controversy straight ahead. >> plus women at war, for more than a decade thousands have fought 13 some died on the front lines but not in combat that could soon change details about a shift in gender rules fox 5 morning news at 7 starts now. hey, a nice shot of the moon i love it. >> it is still full. >> i would saithe but i am no tucker barnes. >> it looks folsom times it is not it is thursday february 9th, 2012 good morning i am tony perkens. >> i am alison seymour and we do have a school delay to pass along to you before we get to tucker barnes. page county virginia schools will open two hours late a two- hour delay for page county virginia school. >> tucker is here to update us on the improving weather conditions. >> should be beautiful you

mentioned the full moon was february 7th but still nearly full beautiful too is the setting. sunrise should be beautiful highs later today, upper 40s there is your sentinel sat rad storminess out of here off to the north and east and just a few clouds left over as you start your morning but again we should see the sun build in later today with plenty of quiet for our thursday with warmer temperatures right now, chilly, 33 at regan national, let me mention those breezes out of the north and west, 10 miles per hour it will be breezy at times today as that snow continues to exit north and east just be ready for the breeze here otherwise good looking forecast. 48 washington 50 your high frederiksburg. 44 your afternoon high in hagerstown more details on the forecast, we have an arctic front on the way details coming

up julie wright as your latest. >> all right tucker barnes getting busy on the roadways we started off with a little get along route 50, maryland, that accident activity has cleared now we will say good morning to the crew in sky fox as you work your way northbound you will find lanes are open, north of the belt way no incidents to report just heavy volume you will find lanes are on the belt way, leaving 236 to 66. taking it back inside we need to update the ride back if town inbound new york avenue here at florida, with a we are watching is a close up of accident activity, approaching the left side of if roadway, expect delays coming in east northwest lanes are open southbound 270, heavy out of gaithersburg, south of 117, out of 270. >> all right julie thank you

very much new this morning prince georges county police are investigating an overnight homicide they say a man was shot along 61st place in river dale he was brought to the hospital in serious condition and later pronounced dead. the incident was reported just before midnight no word on a possible suspect or motive. in virginia, a first responder ends up in need of rescue himself. >> while on the job at a car fire along 395, he fell some 20 feet off of a bridge, fox 5s. stacey cohan live in arlington with more stacey good morning. >> good morning we are near the scene where this happened, 4- mile run a creek that runs through this part and you can see 395 off in the distance, behind me the incident happened 6:30 p.m., last night during rush hour, ems responded to a car fire among the responders,

35-year-old paramedic josh whitesman he was on that overpass when at some point it remains unclear exactly how he slipped off the roadway. as one of the medics exited the vehicle, that person fell approximately 20 feet off the roadway and into the creek below additional dispatched to treat that medic, that medic was treated extricated and transported to area hospital with serious injuries. >> now the creek appears to be somewhat shallow there are a lot of rocks it was a tremendous fall they shut down the roadway for quite some time creating major traffic confusion but they had to get down there to bring this medic out he did have serious injuries he is in critical condition. reporting live stacey cohan back the you. some of this mornings other top stories a man accused of

sexually assaulting an 11-year- old girl at ketch um elementary school is behind bars t 21- year-old was arrested yesterday wood walked into the school last week asked the girl to escort him to a classroom where he allegedly inappropriately touched her. >> testimony is under way in the murder trial of uva lacrosse player george hughly, they provided two radically different theories how yeardly love died in 2010. the prosecution says she suffered massive injuries when hughly burst into her apartment grabbed herbie the neck and banged her -- herbie the neck and banged her head against the wall. defense says she suffocated in her pillow. they say jury should consider

involuntary manslaughter not first degree murder. continued backlash over a plan to force churches to provide contraceptives. a look at both sides of this debate. >> reporter: we are going to hear more about this today with a number to have president's supporters backing his plan but the criticism has been intense. officially the president is holding firm. >> the president is committed to ensuring women have access to contraception, without paying any extra cost no matter where they work. >> in fact the president had to reassure democrats in congress he is not waiverring and some leapt to his defense. >> it is medicine. and women deserve their medicine. the white house is taking all kinds of heat on this new rule from the department of health and human services. it would for example require that the catholic church set aside its religious opposition

to birth control and provide it to em employers of its schools and hospitals. >> tonight is your answer. >> catholic voters were a big part of the president's vote four years ago. but several prominent democrats and independent, joe lieberman are openly critical of the plan. on the campaign trail, republicans see an opportunity. >> i will restore and protect our religious liberty. >> republican house speaker john boehner threatened to step in. >> if the president does not reverse the departments attack on religious freedom then congress acting on behalf of the american people and constitution that we are sworn to up hold and defend must. >> the president is willing to discuss how this plan is implemented but he is not willing they say to back down. in washington, doug luzader, fox news.

gift to the president from house republicans, house of representatives passed a bill giving president obama line item veto that would allow him to remove specific items from spending bills 57 democrats joined 197 republicans the bill now goes to senate but there appears to be little appetite for it in the democratic controlled senate it is unclear if it will ultimately pass. on the campaign trail mitt romney is vowing to get more aggressive after a pour showing in tuesday's primary and caucuses he spent the day after campaigning in atlanta. rick santorum, turned his focus to the delegate rich state of texas the primary there is 2 months away but with momentum in his court, he is looking to broaden his appeal. >> there is not a management problem in washington dc there

is a more foundational problem. >> i am the only guy who hasn't spent time in washington rick santorum was a mayor ear marker. >> we thing we can beat senator santorum. overall the delegate count shows romney with a commanding lead but santorum is now his closest rival, newt gingrich continues to lose steam. they are all expected to deliver speeches tomorrow at the annual conservative political action conference which starts today here in the district. ron paul will not attend the c pack instead his son, will speak this afternoon. president obama will speak at a campaign event at a private residence here in dc first he will host the italian prime minister today. they will sit down to talk about a wide range of global issues including afghanistan, mideast and north africa, and what italy is doing to restore

confidence amid-europe's financial crisis. >> 9 minutes after the hour, 33 degrees on thursday morning checking in for a flight just got more convenient we will explain that. >> the role women play in the military is about to change why the pentagon is moving them closer to the front lines of war. >> plus, putting money back in the pockets of struggling homeowners major announcement due today, that is expected to do just that, more on the mortgage relief deal coming up pgh >> as we head to break there is a live lookout side we showed you the moon a few moments ago here comes the sun. we will get the latest weather and traffic from tucker and julie coming up now 10 minutes after 7 

we are asking for the un to help us the arab league to help us anyone. a sixth day of relentless assaults, this morning another 60 reported killed yesterday rebels say on average more than 100 people have died each day since the bombardment started last friday as the country's president tries to crush pockets of decent. many areas have been under the power of army defectors. under the microscope, release of terror suspects from guantanamo bay they released and or transferred 600 prisoners believed to be an acceptable threat only to have 27% of them reengage in terror or insurgent activity the report by republicans was by the house armed service committee, it comes as the

current administration considers whether to release several afghan taliban prisoners from guantanamo. >> the u.s. could get its first nuclear power plant since 1978 a georgia based utility is asking for permission to build two new clear reactors in the eastern part of the state a vote is set today if approved they could begin operating in just a few years. and there is a little good news if you are a frequent flyer more travelers will be eligible to enrol in a test program so they can get through airport security with less hassle 28 additional airports around the nation will participate including dulles, bwi marshall and regan it allows certain passengers to keep shoes and belts on when they go through security the thicks we are -- things we are happy for these days. >> sign me up though. >> i know. >> please. >> yeah >> i hate taking my shoes off then i realize it is embarrassing.

>> you got to make sure the socks match. >> no holes. >> i am with you. >> done it before. >> travelling today. >> it is crazy. all right sir, so we survived yesterday. >> weather didn't turn out to be much of a hassle. >> no. >> clever, i have been at it for like three hours today. so let's get right to the forecast gain we have light accumulations off to the north and west a coating of snow to 2 inches if you are well off to the north and west much of the area just got rain some people were disappointed about. 33 right now washington it will be a beautiful day for us, as our high temperatures will once again be back -- this is the new normal upper 40s to 50s and we will do that again later today colder air off to the north and west 21 chicago, international falls 17 degrees much colder the reason i mention the colder weather guess what that is heading our direction for the weekend a

little arctic blast. later tonight and saturday, all right our storm system from yesterday you can see it's of boston it is out of here high pressure will build in give us a lot of sunshine a little bit of a breeze out of the north and west, upper 40s to 50s. should be comfortable i mentioned that arctic blast friday night and there could be a coastal component to the storm by early saturday morning if that happens we could have enough moisture around, have a wintery mix around here that is looking more likely now than it did 24 hours ago so something to lookout for otherwise, generally, a decent forecast. 48 today, 49 no problems tomorrow an early saturday morning mix. high temperatures this weekend, 36 sunday. >> cold. >> thank you sir. >> julie wright with an update on traffic. >> good to see all of you once again checking out the ride coming from the west not only does the belt way slow leaving

bradock to 66 as you dies travel eastbound accident activity on the shoulder a tow truck on the scene with this incident lanes are open spotty delays out of manassas, in the direction of centerville nor slow traffic, 2100 fair oaks and finally the last two miles to the belt way, heavy slow and steady, also back inside and update the ride elsewhere if you are continuing to make your way along 2 5, you are leaving -- 295, you are leaving the belt way, accident activity reported there, that is where i have a stalled car tieing up the left side of the highway, southbound 270, falling out of gaithersburg more delays as you head out towards the lane divide that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. >> pentagon is getting set to announce new military rolls for women. >> they will let women serve closer to front lines, sarah similar monos is back with

more. alison and -- simmons is back with more. >> alison and tony, the pentagon will make recommendations to let women serve in jobs closer to the battlefield although women have been working closer to front lines as medics, military police, intelligence officers in iraq and afghanistan over the last decade they will not serve as infantry soldiers in tanks or special operations forces but will allow them to serve at the battallion level until now those were considered too close to combat so women could for example fly helicopters or give medical assistance the biggest changes are expected in army and marine corps which have banned women from more jobs the navy and airforce do. the report was supposed to be out last spring and comes almost a year after the independent panel called for the pentagon to list the ban. big changes on the front lines

there. >> thank you. >> u.s. military personnel will have access to healthier foods thanks to the first lady, later today michelle obama and pentagon officials will ensure healthier foods on military bases, under the new obesity and nutrition awareness campaign dining halls will serve more fruits, vegetables, whole grain it is first program in 20 years to improve nutrition standards across the armed services. now 7:20 a.m., teens and tanning beds sure to be a hot topic in maryland today no pun intended. details about a new bill targeting minors next. >> help is on the way we told you about this yesterday the nations biggest mortgage lenders agree to a deal to help struggling homeowners we will tell you more about that. >> a little later steps a beautiful landscape annie yu is standing by with derek thomas why it is best to prune in winter, and show us how to get

started with that. we will be right back 

we have updated information about that deal to help struggling homeowners as of last night new york and california joined 40 other states to a settlement worth as much as $25 billion over deceptive foreclosure practices we just learned virginia will officially join the settlement today. now if this goes through, bank of america, jp morgan chase, wells fargo, city bank and alleyed financial will have to lower mortgage balances for 1 million homeowners and more than a billion dollars of the settlement will be used to pay victims of wrongful foreclosure the deal gives banks immunity from lawsuits because of robo signing where in some cases employees signed foreclosure papers they had not read or

used fake signatures. >> you may be stashing away more money into your 401 k retirement plan but doesn't mean you are getting an immediate reward fidelity investments the biggest administrator says the average account balance was essentially unchange last year despite an increase in employee contributions investment performance and fees paid to raise the money are some factors contributing to the problem. to a health alert scientists are look into a new study that found an electric boost could help the brain learn better the hope is it could some day help alzheimers patients keep more of their memory. participants remembered locations better in a video game if their brain was zapped mildly with electricity. deep brain stimulation is used

to treat parkinson's disease. one maryland state lawmaker wants to ban teens from using tanning beds, the senator will present his bill to the finance committee he says minors are not truly considering the risks associated with the ultraviolet light. anyone under 18 would be prohibited from using an electronic tanning bed even with paren it will permission. 7:26 a.m., funny man will farrell making the rounds on the internet this morning for what he did in the big easy last night. gop presidential race heats up here in the nations capital candidates in town for cpac 2012. coming up next. >> as we head to break a live lookout side not a bad looking picture hey, there is the moon again. >> it may be the camera. >> i see it that is the moon

right. >> it is. >> tucker barnes will be here, julie wright will tell us what is happening on the roads stay with us fox 5 morning news will be right back 

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number 5, he still lives with his mother carlos boozer. you may recognize his voice there, that is funny man will farrell he did the player announcements at last night's bills hornets game in new orleans as you heard he added a bit of stick to each one the names were correct everything else he said was made up i would like to hear more of that >> i wonder how they tapped him to do that that was random. >> great idea. >> all right. >> i feel bad for him he has the pressure to be funny all the time. >> yes, he does. >> have you met him before? >> i don't think so. >> because i was wondering what his energy was like some times you meet comedians you expect them to be a certain way >> my belief about him he is mild mannered if he is not on. >> all right. okay. >> the best when they come in and they are kind of funny like they are like richard lewis.

>> we have two comedians today, rain pryor and mark price are both coming in we will have them in later. >> when i heard mark price when you said it was sippy from family ties. >> dad is richard pryor. >> right now we are talking weather. >> we are talking a nice forecast sunshine back today, upper 40s, going to be breezy,. >> check that. >> no presip. >> no presip, no mixed presip no snow today, in fact let's get right to it, i want to show you full accumulations alison got nothing tony got a coating i got a mix but it never touched the ground i wasn't terribly impressed. >> neither was i it was really coming down at one point >> it was beautiful but it did not amount to a whole lot, frost burg 1.2 inches,

damascus, herndon a half inch a trace at regan national and 2/10ths of an inch if you are keeping track out at dulles yesterday afternoon so not terribly impressed with snow totals but a few more chances here still february see what happens as you get into the middle and end of the month 33 washington i will mention one more time and then let it go off to the north and west a few icy spots, temperatures at or below freezing you got a bit of a snow pack you could have a few slippery spots, 27 gaithersburg, 30 dulles, 28 right now in frederick, should be a nice day should be a very mild afternoon, that being said, it will be a little breezy winds out of the north and west as our storminess is off to the north and east high pressure will build in a nice afternoon chilly tonight clear skies and then friday looks fine this weekend looks interesting let me show you the weekend. mostly sunny breezy at times

today 48 your daytime high winds out of the north and west, clear, chilly tonight, seasonably cool, lows upper 20s, 30s. tomorrow we wake up with sunshine. 49. cloud up late in the day an arctic front that will be making its way toward the area friday evening early saturday and there are some indications looking more likely we will get a coastal low. if that does happen we could have a rain snow mix around here early saturday watch for that and temperatures on the cold side only 30s for the weekend that is weather traffic julie wright has your latest. >> all right let's get to it coming inbound through northeast washington a few moments ago police activity tieing up your drive in, new york avenue, all that activity gone lanes open, heavy and slow from the brent wood parkway. there you are going to find lanes are open earlier stalled car we had has been moved out

of the the roadway a slow ride naval research lab, checking for accident activity this neck of the woods, 24 miles an hour your average speed stalled car, mid-span, tieing up the line that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. today marks the first day of the annual conservative mitt call action conference cpac more than 10,000 participants will gather for cpac referred toss a ground zero for the fight -- to as ground zero for the fight in the republican nomination. seems that it is very important tell us about cpac and how much weight it does carry >> it does carry a lot of weight going back to 1973 when governor ronald regan kicked off the first conference this has been an annual conclave for

conservative activists around the country republican candidates and up and coming politicians when i leave you alison i will be going to a press breakfast for senator marco rubio and then a speaker early in the morning what is most interesting you have seen the dispar rate units from libertarians, to cultural and economic conservatives come and the tea partiers of late it grows every year. >> what i find most interesting all of the players in this nomination process, they will be there, so what is the tone, what is the mood almost like a competition a popularity contest what will their speeches be like how would their message get across to try to get the people in attendance to say that is the guy that i want to vote for, come election time this year. >> well, i think if they say something different and they focus on issue, i know a lot of

people certainly admire mitt romney for example for his background, his education, his personal life, his honesty but at the same time people are saying let's talk a little bit about what you would do as president, and certainly, newt gingrich who has been controversial in the other areas has said what he will do as president so i think that will be more the focus on speakers let me add some of those who did not make it, in the early presidential sweep stakes will be there, michelle bachmann is set to speak as well. >> rick perry will be there as well. >> yes, rick perry and ron paul will not be there but represented by his son, senator ran paul of kentucky. >> after rick santorum's huge upset three of those contests he will be there too does he take that momentum in there, he says he is the conservative

alternative to president barack obama, what does he need to do to get his message across. >> rick santorum certainly has moved a lot of people for his passionate cultural conservativism, strong feelings to the issue of life on the other around his record as an economic conservative has been criticized he voted for the prescription drug bill under the bush administration, no child left behind bill, spending votes preserving the americorp program i you would who have to say -- i would have to say i see a pattern with rick santorum, newt gingrich a little bit with john huntsman a little bit like jimmy carter for the democrats, 1976 or nix on in 1968 that mitt romney is going through he is the front runner i think i would be less than honest with you if i didn't say he looks like the candidate, who would oppose

president obama, but that said, many within his own party have doubts 1976, senator frank church of idaho and a fellow named jr.ry brown -- gerry brown started to win primaries late because people had doubts gerry brown wonder what happened to him on the republican side, richard nix on looked strong at the beginning a lot of candidates backed down including mitt romney's father governor george romney but then, nelson rockefeller got in the race won a primary, ronald regan became california's favorite son, but in the end, just wasn't enough and it was a little late for them to stop the front runner. >> you mentioned newt gingrich, where is newt gingrich in all of this and is it now really a race between the two front runners, mitt romney, rick santorum. >> i am not sure at all one thing i found is that it changes all the time. the great philosopher, casey

stingle used to say never make predictions out of the future i got out of the predicting game at the beginning of the year it looked like a contest between ambassador huntsman and perry, newt gingrich was an asterisk he came back in south carolina and we were talking about him in a big way now we are talking about rick santorum who knows it may be ron paul tomorrow seems we are always talking about mitt romney >> i am sure you have a busy couple days with cpac here in town hopefully we see you soon here on the show, john, the political editor with human events. >> thanks alison always a pleasure. >> tony over to you. >> such a nice man thank you both. >> it is now 7:39 a.m. thinking about making a donation to your alma mater. wait until you hear what some generous donors are getting in

return. >> plus ... >> this little girl fights off a suspected kidnapper and it was all caught on tape, that dramatic story is next but first, today's my fox half off deal, $49 gets you $200 worth of custom framing services from the framing studio on connecticut avenue northwest just go to myfoxdc.com look for the my fox half off on the right side of the beige you will find it there stay with us, it is 7:40 a.m.

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an attempted abduction caught on camera it happened at a wal-mart store yesterday in georgia a 25-year-old pa row lee tried to take a 7-year-old girl from a toy aisle security shows the man carrying the girl away and releasing her after a struggle he was arrested a short time later. another victory for gay marriage supporters, washington state is about to become the 7th state to allow same sex unions the legislation is

headed to the governor who is expected to sign it into law next week. forget football fields and auditorium plaques restrooms are being dedicated to those who donate to their alma mater, at harvard this is named after a man who made a $100,000 donation to the school and the bathroom donations are not limited to harvard an mit alum donated, 25,000 dollars to university of colorado for a bathroom endowment. before we judge this everybody has to go use the bathroom,. >> okay here is the thing if you give money to a school it is wonderful to do that wouldn't you want more than a bathroom named after you for $100,000. >> is it really named after you? >> it is a plaque you know what you should get preferential. >> you probably have your own stall. >> there you go.

>> get out of there this is my bathroom >> i would just say thank you to william folic for this convenient restroom. >> i am with tucker. $100,000 you want something -- you can name almost anything get a hallway or something. >> yeah. >> okay. >> right a bathroom? >> hey, everybody uses it. >> here is what they will start doing, schools need money they will break it down to you can get this stall,. >> i wouldn't want a stall but a whole bathroom. >> maybe if it is a nice bathroom temperatures -- i know some bathrooms i would not want my name in front. >> some in this building. >> can i name one or two in this building. it is cold start to your day, should be a nice afternoon temperatures upper 40s sunshine, all right let's look off to the north and west columbus, 18 this morning detroit 23, cold irair going to move in as -- colder air going

to move in as we get into the afternoon, chilly weekend high temperatures saturday and sunday only in the 30s so get ready for it there is your high pressure cool start to your day a lovely afternoon as i mentioned temperatures a few degrees above normal bitter cold on the way that front will get in here tomorrow night it will hang up south and east of us, there is indication we will get an area of low pressure developing off the carolina coast, saturday morning and that moisture getting trained up into the cold air we may have a wintery mix early saturday, that is a change in the forecast from 24 hours ago looking more impressive otherwise just cold, highs in the 30s again, a nice one today. >> that being said no rain. >> no, dry today. >> all right. >> private joke there. >> so uncalled for alison. >> what is happening >> i can't help it. >> hey, julie. >> why am i the only one who

ever gets the mic turned off. >> i will do the tony and that's it. all right. on the roads right now, not a bad commute, decent kennel worth avenue outtowards east capital street all lanes are open stalled car, on pennsylvania avenue, new hampshire avenue below speed college park headed to silver spring. 395 heavy, slow and steady, landmark to king street that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. all right julie thank you prince harry can now add apache attack helicopter pilot to his resume he is now qualified to fly apaches on exercises in the uk over the last year and a half he has been assessed to make sure he was capable of flying the attack helicopters yesterday the defense ministry said the prince won the prize for best copilot gunner in his

class. >> good for him >> all right. >> you know i am going to make a commitment to my yard and garden. this year, so if you are also looking to spruce up your garden get started the day. i probably won't do that today. >> not today. >> annie yu is getting a lesson in pruning. >> alison, good morning tony, alison i seem to recall you saying that last year. >> don't worry about it annie i am doing it this year. >> we are live here in bethesda maryland now is the time to start pruning your garden, it is 35 degrees certain areas here 33, why now? we are going to find out after the break, derek thomas with thomas landscapes, he joins me now our personal guide you don't want to go any where pgh >> we want to say a special good morning to mary lee our facebook fan of the day she

turns 55 years old happy birthday, she says she loves seeing wisdom sitting at the anchor desk love that. if you would love to be tomorrow's fan of the day search fox 5 morning news, and then post a comment under her lovely photo love you in that red have a great day 

this script seems to require reading it in a special voice. now is the time to start thinking about pruning those plants in the garden >> our annie yu is spending our morning with our garden guru, derek thomas, learning basic steps the pruning she is in bethesda i am not sure what tony was going for but it does feel important annie. now is the time. >> reporter: yes, and derek thomas is here on location with us our garden expert good

morning. >> good morning annie. >> isn't this fun we get to hang out. >> absolutely. and the weather is perfect. >> i don't know about perfect >> this is the perfect time for pruning it may be too cold for hanging out. >> let's talk about that it is 33 degrees. >> what you want to do first of all when you are pruning you want to make sure you are doing it the right way you want to make sure you are pruning with a purpose and it is better to prune most plants when it is dormant because you are going to have less insects that will infiltrate the fresh cut and the plant is dormant so you can truly see what is going on if there is any problems you can try to fix that. >> okay before we begin we have to talk about the all important tools. >> this is what is called a bypass pruner the blade bypasses a thick spot this is a sheer. >> the mac daddy. >> that you will be using soon with the bypass you are able to get in here where there is cuts

that are bad you are able to clean it up. >> man those are sharp >> anything like this and kind of gnarlly see how that is broken you want to take that away to fresh wood any wood that is dead clean that up it will never regrow on an evergreen. >> okay now look over here there is icicles. >> well, the ice is a little bit of mother nature from yesterday, now after you have kind of cleaned it up and gotten rid of any of those gnarly spots like that one there you want to with these sheers annie help me it is just a very very thin layer that we are removing, because what we are doing is shaping, so you don't really want to go into the wood you want to stay right on top, and kind of keep the plant in shape. >> man this is good. >> it is right. >> i want to design my shrub into a puppy. >> that is what top area is all about but one thing to make

sure when doing shrubs like this don't take a free that is a big tree like this, alberta spruce and try to make it a little poodle okay. >> right >> because it is always going to want to grow tall. >> right. >> this is very much -- it likes to be pruned like this. that tall produce will not. >> okay so you have to know your plants and the way it grows. >> absolutely. >> and direction and width moving on the grasses. >> a lot of people want the prune their grasses in late fall. don't do that because it will actually -- it will -- the grasses never truly go dormant if we look down on to here we can see that underneath here there is some blades of grass that are nice and green. okay. so now what we have done to make this a little bit easier, because i have seen people that start to prune at it like this and then they have a mess of grass, what i want to tell the viewers the best way to do it, use string like this get this

at any garden center, tie the grass n two places like that, so that it is bound then put these two together, so that you've got a carrying strap and annie, you are going to help me with this with your big pruner over here what i want you to do, just a little at a time watch here you go in, you cut, you go in you cut. >> holy mackerel. >> go in and cut. >> there you go. >> oh, man. that takes some muscles check out myfoxdc.com for some of these tips and get your pruning on. back to you in studio. >> pruning with a purpose. >> when you are done you can carry it away. >> they are having too much fun. >> annie is relieving some type of anger or stress. >> getting a work out and getting her gardening done. >> next hour a closer look at standardized tests in the district did the school system do enough following a scandal

involving fake test results, robert mccartney joins us live. are you looking to lose weight stop letting the scale run your life the advice the fox medical team has for you they have alternative ideas to make sure you are on the right path to reaching your weight loss goals. >> and this is special coming up in our 9:00 a.m. hour, former fox 5 morning news anchor, lark mccarthy will be live with us in studio. >> we have had her on the phone before had herbie skype this is the first time since she left almost five years ago already she will be back here live with us in studio we will let you know how you can still see lark on tv stay with us we will be back 

[ yelling ] >> they stole our money. >> we have a fox 5 follow up to a story we have been following all week more people angry with a tax return service hear from both sides ahead this hour. new study shows americans are getting way too much

sodium. we will check out the foods that you are eating that contain the most salt you might thing it is something like potato chips but it is not. and we have a special treat for you this morning former fox 5 morning news anchor, lark mccarthy will be with us live in studio in our 9:00 a.m. hour we have had her on the phone before and by skype as i mentioned a couple moments ago this is the first time since she left the show almost five years ago she will be back here with us in studio we will catch up let you know how she is doing and how you can still see lark on tv. looking very forward to that good morning i am tony perkens. >> i am alison seymour it will be nice to see lark back here again. that is coming up later >> i cannot believe it has been five years. >> time flies really does. >> wait until you hear what her daughter is doing in all of that you think time flies wait until you hear about that. >> coming up later. >> what is going on tuck. >> forecast looking fine, sunshine returning high temperatures back in the upper

40s, breeze here out of north and west, no presip, no wintery mix of any kind in the forecast today. >> kind of becoming the norm around here 40s, kind of expect that now. >> with sunshine. i know we have gotten spoiled. >> it is normal, 40s. normal. >> mid-40s. >> 33 washington, 30 baltimore, 34 ocean city off to the north and west, hagerstown, 22 degrees, couple inches of snow, mostly north and west of the city during the late afternoon evening yesterday. all right sentinel radar, there you go. much much quieter than it was last evening as our storm pushing off to the north and east in fact it is moving so quickly it is now well east of new york. can't even see it on your satellite radar should be a bright and beautiful afternoon just a few clouds, it will be a bit breezy from time to time as that storm system exits there is your high temperature, 47 degrees, 4:00 p.m. nice quiet dry thursday afternoon expected. in a couple minutes our 5 day

forecast may feature more wintery weather coming up. >> thanks tuck. >> very good now let's turn our attention to julie wright she will tell us what is happening with our on time traffic. >> all right you guys we had accident activity along southbound new hampshire avenue, south of the belt way, it is in play down here at oak view, southbound den knell worth avenue -- kenneth worth avenue, we had a long standing incident there, fellow changing a flat tire along the right side of the highway your lanes are open if you work your way around the capital belt way, inbound canal road as you merge in from the chain bridge out towards arizona avenue no trouble spots to report gw parkway flowing as you exit from the cia that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. thank you new this morning a deadly shooting in prince georges county, police were called to the 61st or 261st

place river dale around 10:15 p.m. last night they found a man lying outside his home. homicide investigators believe the victim was sitting on the front porch when two men approached him at least one of those men shot him. >> a man accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl behind bars 21-year-old wood was arrested yesterday charged with 2nd degree child sexual abuse wood walked into ketchum elementary school last week asked the girl to escort him to a classroom where he inarepray crately touched her -- inappropriately touched her. now to another big story we are following for you an alexandria paramedic in need of rescue himself after falling 20 feet off a bridge into a creek as stacey cohan has been reporting this started with a car fire on 395 stacey joins us

with more details. >> reporter: good morning what a very scary story you have an incident where paramedics are arriving to assist some body then he himself is in need of assistance a very dangerous situation we are here by 4-mile run a creek, just behind me you can see the overpass 395, he is 33-year-old josh weisman the alexandria, fire ems responded to a car fire, 395, around 6:30 p.m., at the height of rush hour last night, when at some point for reasons that people are not quite sure he fell off of the roadway, down 20 feet and landed in the creek below. not only this medic but this medics family, and we are all hoping for the best for this medic at this time, um, you know, it does effect everybody, but you know, we

have a job to do and will continue to do that job while we con on the you to hope for the best at this time. >> following the incident there were major traffic jams and road closures as ems people descended to grab this paramedic and rush him to treatment he suffered serious injuries we got an update recently this morning he is still listed in critical condition and the investigation continues as to how exactly he managed to fall off this roadway and what should be done to prevent this from happening in future. back the you. >> scary stuff. >> thank you. well, freak accident in bethesda leaves a contractor dead police believe the man's truck started to roll when he tried to stop it it pinned him against the wall he was 66 years old no ones else was hurt tony. >> alison, now to a story you saw here on fox 5 a lot of angry customers at a tax return service this time at a branch in northeast, say the service

is stealing their money. fox 5s money reporter, melanie says they cannot even cash their return checks. >> they are checking it now they can't cash it. >> reporter: tax refund checks issued by instant tax service were kicked back wednesday. >> as you can see, pnc won't honor it. >> the manager of instant tax service h street northeast said the checks had been printed with the wrong sequence number >> i can't talk about this the problem is that there is a problem with the check sequence we are trying to fix it. >> with the check sequence. >> he did not want to give us his name another client outside pnc bank was waiting for a refund check to clear. >> i don't have no idea. >> reporter: the manager said he would bring them new checks down the street, instant tax service was shutting its doors. >> they are thieves that is the bottom line. thieves they put us out the door because they stole our money. >> reporter: police were called for crowd control, then one by

one, clients were let in to get refund checks it is not just wednesday's check processing problem, customers are angry about what they believe are hidden fees and outrageous charges the file their tax return. >> they didn't give me no paperwork, this is what we took out this is the deduction for this much this is what we charge you for doing your taxes nothing. >> reporter: the owner of instant tax franchises in dc maryland and virginia told me the troubles are only with clients who came to them for holiday loans, he says there were some erroneous charges taken out of their refunds, she did get her check cashed eventually plus a second check to pay her back for that error and the franchise owner said he is doing the same for clients with mistaken charges >> i spoke with the ceo of instant tax service this is a nationwide company and a representative of their bank tax tree they denied there were

any mistaken charges involved with the holiday loans the ceo told me many of his clients actually have government debt and they don't realize that the government money gets taken out of their refund in addition to any tax preparation fees and loan repayments certainly there is more to this story and we will stay on it. melanie almwick fox 5 news. >> it is 9 minutes after the hour now, thursday morning coming up next we will check out other stories making headlines including more from the memorial for don cornelius. >> then the washington post bob mccar any joins us with a look at a cheating investigation in the dc public school system and why it is taking so long. >> with so few answers. >> stay with us it is 8:09 a.m. 

8:12 a.m. storying making headlines, prince georges county residents may not have to pay 5¢ for bags

after all maryland lawmakers all but killed a bag tax in the county the issue didn't get enough votes in subcommittee supporters could try to bring the legislation back montgomery county and the district both already have bag taxes. dcs attorney general says councilmember harry thomas junior or former councilmember harry thomas junior has not made good on paying back the money he stole he admitted to stealing $300,000 he did make the first $50,000 payment but missed the second one. mourners gather in chicago to remember don cornelius, friends and fans honored him during a public memorial, there he is, he died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound last week at his home in los angeles he was 75 years old. i will always i think picture him just like that. >> absolutely. >> tucker barnes standing by to

tell us more about this mornings weather but before that, tucker, you have something cute for us. >> i do tony let's do it. time for my first 5 photo of the day this is. >> yes, you do. >> 4 month old alexis what a beautiful smile. >> gorgeous little face. >> is that a flower or a ribbon. >> on a head band. >> very cute >> she has a beautiful smile >> yes, looks so happy. >> what does this shirt say >> it says daddy's little tax deduction. >> yes. >> that is -- >> get it? >> yes. >> here is the deal she thinks her shirt is really funny because her dad is a tax consultant. >> very funny that is cute >> she is like look dad is saving all kinds of money. >> if i could spend the rest of the day just play being that baby i would be okay. >> you too tony? >> sure. >> okay. >> babies are fun. >> i know. >> babies are fun and she looks

like a ball of laughs that is not right barrel of laughs there you go. is that the term? >> sure. >> that's the term. >> i am with you. >> all right alexis we love the picture love your smile and so glad that your dad gets the write you off again. all right. put together your child's photo myfoxdc.com click on mornings, you will need more than that to head out the door, jackets, temperatures at or below freezing 34 washington let's see good morning southern maryland, leonard town, 32 degrees, 30 martins burg light snow pack off to the north and west a trace and 2 inches of snow in yesterday's storm. all right 19 columbus, 24 right now detroit, i point out the city's off to the north and west because we are going to get a cold blast of arctic air around here this is not showing you what will happen but as we get into the daytime hours

tomorrow and on friday, we are going to see a real cool down high temperatures by saturday will only be in the 30s and i want to give you a heads up early saturday morning we could have a wintery mix we will get that cold arctic air and possible developing coastal low pressure system off the coast if those two gang up on the region quick enough we could get a quick blast of a wintery mix early saturday just lookout for that and rebounding temperatures by early next week that is weather let's do traffic and julie wright has a last look at what is going on what is happening. >> we have delays still lingering around the belt way at this time, leaving 95 headed toward georgia avenue, southbound 95, out towards the belt way you will find delays on 29 coming from randolph road headed out towards four corners southbound, 29, lock wood drive, it is starting to loosen up the closer you get down to the belt way the better off the chain bridge no trouble spots

to report as you continue out towards arizona avenue lanes open george washington parkway coming inbound the belt way headed out towards the potomac crossings, delays each direction through falls church outside of the belt way, 66 tied up 60 live shot, kenneth worth avenue on the brakes. that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. >> maryland has the best ap test scores in the nation according to a new poll on high school students who take advance placement exams more than a quarter of maryland's students got a 3 or better on the test virginia comes in third with just over 25%, getting a three or better in the district sadly ranked at the bottom less than 7% of high schoolers getting a passing grade. all right alison thank you in today's washington post metropolitan affairs columnist, robert mccartney says there has

been a suspiciously slow effort to get to the bottom of cheating on standardized tests. read the column thanks for coming in once again. >> good to be here tony. >> i have to say i read it and was surprised how little information we've had since the whole thing broke since the story broke and you know, there was an investigation launched and all that kind of thing >> not much of an investigation. >> tell us what has happened what has been going on. >> this is one of those stories where the real story is where is the outrage why aren't people much more up in arms about this. we know, that from 2008 to 2010, there were classrooms in about 100 schools with very suspiciously high numbers offer raisers, it is clear this is not cheating by the student this is apparently, plausibly falsification of the results, by teachers, possibly principals, possibly higher

ups. >> after the fact. >> to make the test scores look better so they could brag about you know how their you know policies were work basically, and only 1 principal lost his job, at noise campus, k through 8 school in northeast, no full explanation of that, this guy had been you know literally the poster figure for you know education reform,. >> bringing scores up >> bringing the scores up his photo was used in recruitment materials he was promoted to central office and then suddenly he was gone, last june, we've never had a full explanation there is every reason to believe he was gone because of his role in false fying test results, at that school. >> let me play devil's advocate for a second he is gone, he was moved out and now he is gone, isn't that enough?

>> no, because he is gone and that is good firstover all we should have a full or explanation of what happened i was talking to parents at noise school, yesterday morning, as they dropped their kids off and they want to know what happened, one woman had taken her kid out of the school because she was so unhappy about the scandal but the much more relevant question is how many other people were involved we know, that at least by one measure, and the school system emphasizes there are several measures and you can't just rely on the one measure but by one measure suspiciously high numbers of erasers on the standardized tests and then changes where guess what almost all the changes were from wrong answers to right answers which is pretty suspicious, i mean that happened in classrooms, at 100 schools over 3 years and only a handful of those schools, have been thoroughly investigated. >> is the school system saying well, you know we know we had

these problems, and we are now trying to correct them let's look to the future. >> that is the bottom line of their position they are not being quite as open about that. what they are saying is, oh, it is too hard, to look at what has happened in the past the kids have forgotten, you can't remember -- you can't get kids to tell us what happened in 2008/2009 it would be a witch hunt to try to figure out what happened in those classrooms in approximately 100 schools back then we have tightened things up the number of suspicious erasers has gone down since we tightened things up which suggests there was a problem before things will be much better for 2011, although they have been very slow to give us information or get their investigation going on that, things will be really much better, in 2012, they are emphasizing that and basically saying look, what they

basically want is look let's all forget about those nasty numbers from 2008-2010 and just focus on making things good going forward and i think the one problem with this particular issue, is so many people have an interest in sweeping it under the rug i mean, the defenders of michelle reid school chancellor when this happened they don't want this come out because it makes her legacy look bad new people don't want it to come out they don't want to hurt the brand of dc public schools a lot of people have an interest in sort of trying to forget that this ever happened. >> as you point out in the article we have to wrap now, some of the parents continue to be concerned. >> they are not happy >> it does impact, did any child score this or score that and how is this going to be reflected when they are applying to colleges and that type of thing an interesting article in today's washington post metro section robert mccartney check it out thank you sir.

>> good to be here. >> alison. >> 8:22 a.m. thursday morning new congressional approval ratings are out they are not good more on that when we come back. >> this morning, annie is hanging out with gardening guru derek thomas getting a lesson in pruning stay with us we will be right back  never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause

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fight over the while houses policy on birth control is escalating, john boehner demanding president barack obama reverse his policy requiring church groups to give workers free birth control if not, he is threatening legislative action that would over turn that policy, the rules require the catholic church to put aside its religious opposition to birth control and provide basically health care which includes contraception coverage of its schools and hospitals. >> just when we thought the approval rating of congress could not go any lower a new poll shows it is at an all time low the gallup organization asked people if they quote approve or disprove of the way congress is handling its votes. only 10% approved. this is the lowest number since gallup started asking the question back in 1974.

10%. >> kind of a wake up call. >> certainly should be. >> 8:26 a.m. on this thursday morning one driver disproves of the speed cameras in his city, so he decided a little civil disobedience was in order. >> what did he do? >> it was caught on camera when we come back. tsas precheck program expanding to the nations busiest airports, that story coming up [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices

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can i try yours? welcome back, testimony is under way in the murder trial of george hughly yesterday attorneys gave opening statements shedding light on his and yeardly love's relationship they both accused each other of cheating were involved in violent encounters and traded angry e-mails this escalated to murder but the defense is arguing hughly isn't a cold calculated killer they

are urging jurors to consider involuntary manslaughter not first degree premeditated murder. they call him rocky road and until now his life has been just that this pit bull was found in a park in anne arundel county with severe injuries they believe he was used by dog fighters as bait to train other dogs to be aggressive, the animal hospital treated him at no charge hopefully he is on the path to recovery. >> two occupy dc protestors, due back in court today after being held on felony assault charges the protestors were arrested during saturday's raid on the occupy encampment on mcpherson square both demonstrators are accused of attacking a police officer. >> yesterday we told you about the speed camera protest taking place in southeast dc. >> a denver driver found a way to protest these cameras in his city check it out he was caught flipping off the camera, daniel who doesn't want his last name

out there, says he is upset with all the photo radar vans around the mile high city so he decided to intentionally speed past one to make his point. >> democracy is a messy process some times you have to engage in a little deliberate disobedience be a little vulgar to get your point across >> he has no plans on paying the fine >> there it is. >> well, we will see with a happens with that. i suppose they don't mind the gesture so much as long as you pay the fine. >> here is what i am thinking good thing mia is not in denver. >> she would join that protest. >> she would have multi fines. >> she wouldn't pay them either. >> she should have a fine sent to her for that. >> well, yeah. >> as opposed to nfl. >> and nbc yeah. to me the individual should pay

the fine. >> google mia super bowl if you don't know what we are talking about. all right mr. barnes. >> temperatures on the chilly side this morning off the north and west, freezing could be an icy spot left over we will be in for sunshine and warmer temperatures, nice looking forecast friday looks good saturday morning looks interesting. >> shall we use the word dicey. >> potentially by saturday morning things could bet more interesting, 34 washington 36 quantico, cold overnight particularly north and west temperatures at or below the freezing mark. frederick good morning 32 degrees all of us mid- to upper 40s those of you who got a light snow pack off the north and west you will be cooler than the rest of us but i think here in washington 48 for an afternoon high satellite radar we are clearing out overnight should be a great looking day for you as mentioned winds out of the north and west behind our storminess which is off my shoulder, out of here and with the winds out of the north and west it will be breezy, times

today with winds 10 miles, high pressure will give us a nice looking day here is another look at it cool conditions to start your day that area of high pressure will keep things nice and dry around here next couple days very quickly by late in the day friday this front which has bitter cold behind it arctic air will come sliding through the area and looks like now we can kick off a coastal low, off the carolina coast, enough of that moisture, gets thrown back into the cold air by saturday morning, we could be looking at potential for a wintery mix around here during the first half of saturday, so just keep an eye out for early saturday could have a wintery mix 5 day forecast, 48 today, 49 tomorrow much colder this weekend again we run the risk of that coastal sis em early -- system early saturday, that will feel like february, 38 saturday, 36 sunday that is weather tony over the you. >> thank you very much. would you provide airport security more information about yourself so you could get through the lines faster?

a new system is about to begin at regan, bwi and dulles that would allow that. as fox's steve senoni explains it is part of an acknowledgement not every passenger poses a risk. >> a way to expea decide travel and make it safer the -- expedite travel and make it safer, it allows flyers to volunteer information about themselves allowing tsa to allocate time and resources to those they know less about. >> precheck will operate at reg expanding it to new york's jfk airport, salt lake city international and chicago o'hare by the end of calendar 2012 we will have precheck up and running at the nations 28 busiest airports. >> janet napolitano says expanding the precheck program is more than just speeding up travel she adds it is part of a shift in how airport security operates. >> we recognize all travelers

are not alike and not all of them pose the same level of risk. and with better information we can better assess risk. other wards, when we are looking for that needle in a haystack we are also working with traveler programs to try to reduce the size of the haystack. >> separate lane for precheck travelers enables expedited screenings where flyers may not need to remove jackets, belts lab tops american and delta airlines use precheck following soon. >> what it does is allow us to spend more time on those we know the least about, only name, date, gender or know the most about because they are on terrorist watch lists. >> there are currently 7 airports more than 330,000 flyers participating in the precheck program to learn more go to www.tsa.gov.

>> 8:36 a.m. thursday morning, weekly jobless claims are just coming into the newsroom find out if it is good news or bad news. >> also ahead, check out the foods you are eating, that contain the most salt. you might thing it is something like potato chips but it is not. stay with us we will tell you it is 8:37 a.m. 

some good news to pass along the number of people applying to unemployment fell to a four year low last week economists says the an encouraging sign of continued improvement in the job market weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 15,000 to 358,000. if you are still looking for work don't forget the check out our job shop our job of the day is with the national security agency at fort meade it is looking for a finance accounting analyst pay is between 42 and $70,000 a year for more on this job and many others, go to myfoxdc.com click on the job shop tab on the top of our home page. boy there is more evidence the newspaper business is hurting, there are more cut backs at washington post the newspaper is larging another round of voluntary buy outs, the executive editor sent a

memo saying i would be capped at 4 dozen people in a newsroom of 600 this is the fifth round of buy outs in the last decade the washington post company reported a 9% drop in revenue from its newspaper publishing division. it is 8:41 a.m. on thursday morning if you are trying to lose weight you may have better luck stepping off the scale. >> fox 5 medical team joins us with more on how that could help your weight loss journey end in a happier place more on that when we come back annie good morning. good morning alison and tony, derek and i are moving on to herbs and evergreens and we will show you the right way to do it this is a specific technique you don't want to mess this up you will be cooking with this hope you stay with us. 

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in more ways than ever.

and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum, we can empower more people to innovate, create jobs, and put momentum behind our economy. and a spectrum auction could raise as much as 30 billion dollars to help fund the payroll tax cut. it's simple. more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. definitely dunkin'. you know, i need to get that jolt in the morning, but i want something good to do that. you can't mistake the flavor. i run on dunkin'. tell us what you're drinkin' for a chance to be famous. america runs on dunkin' coffee. a little measles outbreak in indiana that could spread across state line as man with the infection visited super bowl village in indianapolis last week but say he did not go

inside the convention center or super bowl itself. indiana health officials notified the health department in both new york and massachusetts, so far, two cases in hamilton county which is where super bowl took place have been confirmed alison. >> if you made a new years resolution to lose weight you may have already thrown in the towel don't let frustration stop you from reaching your ghoul. the fox medical -- goal, the fox medical team joins us with how to refocus and stop letting the scale run your entire life. good morning. >> good morning alison, so are you a weigh myself every day kind of person or do you avoid the scale all together? >> in the middle if i feel like my clothes are not fitting right i step on, get my reality check and get to work. >> yeah, that is probably smart because here is the thing, as many of us try to keep our weight in check i was wondering

do you weigh yourself every day? psychologically it seems like a bad idea one twist or turn the wrong way it ruins your day you feel defeated i met up with a weight loss coach, someone with deals with this stuff every day i said how often should we be weighing ourselves this is what she told me. >> if you had a high salt meal you get on the next morning it could show a 2 to 3-pound increase when you still have the same issue just more -- tissue, just more water more looking at blood pressure, cholesterol, if you are someone with diabetes how is my blood sugar looking, how are my clothes fitting energy level we could go on and on about other ways to gauge success it is not just the scale. so you hear that it is not just the scale now amy says you probably should get on the scale maybe once a week she says don't do it every day unless you are one of those people who has to weigh themselves every day but get on once a week make sure you are wearing the same clothes i

know, alison, i take off the julie the earrings everything when i get on that scale, and make sure that there is -- allow yourself some wiggle room if you are retaining water if you are building muscle you will see changes in the wrong direction so you can't live or die by the scale and alison i did ask her about the scales that measure body fat it is really the goal is to be losing body fat while hanging on to that lean muscle protein and she said, that the body fat scale, some times they are inaccurate based on hydration, if you exercised recently they send a little electrical current through the bottom half of your body to measure that it can be inaccurate too. bottom line, look at the whole big picture and trying on your clothes some times is the best measurement of success >> i think so thank you so much. all right. another diet concern thanks gina. a new study shows americans are

getting way too much sodium you may be surprised where most of that salt in your diet comes from. doug with the story now. >> reporter: the centers for disease control and prevention releasing a new report that ranks top sources of salt in the american diet leading the list, bread and rolls the cdc says bread and rolls are accounting for more than twice as much sodium as snacks, salt is the main source of sodium and it increases the risk of high blood pressure a major cause of heart disease and stroke. >> if you are consuming 5- grams, 6-grams, 6,000- milligrams of sodium a day and a lot of folks are doing that you are poisoning yourself you are going to get sick, you are going to get high blood pressure heart disease. >> other foods include cold cuts, cured meats, processed poultry,. >> the sodium is in the foods that we are eating in the processed foods in the cold cuts in the frozen pizzas.

all of those things basically contain 60% of all the sodium. >> officials say no one should eat more than 2300-milligrams of sodium a day equal to a teaspoon of salt but the cdc reports average sodium consumption in this country is 3300-milligrams only 1 in 10 americans meet the teaspoon guideline. >> what makes food taste good is salt i got it i love food but, we got to be careful. >> according to the cdc more than 800,000 people die each year in the u.s. from cardiovascular disease such as heart attack or stroke in washington, fox news. there will soon be or they will soon get a meal make over on u.s. military bases today first lady michelle obama will join pentagon officials in announcing a program to serve more fruits, vegetables, low fat meals they will do it at little rock airforce base where a pilot program to serve healthier and better quality food is under way this is the

first big change to food service on military bases in 20 years. >> proper pruning i happen to know this alison proper pruning enhances the beauty of almost any landscape including raw leaves, evergreens and herbs. >> okay. you know that. our annie yu is learning more about that, more from derek thomas with thomas landscape she joins us from bethesda tony has many talents annie. >> i know that, he is very talented. so is derek thomas with thomas landscape my pruning partner. you can't just go chopping away there is a very specific tech knee for this. >> this is a specific tech knee the other thing to know, you see this camel yeah, it is actually in bloom if do this now you could remove the flower that is to come so you want to make sure when you are pruning

that you are actually pruning with a purpose for instance this gold dust plant is a good plant to prune at this time of year because its buds are also getting geared up but that is going to be creating leaves so what you want to do is, if this plant has gotten too big or too out of control you want to go in, to the next node, back in here, and then prune that out, and take off another piece right above it, and what that is going to do is open up the plant and this node here is where the new growth will happen once you prune, you are actually diverting hormones of the plant and the plant will then start to have growth at that tip that is a way to control the size. things like hollies which you want to make sure at this time of the year, i want to wait because the animals like to eat these berries it is usually their last meal before

springtime. >> got to help the animals. so we have of course the beautiful herb garden very important we are going to eat these. >> now what you want to do with plants like this lemon balm you see how unruly it is annie i want you to help me i want you to get right down in here, right down in and tight and we are going to clean this up you want the try to get all the tips off, and you can smell that wonderful lemon scent. >> the great thing about lemon boom balm during summer when you are out here, in the heat and the bugs and mosquitoes are getting to you, you can actually i want you to see what we are doing. >> you are just removing all the dead -- >> we are removing all the dead. >> what is going to happen is over the next couple weeks, the plant all of this young growth, is going to flush out, and you are going to have a whole new look at you annie go ahead.

>> i know man. >> i love it. >> that is what you want to thing about when you are pruning back your herb garden now with plants like rosemary what we did here was we took away all this wooden stuff. >> we put all this over here so all the dark. >> all the dead woody stuff you want to take all this out it is never going the regrow then you have a nice young -- >> it is beautiful. >> fresh start of rosemary also if you want it to stay tighter you can bring it in like this, bring it on down, take it down by half, give this to folks as a gift or use it r herbs, >> i am talking this. coming up next hour we can't let derek go without doing of course the beautiful valentines debut kay. >> tips -- bouquet. >> tips for the guys.

>> back to you in studio. >> they are having a lot of fun. >> makes me want to prune. >> thank you both. >> we want to say good morning to mary lee our facebook fan of the day today she turns 55 years old shall we sing. >> sure. >> no. >> spare her. >> she loves seeing wisdom sitting at the anchor desk wisdom would sing for her. >> if you would like to be tomorrow's fan of the day search fox 5 morning news no space befox and 5 and post a comment under her photo we hope you have a great day today. i don't know if you watched last night boy it was something hollywood week kicked off last night the competition heated up for some the dream of becoming the next idol came to an end, the judges sent home a lot of contestants half the contestants including jim carrie's daughter it was a scary ending a female contestant fell off the stage,

she needed medical assistance on tonight's episode, we will find out if she made it through or how she is doing first of all if she made it through to the next round she did have a very good performance and then got very wobbly talking to the judges we will find out about that airs tonight fox 5 at 8:00 p.m. >> all right well, we are ready to welcome some big names in here at our 9:00 a.m. hour we have been talking about one of them all morning lark mccarthy former fox 35 anchor is here with us we will chat with her in a few minutes. >> comedy royalty meets comedy dork now that is what it says in the press release what they are calling it at dc improve, rain pryor and mark price will be here to talk about their big show ♪

okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours?

right now at 9, a first responder recovering after falling into a creek while responding to a car fire an update on his condition. >> virginia is joining a settlement with the nations five largest banks massive announcement expected in an hour we will talk with maryland attorney. >> we will introduce you to a local couple that trekked 50 miles across the sahara desert to raise money for a good cause. >> i am alison seymour >> i am tony perkens. >> i am lark mccarthy. >> hi i am back [ laughter ] >> it is great to be back. >> how are you. >> and see you i kind of feel like we should switch seats. >> aww. >> i got to be honest with you. >> it is yours