monika, it is 6:00 a.m., traffic is building. it is never good on a weekday. >> especially entering the 6:00 hour. we'll start off with good news. from sky 9 on i-270 at i-370, just the volume building right now. no big deal as you head down to the point where the lanes divide. let's go over to the maps. things look fine all around the beltway. no problems to report. we're going to take a live look first of all on 66 on the inbound side. first of all, you've got your delays in manassas then in centreville. and then as you head for the beltway, you're going to find a bit of a delay heading for the beltway on 66. here's what it looks like on route 4 on the beltway. no problems to report as you head down toward forestville, andrews air force base and toward alexandria across the wilson bridge. last live look, northbound 95 in springfield, overall delays prince william parkway to the occoquan river. right here heading for 395 or the beltway. coming up, we'll go into maryland at 6:12.

jessica and andrea? >> thank you, monika. this morning, the fbi is helping area police departments find out if a local woman is behind more crimes than we already knew about. >> the crime she's already suspected of includes carjackings and bank robberies. >> the suspect is a 26-year-old woman named stephanie lynn schwab. surae chinn has more on the investigation and how police finally caught up with her. good morning, surae. >> good morning. it was the third attempted bank robbery, the bb and t in mclain that helped police nab their suspect. that's 26-year-old stephanie lynn schwab. sky 9 above as they capture here. police close in and make their arrest. the 26-year-old and former ms13 gang member was stopped on old georgetown road in bethesda. after she led them on a police chase, crashed her car and after a short foot chase. police say her week and a half crime spree ended yesterday

afternoon, wanted for two bank robberies, a carjacking and an attempted carjacking. police say she robbed banks and stole cars in fairfax and prince william county and baltimore county. >> this particular case, we were very serious about making arrests and making apprehensions. we worked with other detectives across the region, not just here in fairfax. and tried to spread information, share information as much as we could. >> that joint effort helped police get their person, their suspect and help close the case. we're also waiting for the charges, charges she will be facing. most of them could be federal charges because the fbi is involved because of the banks and crossing state lines. back to you, jessica. >> surae chinn live in the satellite center this morning. the man accused of a string of kidnappings and robberies in wheaton is behind bars this morning. montgomery county police arrested 50-year-old henry levi sanders of landover, maryland.

now, they say he kidnapped three elderly men from the westfield wheaton mall and forced them to withdraw money from their bank accounts. authorities say he stabbed one of the victims. he also is implicated in a string of robberies in prince george's county county. >> aaron thomas, the man authorities dubbed the east coast rapist is behind bars in virginia. he will be back in court january 25th. he's accused of raping dozens of women up and down the east coast, including two teenage girls in woodbridge, virginia, two years ago. prosecutors in prince william county say the two girls will testify at thomas' trial. dna from a cigarette butt near the scene of one attack helped police in connecticut make the arrest in march. we have a commuter alert for you this morning. an early heads up for metro riders. starting tomorrow night at 10:00, the red line will be closed from glenmont all the way to rhode island avenue and it will stay closed through sunday night. that's nearly the entire eastern branch of the red line.

free shuttle buses, they'll get you through the area but you'll need to add 30 minutes to your commute. also this weekend, no service on the orange line between the cheverly and deanwood stations. there will be buses there as well. but you'll need to schedule an extra 20 minutes to your travel time. >> politics in the commonwealth are about to get more interesting. there could be a big fight for the republican nomination for governor. a republican spokesman tells the richmond times dispatch that attorney general ken cuccinelli will announce he's running for governor in 2013. he's made national headlines for suing the white house over president obama's healthcare law. lieutenant-governor bill bolling took a pass for running on the top job in 2009 allowing mcdonnell to run and win. bolling is expected to run in 2013 with the current governor's support. local occupy protestors will hit the road today. a group is planning to leave the district and walk to atlanta. that's nearly 650 miles.

the group picked today as it is the 56th anniversary of rosa parksace arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in montgomery, alabama. another group of occupy protestors will march from mcpherson square to 15th and h northwest. they'll protest outside a democratic party fund-raiser. tickets go for as much as $75,000. the occupy group calls the event elitist. it is 6:06. i'm watching your money. if you're like most people, you've already crossed some people off your holiday shopping list. you have a ball mark figure in mind for what you want to spend but the bills come in january and you're probably in for an unpleasant surprise. the web site days to pay.com helps to figure out how much all of those gifts under the tree are really worth. "consumer reports" says the average shopper spends $811 over the holidays back in 2009. for the typical hourly worker, that person would have to work

31 days, 57 minutes and 10 seconds to pay off that extra $811. let's slice and dhies a different way. most of the time we put these purchases on a credit card and if you pay the minimum by the time you're done, that $811 would actually cost you $1800. more than double! i am not advocating you don't buy for your loved ones but knowing you have to work an extra month in the year or pay more than double for the presents on the credit card, let's minimize the damage. "consumer reports" says the average shopper spent 16% more than they expected in 2009. that's an extra $130. here are the areas you into toad budget for so you don't have those unpleasant surprises. holiday tips for your service providers, the house cleaner, dog walker, hairdresser, mail carrier, doorman, also think about wrapping paper, postage. holiday cards, those are not tree and another biggy here,

last-minute gifts for the person that gave you something that you didn't expect. think about that stuff ahead of time so you don't get the surprises in january. >> on the wrapping paper, one year they suggested the comics. especially for children. >> that's a great idea. >> save money that way. >> in just a few hours, the switch will be flipped and this year's national christmas tree will come to life. >> doing the honors alongside the first family this year, kermit the frog. >> here's a live look at the ellipse just south of the white house. it is a new tree this year. it is not lit so you can't see it that well but to the left of your screen, you see the stage. that's where the pageant of peace will take place and of course, the other tree blew down in february but the pageant of peace will begin this evening. will i am from the black-eyed peas will be there. we'll also bring you part of the ceremony live tonight here on 9news now. and it is going to be a cool one. so, prepare for that. and of course, there is a new

entrance at 17th and h northwest. >> starting monday, we're going to show off your holiday spirit on 9news now. we're bringing back our morning light segment. send us a photo or video of your holiday display. the e-mail address is lights at wusa9.com. we can -- you can upload them to our facebook page as well. make sure you include your name and where you live. >> well, it is 6:08. in five minutes a, preview of this year's holiday event. how you can help local charities at the same time. >> howard says it will be cool with some sunshine. his forecast is next, especially for the christmas tree lighting ceremony this evening. stay with 9news now.

at 6:12, a cold start to the day. lots of 30s, wind chills down in the 20s. by 9:00, sunny, 41. winds getting lighter this afternoon. highs in the low 50s. drive home temp of 49. monika samtani is in with your drive in info. >> prince william county police are being called to the scene of an accident at business route 234.

watch out for police arriving on the scene. we'll have more on that and other virginia roadways at 6:18. andrea, back to you. thank you, monika. starting tomorrow, the junior league of washington kicks off its 53rd holiday fund-raiser raising money for literacy programs. with a preview, we're joined by karen, president of the junior league of washington. karen, happy holidays to you. you know, i've been to some of the holiday fund raisers you've done. you've got lots of gifts for people to choose from. some really neat things. >> it is a very exciting fund- raiser for us. it is our largest and oldest fund-raiser that the junior league does. i know that a lot of people have done shopping on black friday and cyber monday. but coming to capital collection of holiday shops that the marriott wardman park this weekend is an opportunity to get truly unique items. we have original artwork. we have men's custom shirts. we have jewelry.

we have hostess gift items, all kinds of things at every budget point that are truly unique. >> i remember i got some christmas decorations with the children's name on them. i still have them and put them on the tree. we won't say how hold they are. >> this year, you're raising money, books for bright futures? books for bright futures. we've learned a child's vocabulary can be built by having as few as five books in the home that are age appropriate level. and we're so excited by the facts that we really believe it is important to put books into the hands of children. so, our books provide our futures program has allowed us to do that for the last ten years. >> how many books have you put into the hands of children? >> well, over 10,000. >> wow. >> wow. so, you definitely want people to come out and again, it is at the marriott wardman park. lots of shops.

how many shops are represented? >> we have over 50 shops this year from all over the country. and you can find out everything you need to on our web site at jlw.org. >> we hope it is another black friday for the junior league and for the chirp in the metropolitan d.c. area. it starts when? >> it starts on friday morning at 11:00 a.m. shopping all day friday. shopping all day saturday and shopping all day sunday. and one ticket gets you in for all three days. >> oh, really? >> you can browse one day and come back and buy the next two. >> sounds great! very good for shoppers. caren, happy holidays to you. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> jess, howard? >> thank you, andrea. you know, howard, i got a new winter coat then we got a couple of days of 60s and 70s. >> you can use it today. >> it is not going to be frigid. not 30s to start. the highs will be in the low 50s which is just about where we should be. i know we had a great run

finishing up the month of november. 60s, even 70s earlier in the week. now we're back to reality. your bus stop forecast, on this thursday morning, friday eve if you like to look at that time that way, sunshine. mainly clear, chilly. temps down in the low 30s to low 40s in the warm spots with sunrise at 7 after 7:00 this morning. we're looking at a sunny day today. not expecting the clouds to attack midday like yesterday. that was unexpected but that's what we got. today, 39 at 8:00. 47 at noon. northwest winds will get a little bit lighter this afternoon. 10 to 15. this morning, 5 to 10 this afternoon. a bit of a wind chill but 50 degrees at 4:00 p.m. highs in the low 50s and 44 by 8:00. if you are why's going out to the tree lighting on the ellipse, looks like the winds won't be too bad. temperatures in the upper 40s. meteorological winter begins today. december, january, february. we define the three coldest months of winter even though astronomical winter is a few

weeks away. dry and seasonably cool weather today. through the weekend, we'll be dry and seasonably cool. above normal by sunday and still no arctic air in sight. yesterday, there were some signs that main next week, doing a little flip-flop. until we got more definitive, what you see is what you get. 39 in easton and pax river this morning. mid-30s out toward ocean city and also out toward fredericksburg and gaithersburg and luray and cumberland sitting right at the freezing mark when you factor in the winds. some wind chills down in the 20s. feels like 30 here in washington and tappahannock. 34 in winchester. even down in readville, temperatures are in the upper 30s. 38 degrees feeling like 30 with a north wind at 12. our dew point holding in the mid-20s, the air is kind of dry and as we look at the satellite and radar, a system coming through wisconsin and michigan moving east. it is going to stay north of us as it heads through ontario, new york and new england. it will drag a front through

here through late friday. as we look at the future cast, there is nothing but sunshine during the day. there goes the system. saturday will be just a little bit cooler. looking ahead, today, 52. tonight, we're back in the 20s and 30s with light wind. 55 tomorrow. saturday is 52. sunday though looks fantastic. 'skins are home with the jets. upper 50s. monday, 60 degrees. could be a late shower. tuesday and wednesday look wetter. temperatures falling into the 50 degree range by wednesday. let's go over to monika samtani with an update with timesaver traffic. >> we're look, at an accident on the inbound side of i-66 right here at business route 234. what i'm hearing is that it is probably affecting 234. if you are heading inbound, expect delays through manassas, through centreville and through the fairfax area trying to get to the beltway on 66. we'll have more on that coming up in my next report as well.

let's go over to the northbound side of i-95, dale city to the occoquan river, right over the bridge span. again as you leave lorton to springfield right here on i-95, all of the volume until you get to 395, we'll take a live look. it is only heavy through the landmark area but beyond that, you'll be ok to the 14th street bridge and into downtown. more on the accident over in manassas at 66 at 6:25. jessica and andrea? >> thank you, monika. next in sports, former capitals coach bruce boudreau didn't spend too much time on the unemployment line. learn about his new job. >> it is time for another check on our question of the morning. 80% of mothers do this when they're angry at their children is. it a, use the child's full name? b, leave the room or c, take away a video game? >> one of our facebook friends says a, use the child's full name. how else will they know you're mad or know their full name? we want to say thanks to sharon

e. woodland kelly. we're not mad even if we use your full name. keep the guesses coming. we'll have the answer at 6:53. [ 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. welcome back. 6:23 here with your weather first. a chilly start to december. not horribly cold by any stretch. we've got temperatures this morning in the 30s. some areas in the upper 20s. we'll be 41 at 9:00. this afternoon, we'll shoot into the lower 50s with sunshine and thankfully lighter winds in that 5 to 10 range out of northwest. we're dropping into the 40s by 5:00 p.m. jess and andrea? >> in sports, tonight is the first real test for new capitals coach dale hunter. the penguins come to town. >> the first time the caps will face sidney crosby in nearly a year. the puck drops to 7. when the two teams met in october, the

caps won it 3-2. >> it did not take long for bruce boudreau to get a new job. while you slept, he was hired by the anaheim ducks. the ducks canned coach carlisle after a win against montreal. that was the team's third win in 19 games. the caps and ducks don't play again this season. >> you don't want to mess with the george mason patriots at home. the men's basketball team is now a perfect 4-0 in fairfax this year. mason hosted bucknell last night. ryan pierson scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half. patriots win 61-37. on the ladies side, sixth ranked maryland hosted michigan last night. both teams were undefeated going into the game. maryland's alyssa thomas made her team stayed perfect scoring 24. the lady terps win 74-55. it is 6:24. this year's national christmas tree is an entirely new tree. but what else was new?

we'll get a sneak peek. >> the d.c. public library is in the giving mood. learn when you can bring back severely overdue books without severe penalties. >> right now, monika has a quick check on traffic. monika? >> we'll take a live look from sky 9 right here inbound 66 at business route 234. crews have arrived on the scene of an accident along the left side. we'll have more on this coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

sometimes the best gift is something that doesn't cost a thing. our gift to you, a live look at the u.s. capitol. this is a gorgeous shot with the red-orange sky behind it. going into the dusky blue. that is gorgeous. >> it is beautiful. one good thing about being up this early is you get to see the sunrise. >> they have been gorgeous every day this week. >> thank you for starting your thursday morning with us. i'm jessica doyle. mike is off today. >> i'm andrea roane. meteorologist howard bernstein is live on the weather terrace with our forecast. that was a gorgeous shot, wasn't it, howard? >> great week for sunrises around here. clear skies like this morning.

i gotta confess the left the 180s, the earmuffs inside. i'm missing them right now. chilly start for the month of december. temps in the 30s. wind chills down in the 20s this morning. consider that when you're getting ready to head out the door. look at the day planner expecting sunshine all day. yesterday, we had some clouds sneak be in midday. didn't expect that. today, sunny. 49 by 1:00. this afternoon, into the lower 50s for highs. by 5:00, for the tree lighting on the ellipse, temperatures dropping back into the 40s. we're look at -- let's show you the clouds and radar here. they're pretty quiet. temperatures are running in the 30s down to 38 in town. warm spot is right on the bay in annapolis. upper tos out west. low 50s, monika samtani, good morning. >> we're going to take a live look from sky 9. i've been telling you about this accident on the inbound side of i-66. here it is live on the inbound

side of business route 234, crews blocking the left lane here. you can see the delays trying to get by right now. you'll be slow beyond that as well through centreville and through fairfax also. we'll keep you posted on this situation. let's take you over to a map on the outer loop of the beltway, you have got delays right now heading north from eisenhower avenue to telegraph road. it is just a delay. no problems along the way there. we'll take you to northbound i- 95. your overall slow traffic beginning in dale city to the occoquan river. most of the way from lorton to springfield and a last live look if you're planning to head north on i-395, heavy and steady from duke street to seminary road and then again, here at the 14th street bridge. 395 is incident-free. now, a commuter alert, the lighting of the national christmas tree is going to throw a honky in the wrench in tonight's rush hour. live look at 17th street at constitution avenue starting at 4:15 this afternoon, 17th will be closed in both directions

between constitution and new york avenue. 15th street will be closed between e, pennsylvania, and constitution avenue. >> wow. >> the roads will be open around 7:00 once the tree lighting is done. so, really, the best thing to do is take metro. the closest station, farragut west, mcpherson square, metro center and federal triangle. but once you're there, first of all, bundle up. it will be cool but so nice. lots of security to get through. once you're there, you know what i like to do especially on the weekend with the family is walk through the pathway of peace. great weekend to do that. >> exactly. we'll talk more about that plus there is a new entryway on 17th. big closures there. they have warm cider already there, too. >> that's a good thing. >> thanks, monika. >> well, this year is national christmas tree is a new one. we've been telling you about that. remember the old one fell last february. it blew over during strong winds. the tree had been be on the

ellipse since 1978. >> to tell us more about the new national christmas tree, we're joined by neil mulholland, the president and ceo of the national park foundation. neil, thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> good morning. happy holidays. >> happy holidays to you as well. so, we have the tree already decorated. of course, we took a look at it this morning. the lights weren't on. but what should we expect today? >> well, first of all, we're going to have a wonderful family show here tonight. rodney adkins will be singing, big time rush one republic. we're going to have the first family here to light the tree. it is a new tree. it is a colorado blue spruce from the great state of colorado. >> and what about the lights on the tree? this is -- again, we're continuing to green tradition, l.e.d. lights, how many? >> we have 65 sets of lights on the tree. they are l.e.d. lights. we continue to make the tree greener and greener every year to express energy efficiency

and show people at home how they can light their trees in a more efficient way. >> for people who have not been on the ellipse for the tree lighting or experienced the pageant of peace, you named some of the groups that will be on stage but who else and what else can people do for the rest of the time up to the new year? >> well, first of all, this kicks off a month worth of activities down here at the ellipse. we have a christmas village here. it will be up and available for everybody every day, every evening. we have santa's workshop. we encourage everybody to come down and visit with santa. we also have 56 trees representing 50 states, five territories in the district of columbia. all have been decorated by the individual states. so you can come down and see those as well. and we'll have nightly performances down here every month over the next 30 days. >> neil, i know something that my daughter would be really excited about. you have kermit there tonight? >> well, yes. we have kermit most definitely. kermit will be the headliner along with our tony award winning santa claus.

kermit will be in the show. he will be welcoming the president and the first family. >> we know it starts at 5:00. what time will the doors open for people to go through especially since there will be security and you have to go through magnetometers. >> we have over 20,000 people coming. doors will open at 3:00. we go live at 4:30 on the nationaltree.org. we start streaming the show. everybody needs to be on site and in the premises before 4:30. >> neil mulholland, have a great time this evening, we'll be watching. >> thank you. >> very exciting. the first lady, she gave a tour inside the white house yesterday. showing off the decorations and such. this is always so fun. 9news now was there as well and you can check it out for yourself, just visit wusa9.com. >> should the man who tried to assassinate president reagan be released from a mental hospital? hearings continue today to determine john hinckley's

future. heapingly tried to conceal he was browsing a bookstore for books about president reagan and assassinations. right now, hinckley visits his mother's home near williamsburg for up to ten days at a time. the suspect police say is behind a one-woman crime spree is now behind bars. the woman wanted for carjackings and a series of bank robberies were captured after a police chase. surae chinn is here to tell us why the fbi is now involved. >> the fbi involved because, of course, banks, whenever that's involved, the fbi gets involved. it did cross state lines. she has been dubbed the blonde bandit and police say her widespread crime spree came to an end yesterday. she is 26-year-old stephanie lynn schwab and her arrest came around 1:00 yesterday afternoon. she's also a former notorious ms13 gang member and police say she is responsible for a string

of crimes, including carjackings at knife point including one at tysons two and bank robberies in fairfax and prince william county and baltimore county. it was the third attempted bank robbery that got her caught. police say she tried to rob the bb&t bank off old dominion drive. she tried to get away. sky 9 above as police arrest her on old georgetown road and the beltway in bethesda. >> heard an alarm going off. some lady was running out of the bank beside us. >> police say she acted alone. we're waiting for just exactly all of the charges and how many will be placed against her. and, of course, those could include federal charges. jessica, andrea? >> thank you, surae. surae chinn live in the satellite center this morning. the gaithersburg businessman once held in the disappearance of his traveling companion is back in the united states this morning. gary giordano hopped a plane from aruba to miami yesterday. he then went to new york.

giordano has been held since august in connection with the disappearance of robyn gardner of frederick, maryland. she's presumed dead. giordano says she drown while they were snorkeling. if you need to turn in any overdue or damaged materials from any d.c. public library, monday is the day to come clean. the check it in campaign runs through february 5th. cardholders can return any overdue or damaged library materials without fines. for lost books, cardholders can speak with the library employee to have their account cleared. organizers believe many avoid going to the library just because of the materials they've either lost or damaged. feeling a little guilty about that. >> now, you can shed the guilt. it is 6:38. in ten minutes, women in prince george's county giving each other a helping hand in business. learn more about how the women business owners is helping out. >> howard says we'll have sunny skies today with highs in the 50s. what's on tap for the weekend, your seven-day forecast is next here on 9news now.

look at this live shot. this is the national christmas tree! it is a beauty!

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. i'm here with howard and we've been talking about the beautiful sunrise and also about the cool temperatures we're going to see at sunset tonight for the pageant. >> down in the 40s. i remember years when the wind chills were down to 5. >> when it was damp and cold and the toe warmers and hand

warmers did not help. >> it will be a good evening to be out. seasonably cool or crisp. as far as the sunrise, i took a picks on my facebook and a twitter page. you can find them there. let's get you going with a look at the bus stop forecast. it is a chilly start. 32 to 42 with a few areas right now down in the upper 20s but over the next hour or two, 32 to 42, the general range with sunrise at 7:07. today, sunshine. 41 degrees. noon, 47. we'll head toward the lower 50s this afternoon for highs with a 5:00 p.m. temperature of 49 degrees. and winds will get light as the day wears on. upper 30s now in washington. lower 30s from luray to cumberland, even winchester at 34. southern maryland in the upper 30s. it is a cold morning areawide, locally, we're down to 32 in gaithersburg. out to the west, we've got 35 in fairfax. 36 leesburg. and 37 in haymarket.

fort belvoir at 38 degrees. clear skies, 38. fees like 30 though with the wind chill thanks to a north wind at 12. some areas west of town, the wind chills are down in the 20s this morning. we'll stay with the clear skies today. system is going to pass to our north as we go through friday here. that will continue to move east. so, up through new york state, main dipping into northern pennsylvania but by late friday, little weak front on the tail end of this will come through. won't really see it because we'll have clear skies for the most part but we'll feel it on saturday as temperatures drop off slightly. and on sunday, they'll warm back up again into the upper 50s. by the way if you're traveling out to the midwest this weekend, looks like they'll have a chance for snow north as we head into saturday. for us, we're looking good to start december. meteorological winter begins at midnight. 52 degrees today. tonight, light winds. tomorrow, cool day. 55. saturday we drop off a little bit. sunday, looks great. upper 50s. by monday, 60ish with a chance

for a late shower but a better chance to see rain developing tuesday into wednesday. monika samtani is in now. we're pushing close to 7:00 here. >> a look at sky 9 at the delays headed in at 66. look at that trying to get over to business route 234 where the accident blocks the left lane, police have been on the scene for awhile. that's the cause for the back- up inbound on i-66. let's take a look at a map. the beltway is looking fine. normal slow traffic on the northside of town in silver spring and on the south side of town this morning, you've actually got it in alexandria as well. live look first at 270, overall, you'll hit the brakes right now at route 109 then father hurley boulevard through germantown. off and on down to the point where the lanes divide. delays begin at university boulevard heading west on the northside of town toward georgia avenue then it breaks

free toward bethesda and i-270. i'll update you on the accident on 66 once again at 6:58. right now, it is 6:46. a group of women who own businesses helping other female-owned businesses in prince george's county and the group is celebrating its 25th anniversary. to tell us about the group women business owners, we're joined by dawn jackson and doris mcmillan. thank you both for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> fantastic event. >> thank you for having us, jessica. >> dawn, tell us about the work that wbo does for other women in prince george's county. >> i'm proud to say that we're celebrating 25 years of educating, empowering and supporting women business owners whose businesses have served prince george's county. we have women whose businesses are from prince george's county, of course and from surrounding counties and also the district. we have monthly meetings each month. each month, we feature

speakers, workshops, everything from access to capital, marketing of businesses, getting their financials in order because that is really one of the toughest pieces, not only just to start your business, build it but to sustain it. >> exceptionally difficult work. you guys are honoring exceptional people this weekend at a gala. tell us about that. >> we're very excited. first of all, it is the 25th. wbo like diamonds is forever, that's our theme. we'll be honoring the lieutenant governs, prince george's county executives, rushern baker. we have some of our own women business owners who have taken their businesses from here and they've moved them to here. we would like to think that we were a part of that as well. but we're excited about the fact that we'll be at the woodmoore country club and we want people to make sure they get their tickets today. last year, we had such a great time.

we had to say people, you must leave here. you can go anywhere you want but you must leave here. the gala is over. [ laughter ] >> it has been a great time but it is a wonderful opportunity for women business owners to come, network, to learn the things that they need to sustain their business. >> doris, talk a little about how you can still get tickets. tell us the specifics. it starts at 7:00 p.m. on saturday. >> well, today, i want you to rush to your computer, put in wbo.org and you can click on the icon that we have there to get your tickets. we are -- we're just saying come, you don't want to miss it. if you're in business and you're in the washington metropolitan area, this is the place you want to be. it is an opportunity to meet other business owners and network. >> ladies, thank you so much for coming in and congratulations. have a great time on saturday. >> we're looking forward to it. >> friday. >> friday. >> december 2nd. >> the time is 6:49. a check on the news before you go. that is up next. çñ

weather first with meteorologist howard bernstein. >> we're coming on 6:53 this thursday morning. we're in the upper 30s now. low 40s by 9:00. by 5:00 p.m., 49 with highs in the low 50s. bundle up! andrea, jess? >> thank you, howard. today is thursday, december 1st. here is a check on the news before you go. this is a live look at the ellipse. it will be seen for tonight's lighting of the national christmas tree and the pageant of peace. it begins at 5:00 but the entry point for everyone opens at 3:00 at 17th and c. so, expect heavy traffic in the area for the evening rush hour. >> police say a wanted fugitive crashed a stolen truck on the bw parkway last night, ending a police pursuit. he lost control of the truck last night on the parkway at powder mill road. police arrested him. they say the man is also wanted on other charges in

mississippi. >> despite being so in depth at cutting sports teams, the university of maryland is spending money to redo its athletic fields. the school will spend $1 million to put artificial turf on four fields including replacing the grass at the stadium. it is time to answer the question of the morning. here it is what it was. 80% of mothers do this when they'rer angry at their children. is it a, use the child's full name? b, leave the room or c, take away a video game. and the answer turned out to be c, take away a video game. >> it is a generational thing. when mine were younger, we didn't have video games to take away. >> i thought it was going to be the use of the full name. >> i do that all the time. >> best thing to do is walk away. >> we'll have one more check on traffic and weather when 9news now returns. stay with us. [ screaming ]

[ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

♪we could have had it all >> she may get it all! this is our one more thing today. mike hydeck's favorite artist, not! adele could clean up at the grammys. she got six nominations including record of the year for this song, rolling in the deep. which i like! >> it is a great song. now, the other record of the year nominees are grenade by bruno mars, fire work by katy

perry. record of year goes to the performer, not the songwriter. >> here are the album of the year nominees. adele with 21. born this way by lady gaga. doo-wops and hooligans by bruno mars. >> no taylor swift. we didn't talk about justin bieber. run-down of nominees at web be -- at wusa9.com. >> a chilly day ahead. not bad this afternoon. 52. we're looking good through the weekend. rain possibly late monday. monika? >> the accident inbound 66 at route 234 business has been cleared. let's take a look at a map on the inbound side of the dulles green burn at single. watch out for an accident blocking all lanes. >> former maryland governor bob

ehrlich joins us to talk about his new book and give us his take on the presidential race. >> "the early show" begins next. they'll have more on the upcoming troop drawdown in iraq and why more women need to pursue careers in technical fields. >> see you tomorrow! more than eight years after iraq war began with an invasion described as jacques and awe, u.s. officials began the handover of u.s. bases this morning one month before all u.s. troops must be out of iraq. we have live in baghdad. asia stock markets are surging as investors hope to solution to europe's debt crisis. we will a