there was a lot of smoke and sparks. there were a lot of frightened passengers. this is what they had to say. >> we heard noises and the train was moving strange and then there were sparks. >> then you see big old flame and the train stops in the tunnel. >> then all of a sudden we smelled smoke. and the lights went out. >> reporter: was it scary? >> of course. i mean, everybody thinks about september 11th. of course we were scared. >> reporter: some of those passengers -- i'm talking about hundreds of passengers, were on those trains for nearly two hours. some of them had to get led off through the tunnels. they used the glow sticks you see at the beach to light in tunnels so they could see their way past the wires and boxes in the tunnels and then make their way to the street above. now all of the service in the blue and orange line up to speed tonight. the general manager here at metro says metro is safe and he says he plans to take it home tonight. but there is a lot of controversy about what went on down there today and i will have a lot more on that coming up at 5:00. pat, back to you. >> all right. >> frightening ordeal there. thank you, pat. >> thanks, pat. house republicans dug in their heels this afternoon and rejected a vote on a short extension of the payroll tax cut. instead they are kicking the can back to the senate and demanding negotiations on a one-year al. meanwhile, a january 1 deadline looms. brian mooar has the latest. >> reporter: the payroll tax cut i slam flood a republican roadblock in the house. house republicans are trying to shame vacationing senate democrats back to the bargaining table. >> i need the president to help out. all right. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner refused to direct vote on the senate bill. instead sending the legislation to a conference committee. but democrats say they will not negotiate. president obama accused republicans of brinksmanship. >> the clock is ticking. if the house republicans refuse to vote for the senate bill p. or even allow it to come up for a vote, taxes will go up in 11 days. >> reporter: not only will 160 million americans see a tax increase, 2.2 million people lose long-term unemployment benefits and 48 million seniors could lose medicare doctor reimbursements. republicans are demanding a one-year extension not just 60 days. >> fixing something for two months is not fixing something. >> reporter: democrats see other motivations. >> excuse because they never wanted the tax cut from the beginning. >> reporter: on capitol hill, high stakes drama with real-life consequences. speaker boehner has already named his negotiators for negotiation that may not happen. on capitol hill, brian mooar, news4. >> part of the state of kansas is shut down right now from a big snowstorm that's moved through the midwest all the way to the great plains. slippery roads and low visibility made driving very treacherous today. highways are closed in parts of five states including a 70-mile stretch in southwestern kansas. about ten inches of snow fell there. many are having to delay their christmas travel plans. the storm is already blamed for at least six deaths. well, our weather is in for some changes, folks. will a warmup be among them. >> meteorologist doug cameron joins with us a word on the weather. hey, doug. >> after right now we are sitting at 55 degrees. a very, very mild afternoon right now. i was thinking today we might be up to around 49. maybe 50 degrees in some areas. we are at 55 and down to the south and close to 60 degrees. we are only going to go up from here. over the next couple of days. plenty of cloud cover out there. we have seen at least some sunshine during the day today. 55 right now, washington. 57 in culpeper. out towards the eastern shore. coming in and cambridge now at 55 degrees. cooler to the north, though. hagerstown right now, shower activity with the temperature of around 46. most of the showers stayed to the north during the day today. even though we have seen a lot of cloud cover and have not seen the rain across the region we talked about a few showers today but a much better chance tomorrow and that's still the case. we widen out here, you can sigh a lot of rain into portions of pennsylvania. temperatures around 40 degrees. that's where the cold air is. shower activity to the west and back towards cincinnati and that shower activity will move our way overnight tonight and in towards the day tomorrow but that is just one of three storms over the next couple of days that we are going to be talking about. each one will have something a little bit different but this one will mostly bring us very warm and mild air. waking up to a temperature tomorrow morning close to 50 degrees once again, very warm start to your wednesday, and wait until you see those other couple of storms i'm talking about. one of which i think will affect us on christmas. >> all right. thanks, doug. americans are hitting the roads and airports in an effort to be with loved ones for christmas. but full flights throughout the country could make it very difficult if you need to change your plans. michelle franzen has that story. >> reporter: the great getaway for the holidays is on. as more than 90 million americans gear up to head out to the airports and on highways. >> up about 1.5% compared to a year ago. that equates to roughly 27% of the entire u.s. population. >> reporter: here in new york city and in much of the northeast, temperatures are below average for this time of year. but all that could change, a storm headed this way could bring snow by christmas weekend. >> we had a bad winter last year but this weather is nice. this is doable. >> reporter: this year air travel is up compared to last year despite slightly hire ticket prices. at the same time, airlines have cut back on flights to fill seats. travel experts say that leaves little room for error. because capacity has been cut, if something happens, weather del air some sort of cancellation, it is going to be difficult to get on another plane. there aren't that many available seats. >> reporter: not worth the risk for many who say it is better just to stay home for the holidays. >> yeah. i don't want to travel for the holidays. i like to be -- i like to be here before the holiday and then home during the holiday. >> reporter: for those looking to give or receive the gift of surprise, travel experts say there are still last-minute deals if you are willing to be flexible. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> the clock is ticking. there are just a few days left now to finish your holiday shopping. that's why some stores are extending their hours and some just won't be closing this you have everything crossed off your list. beginning today, toys 'r' us will be open 24 hours a day. the retailer says that it is going to stay open until 10:00 christmas eve night and that's go g news for shoppers who can't get everything done early. >> i was waiting for my paycheck essentially to do the shopping. i knew they were open 24 hours and wanted to get here early to avoid the rush. >> it helped me before i left for work this morning just to drop in and get the last-minute gifts. yeah. i like it. >> starting at 7:00 tomorrow morning, the macy's in tysons corner will stay open 24 hours for those last-minute shoppers. former penn state coach joe paterno is out of the hospital this afternoon after suffering a fractured pelvis. paterno is seen here in file video and he was hospitalized about ten days ago after a fall at his home. a family friend says paterno was released from the hospital sunday after treatment for the injury. the former football coach will continue to receive radiation and chemotherapy for lung cancer. joe paterno will turn 85 years old tomorrow. well, this next story is for the ladies. take a look at your shoes. >> naturalizer is recalling more than 6,000 pairs of dress shoes. and this is what they look like. style name is called dare. the consumer product safety commission says the heel of the shoes can lean to either side posing a hazard. could you fall. one injury has been reported already. the shoe has a three-inch heel, open toes and decorative faux patent leather bow across the front. it was sold at naturalizer stores from july through november this year. consumers should stop wearing these shoes and return them to any naturalizer store for a refund. honda issued five recalls over defective air bags. honda says the bags may inflight with too much pressure and send pieces of metal and plastic flying. the vehicles involved include accord, civic, odyssey, pilot, cr-v and other models manufactured in 2001 and '02. the recall initially began in 2008. the latest recalls bring the total number of vehicles affected to about 2 million worldwide. there have been 20 accidents reported and two fatalities. special ceremony today marked the end of the war in iraq. president obama and vice president biden welcomed home the top commander of u.s. forces in iraq at andrews air force base. chris clackum reports to the end of the nine-year conflict. >> reporter: at about the same time president obama was at andrews air force base to greet troops and the or return of the u.s. colors that had flown over baghdad for nearly nine years. anxious families and spontaneous applause greeted those arriving home from iraq. at the airport in baltimore. >> it has been so hard not to see them for so long. >> it means a world to us for people that worked here this way and people appreciate what we are doing for the country. >> reporter: these were the last of the u.s. air force person toll leave iraq. some with huge plans for the holidays. >> going to get marriyormayor. >> reporter: back at andrews, the president did not speak publicly but his presence spoke volumes about the end of the u.s. war in iraq. >> today i am proud to safely return our colors to the rightful place, the united states of america. >> reporter: general lloyd austin was the last commander of u.s. forces in iraq and sent milita military operations there had come to a successful conclusion. he had been praise order the military's rank and file. >> as you reflect on your service in iraq, please know your sacrifices were instrumental in liberating and oppress -- an oppressed people. >> reporter: some of those the president greeted at andrews today were among the last u.s. troops to leave from iraq. chris clackum, news4. when we come right back on "news4 at 4:00," as mark twain might say, rumors of one singer's demise were greatly exaggerated. imagine that, something on the internet that wasn't true. >> tv show host piers morgan defends himself in the investigation into phone hacking by the british press. >> and these are a few of his favorite cnn host piers morgan denies any wrongdoing in britain's phone hacking scandal. morgan testified via video link to a media ethics committee investigating the matter today. morgan ran two british tabloids before he began his television career. he said never hired private investigators to hack phones or pay police for tips. things did get testy when he was questioned about a voice mail he heard during the divorce of former beatle paul mccartney and his then wife heather mills. morgan refused to give details about who played him the message saying to tell would disclose a source. the rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated. singer jon bon jovi is alive and well and is joke being trorts of his early demise. the death rumors spread after a fake news release circulated on facebook and twitter. bonovery responded by posting a picture on his facebook page. he is shown in the picture holding a sign that reads -- heaven looks a lot like new jersey. >> sounds like a song. with less an week to go before christmas, we are down to the wire, folks, for the last-minute shoppers out there. >> here's some of the favorite gift ideas this holiday season, cain from hot 99.5. you have presents. >> where do you want to start? we pulled some of our listen -- polled some of our listens and asked what great presents they have seen in the past couple of months they would go suggest or would use. >> you tried out a couple and love them. >> some of these are my personal favorite things which i enjoy and like to give these to you if you are looking for last-minute ideas. >> we are, as a matter of fact. so let's see what you have the first one is for -- >> iphone case? >> yes. >> if you take a look at this, lot of people have the iphone now. this is the front of the iphone, back of the iphone. imagine being able to custom knit your own -- there you go, great shot of it. this is one my wife made for her mom. nana. very crafty. you see that's almost what nana looks like. >> it is soft. >> it is. would you like to touch it? >> yes. >> it is fabric and no holes in the back. you go ahead and kind of design -- do a name, you can do anything you want. and make a very custom gift for someone special. >> how long does something like that take. >> a couple of hours but she is crafty, really good. >> let's hope nana is not listen. >> she knows what she did s getting now. >> i will put that in my pock set just kidding, nana. >> you will not be using that yourself. no. >> this time of year, you well know, traveling with kids is no easy task. getting from the plane to the car and vice versa is a whole lot easier with this. you are crazy about this. >> it is a nightmare. it depends where you go. sometimes there's more walking involved especially if you are doing long-term park like b wi. that's why we love this thing. have you seen the go-go baby? now you are probably thinking oh, just -- got sxwheels flat board. your car seat straps to the front of it right down here. and what you do is you then strap it on and tighten the belt. then you put your kid in it and you can roll your kid with the seat to the gate. otherwise you have to jerry a strap or something. the go-go baby z is like $72. it collapses and fits in the overhead compartment. super easy. >> very useful gift. we all enjoy expressions of people have when they open their presents, surprised and happy. one way to surprise them is to give them a real gift and in a fake box. >> this is genius. what this is, a company that makes fake boxes. that way if you have -- a boring shirt. oh, thanks, mom. socks. that's awesome. but if you put tonight a fake box for the beer beard, it is not a real product. i'm somewhat disappointed about that. >> it looks like fun. >> open it up and you flip it around and you can see here on the back, it looks like a real legitimate product. mom, you bought me a beer beard. i'm 14. i thought you were going to get me socks. empty it up. it is just an empty box. $9.99 but well worth it for the reaction. >> i would so pay that. this is the big ticket item. >> awesome. >> what a great idea. >> something cool. it involves the blue tooth concept with a keyboard. >> look at this. aircraft aluminum. regular ipad on the back. how often do you -- under $100. how often do you want to have a full keyboard when you go to type? sometimes when you have it sitting on your lap, ipad not so steady. you put the ipad in there. just like that. it is so easy to do. lock it in. it sits there. see. you can open it up. just like that. sit it in place. and it connects -- even my mom knows how to connect things over blue tooth. it is super easy to do. full keyboard. shortcut buttons as well that allow you to go to photo galleries and to your music and fold it back up and it is super easy. >> i want one of those. that's cool. >> what do you want for christmas? >> you are married. i don't know. i'm going to have to ask santa for something else. >> you can't tell us. >> all right. >> i guess. >> merry christmas. >> same to you. don't forget, see all those things a at nbcwashington.com. >> that's right. >> our website. >> hot 99.5. weekday mornings on hot 99.5 starting at 5:00 a.m. coming up on news4 for the pittsburgh steelers last night's game was lights out in more ways than one. >> one child feared santa wouldn't be able to fit down the chimney in his new house but the developer found a way to prove hey, that wasn't the case. >> for all your news be sure to didn't see much sun out there today. >> no. we may not see it for a while. >> you may not see it for a while. we told you today you may need the umbrellas. we will see a shower here and there today. i think you will need the umbrellas tomorrow. you are going to need the umbrellas thursday night if you are going out. you may need the umbrellas on christmas. >> christmas day. >> yes, unfortunately. there are three storms in our forecast over the next couple of days. and we are in for what could be a lot of rain over the next five days or so. let's take a look outside. first, not a lot of rain today. most of it stayed well to the north of the washington area. we did see earlier showers this morning towards southern portions of maryland. that was about it. 55 degrees. temperature the temperature, winds are calm. forecasted a high of 48 to 49 degrees and we are at 55. a lot milder once again across the area. you might as well tack on a few numbers every day to the forecast because that's the way things have been. it has been so warm out there. cool air staying up to the north. 46 in hagerstown and 45 in aberdeen, maryland. down to the south, everybody right now into the low to mid 50s across the region. i think that we are going to stay there overnight tonight, too. at least some areas. not going to cool down all that much as we are going to start to see our winds increase. not a whole lot of rain now but back towards hagerstown, as i mentioned, rain there. most stayed up towards pennsylvania. and you can see where that rain is. making its way across philadelphia, just light rain. there are some showers to the west. they are making their way in from the west. this was that big storm system, the blizzard and monster of a storm that has now just petered out. it will continue to do so. it is moving our way but once again it is not having a lot moisture left. you can see the moisture making its way out of the gulf and we will see showers with the storm as we make our way into the day tomorrow. frontal boundary, overnight lit lift back to the north. we will see shower activity. this is around 5:00 tomorrow afternoon bunt it is going to be scattered. not an all-day rain tomorrow. one thing we can tell you for sure, it is going to be warm. 62 degrees is what i'm going for at the airport. fredericksburg, 65, 66. 67, another very warm day tomorrow. and then we will see that code front go through. cooler air behind it on thursday. not really. then look at this. another storm comes in and this one could have a lot of rain with it. that will be thursday night until early friday morning. both thursday and friday during the afternoons may be on the dry side. that's good news. this next one looks like it comes in overnight thursday night. this evening, we are looking at cloudy and mild conditions. dry for most of us with a few showers through the north. as we make our way towards tomorrow morning, we will start off on a mild note. temperatures tomorrow morning around 49 degrees and inside the city maybe warmer. high tomorrow of 62 degrees. once again not a washout tomorrow. 60% chance of rain late thursday. most of the day will be dry. 53 on friday. 48 on saturday. right now friday and saturday are looking fairly dry. if you are thinking about traveling around the region by car it is looking okay. the next storm will move in here late saturday night and into sunday. i will show you that extended forecast when i have a little bit more time. i just ran out. >> all right. you know that santa is critical time saturday night. >> exactly. he already called me up on the phone. what can we get? >> put an umbrella over the sleigh. still t