few leftover showers by 5:00. very warm for december. average high this time of year is 45. some showers north. some showers south. as we switch on live doppler 9000 hd, that's what we're seeing down toward readville and the northern neck. showers there. up to our north this morning, pushing through upper montgomery and frederick counties, some showers just north of damascus headed toward mount airy. up toward meyersville and middletown. thurmont, you may see this over the next 20 to 30 minutes. temps are still cool up north. we've got lower 40s in frederick and martinsburg. mid-50s fredericksburg to tappahannock and also in southern maryland. let's go over to monika samtani. building volume, again, any incidents to talk about? >> we actually have one. good morning, everybody. the beltway is fine. we'll zoom into 95 on virginia. i'm just getting word of an accident on the northbound side of 95 along the right side. i'll keep you posted. we'll take a live look in

springfield. overall, delays will be coming up from quantico into dumfries and then from newington into springfield. remember, an accident reported at the fairfax county parkway. back over to the map. this time, we'll take a look inside the beltway. 395 doing fine at duke street. 55 miles per hour, 66 inside the beltway. 60 miles per hour at fairfax drive. we'll take a live look north of duke street. a bit of volume growing right now through landmark as you head up to the 14th street bridge. a live look at the roosevelt bridge. no problems to report across the river here and into downtown. coming up in my next report, i'll update you at 6:12. back to you guys. >> thanks, monika. metro says service is back to normal this morning for the commute. >> but there will be a lot of people wary following yesterday's incident. part of the train fell off shutting down service on the blue and orange lines. passengers had to crawl through dark tunnels to get to safety. >> pretty scary. surae chinn is live outside l'enfant plaza to tell us how metro is making sure this

doesn't happen again. this is pretty scary. >> reporter: very frightening. two major issue metro is looking into. one being the general manager has ordered the issue of inspections of all of its 5,000 series rail cars. that will be happening today. that's about a fifth of its fleet. and secondly, passengers complained about not having any communication for a good 20 to 30 minutes while being stuck underground in the tunnels, in those crowded trains. metro will be looking into those two major issues. now, if you look that the video, you might be able to see the part that actually fell off of that train. that's part of its brake system. this happened while the train was leaving l'enfant plaza yesterday morning and people on the train say they saw smoke, they saw sparks. they saw fire. and heard explosions. youtube video shows what it was like inside the crowded trains and passengers again complaining about not being communicated with by metro for

those 30 minutes. several crawled out in the dark tunnel and most were led by firefighters. when they finally came out, they were just glad they were safe. >> you think about your family. you think about kids and you just -- you know god's with you. >> there was another boom and this time, i could see a bright light, flames coming from underneath the next to the last car, like a fireball and as the car went by, there was a visible trail of smoke going into the tunnel. >> and adding insult to injury, some of the passengers had to pay to exit the station and the general manager says that should not have happened. he's looking into that. mike, andrea? >> still hard to believe. surae is live outside l'enfant plaza. we'll have more as that story develops. what should you do if you need to evacuate a metro train in a tunnel? according to metro's web site, look out the windows, find the side of the tunnel with the lights on in it. that's the side that has an

emergency walkway. open the center doors with the emergency release handle, get on to a walkway and listen and follow the train operators instructions. if you need them, there are emergency call boxes every 800 feet. they're marked with a blue light. you probably walk by them every day and don't notice them. take note on where they are. some tunnels have emergency access to the streets so look out for that. >> a 2-year-old girl is doing well after she was found home alone in a maryland apartment. police arrested her father for leaving her alone. the girl was found inside the apartment along walker mill road in capitol heights, maryland, prince george's county police checked on her after the girl's mother called them from the hospital. she wanted to make sure her daughter was ok. police found her alone but other than being cold, hungry and in need of a new diaper, she was just fine. a tennessee man has pleaded guilty to making threats against house majority leader eric kantor. threats were made against the familiar lift virginia republican. police say glendon swift used

anti-semitic language in the threats. prosecutors will recommend the 13-month prison sentence. swift will be sentenced in april. 11 occupy d.c. protestors hoping to give president obama an earful wound up get led away in handcuffs instead. about three dozen people marched to the white house for this rally last night. they're against a defense funding bill which allows suspected terrorists to be detained indefinitely. we spoke to one of the protestors shortly before police took them away. >> constitutional, goes against the founding principals of america, it goes against everything we stand for. >> 11 of the protestors arrested will likely get a fine of $100 or possibly community service. >> the district has an idea to cut down on traffic and boost its tax base. encourage people to live where they work. the pilot program was announced yesterday. it will start with gallaudet

university and american university. city will match grants by the college giving workers up to $12,000 toward a downpayment and closing cost on a home in the district. the homes must be close to transit or their workplace. the city has committed $200,000 to support this program. it is 6:06. i'm jessica doyle and i'm watching your money. this time of year, a lot of people look to donate to charity, even if it is just a little bit. but how do you know your money is going to the right place? if you don't know where to give, how do you find the right charity for you? joining me now this morning is bob otenhoff, the president and ceo of guidestar, a web site that has everything you need to know about charities. fantastic organization that you run. now, let's take us through this situation. is this a common problem, where you want to give money to a charity but that money may not necessarily go toward the activities that maybe you had in mind as a giver? >> you never know. this is the time of the year when we're flooded with phone

calls and e-mails and letters in the mailbox and so it is hard to know because we're so generous. we want to do the right thing and it is probably a good idea if you just take a step and think about it before you act. ask yourself the question. what is it that really matters to you? what are your values, what are your priorities? what interests you? is it your community, some international cause? you don't need to say yes to every request you get. >> what's fascinating when you start to dive into some of the charities and how they use their money, operating expenses can be very, very high for a lot of these charities so that's your money going to things you wouldn't think about rather than the programs directly that you're most interested in. how do you find out that information? >> well, ask a charity three questions. before someone asks you -- before you give to a charity, ask them three questions. what do you do? and they ought to be able to

say that in a couple of words. how do you do it and how are you doing? in other words, how effective are you at what you do? efficiency is always an important thing to ask. so is effectiveness. >> how does guidestar fit into that? >> guidestar collects information on all 15 million nonprofits. you can learn about their mission, about their programs, about how effective they are. >> it certainly makes it easier to be altruistic nowadays. thank you for talking about this. >> glad to be here. thanks for the opportunity. >> you bet. >> andrea and mike? >> thank you, jessica. in four minutes, the latest on the payroll tax debate. as of right now, you will be seeing less money in your paycheck come january 1st. howard says it is going to be warm today. especially the fact that we're so close to christmas. rain is on the way, too. your weather first when 9news now continues. keep it here. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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we'll have showers rolling in midmorning through mid afternoon. see you in a few minutes with that seven-day forecast looking toward christmas. right now, monika, what's going on on the roads? >> live look from sky 9 on the northbound side of i-95. it is right after the fairfax county parkway. this accident was moved to the right shoulder but caused delays coming up from newington northbound on i-95. more on this coming up in my next report. back to you guys. >> expect to see less money in your paycheck come january 1st when the payroll tax cut will expire. >> so much for bipartisan. the house rejected a senate deal and the senators have skipped town for the christmas break. >> as tara mergener reports, this isn't good news for our economic recovery. >> this is no secret -- >> president obama is calling out house republicans. >> we have more important things to worry about than saving face. we have people counting on us to make their leaves a little bit easier. >> he wants them to reconsider a two-month extension of payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits.

the g.o.p. rejected the senate measure tuesday following heated debate. >> is this the new year's gift we're going to give to american people, their taxes will be raised. >> give the american people a year, not two months. >> republican leaders now want president obama to call the senate back to washington to work out a one-year extension. >> i need the for the help out. all right? >> reporter: but senate democratic leaders are digging in their heels. refusing to return until house members pass the two-month measure. >> the clock is ticking. time is running out. >> congress has just ten days to reach a deal or 150 million worker will see about $20 less in their paychecks every week. two million others could lose unemployment benefits. >> let me inform my republican colleagues this is real life with real people and real consequences. >> consequences many economists predict could take a devastating toll on an already fragile economic recovery.

tara merge foreare in cbs news, washington. >> this deal does not impact the payroll tax cut. it will also slash the length of benefits from people who are recently unemployed. it also cuts the amount of some doctors getting -- that will get -- the amount some doctors will get from people treated by medicare. at 6:14, here is a check of what's making news now. the defense is expected to call three witnesses today in the case of bradley manning. the army private is accused of stealing classified documents and giving them to the web site wikileaks. manning's defense team has painted him as a troubled man who shouldn't have had access to those documents. >> the vice president joe biden says iraqi leaders have to work out their own dispute. otherwise, that could lead to more violence in this country. the vice president and the president took part in a ceremony at andrews air force base yesterday to mark the end of the iraq war. part of interstate 70 through kansas is shut down because of a blizzard moving through the midwest. it hit the state along with

parts of oklahoma and missouri and more snow could be on the way by tomorrow. that's a case of skiers wanting snow but be careful what you wish for in situations like that. on the ground on the lower level. >> parts of colorado had drifts of ten feet. two feet of snow in new mexico. kansas, six to ten inches. >> it is scary. >> remember when it used to snow around here? >> wasn't that long ago. >> just 11 months ago. >> if we see any changes in the pattern, it light not be until mid january. it may get a little bit colder here into early january. for those of you hoping for some real wintry weather but it will be awhile, still. if it at all. i'm a snow hound. not been a good winter for us. she's making faces at me. trust me. >> no, i'm not. >> sure, you're not. >> here is your bus stop forecast. >> give us until 12:30 tonight.

>> winter solstice tonight at 12:30, very good, ms. roane. warm stuff down south. sunrise at 7:23. we do have a few sprinkles out here early. that will increase by midmorning. 48 degrees at 9:00. i think this is a little underdone. we're at temperatures now, likely see temps in the low 50s. 57 at noon. then at 5:00, 650. still south winds at 14. best chance of rain will be midmorning through mid afternoon. by late afternoon, much of the rain showers, even by 5:00, may be out of the area. we're watching the heaviest stuff this morning across ohio, out in kentucky. we've got showers scattered mainly to our north and south this morning, live doppler 9000 hd, some showers coming out of readville to the lower eastern shore. up north from around mt. airy into southern carol county, this may be tracking up north and east from mt. airy toward westminster. these showers coming up route 15 from hagerstown west toward

hancock, we've got a scattering of showers as well. all of the stuff is pretty light. temps in the low 40s in northern loudoun county. mid to upper 40s. also in fairfax county. 50 in andrews. baden is 52. 45 for laurel. here in d.c., we sit right at 49 with cloudy skies and calm winds and the barometer continuing to drop. slowly at 30.01. plenty of cold out west. in the south, look at the warm temperatures. 50s and 60s. we've got the rain coming up from the south along with the mild weather. that's our weather today. tomorrow, we get a break early but more rain will be moving in by tomorrow night. then cooling down some over the weekend. today, 61. way above average with periods of rain. especially midmorning through mid afternoon. tomorrow, we start with a little sun. we finish clouds and some rain returns late tomorrow, tomorrow night out of here early friday. saturday looks ok for the 'skins game. 46. showers likely on christmas day. might be a couple of wet flakes mixed in. 50 again on monday.

let's go to monika here to update you on your morning commute. >> we'll take a live look from sky 9, the northbound side of i-95 after route 71 between newington and springfield. you can see the accident we've been talking about, everything has been moved to the right shoulder. of course, it caused the delay right through newington, it will be very heavy for you trying to get into springfield. in fact, let's take a look at a map. i can show you exactly where it is on the northbound side of i- 95 here past route 7100. do expect delays down in quantico, across the occoquan river and now pretty solid from newington into springfield. we'll take a live look at 395. here's what it looks like from seminary road, a little bit heavy down to duke street. a bit of volume here as you head for the 14th street bridge. back over to the maps this, time to the west side of town. dulles toll road is fine out of leesburg. no problems in tysons corner as you head through 123 and route 7. we'll take last life look at

the american legion bridge. more on what's going on in springfield at 6:25. back to you, mike and andrea. >> thank you, monika. time now to show off the morning lights. every day this month, we're sharing your holiday displays. you that morning, we go to lake ridge, virginia. check out the family home. nice, white lights all along the house. very pretty. a few lit up reindeer there on the lawn. five wreaths. >> if you celebrate with lights whether it is christmas, hanukkah or kwanzaa displays, we want to share them with our viewers. e-mail it to us at lights at wusa9.com. you can most to our facebook page. please remember to put your name and where you live. >> next in sports, the capitals rediscover their defense and turn verizon center into the red light district. >> that's intriguing. >> before we head to break, time for another check of the question of the morning. 8% of americans say this is their least favorite christmas tradition. is it a, shopping for gifts.

b, putting up and take down the decorations or c, caroling. >> we love when jean weighs in. she said aisle gaye with caroling but give people microphone and it becomes karaoke. grandma got run over by a reindeer is my signature song. this is her singing now -- just kidding. we'll reveal the answer at 6:53. ♪ grandma got run over by a reindeer ♪ walking home from our house christmas eve ♪ ♪ you can say there's no such thing as santa ♪

>> welcome back. your weather first. grab the rain gear. nothing too heavy. it is not that cold. it is chilly up north. low 40s. we also have 50s in places like frederick bugg and southern maryland. we're just about 50 here in d.c. the day planner today, lots of clouds. we're going to have showers

around, a few early. they'll pick up midmorning. middle of the day, likely, that period between let's say 9:00, 10:00 to about 3:00 p.m., we'll have the heaviest concentration of showers and highs today in the low 60s. andrea? >> in sports, it was like old times tuesday night at verizon center. >> like the beginning of the season when they had the big winning streak. capitals had an offensive explosion last night. they won for the sixth time in their last seven against the -- alexander ovechkin scored his 11th goal of the season, just 7 minutes in. caps went up 1-0. nicholas backstrom had a goal on this third period goal by alexander simmons. d.c. topped nashville 4-1. the caps visit the devils friday night. my new favorite pro basketball team the wizards begin their regular season against the new jersey nets and hopefully it will be a winning start for the whiz. they had the lead against the sixers. started looking really good but

they couldn't stop phillies drew holiday scoring 15 of his 24 points. wizards lose relatively close one, 101-94. they're at the end of the preseason and they're 0-2 in the preseason. college football and perhaps one of the coolest names for a bowl, the beef owe brady bowl. marshall went -- fourth down. finds aaron dobson for the second touchdown of the night. the thundering heard. >> mike was talking about his new favorite basketball team the wizards because the wizards girls were in the house yesterday. he had a great time. if you missed it, you can see on the morning page just go to that at wusa9.com. it is probably on my facebook page several times as well. >> our time is 6:25. up next, we'll warn you about the nine new speeding cameras handing out tickets for real today. >> pop a little bubbly. learn why champagnes and

sparkling wines are seeing a rebirth in washington. >> monika has a quick check on traffic. no drinking while driving. >> there is no speeding on 95 right now. because of this accident. just north of route 7100 on the right shoulder, delays begin in lorton. i'll have more on this and other area roadways coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. we'll be back in a couple of minutes. ♪

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welcome back. 6:29 on this wednesday morning. out on the weatherace, i've left the coat inside. light winds. aisle need a light jacket and an umbrella. we'll get some rain moving in. let's go to the day planner right now. temperatures warming into the 50s over the next few hours. some showers start to move in. by middle of the morning through mid afternoon, i think that's when the best concentration of rain and showers will be. late this afternoon, as temperatures push into the low 60s in many areas, we'll have fewer showers for the drive home. early this morning, some showers north of us and west of us and a live doppler 9000 hd pretty quiet in and around the metro. up north, northern frederick county out 70 and 68. showers into pennsylvania. that's where the coolest temperatures are. about 40 in hagerstown.

57 in fredericksburg. 49 going into the low 60s. monika samtani is tracking it all for you on the roads. >> we'll take a live look from sky 9 on the northbound side of i-95, this is what it will look like for you leaving the occoquan river all the way past route 7100 into springfield where the accident, the accident sits on the right shoulder but i'm sorry to say this is your delay at 6:31 in the morning northbound on i-95. on the beltway thisself, things aren't looking too bad, we'll head west on to 66. no problems to report. let's take a live look out of manassas into centreville. your long, slow stretch. beyond that, you will be ok as you head for vienna and the beltway. let's take a live look at the beltway over at kenilworth avenue. no problems to report here along the east side of town at the beltway. we're looking good, no problems on the bw parkway or route 50 as you head toward cheverly. before i go, i have a commuter alert. say cheese and smile for nine new speed cameras in the

district! they start issuing tickets today. so, here are the five big ones. 295 at benning road. canal road south of arizona. south capitol street at chesapeake. connecticut. florida at first street northwest. there are also new cameras on fox hall road. fines can go as high as $250. you do not want that as a christmas present. i'm most afraid of the one on canal road south of arizona. that's easy to speed through there. >> is it. >> not that i do that. >> i think it is pretty slow. >> take it easy. >> all right. >> take your foot off the pedal. >> metro silver line can be cheaper if it doesn't go as far. phase one is in the works from east falls church to wheelie

avenue. part two will go to dulles airport and ashburn. loudoun county officials are weighing the idea of pulling out of the project and ending the line at the airport. that move would save $530 million. a final decision will be made by june. speaking of metro, riders are hoping for a lot less excitement on their commute today. >> you're not kidding. a broken piece of equipment caused people to be trapped inside the trains and the trains are trapped inside the tunnel yesterday. metro wants to figure out what went wrong. >> surae chinn is live outside the l'enfant plaza station with the latest on the investigation. surae? >> good morning. metro, their investigation of what happened. a terrifying experience of what was going on underground at l'enfant plaza yesterday morning. the worst of it, some peaks say is that -- some passengers say is there was no communication when the situation happened for a good 20 to 30 minutes. you can just imagine these folks stuck in the crowded trains, no power, in the dark. in the tunnel. folks are trying to pry open

the doors to get some fresh air. so, the general manager saying they're looking into the possible lapse in communication. metro also saying a friction ring which is part of the brake system fell off. passengers say as the train was leaving, l'enfant plaza, there were a series of explosion and a scary situation as metro has ordered the immediate inspection of the brake assemblies on 200 of its trains. >> we saw this man, he was running through the door saying the train is on fire. and i panicked. and everybody is running, trying to get out. >> well, the orange and blue line here at l'enfant plaza are running and back up to normal. but again, the general manager ordering the inspection of the 5,000 series rail cars. they are not part of the old series. the 1,000 models involved in the deadly metro crash in 2009 but again, metro still in the investigation to figure out

exactly why this happened and why the brakes fell apart. back to you. >> thank you, surae chinn live outside the l'enfant plaza metro station this morning. >> frederick county, maryland will text residents in case of an emergency. the county announced it will launch its alert frederick county system january 17th. you can sign up now at the county government web site. the government will text you in case of weather warnings, amber alerts or road closures. you can also sign up to get the alerts over the phone and by e- mail. fairfax county police are investigating a man's death. his decomposing body was found yesterday at the spring apartments in reston. that's along gray wing square just south of reston parkway. police have not released the man's name. at this point, they do not believe foul play was involved. >> a blast from washington's past is coming back. hot shop, the business the marriott family started before they got into hotels. bill marriott tells washingtonian magazine the restaurant will be brought back

innear the convention center. the last one closed in 1999. marriott says the menu will include the classic mighty mo, a triple-decker hamburger. jessica doyle is back and she has a special "your money" report. >> it is time to pop the corks, jessica says. time to celebrate. >> 'tis the somebody to raise a glass -- 'tis the season to raise a glass or two or three of the bubbly. all of our economic problems may not be completely behind us but it looks like we're willing to spend a little bit more to make the magical moments even more magical. >> looking for a little luxury, consumers are popping the cork on champagne again. sales are popping, too. >> in the beginning of this year, we're up 22%. >> sam heighter in is the director of the u.s. champagne bureau. more and more americans are drinking wine and more are drinking wines from quality regions. >> the good news for washingtonians, it has gotten

easier to find quality bubbly at the corner store. >> over the last ten years, the food and wine community has grown. there are great restaurants, more wine stores and now the consumer in washington has lots more variety. >> to be called champagne, the wines have been made with grapes from the champagne region of france. they're traditionally more expensive than from italy and u.s. sparkling wines but this is ha great time of year to find a bargain on champagne. >> december is normally a time when many wine stores provide specials and opportunities where you can try the champagne that was more expensive and might be on special this year. >> how does a champagne expert open a bottle? >> hold the cork. twist the bottle and you'll hear a nice, quiet pop of the air releasing and you'll have a beautiful wine to pour. this celebration can be about the wine and the moment together, not the spray. >> an elegant way to celebrate the holidays or ring in the new year. turns out for one major

champagne producer, bottles were flying off the shelves at such a pace, a shortage developed particularly here in the u.s. so it has decided to hold back some bottles. so there will be enough champagne to flow through the holiday season. i enjoyed doing my research. picked up some nuggets. one thing i thought was interesting, if you use champagne flutes, be sure to hand wash them and not in the dishwasher because that controls the bubbles. apparently more efficiently. >> interesting. >> it doesn't let the bubbles get out of control. >> i picked up huge goblets because they were pretty. >> thanks, jess. >> thank you. our time is 6:38. in nine minutes, we're going back to the lincoln theatre in northwest washington. >> learn about a big movie showing starting there today and find out what else is on the theatre calendar. >> howard says we should hit, get this, 60 degrees but there is a trade-off. grab the umbrella. up next, a sneak peek of the christmas weekend forecast.

>> that is fun! a concert featuring top rounds for free. know your status. h.i.v. and a.i.d.s. contest to. get in, take a free h.i.v. test and you can get that done outside the 9:30 club and head inside for the concert. also appearing tonight, rapper

wale along with c.j. hilton and varner. 1,000 people have already taken their free test to get their tickets. that sounds like a lot of fun. >> here's howard. bustin' loose. >> with all of the warmer weather, check this picture out. clark sent this to me out of middleway, west virginia. we go to the weather graphics. those have some fresh leaves off his macintosh tree. his apple tree. he's got leaves. magnolia tree has some blooms coming. this is not good. because we're going to get some more cold days. you won't get the blooms in the spring. you won't get your apples in the spring. >> because they're confused it. >> it has been so warm. it is another very mild day. here is your bus stop forecast. we've got temps in the 40s north. 50 south. a few showers out there. the showers will be moving in over the next few hours. really picking up i think midmorning through mid afternoon. as temperatures climb well through the 50s into the 60s, low 60s this afternoon with a

4:00 p.m. temperature of 60. by then, i think most of the heavy showers will have already pushed through d.c. and by 8:00, skies breaking a little bit. 61 with a southwest wind at 14. tonight, we'll fall back into the 40s and be again around 60 for your thursday. this morning, showers north and south. live doppler 9000 hd, not that busy. we do have an area of rain pulling into pennsylvania out of northern maryland and see some of that here from hancock out west toward cumberland. south, another area of rain lifting toward us. especially toward the northern neck right now. there is the tappahannock airport south of that. this is headed toward sandy point and eventually in toward st. mary county. we'll watch that for you. your temps, still chilly north in the low to mid-40s. look at the 50s from culpepper, luray. mid-50s. this is all lifting in our direction so it is going to be very mild day, average high is 45. today, temperatures in the low 60s. periods of rain and showers. 40st to around 50 for the low.

we start with sun tomorrow. clears out early friday. by saturday, partly sunny and cool. 46. showers possible. with low 40s on christmas day. let's go to monika for the latest update on timesaver traffic. >> 95 commuters will not be happy about this. live look from sky 9 on the northbound side of i-95. earlier accident past 7100 was clear to the shoulder actually quite some time ago. it is solid from the occoquan river at least heading northbound into springfield on i-95. we'll take a live look in springfield so it kind of breaks loose here as you head for the beltway north of route 644 and now, let's go over to 395 on the northbound side. here's what it, won't like in landmark at duke street. you have your congestion as usual at this time of the morning as you head through the landmark area. it kind of clears up in shirlington heading for the 14th street bridge. a quick look at the beltway on the northside of town. here's what it looks like.

the outer loop slows down at 95. it will continue past here at university boulevard. it breaks loose more like georgia avenue. coming up, another look around the area at 6:58. >> our time right now is 6:47. the movie the girl with the dragon tattoo opens nationwide today. and a unique place to check it out is the historic lincoln theatre. joining us to talk about this debut and other events on the theatre calendar is lionel thomas, the executive director of the d.c. commission on the arts and humanities. mr. thomas, thank you for joining us again. how did you decide on this movie which everyone says is great to be the opening act for the rejuvenated lincoln theatre? >> well, it was a partnership arrangement with the landmark theatre and we're very excited that it was arranged to come to the lincoln theatre. as a part of our kickoff effort to improve the identity and create a new identity for the lincoln theatre. it is directed by award winning director david fincher starring

daniel craig and rooney mara. >> what is the identity of lincoln theatre. we know it was a theatre. but there was a ballroom and we knew it was a stage for some of the greatest live entertainers of the time. does what are you saying about the identity of the theatre if you start off with the movie? is that what it is going to be from now on, a movie theatre? >> no, it is going to be a movie theatre. i grew up as a native washingtonian, i remember it as a movie house. i used to come here every sunday and on the weekends to see movies. and it is a part of my history as a native washingtonian. so, i remember it as a movie house. so, kicking it off goes back to some of the traditions that it has had as a movie venue. >> going forward though, what about live productions? what's the future? what are some of the acts you have in mind for washingtonians? >> going forward, we have the theatre holland coming next year. we have some live performances like the live comedy will continue. we have theatre, dance and

music scheduled for next year in the interim while we're developing the sustainable business model for continuing the efforts here at the lincoln theatre. >> will there be any attempts to get federal funding to help lincoln theatre stay on its feet financially? >> well, we're look at it being designated as a historic site federally and so that brings along some federal funding with it. so, yes, to answer your question, there will be. >> all right. we wish you the best of luck. it sounds like a happy new year is already starting at the lincoln theatre. the girl with the dragon tattoo opens there today. lionel thomas, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. i want to encourage the viewers to come on out and see the movie tonight. they can get their tickets at www.lincolntheatre.org. and that will take you to the ticketmaster venue so that you can get the tickets. >> all right. we'll put a link on our web site so people can get that information as well.

thanks again. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> salesmanship all the way. >> time now, just about 6:50. a check of the news before you go is straight ahead. >> a happy start to hanukkah. tonight is the second of eight nights. >> first candle was lit on the national menorah last night. it is right next to the national christmas tree. second candle will be lit at sundown tonight. we'll be right back.

a mild day for december. actually warm for december. we're 49 now. we've got 577 at fredericksburg already. we'll be up there later today. into the low 60s this afternoon. best chance of rain midmorning through mid afternoon. mike? >> thank you, howard. wednesday, december 21st is the day. here is a check of the news before you go. 11 occupy d.c. protestors were arrested during a rally in front of the white house last night. they are against a defense

funding bill which is allowing suspected terrorists to be detained indefinitely. >> transportation security administration officers at national airport say they found two throwing daggers hidden in a book at a check point on monday. they found the weapons before hopping on his plane to chicago. so far, no word if he was fined. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich will be in northern virginia for a campaign rally tonight. town hall style rally starts at 7:30 at the key bridge marriott in arlington. gingrich and romney are tied for the lead in the polls for next month's caucuses in iowa. >> now, it is time to answer our question of the morning which was 8% of us say this is their least favorite christmas tradition. is it shopping for gifts, putting up and taking down decorations or c, caroling. >> it is the answer is b, putting up the decorations. i don't mind putting them up. i don't like taking them down. >> one more check of traffic and weather when 9news now

returns.

one more thing before we go, if you're not having fun, you're watching the wrong morning show. we had one of the best days in a long time yesterday. we had cheerleaders in from the wizards. we were making fun of each other all morning long. we just laughed. we really had a great time. >> that's the way we have spent this year and we look forward to doing it again in 2012. and for you to be there with us. >> i just happen to be newly converted washington wizards nba fan now. >> i wonder why. very good. >> howard? >> we've got some rain on the way today. periods of showers, especially midmorning through mid

afternoon. very mild and breezy. low 60s for december. 60 tomorrow. rain returns tomorrow night and on christmas day, maybe some colder showers. rain showers, highs in the low 40s. monika? >> let's take a quick look from sky 9 on the northbound side of i-95. delays begin all the way down in woodbridge. a quick look at the beltway. last look on the outer loop that slows 95 to georgia. >> good things appear to be happening in european markets. we could see a nice pop at the opening bell for wall street. >> sounds good. >> join us tomorrow morning from 4:25 to 7:00. we'll have an update on the rebuilding project at the national cathedral. >> the payroll tax debate, is it really over? they'll be talking about neil diamond on "the early show." >> yet gup dates on news, weather and traffic by visiting wusa9.com. have a