ching the home of a d.c. council member. agents just moved in the hours ago at the house of harry thomas jr.. sam ford was first on the scene. he joins us with the breaking details. >> we are on 17th street in front of the council member's home. a dozen or so the fbi agents are on his property. a tow truck came to take away a motorcycle removed from his home. so far every indication is that thomas is still inside the home. so far, he has not been arrested. it was after 8:00 this morning when fbi and irs agents showed up at the home of harry thomas. they took particular interest in an suv he owned. they collected bags of evidence from his home. he has been under a cloud for some time. question for raised on whether

he was using $300,000 in city funds hesitated for sports for his own use. thomas' personal attorney, fred cook came to the home but did not stop to answer my questions. police have blocked access to all of his neighbors. >> i invasion leave him alone. they do not bother anybody else when they steal money. >> you know if he stole money? >> i do not know what he did. i do not think they should keep picking on him. >> if he has been found wrong for dipping into funds, my feeling is, being a resident, he should be removed. >> the u.s. attorney's office would not mention thomas by name but they did issue a statement saying, today there

is a law enforcement action in conjunction with an ongoing investigation. because the investigation is ongoing, there would be no further comment. at this point, there is every indication that the councilmember is still at his home and has not come as of yet been arrested by federal agents. >> thank you. we will be tracking this investigation all day long. for the latest, go to our website wjla.com. more breaking news out of southeast d.c. where carbon monoxide poisoning said at least one person to the hospital. fire officials found high carbon monoxide levels in the apartments at the 17th block of as street. one woman is hospitalized now with non-life-threatening injuries. three others are sick, including two children. a woman is hospitalized in

virginia after being stabbed in the chest this morning. it happened in the 3900 block of john mosby highway. the woman was lifted to the hospital in serious condition. officials believe the suspect is the woman's husband. we are following a developing story in northwest d.c., where a gunman robbed and attacked a post to employees last night. this happened at the intersection of 14th and t streets. a masked man pulled a gun on a worker as he loaded passant -- packages into a truck. the suspect demanded cash, money orders, everything that they had, and then took the robbery further. >> he put it into a back black pac -- backpack, and then locked him in the vehicle. >> police were able to free him unharmed. this is the latest in a string of robberies targeting postal workers, but please do not have

a clear description of the suspect. good news from the labor department. last month's unemployment rate plunged to 8.6%, the lowest in more than 2.5 years. we are live with more on what this means. >> not only did the unemployment rate dropped, but it beat expectations. economists thought that it would hold steady. it gives us hope as we enter the holiday season. >> she has a master's degree and speaks four languages, but recently a foreign embassy laid her off, and she cannot find work suitable for her qualifications. >> i got laid off. i have not been able to get a position that pays me -- and is equally gratifying. >> the new jobs report did not surprise him. the data shows employers added

120,000 positions. >> we are seeing more people get employed. of course, with the holidays, some of it is temporary. >> of the drop is not as large as the numbers suggest. the employment data only include those who do not have a job and are still actively looking for one. >> and despite record i tried a sales and a solid week on wall street until everyone finds work, it is tough to see a difference. >> i hope that we will start seeing improvement. >> the increase came from the private sector which added 140,000 positions last month. state and local governments eliminated 20,000 jobs. meanwhile, 13.3 million americans remain unemployed. >> thank you. the question is, do today's numbers have you feeling any better about the economy?

we-in on the pole on our facebook page. on the hill, competing proposal to extend payroll tax cuts are back in the house. last night, republicans blocked the white house-backed plan that would have paid for the cuts for the new tax on incomes of more than $100 million. the gop plan would cover the plan by cutting spending. without a deal, the payroll tax cut is due to expire at the end of the month. for a check on the weekend outlook, adam caskey has a look at the forecast. >> a cool start to the morning. in the 20's for most areas. first, let's take a beautiful look at the rooftop camera. well, that was a beautiful time lapse. just a few thin clouds out there.

otherwise, temperatures will be topping out in the low to mid 50's. in terms of temperatures -- there is that time lapse. nice sunrise. temperatures are right around 50 degrees. i will be back with the weekend forecast coming up. >> it is a different story out west. fierce santa ana winds are still tearing through southern california and several other states, enough to rule homes and topple trucks. a couple of cities have declared emergencies and are still cleaning up after a rough night. >> in utah, it looks like the center of a tornado across the west and into the night high winds tossing 18-wheelers toppling gigantic trees and crushing car after car with uprooted trunks. >> it is insane.

i have seen probably 100 trees down blocking the entire streets, block after block. >> the latest when storms toward the west coast is the strongest in over a decade. in the mountains wind speeds topped 100 miles per hour, the force of a category 4 hurricane be done in 36 years, i have never seen anything like this. >> overnight, crews worked to restore power to 300,000 people in los angeles a state of emergency thursday. more than a dozen schools closed students celebrating a rare win the day. >> it is cool. >> in pasadena this heap of twisted metal is all that is left. trees and traffic signals blocked roads for miles. the storm spread across the west from the coast to northern utah. these students barely able to make it up the stairs.

>> so many downed trees, some residents were actually trapped inside their homes. >> we could not get out. we had to crawl through trees. we thought it was going to come to the house. >> today, those winds continue. high wind warnings and advisory's have been issued in utah nevada, wyoming and in mexico, and they are expensive it -- expected to hit states further east. officials say two local dogs died after being poisoned. police say a woman took her dogs to that last week and when her dog began to act radically. the vet decided to put them down and said that they had come into contact with a meat product contaminated with antifreeze. one day after gary giordano's

appearance he says that his broken disappeared while snorkeling. yesterday, he gave another possibility. gardner may have fallen victim to a human trafficking ring. >> there is one hour, 45 minutes where he comes back and tells somebody after 6:00 she is missing. a sound the alarm and then he has got another couple of hours. i think it is an option that needs to be looked at. >> he returns to u.s. after spending four months in and rubin jail. coming up, a quiet exit. u.s. troops making history in iraq today. then do colors affect how much you eat? a surprising link and how it could help you should those

pounds. and crashing down and caught on tape. one police officers narrow miss. all that and more on what you can expect going into the weekend [ screaming ] [ zapping

] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

>> and historic power shift is under way in iraq. the u.s. military formally handed over control of camp victory to the iraqi government this morning. aside from a visit from joe biden, there was no ceremony and no ceremony. the handover comes ahead of all u.s. troops leaving the country by the end of this month.

al qaeda says it is behind the capture of a maryland man in pakistan. warren weinstein disappeared three months ago, and in a taped message three months ago -- in a taped message, ayman al-zawahri says they will release the man only if the u.s. stops air strikes in afghanistan. we have an expanded recall from honda covering 2 million vehicles. the automaker is recalling 300,000 vehicles worldwide. the reason is airbags that may inflate with too much pressure in a crash. two u.s. debts are connected with the problem. for more information on the recall, go to our website wjla.com. also, a new study says the color of your dinner where could hold the key to your weight loss. new research suggests played

connors influences the amount of food you eat. in a recent study, people who had colored plates 8 significantly more food and people with white plates. >> you serve yourself more if there is less contrast because the same amount appears smaller. you are more likely to give more to get the same effect. >> replacing your dinner-sized plates with smaller appetizer plates could also trigger a change in your eating habits. >> it does not work for me. i just keep on eating. >> just get more plates. >> i just build it up taller and everything gets mixed together. >> what about the weather? >> cooler temperatures. it was chilly this morning. >> the first day i have had to use the ice scraper. >> a lot of people had to do

that. and get an ice scraper do not use your credit card. those can snap. here is a look at the frost on the field here at laurel high school. you can see that quickly melt off. just a few high thin clouds overhead and for the rest of the region. 55 degrees in fairfax with total some time. 53 degrees at the chesapeake bay. take a look at the morning lows. 21 in frederick. 34 at reagan national. river temperatures are still near 50 degrees. 24 at dulles airport.

luckily, those are not our current temperatures. closer to 50 right now. 48 in frederick. most of us in the low 50's 4 highs. a few of us will be in the mid 50's this afternoon. 51 is our average high. here is the satellite composite. not much in terms of cloud cover. notice this band of clouds and snow to our west. the cold front paws and that will do it through today. it will not bring any snow. that will stay to our north but it will cause a few clouds. the next couple of mornings are not going to be quite as cold. tomorrow, widespread 20's, and then into the 30's, but by the weekend, we will warm up. highs in the low to mid 50's again. early to mid next week looks a

little unsettled. >> at least the sunshine makes it feel better. >> it makes a difference. >> if you ride the red and orange line, you better be ready for a longer ride. metro will be closing six stations on the red line for maintenance work starting tonight at 10:00. the closures run from the brooklyn to glenmore stations. shuttle buses will be running instead. buses will also replace the orange line between the chevrolet and dean stations. a bizarre accident caught on camera. dashcam shows a tree branch break and there it is crashing down on top of a police car. it shattered the windshield and dented the cruiser. fortunately he was not hurt. coming up, -- >> i am not bipolar at all.

>> a disturbing trend. children in foster care given drugs they do not need. an abc news investigation. >> why this author's book on spanking has caused so much controversy it of you could put your left across their backs to hold them. >> you say to pull the baby's [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getetting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone.

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powerful mind-altering drugs. it is the focus of tonight's 20/20 investigation. chris cuomo is with us from new york. just how big of a problem is this? >> too big, scott. the reason diane has focused on foster care is the reason that should be obvious to all of us. these kids are not always been given the care they need. sometimes there is a second class mentality to these kids, and that is often difficult to quantify, but when you look at the use of these drugs, it is clear. these kids in foster care are 13 times more likely to be given these types of drugs and other kids. the reasons are simple. it is cheaper to give them drugs and therapy. it is easier to give them jobs because they do not have parents fighting for them not to have these drugs, to look for alternatives, so they suffer. >> what is being done about this in light of what we have

learned? >> not enough. that is why diane got on it with her team. the gao just came out with a report echoing what is in the investigation, that more needed to be done by health and human services. secretary sebelius should look at this in ways that she has not. we hope that something gets done. a light will be shown on an important issue. >> we look forward to watching. you can tune in at 10:00 to catch the entire report on "20/20."

>> we have another facebook giveaway. it chance to win a weekend at the gate toward national resort at the national arbor. sign up on wjla.com/facebook by 4:00 this afternoon. we will announce the winner tonight at 5:00. >> always great to see. >> perfect time of year. it is cold outside. >> similar conditions tomorrow morning. into the weekend we were but a little bit. otherwise, next week we will be back near 60 degrees. i would not be surprised if we made it up to 60 on sunday.

temperatures could go even higher than that. keep that in mind. state farm. this is jessica. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that t new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm.

>> hi, everybody. i'm brett anthony along with jiaojiao shen from nbc action news in kansas city, and we're so excited to be in new york city today. >> we are playing for play it forward week, hoping to win $1 million for susan g. komen for the cure greater kansas city. >> all right, jiaojiao. reready? >> yeah, i'm ready. >> let's play "millionaire." [cheering and applause] [captioning made possible by disney-abc domestic television] meredith: hi! hi, jiaojiao. >> hello. >> hi. meredith: nice to meet you guys.