In bethesda. Security helped to direct traffic and even some Police Officers had a little fun doing it. If you still had shopping to do, can you expect plenty of company. Its one of the last shopping days before the big day and probably going to be one of the busiest, too. And things are already bustling, derrick . If you get here anytime soon, you will see something you probably wont see later in the day. Thats opened parking spaces. There are cars more here than you would see on a typical sunday, but this is not a typical sunday, its the last sunday before christmas and a time for weekend shoppers to do their last bit of weekend shopping. This is a good indication for business. Last year, things were about the same, but we talked to somebody from marketing here, and they tell us theres a different crowd. These people seem more willing to spend money and more willing to shop, and a lot of stores are willing to take advantage of that by offering some of the black friday sales, and so its a good time to get out of here if you have that lastminute item to pick up. There is one of the great places to come, and were live in fairfax. A lot of stores returning to their black friday specials. And today there will be another antigun rally in our area. Demonstrators will gather and protest in front of a gun shop in falls church. Its a demonstration urging lawmakers to pass more strict gun laws. Last night a Group Project gun violence organized the protest. They say the School Shooting in connecticut should help force a National Discussion on gun laws. And in 90 minutes, David Gregory will have a discussion with Wayne Lapierre. He said the country needs more guns and called for Armed Security officers in every school in america. And David Gregory says the nra is used to facing criticism and in the past emerged unscathed. We have seen this kind of popular outrage, if you will, after these massacres and then nothing actually comes of it. The political decision will be the president s in terms of how hard he wants to drive this. Wayne lapierre will sit down with David Gregory. You can catch it here on nbc 4. And president obama and the first lady will join others in saying goodbye to the senator. He fought in world war ii and was awarded the medal. He became the first japanese to become elected to the senate, and he was 88 years old. It will be a short holiday trip for the president , and he will return to washington after christmas to deal with the dooming fiscal cliff. President obama said the break is good for lawmakers to think about a possible solution and he suggested a smaller deal that would just extend Unemployment Benefits and prevent middle class tax hikes. If no deal is reached by january 1st, everybodys taxes go up and there will be severe cuts to the federal budget. And mark sanford said he is considering running for the seat he once held in congress. He was a twoterm governor that got International Attention when he went missing in 2009, and he originally said he was hiking the appalachian trail, but he was visiting his mistress in argentina. Sanfords now exwife, jenny, says she is considering a run for that seat. And police say a serial arsonist struck again overnight. It happened at an abandoned storage structure and its the 37th time since november 14th that somebody has set fire to an abandoned structure. Voting is over for egypts controversial proposed constitution, and one side already claiming victory. Preliminary result released by the brotherhood show 30 of people turned out to vote. The brotherhood has accurately predicted results in the past. Next stop, a virginia mans shocking discovery when his grandson woke him up in the middle of the night. And rg3 prepares to make his big return. Here why the star quarterback says fans should not get too excited about todays game. Plus, no happy holidays here. The factor spoiling the fun and joy for some people this time of year. You can join us right now on facebook and twitter, just search if loving you is wrong, i dont wanna be right [ abrupt record scratch, music stops ] what . Its not bad for you. It just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal hearthealthy, 100 whole grain oats. And that sweet honey taste. You cant go wrong loving it. Bee happy. Bee healthy. [ female announcer ] find your favorite and fall in love with the great taste of cheerios. A fire rips through a mobile home outside charlottesville, killing everybody, including a 9yearold boy, and the grandfather escaped. The boys parents and grandmother also died in the fire. Firefighters say they dont think the home had smoke detectors. And crews are trying to find out what caused the fire in the 8600 block of camille in potomac. The family got out of the home unscathed but they are looking now for temporary shelter. Next up, we have an end of the era for Childrens Television this weekend. Plus, an emotional show of gr gratitude in the middle of an airport. Plus, we will show you the preparations for christmas in the holy city of bethlehem. And we probably wont see a White Christmas this year in d. C. , but theres a chance in the rush to get things done during the busy Holiday Season most can agree there are many things that can really test our patience. There are plenty of ways to overcome the things you dread most about this crazy time of year. Reporter the crowds of christmas not surprisingly top the 2012 list of the most dreaded aspects of the Holiday Season. Crowds and long lines. Battling elbow to elbow in stores and getting the perfect gift, it drives people crazy. He analyzes the survey of some 1,100 americans and what they dread the most this time of year. Coming in in second place is worry about weight gain. People over indulge this time of year and they told us their biggest indulgences are desserts, pastries and cookies, are it, so watch out for that. And the survey also uncovered dread overrunning up debt. Its still weighing on peoples minds and they are trying to be, if not frugal, very responsible with their shopping dollars. Obviously many people travel over the holiday, so wherever you go avoid frustration and leave early. One of the most surprising results, 60 of those asked said they dread getting gift cards, that they preferred to receive christians believe is the birthplace of jesus christ is ready for the holidays. A 50foot tree stands outside the square. Streets are decorated with christmas lights, and people dressed up as santa claus and handed out sweets last night. Tourism has been increasing in recent years after years of fighting that started in 2000. They even have a blowup santa. We could start seeing those pop up around here too, after the wind is gone from yesterday. What can they do . Pump it up. I have been saying that all morning. Yeah. High energy, guys. High energy. Its the way you said it. You are supposed to do the fist pumping and shouting i dont think the fist pump is cool any more. Me and cool, we dont spend too much time together, so you can do the fist pump in my presence. Today no wind, no clouds. Just all sunshine. And yes, indeed, its after the winter solstice, and that means the days are getting longer, yes, we have six more seconds of daylight than yesterday and tomorrow nine more seconds than today, and the days will get longer all the way up through the spring equinox in march, and then we will had 22 more minutes of daylight a day opposed to the seconds. And its chilly on the way outside to get your bags now. Temperatures, 20s and 30s across the area. We will see a quick rise with all the sunshine out there. All in beautiful charles county, maryland, temperatures in the 40s by noontime today pushing 50 degrees this afternoon with 100 sunshine in la plata. So a chilly day, and great weather for football. No doubt about that. The redskins on the road in philly today. 1 00 kickoff there and temperatures in the 40s. The next weather maker is starting to show signs of life down the gulf coast, starting to tap the gulf moisture. It will bring the moisture northbound into the cold air, and as a result we will keep a close eye on the forecast. Sunny and quiet and nice and beautiful outside and nothing to worry about. Skies will remain clear all through the overnight through most of the overnight as well, and by early tomorrow the clouds will be coming back in place by 11 00 in the morning. This area of opinipink and blue outside the shenandoah valley, theres a chance for sleet pellets. We could get a little sleet, primarily out near i81, east of the blue ridge. And by 3 00 tomorrow afternoon, any precipitation we will get tomorrow will be very light but, again, the opportunity for a little light sleet across parts of southern pennsylvania, northern and western maryland, do be careful tomorrow if you are driving and the roads are getting wet. The good news, its a fastmoving system and will be out of here in time for christmas morning. So sunday night good day to make the trip to grandmas house, a good day for that. And here is the allimportant 7day forecast. It will stay cool around here for the next few days, but not unseasonably so. And tomorrow watch out for the rain drops and maybe a passing sleet pellet or two, but the precipitation amounts will be very light. Tuesday, christmas day, dry, and another chance of moisture and cold air on wednesday, wednesday night and thursday, and that one we will need to watch more closely. Thank you, chuck. Looks like many of us are willing to lie when it comes to getting some time off work. A new survey of more than 500 full time workers found 47 of them have lied. 27 say they have used a death to wrack up vacation days. 72 of coworkers thinks when somebody calls in sick they are faking it. You have called in sick, and then all of a sudden you get better. And you already called out sick, so you wont go to work or anything. Every time you call in sick, i do believe it. I am not part of that 72 . Thank you. Rg3 ready for liftoff today. And another day, another wizards loss. We have you covered in this mornings sports minute. Good sunday morning, everybody. We start with a trip to the doctors. After missing last weeks game versus the browns, Robert Griffin iii was a full participant in practice all week. The coach said he would have to wait until the doctors clears him to clear him as a starter, and yesterday cleared by doctors, rg3 will be starting, and dont expect him to start slow. He is ready to get down to business. We control our destiny and we did what we were supposed to do, and we won and thats what we have to continue to do. Guys cant get happy now. We still have one game, and then another game after that. To the hardwood, wizards hosting the pistons at the verizon center, and detroit was running early. And then crawford and the wizards battle in the fourth and get it within seven, but its not enough. Wizards lose their seventh straight, 9687. George mason visiting richmond. And cory edwards gives it up. A threepointer at the buzzer. Nails it 22 points including that buzzer beater pwhap a thriller. 6764 the final score. And thats your sports minute. Hope your sunday is a good one. The horrific shootings in connecticut sparked a nationwide movement to help others. A card to dunkin donuts, and i thought who couldnt use a cup of coffee better than a truck driver . And ann curry suggested 26 acts of kindness to honor those killed in the shootings. Some included delivering trees or something as small as paying for somebody behind you at the coffee shop. It was already exciting enough for some colorado troops here we go. For some colorado troops, but their homecoming was made sweeter because of random acts from strangers. Reporter among the crowds during this busy Holiday Season, and among the hustle and bustle, there was a different crowd. A special group of people. Great, thanks. A group of people like jerry, they just want to take a little time out to say thanks to those that sacrifice so much. Thank you for your service. Merry christmas. Maybe for somebody that didnt get welcomed otherwise, maybe thats making a difference. Reporter oh, its making a difference. For soldier after soldier who could have been everywhere else but home for christmas. Feels good to have people appreciate what i do. Reporter and folks like jerry really appreciate what they do. As a parent, you you pray a lot. Reporter jerrys daughter will also have to deploy soon, but before she does a crowd like this made up of people like jerry welcome her home. Oh, welcome home oh, we brought a few friends. Yeah. Reporter because after all, the Christmas Season wouldnt be the same if we were not thankful for what we have. This is chelsea theres no question, this is the best part of christmas. That was Megan Fitzgerald reporting. I dont think chelsea will get free time at home. They come together every year to do this and welcome all the troops home. It would be so awesome if we could do that at airports across the country, and during this time we especially keep their servicemen in our hearts and minds for everything that they do. Maybe that will inspire others to do it. Its the end of an era, after 21 years and more than 7,000 shows together, and the original wiggles are saying goodbye. They took the stage for their final concert together. This was last night in australia. Anthony is staying in the band, but three new recruits will join him. The original wiggles say they had the most amazing time together and everybody is going to miss the original group. The time is 9 26. We have a lot of early risers up and getting on the road this morning. Thats right, so next we will check out travel conditions in our area for those coming and going out of our region right now. And an unfortunate crime. Before the holidays, how a group targeted a fedex driver. Plus, the new location that could be in the works for an its a big story this weekend, travel. Now we take a live look out on the roadways. This is i95 at the springfield interchange in virginia. Yesterday it was bottlenecked in this area, and so far it appears things are smooth sailing. Looks good. Good morning, and welcome to news4 today. I am angie goff. I am richard jordon. Its december 23rd, 2012. Lets check in with our meteorologist, chuck bell, and see if he thinks its cold. He is outside on the storm winter deck. You think its a cold morning, but you are inside. How do you know its cold . The temperatures out here on the front lawn of channel 4, it says 37, and thats if you are in the sun, and if you are in the shade its cooler than that. On the whole its not a bad day to get outside and walk around and take the dog for an extra long walk this afternoon. Downtown at national airport, its 33. Thats what it feels like on the front lawn, a little hint of a breeze. But no wind like yesterday. Yesterday, winds gusted over 50 miles per hour. Frederick, maryland, a 47mileperhour gust, and so no more of that craziness for today. Cool temperatures for sure in the upper 20s and low 30s now, but a gorgeous afternoon coming our way. Temperatures will inch their way into the mid and upper 40s for a time today. I will twitter a picture of me outside all by myself. You forget, we have to get in here somehow are another. We have been outside this morning. It comes with a job, if you are a weather man, you have to be out there yeah, in the elements. This morning, the travel rush is on with two days only two days until christmas. Flying is looking easier than it has in the last few days, between this weeks midwest snowstorm and yesterdays very high winds. Those winds delayed flights for reagan international, and many arriving flights couldnt land. This morning, flights are running on time. Right now, plenty of people hitting the roads. Lets take a live look at 395 near the 14th street bridge in virginia. Things are looking busier, but still clear so far, and thats likely to change as people set out later today. Drivers heading out of town saw big backups near 95 that bottlenecked through the springfield area. And this is connecticut avenue, and there is good news, work across the region is suspended for the Holiday Weekend to keep traffic moving. If you are hitting the road this weekend you are probably noticing a smaller hit on your wallet. The National Average for a gallon of gas is 18 cents less than just a month ago. D. C. Still has the highest gas prices in our area at 3. 43 a gallon, and virginia is the cheapest with drivers paying 3. 15, and maryland, 3. 31 a gallon, 9 cents cheaper than a month ago. This just into the news room. Metro is reporting that all the entrance escalators are out at the Medical Center station in bethesda. And metro is trying to fix a mechanical problem there, and the agency is still open but they did request buses for those that cant get to the platform. And the weekend and next weekend there will not be track work on four of the five metro lines. The only exception is single tracking between greenbelt and college park on the green line, and thats from 7 00 in the morning to 6 00 p. M. Today, and every other train will start or end at college park rather than greenbelt. Normal weekend track work will pick back up after the weekend on new years. And the story you will see only on news4, d. C. Are on the hunt for suspects that robbed and attacked a fedex driver as he was making deliveries. It happened yesterday morning on hollywood street southeast. Sources say the driver was forced to the ground at gun point while the robbers took the packages from the truck. A pastor went outside later and saw the driver laying on the streets. I said are you all right, and he raised up and said i thought i was still being robbed. Sources say the crooks were driving a car that looked like a taxicab, and police say this time of year is dangerous for drivers, and they are instructed to watch to make sure nobody is following them. The National Park service is asking a rental company to move out by the end of january. The man that operates the facility says he received a notification letter from the park service on wednesday, and he says they have been operating from the same location on the river since the 1940s, and he plans to fight that request. Now, gusty winds yesterday morning gave firefighters a hard time as they tried to put out the fire in hillcrest heights. It took almost 50 firefighters two hours to get it under control. Nobody was hurt and still no word this morning on what caused that fire. The debate over where to move fbi headquarters now includes montgomery county. The <