wusa9 wishes you and yours a joyous holiday season! [ singing ] washington d.c., the vatican and bethlehem, people around the world celebrating christmas day. here in the district the basilica, the national shrine of the immaculate conception served christmas dinner to those who are alone or in need. we spent the morning with volunteers participating in this 40 year tradition. ♪ oh tidings of comfort and joy ♪ >> so right now we're putting all the food into bags into groups of three and then we'll give them to the people just so it's easier to send them out. you'll go down here. you'll get four ba

you'll also get bags for gifts and soda and pies. >> we hear throughout the entire christmas season various places advertising that christmas is about giving. so we are going out of ourselves to assist those in need. >> my mother really instilled in all six of her children that christmas was more about giving than receiving and i can't think of a better tribute to her than to do this. >> the people in the home don't have anybody coming to see them, you know, that day. we were the only people that would be coming in to say anything to them. >> i don't really -- i'm trying not to have any expectations, just glad to be doing this. [ knocking on door ] >> merry christmas, mr. benjamin. >> thank you so much and you look so pretty. >> you never know whose life you touch just by smiling and saying hello. >> it's a special day to share

>> god has blessed me that i'm able to do this, that i'm able to give back. >> it's a really important day for a lot of people, so i thought it would be great to give back and make it a special day for all of us. >> christmas is very welcome here, very welcome. it's like home, very welcome. ♪ oh little town of bethlehem how still we see thee lie ♪ . >> more than 2,000 meals were served at the basilica cafeteria and those delivered to home. howard bernstein says it's a quiet start to the week, but don't hang up your winter coats just yet. >> yeah. we'll need them especially later in the week, but big difference in temps from pennsylvania in the 30s along with western maryland to near 60 in charleston, west virginia. it will take a day or two to get that warm air,

be around long. there's a big blizzard raging in the northwestern plains in the dakotas and montana we'll talk about in a few minutes. around here a couple showers and clouds will be returning. high pressure will pull away. clouds never got away from charlottesville. the cloud cover will be coming back with that warm front overnight into tomorrow morning north of the mason-dixon line we may see a little drizzle with very light freezing rain. so freezing rain advisories are up overnight but nothing around here. our day planner for monday we'll have a lot more clouds tomorrow, temperatures close to today around 50 but without the sunshine i'm calling it chilly. i've got a seven-day forecast which has 60s on it, but it also has a return to more winter-like weather when we get toward the second half of the week. we'll have it coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you, howard. a suspect is in serious condition after a police officer shot him in northeast d.c. we're told officers arrived at a

intersection of vista and walnut streets around 11:30 this morning. police say they found a man armed with a knife. when he refused to drop the weapon, an officer shot him and is now on routine administrative leave. it was a special day for two prince george's county boys who had a tough couple of weeks. their own father allegedly stabbed them last month and today the people who responded to that scene threw those boys a christmas they'll never forget. wusa9's hillary lane was there. >> reporter: smiles were plentiful today for 4-year-old gentleman hill, 3-year-old -- jalil, 3-year-old jordan and mom. it was a very different scene last november. their father allegedly stabbed the boys. pamela graham was one of the cs

>> i thought being a single mom myself and i put myself in the shoes of their mom. >> reporter: so pam raised more than $4,000 for christmas gifts for the boys and money for lashawn. >> it was just instinct. >> reporter: so this christmas morning pam invited mom and kids over for christmas morning festivities. >> santa claus? >> merry christmas. >> say merry christmas. >> ho ho ho! merry christmas. >> reporter: presents for the kids were delivered by the big man in the red uniform. >> look at that. >> push the button. >> reporter: to top it all off a holiday breakfast. >> you good? >> reporter: round the table a family that was in need with the woman who came to their rescue and above the table a fitting quote, the greatest joy in life is to see those you love happy. >> seeing them excited, tearing open toys and wrappers and the smiles

>> reporter: now that's the christmas spirit. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: hillary lane, wusa9. >> both boys are recovering well mom says eating and running around just like any other little boys their age would. christian dillard faces multiple charges including attempted first degree murder and assault. they've been doing it for 29 years. this year was no exception. more than 1,000 volunteers took part in the 30th annual day of service. the d.c. jewish community center sponsors the annual event each christmas to lend a hand so that others can celebrate the christmas holiday with their family. >> we send out almost 1,000 volunteers across d.c., maryland and virginia to volunteer between at 45 to 50 social service agencies doing a variety of things from preparing meals to singing carols and visiting people who are room bound or home bound. >> volunteers particat

blood drive to benefit inova hospital, assemble packages for the homeless and made activity kits for children getting treatment at the national institutes of health. just a couple hours ago hundreds gathered downtown to celebrate the festival of lights. the national menorah was lit for the second night of hanukkah. the annual tradition takes place at the white house ellipse. the event features special performances, donuts and the lighting of the menorah. a hot meal goes a long way for someone in need, but it was about much more than the food when one popular breakfast spot served breakfast to the homeless. it was about the spirit of christmas. >> and we had great weather this christmas, but not everyone was so lucky, where people are hunkering down tonight as a snowstorm moves in.

breaking news, british pop singer george michael has died at his home in england. that's according to his publicist. he was 53. the cause of death has not been released yet. michael achieved fame as member of the duo wham before moving on to a very successful solo career. he sold more than 100,000 albums during a career that spanned four decades. more news around the world right now, a russian plane headed to an air base in syria crashes into the

moments after takeoff. 92 people on board are feared dead. the plane took off from the resort city of sochi. among the passengers, a well known military choir headed to perform in a holiday concert. mourners laid floral tributes outside the choir headquarters. the cause of that crash is under investigation. a powerful earthquake shook southern chile today. coastal areas evacuated as a precaution as officials worried about the possibility of a tsunami. that tsu namiinwarng has been lifted. the quake had a magnitude of 7.7 when it hit a sparsely populated area 25 miles southwest of corte quao. fortunately no casualties were reported, but several roads and bridges were affected by that quake. question got lucky with this christmas day weather, but howard says a co

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president obama and the first family spending this christmas in hawaii, the obamas stopped into a favorite spot for shaved ice today and took time to shake hands with people in the crowd that gathered outside. the president wished everyone a merry christmas and posed for some photos. the obamas return to washington january 2nd. meantime president-elect donald trump and his family are spending this christmas at their estate in palm beach, florida. they attended a church service at the episcopal church by the sea in palm beach. earlier today trump wished the world a merry christmas via twitter. the spirit of christmas was in full swing at two local pancake houses. volunteers cooked. they bussed tables and served hot breakfast to the homeless today at

house in bethesda and in falls church. this is the 18th year the restaurants have been helping the homeless. >> it's such a small thing for us to do to help the community. we do it with a lot of volunteers. that's what keeps us running. we need people that run the coat rack to people that contact the shelters and the people that come in today, of course, and help us serve food. we've got dishwashers in the back and people cooking. >> volunteers also provided free hair-cuts, coats, scarves and toys for the homeless after breakfast. it's a white christmas for some midwest states but not the kind you might hope for. icy roads and winds up to 55 miles per hour in north and south dakota. more than 8 inches of snow is expected there. a winter storm warning is in effect in utah as well. people hitting the roads are being asked to prepare for delays and, of course, always have an extra flashlight, food and water in your car. >> rapid city d

to 70 miles an hour with freezing wind before changing over to snow. we had a gorgeous day today. >> was it not at all like christmas, but i'm taking it. >> we did get to 51 degrees and tonight at 11:00 i'll tell you how we did about the 3-degree guarantee. 45 right now, mostly cloudy and it's a chilly one with mid-30s now in frederick and gaithersburg. it's 37 in culpeper, 41 waldorf, so certainly jacket weather, but the winds are not too strong. tomorrow that blizzard will bring some very cold temps to the northern plains, out on the rockies, northern maine also cold, but the south with 60s and 70s. we've got this battle going on. normally you've got a big storm and that's what we're seeing, big storm here across parts of the northern rockies, snow, freezing rain and heavy rain there. so blizzard conditions in the dakotas and montana and then on the south a warm side. look at this line of storms that went in toward kansas

here a little while ago extending down into oklahoma, isolated severe weather there. for us high pressure was in control, so we had a nice day. the clouds are coming back as the high pulls away. we'll be cloudy for your monday. we may see a peek of sun here and there but generally a mostly cloudy day, 40s to near 50. it won't feel as nice because the sun won't be out. tuesday we'll get a more southwesterly wind. monday night we'll probably take in the 40s. -- stay in the 40s. a couple showers can't be ruled out tuesday morning. i think tuesday we could get into the low 60s. keep in mind 44 now is the average high. mid- to upper 30s tonight. clouds return, on the sold side, but at -- cold side, but at least the winds will be light. tomorrow mostly cloudy, cold, highs around 50 with a south wind 5 to 10 miles an hour. we stay in the 40s on monday night. tuesday 63 with a few morning showers, a little colder wednesday, back to 50. second half of the week some showers thursd

gets really chilly around here for friday and saturday. i'm sitting next to a pair of twins right now. sunday the burgundy and gold should be a little milder with lows in the 50s with the big game against the giants. >> i don't mind being twins with this woman here. >> merry christmas. plenty of football going on over the weekend, still some going on. >> plus how one beloved redskin is helping make

now wusa9 game on sports with kristen berset brought to you by xfinity. >> normally christmas day is reserved for the nba, but this year the nfl gave us a present in the form of two football games. tonight it's the broncos/chiefs. right now the ravens/steelers

afc title on the line. the steelers struck first, but ben roethlisberger has thrown two interceptions. it was a one point game at the half until joe flacco threw a dime to steve smith. right now it's ravens 20, steelers 10 in the 4th. the burgundy and gold had a merry christmas after their big win yesterday over chicago that keeps them well within the playoff hunt. kirk cousins was 18 of 29 for 270-yard and ran for two touchdowns. -- 270 yards and ran for two touchdowns. cousins looks much more comfortable and jay gruden says it's all thanks to that offensive line. >> desean made a big time catch on the crossing route where he got hit by the safety. again it goes to the offensive line early. when he's comfortable and can go through one or two or sometimes three processings. it's that time of year we have plenty of football to keep our attention and while the nfl finishes their push to the postseason it is bowl

college football. it's the terrapins time to take the spotlight and end their season on a high note. terps take on the former acc foe in boston college tomorrow up in detroit for the quick lane bowl. it reach unites the head coaches. they both coached together at university of florida. dirka knows this team well and he gave us his scouting report. >> very well coached, tough physical team. that's their program. i know their head coach very well. you can see it on tape. they want to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. their defense is tremendous and offensive they establish the run game and fry and do it with a power -- try and do it with a power type run and run it right at you. nfl hall of famer darrell green wanted to help insure some area kid had a very happy holiday season. our diane roberts takes us inside christmas with the redskins. >>

roamed the sideline for washington 20 years has taken his football success and popularity and used it to entice players throughout the year to help him help others. >> i don't know all these kids, but i know one thing. i love them and want to see them happy right now. >> reporter: it seems the hall of famer got his christmas wish earlier this month. >> i like getting presents. >> reporter: sprinkled throughout the crowd some of the best crop of players on this year's team like quarterback josh norman. what does it mean in your heart you can help this young man? >> it means everything. if you got the means to do so, you should do it. >> reporter: for some kid meeting their favorite player outweighed the free gifts almost. >> you don't want this anymore? get a second one. >> reporter: defensive back will blackmon remembers not wanting for anything when he grew up. offensive

>> i didn't know you had toys and everything with christmas growing up. it puts a bright spot in your heart being able to do something like that. >> reporter: that's what motivated green, to make sure every player is matched with a player or benefactor so they get what they want. in addition to the free gifts we told you about -- >> barbies, play-doh. >> i used to be in the projects with food stamps. now i can help someone that potentially could be in the projects with food stamps and i'm not saying they are, but i can help that kid because somebody helped me. >> reporter: and for many of these guys just being able to be a kid again while fulfilling christmas wishes is a big draw, too. >> merry christmas, redskins santa! >> merry christmas, redskins fans! we love you, god bless you and redskins, let's go to the playoffs

for a christmas present, love seeing the smiling faces and a big merry christmas to uncle chub. tell us what we need to know. >> quiet tonight, chilly, 30s. tomorrow more clouds around, tomorrow kwanzaa begins, 50. clouds around 53 and a cold shot friday and saturday but only lasting through saturday because it will be milder, burgundy and gold on sunday. >>

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