troubleshooter horace holmes help to understand how to deal contractors in your home. in several different investigations, 7 on your side put lectureship, plumbers, and duct cleaning copies to the test and how to avoid becoming a victim of either an unscrupulous or incompetent contractor. now look at it some of the stories 7 underside is excited to bring you. >> nancy is an important warning for people using >> we've seen many instances recently of these trail attacks. women assaulted as they exercise on popular paths during daylight hours. we went to the prince george's county police department for real advice on how to protect yourself. we will show you what we learned , easy remember a new verse that partt the most vulnerable of an attacker to matter what your size. this is about maximum impact in getting away. >> what am i doing? i'm pulling her in. my hand is tied up. my other hand is probably doing something and now she has fist, needs, nothing else. >> join us for our store that airs thursday night at 11:00 right here on abc 7. adrianna: thank you. 7 on your sid

and horace holmes will be back with one of our favorites, more installments from his "is it worth it"ies. jonathan: people love these. horace: i love doing them. it is all about helping you make the right decision about spending your time and money on a trendy service or highly advertised product. we have looked at home warranties, ridesharing, and other items. 7 on your side is investigating getting a new set of items to determine for you, is it worth it? believe it or not, it's time to start making your list and checking it for your holidays, but most of us wait for the big black friday sales to get the best deals on big-ticket items. standing in line and trying to get their first -- there first, i enjoy the rest. horace: what is it worth going through this on the friday after thanksgiving? and this may be the hottest gift item in stores this holiday season. >> virtual reality will become part of our everyday life. horace: is it worth buying a device now that could be obsolete in a few months when a newer, better version comes out? and there will not only be long lines at stores and

horace holmes digs in to find out if it's worth it. n you think of a worse feeling than hopping in the car on a cold winter day and turning on the ignition -- [engine stalling] this is the time of year to give your car a check-up. this is the toughest se the year for the car. the winter car care package sounds good. >> not that much money off the usual rate. >> a lot of places that advertise specials are marketing come ons presented by often lousy businesses trying to bring in customers to find something wrong with the car. >> ignore the specials they say. take your car to your personal mechanic. of course you can do it yourself for very little money. winterize the checklist out. first, drain your cooling system and add new antifreeze. check conditions of the tires, replace the wiper blades and look at the battery and clean the connecting cables of corrosion. i'm horace holmes, abc7 news. >> right now at 5:00, indictment and not guilty pleas from the two former trump campaign officials. while a third person pleads guilty and sparks more

troubleshooter horace holmes is live in rockville to explain. horace: we are at the call for action headquarters in rockville. different number to call if you want to talk to the volunteers and you have a consumer problem. 301-652-4357. 301-652-help. perhaps you have been scammed. call in executive, the director of call for action. >> the f.b.i. is warning people about something called virtual kidnapping. this is a call and the family member or loved one has been kidnapped and they want you to send money. don't answer the call in the first place. if you do, hang up. whatever you do, don't wire funds. horace: thank you. we will be here from now until 6:30 to answer the calls. this is free. keep them busy. 301-652-4357. nancy: get the phones ringing. thank you. let's start with the good news. d.c. is moving down on the list of the rattiest cities in america. we are talking about rats. the big ones. the bad fuse is we are still in the top five. suzanne kennedy takes a look at how bad the problem is in the nation's capital. suzanne: with the colder

horace holmes, abc7 news. alison: good to know. thank you for that. water date is synonymous with scandal. room 214 where the nixon burglars oversaw the democratic national committee break-in got a makeover. the room has been actually redesigned by scandal costume designer lynn paulo and they say it preserves the history and gives at it modern feel. >> we decided wouldn't it be great to bring the elements in the room. for instance we have a tape recorder. if you w friends, we have typewriter which works. >> wow! >> i know. it's so cool. >> room 214 can be booked starting tomorrow but it will cost you $800 a night. the watergate hotel completed a $200 million make over. >> there are kids at home saying mom, what is a typewriter? alison: yeah. jonathan: what does it do? alison: and what is watergate jonathan: that, too. talk about what is happening outside. it's gorgeous. i hope you got to spend lunch outside. alison: perfect day. steve: if you couldn't spend lunch out there today you have tomorrow, saturday and sunday and then it changes moving to next

horace holmes in the "7 on your side" call for action headquarters in rockville, maryland. we are here with all the volunteers who work so hard to answer your consumer problems to address some complaints that you might have. call for action has been an organization that has been in existence for 40 years. we have joined forces with them to answer your problems. the volunteers make it work. now give you an opportunity right now. if you think you would like to get involved and actually help other people. we are open for volunteers. we have a telephone number for you to call if you would like to volunteer. they train you here. 1-800-647-1756. you ask an work for call for action and they will tell you gratifying it, how rewarding it is to get involve and see people get money back from a contractor who ripped them off or get a product that doesn't work returned and get the company working on their side instead of the other way around. so if you have a problem, the telephone number to call is 301-652-4357. we are here from now until 6:30. you can volunteer contact call for action

horace holmes in the center now. everybody has a question about therca. especially some noise that just popped up. they want to know if it's expensive noise or a cheap one. horace: so we will open up the lines now. 703-236-9220. boom! there they go. people are calling in now. if you have a problem with the car, we are here until now until of:30. sert -- until 6:30. certified mechanics from a.a.a. jim is here. we are getting ready to move in the cold weather, what should we do with the car now? >> look for battery problems. if you stop in a a.a.a. location they will check it in free of charge. the temperature drops, it starts to attack the system. typically also if your car is equipped with a center to monitor the tire pressure you will start to see those go off and the lights come on, on the dash. firs when it's really cold. we can check those to make sure the tire pressure are okay. horace: we'll pick up other things later on. 703-236-9220. give them a call. this is free. give them a call and they will answer questions. back to you. michelle: we love free