we'll begin with penn state firing joe paterno and the university president. the bombshell announcement came within the last hour. fox 5's dave feldman want in newsroom now watching the latest -- in the newsroom now watching the latest developments. >> it's hard to believe joe paterno out as head football coach at penn state fired effective immediately, school trustees announcing the decision less than 40 minutes ago. school president graham spanier also ousted amid the growing fear over how the school handled sexual abuse allegations against long time coach jerry sandusky. the vp of the board of trustees spoke a short time ago. >> the penn state board of trustees tonight decided that it is in the best interests of the university to have change in leadership to deal with the difficult issues that we are facing. the board of trustees and graham spanier have decided effective immediately dr. spanier is no longer president of the university.

in addition, gee paterno is no -- joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. these decisions were made after careful deliberations and in the best interests of the university as a whole. penn state has always strived for honesty, integrity and the highest moral standards in all of our activities. we promise you that we are committed to restoring public trust to our university. >> joe paterno has been a part of penn state football the last 61 years. he's 84 years old, was hired as an assistant in 1950, became head coach in 1966. he is the all time winningest coach in division 1 history with 409 victories. he won national championships in 1982 and 1986.

his 37 bowl appearances and 24 bowl wins are also records. in front of his house tonight after the decision joe pattern on i said not on -- joy paterno said not on -- joe paterno said not on camera right now i'm not the football coach and that's something i've got to get used to. defensive coordinator tom bradley will take over as interim head coach and lead the nittany lions this saturday in their home finale against nebraska. we're also staying on top of breaking news from the sports world, washington nationals catcher wilson ramos reportedly kidnapped from his home in venezuela. details are continuing to come into the newsroom. fox 5's wisdom martin is working this one. >> nats have not confirmed this but are looking into the matter. the reports are out of venezuela that nat catcher wilson ramos was kidnapped near his home. there's a newspaper report that says four gunmen approached the 24-year-old near his home in the city of valencia and took him. family members say they have told the police but have not

heard from the kidnappers at this point. the venezuela team ramos played for last winter has been posting news on a twitter account. the tweet reads unfortunately the news of the kidnapping of wilson ramos was confirmed. ramos appeared in 113 games with the nats and had not played yet in the winter league. the president of the venezuelan winter league condemned the kidnapping and said security forces will work to find ramos. he also said he spoke with representatives of major league baseball to make them aware of the situation. nats pitcher collin bannister and drew storen sent out messages of sympathy and support through twitter. ramos was acquired by the nats from the twins in 2010. he hit .267 in his first full season with the nats with 15 home runs and 52 r.b.i.s. the other big story we're following this evening, the allegations against herman cain. in tonight's debate he got one question on the issue and his response drew loud support from the audience.

>> the american people deserve better than someone being tried in a court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations. >> today some of cain's accusers agreed. they might join together to speak against cain as he continues to smit their claims. of the four accusations two were formerly submitted as complaints in the '90s at the national restaurant association. cain supporters tried to discredit the two women who publicly came forward pointing out money troubles and workplace complaints. new tonight the emergency alert system test, getting a poor grade. we've all seen and heard it before, those tones want with reminder this is only a test. -- tones with the reminder this is only a test. for the first time today the government tested the national tv and radio system as a wheel and it didn't go so well. -- whole and it didn't go so

well. check out what some other people heard instead. [ lady gaga music ] >> several people reported hearing lady gaga music. others said they saw their tv change channels. what happened here? fox 5's bob barnard went looking for some answers. >> officials say the test today was meant to reveal flaws in the system. fema and the fcc working together on the new national emergency alert system, a signal sent to all tv and radio stations as well as cable and satellite systems. >> coming up the federal government will be conducting a national test of the emergency alert system. this is only a test. >> if you were watching fox 5 at 2:00 this afternoon, this is what you would have seen and heard. our warning to viewers followed a full three minutes later by the government's murky announcement. >> had this been an actual emergency, the attention signal you just heard. >> then about a minute later a warning in words scrolling

across the bottom of the screen. the nationwide test of the federal government's new emergency alert system intended to get the president on the air within 10 minutes in the event of a real national emergency. >> a cyber attack against you're power grid, we still want to be -- our power grid, we still want to be able to get the word out to people. >> that system is it designed to work even if power is out. so it's kind of the baseline to make sure that people get the word. >> reporter: but there were certainly hiccups along the way today. we're not really sure what happened. the fcc denied our request to interview mr. barnett tonight. instead with fema telling us the goal of this test has always been to do exactly what happened, to test this decades old system to see what works well and what upgrades or changes are needed as we further work to modernize our nation's public alert and warning system. >> this station is conducting a test of the emergency broadcast

system. >> it's been around for generations. >> let me repeat. go immediately to a public fallout shelter. >> used by president roosevelt in december, 1941 to announce the start of world war ii. >> we have said yesterday on the hawaiian islands. >> in recent days you've been bombarded with the government's heads up. >> on november 9th at 2 p.m. eastern time. >> the new alert system, a work in progress. >> within the next several years fema and the fcc are working to build a modern system that will deliver more accessible and more relevant emergency alerts. >> and that includes sending the alert signal to your cell phone, but officials say that program won't be ready until next april. tonight the governor says it could be weeks before they figure out all that went wrong today. want to travel more than a few blocks in a d.c. taxi? it could soon cost more. that's not the only change we'd see if d.c. cab drivers get

their way. we'll break down the new profile and what it means for you. >> maybe a few people will be grabbing a cab tomorrow because there will be a few showers and temperatures will drop. i'll have the details of your forecast tomorrow and we're looking ahead to the weekend on the news edge. check out some of the other stories on the rundown. the news edge at 11:00 will be back in 60 seconds. >> this is fox 5 news edge at 11:00. 

taxicab driver's say times are tough. they need more money to live. they want the taxicab commission to let them raise rates. the commission agreed today to let you, the public, sound off about rate and to discuss an issue that would allow drivers to ask for the fare up front. fox 5's matt ackland explains. >> reporter: there is no shortage of cab drivers in d.c. 8,500 registered drivers, but many say making a living behind

the wheel is not easy to do these days. >> if you've got a family, there's no way in this world you're going to take care of these people. >> reporter: cab drivers have been upset about the rates they've been able to charge since the city moved from zoned fares to meters. the plan on the table would actually reduce the initial cost, but if you're going a long way, it will cost imlach more. >> there's no question that they're not -- you much more. >> there's no question that they're not earning enough. >> reporter: the chairman of the cab drivers association agrees cab drivers deserve a raise, but how much is the question? he has the authority to raise rate on his own but wants to find it out what's fair to the drivers and passengers. >> we're going to try to make a decision based upon evidentiary information, not anecdotal. we get a lot of anecdotal information. we really have to justify this by looking at the hard facts. what are the real costs? >> reporter: one other issue that will be discussed is giving cab drivers the thor to

ask for the fare up front. -- the authority to ask for the fare up front. this will happen at night. drives say it will avoid -- drivers say it will avoid fangs who run off without paying -- passengers who run off without paying and help avoid robberies. >> it's the team at the other end while the driver is sitting making change. >> reporter: right now the public meeting is set for november 29th. the earliest a rate change could be is sometime in february. in the newsroom matt ackland, fox 5 news. coming up who could forget snowpocalypse, driver's stranded for hours during that storm earlier this year? up next what's being done to try and make sure that doesn't happen again. plus the newest redskin says he's got extra motivation going into this weekend's game. dave feldman has your sports edge. but first actress and civil rights activist ruby d, the subject of the latest death rumor on twitter.

this time reverend jesse jackson is partly to blame. he and others tweeted d had died. jackson later corrected himself. the confusion apparently came because of the death of rapper heavy d. some people just misheard the name. d's family says she is alive and well tonight.

the national park service will start weatherizing the

washington monument tomorrow to fix cracks before the winter sets in. this summer's quake caused quite a bit of damage. engineers are concerned cold weather will make the damage worse. they'll temporarily seal the cracks so they can be personally i repaired later. the work will take about five -- permanently repaired later. the work will take about five days. leaders around d.c. met to see how they can improve responses to emergencies like last january snowpocalypse. a come tie has been working on recommendations -- committee has been working on recommendations since march. they feel they've been coming up with suggestions that will work with a variety of emergencies. >> the recommendations that the committee is making are not going to be just applicable to that event, but should be very applicable to all kinds of potential emergencies, whether it's caused by a chemical spill or the result of a severe storm tore an earthquake or a terrorist -- or an earthquake or a terrorist attack. >> among the suggestions, the

staff that looked at how the entire region is handling an emergency to have a review over all the local response teams. the second stretch of the icc will open soon, plus a consumer alert for toyota owners. shawn yancy has your fox 5 top five. >> we're starting off with good news for discount shoppers looking for designer clothing for less. known 5, versace is coming to h -- no. 5, versace is coming to h and m to launch an affordable clothing line. they kicked off with a star studded fashion show in new york. the collection debuts november 17th. no. 4, the state of maryland is getting ready for this winter's snow. in addition to snowplows it is adding two toe nows. they will -- tow plows. they will enable one truck to plow two lanes at a time. no. 3, the second stretch of the intercounty connector is opening up november 22nd and from opening day until december 6th both sections of the icc

wii be absolutely free. the 18-mile highway will connect i-270 in gaithersburg to i-95 at bwi marshall airport. section three should be completed by 2014. no. 2, the d.c. war memorial will reopen this week closed more than a year for restoration. a special ceremony will be held thursday south of the lincoln memorial. the memorial was built in 1931 and honors local heros who served in world war i. no. 1 tonight, another toyota recall, this time a glitch in the steering which could make a vehicle harder to steer. just under a half million toyota, lexus cars, trucks and minivans made between 2004 and 2006 are affected. you can go to toyota's website for more specific information. that's tonight's fox 5 top five. >> grab all in bella for tomorrow. >> i don't think we'll see a --

that umbrella for tomorrow. >> i don't think we'll see a lot of rain, but there will be a chance for a couple showers. barometer showers watch out for some foggy spots -- before the showers watch out for some foggy spots tonight. the possibility of dense fog will lower the visibility about 1/4-mile or more being expanded. not so much in the meant row area, but we're watch our eastern -- metro area, but we'll watch our eastern suburbs. we've got an onshore flow coming in, so the entire delmarva has a fog watch in the morning. the clouds should be advancing on us from the west and there will be a couple showers around, but it's only a few showers we think on thursday. i would still take the umbrella to be on the safe side. it's definitely going to be cloudier and get breezy and it's the beginning of a cooldown for a few days here. as you can see, tonight everything is to our west. we get in closer to show you we're beginning to see it coming across the maryland

panhandle into west virginia, but this is very broken up and seems to be breaking up more as it comes across the mountains. it is a bit of a squeeze play because we have the moisture from the ocean as well. bottom line, tonight the clouds thicken, but where the clouds haven't gotten thick we'll have foggy spots a while, temperature 48 degrees. tomorrow after the morning fog burns off clouds, it will become breezy and the breezes will chase the fog out. cooler temperatures with those passing showers, only 57 degrees. so a full 10 degrees cooler than what most places were today. then you factor in the wind out of the northwest at 10 to 20 and gustier, feels kind of chilly. cloudy with showers in the forecast, again spotty at 8 a.m., a few around at noon, 55. at 4:00 about 56 degrees as well. i wanted to talk about again the fact we'll have those few thundershowers along the front of, but after this moves by -- few showers along the front, but after this moves by it will

be cooler. but good news, another beautiful weekend setting up for us, our temperature saturday rebounding to 50 ate degrees with full sun and that sun is nice and warm sunday, 61 degrees. as we head into next week we think we'll continue a warm-up. part of it has to do with this huge las can storm, one of the strongest storms they've -- huge alaskan storm, one of the strongest storms they've ever seen in the barian sea. it may have the effect of warming us up a little bit. on monday it could be 65 degrees. fell feld is coming up next more -- dave feldman is coming up next more with the fallout of what's going on at happy valley. we'll be right back. ab

here's a quick look at that five-day forecast. i don't think you've seen enough of it. we've got more good stuff coming. tomorrow we've got a couple showers. friday is veterans day and 11- 11-11 will feature cooler temperatures, about 53 degrees. watch out for a couple and the breeze tomorrow and as we head to the weekend, things are looking good, monday 65 degrees and we're paying close attention to a near hurricane, tropical storm shawn out in the atlantic which may threaten bermuda. it's possible it could become a hurricane by tomorrow. over to feldy now with sports. this is your local nissan dealers sports desk in hd with dave feldman.

>> penn state trustees have fired legendary coach joe paterno, the decision coming down an hour ago. school president graham spanier also fired. the fallout from the school's sex abuse scandal that centered around the former long time assistant coach jerry sandusky. the massive shakeup comes hours after paterno announced he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season. the trustees decided tonight he would not have that luxury. >> the past several days have been absolutely terrible for the entire penn state community, but the outrage that we feel is nothing compared to the physical and psychological suffering that allegedly took place. penn state has always strived for honesty, integrity and the highest moral standards in all of our activities. we promise you that we are committed to restoring public trust to our university. >> paterno has been part of penn state football for the

last 61 years. the 84-year-old was hired as an assistant coach in 1950, became head coach in '66. he's the all time winningest coach in division 1 history with 409 victories. he won national titles in '82 and '86. he has 37 bowl appearances and 32 bowl wins are also records. the team will host nebraska saturday in the home finale. to another sad story, nationals catcher wilson ramos abducted by gunmen today from his home in venezuela. ramos was taken away in an suv by four armed men according to a spokesperson for his venezuelan league team. the spokesperson added that as of now there's been no contact between the kidnapper and ramos' family. venezuela, which is home to dozens of major league ballplayers, the families of wealthy athletes are periodically targeted in hopes of the hefty ransom. this appears to be the first case of a major league player

himself being kidnapped. ramos last year hit .267 with 15 homers and 52 r.b.i.s in 113 games as a rookie. he's considered a young building block for the nats future. washington redskins safety laron landry missed practice on wednesday because of a sore achille's tendon, the same tendon that kept him from the pro bowl. mike shanahan would only say it's sore and will reevaluate tomorrow. meanwhile no. 808 is receiver david andersen signed yesterday -- no. 88 receiver david andersen signed yesterday, running back tashard choice acquired last week from the cowboys, he was unable to go last week due to a hamstring, but this week tashard is ready to go with some motivation. >> any time i step on the field i got a clip on my shoulder. somebody tell you -- chip on my shoulder. somebody tell you you can't do

something, you're not good enough, just go out there and prove it. they'll shut their mouth then. >> he came in full speed, looked good. so i'm hoping he gets a good feel for our system and can help us out game day. david stern's deadline is coming down. the two sides are still meeting. i'm dave feldman. brian is back right after this.

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