the temps are mild. 62 at washington. most temps in the upper 50s to low 60s. here's monika samtani. she'll get you going on the roads this morning. >> you know what? i'm happy to say things aren't looking too bad early this morning. good morning, everybody. the beltway is fine. we'll zoom into an incident in riverdale. it is on the westbound side of route 410 right at kenilworth avenue, a car spun out in the right lane. crews do know about that. let's go around town live. we'll go into virginia, inbound side of i-66, overall delays in centreville and then again at route 50, we're looking fine here at nutley street. northbound side of 395, overall delays, northbound on 95 in woodbridge. here's what it looks like at duke street. a bit of volume through landmark. no big deals up to the 14th street bridge. coming up, we'll go into maryland at 6:12. andrea and mike? >> at 6:01, a story you'll see only on channel 9, a cancer patient's fight against a major

airline. >> we're talking about lynn mccain and her family. this he had planned a trip from bwi to belize. they were going to did in january but lynn's doctor says she has stage four cancer and cannot travel. they're asking us airways for a refund on their ticket. they admit they bought nonrefundable tickets but are appealing to the airline's compassion. us airways says it won't change its refund policy but it will waive change fees so the mccains can use the tickets at another time. >> big deal. i might not be alive. what good is it going to do? what good is a voucher going to do me? >> us airways tells 9news it will make the vouchers transferable so another family member can use them. when you buy a ticket on us airways or other airlines, the refund policies are usually clearly posted for you to read. now, this story is generating a lot of conversation on our facebook page. donna writes the airline can easily give a refund.

it is called greed. and that is the reason they won't. now, while dennis writes i know it stiption but when you buy the nonrefundable ticket, that's what this it is. they offer refundable tickets if there was ever any doubt about being able to buy, you need to buy refundable tickets. you can buy the conversation right now by going to facebook.com/wusa9. right now, dozens of people are camped out all in hopes of getting into a subsidized apartment building. a big sign that our economy has not recovered at this point. and this is a story that's new this morning. right here on 9news now. surae chinn joins us live from northwest washington with more on this. this is kind of just heartbreaking. >> it really is. because there are at least 80 people just hoping to be on this waiting list. we're outside of the hubbard place apartments at 3500-00, 14th street. the new renovations,

apartments, condos, restaurants, then you come a couple of blocks here and people are looking for subsidized housing, just a testament of some of the situations people are in on the verge of being homeless and that is just the case with shack ila jones here. in fact, you're homeless right now. >> basically, you could say that fnght. >> jumping from friend's house to home? >> yeah, my daughter's dad, i stay there a lot. they're a big help to me. in my situation. but i'm just looking for a place for me and my daughter. >> shaquille la, you have a 1- year-old daughter. you're standing in line since 3:00 this morning knowing there is no guarantee you'll find a home here. >> you're absolutely right. >> why do it? >> because you need somewhere stable. i don't like going back and forth from place to place. better to try than not try at all. >> how long has your situation been like that? what keeps you going? >> it has been on and off since i got pregnant which is about two years ago.

so, since then, i got -- my daughter, knowing that it is better for her than not good going place to place. >> do you think you've been affected with the economy and is it tough finding a job at this point? >> i actually have a part-time job so that's not the problem. it is very tough finding an apartment that you can afford with the prices of the jobs that you're making. you have to search for a good job to afford a place. i can say d.c. is the most convenient for the prices with part-time jobs and making minimum wage and things like that. >> thank you, shaquille la jones. hope get a place here in one of the apartments at the hubbard place apartments. did i talk to other folks. they said they pay rent, about $1,000 but with subsidized housing, that can drop to $400 a month. a big difference in these people's lives or in any lives for that matter. back to you. >> thanks, surae chinn live in northwest washington this

morning. >> prince william county lawmakers are willing to go to court apparently to stop holly acres mobile home park from rebuilding in the same location. holly acres got washed away by tropical storm lee. dozens of families have been without a home since. the park's owner wants to rebuild on the site in woodbridge. the county says that's a bad idea. sims the property is in a flood-prone area. county leaders say they will go to court to stop any rebuilding at that location. the law is still on the books in d.c. that says you could go to jail if you drive with an expired license plate in the city. today, the city council is going to hold a hearing aimed at striking down that law. emergency legislation passed last month ending the arrests temporarily. a new plan would impose fines for the expired tags and police would still be able to impound your car though. >> an early win for a virginia parent who wants to keep the ten commandments out of the hallways of a public high school. a federal judge in roanoke says he will not dismiss the case against giles county schoolsms

for decades, the high school had the ten commandments posted in the hallway. a student's parent complain and they were taken down then the school board voted to fut back up. the aclu is backing the suit on behalf of the parent and child. an attorney for montgomery county says efforts to limit walmart's growth are unconstitutional. in the last few weeks, walmart announced plans to build stores in the county. in response, county lawmakers created a bill to limit all big box stores. but the bill was clearly aimed at walmart. the county's attorney calls it an unfair burden on stores trying to do business in the county. so, did you do think cyber monday shopping yesterday? well, apparently a lot of people did. sales jumped 18% over last year. >> electronics were the most popular sale item with sales up 26% over last year. in this "your money" report, jessica doyle gives us a look at high tech gift ideas. >> joining us now is steve greenburgh, author of gadget nation with some technology

ideas for the holidays. >> we're wearing one right here. these are christmas tree hats, a must have from a web site called stupid.com. kind of a must have. >> i love it. they're all blinky. >> high tech. >> next over here, this is really cool. the uma tell la. you can plug this in to your internet and you'll have free phone service. you pay for it once, about $200. "consumer reports" checked out all of the different services, this is the number one as far as quality of sound. you can use your own existing phone. under $200. >> this is cool. the drop cam echo. you plug it into your internet and you can get a live picture. that's a live picture of my terrace in miami, florida. >> very nice. >> you get it 24/7 streaming. it can store up to 30 days worth of information. plug this into the internet. dropcam echo. finally, check this out.

this is called ifi connect x two. you replace the sd card in the camera and it turns the camera into a wireless camera. you just snap a picture and then it transfers the image to whatever you decide. in this case, an ipad. you could do it to a computer, to a smart phone and then take the picks, e-mail it, put it on facebook. there is a picture i took of jessica transferred immediately. pretty cool? >> that's so easy. under $50. >> we love that as a gift. >> we have another option. >> gadget nation makes a great gift. >> you can't forget your christmas tree hat. >> ok. >> just got a couple of ideas for my shopping. jessica and steve checked out some of the hot gadgets. those are pretty hot selling now below $50. check that out at wusa9.com. go to features on the home page and go to the morning show. >> in four minutes, teaching your children the value of money. we'll talk with an author who

has ideas for every family. >> howard says grab an umbrella before you leave the house today. your weather first is next. keep it here on 9news now.

6:12 this tuesday morning. there is rain out to the west of us. it will rotate toward the northeast and at times later this morning into early this afternoon, could be coming down at a pretty good clip. it is going to get cooler as the day wears on. we start in the 60s this morning. finish in the 50s. it will be wet at times. monika? >> we'll take a live look at the beltway on the east side near route 50. if you're heading south toward oxon hill, this is what it looks like. no problems to report across the wilson bridge as well. an accident in cheverly, i'll update you on that coming up in my next report. back to you guys. >> thank you, monika. ok, so how many times have you said kids these days just don't know the value of a doral. main you've said it or you've heard a family -- maybe you've said it or heard a family member do it. alisa weinstein has a book out. it is called earn it, learn it, teach your child the value of

money, work and time well spent. now, you are by career in advertising however you had a moment where this kind of became very valuable in your life. >> yes, at the time, she was 4. she's 7 now but my daughter and i were in target and she wanted another pink little lip smackers lip balm and she had a give me moment and i told her to get a job and pay for it because that's what every 4- year-old should do. i ended talking to 49 professionals. they told me what it is they did for a living and i translated that into more than 950 kid friendly tasks families can do together. >> this is a dawbting task if you're a parent and you want to give your kids something if they've been behaving well. when does it cross the line and they're having that give me moment? >> you can tell because the child doesn't understand how hard we work to earn money. that's what earn my keep is. the name of the program is earn my keep. it is a realistic way, the way adults earn money and what they do with the money after.

my program allows kids as young as 4, up to 12 to experience it for themselves. families pick a career and then they do a task from the career and then once the kids completed the task, the best of their ability, they get paid. so, the kid is getting a real life experience of what adults do to earn money which is different than anything else out there. >> the stuffed animal or the wii cartridge or the lip gloss can happen after some hard work. >> right, exactly. they've earned it for themselves. that's incredibly empowering. kids love the fact they have control over their money which encourages them to make wiser spending choices and wiser saving choices because they own the money. that's an incredible lesson to teach your kid really young. >> one last question about 30 seconds. this isn't just a book to read. there are examples and things you can do? >> tons of things. if you wanted your kid to be a news anchor, give them a story on line, have them at the dinner table tell you the story and congratulations, you've just been a news anchor, here is your money working really

hard. >> could be a great holiday gift and of course, you're out shopping, your kids will want things when you're out there. earn it, learn it. you can find it on amazon. we'll link you to her web site on wusa9.com. sounds like a lot of fun. thank you, alisa. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you, mike. what will you need to wear if you're going out shopping today or going to work or school? >> rain gear for one. >> something to keep you warmer this afternoon. we're going to get cooler. we're cooling down but to normal levels. last few days have been crazy warm. been great but we shouldn't be in the 70s. it is the end of november. band of rain will be moving toward us. you can see it. in north carolina, south central and southwestern virginia coming into the shenandoah valley. this is what we're tracking on live doppler 9000 hd. this band actually extends into western maryland into cumberland where we're seeing the showers. into the metro, fairly quiet. look at this. some moderate to occasionally heavy rains here in woodstock

and newmarket. want to take you north first and then from cumberland south. route 50 between capon bridge and romney is a wet ride. strasburg there, middletown there in virginia, west of 81. it crosses 81 around luray and stanley. this continues to stream off toward the north. these individual rain showers are moving about 50 miles per hour while the band is moving off toward the east. we'll see this here in a few hours. so, this morning, a few showers mainly west early. working their way toward us. temps running in the upper 50s to low 60s. sunrise after 5:00 this morning. our day planner, showers becoming steadier and heavier later this morning through early this afternoon. cooling off with lighter showers by 5:00. winds south 10 to 15 will gust over 20 at times. temps, they're warm. 63 in baden. 59 up in columbia. out to the west, around 660 degrees in fairfax.

even in gaithersburg this morning, we're sitting at 61 degrees with 62 at national. very humid. humidity is 84%. dew point in the upper 50s. there is a lot of moisture in the air. we can pick up a quick inch or so of rain from this system. which is pretty big. there is cold air under it. tennessee, mississippi, alabama. they're looking at snow. upwards of five inches of snow across parts of western tennessee. the band of rain bringing moisture off the atlantic. not just the gulf from earlier. with the heavy rains in detroit and cleveland as well. we look better, drier anyway by tonight and tomorrow. cooler. so, today, this morning, 64. we're dropping into the 50s. rain is heavy at times midday. tomorrow, blustery around 52 after starting in the 30s and 40s. thursday, a chilly day. less wind though. a nicer day but normal for december. 50. then with the first weekend in december looks pretty good. low to mid-50s there. ok for the 'skins game. monday, upper 50s but rain

chances go up. monika samtani, it is 6:18. take it away. >> at 6:19 now, there are no big deals, a couple of small incidents to tell you about. overall, things are looking fine. here's what it looks like on the beltway. if you're planning to head over to the beltway, things are fine. let's go into prince george's county. there is one accident on kenilworth avenue in cheverly. it is not a big problem. it is not affecting route 50 or the bw parkway through cheverly heading into northeast right now. live look at route 50 looking fine as you head over toward the beltway and on to the beltway north and south, you'll be fine as well near route 50. back over to the maps, just getting word of an accident northbound on route one right where the split is for woodbridge at i-95. crews know about it. they're on the scene there. be aware of that, 95 is not affected by that. let's take a live look at 95 in springfield. overall, delays down in woodbridge and from newington to springfield on to 395, it is

normal through landmark as well. coming up, we'll take another look around town at 6:25. andrea and mike? >> it is 6:19. next, hear from dale hunter as he takes over as the capitals head coach. >> time for another check of the question of the morning before we go to break. it is a recent survey revealed most americans have one of these but they never use it. is it... >> our facebook friend, ed, always has something to say. i've been this house for 15 years and i've never used the dishwasher. they're such incredibly inefficient devices. how hard is it to wash a dish. >> yeah. >> keep your guesses coming. we'll reveal the answer coming up at 6:53.

welcome back. 6:23. howard here with your weather first. get ready for a band of heavy rain later this morning into the afternoon. it won't be raining all day.

grab the rain gear. you can see this on our live doppler 9000 hd composite from the carolinas through west virginia, even a few sprinkles here and there. we look for a couple of showers. midday, i think that's when we'll see the heaviest rain. this afternoon, showers return as opposed to the heavy rains as temperatures cool into the low 50s. mike and andrea? >> dale hunter says he's probably going to have some butterflies in his stomach tonight at verizon center. he's making his debut as the team's head coach. the caps are hosting the blues tonight. >> the caps fired bruce boudreau yesterday morning. they hope hunter can turn things around. >> despite the faster nhl coach to 200 wins, boudreau was having a hard time motivating his team so the caps brought in a former great in hunter. he's been managing in the ontario junior league. he looks forward to getting things back on track, he says. >> it is a clean slate when new coach takes over. it starts tomorrow. they're upbeat.

because now, it is clean. what's past is past. >> hunter is one of only four players to have his number retired by the capitals. he is the only player in nhl history to have a thousand points and 3,000 penalty minutes in his career. >> well, despite their six-week losing streak, the redskins aren't too far out of the running in the nfc east. that's because some of their division rivals aren't doing so hot. the giants were in new orleans last night visiting the saints and it was the drew brees show! he threw for four touchdowns, finding lance moore and jimmy graham twice. the saints top the giants 49- 24. >> a little happy? >> a little happy about that. >> college basketball, georgetown hosting iupui. it was close at halftime. hoyas pulled away in the second half. thompson had 21 points and ten

rebounds. georgetown wins 81-58. up next, a trip to 12th ranked alabama. >> still ahead, we're going to hear from republican presidential candidate herman cain. he's responding to the news that has just come out he's had an extramarital affair. >> taxi fares could take a big jump. a look at how much and when. >> here's monika. >> we're taking a live look on 95 in woodbridge here at route one. the accident is on route one at woodbridge up the split for i- 95. we'll tell you more about that and other incidents around town at around 6:30. you're watching 9news now. stay with us!

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we are back at 6:30 and this is always the place to get your weather first. this is a live look at the u.s. capitol and again, the sky behind it is that purply orangey look that we love early in the morning. there are some clouds though in the background. 62 degrees right now. >> thanks a lot for starting your day with us. we're glad you're here this tuesday morning at 6:30. i'm mike hydeck. >> i'm andrea roane. meteorologist howard bernstein is out on the weather terrace. he doesn't have the umbrella but you will need it later on. >> i have it. it is closed right now. i'm not going anywhere without

it. we'll see sunshine in a few spots earlier this morning. plenty of moisture out there. some rain will be arriving over the next few hours. by 9:00, showers. probably as warm as it will be all day. noon, 61. could be heavy rain in spots. this afternoon, leftover showers. 54 degrees. we'll show you what's been happening, a lot of rain coming out of north carolina through virginia and west virginia. notice how the whole area is creeping off to the north and the east. it is creeping toward us. here's live doppler 9000 hd. see the showers in woodstock, luray approaching fauquier county and winchester. we'll get into it in a few hours. we go inside to monika with timesaver traffic. >> good morning, everybody. overall, things have not been too bad around town. there is one accident on the northside of town on the inner loop of the beltway right after route 355. the reason i say it is not too bad, it is sitting on the shoulder. things are fine getting by. let's take a live look at the american legion bridge. there are tho problems across the bridge span on the west

side of town. let's go over to 395 at duke street. again, normal slow traffic as you head through landmark heading up to the 14th street bridge. all lanes are open. a last live look into the northeast area, new york avenue at bladensburg road looks fine in this corridor. the accident should be clearing in cheverly on kenilworth avenue at tuxedo road. before i go, i have a commuter alert. metro could be hiking fares again soon. "the washington examiner" reports metro is facing $124 million shortfall next year. that could mean another round of fare hikes in july. the last hike went into effect in 2010. nothing is expected to be proposed until january at the earliest. the fare hike isn't certain but there also could be cutbacks to expansions or maintenance projects, metro could always trim back service as well. this generally happens every two years. the fare hike is expected to be at least 10 cents. don't forget about the peak of the peak fares as well.

>> coming -- when you're trying to get people out of their cars. >> we want that. >> we'll hear more in january. we'll keep you posted. >> all right, monika. thank you. >> taking a cab to save money might not be a better option either. today, the d.c. taxicab commission is going to vote on a plan to hike the per mail rate which would jump from $1.50 a mile to $2.75 a mile. the city's taxi rate hasn't been raised in five years but drivers have been able to tack on a fuel surcharge. g.o.p. candidate herman cain is fighting off more allegations of sexual impropriety. a woman has come forward saying she and cain had a 13-year long affair. ginger white claims cain bought her plane tickets and showered her with lavish gifts. the candidate denies the allegations. >> i wanted to get out in front of it because i have nothing to hide. i have done nothing wrong. >> cain's attorney added the media had no business looking into the candidate's private

life. "the cbs early show" will have more on this at the top of the hour. dozens of people are now camped out in columbia heights this morning hoping to get into a subsidized apartment complex. just another sign of a rough economy and a tight rental market in d.c. the complex is on oak street just west of 14th street in northwest. surae chinn is live there with a story new this morning and the line is just immense. good morning, surae. >> it is. it is building and wrapping around this building. you can see this is the end of the line. and this over here is the front of the line. there are at least 80 folks who are just taking their chances. there are no guarantees that they will be on this waiting list and all they had was this flier that says that this subsidized housing has now been reopened, 100 applicants will be received for each bedroom. that's an efficiency bedroom and two bedroom. and they're just taking their

chances, including diamond whit anker. -- diamond whitaker has been standing in line since 6:00 last night trying to find a home for her family. she's tried her luck at shelters and different apartments but they are all booked! she thought she would try her luck at camping out. >> it is very, very hard because i've been calling and calling since like last month, they gay me a list -- different listings to different apartments. it has been really hard trying to get in. and even the shelters and stuff like that, they're full. they're supposed to help you get transitional housing. >> reporter: well, it has been very tough for diamond whitaker. again, she's at the front of the line. it has been pretty mild overnight. but it has also rained. a lot of people have been soaked. they're huddled together under their umbrellas. they just want a dry place to be. they want to call hubbard place apartments their new home but more important, they want a dry

roof over their heads that they can afford. mike? >> thank you, surae chinn live in northwest washington this morning. it appears conditions at the two occupy encampments here in d.c. have gotten pretty gross. the national park service handed out flyers citing public urination, deaf case, illegal drug and alcohol use. improper trash disposal is now attracting rodents. occupy d.c. has not given an official response but organizers of the stop the machine process are treating the fliers as the threat of eviction and arrests. montgomery county police are investigating an overnight carjacking. it is unrelated to three similar incidents in the same area over the last week. two men carjacked a driver around 1:00 this morning. it happened outside a burger king along veirs mill road just north of randolph road. the driver was not hurt. now, to those other

incidents in the wheaton area, see the man on the right of your screen, montgomery county police say he is kidnapping and robbing people. they've released the surveillance footage from the mall in wheaton hoping someone knows this guy. police say he has kidnapped three men and forced them to take out cash from atms nearby. >> bethesda-based marriott international announces it is opening its first ever hotel in port-au-prince, haiti according to our partners at "usa today." the company announced construction on the 173-room hotel will begin next year. it should be completed by 2014. the paper reports marriott is also investing in hospitality training. it will foster haiti's tourism industry following last year's earthquake there. howard says it will be a mild day but showers coming in later this morning. up next, what the storms will leave inity wake. >> in nine minutes, we're going to go shopping to add up the 12 days of christmas! in a way only jessica doyle can

do it. ♪ six geese a laying ♪ five golden rings ♪ four calling birds ♪ [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded.

but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. good morning and welcome back to 9news now. we love this shot so much. it changes so quickly. this is another beautiful shot of the capitol. look at how the sky has changed in just the past few minutes.

more oranges. purples. >> purple mountains majesty. >> take a moment to look. it is worth it. >> enjoy. >> don't let it fool you. we have rain on the way. >> i saw there are some flood watches in parts of our viewing area? >> well to the south and west of us in parts of the lower shenandoah valley and down to roanoke. it can pick up a quick inch of rain. quite a band we'll be dealing with later this morning into early this afternoon with showers on either side of that. we've seen a few showers now. one of the things we'll get on the plus side with the pretty sunrise. band of rain i'm talking about. you can see the yellows, oranges, even reds from near elkins to near charlottesville. it is all rotating around a storm system down to the southwest. it is coming our way. live doppler 9000 hd, it is almost into fauquier county on the western side, western border of fauquier, you may be seeing some of that into winchester now west of winchester up across junction. rains moving in toward you. culpepper just starting to see some of the first rain showers.

the lighter stuff with the heavier stuff is moving this way. we'll take knew west virginia from romney across route 50 in capon bridge right to the state line in virginia. you can see the heavier showers just to the west of winchester. farther off to the south, we're seeing also more of the moderate rain showers here from west of bensonville, south of spear yaville. all of this is lifting north, individual areas of rain within the band. the band is pushing off toward the east. mild morning to say the least. temperatures are almost as warm as they'll be all day. upper 50s to low 60s. scattered showers well west of town. 7:05 on the sunrise. band of heavier rain approaching. temperatures which will main top off at 64 will drop into the 50s this afternoon. showers start to taper off. mid afternoon from west to east. we'll see a few showers still possible tonight. low 50s by 8:00. by tomorrow morning, we're in the 30s and 40s. right now, in the 60s.

upper 50s in winchester. 59 in readville and cross junction. 61 at pax river. in town, 62 degrees. that dew point is 57. the moisture has returned. you can see the storm. i'll step to this side. see the pinwheel. things are spinning with snow under it. parts of tennessee at five inches of snow overnight. this is all moving off toward the northeast. we'll continue to watch this today. we'll clear out some as we head into tonight. today, 64. heavier rains midday. temperatures dropping this afternoon. 30s and low 40s by tomorrow morning. we only get to 52 in the afternoon. thursday, chilly day. 20s and 30s for lows up to 50 for the high as we start december. then the first weekend in december looks pretty good. 54 saturday. 57 sunday should be nice for the 'skins home game. monika? >> good to hear that. i've already got some problems to tell you about on metro. the red line expect delays from rhode island avenue to glenmont

because of earlier technical problems. they've been cleared but the delays remain. keep that in mind. we'll go to the beltway northside of town, the earlier accident on the inner loop was cleared. we'll take a live look at the beltway in college park whereas you can see there are no problems. you'll hit the brakes as you leave 95 into silver spring. let's go to the northbound side of i-395 at duke street, slowing down right now through landmark. this is normal. now, i'm getting reports of an accident on the inbound side of the 14th street bridge. i'll keep you posted on that situation. we'll wind a live look from sky 9. southbound on the bw parkway at route 32. so, as you leave fort meade, this is what you should expect. everything is fine through greenbelt and cheverly. coming up in my next report, an update on the accident on the 14th street bridge at 6:58. >> it is 6:46. 26 shopping days left until christmas! can you believe it? you may spend a lot on those

gifts. >> but that's nothing compared to one gift list. jessica doyle is here to add it up. >> can you put a price on true love? of course not. over the holidays, the pressure ramps up to show just how much you care. if you take your shopping tips from a classic christmas song, budget a lot for your sweetie this year! dancers, check. calling birds, check. bling, check. finding all of those gifts for your true love laid out in the holiday classic, the 12 days of christmas, takes a lot of work and costs a ton of money. pnc wealth management has been tracking the price of each item for 28 years. >> this year, how did prices do? >> they're up a little bit. about 3.5%. >> d.c.'s adventure theatre singers joined us at the smithsonian's national zoo for a whimsical look at the pnc price index, a holiday inflation gauge. ♪ on the 12th day of christmas, my true love sent to me 12 drummers drumming, 11

pipers piping ♪ >> the musicians only charge 3% more for their services this year. ♪ nine ladies dancing >> the joy of motion dance school dancers are lovely but neither dancers nor mick maids charged more in 2011. ♪ seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings ♪ >> you would think with commodity prices for gold popping, the price of the five gold rings would have, too but no, people have been staying away from the jewelry counter so the price actually fell 0.8%. ♪ four calling birds ♪ three french hens ♪ >> another surprise, the cost of birds surged! some up 25%. blame higher grain prices. >> grain price really is energy cost to produce grain, it costs a lot of energy to get it to market, costs a lot of energy as well. >> that's been a problem also with the national zoo. >> the price of hay and grain

is going up so we reallocate our budgets to make sure we're giving our animals everything they need to thrive. >> so, how hard is it to get a partridge to climb in a pear tree? >> positive reinforcement techniques is the way we would train a par tridge to get into a pear tree. >> and a partridge in a pear tree. ♪ and a partridge in a pear tree ♪ >> now, all in all if you're going to buy all 364 gifts outlined in the song, it would cost you over $101,000! >> whoa! >> five golden rings going down. >> go for the rings. >> a bargain. >> forget the bird! >> positive reinforcement. >> i'm not going to try to sing this but it is vive las vegas starting tonight. a team of gingerbread engineers put together a huge gingerbread city overnight. the theme is las vegas. their work goes on display in the lobby of the washington square building this evening.

that's at 1050 connecticut avenue. the display includes hundreds of pounds of gingerbread. after the holidays, the city and cash donations will be given to local charities. >> want to share your holiday displays every morning in december on 9news now, we're bringing back our morning lights segment. send us a photo or video of your christmas or hanukkah display and an e-mail address. our e-mail address is lights at wusa9.com. you can also upload your pictures and/or video to our facebook page. be sure to include your name and where you live. we'll start sharing your pictures and video on the air coming up later this week. we'll be right back!

welcome back. 6:53. looking at rain out to the west in shenandoah valley and parts of we were maryland. we'll watch this move toward us. keep the rain gear handy today as the middle of the day could see the heavy band of rain with a few more showers later on this afternoon. temperatures dropping into the 50s. monika or andrea and mike. >> here is a check on the news before you go.

a formal indictment is handed down in the murder of a student. 23-year-old liggins is charged with killing 19-year-old courtney mccoy. mccoy was killed outside of an off-campus party november 6th. liggins is due back in court december toth. gary giordano expected to be released today from a jail in aruba. he's being held in connection with the disappearance and possible death of marylander robyn gardner last summer. a judge in aruba says authorities can't justify keeping him in custody. >> greg dale hunter will coach his first game in the nhl tonight. he'll lead d.c. against st. louis at verizon center. the caps fired coach bruce boudreau monday after four seasons. time to answer the question of the morning. it was in a recent survey, all of americans have this but very few of us actually use it. is it a, a dishwasher, b, a land line or c, a blender. >> i knew it! >> a, the dishwasher.

it is right there. but some people don't use it. >> take the dishes out of the sink in andrea's home. you know who you are. one more check of traffic and weather when 9news now returns.

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>> in tough economic times, it can be tough to go to the boss and ask for a raise. what about when your child asks for a raise in his allowance? >> when the child is not doing everything he used to do because if he does all of the chores, if he doesn't, we pay him less. whoa, whoa, whoa, once you do everything you are supposed to consistently, then we'll think -- >> $2 raise. >> he's not earning his full keep now so i'm not giving him more until that happens. gotta toe the line.

teach them some values. >> can he be a one band union? >> not in my house. >> dictatorship. >> weatherwise, some rain on the way. a little sun early in spots. it is going to rain heavily at times midday. 60s to start. 50s to finish. a nice start to december. highs in the low to mid-50s. we should be good through the weekend. monika? >> live look at the 14th street bridge on the inbound side getting word of a two car crash on the bridge span. now, we'll take a live look at 270, overall delays as you head through germantown and rockville. live look from sky 9 at 9 a at the beltway in beltsville. no problems here. >> as for wall street, we're looking higher. lots of enthusiasm this morning going over the euro meetings going on in europe. >> early show is coming up next. they'll have the latest on the herman cain scandal and more on president obama's sum wit european leaders. >> howardnd i will be back in 25 minutes with a live update

on traffic and weather. >> if you can't join us then, check out wusa9.com. >> we'll see you again starting at 4:25 on wednesday morning. have a great day! good morning. herman cain says, here we go again, denying an atlanta woman's claim of a 13-year affair. >> i was aware that he was married and i was also aware that i was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. >> cain says they are just friends. we'll take a look at how her story, though, could shake up the gop presidential race.