down the security lines. on top of that, the bags are costing taxpayers more and more and raising security concerns. >> if we're trying to get everybody through in an expedited fashion, we need to spend more time to resolve the potential risks. and if they're not packed, then this is easier to do that. >> the tsa says screening all of the carry-ons costs about $260 million a year. the u.s. travel association is lobbying to bring back the days of at least one free checked bag. but last year, baggage fees brought in $3.4 billion and without that, the airlines say they would be in the red. in other news, prince george's county police are investigating two separate shootings from overnight. the first happened around 9:38 in the 2100 block of county road in district heights. officers arrived to fiend a man who had been shot to death film. the second shooting happened before 11:00 in the second block of maury avenue.

they found a man lying in the street with a gunshot wound. he was taken to the hospital where he later died. police have not released information about suspects or a moy in either of these cases. fairfax county police are reporting new information on the murder of vanessa fam. they believe an unidentified man may be linked to find who killed vanessa. a man jumped into a woman's car at a falls church parking lot recently, the same parking lot where fam disappeared. the victim was automobile to run away and was not hurt. in june 2010 fam's car was seen exiting the shopping center ten minutes before she was found dead inside the vehicle in a dutch near route 50 at gallows road. no arrests have been made. a penn state assistant football coach is fighting to clear his nom after the child abuse sex scandal became public. mike mcqueary has been heavily criticized since a grand jury report calm out saying he witnessed a 10-year-old boy

being sexually assaulted in a shower and he left without going to police. the report also said he didn't tell head coach joe paterno until the next day. in an e-mail, mcqueary sent yesterday to a friend, november 8th, it was released yesterday, it said he stopped the alleged act between sandusky and the boy and that he did report it to police. the iowa presidential caucuses are less than two months away! and a new poll out tuesday has four g.o.p. presidential hopefuls essentially tied for first place this that state. >> a second poll released tuesday could mean trouble for herman cain. 3/4 of republican women call the harassment charges against him serious. susan mcginnis has more. >> reporter: the republican candidates are hitting the campaign trail hard. especially in iowa where the first caucus is just seven weeks away. a new poll of likely iowa voters shows a tight race with four men near the top. herman cain still holds the

lead despite scagses of sexual harassment and several missteps when answering foreign policy questions. >> i have never held high elected office. >> cain is trying to convince voters his background as a ceo gives him an advantage over his competitors. >> politicians will propose things that they believe they can pass. businessmen propose ideas to dex the problem. report but the politicians running against cain have been catching up with him in the polls including former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. beginning rough's campaign was all but written film off in the campaign when top members of his staff resigned but he's managed a comeback thanks to several promising debate performances. >> it is newt momentum. everybody is talking about gingrich. since october 1st, his campaign has taken in $3 million. raising money has never been a

problem for millionaire mitt romney and congressman ron paul has a passionate base in iowa which means, for now, the race is wide open, especially with 60% of voters who have picked a candidate saying they could still change their mind. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. one week after the iowa caucus, new hampshire holds its primary. bloomberg news finds that mitt romney holds a commanding lead in the state with 40%. of course we lose a governor in the neighboring states. ron paul follows at 17% and newt gingrich is next with 11%. >> after some delay, the president is finally in australia. >> president obama had to cancel two prior visits to the country because of urgent matters here in the united states. the president is scheduled to spend a day and a half in australia meeting with the prime minister and members of parliament there. he's also expected to announce the u.s. is expanding its military presence on that continent. our time is 4:35. here is a look at other things

making news now. occupy wall street protestors are back in a lower manhattan park but this time, they cannot set up camp. police removed administrators early yesterday morning to clean the park saying it had become a health hazard. protestors were allowed to return but a judge ruled they could not pitch tents and camp out indefinitely. the demonstrators are plentying to carry on with their protests of corporate greed. one of the antiwall street protests from california was disrupted when authorities found -- alerted the person on campus of a nearby shooting. about a half-mile from the protests, police responded to report of a man with a gun inside the business school. they found the suspects in a computer room with four other students. officers opened fire. when the gunman raised his weapon, none of the students was hurt. the condition of the suspect is not known at this point. more than 5 hundred people showed up for a metro job fair for military veterans. the transit agency was looking to fill more than 200 vacant positions ranging from rail

mechanics, escalator repair technicians and administrators. this was the second job fair held by metro, specifically targeting military veterans. coming up in about five minutes, the world's largest online retailer unveils its tablet computer. >> at 4:51, music students get a chance to practice with the symphony orkest orchestra.

. dlef showing the rain activity coming up, moving toward the district and charles and prince county. we'll have a wet day today. periods of rain, maybe a few rumbles of thunder. low 6 midday through the

afternoon. as winds turn to the north, we'll get colder tonight. full forecast in the next five minutes. beverly farmer is in the 9news now traffic center with the timesaver traffic. >> weather will play a factor with the wet pavement. not much to tell you about. here is a live look at the 14th street bridge running freely on 395, a crash is already gone. back to you. it is time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> here's jessica doyle with the headlines. >> a couple of green arrows. >> but for today we're continuing to focus on europe. the situation there, italy's new preems is ready to present his new government today. mario monty has received support for his economic reform. his government must win confidence votes in both houses of parliament this week. in greece, the financial minister is urging the country's lawmakers to quickly

ratify a debt deal and avoid a crisis that would push the country into default. stocks did get a boost on news that retail sales rose for the fifth straight month. that's a positive sign. the dow stands at 12, 096. good day for thes nasdaq, up by 28. the s&p 500 added 6 points. the average value of farmland in some midwestern and western states has risen 25% in the past year. of the federal reserve bank of kansas city says bumper crops and strong farm income in northern plains states helped push up prices despite drought and flooding. nebraska farmland values increased the most with roughly a 40% jump over the past year. h&r block droppingity bid to buy tax ax software. a judge blocked the deal over antitrust concerns. if the deal were to happen, h&r block and turbotax would control 90% of the do it

yourself tax prep market. amazon rolled out its first tablet computer ever ahead of schedule. the full color touch screen kindle fire is about half the size of the ipad and at $199, less than half the price. analysts expect they will sell five million of them this year. early reviews have been positive. the biggest complaints, no camera, no mobile capacity and that means wi-fi is the only way it can connect to the web. i'm going to find out how you can sell your old one, andrea. i was doing a web search hoping i would have the results for you. >> it is amazing how all of the executives roll out in their casual look. >> i was going to -- i was thinking the same thing. is that how they debut a new product? >> with the casual look? >> silicon valley mentality. you do not wear a suit if you're in the tech community. i saw a study the other day that talked about how we try to look like our bosses and something like 63% of people

were business casual nowadays as opposed to suits. suits were 13%. i'm going on the memory bank. 13% for suits nowadays. >> thanks, jess. researchers announce there is a new drug that could help millions suffering from high cholesterol. >> you might want to own a piece of elizabeth taylor's jewelry collection? you might get a chance. christmas is not that far away. we'll be right back.

. good morning. welcome back to 9news now. mike says we're halfway there. it is wednesday. we're over halfway there. that's good news. as you will need some rain gear though today. that's the only floyd -- fly in the ointment. >> it is halfway over. thanksgiving next thursday. five weeks until christmas. things are ticking away fast. >> that's an improvement. >> be positive. come on, andrea. the water cycle, rain, we need it. we're going to get it. take a jacket with some rain gear. temps inned.

scattered showers and patchy fog. sunrise not until 6:51. a wet day. there will be some breaks. most of the time, i think we'll have some rain, probably 3/4 of the time it will be raining. noontime temps in the low 60s. winds become northerly this afternoon. another cold front pushes through. we could get a couple rumbles of thunder. we'll be dropping into the upper 50s by 8:00 p.m. that will bring chilly air around here for tomorrow and friday, especially. here is doppler radar covering the mid-atlantic and the northeast. notice the rain coming in from the south and the west. more rain up in new york and new england. if you have a flight up to new york or something, there will likely be a few delays with the wet weather. live doppler 9000 hd showing the rains d.c. and points south raining overnight to the north. as we zoom in, in fairfax county, especially south of 66 is where we've got showers in and around d.c. coming up

toward college park, some light stuff there. picks up a little bit down 95 toward wood bridge and waldorf and la plata as well. we've got showers. widen the picture out to the south and west. this is area rain moving north and east from luray and culpepper up to warrenton. stafford, across the river into northern st. mary's county as well. it really has filled in now. charles county is now -- just about all wet. this will move to southern prince george's county. you folks in nokesville, out to the west of catlit will be moving in there. keep the rain gear handy. temperatures are uniform. humid atmosphere. we're in the mid 50s. even north and west, a couple of degrees cooler in hagerstown than here in d.c. we sit at 56. dew point also a 6. humidity of 100%. we have had patchy fog out there as well. for us, we're watching the storm system pulling out of the mississippi valley. here is the circulation coming

into mississippi. tornado watch boxes, active weather until 10:00 central time from alabama, mississippi and the new orleans area. all of that moisture funneling off toward the mid-atlantic right toward d.c., right toward new york, right toward philly and boston as well. we'll continue to watch the moisture stream northeast. here we are at noon. the second front coming in. heavier rains as well. we may see some thunderstorms at times today. this will all start to pass south and east of us but the clouds and a few showers could be around early thursday and until this thing passes, here we are at noon, we may not be seeing until thursday afternoon with much chillier air moving in. today, showers, maybe a storm. tomorrow, blustery with afternoon clearing. friday, we start 20s and 30s. we get to near 50. i think we stay in the 40s on friday in spite of the sunshine. weekend looks better. saturday, sunny around 60. could be a late shower and then monday into tuesday, a few more

showers. let's go to beverly farmer. she'll update you on timesaver traffic. >> the wet pavement, all play a factor for you. no early incidents to tell you about. northbound 95 to points north, woodbridge, the left side of the screen is northbound. volume is still light to get on the 395. overnight roadwork should be cleared up near king street heading up past landmark to get to king street and on toward the 14th street bridge. everything should be open for you there. good pace here in landmark. 66, no early problems. washington boulevard, flash in the pan. it is already gone. picking up what barrels were in the roadway for any construction. let's look at the trip for 270, travelers in maryland. no incidents to report but growing volume to head toward hyattstown. germantown, the left side of the screen southbound traffic still moving at speed. visibility is not too bad here. no early problems to report. 9 a between the baltimore and capital beltway. on a from annapolis, bowie into

cheverly, bw parkway checked out already. the trip out of maryland. we start quietly there as well. mike, andrea, back to you. thank you, beverly. doctors are excited about a new experimental drug which could eventually help millions of americans control their cholesterol levels. >> sandra hughes is in los angeles. she has the latest on this new study. >> he may look fit now, two years ago, bill turner's doctor told him his cholesterol was too high. >> it is a bit of a wakeup call. my doctor kept encouraging me to eat a little bit more healthy, healthier and exercise more. >> now, researchers may have a new weapon in the fight against cholesterol. it is an experimental pill that raises good cholesterol while lowering bad cholesterol levels. cleveland clinic researchers looked at almost 400 people who took it alone or with other cholesterol lowering drugs. at the highest drug, evacetrapib was able to raise levels by 130% and lowered bad

cholesterol or ldl levels 36%. >> maybe people believe and i'm among them, raising levels of the good cholesterol is the next frontier. >> reporter: about one in six adults has high cholesterol, untreated it can lead to cardiovascular disease including stroke and heart attack. >> we have to come up with drugs to raise the good cholesterol if we're going to defeat this disease. right now, we don't have them. >> reporter: testing on a similar drug was stopped because it raised blood pressure levels. so far, this new cholesterol pill doesn't seem to have serious side effects but researchers caution this study only looked at patients for three months and that more testing is needed. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. the american heart association recommends if you're to or older, have your cholesterol and triglycerides checked at least once every five years. doctors are is your pried to learn that pneumonia is the

most common infection for people recovering from heart surgery. >> it is expected to be at an incision site. it was pneumonia. most infections occurred two weeks after surgery and not one week as they previously thought. the university of pennsylvania study included over 5,000 patients in hospitals throughout north america. keeping the drinking able at 21 saved more than 1,000 lives every year according to a new study. researchers at washington university school of medicine believe it prevents 6 hundred suicides and about 600 homicides every year. scientists found that lower drinking ables than 21 lead to more drunk driving accidents and other drinking behaviors that are dangerous. >> some area music students got a chance to play alongside the pros! the students rehearsed with the national symphony orchestra at the kennedy center. the youngsters are members of the youth fellows program. graduates have gone on to perform with major orchestras across the country.

hundreds of area elementary and middle school students took the geo plunge. they took part in the 7th annual geo plunge tournament. a fast-paced card game where students compete in three different categories involving geography questions. the tournament took place at the national portrait gallery. it is time to take our first look at the question of the morning. >> here is one of our viewers with today's question. >> hi, my name is suzanne. today's question of the day is... 80% of all women admit to doing this. a, lying about their weight. b, hanging up on someone, c, swearing like a sailor. my answer was a, lying about their weight. [ laughter ] >> again, the question of the day. 80% of all women admit to doing this... >> log on to facebook.com/wusa9 and lea your response and we'll

reveal the answer and your comments throughout the morning. the answer is at 6:00 a.m.

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getting you the discounts you deserve. now, that's progressive. call or click today. . welcome back. coming up on 4:56, your weather first. we have showers, in and around the metro and south of town through charles county moving into calvert, st. mary's coming out of the warrenton area and prince william county as well. grab the rain gear. we'll have periods of rain and

showers. rumbles of thunder. midday highs in the low 60s turning colder tonight and tomorrow. beverly farmer. >> around the area, poor conditions for driving but light volume. no early problems around the beltway including montgomery county as you head west to college park into new hampshire avenue. you can see the wet pavement. 95, virginia, out of southern maryland, downtown still in good shape. back to you. >> public schools in washington, d.c. have a new director of athletics and for the first time in the city's history, a woman will be heading the department. stephanie evans, the former head women's basketball coach at kentucky state university and virginia state university has now taken over the department. she'll oversee athletic programs and the city's more than 100 schools. the 39-year-old replaces marcus ellis who resigned in july. >> coach stands alone with 903 wins after last night's win over michigan state, duke

university head coach passed coaching legend bobby knight for the all-time record. knight who called the game on tv immediately congratulated coach k. he used to play for him back at army. it was a nice thrill for the two of them. congratulations, coach. >> some elizabeth taylor's famed jewelry collection is headed to the auction block. >> heather kovar has a preview as the collection makessity way around the world. >> the glitz and glamor of hollywood legend elizabeth taylor are in the spotlight in paris. >> there is no one as glamorous as elizabeth taylor. andy warhol said when he was died, he would like to be reincarn reated as a big ring on her finger. >> these include clothing and accessories to drum up interest in the big auction in new york next month. taylor, who died of heart failure in march, was known for her love of pretty baubles. christie's estimates her collection is worth $30 mmm but

is banking on people spending much more. this diamond bracelet watch, a gift from michael jackson is valued between $30,000 and $50,000. >> there are things that she wore every day. she loved jewelry. >> elizabeth taylor was born here in hampstead garden, a suburb of north london and married a brit, sir richard burton, twice. this french jewelry director says several pieces were gifts from burton. he gave her a green necklace along with this 33 carat stone called the elizabeth taylor diamond. some are calling these the hollywood crown jewels and these sales could break the record for a jewelry collection set in 19867 when the duchess of windsor's jewels sold for $50 million. for cbs news, london. >> copy these on qvc, they could make more money for their

charity. thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. >> she will start looking at the list on the computer. beverly farmer is in for monika samtani this week. she'll have traffic in a moment. mr. howard howard bernstein has your weather first. >> those auctions, you can bid remotely. mike is right about the umbrella, the rain gear. there will be a few breaks. a lot more rainy periods than whether we had on tuesday. maybe even a few thunderstorms. could be that sort of active weather today. nothing severe but a couple of storms could be around. temperatures by noon in the low 6. we'll drop back to 60 by 5. light rain being reported at reagan national. a big range in highs. up north toward hagerstown and frederick, temperatures won't move much. in southern maryland, you guys could be in the upper 6 later. moisture on a flowing in from the southwest right over us up toward new york and boston and philly. and there