makeup. and they are set to mary at london's westminster app -- abby in the spring. the winter weather is here. we're seeing snow around the area today. we'll get the latest forecast and check out how drivers are handling the roads. how about a game changer. the inflatable roof at the metrodome collapsed. the game against the giants was postponed and now out of town. and why this could set off a political fire storm for the team. speaking of teams, a lot of fans are left shaking their heads and saying, come on. the redskins lost to the bucs, thanks to a botched extra point after an impressive drive. fox 5 morning news starts now. good morning. i'm gurvir dhindsa. allison is taking this day off. >> and i'm steve chenevey. we'll share the closings first and you can see them at the top of your screen. in maryland to the west, garret

county schools are closed. also in allegany county, the mountain ridge school district is closed. that's the only school district closed in that county. >> and other schools are on two hour delay. in west virginia the union educational complex is on a two hour delay. mineral county district is closed. can i see the updates at the top of your screen and on myfoxdc.com. let's look from tower cam and you can see the snow continues to fall. let's get the latest from mr. perkins as we continue the check of our forecast. >> some of you are not getting all snowfall. more the most -- for the most part it is sticky and making the roadways slick. we'll look at hd radar. not everybody is getting it. but we are getting a rather narrow band of snow from washington to points just to the east and then up towards the north toward baltimore and

then bending back toward the west a little bit. and then some slightly heavier snow toward waldorf, la plata, fredericksberg places like that where we'll see more snowfall and particularly around fredericksberg area, there may be two inches on the ground there. and it looks like snow is mixing with rain off to the east toward the chesapeake bay. because of this wintry weather, we have a winter weather advisory in effect for most of the area. all of the counties in blue. it does include washington, d.c., this winter weather advisory is in effect until 9:00 this morning for light accumulations of snow. anywhere from a dusting to an inch for most people. and maybe even up to two inches down toward fredericksberg and points south. out toast -- out to the west, it's a winter storm warning and up to 6 inches out there. 33 at the district. 35 in baltimore.

fredericksberg is 33. winchester is at 29. your day planner for today, morning clouds and snow that will taper off. then we'll see partial sunshine late in the day but cold and blustery today. highs only in the mid 30s. that's a look at the weather. more is coming up in just a little bit. steve, back to you. >> tony, thanks. and still a week before winter arrives but we get a

taste of it. that snow makes it a slippery commute. let's check with stacy cohan with the latest in virginia. >> reporter: good morning. it's getting windier as the daybreaks this morning. that's probably the biggest news from here. the flakes have been falling intermittently but everything seems to be going well. look at the snow in woodbridge this morning. that was at about 5:30 this morning. the snow was falling quite heavily and the drivers that were coming up from points farther south, down in stafford, told me that the roads were treacherous in the early-morning hours. as you get closer into town and springfield it wasn't so bad. we spoke with commuters and here is what they had to say. >> what do you think? too early for snow. >> way too early. and i just moved up from miami so it's snow shock. >> you wish there was more? >> i want to go skiing. >> how was the driving? >> fine. >> are you ready for another blizzard? >> i am. >> reporter: see i'm not ready for another blizzard. and this is sweet. just enough snow to give you the festive feeling. we've got a bit coated on the grassy areas but the streets are clear and the cars are moving at speed, at least in this part of the world. reporting live from springfield, i'm stacy cohan. back with you. >> thank you, stacy. let's check in with julie wright. >> a little bit of snow means to check on the ramps and

overpasses, they freeze first so watch your speed. from the west, make sure you have plenty of wiper fluid as well, no accidents to report, just volume toward 370. eastbound 370 at 270, reports of an incident. live shot of 66 at fair oaks. accident off to the road to the shoulder so lanes are open once again. i-81 is where we had the accident, a lot of slow traffic toward route 7 because of that tractor-trailer crash. that has cleared. meanwhile, traveling in virginia, we had some problems along northbound 7100 before you reach 29. the accident there was tieing up the left side of the highway. salt trucks en route to treat the highway there. no other reports reported at this -- accidents reported at this time. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. we're dealing with the snow today. but after that we're going to be left with cold winds and

tumbling temperatures. and the bitter cold is a major threat to homeless. the d.c. department of human services is trying to get the word out on how to get those folks help as the weather turns colder. and joining us now is fred swan, a spokesperson for the adams place shelter in northeast. thank you for joining us. >> thank you and good morning. >> good morning. talk a little bit about who is at risk during these bitter cold temperatures. >> your street homeless, those who live on the street and sleep on the street are particularly vulnerable because of the hypo thermic conditions. there are a number of homeless that don't frequent shelters and stay on the street. >> tell me about adam's place and what you do. >> this is one of our emergency shelters for men, where men can come in off the street and get a warm bed and a meal and sleep overnight to avoid some of the hypo thermic conditions. we have a number of shelters like this throughout the city

for both men and women. we have similar sites for families as well. >> okay. and when did you make the call to get this shelter up and running? >> this shelter runs year round. but typically during cold weather like this, we have a number of additional shelters that we bring online when we get the word the temperatures drop below -- freezing. >> and how many people can you house? >> for men about 400, for women will 430 and for families about 250 beds. >> we have the number that folks can call if they feel like they need help or somebody knows of someone that might need help or dial 311. is there any kind of requirement for somebody to take advantage of this -- of these shelters? >> no requirement for the type of shelter here for these emergency shelters, there is no requirement. we have transportation that brings men and women to our

shelters. we also have outreach service that walks the streets and passes out blankets for those who stay on the street to keep them warm. >> thank you very much. we've put information about the 800 number to call on our website at myfoxdc.com and also call 311. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> from the adam's place shelter. big tax cut compromise headed for the test on the hill. the senate could vote on the plan to extend the bush era tax cuts. on pennsylvania avenue, the white house holding it's breath. more on this from doug luzader. >> reporter: there is going to be a lot of kicking and screaming but there are sign this is morning that democrats may be giving in. with americans now just weeks away from starting to fill out those tax forms, the tax rates could become a little more clear today. the senate will have the first

vote on the plan worked out behind the scenes between the president and republicans. >> i believe this will pass. the president has been talking to members, we're all talking to members and members are talking to each other. >> reporter: but even if the senate signs off, the house is the higher hurdle where many democrats are furious at the white house. not only does the plan renew the bush tax cuts and extend unemployment benefits, it lowers what was to be a huge increase in the estate tax next year. while democrats may seek some changes, they may not ultimately stand in the way. >> we are not talking about blocking the whole thing for that purpose. we're saying we need to put this question to the test. >> reporter: the white house sees this as a massive stimulus plan, one time to help the president seek re-election in 2012 and in the unlikely event that this plan is shot down, republicans already have a plan b. >> so if the democrats in the house scuttle this deal that will be the first thing to do, is prevent the job killing tax

increases and do it retroactively after the first of the year. >> reporter: and the price tag for the deal keeps going up and lawmakers and lobbyists add in provisions to make this more attractive to skeptics. in washington, doug luzader, fox news. a ruling is expected later today on the constitutionality of the health care overhaul. in march there was a lawsuit filed to prevent americans from buying health care. we're following breaking news from france where a 17- year-old armed with a sword has taken students hostage at a preschool. 14 were released and we do now understand that the special police officers are in the school and are talking with the hostage-taker by phone. police officials say the teen suffers from depression and his doctors have been in touch with

investigators as they try to end this standoff. straight ahead this morn, the redskins lose in heartbreaking fashion. coming up, dave will join us when the players take on the botched extra point that cost the team the chance to tie against the bucs. that's just ahead. more from the metrodome in minnesota. the snow and i've causing the roof to collapse. we'll tell you what the plan is now. and we're seeing snow in our area this morning. we'll get the latest weather and traffic when fox 5 morning news returns. 

♪ hey! wait up! ♪ [ female announcer ] you see a mud stain. but new wisk sees a particulate stain. with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology, wisk is engineered to fight all the major stain groups like particulates and oils. [ girl ] that lip gloss is soooo cute on you. [ female announcer ] you'll never look at stains the same way again. for a powerful clean against a full range of stains, use new wisk. fight stains with science.

the rough weather that the midwest saw over the weekend made for a scene at the metrodome. the inflatable roof was caused to collapse. our sister station kmsp has more on the collapse and why this could set off a political fire storm.

>> the fox camera was rolled in the dome at 5:00 a.m. when it caught a jaw-dropping scene. at first a trickle and then an avalanche at 17 inches of snow and ice broke through the dome. just 7 hours before kickoff. >> i couldn't imagine 65,000 people here and then this thing collapses. so blow the roof off this thing now and get it going. >> reporter: no one was as disappointed than big mike who flew in from new york. >> i would have had some guys on the roof cleaning it off. they should have built it right in the first place. where do they think they are, florida. >> reporter: workers were on the roof until midnight clearing snow with hot water but had to retreat when it became sheets of ice. >> i think it's a good indication that it's time for a new stadium. >> reporter: but dawn a glimmer of sunlight captured an if inspect acal. three of the panels had dripped

apart, falling down. the wind on the field was turning fans. and this is not the first. back in the 1981 before construction was completed, a foot of snow deflated the dome. it happened again in 1982 and '83. now that the big-top is down yet again, get ready for the political circus. this could be the vikings most powerful argument yet for a new stadium. >> from a structural standpoint the dome is not obsolete. >> reporter: they should know tuesday whether it's possible to have the next game against the bears. and for any hot air to fill the dome, big mike is welcome to help. >> if they could have picked st. louis, we would have drove there. if they could have picked mars, i would have taken a space ship and got there. >> i love that guy.

[ laughter ] >> he makes me laugh. he's from new york. i like it. >> i have a feeling he's going to make it. >> to drive to minneapolis, he could have driven to detroit. >> and free tickets for the game. >> that's great. because you want people in the stands and so there you go. >> maybe the redskins ought to try that. >> free tickets? well, yeah. all right. let's talk about the weather conditions. we've got snow falling in portions of the viewing area. in including right here around the washington area. believe it or not. there you go. there is a look at the radar and you can see the -- satellite and see the snow falling. some indications that some of the snow off to the east is mixing with rain or freezing rain. and it wouldn't be freezing rain but mixing with sleet and rain that we're seeing off to the east and then south and east as well. we've had some relatively heavy snowfall, relatively speaking, south of washington toward fredericksberg where they may have 2 inches on the ground

according to our computer estimates. winds are a problem too. take a look. winds gusting this morning. earlier gusting up to 26 miles per hour and now 22 and 17 mile- per-hour in washington. and we just had 29 mile-per- hour in dulles, 18 at manassas. so a bustery morning and a blustery day today. windchills in the 20s at this hour. here is a look at the current temperatures in the eastern u.s. we are in the low to mid 30s right now. 34 degrees here in d.c. 42 up in new york city. 20 in pittsburgh. 32 degrees in richmond. your forecast for today and the next five days, high today -- well we've seen it already, 37 degrees. temperatures remain consistent or drop during the course of the day. they've been dropping. snow during the morning. maybe a snow flurry or two later but we'll get partial sunshine during the afternoon and very windy.

tomorrow we top out at 30 degrees. >> oh, boy. >> yeah, very cold. >> i don't think the free tickets would work for the redskins, but if mr. snyder wanted to get fans, how about a refund after yesterday. >> going to the game and i was fortunate enough to go to the game and take my son, it's an ordeal and it's the whole day. >> it's a commitment on your part, sure. >> and then you get the loss with 9 seconds left. >> we'll talk about that with dave in a second. but first let's talk to julie. to julie, snow is like the redskins losing to the rest of us. >> it is my kryptonite, that's for sure. no doubt about that. let me show you what is happening on the roads. if you are traveling inbound this morning along 395, north of edsel road, no accidents to report just volume delays continuing north toward the inbound 14th street bridge. a couple of breaks along the way but that's about it. earlier problems on 66 as you approach 50 fair oaks. the accident still off the road to the shoulder. so that's still in play.

and then northbound i-95 delays out of road bridge headed toward lorton. so expect delays there. trouble spots on the other side of town. southbound i-95 at the exit for 195 at bwi. accident on the right side, big delays south from 32 and so stick with 295 and use as that as your alternate route. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. so we've all seen this by now. this is what happened after mcnabb and the redskins offense had a late game touchdown drive to put them within the extra point of tieing the game but it just didn't happen. >> dave is back now with a look at that last play. that was -- oh, my goodness that was rough. >> tony, i feel bad for him being this at the game and i'm sure the other 70,000 plus that were there, it's tough to watch in those conditions. but this is what has happened. they never should have been in that situation. they should have been up by so

much more. >> when it comes down to a kick, there are so many other things that could have happened. they missed to other field goals and plenty of opportunities to get interceptions and that didn't happen and the skip skins have found -- the skins have found another way to lose and they have lost eight times and four in a row at tomorrow. ater -- in a row at home. and nine seconds to go and all we need is the extra kick, nick sundberg, and graham gano never had a chance. the third straight loss overall and they are now 5-8. ouch! >> i ain't never been part of nothing like that. never. probably at that -- i have been part of some [ expletive ], but never part of that.

>> that's the first time i've experienced that. but if you stick around you see a lot. >> but they fought hard and they gave effort and we had not seen that in weeks past. but three more games to go. it's over and no playoffs but you can still play out the string. >> and hate to talk about this at this point, but if the season ended right now, better or worse than last year? >> i think it's been worse than last year overall. >> for the latest redskins coverage online go to myfoxdc.com and click on sports. straight athey had this morning -- ahead this morning, a diplomat is in the hospital after a medical emergency. we'll get the latest on his condition ahead. and fire rips through a

home that housed over 100 dogs on the property. we'll get the update on this situation ahead as well. and if you shipped the christmas packages just yet? and shipping companies are gearing up for a few busy weeks. holly morris is learning what it takes to get the packages moving later on this hour. 

making headlines, investigators are looking for the cause of a fire at a dog kennel in maryland. now four dogs were killed but more than 100 others were rescued with the kennel inside of a house on kept on drive in huntingtown. this happened before 3:00 on sunday. a woman who lived there breeded the dogs, including pit bulls and chihuahuas. a repair in the tear of the artery that moves from the heart. doctors worked 20 hours through the week in holbrook's aorta. he underwent an additional surgery on saturday to improve circulation. a tax compromise may come to a vote today. more of the wheeling and dealing on the hill. we'll talk with folks coming up

next. and we'll get the latest on the weather and julie takes a look at the roads for us coming up. hello from the thompson family in germany. christine, patrick. >> samantha, elizabeth and cloe. >> we want to wish all of our friends in maryland a v>> and a >> go redskins!

it's time to add another ornament to our fox 5 christmas tree. this marine corp ornament was sent in by alice stanton. she's celebrating the retirement of dale dudley after 23 years in the marine corp. thank you for everyone sending in your ornaments. we'll give it to a charity before the holiday. >> and thank you for your service to our country. and let's check in with tucker barnes. you get the tough duty with the snow falling out there. >> it's windy and cold out there, starting to rush in from the north and west. so we'll get the snow out in the next hour or two but the cold and wind is here to stay so bundle up if you are going

to be outdoors during the course of the day. let's look at the hd radar and show you the snowfall. the heaviest bands of snow all morning long south of the city and here you can see the snow continues to hang out here just south and now east of the city. waldorf, la plata, a band of snow into charles county and into fredericksberg been snowing much of the morning. snow flurries toward leesberg and reston. that is the theme around here. this is lifting off to the north and northeast. a little band of light snow moving through the area. and during the course of the afternoon it will be partly sunny. so just during the morning hours it will be with us. winter weather advisory here in downtown washington. and down toward richmond where there is snow as well this morning. all in a winter weather advisory until 9:00 a.m. as we watch the band of snow

lift to the east. and a winter storm warning, 10- 15 inches of snow? western maryland and in west virginia as the lake effect snow machine gets going. there is your satellite radar. a little little vestages of precip but breaks in the clouds out toast and we'll see some sunshine filter through the course of the day. and the winds have shifted out of the north and gusting to about 30 miles per hour and our high temperature of 37 we've already done that. in the low 30s for the remainder of the afternoon so very cold. 34 right now at reagan national. 34 at baltimore. 30 at dollars -- at dulles and frederick. and the winter weather advisory i mentioned, partly sunny and cold this afternoon, temperatures in the low 30s with winds out of the north and west at 20-30 miles per hour. gusty winds. check out the cold five-day forecast. tomorrow's daytime high will struggle to 30 degrees but mixing winds, gusting at times

to maybe 45 miles per hour and it will feel like 0 around here for parts of the day tomorrow. wednesday daytime high for 32 and then friday has partial sunshine. and then now to julie wright with the latest. can't rock the red any longer. >> i'm not giving up hope. i'm not a fair-weather caps fan. >> it was ugly. >> it was not pretty, that's for sure. this is northbound 95, accident reported in the highway, so expect slowdowns northbound leaving lorton toward springfield. it's slow across the inbound

14th street bridge. behind me, this is a live shot of traffic coming in bound

south capital street toward the free way and again all lanes are open. no trouble spots to report there. massachusetts avenue south of the observatory circle shut down because of police activity. also 23rd street at washington circle shut down because of police activity. the outer loop at university boulevard, all lanes are open and no accidents to report as youton on westbound 495 through silver spring. southbound 95 at 195 cleared but a good 12 minute backup from 32 toward 95 with the accident off the road to the shoulder. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. we have an update now to the preschool hostage drama in france. a teenager has released all of the young children and their teacher. the 17-year-old carrying the -- taking the 20 kids hostage east of paris and he's been arrested. democrats and republicans coming to a head over critical issues such as tax cuts, government spending and national security. and joining us to talk about this, former republican from pennsylvania brad rocker and jim slatery. good to see you. big story this morning is the tax deal. and the senate going to give a go at it this morning. as to whether or not this goes through, let me get your take first off. and i'll start with the y a sticloser. ithink it's the right thing to do at the present time. if you do not do the tax cuts, you are literally doing a tax increase because it's stabilizing what is already there. and you would withdraw billions of dollars from the economy and bring it into washington if you don't go ahead and do this deal. so i think it's very important that congress does it. the point is if they don't do it now, the republicans will do it again in january. probably with a little different framing of it. but the fact is that this is going to get done. >> how much of this comes down to just the way this is worded? is there really a fear that this is a tax cut. republicans use the argument that we're just trying to prevent increasing taxes here,

we're not -- >> i don't think there is any disagreement that the tax cuts should be extended for people making less than $250,000 a year. i mean there is almost unanimity on that point. the contentious issue is can the country continue to borrow money from abroad, from the chinese and others, to give tax cuts to people that are at the highest income levels in this country. so whether it's $250,000, $300,000 a year, can we afford to borrow money to extend those tax cuts? and then the other big contentious issue is how generous to be with the estate tax. should we lower it from the 40% plus and should we exempt $5 million or $10 million from the taxation on the estate tax side. so those are the two points of contention. but for people making less than $250,000 a year, democrats and republicans are agree those tax cuts should be extended to avoid the kind of problem that bob just talked about.

>> it's nice to hear there is an agreement at some level. >> and that's where in my opinion they should focus and pass that portion of that package and then come back after the first of the year and if they still think there is enough money out there to provide those additional tax cuts to people earning $250,000, $300,000 a year, then address that then. >> what happens if the democrats don't pass this? what may happen down the line? >> you could weaken the economy substantially. you withdraw a lot of money and increase taxes on everybody in the economy it will have a devastating impact. you want more investment in the economy. and the fact is that businesses, small businesses, large businesses, are sitting on about $2 trillion worth of savings. they've been sitting on that because they fear the tax increase that might come along and they fear the increased regulation that has been talked about so much in washington. if in fact what you would do is free them up to invest the money rather than save it, you

could get an economic spurt and the reason why you give a tax cut to the so-called rich is because those are the people who are likely to put investment into the economy and allow us to move forward and produce the jobs that can then guarantee a financial future. if you don't do that, those people have plenty of places to put their money, they can continue to put it into tax- free bonds and the economy doesn't move forward. >> do you want to follow up on that? >> the long story short again is that we all agree that these tax cuts should be extended for middle class americans. there's no question about that. it's just a question of whether we should pursue this continued policy of borrowing money from abroad to reduce taxes on people that i think everybody ultimately realizes are going to have to pay more. and the tragedy of it is nobody wants to pay taxes. but we, right now, have the lowest tax burden really on the

american public at the federal level since world war ii. and it's somewhere in the neighborhood of about 15% of gross national product. during the reagan years it was nearly 18%, 19%. and spending, unfortunately, is also at a record high level since world war ii. >> what we're borrowing money to do -- >> and the spending has to reduce. we have to reduce spending from about 25% of gross national product to somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-21% and that's where it's been and that's where we need to get it back to and that's going to be very difficult. and the tragedy of what i see going on right now is that it's more of the washington game of cutting taxes on everybody, and increasing spending and having a sort of a kumbaya moment in the white house where all of this is done and the horrible debt problem has kicked down the road for another couple of years. >> give me a quick response. >> the reason we have deficit problems in this country and borrowing from overseas is

because republicans went on a spending spree in the early part of the century and we've been on a spending spree ever since. this administration has increased spending by $1.5 trillion. you can't continue to spend but you also have to do the things when ensure economic growth. >> let's move on to a procedural issue because there are some democrats not happy with the white house and the administration at this point. does this damage relations with the white house in the future and some democrats say the president just cave and gave in too soon. what is your take? >> i don't think there will be long-term damage between the -- with the relationship between the white house and congress. i think there is some moments of tension here for a few weeks or months. but over the long-term, i think that if the economy responds and if the economy starts to grow, this will be quickly forgotten. but it's -- the big challenge is going to come when both

parties have to face this enormous debt issue and realize that we cannot continue to just add more and more debt to the nation's credit cards. both parties really right now are in agreement on testing the limits of just how much money this country can borrow from foreign sources and it is a dangerous river boat gamble that both parties are party to right now. >> and a quick follow-up. >> i think the republicans got the message this past election and that they want something done about the deficit and that's what they're doing. democrats will have to get used to the fact they are the minority party in the house and will see spending cut measures brought to the floor. it will be interesting to see whether or not we get bipartisan cooperation on that. we have seen the republicans frozen out of the process in the recent past. so hopefully what we can do is get some agreement that as the spending cut measures are brought to the floor that we'll have bipartisan action on them.

>> you both said, at least they are talking and that's good to move forward toward 2011. >> nice to hear. >> thank you. today mayor fenty will announce plans to modernize a high school. and we'll take a look. and coming up, as 2010 comes to a close we're looking back at the memorable quotes of the year. we'll reveal what is on top of that list coming up. 

welcome back. it's 15 minutes until 8:00. we want to thank everybody who took part in our stuff-a-truck drive last friday. it was great to see so many of you respond to the needs of your community with a donation of food or money to the capital area food bank. the people at the food bank are still tallying up the final numbers and when they give it to us, we'll pass it along to you. it was cold out there on friday but it wasn't snowing. >> it was afterwards. >> well i know, later in the day. that caught some people off guard. today we're getting snow again. certainly we are getting

snow showers across the area. when all it said and done, won't amount who a -- to a whole lot out there. and in fredericksberg they've had a steady snow at time this is morning. we are under a winter weather advisory until 9:00 a.m. so just a few extra minutes as you head out the door. there is a live look at your hd radar. snow showers across the region. the heaviest band here is tracking to the east now, eastern side of the district and the beltway into prince george's county, anne arundel county, down toward st. mary's city, likely getting snow showers soon and down toward dale city and fredericksberg where it is still snowing that hour. when all is said and done, maybe 2-inches in a few spots and off to the north and west, nothing but flurries to start your morning. let's move on. i want to show you the jet stream. it's taken a dip to the south and that means we'll be in the

extreme cold here all week long. we have hard freeze warnings down to new orleans overnight. down to florida and worried about the crops where the temperatures are in the mid-20s by tomorrow morning. and in places like tallahassee it will be cold in the south and cold around here. 37 here. and we've done that high already today. we'll be in the low 30s with wind during the course of the afternoon. so the windchills hanging out in the low 20s all afternoon. bitter cold tonight, 21 in town. a lot of teens. maybe single-digits off to the north and west. warm up to 40 by friday and we could have storminess at the end of the next weekend. more on that later. >> one at a time, tucker, one at a time. let's check in with julie wright and look at traffic. >> 23rd street at washington circle, that's where we had reports of an incident there. tieing up all by the left side of the highway. we'll go through cameras for you. outer loop at university boulevard, no accidents, just volume continuing toward colesville road and toward

georgia avenue. 410 connecticut avenue for the crash and follow police direction to get by. 395 across the 14th street bridge is heavy and steady from the pentagon crossing over the potomac but again all of your lanes there are open. inbound new york avenue slow from the traffic lights leaving forth east to northwest. this is 69 of traffic signal at blazeensberg road and accident free toward the third street tunnel. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. we're getting closer to christmas and that means a lot of gifts are getting shipped. >> and this morning holly is learning what it takes to make the deliveries and hopefully on time. hi, holly. >> reporter: you're exactly right. hi, gurvir. it is the busiest time for ups so this morning we are coming to the ups intergrad training facility, only two in the nation and it is where the ups drivers learn to be the best. we're going to find out what it takes live next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. to individually bw fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute.

way to brew, hon. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. keurig.

from 15 leading brands, including green mountain coffee. it's the way to brew everyone's favorite cup in under a minute. woman: way to brew. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. keurig.

you see them everywhere. especially this time of year. the brown ups trucks that deliver 15 million pack angs on an average day. >> and this morning holly is finding out about how the drivers are trained to meet the demands of the job. and she joined us in landover, maryland. >> you can believe i had this outfit in my closet? >> i can. >> reporter: i didn't have this one. this is officially issued to me for this morning from ups all the way down to the socks. take a look at that. they are full-service here. they pay attention to every detail and that's really what this training facility is all about. it's the ups intergrad training facility. there is only two in the nation and this was the first one and tom coughlin is the site manager. and he joins me. thank you very much. so this is your time of year. >> it is. >> reporter: and so how often -- this is where all of the new

trainees come? >> maryland, pennsylvania, jersey all come here. >> reporter: and the ups bootcamp lasts how long? >> a full week of training. >> reporter: a full week and full day of intense training. so let's give everybody an idea of what this facility is. >> we have a facility that uses technology. we are able to generate a training, which is good for all learning levels. we have computers, we have hands-on training, we do the whole gamut of everything from hazardous identification all the way up to how to lift and lower packages. >> reporter: what we see our two people in there doing right now, when new trainees come in they get an mp3 player that takes them on a tour of how the truck needs to be set. >> exactly. so when you look at a package, you see the pack anls in there and we tell them where the packages are and how they are load sod it gives them an idea of where to look as they deliver. >> and then it's see-through so

the facilitators are on the other side and you're getting realtime feedback. >> exactly. we can make sure they are in the proper places to search for packaged. >> reporter: and why did you have the whole new way of teaching. back when you were training it was in the classroom. >> it was before that. it wasn't even the classroom. we found a lot of turnover with the first-year drivers and a lot of accidents and injuries so they developed a program to try to reduce the accidents and injuries and retain the people that we have coming into the classes. >> reporter: so you're just changing with the times. the x and y generations. >> exactly. the x and y generation, more hands-on, more technology oriented, where the baby booms like myself kind of struggle when it comes to technology. the design of the program is the hands-on portion. we do have computer based training and some facilitation as well. >> reporter: i want to get this in. so tell everybody. >> tree -- three points of

contact. >> reporter: and this is to show -- >> reduce the stress on your knees, ankles, hips and back. >> reporter: because when you're getting in and out it's hard on your body. >> and you're buckled in and you'll see the computer monitor in front of you. when the top ball turns kelly green, step out the first time without the handrail and it will show you the impact on your body and you'll see what kind of reduction it is. >> reporter: is it pretty soon. >> in about five seconds. >> reporter: okay. we're driving two hands on the wheel. part of my safety. >> and then listen for the horn. >> reporter: i'm here. i should put it in park. i'm hopping out and i'm off. >> you went with the step. >> reporter: it's my first week and i'm excited to deliver the

package. >> people do get excited. you'll see a graph that will pop up in a couple of seconds and here we are. you can see the force on your knees, ankles, hips and back. and that time was a good job with the handrail. >> reporter: so get back in because i want to do it the right way and see what kind of difference it makes. >> exactly. >> reporter: and then it will show over time. and i'm driving along. >> in probably about 5-10 seconds it will go green again. check both mirrors as your driving. >> reporter: oh, right, checking both mirrors. we're almost out of time. i'll tell you myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a link to ups if you want to find out more. i stepped gingerly. and litterly over time, you show here -- >> was the course of 20 years, had is a normal driver's career, they can save basically 74 million pounds of extra force on the ankles. and look, holly, how well you did. the graph is phenomenal and yet

very, very little hand full on that handrail. >> reporter: just by touching the handrail. that's amazing. if i just tone it down a notch and real it in a little bit, i'll have a much longer career. speaking volumes already. we'll do more tasks next hour. back to you. >> holly, thanks. keeping busy this morning. 7:57 on this monday morning. there's a new list out of quotes for the year. >> and there are a tie. and we'll have the list for you after 8:00. and the region under a winter weather advisory until 9:00 this morning. a few flakes from the tower cam looking down over northwest d.c. tucker has a look at our forecast coming up. it's 7:56.

here you go snow fans. that is what you woke up to if you were an early riser. this is in woodbridge, virginia, a couple of hours ago. and snow is spotted in maryland and the city. a lot of the area has been under a winter weather advisory this morning. good morning and thanks for being with us. i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm tony perkins in for

allison. the winter weather has forced schools to delay or close today. you can find up to the minute information on the top of your screen. we also have it on our website at myfoxdc.com. and tucker barnes joins us with an update to the advisory. >> just continued here in the district and counties to the west. continues for another hour to the east city, including prince george's county, anne arundel county, charles county and to the south. so we'll still see snowflakes. and let's go to the hd radar. if you don't have anything out of your window, your probably not south of the city. so snow tracking to the east of washington. hd radar showing the activity. the darker gray more moderate snowfall. and dusting in many places, mav a half inch to -- maybe a half inch to an inch in some lokes. heaviest toward fredericksberg where our computers were indicating up to about 2 inches of snow in a couple of spots during the early-morning hours.

so very impressive here as the cold arctic air filters in. i'll show you the look at the winter weather advisory and again the counties in blue to the west of washington no longer under a winter weather advisory. just to the east. that winder storm warning in pink is in effect until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. that's the real deal. 10-15 inches of snow in the mountains of west virginia and western maryland during the course of the day today. cold out there and 34 degrees. that's only half of the story. the winds pick up out of the north and west and gusting to about 25. so it's going to be a very cold one today. these high temperatures i think we've already hit these numbers, 37 in washington. we're 34 right now. we'll be lucky if we gain another degree or two. 30 in fredericksberg. 23 in winchester. and wait until i show you the five-day forecast in a couple of minutes. >> can't wait for that. >> looking forward to it. let's check in with julie and look at traffic. >> at this point if it doesn't have sunshine. >> don't want to see it. i'm protesting that. here is the deal. traveling along 295 this morning northbound, this is

where we had some problems for those continuing to work their way northbound and trying to continue northbound toward malcolm x avenue. the accident cleared out of the roadway and so again it's a good 12-15 delay leaving the beltway northbound along 290 out of oxon hill. on the other side of town, live stretch of 270 leaving

rockville toward the lane divide. no accidents to report on the southbound side however northbound in local lanes, accidents blocking the right lane. so be prepared for that. inbound along 66, we are congested leaving fair oaks toward 123, nutley street to the beltway. also finding delays northbound on 95 lingering at newington toward springfield. inner loop is slow leaving braddock toward 66. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. winter has come early for the metro region. parts of area seeing snowfall this morning. >> the winter weather is causing slick conditions on the roads. stacy cohan is live in springfield this morning with more on the top story. hello, stacy. >> reporter: unfortunately the flakes have stopped here in springfield. we were all so excited. and the traffic is moving well. but take a look down in woodbridge where we were earlier this morning. and you'll get some idea of exactly how snowy it was before the sun came up and certainly in points farther south, down in spotsylvania county and the folks said the roads were dangerous and slippery, uninspectedly so then -- unexpectedly so this morning and some of the commuters were enjoying it. >> i love it. it's festive and it's not too much but enough for the holidays. it's nice. >> reporter: and the roads, how were they? >> good and dry. >> reporter: where are you coming from. >> here in kingstown. it was pretty straightforward. nothing on the roads. >> reporter: one young lady was a skier and said she can't wait for the next blizzard. and please tell me we won't

have one of those any time soon. we all sat out in them last year and we're not ready for that. but this snow event was a nice first taste. >> you're a skier so i'll take your word for it. thank you. and the midwest is dealing with a lot of snow. a blizzard dumped nearly 2 feet in parts of minnesota. >> here is the video of the metrodome roof collapsing. if you watched football yesterday you saw this. if not, take a look. it's an avalanche of snow inside the stadium. 17 inches of snow and roof fell on to the field. so obviously they had to cancel the game yesterday. vikingses game against the giants will now take place tonight but they had to move the game to another dome in detroit. our producers parents live in moat and sent us photos. here is what it looks like at their home in lake view south

of the twin cities. pretty sunshine and very cold conditions. temperatures with a high in the single-digits today and snow covering everything. >> in minneapolis the projected high is 3 degrees today. and that is the roof of the house. you can see the satellite dish is bury sod they won't be watching tv until this melts. >> they need to clear that off to watch the viking tonight. and you can see the jeep in the middle of the road and the drifts are towering over that jeep. as we say, better to have it in minnesota. this is chubby the dog all bundled up and that's how minnesota dogs are. virginia and maryland dogs run back inside. that's what i find. >> we thank sarah's parents for those photos. we love to see your weather photos from your travels. upload them to myfoxdc.com and you'll see a link on our home page to do that. one of our facebook fans posted this photo on the page this

morning. this pails in comparison. mary ann kurtly in stafford, virginia, said there is nothing sadder than a grill in the snow. >> you dust that off and fire it up and you can enjoy it today. and the president will sign the healthy hunger kids-free act to improve the quality of school lunches today. both the laid first -- the first lady and president will make a comment at hair cut tubman school in d.c. kids who take part of the washington, d.c. boys and girls club will be on hand. and the lakers in town tomorrow. and a tax cut deal reached between the white house and republicans but in the house there is a standing promise from democrats not it let the deal reach the floor without scaling back the break for very high income earnings. the president said the deal has to be done but he knows members of his own party don't all agree. >> there are some in the democratic caucus that would never go along with a

compromise. but i think most people believe that on this issue the administration did get outnegotiated. >> only in washington is not raising taxes considered a tax cut. nobody is getting a tax cut. we're not cutting taxes, we're preventing from increases from occurring. >> democrats are still in the majority in the house and the senate. if they do the deal now they are more likely to get some of what they want. it is coming up on 8:08 now. temperatures in the 30s on this monday morning with snow out there. prince william and kate middleton are sharing engagement photos with the world and we'll show though as we come back. and parts of the area under a winter weather advisory. more on what we'll see in the next 45 minutes or so. that's all coming up. it's 8:08 now. 

11 minutes after 8:00. time for a look at stories making headlines. montgomery county police need your help to catch a mab who may have attacked four women in wheaton and aspen hill. three were sexually assaulted and one raped. the the attack -- at tacks happened in late october and all at night within a two mile radius of each other. a fire in calvert county have left many dogs dead after a breeder's home was caught on fire. investigators are still trying to find out what started the fire. and the original royal engagement photos. mario testino captured the pictures at st. james' palace. it was snapped a week after the engagement was announced. royal wedding is set for next

april at london's westminster abbey. and we'll check in with tucker barnes with our photo of the day. >> the cuteness factor of the day. let's get down to business. good morning, everybody. time for the my first 5 photo of the day. it is 6-month-old cameron, everybody. that's a cute picture. it sounds like snowflakes are flying with the music. this is cameron's very first christmas picture. >> it's like the wonder of christmas. it's like taking it all in. what is going on, what is happening? where is there a tree in our house? >> what a cute little outfit -- outfit too. you have a tie like that? >> i do. and i'll be sporting that closer to christmas. to send us your child's picture go to myfoxdc.com. and cameron, i hope you have a great first christmas and santa claus brings you everything you want and more. and i want some snow and we got some. you can see the light snow falling across the area. here is good news.

it won't amount to a whole lot. a dusting in the areas. maybe an inch in a few isolated locations, two inches to the south as it continues to lift off to the north. very cold arctic air starting to rush in on pretty brisk northwest winds and that's why we're squeezing the atmosphere. and that's why we have the light snow across the area. still a winter weather advisory east of the city now until 9:00 this morning. all right, let's take a look at current temperatures. in washington, 34 degrees. that's one of the warm spots. pittsburgh is 18. good morning. and all the way to detroit, and chick -- chicago 9. and later tonight we'll be in the teens. maybe some single-digits off to the north and west. mix of winds out of the north and west at 28 miles per hour at gaithersburg and 25 at dulles and feeling like teens outside.

so working outdoors spending any time walking the dog, bundle up. it is much colder than yesterday. there is your five-day forecast. cold tonight, bitter cold tomorrow with highs only about 30 in the afternoon. and we'll have winds gusting at times maybe 40 miles per hour during the day tomorrow. so very cold the next several days. we are going to warm up to 40 by friday. that's something to look forward to. that's a look at the forecast. let's get to some on-time traffic. and if you multiply that number by two, julie will be happy. >> counting on your fingers toes. tucker, problems in college park. accident on southbound route 1 at greenbelt, this is tieing up the right side of the highway. so that's adding delays on route 1 southbound and heading back over toward greenbelt and toward the university of maryland. so pack your patience there. meanwhile, if you are traveling northbound along 95 here at 7100 leaving newington to the beltway, no accidents to report, just volume delays only. southbound 270 looking better right now in the main line as

you continue down toward the lane divide. earlier crash reported in the local lanes have cleared. but 66 unfortunately still jammed from 50 to 123 and again leaving nutley street to the beltway. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. if you're looking for work, don't forget to check out our job shop. our job of the day is at tc associates in silver spring. it's a government contracting company looking for a software developer. a background check is required. for more on this job and many others go to myfoxdc.com and click on the job shop tab on the top of the home page. d.c. mayor elect vince gray is keeping a campaign promise. he's hosting a job creation and economic development summit this morning. new strategies to spur job growth and reinvigorate job training programs will be discussed. yesterday the mayor-elect met with residents in an on

going seare -- series to come and answer questions and creating workplace housing so firefighters and police officers can live in the district. one thing is the budget crisis. >> the council took actions. we found some additional money in certain places but we've had to cut but some of the cuts are extremely painful. >> one question that keeps coming up for gray so who -- gray is who in the cabinet. he has named fine people and he said more will be announced this week. and today mayor fenty will announce plans to modernize cardoza high school. and city reporter for the washington examiner joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> we haven't heard a lot from mayor fenty. is he still out about and doing business in the city? >> he's there. no one has seen him too much. he'll be out at cardoza today. that's one of the first times he's been out in over a month.

>> let's talk about mater elect because he's been making more and more of these -- he seems to like the public hearings or the town hall format, i guess, of meeting with folks. but some of the issues that we just brought up in the stories seems to be out there. one, first and foremost, is the budget in the city. how bad is the situation and what is the situation with the city budget? >> it's a mess. it's a real mess. the way things are, they've just been able to pass the legislation to initially close a $200 million gap but that doesn't address its problems in the spring. they're looking at about half a billion dollars which is well over 10% of the budget. >> do we get any sense from the mayor elect at this point, i know it's still early, as to which direction he may lead to start making the cuts? >> his initial move was to furlough most of the employees, give them a four-day furlough. that saved about $20 million. i think we can take a little

bit of a step from who he's chose as his city administrator in allen lu who said he doesn't like bureaucracy. so i think we could look for people losing their jobs. that's a possibility. but the mayor elect has left on the table the possibility he'll raise taxes again come the spring. >> that's not a good position to be in either way when you are moving into that position. you mentioned allen lu. let's talk about other appointments there. some of the more noticeable ones are police chief, fire chief, schools administrator. any ideas which direction he may be leaning on any of these positions? >> it's tough to say. he's been tight-lipped about it. the biggest question is what happened with chief lanier. right now she wants to keep her job. she has the highest approval rating out of any top city official in the city. so it seems likely that she'll at least stay on for a while. >> can an incoming mayor

succeed in doing that, in keeping some people on board or does it benefit to keep some people on board or is a clean slate the best way to go? >> i think it depends on the position. when you get down to the department level, the department head level where you have people like the police chief, it's more about making sure that there is continuity within the agency. when you get to the -- some of the top political positions, you really want your own people in place so that they are on message with what you want. >> we heard other suggestions that came up. we mentioned the idea of work force housing for the city workers, police and firefighters and is that a possibility and is it something that could work or is this just a way for the mayor elect to say, look i want to put some of my own ideas out there? >> it's an idea. i think given the budget circumstances it would be very hard to make that kind of thing work -- work force reality doesn't come cheap and he would have to find money to make it happen and i don't think it's there. >> and as far as administration

business, vince gray campaigned with the whole idea of transparency within the department. has he kept to that with some of the early decisions and appointments that have been made? >> he's been upfront about who he's been picking. there were some questions raised about the budget process. a lot of that happened behind closed doors. so there were some concerns about transparency there. but at the end of the day, he did hold a 15 hour public hear -- hearing so there was a balance there. >> and you can read his work in the washington examiner. thank you very much. and there is a new list out of the quotes of the year and there is a tie for first. both stemming from two of the biggest news stories of the year. we'll have that list later this hour. and also, holly is seeing if she has what it takes to be a ups delivery driver during

this holiday season. stay with us. fox 5 morning news will be right back. akom jlacsomef'sr 

welcome back. we have new details on surgery to save richard holbrook's life. the ambassador is in critical condition after undergoing

emergency surgery over the weekend to repair a torn aorta. surgeons at george washington university hospital spent more than 20 hours in the hospital room. he collapsed during a meet with hillary clinton. he is the enjoy to afghanistan and pakistan. the ruling is expected later today on the constitutionality on the health care overhaul. back in march virginia filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging legislation for all americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. ken cuccinelli said the proposed law is unconstitutional. >> it was a miserable day at fedex field and it was raining and the outcome wasn't good. >> and you're not just speaking for yourself. not only was it cold and wet, the burgundy and gold screwed up in the last few seconds of the game and lost again. dave ross will join us with a look at what happened when we come back. then parts of the region are under a winter weather

advisory until 9:00 this morning. this is a live look at 95 in dale city. we'll see some snow on the grass. tucker is back with a look at the forecast. stay with us. wa

how's it going in there, hon? um, almost ready. [ car alarm blaring ] [ blaring echoes, fades ] oh! [ male announcer ] relax. pam helps you pull it off. just shake it. [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] need ink? staples has a low price guarantee on all the ink you need. find a lower price at another store, and we'll match it. that was easy. ♪ you see the big turkey for thanksgiving? [ grandma ] okay. ♪ ah. then we will all do it together. treats. teets...teets...teets... yeah. look at this. [ female announcer ] it seems like the best family traditions

always start in the kitchen. ♪ rice krispies®. happy holidays. it'st was a great day on friday, and much success thanks to those of you out there. and so thank you to everybody who took part in stuff-a-truck on friday. good to see so many of you responding to your community with the donations of food or money donated to the capital area food bank. the food bank folks are still tallying up the final numbers but we'll pass that information along as soon as we get it. my guess is we'll have it tomorrow. >> good turnout. we appreciate it. this is from out west, out

to the west where we've seen more snowfall, interest state -- interstate 219. that's west, right? >> out past hancock. >> a winter storm warning out there. >> so snowfall there. tucker was just saying that we just a moment ago got a picture from viewer that's we haven't had a minute to put it up from fredericksberg where they have a few inches. tucker has more info. is it still snowing across the region? >> it is. a light dusting, maybe a quarter of an inch, a inch in a few locations. winter weather advisory continuing until 9:00 for counties east of washington. let's look at the photo. this is from heather thompson and she's in bum pass, virginia, which is south and west of fredericksberg. but that is a good coating of snow. there is a road there. >> that's a pretty picture. >> you can see the tracks on the left. >> many thanks to you, heather.

and you can see more significant snow to the south. and earlier our computer indicated about 2 inches of snow across portions of the viewing area south of the city down toward fredericksberg. so let's tack a look at the hd radar, and again the snow shower activity is generally east of the district and working across the bay. two bands still here on the eastern side of washington, toward -- toward annapolis. so in southern maryland, you'll be dealing with more hours of snow, at least the potential for snow showers. fredericksberg as well where it's been snowing for much of the morning. north and west, just a few flurries expected as the worse is pushed to the east. showing you the winter weather advisory and in effect until 9:00 for the counties in blue. no longer in the district or points north and west but that does include prince george's county in maryland. and it will be cold around

here. 34 in downtown washington. 30 in frederick. 28 in hagerstown. 32 at patuxent naval air station. winds out of the north and west gusting. it feels like teens and 20s. so bring along a coat this morning. 37 is wishful thinking. we were 37 earlier this morning. light snow and partly sunny this afternoon with winds gusting to about 30 miles per hour. bitter cold tonight. teens and maybe single-digits off to the north and west. only 30 tomorrow with wind and we'll warm all the way up to 40 degrees, temperatures only 8 degrees below normal by the end of the week. that's a look at the forecast. steve and tony, back to you at the desk. a heads up if you are heading out to get on metro. they are single tracking on the orange and blue lines through metro center because of smoke on the platform. metro said some trash caught on fire and that's out. but be aware of delays of single tracking at metro senter. we have to talk about the game yesterday. we have to do it. it was the extra point attempt.

9 seconds to go after the redskins had a magnificent drive when you thought they were going to tie the game and the bucks took that away from them 17-16. >> and dave ross joins us with a look at the low-lights. >> yes, low-lights. so apropos, my friend. but there were some positives the defense showed up minus haynesworth and played hard. and the return of ryan torain was well worth the wait. and the offensive play of the week and this is torain. a career day, 172 yards on 24 carries. had 158 yards alone in the first half. but because of missed field goals, still scoreless in the second quarter. fourth and goal, they went for it. that's mcnabb to logan paulson. mcnabb 22 of 53, 228 yards, two touchdowns, no picks. there is dan snyder and joe gibbs loving that. but they didn't love this.

fourth quarter, josh freeman going up top and the acrobatics of kellen winslow. and fourth and goal again and mcnabb comes through again. moss, 6-yard score. tony perkins was going nuts because all you need is a extra point but the nick sundberg snap through the hands of hunter smith, graham gano never had a chance. another heartbreaker and the skins are now 5-8 on the season. >> i told our team, i said i see people playing hard. i thought they played their hearts out. we made mistakes. you can't make the mistakes we made and win this tight football game. >> we're all in this together. everyone is upset with the opportunities that were missed. i don't think i've been too much a part of this -- a game like this. >> a tough one to swallow. it's now time to play out

the string. next up at dallas and who have thunk it, despite being a great rivalry it has no playoff implications. and to quote metallica, sad but true. >> could be a good game. >> you have pride on the line now, right? so go down to big d, it is the rivalry and still dallas week just not the same feeling. and too many decembers now around this time, they are just meaningless games and nothing to do. >> here is what the skins need to too when they about going to dallas. we don't want them to end up with a better record than we do. >> they are one game back of washington right now. >> and for hunter smith, how much we take for granted that guys are catching the ball every time. >> not easy in the rain and the muck and meyer but you still have to get it down. >> at least ryan torain had a good day. i thought of timmy smith. >> going way back. how about that. it is now 8:35 on this monday morningful a new list out of quotes of the year. >> there is a tie for first place. both of the quotes stemming

from two of the biggest news stories of the year. we'll have that to you when we come back. as we go to break, a holiday greeting from overseas. >> i'm private ruiz in south korea. i want to wish my mom and dad and brother jose ruiz in stafford, virginia, merry christmas and happy new year; feliz navidad. enjoy cinnabon c. now in all pillsbury cinnamon rolls.

yeah. you must really care about him. what? no, no. you gave him fiber. no she didn't. this tastes way too good to be fiber. they're delicious crunchy clusters with sweet honey and half a day's worth of fiber. you care about my fiber? not really. i care about your fiber too. i have for a while. ok, carl. why don't you care about her fiber? hey carl. [ male announcer ] fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes.

hard to believe we're getting closer to the end of 2010 so let's take a moment to look back at the year. >> a yale librarian is out with his annual -- a librarian is out with the list of the notable quotations with a tie for number one. >> i'm not a witch, i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. none of us are perfect. >> that was in response to reports that the senate candidate from delaware dabbled in witchcraft. >> and on the top of the list, i'd like my life back. from tony hayward after the worst off shore oil spill in u.s. history. >> and sarah palin's treat, don't retreat, just reload. and if you touch my junk, i'm going to have you arrested that said by a airline passenger to

a tsa agent. just a couple of quotes of the year. we'll put them online if you want to read the rest. and we want to thank you for sending in ornaments for our fox 5 holiday tree. >> coming up, we'll let you know where the tree and decorations are going this year. holly? >> reporter: i'm getting ready to play the ups video game. it's not just for fun. this is hazard identification. and i am in land over where we are live and i think it's telling me i've already failed. there is a whole bunch of things you have to go to in order to make sure that you learn how to be a safe and efficient driver. coming up, we'll have another task at hand. plus we'll find out, since i'm sitting next to two gentlemen, just how many female ups drivers there are. we'll have the answer. stay with us. mmmm.

you don't love me anymore do you billy?

what? i didn't buy this cereal to sweet talk your taste buds it's for my heart health. so i can't have any? if you can deprive me of what can help lower my cholesterol... and live with yourself. right. mmm, i worry about your mother. cry herself to sleep every night over my arteries, but have yourself a bowl. good speech dad. [ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy.

today is a stressful day for fedex workers. it is their busiest day of the year. the company expects to move 16 million packages around the world today. that's an 11% increase over last year's busiest day. and it would make it the busiest day in fedex history. it's also a busy day for ups today. >> fox 5's holly morris is at

their state-of-the-art training facility in landover, maryland. she's learning what it takes to be a delivery driver. and holly, i gather it's not as easy as some people think it might be? >> reporter: it takes a lot. let me tell you. i have a whole new appreciation for my ups driver after spending time here. and in terms of ups's busiest day, their busiest day is a week from this wednesday. and they are expect to do about 24 million packages that day. that's a 60-65% increase on any normal given day. so at this point in our training, perhaps it is appropriate to talk about lifting those packages. tom kenard is the site manager and i have keith and brian who are facilitators here as well. so this is a key part of the job. >> this is a key part of the job. the drivers are lifterring and lowering all day long. to lift and handle packages. >> reporter: and so this is a good tip for anybody out there lifting heff things. >> you could be move from one

house to another or kitty from college. >> reporter: getting the christmas decorations out -- >> yes. >> reporter: so where are we beginning. >> brian is going to move his packages to his stop but he has to go over a curb first so he'll use a proper technique to go up the curb, bending his knees, and then pushing the cart down the curb using his knees again. and as he approaches the door, set a hand and through the door and then complete his delivery. >> reporter: and he makes it look so easy. >> and the eight keys of lifterring and lowering as he takes the packages and sets them down. >> reporter: he's bending at the knees and holing the boxes opposite. >> keeping them in his balance zone, opposite corners. >> reporter: how long have you been with ups? >> for 18 yearsism any injuries? >> nope. >> reporter: your back is still good. >> my back is good. >> reporter: what about you,

sir? >> i've been with ups about 16 years and still going strong. >> reporter: still power lifting on your off-time? >> absolutely. >> reporter: so let me try a few things and you tell me what i'm doing right and wrong. >> we'll get you a couple of packages here. >> reporter: and tom, i wanted to ask you, it seems there are more ups men than women. >> we see one to two females in each class. >> reporter: that probably has to do with physical demand. >> yes. >> reporter: but women can do it. >> absolutely. >> and grab it just like you have it. one at the top and the bottom. and move your feet and don't twist. what we'll do is start here. >> reporter: just slide it down. there we go. and i guess i'm doing the biggest one first and then the

small one? >> that's correct. >> reporter: okay. like that? >> i think you're ready now. >> reporter: okay. so now from here? >> just want to bend your knees a little bit and lift it up, because of the weight. >> reporter: does it matter my grip? whichever is comfortable? >> right. and once you get to the curb, you want to bend your knees to give you moment up. >> oh, no. >> reporter: now i'm turning this way. >> we're going the other way. because you have to go down the curb. >> reporter: got it. why are you laughing? i'm not falling off the curb. >> and bend it. and also going to the doors, never go forward because somebody might be on the other side of the door. >> reporter: right.

of course. so i'm knocking? ups? and then open the door, and then pull it through. how do i keep the door open? like that? >> and then the hand truck will hold the door so you can go through. >> reporter: gotcha. success i think. i don't know if anything is broken. hopefully not. >> get close to the package. >> so we're going to move our hand truck back further. >> reporter: my gosh, there is so much to take in. myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a link to ups to get information about holiday deliveries. coming up in the next hour, since it could be slick outside, how do you deliver these packages on a slick surface? wait until you see that. it's calls slips and falls, if it's any indication. back to you. >> very good. >> i don't think that's the first course i want to sign up for but it is important. this holiday season we're featuring cool and creative gifts. toted's is perfect for the -- today's is perfect for the infant. >> this is the chicko spring

roller which we have right here. and it is designed to help babies learn how to crawl by playing music every time your baby makes ate crawl. >> a flashing light will keep baby engaged and the wheels have rubber threads to prevent damage to the floors. it's for infants, steve, about $27. you're enjoying it. >> well the music is catchy. to find out more information online to check it out as well. that's our gift of the day. well many of us will go home for the holidays, perhaps the reality is that many folks in the d.c. area will be homeless this holiday season. >> gurvir joins us now with more on one organization that is helping the homeless. gurvir. >> reporter: tony, good morning. shepherd cove is a shelter in prince george's county that provides temporary housing for women and children and also provides computer training, ged classes and services to help residents get jobs and a regular life for them. the agency is the recipient of

the fox 5 christmas tree along with the ornaments and we thought you might want to learn more about the work that shepherd's cove does. when you've lost your job or home, life challenges can seem unsur mountable. >> when it comes to women and children, they lose their job. that is the major contributing factor because they lose their job and if you lose your job you can't afford housing and things of that nature. and the second contributing factor i would say is domestic violence. >> reporter: but the woman who come to shepherd's cove are offered not just a place to stay but hope for the future. prince george's county shelter can house up to 100 residents. some are single women, but most are women with children. shepherd's cove has a play room for the little ones, a dave care is available for -- a day care is available while moms look for work. >> they can sign their children up and put them in day care and go job hunting and don't have to worry about a safe,

nurturing environment for the children. >> reporter: and classes are available on-site. the goal is to get faklies back on track for a stable future. >> through the stabilization program we track them for a year and we provide addition at case management services, supportive everybody ises, to ensure they remain stable for up to a year but the goal is forever because the goal is not to have people reenter the homeless service system. >> reporter: in a reason that celebrates miracles and wonders, shepherd's cove helps to move toward the dream of a secure home life and when the holiday season is over they'll be there for the next family in crisis. >> shepherd's cove is open 365 days and 24 hours so our door is open all year round. >> reporter: shepherds cove has a wish list of items that it needs, including towels, sheets and diapers, cash is always welcome too and you can find out how to donate by going to myfoxdc.com. just click on mornings.

and right now we're going to add another ornament to our tree. and joining us this morning is len sea woody with the d.c. coalition against domestic violence. good to have you here. a lot of people may not be familiar with what your organization does. it's not a service provider, right? >> no it's not. >> tell me about it. >> we were founded in 1986 and we're an advocacy and membership option comprised -- organizations comprised of several organizations, like break the sickle and my sister's place to make sure adults have access to the services they need. >> so the different organizations may come to the coalition and say we need help with lobbying lawmakers or what? what exactly will your organization do? >> well we work selectively with the city council and government agencies with administration to make sure that laws are appropriate for domestic violence victims and

their families. to make sure things are up to date. so we work closely with our membership programs. >> this time of year, especially, i think people's emotions get raw and some of those agencies may need an extra little push. they may need a little boost. are you finding that they are coming to you more often during the holidays? >> oh, definitely. and we're all facing a crisis right now. one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime so that's a staggering statistic. so all of the programs that we serve as well as us, we're all looking for additional help, especially around the holidays. >> so when that organization comes to you, and they say we might need some help with enforcing the existing laws, will the people from your organization then go lobby? >> definitely. we do a lot of policy work, definitely. >> listen, we appreciate what you do and coming by to hang a ornament on our tree today. what did you bring along? >> an angel just to represent

the service providers throughout the district that people don't know about that are providing services for women and children effected by domestic violence. >> and remember them here at this time of year. did you find a spot on this tree? >> yes. i would like to put it right here. >> okay. thank you very much. appreciate you coming by and the services that you provide to those organizations that are out there helping women and children that need it. >> thank you so much. >> thanks a bunch. so there you go. another ornament for our tree. tony and steve, back to you. >> thank you, gurvir. and the tree has us all in the holiday spirit and there is only 12 shopping days left until christmas. so, if you still need gift ideas we'll take care of you. >> from affordable stocking stuffers to over-the-top items that are fun to check out, mr. gadget is with us in the next hour. >> and he has one that is over the top so stay tuned. plus bundle up, the forecast is straight ahead.

as we look down, you can see some snow on the sports field. it is 8:54 right now. ♪

want to give a special good morning to our facebook fan of the day today. he is jove he is campbell. he's a police officer who lives in temple hills. thanks for everything you do to keep us safe. if you'd like to be tomorrow's facebook fan of the day, find us on facebook by searching fox 5 morning news and then post a comment under joseph's photo. and if you're not a fan, please become one. we're trying to get 10,000 fans by the end of the year and so we appreciate the help and support. we have one more hour to go and so tony and gurvir are stirring us through the next hour. >> here is the stories for the 9:00 morning news. some in the area woke up to this scene. snow fell across much of the area. most of us under a winter

weather advisory. that is now set to expire for much of the area. tucker is in with the forecast next. we'll see some school closing there's across the top of your screen. and also the tax cut compromise is headed for the first real test later today. will it pass when it gets to the hill? the latest ahead. and chances are you are in full shopping mode. you may have some gadgets on your list for the gadget guru, so what do you buy? well mr. gack et joins us in studio to show us items to add to your holiday list. >> i was just over there and i had a chance to check some of those out. >> are they cool? >> i know what you can do get for me. you and tucker can go in on it. tucker is in now with a look at our forecast. >> i have some nice snow showers across the area.