flag there blowing in the wind. gusts up to 25 miles per hour now and that makes it feel so much colder. a storm system came through earlier today. that system brought a little bit in the way of snow associated with it down across parts of our area. it was just really flurries and snow showers. the bulk of the activity stayed to the south. it's bringing in the cold air. look at these windchills. down to 13 in d.c. and 5 in hagerstown. 3 below zero in pittsburgh and the colder air works its way in here. we wake up to frigid windchills tomorrow. snow chances, yeah, we still have a couple of them. they are not big. we'll talk about that. more cold for the new year and even colder than what we're predicting for tomorrow and tomorrow is going to be one frigid day. a lot more on this and how long this cold air sticks around. it's not going anywhere fast. see you back here at about 6:17. >> you were just full of good news. thank you so leaders are urging plows to get off the road and the airport is trying to see when it can reopen and resume flights. people say they've never seen anything like this. >> i'm used to snow. i've been born and raised here but not this much in one day. >> all i could see was black. it's a little ridiculous. >> there's the spirit of christmas. the storm dropped 34 inches of snow and that's the most snow ever recorded in the region in one day. that is the amount of snow that has fallen in erie, pennsylvania. a closer look at other cities being buried in the snow and the dangers ahead. wendy? a close family member of a teenage murder suspect is opening up only to news4 as people in the community are questioning whether something could have been done sooner. and there's a growing memorial outside of the home of that reston couple shot and killed by that 17-year-old, according to police. the family says the suspect was their daughter's boyfriend. they believe he killed them after he forced the teens to break up. news4's david culver spoke with a relative of the suspect learning new details about his past. >> reporter: wendy, i can tell you tonight that two northern virginia communities are feeling the impact of this tragedy. of course, here in reston, where the victims lived in this home behind me, andç in laurelton, home where the teen suspect called home. late today, a group gathering in front of the it's here that scott fricker and his wife buckley kuhn-fricker lived. last friday, the fricker's teen daughter's boyfriend showed up and opened fire. >> caller advising her mother a were shot. caller is still upstairs with her boyfriend. shots fired. >> the teen then turning the gun on himself. he's in critical condition tonight. the young suspect lives at the other end of fairfax county in this laurelton home. a woman who is a close family member to the suspect opened the door. sobbing she told me she feels horribly for the victims, the fricker and kuhn family and that they very much love his girlfriend. across from the suspect's family home, this field and back in october neighbors in the suspect's community found a swastika mowed into it. incident. >> hardly anybody knew about it. >> reporter: the relative said she never heard about that and that their family is not one of hate. she says the teen suspect suffers from mental illness. neighbors echoed a sadness felt in now two communities. >> i just feel so sad. just two families are just ruined. >> reporter: i asked the police why the teen suspect has not been charged. he's in the hospital and they have not been able to bring forward the charges. they are still pending tonight. wendy, leon? >> thank you, david culver. an update now to a story we told you about on news4 today. a mother is recalling the moment her son was shot and killed on bryant street in northwest washington. officers found a man shot in the head. he died in that >> he died in my arms. he got shot saving his mother. he died in my arms. >> police don't have a detailed description of the gunman. >> news4 was the first to report that there was a connection between a holdup and killing in silver spring. first, a construction worker is held at gunpoint and months later a teenager is found dead and police say ms-13 gang members are at the center of both of these crimes. news4's mark segraves is digging deeper into how these cases are connected. >> it was mid-october. he was confronted by men with guns and a machete. those armed men were members of the ms-13 destroyer. police arrested four men, including the three men pictured here on multiple charges related to that october incident. they say they are all members of the ms-13 gang. police found a shrine to the saint of death and graffiti and a skull mask painted with blood. one of those suspects, 18-year-old jose herera, was released on bond three days before christmas. on christmas eve, he was found shot to death inside this apartment building not far from the incident with the purple line employee. according to court records, the gang members are frequently found in this neighborhood between university boulevard and new hampshire avenue. now, police are still searching for a suspect in this murder that took place here on christmas eve in silver spring. as for the incident at the mark segraves, news4. >> now to breaking news regarding your taxes. for the first time, we are hearing from the irs as people across the country scramble to prepay their 2018 property taxes, people like you see here in fairfax county. they are willing to line up and prepay before the deduction cap law kicks in. montgomery and howard county and fairfax county are also allowed to pay early. chris? >> reporter: we're right inside and for the first time we're seeing empty windows because an announcement was made minutes ago by the gentleman who is joining us now live, the director of revenue here in fairfax county and what are you saying? >> we just received a publica f while ago indicating to us that unless a tax has been assessed by a locality, they will not permit taxpayers to deduct that prepay amount from their federal taxes. >> reporter: to your knowledge, has fairfax county assessed the 2018 property taxes? >> no, they have not. the tax rates have not been set. >> reporter: and the irs is saying -- >> as a result of that, the taxpayers will not be able to deduct that on their taxes. >> reporter: so you gave people -- >> given the number of people that we had here at the time, we thought it would be appropriate to give them the option. >> many left? >> yes. >> reporter: this brings into question the deduction for fairfax county. people were out today prepaying their taxes despite this uncertainty. the line is shorter and moving more quickly >> they are very well organized and had a greeter out front and people telling you where to go. >> you can mail your prepayment but fairfax county sulths that since time is running out, you should not send a personal check. >> we're advising people not to send checks at this point because there's no guarantee it will leave your account in this calendar year. >> so you should send in -- >> certified funds in a cash or money order so it's taken from your account at that time. >> you understand that the going to recognize this? >> i understand that. >> and yet you're paying -- >> the full year, 2018 property tax in advance and we'll assume that risk. >> the county suggests using the mail. they will and not later than december 31st. d.c. residents can prepay online or at any wells fargo bank in the district. once again, tonight the irs has sent out an e-mail saying a unless a county or locality has billed property taxes, you will not get a deduction prepaying those taxes in 2017. we are continuing to closely follow these developments and we'll keep you updated. that's the latest, live in fairfax county, back to you. >> all right. thank you, chris gordon, reporting live. >> the winter weather is history. that's right. coming up next, a look at the hardest hit areas across the country and why things could get worse in the days ahead. and fighting the flu. why this year could be problematic as officials report a spike in cases in our area. plus, an alleged counterfeit crime unfolds right in front of our cameras. hat one man "what if" more of the energy we used came from renewable resources? "what if" the electric grid could detect, fix and even prevent power outages? and more secure? "what if" all these "what if"s became a reality? well, they are. at dominion energy, we're completely transforming our power grid and the way we think of energy... ...to move from "what if" to "what's next." dominion energy. scott macfarlane with breaking news. there has been an arrest of two people suspected in an attempted armed robbery on i-270 south. it began with an armed robbery event at germantown roads, state route roads 118 and 20. no injuries to any officers, police tell us. more information and footage when we get it. for now, i'm scott macfarlane, back to you. >> thank you, scott. more than 60 inches of snow in 48 hours. the people of erie, pennsylvania, will be digging out for days to come. as we get ready to ring in a new year, doug kammerer has your frigid forecast here in 90 seconds but, first, in chicago. >> reporter: no escape from old man winter as freezing temperatures and severe weather sweep across the country, paralyzing some communities. >> it is freezing. >> chicago, a city with a reputation for extreme winter, gives visitors a fridge jgid surprise. dozens of warming centers open around the city. they are helping people in need. >> 62 inches by tuesday night. >> i'm used to know but this is insane. >> reporter: the interstate shut down for a time after a dozen vehicles collided or slid off the road. and thousands of flights canceled. >> i won't be able to get home until thursday night, friday morning. bracing for potential avalanches and in vermont, their season is off to a strong start. skiers taking advantage of fresh powder. a late christmas gift measured in inches. >> they can make up to six feet at some of these places in one night. they want cold air and that's exactly what they got. so all of our ski resorts right now are loving the fact that we're on the cold side. >> and pumping out the snow. >> they are all making snow. they a the next couple of days. for us, it's just the cold and if you're going to be at the ski resorts, bundle up anywhere you go. the wind is gusting up to 25 miles per hour. 19 in martinsburg and 24 in manassas. when you add in the wind, look at the windchill behind us. down to 7 in martinsburg. 13 in d.c. it was pretty for a time if you saw it. it's part of a bigger system that's brought rain and snow through areas like raleigh, north carolina. and then the next storm that comes up, the next big one, it, too, we are missing out on that one, too. you mention the windchill and feels like temperatures overnight. notice where we are at 11:00. 4 in gaithersburg and manassas. 7 in d.c., 9 in fredericksburg and 3 in martinsburg and gaithersburg. so extreme cold but this is really just day one. this trend continues through the first part of the new year. amelia is looking at this. >> as we head into tomorrow afternoon, we go from the single digit windchills to feeling with temperatures in the teens and as we look to friday and saturday, it's not all that bad. new year's eve day, feels like temperatures during the afternoon are only around 15 degrees and as we feels like temperatures during the day are between 5 and 10 degrees. so a frigid start to the new year if you plan on being outdoors, whether you're hitting the slopes or just going to stand outside to ring in the new year, maybe watch the bell come down, here's what to expect. temperatures in the mid-20s around 5:00 p.m. by midnight, temperatures only in the teens and feels like temperatures again during the day on new year's day between 5 and 10 degrees with the frigid temperatures. >> 24 would be the coldest temperatures that we've seen. 28 tomorrow and even with sunshine, windchill only in the teens all day long. 36 on friday. 36, hey, how about that, above freezing. we stay there on saturday. temperature around 33. we are below freezing for just about the entire next seven days. out of the next seven out of ten days in the 20s. some really cold air in there, the coldest of which is on monday. 36. >> make it stop. >> make it snow. sorry. >> it's also peak flu season. here's a look at aerika gonzale with what is next. >> we're going to talk about the difference between this year and last year. and caught in the act, what one man is accused of trying to sneak into the u.s. on a flight into dulles and why officials say it's part of a growing problem. >> also a new twist, the political tiebreaker in virginia where the race was supposed to be decided today when they pull a name to save at havertyst chancfurniture. ar get up to $1000 in bonus discounts now through new year's day. plus, you can finance with no interest for 36 months. ring in the new year with stylish upgrades. with havertys, your home can be perfect. even when life isn't. hurry, this sale ends new year's day at havertys. life looks good. really? really? really? really? really? see zero in a whole new way. zero first month's payment, and zero due at signing on select volkswagen models. now with the people first warranty. you see this man? police are looking for him after shots were fired on h street and then when the police arrived on the scene, they found these bullet holes at a nearby building and they are still trying to determine if somebody was actually shot. police say they got surveillance video of the incident and should know more about the suspect >> funeral services were held today for a fairfax mother and son killed on vacation in mexico. family and friends gathered at a temple in falls church to say good-bye to anna behar and her son. the family was headed to the mayan ruins when the bus flipped over. her husband and older son were injured in the crash. a judge has ordered a holiday traveler to be jailed. only on 4, skcott macfarlane ha the details. >> they found $12,000 worth of phony $100 bills inside. news4 dam r news4 cameras rolled as every item was after his arrival at dulles international a few days before christmas they say he knowingly tried to smuggle money nointo t u.s. dulles custom and border protection didn't speak about that case to news4 but said there has been a rising number of smuggling cases. >> they were trying to be creative in stopping them from being creative. we are always one step ahead. >> federal records show at least seven counterfeit cash smuggling cases from 2017 was brought to dulles last week, $18,000 worth of suspected counterfeit beets headphones. dias-salazar was en route to see his family and bought the fake currency on a street in colombia before making the trip. a judge ordered him jailed and he's pled not guilty. he faces deportation. wendy? >> scott macfarlane, thank you. a local teen accused of an unthinkable crime. still ahead, a close relative opens up to news4. >> and others are questioning if warning signs were missed before a husband and wife were murdered. also, flu season gets off to a fast start and why this year could be more severe than others. plus, inside the flight from hell, a dramatic play-by-play on social >> now at 6:30, a blast of cold air tightening its grip on our area. it's winter in washington and we're going to be below freezing for the majority of the next ten days. all of this comes as we enter peak flu season and this year it could be a bad oe. >> that's right. let's start things off with doug. >> small chance of snow, guys, how cold it's going to be and stay for the extended period of time, out there right now, the sun a making its way down. temperatures are already way down into the 20s. 26 degrees right now in d.c. 20 in gaithersburg. we're already close to the teens for the actual temperature. really cold air. currently across our region it's going to be a very cold day tomorrow. what to expect tomorrow, winds up to 20 miles an hour and it will feel like 0 to 10 degrees. bundle up in just about everything that you have. tomorrow is the day you don't want to have much in the way of exposed skin. it's going to be the day to do that. we'll talk much more about the next ten days and the best day for snow and more about new >> if you know someone who had the flu in recent weeks, the virus is now widespread in 23 states and that includes virginia and maryland. news4's erika gonzalez explains why this year's flu is especially bad and tells you how to protect yourself. >> reporter: did you get your flu shot this year? >> yes, i did. >> reporter: they say the whole family got the flu vaccine. still, their 3-year-old grandson got the flu and worse. >> he got pneumonia. >> reporter: you're kidding. are they all right? the peak season for enflew weins upon us. the cdc breaks down flu levels into five categories. no activity, sporadic, local, that's where d.c. is, regional and widespread. maryland and 23 states reporting widespread flu. >> they haven't had the flu forever, so -- my daughter told me i'm too old. >> reporter: is the shot helping keep the flu at bay? this specialist in infectious diseases. >> we still recommend that everyone gets the vaccine. i received it several weeks ago and then developed flu-like complaints myself. >> reporter: there's already been more than 7,000 confirmed cases of the flu across the u.s. double the amount this time last year. the cdc recommends everyone get a flu shot, especially the elderly and the children. >> they did? >> they did. >> reporter: remember to wipe down surfaces. and wash your hands. a lot. last year, the flu shot had a 42% effective rate. remains to be seen. >> have you had the flu this year? most of you have not and those who have say they are among the many who got sick even though they got the flu shot. a close family member of the teen accused in that horrific homicide in reston opens up to news4. >> the teen is accused of killing the couple last week in re reston. they forbid her to see him after they realized he was a neo-nazi supporter. a family member says the teen suffered from mental illness. and two crimes in silver spring are now connected. a construction worker was held at gunpoint by ms-13 gun members and on christmas eve, a suspect in that case was found dead. the irs deductions on taxes that have already been assessed. this move comes after people across the country and here in our area scrambled to pay their taxes early. the drawing for the virginia house of delegates has been delayed. shelly filed a lawsuit. they want a three-judge panel to throw out david yancy. if the judges do that , the rac will be decided by a drawing out of a hat. >> reporter: a controversial ballot shouldn't have been counted and if it was, it should not have been counted for y yancy. we have no idea when that ruling will come. >> the general assembly session starts in just two weeks. an eight-hour flight to nowhere next, the response from the airline and why it took so long to realize a passenger on the flight to japan was on the wrong plane. >> now, you've heard this saying, happy wife, happy life. one man is really taking that messa to ge they took off from l.a.x. and had an eight hour flight and then landed again at l.a.x. an unauthorized passenger managed to get on board that flight with an incorrect boarding pass. two people on that flight, model chrissy teigen she killed the time by sending out messages on social media. she said, the machine that registers so nowhere and tweeted this l.a.x. to l.a.x. flight complete flight time eight hours and 20 minutes. pretty good. the airline says it was following safety protocol and issued an apology. >> a texas congresswoman believes her race is playing a role in a controversy on a plane. a d.c. teacher claims she was bumped from her first class seat from houston to d.c. last week. that seat was given to congresswoman sheila jackson lee. united claims the internal system showed the teacher canceled her trip after a flight delay. in a she feels that she was, quote, an easy target because she's african-american. but the teacher tells the houston chronicle race did not play a role because she didn't even know who had been given the seat when she originally complained. united gave simon a $500 travel voucher and a seat in coach on that same flight. don't expect a free ride home on metro rail this new year's day. in recent days, miller and coors sponsored the rail service but that's not happening this year. trains will run until 2:00 a.m. no track work is going to be taking place so there shouldn't be any major delays. next and new at 6:00, the innovative approach that one utility will take to pay the bills. one man goes to g to make his wife happy turning her in "what if" more of the came from renewable resources? "what if" the electric grid could detect, fix and even prevent power outages? "what if" our grid were less vulnerable and more secure? "what if" all these "what if"s became a reality? well, they are. at dominion energy, we're completely transforming our power grid and the way we think of energy... ...to move from "what if" to "what's next." dominion energy. d.c. water is trying to lower your bill by jumping into the invention business. >> investigative reporter jody fleischer shows us the key projects already in the works. >> reporter: what does this average looking water fountain, giant hole in the ground and this truck full of what used to be poop have in common? hopefully they will put more money in your pocket. outgoing general manager has a team of researchers finding ways to solve problems and create new ideas for d.c. water to test and use and the utility is going the extra step to try to market and sell their technologies and services to other water systems and eventually private customers. >> it hasn't generated much revenue yet because the potential future is very significant and unusual for public agencies. >> reporter: one of the products that they are now selling is something they have to get ritd of anyway by the truckload. more than 400 tons per day. >> people don't stop going to the bathroom, even on holidays. >> reporter: d.c. water has found a way to make it into something buyer's will pay for, using a steam treatment system into a high-quality soil called blue. they have launched a nonprofit to help market its services. >> one of the new products is a fountain that is filtered out and you don't want it in the drinking water. >> reporter: d.c. water is testing this one out. it has a sensor inside which can transmit the characteristics to your phone so you know if the filter is working and when to replace it. >> we're trying to invent a product that could in five years be in every drinking water fountain. this test system will make them a net zero energy building. >> it's coming back to d.c. water and most public agencies develop ideas used for themselves and once they are tested in the real world environment at d.c. water, marketing and selling those ideas to others just makes sense and will hopefully make dollars, too. jody fleischer, news4 >> we have more information on what the i-team learned about the projects. >> open our app and search d.c. water to learn all about it. a son's christmas eve post about his parents has gone viral. i've learned more about my dad reluctantly rearrange the living room so my mom can make snow angel boomerang for her instagram followers. his father even stood on the coffee table to shoot the video for his mother. >> that's why he didn't look happy. >> here is libby. she posted the boomerang video and it's been viewed more than 250 thou 250,000 times. >> i would think a man is used to a woman rearranging furniture. >> been there, done a >> i rearranged a lot of furniture in the last couple of days. >> that's for sure. >> always fun, too. always fun. >> heavy lifting? >> yes, we had heavy lifting in there. time to work out, you guys. >> your body is just -- >> okay. let's take a look at what is happening out there. it's cold and boy is it going to stay cold out there right now. out there right now, temperaturewise, 26 degrees and look where we're going. 21 degrees by 9:00. 19 by 11:00. it is going to be a very cold night tonight. one of the coldest we've seen in years here as far as that's concerned because of the temperatures. the look of the windchill is already down to the single digits. 5 in hagerstown. d.c., 12. 19 down towards fredericksburg. so you know it's cold. we're not going to see on the radar for the next couple of days. we have a couple of chances for snow but this is kind of the pattern here. we had a little bit in the way of snow flurries today and even snow showers. look where the bulk of the moisture is. well to the south. that's the case over the next couple of days and rel over the next seven to ten days. this is the pattern and it's going to continue to get reinforced. we have a huge trough of low pressure towards the gulf coast states and the area of low pressure continues to move off into the ocean. so this pattern would have to shift back to the west a little bit. we actually want that change between the cold air and warm air closer to us if you're hoping for snow. now, cold air in place. the snow is moving down to the south. much better chance of maces like atlanta and raleigh to see a chance of snow over the next two days and then for us to do so. this is what i say. if it's going to be cold, at least snow. and look at the feels-like temperatures. tomorrow, a 15 on monday. and high temperature tomorrow, 28. 36 on friday. and better chance for snow showers on friday. and then much colder. 27 on new year's eve. a frigid new year's eve night into monday. the first day of the new year. high of only 24 degrees. a low of 12 that night. we stay in the 20s for seven out of the next ten days. that's the forecast. not much in the way of snow. we'll track it all for you right here from the weather center. it is cold. >> january is not playing around. coming up, could this be kirk cousins last conference at is ahead with craig melvin on "nbc nightly news." >> the latest on the snow emergency at one city in the northeast as much of the country remains in the grip of a deep freeze. also, the flight that had to turn back after hours in the air because a passenger got on board with a boarding ♪ ♪ it feels good to be back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and we are going to end this year the same way we started this year talking with kirk cousins. >> do we ever stop talking about him? >> we have not and yet again here we are. but there is still one more game that they need to focus their attention on but as you heard it, the attention shifting to kirk cousins and his future with the team. today, the the qb took the podium for what might be his last wednesday press conference in ashburn. only time will tell yet again. coach jay gruden talking to kirk cousins and talking to jay gruden about kirk cousins. as expected for the qb, his focus is on sunday's season finale. >> that's where my future is right now and when we finish that game and get on the flight home, have a chance to decompress and have conversations, then we'll be able to talk. >> would it make your life easier if you didn't have to every december answer questions about your quarterback? >> it would not make my life easier. my life will never be easy until we win a lot of super bowls. >> hopefully a slower time of the year when it comes to the nfl, you guys will have some content to cover as we go through it. >> jokes. he's got jokes. no doubt, thou busy with all of the cousins talk in the off-season. it's a big night for some teams, georgetown playing against butler and the wizards taking on the hawks. bradley coming off the huge christmas day win in boston and trying to avoid a letdown tonight against the hawk, the worst team in the nba. and a star in his own right, he said yesterday in atlanta on player's zone with isaiah thomas along with chris webber, taking part in demos and giving the real deal on his growth in his sixth year in the league. >> i always tell everybody, when you're in the league, everything is a learning experience from your first year all the way up until my sixth. each and every year i'm constantly getting better and learning and i love to stay humble and i'm always picking people's brain and want to incorporate some of the best the league and plot as best as i can. john and i have had to be leaders of the team at a young age and it's coming along pretty well. >> and the wizards will be sporting a new uniform in just a couple of weeks. these are the city edition uniforms which will debut january 30th against oklahoma city. across the chest, you can see it says district of colombia. meanwhile, on the side, it has the outline of the washington monument to mimic the d.c. attraction. they will wear these 12 times. all 32 teams unveiling these new uniforms today. and it comes with a pretty cool marble hat, also. this headline, though, from our friend at "the washington post" is causing controversy referring to katie ledecky as the first washingtoni amou washingtonian to win ap female at least of the she was born in bethesda. they took a poll and they are getting feedback. over 3,000 votes. 84% of folks say, yeah, she's a washingtonian. so we have our panel of experts here. we want to hear your opinion, doug, being from herndon. >> i grew up in the beltway. >> any time at another place and i they say where are you from, i say i'm from washington. it covers everything. that's taking away from maryland and virginia, but washington. >> she's ours. >> all right. that's how you say it, too? >> 100%. absolutely. any time you go anywhere, if anybody comes here, they don't say i'm from behovia. you don't say that. youç say chicago. washingtonian through and through. >> >> okay. we've settled that. bright lights at times square on the new year's eve ball. this year, 288 new triangles added. this is the gift of serenity design. each one weighs seven ounces and can with stand all sorts of weather. the ball, of course, dropping sunday night in the big apple. >> it's 2017. many people look for ways to improve ourselves in 2018 but a marist poll found that losing weight and saving money is no longer on the top list of resolutions. >> because we can't do it. >> and you can't do this one either. be a better person. >> well, it's lovely to be a better person but to start by getting a better new resolution, new year's resolution, you know? and how bad a person are you, you know? my goodness. such good people to join us. we appreciate that. "nightly news" starts in 60 seconds. ♪ [ splash ] [ horn sounds ] dang! ok, i gotta run. hey, wait, there's something i need to tell you- dang. dang! dang! dang. dang. see zero in a whole new way. zero first month's payment, and zero due at signing on select volkswagen models. now with the people first warranty. tonight, the crushing snow emergency that's left one northeast city buried under more than five feet of snow. >> i'm used to it. i grew up here. but this is a bit much. >> as a dangerous deep freeze tightens its grip on tens of millions. three big cities sue the pentagon for not reporting criminal convictions of military personnel tohe fbi's gun database. they included the gunman who carried out the mass shooting at a texas church. a passenger gets on a flight from los angeles to japan with a boarding pass from another airline. a security lapse that forces the plane to turn around midflight. barack obama tonight on life after the white house and what he thinks about using social media, telling it all to britain'