reagan national should top out around 62 degrees between 3:00 and 4:00 this afternoon. we'll see a mostly clear forecast for tonight. meaning if you're heading out on the town, temperatures will quickly drop back into the 40s after 7:00 p.m. monika? >> well, if you're planning to head around town, we've had generally speaking, pretty good traffic early this morning. now, we do have one accident on the beltway. in silver spring on the outer loop of the beltway. it is after georgia avenue. it is on both shoulders and traffic is light enough that i don't think it should affect traffic too much heading westbound on the beltway through silver spring and past georgia avenue. just keep that in mind with authorities there on the scene. let's take a look at the beltway now. if you're planning to head on the east side of town, here's what it looks like at connecticut avenue on the northside of town. now, we'll go to the reist side at route 201 near kenilworth avenue. everything is fine basically between 95 and the wilson bridge on the entire east stretch of the beltway, you'll be just fine heading across the wilson bridge as well and in

toward alexandria. we'll go to virginia on the northbound side of i-395, there are really no delays to speak of between the beltway and the 14th street bridge and into the downtown area. coming up, another look around town at 6:12. back to you, mike and andrea? >> thank you, monika. well, after a lot of kicking and screaming, finally a deal on capitol hill over extending the payroll tax cut. >> depending on how you look at either house republicans gave in or they finally reached a compromise. >> surae chinn is live in our information center to tell us when this deal will be done. good morning, surae. >> good morning. if you want to be optimistic, the bill could pass today. house speaker john boehner expects it to happen before christmas. and those who are eager to get home, it could be earlier than that. that means no new year's tax hike. republican lawmakers pressured to pass the two-month extension on the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, ensuring 160 million workers their paychecks won't shrink for now. the turning point came when the

senate's top republican mitch mcconnell urged the g.o.p. to get on board with a bipartisan plan. some house republicans reluctantly disagreed or agreed. >> sometimes it is hard to do the right thing. and sometimes it is politically difficult to do the right thing but you know, what everybody called for a one-year extension of the payroll tax deduction, when everybody wanted a full year of extended unemployment benefits, we were here fighting for the right things. >> g.o.p. agreed to the measure only after insisting on some tweaks to the plan, protecting small businesses and a promise from the senate that they will appoint negotiators to work on a year-long extension that sets the stage for another showdown in two months. mike, andrea? >> surae chinn live at the information center this morning. >> federal workers who rely on a metro subsidy will probably end up shelling out more money, at least through march if not

longer. congress hasn't passed an extension of transit benefits yet. that means instead of getting $240 a month for metro, federal workers will only get $125. the move also affects marc and vre riders who use transit subsidies as well. "the washington examiner" reports congress probably won't take up the issue until february which means no changes until march. it has been closed since august now the national park service is out with a 35-page report on the earthquake damage to the washington monument. and the inside of the landmark could be closed for a long time. the report finds at least six panels of the top of the monument are severely cracked all the way through. several other panels have damage to the corners but they could be easily fixed. several joints holding the monument stones and panels together shifted during the quake and have to be replaced. there is also stone and water damage inside the monument. the park service will now come up with a plan on how to fix everything and how to prevent

similar damage in the future. >> u.s. parks police officer was hurt during a scuffle with a man at mcpherson square, the occupy d.c. encampment with a 911 call which involved a man assaulting a woman. this was yesterday. police used a taser on the man after he wouldn't comply with their orders. after he was arrested, the suspect kicked an officer in the groin and shattered a police cruiser window. the second man was also arrested during the scuffle. >> authorities in d.c. and baltimore will have this to deal with. during the holidays. this footage taken shortly after an all-out brawl at a basketball game between cardoza high and connection school for the arts. players and students from both sides got involved. baltimore city police had to be called in to break up the crowd. there are officially two shopping days left before christmas. >> plenty of time. lot of people will be hitting the mall today and tomorrow. we'll good-bye live with a picture from sky 9. there you go, over annapolis mall. police are there because they're expecting a big crowd.

especially with people looking for some new "air" jordans. we received word of arlington county police out at pentagon city. >> stores are keeping crazy hours to help you out. jessica doyle has taken your money on the road. she's live this morning inside the macy's at tysons corner center. lot of things we can spend our money on, right, jess? >> that's for sure. you'll find some deep discounts. this macy's here at tysons corner center is one of 14 across the country that's been going 24 hours since yesterday. it is going to stay open until 6:00 a.m -- rather 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. we've seen some shoppers coming in. doing that last-minute shopping and if you waited until the last second, you're not alone. "consumer reports" was reporting as of sunday, 25% of us hadn't even started our shopping. sometimes it is because people are hard to buy for. gentlemen, this report is for you! we're giving you some ideas for deeply discounted things you can give to the ladies in your life. we're going to start with my fake fur coat here.

originally $260, currently 50% off so going for $130 plus you get an additional 10% off this lovely coat right now. let's say your lady likes boots. who doesn't like boots? these are nine west. these are currently 40% off. they're going for $139.99. pretty good deal for a pair of black boots. i want to direct your attention to what is around my neck. this is $10,000 currently going for $5100, the earrings are about $5,000 going for $2300. very deep deals. andrea, i want to ask you of course, these are pretty deep discounts but can you guess what the number one most requested gift is this year? take a guess. >> maybe something jewelry, sparkly or something? >> you would think that, right? it is the humble gift card. yet again. third year in a row. number one most requested gift. gentlemen, this is not a cop- out if you can't come up with

any ideas, a gift card is always a good way to go. >> very good because i was talking to a man yesterday, he knows exactly what he wants to get but he isn't sure of the size and he said i don't want to do anything to insult her by getting the wrong size. a gift card might be the best answer. >> there you go. >> thank you, jess. she's live at tysons corner center. we'll hear from her later on. >> now, a follow-up to a story we brought you at this time yesterday. channel 9 getting results. we told you about the prince george's county mother who was in line to get gifts from toys for tots for her children. she threw a temper tantrum and didn't get the toys. she apologized. we showed the apology to toys for tots. yesterday, this mom's children received their gifts and they are definitely happy. toys for tots said the children shouldn't be punished because of any bad behaver on the part of adults. >> very nice they did that. >> coming up at 6:30, why retail giant best buy is getting called a grinch this holiday. >> important lessons on highway

safety. i'm kristin fisher in dale city where three state troopers were almost hit by a careless driver. i'll introduce you to one of them and how he survived it coming up. >> the rain is moving out this morning. what can we expect for christmas? your weather first is next right here on 9news now.

welcome back. i'm olga breese in for howard bernstein. we're going to get sunshine working through midday and late afternoon. with that sunshine, temperatures should make it into the low to mid-50s by midday late, late afternoon. we're looking good clear into the evening hours as temperatures drop below 50 after 6:00 p.m. monika? >> two separate accidents on the beltway, olga. we're taking a look at the beltway on the east side of town near kenilworth avenue outside of the camera shot. an accident north of the bw parkway. you can see it slowing down just a bit here as you travel on the outer loop of the beltway. then another one before connecticut avenue. that one is also on the shoulder. i'll have more on what's going on on the beltway all around town coming up in my next report. back to you, mike and andrea?

>> thank you, monika. military judge will decide by january 16th whether bradley manning will face a court- martial for leaking thousands of classified documents. >> manning gave those documents to the web site wikileaks. his attorney says manning suffered emotional problems and blamed the military for not following his own rules on safeguarding information. the government says manning should be court-martialed for aiding the enemy. >> they're bracing for aftershocks today in new zealand. a 5.8 magnitude quake hit christchurch earlier today, the same area that was leveled by a major quake in september of 2010. a small plane makes an emergency landing on a beach. the engine failed so he came down on the beach. luckily, the beach was empty at the time. well, the highways will be busy over the next week with people hitting the roads. >> virginia state police have a message for you. if you see a patrol car on the shoulder, move over by changing lanes or at least shifting over in your lane.

>> as kristin fisher reports, the move could be a lifesaver. >> this it is typical holiday traffic. i'm surprised it is not worse than this. >> master trooper lynn parker has been a virginia state trooper since 1985. every second of those 26 years on the job helped prepare her for what happened one rainy morning last october. >> i've always told myself if i'm going to get seriously injured or killed out here, i don't want to know it is coming. what shook me up the most about this is i saw it coming. >> she had just pulled off to the shoulder to work an accident wen she saw a speeding car hydroplaning. >> i saw the vehicle coming across the interstate at my police car and in a split second, had i to make a decision. i jumped over the guardrail and landed right here in this dirt area. this broken glass is my back window of my police car. >> her car was totaled. her knee was injured. she was lucky to be alive. >> if i had been in the process of getting in my car, most likely i would have been killed. >> trooper parker is one of six state troopers hit or almost

hit this year on a highway in northern virginia. in fact, three of those incidents took place right here. along i-95 in dale city. >> there's more traffic out here and less asphalt to travel on. >> last april, a dashboard cam caught a speeding car slamming into another state trooper's vehicle who had pulled over to make a traffic stop. >> this shiny new set of guardrail right here is where my vehicle actually was struck. >> trooper parker, it is a constant reminder of why drivers need comply with the state's move over law. >> pay attention because the split second, you can't take it back. >> in dale city, kristin fisher, 9news now. >> maryland enacted a similar move over law in 2010. the district does not have one. only one state doesn't have a move over law on the books is hawaii. >> we saw those signs all along our excellent summer vacation driving across 11 states. move over if you see something or someone. even if it is not a police car. olga breese is in for

howard bernstein. she has an improving forecast if you were up early and had drenching rain. >> improving minute by minute. the sky cover is starting to clear right now. that's good news. we'll get some sunshine in here. where there's wet pavement and wet concrete, we'll start to dry that out. temperatures will make it into the 50s today. it won't be quite as warm as the balmy 60s we got spoiled with. it still will be a pleasant finish to our work week for those of who you are wrapping it up this afternoon. and evening. forecast will be little bit on the cool side to start. yes, you want to have a bit of a jacket if you step out this morning but through midday and late day with the daytime heating, most of us make it to about the lower range 50s. we'll see middle 50s off to the southern zones. reagan national should make it to 52 today. as we get into the evening hours, we'll definitely start to see a little bit of a drop- off by 5:00, 50 degrees. shortly after, we're back down into the 40s. it will be a very chilly evening if you have any plans to get out and about on the

town. so, here's how we are looking right now with our forecast headlines. the commute this morning will be dry. a few of the areas are still a bit damp but they'll continue to dry out as the sunshine kicks in through midday and late day though, don't expect much of a warm-up. we'll be cool with temperatures staying in the lower range and middle 50s. even on saturday for the redskins game. bundle up if you're heading outdoors and even on sunday, it looks pretty good. a little bit more sunshine on sunday. we'll keep our forecast dry and a couple of degrees warmer. so, on satellite and radar, looped this for the last 12 hours, you can see how much moisture moved on through. some of the severe weather did hit southern states. for us, it was mainly steady rainfall. right now, we're getting a little break in the cloud cover right along the beltway. some clouds hanging tough in the mountain areas there. especially north and west of town. we'll see a good deal of sun later on today. forecast right now, about 47 degrees across gaithersburg. we're still sitting at 50 through most of the

metropolitan area. it is feeling cooler because of the northwest winds. it will be a little breezy for the morning to start. future cast will take with us some sunshine later on in the day. we'll actually see our seven- day forecast looking pretty good. in fact, the next three days, mainly sunshine for most of us. temperatures into the 40s and 50s. the seven-day forecast, notice how dry it stays. we're watching one possibility for a system to develop sunday night into monday. and we'll update you on that as time goes by. monika? >> well, if you're planning to head over to the beltway. we've had a couple of issues this morning. this one, this time is an accident on the outer loop of the beltway. just north of the bw parkway. just moved to the right shoulder. but authorities are on the scene and you've also got some slow traffic on route 50 try og get to the beltway and inside toward cheverly. beltway, just north of the bw parkway near route 201. seems to be doing ok both loops here. the accidents on the outer loop and greenbelt just north of the bw parkway along the right side

of the road. let's take you over to 270 on the southbound side. this is an incident-free and running well all morning long from frederick all the way down to the point where the lanes divide past here at montrose road. if you're heading to the malls, you'll be ok as well. let's take you back over to our graphics. although metro and vre are running on time, a couple of things with metro, they'll be running extra trains this afternoon, regular weekend schedule this weekend and open until 3:00 a.m. on christmas eve. if you're traveling on marc trains this morning, brunswick line 876 is canceled. they'll honor your metro ticket. coming up, another look into maryland at 6:25. back to you, mike and andrea. >> time now to check out the morning lights this morning. all month long, we're showing off your holiday displays we can possibly fit in. >> this morning, we head out to mineral county, west virginia. check out the home of bill and debbie jeffrey. lots of displays here. the lit up christmas presents. santa and the reindeer, a big

igloo and penguins in the back. there is a snowman and a hot air balloon and lights and a few lit up trees. the jeffries tell us they have over 35,000 lights outside their home. >> apparently near the driveway, there are two huge arches that are coated in christmas lights although. if you can send another one, we would love to see it. it is absolutely fantastic. even though christmas is sunday, we'll still be showing off your holiday displays next week, too. e-mail a picture or video to lights at wusa9.com. be sure to include your name and where you live. >> that week between christmas and new year's where you see a lot of families, i remember when we were children, you would go out driving out along the lakeshore and see all of the houses lit up. >> our time is 6:19. next in sports, the nationals trade for a new starting pitcher. find out who they had to give up to get him. >> let's get another check on the question of the morning. 19% of people said this was the worst gift for christmas they had ever received is.

it a, socks. b, christmas ornaments or c, a homemade sweater. >> facebook friend patrice writes don't let it be a, socks because i gave that to three young interns. i like cute and colorful socks. b, christmas ornaments is my answer because i always regift them. >> keep the guesses coming up. >> we'll keep her last name private on that regifting thing. yeah, i'm married. does it matter?

you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪

>> friday is looking pretty good. damp on the roadways. showers move on through. right now, we're starting to clear out and dry up. your forecast today is going to be on the cool side. we won't have the 60s to done tend with. we'll make it into the 50s by later on this afternoon. andrea? >> thank you, olga. nationals have an early christmas gift for fans. a new pitcher. >> cbs sports reporting they

traded four prospects for oakland's gonzalez. he will be here in d.c. to take a physical today. >> he's 26 years old. a lefty and he went 16-12 with a 3.21 e.r.a. with the as. he led with 91 walks. d.c. gets pitcher gilliam and to get them, the nats traded tommy malone, brad peacock, darren norris and a.j. cole. thursday night football last night, boy, those colts are hot hosting the texans. 19 seconds left. dan finds reggie wayne with a game winning touchdown pass for indianapolis. colts top the tex ans. >> first time i've seen peyton manning smile on the sidelines. >> the hoyas went on a tear to start the second half against memphis. coach thompson -- they had a 7-point lead at halftime. they quickly went up at

halftime. they're now 10-1 on the season. >> last night in foggy bottom, george washington hosting james madison. tony taylor had 12 points on the night. it was not enough, however, to prevent the sixth straight loss by the colonials falling to jmu final score 62-57. >> also last night, virginia tech beat eastern michigan. our time is 6:25. up next, news from the presidential campaign and which big names will not be on the ballot in virginia. >> a unique way to search for a job. hear from a woman who put her resume in christmas lights. >> right now, monika has a quick check on traffic. >> we'll take a live look from sky 9 at the beltway and greenbelt. this is the outer loop north of the bw parkway where authorities have moved the accident to both shoulders just a bit slow getting by with the lanes open. coming up, an accident reported right near westfield montgomery

mall. you're watching 9news now. we'll be right back.

a good friday morning to you. we're definitely looking at a chilly start. we have partly cloudy skies this morning. we'll see some sunshine later on this afternoon and our day planner will actually warm up a

little bit. i'm expecting our highs in the city center to make it to about 52 degrees. we could see the middle 50s down to our south. a little bit on the breezy side. plan for a wind chill early this morning. monika? >> we're going to take a look at the beltway. if you're planning to head around town, we've had a couple of incidents, one in greenbelt and one in bethesda. both of those have been moved to the shoulder. let's take a look at 270. here's what it looks like heading southbound toward the spur. but we'll take a live look at the spur near democracy boulevard and rockledge drive. we're getting word of an accident and that's one of the routes people take trying to get over to the mall. do be aware of that. i think the malls are getting very busy at this point. we'll go back over to the maps again. this time, over to the bw parkway, north of the bw parkway on the outer loop, the accident was moved to the shoulder but it did cause some delays heading through greenbelt with the lanes open but still some activity attracting some attention there. beyond that, you're ok into college park and silver spring.

live look at the beltway on the south side of town. here's what it looks like at route 4, pennsylvania avenue near andrews air force base. we're looking good all the way through oxon hill and looking good in brandywine off of route 5 and route 301. coming up, i'll update you on the situation in bethesda at 6:35. mike and andrea? >> santa and his elves probably at this point have most of their work done. they're ready to go for tomorrow night. >> you might not be in such a good position. stores are keeping extended hours for all of you last- minute shoppers. >> jessica doyle is live at tysons corner with this morning's "your money" report. >> good morning to both of you. we want to tell you about one major breaking news story in the retail world this morning. particularly locally. we're talking about some malls, police are saying specifically, wheaton plaza, lake forest mall and montgomery mall are having some crowd control problems because of the relieves the new "air" jordan. they've been on the scene for a couple of hours. no specific incidents but apparently they're having crowd

control issues. just so much excitement over the new sneaker. we are here at macy's at tysons corner center. one of 14 stores across the country open 24 hours up until christmas eve. so, 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. you can come out. you can shop. and you're going to find some discounts. i want to show you this lovely item. if you haven't figured out what you're wearing for new year's, this is a possibility. a ralph lauren gown and you're going to get 20% off this dress if you open a new charge card here at macy's. just one kind of deal. this will take it to about $160. you're gonna find deals out there. you'll also find a lot of extended hours. now, if you want to go to toys "r" us, for example, you need to pick up some stuff for the kids, that's going to stay open for you 24 hours until 10:00 p.m. on saturday. some target stores, they're going to be open tomorrow from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.

check your local locations before you head out. tysons, macy's, right here. we're now open until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. you also have some 24/7 options if you're racing to the christmas party, you sneed last-minute ideas, now, you can think about cvs stores and walgreens and 7-eleven makes a big push to remind folks they're always open for you and they've got some options for the ladies, they recommend wine and chocolate. for men, tools and for kids, they got the pillow pet which of course, is very popular with kids like my own. mike, i believe yours have pillow pets as well. >> my kids do have pillow pets, you're right. we have the elephant. you have a pillow pet? andrea has a pillow pet, too. thanks, jess. also to pick up on jessica's story before, there are some crowd control issues at a couple of other malls this morning. everybody is behaving but just a lot of you. potomac mills and manassas

mall, police are there. i guess there are some last- minute shoppers out there. >> best buy customers, some of you aren't going to be happy this year. the retailer is e-mailing customers who bought gifts weeks ago saying they'll not be delivered by christmas including people who bought stuff online last month. it is affecting some of the more popular sales items. best buy will not say how many customers affected or if they'll be compensated either. at 6:34, we get a check of campaign 2012 headlines. here are three candidates you will not see on the primary ballot in virginia. congresswoman michele bachmann, former governor jon huntsman and former senator rick santorum. all three failed to get the 10,000 signatures needed to get on the virginia ballot. the latest poll ahead of the march primary gives mitt romney a 5-point lead over newt gingrich. former president george herbert walker bush is lending his support to mitt romney. not an official endorsement but

the former president tells the "houston chronicle" that romney is the best choice out of the g.o.p. field. the former massachusetts governor says the backing means a lot to him personally. >> uncle sam will not be taking more out of your paycheck starting january 1st. it looks like a deal will be reached to extend the payroll tax cuts. surae chinn is live to explain how this finally got done. good morning, surae. >> good morning, mike. it took some last-minute convincing is what happened. a little help from republican senator mitch mcconnell and a little tweaking of the bill to protect small businesses. president obama is commending the compromise and urging congress, upon their return next month to keep working on an agreement to extend the tax cut and unemployment benefits for all of 2012 without drama or delay. there has been plenty of drama though in the days leading up to the agreement. but in the end, the g.o.p. gave in under enormous pressure. the measure which could pass today extends the tax breaks and long-term unemployment benefits through february 29th.

i don't think it is any time for celebration. our economy is struggling. we've got a lot of work ahead of us in the coming year. we were here fighting for the right things. may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world but i'm going to tell you what. i think our members waged a good fight. >> this has been a year of divided and rancorous government. we finally got good news. the middle class tax cut has been saved and will continue on into january. >> democrats and president obama have pointed out to is a very small faction of the house republicans who have stalled progress. senator schumer there going as far as saying a small extreme group had paralyzed congress and many are hoping that doesn't happen two months from now, mike. >> we'll be going through this all over again. thank you, surae live in the information center this morning. >> the payroll tax cut may end up being a case of robbing peter to pay paul. the cut is made by all of us paying a smaller percentage of

our paycheck to social security. 4.2% instead of 6.2%. while it means more money in your paycheck now, less money going into your social security account. >> it has to be hard to get into the holiday spirit when you don't have a job but apparently that's not the case for liz. she's using holiday lights filling out some of her resume on the side of her home in suburban atlanta. her display is getting some attention. >> had people stop when i'm out and telling me about positions that they know of, their company or some other company. i've had a lot of linked in messages and a lot of linked in views. >> hickok says if it weren't for the holiday season, she would have likely gotten a citation from her homeowner's association. a little upside to the story. no job yet. >> very creative however. in nine minutes, the experts from rei are here to give us great advice on staying warm this winter and why you're not

sweating. that's if ever gets cold. >> our first full day of winter will be sunny with highs in the 50s. stay with 9news now.

>> we're back at 6:42 with your weather first. check out this video from yesterday afternoon at dupont circle. no, it was not august 22nd. it was december 22nd. look, it reads 61 degrees. certainly didn't feel like winter has started but hey, it was the day. and here we are, the first full day, a little cooler. >> little cooler. we had a front move on through. that was the reason for our

cloud cover and the storms that moved on through. some heavy rains overnight in some portion of the viewing area. things are looking fantastic. your day planner today will feature a little bit of sunshine. we're already starting to see clearing skies at this hour of the morning. yes, the day planner will take us out of the upper 40s where most of us sit at this hour into the 50s by noontime. later on this afternoon, most locations should top out right around 52 degrees for reagan national. we could see some slightly warmer temperatures down toward the south or into southern maryland and down toward southern virginia as well. the sunshine is going to be quite nice after the dreary skies we put up with for the last day or so. if you have some evening plans, take a jacket with you. we will start to drop down into the 40s after about the 5:00, 6:00 hour. so, here's how we look with your weather headlines. a dry commute. there are areas of wet pavement because of the rains that moved on through. once the sunshine kicks in, we'll begin to dry all of that

out. cooler temperatures for today. nowhere near the 60 degree mark. we should make it into the lower to mid-50s. very nice finish to the work week. chilly for tomorrow. only into the middle range 40s by tomorrow afternoon. so, bundle up for the redskins game if that's part of your saturday christmas eve plan and christmas day is looking fantastic. we'll stay dry and mild as temperatures move closer to the 50 degree mark by sunday afternoon. here's satellite and radar on a 2012-hour loop. mainly yesterday evening, we had the heavy rains move on through. we're starting to see a little bit of a break in the cloud cover. that will be the key to the sunshine to move on through. current temperatures as i mentioned, 50 in the city center. 40s off to the north and west. you can see the cooler air moving in with northwest winds but right now, we have a bit of a breeze so the feels like temperature, our wind chill is a couple of degrees lower so plan for that if you're stepping out and about. the forecast for the next couple of days, 24, 48 hours here on future track does show

some mutual trying to creep on through. we'll keep it very lean and clear for today. slightly cooler temperatures in the 50s and 40s for part of the weekend. here's how we're looking for the extended long-range forecast. tonight or today, about 52 at reagan national. overnight temperatures down into the 30s. the next three days, not bad at all. coolest day of the weekend will be on saturday where we slip into the 40s on christmas eve. back to 50 degrees by sunday. tracking a system that should pass toward our south on sunday night into monday. monika? >> well, we're going to take a look at the beltway. overall, things are looking a little bit better. we had a couple of issues in greenbelt and again in silver spring. both of those issues from the beltway have been cleared. we're going to zoom into 270 on the spur on the exit to rockledge drive. there is an accident blocking that ramp off and authorities are on the scene. that's right near westfield, montgomery mall. be aware of that as you come off the spur. we'll take a live look at 270 heading south from germantown.

this is pretty much what it has been looking like all morning long. very, very nice coming in from clarksburg all the way down to the point where the lanes divide with the exception of the accident on the spur. we'll take a look at the dulles toll road if you're hiding for the airport, everything is fine out at dulles. there is an accident at leesburg between the greenway and route 7. do be aware of that. i want to give you information about metro as well. we'll go back over to our graphics. if you're planning to use metro, extra trains this afternoon for you. regular weekend service on saturday and sunday. they'll be open until 3:00 a.m. on christmas eve saturday. holiday monday, the hours will be 7:00 a.m. to midnight. and coming up in my next report, we'll take another look around the area at 6:58. first, we'll take a live look at westfield wheaton mall. it is getting crowded here. i know that the "air" jordans are on sale. we've got some issues at wheaton mall and also crowded at the montgomery mall as well. be aware of that. this is a live shot from sky 9

down in wheaton at the mall. and i know that we're going to toss it over to mike who has some deals as well. >> we have some deals and some friends in here to tell us about them. it is 6:47. it may be in the 50s this morning but it is eventuallygy going to get to winter and be cold, at least they think so. staying warm is a good thing and look good, too. we have guys helping us out. airsick here. -- eric is here. we'll talk about layering. when it eventually gets cold. eric, we'll start with you. layers is definitely the key. these seem light. >> really a lot of technology coming into the products today. you know, layering is a pretty easy system. >> what's this? >> first layer. it is going to be lightweight and synthetic. main thing is you want to stay away from cotton. >> you hear a lot now especially with runners or people who do things outside. >> cotton is comfortable and breathable.

we wear it all the time but if you're out on the trail, you're hiking around, you're sweating, cotton will hold in the sweat and it won't breathe very well. you can get cold quite easily. >> wick away material. >> is that something different? >> this is a similar style. this is a murine know wool. they think of wool as scratchy and hot but it is very lightweight, warm. nonbulky. it is also antimicrobial. >> i didn't know that. this on the outside is a windbreaker type ?ipg. >> the outside, a couple of things. you're going to get wind protection with this nylon outer shell, some lightweight water protection that will shed rain and snow if we ever see it and a lightweight polyester insulation which will dry quickly. >> ok. let's slide over to the backpack. a lot of people do camp in the winter even though there is snow out. andres will help us. there is a way to pack this. >> yeah. normally, you want to put the sleeping bag down at the

bottom. then you want to pack your heaviest weight gear on top of that. >> on top of the sleeping bag. >> and progressively get lighter as you go toward the top. you then want to pack your lightest weight gear further away it will keep things from shifting and keep your center of gravity close to your back so you don't feel like you're falling back. obviously all of your gear is a little bit different weight. i recommend putting things in stuff sacks so you can keep things subdivided so you can kind of pack it in a modular system also then you can find your gear. >> one thing -- you told me earlier this these can be fitted so they make these for men and women, different sizes and different shapes. go ahead and get fitted at rei. they can help you out. stay comfortable on the trail. >> of course. >> thanks for joining us, guys. we have the news before you go coming up next. we'll be right back.

>> welcome back. i'm olga breese in for howard bernstein. partly to mostly cloudy skies. our travel forecast looks good. it looks pretty good. we do see some warmer conditions down to the south. at least we're getting some dry pavement moving on in. >> today is friday, december 23rd. here is a check on the news before you go. nearly one in four graves or headstones at arlington national cemetery may be wrong finding a report given to congress. grave markers may be engraved enc correctly or at the wrong site. >> the d.c. city council is weighing a plan to get same-sex couples married here get divorced in other states. those couples began getting married here in 2010. states which don't recognize same-sex marriages don't recognize their divorces either. the d.c. bill would allow the couples to separate without establishing residency here in d.c. let's go back live to sky 9. these are the early birds, a live shot from westfield

wheaton mall and montgomery county. people are there. hundreds of people lined up to get inside the mall. to do some last-minute shopping and our producer was telling us it is like level there. there are people on different levels. >> if you look carefully, the beginning shot, you saw people on the ground. where they had the first camera shot, there is an upper deck and a walkway above them. it is full of people. and several hundred is probably a conservative estimate. there, you can see people on the ground. if you watch, there is a second level up on the left-hand side. you'll start to see people moving. >> they're being nice and polite. the weather is good for being out there. the rain stopped. good luck with the last-minute shopping. >> ok. now, it is time to answer our question of the morning this morning. >> in a recent survey, 19% of us say this is the worst christmas gift they ever received. is it a, socks. b, christmas ornaments or c, a homemade sweater. >> the interns who got the socks, they'll like this but they wouldn't like c, a homemade sweater. worst gift according to our

survey. >> some people at home don't do such a great job. one more check of weather and traffic when 9news now continues. short sleeves. reindeer jumper. [ female announcer ] holiday plus cookies plus memories

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♪ to lay before the king >> sounds like he's having a blast. >> nothing spectacular but it looks great out there and the snow that we don't have -- >> take a good look. >> we're not getting any of that this weekend. we look good today. 40s tomorrow. chilliest day for the redskin game but then on monday, tuesday, looking great for our holiday look. >> a heads up that traffic around all of the malls is definitely getting busy. live look from sky 9. look at all of those people. this is westfield wheaton mall. it is heavy on georgia avenue in that area. >> for everyone from 9news now, we wish. >> merry christmas, happy hanukkah, happy kwanzaa and a great weekend. >> i'll see you back here on monday. almost everybody else is off. olga will be here,