overnight the ncaa said its decision to stop holding championship games there has not changed. aaron, back to you. >> molette green, live. thank you. 4:30. live look at reagan national airport and the roads as we inch closer to the holiday weekend here. aaa study says 43% of the washington metro area will be traveling for christmas and new year's holiday. that is more than 2.5 million people on the roads, the rails and in the air. >> final vacation day spending time with family and friends. >> rockefeller center, go shopping, window shopping. what else? >> we're here and we have an appointment to see santa this afternoon at macy's. >> i think gifts have a big role to play in this whole thing so, yeah, no. probably that a

"star wars" and just spend some time with them. make some damn memories. >> making memories! >> they're going to be happy and they're going to like it. >> "star wars" and all. >> you know, that's one of the times i'm very, very grateful to have my family in the area. it's really tough to travel around the holidays. it's crowded. i'm staying put. >> i agree. >> yes! >> with your children, probably not but i would like to. >> the perfect idea. yes, let's do that. >> snuggling weather, too. >> what did that guy say again? >> yeah. yeah. memories. >> pretty good traveling weather around here the next couple of days. four things that you need to know about the weather. number one, cool and dry. so not cold and wet like we were a couple of days ago but cool and dry. nothing to worry about for today and tomorrow. good get away weather especially

the road or get to the airport, really cooperative travel weather. coming up, i'll show you which travel hubs will be the most congested over the next couple of days. still watching out for a pretty good chance of good weather. for today, right now in the low 40s outside. will be up into the low 50s for today. again, tomorrow, also no problems around. clouds thickening up late in the day tomorrow. we'll time out the saturday rain drops. let's go over. are you texting santa? >> i was. i can text him, i can call him. i mean, if we want to get a phoner with him, i'm just saying it's possible, okay? southbound bw parkway near nasa, we have the work zone happening around with the left lane. this zone has cleared, 295 before benning, that is now out of the way. taking a look at 270 northboun

no big problems in the way. 66 fairfax county parkway, live look. nice drive. see you in a couple minutes. all right, melissa, thank you. developing now, more families grieving as the death toll climbs from that deadly explosion outside mexico city. this morning we note 33 people died in the blast. fireworks market basically detonated. not much left of it now. investigators are trying to figure out what sparked the explosion and whether any safety standards were violated. 12 people are still missing. moscow burries its assassinated russian diplomat today and joins a widening probe into the attack. russian president vladimir putin is expected to attend services for andre karlov. turkey now believes the 22-year-old police officer who shot karlov did not likely act

about the embattled syrian city of aleppo as he killed him. >> thank you, molette. right now there is a massive europe wideman hunt for this man. security officials say he was behind the wheel of the truck that drove into a crowded christmas market in berlin. 12 people were killed in that attack. he was from tunisia and was scheduled to be deported from germany. isis claims responsibility for what's being called a terror attack. >> in the after math of that terror attack, president-elect trump is trying to show force. >> trump cast the attack as an attack on everybody. >> it's an attack on humanity and it doesn't stop. >> now in just a few minutes news 4's edward lawrence will have a story on trump

muslim registry. trump is now meeting with boeing and lockheed martin. the ceo of lockheed martin marilyn houston said she, quote, conveyed our continued commitment to delivering an affordable aircraft to our u.s. military and our allies. with donald trump's inauguration now just 29 days away, metro inauguration card is out. unlike previous years the cards don't have the president-elect's picture on them. instead they have graphics of the white house and american flag to commemorate the 58th presidential inauguration. in a statement they said they requested permission to use a photo but did not receive a response from the campaign. cards are designed before the election. we'll have details on the newly released inauguration schedule. it's opening day for the new

tacoma-langley crossroads center. 60 buses are scheduled to go through that station during rush hour. hoping to provide bus service to 12,000 people. it makes it the largest non-metro station. if you want to warm up, you can wait inside. if you are still waiting for a package, today may be the day it arrives. today is the busiest delivery day for the postal service. it anticipates 30 million packages and letters will be dropped off today. if you still have things to mail, you ship priority express through tomorrow and it should be there by christmas. today is your last day, your very last day for amazon's two-day delivery service. nbc 4's working for you. we have all the details you need on last-minute shipping dates on nbc washington's app search shipping deadline. breaking news in chantilly, virginia. >> reporter: we just got

about a possible barricade situation. police got the call about 2:00 a.m. this is happening in chantilly, virginia, in the 4800 block of wayfield valley drive. they got the call about an emotionally disturbed person. they brought in some help. we do have a crew headed there to the scene right now. as soon as they get information they'll bring it to us in a live report. back to you. >> molette, thank you. 4:37. your time now. sharing santa's load. thousands of children sending him wish lists that go unfulfilled. today you can help change that. we'll explain how coming up. plus, temperatures are creeping back up, but you will still need your jacket. chuck bell has the what to wear forecast coming up. still ahead. bus blast. what caused a man's hand to go up in fles on a public bus.am

well, he will be loading up the sleigh this weekend but yesterday santa spent some time going for a swim in a giant fish tank. that santa gets around. santa delivered food to fish at the national aquarium in baltimore. >> he does it all. >> he really does it all, but he's not calling melissa mollet's house, you know what i mean? >> he's a rene as soon as man. >> watched "the god fa

he's going to be swimming with the fishes if he's not careful. >> good, chuck. >> not very good deniro, but i digress. temperatures not that chilly, but fair wind chill. feels like 33 in washington, 36 in winchester. you'll need your wind breaker for sure early this morning. bus stop temperatures in the 30s and 40s. the breeze will chill you down. afternoon highs near 50 degrees. what to wear? warm coat, won't need the gloves, scarf and need your hat as well. daily grade for today. evaluate today, call it very good. afternoon high around 52 degrees but it will be on the breezy side. ten day forecast coming up. right now we have a little bit of construction hanging around. southbound bw parkway. it's hanging around too long, that will be a different story. work zone there is b

again, 295 getting that out of the way. inner loop and outer loop, don't have any worries. 270 southbound to the spur, no problem there. going to take you 20 minutes. aaron? >> melissa, thank you. flipping d.c., a new home renovation show coming to our nation's capitol. we have a preview before the big premiere. first, inauguration plans unveiled. (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 on select volkswagen models. right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event.

you're watching "news 4 today." and welcome back. it's 16 before the hour. in just under a month donald trump will be sworn in as our 45th president. now we know some of the

for his inauguration. the presidential inaugural committee will kick things off on thursday, january 19th president-elect trump and vice president-elect mike pence will lay a wreath at arlington cemetery. they will attend a concert at the national mall. on the 20th trump will take the oath of office at the u.s. capitol at noon followed by a parade and later in the evening the inaugural ball. everything will wrap up on saturday with a prayer service at the national cathedral. we have a special section in our nbc washington app dedicated to the inauguration and transfer of power. you can check that out, search transition. ticket scalpers are trying to cash in on donald trump's swearing in. they are selling free tickets, normally given to the public, for thousands of dollars online. the move doesn't sit well with lawmakers or inauguration officials. a spokesman for ebay says they will remove any listings selling the tickets listed on

website. >> it's been my plan all along to be proven right and be 100% correct. >> that is donald trump yesterday responding to questions on whether he would re-evaluate his plans to create a muslim registry orban appearing to double down on it. >> news 4's edward lawrence is live on capitol hill for us. edward, this is a policy trump's aides have tried to walk back. what is happening? >> reporter: donald trump did not walk that back. in fact, he reaffirmed the policy. he called the attacks in turkey and germany an attack on all humanity. he said that the search for the attacker at the market near berlin reaffirms his policy to create a muslim registry or have a temporary ban on folks coming into the country. again, you heard him there say that he was 100% correct. >> and, edward, let's turn to the diplomatic relations between russia and the u.s. at this point. the state department responding to the russians saying dialogue between the two countries is

what came out of this? >> this took u.s. agencies completely by surprise. they say it's just not true. they pointed to the fact that secretary of state john kerry talked to his russian counterparts on tuesday. they said they have ongoing talks with the russians about the syrian conflict. this was very confusing to folks here in washington. >> edward lawrence, live on capitol hill for us. edward, thank you. federal agents are investigating a suspected case of bootlegging in d.c.'s capitol hill neighborhood. scott mcfarland uncovered this story yesterday. the investigation involved pirated dvds of the popular show "the west wing." worth about $2800. imported from hong kong from 2011 through 2012 and resold online. immigration and customs agents found more than 1900 dvds at a man's capitol hill home. at least 300 of them were fake. an elaborate

hand bag scheme lands a woman into prison time. she was sentenced for 30 months for ripping off department stores around the country. our iteam first reported in june she bought expensive bags, she'd knock off the refund and sell them online. as part of the punishment she must repay the amount of money she stole from them. a vigil planned in the park where rayshand cotton's body was found. a woman found him shot and baddley burned in capitol heights. police say robbery was a possible motive. this morning two teens are behind bars. police found 17-year-old simteo aiken and a 16-year-old in his car not far from the park. days before christmas the american red cross is having to help more than 30 people in prince gorges county after their apartment building went up in flames.

morning fire in greenbelt. we showed you the families forced to stand outside in the cold. firefighters say the top floors were damaged by the fire and the lower levels all water logged. take a look what happened in prince gorges county last night. a dump truck crashed into a home injuring two kids. the driver says that moments before the crash a box truck flipp clipped him and made him lose control. witnesses claimed he was driving erratically before the crash and say they never saw a truck hit him. we are working for you and hoping you can help some animals that officials say were abused in loudoun county. loudoun animal services says 96 chickens, two dogs, three rabbits and a number of geese, ducks and pigs were taken from a

she's fating years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines for animal cruelty and inadequate care. many animals are up for adoption. you can call the county's animal services or visit the low down county animal shelter if you'd like to take one home. this is a mission for people with big hearts. >> right now there are dozens of letters from kids waiting at the post office in northeast washington that are addressed to santa claus. they need to be fulfilled by 5:00 p.m. today. some of the letters take up an entire page, others don't have so much. one of the letters a little girl tells santa that it's okay to bring just one gift from the three on her wish list. the postal service is keeper of the santa letters at the brentwood service explains how they do their magic. >> here in d.c. you may address them to santa claus, they'll come here. we'll take them, sort them, go through them and organize

for families. >> now one way to help make this happen is to work in pairs. maybe have one person go pick up the letter, then you have the other person buy the gifts and send it off. i think it was returned to the post office. the post office will connect with santa, make everything happen. viola. >> santa is so busy. you know -- >> the key is, he has a system. you can't do this kind of stuff without a system in place. >> good luck, santa. >> from the scientist in the room. >> seriously. ask anybody about this. they say if you need to do a billion things, you better have a plan. >> there you go. >> and a staff. >> a lot of helpers and a flying reindeer. >> i need that in my life. >> don't we although? we could use a little bit more sunshine. cloud center rolls in overnight. you'll have a little bit of challenge to see sunshine early this morning. sunshine will be back later on this afternoon. mostly cloudy sky. not terribly cold. in fact, compared to a couple of mornings ago when temperatures

actually quite balmy. 41 degrees in washington courtesy of a south wind. southerly breezes 15 miles an hour. the temperatures aren't low but with wind that high wind chills are back down into the 20s and 30s. you'll still need your warm jacket. hourly temperatures still dropping. skies trying to clear out between 8:00 or 9:00 this morning. the clearing sky and switching of a wind direction from southerly winds back to a northwest wind later today will allow for cooler and dryer air. northwest wind will scour the clouds out. afternoon highs near 52 degrees. breezy at times, wind breaker as well. planning to do any traveling for the holiday season, get your nbc washington app downloaded. they have an interactive app. follow me on facebook and twitter. unsettled weather for travelers, new mexico, arizona, southern california, las vegas, not places you usually associate with rain but it is raining

be impacted with rain. couple of sprinkles in florida. deep south, alabama, mississippi, nearby neighbors in new york and new england, getting snow showers up there. no snow for us. i think our white christmas chances are all but gone. 52 today. 47 tomorrow. dry for the next two days. next chance for showers will be coming up on saturday. christmas day and the beginning of hanukkah starts dry. milder than average weather for the last week of 2016. be back with an hourly breakdown today coming up two minutes from now. let's go over to melissa mollet. 66 looking pretty good. fairfax county to the parkway, no problems there. very light as far as any road work here this morning. inner loop and outer loop of the beltway also no issues here. everything is nice and green. don't have any big worries. i am seeing the slowdown here. it looks like a little bit of red northbound before falls road. don't see them on any other map and not seeing any problems.

back in a few. ah! ah! >> new video from a blast inside a moving bus. what caused one rider's pants to burst into flames. flipping d.c. a local couple is bringing their renovation business to your television. tell them about your show. >> are you a jimmy fallon fan? we want to help you see him live. news 4 is giving away four tickets to see him and a trip to new york city. all you have to do is follow nbc washington on instagram and comment with who you would bring with you to th

you're watching "news 4 today." a dramatic scene on a bus in california. take a look at the video here. an ecigarette apparently exploded in a guy's pocket. he had minor burns though he is expected to be okay. it happened yesterday on a fresno city bus. self-driving uber cars have been taken off the roads in san francisco. the california department of motor vehicles says uber needs a special permit for testing self-driving technology in the state. uber says to require that constant monitoring and they don't need a special permit. until they can resolve the issue self-driving cars will not be in the city. >> right now the cars are cruising

in the age of uber and lyft, a lot of cab companies are falling behind. the barwood cab company is filing for bankruptcy. they've been around for more than 50 years. ride sharing services are severely limiting the business. ceo lee barns said the company is organizing and preparing to compete starting with a new look. the cabs will be painted black. >> it's quick. it's affordable and seamless. there's no exchange of your credit card. >> now there are changes barnes said he never thought he'd have to make but tells news 4 he's determined to keep his business alive. bad news if buying a new home is on your to-do list in 2017. u.s. home affordability has hit an eight year low. new reports just released

atom data solutions says 29% houses are less affordable due to low wage growth and uptick in mortgage rates. mortgage interest rate hikes will make it less affordable to buy. local couple's success in washington's housing market landed them a reality show. >> yeah. ossie and roger williams made a career out of their renovation of their own home. they have their own show. it premiers today at noon. >> the couple has only recorded the pilot episode, but if it goes well, it will be a weekly show. tune in to news 4 tonight starting at 4:00 to hear more about their success. very cool. shows like this launch national stardom. look at "fixer upper." >> if you tune in you'll see a familiar home in pentworth. >> that neighborhood is booming for sure. >> check that out. >> stay with

>> "news 4 today" starts now. right now on "news 4 today", countdown to the holiday weekend. whether you're hitting the road or staying at home, we have your storm team 4 forecast to get you ready. plus, delivery day. millions of packages will be on your door steps by tonight. what you need to know as we still have to ship your own packages. and bathroom bill blindside. a law set to be repealed. why that mission failed in the final hours. good morning, everybody. it is 5:00 a.m. i'm aaron gill crest. >> i'm eun yang. we are talking about a cold start to our day. melissa mollet will have you look at your roads. meteorologist chuck bell. >> good morning, un and aaron. no chance for rain today. dry day. cloudy, yes, rain, no. because of the clouds and a little south breeze, nowhere near as cold this morning. next couple of days, today and tomorrow, staying on the dry side. that'so