the northbound side of i-95. all green to 395. we'll take a live look in springfield on the northbound side. you can see even the hov lanes are open and volumes are light. nasa is preparing for a space walk this morning to fix a cooling system on the international space station. astronauts removed the faulty pump during a space walk over the weekend. >> susan mcginnis has a preview of the procedure that has only been done once before on christmas eve. >> reporter: nasa astronauts are preparing for their second space walk in four days to repair a refrigerator size ammonia pump on the international space station. >> during the first space walk, they got the pump out. during the space walk, they'll put a in one in and that should do the trick. >> reporter: the pump is a critical part of the the space station's cooling system. it broke down triggering the

space walks to repair the system as quickly as possible. >> the trick is to be prepared for it when it happens so the crew can be able to make the repair themselves. >> reporter: today's walk was originally scheduled for yesterday but it had to be delayed after a small amount of water got into the astronaut's suit during saturday's mission. he'll wear a different suit today while the other one dries out. >> they put the new suit together, tested it. everybody is pleased with it. i don't think they'll have any problems when they go outside for this space walk. >> reporter: last july an italian astronaut nearly drowned when a water leak filled his helmet. >> mission control says it does not expect the space station's flight path to interfere with santa claus tonight saying the skies are all clear. the big man in red. talk about christmas. a christmas mile an hour recall for those of you who forgot to sign up for health insurance. the white house extended the deadline to buy your plan through the affordable care act

until midnight tonight. if you live in maryland you actually have until friday to sign up. if you live in d.c., though, no extension was given at all. so far 5,000 virginians selected a plan through the federal exchange as of the end of november. and at last count more than a million people have signed up nationwide. the goal, however, was three million. if you're worried the massive security breach at target may cost you, you have something in common with the retailer's executive. several customers have already filed class action lawsuits after the company revealed hackers obtained the credit card information of 40 million customers. target says the justice department is investigating and the retailer is also teaming up with the secret service in its own investigation. in a video on its website, target's c.e.o. apologized to customers saying he believes the hackers did not obtain pin numbers for credit and debit cards. mission accomplished. that's what edward snowden

thinks. the nsa leaker gave an interview to the walk post and he believes -- "washington post" and he believes his efforts are validated. he told the paper he isn't trying to bring down the nsa, just trying to improve t. his leaks have prompted public debate about the spy agency's collection of bulk internet and phone records. three frederick county sheriff's deputies want a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit against them regarding the death of ethan saylor, the 26-year-old who died last year who had down syndrome. the motion contends he contributed to his own death after refusing to leave for not paying for his seat and then resisting arrest. he died of asphyxiation and a fractured larynx as the off- duty deputies working as security guards tried to get him to leave the theater. a family fighting to keep their daughter on life support

gets some help from the courts. a judge appointed a neurologist from stanford university to examine the 13-year-old. she has been on life support since she was declared brain dead december 12. she had a heart attack after severe bleeding following a routine tonsillectomy in oakland. how sad. doctors declared her brain dead but her family believes she is still indeed alive. well, only right here on wusa9. it has happened again. a man is fighting on ticket in d.c. for tags he turned into the maryland motor vehicle administration years ago. >> andrea mccarren tells us about a virginia man's struggle to clear his name and credit report. >> when i was in the military, yowere given a code. if you were captured by the enemy, you giveinnothg t bu

your name, rank and serial number and nothing else. and that's the way i felt about this. >> reporter: army very ran keith roberts lives in rural, west virginia. >> i've never been to d.c. >> reporter: but that didn't keep mpd from slapping roberts with a $200 speed camera violation. he says the agency refused to provide the photo. >> there's only two kind of people that could be behind this. one, incompetent or two, you're a scammer, you're a thief. >> reporter: keith roberts isn't just fighting a simple ticket. he's waged a battle over tags he turned into the frederick, maryland mva office in 1994. that's right, 1994. >> i, william jefferson clinton... >> reporter: in 1994, bill clinton was president. a gallon of gas was $1.09.

marion barry was reelected mayor of d.c. >> you're a government agency. you're supposed to help the people. >> reporter: collections agencies have badgered him since 2009 by mail and by phone, but he refuses to pay for something he didn't do. >> you want your $200, i'm tell you what, when pigs fly you'll get it. >> reporter: roberts has completed a sea of paperwork to prove the tag was not his. but that unpaid $200 fine kept him from refinancing his home at the lowest possible rate. >> even if he gets this resolved, then we have to deal with the credit report because it's hard to get your credit fixed after it's been messed up. >> reporter: and now he wonders how many other innocents simply paid up and what the district is doing to ensure it doesn't happen again. >> find out who is responsible.

if there's a weak link in the chain, get rid of it, fix this thing and stop bothering innocent people. >> reporter: in falling waters, west virginia, andrea mccarren, wusa9. >> monday afternoon the metropolitan police department told andrea the ticket should never have been issued. a spokeswoman says mpd will be asking the d.c. department of mort vehicles to void it -- motor vehicles to void it from roberts' record therefore restoring his credit. governor bob mcdonnell is off the hook. he was removed from a case challenging the commonwealth's ban on same-sex marriage but the lawsuit can continue against the state registrar of vital records and -- [indiscernible] two couples challenged the ban as being unconstitutional. there was a lot of pushing and shoving on the field during the redskins-cowboys game. what about the pushing in the stands. this is video that sparked an investigation by the team. it appears a redskins fan

wearing a, quote, dallas sign or t-shirt is pushed down cotencre steps by security or did the security guard grab the fan's arm before the man luhed forward? it's unknown if alcohol was a factor. we just don't know what happened just before the video wakes tan. redskins spokesperson tony wiley says the incident is under review. how about an early christmas present for hundreds of kids in d.c.? that's the case. council member marion barry hosted a toy giveaway for 200 children in ward 8. he says the need is great and there are a lot of families struggling this holiday season. the toy drive was made possible thanks to a number of organizations who pitched? the news team is expanding. that's coming up in your money report. >> if you're doing some last- minute shopping, make sure you put the heat on in the car. big difference in temperatures in the last 48 hours. howard's first aler

4:39. a much colder day and while it's dry this morning, there is a threat for a passing rain or snow shower this afternoon. not expecting really much with this but if you have a brief shower of rain or snow, don't are surprised. look at the temps. they'll run 20, 25 degrees lower than yesterday. back with your christmas forecast and seven day in a few minutes. right now monika with timesaver traffic. things are running well. light volume this morning. here at the roosevelt bridge. no problems on 66, the dulles toll road or the beltway on the west side of town.

back to you. 4:40. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> thanks for waking up with us. here are the headlines this morning. the rally just never seems to stop. stocks moved higher again monday in another record breaking day. traders are wrapping up early today and the marks are closed on wednesday for christmas. let's check the numbers from yesterday. the dow picked up 73 points. 16,294 is where it finished. the s&p 500 got 59-point boost and the nasdaq picked up 44 pointses. >> mclean based gannett corporation, the parent company of wusa9 and "u.s.a. today" just got a lot bigger. 17 television stations bigger. it completed its purchase of the belo group yesterday. it means the number of tv stations gannett owns goes from 23 up to 40. gannett will now reach nearly a third of the united states households. the company owns television stayings from seattle to d.c., portland oregon to portlands maine. they also have network affiliates in new orleans,

minneapolis, dallas, houston, tampa, denver and the list goes on. that means when newsbreaks anywhere in the united states, our gannett news crews will be there. gannett is now the largest independent station group of major network affiliates in the top 25 markets around the country. retailers are hoping that many of you waited until today to buy your christmas gifts. holiday sales are down for the third week after a strong start to the season. sales at u.s. stores fell 3.1% compared with the same week last year. a weekend ice storm may have contributed to the decline. many stores will remain open until the afternoon for all those last-minute shoppers. sales prices at ski resorts, though, are having a lot more success. the aspen skiing company says this holiday season it will charge its highest price ever for a single day lift ticket. getting to the top of the mountain will set you back a cool $124. resort officials say the early ski conditions are the best

they've seen in decades. >> wow. 4:42. one local mother is getting the greatest gift of all. she gets to take her newborn home for the holidays. that's coming up after the break. >> as we look towards the holiday, it will not be a white christmas but it will be a dry one and a bit chilly. the first alert forecast coming up next. howard has that. stay with us.

everyone is always asking will it be a white christmas? will we see any flurries? >> a chance for a few snow showers this afternoon, especially the mountains and some areas north and west of d.c. >> conversational snow. >> yes. >> like montana. >> montgomery, loudoun county,

maybe parts of fairfax even may see a snow shower. >> not enough to shovel or brush away. >> no. it will be oh, wow. that will be the conversation. but if you dress like yesterday morning, you're making a big mistake. temperatures in some spots 30 degrees colder right now than they were this time on monday which means they're back to where they should be. let's show you the forecast, the day plan other this tuesday morning, christmas eve. got sunshine this morning, a few more clouds this afternoon and there's that rain or snow shower. i'm thinking it could be as early as 1:00 or as late as 4:00, 5:00. even by then i think the upper air disturbance will pass d.c. we're up to 32 after hitting 44. we're going into the 20s tonight so a very cold night. if you're going out for any christmas eve services or mass tonight, you're going to need to bundle up for that. there's the rain from yesterday. it's still raining a little bit right along the coast here toward ocean city, down toward the eastern parts of north carolina, southeastern

virginia. around here we've got clouds southeast, more breaks north and west and that's where the cold stuff is. it's in the 20s, low to mid-20s across much of ohio. upper 20s williamsport. we have lots of 30s here and richmond is 40 but we're down to freezing in manassas and reston. ashburn is 33 with germantown and lovettsville. to the east more clouds, a little warmer souper marlboro and north beach sit at 36 this morning with 35 in waldorf and college park. outside on our michael & son weather camera, no problems with visibility. looking good here. we've got some clouds, mostly cloudy skies and that 37 feels like 28 with that windchill. wind out of the north, northwest at 16 miles an hour. winds are going to be a factor today. at times the winds will gust maybe 25 or so. dress like wind chills are in the 20s and 30s. while we're 37 here, we're 66 degrees warmer than our friends up at international falls. minus 29 right now. that's the core of the arctic

air. 2 below in chicago. that's a very cold morning. for us we're going to get a little bit of the cold tomorrow. not going to last all that long. if you look at the west coast, notice how this storm is moving west to east. so the cold comes down but this storm is going to push it out of the way as it moves off towards the east. we have the arctic blast there. the snow showers with it. a little disturbance down in ohio this morning. see these snow showers? this is what we're looking at for early to mid afternoon. as this comes across the region, it will squeeze out some snow in the mountains and potentially even a snow shower around here. you can see it on the futurecast. here we are at 1:00. it comes across. by 3:30 notice a couple of rain and snow showers across the region. traveling today, still looks pretty good out west. southwest looks fine. phoenix, l.a., if you're catching a flight to grandma's house, cold in minneapolis and des moines. same in the dakotas. this looks to be a fairly light event. in the south all is looking good. just cold. new orleans only 53.

atlanta only 43 and a much better day for travel. some snow showers pittsburgh and buffalo but boston, new york, the whole 95 corridor looks really, really fine for today. the three-day outlook 44 today with the afternoon rain or snow shower, wind chills in the 30s. tonight dipping into the mid- 20s in town, closer to 20 in the suburbs. 36 tomorrow but lighter winds for christmas day. chilly on thursday, not as cold, 43. we finish out the week about the same on friday. milder this weekend, 50 to even 55 sunday. could see a flurry monday as colder air returns, highs in the low 40s. we turn it over to monika samtani wearing her christmas eve red blazer. >> and your tie. you're festive today. idlewood road north of route 7 at burrows lane in falls church is blocked right now with a crash and crews are on the scene there. so be aware of that. it's just north of i-66 in the falls church area. now, youle might want to -- you also might want to know that vre is on an s schedule.

marc is on an s schedule on the penn and brunswick lines. no camden trains. there are no problems coming in on 270 as cow in from the north in -- as you come in from the north in frederick. all of the lanes are open to the point where the lanes divide. on the inbound side of i-66 at the roosevelt bridge nice and quiet coming in right through falls church. let's go back over to the maps this time to the bw parkway and route 50 inside the beltway through cheverly, no incidents to report into the nor east corridor. we're in great shape over the anacostia river bridges right now and we'll take one more last live look on the north side here in college park at route 1. you can see all is quiet and all is well into silver spring. back to you, andrea and mike. >> thank you, monika. this next story is nothing short of a christmas miracle. one of the smallest babies ever born in the d.c. area is about ready to go home. >> diane roberts has her story. plus, a peek of what's in store for her mom. >> reporter: this is four-month-

old maloni blan. >> when i look at her, i'm just blessed because she's blessed to be here. >> reporter: the neonatal intensive care unit at george washington university hospital has been home for her and her mom. she was only 12 ounces when she was born. now she's a healthy five-plus pounds and heading home for christmas. >> when she was first born, i didn't think she was going to make it because she was so small. >> what's so crazy about the work here with as small as this baby could be is that every action you do will affect the outcomes for this individual as a person for maybe the upcoming seven years or more. >> reporter: she's acting like a normal baby and doesn't have any problems that will affect the rest of her life. somebody who knows what it's going to be like for her to take home her baby is tracy brown. she had premature babies born

here at this hospital one year ago. >> they're life outside with you is going to be unlike they've -- unlike anything they've ever experienced. your life becomes so full and becomes focused in a totally different way. >> reporter: these triplets were born at gw december 26 last year and spent time in the unit. there is the only boy born 2 pounds, 1 ounce. and baby c was 19 ounces at birth. >> she was the strongest and the mightiest. we named her the rock star. >> reporter: tracy says she stopped by the hospital with her active brood to thank them and show all their hard work paid off in these christmas miracle babies. diane roberts, wusa9. >> maloni's middle name is miracle legacy. dr. ali says she has no complications and can go home

tomorrow, christmas day. her mom says she cannot wait to go to the mall and get all the pictures made of her little girl. it's 4:52. in today's health alert a new way to attack tumors. researchers at washington university in st. louis have discovered a way to directly target tumors in blood vessels. the new method allows them to stop tumor growth without damaging healthy tissue. the goal is not to dry the cancer's blood supply. instead blood vessels are hijacked so they no longer newer nourish tumor group. stanford scientists have found a possible link in men and -- they [ inaudible ] it may be because testosterone

have anti-- [ stand by for captions ] about a third of the population doesn't have a fully functioning portion of that gene which may explain why some people have trouble remembering faces. the study could lead to new ways of treating people with psychiatric disorders they say as well. time now to look at the question of the morning for the first time. 60% of people have slept with what in their bed? >> a, a tv remote control, b, a book, or c, the xbox controller. 60%? wow. go it our facebook page and give us your answer and tell us why. we'll share some of your comments

4:56. temps in the 40s today. it's going to be sunny to start the day. we'll see clouds increase. by lunch time snow showers. upper air disturbance comes across the mountains. by 3:00 the blue areas between leesburg and martinsburg, those are snow showers. so rain and snow showers with highs from the mid-30s north to the mid-40s south. good morning, monika. good morning, howard.

no complaints here on the northbound side of i-95 in springfield. volumes are light both in the main and hov lanes. i expect they're going to be like this throughout the morning rush hour as you travel on to 395, your lanes are open to the 14th street bridge. back to you guys. >> well, we're just one day away from christmas as you snow. if you need a little help getting into the holiday spirit, we have something for you. photo journalist james hash takes us to an amazing light display in damascus, maryland, one that's gone after this year. >> the light creates within people a simple peace or happiness. >> reporter: in a season of giving, the richness of a man's spirit can be judged by the joy he gives others, then donald is a healthy man indeed. >> i'll be honest with you, mainly i love t. im-- i love t. i'm its biggest fan. >> reporter: his incredible display draws friends and

strangers alike. >> this is a time we have a collective heart beat. doesn't matter what regionion, -- religion, nationality, we all feel something. >> to share this is amazing. >> reporter: the 70,000 lights are simpged to music when he -- sinked -- simpged to music -- synced which he broadcasts. >> it's like a dreamland. i never grew up. i'm the little kid who has the chance now to create the ultimate light show. >> this is a gift to everybody. this is an awesome christmas gift to everybody. >> reporter: awesome indeed but also the last one. after this season it's over. >> we've got 17 grandkids and they all live out west so my wife is now saying time to get out there before they grow up and never see any of this. so the show is getting on the road. >> reporter: in damascus, james hash, wusa9. >> okay, we're going there. >> i