lower levels. a few snow showers have been up near the pennsylvania border. we're watching some stuff north of westminster. if anything is reaching the ground, it's got to be way up here but near baltimore and out toward martinsburg and hagerstown likely if there's anything from this, it would be just a stray flurry with temperatures in the lower 30s there. it's 30 in manassas, that's our cold spot while on the bay near 40 degrees. easton, cambridge 36. again we're going to the low 50s with a stray sprinkle. let's go over to monika. looks like we have an incident on the north side of town. sky 9 is hovering over it right now. this is georgia avenue at mount caramel north of damascus road. that's route 650. georgia avenue north of damascus road. it looks like it could be a car overturned if i'm not mistaken. authorities there on the scene as you can see. you want to avoid the area east of damascus. we'll keep you posted on this situation. i'm show you where it is on a map if you're planning to head

in toward this area. again georgia avenue right here north of damascus road. 270 you see the yellow. that's all the slow traffic you're dealing with trying to leave urbana heading southbound but the lanes are open. we'll take you to a live picture outside. that's shady grove road where no problems down to the point where the lanes divide. just that normal typical slow spots that you deal with on the southbound side of 270. back over to the map. this time to the west side of town of the we're looking great across the american legion bridge. no problems on the dulles toll road. i'm show you what it looks like live on the beltway north side of town at georgia avenue. outer loop still moving well from 95 to this point. more on what's going on east of damascus in my next report at 6:12. some teachers in prince william county are not happy. when it comes to a plan to freeze their pay for the next few years. >> they are working to the rule which means they are not putting in one extra minute of work. today they plan to get loud. >> delia goncalves is live in woodbridge with their story this morning. good morning, delia.

>> reporter: good morning, mike, andrea. the teachers are probably sleeping in and just getting up. they're not going to work early like they normally do. this is the superintendent's proposed budget but the board of supervisors controls the money here in the county. so teachers plan to occupy that meeting to let those folks know what they think about this proposed change and, you know, so far this morning, though, the teachers new in time 7:15. they're probably sleeping in, just waking up. that's when the first bell rings, 7:15 at forest park, patriot and battlefield high schools as part of the work to rule action, teachers will not go to work early or they won't work late to prepare for classes. instead they're coming in with students and leaving with them at 2:15. teachers say the protest sends an important message about this pay freeze proposal but skipping out on o.t. for their students is certainly

not easy. >> i probably would be there preparing for my lessons tomorrow, getting projects together. >> we've been taking a hit for three years. they informed us we're going to be taking another hit to our pay for another three years potentially five years. >> reporter: it sounds pretty extreme. potentially five years with no pay increases and they say they're among the lowest paid teachers in the county. they even say some teachers are leaving because of it so they're losing some teachers they say. but, however, this isn't a done deal yet. this is only a proposed budget and it's still in its very early phases so some say this is -- this action by the teachers is way too premature and could end up hurting their cause. well very that side of the story coming up in my next report in a half-hour. back to you. >> a tough time for buckets out there. this -- budgets out there. across the potomac to montgomery county. today the county's board of education is going to vote on a budget for 2013 there. superintendent dr. josh stars

is hoping for a $2.1 billion package that does not include, however, money to build new schools or rehab old ones. the final say on that rests with the county council and county executive. new this morning, montgomery county police need your help finding a missing 8- year-old girl. here is her picture. her name is londin marshal. she was last seen at her family's home yesterday on blare mill road in silver spring. her family tells police she walked out of their home after an argument with her parents. she's 4 feet 8 inches tall, 80 pounds with brown eyes and shoulder length black hair. if you know where she is, please contact montgomery county police. we're hearing from convicted killer brittany norwood for the first time. this is police video from last march. >> prior to him sexually assaulting me and tying me, they made me move her car. >> the footage shows norwood

choking back tears as she lied to investigators about the night she killed jana murray. she claimed two men broke into the store in bethesda last march and sexually assaulted the women and killed murray but it was all a lie. norwood was convicted of first- degree murder in november. she'll spend her life in prison without the possibility of parole. now to campaign 2012 this morning. we are two weeks away from the next contest in that race. february 28 the voters will head to the polls in arizona and in michigan and right now michigan looks like it's going to be a pretty close one in this republican primary contest. the latest poll of registered voters shows rick santorum with a 15-point lead over mitt romney. we're waiting to see another poll from the state to see if this is just a blip or actually a real swing. you may remember mitt romney's father was the governor of michigan back in the 1960's. newt gingrich is dismissing calls on him to get out of the republican race for president. the former house speaker says he's in the race for the long

haul. he was in california last night for a series of fund-raisers there. gingrich won the south carolina primary last month but has struggled since then. it is 6:06 and jessica doyle is here. she's still watching your money. >> talking about gas mileage when you're thinking about getting a new car. that's what you consider. >> that's right. with prices going through the roof at the pump, more and more folks are focusing in on fuel efficiency when they look to buy a new car. our partners at "u.s.a. today" report fuel economy of new cars and trucks sold in january tied for the best on record since the university of michigan began tracking monthly mileage in 2007. the average city highway combined mileage rating was 23 miles per gallon. that's up a half a mile from the previous month and up two and a half miles from january 2008. apple shares reach add new high closing above $500 for the first time ever. we'll have to see what shares will do today. "the wall street journal" is reporting that verizon wireless and at&t will sell a version of its upcoming ipad that returns

on their newest 4g network. apple also reportedly testing out a tablet with a screen that's about an inch and a half smaller than the current ipad 2. apple is currently the world's most valuable company when it introduced the first ipod back in october 2001 and stock was trading at 9 bucks a share. if only we got in on that baby. romance apparently is in the air on this valentine's day. according to a new survey by american express, four million people are expected to get engaged today. another 14 million expected to take that big step sometime this year. the survey also looked at how much people think is the right amount to spend on an engagement ring. it found nearly half of single people thought between $1,000 and $5,000 was appropriate. about a fifth of single people said less than $500 would be fine. gentlemen, the traditional rule of thumb here is three months salary. >> three months salary? >> yup. >> who made up that rule?

>> if you look at a lot of etiquette guidelines, that's what they tend to say. >> you know who made up the engagement ring to begin with? >> i don't. >> dedebears jewelry. >> not everybody is getting the ring. not everybody wants to but when it comes to the best cities for singles, head west, midwest in fact. ann arbor, michigan ranks as the best place for singles, at least according to kiplinger's personal finance. it created the rankings based on how many singles live there the job market and the cost of living. bloomington, illinois was second followed by santa cruz, california. baltimore is on this list and los angeles. >> i did not know that. wow. pretty cool. it is 6:08. in about four minutes, a look inside washington's transgender community. >> you say to yourself, why did i do this? could i have had a normal life

if i remain add guy or boy and just -- remained a guy or boy and just been a gay male? >> one woman tells us why she lives her life the way she does and why living in d.c. versus maryland makes a difference. up next, howard has our valentine's day forecast. will you love the weather? find out next when 9news now returns. ♪

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it's a little chilly out there this morning. we'll have a mild day. plenty of clouds and only an isolated shower or two. we'll stay mainly dry with high temperatures near the 50-degree mark. sun returns tomorrow but more rain on thursday. full forecast coming up in just a few minutes. if you're planning to head into sunshine, maryland on the north side of town, a serious accident. you're looking at it live from sky 9 on georgia avenue at mount carmel cemetery road. you have one lane getting by in both directions. coming up in my next report, an update on this situation at 6:18. last friday d.c. police arrested a man in the stabbing death of a transgender woman at a northeast washington bus stop. >> the stabbing was february 2. advocates say more and more transgendered people are now the subject of ridicule and attack simply because peep

don't understand. we introduced you to consuella lopez born a man but living as a woman the past 20 years. this morning delia goncalves tells us how consway la's father came -- consuella's father came to the decision and chose a path that sometimes leads to social sygma. >> reporter: what is the hope for your daughter? >> looking forward i want her to be happy. >> reporter: for the most part she is. consuella lopez loves her family, her job and herself. a long battle to find self- acceptance that started with a psychiatric evaluation at john hop kins. >> for a long time i didn't know what had happened to me. >> reporter: when we first met her, she was living with her sister in frederick commuting to her job in friendship heights. >> pretty passible in frederick where, you know, you kind of

like adapt to living as a woman, being a woman. but not having too many people ridicule you. >> reporter: after getting denied health insurance for what they called her gender disorder, she discovered she can get coverage in d.c. >> hi. can i have my schedule? >> sure. >> thank glur after struggling with college and several different careers, consuella finally found her calling returning to her roots and doing hair. >> there are girls out there like us who have brains, who, you know, go to work every day, who have a normal lifestyle. >> reporter: but for years, consuella struggled with doubt. >> you kind of consider your -- say to yourself why did i do this? could i have had a normal lifestyle in i remained a guy or boy and just been a gay male? >> reporter: until she finally accepted being transgender for better or worse makes her feel whole and happy. >> i'm not trying to pass over as a girl.

i'm trying to just live my life, like what my brain tells me. my brain tells me that i'm a woman. >> reporter: what does the future hold for consuella? advocacy, success, maybe even one day marriage. >> yes, maybe one day get a beautiful male or beautiful gay or something like that and making good life. >> reporter: and perhaps full acceptance from her father who says after 20 years he's only 90% there. delia goncalves, 9news now. >> on being denied health insurance, consuella says that was like a slap in the face, a reminder that there's still a long way to go for acceptance but she hopes by sharing her story, more people will give girls like her a chance. 6:15 now. here's a check of some of the other stories making news this morning. president obama says his budget for 2013 will cut $1.5 trillion from the deficit by raising taxes on the wealthy and

cutting corporate tax breaks. republicans call it class warfare and a campaign tool. they say it doesn't really do anything to cut the deficit. republicans on the hill also say they'll introduce their own legislation to keep the payroll tax cut in place through the end of this year. without it the average american would pay another $80 a month in taxes by the end of this month. maybe my wife would ski if she saw n. a sign of the times. a ski-threw starbucks open for business in lake tahoe, california. you can still walk in if you want but you'll have to leave your skis outside if you do that. well, that sounds pretty interesting, especially for a coffee drinker like you and somebody who likes to ski. no ski snow here in our forecast but what about in the mountains? >> i was there saturday seeing. they're fine. had a couple snow showers but generally another rain system coming thursday. but sunday, sunday is when we may get some snow. >> okay. >> may. it's not in concrete yet. this storm could still slide

off to the south. it may come up the coast. we have to wait and watch and see how things develop. thurg at the bus stop forecast we're -- this morning at the bus stop forecast we're looking final. maybe a stray shower or snow shower up north. we've seen them well near the maryland-pennsylvania border. temperatures are in the 30s this morning with cloudy skies. sunrise just a moment after 7:00. now, this evening sunrise -- sunset rather 5:44. lots of clouds today. but temperatures are going to get comfortable. in fact this afternoon we'll be in the low 50s. maybe mid-50s south. winds turn to the south at 10 miles an hour. just a bit of a breeze. by 8:00 still a few showers here or there, 45. most of the day is going to be dry. if we're looking at the radar, we've got moisture down in the ohio valley and on top of us, it's evaporating before reaching the ground. the lower levels are still dry. there may be a stray flake here headed toward martinsburg. that's it. we've seen much of that just evaporate before it gets down.

culpeper is 34. gaithersburg is 36 along with easton and near 40 in southern maryland. pax river, the naval air station 39. low to mid-30s out there with 31 coming in from reston to 35 this columbia and 34 at fort belvoir. outside on our michael & son weather camera, good visibility under the clouds. 38 degrees. a light south wind at 3. so we have a slight windchill of 36 and the barometer slowly dropping 30. this moisture is going to come through in the form of mainly clouds and we may see an isolated shower pop up later today or this evening. then tomorrow the sun is back. 52 today. the stray shower. tonight we're in the mid- to upper 30s. 54 tomorrow with the sunshine returning but by thursday another system heading this way. upper 40s with some light rain likely on thursday. friday we're back in the sunshine, 53. saturday 50. there's sunday, that possible coastal storm drops temps in the 30s. we'll watch and see what that does. monday, president's day back in the 40s. it's now 6:18.

monika is in with the time saver traffic. thank you so much. overall the beltway is looking great. we have had this one accident involving an overturned vehicle and two other cars involved right here on georgia avenue north of route 650. one lane is getting by in each direction so authorities are making progress there. if you're planning to head south on 270 you see all that red. it is slowing down leaving frederick toward route 121. we'll take a live look there right now. once you reach this point, it actually looks fine all the way to the point where the lanes divide with the lanes open along 270 and route 355 this morning. let's go south right now to virginia on the northbound side of i-95 and 395. inside the beltway 66 and 395 are running great. we'll take a live look into springfield which is slow like this pretty much from the okay quan. off and on to -- from the occoquan. off and on to the prince william parkway because of a disabled vehicle. this is north of duck street as you head for seminary -- duke street as you head for seminary road. the lanes are open.

i'll tell you more about what's going on on area roadways at 6:25. our time right now coming up on 6:20. next in sports, the capitals face one of the best from the west while the wizards begin an important four-game road trip. >> every morning at this time we bring you another check of our question of the morning. so here it is. which group of people usually receives the most valentine's day cards? is it a, wieives and girlfriends, -- wives and girlfriends, b, mothers, or c, teachers. one viewer says c. sons don't usually think to send their moms a card. >> we have the answer at 6:48.

we're looking at cloudy skies this morning. an outside chance you'll run into a sprinkle or flurry north. most of the time it's going to be dry. you can expect a mild afternoon after a chilly start in the

30s. we'll see temperatures in the upper 40s by 1:00 and top out in the low 50s this afternoon. gist a stray shower or two -- just a stray shower or two with winds out of the south at 10. in sports the capitals will probably be happy if they never have to see the sharks again. >> going into last night's game, the last 16 times d.c. faced san jose they had a one win to show for it. >> the caps hosted the pacific division leaders last night. the first to goals of the game were scored by the sharks. the capitals showed some signs of life late in the game. six minutes left jeff schultz scored his first goal of the season for the caps but it wasn't enough. caps lose again 5-3. they'll visit florida friday night. the wizards begin a four- game west coast swing tonight. they are in portland to take on the trailblazers. tipoff 10:00. d.c. has won two of its last four games. go wiz.

howard hosting bethune- cookman. a late rally by the bison was not enough. howard falls 73-67. our time is 6:25. keep an eye on the right side of your screen. we'll tell you what stories are coming up next. >> the list includes a change mcdonald's is making on how it treats some of the animals it uses for food. jessica doyle has that story in about ten minutes. right now monika has a quick check on traffic. some problems in silver spring. we do. if you're planning to head georgia avenue north of damascus road, it's in sunshine, maryland you want to watch out for accident activity. hopefully it will be clearing shortly. i'll have more coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

good morning. we're back at 6:29 n. is always the place to get your weather first. here's a live look at arizona avenue in the palisades area of washington, d.c. 38 degrees there right now. why are we showing you arizona avenue specifically? well, it was on this date in 1912 that arizona became a state. >> pretty neat. clever on our producer dan's part. happy valentine else day. i'm mike hydeck. i'm andrea roane. here is howard bernstein. good morning. good morning. left the jacket inside. temperatures in the upper 30s but with light winds, the air is still kind of dry. it feels pretty good, especially when the studio it's a little warm this morning. will you need the jacket.

today i think you can leave the umbrellas at home even though we have the threat for the isolated shower. 46 by noon. 49 at 5:00 with highs in many areas into the low 50s today. the south winds picking up to 10 miles an hour or so. looking at the radar as you see the snow up to the north and some rain showers around us, but the stuff over maryland, virginia really isn't reaching the ground. live doppler 9000 hd, maybe a few stray newerlies -- flurries in the northern shenandoah valley. that's about it. when we checked reports earlier they weren't making it down to the surface. monika samtani, 6:30, we started out quiet. not so quiet anymore. not so quiet if you're traveling in maryland in sunshine north of route 650 and i think authorities should be just wrapping up there. an incident there right now. if you're traveling in virginia, it's mainly that slow traffic that you're going to deal with but it's incident free on the dulles toll road coming in from leesburg headed

for the beltway. 66, long stroh stretch franchise manassas into center -- long, slow stretches from manassas into centreville. inside the beltway no problems to report along 66. on the northbound side of i-95 heavy and slow. we'll take a live look there from newington into springfield. there had been a disabled vehicle in the roadway. it was just moved to the right shoulder but left all this for you trying to get on to the beltway. 395 still looks pretty good from the 14th street bridge. want to let you know trains are on time this morning on metro, marc and vre. in my next report we'll go into maryland at 6:43. our partners at cbs this morning have a new look today at the race for the republican presidential nomination. >> seems to be changing. erica hill joins us live from new york with a prescrew. before we get -- preview. before we get to that i watched 60 minutes this weekend and i'm not a convert. >> yes. he just needs to see her in a different light with

my good friend anderson cooper. all is well with the world now. >> it was very entertaining. >> she was great. a lot of fun. she seems very normal which is why i like her. good morning to you. happy to hear you're officially a convert and happy valentine's day to the both of you. >> thank you. >> just ahead on cbs this morning, there's a big shift in the race for the republican nomination. just a few weeks ago of course there was talk of a two-man race between mitt romney and newt gingrich. now g.o.p. primary voters have a different outlook. bob schieffer will walk us through some of the surprises in the latest cbs news-"new york times" poll. also ahead this morning, there's a shortage of one cancer drug which could put thousands of children's lives at risk. it is a heartbreaking story. we'll take a closer look at that all coming up at 7:00. >> erica, we'll be watching. thank you. same-sex marriage supporters in virginia picked today, valentine's day for a rally in favor of legalizing those marriages in the commonwealth. >> virginia's constitution limits marriage to between one man and one woman, but two

women from fairfax county will lead the protest today trying to obtain a marriage license. >> karen rasmussen and barb brinn have been together 26 years. they met while serving in the navy together. both realized their request for a marriage license is going to be rejected but they hope to start changing some minds in the commonwealth. >> the scales are tipping. we just don't want virginia to be the last of all the states to recognize marriage equality. the scales are really tipping all over the country. >> a "washington post" poll done last year showed 47% of virginia residents favor legalizing same-sex marriage. 43% are opposed to it. now to maryland supporters of legalizing same-sex marriage there rallied in annapolis yesterday. the group equality maryland lobbied lawmakers trying to win over their support. governor martin o'malley wants to legalize same-sex marriage and is hoping to do it this year. it was rejected last year and supporters admit there are

still -- they are still a few votes short in the legislature. experts in the george huguely murder trial are reflecting new light. huguely is charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend yesterdayly love. a forensic expert testified yesterday love's body showed signs of smothering along with a list of potentially deadly injuries. testimony resumes later today. prince william county teachers are going to be speaking out today. they are upset about plans to freeze their salaries for the next few years and they decide today is the day to make a stand. it comes 24 hours after a silent protest started. delia goncalves is live in woodbridge to tell us why the teachers are doing something called working to the rule. what's that, delia? >> reporter: that's working according to their contracts specifically. the school day, the beginning of the school day and the end of the school day. it's 6:30 and we're told normally around this time teachers head to school. they sit in their classrooms while it's still empty and quiet so they can prepare their

lessons ahead of time. well, not today. the teachers are heading in when the students head in so the teachers we're talking about attend and teach at patriot, battlefield and forest park high schools. they are protesting a proposed pay freeze until 2016. so that means essentially they are sticking to the school day only. coming in as i said with students at 7:15, leaving with the students at 2:15. most teachers as you can imagine come in early and leave late to prepare for classes and stay after school to help students. teachers say they've lost good faculty because of the pay freezes in the past but the teachers association opposes this action. in fact, the association president says teachers are jumping the gun since this proposed budget is only in its early phases. she fear it is could actually hurt their cause but on the other hand, she agrees that these teachers work hard and need their raises. >> we have high test scores in

prince william. and yet our teachers are paid the lowest of any school in the region. >> reporter: so tonight teachers will make their action heard by going to the board of supervisors meeting tonight. they control the purse strings here in the county and essentially are controlling whether or not they get these raises. so the teachers in numbers will head to this meeting to protest silently or not this proposed budget. it is important to mention that this certainly is just a proposed budget at this point. still in its early phases. it hasn't even been debated on by the school board which ultimately makes its decision and votes on the matter in spring. back to you, mike. >> we will stay tuned. thank you. she's live in woodbridge, virginia this morning. at 6:36 jessica doyle is watching your money. >> she is telling us pore on a possible comp -- more on a possible compromise to earned the payroll -- to end the payroll tax cut.

>> time is quickly running out to actually extend the payroll tax cut. the republicans in the house have said they might push for a vote this week on their own version of a bill that would keep the payroll tax cut in place through the end of this year. the tax cut set to expire on february 29 and lawmakers are scheduled to be on recess for the whole week of february 20. so that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. the g.o.p. bill in the house would extend the payroll tax cut but not unemployment benefits or delay of cuts and fees for doctors who treat medicare patients as some democrats would like. if a deal is not reached taxes will go up $80 a month on average for the average american. mcdonald's wants more humane treatment of the pigs that eventually enter the company's food supply. it will require food suppliers to phase out the use of falls that confine -- stalls that confine pregnant sows. remember the old airline people express? it's going to be the name of a

virginia-based start-up carrier that hopes to begin flying passengers as early as this summer. our partners at "u.s.a. today" report if successful, it would resurrect the brand of one of the first low-cost carriers to emerge following deregulation. it flew from 1981 through 1987 when it was acquired by continental. the new company is based in the newport news-williamsburg area. prices will start around $69 for one-way tickets and the airline does not plan on adding extra fees like checked bags and seat siepts. >> at -- and seat assignments. >> interesting. our time is 6:38. still ahead, a key chinese politician visits the white house today. you can expect plenty of protest. howard says you can expect mostly cloudy skies today. highs around 50. we are going to have some raindrops headed our way and they will be here before the weekend. seven-day forecast coming your way right here on 9news now.

the highest recognition after lawyer's ability is to be adds mipted to the bar of the u.s. supreme court. john rock was the first african- american to achieve that honor in 1865. rock was also an m.d. who practiced both medicine and dentistry. he died at age 41, one year after being admitted to the bar of the supreme court. log on to wusa9.com to see more moments in black history.

welcome back. it's 6:43. 38 degrees. monika samtani with time saver traffic. we'll start off with the maps. all that slow task all around the beltway and inside the beltway as well along 395 and 66. if you're planning to head inbound on the dulles toll road, these' incident free from less biewrg. quite a bit of slow traffic on -- leesburg. quite a bit of slow traffic on 66 as you travel inbound from manassas to centreville. there is an accident in manassas park on route 28 north

of yorkshire lane. the american legion bridge incident free across the river but heavy and steady both loops of the beltway on the west side of town. this time heading northbound on i-95, that's been really slow. you can see the red below the 95 sign here. that's because there was an earlier disabled vehicle in springfield that was cleared. let's go outside live right now to 395. the brake lights begin just north of duke street. you can see that forming right here as you head for seminary road but the lanes are open. coming up in my next report, we'll focus on maryland at 6:58. on this valentine's day, no chocolates, no flowers from howard but the forecast first. >> it's decent. we always have chocolate in the house. >> okay. >> good house in that regard. >> good. >> but weather wise not a bad day either. we'll get you temperatures above 50 in most areas and generally keep is dry. so considering we are in the middle of february, andrea, i think that's a pretty good guess. >> we accept. >> let's show you the bus stop

forecast on this tuesday morning. not like you have a choice this tuesday morning where we've got cloudy skies. just an isolated sprinkle or flurry but most of us aren't going to see it. 30s this morning. sunrise at 7:01. so just a few minutes from now. our day planner we will see a good deal of clouds and stray shower. that's about it. noontime temps in the mid-40s. winds southeast to southerly at 10 miles an hour. so 50 at 3:00. high today about 52 here in town. by this evening we're dipping back into the upper 40s. radar looks busy but the bark much worst than the bite as a lot of this not reaching the ground, especially in the washington region. we've had light snow showers up to the north up across areas near camp david this morning. there may be an isolated sprinkle or flurry coming out of the northern shenandoah valley but other than that it's quiet. mid-up toker 30s out there with -- mid- to upper 30s out there. 39 pax river naval air station. we're looking at 36 in gaithersburg. mostly cloudy skies out there this morning. we've got a temperature in town of 38 with the clouds.

feeling like 36 and very light south wind at 3 miles an hour. storm system from california now to the southwest. this is thursday's rain maker. today's system stretches from the great lakes down to the gulf of mexico. a lot of moisture down in georgia this morning. then some snow, places like cincinnati seeing an inch of snow, mainly grassy surfaces this morning. that's moving up toward pennsylvania, new york state but around here as we look pretty quiet, a lot of this just drying up. the lower levels of the atmosphere kind of dry so it's evaporating. we'll go through the middle of the day. noontime maybe a shower down toward the northern neck. could even be a few sunny breaks. a couple of showers possible here and there this afternoon into the evening hours before this starts to pull away tonight. tomorrow the sun returns. then that california system moves in thursday. i do want to tell you though by the time we get toward sunday, we're looking at the potential for a coastal storm to develop. if that happens sunday could turn wintry around here. today 52, isolated shower later this afternoon and this evening. tomorrow partly to mostly sunny. we start in the 30s. we finish in the low to mid-

50s. thursday upper 40s with light rain likely on thursday. then we're okay friday and saturday. temperatures 50 or better but sunday could be interesting. we'll just keep watching that. it may slide to the south and then 40s on president's day. back to you. >> attaching you, howard. -- thank you, howard. hundreds of protesters are expected to hold a rally outside the white house later today. it coincides with a visit from china's president. four protesters were arrested yesterday as they tried to hang a free tibet banner along the bridge. >> what we're highly critical of and suspicious is he will probably continue the same violations of human rights. what we're trying to do is raise awareness and raise caution. >> china's vice president is on a week-long diplomatic tour of the until. the family of whitney houston says her funeral will

likely be friday in newark, new jersey, her home state. her body was returned to newark last night. the 48-year-old was found dead in a hotel room this weekend. right now it appears her death may have been from a drug overdose. the exact cause, however, will take weeks to officially determine. president obama says his prayers are with whitney houston's daughter. houston had hit songs and they shot up the charts since then on both itunes and amazon. our time is 6:48. a check on the news before you go is straight ahead but first we answer today's question of the morning. which group of people usually receives the most valentine's day cards? is it a, wives and girlfriends, b, mothers or c, teach glers one of our viewers got owe he owe teachers. >> one of our viewers got it right. the answer is c. all the gremlins come in. >> eastern the gig gremlins. i taught senior high. let's head over to jessica for today's daily deal. every day we'll be working

to save you money with our new daily deals segment. we've been combing through the e-mails and retailer websites to find you deep discounts. we're going to start with something all of us homeowners have to do from time to time. furnace, heat pump or ac unit cleaning and maintenance. aaa hvac services usually charges $110 for this but groupon is offering a deal in northern virginia for $49, a 55% discount. sears has this one as its deal of the day. it's offering a sony touch camera for $79.99. the 4g mp4 camera normally sells for $179.99. when you log on to the website the deal is listed as $99.99. once you click on the price, it's listed as $20 cheaper. this deal ends at midnight. here's a fun idea if you aren't afraid of heights. google has a one-hour hot air balloon ride. fly monday through thursday and friday morning.

the cost $170. the ride normally costs $280 with dream adventures. 9news now will be right back.

6:536789 we've got a -- 6:52. we've got a lot of clouds out there. it's going to abmild day. you may run into a flurry or isolated shower but it's going to be dry most of the time with highs getting into the lower 50s. metro could lose today's -- -- metro could lose. today is february 14. metro could lose $15 million under the new budget. the transit agency gets $150 million a year from uncle sam and it's matched by local governments. those governments would have to kick in more money if the cuts

go into effect. 15 people were taken to the hospital and checked out for carbon monoxide poisoning. no one was seriously hurt in the incident yesterday along wade road in southeast near the eaton road -- near eaton road in the berry hill farm neighborhood. capitals losing up to three games. a rough night for the goalie. caps fall to the sharks 5-3. cbs this morning begins at the top of the hour and this morning a look back at first lady jacqueline kennedy's televised white house tour 50 years later. before that we'll get one more check of traffic and weather. keep it right here on 9news now.

we have one more thing for you on this valentine's day. i want you to consider the source. it is a survey done for seattle's best coffee but it

says that the best way to ensure lasting relationships is to start the morning with your loved one in a -- and a nice cup of coffee. one-third of coffee drinkers say it's the best way to have a relationship beating out flowers, jewelry, even a nice dinner. >> one of the other neat things in this study, they say one- third of americans or one-third of coffee drinkers who are americans say a morning cup of coffee after a romantic night if you stay the night is actually more of a sign that the relationship is getting serious than if you leave a toothbrush. an extra cup of coffee in the morning is moribunding, even more -- more bonding even more so than updating your facebook status. >> if you're a tea drinker, it means the same for you. you might need something warm this morning. it's in the 30s out there. clouds today. we get into the low 50s. isolated sprinkle. sunny tomorrow. some rain turns thursday and maybe winter returns on sunday.

stay tuned. if you're going to head inbound on i-66, we're going to take a live look from sky 9. the delays begin from manassas to centreville and here at route 50 off and on to 123 and the beltway. a quick look live on the north side of town. outer loop delays typical. 59 past new hampshire avenue to georgia. last two days have been rock and roll. today we're taking a breather. wall street looking flat this morning. cbs this morning is coming up next. they of course are going to have a new poll regarding the g.o.p. race for president. also racquel welch is going to stop by. we're going to be back in 25 minutes and update ow your traffic and weather -- you on your traffic and weather. get updates on news, weather and traffic by visiting wusa9.com. we'll see you tomorrow morning at 4:25. have a great day, everybody. we love you. happy valentine's day.