months. >> especially as the economy and fuel prices rise there's all kind of alternative heating devices that come out. >> nbreporter: division chief michael cox with anne arundel fire department says there are several easy steps to take to keep your home safe when using alternative heating sources. >> óomthey follow the manufacturer's recommendations and use them in the manner in accordance with what they were designed. especially when it comes to some kerosene heaters they have to be utwááin a well ventilated area. >> reporter: other safety steps to take are make sure your portable heater has a tip switch in case it gets knocked  over. when buying heaters make sure it has an automatic shut off feature. space heaters need exactly that space. make sure they are at least 3 feet away from other objects. chief okcox says never go to b and leave a heat source on. >> they should never be left unattended basically a fireplace, you know, or the wood stoves make sure all :jiñt

safety devices are in place. >> reporter: this time of year has extra hazards in the home. >> there are other things in the house other decorations put oth tablecloths curtains christmas trees other types of garland and tinsel and things people decorate with extra lighting devices. >> reporter: it's does december when have the months of january and february to go through. chief cox says it's not too late to get your alternative heat source inspected. don harrison for abc2 ,cnews. here are some ways to winterize your home and useless energy at the same time it. first make sure that filter is clean. if you have gaxxpatched your ai filter is the plug off. close off a than an air vent. try using a sling insulation kit. the air dryer will make it

shrink to the window. change your batteries s?÷and b couple extra. put your ceiling fans in reverse. log on to our web site abc2news.com. look under featured stories on the home page and 4gclick on t story. let's talk a little bit about the winds. that has been a sober lining for us in today's weather p-win dying down a good bit. weather net sites across maryland capturing wind gusts 20, 25, even 30 miles per hour. if we take a look atbkfi5u reisterstown but most spots staying in the 20s for peak winds. the winds have died off even

western but an approaching storm likely to mean some snow for at least the southern half of the state by tomorrow night. now tonight things still quiet. 20s brisk and breezy with just a few clouds. õa!ññthings begin to change tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow night. we'll talk about that storm and yet another one on the horizon that could mean snow for the baltimore area. it's all coming up. let's take a look at tonight's top stories we have a clear idea how last week's five alarm fire on the block started. the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and p@ announced today that someone started the fire. but what's not clear right now is if the fire was started intentionally. investigators are still interviewing witnesses to try and '%"áhit all straightened out. now to mount vernon, the question is will they be able to rebound from the fire last week. donna is waiting for workers to clear out the rubble and

engineers to inspect the building to see if it's sound. shops. the wife of the ex-convict who held a florida school board gunpoint had been fired from her y1çnjob as a teacher. rebecca crowder duke was fired last february. the district hired her in september 2009 to teach students with special needs but didn't pass the -/hprobation period. yesterday clay duke complained before shooting after two board members. he exchanged gunfire with the district security chief before turning the gun killing himself. well, the senate passed a nearly $900 million in tax cuts and unemployment benefits but the house is kind of leaving everybody guessing about whether the bill zbuwill make to the president's desk before congress leaves town for the holidays. president obama is taking no chances raising the pressure

yet again today.lksmjdtqi rq)e' >> reporter: it's become an almost daily ritual. >> i am absolutely convinced that this tax cut plan while not perfect will help grow our economy and create jobs i9vthe private sector. >> reporter: president obama cokesing congress to pass the tax cut compromise. >> i know there are different aspects of this plan to which members of congress on both f the aisle object. that's the nature of compromise. >> reporter: today he came halfway to his goal. the senate passed the plan with overwhelming support from bn parties. >> the yeas are 81, nays 19. >> two parties idea logically divided agreed on a major issue for the american people. >> reporter: that leaves the president to focus his powers of persuasion n"ere they are most needed in the house where few democrats support it. >> we worked hard to negotiate an agreement that's a win for middle class families and a win for our economy. >> reporter: the plan would extend the no.bush tax cuts for everyone for two years, extend unemployment benefits for 13

months and provide $400 billion in tax cuts and credits to boost the sp nearly everyone found something they disliked. for some the 858 billion-dollar price tag. not only are the disgusted people in this country with our actions that we qcontinue to borrow and steal and beg from future generations, but the world financial market. >> reporter: but in the senate, at least, few were willing to stand in the way. republican leaders want sm) congress to temporarily fund the government and leave town. the democratic leaders intend to keep congress working and president obama plans to postpone his hawaiian christmas vacation to make astsure they john herndon abc2 news washington. time magazine has made facebook founder mark zuckerberg its person of the year. erson or thing that has most influenceed the culture and the news during the past year for good or for ill. at 26 years old zuckerberg is one of the world's glñyoungest

billionaires. earlier this year he pledged $100 million over five years to the new york new jersey school system. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke received the honor last year. á1$ a mailman is making headlines for making some special deliveries of his own. the woman who reported him did ide she was working at a law office when he made the delivery. she mentioned to him she needed to go to the nearby post office to pick up some mail he came back q( mail but without any clothes. >> it was the creepyest thing ever. the last thing i expected on a sleepy saturday afternoon. now i can 4gátuhp!out it. i didn't know what was going on. >> according to a police report he claims it was all a joke. he told investigators the 21- year-old woman dared him to deliver the mail naked. he says, when ;ñhe saw she was upset, he immediately felt bad and stupid. the woman says she never talked

to him seriously before this and certainly didn't 4)gwdare h to do anything. many of us who are christmas shopping online but would you buy a christmas tree on the internet instead ahead retailer is getting in on this holiday trend so you don't waste your money. a bold casino heist in las vegas is caught on tape. how much the thief got away with in just seconds.

. good news it seems like people are in the giving mood there holiday season. about half of americans say they will give to charity this season. that's up !v?29% from last year that's according to a november study by world vision. the center on philanthropy at indiana university leased optimistic news for charitable charities reported an uptick in donations during the first 9 months of this year. and good news when it comes to the sales rose nearly 1% last month fueled in part by deep holiday discounts. that is the fifth straight

monthly gain for retail sales and it shows consumers are becoming more comfort]nte spending money despite the tough job markets. consumers spent more on clothing and other general items, but there was a few weak spots last month. heck tongs sales sw6dipped just little bit. and speaking of shopping abc2 news.com is your source for the holidays. we have a holiday guide tips on shopping for 6ñperfect gifts ho to find the perfect christmas tree. go to abc2news.com/holiday. well, a police officer and a suspect get into a scuffle and it's all caught on the but that's not the end of this store. how a good samaritan jumped into action to help out the officer. @gqand hit-and-run involvi a snowman. the dramatic crash all caught on tape.

. athieff steals l of dollars in chips without firing a single shot. vegas police say the crook's got problems of his own. >> reporter: he made e.qit lo so easy. surveillance cameras captured the thief running out of the casino wearing a motorcycle helmet and holding a gun. that's not all he had. an estimated hh5$1.5 million in chips stolen in seconds. >> the suspect arrived on a motorcycle and parked just outside the north valet. >> reporter: he went directly to the high rollers crap table where he pulled out a gun. he 6told everyone not to move snatched the chips, ran full speed through seemingly nonexistent úó4ybellagio securi

oceans 11 this was not. unlike the movie there's good reason to believe this thief will eventually get caught. some of the $25,000 chips may have embedded m!@ëer @&c% >> anybody who tries to cash a big denomination chip is going to face scrutiny. >> reporter: police believe the brazen bandit may have the suncoast casino last week. that one netted chump change just $20,000. but it may have served as a test run for the real target. practically worthless unless they are redeemed at the bellagio. casino staff are alerted q,@ñto on high alert. abc news los angeles. amazing story out of ohio tonight. a good samaritan rushed to the aid of a police officer under attack. it was all caught dashboard camera. dayton police officer pulls over for this driver apparently

had a burned out headlight saturday night but things took a turn for the worse. the driver 64-year-old out to coleman looks ?l checking for witnesses and suddenly makes his move. the suspect and officer ended 9$ up in a shoving match. the driver tries to grab the officer's gun and taser. for more than a minute the fight continued with punches flying. then out of nowhere back up arrived but p expect. check this out a woman saw the fight and decided to help together with the officer they waylayed the driver until back up arrived and the driver was taken m.vdown for good. police aren't releasing the good samaritan's name and of course they don't recommend doing what she did. admitted it did come in handy. the driver lç#aces several charges tonight. hundreds of drivers had to be rescued on this snow swept highway near ontario, canada. some of them even had to spends the night on the highway. the only way out for some of aá the 300 drivers stranded by the

massive snowstorm military helicopters and snowmobiles to pluck them off the road. this is a storm we generally don'4ptget and it's blowing and it keeps on snowing. so got no visibility. >> the rescued were taken to warming decenters some spent 24 hours in bone chilling cold. there were no reports of death or injury. that's the good news. a city bus driver in champagne urban a o[çillinois q over a hit-and-run involving a snowman. check this out.xfg on the video you can see a car slowdown and drive around a snowman, but on the video it looks like the bus crosses offer, jndhits the snowman hea and goes back. the driver of the bus has resigned. police say actually the students who built the snowman

should be held accountable. tñsnowman could have made people slam on their brakes and cause an accident. all right? >> i think the real frosty is okay for the kids listening at home. >> yeah. what you heard the dd#snowman makers, they were pleading please save our snowman. >> teenagers with extra time on their hands. >> something happened, i don't know. well, good not to be a snow man today kelly, but boy it felt frigid iw5again and we're now approaching almost 3 consecutive days where we have not gone above freezing. so, below freezing weather. it's not comfortable and little more to come here. >> we're getting used to i9l. c the snow maker tomorrow will track south of us. that's good. we get snow showers here but not the big stuff. let's look outside right now. cold ,+cnight on the way. and. >> flags.

>> the flags still flapping in the breeze there pretty good there kelly. we've had wind today but not the incredible just harsh gusts wqx" to deal with yesterday. that's good. temperatures 28 right now. wind west 10, gusting closer to 20 to 25 through the day. 25 miles per hour breezes doesn't seem like a lot. take a look baltimore today partly cloudy skies early on then we will some nice clearing for you. you would think this would mean better 0óñrweather in store. it really doesn't. but it sort of looks that way at least visually misleading. washington, this is where we expect more snow to fall tomorrow than it will up here. in fact we'll probably get ñinch, inch and-a-half down in d. c. tomorrow night. so, you know how d. c. is it's going to be tricky travels in that direction come late tomorrow. temperatures mid 20s now. radar clear, zg%but again we expect it to get much more active into the day tomorrow. and our temperatures right now running in the low to upper 20s. so, below freezing. in fact, as you look at the

entire=hstate you'll find nowhere at that critical 32- degree mark or above. so, that means more chances for ufor things that could be problematic. windy, breezy conditions and again, just kind of a chilly wintry night out /there. we never got above 32 or above freezing today around baltimore around most of the state. salisbury never out of the 20s but d. c. did squeak out a 33. fx,wñan hour they were above freezing. anne arundel county a little warmer there will be greater chapss for snow south of this area through the day tomorrow afternoon. but we should lzmake the low to mid 30s down this way. so a slight improvement for you. satellite radar trend clear. now and tonight and probably tomorrow morning some nfqi sunshine on your morning commute. clouds role in tomorrow there's so much cold air already locked up over the northeast we know we're going to have plenty of

two things we look for for any snow maker moisture and cold air availa that is not going to move much at all through the day tomorrow so our cold arctic high still sitting over the mid atlantic storm system just beginning to develop out to the < that will push in and strengthen through the day tomorrow. but the track looks like it's going to be to our south. future forecast here it is centered over about north ñva tracks south of us. if this track were to change that storm comes north we could get more snow out of this. it appears as if it's going to stay to our .#]south. 17 partly cloudy tomorrow. 32 tomorrow afternoon with scattered snow showers tomorrow night down to 19 heavier south. that's where the heavier snow will be well south. añd0it chan another storm coming saturday night into sunday. >> we'll stay tuned. with the stores and highways crowd with holiday shoppers this time of year many of us f(lhave turned to the internet to do shopping.

would you buy a live christmas tree this way? john matarese looks into one of the strangest new holiday shopping trend so you don't waste your s:%money. >> reporter: we're getting used to ordering so many things online these days. books, clothing, even big screen tvs. all normal. @&c for instance, would you order a christmas tree, a live christmas tree from a web site? hoping. the retail giant this holiday season has begun offering live christmas trees online. joining costco, which started the trend. sound insane? ña million trees this way and many tree farms support the idea it's a way to increase their business. live trees are in 30% ofb:kñhom these days mostly because it takes time and effort to bring home a tree. target will deliver an 8-foot spruce to your door and claims £tr

from a local lot. from the doesn't that stink file the fact this is one expensive way to buy a tree target's prices range from 79 to $159, including shipping. "kbuq scouts will usually sell you a try for around $30 and supporting a local cause. picking out a tree is so american, so jimmy stewart, so charlie brown imagine that many people will move this shopping trip online. of course companies won't continue to offer products online if nobody buys them. so it will ,cbe interesting to see if this latest experiment in live foliage actually succeeds. don't waste your money, john matarese.

oh, i see. a throne for the tv... room for movies... your workout gear... non-stop football... it's a man cave! the boys next door will never leave. who says we want them to?

. h dog in the world. her owner adopted her 17 years ago. that would make her m175 in d years. what's her secret? >> i think it's lot of love. if you give your animal lots of love and make sure is that she's taken care of and brought to the vet when you think there is something wrong. 175. misty's owner is submitting her for consideration in the guinness world wrecord books. is michael orr leaving football for his hoop dreams. find out on abc2 news at 6:00 we now know the fire on the block was set, but it's way too early to