shut down due to a tractor trailer accident but it's been cleared. >> and if you ride through montgomery the traffic light issues continue there. we're live on when the problem could be fixed. plus a revealing letter from the d.c. sniper released days before he's set to be put to death and now his legal team is offering new evidence to try to save his life. we'll take a closer look. and also ahead, your kids holiday has easy to swallow prices. we'll show you where to cash in this morning. fox 5 morning news starts right now. well let's hit the road in montgomery county and see how long it takes to get anywhere. big problems yesterday and they continue this morning. still hitting some snags out there. we'll tell you how to get around the situation with the traffic signals once again. thanks for being with us on this morning, it's november 5th and i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm allison seymour. and we're used to the chilly starts now. >> it's warmer than yesterday at this point. in the district it is. outside of d.c. we're in the 30s. but you're right, allison, we're getting used to it. get used to it for today and tomorrow. then i have good news into the weekend and next week. let's look at the temperatures right now across the region. we are at 44 in washington. 37 in baltimore. 34 at frederick. fredericksberg is 37. ocean city is 47. here is a look at what is going on out there. we have mostly clear skies. in fact i'm going to step out, because if you look westward you can see some clouds working their way in here. when the clouds come, they could bring a couple of showers here and there. frankly i don't think there's a ig chance of that, but i have to mention it in case we do see a few showers. today, increasing clouds, cool again. high once again in the mid-50s. that's where we were yesterday. that's a look at the weather. now let's get an update on the problems on the roadways. they are numerous. here is julie wright. it's a busy day here in the traffic world. if you're traveling in montgomery county again this morning, anticipate a slow ride because the computer glitch ich caused headachyesterday morning is going to happen again today. the problem is the signal lights are not able to be con figured into rush hour mode. so while the traffic lights are working, unfortunately they're not in rush hour mode and that's what backs up your commute. again we were talking about this, we have a montgomery county official that assured us our arrows are working properly. they went out there to change those by hand. so again we can see this and it is working properly and it's working in our advantage at this point. but again, a lot of folks complained yesterday that normally a 45 minute commute was taking them up to two hours on georgia avenue, connecticut avenue and the rockville pike. so montgomery county wants you to ride on the rideon buses for free and that will save some headache and trouble on the roads. right now we have delays on the inner loop around georgia avenue due to a crash on the shoulder. so the lanes are open once again but a slow crawl off southbound 270. in virginia, 95 had a nasty accident in newington and the damage is done. from the car rest area it slows into newington and in woodbridge, delays from dale city toward 7100 before the pace improves. downtown, kenilworth avenue, crash at east capital street gone, look for delays down to eastern avenue. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. our big story this morning continues to be the delays that julie was talking about in montgomery county. day two of a commuting nightmare there. >> hundreds of traffic signals unable to switch to rush hour timing. many widely used roads looking more like parking lots and sarah simmons is live along connecticut avenue with an update of day two. >> reporter: good morning. we are here at connecticut avenue where we're starting to see a little bit of backup, nothing like we saw yesterday yet but it is still early. but there are some points where we do see the traffic backup so the signals are still mistimed. and from sky fox we have live pictures over 29 and white oak area seeing a backup starting to build this morning, similar to what we saw yesterday but it's possible it could get even worse. now let's look at live pictures coming into us from democracy boulevard and the old georgetown road area. traffic is still moving there at a decent pace but it is starting to build up as the rush hour moves on. ow taking a look into some video that we shot from earlier, also things haven't gotten too bad right now. they could increase when it comes to the traffic later on this morning. as for the cause of this, we're being told from montgomery county officials this is a centralized commuter system that runs a traffic signal that crashed yesterday. it losts the ability to automatically switch the timing at 750 traffic signals around the county, from the standard running time to rush hour mode. we understand that engineers are out trying to switch things by hand for the rush hour -- some of the major roadways. in talking with one of the officials this morning, she was not sure at this point where they were, where they have been. it's something they're continuously doing as they try to improve this during the rush hour time. now this is a system that dates back to the 1970s so it was an aging system. we are understand they are in the process of trying to do a $35 million overhaul on this, something that will take six years. as of this morning, for now, what you can do, the montgomery county ride on buses are free for today. they want to try to get people off of the roadways and ease the congestion. so if you don't normally ride those buses, we have the details on myfoxdc.com. you can go there and see what the schedules are. again, those are free for today. we're still unsure when the traffic signals will get fixed but we hope to learn more later this afternoon. steve and allison, back to you. >> thank you, sarah. now on to the eo big mess. it caused a commuter crunch as the computer system failed there. some machines didn't take the debit or credit cards. the problem affected bus and rail passengers. also hit hard was the access program for the disabled. new this morning, a deadly accident in the district. a person on a motor bike was killed before midnight on emerson street in northwest. the driver of the other vehicle did stay on the scene. so far no word on what caused this crash or whether charges are being considered in this case. there are questions surrounding a deadly accident involving a montgomery county detective and a pet van. police say the detective was driving on northbound 295 near the laboratory road exit in southwest d.c. when he hit a person on the roadway. now that person died. it's not clear what they were doing in the roadway. the detective, who is a 20-year veteran of the force, did remain on the scene. no word on charges at this point. d.c. police need your help to find a missing teenager. she was last seen at her home on north 22nd street. she's 15 years old. she was wearing black pants and a cardig and with a school logo on it. staff order -- sheriffs need help to find suspects behind robberies. since august 5th, women reported similar attacks and sexual assaults in the coverstone drive area in manassas. a recent victim fought back. the attacker is said to be only 15 years old. his parents thought somebody attacked him. but police realized he matched the description of the suspect who had attacked the woman. baby sitter facing charges after a child swallowed heroin. the parents were also arrested. >> apparently mom and dad were living in the home with the in fant and they had gone out and had baby sitters who were friends and while they were gone briefly left the baby unattended and the baby allegedly ingested heroin during that time. >> police believe the drugs belonged to the mother. the baby is living with relatives, said to be doing well. time now is 8 minutes past the hour. the d.c. counsel passing emergency legislation blocking money for new projects. >> millions of dollars were said to be given to a friend of the mayor. we'll get the latest. and the commuter meltdown, could this be costly for the district? coming up next on fox 5 morning news. 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"a," definitely. this one. thank you. in a national taste test, more hard-working americans preferred the taste of dunkin' donuts over starbucks. try the coffee that won. excuse me, sir! thank you. try any of our authentic hot lattes, including our pumpkin latte, for just 99 cents. it's 7:12 on this thursday morning. as we are every thursday at this time, we are joined by mayor adrian fenty. >> thanks for being with us. so today is a hearing on the contracts, a lot of money, up to $170 million in contracts looked as far as money going from the housing authority into granted good projects done. >> fantastic projects. >> and i guess your feeling on this day as the council convenes to talk about this issue. >> i think it's what they're supposed to be doing. i served on the council for six years. i think the one thing you have to do as a council member is ask tough questions of the executive, because if you don't, no one will formally do so. we get the tough questions from the citizens as well, but the council is the formal tough- questioner if, you will. >> and he's hoping the main two recipients of the contracts, people said to have ties to you, will be there. are you concerned about any wrongdoing comg out of this hearing and how do you stand when this comes into the public? >> there won't be any allegations of wrongdoing. there will be tough questions. and i know i discussed it last week on some talk shows, i can't remember if we did on this one. >> we did. >> okay. so the housing authority is not only -- not only has a procurement process, which everything i read said was followed. but it's completely separate from the agencies that i run. the agencies that i run are part of the executive branch. the housing authority is an independent agency with their own board and so there is this huge fire wall that exists between the executive branch and our independent agencies so i think that will be discussed at the hearing as well. and like i said, i was involved in a lot of hearings, when i was on the city council, you ask more questions. >> and despite this fire wall, a lot of this money went to your friends. were you aware of where this money was going? >> no. i mean i don't know about contracts until the housing authority is finished with them. if that was your question. >> well my question was did you know the money was going to your friends, the money as going to them? >> well let me just broaden out the discussion, because you're purposely being a little narrow there. first of all, did i know about them when we wept to the ground breaking. absolutely. all of these project have had ground breaking. and i was at the ground breaking and so were members of the city council. i think the question about whether or not people i know get contracts with the d.c. government, absolutely they do. i, just like all of you, know tons of people and i think the question is are they qualified, are they capable was there a procurement process and all of those questions from everything i've seen are yes. the other thing that i keep emphasizing ju so the general public will know it, is that we have procurement laws. from everything i've seen in the discussion, the procurement laws were followed and in this case, it's not even one of my agencies that is in question, it's an independent agency that has no oversight from my office. >> keeping it on the big picture standpoint irs know you said it's the council's job to ask tough questions as you did when you were a member of the council, if this goes to court, does that damage relations between the administration and city council? >> what do you mean by go to court? >> whether we go to subpoenas in this case or any else, if it goes down a more in depth route, does that damage the working relationship between the mayor's office and city council. >> well people are just subpeonaed to come to the hearing, even then, that's not unnatural. the answer to your question is no. we know the council has a role to do and the counsel and the executive know our general obligation is to make sure we build state-of-the-art recreation centers and librairies and schools and i think the record speaks for itself. we've gotten tremendous amount of those things done over the past three years. >> and the last question on this for me now is the council has put in -- put in place any legislation that there needs to be approval for anything over 75,000. >> well your facts are wrong. we have to report to them $75,000 expenditures. million dollars threshold is written into the home rule statute. any time you spend more than a million dollars, you have to get council approval. what the council said is we want to know every time money is spent, but it doesn't feed to go to them for approval. >> but it's been lowered from a million to 75,000. >> but you have to understand the distinction between getting approval and letting them know we're doing it. get ago approval is a million dollars. letting them know we're doing it is 75,000 and it doesn't have to be approved by then. >> you mentioned ground breaking and yesterday the new d.c. crime lab, this has been in works for a long time, and paul wagner has been trying to help with the push. but now i think it's going to happen in 2011, i think is when it should open. talk about the benefit of having this herein stead of in quantico. >> i think it's 2012. just like the parks and rec center and librairies, and for years people have been talking about a consolidated forensics lab and we haven't been able to move on it. together with the city council, we put the resources together and had the ground breaking and this will do the analysis that you can only do at the fbi lab and it will allow us to look at biomechanical terrorist attacks potentially that could come to the district of columbia. so it's fantastic news. and to give you some kind of contempt, this is a $212 million project in and of itself which goes to show you the level of spending that goes on in the d.c. government that the agencies and the city council and mayor deal with. >> and before we let you know, this one viewer is upset about the weeds and tried to coact different people in your administration. she wants something done about it. >> and it's my understanding that not only have we already resolved this problem, but we sent you the pictures. >> is that right? >> so we have to put them up. >> and i loved your shot with the sledge hammer yesterday. >> did you see it? >> yes. with the goggles on. pretty impressive swing there. maybe the nationals should put you on the roster next year. >> and you can resolve your problems, he already took care of it before we can get to him, and he will join us next thursday at the same time. >> thanks, mayor. and still ahead, we have much more on the limit the amounts of spending coming up in the 9:00 hour. and keeping an eye on our traffic and weather today, we start with tony perkins. >> take a look at this live shot. a pretty start to the day. it's a cool, crisp fall day, but it is pretty outside. we don't have the fog that we've had on some of the other days earlier this week. but not a bad start out there. temperatures in the 30s in parts of viewing area. take a look. our temperatures dropped here in town. 42 degrees the current temperature in the district. 39 out in cincinnati. as you head out to the west, you see a lot of cold air in place across the plains, temperatures in the 0s. 20s to the far north. and then cooler air down to the south as well. dallas is at 53 degrees early this morning. mild air for the west coast. here is a look at the national satellite radar. what we do see is some cloud cover out to our west that will begin making it's way later on in here today. so we'll have a mixed bag of clouds and sun and a fair amount o cloud cover making it's way inhere for later. but this morning is fine. much of the country is quiet in the southwest, but clouds in the southwest and a little bit of precipitation. today 56or the high, tomorrow a cool one, 51. can't rule out a shower today. the weekend looks great and the beginning of next week looks very good. we'll have more details on that coming up. right now let's go to julie wright. in someplace it's ight be before next week before we get to work. it's been a horrible couple of days out there on the roads and we've been talking about this computer glitch that montgomery county folk have been dealing with and working diligently to repair. unfortunately what it's done has affected your traffic commute. it affects the signals. the signals are working but they're not set up in rush hour form. dave is out there live at georgetown and democracy this boulevard and you can see traffic volume building. this is what we saw yesterday morning at about the 7:00 hour, the traffic volume starting to thicken up as more folks get out and about on the road. this is traffic off of democracy boulevard toward montgomery mall. eastbound back towards 27 and the lanes are open. they can't give you as much green as you need to work your y into work and we find backups here and along connecticut avenue, where sarah simons is reporting from and georgia avenue and colesville road and we had a number of people tell us a 45 minute commute was taking them upwards to two hours to get to work. so they were not on time and there was a lot of headache out there on the road. and montgomery county has listed -- lifted their fare on the ride-on buses and hope that will alleviate some of the stress. and a crash on the beltway as you approach georgia avenue. that is cleared. unfortunately traffic still jammed up badly from 270 past connecticut avenue and toward silver spring. d.c. route 295 kenilworth crash gone. look for delays from bw split. and 95 slow from woodbridge. and h.o.v. lanes are stacked up. and accident activity cleared to the shoulder. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. back to you. it's now 7:23 on this thursday morning. more help is on the way if you're out of work. details of an extension for unemployment benefits. and still just 3 minutes away, spike in fares on the dallas toll road. where it will cost you more on your ride. help is on the way for americans without of work. the house could vote today on extending unemployment up to a 14 week extension. the senate included a tax credit for first time home buyers through june of next year. it soon will cost you more to drive the dallas toll road. the board just approved a toll hike. you're pay 25 more cents at the main plaza and 25 cents more at the ramp. the metro hikes are to pay from metro to dollars and go into affect starting january 1. time now is 7:27. coming up, we're learning more about an alleged serial killer in cleveland. where investigators are now admitting they may have missed some obvious clues. and also coming up. a letter written by the d.c. sniper to an appeals judge days before he's set to be executed. and the new evidence that his legal team is presenting in an attempt to save his life. ♪ no sale is bigger. this saturday, absolutely everything is on sale at jcpenney. stores open at 7am. get $10 off instantly when you spend $50, no exclusions. save on all clothes for her. save on all clothes for him. all clothes for kids. save on all home items. all the best brands in bras. our entire selection of jewelry. and save on all athletic shoes. hurry, check newspapers. go to jcp.com. get your instant money coupon. style, quality and price matter. jcpenney the sparkly flakes. the honey-baked bunches! the magic's in the mix. my favorite part? eating it. honey bunches of oats. taste the joy we put in every spoonful. we call the bunches in honey bunches of oats the prize in the box. well, now there's a prize inside the prize. pecans! pecans! baked into crunchy oat bunches. taste the delicious surprise in every spoonful. new honey bunches of oats with pecan bunches. beautiful. welcome back. it's 7:30 now. drivers dealing with a completer -- commuter nightmare. traffic lights unable to switch into rush mode. the glitch has not been fixed so far systemwide. to cut down on gridlock, montgomery county ride-on buss are free today f. you're not familiar with the system and the schedules, you can go to myfoxdc.com and check it out. it is not fixed completely. they are trying to send technicians out to manually switch the traffic signals but you can imagine how long that takes. >> and in a huge county such as montgomery county. that is a mess. >> pack your patience today. >> all right. 7:31. you can check out the sunshine. >> they might have the heat cranking. maybe just a little bit. >> i did this morning. >> we have that. before i tell but that, steve, you weren't here, but we talked about tropical storm ida. >> i heard about it. >> and remember i said its likely to become a hurricane. ida has graduated to hurricane status. >> that quickly. we're talking about from ask the weather guy until now? >> about 45 minutes. >> just off the coast of nicaragua and this is a category one hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 75 miles per hour. the winds are strong, not the strongest, but the issue is rain. we have a hurricane warning in affect for this entire eastern coast. we are going to see in some locations 5-7 inches of rain minimum. in some locations 15-20 inches of rain. and isolated amounts in the mountains and the like of 25 inches of rain. so a big rain-maker. an impressive storm system for this late in the system. the tropical storm system technically ends on november 30th. we'll keep our eyes on this as it continues to develop. closer to home, that's our concern here. 42 degrees here in the district. 34 in gaithersburg. a lot of cold air in place. manassas is 30 degrees. quantico is at 37 degrees. not so bad out to the east. stevensville is at 46-degree this is morning. satellite radaror the region, we'll show you a few clouds beginning to push their way in here. you see them off to the west and in fact reagan national officially reporting a few clouds, quote unquote. and you can see that activity to the west. that will push through here during the course of the morning hours so we'll see more cloud cover later this morning and into the afternoon. there is some energy with the system, an upper level low that will bring a couple of showers to parts of the viewing area, not everyone will get it and it won't be a downpour but we could see a few showers possible today. it will be cool again. 56 degrees for the high. we made it up to only 54 yesterday. then your five-day forecast, well for tonight, clearing skies, quite cold, 38 degrees, then for the five-day forecast, tomorrow another cool one, 51. but a pretty day. saturday and sunday, a good weekend. saturday's temperature about 60, that's where we should be. sunday we warm up and by monday it's 70 degrees for a high. that's a look at the weather. now let's go to julie wright for more on this morning's traffic. julie wright. >> there is a lot to talk about. we're going to get right to it. dave's picture, they are telling it all in montgomery county. dealing with a computer glitch that affects our traffic signals. the signals are working so it's not a safety issue but it is a commuter issue and we're not able to con figure the traffic lights into rush hour mode and that's why traffic is really heavy and slow just about everywhere. along 355, georgia avenue here at old georgetown road. that's where dave is featuring these pictures from. and a lot of slow traffic on the roads and montgomery county is encouraging you to ride for free on the ride-on buss to help alleviate some of the headache. back inside, that's the live picture of georgetown at democracy. this is the commute southbound on 29 from randolph road down toward university boulevard. again, signal lights are not on figured into the rush hour mode and that's why traffic volume is so heavy and backed up this morning. again today not only on 29 but the rockville pike. we're seeing it affect the beltway as you exit on to 495 such as 185, connecticut avenue and georgia. an extended ride for your drive into work this morning so plan that accordingly. and again, montgomery county really encouraging to ride for free on the ride-on buses. 95 no change in the scenario here. jammed up badly from the truck scales into newington with an earlier accident cleared. slow out of woodbridge into springfield. and 66 delays in manassas, 7100 into 123, dallas toll road slowing off of the greenway into the sunshine toward hunter mill road. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. a big story that we're following, big changes in the wake of deadly violence in afghanistan as the united nations is relocated more tan -- more than half of its staff. five staffers were akilled during a -- were killed during an attack on a guest house. they will be moved to more secure locations in and outside of afghanistan. coming to grips with a possible serial killer living nearby, neighbors knew something was wrong. >> calls about the bad smell in the area which were coming from the bodies in the killer's home were blamed on a restaurant and now authorities admit theymay have dropped the ball in that investigation. ainsley earhart has more. >> reporter: how could a convicted sex offender be left alone to kill. at least 10 bodies found on his residence. neighbors say the smell was so bod that a local restaurant was even scrutinized. >> i had grease traps and new piping put in and we knew it wasn't us because we're state inspected every day, we're federal inspect and we're certified and we've been in business 57 years. >> reporter: city councilman zack reed said his office complained about the smell and admitted the ball was dropped. >> we're going to got to the bottom of this. so this won't happen and we can feel closure to this situation. >> reporter: on wednesday sowell was charged with five counts of aggravated murder with the first set of bodies found and he's also acharged with rape, assault and kidnapping stemming from the discovery of the bodies. authorities expect additional murder charges to follow. one victim has been identified. her name was tonya car mikeleal. she went missing in 2008. >> she was not a street person and she was not soliciting, she wasn't homeless. she had a place where she resided. she had an address. >> reporter: answerly earhart, fox news. attorneys for john mohammed have a letter from the suspect. we have a closer look. >> reporter: the handwritten letter is written in his own handwriting. he's set to be executed. his attorneys say he is mentally ill. and part of the appeal is part of this interview. >> i can't believe there was all of this evidence of mental illness and childhood abuse and schizophrenia, all of that was known and we, the jury, did -- were not presented with that evident. >> reporter: his legal team says his mri's and scans shows he suffered from schizophrenia and has brain damage likely caused by severe physical abuse as a child. they claim the lawyers knew about the history but proclaimed him, quote, a very bright man. and because mohammed represented himself, those medical reports were never presented to the jury. >> now they have information about his mental illness. i absolutely am convinced that the death penalty is not the right punishment in this case. i believe that justice is served by him being in prison for life. >> reporter: georgetown law professor paul rothstein says that may not be enough to sway the court. >> the law is skeptical of anything jurors say after the trial. >> reporter: but he said his lawyer have to try every avenue despite the odds. >> i don't think he has a very good chance of getting this overturned or even getting a new hearing on this issue, although that is a possibility. >> now his first lawyer have not responded to those accusations. meanwhile governor tim kaine will likely wait for mohammed to appeal. the execution is set for november 10th. now tomorrow on fox 5 morning news i'll share my interview with deputy attorneys who were the prosecutors who tried the case in montgomery county. they open up about being in court with mohammed and how they convinced leroy mol i have to testify, that's coming up tomorrow. and 42 degrees out there. coming up next, big time deals on the must-have toys. coming up, where you can find the stuff your kids really want under $20, something you really want. and even pick up a few freebies along the way. more and more, the quality of our lives depends on our connections. access to high-speed internet, at home and on the go, is no longer a luxury. it's how our children access education. it's how we find jobs, discover information, and connect with family and friends. it's the spark that drives innovation, creates investment, and builds a stronger economy. to shape a better tomorrow, at&t is investing in america's future - working to create an internet that's smart, mobile and safe. last year at&t invested more than any other company in the u.s. and we're continuing to invest this year, to expand and enhance our wireless and wired networks. we support a national plan that ensures high speed internet access and enables adoption by all americans, over the next five years. adoption by all americans, over the next five years. the future is our business. at&t. your world delivered. the cost of some of this year's must-have toys are being cut. melanie alnwick shows how you can score good deals. >> reporter: now that the stores have published their toy books, the wish list has begun. >> i wanted the nerve game since it has a special attachment. >> reporter: and parents are scanning the price list. >> and they kw if we can afford it, they'll get it. >> reporter: wal-mart kicked off the holiday season with 100 toys for $10. favorites like monopoly, transformers, and my little pony. and then $5 barbies, lego sets for $15 and a matching of prices. the deep discounts at stores lasts through the holiday season. ashley says she would normally drive out of her way for that deal. >> today it was a matter of convenience. >> reporter: and that's how toys "r" us is trying to stay in the game, opening hundreds of express stores to expand it's reach and offering special prices through november 26th, gift cards and freebies with special purchases and a big selection of merchandise. >> he's crazy into toy story and buzz lightyear and in there, they've like six different versions of the darn thing. >reporter: for parents who still want to make the holidays special on a budget -- >> hello my friend. >> reporter: finding the right toy at the right price is everything. now toys are what they call lost leaders in the retail store. they will sell at a loss, knowing stores will make their money back when you buy the rest of the items in the store. melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. you remember when the mayor was here when the woman lived near the b. streetexpressway and he said we already took care of that. there it is. the pictures were sent in. this is before, and i suppose she lives in that complex there. and she said she had a natural fence of weeds. wow. amazing. so kudos to the d.c. department of public works. they took care of that problem and we hope that view certify happy and everybody -- viewer is happy. so thanks for the e-mail. and we jump in and tell you what is going on with our weather. down right cold in parts of the area. in town our temperature is 42 degrees. elsewhere temperatures are in the 30s, including right here. pittsburgh is 38. new york city is 45. beckley, west virginia, 36 degrees. and 42 in richmond. here is a look at the surface map for today. clouds pushing in from the west and we can see that on the satellite radar. air of low pressure -- area of low pressure came through yesterday and another area of low pressure coming through today and could bring showers. high todayabout 56 degrees. saturday, mix and clouds and sun, and a warmup for next week. we'll tell you about that later. that's the weather. >> i'm looking forward to monday all of a sudden. >> the weekend and monday, right, julie. >> it looks good for the caps game on sunday and coming back to work on monday. so we'll take it. unfortunately what we're taking this morning, hopefully is the ride on bus. because that's what the montgomery county wants you to do. did i mention it's free. to help alleviate the tieups on the road. the computer glitch is the problem. the computer had a hiccup in it yesterday and unfortunately the signals are working, just not able to be con figured into rush hour mode and that's tacking on time to your commute and that's why montgomery yonty is suggesting you take advantage of the free ride on the ride on bus. and we're seeing the traffic volume take the beating as traffic starts to back up along connecticut, down toward s avenue out of kinsington. we have 29 backs up from randolph. it is wall to juan, bumper-to- bumper traffic toward university boulevard. a caller just called to say long wisconsin avenue toward nih, he's noticed that several of the pedestrian walk signs are stuck on don't walk. so that's very tricky for the pedestrians to get across the street so be careful. keep an eye out for them as well. because according to this caller, the traffic lights are struck on don't walk. but again this is the live shot of 29 at randolph road. georgia avenue looking the same right now working south out of olney and into downtown silver spring. in virginia, a lot of slowdown out of dale city on 95. this delay carries you up into newington, slow again at springfield and on and off the brakes at the 14th street bridge. h.o.v. lanes congested toward 7100. out of the west on the dallas toll road, jammed up from wolf trap to the beltway. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. 7:49 right now. 42 degrees on this thursday. coming up at 8:00, one of the stars of the new movie precious and the films director both join us live. >> but first holly is checking out the washington craft show as we head for the holiday season. there is just a small sampling of what you can find. holly will show us a bunch more when we come back. ♪ ♪ (announcer) pillsbury bakes up bigger than the leading store brand. by any measure, you'll love them. look for bigger biscuits, cinnamon rolls and crescents from pillsbury. is doing a big family dinner. my sister cooks for both families one night and then i do the same. we make a lot of lasagna. that way, everyone has leftovers to take home and they have dinner or lunch for the next night. i'm always looking for deals and specials. i'm always keeping my eye out to save a little extra money. we understand saving money is important to you. that's why at giant, we've created thousands of new deals storewide. we save money, and we have extra time to spend with the family, and that works for us. female announcer: from jennifer, a sweeping chaise sectional at the unheard of price, now just $399. with luxurious styling and so affordable, just $399. only from jennifer. you don't have to spend a lot to have good taste. the washington craft show kicks off tomorrow. >> but it's not just about home decorations. they are talking about new additions to your wardrobe. holly is there with more. holly, good morning. >> reporter: i'm all for new additions to the wardrobe. we're talking about one of a kind limited edition things, that's what you'll find here from some 190 artists that have come from around the nation, 34 states and d.c. are mention and and these are people at the top of their craft. and we are fortunate because a couple of them have agreed to join us to give us a sneak peek of the 22nd annual washington craft show. writ is from seattle and you do scarves and wardrobe and explain to everybody a little bit more about how intricate this is. >> so i start out with a piece of white silk and die it by hand and so i very much sculpt the silk into a form. >> reporter: so all of these start as just a white piece of material. >> yes. and it curves around the body and i was trained by a japanese american to do it. >> reporter: if i have to, i'll put it on. so how would this wrk? >> so every time you wear it, it will create a -- a different form. even in the back you have peaks and folds around your body. >> reporter: how much do the scarves cost? >> they range from $350 to $450. >> reporter: so it's an investment. like investing in a piece of art. and you have some other clothes. >> this is my newest work. i've begun doing gold leaf on fabric. so this is a wool sway vest with a lot of movement and i was trained as a paper. so this reflects some of that work. there is details here, and on the front panels as well and you have pockets on your side seems. so it's practical but beautiful. >> reporter: it can give you curves if you don't have the curves you want. what does it mean for to you be a part of a show at this level? >> it's wonderful. i very much love having my work recognized and talking to the commity and having people appreciate what i do. it's what you always want. >> reporter: i think my new outfit needs a hand bag and i know just the people that can help me, because this is den ice and michael maiers out of north carolina and they do one of a kind handbags. so tell me about the art work here because i'm not sure people understand what they're seeing at first. >> well we take a -- i build a wooden box out of birch and all of this image and everything in here, which denise will explained, has been wood burned into it. >> i use a wood burner that you can except into the surface and then we hand paint them and they're also hand assembled and matched with a lining and come with a matching part so the idea is art you can wear. >> reporter: and how much do your purses cost? >> they run from $125 up to $2,500. >> reporter: i think this one will sell well. look at the panda box and it just happens to go out with my outfit. it was nice seeing you guys, i have to go. myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a link to the washington craft show website. it opens tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. $15 to get in. children 12 and under are free. in the next hour we have an artist that crotchets with cash. and then we'll talk about how the artists are chosen because they have to compete in order to be a part of the show. it's a big deal to be here so put it on your calendar. back to you. >> that's great. impressive stuff. look forward to next hour seeing even more. it is now 7:56 on this thursday morning. precious is one of the most highly anticipated movies out this fall. >> it is about one teenager's ride from the depth of despair to a place of hope. actor paula paton and lee daniels will both join us live in studio in our next hour. stay with us for that. you wanted more... you wanted video, and photos... email and broadband... you wanted to run your business from anywhere... and instant messaging, to stay in touch with everyone. you wanted apps to find music, news, or the way home. ok. your wireless companies. grow your rld. better pack your patience, folk. you'll neeit driving through montgomery county again today. second day in a row a computer glitch is causing all kinds of prove licks with -- problems with the traffic signals. good mornin i'm steve chenevey. >> and i'm allison seymour. sarah simmons is looking at the problem and julie wright is working on solutions to get you to work on time. and we'll check with them in just a minute. and let's check in with the forecast first. >> i have a solution to the cold temperature, put a coat on this morning. temperatures in the 30s. i try my best. temperatures in the 30s across much of the region. at reagan national it's currently 42 degrees. dulles is at 43. bwi marshall, 36 degrees this hour. so cold air in place again. day two of some of the coldest air of the season. satellite radar picture, a couple of clouds out there to the west. we'll see some clouds beginning to move in here during the course of the next couple of hours or so. there is a little bit of precipitation associated with the clouds. not all of that will make it over the mountains but some of it could, so we can't rule out a shower or two here or there during the course of the day. the forecast for today looks like this: clouds move in, it will be another cool one with highs only in the mid-50s. we'll look for 56 for a high, that's about 5 degrees below normal. more details on the forecast coming up in just a little bit. >> toby -- tony, thank you so much. and day two of the traffic mess in montgomery county. >> this is playing out all across the country as hundreds of traffic signals are unable to switch to rush hour traffic. sarah simmons joins us now with what is causing the problems. and the traffic lights are working, they're just not in sync. >> reporter: same thing as yesterday. we're at connecticut avenue and pliers mill road right here. they are getting ready to turn left and when theyo, it will take them a while to get through here because the traffic is backed up on to connecticut avenue. still a mess this morning. you can see that from the ground level. sky fox video shot just about a half hour ago over route 29 in white oak where you can see the backup there as well. the traffic is lined up through there. this is all due to the computer system that crashed yesterday, that was controlling the traffic signals, making sure they were tried right during rush hour. that crashed. so this is a big problem obviously. it is an old system, 30 years old. we understand montgomery county is spending millions of dollars to try to overhaul the system, something that will take several years. the chief traffic engineer was explaining a little while ago on fox 5 morning news how they are dealing with this problem today. >> in montgomery county, we're fortunate, we have an aerial surveillance plane and we have a lot of interaction with the traffic reporters, we have almost 200 ground based traffic cameras that we monitor conditions. we're using all of that capability to send people around the various intersections, make timing adjustments manually as we can. yes, it will continue to be bad, but we're trying to do everything that we can. so in addition to trying to repaithe system, we have people out on the street trying to make the manual adjustments. >> reporter: now we understand they're all over the place trying to make the ma adjustments. we're trying to get an idea of what lights were fixed. and they didn't know because they are were continuously moving. and the problem is if you fix one traffic signal and the others aren't fixed, people will still get caught up in traffic. and so montgomery county is offering the ride on buses for free this morning. for schedules on the routes go to myfoxdc.com and we'll have the latest information for you. steve and allison, back to you. >> sarah, thank you for that. let's find out more about what is going on from julie wright. >> i know sarah is right. we have extensive backups not only on 29 out of the area of colesville and white oak toward university boulevard and north kinsington along connecticut, but traffic jammed up along georgia avenue and that's why montgomery county is encouraging you to take advantage of the free bus ride on the free ride on bus day. and that will help you save headache and heart ache on the roads this morning. we're seeing slowdowns off of the beltway to exit on to georgia and connecticut avenue off of the 355 because of the problems with the traffic lights. now in virginia, this is a live shot of 395 at seminary road. traffic roll remains heavy toward the 14th street bridge and both the main line and the h.o.v. lanes. this started off at 2:00 a.m. when we had a crash in newington. activity blocked most of the roadway for overnight hours. everything has been reopened but again the damage is done, delays out of dale city headed northbound on to 395 in woodbridge you're hitting the brakes in the h.o.v. lanes. traffic slows from springfield toward duke street. inbound off of the dulles toll road, slowing from the greenway toward wolf trap. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. now to some good news about the commute. metro is on track once again this morning. a much different story than yesterday when a commuter went down -- computer went down and stopped and debit and credit card access and hit metro access the hardest, that's the disabled certainty. and metro and car center was down yesterday but the good news is today it's back in service. the d.c. council is holding another hearing to cut off funds to the housing authority for more projects because of controversial contracts. council members claim $100 million was funneled through the agency to fund contracts to friends of the mayor. that money is supposed to be used for building and improving parks and recreation centers. here is what the mayor said when he joined us in the studio last hour. >> the question about people whether or not i know get contracts with the d.c. government, absolutely they do. i, just like all of you, know tons of people and i think the question is are they qualified, are they capable, was this a procurement process and all of those questions from everything i've seen are yes. >> well harry thomas and jack evans will join us with their reaction coming up in the next hour. new this morning, a dead le accident involving a montgomery county detective. this happened in southwest d.c. on northbound 295 near the laboratory road exit. police say the detective hit and killed a person on the roadway. he did remain on the scene. it's not clear what the victim was doing on the road at the time. it's 7 minutes past the 8:00 hour on this thursday morning. >> coming up, that missing 7- month-old girl from florida has been found. where and who is now facing charge as head this hour. then the movie precious, one of the most anticipated films of the fall. it's about one teen's rise from the depths of despair to a place of hope. paula paton and lee daniels will join us in the studio when fox 5 morning news returns and we'll talk about it coming up. new this morning, the search for a missing baby in florida is over now. the police found the 7onth- old girl alive. she was in a ox under a bed at the home of her baby sitter. police are expected to clark the baby sitter -- charge the baby sitter and her husband. details of exactly what happened to be released later today. police do not believe the baby's farther was involved in the disappearance. d.c. police need some help in finding a missing teenager. sanna massey was last seen at her home on tuesday. she is 15 and was pairing black pants and a cardigan with a school logo. sheriff's need your help to find a man that armed a pharmacy, a rite aid. a suspect demanded money. the suspects may also be behind two similar robberies in fauquier county. let's check in with tony perkins and see our forecast of the day. >> and tony delivers with the cuteness factor. >> you'll get a warm up two different ways because our temperature has gone up and yes, we have the my first 5 photo of the day. and now that -- that is adorable. i love these halloween pictures. these are great. this is 8-month-old shawn. he was a skunk for his first halloween. >> he's a little stinker. >> that's a great costume. i don't know if -- do you think that's store-bought or homemade. >> i think that's store-bought. no offense to the mom and dad. >> and shawn looks like he was having fun there. that's great. >> oh, that's so cute. >> to send us your child's picture go to myfoxdc.com and click on the morning tab and thank you for sending that one in. >> and can i say if there is a catalog and they need a model for a stunk outfit. >> it's a done deal. right now i mentioned our temperature have gone up. 46 degrees here in d.c. so that's good. we're going in the right direction. relative humidity is at 66%. the winds are relatively light out of the north at 6 miles per hour, barotic pressure is slightly on the rise. here is a look at temperatures across the nation. we're at 46. 45 in boton. raleigh is at 43. there are some temperatures in the 30s in the eastern u.s., including right around our region. a lot of 30s right in the nation's mid section. wichita 39. cool there. and milder in denver than it has been. 51 degrees in denver, not too bad. 60 in los angeles. here is a look at the satellite radar for the nation. for the most part, things are quiet. we have some clouds pushing in here shortly. some clouds across the southwest and in the pacific northwest. five-day forecast, high today about 56. can't rule out a sprinkle or a shower during the course of the afternoon. friday looks good, but cool. saturday and sunday look great as far as i'm concerned. saturday is cooler thansunday. monday we think we could get to 70 degrees. that's the latest on the weather. now let's get more on traffic from julie wright. >> and a lot to talk about. we are still dealing with the problem with the traffic lights. they're working and we've been talking about this all morning long, it is a commuter headache because the traffic lights can not be con figured into rush hour mode which tacks on more time to your inbound drive. this is a live shot southbound towards the capital beltway and normally we don't find anything like this unless there is an accident or something in the road but that's not the case. this is the affect of the signal lights out of sync. so traffic lights are working, but they're not con figured into rush hour mode and it's having this affect on coalsville and white oak down to university boulevard out of 355 out of rockville. so this is on all of our arteries toward capital. and we're seeing montgomery county instructing you, urging you, to take advantage of the free ride-on bus to help alleviate the headache for you and hopefully alleviate some of the tieup. it doesn't look like it's doing much on georgia avenue. wall to wall on silver spring. 395 leaving edsel road and beyond. we're jammed up from the truck scales. main line is slow at 14th street bridge. h.o.v. lanes have yet to ease. we have delays in woodbridge. slow toward the pentagon. no accidents to report out to the west on 66. delays with you as you travel from 7100 to 123 and nutley street to the beltway. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. 8:15 right now. thhouse will take up a bill to extend unemployment benefits up to 20 weeks. the senate approved it yesterday. now if enacted, workers and harder hit stages would be eligible for nearly two years of unemployment. it will also expand the first time home buyer credit and it is expected to be passed and sent to president obama. if you're looking for work, check out myfoxdc.com. and our job of the day is at red carpet international. this company is looking for a senior executive and franchise sales manager. five to seven years of sales experience is required. for this job and others go to myfoxdc.com and click on the job shop tab near the top of the home page. sports are supposed to be fun but some excessive calls have asked where has the fun gone. lindsey murphy has shown us what has students at one local high school so upset. >> reporter: the bigger story involved tj peeler who has verbally committed to playing for pitt next year. he was ejected after two unsports man like conduct, one was after he celebrated with teammates and another on this play when he ran 65 yards for a touchdown and then pointed his arm if the air. yellow flag. two unsports man like penalties means ejections according to the rules. >> they just know everyone was trying to have fun. >> reporter: he's possibly suspended for the next game which is november 20th in the virginia 2-a semi finals. the ejection is being appealed and he may see this all go away. it is under review as we speak. but the bigger question people are asking is what is unsportsmanlike conduct. what kind of celebrating is acceptable? >> well guys like to celebrate having a good run or pass and i thinks that perfectly fine. but what the coach likes to express is how disciplined they are and how they shouldn't be running around, jumping around. >> when they're in the classroom or on the field there's a learning experience. and maybe an explanation and called a couple of plays over and said i'll flag you if you do it again and we're looking at all of those factors. and i'm sure they don't want to affect play down the road and want good sportsmanship and i'm sure they'll give us a good decision. >> reporter: lindsey murphy, fox 5 sports. >> and if there are any thoughts these could be used against him at pitt, they say no. and precious is out this fall. >> it's bout one ten-agers rise from the depths of dispair to hope. we are joined live in the studio when we return. and holly is out at the annual craft show where they are trning money into masterpieces. literally working with money to create art. fox 5 morning news coming right back after this. more swine flu fears at clinics in our area today. in fairfax county the health department is going to give free h1n1 vaccines to children ages 6 months to 6 years old. pregnant women, and parents of children under 6 months old. it's happening at each of the five health department locations. and in the district the vaccine will be given to coolidge and mckinley tech high school tonight at 5:00 p.m. and at the sheriffly health center between 9:00 a.m. and noon. for more information as to who is eligible, you can find that online at myfoxdc.com. some hospitals in montgomery county have adopted a new policy to stop the spread of flu. children under the age of 12 are not allowed to make visits unless it's to a dying family member or to the emergency room. the path ort of the swine flu cases are happening in young chirp -- young children and they want to limit the spread of the virus. and a vet in iowa has diagnosed a cat with swine flu. two people who shared a home with the cat had flu like symptoms before the cat got sick. now the cat has recovered. the virus has been found in two ferrets, one in oregon and nebraska. they both died. you've heard about this movie comes out, it opens in theaters very soon and this month, it's called precious based on the book push. and in studio we have lee daniels and paula paton, one of the stars of the movie. and then later, you likely recall the story of desire jennings, the farmer redskins cheerleader who became disabled after getting a flu shot. we have an update and new video she's posted online. we'll check in with her. it's now 8:23. introducing the supercharged new blackberry storm2. wi-fi enabled. ultra responsive. tons of apps. and because it runs on the network with 5 times more 3g coverage than at&t, it just may be the perfect storm. ♪ this is the sound somebody love me. >> we do love you precious. [ crying ] >> your baby loves you. >> i love you. >> well the new movie precious opens here in d.c. november 13th and it's based on the novel push by sapphire. it's one of the most anticipated films of the year. it's the story of a young girl, a 16-year-old girl who was born into a life that no one would want but her journey to a better life begins after meeting a teacher, ms. rain. and she and the director join us in studio. lee and paula, good morning to you. i have not seen the movie but had the pleasure of reading the book and the main thing that struck me in this, because when you see the trailer, it is so sad. but she is so hopeful. she is so hopeful. and you feel that from her. was that the same thing you felt in doing this movie? >> absolutely. i want people to know that buying a ticket to this movie is like buying a ticket to a rollercoaster of life. you go up, go down, you will laugh, scream, cry and at the end of the ride you'll be a bit shaken, but you have more compassion, more understanding for other human beings and really it's a film that breeds love. it's an important piece of art. >> and people are noticing and they know that. it's taken three awards at sun dance and was it a no-brainer when you saw this screenplay to make this a movie, lee? >> yeah. it left me gasping. because i hadn't seen such truth or read such truth before, so i knew i had to bring it to screen. >> how hard was it? without giving too much of it away and you feel free to tell the audience what you want to about the movie, but it's a story rooted in abuse. so how hard was that to bring it to the screen with the glimmer of light that people won't just be so depressed when they leave the theater. >> i don't look at it as a story about abuse, i look at it as the story of a will to survive. because it's will literacy, it's about survival. it's about love -- learning to love yourself ultimately. and through humor. >> everody has a story. i'm sorry. >> no, you're right. i listen to her and -- i listen to her. >> okay. >> but i felt as an audience, watching it, that it's a movie that makes you realize that you can't judge people, if you see a teenage girl pregnant twice, everybody has a story so be careful before you judge others. >> and we show where you come in as the teacher that offer that's hope but we want to show a full clip. if you haven't seen the trailer, this is a very powerful film. let's take a look at it. >> you look down at me. you don't know what real women do. real women sacrifice. [ expletive ] get down here. >> can we talk about the abuse. >> in that scene you see monique, who plays the mother of clarice precious jones. and lee, you have taken these beautiful glamorous women, and maria carey as well, and turned them into these characters that we hardly even recognize. and monique's performance itself, and there is maria carey, she plays the counselor and there she is in the role we know her as most. what was that like? >> i could only deglamorous paula so much. >> exactly. >> i did everything i could. >> she's still gorgeous. >> i tried, but maria has many jokes. she said you gave me the harsh lighting but you gave paula the beaiful -- -- the beautiful lighting. and it's hard because i don't like them looking bad. and they need their comfort zone. maria leaves her comfort zone and she sheds her physical and gives me her soul to play with and i have to make sure she's protected and the same with monique. >> and paula, in your real life, we know you're one-half of a power duo and you robert thick. we love his music as well. but you do get to be that glimmer of light but you also have your own issues that you're dealing with and you bring it to and they're you're seeing that. we thought that might make you smile. but you come out of yourself and you play a person with a little bit of baggage. >> yes. >> and so can you relate to your students. can you tell us about that without giving too much away. >> how much do you want me to say? >> nothing. i'll punch you in the face. >> and you don't know that the teacr has a story as well. she comes every day and dedicates her life to others and you can't know what is going on in her life. but as the friendship develops between her and precious, i let her into my life and into my world and you understand that things aren't so easy for me either. but gabby -- i'm sorry, not gabby, but precious teaches me that i can overcome these challenges and she can do what she has done that i too can. so in many ways the teacher- student relationship gets flips and she becomes my teacher in life and i become a student. >> and you mentioned gabby and you're talking about the star here, precious. and how phenomenal. we've never seen this young woman before and very different from the character she plays and she is bringing this home. and how much we'll see of her in the future as well? >> i hope that the story, that the film, is indicative of how hollywood will change their thoughts about a woman of color and girth. i think that -- i think she's going to work, i think this movie will change the way hollywood perceives a woman of that physicality. >> because she is very different from this young woman. we've seen her in pictures all glammed up and when she speaks a different person coming forth than we see as precious. >> it took a while for people to really embrace that she was acting. when you meet her. >> why do you think that is? let's be honest, why is that? >> i did. i had a specific idea of what that woman should talk and be like. when i cast -- i cast about 400 girls, interviewing 400 girls and i stumbled, when i had gabby, why i cast her is i was looking for the truth. and i was interviewing girls in mcdonalds and on the train and when gabby came in, after her audition, she started talking like this white girl from the valley. and if i had cast someone that was the truth, i would have been eloiting that girl. like we expect her to talk like that, because that's what we expect from that girl. so i think that gabby is not that girl. >> that's powerful. and paula, i'll ask you, for me, clareice, precious jones, she's down but she's never out. will we get that, the people that have read that, will we leave the theater thinking there is hope? >> without question. you leave this movie thinking is hope. and there is a point she found her way at a halfway house and it's like she got the ritz- carlton and it puts your priorities in order of what is happiness. if this woman can find happiness there, what are you left with with your petty things. >> and i'll take a box of tissues. >> and you'll laugh too. >> all right. paula, lee daniels, thank you so much, the movie opened in d.c. november 13th and a couple of days later in baltimore. thank you very much. tucker, where are you? what is going on in the weather. >> it sounds like a good movie. we have a new hurricane. this is hurricane ida, maximum winds now 75 miles per hour. and it's going to be a big threat to the eastern shore of both nicaragua and hondura. they could pick up 25 inches of rain there so concerned about this over the next several days moving slowly to the north at 7 miles per hour. let's take a look at the current temperatures here in washington. we're off to a cold start. temperatures across the region are now in the 40s here in town. 46 downtown washington. 34 in manassas. 37 in dulles. 39 in winchester. our temperatures later today will be cool. highs only in the middle 50s. so again, another cool day with a good chance for some scattered cloud cover moving in here from the forth and west. there is your morning satellite radar. a lot of sunshine out to the north and west, another weak impulse in the atmosphere. that will give us partial sunshine and just the slightest chance, about a 10-20% chance of a scattered shower out there during the course of the afternoon. here is your five-day forecast. cool tomorrow, only 51 for an afternoon high. saturday, sunday and monday we'll have a nice warmup. afternoon high temperatures by sunday and monday wi a lot of sunshine, into the upper 60s to maybe 70 degrees on the monday. so nice looking five-day forecast. that does it for me. let's get to julie wright -- no, back to the desk, allison and steve. >> tucker, thank you very much. and we have news into us. mahmoud hamas says he will not run for re-election. so he will apparently not run for re-election. we'll get more information about that but that word just coming in now. moving on now. some fairfax county fans might be upset even though the yankees won. and famous chefs headed to the white house for a tv cookoff. find out who will be at the first house coming up. it's 8:37. more and more, the quality of our lives depends on our connections. access to high-speed internet, at home and on the go, is no longer a luxury. it's how our children access education. it's how we find jobs, discover information, and connect with fily and friends. it's the spark that drives innovation, creates investment, and builds a stronger economy. to shape a better tomorrow, at&t is investing in america's future - working to create an internet that's smart, mobile and safe. last year at&t invested more than any other company in the u.s. and we're continuing to invest this year, to expand and enhance our wireless and wired networks. we support a national plan that ensures high speed internet access and enables adoption by all americans, over the next five years. adoption by all americans, over the next five years. the future is our business. at&t. your world delivered. 20 minutes to 9:00 now. let's look at stories making headlines this morning. uniteid nations reacted to violence in afghanistan as the u.n. is temporary relocated more than half of the staff after deadly attacks last week. five u.n. staff were kill and hundreds of workers will be moved to more secure locations. we won't find out until january whether the man accused of killing a guard at the holocaust memorial museum is competent enough to stand trial. he is now 89 years old james van brun. his stay at a prison hospital will be extended because chronic medical problems are compcating his psychiatric evaluation. a suspect just 15 years old. since august he terrorized women. last tuesday one woman fought back and roughed him up. his parents thought he had been attacked and called police and then officers realized he matched the description of the suspect and they arrested him. another story making headlines, the most successful sports franchise did it again. >> the yankees filled off the phillies 7-3. they did it behind matsui. he drove in 6 of the 7 runs last night. yankee fan have been celebrating all night. many of them poured out into the streets. this is the 27th world championship for them and first since the 2000 season. we'll go live to new york in our next hour. well talk about bad timing. some folks in northern virginia missed the series clinching games. some cox communication customers lost their cable signal last night. it affected people with digital converter boxes. now techs are still at a loss as to what caused the problem. some folks who complained of not getting ahold of customer service on the outage. that's tough. the first lady's vegetable guard sen about to become a culinary battlefield. an episode of the tv show iron chef america will be taped at the white house. it will feature mario vitaly, bobby play and em ril legacy. they can choose any ingredient they want as long as it comes from the garden at the white house. the episode will air at the food network on january 3rd. it's 8:42 on this thursday morning. it is getting colder but not too late to get your out door plants ready for winter. derek will join us with this week's how does your garden grow segment. holly good morning. >> reporter: i will show you something you've never seen before. a woman who crochets with cash. you are seeing it right now. this is joan from arizona and she's spending time with us as we are [ lost audio ] -- p absolutely everything is on sale at jcpenney this saturday. stores on at 7am. save on all clothes for her. for him. for kids. shoes, home items, jewelry. everything, no exclusions. go to jcp.com... ...to see everything on sale. jcpenney well before the leaves completely cover the ground and before the soil hardens over winter, there are simple tasks to do to keep plants healthy throughout the winter months and derek thomas joins us with our how does our garden grow segment. and can i tell you something, it is stinky right re. what is the stink? >> it's some of the soil. >> and i say that in love. >> i know. i felt the love. we have a dehydrated plant in here that we'll talk about. >> and i thought what is soil amendments. >> it's things you use to build the soil. a lot p.m. think their gardens are done, the fast has happened, you've got to remember roots are going to continue to grow throughout the fall and winter. roots are alive and they keep the plant growing in the growing season. so this is the time to think about that. now everybody is talking about vegetable gardens, organic gardening, one of the them i wanted to tell people about doing is making leaf molds. that art has left us and people go to the stores and buy this commercially prepared stuff. right now you have the leaves on your garden. but do with leaf mold, it is the process of leaves decomposing over time and produce some of the richest soil that you can get. and this is an example of what our soil normally looks like in washington, it's clay. and what you want to do is you want to break that up by adding the leaf mold. the way that i do my leaf mold, it helps to break down a little bit quicker. you want to take the leaves, you want to get in there and actually shred them apart, and you can use anything -- if you have enough space, you can create a container at home and the reason i create is out of chicken wire or something like that, because it helps the leaves not to blow around. but if you're space challenged, you can use a little container also. and to help this, because this is mostly carbon, what i'll do is take things like grass clippings and shred that on top of that and that helps the composition process and you mix that in and make sure that is kept nice and moist and then when you go to harvest your leaf mold, you want to harvest it from below, because it will decompose from below. and you can use it when you're planting new plants or anything like that. >> fascinating. >> so making leaf mold, get back in there and do it yourself. the soil amendments, and i have a variety of soil amendments here, i have pete moss, dehydrated chicken maneur, this is a compost premade so you don't have to do the vegetables yourself. we have lime, a soil acid and that will give you blue hide ranges next year. and think a bone meal. this is wonderful for bulbs. get that soil amendmentsworked in. be careful of putting it down, the squares will try -- the skills will try to dig it up. >> and sometimes with the cold, it pushes the plants up. >> and that's called frost teasing. if you can seehese peaonies, they like to be at soil level. the tender buds will winter over. they look tender and that's next year's plant. what you want to do at this time of the year to prevent that, you want to take a really good decomposed mulch and you want to top that out. what that will do is it's going to prevent the soil from heathing, and the frosting and heathing will yank a plant out of the ground. leaving it's roots exposed and causing injury to the plant. >> so put that mulch over it. >> prevent the frosting. >> and we're out of town. i would never say you're stinky, but the plant is stinky. >> hopefully next week we won't be stinky. >> you can find the information at myfoxdc.com. because derek has his own section there. >> that's right. and holly hanging out with some crafty artists this morning. i heard herscheling out a lot of money for crafts but not the other way around. >> reporter: right. you'll see that in this scene. when i said last hour one of a kind things, i meant it. there are things you'll find here that you are just unable to find anywhere else. tina copeland is the publicity for the show and the show in itself is one of a kind. it's a big deal for artists to be a part of this. >> it is a process. many apply and those who are selected are masters of their craft. but they update each rticular craft and with their own imagine, so they all have ideas, and they can accomplish what is in their head. and with 190, you just have a diversity of people that is beautiful. >> reporter: and so allow time if you're coming to the show because there is a lot to see. >> and it's an inspiration. because everything is made in the usa by people who do beautiful work. and what you can't find anywhere. >> reporter: people like joan who came to us from chandler, arizona. and joan, you win as the most fascinating artist of the day. >> thank you. >> reporter: the woman that is shredding money to make money. you don't shred it, so where do you get your money from. >> from the bureau of engraving. they shred money they take out of circulation. >> reporter: so this is money that didn't make the grade or already been used. so you're recycling. that's very good. wii repurposing. so kind of explain this craft to me. because it is really amazing. >> i take wire and i use a crochet hook and i crochet different forms. i buy the shredded money and i make the beads and i make beads to make fuzzy bracelets and then i make yarn to make woven things. >> reporter: and it's relatively sturdy, because we were saying it seems like it would come apart but i guess money is stronger than we thought. >> that's right. >> who knew. >> reporter: so how long do you spend on any one given project? >> it depends on the project of the i tell people i've been doing this for 60 years. it take that's long to get here. >> so this is the million dollars necklace. >> show them the surprise on the other side. this is the money bag. >> reporter: this is the evening purse that would go with every evening outfit you ever have. and this is the surprise inside if i can get it open. viola. >> that's my $6. >> reporter: my husband would love this because i would have cash on me. i never ha cash on me. i would have cash on me. and how much does this cost? >> 1500. >> reporter: and is this t only one? >> it is the only one. >> reporter: and what are you working on there? >> i'm showing you how i crochet the beads. >> reporter: and you demonstrate the whole time. do you encourage people, do you like people to come up and talk with you and ask and engage? >> i teach all over the country and i'm the only one that does this stitch so i teach everywhere and i love to talk and share. i want people to know this isn't made by a machine. >> reporter: how is injure stitch compared regular -- yosh a. i don't crochet. >> reporter: and at is this? >> the high voltage is the pinks and this is fine silver and these are copper two differt colors of wire that i crochet at the same time. >> rerter: that's cool. i have an idea for you. >> okay. >> reporter: you should get other currency from around the world and make international things as well. >> i've tried that and the u.s. is the only place that i've been able to find shreds. the euro, they make into confetti. >> reporter: well god bless the usa. >> amen. >> reporter: myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a link to the show. 1/2 children 12 and under are free, it's $15 to get in we have two different artists that work with wood next hour. they're very different but you'll be equally amazed with what they come up with. back to you guys. >> never seen that before. >> love it. a pilot from virginia thankful to be alive this morning. >> we'll show you his crash landing coming up. stay with us. just an absolutely shocking turn of event at a funeral in brazell. the man being honored turned up alive. it turns out his relatives wrongly identified the body of a car crash victim. in brazil it's cut marry for funerals to be held the following day. the man spent the night with friends and rushed to the service to tell his family was alive. and his identity is not being released. and that does it for this hour. and for the 9:00 hour, we turn it over to tony and allison. what are you talking about this hour? >> we're talking about mayor fenty and the council. but first, the contract tension continues. the council wants more oversite over parks and rec projects and they want to lower the spending approval from the housing authority. now mayor fenty responses on ask the mayor at the 7:00 hour and we'll talk with two council members about this entire situation coming up. and also coming up, you remember desire jennings, she's the washington redskin cheerlead ambassador who had a bad reaction to a flu shot. she has received international attention and seeing more doctors and she is responding to some of the treatment that they've been giving her. we'll talk about that. and we're going to have