police say a driver deliberately crashed into a streetcar. the driver and another man are in custody. police are not saying whether this was an act of terror. it happened around 4:30 local time in the afternoon. we know at least one of the people hurt is a preschool aged child who has a serious head injury. we'll keep monitoring this and let you know the latest as it comes in to the newsroom. good morning everyone. thank you so much for joining us i'm molette green. today is thursday, december 21st. the shortest day of the year. so we start things off with you here, chuck bell and also it's one of the busiest travel days of the year. it's going to get hectic later on today for a lot of people. >> lot of people going to try to scoot out of town early and the shortest day of the year. >> the shortest day of the year? >> you have to look at this the right way. the days start getting longer starting tomorrow. with the march to summertime begins tomorrow.

solstice. only 9:26 of daylight today. tomorrow we get 3 seconds more of daylight than today. washington southbound, the skies have been clear. any travel plans today? this is good news for today and tomorrow. looks unsettled around here as we get closer to saturday. i'll show you that forecast in a minute. as we get your thursday morning started, 22 in warrenton. 24 in dulles. 26 in montgomery county. a milder 36 at national airport. there's your planner then. a fair amount of sunshine today. temperatures in the low to mid-40s for most. closer look at the travel plans forecasts in a few more minutes. molette? >> thanks, chuck. we wanted to let you know about a water main break impacting connecticut avenue northwest near the university of the district of columbia. the campus and six other buildings are impacted here. we're stilry

how it will impact the roads. we're going to keep you posted with updates throughout the morning. today is the worst travel day of the holiday season for our area. aaa calls it terrible traffic trifecta. traffic will increase 3-fold on some roads today. not to worry. we're working for you letting you know when you need to leave for your holiday destination. 7.2 million people from the dmv will travel by car to visit their families. the traffic will come between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. between then, holiday commuters will mix with other travelers. if you're traveling to the airport today, prepare for crowds. today is the busiest travel day for the airlines. a live look at reagan national airport's arrival time. more people plan to fly than last year according to travel data. we're still keeping

airports nationally to see if the power outage in atlanta is having residual effects. we'll have team coverage of the holiday rush all morning. we're learning more about the family members in our area who were killed in a bus crash in mexico on tuesday. people who knew them say they were close-knit and had a large circle of friends. jackie bensen spoke with family friends in lorton. >> she set her mind to do something, boy, did she do it. no fooling around. >> very, very adventurous. she went all over d.c. and the world. she traveled. she took her kids everywhere. >> 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 mark the sudden, unexpected loss of one of their own. anna be harr and her 11-year-old

in a bus crash on tuesday. daniel's grandmother, 78, of florida was also killed. >> there are no words. but sitting with each other and holding us together is what you do. >> the rollover crash happened during a sightseeing tour part of the behar's cruise. daniel's father was injured as was the 15-year-old son david. some of david's friends from south county high school, faces somber with shock. they remember daniel as the younger brother everybody liked. >> always the life of the party whenever we get together. very energetic and happy. always had a joke. makes everyone laugh. >> he's energetic and loved the world. >> reporter: the neighbors tell us that their concern for this family is long-term. but it begins immediately with the challenge of getting anna and daniel's remains back from mexico. in lorton, jackie bensen, news 4.

tuesday's crash. eight were americans. they were all passengers from a cruise ship on an excursion to see mayan ruins. preliminary findings show excessive speed and the driver's negligence. that driver is facing vehicular manslaughter charges. timothy at marry is shaken but otherwise okay after a car rear ended him on wednesday. this is video from route 665 in annapol annapolis. he was in his cruiser when he was hit. medics took he and the driver to the hospital to be checked out. doctors later released him. the driver will be cited. president trump is celebrating a major victory this morning. congress's is proech is sweeping $1.5 trillion tax bill. the president's first significant legislative accomplishment. >> new tax cut in the

our country as reform. but tax cut. >> the bill still needs the president's signature but we all know that's a for palt looking at the celebratory event. >> lower taxes for 8 in 10 americans. including most middle and working class family will see lower taxes. the individual tax cuts expire after eight years. the corporate tax cut from 35 to 21% is permanent. by 2027, most americans earning less than $75,000 could end up paying more. when it comes to health care, the mandate is erased entirely in 2019. a coin toss could decide who controls the virginia house of delegates. we told you yesterday how a recount put the democratic -- put the democrat one vote ahead than the republican in the 94th district in newport news. but davidya

uncounted ballot should have been included in his total. now they're tied again. virginia law says the tie must be resolved by the equivalent of a coin toss. there's no word on when that will take place. let's get back to our forecast on this shortest day of the year. you know what, chuck, i saw the stars in the sky sort of centered me as i was coming in so early this morning. >> absolutely right. a beautiful night out there. typically cold. but it is, after all, december 21st. you wouldn't expect it to be that mild. there are milder days just around the corner. unfortunately, they also come with rain chances. a look at the forecast for today and on into the weekend is coming up. plus, talk about a grinch. a criminal stealing holiday decorations feet from a family's front door. more of the video and what they got away with just ahead. new developments

crash involving venus williams. details

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welcome back everybody. a big treat for kids in northeast d.c. d.c. police organized a santa ride. so the big guy in red could bring the kids some treats and holiday cheer. >>

ho ho ho. >> okay, santa visited the kids last night. besides one-on-one time with santa, the kids had a chance to sit in his motorside car. listen to how excited they were, chuck. >> it was cool sitting in the police car. >> i was very excited because he's real. >> i'm ecstatic over this. this has been outstanding, i love it. look around at the kids and you've got them smiling and feeling good. >> that is so nice. look at santa there. santa might need to eat a little bit of cake. >> he gets cookies on christmas eve, right. they leave milk and cookies out. >> no reduced fat for milk. >> it was a controversy when i was a kid. what flavor of cookie santa would like. >> chocolate chip, right? >> bingo. i got voted out one year. they were still goinhe

morning, though. >> we have to talk about a grinch. sometimes this guy shows up. d.c. police, they need your help finding the person who stole a christmas display from someone's front yard. i mean -- >> take the display? >> who does that? >> take a look at this surveillance video here. d.c. police said this happened earlier this month on 25th street in southeast near minnesota avenue. the video shows a person carting off a pile of fake presents and other decorations. fake presents. >> fake presents. >> call npd if you can solve this crime and get this grinch behind bars. >> maybe they thought something was in the boxes. they got home and said these boxes are empty. >> who would put real presents outside? >> i don't know. ups. >> okay. that might be true. that might be true. an attempt to steal stopped by a holiday hero coming up. meet the four-legged c

stopper who saved her birthday celebration. temperatures liming into the mid and lower 40s. warm every weather for the weekend but also tracking snow chances on christmas. maybe. >> maybe. plus the gift of sleep. that's a good gift for us. >> oh. >> hoping to get rest during the holidays? we have a few tips for you really? really? really? really? really? really?

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crews worked through the night to remove confederate statues in memphis, tennessee. you can see crews working to take down the statues of jefferson davis and ku klux klan leader. the city sold it to a nonprofit organization. the nonprofit could legally remove the statues while the city was unable to do so. new details this morning in a story we've been following for months. tennis star venus williams will not face charges in that fatal car crash from back in june in south florida. this is police cam video. tlts video showing williams had a green light when she entered a busy intersection. a car turned left in front of her forcing her to stop. they say that's when a car slammed into williams' suv killing the passenger. that family plans to continue with its lawsuit against williams. we have an

incredible video we showed you yesterday morning. remember we told you about this officer dragged by a suspect's car. this morning, officer john cusack is back home with his family. he's on the mend. he was all smiles when he was released from the hospital yesterday. the 19-year-old veteran was checking out a possible overdose earlier this week when the suspect tried to get away. his body camera captured the terrifying moment as he tried to hang on to the car door as the car sped down the street at 60 miles per hour. he suffered serious road rash on his arms and legs. during the holiday season, we're all pushing ourselves to the limits. yes, we are. trying to fit so much into our daily lives and routines here. that leaves a lot of us, including yours truly, very tired all the time. we're encouraged to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep her night. good luck with that. the national sleep

recommends napping if you have the time. if you have the time, right? naps don't make up for the lost sleep but 20 to 30 minutes can improve your mood and keep you alert. if you're watching your waistline, a good night's rest may help. >> sleep can affect you in a lot of different ways. your body is awake, your body is producing cortisone. it goes to belly fat. if you don't get enough sleep, your body is still under stress and cortisol, now you're working against yourself. >> to work for yourself, he suggests you start that sleep routine. got to get into one. that may include turning off your devices earlier and making an effort to relax before bedtime. relax before bedtime, chuck. that's the deal. getting into a routine is tough on this kind of a schedule that we have. >> hello? >> wake up.

>> alarm clock. >> sorry about that. we were talking about the value of a nap, right? >> 20 to 30 minutes. but we don't have time for that now. we got to get traveling. >> i'm mentally, i'm already checked out. we have a partly cloudy sky early this morning. going to be a chilly day. but it is december after all. shortest day of the year is today. today the winter solstice. there's sheena working hard there for you. working for you, right, sheena? >> right? >> yes. >> couple more clouds across northern maryland, parts of southern pennsylvania. any chance of storminess way down to our south and moving off the outer banks and off to sea. we'll be dry for the next day or so. here's a check of future weather. nothing but sunshine for your thursday plans. mainly clear overnight. during the day tomorrow, here's friday morning at 6:00 a.m. a little bit of sunshine early tomorrow. clouds will lower and thicken during the day. it will be mostly cloudy by 3:00 or 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. then a cloudy night f

rain. here's future weather tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. so friday late evening into the overnight hours into saturday morning is your next chance for rain to move in here. doesn't look like a gully washer of a rain event. it's going to be smeared out across a large number of hours. so a lot of people down at national airport already this morning getting ready to get on the plane and fly to grandma's house. 36 degrees at the airport. most of the suburbs are considerably colder than that. 25 now in frederick maryland. 24 in fairfax and maryfield. 22 in warrenton. here's the way your thursday planner, like i said, i'm already checked out. i think it's friday. sunshine for your thursday. going to give today a b-plus for the daily grade. for tomorrow, increasing clouds, chances for rain coming in well after the sun goes down. up into the low and mid-50s for tomorrow. that's the warmer air coming in. near 60 degrees on saturday.

most of the rain will be out of the picture on sunday. but i don't see a lot in the way of sunshine. likely to be cloudy sunday night into monday when the big guy goes overhead. make sure you behave between now and then, kid. >> okay. you have just a few more hours, chuck, then you can get on the road. countdown to congestion. we're watching those roads on this busiest day of the travel days. also in the next half hour, we check in with jack taylor for the warnings. it is the latest cosmetic trend that promises to save you time. micro blading. it may not be as safe as you think. the news 4 i-team takes a closer look. a four-legged holiday hero. how this little dog saved the day when a stranger's purse was stolen you want t.o

a thief nearly ruined a woman's big birthday trip. that is until a four-legged hero stepped in. news 4's pat collins explains how the feisty crop stopper saved the -- crime stopper saved the day. this is a social worker for cci health and wellness services in silver spring. i don't think she'd mind if i tell you she's about to turn 60 and for that big birthday, she planned to go on a safari. and all the papers and credit cards for that trip right there in her black purse. so i guess you figured out what's about to happen here. last night she went to a holiday party, her cell phone in one hand and her purse in another, all of a sudden ambush.

my hand. i fell to the ground and he took off. >> with jenny's purse in hand, he ran across the boulevard and the median walkway, across wilson boulevard. he was booking. >> did you think that that purse was long gone? >> oh, absolutely. i had a sinking feeling of oh, my word, how am i going to recover the contents of the things that i need? >> enter now the miniature bull terrier. out with his owner, harry blake for a walk. although sometimes it's hard to tell who is walking whom. they spot the thief. they spot the purse and the chase is on. >> i got the guy kind of cornered. i told him, look, drop the bag oir let him go after you. even though he's really, really friendly. the guy dropped the bag and we grabbed the purse and then we head off. >> in arlington, pat collins, news

a thank you. it's 4:26. "news4 today" continues right now with eun and chris. "news4 today" begins with breaking news. that breaking news, at least 14 people hurt after a car plowed into pedestrians. >> this is happening in melbourne, australia. just days before christmas. witnesses say a car crashed into a streetcar station right in the center of the city. it happened around 4:00 in the afternoon local time. we know at least one of the people who was hurt is a child around the age of preschool. police say they have two men in custody right now. they do think this was intentional. but they do not know the motivation. we're keeping an eye on this situation and will update you as we learn more. good morning everyone. it's 4:26. i'm eun yang. i'm chris lawrence. aaron has the morning off. as we inch closer to christmas, it's going to be a busy day on the roads. >> shoppers and

thinking about it a little bit. hopefully the roads are good. >> we have team coverage in wota's jack taylor in for melissa mollet and we have our team on the road as well already. it's cold outside this morning. it's colder than yesterday. look at this. areas below freezing. it's 36 degrees in the district. but a lot of suburbs in the 20s. 24 degrees dulles. 26 gaithersburg. 31 quantico. we're going to be pretty cold as we go through the morning hours. so as you wake up and walk outside, 7:00 a.m., warm coat. you don't want to leave home without it today. even in the afternoon, we'll be chilly. by 8:00 this morning, you'll probably want the warm gloves too. especially if you're standing outside for a while especially at the bus stop or something like that. 9:00, sunglasses. we will be seeing plenty of sunshine. temperatures in the mid-30s by 9:00 a.m. traveling across the eastern half of the country, pretty nice

we do have snow expected in new england later on. so far, everything is quiet. we'll talk about that travel weather coming up. let's talk about travel on the roads. let's head over to jack taylor. good morning. >> hey, sheena, good morning. we had issues downtown. the corner of bladensburg road. a bus broke down and blocked the roadway. trying to come out of the gas station and got stuck. outbound lanes of new york avenue are blocked. we've got a water main break in prince george's county on route 1 north of route 410. the right lane gets you by in each direction. before the center port parkway, left lane getting by. hopefully that's cleared quickly. the new issue we're hearing of is 28 at 66. it sounds pretty severe. we'll have more information coming up quick. back to you. >> jack, thank you. it's 4:28. we continue our team coverage of this terrible traffic trifecta

>> all the ts. >> the best time to leave for your holiday weekend, what do you think, megan? >> what do you think? it's going to be an ugly day. we got on to the beltway, the inner loop past the mormon temple. it's early so things are looking okay right now. all that of will change as people head out of town for the holiday weekend. today is going to be the worst day and people are just going to need to brace themselves, especially in the afternoon. take a look here. aaa is calling it the terrible traffic trifecta. big fancy term there. they say that today is a worst travel day of the season with 7.2 million people driving. now, the worst traffic is going to be from 3:00 until 6:00 tonight. that's when commuter, folks going to work, are going to mix in there with people who have left for the

those holiday travelers now travel times during that period. again, 3:00 to 6:00 will be elongated by 2 1/2 times. so it is going to be unpleasant. 66 westbound, 270, i-95 in both maryland and virginia, those are the predicted hotspots as we have seen in years past. so best advice here is, if you're leaving, you want to leave early between noon and 1:00 so you get out of the dmv before all of this hits. back to you guys. >> always good advice. earlier the better. hit the road now. if you're headed to the airport today, prepare for crowds because today is the busiest travel day for airlines. here's a live look at reagan national airport. arrival's line. more people plan to fly this year than last year. that's according to travel data. >> you can see people lining up there. we're keeping an eye on the airports nationally to see if the power outage at the atlanta airport is having