energy they produce. fox 5's ophelia young is in the newsroom with more. it's a sad day say solar homeowners and employees in the industry. and a backwards move says environmentalists - who argue solar panel owners should not be penalized for turning to renewable energy. but nv energy argues - non solar customers - who are the majority - are having to pay more for what solar customers are not. to level the playing field - nv energy asked the public utilities commission to raise the flat service service fee solar customers pay - and reduce the compensation paid to the customers for unused energy. the puc approved the new rate structure - those working for the solar industry believe the vote - essentially votes out solar energy in nevada- now they say their jobs are in jeopardy. ""it just doesnt make any economic sense the only beneficiary of this decision today is nv energy they have chosen a way to monopolize nevadans they gave us no option but to

covernemnt. there are nearly 6 thousand employees in nevada's solar industry. also upset - homeowners showed up today to explain - with the cost of the panels - their bills may cost as much as they did before installing them. some said they may not have invested in rooftop panels if they knew something like this would happen. the new rate structure will take place over four years start january 1st - but it seems the battle may not be over - solar companies say they're looking over the draft to see what the next step may be. reporting... solar company sunrun says it has already filed a lawsuit against governor sandoval in relation to the vote today. metro police were out in force along boulder highway today. their goal... to cut down on pedestrian related deaths. this year alone 8 people have been killed alnog this

highway... fox five's cyndi lundeberg is out where officers were earlier today.. she spoke with them about their mission to educate the public... cyndi... today officers were out along this stretch of highway.. and nearby streets passing out these pamphlets. they say their goal is to educate both drivers and pedestrians about safety tips. metro says the concern for safety along boulder highwa is a constant concern for their officers. they say the times pedestrians are at most risk is between 6am and midnight... so pretty much all day long. capt owen with metro police says they are working to get more cross walks along boulder highway... but says its a very long and tedious process with the city. "there are long stretches were

so people are picking up speed so i want pedestrians to be aware them vs a 2000 vehicle they are not going to win that equation' i asked metro police how long it takes to get more cross walks installed and they said years and years... there was a man that fox 5 saw ticketed for jaywalking... officers say his fine is going to be about two- hundred dollars. metro police was out from about for pedestrians... make sure you stay out of blind spots... and if possible - make eye contact with drivers. if out at night - wear bright clothing and bring a flashlight. lakeisha holloway is in jail on suicide watch

police say crashed her car into a crowd on the strip sunday night. today, the county prosecutor talked about her charges. "the fact that she kept driving while people were trying to get her to stop, she admitted a body bounced off her windshield, so of course that's all taken into consideration when we determine what crimes she should be charged with." holloway is due in court tomorrow to face charges of murder, felony hit-and-run, and child abuse and neglect. a defense attorney for lakeisha holloway says it's too soon to say if her mental condition will become part of her defense. one person was killed and more than 30 people were hit. among them - four members of the pacific university wrestling team from oregon. three of the wrestlers were treated at a hospital and released. one was kept overnight for observation. they returned monday to portland - after

thier tournment scheduled for this week. a family of five from california was on their way to henderson - when their private plane crashed near bakersfield. they were coming to town - to attend a holiday party. now - as cate cauguiran reports - a community in northern california is in mourning. (urias escudero) was just in shock." (miguel garcia) "i can't believe that really nice people." today -- there is an eerie quiet in this gilroy neighborhood. (john paradiso/ neighbor) "this is a very close neighborhood. everybody around us here knows everybody but to we're all sad." and everyone knows... one home here will be empty this holiday season, after the price family died saturday... (nat mayday mayday) ...when their small plane went down. that was last air traffic control @ would hear from jason price. neighbors tell us jason, his wife olga and their three kids: john, mary and 9-year-old olivia were all on board. the family took off from reid-hillview airport in a single engine piper pa32....

friends in las vegas. the plane went down in an almond orchard near bakersfield. (senior deputy john carpenter, kern co. sheriff's office) "a extensive ground search was conducted, by the kern co sheriff's office, bakersfield police department, the california highway patrol, as well as the kern county fire department. no air was used due to the weather. at about 7:24pm they located debris of a plane in this area." debris was scattered for a quarter of a mile. (john paradiso) "just in a state of shock, numbness as it were." john paradiso said the family lived in this neighborhood for at least three years. (john paradiso/ neighbor) they were a lovely couple. we loved and respected them.. the kids played on the block everyday." jamin escudero went to luigi area elementary with the younger daughters and was good friends with the couple's oldest son, john. (jamin escudero/family friend) "he was fascinated by airplanes and he would always talk to me about his private airplane." the f-a-a and n-t-

the cause remains under investigation. lawmakers are still pushing for drivers with uber and lyft... to udnergo federal background checks. but it's not so simple.

the nevada transportation authority says it doesn't have the authority to force drivers for uber and lyft to participate in fingerprint background checks. they were a major sticking point when lawmakers considered ride- hailing bills this spring. lawmakers wanted to compare whether fingerprinting and fbi background checks are more effective than thehe checks uber and lyft do now. taxi companies argued potential drivers could use false identities to checks if fingerprinting wasn't used. and ride-hailing companies say the third-party checks are faster - and say fbi flag arrests but don't tell the an investigation. a fire reported at a hotel room turned out to be a burning towel. firefighters say five engines, two trucks and three rescue vehicles responded to the call - just before five this morning.

directed to the 25-th floor where they used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. they checked for smoke damage - but didn't find any. no injuries were reported and no evacuations were necessary. is a battle between donald trump and hillary clinton a sign of things to come in 2016? coming up... the war of words between the two frontrunners - before the first primary vote is even cast. and - how safety is being addressed... during the busy holiday travel week. your fox5 weather 24/7 forecast is

the first step in the court martial of army sergeant bowe bergdahl took place this morning - with a hearing at fort bragg. he didn't enter a plea and hasn't decided yet whether he wants to face a trial with a jury or just a judge. the 29-year-old soldier walked off his post in eastern afghanistan in 2009... he was released in 2014 as part of a prisoner swap with the taliban that was widely criticized.... "just like in the civilian system, the person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. but above and beyond that, they're still in the military, because the military has to have jurisdiction to try them." berghdahl is

military and civilian lawyers for his defense team. he remains on active duty in the army - still drawing his military pay and benefits. fears over terrorism remain high... during a busy travel period for the christmas holiday. jennifer griffin is at the pentagon - with more on the national and global response.... to keep people safe on roads - on trains - and in the air. terrorism on the minds of many this holiday season.... in the wake of deadly terror attack from paris.... to san bernadino. and authorities are keeping a watchful eye on potential targets. president obama doing his best to put minds at ease, last week. obama says: "..you've got dedicated patriots working around the clock all across the country to protect us all." the holiday travel season tainted by terror in the past. richard reid's plot to bring down a u.s. jet with a shoe bomb was thwarted 14-years ago. and in 2009, a nigerian man ---now known as the underwear bomber--tried to

christmas day. in spite of this, air travel is predicted to greater than last year. reporter says: "..do you feel safe traveling?" mos says: "..i do. i have faith in the t- s-a. i mean, it's a little bit scary, but gotta get to where you're going for the holiday season." security also high overseas. airport safety in egypt under review following a suspected terror attack on a russian passenger jet there... special units are on patrol in bethlehem--- where christians believe jesus was born. . and in france---where a wave of attacks left at least 130- people dead last month---there's extra protection at places of worship. cazeneuve says: "..it is not necessary to have multiple entry ways for a place of worship. some of the doors can be blocked to ensure for better filtering at the entrance and security." (voice of translator) (on cam tag) president obama saying last week intelligence and counter-terror officials do not have any specific and credible information about threats to the homeland. at the pentagon, jennifer griffin, fox news. the holiday

for americans. triple-a expects more than 100 million americans to travel the next week and a half. the reaction continues on the campaign trail.... after donald trump used some "yiddish" to describe democratic presidential frontrunner hillary clinton. "even a race to obama. she was going to beat obama. i don't know who'd be worse. i don't know. how does it get worse? but she was gonna beat, she was favored to win, and she got schlonged. she lost. i mean, she lost." trump had been demanding an apology from clinton... after the former secretary called him the best recruiter for isis. clinton's campaign called trump's latest comments degrading to all women. "she's great at being the victim. you know this will enhance her victimology status." "the two of them should stop bickering about their personal disagreements with each other and who should apologize to who." "i'm not going to be another political pundit i'm going to let donald trump speak for himself" clinton has a comfortable lead

shiftied focus to trump - during campaign appearances. "what you're hearing from some of the republicans, particularly mr. trump about muslims is not only dangerous, it's shameful." a new poll shows clinton with a lead of 30 points over nearest democratic rival bernie sanders... while trump's strongest challenger to his g-o-p frontrunner status is ted cruz . now fox5 weather 24/7 (( weather )) you might have been able to tell that forecasting the exact arrival and departure times of the waves of clouds we've been seeing isn't always easy. we were calling for a lot of cloud cover throughout this first full day of winter which would have kept the afternoon high in the mid 50s. but mother nature had other ideas, and the clouds cleared out, giving us more sunshine and moving the high past the 60

current forecast still calls for clouds to keep coming and going while temps will stay above normal for a couple more days. but the next big system upstream is supposed to get here during the day on christmas eve. that should mean more wind and much cooler temps heading into the holiday and on into the weekend. we'll go ahead and mention a slight chance for a quick passing shower as santa makes his big sleigh ride over southern nevada. if that happens, higher elevations around the las vegas area could see a snowflake or two (don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen). mainly it's going to be windy with high temps dropping into the 40s and lows

over the rest of the christmas weekend. closed captioning will resume shortly forecasting the exact arrival and departure times of the waves of clouds we've been seeing isn't always easy. we were calling for a lot of cloud cover throughout this first full day of winter which would have kept the afternoon high in the mid 50s. but mother nature had other ideas, and the clouds cleared out, giving us more sunshine and moving the high past the 60 degree mark. the current forecast still calls for clouds to keep coming and going while temps will stay above normal for a couple more days. but the next

here during the day on christmas eve. that should mean more wind and much cooler temps heading into the holiday and on into the weekend. we'll go ahead and mention a slight chance for a quick passing shower as santa makes his big sleigh ride over southern nevada. if that happens, higher elevations around the las vegas area could see a snowflake or two (don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen). mainly it's going to be windy with high temps dropping into the 40s and lows down to the 20s over the rest of the christmas weekend. closed captioning

there are thousands of people across the valley who don't have enough to eat fox5's "take 5 to care" holiday food drive continues through the end of the year. you can drop off your non- perishable food items at any valley albertons and vons. you can also donate cash right at the register. all of the proceeds benefit three square food bank. christmas is still a few days a way... but a holiday feast is already underway. why these early gifts... are part of scientific study this is fox5 news at 5:30, your only choice for live

here's a look at one of the 'all new' stories we are working for fox5 news at six. we've learned the person who was hit and injured last night when he stepped onto desert inn .. did not survive. details on this and the closer look at what metro is doing to make our roads safer. christmas came early for animals living in poland's gdansk zoo. take a look... santa dropped off special gift- wrapped treats for the animals to enjoy this week. from lion cubs - to giraffes and monkeys... every

special to munch on. zookeepers say the presents are part of an enrichment program to help simulate what it would be like for each animal to live in the wild. thanks for joining

this is krystal, and her dream is to be a roller derby girl. we love krystal! we love krystal! oh my god it's jj watt! oh my god!

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