arguments. neither appeared ready to back down on our behalf. good morning, everybody, just abt 6:00 a.m. >> we have complete coverage of last night's addresses and the latest impacts of the now in its 19th day. >> we do want to begin with a check on the forecast and the commute. jack taylor in for melissa this morning. storm team 4 chuck bell has a check of the forecast. >> good morning. that cold front camehrgh the area about 9:00 last night. had a lot of greatre pic on twitter yesterday as the cloud deck coming in in thethiddle of afternoon. check out some of the ones i retweeted on twitter. right now we're watching for a big blast of w ad toive here later on in the day, turning much colder, winds will increa up to near 20 to 30 m bes per houry later on in the afternoon. that will drive wind chills into th 20s by 5 or 6:00. if you're leaving now and won't be back until after 5, take a warmer coat than you might think this morningith temperatures

in the 40s. it won't be any warmer than that later on in the day. in fact, temperatures may continue to fall once we get past lunchtimetoday. there's a chance of passing snow flurry or two but very low chance of any shovable chance today. be ready for a very blustery day today. jackets from herento the weekend. chuck, you'll find i-97 our crash unfortunately we ha a motorcyclist involved on i-97 north of 50 but south of 3 and 32 down near the hawkins road overpass. the right lan getting by in both directions with slower traffic on the northbound side. universityoi boulevard eastbound in kensington, east of connecticut avenue between rexington and st. paul street unfortunately t a water main break and we have only the right lane getting by at scene. hoping to have the roadway open by noon today and we have our delays building in woodbridge, 95 rolling northbound moving up from dale city headed toward

woodbridge, just a typical delay. aron, eun, back into you. >> jack, thayou. digging in and doubling down last night in anddress to the nation, president trump described what he called a crisis ahe u.s./mexico border. >> he laid out his reasoning for wanting to build borderall and put pressure on democrats to back his plan and end the partial governnt shutdown now in its 19th day. speaking from the oval office, see president called the border wall common e. he claimed border patrol agents want a wall and called out democrats for refusing to the support the idea. >> this barrier is absolutely critical to bortyr secu it's also what our professionals at the border want and need. >> the democratic leadership quickly responded with its own addresshe to nation. >> the president of the united states having failed to get mexico toay for his ineffective, unnecessary border wall and unableo arican people

to foot the, bi has shut down the government. >> house speaker nancyos p then used the president's own words against him. she reminded him that he promised to keep the government down for months or years until he gets funding for that border wall. today, congressional leaders have been inved back to the white house for another round of negotiations. on thursday, the president shes ill visit the southern border. caught in the middle of this fight over how best to secure the border are 800,000 furloughed workers. some of them spent the night seoutside of the white h protesting the situation. e crowd chanted and held signs critical of the president andsc debed the crisis at the border as fake. organizer kristen mink says federal workers and many ies are being hurt financially by the shutdown. >> these are americans who want to work. these are people who want to work. they need to pay their bills. they need to keep their houses. they need to keep their cars. they need their medications.

>> notveryone at theally was a federal worker. some came because they say the shutdown is havin a negative ripple effect on other businesses in the community. last night's rally wasn't te first and it won't b last. democrats are planning another demonstration tonight at 7 in silver c building in spring. federal workers, contractors and erhers are expected to attend. this gent shutdown is just three days from becoming the longest shut downever. >> to helprs wor who are going without paychecks, several companies are offering special deals uil the shutdown ends. news 4 justininch is live at the capitol with more on what's available. g justind morning. >> reporter: eun, good morning. of course the cost of food is now a growing concern for furloughed workers as well ath r families. het not just for them, also for millions across country who rely on government assistance to cover the oost groceries every month. well, this morning, we're hearing about effts now being made to relieve those anxieties. first, let's tell you about snap

benefits or food stam a. we hearing now that thanks to reserve funding tse will resume into the month of february. but after that,he funding remains unseen. we are told more than 19 milli people from coast to coast rather 19 million dollar households coast to coast rely on those snap benefits and that funding. and also her closer to home to keeptudents from going hungry, fairfax county public schools now stepping up, saying that breakfast and lunch will be able to all students regardless of their ability to pay. that means those unpaid balances as well are going to be allowed to accrue. and back out live also in fairfax county, the system will hold a hiring event this friday for furloughed rkers who have interest in becoming substitute teachers, something to help fill the gap between now and perhaps their next paychecks. back into you. >> justin finch live at the

capitol. thank you. stay with news 4 all morning for contineng coverage of government shutdown. we understand it is affecting thousands of you and we're keeping tra of discounted services and other assistance available. for a complete list, head to the nbc washington app. ht now.6 r new revelations this morning asout the criminal ce involving paul manafort. president trump's former campaign chairman. in newly public federal court filingal lawyers rehat manafort is suspected of sharing presidential polling data with a russian operative. it appears that informati was supposed to be redacted. it's a detailhat shows one way in which russians may have eained access to inside information from rump campaign before the election. special counsel robert muelleru pros manafort as part of the investigation of possible russian coordination with the trump campaign in 2016. jury has already convicted manafort in federal financial crimes. we are staying on top of breaking news asover officials are investigating suspicious packages delivered to

several consutes in australia. chris lawrence is at the live desk with details. chris, whas going ? >> yeah, eun. a spokesperson confirms to nbc news the u.s. consulate in melbourne received one of those packages. in a statement we're told they handled it, according to standard procedure, closely coordinated with some othe loca authorities there. we're also hearing from the british consulate in melbourne as well. they also a received suspicious package a say it was actually, quote, ticking. so far officials are only saying they're investigating these a packag several consulates and embassies across australia. the important thing n here one has been injured, but again all of this is happening after a couple days after suspicious white powder was discovered at e argentine consulate in australia. >> chris, thank you. it's 6:07. we're getting our first lookke ah of a man accused of assaulting two little girls in fairfax county. take a look. police have been working getting this picture out to the

public as quickly as possible. officersay two sisters were walking on charles thompson lane when a man grod one of them on saturday. he then tried to touch the other sister, but sheout him off. police passed out the sketch last night and tald to residents. many say they're concerned about safety. >> but i'm just like, shocked. like i know this isn't the best neighborhood, but it's still scary. i feel like i can't come out at night. and for t ito happen to two little girls, it's awful. it's awful. >> right now officers are passing out these fliers in hopes of getting any witnesses. any one with information is asked to call police. meanwhile, northern virginia democrats have hung on to a seat in the virginia state senate, this after a special election yesterday. voters ints p of loudon and fairfax county elected jennifer boysko as the new state senator for the 33rd district. sheoe defeated may by a margin of 70 to 30%.

boysko replaces jennifer wexton who is now in congress. her victory creates the need for ctother special en to fill her house seat. it's 6:09. topping news for your health this morning a much-welcomed updaga about the fightst cancer. right now fewerri amecans are dying from the disease than ever before. in fact, the country is seeing the lowestr cance death rate in 25 years. a significant drop in cigarette smoking and advances in early detection and treatment are some of the reasons behind the drop. however, newhe from study wasn't all promising. economically poor areas still have higher cancer mortality rates and death rates for cancers of the liver, pancreas and uterus all rose. each is considered an obesity-related illness. this morning, we're hearing the story of a local high school football player who is tackling wncer in a pretty remarkable way. have a preview of news 4's story now. working on the story about a

young man who used that diagnosis as motivation to return to the fldtronger than ever before. >> reporter: sebastian is used to tackling players on the football field. i was wondered if i was going to get back to being able to >> sebastian was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. he had to have his foot amputated. but now he's walking and running, even swimming with help om a special prosthetic. >> i build the device. i make sure it b works,ut he's the one that takes that to the next level. >> is a remarkable marriage of science and strength. coming up tonight on news 4 at 5, we'll take younside the northern virginia lab that made

how ssible and show you they're helping change lives around the world. that's tonight a 5. and just a reminder for you to check out our annual nbc 4 telemundo 44 health and fitness expo this weekend at the washington conventio center. there will be health screenings, experts to answer questio about nutrition and exercise, all sorts of things. we'll all be there, too. and it's all free. >> please join us. it's always a great event. >> we'll be there ono saturday talk and take pictures and whatnot. 6:11. if you're hoping to see online sports betting become legal in d.c. this week, not so fast. >> we'll tell you why the issue was pulled at d.c.'s meeting moments before a vote was to take place. chuck? >> still too early to put out a snow map for the weekend potentials, but it's not too early to talk aboutit. ow looking more and more likely now for saturday night into sunday. how much to expect coming right up. ♪ >> this a cappella chorus is

headed to the grand ole opry. t who you didy do it? we'll talk about thanext on we'll talk about thanext on net ws

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♪ following breaking news in fairfax county wherere crews on the scene of a house fire. let's get youe straight to l pictures from chopper 4. i know it's dark, but you can see the smoke the fire is out. firefighters just putting out some of the hot spots, but here is what that scene looked like not t long ago. you can actually see those flames roaring up, punching through the roof. the firefighters got the call just a couple hours ago. this is on turkey rund r in mcclean, not far from the gw rkway. we're hearing that the home is for sale or for rent and there may not be anyone living insi. no wor yet on what caused the fire, but we'll keep you updated as we hear more.

aaron? >> chris, thank you. 6:15 right now. if your hopinto see d.c. council vote on a bill that would have paved the way for online sports betting, you were no doubt disappointed yest wday. the vot scrapped at the last minute. several council members questioned why themultimillion dollar contract to implement online betting was being offered to the same company that manages the d.c. ttery. they wanted to know if the contract should be awarded to the highest bidder. >> this is a decision about to get the most revenue for the district. this is about money. >> the legislation was immediately pulled and the council decided to ask for public input.ro silver spring to music city, a group of young singers in our area is headed to the grand old opry. >> weiv are with blake high school's a cappella chorus witho detail their big trip. good mornin >> reporter: oh my goodness, just a couple weeks they'll get on charter buses but listen to them. look at them.

th woke up ready to sing. i want to bring on first the musical director, sandra to talk about the audition tape, selected one of 18 schools to go? >> indeed. one o 18 representing the state of maryland. only school representing the state of marylandtnd we're j so honored by this opportunity, really looking forward to it. >> it's so nie. and theyo excited. come on, dorian. he is one of the section leaders put intoords how you all feel about this trip? >> well, it's like a very good opportunityor us. we're really excited for it, yeah. >> all right. i love it.k so get bp there and sing. this is what it's all about. they're going to be leaving in a couple weeks. 22 students. it's a competition, a but you can hear, eun and aaron, they soundes e. ♪ ♪

>> reporter: we'll talk more about what they'll get if they win and how they're going to be scored and judged later on in the hour. >> that's wonderful. fey sound fantastic. molette, thank y sharing. >> we've been doing these segments in the community with molette and it's a great opportunity to see how talented young people are all over this region. yes. >> nice chance to put that on display. glad we can do it. >> competitively good. >> for real can sing, ot like we do up here. >> let's just say we sort of lip synch along. >> exactly. >> it's past ristmas, b how about a little let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. >> how aut not. how about it. >> you guys. ♪ we're havin a heat wave

>> i prefer that. >> for now it's back to winter reality, after a long stretch of above average days, today we'll move the streak out one more day because we're already above average. reerage high tempera for today's date is 43. it's still 46 degrees at national airport. the winds out of the west, northwest today will really be g increa it's not all that windy yet. it will be very blustery later onthe afternoon. temperatures will stay where they are now for the next couple of hours. and then temperatures will be in the fall after aut 12:00 today. so, hovering in the low to mid noon.om now to during the course of the afternoon with the increasing wind, a chance for a passing flurry or tor snow today. no measurable amounts of snow today. that stream air of snow coming over the great lakes. they could live long enough to get over the mountains but temperatures in the low 40s, not going to stick to the ground. already a couple flurries up here along the mason dixon line. not going to have any weather

impacts from snow today. just a about the wind. hold on tight to the steering wheel for this afternoon and again tomorrow. incredibly windy. northwest winds up over 30omiles per hourrow afternoon as well. go ahead and download the nbcin waon app. your custom tailored storm team 4 forecast in there and me on my social media pages for updates on this storm coming for the weekend. it's likely to hace ine during the second half of saturday afternoon. the most likely time to accumulate snow will be from sun down saturday up to about lunchtime on sunday. still a little too far out to guarantee an amount for anybody, but the chances of accumulating snow he gone way up. at least an 80% chance of an inch or more. n an up to at least a 50% chance of four inches or more and there is still some block ,uster potential of eight inches or mo but that is not all that likely just yet. i think most of us, if you're looking for the early call on amounts looking like 3 to 6 inch

snow for most of us. fine odetails come over the next couple of days. but it's all about being back to the cold. jack taylor, let's get back to the traffic. >> in northwest l street eastbound which is only eastbound one way closed between fifth street and vermont, 15th street and vernt avenue. unfortunately there we have police activity. south capitol street at we have flashing traffic signals. the ramp to go southbound south capitol street also those traffic signals flashing. kensington we have t water main break eastbound east of connecticut avenue betweentr lexingtont and st. paul street the right lane is getting by these repairs. so far volumes right. hoping to have the roadway open by noon today. aaro eun, back t you. >> thank you, jack. still ahead this morning, fighting the flu. >> and debunking myths about the flu shots and ler today on "ellen". >> you're not -- you mean processed sugar. u're not doing processed

sugar. >> right, that was my resolution. >> i see. >> i wasn't doing processed sugar. >> yeah. did you notice a difference? did you have a headache or ything happen to yo >> no, i just really wanted ice cream. >> yeah. >> come on. ice cream doesn't count. there's always room for ice cream. he's talking about ice cream and his resolutions but his family. catch ellen right here on nbc 4 at 3:00 p.m. and stick around for news 4 at 4. we'll be right back. stay with us.

>> announcer: you're watching today. welcome back it's 6:23. flu season is in full swing. while allrnoctors are con about the spread of germs, many are also worried about the spread of misinformation. talked tojustin finch a local doctor who debunked the myths about it and tells us how seriously we need to take this flu season this year. >> reporter: so it's about tft timeear where everyone is talking about the flu, how to avoid it, what to do to not get sick hopefully. we're joined now by dr. gary simon. drsimon, i want to ask you first, we're in flu season right now. can we tell how bad it might get? >> it's a little early to call. i think, yes, flu is running right now. it's running a little bit ahead of last year. >> you think heang that that's more of a reason to really get serious about protecting yourself and your family. is it too late a to get flu shot? >> no, it's not too late. everybody should get a flu ot.

and y cannot get the flu from a flu shot. there is no live virus in the flu shot. so anybody who says i got the flu from the flu shot it's impossible. >> reporte special concern, too, for your children, older relatives, others who are vulnerable? >> well, special concern f children not because children get such severe disease, although they certainly can, b study done in japan that showed if you immunize the childrro itcts the grandparents. their immune response is not as good as the children's immune response. the psson who at greatest risk is a pregnant woman. and the influenzaaccine is not dangerous for a pregnant woman or for the fetus. everyho pregnant womand be immunized for influenza. >> reporter: justin finch news 4. a local chain of sports clubs is sued. the warning before you sign a contract with a gym coming up. and this little girl named

flurry is available for rescue at the humane rescue alliance. she wouldre make a buddy to spend some time outside today. early r miles walked today because the wind will be going up and the temperatures will be going down. new solution to fight package stealing thieves. what you'll have to let a stranger inside your garage. we'll tell you how this new program works

6:29 right now. you'll need to grab the extra layers as you're getting dreg.ed this morn get used, folks, you'll need the winter coat, hat and all the other stuff, ntoo, for tt few days. the winter reality sets in toda good morning, everybody i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. the cred temperatures sticking around and we're talking about snow. jack taylor is working hard to keep you up to date on your traffic but we begin with storm team 4etrologist chuck bell for a closer look at the forecast. i'm afraid you're going to say we need snow shovels. >> i am going to say that. fear not. it's a true story i think that snow is looking incrediblyor likely the weekend. today is sort of the rapid

transition day from what has been a long stretch ofwe mild her to windy and cold. it isn't too windy or too cold yet. as you go out the door this morning, i thooiht it was to be colder today. take your insulated windbreaker with you because it's not going get any warmer. in fact, temperatures are likely to start falling just aund lunchtime today. could be a passing snow flurry or snow shower. no accumulating snow today. but wind chills in the 2s by later this afternoon. you can see the impact of snow showers there, riding that northwest wind off the great lakes down into our area. so nothing more than an occasial snow flake or t today. windy and cold, northwest winds increasing today and hanging around through tomorrow. jack will update thoseow weeken mounts potentials coming up. >> definitely put the top back on the jeep. that's fine. i-97 if you're leaving 50 going northbound you're very heavy and very slow.rt unately this camera looks like it froze. the right lane is getting by. southbound lanes are open but this is north of 50 as you

continue up towards 3 and 32 the hawkins road overpass. right lane gets by t torcycle crash. south capitol street near i street lights flashing. the ramp to go southbound on south capitol street also flashing trafficsignal. d.c. 295 southbound your line up around bureaus avenue towards pennsylvania avenueve riding the raised expansion joints causing delays for a few wecks. banto you. >> thank you. it is 6:31. we're following breaking news now out of fairfax county. pictures from chopper 4. fire officials on the scene of a house fire in mcclean. they got the call around 3:48 this morning in the 900 block of turkey run road not far fromla ley high school. they believe no one was in the home when the fire started. so far no word on what may have caused this fire. we'll stay on top of it, though. command for change outside of the white house overnight as critics of the president cr led

foe government shutdown to end. some of thesete psters were federal workers who haven't been paid since the shutdown began or are wking without a paycheck. we are 19 days now into this partial government shutdown. today congressional leaders will aturn to the white house to try again to find compromise. >> striking a deal, though, still seems unliidly. the prt's address to the nation last night, he held strong to his pledge to get funding for that border wall. he declared a, quote, crisis at borderthern the president referenced u.s. residents who have been killed by people who entered the country illegally, including the murder of a teen from gaithersburg. >> in maryland ms-13 gang members who arrived in the united states as unaccompanied minors were arrested a charged last year after viciously stabbi and beating a 16-year-old girl. >> alexandra reyes disappeared in 2017. she was found weeks later near a lake in springfield. several ms-13 gang members have

been convicted in ermurder. it's unclear though if any of bers who were charged were undocumented. the president will visit the southern border tomorrow. still ahead, we'll hear the democratic response to the president's address. this morning, we're getting our first look at the sketch of a man accused of going after two sister in fairfax county. >> police say the young girls were assaulted in a neighborhood just blocks from an elementary school. news 4 ag fitzgerald is live at police headquarters with more on this story. meagan? >> reporter: eun and aaron, good morning to yo j yet a couple days after this incident police released this sketch. they're hoping that the public guy.help them find this we want to show it to you. take a look. this is what they say this guy looks crlike. they de him as a man between 30 and 40 years old. he's about 5'5" to 5'6" tall with a heavy build. they say it was saturday evening at these two sisters were walking to take out the trash. one 11. theeather 13 old when this

man, allegedly touched the 11-yr-old and tri to touch the 13-year-old before she fought him off and he ran off. but neighbors in this community are still shaken up. >> shocked. i know this isn't the best neighborhood, but it's still scary. i feel like i can't come out at night. and for it to happen to two ttle girls, it's awful. it's awful. >> reporter: now again police say if you know this guye or looks familiar, they're asking you to contact them right away. back to you. >> thank you, meagan 6:34 now. now to story you saw first on 4. the district is suing thert washington s club accusing them of deceptive cancellation and billi ining practices.

they were td they could cancel their membership at any time for free but however according to the lawsuit they require a six-week written cancellation notice and crge cancellation fees. we reached out to the owners for comment. we have not heard back. today, the general assemblies head back to work to start new sessions. maryland, there's a lot of talk about passing a $15 minimum wage statewide. prince georges county is also pushing for new tax credits including one f s grocere owners who build new stores in so-called food deserts. also o thegenda a push to allow movie theaters to sell liquor. in virginia, the governor wants to increase a scheduled teacher pay hike and pushing to expand who can request absentee ballots during election season. there will be a bit of a battle over the governor's income tax reform. ublicans say it will raise taxes on the middle class. yws 4 has covered in both capitols today. chris gordon in annapolis and northern virginia bureau chief

jewry carey will be in richmond. it is 6:35. happening today a court is giving sears another chance to buy the company out of bankruptcy. the court isetting sears chairman revise his bid to save what used toe america's largest retailer. the deal ruires the chairman to deposit it $120 million through his hedge fund by 4:00 p.m. today. that would keep more than 400 stores open and save more than 50,000jobs. sears filed for bankruptcy protection in octobe 6:36 now. today d.c. mayor bowser heads to las vegas. she is set to speak at the world's largest technology showh used to be called the consumer electronics sho opened yesterday. a few big talkers at this year's show include robots that walk d talk, artificial intelligence.

there are more than 400,000 products on display including security products for your home. >> those reots scare a little bit. 6:37. local choir getting a shot on one of the most famous stages i. amer >> first, molette green? >> hey. i'm with the melodious voicewi the a cappella getting ready for the competition at the grand ole opry. how willt rk? what are the awards? we'll tell you when we come back.

did you happen to catch this googlest doodle day? a second grader from falls church, virginia, drew it. drawing gomez lane's won the national contest and was used on the search giant's home page all day yesterday.

her school will receive $50,000 to spend on technology and will receive $30,000 towards a college scholarship. you can still find it eily go to google.com/doodle. she drew the dinosaurs because she wants to be a pailtologyist some day. >> that's quite a get. amazon has a new service to llmake sure you act receive those packages you order, but it requires you to allow a complete stranger into your garage. >> yeah. it's called key for garage. it will allow amazon to remotely open your garage door to let delivery drivers in. this is similar to googles key for home and key for car features that allows packages to be dropped off in your house or car even if you were not inside. >> with more amazon news, here is your cnbc morning business report. >> good morning, i frank holland at cnbc headquarters. here is some news you can gnash. amazon is sending f shopperse samples curated to the taste.

oios is reporting products that you like freef charge can show up at your doorstep and it's all based on your purchase on the website, amazon says the idea is similar to its product recommendations but in real life you can taste the latest items. amazon says there's no obligation to buy or review anything and you can opt out at any time, but who doesn't le free stuff? your cnbc money business report, i'm frank lland. i'm with you, frank. i love free stuff. you know what, snow isfree. so there you go. we'll update that weekend snow chance in a bit. but your school day forecast for today, the winds will be increasing. it will beild at the bus stops this morning, but frigid later on today. so a winterwi breaker, a hat with tie downs and sunglasses today. update on that weekend snow chance is just 10 minutes away. slow dns in the topside of the beltway outer loop95 to georgia avenue wech our work zone. unfortunately a water main break university boulevard eastbound between lexington and st. paul

with the right lane getting by. we hope you'll join uswe th end at our annual nbc 4 and telemundo 44 healt ahnd fitness expo happening saturday and sunday at the washington convention center. >> join us for t latest in health trends, fitness, nutrition, free swaeenings. can' to see you ther e.

19nd days still no deal to reopen the federal government. president trump addre country in a nationwide address last night. he called it a growing humanitarian and security crisis along the u.s./mexico border. >> congressional democrats responded to the president. this is what house speaker nanci

pe had to say. >> the president is rejecting these bipartisan bills which wotd reopen governm over his obsession with forcing american taxpers to waste billions of dollars on an expensive and ineffective wall a wall he always promised mexico would pay r. >> with the government shutdown, more than 800,000 federal workers do not know when they will get paid again. some are expecting checks this week, but that may not >> we have team coverage for you now at 6:45. justin finch is livit on c hill with more on how we're working for you with help if you'verleen ghed. first, we go to nbc's peter alexander with the president's pitch for that bor wall. peter, good morning. >> reporter:trikingly no concessions made on either side. both digging in their heels last night. e president delivering what was really a familiar pitch from a different setting. hardline immigration plan in his first-ever oval office address

but notably he offered no new proposals, no new ideasow 19 days into the government shutdown. the president painting a harrowing picture of danger and death, violence and crime along border,./mexico describing undocumented immigrants as murders and drug smugglers, identical thooefs to the speech that launched his campaign for president three and a half years ago,aying a barrier at the border is the only way to keep aricans safe. democratic leaders, as you noted, fiercelyesisted the president's demand of more than $5 billion in funding for the wall accused president trump of putting fear before the facts. they call h tommediately end the shutdown. as you noted, this friday, those 800,000 federal workers may not get ycheck. we're going to have more on the president's address to the nation coming up and of course wel fact check his nine-minute remarks when we see you just a few minutes from now. back to you. >> we'll see you on "today show." thanks, it's 6:46. restaurants, schools and many

others have been stepping up to provide som relief for the thousands of federal workers off the job right no>> nd now several banks are stepping in to help as well. news 4 isorking for y during this shutdown. justin finch is live at the capitol with moren the relief for furloughed worgers. justin? >> reporter: aaron, eun, of course financial institutions know that furloughed worrors the country and their families are having a hard time and having to tighten their wallets a bit over the past feww weeks, that' they're now offering some help. come take a look here. we're seeg wells fargo actually waive some monthly service fees as well as the overdraft fees. chase doing something similar here as inll. wa some fees for furloughed customers that have direct paychecks. with their we're seeing reports, too, that capital one is extending some due dates as well as waiving some fees too. bank of amica refunding som fees and offering repayment plans as needed as well. but, back out live here for

some, that may not be enough. just waiving fee here and there, that's why some credit unions are now offering loans, some at zero interest for furloughed workers and their families. these loans can go as high as $6,000. some much neede cash at this time of essentially just no pay. back into you. >> justin finch live on the hist. , thanks. there are more deals and help for government workers on the nbc washington app. news 4 is worki forou with continuing coverage of the ut shdown. coming up on news 4 mday at 11 this morning. we have breaking news overseas. officials are investigating suspicious packages delivered to australia,nsulates in including one at the u.s. consulate in melbourne. some of theng at emergency response to those packages. we're also hearing from the british consulate there they also received a suspicious packagend say it was actually ticking. so far officials are only saying

they're investigating these packages at several consulates and embassies aossaustralia. the important thing to note here, no one has been injured but allhis is happeni just a couple days after a suspicious white powder was discovered in e packt the argentine consulate in australia. that one did not contain a poison or toxins. aaron? >> chris, thank breaking news closer to home as well. fairfax countyicire ols are on the scene of a house fire in mclean. looking at images from chopper 4 a short time ago. the call came in just before 4:00 this morning in the 0 block on turkey run road. they believe no one was in the home when the fire started. changes to protect students in the classrooms. a new law requires tougher background checks when hiring new teachers >> this is result of a news tea. >> new laws passed by d.c. council makes many changes, including new requirement for

d.c. schools. they have do better background chec before hiringteaches. checking with all prior employers over the past 20 years. it also requires them to tell future employers if a former teacher in d.c. engaged in mi sexual onduct. this comes on the heels of a news 4 iteam investigation which showed region wide several teachers have slipped through the cracks, admitting or being accused of involved in sex misconduct but finding teachers in other local school districts. the chaes ordered by d.c. council and approved by the mayor's office. >> we want to make sure that adul also know that if something happens, they're going to be caught. and that we're going to about it and we're going to report them to authorities. >> reporter: morebout what is changing and the other laws passed recently because of o investigation tonight on news 4 beginning at 5. for w, scott masarland new 4

iteam. >>50. we need to check back in chuck bell as he tries to predict some snow heading into our weekend. we know it's always a tricky endeavoruck. >> oh, yeah. nothing easy about snow forecasting no matter w live and especially since we're four to five days away from the rst snow flake falling there's a long way to go between here and winter snow chances. but they are increasing. there's a great looking picture of our sky this morning. these cloud of our sky during the course of the day. yesterday made 27 days in a row e.warmer than aver we reached 60 yesterday afternoon and when the front came through yesterdayevening, had a wind gust 42 miles per hour at national aidsort. the w aren't quite that ferocious this morning. they will be howling later this afternoon, tonig and throughout the day tomorrow. 46 already another above average day today. our average high is 43. but these numbers will be the warmest we'll see all rday. fficial high for the day is already in the rear-view mirror.

it happeneni just after mt with temperatures in the low 50s. there's your planner then. teeratures low to mid 4s through the morning hours and then quickly falling into the 30s. there will be a cha of a passing snow shower or two today as the colder air really turns on the lake-effect snowma ine. some of those snow showers might live to get south of the mason di tn line andre could be a stray flake or two around here. nothing major. but have your nbc washington app ready to go. 39 and windy for tomorrow. again, fine and balmy on social media. weekend snow chances increase from saturday late afternoon up through s lday mid toe afternoon. so keep that in mind. at least an 80% chance of an inch or more. and 50% chance now of four inches ormore. still doesn't look like to me it will be a block buster blizzard but t a long way to go. there's the whole ten day forecast. after today, it's all colde than avera through the weekend and into next week. jack? >> chuck, chopper 4 over prince

georges county belt way outer loop unfortunately sounded likeu a lot ofment arriving on scene of the crash. ng bye file left is get the scene of the accident. so we have a lot of equipment on scene ing there and hopefully we can get more lanes open iquickly. expect this delay if this is a normal path to travel for yo i-95 northbound on i-97 the motorcycle crash at the hawkins road overpass still has only the right lane getting by. south capitol street at i street andreeway southbound flashing traffic signals unclear if district authorities are there trying toirect traffic. if not, please treat that as a four way stop and there's a potential f obvious slow down. back to you. >> jack, thank you. 6:53 now. it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity fng a group of y singers in our area. >> the blake high school a cappel chorus is headed to music city to sing at the grand ole opry.

molette, what a great opportunity for them. >> reporter: exactly. and they're the only high school from the state of maryland. the only one going to the gynd ole on a couple of weeks they'll be doing this. i want to bring on the musical director here to talk about this exciting experience. >> it is an excitin opportunity. it gives our students the opportunity to learn to sing in the barbershop style and also is incredibly exciting to be able to go perform at the grand ole opry. we're looking forward to it. >> a a right. it competition. >> it is a comp fission. and of course if we happen to win our plateau, that would be the cherry on top. >> reporter: that would be. jake, tell me the experience for you as a senior? >> i think this is just a great way for m to end my high school experience with a program i put so much love and hard work into over the years. >> the roade is the song they're singing now. ♪ ♪

>> reporter: from sill vir spring to music city, they're headed out in two weeks. back into you guys. >> we wish them allhe ck. they sound fantastic. >> absolutely beautiful. thanks molette. it is 6:55 right now. here are four things to know this morning. a building that housed the district's oldes synagogue will be moved today. the 273 ton building is just moving one block from third and g to third and f streets northwest. the building is scheduled to be on the move starting at 9:45 this morning. sears chairman has until 4:00 p.m. today to save his company. heust deposit it $120 million tom his hedge fund by that deadline in orde keep 400 stores open and save 50,000 jobs. today, maryland and g virginia'seneral assemblies begin new sessions. news 4 hasov youed in both capitols.

chris gordon in annapolis and ourgi va bureau chief julie ond today. be in ric after last night's presidential address, congressional leaders have been invited back to the white house today for negotiations to reopen the government. tomorrow, president trump saysh ill visit the southern border. stay with news 4 and the "today show" for the the latest on the government shutdown. and five-day forecast is all about the wind moving in today. it stays with us tonight and through tomorrow, way colder weather for thursday and friday. and increasing likelihood of accumulating snow around here over the course of the weekend. >> okay, chuck, thank you. chopper 4 is over the beltway right now looking at me backups. here is a live picture the outer lookt richie road. follow twitter for updates as you head out the door this morning. >> that looksbad. >> you know, you hate to see that so early in the morning knowing it will be a rough go even with the feder government closed traffic like that is hard to imagine it would be possible. >> that's why people g up so

early. >> this is why people go crazy driving to work. >> the service that we're providing, your lovely smile. >> we thank you. >> let's hea more from the youth choir. >> that is the news for today. >> "today show" is next. eny your day. make it a great wednesday, everybody. .

good morning, backs to the wall. the . good morning. backs to the wall. the president and the democrats dig in. >> how much more american blood must we shed before congress does its job? >> duelling prime time addresses. the president claiming a democrats claiming it'ss politics. >> we don't govern by temper tantrum. >> today the two sides meet again as paychecks for hundreds of thousand dolls are about to stop. snowy weather, bitter cold. a powerful winter storm targeting tens of millions from texas all the way to the northeast. ju ahead, al tells us what to expect. breaking overnight. shakeup. the justice department's number two, rod rosenstein