opening of the mgm national harbor. the one-point-4 billion dollar play-pin is finally ready to debut! sam sweeney is live inside with all you need to know ahead of tonight. sam? tonight you can the casino. john gonzalez is in mobile trak 7 with details on how to get in and out tonight. john? chance to see the newest installement of star wars! our rogue one whatcha doin'? just checking my free credit score at credit karma. what the? you're welcome. i just helped you dodge a bullet. but i was just checking my... shhhhh... don't you know that checking your credit score lowers it. just be cool. actually, checking your credit score with credit karma doesn't affect it at all. positive. huh, so i guess i could just check my credit score then. oh! check out credit karma today. credit karma. give yourself some credit. through sunday - rain/snow mix sunday night, chilly rain monday - another arctic blast late next week (highs low 30s!) today: cloudy morning, becoming mostly sunny te highs: 43-49 winds: wnw 5-15 mph tonight: mainl

right as you are leaving the national harbor, you will see signs for 95, 495, the national avenue exit, and that is what you will take. if you have been to the national harbor, it is essentially right this will put you on to oxon hill road, and directly in front of the mgm. we have been talking to different folks throughout the week about not only the opening, but of course what this new casino hotel and resort is going to do to the area. one gentleman we spoke with who lives here said he plans on walking to the casino if you ever goes there to play. he is concerned with all the trfi feeds about 70,000 to 90,000 vehicles a week. officials believe that will be doubled from now on. autria: be sure it -- be sure to stay with abc 7 for coverage of today plus grand opening. coming up in about 10 minutes, kidd o'shea will be put to the taste test. call as a taxi burst into flames at a station in gaithersburg. montgomery county police say a taxi was filling up at the exxon on woodfield road when the cab caught fire. firefighters arrived in time to hit the emergency shutoff. no one was hurt, b

we are live outside over looking the national harbor. we are looking at some beautiful views here that hotel gusts will enjoy of our nation's capitol and of the washington monument as well. we are talking $23 million spent on local and minority owned businesses. 4,000 jobs, 2,000 of them filled by folks who live right here in prince george's county. >> i haven't slept. i haven't eaten. >> crystal tibs is used to long hours. she spent 22 years in the prince george's county police department retired as a lieutenant and now number two in charge of security here at mgm national harbor. >> i retired from the police department on april 30th and star >> patrolling the 23 acre property takes a team and her security team includes 211 officers covering three shifts 24/7. >> we want guests to feel safe and welcome. >> i was a paramedic and came up through the rank as an ems person. >> george retired from the prince george's county fire department to take a risk manager job here. george and tibs among the 2,000 prince george's county residents who of

looking good. >> reporter: just a few minutes ago, the doors at the national harbor officially opened to the general public and from now on >> ? >> reporter: it's finally a reality after nearly 4 years and $1.4 billion, the mgm national harbor is lives. an exclusive vip party kicked off the evening where 5000 very special guests got to come in first.>> to come back and see this in our own backyard is amazing. >> reporter: from proud locals. >> what's better? vegas or this? >> brite, this. >>or like kristof. >> i think people will realize this is more than a casino. it's like a resort shopping destination. i don't think people will understand until they come. >> reporter: to celebrities like sarah jessica parker who was so popular we could only see the back of her head. everyone realized just how special tonight was. >> absolutely beautiful. lots of light, lots of grammar, lots of fun, lots of gambling and beautiful people. glam, the fame and the potential for fortune. the possibilities inside are endless and so are the rewards for prince george's county. hundreds of millions of dollar

the new mgm casino at the national harbor, officially open for business. don't -- doors opened early last night with a packed house quickly filled to capacity. creating a mess on the roads, forcing the police to shut down roads with the latest this morning. suzanne? suzanne: good morning to you. the good news in all of this is that prince george's county police are on the scene and they remained here overnight, keeping an eye on things, trying to figure out how to manage all of that traffic. the decision was made to shut down three exits, exits 2 a.m. to be, to the national harbor, and also three be on the outer re-opened at around 2:00 in the morning. all of this to alleviate the standing traffic. we want to show you some pictures of all of that traffic, going back to the woodrow wilson bridge. so many people trying to get in your to the national harbor. they just were not able to do so. the garage was supposed to open and 9:30 but they instead chose to open them at 9:00 to get those cars off the road and into the casino. tell you, though, that by 11:13 th

we are live outside over looking the national harbor. we are looking at some beautiful views here that hotel gusts will enjoy of our nation's capitol and of the washington monument as well.

john gonzalez has the national harbor this morning. john? john: construct's county officials took a huge gamble when they decided to bring the mgm here. now they must play the hand that they were dealt. they mark be shuffling cards and cars inside. take a look, this is what it looks like, the lights are on, the newest landmark at the national mall will open to the public next thursday. get this, you can expect to see developers are convinced that the roads in the area can handle the traffic but they say that the key is to keep vehicles moving. the premier resort does have a 5000 space karate. the county executive is excited, but admits that this could create traffic nightmares. especially opening night. the table games and slot machines will be surrounded by restaurant, bars, and we are learning about the first sarah jessica parker boutique inside. there is also a concert venue. bruno mars, durant durham, lionel richie, among the many who have signed on to perform at the theater here in the next coming weeks. before the mgm opens next week, d

the casino and the national harbor are fed by the beltway and 295. those roads eventually lead to m.g.m. 5,000 space garage and that is likely to become a choke point. kent who runs national harbor says it could lead to the >> it's not that the road capacities can't handle things. it can. but there is a lot of first-time confusion and a lot of different times things start and stop. that will add to the delays. brad: back lifer, you can see the big screen up there advertising that, opening date. one week from tonight. when we come back at 6:00, we will tell you what the experts say you should do to try to ease the traffic. one of the things they at 11:00 p.m. at night. not during the day. we have much more at 6:00. national harbor, brad bell, abc7 news. >> new information tonight about the sheen on the river. aerial surveillance today shows it is significantly smaller than when it was able to last check on monday. sky track 7 caught a glimpse at the plume today. it's essentially stalled near the trump national golf course network offering 1,000 reward

reporting live inside the beautiful brand-new mgm casino at national harbor, i am sam sweeney. jummy: thank you. one big is earned about the casino -- one big concern about the traffic is the traffic around the national harbor and on the beltway. john gonzalez joins us with john: your first gamble will be trying to get to the mgm resort, traffic will be a fair and we have been in mobile trak 7 trying to get you around, what are the different traffic patterns. this is our camera and this is 95 south, regardless coming from virginia or maryland from 95, you will be taking exit 2a , the old national harbor exit but once you get off the ramp is when things look different. officials are concerned, they have opened up a command center to keep a close watch on the traffic cameras. you will see mgm resort, you take the first right and this exit ramp will put you want to harvard view avenue, that is the new road that that harborview road, that is the new row that probably be backed up tonight when all of this first to open. you will see in a second, the mgm directly in front of you. that

the local g3?econo. mgm national harbor casino resort said 46% of its employees are from prince george's county. >> that had us wondering how else can the casino resort his hometown for an in depth look at how the mgm grand detroit has impacted that city. >> reporter: we will get our first look at the mgm national harbor this morning, but we got a pretty good idea of what to expect by coming here to the mgm grand detroit. we saw some of the latest slots, including one with ellen degeneres but we also got a good idea of what it means to be a local casino. we saw starbucks that had been switched out for a beans, some of the whiskey they serve is from a local distillery. more than half of the employees that mgm grand detroit hired has to be from the city and nearly a third of the vendors that it does business with also has to be local. look, this is not vegas but it is going to be something on a scale that we have not seen in our area. >> and you have to look at this and appreciate the photo. believes the royal family might be

the casino. reporting in national harbor, i'm tracy wilkins, news 4. >> reporter: i'm outside national harbor looking at the traffic perspective here. see the biggest impact because so many people will come here. it's not just roads. there are bus lines outside the casino. people waiting for buses. hopefully theirs doesn't get stuck in the traffic. you have the belt way, 95, 210, indian head highway. a lot will be going on here in the immediate outside area of the new casino. don't forget. there is not much public casino. the two closest metro stations aren't that close. branch avenue and king street all the way over in alexandra for their part the casino and prince georges county police say the plan is about movement, keeping vehicles moving. if you can coming, plan accordingly. >> coming up at 4:30 chris gordon takes a look at people who are not interested in gambling. later this hour, hear from the man who created the theater which booked an impressive list of stars to perform. then there is the food, lots of food. we'll have some of the best dining options. we have a special interactive casino se

. >> we have to take a break, when we come back, we go to the mgm national harbor and talk about traffic there. >>> the mgm national harbor opening was greeted with excitement and fears of gridlock. and adam, opening night we saw lots of both, didn't we? >> well, yes and no. around the rush hour period, 5:00, 6:00, it actually wasn't that bad. but here you're taking a look at some video. there's the wilson bridge right there, and it got a little heavier as the casino opened. that is the issue. if you take a look at the casino, the local roads there, thats and when they have big events or any opening night, anything on a grand scale, that's going to be the area that really see the impact. see the ring of the casino is where it gets tough. local roads like oxen hill road, the outlets, 210, indian head highway, that will take the crush of the traffic. >> we saw beltway exits closed. >> yes, now that has to happen if you want to manage the entry and exit points, it's because those loc roads are getting backed up that you can't keep funneling cars through. it's like if too many people go to a

now the mgm national harbor is only five hours from opening its doors. >> good evening. the anticipation is building. it's the first casino to open so close to the nation's capital. it's probably going to impact are going. >> chris gordon has a look at what there is to see for those who don't gamble. >> we begin with tracy wilkins. she's been covering the casino since the beginning. what a beginning this is tonight. >> i was just thinking when we talk about this being a $1.4 billion casino we are not talking about the more than 40 million mgm spent to try to make it happen through ads and the political work that had to be reality. here we are on opening night. we are in the atrium. right over this balcony you can see folks making their way in for the vip party that's about to get under way. people here are very excited. preparations are under way. >> they have under promised and over delivered. what they have built here is phenomenal. >> reporter: after years of anticipation, highs and lows, >> it is all first rate. it's so exciting. we live in the neighborhood. >> report

for the opening of the mgm national harbor. we are getting a sneak peek inside the billion dollar entertainment complex and later on this moring we will get an exclusive first look inside the national harbor traffic control center. sam sweeny joins us live. check out our dot com. and stick with abc7 news all week for reports on what you can expect from security in that area before it all opens thursday night. happening today. d-c mayor muriel bowser is expected to meet with president-elect donald trump in new york city. the two have not always seen eye to eye.. suzanne kennedy joins us with the detials on today's meeting. this is a meeting that comes at the request of mayor bowser. the mayor saying she asked for the meeting to discuss how the two could work together to continue washington dc's growth. mayor bowser president elect during the campaign. she, like other deocratic elected officials turned down an invitation to the grand opening of trump's hotel on pennsylvania avenue. trump has been critical of the district labeling

that's expected to be an issuen on the roads around the national harbor. from now on thursday through sunday night. tonight the parking lots weren'n set to open until 106789. 30 enthusiasm they opened earlye at 9:00 p.m. we have some live pictures from sky fox taking a look at the at traffic just to get into this area. again, the parking lots are opes to the public at this point.oint traffic is definitely backing ui tong the wilson bridge right not what i'm seeing. the prince george's countyce g county police chief told mef t forth most p take a listen. no snaps, no major issues. >> we had toed a just some of our cone patterns because they looked good on paper but theyut weren't working in the realhe r world. so that's the point. we actively managed it. we're still unwinding a loftoft things. we're loading pretty effectively. i is it perfect, not yet. but we're managing pretty well. anything else you want to say, nice night here. >> are you kidding me? look at we're going to have a good timed i'm going to get the blue man bl group out there to help us direc

the night. reporting live in national harbor tracee wilkins. back to you in the studio. >> chopper 4 has been over national harbor much of the early as well. they started letting cars in at 9:00, about an hour and a half earlier than scheduled. it has been a steady stream of traffic. >> prince george's county police have been preparing for this night for quite some time. they let news4's shomari stone into their traffic command center tonight. shomari is live with a look at just how the traffic is moving. what's the word, so mary? >> reporter: well to quote a why? well you have prince george's county police officers doing a good job of directing traffic. an officer is telling people like i'm about to do on live television, folks, the casino is filled to capacity and it is closed. yes. well the entrances are closed. make sure that you do that. a lot of folks tell me they are continuing to come here despite what's going on. let's take a look going on. the mgm national parking garage was supposed to open at 10:30 tonight but it opened up at 9:00 p.

this is what it looks like away, it's the new landmark here at the national harbor, maryland's sixth casino, $1.4 billion. and the public opening is thursday and from that day on expect to see, get this, around 20,000 people coming in and out daily. developers are convinced the roads in the area can handle the traffic but they say the key is to keep vehicles moving. this premiere resort does have a 5,000 space it. the county executive is excited but admits this could create traffic nightmares, especially opening night which is 11:00 thursday night, the table games and slots will be surrounded by several restaurants, bars, a spa. we also know about the first sarah jessica parker boutique inside and there's a concert theater. >> i think it will build a lot of traffic but have a good benefit for us as a community and bring a lot of people to the the mgm has to go through two tests and the licensing committee will test the integrity of the slot machines and table games. kind of hard to find, not a lot of signage on the beltway. if you take the harbor exit you'll make a u turn, exit 3, the

now the mgm national harbor is only five hours from opening its doors. >> good evening. the anticipation is building. it's the first casino to open so close to the nation's capital. it's probably going to impact are going. >> chris gordon has a look at what there is to see for those who don't gamble. >> we begin with tracy wilkins. she's been covering the casino since the beginning. what a beginning this is tonight. >> i was just thinking when we talk about this being a $1.4 billion casino we are not talking about the more than 40 million mgm spent to try to make it happen through ads and the political work that had to be

remember, abc7 and newschannel8 helping to gather toys for tots at the national harbor. some of your favorite personality from the news will be there from 11:00 to 3:00. looking for the unwrapped gi 11:00 and 3:00 it's a good time. have an extra layer. it's a lot of sunshine but temperatures in the 40's. overall both days are good. if you want to tackle the outdoor decorations. i'm still working on that. both days feature the cool numbers but still dry enough to be there to get work done. work up a sweat. take a look at the new seven to ten-day outlook. breezy and dry through the weekend. monday extra clouds. pushing it through the ten-day outlook, tuesday, wednesday, unsettled. even thursday. pay attention to behind it. cooler. low 40's friday, saturday. sunday. lows at night in the 20's. it will feel a lot more like wintertime. jonathan: yikes! thanks. talk about the sports now. good games going on tonight. erin: yeah. the redskins were in a great mood. keeping the mood light at the redskins park. a player put up a do you like josh norman? and could the nats add a forme

the businesses that have been here at national harbor for at least a few years now are also hoping to win with the casino opening. drivinglose to mgm, there from the shop, it is about a mile away. like inside, they are some winners and perhaps some losers on this first weekend. >> this is a diamond ring. cheryl: this person is living her dream inside, just like the message on her bag, doing what she loves. now that mgm is her neighbor, she hopes more people enjoy her passion. >> we did not see increased traffic compared with the average weekend. cheryl: located in the national harbor two years ago, she is banking on mgm bringing more traffic roads the first few nights. the first weekend went against her wishes. >> i think once it settles a little bit, people will venture over here. down,: a few storefronts the walrus alehouse is giving credit to mgm for shocking more oysters and pouring more drinks saturday night. >> we saw an abnormal push in business. abnormal,eaking of traffic getting it to mgm thursday and the following nights lit up like the national harbor christmas tree. people

brad: the proof he says is in this room national harbor. the unified command center set up by national harbor to monitor traffic cameras and assist police and highway officials to keep cars moving. >> stawinski says for the next week or so he and the command staff will be on duty here. of tomorrow? brad: he expects seven to ten days the traffic around m.g.m. will have stabilize. one of the biggest critics patterson says he hopes so. >> you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know even as it stands now the traffic is real, real bad. >> so how much planning has taken place? look at the graphic. this is the m.g.m. traffic operation plan put together by the national harbor and the police. each of the stars for instance, th assigned at an intersection to try to keep things moving. will it all work? that is the hope. we will find out thursday night. at the national harbor, brad bell, abc7 news. larry: thank you for that. wi can't wait. get a sneak peek inside before the casino opens this thursday. see the photo gallery at wjla.com. well, right

national harbor. harbor. annie yu is inside and fox5's melanie alnwick you're on the roads. roads i know last night was aas nightmare getting there for me r personally. right now how are things looking?okin >> reporter: you know, kno surprisingly i would sayngly i d national harbor properoper everything is pretty quiet.. really when we were drivingving around earlier, the 4:30, 4:45 hour surprisingly there wasisin still a lot of activity there. now, you're looking atof this at overhead shot. i think that was from skyfoxox last night and you're going're n see sort of those red ribbons ro of brake lights. one of the things that princehan george's county police havece he done is they have a twitter twit handle, it's nh travel tips.ip national harbor travel tips.vel if you follow that, that's tt's going to be realtime information that they'rethhey' putting out. out one of the other things theye ot said for people that are comiheng to nationalor p harborr also make sure that you follow o them on twitter and follow the directions from the police pic officers here out among the comm

many who will tell you they are here to make sure the nation and the world never forgets pearl harbor. the toll of a single bell. the grace and power that comes with a moment of followed by a missing man flyover honoring some of our nation's greatest heroes. >> and you earn our commitment to always remember pearl harbor. your life changed on the morning of december 7th, 1941, and after that day, you would change the world forever. >> reporter: 75 years later, thousands here and across the country stopped to remember the 2,403 lost in the surprise and the survivors. >> we will never forget your courage, under considerable fire, and seemingly insir mount bl odds. >> reporter: the ceremony filled with the pomp and circumstance you would expect but there's also a purpose for those memorial for those who fought here. >> the whole idea is we're here to keep a remembrance of what happened that day so it doesn't happen again. >> reporter: and to make sure those lost did not die in vain. >> take comfort in knowing that our departed world war ii veterans continue to stand vigil in watch as guar

a monumenta tloog opening stoust outside of the nation's ti capitol.pi >> tonight the mgm national harbor opeani to the public andd we're giving you a sneak peek p at what's inside.e. t' our own alexandria lnd duon is live from e alex it looks fabulous. ful >> reporter: it certainly iste and w mve been here all dayene al telling you just how swankyt how the bars and the restaurants rta yogaccan see pes now all dressed up. up. they're in that tuxedos anded goiefs because thego anre here for the grand opening gala and ga an take a look at this decor.. it's out of this wor. o y, . >> tsolutely beautiful, deckedie out for the holidays but it's i all about more than stoust f sp and entertainment.er

piz restaurant hundreds of miles away says it is the target ofarf threats.th >> the wait is almost over. mgm national harbor officiallyar opens tonight but fox5 has abora live preview all morning long. >> whew. l's takt, let's take a look eight. there she is.sh. the mgm grand casino out at a national harbor it is a beauty t i know you've driven past it. it is like apast show piece by national harbor just sol beautiful. we'll have all the updates as

resort official opens for business tonight at 11:00. >>> we are hours away from the opening of the mgm national harbor casino. we are looking at how this could affect the national economy. >> chris lawrence is back in his hometown for an in depth look at how mgm grand detroit has impacted that city. >> reporter: we will get our first look at the mgm grand national harbor this morning but we've got a pretty good idea of the mgm grand detroit. we saw some of the latest slots, including one with he will en degeneres but we also good a good idea of what it means to be a local casino, starbucks has been switched out for a local coffee shop, some of the whiskey they serve is from a local distill ri, more than half of the employees that mgm grand detroit hires have to be from the city and nearly a third of business with also has to be local. this is not vegas but it is going to be something on a scale that we have not seen in our area. >>> new developments at 5:00, police just increased the reward for a man accused of killing a cop. together several departments are offering $50,000 for minquell lembrick's ar

the board. police arrested him last night outside national harbor. investigators say caldwell was involved in a three-car crash and he took a field so bright crash at the scene. he is 72 years old and blames hissan steadiness on his age. he told us he should have called uber. >>> any moment the senate will vote on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown before the midnight deadline. you are looking live at the senate floor. the house passed the temporary spending bill yesterday and went home for the holidays. the funding bill will keep the government running through april 28th. it includes war funding, disaster aid, and an extension of health benefits for retired miners. once the bill is signed it will be sent to president obama. >>> new tonight a report in the washington post says the cia has concluded the russian government intervened in the u.s. elections specifically to help donald trump win. not just to undermine confidence in the u.s. electoral system. this report is based on given to u.s. senators and it comes on the same day president o

if you cannot join us tomorrow at the national harbor, you can still participate. many viewers have wjla.com taken the time to go to wjla.com/toys and purchase a gift. it fills up the mailroom and otherwise go without this season. you can also meet us at the national harbor tomorrow to drop off a new on rob -- to drop off a new unwrapped toy. a lot of people that i work with will be there along with the marines. all the information is on our website, wjla.com/toys. even if you cannot make it, you can help out. but we would like to see you. >> merry christmas! jonathan: a lot like christmas at dulles town center. veronica johnson helped with the switch, joined by the nationals racing presidents and santa claus himself. there were cheers from everyone in the crowd, young and old. steve: cannot believe that we are talking about a winter weather advisory for parts of the area, and it's the weekend. garrett county, western not a big deal and no issues for the immediate metro. the satellite and radar, quiet and dry, and will stay that way overnight. a few clouds, but not

they actually opened them early at the mgm national harbor. the roads and you can see a lot of red taillights. this is the screw from sky fox. the red taillights crawling around the complex as people make their way to the new casino. > thanks for staying with us yours i'm tony perkins and?i shawn yancy. construction began back in 2014 and over the last two years we watched it as it grew into this massive hotel and casino right on the banks of the potomac. it's going to have an immediate impact on the area to traffic. fox5's lauren demarco is there tonight live enjoying the festivities and lauren,, i know they let people in early. tell us a little bit about that. yes. so there were people waiting outside, lined up outside all night there have been people inside. but that was a vip party. so members of the public, people were out wanting to come n. it was cold out there so take a look at some of this video. they decided it's too cold out there. there were 5,000 people waiting to get inside. they let everyone whos was in the parking garage get ont

don't forget saturday, toys for tots at the national harbor, 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. i will be there from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. hope that you can visit. they time highs only in the upper 40's, a little bit breezy, but sunshine will make it look outlook, 50 degrees saturday, upper 40's sunday, lower 60's monday. then we move into the middle of next week, towards the end of the week, the temperatures plummet with daytime highs in town only in the lower 40's with nighttime lows in the upper 20's, near 30 degrees. no snowflakes on the 10-day outlook. alison: have you ever wondered how much santa's house ? think of your fellow man. ? ? lend him a helping hand. ? ? put a little love in your heart. ? ? take a good look around... ? ? ...and if you're lookin' down, ? ? put a little love in your heart. ? ?put a little love in your heart.? and will have given ninety million dollars to help real people like these. says it won't let up for a while. the cadillac xt5... what should we do? ...tailored to you. wait it out. equipped with apple carplay compatibility. ?? now during season's

the handler was not seriously hurt. >>> mgm national harbor. ed capacity and people had to wait to get in. we wanted a know what people who got inside thought about the casino, we send alexandra limon to get the s harbor. >> reporter: packed parking lots to hallways inside, the opening weekend at the ms. rogersing national harbor reached 100% capacity. >> opening day it was so crowded and so nice, i love it >> we went to bars,/lounge. getting a drink was crazy. >> we had about 40 minutes to get a drink. it was packed. everybody wanted to be there. >> reporter: those who braced the crowds and made it inside the casino warned patience is required so are reservations. >> it was overpacked. 10:00 p.m. you would think still a reservation everybody was booked up. >> reporter: it's been a packed house at the mgm national harbor since the doors opened. even though the resort is urging people to hold off oncoming here, maybe until after this opening week plan to head here anyway. >> i played the slot machine and i win. >> reporter: no guarantee crowds wi

we see runs and walks and various events down at the national harbor. dealing with crowds and traffic we've got some good experience. we're applying but those particular venues have a perspective on security that is an enhancement to the services that we provide, but we provide those services throughout the county already. let's talk about traffic because that's probably the primarymary concern that most folks have as they try to head out there forfr opening week and openingd op weekend. what do you want people to know any advice in terms of them getting there? >> one of the concerns consistently is this is going to is bad. my message to the community is we're not relying on signalization.ion. we're actively manning these signals. this venue will only open once. come early, plan to stay late. we've had a followuplowu conversation with the leadershid of mgm security just today about how to most efficiently loadicie that garage.arag how do we anticipate turnover? how do we anticipate getting patrons out and back home? not just into the venue. as with anyen

shopping malls, the national harbor, even fedex field. curity analyst who brought a gun and other weapons to work is due in court. the suspect - "jonathan wienke" will now sign a plea agreement. court documents say he carried a gun and knife, an infared camera, pepper spray and handcuffs into d-h-s headquarters back in june. but, the chief security officer told congress there was no indiciation wienke planned workplace violence. developing now.. a janitor at gaithersburg elementary school is charged with sexually assaulting a first-grader. 54-year-old ron greene of potomac was arrested yesterday. charging documents say around november 11th, greene the girl's bathroom. that's when he allegedly grabbed the girl, put his hand inside her underwear, and sexually assaulted her. greene has worked for montgomery county schools for decades. he's been placed on administrative leave. an alert for people who fill up their tanks in dumfries, virginia. prince william county police say a card skimming device was found inside one of the gas pumps at the e

the m.g.m. national harbor. look how fast it was built. only a matter of hours. michelle: if only it were real-time, right? the billion dollar project years in the making comes with opportunity for prince george's county. alison: not just the county but the entire state of maryland. listen to this. when the doors open for business that is at 11:00 tonight, the plan is they will never close again. michelle: tonight we are covering all angles of the huge story for you. jonathan: team coverage inside and out of the casino. maryland pure row chief brad bell is inside. alison: jamie sullivan on traffic watch with the best bet for getting there or trying to avoid the backups. but we begin with brad bell at this is a big day, brad. brad: this is a big day, guys. this is the conservatory. this is the first thing you see when you come in. this is a spectacular space. you can see all decorated for the holidays. come over here and look down. you can see one of the fine dining restaurants. this is asian themed. you can see young musicians literally getting tuned up for the v.

the final concern is national harbor itself. the police will keep a close eye on the roads there including the ones that are part of development close to the potomac river. now we are live driving around. getting off at the indian head highway which i mentioned and front of us. right now the casino itself is not creating a traffic jam. but that could change. party at 8:00 that is invite only. but the big event grand opening at 11:00, a lot of people could be coming this way to get here. reporting lifer from the road in prince george -- live from the road in prince george's county. alison: we knew you were good but that was magic. that was great. tonight at 1:00 and 1310 11:00, jaime jaime will be in mobiletrak7 to see if it gets bad at national harbor. we think they probably will. she will have an update on the evening commute in 40 minutes. larry: folks heading to the casino may find they need a heavier coat when they leave. stormwatch7's chief meteorologist doug hill is here to check on the big chill headed our way. doug: good

the 20's.0' >> yikes. we'll have that all still ahead.have t >> thanks caitlin.hanks caitl >> happening right now o-theow o mgm national harbor has nowas n been opened just over a day or away thursday night and then friday because the building bld reached its maximum capacity. fox5's alexandria limon iss live at the national harbor haro for the opening weekend.he o good morning, alex. how are you? >> reporter: hey, annie,pegood m orter: morning and in facts in a because the crowds have beene cw so big, the latest message we have from the milligram national harbor is that if you don't have a hotel orbor dinnee reservation you might want to w consider holding off aren'tt not heading to the resort resor maybe until next week or the o t weekend a they've just been so that crowded and while these crowds surely seem to indicate a.m. successful opening weekend,nd there have also been someom snags along the way.ay in fact, take a look at thisthi video so you can see some ofee the things that we're talkingki about.ab a fight broke out at one pointt inside the casino. co. in fact you can see a group off guys punching and kicking kki so

we're just two days away from the grand opening of mgm national harbor. the casino is obviously going to draw in big crowds, but there's a lot of concern about the impact of traffic in the area. mgm says it has spent $10 million on roadway improvement to help ease traffic there are 5,000 garage parking space he at the resort. public transportation may be the way to go. mgm suggests taking metro to alexandria and hopping on a metro boss or water taxi. there's also a circulator bus that will be making the rounds from the nearby outlet mall and national harbor. just take it easy. just be a little bit patient. it may take you a couple more minutes but you'll get through comes online full time and that should make things a lot better for everybody. mgm national harbor officials opens thursday. the company anticipates at least 20 to 30,000 visitors each day over the next few weeks. > we're checking metro for you tonight. today the transit agency opened its doors today for a rare look inside its rail yard. the up close look was all part of what is being called a

the floor. doug: they are. when you get close 10:30 to 11:00 tonight at national harbor, at the m.g.m. it is probably going to be about 35 degrees. wind chill in the 20's. both values will continue to drop. take a look at the feels like 22 in winchester and hagerstown. 40 in fredericksburg. 39 is the wind chill now in the nation's capitol. overnight it will be clearing, cold. it will be breezy. air temperatures by morning. 24 to 30 degrees. the gusty northwest winds make it feels like the teens to the lower 20's. tomorrow it won't warm up. the air temperature will get to the mid-to-upper 30's but with the gusty winds it will any relief this the weekend or the long-term ten-day outlook? i will share that coming up in 12 minutes. alison: see you then, doug. now the latest in the bizarre shooting at comet ping pong. at a brief hearing today the case against edgar welch was continued. in an interview, though, with the "new york times," welch said he went to the d.c. restaurant with good intentions but went about it wrong way. he was lured by the fake news stories claiming that hillary clin

the potomac. here at national harbor we took this video just within the last hour. just trying to how mgm's opening this week would impact businesses. we did see people here out shopping and going to restaurants. but it is quite cold. that may have kept some people away. also there are a lot of other attractions going on with the casino t hotel and other restaurants. we spoke with the people of national harbor to get an idea. >> mgm coming in a great thing. we've been extremely busy downtown here at national harbor. and we're going to enjoy this nice brisk day. >> i love this. i'm a ski instructor. so i love the cold. my wife not so much. >> bundle up. >> i am bundle up. very cold. >> any shopping going on today? >> yeah. little bit. >> any problems with traffic or anything? >> no. not at no. parking was easy. >> reporter: you heard it. they were out here enjoying some holiday shopping going to get some candy, which is always a good idea. might have do that myself. and no problem getting here or finding a parking space. all positive for those shoppers who are here.

living up to the hype skyfoxto capturing the scene outside of u the mgm national harbor abouthat an hour before the casinoo opened to the public last night.t. traffic already causing majoradj headaches and then it even --orv it just got worse. >> congestion didn't ease up inside either.it some waited in line for hours to get inside. insid is it any better this morning. i annie yu is checking it out. annie two days in row.now roller baby. >> reporter: i feel b like one e but i'm definitely not a highfi roller. good morning, everybody. all right, so right nniteow at orni a this hour we're seeing a mixg ax eopleople. you got the people that have the been here for hours since lastt night when the doors openedrs o and then you have the peoplehe o just coming in this morning mori who took the day off just for f this day.ay so o-you can tell a lot of can people are excited for thisre ed because thousands, over 5,000r 0 people lined up outside yesterday.yester they braved the cold and folksol were like you know what doors a little sooner to letet folks in.folks in. instead of the 11 o'clock door

there's a lot of prince george's county police officers on the highways and surrounding the mgm national harbor. they will stay there to help drivers we can help you with up to the minute traffic conditions around the new mgm national harbor. just download our wusa 9 app. >>> the head of the prince george's liquor commission facing dui charges. charles caldwell got into a three-car crash outside the mgm national harbor following the grand opening. nobody was hurt but officers say caldwell smelled of alcohol and refused to take a breathalyzer and failed a field sobriety test. he was taken into custody. >>> the federal government faces a shut down if congress fails to get a stop-gap spending bill to the president. the house passed the bill and is headed home for the holidays. the trouble is in the senate with democrats have put up a roadblock. they are not happy that it extends health benefits for retired coal miners for 4 months, theyt this bill needs 60 votes to pass the senate. >>> got plans tonight or were those concert tickets just too much? >> congress just sent president obama a plan to cr

the new mgm national harbor is set to open tomorrow night. right now at the massive billion doll the midnight oil getting it ready for its grand opening. here's what you need to know - the parking garage opens tomorrow night at 10:30. the casino and resort opens at 11. if you plan to head out you are encouraged to plan your trip now so you're prepared. you can find much more information on wjla.com and stay with abc-7. we will have live team coverage tomorrow morning begining at 5am. tis the season for giving! and yesterday, the good morning washington team did a little toy shopping of our us in alexandria for toys for tots. and get this - those gifts and others will be hand-delivered today by first lady michelle obama at joint base annacostia-bolling you can still help make a child's christmas special this year. go to w-j-l-a dot com slash toys. you can order a toy online and have it shipped right to us - and we'll make sure it gets to toys for tots. it's 5 and still to come on good morning washington. the latest in the investigation into why

the national harbor wheel there. lso going to be chilly today, melissa. >> it will be cold heading out to the national harbor, getting last-minute christmas shopping in. or maybe your plans were to go to the casino, standing in line waiting to get in, it will be pretty cold out there. but it's december, so it's a cold snap and there are men more cold -- plenty more cold snaps ahead in here's a look, you'll notice the pretty pink colors showing up, it's a clear start to the day. with that, it is cold. in the city we're at 31. but that's right on the water. once you get off that we have temperatures that have dropped down more than 10 degrees colder than that. starting out at 20 in culpeper. 28 frederick. winchester 27. winds today not going to be as gusty as yesterday, but just enough where we're talking about windchill factors. winchester now feels like 17 when you factor in the light winds. a lot of cold arctic air invading the country. you can see all the cold temperatures back to our west and north. we're going to

get off at the national harbor exit. what about getting off 210 and working your way over, might be much less crowded. >>> right now people in the county can pick up clean drinking water at harris teeter. a water main break on tuesday triggered a boil water advisory for people living north of virginia gateway harris walk. the people are going to hand out 24-packs of bottled water all day long. the advisory is expected to be lifted sometime tonight. >>> an important reminder this morning about a holiday hazard that's likely in your home, a annapolis fire that killed six people. news4's megan fitzgerald has tips about how to properly care for your tree. >> finding the perfect christmas tree is a big part of the holiday season for a lot of folks, fire officials realize that. but they want people to keep safety in mind. here's what they're telling folks, once you get the christmas tree home, they want to you cut off about an inch of the base here. then once you get it into your home and you put it into the tree stand like the

getting national attention for her work as a trail blazer in the transgender community, but a new report reveals disturbing details about her conduct, the fox5 exclusive. but, the mgm national harbor is now officially open from the casino, the concerns about traffic. fox5 has you covered. yes, and the doors have opened.n they actually opened them early at the mgm national harbor. mgm this is a n look at the mgm andd the roads and you can see a lot of red taillights.tail this is the screw from sky fox.. the red taillights crawling around the complex as peopleople casino.sino > thanks for staying with us fr yours i'm tony perkins and?i shawn yancy. construction began backan in 204 and over the last two years we watched it as it grew into thish massive hotel and casino right on the banks of the potomac. it's going to have an immediate impact on the area from business to traffic.. fox5's lauren demarco is there tonight live enjoying the festivities and lauren,, i know they let people in early. tell us a little bit about thatt yes. so there were people outside, lined up outside all night there have been people inside. but that was a vip party. so members of the public, peopl, were out

the shops there are open. it's simply national harbor that is suggesting probably not the best time to visit. national harbor, brad bell >>> abc7 news. alison: thank you. the abc7 web team is working overtime on the coverage of the new casino there. right now you can browse a photo gallery from inside. take a behind the scenes tour. that is all on the website wjla.com. jonathan: still ahead for us here, it's cold enough to go skiing provided you have snow. well, the snow-making is underway at a local ski resort. how long until slopes are ready and open? mike: i'm mike make outside the g.w. hospital washington. staff celebrated the recovery of several patients. coming up their story of survival. ja first, you could call it the last warning. the extreme step samsung about to take to ensure the recall phones can't catch fire anymore. we live in a pick and choose world. love or like? calm or bright? but at bedtime why settle for this? enter sleep number, designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. sleepiq technology tel

group from inside the traffic command center at national harbor, i am sam sweeney. melanie: comet ping pong pizza will reopen tonight at 5:00 after a north carolina man went into the place with a gun after reading a fake news article. john gonzalez has the latest on this bizarre story. john: pizza -- comet ping pong pizza is scheduled to reopen amid an fbi investigation, but take a look at all the love and support folks are showing, with his very the pizzeria. you got a lot of flowers and signs. the north carolina man who allegedly fired an assault rifle inside this restaurant is being held without bond. 28-year-old edgar welch faced a intense standoff with police on sunday. police say they found two guns at the scene and a third inside welch's car in what has been dubbed pizza gate -- as a result of what has been dubbed pizza gate, an online story about hillary clinton and an online child sex trafficking ring. he believed the illicit run was being run out of comet ping pong pizza. calls fake news online. no one was injured, but welch has been charged with assault wi

today was the annual toys for tots strive at national harbor. the racing presidents were there, as well as members of the abc 7 and news channel 8 broadcast teams, along with our friends at wash fm and police and fire. it was heartwarming to see the boxes filled with teddy bears, toys, and games for those in need. for that, we say -- kimberly: we are still accepting donations at our station in rosslyn. for more information, go to wjla.com. i saw you are talking about a race tomorrow morning. josh: the jingle bells. kimberly: the bad news is the beginning is uphill? josh: it might help to warm up, getting started on the climb. it will be a chilly run. december, you kind of know what you are getting into. we have a nice night except for the breeze. the actual temperature, 45 degrees. when you factor in the wind, 16 miles per hour, keep in mind that it feels more like the 30's. dress for colder temperatures and a winter-type night. d.c. with breezes at 16 miles per hour, 10 miles per hour leesburg. most of us, the windchill sunday morning, d.c. abou

larry: opening at the mgm national harbor casino -- its first big concert. orming in the theater. visitors to an already packed casino. it has been filled to capacity multiple times since it opened last week. abc 7 will have a crew there tonight. ouria: we are kicking off seven days of giving before the holidays. each day next week we will be highlighting a different charity and showing how you can help. coming up, when we switch to newschannel 8, we will be talking about care, about their work helping families out of poverty in 95 countries, reaching 65 million people. it is a charity that is very close to larry's heart. you can learn more at care.org. 6:51 right now. we cannot wait until sunday when the warmer temperatures come in. veronica: actually, late saturday. it will be a brief warm-up that we will get over the weekend. starts monday morning again, the wind, the low wind chill readings are have a strategy set and ready to go for today. so important. what to wear and larynx up to make sure they when you have -- what to wear and layering up. get a cup

well ol course a lot of cameras watching over almost every aspect of o national harbor and the mgmgm grand at national harbor butarr what are police doi make sure people who go and mayy be strike it quote unquote rich are safe? it's something thatht prince george's county policerg take very seriouslyco and joinig suss chief hank stawinski princp george's county police chief. chief, i understand you've been' to vegas.as >> yes. >> at the invite of mgm resorts. tell us what your concerns arern and the advice for people who gg and maybe concerned for theirorr safety.ty >> well, as you were juste jus capturing, a lot of concernsonce been brought to my attention you have active management andad act tough monitoring of all these garage spaces at the national harbor. terson company, gaylord, the national who are proper and mgm tremendous infrastructure invests. again what we're saying is, coms and be prepared to have an enjoyable time. there's ample secure at are the all of a these facilities andac we'll be enhancing that with ouh police presence. >> if you win big, do you cego t an officer