he ran a good campaign but i also said i would see him soon in the caucus states. >> reporter: romney is also expected to do well in the next five contests beginning with the nevada caucuses on saturday. susan mcginnis, cbs news, tampa, florida. >> the nation's budget deficit is one of the many topics being thown around on the campaign -- thrown around on the campaign trail. a new report from the budget office deals with the deficit. it predicts the government will run a deficit this year of $1.1 trillion but that would actually be less than the year before. the budget office also predicts modest economic growth of 2% and sees the unemployment rate staying above 8%. two of the nation's most prominent women's health organizations are now engaged in a war ever words. this all came about as the country's leading breast cancer charity susan g. komen said it's ending its partnership with planned parenthood. >> they say the decision they made is because congress is

investigating the way planned parenthood spends the money it receives. a komen spokeswoman says the organization recently adopt add policy not to give money to groups that are under local, state or federal investigation. last year the susan g. komen organization dough dated -- donated roughly $1700,000. it was dead natured for breast cancer -- it was dedicated for breast cancer screenings and more. occupy protesters in mcpherson square can claim a small court victory. a federal judge ruled the government must notify the protesters if it plans to shut down their camp at mcpherson square. the judge also said the protesters must also be given the opportunity to appeal any eviction plans. the group had been given a deadline to pick up their camping gear and be gone by noon yesterday but they never moved out and the cops never moved in. maryland governor martin o'malley took his support for

same-sex marriage to the state assembly. >> the question now is will it have any effect on the prince george's county lawmakers who are at the epicenter of this debate sharply defining maryland. scott broom has more on the emotional events. >> reporter: as this debate unfolds in annapolis again this year, all eyes are on powerful african-american church leaders in prince george's county. >> marriage should be defined between what? >> one man and one woman. >> there you go. >> reporter: african-american church leaders back again doing battle at an anti-gay marriage rally in annapolis last night. >> they don't know our god. >> part of religious freedom is respect for the freedom of individual conscience. >> reporter: on the other side governor martin o'malley, a catholic who for the first time testified in same-sex marriage in a senate hearing today. >> it's not right and it is not just that the children of gay couples should have lesser protections than the children of our families in our state.

>> it's about love. we all love each other. >> reporter: jaywalker is a delegate from prince george's county who explains why african- american lawmakers from the county are a democratic block the governor can usually count on, not when powerful churches in the county are opposed. >> many of us go there when it's campaign time every four years. they open up their churches to us, accept us, welcome us and they don't ask for much. this is one of the instances where they're actually asking. >> reporter: but there's diversity in prince george's county too like pastors darlene garner and candy holmes. >> all black people do not look alike and all black people do not think alike. >> reporter: surprised, they're a married same-sex couple who raised four children. >> this isn't a religious issue. it is a civil issue. indeed i believe it is an issue of civil rights. >> reporter: the gay marriage debate plays out again as a new "washington post" poll finds the largest number of marylanders in favor of gay marriage. 50%, hardly an overwhelming

margin but proof that minds have been changing on this divisive issue. at the statehouse in annapolis, scott broom, 9news now. after becoming the first injures decision to legalize online gambling, efforts are already under way to kill the program even before it launches. d.c. council members claim they didn't realize they had approved it in the first place. councilman jack evans says he plans to kill the bill in committee but he acknowledge it he will probably vote to repeal the ban on online gaming when it comes up for a vote before the full council. state senators in virginia have approved a bill which would withhold $150 million in funding from the dulles rail project. the washington examiner says the bill is intended to prevent the metropolitan washington airports authority from requiring that contractors use union friendly project agreements. governor mcdonnell has promised to sign the bill into law sphwhrz more arrests are

expected in the murder of a local activist lenny harris. linwood johnson of oxon hill was taken into custody yesterday. harris disappeared on december 21. police found his body at the bottom of a well in fort washington after getting a tip last week. johnson knew harris and they believe the motive in the case was robbery but they're not saying much else. >> we have recovered what we believe to be the murder weapon. the murder weapon is a firearm. mr. linwood johnson gave a full written and verbal confession to prince george's county police department homicide detectives just a few hours ago. >> police say lenny harris was well known in northern virginia for helping young people, especially at local area centers. police in chantilly, virginia are asking questions after a local mosque became the target of vandalism. the mosque was just weeks away from opening. but over the weekend vandals

tossed beer bottles and bricks at the building. they shattered every custom made window. damage is estimated at $80,000. >> there are always going to be people who don't like this, but the majority of the people within this area, you know, are very accepting and are very loving people. >> the project manager says police collected forensic evidence, including what looked like blood perhaps from one of the vandals cut by broken glass. 4:36. the u.s. and its allies are trying to get russia to back a u.n. security council resolution demanding the immediate resignation of syria's president. secretary of state hillary clinton warned tuesday that syria's violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators is pushing the country to the brink of a civil war. russia is worried a u.n. draft measure could lead to international military intervention. an american muslim group has appealed to iran's top

leader to show salem si for a former u.s. military translator who has been sentenced to dead. he was sentenced to death after being accused of being a c.i.a. spa. the council on islamic relations sent a letter to iran asking them to spare the life of the 28-year-old former marine. the former los angeles elementary schoolteacher is in jail accused of sexually molesting nearly two dozen children. officials say 61-year-old mark berg blindfolded kids, gagged and even placed cockroach oz their face. it was during school hours. a severe cold snap has killed dozens of people in europe. officials say at least 60 people have died over the last week, many from hypothermia and many of the victims were homeless people on the streets. in the ukraine, temperatures plunged close to minus 30, the coldest in six years.

forecasters say the extreme weather will keep battering europe through the end of the week. filing your taxes early will not guarantee an early refund in the mail. >> a new report suggests the food industry isn't doing enough to lower the sodium it puts in our food supply. stay with us. we're back with your weather first in two minutes.

you'll need some rain gear. we have some light showers. as we head toward the noon hour, mostly cloudy skies. this afternoon the sun returns. mid- to upper 60s for highs. even at 6:00 p.m. still partly cloudy, temperatures around 60. i'll come back and look at live doppler 9hd and talk about cooler weather headed this way. right now monika is in with

time saver traffic. taking a look at virginia roads in springfield, everything is fine. northbound at warrenton road stay right to get by the construction. southbound at lorton road stay left. coming up in my next report, more on virginia roadways at 4:47. back to you. it is time now for the first your money segment of the morning. >> good morning to jessica doyle. >> good morning to both of you. how is this for a stock market performance. wall street just closed out its best month since 1997. the dow jones 4.4%. the nasdaq surged 8% for all of january. as for trading on the first day of february, asian stocks have been higher. checks the numbers here at home, the dow stands at 12,632. did drop about 20 points in trading yesterday. nasdaq and s&p 500 were both kind of flat on the day. maryland governor martin o'malley is suggesting that the counties pick up half of the cost of teacher pensions and that's bad news for prince

george's county. the washington examiner reports the move would cost the county nearly $100 million a year looking at a decade. the governor is trying to close maryland's $1.1 billion budget shortfall in fiscal 2013. don't spend that tax refund all that fast. if you file before january 26, the refund check may be coming in the mail a little bit later than you anticipated. the i.r.s. says new safeguards that were put in place to detect fraud are slowing down refunds. the taxes filed on or after the 26th are not affected. today is free file day. to learn more about how you can get your taxes filed free, you can go to www.irs.gov/freefile. that means you can fill out a bunch of forms and put it in for free today. >> nice. a gift from the government. thank you. mcdonald's says it is no longer going to use pink gunk

in its burgers. >> so good to hear. we'll have more on that story plus your weather first in two minutes. you're watching 9news now. 3q

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4:45 on this wednesday morning. happy february. we're starting a new month. it seems like we've jumped ahead a season. >> incredible. took a long walk with the dog outside yesterday. you know, i'm a snow lover like a lot of people, but sure was nice outside. it was really nice. met a new neighbor. good morning, chris. hope you're watching. get outside, talk to your neighbors. you know, just taking a day at a time. this morning if you're going outside, you're going to need

an umbrella. we have a little rain. generally lighter showers. they'll be with us through probably at least mid-morning but the afternoon is looking pretty good once again with temps well in the 60s. looking at the bus stop forecast, again scattered showers but mild. generally in the 50s out there this morning. 50s. 50s. average high is 44. we're already in the 50s with the sun riez at 7:15 -- sunrise at 7:15 with scattered showers. if anybody sees showers after the noon hour it will be south and east of d.c. i think we'll see more sunshine this afternoon. that will boost temperatures in the mid up toker 60s for highs -- mid up toker 60s for highs. southwesterly winds become northwesterly tonight. a front will slip through and that will end the really warm weather and knock us down a peg. still above average but we'll get closer to it. you're watching the showers coming in from west virginia, across virginia. had one batch a few hours ago. right now new showers over us. more to come. in fact, these showers go back into ohio and kentucky.

i've got live doppler 9000hd and zoomed in on the metro. you see this action from fairfax county down the beltway near annandale and burke and springfield. coming toward alexandria as well. even back toward the shenandoah valley. we have these scattered showers passing through for several hours to come. 52 in easton this morning. it's 55 at pacs river. out to the west winchester 55. with the clouds, the showers, an unbelievably mild air mass. looking outside on our weather camera, no rain here in d.c. so the capitals looking good. good visibility this morning with 52 degrees. the dew points a couple days ago were in the teens. now they're in the 30s so it's become a little more moist but the relative humidity is only 50%. some of the sprinkles aren't reaching the ground yet and a south, southwesterly wind at 7 keeping us way above average. but this is going to change. we have a front that's going to come through tonight that will

drop temperatures back to maybe 50, 55 the next couple of days. this morning we've got the showers which are coming through. here at 8:00. one batch of showers. but look to the west. still more showers in pennsylvania, west virginia, back towards southwest virginia. the heaviest stuff down there. we'll head toward the lunch hour. now starting to see some breaks but still some showers in southern maryland, the northern neck, fredricksburg, even garrett county. as we head into the afternoon, you'll notice partly sunny skies with showers hanging in the mountains a little bit. the stuff to our south scooting away. that's why i'm optimistic we're in good shape for the afternoon. even tonight we're okay but although southern maryland, king george county, we can't rule out a couple of sprinkles for you folks, even toward harrisonburg if you're headed down that way. tomorrow the better chance of showers on thursday. it's going to hang out again well south of d.c. an isolated sprinkle around here. thursday late afternoon the sun is back. so we've got some showers around this morning.

doesn't look like rain chance is going to that high around here tonight and tomorrow. better chance south. 66 today. maybe upper 60s in a few spots with some showers this morning. tonight we're down still generally the 40s to low as for highs tomorrow but the showers south. friday sunshine but 50 to 55. as we head toward the weekend, upper 40s to around 50. could be some showers late saturday night, early sunday and again late monday into tuesday morning. monika? good morning. i went out the door yesterday to get in the car and i said oh, it's really nice out here. nice to not have to bundle up on february 1. the only big thing you have to deal with in terms of traffic this morning is all that construction in virginia. that's ongoing. you know it if you drive this area on the inner loop of the beltway near annandale and up in tysons on the inbound side of 66 as well right around route 123. we'll take a live look at 66 in centreville. it's very quiet. here at route 29 no issues to report as you head all the way to the beltway. if you're just heading out the door, the construction should be cleared up within the next

few minutes. we'll go back over to the maps. also some construction on the westbound side of route 50 at courthouse road. 395 is nice and clear between the beltway and the 14th street bridge. we'll go live to the 14th street bridge and into downtown. everything is looking fine along pennsylvania avenue and constitution avenue as well. a quick reminder from metro -- for metro ride e. the south entrance to the dupont circle station will be closed for escalator repairs. metro will have people at the north entrance to direct you around the crowds and to the red line. metro says crews will work days, nights and weekends to get the work done as fast as possible. repairs are expected to take about nine months. mike? >> thanks, monika. the first drug to treat the root cause of cystic fibrosis has now been approved by the fda. it's -- it will mean a life changing treatment for a small group of patients who suffer from it. these are people with the genetic defect that it can attack directly and improves

lung function and reduces the sticky muse cuss build -- mucus buildup. a study says drugs called stat continues have must as much cholesterol lowering power in women as men. a team at boston mass general pulled together 18 different studies track mog are than 140,000 people. the results show that in both men and women, statins significantly cut the risk of a first-time heart attack. statins are sold under several names including lipitor. the fda is getting a failing grade when it comes to sodium. while the industry said it would voluntarily overhaul the recipes and cut back on salt, they say it's not happening fast enough. the group wants the fda to create a mandatory sodium

guideline for restaurants, even the grocery stores. cspi says most americans have no idea just how much salt can sneak into their diet and they pay the cost with their health care. mcdonald's is no longer using a pink slime in its burgers. >> great. >> the fast food chain used the additive to kill any bacteria in the meat. it's made from spare beef trimmings treated. the chemical is safe but celebrity chef jamie oliver vigorously campaigned against using it on his tv show. mcdonald's says its decision was not based on any particular event. so doing a makeover on the outside of its brick and mortar stores and getting rid of the pink gunk in the burgers. >> i'm going to miss it. i don't know if i'll know the difference. >> yikes. time for the question of the morning. >> an average american encounters 270 of these every day. is it a, commercials, b, web pages, or c, people.

>> log on to wusa9 facebook fan page. leave your response and we'll reveal the answer during our 6:00 hour. we'll be right back. >> woman: don't forget the yard work! >> o.k. >> announcer: with citibank's

popmoney, dan can easily send money by email right from his citibank account. >> nice job, ben. >> announcer: well played, dan. well played. citibank popmoney. easier banking. standard at citibank.

. 4:55 on this wednesday morning. howard with you. we've got showers with you. lighter showers. you'll have to watch out for that for the next several hours. they're scattered about pushing through. very mild. temperatures start in the 50s. low 60s by 1:00. still some clouds, a little bit of sun but more sunshine this afternoon. we'll call it partly sunny. highs in the mid up toker 60s. -- mid- to upper 60s. no problems to report route 355 in the heart of rockville

as you come in from gaithersburg past this point all the way to the beltway. same story on 270. i'll show you that live coming up in my next report at 5:00. back to you. it is february 1. the start of black history month observances and we'll profile some well known african- americans who made history and some who aren't so well known but their contributions changed the way we live. this morning we start with frederick mckinley jones. in 1935 he invented the first automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks. that allows for all of your favorite perishable foods to be shipped long distances. it's still used in ships and trains. jones' invention led to the creation of frozen foods and fast foods. to find out more about african- americans who made history and to find out about events happening in the area, log on to wusa9.com and click on the black history month icon in the check it out section. >> i love those vignettes, especially the ones you have

never heard before. >> we all make use of the refrigerator truck invention. singer john legend was at the kennedy center to pay tribute to marvin gaye. the purpose was to mark the 40th anniversary of gaye's legendary performance of "what's going on." >> he also helped launch what's going on now, a campaign at getting young people to use the art and social media to get involved. ♪what's going on >> reporter: it was 40 years ago that d.c. native son marvin gaye called the young masses to get involved on nearly every social and political front. ♪ brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying ♪ >> reporter: at the kennedy center singer john legend was repeating the call singing marvin gaye's "what's going on." still relevant today with the

students from the duke ellington school of the arts. >> love is not the answer. ♪ only love can conquer >> reporter: much has changed in 40 years ago since marvin performed the song "what's going on" in this building and much has remained the same. >> too much unemployment. >> reporter: students at duke ellington know the issues for youth today. many are living it. >> i lost six of my friends my senior year alone in my neighborhood. they were all murdered. >> we've got to wear this. we've got to sing this type of song. we've got to be somebody who we don't want to be but i think society is also changing and teaching us to be individuals. >> reporter: john legend hopes to inspire the students using the arts, social media and marvin gaye's music. >> kids are very aware of their surroundings and the world is getting smaller and smaller for them through all this technology that we v. they kind of need a little bit of a catalyst.

♪ what's going on >> reporter: bruce johnson, 9news now. >> good morning. thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. sure was nice to hear marvin gaye at the beginning. isn't it gorgeous. >> john legend is good but no marvin gaye. here's monika sam samtani. good morning, howard, my friend. >> what's going on? >> other things are going on here. it's so cold in alaska and europe. serious. we're talking temps in alaska 50, 60, 70 below but none of that is headed our way as we're enjoying the incredible warmth. yesterday record setting 66 at dulles. we'll northbound that neighborhood -- we'll be in that neighborhood once again. here's a look at our day planner. we have some showers around this morning. you'll need the umbrellas or rain jacket or you'll get wet over the next few hours.