hello, thank you for joining us. i'm j.c. hayward. an explosion at a west virginia post office is topping our newscast this afternoon. the blast happened this morning at the post office in ran some. in the -- ransom. in the eastern panhandle. employees and customers were evacuated and an unidentified white powder came out of a package. a hazardous material unit and state police are on the scene.

15 workers have been quarantined as a precaution even though they show no signs of illness. a robot was sent into the post office to test the air. and atf agent is also investigating. and about 20 people work in this branch. again, no serious injuries have been reported so far. we're following this story very closely. we will have updates throughout the day on our website, wusa9.com. and the latest information on our evening's newscast. well, the government's latest report on jobs has been released and labor department says the unemployment rate fell to9.0% last month. while the economy is still weak, it is the first decline in the unemployment rate since july. alexis christoforous has more. [ bell dinging ] >> reporter: stocks opened lower on the latest jobs news. the labor department says the

economy added just 80,000 jobs in october. the fewest in four months. still, unemployment dipped to 9% from 9.1% the first drop since july. that's because a separate survey of house holds showed that more people found work. >> i don't think it was unexpected or anything shocking but primarily i don't think it was good enough to give us any reason to invest in stocks. >> reporter: employers are skittish about hiring because of uncertainty about economic growth and consumer demand. but there is a bright spot. hourly wages rose. while today's jobs report doesn't have any dramatically good news it does show the economy is improving just very slowly. wall street is also keeping a wary on what's happening overseas. european markets were mixed friday after greece scrapped plans to hold a referendum on the latest rescue deal. the news is a relief to investors. >> we are quite confident that we will see within the next

couple of weeks rising stock exchange. >> reporter: back home the federal reserve doesn't expect the unemployment rate to go much lower that year. that's not good news for william stanton. he's been out of work since graduating from college 18 months ago. >> it's difficult because you kind of lose a sense of purpose of -- you have ambition to do something and you get up each morning and you're looking for work. >> reporter: like millions of americans, stanton says he has no choice but to keep on looking. alexis christoforous, cbs news, wall street. the man accused of killing is montgomery county woman and her son is behind bars this afternoon. without bail. prosecutors say that the two were killed so that the system could get the -- suspect could get the victim's car to impress his new girlfriend. jane mcquain was found dead inside her home in jermantown last month. police say she was beaten and stabbed while she she want. prosecutors -- she slept. prosecutorred add that her husband, curtis lopez, then

picked up his stepson william mcquain at a friend's house and later beat limb to death. -- him to death. his body was found in a field in clarksburg. >> the defendant was texting photographs of the vehicle in advance of miss mcquain going -- missing. >> prosecutors could seek the death penalty. lopez's attorney is saying that all the evidence in the case is circumstantial. well, the beltway near silver spring is open again following a fatal crash. the driver o of a 2002 bonneville slammed into a rear of a tractor-trailer near the georgia avenue exit. the crash happened around 1:45 this morning on the inner loop. the truck driver slowed down in the work zone when police say the driver of a car went into the back of the truck at a high speed. the driver of the car was killed. he's from mount airy but his name has not been released. at least one person is

being treated for injuries that they received during a high speed police chase on interstate 95. it began last night in howard county. it ended just before 10:00 on the suspect's car crashed into two other vehicles near the icc construction site. at least one woman was injured and taken to the hospital. senator ben cardin will officially announce his plans this weekend to run for re- election. the maryland democrat won the election in 2006. he beat then lieutenant governor michael steele. before the senate, cardin served ten terms in the u.s. house. he could wind up facing a challenge in the democratic primary from state senator anthony muse of prince george's county. and we have new information on that fatal fire that occurred in aspen hill yesterday. 67-year-old sandra vidas died from her injuries. the flames broke out yesterday

morning on iris street in aspen hill. neighbors are telling us that the two people inside the house may have been hoarders which could have fueled the flames. vidas' husband is in the hospital with serious injuries. damaged by fire four months ago, one of capitol hill's most popular watering holes open for business again today. the tune inn on pennsylvania avenue welcomed new customers this morning. it underwent extensive renovation over the summer. the tune inn first opened back in 1947. it holds the second oldest liquor license in the city. well, a los angeles jury is now deliberating the fate of michael jackson's former doctor. the seven men and five women received the case after day long closing arguments by the prosecution and the defense. karen brown is outside the courthouse with more

information. >> reporter: the fate of dr. conrad murray is now in the hands of the jury. >> it is up to all of you and you alone to decide what happened. >> reporter: seven men and five women must decide if michael jackson's personal physician is to blame for the singer's death. >> michael jackson trusted conrad murray. he trusted him with his life. he paid with his life. >> reporter: during closing arguments, the prosecutor repeatedly called document murray's actions bizarre said and said there was no precedent for the cardiologist giving the singer propofol to help him sleep but the defense fired back telling jurors once again it was jackson desperate for sleep who injected the fatal dose of then esthetic after he'd taken too many sedatives on the day he died. >> they want you to convict dr. murray for the actions of michael jackson. >> it's not a reality show. it's reality. >> reporter: the defense also

criticized the prosecution for playing off of michael jackson's celebrity. and for tugging on the jurors' emotions by talking about his three young children and showing pictures of them in court. >> how valid and lawful it is, i'm not really sure. in other words, the important part of this case is the facts. what happened or what didn't happen. >> reporter: if dr. murray is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the judge will decide his sentence. which could range from probation up to four years in prison. if acquitted, the cardiologist might still lose his medical license. karen brown, cbs news, los angeles. >> again, dr. murray could receive a four year jail sentence and lose his medical license if found guilty. coming up on 9news now at noon, a high speed chase unlike anything most of us have seen. a car versus a plane. plus, a basketball court turns into a dance floor for

lsu fans. we'll have details on these stories and more when we come back.

six meanie emergencied from a -- men emerged from a capsule today they've been living in for nearly 18 months. in moscow, it was part of a simulated mission to mars. the international team of mars 500 is receiving some medical

checkups today and one man says he can't wait to get to the beach. from brazil, it looked like something out of an action movie. police rammed a plane that was attempting to take off with smuggled electronic goods. the left wing of the plane was badly damaged. the aircraft spun to a stop. the police jumped out of their car with guns drawn and arrested the suspects smugglers. from louisiana, a lottery winner who is $1 million richer because of a cashier's mistake. robert thibodeau woke up to find out that he matched all five numbers on his ticket. he figured that he had won up to $40,000 maximum but the cashier gave him what is called a power play ticket and that multiplied his winnings by five. >> $1 million. i mean how lucky can you be? i never asked for the powerplay

but i go get my money. i'm going to write her a check and give her some money. >> the supermarket will receive $10,000 for selling the winning lottery ticket. now that's in addition to all the new business that they're receiving when word got out that the store was good luck. not money, but football tickets that had these lsu fans dancing up a tomorrow. lsu plans the alabama -- a storm. lsu plans the alabama crimson tide tomorrow. tickets are going for thousands of dollars online but winners of the danceoff got a pair of tickets free. in the end it was steven keith also known as legoless who stole the show. it took him about three weeks to get his act together and after he received the football tickets he says it was well worth it. coming up next, howard's weekend forecast. >> j. c., temps in the 50s right now. still cloudy out here but sun

is trying to come through. down south though that's where we shad showers earl -- had showers earlier and live doppler 9000 hd still picking up a few showers well south of town here. ashland and richmond. we'll see increasing sunshine and a chilly weekend ahead. all the details right after this short break. you're watching 9news now at noon.

jet blue has started issuing refunds to passengers who were stuck on a plane last weekend for almost eight hours. it happened during last weekend's big snowstorm. five planes were stuck on the runway of bradley international airport outside hartford. jet blue passengers are being reimbursed for their flight and also receiving a free round trip voucher for a future flight. okay. hope that makes them feel just a little bit better. all right, now i want you to go to jchayward.com and sign up for this weekend's alzheimer's walk. you haven't signed up. i only have four people i think on my team j. c.'s jewels, go to jchayward.com. you'll find the alzheimer's walk there and you can click on it and you can join my team and howard is going to be walking with n weekend. >> i will be, but i didn't join your team because i have my

heart walk going on in the nationals park. i'll be there for the greater washington heart walk. and our event starts 8:30. the walk at 10:00. what time is your event? >> 8:30 also. >> we just can't be in more than one place at the same time. but we both need to bundle up and need somebody to walk close to because morning temperatures will be down in the 30s and low 40s during that walk. so it will be a little bit chilly. let's talk about this afternoon. in fact let's talk about the weekend you know what this weekend is j. c. don't you? this is the. >> reporter: the yes, the clocks go back one hour. >> exactly. so i'll probably take care of my car clock sometime tomorrow. and everything else. and we fall back to standard time from daylight saving time. so actually sunday, the longest day of the year. 25 hours. you get an extra hour, i know i can always use an extra hour and we'll get it on sunday. of course we pay it back in the spring. the day planner, sunshine's on the way. still some clouds around here at 1:00. temps in the mid and even upper

50s through the afternoon but look at the winds, north almost 20 miles an hour. yeah, it's breezy afternoon out there and that will keep the colder temperatures here. yesterday, we got to 64 today about 58. by 5:00 6:00. tonight the wind continue northerly, they may diminish a little bit in the overnight but they'll stay up tonight. a breezy overnight with 9:00 p.m. temps down in the up ever 40s. -- upper 40s. by tomorrow morning again lots ofs around and it will be a -- 30s around and it will be a chilly weekend. although warmer temperatures still in the seven day forecast. this morning we had reinitiate specially south of -- rain south especially south of richmond. bill had .05 of rain this morning. but coming out of pennsylvania as this line sinks to the south getting into western maryland. so more and more sunshine up north and that's going to be working its way toward us in the afternoon. our temperatures still running until 40s? garrett -- in the 40s in

garrett county but lots of 50s across the region. frederick only at 50 right now. over to the eastern shore from eastern to cambridge. still looking at 50s down there with the cloud cover. 52 in bladensville to 50 actually in lovettsville. 51 for haymarket and all the way up to 56 for friends at fort belvoir and 55 at andrews air force base. 54 in bethesda at vienna and at reagan national a pleasant 56. a little bit brisk though. i have to tell you outside without a jacket. i wish i had a windbreaker or something with a wind at 18 miles per hour. the skies will get bluer in the afternoon as the sun returns and dew point holding steady at 44. there are two storms across the country. the one that we were watching this morning just south and east of us which brought the rain especially heavy down into the carolinas and southern virginia and then there's another one. it's all the way out on the west coast.

going to take a while for that thing to get across the country. notice the rain moving into southern california and mountain snows out there. if you're going out west for an early ski trip it's going to be good. the nice weather in the middle of the country. that will be building in here starting later today and be around for the weekend and the first few days of next week as well. so the chilly north and northeast winds continue. skies clear. 5:00 p.m. we're looking sunny but brisk still. tonight a killly night down in the -- chilly night down in the 30s. that's going to keep us in a northerly northeasterly flow. tomorrow low 50s. sunday still sunny with temperatures in the upper 50s but notice the mild readings and the mild wind arrows showing up rather out to the west. that moves in our direction early next week. so we still have some nice days ahead. some comfortable almost warm days ahead. 58 this afternoon, the sun returns, winds will be with us. 30s tonight and 54 tomorrow. clocks back saturday night. looks pretty good for the maryland and uva game and the skins game sunday in the upper

50s. monday, 65. look at tuesday and wednesday. well up in the 60s. by next thursday, that looks like the next best chance of rain. hey, stick around, we got a treat for you in the kitchen to finish out the week here on 9news now at noon.

you may have noticed a lot of food behind us on the set. it's reminder that food drive 9 is underway. we're teaming one the boy scouts -- up with the boy scouts and the capital area food bank and you can help by donating food. by the way, $1 means a lot to the capital area food bank

because if you can't give food, $1 donation can be turned into $14 worth of food. and if you'd like to get more information, just go to wusa9.com to learn more about scouting for food because tomorrow, the boy scouts are going to begin the food drive 9 by leaving 800,000 bags in maryland and virginia so we want residents to fill them up with nonperishable foods and then leave them back on the doorsteps saturday, november 12th okay? all right, food drive 9 is so many people who are -- you know are hungry in our area. and so we're trying to change that and we want you to help us be a partner with us. but right now, guess what? 25,000 foodies are at the convention center in downtown washington. i'm pleased to have mary beth al bright here with us. she's pleased to show us a particular recipe she'll be

preparing down at that food -- what is the metropolitan cooking and entertainment? i like that. >> if you can't cook, you can still entertain and here's what i'm going to show you. the easiest steak recipe you could possibly make. it's -- i'm going to be making them tomorrow at the national beef cookoff stand. at the cooking and entertaining show. what i'm going right now is i'm -- down right now is i'm starting with a strip loin steak. quick cooking super tender and delicious and just brushing it with some asian dressing. which is usually rice vinegar, soy sauce like good asian flavors. sesame. here's a money shot, you ready? >> all right, put that -- that sizzles. >> that's what you want. you've got get the grill hot enough to hear that sizzle. we're going to turn it into a sandwich. we're taking some coleslaw mix, a great shortcut to do at home. so you don't have to chop up the cabbage and red cabbage and carrot. if you are making it at home. it's like a britney spears

video here, coming through. if you want to save a little bit of money at home you can chop your own. at home i usually put in a little lit of broccoli. this is rice vinegar, thest great veiner to -- it's a great vinegar to tenderize the cabbage and it's also a mild flavor which is terrific, i love it. we're going top the steak with that and also make a mayonnaise. j. c., do you know that? >> no, that's a new one for me. okay. mayonnaise? >> your best friends here. we take mayonnaise, regular light mayonnaise and then mix it with this asian chili sauce which is incredible. it's got a great kick to it and i tell you what, we do this all the time. >> ketchup? >> no, it comes in a bottle with a rooster on it. that's how no remember it. it's a rooster sauce. just take one of our baguettes here to make a sandwich. >> okay. >> we top it with the mayonnaise. we top it with some beef. you like steak? >> and i'm already at the

finished product. look at that. that looks good. so the food -- metropolitan and cooking and entertainment show is tomorrow down at the convention center. be sure to come back and see us at 5:00. have a great weekend. ooh look at that. hmmm. [ captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com ]