right through the heart of the d.c. metro area here. not included are northern and southern lomaryland. at the rainfall potential here. another inch to an inch and a half of rain just for today. this record rainfall, all we're doing now is padding the r ord and mild. temperatures are ithe mid 40s this morning. our average low temperature is 30. temperatures running 15 degrees warmer than average today and most areas with moderate rain off and on throughout the afternoon will get us to 60 hegrees today. more about weekend coming up in a few, dave. >> it's weather like this when rds.ee our worst re it's a big truck wreck. eitherackknifedr separated to some extent. it's only one left lane getting by on wet pavement. the only good news here today is traffic is fairly light with the shutdown and a lot of folks

vacation. that's the caution this morning. this is goingo be re. the rthbound, the car h guard rail on the left side. stay safe out there. back over to you. >> thank you. it's 4:31 now. following a developing story in new york city this morning. take a look at this video. a trsformer explosi in queens sparked a major fire that could be seen in several areas of thecity. laguardia is forced s top and the fire turned the city skyline neon blue and startled a lot of >> what is that. >> whoa! it was real quick. wiin like a second and then i was scared. i was going downstairs and everyone was opening doors. there was even more panic.

>> he painted a good picture for us there. nobody was hurt. the faa says facilities switched to generator power after a brief black out. >> on twitter everybody thought ene a had arrived. today is the 7th day of the gove iment shutdown and could last into next week. >> leaders are warning the museum could close if it does not receive funding. t for past week the smithsonian has been using all the funding from previous years to keep the doors open. if thending bill is not passed, the museums including the nationaloo could be forced to shutdown to the public next week. >> meanwhile, the republican controlled congress adjourned without a debate to reopen the closed federal departments and agencies. it could be up to the new e congress to cp with a plan to fund the government.cr des will take control of the house on thursday. they have said they will not include funding to build a wall along the u.s.-mexico border.

it leaves 800,000 federal workers not knowing when they'll be paid. >> coming up at 4:45 we check in on capitol hill for the latest on thedo sh's impact. >> police are working to figure out if a series of burglaries at homes in northern virginia are connected. we 1 put the locations on this map so you can see how spread out they are in great fal all the wa sinto fairfax a well. they hit during the early o afternoo evening hours. unless they're caught, police are reminding people t keep their doors and winws locked. keep your home well lit and keep an eye out for people. s >> we have an update to a burglary case we have been following for you. the founder of a d.c. play house

burglarized onayhristmas says the show must go on. she was devastated when she saw the damage. >> when i came in and saw the x office pretty much -- i say wrecked but everything was pulled out and the crowbar was used to open the cabinet and the refrigerator door was open and it just felt, why did you do that? >> a go fund me page is set up to help repair the damage and install a security system. as for the january show, theater workers say it will happen. >> times 4:34. a d.c. firefighter is arresond armed robbery charges. he met somebody through a phone app t p buy aair of designer oes. there w a dispute over the price of the shoes and officers say moore p aled out gun and forced the victim o of his car

and took the shoes. the selle took picture of the license plate and that l td police moore. >> the tour bus driver charged ith hitting and killing two tourists near the national may mall may have been driving distracted. surveillance video shows the drivhi switcng his cell phones behi hands at the moment the bus hit two women. monica and her c motherora adams werell ki. >> a man has been charged with filming a teen girl as she undressed inside a forever 21 dressing room inx, fair county, virginia. the girl found the recording device in e corner o the room on christmas eve. police arrested him in a nearby store and found a bluetooth transmitter in his possession. there could be other >> we could learn the fate of sears. sources say the iconic retailer could be forced to liquidate if

in.escue bid doesn't come the chairman and largest shareholder offered to buy them out of chapter 11 however that has not been submitted and financing has not been secured at this moment. sears also owned k-mart and employed 68,000 people. >> tonight is your next shot to become a multimillionaire. the mega millions jkpot is up to $348 million. nobody matched all the numbers sinc october's $1.5 million jackpot. that was in south carolina but nobody has come foard to claim it. this is the gas station earlier this week. the lucky winner has 59 more days toome forward. >> i haven't heard from a

cousin. >> better call somebody. >> tonight's drawing is at 11:00. >> it is 4:37 right now. coming up he lead the caps to the stley cup, now another hockey honor for alex ovechkin. the detailslus a look at last night's game just ahead. >> good-bye 2018, hello 2019. are you ready for the new year's resolutions? we'll fill you in ons app that n help youca

time off seemed to help the caps too. the defending stanley cup champs skated away with a 3-1 is victory.ad holtby m a dozen saves in the

third period alone. th come back home for a game on new year's eve. and alex ovechkin w be geing a vacation. 's been voted the metro division all star captain for the second straight llyear. we deserved too. having the best start to a season he's ever had with a league leading 29 goals. he is older than the next all-star gamen. capt the all-star game is set for the 26th in san jose. >> leading his blit . doing keg stands in a stanley cup, doing it. >> sneak up onyou, trust me. ovechkin made the short list for the associated press's male athlete ofyehe ar. >> no surprise, the kin , basketball lebron james the overall winner. the announcement came before his 156 game playing streak ended

last night. he was forced to set out of a match up after he injured his groin in a christmas day game. he is expected to miss several games as he recovers. james beat out bets for thes ho. >> kansas city chief's quarrirback and te crown winner justify rounded out the cup. >> the horse. >> not the jockey but the horse. >> sovi feeding back the aging process with bagsf money. your dog walking forecast here, kenny, he's available for adoption at the humane rescue aalliance. do people alike be ready to get wet on every minute outside today. >> big truck wreck on the inner loop at the beltway. it's blocking the left side. the outer loop at georgia avenue. avenue. oe

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alood watch is in effect for the entire region. you can see the rar picture here for the last couple of hours. we could see another inch of rain before thin. aftern it's going to be dry for most of the weekend. the ful forecast with storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell coming up in a few minutes. n theion has lost it's oldest world war ii veteran. he died yesterday in texas at the age of 112. >> he was in his0s when he volunteered for the army and he was at pearl hbor in 1941. long e said the secret to life was smoking cigars and drinking whiskey. >> i think he yeen the whiskey in his coffee. >> i've heard that. >> a lot o things right. >> well, now to the partial shutdown of the feder government. hundreds of thousands of federal workers do not know when they will be paid.

>> today is the 7th day of the shutdown. scott is live on capitol hill. we ce back fro christmas break and now we're getting close to the new year. is there anyn s of progress with so many people being out for the holidays. >> this is certainly going to push into the new year which means for federal workers in our oncerned about their paychecks, the uncertainty will push into the new year as well. congress has given up on solving this shutdown thi weekend which means that it will be about as empty as mostf our local federal buildings in some of the national parks ross the country which are closed during the furlough. the debate over the shutdown and border wall funding is playing out on social media. the presidentweeted several times yesterday including one message where they said democrats don't want a border wall because they want to deprive them of a political victory. president trump's temper t drum caused the furlough of

800,000 federaler wo the national treasury employees messageis morning has a to the administration. a letter to the administration asking that they eedite back pay to our local federal workers once this is resolved saying federal workers are grave ri conce -- gravely concerned about their finances. >> scott, thank you. new video thi morning in two brutal sex assault cases in northwest d.c. police need help identifying a man who they say may be at the nter of both attacks. police say the suspect was armed with a knife when he forced the victim out of her home in the 5,500 block of 8th street northwest and assaulted her. that crime happened on july 15th but police just released this video of a suspect leaving the scene. investigators say that man is the same person in this video. police say the spect approached the woman and assaulted her in an alley.

this is him leaving the scene of that attack. if you have information, d.c. police wou like to hear from you. >> there's a few more days left in 2018 but thi has been a deadly year for police. 144 law enforcement officials died in the line of. du a 12% increase from last year. that according to a prelimina report. most of thes offic killed were shot. one officer died. 14 states and theisict saw no officer deaths this year. >> 4:49 now. an emotional reunion after an alexandria man overdosed. >> now he i thanking the firefighter who saved his life. >> these are the men and women that save lives every day.

that's why this fire station arrived. hi you might not remember me at all but you saved my life. >> nice to meet you. >> alec, the author of that letter here in person to say thank you. he overdosed on heroin and was all the ground all night bore they found him. >> i think about the people that helped me through that andve i' grateful for the work that you do. specifically in my case. >> hundreds of hours of training that go into a couple of moments to make things happen. it ps f. >> alec has been clean ever since and he helps others get clean stoo. >> i grateful. for them to keep the faith and know that anything is possible >> a life saved and a lifetime of gratitude.

>> this weekend is your last chance to see the redskinsn action this season. the team that ode looke like it had playoff pottial will host the eagles on sunday fei th final game. players are still practicing hard even though a win won't get them any more games it wil eliminate the eagles that are defending super bowl champions now. ilsh johnson w start at quarterback. don't have to remind you, the sks lost three quarterbacks to injury this season. >> three of them. kick off sunday is at 4:25 at fedex field. >> if they win this game, adam tuss may never show his face in the newsroom again. thele e fan that he is. >> and still all the rain that we h is not quite as depressing as those losses. so we'll move on and talkth abo downpour. >> moved the game back to 4:25 at fedex field as well. it had been a 1:me so just know that most likely, it will be dry but chances foro rain start sneaking in byun

latey afternoon so chance for snow. more rain although i can want the game will be adry. lose eye, storm team 4 weather alert day for yougain today. those watches go until late thi evening because there's a chance for another inch or more of rain. some places could g t nearl inches of rain between now and the time that it all comes to an end. all the latest advisories andhe wa and warnings are available on our nbc washington app. you can also follow me on social media as well to try to stay ahead of the rain drops. it's not just us. the stretch ooe moisture all the way down to the big easy. new orleans getting heavy raihe this morning and traveling today cou be very difficult because rain is going through our airports, new york, charlotte,raleigh, atlanta, all the way down to the gulf coast. just know that a lot of flights

today may take it on the chin. here's future weather. the heaviest of the rain is coming in waves. first wave now, another wave around lunchtime. the finer wave of heavier rain around lunchtime. 3:00 to 6:00 this evening. the later you stay out. the drier it's likely to be. dry weather for tomorrow. a little breezy though and then a slight chance for showers late sunday. rain for new year's eve. we will ring in 2019 looking at rain drops. >> right now today this is definitely wipe out weather. it also jackknifed and the clean up will likely take hours. on 495, more puddle problems. outerloop. it's high water after georgia avenue. the right side isblocked.

the right lane is impossle. puddles growing in coverage and depth throughout the day. that's the latest. back toyou. >> thank you. it's 4:54 right now and when the rainoves out this weekend, how does a walk in the park sound? well in montgomery county you had 421 options. the county's planning chair visited all of them. he says he's impreed by the condition of the parks. he had a hand full of maintenance issues. >> well, you may be noticing some holiday weight gain already. >> speak for yourself. >> i'm not saying anything. >> don't look over this way. >> i will call myself out. but do not look over this way. for most of us that means making some new year's resolutions. >> somepeople. liz takes a look at some new gadgets and apps to help you stick to your new goals,

whatever they may be in 2019. >> many americans plan to move oward a healthier lifestyle i 2019. according to offers.com, losing weight and exercising mere the top new year's resolution year over year. >> there'slenty of gadgets that help you stick to your new year's inresolutions. terms of being able to challenge other people and meet your fitness goals. >> the newest modelrg the c 3 and versa go beyond counting >> they can do things like ersonalized exercise coaching and even track lilly.

she pretty much lives in her favoritebut once a week. i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. i use tide to tat out those week olds and downy to get it fresh and soft. you are free to go. tide and downy

together. sometimes a cough gets in the way of a good night's sleep. that's when he needs vicks vaporub. provenough medicine. with 8 hours of vapors, so he can sleep. vicks vaporub. goodnight coughs. . four days left in 2018 and the rain isn't through with us yet. this rning, a new system appears poised to soak our region once again. it's just about 5:00 a.m. good morning, everybody. >> w i are weather alert mode

this morning. >> wtop on stand by with a check on our commute. >> couth get a inch to an inch and a half of rain today. all just padding the record that we have already long ago set. theirport should be having no trouble breaking their record today but weather alert for you, flood watches are posted again for today. it's going to be all rain. nowhere near cold temperatures. near0s this afternoon. rain on all corrs of our viewing area here early this morning. you'll need your umbrella now and need it later on in the morning. you'll need it for lunchtime and the afternoon and the way home as well. the rain should start to taper off after about 5:00 or 6:00 this aernoon t