i haven't seen -- there's a bunch i haven't seen. >> i've got the dvds, i'll bring them to you. >> let's get you going on this thursday morning. i'll tie them down and force him to watch. spotty showers. good stuff, mike. 41 degrees. spotty showers throughout the day today. noontime temperature, 46. 5:00, we've got a 50 degree reading. we're look at rain and snow in pennsylvania northeast of there but you see how that has dissipated. heftier showers out to the west. a lot of that is going to be here after dark tonight. right now, live doppler 9000 hd, spotty showers out there. that's it. it is relatively quiet. the streets are a little damp from the spotty showers. 37 in frederick. leesburg, 38. it is 42 degrees at pax river and in town, we're running a cool and damp 41. monika samtani, 6:00 a.m. volume is building. anything to concern ourselves with? >> there is one issue. sky 9 is looking for it. we'll be able to show it to you in a few minutes. westbound at route 7, right after wolf trap, you want to watch out for accident cleanup.

we should have a live picture for you in the next few minutes. in the meantime, the beltway is dos great. you just got your normal slow traffic. you're going about 53 miles per hour right here at route 29. and then the pace improves as you head through the beltway, bunching up closer to nutley street again heading for 495. we'll take a live look outside right now. here's what it looks like on 66 at gallows road as you head through the beltway. you'll find a few brakes lights here. back to the map and this time, if you're planning to head over on to metro, marc or vre, everything is fine. no problems to report on 95 in springfield. we're doing fine from newington, just a bit slow below the speed limit and then again on 395, live look there. at duke street. i think actually it looks better than normal here through landmark to the 14th street bridge. if you're using public transportation, metro, marc, vre, everything is running on time. in my next report, we'll go into maryland coming up in a few minutes. back to you, mike and andrea. >> in just a few hours, a

former marine reservist will head to court. >> yonathan malaku accused of firing a gun at several military targets in our region including the pentagon. >> he's expected to enter a plea today -- to enter into a plea deal today. delia gonsalves is live in our satellite center. >> monthly can you joined the -- malaku joined the reserves and was never deployed but received numerous awards during his time in the military. the 24-year-old alexandria man faces a possible life sentence for a month-long shooting spree that created terror in the military community. malaku was accused of shooting the marine corps museum first in october of 2010 then again one month later. investigators later found a video that he taped while firing shots at that building from his car window. malaku is also accused of shooting at the pentagon. all six of his attacks on military buildings occurred overnight so no one was hurt.

malaku was finally arrested in june inside arlington cemetery. coming up, in a half hour in my next live report, we'll have more on the evidence that police found after his arrest that was so damaging, it seals this case for them. mike? >> delia gonsalves live in the satellite center. >> d.c. police are overing a reward of up to $10,000 for help busting up a black market scheme. twice this week, middle school students have had their cell phones snatched outside alice deal middle school in northwest. cathy lanier said the crooks are stealing smart phones to sell them on the black market. so far, she isn't getting any help from the phone companies. the d.c. chamber of commerce says the occupy protestors in mcpherson square need to go. it calls the protest a burden on the city's economy and police. earlier this week, the national park service admitted it is looking the other way as protestors camp out in the square. the chamber says the city is

paying $1.6 million for police in the area. it also says the protestors are hurting local businesses. >> a look at a testy exchange between the president and the governor of arizona. the president met republican governor jan brewer when he arrived yesterday in mesa. and a camera caught what looks like the governor brewer wagging her finger in the face of president obama. reporters in arizona asked the governor what happened. >> difficult to recall exactly because i've always been kind of animated and talking, we could have been talking about a lot of different things. bottom line is that he generally wants to talk about amnesty and i want to talk about securing our border. >> governor brewer has been critical of the president. on his policy when it comes to immigration. she says she was not hostile but was heated. she asked the president -- the president walked away in the middle of the conversation. >> you won't be facing a hike

in the sales tax in virginia this year. the head of the state's appropriation committee wanted to raise the sales tax 1% to 6 cents on the dollar. it was tabled on a voice vote. governor bob mcdonnell has pledged to veto any tax hikes this year. the district is reminding you have today and tomorrow to pay those old parking tickets without a penalty be. this is all tickets handed out before january 1st, 2010. parking tickets, red-light camera tickets, moving violations and speed camera tickets are all eligible. the amnesty program has brought in $3 million so far. that's well below what d.c. hoped. a musical cool schools is coming up this morning. the keys to success are on the piano in this week's cool schools report. a really cool computer network plays a part, too. middle school in silver spring is in the spotlight. >> howard says we could see some rain today. maybe even a thunderstorm tonight. highs today around 50.

a look ahead to the weekend is coming your way on 9news now.

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sunday, two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. a couple from minnesota is among the 17 people still missing from the italian cruise ship disaster. the family of jerry and barbara heil hope they'll be found soon. 16 people died when the ship ran aground january 13th. treasury secretary timothy geithner says his days in washington are numbered. in an interview with bloomberg television, secretary geithner says he doesn't expect the president to ask him to stay on if he wins a second term. mike? >> jump on board, it is time to head to silver spring, maryland this morning. the big yellow bus stopping at lloyderman middle school for this week's cool schools report where it is time to strike up the band but not in a traditional way. students are composing by computer. this story was so cool, we thought it deserves an encore presentation. the key to success -- >> the beat. >> practice, practice,

practice! bethany knows that from her family. >> my dad plays the piano. ♪ my grandpa sings. >> so, she decided it was time for her to learn, too. >> you had an extra one to begin with. >> reporter: keys, quarter notes and computers all come together at lloyderman middle school in silver spring. in her digital music lab, teacher liz carson has things like youtube at her disposal. 32 computers are all connected to professional keyboards and the whole room is networked together. >> i see about a third of you have it open. >> reporter: she can see every student's workstation from her desk. >> if i double click on it, i cab see what they're doing. i can control their computer and do things for them. if i want to show them how to do something. >> ok. you need to add your measure. >> reporter: which means if you're a beginner like bethany

-- or have been playing for years like elijah cole, miss carson can follow your every note. >> you really want to connect through all the way to the bottom. >> using programs like garage band and seb elia six, students get a chance to compose their own music and then play it, too. >> hold that one. >> which can be a little intimidating at first according to bethany but with practice, practice, practice -- >> good job! nice! >> reporter: it really comes together for her. and for elijah. >> i think it is just the easiest way to have fun expressing yourself in an artistic way. ♪ >> now, that is cool! >> not a bad way to start the morning with that music. we're looking for more stories on music programs. if you have one or any other cool school ideas, please e-

mail me. ok, weather and traffic time now, we start with monika. timesaver traffic. monika. we're look live at an incident on the inbound side of i-66 before the beltway on the left shoulder. it doesn't seem to be affecting traffic on the inbound side. live picture from sky 9 by the way. inbound 66, just expect maybe a little bit of a slowdown as people try to see what's going on there with all of the main lanes open. we'll go over to the map overall. the beltway has been looking great. you've got a bit of slow traffic in the usual spot. no big deals to report. right here, the southbound side of the bw parkway, near route 450, it is a traffic stop. someone is getting a ticket. that's going to slow you down with one lane blocked southbound on the bw parkway in the cheverly area. no problems to report on route 50. we'll go live outside first taking a live look here on the inbound side of 66 where again you have the slow traffic heading from gallows.

er this is looking fine until you get to 95. off and on toward silver spring and georgia avenue with the lanes open on the north side of town. coming up in my next report at 6:24, we'll go into virginia. back to you, andrea and mike. >> here we are with howard. the roads are slick but not wet from rain. just overnight dew. >> there were a couple of spotty showers. they're not icy. temperatures in the 30s and 40s. it will slow you down a little bit. not too much activity. i think some of the car motion will dry the roads. the highway traveled lanes, middle lane, left lane going to go dry. let's get you going with your bus stop forecast because we are looking ok. i mean it is chilly out there. you'll need the jacket and a little bit of rain gear because at times, we'll have showers. spotty showers. it is not going to rain all day. mid 30s to low 40s out there this morning. with our sunrise at about 7:19. it is going to set this evening at about 5:21, 5:22. the day planner, clouds, spotty

showers. 46 by noon. temperatures approaching 50 late this afternoon and you'll notice more rain by 6:00. looks like tonight, steadier rains will be pushing through for the overnight into early on friday. so, the rush hour friday morning may be impacted but after that, we'll clear out. we've seen rain this morning and snow along and north of interstate 80 with the spotty showers coming through the d.c. metro. live doppler 9000 hd, few sprinkles just north of warrenton and fauquier county. out of the west virginia panhandle, right across frederick over toward westminster, light, light showers there and we're saying good-bye to the last of the showers for the moment anyway from around annapolis toward shadyside affecting the eastern shore with the spotty nature of the showers. locally, 38 in laytonsville this morning. columbia and andrews at 39. to the south, not that much difference in temps. alexandria, springfield, sterling and centreville all at 41. haymarket is 39 along with gaithersburg and leesburg.

cold spot at 37. right now, good visibility on our michael and son weather camera on the capitol dome. 41 degrees. feels like 39. we've got the slightest of winds out of the east- northeast. while much of the country is in the 20s and 30s, we don't have the arctic air. we have 60s and 70s down along the gulf coast. this is a big storm spinning in east texas sucking up a lot of the moisture and the warmth. tornado watch in effect down there until noon. that moisture is moving north and east. so, while we'll get the spotty showers today, looks like tonight, especially between midnight and 6:00 a.m., could have some steadier showers, maybe be even a rumble of thunder. that lobby 7:00, 8:00 today. spotty showers. steadier showers, heavier rains through the morning. breezy, 57. we'll be back in the 30s by saturday morning. still mild saturday. 53. not really as cold this week as we were thinking earlier in the

week. sunday, 48. colder monday near 40. by wednesday, could be a couple more showers. mike, over to you. thank you, howard. 6:15. jessica doyle is taking your money on the road this morning. >> the 2012 washington auto show opens to the public tomorrow but jessica is bringing. >> sneak peek. >> she's live inside the convention center. good morning, jess. >> good morning to both of you. that's right. 750 vehicles will be on display when doors open to the public tomorrow and we want to show you a brand new baby is only two weeks old, samantha hoyt is the marketing manager for the ford fusion. we're standing in front of a version that won't even become available to the public until next year. tell us about the fusion. >> well, thanks for having us. we're excited to be here. this is the all new ford fusion energy which is part of ford's electrified line-up. so, the fusion energy will allow you to drive under electric power but then also when you run out of electric juice, you switch over to hybrid and you can keep on going with a range of 500 miles. >> we're getting a look on the

inside. actually, we're taking a look at the plug of that system where people will be able to plug in their vehicle and charge it up. tell us about ecoboost technology because that's part of the technology that is in this vehicle. >> well, ford fusion will have two ecoboost engines available. what we're announcing here today is we're adding four more vehicles with ecoboost to the ford line-up. we haven't released what those are. we have seven vehicles today with ecoboost. what ecoboost does is it gives. >> smaller engine with turbocharging. you get more horsepower but uses less fuel. about 20% more efficient. >> this is some exclusive information our viewers are getting today. you'll triple your capacity with ecoboost technology. this is all about choice. it is all about the fact that gas prices are not going to go down any time soon. the consumers really come to ford and said we want a high mileage vehicle nowadays. what are you hearing from your consumers? >> what we're hearing over and over again is they want to be able to budget and make sure

that their budgets don't go crazy when the gas prices go up or down. >> now, we have on display here, this is the ecoboost engine. what other things are folks going to be seeing on the showroom floor when they come to take a look at the vehicles here? >> well, not only will you be able to see and understand how ecoboost actually works, you will be able to see the vehicles that ecoboost is available in including the f- 150 which is behind us. 41% of those customers today are choosing ecoboost engine because of its fuel efficiency and power. so, you'll also see our electrified line-up this year, plugins, battery, electric and hybrid. you will have unprecedented choices from ford. >> samantha, thank you for showing us a brand new sneak peek at this vehicle. again, only made its public debut at the detroit auto show two weeks ago. so, this will be on sale next year. i'm going to send it back to you guys in the studio k. >> that's a sharp-looking car, jess! jess is live at the convention

center. thanks, jess. >> again, it is open to the public tomorrow and open through sunday, february 15th. tickets for adults are $12. kids age 6 to 12 are $5. $2 off for seniors or military personnel. get $4 off tomorrow only with any printed page from autotrader.com. our time right now is 6:19. ahead in sports. renewed rivalry between maryland and duke and the wizards try to get a win for their new head coach. >> right now, another check of the question of the morning. on average, this only lasts four days. is it... >> facebook friend mary uses some logic. food is only good in the powerless refrigerator for about 24 hours, i believe and a common cold lasts longer. >> i know that part to be true. >> keep your guesses coming. we'll have the answer coming up at 6:49. we'll be right back.

>> welcome back. we're look at spotty showers today. not going to rain all day. we start in the 30s and 40s. grab the jackets and the umbrellas for that occasional raindrop that may pass you. our day planner calling for temperatures climbing out of the 30s into the low 40s here. mid-40s by lunchtime. this afternoon though, we're going to make a run toward 50 and temperatures tonight will be steady or rising with heavier showers. mike? >> thank you, howard. basketball court at the university of maryland is now named in honor of coach gary williams. leave it up to duke to aren't you an special night. >> the terps hosted the blue devils. alex hit the basket for the terps. they would take a three-point lead. that's as good as it would get. nathan had 23 points and 13 rebounds for duke. maryland loses 74-61. the terps fall to 2-3 in the occ. down in blacksburg,

virginia tech hosted byu, brandon davies scored 17 for the visiting cougars. hokies lose a close one, 70-68. they play the terps on saturday. over to the big east, west virginia visiting saint johns, freshman mo had 13 rebounds. mountaineers lose 78-62. kevin jones had 26 points in the loss for west virginia. they visit syracuse this weekend. for the first time ever, the wizards are not in last place! yeah! they moved into fourth in the southeast division with last night's win over the bobcats. randy whitman coached his first game for the wiz. he took over tuesday after flip saunders was fired. nick young had 20 points for the wizards. d.c. tops charlotte 92-75. wizards visit the rockets tomorrow. >> good for them. it is 6:24. ahead, governor bob mcdonnell hits the campaign trail for

mitt romney. learn which family member will be joining him. >> making school lunches healthier for children nationwide. hear from the first lady on her visit to a school in alexandria. >> right now, monika has a quick check on traffic. >> here is a live look at k street and 21st street. no problems to report here. but 22nd street is blocked between f and g with a large sinkhole. more on area roadways and an accident in brandywine coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

we're back at 6:29. a live look at the u.s. capitol. a little cloudy out right now. >> thank you for starting your day with us. good morning, i'm andrea roane. >> happy thursday, i'm mike hydeck. meteorologist howard bernstein live on the weather terrace in his big, puffy jacket. >> a little down coat. it is no the that puffy. i have the gloves on as well with temperatures running around 40. damp out here. spotty showers overnight. we do have some wetness here and there but the showers really have been few and far between. here is the day planner for this thursday. expecting the spotty showers at times, not going to be an all day rain. mid 40s by noon. around 50 for the drive home. some slightly warmer air is going to work its way toward us. we're looking at rain, snow up north of interstate 80 this

morning moving toward new england. for us, the spotty showers. heavier rains in the ohio valley down toward the gulf coast moving toward us. there is radar, a couple of sprinkles in northern fairfax county and up from carroll county north of baltimore and over toward the eastern shore. your temperatures this morning from the mid-30s in hagerstown to 38 in leesburg to 41 here in washington. i'll be back next time looking at the 7-day forecast in the weekend. monika has your timesaver traffic. >> it is getting busy outside right now. to the south side of town, word of an accident. the beltway looks fine. it is deliberate -- it is incident-free around town. there is an accident, we believe it possibly is a head- on collision in hyattstown right here at route 109 just off 270. you can see the traffic is slowing down past that point, trying to get past into frederick and past route 109 with that accident there just off the roadway. i'll keep you posted on that. i know sky 9 is headed that way. let's go to the mdot camera

first. if you're planning to head over to the area of maryland, here's what it looks like on the outer loop, brake lights beginning back at 95 continuing through silver spring and over to here at route 29. we'll take a look back at the maps, this time an accident in brandywine on the northbound side of route 5 at brandywine road and i know there is one lane blocked so if you're coming up from southern maryland, be aware of that as well. we'll take a live look at the beltway closer to route 50 in new carrollton on the beltway itself, no problems on our cameras here as you travel southbound toward oxon hill past the wilson bridge and into alexandria. more on the two separate incidents coming up in my next report at 6:42. andrea and mike? >> we're learning a lot more about that raid in somalia which rescued an american aide worker. >> it will be a hot topic on "cbs this morning." charlie rose joins us live from new york with a preview. good morning, charlie. >> good morning, mike and andrea. coming up on "cbs this morning," we have the american hostage rescued in somalia

describing the moment the president delivered the good news and news on the raid in virginia. we'll see you at 7:00 on "cbs this morning." >> sounds good, charlie. >> now to the campaign trail. tonight, another debate in florida for the republican presidential candidates. ahead of the debate, cnn and time are out with a new poll. it shows it is a close race. 36% of likely voters backed mitt romney in florida. 34% support newt gingrich. rick santorum way back with 11%. ron paul with 9%. the same poll found 25% of registered voters in florida say they might change their minds before the primary on tuesday. virginia's governor is hitting the campaign trail to support mitt romney, the republican bob mcdonnell will head to florida this weekend. he'll attend a veterans rally in pensacola along with his daughter, jeanie. she served with the army in iraq. mcdonnell endorsed romney last week. >> in just a few hours, former marine reservist is expected to enter a plea deal.

he's accused of shooting at several military-related targets in our area including the pentagon. delia gonsalves is live in our satellite center with a preview. good morning, delia. >> yonathan malaku is the man's name. he's expected to enter his plea at 11:00 this morning in court. it all comes seven months after his arrest. back in june, the 24-year-old ethiopian native was arrested in arlington cemetery after hours. investigators found a backpack full of explosives in his home. they later discovered more bomb-making material. al-qaeda literature and a videotape of one of the attacks. melaku was accused of shooting at the marine corps museum in quantico back in october of 2010. he rushed to the museum to fire more shots one month later. the attacks happened overnight so thankfully, no one was ever hurt. melaku is accused of targeting the pentagon. his shooting spree lasted one

month. if convicted of all charges against him, melaku could face 35 years to life behind bars. he's already been held on unrelated larceny charges for trying to break into a couple of cars in northern virginia and i can tell you just a couple of months ago, melaku tried to escape his jail cell by digging through a cinder block wall. that plea deal is expected at 11:00 this morning. back to you. >> delia gonsalves is the live update from our satellite center this morning. >> every member of the jury who convicted ingmar begin dekeky of killing chandra levy knew about the case they were selected as jurors. that's according to the questionnaires filled but oi the jurors and alternatives made public. levy disappeared in may of 2001. her remains were found a year later in rock creek park. juan guandique was sentenced to

prison. his attorneys are appealing the verdict. a company which provides cafeteria food has been warned it is in danger of losing its multi-million dollar contract. according to today's "washington post," chartwell school dining delivered spoiled and moldy foods and failed to properly train staff and distributed meals without milk and fruit. chartwell's president said no student received spoiled food or went without a meal. school lunches here and across the country are going to get healthier. first lady michelle obama announced new guidelines yesterday at park one elementary school in alexandria. fruits and vegetables will be served every day of the week along with more whole grains. and the meals will have less salt and fat. >> when we send our kids to school, we have a right to expect that they won't be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we're trying to keep from them when they're at home. >> schools will also be required to lower the amount of

calories in meals by serving low fat milk and limiting portion size. this marks the first major change to school nutrition rules in 15 years. at 6:36, we're watching your money. jcpenney is doing away with sales. instead, it will cut prices across the board permanently by as much as 40%. they hope it will lure customers in year around. penny's said it will give some of its stores makeovers. u.s. taxpayers are still ode nearly $133 billion from the financial bailout but don't expect to see all of it back. the acting inspecting general overseeing the $700 billion bailout says the money is still owed to uncle sam by companies that got financial help. some of the programs put into place will last until the year 2017. the district is teaming up with microsoft. mayor gray announced a partnership yesterday. it will bring skills and job training to the city. in particular, middle school students in the district.

>> the investments that they're helping us make at this stage are in people who will be looking for jobs, you know, in 2020 or 2030. >> one school getting help is the howard university middle school of math and science. the charter school will get i. t. help, computer classes and technology summer camps. jessica doyle is watching your money. she's also doing it this morning but she is doing it from the convention center this morning. >> good morning, jess. >> good morning to both of you. i'm live inside a gmc denali. we'll have a live, exclusive television interview with the president of none other than g.m., a turnaround story you have to hear to believe. plus a lot of new vehicles to show you. that's coming up. >> we're going to see some showers today and maybe a thunderstorm tonight. highs will be near 50. a look ahead to the weekend forecast is coming up. >> speaking of this weekend, there will be a special one- hour expanded edition of "face

the nation" beginning on channel 9 sunday morning at 10:30 and it is followed by this week in defense news at 11:30. you'll be able to catch the mclaughlin group on saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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i'm monika samtani with timesaver traffic. we're taking a look live at an accident on route 109 from sky 9. this is a head-on collision. it has been here i would say for at least a half an hour. route 109 is shut down east and westbound. west of i-270. if you're planning to head south on i-270, you cannot access route 109 at this time. southbound 270, no access to route 109. a head-on collision here in hyattstown west of i-270 blocked in both directions. let me show you a map so you can gauge where it is on the southbound side so as you come down from urbana, watch out for the delays because of that activity there on route 109

near 270 in hyattstown. we'll keep you posted on that with the live looks from sky 9 as well. we'll take a live look from our mdot camera. here's what it looks like past the accident at route 121, it does break loose. all lanes are open through clarksburg and down toward the point where the lanes divide. also another live look on the beltway north of town on the outer loop, you'll find brake lights forming on college park on 95. continuous heading westbound toward georgia avenue where the pace improves like usual heading into bethesda and i- 270. an update on the accident and route 109 at 6:58. back to you. >> guys, we're looking ok today. not great. >> we have some spotty showers, all we'll be dealing with throughout the day. later today. >> it is in the 40s. >> that's the other thing, too. >> we've got a little bit of cold air by sunday and monday. that's it. it is not bad at all. spotty showers around. grab the rain gear. also grab something to keep you

warm as we start in the 30s and 40s. our bus stop forecast, spotty showers. temps ranging from 36 in the cool spot to 44 in the warm areas. well to our south. spoke to jan in readville, she's 42. temperatures are pretty uniform. sunrise at about 7:19. lots of clouds today with spotty showers. mid-40s by noon. 50 by 4:00. by 8:00 p.m., we're still around 50. i wouldn't be surprised if temperatures rose a little during the overnight as we're going to get into some steadier, heavier rain. big push from the southwest going to also bring the milder temperatures here for friday. today, we're looking at the showers and some wintry precip mixing in north of pittsburgh over toward interstate 80. around here, there's not much. there is a lot more toward the ohio, tennessee valleys toward the gulf coast. that's what will be coming in later. this morning, couple of sprinkles northern fairfax, southern montgomery counties, that's it. locally. we got up toward westminster with some sprinkles here and from east to north to chestertown running to a few,

spotty sprinkles. temps are running 30s and low 40s. it is 41 in washington to fredericksburg and pax river to 37 in winchester and 36 in hagerstown. looking outside, pretty good visibility here in our michael and son weather camera. under cloudy skies. feeling like 39 thanks to a northeast wind at 3 miles per hour. barometer continuing to drop. if you're sensitive to pressure changes, could be a tough 24 hours coming up. there is a big storm system down along the gulf coast. tornado watch until noon. you can see all of the rough weather, the yellows and oranges and reds, torrential downpours and some severe, even tornadic thunderstorms will be possible for them. rains extending up toward indiana and ohio and pennsylvania. we'll watch this whole mess move in our direction as we get into tonight. so, today, spotty showers, a little heavier north and west here toward western maryland toward noon. a lot of the moisture stays north of us. spotty showers for the afternoon and evening rush hours. tonight at midnight, still watching the heavier rains coming in overnight to tomorrow morning so with the early rush

on friday could be a problem but we should be clearing out here by the middle of the day and looking a lot better as we head toward the weekend. your forecast, today about 50 with spotty showers. temperatures steady or slowly rising tonight. tomorrow, breezy. 57 early showers. becoming partly sunny. cool on saturday. about 53. sunday, a little cooler. 48. little shot of cold air by monday. near 40 and then back to the 50s with some rain showers possible by wednesday. mike and andrea, back to you. >> thanks, howard. all morning long, jessica doyle has been giving us a sneak peek inside the 2012 washington auto show. >> she's giving us a look at the resurgent u.s. auto market. it is something that's new this morning. jessica is hanging out with a very special v.i.p. good morning, jess. >> good morning to both of you. that's right. we're here live at the washington auto show getting a sneak peek for folks. the doors don't even open until tomorrow. and a very special guest, exclusive to our television audience, we have mark royce,

the president of g.m. you're here to talk about some brand new vehicles just coming online. first, let's talk about the resurgence of general motors. number one auto maker in the world now. tell us a little bit about the story. >> well, yeah, it was reported here over the last few weeks that we are number one but i mean the focus really is about profitability and adding jobs back into the economy and our new products. i think it is a reflection of the strength of our product line-up. we're going to keep hitting it hard. >> it is all about innovation with general motors. sustainability, getting miles to the gallon and that means small cars in some cases. you have a brand new vehicle here, the sonic and this made it debut in detroit two weeks ago. tell us what consumers will see here. >> if you look at the sonic, it is placed just below the cruze. who would have thought from general motors and chevrolet. a lot of great success with the

cruze. we'll be the only manufacturing in the world producing a b segment car in the united states for profit. very exciting. we've opened a new plant -- one of the older plants, we've reopened in lake orion outside of detroit. we have a great partnership with the uaw there and the car you're looking at is the sonic rs, 1.4 liter turbo. very fun to drive. very much more youth-oriented than what we've been in the past. very exciting. we're beginning to shift the rs version of this very shortly. so, a great time for us. >> general motors has really been innovating with the chevy volt. general motors was on the hill talking about the issue. how do you plan to -- as you move past this, expand the technology throughout the portfolio of general motors? >> that's a great question. if you look at the volt, we're really the leaders there in battery technology and then the manufacturer of that and mass production. so, we've taken the lessons we've learned with that battery and some of the very

sophisticated energy storage solutions and applied that to things like assist on the buick lacrosse which gets 36 miles per gallon on the highway. it is a fairly large car. you've also taken it and put it into the regal at 37 miles per gallon on the highway. we've just launched the new malibu out of fairfax, kansas. we're shipping those to dealers as we speak, as of last week. again, 37 miles per gallon on the highway. a great, mild, inexpensive hybrid-like solution we call eassist. we're using the technology from the volt to create high mileage cars at an affordable price in the rest of our portfolio. >> congratulations taos and all of the good work general motors has done. 16,000 new jobs added last year for general motors. the profits are -- sales were up about 14%. this is a story of an automaker re-emerging after the tough times. i'll send it back to you in the studio. >> mr. reuss, glad to hear that

story. >> it is 6:49. time to reveal our answer to the question of the morning. on average, this only lasts four days is. it a diet, a cold or food in a powerless fridge? >> the answer is a diet. come on, people. how about a little willpower? four days? you can do it. >> we'll have a check on the news before you go, next.

we're following breaking news out of northwest washington. police, fire and ems crews are on the scene of a carbon monoxide poisoning along p street at 17th street just east of dupont circle. at least one 30-year-old man was taken to the hospital. we're told more people may have become sick. we have a crew on the scene and we'll bring you an update at wusa9.com and on 9news now at noon. today is thursday, january 26th. here is a check of the news before you go. arlington national certainty is more crowded than anyone thought. they told congress yesterday

there are more than 400,000 people buried at the cemetery which is 20% more than previous estimates. the two rest areas on interstate 95 in maryland are getting makeovers. maryland house and chesapeake house will get a $56 million face-lift. the state says the work will create 400 jobs and bring in $400 million by the year 2045. maryland did lead duke in the second half last night but couldn't control mason. he scored 24 points. terps lose to the blue devils. maryland hosting virginia tech saturday. "cbs this morning" begins in just minutes. d.c. celebrity chef jose andres will talk about the nationwide overhaul of school lunches. >> before we get to that, one more check of weather and traffic. keep it right here on 9news now.

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one more thing before you go, story i just can't stop talking about. we have two sides on this. you may have heard it. she says there's only one. famous chef in the d.c. area gets three tickets in three days from a speed camera. after paying hundreds of dollars, he's going to hire someone to hold up a sign a couple of hundred yards before the street camera saying speed camera ahead. he thinks it is just a money grab. >> aaa says that's what it is. but c'mon! all you have to do is slow down. >> right. >> our producer is saying they've gotten a little more tricky and they've hidden them so you can't see them. >> this has been hidden. >> this is a big box. we see it. we told you about it. >> we didn't tell you about it. >> he was saying, too, he knows he could afford it.

and some of his customers come in and pay $150 for the meal. but he's talking about his workers who don't have that kind of money who may not know about this. although we told you about this. so, slow down! >> howard? >> we've got spotty showers today. temperatures are going to climb toward 50. better chance of rain tonight into early friday. before clearing out for the weekend. little colder by monday. monika? >> one big story in hyattstown. route 109 is blocked at 270 with the accident. southbound 95 blocked at route 212 with an accident. it will be like that for at least 20 more minutes. >> ok, "the early show" is coming up next. they'll talk to marco rubio about the upcoming primary. >> monika and i will be back in 25 minutes with another update on traffic and weather. >> drive safely. >> slow down! >> we'll see you again tomorrow starting at 4:25. have a great