for most of you, it'll be dry for the ride home as well. four things you need to know about the weather, it's nice for no d and will be for much of the day. rain moves in during the second half of theni e. it'll be very mild and very rainy tomorrow. maybe an inch or more of rain on the way for yr friday. but your thursday morning is dry and cold. mid-20s now in montgomery county. 27 in prince george's county. 27 in columbia, maryland. forecast for your commute here in the morning hours, temperatures hovering in the 20s to around 30. mid-40s by noontime. mid-40s by early this evening. clouds thickening up quickly after about 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon. torrow near 60 degrees but pouring down rain, especially during the midfe parts your friday afternoon. a closer look at the weeke coming up. dave, good morning. >> good morning.ad to go. sometimes they come in bursts in the traffic center here, the crashes.

66 eastbound near manassas, the work zone, two left lanes getting by easily. let's go to 270. a brand new crash just coming in. southbound 27 near shady grove. apparently one overturned. we'll get more in a moment. is one likely will cause delays south of germanwn toward gaithersburg. otherwise, around the region traffic is flowing just fine on the majors. that goes for 95 and the baltimore washington parkway. back over to you. >> all right, dave. thank you. happening today, congress will get another crack at ending the partial government shutdown now entering its sixth day. lawmakers from the house and senate return to the capitol later this afternoon. >> if you were hoping for a , compromiou may not want to hold your breath. nicole jacobs joins us from the national mall wh more on thi shutdown and how it's impacting the district.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning to erika.ron and d.c. tourists don't typically plan their vacations around a government shutdown, but they're certainly getng a dose of what it means when you vacation right in the middle of one. we're live on the national mall this morning, one of many locatis tourists say is not being tended to because no park rangers are working due to the shutdown. the public restrooms are closed. port-a-potties are unkept, we're told. those visiting the city and hoping to take advantage of all itr,as to ofhey're having to improvise in order to get the trip.ut of their the bikers for trump organization is volunteering to help with some of the >> this is not the image we want the rest of the world or the country to see. americans care about it. we want to put america first. >> reporter: sadly, there is no immediate end to this government shutdown. some experts are saying they anticipate it lasting well into

january. back to y n. >>ole jacobs on the mall for us this morning. nicole, thank you. also this morning, d.c. mayor muriel bowser is putting the pressure on president trump. in a letter, s said government shutdown has no winners, and she asked him to d the impasse for the sake of everyone in the district. mayor bowser went on to explpln that the p who live, work, and own businesses in d.c. suffer when the government closes. she also pointed out that the er government in d.c. is picking up the tab foresederal servuring the shutdown, all while being, quote, the only citizens within the continental united states without a vote in congress t presidemp is returning to d.c. this morning after a surprise visit to service members in iraq andater in germany. the president took pictures and shook hands with the troops at ramstein air base in germany. some waited in line for hours to get thepresident's autograph. it was the president's first trip to a conflict zone two

years into his presidency and days after announcing he's pulling troops from neighboring syria. it's not only the shutdown presiden to.mp is coming home u.s. customs and border protection agents are now facing new scrutiny after a second migrant child died after being taken into custody. both he and his fatrored into the country illegally. initial passed a health exam in the u.s. but died shortly after. the government is now changing policy. agents will now focus on follow-up health checks for children under the age of 10. meanwhile,ussian president adimir putin says russia is ready to deploy a new hypersonic nuclear missile nexte year. emlin says it has successfully tested a new system called avangard. it's an intercontinental range missile that travels at least 5 to 20 times the speed of sound.t capable of carrying a nuclear weapon as well. the russians say it could circumvent all existing missile defense systems in the.

there's no way to verify russia's claims. now to a story only on news 4. news 4 has obtained a scathing report revealing questionable hiringes pract at the district heights police department. news 4's justin finch joins us li with the details. >> reporter: aaron, you're right. this is surprising. district heights keeps a very officerlice force, ten and one chief. yet, there's now state level concern about its operations. the commissionn police and correctional training now carrying out an audit and finding this, the department hired officers against recommendation including a psychologist in one case that theyeeailed to proper training records which is a requirement and that morlfthan f its officers have deficiencies in their records. again, this is a small force. one officer here has 12 trafficn cita 5 missed court

appearances, and 5 license suspensions. this investigation is ongoing. mayor eddie martin says these results are troubling but very important. >> it was just awful. i couldn't believe some of the things in it. but t a commission did great job. now they're turning it over to some other agencies.nd >> reporter: the police chief says that he and his officers are now supplying those missing records required as well as answering f any questio auditors as they continue their investigation. live in district heights, justin finch, news 4. >> justin, thank you. the universyly of md confirming more cases of adenovirus on campus. as of wednesday night, the school says 40 students have tested positive. last month one student died from complications of the virus. to keep more people from getting sick, the school says that it will be expanding efforts to disinfect student rooms over the

winter break. starting january 7th, antractors will be cleanill surfaces inside dorms, suites, and apartments. this morning, survivors of a deadly tsunami in indonesia are being urged to stay away from the coast because of concerns of a second tsunami. last saturday, a volcano triggered a tsunami which kille at lea430 people. authorities say the volcano deadly leash another wave toward one of the country's st populated coasts. it was a landslide from that volcano thatd cause saturday's tsunami to strike without warning. dramatic video shows a massive boat fire that forced a fa to jump into sea without life jackets. five adults and a 5-year-old child escaped serious injuries after the boat caught fire. this was yesterday in western australia. passing boat managed to pull the fily to safety. police are trying to figure out what caused a train derailme in arizona. officials say four freight cars

popped off train tracks east of downtown phoenix yesterday. this created major tffic problems for drivers as crews spent several hours cleaning up the scene. trains had to be re-routed. so far, nobody has been reported injured. metro is about to get a bit brighter. no, really, it is. >> this is all part of a plan to make your commute safer. metro installed brand new l.e.d. ghts yesterday at the fo bottom station. the agency says the lights are up to six times brighter and more energy efficient. foggy bottom is one of 15 stations that now has the new track bed lighting. o you can see thyour screen here. metro hopes to have the l.e.d. lights at all stions within three years. eight minutes after 5:00 now. a new york city police officer is being called a hero after fighting off five men. take a look at this celdephone that shows what happened at the east broadwaysubway station in lower manhattan. this started when a woman said a

group of guys sexually harassed her. the officer went to her defense. the officer is being praisedor helping that woman and not using his gun. >> the police officer said to me that he didn't pull hiarm because he felt it would escalate. e the york police descr men as homeless and drunk. they were arrested a released without being charged. new york city is getting ready for its iconic new year's eve celebration in times square. more than a million people are expected to turn out to watch us the faall drop midnight monday. work crews are busy installing the 192 sparkling new waterford crysl triangles on the ball. over the years, the ball has o olved from wood and iron l.e.d. lighting system and crystals. it'll drop 141 feet in 60 seconds beginning at 11:59 new year's eve. you can watch the ballp here on nbc 4. if you've made a new year'so resolution t weight, we have another reason you'll want to keep it, besides looking better in your bathing suit in

the summer. plus, the lls are packed. the holiday shopping may be over, but the gift returning haj onlyt begun. what you neeto know before you head to the store. 5:10 now. and we are tracking lot of rain coming your way on friday, but i'm optimisticost of the weekend will not be getting rained on. temperatures above average, quite a bit above average for saturday with a bit of a northwesterly breezeng up shop. sunday, there are chances for showers later on in the day. again, abo three-quarters of your weekend should be rain free. free. ckmplete che

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traffic alert on i-270 southbound after 0 near shady grove. it is a vehicle overturned. it flipped o rr on theht side of the main line highway. camera.check it out on

southbound on the main line, one left lane getting by. the local lan getting by to the right. this one is causing delays southbound throughaiersburg. >> all right, dave. we'll check back in with you. thank you, sir. 5:14 our time right now. health thiur morning. a new study says anxiety and depression could be just as bad for you as smoking.s researcher the university of california san francisco found anxiety and depression increased the odds of heart disease, stroke, and arthritis just as s muchoking and carrying excess weight. they also found that seniors th epression are more likely to complain of headaches, back pa, and shortness of breat researchers examined the health data from more than 15,000 old adults over a four-year period. here's another reason to stick to your new year's resolution to get healthy. in a new report just published yesterday in a cancer jonal for clinicians, it highlights a relationship between obesity and the risk of 13 cancers.lu the list is breast and

liver cancers. the report says that excess bods weightesponsible for nearly 4% of cancer globally in 2012. the american cancer society expects there will be more than 21 million new cancer cases around the world by 2030. > the new year will ring in higher prices at the post office. forever stamps will ju nickel from 50 to 55 cents, an metered mail will increase from 47 to 50 cents. tsme flat rate box prices will increase by 70 cs well. these new prices begin january 27th. what were on some of the most popular cars on the road are getting the boot from automakers. take a look. the chevrolet cruz, the ford focus, the volkswagen beetle, the toyota prius v will all be discontinued in 2019. so, too, will ford's taurus and the c-max. we're talking about chevy's impala. honda is doing away with its cr-z.

and nissan is saying bye-bye to its juke as well as cadillac's ct6, xts, and ats. all going away, at least for now, all part of a sweeping shift into the suvs and crossovers, which are really now, which offer more space and a higher fuel economy that's vastly bter than decades ago. some myland students will have the cnce to learn to fly. >> we visited an aviation class at a high school in montgomery county. it looks like the students are playing with paperpl es, but it's really the start about the students learning t basics of flight. teachers say this s.t.e.m. course willevelop skills in piloting and engineering. >> it'swesome to see the lightbulb come on they think about, hey, i could be this for the rest of my le. it's really cool. >> the high school is one of 70

in the country to offer this particular course. now to a heartwarming story that just might make you cry. >> a major league baseball player for the kansas city royals surprised his parents with a unique christmas gift. take a listen. fr i am paying off the loa the bank. also, i paid off all your debt as well. what? now instead of trying to save money every week, replace the savings account you drained. you can spend it on yourself. >> you heard that right. 22-year-old brady singer paid offntis pa debt and bank loans. he said it was just a small way of saying thank you for all their support along his baseball journey. the 22-year-old signed with the kansas city royals for more than $4.2illion. i need your hanky. chuck and i are losing it over here. good story. >> pretty cool thing. i'm sure, you know, he probably thought this is what i'm going to do when i make it.

his parents were backing him all the way. >> good job raising him. good job paying it forward/payingk. it b however you look at that. >> i'll put your pocket square back as chualks to us about the weather moving in here. >> you're braver than me to touch that thing. temperatures are on the chilly side this morning. >> are you referring to the pocket square or me? >> i don't know. i just said >>. hat's right. walk away, chuck.>> it is a cold start to the day today. most of the suburbs down below eezing here on a thursday morning. skies have been mainly clear overnight. that's helped to aid the cooling trend duringhe overnight hours. not much of a breeze out there. yesterday, another day warmer than average. wasn't a lot warmer, but stille wahan average. that's now 14 days in a row warmer than average through the middle andater parts of december. right now it's seasonably chilly out there. 34 in washington with a light wind out of the southwest at 3 miles per hour. as i mentioned, most of the suburbs in the 20s this morning.

28 in leesburg. 29 in stafford, virginia, this morning. 35 in edge water, maryland. shur planner for today, plenty of se early on in the day. increasel be a gradual in cloudiness later on into the afternoon. full cloud cover byng eve rain moving in probably not until after 7:00 or 8:00 this evening. then we're going to get soaked on friday. manyin placesg g could get an ir more. no chance for snow at all. look how warm it's going to be. mperatures near 60 degrees tomorrow. t's a power house of a storm. this is therd one in a row coming from the pacific. it's going t deliver a lot of moisture quite the severe weather threat today if you're flying. very inclement weather could slow down flights later on in aye day t there's the leading edge of the high cloudiness across parts of the rllnoke . that will be rolling in here during the course of the day.

her,can see on future we keeping us dry through at least 5:00 or 6:00. here's 10:00 thisin ev first showers starting to break out. for tomorrow, rain in the morning commute and what could be a burstea of rain and potentially even a rumble of thunder during the middle parts of the day tomorrow. that all comesn to end late friday evening. we should be dry for at least the first half of e weekend although, there are chances for showers rolling in here later on sunday into monday. >> all right, chuck. thank you. still ahead, let the mad >> we're not talking about more holiday shopping. we're talking about the gift a sure to watch ellen bturns. today at 3:00. stick around for news 4 at 4:00. we'lbe right back. l look. it's over.

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the day after christmas looked a lot like the day before at a lot of malls. this is time-lapse video taken inside tyson's corner in virginia. it wasn't only the aftersalehatd there, but it wa the gift turning. millions of americans are exp t expected to rurn presidents over t -- presents over the next few days. >> news 4's cory smith talked to some people who wanted to act quickly before time runs out.ei >> reporter: r, check. return item -- >> a pair of shoes from my daughter. >> reporter: check. excuse for your return -- >> it's one size too small.on >> i like it. >> reporter: check. yes, it'that time of year when

a grin a bear it attitude can't hide the disappointment of receiving a gift that just unty right, so you have return it. >> you can see the expression on their face. they really didn't want it. >> reporter: why are you returning some beets headpnes? >> because i want to get something else. >> reporter: at least he told the truth. some folks can bring themselves to tell a loved one they swung and missed with their gift. >> i don't tell people when i return something.o i juit in secret. >> reporter: according to the national retail federation, u.s. retails are expected to handle about $72 billion worth of holiday returns this year. eaking of money, returns usually come with this dilemma. when you return something, are you a store credit or cash type of person? >> cash. >> reporter: why cash? >> because i can buy what i want with cash. >> i prefer thcash. i can get what i want. i might not want to shop at that store.

>> reporter: whichever you prefer, just remember this, if you didn'tind what you wanted under the tree this year, there's always next year. >> that was cory smith reporting. now, if or exchange, here are a few tips. many retailers have deadlines oi to late january for returning purchases made during the holiday season. to help you sort it all out, 21consumer reports analyze national retail chains, and it listed the return policies as best and worst. we've posted more on those the ay return policies nbc washington app. just search holiday returns. 5:25. we'll keep talking about thoses gi you've unwrapped them, but what do youxt do with them ne that could make you a target for thooefs? a reminder that everybody needs to hear. and the best overall reason for returningsomething, spite. absolutely. i don't like who gave it to me, so i'm returning it. i'm stealing that from "seinfeld," of course. rain outlook, yes, inoted. a of rain coming your way on a friday. i'm a little more optimistic

about the first half of the weekend. aloser look at the forecast coming up. plus, dogs killed when a kennel went up in this morning, new details about what happed from the ne you have a lot of deadlines in your business, right? weoniss deadlines, w't get paid. what if you lost your network connection? you gotta be kidding me. r chaotic. g-speed network lets you download files up to 20 times faster. and go beyond fast with 4g lte backup for complete reliability. so, if you lose your twork connection... ♪ ♪ you won't miss the deadlines.

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not long ago, ronda started here. and then, more jobs began to appear. these techs in a lab. this builder in a hardhat... ...the welders and electricians who do all of that. the diner staffed up 'cause they all needed lunch. teachers... doctors... jobs grew a bunch. what started with one job spread all around. because each job in energy creates many more in this town. energy lives here.

5:29ow your time as we take a live look outside as you thursday. this the white house all lit up here. it's pretty cold now, but the good news is it is still dry. that will not be the case later today. surprise, surprise. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm erika gonzalez in for eun yang. dave is tracking trouble on i-27 this morning. >> we'll check in with him in a moment. first, back to storm team meteorologist chuck bell for a look at the forecast today. cold numbers ahead of some rain. >> you got that right. very cold this morning, down below freezing yet again a december morning. skies have been clear through most of the overnight. that's the reason for start this morning. temperatures in the 20s for most of the area. 25 now in gaithersburg. 22 in opal,virginia, this morning. you'll definitely need your ware

coatly this morning, your hat. going to need your sunglasses as well. if you're not going to come back home until after dark, you may want to take the umbrella just as a precautionary le, being ready for anything. i think rain chances really hold off unt after 7:0 or 8:00 this evening. most of the day, though, will be sunny dry. temperatures once again armer than average. tell us more about that trouble on 270, please. >> f yeah, moste highways around the region are fine except on southbound beyond i-370, one vehicle overturned near the split for the local lanes and the mainouanes. sout on 270 it's only one eft main lane getting by the fire/rescue response. traffic in the local lanes can get by to the right. i think we got a camera shot of this one t t. a littlgh to make out, but southbound on 270. the ems response is on scene. if you kind of squint, you can see one left lane getting by.

it'sausing a back southbound, southonf momery village. south on 270 toward the capital beltway, your average pace is about 53 miles per hour. thatve ttime is ticking upwards with delays gradually building. that's the lheest from traffic center. back over to you. >> dave, thank you. it's 5:31 now. happening today, members of congress will return to capitol hill following a christmas recess. this comes as we enter day six of the partial government shutdown. and there is no endn sight. >> the republican controlled congress h not been abl to come up with anhe agreement t president will sign. the president is demanding $5 billion to build a wall along ehe u.s./mexico boer. >> nic jacobs is live with more.>> eporter: good morning. with this government shutdown,

those public restrooms are also shut down leaving port-a-potties as the way here on the national mall. i want to get you video from yesterday, the peak of the day here on the mall. you can see overflowing trash. cans park rangers are not working. think about those national parks. those are huge tourist attractions. unfortunaty, they won't be until this shutdownov is er. those gates also closed. the government employees who were still working and going to work every day, they're doing so with a big question mark. d >> every we check in and get the latest to find out whether r or not we'reng today or not. >> do you know? are you working tomorrow? >> so f i'm working tomorrow. but i can't guarantee anything after tomorrow. >> reporter: although congress returns today,an i tell you both the a preside lawmakers

say there's very little wiggle room in terms of individual perspectives related to tt border wall and funding for it. so it is anyone's guess when this shutdown will come to an end. aaron and erika? >> all right, nicole. thank you. in about 15 minutes, scott macfarlane will have the latest on t stalemate from capitol hill. new this morning, we're being told the president has arrived at joint base andrews following a quick trip to iraan the presidenfirst lady visited the troops in iraq. >> and the president defended his decision to remove u.s. forces s from nearia. >> the other reason i'm here today is to personally thank you and every service member throughout this region for the atar elimination of the isis territorial caliin iraq and in syria. two years ago when i became president, they were a very dominant group.

they were very dominant. today they're not so dominant anymore. >> the president should be pulling into the white house as we speak. this was his first trip to a combat zone in his two-year presidency. docratic lawmakers are calling for congressional hearings after the deaths of two migrant chi dren whileained here in the u.s. some lawmakers are working on legislation requiring health standards for immigration agencies. the medical screenings would include a questionnaire, a review of any symptoms, medical history, and a check of the migrant's tal signs. an update now to a tragic kennel fire on christmas eve. flames ripped through a dog kenn at middletown valley beagles in fredrick county, maryland. once people saw the kennel was on fire, neighbors and first responders were rushing to the area to save the dogs. ai were trapped inside

the veterinarianwhen he arrived, everybody was doing their best to keep the animals alive. >> there was probably 15 dogs in the house being held by multiplf memberhe club. kids from 14 to adults that arey 70g to care for them until i got there. >> six dogs died in the fire. three more had to be euthanized because their injuries were so severe. the cause of the fire remains under investigation. g.> warnings about house fires continue this morn we told you yesterday the american red cross provided aid to more than 20 ople displaced by flames since christmas in the d.c. region.e, meanwh family news 4 profiled just a few days ago is cleaning up their home after a fire broke out there. barbara harrison introduced your and reese sheer and their four adopted kids on friday. juse two days later, their h caught fire. they were home enjoying the family time there when they

noticed an unusual flame by the fireplace. >> all the sudden i saw a little smoke coming out of the mantle. my son grayson was asleep upstairs, and woke up with the room with smoke and had a panic attack all the sudden his house was on fire. >> everyone was able to escape and the pets were able to get out too. we hope you were able to reconnect with your new york relatives over theth holidays. 's where the only winning ticket in last nidrt's powerball ing was sold. the numbers were 5, 25, 38, 52, 67, and the powerball of 24. the jackpot was worth $298 million. the powerball hasn't said where in new york theicket was sold if you have a few bucks leftover from the holidays, you may want to consider b ing a mega millions ticket. tomorrow's drawing is worth an estimated $348 million or 210 if you take the cash tion, which

is a little shyf the $1.5 billion sold a couple months ago. >> i'll take it though. >> no complaints. >> trying to which one of my cousins is awake right now. start making some phone calls. 5:37 our te now. coming up, a 600% spike ines s in just the last month. the local community where homes are flying off the market and why. but first, it's a videoone viral. a teen forced to cut his hair moments before a wrestling tch. the fallout at last night's emergency school board meeting he teen won't be on the mat tonight. ♪

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you may remember this image. a high school wrestler in new jers being forced to have his hair cut or forfeit a match last week. andrew johnson had a cover for his dreadlocks, but the referee

said that was not good tnough. no school says the wrestling team will not compete in any event with that particul referee. bo last night parents filed into an emergency schood meeting, and they were discussing what had happened. many say the referee's actions were racially biased. alan maloney will not serve as a ref until an invtigation is complete. he also faces a civil rights investigation. the scho board met with the coach and trainers privately before that meeting.wr thtler, through an attorney, said those coaches are not to blame for the incident. >> andrew and the family are supportive of the coaching staff, specifically george maxwell, and mrs. fields, the trainer who was there cutting his hair. the blame here is on the referee. >> this incident sparked outrage nationwide. andrew says he's a bit overwhelmed by all of the attention and will sit out a meet later today. however, he does plan to return the team toinish the

season. all right. car wash forecast. well, you could take your chances on getting ity. washed to it will be dry for today. oh, there's rain coming your way for tomorrow. so as long as you can put it the garage, might as well shine it up there on your thursday afternoon. a check of the ten-day outlookp. coming right trouble on 270 southbound in gaithersburg. 's a crash beyond 370. only one left lane getting by. we'll have much more on this wreck and more othe roads around the region coming up as news 4ontinues. c

stock market futures are down slightly after a major rally on wall street. the marketboreded after monday's brutal selloff. the dow jones posted its largest daily point gain in history, closing more than a thousand points higher. retailers were among the best performers with shares of wayfair, kohl's, and dollar general all rising by more than coming up on 5:46 now.

president returns from his surprise trip to iraq, but there'he still no deal to get government back open. >> news 4's scott macfarlane is live on capitol hill. before we talk about the president's trip, is there anyo indicahat lawmakers have a plan to get federal workers back on the job? bills don't stop. people neeo eat. >> that's right. things seem clear. it seems clear day six of the shutdown will lead to day seven and day eight. the president yesterday restated his mand for $5 billion for a new border wall or border fencing, saying it'll stop human trafficking, drugs, and illegal immigration. the house democratic leader countered, saying the president t himself into this shutdown and seems unable to get himself out. all the ile, local federal workers in our area are off the job.e, there are th half million nationwide, deemed essential. they still have to go to work, but the timg of their paychecks is unclear. the president just touched down at joint base andrews from his overseas trip,eaded back to the white house. we'll see if negotiations pick back up.

>> scott, about that trip overseas. we know the president visited iraq and thgermany. was his first trip to a combat zone in two years, the ntime he's been office. >> the first combat zone trip of his presidency. of course, presidents obama and bush went to iraq after the war started. the president had a lot of questions asked of him. he spent time with the troops, signing autographs, taking selfies, but the questions came from the traveling press corps. ure of ked about the f the pentagon. theryefense secreta ends his work at the end of the year, secretary mattis. there will be an acting secretary takin his plac but the president says no timetable for naming a permanent successor. >> scott, thank you. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg out of the hospital this morning. she underwent cancer surgery lastor week. do remove cancer from her left lung. the cancer was discovered after the justice b her ribs in a fall at the supreme court last this is the third time the

85-year-old has been treated f cancer. ginsburg has never missed arguments. the court is set to meet on january 7th. new this morning, a local nonprofit hopes the community will help restore what burglars stole on christmas day. this is what employees found yesterday when they showed up for work at the anacostia play house in southeast. the burglars took several computers, a tablet, cash, blank checks, and credit cards. supporters hop to raise enough money to agrepair the dame and to install a security system. this morning a local police department is under fire. >> news 4 has obtained a scathing report about the hirint practices the district heights police department. >> news 4's justin finch is live at police headquarters with the reaction from the police chief. all right. it appears we're having trouble with justin ice microphone.

we'll try to get his report back in a couple minutes. let's switch gears in theme mean we call it the amazon effect. the hq2 announcement has me some homes in our area a hot commodity. according to a d.c. real estatet we 22 homes in the zip code that will include the amazon headquarters received offers from potentialuyers. la year this time, only three homes had offers. that is a whopping 633% increase. the amazon annncement has helped this realtor. >>e had at least two listings that had been sitting, and the were priced appropriately but were not getting much traction or any offers for more than a within days of the amazon announcement, they both had erltiple off and sold at or above list price. >> she said that with a smile. she says amazon will affect the entire area. and amazon set a few records this holiday season. the online giant says more items

were ordered than everbefore. amazon doesn't usually provide detailed numbers on sales but said that more than 1 billion s itemspped for free this holiday thanks to its prime deals. when it comes to procrastinators, a local area topped the list for last-minute prime now deliveries. springfield, virginia, was among the top five for the most christmas eve deliveries. all right. 5:50. by now y probably opened all of your holiday presents. >>ou before throw out the boxes, police are issuing a warning that may prevent you from being a target forli thiev. ce say do not put any of those big boxes on the curb. they say thieves drive through the neighborhoods and look to see what kinds of items you got for christmas. >> you get any big-ticket items, whether it be a lge screen, computer system, gaming system, anything, if you put the boxes out on the curb for recycling or for trash, you're basically advertising what's in your home. >> police recommend you break

down the box, put it in the recycling begin, and as aaron mentioned, maybe just wait to pu the boxes out for a little while until you know trash day ing around. all right, chuck. what's on tap today? >> nothing to worry about tthay. ere's the good news. unfortunately, more rain i set to continue. milder thanof average weather is also going to continue. we've been warmer than average the last 14 days in a row. there's more rain and more mild. air com it arrives during the course of the day todayourtesy of a southerly breeze. winds are out of the southwest at 3 miles per hour for now. windchill notwithstanding, it's a cold start. 28 in leesburg. dog walking forecast, you're going to be like red here. put your sweater on early today. it is a cold start. red is available for adoption at the humane rescue alliance.

a cold walk this morning. plenty of sunshinese for t midafternoon walks. probably dry through 6:00 or 7:00, but rain chances are going up fast. by tomorrow morning, it will be raining. temperatures will climb to near 60 degrees. rainfall amounts could be an inch or more. alreevy quite a bit ofe weather down across parts of texas this morning, including tornado warnings not too far northwest of the houston area. a big impact on traveling weather for ftoday, especially you're flying or changing planes in any of those midwestern hub there's o ten-day outlook. mild and rainy tomorrow. breezy, not t cold on saturday. chances for rain linger through new year's e and into new year's day. we're talking about 2 1/2 miles o stop a go traffic on 270 southbound through gaithersburg. it's a cra southbound on the

main line after i-370 before shady grove road. it was one left lane getting by moments ago theyrepositioned vehicles. now two left lanes are getting by, but it's still jamme south of 124, montgomery village avenue. it's right at the split for the local lanes. traffic to the right does get by toward those local lanes. i this the one big traffic jam we have going on right now also slow southbound on southbound d.c. 295. that's the latest. >> dave, thank you. 5:53. let's go back to news 4's justin finch with more on the local police department that's under fire. >> justin joins us from distric heights. >> reporter: good morning. that's right, the chiefsa here ng the audit does not tell the whole story about the district heights police force,

but he does admit it has om uncovered irregularities. the findings include this. the departmented officers who were not recommended, including in one case an officer under polygraph admitting he was disqualified from eight other agencies but still hired in districts. heig he was able to question that analysis and eligible for hire. more than half of the officers fhere were found deficiencies on their records, including one with 12 traffic citations, five missed court appearances, and also five license suspensions. the sta police and correctional training commission is carrying out this audit. c thef here, elliott gibson, says he wants to weigh in and did son a new 4 phone interview. >> it'sy opinion that this does not even come close to reflecting theinds of employees that the city of district heights hires.

clearly we have made some decisions after they caught it that will allow us to proceed in a positive way. >> reporter: and mayor eddie martin saying this report is not looking gd. however, his administration, hed pl pledged transparency. he says this report brings them closer to doing that. back to you. >> justin finch us in district heights. thank you. e > five minutes before the hour. wizards just can't seem to catch a break after another brutal loss on the road. they wer topped by the detroits pist 106-95. they now have 16 road losses this season, the most in the nba. things could turn around. they head back home for three games. the first one tips off tomorrow night against the chicago bulls. good morning. i'm frank holland at cnbc headquarters. starbucks is ending the holiday season in style. the coffee chain is bringing back its collection of tuxedo

drinks from last year. the trio of limited edition black and white beverages will be available through the first week of januaryppr while es last. the black and white hot cocoa, mocha, and frappuccino drinks are topped with dark chocolate sequins that resemble a black tie. with your cnbc morning business report, i'm frank holland. >> i donad think i've ever one of those. >> why do they keep trying to dress up my coffee? just put it in a cup. >> i just need the $2.23 one. a little room for cream. still ahead, metro has a plan to make your commute safer. >> what has just been installed t emake you feel more plus, if you are among the millf americans hoping to returnoliday gif this week, there are a few things you'll want to know before you head to the store. news 4 today will be right back. for .

just about 6:00 a.m. on this thursday moing. goodrning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm e gkazalez in for eun yang. the skies b may be clear no rain, and plenty of it, is on e way. >> dave is standing by with a check on our commute. let's start with storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell tracking this end of the week rain. what else, chuck? >> and mil air too. in addition to quite a bit of rain coming our way, it's going to b lot like last friday. incredibly mild. mostreas in the 60s with rain coming up on friday. for now, though, things you need to know about the forecast, not a bad day today. dry weather start to finish from

sun up to sun down. rain moves in during the evening. again, mild with quite a bit of rain tomorrow. could get an inch or more. radar currently shows no rain in the cylmonwealth or md or the district. there are showers moving into parts of central tennsee, far stern parts of kentucky. that's part of a very big storm system which will bring us rain for you friday. temperatures are cold. mid-20s in most of the n suburb. at dulles. 25 in columbia, maryland. 32 in springfield, virginia. your planner for your hit the road forecast, below freezing for most here this morning. splenty ofshine for most of the day, but clouds quickly coming in later on highs today, upper 40s to near 50 degrees. dave, a tough go on 270 this morning. >> yeah, about 2 1/2 miles of stop and go through gaithersburg. signs of improvement. e original crash beyond