another flurry of activity inside and outside the white house today. president trump took steps to advance the construction of two controversial pipelines. >> we have team coverage to break it all down. >> reporter: you can hear the protesters from inside the white house complex here. president trump at the white house today promised to renegotiate to get a better deal on both these projects. but he's green lighting these controversial pipelines because short-term that will put people to work. president trump kept more promises, revooiing the projeiv killed by president obama to slow climate change. he's also s

access pipeline that standing rock sioux protested. build both, said mr. trump, with all american pipes, not half from foreign maker as planned. >> we build the pipelines. we want to build the pipe. we're going to put a lot of steel workers back to work. >> reporter: outside detroit auto execs had high hopes for their industry. >> improve the environment, improve safety and improve the jobs creation and the competitiveness of manufacturing. >> reporter: the president promised them less red tape to open u.s. plants. >> we're going to make the process much more simple. >> reporter: on message, but not last night, the president told lawmakers again he lost the popular vote because millions of what he called illegals cast ballots. >> he continued to maintain that belief based on evidence and studies people have presented to him. >> i am begging the president, share with us the information

stop saying it. >> reporter: the white house would not rule out a federal probe. >> there is no investigation. it's a -- i said it was possible. anything is possible. it was a hypothetical question. >> reporter: but it's already a distraction from the trump focus on jobs. next week, president trump promises he will have a supreme court nominee. >> now a fact check that he lost the popular election because 3-5 million illegals voted for hillary clinton. it has been widely debunked. according to the "washington post" there are only four documented cases of fraud in the 2016 election. today white house press secretary sean spicer was asked repeatedly about the claim, but did not provide evidence. >> what evidence? the national association of

assessment. what evidence do you have? >> as i said i think the president has believed that for a while based on studies and information he has. >> today virginia senator tim kaine called the voter fraud claim, in his words, an obvious lie. democratic leaders are calling on republicans to repudiate the president's remarks. >> local law mamakers are telli us tonight that federal hiring freeze may not save very much money. >> the hiring freeze getting sharp reaction from both people who are simply wanting to work for the federal government to congress. the federal hiring freeze getting harsh reaction from some local lawmakers. >> if you freeze federal agencies, they're going to contract out to the private sector to do it. it will cost the

>> why is the administration pitching the false view that federal workers are corrupt or beholden to special interests? >> from the capitol to constituents. so how concerned are you about the federal hiring freeze? >> i'm very concerned about it. working in the federal government is a career goal i've had for a long time. >> reporter: now while interning in d.c., college senior benjamin christiansen is putting his backup plan into action. >> now that i'm about to graduate and looking forward to making a career, suddenly reaching that goal has become a lot more difficult. >> reporter: nicole smith is chief economist of the georgetown center for education and the work force. she says the federal hiring freeze could be good for student who is e s who end up in higher paying contracted jobs. >> they're going to pay them more to do the same job. >> reporter:

staying positive. >> i'm going to be looking into companies that do contracts with the government and maybe international organizations. i think as long as i can do something that interests me and that i feel is making a good difference in the lives of people and making the world a better place, then it's what i want to be doing. >> and the hiring freeze excludes the military. >> even folks hired in the last days of the obama administration but haven't started work yet could be affected by it as well. we just hosted a facebook live with an expert who took your questions on what this all means for you and really our region as a whole. catch that replay on nbc washington's facebook page. the trump administration st taking aim at the epa. officials ordered the agency to institute a media blackout and temporarily suspend all new business. the white house sent e-mails to staff at the environmental protection agency demanding they

posting to social media accounts. communications director says he expects the ban will be lifted by the end of the week and the white house just wants to get a handle on everything. now to some extraordinary new reaction from china one day after white house officials vowed the u.s. would stand up to china's military expansion in the south china sea. a senior chinese official essentially said the u.s. should not meddle in issues with china's neighbors. >> you're saying it's none of the united states' business. >> it's not the united states territory or the international territory. >> chinese officials also told nbc news it so-called one china policy is not negotiable. china does not recognize taiwan's independence. during the presidential transition donald trump infuriated beijing by taking a phone call from

president. d.c. police are searching for a man who shot someone near nats park. it all went down as people were attending a job fair. as mark segraves reports, a man was shot behind a liquor store and staggered to the ballpark to get help. >> reporter: it happened right here behind this liquor store, but it ended across south capitol street right in front of nats park as dozens of people were waiting for a job fair this morning. while police aren't saying whether or not they know what the motive was, they do say they don't believe it was a random shooting. >> i heard eight shots. >> we have a blood trail. >> reporter: police say the suspect and the victim were in the parking lot behind cap liquors when the suspect opened fire, shooting the victim in the face and upper body. >> he ran across the street. >> reporter: the victim made it across south capitol street to the sidewalk along nats p

a job fair. >> we're standing in a line for the job fair. we hear shots fired coming from that direction. everybody just started pushing. >> reporter: police say the suspect took off. >> a black male, 19-20 years of age. he has on a light tan puffy coat, a gray knit hat. he fled in a black impala southbound on south capitol street. >> reporter: according to the mpd crime map, there have been more than 50 violent crimes within 1500 feet of nats park in the past year. including more than 20 robberies and 30 assaults. as for overall crime, more than 200 incidents in that same area around the ballpark in the past 12 months. now, a "washington post" survey of shot spotters around d.c. a few years ago targeted this

he's still in the hospital fighting for his life critical condition. in court today federal prosecutors said they have offered him a plea agreement but they did not disclose the details. welch is accused of carrying an assault style rifle into a pizza restaurant in d.c. back on december 4th. he allegedly fired the gun but nobody was injured. police said welch went to restaurant after becoming obsessed with a fake story online that became known as pizzagate. president bush is making good progress after

from a serious bout of pneumonia. he's sitting up, talking with doctors, even returning some phone calls. mr. bush is working with physical therapists to regain his strength. doctors discharged barbara bush on monday after treating her for bronchitis. she came back today to see her husband. >> reporter: at a school bus stop over there a woman is shot and wounded in front of 15 child witnesses. and the kids ran for cover. >> reporter: a woodbridge family is asking for the public's help tonight to try to find a hit-and-run driver who left a husband and father of two near death. he was trying to get into his car on sunday night when he was struck. coming up, you'll hear from an eyewitness about the truck that raced away. >> reporter: sure you're allowed to open apps like facebook.

just ahead, we're going to walk you through the laws being proposed when it comes to cell phone use and driving here in the commonwealth and why for one former law enforcement officer it's a very personal fight. we've got a great day in story for you on your wednesday, but then we see another pattern shift. right now take a look at that nor'easter continuing to spin to our north and east.

creating a cleaner environment by using cleaner energy sources like solar, wind and natural gas. we've reduced carbon emissions by nearly 25%, which is the equivalent of taking close to two million cars off the road. cleaner air and cleaner water. it's good for all of us. dominion. depend on us for more than energy.

frightening moments for more than a dozen elementary school children this morning. a man shot and wounded a woman as she waited the children at a school bus stop in prince george's county. police released a picture of the guy they're looking for. pat? >> reporter: just a few minutes ago police identified a suspect in this domestic shooting case. they say he's roland eugene sims, 42 years old. they say he's armed and dangerous. if you see him, do not approach him. call 911. 15 elementary school kids see a woman shot and wounded as they

keith lives nearby. his daughter was there. >> it's terrible. it's traumatized the kids. this is a really nice neighborhood. it's sad kids have to deal with that. >> reporter: the scene, winthrop and chester streets in oxen hill. it was about 7:00 this morning. witnesses say a woman in her 30s was waiting here with her three children for the school bus. they say a man jumped out of the bushes, tried to grab one of her girls. there was an argument. a fight and then gunshots. they say the woman fell to the ground and the shooter ran away. about a dozen kids waiting for that bus saw what happened and made a run for it. this woman asked not to be identified. she has a young boy who was there. >> i was shocked and scared for these kids' lives out here. i called 911, actually. >> reporter: the children, all from the forest heights elementary school. it got extra

today. and counselors were called in to console the students. >> a number of them were shaken by the incident, which is understandable. but they're all doing pretty well. psychologists and counselors have been with them all day to talk about any fears or concerns they have. >> reporter: again, a short time ago the suspect in the case identified as roland eugene sims, 42 years old. they say he's armed and dangerous. if you see him, do not approach him. call 911. the victim of the shooting is in the hospital, recovering tonight. a mother in maryland lost six of her children in a house fire. but today she found something to be thankful for. katie malone got out of the hospital this morning and posted a message on facebook, thanking everyone for their support. her house caught fire in popular two weeks ago while her husband

malone escaped, so did three of her kids. right now she's trying to finalize funeral plans for the six children who died. tonight a family in woodbridge, virginia, is hoping a hit-and-run driver will either be caught or turn himself in after leaving their loved one near death. three young children witnessed the awful scene. julie carey spoke with the victim's niece, who watched it all unfold. >> reporter: she's just 11 years old, but she was witness to a horrible incident on sunday night when her uncle was struck by a hit-and-run driver. >> i was screaming. my mom started screaming. we couldn't see him because it was dark outside. >> reporter: this family car still parked in the same spot. this dent, the missing sideview mirror, that's where 39-year-old raja hussein was standing when a pickup truck slammed into the parked car behind him, then smashn

the victim's two young children were in the car's back seat. his niece says he saw the pickup truck coming from down the street. instead of opening the driver's side door, he leaned into the car. >> it happened in a second. my uncle was standing. that truck came in, took him with him and slammed into the oh car. and he ran away. i started screaming, yelling out, people come outside, what happened here. >> reporter: hussein's father came running from inside the house. >> he was on the ground then. they were holding him and he was in a coma. he was not talking. >> reporter: raja hussein's injuries are grave. he suffered a severe head injury. he is the sole wage earner for his family of four. police believe the truck is a white ford f-250 or 350 similar to this one with ladder racks. it will have front passenger side damage and

front passenger side mirror. she hopes that hit-and-run driver will be found and arrested for nearly killing her uncle. >> i don't know if it was a man or a woman. whoever it was, they better get caught. they're going to be in jail for life. they should stay in jail for life. after what he did to my uncle. >> reporter: now, just a short while ago, i visited with the victim's wife. she just returned home from the hospital where she's been with her husband today. she says he's still in extremely critical condition. the doctor is not giving the family much hope tonight, but she says she would be very grateful if someone could identify the driver of that hit-and-run pickup. the i-team investigated a county agency for nearly two years. now its next leader may be coming from the private sector. the montgomery county council just

the department has faced intense scrutiny from complains about botched deliveries to missing inventory, even allegations of stealing. >> the county council still has to approve dorfman. controversial over the crowd size at donald trump's inauguration. why one of the president's cabinet picks has been dragged into the debate and why it matters going forward. new technology warns you when you're getting close to a red light

see how it works and when we can see it in actual cars. also a

it was great to see some sunshine today. but didn't it feel kind of cold? >> i didn't care because i actually saw the sun for i don't know how long. >> i've got both tomorrow. i've got the sunshine and warmer temperatures tomorrow.

tomorrow is looking great, guys. but then the cold air will move back in. but let's focus on the positives here. we saw winds gusting up to 30-35 miles an hour. still gusting, but right now seeing some clearing skies. 48 degrees right now. temperatures dropping through the 40s to about 40 degrees in the city by 11:00. many of you in the upper 30s by that time. 43 in winchester. winds still gusting. the wind, though, just like the cloud cover are going to be getting out of here tonight. that will allow for some cooler numbers overnight, but not a cold night for sure. you mentioned the sun. some of us saw a little bit of it today. take a look at this, no days of full sun for the last 16 days. it's been warm, but not all that nice

last go wetwo weeks and we have been below freezing for the last two weeks. no rain around our region right now, but it's not too far off. that nor'easter still spinning just to our news, weather, and sports an-- north and east. up towards parts of new england, we'll continue to see that moving on out. behind it, we see a beautiful day. 60 degrees, finally nice and a great afternoon. that morning drive, chilly but dry. all green tomorrow for the impact. no real big impacts. lunchtime, take a lunch outdoors if you can. maybe a little walk around the

clouds moving back on in. speaking of those clouds, they will be here right on through early thursday morning, maybe some showers thursday morning. high temperatures around 57 as we clear and we cool. temperatures much colder for the weekend. cracking down on distracted drivers. all new at 6:00, the message from the former officer fighting for tougher laws in virginia and why she says it's personal. >> reporter: a family transformed their living room into their daughter's bedroom to make it ease e

. tonight is push is onto find that driver. tracee wilkins is live in upper marlboro with the call for help. >> reporter: this was literally a hit-and-run.

vehicles police are searching for. in this instance, they're looking for the driver. 17-year-old diamond frazier has spent the last three months reflecting on what she had and almost lost. diamond and her family were involved in a violent hit-and-run crash. they were heading northbound on 301. the power of the impact threw diamond out the rear window to the other side of the highway. >> i just remember him saying we need to find diamond. >> reporter: somehow the two were able to get out of the car and find their daughter. >> she was unconscious. then i guess she must have heard me because she put her fingers in my hand. >> reporter: although all three were injured, diamond was hurt the most. since the accident, she's had countless surgeries and she is still unable to walk. she's now being home schooled.

i'm coming back to school and stuff. i tell them i'm coming back in february or march but i don't really know for sure. >> reporter: police aren't sure who hit the family even though the car was left abandoned on the scene. >> the trooper that came to the hospital told us that they don't know who the driver was, that they fled the scene on foot, but their car was left at the scene. >> reporter: police have still not identified who was driving the car. >> we need an eyewitness for the police to be able to do something. they need proof. >> reporter: the family is asking anyone who may have seen the crash to come forward. >> it's hard for a 17-year-old to have to experience all of this. and it's not fair. >> reporter: the owner of the vehicle left on the scene has had a dui and two incidents of hit-and-run, but police cannot place that owner behind the wheel at the time of the

if you have information that can help in this investigation, go to nbc washington and search 301 hit-and-run. we also got some breaking news just now. the senate has just confirmed nikki haley to be president trump's u.n. ambassador. the south carolina governor only needed a simple majority to support her nomination but she got overwhelming support. the senate confirmed her 96-4. the debate over inaugural crowd sizes resurfaced today in a confirmation hearing on capitol hill. it happened at the hearing for republican congressman nick mulvaney. he is president trump's pick to lead the office of management and budget. democratic senator jeff murkly put mulvaney on the spot. >> i have two pictures taken in 2009 and 2017. which crowd

crowd or 2017 crowd. >> from that picture it does appear that the crowd on the left hand side is bigger than the crowd on the right hand side. >> thank you. >> the senator said he raised the issue because he wanted to ensure the office of management and budget would be concerned with hard numbers than false facts. governor larry hogan announced a sweeping n inin ini fight the heroin epidemic. governor hogan is also allocating $4 million in funding to help those struggling with addiction. he says this fight is personal. >> i lost a cousin, first cousin to this terrible disease with a heroin overdose myself. the crisis is continuing to evolve and grow no matter what. the initiative

legislation that would make it a felony for people to sell opioids that result in someone's death. from texting to talking, lawmakers in virginia are making a push to keep drivers' hands away from phones when they're behind the wheel. >> reporter: we've seen similar bills come up in years past but they've never actually gone through confirmation to become law here in virginia. but the many lawmakers supporting these current pushes hope many tragedies, including one involving a local law enforcement officer will bring change to the commonwealth. late last year we reintroduced you to heather. she's now involved in private narcotics detection.

to her dream job, the one she worked for 12 years, the one she had to give up after a distracted driver hit her. >> having a traumatic brain injury, learning how to formulate words again. >> reporter: the words important in her new role. >> it's reliving it over again. it's not easy. >> reporter: we facetimed with her in richmond. several virginia lawmakers pushing for different bills, all aimed in some form at cutting down distractions, distractions bob albert sees daily. >> the person veered over the center line. >> reporter: as owner of aloha driving, he's warning drivers the average time spent texting while driving is 5-7 seconds. >> it's like driving down the road and closing your

5-7 seconds. would you do it? >> if different laws were put in place at that time, i really think the choices that were made that morning by the gentleman would have been different and my life would have been different. >> reporter: incredibly difficult and personal for heather right there. i mentioned there were several bills being proposed. let's walk you through a few of them. one would prohibit the use of all apps on your phone while driving except navigation and gps. another one would change all distracted driving offenses to reckless driving, a much more serious charge. and another bill is considering creating a vanity license plate to raise awareness for distracted driving dangers. this is a hands-on exhibit for kids inside the national

how the museum is celebrating the past by inspiring a new generation of visitors. >> reporter: does your car trunk look like this? in the future, it might and it might just save your life. not much room for luggage but saving my life, good stuff. the storm making its way away from us to the north and east. behind it, something else moving bacin.k robert: i've always had high blood pressure. but now i was getting these terrible headaches. and i was tired literally all the time. something wasn't right. most people don't find out they have chronic kidney disease until it is very advanced. in fact, my friend ron paul was one of those affected. but a simple test can help save your life. talk to your doctor or contact the gw ron and joy paul kidney center to find out how you can get tested. before you find out that way, find out this way.

fios is not cable. we're wired differently. which means we can deliver internet speeds differently. welcome to 8 and a half maple street. it's half a house. and even though it only has half the headroom, half a hallway, half the closet space and a half bath, it's a full house to the wilsons. because they have fios, the only 100% fiber optic network with uploads as fast as downloads, their half house has full internet.

now you might think it's a little odd that the wilsons have a half house, but they think it's a little odd to pay for uploads that aren't up to speed. get 150 meg internet with equal uploads and downloads, tv and phone for only $79.99 per month online for one year. cable can't offer speeds this fast at a price this good. only fios can. a man is facing attempted murder charges, accusing of firing at a police officer when the offer tried to stop him. police say he sped off, then came back and fired into the officer's cruiser. the officer was not hurt. the suspect was arrested today after somebody in herndon noticed a man flashing a gun. police were called in. the suspect allegedly took off again, but this time he was caught. police

over the weekend. auto makers all over the world are usually trying to out perform one another are coming together in the name of safety. adam tuss got a firsthand look today. >> reporter: your car probably has some in vehicle technology that makes it safer, but what if the road could talk to you? with every beep and warning, the roads may be getting safer. new technology on display that allows the car and road to sk n communicate, then alert the driver when there are potential danger spots. distraction really is our enemy these days. >> absolutely. >> reporter: out for a closed course simulation of this new technology with our professional driver rog.

good alert, gets your attention to bring it back to the task at hand. >> reporter: auto makers usually engaged in ferocious competition are putting rivalries aside to potentially save lives. take a look at the technology that's just in the trunks of these cars. the idea is communication like we've never seen before. >> so the way this works is that data are transmitted from the infrastructure, from the road to the vehicle. >> reporter: but when will a car be able to take over completely? >> we've announced at ford that we're going to have cars for mass production that do that in 2021. others may get there sooner in other ways, but that's our plan. >> reporter: in the meantime the plan is for the car and the road to work together. now it's just a matter of the construction and road crews and the state

makers work together to make our roads safer. next up, a learning lesson for a local school district after a snarky tweet cost an employee her job. we'll take you inside a new

frederick county public schools updated its social media guidelines. an employee was fired earlier this month after she corrected a misspelling in a student's tweet. the frederick news postobtained a copy of the district's guidelines. the document states the policy was developed in

updated this month. the phrase says social media messages should never be mocking, disrespectful, rude, mean or dismissive. the fired employee has since apologized for her tweet. when i asked my kids would you rather go to a museum or an amusement park, they are quick with an answer. but barbara harrison spoke to some kids today who said that depends on which museum. she joins us now to tell us about a new gallery here in washington that these kids were all testing out. >> they were testing it out. they just added a new one to their list of favorites. of course kids have a lot of museums to go to and many do go with their parents or on school trips around here. you may be surprised to learn there's a new gallery about to open for kids 18 months to 8 years old. believe it or not,

smithsonian. built as a u.s. patent office in 1836, this building has seen a lot of changes over the years. now 180 years later home to the national portrait gallery. president abraham lincoln who celebrated his second inaugural in this building is among the many famous people whose portraits hang here. while the museum celebrates history, its director says this is not just about the past, but the present and the future too. faces of the future are already here. and they like what they see on these walls. it's a new gallery they call explore, filled with unique ways for kids to contemplate faces, even their own. >> it was really important for us to actually have original works of art in this place. so taking some precautions by putting them behind glass. and then we created sort

stations for little people to get to make faces, to draw faces, to look at themselves. and this wall over here, it starts with what's called strike a pose. >> reporter: the new installation is a trial run for both the gallery and the explore children's museum, a planned future project. >> it will be eventually in the next few years. >> we could not have done it without them. they're the experts in child education. they helped build all this material. >> reporter: and they came up with things kids and adults will be drawn to. kids get to test their skills and consider some future possibilities. >> i like making comics. >> kids can experiment making faces with like felt. make

>> reporter: cassidy showed how to strike a pose for a portrait. the museum opens this saturday. the regular hours will be tuesday through saturday, 11:30 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. kids of all ages and adults too are welcome. it's an experiment they hope to keep going. >> it can't come soon enough. the one at national harbor was a life safer for us, especially on bad weather days. >> this one you can take the kids there. somebody can stay with them and you can see the rest of the museum at the same time. >> even better. >> tomorrow you won't have to worry. you can t

play. >> tomorrow is going to be a great day. tomorrow recession will definitely be outdoors. we've got some great weather. maybe just the best day so far this month. we've seen a lot of dplogloomy , a lot of rain. it's a mixture of some clouds and some clearing across our area right now. temperature sitting at 48 degrees, winds out of the west at 14 miles an hour. current temperature 44 potomac, 46 leesburg. canton coming in at 45 degrees. you could still see some rain. here it is up towards elkton. question still have that nor'easter up there. look at the snow trying to fill back in just north of the philadelphia area. tomorrow, looking good. the bus stop forecast, 7:00 a.m.

53 degrees by noon. 57 on thursday. now there will be some rain early thursday morning that might impact the morning rush for some of us. most of thursday is dry. 57 for a high, dropping temperatures, 44 on friday. a chilly weekend, not a frigid weekend but a chilly weekend. cold on monday with a high temperature of 39. we actually get below freezing. it's suppose to happen a lot in january, it just hasn'happened a t l

wizards trying to keep up their winning ways at verizon center. >> no love lost here between the wiz and the team they're facing, right? >> reporter: that is exactly right. the wizards are going for their 14th straight home win. they need to protect home court. this win tonight, if they can get there, would mean so much more for this team than just getting that 14th win. they're hosting the celtics tonight. this team is becoming one of the wizard's biggest rivalries. let's set the scene. first meeting back in november. john wall and marcus smart getting tangled up. they get into it. then jae crowder tapping john wall on the nose at the end of the game. he doesn't like it, starts a

tonight the wizards deciding to wear all black. you see them here as they enter the arena signifying a funeral for the celtics. >> we're wearing all black. you know where we're going with that. >> reporter: ready for a funeral, ready for war? >> ready for whatever. >> that's cute that they're wearing all black. it's definitely not no game seven. it's not the playoffs. but if they want to take it as serious, then they can. i seen the little funeral and all black thing last night and i just laughed about it. >> i hope everybody just keep it clean. >> reporter: all black everything? >> all black everything. >> i like the fact that our guys are coming together. whatever they wear, doesn't matter. i mean, my daughter texted me and said, do not wear your black jeans beca

little chunky in them. so i wore my blue jeans tonight. >> reporter: oh the wise words of a 16-year-old. switching gears to football, the practice going down in mobile, alabama. redskins brass in attendance. the senior bowl is a good chance for teams to get a look at future players. the redskins concentrating on current ones. gruden talking to reporters about two of the team's biggest free agents, most notably kirk cousins. >> we totally anticipate kirk coming back to washington redskins. we're excited about continuing to watch him grow. >> what about desean jackson? >> he's a free agent. i talked to him via text here and there.

agents and our people will take care of itself. >> reporter: the caps back in action tonight visiting the senators. the washington capitals with their 15th straight game tonight. the boys in red have scored 24 goals in their last four games. also they scored four or more goals in ten of their last 11. their last regulation loss, december 27th. team says they're playing balanced hockey and just having fun. back here live with the wizards preparing for that game against the celtics. it's also '90s night. there are seven different players on this roster that were born in the '90s. >> that means they're old, actually now. >> i know. >> holy. >> when you start getting to player born in the 2000s,

really going to get dicey up here. >> you're not wearing black are you? >> reporter: this is navy.

tonight, president trump's false claim. with no evidence, the president accuses millions of people breaking the law, claiming massive voter fraud caused him to lose the popular vote. the white house doubling down under fire. also tonight, the supreme court short list. spreading virus. making people violently ill. schools scrambling to contain it nationwide and the way to protect yourself might not be what you think. grim reality. tv cameras following law enforcement in realtime coming upon a crime scene. now family says they learned of their loved one's death on national television. history at the oscars after that storm of controversy hit the academy awards. brotherly bond. the vision they share. how it's inspiring america.