minutes ago. it's not clear what led up to the crash or how many people were involved but we're asking police for information as soon as we learn more we'll be sure to let you know. good morning, everyone. i'm chris lawrence. we got to get you started first off the weather because we are now officially heading into this deep freeze, right chuck? >> you bet. so if you are sick of the arm weather and the sunshine that we had last couple of weeks around here, you're in luck because it's going to look and feel more like november. just a cloudy day. you can see there are very light areas of rain now down across parts of central virginia. any rain chances today will be mainly focused south of the d.c./metro area but even here in and around town today i couldn't rule out mist or drizzle. upper 30s to around 40 now. future weather shows a

light rain down toward fredericksburg. decision 2017 is now in the books and virginians sent a message with their picks. democrats did well winning all three statewide races and picking up about 16 seats in the house of delegates, two more seats would give democrats a majority and that could happen but what everyone's going to be talking about today is democrats holding on to the governor's hangs for the next four years. ralph northam beat ed gillespie 54 to 45%. northern virginia turned out bit for northam including loudoun county. >> reporter: the size and scope of this victory beyond anything democrats might have imagined and it is northern virginia voters that powered ralph northam and the democratic ticket to such an

win. northern virginia democrats are saying this lean sweep for their party sends a strong message be beyond virginia to the world and directly to president trump. they see this win as a repudiation of what they believe are policies that they have divided virginians. they say voters angry with president trump were motivated voters and there was also an updraft effect, all the energy poured into those competitive house races help turn out at the top. ralph northam the first doctor to be governor. it's a skill he says will help him to unite virginians after this bruising race. >> in virginia, it's going to take a doctor to heal our differenc differences to bring unity to our people and i'm here to let you know that the doctor is

>> reporter: headed back to richmond where they have a news conference on the transition later. let's move to the other side of this race. ed gillespie gave his concession speech around 9:00. he and northam had a hard fought battle but gillespie focused on unity. i appreciate his service to our country and our commonwealth and i wish him nothing but the best as our 73rd governor. >> gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what i stand for. throughout the race the campaign struggled. the virginia republican party has to reassess what went wrong especially in northern virginia before gearing up for next year's midterm elections. a

as a spring board for the future big office. he's only the second african-american elected to statewide office in virginia's history. and democratic incumbent mark herring won a second term as attorney general. he beat john adams 53-47%. the democrats won 16 seats, two more and they take control of the house and that could happen. there are several races still too close to call. the democrats add a lot of diversity to the delegation. two latino women won and a transgender woman won. to learn more about those winners head to the nbc washington app. president trump is in china and in just a few minutes the president and first lady are expected to have dinner with president xi jinping and his wife. his trip like his visit to south korea is expected to

on north korea. before the president left south korea, he spoke to that country's national assembly where he returned to the tough talk aimed at the north. >> do not underestimate us and do not try us. we will defend our common security, our shared prosperity and our sacred liberty. >> the president says it is up to all nations to help denuclearize north korea. today marks the launch of amazon key. a new service available to amazon prime members that would allow delivery drivers to come into your home and leave packages just inside your front door. that would happen with your permission, of course. you have to buy a kit which includes a camera and wi-fi connected smart lock that would allow you to view your delivery as it's happening. the new service is set off a firestorm of people that aren't exactly comfortable letting strangers into their home. i'm going to putp

poll and see what you think. chuck, would you be okay? it's secure. >> have your packages shipped to work. that's the best way to get around that. >> they don't let you do that. they don't want your amazon packages stacking up here at work. >> don't tell them i'm going to do it. i'm just throwing ideas out there. >> you just announced it. >> besides the dog would bite them them. cloudy skies here. temperatures mostly in the 40s. if you want to see sunshine drive northbound today. heck out the rest of the forecast coming up. twitter doubles down literally. the change you'll notice the next time you'll tweet something.

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watching "news4 today." two of the washington nationals top pitchers are finalists for the cy young award. this could be third sigh young but first time for strasburg as a finalist. it would be a nice consolation prize. >> do you get a raise if you win? >> i'm sure there's bonuses built into their contract. get this your next tweet

twitter is officially double the character limit from 140 to 280. social media company began testing the new format last month. if you haven't been upgraded yet, it's going to get to you soon. twitter says the old 140 character limit let's more folks editing tweets or not send them at all. i feel like that was the hook of twitter. it forced you to be -- forced brevity on people to be brief. get to the point. >> it's clear, concise and correct. the three c's of good writing. >> there you go. when you think of a keg, college comes to mind. >> does it? >> not usually ranch but check this out. you're able to get a mini keg full of hidden valley ranch dressing. it's about 10 inches tall and holds five litters of ranch dressing. that's an

ranch. >> or for me a lifetime. >> you can preorder on december 1st. it'll run you 50 bucks. with that much ranch, how many wings do you got to order? >> seriously. i don't need five gallons of any salad dressing let alone ranch. just me. >> not a prime customer here. what are we looking at as we start to head out the door this morning? >> cloudy and chilly. not to be a pretty day. the daily grade, this is a grade you're familiar with a d minus. >> we really are going back to college this morning. >> all those kegs in college that did you in. not a very pretty day today. sunshine by the weekend. the extended forecast and the

>> announcer: you're watching "news4 today." this is the definition of someone taking things into their own hands. three masked people walked into a convenience store be sunday night in louisiana. they were trying to rob the place. one of them even pushed customers out of the way and jumped on the counter but the owner turned the tables. he pulled out a gun and started firing and that sent those robbers right running out of the door. two suspects were rushed to the hospital. one was released and now is in custody. police are still looking for that third robbery suspect. new this morning, a missing mother and daughter from the falls church area have been found

police tweeted the update about gail and mya fer rel late last night. all because of a report that came out last week alleging that officials had changed grades in order to boost the county's graduation rate. now the governor is weighing in. prince george's county chief reporter tracee wilkins weighs in. >> reporter: teachers and administrators who trusted him with what they knew resulted in the state investigating alleged grade changing in order to boost the counties graduation rate. >> there were hundreds of students that didn't meet the requirements for graduation. we said that grades were changed without the knowledge or consent of teachers. all that is backed up by this report. >> reporter: shortly after the state's report was released on friday, bureaus and a fellow board member received an e-ma

have information regarding the audit or any actions pertinent to such audit please refer to the board. the chair goes on to threaten sanction if they don't. larry hogan weighed in on the e-mail saying in part, the obvious implications to this letter are very concerning and the administration will continue to call for these whistle-blowers to receive the full protection they deserve under the law. maryland senator addressed the threat during a briefing today for elected leaders. >> it seems like a culture of bullying. >> reporter: during the briefing, prince george's county councilmembers asked the ceo what he plans to do to fix the system that allowed hundreds of ineligible students to have grades altered so they could graduate. >> we agree there's a lot of things that we need to work on. we're not debating that. >> reporter: maryland state senator who is also running for county executive, the ceo should

>> reporter: parents and the committee will have an opportunity to answer questions at 1:00. i'm tracee wilkins, news4. all week we're going to have stories about what you can do to get ready for winter. make sure you watch news4 on thursday. that's when meteorologist doug kammerer will reveal this year's winter weather outlook. even though we're only in fall, some of you probably the 30s right now and it's only going to get colder as we get to the end of the week. >> our first shot of very cold air and our first real killing freeze is due to arrive friday night into saturday morning, so if you have any tender plants, flowers, vegetables or late season thing that you want to protect, it is getting down to that time. either harvest it or cover it or just say good-bye to it until next year. cloudy skies across the area for now. we're sort of right on the

deck. if you drive to pennsylvania, there's more sunshine there. from washington southbound all cloud cover today, all cloud cover down toward richmond and roanoke. not much of a rain threat but i couldn't rule out periods of mist and drizzle. a dryer but mostly cloudy day for maryland. here's future weather then. 10:00 in the morning, still cloud cover in washington. thinning out of the clouds. the farther north you live and travel today and farther down to the south a little chance for light rain, fredericksburg, don't expect much. maybe 1/200th of rain. not looking for much tomorrow other than just cloud cover. next time you really see the sunshine will be on frid

the cold dry air arrives in time for your weekend. chilly one this morning. upper 30s to around 40 degrees now. plan on clouds. and then for tomorrow again a little bit nicer tomorrow. if you're waiting for the weekend, good news for your saturday and sunday. saturday morning very cold. downtown temperatures could be down into the low and mid20s back down into the teens by saturday morning. be ready for that. >> wow. you told us a few days ago, so we should all have our winter stuff out by now. >> absolutely, right. >> thanks chuck. being a teenager is tough no matter what generation you grow up in but it seems like kids today have it even harder than some respects. the program hoping to help teenagers deal with everyday life. when we

erin. new deals in the texas shooting. ehe big nam

doctors say they found a link between light drinking and an increased risk for cancer. drinking calls nearly 40% of all cancer deaths. people will only drink once a day were 17% more likely to get colon cancer but for heavy drinkers the risk doubles. heavy drinkers were 61% more likely to develop breast cancer. if you don't drink there's no reason to start. if you do drirng, there's no reason to increase. and if you want to cut back, that's always better. of course family history also plays a big role in your risk for cancer. if a family member has had cancer then you need to be even more careful with

a second and tell you about a program that helps teenagers navigate some of the challenges they face. a lot of teenagers dealing with homework, relationships, social media and the pressure to do well in school can be a bit overwhelming. and sometimes the best person to talk to is another teenager. sources of strength is a program that helps teenagers cope with the difficulties they face. here's doreen gentzler. >> sources of strength is a radically strength based protection program. >> reporter: it is kids helping kids, students learning to identify signs of emotional or mental distress and learning what to do when they see them. >> we'll start with a fun game. >> reporter: the students in this room are all here on a rare friday off. some ice breakers and positive exercises so everyone can learn a little more about each other and themselves. >> i want you to write on

that give you strength. >> reporter: the subjects become more intense. bobby has just asked the teenagers what stresses them out the most along with school and sports, they say. >> not getting work done in the house. >> relationships are huge. >> reporter: sources of strength not only encourages young people to speak up about their own feelings, it urges them to reach out to adults who can intervene when needed and help with treatment and it teaches them how to navigate that tricky line between being a caring trustworthy friend and sounding the alarm. >> for more information on that program, you can head over to the nbc washington app and search changing minds. a former teacher has been indicted on sexual abuse charges involving an underage student. la toya parker used to be a high school teacher. sheriff's deputy say while she was teaching

the minor sexual materials. news4 continues right now with erin and eun. announcer: "news4 today" starts now. now on "news4 today," northam wins a nail biter. virginia chooses it's first openly transgender elected officials and the democrats clean up. we're working for you, breaking down what it all means. >> district officials vote to raise taxes and that means virginia and maryland could be forced to do the same. how the mood all heads back to metro? >> it could unlock even more success. the new amazon service starting today. good morning, everyone. >> we are talking about very cold weather. i'm going to say very cold for me. i put on the heavy coat. there's a chill in the air. >> i'm on board with it. no argument here. we'll have a look

sheena and the cold air that we're sitting in right now. >> yes, it is cold but you guys if you think this morning's cold wait until friday. friday's going to be one of the coldest we've seen so far. >> not a fan of the cold and you need to go some where else for the weekend because the first real shot of ar tick air coming out way arrives here on friday afternoon on the heelsz of a gusty northwesterly wind. windchills could be down in the teens by saturday morning. cold air coming. plenty chilly outside now. the skies have cleared out a bit up toward the mason dixon line. a few drizzles down there. temperatures there in the low 40s. so your forecast for today, mixed bag. maybe see a sliver of sunshine in northern maryland. no sun d.c. south

40s. sheena will start talking more about the cooldown for the weekend. >> how about a check on the rails? >> good morning. looking at the rails right now. this is a train if you take early in the morning so we're talking about the brunswick line train 876. the 6:40 a.m. train has been canceled, so 7:05 will run. metro is honoring tickets because of that. in waldorf, old washington between pierce and substation road all lanes blocked there because of a crash from overnight and northbound 95 here in virginia at triangle crash there blocking the left lane. aaron? >> thank you. it's 4:27. decision 2017 in the books now and virginians sent a message with their choices. democrats did well winning all three statewide races and picking up 16 seats in the house of delegates. just two more seats would have given the democrats a majority and that could

everyone will be talking about today is democrats holding on to the governor's mansion for the next four years. >> ralph northam bit ed gillespie 54% to 45%. northern virginia turned out big for northam including a 22 point margin in louden county and that is a big battleground area. >> now most voters say that president trump did not factor into their decision for governor but that's not howl the democratic party see it. they see this win as a reswreks of the president's policies that they believe have divided virginians. northam is the first medical doctor to be governor. that is a skill that will help him unite virginians after these bruising race. >> it's going to take a doctor to heal our differences, to bring unity to our people and i'm here to let you know that the doctor is in. >> and

side of the race right now. ed gillespie gave his concession speech around 9:00 last night. he and northam had a hard fought battle but in his speech gillespie focused on unity. >> i appreciate his service to our country and our commonwealth and i wish him nothing but the best success as our 73rd governor. >> after the election, president trump took to twitter to slam gillespie. he said he worked hard, quote put did not embrace me or what i stand for throughout the race the gillespie campaign struggled with how to deal with president trump. >> the virginiaion republican party has to reassess what went wrong especially in northern virginia before gearing up for next year's midterm federal elections. justin fairfax has been elected lieutenant governor. he's the only second african-american elected to statewide office in

history. democratic incumbent mark herring beat john adams 53 to 47% and it was an emotional win for a former tv news anchor who ran in memory of his girlfriend. chris hurst quit his job after his girlfriend allison parker was killed during a live broadcast. he tells nbc news politics was how he found purpose after her death. parker and her cameraman were shot and killed during a live report in southwestern virginia in august of 2015. hurst ran as a democrat. he campaigned hard on universal background checks for guns. he won virginia's 12th district. 4:30 now. one local race made history last night. virginia democrat dana ca roam has become the first transgender person to be elected in the united states. >> every person who is ever been singled out, whose ever ever been stigmatized, who is ever been the miss fit or the kid