his family hopes this latest effort will finally bring him home. alan gross' wife judy just got back from visiting her husband in a cuban jail. >> his spirit is broken. he's really depressed, very angry. i had a hard time making him smile or laugh when i saw him. reporter: gross who lived in potomac has been in a cuban prison for two years. judy says he spends what little free time he has making these trinkets. >> from every bottle of water that he drinks he takes -- peels the little rim off the top and just puts them together somehow and any time he has a visitor he gives them a bracelet. reporter: he was in cuba to help the small jewish community set up and gain better internet access and was arrested for spying and held 14 months without a charge. then after a two-day trial he was sentenced to 15 years. his appeal was denied in cuban supreme court in august. >> we've gotten mixed messages.

we were really hopeful. they said that after we finished going through the legal process they would -- there were good chances they would release him. then they pulled back on that. reporter: former president jimmy carter has tried and failed to get him released. so has former new mexico governor bill richardson. today a group of legislators sent a letter to cuba's top diplomat stating gross' incarceration is a major setback in bilateral relations. they are asking that he be released on humanitarian grounds immediately. gross' mother who has lung cancer made a direct plea to raul castro with this video. >> we all miss him terribly. i get up in the morning, first thing on my mind is alan and last thing when i go to bed is alan. i can't be without any longer. it's not fair for him or his family or me. as a parent, i'm sure you can understand that because if you

had a child that was away in a foreign country and not being able to be with you for this length of time, i'm sure you wouldn't be happy about that either. >> now the letter also says gross has lost 100 pounds and suffers from several different medical conditions. representative chris van holland and senator dan carden sent the letters. van holland's letter was cosigned by 72 house members. carden's was cosigned by 18 senators. trouble for another maryland man overseas. 70-year-old warren weinstein of rockville was kidnapped working in pakistan last august. after months of no word on his whereabouts al-qaeda claims today to have him in. a video posted online an al- qaeda leader says they will release weinstein as soon as the u.s. stops bombing pakistan and afghanistan. a dupont circle restaurant and club won't be getting its liquor license back soon. a man was killed outside the club over the weekend after a fight that started inside

spilled into the street. d.c.'s liquor board will continue to suspend the license of heritage india. six people were shot and stabbed in the brawl. the board says the restaurant is violating safety issues and poses a danger to the public. the ruling can be appealed. a confession from a woman accused of going on a bank robbery and crime spree in our area. >> 26-year-old stephanie schwab is suspected in two bank robberies and carjackings since november 19th and was arrested yesterday after a third bank robbery attempt. she appeared in federal court today and schwab confessed to two of the crimes. she's due back in court next tweak. a maryland man strong -- week. a maryland man strongly denies any involvement in the disappearance of a woman in a rube. gary giordano appeared on good morning -- aruba. gary giordano appeared on good morning today. robyn gardner is presumed dead. giordano claims she was swept away while they were

snorkeling. expect to pay more to ride metro. the transit agency faces a deficit of nearly $125 million next year. they say a fare increase will be needed to help close the budget gap. it's unclear how much the rates will go up, though. tonight the senate failed to pass an extension of the payroll tax cut. why republicans and democrats support the tax cut, so what is the deal? details from the hill next. >> this is fox 5 news edge at 11:00. 

lawmakers on capitol hill battling it out over paying for an extension of the payroll tax holiday. members of both parties want the cut but differ on how to pay for it. fox's mike emanuel following

the action on capitol hill. reporter: paying for an extension of the payroll tax holiday is the battle on capitol hill. republican leaders say the gop plan offered by nevada senator dean heller is better than the democrats idea of a surtax on the rich. >> our plan reduces the federal deficit by more than $111 billion protects social security. reporter: it's a three year pay freeze for government workers, reducing the government workforce by 10% for attrition and means testing by the wealthy. democrats balked arguing republicans are punishing the middle class. >> they're saying okay, let's pay for it by firing 200,000 people. it's very interesting. this is a contrast that is worth noting, i believe. >> if it happens to be the fbi agent who is in the midst of a very important investigation to keep this country safe, it's another. if it's a medical researcher at

the nih. reporter: several senators said they weren't buying any of it. republican mark kirk says he's worried about starving the social security trust fund which takes revenue from the payroll tax and democrat joe manchin says the tax cut simply hasn't worked. >> we tried the payroll tax cut last year and i supported it, but i will not double down on a failed policy. reporter: in the house speaker john boehner says he favors an extension with one requirement. >> republicans are ready to work with the president and the democrats to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance temporarily, but they must be offset with spending cuts elsewhere. reporter: considering the $15 trillion growing debt, some lawmakers said a year after the bipartisan simpson bowles plan was unveiled it should have been adopted. >> yet that was rejected out of hand by the white house and others. reporter: with the failure of the republican and democratic plans tonight perhaps we're one step closer to compromise,

although with the christmas holiday 3 1/2 weeks away, they'll have to act quickly before the tax holiday expires. a new development tonight in the plan to change speed limits in d.c. neighborhoods to 15 miles per hour. that's next. the rules for early dismissal of federal employees in case of snow or other emergencies have changed. we'll have details. etails. but first the brothers of the '90s boy band hanson are taking on a new venture. taylor, isaac and zach are getting into the beer business. the name? mm hop. the pale ale will hit shelves in 2012. @@xú

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.

d.c. council members putting the brakes on the speed limit being lowered to 15 miles an hour. it was said it would make the street safer for pedestrians. aaa said drivers would be too focused on their speedometers to look for people crossing the roads. the irs may owe you cash and you don't even know it. shawn yancy has your fox 5 top five. >> up first tonight if you're having trouble sleeping, try yoga.

about no. 5, a new study says doing yoga a few days a week can help ease sleep problems and other effects of menopause. the women in the study report having fewer menopause symptoms after four months of yoga. no. 4, the irs may owe you money it. has $153 million owed to nearly 100,000 people. the irs could not deliver their refund checks because they don't have the correct address. so to see if you're on the list, go to www.myfoxdc.com and look under web links. no. 3, get your holiday gifts in the mail soon if you're sending items to service members. get them to the mail by december 3rd. the 19th is the dead line for other international mail. you can send items via express mail on the 23rd. the post office delivers express mail christmas day. no. 2, you can track santa on your cell phone. norad is releasing its first ever santa app. you can use it christmas eve with your kids to track santa

as he travels the globe available on appear and android products and social -- apple and android products and social media sites. no. 1, fox 5's annual stuff a truck campaign kicks off tomorrow morning at giant food locations on your screen. bring nonperishable food items or even a check. all the proceeds benefit capital area food bank. we hope to see you tomorrow. that is tonight's fox 5 top five. the federal government issued new rules today on early dismissal and closure in case of severe weather or other emergencies. the biggest change? the possibility federal workers might someday be told stay in your buildings. don't go home, ie, shelter in place. jocks 5's john henrehan has more. -- fox 5's john hen-has more. reporter: there are about -- hen han has more. reporter: there are about 300,000 government employees in d.c. when the weather gets really bad, it's not hard for area roadways to become

gridlocked to the point of paralysis. that happened january 26th, 2011 during a fast moving snowstorm. the folks in the office of personnel management who make decisions on early dismissal or closure, have tried to learn from previous crises and have now redrawn some of the rules. still in place, a go/no go decision on closing the federal government should be made around 4 a.m. during expected severe weather those federal workers who have already qualified for tell commuting will automatically get -- telecommuting will automatically get that option and if there's an early departure for federal workers, it will be staggered depending on start times. here's the new stuff. in the future the government may declare final departure time, say 1:00 in the afternoon. everyone must leave by that deadline. conversely, if daytime weather conditions deteriorate very rapidly, workers may be asked to stay in their buildings.

>> my hope is that those shelters in place for a. >> he emergency we'd only be talking hours -- for emergencies, we'd only be talking hours rather than overnight. i'd rather have people safe and warm and dry in federal structures than risk running out of gas, being stuck by the side of the road, having to spend the night in their car. many did last year. reporter: employees have already been issued survival kits with bags of food, water and more. >> a chemical light stick for illumination, a mask and a whistle for signaling. the shelf life for the food and water, five years of. reporter: federal managers say all workers everywhere should be prepared for the unexpected. john henrehan, fox 5 news. >> weather keeps up like this i may not put my shorts away.

>> that shelf life will go another five or 10 years perhaps. we're just now getting into the cold season and tonight's temperatures really show it, but we got a break when it came to lighting the national christmas tree because temperatures were in the upper 40s as compared to 30s some years with a stiff wind. it's a real pretty tree. this was the 89th lighting of the christmas tree covered in these gorgeous l.e.d. lights. they're so energy efficient. i'm going to switch my tree over to all l.e.d.s. most of them are there already. some great entertainment tonight as well. that is the president coming in to make a couple remarks. we probably talked about this earlier, but the tree itself is brand-new this year brought out of a nursery in new jersey. the president lit up the new tree, about 26 feet high because last year's christmas tree blew down in a big windstorm february 19th. meanwhile tonight temperatures are chilly, but if you want to look at the tree and the 56 trees that surround it, there will be events all through the

holiday season. it's really beautiful. dulles is 30, martinsburg down to 29, frederick down to 27, a chilly night for our northern and western suburbs. east of of the city we've got annapolis and d.c. at 40, baltimore down to 34 degrees. so prepare for a chilly start on our friday and definitely some 20s north and west under those clear skies. the city will drop to 36. again a chill start tomorrow morning at about 39 degrees and colder in the suburbs. by noon about 52 degrees with a few clouds and by 5:00 51 degrees and definitely cool as well. now want you to see there is a weak front that will come through tomorrow. it may produce a few clouds in the afternoon, but it's expected to come through dry, might kick up the breeze and after it moves through saturday we're back to sunshine, but it will definitely feel a little chilly to you, back down to the low 50s and a bit of a breeze. here's what's ahead looking toward the weekend.

we know this frontal system will be out there and approach very late sunday or monday, but it tends to be holding off even more every run of the model guide. so high pressure will dominate most of the east this weekend. so for temperatures we're thinking saturday is about 52 degrees with a good amount of sunshine, cooler after the passage of that front, but sunday up to 57 degrees. so good weather to watch the skins and jets go at it sunday and across the country it's fairly quiet. we've had some snow coming across the lakes, nothing too insignificant and our futurecast looking into the weekend, you can see where that next frontal system is. look at the snow that will be produced from wisconsin down into colorado. as we put this continuing in motion, you can see high pressure definitely tries to keep us protected, just little low clouds here. sunday 6:00 maybe some of those showers are out in the midwest, but we think we'll stay dry this weekend. here's a look at temperatures around the region tomorrow, 58 fredericksburg, 56 d.c., 55

annapolis and your five-day forecast, mostly 50s through the weekend, but getting up to 57 as mentioned with a few clouds sunday. a couple showers around late monday, but we're back to 60. tuesday 61 degrees and that's probably a better chance for showers coming back into the forecast. come back. dave feldman has your caps/penguins highlights, always popular. we'll be right back. good day. i'm lieutenant greg keely currently serving in kabul. i want to give a quick holiday shout out to all my family and friends home in washington d.c. thanks for all the love and support. we'll see you soon. [ male announcer ] for andy, tracking his spending with citibank

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hi, it's dave. i'm out of the office. [ male announcer ] online bill pay. easier banking. standard at citibank. this is your local nissan dealer sports desk in hd with dave feldman. >> good evening. the washington capitals needed no motivation tonight. they were playing the penguins. last time they played pittsburgh caps jay beagle got really knocked out and hasn't played since and caps have lost three games. forget about dale hunter. how about just winning one. rivalry lately all washington, 11-0-2 in their last 13

meetings. john erskine, the guy that knocked out wields earlier this year but erskine -- baedle earlier this year. it's 1-1, things going well at verizon. 3rd period, game still tied. chris kunis shoots it past tomas vokoun for the game winner and the caps fall toot penguins 2-1. dale hunter -- to the penguins 2-1. dale hunter, still winless as the caps new head coach. >> near a good team over there, but it's a 1-1 game and they get a chance and they got it and that's the way the game goes. we had a few chances around the net and, you know, we're getting better at it. it just takes time. >> meanwhile the old coach is the ducks new coach. us would brew dough, unemployed about 48 -- bruce boudreau, unemployed about 48 hour before

anaheim tapped him. they'll host the flyers tomorrow night. coach planned doing some tv work as an analyst, but -- >> i think we should jump at this. i know it's only been, you know, a day basically since i got let go, but it was something i thought was a chance that i wouldn't get again. so i jumped at it and got in the plane yesterday and here i am. >> good for bruce. to football now, laron landry did not practice today and isn't expected to go tomorrow when the redskins play the jets. he's got agrin injury. he'll be a game time -- a groin injury. he'll be a game time decision. meantime roy helu has impressed enough to get the starting job as a rookie combining for 146 yards of total offense against the 9ers with a franchise record 14 catches and 162 against seattle including his first touchdown and a leaping 28-yard score in the 4th

quarter. helu remains humble despite all this quick success. >> it's a goal ever since i got drafted was to come and compete to play a lot, not really focusing too much on starting, but that's just the way it's happening. >> his athleticism is obvious and he's a gamer. he plays hard, plays well and his speed and his elusiveness is only going to get better with just feeling out the nfl speed and nfl game and how he fits in it. so he's doing a great job. >> he's helusive. jeff jones an american hosting umbc at bender, 2nd half the eagles holding onto a 6-point lead. american takes down umbc 69-58 winning six straight. gw on the road visiting kansas state.

missed layup. gw trailed by three at the half. 2nd half all k state. it's banked on the three. gw falls 69-56 and drop to 4-2 on the year. georgetown visiting no. 12 alabama in the big east sec challenge. 2nd half the ball received on the post, quick spin, nice finish. georgetown with a three-point lead in the 2nd half. right now the hoyas lead the crimson 54-53. and the vikings waive former redskins quarterback donovan mcnabb. he's done for now. i'm dave feldman. i'm done, too. brian is back right after this. ♪

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over to sue palka, one last look at the forecast. >> we're going to round out this week in fine fashion. a few clouds tomorrow afternoon, get up to 56 degrees, cooler saturday, a bit warmer sunday, next chance of rain probably late on monday. >> thank you, sue. now you have the news edge. news is always on www.myfoxdc.com. thanks for staying up late with us, as always. see you. [captioning made possible by warner bros. domestic television distribution] >> today, on "tmz" -- >> it is war between chris carr dash shan and chris humphries. >> people are saying how big a dummy this guy was. she's like bye. >> oh, good theoryive. >> i'm a thinker,