it is cold this morning. we've had a big chill blow in out of the northwest over the last several hours. that wind started gusting yesterday afternoon. it has settled down a bit overnight. here is a live view from our city camera. we are under a clear sky. we've got the late autumn ko constellations up there. it's 39 cold degrees at reagan national. the wind out of the north-northwest at around 10 miles per hour. and that brings the windchill down into the 20s. now, we had our clouds clear away overnight and we've had high pressure moving in. that will give us a clear but chilly day today. most locations now in maryland and virginia are near the freezing mark, except closer to washington and montgomery, arlington, fairfax and prince georges county. a few locations there. temperatures are down into the mid to upper 30s as well as near the bay. now here is your day planner.

sunrise is at 7:07. should be bright and sunny today with afternoon highs climbing into the low to mid 50s by midafternoon. dress for a chilly day. the winds will diminish a bit. another cold night tonight. a look at the evening planner in minutes. danella has a look at our traffic. >> good morning. if you have to travel around the beltway, loot looks pretty good right now. let's start at new hampshire avenue. outer loop and inner loop not seeing any issues for you. i'll give you travel time, as well. 61 miles per hour is your speed. 10 minute to get from i-95 to i-270. if you're taking the beltway in virginia, you look pretty good, as well. no issues there. traveling on the inner leap from the 95 interchange to the dulles toll road, you're at 60 miles per hour only take four minutes. angie and joe, back to you. >> thank you, danella. new overnight, police areth having a shooting in northeast washington. police could not find the victim at the scene, but found him

eventually after checking local hospitals. no word on a possible suspect or motive in the shooting or on the victim's condition this morning. today, metro officials will meet to discuss some big budget problems and the possibility of big fare increases. the transit agency is facing a $124 million shortfall for the next fiscal years. megan mcgrath is live in the northwest with more on today's agenda. after seeing a report increase in 2010, metro rail riders could see fares go up again in 2011. now, ridership is down. analysts expect the local economy to remain sluggish in 2012 with high unemployment. so they're expecting ridership to continue to decrease. metro also says that maintenance costs are up, pension, health and salary costs are up, and they say all of this adds up to 124 million dollar budget shortfall. now, to help close the gap, metro could raise fares. that's something that's on the

table. we could see an increase, nearly 6%. they're cloog at cost savings measures as well as budget cuts to close the gap. keep in mind, this is very early in the process. there's a lot of discussion, a lot of input needs to be gathered. there would have to be public hearing before the fare hikes could take effect. that peak of the peak surcharge that was implemented a couple of years ago, they're looking at whether or not to get rid of that. a lot of tough decisions need to be made. they're going to have to do something. $124 million budget shortfall. now, what they choose to do and in what measure, we'll have to wait and see. it's the very beginning of the process, but a lot of riders don't want to see the fares go up. >> there would have to be a tough decision somewhere, megan. thank you very much. metro's snow strategy is on the agenda at today's budget meeting. the transit agency plans to keep trains running at its

aboveground stations this winter even if snow reaches 8 inches. metro says it has enough equipment to dedicate snowplows to each of the five rail lines, hopefully we have snow clearing around the system. right now, stock markets around the world are mixed. asian stock markets soared today, but european stocks are slowly climbing. this comes after the news that the global banks could provide cheap emergency loans to help with the european crisis. financial ministers will meet next fry to try to find a solution. some believe without deep spending cuts, tax hikes it could spark a new global financial crisis. right now on wall street, futures are down in the u.s. yesterday, the dow jumped 490 points, pushing it back above the 12,000 mark. the nasdaq was also up 104 points and the s&p closed 51 points higher. right now, secretary of

state hillary clinton is in myanmar. she sat down earlier today with the country's new leaders. in a meeting the u.s. hopes will boost myanmar's reform movement. this trip is seen as a test to whether myanmar's new civilian led government is, in fact, more democratic. clinton is meeting today with nobel peace laureate an san sue chi. vice president joe biden says the u.s. is ready for a new relationship with iraq. he's there to mark the last month of the u.s. being in the country. biden met with the prime minister nuriel malaki. you can hear more on that on the

"today" show after news 4 today. maryland state health officials are commissioning a review of security at a local mental facility. two consultants will look at facility at clifton heights medical center. the final report is expected by february. an official says the hospital is still in crisis mow after two murders back in october. today, montgomery city's health committee is expected to vote on a new curfew for those under 18-year-old. a few weeks ago, at least 70 teens were involved in this incident. the full council could vote on the proposal as early as next week. one of washington's holiday

traditions takes center stage this weekend. thousands of spectators are expected to watch as president obama lights the tree. this was the scene at last year's tree lighting. if you've got tickets to today's event, the gates open at 3:00. the lighting does mean several road closures, though. 15th street will be closed to traffic between east street, pennsylvania avenue and constitution avenue starting around 4:15 this evening. there will be no traffic allowed on 17th between constitution and new york avenue. all roads, though, should be open again around 7:00. >> and dress warmly. >> yes. bring the gloves. yesterday was sweater weather out on the gloves today. time is now 5:08. tough talk from rick perry's message to federal workers who don't buy into his plan to overhaul federal government. plus, the dangerous discovery airport security made on a passengers bound for

washington, d.c. hope you're ready for winter because you're going to feel its

good morning. time for weather and traffic. i'm meteorologist tom cure even in storm center 4. the cloud cover has cleared out and we're under a clear sky throughout most of the region now and it is cold. temperatures around much of the area down or near freezing. closer to washington in montgomery, fairfax, prince georges counties. right now it's in the mid 30s. away from the water, it's only by the mid 30s this morning. sunrise, 7:02. we'll have sunshine throughout the day today. by noon time, it should be in the upper foirts to near 50s and peaking in the low to mid 50s by

early afternoon. and another freezing start to friday morning. in the next week in ten minutes, here is a look at traffic. >> still looking for a really good commute if you're getting ready to hit the roadways anytime soon. passing clarksburg towards germantown, 57 miles per hour. continuing on towards rockville in both directions, i'll give you a live look right now. not any issues for you, you're clear heading towards the southbound. if you're taking the rails this morning, a minor five-minute delay. this one on train number 300. no reported delays on the metro or the mark trains. now back to you both. >> thank you very much. time right now is 12 minutes after the 5:00 hour. ahead on news 4 today, trying to keep scenes like this playing out for the holidays. what the f aa is promising to do to keep passengers from getting stuck on the tarmac.

>> this is not what you want to see next year. boats where this boater is spotted. a massive shark. [ screaming ]

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rick perry has three words for federal employees who don't share his beliefs. degree or else. perry told reporters this week that he would look to reassign federal workers who did not agree with his policies. the texas governor said he would reassign them to some god awful place. federal worker labor unions are furious with perry saying federal employees help out in many ways, including patrolling the border and staffing veteran affairs hospitals. religion why is broadcaster pot robertson says herman cain should drop out of the race, the amgzs of an affair and sexual

misconduct are too much for cain to overcome. he took a swipe at the former pizza ceo saying he was good at making pizzas, but was in over his head. cain says he will make a decision on his campaign after he meets with his wife tomorrow and discusses the allegations. there is a new rasmussen poll out this morning. 32% is the lead for newt gingerich over mitt romney in iowa. he leads the president, as well. last week, mr. obama led gingerich by 6%. romney still holds the advantage in new hampshire 10 points ahead of gingerich now. >> but first, a federal lawsuit has been filed in the penn state sexual abuse scandal. a man filed a lawsuit against

jerry sandusky, his charity, the second mile and penn state university. the lawsuit claims he was sexually abused by sandusky more than 100 times. sandusky says he's innocent. he remains out on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on december 13th. for the second day now, john hinckley will be back in court seeking more time away from the psychiatric hospital he lives in. attorneys have argued that he was be allowed longer visits with his mother in virginia and ultimately be allowed to live outside the hospital. but yesterday, federal lawyers say that hinckley is still too dangerous and said on a recent trip outside the hospital to to see a movie, hingly went to a bookstore where he was seen browsing books on president reagan and books on assassination. and the man who spent four

months behind bars in aruba suspected in the disappearance of his travel companion scored another victory. last week, a judge decided prosecutors did not have enough evidence to keep him in custody. giordano left the island, landed in miami and board a flight to new york. it's not clear when he will return to his gatingersburg home. prosecutors say they will continue the investigation. under dutch law, they have up to three years to press charges against giordano. today, the fairfax county school board could move one step closer to allowing security cameras inside their high schools. the issues on the school board's agenda for today could be voted upon by december 15th. the cameras could be placed in cafeterias, lobbies and other large gathering places. ultimately, it would be left up to each school's principal. opponents say it's an invasion of privacy. tsa authorities stopped a

woman traveling from los angeles to reagan national when they discovered a stun gun in her bag. officers stopped the woman at a security checkpoint. she told them that she forgot it was in her bag. the stun gun was disguised to look like a pink cell phone. after turning the device over to the tsa, she was allowed to board her flight. a major corridor for smuggling drugs from mexico to the united states has been shut down. mexican troops discovered this tunnel, more than six football fields long and context tijuana to san diego. no one was arrested, but authorities did seize more than 4 tons of marijuana. this is the second tunnel discovered in less than a month. police found another tunnel about two weeks ago and confiscated more than 17 tons of marijuana. travelers in los angeles are dealing with some early morning delays after the airport lost power overnight. public works officials say wind caused damage at a power station, knocking out power to a large area in los angeles last

night, including l.a.x. the airport lost power around 7:00 and a ground stop was order for all arriving flights. it was finally lifted shortly before midnight. about 25 planes had to be diverted to other airports. airlines say they're still working to clear the backup this morning. well, the faa is promising some major changes before the holiday travel season and winter weather hits. to prevent all those tarmac nightmares we've been hearing about. on october 28th, planes were unspec'dly diverted to connecticut. some passengers were trapped on grounded planes for more than seven hours. officials blamed poor communication between airlines and airports. they say a new system that will divert flights to a different airport to avoid major delays, that's going to go online soon. 5:21 now. time again for weather and traffic on the iss. we'll start with tom. >> here is december.

hello, december. it's feeling like a winter month this morning. the sky is clearing out overnight. under the clear sky, temperatures have plummeted. we're down to near or below freezing across virginia, maryland, and into shennendoah valley and west virginia. it's down into the upper 20s in most locations. blue ridge east of the bay, it's generally above freezing, mid 30s. but a few isolated spots in frederick, loudoun county, southern maryland away from the waters and the eastern shore. near the waters, it's near 40 degrees. sunrise is at 7:07. day planner, by 9:00, it should be near 40. so a cold morning. dress accordingly. that wind coming out of the northwest gust to go around 10 to 15 miles per hour. but by noon time, the wind should diminish. it should be near 50 bright and sunny through the afternoon. highs reaching low to mid 50s. and a clear evening and chilly. sunset will be at 4:47. and another cold start tomorrow

morning. it will be near freezing starting off friday morning. bright and sunny day tomorrow. highs near the low to mid 50s. chilly temperatures, highs in the 40s to near 50 and then another cold start sunday morning. sunday afternoon, clouds begin to increase. it will be in the low 50s. clouding up sunday night into monday, but somewhat milder on monday. then tuesday and wednesday, a front coming through may trigger some passing showers. danella, good morning, how is the commute? >> good morning. still looking pretty good in our area if you're traveling along the dulls toll road. ite nom seeing any issues for you. your lanes are open in both directs. local roadways look nice, as well. in d.c., looking for accidents there, so far, not seeing any. here is a live look if you're traveling. nice and quiet. now back to you both.

>> danella, thanks. reverend billy graham is awaiting test results for possible pneumonia. he is being treated at a hospital near his north carolina home. he was checked into the hospital yesterday with a cough and a slight fever. he served as a spiritual adviser for several presidents and has taken his message of faith to people all around the world. pull it'ser prize winning author roger ebert says his distinguish program will go on hiatus this month. ebert says the hiatus will allow public television stations to plan their programming without his show included. the show is currently hosted by movie reviewers by the associated press and movie.com. country singer mindy mccr mccraydy is in fight with them again. the singer's parents have legal custody over mccraydy's 5-year-old son. mccraydy allegedly disappeared

with the child on tuesday. a judge issued a court order for mccraydy to bring her son home by 5:00 tonight. mccraydy issued a statement saying she probably will not make it because she is nearly 7 months pregnant with twins. if she does not return with her son, she could be arrested. mccraydy was previously arrested and served 30 days in jail back in 20307 after having a fight with her mother and though follows a string of other incidents following domestic abuse and drug charges. >> bad down fall. this next story, gosh, a nice relaxing boat ride in north carolina turned into a scene straight out of the movie from "jaws." >> a group of men were on their boat when they thought they saw a dolphin. turns out it was a great white shark. the video was authenticated by the north carolina aquarium and the shark was heard to say -- but then he swam off.

>> that was really good, joe. >> that's the shark speaking. anyway, our time right now is 5:25. coming up, a car jacking victim is sharing his story as the man accused of targeting several older drivers heads to court. plus, the new job bru what makes the sleep number store different? the sleep number bed. with the sleep number bed, it's not about soft or firm. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. on a traditional mattress, there is no adjustment. you get what you're buying that day. with our bed, you change the setting to something you like. this way, if you change your mind once you get home you can adjust it. wow! that feels really good. it's hugging my body. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. if i'm in pain one day,

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riding metro could soon cost you a lot more as the agency considers raising rates today. back behind the bench, bruce boudreau has a new job just two days after the capitals cut ties with him. good morning to you. >> welcome back to news 4 today on this thursday, the very first day of december. the first day of metrological winter, as well, and it sure feels like it out there, tom. >> good morning. i'm cold. it is a cold start this december morning. good morning. first day of december, that's a live picture from the city camera showing a clear sky over the washington monument. the jefferson memorial. and right now, we've had winds

that were blustery earlier diminish. still 10-mile-an-hour winds to bring the windchills down into the 20s. it's 39 at reagan national. we've had our sky clear out overnight as high pressure has pushed in behind that low that came through yesterday with the clouds. but now it's all clear throughout most of west virginia and maryland and virginia and the eastern shore and the temperatures have plummeted. we're down near or below freezing throughout most of the region. now at 5:30 in the morning, it's down to the mid 30s in montgomery and fairfax counties. arlington county in the upper 30s and much of prince georges county in the mid and upper 30s, as well. southern maryland near the bay, as well as on the eastern shore, it's near 40. but away from the waters, it's only in the mid 30s there and it dipped into the 20s in many locations of the shennendoah valley, into the mountains of west virginia this morning.

sunrise will be at 7:07. it's gol going to away cold morning. by noon time, near 50. bright sun throughout the day. we'll have temperatures climbing into the low and mid 50s by early to midafternoon. sunset is at 4:47. another cold night. your evening planner coming up at 5:41. let's have a look at our traffic. good morning, danella. >> good morning. i'm not seeing any issues as you make yao way from laurel and head up towards gaithersburg. if you're taking i-95 in virginia, i'm not seeing any issues. volume is increasing just a bit as you make your way north towards 395. but hey, you're in the clear. here is a look right now at pript prince william parkway. notice seeing a lot of delays. it's getting busy, but checking for accidents and major delays in our area and so far, we're looking really good. angie and joe, back to you. >> thank you, danella. this morning, metro officials will meet to talk about big budget problems and

the possibility of big fare increases. the transit agency is facing a $124 million shortfall for the next fiscal year. a fare increase of nearly 6% is apparently already on the table. and that translates into roughly 10 cents more for each train and bus ride. the hikes could go higher than that to help with the budget gap. the increases could take effect in july. and federal workers will find out this morning how they'll be alerted to early dismissals and closures during winter storms. the office of personnel management will outline its first overhaul of its snow policy in more than a decade. this comes after this gridlock nightmare played out last january. thousands got stranded on the roads just as thousands of federal workers were looking for work. this new snow policy will reportedly require the government to announce much earlier whether it will be open or closed or opened with unscheduled leave or telework. later today, the man accused in a series of car jackings and

abductions across maryland will be in court. meantime, we're hearing from one of the first victims. 50-year-old henry levi sanders was arrested yesterday. he's suspected in aft least five attacks, including three car jackings at the same shopping center in wheaton. saunders asked for a ride to the metro station the sunday before thanksgiving. >> from home depot, he put out his knife and he said, give me your wallet and give me your money and i want to kill you. >> gabramede was not hurt. sanders is facing several charges, including assault, kidnapping and robbery. he will be in court at 1:30 this afternoon for his bond hearing. today, prince georges county police and firefighters will be collecting donations for a family who lost three loved ones in a fire over the weekend. a 6-year-old was killed on the fire on sunday that was sparked

by an overloaded power strip. tuesday, omari's mother and aunt died from smoke inhalation and injuries they suffered in the fire. tonight, they will be at the elementary school to collect household supplies for surviving family members. traffic should be flowing as normal this morning on the baltimore washington parkway hours after police say a man crashed a stolen tractor-trailer truck in the median of the roadway. officers say the man stole the truck cab in south baltimore and led police on a cheese. he eventually crashed near powder mill road. police are saying very little about the suspect. they say he is wanted in mississippi. the virginia attorney general has his eyes set on the governor's mansion. he has decided to run for governor in 2013. he served two terms in the state senate until he was elected attorney general a few years ago. he's become a favorite amongst

virginia tea party voters. he's one of the first attorneys generals to file a lawsuit against president obama's health care law. he's been one of the most aggressive on immigration checks. virginia has a one-term limit, to the current governor cannot run for re-election. a potential major change in how d.c., fire and ems crews work. chief kenneth ellerby suggested reducing shifts to 12 hours. right now, firefighters worked 24 hours straight just eight days a month. with the schedule, many live as far away as south carolina. ellerby says the change could save more than $30 million in expenses. but the union says it will fight the proposed changes. new from overnight, former washington capitals coach bruce boudrei a u has a new gig. he will take over the ducks. ducks have within 3 of st.

games. carlisle led anaheim to its only stanley cup title in 2007. >> they are a great bunch of guys and i know dale will turn it around and i know this is a great hockey market and the people have been fabulous. so i think it's -- it will thrive and survive. before the season is over, they'll be back where they belong. >> boudreau's first game will be behind the bench with the flyers. the caps and ducks played their only game against each other earlier this year in november. well, tonight new caps coach dale hunter will get to look -- will look to get his first win against the team's archrival, the pittsburgh penguins come to town for the first time this season. caps are looking to break a three-game losing streak right now while the penguins have won two of their last three. it will be the first time the caps will face sydney crosby in

more than a year after his return to the ice from a concussion. face-off is at 7:00 tonight at the verizon center. today, nba players can officially begin preparing for the upcoming season. teams will open their facilities for the first time since the league ended its lockout last week. players can take part in voluntary workouts. training camps will open a week from tomorrow with the season beginning on christmas day. the players and owners reached a tentative deal last week that ended the month-long work stoppage. the upcoming season had to be shortened to 66 games instead of the usual 82. to squeeze it all in, they're going to be playing a lot of back to back games. 5:37 right now. you could run into some roadblocks if you're headed downtown tonight as the white house helps light up the holiday season. beating the loophole mcdone

al's found to get around one city's order to stop serving happy meals. plus[ baby coughing ]ecember [ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards

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to protect our kids. your home and auto policies and save. don't worry, tiny people. flo is a gentle giant. bundle home and auto at progressive.com. 5:40 is our time right now. we have 37 degrees, yes, 37, with approaching freezing out there this morning. and it feels even colder with a

bit of a breeze blowing out there this morning. you're going to feel it when you head out. be sure to wear shoes, right? >> definitely wear shoes, wear the gloves. layer up with the scarfs. the good news is there's going to be a lot of sun. >> oh, that's nice. almost 5:41 on this first morning of december. and it is certainly acting like a winter month. the sky has cleared out overnight and the temperatures have plum eed as a result. it's down to 30 degrees in frederick this morning. near 40 in washington right by the bay. but parts of the shennendoah valley into the mountains of maryland and west virginia, it's only in the mid and upper 20s this morning and the wind is still a bit blustery, gusting around 10 to 15 miles per hour. it will be a cold morning.

won't get above 40 probably until after 9:00. a bright and sunny day, though. we'll have highs in the mid to low 50s. a look at friday, the weekend and next week in ten minutes. how is traffic snm. >> good morning. still pretty good in our area. very windy. as you're traveling southbound, the volume is increasing as you head towards the -- not seeing any accidents in the roadway for you. again, not seeing knit accidents on i-66 in either direction both inside and outside of the beltway. travel speed for you, 60 miles per hour. taking the beltway in virginia, van dooring within no problems there on the inner or the outer loop. angie and joe, back to you. 5:32 is the time. a northern virginia man gets soaked after finding himself at

the center of a dramatic police chase. what we're learning about

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good morning and welcome back. a local man is facing charges in virginia after police say he abducted his wife and led them on a high speed chase. melissa has more with this amazing video. >> 31-year-old amelio sanchez tried to abduct his wife saturday night. a few minutes later, police spotted that speeding van and the pursuit began. take a look at this video just coming into the news room. the chase took officers along 264 from chesapeake down into downtown norfolk. at the elizabeth river, he got out of the van and jumped into the water. you can see him here bobbing in

the river. the coast guard was nearby and guarded him back to shore. police had to pull him out of water and took him into custody. we understand this morning that his estranged wife is safe. he could face charges in norfolk and has an open case in alexandria for larceny. >> thanks very much, melissa. >> okay. today, montgomery county's public safety committee is expected to vote on a cd countywide curfew. the curfew, which would apply to all teens in the county is expected to curb youth crime like this shopping spree at a 7-eleven happened just two weeks ago. the curfew would begin at 11:00 p.m. on week nightses and at midnight on weekends. the full council could vote on the proposal as early as next

week. new from overnight, d.c. police are investigating a shooting near northwest washington. police could not find the victim at the scene, but did find him after checking local hospitals. there's no word on a possible suspect or motive in the shooting or on the victim's condition. police need your help on finding a band of robbers targeting stores in northeast d.c. they believe the men have hit at least three stores within a 28-hour period from sunday over to monday. police say they robbed one of those stores twice. surveillance video captured the terrifying ordeal. the armed men ordered customers down to the floor at gun point. one of those employees said he feared for his life. >> it's like moving. >> police are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information lead to go arrests in these robberies. this morning, twom wanted

for bank robberies and car jackings from northern virginia to baltimore is behind bars. police arrested 26-year-old stephanie schwab yesterday after she allegedly tried to rob a bank in mcclain, virginia. officers caught her after a chase on the beltway that ended with a crash in bethesda. she is charged with robbing two banks and car jacking a woman at tyson's galleria. she's accused of assaulting a woman in baltimore county in maryland. maryland health officials will review security at a psychiatric hospital after three murders there in a little over a year. the final report is expected by february. an official say the hospital is, quote, still in crisis mode after two murders back in october. president obama will put politics aside this evening and take part in a washington tradition, the lighting of the national christmas tree. news 4's trace can isy wilkins is live down on the elipse where

thousands will be gathering this afternoon for the big event. >> good morning, joe. i have some advice for the thousands who will be gathering. they need to dress very warmly. tonight, it is freezing cold down here and we're having wind gusts, as well. i know it's going to be cold this evening, as well. but it is going to be so much fun. we have the 89th lighting of the national christmas tree happening tonight and it's going to be a star-studded event before that lighting and folks are going to have a great time. we also have a brand new tree, the tree that stood here since 1978 was noblgd down last year by wind. the new 26-foot tall colorado blue spruce national christmas tree will be illuminated for the first time tonight by president obama and his family. the celebration begins at 4:30 and, again, will be star-studded with host carson daily and performances from the black i'd peas, big time rush, one remember, rodney atkins, and my

favorite, kermit the frog. and the biggest star of all for the night will be santa claus. this is going to be an exciting event. joining us live is bill land with the national parks service. folks coming here, what do they need to know? >> as you said earlier, dress for the weather. if that means wearing long underwear, good gloves, ear muffs, a scarf around your neck to keep yourself warm, that's your best bet. don't bring the kitchen sink and everything else with you. remember, you're going to go through security checks. the secret service and the united states park police will check every backpack, knapsack, purse, whatever. bring as little with you as you probably can, but dress to stay warm. brand new this year is entering on the 17th streets, 17th and c street side whereas previous years we've entered from 15th street. >> fantastic. thank you, bill.

along with the national parks service and for folks coming down or traveling in this area, know there are plenty of roads closed because of this. so if you can avoid this area altogether, that probably will be a good idea to avoid the rush. back to you in the studio, jeff. >> tracey, thanks very much. you time is now 5:51. plus, it's a new tree down there. >> by the way, just as soon as tracey was finished, she put that fur lined hood up. >> i bet. >> des like tracey wilkins this morning. we have had the cold air coming in yesterday afternoon on the blustery winds. right now at reagan national, it's 39. the wind gusting to around 10 to 15 miles per hour. it doesn't seem like a lot, but it's enough for the windchill to be down into the 20s this morning. so yes, dress accordingly. the averages for december in washington are right now average high for the first of december, 52.

the average low is 36. but by the end of the month, it gets very the average high is only 44. the average low, 27. in an average december, we get about an inch and a half of snow. sometimes we can get a lot more. let's take a look at what's been happening over the last 12 the overnight. we've had high pressure pushing in. and no travel problems up and down the atlantic seaboard or in and out of the midwest. it's a large area of high pressure that's moved in. but it's dry and it is gold. down near or below freezing throughout much of virginia, west virginia and maryland. near the bay dwaerts, it's near 40 degrees. montgomery, prince georges counties, now low 30s. in a few spots, we'll get at or below freezing there. it's a dark morning and it will stay cold through much of the morning. bright and sunny day. tonight, clear and cold again. by midnight, near 40 degrees. sunset will be at 4:47.

tomorrow, another bright and sunny day. a cold start near 30 in the morning and afternoon highs. sunny saturday, near 50. another cold day. sunday, partly cloudy and another chilly day. monday and into next week, a bit milder. we could get rain tuesday and wednesday. danella, how is traffic? >> if you're commuting on the rails, seeing some delays on the blue line right now. there's a malfunction at the pentagon and causing you delays there as you make your way towards largo. however, they aren't reporting delays at this time. chopper 4 is live over i-270. this is just before interstate 370, around gaithersburg. as you make your commute southbound, that's where you see your volume increase. i'm checking cameras up around urbana and clarksburg. so far, not so bad making your way in gaithersburg. northbound, nice and smooth. if you're traveling on the beltway, here is a live look@at route 1. getting busy on the inner belt and outerbelt.

back to you. >> thank you, danella. an iraq war veteran is getting to keep a promise to his son thanks to community support for his tree house. mark grapin built the tree house in the front yard of his home following a recent deployment to iraq. some tree house, huh? but someone complained to the zoning board. he was told he needed special permission for the structure, so he applied, but it was turned down. when he appealed, he found out he had a lot of support from people he never met. >> for the adversity of the situation, it's great that a neighborhood is actually able to rally around something that is beneficial to the neighborhood. and i -- it's what you would hope the end of the story would turn out like. >> the grapins will have to take the tree house down in five years. a lawsuit filed by the nfl by fans who were not allowed to sit in their seats during the super bowl will go on. it involves from and incident

involving more than 1200 ticket holders whose seats were declared to be unsafe. some of the fans were forced to watch from standing room only locations. others were relocates located and missed part of the game. a cheer loader is in stable condition after a scary scene. during a time-out, taylor young fell during that routine. she fell face first on to the court. medical personnel placed her on a backboard as a precaution. michigan state's athletic director said that young is okay. in fact, she did give a thumbs up and a smile when she was wheeled off the court. >> glad she's already. a new survey says a large chunk of americans were willing to break their wireless contracts and pay fines just to get their hands on one of those iphone 4s. consum

consumer intelligence researchers say many broke contracts with their carrier to buy the device. of those, more than 70% paid an early termination fee greater than $100. mcdonald's found a way around san francisco's new happy meal ban. starting day, the ordinance prohibits fast food restaurants from offering toys with children's meals that don't comply with nutritional standards. now mcdonald's will charge 10 cents per toy. the proseeds will be donated to the ronald mcdonald house. i wonder if you could then take the toy to, say, oakland and get your money back? >> that would be smart. funny that they found a way around it. i know we talked about it earlier. by march, all the mcdonald's happy meals across the nation will have the apple slices in them, they'll have the smaller amount of fries. 10 cents a charity.

ronald mcdonald charities do a >> great. news 4 today at 6:00 a.m. starts in about 15 seconds. >> stay with us. we'll have all the news and weather ande 1s coming your way as news 4 continue begins at 6:00.

stocks surge. what so expect on wall street today after the biggest one-day smiek in more than two years. unfair, how much metro riders could be charged to make up for the agency's money troubleses. >> welcome to news 4 today. >> let's take a live look outside right now. we're looking at cold skies. we have 37 degrees right now and some winds. right, tom? >> yeah. a little bit of wind. just enough to make that cold air penetrate through your fleece and your outer player this morning because of the chill that has been blowing in thanks to high pressure that came in yesterday afternoon and evening. it cleared out our sky overnight, but brought in cold