friends remember local family members killed in a devastating bus crash in mexico. what we're learning about the victims. >> i'm tracking a storm system down to our south but an even bigger system that's going to have a big impact on travel plans for

president trump's lawyer is firing back tonight after a virginia senator issued a dire warning about firing special counsel robert mueller. >> whoa, whoa, whoa. whoa! >> and cameras catch a florida police officer desperately hanging on for dear life as he's dragged at speeds reaching 60 miles an hour. and good evening. i'm jim handly. we are just days from christmas, and mother nature could affect your travel plans. storm team 4 chief meteorologist doug kammerer is in the weather center with that. plus a big change we're keeping an eye on. >> today it was all about the rain to our south. those of you traveling i-95 southward would have encountered some rain today. however, tomorrow i think okay. take a look at our system. making its way to our south and moving everything to our south. notice the clearing. that has allowed temperatures to cool. it's a very chilly

the rain continuing down to the south but this will move out. if you're traveling i-95 tomorrow south or north i think you're going to be a-ok. but take a look at the temperatures. already down to 33 in hagerstown, 40 d.c., 28 right now in ocean city, maryland and most of the area now in the mid to upper 20s and that's the way we're going to start tomorrow morning. a very chilly day on your thursday. tracking your travel plans. if you have travel plans, especially this weekend, i've got a lot to talk about for you. and then looking cold for christmas, we're getting some brand new information now. we'll talk about that. see you back here in about ten minutes. >> all right, doug, thank you. we're learning more tonight about the family members in our area killed and injured in a tragic bus crash down in mexico that took the lives of a dozen people including eight americans. people who knew them say they were close-knit and had a large circle of friends here. news 4's jackie bensen is live for us in the families' neighborhood in lorton, virginia with how the victims are being remembered tonight. jackie? >> reporter: jim, an entier

community here is grieving this loss. >> a strong determined woman. she set her mind to do something, boy, did she do it. no fooling around. very, very adventurous. she went all over d.c. she went all over the world. she traveled. she took her kids everywhere. >> reporter: eyes still wet from tears, friends from the tight group of women who supported each other through years of joy and tragedy and just life marked the sudden unexpected loss of one of their own. anna behar and her 11-year-old son daniel died from injuries sustained in a catastrophic bus crash in mexico tuesday. daniel's grandfather fanya sheamus, 78 of florida, was also killed. >> there are no words. but sitting with each other and holding this together is what you do. >> reporter: the rollover crash happened during a sightseeing tour that was art of the behar family's vacation cruise. moises behar, anna's husband and daniel's father, was injured as was the couple's 15-year-old son david. some of david's friends from south

somber with shock remember daniel as the younger brother everybody liked. >> he's always the life of the party whenever we all get together. very energetic, very happy. he always is quick with a joke and makes everyone laugh. >> he's just like energetic and just loved the world. >> reporter: and those people you saw and many more in this community have vowed to rally around the surviving family membe members. a big concern at this point is getting anna and daniel's remains back home from mexico. live in lorton, jackie bensen, news 4. >> jackie, thank you. we have more details on that tour bus tragedy. the bus was taking cruiseship passengers on an excursion to the mayan ruins yesterday when it overturned injuring 18 people. a dozen again were killed. eight of the victims are american. the bus driver is now facing vehicular manslaughter charges. a state prosecutor said preliminary findings indicate

negligence caused that crash. more people tonight are reacting to the wreck. >> my heart just goes out to all these people. they lost loved ones. and i could have been on that bus. >> the tour bus company along with royal caribbean cruise lines says they are doing all they can to help in this investigation. leon harris following breaking news here at the live desk. new fallout tonight after virginia senator mark warner sent a stern warning to the trump white house. warner took to the senate floor, where he said that the growing criticism of robert mueller's investigation is concerning to him. warner is the vice chairman of the senate intelligence committee, and he made it clear that all members of congress need to step up and say that removing the special counsel is wrong. he said any attempts to fire mueller could put the united states in a position where it has never been before. >> the president's track record on this front is a

conce concern. i'm certain that most of my colleagues believed that he wouldn't fire jim comey either. it also has the potential to provoke a constitutional crisis. >> tonight president trump's personal attorney ty cobb fired back saying in part, "if the media is going to continue to ask for responses to every absurd and baseless rumor, attention seeking partisans will continue to spread them." so far no direct response from the president himself about senator warner's comments, but jim, as you know, we'll have to wait to see what the dawn on twitter will bring tomorrow. >> all right. the night is young, as they say. leon, thank you. no matter what you think of the passage of the gop tax bill, one thing is clear. it was historic. the u.s. has not seen a sweeping tax overhaul like this since president reagan. but a large number of americans are not happy with this bill, as n

reports, the white house hopes some of them will come around. >> reporter: surrounded by his party, it felt like one for the president. triumphant tonight. >> it's always a lot of fun when you win. >> reporter: just in time for christmas he's getting a political gift. ready to sign into law the biggest tax overhaul in decades. >> ultimately, what does it mean? it means jobs. jobs, jobs, jobs. >> reporter: for him it's a promise made, promise kept. >> we're going to have the biggest tax cut since ronald reagan. >> reporter: for republicans it's proof they can govern. though the house had to vote again today after an embarrassing hiccup tuesday. just hours after that final gavel lawmakers praising the president as much as the bill itself. >> you're one heck of a leader. >> exquisite presidential leadership. >> thank you, mr. president, for all you're doing. >> reporter: with its tax plan the gop's making a risky bet that benefits to businesses will trickle down to everyone else. today pointing to at&t, which happens to be battling with the president's juse

the company is now linking the new corporate cuts to $1,000 employee bonuses and a $1 billion u.s. investment. >> that's because of what we did. so that's pretty good. >> reporter: nbc's parent company comcast is also choosing to offer $1,000 bonuses to many employees. but the tax plan does not force any company to do anything similar. and while most americans will see a tax break, the bill boosts businesses and the wealthy more. that's partly why not a single democrat backed it. >> officially cements the republican party as the party of the wealthy and the party of big corporations. >> reporter: right now the plan's not popular with many americans. the white house thinks it will be. >> they'll become more excite when'd they begin to see the benefit in their paycheck. >> reporter: christmas cuts not felt until the new year. hallie jackson, nbc news, the white house. incredible video tonight out of florida. an officer had to hold on to a car after a driver refused to stop. >> got

whoa, whoa, woe. whoa. this happened yesterday in west palm beach. officer john cusack walked up to a car after receiving a report of a drug overdose. he found a man and a woman inside. the officer asked for the man's i.d. that's when he hit the accelerator and took off, with cusack holding on for his life. the driver dragged him about a half mile before cusack let go. a security camera there captured cusack as he went tumbling across the roadway. >> he tried to save someone's life and in the process he almost lost his own. >> the driver, thomas cabrera, led police on a high-speed chase. police say he confessed to everything and admitted to being high on heroin. he's charged tonight with attempted murder. cusack is a bit banged up, but doctors have already released him from the hospital. new at 11:00 tonight, anne

timothy altamare is shaken but otherwise okay after a car rear-ended him. this is video on the scene from route 665 in annapolis earlier this evening. altomare was in his cruiser when a car hit him. medics took him to the hospital to be choiktd. doctors later released the chief. no word if the driver will be cited. chopper 4 over the scene of a multivehicle crash on the beltway earlier this evening. it happened near mile marker 56 here in fairfax county. at one point police shut down three lanes but they eventually were able to move all of the activity to the left shoulder lane. no word if there were any injuries. for the second time in five years a prince george's county family will spend christmas in a place other than their home. fire gutted tanya hale's apartment yesterday morning in hillcrest heights. five years ago on december 19th fire destroye

capital heights. that's the same date as yesterday's fire. the family moved into her mother's home after the 2012 fire, and once again fire destroyed that home. the family spent today collecting pictures and any valuables from the blaze. they're trying to stay positive. >> i cannot get down right now. it's enough in the world in my life, in our lives, period. it's baffling. i can't get over it. it's like why? >> on top of all this hale lost her job last month. the red cross has given the family money for food and shelter and clothing too. yesterday's fire injured five people and left 32 people homeless. just a few days before christmas and a woman getting ready to celebrate a milestone birthday was nearly robbed out of that special trip. but a dog leaped in to save the day. jenny crawford is going on a

birthday. last night in clarendon somebody grabbed her purse and ran off. that's when a small feisty bull terrier named mazel came to the rescue. >> the guy was cornered. i told him, i said look, drop the bag or i let him go after you. and even though he's really, really friendly, he's kind of -- the guy dropped the bag. and then we grabbed the purse and we headed home. >> he looks friendly and fast. fortunately, nobody was hurt, and jenny's purse was returned. next and all new tonight, two pit bulls going at it in a d.c. neighborhood. an owner left with no choice. now a dog is dead and police are on the case. a suspected holiday grinch targeting decorations at a local home was caught red-handed. and a big surprise for kids in our area. santa pays them a visit. why a police commander says this is one of the best things he's ever done on the force.

♪ ♪ it feels good to be back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

a d.c. man saw his pit bull in a fight with his neighbor's pit bull. a witness says he tried to break it up with a stick but when that didn't work he had to use deadly force. all new at 11:00 tonight, news 4's kristen wright talked to that pet owner and the witness who saw the whole thing go down. >> reporter: neighbors say they heard two gunshots. police found a dog on the ground dead. a witness down the street on primrose in northwest d.c. says he saw the whole thing. >> i heard growling and,

they're fighting, you know, barking, that kind of thing. >> reporter: two pit bulls fighting. >> a man came out from the house, and he tried to pull them apart. he had a stick, and he tried to hit the dogs with a stick to pull them apart. and that failed. so he went back into the house and he came out. he had a small gun or firearm, and he just shot one of the dogs. two bullets. >> reporter: the neighbor who shot dog told me it was his pit bull and another neighbor's. he killed the neighbor's dog. he told me he feels badly about it. no word on if he's in any trouble. in the district, kristin wright, news 4. at this time police can't tell us if charges will be filed in the case. d.c. police want to know if you recognize the woman in this surveillance video. police tell us she stole holiday decorations from the front yard of this house. the house is located on 25th street near pennsylvania avenue in southeast d.c. the video shows the woman walking away with a st

the incident was back on back on december 5th. the d.c. board of education delayed a vote tonight calling for an independent investigation of public and charter schools. this comes amid the graduation scandal surrounding ballou high school. an investigation by npr and wmau radio revealed dozens of students with high rates of unexcused absences were still allowed to graduate. mayor mural bowser has also launched an investigation into the allegations. new tonight, a santa surprise for some children in northeast washington. d.c. police organized the santa ride. old st. nick brought candy. but as news 4's photojournalist brooks meriwether shows us tonight, for the children seeing santa was the real treat. >> merry christmas! ho, ho, ho! >> i was surprised because we didn't like know what was

on. we didn't know the surprise we got. >> i'm ecstatic over this. this is the best thing i've done in 27 years on the police department that i participated in. this has been outstanding. i love it. just look around at the kids. you've got to walk away smiling and feeling good. >> it was cool sitting in the police car. >> i was very excited because he's real. >> we love to put a smile on the children's faces. >> i like the fact that he supported us and the chief and stuff came. >> merry christmas! >> we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year! >> wow. singing and smiling too. santa needed a bullhorn out there. he was loud tonight. >> that's how you get the kids. >> exactly. >> if you don't want them there, you sneak around. but if you want them there -- >> got to scream it. meanwhile, we've got christmas on our minds in terms of weather, doug. what's going on with monday, sunday? >> saturday is

travelwise. we have? rain across the area. that's also the day we get into the 60s before the temperatures come crashing down, so to speak, as we make our way toward monday. now, currently not bad, but it's cool for sure. 40 degrees current number. down at the airport winds out of the east at three miles an hour. clear skies. look at the numbers in the rest of the area. down to 23 already in manassas. 30 culpepper. 27 fredericks. 32 fredericksburg. 29 huntingtown. a very chilly start to our day out there on your thursday. just know that today you may have needed the jackets. tomorrow you probably need the coats again. you will not need the umbrellas, though. no rain or snow out there on the radar. we did have a storm system dun to our south today. that's what created all the cloud cover we saw. that storm moving out of here. we were talking earlier about people traveling i-95, could be a problem around parts of south carolina and georgia but if you're watching us right now you're rovls not traveling today so you're going to be a-ok. if you're thinking about traveling tomorrow i think you're good the

especially all around the mid-atlantic looking pretty good there too. how about your forecast tomorrow? your planner 32 degrees at the start. many of you in the 20s outside the beltway. chilly start. 43 degrees. cool at noon. up to 46. around average for this time of year. then down to 41 degrees by around 7:00 on your thursday. the big day travelwise i think is saturday. and here's saturday. future weather going through it here. notice the rain, the i-95 corridor especially late in the day on saturday. boston, new york, philadelphia all dealing with rain. then pittsburgh going from rain early to snow. so if you're traveling out west on i-70 it does look like you're going to get into some rain. and then snow even if you leave early in the day. heads up there. i think this is the one direction out west that could be some issues. if you're traveling south on 95 i think you're going to be okay. but again, saturday could be a little bit of an issue travelwise. no problems tomorrow or friday traveling. 54 degrees on your friday. 62 on your saturday with a good chance of rain. we could pick up a half an inch, maybe an inch in some areas to

not afternoon. rain early in the morning and then again during the late afternoon. with some dry periods too. 48 degrees on your sunday. so heads up for christmas eve. it's going to be a little bit cooler. but the really cold air moves in late sunday into monday. and of course that is christmas. we could see a chance for rain because it looks colder now. so it does have a chance for some light snow early monday morning. that would be great, wake up to some snowflakes christmas day. that would be cool. 41 on tuesday, chance of snow late wednesday into thursday. notice the really cold air that comes in as we make our way into next week. another possible storm. that's still nine, ten days away. so you know that forecast could be changing as we move on through. but one thing for sure, it's definitely going to be colder as we enter the last week of december. and the first week of winter officially begins tomorrow. >> all right, doug, thank you. well, the mean green has the georgetown hoyas seeing red tonight. we head to capital one arena whre peat

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>> announcer: this is the xfinity sports desk. i think some redskins have been spending some time in our newsroom. they're getting sick like the rest of us. >> i'm not coming down with it. is it on your side of it? >> it was bad earlier. >> there is definitelying? going on. first it was the injury bug. now the sick bug is taking its toll on the redskins. head coach jay gruden said something's going on in the locker room. but just seems like this team can't catch a break as the season comes to an end. there is? good news for a couple guys. today we're getting pro bowl rea

williams. williams has battled a torn tendon in his knee almost all season and said today he does not expect to play in the final two games. he could have surgery next week, while the rehab is expected to take six months. williams caught up with cara maloney about what's next. >> you could always say you expected it. but you still get? type of, you know, anxiety leading up to it. you know, what if i didn't do enough. what if i missed too many games due to injury. you never know. i mean, i felt like i played at a pro bowl level but i wasn't 100% sure i was going to make it. >> now that it's o'firm v fishel, does that give you the sense of kind of relief and the freedom to go on the i.r. to rest that knee fully? >> i mean, i don't think the pro bowl has anything to do with the rest of the knee, but it definitely made it worth it, fighting through it and,ou

know, because obviously i'm looking at a lengthy recovery and i could have started this process months ago and i decided to push through it to be there for my teammates and, you know, try to get to the playoffs. obviously, that didn't work out. but you know, making the pro bowl made it all worth it. >> sunday is the final home game of the season. switching to college hoops, 15th-ranked maryland women beat compton state. gw holds on to beat new hampshire 68-64. and over at capital one arena patrick ewing and the hoyas all smiles as they shake off their first loss of the season. tonight north texas came out firing and early. ryan woolridge throwing it up and holston with the finish there. but the hoyas respond late and go on a 9-2 run to take the lead. getting that tough shot to go. he led the team with 17 points as georgetown gets back in the win column, beating the mean green 75-63. and

should call him. among a group of wizards and mystic players taking part in the seventh annual family to family gift delivery. the families were adopted through the monumental sports and entertainment foundation and nominated by bright beginnings, catholic charities, henry elementary school, and the salvation army national capital area command. that little girl with bradley beal and you see john wall getting in there. getting this little girl on her bike. definitely great memories for the kids and the players. especially it's so special this time of year. just warms your heart seeing those guys. >> kids are so little. ♪ [ splash ] [ horn sounds ] dang! ok, i gotta run. hey, wait, there's something i need to tell you- dang.

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and that's going to do it for us. thanks for having us in for news. "the tonight show with jimm y

[ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon." tonight, join jimmy and his guests -- christoph waltz, beanie feldstein, cardi b,