the house. we'll share laughs and find out where you can catch him live. those stories and more coming up on fox 5 morning news at 9:00. >> good morning, i'm in for tony today. >> it's hard to remember. >> tony is out today. but we're dealing with the cold temperatures and tucker just gave me this big, wow, look at what i saw on the map. >> what did you see, tuck? >> you know what i saw, allison. >> no? >> could it be? it's getting ever so close. i love the first snow of the year. good morning, everybody. i have weather to show you. a viewer out in passa ponic, virginia, with snow starting to fall at her house. thank you very much katherine harris brown. that is a grill and slide in the backyard and snow starting to accumulate on her deck. so it won't be long for all of us here. starting to get light flurry activity. you'll see the snow showers on

the hd. and moving in upon us. most of this light flurry activity. the main event won't get in until this afternoon. light snow developing during the next couple of hours and steadier snow for a few hour this is afternoon. but it's getting closer and not too far away from the district. just off to the south and west we're getting light snow shower activity. want to show you the winter weather advisories. here in washington, points to the north, up to the pennsylvania border, including frederick county and carroll county now under a winter weather advisory and to the south, much of south and central virginia under the winter weather advisory and that's a winter storm warning to the south. accumulations today, the thinking is about an inch or two here in the immediate washington area. the farther north you go, the less you will see. maybe a coating of snow to about an inch near the pennsylvania border and the farther south you go toward fredericksberg and richmond, the higher the know amounts might be 3 or 4 inches across portions of the viewing area to the south. that will include southern maryland. currently 24 degrees. it is crisp out there. i just stepped out of the door. humidity 45% and winds shifting

out of the west at 5 miles per hour. light snow developing and total accumulation 1-3 inches and there could be a bonus four inches across south central virginia. and check out the high temperature, only 28. so every flake that falls for the next couple of hours will stick on roadways. could be a slippery commute. taking a look at the raid rar in a couple of minutes -- radar in a couple of minutes. allison and gurvir, back to you at the desk. road crews are out in full swing. this is video from the salt dome in alexandria this morning. trucks loading up with tons of salt to put down on roads. especially those slick side streets. >> in montgomery county they are keeping an eye on the roads hoping avoid accidents. the goal is to prep the roads in every neighborhood. d-dot has crewed outputting down brine on the main roads. that started yesterday and will continue. full deployment today. in maryland trucks have pretreated roads, concentrating on the main roads in prince

george's county and south. v-dot pretreated the roads yesterday and crews are out there now. stacy cohan is live in alexandria with more on the road situation. stacy, have you seen a flake yet? >> reporter: no flakes. i'm okay with that. they're coming i'm sure. and just to make sure they are ready here in virginia, check it out, there is a long line of trucks and plows and spreaders and they are all waiting for us. and everybody has been in a really good mood. see, he is waving. how are you going? rock on. it's the first snow of the year and we're going to grin and bear it and a good feeling to get ahead of the curve as they are doing here in d.c., virginia and maryland. and so even though there is no snow, if you look on 495 in alexandria, i spoke to an official who said there is a line of snowplows south of us stretching around the highway. they are ready, they are waiting to be deployed. so one inch, three inches, they are equipped to handle even

more because what they don't want to hear for the first snow of the year is that it was mishandled or anybody was slipping or sliding and with the potential for this coinciding with afternoon rush hour, they want to make sure they are ready. and at this point, it seems they are. and i've been doing this a long time and there have been many first snows where they aren't so ready. and i'm here reporting on how awful the road conditions are. so perhaps this will be a very good first snow for all. if it has to snow, let's not slip and side. back to you. >> we're with you, thanks. for the latest updates on traffic, westmoreland and school closings and delays, go to myfoxdc.com. you'll find all of the links on the home page and we'll post updates on facebook and twitter pages. you'll find information on where to find those pages on myfoxdc.com as well. now the other story in addition to the snow is the cold weather and the need to stay warm it may be behind the fire in maryland. smoke could be seen from the

ground floor at the complex in huet avenue in aspen hill. one woman is being treated for smoke inhalation and is expected to survive. investigators think a space heater near flammable material may have started the fire. fire investigators looking into last week's strip club fire in baltimore say it was no accident but also not saying it was arson. that fire destroyed a building that had two strip bars and damaged several nearby buildings. nobody was hurt. the atf is classifying the fire as incendiary meaning somebody started it. there is a $5,000 reward that leads to solving the case. >> today is judgment day for the army doctor who refused to deploy because he doesn't think president barack obama was born in the united states. a hearing for colonel terrance lacken has just started in ft. mead, maryland and the jury should decide his punishment by the end of the day. he faced up to 3.5 years in military prison for not reporting to duty but he now said he will deploy to

afghanistan. 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. now it goes back to the senate. democratic leaders are trying to squeeze in a vote before adjourning but there is not much time left. the president has called on congress to end the policy. we're following another developing story from capitol hill. house democrats are expected to follow in the senate's footsteps today and pass the controversial tax bill. not before trying to make a few changes though. the senate passed the deal yesterday to extend the bush era tax cuts. right now the cuts are set to expire january 1st. president obama said passing this bill is critical to avoiding serious economic damage. >> i am absolutely convinced that this tax cut plan while not perfect, will help grow our economy and create jobs in the private sector. it will help lift up middle class families who will no longer need to worry about a

new year's day tax hike. >> the deal also extends unemployment insurance benefits and drops the payroll tax. it's not smooth sailing though. house democrats have threatened to change a part of the bill regarding the tax cuts on estates. in virginia, governor bob mcdonnell announced millions of dollars in budget cuts and savings. on the chopping block is state funding for public broadcasting. the commonwealth will continue a statewide hiring freeze and eliminate some positions altogether. it's not just cuts. the governor said taxpayers will save $24 million from taking advantage of low interest rates in the issuance of recent bond packages. there is a battle brewing in montgomery county between the school system and the county government. it has to do with the budget. the school superintendent wants another $82 million from the county to cover current spending levels but the county is facing a $300 million budget deficit. some offices are using space heaters. in the $2 billion budget plan

dr. jerry weiss said he is asking for the bare minimum. >> 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. >> if the county doesn't provide the full funding, the school risks a $27 million penalty. a five-star luxury hotel could be coming to the heart of adams morgan. the project is slated for the corner of euclid and champlain streets. it will have 174 rooms, an underground parking space, bars and restaurants. but there are some concerns. people feel the ten-story hotel would be too large for the neighborhood. others say they don't want to displace anyone and a proposed $46 million tax break for the developer is not going over well with other businesses. president obama is getting

ready to talk about a timeline for u.s. troops leaving afghanistan. when we come back, more on what is being said about the state of the war. there is a battle brewing in loudoun county in the meantime. and christmas displays are at the center of it. washington post metro columnist robert mccartney will talk about the religious and anti- religious displays and what they mean for freedom of speech. and as we go to break, a live look. this is dale city virginia as we get ready for the snow here in our area. we're back in just a minute. 

making headlines this morning, a rocky -- iraqi intelligence agents are warning of terror attacks over the compass holidays. they're captured insurgents though told them al-qaeda is planning to attack targets in the united states as well as europe. there are no specific details about which countries would be attacked. the much anticipated report on the war in afghanistan shows

we are making some progress despite the bloodshed. the classified review by 16 intelligence agencies shows there are serious challenges in afghanistan. one expert tells fox 5 we're definitely making progress on the military side but not as much on the political front. >> well corruption in afghanistan and political legitimacy in afghanistan is important to building a government there. but in terms of the military effort, there is nothing more important than shutting down the safe havens in pakistan and everyone has agreed to this point now. >> today's afghanistan review says the obama's administration is on track to begin drawing down american troops next year. we have an update on the problems on the metro's red line. we've just learned that a rail is cracked at tenleytown station. that means they are sharing a track. metro doesn't know when repairs will be done.

again single tracking tend tenleytown and friendship heights. if you are planning on traveling during the upcoming holidays will you not be alone. triple-a said more people are expected to travel by plane, train or automobile between christmas and new year's this year. the agency predicts a 3% increase of the 92 million people traveling. triple-a said most people will drive and nearly 3 million will fly. >> thanks, gurvir. well religion and nonreligious or anti-religious displays at the loudoun county courthouse have people talking this holiday season. many questioning whether they are pushing the limits of freedom of speech. robert mccartney is the metro columnist at the washington post and he joins us today to talk more about this whole issue which has been going on for quite a while. >> it really got going on a couple of years ago and then sort of exploded last year and this year they've sort of set rules and the rules are you can

have ten displays and it's first come, first served. and this year it's atheists and christians. and the atheists got in first, so they have six displays scheduled during december. and the christians have four. and because the atheists were first they got the coveted corner spot which is the most visible one there at market and king streets in leesberg. >> it's a beautiful setting. >> gorgeous. >> we've been out there. and i'm trying to imagine what this looks like. and bob, you actually went out and eyeballd it for yourself. >> yes. >> it seems like it can be a lot. >> yeah, well, i was concerned before i went out there that it would be undignified or so many competing sim bombs. you have nativity scenes and christmas trees from the christians and then banners and signs from the atheists, denouncing religion, saying it's myth and superstition. and i thought there would be so much going on that it would

really look bad. and i know that the judges who work in that courthouse are very concerned. they are very worried that it's going to create the wrong atmosphere. you don't have the sober environment you want for a courthouse. but when i went there tuesday and looked at it, the lawn is pretty big. there were only four up. they have to -- there is limits on how long they can stay up. so they are taking turns a little bit. there were only four up. there are limits on the size. as i said, it's a big lawn and it wasn't that intrusive. it wasn't -- it did not destroy the sort of charming, cozy atmosphere that you get in leesberg. >> of course this speaks right to free speech. and what is your take on this, your view point as you have written in column now? >> well i think that -- i sort of like the status quo rights now. it's sort of a rousing -- i say in my column this morning, it's sort of a rousing example

locally of the commitment that you see in the country to the idea of free speech. these two sides really dislike each other. they each wish it were done differently. but a compromise was reached where everybody can express their point of view. there is equal access and clear rules to determine who gets to go where and when. it's basically who get their application in first. and so everybody gets represented. and they get the sort of contest, if you will, of philosophical messages in the public square, which is precisely what the first amendment was designed to provide. so in that sense, i think it's a good example of the success of free speech. >> what do you think it says about the good people of loudoun county, too? this is a big step. because people take their religion very seriously and their anti-religion seriously. >> i think it is fascinating

how loudoun county is developing. it's the rich county in the country, one of the best educated counties in the country and you have two strings here both getting stronger. you have row religious people, there is a strong roman catholic activist roman catholic christian movement in the county and then you also have the growing and increasingly emboldened athiest movement which seems to be certainty, according to the atheists whom i interviewed, in the information technology and sort of science sector. and they say there is a lot of government contracting jobs out there and web jobs, information technology, defense contractors, and a lot of these people are secular and they are very science oriented and increasingly they're interested

in explicitly and assertively criticizing religion and defending ageism nonbelief. and so you see the two strains on this developing county. >> and bob mccartney, we appreciate you being here. you can find the column in today's washington post. >> thank you for having me. >> gurvir, over to you. we're already in the 10th season of american idol. the judges are looking for the next best singing superstar. the last stop was las vegas and we'll find out what they have to say about the competition. and holly is getting a special treat over in case -- in tysons corner. >> reporter: we are live here at the ritz-carlton where they are gearing up for dining in the dark. everybody that comes to this event tonight will eat in total darkness and the people that will be serving at the event are actually visually impaired themselves. so how will it all work? we'll explain it all and talk about the important reason they're having this dinner, live later. >> holly, thanks. first here is today's trivia question. time's magazine has named mark zuckerberg as the person of the

year. he is the youngest person to receive that title. which former u.s. president has not been named? the answer coming up later. if you want to take a guess right now, go to our facebook page. fox 5 morning news comes back after the break. >> and as we go to a break, how about a salt dome to look at. the crews are getting ready to treat the roads as that snow that tucker has been talking about moves ever closer. we'll be right back.  ice breakers mints with icy-cool flavor crystals.

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the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate. york peppermint patty. get the sensation. an up daughter on the problems on metro's red line. we have learned that a rail is cracked at the tenleytown station. now that means trains are sharing a single track between cleveland park and friendship heights. metro doesn't know when repairs will be done. the red line is being single

tracked between cleveland park and central heights. expect delays in both directions. we'll continue to update you on this story as we get the developments into us. >> that will impact the morning commute. the snow is expected to impact the commute. is that snow i see, tucker barnes? >> yes, it is. >> that is dale city, virginia. that snow is getting mighty close. >> are we just excited about this? >> because i don't think this is a big deal. at least we hope not, any way. >> i got it. and they are getting prepared. the salt domes, we've been reporting from there. stacy cohan has been all morning long. there is one thing, we'll say this area is -- i dare say -- can we say 100% prepared. >> we're ready. >> so all of the jurisdictions have been out there getting the roads ready and that is a live look at what is happening in alexandria. >> and it will stick because it is so cold outside. we'll be prepared. >> and how about this. season 10 of american idol. just a few weeks away.

the judges both new and old are putting contestants in sin city to the test. >> it's the latest stop on an exciting adventure this season. all new judges. here is fox's adam housely. >> reporter: in less than one month american idol is back for season 10. but the competition is already in full sing as ryan and the judges took a road trip to sin city where the remaining 60 contestants who survived hollywood week were given the chance to perform on the cirque du soleil beatle's love stage. >> these kids are on fire so we moved from hollywood week to out here where they get to do their thing on the love stage, the beatle's stage and sing beatles songs. it's incredible. it's taking it up a notch. >> they're on the real stage and the whole band and you get to see who are the performers before they get in front of a live audience.

>> how are you feeling this morning? >> reporter: appearing wednesday january 19th, only on fox, the number one show has a tall order. especially with more competition shows and new judges, steven tyler and jennifer lopez sitting at the head table. >> we're all proud of what we've been doing and i think it's going to be a great season and a great show. and i think the audience is going to be pleasantly surprised. >> reporter: a judge from show one, randy jackson feels pretty confident with the real reason why the show works. >> this is the best talent. i know we say it every year. dude, i'm telling you, i know this is the best talent i think we've ever had. and i think by all of us here and all of the people, even ryan knows, this is probably the best hollywood week we've had. >> reporter: also new this season, the age limit drops to 15, making the 5-8-inch host very happy. >> it was initially designed so i would look taller at the results, i would look like an

adult and it's proven to work out well. [ singing ] >> reporter: and with a few other surprises planned this year, one contestant has always set this reality show apart from the rest. >> and we're looking for that ultimate idol season 10. the star power and unbelievable vocals, all of it and not just singing. >> in hollywood, adam housely, fox news. >> great this year. >> that look is completely different. i can't wait. again american idol season 10 premiers wednesday january 19 and it will be here just like -- [ snapping ] right here on fox 5. and when we return, get ready for a comedian, paul mccurryo will join us in studio next. but first a holiday message from our troops overseas.

>> from the japan he's -- from japan. >> happy holidays to our family in bristow, virginia. >> hi, crystal and cj. we say hi to angel. a wipe is a wipe

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individual very -- video just in. the problems on metro. we've just learned that a rail is cracked at tenleytown station. that means trains are sharing a single track between cleveland park and friendship hights. metro doesn't know when the repairs will be done. the redline is single tracked between cleveland park and friendship heights. expect delays in both directions. count on that. we'll continue to update as we learn more about this. >> and it's time now to say good morning to our facebook fan of the day. her name is artura jackson and she has a math final today and

so hopefully that goes well for you. if you want to be tomorrow's fan of the day find us on facebook by searching fox 5 morning news. and there's no space between fox and the number 5 and post a comment under her photo f. you're not a fan, become one. our goal is to have 10,000 by the end of the year. >> good luck. and we asked our fans on facebook, what is your favorite christmas song? santa baby by eartha kit got a lot of hits. shawn jackson, nathan val harvey, and we can agree she did it the best. >> oh, yes. >> we might just play the song that you like on the air. and there it is. there is your christmas present, tuck. >> it's all of us. it's beautiful for everybody. i know it's not fun to drive but it's beautiful. >> it is causing problems for school systems in our area. we have several schools that are closed or delayed today. you'll find up to the minute

information at the top of your screen and on myfoxdc.com. >> let it snow. beautiful out there. we have more weather photos. more participants in our facebook sweepstakes and see how many we can put on the air. and let's show you. we have charlie brown first. are we go fog -- are we going to look at charlie brown. here it comes. and ryan carter, another facebook fan sent in pictures in fredericksberg. >> it started down that way. >> it did. south and west down toward manassas and in fredericksberg already snows and here in washington it will be a matter of moments. and the heaviest snow, and i'm using that word loosely, will a -- will arrive during the course of the afternoon. there is the snow off to the west and to the south and moving north and east very

briskly. at first just light flurry activity but we're getting accumulating snow. not too far away down towards fredericksberg and dale city and manassas. culpeper too. you can see it pushing here very quickly to the north and east and starting to spread across the district. there is the beltway. there is light flurries falling shortly and before too long all of us will be in the snow event here. and again it will be with us for much of the day today. right through the evening commute and then quieter weather will return tonight. this is a fast-mover, doesn't have a lot of moisture but with cold temperatures it is going to stick very quickly on those roadways. so make plans here. if you don't have to travel this afternoon, probably want to take it easy. let's push on. showing you the maps here. here is your satellite radar. the area of low pressure causing us the snow event is toward arkansas. that will push south of us. so the bull's eye will stay across central and southern sections of virginia into portions of north carolina. we're on the northern edge of it. doesn't mean it won't snow. just not a whole lot of moisture pushing through. so our snow totals will be held down 1-2 inches in the

washington area. but still impressive. and our first real significant event here of the year. here is your future cast. and as of 9:00 a.m., the future cast showing the snow shower activity just off to the south and west. but you can see it quickly moves on through by noon, spreading across the area. by 4:00 this evening, the evening commute will be slippery. and any snow that does fall will accumulate. but by 7:00 tonight it's on the way out here of near. and that will hold snow totals down which is good news to get out and about later this afternoon and during the evening hours. and during the day tomorrow, things should quiet down. in fact looking at sunshine around here during the course of the afternoon. all right, snow accumulations. the bulls eye will be south and west of the washington area. in fact it's a winter storm warning across southern sections of virginia. here in the washington area, it's a winter weather advisory and we're thinking 1-3 inches. the better chance of three inches is south of the city down towarddale city and fredericksberg. if you get down 95 and lesser

amounts north. up in northern montgomery county up toward the pennsylvania border. it might just be a dusting to about an inch as you get farther north and then again 1- 2 here in the immediate washington area with more to the south. all snow, we're not expecting it to mix at any point with any rain, any freezing rain or sleet, just a snow event for us. cold temperatures. every flake will stick. 22 in annapolis. 21 in frederick. earlier ocean city was 22. and so again, southern maryland, you will get snow shortly if it is not snowing and with us throughout the day. light snow developing, cold and 28 the afternoon high. winds out of the south and east at 5 miles per hour. snow tapering to flurry. and total accumulation 1-3 inches and 25 overnight. and we'll stay freezing overnight tomorrow morning for the commute could be problems. and right now friday and saturday look fine with temperatures in the mid 30s. and we have to watch a coastal

system, a close call, it looks like right now it stays out to sea but it's a close call with temperatures in the mid 30s on sunday and monday. we'll take another look at radar in a couple of minutes. back to you at the desk. >> tucker, thank you. our next guest is an investment banker turned stand- up comic. now that is funny. paul mccurryo who became a founder of the daily show for which he's won an emmy and peabody and he and tucker barns are from rhode island. me and the tuck. >> i want him to go over and do the weather with him. i wanted you to have a cooking segment because i look cooking segments. and then you get free food and you work on it and you're hair falls into the food. >> and it's yummy. >> i'm italian. so i got you guys something from me. enjoy that. >> that's so thoughtful. >> and even watered it. >> is that okay. it's not in the way of the

camera or anything, is it? >> let me move that. >> so you're in town, this time, you were here on the big march and with the daily show. let's get this out of the way, are you surprised that your show is this movement? >> yes. i'm surprised people showed up. guys with so many jokes. guys were asking me before the rally, they're saying 100,000, 200 and i'm like probably like 10,000. because you think people initially, yeah, i'm going and as it gets closer, people are like nah, i want to watch college football. and they came. it was a lot of people. it was crazy. and so we were very surprised. we thought it would be like 10,000 people. >> but you know, you know d.c. because you used to -- you went to school here. >> i d. i went to law school here. i went to georgetown. the reason i left -- >> you must be so proud.

>> and i said i'll give my mother a heart attack by leaving wall street to be a come he'd -- comedian. and tucker can tell you there are a lot of italians in rhode island. tucker, can you not be -- can you not be on the computer while i'm here. it's going to snow. so here is my typical rhode island italian family. my cousin bobby is like the 70s in rhode island. he's like john travolta on saturday night fever. he's runs numbers and sells car alarms and it gets better. car alarms he stole out of other people's cars. and this is how he came dressed to my father's funeral, flor ensent orange silk shirt and unbuttoned and gold chains. he's a cream sickle with chest

hair. and you have to put powder on your feet to keep them dry and bobby put too much powder so every time he would step toward the casket, puffs of white smoke would come out of the shoes. >> but this is somebody a child would like. you're a family guy. >> and you have little ones too and it's tough to go on the road and before i left my son is daddy, can i show you this, he said daddy, good luck and he gives me his favorite dinosaur. isn't that cute. he's 15 and -- [ laughter ] >> what is his name? >> his name is alice. [ laughter ] >> and you have a 15-year-old? >> no. just him. he's actually 11. and i know you have some young ones. it's goes by fast. that's the cliche. you can remember when he started walking. just a year ago. he would walk ten feet and then

sit and walk ten feet and then sit. i realized he's a security guard. >> and did he sleep a lot too? >> and my wife is great. tucker and i -- my wife is from rhode island and we think that my wife's father might have delivered tucker because my wife's father on ob/gyn. >> i'm doing the research right now. dr. potter, call your mom and see if dr. potter -- you would know because he would smoke while he delivered babies. so if you have a little burn mark on your butt from ash, that would be my father-in-law. >> we're not done are we? >> we have to end it there because we want to tell people you're at the improve. because i'm crying. that was hilarious. >> are you going to come? >> are you going to give me tickets, because you know. >> you make $700,000 a year. >> this is the down economy. that's not the truth. >> you're going to come. >> do you like this?

>> paul is at the improv until sunday night. >> please come. >> if you have tickets i'll be there. >> i have one ticket for one of you. >> we'll duke it out. >> i live like -- in timbuktu. >> it's great for the 2-year- olds. >> tell me about it. >> come. thanks for having me. >> see paul at the improv. he's there until sunday. information on the website. if you are having friends or family over for the holidays. you should check out our garden grow segment. our favorite landscaping expert derek thomas is here and he has ideas that are -- >> i'm hungry. >> i know. but look at this trivia question and see if you can answer. which former u.s. president has not been named the person of the year. is it bush, gerald ford, jimmy carter or eisenhower? the answer is coming up answer. so you think about that one? >> okay.

i didn't know i was going to be quizzed. >> there you g. snowing outside. dale city, virginia, you're seeing it right now. and it's just probably moments away, tucker says, from the immediate d.c. area. >> tucker, put your pants on, you have to get to work. wa

it is time for our garden grow segment. our favorite gardening expect derek thomas is here to talk about just decking the halls. and really deck our ating our homes for the holidays. even though it's just nine days left until christmas. >> it's unique ideas to take some decor that you would use elsewhere and repurpose it. >> great. >> it's time for the dinners. the holiday dinners are coming up. what about if you were to turn a wreath and a miniature poinsettia ora -- or a grouping

of them into the perfect holiday centerpiece for the table. >> that's gorgeous. >> yes, i took the wreath at the centerpiece and what i did was i just sit the plants until the center of the wreath and that's the centerpiece for your table. >> look at that. that's easy. >> now suppose you are invited to someone's house and you're in a pinch. get out there. the holly berry this is year are loaded, the holly trees are loaded with wonderful berries. i got these ornaments and i filled the basket with garland from a craft store. and how about a host gift. >> it's wonderful. and if you don't find the basket, if you don't find the right color, spray paint it. >> you can absolutely spray paint it. and now the other thing that is fun if you have a big family and entertaining and you want to get that pop, take garland -- this is garland that would you normally see draped around doors or columns or what have you, what i've done with the

garland here, gurvir, is i've made it actually our holiday centerpiece for the table. >> that's great. >> use that, you've got your place settings around it, i've even run a couple of lights in it. and i'm going to have you help me put the last finishing touches on it. i use the glue gun so if grandma has too much sherry she is not knocking into the ornaments too bad. and we just place that right in there. >> that's great. >> and we have some tea lights and you're good to go. >> and you know what, this is one of my favorite things to use. >> that ribbon is fabulous. one of the green gifts they have this holiday and this is for you and the girls, this is an amar illis kit. and if you have somebody on your secret santa gift, it comes with the bulb, a little disk of pete moth and it's lined so you use this as the planter so in january people

will remember you. wonderful host gift. it looks like you worked to put it together but it was premade. >> and all of the ideas are simple. think about -- think about thinking outside of the box when it comes to decorating. thursday something like a door wreath into a ornament. this little guy right here, this is a sleigh. and what we did was, we once again, extra holly, some green and some bows. >> beautiful. thank you. as always, we appreciate it, derek. back to you. they say if you lose one sense, your others will become stronger. that's the idea behind a unique dining experience happening in tysons corner and holly is there to explain. holly, good morning. >> reporter: hey, allison. this is a unique dining experience. and in fact, it actually is something that happens around the nation. we'll talk more about it when we come back after the break.

is that what we are doing? mmmm... this is so good!

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the foundation fighting blindness is giving you a rare glimpse into what it's like for millions of people living with vision loss. holly is enjoying a dining experience at the ritz-carlton this morning. >> reporter: clearly i've been in the dark about how we're doing this. this is a unique dining experience. it is not a one of a kind dining experience. this is something that goes on around the facing and even around the world. and there are two parts. there are people coming here tonight and have a regular cocktail hour and then they will be brought in here and then all of the lights will go out. and it will be totally dark and they will have to eat their dinner in the dark. at the same time, the other part of this are the servers. the servers are not ritz- carlton staff. they are people that are visually impaired and have been

trained to serve and they get the help from ben who works for a company that put on these dining if the dark events across the nation, right? >> we do, yes. >> reporter: and you even have restaurants in california where this is a regular thing. >> that is correct. we're open all of the time and offer this to anybody that wants to enjoy darkness. >> reporter: and that's amazing in a fascinating concept. but explain how you go about training its servers to make this work. >> well they -- it takes about 8-9 hours to get them ready for the half hour that we serve in the dark. and there are different means and things in place here. one of them is this rope and the little tape which indicates that right next to that is this chair which tells them that is your chair number one so it will be dark so even the visually impaired servers don't have any perception and it's all working by landmarks. so everybody that moves around this venue will be using landmarks and their memory to

get around and find the tables to be able to serve. >> and when you say it's dark, people are like, oh, they just lower the lights but it is pitch black. >> you cannot see your hand in front of your face. >> reporter: so all of the doors are sealed off, no one is allowed to bring phones or any kind of light at all? >> no. >> reporter: since you've been a part of this before, what do you get as a response from people? >> well the first response is, wow, this is really dark. we told them before, but then it really strikes them how dark it actually is. and not many people have been in a dark environment as dark as that. >> reporter: and try to function in it? >> exactly. >> reporter: and they don't even know what they are eating, right? >> no. it's a surprise for them. we disclose at the end because it's really about not only the experience with the servers. it's about also the personal experience. do i really recognize my food if i don't even know what it is. >> your other senses take over. >> reporter: thank you so much. myfoxdc.com is our website. the whole point of the dinner

is to raise money for foundation fighting blindness. you can make a difference by coming out to this dinner. they only have a couple of seats left so if you are interested in tonight's dinner, dining in the dark, go to our website. we have a link to theirs and then you need to call them this afternoon and get your tickets. back to you all in the studio. >> they do great work. my dad retired from the tennessee school of the blind and my mother taught there and they do wonderful work. >> thanks, holly. we'll have the answer to today's trivia question coming up next. 

set your pace to island time. rich chocolate over creamy coconut. almond joy and mounds. enjoy more. time for the answer to today's trivia question. the only president not named time magazine's person of the year was gerald ford. since the list began in 1927, every serving u.s. president has been a person of the year at least once except for colvin coolidge, hoover and ford. >> fascinating. >> it's snowing. it's starting to snow across the area. a lot of pictures. thank you