>> for example -- >> we require a vision test but i don't know that there's anybody who requires a vision test. >> that will be gone. training for handgun proficiency will be made more accessible according to mendelson. it will allow those looking to get licensed to temporarily have their guns while they train in the district rather than have applicants bring in handguns from another state. police will no longer require a ballistics test. >> there is technology which we have in the law. >> i think it will save us time and money. >> michelle lain is a current licensed handgun owner in the district. she's hoping mendelson's amendment passes. not everyone is as joyful about the proposition. the brady campaign and an tie gun group released a statement... it will help law-abiding

citizens. it won't make a difference for eem who bring guns illegally into the district. mr. mendelson says he will schedule a hearing on his proposition coming up next month. a controversial curfew proposal has been shelved in dream county. the lawmakers voted 6-3 to postpone debate on the bill indefinitely. county executive ike leggett proposed the idea after several late-night incidents involving teenagers. some council members call the plan unfair to most law-abiding young people. president obama is still pushing congress hoping to extend a popular tax cut. >> during a stop in kansas, the president said all americans deserve a fair shot at financial security. president obama said extending the payroll tax which is set to expire at the end of this month would help ensure everyone receives a fair shot. >> if we don't do that, 160 million americans, including most of the people here will see their taxes go up by an average of $1,000. >> both parties say they want

the extension but lawmakers are still debating over how to pay for it. a new bipartisan proposal unveiled yesterday would pay for the extension with a 2% tax on millionaires and provide an exception for small business owners who create jobs. the bipartisan proposal is one of several plans being floated around capitol hill. senators have voted down two so far. one proposed solely by democrats, the other proposed by a group of republicans. most of the republican presidential candidates will be addressing the republican jewish conference in washington this morning. the forum comes a day after a new cbs "new york times" poll showing newt gingrich with a double digit lead in iowa. 31% of republican caucus-goers back the former house speaker compared to 17% for mitt romney and 16% for ron paul. a new york congressman is asking the justice department to investigate claims of police brutality related to the occupy

wall street movement. new york democrat gerald nadler wants investigators to look into how police dealt with protestors and journalists when officers shut down the occupy encampment in downtown manhattan last month. several protestors claim they were beaten and a number of journalists say they were prevented from covering the event or they themselves were attacked by police. yesterday, 20 protestors from d.c.'s occupy camp went into the senate russell building and camped out inside senate minority leader mitch mcconnell's office. they demanded a meeting about tut never happened. today, several protestors could create a traffic nightmare downtown. protestors from our d.c. and occupy d.c. are expected to match to k street and hold demonstrations outside offices there. police say 13th and k to 17th and k street will be pretty congested starting around 11:00 this morning. one of the largest legal settlements in sufficient

history will go to coal miner's families in west virginia. 29 miners died during an explosion at the upper big branch mine last year. now massi energy has agreed to pay the families $210 million. the settlement was announced the same day the final federal report was released. it details 369 safety violations including 12 which contributed to the tragedy according to investigators. here's a look at some other stories making news now. violence may have been the cause of two suicide bombings in afghanistan which drove dozens and injured more. the first hit during religious ceremonies near a mosque in kabul. a suicide bomber killed more than 50 people and wounded more than 160 others. self more afghans died when a bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded near a mosque. the attacks happened on islamic holy day. the bombings are the worst since the fall of the taliban a

decade ago but the taliban has denied responsibility and is condemning the bombing. according to an anonymous u.s. official, that unmanned drone which crashed inside iran over the weekend is one of a fleet of planes used to spy on iran in afghanistan. now, officially, the u.s. military does not have any mission which targets iran. the drone is similar to the one the cia used to spy on osama bin laden's compound before it was raided by navy seals in may. a somber memorial today. it is the 70th anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. 2400 people lost their lives on december 7, 1941. >> the japanese attack launched the united states involvement. sandra hughes has the story of one man's will to survive and fight again. >> reporter: survivors of the u.s.s. arizona were given a hero's welcome at the pearl harbor memorial. here to commemorate the 70th anniversary, four generations

of don stratton's family. back then, he was a fresh-faced 19-year-old sailor on board the u.s.s. arizona. >> be five ladders up. >> he couldn't do much against the onslaught of bombs. then the arizona exploded. >> that ball of fire went about 600 or 700 feet in the air. i was burned over 65% of my body. it's been a long time. rest in peace, shipmates. >> reporter: more than 1100 men were killed, many still entombed below this memorial. of the 334 u.s. arizona survivors, only 35 are known to still be alive. there are more who survived on other battle ships but one by one, they're passing away. last night, the remains of a sailor who survived the attack on the u.s.s. utah and died this year -- were interned underwater. the dwindling number of survivors makes this an

important anniversary. >> the first time i came out here, i was 19, knowing that he was 19 at that time. being there, same age. it is a life-changing experience. >> reporter: it took a year for don stratton's burns to heal. he didn't lose his fight. he re-enlisted and went back to war. >> what do you say when people call you a hero? >> they're still out there. >> reporter: their sacrifice, something he'll never forget. sandra hughes, honolulu. our time right now is 4:38. at 4:41, one of the nation's largest banks announces a round of job cuts. >> at 4:51, studies on the prevention of breast cancer. >> you're watching 9news now.

welcome back. howard with you here on this severe weather alert day. 4:41. the concern today will be the rainfall and the flooding. we have a little concern for wintry weather tonight. the rains will be heavy as temperatures drop into the low 50s. we'll update with you the flood watches, the winter storm watches and advisories in a few minutes. right now, monika has timesaver traffic. >> take a look at the beltway on the northside of town out of the camera shot on the outer loop near georgia avenue. watch out for the accident look the right side and it is

causing just a slight back-up at this point. more on that and other area roadways coming up. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> here is the lovely jessica doyle. >> good morning, guys. it looks like we're trying to keep our distance from the european debt crisis as much as we possibly can. treasury secretary timothy geithner says the u.s. federal reserve has no plans to give money to the imf to support the european bailout fund. geithner is encouraged by the reforms being made by euro nations. wall street though, investors really proceeded with caution yesterday and the results were pretty mixed. taking a look at the numbers, the dow stands at 12,150. added 52 points in trading yesterday. the nasdaq was off by about 6 and the s&p 500 was up by about 1 and a half points. city group is slashing 4500 jobs worldwide. that's about 1.5% of its work force.

the bank says it is part of an effort to trim costs. the cuts will be made over the next few quarters. lehman brothers has one approval in court for its reorganization plan, ending the largest bankruptcy in history. that bankruptcy is often cited as the trigger for the global financial crisis of 2008. lehman will begin payout of an estimated $65er million to creditors. the end of the sad, sad chapter in american history. >> wow. hopefully. >> thank you, jess. sure thing. >> by the end of the day, the controversial morning after pill could be available over the counter to women of all ages. >> when we return, we'll break down both sides of the debay. first up after the break, your weather first.

welcome back to 9news now. you heard the sound effects. what does that mean, howard, happening today? >> flooding is a bigger concern. i know you've been hearing us talk about the threat of wintry weather mixing in tonight. the immediate concern will be the amounts of rain we could see could be two inches or more, enough to cause potentially some flooding later on. the heavy rain off to the west and southwest in some areas is picking up. that will slow you down for the morning commute. it will slow you down all day. that's really the bigger concern. we start with a look at the flood watch which covers the metro areas of washington and baltimore. that one goes until 3:00. another flood watch out to the west across parts of the shenandoah valley into the mountains of western maryland and west virginia. that one goes until 7:00. if that's not enough. as we get into the nighttime hours tonight, as the colder air works in, winter weather advisories will go into effect north and west of town for montgomery and howard counties, over toward loudoun and northern fauquier and points

west into the park and the shenandoah valley. up along route 70 out into the west. in garrett county, these folks are under warmer warnings for later on today and tonight. first thing's first, our bus stop forecast this morning, rainy and mild. actually in the 50s and 60s now. temperatures will be dropping today. don't let the little ones go out without a heavier coat. sunrise at 7:13. our day planner, wet, wet and wet. 50s this morning. lower 50s. in faction, we may see temperatures dropping into the 40s this afternoon. i have a feeling some of the temps could be even colder than what we're showing. north winds at 10. bigger key will be the factor we'll be quite wet. you're looking at the regional radars with the lightning not showing up. no lightning to talk about. we have pockets of heavy rain across west virginia, western virginia and it is all moving right toward the d.c. area and extreme western areas of ohio now and northern kentucky seeing a little bit of the

wintry mix. locally, we've got heavier downpours coming into western charles, southwestern prince george's county not far from fort washington across 95 over toward lorton and mason neck and in toward the mt. vernon area. much of prince william county seeing heavy rain. that's about to move into fairfax county. montgomery, you're quiet now. in about 20 minutes or so, you will not be. you'll seat rains pick up. we're in the 50s and 60s, culpepper, 63. come perland, 50. oakland is 37. still with the winds out of the south and southwest at 5 miles per hour, dew points in the upper 50s. we're way up there. this moisture extends all the way back toward the gulf coast. here it comes. there is an area of low pressure coming through memphis with some snow now. that is going to help get the snow going tonight. the problem snow lovers is that this thing will be moving quickly as the cold air comes in. it is a race between this leaving and the snow coming. by 5:00, switching over to the mountains of far western maryland and west virginia, they get quite a few hours of

snowfall, it pushes through and gets out of here. we gotta show you the quick snow totals here. north and weaves of town, trace to a slushy inch is what we'll be picking up. one to two toward frederick into loudoun county and northern fauquier. the high points here, the higher elevations about 1500 feet, where you can get two to three inches and more out in far western maryland and parts of west virginia. here's the forecast for the next three days. today, 50s but dropping. we've a's got the flood potential as well. friday, 47 and we're in pretty good shape through the weekend. a little blustery on saturday. highs near 40. monika? >> the wet road conditions are already affecting the roads especially on the knot side of town, outer loop. there is an accident on the outer loop right near georgia avenue. a car spun out there and multiple cell callers are telling us there are delays

there. if you're planning to head in the four corners area on university boulevard eastbound at laraine before route 29, there is smoke billowing out of the safeway there. fire equipment is blocking eastbound university boulevard for the investigation. let's go over to the beltway live. here's what it looks like on the outer loop of georgia avenue. it is 4:50 in the morning. this is to that accident after georgia. i will let you know what's going on there again. let's go downtown. downtown, things are fine. here's what it looks like on pennsylvania avenue. no problems to report here, just the wet roadways. coming up, another look on the northside of town. andrea and mike? >> thank you, monika. the fda may be deciding as soon as today to put the morning after pill over the counter for women of all ages. >> plan b has been mired in battled over reproductive rights for nearly a decade. as bruce leshan tells us, a decision from the fda could be the final chapter. >> plan b could soon be available along with aspirin

and decongestants right out in the aisle. >> very safe. very effective. it should go over the counter because time is of the essence in making it work. >> taken within 72 hours of intercourse, plan b is an estimated 85% effective in preventing pregnancy. right now, it is available to women 17 and older without a prescription. but they still have to ask the pharmacist to go get it because teens 16 and younger need a doctor's order. susan wood quit the f-da during the bush administration because she felt the science behind the morning pill had been pushed aside by the politics of abortion rights. >> i'm really hoping that fda will do what it would normally do which is do its job and make a decision based on the evidence. right now, that means that this product, plan b one step will go over the counter for all women. >> critics have some problems

with plan b. they say that it can act after fertilization and then that way, it is similar to using an abortion pill. they also say it interferes with the parent's right to supervise their children and exposes young people to high doses of a potent hormone. but susan wood says the bigger risk is an unwanted teenage pregnancy. >> i think it is much more life changing if a young teenager becomes pregnant. >> bruce leshan, 9news now. >> originally, the fda declined to say anything about the time line for the decision but it has until today to respond to the manufacturer's request to put plan b over the counter for all women. three new studies are shedding new light on the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. dutch researchers have found regular mammograms can cut a woman's risk of dying from the disease in half. scientists followed thousands of women and found those who had at least three ma'am grams were 49% less likely to die

from the disease. physicians say the results highlight the importance of regular screening. a genetic test can tell doctors how to treat women with an early form of breast cancer. many patients with dcis which is a cancer confined to the milk duct in the breast has surgery and radiation but the new test can determine which cancers are aggressive. researchers in philadelphia say patients with a less dangerous form of dcis would be likely able to skip the radiation treatment. >> a new study finds obesity and diabetes can significantly increase the risk of getting breast cancer. swedish researchers say women who are obese after age 60 have a 55% greater chance of developing the disease. many 60 years and over diabetics have a 37% increased risk. 4:53. time to check the question of the day before we go to break. >> recent "usa today" poll found 24% of adults are afraid to do this with their spouse.

is it a, flied a car with them. b, take a plane ride with them or c, visit the in-laws. >> what if the in-laws live with you? go to the facebook.com/wusa9 page and leave your response. we'll give the answer in our 6:00 hour. we'll be right back.

welcome back. severe weather alert day. concerned about flooding today.

already, live doppler 9000 hd, lighting up big time with some heavy rains across parts of prince george's county, approaching clinton coming out of fort washington. springfield down to lorton as well. 95, 395 will be a mess. also moving into fairfax county. look for a very wet day today. could pick up a couple inches off more of rain as temperatures drop into the upper 40s and low 50s on the drive home. some snow in spots. more on that coming up. >> live look at the beltway north side of town. heavy already on the outer loop trying to get past georgia avenue. an accident along the right side. coming up in my next report at 5:01. have you ever wanted to bother the people who robo call your home? a new web site will allow you to do just that. reverse robo call.com lets visitors call their favorite congress penn and compadres. >> with one click, you can send a phone call to all 535 members

of congress. that's never been able to be done before. >> consider it payback for all of the automated calls we get from the politicians. for 99 cents, you can robo call president obama and for $1.49, reach out to the republican candidates. i don't know why. >> representative michele bachmann as a result of your telephone call, i will not be voting for you or considering you as a candidate. >> i guess it is worth more to them. the web site allows your -- the web site lets you record and share your robo calls online. >> it seemed a little one- sided. >> capitol christmas tree is now aglow. check it out. >> three, two, one. [ cheering ] >> hundreds of people gathered

on the west lawn. a 7-year-old boy from sonora, california, helped house speaker john boehner throw the switch on the white fir from stanislav national forest. it has been an american tradition since 1964 and i think they had a hiccup about the power. >> 12 minute power surge. >> it went out. >> it couldn't agree which one to flip the switch. well, good morning. thank you for watching 9news now. at 5:00 a.m., i'm andrea. >> that was dramatic. >> with the flip of a switch there. >> it was a dramatic pause. >> here is the lovely monika samtani. she will have traffic. i can't believe the back-up you showed on your last report. >> unbelievable. she'll have details in a second. we have heavy rains in the mix. >> we have severe weather alert day. we do have a severe weather alert day today. we have heavy rains this morning. with us much of the day. flooding will be a problem. then tonight, as the cold air moves in, we'll get a little

bit of snow in most areas, north and west, you may get enough to have a few problems for a few hours overnight. let's start with a look at the day planner, it is a wet one with falling temperatures going down into the 50s. let's go to graphics please. just gotta beg sometimes. rainfall, noon, 53. 5:00 p.m., 52 degrees. temperatures will be dropping into the 40s in spots with this heavy rain. you can see the cold air just off to the west. down in the 30s already in pittsburgh and in garrett county and in ohio, we're -- yeah, there will be snow, big- time snows in the mountains. east of the mountains, we gotta get rid of the warmth first. that will take awhile. look at all of the rain moving in southwest to northeast. when you see the yellows, the oranges, the reds, that's heavy rainfall and it is all tracking in our direction and in fact, just to the south side of d.c. now coming through clinton,