having a pipe burst can be a very expensive problem. >> that was jessica doyle reporting. and she said angie suggests you prep the outside of your house. she said consider cleaning and sealing your deck and having your garage door inspected. >>> the federal government is stepping up to the plate to pay it's part of the district's area charge. confused? me too. i found out that is a tax that everyone living in the city has to pay to help cover the cost of upgrading city sewer system so it's in compliance with the clean water act. since april the feds have been refusing to pay, saying they are excused. >>> and we still have three months to go in 2010. last year remember the snowstorms that paralyzed our region. so which storm bugged you more? the february snow or the torrential rains from last week? answer our poll at wusa9.com and click on where you live to answer the poll of the week. >>> so which one did you find more interesting or bothersome, as the case may be, topper, the rain or the snow. >> i love the snow. so i would have to say rain is more bothersome. >> especial

i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. angie goff has the traffic, some issues today an we begin with howard with gorgeous weather. >> this will be one of the last mornings for the year i won't need a jacket in the morning. it's pretty mild out there and that's the key. record warmth this afternoon. temperatures in the 80s and it will be dulles, their record 78. that's going to fall perhaps by midday even. it is in the 60sin many areas. cool spots in the mid-50s. 54 luray, 55 gaithersburg. 62 hagerstown. almost 70 in winchester at this hour. southern maryland park pax river 67 degrees. 50s in manassas and haymarket. and reston 59. 53 columbia and also at andrews air force base and we have a 81 coming in over in alexandria -- a 61 in alexandria. mild start will lead to almost hot this afternoon, in the mid 80s. drive home 83. code yellow moderate air quality. a great looking columbus day forecast. >> thank you for that. >>> hello, even. welcome back. i hope it was a nice and restful weekend. we are looking at construction p

jessica doyle is live in old town alexandria with a look at streets and roads there. good morning. >>> of course this time yesterday we were talking about the possibility of flooding and it happened. i'm right here at the barricade. this is at king and union street in old town alexandria and i have to tell you this yesterday was floating in the street, yesterday afternoon. what happened is high tide came up around 1:16, and it flooded the low-lying area. this is the last block of king street before it hits the river. people were out grabbing sandbags getting ready for the storm and the possibility of flooding. we caught up with one woman who had serious concerns and that's why she was picking up sandbag and here's what she said what. >> it is already raised up four inches and that was this morning and now we have a couple of inches to go until it comes in the house. >> reporter: now there are some real concerns about today. we may not necessarily be out of the woods just yet because we have high tide coming in this afternoon and tomorrow, saturday, there's also the po

. >>> jessica doyle is back with another "living $mart" report. and you are here to save us money on shopping. >> that's right. you know, we all looking for a bargain and want to save some money but sometimes some of the best bargains are places you already shop, costco membership card, we all know about that. >> got one. >> did you know there's an executive membership at costco? did you know that? if you upgrade to an executive level membership for $100 a year you are going to get 2% back on almost all of your purchases. the maximum rebate here $500 a year. if you shop at costco a lot that's a nice savings. sam's club offers an upgraded plus membership. that's is $100 a year and allows extra savings on select items and services. >>> let's take a trip over to kohls. the store's credit card can save you 15 to 30% off of merchandise and give you $10 in kohls cash for every $50 you spend on a single shopping trip. if you spend over $600 a year on the card you can qualify for pick a day savings six times a year. open a macy's card for a 15% discount o

with that we have jessica doyle with news on the market. ment. >> slow and steady is what we are looking at for the increasing in hiring we are expecting. increases in staffing. a survey is out from career builder and "usa today." it shows 21% of employers are expected to add full-time permanent employees in the last three months of the year. that makes it four quarters in a row where at least one in five employers plan to increase head count. the other numbers, 10% expected to down size their staff. 65% are planning no change. >>> area home prices are perking up, too. washington remains one of the top ten performing real estate markets in the country. clear capital crunched the numbers and it reports home prices are up 3.9% and 7.4% compared to last year. >>> it is time for the money saver. booking a flight for the upcoming holiday season, a recent "usa today" study shows some prices will be up by 50%. to help compensate, try to limit the fees you will pay. southwest and jetblue, they don't charge for checked or carry on bags and shop on-l

jessica doyle is off today and so are some of the international markets. they posted losses in today's trading. the hang seng gained 1%. we will see how u.s. traders respond in a few hours when the markets here open. a mixed ending on friday to what was overall a positive week on wall street. >>> the cost of wheat and corn are up which means what you pay for a box of cereal may be heading that way, as well. beef and pork prices are rising and fast food chains will have to absorb the extra cost or pass the expense on to you. >>> a popular venue reopened after a major makeover. the arena stage in southwest washington celebrated the grand reopening this weekend. visitors were able to check out the historic, the new and renovated stages of the building. among the free events, a performance from oklahoma and a chance to mingle with broadway and tony heyward winning stars. >>> still ahead, a desperate effort is underway to stop the spread of cholera in haiti. we will have an update next. >>> the power of mother nature takes away a family's vacation home. >>> and

and jessica doyle is here with the headlines. >> good morning. well, wall street is hoping to keep the september rally going. we just wrapped up the best september on record and get this, 71 years and stocks are heading in the positive direction. asian stocks rallied overnight and checking wall street the dow stands at 10829. it added 41 points on friday. the nasdaq was up by 2 and the s&p up by five. >>> a new type of atm is coming to the u.s. atms that dispense gold coins and bars. 20 have popped up in hotels, airports and stores in tourist locations like abu dhabi and madrid. next month they will make their way to a las vegas casino and a florida resort city, most likely boca raton. >>> to you want to follow your dog on twitter? puppy tweeter is attached to your dog's collar and it detects your pets movements and sounds at homes and you set up the twitter page for your dog. and you can invite your friends to be friends, as well. the product is sold by mattel. >> you want to give it a shot? >> no. although there are times i want to know where s

. >>> it is time for another "living $mart" report and jessica doyle has the latest. >> so far so good for earnings. the latest rounds sparked another rally yesterday and more on tap today from the likes of amd and google reports after the bell. alsoen on the economic agenda, new jobless claims and a look at inflation. in trading today, asian markets followed wall street higher the dow is at 11096 after adding 75 and the nasdaq climbed by 23 and the s&p jumped by 8. more details about an initial offering of stocks in the world's largest automaker them chairman of general motors says the company stock will debut at a price of 20 to $25 a share. the ipo is planned for next month. gm went private last year and the government became the largest shareholder when it gave 50 billion there's to help in the bankruptcy. they hope to sell the 61% stake over time. a ground-breaking ceremony for what may be the tall els building in the washington area. the 30 feet 390-foot sky scraper will go up. the planned 30 story office tower is finally moving forward but the "washington post" reports the owner

i'm jessica doyle. andrea roane is off. thank you for joining us this morning. angie, of course, is going to have the traffic in a moment, but first here's howard with our forecast. a little warmer than yesterday. >> not in the 30s in spots but 40s and low 50s out there. some clouds and in a couple of areas, not too many, we have an isolated shower 0 two. the storm system that started on sun with the showers moving in is still around here on wednesday. day number four of this thing. there's some mixing snowflakes at snow shoe. they had the first snow of the year yesterday. in winchester green is showing up. move to northern virginia and you can see from winchester to east of stevens city, upperville, see how everything is move east. berryville, a shower on top of you. that's it for northern virginia. temperature-wise, jess, you are paying attention well, upper 40 fund-raise haymarket, gaithersburg 48 to the mid-50s in college park at 54 in fairfax. 55. we will climb to 60 by noon. upper 58s for the -- 5

. >>> jess -- jessica doyle is here with a special "living $mart" report. one just in time that now fall is in the air. >> can you believe fall is here already? >> i can't believe. >> i can believe it. >> we are raking the leaves, cleaning gutter and maybe replacing filters but there are winter preparations you could be overlooking. here's a fall checklist. >> fall is a great time to look and your house before the weather starts to change to make sure your house is best equiped to fight the winter weather. >> angie hicks found a consumer review site, angie's list says deferring maintenance now can cost you big bucks down the road. >> first item is checking the foundation of your house. make sure you don't have cracks or other potential issues. when the winner rain and snow come you don't want any cracks to get worse. >> and you want to check the pipes and make sure they are well insulated and think of weather stripping this time of the year. check out the windows and doors. >> if you feel you have a draft, hold a candle near the window and see if the flame

i'm jessica doyle. andrea roane is off today. angie will have the traffic in a moment but here's howard with a little chilly forecast. >> am i only ones that think raccoons are cute. >> they are cute until they are living in the attic but then not as cute. weather wise we are in better shape than yesterday because there's no rain around. so a dry commute and in some cases a sunny commute as well a lot of brakes in the loud clouds allowing the temperatures to cool off. the rain moved in to pennsylvania and new york state and west virginia and ohio. traveling far north and west of town. you may run in to showers and the mountains of west virginia, you will see showers there, as well. temperatures in the region, 40s and 50s. a chill in the air and pockets of blue like manassas at 39- degrees. it is 47 in bethesda. 45 reston. sterling is 44 and even locally we have a couple of low 40s there. arlington 46. and we sit at 51 at national. 54 by 9:00. more clouds this afternoon. slight chance of a stray shower, especially north and west o

jessica doyle is back with a look at the job market. we are waiting for a report, right? >> that's right. we have been seeing more signs the economy is strengthening. has it extended to the job market we don't know yet but we will find out with the september employment report being released this morning. economists think it will show the private companies added 75,000 jobs last monday. that's seen as being offset by the loss of 75,000 temporary census jobs. the unemployment rate is expected to climb from 9.7% from 9.6% as people where the market looking for work. >>> nearly 1 million workers won be able to take advantage of the health care reform laws that benefit a cap on insurance costs. the reason why, the government demented their employers. 30 companies and organizations including mcdonald's won be required to raise the maximum amount of coverage. it is time for the money saver. we are going to a free concert at sic tonight on the kennedy center stage in the grand foyer. you can see an hour long all beethoven program. it is a way to introduce the new directer to the

and jessica doyle has the preview of the day ahead on wall street. of course we hit 11000 last week and investors would like to take it up a notch. little gains yesterday but traders will look at the minutes from the policy setting session and they have been hoping the central bank will take extra steps to boost the economy. we have new earnings reports on tap today. checking wall street -- the federal reserve's new vice chairman warns record in low interest rates may give companies an insen ty to take excessive risk and that would wind up being bad for the economy. >>> switching gears, did you know it is spa week in this washington area? all of this week spas in dc, maryland and virginia will offer a number of spa services for 50 bucks. from facials, body treatments, massages and eyelash extensions. spa week runs until wednesday and you can find more details at spa week.com. >> another vacation. >> i'm going again. >> save us more in the next half hour. >>> we have a new tool. we will focus on today's money saver that helps you find an inexpensive v

jessica doyle is interested in that. she is emceeing the kidney walk tomorrow. >> oh, perfect. light sweater maybe. a sweatshirt for a walk. you should be able to toss that later in the afternoon. >> very good

jessica doyle is joining us live from old town along king street where flooding is usually an issue but they will be watching carefully this weekend, right, jessica? >> that's right. we are at the end of king street. you will see behind me we have a barricade and then the potomac and i'm standing in sort of the last remainder of puddles that's here on king street. we are not done yet. i want to give you a shot of what we are looking at yesterday. we took video of that and we will roll that now. this entire area was flooded out. high tide came in around 1:16 yesterday. the potomac rose and jumped the bank and came spilling out, flooding the entire area. there is a barricade telling folks don't park on the street. that is floating in the flooding and we caught up with one boater who has his boat at the old dominion boat club and he had serious concerns. here's what he had to say. >> getting sandbags. we have flooding in the backyard, already raised up four inches, and that was just this morning. and now we have a couple of inches to go and it's going to come in the house. >> reporter: tha

we turn to jessica doyle who's dealing with her baggage. >> you have got bag aage? >> i have baggage. it is friday getaways and you have come a long way, luggage. remember when you were a kid the heavy suitcases you had to lug an. remember when men used to carry luggage for their laities. this is a clip from the old clark gable classic "it happened one night." wheeled luggage changed it all and this is the anniversary of luggage with wheels. hit macy's stores in okay of 1970 so you want the investment to last and here's common problem and what to do about them. a broken wheel, broken wheels can be replaced. you don't have to buy a new suitcase and some offer a lifetime warranty. if you travel a lot, something to look for. wheels stop spinning or stick. don't replace the wheels. this is probably a cleaning problem. get out soap and a bristle brush and work on that. problem in the 3:00 the bag topples over. i have this with my suitcase. look for a couple of features the wheels should be far apart. i'm showing you a briggs and riley bag which is a high-end piece of lug

jessica doyle is live from old town with more. jessica, you are cold and wet this morning. >> that's right. we are hanging in there. the washington area is hanging in there. i'm at the corner of king street and union street and the do not enter barricade is in place. the concern is that the area will flood again this afternoon. that's why some people are picking up sandbags we spoke to a lady where the sandbags are available and this is what she had to say. >> we have flooding in the backyard. it already raised up four inches and that was just this morning. and now we have a couple of inches to go and it's going to come in the house. >> reporter: we want to give you a sense of what that flooding looks like. we have pictures from yesterday afternoon when the potomac jumped the bank at high tide around 1:20 yesterday. you are going to see the area flooded out. you'll see shots of the barricade netting in the water. right 50-yards from where i am is where the waterfront is you will see a bench that is almost completely submerged in t

. >>> jessica doyle is back with a living smart report. you have the latest scam warning for us. >> this is about bugs. everybody's talking abusion recently. homeowner are seeing infestations this fall and scam artists are seeing opportunity. bed bug and stink bugs are tough to wipe out and the problem can linger longer if the wrong pest control company gets in your home. neerz what you need to know to exterminate the scams. >> bed bugs, stink bugs, recent infestations of those creepy crawlers have left some homeowners desperate to boot them for good and scam artists noticed. so when looking for help, do your research. an exterminator should have the proper certification and ideally be a member of a national or local trade association and be backed by the local pest control regulatory board. >> when it comes to bed bugs we suggest the company you are dealing with has experience. bed bugs have been one of the most difficult tasks to complete in our industry. >> reporter: be wary of so- called pest control officials that knock on the door to

jessica doyle is here with the headlines. good morning, jessica. >> good morning, everybody. investors are smiling after the best september in 71 years. stocks headed in a positive direction. in overnight trading, asian stocks rallied today, as well. checking wall street, the dow stands at 10829. it added 41 points on friday. the nasdaq was up by two and the s&p up by five. >>> later today, we're going to see an update on home sales. on friday the government releases the september unemployment figures. economists expect the jobless rate to edge up 9.7%. >>> will this year's holiday shopping season give retailers a boost they expect an increase from 2.5 to 3% from last year and staffing up to handle the crowds. stores may add as many as 650,000 jobs over the peak shopping season. that would be a significant boost from last year but below this hiring levels seen before the recession. >>> our time is 42. >>> the first health alert of the morning is next. we all know that american children love junk food but a report shows how much junk food they are eating every day. >>> it may

jessica doyle is here with the headlines. good morning. >> good morning, everybody. some strong earnings reports after the bell from intel helping to lift stocks around the world this morning, and we will have to wait and see if they are strong enough to power wall street higher, as well. csx corporate one of the largest railroad companies also beat estimates. the dow stands at 11020 after climbing ten points and the nasdaq up 85 and the s&p -- 15 points an the s&p up five points. gm is conducting independent reviews of its procedures in all 50 states. they hope the review will restore confidence in the foreclosure process. gmac and other lenders halted some foreclosures after coming under fire. it led state and federal officials to ramp up pressure on the industry. >>> general motors is offering reemployees and retirees an opportunity to buy shares in the initial public offering. they have until november 22nd to sign up. they are planning to sell shares to people in november. >>> wall street is about to break another record. it will pay $144 billion in salary a bonu

jessica doyle is here with today's headlines. happy friday, jess. >> happy friday, everybody. we have been reporting that wall street is waiting for the big jobs report this morning and the good news, if we have some it could push the dow over the 11000 mark. bad news, maybe not so much. checking the market for you -- >>> president obama has refused to sign a bill that would have made it easier for lenders to repossess homes. the legislation would have allowed mortgage companies to motorize foreclosure paperwork electronically. the fear is it could lead to more americans losing their homes based on fraud documents. >>> toyota plans to roll out two new versions of the prius by 2012. one model will have 50% more interior. and the smaller one will be closer in size to toyota's ers model. >>> for more "living $mart" headlines, log on to wusa9.com and click on the "living $mart" tab on the front page. well, there are a number of traffic changes you should be aware of before you head out this weekend. >>> and federal health officials issue a new warning to try to prevent a viral pan

i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. here's some of the stories we are following for you. >>> president obama is hitting the campaign trail hard. he tried to rally thousands of voter and today the president will continue to stump for his party in miami. >>> graham ganoe, the man kicked a 33-yard field goal in overtime to give the redskins a win against the packers. the score was set up by a landry interception. the skins are -2 on the season. up next for the team the colts. wow. that was awesome. >> what was close. >> it was close. >> what an awesome day yesterday. if you have the day off today what a day in the mid-80s. it will be summer-like out there and the record at dulles will fall. we don't have rain near us. that's ground clutter you get sometimes. a few sprinkles in western new york and northeastern ohio. other than that a quiet morning. still mild. 69 winchester. 64 reagan national. some 50s out there. 50s and 60s and this afternoon get ready. probably the last really warm, even hot day of the year. upper 80s i

jessica doyle is here with the headlines. >>> this morning investors will try to make it past 11000. maybe a bigger move after stocks posted a small gain yesterday and wall street will get a look at the minutes from the policy setting session. traders haven hoping the central bank will take extra steps to boost the economy and we have earnings reports on tap. checking wall street -- >>> know we know it is expensive to live in the washington area and we can put a price tag on the lifestyles. a report is out and here's the findings. a family of four needs an income of $108,000 to be financially secure in fairfax county. this ranks as the most expensive area to live in the washington area. an individual without kids or a car though can get by on $32,000 in the district. that's the cheapest jurisdiction for singles. >>> microsoft wants to give the iphone a run for its money. they are making a last-ditch effort to be a player in the this market. they have a colorful touch screen, easy to access e-mail, and a deal with x-box. so if you get tired of surfing or talking you can play halo 3. w

i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. angie will have the traffic in a moment. right now howard bernstein has a chilly little forecast for us. >> i do. in the 40s and upper 30s in a couple of spots and lucky ones in the low 50s. we start off with the chill. the good news is that it is dry rite now. dry most of the day for most of us. that's good news. in the mountains, clouds will persist and a better chance of showers, even a couple of snowflakes in the higher elevations of far western maryland and west virginia, snow shoe, garrett county could see the first flakes of the season. this morning we are looking at the bus stop forecast. temperatures to give you an

jessica doyle is here with the headlines. >>> good morning. we are starting a few points shy of the 11000 mark for the dow jones industrial average. whether or not we get there will depend how the job market is faring and the weekly jobless claim reports today. in overnight trading we saw asian stocks falling. checking wall street, the dow stands at 10 t 67 -- 10967. >>> there's growing concern about the legitimacy of foreclosures in the u.s. it now appears some deals did not have the documents that traditionally prove who legally owns the loan. the "washington post" reports the judges are increasingly ruling that lenders had no right to foreclosure. for struggling homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure this could mean an opportunity to challenge that foreclosure. >>> the number of women making six-figure salaries is rising at a faster pace man it is for men. nationwide one in 18 women working full time earned $100,000 or more in 2009. that's a jump of 14% over two years. in contrast, one in seven men made that much and that was up 4%. of cour

jessica doyle tells us more on how to exterminate the bug removal scams. >> reporter: bed bugs, stink bugs, recent infestations of these creepy crawlers are left some homeowners desperate to boot them for good and scam artists have noticed. when looking for help, keep these tips in mind, do research. an exterminator should have the proper training and certification and ideally the better business bureau says be a member of a national or local trade association and be backed by the local pest control regulatory bug. >> we suggest the company you deal with has experience. bed bugs have been identified as the single most difficult pest to treat within our industry. >> reporter: read the fine print and be wary of pest control professionals who knock on your door to warn of infestations in the neighborhood looking for cash up front for on the fly extermination. if you suspect you have bed bugs in your home, maybe on your mattress there's one thing you should not do. >> dragging mattresses out and leaving them curb side. that can create panic for the bed bug and they want to crawl out of th

i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. angie goff has the traffic and we begin with howard bernstein with the weather. >> a challenging first couple of days this week weather wise and nonweather wise but we will per severe. keep the umbrellas handy. a few showers from time to time is what we will be dealing with like this mni

jessica doyle is here with the headlines. good morning. happy friday, everybody. the week is set to end with a busy slate of economic reports before the bell we have the consumer price index expected to pick up modestly. and september retail sales are expected to show 0.4% and consumer sentiment, and the federal budget are all due out today. in overnight trading asian markets were lower. the dow stands at 11094 after dropping a point yesterday. in the nasdaq off by six and the s&p off by foyer. >>> for the first time in five years, virginia is not the best state for business. according to the forbes magazine ranking this year the honor goes to utah. utah jumped to the top from a third ranking last year, the governor credits business friendly environments with a low income tax rate and unemployment. >>> check out the deal on jetblue. starting now airfares on tuesdays and wednesday between washington and boston are $7 each way. that's a $14 round trip flight. the fare is valid november to december 15th, november 28rd and 27th are blackouts if the deal. can you imagi

i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. >>> virginia's governor is on the fence whether to bring up an issue in a special session or wait until next year's general session. >>> last august the judge rule he did not have the authority to investigate the federal grants. >>> we learned the bus driver involved in a deadly crash on 270 suffered a heart attack. investigators in maryland say a heart attack killed 66-year-old joseph claybaugh not injuries from the crash. it is chilly out there, howard bernstein. >> it's in the 40s. >> it is chilly. >> we did break out in to clear skies in spots allowing the temperatures to drop off even more. you can see the moisture moved in to new york state, ohio and west virginia. north and west of us and that allowed some clouds to break. a little sunshine but i don't think it will be long-lived as we will see more clouds this afternoon. chilly. 41 manassas. 51 in winchester. oakland, go to garrett county. it is cold. 36 degrees. look at the high temperatures today. low 60s here. still in the 50s in hagerstown and martinsburg and mid to upper 60s to tappa

i'm jessica doyle. andrea will be back tomorrow an we miss her desperately. howard is here with a super hot forecast. >> a great day to take off. we start comfortable this morning. even with the windows open still almost warm in the house

and jessica doyle is back with the haves and have-nots during the recession. >> that's right. the new census analysis data is out and it shows we were, of course, among the lucky ones. washington, d.c. along with san jose, california, san francisco and boston all cities that saw household incomes remain among the highest in the nation last year. that was partly due to steady demand for government and high- tech work. other areas did not farewell. white and african-americans in florida, colorado, arizona and nevada have taken big hits since 2007. >>> now to a request from governor o'malley and others to halt all foreclosures in maryland for 60 days. state court officials are now reviewing that request. foreclosure documents were signed by mortgage leners or lawyers without verifying the information. they want to force mortgage companies to revamp the way they handle foreclosures. it is time for a money saver. if you are shopping on-line here's something to check out, incredible hand is a computer app that corrects for lower prices while you shop. you can down load it before you

thank you for starting your day with us i'm jessica doyle. andrea is off today. howard bernstein is on the weather terrace with a little chilly forecast. >> i broke down and put the gloves on. in the mid-40s here. we the dampness in the air and that transfers the chill to you. show you what is happening. in some spots clear skies and other spots the clouds and here in northwest we clouded over once again. showers are well north and west. partly sunny, mostly cloudy to start the day with temperatures in the 40s and 50s. culpeper and fredericksburg 46. manassas last heck was 39. national is 51. dulles is 40 inland where it is much chillier. 39 manassas. 40 in sterling and 46 in arlington an 48 coming in from rockville. looking at the day at a glance, partly sunny, mostly cloudy much of the day. a chance of a shower. highs in the low 60s. get up, get up and at it, everybody. hope you have a good morning. nothing huge to report out of the viewing area. on 66, already starting to get a little heavy between the fairfax county parkway over to 123. we are looking at an e

jessica doyle is off today. >> here's a look at the headlines, wall street is waiting for the latest update on the housing industry. some are coming out this morning. this week, reports are due on home sales and home prices. corporate profit reports continue this week as well and so far has been better than expected. in fact researcher says 83% of the corporations have beat the analysts forecasts so far. on friday, though, those upbeat reports were not enough to help the stock market. the dow closed down 14 and the nasdaq gained 24. >>> chipolte was a winner on wall street on friday. the stock jumped 15%, that's lot after the mexican grill chain released a glowing profit report. earnings up 40% as they expanded to over 1,000 restaurants now. >>> gold finally snapped the winning streak. the precious methoddal dropped 8% last week to $1,325 an ounce. the retreat came after prices had climbed to record highs for five straight weeks. >>> the french parliament takes a final vote on the spending crackdown that has enraged the country's workers. unions have been striking for weeks to protes

jessica doyle is back with another "living $mart" report and tips on avoiding spending pitfalls when you go shopping. >> that's right. of course we have the holiday shopping season quickly approaching. we are making our list and i don't know if this happens to you but i go to a store and resist the urge of going crazy and buying everything there. this is not an accident. stores try to increase the time customers spend in the aisles and the direct contact they have with merchandise or sales people to lure you in to buying more stuff. stores use these tactics that you should be on the lookout for. they encourage employees to have meaningful conversation to increase your interaction with sales people. now, if they have a complete look on display it is to convince you to buy a whole collection instead of one piece and setting the mood with soft music to make you linger and target specific departments with relaxing smells such as baby prouder in the infan clothing department and coconut in the swim wear department and they offer free samples, services and special offers in hopes of increa

. >>> jessica foil is here to help us -- jessica doyle is here to help us save green and think green. >> can i be a pretty pretty princess? why are you making me the witch. >> i was just the witch. national costume swap day is october 9th. the idea have a greener halloween by swapping old cost costumes for new to you ones. i have had this costume for my daughter for four years now and how many pretty pretty princess outfits can one person have? this is her costume for this year. but we have all of these other ones and all of her friends have princess costumes. so here's the idea, if you swap you are not paying 35, 40 bucks for these costumes. so you are saving money. there is also an environmental impact. an we want to show you that. swap.com, a nonprofit green halloween says if half of kids swapped costumes that would keep waste out of land fills. so if you are interested in hosting a halloween costume swap party, here's a few steps. obviously find a location. and then ask your friends, family, parents at your kids school to help gather supplies. if you need tables go get them and fi

. >>> jessica doyle is become with another "living $mart" report. you say even more college grads are moving back home with mom and dad. >> that's right. they graduate, mom and dad are thinking we're free, not so fast, mom and dad. because they are moving back home again. the reason why, they can't find a job. a whopping 85% of college seniors plan to move back home with their parents after graduation last fall according to a new poll by 20 something. that rate has steadily risen from 67% in 2006. the reason why is the high unemployment. it stands at nearly 15% for people aged 20 to 24. without a job there's nowhere to go but back to their old bedrooms. at&t and apple are no longer exclusive. verizon wireless will sell the apple ipad on october 28th and the deal could pave the way for verizon to sell a version of the iphone. andrea loves that. at&t has had a lock on iphone sales since 2007. the ipad for sale at verizon stores will have 16 gigs of story storage and a portable wi- fi device to connect to the internet. at&t plans to start selling an ip