ali is in joining steve for the next hour. coming up, snow on the way. the d.c. area could see 1-3 inches and farther out even more. we have the latest forecast plus live with more on what's being done to prepare the roads before the snow hits. that's just moments away. plus the bush era tax cuts could come later today. and we'll go to capitol hill to find why the next test is coming down to the wire. and we'll meet the nationals $126 million man. jayson werth talked about his plan to bring a winning baseball team to d.c. fox 5 morning news starts right now. let's tack a look from tower cam on thursday morning, december 16th. it is another chilly start to the day today. good morning and thanks for being with us. i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm allison seymour. a lot of school closures this morning because of the weather to tell you about. you'll find them scrolling at the top of your screen. right here, steve.

and you can find that same list updated in realtime on myfoxdc.com. we'll run down a few coming up later. but rights now let's check in with -- but right now let's check in with tucker. >> it's not snowing yet. your morning commute will be fine, but it's into the afternoon hours that the snow will likely fall and stick across the area and so the schools are closing in anticipation the snow will get here before things shut down later this afternoon. let's get started and get to headlines. let it snow. the first snow event of the year, at least area-wide, expected to arrive over the next several hours. and here are the headlines. beginning late this morning. the thinking is about by 11:00 we'll see light snow break out. first off to the south and west and then the district about the noon hour. it tapers off this evening. it will be here for the evening commute but by 8:00, 9:00 will be out of here. total accumulation is 1-3 inches. and 3 inches is likely down

toward fredericksberg and southern maryland. lighter amounts up into montgomery county and up toward pennsylvania border. and roads will get slick fast. temperatures have been cold as we know the last several days and every flake that fallser for -- falls for the next 12-18 hours will stick. and you see the snow showers off to the north and west. charlottesville reporting flurry activity and it's moving in our direction. so the bands of snow will arrive by late-morning, early afternoon and when it is said and done we'll see light accumulation but enough to cause a problem on the roadway. winter weather advisory for the district and up to the pennsylvania border. so more counties than when you went to bed last night. the winter weather advisory goes in effect at 10:00 this morning through 9:00 this evening. so be ready for slow travel. temperatures cold. winds out of the north and west at 5. the winds have let up.

here is your forecast. at 8:00 a.m. this morning, temperatures in the mid-20s. our highs today only in the upper 20s. so it will get icy this afternoon with light snow falling between noon and 5:00 this afternoon. more details on the forecast, allison and steve, coming up in a couple of minutes, we'll take another look at the radar. back to you guys. the road crews getting ahead of the weather in the district. d-dot has crewed putting down brine on the main roads yesterday and will continue with full deployment today. in maryland, concentration on the main roads in prince george's county and south in virginia. v-dot pretreated roads yesterday and crews are starting to hit the roads right about now. let's go to virginia and find out what is happening there. stacy cohan is in alexandria with more on the situation there. stacy? >> reporter: well good morning. we are at the salt dome and watching the crews come and the crews go and everybody get loaded up. the loader has been sitting there all morning and we've seen various trucks come in and get their load of salt and sand

and head out. there are no snowflakes falling as of yet, so it's true the roads are clear but it's ready to have them out and ready than to have folks trying to catch up than getting behind the snow. down here they are ready. d.c., maryland and virginia pretreated the roads last night and out in full force this morning with crews spread out waiting for the snow to begin falling because it will stick. and the best way to avoid a really messy rush hour is to treat the roads so as soon as it sticks we have sand and salt to melt it down and smooth out the roadways to get through. so we are waiting for the snow to fall but we are ready for it, i guess. we hope. back to you. >> stacy, thank you. the latest on the morning commute. we'll check in with julie wright. >> i like stacy's attitude. i think, i hope, because i'm the same way. i'm ready to pull the covers up over my head and call it a day already. here is the deal on route 5. suitland parkway, right side of

the highway blocked off this morning with the accident activity. you have slowdowns along 295 as you work inbound toward south capital street and the doug also bridge. accident in virginia still in place. northbound 95 north of the prince william parkway, traffic squeezing by to the right and big delays from the potomac mills sign northbound toward the occuquan. and top side of the beltway, outer loop slowing from college park past tollsville. expect delays on 95 leaving 212 out of beltsville to the belt. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. for the latest updates on traffic, weather, and school closings, go to our website at myfoxdc.com. we keep updating it throughout the day. you'll find the links right there on the home page. and we'll put the updates on our facebook and twitter pages. you can find information on those pages also on myfoxdc.com. just one-stop shopping. it appears that a space heater near some flammable

material may have sparked an apartment fire. it happened just after midnight in the 2900 block of huet avenue in aspen hill. smoke and flames were coming from both the ground and second floor. several people did have to be rescued. one woman is being treated for serious smoke inhalation but is expected to survive. we should learn more today about who will be percent of d.c. mayor-elect vince gray's team. he's expected to name the public safety administration. one of the big questions, will gray keep cathy lanier on as police chief. gray is expected to name a new fire chief. the announcement is planned for 1:30 this afternoon at the reeves center. a final vote to extend the bush era tax cuts could come later today but the 2,000 page spending bill is still weighing heavily on capitol hill. we get the latest from doug luzader. >> reporter: congress may finally finish it's work on the tax cut extensions today. but with everything else on the

agenda, we could be looking at a government shutdown this weekend. >> the yah's are 81, the nay's are 19. the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: the senate passed the extension of the bush tax cuts and the house could follow suit today. so why the long faces around here? >> we're in the lamest of lame ducks trying to do something that the people rejected november 2nd. so, yes, we should quit. >> reporter: republicans are furious that democrats in congress are trying to cram in so much. gays in the military, a new start nuclear treaty with russia, immigration reform, and a tax debate that rages on today in the house, where democrats are mad at senate counterparts. >> they want to hold out for the wealthiest and hold everyone else hostage. >> reporter: but it's possible the house will in fact hand the president a victory today on the tax deal which extends the bush tax rates in exchange for longer unemployment insurance and more stimulus. >> it will help lift up middle

class families who no longer need to worry abouta new year's day tax hike. >> reporter: but still sitting out there is the giant stack of paper that is driving republicans crazy. a massive spending bill full of earmarks to keep the government operating beyond saturday. >> if it passes, it will be a disgrace and rejection of the last election. >> but if it doesn't pass, the government runs out of money this weekend and it's not clear which party would hold responsible for that. >> reporter: in washington, doug luzader, fox news. the house has voted to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" to end the 1993 law that prohibited soldiers from revealing that they are gay. now it goes back to the senate. democratic leaders are trying to squeeze in a vote before adjourning this session for congress but there is not much time yet. president obama has called on congress to end this policy. the federal government is suing bp and eight other oil companies. the justice department is seeking to recover billions of dollars.

the lawsuit said bp and the other 8 should be held liable for all clean-up costs and damages. the other companies named in the lawsuit are contractors for bp but it does not include hally burton which was responsible for pumping cement into the oil well. and the lawyer for julian assange said he's confident a british judge will approval jail. he's been in jail since last week when a judge did grant him bail but swedish prosecutors appealed and they want to talk to him about sex crimes and it has nothing to do with the leak of classified documents. and 9 minutes after the hour. he doesn't have to be an nfl stadium to hear the boos. mcnabb heard it from fans at a wizard games earlier this week. but should number 5 beeried about his job safety. we're hearing rumors his backup is getting more reps. and remember the days off

because of the snow dump last year? well the obama administration is revamping the leave policy. we'll break down the changes coming up right after the break. and are you ready? we're set to see snow today. we'll get the latest weather and traffic updates after the break. and remember, you can find weather and traffic delays and closings on myfoxdc.com. plus our facebook and twitter pages too. we will be right back.  set your pace to island time.

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early they are morning, tucker barnes, gurvir said there was pink on the radar and she pointed it out and you told her it wasn't snow but we have pink in the sky. >> i just stepped out, it is incredible sky. it's pink and red. and you know that old adage,

red sky in the morning, sailers take warning. >> red sky at night, sailers delight. >> what a clever show. >> we put a lot of thought into it. it's called roll with it. we try to show you as much as we can from the d.c., maryland and virginia area when we are getting weather like we are expecting today. we hope you can tell us the story today. so snap weather photos today. and when you do, we might show them on air. for more information on how to send them to us, plus check out the weather closings and delays, go to myfoxdc.com and click on the weather tap or go to our facebook and twitter pages. and we're expecting to see quite a few photos. >> it should be beautiful, nice light, airy snow out there. quick story, when i was a kid, i would make my mom go out and smell the snow. >> did she have a keen nose. >> she grew up around it and people can smell it. >> and the point? >> i wanted to know if the snow would arrive. i would smell her out every 3

minutes to smell the snow. after a while she would make it up, allison. >> she's like, no matter what, you're going to school. this is the early stages of tucker barnes development. >> well maybe that's me, i would wake up and listen to t.o.p. and listen for my school to close. >> we have schools canceled so you know what is next. the snow will get here later in morning and early this afternoon. bands of light to moderate snow. this is not a big deal. a year ago we dealt with snow mageddon. this is just an inch or two in the district. just off to the south and west now. moving through, first flakes, some of the southwestern viewers will see that at about 10:00. here in the district about the noon hour we'll see the snow flying. and you can see the pink that steve mentioned out to the south and west mixing with sleet and rain.

this is an all-snow event for us as it moves on through. let's go to temperatures because it is critical for snow. and it's so cold that every snowflake that falls over the next 8-12 hours is going to stick to the paved surfaces. so it will be a slippery afternoon commute. 23 degrees at reagan national. 20 in annapolis. 17 in salisbury. 19 degrees in frederick. you get the idea. very cold. our highs today only in the upper 20s. that's it. here is your forecast. winter weather advisory goes into effect at 10:00 this morning. light snow developing, cold, 28 degrees the daytime high. later tonight, snow tapers to flurries. total accumulation 1-3 inches. higher amounts is south of the district, down toward fredericksberg, south and west. the lighter amounts off to the north, so up toward frederick and pennsylvania border, more of like a dusting to a half inch. but when all is said and done, our first snow of the season areawide. >> it's nice and manageable and

pretty. it will be fine. just take your time on the evening commute. >> you got it. and as far as the morning commute, let's find out from julie. >> dry pavement right now. but it could be tricky this afternoon. make sure you have plenty of gas and wiper fluid to ease the commute home. on the roads, busy inbound along route 5 approaching the suitland parkway. accident tieing up the right side of the highway through southeast washington. expect delays on 295 leaving the beltway continuing inbound up toward the d.c. line. out to the west, stalled car eastbound 7 at tollson road, tieing up the left turn lane and that will keep you on the brakes. the toll road about a 10 minute trip inbound from spring hill back toward the beltway. no accidents to report north of town. the beltway outer loop slowing 95 to georgia. and better news for you traveling along 95 at the prince william parkway, accident tieing up the left side of the road is now cleared. delays from the car rest area

headed north. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. in a big step toward ensuring that tax cuts don't expire next month, the senate votes to extend them along with an extension for unemployment benefits ab a payroll tax cut. joining us with more on that and a look at a new plan for federal workers in case of a snow apocalypse. we keep coming up with another. snow mageddon. we want to talk about what the government wants to do now if we have dangerous snow days but we want to talk about issues. we saw "don't ask, don't tell" vote coming down and we saw the tax extension go down as well. let's start with the taxes. what happens now as far as -- everybody is watching because this might change january 1.

>> it does. but it looks like the house may pass the package reluctantly later today and it would mirror the senate did which would send it quickly to president obama. so an interesting set of deals. obviously liberal democrats not happy with it but they seem to be later today. after an attempt to change the state tax provisions will vote and you can believe the president will sign it as fast as he can. >> well the house has voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell." a lot of folks waiting for this happen. >> that's right. they voted on this back in may as part of a defense bill. this is a stand-alone measure to end the law. 75 vote margin with 15 republicans joining democrats on this. and now it gets back over to the senate which failed last week to do this as part of that big defense bill. there is belief now that after the weekend, once that treaty is considered and work on the bill that would fund the government for next year, that they bring it up and if they do they'll have enough republicans to get a filibuster majority

that would get it done after 17 years of trying to undo it. so it's a big step. it all depends on the senate calendar and whether they can get things done quickly but there is enough support for it now in the senate to get it done. >> we've been talking about those issues for a while. something that is just happening, the office of personnel management held a briefing. you were there. tell us about the changes. >> great timing. they did it just yesterday to talk about changes to the federal leave policy and here the snow comes. so basically as you look at the top of your screen, you know that when the federal government closes, they can do one of five things. they can stay open, they can open late. they can close early, or they could basically give unscheduled leave or close entirely. they made changes to the unscheduled leave and the closed policy. pretty smart ones. instead of calling it liberal or unscheduled leave they're saying unscheduled leave or teleworking. there was a bill passed last week that the president signed

that expands the use of telework ago cross the government. and aeventually, within the next few years every agency will make it possible to work from home. so the idea now is if there is snow on the road and you're not supposed to go to work, work from home. this is a big push by the president and his aids because he's from chicago and when he came here in washington in 2009 he was flabberghasted that kids couldn't go to school with two inches of snow on the ground and workers couldn't get to work and he told them, look, find a way to allow people to work from home if it's snowing. so if they issue unscheduled leave they're saying work from home. the other big changes is instead of calling it closed, they're not calling it closed to the public. and that's acknowledgment after many years of frustration among the thousands in this area especially who still have to show up for work when it's snowing, both at the pentagon, state department and homeland security. and that means if you had an appointment at a government office today, nonessential personnel stay home and the rest show up for work.

>> who would this effect? >> technically it only effects federal offices inside the beltway. but all of the other ones in the washington region follow what is decided about the inside the beltway folks. and remember, when -- whenever the federal government closes down, it impacts federal workers and students. it cost the federal government between 70 million and $100 million a day in lost productivity. so if you can work from home with a good internet connection, do it to make up time later and they like to avoid that. >> that's another distinction we'll be reporting. federal workers, you know what to do. ed o'keefe, and he writes the federal eye for the washington post. happy holidays. >> to you too.

>> if only we could work from home. two consumer alerts. why direct tv and danon are paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars. and strict guidelines about the crib your baby could be sleeping in? and also the foundation fighting blindness is hosting an event tonight to create blindness awareness and holly is learning about what they are cag 7:23. 

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the government is outlawing the dropside baby cribs. the move comes after the deaths of more than 30 infants and toddlers over the past decade. the cribs have come under fire because of malfunctioning hardware that can leave the rail to detach creating a dangerous gap where a baby can get caught and suffocate.

two companies will be paying out millions of settlements of deceptive advertising. direct tv will pay $13 million to 14 states, including maryland and the district. maryland slated to receive $200,000. the attorney general said direct tv misled customers about cash back and free offers. danon will shell out $21 million to 40 states because of claims it overstated the health benefits of some products. $425,000 of that money will be paid to maryland. 7:27 right now. coming up, days after the death of richard holbrook, president obama is said to unveil his report card for the war today. we'll look at the state of the war and what impact holbrook's death will have coming up. and we're set to see the white stuff today. we're talking about snow. we'll get the latest updates after the break. and you can find the latest information on myfoxdc.com,

plus our facebook and twitter pages. we'll be right back. 7:27. ♪

the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate.

york peppermint patty. get the sensation. [ music ] 7:30. we want to take a minute to add another ornament to our fox 5 christmas tree. and as this red angel comes into focus we want to thank

tina latimer. she sent this in for people across the nation suffering from bipolar disorder. she would like to dedicate this ornament in memory of her sister. and we thank you to everybody who has september their ornaments to our tree. wea worthy charity just before christmas. so thanks again to everybody who has september in an ornament to far. >> that's very sweet. >> feeling like the holidays. in a couple of hours. it will be nice and white around here by this afternoon, by 3:00, 4:00, light acalm-- a cumulation of snow. was it the first round? >> first round tomorrow was the 16-inch december storm we had last year. this is a 1 or 2-inch snow event. and temperatures are plenty cold and everything that falls here over the next 12 hours will stick to the ground and to the paved surfaces. so that evening commute is going to be a bit of a

challenge. >> that will be tricky. and i don't want to undersell that. >> and the kids can play in it and that's fun. let's take a look at current temperatures. it is cold. it's been cold for days. cold this morning. temperatures still in the teens in many spots. that's even with the cloud cover out there. 19 degrees, that's it in frederick. 19 in gaithersburg. 25 currently in downtown washington. 18 in manassas. quantico is 21. salisbury is 17. so plenty of cold air. this is really setting the stage for the event. and again, with all of this cold air, it will squeeze out the little bit of moisture. it's just a little bit of moisture moving through the area during the course of the thursday. winter weather advisory for the district. baltimore now and counties across the northern tier of maryland, winter weather advisory in washington at 10:00 a.m. and further south at 8:00 this morning and again the thinking is total accumulation in the immediate washington area about 1-2 inches, more like three toward fredericksberg. and the jackpot for this storm is north of richmond, that's a

weren't storm warning there in pink and purple. total snowfall there 3-5 inches. so more to the south. here is a look at your satellite radar. the white is the bands of snow and that's moving in shortly. just off to the south and west, we're not getting any reports of snowfall here in the immediate washington area. but off to the south and west, starting to see flurries down in places like charlottesville. so it will be here before long. area of low pressure associated with the storm out to the west and into arkansas. and this will travel to our south. and that's relatively good news because the bulls eye of the storm is slightly further south of the washington area. and here is your future-cast, so the morning commute is fine, but by 1:00 here comes the snow. it will stick around for the afternoon. 4:00 and 5:00 still seeing bands of snow and so the even commute could be done quickly. and by 8:00 tonight we'll see things tapering off down to flurries. so much quieter weather. and then into the commute tomorrow morning, things should be clear skies or partly sunny

by tomorrow morning and then a good-looking day tomorrow with more sunshine melting off a little of the snow. so touch and go for the next 12 hours. 20 degrees is the daytime high. so anything falling will stick. and accumulation here in the immediate washington area, maybe 1-2 inches of snow. less to the north and more to the south. and we're into the winter weather advisory starting at 10:00 here in washington. there is your five-day forecast. a little sunshine tomorrow afternoon. 36 degrees. right now the weekend looks okay. cold and still watching the coastal storm. but right now it tracks off the carolina coast. that is good news if you don't want snow on sunday. still cold into early next week. that's a look at the forecast. let's get to julie wright with the latest traffic. tucker, not a lot happening if you are traveling at the wilson bridge. that's an easy ride for you this morning. hangups in southeast washington. for those coming inbound across the douglas bridge, the stalls car on the right side of the

highway. that's tacking on time inbound from naylor toward sheridan road. a good 10 minute ride across the anacostia. so allow extra time there. and lanes are open at 395 leaving duke street toward seminary road. traffic slowing again at the inbound 14th street bridge. southbound 29 lockwood drive toward university boulevard, no accidents, volume delays leaving stewart lane toward the capital beltway. beltway still congested and southbound 270 on the brakes leaving 24, mva, toward the split. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. president obama will unveil his report card for the war in afghanistan today. and the announcement comes on the heels of the president's strategist richard holbrook's death. nearly 500 americans have been killed. robert gibbs announced the administration will start withdrawing troops from the region in july of 2010. jeff smith joins us from the

american foreign policy center to talk about the state of the war and what impact richard holbrook's death may have on the administration and in the region. good to see you this morning. >> good to be here. >> the white house said the situation is better now than before the troop surge. would you agree with that? >> i think militarily the situation has improved, with the unfusion of 30,000 new troops since december of last year, military progress has been made in the east and the south where the taliban has been -- their attacks have been the highest levels. the problem is more on the political front. there is corruption in the afghan government, there is a lack of legitimacy beyond the boarders of the capital kabul and there are safe havens for the taliban in pakistan and these components are keeping the afghan war effort bogged down. not necessarily the military progress. we've raised the level of

100,000 troops. the last troops got there the end of september but progress has continued to be stalled despite the fact we are at much higher troop levels. >> and the question becomes if ergoing to scale back on the troop level starting next year -- >> right. >> -- how do we solve the political problem that is undermining halting the efforts. >> that's the question on everyone's mind right now. president obama's decision to scale back troops in july of 2011 was widely criticized both here in the u.s. and in afghanistan. and it was revealed later that some of the decision-making process was for domestic, political reasons. that he wanted to appeal to his base by providing a deadline for u.s. troops to withdraw and it ended up giving the taliban a date to look forward to when u.s. troops would begin withdrawing and use it as a propaganda message that america was not here to stay like back in the '80s and it gave them comfort. >> from the political standpoint, is it more of a

question of having afghanistan do more to hunt down insurgents or is it a question of pakistan doing more to not have safe harboring of terrorists in pakistan? or are they equally important? >> well corruption in afghanistan and political legitimacy is critically important to building a government there. but in terms of military there is nothing more important than shutting down the safe haven in pakistan and everyone has agreed to that. ambassador holbrooke said this many times and the obama administration understands this at the deepest levels of the white house. the problem is what to do about it because pakistan has refused to go into the safe havens and crack down on the taliban hideouts. >> with the passing of richard holbrook you lose that special envoy presence there that you've had for so long. what kind of impact may that have on the plans moving forward. >> ambassador holbrooke was a skilled diplomat and he was

able to go around the interagency rivalries and get things done himself, force people to work together, put a plan on the table and make sure it gotten acted. without him there, they'll revert to the state bureaucracy and i think -- on one hand general patraeus has become the point man with president karzai in the past few months any way and i think that role will continue to grow with the loss of ambassador holbrooke. he had strained relations with president karzai. so people had begun to question how effective he was a special representative any way. but certainly in terms of his ability to get around interagency battles and implement refors on the -- reforms on the ground, that will be missed. >> thank you for coming in jeff. we appreciate it. >> sure. it is 22 degrees at 7:39. coming up next, we'll meet the nationals $126 million man. jayson werth talks about his plans to bring a winning baseball team to the area.

and should donovan mcnabb worry about his job safety. we're hearing rumors his backup is getting more reps these days. that's coming up. 

washington nationals gave jayson werth $126 million over the next 7 years. and they say they are not done. werth officially introduced yesterday putting on his number 28 jersey for the first time. the beginning of what both parties believe will be a successful 7-year relationship. werth has four years of post playoff experiences. the nationals have promised his addition is the start of the team's phase 2 evolution. >> i've been assured they'll do everything they can to go get those pieces and i'm kind of the first one to step forward and get it going. so i'm excited to be in this situation. i think it's a great situation for me going forward. we're going to be a winning ball club and surprise a lot of people.

>> welcome to washington. we hope you do well. it is dallas week when we talk about the football side of things without the luster because of the team's record but not without the drama. rumors abound that mike shanahan is thinking about starting rex grossman instead of mcnabb on sunday in big-d. donovan said he feels the best he's felt all season. this is only the third time in the last three years that he started all games. he's on pace to pass for 4,000 yards but also thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. and now rex grossman may be inserted as a starter, here is the coach. >> i don't go through the starting lineups, i've told you that before. we talk about it every week. sooner or later you come to the game and you find out who is starting. >> i think if i spent too much time focusing on that, i wouldn't focus on the task at

hand. >> much more on the redskins and other d.c. sports teams online. to learn more about the caps losing streak now at 7 games, go to myfoxdc.com and click on sports. we need to right this ship here in the d.c. area. >> yes, we do. we deserve -- >> maybe they can turn things around. we'll get there. >> a few winters is all we have. we can get there. baseball season seems far away now. >> a long, long time. >> spring with snow in the forecast. let's take a look at our radar. and we have off to the south and west, you got it, snow on the way. and it will be here before too long in the morning commute. the next couple of hours are fine. so to run out to the store and get the milk and the needed stuff. >> fill your car up. >> fill your car up with gas. all of those things. you have time to do it. no need to panic. and this is not a major storm. want to emphasize that. when all said and done, a couple of inches of snow across

the region. there is your hd radar. getting flurries in places like charlottesville. maybe around 11:00 we'll see light snow and then the heavier bands, and i'm using that word, light snow this afternoon. heavier bands move in later today. how much snow can we expect? let's move on and here is your snow accumulations. and again, the bulls eye here is south and south and west of washington where the total accumulations might be 4 or 5 inches. close to washington, probably 1- 2 inches. more down toward fredericksberg and down 95 toward richmond where there might be 3 or 4- inches in a few places and up into northern montgomery county and frederick county and howard county, up toward the pennsylvania border, lighter amounts maybe up to an inch and a few places closer like columbia and laurel. so this is not a major storm. but with very cold temperatures all of the flakes will stick. roadways will be tricky later today. there is your five-day forecast. cold again tonight, 25. we'll warm up into the mid 30s tomorrow so we can melt off a little bit of the snow but

tomorrow morning's commute could be tricky because we'll get refreezing of anything that melts with the salt. >> any word on sunday yet? >> we're watching that coastal storm on sunday. right now it looks like it tracks off shore. but this time of year we want to be careful with it. so still waiting another day before we officially declare that. >> let's get through today first. >> we can do that. as far as julie is concerned, let's get through the morning commute. >> it's busy enough as it is and we're on dry pavement. that will change later on tonight for the drive home so make sure you have plenty of wiper fluid and gas as well. let me show you on the map where's we have problems to report. taking you into downtown and start ago long the douglas bridge with the stalled car on the right side of the highway. that will tack on additional delays from naylor road toward sheridan, an additional 10 minute drive there. as you continue to work through southeast and across the anacostia bridges. inbound new york avenue out of cheverly from 410 toward

kenilworth, a good 12 minute ride at this point. the bw stopped up at the pepsi plant. delays out of hyattstown toward the scales and again leaving mva toward rockville. slowdowns at 395 across the inbound 14th street bridge. no accidents to report, just volume delays. and delays from the beltway and crossing over the potomac. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. dining in the dark for a good cause. >> good morning, holly. >> reporter: good morning to both of you. this is a very unique event that is going on at the ritz- carlton tysons corner where we are live this morning. it's all about becoming a little more aware about those who go through life being visually impaired. it's put on by foundations fighting blindness. we'll find out more about raising money for them and the importance of their cause and how you can help out. it's all live next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. hi. my name is captain and mar yes teeth stationed in japan.

i want to wish my parents ed and shirley, my brother eddie, michelle, my sister-in-law and niece shelby who all live in stafford, virginia, a happy thanksgiving and a merry christmas. i miss and love you guys. tr a ugh, my sinuses... the congestion...

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. 7:52 right now. the foundation fighting blindness is hosting an event to create blindness awareness. >> holly is learning about that. >> reporter: good morning. it is exactly what the name says. everybody who comes home run tonight will literally be dining in the dark. imagine what that is like. your other senses are heightened. so this is a sensory experience and it raises awareness. bill and colleen carte are with

me. bill is the president of foundation fighting blindness for northern virginia and colleen is a guide dog trainer. you're not an actual guide dog. she trains, which is appropriate because we also have bruce here which is bill's guide dog. good morning to both of you. happy holidays to both of you. let's talk about this really unique event that is going on tonight and the bigger picture of the event. >> it's a great event, holly. people love it. we had the similar event last year and it's an opportunity for people to really experience what it's like to be blind, to eat dinner, not knowing exactly what is on their plate and where it is and people enjoy it quite a bit because it's kind of a shared adversity thing and it's an adventure. >> it sounds like an adventure. and we have the guys here already setting up the ballroom. and i would assume for them, is there anything that has to be set up differently? >> well the servers are actually visually impaired so and so there are ropes set up that they use to navigate in the total darkness, because it is total darkness.

we're all equal there in terms of vision because none of us can see a thing. >> reporter: and in that we speak to the greater picture, the foundation fighting blindness. and tell us about the mission and what they do. >> the foundation's mission is to fund research to find treatments and cures for blinding retinal degenerative diseases. in my family personally i've the fifth generation who has been blind from retinal pigmentation. so the research and genes that have been identified gives us great hope. >> reporter: so tell me about your situation and how you work through and that manage? >> i have a tiny bit of vision in one eye and i'm blessed that i can read. but i can't walk around because i can't see enough to really know where the obstacles are. so that's where bruce comes in. he avoids obstacles, i navigate and we travel on business around the country. >> reporter: and you have a

very important job. tell everyone what you do? >> i'm the vice president and general manager of northrup grummans defense division. >> reporter: so you have a demanding job. and bruce helps you do that. and your lovely wife helps train bruce or dogs like bruce. so tell me about a guide dog and how it works? >> well it takes a special animal. they would probably have a 50% -- 50% of the dogs that come through the door are going to succeed with the program. they're looking for a calm dog. >> bruce looks pretty calm. >> yes, he's very relaxed. and they have a lot of labradors and golden retrievers and the german shepherds are the dogs they use and it takes four months to train them and the trainers work with the dog and the student for four weeks. they live in house on the premises. and it's a very intense training for four weeks. >> reporter: i know what you are talking about because we recently did a segment where they train service dogs for

vets. and i wanted you to show us what bruce does for you in terms of your impairment, what he can help you do. >> okay. come on, bruce. bruce, forward. bruce, find a chair. good boy. >> reporter: as we're watching bruce and bill work there, i notice its sign on bruce that says don't pet me, i'm working. which is an important thing for people out in the public that see something like that. >> because a lot of people want to pet the dogs and if bruce pays attention to everybody that is petting him he won't work for bill any more and he'll start to bump into things and won't be able to find what he's doing and work properly, so people shouldn't pet the dogs while they are working. it's very distracting. >> reporter: thank you both very much for coming out and telling us about this event. here is what you need to know. they have a limited number of seats left for the event. it is tonight. if you are interested in doing the dining in the dark experience to help benefit foundation fighting blindness,

go to myfoxdc.com. we have a link to theirs and you'll need to call today so that you can put that request in. now coming up in the next hour, we'll learn a little bit more about how this event works and about the mission of this wonderful foundation. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, holly. 7:57 on this thursday morning. coming up, we are in the smart phone zone. we have a free app if you're into star gazing. >> like celestial or hollywood? >> you'll have to find out. and in the next hour, our gift of the day. it's a baby doll that coos and cries when hooked up to your wii. stay with us. fox 5 morning news will be right back. a

it is 8:00 and there is a winter weather advisory in effect now for parts of the region. tucker has more on when we'll see the snow and how much we'll see before the day is done. also going to check in with stacy cohan in virginia keeping an eye on the roads there and in maryland and d.c. then on the hill, a weekend deadline looms for congress and it could force the government to shut down. we'll take a closer look at this as well as the latest on

the bill -- the tax bill and the "don't ask, don't tell" measure. and they are lurking on food tables at your neighborhood party. the escalator at the mall. they are germs and they are everywhere during the holidays. ahead this hour we'll get tips on how to avoid spreading more than peace, love and joy this holiday season. good morning. i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm allison seymour. and we do want to mention we have several school closings and delays. you'll find up to the minute information on the screen and on our website at myfoxdc.com. and tucker barnes has been tracking the snow, where it might be and all of the details. >> not here yet. it will be here by late morning, early afternoon. we do have a winter weather advisory in the south in places like charlottesville seeing light snow shower activity. it will be here before long. >> we look forward to it. >> we'll look on the bright side because it will be a beautiful snow over the next 12 hours or so. there is your satellite radar. you can see it starting to get very close to the district. that first -- the first little

bands aren't touching the ground as the atmosphere is still pretty dry but just off to the south and west we are starting to receive the first reports of snow falling across the region. it looks like between 11:00 and noon here in washington and then the steadier bands of snow will move in this afternoon. winter weather advisory. most of the area here are now under a winter weather advisory. it goes into effect in washington and points north at 10:00 a.m. now it includes baltimore, northern tier of maryland, north central maryland. so places like montgomery county, howard county under a winter weather advisory as well. that's a winter storm warning to the south, down toward richmond. that will be the bull's eye here. they'll have a combination of four or five inches of snow in some spots closer to the carolina border. getting freezing rain. but even here in washington, we're looking at maybe 1-2 inches of snow. >> all right. >> 1-2 inches of snow by the evening commute. so enough to coat the roadways and cause problems for the evening rush. 24 at reagan national. winds out of the south and west at 7. they are shifting and ma

means storms on the way. check out the high temperatures. 28 in washington. 30 in leonardtown. every snowflake that falls will stick to the pavement, unlike many winter storms we get around here. it will cause problems almost immediately. >> that's the down side. >> the upside is we're not getting 16 inches of snow like last year. >> that's a tradeoff we'll take at this point. if you are taking the metro this morning or riding the red line, getting word of disruption on the red line. here is the deal. there is a problem in the friendship heights area so they are going to single track the trains between cleveland park and central heights. the problem is in tenleytown. we'll let you know when we hear more about that. in the meantime, let's check in with julie wright with a look at the roadways at 8:03. >> is tucker still volunteering to shovel snow even if it's 1-2 inches. >> i will shovel this one for you but i can't guarantee.

i'll get it out of the way. >> we'll push the other one on tony. >> you can do -- he can do my house too. and southeast washington, trouble with a stalled car, douglas bridge, still tied up. and big delays. the longer it sits, the longer the drive. over to the cameras. if you are traveling inbound along 66, waffle mills east of fair oaks, volume delays toward nutley street and the beltway. beltway inner loop slowing braddock to 66. this is a live shot aft beltway at eisenhower, no incidents to report, just volume delays toward telegraph road. in maryland, lanes are open on southbound 270, gridlock traffic though from mva into rockville. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. road crews have been out in force since yesterday getting ready for the snow. fox 5's stacy cohan has more on the top story on the salt dome from alexandria. it's funny but it is not

happening yet but we're waiting for it. >> we've been doing this a long time. we've seen a lot of snowstorms. this is about as much activity as i've seen ahead of a single flake in a long time. some crews have been pulling up to the salt dome and getting loaded up with supplies to get out on the roadways. it is sort of cloudy and gray down here. but the crews are out in full effect down here if virginia. i have a rundown of what is happening across the region. in d.c., maryland and virginia, in d.c. they brined the roads last night and they are to have their crews out in full force. in maryland and virginia they pretreated the roads. maryland talking about concentrating on prince george's county and areas south because that's where the heaviest snowfall is supposed to be. and here in virginia, v-dot said they would have crews out by 7:00 a.m. and back out live, we just got a release from prince george's county and the same thing is happening in that county because we've been told by 8:00 a.m.

all crews will be out on the streets and working 12 hour shifts until all of the roads are clear. so that is the situation as you watch it all dump in and i got to admit, i'm a little bit like julie wright, i wish that sand and salt meant the beach and margaritas instead of all of this snow. >> please, i'm joining the club. we have three so far. me, you and julie. thanks. more flames breaking out in an apartment complex in the 2800 block of huet avenue in as pin hill after midnight and we say that because it could have been for people trying to stay warm. it took crews 25 minutes to get the flames under control. one woman be treated for smoke inhalation but expected to survive. investigators say a space heater near flammable material may have started the fire. we should learn more today about who will be a part of

mayor elect gray's team. he will name the public safety team. and the question is will he keep cathy lanier on as police chief. and he's expected to name a new fire chief and that announcement expected at 1:30 this afternoon on reefes street. and the tax bill coming but not without changes. they extended the bush era tax cuts. the cuts are set to expire january 1st. president barack obama said passing this bill is critical to avoid serious economic damage. >> i am absolutely convinced that the tax cut plan, while not perfect, will hope grow our economy and create jobs in the private sector. it will help lift up middle class families who no longer need to worry about a new year's day tax hike. >> you'll also -- the deal extends unemployment insurance and the payroll tax. it's not smooth sailing. house democrats have threatened to change the part of the bill

regarding the tax cut on estates. the house has voted to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" to end the 1993 law that prohibits soldiers from revealing they are gay. it goes back to the senate. democratic leaders are trying to squeeze in a vote before adjourning the session of congress. there is not much time left. the president has called on congress to end the policy. bob mcdonnell announced millions of dollars of cut in savings. the commonwealth will continue a statewide hiring freeze and eliminate other vacant positions. and it's not just cuts. the governor said taxpayers will save $24 million from taking advantage of low interest rates and the issuance of recent bond packages. the head of the montgomery county school system fighting with montgomery county over funding. it has world class schools, but they've been cutting back over the last three years. school superintendent jerry weiss just proposed an increase of $82 million to keep current spending levels as required by

law. >> this budget has no bells, no new bells, no new whistles. >> i think it's very unfair for him to say that the rest of the county that don't have children in the public school system or have other priorities above the public school system should suffer. >> montgomery has been given a waiver twice but the state has made it clear not to expect another waiver. just about 9 minutes after the hour on this cold, chilly morning -- thursday morning. up next we're in the smart phone zone with a free app for star gazing. and take a live look outside. we're waiting on the winter weather to arrive. could get 1-3 inches of snow in the region. we'll check back in with tucker and see the other stories making headlines this morning when fox 5 morning news continues. it's 8:09.

time now is # 12:00 on this thursday morning. iraqi intelligent agents warning of terror attacks over christmas. they captured insurgents that told them al-qaeda is planning

to target the u.s. and europe but there are no specific details. the first of two hearings into the murder of a virginia soldier is underway. specialist morgan mcbeth stabbed to death back in july while serving in iraq. specialist tyler keen charged with making three false statements to investigators. especiallyist nicholas bailey has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. hearings will determine if a trial will move forward. this young woman's family said they are still being left out of the loop about this case. a reversal for the army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy because he doesn't think the president was born in the united states. lieutenant colonel terrance lincoln said he will deploy to afghanistan after all. he tells a jury in ft. mead that he was wrong to refuse to go to war. the jury is deciding his punishment today. and we're just getting word that julian assange is a freeman. this is a live look at the london courthouse. he was granted bail last week

but held in jail pending an appeal by swedish prosecutors. we'll tell you this story here. a british judge has rejected the appeal and letting assange walk free. >> his legal problems have nothing to do with the leaked documents. he was able to put up a $300,000 bond and you see the live pictures from london as he is now free on this $316,000 bail. 14 minutes after the hour now. and we've been talking about this snow that we're all waiting for. but there is other news. >> we'll find a way to brighten it up if you're not into the snow. >> the warm-up factor of the day. >> we still need it. it is cold. >> we definitely need it. it's very cold out there. good morning. time now for the my first 5 photo of the day. this is thomas, everybody. >> look at that. >> yeah, look at him.

thomas just turned 4 years old. and he went snowboarding at ski liberty for the first time. just the second day of the season up there at season liberty and there he is already snowboarding. >> i wish i start when i was 4. >> it wasn't an option. >> they haven't invented the sport yet but if it had, it was cool. >> and i have a confession, i tried it once at my old leg and i tried it and i was sore for days. >> i do get sore more than if i was 4. >> so that's good, thomas. and nice form too. great form. to send us your child's picture go to myfoxdc.com and click on the morning. this is -- thomas, you might be able to do this in the backyard a little later. you can see the snow shower activity moving through by late morning and i think for the afternoon commute things will be slippery around here as we have a combination of light snow totals and cold air across

the region. but this little clipper system doesn't have a lot of moisture to work with. but the bad news is we have cold air around and so every flake that falls will get a chance to stick on the roadways. how much accumulation are we talking about? well the bull's eye with this storm is to the south. the thinking here in washington is about 1-2 inches. ' s get further south toward fredericksberg maybe up to 3 inches and the jackpot for this south is north of richmond where they might get 4 plus inches of snow. lesser amounts in northern montgomery county if you are watching in frederick, up towards hagerstown, you'll get lesser amounts. maybe a dusting to about a half inch up toward the pennsylvania border. so all in all it will be a snow event but not a major event. nothing like what we had a year ago with that big first blizzard of the season. temperatures right now, 24 degrees at reagan national. it is cold out there. 21 in annapolis. 19 in manassas. 24 degrees in fredericksberg. our high temperatures will only top out in the upper 20s.

that's why we're very concerned about a slippery commute. overnight low is 25 and then we warm up tomorrow afternoon with highs in the mid 30s. still a coastal storm. we have to watch that one carefully. saturday night and sunday morning. right now it tracks to the east off the carolina coast but we'll watch it carefully into the weekend. let's get to the traffic with julie wright. right now we're out on the roads and it's a slow commute for those headed inbound. the trouble spot is on the douglas bridge. right lane tied up with a stalled car and big delays leaving branch toward sterling. a good 15 minute ride as you continue southeast across the anacostia. going to find lanes open at the wilson bridge with no problems to report. connecticut avenue at beach drive southbound there was a stalled car contributing to the delay. the outer loop still tieing up 95 around to georgia avenue. southbound 270 out of rockville, no accidents to report, just volume delays to accompany the trip toward the lane divide. that's a check of your fox 5 on-

time traffic. it's 8:17 right now. time to take our trip deep into the smart phone zone. over the past couple of weeks we've been showing you smart phone apps that can save you time or money and just maybe be entertaining. >> today we're talking educational, steve, and informative. but just plain old fun. lauren demarco is here. and i said earlier, are we talking about movie stars? >> i hope we're not disappointing you, but it is celestial. and if you are new to the smart phone world, check this out. it's called google sky map and

it turns your phone into a window into the solar system. look at this. when you start up the app and point your phone to the sky, as you move it around, it shows you a map of what is directly above it. it looks like a bright star, but as we found out, it's actually the planet venus. and when you move it around from side to side you can see the stars around it. you can search for any planet and constellation and tap on the screen to change your view to include or not include constellations and outlines and grids. there are also a ton of great features, including a time travel mood. that sounds cool, right? you jump to any date past or present and to check out high the sky looked or will look at any given time, it will show you that. and there is also a hubble photo gallery. you scroll through the photos of galaxies and locate them on your map. and you can use your phone to see where they are in real life when you point it to the sky. and all of that right from your smart phone. and it is free. google sky map is only available for androids and iphones has another link on our website with google sky maps. and you can send us any ideas for the smart phone zone. tell us about an app you can't live without by going to myfoxdc.com and look under the

morning tab for the smart phone zone and a reminder to check out the fox 5 d.c. app. news traffic and weather available 24/7 all in the palm of your hands. also we need to mention this. if you feel like getting into the whole celestial thing, next tuesday there is a full lunar eclipse that coincides with this year's winter solstice, longest day of dark. and it's the first time -- well it's the last time it happened was under five centuries ago. >> crazy things might happen that day. >> please, steve. >> they are up in arms about this. >> that's on the 21st? december 21st. >> december 20th, 21st, something in there. >> it's a period of rebirth they say. >> i like that. and it's about time that the droid users, me and steve, get something that we have first. >> here we go. >> because you can get it on

droid but now you have to get the google sky map. >> and have to admit i was proud. >> and the competition continues. take your droids and have fun of them. and you can find plenty of apps for other star gazing as well. >> true. >> they are there. tucker keeps an eye on those. it is 8:21 right now on this thursday morning. coming up, news for parents, all dropside cribs have been deemed unsafe. they are now outlawed. we'll tell you what you need to know if you are a crib owner when we return. then later find out why some folks will be dining in the dark tonight. stay with us. fox 5 morning news will be right back. it's 8:21 now. 

ice breakers mints with icy-cool flavor crystals. ice breakers. stay cool.

the government is suing bp, the justice department is launching a lawsuit against the oil giant and eight other contractors. the white house hopes to recover billions of dollars from the largest off-shore oil spill in the history of the united states. bp has already set aside $20 billion to cover the clean-up. the obama administration wants bp to be held liable for removal costs and damages caused by this spill. a california mother with the help of a watchdog group

filing a class-action lawsuit against mcdonald's. the mother and the center for scient public interest suing mcdonald's accusing them of using toys as bait. she claims her 6-year-old wants to go to mcdonald's to get happy meals and we have to say no so many times and mcdonald's makes that so much harder to do. well mcdonald's has not yet responded to the lawsuit. the government outlawing drop-side baby cribs after the death of more than 30 infants and toddlers over the past decade. the cribs have come under fire because of malfunctioning hardware that can lead the rail to detach creating a dangerous gap where a baby could get caught and suffocate. time now is 8 clan 25. it's 22 degrees on this thursday morning. they are lurking on the foodable at your neighbor's party and they're up here on this anchor determine. germs are everywhere especially during the holiday. >> tips on how to stop the spread of peace, love and

this season. i'm just trying to spread some peace, love and joy, allison. >> just keep it on your side. we want to thank racine keens who sent us three butterflies in honor of her daughter, her son and her husband. they said it shows the start of a new beginning. what a wonderful sentiment. we'll be right back.

8:30 as we check headlinesch a man suspected of breaking into the home of mark fisher and stealing his money and his son's computer and then breaking into his son's facebook account and posting a picture of himself wearing the stolen goods, holding the stolen money on the teen's facebook page. crazy story. i hope they're able to find him.

the police are now investigating. d.c. counsel man marion barry's car was stolen over the weekend. it was taken while parked at the patricia r. harris education center with the keys still in the ignition. luckily the vehicle was found a few blocks away. everything in tact except his blackberry was missing into a transformer is now driving virginia streets. jim ort bought the car from the 2007 transformers movie. the car known as barricade in the movie. the seller delivered the car to him yesterday. it's a 2005 ford saline mustang extreme. the kind of car that guys like me salivate about. he won't say how much he paid for it but the buzz on the web is that it cost more than $100,000. but nice though, isn't it? >> really nice. the lame duck session of congress is coming to a close but the senate still hasn't passed a budget and if lawmakers don't act the government could shut down. the house already passed a

spending bill called a continuing resolution. it funds government until saturday night but in the senate conservative republicans are threatening to block it by having the nearly 2,000 pages read outline in the senate chamber. i think they call that a billy buster. >> that would take about 40 hours to get through that. it's 8:30 right now. let's check in with tucker again. snow on the way. it is on the way. remember last hour we were looking at the pink sky. we got a beautiful photograph from a viewer. take a look at that. that picture by sourcey. and it was amazing. i stepped outside, an incredible sunrise. that's sol man's bridge in st. mary's county, calvert county. so a great shot. thank you for sending that in. and that old adage is true. in the morning when you get the pink and red sky that means storminess on the way and we have it on the way in just a couple of hours. >> i think that one of my daughters said that the flat clouds -- does that mean

anything. when the clouds are flat and long? >> we're starting to see stratus clouds move in. but different clouds -- we'll keep it simple. different clouds shows different colors in the spectrum. she was right. soon that will be snow covered. >> keep sending in the photos today. let's get to the hd radar. just off to the south and west. starting in southwest virginia and virginia. and the bull's eye is to the south and west. south and west of fredericksberg that, will be where we see the most snow. but starting to push off to the north and east and it looks like it will get in here late morning and early afternoon. so you need to make a last run to the grocery market. this is not going to be a huge snowstorm, so if you want to go to the grocery store, you have a couple of hours before the snow will start to fall across the area. all right, let's move on. i want to show what you is

going on as far as the future- cast. and this will show you the forecast models showing us when the snow will move in. and again we're providing the atmosphere at 8:00 this morning. look at when it gets in. in about noon today we'll see the snow move into the washington area and by 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon, a good, steady light snow across the area which will continue into the evening rush hour. and let me mention again, with the very cold temperatures, all of the snow that falls out there, even though it's only he an inch or two, will stick to area roadways and by 8:00, 9:00 tonight it's out of here. and for tomorrow's commute, the snow may be long gone. but the temperatures will remain cold and not get a chance to melt over the next 24 hours. in fact it will be tomorrow afternoon before we get temperatures above freezing back here in the washington area. temperatures right now cold. i mean real cold. 24 at reagan national. 23 in quantico. 19 in manassas. 21 in annapolis. and 19 in gaithersburg. we're going to squeeze the atmosphere of moisture and that will give us snow totals of 1-3

inches. that 3 further so the south. and 1-2 here in the washington area. and winter weather advisory goes into effect here in washington at 10:00. winds light out of the south and east at 5 miles per hour. and there is your five-day forecast. a little sunshine, slightly warmer temperatures tomorrow. the weekend right now looks fine, although cold. and we have to watch the coastal storm saturday night and sunday morning. it will be a close call but right now we think it will stay off the coast so that is good news. still cold into early next week. >> i'll be back in a couple of minutes to take another look at the radar. allison, back to you. >> thank you, tucker. the holiday season is off to a hectic start. it always is a hectic season, going to the mall and parties. but we're exposing ourselves to more germs than we might normally. dina septembero fanty joins us live with how to stay healthy. dina, good morning. >> reporter: well good morning, allison. one of the issues is the

handshaking that we do. it's at parties or services or religious services or bumping into friends at the mall, our hands are the culprit. and a funny statistic for you, 65% of americans would rather touch a toilet seat than shake somebody's hand who is sneezing and coughing. because you can't get around the handshake, when you go to parties, one of the things that is interesting is that the air kiss especially, but if you do a light peck on the cheek, that's much less germy than the actual handshake. so you can get away with that at the party, that's a better bet. also oftentimes when we go to parties and there is food out, people use fingers to pick it up. that's a big no-no. health experts say you have to use utensils because we have bacteria on our hands and skin and that can multiply in food sitting out at room temperature. so use utensils, load up a plate and then walk away from all of that food so you are not lingering around there breathing all over the food. now when you go shopping,

that's a whole other set of issues because you have handrails, escalators, elevator buttons. one of the simple things is keep your winter gloves on and do that. push in and holding on to and then take off your gloves when it's time to eat. or, allison, oftentimes all it takes is a wipe of your eye or itch of your nose and you brought all of those germs right up into your respiratory system. so that's really the problem. and of course, everybody always wants you to have your hand sanitizer. so that's always a good idea. it's tough though after you shake somebody's hand to slyly put on your hand sanitizer. >> that is quite rude. something to think about. thank you so much. >> happy holidays. >> you too. 8:36 now on this thursday morning. new unemployment numbers coming into the news room. up next we'll have those and plus we'll reveal our job of the day. and here is a live look outdoors. we are waiting for the snow to fall out there.

early they are week we asked our facebook fans what their favorite christmas song is and bobby joe harris stewart loves hey, santa, by wilson-phillips. we'll continue to play your favorites up until christmas morning. we'll take you to break with a holiday greeting from overseas. i'm sergeant first class derek planter here in germany. mp's lead the way. i want to wish happy holidays to my loved ones in maryland and my daughter mia. i miss you.

it's 8:40. just into fox 5, applications for jobless benefits have dropped to 420,000. it's the third decline in the last four weeks. now if you are still one of the millions ever americans looking for work, don't forget about our job shob here at fox 5. today's job of the day is with tsa, the transportation security administration. looking for a security specialist in reston. the pay starts at $88,000 a year. if you would like more on this job and many others, go to myfoxdc.com and click on the job shop tab at the top of our home page. how about winning some money just in time for the holidays. gullver's travels hits the theaters december 22nd and as

big as gullver is in the movie, fox 5 is letting you win big. >> we're giving away a thousand dollars. i'd say that's big. go to myfoxdc.com for your chance to hit the jack-pot. get it. >> jack black, jack-pot. >> the rules are on your screen. you have to be 18 and a legal resident of d.c., maryland and virginia. you can enter once between now and sunday night. the winner will be picked on or about december 20th. check out myfoxdc.com to enter. good luck. >> that's great to get around the holidays as well. 8:41 on this thursday morning. we'll reveal our gift of the day coming up next. >> and it's a baby doll that coos when hooked up to your wii. we'll check it out when we come back. holly, good morning. >> reporter: allison, are you having a difficult time seeing me right now? this is what you would see if you have receiptinnitis pigment osa. it is one of the foundations is working to find a treatment and cure for. and it's why many people are

going to be dining in the dark tonight at the ritz-carlton tysons corner where we are live. we'll talk more about it and explain why the event is so important live next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. is a strawberry pop tart...

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well this is plush -- this plush baby doll might look like a throw-back. but it is not your grandma's toy. it has something attached to it. >> the nunchuk. >> this is the joy stick for baby-sitting momma. >> it's in the back. turn it around, steve. this is the re -- the remote and then this is the nun chunk you figure out how to get the baby to stop crying and to give baby a bath. the doll cries and coos at appropriate time. >> a two player mode in case your friends want to compete

who is the best baby sitter. it is $49.99 and it is rating e for everyone and you see our on screen entertainer. >> hi. i'm momma you today. this is baby uto. that's his name in the game. >> oh, it is. you didn't name him? >> no, i didn't. so this baby can go 40 activities ranging from burple -- burping, play it with at the playground and shake it -- you can't shake it, you have to swing it. and so we're going to jump right in and do the fun one, it's the race. so here is my baby right here. and i have to compete with other girls. come on, baby. he's going to have to hurry up. so this is what you do, you basically shake the thing -- or the nunchuk. >> in real life baby-sitting, you don't want it to end that way. >> you don't want to do that.

>> but it is a competition. >> and i missed the bottle. >> where is the other baby? >> left it in the dust. >> i smushed her. come on baby uto. >> suddenly baby sitter anne has turned into competitive anne. >> he's crying. oh, i bumped his head, darn. go! >> they run in a hurry. don't wish your kids were like this, allison. >> we won. >> so you are saying there is game play to this. entertainment value than just the baby-sitting value. >> and it looks like fun. >> yes. so it's a good -- it's good for both mom and baby. this is what i wanted to show you. this is the seesaw. you can burp it, swat it. >> i think it's cute.

and the little flush toy and from wii. baby-sitting momma. >> and anne doesn't have kids yet because you don't shake the babies. >> baby sitters never shake the babies. thank you annie u and baby uto. >> there is our toy of the day. it will go under the tree. we are moving on. this evening dinner guests will get a eventful evening. this is a rather unique event. a lot dinners -- a lot of dinners in the d.c. area and holly has everything you need to know about dining in the dark. >> reporter: it is a unique event. and we're here at ritz-carlton and they're used to hosting dining events and imagine them segment up a ballroom, and then when all of the guests come tonight to dine, they turn the lights out and everyone dines completely in the dark. as you can imagine, that would be a very different experience for most people.

donna burk and jody kelly are the co-chairs for tonight's event and matt mus grove is with foundation fighting blindness. good morning to you. happy holidays to you. >> thank you for having us. >> this isn't the first time you've had the event. so this clearly is a unique experience for people and i would -- dare i say, it's eye- opening for a lot of people. >> very enlightening experience. and it gives those folks that may know about the blindness, but it gives them an opportunity to see what it's like day-to-day for somebody just to go into a restaurant who -- for people like us who have low vision, when we go into a darkened restaurant, we don't really see our food at all. so they come into this and they experience finding their food, their fork, their glassware, everything. >> reporter: now both of you have retinitis pigmentosa and there may be people not familiar with that. so i want you to explain what that is. and at the same time, they have

these glasses that can help simulate what you are experiencing. soy want you at home to kind of experience that as well. so i'm going to hand these over. and as i do that, tell me about retinitis pigmentosa. >> it's a gradual -- in most cases a gradual deterioration of the retina. some of the early symptoms are night blindness and tum-- tunnel vision. so eventually the central vision closes and for some people like donna, she has very limited central vision so it makes it difficult to walk and get through daily tasks. >> reporter: and you were someone without a history of this. >> no prior family history. i had 20/20 vision. and just started experiencing difficulties or noticing i i had difficulties when i started driving. and as it progressed -- >> on the wrong side of the road far too often. but i was having trouble seeing

at night, oncoming traffic and things like that. >> reporter: matt, we're going to try to put the glasses on and you'll throw the ball to me. and talk to me about the statistics of the different retinal degenerative diseases that are out there, effecting 10 million americans and the difference that foundation fighting blindness is making. >> sure, of course. the foundation fighting blindness is doing different things. one of them, the most successful treatment that we found is through gene therapy. did you pretty good. >> reporter: now when these ladies first saw the glasses, they were like that hold hole is a little too big. there's is different and occluded. >> that didn't work well. >> reporter: it's like tunnel vision. but speak again about the difference they are making in helping to find treatments but perhaps even a cure. >> sure. right. with the gene therapy we've had the most success and that is part of the r.p.

family with the gene therapy we are finding the different ways to -- >> we're restoring vision. >> we are. we are so happy we're making enormous successes with that. >> reporter: well they're able to make the changes with what is going on here, dining in the dark. they have few spots still available. and if you are interested, go to myfoxdc.com and they have a linking to foundation fighting blindness and then you need to call them today and tell them you are interested in coming out and having this dining experience. in the next hour, the other part of this is that all of the services are -- servers are visually impaired. and we'll explain more about that in the next hour. back to you guys. >> holly, thank you very much into throughout the holiday season we're featuring a charity or organization on our show. today we're featuring teen-up, working with young people who want to make a difference in the community. >> joining us this morning, cara shooter, the founder of

teen-up and also some of the members of the organization, austin summers, good morning to you, and danny wagner. both seniors at hazel secondary school. good morning. tell us about teen-up. >> it is in the second year and we're so excited we're working with more students. the vision is to get students out about in the community doing local community projects. but we wanted them to be excited about it. and so when we meet with the students we ask them what they are interested in. when young people are asked what they are interested in, they are thinking i'm asking what the favorite subject is in school but what are you interested in? is it music, sports, fashion, cooking? and we try to start with those projects and then as a group they decide who in the community locally they want to help. reason we want them to do the projects locally is because we want them to get the value face- to-face time with community contracts.

a lot of times youth now, they are very comfortable on the phone and the e-mail, but we want them to be out and about in the community, meeting people, doing their projects for people that has a meaning to them, whether it's with animals or music or with elderly adults. that's what the vision of teen- up is and we have so many projects coming up. and two students i have here today have a wonderful project on saturday and i can't wait for them to share that. >> and the project coming up this weekend that you want to talk about and some other ways to help out to get your interests out there, which has to make you feel more energized about it if you know you are helping out with something you have personal interest in, right? >> yeah. it helps to have this kind of outside aid in order to show you what you want to do in your life. i'm looking into doing some kind of marketing and my project really helps me to see the real world application of marketing. >> also in addition to that,

austin and i are both very into music. and so that was the specific idea that we could build off of together and so teen-up allows us to do something we both enjoy and still give back to the community. >> and what is the event coming up this weekend? >> this event is a local band benefit concert at the lorton work house art center in lorton, virginia. and it's from 4:00 until 6:00. and it's for the star light mid- atlantic children's foundation which helps seriously ill children and their families cope with their illnesses as well -- through family activities and education and entertainment. >> that's terrific. and the information is on our screen. danny you have the ornament in your hand and you can add it to the fox 5 holiday tree. >> thank you all for coming in today. good luck with everything that you do. i know you guys are seniors.

good luck in the future. cara, nice to see you again. we'll be right back.

coming up on 9:00. that will do it for this hour of fox 5 morning news. one more hour to go and we'll opportunity it over to allison and gurvir for the 9:00 hour. >> steve, thank you so much. here is a look at stories we're working on for the 9:00 hour. a winter weather advisory in effect for parts of our region. when will we see snow and how much can we expect to get in tucker has your answers. that's coming up. we also want to mention we have several school closings and delays. you'll find up to the minute information on the top of your screen and on our website at myfoxdc.com. into and you can -- and the 10th season of american idol is underway. we'll let you know where the judges are and what they are saying about the contestants they've discovered so far. and here is something to tickle your funny bone. comedian paul mccurryo