until april to release them and only if he's the nominee. but he wouldn't say how far back they would go. >> you know, i don't know how many years i'll release. i'll take a look at what our documents are. >> romney is fighting to hang on to his lead here in south carolina with voters going to the polls tomorrow, recent surveys show gingrich closing in. gingrich could get another boost now that he has the backing of rick perry, the latest g.o.p. dropout. rick santorum tried to crush the momentum, accusing the former speaker of acting erratically. >> at times, you have to sort of that worrisome moment that something's going to pop and we can't afford that. >> the jabs are expected to continue today. >> you're overly sensitive. >> the last full day of campaigning ahead of tomorrow's make-or-break primary. susan mcginnis, cbs news, charleston, south carolina. president obama was in new

york city yesterday attending four campaign fund-raising events. >> the president raked in more than $3 million in one night of fund-raising. his effort took in a big haul at the home of filmmaker spike lee. 45 guests paid $35,000 apiece. the biggest crowd was at the apollo in harlem. 5500 people paid as much as $200 to see the president talk at the historic theatre. >> keep on believing. we'll finish what we started in 2008. change will come. >> much of the money raised last night is expected to be used in the television and radio ad wars. this week, the obama/biden campaign launched its first television ad to counter the republican charges the president has failed. six nato service members were killed when their helicopter went down in southern afghanistan. the cause of the crash is being investigated. nato says there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. if one virginia politician

has his way, pot and booze could be sold in the same place legally. >> right now, all liquor stores in virginia are owned and operated by the commonwealth. state delegate david englin is wondering how much money would be made by selling pot at the same spots. ken molestina has the story. >> if we did legalize marijuana and sell it through the abc stores, how much revenue would we get. >> i spoke to virginia house delegate via skype. the lawmaker who represents a good portion of northern virginia says the commonwealth needs extra dollars. regulating the sale of legal marijuana may be a way to get the money. >> a surprising number of constituents have asked me, hey, instead of raising this tax or that tax, if we need more revenue, why don't we legalize marijuana. >> reporter: if it passes, england's current plan would allow a committee made of virginia's house and senate to examine the possible profitable of legalizing marijuana sales. currently, there is plenty of debate over what has become a

hot button issue. however, he claims there is no data or hard numbers to back any argument either in favor of or against legalizing pot. those we spoke with who like the idea wouldn't speak about it on camera. others who oppose it were quick to attack the delegate and his plan. >> i think david englin is so intent on raising your taxes, he's willing to go into the marijuana distribution to do it. >> very poor idea. how many people do you see running around saying the best thing that ever happened to me is when i started smoking marijuana. >> the stores bring in about $140 million to virginia's general fund. england wants to see if that kind of cash will come from regulated pot sales. >> we've had marijuana prohibition for many, many, many years. and what we've done is we're lining the pockets of criminal rings and criminal conspiracies. >> reporter: i'm ken molestina, 9news now. >> delegate england says he's never smoked marijuana but he would consider doing it if it

were legal. if his current legislation to study the possible revenue, the results will be presented before the general assembly session in 2013. >> interesting. two metro employees are charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the transit system. in fact, more than $100,000. horace was assigned to collect cash from fare machines. john haley allegedly would arrange his schedule could that he could be keeping an eye on mcdade. the two men conspired for years to siphon off perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. the police officer alone deposited $150,000 in unexplained cash in his bank account over the past three years. metro has relieved the revenue center supervisor of his duties and has launched a top to bottom audit. metro says it is doing everything it can to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> one of the world's largest file sharing web sites has been

shutdown. megaupload.com are accused of violating anti piracy laws. after it was shut down, hackers tried to retaliate by going after the department of justice web sites. at 4:35, here is a look at other things making news. thailand has recognized as an independent state. palestine pushes for full membership at the united nations. the bid is opposed by the obama administration. the white house says a political settlement with israel must be reached first. thailand has friendly ties with israel and is a major tourist destination for israeli travelers. >> canadian freestyle skier sara burke died at a salt lake after sustaining injuries in a crash last week. she was training on a super pipe at park mountain when she crashed. burke had surgery to repair a torn artery which caused bleeding in her brain. the 29 year sold a four-time champion at the winter x games. elite british security

teams are training on london's river thames, all part of a rehearsal to stop terrorist attacks at the olympics. scotland yard and the royal marines are working together aren't string of drills. the exercises aren't in response to any specific threat but are aimed at bolstering security along the water way which snakes through the heart of the capital city. the 2012 games take place from july 27th to august 12th. time now, 4:36. virginia lawmakers consider a bag tax in the commonwealth and a big one. >> at 4:48, one woman says the staff at a local hospital prevented her from visiting her partner simply because they are a same-sex couple. >> keep it here. we're back with your weather first in two minutes.

good morning. time now, 4:38 on your friday

morning. here's a look at your day planner. we're going to see increasing clouds once again this afternoon. we'll start out partly cloudy. temperatures only in the lower 30s by 9:00. at noon, mid-30s and highs topping out mid to upper 30s. and we do have a winter storm watch in effect. this is for later tonight through tomorrow morning for points north and west of town. including frederick county, shenandoah and we're expecting a wintry mix of some ice, freezing rain, sleet, basically late tonight into your early saturday morning. here's a look at your timesaver traffic with monika. >> thanks, anny. good morning, everyone. on the inner loop, the northbound side of 495 between the dulles toll road and the gw parkway, construction along the three left lanes should be cleared up shortly. here is the legion bridge, serving fine. more on maryland roadways coming up at 4:47. mike? >> thanks, monika. time for the first "your money" report. jessica is off. we have the headlines for you. unemployment lines are getting a bit smaller. the labor department says the

number of people applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in more than three years. applications fell by 50,000 to 352,000. a sign that some layoffs may be easing now. stocks made it three days in a row to the upside. dow picture up 45 points. nasdaq was up 18. s&p 500 was about six and a half to the positive side. shares of bank of america and morgan stanley rose after results were better than analysts had expected. b of a returned a profit while morgan stanley's loss was less than was forecast. photography icon eastman kodak tpaoáeuld files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and it is looking to raise cash and continue to conduct normal business operations. that's the goal. kodak was forced to file for bankruptcy after it was unable to find a buyer for 1100 of its digital imaging patents. the former blue chip company has secured a billion dollars in financing to keep it afloat as it moves through chapter 11. a move is underway to bring

a bag tax to virginia. two state lawmakers want people in the commonwealth to pay 20 cents for every plastic bag they use. one of the sponsors of mt. vernon says the fee is not meant to raise money but to cut down on pollution. three similar bills died in the house last year. now, d.c. and montgomery county both have bag taxes. theirs are just 5 cents per bag. vegetables, fresh fruit and low calorie meals are part of school lunches in one los angeles area school system. >> we'll have more on that story plus your weather first in two minutes.

it is 4:43 on this friday morning. we would always say can't give us any bad news on a friday but you have some interesting news for us in weather. >> yeah, the good news is the skiers and snowboarders are getting some new powder so that's good for them over the weekend. drivers, especially for early tomorrow morning, we're look at some freezing rain and sleet to impact the area. so, i think if you've got young

drivers, make sure they're home earlier tonight because the mix of wintry weather is going to start as early as this evening. and then continue through the overnight hours. let's start with our michael & son weather camera, partly cloudy conditions out there. it is a cold start once again. temperatures in the 30s. 36 degrees in downtown. under partly to mostly cloudy skies. and winds are out of the north- northwest at 5 miles per hour. now, here is a look at the winter weather watches and warnings. you see the area in yellow including frederick county, shenandoah, grant. that's starting tonight through saturday morning. and then that's a winter storm watch. we do have a warning out toward oakland so we'll see more snow there in the areas in purple are just advisories with a potential for some winter weather. it is the ice that i'm primarily concerned about. especially overnight. and for saturday morning. so, if you've got plans in the morning, you may want to delay those and just sleep in. now, this morning, for the bus stop, partly cloudy and cold as

kids are heading out there. temperatures in the 20s and 30s. our sunrise this morning at 7:23. here is a look at the day planner for the rest of today. we'll see some breaks of sun to start out with. partly cloudy this morning. then increasing clouds once again this afternoon. temperatures topping out in the upper 30s. winds will be out of the north around 5 to 10 miles per hour. today, morning and afternoon clouds. it will be cold. the morning and evening commutes are fine. then that wintry mix arrives by 11:00. it will be earlier if you're north and west of town. worry about some slick roads then that mix changes to some light rain by saturday afternoon. our satellite and radar picture showing us the snow showers went through north of us overnight and yesterday, bringing more snow to parts of pennsylvania and upstate new york but we pretty much just saw cloudy conditions. it feels like 32 in downtown. 28 in gaithersburg. 17 in hagerstown. out in easton, it feels like the lower 30s. our beltway temperatures, most of us in the 20s and 30s.

35 in arlington. reston down to 28. sterling, 34. rockville around 34 degrees. bundle up this morning. all right, here is how our future cast is timing everything out. no worry about precip. the cloudy conditions. then tonight, we see the changes. maybe some light snow showers up to the north around frederick, mason dixon line then the pink, this is a wintry mix. sleet, some freezing rain. then overnight, a lot of us will be seeing the mix of wintry mix of sleet and some freezing rain, also a little bit of snow. that will continue through the overnight and morning hours. but then once we get through that in the afternoon, it may start to clear out a little bit. then a change to some light rain. here is your forecast. for today, 33. cumberland getting snow. mid-30s in manassas, 36 degrees. around downtown, 37. annapolis, near 40s. easton and cambridge in the lower 40s. here is how your next seven

days are look. the wintry mix overnight. tomorrow then changing to rain, the afternoon high, 40. sunday also cold once again. upper 30s close to 40 with some showers possible. monday is a mild day in the mid- 50s with some showers. tuesday, wednesday looks drier, mild in the lower 50s. here's monika with your timesaver traffic. >> you made a great point about young drivers coming home early especially if they're going out tonight with the weather coming in. please keep that in mind with their travel plan. overall, travel plans for friday morning looking great. roads are dry. things are looking great. no problems to report. on the beltway north of town, live look right in this area of college park. no problems to report route one heading around to 95 and into silver spring. everything is moving at the speed limit. all lanes are open and construction has been cleared up. looking good from baltimore. back over to the maps this time to southern maryland, if you're coming out of waldorf, brandywine, you're looking fine on route 5 and route 301. andrews air force base, no issues to report.

we'll take a live look there. heading south, basically from route 50 all the way down to route 4 to oxon hill. we'll take a live look at route 50 near the bay bridge to the beltway. all lanes are open. in my next report, we'll take a look at virginia roads at 4:55. mike and andrea? >> imagine watching a loved one get into a car crash before your eyes and not being able to see them once they're in the hospital. >> that's what one maryland woman says happened to her. not only does she say that was immoral but she also claims it was illegal. lesli foster has her story. last november, kat had a seizure while driving along maple avenue in takoma park. her partner, linda cole was driving right behind her and watched as kat slammed into a telephone pole. >> after a seizure, a person is very disoriented, very scared. it is very terrifying situation for me. >> emts took kath to washington adventist hospital. but when linda tried to see

her, the front desk clerk said no. >> you would think this wouldn't be a problem. somebody who has sheer terror and love and concern on their face, you would think that just even just the human part of the woman at the front desk would come out and say of course you two can be together. >> they were kept apart until kat's sister arrived. a decision that would seem to violate federal hospital visitation policies. a year ago, president obama ordered hospitals receiving federal funds to allow patients to designate their own visitors during a hospital stay. that includes same-sex couples. but the hospital president for washington adventist tells 9news, they did nothing wrong. >> the team is assessing and treating the patient and they need the space and the time to do that before anyone accompanying the patient is allowed back in the emergency department. that we did not communicate that well. i'm very sorry for her. >> today, the human rights campaign, the nation's largest

lgb civil rights organization called upon the hospital to review its policies to avoid this kind of miscommunication and says they can help. >> their discrimination and outright denial of service, sometimes hostility. we developed this process by which we found the best ways to educate staff. >> the organization is asking the hospital to participate in their healthcare equality index survey. that's something that will happen soon. >> i'm just asking to be with my partner. that's it. in a time of need. >> lesli foster, 9news now. >> the hospital has agreed to take the survey. a few weeks after kat's crash, she had to return to the e.r. but rather than go back to washington adventist, three minutes from her home, she's chose to go 20 minutes away to george washington hospital for treatment. shortages of key drugs used to fight infections may be putting patients at risk. researches in chicago found

treatments for diseases like herpes and encephalitis, even tuberculosis, they're not readily available which has physicians turning to other drugs may not work as well. manufacturers aren't legally required to give a reason for the shortages. researchers say distributing process even finding raw materials for the drugs could be to blame. the second largest school district in the nation decided to take some risks for school lunch. >> the new menu this year includes a healthy, diverse selection of foods. edward lawrence takes us to the taste test. >> reporter: students and parents at castle bay outside of los angeles are tasting their new school lunch menu. the new items include garlic hummus, manicotti with tomato basil marinara, even sushi. >> growing up with cafeteria food, it is nothing like what we had. >> she brought her second grader so they could try it together. the los angeles unified school district introduced a new,

healthier menu designed by finkel. it was a flop with the kids. when we first started the program at the beginning of the year, it was new to the children so they were just like i don't know what this is! >> so, binkel called in parents to taste the food for themselves. >> good. i didn't think it was that great because a lot of parents, the kids said they didn't like it this year. it is actually really good. >> i like the hummus. >> it surprised you. >> it did. >> with items like farmer's market salad and veggie salad, the l.a. unified school district has tried to eliminate unnecessary sugar and salt. >> now, we've got different types of foods. so, now we're educating children about sushi, about noodles, about various different types of food. >> is it good? >> the new meals follow new guidelines laid out by the usda national my plate initiative. >> to teach them the right food is more important. >> that's a better lesson than

eating unhealthy snacks. edward lawrence for cbs news, los angeles. time to look at the question of the morning. >> it is indeed. 60% of americans have this in common. is it action, they lose their wedding rings. b, they're underwear doesn't fit or c, they repeatedly forget their e-mail passwords. >> log on to the facebook.com/wusa9 and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour. and we have a bonus to our facebook question of the day. if you like us on facebook, you can start posting your guesses to our question on a brand new kindle fire in the 9news now great tablet give away sweepstakes. would you like one for free? of course you would! click on facebook.com/wusa9 and if you already like us, thank you for that. but you can still click on the give away tab to still be a part of the sweepstakes. you can enter until january 31st. two lucky winners will be selected at random.

each get a chance to win the kindle fire brand. you must be at least 18 years old to enter.

the time is 4:56 on our friday morning. partly cloudy skies for this morning. increasing clouds again throughout the afternoon. it will be cold today. temperatures only in the upper 30s. wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet, light snow entering the region tonight and ice could be coating the roads. the power lines and the trees. we'll talk more about that and the winter storm watch in effect coming up a little bit

later. first, here's monika with your traffic. >> luckily, there's no issues to report right now. northbound on i-95 coming up from the occoquan river to here in springfield. this is a lot of volume for a friday early morning. no issues to report heading up to 395. more on virginia roadways coming up at 5:01. >> d.c.'s china town will not begin looking like times square new york any time soon. the owners at verizon center had planned on some new, big animated signs on the building but after some community opposition, they decided to rethink the issue. they want more time to share the plan with the community. a district hearing is set for monday. up-and-coming film talent get their moment in the sun. >> justin bieber makes his mark on a set of wheels that could be yours. bigad shaban has those stories and more in your look at entertainment. >> the stars had their feet on the ground to walk the red carpet at the new york premiere of man on a ledge. the story mostly takes place 25

stories up and star sam worthington has a real life fear of heights. >> i'm more afraid of falling off and going splat. >> ed harris and elizabeth banks star in man on a ledge which opens next friday. >> justin bieber's autograph is expected to fetch some serious cash. singer signed the dashboard of a 2012 hyundai genesis coupe. the car is up for bid on ebay today. bieber has asked the proceeds fix up a skate park in his canadian hometown. the list of stars slated to perform live at this year's grammies just got longer! and now the show is set to include a never before seen duet. coldplay and rhianna will perform together for the first time. the grammys will also feature paul mccartney as a performer and nominee for the prestigious music cares person of the year award. the grammys are on february 12th here on cbs. robert redford kicked off his annual sun distance film festival in park city, utah.

for 34 years, the festival has celebrated up-and-coming talent in independent films. >> sundance is expanding. the only thing we have to make sure of is we keep -- we keep intact why we're here and how we do things. >> the sundance film festival continues through january 29th and that's your eye on entertainment. bigad shaban, cbs news, hollywood. good morning and thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m., happy friday. i'm andrea roane. >> we made it! boy, this was a long week. i'm mike hydeck. thank you for joining us. hi, monika samtani. nice and bright this morning. helping us get through this morning. here's anny hong in for howard. >> good morning, guys. we have winter weather headed this way but not until late tonight. that's good news for the commuters. we'll see some cold temperatures once again for today and a lot of clouds out there. here is a look at the winter storm watch in effect for this friday night through tomorrow morning. you can