thank you for joining us. i'm j.c. hayward. mitt romney is the ots on favorite to win today's new hampshire primary. but will it be a landslide? and how will the rest of the g.o.p. presidential group do?

manuel gallegus has the latest from manchester, new hampshire. voters arrived early and keep filing into this manchester elementary school. >> glad it is finally here. seemed like it took a lot longer than i expected. >> how do you feel about your vote? >> pretty good. pretty good. it is still early though, you know. always room for change. >> reporter: front-runner mitt romney was out early shaking hands to lock in a win. >> we worked very hard. we started thought campaign, organized the effectiveness. >> reporter: newt gingrich plans to drop by polling sites all day. while he doesn't expect to win, he says the surprise will be that romney won't do as well as predicted. even though mitt romney has a commanding lead, the state has a large block of independent voters who will likely decide whether this is a landslide, a tight race or an upset. ron paul and jon huntsman hope many independents will go their way. >> ladies and gentlemen, can you feel a little bit of momentum in the air?

>> all of the candidates are feeling a surge of momentum after romney made a comment about firing people. his opponents took it out of context and went on the attack. the first nine votes were cast just after midnight in the small town of dixville notch. romney and huntsman tied for first with two votes each. manuel gallegus, cbs news, manchester, new hampshire. after his surprise showing in iowa, rick santorum is hoping for a similar showing in new hampshire. very soon, the candidates will turn their attention to south carolina. the road to the republican nomination runs through south carolina's congregations of evangelical christians. right now, polls show mitt romney is leading the other g.o.p. presidential hopefuls in the primary race. last time, he had trouble getting the support of the evangelical voters in south carolina.

many believe that romney's religious fate could be a sore spot for some voters. >> obviously i think it is an issue. probably similar to catholicism for john kennedy 50 years ago. >> voters in south carolina head to the polls on january 21st. to select who they want to face, president obama in november. >> well, president obama is using the republican presidential field to help raise money for his party. the president spoke at a fund- raiser here in washington last night. he linked the candidates to the g.o.p. on capitol hill. thrst time he linked the two. analysts see it as a sign of the white house re-election strategy. >> we have a commuter alert for you right now. metro riders should get ready to pay more for your commute because on thursday, metro is

proposing a 5% hike to fares on both metrorail and metrobus. delia gonsalves tells us why metro says the hike is necessary. >> reporter: riders who pay for paper fare cards are likely to get hit the hardest with a new flat rate of $4, $6 during rush hour. >> i think there is going to be a big hit on tourists and the infrequent users of the metro. >> this is still prime location for tourists to come and visit. >> however, there is a bit of good news. the extra peak of the peak rate implemented in 2010 goes away. and smart trip riders will likely only see a slight increase of less than 5%. >> i wouldn't necessarily -- if extra calls can be seen and service improvements. >> some sort of time line for the track maintenance, some sort of time line for maybe improved training of metro personnel. >> metro did not have adequate investment for many, many years.

and it all -- it is very evident today with escalators and maintenance issues both from an infrastructure perspective, from a car perspective, on rail. and we're playing catch-up. >> metro says the system has a $116 million shortfall and a laundry list of improvements. so, somebody's gotta pay. our local jurisdictions will contribute but the rest of the cash may be coming out of your wallet. >> better is not free. >> the rate hikes aren't a done deal just yet. there is a long process involving a couple of public hearings before the board finally votes on this proposal. if the board does say yes and approve the rate hike, they do so by may 1st, we could see a change here at the metro july 1st. at gallery place, delia gonsalves, 9news now. >> under the plan, bus fares will increase by 10 cents. parking increased by 25 cents. the proposal will be presented to the metro board on thursday. well, there is some good

news from metro because work is 60% completed on the silver line. phase one will go from east falls church through tysons corner to reston. the track is being laid in some sections and the extension is slated to open by late next year. here is a deal that you might find hard to refuse. if you commute to fort belvoir, quantico or the mark center, there is a plan in the works to pay drivers to carpool. the northern virginia regional commission is organizing the program called real time ride sharing. it allows commuters to find rides using a smart phone app. about 1,000 riders and 500 drivers are being recruited for a six-month pilot program. the funds are coming from both the state and the federal government. d.c. police are looking for the gunman who shot and killed

a man over a pair of $200 sneakers. 19-year-old david lee robinson died in a gunfight along foote street in northeast early sunday. investigators believe the robbers and the victim and his friends were all armed because of the number of shell casings that were at the scene. robinson leaves behind a pregnant girlfriend. >> i just -- just help us, please, find out who did this to me. >> identical to the shoe he had on. >> these are the sneakers that police say robinson was killed over. they sell for $200. $25,000 reward has been offered to help find the killer. a former army officer from laurel, maryland, is accused of trying to help a terrorist group in somalia. federal documents say that 24- year-old charles baxtrim sold or donated all of his

possessions and then traveled to somalia to join an islamic militant group. authorities say that baxism became a muslim while serving in korea. the former intelligence officer could get 15 years in prison if convicted. there have been more than 50 home burglaries in bethesda and chevy chase in the last two months. but now, montgomery county police have made at least nine arrests and they're hoping to catch more suspects. in the meantime, they're asking everyone to follow some simple safety rules. lock your doors. cut your bushes. so that no one can hide in them. >> kind of a general rule of thumb, you want to keep bushes and shrubs and things like that away from windows and doors. >> police say if you're going out of town, have someone pick up your newspaper and any items that are delivered to your door. police say the best way to keep crooks away is to make sure it

looks like you're still home. still to come when 9news now continues, see how a hotel that is made totally out of ice is quickly becoming one of the hottest attractions in europe. and find out why the rat population at the two occupy d.c. encampments have city officials concerned.

d.c.'s public schools controversial merit-based system is finally paying off for some teachers. this year, nearly 500 teaches rated as being highly effective received a bonus between $2,000 and $30,000. more than 200 of those teachers also got a permanent pay increase. tiffany johnson, a 7th grade special education teacher at ron brown middle school is one. her salary jumped nearly 40%. >> i think that's a great thing for teachers to have to see somebody tell them that you know what? i see your hard work. i see what you're doing. we do value you and we do want you to stay because the student achievement is increasing. >> in order to get the permanent pay increase, you have to be rated highly effective two years in a row. critics argue it is unfair for teachers at schools in low

income neighborhoods but the district counters saying it is necessary to retain top teachers and to recruit new ones. there is growing concern over the rat problem at the two occupy d.c. encampments. city herlt authorities say unsanitary conditions at freedom plaza and mcpherson square are breeding grounds for disease and rats. and there is also concern that some protestors could develop hypothermia because of the weather. right now, there is no immediate plans to evict protestors. coming up next, howard and the forecast. >> j.c., what a difference a day makes! yesterday, snow. today, sunshine. comfortable temperatures. tomorrow, well, not going to be nearly as pretty. look at this radar of the southern u.s. and back to texas. all of the rain and storminess headed our way. we'll break it down for you with a full 7-day forecast when 9news now at noon returns.

a romanian ice hotel is attracting visitors who don't mind freezing during their stay. tina kraus reports the winter time attraction is the first of its kind in eastern europe. guests at this romanian hotel don't mind the chilly reception. they're paying for it.

the ice hotel is super, she says. super cold. room temperatures hover around 20 degrees and everything is made of ice. the walls, the furniture, even the bed. the people here are nice and so warm. maybe that's because they keep moving and drinking to celebrate the icy atmosphere. they even tote glasses made of ice. >> they have rebuilt the seasonal lodge every year since 2005. the igloo-shaped shelter sits in romanian's carpathian mountains, about 200 miles from bucharest. visitors catch cable cars instead of cabs to reach the resort since the road is closed during the winter. they pay $90 a night for the shivering stay and owners say they often have a full house until it all melts away in may. tina kraus, cbs news.

now, there is one thing that the hotel cannot offer guests. and that is a toilet made of ice. bathroom facilities are available nearby. >> would you want to sit on one? >> would you want to use one? >> it would be a little uncomfortable. >> last night, did we get a little bit of a surprise. >> we expected the rain showers to mix in with some snow showers but the snow showers took over. they took over in a big way with upwards of two inches in catlett, huntington and calvert county. about an inch, inch and a half. that was a little bit of a surprise. but it is all melting today. we have warmed up nicely and the sun is out. tomorrow's going to turn ugly in the form of a cool rain developing by lunchtime or so. here is a look at your day planner today. enjoy it. bright sunshine. temperatures in the next hour or so are going to get toward the 50 degree mark. low 50s this afternoon. winds west to northwest at about 10 miles per hour. we'll get a little lighter this

evening. we'll be clear and chilly overnight. high clouds moving in late. temperatures by tomorrow morning will be in the 30s. you'll notice the lower to middle 40s with a light northerly wind by 9:00 p.m. winds won't be much of a factor. the rain is returning tomorrow. i think it would be ok in the morning so if you have a commuting concern early, but by afternoon and the evening commute, they'll be wet. could be rather wet and slow. clearing thursday. but still mild. i think temperatures thursday up around the 50 degree mark. then much colder air moves in thursday night. so, friday, saturday and sunday, you'll need the heavy jackets as highs are staying in the 30s at best. look at the satellite and radar. had some fog this morning. dense fog. even an advisory was up for awhile. right now, central northern pa up through new york state dealing with the clouds. also well to our south down across tennessee. morning lows got down below freezing. with the wet grounds from yesterday, we had slick spots along with the fog. we've recovered nicely.

annapolis, 50 degrees. 50 in martinsburg. 48 for frederick. 45 in easton. cambridge is 46. pax river now at 48. locally, looking outside on our michael & son web camera, you can't find a cloud in the sky behind the u.s. capitol as our temperature sits at 48 degrees. little bit of a westerly wind at 10 miles per hour. it feels like 43 and the relative humidity right now at 56%. our next weather maker, you're looking at that time down in texas. this storm system dropped plenty of snow in west texas. this morning, a little bit of snow. mainly rain for north texas, southern oklahoma and heavy rained thoerpgs through parts of southeast louisiana toward the gulf coast into florida, mississippi, alabama, severe weather from the system. some of the storms have some damaging wind gusts but this whole mess of moisture is moving in our direction. so, while we've got a little area of high pressure today, it is not going to last long because the southern system will be moving in tomorrow. the rest of today, as we look at the future cast, all nice and quiet here through 6:00.

overnight, we stay generally clear. south and west by tomorrow morning. clouds roll in. if we're lucky, we'll get the sunrise. otherwise, too cloudy. by mid to late morning, here comes the rain. especially out toward culpepper, charlottesville or shenandoah valley. notice the pink there, there could be some sleet mixing in or wet snowflakes mixing into the higher elevations. by 3:00, everybody is wet. for the evening commute, looks really wet. moderate to maybe even heavy rain at times. this thing will start to pull out here by midnight. to areas east of town by midnight seeing the heaviest rains. jersey, the delmarva and around here by thursday morning, we're seeing some clearing but there is some colder air just lurking out to the west. that's going to pour in here overnight thursday night into friday morning. so, the forecast breaks down like this. 52 today. tonight, we're dropping into the low to mid-30s. tomorrow, rain develops. mid to late morning. a very wet afternoon and evening. 45. thursday, could be an early, early shower. otherwise, mild. still, 52.

then turning windy and much colder friday. 36 with some snow showers. saturday and sunday in the 30s. maybe flurries sunday. we'll try to warm it up a little bit on monday. hey, if you like chocolate bread pudding, don't go anywhere. we'll tell you how to make it in the kitchen when 9news now at noon returns.

one on one with one of my favorite, favorite people. chef eddie from one of my favorite restaurants, wildfire restaurant. i would like to invite you to

have dinner with me on tuesday, january 17th at wildfire. which is located in tysons galleria on the third floor, the chef is preparing a very special meal for us. we're just going to have lots of fun so please call the restaurant, make reservations. tuesday, january 17th. now, these are some of the things that will be on the men you on a that night. we're salivating. that is chocolate bread pudding. >> yes. >> i'm going to start to make the custard to make it on the chocolate bread pudding. so, i first cut bread which is great for bread pudding. the best for bread pudding. you could cut it up, leave it out for a day. just to get the bread a day old so it soaks up more custard. i'm going to take some eggs. >> actually, 15 eggs. >> i'm looking at your recipe.

>> it is very, very rich and very, very good. >> one quarter of whipping cream. >> one quart of whipping cream. >> and then -- >> you're putting milk in. >> whipping cream. >> that's whipping cream? >> yes, it is. >> it is whipping cream. >> i put vanilla in here and some cinnamon and two cups of sugar. dump that in there. >> okey-doke. >> it smells so good. you gave us the recipe, right? >> it is on jchayward.com. you can make this at home but why make it when you can go to wildfire. >> it is beautifully done. >> finally, i'm going to add the chocolate chips. >> two cups of chocolate chips. >> while you're stirring that, let me tell people about the menu for the 17th. we're having chilled lobster. green goddess dipping sauce with a passion/cocktail.

did you get that? a passion cocktail. first course will be herb roasted rock fish with lemon herb vinaigrette then our second course is grilled skirt steak with creammy parmesan and bearnaise sauce. then dessert, the chocolate bread pudding that the chef is making. >> so, when we mix it, make sure it is mixed real nice and make sure you get that chocolate in there. >> all of the chocolate chips. >> ok. you know wildfire is known for its chopped salad. best chopped salad in the city with its own dressing. wildfire's citrus line vinaigrette which is absolutely fab. look at this. >> we let it sit for ten minutes so the bread soaks up the custard. set your oven at 350. >> we have 30 seconds. >> i want to show them, as you

put that in that pan, the finished product. look at that. >> just like that. >> we pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes. >> that's all? >> that's it. >> not only do you have this -- you put ice cream on top. >> of course. >> look at the chocolate cream pie. >> that is my favorite. >> i love wildfire restaurant. thanks, chef. >> thank you. >> come back and visit us at 5:00. i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus:

sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.