and first, we want to know what's our christmas eve going to look like? we'll check in with meteorologist lauryn ricketts. >> we have some more seasonable conditions compared to yesterday. yesterday, in the mid 60s and d.c. at 65. today, mid 40's. that's about as good as we'll get. tomorrow, even colder. in the mid 40s right now. we do have some breezy winds out there. the winds will calm down, but not until later on this afternoon. so we're dealing with the winds throughout the morning but we're dealing with a lot of the clouds. again, looking at your day today, temperatures are going to be in the low to mid 40s. tonight, some patchy rain and snow trying to work through the area. we'll talk about that. talk about your christmas and we have another storm friday and saturday of next week. show you on the ten-day forecast coming up. >> talking

that's ridiculous. hey, last minute shoppers are getting their game face on. >> getting the adrenaline pumping. derrick ward is live at the montgomery mall in bethesda. good morning, what it is looking like? >> reporter: tell you what. all through the malls the last minute shoppers are having a ball. tell you what, this parking lot, the last time you came to us, it was relatively empty. it's filled up a little bit since then. people are indeed making those last-minute runs. now, the national retail federation says 126 million people nationwide will do some last-minute shopping either yesterday or today. and hopefully they're not all in front of you if you're coming out to do that. but i made a lap around the mall. it's not that busy, like an average sunday. we expect it to pick up a bit more later today. but you know the last minute

who are seeing an uptick in activity today. we talked to an uber driver seeing more business than usual. take a look. >> i have one more gift for my grandbaby. yes. >> reporter: yeah, she said she got half a dozen fares or so. and they're coming to the mall here so she can kill one bird or six birds with one stone. here's what you need know about the stores open late. target stores they'll be closing at 10:00. the one at colombia heights will be open until 11:00 p.m. tonight. toys "r" us open until 9:00. walmart and best buy and macy's they're open until 6:00. you have some time to get the last-minute gifts or trinkets that you have to do. merry christmas.

live at westfield montgomery mall, derrick ward, back to you. >> wait there. before you go. here's the question. have you done your christmas shopping? >> reporter: i'm not saying. [ laughter ] >> what? what do you mean you're not saying? >> he's a politician. he's a man of the people. >> yeah. that's right. >> right answer. >> i don't recall. >> i guess it is a guy thing. >> it's a guy thing. all right. thank you, derrick. oh, my gosh. a reminder here to always lock your cars when you go shopping. last minute or not. this is important. especially after packing your cars with the christmas gifts because police in west springfield say three people were stealing people's property and even a car on stanhope place. officers responded to 17 calls saturday morning. in two cases the crooks may have gone inside people's homes so that they could get their keys. all right. this morning, at least ten people are without a home

take a look at this cell phone video here. you can see the flames rip through a house. then jump to other homes in southeast d.c. the fiery scene was on 21st street in southeast. three homes were damaged. news4 spoke with those who say they'll help each other out. >> and the whole house was just engulfed in flames. it was surreal. it was the biggest thing i had ever seen. i was praying and worried. we're a tight community here and we'll make sure they're going to be okay. >> oh, the christmas spirit indeed. everyone was able to get out in time. no one was hurt. the cause of the fire though still under investigation. well, cruel or necessary, the trump administration is mulling over a plan now that would separate parents from their children if they're detained for immigration status. advocates say that this will help reduce

but others are saying it's going too far. >> reporter: with illegal border crossings up sharply last month t the department of homeland security is considering a tough new measure that would send immigrant children to one detention center and their children to another while they wait to see if they're admitted as refugees or sent back. cracking down on illegal immigration was a theme of the trump campaign and routinely separating families was considered last spring. but john kelly rejected it when he was homeland security saying it would be used sparingly. >> you know, the mother -- if the mother is sick or addicted to drugs or whatever. >> reporter: now with a surge in illegal migration at the southern border, administration officials say it's again under discussion as part of an effort to look at every possible way to discourage illegal migration. a group that lobbies for tougher enforcement said it would be an act of compassion. >>

entrusting your children to smugglers and those that an route along the borders treat human beings like merchandise. >> reporter: but others say separating families is inhumane. >> ripping a child from the mother's arms is never a compassionate act. no policy is going to deter a mother who's asking to pay for a child's life. >> reporter: the plan is not approved by the new homeland secretary kirstjen nielsen, but it's getting a serious look. pete williams, nbc news, washington. immigration is one of the many issues that the new president has decided to tackle. today "meet the press" moderator chuck todd is going to take a look back at 2017 and president trump's first year in office. some of the panel regulars will talk about the press and the commander in chief. that's is coming up with a special edition of "meet the press" starting at 10:30 on nbc4. back to santa and get a check on santa. >> well, it looks like he's clearly over some

not over the ocean. he's over china. china is a very big piece of land. >> it is. >> he's been over china for a while. he has to make a lot of stops there. but he's headed our way later today. check in with lauryn to see what kind of forecast santa is looking at when he z2m7ez z16fz y2m7ey y16fy

time right now is 10:09. it's game day at fedex field. the redskins taking on the bronco at 1:00 this afternoon. >> both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs so the best they can do is to at least try and finish strong, 8-8. and the broncos are known for their outstanding defense in the league creating a test for redskins quarterback kirk cousins today. >> by the way up until last week the broncos had not won a game on the road. that bodes well for the redskins. >> you're not worried

you're an eagles fan. >> looking good. so far so good. are you still dreaming of a white christmas? i don't think it's going to happen. >> it's not going to happen. you don't have to go too far to find it. why are you crushing people's dreams? >> me what? you know what? it's not going to happen. anyway like you said, you don't have to go far to see. lauryn rickets will tell us what's up. >> plenty could for you as well. we're keeping an eye on santa as he continues to make his way over china. as we mentioned china is a very large piece of land. >> yep. >> i wonder if he passed over the great wall. check in with the norad tracker when we come back.

well, the broncos are taking on the redskins this afternoon. at fedex field. if you're headed to the game not much to worry about. the winds will be rather light because they're dying down as we continue into the afternoon. we'll have a lot of cloud cover out there, but no precipitation until later on tonight. after 7:00, a spotty rain or snow shower depending on where you are. we'll talk about that in two minutes. coming up on "meet the press," today, we'll take a look back at one of the most extraordinary political years in our lifetimes. year one of the trump presidency. as it played out right here on "meet the press." we'll

russia investigation. whether democrats embrace or avoid the push for impeachment. and both parties' uneasy relationship with president trump. plus, president trump calls the media the enemy of the american people. this morning a paneling of top media -- a panel of top media critics on the president and the press. and where do you shop online? more than ever this holiday season, where you shop reveals how you vote. it's all ahead on a special edition of "meet the press." and be sure to tune in to that special edition of "meet the press." it's coming up at 10:30 this morning right here after "news4 today." i have a remind for you if you plan on taking metro to any of your holiday destinations today or tomorrow. keep in mind these times. metro opened at 8:00 this morning, it will close at 11:00 tonight. same thing tomorrow. if you plan to park at largo town center f

game today plan to pay a parking fee if you're not riding metro. >> this story is for me, from maine to florida, interstate 95 is full of traffic. i'm driving back to jersey today. >> yeah. >> the backups are a drain on not only your time but your wallet. >> yeah. a big deal. you wonder is there a solution to 95? i got a look at the options that seemed to cut down on congestion for you. >> good. >> and it's a story you will only see here on news4. i-95. the traffic. >> it's getting ridiculous. >> the delays -- >> took us hours and hours to come down through there. >> the headaches -- >> is it possible -- >> well, in the d.c. area it's never easy, but the toughest stretch is 95 in fredericksburg, where traffic moves 40 miles per hour below the speed limit.

>> here in florida a major problem is congestion. a lot of it fueled by construction. >> to philly -- >> here in philadelphia one of the biggest problems with i-95 is congestion. when four lanes shrink to three. >> to new york -- >> here in washington heights the biggest problem with i-95 is the noise and the pollution for the people who live right above it. >> a lot of the problem is simply maintaining what is known as the eastern seaboard's main street. >> well, just this year alone, state departments of transportation from maine to florida are spending $7 billion to fix bad pavement and old bridges along 95. one way to get around some of the maintenance costs and a way to get people options so-called express lanes where you can start a car pool and ride for free. they have taken hold out in places like california and starting to show up in florida. >> you will see the --

the lanes in the d.c. area. >> that's where we have seen improvement in traffic flow in the corridor, as folks that drive by themselves or with only one passenger now are choosing on occasion to pay a toll and get a faster trip. >> but not everyone has that option or understands how they work. >> wow. i wouldn't even conceive of that. pay to get around the traffic. >> the other problem with 95, there aren't many short cuts. side roads can be just as clogged so apps like waze and google maps detour them off to save a couple of minutes but they usually bring you back to the toll road. which is where at least in the d.c. region experts say there's a big bet. >> there's some people for whom toll roads will never make sense but having the toll road there puts more options on the toll road. >> for now if your holiday travel takes you along 95, deep breath, patience and hopefully a smooth commute. >> patience.

>> you know what the best idea is? get yourself a helicopter. >> yeah. no problem. problem solved. there's someone who is able to fly. >> there is. >> we're checking in on him right now. he has special magical powers. what's the latest report? >> brunei. where's brunei? he spent a lot of time over china. he left china. >> he's clearly over some water right now. >> yeah. we went through the list. japan, antarctica. fiji. >> over 1.3 million gifts already delivered by santa. >> wow. >> and, you know, he's got a lot more to go. >> he does. >> yeah. >> he's making his we're here to the dmv. so waking up tomorrow morning to some gifts. >> yeah. if you want to track santa, norad has the santa tracker up. it's been around for more than 60 years keeping

if you want more information on that, go to the nbc washington app. we need to know if he's coming in for a smooth landing tonight. rudolph's nose is able to guide him in? >> it might be a bumpy ride for him tonight. >> he's used to it. big coat, belly. >> he had some mai tais in fiji. he's not driving the sleigh. >> no, the reindeer guide the sleigh. >> then all the reindeer love him. >> anyway what time is it? ten more minutes. okay. >> okay. >> i haven't read that for a while. ♪ won't you guide my sleigh tonight ♪ >> what is after that? >> what's the weather? >> okay. hey -- do --

i had to make sure. happy christmas eve, everybody. i don't know, i don't know if we'll get through this. thank you. thank you. thank you for putting up the map. people are like what's going on with the weather? clouds out there today. we have beautiful sunrise, but clouds continue to increase. now, we have isolated rain and snow chances overnight tonight. key word being isolated. i do not believe there is going to be any issues. the big issue tomorrow is winds. gusting up to 45 miles an hour. and the focus on friday and saturday, late weekend snows. it's cold enough, so definitely some snow. all right, look at the over the next 12 hours, quite cloudy and cool day out there. after about 7:00 tonight we could have some of that spotty rain and snow. so what's to expect on your christmas over? increasing winds, if you're headed out to fedex field that wind will be calming down but keep the

no rain or snow right now. we have a little system off the eastern seaboard. that brought us the rain yesterday. again, this could impact this little area. southern maryland and eastern shore could get rain after 3:00. everybody else stays dry. then after 7:00 we could have some snow showers and some rain showers moving into the region. so today's forecast, mid 40s. slight breeze early. but that's calming down. taking a look at the futurecast. there's that frontal system that passed through system. some of that rain gets close to southern maryland after 3:00. but after 7:00 maybe some rain and some snow. this system is going to lose a lot of the luster as it moves up to the north and east. so again, a lot of that snow stopping at the mountains. we'll have a little bit of rain and snow mix around here from about 7:00 to 3:00. then look at this, we clear right on out. we get some sunshine tomorrow morning. winds pick up overnight. that'll help dry the pavement out as well.

again i'm not expecting the issues this morning. if you're headed north to pennsylvania, they're going to have some snow tonight. or even into west virginia. windchills in the teens and 20s. winds tomorrow are going to be gusting up to 40 miles an houral all throughout the day. another breezy day on tuesday as well. we stay rather cool all the way into next week

with twice the crispy caramelized peppered bacon. dunkin' sweet black pepper bacon sandwich is back. experience a breakfast sandwich made for bacon lovers. america runs on dunkin'

welcome back. time now right now is 10:24. a teen boy is expected to be charged in a double murder. fairfax county police say scott fricker and his wife buckley kuhn-fricker were shot to death on friday. at least ten people are left without homes after this destructive fire in southeast d.c. on saturday. no one was injured. the cause of that fire is still under investigation. game day at fedex field. the redskins taking on the broncos at 1:00. both teams they don't have much to play for. they have been eliminated from the playoffs. the best the 'skins can do is finish 8-8. and time is quickly running out for you to get those gifts purchased, wrapped and under the tree. ahem. >> i have some work to do today. >> the national retail federation says adam not alone. 126 million people are still shopping. for a full list of the stores and christmas eve

before we go this morning, we want to give our best wishes to -- >> oh, my gosh. >> i was like, we have two minutes left in the show. >> beautiful lauryn ricketts is getting married. >> yeah. she's going to be gone for a few weeks. >> few weeks. >> you're out of here. >> i'm out of here. i love this. >> she's bright light on tv and she's a person inside and out. >> are you going to start crying? >> no. i have no idea what i look like right now. i'm kind of looking -- i look like a hot mess. thank you. >> this is the actual tiara. >> yeah. >> this is it right here. it will kind of fit into the whole wedding theme. but thank you guys so much. they had a little party today. we had some apple seider. so thank you so much. i'll be back o

>> oh, no. >> it will be beautiful. >> pictures in the snow. >> yeah. well, it will be ice down there. it will be amazing. we'll see. >> every one of your 500 guests who is coming -- they'll have a nice time. you didn't know this, but we're going to crash the wedding. >> good. i'll have to buy more alcohol. >> hey, it's not a party until then. >> we love you. >> see you in a couple of weeks. have a great wedding. >> we'll close the show on santa. he's in australia. >> australia. >> heading our this time of year is all about family. and we'd like you to be part of ours. so our chevy employee discount is now available to everyone. you pay what we pay. and not a cent more. we're so happy to share this with you. it's our way of saying happy holidays. and welcome to the family... the chevy family. use your employee discount for everyone to get forty-five

find new roads at your local chevy dealer.

this sunday, democrats, republicans, and president trump. what republicans said this year on "meet the press." >> sean spicer gave alternative facts. >> but then we started thinking about whether or not michael flynn was being straight with us. >> here's what i think assad's telling trump by flying from this base, f you. >> and what democrats had to say. >> i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. >> we have a president who is delusional in many respects. a pathological liar. >> what we're beginning to see is the putting together of a case of obstruction of justice. >> we'll look at a fractured republican rt