2024 is getting blown out on a strong wind, and 2025 will start with heavy gusts and cold temperatures.
A wind advisory is in effect for most of the D.C. region as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, from most counties in Maryland and northern Virginia all the way into West Virginia. See the full list of affected counties.
Storm Team4 will be on weather alert from 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve into the morning on Jan. 1.
Before the winds, expect rain showers throughout the area on Tuesday afternoon and into the evening. The rain and wind will bring a cold front, dropping temperatures after Tuesday’s unseasonably warm weather.
Winds could gust up to 50 miles per hour overnight and on Wednesday, with wind chills down into the 30s and low 40s.
If you have New Year’s Eve plans out and about town, bring an umbrella for the evening and a coat. Be cautious while driving, and stay inside once the wind picks up.
Secure any loose items in your yard, like holiday decorations, to make sure strong winds don’t carry them away, and bring pets and kids inside before the gusts begin.
A man aboard the first car of the Brightline train that crashed into a fire truck on Saturday in Delray Beach, leaving 15 injured, said he remembers the screaming and blood after the impact.
The Saturday crash in downtown Delray Beach left three firefighters and a dozen Brightline passengers hospitalized.
The fire truck apparently drove around rail crossing arms and into the path of a high-speed passenger train after waiting for another train to pass.
The shocking crash was caught on camera and left the fire truck severely damaged and on its side, and the front of the train smashed in.
Randy Fitzgerald said he was heading to Palm Beach that morning, when the crash launched him onto the table in front of him.
He said it was terrifying.
“My arms are a little bit sore from slamming into the table in front of me on the impact with the fire truck at high speed,” he told NBC6 exclusively. “The scene just keeps replaying in my mind of just slamming in, the sound, glass shattering, people screaming around me, seeing the man next to me bleeding. It was traumatic and keeps replaying in my mind.”
Video Fitzgerald took shows the passengers trying to figure out what happened. Shattered windows and glass are visible on the floor surrounding passengers.
“It became total chaos,” Fitzgerald said. “I didn’t know what was happening. I’m in the front car of a high-speed train that I thought was derailed. I see debris flying out the window, glasses shattering, people are screaming, things are falling from the ceiling.”
He added that the passenger next to him was bleeding and many of the people in the front car with him were taken to the hospital.
“He had a gnarly gash on his arm. He was bleeding. He needed medical attention. Around me there was lots of shattered glass,” Fitzgerald said. “We all had to be evacuated immediately out of that front car because of all of the glass shards and the things that had fallen, the train debris inside the car.”
Then, Fitzgerald said he and others were moved by authorities to wait for another train to evacuate them. It took about two and a half hours.
“It was hard. And for the rest of the day even, I just kept replaying it in my mind,” he said. “I am grateful to God that I did not have more serious injuries, that no one died. Thank goodness.”
Fitzgerald said at first, he thought they had hit a car–again.
“This is the third crash I’ve been in on Brightline this year, but this was by far the worst,” he said.
Brightline posted video to X that showed the train on its route. The video stops as it slams into the fire truck crossing the tracks while the gates are down.
Still, he says: “I love Brightline. I take Brightline like four or five times a month, but I think this is a community effort that we all have to be more serious about making sure that we can have high-speed rail, but we have to be safe about it. I think that it’s important to share our stories when these kinds of things happen because these are avoidable… What I went through, what the other people on the train went through, it doesn’t need to happen, and it shouldn’t happen.”
A driver is now facing a vehicular homicide charge in a crash last month that killed a 14-year-old who was crossing the street near his home in southwest Miami-Dade.
Michael Anthony Smith, 33, was arrested Monday on a charge of vehicular homicide in a reckless manner in the Nov. 26 crash that killed Lazaro Martinez, an arrest report said.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Michael Anthony Smith
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Martinez was attempting to cross the street on Southwest 112th Avenue near 232nd Street in Princeton when a black Audi struck him.
Martinez, a player on the Miami Knights football team, was killed just steps away from his home. Friends said his young cousin witnessed the tragedy.
The arrest report said Smith, who was driving the Audi, stayed at the scene.
When authorities arrived at the scene they found the Audi with severe front damage and its airbags deployed.
They also found that Martinez had been thrown over 100 feet from where he was initially hit by the Audi, the report said.
Family Photo
Lazaro Martinez
A 10-year-old witness who was crossing the street with Martinez said the Audi was speeding and data from the Audi showed it was going 81 mph at the time of the crash, in an area with a posted 40 mph speed limit, the report said.
The car’s data also showed the Audi was at 100% acceleration at the time of the crash and there was no braking before or at the moment of the crash, the report said.
The report noted that the crash happened in a residential area with low lighting conditions, and that Smith said he was very familiar with the area.
Smith, of Cutler Bay, was arrested Monday at the Florida Highway Patrol headquarters in Doral before he was booked into jail.
Family are mourning the loss of a 14-year-old who was struck and killed while crossing a street in Princeton in southwest Miami-Dade.
During Smith’s appearance in court Tuesday, a prosecutor noted that he has no criminal history but asked that his bond be set at $25,000.
Smith’s defense attorney asked for a $15,000 bond, noting that he cooperated with authorities and voluntarily surrendered.
The judge set Smith’s bond at $20,000 and ordered him not to drive for the time being.
The D.C. area went through a lot of changes this year.
The highs included the Washington Commanders having the first great year in far too long, and pandas returning to the National Zoo.
The year had lows, too. The collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge killed six workers, tragic murders were uncovered across the DMV and severe weather shook the region.
The U.S. won big in the Olympics (our local athletes did too!), we gawked at weird pop culture moments like the Willy Wonka experience in Scotland (yes, that happened this year), and the country had a groundbreaking election with surprises to the very end.
In case you forgot, we put together some of the biggest stories of 2024 for you to look back on.
DC day care workers rush children out of building before explosion next door
The owner and employees of a Southeast D.C. day care center rushed more than a dozen babies and children outside when they smelled gas coming from a building next door in January. Minutes later, a building that was home to a convenience store was leveled and two other buildings were damaged in a gas explosion.
The day care center owner was commended for having an emergency plan and executing it fast and flawlessly, potentially saving the lives of every child and employee.
“I want every parent that sends their kids there to know they that are prepared and they do a good job,” D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said.
Snead said she felt honored and was just doing her job. “It took some very special people and some special skills to get the children out,” Snead said.
Plane lands on Loudoun County Parkway in snowstorm
“I look up and the plane’s like 20 feet above me and it lands like 20 feet in front of me,” a man said after a small plane made an emergency landing on the parkway. News4’s Mauricio Casillas reports.
In January, the D.C. area got its first snowstorm in two years — and days later, a second storm arrived, causing a plane to make an emergency landing on the Loudoun County Parkway. The small airplane had seven people on board when the pilot landed on the parkway. No one on the plane or on the ground was hurt.
“I look up and the plane’s like 20 feet above me and it lands like 20 feet in front of me. And, just driving, I’m like, ‘Uh, what’s going on?’ So, they go down, they land it. They got squirrely at the end here and crashed into the guardrail,” a witness said.
Firefighter Trevor Brown dies in a Northern Virginia house explosion
On Feb. 16, a volunteer firefighter was killed in a house explosion Friday that also injured 13 others. Trevor Brown, 45, a father of three, died in a catastrophic explosion that destroyed a home in Sterling shortly after a large propane tank was found leaking, Loudoun County fire officials said.
The tragedy spurred an outpouring of support, including a memorial at the site of the explosion with notes and flowers.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke at Brown’s memorial service, describing him as a hero who worked a 12-hour shift, took his kids to school and likely said, “If not me, then who?” when responding to the Sterling emergency.
‘We lost our amazing sons’: Two little boys die after Clifton house fire
In April, two young brothers pulled from a house fire died after several days in intensive care, leaving their family devastated.
Northern Virginia Bureau Reporter Drew Wilder shows how the brothers, 3 and 6, are being remembered.
Zachariah and William Brice and their 8-year-old brother, Logan, were in the care of their grandparents when the fire broke out in their Northern Virginia home. Logan ran outside and called 911, and his grandparents tried to get to his brothers but couldn’t, neighbors said. The younger boys were trapped in a deadly cloud of thick smoke that damaged their lungs and brains.
“When William and Zach were found, William was actually covering and protecting Zachariah. We knew that to be his character because that’s just who he is and he, himself, is a hero,” their father said.
William’s love covered Zachariah like a shield, protecting his little brother until the end.
Cargo ship strikes and collapses Baltimore’s Key Bridge, killing 6
The ship Dali suffered a power failure at the worst possible moment and then slammed into the Key Bridge in a crucial location, causing the bridge to crash down. Six workers who were on the bridge died in the collapse.
It’s one of the most catastrophic and preventable maritime disasters in Maryland history, Gov. Wes Moore said while announcing a sweeping lawsuit against the ship’s owner and its operator.
Maryland estimated rebuilding the bridge could take four years and cost nearly $2 billion. The federal government is set to foot the bill as lawsuits drag on.
NBC4
DC strikes deal to keep the Caps and Wizards
The Capitals and Wizards have played at Capital One Arena in downtown D.C. for more than two decades. That won’t change anytime soon.
But a year ago, it really seemed like Washington’s pro hockey and basketball teams would be moving to Alexandria, Virginia. Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Monumental Sports and Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis’ statement at the end of 2023 sounded like a done deal.
But then, a stunning reversal came after tumultuous months filled with bitter battles between community members, a billionaire and political leaders.
The new deal will keep the Caps and Wizards in D.C. until at least 2050 and could transform the neighborhood.
@nbcwashington
Stumpy has put up a good fight from his spot near the Tidal Basin. That fight will come to an end in May. But to preserve Stumpy as best they can, the National Park Service has enlisted the help of some D.C. tree experts: the U.S. National Arboretum. Here’s how they’ll try and turn clippings from Stumpy into a series of Stumpy 2.0s, creating more trees that are genetically identical to the Little Cherry Tree that Could. (And as much as we wish the Stumpy we know and love could stick around… transplanting him somewhere else just wouldn’t work. Learn why at the link in bio.) stumpy savestumpy stumpyclones cherrytrees cherryblossoms peakbloom tidalbasin science trees nature washingtondc maryland virginia pgcounty dc districtofcolumbia dmv northernvirginia alexandriava northernva arlingtonva fairfaxcounty nova md mocomd pgcountymd
♬ original sound – NBC Washington – NBC Washington
Stumpy’s last stand
D.C. lost a local icon in 2024.
Stumpy, the iconic half-dead cherry tree that grew new blossoms every peak bloom despite all odds, was removed from his home near the Tidal Basin to make way for a new seawall.
It was a loss we all expected – the gentle but relentless flooding near the Jefferson Memorial was the reason Stumpy earned his nickname, and took out his brethren years earlier – but it was a sad loss nonetheless.
After a series of heartfelt tributes during peak bloom in the spring, District residents visiting the tidal basin one sunny mid-morning in May were greeted with an empty square of construction netting where Stumpy once stood.
If you’re tearing up all over again remembering Stumpy, fear not: His descendant-clones are already growing at the National Arboretum, and will one day be planted in the same soil that sprouted our hero.
Solar eclipse
Thousands of people turned out at the National Mall, gathered on rooftops and put on eclipse glasses across the Washington, D.C., area on April 8 to celebrate a rare and mesmerizing solar eclipse.
Thousands of people in the Washington, D.C., area stepped outside Monday for a glimpse of a last-in-a-generation solar eclipse.
At 3:20 p.m., when the eclipse reached its maximum point, crowds began to cheer on the National Mall and at viewing parties around the D.C. area. More than 80% of the sun was blocked in D.C., and sunlight filtering through the trees cast crescent-shaped shadows.
Monday’s total solar eclipse was the last one that will be visible over the continental U.S. for another 20 years. D.C., Maryland and Virginia weren’t in the path of totality, but other major cities from Dallas, Texas, to Burlington, Vermont, saw a corona of light as the moon completely obscured the sun.
The Washington Commanders draft Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick
The Commanders needed a hero, and Jayden Daniels delivered.
The Hail Mary. Comeback victories. Ending the Eagles’ winning streak. Washington’s best start in a generation. And next, playoffs.
Daniels made 12 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and overtime, a record for an NFL rookie, and he’s favored for Rookie of the Year.
“As the moments get bigger, he gets better,” Mike Tirico said.
The Commanders made it to the postseason with an 11-5 record, and the vibes are as good as younger generations can remember.
Jayden Daniels might be single-handedly changing the outlook on the Commanders season.JP Finlay looks at how they pulled off a win against the Cardinals.
Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters at GW campus
As the Israel-Hamas war raged, D.C. police arrested 33 demonstrators after clearing the pro-Palestinian protest encampment at George Washington University on May 8. The police action on Day 14 of the protests began after 3 a.m., after school administrators asked for help removing students and others from campus property.
Protesters, which included GW students and others, demanded the university’s divestment from Israel and an end to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
“They came in full riot gear – hundreds of cops,” demonstrator Mimi Ziad told News4. She said police shoved demonstrators and sprayed them with pepper spray.
Hours after police arrested protesters, crews worked to remove tents and wash chalk off the roadway. News4’s Joseph Olmo takes a look.
Northern lights dazzle the DC area
An unusually strong solar storm produced stunning displays of color in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere in May.
Sky watchers in the Mid-Atlantic shared photos of purples and greens overtaking the night skies.
It seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck, perhaps – until another strong solar storm in October brought the aurora borealis to D.C. and its suburbs.
Viewers sent in their photos of the northern lights visible in the area Thursday evening. Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer shares some of those pictures.
‘Our entire state grieves’ after Maryland parole officer found slain in offender’s apartment
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore ordered flags in the state to be flown at half staff in June before a slain parole officer was laid to rest.
The agent, 33-year-old Davis Martinez, went to check on a registered sex offender who had been released from prison in 2021. But after Martinez didn’t return to work, Montgomery County officers went to the offender’s apartment. There, they found the body of the missing parole agent.
Martinez was pronounced dead at the apartment in the 2800 block of Terrace Drive in Chevy Chase, police said.
Gaithersburg tornado outbreak
A powerful tornado and storm tore through Montgomery County in June, leaving damage for at least 45 miles. Residents in Gaithersburg, Maryland were left with power outages and damaged homes as trees fell on top of them.
Five people were injured in one Gaithersburg home with one of them left with traumatic injuries. Two or three tornadoes hit in that area of Montgomery County, with winds as high as 105 mph, the National Weather Service said.
A motorist’s dashboard camera captured a moment when a funnel cloud touched down in Gaithersburg. He spoke with News4’s Walter Morris about what he witnessed.
Martin Perez was at home in Gaithersburg with his wife, daughter and two friends when a tornado struck and high winds toppled a tree onto his home, splitting it in two.
One man risked his life and went out in the storm to pursue his dream of being a tornado chaser.
‘Every woman, universally’: Military wife is first Asian American, transgender woman to win Miss Maryland
Bailey Anne Kennedy, the newly crowned Miss Maryland of 2024, made major history as the first Asian American woman and the first transgender woman to win the title. The military wife also competed in the first year that married women could be in the Miss USA pageant.
And to top it all off, this year’s competition was Kennedy’s first pageant.
Newly crowned Miss Maryland USA, Bailey Anne Kennedy is a military wife and the first Asian American and transgender woman to win the title.
Kennedy’s platform in the competition was that “beauty has no expiration date,” she told News4. Things like being a mother, or pursuing a childhood dream that you thought was no longer possible to achieve, are all part of the beauty of life.
“Now, having won the title, it’s amazing. I just want it to be a good reflection of the LGBTQIA+ community, that we’re all coming from different backgrounds and different walks of life,” she added. “We’re just like anybody else.”
Cold case murders of Shenandoah hikers solved nearly 30 years later
Nearly three decades after the murders of two women in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, the FBI says they now know who was responsible for the horrific crime.
Julie Williams and Lollie Winans were murdered at their campsite near Skyland Resort in May 1996. Winans was 26 and Williams was 24.
A fellow hiker and convicted serial rapist sexually assaulted and killed them, the FBI said, after new DNA testing.
28 years after two women were brutally murdered in Shenandoah National Park, the FBI says they have solved the case. News4’s Paul Wagner reports.
Walter Leo Jackson, originally from Cleveland, is the suspect in the double murder, members of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office said at a news conference. Jackson died in prison in 2018 after a criminal history that included rapes, assaults and kidnappings, the FBI said.
The FBI says investigators are still looking into Jackson’s past, and whether they can link him to other crimes.
Bethesda native Katie Ledecky expressed pride in how many swimmers from the D.C. area found success in the swimming portion of the Paris Olympics. She spoke with News4’s Jummy Olabanji.
Paris Olympics
The Paris Olympics was a wild ride, from an ambitious opening ceremony to controversies to hilarious memes. But hometown pride was our favorite story. The athletes of Team DMV not only brought home heaps of medals, but made history again and again.
Katie Ledecky, the Bethesda, Maryland, native, secured her title as the most decorated female Olympian of all time. Arlington’s Torri Huske won five medals in swimming.
Watch U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles win the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics.
Alexandria’s Noah Lyles took bronze in the 200M – despite a COVID diagnosis. Just days before, he won the men’s 100m by fraction of a second in a wild photo finish.
And another runner, Maryland high schooler Quincy Wilson, made Olympics track history by running at the age of 16.
Another summer COVID surge
Another summer COVID surge had people asking: Should we worry about COVID anymore? And how do we navigate changing expectations?
News4 spoke to several health and infectious disease experts to get answers.
For the vast majority of people, COVID has become another respiratory virus to contend with, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. But, at the same time, the virus still hospitalizes and even kills some people.
“If you’re somebody that just had a brand new lung transplant, yes, you should care. If you’re a healthy 18-year-old, it’s probably less important to you. Each person is going to be impacted by COVID uniquely. No two cases are the same,” he said.
Adalja said it’s natural for the virus to be less disruptive to people’s lives with each successive wave in cases.
The search for Mamta Khafle Bhatt
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old nurse, was reported missing after failing to show up for her shifts at work. Friends said that was highly unusual since she was caring for her baby and often active on social media.
Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, 37, of Manassas Park, was indicted in December on charges of murder and defiling the body of his wife. Police have said they believe her body was dismembered.
A grand jury indicted a Virginia man on a first-degree murder charge in the case of his missing wife. News4’s Walter Morris reports.
Mamta, originally from Nepal, moved to the U.S. for an arranged marriage in 2021. She missed her baby girl’s first birthday, and her family members rushed to the U.S. to take care of the child.
Friends and community members have helped search for Mamta and rallied to push police to find her.
“At the end of the day, we still stand here fighting for justice,” Holly Wirth, a spokesperson for friends and family of Mamta, said. “We are going to be Mamta’s voice until the end of the trial.”
Bounce house flies into air at Maryland baseball game, killing 5-year-old boy
A 5-year-old boy died after an inflatable bounce house went airborne during a professional baseball game in Waldorf in August.
Aug. 2 was a “Faith and Family Night” at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf before tragedy struck. A bounce house with children inside “was carried approximately 15 to 20 feet up in the air, causing children to fall before it landed on the playing field,” Charles County officials said in a statement.
A Maryland church is holding a prayer service after the death of a 5-year-old boy in a bounce house accident. News4’s Drew Wilder spoke with the boy’s father.
Declan Hicks, the 5-year-old boy, was playing in the bounce house at the time. He and another child were rushed to a hospital where Declan later died.
“Words just can’t explain how remarkable he was,” his father said on a video call, saying Declan turned 5 only a month earlier.
DC Councilmember Trayon White arrested by federal authorities
D.C. Council member Trayon White was arrested on a federal bribery charge in August and accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes.
White is accused of agreeing to accept $156,000 in exchange for using his position to pressure employees of the D.C. Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to extend several contracts, prosecutors said.
White was the chair of a D.C. Council committee that oversees several agencies, including DYRS. The D.C. Council stripped White of his committee leadership and in December took a step toward expelling him.
White is not set to stand trial until 2026.
DC Police Investigator Wayne David dies after gun he retrieved from storm drain goes off
D.C. police suffered a tragic loss in August. Investigator Wayne David, a 25-year veteran of the department, was shot and died of his injuries after he tried to retrieve a gun thrown into a storm drain in Northeast D.C.
A suspect threw the gun into the drain after running from a suspicious vehicle and jumping over a retaining wall. He then jumped on the back of a motorcycle and fled.
Wayne David, a 25-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department who died on the job last month, was remembered Thursday by D.C.’s mayor, the police chief and his children at a procession and funeral.
David, an officer with the Violent Crimes Suppression Division, attempted to get the gun out of the street. The gun fired, hitting him in the upper body and killing him. He was 52 years old.
Fellow members of MPD and members of David’s church in Southeast remembered him as a man with a big heart and a big smile who loved to give back to his community.
Two weeks after David’s death, the man accused of hiding the gun in the drain turned himself in to police at the 7th District Police Station. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a license.
In September, David was honored with a procession and funeral, where D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C Police Chief Pamela Smith spoke alongside David’s children.
HFStival returns to DC
The D.C. and Baltimore area’s iconic (and long dead) HFStival returned to life this summer.
The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Incubus, Bush and Jimmy Eat World brought the sounds of the ‘90s and 2000s back to Nationals Park in September for one day of nostalgia and music.
Rock bands from the 1990s are making a comeback, and D.C. music lovers are wasting no time getting them to the District. News4’s Mark Segraves has the story.
Herndon double murder case updates
An au pair named Juliana Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield, the father of the family for whom she worked, are accused of working together to kill Banfield’s wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, inside the married couple’s Herndon home in February 2023.
Prosecutors said Brendan Banfield and the au pair concocted a plan to use a sex fetish website to lure Ryan to the home.
Detectives say the two claimed Ryan had attacked Christine, prompting Brendan — a law enforcement officer for the Internal Revenue Service — to fire his weapon at Ryan.
Nearly eight months after the killings, Fairfax County authorities arrested Peres Magalhaes and charged her with second-degree murder in Ryan’s death. Brendan Banfield was indicted in the murders of his wife and Ryan in September, nearly a year after Peres Magalhaes was arrested.
In a search warrant affidavit obtained by News4 in November 2024, investigators detailed recorded conversations between Peres Magalhaes and Banfield’s mother, Teresa Banfield.
New pandas arrive at the National Zoo
D.C. got two new residents in October! Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao arrived at their new home at the National Zoo and several people in the D.C. area were there to give them a warm welcome.
It was announced in May that the Zoo would be getting two new pandas after Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji returned to China in 2023. Bao Li’s grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, arrived in D.C. in 2000 and lived at the National Zoo for nearly a quarter-century. Over the years, they welcomed the zoo’s first-ever surviving panda cubs.
On Oct. 15, panda fans were able to track the point where the pair were loaded into their crates onto the Panda Express to the moment they landed at Dulles Airport.
Zoo members will get a preview from Jan. 10-19. The new pandas will make their public debut Jan. 24.
China Wildlife Conservation Association
Pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao in China
Trump wins; Harris delivers concession speech from Howard University campus
After the days-long wait for an election winner in 2020, Americans were expecting not to know the results of the 2024 election right away. The winner depended on the decision of a handful of swing states, with hours of careful ballot counting expected.
But all of those swing states were called for former President Donald Trump between the time polls closed on Nov. 5 and the early morning hours of Nov. 6. Other decisive results rolled in more quickly than anticipated.
State after state turned red on the electoral map. The initially electric atmosphere at Howard University, where Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign hosted its election night party, became subdued. Around 1 a.m., Harris’s campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond arrived on stage to tell the crowd that she would not speak that night.
Kamala Harris conceded to Donald Trump in a speech at Howard University and said she will help Trump enact a peaceful transfer of power.
The U.S. woke on Nov. 6 to the news that Donald Trump was projected to win a second term, becoming the nation’s 47th president. He gave a triumphant victory speech in the early morning hours, and his win was met with excitement.
All parts of the DMV were called for Vice President Kamala Harris in the historic 2024 election, with decisive wins in D.C. and Maryland, and a narrower margin in Virginia. Residents were “disappointed” and expressed sadness, worry and concern about a second Trump term.
But when Harris conceded the race from Howard’s campus that afternoon, her speech was not bleak or despairing.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said.
“On the campaign, I would often say, ‘When we fight, we win,’” Harris told the crowd, many of them in tears. “But here’s the thing: Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is don’t ever give up, don’t ever give up, don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place.”
‘Slave’ texts telling people to ‘pick cotton’ sent to DC, Virginia and Maryland residents
People throughout the D.C. area and across the United States reported receiving racist spam text messages the day after the election in November that told them to report to plantations to pick cotton.
News4’s Aimee Cho spoke with a D.C. mom about how the texts have affected her family.
One screenshot of the text said: “Greetings, You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12PM SHARP with your belongings. Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Black Van, be prepared to be searched down once you’ve enter[sic] the plantation. You are in Plantation Group S”
The FBI is investigating the texts and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities, the agency said in a statement.
“It’s worrisome,” said Pam, a woman who didn’t want to be identified but said her family and friends received messages. “The whole election had people anxious, and then now we have to deal with random messages coming across our phone, to Black people, people of color. It’s not fair.”
Owl makes itself family’s Christmas tree topper
Christmas trees often have a star or an angel on top, but at one Arlington home the week before Christmas, an owl flew down the chimney like a certain jolly old elf and did a little decorating of its own.
Savannah Burgoyne was taking care of her baby Wednesday when she heard something in the fireplace. Later in the day, their dog got nervous and howled. A little while later, when Burgoyne went into the kitchen, she found herself face-to-face with a barred owl.
“I walked into our kitchen, and there was a huge owl sitting on our baby’s highchair,” she said.
The owl flew over to the Burgoynes’ Christmas tree, knocking the star off the top and replacing it.
“I’m, like, very personally sad that there’s no Hogwarts enrollment letter that it came with,” she joked.
The family called the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. After flying around and delighting the family’s 3-year-old and 6-year-old daughters, the owl departed off into the night.
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, dies at 100
Former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100, prompting an outpouring of memories and plans for memorials, including remembrances in Washington, D.C.
Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1946, but many in the D.C. area remember his local connections forged after his term in the White House from 1977 to 1981.
Jeni Stepanek, mother of Maryland writer Mattie Stepanek, spoke to News4’s Erika Gonzalez about her friendship with former President Jimmy Carter after his death Sunday.
He mentored young poet Mattie Stepanek, the Rockville boy whose message of peace captivated the country in his books including “Heartsongs.” Stepanek was diagnosed with dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. After the boy died at age 13, Carter helped Mattie’s mother, Jeni Stepanek, share her son’s message.
“When Mattie died, he became a dear friend of mine, and he began mentoring me as well,” Stepanek told News4. “And so he tried to support Mattie’s Foundation, his namesake Foundation, and teach me to be a leader. And he just mentored me as a friend and somebody that was coping with a lot of challenges.”
Carter even strapped on a tool belt to help build and rehabilitate homes in Northeast D.C. in 2010 while working with Habitat for Humanity.
He’ll be honored with a state funeral in Georgia and Washington in January.
January 2025 kicks off in Chicago Wednesday, and several famous museums across the city are planning to offer free days throughout the month.
In fact, two Chicago museums will offer free days on New Year’s Day proper.
Here’s a full list of Chicago museums offering free days in January, and which ones will have free days on Wednesday, Jan. 1 in the new year.
Art Institute of Chicago
Illinois residents can visit the Art Institute for free on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays as part of Free Winter Weekdays from Jan. 6 through March 14.
Admission is always free for Illinois Pre-K to 12 teachers, teaching artists working in schools, kids under 14, Chicago teens and active-duty members.
Art-lovers can reserve their tickets for free, according to the Art Institute.
Adler Planetarium
The Adler Planetarium allows Illinois residents to visit the museum for free every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., including New Year’s Day.
Interested parties must reserve tickets in advance.
The museum said admission is always free for Illinois teachers.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Located in the Chicago suburb of Glencoe, the Chicago Botanic Garden will offer free admission for Illinois residents Jan. 6-12 and on Jan. 20. More information can be found here.
DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Although pre-booking tickets is always required, the museum offers free admission every Wednesday.
Field Museum
Admission for Illinois residents is free on Wednesdays, including New Year’s Day.
To visit for free, individuals must provide proof of residency on site. Tickets can be reserved ahead of time here.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Illinois residents can visit the Museum of Contemporary Art for free every Tuesday. The museum is always free for visitors under the age of 18. The museum also has a pay-what-you-can policy.
Shedd Aquarium
The Shedd Aquarium offers free admission on the following dates:
Jan. 7-9
Jan. 14-21
Jan. 28-30
For ticket reservations made online, there is a $5 convenience fee. For ticket reservations made over the phone, there is no fee.
The fire chief of Delray Beach said he’s committed to preventing crashes like the one involving a Brightline train and a fire rescue truck this past weekend that left more than a dozen people injured.
“Our thoughts are with the passengers, Brightline team members, and everyone affected by this incident. We are thankful there were no fatalities and remain committed to working diligently to implement improvements to prevent future incidents,” Delray Beach Fire Chief Ronald Martin said in a new statement Tuesday.
The Saturday crash in downtown Delray Beach left three firefighters and a dozen Brightline passengers hospitalized.
The fire truck apparently drove around rail crossing arms and into the path of a high-speed passenger train after waiting for another train to pass.
The shocking crash was caught on camera and left the fire truck severely damaged and on its side, and the front of the train smashed in.
“Delray Beach Fire Rescue leadership is fully cooperating with investigators from the Delray Beach Police Department, Brightline, and the National Transportation Safety Board as they work to determine the facts surrounding this event,” Martin said in his statement. “This crash is a sobering reminder that emergency responders must always balance the urgency inherent in their work with caution, ensuring that the safety of our community remains our guiding principle.”
Witnesses described the scary moments after a Brightline train and a fire truck crashed into each other in Delray Beach Saturday morning. NBC6’s Kim Wynne reports
Martin didn’t say what type of call the fire truck may have been responding to.
“Delray Beach Fire Rescue remains steadfast in our commitment to serving and protecting our community with professionalism, resilience, and care,” his statement read. “As Fire Chief, I pledge to ensure that this incident becomes a turning point—a moment from which we will learn and grow. The safety, well-being, and trust of our community will remain at the heart of every decision I make. Together, we will strengthen our commitment to excellence and ensure that such incidents are prevented in the future.”
Chicago police Larry Snelling Tuesday afternoon will hold a press conference to provide an update on the department’s security plans for New Year’s Eve.
The update is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m., according to the department. It will be streamed in the player above once it begins.
Chicago will see two big fireworks shows Tuesday, along with dozens of parties across the city, including at Navy Pier — where approximately 35,000 people are expected.
“Our security and safety team has been very thoughtful about ensuring that our traffic slow stays really active regardless of weather and that we have some extra safety and security measures in place so that everyone feels welcome and a sense of belonging when they’re here at Navy Pier celebrating,” said Elizabeth Halajian, senior vice president of advancement at Navy Pier.
According to Halajian, Navy Pier is also partnering with Chicago Police, state police and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications to ensure public safety.
According to officials, there will be additional CPD patrols at major event locations. State police will also be visible around the city, officials said.
Other big events around the city include the NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues. The game takes place at Wrigley Field at 4 p.m.
The city recommends taking public transportation to New Year’s Eve events, with free rides provided by both CTA and Metra.
Metra will offer free fares on trains arriving at or departing from downtown stations beginning at 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
Alcohol will be banned on all trains after 7 p.m.
The CTA will offer free rides between 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 4 a.m. on New Year’s Day, an offer that will apply to all buses and trains, according to the agency.
A Hialeah man is facing serious charges after he allegedly tried to have sex with a 14-year-old girl and stabbed a man in two separate incidents that happened months apart.
Leonardo Radames Lazo, 28, was arrested Monday on charges of attempted lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under 16, using a computer to lure a child to engage in sexual conduct, unlawful use of a communications device, and attempted second-degree murder.
The first alleged incident happened back in June when he sent the teen explicit messages through WhatsApp including soliciting her for sex, an arrest report said.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Leonardo Radames Lazo
The teen, whose half-sister was dating Lazo and had a 5-year-old child with him, sent screenshots of the conversation with Lazo to her grandmother, who reported it to police, the report said.
In one message, Lazo told the teen he wanted to have sex with her and “would show her things no kid her age could,” the report said.
The alleged stabbing happened back on Dec. 19 outside a home on West 31st Street.
According to an arrest report, the victim had been at a bar and left with a woman to go home when Lazo showed up at the home with another man uninvited.
The victim asked them to leave and Lazo stabbed him on the back with a knife, which caused the victim to receive treatment at Hialeah Hospital, the report said.
The woman who witnessed the incident knows Lazo and spoke with him afterwards, and he told her he was drunk, the report said.
She gave police Lazo’s phone number and he was arrested and admitted to stabbing the victim, the report said.
Police said he also confessed to sending the sex messages to the teen, adding that he felt bad afterwards, regretted sending them, and later apologized to the girl.
Lazo was booked into jail. In court Tuesday, he was appointed a public defender and ordered held without bond.
There’s a chance solar storms may bring northern lights to several northern U.S states just in time for the new year.
The sun expelled two bursts of plasma that are hurtling toward Earth and are expected to arrive early this week, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Once they arrive, they may spark colorful auroras Monday and Tuesday nights in Alaska, Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Iowa and New York may also get a piece of the view.
The early morning hours on Tuesday while it’s still dark should have the best chance of producing a light show, NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl said.
Updated forecasts may be available as the event draws closer on NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center website or an aurora forecasting app.
To spy the spectacle, wait for clear skies to get dark and then go outside, ideally away from bright city lights. Taking a picture with a smartphone camera may also reveal hints of the aurora that aren’t visible to the naked eye.
The sun is at the maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, making solar surges and northern lights more frequent.
The active period is expected to last for at least another year, though scientists won’t know when solar activity peaked until months after the fact.
NOAA is monitoring this week’s solar storms for possible minor disruptions to high-frequency radio communications, which are used by airlines and amateur radio operators.
In May, NOAA issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning — it was the strongest storm in more than two decades, producing light displays across the Northern Hemisphere. And in October, a powerful solar storm dazzled skygazers far from the Arctic Circle when auroras appeared in unexpected places, including Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City.
Will the Northern Lights be visible in the Chicago area?
Unfortunately for Chicago-area residents, there is a pretty significant catch: Cloud cover or rain could end up obscuring the Northern Lights if they occur, potentially spoiling the show.
Iisha Scott has the latest forecast.
What are the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights occur when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere, with the resulting interaction displaying a wide variety of colors that can be seen across parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
There have been multiple instances this year of particularly strong geomagnetic storms that have made the Northern Lights visible across most of the continental United States, even as far south as Texas and Alabama.
These storms are occurring more frequently as the sun hits the “maximum phase” of its 11-year solar cycle, according to NASA. That phase sees the sun’s magnetic poles flip, with more sunspots and increased solar activity taking place, and can last for up to a year or more.
The countdown to 2025 has begun, and with it comes epic Chicago fireworks shows.
Two iconic fireworks shows will take place to ring in 2025 in Chicago, with one set to begin long before the clock strikes midnight.
Here’s what to know about each, what time they start and how you can watch live in person, or from home.
Navy Pier Fireworks
This year’s expanded show is set to take place right at midnight at Navy Pier.
The show, now set to last 15 minutes, will “cast a glow across the lakefront that can be enjoyed from indoor and outdoor vantage points all along the mile-long Pier” — all free of charge, according to Navy Pier.
Riverwalk Fireworks
Making its return this year, the Riverwalk event programming will begin at 10 p.m. The evening culminates with a majestic fireworks display from six bridges along the Chicago River beginning at midnight.
According to Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, the show can best be viewed along the Chicago River from Upper Wacker Drive and McClurg Court to Franklin Street.
From 11:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m., bridge closures will be in place at Franklin Street, LaSalle Street, Clark Street, Dearborn Street, State Street and Columbus Drive. Bridge sidewalks will be closed to pedestrians from 4:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
The Riverwalk will be closed at 11 p.m. for the event, with just a small section from Wells Street to Orleans Street open until 12:15 a.m., according to OEMC.
Additionally, the following street closures will be in effect:
Franklin/Orleans from Lake Street to Wacker Drive (noon to 4 a.m. on January 1)
The Franklin Street Bridge over the Chicago River (9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on January 1)
Wacker Drive from Lake Street to Wells Street (9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on January 1)
Note that additional streets and bridges may close as the countdown to midnight draws closer.
How to watch the fireworks live
If you’re not heading to watch the displays in person, you’ll still be able to ring in 2025 witnessing the sparkling display live.
NBC Chicago will offer camera feeds of each event as they happen.
