hawe for joining us. i'm j.c. hayward. the fbi has arrested a 20-year- old saudi student for plotting a terrorist attack. investigators say that khalid was also planning an attack at the texas home of former president george w. bush. the suspect went to college near lubbock, texas.

he is expected to appear in federal court tomorrow morning. as a result against libyan rule, muammar gadhafi continues to grow, governments around the world are scrambling to get their citizens out of the country. joel brown reports there seems to be no end to violence between government support and protestors. >> soldier and militia lowell to muammar gadhafi are striking back against the opposition. the capital city of tripoli is all but locked down as gadhafi fights to hold one to power. he called in to hit stays television broadcast this morning claiming osama bin laden is behind the protests. >> hundreds of americans hoping to escape libya had their plans put on hold. high winds and rough seas are keeping a ferry chartered by the u.s. government, in a libyan port. eventually, they'll be taken to malta, the state department insists it is secure and has plenty of food and water.

thousands have managed to flee the violence, some left on large ships, others managed to get past the chaos in airports. >> militia, plain clothes, trucks with machine guns. at nighttime, guys walking with machetes. >> the violence has left 300 people dead in libya but some reports put the death toll as high as 1,000. gadhafi's son rejected that idea at a press conference yesterday saying talking about hundreds and thousands of people killed is "a joke." joel brown, cbs news, the white house. evacuations by air are proving to be challenging. libyan authorities are making it very difficult for airlines to obtain permit to take off. the virginia man who pleaded guilty to threatening the living of the writers for the television show, south park, was sentenced to 25 years in prison. before the plea deal, zachary

chesser of bristow faced up to 360 years in jail for trying to get others to leave fake bombs in public places. he also tried to join a terrorist group with links to al-qaeda. >> we have a consumer alert for people who own a toyota or lexus. the company is recalling 2.17 million vehicles in the united states. more than half of the cars and trucks are being added to that massive recall in 2009. there is a problem with the gas pedal getting stuck under the floor mat. and that causes the vehicles to accelerate unexpectedly. the recall is affecting toyota and lexus suvs made between 2003 and 2011 and all will drive lexus gs300s and 350 models. and we have a wind alert that we want you to know about. right now, we're concerned

about rain but strong winds are moving on. howard has been checking his map all morning and he has details. howard? >> that's right, j.c. tomorrow is the wind. today, the rain. the one-two punch, don't get caught off-guard. had a nice start to the day. showers may be moving in toward the regions especially west of town by three. we'll see rain, light to moderate by 6:00. temperatures 50, 49, 47. by 9:00. it will be steady rains around here by 9:00. right now, we're looking to the south and west of washington. here is luray down toward harrisonburg, charlottesville. you'll notice where 64 and 81 come together, very light returns. this does not appear to be reaching the ground yet. over the next couple of hours, you'll see this wall of water moving due east. this will start to lift up to the north as well. this is why we're going to turn wet here this afternoon and tonight and up to the north, we're going to see some wintry weather as well. now, as this system pushes through tomorrow, between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., all of the areas

in light blue, a high wind watch, we could have gusts tomorrow, j.c., 40, 50, 60 miles per hour. secure your loose objects now. i'll have the rest of the forecast in a few minutes. >> thank you, howard. officials believe a pot left on the stove caused a huge fire in oxon hill this morning. flames broke out around 9:00 on seneca drive. five people inside got out of that home safely. however, as many as 15 people actually lived there. the red cross is helping residents find temporary housing. well, maryland is a step closer to legalizing gay marriage. the state senate is expected to cast a yes vote on the measure in annapolis and that would mean that maryland would become the seventh straight to legalize gay marriage. hawaii signed the law yesterday. surae chinn has more information. >> 25 votes affirmative, 22 in the negative. >> reporter: after a three-vote

margin, full passage is expected in the senate today. >> we're for marriage that includes everybody. >> the bill is still a bad bill. >> heated debate focused on weakening the bill including rights for same-sex couples adopting and county clerks refusing to conduct marriages based on religious beliefs. >> we don't want to establish the principle that public officials can opt out of doing their jobs because they have a religious objection. >> this was not part of their job when they took the oath of office. >> reporter: state lawmakers did make provisions, protecting religious groups from performing gay weddings. opponents of the bill have already set their sights on reversing the measure by voter referendum. >> it is an historic vote. it is one that the public wants the opportunity to decide. >> mayor lane could soon be joining new hampshire, vermont, massachusetts, connecticut, iowa allowing same sex marriage. the vote comes on the heels of the white house ordering the justice department to stop defending the defense of marriage act which defines

traditional marriage between a man and a woman. attorney eric holder says the defense of marriage marriage act... this is a win for gay rights advocates and could change the national debate on gay marriage but it is unclear what impact, if any, it would have on the state level. surae chinn, 9news now. if it is passed today, the bill will go to the house of delegates. it is expected to pass there. governor martin o'malley says he will sign it into law. the maryland man who pleaded guilty to squirting semen from a bottle on to two women will be sentenced in about an hour. michael edwards jr. pleaded guilty in november. according to police, he sprayed the fluid on two women at a shopping center in gaithersburg last summer. still to come when 9news now continues, his lawyers say

that their battle is far from over. coming up next, new details in the fight to bring wikileaks founder to sweden. in order to face sexual abuse charges. america's most traveled space shuttle prepares for its final mission. i'm randall pinkston at the kennedy space center. i'll have that story.

the hope of finding more survivors from tuesday's earthquake in new zealand is

fading. nearly 100 people were killed and more than 200 are missing. rescuers are making heart- wrenching decisions. they're abandoning work at sites with no hope of life to concentrate on areas where they believe there are survivors. thousands of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. a british judge has ruled against wikileaks founder julian assange. he will be extradited to sweden on sex crimes allegations. his lawyers have a week to appeal that decision. the swedish prosecutors accuse assange of sexually assaulting two wikileaks volunteers during a week-long visit to stockholm last august. the 39-year-old australian insists that he is innocent. his lawyers argue that their client would not get a fair trial in sweden because sex trials are held behind closed doors. >> we all still hopeful -- we are still hopeful the matter will be resolved in this

country. we still remain very optimistic about our options on appeal. >> assange is staying at a friend's country mansion in england where he has a strict curfew and he must check in daily with local police. coming up next, howard and the forecast. >> j.c., still a little sunshine through the overcast but the rain is all the way from later this afternoon. if you're going out, grab the rain gear. if you have a chance today to, put away the garbage cans. details on the seven-day forecast when 9news now at noon returns.

after a four-month delay, the space shuttle "discovery" and its crew are ready for liftoff! it is scheduled for this afternoon. right now, the weather looks good. here is a live look at "discovery." it is on the launchpad in florida. there it is. a beautiful sight! clear skies. randall pinkston has the latest information now from the kennedy space center. >> reporter: space shuttle "discovery" is already to go for its 39th and final mission. >> it is kind of bittersweet. she's been an amazing machine. she's done everything we've asked of her. >> "discovery" has performed some of the shuttle program's

most dramatic missions. it launched the hubble telescope and it was the first to fly after the challenger disaster. >> it is what they call the fleet leader. performance in space. they have a lot of confidence in it. >> reporter: on this flight scheduled to last 11 or 12 days, the crew will deliver a storage module to the international space station, tons of supplies and for the first time, a human-looking robot that will perform routine maintenance tasks. >> nasa has three shuttle missions left and the primary objective of all of them is to get as much in the way of supplies and equipment to the international space station to keep it in good shape to support six people on board the station for as long as possible. >> nasa expects 40,000 guests to watch its most traveled space shuttle liftoff one final time before ending its storied career. "discovery's" original launch date was last november but the mission had to be postponed when inspectors discovered cracks in the external fuel tank. nasa called in some of the engineers who had built the fuel tank to make the repairs. >> we know through our

analysis, the fix will hold no problem. >> after the final flight, nasa will get it ready for permanent display in a museum. randall pinkston, cbs news at the kennedy space center. >> the last "discovery" liftoff. >> i wish i was there. i want to see that. >> you've seen one before, right? >> i was living in gainesville in 1989. >> you've never been right there up close? >> nope. >> oh, my gosh. >> i got one more chance or maybe two. >> i'm telling, it brought tears to my eyes. i don't know why. i get emotional at all sorts of things but i got emotional. the power and the fact that there are people in this shuttle and taking off. all of the people who work behind the scenes. it is incredible. >> i'll see if i can work it in. >> let's get to weather. >> did you hear that, boss? rain on the way today. tomorrow, some strong,

potentially damaging winds. we're going to declare tomorrow severe weather alert day. we're going to do extra things here at 9news now to let you know about the threat as it is coming toward us and as it comes through us. let's talk about what we can expect for this afternoon because we have some rain on the way. right now, mostly cloudy skies out there. a little bit chilly. still in the 40s. we'll top out around 50 degrees as we head toward 3:00 with this threat for some showers developing especially west of town. by 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, the rain is moving in. 49 degrees with lighter showers and by 9:00 and midnight, we've got rain around. temperatures holding in the mid to the upper 40s. that will be the case tonight. we're only going into the 40s for the overnight. satellite and radar, sunshine this morning. clouds came. we had a couple of sprinkles. charmtsville is almost about to start to rain there. down toward roanoke and down i- 81, it is pouring. live doppler 9000 hd, we're beginning to pick up the leading edge of the very light precipitation.

not all of this is reaching the ground yet but there may be a few sprinkles down to charlottesville. culpepper, the next one o two hours, rain will start by you. we'll have to wait longer here in town. temperatures, what a difference. memphis is 70. st. louis, 39. des moines is 27. we're looking 40 in pittsburgh. we're just about 50 degrees, 49 here in washington with 33 here in hagerstown. upper 40s in andrews, southern maryland. that warm air is trying to inch up. and it is going to win as we head into tonight and tomorrow. cloudy skies at national. look at these winds, south- southwest at 15. we still have a bit of a wind chill making it feel like it is in the lower 40s. a big storm coming out of the central and southern plains, this thing develops severe weather earlier today. all sorts of moisture being thrown our way. all sorts of snow on the northern half of the storm. there is going to be a lot of snow from south of chicago through northern indiana, through ohio and new york state. for us though, the rains move

in. they're here tonight. they're here overnight. tomorrow morning, as this front is getting close to us, we'll be dealing with rain but more spotty showers south of the front in the warm air and in the warm air, maybe some thunderstorms tomorrow. this thing pushes through in the afternoon and we start to clear out for saturday. but we're also looking at a lot of wind with a high wind watch in effect for just about everybody. from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., gusts could be to 60 miles per hour. garbage cans away. basketball hoops, put them down. get ready for a wind event on friday. a severe weather alert day. 50 today. rain developing. showers tomorrow. maybe some thunder but very strong winds. during the day, 61. saturday, 49. still a little bit breezy then as we head toward next week, what have you got? more rain on monday around 60 then by tuesday and wednesday, we're in the 40s and 50s. it is time again for pet line 9. this is becky from lab rescue. she's got a gorgeous, big boy! hello! >> hi, howard. this is owen.

>> owen. >> owen is a very special dog because he is completely blind. >> oh! >> he made a great progress through the studio. and up the steps and through the doorways. he is, in every way, a regular labrador with a great nose and a great sense of hearing but he cannot see a thing. >> so, how do you deal with a blind dog if you're a homeowner? >> you get owen a seeing eye dog. >> you get him a seeing eye dog. >> all right. hello, owen. >> what we're going to ask is that owen be adopted by somebody who owns a dog and blind dogs do great with the leadership of another dog in their home. they can quickly map their new homes, he took a day to map the whole neighborhood. >> smart! >> very smart. uses his other senses. he was a stray so we don't know if he was born this way but he -- and the other blind dogs are amazingly adjustable to their

blindness. >> becky, how can people contact you to help owen out? >> log into our web site at lab-rescue.com. >> or go to wusa9.com. we've got links to all of the shelters including becky's right there. we're going to the kitchen. 9news now at noon returns in a minute. you're a good boy!

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kitchen. and guess what. they have a special on march 15th called a whiskey dinner. tell me what is a whiskey dinner? >> we have four course menu and we're pairing food in bourbon, scotches, and whiskies. >> my goodness. what are you preparing today? >> i'm preparing bacon wrapped beets stuffed with blue chase. dates are a fruit and they grow on date palm trees. very sweet. you wrap it in bacon. you get a nice, smoky flavor and you stuff it in blue cheese. very wintry. very wintry appetizer. very tasty. i'm also making a balsamic glaze to go on top of it. >> you didn't bring any whiskey today. >> no whiskey, unfortunately. >> that's all right. look what he did bring. look at all of the salads they serve at wildfire. fabulous salad. this is a chocolate cream pie? >> chocolate cream pie. >> oh, my goodness. >> what else did you bring over there? >> red rell vet. >> that red rell vet cake.

>> our special wildfire chopped salad. >> and sandwiches. i'm going to cut this. are you still cookin', chef? >> i'm still cooking over here. >> you keep right on cooking. >> are you going to taste one of my dates? >> i am. i gotta do this. i can't look at this. this is the red velvet cake, right? >> yes. >> can you see it? >> the red velvet cake. and what is that over there? >> this is also part of the whiskey dinner. it is nutella creme eclair. made of nutella creme. >> you're not burning things up. >> no. we're in good shape. >> don't forget, march 15th, whiskey dinner. you don't have to drink whiskey to enjoy the meal. they're just cooking with it. it is march 15th at wildfire located on the third floor of

tysons galleria. come and see eddie! shall i taste this? >> it is hot. is it ok? come back and join us at 5:00.