the longest tenured owners in the national basketball association. they bought the baltimore bullets in 1964. poland moved the team to washington, changed their name to the wizards and built an arena which helped to revitalize downtown d.c. we begin our reporting with dan hellie who is at the verizon center. dan? >> reporter: abe poland's body has been deteriorating for the last year or so. he had a rare illness. he was in a wheelchair, didn't make it to as many games as he would have liked, but he was sharp of the mind. when you talk with people here who worked with mr. poland for a long time, they say he was compassionate, caring, he was loyal, and boy, did he love the people who worked for him, especially the players. there are several guys who have been on this team for a number of years like gilbert arenas who were shocked and saddened to hear of abe poland's death. gilbert said he was like a second father and he will be missed. >> first person i called was my

dad. he was the father away from california, so it hurts. we've just got to stick together. he wantedhe championship before he died. as long as i'm here, that's what i'm shooting for. >> reporter: you always felt like you had a lot of doubters. he's never been one of them. this guy always believed in you. >> no. through my injuries, through everything going on, he's the only one that's been by my side, him and the organization. it's been a pleasure being his son away from his kids. >> reporter: that's gilbert arenas on the passing of wizards' owner abe poland. nearly everybody in the washington sports and entertainment community will be talking today. we'll hear from ernie grunsfeld, president and general manager of this team and we'll hear from eddie jordan who happens to be in town. he is the current head coach of the philadelphia 76ers.

we'll have much more coming up from verizon center. >> dan hellie, thank you. abe poland's legacy extends much beyond the confines of the verizon center. the arena helped transform a once-struggling part of the district into a popular area for night life, dining and retail. tom sherwood here with more. >> reporter: people like to say abe poland gave his heart and soul to the washington region. many civics leaders say, job well done. mayor adrian fenty offered the city's con dole eventens to the poland family. >> abe poland has been a larger than life figure who represented the best of washington, d.c. and our most troubled times, he refused other offers to take his team or keep his teep out of d.c. brought them to d.c., brought the stadium there and it has completely transform downtown

d.c. for us. >> reporter: back in 1995, abe poland reached an agreement with then mayor marion barry to build an arena downtown and barry helped to get it done. >> i want to offer my deep personal condolences and prayers to the poland family. i've been in washington 44 years. i've known him 30 some years. i had three or four seders at his house. >> reporter: major developer doug jamal credits poland with helping to revive downtown, but also for working for many charities, including the soup kitchen nearby. >> i remember abe at the calvary baptist church and had abe's kitchen. he would serve the homeless in aib's kitchen. >> reporter: he put up $180 million of his own money to

build the downtown arena. the district itself spent $100 million on the project. controversial at the time, it's now seen as a huge urban success. >> his foot print in the city is very large. >> reporr: council member jack ebbers who reps the area says the hundreds of millions of dollars generated down there in taxes to go to all kinds of social programs are a benefit to the city, but also abe poland. >> thank you, tom. we'll continue our reporting on this sty throughout our broadcast. in other news, president obama announced he will reveal his new strategy on the war in afghanistan. steve handelsman has more on this story from the white house. >> reporter: if as many here in washington expect, president obama when he announces this new plan next week, basically splits the difference between what many advisors asked him to do and sends about 30,000 more troops to afghanistan. some of the strongest objections will come from his own democrats.

appearing from the prime minister of india, a key ally in the fight against islamic terrorism, president obama said what he will announce next week is a new strategy to win in afghanistan. >> it is my intention to finish the job. >> reporter: that is a shot aimed at dick cheney who is saying mr. obama is taking too long to decide. it's a slam of the whole bush team and what mr. obama says were eight years in afghanistan without the right strategy or resources. allowing the taliban comeback. the obama goal? >> to make sure al qaeda and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively in those areas. >> reporter: after weeks of closed-door afghan planning sessions, the white house hints the president will send 30 to 35,000 more u.s. troops. that's fewer than what afghan commander stanley mcchrystal requested, but doubling of the u.s. force this year. a former u.s. official there is

critical. >> if we add more troops than we are only going to fight as harder and only keep fighting. the taliban is not going to come to the table for negotiations until we start to withdraw. >> the new focus will be on training afghans to take on the fight. the cost in u.s. lives in dollars will go way up. liberals are upset. >> progressive wing is counting on president obama to hold the line against the military. if he doesn't do that, he will have a problem with the left wing of his own party. >> reporter: some democrats are warning extending the war means contracting health care, and other reforms at home. some of the president's own party are so upset they're warning that the new obama afghan plan to be announced next week could result in higher u.s. taxes. live at the white house, steve handelsman, news4. back to you. >> thank you. as steve mentioned, the white house is hosting the prime minister of india. the guest of honor of president

obama's first state dinner tonight. the lavish black tie affair will highlight the indian culture. it kicks off on the west lawn in an hour from now. oscar winners, jennifer hudson of "dream girls" and the "slul dog millionaire" music writer will also feature a mostly vegetarian menu. law makers in south carolina are deciding whether to impeach governor mark sanford. they began a process that could remove sanford from office. they focused on his absence from the state five days in june. the governor secretly left the country to meet with his mistress in argentina. his critics accuse him of dereliction of duty. >> he left his post, he left his state, he left his country without notifying anyone in

authority. he was, in effect, awol. >> how many times do we want to say the obvious? the nature of having an affair is that you want to hide it. we've been through all that. i don't know how many times one apologizes for all that. >> four republican law makers co-sponsored the resolution to impeach the governor. sanford and his wife jenny spent most of the summertime to work out their differences, but she left in august. she continues to fulfill her duties as south carolina's first lady including decorating government's mansion for the holidays. a lot of people like to bring their favorite dish for thanksgiving dinner. if you are planning to fly, the transportation security administration wants to remind you about some restrictions. eun yang has our report. >> reporter: thanksgiving travel can be stressful and unpleasant. >> i was nervous when i was

leaving. i didn't know. sometimes when there are a lot of people traveling, bags can get lost. >> reporter: that's why planning ahead and flying on offpeak days will ensure a smoother and less costly trip. >> surprisingly fast. i didn't have to wait long to get off. that is much appreciated. >> go a day early. go today and come back early saturday. >> about $500 cheaper. would have been up to $1,000 to try to fly home the day before thanksgiving or after. >> reporter: travel experts say today is the lowest travel day of the thanksgiving holiday. tomorrow and sunday the busiest. a lot of families aren't frequent fliers so they need to know some important guidelines. >> the most important thing to remember, always arrive at least two hours before your flight departs that. will give you time to get through the security wait line. >> reporter: chris hill from orbitz says remember the 3-1-1 rule. all carry-on liquids and gels

need to be in 3 ounce containers, placed in a 3 quart bag. >> make sure shoes are easy to slip on and off. >> reporter: while it's temperaturing to bring home leftovers, think twice. the tsa is out with a list of what not to bring on the plane includiing can berry sauce, gravy, juice and jellies. >> it would be great to bring that back with me, but also with traveling in air, probably wouldn't keep too well. >> i believe they have those in place for our precaution and safety. i try to do everything according to their guidelines. >> reporter: there a exceptions to that three-ounce liquid or gel rue. breast milk, baby formula, prescription and over-the-counter medicines are allowed, but have to be checked by a security officer.

check your flight online before heading to the airport. at reagan national airport, eun yang, news4. coming up in our broadcast tonight, d.c. police made the arrest in the murder of a young woman, a murder that happened in 1977. >> new developments today regarding the largest recall of baby cribs in u.s. history. >> a drug company is telling some doctors to stay away from a batch of swine flu vaccine. we had a lot of clouds. a bit more drizzle. i'll tell you about the big travel day tomorrow and more on the winter.

the consumer products safety commission promises swift action to get dangerous products off the market. that is in response to a record recall of baby cribs, cribs linked to four deaths. >> reporter: 2.1 million stork craft cri in the u.s. and canada are on recall. the consumered product safety commission says plastic hardware that allows the side to slide up and down can break, causing a gap. >> the baby can roll into this and get entrapped and potentially suffocate. >> reporter: four babies have

suffocated, more than 100 hurt. >> you don't want your child to be the fifth victim of suffocation for this crib. >> reporter: babies can fall out suffering severe head injuries. >> their brain isore loosely suspended within the skull and more susceptible to damage. >> reporter: this happens more with old cribs with missing parts or the side was installed upside down. >> if the crib is assembled correctly, maintained correctly and safety warnings adhered to, the cribs are safe and there will not be a problem. >> reporter: in july they recalled another brand of drop side cribs and is considering whether to do more. >> i do not think drob side, if it's not going to be certified by the industry will be a part of cribs in the future. >> reporter: suffolk county, new york, banned drop side cribs after two babies died. >> his face was pressed up against the mattress and he

suffocated. >> when a child is suffocating, he can't scream, he can't call out for help. that's what makes these cribs so dangerous. >> reporter: stork craft is offering a small piece to fix the crib. they no longer make that model. this is their second recall this year. tracie potts, news4, washington. after yesterday's encouraging figures on home sales, there is some discouraging news on the housing market and the overall economic recovery. there is a new "wall street journal" report which shows that about 1/4 of all homeowners in this country are now what they call under water. they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. new reports show home prices in 20 major cities were up for the fourth month in a row. experts say they expect those prices to drop this winter as foreclosures go up. the recent third quarter growth in our gross domestic product was not as much as initially reported. the commerce department revised

the figure from 3.5% to 2.8%. they did that today. all those numbers cause stocks to dip today. the dow jones average lost 17 points. nasdaq was down by nearly 7, and the s&p 500 was flat with a loss of less than one point. tonight a pharmaceutical company recalled a patch of h1n1 vaccine in canada. authorities say several canadians have reported severe reactions after getting the vaccine. the vaccine was made by glaxosmithkline. there are 172,000 doses affected. authorities will not say how many were administered before the recall. theyre trying to figure out why that batch caused allergic reactions. the world health organization has not changed its recommendation regarding the h1n1 vaccine. there is a major development

tonight of the suspicious death of a census worker in kentucky. authorities now say he committed suicide and tried to cover it up. the man's name is bill sparkman. he was found hanging from a tree in the daniel boone national forest back on september 12th. he was naked and had been bound and gagged. the word "fed" was scrawled across his chest with permanent marketer. investigators say sparkman hanged himself. they say he was convinced he was suffering from a recurrence of cancer and that he tried to make his suicide look like a murder so his son could collect his death benefits. sparkman's mother says she does not believe her son committed suicide. the astronauts on space shuttle "atlantis" said good-bye to the crew of the international space station today. the two ships will undock tomorrow. nicole stott has been on the space station for three months.

she wore a bright yellow bracelet that reads, "mommy loves roman." randolph bresman is looking forward to getting home. his baby daughter was born while he was on this mission. concerns about violence at a go-go show police have taken action. the concert is canceled.

bob is here with our weather forecast. a lot of people traveling and making plans right now. >> also we are getting closer and closer to meteorological winter. i'll recap my winter outlook after this. i had to get a special budget item from jeff because of the price of gold. this was very, very hard to make this year. >> you must be very strong to lift all that gold like that. >> i've been doing it for years. >> i'm impressed. >> it's been a cloudy and dreary day. we have drizzle falling. that will be story tonight. our high temperature today, we made it up only 53 degrees. we get attempt range of five degrees with a northeasterly wind this time of year, it's been cloudy. you can usually tell that. outside now, our current temperature, and this has been a wet november. about three years ago was five inches. outside, our current temperature

washington with that light northerly breeze continuing, still around the low 50s in most areas. 52 degrees. the dew point. temperature gets close. tomorrow morning if you are traveling early, very early, before sunrise, you'll be following drizzle to the north and also fog. no crippling weather really agoen up into bismarck. temperatures are way above freezing. sometimes we had big, big storm for the thanksgiving travel. there is a dip in the jet stream. that is the little area of low pressure that will move to our north. even out in the mid part of the country, it's light rain. around chicago there are no airport delays. i'll get out of the way and you can see spots like atlanta due to the usual late afternoon and evening congestion along the east coast, is pretty much the reason for the airport delays. tomorrow, if you are driving, there will be some morning drizzle, but generally clouds up i-95 heading down.

i-95 toward north carolina. the sunshine will break out. out west, a lot of sunshine. there will be showers in the mid part of the country. right now around us, radar is having trouble picking up the drizzle that's falling. there could be some for you folks around la plata and waldorf into southern maryland. the droplets are so fine it's hard for fine doppler to pick that up. there are rain showers around iowa, too. all of that is moving toward the east. all of it is in the form of rain, not snow. that continues to move to the east. there is that area of low pressure you can watch as it tracks up into canada. eventually we'll see some moisture into new england. i think on thanksgiving itself we'll begin to get into drier air. there will be colder air beginning to come in, butate

in the day on friday and into the weekend. in the meantime, drizzle tonight we have with temperatures into the low to mid 40s. tomorrow morning drizzle. sunrise is coming not that early, but sunset tomorrow is at 4:48. if you are driving mid morning, cloudy skiesith temperatures into the 50s. next seven days, we'll see i think partly sunny skies as we get into thanksgiving. then with another area of storminess beginning to form out to our east, i think we'll be seeing some blustery, windy conditions in for friday. the weekend, i think, still looks fine with a lot of sunshine and temperatures only into the low 50s. rather blustery and chilly. no sign of our first snow. here's the recap of what i think for the upcoming winter, which is december, january and february. i expect, and this was based on research from my colleagues out

of the weather service yesterday. above-average snowfall and the pattern may be one big nor'easter. you think you know exactly the hour and the date of the first inch of snow? those are the golden snow shovel rules. there is the e-mail address. if you are guess is the earliest post marked celebrity guess, guess what? >> we know. >> you help me shovel? >> i go and do the shoveling. >> first inch of snow at national airport. >> is it in line with the folks at the national weather services? >> noaa is expecting a bit colder than average winter in the east and milder in the west. >> bring it on. >> it's exciting for a meteorologist. >> and skiers, too. coming up, a loudoun county

man jumped into a pond to rescue a teenage girl trapped in an suv. police made an arrest in the 1977 murder of a young d.c. murder. what key piece of evidence they say helped solve the case. >> and the report on a controversy surrounding the cancellation of a go-go concert. >> a warning about holiday fire dangers.

we would like to bring you up-to-date on our top story. the owner of the washington wizards, abe poland today died. >> emergency crews were called

to his bethesda home this afternoon. poland and his wife irene are the longest tenured owners in the national basketball association. they bought the baltimore bullets in 1964. this evening washington sports fans are reacting to news of poland's death. derrick ward is at the verizon center where the wizards have a game tonight. >> reporter: they do. fittingly they are playing the philadelphia 76ers. no doubt there will be some commemoration of the life of abe poland. we talked to folk whose knew him, knew of the team or just knew of him. he is on the team since 1964, back when they were the washington bullets. he actually changed the name because of the high murder rate the city was experiencing at the time. that's the degree of social responsibility you don't often see among team owners. he built the old cap center, put largo, maryland, on the map. when he moved the team here to the verizon center, it became a legacy in steel and stone.

it was a gamble to build here at a time when nobody wanted to and he had to secure $120 million in financing from the city the at a time when they were going through fiscal straits. for fans, it was about how a poland legacy lives in the character of sports in this city and fan devotion. >> he is good night who cares about the place where his team plays. cares about his fans. takes care of them. takes care of his team. i think abe poland, you know, i think he knew that and that's part of why he took ted on when he did. certainly abe set the bar very high. >> when i came into this country, that was one of the first nba team i ever see and like. i will always be a wizard fa >> that gentleman was from liberia, a war orphan. this shaped his love for the

game. he was a wheelchair basketball player so the legacy lives on there, as well. abe poland dead at the age of 85. live outside the verizon center. back to nut studio. >> huge loss. thank you, derrick. lindsay and dan will continueeporting coming up in sports. a major break tonight in a murder case that smped the d.c. police homicide investigators for 12 years. police say they made an arrest in the murder of a woman named sharon moskowitz. pat collins brought us her story last month. police say that report helped break this case. a recently enhanced surveillance camera picture of this woman at a jibt food store at 8th and o streets northwest

led to an arrest in a 12-year-old high profile murder case. sharon moskowitz, a japanese scholar from connecticut, only in our city a few weeks when this happened. the murder suspect, 57-year-old frederick edward morton. he was captured by a security camera using miss moskowitz's credit cards to buy groceries at that giant 12 years ago. that woman in the picture was with morton at the time. within days after her picture was broadcast, someone identified her. someone identified him. case closed. on the phone i talked to andrew moskowitz, the victim's brother. >> in terms of this person being caught, there really is no closure. there is no equity. this person is the lowest common denominator of a human being and my sister was the complete opposite. had so much going for her. in that regard, there is not going to be any closure.

>> this is a case, while it will not bring complete relief to the family of miss moskowitz, at least it brings them a sense that this person will not do this to anybody else's child again. >> reporter: it was january 21, 1997, the body found at this home. it appeared she had come in on shopng and walked in on a burglary in her house. she was hog-tied with a chord, strangled with a scarf. the killer stopped to drink her orange juice before leaving the murder scene. i'm pat collins, news4 washington. according to the affidavit, the suspect is a lifetime heroin

addict linked to a number of burglaries and will be officially charged in that murder tomorrow. concerns about violence led to the cancellation of a go-goes concert tomorrow. promoters say they presold thousands of tickets, but prince george's county police chief wrote a letter to the national park police asking them to cancel the show. promoters say they were fully prepared for the show, but councily officials cited from previous go-go events. >> we had a homicide last year in the county. >> we followed all the guidelines. we have all the park police in place with a game plan for this event. >> the show promoters are planning to sue county officials and the showplace arena over the cancellation. those planning to go should be able to get refunds where they purchased their tickets. the story of heroism out in loudoun county, virginia,

tonight. a 16-year-old girl whose car plunged into a pond is alive because of the quick and brave actions of some of her neighbors. it happened near ashburn village boulevard in ashburn. julie carey has our report. >> reporter: tire marks on the curb, a piece of police tape and a newly rebuilt fence, the only signs of the life or death drama that played out at this ashburn pond sunday afternoon. that's when a 16-year-old girl's suv left the road and plunged into the middle of the pond. luckily randy and his wife maria were walking their dog along the path. >> i heard the bang and saw the car flying. it looked like a oo 7 movie. i said, please, please, don't go into the water and she did. >> reporter: randy ran down the banks, over the rocks and plunged into the water. the suv landed in the middle of the deep pond and was sinking fast.

inside the vehicle, he saw the victim, a 16-year-old girl. >> having two daughters of my own, i saw this little girl, someone's baby in there, and she was unconscious. >> reporter: others stopped along the shoreline. randy yelled for one of them to bring him a rock so he could breakthrough the window. >> i had a rock and i just broke it. for all i know, the rock is still in it. i crawled right in. just right in through the window. i looked and saw the blanket. i put it on the door so when i passed her out it wouldn't scrape her up. >> reporter: he passed her to another man who safely got her to shore and put her in the hands of rescue crews who arrived. >> the most dramatic to me was just to see the car disappear right after he took the girl out. >> reporter: now freezing, randy says he was eager to get back home. before he left though, one of his fellow rescuers proclaimed

him a hero. >> yeah, a hero, i guess, but you know, you do what you're supposed to do. you help. you help any way you can. i couldn't see it playing out any other way. >> reporter: as for the 16-year-old victim, she is in the hospital recovering. her father tells me she hadn't eaten for more than a day and blacked out on sunday before her car left the roadway. he is extremely thankful to the rescuers. all will be nominated for valor awards. julie carey, news4, ashburn, virginia. a new tool aimed at helping parents avoid toys some people say are dangerous. >> warning from firefighters about holiday fire dangers. stay w

while i was building my friendships, my family, while i was building my life, my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why my doctor prescribed crestor. she said plaque buildup in arteries is a real reason to lower cholesterol. and that along with diet, crestor does more than lower bad cholesterol, it raises good. crestor is also proven to slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. crestor isn't for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. you should tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or akness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. while you've been building your life, plaque may have been building in your arteries. find out more about slowing the buildup of plaque at crestor.com.

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a consumer watch dog group wants parents to be onguard against hazardous toys this holiday season. they released a report called "trouble in toyland." >> reporter: as the holiday shopping season gets under way, some important information on toys. a new survey by the u.s. public interest research group says it found three named toy safety risks to small children, toxic hazards, noise and choking. >> in the past two years at least 13 children choked to death on balloon, balls or parts of toys. >> reporter: perg recommends using a cylinder the size of a tissue roll to test the part. if they fit through the cylinder, they are considered

unsafe. nearly 15% of kids near 6 and 17 show signs of hearing loss. toys like this play cell phone used close to the ear should not be louder than ten decibels. >> it exceeded 85 decibels. >> reporter: harmful chemicals are a major concern. lead can damage the central nervous system. consumer groups and the toy instry say toys are safer than ever. >> there are tens of thousands of toys on store shelves and they found them to be in compliance with a few exceptions. >> reporter: this year there have been 38 consumer product safety commission toy recalls, down from more than 160 last year. >> these lower numbers don't reflect fewer inspections or investigations. they do seem to reflect greater compliance with the law. >> reporter: perg launched a new interinactive mobile phone tool

and websites to check on possible hazards while in the store. part of an ongoing effort to make sure toys bring joy and not harm to children. cooking fires are three times more likely to happen on thanksgiving than any other day of the year. that according to the fire prevention experts. today the montgomery county fire department demonstrated the dangers of frying turkey that's deep frying. fire chief richa bauer says it's important to place fryers away from homes and deck. they suggest you thaw the turkey out at least a day in advance. >> not a good thing. hot oil and a frozen turkey. toy is there a cloud hanging over the city, especially in the world of sports. the basketball community mourns the loss of wizards owner abe

poland. dan hellie is gathering reaction and you'll hear from eddie jordan coming up on ne

he wanted one more championship before he left. he sure did leave a lot else in this city. talking about abe poland. >> he did it's hard to think what is the biggest impact because he did so much. abe poland brought the nba and nhl to washington, d.c. it was the way he ran the franchise that was so revered. he was extremely passionate and loyal. he and his wife irene are the longest tenured owners in the nba.

irene told me every time they would go downtown and see the lights around verizon center that they were filled with the pride of what they accomplished to influence sports in this city. abe poland did it his way. he ran the franchise like a family business with honesty, the most important ate bermuda. poland suffered from a rare brain disorder that impairs movement as well as balance. four years ago he had a heart bypass surgery. last year poland was at the news conference when the wizards re-signed antawn jamison and gilbert arenas. he said he was going to be around until the team won a championship. the polands bought the baltimore bullets in 1964. one thing that set him apart was his foresight. an example was to change the name to wizards. >> eddie is one of former members of the organization here

to talk about abe poland. they are not just mourning the loss of abe, they are celebrating his life tonight. the wizards organization has done a tremendous job making current players and former players available. he was so loyal to his guys, as you mentioned earlier. >> he was loyal to his team. he loved basketball. he was never going to sell the team. it's just sad that it had to happen today. for the good news is, everyone's here. eddie's back. all the people who started the winning is all here together. >> he hired me to come back and coach a team that i'm a big fan of, a hometown team. it was a ten-minute interview. i shook his hand and he said, you know, i don't live by contracts, i go by handshakes. i walked out and said, gee, did i take the job or what happened there? i was still involved with

philadelphia at the same time. a big friend, huge supporter. did wonders for the city of washington, d.c. very passionate about his team and his players. it's a big loss. >> as you can tell by the way i'm dressed, i wasn't thinking about anything like that. my initial feeling is, you know, i just lost a real, real good friend. i think it's more than any of you will understand or i could even explain. secondly, i just think it's just going to be a big void in sports in this community and probably further out. >> that was wes unfield. he was with abe a long time as a player, member of the front office, big part of the bullets and wizards organization over the years. he talked about loyalty. he talked about how abe was so

loyal to him when the team asked him to go to china, he initially said no. i have health issues. i don't want to go. the next day abe called him and asked him to reconsider and wes said, okay, i'm going. i'll be there for you and the organization. so much respect for mr. poland here in this building and in this community. >> one more question before we let you go. how hard did this news impact the current players down there as they are preparing to get ready for this game? you talked about loyalty and i know he had special relationships with a lot of those players. >> i think the's affecting them greatly. especially the guys who have been here a long time. as you can see with gilbert, he smiles when he talks about abe. they'll try to celebrate his life as much as they are mourning the loss of abe poland. >> thank you so much, dan hellie. we'll have more reaction from players, from coaches as well as the nba commissioner coming up at 11:00. redskins spent their day off turning their attention away from the field and helping out in the community by passing out thanksgiving meals to families

in need. the event was held at fedex field. redskins, including london fletcher, you see there, who brought 20 kids from his foundation were there to help pass out all the bags with fixings. owner dan snyder was there. he helped with the team to give out more than 36,000 pounds of turkey. snyder wanted to wish the families as well as redskins' fans a happy thanksgiving. he did agree to talk. he was vague about the future of the organization. this is a community that wants to know you guys are going to make changes and is starting to lose faith in the organization. what do you say to them about that? >> right now today we are just celebrating thanksgiving, giving back to the community as best we can. obviously, i think the team is playing hard. we are all very, very disappointed. obviously, i'm as disappointed as everyone. we are hoping to get things straight in the near future.

>> dan snyder tight-lipped about changes coming for the redskins' organization. one change that could come soon would affect the defensive staff. redskins secondary coach jerry gray had a second interview for the head coaching position at the university of memphis. jerry gray, one of the rumored names to take over if jim zorn had been released by the redskins earlier in the season. i spoke to jerry gray earlier this week. he said he is interested in that position. >> interested, you know. i think university of memphis knows that. staff here knows that. whatever happens is going to happen. i think we are going to play that by ear. if i get the job, then that's another step. >> a decision on that head coaching spot is expected as soon as this coming monday. we do know jerry gray is one of two finalists for that position. the other is larry porter who is now an assistant coach at lsu. this could be very interesting. there is another possible change coming for the redskins.

it involves offensive lineman chris samuels who will have to make a very important decision if he is going to call it a career. chris samuels for ten years has manned the left tackle spot and played his heart out for the team. after a severe neck injury on a play ending his season, his career now remains in the balance. that's not what any of chris samuels' teammates want to hear. >> they feel bad for me. they are praying for me right now. all of them. every time they see me, we want you back, man. i feel bad for you, i'm sorry. i say, don't feel sorry for me. i had a blessed career and hopefully things will work out. just wait and keep me in your prayers. >> at 11:00, you'll hear what goes into chris samuels' mind having to make a decision whether to play again. it is something obviously that's weighed on him. six-time pro bowler, he loves the game. >> he has had a wonderful career. it must b said with pipes like

that, if he doesn't go on the field, he can go onto any broadcasting booth. >> i just hope he's not coming for my job. d.c. united player and star ben olson today announced his retirement. this is a day of a lot of people hanging it up. >> he is a cool guy. >> he will end up within the d.c. united organization, i have no doubt. >> coming up, we'll report on the effects the economy is having on charities.

a number of people wondered about the effectiveness of this city's fire hydrants since a huge fire over the summer which crews were hampered by low water pressure. tonight in our 11:00 broadcast, jim handly will unveil brand-new technology saving firefighters precious time. it takes the guessing game out of their jobs. you're invited to go along with fire and water crews as they test hydrants and big up others dating back hundreds of years. the news4 report on the safety of a city's fire hydrant system tonight at 11:00. a lot of charities are struggling during this economic down turn. with thanksgiving days away, many charities and nonprofit organizations are having trouble keeping up with the increasing number of people who need help. elai elaine reyes has our support. >> macaroni and cheese.

>> reporter: she has 30 minutes to gather all the items she can. it's not a holiday sale, but an appointment to collect food for the hundreds of struggling northern virginians her organization is helping this holiday season. she says the need is greater than ever. >> there are more people. the people are more needy. more people lost jobs. >> reporter: other agencies regularly pick up foods from the capitol area food bank in lorton. it is also feeling the demand for more, more, more of anything and everything from clients. >> it's been like 50% to 100% increase in agencies coming in here shopping. they shop more during the week. they used to shop one time a week, now come in three, four times a week. >> reporter: in northwest d.c., recipients get a side of prayer with their free turkey and food

bags. this year donations are low, only 1/3 of what they normally get because of the slow economy. >> churches, organizations i never heard of are calling us for assistance to send clients to us. happy thanksgiving. >> reporter: somehow they managed to find a way to continue their services. this is vivian ross' second visit to mother dearest and she is grateful. >> times are so hard. got to have love for one another. >> reporter: those helpers and receivers agree, it doesn't take much, even just a few cans to help those less fortunate to have a happy holiday. >> this is the busiest time of year for charities and time they receive the most donations and the most calls for help. >> that's our broadcast for this evening.