consequences of cold weather and snow. we have some school closings and delays to pass along you to this morning. in virginia rapahannock county schools, they're closed. in maryland allegany county's mountain ridge school districts are closed. the rest of the county is on a two-hour delay. so is garrett county in maryland. >> in virginia -- in west virginia grant, hardy, hampshire, jefferson on a two- hour delay. you can get the entire list at wusa9.com. howard is here to tell us we might see a little snow for another day. >> no problems today. plenty of sunshine. the only problem will be the breeze being up. we may top out at 32 today. windchills will stay down in the single continuing legitimates -- digits this morning. teens to low 20s this afternoon. the mountains have seen less snow than earlier. oakland is 9 degrees. it's 19 in ma fan sas.

-- manassas. it's 19 at the patuxent naval air station. the forecast highs have been around 32. maybe 33 here in town. warm spot culpeper at 35. but you folks in the shenandoah valley, winchester up to hagerstown, it will stay in the upper 20s. here's monika sam samtani with the latest traffic. we changed our light from green to yellow. that's because we have a couple of incidents to tell you about. we'll start off first with some video over into the district where we've been telling you about some icy conditions in the 3rd street tunnel this morning. if you're heading northbound on 395, you're okay at the 14th street bridge and again once you head into the 3rd street tunnel, icy conditions. doesn't look like they're keeping the speeds down but i advise that you do if you're heading there this morning. let's go over to a couple of incidents. in laurel on the southbound side of i-95 the accident is reported at route 198 along the left side of the road. two cars involved in that

accident. over now to 270 on the southbound side where there is an accident reported near shady grove road. it's on the northbound side and be aware of that activity there as well. now out to the beltway. things look good overall around town. if you're planning to head over to northbound i-95 it's just a delay now from the prince william parkway up into lorton. you're okay up into springfield and no problems on 395 again but those icy conditions over at the 3rd street tunnel. if you're planning to head over on to the trains, marc is experiencing some delays on the brunswick line. lines 870 and 890 up to 30 minutes late this morning. otherwise metro and vre are on time. coming up in my next report, we'll look at beltway in maryland. coming up on 6:03 at top of the hour. let's get a check on some of the stories happening today. >> the senate is expected to take a final vote on the tax cut deal. it's a compromised reach

between the president and g.o.p. house democrats are considering changing the bill before they vote on it. two months after a deadly beating outside the club dc9 is set to reopen in northwest. its alcohol license was stripped last month. the beating remains under investigation. the nationals' $126 million man will make his debut today. the team and jason worth will hold a news conference this afternoon. the outfielder as you may already know left the philadelphia phillys to come to washington for a massive seven- year contract. investigators will be back on the scene today of a fire in prince george's county. >> for several -- it forced several families out into the cold on a businesser tuesday night. >> it's just south of fed ex field. kristin fisher is there live with the latest on what happened. good morning, kristin. >> reporter: good morning, andre ya. it's bad enough to -- andrea. it's bad enough to lose your home to a fire but, you know, it's even worse when this

happens on the coldest night of the season just a few days or i guess less than two weeks before the christmas holidays. that's just wrong but that is exactly what happened here last night. now, the fire broke out around 8:00. by the time firefighters arrived, the entire back wall of this three-story town house was already completely engulfed in flames. the biggest problem was the fact that this town home was just smack in the middle of an entire row of town homes which made it very easy for this fire to jump from one town home to the next. that unfortunately is exactly what it did. the fire traveled along the exterior wall of these town homes so it completely bypassed all the smoke alarms, sprinkler systems. it could have been a very deadly situation but fortunately no one was hurt. but now about six families are homeless as we head into the holidays. >> for those who have gone through anything like this during the holidays this is

really devastating. my father passed away december 16 and i was mourning him and now this. >> reporter: it appears that the fire actually started somewhere in the garage of this town home but as for a cause, firefighters say that they're still investigating. >> thank you for the update. nearly 60 people were forced from their homes overnight. they had to leave the governor square apartment complex in gaithersburg because there was no heat and no water. montgomery county fire and rescue tells nine nine now a water pipe to a boiler system broke last -- 9news now a water pipe to a boiler system broke last night. a judge is ordering a mental evaluation for an arlington man federal agents say made threats to explode pipe bombs on the metro system. a facebook friend of 25-year- old awaid younis tipped authorities off about the suspect's postings. they told investigators that younis had posted threats to use pipe bombs on the metro

trains and in georgetown during rush hour. officials arrested him last week. a former high school classmate we spoke to says he's not surprised about these allegations. >> when 9/11 happened in school, he clapped about it in class. >> reporter: clapped about it and said what? >> that's what they get. and then they beat him up. >> he's scheduled to be back in court for a hearing next week. it's official. d.c. fire chief dennis rubin is stepping down from his position. the official d.c. fire and ems twitter feed reported last nightmare-elect vincent gray accepted chief rubin's respect nation. he'll step down january 1. chief rubin will be our guest tonight on 9news at 5:00. mayor-elect gray could announce a replacement as soon as today. the mayor-elect is also expected to announce he will keep cathy lanier as the city's police chief. we first reported this to you this past weekend. sources tell 9news now the two met earlier this month.

violent crime rates have dropped in the city since lanier took control of the force. the school subject in florida says god protected him when a gunman opened fire at a meeting tuesday. >> that superintendent called the confrontation surreal. it ended with the gunman dead. >> we show you what happened and this whole thing was caught on tape. >> i don't want anybody to get hurt. >> reporter: the superintendent of schools in panama city pleas with a man who pulls out a gun at a school board meeting but the man identified by police as clay duke refuses to back down. >> please don't. please don't. please. >> reporter: he doesn't hit anyone. but he keeps shooting exchanging fire with the district security chief before turning the gun on himself. >> on the ground. freeze. >> reporter: by the time s.w.a.t. team officers enter the room, itself gunman was lying on the floor. no one else was hurt. a television reporter inside the room covering the meeting ran to safety but kept her

camera rolling. she described what happened before the shooting. >> i saw him come out, spray paint a big circle with a line or v through it. it wasn't nice. then he said i have a motion now and he pulled out his gun. when he pulled out his gun, that's when i hit the floor. it was probably one of the most scariest moments of my life. >> reporter: school board member ginger littleton attacked the gunman with her purse. littleton says duke had a clear shot but left her alone. state records show the 56-year- old served four years in prison from 2000 to 2004 for aggravated stalking and other charges. he told the board his wife was fired from the district but didn't say what job she held. district officials are calling the security chief would isn't seen in the video a hero for stopping the shooting. >> the school board member you saw in the video hit the gunman with her purse says he pointed the gun at her head but for some reason he didn't soot her.

she says she's -- shoot her. she says she's not sure why. the time coming up on 6:09. here's a look at what's ahead at this hour. lingering concerns about radiation risks from your cell phone. it's 6:12 -- at 6:12 a closer look in our health alert. another vote is scheduled for today over don't ask, don't tell. we'll have a preview. another check on your very chilly forecast. weather first just 90 seconds away.

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welcome back. we've got teens and 20s this morning. 24, sunny and breezy at 9:00. still sunny and breezy at noon. gusts in the 20s again today with a temperature of 30, high around 32. 5:00 p.m. clear and 30. windchill staying in the 20s. monika samtani is here with your traffic. we're looking at an accident on the outer loop of beltway at route 1 in college park. it's in its clearing stages. you should find your lanes open. university boulevard still good to i-270. my next report we'll go into virginia and take a look at i- 66. a british judge says wikileaks founder julian assange can go free on bail. but he's staying behind bars for now. >> that's one of the stories making news at 6:11 now.

the swedish government is appealing the decision. it's trying to extake diet assange and -- extradite assange and charge him with sex charges. the judge said he will be kept behind bars for at least another 48 hours. a rescue operation is under way right now off the coast of australia. a boat filled with people seeking asylum crashed and sank overnight. at least 27 people are dead. there were dangerous conditions at the time the boat sank. rahm emanuel goes before a package in chicago. he's trying to prove his residency so he can run as mayor of chicago. he resigned as white house chief of staff so he could enter the pry appear there. there is no scientific evidence to suggest that cell phones cause radiation damage. >> but there are warnings about safer use that come with your phone. anita brickman shows us what is in -- anita brikman shows us

more. >> reporter: a new report says years of research have left this woman aharmed about radiation coming from -- alarmed about radiation coming from cell phones. >> they're in tiny print that my eyes can't read almost with these glasses. >> reporter: the literature suggests if you are concerned about radio frequency exposure, minimize your talk time, use a headset or hands free kit and place more distance between your body and the phone when not in use. even though right now scientific studies have failed to show any health effects from cell phone radiation, davis believes there are certain behaviors that are riskier than others. >> children are being -- [indiscernible] cell phones have become pacifiers. >> reporter: she's referring to smartphone apps like these that are often played close to babies to help lull them to sleep. >> their brains are rapidly growing. their skulls are very thin and nobody can tell that you

microwave radiation is a safe thing for an infant. >> reporter: davis also advises keeping cell phones that are on out of your pockets, especially for men. >> i'm talking about the fact that cell phones lower sperm count. >> reporter: she says she's collected anecdotal evidence about women who carried cell phones in their bras while working out. >> i've been contacted by doctors in california who have treated four young women who all were athletes and kept their cell phones in their bras all the time and developed breast cancer before age 40 at exactly the site where they kept the cell phone. >> reporter: a johns hopkins radiation specialist says there's no concrete data that proves cell phones cause cancer or other ills but we can always take measures to stay on the safe side. >> because we don't have the evidence, in the absence of this evidence, we could work on the safer side such as limiting the use of cell phones. >> debra davis also says try to avoid using smartphones when the bars are weak. she says that's because the

phone is constantly searching for a signal and that increases the radiation output. >> i never heard that. >> i didn't know that either. here is howard at 6:15 with weather first. >> good morning, everybody. it's cold once again. i know. been like this for how many weeks now? a couple of weeks really since the warm start on the 1st of the month when we hit 65. oh, that sounds so nice. but that's not happening any time soon. your bus stop forecast, it's clear out there. it's going to be sunny later on. still breezy and still cold. 15 to 2k3 with mainly clear skies -- to 23 with mainly clear skies. we've got the sunrise. 7:19 is the schedule. i think we'll stick to that plan setting at 4:47. our windchills are still running in the single digits and teens. the day planner again lots of sunshine but still some winds. 13, 18, 17 miles an hour sustained gusting to the 20's. noontime we're up to 30 degrees with sunny skies. 3:00 32. by 6:00 29 still with a west wind at 13. so those windchills will only get in the low 20s at best but

i think for most of us right now we've got 23 in town. fredricksburg is 19. patuxent river is 19. luray has lost a couple, down to 16. orange, winds have gone dead calm there. look at the difference with calm winds and this air mass t can really drop off -- mass, it can really drop off. culpeper, they're staying at 25 right now. locally we have 17 fort belvoir. 18 in laurel. columbia, bwi are 19 degrees. manassas and haymarket both 19. and it is a very cold morning. college park, that's the warm spot at 25. 23 with at windchill of 12 right now thanks to the west winds at 12 miles an hour under partly cloudy skies here in washington. we have a little storm system that's starting to take shape here in the upper midwest. it's going to drive off to the southeast and cut across this way. for us that means now it looks like a little light snow tomorrow. today we've got the clear skies with the snow showers to our north and our west. the arctic air in place.

that's going to slowly kind of inch up away from us. still going to be cold. don't kid yourself. but with high pressure building in, winds die down. here comes that light snow tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow late afternoon but out of here by tomorrow evening. we could pick up half an inch, maybe an inch, an inch and a half toward the shenandoah valley but with temperatures tomorrow at or below freezing, anything untreated could be slippery. so 32 today. light snow starting in the mid- to late morning west. afternoon here in washington 30 degrees on thursday. friday 39. the weekend coastal storm. more signs that this is going to slide south and east. that's good. that means we'll have fewer problems and breezy and chilly early next week. temps staying in the 30s. 6:17, monika samtani, how is our time saver traffic? not bad although we're starting off with a yellow. we'll go over to some fresh video just in from our news team on the northbound side of

395 at the 3-rd street tunnel, the icien its is what we've been telling you about all morning long. look at the icicles. i think that's the cause of those icy conditions there. be careful northbound on 395. overall the beltway is looking okay. not a bad ride. a little bit slow in the college park area. otherwise your lanes are open. we'll head south on i-95 northbound. see the red cars? that's because there's a couple of extra incidents reported there. a disabled vehicle past dumfries and an accident approaching the fairfax county parkway on the northbound side of i-95. let's zoom in to 66 on the inbound side of i-66 you've just got your delays now. slow from route 50 to route 123 with lanes open. no problems then to the beltway. let's go to your travel times. on the outer loop of the beltway in maryland 59 to 270, ten minutes. 295 from the beltway to the 11th street bridge a seven- minute ride. in my next report we'll talk more about possible icy

conditions as you travel 395 northbound. time for morning lights. >> this morning we get a video submission. this is in stafford, virginia. thousands upon thousands of lights. 14-year-old jake sent us the video. he says the music that they started in 2007. >> whether it's a still or a video, there's still time to submit your morning lights. e-mail a picture or individually to us at wusa9.com. be sure to include your name and where you live. sports is next. learn who's taking the fall for sunday's embarrassing loss by the redskins. the metrodome won't be ready for this weekend's football game. learn what the vikings are planning on doing about that.

hello. i'm in southwest asia. i want to say a special hello to my mom, send ya hardy in washington, d.c. i love you. i hope to see you soon and happy holidays.

is

6:23 on this wednesday morning. another cold morning. we have temperatures in some cases lower teens. most of us though upper teens to low 20s this morning. windchills single digits and low teens. another chilly day. we'll be around 24 at 9:00. 30 degrees, sunny at noontime. by 5:00 we're back down to 30 after a high of 32. mike and andrea? tonight the capitals will try to snap their longest losing streak in three years. they host the anaheim ducks.

>> dropping six in a row including sunday night's laugher against itself rangers. >> the wizards were at verizon center hosting the defending nba champion lakers. kobe bryant led l.a. with 24 points. wizards lose 103-89. the wiz visit the nets tomorrow. in baltimore county last night, unbc hosted american university. troy brewer had 18 for the eagles and they beat the retrievers 66-53. unbc sinks to 0-10 this season. redskins punter hunter smith fell on his sorts sunday night. he botched as holder the extra point and the redskins' loss he says was all his fault and the team rewarded him by cutting him tuesday. hunter, a 12-year veteran. statistically, though, he was the third worst punter in the league. that likely had something to do with it as well. minnesota vikings are moving outdoors.

the team announced tuesday it will play monday night's game against the bears outside at the university of minnesota stadium. crews are still working to try to remove a foot and a half of snow. the snow tore a hole in the roof of the metrodome causing it to collapse on sunday. it won't be fixed in time for monday night's game. it 16:25. up next -- it is 6:25. up next a preview on the vote for the president's latest tax cut plan. a gas station worker fights back against a would-be robber. hear what he's saying about it this morning. right now monika has a quick check on the commute. we're talking about an accident this time arrange on the inner loop of the beltway in virginia approaching telegraph road along the ride side of the roadway in alexandria. coming up in my next report, more on this accident and some problem spots on 95 in virginia. you're watching 9news now. we'll be right back. ♪

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we are back at 6:2k-9 this wednesday morning -- 6:29 this wednesday morning. this is always the place to get your weather first. in is a live look at damascus, maryland. 19 degrees there in upper montgomery county. feels warm saying that, right? >> toasty, right? thanks for starting your day

with us. i'm mike hydeck. both angie and jessica are off today. before we get to howard's forecast we have school closings stand delays to pass a- - and delays to pass along. >> rapahannock county in virginia is closed. mountain ridge district only is closed. these school districts are on a two-hour delay. again all starting two hours late this morning. you can get the entire list at wusa9.com. now over to howard. >> another cold one. until like yesterday morning in damascus, the ground is dry. we don't have the snow showers around. 32 degrees late other this afternoon. this will be our high. later this evening we have clear skies. by 9:00 we're back down in the 20s. one thing you'll see the sustained winds in the teens. they'll gust 25, maybe 30 miles an hour again. windchill a big factor. this morning we've got clear

skies here. we've noticed some snow showers in pennsylvania back into west virginia but generally a quiet but cold morning with temperatures now up to 23 in washington or down to 23. 19 in manassas. 20 on the bay. easton is 23. a quick look at those windchills this morning, they're running in the single digits to lower teens so bundle up. it's 6:31. monika sam tan any has a list -- samtani has a list for you. yellow light with moderate traffic conditions at this point. we'll take you first to the beltway on the south side of town where there's an accident on the inner loop of the beltway. as you head westbound on 495 approaching telegraph road, the accident sitting in the right lane so be careful as you leave the wilson bridge if you're heading over toi-95 in -- to i- 95 in springfield. there's an accident between the fairfax county parkway and backlick road. you want to be careful on the northbound side of i-95 in the

newington area. overall generally the beltway looks final. we'll zoom in over to i-270 where there is an accident as you -- there was an accident on the northbound side at shady grove road. southbound side you've got this now to deal with as you head down from germantown. about a 25 to 30-minute ride. now to your travel times. on the inbound side of i-66, route 7100 to the beltway 15- minute ride. 495 from 95 around to 270 really only 12 minutes. not bad. 95 in from 216 to the beltway a 9-minute ride. coming up in my next report, we'll update you on the accident down in alexandria on the beltway. 6:32. just a few hours the senate will cast its vote on president obama's tax cut compromise. the deal with republicans would extend the bush era tax cuts and also extend unemployment benefits. but already house democrats say they are ready to fight back. they want to make some changes, especially to the estate tax provision. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says any change could

possibly mean no bill at all. house democrats are saying they will not bow to g.o.p. threats. the whole time the white house is trying to sound positive about this deal going through. >> i will simply say i think the. had some good conversations and i think we are on a path toward getting this agreement through the house and ultimately to the president's desk. >> if nothing is done, the tax cults will expire january 1. over in the house today, another vote expected on don't ask, don't tell when it comes to the military. house speaker nancy pelosi sent out word yesterday on her twitter account that she wants to jump start the effort to allow gay and lesbian troops to serve openly. the house has already passed a repeal of the rule. an effort to overturn it in the senate was blocked last week. now we have an update on the story we first brought to you as breaking news yesterday morning. that baltimore house fire in which six people were killed.

the victims spanned three generations of one family. the couple's 26-year-old granddaughter and her three children perished. the youngest victim was just a year old. investigators are still working to find out what sparked the blaze. there have been 18 fire-related deaths in baltimore this year. several prince george's county families are out of their homes this morning. that's because of a fire which started in one town home and spread to others. it happened last night on morgan boulevard in landover. kristin fisher is there live this morning. this was a true scene of fire and ice last night. >> reporter: you've got it, andre ya. less than 12 hours ago these -- andrea. less than 12 hours ago these town homes were completely engulfed in flames. but check this out. they're covered in icicles. that's what happens when you try to fight a two-alarm fire when it's freezing outside. the fire broke out around 8:00 last night. by the time firefighters arrived, the entire back

section which is would you're seeing right now, this entire back section of the town home was already completely on fire. to make matters worse of course, this town home was just smack in the middle of an entire row of town homes making it very easy for this fire to jump from one town home to the next. and that is exactly what happened. that's why this fire became a two-alarm fire. now, the fire traveled along the exterior wall of this complex completely bypassing all of the smoke and fire detection systems. so this really could have been a very deadly situation. fortunately nobody was hurt but now about six families don't have a home to go back to with just less than two weeks to go into the holidays. so a very sad situation out here of the firefighters are now working to determine the cause of this fire. as of now they still don't know exactly what it s. they say the fire constitutionally started somewhere -- fire actually

started somewhere in the garage of this town home. a lot of questions and certainly a sad situation for the six families involved. back to you. >> chris continue, thank you for the -- kristin, thank you for the update. 6:35 now. tonight montgomery county school superintendent will deliver his final budget. dr. jerry weis will unveil his plan at 7:30 at richard montgomery high school. he's leaving the county at the end of the school year. outgoing d.c. mayor adrian fenty unveiled a plan to build a new dunbar high school. it school. it would cost taxpayers $100 million. mayor-elect vincent gray graduated from dunbar in 1959. he says he's not sure the new building is a smart move at this point. >> this open space concept was a theory at the time and it really is a failed policy. >> looming defer sits will not threaten the construction at bun -- deficits will not threaten the construction at dunbar. however, five other schools slated for construction could be in jeopardy since those

projects have not been approved yet. a gas worker in prince william county fought back against some would-be robbers and he hopes it's a message to other potential criminals. he asked not to be identified. last saturday to men went after him in his car attacking him with a stun gun. the worker who has a permit to carry a gun fired two shots in self-defense. both of the gad guys ran -- bad guys ran off. to learn about the police investigation, visit the where you live section of wusa9.com. the story is on our prince william county page. the seen sus bureau in suit -- census bureau in suitland, maryland is out with its community survey. >> it confirms that the d.c. area is home to some of the wealthiest and best educated communities in the nation and we're looking good, too. >> median household income, falls church, virginia is

number one. $113,000. loudoun county $112,000. fairfax county $104,000 and $101how in -- $101,000 in howard county, maryland. >> 17 jurisdictions nationwide had half of residents 25 and older with a bachelor's degree. eight are in our region. howard and montgomery counties in maryland. >> the same study finds the average fairfax county resident commutes 31 minutes each way to work. in prince george's county it's nearly 36 minutes. montgomery county 33 minutes. prince william 39 and the district 29.5 minutes. it is 6:38. a bone chilling 23 degrees here in northwest washington. >> ahead, howard tells us if any warm-up is on the horizon and he is also talking about snow. here's a look at what you'll see tonight on channel 9. at 8:00 it's the second to last episode of "survivor:

nicaragua ." at 9:00 "criminal minds" and at 10:00 "the defenders." and then join anita for 9news now at 11:00. we're in japan and we would like to wish our family and friends back in washington, d.c. happy holidays. try this.

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time for your weather first. you are showing us how your pets are staying warm in our frigid weather. this is ginger wearing a sweater and a hooddy. >> proud of it, too. >> natalie posted this to our photo gallery at wusa9.com. you can upload your pictures there as well. let's get new shots of chloe. >> these pets, that has been a

very popular thing on our website. >> people love their pets. it's like their babies. >> fun stuff. ginger is probably pretty comfortable outside when she's got to go out. >> i'm just bundling up with my little blanky. let's get to the business of weather this morning. you have a dog or a cat? these are things you have to do if you're a pet owner. weather wise it is a cold morning but pretty out there with the clear skies. your bus stop forecast, we are talking about the chill once again. that is a -- a good blanket, andrea. breezy and cold, 15 to 23. i'm going to show you flurries in a moment. sun setting at 4:47. now, today we are looking at sunny skies. 9:00 temp in town 24. west winds at 13. they will be northwest at about 18 with a temperature of 30 by noon. so, yeah, winds will still be a

factor, only in the low 20s with the wind chills. high today 32. maybe 33. we've had generally clear skies although up to our north, a little sliver of clouds has come in across parts of frederick county. in allegany county, that mountain ridge school district, those folks or a two-hour delay. the rest of the county you're on time. you're on time in allegany county except for the mountain ridge school district. i want to show you where the flurries potentially are. frederick and hagerstown reporting clouds. we're picking up light returns on the radar here through frederick county, mount airy into western parts of howard county. so if you see a stray flurry up there, that's about it. otherwise it's cold. keep your eyes on roads. temperatures in the upper teens and low 20's. if anything was percolating, it will be frozen on these temperatures. fredricksburg 18. down to 18 in manassas,

leesburg. there's your 19 from gaithersburg. 17 at fort belvoir. 25 the warm spot in college park. in washington right now 23 degrees but it feels like 12 with those winds out of the west at 12 miles an hour. nationally or i should say regionally, we've got the clear skies here. these clouds are going to advance our way tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon watch out for a little bit of light snow. could pick up half an inch, maybe an inch, enough with the very cold temperatures only around 30 that if anything is not treated, we will have a few slick spots. by friday sunny, 39. over the weekend that coastal storm may be sliding south and east of us. that's better news than yesterday. we'll watch it careful. here's monika. 6:46. she's watching the roads now. we have the yellow height this morning. that's because we have a couple of incidents and icy conditions to tell you about. we'll start off with alexandria first. on the inner loop of the beltway the ramp to get on southbound telegraph road a disabled vehicle is blocking

that ramp. over into the suitland area just got word of an accident. this one is westbound on the suitland parkway at suitland roadblocking off the right lane. let's head out now. over to video of the 3 rrd street -- 3rd street tunnel. we've been telling you all morning long about these icy conditions. i believe it's the icicles dripping down on to the road and freezing. be careful. keep your speeds down in the 3rd street tunnel this morning. 395 you can see the brake lights begin at duke street. they're going to continue as you head over from the beltway all the way to seminary road. your lanes are open. then again from the pentagon to the 14th street bridge. now a look at your travel times. it's a 17-minute ride, more than normal on the outer loop from 95 to 270 at this time in the morning. 66 same thing. route 7100 to the beltway 21 minutes. and the beltway from 395 to the toll road a 17-minute ride. we'll look at all the major problems around the area once again at 6:58.

back to you. >> thank you, monika. virginia delegate chris peese may be starting the next round of illegal immigration. he is pushing a law that would keep illegal immigrants from attending public colleges. people who oppose the law held a rally at george mason university. the delegate says his move would open more doors to virginia residents. >> it won't create any new spaces for virginia students. it will actually decrease income to the commonwealth. >> right now students who cannot prove their citizenship pay out of state tuition rates. 6:48. starting today it is getting easier to head out of town. the discount bus line megabus is officially making a washington hub. the bus line will now go to 11 cities from its stop near the 10th and 8th streets in northwest. new destinations include

charlotte, roanoke, pits burke, richmond and recall -- pittsburgh, richmond and raleigh. you have looked at a penny lately? i mean really looked at it. if you do, you'll notice something is missing. the lincoln memorial no longer there. the u.s. mint has started creating the one cent pieces with an acorn shield on it itself. it still has the latin encryption. abraham lincoln is still on the head side. they're sending out over three and a half billion of these new pennies. >> why did they change it? >> i don't know. it's so interesting. it is 6:49. our temperature is 23 degrees. you'll want a nice warm blanket here in northwest washington. >> we'll have a check of the news before you go. that's coming up next. good morning again. time for you to pick this week's d.c. sports high school basketball game of the week. pa toe machosting osbourn park. st. mary's ryken visiting st.

john's and middletown and johnson and broad run and briar woods. you can cast your vote right now. the winning team will lead our coverage on friday night. ♪

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another frigid morning. sunny this morning flew most of the day. -- through most of the day. noontime temp 30. your seven-day is coming up. right now here is mike and andrea. here is a check of the news before you go out the door this morning. six maryland feamtion are out of -- families are out of their homes this morning. the fire started at a town house on morgan boulevard last night. it spread to several others. fortunately no one was hurt. nearly 60 people in gaithersburg are out of their homes. a water pipe burst at the governor square apartment complex. the heat and water had to be shut off and the fire marshal temporarily condemned the

building. a man accused of plotting bombings in georgetown and on the metro will be back in court next week. awaid younis out of arlington arrested yesterday. police say he was making threats on his facebook page. the early show begins in just six minutes. >> right now harry comight. >> a school board is held hostage. it was all caught on tape. we'll speak to two of the her roy ec hostages. -- heroic hostages. and we'll have expert tips on how to stay safe driving this winter. and the new film "the fighter" has just been nominated for six golden globes. that's all coming up. back to you. >> thank you, harry. definitely want to see that film. our time right now 6:54. one more check and weather of traffic when 9 news now returns. but as we head to break, feast your eyes on the capitol building. 23 degrees in northwest.

good morning, washington.

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get selsun blue for itchy dry scalp. strong itch-fighters target scalp itch while 5 moisturizers leave hair healthy. selsun blue. got a clue? get the blue. 6:58 on this frigid wednesday morning. we've got teens and 20s out there. around 32 today, sunny and still breezy. tomorrow light snow, 30 degrees. it may accumulate halfage inch -- half an inch an inch by the time we get to the evening hours. the coastal storm over the weekend looks like it could be sliding south and east which it could be a miss.

a disabled vehicle on telegraph slowing you down. a beautiful live shot. i think we have it from our chopper 9. if you're planning -- sky 9. if you're planning to head in this area, very nice in springfield. southbound 270, 30-minute ride father hurley to rockville. finally this morning, from shredders to santas, the skateboarding team teamed up with harry thomas. they give out gift bags to a thousand families in ward 5. there's still time to make a donation to toy drive 9. i never say that right. unwrapped toy at your local firehouse. the donation goes to the marines toys for tots campaign of course. you can get more information at wusa9.com. >> the cbs early show is next. they'll talk with the school board members in florida involved in that shooting yesterday. plus, it's ocean's 14, a daring