today's forecast is on the milder side. we made it into the 40s yesterday. we're going to hit the 50s today. so not too bad about 55 degrees should be the average high in and around the region for the afternoon. most of us will be fairly mild tonight as well. although we're going to top out in the 50s for the afternoon highs, those overnight lows are not going to go much lower than about 5 hah degrees, quite nice on -- 45 degrees, quite nice on your saturday morning. saturday's forecast, a couple of degrees warmer with nor sunshine as we see the -- more sunshine as we see the highs back into the middle 50s. sundays the first day of the new year looks great with a high pushing 60 degrees. monika? well, the big story of the morning isn't so big but you still need to know about it. if you're planning to head in the bailey's crossroads area on the westbound side of route 7 clocked between columbia pike and patrick henry drive. i suggest you use route 50 as the alternate. it's not too difficult to get around the problem or you can

be detoured through the strip mall there it's just going to slow you down a bit. they are directing traffic through that area on the westbound side of route 7. no problems on 395 or 66 inside the beltway. in fact let's go to the roosevelt bridge on the inbound side. nice and quiet here. really the length of 66 inside and outside the beltway this morning. no troubles to report. back over to the maps and this time we'll head over to the west side of town at the american legion bridge. 270 looks good coming in from frederick. let's take a live look at the bridge span whether you're leaving the corner or heading southbound out of bethesda you will be just fine as you can see. just a bit of volume but no delays to talk about. coming up in my next report, virginia at 6:10. mike? there's one member of the occupy movement here in washington still on a hunger strike. his goal is getting the district to vote in congress. today protestors want to open a new chapter in their fight. jessica doyle is live at the square with a preview of what they are planning. good morning jess. >> reporter: good morning to

you mike. that's right. the person's name is adrian parsons, day 23 of his hunger strike starts today. so far, he's just been drinking water and a new stage of his protest starts today with a new term occupy the vote d. c.. this is a new phase for the occupy movement here in the washington, d.c. area. the goal is to push capitol hill to fully recognize democracy for d. c.. now d. c. mayor gray is among their supporters and he's finding himself in the middle of a different controversy concerning whether crime is up as a result of pulling officers off the streets to police the occupy protests. kristopher baumann is the chairman of the fraternal order of police. he said the mayor has made claims that the occupy movements have not caused an increase in crime. baumann tells 9news now that's simply not true. >> there's been a double digit increase in violent crime and overall crime in the city and

as time has passed it has become worse and worse. in fact right now a 21% increase in violent crime through the city. >> they don't have to surveil us 24/7? okay, we can take care of ourselves. >> reporter: now, baumann has sent mayor gray a 20 -- a 40 page letter and supporting documents that claim that the occupy movement actually is to blame for the spike in crime. those statistics again, regular crime overall crime 10%. he says since the occupy movement began. now d. c. mayor gray is expected to address these allegations later today at a press conference around 2:30 this afternoon. where he'll also be joined with d. c. police chief kathy lanier. back to you in the studio mike. >> very interesting and of course jess will have that on wusa9 and on wusa9.com. the mayor's comments there. the murder rate in the district is at the lowest level since john f. kennedy was

president. as of thursday there were 108 homicides in the city this year. and that is the lowest since 1963. there were 132 murders in the city at this time last year. compare that to 20 years ago? 479 people were killed in the district. 24 hours after a deadly car crash, police still want to know what caused it. they're working on the cause now. we brought you this as breaking news yesterday morning. an suv left university boulevard east in silver spring and hit a fence and then smashed into abulic retaining wall. -- a brick retaining wall. 22-year-old jenice richards and tamara johnson died in the crash. 18-year-old desaleen james survived. her twin sister says she knows what happened but is having a hard time acknowledging the death of her friends. >> she keeps saying she's not dead and then one minute she is, like where's tamara i want to see her? she's just in a lot of pain but

should be okay. >> police are still trying to find out what happened. the line of cars is going to be long at goodwill outlets this week. it already is if you've driven by. people are trying to get their donations in time to get the tax break. this is what it looked like yesterday at the goodwill on glebe road route 50 in arlington. they are trying to get their good deed done by december 31st. >> we clean out the house, clean out the clothes, get it to goodwill. >> pretty important right? >> very important. got to get the tax deductions. >> i don't know how much i can write this off for but i'll give it my best shot. >> a birdhouse. never saw that donated. if you're not sure of the writeoff amounts on anything you bring to goodwill, they will let you know. check on the websites too, we have it on wusa9.com as well and so are most other charities. new at 6:00 a preliminary

list is out of which sears and k-mart stores are now closing. at least 120 of them will be closing in the coming months on the preliminary list of the 79 stores to be closed, none of them are in the immediate d. c. area. a sears and a k-mart will be closed in mid loathe yanks virginia. east closure means about 60 people will lose their jobs. in about five minutes, an odyssey involving bank of america and a homeowner in trouble. who's trying to do the right thing. >> i really thought you know, interest rates have come down so much people are having so much difficulty. they should welcome someone that is willing to make the payments. >> just learn how long it took to get the bank to get back to him. and why it really cost the bank in the end. and it's finally friday.

what's the weather going to be for the last weekday of 2011? your weather first when 9news now returns. stay with us. hi, we're the family, we're stationed in germany and we're saying a big hello and merry christmas to uncle bob.

happy friday everyone, it is 6:09 with partly cloudy skies this morning. we're quiet on satellite and radar. not a lot of moisture through and some southerly winds. that's going to warm us up today. we'll zip through the 40s into the middle 50s for highs today. but we'll bring in some cloud cover late in the afternoon and another mild night tonight only in the 40s. monika? we're going to take a live look from sky 9 and we're looking at an accident from overnight blocking westbound route 7 here between columbia pike and patrick henry drive. you're being diverted through

the strip mall in the area. or you can go ahead and use route 50 as your alternate route. more on this and other area roadways coming up in my next report. mike, back to you. thank you monika. it is 6:10. yemen's embattled president is coming to america. the obama administration has decided to let ali salei into the united states to seek medical treatment. it is under very strict conditions however. salei suffered severe injuries when rebels stormed his found. a financial dispute is the latest snafu in new york city. the museum was expected to open in 2012. however the mayor says it is not going to happen because of this. president obama laid a ceremonial wreath at pearl harbor. he heads back to d. c. after the new year. here's a story about a foreclosure mess that will have you shaking your head this

morning. a florida couple tried to do the right thing as they were falling on hard times but as elaine quijano explains the bank got in their way. >> reporter: if you're wondering why the real estate market has been slow to heal, listen to what the rileys went through to try to keep their house in tampa. what is the process been like for you? >> stressful. chaotic. i mean it's a lot of those kinds of words come to mind. >> reporter: tim riley was laid off from his i. t. job in 2009. robin riley's salary was not enough to cover their $3,000 monthly payment. so they asked their lendor, bank of america to lower their interest rates. >> i really thought you know interest rates has come down so much. people having so much difficulty. they should welcome someone that is willing to make the payments. >> reporter: he was told he couldn't get help unless he fell behind on his payments. so in 2009, tim riley stopped

paying his mortgage. what's followed has been a two year battle with bank bureaucracy that the rileys chronicled in this thick binder. >> october, barbara signed steve, nancy passed it off to sarin. >> reporter: a year went by with no progress. the rileys moved out of the property. >> i contacted the bank, sent them a registered letter and gave them my phone number and e- mail address and told them i'd closed up the property. >> reporter: they didn't hear a word. another year passed. the rileys moved back home. the bank wanted to tack on late fees and past penalties which would have increased the mortgage $60,000. >> we just had a stalemate. it was a no win. >> reporter: finally after two years without a mortgage payment, bang of america gave the rileys permission to sell their house and another twist, it's offered the couple up to

$20,000 to seal the deal. >> it's kind of beyond a crazy story: you know? it's absurd. >> reporter: last week, the rileys found a buyer for their house. they're moving into a mobile home. as for bank of america, it could suffer a $100,000 loss. much more than if it had worked out a new loan with the rileys in the first place. i lean key ha know -- elaine quijano, cbs news, hollywood, florida. >> the average foreclosure now takes 674 days to complete. four years ago, before the housing market collapsed, it took 253 days. well, did it snow where you lived yesterday? this is what it looked like thursday afternoon in frederick county. plenty of it coming down. the burst of flurries hit the northern and western suburbs and barely stuck to the ground though. it did stick on a few bridges and overpasses. and the snow might not be all real at white tail ski

resort but it does open for the season today. it's in hearsersberg, pennsylvania, just north of the border. skiing begins this morning at 8:30. only the beginner trails will be open but next week a cold nap and they can make some for snow. >> maybe the natural kind coming on through here in some areas later on in the week. just now getting up and heading out be prepared for that. in the 30s and n and around the beltway with partly cloudy skies. but more cloud cover later on today. for the end of december i think we're doing very well. we're moving into the 40s in the next two hours or so. we'll keep on going. sunshine through midday and a few clouds late afternoon. but still these highs are going to be pretty good for this time of the year. mainly middle range 50s. as we go in toward the afternoon but we'll become partly cloudy to mostly cloudy by the 5:00 hour when temperatures start to dip below 50 degrees. it looks like a fairly mild night tonight.

we won't get too terribly cold for the next couple of nights. the weather headlines are pretty standard for what we've been telling you about for the last couple of days. we have cleared out the cloud cover for now and get into more clouds later on this afternoon. but keeping our temperatures mild. the reason for that, is the southerly and southwesterly winds that will continue through here both saturday and sunday. before we have that shift in winds. that means a very mild forecast as we head from new year's eve into new year's day. in fact, that arctic blast should arrive on monday night and into tuesday. and you'll notice the stark difference in our temperatures toward the end of the week. satellite and radar has been behaving pretty well. we had mostly clear skies through the overnight and now a few clouds across the d. c. metro area this morning but it will be a mixed bag today. we call it variable cloudiness. some areas will have sunshine from time to time and others will have more cloud cover late in the day for most of us. current temperatures in the 30s inside the beltway and 20s outside but when you factor in a little bit of a wind out of the south at about 5 miles per hour, it does look like our

windchill numbers are down just a couple of degrees. in all, it won't be too bad. partly cloudy to mostly cloudy into the afternoon. it's feeling like 34 degrees at reagan national at this hour but the futurecast forecast model doesn't have a lot of moisture to work with. so we'll call it partly sunny for today. and then mainly sunny for tomorrow. as we go into our saturday forecast, looking good on new year's eve night. temperatures will be in the 40s and upper 30s and then, for new year's day, we'll push our temperatures toward those middle range and upper 50s. so a very mild closure to our current year and heading back -- into 2012. the forecast for today, not too bad as the middle range 50s as i said a little bit -- almost 10 degrees above average from normal. but the next three days will show that same trend. we'll hold on to mild conditions until we get to monday night. then you'll notice temperatures slide with that northwest winds back into the 30s and even overnight lows well into the 20s. monika? well, there's just been one

issue that we've been talking about this morning and it's affecting traffic in the bailey's crossroads area right here westbound on route 7. in fact a live picture from sky 9 to show you. westbound route 7 was blocked off overnight between basically columbia pike and patrick henry drive. you can go through the little victim mall there or just use -- strip mall there or just use route 50. traffic is a little bit slow in the area. over the maryland and this time a live look at 270. here's what it looks like at shady grove road. no problems from frederick to the point where the lanes divide and across the learn legion bridge. prince george's county on beltway looking good into alexandria. if you had the go to work, this was the week. and now is the time to check the morning lights, it's our last morning lights of the holiday season. >> speaking of looking good,

this photo was the first we got from our operator, lori adams, she loves the blue l. e. d. likes because they have such a soothing glow. >> she is. so soothing. >> she's a sweetheart. she gave us this picture because at first we thought we weren't sure that you guys were going to send us stuff. we held hers until the end and we're glad we did because it's beautiful. >> and to check out owl the homes we showcased during december, go to wusa9.com and in the search bar type in morning lights. okay, it is 6:18. up next in sports redskins' coach mike shanahan gets ready for the final game of the season. hopefully it's not his final game as coach. >> no, supposed to have five years. right now another check on the question of the morning -- >> and when you "like" us on facebook, you get first crack at the question. if you're an insomniac, you'll get it. barbara says --

so it's a close call. >> i got engaged in december. >> you did? that was february. >> keep the guesses coming, we'll reveal the answer at 6:48.

and welcome back. it's 6:22. partly cloudy skies across the region this morning and some pretty cool temperatures, down inside the 30s in the beltway and some 20s to the north and west. definitely see some sneak, a mix of sun and clouds for the afternoon and for the afternoon. the day planner will take us into the mid-range 50s by later on this afternoon with mostly cloudy skies by later on tonight. now dave owens has a look at sports. well, good morning everybody, just doesn't have the usual sizzle that we're accustomed to. the redskins and philly finale means nothing in terms of postseason play but still counts in win loss column and each wants to go out on a positive note. at best, the redskins will finish with back-to-back six

win campaigns, at worst mike shanahan will have a two year record 11-21. that's not as good as jim dorn's, imagine that. when asked by reporters about his job security, coach says i'll be back. >> there's no doubt in my mind. you know. hopefully there's no doubt in dan's mind too. [ laughter ] you know, i talked to him about it when i first got here. i said if you don't plant on me coaching here for five years, it's going to take some time to do it right. >> we shall see. alexander was given the media good guy award yesterday. he's always been a great interview and this year especially helpful notifying the media of practices during the lockout. he says he loved the award but says he hopes he doesn't end up like past winners jason campbell and andre carter, they were released or traded. last night some college hoops, howard taking on kansas and it was a thomas robinson just popping in his air force ones. the follow-up dunk.

jay hawks slam the bison 89-34. that's right, 89-34. tough one there for howard. all right, that's going to do it for your morning sports, i'm dave owens, is a great friday -- have a great friday everyone. the lady terps weren't on tv last night. you had to catch them on the web instead. a great game though against unbeaten delaware. thomas with 23 points and she was one of three maryland starters with double digit figures. lady terps beat the fighting blue hens 85-36. maryland is perfect 13-0 on the season. coming up we are going to be joined by district assistant chief of police and learn how police are trying to keep crime down as the occupy protests. the latest transformers movie second hottest at the box office. it earned $352 million. up next, learn which film came in at number one. before we head to break, quick check of the commute. monika? >> we're going to take a look at a map we're. an accident from overnight. the clean-up continues in bailey's crossroads. westbound route 7 between

columbia pike and patrick henry drivement keep that if mind for your travel mans. coming up in my next report, another look around the area at 6:30. you're watching 9news now. stay with us. 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.

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well, good morning, it is

6:29 and we're back leer on 9news now -- here on 9news now, i'm mike hydeck, andrea roane and howard are off today. olga breese is on the weather terrace and she's bundled up. is it cold out there? >> not too much of a wind, just a light wind out of the south. definitely looking sot cold temperatures this morning. in the 30s in and around the beltway but the day planisher going to keep the -- planner is going to sunshine around until mid-morning or late morning. into the 50s later on this afternoon we'll increase the cloud cover but a mild night tonight and a fairly mild holiday weekend. monika? we've had one problem in the bailey's crossroads area and believe me if this was not a holiday week, it could be much worse here. it's been closed down westbound route 7 between columbia pike and patrick henry drive from early this morning it was a car into a pole and that's why it's taking so long to clear that up. so just keep that in mind for your travel plans. outside into chevy chase, connecticut avenue at the east- west highway. there's a water main break on

east-west highway at brooksville road just east of connecticut avenue. watch out it may slow you down a bit there. outside now if you're planning to head over to the beltway at new hampshire avenue. no problems to report on the outer loop. you may just hit the brakes a bit as you head into silver spring near georgia avenue. you're pretty much used to that but again don't complain about traffic this morning. and a last look as well. over to the bridge as well along 95 and 395 into the district. this is what you're dealing with this morning. we been telling you about the talk of 2011 and this morning the top grossing movies of the year. >> that's the box offices from u.s. and canada are in the survey -- >> you have fought valiantly.

now, join me and confront your fate. >> oh my son loved that. "harry potter and the deathly hallows" part two. the finale to the j.k. rowling series. it raked in $381 million in the u.s. and canada alone. you'll notice that all of the movies in the top five are sequels and the top grossing nonsequel was "thor." it ranked number eight. >> that is funny. "time" magazine said the protester was the person of the year and that is no doubt the case in the district's mcfearson's square. that's where occupy protestors have been camping for months but is that encampment leading to more crime in the area? jessica doyle is live in northwest with more on a new tactic for the protest. good morning jess. >> reporter: good morning to you mike. that's right. there's a lot going on when you talk about the occupy d. c.

movement. new year, new initiative. this is called the occupy the vote d. c. and it's an initiative that's kicking off today. a new round of hunger strikes as well as an online protest rather or an online petition. the hunger striker adrian parsons is going into his 23rd day without eating. just drinking water. now the goal of occupy the vote d. c. is to push capitol hill to fully recognize the demock democracyization of the district of columbia. at the same time gray finds himself in the middle of a controversy concerning whether crime is up as a result of pullings officers to police the occupy protests. kristopher baumann says crime is up because of the resource problem the occupy protests have only made worse. >> as a result of pulling all those officers out of the

districts and out of their neighborhoods, we've seen this increase in crime. this is on top of the fact that we're down 400 police officers. something mayor gray was responsible for as the chair of the council. >> reporter: baumann also says the mayor made claims the occupy movement has not caused an increase in crime. he made those comments on a talk show two weeks ago. so, baumann sent mayor gray a letter along with supporting documents he claims proves that the occupy movement actually is contributing to the spike in crime. points out his stats, violent crime up 13%, overall crime up 10%. since the occupy movements began. now mayor gray is expected to address this issue directly when he has a press conference at 2:30 today with d. c. police chief kathy lanier. as for the occupy d. c. movement? they're going to have their list of initiatives laid out at 11:00 at a press conference today. so a lot going on around mcpherson square and back to

monika in the studio. >> thanks jessica. and joining me now in the studio is assistant d. c. police chief patrick burk. about keeping the roads safe for new year's eve this weekend but first the f. o. p. report says the crime rate is up with the occupy d. c. protestors. and in the double digits but today they're saying the homicide rate in the last two decades is the lowest ever. especially this year. what's your take on that? >> well, first of all, pertaining to the protests we deal with protests in washington, d.c. every single day. so it's something we work with. and work with the protestors to make sure that they can express their first amendment rights but also maintain public safety at the same time and make sure the protestors are safe when they take to the streets. as far as homicides go, we are on pace with 108 so far to date to be at the lowest level since 1936 and a lot of -- 1963 and a lot of this is attributable to the work we do and our relationships with the community. >> speaking of relationships how has the city police force's relationship been with the protestors and what's your

comment about tapping into resources because of them? >> well, once again our special operations division has primary responsibility. the protests locations are both on united states park police or united states park territory and we work very slowly with the federal -- closely with the federal partners to deal with that. our special operations division and occasionally district civil disturbance units will help as well. >> speaking of police enforcement and going into the weekend especially. 99 dui arrests in december itself. so tell us about the plans for enforcement this weekend and we're going to put up a full screen. >> first of all not only in d. c. but the entire region, sew briary check points -- sobriety check points, and officers that are physically and completely dedicate today arresting drunk -- dedicated to arresting drunk and impaired drivers. >> recently it came out this year that d. c. was calling with a faulty breath test machines.

what has happened that and what's the latest and what do you plan to do this weekend with that? >> regardless of the intoxilyzer issue we had, we are going forward with a new program and currently training persons under the chief medical examiner's office to oversee that program. now in the interim, our impairment operations haven't been impacted whatsoever. officers continue to arrest impaired drivers and simply taking urine instead. the ancillary benefit of that has been we've been able to also show drugs in the blood system as well especially with proliferation of pcp in the area. >> you're going to have drug enforcement out as well and you have dui fans as well? >> we have the vans that will be out there once again. so that officers will have the ability to take a person directly to a van rather than to a police station so we can process them right away and get as many people in that we need to. >> i know with traffic flow especially at the end of the evening things can be tough getting out of the district.

metro is open until 3:00 in the morning, a lot of pedestrian traffic to deal with. any advice this weekend in the district? >> the fact is, drinking and drying is a conscious -- driving is a conscious choice and it's a preventable crime. have a plan before you go out. if you plan on driving make sure it's a designated driver and designated driver is not the person who had the least to drink. it's the person who didn't drink at all. but with services like metro, washington regional alcohol program has the highly popular sober ride program. there's absolutely no reason to get behind the wheel of a car and the consequences are too great. living with the fact that you may kill not only another person but yourself or a family member that you love. it's simply something that can be avoid. >> we wish you luck for the weekend and again as you said plan ahead but have a good time. >> thanks so much and have a happy new year. 6:308 just about. just four days away from the

first presidential contest in 2012. the iowa caucus. and the latest poll from rasmussen shows a virtual tie with mitt romney and ron paul. romney is the pick of 23% of likely voters. ron paul is in second closely with 22%. rick santorum is now surging. he spent a lot of time in iowa and he's at 16%. newt gingrich and rick perry are tied at 13%. the president will start the new year on the campaign trail. he will be in ohio visiting the key swing state january 4th just a day after the iowa caucus. the white house says the trip to cleveland will focus on the economy. president obama carried ohio in 2008 which is 51% of the vote is what he got and that's a bellwether state for presidents. bob marshall is known for being a staunch republican but he's opposing the gop plan in virginia requiring primary voters to take a loyalty oath. if you want to vote in the march 6th primary you have to sign a statement saying you'll

support a republican presidential nominee in november. the pledge is not legally binding. time is 6:39 on the nose. they are getting ready in old town, virginia for -- new year's eve celebration. in nine minutes, we'll go live to alexandria for a first night preview. and high heels ladies you'll see? a lookahead to the 2012 forecast next, keep it here on 9news now. hi, my name is staff sergeant wallace and i'm in korea. i would like to say happy holidays to my mom and dad, mar lean and eric and my sisters barley and kale in -- mar lee and kale in woodbridge, virginia.

welcome back. new year's eve. almost here. 6:43. good morning, happy friday to you. olga breese is in for howard. let's talk first night. >> uh-huh, it's going to a marvelous fistfight if you're a warm weather lover like myself. we have plenty of winter, plenty of december and january cold to get to. but for the finish of the year looking pretty good. we have some southerly winds this morning. that's kept our temperatures fairly mild overnight. we are in the 30s at this hour with partly cloudy skies. we'll bring in some more cloud cover later on in the afternoon.

but for the start this morning i think you do need to be prepared for the cold because we are in the 30s for most of the region. quickly move into the 40s say around 11:00, 12:00. we should be 45 degrees and higherment most of us are going to top out in the middle range 50s by the afternoon. and it looks like a pretty quiet night ahead. mainly cloudy skies tonight. but at least our temperatures will stay on the mild side. as of right now though, we're looking not too bad in and around the region. we do have a little bit of that cloud cover already starting to move in in some cares but for most of us -- areas but for most of us a sunny morning commute. the clouds in earnest in the late afternoon and evening hours and mild air stays in place for the next three days and then the cold arctic air comes in from the north and it's going to stick around for the remainder of the workweek. satellite and radar, not too much happenings. mainly clear skies for much of the region. we did bring in cloud cover as we head into the later morning and that will continue. the cool temperatures in the

30s will quickly be replaced after sunrise. we'll start to move on up into the 40s and 50s but futurecast doesn't have a whole lot going on for us moisture stays off to our west. as we go into friday afternoon and evening hours. partly to mostly cloudy skies overnight tonight. that's going to give way to some sunshine on your saturday morning. now tomorrow will be a good day for you to get down those christmas decorations outdoors maybe some christmas lights on the house, and things are looking pretty good into the afternoon. tomorrow will be a little bit warmer as our temperatures move into the middle range 50s. and then, we keep it very nice for our sunday as well. in all though, the highs today 55 about 10 degrees above normal. we'll definitely see a cool night tonight back down into the 40s for most of us. but a nice stretch ahead. saturday and sunday, looking pretty good as we hit a high of 58 degrees on new year's day. the seven day forecast has a cold snap coming our way and we will crank up the winds on monday ahead of the system and then we plummet into the 30s

for highs. 20s for lows. we could even see a few flurries on tuesday morning. monika? we have some video in of an accident we've been telling you about since overnight. it was a car into a pole look at the condition of that car. this is in bailey's crossroads on route 7 between columbia pike and patrick henry drive. and once again, authorities remain on the scene trying to investigate what happened here. and reconstruct as well and clean it up. in the meantime i suggest that you use route 50 this morning. a little slow getting by if you do need to just go through the area. over to springfield on the northbound side of i-95. things are looking fine here. there are no big deals to report along 95 and 395 as you head up to the 14th street bridge. looking fine and go over to the north side of town. here's what it looks like on the beltway at new hampshire avenue. a heads-up there's been a water main break on the east-west highway at brookville drive just east of connecticut avenue. know that only one lane getting by there.

and it is going to slow you down a bit in chevy chase. coming up in my next report, we'll take another look at area roadways at 6:58. 6 which means just about 39 hours left in 2011 and they are getting ready to party in old town. joining us now to talk about first night alexandria festivities is kerry donly. good morning, thank you for joining us. >> not a problem. happy new year mike. >> to you as well. i have two little kids and we were thinking exactly of going to your neighborhood. tell us what we can look for. >> well, old town is going to be alive with the spirit of new year's. we have 18 different venues over 30 performers and over 100 performances all to celebrate first night here in alexandria. it's a ale brace of the arts -- a celebration of the arts, a safe way to bring in 2012. >> are they bringing in any meal deals? i knee -- know the food is

excellent down there. >> we have a lot of restaurants and wen courage people to come down and have dinner and take in the first night which is a number of wonderful performances and we will have new york top this year. new york drops one ball for new year's at 12:00. we're going to drop 6,000 balls here in old town. >> okay. you have to explain that. how is that possible? >> well, you know, we used to have a big fireworks celebration, the general assembly prohibited you know fireworks here in virginia. and so we're going to have a laser light show. and actually a 6,000 different balls going to be shot into the air right at the stroke of midnight to celebrate the new year and there will be some prized associated with the -- prizes associated with the balls as well. >> is there an admission cost or is it pretty much show and up enjoy? >> you know, basically you have to buy a badge, the badges like i have here are $20. you can buy them at our venues,

you can buy them you know, in some retail outlets. you know before the event but you can buy them at all the venues. and it allows you admission into all of the 18 different venues. if you can make them all. and obviously gets you in for the big finale. >> so goo out and enjoy 1:00 p.m. everything gets underway. you have plenty of events for kids and live performances throughout the day. we really appreciate it. kerry donnellly, vice president and chair of the committee. we appreciate your time this morning. happy new year. >> to you too. okay, so if you're looking for new year's eve ideas for the family or maybe something more a little on the adult side, head to dc.metromix.com to find out where the parties are and how you can celebrate safely. >> on the water so nice with the kids and i love they said nonalcoholic. been talking about that all week. now the answer to the final question of the morning for 2011 --

>> the answer is c., december. christmas is one of four big proposal dates along with valentine's day, thanksgiving, believe it or not and new year's. >> i wouldn't think it was thanksgiving, december and february. >> you said you were december? >> i was december. >> i was february and what was the other choice? >> november, thanksgiving. >> very interesting. okay, just about done, but we have a check of the 90s before you do -- news before you go. that's coming up next.

time now is 6:52 on this partly cloudy morning, we have cool temperatures zitting in the -- sitting in the 40s for most of the morning. we will make it to the middle range 50s by this afternoon and it looks like with cold temperature will start give -- start will give way to some cloudiness late in the day and

yes we will have a mild new year's forecast and then the colder air moves on in later on this week. monika? i'll take it thanks olga. today is friday, december 30th. a check of the news before you go now this morning. police say speed and alcohol were factors in a deadly early morning motorcycle crash. this was on the outer loop at colesville road. 24-year-old kevin hennet of laurel was killed. district of columbia has been ordered to pay more than $1 million to dick heller's attorneys. you see, he sued the city in 2003 over the ban on handgun ownership. the u.s. supreme court overturned that ban in 2008. saying it violated the second amendment. paper of plastic? it won't matter, starting january 1st montgomery county will charge shoppers a nickel if they don't bring their own reusable bags, it's expected to generate $1 million for the county. one more check of weather and traffic when 9news now returns.

it's 6:53. stay with us.

ooh, are you hungry because we sure are. it's 6:56. one more thing before you go. a local joint is giving you one last chance to eat fast food before your new year's resolution diet kicks in. it's our friends at z burger. 4321 wisconsin avenue northwest or their honey gold boulevard in white marsh, maryland. just go in and say my diet can wait and you can get free burger. and from personal experience, i've had more than my share of

z burgers and they're excellent. >> i was craving one yesterday. >> time to get it. okay olga? >> not the kind of encouragement i need. we have a forecast though that will encourage you to get out and enjoy today in the 50s, tomorrow middle 50s. this mild temperatures stick around through new year's eve night and new year's day. then, the cold hits us. monday night into tuesday, we plummet, we will be in the chilly 30s and 20s overnight lows. for the foreseeable future. monika? here's a graphic, we've been telling you about an accident in bailey's crossroads westbound on route 7 between columbia pike and pratt rick henry -- patrick henry drive. that remains blocked there. over to the other side of the world. east-west highway at brooksville road. east of connecticut avenue a water main break and one lane is getting through there and traffic is light. just keep that in mind. a live look as well of 270 there are no problems coming in from frederick all the way down to the point where the lanes divide. and down to the american legion bridge into teashop's as well.

you know all this week we've been talking to police and authorities. >> with maryland, the district. virginia. >> definitely. and we're talking about being safe on the roads during this holiday weekend. and new year's eve. and the sober ride program is one option for you. 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. cab rides up to $30 and they'll run through 31st. so the number to call is -- >> the number to call 1-800-200- taxi. plan ahead. stay safe and celebrate safely in new year's if you celebrate adult beverages. >> the "today" show is next and on behalf of the entire morning news team, howard and everybody who's not here. have a happy new year and celebrate safely. >> we'll see you at 4:25 on the first monday morning of 2012. >> if you can't wait until then, we'll have an update with traffic and weather in 25 minutes. >> until then