the government shutdown still area.ting our the national zoo and smithsonian have run out of ckup funds and they're closed. we'll look at the possibility of a deal to end the gridlock. >> melissa mollet is standing by but we begin with storm team 4 lauren ricketts. how's it going, lauren? >> not that bad. have some fairly mild conditions. yesterday we went into the mid 60s. early in the morning, too. now the temperatures stuck in the 40s. a little bit more seasonable for this time of yoyear. can see we have beautiful conditions out there right now. the temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s. 41 in gaithersburg. 30 out in the shenandoah valley. the next couple of hours we are looking for the tperatures to go down a bit. we are staying in the 40s for the daytime hnghs toput likely in the mid to upper 40s. not much going on on the radar. we are dry.

however, as i widen this view a little bit we've got some rain down to the south and some more rain down towards texas area. before that we do have some more rain and showers to get through. so we'll talk about rain for today and tonight coming up in a ittle bit. goodmorning, lauren. taking a look right now springfield, before the beltway, left side blocked by a crash. 66 int town andut of town, no problem. bay bridge, wind warnings right now. high profile vehicles, tryingcoo ine words here, shouldse caution. no actual restrictions. northbound and southbound all the same on g.w. parkway. eun? >> developing this morning, students and parents will notice eccreasedity at three prince gorges county schools. police are investigating threats

made. they were made over e-mail or social media. police tell us none of those threat appears to credible. on this 12th day of the partial governmentdown you'll not be able to visit any of t smithsonian museum or national zoo. theyf ran out money. >> tough with all of the kids out of school this week. president trump hasryin to get congressional leaders to the white house. democrats take control of the house. the house democrats are working on bills that will reopen tve ment without any money for president trump's wall along the u.s./m.ico bord it's unclear if the senate would pass any of the bills or if thes president woun them into law. the stalemate leaves 800,000 workers not knowing when they'll get their next check. if congressional leaders go toinhe me it could be

heated like the last time the president met with democratic leaders in the white house. president trump has been blaming democrat for the shutdown. he writes, quote, one thing has been proven, the democrats do not care about open borders and all of the crime and drugs thats open bor bring. the president said he would shut down the government untile getsunding for a wall along the southern border. new this morning, incoming republican senator mitt romney said it shapes the character of the nation. theho incumbent fall has oren most glaring in this area. utah sen elect made the comments in an editorial published in the washington post. he writes about president trump saying on balance his conduct over the pastwo years particularly his actions this month is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office. romney will be sworn into office tomoow. h> tod the new acting defense

secretary starts first day on the job. patrick shanahan is the former boeing executive. president trump tweeted he will be great. shanahan will take on the pentagon's top job durinim a t of uncertainty including during the partial shutdown. james mattis resigned after president trump resaid he was o pulling troop of syria. a man remains in critical condition as he was shot in the head. he was walki to lunch just dyter noon yesterday on first and kentreet northwest. two nearby groups of men began arguing and someone pulled a gun. were fired and one of the bullets hit the man. police are hoping surveillance video will lead to an arrest. peopleave a couple of we're talking to. we're working on getting a ndokout for the suspect we're searching the video cameras. if we have some video that's of >>e, we'll release it to you

guys. the shooting happened down the street from a d.c. crime camera. this morning we're still working to learn new information about a shooting in south st d.c. pris aren't revealing much. there was a huge presence on barn na byroad. this is the dc/maryland line. noord yet if that shooting happened inside or outside a building. we are n learning details of the death of a u.s. marine inside the barracks onapol hill. >> officials tell -- >> officials are saying the gunshot that killed the ma lean, it w -- marine, it was not >> he was on duty and in uniform. right now the marine corps is investigating whether the gunshot was accidental or what is officially called negligent diharge of a weapon. >> right now the cmand priorities are to take care of

those involved, specifically ths mari family and friends. >> back in 2013 a marine died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the barracks. so far the name has not been released. we are getting an update to a massive warehouse fire inr up marlboro. after several days the fire may finally be out. they've been trying to extinguish it since saturday afternoon. this caused $1.5 million in damages. so far no word on how it started. we can tell you no one is hurt. it's 4:06. new year and that means plent of new laws on the books. one of the new laws require hespitals to post prices and take out the mystery of the cost of your health care. patient's out of pocket cost varied depending on deductibles. that's theirst step towards transparen in health care

pricing. >> we recommend people ask how much will it cost me on mysu nce plan. can i have that in writing? will there be any other charges? and to keep asking those questio questions. >> the main thing is to insist on getting the approximated cost before you get what could be an enormous bill. >> great advice. this morning six people are in the hospital after getting sick on frontierli airlinest from cleveland to tampa. >> the six passengersave been taken off, are interviewed. you're going to be informed of what to do if youecome sick over the next couple of hours. >> a passenger shot this video. the passengerwere not traveling as a group but they were vomiting by the timehe plane landed. >> they were coming out of nowhere just throwing up, sick.

throwing up. they come in in every different aisle. >> really? it was that bad? >> it was nasty. >> that's the word for it. several water w fountainse shut down at a cleveland airport after it was reported those passengers got sick. health officials have not confirmed what caused their illness. a young woman spent the first hours of the newtr year ped in her car as it sank in the mud. 20-year-old amand antonio was driving home from a new year's party in tampa when she was cut off. she swerved,lipped her c and ended up in a ditch. she wasn't able to o get but managed to call 911. the mud and water were quickly rising in her car and she ohay 4% battery left on her phone. >> breathing through her nose pretty much. that's when she said, i heard somebody saying, are you there, are you there? can you hear me? that's when she started screaming out of the top of her lungs. she hdeped g rescuers to the

crash site. the deputies ran into the mud andulled her to safety. look at that scene. very lucky. >> something you wouldot think could be so valuable. >> she only had 4% left. just enough toet her to safety. well, one lucky new yorker is kicking off the new year $425 million richer. >> i know. cash option i think we read was a quarter of billion dollars. >> the jackpot -- the winning ticket matched all five numbers and the gold megaball in the new year's day drawing. it was the eighth largest jackpot in mega millions history. the cash option is a whopping 254.6 million bucks. seven other tickets matched five numbers across the country winning $1 million. none of them though here in our area. 3, 2, 1am cl >> well, these people started yoff the newr with a dip into the ocean.

the annual exercise like he is ski mow plunge happened at beth they any beach, delaware. temperatures near 60.s not cold as usual. the plunge raises money for scholarships foril local en. >> even though it's 60 degrees outside. you know that water is not warm. it's freezing. good for em. >> good for zblem people in delaware were not the only ones taplng the ge. >> several people along the east park took part in the polar plunge in atlantic city. folks ran into the water. not quitet water was as cold as past years. the ocean temperature averaged around degrees. >> painful. in boston more than 600 people ran into the ocean. they also d not have to deal with icy water. >> looks like some people got -- >> they're into it. full on costumes. >> i'd do it in a wet suit. >> that's cheating a little bit.

>> a whole lot actuallyin spe of taking the plunge, it is a new year and many of you may haveve res to lose weight. >> how do you start? do you go low carb, low fat? coming up, we're helping you weigh your options. plus, if you're hoping to get away for a trip, we'll tell you the best time to buy the plane tickets, lauren? >> may you want to get away because now after the 60s yesterday it will flieblg winter. wenave r onto the way into wenave r onto the way into the area sooner than fact: some oaiyour favorite foods teeth. unlike ordinary whitening toothpaste, colgate optic white has hydrogen peroxide that goes below the tooth's surface for a smile that's 4 shades visibly whiter! colgate optic white. whitening that works.

you're watching "news 4 today." we are still working learn the condition of a little girl who fell into a rhino exhibit. this happened yesterday at aoo in melbourne, florida. the 2-year-old girl apparentlyw fell b the railings and made contact with at least one

rhino's snout. police say the child's mother hurt her arm while pulling her out of the enclosure. fmarth to the far reaches of outer space, nasa specraft makes contact with scientists 4 billion miles away. >> with a b. >> i can't wrap that mind around that. >>st's all tha to a local b. they were applauding at the spacecraft called new horizons started sending transmissions on new year's day. they reached what' called the ultima thule. it's beyo.d pl taking more than a dozen years to reach this celestial object. >> built a face path on it sent us back all of this wonderful data that we get to look at and lea more about our world, our solar system. >> although they've reached the

ultima thule, it can take two years to beam back all of the information. giving up alcol for an entire month mmprove your sleep and weight. that'sdi acc to a new study from the united kingdom. they studied people who quit drinking for amonth. they had more energy, better sleep and lost weight. they also reported drinking less later on. >> the holidays are over. everyone is saying got to get back o track. stop eating all the cookies. i've been eating cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner >> how's that? >> all right. so a new year means many o you are going to be trying to get back to healthy eating and it may be confusing trying to pick a diet. so man options, low carb, low fat. what is the bes option. by cutting carbs your body burns fat instead making weight loss

easier. a study found people on a low carb diet burn more calories in a resting state. a gram of fat has twice as many calos the same amount of carbs. cutting fat out can help you control and lose weight, too. they are equallyef ctive. one difference though nutritionists say limiting carbs can be a better option for keeping the weight off long term. not low carb or low fat. >> both. high carb, high fat. >>liminate them all. it looks like you're going to be saving some cash at the gas p p in2019. for the first time in three years gas prices are expected te go down from year before. gas buddy predicts the national average for a gallon of regular gas will be $2.70 that's down three cents thanast year.

it is significantly more tn 2016. experts say this month is when he prices will be at their lowest. prices generally peak in may from the road trips. when it comes to the cost of groceries, it's more of a mixed bag. the u.s. department of agriculture said grocery prices are expected to go up 1 to 2% this year. that's still below the typical rate of inflationhich isust over 2%. not every item is on the rise. >> more bacon, eggs, o.j. >> i'll take it. many of you are just returning from vacation after the holidays -- >> exhibit a. but you might want to start out planni the next one. experts say january is the month you're going to find the best deals for booking flights.in acco to travel search engine sky scanner, february is also one of the better months to

buy plane tickets. you can save cash by booking eay morning flights. domestic flights are two weeks ahead of time. for international the best deals will be found two months before travel. take a look at this video. rising from lake superior in duluth, wnnesota. here's something you may not know. lake steam is created when the air temperature is below the temperature of the water. this morning the temperature in duluth, minus 5 degrees. how about that? >> that is -- can you s ouchy weather? >> i think the folks up there are pretty use to it. living by lake superior, if you're not used to the cold, something is wrong. >> i bet you it's beautiful in the summer. >> in the winter i can't imagine surviving. that's -- oh, gosh. we're not quite that chilly. >> not at all. i could not believe how warm it

was yesterday, crazy town. >> that was at 10:30 yesterday mornin 64degrees. so nice yesterday. great start to 2019 a now today temperatures are going to be back to normal. you can see we've got some clouds out there but a beautiful view out there right now. andoiemperatures are to continue to move right on u today. we do have rain chances. we're warming uay on su we have the rain chances for ur -- today, tomorrow, friday, even saturday. current temperatures out there, 43 in washington. leesburg at 39. frederick and gaithersburg at 41 and the temperatures are in the low 30s in warrington. we have the temperatures warminh up. temperatures are staying in the 40s for daytime highs. that is it. again, plenty of clouds. today mid to upper 40s.

cloudy and cooler. rain later on this evening. you have a little area sneaking up to the south. dry out there right now. we will have the rain moving into the area as we head later on into the afternoon and evening. again, that is coming up from the deep south. you can see here. that's going to be moving into our area as we go into this afternoon. timing it out for you. we have the cloud kcover out there. plenty of clouds and cooler with the temperatures in the 40s. here comes the rain. we'll have to see how far north this can make it. any time after 5:00 p.m. we'll start a lot of this is going to be sticking down through the southern maryland area. rain showers into tomorrow morning. start to dry out through the day tomorrow. looking a l better through the day tomorrow. rain chances return as we get into friday. fray and saturday will have some rain chances. temperatures around 50.

as we get into e year sunday and monday, we warm up with sunshine and dry conditions. dry conditions out there now. good rning. good morning. that helps the road. i can tell you. rthbound 95n virginia as you're approaching the beltway, do have two right lanes blockedh a littled to see. sounds like it's involving a tractor-trusler. that wasd on to edsel road to get it completely out of the way. right now have the left side blocked now. two lanes are what we're dealing with. bay bridge, wind warnings. high profile vehicles should use caions, no restrictions. kind of a warning for you tre. kind of a warning for you tre. back ihen fact: some of your favorite foods stain teeth.

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you're watching "news 4 day." welcome back. at 4:24 this morning, new details on a plan to ease traffic jams and possibly expand the beltwaynd i-270. >> that would be huge. ece maryland department of transportation hasved more than 2,000co ents. scott mcfarland has what some say and oregon are rathers are against it. >> reporter: sam's town house sits in the shadow of i-270. no one is more closely watching the proposal to ease traffic on one of the nation's highways.

>> i'm grateful that the governor is on record sing no homes or property will be demolished. we intend to hold him to that pledge. >> reporter: more tn a year ago the state said they would consider ambitious plans to ease congestion on 270 and the beltway. so far 15 proposals have been considered. hundreds of people haveent comments to the state trying to sway the decision. using the freedom of information act we asked for those e-mails and received them. we found an overwhelming number of those notes in opposition to any lane expansion including dozens in rockville. one writing major traffic congestion won't beved by any widening. another, i have many neighbors and favorite restaurants and affected.at will be one more saying please don't ruin rockville.su orters wrote, it's okay if it doesn't affect t property lues. one says i support expansion, present routes a too crowded.

at his home eric lyons says he's tired of battling it. >> everywhere you have to work u have to get on the highway. people get up in the morning. their days are built off of their commute. >> reporter: montgomery county transportation chair said they would be wise to listen to drivers and homeowners. >> this has generated an awful lot of public concern. i thinks oth because of the nature of it, expanding the beltway and the process. >> reporter: they welcome more feedback and are expected to narrow their possible et list of changes to the highway by spring. am could go up, a new year and new traffic troubles. we take a closer look at the constuction projects t could cause a bit of chaos before improvement. lauren? plus, the smithsonian shutdown.

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> it is just about 4:30. this is a live look outside on thond day of 2019. going to take a while to get t us that number. some schools reopen and many of you head back to work after the long holiday, you may need to bundle up.ar that welcome we had yesterday was short lived. we knew it couldn't last. >> 60 grease on the first day of january. >> good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. >> i'm chris lawrence in for aaron. lauren ricketts is in for chuck. lauren, a little chillier out there today. >> a little cooler, absolutely ght, chris. yesterday, you're right, 64 degrees. 64 degrees at10 0 in the morning. today will be mild but it will be seasonable for this time of year. temperatures at 43. will drop a little bit as we sun startsonce that to come up. been coming up about 7:30. the