorrow. if you have family coming down from new england, a little bit of snow and maybe some rain mixing in during the morning hours. on into parts of new york. little bit of lake-effect snow around buffalo and erie, pennsylvania. for the most part, most of us cleatly dry tomorrow throughout the day. biggest concern will be sun glare as you're heading out of town tomorrow. if you are leaving the d.c. metro area for the holidays, safe travels. i hope you have a lovely time. here's a look at the next ten days. friday, little more cloudiness around, with the increase in cloudiness, a little cool

on christmas, a high of 53. we'll have rain moving in around 7:00 a.m. showers continuing through wlunlin linktime. after that through the afternoon, peeks of sunshine. around 50 for christmas. up to 61 on tuesday. then we close out 2016 with temperatures around 40. >> all right. thanks, amelia. still ahead, a missing mystery, but tonight there's a new clue as police and family search for two children who disappeared a couple of years ago. we'll also report on a disturbing crime in an unusual location and we'll tell you how police were able to connect two teenagers to a murder. barwood taxi filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. the ceo says it's challenging to keep up with businesses like lyft and

you're watching news 4 at 6:00. >> now at 6:30, two teenagers charged in connection to a murder in a prince george's county park. the suspects were found in the victim's car nearby. >> tonight, police are revealing a possible motive. >> we're also learning more about the victim. pat collins talked with the young's man uncle and joins us from capitol heights with

27. the suspect, 17. strange circumstances here in this unusual case of murder. rayshand cotton, they say he loved fashion. that he loved the culinary arts. that he celebrated life. >> he lived for today. his motto was, live, learn, love. he was very family oriented and he loved to be around people. >> reporter: that's marquee cotton, teary eyed tonight at the scene where his nephew was found murdered. rayshand cotton, 27 years old, found behind the rec center at the brook road neighborhood park. police say he'd been shot to death. according to court documents, he was scantily clothed and badly burned primarily on his lower extremities. police have charged 17-year-old demiko aikens

connection with the murder. police say the two men knew each other. >> it appears that aiken and the victim were some sort of acquaintances. >> what's the motive? >> the motive seems to be right now robbery. >> reporter: rayshand cotton lived in the eaton square apartments with his mother, his mother who is deaf, mute and disabled and rayshand's loss brought a hardship to the cotton family. >> it's the holiday season, you know, everybody's looking for love at the end of the day. >> reporter: to have this happen to rayshand? >> oh, devastating. devastating. but what don't break you make you. >> reporter: murder suspect aiken was arrested about two miles from the murder scene sitting in the murder victim's suv. now a vigil is scheduled for rayshand cotton tomorrow night here in the park.

doreen, back to you. >> very sad story. thank you, pat. more than two years after their disappearance, there's new information tonight in the search for two missing children from montgomery county. 2-year-old jacob and 3-year-old sarah hoggle of gaithersburg haven't been seen since september of 2014. police believe their mother, catherine hoggle, is responsible for their disappearance. she was charged with misdemeanor child neglect, abduction and hindering law enforcement but mental health professionals repeatedly found her not competent to stand trial. now the national center for missing and exploited children has created age-progression images of what the children might look like today. hoggle has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. that happened before the children disappeared. she remains in a psychiatric hospital. barwood is the largest taxi company in montgomery county and now that company has filed for bankruptcy. company says it's having trouble competing with ride-sharing services such as uber and

kensington, maryland, now, with a look at what the company plans to do to gin up more business. meagan? >> reporter: and jim, we might not recognize the barwood taxicab as we have over the last several decades because the ceo says he plans on making changes to the exterior and interior of the cabs, that's just one way he says he's trying to revitalize his company. barwood taxi is more than just a cab company. it's a family business that's been around for more than a half a century. >> met my mother driving a taxi, she worked at the hot shops in bethesda. >> reporter: lee barnes is the ceo. his dad was a taxi driver and started the company back in the '50s, but the business isn't like it used to be. >> they can lower their price. their prices aren't regulated. the government regulates taxicab fares. >> reporter: barnes is talking about ride-share companies like uber and lyft. he says they're not regulated like taxi companies so 'r

able to lower their prices, making it harder for cab companies to compete. so on tuesday, he was forced to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. >> we filed a plan for reorganization so that we could work on changing our business model. >> reporter: barnes says the cabs will be painted black and tablets will replace the old way of paying. >> it's quick, it's affordable, it's seamless. there's no exchange of your credit card. >> reporter: they're changes he never thought he'd have to make years ago but barnes says he's determined to keep his business alive. >> i have a lot of consumers that rely on the reliability of our service, the safety of our service, the local ownership of the service and the fact that the drivers, you can, you know, if you want a certain driver you like, you can do that. >> reporter: and barnes says customers can expect to see these changes in the coming weeks. back to you. >> meagan fitzgerald, thank you. late developments in the battle over north carolina's bathroom law as it's known. right

repeal is on hold. the state's general assembly met today and was widely expected to repeal that controversial law. instead, the deal fell apart. the law includes a provision that forces people to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificates. that caused protests on behalf of the lgbt community. >> people call it the bathroom bill. it's a state oppression bill. >> it's not discriminatory, not a hate bill. it's protecting women and children against predators. >> it's not clear when or if lawmakers might come to an agreement on the repeal. critics of the law said it cost north carolina millions of dollars in lost revenue. an update to a story we brought you on monday. the local couple forced to cancel a popular holiday tradition. as they both battle cancer. tonight, we'll show you how neighbors are stepping in to help. from one inauguration, to the next. the mad dash to get souvenirs. tonight on news

at our past and looking ahead to the future. and take a look at the high temperature today in your neighborhood. for the most part, we were near 50 degrees. a few degrees warmer tomorrow, but i'm tracking some highs only around 40 degrees when cooler air moves ba in ck

still a month away, tonight we're getting new details about the events surrounding the presidential inauguration. the inaugural committee released some details today. beginning thursday, january 19th, president-elect donald trump and mike pence will lay a wreath at the arlington national cemetery. later that day, there will be a concert on the mall. no word yet on who will perform. then on friday, the 20th, mr. trump will take the oath at the capitol. after that, the parade, inaugural balls then on saturday the 21st,

service at the national cathedral. metro's commemorative smart trip fare cards for the inauguration went on sale today. that's what they look like there. you may notice president-elect donald trump is not featured on the cards. according to "washingtonian" magazine, trump's campaign never responded to a request from metro for a photograph. those cards cost $10. they come loaded with a special one-day fare that's good only for january 20th. after that, they work as regular smart trip cards. there's another transition under way. one you may not have considered. those political keepsakes. the hats, mugs, t-shirts, that once honored president obama are taking up less space on the shelves now. news 4's kristin wright has more on the souvenir transition. >> reporter: yes, so people are coming here to washington welcome center in northwest to stock up on their presidential souvenirs, and to take pictures with president-elect trump. street vendors blocks from the

trump wears. >> our grandpa, he loves trump. we'll get him a trump hat. >> reporter: and some like john pierce from ft. worth, texas, are poking political fun. >> all the trump hats and thought that i might buy my daughter one of the trump "make america great" hats because she's not a trump fan. >> reporter: much like the old days of film, the country is saying good-bye to an historic presidency. the tote bags are going fast. at washington welcome center souvenir shop. >> so we have, like, one small section of obama stuff where you still have a lot of customers call in and still would like us to ship obama stuff to them. >> reporter: she says it's the sentimental value. >> do you have anything with obama on it? i didn't get nothing from four years ago? i'll be like, we're about to be going out. >> reporter: tourists are getting in on it, too. >> well, my girls are pretty

pretty excited about the election and the outcome and they like trump. we like trump. >> reporter: the coffee mugs, of course, popular. the store tells me they just got a big shipment ofbama mugs just yesterday and they are going quickly. in northwest washington, kristin wright, news 4. lot of people getting last-minute gifts, others already hitting the road to whatever their holiday destination might be. that's the focus of our flash survey today. we asked if you were making plans to travel over the holiday. majority of people tell us they are staying home. about 20% responded saying nope, they're out of here. you can tell us what you're doing, if you want to tell us where to go, on the nbc washington facebook page. tonight we've got an update on a little boy named ryan who made medical history. he's the world's first pediatric double hand transplant patient. he lost both hands and legs after an infectionn

toddler. 18 months after his transplant, he's back at school full time. his mother, patty, is full of gratitude. >> like a fairytale for me, you know, some people get to hold bags and cards. my son got hands. i'm the richest woman in the world now. >> he wants to write a children's book about living with prosthetics and disabilities. he and his mother are sharing a message about giving this holiday season, more on that and how he's doing ahead on "nbc nightly news with lester holt" starts at 7:00 right after news 4. coming up, the story of a neighborhood santa claus who donates his time and money to make the season a bit brigh

some of us feel the holiday stress, knowing we've got to get the decorations up, but imagine helping illuminate your entire street. well that's the role one alexandria man's assumed for the past 20 years. northern virginia bureau reporter david culver is live along north paxton street to introduce us to this neighborhood santa. hi, david. >> reporter: hey there, doreen. you know, folks who live nearby will often come out of their way just to drive down north paxton street just to get a view of the light display. not most brilliant light display, it's nice, no question, but we've seen bigger, we've seen brighter, we've seen better even. on this, the darkest day of the year, this reflects a neighborhood's unity. spearheaded by one man.

>> trying to get them back up. >> reporter: richard stone knows it sometimes takes a little noise. >> there we go. >> reporter: to bring joy. from thanksgiving onward, richard can be found outside prepping for christmas. >> it does take a little bit of a toll. i must admit. my wife's like, are you going to -- how many hours are you going to be outside tonight? and i said, well, i'll try to limit it to one hour tonight and be back in. >> reporter: while his own display is colorful, richard's focus for the past 20 years hasn't been about making it bigger or better. no, he's all about spreading the light instead. >> i don't charge anything. i like doing it. >> reporter: richard most often takes from his own stash of decorations to hang at least one star on his neighbors' trees with their permission of course. >> he loves this, has a big smile on his face at all times. doesn't matter what the weather is, he's been out in the rain, been in the cold. >> reporter: nick schaffer moved next door to him a couple weeks ago. >> we

what it actually looks like. it's been better than we expected. >> reporter: he, his wife and their child still getting settled inside the home, richard helping them tie loose ends outside. >> there we go. >> reporter: richard's three daughters raised learning this neighborly bond. >> so this is like his busies time of year and it's really impressive he always makes time for family, friends and just helping out the community in general. >> thank you, sweetheart. >> reporter: now helping their dad out. >> there we go. o' over the street, everybody can see that. >> reporter: why go through all this trouble year after year? it's simple for richard. >> join turn the corner at night and just look down the street, you just smile. >> reporter: richard's signature decoration, you're looking at it right there. the illuminated star. he says he's going to continue to do this as long as he's physically able to and doreen and vance, i think

considering moving into the neighborhood, it's not a bad draw to know your neighbor is going help you decorate for the holidays. >> a lot of lucky neighborhoods could use an invaluable guy like him, you can't imagine doing without. good for him. >> who everybody depends on. >> everybody depends on and he loves it. it's a wonderful thing. way to go, richard. >> those christmas lights do bring a lot of joy. >> they do. you turn the corner it's like, i'm home. it's a good thing. neighbors are planning to bring some christmas cheer to a prince george's county man who's battling cancer. tracee wilkins introduces us now to ted adelman, or she introduced him on monday. she wasn't able to set up his elaborate christmas decorations this year because he and his wife are both fighting cancer. it is the first time in 26 years that the house has been dark for the holidays. after seeing our report, neighbors are planning to gather in his front yard. they are going to sing christmas carols on sunday

they're also going to help him with some of the yard work during the week. good for them. >> i predict a large crowd on sunday. >> a big one. the community is showing its support on the nbc washington facebook page as well. these are some of the comments left on our post about the story. many people say they've enjoyed those lights for years and are sending well wishes to adelman and his wife. >> good for them. amelia, david just reminded us this is the darkest day of the year, but that means things are looking up. starting tomorrow, right? >> exactly. so winter officially began this morning, and our day length today 9 hours 26 minutes. so the length gets a little bit longer each day. you can find more on the exact times on my facebook and twitter pages. anyway, today, we had improvements in our temperatures as well. so yesterday, our highs were in the 30s. today our highs were in the 40s. right now it's chilly out there especially outside of the beltway. leesburg, gaithersburg, frederick, cu

mid-to upper 30s. washington hanging on to 45 degrees. we've been there for the last few hours. overnight tonight, mostly to partly cloudy skies but tomorrow after a little bit of cloudiness around during the morning hour, we'll have plenty of sunshine throughout the day. it's going to be a little breezy tomorrow afternoon, still pretty nice. a high of 52 degrees. again, normally this time of year, high about 45. as we take a look to the holiday weekend, for the most part, the weather cooperating and the best news, no snow, but especially no freezing rain in the forecast. but if you are traveling, keep in mind there will be showers around saturday morning. good idea to download the nbc washington app. open it up, get the latest forecast and also check the radar. if you're out shopping on saturday, make sure you bring the umbrella. if you're dining out rather than eating at home this year, we're looking at chilly temperatures but dry weather for the evening hours. so as we take a look at the next ten days, on your friday, little cooler with more clouds around. high of 45. again, it's still dry. saturday, a high of

want to show you the timing for the rain on saturday. rain starts to move in around 7:00, 8:00 a.m. showers winding down around noon. by the afternoon, maybe some limited sunshine. christmas, high of 49. and then monday, guys, a high of 52 degrees. >> thanks, amelia. coming up in sports, the nfl, that's the no-fun league, fined desean jackson for something he was wearing. also, jay gruden will explain why the short week might be the best medicine for a he

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this is the xfinity sports desk. >> so i said to carol, what are you leading the sports report with? she looks at me said, duh -- >> i didn't say duh. i had the duh eyes. >> go ahead. >> i'm feeling very festivus. by that i mean let's get the pole out and start airing the grievances for the redskins. another short week. no practice for the red skins today. just a walkthrough. they traveled to chicago. day after tomorrow and jordan reed, cravens, and defensive captain will compton. this team sounding just thrilled about their third quick turnaround this season. >> just got to go, you know, one off day, walkthrough, get back on the plane, you know, kick off at 1:00 upstate.

gets on you fast. got to respond. >> a lot of times as men and coaches we try to -- the best way to put behind you something like this, a performance like this, coaching performance, playing performance, playing again quickly. to get back out on the field and hopefully that will be a remedy for us come saturday. back to the practice field tomorrow. these custom cleats probably cost desean jackson some money to get made and now they're costing him in another way. d. jacks going on instagram today posting, "got fined for wearing these monday night special edition #djx. clearly the team colors, smh." shaking my head, i'm vp i'm sure. the nfl requires players to wear approved team colored cleats. see the burgundy and gold there but perhaps the green squares were too far from the color scheme. >> good lord. caps going for it. seventh win in the last eight games tonight, in philly to take on the flyers.

network. big reason for the caps' recent success, reemergence of the power play. when the switch finally started to click. >> with the power play, it was just getting the confidence, getting, you know, you could look back and whenever we started going back-to-back games, we've had some big power play goals where they've been -- we needed that power play goal to tie a game or win a game. that's when they started getting some confidence. >> the first meeting with the flyers since that first-round playoff series last may. they drop the puck at 8:00 p.m. on nbc sports network. wizards on the road, too, visiting the bulls in chicago. 8:00 p.m. on cs snrks. >a big night for number fou maryland in pittsburgh to take on due canquesne. his family hosted the entire squad for a team dinner.

for trivia lovers, take note about aliquippa, this will someday be an answer. aliquippa legendary hometown of big football names like mike ditka, tony dorsett and darrelle rev revis. >> now we know. >> have it ready for your next trivia night. high school ranks last night, frederick, urbana tied, 55 seconds to go. a couple misses. tyreke mackenzie out there. he throws up a prayer from downtown. drains it. frederick with a dramatic 58-55 win. career high 21 points. none bigger than those three right there. ravens getting ready for a huge game against the steelers this sunday. might remember a few weeks ago the wiley veteran steve smith sr. dressed in a yoda onesie. the fetish back in the spotlight today. >> the elf on the shelf. there he is. i give you

>> yeah, that's an elf onesie. the baltimore wide receiver says the company actually sent him seven more after seeing the yoda outfit. get to see it maybe six more times after this one. and to my knowledge, he's not getting paid to wear these outfits. it reminds you of -- i can see your wheels turning, jim. >> i'm thinking you got to be all man to wear that. >> well, that's one way to look at it. >> the ravens have to man up this weekend. duquesne. >> look. >> you're busting me. >> this is how carol spelled -- make sure you get it right. d-u-q-q-e -- >> i said that 15 years ago and got murdered -- >> you know how many crazy names she has to pronounce in sports? do not give her a hard time. >> i think it's brilliant. >> my face is -- now you know my tricks. >> no,

>> i can't think and anchor at the same time, okay? >> you don't have to explain. that's our broadcast for now. we're going to get out while we still can. >> "nbc nightly news" is coming up next. see you at 11:00. (my hero zero by lemonheads) zero really can be a hero. get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first month's payment

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tonight, new terror suspect -- the target of a europe-wide manhunt is identified on the loose and considered arm and dangerous. what authorities knew about him before the deadly attack on christmas shoppers. fireworks disaster -- the death toll rises in a massive explosion. tonight the devastation inside the blast zone. and enormous gas explosion destroys a restaurant and firefighters must scramble to shut off the leak fueling the flames. what sparked it? kids and antibiotics, new answers for parents worried about doctors overprescribing drugs to their children for a common illness. and precious gift, the next chapter for a boy who made medical history. "nightly news" begins right now.