winds south-southwest at about 10 miles per hour. you can see the clouds that have popped up over the region here in the last few hours. winds are just perpendicular to the ridge tops. just a little bit of lift, get some clouds to form. that should be pushing away in the next couple of hours. temperatures still in the 20s in manassas. 27 leesburg. frederick is down to 25. fredericksburg already 41 degrees. it is 40 down at the pax river naval air station. we're look pretty good today as i said with sunshine. few clouds at times. 57 in martinsburg to 60 in culpepper. cooler to our east. on the bay, annapolis. here in washington this afternoon, 56, 567 for that high -- 57 for that high. monika is smiling. you must have some good stuff to tell you about the roads. >> our floor director is like it must be friday morning light. that's what it is. friday morning light, everybody. good morning. things are looking great all around town. you can see pretty much the construction has been cleared up. all of the triangles that are usually behind me are not

there. we'll take you all the way up to frederick. no problems up i-70 and down 270 where the lanes divide. live look at shady grove road. no problems to report from the gaithersburg area toward rockville and the point where the lanes divide over the american legion bridge as well running smoothly into tysons. back over to the maps, this time, the bw parkway and route 50, we're look good as you come in from annapolis on 50. baltimore and right through cheverly inside the beltway to new york avenue. let's take a live look at the beltway south of town here at route 4 pennsylvania avenue from southern maryland on route 5 and route 301. both look good out of waldorf. one live look as well. last one. over into the downtown area, pennsylvania avenue in northwest past the willard intercontinental hotel. just a few people out this morning. coming up, we'll go into virginia at 5:09. back to you. thank you, monika. this morning, harry thomas jr. is no longer a d.c. city

councilman. later today, he is expected to be a convicted felon. >> thomas plans to plead guilty to federal charges that he stole more than $350,000 in government funds and filed false tax returns. 9news now reporter delia gonsalves is live outside the district courthouse where thomas has a plea hearing later this morning. good morning. >> good morning, andrea. harry thomas later today will finally admit to what he's been denying for so long to reporters and the public that he used money meant for kids for his own personal gain. here is a breakdown of the charges. stealing government funds, $353,500 and filing false taxes for three years in a row. soon after being elected in 2006 with a staggering $278,000 in 2008. thomas is accused of using city money to buy a luxury suv and motorcycle, both vehicles were seized during an fbi and i.r.s. raid of his home in northeast

washington. council chairman kwame brown visited the 9news studios last night to talk about thomas' charges and his resignation. >> i was devastated. i was absolutely devastated. i have known harry for a long time. and what he did was wrong. it was absolutely wrong. something that should not have taken place. and he has admitted to being wrong. he has taken full responsibility. and at the end of the day, it is time to move the city forward. >> thomas released a statement last night saying in part "i made some very serious mistakes and exhibited inadequate and flawed judgment. i'm truly sorry. i want to apologize to those i have let down. i am taking the first step toward making things right." thomas will take that first step at 11:15 here in federal court in front of a judge. now, technically, the two charges together carry penalties of up to 13 years in prison. he'll likely not serve that much time behind bars, maybe three years but ultimately, a judge will decide.

andrea, back to you. >> delia gonsalves reporting live from northwest. >> a 20-year-old montgomery county man learns his punishment for killing three of his friends in a dui crash. a judge sentenced kevin coffay to 40 years in prison yesterday but suspended half that sentence. last may, in olney, coffay swerved into a tree. he pleaded go the to vehicular manslaughter admitting he ran away from the crash scene without checking on his four passengers or calling for help. three of the four passengers died. prince george's county firefighters say a near tragedy last night should serve as a reminder to dispose of your live christmas trees now. crews from several fire departments battled a house fire on ash fox road in brandywine. a woman and her daughter escape with minor burn injuries. the mother told firefighters her christmas tree exploded into flames after an electrical short. most of the home was destroyed. firefighters say many christmas trees are now just too dry and

brittle to be safe indoors. as republican presidential hopefuls campaign in new hampshire, newt gingrich is getting criticized for comments he made about welfare and african americans. the former house speaker seemed to insinuate that black people aren't interested in getting jobs. >> i'm prepared if the naacp invites me, i'll go to their convention and talk about why the african-american community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps. >> gingrich was already struggling in the polls before thursday's comment. former d.c. mayor marion barry doesn't think gingrich is a racist but he agrees the comments are beyond insensitive. >> it is a racial slur. i've known over the years since 1994. what newt doesn't realize is that people had to get food stamps because they don't have jobs. >> barry currently the ward 8 congressman challenged him to get more jobs. according to the u.s. census

bureau, 59% of the households that receive food stamps are white. 28% are black. time for the latest "your money" report of the morning. >> jessica doyle is here with the headlines. good morning, jess. >> investors with one thing on their minds today besides making money. that's every day. but today, they're thinking about the december jobs report. economists predict that employers added 150,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate inched up to 8.7% for all of december. checking the numbers on wall street, the dow starts today at 12,415. it fell nearly 3 points in trading yesterday. thes nasdaq was up by 21 and the s&p 500 added nearly 4 points. here's one employer hiring. chrysler says it will add almost 1300 jobs at two detroit factories next year. they'll help build a diesel model for north america next year and 150 jobs will help reopen its connor avenue factory to make a street-racing team version of the dodge viper

muscle car. >> make less than $2,000 a year, than $200,000 a year, you probably won't be audited but if you're a millionaire, the odds have been rising you'll be hearing from the tax man. the i.r.s. requested extra tax payments from one in eight people earning more than a million dollars annually. under $200,000, the odds dropped to one in 100. think of it this way, the one upside to not being a millionaire. [ laughter ] ladies and gentlemen. >> thank you for that good perspective there. what do you have for us in the next half hour? >> we're saving you money by getting you fast food bargains. there are a ton of them out there. >> the millionaires will probably want to hear about that. >> exactly because they may get audited. >> you may be taking plans to enjoy today or tomorrow with temperatures rising into the 50s outdoors. >> coming up, this warmer weather is a real shock for people in parts of the country where they usually go ice fishing this time of the year. >> for the last couple of years, there has been no kennedy in congress. now, one member of that family

is planning to change that.

we're looking good. couple of clouds out there now. still looking at a good deal of sunshine and a mild day. especially for january. with temps going into the 50s. here is the day planner. look for some clouds and sun mixing early. partly to mostly sunny. by noon, 50. 55 at 3:00 with highs around 57 and a 6:00 p.m. temperature comfy at 52. winds not bad. south-southwest at 10. i'll be back. we'll look through the weekend. right now, timesaver traffic with monika. >> howard, we'll take a live look at 95 in virginia. heading northbound north of the

rest area, all the way up into springfield and 395, your lanes are open. still moving at a good pace. we'll have more on virginia roadways coming up at 5:17. andrea, back to you. making news now at 5:10, another kennedy could be headed to washington. joe kennedy iii is forming an exploratory committee. he's interested in the massachusetts seat held by congressman frank who is retiring. the 31-year-old kennedy is the son of former congressman joseph kennedy. >> firefighters are gaining control of a wildfire in montana at the black peet indian reservation. it has forced the evacuation of about 100 people. while some buildings have been destroyed, no injuries have been reported. fishermen in north dakota don't have to lug along as much equipment right now because it is so warm, they're not ice fishing. thursday's high temperature in bismarck was a record-setting 57 degrees. instead of bundling to rush from their home to their cars,

north dakotans are playing outside instead. >> here at home, we only had a brief cold snap elle this week. however, it was pretty cold. now, we're going to get warmer weather headed into the weekend. howard tells us just how long the pleasant temperatures will stick around. >> at 5:58, we'll tell you which military hero from the middle ages would be 600 years old today. >> coming up, what the wizards players are doing to try to win their first game of the season this weekend. we'll be back.

thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. 5:14 this friday morning. our temperature in the 30s. looks like 36 degrees. comfy. and it is going to get even cozier later today. >> considering we had early in the week, some wind chills down around zero. we're going to have highs in the 50s this afternoon. nice swing on the positive. that's how it is going to be for today and tomorrow. we have just a bit of a cooldown as we head into sunday. here is a look at your bus stop forecast on this friday morning. temperatures in the 20s and 30s. we'll call it partly cloudy out there. we're a little cloudy right now. but partly cloudy, even mostly sunny spots especially north and east of d.c. temps running in the 20s and 30s and sunrise at7:27. our sunset today one minute after 5:00. we've got the sun and a few

clouds at times. noontime temperature already up to 50. south winds at 10. becomes southwest. southwest at 10 miles per hour. and 54 at 5:00 p.m. highs in the mid to upper 50s. this morning, the clouds that we're watching really east of the blue ridge here, you can see how this cloudy area is formed along and east of areas oh from frederick to leesburg southeast. you get far enough south and east, we're going to get into some higher thin clouds. in the mountains, a little bit more clear where temperature in cumberland is 28. luray is 39. while it is 30 in culpepper. 28 up at the airpark and montgomery county. 40 for pax river at the naval air station. when you factor in the winds, there is not much of a wind chill. locally, we're down to 35 for rockville. columbia, 29 this morning. college park sits at 30. fairfax at 38 and 28 coming in at fort belvoir. officially outside, clear skies. temperature running in the 30s right now. with the clouds.

feeling like 32 with a light south-southwest wind at 5:00. dew points are running in the upper 20s. the only really cold air is up in maine. northern maine and eastern areas of quebec. you'll notice subzero readings in caribou. the rest of the country, 20s, 30s, 40s. it is a comfortable morning across the u.s. thanks in part to the jet stream being well to the north so the arctic air bottled up in canada and that's what's -- that's where it is going to stay. the week after, we'll get some cold air in here. right now, a little bit chilly in parts of the northeast in new england. ohio valley, cool air is building in. other than a few clouds from time to time today and as we get into the day on saturday, that's it. it is going to be pretty quiet around here. now into the ohio valley, going west, into charleston or cincinnati for the weekend, gotta head out toward kentucky, you'll run into a few sprinkles on saturday. colder air works in, sprinkles turn to snow flurries, snow

showers especially in western pennsylvania and west virginia. we still say mild with 50s. on sunday, a little front will come through late saturday. it will be a little bit cooler. highs on sunday upper 40s to near 50. today, 57. a very mild day. mixed with sunshine and clouds. tonight, back in the 30s. tomorrow, mid-50s. for sunday, upper 40s. next week, chance of a shower on monday. it looks like a pretty good bet will be wet on wednesday. highs in the upper 40s. monika? >> it is not a bad ride or commute if you're heading out at 5:17 in the morning. it is friday. that's good news if you're planning to head out early. you'll find it is light all around town. all the way into downtown using 395 looking good past the pentagon and across the 14th street bridge here. we'll take a live look, first starting with 95 into springfield. everything is moving at a good pace from dale city as you head up toward this point, and up to 395, we'll take a live look there. at duke street and landmark, also moving well as you can see from seminary road and the

14th street bridge. back out to the map, this time we'll go west on to the dulles toll road and route 7 out of leesburg. no issues to report. 66, the same story, outside the beltway. we'll take a look inside the beltway. back over to our graphic, just to let you know if you're heading on to metro, marc or vre, everything is running on time this morning. in my next report, we'll go into maryland at 5:24. now, let's take a quick look at the metro track work schedules for this weekend. on the red line, trains will single track in two areas between due possibility circle and friendship heights and between takoma and forest glen. green line trains are single tracking in two spots between georgia avenue petworth and fort totten and between naylor road and branch avenue. yellow line trains will operate every 15 minutes to align schedules with green line trains. and also on the blue and orange lines, trains will single track between smithsonian and eastern market. now, i have a little good news

for drivers. this weekend, the d.c. department of transportation expects to open the second span of the 11th street bridge. the outbound span will carry drivers over the anacostia river and a third span is scheduled to open this summer. we'll look forward to that. andrea and mike? >> thank you, monika. it is 5:19. the redskins interview a recently-fired head coach from another nfc team. >> george mason tries to keep its perfect conference record intact. we'll have the highlights in sports. >> let's take a look at the question of the day. three out of ten married people admit to doing this and most of the offenders are women. is it a, eating food from their partner's plates. mmm. b, stealing the covers or c, using their partner's toothbrush. yuck. >> oh one of our facebook friends, she told me i threw the covers off. now i know. it is b. stealing the covers. >> log on to the facebook.com/wusa9 page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour.

temps starting in the 20s and 30s today. we'll have a couple of clouds passing from time to time. and a nice warm-up. by noon, we'll be pushing the 50 degree mark. this afternoon, look at the temperatures. mid even upper 50s to some areas south and west could touch 60 believe it or not. mike and an andrea, back to

you. >> george mason takes on a tough opponent. >> one of the nfl head coaches fired at the end of the season has an interview with the redskins. kristin berset has details in your morning sports. >> good morning, everybody. now is that time of the nfl season where the rumors begin and the coaching carousel starts. the redskins haven't made any changes to the coaching staff but they still interviewed former buccaneers head coach ra heed morris this week for a possible assistant coaching job. morris has a lot of defensive coaching experience and knows kyle shanahan and bruce allen from his days in tampa. we'll have to wait and see. the wizards, oh, they're 0- 6, the only nba team without a win and the worst start to a season in franchise history after getting embarrassed the other night in orlando, met van mo evans had enough. he held a players only meeting basically telling everyone there is one too many egos in this locker room! george mason in action last night hosting old dominion conference play.

ryan pearson nails a three to put mason up 1 early on. here is a double-double last night. 16 points, 14 rebounds. mike morrison slams it home. puts the pacers up. george mason stays perfect in conference play with a 63-54 win over old dominion. that will do it for your morning sports. i'm kristin berset. have a great friday. >> tomorrow, penn state is expected to announce bill o'brien will be its next head coach replacing joe paterno who was dismissed in november. o'brien is currently the offensive coordinator for the new england patriots. the pats will have a bye this weekend in the opening round of the nfl playoffs. bring some fire to penn state. >> as republican presidential candidates campaign in new hampshire, there is a new claim about who may have really won the iowa caucuses. that story is coming up. >> plus, harry thomas resigns his d.c. city council seat as he prepares to plead guilty to federal charges later today.

here's monika. >> we're taking a live look at route 355 at 118 in germantown. we'll take another look at maryland roadways coming up at 5:29. you're watching 9news now. we'll be back in a couple of minutes.

thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59. welcome back to 9news now. happy friday. i'm andrea roane. >> are you feeling relaxed? i'm mike hydeck. it is friday. >> i sit next to someone who makes me giggle. >> sometimes i need a translator. i don't know what you're saying. >> it is all good. >> you'll tell me later then. >> good morning, everybody. happy friday. we're looking good. temperatures are running mild into the 20s and 30s. relatively speakening, mild. this afternoon is when the payoff will be as we shoot into the 50s. your day planner for this

friday, clouds mixing with a little sun right now. early i should say. a little sun early. a partly to mostly sunny day by noon, 50 degrees. we get into the mid, even upper 50s this afternoon with a 5:00 p.m. temperature still up there at 54. winds south-southwest at 10 miles per hour. you see some of the clouds are pulling to the last few hours. the winds are running perpendicular to the mountains here. when they hit the mountains, they get a little lift. that cools it just enough for the clouds to form. that's what we've got going on. you go far enough north, you're seeing more clear skies and consequently, the colder temperatures up in frederick where they're down to 25. 28 in manassas. we've got a 40 coming up from pax river naval air station. mid to upper 50s. if you go south and west far enough, we could see some low 60s out there. pretty incredible for january. average high is 43. monika? >> this time last year, it was a lot colder, wasn't it, howard? i'll take this. especially over the weekend. if you're planning to head over

to the beltway and for the weekend, i think you're going to be ok all around town. there are no problems to report if you're planning to head over to 270 coming in from frederick down to the point where the lanes divide. we'll take you over to a live picture of the america legion bridge on the west side of town. both loops of the beltway are looking good between tysons corner and bethesda. no problems to report and all lanes are open. back over to the map. this time, we'll head to the other side of maryland, southern maryland. route 5, route 4, route 301, serving looking fine out of brandywine, oxon hill, the bridge. live look at the east side closer to route 50 in new carrollton, no problems as you head north to college park or south toward oxon hill. more on area roadways at 5:39. back to you guys. the republican presidential hopefuls have now moved on to new hampshire. this morning, there are questions about who actually won the iowa caucus. >> listen to this, a man who said he helped count the votes is claiming mitt romney only got 2 votes in his district, not the 22 which was reported

to the state republicans. if he's correct, that means rick santorum won by a dozen votes. for now, iowa republican leaders aren't changing their totals. they have mitt romney winning by eight votes. santorum is trying to capitalize on his success in iowa. >> don't defer to pundits who will tell you who can win or who's the best candidate. >> win or not, attacking president obama, some of the candidates are going after the presume front-runner mitt romney. however, romney failed to win the endorsement of "the boston globe" in a state where he used to be governor. the globe's endorsement went to former utah governor jon huntsman. in d.c. politics, former councilman harry thomas jr. is due in court this morning to plead guilty to federal charges. thomas resigned from his council seat last night after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. 9news now reporter delia gonsalves is live at district court with a preview. >> good morning, andrea. you can say what a fall from

grace and a sad day for d.c. politics. a man who was literally following in his father's -- his late father's footsteps as a council member for ward five, now accused of stealing from the very people he pledged to serve. harry thomas jr. is charged with taking more than $350,000 in government funds and filing false tax returns for three years in a row, apparently wasting little time after his 2006 election to office, only getting more bold, not reporting more than $270,000 in 2008 according to the charges. thomas is accused of taking money meant for youth leagues. kwame brown spoke out about these charges and the resignation to 9news now last night. >> i see the council moving forward, working and earning the trust of the residents of the district of columbia. we passed a conference of ethics reform bill. we have a new code of conduct for the council.

we also have new training manuals. nothing can take the place of just having good ethical standards. i think the commitment from all of my colleagues is to continue to move forward to earp that trust from the residents of the district of columbia. >> thomas also released a statement saying in part to the young people with whom i have worked as well as their parents and caregivers, i offer my sincerest apologies. through athletics, i've tried to teach you the importance of character and integrity. my conduct set a poor example. thomas says today he is take the first step to making things right. he will be in court. 11:15 standing before a judge. the charges technically filed against him carry a permit of up to 13 years in prison. he'll likely serve far less time, about three years. ultimately, a judge will have to decide what kind of permit he deserves. back to you. >> delia gonsalves reporting live outside the district court. today, the fairfax county woman convicted of killing her

own grandchild will learn her sentence. a jury found carmella della rosa guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 2-year- old ogdoc. she threw the toddler off a pedestrian walkway at tysons corner in front of the girl's parents. de la rosa's attorneys failed to convince the jury she was insane at the time. the jury has recommended a 35- year prison sentence. rats have been a major concern at the occupy d.c. encampment and today, there will be a report issued regarding that and it is going to go to mayor vint gray. the health director personally inspected the protest at mcpherson square yesterday and found clear sipes that the -- signs that the road rent thriving on food and garbage from the protestor's outdoor kitchen. the unofficial chef has been told to shut down the kitchen unless he can lay down some rules. the rats were in the park long before the protestors were. >> bad news for pentagon workers and contractors around

the d.c. area. budget cuts are forcing some major downsizing at the dod. president obama showed up for thursday's announcement at the pentagon. $400 billion will be cut from the defense budget over the next decade and it appears that will include a reduction in troops. the president and defense secretary leon panetta says the military won't be weaker and it will have the best technology at its disposal. >> you could face a land war in korea and at the same time, face threats in the straits of hormuz. we have the capability with this joint force to deal with those kinds of threats. >> a budget plan will also include changes to deal with the growing cost of military healthcare and retirement benefits. so the impact of the changes could affect hundreds of thousands more veterans who already served our country. >> 5:35. time for another "your money" report this morning. >> jessica doyle is back and getting you deals for lunch and dinner. >> that's right. >> i've got my pen. >> write it down.

there are a ton out there. we max out the credit cards in december. we brown bag it so much this month. fast food restaurants are giving us an added incentive to order off the menu. deep deals. our partners at "usa today" report that taco bell just brought back for a limited time, a 99 cent beefy crunch burrito. wendy's is pushing its 99 cent value meal this month. kfy on saturday will be kicking off it $11 weekend bucket, ten piece of chicken that usually goes for $14.99. pizza hut has a $10 any pizza deal. papa john's has any large pie for $11. burger king just mailed out coupon books this week with $40 in food and drink coupons and that's just to name a few deals that are out there. this is going to help your food budget, too. wegman's announced a prize freeze on 50 products families use the most. they are wegman brand items including bread, soup, oranges and cough and cold medications.

the price freeze is good from january 8th through april 28th. it used to be you wanted your kids to make a lot of money. you would encourage them to become doctors. that's not necessarily a given anymore. cnn reports some doctors are actually going broke nowadays, particularly if they're in private practice which about half of them in america are. problems include shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations as well as rising business and drug costs. doctor's offices are literally going out of business. some have seen medicare reimbursements cut by 40%. another cut of 27% is on the horizon. if congress doesn't act to stop it. that doesn't even include the insurance rates which have been surging, forcing a lot of doctors of a certain profession to say it isn't worth it anymore. >> the people who need the care the most are the ones who are affected first. >> seniors. >> seniors get hit a lot. >> absolutely. >> thanks, jess. an expert tells us what he's discovered about why more

smokers are lying to their insurance companies. that's coming up. >> plus, one maryland city is starting a crackdown against skateboarders to try to avoid more damage to their historic downtown. we'll be right back.

5:40 here on this friday morning. pretty comfortable with temperatures in the 30s. few spots in the upper 20s. nice day ahead. check out your day planner. few clouds now. we'll see some sunshine developing. temperatures by noon around 50. mid-50s if not upper 50s this afternoon. i'll have the full weekend forecast in the next five. monika samtani is looking at timesaver traffic. >> we're looking live at 95 at the fairfax county parkway. delays actually begin down in lorton past this point to springfield before the pace improves. but all lanes are open. more on virginia roadways coming up at 5:48. andrea? >> thanks, monika. students at thompson elementary in northwest washington

received an up close and personal history lesson. the fifth graders were vised by teachers from elementary schools in japan's me oggy area, one of the areas hard hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami. they learned more about japan including the art of origami. it was part of the embassy adoption program here in the district. city leaders in frederick are out to crack down on skateboarding in a town's historic district after some damage has been done to some of the areas there. police say right now, judges are not enforcing the city laws when it comes to skateboarders and reckless cyclists under the age of 18. so, there is a push to fine violators to make parents more accountable as well. one area that's been damaged, carroll creek lanier park. it calls for fines between $40 and $100. coming up, more people are hiding their smoking habit from employers and lying about it to their insurance company. >> look at these guys. they may look cute like little newborns but these monkeys are

the result of some groundbreaking genetics research. we'll be right back. it is coming up on 4:42. we want to see who's celebrating a birthday today. former college turned commentator lou holtz is 75. one day at a time actress bonnie franklin is 68. rowan atkinson is 57. lpga legend nancy lopez is 55. >> nfl hall of famer and football commentator howie long is 52. john singleton is 44. producer and cohost of the talk, julie chen is 42. do you know who would be 600 years old today? we're not going to tell you right now. we'll have the answer in about 15 minutes. stay with us.

welcome back to 9news now. 5:45 on the 6th of january. the question for howard is what officially begins tonight? >> i'm drawing a blank. >> in our favorite city.

>> wait, wait, wait. >> january 6th. it has to be the beginning of carnival season. you said favorite city. >> carnival time. >> it starts tonight. >> you got it! >> that's what -- let the good times roll. if you've ever been to new orleans, you know what i'm talking about. >> i'm talking about the battle, people fighting each other in the streets. >> the oyster house. >> ok, weather. >> all right. little warmer down there than here. we'll be rather mild today. today would be like a cool winter day in new orleans. temperatures will be climbing into the 50s around here. let's get you started with a look at the bus stop forecast. and boy, andrea told me before break, she was going to quiz me and i was nervous. you gave me a great hint. great hint. partly to mostly sunny. few clouds early. 20s and 30s out there this morning to start. with a sunrise at 7:27 setting at 5:01. our day planner, doesn't feel like january with temperatures by noon around 50.

average highs, 43 degrees. as we head through the afternoon, mid if not upper 50s in south and west of town. i would not be surprised to see a few 60 degree readings on the car thermometer. 47 at 8:00. winds still southwest at about 9. tonight, we'll dip into the 30s tonight for lows. another mild day. so, our weather headlines, a good-looking weekend. with 50s today and saturday. by sunday, a little bit cooler. only in the upper 40s to near 50. as far as any precip, slight chance of a shower on monday. but it really looks like our next big rain will be coming wednesday of next week. potentially by next weekend, still more than a week away or so, we could have some cold air returning but between now and then, another mild stretch. you see the northwesterly flow as it hits the mountains, gets lifted just a bit. clouds coming downstream in the mountains. it is on top of us now. i don't think that will last but for a few hours. 40 in southern maryland. it is 36 at tappahannock. spoke to jan in readville.

charlie in catlett, temperatures were in the 40s. wind chills upper 20s to 30s. we don't have a wind to talk about. when it is cold outside, nobody is complaining about that. check out our michael and sons weather camera. nice, clear shot of the capitol. visibilities are good. wind chill of 32 even though it -- it feels like 32 with a temp at 36. bigger picture, things moving west to east here. the jet stream is going zonal. that's allowing the mild temperatures to return for a few days. it is also going to push a cold front here as we get into tomorrow afternoon. so, between now and then, all we're watching are a few clouds here and there. mild conditions with us this afternoon. back in the 30s tonight. if you're going west into the ohio, tennessee valley. could see a few showers there over the weekend. this front will cool it down a bit for sunday. today, 57. it will be in the 30s tonight, tomorrow. winds turn more to the

northwest. 56 tomorrow. cooler weather for sunday. still above average. upper 40s to near 50. monday, slim chance of a shower. 45. by wednesday, a better chance of a soaking rain. high temperatures near 50 and still in the 50s thursday before i think it will get colder next weekend. monika? >> i think these are great days to have lunch outdoors. alfresco, howard. i'll buy. if you're planning to head outside right now, it is cooler than it will be later. the roads are looking great. here's what it looks like if you're planning to head inside the beltway. 62 miles per hour inside the beltway at duke street. even 295, 60 miles per hour inside the beltway here at south capitol street and 295. let's go out live first of all to 395 at duke street. seminary road heading up to this point where the new marc center is. everybody has gotten used to the ride here. it has been faring well up toward seminary road. springfield on the northbound side of i-95. you have got some slow traffic

from lorton into springfield right here near route 644 and then the pace improves up to the beltway. back over to the maps, this time on the west side of town looking good on 66 and the dulles toll road. let's go live to 66 at nutley street. again, maybe a few brake lights as you approach the beltway. that's about it to report on the west side of town. we'll go to maryland next time around at 6:00. mike? >> thanks, monika. making news now at 5:50 this morning, this weekend, arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords will return to tucson to mark the one with-year anniversary of the january 8th massacre there. she's still recovering from wounds she received. giffords will attend a vigil to remember the six people who were killed in the shooting. the accused gunman jared loughner is still behind bars. >> the highest suspension bridge in the world connects to states in mexico through the sierra madre mountains. it is 3700 feet long and just over 1300 feet high. it took almost four years to build. the first cars will be allowed across the bridge later this

month. two baby rhesus monkeys at the center of a experiment. they're the first chimeric monkeys to be born. they combined cells from different embryos to make a new pieced together embryo. the manufactured embryos were implanted into a female monkey to see if they would develop. as you can see the pictures of them, how cute are they. it worked. jess, over to you. >> they're so cute. american attitudes toward smoking have changed so much in the last few decades, some smokers say they now feel forced to lie about their habit. according to "usa today," a slim majority of states have lost protecting smoker's rights including virginia and the district but maryland does not. dave dobbins is the coo of legacy, an independent public health foundation. thanks so much for coming in this morning. interesting survey you conducted. one in ten smokers say they feel the need to lie to their healthcare provider. what is that about, dave?

>> well, smoking has really changed in the united states. as you have laws prohibiting smoking indoors and in public places and price increases and the continued awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke, smokers felt more marginalized. allotted smokers in this survey are reporting they feel stigmatized. there is a percentage of people that simply just don't want to engage in that conversation with their healthcare provider. >> they don't want to hear it because they know what the risks are. they can't seem to get past that to quit. >> that's right. >> well, we are quitting as a nation. we're trying very hard to kick the habit when it comes to smoking. how are we doing in the washington region? how are we doing across the country? >> washington is doing pretty well compared to the nation. the nation as a whole is about 19.8% of adults smoke. d.c. is at about 15%. there is still a lot of work to be done. >> in terms of the cost this adds to our daily budgets in

terms of our healthcare, what can smokers expect in terms of their insurance and healthcare over their lifetime? >> it increases costs across the board. smoking is still one of the things that inshires can actually charge more for. of course, there is just the cost of buying cigarettes that can be $2,000 a year. imagine the money you can save if you quit. >> we all have the stories of people in our lives who were smokers and how incredibly addictive it is. my grandmother died of lung cancer. she was smoke in her oxygen tent because she could not quit. why is it that it is so hard to kick this habit? what resources are out there for smokers? >> it is hard to quit. people need help. one of the things we found in our survey, 75% of smokers don't even talk to their doctors about approaches to quit. huge missed opportunity. that's six million americans could really be getting some assistance. there are drugs that help. talk to your doctor about it.

you'll have a better shot. >> thanks so much for coming in this morning. we appreciate it. >> mike and andrea? >> thank you, jess. before we go to break, let's take another look at the question of the day. three out of ten married people admit to doing this and most of the offenders are women. is it a, eating food from their partner's plate, b, stealing the covers or c, using their partner's toothbrush. no one says anything about how gross it is when french kissing their significant other. just as much germs are spread. >> thank you for the visual. >> log on to our facebook.com/wusa9 page and leave your response. we'll have the answer in about an hour. up next, it is the answer to our bonus question of the morning. do you know who was born 600 years ago today? >> plus, humpback whales reappear in a place where they haven't been seen in at least 15 years. we'll be back. you're watching 9news now.

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know what it's like to be left on the edge in the cold. the shelter gave us a place to stay. and citizens energy helped the shelter with heat. i'm excited to finally have a place of my own. citizens energy is helping us with the oil. citizens energy was created to help the forgotten ones keep warm. we asked the big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. only citgo and the people of venezuela said yes. and this year, in spite of soaring fuel prices, congress cut home heating assistance nearly in half. while people need help more than ever. for the last seven years, citgo has helped families and homeless shelters in good times and in bad. thanks joe and thanks citgo. so if you need help staying warm this winter give me a call because no one should be left out in the cold.

we're looking pretty good today. in fact, let's go back and show you what's happening with our planner here. our future cast. i don't have it.

we'll look at this instead then. 39 at 9:00. by noon, 50. at 5:00, 54. is uprise, 7:27. sunset at 5:01. this is what happens when you don't load the slide show correctly. mike, over to you. >> thanks, howard. sorry. andrea and i were actually talking about the story coming up right now. great sight in honolulu, hawaii. humpback whales have appeared in the city harbor for the first time in 15 years. and they're gorgeous. a man working on one of the piers took the photos while the two whales surfaced alongside his tugboat. the two stayed in the harbor for awhile apparently doing circles until they realized how they could get back into the open water. humpbacks migrate from alaska to the waters around hawaii during the winter time. >> we love to ask questions. this was our bonus question of the day. do you know who was born 600 years ago on this day? she was a military leader who instantly became a legend centuries after her death, was

made a saint. january 6th, 1412 is generally accepted by historians as joan of, a's birthday. born a peasant in eastern france, joan claimed divine guidance was guiding her to take back her country during the 100 years war. she saw the coronation of the french heir to the thrown. she was later captured and burned. she was only 19. years later, joan's name was cleared and she was declared a martyr. she's now even in french politics, socialists are using her image as part of their campaign rhetoric. >> wow. she still has an influence. >> a lot of power. we have power because you're watching us. >> the power to tell you it is friday. >> that is powerful! >> it is. >> here's monika samtani. >>