the afternoon. here we go with a look at the day plan forethis wednesday. -- for this wednesday. we're 22 now. we'll be looking at 23 at 9:00. upper 20s at noon and maybe 30 by 3:00 with a high around 32. northwest winds in the 15 to 20 mile an hour range at times will gust to 25 miles an hour. so windchills are definitely going to be a factor today. 6:00 p.m. clear and 29. you'll notice the skies have cleared here. even in the mountains the snows are a lot less. all of the advisories have been dropped. travel should be easier. the opportunity pike and i-68. there is a quick look at temperatures this morning. mid-teens in luray to low 20s here in town. your wind chills single digits winchester, hagerstown. 14 in culpeper. feels like 13 in washington. it's 5:00 a.m. monica, good morning. good morning. this is the first morning this week we're starting off with a green light. very nice. all around town there are no major issues. in fact, let's take a look at the beltway real quick where everything looks good. we'll zoom in to 95 northbound and take a live look in

dumfries where your lanes are open as you head nobody from this point route 234 all the way northbound through lorton and springfield and on to 395. let's take a look over to 66 on the inbound side. we'll look at a live shot. if you're traveling on the inbound side of i-66, you'll be fine as you head in from ma narn sas -- ma fan sas right over to -- manassas right over to route 50. ten minutes from 95 to 270. 95 southbound 216 to the beltway 9 minutes. the beltway looks good from route 4 over the wilson bridge, a 9-minute ride. we have a few school delays and closings to tell but this morning. in west virginia, schools in grant, hardee, jefferson and morgan counties are all opening two hours late. in virginia, rapahannock county schools will be closed. there was some sort of water problem there. as many as six families are homeless this morning after a fire in landover, maryland.

>> the flames spread through a row of town homes in the 500 block of garrett morgan boulevard which is actually just a couple of blocks from fed ex field. we're live at the scene with more on the investigation this morning. >> reporter: good morning. this investigation continues. the fire is bad enough but imagine being forced outside on the coldest night of the season. that is exactly what happened here. you can see this is what these families are waking up to this morning. just completely destroyed town homes here in landover, maryland. let's take a look at what the scene looked like last night. fire broke out around 8:00. by the time the firefighters arrived, the entire back wall of this three-story townhouse was already on fire. to make matters worse, this town home was smack in the middle of a row of town homes making it easy for the fire to quickly jump to the adjacent homes. that's exactly what it did. the fire traveled along the

exterior wall completely bypassing the smoke alarms and sprinkler system making for a potentially deadly situation. incredibly no one was hurt but now about six families are homeless as we head into the holidays. >> those who have gone through anything like this during the holidays this is really devastating. my father passed away december 16 and i was mourning him and now this. >> reporter: in addition to the severe fire damage that you can see right here behind me, another issue that a lot of people in this neighborhood are going to have to deal with, check this out. this is really -- this entire parking lot is really just a skating rink. these are solid blocks of ice. i've been slipping and sliding. in fact, on my way here, i couldn't even get up the driveway because it was so slick. my car literally just rolled back down. in addition to all these families being kempt up very -- kept up very late last night because of the firefighterring

and the -- firefighting and the frrpts out and about to try to put out this blaze now this morning they'll be lucky if they can get out of this parking lot unless you have a four-wheel drive vehicle because it is very slick. >> you talked about the six families displaced by the fire. where are they staying right now? >> reporter: some are staying with family members. others are staying with neighbors right here in this community. but still others have been offered temporary shelter by the fire department and the red cross. so it's really a mix bag. i've also seen quite a few moving trucks outside the front of these homes. it's unclear if they're there from the night before or just now arriving. it appears at least some of these families are trying to get their belongings out of these homes. >> thank you for the update. while you slept some rescuers have been responding to a disaster just off the coast of australia. >> a wooden boat packed with dozens of people seeking asylum smashed on jagged rocks. residents on the cliffs above

say huge waves slammed passengers against the rocks. authorities now say 27 people are dead and at least 30 others injured, some critically. the cleanup is under way now after a rare tornado hits a small town in tornado. it tore roofs off buildings, pelted cars and homes with flying debris. six families have been forced out of their homes and the damage is extensive. but no one was seriously hurt. the f.b.i. says agents have foiled another would-be terrorist who wanted to attack the metro system. a facebook friend of awaid younis tipped off authorities saying awaid younis posted threats to use pipe bombs on metro trains during rush hour. one neighbor told us he's not surprised, that he still remembers younis laughing in class during the 9/11 attacks. a family of a local music producer gets a small measure

of relief after his killer gets a 140-year prison sentence. producer raymond brown also known as scotty beats was killed back in 2008 when he saw someone trying to steal his car and confronted him. jamal alexis of landover, maryland was convicted of that crime. prosecutors also believe alexis put out hits on two key witnesses in the case. family and friends say goodbye to a young fashion designer who grew up in northern virginia. silva kashay was killed in her new york hotel room last week. her ex-boyfriend has been charged in the case. she worked for victoria's secret, kohl's among others. this next story is no laughing matter. police are on the lookout for cath griffin, not the comedian but a thief. she showed up at a chevy chase home inquiring about a room for rent. she paid for a one-night stay

and took off but a short time later the landlord realized the laptop computer and $100 in cash were missing. the homeowner says she got a strange feeling when the woman showed up with no luggage and asked about the home's alarm system. >> one thing i thought was strange because nobody has asked me that is right up front she said please tell me the security codes. >> police say the woman has been on their radar for the last few years. investigators believe she may be part of a larger crime ring. prosecutors are trying once again to keep the founder of wikileaks behind bars. horrific video from a school board meeting as a man starts shooting but this could have ended up being much worse. this was no elaborate plot like "ocean's 11" but a daring casino robbery. wait till you see this story.

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it is 5:09. temperatures running in the teens to lower 20s. windchill single digits to low teens. another bundle up sort of morning. here's your day planner. sunny today. that's the good news. winds are going to be up but maybe not as strong as yesterday at times. gusts 25 to 30. noon will be sunny and 30. 5:00 p.m. clear and a high around 32. over the dulles toll road this morning coming in from herndon through reston into tysons, everything looks final. no problems on the dulles connector road inside the beltway. coming up in my next report we'll talk about maryland roads at 5:17. making news now coming up on 5:10, police are looking for a motive after a man opened fire at a school board meeting.

>> the gunfire erupts at the meeting in panama city, florida ending with one man dead. unbelievable video here. police say he shot at the superintendent from eight feet away and missed. a security guard then wounded the gunman and apparently the suspect killed himself. amazingly no one else in this situation was injured. school board members say the man was upset about his wife losing his job. wikileaks founder julian assange remains jailed in london this morning despite being granted bail. prosecutors are appealing the judge's decision setting bail at $310,000, an amount several celebrities like michael moore have offered to pay. $1.5 million in chips gets swiped from a craps table in las vegas. police are still looking for the man who sped off on a motorcycle with them yesterday. they also say someone pulled a similar heist just last week. investigators are now on the

lookout for anyone trying to cash in those chips. each one is worth $25,000. he took the blame for sunday's loss to the bucs and apparently the redskins agree with hunter the punter. that's coming up in sports. senators are warning the house against changing the tax cut deal republicans struck with the president. at 5:40. new census figures show three places in northern virginia have the nation's top incomes.

welcome back to 9news now at 5:14. we want to run down our handful of weather-related school delays and closings. these counties west v.a. var opening -- west virginia are opening two hours late. they're grant, hardy, grant. >> we've just gotten word that schools in garrett county, maryland will be opening two hours late as well. probably weather related. >> the cold is a problem. windchill advisories are in effect for the western suburbs in the mountains of west virginia and in the shenandoah valley. running zero to 10 below, 15

below. that's probably what the culprit is. we may get a little snow returning tomorrow. even here in washington. nice and cold for you. we start with your bus stop forecast. it's the kind of dat i used to wait in the -- kind of day i used to wait in the car with mom and dad till the bus came. mainly clear, breezy and cold. 15 to 23. those are the air temperatures. windchills down in the single digits and teens. sun is up 7:19. it's set today for 4:47. our day planner this afternoon, we are looking at sunshine today. 9:00 a.m. temperature 24. west wind at 13. so windchills down in the teens. by noon around 30. northwest winds at 18. windchill still in the teens to low 20s. then even by 5:00 west winds at 15. these are sustained winds. we'll have gusts 20, 25, maybe 30. windchills again teens and low 20s is all we're going to do. skies have cleared from yesterday when we had the snow showers in the morning. a couple of clouds in the mountains. there's still a few flurries here but for the most part we

ship in good shape this morning except for the cold. 10 degrees in orange, virginia. the winds calm. oakland is 9 with the winds gusting to 30 miles an hour. 35 i think. washington 22. annapolis 20. 23 in easton this morning. up north we've got teens in frederick and gaithersburg. manassas19. 22 but it feels only like 13 with a west wind at 7. a dew point bone dry at 6 degrees. the relative humidity outside 51%. inside about 4% to 5%. the cold, you can see this pocket of arctic air from south central canada through minnesota and areas of wisconsin. many below zero readings there. chicago is only 6 this morning. atlantis only 25. miami is only 40. so you've got the cold here. a little milder in south texas. the jet stream coming right in this area. and you can really see it coming into california, coming across the middle of the country. this is going to drive the system to the south and then

across us. now, yesterday it looked like it would stay mainly south of us. today it looks like it might clip us with a little snow tomorrow afternoon. snow showers again here with that arctic air coming over the lake. that starts to wind down. so our attention really goes west with this system that starts to approach with the clouds tomorrow morning. we'll be dry for the morning rush but about midday light snow develops. light snow in the afternoon will start to scoot out in the evening but it could drop anywhere from half an inch, maybe an inch of snow. locally inch and a half in spots. any until treated services as cold as we've been will create a few slick spots on thursday. so 32 today with the windy conditions. 30 tomorrow. light snow in the afternoon. friday upper 30s. over the weekend we watch that coastal storm for saturday night, sunday. may slide south and east of us. that would be the best case. then chilly and windy monday and tuesday. monika, 5:157, she's here with time -- 5:17, she's here with traffic. we're starting off with a

green light. we'll take you over to the beltway where things are looking great all around town. all the lanes are open on the beltway and north side of town we're still looking from 95 heading all the way west toward silver spring. if you're heading over to 270 you're going to be okay. this is what the beltway looks like right now. 270 on the southbound side lanes are open coming in from frederick. we'll take a live look in german sewn as you head southbound on father hurley boulevard. all the lanes open. we'll take you over to your travel times now. on the inbound side of i-6610 minutes from route 7100 to the beltway. the beltway from 395 to the toll roads 13 minutes. the toll road from route 674 to the beltway, a six-minute ride. coming up in my next report we'll look at district roads at 5:24. >> thank you, monika. there are pretty nice perks when you host the world champions in your building. >> kind of like having the rest of washington sports celebrities show up when highlights come up next in sports. here's ow question of the day.

when this first hit stores, it was made out of spruce trees. then a better version was made using wax. >> do most of us use it being made by synthetic rubber. what are we still buying at stores under all of these manifestations. is it fake christmas tree, b, chewing gum, or c, rubber stamps. put your answer on our facebook page and we will reveal it in about a half-hour. i'm here in germany. i would like to ahappy holidays to my aunts who are living in washington, d.c. i just want to say a big happy holidays and that i love you all.

set your pace to island time. rich chocolate over creamy coconut. almond joy and mounds. enjoy more. very cold out there. we have upper teens and low 20s with generally clear skies. still a few flurries and snow showers left in the mountains. by 9:00 lots of sunshine, 24 here in town. fredricksburg 22. we'll go through to the lunch hour. still lots of sunshine. it's going to be breezy around 30. then this afternoon we top out near 32 with 30 by 5:00 p.m. for your drive home. mike and andrea? >> thank you, howard. a bunch of local sports celebrities slowed up to watch

the wizardses played. >> they probably came to watch the wizards' opponents instead. we have highlights in this morning's sports. >> reporter: good morning. last week in l.a. the wizards lost tots lakers by 7 -- lost to the lakers by 7 with john wall. you can imagine last night the lakers would just annihilate the wizards and kobe bryant would have a field day and you would imagine right. donovan mcnabb in the house to see kobe. so was gary williams and alex ovechkin and jason worth. they were not disappointed. third quarter, derek fisher to kobe. ten rings between those two guys. they've done that a million times. lakers by 12 there. then lamar odem behind the back to kobe. here's another 3 from that manual. 24 points in 23 minutes for the great 24. lakers roll 103-89. college hoops, au visiting

umbc. eagles in blue. that's true brewer. -- troy brewer. derek mcginty is smiling this morning as his eagles win and improve to 6-3. it was a noble thing that hunter smith did sunday night laying the blame on himself for that botched extra point and saying es sense that the red -- essence that the redskins loss was his fault. he got cut yesterday. he was released which on the surface seems harsh but statistically he was the third worst punter in the league. that is a quick look at sports this morning. i'm brett haber. have a great wednesday, everybody. one more sports note. today the nationals will officially introduce their new outfielder jason worth, an appropriate name i'm sure because he signed a seven-year, $126 million deal with washington earlier this month after playing for philadelphia. >> nice he was there to root on the wizards. >> welcome to washington.

today may be the calm before the storm as the senate gets set to finalize its vote on keeping the bush era tax cuts. investigators are sifting through rubble and ice as they try to find the cause of a fire that left many families without a place to stay. monika has a look at traffic. we're looking inbound on new york avenue between the times building and bladensburg road where traffic is very light. no problems on the potomac and anacostia heading into the district. coming up in my next report at 5:30, we'll look at virginia roads. you're watching 9 news now. we'll be right back.

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5:28. good morning. school delays. cold weather is the reasonable in west virginia schools in grant, hampshire, hardy, jefferson and morgan counties all opening two hours late today. in maryland garrett county schools are opening two hours late as are schools in the

mountain ridge school district of al begany county -- allegheny county. in virginia happen han knock county will be -- rapahannock county will be closed due to a water problem. thank you for watching 9 news now. i'm andrea roane. mike hydeck here. monika samtani there. howard has your weather first. >> our day planner today, the key here, we're going to have some sunshine. we're going to have some wind too but not as windy. we'll see temperatures struggle to get close to that 30-degree mark midday. topping off about 32 but winds at times will gust 20, 25, 30 miles an hour. right now 22 degrees in town. it's 23 in easton. 19 for our friends at the patuxent river naval air station. newland checking in at 19 degrees. 15 luray. winchester 21. when you factor in the winds because we have to, folks, it's been windy, 5 is the windchill in hagerstown and winchester. feeling like 13 here in washington and easton. 7 in southern maryland.

next thing we're going to watch not so much what's happening today because we've got high pressure but some of the clouds out here, this is in advance of a storm system that will bring us light snow tomorrow. i'm have more on that for you coming up at about 5:44. right now here's monika samtani at 5:29 with time saver traffic. i'm happy to say there are no major problems out on the roadways. we'll prove it to you and go to an overview of the beltway. things are looking final. all lanes open -- fine. all lanes are open around washington, d.c. from the beltway up toward the 14th street bridge you want to be careful. we are getting reports of possible icy conditions in the 3rd street tunnel. let's head over to the beltway in virginia. everything fine between 95, 66, and over into the tysons area. your lanes are open. a live look here at braddock road. traffic still moving well at 5:30 in the morning. coming up in my next report or let's go to travel times. on the beltway between route 4 and the wilson bridge 9

minutes. 95 looks good from 216 to the beltway, 9 minutes. 66 not a bad ride, 7100 to the beltway a ten-minute ride. coming up in my next report, we'll look at gw parkway at 5:39. back to you. this morning there have been deadly attacks appearing to target shiite muslims. >> at least 15 people died when two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a mosque in southeastern iran. near baghdad, iraq two roadside bombs exploded during pilgrim answer. attacks have increased with their holy day coming up this friday. back here at home, metro may be losing more funding. a tristate oversight committee is threatening to with hold money for infrastructure unless metro resolves some of its safety concerns. prior to the deadly 2009 red line crash, the committee didn't have this type of enforcement power. the committee is made up of officials from maryland, virginia, and of course the

district. a two-alarm fire tore through a row of town homes last night in landover, maryland leaving up to six families homeless. the fire happened just a couple of blocks south of fed ex field. 9news now reporter kristin fisher is at scene with more on what venters have figured out so far. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, andrea. these three town homes right behind me were completely engulfed in flames just 12 hours ago or less than 12 hours ago even. but now they're covered in icicles. of course firefighters had to spray tons of water on these three town homes in order to put the fire out. of course with the freezing cold temperatures, it is now frozen. if you look all the way down from the icicles hanging on these buildings, all the way down to the pavement in front, this area is a virtual skating rink this morning. the fire broke out around 8:00 last night. by the time firefighters

finally arrived, the entire back wall of this three-story town house was already on fire. to make matters worse, that town house was in the middle of a row of town homes which made it very easy for this fire to jump to the adjacent town homes. that's exactly what it did. it quickly became a two-alarm fire as the fire traveled along the exterior wall completely bypassing smoke alarms, sprinkler systems. of course it could have been a very deadly situation. incredibly nobody was hurt. now these families are staying with relatives, neighbors. the fire department has even put some of them up in temporary shelters. as for a cause, firefighters say they are still investigating. back to you. >> thanks, kristin. d.c.'s mayor-elect is expected to announce some key appointments this afternoon. it is believed vincent gray will reveal he is keeping chief cathy lanier after the two met at least once for an interview. gray is also expected to name his new public safety director

and a new fire chief to replace dennis rubin. sources tell 9news the replacement will be kenneth elerbe, currently a chief in sarasota florida but a former d.c. fire official. the tax bill is expected to pass but the question is what will happen when it gets to the house. >> reporter: republicans are urging house democrats not to mess with president obama's tax cut deal. >> this agreement is not subject to being reopened. >> reporter: tuesday senate minority leader mitch mcconnell warned changing the bill could result in no bill at all and taxes going up for everybody. the senate is expected to approve the measure later today before sending it to the house. >> i don't think we're basing what we want to do on threats by mr. mcconnell. >> reporter: following a closed door meeting tuesday night, house democrats still worry the plan favors the river. they want to amend -- the rich.

they want to amend certain provisions including what some see as an overly generous estate tax. despite their concerns which president obama says he shares, the white house is optimistic the compromise will go the distance. >> i think the president had some good conversations and i think we are on a path toward getting this agreement through the house and ultimately to the president's desk. >> reporter: with so much senate support for the bill? house democrats admit -- the bill, some house democrats admit they probably can't make big changes. still, that won't stop them from trying. >> i'm hoping that the bill is improved and i'm hoping that it passes before the end of the year. >> reporter: a house vote is expected within days. cbs news, washington. 5:35 now. a virginia lawmaker wants to require college students to provide proof that they're in this country illegally. state delegate chris peese is pushing a bill to ban undocumented -- to be here

legally. undocumented students from going to public colleges in the commonwealth. students at george mason university in fairfax rallied against that proposal. school officials say they prefer to be judged by performance. >> we don't consider citizenship or immigration status in our admissions process. what we're looking at is which students are most academically qualified for admission in a very competitive process. >> the dean of admissions says students who can't prove their citizenship are required to pay out of state tuition rates. some other states including georgia already bar undocumented students from attending their public colleges. it is 5:36. it's something you probably have in your mouth right now. but today government health officials are trying to determine whether it's safe. plus, after sunday's dramatic roof collapse, the minnesota vikings now know where they'll be playing their next game.

. welcome back. 5:38. frigid out here on the weather terrace. windchills in the single digits and teens. here's your day planner today. 24 by 9:00. at least it's going to be sunny. noon and 5:00 will be 30 degrees. topping out make 32 with the winds gusting 25 to 30 miles an hour at times. it's cold right now. we're in the middle of toy drive 9. we need your help. please pick up an extra toy, new and unwrapped one. drop it off at your area fire departments. this will help the toys for tots give toys to needy children across the area. 5:39. i'll see you inside in five minutes. here's monika with time saver traffic. we'll go south on the gw parkway between the beltway and scenic overlook. everything is looking fine. a nice ride this morning as we head into the district. coming up in my next report, we'll look at maryland roads at

5:48. thanks, monika. just about 5:40. a commuter alert for those of you who like to take a certain kind of bus out of town. megabus.com is starting to expand service from its new hub in d.c. the buses arrive and depart in a parking lot on h street northwest opposite 10th street. the company is serving 11 new cities. some fares are just a buck. itself three u.s. localities that still have median household incomes above 100,000, they're all in northern virginia. falls church, virginia has the nation's highest median household income at $113,313. followed by fairfax and loudoun counties. falls church also boasts the highest percentage of people age 235 and he -- owe 25 and up with at least a bachelor's degree. the census also finds more integration between blacks and whites but more segregated neighborhoods among hispanics. the president will be

meeting with the nation's top businessmen today. plus, hundreds of thousands of area residents will have a new way to found out when snowplows will get to their streets. hopefully they won't have to put that technology to use any time soon. the detroit tigers manager today turns 66. miami vice actor don johnson is 61. mark warner is 56. he appeared in the film "league of extraordinary gentlemen." actor adam brodie turns 31 today. -- adam brody turns 31 today.

5:44. this weather first starts with school delays. it's because of the frigid cold weather. in west virginia schools in grant, hampshire, hardy, jefferson and morgan counties opening two hours late. >> the list continues. maryland, garrett county schools are opening two hours late as are the schools in mountain ridge school district,

allegany county and rapahannock county schools in virginia will be closed because of a water problem. >> weather outside is frightfully cold. it's not a bad day, just a cold day. weather wise it's cold this morning. weather wise cold but the clear skies. deb told me she saw meteors shooting out last night. actually the night before was the better night. but there's still a few out there that you may see a shooting star this morning. your bus stop forecast, it's frightfully cold out there. the weather. mainly clear, breezy and cold. 15 to 23 for the air temperatures. sunrise at 7:19 with the sunset 4:47. these are -- these are air

temperatures. windchills single digits and teens this morning. it's frigid once again. 23 at 8:00. west winds at 12. winds are going to pick up. not as much as yesterday but still northwest at 18, 20 miles an hour by noon with a temperature of 30. that's a windchill in the upper teens to low 20s. 4:00 p.m. 31 coming down from the 32- degree high. west winds at 16. look at this. lots of sunshine, the clear skies by 8:00 and 27. so another very cold day. it's only 20 on the bay and annapolis. easton is 23. southern maryland we have 19 for pax river. fredricksburg is 19. it is 17 in cross junction. even in herndon, all of 16 degrees this morning. locally gaithersburg, laurel are at 18. columbia 19. reston, centreville, sterling, leesburg, you check in with 21 degrees. alexandria and fort fort belvoir at 19. andrews is 21 and crofton right now 20 degrees. so a very cold morning once again. it's been the case all month.

22. you remember, december 1 we had 65 early in the morning. that's been the high so far for the month. 22 right now. feeling like 13 with a west wind at 7:00 and some very dry air for now. however, jet stream comes on shore. comes across the west. dives here to the southeast. you can see the clouds going southeast here. this is going to carry a storm across the southern u.s. and just clip us tomorrow. but enough now where yesterday we were saying it was going it stay mainly south. now i think we'll get a little light snow in the afternoon on thursday. we'll put our future cast in motion. sunny and breezy this afternoon. still a few mountain flurries and snow showers that will go on in our western mountains. charles, west virginia light show. by nid day, 12:00 -- midday, 12:00, 1:00 we'll have light snow breaking out in the region. as far as snow totals again it will be fairly light. here we are thursday. by afternoon 3:30.

maybe half an inch, maybe sixen tenth business 6:00 but -- six- tenths by 6:00. a fairly light event but with temperatures below freezing, there could be a few slick spots in the afternoon. 32 today. 30 tomorrow with a light snow. friday 39. over the weekend we watch for possible coastal saturday night, sunday although right now may be sliding south and east of us and cold and windy early next week. it's 5:48. here's monika. i'm so happy to say we started off with a nice ride all around town this morning. we'll take a look at the beltway all around town. the lanes are open. and not bad as you head over the american legion bridge or down south at the wilson bridge. let's take a look at the beltway on the north side of town. outer loop looks like this. pretty much all the way from 95 as you make your ride westbound. 270 looks good as well this morning. we'll take you over to maryland on the south side of town at route 4, route 5 and route 301. everything is final. all lanes are open. -- is fine. all lanes are open. the beltway looks good southbound heading toward the wilson bridge. take you to your travel times.

on 495, 395 to 267, 13-minute ride. the toll road from 674 to the beltway, 6 minutes. 295 to the beltway to the 11th street bridge a 7-minute ride. in my next report we'll take a look at virginia roads at 6:00. making news now at 5:49, today president obama will meet with 20 c.e.o.s at the white house to discuss ways to boost the economy, including tax reforms, the deficit and clean energy. yesterday the federal reserve decided not to change interest rates in its final meeting of the year. today the food and drug administration will finish a hearing on evidence on whether or not mercury dental fillings are safe. the panel is taking another look at some possible health risks, especially for pregnant women and children. last year the fda ruled amalgam fillings are safe. however, several consumer groups are now challenging that decision. the good old days are back. they'll -- there will most

likely be frozen tundra next monday in minneapolis. that's because the vikings will have to play their game against chicagoout side at the university of minnesota's outdoor stadium. repairs are under way to the collapsed roof of the metrodome but they will not be finished in time for the game. a new online tool should help out people in montgomery county if we encounter a snowmageddon event this coming winter. please, no. >> scoot broom shows us the program allows users to track the progress of snowplows headed to your neighborhood to determine if it's safe for you to head out. >> reporter: that's the idea behind the county's new online snowplow mapping system. so now imagine last season's snowmageddon. you're among hundreds of thousands who are snow bound. next time you can at least turn to your computer to see how much progress plows have made on or near your street. here's how the transportation department explain it is. >> if you're sitting home in a cul-de-sac and you're trying to

make an informed decision on whether you should go to the airport or head to new york city, you can now look at our map at the progress we're going to show. >> reporter: to hear county officials tell it, this is a great leap forward. no, it does not mean you'll get plowed out any sooner. nor will it tell you exactly when one of the 400 plows is going to come rescue you. but at least you'll know where the nearest plowed street is without venturing outside. you can type in your own address to start. the map feature as key telling you if a particular street is cleared. plowing is in progress or the street is untouched. it maps bus stops and metro stations and there's a link to any one of the county's nearly 200 traffic cameras, something executive ike leggett likes a lot. >> this places us in a very, very accountable position. >> reporter: mapping or not, here are compton's reflections on last season's weather. >> the biggest lesson learned is we hope it doesn't happen

again. >> reporter: scott broom, 9news now. >> of course you hear the laughter behind him. you can try it out yourself. it's pretty neat. go to our website wusa9.com. look for the story under maryland news. >> make sure your battery is always charged because you could be out of luck still. if a new gaming system is on your holiday gift list, we'll compare some of the most popular brands for you. hello, i'm jonathan moore and i'm victoria moore from turkey. we'd like to say happy holidays to our friends and family in washington, d.c. this is going out to gwen, clarence, my siblings and clarence, jr.,

miss shana and family. happy holidays. merry christmas. lots of lotions promised healing.

this one actually does it. [ female announcer ] gold bond ultimate healing lotion. nothing feels like it, smells like it, heals like it. gold bond. this stuff really works. 5:55 on this cold wednesday morning.

teens and low 20s now. by 9:00 sunny, 24. it will still be kind of breezy out today. winds could gust 25, 30. noontime temperature 30 but lots of sunshine. a few flurries in the mountains. by 5:00 p.m. we're still at 30. we'll top off around 32. sunny and breezy today. maybe a little snow on thursday. mike and andrea, back to you. >> thank you, howard. at 5:56 it's time to answer the question of the day. when this first hit stores, it was made out of spruce trees. then a better version was made using wax. >> today most made with synthetic rubber so what are we still buying at stores today made from all these things over the years? was it a, fake christmas tree, b, chewing gum or c, a rubber stamp. >> and the answer is b, chewing gum. when chewing gum first hit stores in 1848 it was made out of the sap from spruce trees. a better version was made a few years later using wax. >> modern chewing gum developed in the 1860's when companies

began using cheek leg. it's a natural product. >> it's sound weird we're chewing on a latex product. several consumer polls show games will likely be on the holiday's top selling list. >> newly released x dx box kinect is totally hands free. we look at what is the best for you. >> reporter: most video games are hot. they detect your movements and let you be part of the action. >> sports games are like my favorite type of game. >> you really feel like you're in the game. >> reporter: they're using a wii gaming console. wii was the first to get into motion-based gaming. consumer reports just checked

out the updated enhanced controller option. >> anyone ten know created the wii motion plus which is an accessory this attaches which basically helps the nintendo wii detect the motion of the remote controller. >> reporter: you still need a remote to play wii's games and a platform for activities like crow ga. unfortunately consumer reports says wii's graphics just aren't great but it costs about $100 less than itself seasony play station's move and the kinect which makes the wii a good choice for entry level game erption of the the move and kinect will run you about $300 but they have more to offer. testers note that the playstation move has great graphics and you only need controllers, no platform necessary. that's plus. the play station system comes with a blu player, internet browser and the ability to play some games in 3-d. the new kinect is unique because you don't need to hold a thing while playing. >> you stand in front of a camera. it picks up everything your body does.

>> reporter: whatever moves you make, your avatar will do the same thing on the screen. that's why you don't need a controller. what you will need, though, is a lot of space. ideally six feet from the tv set and plenty of elbow room for two players. but if you've got the room, consumer reports says the kinect is well worth the money. all three motion-based gaming systems come bun al daled with -- bundled with at least one game. additional games will run you at least $50 each. lesli foster, 9news now. >> for deals on video games systems and holiday gifts, log on to our website wusa9.com. click on the ready set shop link. it's right there in the lower right side of our home page. thank you for watching 9news now. check your watches. it's 6:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. check your temperature gauge because you'll have trouble finding it. good morning. i'm mike hydeck. here's monika samtani in for angie with traffic. >> we're 22 here in washington. >> before we