right now on "news 4 this week," getting ready for pomp, circumstance, and protest. we'll have a look at preparations for donald trump's inauguration. don't get scammed. the latest gift giving hoax on social media that takes advantage of you and your friends. and big savings on meet the father of four determined to spend less on groceries he created an app to do it and now you can save too. >> welcome to "news 4 this week." >> hi, everyone. i'm chris lawrence. we begin with the big preparations under way for donald trump's inauguration n a month hundreds of thousands of people will converge on the national mall. everyone from police to the military are getting ready for the ceremony, parade and, of course, the protest.

look at the preparations. >> the task force national capital region. >> master sergeant aaron lovely introducing reporters to a giant 60 by 40 foot map used to stage inaugural practice to guide logistics for 15,000 military personnel. new on the map this year, the new trump hotel at 12th and pennsylvania. yet another site that could see protests. >> clearly at this point the biggest concern are the number of potential protesters. >> reporter: the military personnel don't do police work but can if asked. back up to secret service, d.c. police and other law enforcement. >> if something goes bad, it's up to the law enforcement agency to make the first move, if you will. and only if needed will they call on the national guard. >> reporter: none of the milton the street will be armed. their job is crowd control and ceremonial events. >> we try to instill in them

historical significance of this peaceful transfer of power in our democracy. and it represents to our country and really to the entire world. >> reporter: nearly a year of planning is about to be tested for all involved. lieutenant colonel freeman is in charge of making sure everyone is fed and housed. is the food good? >> the food is always g military food is always good. >> reporter: can you work 12, 14, 16 hours if you have. to we're ready. in the district, tom sherwood, news 4. >> buy one gift, get dozens more in exchange. sounds too good to be true, right? because it is. it's called the secret sister exchange and it's all over social media. the better business bureau says it's the newest form of gift scam and it works because it takes advantage of your friends. consumer reporter omar jimenez tells what you to look out for. >> reporter: it's that time of the year again. for many, da

the top of the to do list. but on the other side of the aisle, so is holiday scamming. >> it is perpetuated over and over by social media. you think it's from your friends, relatives, people you like and trust. >> reporter: according to the better business bureau that, trust is being played through two scams in particular, wine exchanges, give one, get six back, for example. or so-called secret sister exchanges, buy one gift and in return, get up to 36. >> you have to have your friends engage with what you is fraud. we don't take the time to investigate. we trust the information. that's one of the most odd things about today right now where we are in our social world. >> reporter: it's a mind set many are hard at work to take advantage of. >> scam artists know ut and the greatest amount of scam is online and by the use of social media. >> reporter: and because social media isn't going away any time soon, the bett

says make sure you're double checking what websites you're going to, beware any calls to action, and keep an eye on how you're sending e-cards. and remember, above all else, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably s. >> remember, it's the holiday time. you're not going to get anything for free, right? >> just about any time. we have great gift resources on the nbc washington app including a gift-wrap guide and the best toys for kids. just search gift. it's a problem a lot of folks know all too well. as you get older, reading isn't as easy as it used to be. a lot of us turn to reading glasses. but one local woman just underwent a surgery that made everything come back in focus. barbara harrison tells us about rain drop surgery. most of the words are fuzzy. if i had my reading glasses, i could read it. >> reporter: she is describing a situation known as over

blurred close-up vision. people begin to experience it some time around their 40th birthday. newspaper and magazine articles get harder to read and instructions like those on the back of a medicine bottle are almost impossible. >> there is no way i can read it. that is a larger fonlt, i can't read it. >> reporter: she came to this house in washington because her husband recently got surgery theer correct his distance vision. she was hoping they might have something to fix her problem, too. >> oh, my goodness. >> reporter: the doctor found her vision to be correctible with the right lens. but jennifer said she had tried contact lens but they didn't work for her. >> i have very dry eyes. so for me contact lenses are not an option. >> reporter: dr. rose told her she was in luck because the fda just recently approved something called rain drop surgery. similar to lacic but for correcting close-up rather than

the washington area to have it done and she was thrilled with that news. >> it's my lucky day. >> the renowned eye surgeon has had a lot of experience with lacic. people have come to him for surgery from all over the world. >> the last time i counted about 150,000. >> reporter: 150,000? >> i've done my share. >> reporter: but on this day, he was launching a tested but still new pioneering visionary leap forward. and with eyes wide open, no fear of failure, jennifer was ready. eager to be among the first to bet fit from this new cutting edge technology. with razor thin precision, the surgeon maneuvers to fix a permanent rain drop size inlay made mostly of water atop the cornea. and like a rocket taking off for places seen only on giant telescopes, we watched and waited for a perfect landing. >> perfect. doing good. >> i'll try

>> oh, yeah. there was two stepping under the stars and george strait -- wow. i can't believe it. i can see it. >> reporter: i can't believe it. i'm signing up. news 4, washington. amagz. it is the hottest ticket in town. still ahead, a look at what you may need to do if you want to visit the national museum of african-american museum of culture next year. and a dad uses tech skills to save us a lot of money on groceries. wewe... get... angry. out of control, mad to the core, angry.

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interest in the new national museum of african-american history and culture is so high. officials are changing how they hand out tickets. admission is free but do you need a reservation. right now all the advance passes from now through march are gone and if you're looking to get advance passes for next april, they will be available

a.m. can you also now try to make same day reservations online. and a limited number of walk up passes will be available week days at 1:00 in the afternoon. groups of ten or more, they can now schedule visits up to a year in advance. we still have special honors this week for a fallen marine from montgomery county. the sergeant died in 2006 while serving his second tour of duty in iraq. this week local law make areas announced that a bridge is dedicated to the bethesda naturive to honor his service and sacrifice. a sign bearing his name will be installed at the east west highway bridge over the georgetown branch trail. it was unveiled during a ceremony at the church he used to attend in bethesda. maryland congressman spear headed the effort. >> whether peopn people cross t bridge, they'll remember those who sacrificed for all of us in the community and,f

remember alex for his dedication to our community and our country. >> congressman petitioned the maryland department of transportation to dedicate that bridge in the sergeant's memory. it's been a holiday tradition for 20 years. coming up, i'll tell you why this will be the last christmas dinner. >> plus, the new app that can save you big money on your next trip to the grocery store. news 4 consumer reporter susan hogan shows us how it works.

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there were some long lines this week in southeast d.c. local police officers stopped by for a home cooked meal and to remember a fellow officer. brian gibson who died in the line of duty. but this is the last year officer gibson's mom is opening her home for the annual event. so as we report, it's somewhat

>> reporter: every officer who walks through shirley gibson's meal gets a meal and a big hug. shirley and her husband have been hosting the dinner since hir son brian was gunned down while on duty 20 years ago. >> they're my sons and daughters. and there is not a day that i don't pray for them. i hear siren and i say god, please take care of my kids. they're out. there. >> reporter: it started out as a way for her to cope with her loss. but i grew into something much bigger. after 20 years, she says with hundreds of officers coming through each year, it's become too much for her to keep up. >> for 20 years, i spent the month of december trying to make sure that the officers had a chance to come by and get a home cooked meal. >> reporter: in addition to the hundreds of officers who showed up today, the d.c. police helicopter also showed up to say thank y

her home. for gibson, today is a happy day having her mother here for the first time since brian died. but she says she'll miss cooking for the hundreds of officers. as for all of those hugs she's been giving out, shirley says, it's her way of touching her son brian just one more time. >> it meant that i would get a chance to hug them with their vest on and with their service weapon on and feel my brian. >> reporter: now while this is the last time shirley gibson will open her home to police officers for a holiday dinner, it may not be the last time that there is a holiday meal in honor of brian gibson. the police union hopes to carry on the tradition. as for shirley, the police chief showed up not too long ago with a $4,000 gift certificate so she can take a cruise. in southeast, news 4. >> just a wonderful woman and story so, so

a local dad got sick and tired of paying monster bills for his family of four at the grocery store. he did something about it. now he's helping thousands of other families as well. consumer reporter susan hogan shows us how can you bust that grocery budget in half. >> reporter: aside from our mortgage, the grocery bill is the next budget buster in our homes. so when i heard about this new app called basket that would help me save time and money, i just had to check it out. are you a haphazard shopper? randomly grabbing products off the shelves and then being shocked with the total at checkout? >> i always have the best intentions to get in that circular and clip the coupons. >> reporter: we all start with good intentions. searching for coupons, shopping for store brands, but no matter how hard we try, the grocery bill breaks the bank. >> we spent at least $300 a week. >> reporter: local dad and software developer was blown

away by his family's grocery bills. so he did something about it. he developed an app called basket. the first ever crowd sharing community of shoppers tired of shopping blind. >> it's quite simple. you put in your grocery list, items you want to buy, push a button and called shop my basket and all the prices at all your local stores. >> all the sales, all the coupons included within seconds the app reveals what your shopping list will cost at grocery stores near you. we asked this mom to give it a try. first she types in her grocery list in the app. >> i have all the regular typical stuff. you know, stuffing, we're going to make pumpkin pie and i need chicken broth. >> reporter: once her list is complete -- >> i'm going to shopt basket. >> reporter: within seconds she can see what the list will cost. >> at my nearby giant, things are look going. zbh a few miles down the roa d, the app

costs $60. at another store, it's more than $72. >> sometimes i've had significant savings over here on a bigger shopping list, the weekly shopping list. i'm saving $100 and i do drive there. >> reporter: if you want larger discounts, tell the app you're willing to shop at two different stores or drive a few miles out of the way to get even bigger discounts which is what elizabeth did to save 65%. >> times 52 weeks in a that's $5,000. >> how it works is also a story. it all started really as a game of sorts. how you can be a part of this first of a kind app, we'll show you tomorrow morning starting on news 4 at 4:30. susan hogan, news 4. all right. when we come back, trauma patients get a rare chance to say thank you to the medical profession who's perform miracles every day.

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it's a tradition that dates back decades. michelle obama made her final holiday visit to the kids at children's national medical center right here in the district. she and ryan seacrest read a story to the kids and gave them a chance to ask anything they wanted. one of them asked about what she got the president for christmas. mrs. obama only said that one gift has to do with music, the other with sports. emergency room doctors and nurses workday in and day out to save lives. a lot of times they don't get to see the patients after they leave the hospital. but once a year at george washington university hospital trauma patients get a chance to say thank you to those hospital employees. news 4's amy cho got to see one reunion at the fifth annual trauma survivor's day. >> reporter: sam walking up the aisle and taking a seat. seems simple enough until you consider this was sam just a short

>> the last time has been the most difficult. nine months of my life. >> reporter: in february he was hit by a metro train and nearly lost his life. that night doctor libby schroeder is the one on call. >> he arrived having suffered pretty impressive injuries. >> reporter: but even more impressive, the way he handled it, with the will power for weight lifting and that wide smile and those witty one liners. >> they said they were going to have to amputate my leg. i'm trying my best. >> reporter: he was one of seven trauma patient who's came back to gw to see the ones that saved him and to say thank you. >> i'm glad to see you doing great. that's what we're happy about. >> to see you up and walking. >> these are the people that took care of me when i had no ability to take care of myself. >> yes, thank you. >> one of those people, mary shapell. >> i'm so uplifted to kind of see and recognize them and

witness them. it brought tears to my eyes. >> i have a lot to look forward. to. >> reporter: he's looking forward and paying it forward to others like himself. >> maybe fill out a mobile application for meantal health. >> reporter: whatever he does, the team at gw says they'll be there for him and his fellow survivors every step of the way. in the district, amy cho, news 4. they're always working hard, weekends, holidays, you name it. that's all for news 4 this week. i'm chris lawrence. we're going to leave you video from d.c. and maryland as police help spread holiday cheer in our community. thank you for joining us. have a great week.

♪ welcome to "redskins chronicles." i'm larry michael at redskins park. each week here on "redskins chronicle" we take an in depth look at a piece of the team's legacy. today we take a look at a team within a team. today we focus in on tlegendary offensive line forhe