i'm tom fitzgerald. we'll see you next week. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ god is able and he won't fail ♪ . >>> he's headed to hollywood, curtis finch jr. of st. louis impressed the judges in tonight's american idol show, one of dozens of singers that tried out in chicago. it was apparent from the beginning of this show the fighting between mariah carey and nicki minaj began in their very first city and it's only gotten worse. fox's adam housley has more. >> you guys are from new york? >> we can have accessories? i didn't know that was allowed. that's the last thing i'm going to say much. >> reporter: it didn't take long for new american idol judges mariah carey and nicki minaj to mix things up. the friction between the two was obvious during wednesday's season premier. >

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >>> labor secretary hilda solice is resigning. she submitted her resignation letter to the president today. he made -- she made the decision after talking with her family and close friends. >>> redskins fans are patiently waiting and the procedure, success. now rehabilitation begins. fox 5s sports director scott smith has more. >> reporter: five hours in surgery and not just one but two ligaments needed fixing and dr. james andrews repaired the lcl that was sprained since early december and performed a reconstruction of the acl. the second time in three years that that right acl has been reconstructed and that is anywhere from 6 to 9 months. according to a report, mike shanahan reviewed the game tape and believes the injury took place on this play in the fourth quarter and that is the play before on that snap. dr. ben schaeffer lends his insight to the recovery times. >> and the significant injury when you have to revise an acl and it's probably longer than a primary one and you add to that and that is adding further to it and my

tom fitzgerald has more. latino voters played a big role in this decision. >> reporter: you're right about that, brian. as soon as the election results were in from november 's presidential race, it became clear that republican his a major problem on their hands with latino voters. consider this, 71% of latino votes cast the ballots and went to president obama in the

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >>> it is the end of the road for transportation secretary ray lahood. a announced he is leaving his post. his record includes steps to curb distracted drive, promoting high-speed rail projects and improving roads and bridges. he says he will remain on the job until his successor is confirmed. he was the only republican left in the president's cabinet. tomorrow, chuck hagel is considered to be defense secretary. >>> save or spend in d.c. mayor vincent gray announces his plan for a $412 million budget surplus. >> we continue to follow breaking news on the beltway. an accident involving a fire truck and tractor-trailer. this is on the inner loop near route 50. one lane gets by each way. julie has an update when we come back.  every time someone chooses finish over cascade, it sparks a movement. because people can't keep it to themselves. look ! no ugly spots ! awesome! incredible shine. i'm switching for good. love, love, love finish! over a million people have switched to finish. visit us on facebook. ♪ i'm halfway to your heart ♪

and we'll have our tom fitzgerald too. we are covering this inauguration for you all over the area. >> stay with us. fox 5 morning news will return.  >>> it is inauguration day. there is a view of the white house. i imagine they are up early this morning. >> if they slept at all. >> if they slept at all. in anticipation of the events to take place here later this morning. >> we are expecting to see the first family leave the white house sometime in the 8:00 hour, around the half hour point to make their way to church services. of course, we'll be with all of the coverage every step of the way. right now, we want to go back into the studio to find out the temperature. tucker, do we expect any warm- up today out here for the thousands who will be here. >> i think you can do a better job tell you the temperature. >> it looks cold out there. >> we are going to warm up into the low to mid-40s. it won't be a terribly uncomfortable go and hrnd this year but later this afternoon with the arctic front moving in, it will get much c

i'm tom fitzgerald. we'll see you next week. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. share brotherly love. share one up's. mom ? mom ? the share everything plan. lets your family share a pool of data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. get a spectrum 2 by lg for $49.99 >>> the legacy of the godfather of go go will live on here in the district. today d.c. mayor vincent gray announced plans for a brand new amphitheater named after chuck brown in the district. it will be built in a part of northeast d.c. fox 5's matt ackland shows us. >> reporter: langdon park sits in a quiet part of northeast d.c. for many years on summer nights it was common to hear chuck brown's music playing here. this seemed like the perfect place to honor brown and his legacy of go go music. the park has be

tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >>> you saw his story first on fox 5. a maryland boy spent nearly two weeks in intensive care battling the flu. >> just the scariest thing you could ever imagine, seeing your child lay there with every tube and iv, coming from every part of his body, and of course him not being responsive. >> guess what? he is recovered and his family is talking about his close call and happy homecoming. >> and later, a new plan to keep d.c. kids in school. why parents could face harsh punishment. >> also ahead, first man te'o, a cat fishing hoax. fox 5 news at 10:00 is just getting started. we'll be right back.  we're sitting on a bunch of shale gas. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to t

fox 5's tom fitzgerald has this story. >> reporter: maryland governor martin o'malley's plan targets gun ownership, school safety and mental illness. >> the only place military assault weapons is on a battlefield. >> reporter: banning assault weapons is part of a plan that also limits ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, gun owners reny licenses every five years and ban -- renew-s every five years and ban anyone from under -- renew licenses every five years and ban anyone from under 21 from owning a gun. $25 million will go to improving security at maryland schools. >> many of us visit our schools and we know in some places it's easier to walk in the doors than it is in other schools. >> reporter: and the governor wants state mental health agencies to prevent dangerous mental patients from buying guns. >> but it could well be that the actions we take could very well prevent another tragedy like newtown. >> reporter: but just one month after the connecticut shooting some gun right advocates are concerned over what they see is a rush to pass new laws. >> quick responses are not always ef

. >> tom fitzgerald is live at the capitol where president obama will take the public oath of office this morning. after that, comes the celebration. lauren demarco will be live at freedom plaza for us covering the inaugural parade. we want to see your take on this day in history. show us how you are taking part in the inauguration. you can send your pictures and video to 2013 at wttg.com. you can also use the blue upload button that is on the top right of our inauguration photo page at myfoxdc.com. be sure to tell us where you are and what you're doing so we can share that with the rest of the viewers out there. you can also send us your pictures on twitter at my fox d.c. hatch tag 2013. we want to know what the weather is going to be like on inauguration day. usually, it is bitterly cold. maybe we can handle this today. >> nothing too extreme during the day. we'll get into the low to mid- 40s. it is cold right now. if you are headed down there in the next hour or two, lots of layers. i would be ready for a chilly affect because we'll cloud up later t will get windy and cold later o

i'm tom fitzgerald. we'll see you next week. de assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. just ask pc mag. [ man ] "cable can't touch fios upload speeds." "it's hard to imagine anyone ever beating fios." "there's no doubt fios is the fastest in the country." [ male announcer ] after 110,000 speed tests, nothing came close to fios. and with fios you get unlimited internet use. period. because according to pc mag... [ man ] "if it's available, you should get it." [ male announcer ] last chance to get the fios triple play for an incredible price online of just $89.99 a month guaranteed for 2 years. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities and get $300 back at 800-974-6006 tty/v. with a 2-year agreement. >>> a dream has been fulfilled for a florida

in the newsroom tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin joins us now to help break this down even more. we know this is a bipartisan group of lawmakers besides marco rubio, who are the other key players? >> yes. john mccain who is the standard bearer of the republican party who in 2007 tried to do something and it failed in the senate. jeff flake, a new freshman senator from arizona, formerly a house member, and finally for regional distribution lindsey graham, not a raving liberal, another republican from south carolina. so the real component of this that makes it special is that it is bipartisan and it has some very important republican names, especially in the senate. >> it's nice to see them working together for a change, but i got a question. do you think this shows a new willingness by the mainstream gop to compromise especially following their huge defeat in november? >> i think more than anything something tom brought out, 71% and in the shows went for president obama. mitt romney did worse than john mccain did amongst hispanics. you remember the talk

in the newsroom, tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >>> the next secretary of state. the senate voted this afternoon after the foreign relations committee gave their unanimous approval. kerry served on the committee for 28 years and he thanked the members and reminded them of the important work to come. >> this committee is critical to putting our best foot forward and helping us to hopefully make peace in places where it isn't and to advance our values and principles. what a privilege. >> kerry replaces hillary clinton, whose last day is friday. >>> a national star pitcher linked to performance enhancing drugs. how he's defending himself, next. >>> also ahead. >> have you heard of a heart transplant and liver transplant, here they helped a wounded warrior by giving him a double arm transplant. i'm beth parker, his inspiring story coming up. >>> and later on the news edge tonight, a murder mystery in prince georges county. a business owner is dead and police aren't sure why he was killed. how his car could crack the case at 11:00. stay with us, fox 5 news at 10:00 jus

the maryland statehouse in annapolis, tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >>> activists on both sides of the gun control debate were on alcohol today for the first senate hearing since last month's shooting massacre in newtown, connecticut. among the witnesses who testified, the former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords. giffords, who is still severely impaired from being shot in the head two years ago, told lawmakers now is the time to take action. >> speaking is difficult but i need to say something important. violence is a big problem. too many children are dieing. >> a range of gun violence victims will testify at the senate hearing and the nra's chief executive, wayne lapierre. law enforcement officials and constitutional experts. >>> a new poll finds a majority of americans say politicians are exploiting the sandy hook tragedy. the survey conducted by reason group found 52% believe elected officials are using the deadly shooting for political gain. 41% feel politicians are acting responsibly, sun% undecided. >>> new at 6, john curry addressed the senate for the -- john kerry addresse

. >> reporter: in knoxville, maryland, tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> good stuff. >> you saw that movie? >> i loved that movie. i thought it was unbelievable. >> all right. >> and i am excited he's in maryland. >> yeah. >> and that is cool. >>> and -- >> how about it, 57 degrees and briefly interrupted and temperatures that my not get as warm and that is a delightful, mild evening and a good chance to get out and about and to enjoy an evening story and we will likely see clouds increasing overnight and we will hold them until the afternoon and reagan national, up to 57 degrees and with tell uses, 53 and that is an average of 43 and another mild day one year ago. 49 degrees and that is where we are. monasses, fredericksburg 52 degrees and annapolis and leonardtown coming in at 45 and lots of warm air as we go to the north and west. chicago, front, detroit, 47 and 31 for bing hampton, new york city, and 45 degrees right now and check out the other temperatures, atlanta, 67 and that is not a big surprise to find tampa at 80 and that is warm for them. chicago, you saw the temperature of 41

tom fitzgerald will be on that. then back down here to the white house where they will seat in the reviewing stand and review as the parade comes by. just a beautiful day for it. except for the temperatures. not as bad as it was four years ago. just a little breeze. as we take a look at the flag just blowing ever so slightly. a little bit breezy and chilly but nothing we can't handle after four years ago. tony and allison, back to you. >> not as cold as it was four years ago. coming up in just a little bit -- thank you, sarah. the president opens up on what he calls the most significant event for inaugural weekend. but first, charm city heads to the cresant city. the that and more when we check in with melanie alnwick. she's covering today's other big stories. 8:22. we'll be right back.  >>> good morning. i'm melanie alnwick. making headlines at 8:30 this morning. superbowl xlvii, some calling it the harbowl. 28-13. brother jim harbaugh and his 49ers came from behind who beat the falc

fitzgerald live with more. let's start with how the governor's proposal is being received out there. >> reporter: as expected, republicans today said the governor's idea to do away entirely with virginia's gas tax and raise it and replace it, rather w a nearly 1% hike in the state's sales tax is an idea in the gop's view that deserves merit. as quickly, the democrats dismiss this idea, one leader saying the governor's proposal n his words, was a stunt. for the first time in 2013, the virginia house of delegates. >> the house will come to order. >> reporter: and the virginia senate. >> senate will come to order. >> reporter: return for the general assembly session and quickly the it turned to the $3 million transporting a plan. tuesday, the governor proposed changing how virginia funds transportation. he wants to, eliminate the state's 17 1/2-cent gas tax and raise the state's 5% sales tax by -- .8% dedicating the money to transporting a. the virginia republicans say the idea has merit. >> i spoke to people in t

i'm tom fitzgerald. see you in the next week. can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. just ask pc mag. [ man ] "cable can't touch fios upload speeds." "it's hard to imagine anyone ever beating fios." "there's no doubt fios is the fastest in the country." [ male announcer ] after 110,000 speed tests, nothing came close to fios. and with fios you get unlimited internet use. period. because according to pc mag... [ man ] "if it's available, you should get it." [ male announcer ] last chance to get the fios triple play for an incredible price online of just $89.99 a month guaranteed for 2 years. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities and get $300 back at 800-974-6006 tty/v. with a 2-year agreement. with a free breakfast made just the way you like it. with a break

tom fitzgerald is in the newsroom. the president's plan closely mirrors the same proposal the des and republicans put out yesterday. >> reporter: you're rate about that -- right about, that shawn. there were whole secs of the president's speech that sounded identical to what we heard from a group of republican senators, that is they spoke at the captioning provided by a grant -- capital yesterday. the president travelled to las vegas, nevada, declaring it's long past time for america to fi and that it's a fact 11 million undocumented illegals are here and breaking united states laws. he said the united states needs to deal realistically with a population and a workforce and he citizen operating inhe shadows of society for far too log. the president's plan would set up a way for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship and also cracks down, he said, on businesses that hire illegals and tightens u.s. border security. >> we have to deal with the 11 million individuals who are here illegally. we all agree that these men an

tom fitzgerald, thank you. >>> and let's check in with gary now for more on the current river levels in our area. what sort of problems could this release of water cause? >> reporter: well, one of the biggest problems, shawn, you saw it there behind tom. what happens in a controlled release like this, they're going to release it and as slow as thcan. what they're trying to keep from happening is flash flooding. if you get a situation like what we saw with tom, where that debris is right in the way of a bridge and acts like another dam, and that starts causing problems and more flooding in places that they didn't expect it to happen and the good new here is no more rain for awhile. we don't want anything coming our way, not like last night and look at the corridor of heaviest rains here through loudoun county, montgomery county and to tower county and farther to the north-northeast and the rain amounts, two to three to four inches of rain last night, what is causing this issue, the expecting a is that the patuxent will stop rising. the good new here is with this controlled release, th

. >> we want to begin with our own tom fitzgerald. he is live on the west front. >> reporter: good morning to you and allison. as we were looking down the national mall as the sun is now up, we're able to see we can see you down there from your vantage point overlooking pennsylvania avenue. for the most part here, the crowd on the west front as begun to fill out fairly nicely at this point. we arrived here shortly after 5:00 a.m. this morning when most of the media folks here were allowed to begin on to the grounds. one thing we noticed quickly as for all the preparations underway up here since october when they drove the first nail into the platform, many of these seats were still being set up as we came up in here this morning. you are seeing a mix of different kinds of configurations. these seats up front, these are ticketed. many are vips. they are invited guests of the president or members of congress. behind that, there are standing areas up here. areas next to some of the tree lined areas where you are able to have lines take i

tom fitzgerald will be live where president obama will take the public oath of office later this morning. after that, come the celebration. lauren demarco is live at freedom plaza covering the inaugural parade for us. and we want to see your take on this day in history. show us how you are taking part in the inauguration. send us your pictures and video to 2013 at wttg.com. also, can you use the blue upload button on the top right of our inauguration photo page at myfoxdc.com. be sure to tell us where you are and what you're doing so we can have your perspective from there. can you send us your picture on twitter. >>> and a lot of people bundling up wondering how many layers do i need this morning before i head downtown to the national mall. >> you want to be prepared here so several layers, particularly early. if you are headed out right now where our temperatures are below freezing, we should warm up into the mid-40s maybe for a time. time. >> definitely a big toughy day. of a he got the big puffy waiting for me. >> and for all this week. temperature at reagan national, 35 degrees now.

fox 5's tom fitzgerald has that story. >> reporter: at the walter johnson high school in montgomery county, maryland, the big train of students cleared out quickly and teachers soon followed suit. >> very many happy students. >> reporter: after a relatively quiet winter many folks say they headed out to work today expecting area schools would wind up with a shortened day. >> i'm always waiting for the next one to come around. so whenever it gets this cold you start to wonder. >> reporter: news started to spread just before noon when thanks to text alerts and voicemails parents wound up getting messages like this. >> public schools will close early today, january 25th, due to emergency weather conditions. >> reporter: here at the spring hill elementary school in fairfax county buses lined up early as the effort to get kids home early swung into high gear. area school officials made the call based on the time that the weather was arriving in the d.c. area and the desire to have both buses and students off the roads by the time the snow began. parents we talked to said think are not second gu

i'm tom fitzgerald, see you next week. >>> thank you, tom. >> 20 degrees. >> it's cold. that's the other story this week, the persistent cold. we've not been above freezing since maybe monday? >> yeah. it's weird, because we're not used to it after a couple of years of relatively mild temperatures. >> i'm telling you, i walked the dogs yesterday when i got home. i felt like i had ear aches. the deep pain, if you don't have the right clothing on. >> got to wear ear muffs. people ridicule me, but my ears stay warm. >> they do ridicule you. >> they do. >> that's the focus? >> didn't ear muffs go out in 1968? >> hey, i don't have hurt stinging ears. >> i might take stinging ears. i'm kidding you. >> the ear muff hat combo. >> i'm beyond cool at this point. >> not true. >> remember the hat and you could see the eyes and mouth? >> those are scary. >> you could be arrested for wearing that now. >> 20 reagan national. 16 at dulles and bwi marshall. we have snow on the way. will be like yesterday. a weak clipper system. guaranteed to be snow and most of us will get at least a lit

i'm tom fitzgerald, see you next week. >>> can i do a quick shout out? >> yeah. >> this won't be quick. sarah sent in this picture last week, and has been calling me every day. this is sarah's mom, and aunt. they are twins. this picture is so -- isn't this a joyful picture? >> i've seen this on your desk. >> they are twins. their birthday is on january 20th. i knew we'd be way too busy on the 20th, inauguration day, to show it. sarah, you're a lovely young woman. she says, i want you to shout it on tv. she sent this picture in. we want to wish your mom and aunt a happy birthday. may you always have years of smile and joyful togetherness. you can tell how close they are. >> wonderful. beautiful. >> how many people are having a birthday here? >> those two. because they're twins. >> got it. >> clarice and clarissa. sarah is one of their daughters. >> got it. that's nice. >> c-l-a-r-i-s. anyway, happy birthday. >> never thought about it, but if you have a birthday with a twin -- >> you're always sharing. >> big day for two of you. >> it's my birthday, i'm ol

i'm tom fitzgerald. we'll see you next week. >>> here's tucker with the latest on the weather. >> cool start to your day. temperatures later today about 50 or so. that's still above normal. after the recent warm air, some people might be, not so warm. reagan national 39. we are trending towards warmer and warmer temperatures this weekend. still on track for a spring- like weekend, especially sunday with highs in the mid-60s. chicago, 52 degrees. that's the warmer air moving in and that will get in here later tonight and tomorrow. our next map, satellite and radar, shower activity moving in from the west. i think we'll be dry the next couple of hours. early afternoon, rain showers will move in. scattered, not raining every minute. will create shower activity here during the afternoon and early evening hours. and fog developing overnight as the warmer air moves in. we'll get some fog before the warmer temperatures move in. there's the bigger picture. most of the energy here stays to our north and west toda

dame monday night we will see if we have permission to interview green bay's offensive coordinator tom clements who has been mentioned as a bears fan today and other times in the past. it looks like lovey is going to land on his feet after leaving chicago. pat fitzgerald showing off the gator bowl trophy in north western's home game against the michigan wolverines that was your highlight if you are in northwestern fan because michigan did it all tonight. tim jr. made it 30-13 in the first half and then later on at the first half it possible big 10 player of the year killer crossover to make it 51-30 the second half glenn robinson in the third just showing off your eight little starter step and he won. 14 and 0 on the season. national hockey league labor situation still ongoing we will see how that plays out tomorrow they have about a week left before they have to shut down this season and congratulations to our good friend bill jackson who on christmas day became engaged to his longtime girlfriend. that will do it in sports. that's the news for this thursday night. have a good night. d