at 6:00 right now on news 4 today, a wet start to your holiday weekend. storm team 4 tracking how long showers are going to stick around your neighborhood. a police chase and deadly crash, what we're finding out about the dangerous pursuit in the district. recovering from a heart attack, an update on "star wars" actor carrie fisher. >> good morning. so if you look outside or maybe you don't have to look, you're going to hear the weather first. a little bit

>> a little bit wet out there. >> not too cold. >> not too bad. lauren is tracking it all. a week ago it was freezing rain coming down. not so much this morning. >> definitely not this morning. those temperatures are well above freezing at this point so that is good news for anybody headed on the roadways. you're not necessarily dealing with icy conditions, maybe just wet conditions out there as we have rain throughout the region spreading through the greater washington area. it's continuing to stream up as a frontal system, a weak one, but it's moving through the area and it will cross through mid day. in fact we're going to have a dry afternoon. so all day it's not going to be wet, but we're going to time that out for you and let you know exactly when this rain will end in case you need to do any last-minute shopping. we'll let you know when it's going to be dry coming up. one man is dend

crash in the district involving four vehicles. police started chasing a vehicle they thought was stolen. the officer ended up losing track of the driver. when the car continued speeding before slamming into three cars. this was on east capital street northeast on benning road. a juvenile man is expected to face charges. one person shot in falls church is expected to survive. fairfax county police say the person was shot around 8:00 last night. investigators are looking for a gunman dressed in black and ran towards falls church high school. we don't know if the victim is a man or woman. police say they don't think last night's shooting was related to two other deaths in the county. we learn what police have uncovered in those investigations. >> reporter: the police are investigating the connections between the two murders and between theo

they say these crimes are not random. the police are investigating two murders a little more than 12 hours apart. a 22-year-old man found dead in his house in spring field and a 22-year-old woman found dead behind these homes two miles away. police say the crimes may be li linked. >> they appear to be known to each other. >> reporter: the first victim, a northern virginia community college student, a family member came home and discovered him murdered about 8:15 thursday night. detectives went in and out of the home for hours gathering evidence and looking for clues. the next door neighbor heard loud noises in the home yesterday evening. >> i heard multiple bangs. it was loud to where you could almost feel it through the house, through the wood. >> i'm sorry. >> reporter: a neighbor took the

>> he would help me with groceries. he was very helpful. >> reporter: as police were investigating they got a call for a second victim, the body of a woman found in a backyard. they also had trauma to her upper body. >> a homeowner in this block 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. >> reporter: police tell me they don't have a lot of strong leads in these investigations. anyone with information that could help is asked to call the fairfax county police. news 4. we're following breaking news. actor carrei fisher is in intense care after a heart

went into cardiac arrest yesterday. someone gave her cpr mid flight. she was rushed to the hospital when the plane landed. that is terrible news. she is 60 years old. sources tell nbc news that she's not doing very well, but of course prayers can fix a lot of things. >> it's troubling, especially for a lot of folks who look at 2016, they're reflecting on it and some consider it to have been a tough year and that includes actor mark hamil. he tweeted as if 2016 couldn't get any worse sending oall our love. here's what some fans told us. >> i'm a life long "star wars" fan. i grew up loving princess laia and it's a terrible thing to happen. >> i'm around the same age. i'm 50 ys

business to me. >> if you want to find out more, we have an extended interview with her last month and we'll send you any breaking news alerts when we learn an update about her condition. turning to news internationally now, vladimir putin slamming hillary clinton and he's praising the attack against the former opponent. putin said democrats were humiliating themselves by accusing russia of tampering with the u.s. elections. trump responded online by saying, quote, so true. u.s. intelligence agencies believe russia did intervene in the u.s. election to help trump win. putin shooting down claims he's in an arms race with the u.s. yesterday putin said he is not surprised by the president elt'

improve relations between the two nations once trump takes office and trump is siding with ben min netanyahu. n n n trump says things will be different when he's president. churches across the country are on high alert right now. a warning says isis supporters are talking about targeting churches. federal investigators are looking into an online post that lists thousands of american churches, hotels and coffee shops. the post calls for an attack on those sites. the same warning was issued last year and the year before and there was not an attack but it's important to stay vigilant. experts stress this did not come

germany is keeping extra security in place after that terror attack. the suspect that rammed the truck into a christmas market is dead but investigators say the threat is still high. police are trying to figure out if the suspect had help when he was hiding. officers shot and killed him. italian police say he traveled through france from germany before they found him. whiteouts and a white christmas, we're going to show you the treacherous holiday travel for some parts of the country sending drivers slipping and sliding. a pre-christmas workout for old saint ni

fight heartburn fast. with tums chewy delights. the mouthwatering soft chew that goes to work in seconds to conquer heartburn fast. tum tum tum tum. chewy delights. only from tums.

following this month's deadly warehouse fire in oakland. parents of michelle gregory and griffin madden are suing over their children's deaths. 36 people died after flames broke out during an electronic music show. their attorney is suing the owners and operators of the building and the city and county. they say this fire could have been prevented. two men accused of hijacking a plane are in jail right now. they were arrested on the island of malta after they redirected a libyan flight. the men had a hand grenade and gun on them. the pilot said the hijackers were seeking political asylum in europe and wanted to get to rome, but the plane didn't have enough fuel to get them. 117 people were let off that plane safely and the men surrendered. if you're missing some holiday gifts

head out to the malls, you might want to bring the umbrella. we're tracking how long rain will stick around. a little bear with a lot of explaining to do. the adventure that left a little girl

we continue to see that rain out there right now, but

not gonna have that rain all throughout the day. in fact, it is moving out of here just as quick as it came in. i do want to mention since it was a mess last saturday, temperatures are above the freezing mark right now nearing 40 degrees. plain rain, but we know a lot of things going on today. we'll time out when this rain will be out of here in about five minutes. >> thank you. check it out, it's a white christmas for some folks in northern california. the kids are loving it, but the drivers not so much. a snowstorm hit the smountain range and made treacherous driving conditions. in boise, idaho it's messy there as well. ice and snow are possible and drivers are urge d to stay off the ro

appears to be on time at the airlines right now. 6 million people are flying somewhere. >> expect large crowds. again crowded planes, crowded terminals and crowded roadways. >> as for the roadways, aaa says more than 2,300,000 people are going to be driving to their holiday destination this year. that's for our area. it's set to be thousands more than last year. make room on the roads. for those of you staying in town for the holidays, here's what you need to know about metro. metro rail is going to be opening in about 45 minutes from now. 7:00 this morning. they'll stay open until midnight today and tomorrow and monday. mark will have saturday line service today and they will be closed today. there will be no vre service on monday. this weekend some of us, especially children, are going to be get

hope they will cherish, right? >> of course. someone returned a teddy bear to an 8-year-old girl. we see the reunion that captured the spirit of the season. >> reporter: elanore and teddy are as close as they can be. >> it makes me sad to be without him. >> reporter: back home in michigan after a family trip to texas she realized teddy was missing. teddy through no fault of his own was lost. >> i made the promise that any mom would make to their little girl, i said i will do everything that i can to bring teddy home. >> reporter: from a posting on facebook, an old family friend made it his mission to track down the bear. steven works at the detroit airport. he canvassed dtw where there on top of a t

teddy. >> luckily it was there. a christmas miracle. >> reporter: teddy thankful to be found helped steve at work all day. steven sent pictures to she would know teddy wasn't lost. teddy was having an adventure. >> instead of her sitting at home worrying where the teddy bear was, she could look online. >> i saw teddy was in the cockpit. >> reporter: that evening steven brought teddy home. >> i am very happy teddy is home and back and i get to be with him again. >> reporter: joy is what happens when a girl and her bear are reunited. when it's time for bed, who better to snuggle with. bee bears are good that way. >> that's cute. >> i remember leaving my comfort blanket in the movie theater and

having to go back and get it. >> the moment you realize you lost that favorite thing. >> that ended last year for me. 6:19 is your time now. we now santa can down some cookies, right? >> of course. what many may not know is that he gets a workout in before making that trek around the world for christmas. >> he's going to be on the potomac river water ski. that's old st. nick suffrfing t waves. that's at 1:00 this afternoon. prime viewing spots are along the waterfront obviously between king street and ranoca street. good idea to get out there and check it out. >> great weather too for it. >> pretty nice for water skiing. >> i don't know if i would get in that water. >> what about

>> absolutely. it's great viewing weather. we could have -- i wish we would have a white christmas, but there's no chance of that happening. i wish we had a white christmas, but we have the rain. the rain is moving out by this afternoon so by this afternoon we're going to be dry. most of our region. if you have errands to run later this afternoon, we're looking better than we do this morning because that rain is continuing to move through here this morning. just some showers, but it's steady across the area. after lunch that rain moves out and we're dry on christmas day. temperatures around 50 degrees. look at the temperatures out here right now. we have temperatures well above that freezing mark so we're not looking at any freezing rain. we're not looking at sleet, just plain rain and that's what's represented in this green right now. a weak cold front passing through the area. we'll continue to see that rain taper off as we go from the mid morning to the early afternoon. he

snow up there in the buffalo region, otherwise we've got rain down here in southern california. that's a rarity. everybody else pretty dry across the united states. at 10:00 a.m. the shenandoah valley seeing the rain move out and 1:00 we are dry and we are clear through tonight and tomorrow morning. you're going to wake up to a little bit of sunshine and we'll keep that sunshine through the day. this evening through midnight temperatures are going to fall into the low 40s. you won't need a heavy coat. we have your christmas day forecast that we'll time out with the ten-day forecast coming up. a 6-year-old sending her wish to the sky and hoping it would come true. the remarkable journey that one family has reason to cherish this holiday seon. that washe

just a little warning for you, you can watch santa's journey around the world with your kids. the tracker says santa is preparing the aerospace. the space command has been keeping track for 60 years. we have a link to their site on our nbc app. while your kids are waiting to hear the pitter patter of feet on the roof, new zealand is saying good-bye to christmas. >> santa starts his day at the international date line and then flies west. >> that's right. christmas

under way in the south pacific around 8:00 our time tonight. a balloon and a christmas wish. >> we hear a holiday story that will make you believe in miracles. >> reporter: this 6-year-old girl had three wishes and a balloon. >> i'm trying not to cry, but this is a christmas miracle. >> reporter: on the night after thanksgiving she and her 10-year-old sister decided their letters would get to santa faster if they were flown there. >> i thought it would have come right back down. i never thought it would make where it did. >> reporter: four days later the letters carried by balloon landed 800 miles away. >> dear santa, i want a tablet and light up shoes and a turtle. >> reporter: in indiana. >> i came in inside and he was yelling about going to get a dog. >> reporter: it wt

a distance, it was a pink and purple princess balloon with the letter attached. >> it was right down there by where the ditch line is. where it landed, that was pretty neat because ten miles north it would have landed in santa clause, indiana. >> santa clause, indiana. this is crazy. this is a miracle. >> reporter: rachel decided to put her elf skills to work. >> to get her what she asked for was something we wanted to do for another family this year. >> reporter: on friday morning she had a special present under her tree from the big man himself. >> i received your princess balloon with your wish list. >> reporter: getting everything and more from one pink princess balloon. >> i'm really a believer. i'm a believer. this is a christmas miracle and

i believe in miracles. this is real. >> i love that. imagine the feeling of feeling like a miracle happened. >> who knew there was a santa clause, indiana. that's cool. your time, 6:27. a live look at storm team 4 radar. many of us waking up to light showers. we look ahead to the rest of your holiday weekend. she's 17, but she's on the path to the pros.

a man is dead and another person in custody after a multiple vehicle crash in northeast d.c. d.c. police say the driver of a suspected stolen car took off from police and slammed into three cars. "star wars" actress carrie fisher is in the hospital right now. churches on alert. warnings to churches and hotels this holiday. a post from isis supporters threatens thousands of potential sites. on this christmas eve saturday morning we welcome you back in to news 4 today. >> good morning. a bit of a wet start for our chma

that's okay because it's the holidays. >> it is. i like how we're in our holiday gear right now too. >> feeling a little festive today. lauren is festive as well. she has her red on. >> this wasn't planned at all so i'm glad that i wore the red but i didn't realize you were going to wear green and red so i'm glad we're representing the holidays. we'll represent the holiday and hopefully i have enough in the forecast where we can keep things dry for this afternoon. looking good as we get into this afternoon. thank goodness because we've got steady rain out there right now. that rain will continue to push from the west to the east and move out of here. now it is plain rain. we're not looking at any snow, any ice, thank goodness, especially after last saturday. those temperatures are well above freezing. so right around 40 degrees. we are going to time out that rain and let you know exactly whto

tomorrow, time it hour-by-hour coming up in a bit. >> thank you. developing this morning, one man is dead after a double shooting in southeast d.c. it happened on mount view place off of martin luther king avenue. another man that was shot is being treated at the hospital. police have not released a description of the suspect. police are in having a crash in the busy part of old town this morning. this was tweeted out by police on henry street and the street is now shut down between prince and cameron streets for the investigation to continue. we're working to find out more details about the crash, namely how it happened and if anyone was hurt. staying in alexandria right now, a man was sentenced to three life sentences in prison for murdering three people. that was in alexandria, but he could get a new day in court. his attorneys will argue for a

they plan to say that he should have been tried for the murders separately. they'll also argue there was not enough evidence to convict him. he was found guilty last november of killing three people over a ten-year span. a new train tunnel is in the district and it's open for business. the virginia avenue tunnel is designed to speed up trains going between here and the midwest. csx is widening the tunnel to allow two tracks and taller trains inside. csx sent us this video of the first train going through the tunnel. so far only one phase of the project is complete. phase two will finish in 2018. she's 17 years old, but already on the path to becoming a professional tennis player. alenna smith is among the top 100 junior tennis players in the world. i spoke with her before she begins her world tour

>> i practice almost five, four hours a day. >> if practice makes perfect, she is well on her way to the top. >> my goal is to be number one in the world and maybe after this year we'll see if i can turn pro too. >> she can do everything. she has baseline, net, transition. she has the right temperament. >> her coach has been with her since she was 4 years old. >> you're supposed to be aggressive. >> it didn't take long for him to realize there was something special about alana. >> she's in the top 500 and looking to play the grand slams and hopefully get a deal. >> for the last several years she's competed in tennis tournaments around the world, but becoming one of the top 100 junior tennis players

been easy. >> being a single mom it's pretty much impossible to do this. >> her mom says she has made a lot of sacrifices fo ar her daughter. >> that's what so remarkable that she's been able to do on our budget. >> donations, cutting costs and an unwavering desire to be the best has gotten her to this point. this year she has the potential to become a professional player. that comes with a certain amount of pressure, but alana doesn't let the stress get in her way for her love of the game. >> i feel good. it's a good accomplishment. >> really cool there. 6:35. an nfl team facing a surprising challenge on their way to the game. why players were stuck for hours on the plane and left sitting on the tarmac. time is running out to get your holiday shopping done. how long locala

open

check out this scarey situation for the football team. the minnesota vikings are playing today and their plane slid off the runway. the team landed around 6:00 our time, but players weren't allowed off the plane until around 11:00 last night. no one got hurt. we know where a lot of you are going this afternoon. >> that's right, watching the redskins football game of course, but the skins are in chicago with a chance at the playoffs on the line. if they lose, that chance is likely gone. >> even if they win it's still a long shot. they're chasing two other teams to get the final wild card

can be done. >> i've learned to keep going and 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 play. >> the skins lost a tough game against the panthers last monday night. they wrap up the season against the giants on new year's day. you might need a rain coat if you're headed out for a last-minute trip to the mall and some patience too. a lot of folks may be joining you. lauren is in red, but she's tracking green on the radar there. a heart warming holiday surprise, the remarkable way the one

some pretty moderate rain still moving across the region, but it will start to lighten up. it's not going to rain all day on this saturday, this christmas eve day, the beginning of hanukkah tonight. we will start to see it move out of here. we have the planner for the rest of the day today and more importantly the planner for your christmas, we'll do it hour-by-hour and let you know when we can see dry conditions coming up in five minutes. >> thank you. the "today" show is next on nbc 4. >> let's up to new york and get a preview right now. good morning. >> good morning. >> happy holidays

coming up this saturday we'll get the latest on actress carrie fisher's conditions. we're live in los angeles as prayers for her recovery pour in. we're tracking the stormy holiday weather. with snow out in the west 15 million people could wake up to a white christmas. it's the mad dash to get that holiday shopping done, but this year apparently procrastinators may wind up the big winners. >> procrastinators like yourself. >> we're going to tell you how to be a winner. you're gonna be a winner after all this. >> exactly. there you go. >> those stories and more in a bit. >> we'll see you then. speaking of holiday procrastinators, your clock is ticking. not to add to the pressure you're feeling. we spoke with folks at the montgomery mall who waitednt

shopping done. >> procas nation got the best out of. >> reporter: this woman waited until the last minute to do her christmas shopping and decorate the tree. she's buying ornaments. >> you put the christmas tree up two days ago. i've been busy all week taking care of the home, family. >> reporter: she's one of thousands of people scrambling to buy holiday gifts in d.c., maryland and virginia. you have to pack your patience in these long lines. >> it's so hectic. the parking lot, trying to get in, it was ridiculous. >> reporter: some shoppers told me they waited until the last minute because they wanted to get good deals. these signs lure some in with 70% off, 40% to 60% and buy three get three free. >> hectic, busy, exciting. >> reporter: how is the shopping going? all right. you

go ahead, little buddy. >> look right here and say cheese. >> reporter: don't worry, santa is here to turn that frown up side down. >> this is the greatest time of the year. the family, love and friends. >> reporter: the christmas memories. in bethesda, news 4. >> that little boy wanted nothing to do with it. >> i don't like to shop. if you have to do shopping today, here's what you need to know. walmart will be closing at 6:00 p.m. that's two hours earlier than last year. target will be open until 10:00. tyson's mall closes at 5:00 and the outlets close at 6:00 and pentagon city, westfield, montgomery close at 6:00. you know that awkward feeling that you experience when you find something that you borrowed from somebody and realize you forgot to return it? not the case in this next

couple of books from a local lie bra library that a man discovered were overdue. >> reporter: it was here in the early 1970s john kramer's parents checked out two books. last month kramer found those books in his parents' ontario home. he calculated the late fees at 5 cents a day for more than 31,000 days and sent the library a letter with a check for $1,052.30. >> 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. >> reporter: by phone kramer told news 4 the books hold special meaning for his family because the wilderness book is part of the reason why his family bought a home in

while the family were happy to pay the late fees they decided to keep the books because they mean so much. news 4. >> that's sweet. very honest too. we're told library officials plan to use the money to buy more books for the twin brook library and they plan on keeping the letter from the kramer's in their archives. very sweet. a pleasant surprise. >> it is. i'm sure. i'm glad the library is buying more books for money. a mom fighting cancer can't work so she was worried she couldn't give her family anything for christmas. >> that's when her hospice nurse and his colleagues stepped in. >> huge bills with no food or anything. >> reporter: this woman thought she 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. >> reporter: and in more

>> i couldn't walk. i couldn't take a shower or dress myself. i couldn't do nothing. >> reporter: several months of pills, radiation, chemotherapy seemed to help until yet another diagnosis earlier this year. >> i had seven tumors in my head. >> reporter: it had spread to her brain. her four kids, including her 27-year-old and 3-year-old daughters want mom to fight. >> i sat them down and told them and my mom told me do it, i want you to live. >> reporter: it's a constant battle that's taken a toll. she's not been able to return to work. >> i love my job. i can't wait to go back. >> reporter: without that added income she and her husband didn't have much money to spare for gifts. she wasn't sure what would happen, but she gave what she could. her infectious, positive spirit. >> when you give, you receive

>> she will brighten up anybody's day. this is a lady who just does not quit. >> reporter: her hospice nurse told his colleagues about carla. >> hour volunteers and staff opened their wallets, went shopping, bought gift cards, and bought gifts for the children and enough to make the little bit of the year better too. >> reporter: a christmas tree now filled. >> i mean, god sent angels for me not to worry and i'm relaxing. >> reporter: her message to others facing tough times. >> please don't give up. have faith to pray and stay positive because that's what's kept me alive. >> the community there coming together to help try to pay some of the utility bills and food bills. it's one of theseor

you feel the stress of the holidays and you talk to carla and she'll bring you back up in spirits. >> that's a great story. we told you earlier in the show you could watch santa deliver presents all around the world with santa's tracker. >> here we are. we're looking at this live right now, folks. santa is skid up flying over the pacific ocean. we're told he is headed to new zealand. he just visited soma. he just dropped off gifts for them. it's december 25th there. we're told 250 million gifts have been delivered. >> santa is busy, busy, busy. >> you can track this in the nbc washington app if you want to check it out. i love it how we're all very festive here and got the colors going. >> you're in the holiday spirit. >> you can add some green on the radar this morning too.

radar. fortunately it's not going to be with us all day. >> no snow on the radar. >> i'm all for a white christmas. the last time we had a white christmas was 2009 and that's because we had snow on the ground from the blizzard we got before and the last time we had snow on christmas was 2002. it's a 6% chance for a white christmas here. this year it's too warm and that's good news because we're not seeing that sleet and we're not seeing the ice. temperatures are well above freezing so just plain rain throughout the area. it will start to taper off. we have a weak cold front that's moving through the area mid day. by this afternoon we're going to be dry. current temperatures, everybody above freezing and nearing that 40 degree mark. even out in the valley the temperatures are in the mid 30s so we're looking good. by this afternoon we're near to 50 degrees. we'll keep the showers around through the morning, but they'll be

11:00, we start to dry. they'll move out from the west to the east. some areas around southern maryland may be the last to see them go, but looking good for midnight services and through sunday morning it's going to be very very nice and dry. temperatures are going to fall through the 40s and we're going to stay in the upper 30s, lower 40s as we continue through the day -- or through the night. no rain tonight. still damp at midnight services around 40 degrees. if kids are testing toys tomorrow we're going to be dry with the temperature around 50 degrees. next chance of rain after this morning will not be until tuesday. a few showers on tuesday, a 30% chance and more chances coming on thursday. new year's eve looks ag little n the chilly side. guys. ♪

wow. a little girl with a captivating voice, why her singing is shared by tens of thousan online.ds fios is not cable. we're wired differently. voice, why her singing is shared by tens of thousan online.ds that means incredibly fast 150 meg internet for the holidays. so in the 3.7 seconds it takes gary watson to beat the local sled jump record, fly, gary, fly. ...his friend can download 13 versions of the perfect song...

...while his mom downloads how to set a dislocated shoulder. get 150 meg internet, tv and phone for just $79.99 per month online for the first year. cable can't offer that. only fios can.

♪

yeah, there's a pretty good chance you've seen this video because it's viewed more than 2 million times online. that's a 10-year-old girl singi singing. she has autism and adhd. beautiful voice. >> i could listen to that all day. 6:56 on this christmas eve. we want to update you on four things to know. in d.c. police have a juvenile man in custody after a deadly car chase. it ended with that crash involving three cars on east capital street. we know one man

dead in southeast after a double shooting around 9:30 last night. the other man who was shot is being treated in a hospital. no suspect description has been released yet. actor carrie fisher in the icu. the fbi is telling police to be vigilant after isis supporters posted a threat against churches across the country. this same warning was issued last year and the year before and there was not an attack. a live look at santa's tracker. he's makingis way i hn i tried hard to quit smoking. but when we brought our daughter home, he's makingis way i hn that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release

it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how. try theraflu expressmax,nd flu hold you back now in new caplets. it's the only cold & flu caplet that has a maximum strength formula with a unique warming sensation you instantly feel. theraflu. for a powerful comeback. new expressmax caplets.

good morning. prayers for princess leia. get well wishes from around the world for actress carrie fisher. >> into the garbage chute. >> the "star wars" star hospitalized a day after suffering a heart attack on a flight from london to los angeles. >> we have passengers, nurses assisting a passenger with an unresponsive passenger. >> her family rushing by her side. we are live with the latest on how she is doing. travel trouble. wintry weather making holiday journey treacherous for millions. minnesota vikings needing to be rescued after plane is off the