Caught up. Im glad the Police Caught them. And why the rush to pay ahead on property taxes might not put any more money in your pocket in 2018. Announcer news 4 begins now with storm team 4. And we begin tonight in a deep freeze. Shock to the system tonight for georgetown fans leaving capital one arena. Its not just freezing outside. It feels like the temperature outside tonight getting close to zero. Team coverage of the freezing conditions with chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer. Already there you mentioned zero. Thats exactly where we are in the hagerstown region. D. C. Coming in at 6 degrees. Current wind chill. Winds not very strong but it does not take a lot of wind to give you that wind chill and it blows through you at 5, 10, 15 Miles Per Hour it makes it feel so much colder. Look at these numbers. 4 below zero in state college. 9 i extreme cold around our region. As we move on through the next couple of days its going to stay that way. Waking up tomorrow winds 10 to 20 Miles Per Hour, especially when the sun comes up. Gusts of 25. Feeling like 0 to 10 early tomorrow. And probably right on through the noon hour. And we will be below freezing all day. But not just all day tomorrow. This extended period of cold, ive got the next 7 out of 10 days below freezing. Were going to talk much more about that. The coldest of which, by the way, new years day. All of that in just a minute. No kidding. Thanks, doug. Thanks for the good news. Well see you in a little bit. In the meantime, d. C. Activated its cold emergency plan. Not just for tonight but all the way into the new year. News 4s shomari stone continues our live coverage at one of the emergency shelters in northwest. Shomari, they obviously are preparing for the worst tonight, right . Thats right, leon. They definitely are prepared. It feels awful out here. Ive been standing out here for around what, seven minutes and i am cold. My face feels numb. Now, you have to think about the homeless people. The most Vulnerable People in the district. And mayor bowser definitely wants to do what she can to help. She activated the alert to make sure that they have a place to stay tonight and to stay warm like the church behind me called community of christ on massachusetts avenue. We want everybody to get inside. It can be dangerously cold outside. Reporter d. C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issues a warning to people in this frigid cold weather. We have activated our cold emergency, which makes many more District Services available including temporary emergency shelters like the one here at nativity catholic church. Reporter the district launched its cold emergency plan tonight, opening shelters to protect people from lifethreatening injuries. These guys are wrapped up to protect themselves from the cold. As they work on road repairs a lane in bethesda. I mean, anybody thats out here working in this is really dedicated to what they do. Reporter at auto repair shops dedicated mechanics like George Ransford make sure cars are ready. You need to check your tire pressure and your wiper blades. Reporter at the Bethesda Home depot workers stocked up with extra space heaters. Back in the district mayor bowser encourages people to look out for one another. This is also a time when neighbors need to check on neighbors. Not only for people we can see out on the street but neighbors who may be in their homes without heat. Reporter and especially elderly neighbors. Also keep in mind that if you have space heaters fire officials recommend that you be careful. Keep it on a flat surface, not on carpet or near curtains where it could catch on fire. Also do notse and again cause a fire. I was talking to chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer earlier today and he tells me shomari, that this could last up until january 2nd. Its cold. Live here in northwest d. C. , im shomari stone, news 4. And now youre free to get back inside the truck, shomari. Thank you for that report. Thank you, leon. All right, man. The cold is one thing. But more than five feet of snow, that is a completely different animal entirely. Somehow the erie, pennsylvania airport has reopened tonight. 60 inches of snow fell in 48 hours there, burying that city. Deicing machines have helped out quite a bit there at the airport. Crews have been working nonstop to get the runways clear there. But d. C. Cold a lot different than chicago or minnesota cold. Folks there have seen their temperatures go to 35 or 40 below zero in some areas. In those conditions frostbite can set in in less than 30 minutes. So think about that before you comai here. Now, chopper 4 with new video coming in of a crash involving a pickup truck and a minivan in herndon tonight. This happened on centerville road near frying pan road around 8 30. The collision crushed the front end of that black pickup truck there. You can see it caused some significant damage to a red minivan as well. A big Police Presence there on the scene tonight. We are still working on the scene and well get more information from Fairfax County police about what happened before that crash. We do know that centerville road northbound has been closed for the investigation. Two people rob a pizza joint at gunpoint and then lead police on a chase across state lines. One of the people in hot pursuit was the owner of the restaurant. He told news 4s Jackie Bensen why he was so determined to catch these guys. Jackies live in germantown with the story. Jackie. Reporter leon, the 26yearold owner worked for years to buy this business. His wife, his sister, hisot work here. He said he was not about to let the men who waved a gun in his employees faces get away with it. I dont know. My instinct got to me. Reporter adnan shafiq says he acted on instinct when an employee at his business, tasty 5 pizza, in germantown called him around 5 00 p. M. And said the store was being held up at gunpoint. Shafiq, who lives across the street, says he jumped in his car and got there so fast, he ran into the robbers as they were running out. Guy pulls out the gun on me, and hes like, im going to kill you, im going to rob you, give me all your money. I was like man, i dont have any money. I instantly just said hey, somebody call the police. Reporter shafiq says he then did something even he admits was dangerous. He jumped in his car and called 911 to let police know the restaurant had been robbed and that he was following the robbers. So we started here and ended up in boyd, going through clarksbu southbound. Reporter you can hear the moment on the Montgomery CountyPolice Dispatch tapes when officers catch up and take over the pursuit. Flashers on now. Hes driving a chevy malibu, black in color. Flashers on. Reporter the pursuit ended miles away on the gw parkway in arlington. Adnan shafiq says hes grateful that those robbers are off the street. Just shocking. You know, very shocking somebody would even do Something Like that. And im glad the Police Caught them and theyre behind bars now. Reporter shafiq is a graduate of Northwest High School and a pillar of the community. Thursday afternoons he gives away free pizza to the homeless and anybody else who wants a slice. Live in germantown, Jackie Bensen, news 4. Thank you, jackie. A lastminute rush to prepay 2018 property taxes before the end of the year may have been all for naught for hundreds of homeowners in our area. All of this is tied to the Tax Reform Bill Congress passed last week. It caps property Tax Deductions at 10,000 next year. Many homeowners are trying pay their tax bills before the end of 2017, hoping they can get a larger deduction. But heres what we learned today. The irs says that in order to deduct that prepayment taxpayers will need to pay and have their 2018 property tax assessment completed before monday. And assessments have not happened yet for most local counties and cities. That includes the entire state of maryland, which doesnt release its assessments until july. And today in Fairfax County many people who were in line to prepay left when the county officials there told them about this news from the irs. Fairfax county or fairfax has assessed the 2018 property taxes . No, they have not. The tax rates have not been set. And the irs is saying . Its a result of that that taxpayers will not be allowed to deduct that on their taxes. So you gave people the option and some people number of people we had here at the time, we decided it would be appropriate to come out and give them the option on whether or not they wanted to move forward with the prepayment of their taxes. And many left. Many left, yes. That was our chris gordon working the story. The Prince Georges County council was set to meet tomorrow to consider emergency legislation on property tax prepayments. That meeting was canceled tonight after the new guidance from the irs. Well keep you posted on what happens going forward. President trump is praising the gop tax bill and taking credit for positive economic news. The president is on a working vacation at his florida estate, and he stopped by a fire station in West Palm Beach today. And while talking to the firefighters there, the president promoted his policies and compared the country to a wayward ship. A big, big beautiful ship that were turning around. And a lot of good things. 401 k s doing well. The stocks are doing well. A lot of companies coming back to the country. The president repeatedly told the firefighters that he the record for the most signed legislation by a president in his first year. But Fact Checkers say that trump signed the least amount of legislation of any firstyear president since eisenhower. A relative of the teen accused of gunning down a reston couple says that shes heartbroken for the grieving family. The 17yearold allegedly killed scott and Buckley Fricker last week before shooting and then critically injuring himself. The relative told news 4 that the suspect has been battling Mental Health issues. And she also disputed a Washington Post report that said that neighbors expressed concerns to the family after the teenager mowed a swastika into a field. She says no one approached the family about that incident. The family of the murdered couple, they told news 4 that they were worried about the suspect dating their daughter because of his neonazi views. Coming up next at 11 00, reports of widespread flu activity in our area. How bad this flu season already is compared to last year. And why a flu shot is sll plus, new opposition to a proposed highspeed magnetic train that could cut through some local communities on its way from d. C. To new york. And getting the pieces in place for new toyland, toyland little girl and boy land while you dwell within it you are ever happy there childhoods joy land never let go of your dreams. The mercedesbenz winter event is back. Lease the e300 sedan for 569 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. It was fun as usual today at disneyland in california. That is, until a big power outage hit the park during a busy holiday week, leaving some visitors there stuck on rides and many more stuck in long lines. In all, the park says about a dozen attractions were affected. Employees escorted the guests off those rides. No one was hurt, the good news there it was all caused by a transformer problem out there. A train from d. C. That could have you in baltimore in 15 minutes or in new york in an hour getting some new pushback tonight. Laurel mayor craig moe sent a letter to maryland grfrn larry hogan last week about this proposed mag lev train system. The governor supports the proposal. Mag lev trains can top speeds of more than 300 Miles Per Hour. But mayor moe said in the letter that he sent some in his city feel it would be a train to nowhere, it would take peoples homes and land. People in bowie expressed similar concerns this year when the project announced three possible routes for its track. News for your health now. One of the most shared stories on our facebook page, flu cases are surging close to home. Doctors are warning this is a particularly bad year for the virus. The flu shot may not help as much as it has in years past. But as news 4s Erica Gonzalez reports, its sti y bet. Reporter does there seem to be a lot of this around you these days . The peak season for influenza is upon us. It goes from december to february. And its already on the rise. In fact, in maryland and virginia the cdc calls it widespread. The cdc breaks down flu levels into five categories. No activity, sporadic, local, thats where d. C. Is, regional, and widespread. Maryland and virginia are among 23 states reporting widespread flu. Did you get your flu shot . Yes, i did. Did you get your flu shot . We did, and so far were doing well. Reporter is the shot helping keep the flu at bay . Dr. Donald poretz, specialist in infectious diseases. The vaccine is obviously not 100 effective. In fact, this year its not nearly as effective as it has been in the past. But it is still strongly recommended that everyone receive the vaccine so we can decrease cases of flu. Reporter theres already been more than 7,000 confirmed cases of the flu throughout the u. S. , double the amount last year. The cdc recommends everyone over the age of six months get a flu shot, especially the elderly and children. Did you get your flu vaccine this year . Yes. You did. How about everybody here . Everybody get their flu shot . We did. All the kids . They did. Nobodys been sick this season . Knock on wood, no. Not yet. Reporter remember to wipe down surfaces and wash your hands. A lot. Last year the flu shot had a 42 effective rate. How this years shot fares remains to be seen. Erika gonzalez, news 4. Doesnt matter there you go. With the lysol wipes. Thank you. What are you saying about me . You come up here, you sit down and you said you werent feeling well. Im not taking any chances. May not feel as good tomorrow. It is freezing thinking about getting the shot. This is the kind of cold where you go outside and you feel it immediately. Immediately. It doesnt take a lot of winds to produce wind chills in the single digits. Thats where we are right now. Look at the numbers weve got out there. First up the flag down there toward union saying. Its blowing. We get some higher gusts every once in a while, upwards of 20 Miles Per Hour. You can see that flag blowing in the wind right now, making it feel that much colder. I mean, the wind chill right now is brutal. Current temperature right now downtown, this is the number wp were sitting at 20 degrees, winds out of the northwest at 15 Miles Per Hour. Thats a lot for this time of day. And look at the temperatures. Current temperatures, these are not wind chills, these are the temperatures. 17 gaithersburg, 14 in martinsburg, 17 in manassas. You add in that wind and look at these wind chills. These are the coldest weve seen in a very long time. 6 right now in d. C. 0 hagerstown. 5 in manassas. And i expect this to be what youre going to wake up to tomorrow morning. We did see some snow flurries rl system that has passed us down to our south and east, and thats going to be the scenario here playing out over the next week and a half to two weeks. Most of the storms taking a southerly track. Well get some weaker storms in here. Thats what weve got during the day on saturday. That will give us a chance. Weve got a huge area of huge trough of low pressure, way down. This trough goes way down into the south. Then far enough off the coast that if a storm comes down it actually has a better chance of providing atlanta or raleigh with snow than it does for us because it will stay off the coast and develop off the coast. The big pattern for us is just the cold, and it is locked in for the next one to two weeks across our region and really across most of the eastern half of the nation. Overnight wake up to wind chills here we are with the field like temperature at 8 00, 8 in annapolis, 3 in gaithersburg, 4 in manassas. Thats right around where we are right now. And heres noon tomorrow. Lets go get some lunch, everybody. How about we order in . 12 in gaithersburg, 15 d. C. , 14 an incredibly cold day tomorrow for sure. High temperature only 28. Below freezing all day. Breezy and cold, chills in the teens. So bundle up. Its one of those days, especially tomorrow morning, where you want to make sure all of your exposed skin is covered. Were talking about scarves around the face, maybe an extra hat. Youve got the gloves on if youre going to be out especially for any long period of time because its just that cold. 36 on your friday. Were rebounding a little bit. Flurries possible on friday but a better chance of snow showers on saturday. This is not a big system. It will be, as i mentioned, though, well off the coast. 33 on saturday. That storm brings in even more cold. A high of 27 on new years eve. Wind chills in the teens all day. And look at new years day. 24 degrees for a high temperature. Wind chills early on monday morning will be in the single digits, right around where they are now. Between 0 and 10 as you step out the door on new years day. Going to knows new year festivities, definitely on the cold side, and if you notice the next seven out of i told you last week i think the potomac will start freezing. Thats definitely going to be in the offing over the next couple of days. So why do you need the lysol, then . Wouldnt that freeze the germs that youre so afraid of . They can those germs i dont know enough about that. All right. Fine. Well talk about that later. Still ahead here, the caps come up short in their first game back from their break. Sports coming up next. 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 ifs became a reality . Well, they