>> good morning and thank you for joining us. >> aaron and eun have the s morning off t morning. while you're making your final new year's eve preparations, so is the big apple. live look at new york ty's times square right now. in a few hours, this area is going to be pacd with hundreds of thousands of party goer hoping to see the ball drop ring in the new year. i admire people that can stand out thereor hours like this.

>> i've done it once. >> you have? we'reaking a look at the big night and all the preparations underway but first we want to get a check on youru e and forecast. dave is standing by for melissa but let's start things off with amelia. how is it looking? >> it's dryut right now i'm tracking rain moving into the area. it's going to make it here between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. right now 39 degrees.ut winds of the northeast at about 7 miles per hour. here you can see the rain very clearly on storm team 4 radar. all of this moisture moving into r area but we'll be dry for a few more hours before the rain moves in and the continues at times throughout the day. we'll have dry time as well. here's future weather at 10:00 a.m. notice the dirict, maryland still mainly dry. parts of northern virginia starting to s showers. pretty much everybody is seeing rain. we continue to see rain in spots

as we head into the afterno and evening hours. >> i'll have more coming up in a little bit. >> how are the roads? >> not bad on the whole. it's now open after the tragic crash. overnight hours and theio investig has all been wrapped up. indiana head highway is open south of the beltway.wa in ington, west of connecticut because of downed wires. around the beltway and beyond. just fine. light traffic this morning. we're expecting that to continue. that goe t 95 heading north to quantico. hov restrictions will be in effect today. it will be a light rush hour but those w restrictionsill be in effect so keep that in mind. again, indian head highway is now open in fort washington.

as oxon hill. the investigation wrapped up. that's the latest. back over to you. >> that's a b little of good news there as we continue to follow the breaking news this morning where three children have died. two adults are hurt after the multicar crash on indian head highway. >> there's no words to describe is crash except to say it is a tragedy. three cars crashed on indian head highway around 10:00 last night. it appears one of the cars was hit headon. the children and adults were trapped inside the cars after the crash. firefighters were able to pry the adults out of there. i poli arlington county are looking into a shooting. a man was shot last night just

after 7:00. his wounds were described as lifein threat police are working to find witnesses and figure out who sh >> we have entered day 10 of thg partialernment shutdown. while the impact continues to be clearer, an end to the gridloc isn' sight. several local tourism hotspots such a the smithsonian and national zoo are running on back up nds. when the funds run out, they'll likely have to shutdown and you won't be able to visit the seum or the zoo. zoo officials say keepers will show up to make sure that the animals are cared for. you'll remember the budget imsse has everything t do with funding for a border wall. the president wants $5 brlion it and the democrats are refusing it and now john kelhe says president will not get his wall. he spoke with the l.a. times. he says mr. trump abandoned the notion of a solid concrete wall rly on in the administration.

trump started calling for wall as early as 2015 but democrats have remainedtt com to blocking the president's priority. quote, td the paper, be honest, it's not a wall. the president still says wall. often times, franklye'll say barrier or fencing and now he's tended toward steel slats. kelly's last day is wednesday. >> your time now, 4:35 this morning. here's a look at theesop sto we're following this morning. >> overnight, prince george's county firefighters remain o the scene. an estimated $1.5 million in damage donethere. investigators still searching for a cause. >> police in the oxon hill area are investigating a homicide. a man was fou shot toeath lying outside of a home on mystic avenue. it's unclear if he lived outside of that home. no arrests have been made.

>> a 16-yearld teen was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver at ston over the weekend. a sedan hit theteen and kep going. the driver has not been found. investigators are not suree abot olor of the car, but they sale the vehic would have heavy front end damage. about what happened. ownything >> officials at bwi say work is underway this morning on several bridges over the weekend. 6 people wer hurt when a bridge failed and collapsed o saturday night. inspection groupset dmined that a defective medal bracket was responsible. >> a rough end to 2018 for the redskins. the seaso came to an end yesterday with a crush 24-0 loss to the philadelphia eagles. fans must have known what to

expect. a sea of philly green filled the seats at f exfield. >> you never used to see that back in the day. >> never. >> anosing team coming in and taking over the redskins stadium. >> philly fans are extra brutal. the team's record taking a ll on the fans. >> regular season attendance was down get this, 24%. game day revenue down by $18 io milln. an hour before the game there was still empty seats. some even wore buttons that read thank you. >> i'm kind of indifferent. i'm still here to support thee team and h fun. other than that, it's kind of normal. >> we need new ownership completely. a complete overhaul. >> w good luh that. the new york times is reporting dysfunction from ausiness standpoint as well as team

dismissals. >> it's a tradition that stood the test of thtime. ball drop in times square. >> millions of people will pack york city to ring in 2019. security expected to be tight. for the firsttime, the nypd will be using drones as an add safety measure. also thousands of officers will be deployed throughout times square to make sure that everyone is safe and havin a good time. >> ring in the new year in new york city. it's what you do when you come here. everyone comes here. >> if you can't be there, don't forget, you can watch the baldr right here on nbc 4. our coverage begins at 8:00et >> will remain open until

2:00 a.m. and regular parking fees will still be in effect. o they'llrate from 8:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night on a sunday schedule. ey'll be in effect. parking is free. >> it's about resolution. >>e >> plus f sparked inside a local church just before sunday services. taking you to the scene and showing you what happened. and who s t

>>ay is the last day of 2018. have you done it? have youade the n year's resolutions yet? >> you still have time to start the new year with a focus on your health. the american mical association

recommends knowi your blood pressure. if you have high blood pressure get it under control to your risk of heart attack and stroke. cut back on f processedoods and replace the sugary drinks with to r and if you smoke, try make next year the year you finally quit. exercise.forget to the american heart association recommends you get at least 150 minus of moderate exercise per week and also include weightt trainingast twice per week. even the lightest exercise is better thantiust s around, so get moving. you also may want to make some financial resolutions.ar reers at the university of scranton found many make new year's resolutions based on finances. less than 10% of people achieve their money management goals, though. wallet hub compiled a lis of things for you to consider. sign up for credit monitoring, pay bills after getting your paycheck. repay 20% of your credit card

debt. ad one month's pay to your emergencyfund. >> that's more like a good attainable goal that people can shoot for. >> we head to break wit another check on the forecast with amelia. >> temperatures actually near steady or slowly warming overnight tonight. low 50s at 7:00 p.m. and midou0s midnight, but there's the chance for showers out there during the eveningnind ovt hours. so you want to keep the umbrella handy. i'll hav more on what you can expect tomorrow after the break. >> a good time to grab the party hats too. especially with the wet stuff coming. it's new year'seve. we're taking you to times square for a check on all the work going on behind the scenes to make the new year's>>

hundreds of thousands will pack the streets to watch the ball drop and ring in the new year. but those party goer are not going to be alone. >> noof policcers and federal agents will be out there in the crowd and above it making sure that eveone is okay. nbc's matt bradley explains. >> this new year's eve, the famous ball won't be the only thing over times square.rk new yoity police will have drones keeping eyes on the skies of hundreds of thousands below. >> it's the first time that we'll be using it at a large scale event. >> police areairing those with more than 1,000 surveillance

cameras along with bomb sniffing dogs, helicopters, snipers, and 200 vehles and thousands of uniformed officers, many taking up positions at hotels around the square. >> the i bottom lines this, people will be safe on monday and they should feel safe too. it's going to be one of the most well policed, best protected events at one of the safestth venues i entire world. >> that's reassuring for cameron. >> are you excited? are you worried? >> we're excite >> i'm excited. i'm not worried about anything. i'm just here to have a good time and this is my first time ever seeing the ball drop. so i'm very, very excid. >> i lov watching the ball drop from my house. you can watch the ball drop here on nbc 4. lester holt will be part of a o gr journalists pushing the button which will drop the ball insq times re. >> speaking of the big apple, a prince george's county man has been charged in a deadlyd- hit-anrun in new york city.

this is video. police arrested a man named sherman haison. herom upper marlboro on saturday morning. he was speeding and swerving through traffic and collided with several cars, starting a fire and killing one woman. >> it was a horrible accident. absolutely horrible. my family and i came out and saw the accident and imm stopped and prayed for the person that had died in the accident a all of those involved in the accident. any heart break for the family that lost theirov l one. >> he has been charged with manslaughter and leaving the sc e of anaccident. he and two other people hene injured. they're in stable condition in the hospital. >> this morning, we are still working to learn more about a homicide in prince george's county. police discovered a mand down outside of a home saturday night. this is on taylor avenue in the fort washington area. detectives say they don't have any information about the gunman or motive. no arrests have been made here.

ftis morning, a local church is cleaning up a fire sparked right before yesterday's sunday services. ah. that happened in northwest d.c. and as derek ward exains, members of the church were able to get out safely as other took them in. >> not what parishioners expected or wanted a to see they arrived at the canaan baptist church. pastor larry owens jr. says people were in the building when the firete st >> we evacuated quickly and the first responders came a did a job to make sure that everybody was safe. >> they heard as many as four explosions before they saw the flames. was contained to an outer portion of the building near what had been s arage bin. while damage was minor, the nearby church offers sanreion o canaan members allowing them to jn congregation for

new year's services. >> rough monday to washington sports fan. the redskins season is over. and now washington wizards poinj guarohn wall is out for the rest ofheseason. wall decided to s have aeason ending surgery to address bone spurs in his left heel. he missed two gameshi earliers month because of that heel issue. th apparently is something that has beenim plaguing over the course of the past seral seasons. head coach scott b oks said there was really no other option. >> he's asough as they come. he's battled this throughout the year and we have tried to m aage he has done a good job managing it in in certain games and in certain games it wasn't as good. >> wall was averaging over 20 points and 8 assistser game this season despite playing in pain. wish him the very best. >> cash in the season. it's over. >> all right. but this yea is almost over too

and what's it going to belike. >> it's always fitting that the wettest year on record would end with some yerain. >> . >> so we'll have showers at times today. in fact it's still dry outside right now. rain starts to move in through the mid morning and midday hours and then again dry ime aswell. it's not a complete wash out of the day. there's a 100% chance that yo are dealing with at leas shower out there today. we then return to dry weather tomorrow, wednesday,aynd thurnd then the chance for more rain returns friday and on into saturday. here's the latest check of visibility across the area. i'm gettingeports of fog up around frederick so a heads up if you're heading out early this morning. it's not a huge concern but just something to be aware of, especially if you're driving in the more rural locations. otherwise, temperatures in the 30s and 20s around i-81. 9 in martinsburg and 28 in winchester. 30 in gaithersburg so we're either at or below freezing in

many of the suburbs. so the good news is that we'll wait a few more hours until the rain moves in. we're not seeing the rain moving in now and thene would be dealing with freezing issues out there. check it out. here's where the rain is right now on storm team radar. still to the south and west. it's going to be a few more hourur until this moi makes it into our area and it looks to be here by noon. pretty muc everywhere at that point. ont 8:00 a.m. and still seeing drytions and a temperature around 39. 46 degrees at noon as we h 4:00, scattered showers and a temperature of 48.e we at 51 degrees at 7:00 and still some scattered showers out there. those showers continue until about midnight and we start to dry out. maybe an isolated shower out there ver early tomorrow morning around this time but most of your day tomorrow, nuary 1sts going to be completely dry. not just dry, but mild. check it out. a high of 60 degrees tomorrow. it will be brey withartly to mostly cloudy skies.

7s we look to wednesday, a temperature of degrees. more clouds than sunshine. keep it dry again on thursday but plenty of clouds with the high around there's that chance for showers friday on into saturday.d highs aro0 degrees. looking dry on sunday with highs in the low 50s. dave, how are the roads this morning? >>ad a new crash to tell you about, north college park and the capitol beltway. it's between the beltway and 212. traffic was temporarily stopped. northbou traffic was getting by at a single file to the left and that should remain the case as they consolidate the wreckage. traffic is moving well. no rubber neckingnd around the beltway traffic is moving fine in maryland and virginia invirginia, it is smooth sailing on 66. had a mobile crew westbound through manassas. and headed eastbound on 66. you should make your way toward the beltway and inside of it. they'll be in effect today at

5:30 a.m. that's thet from the wtop traffic center. back over to you. >> thankchou so mu. general motors isiring skill sets of the future. gm is shifting it's focus to autonomous vehicles and away from older technologies and thei rehiring iive is called take two and it's aimed largely at women who have technical expertise. it's a 12 week paid try out. it gives perspective employees a chance to see if the timing is right for them to return giving the company a chance to see if their skills are a goot. >> so far pretty successful too. >> i love this idea too. brace yourself for even more cai comms. they're coming to replace tse. >> you'll be ready for big changes in the way that you buy one. >> all of those car commercials you'll notice ts week is just december living up to its billing as one of the biggestnt

for car buying. >> you won just climb the mountain. >>t's somethinglse car buyers may notice is the new longer terms on car loans. >> 84 months for 7 year auto ans are not uncommon. >> matt jones with car buying advice sit edmonds.com says loans have gotten longer because sticker prices have gotn higher. >> what we're seeing is that people are focused on their nthly payment. and their monthly payment is what drives a lot of bing decisions. >> while it's true longer term loans mean lower, paymen they also mean higher costs. >> even if the payment is lower you can spend thousands of dollars morever the term so total e to look at the cost of ownership. >> look at how long you plan to hold on to the car. >> ion't think there's anything inherently wrong with a 72 month loan if the rates are low. especially for somebody that says this is the car that i'm going to buy.oi

i'm g to drive it until the wheels fall off. >> oron ifterm loans aren't an option, he says consider leasing your next new car. nbc news. >> traffic moving b police are still working to find out what caused an overnight crash thatl ki three children on a notoriously dangerous road. >> fan have been venting frustration for a week. hear what the team is concentrating on as the season comes t a disappointing end. that's all straight ahead in our next hour of news 4 today.

>> three children have been killed and two adults rushed to th what could have caused this devastating crash on indian head highway. >> you're waking up to the last day of 2018. more on what you need to know heading into tonight's allebration. >> it took sev crews to bring this blaze under control but two days later,ht firefs are still on the scene trying tt keephe flames at bay. >> news 4 today starts now. >> good morning and thank you for joining us. 'm chris lawrence in for aaron this morning. >> we're glad you're wrapping up the year with us on news 4to y. taking a look outside right now. look at that. are you i wondering there's going to be rain or some sunshine on this last day of 2018? >> if it's anything like the year has been so far, i would mt

put aey on it. lining up with the rest of the year; we're expecting moreain in the wettest year on record. >> she has more on our notoriously gloomy forecast. >> is only fitting that we would end the last day o the year with a little bit of rain. >> check it out. this system ig starto push into the area. now it's still dry out there right now. check it out. here's storm team 4 radar. you can see the entire d d.c. metro area is dry. but down around arlottesville, starting to see showers moving in. that's through about this morning and notice that rain moving into the area and other parts of northern virginia back into the panhandle. between 11:00 a.m. and noon we see the showers move into the metro area and parts of maryland. ce