National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 2026 ticket lottery opens

Good morning. It is 4 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28th. Thank you for starting your morning with us right here on Fox 5 and streaming on Fox Local. Here's what's happening today. A local school is closed for the rest of the week as several students and employees are out sick. The illnesses that they are dealing with that forced the cancellation of class. Plus, a hiring pause in Loudoun County while the school district is reportedly implementing this new guideline. And the game four of the World Series going into extra innings but could the Brewers pull off the sweep? Your news at four it starts right now and good morning to you Taylor is with us as well as we're talking about the forecast and what weather everybody can expect today uh i've really enjoyed the past few days or really even like almost weeks of weather that we've had it's been so nice for sure October has been showing off we've been very dry very nice every single day today we're actually seeing a minor change we're gonna get some clouds out there eventually towards the afternoon which will pull temperatures high temperatures that is down a couple of degrees throughout the daytime so cloudy a little bit cooler for your Wednesday not a huge change but that's at least something we do have warmer days and some more sunshine for the rest of the week so i'll have much more on that seven day coming up Julie okay looking forward to it well we begin at 4 a.m with a Fox 5 news alert a Prince George's County school forced to close because of an illness outbreak dozens of students and staff have become sick in the past week Fox 5's Melanie Alnwick is live in Camp Springs, Maryland with the details. Good morning, Mel. Good morning. Well, Princeton Elementary School here behind me, very quiet right now, and it will remain so for the rest of the week. As you mentioned, it's going to be closed for a deep cleaning. To date, 48 students and 16 staff have come down with what's described as influenza-like and gastrointestinal-like illnesses and symptoms. Prince George's County Public Schools consulted with the health department and made the decision to close not only to do a comprehensive deep cleaning inside the school and sanitation of the entire school building, but to also allow the potentially infectious period to pass. The Department of Health has not yet specifically identified the virus. By the way, the flu activity is generally low right now in Maryland and across the United States. It is increasing and there have been a few outbreaks. Now, the health department here is asking families to keep anyone who is sick home and out of contact with other people and practice preventative measures such as hand washing and covering those coughs and sneezes. Julie? Well, thank you, Mel. A man is in critical condition after he was hit by a MARC train in Mount Rainier. It happened around 7 last night on Oak Lane. Officials say that the train was heading to Baltimore from D.C. at the time. And in Loudoun County, two boys, they are lucky to be alive after a vehicle struck them in a crosswalk. This happened last night in Ashburn at the intersection of Hay Road and Claiborne Parkway near Stonebridge High School. The sheriff's office says that both boys suffered non-life-threatening injuries and that the vehicle did stay on the scene. Loudoun now is reporting that Loudoun County Public Schools are going through a strategic hiring pause as enrollment declines. Superintendent Aaron Spence reportedly made the announcement at a school board meeting yesterday. The chief financial officer says that those pauses are already in place. Superintendent Spence cites an extremely low vacancy rate and a projected decrease of around 1,500 students. Maureen Ume will have a live report coming up at 4:30 this morning. Now, also in Loudoun County, a fight over power lines is headed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Loudoun now reports that the county, as well as the school board and a homeowners association, are appealing a decision allowing Dominion Energy to build high-voltage transmission lines through eastern Loudoun County. Opponents, they argue, the overhead route would impact neighborhoods and schools. County officials, they claim the state regulators relied on speculative projections when approving the project. Dominion says the power lines they are needed to meet energy demand. Well, the lottery opens today for the 2026 National Christmas Tree Lighting at the White House. The ceremony takes place on December 3rd on the Ellipse. Now, the lottery opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. on November 4th. Winners will be announced on November 12th. Ninth annual high heel race was held in the district last night and the winner, Kenny Monroe, well he took home the win for the second time. His first was back in 2024. The event dates back to the 80s and celebrates the diversity of DC's LGBTQ community.