patrol officers have been made aware of this. they have been instructed to be extra vigilant around churches and are always told to be extra vigilant around churches, mosques, houses of worship. now, in some cases we understand law enforcement officials here locally have reached out directly to the churches and addressed their concerns about security in the wake of this. live in northwest, jackie bensen, news 4. >> thank you, jackie. now to new developments after that terror attack in berlin. police in milan shot and killed the suspect, anis amri early this morning, despite the manhunt that spanned throughout europe, police say somehow he managed to trafl from germany through france and into italy. officials are now wondering if he had help planning monday's deadly christmas market attack. security is still tight in germany, and the country remains on high alert. anne thompson has the latest tonight. >> this morning, italian investigators gathering evidence at the n

the most wanted man in europe, 24-year-old anis amri, dead. killed after he was asked for i.d. by italian police. officials say amri immediately pulled a gun and started firing. there is no doubt, italy's interior minister told reporters, that the dead man is amri. this is what officials believe he did at the berlin christmas market. the truck on the left of your screen is a dark menace on the street awash in holiday lights. at 40 miles per hour, running over people and stalls in the market. german authorities say they found amri's fingerprints inside and outside the truck's cab. italy was familiar territory to amri. after leaving his hometown in tunisia in 2011, he spent more than three years in prison there for setting fire to a refugee center. a prison official tells nbc news amri was violent but showed no signs of religious fundamentalism. at the berlin m

to business. returning here, an emotional moment for this woman who like amri is from tunisia. >> there is a kind of double sadness, but good people are everywhere, and bad people are also everywhere. >> the police officer injured in the shooting is recovering in an italian hospital. he's said to be in stable condition. and his injuries are not life threatening. here in berlin, german authorities are thanking their italian counterparts for all their support and cooperation, and are saying they're very relieved that amri is no longer a threat. i'm anne thompson in berlin. now back to you. >> controversial comments from president-elect donald trump. tonight, he's suggesting he's willing to engage in an arms race, a day after he tweeted the united states needs to greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. in a statement to msnbc today, he said, quote, let it be an arms race. we will

path and outlast them all. end quote. russian president vladimir putin hopes to have a meeting with trump soon to discuss how to improve ties. that's coming up in a live report. >> two people found dead in fairfax county, and police are trying to figure out if the two cases are connected. police say a young man was murdered at his home in springfield last night, and hours later, a woman was found dead a couple miles away in burke. darcy spencer joins us live with the latest on the investigation. darcy. >> reporter: fairfax county police are investigating connections between these two murders and connections between these two victims. they say these crimes are not random. fairfax county police are investigating two murders a little more than 12 hours apart. a 22-year-old man found dead in his house in springfield. a 22-year-old woman found dead behind these homes in burke, just two miles away. police say the crimes

linked. >> they just appear to be known to each other. >> the first victim, henok yohannes, a northern virginia community college student. a family member came home and discovered him murdered. trauma to his upper body. that was about 8:15 thursday night. abdul gaffee, who knew him from high school, showed up after reading the news on social media. he cannot believe his friend is gone. >> i don't even know what to think. i have just been trying to piece together everything so far, and it's heartbreaking. >> detectives went in and out of the home for hours gathering evident, looking for clues. a next door neighbor heard loud noises in the home yesterday evening. >> i heard multiple bangs. you know, loud to the point where you could almost feel it, you know, through the house, through the wood. >> sorry. >> his neighbor took the news very hard. >> he helps. you know, with snow shoveling and groceriehe

he's very helpful. >> as police were investigating, they got a call for a second victim. the body of a wup found just before 9:00 this morning in a back yard off cordwood court. she also had trauma to her upper body. she's been identified as 22-year-old cadet sumenna of springfield. >> i'm a homeowner in this block right behind me, observed a woman leaning against a tree in the rear portion of his backyard. he did not recognize the woman. and she did not appear to be moving. >> now, police are telling me that they don't have a lot of strong leads in these two investigations. they say anyone who has information that could help them with these cases call fairfax county police. doreen, back to you. >> darcy spencer reporting. thank you. and we're following breaking news, waiting for the word on the condition of actress carrie fisher. she had a heart attack while flying from london to los angeles on a united f

today. the airline put out a statement confirming medical personnel met the plane after the crew reported a passenger was unresponsive. fisher's family is reportedly at the hospital in los angeles. and some of her star wars co-stars are sending their prayers. mark hamill tweeting, as if 2016 couldn't get any worse, sending all our love to carrie fisher. she is 60 years old. >> update you on the holiday travel rush. a lot of folks hitting the road tonight to get to their final destination. this is a live look from chopper 4. you can see traffic, slow going, but still moving. this is 95 in newingten, in the springfield, virginia, area. we have you covered if you're planning to head out, perhaps folks doing last-minute shopping. >> who isn't? >> a lot of people. >> amelia draper is tracking the weather, but we start with chris gordon along i-95 in springfield, with more on the big getaway. hi, chris. >> hi, doreen and david. behind me, you see vehicles merging onto i-95 sou

springfield. and we can tell you that traffic is moving better now than it was just an hour ago. but make no mistake, this has been a very difficult travel day. we found the heaviest traffic on i-95 between the woodrow wilson bridge and dumbfries. this family traveling through new jersey to ft. lauderdale, says it had no choice but to drive. >> looking at 54 minutes in traffic. >> how do you know? >> we checked it on google maps. >> we didn't have a choice. prices of flights were over the roof. >> aaa mid-atlantic said the travel is especially heavy this holiday season. >> because people are commuting from work, they're heading out of town, and also they're going to be christmas shopping. it's going to be a very, very tough evening. >> at the rest stop along i-95 north in laurel, we found this family taking their three dogs on d

pennsylvania. >> with three dogs, you thought that was a good idea? >> yeah. >> was it? >> um, they're not too bad. >> how is the traffic? >> it's not awful, but it's christmas. >> everyone loves puppies. army sergeant kyle coop is bringing these 3-month-old terriers, who by the way, are not house trained, on a drive from north carolina to new york as gifts. >> right now, i stop because they're trying to get in the back seat, get over my lap. i was like, they need to play. use the bathroom, get a little food. >> that is one brave soldier. david, back to you. >> all right, chris gordon live tonight. appreciate it. >> if you're headed to the airport, it's likely to be crowded as well. nationwide, we're talking 6 million people flying this season. the busiest airports, let's run through them, atlanta, chicago, l.a., dallas, and denver. >>

crowded planes, crowded terminals and crowded roadways. >> the tsa insisting it is all prepared, staffed up, ready to handle those record crowds. >> now, what about the weather? things look good right now, but there is some rain in the forecast, and it could affect people hitting the road tomorrow morning. our team coverage continues now with amelia draper. she's in storm center 4. how is it looking? >> well, we are going to be dealing with showers tomorrow morning. pretty much moving in very early in the morning, as early as 4:00 or 5:00 a.m., and winding down around the midday hours. temperatures are critical in situations like this. we don't want freezing rain. let's get you to your forecast. i'm going to start off with storm team 4 radar. roads dry, and even starting to pick up on green here, further back to the west out around the petersburg area. this rain is not hitting the ground yet, but it eventually will start to hit the ground, maybe a few sprinkles overnight, but this system really moves into the area early tomorrow morning, and then it's kind of

soggy start on our saturday. currently, temperatures around 40 degrees. but with plenty of cloud cover overnight, winds out of the south among other factors, i'm going to show you future temperatures. by 10:00 p.m., we're kind of right where we're at right now, upper 30s and low 40s, and notice that trend continues right around 5:00 a.m., when we start to see rain across the area. i'll be timing out the rain for you hour by hour coming up in my full forecast at 5:25, letting you know when it leaves your neighborhood and what you can expect tomorrow night when festivities get under way. >> thanks, amelia. fighting for freedom, a notorious killer from alexandria taking new steps to try to get out of prison. >> federal employees caught in the act, using their government cards for personal gain. tonight, the news 4 i-team taking a closer look at the fraud and how it was all uncovered. >> coming up on news 4, the amazing story of two books checked out of this local library and found more than 40 years later. but it's what happened after the boks wereo

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than slow internet from the phone company. say hello to internet speeds up to 150 mbps. and add phone and tv for only $34.90 more a month. call today. comcast business. built for business. president-elect donald trump has gotten the world's attention once again after declaring today, let it be an arms race. that comes after his tweet yesterday about the u.s. needing to strengthen its nuclear arsenal. nbc's jennifer johnson joins us from capitol hill with the latest on this story. jennifer. >> well, doreen, donald trump played golf

he made big headlines all over the world, talking tough again about the nuclear arms race and putting russia and other countries on notice. a cold war of words between president-elect donald trump and russian president vladimir putin. after both leaders called for expanding their nuclear arsenals. today, mr. trump had an off-camera conversation with msnbc's mika bruwrittensky, telling her -- >> let it be an arms race. we will outmatch them at every path. >> while those words grabbed the world's attention, trump enjoyed a casual golf outing with tiger woods. his incoming press secretary tried to clarify. >> the president isn't saying we're going to do this. they said unless they come to their senses. it's a warning to them that this president is going to take action. >> those leaders called for their countries to strengthen their nuclear capabilities, but button told reporters if something speeds up the arms race, it's not us. >> something as complex and

strategy cannot be 140 kakt in a twitter message. this is not how a serious american president should be behaving. >> trump today released a week-old christmas letter from putin who expressed hope for more cooperation between the two countries. promping a less confrontational response from trump, saying a very nice letter from vladimir putin. i hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path. putin held his end of the year press conference and said he would be willing to come to washington, d.c. if president-elect trump invited him. as for hitz assessment of u.s./russian relations right now, putin said they can't be worse. live on capitol hill, i'm jennifer johnson. david, back to you. >> thank you. the man convicted of killing three alexandria residents could get a new day in court. virginia court of appeals judge will allow attorneys for charles sev rnls a chance to argue for a new trial. the argument will be based on whether there was sufficient evidence to convict him and whether one of the

separately. a jury found severance guilty of killing three people over a ten-year span. much of the evidence was circumstantial, but also included an eye witness. brian porter told me by e-mail that the ruling is typical for a case of this magnitude and was expected. a peaceful ending after a plane was hijacked. two men hijacked a libyan airliner headed to tripoli today and threatened to blow it up. the plane landed on malta. the pilot says the men were seeking political asylum in europe and wanted to go to rome. but the plane didn't have enough fuel to get there. the passengers and crew were released. the men eventually surrendered. officials said the hijackers had a hand grenade and at least one gun with them. >> in the u.s., millions of people are making their way to airports to get to their holiday destinations, but the weather could cause problems for some of them. >> i'm charlie at chicago's 'h

where they expect about 200,000 passengers to pass through this building today alone. chicago's other major airport, midway, another 70,000 passengers there. weather is going to complicate travel in and out of chicago today. this afternoon, we're expecting a light snow that could turn into rain, making it difficult to get to the airport. that can also have an effect on flights here and flights throughout the midwest where snow is in the forecast. >> for those of you staying in town during the holidays. here's what you need to know about metro. we check in on all three. metro rail open from 7:00 in the morning untidmidnight saturday, sunday, and monday. marc will be closed on christmas day, vre is running their s schedule. >> the video went viral. tonight, what we're learning about the man behind the wheel of this fiery crash in maryland.

coming up, in this season of giving, we found three local federal government workers on the take from taxpayers. executing schemes at local gas stations. our report coming up. >> also coming up, a lot of your kids going to be unwrapping video games and new gadgets over the holidays, but too much screen time, that can be a bad thing. four things t know too

the driver of that tanker truck that crashed and exploded in baltimore last weekend has been identified now. clinton worrell jr. died when his truck went off an elevated section of i-95 last saturday. the icy conditions on the freeway also led to a 68-vehicle pile-up. police are asking witnesses and those involved in the crash to contact them. heavy snow falling right now. this is northern california. yeah, looks like folks there definitely going to have a white christmas. this would qualify. >> sideways snow. >> that's coming down. this is interstate 80 in the blue canyon area of the sierra mountains. anyone trying to make it across, you have to have tire chains. the area could wake up with two feet of snow on christmas morning. >> so if you were dream of a white christmas, maybe that will

christmas. we're going to have a warm christmas, pretty warm christmas around here, right? >> yeah, not too bad. when we think back to last christmas, guys, our highs were around 70 degrees. now, this year, a few degrees above normal, but we're not talking about 70 degrees. highs generally this weekend will be around 50. if you're visiting from out of town, welcome. i hope you enjoy your visit with family and friend. we will be dealing with a few showers around tomorrow morning. before we get to the forecast, i want to continue with our theme of showing you amazing christmas and holiday light across the area. jacketing us from oakdale to herndon. a lot of festive colors lights decorating the houses, and again, want to thank photojournalist jack for getting us this wonderful video all week long. now, as we get you into the weather headlines, again, some showers around tomorrow morning. they move in before most of us are up, and they'll be moving out, i think as early as 11:00, maybe holding on to

it's dry for christmas day. and as you look to new year's eve, it's still looking dry, but it is looking cold. wait until you see the numbers on the ten-day forecast. your forecast for tomorrow, again, rain around the morning hours. nothing heavy, but i think it is going to be steady for at least a couple hours, and maybe a few hints of sunshine in the afternoon hours, and a high of 51 degrees. a little warmer than today. i want to get you into future weather. 5:00 a.m., notice virtually all green on the map. not a lot of pink. we had to go back into west virginia just south of elkins, and that might be isolated areas of freezing rain. this is looking like a rain only event across the area, but everybody is seeing rain by 8:00 a.m. if you have travel plans tomorrow morning, you're getting last-minute shopping done, know you will be dealing with wet roads. ac take it easy out there. by 11:00 a.m., showers mainly east of 95, the white here plenty of clouds out there, and 3:00, clouds might start to break up a little

are the numbers you can expect. you want the warm jacket. around 6:00, chilly, not too bad. 49 degrees. if you're heading out later, by 9:00 p.m., we're in the mid 40s, and around midnigh, the low 40s. we'll keep it dry with only a few clouds out there. tomorrow evening, so all in all, the weather having low impact on the holiday weekend except for tomorrow morning. if you're putting luminaries out tomorrow, wait until the rain clears and know when it rains at your house, we're not having another wave move back in. midnight services again will be around 40 degrees, and i'm sure some kids are getting toys tomorrow, or i should say on christmas, that they want to test in the afternoon, so it's looking good tfor that. they want a warm jacket but it will be just fine. as far as flights delays, saturday, maybe some delays in the pacific northwest and rockies. christmas, the plains could see issues with snow in the northern plains, and further south, a potential for severe weather, but monday and tuesday, looking okay for flight e

monday with plenty of clouds, and mild on tuesday, but maybe some showers around. we'll talk more about new year' eve and new year's day at about 6:50. >> all right, see you then. thanks. >> taking from taxpayers. tonight, the news 4 i-team reports on several new cases of federal employees swiping their government cards for personal gains. >> and they were decades overdue. the books were checked out of this local library more than 40 years ago. it's what happened next that surprised the folks who work there. we'll show you that. >> plus, the mad dash to

three northern virginia men, each federal employees, each admitting to taking from taxpayers. >> a news 4 i-team review revealed a series of new cases of fraud involving taxpayer funded government gas cards. and tonight, scott mcfarland found at least one of those men was caught in the act. >> two of the three northern virginia men worked here. the u.s. army corps of engineers humphries engineering center near telegraph road in alexandria. investigators say one of them, john diggs, swiped his taxpayer funded fuel card at several loca

course of months. >> including this sunoco, but they say he filled his personal car, including a mercedes-benz. >> you see the mercedes, not many of those in the government fleet. >> eric radwick investigated diggs' case. >> any fuel purchase with that card is suspicious. on its nature. >> diggs pleaded guilty and was sentenced to repay the thousands of dollars he made off with. frederick, who also worked at the army corps, pleaded guilty to misusing his card, too, for nearly $2,000 in fraud. sentenced in recent weeks to make restitution, also. bobby harris used the gas tank on base at ft. meyer, but that's not his work vehicle, you see, that's his personal lincoln navigator, according to investigators. those investigators spotted suspicious purchases by harris and parked their cars nearby on surveillance and caught him in the act. >> when you're sitting at a gas station and you see a vehicle without a government tag, using one of

credit cards, that's a red flag in and of itself. >> harris pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a brief jail sentence and restitution. the investigative team combed through databases that record each and every purchase made with the thousands of gas cards issued to federal workers nationwide. when the feds see multiple purchased may by the same card in the same day, they get suspicious. one of those recent cases had a different red flag, investigators say. they say the government worker who used his government card to pick up the pump, was using a card assigned to one of the government's electric vehicles, a sure sign he was filling up his personal ride. scott mcfarland, news 4. >> absentee voting picks up again on tuesday in fairfax city's special election for mayor. three city council members are competing for the job. the winner will replace former m

resigned after his arrest in a drugs for sex sting. voting started today, but government offices closed at noon and they're closed again on monday. it continues through february 3rd at the office of elections on the city hall campus. the election itself is february 7th. >> not to add to that pressure if you're feeling it, but precious time to find that perfect gift slipping away. if you decide to finish your shopping list tomorrow, expect a lot of company along with you. there could be a sweet reward for those holding out. chris pallone taking a look at the last-minute rush. it seems like everyone has a secret strategy. >> i got here really early. i knew it was going to be crowded. >> to finish up the last-minute holiday shopping when time isn't on your side, many say having a plan is the key. >> get up early, get out, get in the stores. avoid the lines. do what you can to get in and out. >> the national retail federation projects aer

will spend nearly 656 billion dollars this holiday season, an increase of 3.5% over last year. and those shoppers will spend an average of $935 on gifts. many hunting for bargains. >> i love being able to go in and say, hey, you saved $100. i'm like, yes. it's all about the savings for me. >> believe it or not, a stunning 20% of holiday shoppers will wait until christmas eve to hit the stores. >> doing all right, considering i haven't started. >> some say they thrive under the pressure. >> i guess it would be slightly stressful, but the fun is more the fact that we have waited until the last minute, so it's kind of the oh, god, i need to do this now, but it's sort of fun like that. >> this is fun. this is the greatest time of the year. >> it may be the thought that counts, but for the procrastinators among us, finding the perfect gift for that special someone is truly priceless. chris pallone, nbc news, boston. >> here's what you need to know. if you're going to go

walmart will close at 6:00 p.m. two hours earlier than last year. target will close at 10:00. tyson's mall will close at 5:00. clarksburg, leesburg, potomac mills outlet stores close at 6:00, and pentagon city, westfield montgomery, and pharaoh's malls all closing at 6:00 tomorrow. we have a lot more information about shopping hours on our nbc washington app. >> all right, so have you ever dup this, borrow a book from the library and forget to return it on time? mark segraves has a story of what happened when a man returned a couple books to a local library that were decades overdue. >> it was here at the twin brook library in the early 1970s, john kramer's parents checked out two books. the new way of the wilderness, and 365 meatless main dishes. last month, kramer found those books in his parents' ontario home. he calculated the late fees at 5

days, and sent the twin brook library a letter with a check for $1,552.30. >> this was so unique because such a period of time passed. and what was so wonderful about it was they didn't really need to do this. >> by phone, kramer told news 4 the books hold special meaning for his family because the wilderness book is part of the reason his family bought a home in the islands of ontario. >> they have actually become part of the family heirloom. >> while kramer and his siblings were happy to pay the late fees, they decided to keep the books because they mean so much to them. at the twin brook library, mark segraves, news 4. >> we're told the library officials plan to use that money to buy more books. >> what else? >> that's great. they plan on keeping the letter from the kramers in their archives. >> and mark also tells us that as for the calculation of

the actual late fee now, 35 cents a day. >> i did my math right, that's more than a million dollars. >> i think he got off cheap then. >> still ahead, a heart warmling holiday surprise for a mother of four battling cancer. >> cutting back on too much screen time during christmas, another story we're going to bring you tonight. showing you how experts are weighing in on how to maintain a healthy balance. >> and there could be some showers out there tonight, but its reerly tomorrow morning when we'll be tracking wet roads. keep that in meantime. if you're traveling after that, looking dry for sunday and monday. updates to the rain in the full forecast at about 6:50.

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does it seem likely your children will get tech toys and video games for

if so, there will be lots of time to stare at those screens over the school break. and that may not be such a good thing. nbc's erica edwards shares way we can maintain a healthy balance even during the holiday. >> reporter: kids will want to spend as much time as possible on their new tech toys. screen times will understandably increase, but pediatricians say maintaining a balance over holiday break important. one tip, before your kids even open their gifts, it may be a good idea to set ground rules so they don't overdo it. >> have a discussion with your children that these are the holidays, but this is not how it's always going to be when we get back into school. we'll get back to our usual routines. >> also, make sure children are a part of all holiday festivities and that they're also engaging with friends and family. setting up media-free zones like at the dinner table can be helpful. experts say parents should

>> put our cell phones and tablets away, and just really look at each other and interact and have conversations, because nothing takes place of that important face-to-face interaction. >> for moms and dads still considering whether to purchase their child's first mobile device, experts say it's not really the age that parents should look at but the maturity level. >> if your child is losing their backpack or their homework folder all the time, then it's going to be pretty expensive to lose a cell phone. >> and what better way to keep an eye on your kids' media use than to play the games with them. erica edwards, nbc news. >> for the first time in 40 years, the first night of hanukkah falls on christmas eve. this year, the lighting of the national menorah takes place this sunday on the ellipse across from the white house. festivities start at 4:00 in the afternoon. anyone can go. tickets are free, but you have to order them online ahead of time. we'll help you out there, our digital team posting that in our

search menorah. >> from hanukkah to christmas, lots of people traveling for the holidays. news 4 is monitoring the situation all across the country. let's get another check on the travel conditions from our sister station in philadelphia. >> i'm matt dulucia in philadelphia. occasionally long lines at the security check points, but not too bad on this day before christmas eve. people trying to get out of town for the holidays. more than a million people from the philadelphia area are expected to travel the next couple weeks. so far, decent weather here, at least for today. a little warmer than normal for this time of year, but tonight, the crowds are rolling in with rain rolling in early tomorrow morning. right now at this moment, it's not a bad time to fly to philly. very few delays. most flights are on time. we have talked with quite a few folks heading out to warmer destinations, no white christmas here, so they're heading for the white sandy beaches. nbc news, philadelphia. >> n

how this mother of four's community is bringing her holiday joy. >> god sent me angels. and told me not to

a mother of four is fighting cancer, and unable to work. she wasn't sure how she would provide for her family this christmas. that's when her hospice nurse and his colleagues stepped in. >> huge bills. with no fo

>> this woman thought she had won her battle with breast cancer two years ago. but cancer wasn't done with her. >> in 2015, my cancer came back again. more aggressive. >> and in more places. like her liver. >> i couldn't work. i couldn't even take a shower, dress myself. i couldn't do nothing. >> several months of pills, radiation, chemotherapy seemed to help until another diagnosis this year. >> i have seven tumors in my head. >> it spread to her brain. her four kids, including her 17-year-old and 3-year-old daughters wanted mom to fight. >> my kids, i sit them down and tell them, and my daughter-in-law told me, mom, do it. i want you to live. >> it's a constant battle that's taken a toll. she's not been able to return to wo work. >> i love it. and i can't wait to go back. >> without that added income,

much money to spare for gifts. she wasn't quite sure what would happen, but she gave what she could. her infectious positive spirit. >> when you give, you receive three times. >> she will brighten up anybody's day. this is a lady who just does not quit. >> her hospice nurse, barry, told his colleagues at capital caring about karla. >> our volunteers and staff poured their hearts out, opened their wallets, went shopping, gave gift cards, bought all sorts of gifts for the children and made sure they had what they needed and enough to make a little bit of the rest of the year better too. >> a christmas tree now filled. >> i mean, god sent me angels. you know, and for me not to worry. i'm like, you know, relaxing. >> her message to others, facing tough times -- >> please don't give up. just have faith, to pray. and to keep themselves positive, because ts

alive. >> the community trying to help her pay utility and food bills through the rest of the year. thanks for passing along the story. it's wrun where you walk into the interview and i was thinking about the stress of the holidays and you sit down with her and begin to realize it's not that bad. and she lifts your sear spirit. >> a reminder amid the holiday cheer that surrounds us, the holidays can be very difficult for a lot of our neighbors, for sure. thanks for sharing the story, david. >> now to a holiday tradition. tomorrow, you'll be able to track santa's progress as he and his reindeer deliver presents to homes across the globe. for the past 61 years, norad's santa tracker has been keeping tabs on old saint nick. the north american aerospace command center's website tracks santa's christmas eve journey. open our nbc washington app for a link to the site. >> just a short time ago, chaumer 4 also up in the

and capturing a great view of a special tradition in our area. that's the temple, the church of jesus christ of latter day saints in kensington. the 39th annual festival of lights. it runs all month long. it includes, get this, more than 650,000 holiday lights. a lot of light to put up. they're also nightly performances add the visitors center. the festival of lights runs through new year's day. >> always so beautiful. i have seen that light display from the ground level quite a few times, but i don't think i have ever seen the view from the sky. it is just gorgeous. >> tonight would be a good night to go see it, maybe not so tomorrow. >> not too bad out there tonight. for most of us, it's going to be dry. can't rule out a few scattered showers, but everybody is gauche to see rain in the morning hours tomorrow. especially in the early and midmorning hours as we work our way to lunch time and the afternoon, we start to dry

right now and keeping a close eye on the temperatures bah we don't want them to get below freezing. new information coming in every hour, and looking at kind of a lot of different variables. and continuing to suggest the models that we're going to stay above freezing tonight. so no worries of freezing rain, as we do see moisture moving into the area, just falling as rain, and also, the pavement temperature is pretty warm because we have been warm the last few days, relatively speaking. good news there, and you can keep up with me on twitter and facebook through the evening hours and again on news 4 at 11:00 for the latest. right now, we're around 40. 40 degrees in washington, 43 in frederick. this is our system that's going to be bringing us rain, mainly tomorrow morning, but maybe a few scattered showers late tonight into the overnight hours. by 7:00 a.m., just about everybody seeing showers. those continue until 9:00 a.m. the showers come to an end between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00. we're in the 40s, and then mabe

little warmer than today, around 51 degrease. please keep travel in mind, you will be dealing with wet roads. outdoor exercise, you want to get out in the afternoon before you maybe indulge for the rest of the weekend, looking good there. probably want a few layers though. shopping, again, better in the afternoon, and evening services. you want the warm jacket with temperatures in the 40s. then on sunday, christmas day, highs near 50s. near 50 again on monday, but plenty of clouds. let's jump ahead to new year's eve day, a high of only 35 degrees. as the sun sets and if you're outside ringing in 2017, we're in the 30s and 20s. if the forecast holds, find the warmest jacket and we'll start off with the year with temperatures in the low to mid 40s. >> just imagine the polar bear plunge. thanks, amelia. >> if you watched our news over year the years, you know about our health and fitness expo. we hope you have joined us a time or two. we invite our community to come to the washington convention c

information. so listen to this. among our special guests this year, mattizeman for american ninja warrior. you can try to navigate through one of the challenges like you see on the show. i see what's in my future. we'll also welcome charlie, the adorable puppy from the "today" show, training to be a support dog. and days of lives fans, you may want to meet lucas. our health and fitness expo is january 7th and 8th and the whole thing is free. we have a lot more info available on our app. >> are you going to be there? >> yeah, i'll be there. i'm just imagining what the ninja warrior challenge is going to be like. >> i would love to see you go through that. >> coming up in sports, kirk cousins has bounced back from bad games before, but with a short week of preparation, can he put monday night's performance behind him with the whole season on the line this weekend? >> but first, here is kate snow with a look at what's

"nbc nightly news." >> coming up tonight, donald trump says let there be an arms race, and the obama administration allowed the controversial resolution on israel to pass in the u.n. the fbi issues a notice to local law enforce lt about a potential threat to u.s. churches, and the mad dash home for the holidays. is the weather frightful where you e? ar

playoffs are still a few weeks away, and this weekend is very important for the redskins' chances. >> chris miles is in the csn studios. is there any chance for the redskins to make it? >> i think so. if this were the ncaa tournament, the redskins would be on the bubble as one of the first three teams out of the big dance right now. this isn't a subjective committee that will decide washington's fate. they're in a must win to get in situation and kirk cousins has to play better on sunday against chicago than he did monday. he had the kind of stat line most quarterbacks would consider successful. thry 15 yards through the air, but the redskins were just 2 for 12 on third down conversions, and 1 for 3 in scoring touchdowns, while in the red zone. cousins didn't toss a touchdown and had one

he's fully away that the redskins want to earn a wild card spot this post season, he needs to play better against the bears tomorrow. >> not my first time coming away from a tough loss, so i have learned through all my years of playing football to just keep going, not ride the roller coaster, and get back to work. do what you know to do as you prepare for the next one. come ready to go with an intense focus, and help get other guys ready. and go play. >> it was a tough game. everybody has one or two. you look around the league, and most great quarterbacks, they don't have 125 passer rating every week. they're going to have ups and downs. this wasn't all on kirk. so he'll bounce back. he's a professional quarterback and understands how difficult it is every week to be successful and be really, really good. he's a guy that's going to work at it. >> navy taking on louisiana tech in the armed forces bowl. zach abbey having a great game. he only completed three passes in the first hal

them count. this one, a 64-yarder to darryl bonner. midshipmen down 17-14. abbey, also getting the job done on the ground. this two-yard touchdown puts navy up 21-17 currently, second half just started. this game tied at 31-31. >> old dominion playing in their first ever bowl game, taking on eastern michigan in the bahama bowl. david washington tossed three touchdowns. after four years of postseason eligibility, old dominion picks up their first bowl win in school history. 20-14 was the final, finishing the season 10-3. >> the caps have lost two straight, will look to stop their small slide against tampa bay. washington is in fifth place in the metro division and desperately needs to pounds tonight against the lightning. the game you can see on csn. >> the wizards have won 6 of their last 8, and are right on

playoff spot in the east. the team in front of them, the team washington is facing tonight, the milwaukee bucks. these two teams met two weeks ago. the wizards coming out on top. tip-off is set for 8:00. >> los angeles angels have agreed to terms with former nationals center fielder ben revere to a one-year deal reportedly worth $4 million. the nats traded for adam eaton a few weeks ago, making him expendable. he hit .217 with two home runs with the nats last year. >> with christmas this weekend, several nfl players are rewarding their teammate joe flacco for his system, ezekiel elliott for each of his lineman. good gestures by both of those guys. >> that's a tradition around here, too. we all have exchanged amazing gifts. >> i cannot wait. >> it's going to be great. >> thank you, chris. >> thank you for letting me join you tonight. >> it's been a

>> i'll take you up on that. >> all right. >> that does it for us. thank you for joining us. "nightly news" is up next. >> hope we see you at 11:00. have a good evening.

tonight, let it be an arms race. president-elect donald trump ratchets up his nuclear rhetoric, vowing to out-match any country in a push for global weapons dominance. plus, a new trump versus obama controversy erupts over israel. breaking news, legendary actress and writer, carrie fisher, princess leia from "star wars" suffers a massive heart attack on a flight to los angeles, rushed to the hospital. we have late details. isis church threat, stepped-up security around u.s. houses of worship amid a new advisory from the fbi. dramatic takedown of the suspected berlin truck attacker, killed by police in italy. how was he able to travel so far? and family surprises. bringing the 12 days of christmas to life and inspiring america. "nightly news" begins