verizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. hello. thanks for being with us.

j.c. hayward. we have just learned that quarterback donovan mcnabb will be benched sunday. instead, comcat sports net. it is no news that he is not happy. bret, what caused this surprise move? >> i think the easy answer, redskins is that the redskins have stunk lately. they're 5-8. mcnabb has a rate. thrown 14 touchdowns against just 15 interceptions. and you know, mike shanahan has the opinion that mcnabb has not fully grasped his rather complex offense. so he's going to go with rex grossman who played with mike's

son, kyle. now, the redskins offensive coordinator, a year ago, in completely different direction in 2011. this is a hot story. i know you'll continue to cover it. and you'll have the latest information for us now at 9:00. thank you very much, bret. we look forward to hearing from you then. well, i don't have to tell you that our area is thawing out. after yesterday's snow. but what about this weekend? should we prepare for more snow? well, anny hong is here. our meteorologist. and she has a full forecast. annie? >> hi,j.c. yeah, we're finally thawing out. the sun breaking through. clouds starting to clear away in the last hour or so in the d.c. metro area. and looks like we're going to see sunshine throughout the day. and again, those conditions, talking about melting. as temperatures recover around near above freezing in most areas. okay, once again, this computer is acting up. we're going to talk about your forecast coming up in a little bit. but j.c., back to you. >> all right. thank you, annie.

we'll get back to you. look at that picture. >> oh, my goodness. look at the snow. cars are moving. we're showing you some pictures from the eastern shore. they're digging out after yesterday's snowfall. and roanoke, virginia, drivers were careful during their evening commute. of course, the snow made for terrible visibility. they had sleet, snow, and freezing rain. and they also had some slick and dangerous roads. all right. now, let's look at north carolina. the temperatures there dropped so low that a water fountain actually froze. look at that. is that amazing? the low mercury turned the water fountain into a solid block of ice. schools and businesses were closed because of the dangerous conditions. well, the fighting is over. soon, president obama will sign the tax compromise deal that he reached with republicans. but not everyone is celebrating

this bipartisan measure. joel brown reports from the white house. president obama obama will sign the tax cut deal into law this afternoon, giving millions of americans a little more money next year. >> the motion is adopted. >> the bill cleared its final hurdle late last night. when it passed in the house. the measure extends the bush- era tax cuts for two years for everyone. it also extends unemployment benefits. and most workers will see a 2% cut in payroll taxes. that means someone making $50,000 a year, will get to keep an extra $1,000. this is a bipartisan compromise between the republicans and the president. >> while not perfect, this is the kind of action that most americans voted for last november. >> reporter: but many lawmakers are not happy with the deal, including members of the president's own party, who believe the legislation unfairly favors the rich. >> reporter: last night, house democrats tried and failed to remove a cut in the estate tax.

>> the argument is that somehow, these tax cuts are going to magically put people to work, is bunk. >> the republicans turned out to be frankly better poker players than the president. you know, they really only wanted two things this legislative session. and they got them both. >> the income tax expires in two years, which means the next time congress has this debate, it will be right in the middle of a presidential campaign. >> the bill also includes funding for 13 months of long- term benefits for the unemployed, as well as tax breaks for college students and businesses. well, it is crunch time for senate leaders. they need to come up with a measure to finance the federal government and keep it running into next year. last night, majority leader harry reid announced a $1.3 billion catch-all spending bill, after lackluster support from republicans. the legislation sets out budgets for the day-to-day operations of the government.

>> d.c. police chief kathy linear is keeping her job. mayor-elect vincent gray announced yesterday that he wants the chief to stay on as the leader. mayor-elect gray says that his decision to keep lin year was an -- linear was an easy one. kathy lin year -- linear. and also the announcement of kathy ele bee. -- ely bee. he will be succeed chief dennis rubin. d.c. city council must still approve both appointments. loudoun county police are hoping that surveillance video will help them catch two men, responsible for a rash of car break-ins. the suspects were seen walking around lansdowne to check to see if ckedcar, drove

it for a mile down the road, and crashed it through a gate in someone's yard. detectives in that area are encouraging all residents to lock and secure their homes and their cars. new security measures are coming to metro. metro announces random inspections of passengers' bags. this comes after a string of unsuccessful terror plots, targeting the transit agency. metro and tsa officers will check for hazardous materials, using a scanner, which detects nitrogen, an essential element in most explosives. >> we will swab the contents, the outer contents of that particular package. we will put that swab in this machine. >> metro officials say that bags generally won't be open for inspection unless the equipment suggests that they need to take a closer look. if riders refuse a bag search, they will not be able to bring

that item into the station. we're now checking news where you live. montgomery county residents will now be able to check the progress of snow plows making their way through parts of the area. the interactive snow cloud tracking program was launched earlier this week. you can read more about it by going to our website, wusa 9.com. just click on the "where you live" box at the top of our home page. and then select, rockville for more information. this website is responsible for leaking secret u.s. documents. and now, he is a free man. what the founder of wikileaks says american politicians want to do with him. >> i'm sorry about my reaction. [ inaudible ] also, coming up next, how a young man from delaware dupes some of the smartest people in the country. we'll be right back. r-old adam

wheeler, admitting that he lied to live and learn at harvard university. he drafted a fake resume that claimed he went to an elite prep school, attended m.i.t., wrote books and gave lectures. his web of lies all unraveled when wheeler applied for a series of scholarships that required intense screening. a judge ordered wheeler to pay back some $46,000 in financial aid, scholarships and awards he received during his time at harvard. out of solitary confinement and under house aarrest, julian assange is speaking out about his ordeal adited to the united states. >> it seems to be increasingly

serious and increasingly likely. >> reporter: assange says that he heard a secret indictment was made against him in america. has website is responsible for leaking thousands of secret u.s. government documents, causing outrage in the federal government. >> there have been many calls by senior political figures in the united states, including elected ones in the senate. for my execution. and the kidnapping of my staff. >> reporter: assange insists that his site will continue its work. despite what he calls a dirty tricks campaign. he is also fighting extradition to sweden, where he faces allegations of sex crimes. more to come now on 9news at noon. an old christmas gift has a present inside. the valuable item that one woman found in a pair of gloves. that story is coming up next. finally, above freezing.

so we're thawing out. but we're watching and tracking a storm that could impact your weekend plans. details coming up in your forecast. my name is jeanette allison. and i'm here in haidlberg, germany. and i'm sending this message to germantown, maryland. and i want to wish a merry christmas and a happy new year to my brother, joe, and charles and their families. happy new year.

this has happened to most of us. you put away your winter coat. and you pull it out the next year, and you find money. isn't that a lovely surprise? this story is more than a lovely surprise. sharon lombardo, from st. louis, took out a pair of gloves that she got for christmas last year. when she put the gloves on, she found something in one of the fingers. it was a set of diamond wedding rings. >> she was probably in a hurry christmas shopping and just didn't notice it until she got home.

what a devastating thing to lose. >> reporter: well, sharon lombardo is hoping that the person who lost the rings will see this news story so that she can return those wedding rings. >> wow. >> i hope so. i hope someone gets in touch with her. all right. now, what is this about more snow for the weekend? >> well, it was kind of forecast models all over the place,j.c. but looks like at this point, better chance for the storm to miss us over the weekend. but today, finally that sun breaking through the clouds. our day planner by 3:00, look for 36 degrees, under mostly sunny skies. in fact, we'll have light winds. it is going to seem a lot nicer out there, especially with the sun sunshining. it will allow the surface temperature to warm up and melt away the snow. by 6:00, as you're heading home. 33 degrees. by 9, 31. and by the midnight hour, we're talking 29 degrees. so again, if there is anything left over that hasn't milted by the end of the day, that will

freeze again by tomorrow morning. keep that in mind as you're maybe heading out for your saturday errands. and partly cloudy. and seeing mostly sunny skies, despending where you're at. we're looking at light winds. it's feeling quite comfortable in some locations. and we'll see some melting today through tomorrow. into your weekend. and we are tracking this saturday and sunday's storm. we'll get to that in just a moment. but first, right now, temperatures above freezing. look at d.c., at 36 degrees. a balmy 36 degrees. gaithersburg, you're still at 32 now, at the freezing mark. pax river at 30 degrees. so temperatures, you know, above freezing around the metro area, are really going to help us thaw out today and through tomorrow. we saw the clouds move in. the snow staying well to the north of us, into parts of pennsylvania. but the clouds finally breaking up around the metro area, just in the last hour. so i took a peek outside. and i thought, these clouds are sticking around. and finally, we saw the sun.

here's your highs for today. 36 in the d.c. metro area. 33 for gaithersburg. mid-30s for frederick. 37 for manazas. manassas. upper 30s for culpepper. these temperatures, people will feel it's nicer and a little more comfortable out there. you're future cast, there's a storm system from the southeast, mainly impacting the gulf system for now. but right now, we don't have it going anywhere. pretty much by the south and east of us. we'll see cloudy conditions for saturday. but then again, the green, which is the rain, that stays away from us. so at this point, we're looking at this system to really just miss us. but if it tracks a little closer to us, it could bring some snow, mainly to the eastern shore area. and we're looking, if we get it, 1 to 2 inches. and most likely if we get it, late saturday night into early sunday. but for now, models are saying this is probably going to miss the d.c. metro area. your forecast next three days, sunny skies for today, high

near 36. tomorrow, increasing clouds. 36 degrees. slight chance for some snow showers. here's your seven-day outlook. saturday and sunday. we're looking at that coastal storm. and we'll keep our eye on that. if anything changes, we'll keep you posted. monday, mostly sunny skies to kick off your workweek. tuesday, more clouds. 36. and then we'll top out in the mid- to upper 30s for wednesday and thursday. all right. here's a look at the toy drive. if you got toys you want to give away, please drop them off at fire stations. we'll be right back with cooking in the kitchen with jc. ♪ [ music ]

according to my featured chef today, he says this is a light and easy dish to make for crrsz daw christmas day. this ised -- this is an item featured on your sunday brunch menu. >> it is. we just started to do a private brunch series, second sunday of every month. you can find out about it on the website. the idea behind this dish, last thing you want to do is spend the day in the kitchen. we've got it very simple. we're going to put this together. we'll make panna cotta with huckleberry jam. make the whole thing the night before. pull it out of the fridge and off we go. first thing, this pan has about a cup of cream. third of a cup of sugar.

and possessed of one lemon. what we're going to do is heat that up. get it rocking right along there. while that heats up, we have three sheets of gel atin there. >> now, you've lost me now, chef. i thought this was easy. >> it is. plain water. gel atin in plain water. >> okay. you get that at a store? >> you can get that anywhere. at a super market. get that bloomed up a little bit. usually takes two or three minutes. but while that heats up. >> want me to stir this for you? >> sure. >> okay. all right. >> while we let that blend. you just want to heat this up until the sugar is completely dissolved. that's what we're looking for. you are going to take the gel atin. it will be a little more bloomed than this. but we'll throw that in there. while it heats up. go ahead and chuck that in. >> okay. >> what you want to do is make sure when you do the gelatin, it does not boil. >> really? you have to start over? >> not good. >> now, this mels good --

smells good. what are these? raspberries or blueberries? >> these are actually huckleberries, which you can find any time. you apply the heat. plenty of moisture. >> you didn't put any water in it? >> no. that's just the berries cooking down. what we are having to do, we have two pieces of cinnamon here. essentially, zest and orange for the panna cotta. we've got the orange juice. and about a cup and a half to two cups of sugar. depending on how sweet these are. we're going to let that cook down. it's going to cook down to this consistency. if you want it a little tighter than that. >> that's good. >> and you can use this for a lot of things. oh, gosh. >> that would be good on anything. toast, eggs, whatever. pancakes. >> all right. pancakes. >> but back to the panna cotta

really quick. after you have the gelatin all melted in there. we have the butter milk. it will take about a cup of butter milk being -- butter milk. equal parts. >> sounds like we have lots of ingredients. we're going to have this recipe on our website, wusa 9.com. here comes annie. do you think you can do this? >> no. i can eat it, though. >> i can, too. >> we have a final dish. that's going to set up. you can throw that into whatever, coffee cups you have here. we have these little flexible pan molds. you have the kids around. take the huckleberry jam here. put a little on top. >> go to our website, wusa 9.com to get the recipe. of course, come back at 5:00.