>> a news 4 11:00 starts now. and right now at 11:00, christmas eave in washington. thousands are celebrating mass at a churchesund our region. looking here at theic basil of the national shrine of the

immaculate conception. good evening, everyone. merry christmas.n i'm l harris. cead to have you with us. christmas eve ser are under way across the area. and while celebrating christmas eve mass ion a tradi for some, it's another tradition happen ost didn't tonight. news 4's chris gordon explains from the national christmas tree. >> smile, you guys >> right here. >> reporter: taking pictures by the national christmas tree. would you like a phothe it's way many families spend christmas eve together. did you guys see any cool trees on the side you like? >> just have a tradition of looking at all the trees, we go home and wait for santa claus. >> reporter: you've been doing this how long? >> about eight years. >> we've been coming here for 20 years to see the trees, we live in montgomery county, we're nearby. >> reporter: for many people here, the lights and the sights around the national christmas tree and president's park beside the white house is the happiest

place for theli ys. >> i've been doing this every year for as long as i can remember, so, it reaty would feel like the christmas season without coming here. >> reporter: but this year, the grinch almost stole christmas here. on friday, seone climbed the national christmas tree, damaging it, causing an electrical outage. saturday, the federal government shut down, so,re was no one to fix it. the national park foundation, the official charity of america's national parks, came to the rescue, arranging ir fopa turning back on the lights just in tim christmas. >> grateful to the national park service for getpng the tree and lit and opening the parup back it made a huge difference in our day today. >> merry christmas. hello. >> reporter: f those who really believe -- only santa thwould know , wouldn't he? this is a christmas they won't forget. >> you want a picture? orter: and they'll have the pictures to prove it. the christmas spirit will be ony dispere at president's park straight through new year's day.

chris gordon, ws 4. many christians in our area will mark the holiday be attending church services. right now, catholic mass is being held in northeast washington. let's take a look live here inside the basilica of the national shrine of thete immacu conceptn. ward na cardinal wuerl will celebrate tss at noon, and later in the day, congregation will serve dinner to the needy in the church calf fefetericafeteria. ♪ but this one the scene this ening. cardinal wuerl leading a packed mass at the cathedral of st. matthew the apostle in northwest d.c. speaking there, cardinal wuerl talked about sin and forgiveness. wuerl resigned as the archbishop of washington in ocber, but the church is still the seat of the archbishop. christmas eve service just wrapping up at the national congregation the there welcomed some special

guests. the president and first ladyjo ed parishioners tonight in northwest. services began at 10:00 p.m. tonight. the crowd there sharing scripture readings, singing hymns and listening to the choir perform. the faithful also received holy communion. ♪ and the catholic faithful packing st. peter's pa silica tonight for the christmas eve mikiight mass, m the sixth christmas of his papacy. popeed francis a solemn service for nearly 10,000 people. in his homily night, pope francis attacked what he called the edinsatiable g ofco umerism and er er is surg er iu to seek a life. and in the holy land, pilgrims celebrated midnight mass in the church of the nativity.

bethlehem, the trational birthplace of jesus. tourists returning to the city after a rash of terrorist att k attacks in 2015. this has been the busiest christmas season there. back home, president trump did not travel to his mar-a-lago resort home. he'll be spending the christm week in washington. as nbc'saa garrett explains tonight, between the stock market and the shutdown, there doesn't seem to be much for the president to celebrate tonight. >> reporter: this christmas evem the stockket delivering investors a lump of coal. the marke down more than 20% from its recent highs. experts say the turmoil in washington isn't helping. >> this has been somethi the president has got to own, because he started a fight, he's basicallyraontinuing a war, he's getting into it with congress, leading to a shutdown and he is threatening to fire the head of the federal reserve. >> reporter: treasury secretary steven mnuchin making calls from hisexican vacation, meant to be reassuring, but having the

opposite effect. the president hunked down at the white house. his florida vacation canceled due to the shutdown. playing the economy's troubles on the federal reserve, tweet egg, "they don't have a feel for the market." with congress out of town until thursday, complaining about the shutdown stalemate, too. i am all alone -- poor me -- in the white house, waiting for the democrats to come back andake a deal on desperately needed border security. fighting back, democratic leaders blaming the economic worriesnnd the shutdown the president. "it's christmas eve and the presidt is plunging the country into chaos." as the wte house digs in for a fight that now seems likely to last until the n >> this is what washington looks like when you have a president that sort of refuses too along to get along. >> reporter: tonight, the shutdown fight hinges on howch he democrats are willing to spend on border security. the magic number may be beten $1.6 billion and the $5 billion the president originally asked for. back to you. >> garrett haake reporting.

stay with news 4 for ag continuing cov on the shutdown. we'll have an article on what's open and closed on our website, just search shutdown. in the meantime, other news now developingatonight. search for survive vars after another deadly tsunami hits the indonesian coastlines right now, nearly 400 are dead ands officiear that number could rise, with more than 100 still reported missing. the killer w slammed into the islands of java and sumatra, without any kind of warning. saturday night, smashing homes to pieces and sweeping people out into the sea. experts believe a volcanic eruption set off an underwater tndslide andhat's what they believe triggered the tsunami. well, no chance of a white christmas this time aroundis he year. but santa does have great weather out there tonight to deliverfthose there's the good news there. how about christmas day, though? samarra theodore with the details. hey, somate.

>> rep hey, it's not bad. maybe we're not getting the white christmas or the sunshine, but we are getting a pleasant christmas notheless. let's go ahead and look at the forecast. so, tomorrow, hikes will be in the low 40s, clouds are building as we speak. so, tomorrow, we are looking at a mostly cloudy day, and it will be cold, but dryel nones. as for tonight, really cold. temperatures tonight areoing to bealling into the low 40s. i'm sorry, into the low 30s in washington, d.c., but the further you go out from the city, we're already starting to see areaspeike cer down into the upper 20s, that's where you're headed, clouds build and rather cold. now, i want you to stick because we are going to talk wayt the rain that's on the and a chance for a few snowflakes on the ten-day. i'll let you know in a moment. leon, back to you. >> somar, that's not the only reason to stick around. kids, well, parents, if you have your kid up andhey're sticking around right now, make sure they stay with us right

now, because we've got something for you to gatherround the tv for a very special moment here coming up, a special, dramati reading of "twas the night before christmas" by our ery own, one and only pat collins. plus, a washington tradition. how santa spent thi afternoon on the potomac.

sorry, folks. you're out of time if you haven't crossed off all the lists on the shopping list, because it's over. target and big lots, the last holdouts on christmas eve, they are now officially closed.to y, we caught up with a lot of pplast-minute sers at the tanger outlets.

tharking lot still packed just hours to go until christmas, and some of thet fols here told us that they wait to shop purposely cause there are just too many things to get done. others say the procrastinating actually pays off and they can snag some big discounts. not a happy scene here, but turns out this is not an emergency. tonight, an army of volunteers unloaded furniture, food and bags of gifts for a special family. single mom sophia beat cancer. she survived three strokes, as well. local police and firefhters raised enough money to b ss sophia and her four children with a christmas they will always remember. there was even enough left over to help them cover some rent payments. glad to see that happen for that family. santa now almost finished delivering his christmas gifts to good boys and girls around the world. you see him here, live shot. this is a look at where santa is

right now, according to our satellites. norad has tracked santa's journey for 62 years. somara, keeping an eye onnt s every move. she'll have an update coming>> . if the kids are still up, get them together right now, because we have a very special reading of "twas the night before christmas" by our one and only pat collins. >> hey, youeren't expecting barbara harry sohn, were onu? let's get ith this. twas the night before christmas, and all through the house. not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes tstt nicholas soon would be there. the children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads. andma and her kerr chief and i in my cap had just settl down for a longer wint's snap. when out on the lawn there arose such a clatter. i sprang from my bed to see what's the matter. away to the window, i flew like a flash, threw open thehutters and raised up the sash.n the moon the breast th -- >> breast? >> breath. gave a luster of midday to object objects below. what suld appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. with a little old driver, so lively and quick, i knew in a moment, it must bet. nick.

more rapid than eagles, his courses they came, he whistled and shouted and called them by name. on dasher, on dancer, once pr on vixen. on comet, on cupid, on donner and blitzen. and the other guy. to the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, now dash away, dash away, dash away all! as dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,then they m an obstac mount to the sky, so to the rooftop the curses they flew, with a sleigh full of toys and st. nichol, too. then in a twinkling i heard on the, ro the prancing and f each little roof. as i drew in my head, it was turning around, and down the chimney st.icholas came with bound. he was dressed in fur from hisa

o his foot. his clothese all bunch ed with patches of soolt. he had a bag of toys flung over his back. he looked like aeddler opening his pack. his eyes have a iptwinkle, his pls, how many. his cheeks were like roses his nose like a cherry. and his droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, the beard on his chin, white as the snow. and the stump of t a pipeht in his teeth, a circle of smoke around his head like a wreath. he had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he

laughed like a bowl full of jelly. he was chubby and plump, a righd jolly elf. and i laughed when i saw him inspite of myself. a wink of his eye, a tst of his head soon gave me to know i had nothing to dread. he spot not a word, but w straight to his work and filled the stockings and then he turd with a jerk. and laying his finger aside his nose and giving a nod, up the chimney he goes. he sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like a down of a thistle. but i heard him explain, as they drove out of sight -- >> merry chris has toall, and to all a good night. >> excellent. pure excellence. >> only pat. only pat. >> yeah.

>> he's the only guy we have that can dthat. ah. >> so, give us the latest on where santa is right now. >> okay. santa -- this just in, he is in w york city -- >> really? >> oh, he's close, guys. >> getting mugged? >> you know what? the shade must stop. >> okay. >> he is in new york city and he is getting ready to make h way down to the mid-atlantic and i'm just so excited, because that means my telescope is going to be under the tree, i can't wait. and i made sure that the weather was just perfect for him, so, he should have no issues at all making his waynto the area. all right, let's talk about the weather. soea as we through the overnight hours, it is going to be cold, but there's a few headlines you guys should know about. we're going to see a good amount of sundwine k, just before the rain moves in, and that could impact some travel if you have travel plans at the end of the week. and we arein tra a wintry weather kind of thing for new year's eve. we'll get to that in a moment. for now, check out these temperatures. 42 in d washingto.

we head over to the west, really not even that far west, , gaithersbuow you guys doing? 36 degrees. do we have any 20s on the weboa, e close, fredericksburg, virginia, at 30 degrees. he we head through overnight, temperatures are going to fall to the upper 20s, low 30s. rada shows some of t clouds already starting to build in, and we're going to see them really sticking up tomorrow night into tomorrow. and as we look at the big picture, just going to show you that snow chance, really, retreated even farther north. that system moves out,akes that chance with it. no white christmas for us. temperatures tomorrow are going to be in the low 40s. thing is, it's not going to be windy, it will take the bite out of it. won't be too cold. let's talk rain. we're going to stay dry through the top of the week. we move into thursday, that' when thehance starts to creep up. it's going to be thursday night. you'll notice thert clouds s billowing in and the rain begins late thursday and then your friday,hat could be bit of a

washout, a bit of a soaker. here's a look at your hol aay travel how this weather is going time pact it. tomorrow, driving house to y house, if're going for food or for gifts, you should be fine, easy drive.av friday, delays are possible, whether traveling by air or by road, we are going to bete seeing this s making its way from the southeast, up 95, into the trstate area. everyone is going to be impacted by that rain. and then, if you are going for a little new year's eve turn up, oake sure you are bundling up. it is going be cold out there and we could be in for a little bit of wintry weather earlier i the day. our ten-day outlook, christmas, drive, kwanzaa, pley of nshine, the first day. thursday night, we are going to see some showers start to creep in here by friday. could be gray and wet. the weekend, oh, one other thi i want you to notice, near 60 degrees on friday -- >> oh. i >> i thi going to pump that up a little bit before we head into2019. >> pat collins can't use his hat if it's that warm.

>> oh. >> yeah, that's a bad thing. we want to see him in that hat. that hogan's heroest. still ahead here, more from the newly released d.j. swearinger. plus, someone who made redskins fans jolly whil rushinge f

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this is the xfinity sports desk. >> well, it's christmas eve, usually talking about peopleg gett things given to them, but we had something taken away today. >> when your name is dave johnson, you hear d.j.'s released, you don't like it. >> i didn't think about at. >> nervous today.

hey, every time a bell rings, an ancient gets his wings in the black and white film classic "it's a wonderful life." in our burndy and gold world, every time a bell rings, there's another tweet about the redskins releasing d.j. swearinger, who said h watches more film than defensive boss greg ma news can i. ngame filmot "it's a wonderful life." >> i'm a focused guy,'m a passionate guy that wants to win. if the coaches feel like i'm too smart or i'm a weapon as fars my smarts, a when thingsre going wrong or when hings are going to well, they got to release t e guyt has knowledge or has, you know, has respect in the locker room, i guess. that's the type of man that am, you know, and not mediocre, i can live wh that, y know, i with live with being released and live with, you know, wanting to winng and wantio be a winner. >> a right, but providi a

happy holidays for redskins fans, adrian person. rushing for 1,042 yards, most sinc 2015. the oldest running back since john riggi to rush for over 1,000 yards. he moved to eighth on the nfl's all-time rushing list. peterson has continued to lead wi his play and all the accomplish nts, that's nice, but what he wanted for christs, a shot in the playoffs. >> hopefully i'm able to appreciate it after christmasmer thing, but for the time being, you know, t i plays game to win and have an opportunity to win a championship. u know, falling short having that opportunity is's what heavy on my heart rht stw, so, you know -- i don't know. got to let this one sink in and bounce back and finh the season off, you know, o.the right no and speaking of right note, noth mg like aical sports metaphor. tv is the season to hit the right notes. capitals have been. dashing through the nhl, wins in 7 of their lt 8games. they will return to action thursday at home against

carolina, in first place, hitting all the right notes on and off the ice? ♪ we wish you a merry caps-mas ♪ and a happy new year ♪ stanley the silver c trophy ♪ ♪ it's the second-most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪ the playoffs can be frightful ♪ ♪ but the cup is so delitful ♪ a putnother cup on the tree ♪ yeah ur ♪ and back to d.c. tonight ♪ >> ♪ do you want to build a champion ♪ ♪ come on let's go and play ♪ it's christmas time in d.c. >> leon, thanks for my d.j. swearinger gifp. that was a nice gift. appreciate that. that was -- >> timing is everything. >> iteally is. >> you would have liked that a month ago. not sure about now. okay, we'lbe right back.l