melanie. >> so it will end up nice.u, gwen. >>> well when you think of arthritis older people come to mind. but it can strike children as young as 2 with devastating consequences. well there are some recoreys if -- recoveries if you can catch it early. that story is coming up next. - ( music playing ) - we know technology can make you more connected. but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-mail. test results from home. check records. change appointments. now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive. >>> well when you think of arthritis you associate it with an aarp card. but it can strike children as young as 2. but when it is diagnosed early, the results can be near miraculous. christine devine has the story. >> reporter: if they gave out a biggest charmer award, the hospital's 3-year-old sofia would

i'm melanie alnwick. sarah simmons is off today. the white house is expected to issue a travel alert for europe sometime today. the alert is expected to be vague and won't address a specific country or landmark. americans are being advised to stay vigilant when heading to popular european destinations. melee henenberg has the latest. >> reporter: americans are learning more about the terror alert awaiting them when they land. >> what can one do. when you go you try to be as safe as possible. even here there could be a bomb scare. >> reporter: president obama plans to issue a terror alert where westerner's travel or do business. >> this is a very plausible threat. i don't usually put much creeden in these, but this could happen. >> there is a said link to osama bin laden. intelligence officials say they caught word of the plot in planning stages. one security expert said it's likely to target hotels with less security. >> those are softer targets for the terrorists who don't have the same degree of security as some of the larger icon

i'm melanie alnwick. sarah simmons is off today. we'll have those stories plus a former university of virginia swimmer dies while racing in the united emirates. an annual race in arlington, we'll run down the street closures for but. >>> but tropical troubles. richard is expected to be a hurricane today before it roars toward southeastern mexico. it's already pounded honduras. gary is tracking the storm. >>> richard was a strong tropical storm. 70 miles per hour. it is forecast to become a hurricane and it may become one in the next advisories that about to come out any time now. i just checked and it went quite in. back home, you mentioned the army ten miler, a beautiful morning like that. they may like it coolers. it's in the 50s right now. one little batch of cloud cover passing now. we'll have hit or miss sunshine today and clouds and most of the rain is northwest of us. all of the shows in the ohio river valley and up into michigan and farther back out to west, that's why we have some of the clouds this morning and i think we'l

. >> and i'm melanie alnwick. and the redskins try to make it two in a row against the packers. >>> but first new this morning, we have a story we've been following. a deadly accident in rockville, maryland. near rockville pike and marinelli road, north of bethesda. a driver hit two pedestrians, police tell us. one has died, the other is in critical condition. the driver did stay on the scene. so far no word on what may have caused the accident but this is the latest in a string of deadly accidents involving pedestrians in montgomery county. just this past week. we'll get a live update in less than ten minutes. >>> a montgomery county man is behind bars after allegedly paying someone to kill his estranged wife. it was a tip that led to the arrest of the suspected murder for hire case in maryland. roz plater has the details. >> reporter: worried about how he would fair in a pending divorce, police say 42-year-old richard boyd, jr., asked an acquaintance to kill his estranged wife. at his rockville home on friday, i

melanie -- melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> the cookoff continues until 8:00 p.m. tonight and tomorrow frommity error -- 1130 i'm a.m. to 8:00 p.m. customers are asked to vote for their first food truck. >>> following breaking news in silver spring, maryland. sky fox is high bost the scene right now. this is a single-family home and there are firefighters on the ground and we understand a woman inside was rescued and don't have word on her condition. that looks look firefighters are inside now squirting water from the inside to the roof the building and that looks like mai they may have the fire out. we'll bring you more information and pass it along as soon as we get it. >>> and toxic sludge reaches a major river in europe. the latest on this is still ahead. >>> and it's smaller than a credit card but the impact on public safety could be huge. i'll tell you how this could save a >> keep it here. fox news at 5 is getting started. g ol my dad is the supervisor of a train station and my mom's a teacher. my dad's an auto technician. my mom's a re

. -- melanie alnwick. >> reporter: here a zone you don't see that often. some of the nation's retailers actually hiring for the holiday sales season. it is predicted that many holiday jobs will be up for grabs this year. >> the economy is slowly bigging its way out of recession so the -- digging its way out of recession on the demand is up. >> reporter: macy's is looking to hire 65,000. kohl's 40,000. pier 1 says it will need at least 10 more employees per store but in some cases, the job have already been filled. >> no question it is competitive because there are so man people out of work. >> reporter: the employment picture is better than last year but by no means a return to normal. >> it will not be a gangbusters great year but it is not going to be like the ones we've seen over last few. >>> many stores are still recovering from the severe slump of 2008 and have fewer full-time staff. holiday sales in 2010 will see a slight uptick, about 2. #%. people word looking for a little extra cash need to act quickly and be flexible, says challenger. >> you can

melanie alnwick shows us the chois can be pretty overwhelming. >> reporter: in maryland, it is time toown the phone and pick i'm hands-free device. >> the law is coming and people procrastinate. >> reporter: the quickest fix is a wired headset, it is cheap, about $15 and easy. awed quo quality and the wire itself are minuses. for phones with blue tooth, wireless headsets offer lots of choices. >> when they first launched, it was easy, pick just one was cute. >> comfort is the most important. it will be on your ear and it will be very irritating if you don't get the right fit. >> reporter: mid to high-end devices offer more custom fit. >> how long is your commute? how long will you be using your phone? we kind of tie it into the customer needs and be able it link up and find the right product for them that way. >> reporter: premium models have stereo plus noise and echo cancellation. prices range from $40 to $140. on top of the tech scale is the in-car installation. >> turn the car on, automatically pops up on the screen or you hear that your phone is connected and it works. >> reporter

i know more than one song now. >> reporter: she certainly does. >> caller: melanie entered the countryw in stores. it was fun to see nashville through her eye, a self-proclaimed yankee is now converted. >> jennifer, thank you very much. a great piece. >>> up next, the best of the best, we reveal the winners of the readers choice awards and find out what the right name is first on nbc. >>> we're back at 8:44, the best in the world, conde nast, awards. welcome back. how do these people travel around, come up with this list and you come up with a list of nominees and they vote on them? >> they suggest it theirselves and 10,000 were nominated and they voted on places and properties and karen tals and airlines. >> as long as it made for a great vacation and made travel better, they would vote on it. >> all sorts of ambience to good value and food. >> let's get right to the headline. we will go to the best resort in the world. it scores a perfect 100 points? >> the 10 seasons in northern thailand. it's the first time it got 100 out of 100. >> nothing they didn't like about this place? >> not

bienvenida a despierta amÉrica y también dÉbora y su hija melany que la vimos por aquÍ desplazÁndose. vida, dicen, pero estabas truncada en esta situaciÓn. >> en el principio sÍ. porque la criatura depende de ti y cÓmo voy a hacerlo y voy a involucrar a muchas personas para llegar a lograr algo. >> cuÁles son los riesgos que corren los niÑos nacidos de adolescentes. >> muchos de ellos tienen problemas respiratorios, nacen antes de tiempo, tienen bajo peso y en el futuro sufren maltrato porque muchas de las niÑas no tienen la preparaciÓn para tratarlos. se quedan sin el apoyo del papÁ del bebÉ, sin el apoyo de la familia. >> melany va por todo el set, tienes paciencia suficiente. >> sÍ. >> en algÚn momento sentiste que no supiste cÓmo controlar el asunto? >> mÁs o menos, pero mi mamá estaba ahÍ para ayudarme. >> la familia es muy importante. quÉ puede hacer la familia? es un punto clave. >> la base de todo esto es el apoyo que tengan las muchachas cuando se empiezan a desarrollar. involucrarlas en actividades culturales y deportes y hablar del sexo y cÓmo mantenerse en abstinencia y un

. >> melanie alnwick tells us some home owners apparently were taken advantage of. >> reporter: thisney. she fights for home owners in trouble and isn't viced by the documentation problems popping up at every major lender right now. >> too many of our clients would should have been offered a million dollarification haven't been because the file has been closed improperly. >> reporter: lakeshore bank of america, j. p. morgan cheese and allied financial have admit their executives signed off to thousands of foreclosure documents without reading them. paul leonard vice president of government affairs at financial services round stable says clopy signatures don't change the urine lying facts. >> are the fact of the case that the person was eight months behind on their payments, could not aerred for the modifications, were failed the modification, does that home need to go to foreclosure, but jump needs the confidence to say organization these documents show that. >> reporter: because of that lack of confidence, maryland is now one of 40 states calling for a 60-day moratorium on foreclosu

bienvenida a despierta amÉrica y también dÉbora y su hija melany que la vimos por aquÍ desplazÁndose. los padres y del bebÉ y estÁn americlas en esto y si no hay a de las familias. por mi familia. yo pude lograr mis estudios y hay muchas madres adolescentes que no pueden decir lo mismo. >> eres una mujer exitosa. traer un hijo al mundo es a am de las experiencias icamáh@desp corren los niÑos nacidos de adolescentes. >> muchos de ellos tienen problemas respiratorios, nacen antes despierta americadespiert tienes paciencia suficiente. >> sÍ. >> en algÚn momento sentiste que no supiste cÓmo controlar el asunto? >> mÁs o menos, pero mi mamá estaba ahÍ para ayudarme. >> la familia es muy importante. quÉ puede hacer la t familia? es un punto clave. ier empezÓ, cuidarse. >> siempre he dicho que la base de todo esto es la familia como base fundamental de la sociedad y la comunicaciÓn como herramienta. >> melany estÁ disfrutando del estudio de despierta amÉrica. seguimos con mucho mÁs. >> yo te platico quÉ tenemos mÁs adelante. se encuentran en nuestros estudios los a amerdes la mÚsica durangue

we have a system of justice and justice must prevail, period. >> reporter: melanie alnwick, fox 5 news the maryland governor's office is expected to formally ask j. p. morgan, allied and bank of america which does a lot of business in the state to include maryland on its voluntary list. we haven't heard from attorney general doug gansler's office as to whether he will agree to a mandated state-wide moratorium. >>> a frightening and painful mishap for a woman in arizona rushed to hospital after mistaking her eye drops for super glue. the woman had cataract surge are you last year. she was reaching for what she thought was one of her eye drop medications when she accidentally grabed a container after super glue and squirted it into her eye. she felt a burning sensation and the glue quickly sealed her eye shut. >> they had to cut off the glue substance and it was all hard and it was in the eye and it was just everywhere and i couldn't even see. can you go infection being blindness being removal of the eye on something like this. please help. please help. >> the fda is interviewing her thi

>> i'm melanie, and i'm from the bay area. >> jmy: very cool.carpet samples! go for it. [ cheers and applause ] you got a good one there. there, that's a nice spin, nice spin. step back, you don't wanto get rug burn. >> all right. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: here we go. that's a great spin. where it lands, no one knows, not one human being knows. we're about to find out. it's coming down to it. uh-oh, thorny bramble! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] thorny bramble. if you land on that, that means your score is 867-530 -- 8. ♪ conatulations. you know what that sound means. it's time for the speed round. >> i've got the need -- f love. [ laughter >> jimmy: which meanst's time for a carpet sample birthday wish. >> carpet sample birthday wish. >> jimmy: that's right. let's all wish a very happy birthday to longtime "wheel of carpet samples" producer josiah steamherder. 87 years young. [ lauger ] >> happy birthday. [ cheers and applause ] >> jiy: happy birthy. the same birthday as mother. ♪ [ intense music ] where did the doggy go, mother? ♪ the rain got in my i

melanie ulnich, fox 5 news. [ music ] >> how about those 70-degree weather or temperatures today. the temperature at all three major airport in the 70s. it looks like dulles and baltimore up to 75 degrees. a little cooler here in the city. in terms of what's going on right now, we have generally fair skies. a little bit of cloud cover out there. all of the rain is staying way back out to the west of us. but there is a lot of it. the severe weather down to the south tonight. more showers and thunderstorms are coming up through chicago. up into eventually it looks like detroit and maybe crossing into ohio. let's look at the high temperatures today. 73. again the high temperature for national today. and let me show you something, i was going to show you something but it didn't want to go there. i was going to show you that there is an absence of any cold air across the country. so for the next several days, we will stay much like today, in the 70s. we should be about 66 degrees. tomorrow with limited sunshine, and even a chance for some showers, maybe even a thunderstorm get up to 74

it features a single with cameos from melanie fiona and common. it off itunes and check the video for "wake up." it's on youtube. and you will never know who will make the cameo. [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: i will do that. i'll definitely do that. that's cool. you just told us who makes the cameo. it's melanie fiona and common. >> questlove: well, maybe i did. maybe i didn't. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: okay, i'll pick it up anyways. >> yo, yo, yo, jimmy. let me get my time, man. >> jimmy: oh, kamal, yeah. go ahead, buddy. >> yeah, yeah. a big shout out to shoe laces, baby. they keep the sneaks on your feet. [ laughter ] they come in black, white, red, or any other color you can possibly dream of. i mean, it's nuts! without them we would be running around barefoot all the time getting cuts and scrapes and ruining pedicures. yo, shoe laces! because velcro is for lames. stupid! [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: i like velcro. >> yo, jimmy, stop hating. let me get on. jimmy, let me get on. >> jimmy: okay. morgan murphy, one of our writers. morgan, g

melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> maryland's entire congressional delegation signed that letter asking a court to step in. we expect to hear more on that when the court returns tomorrow from the columbus day holiday. >>> in case you didn't know it, we have a little heat record today in the d.c. area. >> we did. it was 78 set in 2001. they got up to 86, i believe. >> crushed it. >> we shattered it. 86, definitely crushed the record. d.c. got up to 88 degrees missing the record by 2 degrees. we even had some pretty strong thunderstorms tonight, too, with some hail reported in anne arundel county. the severe thunderstorm warning for that county has just expired because that big cluster of thunderstorms moved over to the eastern shore, but we have new warnings over there. so quiet around d.c. tonight, but in a few spots it's been pretty active. straight to radar we go and i'll show you that storm has gone across the bay and you can see portions of at least four counties on the eastern shore affected. watch out in chester town, centreville, this will be moving east at 30 miles an hour. it w

fox 5's money reporter melanie alnwick is live in the net center with a way to combine holiday sales and another saving trend. >> i've been scanning the web looking for those leaked black friday circulars and i've only found two true black friday deals so far. the true valley is one of them, but you know what? there are more coming. certain sites like blackfridayads.net will start posting them in late october. that's about the time they saw them last year in early november. if you're really on your game, you may able to combine two holiday trends into one super deal. t.j. maxx, toys r us, sears, just some of the retailers where lay- away has come roaring back to life. >> you can put everything from toys and jewelry, electronics, appliances, everything. >> research that was conducted the consumer listed lay-away as a no. 1 budgeting item for them that helps them plan their shopping for the local someday season especially. >> reporter: and there's a hidden bonus. you do your research and time it just right. >> most of the stores give you the sales price if it goes on sale during the pe

fox 5's money reporter melanie alnwick has a look at the possible impact. >> reporter: two plus years after the foreclosure crisis began you'd think we'd be almost out of the woods. not even close says maureen fryer, ceo of the national housing conference. >> we also know from our studies delinquencies are up, so foreclosures will, you know, continue. it's not going away. >> reporter: mucking up the situation even more? revelations by two mortgage lenders allied financial formerly gmac and jpmorgan chase that its employees were pushing through foreclosures without reviewing the paperwork for accuracy. >> it sounds like they were processing the foreclosures very quickly for some and maybe not applying the kind of legal standards that are necessary. >> reporter: court documents show employers called robo signers signed off on 10,000 to 18,000 foreclosures a month. allied and jpmorgan chase both said they'll halt some of their foreclosures to rely procedures. many believe other lenders will do the same. >> people signed without reading and understanding and so we do think that, you know,

melanie hoffman, your next question is to mr. becker. >> as a member of the constitution party, what is your position on the continued buildup of american troops in afghanistan? >> i think we need to first take a look at happened on september 11. there were three buildings that collapsed on september 11 -- world trade center seven was two blocks away from the twin towers. it was not rained on by any debris. at 5:00 p.m. on 9/11, james stanley, a reporter for the bbc, was standing at ground zero reported that building seven collapsed, when you can see it over their shoulder. then it did collapse. needs to be investigated. thaltar of building seven before 9/11 had taken out -- the older of the building 74 9/11 had taken up an insurance policy. he said he gave the order to pull it. it is a controlled demolition term. more evidence of foreknowledge. you can look at the bbc footage. how did the british know 20 minutes ahead of time that this would happen. this needs to be investigated. there is a preponderant of anomalies surrounding

fox 5's melanie alnwick has highlights tonight. >> reporter: live from louisville, kentucky, fox news sunday had the candidates for senate there go head to head. dr. rand paul is considered the tea party's first nominee. >> we need to leave more money in kentucky. all these big government schemes, obama care, a trillion dollars, stimulus package, a trillion dollars, the money is not free. we're getting it and borrowing it or simply printing it at the reserve. it's all very destructive and i think we're getting to point in this country where we could have real problems if we don't elect somebody who will go up there and seriously talk about reining in the size and scope of federal government. >> reporter: attorney general jack conway wants to represent the democrats. >> i'm going to put kentucky first, understand the state, try to create the jobs of the future with the hometown tax credit and look at our trade deals from top to bottom because we've lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs, someone who looks out for our national security because we have a lot of soldiers in this state. i won't g

fox 5's melanie alnwick looked at the effort to get the state included in the foreclosure freeze. >> reporter: bank of america just the latest lender to admit some of its executives signed off on foreclosure affidavits without verifying their accuracy. jpmorgan chase and allied financial have also been caught in court revelations of robo signing, all three voluntarily agreeing to halt foreclosures in 23 states. that doesn't include maryland. >> if there is any state that cries out to be a part of a moratorium, it is maryland. as a matter of fact, we should be no. 1. we don't have something called right of redemption. that means once that property is taken it's gone. >> reporter: representative elijah cummings has now asked the take the to put a two month moratorium on all -- the state to put a two month moratorium on all foreclosures. >> nobody is saying banks, you can't foreclosed. we're just saying you've already admitted to not following the law. so what are we supposed to do, just close our eyes and act like it didn't happen? >> reporter: while that may help distressed homeowners

in baghdad melanie wilkes, fox news. >> spending one step ahead of the bad guys and where they may strikece department in california is taking detective work to a whole new level, stopping crime before it happens. >> and more sex talk the plan on opening a sex shop is causing controversy. here -- hear what have to say. it is our live talk back coming up.  t  words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- no

joining us, melanie barnes, director of the president's policy counsel from the white house.he president reaching out to young people, i guess, trying to energize the base? this is the latest effort. there is some risk associated with getting involved with one of these town hall meetings. >> first of all, i think the president loves to go out and talk to young people. and he certainly loves engaging in a town hall format. this is nothing new for us. this is consistent with what he's been doing for the last 24 months. he gives a back to school speech for young people every year. he starts a race to the top commencement challenge. that's the first time when a president has committed to go speak to high school students year after year after year. i was with him when he was at texas a&m. he was recently at the university of wisconsin. he enjoys talking to people in this age group. >> now there's a little fuss being kicked up because backstage.com put out that there was a casting call for members of the audience when they were reaching out for a diverse crowd of young people, 18 y

. >> for nearly three weeks, melanie miers has been watching her computer, hoping an online contest will help give her neighborhood park a face lift. >> the equipment here is more than 50 years old. it's rusting and dangerous, not suitable for kids. it's falling apart. >> reporter: with no money available from the city, miers and her group entered the solano play lot in the nationwood contest in the kaboom web site, a nonprofit devoted to creating accessible playgroundses in communities around the world. the top vote-getter receives $25,000. >> for a long time before we got started there was no one in this park. it was a dead park with people coming through, doing things -- negative things. >> reporter: then the community came together. neighbors became frans friends d began to rehabilitate the play area. >> it's wonderful to walk up the street and see one you know. it's wonderful to know that your neighbors have your back. >> reporter: the online voting ended at 2:00 this afternoon. the group was hoping to know quickly if they had won, but a spokesperson for kaboom say it would take a w

melanie was with the speaker's office doing similar work, so that we could be successful in san francisco and but in a position to make a lot of the announcements we have been making bore over the last number of years. i happen to think this is a big deal. i think that other cities across the country that struggle to deal with the issue of their diversion rates with landfills that are literally filling up, that are becoming floating regattas of landfills that are being pushed up and down rivers and across the coast and around the continent, that this represents an important milestone, the cities can think differently and act differently and do some of them substantially differently -- do something substantially differently as it relates to their waist. what we know, we do not think, is that 1 million to 1.5 million people are moving into the urban cores and consuming roughly 80% of the earth's natural resources in these urban centers. what do you do with that consumption? what do you do with that waste? what do you do with the construction debris associated with accommodating for that mas

fox 5's melanie alnwick has the rundown. >> control of the senate is up for grabs. >> reporter: 37 senate seats in play, pennsylvania and west virginia among the most closely watched, where the republican and democratic frontrunners' leads have been damaged by association with the extremes of their party. >> i never expected this to be anything but a close and competitive race. pennsylvania is a big swing state and we expected this would be close. >> they don't want to talk about the records. they want to talk about guilt through association. >> reporter: both fox news sunday and face the nation tackled campaign spending and werth undisclosed contributions hurt the political process. >> these special interests don't like the fact that their power has been reined in and they're fighting back by spending tens of millions of dollars to try and buy a congress to do their bidding again. >> in 2008 president obama received the benefit of over $400 million of spending by outside groups on his behalf, most of whom did not report a single donor, and it was not a threat to democracy when it helped

. >> i'm melanie. i had my surgery five months ago. i had the gastric sleeve. and i've lost 83 pounds. >> i'm lucy, i had thursday 3 1/2 months ago and i lost 66 pounds. >> hi, i'm cindy. i lost 158 pounds in 11 months. >> reporter: these women are some recent success stories in the never-ending battle against obesity. they're winning that fight not through diet or exercise or even pills but with an extreme surgery called vertical sleeve gastrectomy. >> this is the part of the stomach. >> reporter: where, in less than an hour, 85% of the stomach is removed permanently. some believe these drastic operations are the only real cure to obesity. >> pulling a rabbit out of the hat. >> reporter: that was the bulk of holly's stomach, who we first met the day before her operation. >> it's way overdue. i've been fighting with weight since i was 6 years old. i've been on every diet. you name it, i've done it. and i may lose weight here and there but then it winds up creeping back on. >> reporter: more than 200 pounds overweight, this 38-year-old nurse doesn't have many ch

decide if patrick gonzalez will face life in prison or the death penalty for the murder of byrd and melanieillings. the jury deliberated just five hours thursday. prosecutors say gonzalez led a group of men dressed as ninjas on a brutal home invasion robbery in july 2009. they were shot to death. their nine special needs children were in the home at the time. >>> nearly four years after anna nicole smith died of a drug overdose in florida, a los angeles jury has returned a split verdict in the trial of three people who were close to her in those final days. kendis gibson reports. >> anna nicole smith's ex-boyfriend howard k. stern appeared fighting back emotions leaving the los angeles criminal courthouse. >> she would think this is ridiculous. that's all i really am going to say. she would think it's absolutely ridiculous. >> moments earlier a jury convicted them on conspiracy charges. a third defendant, smith's medical doctor, who gave her prescription drugs, was found not guilty on all counts. >> it truly is a victory for not only patients but also physicians who treat difficult, chronic

melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> you can try out the food truck for yourself today between 11:30 and #:00. customers on suit are being asked to vote if their favorite food truck. >>> the redskins are dealing with changes in the backfield. some new faces may have some insider information. that is coming up next. the bullets or the wizards? some fans have been pushing for to return to its old names and the wizards owner is weighing in. we'll talk about that next. >>> fox is sending the a team of announcers to fedex field for the redskins game against the packers. three of the redskins four contests have been decided on the last play. with clinton pour stay with us out, ryan torain is in. he split time with portis the last two weeks. number 35 keilan williams saw playing time with the skins in week two and week three. he was released and is now back on the practice squad. the newest back is number 9. he was with the packers in the pre- season. >> it is a blessing. i took a physical, passed it and now i'm here. i had my first little walk- through practice. felt good. can't wait to make my

he is the first of seven men to stand trial for the 2009 murders of burt and melanie billings. the killers allegedly thought they had a safe filled with millions of dollars. among the witnesses, the couple's daughter and the neighbor, who found their bodies. >> she was in the bedroom in front of the dresser, face down, in the bedroom. >> did you find miss billings also in there? >> she was in front of the closet. >> if convicted, gonzales could get the death penalty. >>> a new survey on bullying. the study of 43,000 high school students found that 43% said they'd been physically abused, teased or taunted in a way that seriously upset them in the past year. and 50% admitted to being to being the bully. the white house is taking on the issue of bullying with a letter to schools and colleges around the country. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: 17-year-old samantha gerson was bullied so much she transferred schools. >> it was tough. i know i would come home crying from middle school about this one girl who used to bully me nonstop. >> reporter: the cases are multiplying and horr

reporter: she certainly does. >> caller: melanie entered the country music world knowing nothing, shee rough her eye, a self-proclaimed yaee is now converted. >> jennifer, thank you very much. a grt piece. >>> up next, the best of the best, we reveal the winners of the readers choice awards and find outhat the right name is fit on nbc. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] it's a universal gesture... ♪ a way of telling the world "you did it!"... without saying a word. introducing the mercedes-benz sls...amg. [ engine revs ] ♪ the best or nothing... that is what dres us. because life takes wendy places. and life takes her family places. hi, mom. [ female announcer ] so knowing she can find in network doctors and pharmacies whenever or wherever she needs them directly from her mobile phone is impoant to wendy. ♪ where to next, wendy? ♪ know more. get better get a smarter health plan, aetna.com. >>> we're back at 8:44, the best in the world, conde nast, awards. welcome back. how do these people travel around, come up with this list and you come up with a list of nominees and they vote on them? >> they

melanie alnwick has the story on the holiday hiring. >> reporter: here a sign you don't see that oftenf the nation's largest retailers actually hiring for the holiday sales season. employment consulting firm, challenger gray and christmas predict up to 600,000 holiday retail jobs will be up for grabs. >> it is good news because the economy is slowly digging its way out of recession so the demand is up. >> toys r us plans to add 45,000. that is 10,000 more than last year. macy's is looking to hire 65,000. kohl's, 40,000. pier 1 says it will need at least 10 more employees per store but in some cases, the jobs have already been filled. >> no question, it is competitive because there are still see many people word out of work. >> reporter: the employment picture is better than last year but by no means a return to normal. >> it won't be a gangbusters great year but it is also not going to be like the ones we've seen over the last few. >> reporter: many stores are still recovering from the severe slump of 2008 and have fewer full-time staff. holiday sales in 2010 will see a slight uptick,

melanie alnwick has a look at some of the changes. >> reporter: of the 33 vehicles tested under the newly two, the bmw five series four-door and the late release hyundai sonata received a five-star overall rating. >> we are raising the bar on safety, addressing grade unnation by making it far more difficult for a vehicle to earn five-star status. >> the tests now include a simulated side collision way pell or tree at 20 miles per hour. >> we were seeing a lot of head and shoulder and upper body injury from these types of accidents. we decided to include a really severe test like this. >> reporter: a new small female dummy has been added to better evaluate a woman's injury potential. >> we were noticing that small women were really having issues in passenger side front and passenger side rear accidents and how the injuries they were sustaining. >> reporter: front, side and rollover tests are also con consolidated into an overall score. because of the tougher standards, some cars that earned five stars for the 2010 model year may only earn four stars. >> those cars are still safe cars. we

melanie alnwick has more. >> reporter: the drum beat has been getting louder. pnc is the late activity on say it will pause foreclosures to review procedures and lenders say document reviews will show most pore foreclosures are valid and local attorneys say there are a lot of people who didn't get the help they should have. >> larry curlin. >> reporter: she fights for home owner's in trouble and is not surprised by the documenting a problems popping up at every major lender right now. >> too many of our clients who should have been offered a modification haven't been because of files closed improperly. she's here to close and work it and make that modification happen and we're frustrated. >> reporter: bank of america, j.p. morgan chase and allied financial admitted their executives signed off on thousands of foreclosure documents without reading them. paul leonard, the vice president of government affairs at the financial services roundtable said sloppy signatures don't change the underlying facts. >> the packs in the case that the person was eight months behin

melanie alnwick is here with a look at the changes. >> reporter: the changes have come about about after many years of criticism and -- that made it less meaningful. nitsa has popped up the test and some vehicles have come out less sparkly. of the 33 vehicles tested under the new system, only two, the bmw 5 series four-door and the late release hundred say -- hyundai sonaa received a five- star overall rating. >> we're raising the bar on safety, addressing grade inflation by making it far more difficult for a vehicle to earn five-star status. >> reporter: including a simulated collision with a pole or tree at 25 miles per hour. >> seeing a lot of head and shoulder and upper body-type injuries and decided to include the tests like this to replicate the injuries. >> reporter: a smaller female body has been added. >> we're noticing that small women were having issues in passenger-side front or rear accidents and the injuries they were sustaining. >> reporter: fronting side and rollover tests are consolidated into an overall vehicle score that consumers will soon see on the window sticker. >

. >> reporter: melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> the maryland governor's office is expected to formally jp morgan,al lies and bank of america which does a lot of business in the district. we have not heard from doug gansler's office to agree to a state wide more for yum. >>> up next we'll tell you about a new poll listening the most eligible single women. >>> plus he is the star of the number one movie in the country. it's called the social network. and up next i talk with jessie iceenberg about the movie and it's big success.  first day in our new house! does it feel like home, yet? we'll take care of that. ♪ feels like home [ dad ] good morning. [ male announcer ] grands! biscuits. now we're home. [ male announcer ] it's just not home without 'em. and these are the ones you'll love on a school night pillsbury ham and cheese crescents with just a few ingredients, you have an easy to make dinner. they're crescents for the other 364. try them tonight. >>> 60 minutes and vanity fair has released a poll of the most eligible single women in the world. >> here is the list. new

melanie alnwick has the good and bad news. mel? >> reporter: the good news, many retailers will hire help from last year. it's begin and there is going to be a lot of competition for the jobs. there is something you don't see that often, some of the largest retailers hiring for the holiday sales season. unemployment consulting firm challenger gray and christmas predictions up to 600,000 holiday retail jobs will be up for grabs this year. >> that is good news. the economy is slowly digging its way out of the recession. the demand sun. >> reporter: toys "r" us plans to add 45,000, that is 10,000 more than last year and macy's looking to hire 45,000. and pier one will need 10 more employees per store. in some cases, jobs are filled. >> and many people are out of work. >> reporter: by no means a return to normal. >> that is not going to be a gang bustary great year but it's also not going to be like the ones over the last few. >> reporter: many stores are recovering from the severe slump of 2008 and have fewer full-time staff. holiday

melanie maclin, all of the finds under $5. the website if you missed any of it at myfoxdc.com. thank you so much. >> your welcome. >> white petroleum jelly, steve. >> good advice. >>> 8:49 right now. today holly morris is taking a little trip to the country. she's in upperville virginia visiting one of the locations on the loudoun farm tour going on this weekend. holly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you have caught us at a special moment because the star of the show has walked right up, ready for his close-up. we are at ayrshire farms part of the loudoun county color tour this weekend. it's a chance to come out and see some of the farms, half of which are never open to the public like ayrshire and this is a especially farm because they have unique things you can't see anywhere. bob ty rell is head of the program here and can you tell everyone how special this moment is? >> this is a very special horse. she was born this year in march. and she's just a very, very nice, really friendly girl as you can see. >> reporter

patrick gonzalez was convicted in the deaths of byrd and melanie billings.>>> the lockdown at texas a&m is over this morning after reports that a suspected gunman was on that campus. it turned out, though, that the person was carrying a replica weapon and there was no danger. but the scare spread around the same time that former president bush and his wife, barbara, were hosting an event honoring former first lady laura bush there at the university. >>> an arkansas school board member has agreed to resign after suggesting on facebook that gay teens should commit suicide. protesters have been demanding clint mccance step down ever since the controversial comments were first made. it all began when supporters asked people to wear purple to show solidarity to gay and lesbian teens who've killed themselves. mccance wrote, "the only way i'm wearing it for them is if they all commit suicide." >>> police near philadelphia are trying to track down a driver who caused quite a scare on a busy interstate by going the wrong way. another driver captured this very dramati

melanie alnwick asks that question. >> reporter: since it began, google has been an agent of change., the internet giant is wielding its power to change the energy industry. >> we believe that being good environmental stewards makes good business sense. >> reporter: google is making an initial investment. $2 had you been million in the atlantic wind connection, a plan to build a 350-mile underground transmission line off the mid than atlantic coast. it would act like a power cord that new offshore wind farms could plug into and provide lean energy to 1.9 million homes from virginia to new jersey. maryland-based trans-elect is leading the project. >> perhaps the most exciting thing of all is that thousands and thousands of new job are going to be created by the industry that will be made possible because of the investment that these gentlemen to my right have made. >> reporter: the mid-atlantic has abundant steady wind and relatively shallow waters which will allow the huge turbines to be built mostly out of sight. >> we are happy to help finance a project that we think can help accel

the campus correspondent play of the day is from melanie at dematha.ichael moore, no the film make they are tight en. the pass from nikolai as they pull off the upset against good counsel. high schoolers if you would like to be a campus correspondent you get a free video cam and a chance to win a thundershower dollars college scholarship. log on to apply for the program. ♪ [ female announcer ] have you ever seen a glacier while sunbathing? why not? have you ever climbed a rock wall in the middle of the ocean? or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the nation of why not. royal caribbean's floating nation where you're free to do anything you want. which may be nothing at all. royal caribbean international. cruises from baltimore and new jersey. visit royalcaribbean.com today. >>> investigators want to know what started a fire on kennel wto avenue this morning. flames spread to a garage. no one was hurt. >>> four men are recovering after being stabbed early this morning. prince georges county police say a fight in college park maryl

reporter melanie moon from affiliate has the story. >> reporter: it was a story that shocked the nationnician father injected him with hiv tainted blood to avoid paying child support. his father was sentenced to life in prison and brian was left to fight a disease that at the time was considered fatal. >> when i was five i was diagnosed with aids. >> as a child his daily routine involved 22 oral medications and two injections. one of those medications affected his hearing and his speech. >> i think it's about 70%, 60%. >> reporter: time and again he defied the odds, today is a college freshman, has a girlfriend and loving family and gone from aids victim to activist. >> we can have a testimony and a bright future, or we can continue to let the past control us, let the past control the family, control the environment. you can stay there forever, be a prisoner to that. you can let it go, give it to god and rise above it. you're part of something greater. >> reporter: in 2009 he reclaimed the acronym hiv for his own nonprofit organization, hope is vital, which spreads awareness and educati

. >> melanie, you're working up a sweat. >> i'm going to get you do to this one.dy has a chair. she's standing up on one leg and sitting down on both legs. and what's great about this is everyone has a muscle imbalance. everyone has one leg that's stronger than the other. this is to ensure that the stronger leg doesn't overcompensate. >> she's got one leg going there. let's see you get in there. a single leg squat. those are really nice shoes by the way. >> they're uncomfortable. >> so you're sitting down, with both legs, sit down and stand up. now sit down all the way. and this time you're going to take your right foot off the ground and stand up only on your left leg. >> ann curry is giving to the eye. >> that's great and anybody can do this at home. build your confidence, start off with one leg and then two legs. >> the last one here is called a double lunge, you don't have to go anywhere, you don't need a lot of space. there's no equipment. >> this is the way to go. and again, how far out do you lunge. >> she's lunging forward until there's a 90-degree angle o

melanie alnwick has the story on holiday hiring. >> reporter: here's a sign you don't see that often, some of the nation's largest retailers actually hiring for the holiday sale season. employment consulting firm challenger gray and christmas predicts up to 600,000 holiday and retail jobs will be up for grabs this year. >> it's good news because the economy is slowly digging its way out of recession, and so the demand is up. >> reporter: toys' r us plans to add 45,000, that's 10,000 more than last year, macies is looking to hire 40,000. in some cases, the jobs have already been filled 92 no question it's compitative because there are so many people out of work still. >> reporter: the employment picture is better than last year but by no means a return to normal. >> it's not going to be a gang buster's great year but also not going to be like the ones we've seen over the last few. >> reporter: many stores are still recovering from the severe slump of 2008 and have fewer full-time staff. holiday sales in 2010 will see a slight uptick, about 2.3% says the national retail federation. peop

melanie alnwick, fox5 news. >>> the burglar claiming new victims. tonight on the news edge, we'll hit the streets with the cops. they're showing us how easy some homeowners are making it for this criminal. >>> racy photos for a candidate for congress has surfaced and she's making comments on what she calls a sexist smear campaign. those stories and more on the news edge at 11:00. . >> miley cyrus's new video, she started out as a fresh faced teenager, the daughter of a country crooner and the daughter of parents and kids everywhere. the new video makes her seem grown up. she's only 17 years old and has people talking. some say miley cyrus has been too far but she says she's not hanna montana anymore. melissa hansen, the director for the public television council and sara frasier from hot 99.5 join us to talk about the issues. let's start with you. your organization has been critical of her new style and kim winter says, quote, it's unfortunate she would participate in such a sexualized video like this one. she built her fame and fortune on the backs

. >> a different feel from the beginning of the day, the meeting of the chief of staff, i asked melanie barns yesterday at the atlanta media ideas forum what the difference will be between rahm emanuel and pete rouse. >> can you replace rahm emanuel? i mean, you can't. every person brings their own personality, their own style, their own set of experiences to the job. and rahm is, you know, a -- just an amazing legislative tactician. he's someone who can see ten steps down the road when most people can only see five or eight steps down the road. and he also just has this wonderful energy that he brings to all the meetings and all of the work that we do. >> now, energy, one person's energy is another person's fear. what did austan goolsbee do today as savannah guthrie reported, was there a dead fish involved? >> a dead carp was one of the stories. one of the things that is interesting here, we all know the president has a very even personality. you remember in the old cop shows where there was a tough cop and then there was a soft cop? in a way rahm emanuel has been the tough cop. >> abs

fox 5 money reporter melanie alnwick explains. >> reporter: there are no visible signs of the foreclosurein chatsworth village, but if you ask around, you'll find them. >> in this building we have two foreclosures. one is on the market right now. >> reporter: the collapse of the housing market has not been kind to this collection of townhouse condos in manassas, virginia. since you've been here how many foreclosed properties can you count? >> i can count about seven, maybe eight. so it's more than just foreclosures. that's seven or eight families, you know. it's close to our heart. >> reporter: joseph nash is president of the homeowners association. as much as he hates to see foreclosures, he'd like to get the vacant homes sold. >> when in a community like ours, everybody shares the costs. >> reporter: according to zillo.com one in three homes sold in manassas this year was a foreclosure, but realtors say the foreclosure sale market has suddenly vanished with allegations of document fraud and calls for moratoriums and that means bank-owned homes are building up behind a dam that could bre