average. average highs are 49. we're almost there now. 48 degrees. mostly cloudy skies. by noon 60-ish with plenty of sunshine. a little bit of a breeze. highs mid up toker 60s, may be flirting with 70 a couple spots south of town. clouds thicken tonight as we'll get some showers in here. in fact, we had showers overnight. overnight showers are back in the the atlantic. to the west in west virginia, these showers are trying to get over the mountains. don't think they're going to have too much success other than the clouds that we'll see from them. your temperatures way up there. we're in the mid-40s. the cold spots in the low 40s but we've got areas like cumberland at 52. it's 50 in baltimore. 48 in cambridge. it's 48 also at the pax river naval air station. manassas, you'll at least need a light jacket this morning but with high temperatures going spring like today into the low to mid-60s north, mid up toker 60s central and south, i mean, it's going to be feeling pretty good out there. we will turn colder for the

weekend. i'll have more on that coming up in about 14 minutes. right now over to monika with time saver traffic. thank you so much. good morning, everybody. we're getting word of an accident in wheaton on randolph road at glen allen. fire and rescue are headed to the scene. also an accident on the bw parkway between route 50 and 450. so be aware of that as well. crews are just headed out. we don't have any lane information as of yet. i do know it involves a car into the woods. bw parkway near route 50. we'll take a live look at the beltway on the east side of town. no problems to report on the beltway itself in prince george's county between 95 and the wilson bridge south of town. so you're good to go along that stretch. back to the maps and this time on to the west side of town. no problems to report on the gw parkway as you head southbound into town. 66 inside the belt wie, we'll take a live look -- beltway, we'll take a live look where all lanes are open. same story on 395 to the 14th street bridge. more on what's going on with the two accidents at 5:10.

if a judge in the uva lacrosse murder trial goes along with the jury's recommendation, george huguely will get a 26-year prison sentence. jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder last night. >> the judge then immediately held a sentencing hearing and the jury came back with 25 years for the murder count and one year for grand larceny for taking victim yesterdayly love's computer -- yeardley love's computer. delia goncalves has more on this verdict. >> reporter: good morning. it was certainly an emotional end to a very trying case that lasted about two weeks of very intense testimony. it gripped the whole nation and really stunned the uva community. after that two-week trial and nearly 60 witnesses and nine hours of deliberations, a jury found 24-year-old george huguely guilty of murdering his on and off girlfriend and then stealing her laptop. but they say it was not premeditated. the case focused on ten violent minutes in her bedroom back in may 2010 after huguely kicked

down her apartment door. both were drunk and he admitted to shaking love but claimed she hit her own head against the wall. huguely never testified in court but a taped police interview showed a seemingly shocked and tearful huguely when he was told for the first time that love was dead. >> there are no winners in this case. there's nothing but loss everywhere. our hearts go out to the love family. they've suffered enormously. >> we of course are disappointed with this verdict but we've been proud to represent george in his fight for fairness over the last couple of years. he has the support of a loving family. he's displayed amazing resilience and courage. >> reporter: the prosecution we should tell you was hoping of course for first-degree murder. the defense, you heard from the

attorney, the last sound bite, the defense was hoping for manslaughter charges only which would lead to a very much less prison sentence for george huguely. coming up in a half-hour, we'll have reaction from his neighbors here in montgomery county. back to you. >> delia goncalves in our satellite center. the man accused of plotting to blow up the u.s. capitol waived his rights to several hearings in a court appearance wednesday. amine el khalifi was arrested friday in an f.b.i. sting. agents say el khalifi volunteered to wear vests filled with explosives. he was arrested after given a vest filled with fakes. the judge ordered he be held without bond pending his indictment. law enforcement agencies are telling capitol hill staffers to be extra vigilant about their mail. house speaker john boehner was the target of a letter containing suspicious powder as were several senators. so far the powder that's been tested is harmless, but the writer is threatening to send poison letters to other

lawmakers. john stewart and steven colbert got warning letters as did "the new york times" and "washington post." this is one of my favorite stories this morning. we've heard from these candidates for 20 debates now. here's a way to make politics more concise. at last night's republican presidential debate, one cnn viewer asked the candidates to describe themselves using one word. here's what they said. >> congressman paul? >> consistent. >> senator santorum? >> courage. >> senator? >> resolute. >> mr. speaker? >> cheerful. >> the debate got more intense after that with some heated exchanges. we'll have more from the rest of the debate coming up later in the hour. the virginia house of delegates pass add bill that

would require women to get an ultrasound before having an abortion. however, a big change was made before that vote actually happened from the urging of governor bob mcdonnell. the original version would have forced women to undergo an invasive version of the procedure. governor mcdonnell says he does oppose abortion but the government should not be in the business of forcing people to undergo an invasive medical procedure. 5:06. time for the latest your money report of the morning. jessica is under the weather. wall street saw some red arrows yesterday. stocks were mostly lower one day after the dow crossed the 13,000 mark for the first time in nearly four years. investors don't appear to be convinced that a second bailout package for greece will prevent that country from going bankrupt and possibly exiting the euro next month. checking the numbers, the dow lost 27 points. the nasdaq dropped by 15. the s&p was down four and a half.

eight american -- american airlines says it won't have to furlough employees this summer as well. the company and association of professional flight attendants say the furloughs won't be needed because so many workers signed up for job sharing and voluntary leave. american still wants to cut about 13,000 jobs under a bankruptcy reorganization. at&t c.e.o. is paying for the failed merger with t-mobile literally. the board of directors cut his 2011 compensation by $2 million as a direct response to the failed t-mobile takeover led by randall stevenson last year. federal regulators blocked the deal and at&t had to pay a breakup fee. don't feel too sorry for stevenson. despite the pay cut, he still made $22 million last year. still ahead, the obama administration is looking at new options to deal with the violence in syria.

that story is coming up. plus, this week one city in the rockies has been averaging more than a foot of snow a day. the nationals face a contract deadline this week with the face of the franchise. more on that next.

9 after 5:00 on this thursday morning. going to be an incredibly warm day for this time of year as we have temperatures going well up in the 60s. average high 49. we could be 20 degrees above that in spots before the afternoon is over. this will be the last really nice day we have for a while. our day planner, we start in the low 50s here by 9:00. we're actually in the 40s in many areas how but 60 'ish by noon. a 5:00 p.m. temp of 63. right now monika is in with time saver traffic. here's a live look in wheaton at georgia avenue at dennis nearby north of this point in wheaton. an accident on randolph road at glen allen. more on area roadways at 5:17. making news now at 5:10 this morning, a bomb exploded at a bus station this morning in pakistan. at least 13 people were killed and dozens more wounded. the victims included women and

children. local authorities say they have two men in custody for questioning. this morning syrian government forces are bombing the city of homs for the 20th straight day. this latest shelling comes despite international outrage over the killing of 80 people yesterday, including two western journalists. the white house hinted it's considering other options if political maneuvers fail to get results. you heard howard mention this a little while ago. after a slow start in parts of the rockies, mother nature is making up for lost time. more than four feet of snows that fallen in steamboat springs in the last few days. we had a couple of feet of snow on the ground this time two years ago but howard only has one lonely flake in his seven-day forecast. who gets to see that? details next at 5:15. 5:23, harsh words from the wizardses coach about his team's performance. ahead at 5:35, how our iffy

economy has enimpacted the tooth -- has even impacted the tooth fairy.

good morning. welcome back to nine fine now. 5:14 on this -- to 9news now. 5:14 on this thursday. looking forward to the weekend. will it be as mild as today? >> not a chance. really it's going to be about 20 degrees colder if not more for saturday and sunday. >> has that not been the

pattern this winter, up and down. >> when we get the cold it doesn't last. we'll be back in the 50s by early next week. keep that in mind. if you're going to go skiing this weekend, i think it will still be okay on the slopes. we're running out of time and will be running out of snow shortly as well. very mild this morning. we're going to be in the 40s and even low 50s in spots the next few hours with partly cloudy skies. a few showers in western virginia might sneak into parts of western maryland or the shenandoah valley. i don't think they'll make it toward us. our sunshine at about 6:50. today a good deal of sunshine. it will be a warm day, breezy at times. by noon we're up to 60. we could have highs mid- to upper 60s, maybe near 70. by 5:00 still in the low 60s. you have any outdoor plans today, any work to do outside or want to take a nice, long walk for lunch, you'll be all right. the showers in west virginia, you can see them out here. they're pushing into central west virginia, moving east but as they get across the mountains, a lot of this isn't even reaching the ground right

now but we'll watch it because just a slim chance any of that is going to survive. temps are in the mid-40s at culpeper and winchester. oakland and garrett counties 37. 50 in baltimore. upper 40s in southern maryland and fredericksburg. salisbury 50 degrees. locally we've got 50 in college park still. crofton is 49. baden is 48. out to the west a little colder, especially prince william county. haymarket has dipped to the 40- degree market while reston is 44. looking outside on our weather camera, good visibility under partly cloudy skies and 48 degrees. dew point 44. a slight windchill making it feel like it's in the mid-40s with the winds out of the south, southwest at 8 miles an hour. our weather maker next one is coming here in the northern plains, northern rockies. this push of cold air south -- by the way, steamboat had another foot of snow last night, incredible how much snow they've had. about 84 inches, almost 7 feet in the last two weeks. that cold air is coming down. that's what we're going to be feeling for the weekend. in the short term, we're going

to watch a storm system out west approach us tonight and early friday. with that we'll have a chance for some showers. not so much today even though we have this weak boundary north of us but you'll notice the moisture from north carolina lifting into virginia this weekend. coming over us tonight during the overnight, even tomorrow morning a few showers until this front passes. behind the front the winds are going to scream out of the northwest. we could have gusts tomorrow to 40, maybe 45 miles an hour. ifas the cold air returns to the mountains, the rain showers change to snow showers. i'm sure the snow guns will be flying as long as they can till the end of the month. our forecast today, we've got high temperatures mid up toker 60s. showers tonight into early friday. friday 65 but we've got the arrow. it's going to get colder in the afternoon so we may be able to hold on to the mid-60s through midday. a rain are a snow showers on saturday, 45, back in the 50s by monday. it's 5:17. i wish it were 6:17.

here's monika. at least we have good news for everybody today. things are looking great out on the roadways. i have two minor accidents to tell you about. one on the bw parkway near the pepsi plant. it was a car into the woods and crews there say there are minor injuries involved. they should be able to clear it very shortly. this right here is an accident in wheaton on randolph road at glen allen and crews are just headed to the scene as well. otherwise the beltway looks good out of college park. we'll take a live look outside right now all the way up in frederick on 70 east of 270 no problems here as you head on to 270 and down to the point where the lanes divide. all lanes are open. back to the maps this time all the way south into virginia on the northbound side of 95 i'm happy to say that it's incident free right now. we'll take a live look up here in springfield on the northbound side of i-95. lanes are open. a bit of volume forming at 5:18 in the morning. we'll take a live look at 395 a little further north here in shirlington looking great to the 14th street bridge.

more on area roadways coming up again at 5:24. the capitals are in a free fall that could leave them out of the post-season. that's coming up in sports. >> what's the deal with that? the wizards new coach had pretty harsh words for his players after last night's game. 5:19. we want to take another look at our question of the day. it is slightly more than 10% of people admit doing this at work at least once a month. is it a, crime, b, taking work supplies home, c, fighting with a co-worker. >> one of our facebook friends wrote if somebody cries at work at least once a month, it's time to find another job. >> log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during our 6:00 hour.

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50s. 5:22 right now. partly cloudy right now. 40s and 50s. this afternoon we'll be seeing partly sunny conditions, mid- 60s. some highs will make it into the up every 60s -- upper 60s and enough sun maybe 70. the capitals will be hard- pressed to even make the playoffs this year. kristen berset with more in your morning sports. good morning, everybody. the capitals are now officially

playing desparation hockey. last night heading go the game, second period they're down 3-0. chris philips with a bristry flap -- blistery slap shot. caps trying to get back in. ouch. the senators put the caps away late. empty net. right in. caps lose it 5-2. wiz also in action last night hosting the kings. in the second sacramento turns the ball over. jordan crawford going coast to coast. hoop anded harm. wizards up 8 at the break. they score a season high 68 points in the first half. but the wizards couldn't close out. sacramento wins by 8. randy whitman not very happy with his guys after this game. >> we got guys going in for a

layup and does a reverse 360 and misses the whole thing. until we're committed to making winning basketball plays for the whole game, it's going to look like that. >> the nationals have just two more days to negotiate a contract extension with ryan zimmerman or else talks will have to wait till the next off- season. he has two years left on his current contract but doesn't want this to be a distraction for him or his team during spring training. remember, position players report on saturday. that's a quick look at sports. have a great thursday, everybody. here's today's highlight for you. it's really high. watch. this is last fight first quarter, nuggets-clippers game. chris paul passes it to randy foy above the box.

goes way up. clippers did win the game. just amazing. >> and they didn't break the glass on the boards. 5:25, new rules being announce dad could better protect your privacy while using mobile phones and the internet. we get a progress report from the national cathedral six months after the earthquake damaged it. monika? we're going to take a live look in northeast on new york avenue at bladensburg road. no issues here. the accident on the bw parkway in cheverly is cleared. all the crossings are intents free. more on -- are incident free. more on area roadways coming up. stay with us.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. thanks for joining us. here's monika santami. >> oh, wow.

look at that. >> i don't know what's going on. i'm happy it's going to feel like spring for a day before we get cold and blustery by tomorrow night into saturday. enjoy it. it's going to be one of those little spring previews. we've already got things that are popping buzz wise. our rose bush on the weather terrace. >> i like it when you say that. >> i just don't want a killing freeze. let's get you going with the day planner this morning. it's going to be fine at the bus stop. it's going to be fine all day. sunshine 52 at 9:00. by noon 60. by 5:00 63. i think the allergies are getting to be with the high tree pollen that was reported yesterday. showers out in west virginia this morning. they are diminishing but we're seeing a few of them in the eastern parts of west virginia crossing route 50 almost across junction. this might be reaching the ground like 5:22 in the northern part of frederick

county. just a couple of sprinkles. mid-40s in the shenandoah valley. we're in the upper 40s here in town. still 50 in baltimore. 51 annapolis. highs later today mid up toker ofs on -- mid up toker 60s. it's now 5:30. monika santami, how is it looking out there so far? eight not looking bad. we had -- it's not looking bad. we had a couple of minor incidents in maryland. both of those are clear. no problems to report. here's what it looks like on the west side of town. no problems out of leesburg on the dulles toll road. haymarket on 66 all the way through centreville and to the beltway you're going to be final. let's take a live look inside the beltway where there are no problems to report across the roosevelt bridge inside the beltway on 66. let's go back over to the maps and this time we'll take a look inside the beltway on 395 heading for the 14th street bridge. the length pt of -- the sign of 395 -- [indiscernible] northbound side no problems across the river here and into

the downtown area. more on maryland roads at 5:39. back to you. this morning a guilty verdicts and possible sentence in the uva lacrosse murder case. george huguely has been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his exgirl friend yeardley love. it took the jury nine hours to reach that verdict. >> then the judge immediately held the sentencing hearing and late last night jurors recommended a 25-year prison sentence for second-degree murder and a year prison sentence for grand larceny for the theft of yeardley love's computer. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is in our satellite center with more and reaction. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is important to mention always you had said, this is purely a recommendation by the jury. a judge of course will have the final say when it comes to sentencing but i can tell you that the jury sentence, their recommendation far less than what the guidelines for those charges call which could have put george huguely behind bars for up to 60 years.

the 24-year-old uva lacrosse player was visibly pale in court when the verdict was read. after two weeks of trial and more than 60 witnesses, the jury came down with the second- degree murder charge. huguely's attorneys were hoping for manslaughter claiming his drunken attack against yerdzley love was an -- yeardley love was an accident and not the blows that claimed her life but a jury of course found otherwise. huguely grew up in chevy chase and spent time with his dad in potomac where neighbors reacted to the news. >> we're very sad that this family has gone through this traumatic incident. >> growing up, a good family. losing that child, going to the jail, that's really, really sad for their family, too. >> reporter: also damaging to huguely's case, his own words in letters and an e-mail, one saying he was going to kill yeardley love for allegedly cheating on him. another when he said alcohol was, quote, ruining my life.

huguely's friends say they planned an intervention but of course it was too late. he was already arrested in this case. coming up in a half-hour, a statement from love's family in my next live report. back to you. >> thank you, delia. remember that d.c. police escort for charlie sheen? a former police commander connected to that little trip is taking legal action. hilton burton plans to file a whistle blower lawsuit against the district. members of burton's team provided sheen's escort from dulles airport to his performance at constitution hall last april on his winning tour. after the story made headlines burton testified before the d.c. council that celebrities often got police escorts. weeks later burton was demoted. he claims that demotion came because of his testimony. police chief cathy lanier said the demotion was not connected to the escort nor to burton's testimony. do you remember what happened six months ago today? if you were in the d.c. region, you felt the earth move under your feet.

sounds like a song. from that quake that was centered in louisa, county, -- louisa county, virginia. the national cathedral still has a lot of work to do as far as repairing the damage there that day. they raised $7 million but still needs another $18 million to complete the repairs. the 5.8 magnitude earthquake cracked parts of the cathedral and a fair amount of its stone work. dom minion virginia power is trying to find the source of a leak at its nuclear power plant. they told the regulatory commission tuesday that ground water tests had contaminated contaminated tridium at twice the accepted level. they say it's not hazardous to the public. the state nat is expected to start discussing the same sex marriage bill today. the measure passed out of committee tuesday but republican leaders asked for a

one-day delay before starting the full senate debate. the state senate could vote tomorrow on the bill. if it passes as a similar bill did last year, governor martin o'malley could soon make maryland the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. it's 5:35. time for another your money report. jessica is out sick today so we'll use our mobile gadgets and give you the news. that's what the story is about. mobile gadgets and he internet tools -- and internet tools, companies are able to track what we do and where we go. the obama administration is calling for stronger privacy protections for consumers. administration officials today will outline a proposed consumer privacy bill of rights. guidelines would initially be voluntary but penalties could follow. in the meantime google and a bunch of other internet giants are getting together to support a do not track button for most web browsers. "the wall street journal" says the industry has been resisting the move for more than a year. the reversal will be announced

as part of the white house's plan. it seems the slow economy is even affecting the tooth fairy. a new survey shows the average gift from the tooth fairy has dropped $2.52 and now -- has dropped from $2.52 to $2.10. the economy apparently. the survey also shows that most common amount left under the pillow by the tooth fairy is $1. jessica will be back in a few minutes with a rundown of the day's daily deals. doctors find a longer commute can wear down your heart as well as your car.

5:28.

this afternoon we'll probably be able to leave the jacket in the office. spring like today. sunshine. temperatures are going to be into the 60-degree range. lunch time. mid up toker ofs on, maybe near 70 for a high. reagan national a 6:00 temperature still 61. monika is looking at the roads this morning with time saver traffic. i am. i'm looking at the district at rhode island avenue at florida northeast. this is fine but at rhode island and south dakota avenue, lights are out and police are directing traffic. before i go, i want to let you know there's new evidence being stuck in traffic could be harmful for your heart. according to a report in the journal of medicine and science in sports and exercise, researchers tracked data on almost 8,000 men over 20 years. they found an increased risk of cardiovascular disease among men who spent ten hours per week in a car or more than 23 hours of driving time and time in front of the tv combined. doctors suggest heavy drivers look at alternatives like telecommuting once or twice a

week. that sounds good to me. coming up in my next report, we'll take a look into virginia at 5:38. >> thanks, monika. jessica is a little under the weather today but we're still finding you the daily deals. >> we've been combing through the e-mailers and websites. we find a deal for a new tv. it's on bestbuy.com. pay $169.99 for a new 24-inch insignia led10-80p hdtv. normally it goes for $249.99, an $80 savings. if you need a room painted, living social has a deal with district authority painters. pay $180 and you get a 12 by 12 room painting which is a savings of $250. the deal is good for people who live within a 40-mile radius of d.c. we end with one for the ladies. kgb deals has an offer with salon mirage in arlington. pay $15 for a standard mani-

pedi that normally goes for $37. if you have an offer you've seen or if you're a local merchant with a an offer for our viewers, post them on jessica doyle's facebook page. i'm losing my voice. not all verbal jabs in the latest republican debate were aimed at president obama. that story is coming up. glus, we have more on the threatening letters that investigators are telling capitol hill staffers to look out for and be extra careful. birthday time. let's see who's celebrating today. peter fonda is 72. n.f.l. hall of famer brad biletnikoff is 69. actress emily blunt is 29.

good morning. welcome back to nine fine now. we're -- 9news now. we're not certain what month we're in because the temperatures are so warm. look at it right now. 48 degrees. it's just going to keep going higher. >> average is 49. >> we're there. >> we're going to be in the mid- to upper ofs on so -- mid- to upper 60s. by tomorrow afternoon colder air will be moving n. the winds tomorrow, haven't talked about this much but the winds on friday afternoon could gust 40, 45 miles an hour. that will bring significant changes back to our region and the colder air will return. this morning the bus stop forecast, i think just a fleece or a sweat shirt or something. it's not bad at all with temperatures in the 40s, even low 50s this morning under partly sunny skies. we have a couple of clouds.

if you're in the northern shenandoah valley, you may still see a sprinkle in the next little while but generally a sunny day. by noon we're going to be pushing the 60-degree mark. by 1:00 low 60s. this afternoon mid if not upper 60s for highs. i would not be surprised at all if we got 570 out there. -- we got a 70 out there. winds could gust toward 20. this evening clouds start to weekend a little bit by -- start to increase a little bit by 5:00. temperatures in the low 60s. had some showers overnight. the streets may be a little wet by you. this morning we're looking at some other showers across parts of west virginia, especially central and southern west virginia. look into western maryland, a couple of echoes are showing up. not positive all of this is reaching the ground but we're detecting this very light stuff trying to get into frederick county, virginia north of winchester. out 50 toward capon bridge. our temps are coldest in prince

william market with hey -- prince william county with haymarket at 40 degrees. sterling 46. to the east college park and upper marlboro at 50 right now along with bwi. rockville is 47. alexandria 47. and looking outside now, pretty nice morning out there. partly cloudy skies. good visibility. 48 degrees with a south, southwesterly wind at 8 miles an hour. slight windchills feeling like it's in the low to mid-30s. comfortable for this time of year. it's all going to change. we have cold air coming into the country sinking south. notice how the greens turn to blues. more heavy snow across parts of the rockies. for us the cold air is going to be arriving tomorrow afternoon. for us that also means we'll have the chance at least for some showers coming later tonight and tomorrow. so 67 degrees today. a warm one out there. maybe near 70 in a few spots. sunny and nice. tonight as the front lifts to

the north, we're going to have some showers around. don't think we'll have sun us with but showers into early friday. the winds are going to pick up. we'll get to 65. maybe even hold on to it through the lunch hour. in the afternoon dropping temperatures. low to mid-30s by friday night into saturday morning. saturday 45. as we head towards saturday, we could also have some passing rain or snow showers. sunday upper 40s. look at that. we're back in the 50s by monday and maybe more showers with milder temperatures by wednesday. it is now 5:48. monika santami has a look at time saver traffic. if you're planning to head around town, we have a couple of incidents to tell you about. i'm going to start off with virginia and if you're planning to head into the burke area, this accident is on the northbound side of route 7100 here at burke lake road and fairfax county police are on the scene there on 66 the lanes are open. let's take a live look there. initial delays at route 123 and

they're going to continue as you head toward nutley street before the pace improves. at the fairfax county parkway, things look great on the inbound side of 66. this time on the northbound side of 95, it's incident free coming across the occoquan river. some delays at the prince william parkway as you head to route 1. further north into springfield, brake lights for this begin down in lorton. then on 395 a live look there. if you're planning to head a little further north on to 395, delays just past landmark as you head for seminary road. another update on area roadways at 6:00. making news at 5:49, at least seven people are reported dead today in afghanistan where thousands are protesting in the streets. demonstrations are spreading after u.s. troops burned copies of the quran. they say they were mistakenly sent to the incinerator. police in seattle are trying to determine how a third

grader got hold of a gun. the gun was in the boy's backpack and it went off yesterday at school and the bullet hit an 8-yard girl. she's -- 8-year-old girl. she's now in critical condition. the student who brought the gun is now in juvenile detention. capitol hill staffers are being told to be extra vigilant about any mail they receive. house speaker john boehner and several senators have received letters containing suspicious powder. so far the powder has been rendered harmless. the four republican presidential candidates debated last night in mesa, arizona. it's the final faceoff before next tuesday's primaries in arizona and mitch gandz and super -- michigan and super tuesday after that. >> rick santorum traded verbal punches with the man who had been running first in the polls mitt romney. susan mcginnis has more. >> reporter: rick santorum spent much of last night's republican debate in arizona defending himself.

the former pennsylvania senator is in a high stakes battle with mitt romney for front-runner status. he sparred with romney over earmarks. >> while i was fighting to save the olympics you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. >> reporter: ron paul argued santorum is not a true conservative. >> this idea of being fiscally conservative now that we're running for office and we're going to repeal something we did before, i mean, it loses credibility. >> reporter: the crowd booed santorum more than once, including when he tried to defend his vote for the no child left behind education bill. >> it was against the principles i believed in but, you know, when you're part of the team, sometimes you take one for the team for the leader and i made a mistake. >> reporter: santorum attacked romney for supporting a bailout for wall street but not for the auto industry. >> then when it came to the auto workers and the folks in detroit, he said no. i believe in markets, not just when they're convenient for me. >> reporter: romney argued he

supported a managed bankruptcy. >> no way would we allow the auto industry in america to totally implode and disappear. >> reporter: newt gingrich focused on the president, including this swipe at how he handled the bay jowl-- >> bailout. >> he had an unprecedented violation of 200 years of bankruptcy law by barack obama to pay off the uaw. >> reporter: last night could be the last chance for voters to see the candidates face to face before the next round of nominating contests. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. 5:52. we want to take another look at our question of the day. it is slightly more than 10% of people admit doing this at work at least once a month. is it a, crying, b, taking work supplies home, or c, fighting with a co-worker. >> facebooker terry says there goes that pen and pencils again but i'm sure that's not the answer. >> log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer in

about an hour. denny's new sizzlin' skillets are here for a limited time. so strike while the iron's hot. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open.

elijah mccoy invented an automatic lubricator for oiling steam engines of locomotives and ships t. allowed trains to run faster. mccoy also invented the oil dripping cup and the saying associated with his name, the real mccoy. why? the theory is others tried to duplicate his invention but they didn't work as well.

soon customers began asking for the real mccoy meaning the real thing. go to wusa9.com to find out more about african-american contributions to society. 5:56. still a couple of areas where the streets are wet because we had some showers moving through overnight. this morning a few showers trying to make it into the shenandoah valley. up around winchester we've seen a couple of returns along route 50 and well out to the west, the leading edge of our next system which is going to bring some big changes and bring us back to reality as we head into tomorrow afternoon. certainly by saturday going to be sharply colder around here. but today a touch of spring. this morning not bad. we're in the 40s, even near 50 degrees in a few spots with partly cloudy skies. we'll head toward the 9:00 hour. not too much change in the temperatures just yet but a little bit sunnier except maybe south where we have clouds

hanging down south of fredricksburg, southern maryland. 53 degrees for your 9:00 temp at pacs naval air station. a great lunch hour to take a walk or have a long lunch on the patio. 57 for leesburg. low 60s in culpeper. mid-50s here parts of the shenandoah valley. as we head to the afternoon, partly sunny. maybe a few pore clouds later on. highs in the -- few more clouds later on. highs in the mid- to upper 60s. if we get enough sun, we could have some areas hit 70. there are questions about relevance of smartphones and other gadgets. >> reporter: it looks nice with its 5-inch screen and feels

good but is anyone going to buy it? >> time is the real commodity that everyone is trading in. i've got 15 minutes am i going to pull my phone out and play a game or reach into my backpack and grab my play station. >> reporter: its size and singular function is the problem. >> it really is just a games device. a lot of people are coming back to why? my phone does it. >> reporter: then there's the cost. the base model is $249 plus $100 memory stick and $40 games. >> at a time where we're all playing games for 99 cents or a bunch of games for free, we balk at playing for a downloadable game on our iphone. suddenly a $40 game is like ah. >> reporter: we asked if people if they would buy it. only 12% said yes. people in downtown san francisco agree.

>> why do i need it. >> i have an iphone, ipad two laptops. i'm pretty quell geared up-- >> well geared up. >> reporter: but sony is betting people will want two devices. >> we have a taker here. howard's son maybe but that's about it. >> he's -- there's a fight in my house over this. >> go for a walk, people. thank you for watching us right now before you go for that walk. at 6:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. i tell that to my little one all the time, come on, let's go outside. if you are going out for a walk or anything else, howard has your weather first. >> it's going to be one of those days put the play station portable down. there was a story about those guys who were texting and walking and getting injured. this is not the day to do that. this is a day to open your eyes and enjoy. we'll have sunshine today. 60 degrees by noon. high 65 to possibly 70 even south and west of town. by 5:00 still looking good and 63