passengers at la guardia, jfk and newark can only wait while crews de-ice planes. >> the flight is canceled but we're hoping to get another back to toronto but it doesn't look good. >> with temperature on the rise there is hope that frozen airports will slowly begin to move again, the sooner the better. >> i haven't seen many employees walking around to let us know what is going on so we're sort of not in the know and waiting to see what we can find out. >> reporter: closures in the northeast create a ripple effect in far-away states like california, ohio and florida. >> it's a little frustrating but it comes with the territory when you travel for the holiday. >> reporter: many people just trying to remain hopeful. >> it is what it is. and it's the holidays and we've had fun and so we're going to get home somehow. >> reporter: strong winds blow the drifting snow across roads in states like delaware. >> it makes it tough for cars so your best off with a truck, right now. >> reporter: but crews are working on it, slowly but surely they say they will revive east coast roads and airports from the deepfreeze. and don't forget the snow can be awfulfully fun too. and the snow totals are already rolling in. in elizabeth, new jersey, about 31 inches on the ground. more than 20 inches in new york's central park and about a foot of snow on the ground in philadelphia. in the west coast news room, casey stegall, fox news. >> now a little closer to home, the virginia national guard has rescued six people trapped by snow along the eastern shore of virginia. the guard said three people were trapped in a car for more than four hours in one area before they were rescued monday morning. soldiers rescued an adult and two children who were stranded on a side street in the cape charles area. >> a lot of people stranded at our airplanes are getting some relief today. most of the airports in the midwest and northeast that were closed because of the snow are now open. >> but that doesn't mean everyone is getting out. audrey barnes is live at reagan national with more details. good morning, audrey, how are folks moving along out there? >> i just checked the departure and there are just a handful of delays. two new york flights and one to maine and another to jacksonville effected. there could be others, so the advice to call ahead still applies. the storm took it's toll on east coast travelers. forcing the airlines to cancel some 7,000 flights. the blizzard will cost the airlines more than $100 million and a lot of goodwill from airline travelers. some ended up getting stranded at airports after getting there only to find out later that flights were canceled. most of the people that i talked to said the worst part was trying to find a comfortable place to stay in while stranded at the airport. >> i found the nearest plug in for my computer and i'm set but didn't really get a solid -- woke up every five minutes to holiday music and announcements. >> so this is not how you want to end your holiday break? >> not at all. >> reporter: and there are some sad stories. along with good ones. mike was a good one. he did make his flight to new york so he's happy. we talked to one man heading to his father's funeral in st. louis was not so lucky and ended up going home without making it there. i want to talk quickly about the trains. amtrak tells us they are still having struggles to get everything back on track. four trains coming from new york to union station have been canceled. it's also a good idea to check with amtrak if a train ride is in your future. sarah, back to you. >> audrey, thank you so much. and those delays flights are likely carrying cargo. we found out how vulnerable our cargo system is in the u.s. when printer cartridges loaded with explosives were heading to the country. cargo coming into the country is still a weak point as fox's katherine harris found out, there is an alarming amount that never gets checked. >> reporter: data provided by the tsa suggests there is now 100% screening for cargo on domestic flights. same is true for passenger flights leaving the u.s. with cargo in the hulls. but there is still a gap for those coming into the u.s. from overseas. a official said that 70% of the cargo is screened. on the sunday talk show secretary napal tauno said it was a wakeup call. they tried to exploit the targo system because it's hard to get operatives on to u.s. flights with weapons or explosives. napal tauno underscores the terrorist strategy. >> we are make something tweaks or adjustments to the u.s. system within the united states. but i think it's fair to say that our most important adjustments will be made with respect to cargo coming into the country. >> reporter: the printer bombs were sent from yemen and used petn, a nonmetallic explosive not detected by standard screening. to emphasize the risk, cutter airways confirmed that one of the bombs carried by two passenger jets before it was intercepted in dubai. using a timer linked to a cell phone for detonation, scotland yard confirmd it was meant to blow up over the u.s. >> that was the one vulnerability that was very, very major to the point that had the plane exploded over the eastern coast of the united states there could have been a lot of deaths. >> as for the risk posed -- posed by flights, a tsa official said the department used a risk-based approach which means you can't protect everything all of the time and while overflies are a -- over flights are not a concern they are not as a concern as passenger flights. virginia state police found a man close to death along interstate 66 and now they need help finding out what happened to him. they say the 20-year-old man was dumped from nutley street to vienna on the ramp and the mab is now in critical condition. investigators think he was beaten up and not struck by a car. they're asking anyone with information to give them a call. friends and family of a murdered vienna teen-agers held a vigil. they deaded a bench to vanessa pham. she was stabbed to death on june 27th and friends say it's still difficult to understand. >> it would have been so much easier if this would have been just an open and close kind of thing. but the fact that it's dragging on so much it just brings so much pain and hurt every month when it hits the 27th. >> police still don't know exactly who killed pham. they are putting out this surveillance video again hoping for new leads that shows her white car at the fairfax shopping center leaving half an hour later. a few minutes later her body was found on arlington boulevard and there were no witnesses. >> the cause of a house fire in northwest d.c. being investigated. the homeowner is blaming pepco claiming the power company ignored calls for help for hours. it happen add long manning place and mcarthur boulevard yesterday. the homeowner said he saw a downed wire sparking flames outside of the house. he called pepco and the fire department and only the fire department showed up. and four hours later when a pepco crew arrived he noticed smoke in the house and called 911 again. >> my house burned down because of pepco. that's what i think. >> when this guy said it's pepco's fault that his house caught fire, what do you say to that? >> that's a harsh statement which is why we're going to get all of the facts then the homeowner and the public will have the answers. >> pepco said the crews were busy responding to calls. and the spokesperson clay anderson said they could not know whether the huge volume of calls took part. and a fire that killed a woman that broke out at 17th and s. streets in northwest yesterday. firefighters had trouble getting into the second floor apartment building because it was cluttered. inside they found a woman but she did not make it. no one else was hurt in the fire. here is a dumb criminal story. several thieves eyes were bigger than their car. a couple of thieves tried to steal a flat screen tv but they couldn't get the television into their vehicle. police are -- police are looking for two more criminal suspects. now it looks like we're about to get a look into julie app assange's secrets. but it won't come cheap. we'll explain. plus a u.s. embassy the target of a bombing arrest. the latest on the arrest of nine suspected terrorists after the break. much more ahead this morning. keep it right here. north korea could provoke the south with more violence in the new year. this comes off the south conducted more live fire exercises last week. experts warn north korea could fire missiles at the southern neighbor in 2011 as hostility toward the outside world deepens with the transfer of jim -- kim jong-il to his 20- year-old son. and many have their sights set on the american embassy in london. british prosecutors charged terror related crimes. a judge freed three without charges. prosecutors say besides the u.s. embassy, they had a target list of the london stock market and the houses of the parliament. julian assange will tell his life story but he's not happy about it. he signed a book deal that will pay him more than a million dollars. he said he's not interested in writing the book but needs money. he said he spent several hundred thousand dollars defending himself against sexual accusations and needs money to keep wiki leaks afloat. a miracle in chile is seen all over the world. >> amy kellogg has a wrap half -- a wrap up of foreign news. >> a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocks haiti. chemical ali, a top aid to hussein, executed a georgian lugger dies days before the vancouver winter olympics. 46 sailers lose their lives when a sink ships in the yellow sea. the prime suspect is north korea and they deny responsibility. in moscow two female suicide bombers blow themselves up in subway stations killing nearly 40 people. and a massive ash cloud from a col vaino -- a volcano in iceland causes flight disruptions. a picasso painting sells for a record-breaking $106.5 million. chaos in thailand's capital as thousands of anti-government red shirts with police. nine people were killed when israeli commandos storm a flotilla carrying aid to gaza. and the world cup kicks off in south africa. spain taking home the first world title. a spy swap between washington and moscow after ten russian secret agents are discovered in the u.s. a stampede at a music festival in germany leaves 21 people dead. and after 7 years and more than 4,000 u.s. troops killed, an official end to u.s. combat operations in iraq. >> operation iraqi freedom is over. >> monsoon rain trickers flooding across pakistan, affecting more than 20 people. wiki leaks released classified information about the wars in afghanistan and iraq along with diplomatic cables. >> reporter: sarah shored, one of three american hikers jailed in iran is released on $500,000 bail, though her two friends are behind bars. >> we committed no crime and we are not spies. >> reporter: kim jong-il's youngest son kim jong un becomes a general and party official. more than 400 people die in indonesia when in less than a week the country is rocked by an earthquake, tsunami and volcano. two explosive devices are discovered in the united arab emirates and britain. the al-qaeda in yemen claims responsibility. and a dramatic rescue in chile. the world watches as 33 miners get pulled to safety after being trapped underground for more than two months. but in new zealand a series of coal mine explosions killed many. and north korea dumping about 100 rounds of artillery into a smile -- a small island. and prince william pops the question to long-term girlfriend kate middleton. the april 29th wedding will be the largest royal event since prince william's parents charles and diana got married in 1981. in london, amy kellogg, fox news. >> and you can look back at the biggest local stories on myfoxdc.com. and we have ranked the top 10 stories of the year, plus put all of the best of the rest in one spot for you. just click on the top stories of 2010 link on the top of the home page. we are following a story that's just into the fox 5 news room, police say an attempted robbery turned violent and we're learning the suspect has died. it happened this morning at a dunkin donuts in lauren. the store owner tills police a man walked in -- tells police a man walked in and tried to rob him. the suspect was later shot and died at the hospital. president obama is talking about michael vick that has a lot of people talking this morning. and paul rafael is getting ready for new year's eve this morning. paul, what are you working on now for this hour? >> reporter: all morning long we've been getting great party plan themes. later in the hour we are going gal actick and we'll learn how to host a party that is out of this world. gurvir. >> look forward to it. first here is a look at today's trivia question. what was walt disney's title for his dream world disneyland? was it small world park, walt's world park or mickey mouse park or happy land? the answer is coming up later. stay with us. experts from a leading consumer publication recently tested automatic dishwashing detergents. they rated finish quantum number one, beating the competition ! try finish quantum for amazing clean and shine. save up to 50%. see this weekend's paper. take a look at clean-up efforts at lincoln financial field where the philadelphia eagles are said to host the vikings. that game was pushed back from sunday to tonight because of safety concerns for fans due to all of that snow. well the president is weighing in on the pro- football. the white house said president barack obama has commented the owner of the philadelphia eagles -- commended the opener of the philadelphia eagles for giving michael vick a second chance. he did 18 months in prison for dogfighting charges and mr. obama condemned the crimes but said people who paid for their crimes should have a chance to contribute to society once again. and the president might be embarking on a new economic agenda. as doug luzader reports, it's all part of the 2012 re- election effort. >> reporter: it's never too early to talk about re-election and the white house sees positive signs in retail sales which have been surprisingly good. president obama lines up for a shave ice treat in hawaii. one more retail sale for the holiday season and one more reason for hope as he prepares to square off with congress in 2011. >> well first and foremost, they don't acontrol the agenda -- they don't control the agenda, but the president does. the budget proposals will set the agenda. >> reporter: an agenda that may holiday shopping as a bring board. retail sales are up this year. the most since 2007. fueled by more cash spending and less use of credit cards. >> i'm hoping for deals too, better deals. >> i feel like people won't buy stuff that they didn't get for christmas or stuff they didn't get -- weren't able to get kids for christmas. >> reporter: and even though the holiday shopping pace never lasts long, the fact that wallets are open again at all is an encouraging sign for a holiday at a whole. the trick is for some spending to translate into job growth. and this comes as the president's economic agenda could go through a big rework. his chief economic advisor larry summers announced that he's through and a replacement is still in the works. >> the word is he'll pick through the old clinton picks. that's usually a good guess. >> reporter: and that decision could come down as early as next week. in washington, doug luzader, fox news. >> doug, thanks. first it was the snow and then the wind and it looks like we have more changes in store for us. coming up, hopefully a better forecast. we'll find out from tucker in just a moment. and get ready to laugh. d.c.'s own comedian erin jackson joins us live to talk about her show. where you can catch her coming up in just a moment. it is now 9:24. taking a live look over new york city right now. and be glad you are not there. you may not be able to see it from this shot but the city is buried under the snow. i guess you would say the roads are buried under the snow. they are trying to clean up there today so they have a lot of work ahead of them. but check out this demonstration of how much snow fell in new jersey this weekend. >> this is cool. >> watch this backyard become a winter wonder land. it's a time lapse. mike black started the time lapse at 11:00 a.m. on sunday, oh, my gosh, that's amazing and it ends early on monday morning. you can see the snow there nearly covering his patio table and umbrella. i love to watch those every time because you don't realize it until -- that's pretty good. and look at the clock. nice attempt at the clock but it ended up getting covered up, i read an article, he said he had to go out and move the clock higher because it was getting buried in the snow. >> we know what that's like. >> yes we do. >> and that could be us again. >> kosh, erin, the comedienne that is here, she's like oh, my gosh. and is new york going to get a warm up so the snow will melt? >> it won't be today but into the weekend, their temperatures too will be near 50. so they will get a chance to melt it off over the next couple of days and that helps because after some of our snowstorms last year we went back in the deep freeze. couldn't move it for days and weeks. let's talk about the winds. that was the story yesterday in washington. we had wind gusts yesterday at reagan national, 55 miles per hour. gurvir can't throw a fastball that fast. 23 is our current wind speed at reagan national. 24 in gaithersburg. let's see, still pretty gusty out to the west. martinsberg 32 and winchester 24. gradually better. and with wind speeds, wind gusts in the teens and 20s today, that should feel better than yesterday. still going to be on the blustery side and with temperatures in the 30s, high temperatures in the 30s, it's going to still feel cold out there this afternoon but should be getting better here with more sunshine and quieter weather over the next couple of days. 32 at reagan national. 29 in quantico. annapolis is 30 degrees. and off to the north and west, manassas is 28 and in hagerstown, again 28 degrees. should be a good looking day today. a lot of sunshine expected. our satellite showing you quiet weather. we have our storminess well off to the north and east slipping north and east of boston, the snow has long since departed and just the wind is left over here. so we'll have breezes out of the north and west but with high pressure building in and remember, high pressure should help with the weather and that will set us up for a cold one tonight and into wednesday, thursday and friday our high temperatures will top out, get ready for this, in the 40s. and the gusts up to 25 miles per hour. and later tonight cold again. 25 the overnight low. snow pack off to the east to help hold the teams down as well. here is your five-day forecast and a gradual warm-up. we will melt the snow off to the east for the next couple of days. 41 tomorrow and mid-40s on thursday and friday. and get ready to celebrate not only friday night but during the day on saturday, might be able to go to the park. 55 degrees. clouds and showers during the late-day but with temperatures in the mid-50s it should feel good for the first day of 2011. that's a look at the forecast. i'm gos to toss it over to you, sarah. it's good to get out on friday because this thursday, saturday and friday, you can catch a local comedyen. and being the last comic to perform at the improve if 2010. thank you for coming in today. >> thank you for having me. >> so you're coming back home and you started here in a sense, taking a class on a whim back in 2004 at the improve so it's like you come full circle and coming back here? >> it is. it's cool. the improm is letting me do -- the improv i