lines and forces passenger evacuations. good afternoon. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. it was a tense couple of hours today for some riders on metro's blue and orange lines this morning. after a piece of train came off creating sparks and smoke. >> dozens of passengers were stranded after three trains were damaged. news4 as pat collins is live this afternoon outside of metro headquarters with the latest what went wrong. pat? >> reporter: pat, this turned out to be a three-train event. and the troublemaker is something they call a friction. a metal disc about the size of this reel. it is part of the braiking system and fell off of one of the trains and hit the third rail and then -- two trains coming right behind it. this happened around 9:45 this morning between the plaza and smithsonian station.

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 to come on "news4 at

4:00," a producer behind some of the's most popular shows is fighting mexico's evident to put him on trial for murder. the drug dad who put his child behind the wheel as his designated driver goes t

welcome back to "news4 at 4:00." i'm pat lawson muse.

>> i'm jim handly. here's what's making news at 4:30. metro investigators are trying to figure out what caused part of a train to fall off today. a friction wheel on a blue line train fell off and hit another rail, damaging two trains behind it. dozens of passengers were stuck inside the train for up two two hours while metro and fire crews evacuated them. we will have the latest the investigation at the top of the hour. the holiday travel rush is under way. despite the uncertainty over the economy, more americans are expected to take to the air and roads to celebrate with their family and friends. travel experts say that the there are still last-minute flight deals available but you should expect most flights to be filled to capacity through new year's. house republicans reject ad 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 deal. the senate already left town for the holidays and democrats say that there will not be any

negotiations until the short extension is passed p. they don't reach a deal soon millions of workers will see their taxes go up january 1. on wall street today, stocks rebounded after yesterday's losses. the dow industrials gained 337 points. and the nasdaq also gained 80 and the s&p 500 closed 35 points higher. in california, a former television producer is making a last-ditch effort to fight extra dix to mexico. authorities there say he murdered his wife during a trip to cancun last year. george lewis has the latest. >> reporter: it was in the spring of last year when they went to a resort in cancun, mexico. monica veras redmond was reported missping november 5 and three days later her body was found in a sewer not far from her hotel room. mexican officials say she had been strangled and insists their case against the husband is a strong one. >> they have evidence that he

was calling a sex phone line that his wife found out about, they were fighting while they were in mexico, that he had scratches on him. >> reporter: mexican authorities say he used his hotel card key to enter his room numerous times on the night of his wife's disappearance. he says that's because he was looking for her. monica's family says bahe was a unfaithful husband. as far as the scratches go, his attorneys say he got them while enjoying the outdoors with his family. >> they were outside, very active, swimming, hiking. and he sustained some cuts and scrapes. >> reporter: mexican authorities say they told bruce redmond to stay in cancun but that he left for the united states. that's when they filed charges. the sister of monica says that it has been difficult hearing all of the details about how she died. >> every time is like the first time.

it is awful. it is really hard. and sad to see what she has been through. >> reporter: now monica's family is fighting bruce's parents for custody of her two young children. >> we are the guardians of the children. and that's the essential point. the children will be protect ed as long as we live. >> reporter: bruce's parents say their son wants to tell his side of the story. federal authorities are forbidding any news interviews while he's in custody. now to the shift of power in north korea brought on by the death of kim jong-il. kim's body is lying in state in a glass coffin. and there are lavish displays of public mourning. the north korean state media have stepped up a few -- praise of kim's youngest son and apparent successor. yang said no foreign dignitaries will be invited to the funeral

next week. the u.s. is reassuring the regime's neighbors more than 28,000 u.s. troops on the peninsula will stand with them if needed. incredible scene for drivers this morning on a busy new jersey interstate. witnesses tell police that a plane spiraled out of control and then hit the median strip and exploded on i-287 which is on the outskirts of new york city. five people aboard the plane were killed. three adults and two children. there were no injuries on the ground. wreckage was scattered for more than a half mile. a wing was found lodged in the tree about a quarter mile away. and the plane disappeared from radar after taking off from teterboro airport on its way down to georgia. update on the michigan father today who made national headlines back in october. after putting his 9-year-old daughter behind the wheel because he was drunk. sean he pleaded guilty to child abuse charges yesterday. he said he just wants to put the incident behind him.

the story made national news when surveillance video of him was released from a convenience store camera. the video shows the 9-year-old behind the wheel of a van and him bragging on camera his daughter was the designated driver. he will be sentenced in february. a showdown between two of the nfl's top teams is usually a memorable affair for fans. but last night's game between the 49ers and the steelers stood out for another reason. power outages that delayed the game twice. lori pruitt reports. >> in the beginning, totally black, all the lights went off. i had no idea where i was. >> reporter: that's probably how excited football fans felt when the lights went off before kickoff. >> then the second time the lights went out it was just dark on the field but there was some lights but it was dim. they stopped play. then when we were leaving, there were so many people around and it was just -- starting to get really crowded and rowdy.

>> reporter: two power outages delaying the monday night football game. the first outage delaying kickoff by 20 minutes. the second delay came early in the second quarter. the public address system stopped working along with everything else. >> when it went out the second time we left because -- on the way out, started getting rowdy. >> people are a little hostile right now and waiting for the lights to get back on. they want to watch the game. little embarrassing for san francisco right now. >> reporter: embarrassing because candlestick is on the national stage and football fans are watching the sellout crowd of 69,000 sit in darkness waiting for two playoff teams to battle it out. many fans using cell phones as flashlights waiting for the lights to come back on. the nfl's security chief reported seeing a transformer blow up while monitoring a gate outside of the stadium. one san francisco police officer told us that the [ no audio ]

>> that was lori pruitt reporting. the cause of the outage is under investigation. the 49ers say that whatever the issue is needs to be worked out before the playoffs start. that's for sure. >> when we come back on "news4 at 4:00," a chilling call to her family. now a frantic search for a college student who turned up missing. a child's biggest concern about his new home. would it pass the santa test? >> i want to give a quick holiday shoutout to my family and friends in washington, zooes.

it is time to check out today's daily deal. first up is groupon for $99 you can get a two-hour historic cruz on the u.s.s. sequoia presidential yacht. 60% discount on this trip. the trip cruz is down the potomac river. it expires next marceau have you time but more than 120 people already bought. >> it have you done that with your dad. >> yes. it is a great trip. >> what a deal that is. now living social just in time for hanukkah and christmas. popcorn factory is offering sweet deal for 15 bucks you get $30 worth of gourmet popcorn and other stuff, too. 2,000 people already have purchased this deal. you have about a day left to get in on that one. >> yum. "news4 at 4:00" continues. coughing and sneezing. for the good of the company, you could, you know, you go to work anyway. a lot of people do.

we have more coming up on the workplace dynamics of calling in sick. >> coming up at 9:00 on nbc washington nonstop, a modern take on french fare. executive chef shows us how to make pan seared red snapper with a fennel orange salad. then stay tuned for the nonstop scene at 9:30. we go behind the scenes of cirque de soleil's new arena tour. >> they make it look easy. check out news4's new and improved iphone app. an easy-to-navigate top stories list and all of our videos will play out right on your cell phone. users can also find the latest weather forecast and breaking news, too. check us out at the itunes store. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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doug is back. we understand you are considering changing your mind. >> about? >> about a lot of things but not the weather. >> i would -- you know what, this would be a week that you want sunshine and you want nice weather. you want cool weather to feel like the holidays. it is not happening out there. we have the cloud cover, very mild conditions. and i think not one, not two, but three storms coming through in the next five days or so. yeah. it is not going to be the best weather out there over the next few days.

if you are driving, the forecast, you want to pay attention to, 55 degrees now. plenty of cloud cover, winds are calm right now. very nice and mild across the region for this time of year. we are going to continue to be very mild as we make our way in through the next couple of days, too. those temperatures in some areas still into the mid 50s across the region. we are going to see those numbers not dipping down too much over the next few days. what they are going to be doing tomorrow is going up. there is the number again. i mentioned that, 55 degrees. look at the rest of the area. we sitting at 48 in winchester. but 54 here in culpeper. 54 in fred rex ricksburg. temperatures will dip down a little bit tonight but then i think they could go up tomorrow morning. can you pick out where the cold front is? 36 in state college. 53 in richmond. that cold front right hering right across our region. to the north much cooler air. that colder air is not going to work in here. we will see milder air work up. as far as the rain goes, shower activity towards the mason/dixon line. that's about it.

you have to go out to the west and towards west virginia to see the shower activity that's going to be affecting us. this is what that huge system that was bringing blizzard-like conditions to the west. however, for us it will be much less of a storm system and i'm just expecting shower activity during the day tomorrow. front will lift to the north tomorrow. here comes the area of low pressure, very mild air out ahead of it. expect showers tomorrow. but not a washout. could be a rumble of thunder as temperatures will be nice and warm. and then on thursday, well, why not add another storm? thursday afternoon we will see the clouds increase and rain moves back in. some of it could be heavy at times on thursday night. and here's the next couple of days. we are talking about the next four days first. 62 tomorrow. 60 on your thursday. with chances of rain. then 53 on friday. 48 on saturday. here's that christmas forecast. right now we are going for 51 and rain and that could be a very wet sunday. we will have to wait and see what happen as far as the storm is concerned.

if it is as strong as i think it could be, could be very cold first day of the highs in the 30s coming up next monday. but still not too bad for this time of the here what's the red thing blinking on christmas day? >> i don't know if i need to make hit the big or what? it says merry christmas and it has lights and stuff like this. see it right there going back and forth? >> your holiday decor. >> yeah. i don't decorate well. i need to hire somebody. >> you still have time. five days out here. you can do a different one every day 0 for 2 right now. good one for hanukkah. >> we will look for that. thank you. you are not feeling well. but you still go to work. >> sound familiar? coughing and sneezing around co-workers, they may not be so thrilled you showed up. erica edwards has more on cold and flu etiquette. >> reporter: we have all known someone like this. the office martyr. the employer who can't take a sick day for fear the company

may fold without his presence. >> if you you don't feel well i rather you go home rather than you tell me you tell me about while coughing in my direction. >> reporter: it is from anna post, great-great-granddaughter of the original queen of etiquet etiquette, emily post. she's right. you can infect someone with a virus from up to six feet away through cough and sneezes. >> are you that guy. >> reporter: national foundation for infectious diseases previously released this public service announcement to spread the word about not spreading disease. >> guy who is still at work spreading the flu around. >> reporter: calling in sick is easier said than done. recent survey from the intel computer technology company found 84% of h.r. managers expect their employees to be available 24/7. in this case technology could be just what the doctor ordered. stay home, video in for a conference, if your nose isn't too runny. and be in touch via e-mail and phone calls. your office will thank you. >> reporter: only one with the

red nose who needs show up for work this week is rudolph. >> yeah. he can't phone it in or skype it in. >> we all do it. go to work. we are sick and then we have lots of company. >> yeah. >> eventually. >> that's how it happen. >> spread the love around. still to come on "news4 at 4:00," a charity donation that went way beyond the good deed. it may have saved a life. i'm wendy rieger. a 911 call from an unlikely place. >> that was a toddler coming to her grandmother's rescue. confusion and chaos onboard an escalator. we will tell you what may have caused this. coming up at 6:00, more on the metro incident that left hundreds of people stuck on the hundit's about building carsthe in america. it's all about jobs. it's all about respect. security. the american dream.

[ jamaul ] good jobs in tough times. a chance to move up and do better. [ delaunta ] excellent healthcare. [ caletha ] beautiful benefits. what they used to call the american way. it still works here. [ jennifer ] not a single layoff of a u.s. manufacturing worker. [ glen ] not one. not one. doing things the right way. quality. [ jimmeka ] building cars that americans want. [ jamaul ] right here in america. hyundai is an all-american success story. ♪

anonymous donation may have saved this woman's life. maria vargas is battling stage 4 cancer. her treatment costs $10,000 a month. then suddenly a gift bag filled with avocados was left on her doorstep. beneath the avocados was a $10 thousand cashier's check. vargas and her dautver no idea who left that there. she says with the anonymous gift

she now has a chance to fight the disease. 6-year-old in england was so concerned over santa's well-being he helped inspire one of the world's first santa friendly chimneys. leo park and his family are moving into a new home next december. leo wanted to make sure santa would be able to fit down the chimney. it is important, you know. he wrote a letter to mr. klacla and the developer. santa came out to test the chimney for himself. the crane hosted the big guy up and right inside the chimney top. >> to see his face as i descended the chimney, shho-ho-, what a face. he knew i could do it really. i think he may have been a little worried but his worries aside now. >> oh, that santa is a good guy. in a few days, he says he will look forward to bringing leo his

christmas presents. >> isn't he the cutest little guy. >> there's a lot of wiggle room in that chimney. that's a big one. >> made it extra large. >> you got to. >> so santa can bring along all of his presents. still ahead on news4, a frantic sear state farm. this is jessica. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember,

you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm.

police in south carolina are looking for a man that they say forced his younger brother to eat cocaine after a run-in with police. the younger brother later died at the hospital. the video shows deangelo mitchel and his younger brother wayne in the back seat of a police car after being pulled over. police allege that deangelo pulled cocaine out of his pocket and convinced his brother to eat the drugs. police are now searching for deanne gel and so plan to charge himming with manslaughter. in kansas, there is a certain much under way for a missing college student who disappeared after she made a scary phone call to her family. kevin tibbles has that story. >> reporter: the 19-year-old college student from kansas has not been heard from since leaving this panicked message on her sister's cell phone. >> oh, my gosh. it was so scary. >> reporter: she said she had just been accosted by a man who smelled of marijuana and

alcohol. while studying for finals outdoors and at the university of kansas campus in overland park. she said she slapped him and that he had run away. >> he left and he was so pissed. pick up your phone. i am freaked out right now. bye. >> reporter: she returned the call but no answer. she drove to the campus and found her books, cell phone, and ipod on a picnic table but no sign of her. >> we have no information that for a is -- solid information waits an abduction and no information it wasn't. >> reporter: khan was married over the summer. >> i ask you to help me out, bring my wife back home. >> reporter: now there is facebook page dedicated to finding her. police have gone door-to-door seeking information and as the missing woman's family prays for her safe return. >> keep us in your prayers. and think of her all the time. you are going to the gas station, you are going to the post office. think of her at all times. >> just want her safe back home

in our hands. >> that's "news4 at 4:00." "news4 at 5:00" starts right now. never seen before. jumps head-first through the window into my car. and basically drives off. >> tonight at 5:00, a bizarre and brazen carjacking in the middle of the morning rush. two college students fight back and we will you what happened next. >> broom, boom, boom, boom. train just kept going like this. going like this. >> a frightening ride on metro today sparks, smoke, passengers forced to evacuate while underground. good evening, everybody. i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. the passengers say the lights went out leaving them in the dark. both literally and figuratively. metro says a part of the train fell