we find the crime scene, we'll find melanie. ♪ (printer whirring) what'd we get?like what didn't we get? creosote, co2... off the chart levels of methane, styrene, chloroform, sulfur, formaldehyde, chlorine, presence of pc's. geez. what are you thinking? i got a hunch. inputting elements from the spectra: creosote, chlorine, pcs... i don't think there's any sort of a database for killers who incinerate their victims. no, but there is one for the eastern seaboard air quality management. calleigh, these are all hazardous pollutants, flagged by the epa. it just connected me to their database. two sources produce chemical hazards that match this description. the first one is... iraqi oil fires. what's the other? landfill fires. toller killed those girls at a landfill. and based on his m.o. he's gonna do it again. what's going on? we ordered a gift online and we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it shi

we find the crime scene, we'll find melanie. ♪ (printer whirring) what'd we get?like what didn't we get? creosote, co2... off the chart levels of methane, styrene, chloroform, sulfur, formaldehyde, chlorine, presence of pc's. geez. what are you thinking? i got a hunch. inputting elements from the spectra: creosote, chlorine, pcs... i don't think there's any sort of a database for killers who incinerate their victims. no, but there is one for the eastern seaboard air quality management. calleigh, these are all hazardous pollutants, flagged by the epa. it just connected me to their database. two sources produce chemical hazards that match this description. the first one is... iraqi oil fires. what's the other? landfill fires. toller killed those girls at a landfill. and based on his m.o. he's gonna do it again. what's going on? we ordered a gift online and we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it shi

hi tucker. >> hey, melanie.t it, windy late this afternoon, tonight as the cold front comes in the coldest air of the season, highest temperatures near tuesday and wednesday, by the freezing mark. current conditions no problems out there at the moment temperatures in the 30s. 39 regan national, parts of the area at the freezing mark. 32 frederiksburg, 33 win chester, 33 ocean city, clouds win out here, this afternoon and can't rule out the possibility of a couple showers there is your frontal system, leading edge towards cincinnati and ohio. shower activity, possibility of a few showers i think will move in to 3, 5 this afternoon and that will usher in the cooler air. 56 your daytime high another mild one today, scattered showers late this afternoon more details in the forecast more on the cold coming up. >>> thanks so much see you later. >>> well, you don't want to miss this next thing. movie reviewer, kevin mccarthy sits down with steven spielberg and talks about his new movie war horse. plus kevin will give u

gwen. >>> good morning melanie. we have sunshine as we start the day which isn't too bad things will change as we head into the course of the afternoon hours let's take a look at our maps and show you what we've put together for you here is a look at yesterday's highs well above seasonal any where from 9 to 11 degrees warmer than where we should be, 53 national, 54 dulles, 53 bwi. 29 dulles, 33 degrees baltimore airport, skies are clear a ridge of high pressure building in, plenty of sunshine as we move into the course of the afternoon we could see wind starting to pick up already a wind advisory across areas of the appalachians, gusting up to 50 miles per hour, that in effect from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. tonight i wouldn't be surprised if later today that gets expanded closer to the dc metro. mostly sunny today later on as a cold front moves through passing sprinkles or passing flurry, nothing going to accumulate at all our high 48 degrees winds gusting up to 30 miles an hour later on this afternoon by this evening

we welcome back event producer stacy hoffmann and singer song writer melanie dimora.ood to have you back here again. >> good to see you. >> i'm sure tonight will be an exciting endeavor. why don't we start with the change of place. your stage is new. you are at paramount. >> our tenth anniversary celebration. we were extremely excited that we are making a move to the historic and beautiful paramount theater in oakland coming from the oakland scottish rights. very big year. a lot of wonderful elements to share with everyone in this tenth anniversary. >> and the paramount is a bigger venue for you because you have a following. this is the thing has take be off. what made this take off? come on, every year people do various things to commemorate dr. king. >> first of all this is the only nondenominational musical tribute to dr. king that the east bay has. and so it's really big deal. it also has quite a lot of elements that we have shaped into the program. our intention is to showcase oakland. it's to showcase outstanding talent. to showcase the children from our public

melanie alnwick has more on where the candidates stand. >> reporter: a new nbc poll out sunday morning showed mitt romney regaining his momentum in florida. still, gingrich said it will be close. >> two polls showed santorum and i collectively are bigger than romney. but romney beats me if we split the vote. >> reporter: appears the performances are making a difference. candidates have taken the stage 19 times already, with three more debates ahead of super tuesday. senator john mccain, thinks it's time for a curtain call. >> we have to stop the debates. enough with the debates. they are driving up our candidates, all of them, unfavorabilities. >> reporter: on fox news sunday -- >> yeah, it's the heat of battle and saying things they probably shouldn't be saying. what matters at the end of the day, we're running against president obama, not each other. >> reporter: and the president's guy, sees a protracted republican race helping the democrats. >> when we had a long primary process with senator clinton it strengthened us. we didn't see our numbers erode the way governor romney's numbe

no two ways about it. >> reporter: melanie alon -- alnwick, fox 5 news. >> i don't know, i feel likeming was good and i got my board out today. >> did you? >> went out to liberty, 100% opened, had fresh snow on the ground and some snow squalls. >> yeah. >> and you're right. >> they were making snow all right. it was beautiful. >> i hope a lot of people will do that. we know the reports are hearder -- resorts are hurting this year. >> there is a discrepancy. i wish they did a better job to let people know. it was 100% open. >> one run was icy. >> okay. >> and after the temperatures, it's going to be trying for them now. >> and you are go right about that and we look live across d.c. and that is on the cool side today relative to where we have been. the temperatures in the 40s and boy we're warming up and starting you out with the next three days. 61 degrees with a lot of sunshine, tuesday looks delightful o. wednesday, warmer, 66 degrees, more typical than what we would see in mid-april. and week, if we get less cloud cover, it could be warmer. thursday, by the way, wednesday night in

melanie asked about the tuesday. no shortage of sunshine. a few clouds wednesday.ance of showers could be thursday at 53. overall not too bad. be careful heading out tonight. i want to tell you about something that you can take with you 24/7, our new weather smartphone app. you can download it on the smartphone or tablet, apple store, iphone or apple program or the android market or text fox 5 weather to 29473 and you can get radar, set custom settings for yourself and there is even a ten day forecast. if you click on video you will get a video update. join us. it's free and we are tweeting in the weather department. we are getting all technologically up to date so to speak. >> so everyone can bring you guys with them. >> you can. get the update information you need on your weather. we are always on top of it. >> i worry when we get to this point of the year without a big snowstorm that we will get slammed in march. >> we still have to get through february. we have a history of february snowstorms. i kind of will keep an eye on that before march. >> he i predict it

mother nature is shooting us a big change melanie. unbelievable how things are going in a different direction but let's look at our mapbegin with a look where we hit yesterday. can you believe at this point, at this time of the year in january we were near 70 degrees yesterday at national airport, 68 daytime high, 64 dulles, 66 bwi. i want to tell you these temperatures are any where from 22 to 25 degrees warmer than they should be for the seasonal average we are way off the mark and got a big treat. 44 degrees at national airport, 39 baltimore, 35 dulles, and to the south 34 degrees frederiksburg and as we look at sky conditions we have clouds out there. we are going to see mainly partly sunny skies, won't be all cloudy not too much to be concerned with. but we are headed to a high that is going to give us a reality check down to the 50s and upper 40s. more details later on this cool down. >> thanks gwen. >>> we begin with a couple stories new this morning the hunt is over for a missing search dog the german shepherd has been found h

. >> hi melanie. just so viewers don't panic too much she is talking about the very cold conditions not taking about any snow, at all, in terms of what is going on out there. we've got plenty of sunshine that is what is going to stick around into the course of today. let's look where we hit temperatures yesterday. it was chilly temperatures 4 to 6 degrees below the seasonal average for the day, 39 national airport, 36 dulles, 38 degrees at bwi. it is a very chilly start to your day only 27 degrees this hour at national, humidity 46%, winds are not too bad from the northwest, 9 miles an hour but i do anticipate them to pick up into the course of the afternoon it might be a little bit breezy out there winds could gust up to 20. satellite radar composite ridge of high pressure pushing in sunshine for you today, not all bad, but very much on the chilly side our highs, only in the low 30s. 34 degrees, with the northwesterly wind from 5 to 10. it is a chilly weekend i will have that special holiday forecast

melanie alnwick has more. >> reporter: the governor says the state can raise $182 million by phasingout personal deductions for high income earners. >> i don't line doing this. >> reporter: for singles making $100,000 couples making $150,000, the personal exemption get cut in half. certain deductions like mortgage interest will also be capped for incomes above $100,000. >> in my view of the unpopular choices that all of us wish we did not have to make, this is the fairest way to go about this. >> reporter: o'malley estimated the measures would only affect 20% of state taxpayers costing most families in the higher brackets between $201,000 a year. herb mcmillan says despite the governor's claim, this squarely hits maryland's middle class. >> there could be a husband, a wife, they both have a job where they're making 50,000 a year. they are struggling right now. it is going to hurt most working people that i know. >> reporter: as expected. the governor also wants to make counties share most of the cost of teacher pensions. the county would have to pick up more each year as the cost for

no two ways about it. >> melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> i'll take one of those. >> it would be nice to have one. if they're giving them away, i'll take two. >> fox 5 morning news at 4:30 starts right now. now. >>> taking a live look at the woodrow wilson bridge this morning. good news folks, if you like the spring weather, you'll enjoy today. i'm sarah simmons. >> i'm a wisdom martin. we are on an incredible streak to the month of january. the month is ending but the streak continues. >> i credit to wisdom. he's been here and it's been nice. >> we're all in spring colors. >> it's early, care. too much enthusiasm for this weather. -- it's early, sarah. it is going to be a beautiful day. this is an easy forecast. light winds out of the south and west. our temperatures are going to be well into the 60s. >> nice. >> as in mid-60s. a few of us will get close to 70 this afternoon. right now, we are still on the cool side but this is not bad. 4 # in washington. 46 at patuxent naval air station. -- 42 in washington. remember yesterday morning, we had lots of the area at or below freezing. 4

melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> the employment center is open monday through friday from 10:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m. and you can also apply online. we have a link to that site on our web site, myfoxdc.com. all of the jobs will be poaforted by february and the hiring decisions will be made sometime in march. rch. -- will be posted by february. >>> coming up next, exactly what is this little creature? it landed in a fishing nest. we'll show you how he is making the most out of his catch coming up. stay with us. us3q join the revolutioion against scrubbing on your hands and knees. use new resolve easy clean to deep clean your carpets. just three easy steps for beautifully clean carpets. it removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. a great catch and sauce made with french's dijon with chardonnay. then i warm things up with the story of how we met. the real story of how we met. and that's how new friends are made. okay... is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a da

melanie alnwick has the story. >> the u.s. post office needs to cut $20 billion out of its budget.d williams, vice president of postal operations, delivers the bad news. the fact of matter is our network is too big. we have more capacity in our network than we can afford. >> the post office is seek ago approval though close 261 processing centers, eliminate saturday delivery and next day delivery for first class mail and cut 28,000 jobs, most through retirement. >> we are being presented with false choices. virginia congressman jerry connelly believes first congress should roll back its mandate that requires usps to prepay 100% of its anticipated retirement costs. >> no other federal entity is required to prefund at 100%. the government acting office says that costs an extra $5 billion a year. >> reporter: it is a start. but usps losses are expected to be 10 to 14 million a year as consumers use more and more electronic services. connelly also wants to give the service more options to raise revenue. >> we could use the postal vehicle fleet, which is huge, perhaps in fact the larges

we're not the decider. >> reporter: melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >>> fox 5 morning news at 4:30 starts now. >>> it is 4:30 on this monday. we are taking a live look over washington, d.c. this morning. yep, it feels like winter is finally here. i'm sarah simmons. welcome to fox 5 morning news. before we get started, we have a reminder for you. today is a holiday on local and national calendars since the new year fell on a sunday. so that means no trash or recycling collections. no mail, no banks or no federal or local government offices will be closed today. most schools are closed. most transit systems will be running on a modified schedule. so hopefully, it will be a little quiet out there on the roadways and because it is kind of cold out there, no one will want to be outside. >> getting colder by the minute. a cold day and windy too as old man winter is here. >> hello. >> i promise you will know he is around tomorrow. let's get right to it. current temperatures are falling. yes, they are falling. 31 right now -- i don't know where it's 31. 3 at dulles. 34 in winchester. still 45 in

>> mi mejor amiga melanie es hondureÑa!e que nos puede seguir en facebook y twitter. >> por quÉ castelum 111? >> porque antes me sentÍa de 10 y ahora de 11. >> vamos a comenzar con un tema muy interesante que creo que preocupa a todos los padres. pues resulta que la comisiÓn europea, junto con 28 compaÑÍas han tratado de hacer una campaÑa para combatir todo los peligros que puede tener el internet, son compaÑÍas que incluyen redes sociales, y estÁn tratando de combatir los peligros, tratando de imponer mÁs reglas para las edades de las personas pueden tener facebook y twitter. >> mi hijo es menor de edad y le pregunto por quÉ en facebook que personas que le envÍan mensajes y son mayores, me dice no sÉ. >> yo tengo contacto con tu hijo. >> de cuidado porque hay peligros en internet. >> oye, no hay que parar todo los datos en internet, no digan en donde viven, y tampoco quÉ compras, o la gente que avisa que se va de vacaciones. >> otra cosa delicada es el tipo de fotos que se toman, porque esa foto va a la internet, y nunca s

so melanie moses decided to cancel her gym membership. that was back in july, 2005.ars later to 2011. >> i discovered that the gym was still taking money out of my account. >> reporter: every month. >> every month. i said, there's no way that this membership could still be open. i canceled it years ago. >> reporter: moses estimates the gym took out more than $5,000 from her checking account, small charges each month that she didn't notice mixed in with all her other debit charges. she says she had canceled her membership and never returned to the gym. >> you had to submit a letter in writing stating you wanted to cancel your membership as of this date. you had to also physically hand in your membership card. and that was about it. >> and you did that. >> i did that. >> reporter: moses says her copy of the cancellation letter she wrote is long gone. her contract says she has the right to cancel with written notice. moses agrade to a 12-month membership that started in july, 2005, and reads no end date. so each year her membership rolled over for another 12 months. >>

fox 5 money reporter melanie alnwick has a closer look at the stores. >> reporter: and the announcementollar and bloom stores. seven bloom stores in maryland and virginia will be closing and one bottom dollar store on richmond highway in alexandrea. the entire bloom brand is being retired. the company wants to focus on the core strength. the midwest of the blue stores and bottom dollar stores will be converted back to the food line brand. 113 food lion stores in the southeastern u.s. are closing as well and that is in florida, georgia, south carolina, and tennessee. the company said food inflation in the second half of 2011 and increased competition made the stores less than profitable and in a statement to the investor, the ceo group said, quote, it's never an easy decision to close stores as we're fully aware of the impact on our associates, our customers and the communities we serve. having said that, we feel the decisions are in keeping with the responsibility to our shareholders to deploy resources while they will achieve the highest return and the company said it plans to open sto

well, melanie is an amazing singer. she has an amazing voice.urious to see what she does, just like everybody else. >> would you do a duet with her? >> definitely. >> of course, we'll take the money. of course, you signed with epic records, can you tell us the first single that will come out? >> i cannot tell you the very first single, but i'm telling you, it's a surprise. it's something so beautiful, so sweet, and memorable. >> great, we can't wait to continue following your career. we're going to drag you on the chat. back upstairs to you guys. >> marcus, we wish you all the best. >>> imagine watching your friend snowmobiling when an avalanche swallows him up. we'll tell you how the snowmobiler's friends rushed in to save his life. >> the agency hitting the air waves hoping to use rock to recruit the nation's best and brightest. details at 11:00.  >>> it is a terrifying phenomenon that every skier and snow boarder fears. for one skier in washington state, it was nearly deadly. jeff has the story of how he was buried in seconds an

now to oregon and melanie. good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> your question? >> caller: yes. i'm 55 years old and recently retired on a pension plan which meets my living expenses. i have received a $50,000 inheritance and was thinking of putting half of it toward the principle of my house to have it paid off in eight more years and saving the rest. is this a good idea or should i save it all? >> jean? >> you're playing a little bit of a game here. mortgage rates are low so if you took the money and invested it in your retirement portfolio you might earn more money on the money. but i understand the desire to get out of the mortgage before retirement. so i would say if this is something that will enable you to sleep at night, go ahead, save the rest and as you start taking social security and no longer have to make a mortgage payment, save that money. >> melanie, good luck. thank you very much for calling in. we want to thank jean, david and sharon for helping us out. good to see you. coming up next on joy's diet s.o.s., the truth about coffee, fish oil and substitutes. that

melanie has the latest. >> it's great to see you back. >> opening day of maryland's legislative sessionublicans are gearing for a fight. >> to stop the tax increases. to stop the fee increases and stop the attack on the property rights. >> you have to be focused on maryland families, their pocketbooks, their ability to take care of their families and not the political agenda of the governor as he is looking for something in washington. >> it is governor o'malley's last term and expected to propose a number of legacy members, such as legalizing same sex marriage. he is also promised more money for transportation and school construction, which he will frame as the jobs issue. >> most important job we create, and a lot of families that need that basic dignity of work in order for our state to move forward. >> the state is facing a billion dollar budget deficit. the governor is expected to ask for an increase in the gas tax, sewer fees, and more. there are also bills to expand gambling in the state, which help pay for schools. prince georges county executive said he'll be looking for his sh

melanie alnwick is here to explain. mel? >> reporter: apparently people are ready to party.y forecasting that super bowl sunday will reach an all- time high this year. just how much are super bowl expected to shell out? 11billion, $11 billion. >> pretty much the highest ever for super bowl spending. >> that is a lot of dips, chips, and beer. >> reporter: the super bowl is the time that everyone wants to gather. people want to have a big party. no matter who is in the game, people are interested in watching it, and i think the whole country is going to come to a stand still on sunday. >> the direct snap to brady, looks and fires. >> reporter: football fans will be spending money to sport their favorite team's jerseys, apparel and decorations, and what would the big game be without a fat screen to watch it on? >> bigger is better this year, you know, from the 50s, 55 to the 60s to 970s they have to have wifi images. >> reporter: retailers are busy selling and delivering flat screens in time for sunday's showdown. >> and we still have, you know, the next day delivery going on a

>> melanie, thank you. >>> the naacp is pushing maryland lawmakers to abolish the death penalty.roup spent the morning highlighting the racial disparitys and leads to false convictions and executions. maryland previously issued a moratorium on the death penalty because of the concerns. the naacp now wants it banned for good. >>> >> people care deeply about this issue. sometimes they're put death because they innocent. because they're a person of color or the person that they killed was richer or different color. >> and state leaders say there is some support but need more votes to push it through. >>> virginia governor bob mcdonough is pushing for better academic performness in at commonwealth. he wants to establish a annual contract evaluation process for teachers so their jobs are not protected by tenure if students are not learning and promotes charter and virtual schools. >>> republicans take over control of the virginia senate. it opens tomorrow and the gop is in control of the house. fox 5s john henrehan joins us now to explain. >> reporter: it comes to one vote. the vote o

back to you. >> i learned a lot, melanie.up for -- business is picking up for automakers. the city economic disaster, general motors sales rose 13% last year as gm sold more than 2 1/2 million cars. other carmakers reported strong sales, chrysler up 26%, ford jumped 11% when the economy tanked. gm and chrysler nearly collapsed. the u.s. auto sales hit the lowest level since 1982. both companies needed a government bailout to stay in business. >>> two major airlines say their prices are about to go up because of new rules on another continent. delta and lufthansa said it's due to the regulations in europe. the difference is $6 for a round-trip ticket and only if you're flying to europe. they haven't announced how much more they will charge. >>> and in tonight's consumer alert, reports that best buy might be in trouble. forbes magazine predicting a tough 2012 for the retailer and anticipating bankruptcy the next few years. fox's tom leyden has the story. >> reporter: best buy is quickly looking like a retail cautionary tale. a

melanie got to dig into this one. >> reporter: and i definitely had to call in expert help here to try to understand how his taxes compared to everyone else's and what this might have. mitt romney's tax returns for 2010 and an estimate for 2011 report 42.5 million in income, 6.2 million paid in taxes and seven million donated to charity. a part from the 200-plus page return, the non-partisan tax foundation didn't find anything unusual. >> not a great deal of surprises, really, within this gigantic tax return. >> reporter: in 2010, romney paid 14% of his income in taxes, money mostly deratified from investments, dividends, and interest. >> there is a general consensus or miscontension that -- misconcession that americans are paying much more than romney's 14% when in actuality, the average american pays approximately 11%. >> reporter: and this is how that works. the american tax code is progressive. and that means that the rates go up as the income goes up and so americans pay 10% on the first chunk of income up to 15,000 pay 15% on the next chunk up to 69,000, 25% on the next chunk up

fox 5's money reporter melanie alnwick has more.ter: on a cold january day people crowded outside and inside this temporary office in hanover, maryland, hoping to land a permanent job. >> unfortunately i was laid off in november. my dream was to move to vegas and work in a casino because i love the environment and the actual activity and just the atmosphere of being in a casino and this opened up. so hopefully it's meant to be. reporter: the maryland live casino at anne arundel mills mall is hiring more than 1,000 people. the operation is scheduled to open in june and it will need all types of employees. >> we have jobs that run the gamut from information technologies to marketing to security surveillance, food and beverage, facilities to really every aspect of the business. reporter: though people can apply online, many wanted to come here in person. jay bowen is looking for something more reliable than his usual construction jobs. >> meet somebody in person face to face you hopefully have a better chance of making an impression. r

how melanie amaro plans to spend that cash. -- along with the x factor title, she walked away with $5lion. ÷ñxxúú >>> back now with an update on america's first x factor winner. melanie amaro is talking about how she plans to spend the $5 million she won on the show. >> big purchases. i'm going to get my mom a house. i feel she needs that. she can be comfortable. i am also going to buy a couple different other things that i feel i'm in need of. >> like what? >> i'm going to buy a foot massager. that is what i really want to buy, you know. >> she could buy the company. >> couldn't she get that for christmas? the 19-year-old says she would still like to pursue a career in nursing because she would like to help people. >> i'm thinking at some point, i'm going to have in my mind what i'm he going to get if i win the money. if you win the lottery, you already know what you're going to do because you dream about it. >> unless it was more about just the singing and winning for her that she hadn't really thought about what she was going to do with the money. i don't know. may

here's fox 5's money reporter melanie alnwick.ook, nobody likes paying taxes, but now and again citizens agree to a new or higher tacks because they're told it's being used for a special purpose like fixing the roads or cleaning up the chesapeake bay, but maryland has a habit of dipping into special funds, then borrowing money to replace them. >> it's alarming and people should be alarmed. >> it's just become one big lie. reporter: last year maryland lawmakers raided more than 50 special funds taking nearly a billion dollars out of those banks and putting it in the general fund to close its budget gap, but leaving big holes in other programs. >> it's a sin and a shame. that's what it. is. reporter: aaa mid-atlantic's john townsend is talking about the transportation trust fund, gas taxes, car title and registration fees and rental car taxes to help fill this fund. cities and counties depend on their share to maintain roads and clear snow. last year lawmakers moved most of the local money, $372 million, to the state first. >> one s

you can opt out by not using the products. >> there you go. >> melanie alnwick, thank you for breaking privacy, another change for the facebook pages is coming in the next few weeks. this look will go away and you will be forced to use the network's new timeline layout. it takes your entire history, photos, comments, status updates, links, everything else and puts them at a viewer's fingertips with one click. you will have a week to preview what shows up to hide what you don't want seen before anyone else sees it. >>> the district is partners up with microsoft to grow the economy and education in the city. today, d.c. mayor gray and microsoft announced what they call the digital alliance. >> initially, the digital alliance would focus on two aspects of job creation in the district. first, the partnership will address workforce development, efforts for the unemployed, the underemployed and those who are seek additional skills. in order to foster employability and lifelong learning. >> microsoft will provide support and $100,000 in business development resources to 10 local businesses an

fox 5's money reporter melanie alnwick has the details. reporter: over two massive showroom floors at the washington convention center, car buyers and lookers are checking out the new models. >> definitely need a caddy cts, the v version. my wife likes it. we appreciate the jeep. reporter: 2011 was a good year for auto manufacturers as consumers felt more confident to make large purchases. >> i just graduated school and that's the reason why i got a car, got my first job. reporter: 2012 is expected to build on that success. industry economists predict a return to 2008 sales levels. during the recession people held onto their cars longer and now it's time to replace them, that plus record low interest rates means demand is back. gerard murphy, president of the washington area new auto dealers association, says there will be deals for buyers. >> they're going to have incentives for financing. they're going to have incentives on the price of the vehicles. it's a great time to buy a car. reporter: all of that translates into a difference you c

fox 5's melanie alnwick explains. reporter: the u.s.office needs to cut $20 billion out of its budget. in december david williams vice president of postal operations delivered the bad news. >> the fact of the matter is our network is too big. we've got more capacity in our network than we can afford. reporter: the post office is seeking approval to close 261 processing centers, eliminate saturday delivery and next day delivery for first class mail and cut 28,000 jobs, most through retirement. >> we're being presented with false choices. reporter: virginia congressman jerry conley believes first congress should roll back its mandated posted in 2006 that requires usps to prepay 100% of its anticipated retirement costs. >> no other federal entity is required to prefund at 100%. the government accounting office says that costs an extra $5 billion a year. reporter: it's a start, but usps losses are expected to be 10 to 14 million a year as consumers use more and more electronic delivery services. conley with support from some democratic and

melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >> the county expects to make about $800,000 in the first year. it will go toward water quality improvement. that amount will go down over the years as people get used to bringing their own bags to avid that bag fee charge. >>> coming up, locked in the woods for hours. how one man says his iphone saved his life. >> it wasn't even a phone call. it was a life-saving app. stay with us for that story, coming up. women everywhere are joining the revolution against scrubbing on their hands and knees. they're using resolve easy clean to deep clean their carpets. its upright brush with activating trigger removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone. it's just three easy steps for beautifully clean carpets. resolve easy clean. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. and try resolve triple oxi to remove stains the first time. >>> this is a live look at the national cathedral this morning. definitely a cold one out there. you can see the winds are still kind of a little bit of an issue this morning as the camera is bouncing around out there just a litt

today's question comes from melanie reed, a learning specialist at potomac falls high school. in her science department and she wants to know if there is an update. remember last westbound, we had a question about the farmer's almanac. wisdom, you weren't here. somebody said the farmer's almanac expected a blizzard on january 30th. we did an in-depth anap sis about whether or not that might happen. >> okay. >> he so this person is asking any updates on the farmer's almanac prediction for a blizzard on january 30th or 31st. i'm not sure what side of the fence melanie is on. >> that is a good one. of a been asking too. i think liker day, i say tucker, what about january 30th? end of the month, what is going to happen? a great question. >> how are you feeling about it? >> do you feel like something is going to happen. >> i think so. it has been really mild. we are going to get one good one and i mean we'll get punched really hard one time. >> will it happen january 30th? >> no. >> i think it will. >> wisdom martin is doing off the wall, redskins. let's get down to business and sh

fox 5's money reporter melanie alnwick breaking down the major issues.orter: the gas tax will be front and center in maryland's legislative session. look for a proposal to increase it from 23.5 cents a gallon to 38.5 cents a gallon over three years. there may be increases in car registration, titling and inspection fees, too, all of the money going to fund transportation projects in the state. more money for the bay also on the agenda. governor o'malley has suggested he'll ask for a doubling of the state's flush tax now 2.50 a month per household to pay for upgrades to sewer systems and even those won't be enough. >> they are out of options in annapolis. they are scraping bottom. reporter: maryland has suffered big drops in revenue from property and sales taxes because of the recession. meanwhile its costs for healthcare, human services, pensions and education continue to rise. community labor and education groups are gearing up to fight possible cuts to their programs. other revenue options may include increasing the property tax rates, passing a statew

. >> reporter: melanie lewek spotted one of the arson fires. >> it was burning and it started to spread. >> reporter: investigators from several agency, including the bureau of bureau of alcohol, tobacco & firearms, are struggling to figure out if the attacks are the work of one person or are now being carried out by copycats. for that reason, officials are not revealing exactly how the fires have been started, although commander andrew smith of the l.a.p.d. says investigators are digging carefully through the ashes. >> they are working on hundreds of clues, interviewing dozens of witnesses, picking up countless pieces of evidence. >> reporter: still, there have been no arrests in the series of fires that started early friday morning. most of the targets have been cars parked beneath apartment buildings. as the vehicles explode in flame, the fires quickly spread to other cars in the apartments above. for firefighters it's like doing combat with the arsonist says assistant l.a. fire chief patrick butler. >> they're suiting up and essentially going to battle on these. >> reporter: so far

my name is melanie nathan. i am a personal advocate and conflict resolution specialist.i serve as vice president on the board of fair housing in marine and was recently reappointed to the marin human rights council. i practiced law in south africa before moving to the u.s. in march of this year i was faced with a choice. i could stay in the united states with might call-year-old daughter in a shared custody arrangement or i would have to leave her behind to go into exile with my same-sex spouse and our four-year old. our nightmare involves navigating the complex immigration system to keep our family together. had we not been of the same sex, we would have not had any problems. after receiving help from senator feinstein, i led the drive to introduced private bill 867. when my advocacy became public, scores of bi-national couples began contacting me for help. not a day goes1/ request. i testified before the california state assembly, judiciary committee, and provided written testimony to senator leahy for the uniting of american families act. the irc, in making their reco

. >>> i'm so excited to be one on one today with melanie marshall, an incredible actress that is going to be performing at the warner theater this weekend in that broadway spectacular musical "fela." it is so nice to have you. thank you for being here. if you have not made plans for the weekend, you want to rush to the warner theater and get tickets because it is exilarating, it's galvanizing, it's exciting, it's energetic, it's fabulous. >> thank you very much. >> and you play the mother. >> i do, yes. >> and that's a wonderful role. >> it's a beautiful role. she's a very strict, stern, feminist, no-nonsense woman who is -- well, i play -- she's dead in the show because we take up the play after her death, so this is fela's last concert in the shrine in liberia. but his mother is always the voice of reason. you only see me four times on stage, but i am the voice of reason circling around, that little voice on his shoulder, in his head, always letting him know that mother is there listening and watching him at all times. >> and his mother played such a role in his life. now, many peopl

allow for a second bedroom to be created on the second floor of the property in order for charles and melanie to be sleeping on the same level as their young child. it is going to allow for a family room to be created on the ground floor in addition to the existing living room. with respect to the design, there has been a number of interior things that have gone on inside the property since charles has owned it. in fact, all of them modern, one including a remodel of the kitchen that won a natural -- a national architecture award. the idea was that the interior already has this modern, open style. the idea was to expand that style into this new addition in the backyard. if you see the rear of the adjacent buildings, they are quite linear and cubic and have a similar ascetic to it. -- aesthetic to it. the affect on light and air roby minimal, if any at all. we conducted shadow studies and found that the only noteworthy shadow was going to occur between 11:00 a.m. at 1:00 p.m. during certain periods of the year. that was a project to propose a 25-foot expansion. this is much smaller than that.

for more information you may contact melanie green at mlknes 24@gmail.com. and for direct access to all the day's events can you go to http://aaacc.org and just click on the complex special events and you will find out more information. thank you. commissioner murase: yes, i have two announcements. i'm sending down a program from the ucsf lincoln high school fifth celebration. many of you are aware that lincoln high school has a two-year biotechnology program under the direction of a man of jenentech. they oversee high school opportunities -- students in biotech. they have partnered with professor wendell wnyys' lab and while they have competing at the m.i.t. biotech olympics they have come home with two golds, one silver, one best new application and fifth place in their first year of competition. so it's really a great celebration. this is one of the reasons why lincoln is such a popular high school these days. there's no admission requirements to that two-year biotech program and really what the kids are doing is not just undergraduate level work but grad

it's not the way melanie kirkpatrick, a senior fellow at the hudson institute sees north korea. she's about to publish a book about the people who've escaped the north and those who have helped them. >> i'd argue, not only is it the most totalitarian regime in existence today, it's probably the most totalitarian regime in existence in history. it is hard to describe to americans the extent of the repression there. >> reporter: kwang jin kim was a north korean banker who defected eight years ago. he now lives in south korea. >> the life in north korea is like hell, you know, and the life outside is like heaven. >> reporter: this is the so-called "demilitarized zone," the heavily militarized buffer zone between the two koreas, which are still technically at war. south korea has one of the world's most prosperous economies. by all accounts, north korea is one of the most oppressive, closed regimes of modern times. as many as two million north koreans have died of starvation. hundreds of thousands have been committed to political prisons. tens of thousands have risked their lives to

>>reporter: today melanie told us her sister is heading back to northern california and she is tirednd frustrated about the aftermath and that she is plan for all the family members of the victims. melanie says that may have been her sister's first crucial experience but they're looking for to her safe return home >>justine: and. rescue crews are still on scene they believe 60 people are still missing this morning with a hole in the developing story on the kron4 morning news and time. creek bridge with a live--time for a quick break with a live look outside. erica will have an update on our to lenders and the possibility of rain. [ crickets chirping ] [ traffic passing ] ♪ [ music box: lullaby ] [ man on tv, indistinct ] ♪ [ lullaby continues ] [ baby coos ] [ man announcing ] millions are still exposed to the dangers... of secondhand smoke... and some of them can't do anything about it. ♪ [ continues ] [ gasping ] >>justine: he had revealed to show you as we follow the weather. hoping--heavy snow fell over the seattle area. those brave enough to venture outside found themselves havi

melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >>> the temperatures are creeping up. >> and can -- can you see the cold love it. much warmer tomorrow, and i think some of you will touch 60 degrees and to the west, i will show you the hot that they're sighting -- sitting out there and that is a please an evening and it's a manly clear to partly cloudy night and that is. >> it. and it's almost getting hard to figure out what to dress as we start out with the cold mornings and the afternoons to come mild. another one tomorrow and that is into the weekend. meanwhile, we'll drop into the low 30s across the region and there will be some 20s out there. tell uses dropped down to 35 degrees; frederick, 36; gaithersburg as well and in this city, 46 degrees and quantico, 44 degrees and to give you an idea of the kind of heat that is headed in our direction and at least the unseasonable warm-up, look to the west and that is 59 in st. louis. much of the middle part of the country is warm and did you see this? 77 in phoenix and san diego. we know it's going to be mild, even though the lake-effect snow is deparenting