was left in dangerous conditions at the occupy d.c. encampment. >> in the mid 40s, a light rain in the district of columbia, and an unattended 13-month-old who is dressed in just a onesee. >> child protective services arrived and took the baby into their care. according to court documents the child had been left alone 30 minutes before being discovered. police then say it was 40 more minutes before mac returned to the tent. the paperwork states he told police he left the child in the care of a man named shawn garnet in order to go get food for the baby. however, police say mac returned empty handed and they found no sign of a so-called shawn garnet. today magistrate jung wingo ordered mac to stay away from d.j., mcpherson square, and surrounding streets. he has been released on personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to return to court next month. meanwhile, protesters say they had never seen mac before much less the baby. we're live tonight outside the d.c. superior court. news 4. back to you. >> where's the baby now? do we know? >

every $1 will go toward pets in need of homes in the d.c. area. ood cause. >> sunshine this afternoon, tomorrow rain. chilly temperatures in the 40's. always stay updated on the ever- changing weather wjla.com. in our blogs, "why are you a snow lover?' everyone giving us the reason why they love the snow with yesterday's pictures. bauble more for you at 11. -- bob will have more. ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' a sunny day ♪ ♪ sunny day ♪ ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' the taste i crave ♪ ♪ subway ♪ ♪ i'm makin' it, makin' it how i like ♪ ♪ it's meant to be ♪ ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ ♪ i'm feelin' subway today ♪ [ male announcer ] hey, capital area! are you feelin' subway®? then heat up your day with the big hot pastrami melt! it's fresh toasted and piled-high with pastrami then topped with pickles mustd, and cheese. head into a subway® restaurant today for this melty mouthwatering sub! ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ ♪ let's go ♪

the hearing comes week after the d.c. health inspector found a rat infestation and other violations. i've asked the national park service myself numerous times why they're calling this an on- going 24-hour vigil and not what it appears which is camping. they've never provided a good answer, telling me they're protecting the protestors' first amendment rights. for many, that's an answer that's good enough to allow the protestors to be here. congressman isa released a statement at the time saying "the city is trying its best to protect the health, welfare and safety of people in and around the camp site. in this situation, the national park service has so far been more interested in making excuses than protecting the public." this comes of course just a short time after the d.c. mayor himself said he wanted these protestors evicted from mcpherson heading over perhaps to freedom plaza. they have all said they will remain here. they're not leaving under any circumstances. the protestors are going to be testifying today at the

that's the latest on the d.c. police investigation into the accident between a car and occupy d.c. protesters. it happened in november outside the convention center. five protesters were hurt, but all of their injuries were minor. now occupy d.c. claims the driver intentionally plowed into the demonstrators, but d.c. police chief cathy lanier says that's just not true. >> we have interviewed 14 or 17 additional people who said they were witnesses to this event since the original accident report was taken and tickets were issued. at this point there is no evidence to support writing citations to anybody else. >> last month d.c. police said the car was trying to get through a small gap in the crowd when the protesters moved in front of it. >>> just a heartbreaking scene outside a new york city church today. the funeral for three little girls killed in a house fire in connecticut. until this morning their mother ad executive madonna badger called the fire that killed her children and their grandparents incomprehensible. investigators say a bag of discarded fire embers started the fire

one is when the d.c. authority, attorney general or the court denies pre clearance it denies pre clearance. the plan is not free cleared. there is no such thing as free clearance in part or personal free clearance. it is a line-item veto. the second point is not to save the court doesn't provide reasoning for its decision or the attorney general. that is why the court -- this court knew the objections were to particular district even though the effect was to not pre clear the old plan. that seems to be the mistake of the district court that effectively treats the non pre cleared plan. that is the exact word judge johnson used in the lower court in oppa and this court reversed. you don't ignore that. but on the other hand you take into account the judgment of the attorney general in that case. other than that you take the plan into account not withstanding the fact that it hasn't been free cleared. >> we said over and over that it is the attorney general and the district court in d.c. that has exclusive jur

>> the d.c. district court is scheduled to begin january 17th and closing arguments on february feared pity if you look what happened at the judgment justice breyer they have a summary judgment arguments. >> i have read in the opinion and what you said on the phone and so forth. it seems to me that it's a complicated case but suppose you are completely right of your time schedule then you will decide something how can any human being a regional the maps in five days or ten days or do have six different positions? i mean i think it's impossible. how can you -- i don't see how you can. >> pre-clearances granted we won't have an issue. spinnaker would seem to me from reading it i didn't think that the judge is ready to grand prix clearance. the other thing and sending it back i read the brief and then i read the opinions. i don't think i have -- i am not being too generous but i thought that they were saying it throughout is they didn't try to draw extra collection or opportunity districts. they emer

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >>> the d.c. fire chief being called a liar, what he said on our air that the union claims is just not true. >>> plus rats, people living near the occupy d.c. camp saying the rodents are running rampant, what health inspectors found next. >>> tonight at 11:00 a close call for a virginia woman. a bullet came flying through her window just after midnight new year's day, her story in a news edge exclusive. >>> also at 11:00 police want to know who shot and killed this 7-month-old golden retriever in maryland. we'll be back. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. >>> it's not just people taking over mcpherson square. apparently rats are making the occupy d.c. camp home as with. the tent city kitchen has stopped serve -- as well. the tent city kitchen has stopped serving meals after a v

the d.c. council will meet at 10:00 this morning for its first legislative meeting of the year. >>> snowstorms could bring more headaches for property owners and businesses in the district. council members will vote on a bill today that would allow districts to issue tickets to property owners who don't clear snow from adjacent sidewalks. homeowners could face $25 fines. businesses could face fines of $250 or more. the proposal says that sidewalks would have to be cleared within eight daylight hours after a snowfall has stopped. if the bill passes, it won't take effect until after this winter. >>> this morning d.c. police are trying to figure out who shot and killed a man inside his home. the deadly shooting happened last night in the 1500 block of 45th street northeast near the d.c. and maryland now. investigators have not released any details about a possible suspect or motive in the murder. this is the second murder in d.c. this year. and montgomery county police found opened and closed beer

body of work that my life represents will defend that. >> but the d.cuncilman, without admitting guilt did eventually agree to repay the money, $50,000 at a time. despite calls for his resignation from some of his council colleagues, thomas continued to show up for work while refusing to talk with reporters. >> anything you can tell us? we haven't heard from you. >> you know my lawyers will give you a comment. >> just before the d.c. council recessed for the holidays, the ward 5 democrat appeared and voted for a new ethics bill for city employees. late last year, the fbi and irs agents raided thomas' home in northeast and took off items reportedly bought with missappropriated funds and sources tell 9 news now harry thomas is phoning his closest colleagues to say he will enter into a plea agreement with prosecutors perhaps before the week is out. the agreement as thomas explains to friends will force him to resign from office and admit to more than one felony charge and thomas said you just couldn't beat the tax charges. he told friends he's looking at a

it may have to do with the fact that d.c.'alth department doesn't have authority, the kitchen closed voluntarily and d.c. health can close a restaurant. they're not restaurants but beam camping out on federal land. ultimately, the natural park service would make a decision and earlier, they said we'll get the reports and they can decide what to do and my guess is that that will happen bah but may not starting tomorrow. >> thank you. >>> meantime, we're monitoring metro during the extreme change in temperature and metro is blaming the cold for a crack in the yellow line on the bridge between pentagon city and the plaza. that caused single tracking on the yellow line and delays on the blue and green line this morning. everything was running normally by 10:30. >>> a smaller crack was discovered outside of the tacoma park station on the red line. they were finished by 9 a.m. >> the cold of the day of the year. i didn't check the record books. and sue palka ran this morning at 5:30 and took a picture of his screen saver, 17 degrees

the occupy d.c. camp has been living in the elements for months now.oughest morning with the extremely low temperatures. tents are not much shelter for low temperatures and strong wind that picks up from time to time. one protester told us that she is forced to sleep outside in the cold weather because she claims that her tent is invested with rats. another protester said that he just cannot sleep because it is too cold. he would rather walk around to try to stay warm. it could be worse in the d.c. area. from chicago to north carolina it has been not only cold weather but a lot of snowfall. we are talking interest and inches. more than a foot in some parts and mission. here it is the cold weather that the protesters are having to deal with. some of them are getting desperate, reaching out on twitter asking for the public to give donations of blankets and medical supplies to try to stay warm and delphi -- and healthy. >>> you can check the forecast any time by heading to our website, wjla.com. can find the weather conditions anywhere in the u.s. >>> tur

now today the d.c. council is set to take up an ethics bill that stems from all these allegations of political corruption. that meeting starts at 10:00 this morning. reporting live from the wilson building, darcy spencer, news 4. joe, back to you. >> darcy, thanks very much. >>> while snow storms could bring some headaches for district property owners and businesses, council members will vote on a new bill today allowing city inspectors to issue tickets to property owners who don't clear snow from adjacent public sidewalks. homeowners could face $25 fines. businesses could face fines ten times that amount. $250 or more. the proposal says sidewalks would have to be cleared within eight daylight hours after the snowfall has stopped. if the bill passes, it wouldn't take effect, though, until after this winter. >>> it may be more than just protesters inhabiting the occupy d.c. camps. the washington examiner is reporting that inspectors from the d.c. department of health came to mcpherson square to investigat

source tell 9news now that federal prosecutors and the legal team for d.c. council member harry thomas jr. have scheduled a final meeting and their plea bargaining talks. final agreement could come at any time. our bruce johnson first broke the story tuesday night at 11:00. he's here with me now. we've been on the phone all day. what else have you learned? >> j.c., the talks could be taking place right now. before the day is out, prosecutors want be the councilman's signature on a plea agreement and sources say they want harry thomas jr. standing before a judge possibly as early as tomorrow. sources say much of the deal was already in place. councilman harry thomas has agreed to resign from the seat once held by his father, representing the residents of the heavy democratic voting ward five. he has agreed to admit to tax fraud but prosecutors want much more. the one harry thomas to admit he stole all or part of $300,000 that had been meant for youth baseball programs. you'll recall the fbi and i.r.s. raided the councilman's home in northeast d.c. late last ye

the forecast is next. >>> d.c. safeway stores teamed up in georgetown to keep local residents safe and healthy. a community wellness and safety fair. >> one of the things we like to do is make sure we have a safe, healthy community. safe way of partying with us. give us an opportunity to perform some cpr instruction. some blood pressure and glucose testing. we are able to give away smoke detectors. >> firefighters gave stop, drop, and roll demonstrations. >> it's not dance, that's what you do in case of a fire. >> that's right. >> absolutely. >> this was great. keep it coming through the weekend. let it get cold or snow on monday. >> okay, well we have a cooling trend coming this way and the breezy conditions are sticking around. it does feel cooler out there. that trend continues and also we have a chance for some flurries potentially tomorrow night. nothing to get too excited about. we won't see a lot of accumulations. a beautiful shot at the capital. we have clear skies out there. temperatures in the 40s at this

if you live in the d.c. tion. >> the daily beast recently compiled a list of the 25 best cities to find a date in 2012. washington d.c., came intense. alexandria came in 21st. not a single city from maryland made the list. they ranked them according to an available number of singles cost of dating, and the mental and physical health of the city. if you are wondering what city topped the list, it was atlanta. >> they are not hotlanta for nothing. >> i wonder how they just the mental fitness in the area. >> as long as they are not crazy. >> how does one judge that? >>> justin timberlake does not pass to worry about dating anymore. there's a report he is engaged to deshabille -- to , his longtime girlfriend. >> they broke up in march of last year only to reunite a short time later. >>> more trauma for kim kardashian. amber rosre setbacks kim kardashian was one of the reasons for her breakup with rapper kanye west. after they split, rowse se admitted basketthat that she dated reggie bush. >>> >> >>> coming up, sc

one member of the couple has to live in d.c. six months before divorce proceedings can begin. >>> president dwight d. eisenhower's family wants the memorial honoring the 34th president to be redesigned. the family says the concept focuses too much on his humble kansas roots and not enough on his accomplishments during world war ii and his time at the white house. the eisenhower memorial commission plan to seek final approval of the dedine sign but did not comment on the family's objection. >>> doomsday apparently is inching closer. that is according to the group of excites who track the likelihood of a global catastrophe. they have moved the doomsday clock to five minutes before midnight. the past two years, it has been six minutes. the group says limited efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and global warming are why members changed the clock. >>> the future of the washington redskins coming up next on fox 5 morning news. is it this guy? robert griffin iii? he is one step closer. sports headlines straight ahead after t

i can't comment. >> reporter: just before the d.c. council recess for the holidays, the ward 5 democrat appeared on the dais and voted for a new ethics bill for city employees. late last year, the fbi and i.r.s. agents raided thomas' home in northeast. carted off items reportedly bought with misappropriated funds. sources tell 9news now harry thomas is phoning his closest colleagues to say he will enter into a plea agreement with prosecutors. perhaps before the week is out. the agreement as thomas explains to friends will force him to resign from office and admit to more than one felony charge. said thomas to one source, couldn't beat the tax charges. he told friends he's looking at a two to three year prison sentence. bruce johnson, 9news now. >> 9news now tried and failed to reach harry thomas' attorney for comment. a final meeting could come in a day or two. >>> today, the d.c. council will take steps to speed up enactment of a new ethics bill. if it is unclear if thomas will cast a vote. >>> d.c. chair kwame brown wants every high

the head of the d.c. ommission says new regulations should be in place before the end of the year. now let's fast forward to the weather. >>> take a look at a sunset out there right now. this is a live shot over frederick look oing off toward e west. gorgeous across the area tonight with the sun going down at 5:27. just two minutes ago. man, that dusk sure does look nice out there. temperatures will be going up during the day tomorrow. look at the current temperatures. 47 in washington. 57 in roanoke. 57 in charleston, west virginia. our temperatures foremtomorrow be 15 degrees warmer than today. that means most of us will get into the low 60s across the area. your complete forecast coming up once again in a few minutes. >> thank you, doug. >>> a disturbing crime inside a silver spring apartment complex over the weekend. police tell us henry gordon hutchins called 911 on saturday to report that his wife was dead but as investigators comb the crime scene they say the evidence pointed to murder and that hutc

members of the activist group our d.c. allege that this was all happening as pepco cut its workforce. they say these are just some of the reasons for the commission to deny pepco's request for a higher rate. pepco officials say the windfall of money was the result of the u.s. government changing the tax code in an effort to stimulate economic growth. in a statement released to news4, they explained that pepco is significantly upgrading its infrastructure in the district of columbia to improve reliability and is installing advanced technology that will allow customers to better manage their energy usage and allow pepco to better manage outages. the company is also improving customer service. the rate adjustment will help pay for the costs of these upgrades. a pepco spokesperson tells us that while they do receive some of the money that their parent company has earned, it is still not enough for them to make all of the upgrades that they would like to make and improve the system the way they need to. that's why they say they

that the occupy d.c. camp at mcpherson square protesters have been dealing with outdoor living for months but this extreme blast of cold weather is compounding matters. you have? >> i'm trying to get vitamin c. in the food i eat it. >> that protester named mike dunne is not even able to sleep this morning. he would rather walk around to try to stay warm. the woman that you saw said that he has been forced to sleep outside of the tent because it is infected with rats. she already has a very bad cough. she's not sure how she will fix that because she will not make it to the hospital. i asked her if it is worth the sacrifice to be here in the cold. she says it is absolutely worth it for the cause. don gonzales reporting live, abc 7 news -- john gonzales. >>> lisa baden has traffic. >> there's a crash on the outer loop on the left side of your screen, newschopper 7. there's a crash at georgia avenue on 95. the right side of the screen giving you an example of slow traffic. they are moving everyone onto the sho

claims the driver intentionally plowed into them. d.c. police chief cathy lanier said the car was trying to get through a small gap in the crowd when the protestors moved in front of it. >>> just about 4:37. here is a look at the other things making news now. this morning, rescuers are once again searching for victims of a landslide in the philippines. so far, bodies of 20 people have been found. officials say they're not sure how many more remain buried in the rubble. the landslide happened months after geologists warned the area was highly susceptible to sudden landslides. >>> the family of a 15-year-old middle school student shot and killed by police in brownsville, texas, have a different take on the shooting. police killed jaime gonzalez in the school hallway earlier this week after they say he pointed what they thought was a handgun at them. it later turned out the child had a pellet gun. police say gonzalez brought the gun to school and threatened administrators. the boy's mother claims her son didn't own a pellet gun. she says he t

. >> of the federal investigation that could cost one d.c. council member his job. >> this is no good. >> later, the season has ended on a sour note for virginia tech at the sugar bowl. good morning washington continues right now. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> rise and shine, washington. it's wednesday, january 4. i am doug mcelway. i am cynne simpson. >> i am natasha barrett. there was no showers in some suburbs yesterday. >> we have some school closures. garrett county public schools' opening two hours late. that's maryland. in virginia, winchester county schools are closed. clark county public schools in virginia will open two hours late. is there any more snowfall all the way to? -- on the way? >>> >>the big story this morning is the cold. 17 at reagan national, in gaithersburg 20 in quantico. nine in winchester. i have been asking my facebook friends for their readings. in warrenton, 16. 13 in damascus. thank you to all my facebook friends for posting this. highs today in the low to mid 30's. much

more than 2000 people in the d.c. area used the sober ride service. a drunk driver was removed from the areas roads every four as a result. pretty impressive. >>> wall street is headed back to work. >> linda bell is live at bloomberg headquarters in new york with business. >> good morning. happy new year. fresh data today on manufacturing. economists forecast it will show manufacturing expanded in december at the fastest pace in six months. this is partly on increasing demand for automobiles. holiday discounts may have helped to push car sales to the second fastest pace in more than two years. crude oil prices are back on the rise. that is partly on reports of manufacturing activity that is growing in china and india. and investors betting the further sanctions in iran will tighten supplies. iowa in focus because the national pork producers council is on high alert after a dozen cases of is one full virus that is thought to have originated in pigs. you cannot get it from eating pork. more americans are lacking health insurance coverage and turning to

the search for the most enthusiastic fans in d.c. coming up. what makes the slsleep number store different? the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. and now, the company that redefined sleep is redefining memory foam. save $400 on our all-new memory foam bed. and at our white sale, stock up and save on our exclusive bedding collection. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. >>> you are watching a few of the folks who hope to entertain you at the next nats game. they are auditioning to be what's called the nat pack, the group of fans that get you going, get things hot and heavy -- well, not hot and heavy, just hot. before and during games. they were judged on their energy and ability to rile the crowd. they take care of all of our promotion, set up during the games. the easiest thing is they dot t- shirt toss.

>> this has been perhaps the toughest day in -- for occupy d.c. protesters, not only the cold but clashing with police. throughout the day protesters have been reinforcing their tends to fight against the bitter winds but our cameras were rolling moments ago when u.s. park police made their way into the park and tore down these tents made up of tarps and bamboo sticks, saying they are not allowed on federal property. in the meantime, up north, residents are clashing with snow. call it a fast glass of winter -- after an extremely mild december. >> it had been pretty nice. hard to complain up until now. >> everybody knew it was coming but some, especially those who work outdoors, or holding it would hold off buying a little longer. >> the morning -- the more you buy its adjusted. >> the wind is blowing up here. even the daily task of the the three-mile bike ride to work has been challenged. >> it is really the wind that gets you, take you off guard. >> while some struggle even after just minutes of walking outdoors for the occupy d.c. movement sleepi

this weekend the d.c. department of transportation expects to open the second span of the 11th street bridge. the outbound span will carry drivers over the anacostia river. a third span is scheduled to open this summer. >>> tonight general motors is asking the owners of every chevy volt sold in the u.s. in the last two years to bring their cars back to the dealership. the company wants to strengthen the structure around the car's batteries. this comes after three batteries caught fire following side impact crash tests by the federal government. those fires happened between seven days and three weeks after the crashes. >>> a 5-year-old girl ended up asleep and alone tuesday on a frederick county school bus. the child's mother says when her little girl woke up, the bus was parked outside the driver's home. the child knocked on the door and asked to be driven back to school. a spokeswoman for the school system says the driver failed to check the bus after his last stop and didn't realize it wasn't empty. the m

clement, suppose the d.c. t which has exclusive authority over pre-clearance denies pre-clearance. suppose we accept your provision, and then the district court says these plans do not meet the section 5 requirements. what happens if we use the texas plan that has not been pre- cleared? >> as a practical matter, i suppose at that point, appellants would go to the court in texas and say you need to revise your interim maps once again. since the premise for the court drawing it into romance is that time is of the essence and we cannot wait any longer, the texas court may deny that notion or grant that notion. what they do think it is particularly an ominous is let's suppose that the d.c. court does deny pre-clearance, at that point, it is common ground that the legislatively enacted plan even though deny pre-clearance would be something that the texas court would have to defer to. the oddity of the other side -- >> i do not see how it is basically up -- that was plan. there was two contiguous districts. the attor

while downtown at the d.c. ections board, formal papers were being filed to force gray into a recall election, saying he has been a poor mayor caught up in scandal. >> could much pleat grassroots efforts, i think the citizens of d.c. are willing to move on this. i have opinion receiving nothing but phone calls and e-mails. >> reporter: butler a strong supporter of adrian femmety, the map defeated in 2010 and filed papers against kwame brown. gray dismissed the recall effort. >> people who were supporters to of the previous may here said that i hadn't done the job. i will take that on with anybody. i feel we have done an excellent job. >> you have a public debate with fred butler? >> i said we will be happy to debate that i'm not going to debate him. why would anybody give credibility to that -- >> reporter: recall supporters now must gather 35,000 valid voter signatures within six months to force a new vote. no city wide really has ever succeeded. >> everything is impossible until it's done. i don't fear the up

norwood's attorney said he will appeal the sentence. >>> d.c. police looking for this man's killer tonight. 19-year-old delonte williams was stabbed to death in the 1500 block of receive the street northwest last night. he made it to the kennedy recreation center where police were called about a block away but williams did not survive. there's a reward up to $25 $25,000 if you lead police to the killers. >>> the protesters in freedom plaza know now camping out will no longer be allowed of noon monday. the move comes after a house oversight subcommittee hearing. >> i'm sticking it out till the end. if the last structure here is that teepee, so be it. >> i don't see anybody going anywhere. we're all staying, but as a matter of what to do with the tents and sleeping equipment and everything else. >> the national park service says 24 hour vigils are allowed but protesters must leave one site if any temporary structures open -- one side of any temporary structures open at all times. >>> no rest for the we're rei on the campaign trail a day after the c

that is something the d.c. you get a receipt in the e- mail shortly thereafter but you never see the meter recording. you have nothing that tells you what the meter recorded. or that the meter is calibrated properly. >> reporter: he recently took uber for a test drive and ended up slapping the driver with several fines. he says uber ignores the reciprocity agreements between d.c., maryland and virginia. he has referred the matter to the d.c. attorney general. reps from uber and linton have a meeting scheduled for february to hammer things out. d.c. council member mary cheh has thrown her support around the app. app. for now, the app is up and running and apparently doing well. >> our revenue here is what we were in san francisco after 9 months and wave been launched for about a month in d.c. >> it is free for iphone and android users but you can also use uber with any cell phone. can actually use text messaging back and forth to order your car. i had a question for them. will these cars take you anywhere? is tha

we are close to the d.c. line. they are asking if anyone saw anyone suspicious here last night or early this morning to please call the police. like in capitol heights maryland, greta kreuz, on abc7 news. >> and now we turn to the standoff between vincent gray and the protestors. he demands the protestors be removed about a rat problem. federal officials say they have a right to remain where they are. we will have much more coming up new at 6:00. >> the mayor has been busy. he joined gov. bob mcdonnell and martin o'malley to talk about metro. jennifer donelan is live with the details on this meeting. >> the power meeting and press conference just wrapped up. the leaders from maryland, virginia and d.c. have signed a memorandum of understanding. they agree to meet once per year to assess metro given what they call "recent safety problems." two governors with the district's mayor. on the table? metro. >> our priority is the safety of the riders from the district and virginia and maryland. >> the meeting was scheduled

the d.c. fire department says it is true there are several drugs used inemergencies that are in short supply nationwide. although there is an expiration date on these drugs, he tells us the fire department has a 30- day window. but some administering these drugs are concerned. we received this picture from a concerned first responder. take a look at the expiration day. we're told this is lidocaine, a life-saving drug used most every day in the district. >> right now lidocaine is one of those main drugs that we use on patients suffering from chest pain to cardiac arrest. >> reporter: kenneth -- lyons is the president of the union here. >> we just can't depend on the drugs given that many are expired. >> reporter: but the medical director says there is no reason to be worried. >> lidocaine in question is supposed to expire in january of 2012. we have a 30-day wiggle room for that medication according to the fda labeling. in no way, shape, or form is this lidocaine bad. >> reporter: the doctor say

around the entire d.c. area, wintry mix of snow, sleet and some freezing rain expected and it can be icy tomorrow morning. here is monika. good morning, mon. >> we'll take a look at the sousa bridge coming in on pennsylvania avenue. the big story in southeast, a police barricade at 12th street and potomac avenue southeast, just knot of the freeway going at an either -- going to pennsylvania avenue, apparently the suspect has been apprehended that should be clearing shortly. we'll keep you posted on that situation. in the meantime, we'll take a look at traffic again at 5:17. >> 10 minutes after 5:00. here's what's making news this morning. concerned parents attended a meeting last night at clairemont elementary school in alexandria. a man has approached children on their way to and from school. so far, the man has not committed any crime but police are interested in speaking with him. he apparently is driving an older red pickup truck. >> two metro employees are charged with stealing thousands of dollars from

is the first elected d.c. official convicted of crimes committed while in office. >> i think sadly that i don't think that there's a lot of credibility regarding ethics with d.c. council right now. >> reporter: to him me wells had these comments about harry thomas trying to recapture his seat on the d.c. council. >> in d.c., we really don't want to limit voters choices, but in a case where someone has so violated the public trust with a criminal enterprise to take public funds and utilize the office seemingly for that purpose, it really gives you because to say that maybe this is a case where we need to revisit that loss. >> reporter: meanwhile 9 news now learned that ward 5 democratic leaders held their first meeting today to discuss the thomas scandal and map out a strategy to field a candidate to replace him in a special election to be held in 114 days. >> that special ward 5 election is open to all political persuasions. he will serve the final three years of harry thomas, jr.'s term. depending on the sent

my pleasure. >>> and the d.c. fighter's union is calling on the fire chief to back down from the threat to discipline members over a uniform change. this is after a veteran firefighter spoke exclusively with fox 5 last night. tonight, the union president ed smith said that any uniform change is wasteful and if the chief wants members to comply, he should pay for it. the fire chief for reasons not clear, chased -- changeed the department's logo and ordered everyone to make the switch on their own dime. paul wagner has a followup to the story. paul? >> reporter: the d.c. fire department changeed logos four times the last 20 years. the last time, just three years ago. the decision that would go go unnoticed if it was not so costly to the city and firefighters who were expected to purchase most of the cold weather gear. the firefighter's union is calling for the fire chief to unify the department and paying for the change. here are the logos used by the department since the early '90s. the one in the middle was introdu

kind of the 12 remaining d.c. council members came to the wilson building this afternoon for a 3:00 meeting in the council chairman's conference room. it was an informal gathering of the council, where the case against their former colleague was the one and only topic for discussion. >> i have known harry thomas since he was in high school. his father is here with the new city council. we have to remember the tragedy here. >> the door to thomas' former office is locked. his name removed from the plate outside in the hallway. all four members of his staff dismissed. >> obviously it's the behavior that cannot be tolerated. violation of the public trust and he admitted to all of that and justice is going to be served on may 3. >> after the brief council meeting, we asked kwame brown for his reaction to the detailed charges his long time friend pled guilty to. ingly was outraged. i was stunned. i was disappointed. i was saddened. but it was good to see that type of level of detail and investigation was done and justice

is the d.c. occupy movement turning public safety? e protection coming up at 6:00. >> thank you, maureen. we will see you soon. let's check in with doug. how is the fog? >> we will deal with that all night. some areas very dense, some mothers very good. a mass of cold front will eventually clean things out, but it will take awhile. on the bottom of your screen, heavy storms through alabama and georgia the leftover from the tragic overnight tornado outbreaks in alabama. nothing like that for us, just drizzle and fog. here is the visibility map. 1 mile in gaithersburg. but 0.3 miles visibility at bwi and dulles. the intensity and visibility will come and go. temperatures holding steady, but warmer air just to the west will work its way in overnight. the futurecast, if you watch closely, but the temperatures will come up a few degrees to the upper 40's. temperatures moving into the 50's tomorrow afternoon so we just need to be patient a little while longer. for the next seven days, 50's than 40's and sunshine on wednesday. thursday into f

the mayor and some d.c. council members plan to visit new hampshire this month to make their case the district should become the nation's 51st state. councilman david catania has been leading the charge. >> this is a josh any about self-determination and self- respect -- journey about self- determination and self-respect. >> the friday to new hampshire is part of an ongoing effort to persuade state legislatures to pass a resolution for d.c. statehood. the idea is that if enough states seem to be supportive of it, congress will be as well. >>> the federal government is pitching in more money to help cover virginia's cost to repair all the damage from tropical storm lee. the commonwealth will now get $6.5 million from the department of transportation to pay for road and infrastructure repair. back in september flooding caused by lee damageddor washed out 15 roads and bridges -- damaged or washed out 15 roads and bridges in virginia alone. >>> a bitterly cold walk to work this morning, temperatures through our a

to the west, temperatures in the upper 30s the d.c. area, to the east, upper 40s, so, a little bit different as far as the temperatures are concerned, we widen out here, you can see where this storm is still down to the south and western portions of north carolina, we are looking a at tornado warning there yes, we could see some thunderstorms in our area. i'm not worried about anything severe in our region, but we are going to see the potential for heavy rain and some of those thunderstorms if they do develop could have strong winds, too. we will talk more that, plus the amazing roller coaster that we are going to be on. we are talking about big-time ups and big-time downs. we will talk about it in my full forecast. thanks, doug. >>> the search continues tonight for a masked man who forced himself into a house in bethesda. police say the man tied up a mother and her son then sexually assaulted the housekeeper. it happened this morning on barden road. tonight, we have learned the crime might be linked to another attack. pat come.sin beth

. >>> the news edge on d.c. an old problem rearing its head in the new year for d.c. council harry thomas who is due to make the second $50,000 payment to the d.c. attorney general. he agreed to pay back the city 3$00,000 is accused of taking from an account for youth sports. the second payment do you today so far, thomas hasn't paid it. also today, thomas and the federal government have worked out a plan for him to pay back $5,000 in unpaid student loans he took out in the '80s. thomas will have to pay back more than $17,000. >>> and snow fall all over the region today. you're sending this picture to www.myfoxdc.com and there you are to meyersville, maryland. sue palka is in the weather center now any. snow on the way? >> reporter: there is still one last snow shower that i am seeing around the winchester virginia area. not everyone saw those today. they were definitely confined more to the north and west. can you see them here on our sentinel radar, starting to dry up as i show you, the last several hours and we had a few bursts and that was enough to whiten the grou

he's been driving people around the d.c. area for 20 years. ashby says he bought 20 tickets for the lottery but he didn't check the number, and then he read online that the winning ticket was purchased at the 7-eleven on georgetown pike in great falls, where he had bought his ticket. >> i said golly, i bought a ticket at that store, and so i started, you know, immediately going through my tickets. and of course, you know, the numbers matched up, and i said holy moly, this can't be right. >> despite winning a million dollars, ashby says he'll keep his job as a chauffeur for now. he says he is worried, though, that folks won't tip him as much. as for what he's going do with all that money, he says he plans to visit his daughter and granddaughter in tennessee and then maybe take a trip to hawaii. he could probably take several trips. >>> it's worth only about $50 in any given store. still ahead on "news4 this week," why a bethesda woman is offering a big reward from something stolen from her desk drawer. >>> and the story of how viewers helped to

members of the d.c. national guard will be heading into the war zone. >> nearly 100 members of two d.c. national guard units will be deployed in less than 12 hours. for many of them, this is not the first time being called to duty. carolyn and not wilson are in the final hours of their time together before they are separated for a year. linton wilson is one of 100 guardsmen who will leave their families behind. >> i am glad my wife has my daughter while i am gone. >> it will be a difficult time. it will mean a year apart. the unit is ready and they are excited to go. >> this is the 22nd post-9/11 deployment for the d.c. national guard. 32 are being deployed for a second tour of duty. these cousins are heading overseas. they are one of three pairs of cousins and this unit that are being deployed. >> i am ready to go. i have my cousin with me. >> just in case he needs help or need some moral support, i am therefore him. >> this sergeant is being deployed for his second time. this time, he is a new father. >

the d.c. commission will take over management of the theater to secure its financial future. >> the goal is to be able to preserve this theater. this is a 90-year-old theater. it's made an enormous contribution of this city, the history of u street. we owe it to the past, present and future to see it. >> a four-week run of the movie, "the girl with the dragon tattoo". >>> there's a school in northeast washington where the students are lean and fit and focused. it's the academy of ballet. there are more than 100 students becoming highly disciplined and athletic adults. wendy rieger takes us there. >> reporter: the dancers, dozens of them float in unison across the stage. it's hypnotic, like smoke. it's beautiful. but, not to this instructor. much is wrong. this toe is off. someone's heel. their hand, the tilt of someone's head. she barks instructions often in russian. welcome. the goal, perfection. for 22 years the academy has been offering an academically accredited academy in d.c. it is tough.

the d.c. board of elections has fillly received a written letter of resignation from harry thomas, jr. that legally clears the way for the election on may 15th to replace him. the ward 5 democrat stepped down last week after needing guilty to embezzling more than $350,000 in government funds. >>> it may become easier for gay and lesbian couples to get a divorce. the d.c. council is considering legislation that would allow couples who got married in the district to get divorced if they live in another state that would not recognize their separation. under current law, one member of the couple has to live in d.c. for six months before the divorce proceedings can begin. >>> come up next, the u.s. make a move to slow down north creigh's nuclear program with much needed aid as bait. >>> pakistan decides the fate of the site where osama bin laden spent his final moments. we'll tell you what will happen to his compound. back in a moment. ahh... so much better than last year. [ both screaming ] throw t

the district. new hampshire lawmakers introduced such a resolution last year and d.c. leaders say they're pushing to make sure it moves forward. >> being able to have the ability to control the resources generated here in the district of columbia so that the $5.5 billion contributed to the wherewithal of the city by the citizens of the city will be used not only for the purposes of this city but the decision about those resources will rest solely with the people in the city. >> council chair kwame brown, council members michael brown and david kitania attended the announcement. they're expected to be a part of the city's delegation as well. >> president obama will make a rare appearance at the pentagon. he'll join defense officials in outlining a strategy for a leaner u.s. military. the proposal is expected to include plans to cut tens of thousands of ground troops and invest more in air and sea power. >>> president obama spent his wednesday making a campaign stop in ohio. while, therehe announced the appointment of cordray to lead the consumer protection bureau. >> the

it's received $4.6 million from the d.c. of housing and community development, even though it has never bought or repaired a building. the head of that agency released a response to the report. he said he's asking the inspector general and the d.c. attorney general to investigate the matter further. >>> we have new information into metro's investigation of a brake system failure on a metro train back in december. the washington examiner is reporting metro has determined premature wear is what caused the friction ring to fall off an orange line train near l'enfant plaza. the transit's is replacing part of the brake system on much of the rail car fleet. officials are still looking into what caused another friction ring to fall off this one on january 9. the report on that incident is due out next month. >>> well, another cracked rail led to some delays on metro, this time it was yesterday. it happened on the blue and orange lines near rosslyn station. you may recall the problems last thursday when a rail cracked on the red lin

right now, drivers in the d.c. metro are paying $3.40 a gallon and that's up almost 30 cents from a year ago. and it is the highest prices have ever been at the start of the year. aaa says that is not a good time for the rest of 2012. >> unfortunately, it looks like it will be this way for a while. usually we see prices low at the beginning of the year and inch up during the spring. with them starting off high at the beginning of the year, they'll continue to inch up during the spring. >> the price of crude oil sure hasn't helped. it risen by almost $24 since october. experts say that is from increased global demand and the optimism about the u.s. economic recovery. >> we are trading into cold for rain. top, tell us when the showers will roll in. that's coming up, but first, d.c.'s parade honoring dr. martin luther king. the sight and sounds of the tributes are up next. stay with us. >>> hundreds of people filled the pews at the ebenezer church honoring dr. martin luther king, jr. as well as religious and business l

and the detectives from up in d.c. ed up on that information, believed it to be credible. >> marshalls say the two men were living in an apartment complex having moved there a couple of months ago from the atlanta area. investigators are still trying to put together a time line, but believe the two were supporting themselves in the drug trade. >> roz prater, thank you. >>> an 8-year-old alexandria boy is dead after hit by a car this afternoon. happened on duke street after a car hit a woman and her child. the boy died at the scene. his mother hospitalized. the car continued down an embankment. but the driver was not hurt. so far no charges filed. >>> howard university student is found safe and back at home tonight after being missing for nearly a week. the 17-year-old went missing five days ago. tonight police say she was found safe in prince george's county. >>> rescuers treated a montgomery county woman after she fell in the canal trying to help a dog. the woman had dragged herself out of the water when the fire depar