some rain and temperatures will get toward 60 as well. maybe even over 60. >> no 180s. >> i saw them in the star and thought of -- them in the store and thought of you. >> that's very kind of you. sprinkles but they'll pick up as we go through the middle of the morning. by noon, temperatures which will be well into the 50s, upper 50s here. this afternoon, around 60. by 5:00, especially west, we can start over seeing the showers pull out of the region but we will see again periods of rain and showers and a breezy day, too. winds at times could gust over 20 miles per hour to the south and southwest. rain this morning, out to our north and our west and our south. and you see all of this is moving toward us. a quick look at temps. radar, not much there. your temperatures again running into the upper 40s, even low 50s south. monika? >> you don't have the 180s and i don't have the notes. it just means that everything is nice and quiet.

i'm just going to show you roadways that are pretty empty. this is what howard had for the weather. maybe we can show what you it looks like on the beltway or go outside live. here we go. no problems to report on the beltway. we'll zoom in closer. 66 inside the beltway. 395, no problems to report. let's take a live look into springfield on the northbound side of i-95. no issues to report coming up from the occoquan river into springfield. we'll go a little further north down to 395 and the 14th street bridge, heading downtown using any of the potomac and anacostia crossings. we'll go to the american legion bridge on the west side of town if you're coming in on the dulles toll road from leesburg no problems to report there as well. coming up, another look around the area at 5:09. back to you guys. >> metro says inspections on an entire series of rail cars should not lead to any delays for subway ride errs. tuesday, the brakes fell off of a series 5,000 car causing a shutdown on the blue and orange

lines. >> metro has nearly 200 of the series 5,000 cars and they're some of the newer units in the fleet. 9news now reporter surae chinn is at the l'enfant plaza station with more. good morning, surae. >> reporter: good morning to both of you. yes, there are two major investigations going on in the aftermath of this frightening incident. one being the general manager has ordered an inspection of all of it's,000 series as you've been mentioning, that's about 20% of its fleet. that will be happening starting today. the second is the complaint from passengers that they weren't told about what was going on initially when this whole thing happened. about 30 minutes went by before anyone told them something happened. now, if you look at this video, i believe you can see what fell off of the moving train that was leaving l'enfant plaza yesterday morning. it is part of its brake system. people on the train say they saw smoke and fire. they heard explosions. this youtube video shows what it was like inside the crowded trains and passengers

complaining they were stranded underground for so many minutes. several crawled out of the dark tunnel. most were led by firefighters out to safety when they finally came out, relieved they were just glad they were out safely. >> you think about your family. you think about kids and you just -- you know god's with you. >> there was another bottom and this time, i could see a bright light, flames coming from underneath the next to the last car like a fireball. as the car went by, there was a visible trail of smoke going into the tunnel. >> reporter: now, this mishap also damaged two other trains on the orange and blue line. now, to add insult to injury, some of the passengers say they had to pay exit fares as they were leaving the metro station. can you believe that? mike, andrea? >> unfortunately, i think we can. all right, surae. she'll have an update later in our newscast. >> u.s. park police say their officers arrested 11 protestors

outside the white house. a few dozen occupy d.c. protestors marched to the gates in front of the white house and police were waiting for them. the demonstrators chanted in opposition to a defense funding bill which would allow suspected terrorists to be detained indefinitely. police arrested protestors who did not follow their orders to keep moving. >> a new ethics bill is headed to d.c. mayor vincent gray's desk. the city council overwhelmingly approved the bill yesterday, including har ray thomas whose home was raided by federal agents earlier this month. their investigating whether thomas illegally converted city funds for personal use. the bill would create an ethics board with the power to punish council members found guilty of violations. >> congress is running out of options. if they want to protect 160 million americans from getting a tax hike. the house rejected a senate plan to extend the payroll tax credit for two months. the g.o.p. lawmakers say they only want to vote for a year-long extension instead. president obama argues the senate plan is the best choice

at least for now. they went ahead and did the right thing. i need the speaker and house republicans to do the same. >> we've done our work for the american people. now, it is up to the president and democrats in the senate to do their job as well. >> now, the bill would also extend unemployment benefits and prevent a cut in medicare payments to doctors. the conference committee will hammer out the differences between the senate and house version but the senate doesn't reconvene until january 23rd. >> it is 5:05. time for the latest "your money" report of the morning. >> triple digit gains, no at bad day. >> we should have been wearing green today. what was i thinking? >> hopefully not red. >> it was a nice day yesterday. we'll take another one just like it. wall street starts today back above the 12,000 level. stocks surged after an upbeat housing report and encouraging headlines out of europe. checking the numbers, the dow stands at 12,103.

surged 337 points. nasdaq was up by 80. s&p 500 was better by 35 points. >> the local employment picture is starting to improve, too. as private companies hire while government employment shrinks. in november, virginia saw unemployment drop from 6.4% to 6.2%. over in maryland, unemployment dropped from 7.2% to 6.9% and the district's jobless rate dropped from 11% to 10.6%. here is a freebie that will help make holiday travel a little bit more bearable. skype is giving you an hour of free wi-fi at our three airport and 47 others around the country. users just need to download the skype app for their smart phone and log on. skype's over starts today and runs through next tuesday. something to do while you're at the airport waiting for that flight. >> some airports already offer free wi-fi so it is interesting they decided to do that for the holidays. cool. >> what do you have for us the

next half in next half hour? >> we'll talk about a money strategy coming up. >> this morning, the digging out is underway after a blizzard. >> it has left thousands of people in the middle of the country stranded. >> ahead in sports, both the capitals stars named alex put the puck in the net last night.

couple of sprinkles out there right now. later this morning into the afternoon, that's when we're going to get some heavier

showers to roll through. the day planner calling for some isolated to light showers early. becoming steadier midday and quite warm for december. we're looking at high temperatures today 60, maybe 61. late this afternoon, those showers will pull out. it will be breezy, too. winds will gust 15 to 20 miles per hour. we'll have the full seven-day forecast in five minutes. right now, monika is in with a look at your timesaver traffic. >> look at the eastbound at route 50 coming over the sevren river over to route 3 in crofton. coming up in my next report, another look into maryland. back to you guys. >> thanks, monday ca. making news now at 5:09, thousands of people will try to resume their holiday trip today after so many got stuck in a huge snowstorm. the storm shut down interstate highways in at least five states including texas and kansas. in texas, police say they rescued at least 100 stranded drivers. >> today, bradley manning's

defense team will start making his case. tuesday, private first class manning is accused of providing u.s. secrets to the wikileaks web site. the hearing determines whether the case will go to trial. to mark the end of the iraq war, president obama attended a ceremony tuesday at andrews air force base. he welcomed home the top commanders of the u.s. forces in iraq and those commanders returned with the u.s. forces iraq flag which is the symbolic conclusion to the war. it is a site where some musical legends shared their talents with d.c. a century ago and now the struggling lincoln theatre may have avoided going out of business. that is coming up at 5:48. >> we'll tell you which republican presidential front runner is headed here for a campaign event tonight. >> howard previews the first week of winter in his seven-day forecast.

we're halfway there. and howard has the forecast that doesn't seem like the beginning of winter. >> 12:30 tonight, we get the winter solstice.

>> yeah! >> least daylight of the year. >> he will be doing his dance at that moment. >> it is unbelievable how warm it has been. >> feels like we should be planting bulbens. it is so warm outside. >> the bulbs need to chill for a certain period. i think it has been cold enough for that. we could use better cold. >> i think we fear what this may bring in 2012. >> don't worry about -- this is a la nina result here. let's talk about this morning here. we have some mild conditions out there. there is a little bit of a chill. some temperatures down in the low 40s. average high in d.c. is 45. today, at least this morning, low 40s and low 50s. it is pretty quiet in most areas at this hour. i don't think the bulk of the showers will get here for several more hours into the middle of the day and the first half of the afternoon at least. 51 at 9:00. a couple of showers there. by 11:00, more showers, 55. winds south 10, 15 miles per

hour. could gust over 20 at times. 59 by 1:00. low 60s in spots this afternoon with 3:00 p.m. temperature of 60. by 5:00, a lot of the showers will have already pushed through. still, 60 degrees. winds will start to turn southwest this evening and west to northwest overnight. lighter 5 to 10. some snow yesterday afternoon and evening. northern pennsylvania. little bit there. not too much to talk about. but this morning, that's been replaced by rain. we've got a few showers which have pushed through. southern virginia seeing some rain this morning and also well out to the west in ohio and western kentucky and all of that is moving in our direction. right now, into loudoun county, leesburg down route 7 to purcellville, showers north of barrysville headed into jefferson county, west virginia. just north of winchester between winchester and the state line up 81, we've got showers and also west of hancock there approaching interstate 68. that's it. pretty quiet. pretty mild as well. some cold in new england. look at the mild temperatures

raleigh at 56. charleston, west virginia at 59. all of this is moving northeast. that's why we're going to have a warm day for december. right now, some chill in the air. at least in lovettsville at haymarket. it is 44 for laytonsville and columbia. 50 over at andrews, alexandria this morning. 47. and here in washington, we're at an even 50 with cloudy skies. winds south at 5 miles per hour. the dew points have risen into the 40s. lots of cold out west but in the east and southeast, look at the warmth. nashville, 61. atlanta, 58. here is all of the rain. we're going to have several waves of low pressure over the next few days. not only rain chances today but again tomorrow night and looks like again christmas day, there could be some cold showers. 61, breetzy, periods of rain and showers. we start dry tomorrow. clouds increase. tomorrow night. more rain into early friday. friday though, partly sunny, 54. saturday it looks dry. so, the 'skins game should be dry and cool.

46. chance of some showers on christmas day. temperatures still in the mid, maybe even upper 40s. here's monika samtani stepping in 5:15. >> good morning, everybody. a look at the beltway tells. >> lot. look at that. all green around town. no problems to report. it is getting a little bit slow trying to get into town. that's normal for this time of the morning. we're going to zoom in first all the way up to frederick. no problems to report on i-270 or i-70 as you come out of frederick and down toward 270 here at falls road, you can see a bit of volume forming but no big deals here as you head down to the point where the lanes divide. we'll go back over to the map. take a look on the other side of town. bw parkway inside the beltway through cheverly, everything is looking fine. live look into the northeast corridor. here's what it, won't like on new york avenue on bladensburg road. potomac and anacostia crossings are incident-free as well. coming up, we'll take another look around the area at 5:23. the wizards have played

their last preseason game. >> the capitals offense revived for one night. highlights coming up in sports. >> let's take another look at the question of the day. 8% of people say this is their least favorite christmas tradition is. it gift shopping which is a. b, putting up and taking down decorations or c, caroling. >> this is a response posted on the facebook.com/wusa9 page. she wrote gotta be c, caroling. who actually goes out and does that? >> log on to our facebook fan page. would love to hear from you. who actually does that? >> you want to hear your responses, we'll give you the answer to our survey in the 6:00 hour. [ 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.

there is a bit of a chill out there. as we go through the morning, 9:00, we'll be in the low 50s, still mid-40s north. showers down south toward tappahannock and orange and culpepper and out west. look what happens as we head toward noon, a lot more rain showers move in. temperatures warm to the upper 50s. scattered showers this

afternoon. 60 degrees at 3:00. for the drive home, most of the rain may already be gone. temperatures still upper 50s and low 60s. andrea and mike, over to you. the wizards cram in a second preseason match-up against a nearby opponent. >> the alexs finally score in tandem. dave owens has the highlights in your morning sports. >> good morning, everybody. well, just to give you an idea of how much the caps are struggling, ovechkin, ten goals in 31 goals. alex simmons, five in 35. if we were analyzing this in economic terms, we would say they were in a goal scoring recession. let's see if it got better last night. nice moment before the game, mike knuble honored 1,000th game. get jiggy. caps up 1-0. nicholas backstrom, the swedish sensation. caps first two goal outburst. third period, pretty play here.

simmons, deposit. caps win it 4-1. preseason basketball, wizards, sixers. mcyoung just re-signed. jumper, got it! finished three of ten. he had 8 points. john wahl, check this out. he believes he can fly. to the 10 like it has never been! 17 points, three assists. philly's holiday, the dagger. phillies sweep the two-game set. 101-94. that's going to do it for a quick look at sports this morning, i'm dave owen. have a great wednesday, everybody. >> facebook may not be as friendly as you think. we have more on why that's the case. >> plus, metro has ordered inspections of some of its newest rail cars after a mishap left hundreds of passengers stranded underground. monika, anybody stranded on the roadways? you a well, there is one incident on the northbound side of 270 at montrose road, the accident blocks the left lane. watch your step coming up from the 270 spur.

coming up, more on that and other maryland roadways at 5:30. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

good morning and welcome back to 9news now on this wednesday morning. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. i wonder how many shovels are being sold lately. >> not very many. >> winter is almost here. here's monika samtani with traffic in a moment. >> buy now and avoid the rush. >> that's right. >> there's one model. one model that has a slight chance of snow sunday. if it gets cold enough but you know, that's really an outlier. it is not out of the realm of possibilities but it is not very likely. let's talk about today though because we've got some warm showers which we'll have. temperatures are going to be pushing toward the 60 degree mark this afternoon. maybe even the low 60s in

spots. lighter showers. steadier showers midday. by late this afternoon, this activity may be pulling out. the 5:00 rain symbol may be a little overdone. temperatures are going to be on the warm side with the southerly winds kicking in. moisture already in pennsylvania. little bit in western maryland. southern virginia, out to the west. look at live doppler 9000 hd, a little bit of shower activity here in loudoun county from leesburg up route 15 and even into northwestern montgomery county over toward dickerson, we're seeing a little bit of that. this goes out past charlestown, not quite to i-81 in jefferson county. all lifting up toward eastern washington as well. temperatures are on the mild side with low 40s this morning. it is 50 from d.c., annapolis, andrews, la plata headed toward 60. monika? >> i plan to finish my christmas shopping today, howard. if you're heading out the door to the roadways, things are actually very good. no problems to report all

around town. i've been telling you about an accident on 270 northbound on montrose road, that is moved to the left shoulder. let's take a live look, planning to head over to 270, north and southbound right now, it is unaffected by that accident. good news there. we'll take you back over to the maps, this time all the way down south to virginia, northbound side of i-95, the yellow forming on the occoquan river. we'll go a little further north, take a live look into springfield. there are no problems. volume on the increase but no problems on to 395 and up to the 14th street bridge. in my next report, we'll take another look at the areas at 5:37. back to you guys. >> thanks, monthen ca. tonight, one of the front- runners in the republican presidential race is headed to northern virginia. >> after stops in iowa and virginia, out in gingrich will hold a town hall style meeting at the marriott. the event is free and open to the public. by the way, the other front- runner, mitt romney sat on marriott's board of directors

for years and has the support of former ceo bill marriott. on april 30th, a trial date has been set for the female frostburg state university student charged with killing another student. the suspect, 23-year-old shanay liggins made her first court appearance. her bond was set at $350,000. she's charged with first-degree murder in the death of 19-year- old courtney mccoy of baltimore. she was stabbed to death last month at an off-campus party. liggins says someone else stabbed mccoy. >> the latest int dent did not involve the system's rail cars. it forced metro to shut down the blue and orange lines and stranding hundreds of passengers underground. 9news now reporter surae chinn is live at the len fant plaza station with more on the story. >> reporter: good morning, andrea. this was a frightening ordeal for many and passengers complained a lot has to do with the lack of communication.

agod for a good 20 to 30 minutes, they weren't told what was going on. the lights are out, the power is out and you're in an underground tunnel. that's what passengers say they went through yesterday morning. but they do commend the firefighters here who led them out to safety, out of that dark tunnel and metro says they will be looking into the possible lapse in communication. metro says it was a friction ring that caused the trouble off of their brake assembly system that fell off the train. as the train was leaving l'enfant plaza, there was a series of explosions. they saw fire. it was a terrifying experience for many as metro ordered the immediate inspection on 200 of its trains. >> we saw this man, he was running to the door saying the train is on fire. and i panic and everybody is

running, trying to get out. >> well, the blue and orange lines are back up and running as normal this morning. again, the 5,000 series trains will be inspected. all of them will be inspected. these are not the older 1,000 model trains, the series that was involved in the deadly metro crash in 2009. back to you, andrea. >> surae chinn reporting live from the l'enfant plaza metro station. >> this afternoon, a remembrance ceremony will be held at arlington national cemetery for the victims of pan am flight 103. the plane blew up over lockerbie, scotland, 23 years ago today. the service will be held at the memorial care and dedicated to the 270 victims. libyan intelligence agents were blamed for the 1988 terrorist attack and this is the first anniversary of the flight 103 bombing since libyan leader moammar gadhafi was killed in october. today, the federal aviation administration is going to release new rules for addressing pilot fatigue. that's according to the hill

newspaper. the national transportation safety board ruled fatigue was a factor in the february 2009 crash of a continental airlines flight 3907. the plane went down in a buffalo suburb and killed 50 people on board. the jet's copilot was working on little sleep after flying across the country earlier the same day. all right, it is the real deal! today, nine new speed cameras from the district will start issuing tickets. some of the locations of the cameras include canal road. florida avenue and first. northbound 295 and benny road and south capital street. drivers caught by the cameras have received warnings but starting today, will you get a real fine in the mail. 5:33. time for another "your money" report. >> our money saving strategies putting us in danger? jessica doyle is back with more on that. >> turns out americans are delaying maintenance on their primary automobiles as a money

saving strategy. a new "consumer reports" survey is out. 40% of respondents are postponing car maintenance or repairs on the primary vehicle, that vehicle we take to drive every single day. we're talking about delays in servicing the brakes, the tires, light bulbs or other internal mechanical parts. the delays are potentially putting them at risk of larger, more costly problems down the road. a group of hackers in china broke into the computer databases of america's top business lobbying groups. the "wall street journal" reports that the hackers gained access to everything stored on the system for the u.s. chamber of commerce including information about its three million members. the complex operation reportedly involved at least 300 internet addresses and was discovered and quietly shut down back in may of 2010. we're just learning about it now. >> how to win friends and influence people, one of the best selling self-help books.

a new study is showing us how to accomplish the goals on facebook. research from insight shows 82% of facebook users add friends because they know them in real life. 60% add friends because they're the friends of friends. business networking scored with 11%, having a good-looking profile photo will get you friends with 8% of the people on there. beth way to lose -- the best way to lose friends over some offensive comments. they also don't like political comments, for example or if they find you just aren't doing that much with your facebook page, they'll say bye-bye. >> i started getting sales pitches. >> that's another big one. which kind of ticked me off a little bit. >> very small print. number three. trying to sell me something. 39%. >> yeah. >> no thanks. >> thanks, jess. >> police have a new way to keep a closer eye on one popular downtown area. more on that coming up. >> plus, we'll tell you why money won't be quite so tight at the smithsonian in the

coming years.

good morning. out on the weather terrace, we've he's a couple of sprinkles out here. you can see a raindrop that has fallen on our little patio furniture. it is dry for most of us. that will not be the case in a few hours when most of us will be seeing the rain. but a mild day ahead. here is our day planner, we have temperatures out at 50 at reagan national. we'll be in the upper 50s by noon. best chance of rain later this morning through mid afternoon. winds out of the south 10 to 15. highs in the low 60s. coming back with the seven-day forecast. let's go inside. monika, timesaver traffic. >> thank you, howard. we'll take a live look downtown here at the willard hotel on pennsylvania avenue. everything is fine here. no problems to report around the ellipse. we're looking good in the downtown area. another look at traffic coming up in my next report.

mike, back to you. thanks, monika. police will be watching next time criminals try to strike around a popular park. cameras have been installed at carol creek park. which is the park near the frederick library and the downtown historic area. this comes in the wake of vandalism and other criminal activity in the park and around the area, patrols are being beefed up as well. and some new brighter lights have been installed. >> in the midst of budget candlelights and belt tightening in what feels like every corner, some news about a boost for the smithsonian. organization's funding is being increased by $52 million. most is dedicated to building a national museum of african- american history and culture on the national mall. an historic local theatre which was in danger of shutting down is getting some new life. we'll tell you why. >> still ahead, a look at a new twist bringing more magic to one troop's performance of the nutcracker.

>> let's see who's celebrating a birthday today. jane fonda is 74. he's been nominate for an oscar. samuel l. jackson is 63. american tennis star chris everett is 57. >> everybody does love raymond. ray romano is 54. kiefer sutherland is 45. and happy birthday to a couple of our 9news now colleagues. bill starks and our anchor, lesli foster both having a birthday today. if it is your birthday, enjoy yours as well. we'll be right back!

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. i love this song, be optimistic, don't be a grutchy. when the road gets bumpy, smile. you can smile over howard's

forecast. >> ding. >> it will be mild. >> i've never heard that song. >> shirley temple. >> i wonder why. >> mike, you go the ta go back to the -- you gotta go back to the dvd collection. maybe the vhs collection. weatherwise, we've got a mild start, especially south. we've got temps in the 50s already. up north, hagerstown, northern shenandoah valley, chilly with low to mid-40s there. a look at our bus stop forecast, rain jackets. middle of the day, likely not going to have recess with the showers around. this morning, showers are moving in. not too much yet. low 40s in the cool spots to low 50s south and southeast. sunrise at 7:23. setting at 4:49. tonight at 12:30, the winter solstice, the amount of sunlight will start to get longer. 8:00, 50 with a few showers around. by the middle of the day, there should be some numerous scattered showers. winds out of the south at 14. breezy, too. temperatures head toward the low 60s in many areas this

afternoon. south winds still up there at 14. gusting at 20 or better. still rain around at 4:00. by 8:00, most of the rain is gone. most might be gone by 5:00 or 6:00 they'll turn tonight to the west and northwest at 5 to 10. on our weather headlines, a very active weather pattern will continue for the next several days. breezy and wheat today. it is going to rain again thursday night into early friday morning. right now, christmas looks like there will be more showers moving in. one model has it cold enough for a little bit of wintry weather. but we'll hold out on that. it hasn't been that sort of winter. i'm sure i believe it when i see it mentality. rain this morning up in pennsylvania. down from richmond to norfolk and out west, look at the heavier showers from fort wayne moving in toward areas in western ohio, cincinnati down toward nashville. that will be moving in later. this morning, a little rain down toward the northern neck to our north and west up the

potomac, up 270 from clarksburg, toward urbana and jefferson here down 340 seeing showers from sharpsburg in northern jefferson county. moving into eastern washington county. a little bit farther north and west. a few showers as you go west of hancock toward flintstone and cumberland. the temps are kind of warm down south. already 55 in fredericksburg. winchester is 41. here in d.c., we sit at 50 degrees. the clouds and the falling barometer at 30.02. storm system that brought all of the snow to the southwest now here with the rains out ahead of it, that's what we're dealing with for today. it will be out of here later this afternoon and this evening. so, 61 today. breezy. periods of rain and showers. tomorrow, we start sunny. we finish with clouds. tomorrow night, more rain rolls in. saturday looks dry. we could see some cool rain on sunday and i may have to lower temps a little bit on christmas day. showers more likely than

anything else. monika? >> we'll take a look at the beltway. no problems to report. it has actually been fairly quiet this morning. no big issues to report i'm happy to say. if you're heading out the door, we're looking good. constitution avenue, 14th street, nothing to report in this area. this should not be here. we're clear through the downtown area. we're going to take you to a live look at the 14th street bridge on the northbound side of i-395, also quiet from duke street across the bridge span into downtown. you will be ok. pretty much the same story on 66 inside the beltway to the roosevelt bridge. back over to the maps to show you the gw parkway, we're look good as you leave the american legion bridge heading south on the parkway, the toll road looks good out of leesburg. no problems in the tysons corner area. let's take a live look on the west side of town crossing the river between bethesda and tysons, you're good to go. a look around the area at 6:00. back to you, andrea. >> make news now at 5:47, a

video message from the late al- qaeda militant al-maliki has been posted online. he was killed in a cia drone strike last september in yemen. in the video, the american-born calls on u.s. muslims to join the jihad against the west. secret service agents are now investigating a former city council candidate in carson, california. jewels manson is accused of posting an assassination threat against president obama on facebook as well as using racist language toward the president and his daughters. manson has issued an apology. a new government report finds the amount of air pollution generated from last year's bp oil spill roughly equals the amount found in a large city. the cleanup efforts included burning surface oil and fumes from that as well as evaporating fuel were blown ashore. >> financial troubles had put the historic lincoln theatre in jeopardy. the u street venue has hosted performances over the years of musical giants duke ellington

and ella fitzgerald. >> but now, the theatre is being transferred in hopes of ensuring its long-term success. lionel thomas is executive director of the d.c. commission on the arts and humanity. he joins us live. the jewel on u street. mr. thomas, good morning. thank you for being here with us. >> good morning. >> can't believe just about three months ago, we were talking about bankruptcy and the theatre was on the verge of closing down. now, your commission is in charge. what are your top priorities as you assume oversight. does it mean the theatre is called back from the brink of disaster? >> that's exactly what it means. we're hitting the ground running. i'm very excited. what it means is that we have, we have announced yesterday by mayor gray that the transfer of the oversight of the theatre to the d.c. commission on the arts. we're look at creating a sustainable business model, financial business model to

help sustain this viability entity. we're also looking at creating a more artistic identity for the theatre and we're also looking at creative programming that will reach out to the diverse populations of washington, d.c. so, we're very excited about what's going on here and we've hit the ground running. >> mr. thomas, in an economy like this, people often cut back on entertainment. is there a way that you can keep some of the entertainment at the lincoln theatre low cost so more people can keep more revenue coming in? >> that's one of our top priorities is making sure the programming is affordable to all residents. we're going to have something for everyone. we're going to have educational programs for young people. we're going to have programs that address the diverse elements of our city. we are really going to make a real, concerted effort to keep the tickets at an affordable price so everyone can enjoy this rich jewel on u street. >> mr. thomas, you also want to make it a place that's

welcoming and attractive to attend and that means restoration. that means funds. how are you going to go about getting those restoration funds and what will be the first priority in that venture? >> well, the city has devoted some capital funds to improve the -- and make some needed renovations to the theatre. there are some electrical issues that need to be addressed and then there are some other things that we need to do to make it more welcoming for our patrons at the lincoln theatre. so, there's more to come. the city has devoted resources to make that happen and we're very excited about it. >> lionel thomas, we're thanking you for joining us. we'll see you again in our 6:00 a.m. hour with more on the special lincoln theatre event that starts today. at 5:41, we'll take another look at the question of the day. 8% of people say this is their least favorite christmas tradition. is it a, gift shopping. b, putting up and taking down

decorations. c, caroling. >> crazy nate wrote on our facebook fan page, i say b. every year, my mom asks me to put up the christmas lights outside her house and i always feel like chevy chase's christmas vacation but i love her and i do it. >> that's a good son. log on to facebook.com/wusa9 page and leave your response and we'll reveal the answer in about an hour. the director of a mid- atlantic production of the nutcracker recruits a vegas act to enhance his show coming up. plus, we'll preview the movies debuting in theatres today. jess? >> you get these calls this time of year. a charity calling your home desperate for a donation. how do you know your money is going to the right place? there are some easy steps you can take to..vent the charities. you're watching 9news now.

welcome back. 5:55. 9:00, still 40s north, 50s south. we'll be watching showers move in through midday. some could be on the hefty side. temperatures are really going to get mild. low 60s in spots. with some 50s north. by the time we drive home, most of the rain will be over with. temperatures still upper 50s to low 60s. grab the rain gear, heavy coats, you can keep them inside today or in the closet. andrea? >> there are a couple of new movies opening today. the girl with the dragon tattoo is based on the best selling novel. it is a premake of the 2009 swedish language film. after being disgraced, a. >> reporter: played by daniel craig is hired to investigator the 40-year-old disappearance of a teenage girl. he enlists the help of an unusual and troubled computer researcher played by newcomer rooney mara. oscar winning director steven spielberg and peter jackson teamed up for the

adventures of tintin based on the belgian writer comics featuring a young reporter named tintin and his loyal white fox terrier. jackson brought in new zealand's wta special effects team which created the lord of the rings film. this movie has been released in other countries and has grossed nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. it is a holiday tradition for many families, catching a performance of the nutcracker. ballet troupes and orchestras worldwide bring the story to live but reporter david crabtree takes us inside a north carolina production that has somehow added even more magic. >> reporter: the nutcracker is performed around the world every year. a new production in raleigh keeps the traditional 1892 music and choreography but adds something extra. >> we're making the nutcracker hopefully much more magical than it already is. >> he means that literally. rich thomas is a top magician

in las vegas. his show is one of the biggest on the strip. >> robert weiss, the carolina ballet's artistic director, recruited thomas to teach his secrets to the ballet troupe. >> he creates the magic that sparks clara's imagination that takes her into her dream. well, the magic is just that much more fantastical. >> they're a highlight. actors disappear and appear. some levitating without wires. >> i think there will be moments where they'll say did you see that? where did he come from or how did that happen? >> robert weiss says the production stays true to tradition. >> i think if the masters had seen what we've added to the show, they'll go that's the magic, that's good. >> the company also hoping adds magic will bring in new fans, especially boys. they're usually the most difficult to attract to ballet. >> hopefully, they'll see the dancing but they'll come for

the magic. >> and the carolina ballet hopes this nutcracker will become a new family tradition for years to come. i'm david crabtree for cbs news, in raleigh, north carolina. >> molly will love seeing the nutcracker. >> if she could sit still. >> thank you for watching us right now at 9news now at 6:00 a.m., i'm andrea roane. >> no ballet in this show. i'm mike hydeck. at least not from me. we'll have monika samtani momentarily. >> howard bernstein is up with our weather first. another mild day. it is 50 degrees. >> headed toward the low 60s. >> expand the horizons. >> ing with mike. >> talking about the mild weather, that comes with a price. it is going to rain today at times. showers, periods of rain and the breeze will be up as well. winds will be gusting 20 miles per hour. so, out of the south and southwest, best shot of rain will be midmorning through mid af