. >> thank you, tom fitzgerald. >> a -- tom fitzgerald. >> a tom virginia is calling the primary an embarrassment. they told wtop radio that the ballot requirements might be too strict. only mitt romney and ron paul filed enough signatures to get on the virginia ballot. newt gingrich missed the friday deadline and he's a resident of virginia. >>> and congressional lawmakers want us to believe like the rest of us, but a new report shows a growing wage gap between members of congress and american voters. their media net worth is $900,000. roll call released -- the richest member in the house. at number one, republican representative, michael mccall of texas, worth 294 million. number two, darrell issa, 220 million; number three, massachusetts senator, democrat john kerry worth 193 million. number 4, jay rock filler from west virginia at 81 million virginia -- jay rockefeller from west virginia at 81 million warner at 76 million. paul singer is back with us tonight. good to see you again. >> how are you? >> and there is no secret you have to be a -- have money to be a regular number of congress. the

tom fitzgerald is back now. some of this is new territory for the republicans. >> reporter: ronald reagan used to say the 11th commandment that was no republican should speak ill of another republican. with the current republican race still without one solid front-runner, the iowa caucuses are up for grabs as the gop campaigns are throwing new money and new energy going after voters and each other. less than a week until iowa's caucus and republicans are going negative. >> it's about serial hypocrisy. >> reporter: ron paul went after newt gingrich, but he's in the alone. >> they had someone who is a massachusetts moderate. >> reporter: mitt romney didn't like that description of him, so he's firing back. >> if enough of us demandak from our leaders. >> together we can do this. >> reporter: romney is using an environmental ad gingrich once made with nancy pelosi and others seem to be more focused on attacks rather than moving the country forward. >> reporter: and while gingrich claims to be on the high road, rick

fox 5's tom fitzgerald has the story. reporter: ron paul's campaign has focused on iowa almost from the beginning in the hopes of scoring an early victory, but now with no clear frontrunner in this republican race the other candidates decided they cannot afford to simply surrender. ron paul has not spent much time in the spotlight in his campaign, but that has changed in iowa. the real clear politics average has ron paul with a slight lead over mitt romney, while newt gingrich has dropped to 14%. rick perry has risen to 12%. with time run being out the texas congressman is find -- running out the texas congressman is finding out the new ads are aimed at congress. >> the experience of balancing the budget is greatly needed in washington and i will take it there. >> if washington is the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? reporter: rick santorum is hunting with iowa conservatives while newt gingrich is calling mitt romney a massachusetts liberal. >> i think it's an accurate description of who he. is. reporter: rick

fox 5's tom fitzgerald is how the race is shaping up. >> we are now one week away before iowa republicans will make their choice and the iowa caucuses will either one candidate closer to this nomination or throw this already turbulent campaign into further question, but one thing is for sure. after a brief christmas break all of the candidates were back on the campaign trail. with congress on christmas break washington is hardly the capital of politics right now. for that you'd need to go to iowa. mitt romney and newt gingrich may have been getting all the press, but in iowa texas congressman ron paul is out front. >> there could be some surprises in iowa. for example, ron paul seems to be surging. he's got a base of support. reporter: american university professor leonard steinhorn says if mitt romney wins iowa, he'd gain momentum going forward. >> if mitt romney wins iowa, he will probably win new hampshire and go on to win this nomination. mitt romney way be trying to win iowa secretly without setting high expectations. reporter: on tuesday, romney, bachmann, perry and gingrich all beg

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news from. of >>> now to the latest controversy surrounding the virginia presidential primary. gold you last night about a man by the state republican -- we told you last night about a plan by the state republican party that there is a loyalty oath that must be signed or they will be turned away from the polls. the attorney -- >>> two more nato service members were killed today in afghanistan and afghan forces killed the three senior taliban figures. there may be fewer reports like those if peace talks with the taliban succeed next year. fox's jennifer griffin has the story from the pentagon. reporter: in an effort to jump start peace talks with the taliban just days after vice president joe biden said the taliban is not our enemy, the obama administration is considering the release of six top taliban commanders who were among the first prisoners sent to guantanamo bay after 9/11. among them muhammad fasal whose assessment by the u.s. military was outlined in a leaked state department cable. det

fox 5s tom fitzgerald has the latest on the race for the white house. >> reporter: in 2008 mitt romney lost in iowa. not to john mccain but to mike huckaby. iowa's known for surprises. while romney is leading now, the former massachusetts governor is taking nothing for granted. appearing throughout iowa this friday, romney is drawing some of the biggest crowds of his campaign so far. part of the reason was the appearance on the campaign trail of new jersey governor chris christy. briefly considered his own run before endorsing romney. the latest polls from rasmussen reports puts romney ahead of ron paul and the surprise surges come from rick santorum, who is past newt gingrich for third place in iowa. >> considering i am 20 points ahead in some of the states it would be foolish for me not to stay the race. it was a long way from here to picking that. >> i'm not a lifelong politician. i didn't spend my life in the political room. i didn't spend my life in washington d.c. >> i ask you for your support. i hope you come on january 3rd. there is no reason to be despondent about how this cup

as fox 5's tom fitzgerald -- soldiers out. as fox 5's tom fitzgerald explains tonight there are only 5,000 left and they're getting ready to come home. reporter: the united states is looking back at eight years of war and an uncertain future. >> in the coming days the last american soldiers will cross the border out of iraq with honor and their heads held high. reporter: at the white house president obama met with iraq's prime minister nouri al-maliki. >> this makes us feel that we will succeed. reporter: the u.s. combat mission ended last year. president obama sped up full withdrawal after iraq would not agree auto terms to keep a smaller force. -- on terms to keep a smaller force. the iraq war started in march, 2003. a bombing campaign gave way to a three-week invasion and later the capture of saddam hussein. president bush's 2003 speech saying the war was over proved premature. >> major combat operations in iraq have ended. reporter: as the search for weapons of mass destruction came up empty, u.s. troops found themselves i

tom fitzgerald has the story. >> reporter: ronald reagan used to say the 11th commandment was that no republican should speak ill of another republican. but with no clear national frontrunner in the iowa caucuses up fro grabs, the noncandidates are throwing new money and new energy into going after voters and each other. less than a week until iowa's caucus and republicans are going negative. >> it is about serial hypocrisy. >> reporter: ron paul went after newt gingrich but he is not alone. >> to have somebody who is a massachusetts moderate. >> reporter: mitt romney didn't like that description of him so he is firing back. >> if enough of us demand action from our leaders. >> together we can do this. >> reporter: romney is reduce using an environmental ad gingrich once made with nancy pelosi. >> reporter: gingrich claims to be on the high road, rick perry is running down every candidate who has ever worked inside the beltway. >> if washington is the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? >> reporter: this month, republicans bought $10 million of iowa air time. broken down, that

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> up next on the news edge at 11:00, consumers continue to spend. is it a reason to worry? >>> and how does getting paid to lose weight sound? that's exactly what thousands of people are doing right now. find out how it works coming up. >>> this is fox 5 news edge at 11:00.  >>> it was a good holiday season for retailers. americans spent more than $35 billion online this year. but are they spending too much? the fox business networks adam shapiro has more. >> it's yet another sign that the american consumer is returning in full force and once again, the online retailers are cashing in. >> it's very good news that they are feeling better. you have to remember that this is consumer confidence index up from the depths. >> according to.com score, u.s. consumers spent more than $35 billion online over the holidays. that's after consumer confidence reached an 8 month high in december. in all, internet sales for november 1 through the day after christmas were up 15% year over year. and according to analysts, we can expect more cons

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> as you well know, thomas not the only elected d.c. official under investigation this year. mayor vincent gray faced questions over trading jobs for election year attacks on former mayor adrian fenty. council member kwame brown faced questions over an suv paid by the district. neither gray, brown more harry thomas jr. have faced charges. -- nor harry thomas jr. have faced charges. >> some d.c. residents are now calling for thomas to resign. fox 5's bob barnard has reaction. >> i think he's entitled to be innocent until he's proven guilty. >> i'm shocked to have heard about it. i don't know anything more. >> reporter: we caught up with a number of harry thomas' fellow d.c. council members in the hallways of the wilson building. are you still calling for his resignation? >> base on the previous -- what happened with the 300,000 -- based on the previous -- what happened with the 300,000 on the attorney general, yes, but in terms of this i don't have any new information and i have no comment at this time. >> clearly a serious situation. i

fitzgerald is back from the hills and -- fox 5s tom fitzgerald is back from the hills with more. >> reporter: time is running out now to avoid not only the government shutdown, but break the long-standing impasse over several critical year-end bills. you know, even though there was still a lot of tough talk between the democrats and republicans today, both sides are now saying that they're optimistic that they can meet the dead oiliness. the first signs of a thaw -- deadlines. the first signs came thursday morning, they hinted at progress. >> we hope we can come up with something that would get us on the of here in a reasonable time, the next few days. >> we're confident and optimistic we'll be able to resolve both on a bipartisan bases. >> reporter: the to do list is long. standing the -- extending the payroll tax cut, continuing unemployment insurance and avoiding a government shutdown. the president pushed congress to keep at it. >> it is no reason the government should shut down over this, and i expect all of us to do what is necessary in order to do the people's business and ma

tom fitzgerald has more. >> reporter: there is not a lot of time left here for all of the capped distants, shape, with -- candidates, sharons with christmas behind us -- shawn, with christmas behind us and hoping to lure the undecided votheir way. the republican candidates stand out throughout iowa's 99 counties and dueling bus tours across the state. the latest poll average has ron paul and mitt romney deadlocked in the statistical tie with newt gingrich close behind and interesting here, even in iowa, they argue peer to be pumping up and you know, jill lawrence, the editor for the politics of national journals said so for 90 campaigns have matched ron paul's for its operations throughout iowa. >> he's been running and are youing and run. i don't think he's win a primary and has proven he can organize. this year, most of the candidates have not organized as extensively as in the earlier yearings, so he has a shot of with -- years, so he has a shot of winning. >> the game plan is different from a traditional vote or primary. caucuses are where candidates have five minutes to make a speech

tonight, mitt romney is edging out ron paul in the goperacy there and tom fitzgerald is following all of the action. another candidate is rising in the polls. >> reporter: and you're right about that and this back-and- forth race is again, changing today. the latest poll out of iowa shows that mitt romney is in the lead. romney and his wife met supporters after the new polls begin to show he is e americanning from this peel of candidates in iowa. they have romney leading ron paul by three points. the surprise is from rick santorum and passed newt gingrich for third place as the former speaker continues what is a three-week slide in these polls. also moving back into the pack is ron paul whose front-runner status in iowa was short-lived and slipped away after opponents launched a new round of attacks and that is romney and gingrich today and whether or not gingrich originally supported it. >> and do not see us. we both used to have the wrong idea and i want to say it's the wrong idea. >> i knew he supported the plan in the past, and i believe that he supported it until he got to into t

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> not only is the economy a central issue, it may be a contributing factor to some sobering news about the nation's police force. we'll explain that ahead tonight. also, bold burglars caught on camera. >>> also ahead. >> everybody needs a little help sometimes. i'm beth parker. coming up, i'll tell you how one area county is assisting first time home buyers. really making it possible for them to get in the door. >>> and tonight on the news edge, there's a new push to move the redskins corporate head jury present quarters out of virginia and maryland and d.c. are going head to head in a battle force. the details tonight at 11:00.  >>> u.s. park police say good- bye to one of their own. funeral services were held for sergeant michael payne. he collapsed on duty earlier this month while trying to help a man who had fallen or jumped from the key bridge. he later died at the hospital. payne was a 19 year veteran of the force. he was layed to rest with full honors and a cemetery in fairfax, virginia. >> funeral services also were held in northeast d.c. this afte

fox 5's tom fitzgerald reports. reporter: in the back and forth race of the iowa caucus the latest poll finds the former governor of massachusetts back in the lead. >> hi there. how you doing this morning? reporter: mitt romney and his wife met supporters after fresh evidence he's emerging from the logjam republican presidential candidates. >> take a measure of the person and decide not just who has the best ideas, but also who has the qualities of leadership that the country needs. reporter: the new cnn iowa caucus poll has romney leading ron paul by three points, the surprise showing from rick santorum passing newt gingrich for third place as the former speaker continues a three-week slide. >> i would want a cabinet of activists who were committed to fundamentally changing washington and i would want people who are fairly comfortable and very difficult fights with the left. reporter: also dropping into the pack is ron paul, frontrunner status in iowa began to fade as his opponents ramped up attacks. >> so it's a f

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> local woman hit with hundreds of dollars in fines for using newspaper in her kitty litter. the city tells its side of the story. beth. >> there is something missing from this nativity scene. i'm beth parker, it's the reason for the season. >>> and i'm sue, doesn't feel much like the season. it happens today near 50. expected to be even warmer tomorrow. but pack the umbrella, we have showers headed our way. i'll let you know when to expect them. >> and tonight on the news edge, caught on camera. vandals target a local man's elaborate christmas display. we'll hear from the homeowner at 11:00.  or creates another laptop bag, or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $13.2 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. >>> it's the season of giving, but for somebody it has become the seas

tom fitzgerald is following the story for us. how did the meet going? >> reporter: from all accounts, the two are said to have hit it off l. gingrich met privately with trump at the trump tower and herman cain out of the race now. newt gingrich is trying to solidify his hold on the front runner status and there is a new poll out from the des moines register showing he's doing that and gingrich moved into a solid lead and is not only in first place but is the candidates voters choose for the second choice, giving him room to grow. for the meeting with the donald, the gingrich praised him as a successful showman and a businessman. >> and suggested to donald trump that he adopt a program of a printises and take one of the poorest schools in new york city and take apprenticeships to 53 for pardon me time work and he liked the idea a lot -- to pay for part-time work and he liked the idea a lot. >> that tip ticked off liberal democrats, saying that gingrich was endorsing the idea of poor children going to work. trump didn't endorse gingrich. trump heated he m

tom fitzgerald was there. tom, of course, we talking about chris christy. >> reporter: that's right, governor christi, was not one of the candidates speaking but that didn't stop a lot of folks from wondering whether or not he should have been. he was the keynote peeker for the par taste pants and while go thinkryrich and romney -- gingrich and romney last many for them, many said that crest eye ie stole the show. -- crestee stole the show. >> newt gingrich was in full front-runner mode. >> i need your help. >> reporter: he is still a candidate and doesn't stop him from announcing hue he would name former u.n. ambassador john bolton as secretary of state and what he would do once nominated. >> i will challenge the president to seven three-hour debates with a time keeper but no moderator in the lincoln douglas tradition. >> reporter: of course, there are still other candidates with in the race. >> join me. join me. >> reporter: former front runner mitt romney returned to his electability scene that unlike gingr

we get more from tom fitzgerald. >> reporter: ron paul's campaign has focused on iowa almost from the beginning in the hopes of scoring an early victory but now with no cheer frontrunner in this republican race, the other candidates have decided they cannot afford it simply surrender. ron paul has not spent much time in the spotlight in this campaign but that has changed in iowa. the real clear politics average has ron paul with a slight lead over mitt romney. and while newt gingrich has dropped to 14%, rick perry has risen to 12%. the texas congressman is fining out his opponents new ads are aimed at congress. >> the experience of balancing budgets is desperately needed in washington and i will take it there. >> if wash is the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? >> reporter: new ads are only part of the battle. rick santorum is hunting with iowa conservatives while newt gingrich is calling mitt romney a massachusetts liberal. >> i think it is an ask description of who he is. >> reporter: rick perry is trying to resurrect his profile. >> i am the fiscal conservative in this ra

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> new procedures have been put in place at the air force base. this case comes after the scandal over mismarked graves and missing bodies at arlington national cemetery which is now resulted in a criminal investigation. >>> republican lawmakers told attorney general eric holder he could lose his job if he doesn't give congress all the information it wants about operation fast and furious. holder told the house judiciary committee the operation which left hundreds of weapons -- let them fall into the hands of traffickers was deeply flawed and the justice department sent congress a letter about the operation which later turned out to have false statements, but no one pleasant to mislead congress. >> nobody in the -- meant to mislead congress. >> nobody in the justice department lied. >> the thing is if we don't get to the bottom of this and that requires your assistance on that, there is only one alternative that congress has and it's called impeachment. t. >> holder says in the months since the justice department made the false statements the depa

as tom fitzgerald explains, this morning, there are only 6,000 troops left and they're getting ready to head home. >> reporter: the united states and iraq are looking back at eight years of war and an uncertain future. >> in the. coming days, last american soldiers will cross the border out of iraq with honor and with their heads held high. >> reporter: at the white house, president obama met with iraq's prime minister nouri al- maliki and he says his government will survive the u.s. pullout. >> this is necessary and serves the interest of the united states of america. this make us feel that we will succeed. >> reporter: the u.s. combat mission ended last year. president obama sped up full withdrawal after iraq would not agree on terms to keep a smaller force. the iraq war started in march 2003. the shock and a bombing campaign gave way to a three- week invasion and later the capture of saddam hussein. >> major combat operations in iraq have ended. >> reporter: as the search for weapons of mass destruction came up empty, the u.s. found themselves in a iraqi civil war. to meet the uns

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. we heard from herman cain's wife not long after the sexual harrassment allegations broke but she has not spokeen publicly about the fair. cain said he has only spoken his campaign schedule has been busy this week. the candidate says won't make a final decision as to whether or not he will continue his race until he sees his wife in person tomorrow. >>> coming up income, a look at the morning's other headlines including a push by president reagan's would-be assassin to send more time at home. >>> let's hear from more of our troops overseas. >> this is master sergeant john cronin currently stationed in maryland. i would like to say hello to my family. merry christmas, guys. i'll see you in just a couple of months.  >>> the man who tried to assassinate president reagan wants more time away from the hospital where he has been held since the early 1980s but prosecutors say he continue to be deceptive. >> reporter: although john hinckley was treated he is still treated

tom fitzgerald is in the newes on room with all of the details. shawn? >> reporter: the president stopped short of a big declaration to victory and instead focused it on the sacrifice of u.s. troops around the world. he spoke at a base, the home of the 82ndaryborn, which has seen more than 200 service members killed since the iraq war began. jot president of the united states! >> reporter: at fort bragg, north carolina, president obama welcomed home some of the last u.s. troops from iraq. >> we are ending a war in the with a final battle but with a final march toward home. >> reporter: the trip marked a symbolic end to the iraq war, which cost almost 4500 american lives. the president did not declare victory in iraq and instead highlighted successes. >> and we're leaving behind a sofrin stable and self-reliant iraq with a representativive government elected by its people. >> reporter: today, only 5,000 u.s. troops remain in iraq. down from almost 170,000. it's a war that the president himself is opposed since he first stepped foot on the national scene.

fox 5's tom fitzgerald has this story. reporter: congressman jim moran has been warning for years that interstate 395 can't handle the extra traffic from the army's mark center in alexandria. >> this is a mistake. reporter: now the congressman's concerns are backed up by this harsh new report by the pentagon's inspector general. the i.g. found by not building the mark center near metro and depending on buses and workers to drive themselves, the army has created a recipe for gridlock. the report also slams the army for using flawed traffic studies and that underestimated the impact of adding 7,000 workers to the already congested area. >> they did their traffic studies during holiday periods, july 4th and memorial day. reporter: the army's plan is for many of the relocated workers to drive themselves to work or rely on these shuttle buses. so far at least the workers who transferred here say the shuttles seem to be working. >> maybe when they take a pass, the situation will be different, but for right now it's very nice. >>

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 ?oissments candidates face off in a debate in iowa this weekend. >>> coming up next, who multitasks more, men or women? >> that depends on who is trying to do more one thing at once. what a new study says about moms and dads who workout side the home are jug until their down time. holiday greeting from members of our military. >> i would like to wish all my family and friends a wonderful happy holidays. i'm see you soon. and the washington d.c. area, go!  to make a commitment is to o see things through. confident that no matter what the obstacles we can build something better, together. with the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile, we're making a commitment, to create a stronger network for all our customers. we will invest an additional eight billion dollars and build out the next generation of mobile broadband to nearly everyone in america. that'll mean better coverage and call quality and faster downloads. but it will also create as many as ninety-six

tom fitzgerald is following this. tom, they both want to extend the tax cut. what is the problem here? >> reporter: we have seen these before, haven't we? likeeration the debt ceiling and funding the government, both partying agree on the goal. the problem is how to overcome the differences and if the heated debate we saw is an indication, they may have a long way to go. house republicans unveiled a $192 billion bill to extend the pearl tax cut. even while the own majority leader eric cantor of virginia sounded less than enthusiastic. >> it's not our dream proposal, believe me, but it is and does represent a middle ground and we asked the president to join us. >> reporter: but after threatening a veto, the president told a campaign rally that he will use the debate to reach out for middle-class support. >> we going to have to fight for it. and this is not a slam dunk. we're going to have to deliver this message effectively. >> reporter: republicans say their plan extending a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and funds medicare gaps. it scales down unempl

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> gingrich's loss was filed by a attorney in reston and he joins fox 5s matt ackland in the newsroom with the details. >> reporter: as you were saying, i want to start off by asking you you're not doing this along with the speaker, right? the speaker's not officially involved in this, this lawsuit that you have filed today. >> not yet. i filed it, drafted it to suggest the campaign and went on wednesday, the republican party of virginia said that they have not disclosed why they disqualified him. i finally said we have to find out. i went ahead and started the ball rolling. i am asking them why did they disqualify so many of the petish signatures, including, perhaps, my own. >> reporter: take me through the process then. how does this work? who decides this? who makes a ruling in the future? step-by-step, how this is playing out. >> reporter: the petitions are submitted to a state board of elections. they have to be 10,000 of them. and they then immediately hand them over to the party, the republican party of virginia. and they then certify which qualify

fox 5s tom fitzgerald is following this and looks like the gop field is not ready to surrunner to newt gingrich yet. >> reporter: if there is anything this is showing us is that leads are made to be lost. there have been five front runners in the race for the presidential republican nomination. newt gingrich's on top and his challengers are betting he won't go the distance. newt gingrich is hoping this is not as good as it gets. >> amazing how well he's doing. >> reporter: leading the iowa polls, the former speaker is moving to avoid the fate of former republican front runners who fell as quickly as they rose. >> and -- >> his first ad is hitting the airways in iowa. >> and throw out the tax code and replace it with one civilel and fair. >> reporter: his challengers are launching a not-so-subtle assault with the hearts and minds of republican voters. >> and what is up with the competitions? when it's show time -- like they should do. >> and ron paul was making an in your face challenge to gingrich's cost-cutting conservative clam while romney is playing the electability card. >> i spen

fox 5s tom fitzgerald is live in the newsroom with more. tom? >> reporter: this report was issued today by the inspector general of the pentagon. in it, the army is blasted by the ig for using faulty traffic studies as the basis of moving thousands of workers into the marc center building in alexandrea. the congressman has been leading the fight to clean up the traffic mess and prevent it, that it's a confirmation of what he's saying all along. congressman jim moran has been warning for years at interstate 395 can't handle the extra traffic from the army's marc center in alexandrea. >> this is a mistake. >> now, the congressman concerns are backed up by the harsh new report by the pentagon's inspector general. the ig found by not building the marc center near metro and depending on buses and workers to drive themselves. the army created a recipe for gridlock. the report slams the army for using flawed traffic study and underestimated the impact of adding 7,000 workers to the already congested area. >> they did their traffic studies during the ho

we get the story from tom fitzgerald. >> reporter: congressman jim moran has been warning for years that strat 395 can't handle the extra traffic from the army's mark center in alexandria. >> this is a mistake. >> reporter: now the congressman's concerns are backed up by this harsh new report by the inspector general. the ig found by not building the mark center near metro and depending on buses and workers to drive themselves, the army has create a recipe for gridlock. the reports also slams the army for using flawed traffic studies. it underestimated the impact of adding 7,000 workers to the already congested area. >> they did their traffic studies during holiday periods, july 4th and memorial day. >> reporter: the army's plan is for many of relocated workers to drive themself to work or rely on the shuttle bus. so far at least the workers who have transferred here say the shuttles seem to be working. >> maybe when it is at capacity, the swaight will be different. >> it gets me to work on time. >> reporter: but congressman moran warns the full impact has not yet been felt. the mark cen

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> the fox 5 storm force keeping a close eye on the holiday weekend. take a live look outside, looking pretty nice there. we're wrapping up a warmer than usual day. will the temperatures hold out for the new year? let's check in with gary mcgrady downstairs in the weather center. hey, gary. >> yes. such a treat out there today with sunshine and temperatures in the middle 50s, felt real good. it's pretty mild out this evening all things considered. i know it's chilly, but keep in mind i mean it's december 30. it's supposed to be a lot colder. let's go to sentinel radar, watching these showers out to the west. some of those will come across overnight tonight. now for the weekend we're on the mild side of this substantial cold front. the leading edge of this colder air starts to come in late on sunday and then it get reinforced a little bit monday night and it's going to be really cold around here as we get get into tuesday and wednesday of next week, but the all important new year's eve forecast, again, we'll have showers overnight tonight, but tomorrow

fox 5's tom fitzgerald is following this tonight. >> despite his controversy, herman cain says he is not going anywhere. >> they want you to believe that with enough character assassination on me that i will drop out. they -- >> cain launched his comeback just after ginger white who was his mistress appeared on abc was asked if he should drop out. >> that's something he has to look himself in the mirror and ask himself. >> cain instead simultaneously blamed liberals and politicians as the source of his sexual harassment allegations and the alleged affair. >> one of the reasons that they want to try and shoot me down and tear me down is because of the strength of my message that is with the american people. >> the polls aren't hearing it. clear politics average had cain here in red in first place with 26% just a week before the harassment allegations broke. since then, he has been in free fall down 11 points now in third place and still falling. newt gingrich gained the most from cain's fall. >> i hope he reaches whatever the right decision for them. >> and while herman cain may stay

fox 5's tom fitzgerald tonight on how the race is shaping up. >> we're down to one week now before republicans in iowa will make their choice. the iowa caucuses will either push one candidate closer to the republican nomination or throw this already turbulent campaign into further question. either way the one thing for sure is that all the candidates were back at it today after christmas break. now ron paul is looking strong in iowa right now, in the lead, but mitt romney might have the most to gain or lose here. romney is trying to beat back a surge from former speaker newt gingrich. a loss in iowa could open up romney to more questions on whether or not republicans want him as their nominee when he heads off to new hampshire. a boston globe poll has romney up by double digits in new hampshire with gingrich, paul and john huntsman trailing, but a university of maryland professor tells us in iowa is where romney is looking to cool gingrich's hot streak. >> if mitt romney wins iowa, for the most part this nomination is over, okay? his most serious opponent right now really has to be newt gingri

>> thank you, tom fitzgerald. >>> it will likely cost some of us more to use public transit. it's not because of a fare he can but a change in the federal law. fox 5s john henrehan is here to explain. >> reporter: the federal benefits are going down next year and the same ones that subsidize parking are going up and that is because two policies come from two different laws. currently, there are tax benefits for workers who get subsidized help from employers with the cost of parking or using mass transit. the benefits are roughly equal. jaimie shock who spends $10 a day taking metro rail between vienna, virginia, and dupont circle, d.c., uses the transit benefit. >> and they take yet out of my paycheck and it's not taxed. >> and do you use it? >> yes. >> the subsidy was built in to federal law and is worth 230 a month. in 2009, the rules were changeed and some transit subidy iss were brought up to the level and that was part of president obama's temporary economic stimulus package and the enhanced transit subsidies are scheduled to expire on december 31st. unless congress acts

as tom fitzgerald reports, it might be tougher to get that nomination. >> newt gingrich is hoping this is not as good as it gets. >> amazing how well he is doing. >> leading the iowa polls, the forme republican speaker is moving to avoid the fate of former republican front runners who fell just as quickly as they rose. gingrich's first ad is now hitting the airways in iowa. it is a reagan montage of factories and flower shops. >> throw out the tax code and replace it with one that is simple and fair. >> in sharp contrast, his challengers are launching a not so subtle assault for the hearts and minds of republican voters. >> when it is show time, they whimper. >> ron paul was making a challenge to gingrich's cost cutting conservative claim. mitt romney is playing the electability card. >> i spent my life in the private sector. i have competed with companies around the world. i learned something about how it is that economies grow. >> if a tax from republicans weren't enough, former speaker, nancy pelosi says, we'll have a conversation about newt gingrich i know a lot about him. i served

tom fitzgerald joins us now -- fight for fairness for the middle class. here's more on what he had to say. >> reporter: it was not a campaign, haven't but it was hard to miss the obvious message that the obama campaign plans to push out next year as he sectionary-election. he said he's for the middle class and the republicans are shirting the wealthy from paying their fair share of kansas. the president headed to kansas to push for an extension of the payroll tax, which expires at the end of the month. so far, though n a rerun of other recent debate, republicans and democrats can't seem to agree on how to pay for it, though. the president warned not extending the tax cut would have 160 million americans see their taxes go up by an average of $1,000. and, at the same time, the president said the gop has not budged on taxes on the wealthiest americans. >> today, thanks to loopholes and shelters, a quarter of all millionaires now pay lower tax rates than medicals of you -- millions of you, millions of middle-class families. some billionaires have a tax rate

fox 5's tom fitzgerald has more on the fallout. >> lynn wales of bethesda liked herman cain so much she contributed to his campaign. find of liked that he went part of the establishment. >> -- i kind of liked that he wasn't part of the establishment. >> but with cain now out, there are things to make. there are things she likes and dislikes about all of them. >> i guess mostly looking at romney and gingrich. i guess if i could meld them. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> cain's meltdown has helped newt gingrich catch fire and now gingrich's old political foe is speaking out. former democratic speaker nancy pelosi says she'll reveal information about gingrich from a house ethics commission. in a meeting with donald trump gingrich blasted pelosi. >> to see what a tainted political ethics operation nancy pelosi is engaged in and i would hope the house will immediately condemn her. >> reporter: >> a new des moines register poll puts gingrich out front with a solid 25% lead ahead of ron paul and mitt romney, but other candidates are still trying to tract herman cain's old suppo