reply. >> one sentiment we've heard repeated in several remarks is you know things get pretty tense out there and well, you have to show some level of sympathy. maybe you don't know exactly what they're going through. >> reporter: he confirmed that one of the unique rifles is issued to military rifles indicating authenticity. if the tape is real? >> it could be detrimental to the war effort. it's potential and becomes a very potential tool for the enemy. >> reporter: gary nuremberg, 9news now. >> investigators say if they can identify the marines, then some action will be taken against them. montgomery county police are searching for a man who has attacked two women in two days, yesterday morning in bethesda the suspect they say invaded a home and tied up three people and sexually assaulted one of them. on tuesday, police say the same man attacked a woman at gunpoint in her garage in wheaton. police want you to take a very

close look at this photograph. they say it was captured on an atm at a cvs in l'enfant plaza. they say he used another stolen card in oxon hill after the wheaton attack on tuesday. police are also searching now for a gray 2005 ford expedition with a maryland license plate. it reads 4 ae-7450. if you see this suv or recognize the picture of the man, please call crime stoppers or montgomery county police. there's a warning concerning a new strain of the swine flu. the biggest worry is that this year's vaccinations don't protect against it. 12 people in our states have been diagnosed with the h 3 n 2 virus. the cdc says most of them had direct contact with farm animals and they don't know how the strain can be spread from

person to person. between 2009 and 2010, more than 17,000 people died from the highly contagious h1n1 swine flu strain. an effort to recall the election of d. c. mayor gray and council chairman kwame brown took a big step forward yesterday. frederick butler filed a notice of an intent to recall both gray and brown saying they have both betrayed the trust. they say they've done nothing wrong. both have now ten days to submit a formal response after which butler has 180 days to get signatures from 10% of the registered voters in d. c. glen ivy won't be running for congress. the former prosecutor announced he was dropping out of the race because he was having trouble raising enough money for the campaign to compete properly. he was taking on donna edwards for the democratic nomination. edwards still faces two other democrats though in the primary but neither are as well-known adds ivy.

the republican presidential candidates are zeroing in on south carolina. ahead of next saturday's primary. front runner mitt romney campaigned in the state on wednesday with the help of the governor nicky hailey. >> in an effort to slow his momentum? ines ferre has more. >> reporter: mitt romney is trying to tap into voter frustration to win over south carolina. >> it's been a tough three years for people in the palmetto state. unemployment at 9.9% still. >> reporter: at a rally last night he repeatedly blamed president obama for the nation's economic troubles. >> because of the failure of one man and that's why he's got to go. >> there's one conservative in the race who has the potential to defeat mitt romney. >> reporter: for weeks newt gingrich has attacked his business background but on wednesday a gingrich supporter pleaded with him to change his strategy. >> i want to beg you to

redirect and go after the obvious and lay off the corporatist versus the free market -- >> i agree with you, obama just makes it impossible to rationally talk in that area. >> reporter: even other contenders are calling on gingrich to switch gears and focus on romney's record as massachusetts governor instead. >> i'm not going to engage in hypercharged political rhetoric, that's not who i am. >> reporter: rick santorum called for an end to the hostile rhetoric. >> it's bad enough for barack obama to blame folks and business for causing problems in this country. it's one other thing for republicans to join in on that. >> reporter: son tomorrow and the other -- santorum and the other gop candidates are going after the weak spot in south carolina pushing for the social conservative vote. ines ferre, cbs news, washington. >> the winner of the south carolina primary has become the

nominee in every election since 1980. metro is working to improve bus service at several collisions and near misses were captured on tape. at one instance a bus driver is about to slam into a car that is stopped at a crosswalk for a woman with a baby stroller. another driver actually slams into an suv stopped in a school zone. you can see it right there. in another incident a driver actually drives into another metrobus. >> this is ridiculous. >> slow down. >> it's like she's not paying attention. >> what i want to know is the reasons why they're actually hitting these people. if this is because they're overworked or something else going on. >> many of the videos show near collisions or collisions that are not the metrobus driver's fault. in one scene a woman runs out in front of a metrobus and another near miss -- >> oh! >> one bus turns in front of the metrobus. the driver slams on the brakes just in time.

wtop originally obtained these dash camera videos as part of the freedom of information act. a frederick county soldiers killed in afghanistan will be buried today at arlington national cemetery. ronald willdrick jr. was killed on december 11th. today is the second anniversary of the massive earthquake in hay hee. another 1 million left homeless. thousands of survives continue to live in makeshift tent cities. yesterday they marched in the streets of port-au-prince to remember the lives lost and to protest the slow recovery process. the obama administration emphatically denies having any role in wednesday's kills of an iranian nuclear scientist. a motorcycle rider attached a magnetic bomb to a car that was

carrying a scientist. by the time the blast tore apart the car the motorcycles were gone. and the attack killed the scientist and his driver. they are blaming the agents linked to israel and backed by the united states and britain. 4:37 now. coming up, 1,000 new jobs may be coming to the washington region soon. and at 4:42. the company which makes the country's most popular snacks food files for bankruptcy protection. we're back with your weather first, that's coming up in two minutes. stay here.

it is 4:39. we still have some rain around right now but i think in the next hour or so most of this is going to pull away from the region. this morning by 9:00. mostly cloudy 47. a mix of sun and clouds today as temperatures by 1:00 get into the mid 50s. we're going to make a run

towards 60 in many areas before the day is out. the south southwesterly winds at 10 to 15 but get ready. arctic air on the way. the complete seven day forecast in just a few minutes excuse me. right now monika over to you. wet road conditions and slippery conditions as well with an accident on the ramp from northbound 95 to the inner loop of the beltway. center of your screen there is a single vehicle accident with crews on the scene. otherwise things aren't looking too bad around town. its is 4:40 and time for the first your money segment of the morning. the fresh is keeling nor -- federal reserve is feeling more upbeat about the economy. the latest survey shows consumers spent more freely and factories made more goods and americans traveled more late last year. but the feds said housing remains weak. overall the message was encouraging and december might turn out to be the strongest month of 2011.

stocks though pretty mixed on wall street. the euro hit a 16 month low and now investors are worried that germany may be stalling. the dow stands this morning at 12,449. just off of its six month high. that's after dropping 13 points. nasdaq meantime was up by 8 and the s&p 500 closed pretty much flat on the day. the u.s. military is the top employer for young people. that's according to a study by millennial branding. it examines people ages 18 to 29. among other top employers we have wal-mart, starbucks and target for the same age group. the study looked at millions of facebook profiles taken from an online job searching website. the help wanted signs could be going out at metro. the "washington post" reports that metro plans to hire more than 1,000 employees raising staff by 9% under a budget proposed by general manager richard saurel. the positions would be added

during the next fiscal year when bus and rail fares as well as parking rates are hiked. ford recalling more than 450,000 older model vehicles. the recall affects the 2004 and 2005 ford free star and mercury monterey minivans as well as the 2001 and 2002 ford escape compact suvs. the car company needs to repair a safety defect that can cause the vehicles to catch fire it says or to lose power. the company behind the twinkies you know and love is carrying a little too much debt around the middle. i know how it feels. and it seems more of us are changing what we're eating skipping the white wonder bread in favor of whole grains. hostess the company behind much loved brains has file -- brands has filed for bankruptcy but don't worry. the company will still keep churning out your favorite tweets but it is carrying some -- treats but it is carrying some significant debt and needs to get a handle on the cash

squeeze. still have the twinkies mike. >> if you had them in the pantry they'd last for 100 years anyway. so you can buy them. okay, how would you feel if you looked out the window and all of a sudden saw a chicken cooped in your neighbor's backyard? >> a movement is growing in arlington to make that a reality. we're going to have that story and more and your weather first in two 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.

weather first time now and we've got a little bit of heat and a little bit of chill in the forecast. >> i say a lot of chill in the forecast, but skiers going to be very happy this weekend. it's going to be a rough area. not just here but a lot of areas in the country are suffering from snow drought. >> that's warm this morning. 47. >> five degrees above the average high. >> i'm a big fan. >> today -- >> as soon as it gets cold? jess is a going on vacation. >> she will not be a big fan tomorrow. your bus stop forecast this morning calling for mostly cloudy skies. the rain we have now will pretty much be out of here in most areas i think by the 6:00 a.m. hour. so i think it will be dry and maybe still damp obviously on the ground but mostly cloudy and not that cold. some areas west are still in the upper 30s near winchester but south and east, we have temperatures above 50 already. sunrise at about 7:26. sets at 5:06, 5:07 this afternoon. we are looking at a mix of

clouds and sunshine today. with 53 by noon and winds southwest to southerly at 10, maybe 15 miles per hour. a bit breezy out there. 5:00 p.m. temperature 57 and we're going to have a high today 59. 60ish, which is way, way above average, good 15 or so above where we should be. look at the rains that pushed through overnight and there was some lightning and thunder with this as well but the bulk of it now is in pennsylvania and new york state and new england. where it turns to snow in northern new england. around here on live doppler 9000 hd, well, i'll have to put it back on the show for next time we talk. but we are looking at the last of the rains coming through areas in northern loudoun county, montgomery county, back toward areas in prince george's county. most of calvert is clearing out now and with temperatures in the mid 40s in fredericksburg and culpeper still 39 but look to the east 55 for easton and the pax river naval air station. there's been a touch of fog in

places like annapolis. locally the low 40s in loudoun county at 41 and sterling at 43. still cold, colder if you will in fairfax at 43 but andrews up to 48 and baden in southeastern prince george's county, 55 this morning. in town as we look outside on the michael and son weather camera, pretty good visibilities just light rain left overnow outside the capital. 46 degrees and dew point 45 and the wind very light at 3 miles an hour but once the southerly winds kick in temperatures will be going up. cold air though. it's coming you can see all the snow stretched down from parts of northern arkansas through wisconsin right now. so chicago is going to see some snow out of this system. and northern new england. around here big storm that we're dealing with, again the last of the rains from overnight just about through the region. but, it's going to change. today we're seeing some sunshine at times, a mild day. and then a strong cold front will be marching here tonight. with some rain showers by midnight maybe early and that could end as a brief period of

snow showers before pulling away. and then tomorrow, much colder. we'll drop into the 30s and stay there after being near 60 today. then on saturday, boy, it's going to be a cold day. likely to see mountain snow showers and around here on sunday that's when we have a threat for a few flurries, the highs only about 32. better for the mlk holiday. 42 and some rain possible. by tuesday with highs in the mid 40s. monika is stepping in here with your timesaver traffic. good morning, good morning everyone. with the wet road conditions, you want to give yourself some extra time to deal with that. other than that, just one accident i need to tell you about. it's right here in springfield. we'll go to a live piketure on the ramp from -- picture on the ramp to the inner loop of the beltway. one single truck involved and crews on the scene. two right lanes are blocked and know that volume is very light right now. back to the maps this time to the west side of town. no problems to report on the dulles toll road from leesburg

the tyson area is fine. 66 from centreville. live look at the american leon bridge. looking good from here down to tyson's and annandale. coming up in my next report, an update on the accident in springfield. the backyard chicken battle has come to arlington county where some residents are crying foul. oh, yeah. i said it. over what they describe as excessively tough love governing chicken farming. >> last night matt jablow attends a meeting at the american university. >> you start with a good egg and you can't go wrong. >> reporter: tom carter loves eating eggs all kinds of eggs. >> i recently learned how to make a frittata. >> reporter: so much so he's now hoping to raise chickens in his backyard so fresh eggs will always be available to him and his family. carter is one of the leaders of the arlington egg project a group of residents now hatching a plan to make it easier for people to raise their own

chickens in arlington. tonight carter was making his case for backyard chickens during the monthly meeting of the arlington committee of 100, an influential community organization. >> it's a combination of health concerns, nutrition concerns, environmental concerns. >> reporter: the way the law is written now there, a person needs about a half acre backyard in order to raise their own chickens and most people don't have half an acre backyards in arlington county. some people are not convinced that arlington residents should be allowed the raise chickens no matter how big their backyards. >> my concerns is rodent infestations essentially. >> reporter: darrell hobbs sid that one of the -- said that one of the residents had an illegal chicken coop. >> the chickens do make noise and there's a smell. >> reporter: the arlington egg project is still very much in its infancy. its chick phase if you will. tom carter says even if everything goes according to plan, it will be at least

another year before he's making his favorite egg dishes. >> i like scrambled sure,. >> reporter: with his very own eggs. matt jablow, 9news now. >> now the leaders of the arlington egg project claim to have more than 1,000 members already. we're told arlington county board has not yet taken a position on changing the requirements for chicken farming. a new study sheds light on the link with breast cancer and preservatives. samples taken from england thoughed that all of the women had at least one chemical of course. there's the video -- commonly used as a preservative. the chemicals are used in cosmetics, food products and pharmaceuticals. researchers say they were also found in the tissue of women who did not use underarm deodorant. scientists are looking into whether the preservatives in deodorant are leadershipped to -- linked to breast cancer. a genetic mutation. it's a rare mutation that runs if families and it causes men the get cancer earlier in life.

the research shows men who inherit the mutation are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop the disease. scientists looking at in vitro fertilization say that they should limit to embryo owes to one or two. the rate of live birth is greater when the mother is implanted as opposed to three or more in there. three or more were associated with a high risk of severe preterm birth. a national campaign now urging "sesame street" to return to breast-feeding or at least showing it. there are more than 5500 signatures on lonnie mitchell's online petition site. in the 1970s and '80s it was common to explain breast- feeding on "sesame street." the mommy blogger wants to advocate the health benefits of nursing and take away the taboo. we asked the people in our area to chime in, see what they thought.

>> i think it's a terrific idea. it's perfectly natural and it's the best thing for your baby, why not encourage the entire family to support it? >> a little bit over the top to have "sesame street" showing breasts in any -- in any context. >> so we reached out to "sesame street" and they say they are focusing on math and science this year. they've depicted breast-feeding in the past when it was a natural part of the storyline. go to wusa9.com to read the full statement. before we head to break, it is time for the question of the morning -- all my toilet paper at costco. so that's where i'm going. log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response and we're going to reveal the answer during our 6:00 hour.

welcome back. 4:56 your weather first and we're looking at live doppler 9000 hd. the last of the rain is pushing through prince george's county, montgomery and howard counties, now clearing most of fairfax and loudoun county and it's all lifting northeast. so we'll see improving conditions today and a rather mild day. especially for january. high temperatures will be pushing 60 in many areas this afternoon. with south-southwest tends 10 to 15 -- winds 10 to 15. just a slight chance of a shower but turning much colder tonight. that's coming up on 9news now at 5:00. right now here's monika. a truck accident on the beltway in springfield inner loop right after the ramp from

95 north. car facing the wrong way. be aware of that and i'll give you more information on that accident coming up. mike back to you. thanks. paramount pictures is teaming up with one of the most popular live acts, the studio plans to distribute a new film called "cirque de soleil -- worlds away." james cameron is going to be the executive producer. it features artistic and acrobatic performances from some of cirque de soleil's best productions. pretty cool. last night hollywood's biggest stars sat side by side with some major moussic moguls -- music moguls. >> edward lawrence has a rerap cap. >> reporter: a star-studded red carpet for the 38th people's choice awards. it had 230 million votes cast online. the winner of favorite movie actress emma stone offered advice for fans. >> i promise you, that you will not regret it if you stay true to what you are.

>> reporter: adam sandler decided to thank his teachers. >> thank you so much to the nice short lady teacher with the weird glasses from kindergarten. >> reporter: the cbs show "two broke girls" won favorite new tv show comedy. garrett morris -- >> the other shows are here, of course we want to win all right? >> reporter: all the biggest names not just in movies and television but music had nominations. maroon 5 took home the award for favorite band. >> thank you mom and dad for making me, that was cool. and thank you guys, very much for also being cool. >> reporter: the biggest applause of the night came not from any award but for betty white as her show ""hot in cleveland"" won best comedy. morgan freeman won in the first ever movie icon category. >> i'm forever grateful for this honor. thank you so much. >> reporter: the stars thanked social media for the first time at the people's choice awards. >> will have the twitter fans.

keep it -- love the twitter fans. keep it up. >> the fans for our show in particular have hit me up in life and on twitter. >> reporter: the awards were all about the fans. edward lawrence for cbs news, los angeles. well, happy thursday morning. you're watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. >> and i'm mike hydeck, hi monika samtani. she does traffic. she'll be back in a minute. howard bernstein? we're just about done with the rain and that's good news. almost a warm day for january which makes jessica a happy camper and hey jess let me warn you now. you better bust out the warmest jacket you have. >> i have the warm woollies ready. >> starting tomorrow and through the weekend and arctic air is heading our way. the day planner for you this friday eve. 48-degrees the morning and still some light showers going on at the hour at reagan national and they last reported. 53 by noon if not even milder than that.