right now on "news4 midday," the holiday travel rush is on. what you need to know if you're heading out of town today. >> i'm tracieotts in washington. with just hours to go before the deadline of a partial government shutdown, president trump is putting the pressure on repuicans toet something done. >> and i'm meteorologist chuck bell. it may be cloudy but the rain has temporarily ended around the city. forecast straight ahead.nk t for joining us.

i'm mollet greenow chuc is it looking for thoseraveling today? it's a big getaway day. >> cloudy outside. the rain has briefly ended here in the city. there's still a 100% chance you're going to need an umbrella before the day is done. cloudy skies but no rain falling. we can enjoy aery mild lunch hour. you can almost get awayith eating lunch outside, although you'd have to mop off the picnic table. this will gradually move in our direction. there's still 100% chance you're going to get rained on before the day is through. i tnk we dodged the bullet for multiple inches of sin. that i not going to pan out this time and that's okay with

us, we need it. mild. in the low to mid 60s around town. rain will be ending right about midnight tonight. we'l take a look at the weekend coming up in a few. >> at least it mild out there. thank you, chuck. news4 is getting you ready for thelidays. for many of you that involves traveling. all this wet weather couldn't come at a worse time. millions are packing up and hitting the road. justin finch is at reagan international airport as he keeps an eye on the highways and the skies. >> reporter: we are at the start of n a doubt very busy holiday travel season coming our way. triple a saying one in three americans will be traveling for the holidays, 3.7 million by trai alone,6 opinio.7 million b. most flights leaving reagan international on f time, v

ca -- very few cancellations or delays.st eople traveling more by car. that's up and the hriheste a has seen. as to why this is, turns out gas prices to could b a real bigwh reason y. prices are going twer. ab $2.37 a gallon. triple help about a million travelers with car issues like batteries and others along the way this holiday season. we did mee one family here headed for l.a. there was concern about the weather and their 14-month-old baby girl. soar sogood. take a listen. >> get up early. keep the baby happy. >> reporter: how about you? same deal? >> i'm a little more worried about delays. but we're loaded full with books

and snacks and we're going to cross ourfings arers. >> reporter: check with youror carrier be you leave, make sure your flight is leaving on time and not delayed and hopefully not cancelled. same ifoue going by train. if you're driving, map out your route and note gas stations along the way. justin finch, news4. >> things are back to normal this midday at union station. a power outage caused headaches last night. dozens of passengers were stuck on an amtrak acelan. tr there was no power on the platform. passengers were able to see the platform but they couldn't get off the tra for more than three hours.tr am said a feeder was tripped, knocking power out. developingight now, the

clock is ticking for lawmakers to agree on ag spendill to keep the government running. part of the federal government could shut down at midnight if congress doesn't passge a b the president will sign. he's meeting wh republican lawmakers right now to try and come up with some solution before t holidays. >> reporter: stalemate with less than 24 to go. h thse just passed a temporary budget through february 8th. >> the motion is adopted withou. object >> reporter: that includes $5 billion for the presidens border wall. democrat nancy pelosi said that would never happen she was wrong. "nancy does not have to be

right." the senate as version include f no money the wall. >> any measure that funds the governme must include border security. >> you are in charge of the house, senate and white house, get a grip and learn how to governhe country. >> reporter: it's not clear what can happen between now and midnight to keep the government running. the white house says if this issue isn resolved, budget trump is putting his oliday vacation to mar-a-lago on hold. >> the university of marylandel haseased new video from footll player jordan mcnair's final practice back in may, including in body camera footage showing two university police officers aivingt the team fieldhouse. a large part of t footage is blacked out tct p mcnair's medical ndition. you can hear the frustration as

they wait for the medics. when the ambulance finally arrived, at the at wrong entrance. the ambulance final lich left for the hospital nearly 40 minutes after the 911 call. he died at the hospital. and several members of the coach, including the head have been fired. a woman said she's afraid after her ex-boyfriend being found not guilty. he set her on fire. yesterday she was found not guiltyn all charges. the defenseef argued she r

set herself on fire. >> what about my saatty? m i supposed to do now? >> my suspicion was that she set herself on fire. ere was no gasoline found in the bath tub, there was no dna, no fingerprints. >> reporter: a second suspect was arrest and charged in this case butrosecutors will reevaluate whether to move forward. >> a campaign to raise money is under way to honor the five people shot and killed at a newspaper in annapolis, maryland. theyll worked at the "capital gazette." one proposals calls for five lit pillars, another called lost copy is a blank page.

there i much more still ahead on "news4 midday." we want to take you outside. chuck says the rain will last for a little wle longer. be sure to check up on the nbc washington app befor you hit the road to travel and do some last-minute shopping. news4 is your one-stop shop getting you ready for the snow. and just like you, the further into winter we go, the heavier i get.

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this morning we're learning

more about two women killed in a pedestrian crash in the district. monica carlson and her 85-year-old more, flora, died after being hit by aour bus. the mom and daughter were struck while crossing pennsylvania enue near the national archives. the two had spent the day visiting her son a arlington national cemetery. her brother-in-law spoke to us by facetime last night. >> both of them were avid lov of washington, d.c. the capital is a place they loved to visit. >> back in 2007 two women were hit and killed at that same intersection by a metro bus. they added a left-turn lane and left-turn arrow. >> there are now new

developments in the death of ot ot ot otto wombier. >> otto warmbier broke down after learning he would serve hard labor for stealing a poster. now his familynd friends cried as they relived the emotional deal. an illegal declaration, his d father s his fourth confession was like a nazi court trial. a year and a half latertt was returned to america in a coma. his father telling the u.s. -- >> he used him as a political

pawn when he was of no value to them, they essentially sent him home to our family in a body bag. >> reporter: his father's moving testimony describes horrible sound, it didn't seem human, i saw terror on his face. they reased this image of their comatose son. he had injuries, describin a scar on his foot. north korea has previously enied he wa mistreated and tortured while in their custody. and has n responded to the billion dollar lawst. >> reporter: their aim, to highlight the t torture.

s t thaer o k is regime, their treatment of otto. >> reporter: otto would call me a couple of times a week to talk. we never hung up without telling each other we loved each other. how incredibly difficult it would be to see our o other children grow up to become adults while otto will alwayse frozen in time. flights have finally resumed at london's gatwick airport. after drones were spotted, tens of thousands of people were spthted. e airport is open now but only for aed limit amount of flights. so far t drone operator has not been found. >> traveling over the holidays might get you down.

but then you see these guys and all that stress jus melts away. how one airline is using dog to chee up the passengers. >> reporter: a friendly, furry face tcombat the holiday stress at the airport. thing like't seen a that in an airport. >> meet lilly. brooks and oliver. >> they're the love of my life. >> reporter: did it remind you of your dog here? >> absolutely. o there'sne especially that looks just like him. >> reporter: that's point, that you forget about this part of the trip. all of these dogs come fro based in d.c. it stands for peopl animal

love. >> we plan on serving about 200,000 holiday cust momers ando bring animals in to reduce the stress is a help. >> it's nice being around them. they really bring light to the airport. l reporter: these guys w working three shafts day over the next couple of days. man's best friend now travelers' new friend. >> one else f is getting an out the world experience. this is buddy hanging oute at international space station. he's checking out a space suit. in another he's strapped down so he doesn't float away. mclean couldn't take her son intopace so this is her way of

spreading holiday cheer for kid around the world. >> a california aquarium is being slammed on social media for getting this fat shapi-- fo shaping one of its otters. >> in a post they wrote abby is a sicck girl. the aquarium has apologized and saed abby is in fact a healthy weight for an >>otter. the burgundy and gold will be the fst nfl team to take the field this weekend to face the titans. wheel injuries appear tbe a

factor this season, the team is not giving up. quarterback josh johnson is looking for his second went as a starter. the game kicks off here on saturday at4. pregame coverage starts at 3 p.m. >> there's another boozy lunch option in northern virginia when "news4 midday" continues. we'll tell you about taco bell's we'll tell you about taco bell's late

kayla: our dad was in the hospital. josh: because of smoking. but we still had to have a cigarette. had to. kayla: do you know how hard it is to smoke in a hospital? by the time we could, we were like... what are we doing? kayla: it was time for nicodermcq. the nicodermcq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. and doubles your chances of quitting. nicodermcq. you know why, we know how.

wall street is set to open up slightly higher this morning after another day of selling yesterday. worries about rising interest rating -- ras. shutdowns don't typically doch amage to the markets, but they can be more harmful the longer they last. the dow falling 464 points. it had been down more than 700 during the session. the nasdaq dipping deeply into bear market terrory,eaning its dropped 20% from its most recent highs. reports on durable goods, consumer sentimes and third quarter gdp. are still trying to find that perfect last-meinute gifts? a quarter of aricans say the will finish their christmas shopping this weekend. about 7% will still be shopping

christmas eve and 4% say the gifts won't be bought until afterch stmas. and you can score some free movie tickets at subway. they are giving away vouchers to a child ticket to "mary poppins returns" when you buy a kids meal and while supplies last. the voucher is only valid throash purche of the fandango app and web site. they expire on january 7th. with your cnus morningess report, i'm frank holland. >> well, there's now a second wawa in the district. you'll find the signature hoagies and coffee.

>> carmhi, wed cream with blue and silversp rinkles. yes, coffee. >> it's officially here. it's the first taco bell in our area that serves alcohol. >> a double shot. >> anyeah. it's open for business. here's what it looks like in old town, alexandria, just blocks from the waterfront. you can choose a variety of alcoholic beverages with twistee s, beer, wine, sangria, all of althat. of it. from taco bell with a twist to chuck bell with a different kind of twist. 61 degrees, is that the high for today? >> our high is probably going to be around 64. crazy. >> if only we could just get rid ofhe rain and keep the 60s. >> that's not going to happen. >> we'll get rid of the rain and

the60s for the weekend. the winter solstice is today. you still have a f hours left ofwarmth. it isn't quite as warm in the shenandoah valley. all the i-95 corridor down into southern maryland here, temperatures way above average. our average high is 45. these numbers are 15 to almost 30 degrees warmer than we were just at the same time yesterday. high today right around 64 degrees. more rain coming, though. the main area of low pressure down here, which has been, by the way, very intention.

it -- very intense. that's moving right up the spine of the appalachian mountns here. there's a little dry patch across central dvirginia. coule out a little spit or drizzle from time to time. eventually that whole mess comes up here. rain chances go back up late this afternoon, showery and rainy around here for the evening hours. the flood watches, the flood threat is stminishing. l plenty of high water and the area. but with the rain chances now beginning to come down later today, looks like our rainfall totals will be under an inch. yesterday the weather was hinting there could be two, three inches or more. tomorrow it will be breezy. temperatures in the low 40s and all day n the 40s tomorrow with increasing amounts

of sunshine. so that will be nice. sunday partly sunny, highs near christmas. christmas eve and christmas d also look dry and

thankou for joining us on

"news4 midday." i'm molette green. time is running out to avoid another government utwn. the stalemate centers around president trump'sequestor $5 billion to build a wall along the mexico border. more than 400,000 federal workers are stu with limbo. hey could work without a paycheck over the holiday. another 350,000 workers could be sent home wchhout a k. the senate is expecd to consider the house stopgap measure that funds the government until february 8th. nere's word on weather has the votes for it to pass. >> if s the governments down, you will still get your ma. the u.s. postal service will remain open as it tries to

deliver all the presents in time for christmas. if you are flying, air traffic controllers and tsa agents will job.n the metro says it will also provide regular service. >> it's the final weekend before christmas. and last-meinute shoppers are hitting their favorite web sites and packing those malls. you can get some good daeals ou there. shipping your gifts, however, is going to cost you. >> reporter: this morning it's hoday shopping crunch time. thanks to this year's calendar, christmas false onls on a tuesd giving you extra time to shop.us >> we're starting. >> reporter: m 1lion people will be out as what's known on panic sarday, almost as many shoppers as all of black friday

weekend. some hoping waiting this long will b scoreetter deals. >> we just wen into one of the stores and they had 50% off their eire story. >> reporter: retailmenot says now i the time to get savings. but if i want to ship this many from here in sou florida t the christmas tree near season fran it, wi -- san francisco, it will cost me. but they'reorth it, even if that's up to seven times the cost of the hat. at this late date, relying on santa or showing up in person may be your best bet. if you're among those procrastinators, you will not be alone. it's estimated 134 million americans will hit the malls this weekend.

kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. what, is thishappening? >> i believe we can make this work. "vice," the story of deck cheney's rise to vice president called comedy, a drama, but don't call it aio ck. jason fraley has more on one that hits theaters today. if you're looking for a break from the last-minuteda holi shopping, there's a new movie, "aquaman." >> my father was a housekeeper. my mother was a queen. but life has a way of bringing people together. >> reporter: we get to see arthur curry who learns he's

half man and half fishman. it's nice it see a different charming side from jason. we saw him in "game of thrones" as the strong but silent tigype. nicole kidman gets some good scenes. the focus shifts to aquaman's half brother, the ocean master. if you're not really into the comic book thing, can you syou this one ou and on christmas day, "if beale street could ta." this is based on a 1974 book by

james baldwin. jenkins once again is in full force with his directing technique. there's some cool slow motion camera shots, circling camera in a smoke-filled room, some free frames with narration over it. we caught up with jenkins for a convsation when he was here in town. >> this woman iss carrying t child the entire film. i wanted it to be a part of the birth without all the -- yea >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> it's a very elevated kind of depiction.

>> reporter: we spo . >> the things that james baldwin was talk about in the 70ss still prevalent today and things that we'reg kneel to have conversations about today. i think that's one of the beautiful things about "beale street" but at the core of it he wrote this really, really beautiful love story. >> and also coming out on christmas day, we get "vice." it's a searing political takedown of dick cheney. christoph christopher bale definitely will be nominated for a anbunch. also check out "green book,"

which i think will win some thing award seasons. you have "mary poppins returns." lo of options this weekend and heading into the coming week. ♪ oh come let us adore you, oh come let us adore him ♪ oh come let us adore him christ the lord ♪ oh, yes! we have some of the best songs of the season to kick off your holiday weekend. we're in

we know it's a big travel day for a lot of people, you tow. so we needt weather to shape up. >> or if you had the ability to delay it till tomorrow, tomorrow will be a much easier day for

travel up and down the yeaeast coast. a lot of fly a delays up down the east coast. so call ahead and just be ready to some festive hours with your fellow travelers. thin you need to know about the weather around here, we're still in weather alert mode for the potential for flooding. fortunately i think our chance of anyore additional heavy rain is coming to an end. i think up to another half an inch of rain is possible. it's feeling like spring for today. you can see plenty of floodcr watchess the area. but our forecast for rain amounts for what'seft of this event in front of us is quarter to maybe half an inch of rain or so that we can take but we don't need any more rain.

number one rainiest year in washington, rainiest year on record at bwi-marshall and we close to the rainiest year set at dulles airport. snow in the mountains eire in virginia. sprinkles are possible around town. most of the rain is along the blue ridge and parts of the shenandoah valley. by 3:00, n4:00, r chances are going back up again. we're likely to have spits of moderate rain during the evening hours. that's the cold front itself coming through here about 11

ck tonight1:00 tonight and that will be the end of the rain and the return for colder weather here. we'll be dry through the weekean temperatures in the 60s today, only in the 40s tomorrow. mid 30s on sunday morning, near 50 sunday afternoon, mid 40sor highs on christmas eve and day. dry weather will continue dry weather will continue through about the the best internet meets the best things to do on the internet. switch to fios, the 100% fiber-optic network and get a year of amazon prime and an amazon echo on us. already have prime? we'll cover another year. it's all yours when you sign up for fios gigabit connection, plus tv, plus phone, all with a 2-year price guarantee, all for just $79.99 per month with a 2-year agreement. with fios and prime, you can stream prime originals in 4k. get free games with twitch prime...and get fast, free shipping on over one hundred million items.

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on ♪ ♪ baby, baby, baby who could forget these two dynamic contestants on nbc's "the voice"? they're going to be with us at our nbc health and fitness expos. this morning they teamed up with one of the best baptist church choirs in our area. four days before christmas, we're ready for a holiday sing-along. oh, yeah. first baptist church of

glenarden under the musical dictor of steven hu. i have raceonnd lamar funshow. >> if you guys would come out, it woulde great. >> reporter: it's been a wild ride being onhe national show but what are you working on. >> i'm working on an ep that will drop in the spring and i have springhow and another show at big chief and it's also a coat drive and we're going to give coats and hats and gloves to the kids at the shelter. >> reporter: i love it. we're going to sing "go tell it on the mountain." let me get out of the way because they sing, i talk.

i'm out. ♪ on the mountain, over the hills andverywhere ♪ ♪ go tell it on the m that jesus christ is born ♪ ♪ while shepherds kept their watch watches ♪ there will be calls throughout the heaven ♪ ♪ they'll behown the holy light ♪ ♪ go tell it on the mountains,

over the hills and everywhere ♪ ♪ go tell it on the mountains that jesus christ is born ♪ ♪ down in a northern manger the heartful christ wasorn ♪ ♪ go and tell it onhe mountain ♪ ♪ go tell it on the mountain ♪ over the hills ♪ over the hillsnd everywhere ♪ ♪ go tell it on the mountain that jesus christ is born ♪ ♪ go tell it ♪ somebody go tl it

♪ go right out and tell it on the mountain ♪ >> hey, everybody. it's a holiday season. it's a time of year when a lot of people join together and bring their families and pets together. we want to keep your pets safe from any holiday hazards. before we get to the helpful hints for pet safety during the holiys, tell us about the puppy dog we have for adoption here. >> this is charleston blue. he's a 4-year-old doghat's been with us for a while. he's a great guy. already knows a few commands, knows sit, knows stay. >> and he's house broken. >> he is house broken. >> he's what, about 4 yooears o? old. years he's had all hisaccinations

and shots. >> he loves me. >> yes, he does. >> are you stillunning the microchip special? >> we are. we have theal microchip spe through the end of january. $15 for a microchip for your cat or dog. >> give us some of the dos don't for holiday season to make sure the puppies and kittens are all right. >>ld i w say pets ov overindulging in food. you want to avoid chocolates and bones and things like that. i've seen cats get into the christmas tree and eat ornaments and garland. >> it's a funny video on youtube but it's very dangerous. >> it is. >> reporter: i'm pretty restrictive to our dogs, i don'g reallye them any people, if

they get the s last of milk out of the cereal bowl. >> it can be risky for dogs. they're used to a very stant diedi -- consistent diet. you want to really avoid it and stick to pet treats, if you can. >> reporter: in years past i have tried wrapping the milk bone and putting themnd the tree and the nose works. >> they do find them. >> reporter: they always do. and a lot oflectrical cords going around the house, you goto to be careful that. >> you definitely do. they can chew and e getctrical burns in their mouth, drinking the.hristmas tree wat there's a lot of new things theo want investigate. you want to limituc that as

as possible. >> no crazy foods. d it's important when others bring their pets in, it's ocportant tolize the dogs with one another. led introduction where you have control over the pets, maybe have them on a leash at first, lethem get to know each other before you turn them loose. it can be chaotic. >> my inlaws have a very friendly german shepherd anden though they've met many times, we always meet at the dog park and walk them in together. >> good idea. >> thanks for bringing charleston blue in. you can always go to the web site i and sthey have a puppy dog or kitten for you. >> we're going to get within final look at the forecastn just an

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yes for less. okay. this is your last weekend to shop before chrisas if you haven't crossed everyone off your list. liz mclaughlin shows you some in last-me gift ideas. >> reporter: it's down to the wire and almost half of amerans are still scrambling for gifts. >> according to google shopping data we have,42% of people wait until the last minute to buy their gifts. i'at part of th as well. >> eco friendly gifts, such as beez w sustainable food storage. and give the gift of learning.

>> having a stem toy doesn't mean it has to be a boring toy. >> reporter: the nintendo switch is one of the hottest season's game consoles. >> you might be making a steering wheel for a game where you're driving away. >> reporter: wires will head phones are useful gifts for those getting a new phone or laptop. >> things like web cam covers, we have things like extra long charging cables,hich are a personal favorite of mine. >> reporter: whoile it may be tempting, experts say skip the gift cardaisle. >> it's impersonal. >> and you can get gifts quickly

online as lates christmas morning. >> my kids like the gift rds, though. time for a final look at the forecast before you hit the road or the mall. >> i like cash. does that make me old fashioned? >> i like it all the time. >> can you sent me a c-note for christmas here, molette. >> we have bsts of moderate rain moving towards winch and martinsberg. we'll be dry tomorrow hugefully th christmas. >> thank you, chuck. we want to thank you so much for joining us. we're back this afternoon at 4. can you get

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♪ christmas ♪ the snow is coming down ♪as chris ♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ christmas ♪ lots of people around ♪ baby please come home c istmas ♪ ♪ christmas everybody,ma it's chri >> happiest town! ♪ christmas c pleasee home ♪ >> come on! ♪ singing deck the halls >> i'm so glad he got her to sing thatpart. ♪ i remember when you were here ♪ >> yes! ♪ and all the fun we had last year ♪ ♪hr