in all, the forecast is definitely going to stay on the brisk side for the next three days. we're talking about lower 40s today. middle 40s tomorrow with some good sunshine. so, there will be some improvement as we march toward the end of the week. the better day though, will be if you like it a little bit warmer on friday when we get our temperatures back into the 50s. long-term forecast looking at the big picture. we will be having a fairly nice weekend as we wrap up 2011 and head into 2012. the forecast stays dry with temperatures in the 50s. monika? >> overall, it hasn't been too bad of a commute even at 6:00 in the morning. you're not going to find any major delays during the holiday week. i do want to give you a heads up about an accident on the clara barton parkway. park police tell us it is blocked between the cabin john parkway and macarthur boulevard. use alternate routes such as macarthur boulevard, even river road will work. gw parkway is running fine. let's go outside live. if you're planning to head here at the american legion bridge, no problems to report as you

leave bethesda, tysons corner, the entire west side of the beltway is doing absolutely fine. we'll take you back over to the map. this time, let's actually take you over to the inbound side of the sousa bridge, pennsylvania avenue looking fine. westbound suitland parkway at silver hill road, the on-ramp is blocked with a disabled vehicle. over into virginia on the northbound side of 95 and 395, everything is looking great. a bit of volume, nothing you can't deal with as you leave springfield and heading up the line to landmark and the 14th street bridge. coming up, more on what's going on on the clara barton parkway at 6:11. mike? >> montgomery county police are looking for answers in a murder that happened around this time yesterday morning. a man was shot and killed when he was heading to the bus stop. this was near stewart lane in the white oak neighborhood which is right near route 29 in new hampshire avenue. jessica doyle is live there with the latest on the investigation early this morning. jess, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, mike. that's right. the community here very shaken by that shooting death yesterday of franklin amobi.

24-year-old man headed to work. he was waiting at this bus stop here in this complex where his girlfriend worked. i spoke with some neighbors a short time ago. i walked down to the bus stop and was talking to some folks. one man had walked his girlfriend to the bus stop because she's scared to ride the bus and wait outside by herself. the police are looking for leads in this case. and the mother tells us that she is devastated by the death of her son. >> you go to walk -- >> 6:39 and 6:48, we received two calls for shots fired and another call for a pedestrian struck. >> my wife came out to the house this morning to get in the car to go to work. said she heard a shot. she ran back in the house to tell me about it. >> neighbors were getting ready when they heard the shots ring out, getting ready for work as they are this morning. police looking for leads in this case. investigators used a tracking dog to scour the scene of the

parking lot right across the street from the bus stop. they focused their attention on that parking lot for much of the day. two cars were towed from the scene. according to the family, one belonged to the victim. they said his girlfriend lives in this complex. amaobi24 years old, had a big fan base. went by the name frank diggy. social media, you see an outpouring of sadness from his fans talking about the loss of life. what a tragedy it was that this young man would lose his life, just as he was getting ready to go to work yesterday morning. again, police continue to look for clues in this case. if you have any information, are you urged to contact montgomery county police. mike, i'm going to send it back to you in the studio. >> jessica doyle live in the white oak section of silver spring this morning. >> u.s. park police sergeant michael boehm will be laid to rest. he collapsed friday while he was helping a critically injured man on the c & o canal.

they rushed boehm to the hospital but he could not be saved. funeral services will begin at 10:00 this morning in virginia. well, the debt ceiling is going to be back in the news this week. there will not be as much drama talking about it this time. this week, president obama will ask congress to raise the limit on the amount of money the country can bor row. he wants to raise the limit $1.2 trillion which would put the ceiling at $16.4 trillion. it would be the final increase allowed under the agreement they made in august. that avoided a possible default back then. uncle sam needs the extra room, too. the feds borrow 36 cents on every dollar they spend. we turn our attention to campaign 2012 and the race for president. six days to go before the iowa caucus. ron paul, newt gingrich and mitt romney look to be in a three-way contest that's getting very tight in the republican presidential races. greg black reports, things are starting to get heated, too.

>> reporter: republican presidential hopefuls, can't we all just play nice. that was newt gingrich's message on the iowa campaign trail tuesday. >> our campaign is going to stay positive. i'm not going to go negative, period. >> this in response to ads attacking the former house speaker from groups that are align with well-funded opponents like former massachusetts governor mitt romney. >> his weakness for conservative ideas made him a poor speaker of the house. >> that the attacks are coming from supporters and not from romney himself had gingrich veering off that aforementioned positive message tuesday evening. >> you want to run a negative campaign and attack people, at least be man enough to own it. >> romney, meanwhile, had barbs of his own to offer including gingrich's comparison of his failure to make the virginia primary to pearl harbor. >> i think it is more like lucille ball at the chocolate factory. you go the ta get it organized. >> you might be able to understand the testiness if you can see how close the polls are

for next week's iowa caucuses. according to the american research group, texas congressman ron paul has a slight lead over romney and gingrich. others such as rick perry, rick santorum and michele bachmann aren't counting themselves out and continue to barnstorm across the state. i'm greg black for 9news now. republican candidate rick perry is challenging the commonwealth of virginia. he was left off the primary ballot there. the state party says he failed to submit the so,000 signatures need -- the 10,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot. his lawsuit claims virginia's rules are too strict. only mitt romney and ron paul qualified for the march 6th primary. >> when we said woodrow wilson, we think of one thing, the beltway bridge with his name. we've all gone over it. today marks the 155th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the original wilson bridge. there will be a wreath laying ceremony at washington national

cathedral. wilson is the only president buried inside of a church and the only one buried in the district. if you would like to take a road trip, you can also honor our 28th president by visiting his birthplace, the woodrow wilson presidential library and museum is in stanton, virginia. there will be a free open house there today and it will be serving a 19th century dessert to celebrate. stay safe on the roads this new year's eve. in four minutes, we're going to learn how montgomery county police are going to be there to protect you. >> also, bundle up today. it will be cold and windy. your weather first when 9news now continues. keep it here.

the time now is 6:10. we're off to a very brisk start this morning. temperatures are cool. down into the 40s. we're starting to crank up our winds already seeing wind gusts above 20 miles per hour. many of our reporting stations this past hour. the forecast does stay sunny so temperatures now in the 40s will stay in the 40s but feel like the 30s throughout the remainder of the afternoon. very, very cold tonight as we drop into the 20s. back to you. >> olga, i was just on the phone with park police talking about this accident on the clara barton parkway.

a single vehicle accident that went off the side of the road. they're waiting for a crane to pull it out. it is going to be awhile before they can reopen it between the cabin john parkway. please go ahead and use macarthur, river road or the gw parkway as your alternate route. i'll keep you posted on that coming up in my next report at 6:17. the increased rate of drinking and driving is a huge concern during the holiday season. once again this year, police are out in force to ensure safety on the roads. joining me no morning for the extra mile to talk about the montgomery county holiday task force iser colonel toms. >> extra 15 officers are put out full time to look for underage drinkers and drunk drivers. although they participate, the officers are specifically focused, they work during the prime times and look to keep the roadways safe. >> began in november.

>> we start before thanksgiving and we end after new year's. january 7th. and the idea is to have a concentrated focus on our roadways. in addition to the 500 officers on patrol regularly. >> so far since november, you've caught 3,000 drunk drivers just in montgomery county. >> just in montgomery so far. >> what are the techniques that you're using. we'll put up a full screen. if you can kind of explain how you're doing it. >> what officers do, when put the 15 officers out there, they're able to saturate the patrol. they focus in on concentrated areas. we look at crash statistics and what they do is they work collectively in a team effort to identify drunk drivers and pull them over more effectively. we also use sobriety checkpoints. we work with businesses to make sure they're in compliance with the alcohol laws to prevent drunk driving. we try to hit a comprehensive approach before we get on the road and saturate it. >> you're not only targeting drunk drivers. you're also targeting underage

drinking, driving and parties as well. i know you've been very involved in prevention and underang drinking. >> our youth are our future. we need to prevent them from getting alcohol. during the holidays, they think they want to party like they're adults. they can't do that. they can't have any alcohol in their system and drive a car. we're out there trying to bust the party before they get on the road. we have zero tolerance enforcement after they're out on the road. >> this is a joint effort inside and outside the beltway. talk about the get sober or get pulled over campaign. >> right. this time of the year, we know the holidays are critically important. be sober get pulled over campaign. >> law enforcement agencies, inside and outside the beltway. the chiefs in maryland, d.c. and virginia work collectively to get the officers during their routine patrol to be extra vigilant looking for the drunk driver. we have 3,000 drunks pulled over in montgomery county so far this year and arrested but there's hundreds more that get

away. >> there are options. we had our ride people here. you can call 1-800-sober ride. i want to wish you luck on your goal of zero alcohol-related fatalities this season. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for being with us. with that, i'll send it back to you, mike. >> thank you, monika. here is what is making news now this morning. thousands wept uncontrollably at kim jong il's funeral procession as it rolled through north korea's capital city. kim died of a heart attack nearly two weeks ago. investigators in stanford, connecticut say discarded embers from a fireplace put into a trash bag is what sparked a deadly fire christmas day. five people were killed including three children. two people were able to survive. the pentagon says it hasn't been asked to stage a welcome home parade for u.s. troops coming back from iraq however city leaders here in d.c. and in new york say they would be happy to stage one. the last u.s. combat troops left iraq two weeks ago.

ok, weather time once again. olga is in for howard. how are things? >> we're doing pretty good this morning. we're off to a quiet but breezy start. it is a little chilly outside. our temperatures have dropped into the 40s. we're hovering right around 44 in the city center. some of the suburbs are a little bit on the chilly side. originally, we were concerned. as we move in through midday and late afternoon, plenty of sunshine to go around. the temperatures should sit right around those lower 40s. for the most part. by late in the day though, we'll begin to crank up some of the winds say about noontime and into the afternoon. 20, 25-mile-per-hour sustained winds. we'll see some wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour late in the afternoon. that could be problematic in some locations. but at least the sunshine is going to be sticking around. then overnight tonight, skies are mainly clear. as the temperatures tumble down into the 20s. here's what you need to know as you're stepping out and about. we're definitely looking at a

fine forecast for today. visually looking good with the sunshine throughout the afternoon. the difference will be in the winds. with those wind gusts, it is going to feel much colder and definitely bundle up if you're stepping out at this hour. the forecast looks good new year's eve and new year's day stays dry. however, chillier temperatures that could be coming our way within the next week or so. here are the wind gusts i've been talking about all morning. sustained winds about 20 miles per hour on average but at the moment, we're getting gusts a little bit higher than that. leesburg at 22. martinsburg at 26 and this will continue throughout the afternoon. before dying down later on tonight. satellite and radar, so far has been clear for the overnight. but notice as we put this on a time lapse, we're just now starting to get a little bit of cloud cover in early this morning but that should start to clear on out. and lift. so, it will be very sunny in the afternoon. current temperatures, 40 degrees on average. with the exception of the city center. feeling like the 30s so you want the layers as you step on

out in toward the morning air but future cast is uneventful. we'll stay quiet as we head from thursday into friday. and even into our saturday forecast. this is a hint of moisture in the forecast for friday night. today's high should make it to about 43 across leesburg. 41 for gaithersburg and about 44 for andrews air force base. the forecast overnight will be definitely a chilly one. down into the 20s. it will even feel like the teens in some locations early tomorrow morning with the wind chill. so, thursday is not so bad. middle 40s right about average. we'll bring back the 50s on friday. and we'll keep our forecast dry on saturday and sunday. looks like a great start to the new year. monika? >> well, you know, there is this accident, olga. i've been on the phone with park police on the clara barton parkway. they tell me it was a single vehicle accident that went off the road. and they're waiting for a tow truck to pull it out of there. on the clara barton parkway, this is all blocked off.

both directions of the clara barton parkway between the cabin john parkway and macarthur boulevard. they're requesting a driver to go ahead and use macarthur boulevard and said you will be diverted that way anyway. just plan ahead if you're just now heading out the door. it will be there for awhile. let's take a look live at 270. no problems to report here in rockville at route 28. you will be fine coming down from clarksburg down to the point where the lanes divide. we'll take you around to the other side of the world. 66. no problems to report as you come in from centreville as you travel over to fairfax, you will be ok. all lanes are open. no big delays to worry about here. live look as well on the northbound side of 95 and 395. pretty much looking like this to the 14th street bridge from springfield. there will be no problems right now to report. and now is the time to show off the morning lights. all month long, we're sharing christmas displays. >> this morning, we go to shepherdstown, west virginia.

nice set-up there with the reindeer including rudolph. santa is there. mrs. claus by his side. check out the snowflakes in the window. >> i love these. take a look at any of the holiday displays we've shown you this month, just visit wusa9.com and in the search bar on the front page, just search morning lights. i also want to go back, if anyone was interested in the sober ride that's available during the holidays through december 31st, the correct number for that is 1-800-200- taxi. >> ok. next in sports, this year, the pro bowl selections are out. apparently some of the picks have dave owns angry. >> it could be the picks that weren't made. >> that's right. >> right now, it is time for another check on the question of the morning. according to a "usa today" poll, half of women leave this place feeling frustrated. is it a, the dressing room? b, a restaurant. or c, the hair salon.

>> you would pick what? you're a woman. >> i would say the dressing room. >> interesting. our facebook friend, michelle is weighing in. she says c, hair salon. of course. we're almost never happy with our hair. >> keep your guesses coming. we'll reveal the answer at 6:48.

i'm olga breese in for howard bernstein this morning. we have brisk winds whipping across the region. temperatures are in the 40s. but when you factor in the winds, it is feeling much colder than that. our day planner today is going to stay on the chilly side. only the lower 40s by late afternoon but we'll dial up our winds, 15 to 20-mile-per-hour winds throughout the afternoon. now, it is time for a check on traffic.

>> now, 9 sports with dave owens, the best sports in town. >> well, good morning, everybody. it is not my job to be a homer but i'm going to sound like one. how can london fletcher not be a starter in the pro bowl? don't understand it. san francisco's patrick willis is a beast. chicago's brianer lacquer, i love him. total tackles, they're not close to fletch. number 59 is far and away the league leader, in fact, more on that in a minute. he doesn't miss games like 223 straight! fans, i can understand them overlooking him but players and coaches? they're 2/3 of the vote. shame on you guys. you're looking at a montage of his work right here. he showed you 15 tackles. his resume is as good as it gets. 163 tackles, first in football. 18 more than the second best guy. 70 assisted tackles. url acker and willis will 670

behind fletcher and they -- are 60 behind fletcher. they still made it. he still could make it as an alternative. we'll see. mike shanahan drafted terrain in 2008. he rushed for 238 yards but injuries and ineffectiveness reducing his role since. college basketball last night, virginia, maryland, eastern shore, cavs in charge. mike scott with the thievery. he is popping in his air force ones. cavs route maryland eastern shore 69-42. that's going to do it for your morning sports. have a great wednesday, everybody! >> still ahead, learn which commercial was rated the top commercial in 2011 and it is a cute one. wait until you see it. a big settlement when it comes to lcd flat panel tvs. learn why you could be getting money back if you bought one of these. here's monika. >> the beltway at river road, you might want to stick to

river road if you're heading inbound this morning because the clara barton parkway is closed with an accident between cabin john parkway and macarthur boulevard. more on that coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

we're back at 6:29. this is the place you can always get your weather first, a live look's it at the washington monument. it is in the 40s but is feels a lot colder throughout thanks to some healthy winds. thank for starting your day with us. i'm mike hydeck. andrea and howard are off. olga breese is on the weather terrace bundled up. good morning, olga. >> you got that right. we definitely have this wind working this morning already about 10-mile-per-hour winds, not bad for the morning hours. we'll crank that up to 20, 25- mile-per-hour winds later on this afternoon. so, be prepared. plenty of sunshine through most of the day. temperatures in the 40s but it is going to feel like the 30s all afternoon and all evening. we'll die down the winds later on tonight and temperatures will tumble into the 20s for early on thursday morning. monika? >> we don't have any problems on the beltway this morning. but park police have been on the scene of an accident this

morning on the clara barton parkway between the cabin john parkway and macarthur boulevard. a single vehicle accident but it is going to take some time for the cleanup. they've got the stretch for about a mile blocked off right now and they're requesting you go ahead and use macarthur boulevard as your alternate route. river road will work as well. let's go over to the other side of town. here's what it looks like in southern maryland. no problems to report in brandywine. route 5, all the way up the line. down to the wilson bridge. let's take a live look into college park on the north side of town. no problems as you leave route one heading past i-95 all the way around into silver spring. you will be fine this morning. looking good here with really no delays to speak of through silver spring. that's a welcome relief this morning. we'll take you over to new york avenue at 9th street. if you're coming from cheverly, past bladensburg road in northeast, you will be ok here all the way into the northeast corridor. no problems by the way across the potomac or anacostia river

crossings. we're showing you the best of 2011. ad week.com is out with its list of this year's best commercials. topping on the list is one he everyone in the newsroom picked as one of the tops. ♪ it is this ad from volkswagen. the kid dressed up as darth vader trying to use his brain to control things. he finally is able to control dad's car with a little help from dad. i love that one. >> so cute. >> number two is a viral ad from chipotle featuring the song the scientist originally by coldplay. in this ad done by willie nelson. it is about using locally grown ingredients in fast food. this year, do you like that one? >> i haven't seen that one yet. >> i like that one.

this year, you know, a lot of the super bowl ads were car ads and also for 2012 is having an international competition for filmmakers. the theme is route 66. if you're a filmmaker, look it up. >> win a chance to do a commercial for chevy. >> metro says it is done inspecting all of its 5,000 series rail cars. you may remember part of a brake assembly fell off one of the cars last week. which road this a shutdown of the orange and blue lines. metro says it did not find any issues with the other cars more than a dozen of them were pulled out of service for secondary inspections but again, they say they're ok. a man who admits to using bad concrete on a construction project in the wilson bridge will pay more than $130,000 in fines. santos riveras pleaded guilty to the charges. a judge ordered him to serve 12 months of home detention as well and after that, it is likely he will be deported. he's an illegal immigrant.

he's worked for a concrete company which provided materials for a drainage structures on the bridge. montgomery county police need your help. they're trying to crack a murder case that started just about 24 hours ago. a man was gunned down while he was walking to a bus along the stewart line which is in the white oak section of silver spring. jessica doyle is there live with the latest on the investigation ing. jess? >> good morning to you, mike. that's right. the community here very badly shaken by the murder of franklin amobi, 24 years old. his mother tells us he was on his way to work. he was waiting at the bus stop here on stewart lane when shots rang out, possibly coming from across the street where investigators spent a lot of their time in the parking lot. the community here, i've spoken with neighbors, they can't believe this would happen. this is a quiet residential community and short while ago, i was able to talk to franklin's friends, neil, who says this is such a loss. >> frank, he was a good guy, man. you know, real outgoing person.

likes to hang out with him a little bit. you know, just a down to earth person. i'm very hurt that i have to hear about it through facebook. i was in new york, that you know, somebody killed him. for no reason. >> reporter: now, franklin was part of the local rap community here in washington. he went by the name frank diggy and if you turn to social networking, neil mentioned on facebook, i have six pages of rest in peace notifications from friends just so sad, an outpouring of sadness over the death of this young man. investigators don't have any reason they say to believe this is a random shooting. they are still looking for a motive and a suspect in this murder and if they -- if you have any information about this crime, they're urging you to reach out to montgomery county police. with that, i'm going to send it back to you in the studio, mike. >> thanks, jessica doyle live in the white oak section of silver spring this morning. >> a series of garage fires in frederick county is likely

arson according to investigators. a corporal in the frederick county sheriff's office tells the frederick gazette police found caps from what they believe are marine flares. two garages caught fire blocks from each other and just hours apart monday night. the garages and two cars were destroyed. the damage is estimated at $130,000. the victims say they want the bad guys to pay for the damage. >> hope that they feel bad for what they did. i hope that they feel remorse for what they did. >> this is not a joke. this is serious stuff. he could have killed people. >> investigators say signs in the neighborhood were also vandalized along with the fires. 6:36 now. we're watching your money this morning. and you could end up getting some money back as part of a half billion dollar settlement involving lcd panel tvs and computer screens. several companies admit to price fixing them. hitachi, sharp and samsung are among the corporations

involved. the money will be if he underred to the people who bought their products here in d.c. and 24 states. no word yet on when the money will be given out or how. >> holiday shoppers just didn't want electronics this year. they wanted firearms apparently. fbi says more than 500,000 background checks were done to buy guns and they were conducted the week before christmas. there was a one-day record on background checks which was set on black friday. the fbi wouldn't speculate on why there has been such a spike in gun sales. >> now, let's see if we can make. >> millionaire tonight. first number is 32 followed by 43. >> you bet! quite a christmas present given out last night on the megamillions lottery. one winning ticket sold for $206 million. it was sold in new york state. the odds of winning the jackpot, one in 175 million. no one in our region even won the $100,000 second place prize. wow. >> time now, just about 6:38.

coming up in nine minutes, sending ipads to our troops overseas. learn how one military family's small effort got big really fast. and it is going to be blustery outside today. windy, wintry weather. highs in the 40s coming up next. a look ahead at the new year's weekend forecast. keep it here. we'll be right back. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast,

i could use all the help i can get. like nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast, even whole-wheat waffles, for a breakfast that my kids love and i feel good about serving. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa. it's quick, easy and something everyone can agree on. ♪ nutella. breakfast never tasted this good. we're back with your weather first. before we get to the forecast, check out these pictures. look at that. a huge rainbow over the city yesterday. this was captured from the gw

parkway. in the second picture, you can see a portion of the rainbow right next to the washington monument. beautiful! that had a lot of people talking yesterday. super. super. we had plenty of rain to create the rainbow. that's for sure. >> you get the payoff when the rainbow comes out. >> what about today? >> today is not bad to start. we're cool this morning. we've got a little bit of a breeze working. what's going to happen later on today, midday and late afternoon, we're going to crank up the winds even more. that means that we don't have wind advisories or anything like that in place. we'll be on the chilly side in the afternoon. day planner features a lot of sunshine. we're looking pretty good so far this morning. partly cloudy at this hour. that's going to improve. midday, late day, sitting in the 40s. middle range 40s for most. even the lower 40s as we get late in the afternoon. temperatures will drop a little bit. never going to feel like 42 degrees at 1:00 it will always feel like the 30s well into the afternoon. then overnight tonight as we start to go down after sunset, it looks like the temperatures

are going to be dropping back into the 30s. by about the 5:00 hour, and then overnight tonight, into the 20s. so, here's what we're dealing with for today. mainly clear for the morning hours. a lot of sunshine but we're still going to keep things on the cold side with temperatures in the 40s. then very windy in the afternoon. we should start cranking up the winds around 9:00, 10:00, getting up into the 15, 20, 25- mile-per-hour sustained wind range and then into the afternoon and evening hours, we could have some of the gusts up to 35 miles per hour. good news though, looking great for the forecast for the weekend. we're heading into our new year's eve and new year's day. some of the gusts we're dealing with right now, about 20-mile- per-hour wind gusts through reagan national airport. 25 out toward leesburg. you get the picture. it is going to stick around. that satellite and radar wants to pull in some morning clouds. that should start to break up a little bit later on in the later morning hours. say around 10:00, 11:00. with some full sunshine into

the afternoon. it is 44 degrees at reagan national. it is only feeling like the upper 30s so bundle up if you're stepping out at this hour. we'll definitely see the opportunity for a few clouds to pass by from time to time late in the afternoon. future cast stays quiet through the 7:00 hour. we'll even be pretty good tomorrow morning. just a few passing clouds as we go throughout the day on your thursday and into friday. slight rain chance enters the focus on friday night. highs today about 41 degrees at reagan national. we'll see the lows tonight dropping down into the very chilly 20s. friday and saturday, looks like we get back into the 50s. slight rain chance late friday night. most of us stay dry and looking good for new year's eve and new year's day. >> good news. i got off the phone with park police. they have been working on a single vehicle accident blocking the clara barton parkway. it has been reopened. you should be good to go through that area. but if you're planning to head southbound on i-270, after middlebrook road, there isen a

accident sitting on a shoulder. let's take a live look at middlebrook road. traffic is still moving very, very well. luckily, traffic has been light enough that accidents like that aren't affecting your delays heading through germantown at least down to the point where the lanes divide, i think you should be ok. the traffic is moving well. let's talk you back over to the map. this time to the west side of town. dulles toll road is fine out of leesburg. no problems to report. on route 7 as you head through the tysons area. some slow traffic on 66 in centreville. we'll take a live look at 95 on the northbound side. overall, the brake lights beginning in newington. once you get here in springfield, volume. same story on 395 in the landmark area at duke street. then you're ok across the 14th street bridge. a military family is glad to have a soldier back home for the holidays. but it knows not every family is so lucky. >> that is why the pritchett family of south florida started ipads for soldiers. as maggie newland reports, it has become a huge success.

>> reporter: it is the gift so many military families wish for. a soldier's safe return. >> the best christmas. my son is back from afghanistan. >> such an incredible feeling being home. >> clear cause for celebration this christmas at the pritchett household. >> it is really what christmas is all about. all of us being together. but we're always thankful he's here but thinking of all of the guys who have served. >> the family isn't just thinking about other soldiers. they're doing everything they can to support them. winnie pritchett started the ipads for soldiers program as a way to keep troops connected with friends and family. >> we started this thinking it was going to be a small thing. one or two times giving out one or two ipads. >> the program grew. this year, 600 troops overseas and in the hospital have received eye pats. >> whether it is reading books or playing games, it is easy to break the day to day grind of war. >> christian brophy will take one with him when he deploys later this year. >> it is a great feeling to be

able to talk to your family and friends. very important thing especially as a soldier. that's one thing you want to do is remain in contact with people. it is a great help. >> a gift not just for the soldiers but their families back home. >> i'm proud of him but a mother, i'm very worried. it will keep me in touch with him and make him available to me all the time. absolutely. >> with their christmas wish fulfilled, the pritchetts hope the new year will bring more ipads for soldiers. more connections to home. >> that was maggie newland reporting. now, to learn more about the ipad for soldiers program, go to wusa9.com and scroll down the front page and look under military news. great program. >> it really is. now, it is time to answer our question of the morning. according to a "usa today" poll, half of women leave this place feeling frustrated. ok, is it a, the dressing room. b, a restaurant or c, the hair is salon? >> we had a lot of people weigh in with the hair salon.

the answer is a, dressing room. >> would you concur? >> that's what i said earlier. >> i coin the phrase do i look fat in this? >> don't answer that question. >> don't answer that. >> check on the news before you go coming up next.

chilly start to our day and we have a little bit of sunshine through midday and late day. we'll also dial up the winds. temperatures will hold in the lower 40s throughout the day. we could see some wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour. mike? >> thank you, olga. today is wednesday, december 28th. here is a check on the news before you go. montgomery county police are searching for a killer. the killer of franklin amobi. someone shot and killed the 24- year-old in the white oak section of silver spring yesterday morning. it happened near a bus station when he was on his way to work. don't be alarmed if you see droves of police officers and hear gunfire around the

annandale campus of northern virginia community college because emergency responders will be conducting security exercises on campus around 10:00 this morning. are you ready for some football? the fourth annual military bowl kicks off this afternoon at rfk stadium. air force taking on toledo. maryland beat north carolina in last year's game. >> "the early show" starts in about six minutes. erica hill has a preview on what's coming up at the top of the hour. >> just ahead on "the early show," consumer confidence is back after a year for the 2011, 2011 ending with a hint of optimism. we'll take a look at some of the sectors of the economy which are showing a little bit of improvement. some of the trouble spots heading into 2012. we'll let you know whether you can see some recovery there. the ripple effect of japan's tsunami. the first apparently debris is now hitting u.s. shores on the west coast. a lot of concern over the things that are washening up,

whether or not they can be bringing radiation along with them. we'll check in with a leading oceanographer to check out whether or not we should be worried. hope you can join us on "the early show." >> thank you, erica. wow! look at that shot of the u.s.a. capitol. you can tell the darkest days are behind us now. the sun peeking up. it is not even 7:00 a.m. temperatures in the 40s and a brisk wind today. we'll have another check on weather and traffic when 9news now returns. keep it with us.

welcome back. we have one more thing before

we go. friday, december 30th is not going to exist in samoa. right now, samoa is five hours behind us. starting friday, it will jump to about 17 hours ahead of us which means friday will not exist there. they'll jump straight to saturday and that also means it is one of the first places that will celebrate the new year. they're doing this because they're going to move from one side of the international dateline to the other and the reason why they want to try to align their clocks and days with their trading partners of the region so they can take advantage of the economies of neighboring nations. >> this time, they'll skip right over friday. >> exactly. >> imagine that. happy new year. >> all right, see ya! >> not really doing it to celebrate. economic realities. pretty interesting, huh? >> can we skip the rest of today? >> you might want to skip part of the afternoon. it is going to get a little bit breezy and windy late in the day. for this morning though, we're brisk and cool to start. temperatures are going to be sitting into the 40s all day long. feel like the 30s into the

afternoon. the winds will be pretty fierce. 25-mile-per-hour sustained winds. 35-mile-per-hour gusts. will be wraoeszy all day long. >> one advantage to working this week is you get to work feeling happy. you leave work feeling happy. there is not much traffic to deal with. let's take a look at 270. i'll prove it to you. montrose road, an accident at gray seneca highway at route 270. all the way down to the point where the lanes divide. look taking a look at 66, nutley street, a little slow in centreville and a look at the 14th street bridge, no issues along 395. >> look at how empty that is. >> fantastic. well, it is school vacation for christmas but we do have cool schools tomorrow. it is an adorable piece that you do not want to miss. little kids learning how to cook and they learn life lessons at the same time. >> olga and i will be back in 25 minutes with a live update on traffic and weather. >> we'll see you tomorrow at