who says her daughter hasn't been able to go back to class. are you heading out to cut down your christmas tree this weekend? why you may have to open your wallet a little wider this year. news4 at 4:00 begins with breaking news. >> and first this afternoon, the special counsel's russia investigation takes a new turn with a guilty plea by former national security advisor michael flynn. >> just weeks after donald trump moved into the white house, he forced flynn to resign. today after pleading guilty to lying to the fbi, flynn was faced with a new humiliation. >> lock him up! lock him up! lock him up! >> somebody outside the courthouse repeatedly yelling "lock him up." that's for flynn leading a similar chant aimed at hillary clinton during the presidential campaign. >> blayne alexander has been pouring overall of the court documents today. she joins us now to break it all down for us. blayne?

this is a major development because this now brings this investigation closer to home for president trump. as you know, of course, flynn was part of his inner circle during the campaign. he came to the white house and even held the highest national security clearance as the national security advisor until he was forced to resign back in february. >> hey, flynn! >> reporter: today a major development in the russia investigation. michael flynn pleading guilty to lying to the fbi about his communications with russia. the former national security advisor now the first person who worked inside the trump white house to face charges. >> this admission of guilt by the former national security advisor is a shattering moment for the trump presidency. >> reporter: flynn today saying his decision to cooperate was made, quote, in the best interest of my family and of our country and adding, i accept full responsibility for my actions. that tells you that he

robert mueller believes to be of significant value. >> reporter: the charges stemming from two meetings flynn held with the russian ambassador in the month before president-elect trump took office. nbc news has confirmed that one of those meetings came at the direction of jared kushner, president trump's son-in-law and senior advisor. special counsel robert mueller has already charged three other people in this investigation. president trump has repeatedly dismissed the investigation as a witch hunt. >> i think most of us believe it's not a witch hunt or a hoax and that the fbi director and all others believe this is a legitimate concern. >> reporter: the president today ignoring shouted questions. >> could you comment on michael flynn? >> reporter: and he abruptly canceled the photo op with the prime minister of libya. the personal attorney said nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than mr. flynn. and typically this charge can bring up to five years in

with this plea deal, it's unlikely that flynn will spend a day in prison. pat, erika, back to you. >> blayne alexander. thank you, blayne. >> also developing at this hour in the gop effort to pass a tax bill, the senate's top republican says he has the votes to pass it, and that vote could come as early as today. the last republican hold out got through changes in the bill to gain support. most democrats will vote against it, but senator joe manchin up for reelection next year may cross the aisle. >> it is our opportunity to overhaul the tax code and shift our economy into high gear. >> it's the worst ever. i've never heard of or seen anything like this. >> stay with news4 for developments on the tax bill as a possible vote draws near. >> a couple is back behind bars this afternoon after they tried to take over a house in d.c. again. claiming it for themselves. it's the same couple we told

security footage shows them breaking into a multi-million dollar mansion in upper northwest and telling the owner she had to go. news4's mark segraves broke this story the first time, and has the latest. >> reporter: the first incident happened in early november. surveillance video shows the moment when the homeowner was confronted by the man and woman claiming the house belonged to them. >> this is our ancestors' place. >> who are you? >> reporter: the homeowner called police and the couple was arrested and charged with unlawful entry. the next day, a judge released them, but ordered them to return to court for another hearing, but they never showed up. >> and mark segraves also reports that, according to court documents, the couple actually moved furniture into the latest home in adams morgan. they even changed the locks. when police came to the house, the couple

to force their way inside. this time the couple will be held until their next court date. >> we are in the midst of the final rush hour on i-66 inside the beltway before some major changes begin. the changes start monday morning and they include tolls for solo drivers and expanded rush hours. northern virginia bureau reporter david culver is working for you with what you'll need to do over the weekend to get yourself ready for this. hi, david. >> reporter: hi there, erika. how about holiday shopping and add this to the list, an easy pass. you may have one. if you don't, and you ride within this portion of 66, the beltway, you're looking at the eastbound lanes. the westbound lanes in the midst of their rush hour times. you're going to want to get an ez-pass. let's say you want to ride for free. you want to keep car pooling during those hours and don't want to pay the toll. you'll want to get one of these the ez

pickup this weekend, switch it into hov mode. all these changes, they start monday morning at 5:30. starting with the eastbound lanes, they'll run until 9:30. then it switches over in the evening, westbound lanes from 3:00 until 7:00. here's what's new starting monday in particular. if you're a solo rider, you drive by yourself, you will be able to use these lanes inside the beltway during rush hour. the thing is you're going to have to pay. >> you won't be paying to be on a bus and sitting in traffic next to a person in a car because we're going to be managing the traffic on the lane. >> reporter: outside of rush hour do i have to worry about needing an ez-pass? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: motorcycles don't have to worry about getting one of these ez-passes either. if you're looking for a place to pick them up, vdot is doing extended hours this weekend at fairfax, their headquarters. you can pick it up there or you can go to a giant, a wegman's or

you can search ez-pass. we made it possible to pickup your own. we'll send it back to you, erika and pat. >> dachltd culver, thank you. >> well, that mercury is going to be dipping a bit tonight. >> first weekend in december, you have plans to head out, get the christmas tree? so, chief meteorologist doug kammerer, what are we looking at this weekend? >> it's going to be cool. is that david culver or adam tuss? i'm not sure who that was out there. temperatures right now on the cool side. look at this, right now in the 50s, we're in the low 50s. average high temperature today is 52. we're at 56 degrees in d.c., so still a little bit above average. 55 in lorton, clinton, maryland right now 54 degrees in leesburg. going to be a nice evening. if you're heading out, temperatures are going to cool fairly quickly tonight. so getting ready for that, make sure you bundle up on friday night. i am tracking your weekend. warm early next week. that is going to make some of you happy, but we're warm for a reason. because behind that, well, it gets just

we're talking the coldest air of the season by far. not even a contest. talking about that and, yes, some snow chances as well. i have that complete forecast coming up in about ten minutes. >> can't wait to hear that. thank you, doug. an important commuter road is open again following an accident. a driver hit a pole on route 355 in gaithersburg knocking the pole and wires to the ground. the driver is expected to be okay, but north frederick road was closed in both directions for several hours between chestnut street and fultz corner avenue while crews cleaned up the mess. >> in this season of giving, some local police are asking you not to be so charitable. officers in fairfax county say they've gotten more than 2000 complaints about pan handlers. that is an increase over last year. police say it is legal to ask for money in public areas, but they say giving someone a little cash isn't always the best way to help. officers encourage you to refer anybody in need to programs that the county

>> a dangerous problem is escalating at a local high school. students there fear when the next fight will break out. next hear from a mother who says her daughter was hurt so badly, she has to stay home from school. >> the today show airs the first pictures of matt lauer since being fired earlier this week for sexual misconduct. ahead, how to talk to your children about what they are seeing on the news about a lot of men they may recognize. >> and can't get your hands on the holiday season's hottest toy? why, it may not be just high demand that's making it hard to get. first here's tommy. >> blake shelton wants to remind you that he and house speaker paul ryan are not besties. i'm tommy mcfly with your celebrity 60. but first kyoko says yes. the big bang theory star is now engaged to her boyfriend carl cook. he made it official on his instagram posting her ecstatic video reaction. and he

sexest man alive paul ryan spent thanksgiving together. sort of. those are the photos that swirled around the internet. blake shelton took a moment to remind us on twitter the voice doesn't get political. bumped into a politician that i never met before, said hello, and took pictures. and that's all that was. and the rock is the serial box domino champion of the world. he snagged his guinness record one day after a high school in long island new york toppled 28 cereal boxes. the rock did more than 3,000. fun fact, he actually had some other world records under his belt, like the largest layered dip. and most selfies by a human in three minutes. in the 94.7 fresh fm studios, i'm tom mmy

back to the breaking news we've been watching all day, the guilty plea by former white house national security advisor michael flynn, former fbi director james comey raised a lot of eyebrows with this tweet today. he quoted a bible verse from the old testament saying, but justice rolled down like the waters and righteousness like an

earlier this year, comey testified that president trump asked him to let the flynn investigation go. comey was then fired as the russia investigation ramped up. today flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts with russia. >> it's video you saw only on 4. kids openly fighting in the halls of gaithersburg high school. now after our report, we are hearing from a student who was involved in a similar fight at the school. she's still recovering and has been out of school for weeks now. chris gordon broke the story yesterday. he talked to the 16-year-old victim today. >> reporter: after seeing our report on students fighting at gaithersburg high school, erica melendez e-mailed news4 saying her 16-year-old daughter deanna was attacked by a student in a school rest room in mid october. deanna suffered a serious concussion that is keeping her out of school for at least two months. >> itaf

dizzy, which will cause me to get really tired. >> we didn't send her to school to be damaged, and the school has never offered an apology, never called to see how she was doing. >> reporter: we asked montgomery county schools if they are aware of the fight, and if so, what they're doing about it. >> we are aware of this incident. because of student privacy rules, i don't want to comment too much about this specific incident. but i do want do share we are continuing to work with her family at both the central office level and the school level to make sure she's receiving the best montgomery county education we can provide. >> reporter: deanna says she is now afraid to return here to gaithersburg high school. she wants to transfer. the montgomery county public school system says it is open to having that conversation with her family. that's the latest from gaithersburg. back to you. >> chris gordon, thank you. >> well, thewe

to be cold in december, isn't it? >> yes, it is. >> we're getting there. >> it's coming, it's coming, but it's not coming for the next couple days. today is a little cooler than yesterday. tomorrow will be a little cooler than today. and then we actually start to go up, and we get into the 60s early next week, but unlike earlier this week when we're in the 60s and it's beautiful, not going to be so much this time around. out there right now, pretty nice, bright blue skies. it is nice across our area, gorgeous conditions. temperatures 66 degrees, above average once again. winds out of the north 7 miles per hour. around the rest of the region 53, martinsburg 51, over towards gaithersburg. once the sun goes down tonight it is going to cool quickly. as you are making your way about on friday night going to dirn, heading to the movies or out, it is going to be on the cool side for sure. make sure you're ready, make sure you bundle up. don't expect any rain. we saw some showers last night but we are not going to see any across our region tonight. right now you see what i'm talking about. the system that didn't come through yesterday, that cold front way off thest

now. and you can now see that we're starting to see a little more of a northwesterly flow here. what that means for us is we will see some cooler weather. we actually have another system that will move through overnight tonight into early tomorrow and that's going to bring us some more cloud cover. so, clouds, some sun tomorrow, that will keep temperatures down just a little bit. then around 53 degrees, some of you in the west will be in the upper 40s so it's going to be a cooler day. but still nice. if you're ready for it, if you're wearing the right clothes should be just fine out there on your saturday. if you're heading out for the weekend, if you haven't gotten the christmas tree yet, good idea to get it this weekend because it is looking really good. sunday is the better day, but even saturday is going to be a pretty nice day. decorating outside, i did some decorating outside. no problems today, no problems tomorrow either. you notice that we are all green here for the weekend. tree lightings, couple of them going on. gak gaithersburg has their tree lighting. city of fairfax has something going on. take your coat after sunset, that's when the temperatures start to dip. temperatures tonight will be 39 in the city.

around freezing which is normal average this time year. 53 degrees tomorrow, with partly to mostly cloudy skies. sunday sunshine, 57 and nice weather. sunday will be beautiful. monday a high of 57, and then here you go. 62 on tuesday. you're thinking, hey, we're moving into the 60s. at least pat's thinking that. but erika is like, i like the cold. >> that's right, heim rigi'm rie with you. just like that. >> erika, we have everything. falling temperatures on wednesday. when i say falling temperatures, when we step out the door wednesday early morning, some areas will be cooler than that. 43 by noon, falling temperatures rain and wind on wednesday. wednesday will be a nasty day. that sets us up for some very cold weather end of next week, weekend. chance of snow, not looking like much, but it is something i'm tracking, something i'm watching. it looks like this colder stie

around right on through the little thing we like to call christmas. >> you're saying there's a blizzard coming. [ laughter ] >> something. >> all right. thanks, doug. >> switching gears, coming up, sexual harassment and assault dominating the headlines these days. >> many powerful once celebrated men accused of some pretty horrible acts. how do you talk to your children about this topic? we have some tips from an expert. >> if you're planning to surprise your child with a furry friend this holiday season, why you

mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow. but after an electrical fire from faulty wiring, mary's vintage clothing and designer shoe collection were ruined. luckily, the geico insurance agency had recently helped mary with renters insurance, and she got a totally fab replacement wardrobe at bloomingdale's. mary was inspired to start her own fashion line, exclusively for little lambs. visit geico.com and see how affordable renters insurance can be. visit geico.com before we start, i just want to say if anyone still doesn't have fios, please stay out of the way so your lag doesn't get us all killed, ben. what's so good about fios anyway? uh. what's so great about a 100% fiber-optic network that makes your gaming system actually work awesomely? hey. did you take out the trash? haha, garbage boy!

it's not funny. gaming is best on a 100% fiber-optic network. so get fios. now, just $79.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee, with a 2-year agreement.

all right. you know the names, you know the faces. every day it schemes like another man in a powerful position is accused of sexual assault. in fact, we made this graphic just a couple days ago and there have already been several more accusations. all this reporting about sex assault can be depressing and a little confusing even for adults, but it can also be confusing for kids. so, joining us to talk about that is child and adolescent psychiatrist dr. ava gamen dooms. thank you so much for joining us. this is an important topic because it is dominating the headlines and perhaps at many hours where children, teens, adolescents are watching. so,

approach the conversation with your children? do you avoid it? do you let them bring it up? how do you discuss? this is a difficult topic. >> and i think you can really lead in by allowing them to tell you what they know about it. they are hearing it. it's unavoidable. and when you strike up the conversation, you don't have to feel pressure about saying the right things. you want to hear from them first. what do they understand about what's going on? >> okay, what they've been hearing and what they may think in their minds of what the terminology means and what they think these people may have done. so, let's go a little further. different ages, right? so, different conversations or the approach perhaps is different for, let's say you have a child that is ten years old or you have a 15-year-old son or daughter. how do you approach those conversations? what is the difference there? >> right. so, you want to use language that's developmentally appropriate and you want to really speak to their level and also understand what they know. so, younger child, you're going to be using, you

that's very easy to understand and asking them how they feel or what they understand about the topic. and then as your children age, you want to continue this discussion. it's not one that you have one time and walk away from. it's about an ongoing safety discussion that you have with your kids. and as they are getting older, you really want to help them understand what consent means and what these words mean and what sexual assault is. >> i think you hit on an important topic there. as children get older, specifically adolescents who are starting to take interest in girls. how do you help them know how it's okay to express interest in a young lady? >> well, i think it's important to first start by saying as a young man, you're going through something or young woman, you're going through something that everybody has gone through, being attracted to a peer. and you want to teach them about healthy boundaries and about how to maintain those healthy and safe boundaries. and also understand when someone is uncomfortable. >> sure. >>

>> body language and facial expressions, all that comes into play as well. >> yes. >> if you're a parent, though, and this just makes you feel uncomfortable, where do you turn to for guidance? how do you, you know, for a lot of parents this is hard. >> right. and there are a number of organizations that actually have some talking prompts that you can use with your children. r.a.i.n.n. is one. you can go online and they'll tell you how to have a safety discussion about boundaries, one that is age appropriate, and one that will allow you to listen a lot more than you're saying to your kids. that makes you a lot more comfortable as a parent. >> we appreciate your time and your expertise. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> pat? >> explosive new details about the death of a woman at a white nationalist rally in charlottesville. what went wrong? a new report finds police were unprepared to handle the violence and failed to protect the public. 20 years after leonardo dee

fell in

i was wondering if an electric toothbrusthan a manual.s better and my hygienist says it does but they're not all the same. who knew? i had no idea. so she said, look for one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to gently remove more plaque. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the only electric toothbrush brand accepted by the american dental association for its effectiveness and safety. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b. oral-b. brush like a pro.

first at 4:30, we are unpacking new information after today's big news that michael flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about russia. >> in a court document from that plea, flynn said a, quote, very senior memb

team directed him to talk to russian officials. this afternoon, nbc news quoting sources is reporting that jared kushner is the very senior member mentioned in those court documents. lawmakers on capitol hill are reacting to the news today in very different ways. democrats pouncing while republicans stay cautious. >> we see this constant pattern one after another, and it's, again, why this investigation needs to continue, why we owe the american public the full explanation. >> i think most of us believe it's not a witch hunt or a hoax, and that the fbi director and all others believe this is a legitimate concern. >> so far, president trump has not issued any statements about today's guilty plea. in fact, a photo op with the libyan prime minister was canceled after the news came down. >> violent protests led to a woman being killed by a car in charlottesville over the summer. >> we still have questions about the white nationalist rally. well, now an

offers some answers. >> news4's derrick ward joins us to explain the mistakes charlottesville is accused of making. it's a store yy you are seeing first at 4:00. >> reporter: poor planning, that was one of the key findings in the 200 page independent released today in charlottesville this summer. white supremacists converged on the sid amid word there were plans to move a statue, a confederate general robert e. lee from the park. clashes erupted from protesters, counter protesters, a shot was fired and someone used a flame tloer. 32-year-old protester heather heyer was killed as a car plowed into the crowd. chafe ee in private practice filed the report and said there should have been more sharing among the police agencies involved and the agencies should have been deployed differy.

occurring on market street said, and this is in the words of his assistant and the words of somebody else on the command staff, hold on, let them fight. it will make it easier for us to declare an unlawful assembly. is that misconduct? no, i don't think it goes as high as misconduct. i think it's part of a plan. the part of the plan is let's declare this unlawful so that we can disperse the crowd. i think it was well intentioned but misguided i guess is the best way i would say it. >> reporter: the report recommends better training and information sharing for such events. that statue is still there pending a court decision. whether it will actually be removed. >> derrick ward, thank you. a variety of business, religious and labor groups came together here in d.c. today on behalf of young undocumented immigrants. they urged congress to pass a bipartisan version of the so-called dream act, and do it by the end of the year. the legislation would protect young immigrants brought here illegally by their parents from being deported. and let them continue to live,

the states. if not -- >> families lose their wage earners, companies lose valued employees, students lose the chance to educate themselves and that is harmful to the united states. >> if the bill continues to stall in congress, if it's not passed soon, an estimated 800,000 so-called dreamers could face deportation starting in march. >> a couple rearrested after breaking into a second home and trying to claim it's their own. >> this is one of the most bizarre stories. jim handly is in the newsroom with what is coming up at 5:00. jim? >> now that same couple arrested again for taking over another house. kufrming up right here at 5:00 tonight, we have new details in the second case, including how they tried to keep police out. and the belief they have that's leading to these kinds of

plus, a new medical marijuana dispensary opening up in montgomery county. patients are lining up, but neighbors in that neighborhood aren't as excited. we've got a look at the controversy as we get a look inside. we'll have those stories plus a good deal more on a busy friday coming up right here at 5:00. erika, pat, back to you for now. >> all right. thank you, jim. >> candy loafevers, the wait is over. hershey's gold bar is hitting the shelves today. it is the first bar to carry the name in two decades. it has salty peanuts and pretzel bits. did you notice the missing ingredient? >> no chocolate! >> this is the fourth new hershey flavor ever in the company's history. trying something new. >> this weekend another olds favorite is making waves. titanic sailed back into movie theaters today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the

romance, disaster flick. it will play for one week at amc theaters. titanic, if you remember, grossed over $2 billion at the box office and won 11 academy awards including best picture, director and original song from my heart will go on. i'll spare you my celine dion impersonation. it also made leonardo dicaprio and kate winslet stars. >> it's time to shop, shop for the perfect get. why a puppy may not be that gift. >> it's a yearly event here in d.c. filled with celebrities. the president and first lady won't be there. we're going to tell you what's different at this weekend's kennedy center honors.

hundreds of fans showed up three hours early just to get a glimpse of them. britain's prince

visited knotting ham. it was the first public appearance since the announcement. meghan broke off on her own talking to people, accepting bouquets. she was a pro, been doing this forever. >> she was so friendly and she's a beautiful person. and i think she's just going to be -- she's going to do a great job. >> the couple also went to an event to mark world aids day and visited a youth program that harry founded a couple of years ago. >> we've all seen the movies and the commercials with the puppy jumping out of a gift box under a tree. well, we know that may not be such a good idea for everyone. however, sheena parveen has some tips if you are looking to gift a four-legged friend to someone. >> well, you might be thinking about the holidays now and what to get your kids. if a pet is on the list, you might want to be rethinking that as a surprise. we're going to talk about that in a second. claudia is with me, from the human rescue alliance. first we have a littl

before adoption. this is miles. miles needs a home, poor thing. he was surrendered because his owner did pass away. hopefully we can get miles a home. there he is, adorable. first i want to ask you, claudia, if a parent is thinking about getting their kid a pet as a gift, is that a good idea? >> a family can certainly bring a new pet in during the holiday season, explain to the kids the fact is the pets get scared when santa tries to bring them down the chimney. alternatively, the family going to the shelter together, find the right match for everybody, and that's the way to go. >> much better idea there because you're not going to be surprising a kid that may not be compatible with the animal, some returns after the holiday season which we don't like to see. >> exactly. >> fostering is a good idea, right? >> yes, with he need foster families year round, and it's a great time to get going with that as well. >> perfect. good to know. so maybe surprising your kid if you've never talked about it before. not so much of a good idea. check out the website on the nbc

how you can adopt miles. >> the president of the united states usually sits at the weekend kennedy center honors. i'm tommy mcfly with an

before we start, i just want to say if anyone still doesn't have fios, please stay out of the way so your lag doesn't get us all killed, ben. what's so good about fios anyway? uh. what's so great about a 100% fiber-optic network that makes your gaming system actually work awesomely? hey. did you take out the trash? haha, garbage boy! dad, i already took out ben. it's not funny. gaming is best on a 100% fiber-optic network. so get fios. now, just $79.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee, with a 2-year agreement.

does fearless age? or does it simply grow... stronger? fearless looks a little different to us all. but with a new carefirst medplus medigap plan, you can find yours. call now to speak with a medigap specialist in your area, and discover the strength and security of a plan with low affordable rates, and the option to add dental and vision coverage. even a fitness program at no extra cost. call a medigap specialist now to learn more. and get the support to find the answers, to every fearless question. carefirst medplus. live fearless.

four things to know this afternoon. the president's former national security advisor has entered a guilty plea today in the russia probe. michael flynn admitted to lying to the fbi about his communications with russia. he is cooperating with the special counsel. we are monitoring an expected vote in the senate on the republican tax reform bill. just a few hours ago, majority leader mitch mcconnell says the gop has the votes to push it through. we'll keep an eye on that and we'll keep you posted on the vote and what it could mean. >> remember this video of a fight at a school in montgomery county? after seeing our report, a mother tells us her daughter was attacked in a separate fight at gaithersburg high school. school officials tell us they are aware of that complaint.

opened wharf in southeast d.c. will kickoff the holiday season with a tree lighting. tonight's festivities run until about 8:00. >> over the weekend you may spot some really big stars around town. >> big ones, like gloria stephane, l.l. cool jay. it's the kennedy center honors. >> tommy mcfly will be inside the red carpet to get you all the action. >> more on the noticeable pair that will not be there. >> yep. so, this year the president and first lady will not be attending. now, this has been going on for 40 years, the kennedy center honors. only happened a couple times. it was announced august the president would not be coming. several honorees would not be going if the president was there, so only on news4, i spoke with the president of the kennedy center. deborah rudder, about the unusual options. -- unusual absence. >> we are sorry he isn't

completely understand all of the reasons and all of the activities that caused this to have taken place. it is still ultimately about art, and art is what brings us together. >> who will be sitting in the box that is normally the president's box or will we not have that this year? >> we will be having all the honorees sitting in that box. it's perfect. there will be center stage. >> what happens if the president says i'm throwing my tux on, i'll see you at 5:00? >> we would adjust. we'd be happy to adjust. we have had those in the administration attending this year. we are delighted and proud and we have a fantastic staff and they know exactly what to do. >> only a few other presidents have missed the event or come late. jimmy carter couldn't be there because of the iran hostage crisis. president george h.w. bush wasn't there because he was at a summit in malta with

clinton was addressing the oval office because of terrorism. the night before with the honorees, despite uncertainties surrounding secretary tillerson's role, news4 can confirm mr. temer son and his wife will host that dinner as planned tomorrow night. this year's honorees are dancer carmen, gloria stephane, l.l. cool jay, tv pioneer and lionel richie. we'll have a behind the scenes exclusive look at what the gala looks like and how it gets put together, plus stars, and i'm sure they will have plenty to say on the red carpet. >> are you putting your tux on, then? >> absolutely. two or three times a year. >> okay. >> all right. >> tommy mcfly, thank you. >> well, it's just about friday night and a lot of people are going to be heading out. >> chief meteorologist doug kammerer in the storm center about what tope

temperatures. we're having cocktails outside, inside, by the far, what are you doing? >> if you have your tux you can have it wherever you want. >> i guess that's true. >> if you're having the tux on, you want to have the coat on top of it. it is going to be a cold night tonight. sun going down right now, it was down a couple minutes ago. temperatures will be dromg fairly quickly the next couple of hours. right now you can see a fairly nice night. it will be on the cool side. 56 at the airport, but again, these numbers are going to fall. in the next two or three hours, we're down to 50 by 7:00. already in the mid 40s in the suburbs by 11:00. suburbs around 7:30, 38. that's what we expect now that we're in the month of december. 51 currently in gaithersburg, 51 in reston, 55 in fort belvoir. honeytown coming in at 49 degrees. no rain, we're not going to see any storm team4 radar will continue to be dry the next few days right on into early next week. we do need to see the rain.

fast. how about tomorrow? the christmas tree lighting, we were there yesterday, put on the brand-new lights across the region. if you're going to be out, temperature cool, 48, 53 degrees by 3:00. cool and cloudy skies. no problem at all. a little on the chilly side tomorrow night. tomorrow night will be another chilly night, 46 degrees by 7:00. speaking of lights, holiday lights, we want to see your holiday lights. we want to come to your house. prince george's county, montgomery county, fairfax county, the district, arlington. no matter where you live in the d.c. metro area we want to make sure we come to your house if you have lights in the front yard. maybe your neighbors have lights. send them to me, #dougsholidaylights at nbc washington. you can do that on my facebook page, facebook.com/doug kammerer. so, how about another cool graphic? i love this one. this is one amelia draper did. why? because amelia will be there tomorrow for the girls on the run frederick

8:00 a.m. bundle up. it will be a cold one to start for sure. 33 degrees by 9:00, 10uk a little better, temperature 42. amelia great with girls on the run. get out there and enjoy that up in frederick. 57 on yurp sunday, nice. 57 on monday, pretty good. 62 degrees on tuesday, a chance for some shower activity, but not a lot. temperature around 62 degrees, but look what happens here. wednesday we see falling temperatures. we may start wednesday morning in the upper 50s and then we're going to drop during the day and we're going end the day in the 30s. i've got 50, but that's not really going to be the high for the day. and then watch what happens here on thursday. again, mild air, warm air out ahead of this tuesday and wednesday, and then here comes the cold air, a major pattern change, not just for the end of next week and into the weekend, but probably the rest of the month. turning much coaler, more frequent storms. we've been very dry, haven't seen a lot of storms. we are tracking this and tracking a chance for snow next friday into saturday.

will we're going to continue to watch for you. only in the 30s next weekend. >> the man said a blizzard. i heard him say a blizzard. no, i'm kidding. doug, thank you. all right, parents, you know that feeling of dread when you just can't get your hands on that hot holiday toy of the season. >> yeah, but did you know that it's not just high demand that's making some of these items scarce this year? consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you and joins us now to tell us what's going on. what's really behind this? >> this is a really crazy story. as a mom, i definitely know that feeling. we don't want to let our kids down by not getting them a toy that's at the top of their holiday wish. you are battling something much higher. high speed high tech software robots are snatching them up. last year she went shopping a few weeks before christmas. >> nothing in the store, nothing online, everything was old out. i went everywhere i could think of. >> oh, my goodness, look.

wish, her family cracked under pressure found one available on ebay and shelled out quite a bit of money. >> $120 for it which i think is almost double retail what it was back then. >> the hatch-imals were designed to do one thing, buy mass quantities of a particular item in a matter of moments. >> this is their sole purpose. they are created for speed and you're not going to beat that. >> once they buy up as many as they can, they turn around and sell them on the secondary market at a premium. >> sometimes two or three, four times more than what you would be paying in the store. >> scalpers have used this technology for years to snatch uptick et cetera to concerts or sporting events. the box act or better online ticket sales act of 2016 tried to put an end to that practice. but the law only applies to tickets, leaving scalpers to move on things like toys or sneakers, not illegaut

frustrating for consumers like mcdonald who places bot users on the naughty list. >> i feel like people are taking advantage of other people's, you know, places of desperation. >> so, how do you get the must-have toy without getting played? consumer reports says you won't beat the bot so try to get ahead of the trend. >> when there are preorders for things like the nintendo systems, you can get online and try your best. it also pays to shop early, get in before the hype. >> it's so hard to do. consumer reports recommends finding out what the actual retail price is so you're not gouged by a retailer. i mean, it's easier said than done. that hot toy that your kids want, but buying it early is so key. >> jack already hand over the list? >> absolutely, like three months ago. >> okay. >> each year i get smarter and smarter. he's never watching. i'd like to say can't say. >> not during the show. >> he

do you not know what i do for a living? >> he needs to watch. he lives with it. >> thank you, susan. >> thanks, susan. >> all right. some local christmas tree farms expect tomorrow to be their busiest day. what you need to know about the christmas tree shortage that we've been hearing about. what you can expect to pay this year for yours. >> and ahead at 5:00, a new place to buy medical marijuana in montgomery county. opening today. patients are lining up, but those who live near aren't so sold on having aispensary in d

z2m7ez z16fz

y2m7ey y16fy if you're planning to buy a live christmas tree this year, you may want to get that sooner rather than later. there's been talk nationwide about a christmas tree shortage. news4's kristin wright spent the day at a tree farm in maryland to check out supplies here in our region. >> we've one cutting our own tree probably y

says it's a family tradition. >> obviously it's a lot of fun. i take a day off work every december and we come out here and it's just a great way to spend time together. >> reporter: the smell of christmas trees permeates through the rolling hills of pine valley farms in sykesville, maryland. >> it used to be the douglas fur, now it's the frazier fir. >> reporter: it's grown into all this. >> 1 sh00,000. we have trees through here. my sister's plot is through the woods. >> reporter: the national christmas tree association says trees are in shorter supply this year. the group points to the recession several years ago. people didn't buy as many live trees and so growers didn't have room to plant new ones. which would be mature now. it takes eight to ten years. wolf says while there's no shortage at pine valley, this is the nature of the tree business. >> it's kind of a cycle like a roller coaster up and do

for, you know, 30, 35 years. >> reporter: the tree association says prices are up 5 to 10%. for the murphy's, the 30 year tradition continues. >> the frazier fir. i think it's 9 feet tall, very heavy, very full. >> reporter: pine vladimalley es saturday to be their busiest day of the year. kristin wright, news4. >> breaking at 5:00, guilty, a top advisor to the president admits he lied in the russia investigation. is a trump family member next in the hot seat? we're breaking down what it all means and what happens next. >> plus, fights in a local high school putting students and teachers in danger. news4 was the first to bring you that report. now a mother sharing her story after another fight that left her daughter badly injured. >> she came home with one whole side of her face bruised. she couldn't remember much of what happened in the

dollar mansion. now a row house. what we're learning tonight about the couple who tried to claim other people's property as their own. >> good evening, it's a busy friday. first at 5:00 tonight, a major development in the russia investigation. michael flynn pleads guilty. >> the former national security advisor admitting he lied to the fbi. >> that plea from a man who just over a year ago was leading chants at the republican national convention. >> lock her up. lock her up. >> lock her up, that's right. yeah, that's right, lock her up! >> flynn silent as he walked in and out of federal court in d.c. today. this latest incident potentially puts the russia probe closer than ever to the oval office. >> pat lawson muse is here with a closer look and reaction from flynn. pat? >> erika, michael flynn pleaded guilty to one charge today, making false statements to the fbi. but he lied to

security advisor. and his admission appears to implicate the presidents's son-in-law and other or current members of the administration. flynn's charge stems from contacts with former ambassador sergey kislyak. late last december a very senior member of the trump transition team instructed flynn to contact other countries including russia to discuss a u.n. security council vote on israeli settlements. the next week, flynn spoke with a senior official of the transition team who was in mar-a-lago at the time, about sanctions imposed on russia by the obama administration. that same day, flynn called the ambassador. >> and then he asked him not to retaliate, and the next day putin said russia would not take action. fast forward to january. court documents show flynn later made false statements and omissions during an interview with the fbi about those calls. flynn released a statement that reads, in part, it has been extraordily