on the moon by 2020 if elected president. he made that pledge wednesday during a visit to florida space coast. tune in this sunday for a campaign 2012 special edition of "face the nation" sunday morning here on wusa 9. a church in chantilly, virginia, says the girl scouts are no longer welcome. the pastor of st. timothy said the troop can't have meetings on church property because the national organization is connected with planned parenthood. the girl scouts council of the nation's capital says that's false. the girl scouts have until the end of the school year to find a new meeting facility. a former sheriff's deputy is not liable in the death of gray. a jury ruled in favor of the county. >> the 20-year-old gray died after the deputy shocked him with a stun gun as he laid motionless face down on the ground. gray's family alleges the deputy used excessive force and

sought $145 million but as scott broom reports, they only walked away with tears and disappointment. >> when i have to go to my son's burial plot -- >> reporter: tanya is gray's mother. >> he's not the first person to die, lee be the last person to die from a taser. until they get it straight, you're going see more families here. >> jerrell gray died four years ago after being jolted twice by the taser, a former county deputy corporal rudy torres who was responding to a report of a fight. gray was tased a second time while he was lying face down on the ground because he did not respond to commands to show his hands. it turned out he was already unconscious. >> i think it has to be remembered this is a tragedy. >> reporter: former corporal torrez says the incident ways heavily on him. experts testify he was performinger to procedure.

>> the jury foreman says deliberations were emotional. >> you can go back and say if this didn't happen, if this didn't happen, well then this wouldn't have happened. you can play the "what if" game all you want. what happened, what happened. and there was no intent to kill this boy. >> the family's attorney gregory latimer was near tears. >> i love him. >> scott broom, 9news now. according to the frederick county sheriff, the verdict clears the way for maryland police agencies to continue using tasers without major modifications to training. an ex-marine accused of shooting at the pentagon and the marine corps museum is due in court today. yonathan malaku is expected to plead guilty in federal court in alexandria. prosecutors charged the 24- year-old last year saying they

have evidence linking him to a series of overnight shootings. targeting a number of military buildings. the shootings were in october and november of 2010. no one was hurt in any of the incidents. a lawyer for the man prosecutors call the east coast rapist is now asking for a mental evaluation for his client. a preliminary hearing was supposed to take place for aaron thomas yesterday in manassas but that has been postponed until march. thomas is accused in a series of rapes and other attacks on 17 women from virginia to connecticut. prosecutors say the attack took place over ten years. one day after an 11-year- old was robbed of her smart phone right outside the middle school in northwest, it happened again. wednesday, a young girl had her phone taken away while she walked throughing fort myer school. a young man ran past the victim, snatched the smart phone and took off running. investigators say the two incidents could be related.

police say this is part of a larger trend where crooks of all ages are stealing smart phones and selling them on the black market. the family of two aide workers held hostage in somalia are anxiously awaiting their return. a group of navy seals rescued jessica buchanan early wednesday in a daring mission. this navy seal team was the same elite squad that killed osama bin laden. here's a look at some of the other things making news now. rescue crews in italy say it would now take a miracle to find anymore survivors of that cruise ship which capsized january 13th. despite that admission, crews are still searching for possible survivors. so far, they found 16 bodies. 17 people are still listed as missing. one, last final farewell to coach paterno today. a public memorial service will be held at bryce jordan center on thursday. thousands lined up on wednesday to pay their respects to the public viewing followed by a

private funeral service. paterno's funeral procession passed beaver stadium and went by downtown college station before the service. paterno coached at penn state for 46 years and celebrated 409 wins, a record for college football. republicans and democrats put their disagreements aside wednesday to bid an emotional farewell to representative gabrielle giffords. the arizona democrat stepped down to focus on her recovery. one year after being shot in the head. at a political event near tucson. before leaving congress, her final act was voting on legislation she had introduced imposing tougher penalties on smugglers flying drugs across the mexican border. the bill passed unanimously. the time now is 4:35. at 4:40, shoppers get ready. a major department store announces permanent price reductions. at 4:49, virginia lawmakers announce plans to crack down on every kind of distracted driver. >> we're back in two minutes with your weather first. you're watching 9news now.

it is 4:38. we've got spotty showers out there. grab the rain gear before you head out. occasional light showers today as temperatures climb toward the 50 degree mark and winds east to southeast at 5 to 10. rain will pick up tonight. they'll have that and a look out toward the weekend when i return in 5. right now, monika with timesaver traffic. >> thank you so much. we'll take a look at the beltway on the west side of town where there has been overnight construction on the inner loop between gallows road and here at route 50 and on the inner loop at i-66 taking up most of the roadway. hopefully that should be cleared up by 5:00. more on area roadways at 4:47. andrea? >> it is time for the first your money segment of the morning. jessica doyle is on assignment. here are today's headlines. the federal reserve is promising to keep interest

rates near record lows through 2014. the fed wrapped up its two-day meeting wednesday and said the economy is growing moderately despite a still-depressed housing market. stocks rallied on the fed announcement. the dow climbed 83 points. nasdaq rose nearly 32. the s&p 500 was up by more than 11. apple is once again the most -- the world's most valuable company. the company's stock rose more than 6% giving apple a market value of nearly $419 billion. that surpasses exxon mobil as the most valuable company. blockbuster sales of iphones and ipads over the holidays helped apple deliver record- breaking quarterly profits. jcpenney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise at least 40% to boost sales and customer loyalty. this is going to take place on february 1st when jcpenney will roll out a three-tiered pricing strategy. there will be everyday low

pricing, monthly value discounts on select merchandise and clearance deals called best price during the first and third fridays of the month. that's when many shoppers get paid. there is a new store in rockville. it is called the fresh market and it is located where whole foods used to be in congressional plaza. the supermarket is billed as a specialty grocer that features "old world european atmosphere with superior customer service." >> sounds good to me. 4:40. a promising new vaccine that some are calling a lifesaver. >> we'll have more on that story plus your weather first coming up in two minutes.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. 4:42. ok, today, we need to bundle up and an umbrella? >> both. we've got some 30s and 40s, well above freezing. don't worry about icing conditions here. you have to get to interstate 80 or north in north central pa

where they have snow falling. around here, spotty showers. temperatures make a run toward that 50 degree mark. your bus stop forecast this thursday morning, or friday eve, we can do this. we'll get there. i see the light at the end of the tunnel. we've got spotty showers. 36 to 44. sunrise happening at 7:19 and it sets at about 5:21, 5:22 this afternoon. our day planner, lots of clouds today. occasional or spotty showers. midday temps in the mid-40s. winds east to southeast at 5 to 10 miles per hour. by 5:00, we'll be around 50 at southeast winds at 8. temperatures this evening, tonight will be on the way up. warmer air comes in. you can see the snow this morning. north of williamsport here up toward between williamsport and the state line with new york state into northern jersey and the lower hudson valley. around here, spotty showers. central and northern west virginia coming west to east, right across the metro. and live doppler 9000 hd hd, we've had some showers roll

through. they're now into central prince george's county, northern calvert, southern anne arundel. not quite annapolis, shady side down toward north beach seeing some of that. you go from woodbridge south to stafford and west. into much of prince william county. east of fauquier, showers came through warrenton and gainesville and haymarket as well. they're going to clip southern fauquier county. it looks as we go through maybe the southern 2/3 of fauquier county, maybe northern fauquier doesn't get it. bethesda and rockville might get some of that in the next 45 minutes. the spotty, occasional showers. temps, mid to upper 30s up north. gaithersburg, winchester, hagerstown along with easton at 37. fredericksburg is 45 this morning. luray, 39. here in d.c., we've got 42. as we look outside on our michael & son weather camera, good visibility toward the u.s. capitol dome with a temperature of 42 under cloudy skies at reagan national. winds right now northeast at 5 and the dew points in the mid- 30s giving it the relative

humidity at 79%. weather is coming from this big system in texas where there were some tornadoes reported in the houston area yesterday. a couple of days ago, it was alabama. yesterday, houston. this morning, look at this line of severe storms coming -- near severe storms coming from mississippi into alabama. new orleans proper, they're going to get it on into the next little while. that moisture continues to flow north. that will be our moisture source for later today and especially tonight into the early part of friday. but it looks like the bulk of the rain is going to fall during the overnight hours. our future cast, spotty showers with us here. we get toward noon. maybe a better concentration of rain for hagerstown out toward cumberland and parts of northern west virginia as we get toward the middle of the day. south and east of town, lower rain chances until tonight. we'll go through the afternoon, 6:00 p.m., spotty showers still with us. overnight, here comes that rain closer and closer. still spotty at midnight. but then here comes the push of moisture toward tomorrow morning. a lot of it heads toward pennsylvania but it does look like the friday morning rush

hour is going to be on the wet side. but this is going to clear up pretty quickly. by lunchtime friday, still showers along the coastal areas, the colder air returning to the mountains. they'll switch over back to some snow showers there. we'll be ok tomorrow. rather mild, temperatures well up into the 50s before we cool down some as we head toward the weekend. you'll notice by saturday morning, another weak system starts to approach parts of the ohio valley. this will give us a little bit of a cooldown for sunday. temperatures don't look as cold this weekend as we were thinking. just a couple of days ago. so, the next three days, today, 50. spotty showers. temperatures steady or slowly rising tonight. could have a heavier shower, clap of thunder not out of the question. the early showers friday breezy and mild. saturday, still cool but we'll be above that 50 degree mark until sunday. sunday, upper 40s. monday right now, the one colder day near 40 degrees. tuesday and wednesday back in the 50s. it is 4:46. monika, how are things looking at this hour?

>> it is friday morning light. we just got a bit of wet road conditions. thursday. i'm sorry. it is my friday. i'm off tomorrow. i'm in friday mode. if you're planning to head out on the roads, thursday morning looks great. no problems to report as you head up from the occoquan river into springfield. even the producer is laughing at me. no problems to report as well if you head along 395. live look there at duke street. where we're looking good. light volumes as you head up to the 14th street bridge and beyond into the district. this is what it looks like in the main and the hov lanes this morning. now, let's go to over to maryland. first of all, we'll take a look at 270 from frederick down past route 21 all the way down to the point where the lanes divide. no problems to report right alongside the beltway across the american legion bridge. we'll go to the beltway on the northside of town on georgia avenue. no delays to speak of from the outer loop to 95 past georgia avenue and into bethesda. coming up, another look around the area at 4:55. back to you guys. thanks, monika.

new rules for airlines mean the advertised price you will pay will be exactly what's on the ticket. >> until now, the advertised price often looked like it was quite a bargain until the taxes and fees were added. edward lawrence has details. >> reporter: kathy churchill sees ads for the bargain airfares and knows the final price will be higher. >> she'll get an e-mail that says hey, we've got a special if you book a flight now this week or today, here is a special fare. well, it is not that special by the time you get done with it. >> reporter: new government rules beginning thursday will change that. for the first time, airlines will have to include all government taxes and fees in any advertised price. kate helped push for the change. >> it was necessary because the airlines have implemented many things which people would consider to be deceptive practices but actually weren't breaking the law. >> you would like to know the exact price. >> that would be good. >> i fly a lot.

i like to know how much it is going to be ahead of time. >> take a typical $220 alevening act round trip ticket from los angeles to fargo, north dakota. when you pile on the fees, it adds more than $41 to the price. andrew leavy says airlines are being unfairly targeted. >> most everything that we purchase in just our everyday lives, you know that when you see a price, it does not include taxes and fees. >> reporter: the new rules mean the advertised price of an international price could jump significantly. a recently advertised new york to london flight from $151 to $735. >> noy it will be there. it is irritating. >> churchill agrees with passenger advocates. of the rules are a step in the right direction. edward lawrence for cbs news, los angeles. virginia could soon have one of the toughest distracted driving laws in the whole country. we're not just talking about cell phone use behind the wheel. republican delegate bobbyorrick

introduced legislation to restrict putting on makeup and eating lunch. >> it is taking people's lives and creating misery. >> it will be a tall order to sell people to. >> how would you enforce it? they can't even enforce texting. >> good point. right now, virginia law bans all texting behind the wheel. last year, efforts to strengthen that law failed in the general assembly. orrick's bill is one of a dozen distracted driving bills introduced this year. >> one of the hottest areas of research in fighting cancer is vaccines. helping the body recognize malignant cells and destroy them without the toxicity of other treatments. >> while there is a new study getting underway on a vaccine created from an existing drug. anita brikman has more. >> reporter: researchers at roswell park cancer institute in buffalo, new york, have created a vaccine designed to kill cancer cells in the body and keep them from coming back.

>> we're launching a -- a new clinical trial that will harness the power of the immune system to fight cancer. >> reporter: the vaccine is produced in a special chamber at roswell but strictly controlled temperature and atmospheric gases. it would use a special protein that recruits an army of killer immune cells that seek out and destroy cancer. >> to train your immune system to recognize cancer and to fight it off. >> what's truly remarkable about this research is that the vaccine is designed to train the body's defenses to never forget how to kill cancer cells. roswell park immunologist dr. shrks re discovered a drug called rapamycin used to prevent rejection of organ transplants also produces immune cells that have memory, always remembering cancer cells are bad and should be attacked and killed. he said the discovery was an accident. >> kind of serendipitous because we tested the concept

that came from nowhere in a laboratory setting and it did work and it was hard to imagine. >> reporter: 18 to 20 patients fighting many different forms of cancer will be chosen for the first phase of clinical trial. nancy holman had fought three types of cancer, most recently breast cancer. she hopes to be among them. >> to know that you could have something that would be in your system and have this memory and be there long-term, i think would just give you just another -- help you with your peace of mind. >> anita brikman, 9news now. >> the first phase of trials, if it is successful, larger studies will be coming up next. school lunches are getting their biggest menu makeover in 15 years. first lady michelle obama announced the changes during a lunch trip to park lawn elementary school in alexandria. before joining the students for turkey tacos, she spoke about new guidelines which called for less salt and less fat and more fruits, veggies and whole

grains. time for the question of the morning. >> the first time of the morning so far. on average, this only lasts four days. what is it? a, a diet. b, the common cold or c, food in a powerless refrigerator. >> log on to the facebook.com/wusa9 and leave your response and we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour. >> how about a bonus to our facebook question of the day. if you like us on facebook, you can actually start posting your question of the day answer on a brand new kindle fire. in the 9news now great tablet give away sweepstakes. go to facebook, our facebook page, facebook.com/wusa9 -- >> if you already like us on facebook, just click the give away tab on the left side of the page to enter. and you have until january 31st to enter. two lucky winners will be selected at random and each will win a kindle fire tablet. you must be at least 18 years old to enter.

grab the rain gear. spotty showers today. it will be comfortable in the sense we'll have temperatures which will be climbing through the mid 40s by noon to the 50 degree mark by 5:00. it will not be an all day rain but the spotty or occasional shower, they'll pick up in intensity and coverage tonight. i'll have more on that coming up during 9news now at 5:00 a.m. here's monika with your timesaver traffic. >> we'll take a look at bethesda at route 455 and 310. the length of 355 from frederick, same story on 270 and the beltway north of town.

more on area roadways at 5:01. back to you, andrea. >> thank you, monika. >> new museum exhibit explores the lives of six slave families at thomas jefferson's plantation in monticello. one of the slaves featured is sally hemmings. many historians believe jefferson was the father of her six children. the smithsonian is still working on plans for a new museum of african-american history and culture. construction on that is set to start on the mall this year. an historical marker at the wilson building is intended to call attention to the district's struggle for self- determination. the building was dedicated at the district on july 4, 1908. it was renamed for the late former council chairman john wilson in 1998. an oklahoma hospital has an toward pay country music star garth brooks a million bucks. he filed a lawsuit against the

hospital for failing to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother. he donated $500,000 to the hospital for the purpose back in 2005. he reached a deal about the use of the money years ago and the hospital basically reneged on the promise. demi moore's health is affecting her career. >> the oscars are going high tech. bigad shaban has those stories and more in your eye on entertainment. actors demi moore has reportedly dropped out of a biopic about adult film star linda lovelace. the 49-year-old actress is being treated for exhaustion and to improve her overall health. moore is struggling following the break-up of her marriage to ashton kutcher. the stars of the rescue adventure big miracle turned out for a special screening in washington, d.c. the movie tells the true story of a group effort to free gray whales trapped in ice in the arctic circle. >> it was very, very cold but i love a challenge.

so, i was trying to make sure a stunt person wouldn't get to do it because i would have been so jealous. i like to do it myself. i'm glad they let me. >> anybody home? >> big miracle opens in theatres february 3rd. the oscars are getting a tech upgrade. the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences is one step closer to evoting. the academy is working with an outside firm to develop a secure, electronic voting system but not in time for february. it should be set up and running for next year's ballot. 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., i'm andrea roane. >> wash your hands, that's all i'm sayin'. i'm mike hydeck. back from two days with the flu. >> lesson learned. >> i think we'll take some here, too. i think i just touched him. >> she has traffic momentarily. >> only 80%.