all right, thank you, doug. >> we have some breaking news now in prince george's county. nine people are homeless after a fire in brentwood this afternoon. fire crews there still on the scene at this home on 39th street. the fire broke out around 2:00 this afternoon on the first floor and it spread to the roof of the structure. fire crews in prince george's county -- was caused by a toddler playing with burners on a stove. >> the flames raced through an open apartment door and up the building's stairwell chasing residents who were trying -- >> nbc's chris palone is in new york. he has new details on the 12 people who were killed.

>> reporter: a dozen people are dead and fdny investigators say a young boy is the blame. >> we found that this fire started in the kitchen on the first floor. it started from a young boy 3 1/2 years old playing with the burners on the stove. >> the fire broke out in a bronx apartment building thursday night. investigators say it spread quickly to other floors when the young boy's mother left her apartment door open as she escaped with her children. >> fire travels up, the stairway acted like a chimney. it took the fire quickly upstairs people had very little time to react. >> reporter: the fast moving flames forced dozens onto fire escapes and during brutal cold as fire crews tried to rescue them. >> they're on their way down now. >> reporter: joel rodriguez made it out alive. >> jacked the a.c. out of the window, threw it on the sofa. had my wife get out.

spent two hours battling the flames, the oldest victim 56, the youngest 8 months. >> people coming out on stretchers, burns. >> reporter: it was the deadliest fire in new york city in more than 20 years. >> we have people have lost their lives, lost their homes, lost their -- lost everything, and we grieve with them. >> reporter: firefighters arrive three minutes after the first call for help. it was already too late for many victims of this fast-moving fire. chris palone, nbc news, new york. >> a man with a checkered criminal past is the suspect behind yesterday's mayhem on i-95. we sent you a breaking alert today that gregory dies. david culver has been working on this

into the past run-ins with the law. what have you learned today? >> reporter: pat, we found a long list of run-s in for gregory lee. some are were rather violent. his name was listed and next to it, it said violent offender. in the secured lot, this is what gregory lee's suv looks like after having rolled across 95, and this, this is what a stafford county sheriff's deputy's cruiser looked like after a bullet pierced the windshield. look at the head rest. see the frayed fabric? that's where the bullet went through missing his head. it started 11:20 yesterday morning. they say lee shot his wife three times in their apartment and took off. >> a black ford suv occupied by gregory lee is involved in a shooting in the area of plantation off of 17. >> reporter: minutes later a state trooper spotted

>> northbound 138. >> reporter: police say lee pulled out a gun and started shooting at them on the highway. neither state police nor stafford county sheriff's deputies fired back. a witness describes the chaos to me over the phone. >> he was shooting while driving. it wasn't just that he stopped to shoot at the police officer, washington red skins shooting while driving. >> reporter: law enforcement confirms he had a past riddled with offenses. this is what you find when you search his name in stafford county court records. we found this picture of him on the sex offender registry. convicted of a past rape. it lists him as violent. >> northbound 42, for 5. >> reporter: the chase ended on 95. deputy is say lee shot himself and lost control of his suv. we are working tonight to learn more about the victim in all of this. lee's wife, 36 years old, melissa d. lee. we do know that she had three children. leon, pat, we'll send it back to you. >> david, do

why he was out on the street? >> reporter: you know, it's a question that we have put to authorities. it seems that he has served time in the past and so has gone through the judicial system. in this case he was listed on that website as a violent sex offender so had gone through the proper channels there. one thing that is interesting, though, the website lists his current employer. i called that employer and they tell me he hasn't worked there for four or five years. >> such a tragic story. david culver. thank you, david. >> we are learning a little more about the body found inside a burning car in southeast washington last night. detectives now say the victim is a woman who was shot multiple times. officers say they found the car engulfed in flames on adrian place last night. they have not yet named the vicktive. detectives are offering a $25,000 award for any information. >> funeral arrangements have now been set for a reston couple murdered inside their home last friday. scott fricker and his wife

buckley kuhn-fricker will be laid to rest tomorrow in herndon. police say a teen killed the couple last week after they told him to stop dating their daughter. that teen, a reported neo-nazi, is still in the hospital this afternoon after police say he also tried to take his own life. >> if you give to a charity every year and write it off on your taxes, you better listen up. >> people are scrambling to make end of the year donation before the new tax law starts, and the changes have some charities worried. >> news4's chris gordon working for you tonight. he joins us live from the good will in arlington where folks are trying to beat the deadline. chris? >> reporter: leon and pat, you are looking at one of the busiest good will donation s centers in the entire country. people are coming with household items and everything you can imagine. these, for example. they still seem useful. what they want here after they give their donation is

receipt for a tax deduction. and it may be one of the last tax deductions they get because of the new tax law that goes into effect on january 1st. the long line of cars snakes through the parking lot of good will in arlington. >> the time to go through things we don't need somebody else may need. it's the time of ghichling still. >> reporter: donated items are unloaded. receipts are given so those who itemize can take a tax deduction. but the new tax law doubles the standard deduction. that could result in fewer people taking charity deductions. nonprofit organizations could see a dip in their donations next year. >> we do a lot of donations and, you know, household things, but also, you know, charitable donations. it does make a big difference to us. >> reporter: good will sells the donated items, using the money for job training and employment services for people with

>> the new tax law may impact middle class donors who itemize their tax deductions. however, we believe that washingtonians will continue to be as generous as they have been in the past so we're hopeful that it won't impact the donations to good will in any measurable way. >> reporter: in d.c. the organizations some, so others might eat, feeds and clothes people in need. it also has a medical and dental clinic and offers other services like addiction treatment. >> we've had several people call and tell us that they want to make their donation ahead of time this year for 2018. so, they're doubling up on some of their donations. >> reporter: if you want to send in a donation by check, it has to be postmarked no later than december 31st. now, this good will donation site will be open all day tomorrow and all day sunday if you want to stop by and make a donation of clothing or household

and get a tax deduction this year. leon, back to you. >> all right. thank you, chris. chris gordon reporting live. well, you didn't realize your tablet was missing until after your plane took off and the last place you remember seeing it was in the fsa line. well, if that's 9 case, there is a good chance it's still there at the airport. news4's darcy spencer working for you explaining how to get your stuff back. >> reporter: we are inside the tsa's lost and found room at dulles international airport. you can see there are racks and racks of coats. many of these items have been left behind in the holiday season. also take a look at these bins. thousands of items that have been left behind. imagine if your child had left behind their stuffed animal, they're definitely going to want that back. also they have boxes and boxes of computers, laptops and tablets. and today the tsa is taking to social media, posting photos of many of these items, trying to reunite the items with their owners. >> so, using social media tweeting out some photos of lost

raising people's awareness tsa does have a robust lost and found operation. not just here at dulles and at reagan and at bwi, but at the major airports across the country. >> reporter: so, if you've left something important behind say a doll a child was expecting for christmas, the best thing to do to get your stuff back is to go to tsa.gov and search under the lost and found. all the resources are there to find out if they have your stuff and exactly how you can get it back. at dulles international airport, darcy spencer, news4. >> thank you, darcy. first at 4:00, we're helping you plan out your holiday weekend. here's a live look at times square in new york. party there going to be a bitter cold one if you're going to head up that way. doug is back to tell you how long our cold weather is going to last and he's timing out tonight's chance for snow. >> also four easy low-cost ways to eat better in the new year. and new rules for the smoke detectors in your home. i'll have details about the

back at 4:15 now with the two big weather stories doug is monitoring for you, we see a snowstorm heading our way and you see the little box to the left. that's a look at your current temperatures. doug is back in two minutes to time-out tonight and tell us if we're going to get a break from the cold any time soon. >> we all know

one of the top new year's resolutions and this year technology might be able to help you stick to that. liz mclaughlin shows us how it's getting more and more convenient to find a healthy meal. >> reporter: millions of americans are planning a diet do-over in 2018, dropping some of those regrettable indulgences. >> the twinkie stuffed with bacon. >> reporter: for healthier choices. if the planning and prep seem overwhelming meal kits aim to make it easier. they deliver preportion ingredients straight to your door. >> most of the dishes are between 500 and 800 calories, which is typically not what you get when you go out to a restaurant and you get butter laden dishes. >> reporter: there are dozens of options available and the market is growing. recently adding meal kit offerings from martha stewart and amazon. save time shopping online for groceries. most major

delivery. if you're not creeped out they'll put away the groceries for you. >> fast food sounds like a total oxymoron. >> reporter: if you don't like cooking, you goent have to have greasy food. they'll deliver from almost anywhere. >> 12% year over year sales growth delivery from restaurants and other options. >> reporter: if you order from post matd you might see a robot making that delivery, rolling into a healthy new year without the hassle. liz mclaughlin, nbc news. >> and speaking of new year's resolutions, we want to know how you're planning to ring in the new year. that's the question we're asking on our nbc washington facebook page. so far a lot of you are staying in. >> look at that. >> that might be the move to make this week. that's the move this weekend. >> 52% in by 10:00. >> because it's going to be so cold. >> you don't even watch -- you have to watch it, don't you? >> no, i don't know. >> listen, you can tell yourself it's midnight somewhere

by the time we get off here it's going to be midnight in singapore. >> london at 8:00 our time. you'll be just fine. >> when you wake up it will be 2018. >> so true, so true. >> how about the rest of the evening, you're watching a storm? >> it's another one of these little pitly storms that will come through and give us a coating. others are not going to see much at all. one area that continues to see it, erie. they got it again. still snowing up there in erie. over 100 inches of snow so far this season up towards erie, pennsylvania. take a look at the video here. snow coming down. this is all lake effect. now, this is the same kind of system. any time you have cold air coming over the lakes, you get that lake effect snow and you also come under or bring that cold air down to our region, too. some of our area ski resorts, areas like snow shoe, back towards wisp, seven springs, also continuing to get some of the snow fall. right now seven springs seeing

you're thinking about skiing this weekend. 31 degrees now, temperatures out of the north wind out of the northwest 10 miles an hour. 6 degrees warmer than yesterday. balmy, balmy. temperature now 26, 35 down towards fredericksburg. i think we'd get above freezing today. we haven't done so at least in d.c. notice the temperatures feels like 18 in gaithersburg, 22 in washington. 31 down towards fredericksburg area. now, we are watching a storm. it is not a big one. nothing on the radar right now. it will move in fairly quick in the next 6 to 8 hours or so. here it is back toward the chicago land area. you can see the snow coming through. this is another little clipper-like system that's going to make its way right across our region and then up and away from our area by this time tomorrow. so, it's a very quick hitting system. i want to time it out for you. 11:00 when you're watching us at 11:00 to get the latest on the storm, nothing going on. we have the cloud cover. watch how fast this moves in here. by around 2:00 a.m., just about everything seeing snow across the region with the exception of areas like anybody,

south and eastward. you might not see much from the system. notice 5:00 a.m., still snowing. d.c. especially to the north and north and east continuing as well right on through 8:00 and then it's out here. so a quick hitting system. by 9:00 in the morning as many of us are waking up, i think the snow will be out of here. some of the areas, though, may see some snow in the back edge as this comes through. we may get snow showers on the back end. but that brings in even colder weather and very windy conditions. tomorrow night, sunday, monday, just brutal. how about the snow? well, d.c., othannapolis, warren to the north, a coating. one to 2 inches. hagerstown, ski resorts, seven springs, blue ridge, ski liberty, white tail, one to 2 inches. good news there. 36 degrees, a.m. light snow few showers in the afternoon turning windy and cold. and look at these numbers. a high of 25 on your sunday. 24 degrees on your monday. 25 on tuesday and we stay

next week. i'm actually taking out this chance of snow. we talked about it, moving it a little towards friday into saturday. no big storm chances any time soon. guys? >> all right, thank you, doug. you could become a millionaire tonight. the first of two big lottery jackpot drawings takes place in just a matter of hours. first at 4:00, why people say one local store may be luckier than all the rest. >> i know where that one is. if that's it i'll be there in a couple hours. a new effort to speed up

if you live in maryland, check your smoke alarm. there is a new law that is about to take effect and you need to change it or you could be fined. you could also be charged. pete of montgomery county fire and rescue is joining us now. so, the new law takes effect january 1. this applies to anybody who uses a smoke alarm, smoke detector? >> yes, it's not too late to check a date. just like any appliance that has an expiration date, there are two components to the main law. it's a new law, a great practice. check the date on your smoke alarm. if it's older than a 5th grader,

that's because of the new technology. also the sensing devices that are in the smoke alarms become less effective. so, just makes good practice to change those devices. the other part of that is the new detector is battery operated are sealed, long life lithium batteries, ten year batteries so you don't have to change them for ten years and they also have a hush button on it. that's the main -- the two main things, a bunch of other variables about home construction and all that. but we advocate one on every level, every bedroom. ten year worry free smoke alarms. >> show us what you should be changing to. you have a couple models. these are the old ones. >> these are the old style. there's a date on the back, a manufacturer's date. this one here, in fact, was -- we had a serious fire in chevy chase the other day, a grandmother was alerted by -- she had a hardwired battery back up, compliant smoke alarin

home. she got out. the next door neighbors, when we went back the next day to visit, this is what we found in their -- it's probably from the '80s. >> oh, wow. >> so, you know, these are the things that we find. it's not unusual to find 20, 30-year-old smoke alarms in people's homes. >> there's a lot of new technology out there. tell us, is there one that's best? >> there's all kinds of different shapes and sizes. there are some, you have one there that is voice activated. there's research that indicates that children or teenagers don't respond very well to the beeping sound. so, these are voice activated. >> johnny, get up. >> exactly. it's a lot more effective. there are some with a light on it. you know, good for the hallway. the kitchen has carbon monoxide and smoke detection. so, they range in price from $20 up to $150. depending on what kind of technology you want. >> so, the laws changing, how will the state enforce the law

and what are the fines, what are the penalties? >> the law was enacted in 2013 so it's been phased in over a number of years. fire departments are not typically the enforcement end of it. we just think it's a good -- it's a new law but a good practice. but in montgomery county it's going to be the housing department or code enforcement branch that will enforce it and typically if we're in the house where there's a fire, they find a detector that is an noncompliant, you could face up to ten days in jail or a thousand dollars fine by maryland law. and that's how the enforcement. it also might be difficult to file an insurance claim if you have a noncompliant device in your house. >> ah, good point. pete, thanks so much. going out to the hardware store now. back to you. >> we're working for you with four easy ways to save money and dee clutter your home for the new year. plus, believe it or not, today is warm compared to what it's going to feel like over the weekend. these temperatures are about to plummet, folks. doug is back to time-out when

round of this arct air and the ic

now as we near 4:30, bitter cold and icy conditions making for some treacherous traveling. this is in michigan. you see these pictures here, this is where dozens of accidents happened near the city of flint. a lot of cars there seen

they have half a foot of snow and subfreezing temperatures. >> so, doug, tell us how the snow will impact traveling in the morning. >> yeah, you know, we could see something like that in parts of our area tomorrow. well north and west of the city. i don't think you're going to have many travel issues in the city, but we are traveling -- we are tracking this area of snow. you can see it is not a very big area of snow. this is not one that is going to develop into a big storm. it's taking a look at the winter weather advisories, nothing in our area at all. so, this is not going to be a highly impactful event. with all the cold air we've seen, anything that does fall will stick to the ground. so, watch out, especially up towards our north zone, towards baltimore back towards frederick, hagerstown. notice where we do have the winter weather advisories, garrett county, maryland, they're expecting 4 to 7 inches of snow. the mountains back to our west will ring out all the moisture before it can get to our area. that's another reason why we're not going to see too much snow from this event. i'll continue to watch for you. i'll

hour by hour. wind chill for new year's eve, brutal. >> scott macfarlane at the live desk and breaking news in loudoun county. there is an fbi search warrant being executed on a home in sterling. this is loudoun county. chopper4 is overhead. you can see the town house community in sterling. the fbi is raiding an apartment complex. an fbi spokeswoman tells us they are executing a search warrant issued by the federal court for the eastern district of virginia. we have seen a series of agents and agent vehicles approach this apartment complex in sterling. we're waiting to see what comes out. but we've seen an awful lot go in. anybody in that neighborhood knows there is a law enforcement presence. at the live desk, eye sco i'm s macfarlane. leon, back to you. >> president trump has repeatedly denied his collusion with the russians and believes special counsel robert mueller

but as news4's blayne alexander shows us, the president says the investigation makes the country look bad. blayne? >> reporter: leon, he said he believes this investigation is bad for america. but still he says he has no plans to interfere. president trump greeting service members at his florida golf club, but in an interview with "the new york times," taking shots at the investigation into russian election meddling led by special counsel robert mueller, saying it makes the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position. and on mueller, adding, it doesn't bother me because i hope that he's going to be fair. i think that he's going to be fair. a departure from some republicans in recent weeks who have questioned the investigation's credibility. >> this is disgusting, unaccountable bias. >> i think the public trust in this whole thing is gone. >> reporter: public opinion pretty evenly divided

news/"wall street journal" poll showing 38% of americans believe there was collusion between russia and the trump campaign. while 35% say no. and in the interview, president trump insisting again there was none. >> [ inaudible ]. >> no, i'm not, no. >> reporter: but critics caution that's not set in stone. >> his definition of fairly has evolved over time. he conditions his support for the mueller probe on this fair treatment, which i think he will be the ultimate judge of >> reporter: as for the justice department president trump said he has the absolute right to get involved, but chose not to. and already four people are facing charges in that investigation. all of them with ties to the trump campaign, including, of course, michael flynn who worked inside the trump white house as national security advisor. leon? >> thank you, blayne. blayne alexander reporting live for us. pat? >> one of the things i like about the holiday season is the break from

but traffic troubles return on tuesday when so many people come back to work. however, some artificial intelligence may help ease the congestion. as scott macfarlane reports, several communities are now expanding their experimentation with so-called smart signals. >> reporter: here at a major intersection at montgomery county, the cross ings of east jefferson street and montrose parkway, here is where they are testing this new traffic signal technology. the lights are driven by a computer algorithm to sense what is going on in the intersection and hopefully move cars through more quickly and smoothly. news4 checked this is not the only location they are testing this technology. also happening in northern virginia, fairfax county including little river turnpike, also under krrgs in prince george's county, near national harbor and iverson street corridor. transportation officials say they hope to have a 10% improvement in traffic flow, which

significant. >> it's a balancing act. it is a very delicate, what you do not to cause a major problem for a lot of other people if you want to move some groups faster. >> reporter: coming up on news4 at 5:00 and 6:00, some of the other locations at which their considerings this new technology and we go behind the scenes to see how it plays out at transportation headquarters. for now in montgomery county, scott macfarlane, news4. >> there is a discount coming your way if you want to replace your iphone battery. apple coming under fire after admitting that the company slows down older model phones with aging batteries. the tech giant issuing a rare apology for doing that. the apple says the slow downs are needed to stop the phones from suddenly shutting down. critics say apple is trying to get you to buy newer, more pricier phones. after the backlash and couple of lawsuits, apple is selling replacement batteries now and a $50 discount. so, if you have an iphone 6 or older, you can get a new battery for $29 starting in late nu

first at 4:00, a scare for the local teenager who is going to represent us at the olympics. we'll show you what happened here. >> how lucky do you feel? you've got a chance to become a millionaire tonight and one local store claims it's lucier than akl

all right. so, we're on the eve of the eve of new year's eve. a lot of folks use this time of year to pledge to get their homes and their finances in order for the new year. so, we are working for you with four relatively painless tips to make that a reality without wasting all of your time. here's the first thing you do. spend 15 minutes a night de-cluttering part of your home. pick a room or cabinet and clean that out in one night. that will get your home clean without wasting an entire weekend. second, spend time automating your bill payment and savings deposits. pick one account and

you have enough money to pay all your bills in that account you'll never have to worry about scheduling a bill payment again. as far as savings, an automatic deposit as little as $20 ka k add up over time in a big way. thirdly, clean out your phone and e-mail. take an afternoon and get rid of all the apps and the photos inside that you don't need, and then take another afternoon to go through your e-mail and unsubscribe to all those mailing lists from retailers that you really don't care about. and then finally, consider using an rss feed to stay on top of everything that you do care about. you can set it to find stories and blogs from dozens of sites and it's actually a lot faster than scouring sites one by one every day. pat? >> good ideas, leon. thank you. and we're working on some new developing stories for you. wendy is in the newsroom with a preview of what's ahead at 5:00. wendy? >> hey, pat, it's a busy time of the year this season. you can probably imagine one or two things do get left behind. new at 5:00, thousands of

left behind at security checkpoints and tsa is doing something to reunite travelers with their lost stuff. when you see trash piled up in the woods or alley, chances are it has been dumbed there illegally. you have someone to call. the dump busters. a look behind the scenes at the team that fights these environmental crimes. i'll be joining you in a few minutes on news4 at 5:00. >> all right, wendy, see you in a few. first at 4:00, a live look at the radar as the snowstorm inches closer to us. >> doug is back with who could see that snow and how much of it you're going to see. plus, when to expect o

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we continue to work breaking news at 4:45. chopper4 flying live over an fbi raid in sterling. officials tell news4 they've been conducting an investigation at this apartment complex since 2:00 this afternoon. the fbi says they're not going to release any other information

working our sources and we'll update you as we learn more about what is happening there. >> doug, a lot of us are making plans for the weekend, looking ahead to new year's eve. we want to go out, some of us go to church, some go to parties. you know, what are we going to wear? >> all about the coats. and we're talking heavy coats. this is layers, this isn't just the coat. this is the sweater underneath, whatever you have. we are really talking some frigid, frigid numbers. we've been seeing this over the last week. and i think we have at least another two weeks of this frigid air left. take a look at this, guys. i love this. this is awesome. you take out that boiling water, you put it in temperatures 30 below 0. look what you get there, becomes snow immediately. this is up in mount washington. a lot of people love to call this the place with the worst weather in the world. i call it the place with the best weather. so much fun. i was up there, 114 mile an hour winds. it was awesome. now towards snow shoe in west virginia, live picture, snow shoe has most of

open. they are doing very, very well as are most of our ski resorts in our area. i do expect most of the ski resorts tomorrow to pickup a couple inches of snow. if you're thinking about heading out there. now take a look, we're seeing the sun go down, of course, temperatures starting to fall, too. right now temperatures 28 degrees in college park, 26 in gaithersburg, 29 camp springs, and 28 degrees over towards reston. wind chill still a factor in the teens in some locations. 22 degrees right now in downtown. nothing on the radar now, but as we widen out here, you see what's happening. we're watching the storm system come through. this is what's going to bring us the snow overnight tonight. now, this is not a major storm. at any time we see a storm like this, the only way we're going to get a big snowstorm is if we get development off the coast. that is not going to happen. so, as this moves across the mountains here, as i said, the mountains could pickup 4 to 8 inches of snow. back towards wisp, towards snow shoe, towards seven springs. for us, maybe 1 inch up towards the north. even d i

just a coating if that. 23 degrees, light snow tomorrow morning. snow ending around noon and really i think it's out of here by 9:00. could see snow showers during the afternoon. that's something to think about. high temperature around 35. that's the warm est we've been in a while and the warm est we will be for a while. could be a couple of icy spots tomorrow night so heads up there. best chance of any road issues would be well to our north and west. i want to show you the feels like temperatures as we move on through. and i didn't put any pause points in here. so, hold on. watch this, this is important stuff. >> okay. >> watch what happens. i have to put pause points in sometimes. when i don't do it it goes right on through. i want to show you what's going to be happening tomorrow. you see what's happening tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. 28 degrees. watch where we go by around sunday morning, okay. here's 7:00 a.m. >> wow. >> 5 degrees. notice hagerstown at minus 3. on sunday afternoon, 5:00, that's 5:00 in the afternoon, the wind chill between 0 and 10. so, if you think that's cold, how about 1:00 in the morning as many of us are

church, pat. >> yes. >> 1 degree below 0. 1 below. 1 below. look at the areas below 0 on our monday morning. again, as many of us are heading home. please, make sure you bundle up. it is really going to be the kind of cold we just don't get around here all that often. 36 degrees on your saturday. there's 25 on sunday. 24 on monday. as we head into the new year, wind chills on monday as well will be in the single digits all day. then we have 33 for a high on wednesday. that's the warm est temperature in the entire ten-day forecast. incredibly cold. it does stay fairly dry with this cold pattern. >> that's crazy. oh, boy, be in church praying your heat works in your car. >> that would be a good idea. >> there we go. new details now on the devastating fire in new york city we've been covering here. four members of one family were killed when flames raged through a five story walk-up apartment last night. authorities have not released the names of the victims, but one

outlets that her youngest daughter and three granddaughters were killed. investigators say the fire started when a toddler was playing with a burner on a stove. the flames then spread through an open apartment door and then up the building's stairwell. the baby was among the 12 victims. >> such a sad story. your christmas tree could soon become a fire hazard. the national fire protection association says dry trees burn faster than newspaper. a general guideline is to remove the tree when it starts to drop those needles. some experts say trees should come down after about 30 days. we are working for you with local tree recycling rules. montgomery county will take them on your regular recycling day. prince george's collects trees with yard waste on mondays. arlington and fairfax counties will take them on your normal trash day but only during the first two weeks of january. tree collection in the district starts january 13th on your regular recycling days. and if you missed all of that, don't worry.

it's in the nbc washington app. search christmas tree. >> the odds aren't all that great but if you hope to be a millionaire or billionaire or half a billionaire, you have two chances starting tonight. >> the megamillions and power ball drawings take place over the weekend. their combined jackpots total $690 million. >> not too bad. news4's amee cho plains why lottery hopefuls are going to tinley market to get their tickets. >> reporter: this tinley market has been called the luckiest lottery store in d.c. that's because they've sold a dozen winning tickets in the past few years. take a look at the wall. each paper represents a winning ticket. we talked to some folks who said they could be next on that wall. >> every day i'm lucky. >> reporter: here at the luckiest lotto store in d.c., registers are ringing with the sound of optimism. >> it is a lucky store. i might be lucky. who knows. i hope i'll be lucky, pleas

>> trying to get the winning lottery ticket and hopefully this will be a great year to start out with if i have the winning ticket in my hand. >> reporter: your chances of hitting the big bucks are smaller than ever. megamillions recently changed their rules making for higher jackpots and less winners. some have a number of ways they hope will work. >> if you use the system, you keep playing the same numbers all the time, sooner or later you'll be a winner. >> i bought two in virginia, two in maryland. somebody has to win. >> reporter: all the odds haven't stopped people from playing. >> i hope to start a business. >> reporter: do you feel lucky? >> definitely. >> next week is my birthday. i hope it's a good year. >> reporter: the drawings will be taking place tonight and tomorrow. two chance s to win. we'll be bringing the winning numbers here on news4. in northwest, amee cho, news4. >> so, you know where i'm going. >> going to get your ticket? >> yeah, in about an hour and 10 minutes. >> good luck to y

i'll be rooting for you. >> don't wish me too much luck because if you do i won't be here when you come back. >> i'll know when you're not here. not at your desk. now first at 4:00, she's one to watch at the winter games. david culver recently introduced us to the delightful teenager from northern virginia who made history by becoming the first black woman to qualify for the u.s. olympic speed skating team. she just posted this picture on instagram after a minor accident on the ice yesterday. apparently another skater's blade came off and flew straight at her chin. she's fine, though. she's been all stitched up and her dad tells david culver she's already back on the ice. her dad, by the way, signed her up for skating lessons in reston 12 years ago. now look at her, poised to go to the olympics. you can find her story and more of our olympic coverage in the nbc washington app. and you'll see the winter olympics right here on nbc4, of course.

heroism. he was the one inside this bullet-riddled car. we're learning more about what he did while a suspect opened fire all over the interstate. >> local crews getting the roads for tonight's snow. who will get a dusting and who will see more. >> doug will be back with that and your freezing new year's forecast that may make you want to change your plans, maybe. >> 2017 coming to a close now. >> we pause now to remember some of the stars and icons that we lost this year. ♪ ♪ >> it's always something that's sarcastic, but fun. >> lady, lady. i just love this job.

♪ i think i love you snoerts >> here is fats domino singing "blue berry hill" ♪ ♪ i found my thrill on blue berry hill ♪ ♪ go johnny, go ♪ >> really have good intentions. some of your ventures may be wrong, but you come back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm free, free falling ♪ ♪ >> i'm a fearless man and i'm scared to deathf

♪ >> a privilege. it's been an honor and a privilege. ♪ ♪ >> i don't think that any other magazine in the 20th century had more influence on america and the world. that's a pretty wild position to be in. >> goes for gold! ♪ ♪

a murder, a chase and chaos on the highway.

county where we're getting new details about the gunman who police say shot his wife and then made a mess out of i-95. we're going to share with you the disturbing revelations about his past. >> plus, the tight est security ever for new york's times square. the last-minute push to keep people safe as they count down for the new year. >> and imagine a stop light that knows you're there. the new technology that could give you a faster and a better commute. >> i feel that i can get through the signals. i don't wait for any red. >> but first at 5:00, your weekend is here and some serious winter weather is going to be joining you. >> oh, yes, going to be a bitter cold end to 2017 and we are not alone. it's cold enough here at home, but we saw ice on the potomac in alexandria today. coupled with the wind, it's going to make for a blustery evening along the river. >> erie, pennsylvania is getting more of just what it does not need. expecting anothero

that poor town has seen just since christmas eve. and in michigan it is not snow, but ice that turned this commute into a nightmare. twisted cars and wreckage all over-the-road as cars spun out of control. >> all of that part of the same system that's set to bring some snow and more bitter cold our way. doug kammerer is standing by in the storm center. doug? >> all of that part of the arctic cold that's made its way down from canada, northern parts of canada all the way to our region with the lake effect snows and the snow we're going to get tomorrow, a little piece driving on the southern end of t. let's take a look and show you wind chill out there right now. just brutal, 11 in hagerstown, 20 in d.c., 9 in pittsburgh. you know it's cold enough for snow. nothing in our area right now, but just to the west we are tracking this system right here. it's not much of a system. a very weak system. but as it makes its way across our region it is going to provide parts of our area with snowfall, especially from d.c. up to the north, back toward the west and some of the ski