>> what's that? >> reporter: that's your eye on entertainment. good morning. you're watching 9news now on this 5:00 a.m. friday morning. i'm jessica doyle. i'm peggy fox. andrea and mike are both off today. monika santami will have traffic in a moment. right now howard has your weather. i have a bone to pick with you. because i was planning to grill out tonight. >> you can grill out with an umbrella. i know it was really nice yesterday and it's going to be sunny this morning but clouds and showers are going to quickly come back later this afternoon. >> i have spring fever. >> you can go out to lunch but dinner -- you can grill out for lunch but dinner time -- i don't know what to tell you. it's chilly this morning. grab the jacket and gloves. we've got temperatures which are down in the low 30s in spots. we're in the low 40s in town. upper 40s by 9:00. mid-50s by noon as we go partly sunny. the showers roll in mid- to late afternoon with a 5:00 p.m. temperature of 56.

highs between 55 and 60 depending how quickly those clouds roll in. you can already see some of those clouds coming up toward the roanoke area early this morning. your temperatures down to the upper 20s in the panhandle of west virginia and martinsburg. it's 40 on the bay in annapolis. it's 38 at pax river. la plata and manassas also below freezing. we're at 43. highs again 55 to about 60. monika santami, it's early on friday. should be good news, right? it's very good news actually. things are looking great all around town. good friday morning, everybody. the beltway is incident free and all that construction on the west side of town through annandale and inbound on 66 should have been cleared up by now so you should be good to go coming in from centreville, fairfax and the beltway. no problems on the dulles toll road out of leesburg or through the tysons area as well. all the main corridors are looking fine. let's take a look live outside on the inbound side of 66. again at the fairfax county parkway your lanes are open. no problems on route 29 as well as you come inbound this morning. let's take a look over on the

north side of 95 and 395. no problems there. we'll go back to our maps. route 450 is closed down west of the bw parkway with a water main break. coming up in my next report, we'll go into maryland at 5:09. lawmakers have approved it but now the wait is on to see whether maryland voters will be vetoed same-sex marriage. governor martin o'malley signed the bill into law last night. although it doesn't take effect till january 1, 2013. 9 news now reporter delia goncalves has more from our satellite center. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, jess, peggy. just after 5:00 yesterday evening, maryland officially became the eighth state plus the district of columbia to recognize same-sex marriage. but as you mentioned, opponents say not without a fight. in the statehouse yesterday, though, major celebration as governor martin o'malley signed the bill flanked by senate and house leaders on both sides of this issue. you may remember the measure

barely passed the general assembly in the past two weeks with very tight votes in both the house and senate. and despite major controversy and debate, the governor held true to his promise and signed the bill into law which takes effect in 2013. >> we are one maryland, and all of us at the end of the day want the same thing for our children. the way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all. >> definitely proud to be marylanders and very excited. >> i knew it would come. it's an amazing thing that the governor and the legislature have done for us. >> however, don't be too fast. opponents, including the group maryland petition is already working to kill this bill by putting it up to the people for a vote hopefully in november. their efforts to reverse the bill plus how supporters actually helped them do n. i'll have more on that coming up in

my next live report in a half hour. >> thank you, delia. in virginia another attempt to repeal what's called the kings dominion law has failed. it bans public schools from opening before labor day unless they get a waiver. the bill died in committee yesterday. lobbyists for the tourism industry say they need workers through the labor day weekend. another bill that died thursday is the so-called tim tebow law. it would have let home schooled children in virginia play sports with their closest high school team. the bill is named after the broncos quarterback because he was home schooled in florida and allowed to play football on a high school team. supporters of the measure say home schooled children should get to play because their parents pay taxes like everyone else. but opponents say it would be unfair to let home schoolers play without meeting the same eligibility standards as public school students. d.c. police are investigating a late night murder in southeast. officers found two men shot right around the corner from each other, one on benning road

and the other on h street. one victim died at the hospital. the other is expected to recover. police say the shootings are related but have not released information on a possible suspect or motive. a convicted rapist was sentenced to three additional life terms for attacks he committed in montgomery county in the 1970's. timothy buzbee pleaded guilty earlier this week to three counts of first degree rape after investigators used d.n.a. to connect him to the unsoffed cases -- unsolved cases. in court some of buzbee's victims testified against him at his sentencing hearing. buzbee was already serving time for three 1983 rapes in aspen hill, but he had become eligible for parole. even though the judge added on more life terms, buzbee will still be eligible for parole in 11 years when he turns 65. the time right now 5:05. i'm still watching your money. will the dow end up above 13,000? we'll have to see later today.

stocks started the new month with modest gains yesterday. that was due in part to better than expected reports on unemployment and consumer spending. that helped to offset a jump in oil prices back above $110 a barrel, first time since may. checking the numbers now, the dow starts this morning from 12,980 after adding 28 points on thursday. nasdaq up by 22 points and the s&p 500 added 8. some good news about the job market. the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level in four years. the department of labor says 351,000 people applied for unemployment aid last week and that's done about 2,000 from the week before. wall street gets a new stock to trade today. yelp is did $15 a share last night. that was above the expected range. the stock will begin trading this morning under the ticker symbol y-e-l-p. that makes a lot of sense. it allows users to review

businesses and services in their communities. it will be interesting to see how wall street picks this one up because it is a pretty popular website. a new court filing reveals more details about the penn state child sex abuse scandal. ahead in sports, we'll head down to nationals spring training to hear from steven straussburg.

it is 8 after 5:00 on this friday morning. we're looking good early but we've got some showers on the way. here's your day planner. we start 30s and 40s. some areas below freezing so you might have a little frost in spots. we'll be in the 50s later this morning. this afternoon the clouds roll in as high temperatures get into the upper 50s. we'll be driving home likely with showers around so keep that in mind as you get ready. it's 5:09. time for monika santami with time saver traffic. enjoy this because it looks great on the northbound side of 395 between the beltway and the 14th street bridge. nice and light. all lanes are open. we'll go into maryland at 5:17. back to you. >> thank you very much. making news now at 5:10, new court papers reveal more details about the penn state

child sex abuse scandal. in the filing prosecutors say former assistant football coach jerry sandusky abused eight of his victims on the penn state campus and that they ranged in age from 8 to 17. syria says its army controls the rebel strong hold in the city of homs [ inaudible ] they said they were running low on weapons and that humanitarian conditions were unbearable. the senate has voted to keep a controversial obama administration birth control rule. the rule which is a part of the president's health care plan requires contraception coverage for employees of some religious institutions. if the employers object, then insurance companies must pick up the cost. we'll take a look at some of the new movies in theaters coming up at 5:40. at 5:18, why you'll want to plan to be at the cherry

blossom festival early this year. up next, 5:15, howard's seven-day forecast has some rain and some snow flakes. you're going to want to pay close attention to this one.

. 5:13. the next couple of days you just need to have everything in the wardrobe available. >>it's march. we get these ups and downs.

we had 70s yesterday. and sunday we may have some flurries flying. not expecting anything big but a little clipper system. >> do you call that decorative snow? >> conversational. let's be conversational about today, first things first with the bus stop forecast. it's a chilly one out there. temperatures in the 30s and 40s. the winds are light early. they'll be picking up out of the southeast later on. we will see the clouds pick up. by mid- to late afternoon the showers will pick up. sunrise this morning at 6:38. day planner sunny, 48 degrees by 9:00. this is for reagan national. midday temps will be in the mid- 50s so not too bad with the southeasterly winds at about 11 miles an hour. then this afternoon we're driving home with showers around. temperatures in the middle 50s. so it probably will be a slower commute for the ride home. a lot of cold air just to the north. we've got 20s across pennsylvania, up interest new england -- up into new england.

portland, maine got 13 inches of snow yesterday. we've got 30s in fredricksburg and culpeper. it's 43 here in washington this morning. as we look outside on our michael & son weather camera, clear skies, good visibility, calm winds and the dew point sitting in the low 30s. for us the next weather system is already causing problems this morning in the mid- mississippi valley. one severe thunderstorm watch box here and hail reported across parts of missouri with this big storm. look how it's popped up the last few hours. also to the east across parts of kentucky and tennessee, we've got more thunderstorms which are popping. and this whole area is going to be moving off toward the northeast toward us as we get into the afternoon hours. as we look at our future cast, no problems this morning. got travel plans flying out anywhere, driving out anywhere, we're good through at least the noon hour. i'm going to stop the clock at noon. notice the clouds increasing in

virginia. you get down toward roanoke and charleston and southern ohio, that's where we start to run into showers by noon. look how quickly things advance north and east. toward the 3:00 hour may have strong thunderstorms across parts of eastern ohio, northern, west virginia. rain moving in toward the shenandoah valley into fauquier county. as we get into the afternoon rush, 5:00 p.m., there could be moderate showers, maybe a few heavy ones as well all the way from garrett county back down toward d.c. southern maryland some rain. the heaviest showers by 10:00 will be east of us. then we're going to wait for the front. that front will be coming probably late morning tomorrow. out ahead of it overnight, some showers, maybe some storms by 5:00 a.m. colder air making the rain change to snow back in the mountains well west of us. by 10:45 we're still cloudy but the bulk of the rain by 10:45 looks like it's going to be already south and east of d.c. maybe a little longer southern maryland, the eastern shore and northern neck. if you have afternoon plans outside tomorrow, it's not

going to be the warmest day but we could probably make low 60s but it should not be raining certainly by the afternoon. so if not late morning. 58 today. late showers, maybe some rumbles of thunder tonight into saturday morning. saturday breezy, 62. colder on sunday. 47. it will be a brisk day with flurries possible late sunday, sunday night into monday. a real cold day on monday. then we're back to 60 by wednesday. 5:17. monika, what do you have for us? >> not much. i think all the construction from overnight is pretty much cleared up. volumes are pretty light around town. going to start off with a look at the beltway where you've got no problems all around on the west side and east side through prince george's county. we're going to go up to the american legion bridge. we're looking good across the potomac river, dulles toll road, 66 are good from the west as well. bucklodge road at barnesville road, watch out for problems with flooding from yesterday and that road is closed out in boyds. let's take a live look at 270 where there are no problems to report coming down from route

121 down to the point where the lanes divide. there's just a minor incident here, a truck stopped on the shoulder. no big deal. it's on the northbound side of 270 at 121. back over to the map. this time down to southern maryland. route 5, route 4, 301 all incident free to andrews air force base to oxon hill. if you're planning to head into southeast this is a look at the so you is a bridge. coming up in my next report, we'll go into virginia at 5:24. >> thanks very much, monika. cherry blossom lovers, mark your calendars. >> we now have the peak bloom forecast for the cherry blossom festival. the national park service predicts peak bloom between march 24 and the 31st. that's about a week. it's earlier than normal peak of april 4 thanks of course to our mild weather. byes way, this year's fest -- by the way, this year's festival will run for five weeks instead of two. that is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of tokyo's gift of

the cherry trees to washington. there's a big honor for a former 9news now sports anchor. details coming up. plus, a tough loss for the virginia cavaliers just a week before the start of the acc tournament. highlights coming up in sports. now let's take another look at our question of the day. according to a recent study, it takes around 20 dates before couples do this. what is it? sleep over, kiss, exchange house keys? >> kathy is taking things fast. she believes the answer is c because in this day and age, a and b are the norm. whoa, kathy. post your guesses and comments on our facebook fan page and we'll reveal the correct answer in the 6:00 hour.

it is 5:22. this morning no problems what so ever except the chill. we've got temps in the low 30s. maybe some frost here. even low 40s here in town and by the bay. we're going to go through mid- morning again with no problems except the sunshine, upper 40s. this afternoon noon, 56. southeast winds at 10. so a little brink but look at the clouds rolling in here -- brisk but look at the clouds rolling in here. by 3:00 culpeper could be looking at the rain. look how quickly it moves north. 4:30, 57. most of us could be seeing showers by then and looks like a wet commute home. over to you. >> thanks so much. the cavaliers lose a heartbreaker on the very last shot. >> while the nationals stephen

straws straussburg talks about why he won't be skipping april. stephen strawsberg was able to make his way back on the mound after undergoing surgery. he said the five starts he got at the end of the year did wonders for his confidence and preparations for this season but the nationals made it clear they're going to limit him to around 160 innings this season. the question has been asked why don't the nationals start him later in the year so they can use him down the stretch? strasburg in an interview yesterday said that just doesn't make any sense. >> as a competitor you work all off-season to prep for the season. i don't think there should be any separate treatment for myself or not. >> more news from viera. bryce harper will face his

first major league team tomorrow. he'll start against the nationals in the opener. adam la roche expects to play on sunday. it was senior night in dar lotsville. uva taking on florida state. unfortunately this would be one the cavs would like to forget. time winding down. the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. seminoles escape with a 63-60 win. the ladies won yesterday so they face maryland in the next round. that's a quick look at sports. have a great friday. now we've got some news to share about cbs and former 9news now sportscaster james brown. that's right. he used to be here. you might remember him when he was here. he has been named a special correspondent for cbs news. he'll still be host of the n.f.l. today and football season but now jb will contribute reports to other network shows including 60 minutes and the cbs evening news. of course we enjoy the chance

to dust off this circa 1985 video right here. >> congratulations. >> that's great. if you need a car but you can't afford to buy new, that would be me, i'm tell you about the best used car picks in the next your money report. plus, the first dog is starring in a new video about one of the most sought after tickets in d.c. we're going to take a look northbound on i-95 leaving dale city heading toward the occoquan river in springfield. all lanes are open. no delays so far. coming up in my next report, we'll take a look around the area once again at 5:29. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

happy friday morning. grab that cup of coffee. i'm jessica doyle. thank you for joining us this

morning. i'm peggy fox. monika santami right here. andrea and mike are both off today so we're holding down the fort here. let's start with howard. where did the nice weather go? i had frost on my windshield. >> i had one of those morpgz mornings -- those mornings. i woke up 20 minutes before the alarm went off. we're starting with clear skies and sunshine. by this afternoon the clouds will roll n. you'll need the jacket. you'll need the sunglasses for the sun and rain gear. you're driving home in the rain by 4:00, 5:00. that day planner this morning temperatures will be climbing by midday into the 50s. 56 by noon. we'll call it partly sunny by then. by 5:00 still 56 or 56 again after topping out in the upper 50s near 60. a better chance for showers for the afternoon commute. this morning we're watching the clouds up in pennsylvania. still up there for the most part north of the turnpike. around here generally clear.

then you get into southwestern virginia by roanoke. they've got some clouds there. that will be moving toward us late this morning really into the afternoon. some upper 20s to the north although manassas is also 32. frosty conditions. 33 also down in catlett and we're 43. a quick look at highs. upper 50s, maybe 60 down south. let's find out about your time saver traffic at 5:30. i don't think there be many complaints outside. i'm really happy to say that. mostly all of your lanes are open. all the overnight construction pretty much cleared up on the west side of town through annandale and inbound on i-66. if you're just leaving centreville or manassas coming inbound, i think you'll be just fine even on the dulles toll road from leesburg. we'll take a live look outside. if you're planning to head on the northbound side of 95 and 395, still very light as you can see heading up north across the 14th street bridge into the downtown area. let's go back to the maps and this time we're going to head over to the other side of town on the bw parkway and route 50

through cheverly. you're going to be okay. no problems on route 50. we'll take a live look inboindz side all -- inbound side, all lanes are light coming in from annapolis heading over to the beltway. coming up in my next report, we'll go over to the west side of town at 5:39. back to you. >> thank you, monika. one more commuter alert for you this morning. >> wssc crews are back at the site of this week's sinkhole in bladensburg, maryland. they're working on the water main issue that caused the road surface to buckle. the sinkhole is less than 2 feet deep but covers an area measuring 16 feet by 16 feet. it's huge. the site is on route 450 at 46th street. crews expect to keep one westbound lane shut down throughout the morning rush hour. doctors are trying to save the life of a woman found in a silver spring pool last night. lifeguards say the woman was not breathing when they pulled her out of the pool at the ymca on hastings drive. emergency crews took the victim

to the hospital in serious condition. it is not clear yet if the victim was swimming in the indoor or outdoor pool at this facility. with the swipe of a pen, maryland became the eighth state plus the district to recognize same-sex marriage. governor martin o'malley signed the bill into law yesterday but opponents are vowing to strike down the measure. delia goncalves is live in our satellite center with their plans. >> reporter: peggy, you said it. as soon as this bill passed, the general assembly last week, opponented were very busy immediately starting to gather those signatures in order to fight this measure. in fact, the group maryland petition is working on getting the issue on the november ballot. they are the same group responsible for successfully getting a referendum vote on the law giving in state tuition to undocumented students. the opponents fueled by dozens of maryland church leaders need to gather nearly 56,000 valid voter signatures in order to get the measure on the november

ballot and supporters of the bill actually helped them do this. you see about two weeks ago supporters struck a deal with the opposing side in order to get the bill passed in the house. they agreed to write in a condition allowing the issue to go to public for a vote and now opponents are moving full speed ahead. >> for whatever reason the governor is just pushing this on the state, pushing it beyond what they want to do. i think when it goes to the ballot in november november, the marylanders are going to stay just about in every other state, 334 of them, where they -- about 34 of them, where they have the chance to keep it between one man and a woman, i expect they'll say yes. >> when it comes down to holy matrimony and that's the word, "holy ,," holy matrimonial, i think the governor has made a grave error. >> many leaders of the black

churches in prince george's county and throughout maryland are really pushing this effort opposing the bill, but there are plenty of supporters and we'll have their celebration coming up in my next live report in a half-hour. today in virginia's general assembly delegates could debate a do over on the state budget. the state senate rejected the main budget bill wednesday. so yesterday the house quickly introduced another spending plan. if this bill make it is to the house floor today, the senate could take it up on monday. but the democrats are vowing to vote it down again. also governor bob mcdonnell says he will sign that controversial abortion bill. it will require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound exam first. last month some prince william county teachers protested a pay freeze by working to the rule, not staying past the time mandated in their contracts. this afternoon some of those teachers tell us they will be holding another demonstration

in woodbridge. the rally for the world class education will take place at prince william parkway and miniville road. under the superintendent's proposed budget, teachers would not be eligible for raises until 2016. the time right now is 5:35. time for another your money report and are you looking to downsize your vehicle because gas prices are so high? buying a used car is becoming a less risky endeavor but there's still some things you're going to want to check out. if you can't afford to buy brand new right now, consumer reports says its new car reliability has improved across many of the major automakers. among the cars that consumer reports lists as the most reliable used cars, we see models from toyota and honda seeming to dominate this list. in addition to asking the usual questions about mileage, condition and car's vehicle history, there are some other things you need to know about. know how to spot collision damage. look for things like mismatched panels or doors, hoods and

trunks that don't seem to shut properly. beware of flood damage. signs can include hints of mold and mildew, discolored carpets and occasionally electrical problems. step on the gas and listen for things like pings when accelerating. that can be a hint that the engine could overheat and get a vehicle history report to look for things like odometer fraud, past accident damage and other potential problems. also have the vehicle inspected by a mechanic you trust. always a big deal. >> very good idea. it's one of the hottest tickets in town for spring. the on-line lottery for this year's white house easter egg roll is now open. the announcement was made through a video featuring the first dog. the commemorative red bow egg featuring the first dog's paw prints is included in a special collector's egg set. the event takes place monday, april 9. the easter egg roll lottery closes this sunday, march 5 at 10:00 a.m.

you can enter through the week site white house.com. have you ever been to that? >> i would love to go. i would love to go. i never had the opportunity i went once and it wawr pouring -- and it was pouring down range. find out if metro's track work will affect your weekend plans. >> and if those plans include a movie, we'll take a sneak peek at a couple of the new ones in theaters today.

5:39. temperatures in the 30s. in frost out there. we're going to have a nice start to the day but a not so nice finish. expect the sunshine early. temps start again in some areas in the low 30s. we'll be mid-50s by noon as the clouds increase. we're driving home with showers, maybe some thunder, highs in the upper 50s. the let's go to monika santami

with a look at time saver traffic. a nice start to the rush hour as well i'm happy to say. here's what it looks like on the beltway. left side is the outer loop coming past route 1 to 95 and into silver spring. the lanes are open. no problems on 95 in from baltimore. for those of you who ride metro, three of the five lines are being worked on this weekend starting tonight at 10:00. three red line stations will be closed. shady grove, rockville and twinbrook. on the orange and blue lines trains will single track between eastern market and stadium armory. on just the orange line trains will single track it east falls church and west falls church. no work is scheduled on the green and yellow lines. coming up in my next report, we'll take another look into maryland at 5:49. happy friday, everybody. it's time for your daily deals. we have some great ones to help you enjoy the weekend. if you're seeking an under water experience, quantico scuba is offering a discovery

scuba diving experience. $25 throughupon. this is norm -- through groupon. this is normally a $50 value. this includes all the necessary equipment and an instructor. it teaches students basic skills and safety rules. double take deals is offering $50 worth of open bounce packages at sports bounce of loudoun for $25. you get a total of five passes. and finally looking for some family fun? $9 tickets to the washington wizards versus the golden state warriors. tickets normally go to -- go for 76% more. now we head back over to peggy. let's take a look at the new movies opening nationwide this weekend. project x has the story of three high school seniors who are somewhere between the popular click and the nerds. they decide to make a name for themselves by throwing an

unforgettable party. a party that of course quickly gets way out of control. this film, yeah, you guessed it, is r-rated. now to a pg movie for younger viewers. it's dr. seuss. this animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will help him win the girl of his dreams. along the way, he encounters the lorax who is charged with protecting the forest. danny devito is the voice of the lorax. you'll also hear taylor swift in this movie. there's also going to abwhirlwind of campaigning this weekend ahead of the super tuesday primaries. some places that depend on snow for their winter tourism dollars finally get a lot more than a dusting. let's see woz' celebrating a birth -- see who's celebrating a birthday today.

>> happy birthday, everyone.

we are back. howard bernstein is the man with the plan for your weekend. >> umbrellas only saturday morning. saturday afternoon we'll be done with t. sunday looks dry but cold. maybe a flurry then. but a quick hello to a fifth grade class. they are doing a lot of reading. great job. not just their class but the whole school. a really good school.

>> you could have worn a cat in the hat hat. >> there's always next year. >> had grass pollen a few days ago. thankfully that's gone. if you're an ale ji sufferer, you know -- allergy sufferer, you know what i'm talking about. look at this. the mold spores up to 21,000. that's considered high. they really did like all that rain we had yesterday and the day before. here we go, the bus stop forecast on leap day is when we got the pouring rain. clear and cold this morning. 30s and 40s to start. sunrise 6:38. we will get into the afternoon dry and then -- well, we get into the afternoon dry. we're not going to finish the afternoon dry. becoming partly to mostly cloudy by noon. this afternoon the showers will be here. they could be here as early as 3:30, 4:00. upper 50s. and by 8:00 p.m. certainly showers. possibly even a couple rumbles of thunder out there. temperatures falling back into the low 50s and probably not falling much more than that for

the overnight lows. we've got 32 in winchester and hagerstown and culpeper. there's your frosty areas. 45 in richmond while across the bay down to 34. there could be some isolated frost. low 30s from reston and sterling, 32. 34 in rockville but 30 up in gaithersburg. springfield is 36 along up wither marlboro and in college park this morning, 34. how about outside? a quick look -- my camera disappeared on me. we've got good visibility and clear skies. we'll get you another view here shortly. calm wind. the barometer 30.03. got severe thunderstorms already across parts of missouri. probably another watch coming out here with these storms in kentucky down toward tennessee. look how the line has popped in the last couple of hours from south carolina all the way towards southern indiana. that's a warm front lifting this way. we're going to get in on some of that this afternoon. the ohio and tennessee valleys between i-70 and i-40, that's where the highest risk is going

to be today. you know people out there, call them up. let them know they have a severe weather threat for possible tornadoes and large hail. that risk gets into our western area for late tonight, toward tomorrow morning. that threat for some of those stronger thunderstorms. today on the future cast, the clouds roll in this afternoon. the showers follow here. by 3:00 especially out in west virginia and ohio. by 4:30, 5:00 we've got rain most areas so i think the afternoon, evening commute will be a slower, wetter ride home. overnight we watch the showers and storms push through. tomorrow 5:00 a.m. maybe the heaviest stuff already south and east of us with some luck. by midday southern maryland still a few showers but the rest of us will be doing much, much better. the forecast then today we're going to be in the mid- to upper 50s, maybe near 60 with the afternoon and evening showers and storms through saturday morning. saturday afternoon partial clearing, 62. really drop to about 50 tonight. then sunday colder, 47. we could get some flurries late

sunday, sunday night into monday. monday the chilliest day at 42. we're back to 60 by wednesday. spring has pretty much sprung except for sunday and monday. if you're planning to head outside, just got word of an accident. i believe it's minor in nature but i want to let you know about it. on the eastbound side of route 7 at colvin run. just a heads up on that. if you're planning to head over to the northbound side of i-95 out of lorton, newington and springfield, you've got the normal slowdowns. we're going to take a live look. if you're planning to head here in springfield to the beltway, it's just bunching up exiting to the beltway. once you're on 395 we'll take a live look there. here's what it looks like at edsall road for you. no delays heading up to the 14th street bridge. back over to the map and this time let's go into maryland. southbound 270 also looking great. gaithersburg down to rockville and bethesda, no problems to report. again a live look if you're planning to head over to the american legion bridge on the west side of town, looks like this between tysons and

bethesda. coming up in my next report, another update of area roads at 6:00. back to you. making news now at 5:50, classes are expected to resume this morning at the ohio school where three students were shot and killed on monday. students and their parents marched back to chardon high yesterday in a sign of solidarity. the accused gunman t.j. lane faces juvenile charges but there's still a chance he will be charged as an adult. communities are already cleaning up for deadly storms and could be in for round two today. the national weather service is predicting severe weather for parts of the midwest and south. 13 people died wednesday when tornadoes hit states from kansas to tennessee. well, the shovels will be out today in new england but many people are actually enjoying it. that's because there hasn't been all that much snow this winter in parts of new hampshire got more than a foot by the time the flakes stopped falling yesterday. so the skis went on.

>> they're enjoying that. new sparks it the current top candidates in the republican presidential race. rick santorum's campaign is accusing mitt romney's camp of rigging the delegate distribution from tuesday's michigan primary. >> meanwhile all the four candidates have busy weekends ahead of super tuesday when virginia and nine other states head to the polls. >> reporter: rick santorum told supporters in spokane, washington they'll help reenergize his campaign during its caucuses tomorrow. >> we're excited about our chances here in washington state. we think we can surprise a lot of people. >> reporter: santorum lost to mitt romney in michigan on tuesday. the former pennsylvania senator says he should have been awarded half of the state's 30 delegates but michigan republicans gave romney an extra delegate saying there was confusion over new rules agreed to in february and a correction was made on wednesday. >> good ole boy network. they have to change the rules aft game so they can win. that's pathetic. >> reporter: santorum is leading romney in the polls in

ohio. they'll both campaign there today. ohio is a priority because it's a swing state in the general election gl. while campaigning in north dakota on thursday, romney said he's the candidate who can win in november. >> if i become the nominee, i'm going to beat barack obama and take america back. >> reporter: romney is looking to extend his lead in the race in the g.o.p. nomination next week. ten states and more than 400 delegates are up for grab on super tuesday. night gingrich admit there's a lot at stake in georgia, the state he served as congressman. >> i have to win in georgia i think to be credible in the race. >> reporter: while the g.o.p. candidateses battle to become the republican nominee, president obama is stock be his war chest. he spent thursday fund raising in new york and his campaign expects to raise a billion dollars for this election. cbs news, washington. in our next half-hour, find out where you can get free pretzels this weekend. coming up, a group of

recent college graduates try to make it profitable for you to play computer games. progressive saved me so much money on car insurance, this baggage fee is on me. did you check that bag? houston? well, welcome to savingsville. did you pay $25 for that bag fee? yeah. you did? with all the money i saved on progressive car insurance, i'll take care of that bag fee. woman: you're so kind! thank you! you guys just landed in savingsville. [laughs] yes, we did! you made my day. do you want to pay our college tuition, too?

5:56. clear skies, cold this morning. we have frost in spots. we have temperatures that are going to be climbing not too badly here as we go into mid- morning. mid-40s and even upper 40s with lots of sunshine. by lunch time the clouds start to increase, especially south and west of town. it will climb into the middle 50s. even across the bay

temperatures in the low 50s. then this afternoon 3:00, showers out to the west will roll over us by 4:00, 5:00 p.m. so it does look like the drive home will be a lot wetter and cloudier than what we're dealing with this morning with the sunshine. if you've ever been told playing computer games will amount to nothing, you can tell the naysayers they're wrong. >> a group of young entrepreneurs are out to prove you can cash in pretty heavily doing just that. we explain why gratii could soon be the currency of the future. >> reporter: a quick look around this place and you'll think you just stepped into a frat house. pizza boxes line the walls and beer paraphernalia serves as decorations, but it won't take long to notice this home turned lab is the birthplace of what could be the next big thing in the virtual world. >> it's almost like oh, my god, now we've got to get back on our grind because it's growing faster than we expected. >> reporter: he's talking about gratii. he and his right hand man are

university of maryland graduates. they have assembled a team of partners and have come up with virtual currency that's earned by playing simple computer games. >> people are starting to embrace it. >> reporter: you play the games and then earn the points. the points then get redeemed for real life products like food or merchandise at establishments that have signed up with gratii. the launch has hit college park, their old stomping grounds. >> people are spending real world money to buy virtual goods. we said let's flip that. what if there's a way to use virtual currency to buy real world goods. >> reporter: the theme of virtual currency has even been the topic of tv shows like "the good wife." there's nothing fictional about what they're trying to achieve. >> we spend a lot of time doing this. >> reporter: they have jumped on board with the latest web side -- website coding trends. >> i think this is the closest thing that could eventually take that over but i wouldn't

say we're quite there yet. >> if you want to start earning gratii cash, head over to our website wusa9.com. click on this story. there you'll find a promo code and a link to the website to help you get set up if you want to do t. we're not endorsing it but there you go. you're watching 9 news now at 6:00 a.m. on this friday morning. i'm jessica doyle in for andrea. i'm peggy fox in for mike hydeck. monika santami will have traffic. >> we start off with howard bernstein. >> it starts out fine. we'll have a couple of bumps in the road as early as this afternoon. enjoy the dry ride in. look at the day planner. we're talking about temperatures chilly this morning. we're in the 40s. low 40s in town but lots of areas are in the 30s. by 9:00 48, some clouds are going to start to increase by midday. may even be near