we have breaking news of a school that is on lockdown in prince george's county. i'm jc hayward. police are searching for two armed home invasion suspects. and according to investigators, the break-in occurred in the 8400 block of carrollton parkway in new carrollton. just about 11:00 today. we're told that at least one person has been injured, and

robert source elementary school on 85th avenue is on lockdown as a precaution. u.s. park police are using a helicopter to assist them in the search. we have a crew on the way to the scene, and we will have more information for you when it becomes available. of course, you can always check wusa9.com. well, the race to fill harry thomas jr.'s council seat is underway. the former ward 5 councilmember resigned two weeks ago, and pled guilty to tax fraud and embezzlement. delia tells us the challenge for the next congress person and council person is to bring that divided ward together. >> reporter: starting 8:30 this morning, folks can fill out paperwork for their bid for the ward 5 councilmember seat. so far, about 20 people are fighting for the job. 30 minutes after the doors opened, frank weil filled out

his paperwork. each hopeful must gather 500 celts by february 15th. >> look up your voter registration. check to make sure your address on file is up-to-date. if you sign a petition with an address that does not match the address in our file, your signature will be invalid. >> the special election to replace harry thomas janet reno will be held may 15th. candidates already lining up to replace him including newcomer kenyan mcduffie say the ward needs a fresh start. >> it needs a serious leadership plan. >> i sat down with longtime ward 5 activist who is not running but says the ward is now deeply divided after thomas' corruption conviction. the next leader, she says, must work to unite the community. >> right now where we currently are so that everybody is jostling for their position to see how they can get this particular seat in order to be in control. >> even though there's no

official councilmember seat for ward 5 now, all constituent services are being addressed by council chairman kwame brown. the last day to register to vote for the special election is may 5th. there was a large police presence around the clairemont elementary school this morning in alexandria section of fairfax county. parents and police are on the lookout for a man who has been approaching children. investigators say all five incidents happened within the past month. so far, no youngster has been harmed. however, parents want this person caught before something bad happens. >> just the fact that he's approaching kids is kind of scary. >> police are looking for a white or hispanic male in his 30s, with a goatee.

driving a red pickup truck. the republicans presidential candidates have one day left to make their case to voters in south carolina. they're back on the campaign trail after a lively debate that began with newt gingrich denouncing the very first question. danielle nottingham reports from charleston, south carolina. >> newt gingrich was a no-snow at his first campaign stop this morning. he cancelled at the last minute because of low attendance. but that did not stop ron paul from speaking at the same event. >> the campaign is certainly heated up. >> polls show gingrich tied with mitt romney for the lead in south carolina. but those polls were done before an interview with gingrich's second wife, who says the former house speaker asked her for an open marriage. >> let me be clear. the story is false. every personal friend i have who knew news that period says the story was false. >> he went on the offensive when asked about it lasts time in. >> i'm appalled that you would

begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. >> gingrich's performance in the debate has helped him surge in the polls. now mitt romney who had a big lead just a few days ago is trying to get the momentum back. >> you talk about all the things did you with ronald reagan and reagan revolution and jobs created during the reagan years, i looked at the reagan diary, you're mentioned once. >> rick santorum is also attacking gingrich as he tries to pick up conservative votes. >> he was not someone who was a reliable leader, for the cause. >> many voters in south carolina say they are still undecided and have a lot to consider before heading to the follows tomorrow. danielle nottingham, cbs news, charleston, south carolina. spending for campaign advertising in south carolina is now at more than $12 million. today dc leaders will take up the issue of how to better regulate where food trucks can

go. now your office might welcome the trucks but restaurants are not happy. the city will propose zones within the city, and then each neighborhood can decide how many food trucks it will allow and where they can go. the idea of legalizing marijuana and making money from it is being touted around by a virginia state delegate. if the plan moves forward, members of virginia's house and senate would work with experts to determine how much money could be made. delegate david england suggests marijuana could be sold at virginia abc liquor stores. there are supporters of the study, but they were not willing to talk. however, those opposed are quite vocal. >> i think david england is so intent on raising your taxes, he is willing to go into the marijuana distribution to do it. >> very poor idea. i mean, how many people do you see running around saying the best thing that ever happened to me is when i started smoking

marijuana? >> if legislation for the study is approved, the findings would be presented in 2013. well, you can forget the nickelback tax in d.c. and montgomery county because two virginia lawmakers are talking about a 20-cent back tax in the commonwealth. delegates scott and joe marcy say that the fee would cut down on litter and pollution. they admit that 20 cents may be a little tie high and they would be happy with just a 5- cent tax. six u.s. marines were killed when their helicopter crashed in afghanistan. authorities say there was no indication that enemy fire brought down the chopper. the identities of the marines have not been released. one of the famous tuskegee airmen was laid to rest at arlington national cemetery this morning. retired air force lieutenant

colonel luke weatherers jr. earned numerous medals for his service during world war ii. today's funeral coincides with the release of a new movie, red tails. it's the highly anticipated film that tells the story of the tuskegee airmen. and we have just learned that legendsary singer etta james has died. her publicist says that miss james suffered from dementia, hepatitis-c, and she was diagnosed with leukemia last year. etta james was 73 years old. when we come back, we're going to have some winter driving tips for you. help you out. stay with us! >> italian cruise liner is moving and authorities are concerned it could sink altogether. i'll have that story coming up.

rescue workers were forced to suspend their search of the cruise ship that has been grounded off the coast of italy. 11 people are confirmed dead,

and hope is dwindling for more survivors. >> reporter: the search for victims on the ground concordia game treacherous as the weather took a turn for the worse. rescue teams suspended operations after sensors detected the wrecked cruise liner is shifting. the ship's bow is moving at half an inch per hour. >> we need to check the stability of the ship, how it's moving. >> experts are trying to determine whether the movements are just the ship settling on the rocks or if the concordia is starting to slip off the reef. the sea floor dropped sharply just a few yards behind where the ship has run aground. italy's environment minister warns if the concordia continues to shift, it could sink altogether. divers want to continue searching the ship's four the bridge. part of it is underwater. >> like the place where the people went to -- before abandoning the ship.

>> 21 people are still missing. family members arrived at the harbor clumping flowers. the coast guard brought them to see the crippled ship. this mother of a missing italian girl is hoping for news. the five-year-old and manager father both unaccounted for. while rescue crews map out their strategy, the investigation of the ship's captain continues. he faces criminal charges and the cruise line now says it will not cover his legal expenses. coming up next, annie has the weekend forecast. >> we have wintry weather headed this way. the main thing here is icy conditions. we'll talk about that, time it out for you and let you know how much we could be getting on 9news at noon, coming up after the break.

we have breaking news, fred lynn middle school in woodbridge has been evacuated because of a gas leak. but all students and staff are safe. they are staying in a nearby church. and a state of emergency is in effect near reno, nevada. 10,000 people have been evacuated there. wildfires burning on u.s. 395. it's scorched about 4,000 acres, and more than 20 homes

have been destroyed. the weather has been improving overnight, as crews try to get the fire under control. petco is removing trees after the maryland public service commission handed them a $1 million fine for failing to maintain the system properly. now some residents in bethesda are complaining. they say the tree removal is too heavy-handed. they're now suspending all but light trimming operations until an arborist can meet with the contractor and residents to review plans for cutting down more trees. well, you may have noticed that howard is on assignment this week. and he hasn't been able to produce much snow for us, he went to a weather conference in colorado. but while he is enjoying the snow, howard has also learned some lessons that can help all of us if we have to face

another storm like last year. >> the majority every people who visit stream boat springs come for the skiing, some come for a different reason. on this site on the outskirts every town, frozen paths make up the training courses at the bridgestone winter driving school. over the past 29 years, more than 78,000 people have taken classes here, and the first thing they teach -- >> you need to consider very, very carefully, do i need to be out there? i need to be out there driving? >> it makes it worse for everyone just driving. >> when tires roll over ice, all we're doing is polishing it. so the surface becomes slicker and slicker. >> all the cars at the school are equipped with winter tires that help with traction. this instructor reminds students who don't have winter tires -- >> things you may have experienced here at our school at 20 to 25 miles an hour might not work in a speed over 10. >> as the snow is flying, it

was finally my turn behind the wheel for an avoidance maneuver test. brakes. hit it. >> yep, you hit it. >> it was school so i was given another chance. >> you have to physically move your head, look where you want to go, and your hands and your feet will follow. >> just like skiing. one of things that they emphasize with the students is less is more. there's less traction so you need less speed and less input. don't be accelerating and steering or braking and steering at the same time. just do one at a time. and the odds are you will be a lot safer when conditions get like this. i'm howard bernstein, 9news now. i hope howard doesn't bring any of that back with him when he comes! stay out there! >> bringing a little bit actually. >> he is. >> yes. we've got cold temperatures right now, and area low pressure coming in. and really concerned about the ice. that's the concern. not a lot of snow for us,

especially in the dc area. but points north and west especially, we may see some ice accumulating late tonight and then all through the night hours through early tomorrow morning. we'll talk more about that, but first let's go to our michael and son weather camera where we've got cloudy skies out there. it's gray, and temperatures holding on into the 30s. right now 35 degrees under mostly cloudy conditions. it's a dry to dewpoint only 8 degrees. the winds at north 13 mimes per hour. and the pressure pretty low, 30- point 28. so here's what is going on. we do have a winter weather watch in effect and this is basically for areas north and west of town, including grant, this starts tonight and goes through saturday afternoon. i wouldn't be surprised if this is extend or we get an advisory in the metro area. so we'll watch and see what the national weather service says. i just called them today. they weren't going to quite commit to what they would do. they're still looking over the models and they'll let us know. but i wouldn't be surprised because we're looking at potential for significant

weather impacting the area. cloudy conditions, i'm not worried about the precip coming in this evening. by 7:00, 35. and you'll stay cloudy and by 9:00, terps in the lower 30s some we're not going to get out of the 30s today because of the clouds hanging around. our satellite radar picture showing us we've got clouds fill turds in, they're thick out there. and the area of low pressure coming in from the west. the fast-moving way impacting the midwest in chicago, detroit. so the evening commute no problems. you'll be fine. but mix coming by 11:00, some slick roads. some snows, some sleet and changing over to freezing rain late tonight. then that mix changes to light rain on saturday. and then the potential for light rain is on sunday afternoon as well. 35 in downtown. gaithersburg into upper 20s. but mostly around the beltway we're in the 30s. and we won't warm up a lot here's that storm we're watching. it's in the midwest. you can see impacting metropolitan, through chicago. and that's going to bring the wintry weather to our area.

it's moving quickly. it will also impact places north of us, including new york and philadelphia. here's how it times out for us. so cloudy today, but then tonight by 11:00, here it something, the blue is the light snow. and the pink is the wintry mix and then the freezing rain. that continues overnight, probably while you're sleeping. and then tomorrow morning as well, and then it changes over to light rain. accumulations potentially up to a quarter inch. but the worst possible is north and west of town. here's your 7-day outlook. little warmer on saturday into the lower 40s. then sunday 39 degrees with showers possible. stay off the roads tonight. get the kids home earlier. and avoid going out early tomorrow morning. we'll be right back with jc in the kitchen!

all right. i'm one on one with executive chef andre okita, and guess what? it's the year of the dragon, and so we're getting ready to celebrate chinese new year. which begins on monday. hilton hotels throughout the area are celebrating in a big way. and executive chef andre is here to present a wonderful dish. what are you cooking today? >> part of the initiative is a breakfast. >> really? a break fast? >> right. so i'm going to start cooking the breakfast right now. we've got garlic, ginger, and mushrooms that are start cooking. >> okay. >> in the meantime, we'll talk about the initiative a little bit. >> all righty. >> what we have is we want to welcome them into our hotel. so we have slippers, again comfort. >> of course. >> we have teapots so they can fit some chinese tea. and we also have a welcome letter in chinese. we have redden soap which is good luck, and then a thousand

honors points. >> and there's also we have -- this is a beautiful presentation you've done. tangerines and oranges. that's good luck, right? >> it's good luck. it's also a symbol of wealth. so we boast it's wealthy and happy year with chinese. >> we're going to move very quickly. the mushrooms and what sells in there? >> we have ginger, garlic, oil, and black mushrooms. we're going to add some brown basmati rice, some barley, some split peas and some lentils. and we're going to cook that for about a minute. >> okay. >> and then from there, we're going to stir-fry that for a minute. then we're going to add water. let it boil for about 20 to 25 minutes. >> uh-huh! >> once that is boiled for 20 to 25 minutes, we'll add more water. then we're going to add some vegetable stock, and then we're going to finish up with all these garnishes, which is

bamboo shoots, sesame oil, black pepper and a little honey. >> chef, did you give me the recipe? >> i did! >> it will be on jchayward.com or go to the hilton and the chef will prepare it for you there. let's see what this looks like. the chinese new year always just a great time for celebrations, really is. >> it really is. >> the dragons out, and the hotel is really -- doing it up big! >> the year of the dragon, and we want people to feel welcome when they come to the hotel. it means happiness so we want them to be happy when they come to the hotel. >> go to any hilton. the big hilton as i said, the washington hilton, and chef andre will be there. and this recipe is on my website so be sure to visit

every day. and we -- gosh, doesn't it smell good. >> really good! >> thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me! >> he's going to plate it up for us. and see you at 5:00, okay? >> stay safe tonight. we have icy conditions tonight and overnight. >> driver carefully, please. oh, chef, look at that! mmm!