a motorcyclist lost his life in a chain-reaction crash, why police say this should be a reminder to all drivers. "i heard screaming coming out of the bedroom window." a good samaritan jumps into action... saving a fil including a little girl, from a burning house! the kluc toy drive continues this morning... a look at how they're doing-- and how far they need to go to reach last year's record. good morning i'm alyssa deitsch, in for dave hall. and i'm maria silva. welcome to fox5 news this morning. first cassandra jones joins us with a quick look at the fox 5

forecast. good morning i'm cassandra jones with fox5. the big story today will be gusty winds across southern nevada for friday. wind gusts around the las vegas valley will be in the 30 to 40 mph range. even stronger wind is expected along the colorado river valley. a wind advisory will be in effect for mesquite, laughlin, and lake havasu city throughout the day on friday with wind gusts in the 50 mph range. high temperatures friday will be in the mid to low 50s. it stays breezy saturday before winds calm down sunday. skies will be mostly sunny this weekend with temperatures back up around 60 sunday. we'll see another surge of cold air for the middle of next week with more wind and below average temperatures. we have new information about a crash involving three vehicles in north las vegas. police say the motorcyclist who caused a chain reaction crash has died. it happened last night on ann near simmons. north las vegas police say the motorcyclist hit a car and was thrown from his bike. he was rushed to u-m-c trauma where he later died. police say this is a

for drivers to slow down and follow the rules of the road. "this is a good reminder to the whole valley that i mean the holidays are upon us, so this is just an unfortunate event where a family is going to be mourning the loss of a loved one. so drivers, riders please be mindful of speeds and aware of your surroundings and really obey the traffic laws because they are really there to save lives." four other people were involved in the chain reaction crash. two of them were taken to the hospital. weren't hurt. police are still investigating if speed or alcohol played a role in crash. we have an update to another story out of north las vegas. three people are recovering after their home became engulfed in flames. it happened at a home near civic center and carey around 7:30 last night. a man who was visiting a family member's home says he heard screaming and rushed over to help. " i heard screaming coming out of the bedroom window, seen a little girl, and she went back down, the windows were dark mustve

and i picked up a rock a brick that i found in the front yard and i threw it at the window and as soon as i did that i mean it just smoke billowed out everywhere." we are still waiting to hear back from investigators about what caused the fire. metro is launching a new surveillance system that will help catch criminals faster, but they need your help. they're asking you to register your security cameras with their surveillance program, called "vegas safe cam." it allows police to access your footage, but only if there's a crime happening in your neighborhood. police will give you a call before using your camera. "this will be completely voluntary. you'll only let us know where the cameras are. with the homeowner's and business owners permission, investigators will review surveillance footage at our request." if you're interested, you can register for the surveillance program on metro's website. president-elect

promising to unite our country, as he continues his thank you tour. fox's patricia stark has the latest on trump's road to the white house.

the biggest announcement to come out of the speech, though, was the nomination of his secretary of defense. trump says: "we are going to appoint 'mad dog' mattis as our secretary of defense... (crowd cheers)... but we're not announcing it until monday (12/5) so don't tell anybody!" but there are road blocks ahead as military leaders have to be retired for seven years before they can become secretary of defense. keane says: "the congress is already working in the house and the senate to get that waiver for general mattis because there will be tremendous support for him." (on-cam tag) mister trump still hasn't held a press conference since winning the election... but says he will have one on december fifteenth. in new york, patricia stark, fox news.>> u-n-l-v students protested on campus after a professor made online comments threatening to report undocumented students to ice. "it really concerns

to be the second most diverse in the country and allegedly supporting undocumented students still has professors like these." part time proffessor george buch made the comments on a student's post about unlv president's len jessup's letter supporting a program that would declare u- n-l-v a safe space for undocumented students. buch called the students "illegal aliens" and said there are no saf classroom. university officials say buch's comments do not represent the school. unlv's student body also released a statement, condemning the instructor's comments against undocumented students. senator harry reid announced a new tier one transportation center will be coming to u-n-l-v. one-point-four million dollars was approved for the project. the center will join others in the country and will be the focal point

advancing the high-speed rail infrastructure. it will also help boost the economy and reduce our dependance on foreign oil. this will be nevada's second transportation center. u-n-r also has one. "take 5 to care is sponsored by nv energy, subaru of las vegas and henderson hospital." it's a very chilly morning out, but that isn't stopping 98-point- 5's chet buchanan from doing his part to make sure valley kids have something under their christmas trees. it's all part of the k-l-u-c toy drive. chet will be camped out atop a 30-foot scaffold for the next 11 days in n-v energy's parking lot. each year, the toy drive set a new record thanks to generous donations from our community. "sometimes i forget. you know this is a special time. for a lot of folks and i'm really proud of that and i dont know that ive ever really admitted that befre, but i'm really proud of that. and i think it's cool that it's become a lot of people's tradition and they look forward to this."

they're looking for new, unwrapped toys, bicycles and gift cards. you can drop them off any time... day or night through december 12th. if you still haven't done your christmas shopping... some unique christmas gifts are in the valley... but only for the next week. coming up... the "cowboy christmas" shopping experience at the national finals rodeo-- gifts you'll only find in the wild west. many of us will be stuffing our faces with holiday cookies... but before you bake up a batch have an important reminder from the food and drug administration.

clouds of smoke and burning rubber covered the las vegas strip thursday, for nascar champion's week. the strip was shut down during the nascar victory lap. the 16 drivers from the chase revved their engines to perform burnouts along the strip. nascar champion's week wraps up tonight with the annual nascar awards over at the wynn. 170-thousand people are moseyin' on in to town for the national finals rodeo. but it isn't all about barrell racing and bull riding, fans are also getting in a little christmas

fox5's cyndi lundeberg takes us inside the country shopping experience over at the convention center.

cyndi lundeberg fox5 news local las vegas>> the n-f-r is in town until next saturday over at the thomas and mack. cowboy christmas is open daily from 9 a-m to 5 p-m at the las vegas convention center. good morning i'm cassandra jones with fox5. theig story today will be gusty winds across southern nevada for friday. wind gusts around the las vegas valley will be in the 30 to 40 mph range. even stronger wind is expected along the colorado river valley. a wind advisory will be in effect for mesquite, laughlin, and lake havasu city throughout the day on friday with wind gusts in the 50 mph range. high temperatures friday will be in the mid to low 50s. it stays breezy saturday before winds calm

sunny this weekend with temperatures back up around 60 sunday. we'll see another surge of cold air for the middle of next week with more wind and below average temperatures. in today's health

not only are vegeterian diets good for your waistline, new research shows they're also good for the environment. that's according to the academy of nutrition and dietetics. new studies show vegetarian diets are kinder to the environment, because it takes fewer resources to produce a pound of kidney beans compared to a pound of beef. vegeterians also

of obesity and other chronic diseases. the holidays wouldn't be complete without the smell of baked goods in the kitchen. but experts at the cleveland clinic say you need to resist eating cookie dough, because it could make you really sick. "when you're making cookies there's usually raw eggs involved, and whenever you consume raw eggs you increase your risk of salmonella poisoning, which is a food-borne illness." most holiday treats contain raw eggs. but it's not just the eggs you need to worry about, the f-d-a says the unbaked flour found in cookie dough also poses a risk. raw cookie dough is especially dangerous for children because they are more sensitive to food borne illness than adults. just in time for the holidays, nestle claims to have created a type of sugar that cuts calories, but still tastes the same! the global chocolate maker

way to "hollow out" sugar particles. it says with this method, it can reduce chocolate's sugar content by a much as 40 percent. nestle is applying for a patent right now. the company says it plans to start rolling out products containing the new sugar in 20-18. if you're wondering, the final product will still be sugar, not an artificial sweeterner. yeah... having a real christmas tree may bring back childhood memories and make yo nice.... but it might cost you more this year. we are experiencing tree shortages around the country due-- mostly in part-- to extreme droughts. trees from california are up 10-percent this year because of the dry spell. some farmers say they have enough trees, but they aren't as big this year because they didn't get enough water during their final year growing. chances are you have already started holiday shopping, so here are a few ideas to help you not overspend on gifts. follow your

and stores on facebook and twitter. you'll get instant alerts on sales and coupons. and if you're looking to buy electronics... see if you can trade in your old laptops, smart phones, or video game consoles to save a few bucks. if you are shopping online, do it on december 16th, which is free shipping day for hundreds of retailers. and if you missed a major sale, don't worry. many retailers will offer a refund if the price of the item you bought drops within two weeks of purchase. it's tim out the ugly sweaters for a great cause! our own fox5's john huck co- emceed this year's "ho ho horrible holiday sweater party" over at the s-l-s. proceeds from the ugly sweater party auction benefitted dress for success. the organization helps women dress professionally so they can find jobs and become independent. so often we find that there are

job not because they're not qualified but they simply don't have the confidence to take that interview... and some thing just like professional clothing you can always donate clothing items to the program at its boutique on desert inn and valley view. who says holiday shopping is just for the humans. a beaver was just snapped in the holiday aisle of a dollar store in maryland. and check this out. the beaver can be seen going down the holiday aisl at one point.. it even stops to check out the artificial christmas trees. this angry beaver caused some trouble though... probably mad that it couldn't chew the fake wood. and knocked over some store shelves... luckily no major damage was done! animal control eventually rescued the beaver, which is now relaxing at a wildlife rehabilitation center. most little girls

but one little girl just had the scare of her life on the theme park ride at disneyworld. check this out. this is a magnified picture of the little girl going down a hill on the water ride. dad is having a great time, but she looks terrified... and her reaction to the ride is priceless! a retired veteran places a classifed ad that reads in part... "save me from dying of boredom!" and it's working... the many businesses now offering this 89 year old a job! coming up. plus... prince harry tests his royal blood with rihanna in her home country... to encourage people get tested

shining bright at niagara falls. the technology was unveiled thursday. the bright lights illuminated the legendary falls with rich tones of red, purple and blue. the four-million dollar project is part of an on- to encourage people get tested for "world aids day." everybody knows the importance of hiv throughout the year. not just today." magic mike's channing tatum teamed up with omaze to offer fans a chance to magic mike's channing tatum teamed up with omaze to offer fans a chance to win a trip to las vegas, if they donated at least 10 dollars

last month, tatum dressed up in an elvis suit to give fans a sneak peek of the grand prize trip. the magic mike show premieres at the hard rock this coming march! prince harry joined rihanna in barbados to raise awareness for world aids day. the two appeared on stage together where they took h-i-v tests at a drop-in center targeting men in the capital, bridgetown. prince harry has been campaigning for months now, to encourage more people to come forward and be tested fo infection with the virus, which can now be managed with drugs. an 89-year-old veteran from the u-k is tired of retirement. he's looking for a job and employers everywhere are falling for his british charm. "the chief thing is, i want something to do. i want to see people, speak to people. what you see here, when i come home there is nobody here. i immediately switch the blinking radio on you see. watch some telly, read a book. it's non

check out "joe bartley's" classified ad. joe hopes to work at least 20 hours a week. he says he is still able to clean and garden among other skills. at the bottom, he writes "save me from dying of boredom!" local businesses were charmed by the ad and everything from

"do whatever you do, just don't do it and then get behind the wheel." a sobering reminder. first responders teaching students about the dangers of drinking and holiday season. a toddler who lost his father in the line of duty... gets a christmas gift... and lifelong keepsake made from his dad's police uniform. when you think of bad drivers, some might say las vegas drivers are on top of the list! coming up... the interesting findings of a new study that will have you thinking twice the next time you get behind the wheel.

i'm alyssa deitsch. dave hall has the day off. now it's time to get a first look at your fox5 weather 24-7 forcast... cassandra jones joins us now. good morning i'm cassandra jones with fox5. the big story today will be gusty winds across southern nevada for friday. wind gusts around the las vegas valley will be in the 30 to 40 mph range. even stronger wind is expected along the colorado river valley. a wind advisory will be in effect for mesquite, laughlin, and lake havasu city throughout the day on friday with wind gusts in the 50 mph range. high temperatures friday will be in the mid to low 50s. it stays breezy saturday before winds calm down sunday. skies will be mostly sunny this weekend with temperatures back up around 60 sunday. we'll see