a stamp will now cost you $.46. part of the problem for the postal service is that there is less mail going through the system. that is combined with high costs come including money. the postal service must set aside to pay health benefits for future retirees. all of you who send that stuff through sale mail i got it when we

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for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. >> back now with some good news. >> it is not going to be that bad. a rough. last week. now we are looking at milder temperatures on the way. tuesday and wednesday, highs in the upper 50's to around 60. it will feel great outside. showers move in wednesday night. much colder on thursday friday and saturday. going backwards to tomorrow, you will see a good deal of morning sunlit afternoon clouds. it will be dry. >> we have turned the corner. >> toward spring. >>

>> live and in hd, this is abc 7 news at 11:00.sautrturday news extra. >> gun control feelings played out on the streets today. >> buyers lined up to buy weapons that may soon the band. >> thousands of gun control activists marched in the nation 's capital freezing temperatures. cripes it's about what guns do. >> several from connecticut joined the rally. >> being there every day -- we are all bearing witness. any parent who has a gun in the house, whatever it is, they have to think about why they have that done there.

it is time for people to have to give up those guns. >> word keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. >> this is about gun responsibility. gun safety. fewer dead americans, fewer dead children fewer children living in fear. >> pro-gun activists all wrote to to the streets, opposing the push for new gun control and safety. fears that gun ownership mason be restricted is fueling a run on gun shows, like this one in georgia. >> people are looking for the things that are going to be banned. a lot of our freedoms seem to be under the gun. >> older guns are being turned in. like this gun buyback in bridgeport, connecticut. seattle's similar event was a victim of its own success. they ran out of gift certificates handed out in return for weapons. and other buyback is planned for a -- the near future.

>> one more note about gun control. vice president biden took the obama's message for gun control on the road. he appeared at a roundtable discussion in richmond, virginia yesterday. he spoke with experts who worked on gun safety after the 2007 shooting at virginia tech. the administration is pushing for background checks on all gun sales and wants to ban military style assault weapons and high- capacity admission clips. >> who have battled some bitter temperatures this week. left workers stranded on a cell tower in gaithersburg. isaac became hypothermic and could not climb down. news choppers flew above the scene, and another worker came to his rescue. he is expected to be all right. >> protesters endure the cold this week to make their voices heard. they are upset over at the recently announced closings of 15 public schools over the next two years. a that could soon land a

lawsuit. >> with signs like, stop closing our schools, protesters started outside the wilson building, promising a lawsuit over recent school closings that they say mostly affect students and poor, black neighborhoods. >> it is not fair to our kids or a me as a parent. to have to them back and forth. >> the impact is, it treats the people in anacostia differently. >> protesters testified before the council's new education committee chaired by david catania. >> we are in a year or two of hitting and your reversible tipping point. >> over the past two years, the public schools have seen a 1.4% decline in enrollment while the public charter schools have seen a 21% increase. the chancellor today seem to accept that, in some areas, she

cannot compete with chargers. ask if they can provide middle school options, maybe that is ok. >> for council members where four schools were closed in her ward, she fears it just drives people out of public schools. >> the resources are being saved by closing the schools we want to see the resources put in the existing schools that are still open. >> protesters say they are heading to court is efforts to reverse the closures. >> sam ford, abc 7 news. >> two brothers wanted on charges of killing a woman are now in custody. u.s. marshall tracked down the brothers on wednesday. on monday, they arrested his older brother, reginald. the victim was shot inside her home. no motive known yet. at least two of the brothers knew her. i can now pursue their dream

that is women who want to serve on the frontlines will be be able to do so soon. defense secretary leon panetta has lifted the ban on women serving in common -- combat. >> as an army sergeant taylor took part in one of the earliest invasions of iraq in 2003. she was side-by-side with men as an arabic translator, often in dangerous situations. this veteran says that women have been serving in formally and combat roles for more than a decade. a time has come for it to be made official. >> this is a tremendous validation of all the honorable service that we have already been performing, by making the policy catch up to the reality on the ground. >> today, leon panetta made a historic change to women's role in the military. he lifted the ban on women serving in combat. >> i believe it is the responsibility of every citizen to protect the nation.

and every citizen who can meet the qualifications of service should have that opportunity. >> today's announcement means that more than 230,000 battlefront posts are now open to women. that means more opportunities for women who plan to make the military their career. in washington today, there was support for this new policy. >> it is overdue. women have come back injured and have been in combat. >> physically, if they can take what they men can do, i am for it. i do not think that they should change the physical requirement. >> suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. >> messages and senator john kerry is on the fast track to become the next secretary of state. his hearing wrapped up on thursday. he testified before the foreign relations committee. he had been a member of the committee for nearly 30 years. >> if you confirm me, i would take office as secretary proud that the senate is in my blood. >> the senate is expected to

approve his nomination next week. he will replace hillary clinton who is stepping down after serving four years. >> the 495 express lane has made getting around easier. big problems have led to some big fees. [ male announcer #1 ] verizon fios is the fastest internet in america. just ask pc mag. [ male announcer #2 ] cable can't touch fios upload speeds. it's hard to imagine

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>> before hundred 95 express lanes are open now, and if you have an easy path you should be good to go. >> a woman discovered her easy path was not working. kris van cleave got some answers. >> she was a little steamed when she saw what a 495 express way charged her. >> that is ridiculous. >> she had no idea until she got that big bill. it is just four dollars and $.15 and tolls, the rest is big fees. >> $12 and $.50 per trip. that is highway robbery. >> what we want drivers to know

with an easy pass that is correctly mounted is linked to your vehicle information, all your contact information you can take a trip and avoid any fees in the first place. >> that is a man from trends urban. if you're easy pass does not work or you do not have one and use the express lane they will give you five days to go online. >> if you log in within the five day window you can find something that is only one dollar 50. that's the price dollar goes up if they have to do the work of processing and mailing an invoice. >> you are not going to e-mail or notify me in any way during the five-day window? no. it is up to the actual driver to remember they took that trip without an easy pass. >> in martin's case, her easy pass is now working. trends urban cut her a break.

>> i got an immediate response saying, ok. thank you for that. >> kris van cleave, abc 7 news. >> metro is looking toward the future. tuesday, it isn't failed a plan that will cost about $26 billion over the next 30 years to maintain the system. the plan would include building two new tunnels and could include a new metro stop in georgetown. >> we will see about that. we have heard that before. i had, a situation could have turned deadly after someone shined a laser pointer into a helicopter.

>> as an maryland after a dangerous situation involving a police helicopter. >> for officer ed martin, the frightening episode began with a routine training flight over college park in the prince george's county police helicopter. >> at about 800 feet, circling an apartment complex when, all of a sudden, a brilliant loo light came inside the aircraft. >> the men were being hit by a powerful laser in an attack much like these captured on video elsewhere in the country. >> if you can imagine being in

a completely black room and a flash bulb going off your eyes. >> it is disorienting. linus -- blindness. >> this shows the real but temporary damage to his eye. the pain came about half an hour afterwards. when the air crew directed ground officers to the suspects 's location, they found a man in his 40's with a flashlight sized laser like this. it is so powerful, its manufacturer both that it can pop balloons and be seen from space. >> they think it is fun and games, but it is very serious for us in the aircraft. >> undercurrent maryland law it is not specifically illegal to shine a laser into an aircraft. the officers found that changed. they are now logging -- lobbying in annapolis to make it a misdemeanor subject to an arrest and fine. >> to make the public aware that this is no laughing matter.

it is a serious issue. in fact, it could be an matter of life and death. in college park, abc 7 news. >> surprised it was not a lobby for. >> steve? >> are you ready for some changes? >> i am bracing myself. >> looking outside right now our skies are beginning to clear and temperatures slowly falling. it is 30 degrees at the airport. windchill factor a little bit colder than that. our highs today, nothing to complain about. 37. still below average what we normally see this time of year. temperatures in the middle 40's. our daylight hours are extending. we are gaining about 12 minutes a week as we move forward. 25 degrees this hour in alexandria after a high of 32. 25 in hagerstown.

in northwest d.c., now at 27. their high today was just shy of the freezing mark. temperatures outside slowly falling. their two degrees in manassas. ocean city, clear skies, now 24 degrees. cold air, plenty of it to go around. not that tremendous arctic cold we have had for the past couple of days. compared to yesterday at this time, we are about five or six degrees warmer. an indication of what is on the way. satellite and radar with high pressure building overhead. allowing skies to clear out a little bit. it is not going to last very long. we look for clouds to increase throughout the day tomorrow. a front approaches from the south and will eventually bring us milder temperatures by tuesday or wednesday. doppler radar, it is quiet and drive. =--dry dry. snow showers have now come to

an end. our futurecast look like this as we move through the next 48 hours. dry for the day tomorrow. monday a little bit of freezing rain developing. that will happen during the early morning hours this is around 8:00. by 10:00 we will change over to rain. amateurs will remain chilly, around 40 degrees. much warmer as we continue. temperatures tonight on the 15- 22 degrees. the extended outlook, i like this. 55-60 degrees on tuesday and wednesday. by thursday, cooler air. colder for next weekend, back into the 30's for daytime highs. no big storms of the way. >> 60's? end of january?

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>> good news for the downtown at the crowd. -- downtown abbey crowd. >> it looks like a prison. >> in france musicians have established a retirement home when maggie smith arrives. she has many ex-husbands. one of whom lives at the home and still nurses a grudge. >> this is the first time

seeing each other in god knows how many years. >> 97. >> is it really that long? >> the residents try to talk maggie into performing. this cast includes many people, gathered up by dustin hoffman for his directing debut. 3.5 stars, pg-13. go for the music and the acting. >> here is a weekend movie guide. four stars for "lincoln" and " zero dark thirty.'" 2.5 for "the hobbit" two stars for "open city" "the promised land."