march. let's get you going here. can you hear that ringer going? i'm here. i can't answer it. i said it's not time to plant the gardens, i mean the tender stuff. the hearty stuff, you can put some of those vegetables in the ground now but the tender stuff, you've got to wait. here's a look at our day planner where we have temperatures which will be climbing toward 70 by noon. 58 right now with a 5:00 p.m. temperature of 76. chance of showers and storms late this afternoon. not everybody is going to see them. we'll call it scattered about the raj here as we see -- region here as we see highs 75 to 80. temps this morning 50s and 60s. let's go to monika santami with a look at time saver traffic. >> reporter: thank you so much, howard. overall we are doing pretty well for a tuesday morning. no problems to report on the beltway. we'll go live first to the northbound side of i-95 at

backlick road in newington. lanes are open headed for the beltway on to 395 to the 14th street bridge. a good ride all the way up the line. 270 at falls road where there are no issues to report really in from frederick down to the point where the lanes divide and across the american legion bridge. you may be wondering where i am. i am out on the beltway at i-66 this morning. we'll be talking about the 495 express lanes project. you may have heard of it. it started in 2008. it is a $1.4 billion project. what we're going to do today is tell you about the home stretch of the project, why we're here today. it's the most complex interchange of the entire project. they're building ten bridges here. we'll tell you more about that coming up in the next half hour. back to you. >> thank you, monika. d.c. police say they've broken up an electronics theft ring which contributed to a number of robberies this year. >> the investigators say some business owners encouraged snatching of the cell phones and ipods and then bought that

stolen merchandise. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is live at police headquarters with more on this bust. seems like an elaborate scheme. >> reporter: certainly. it's still ongoing. police credit the detectives who have really gone above and beyond really. the chief says working kind of like the criminals to catch the criminals. so while she has a stiff morning for many of the people involved in the snatch and grab of the cell phones on the metros or phones on the street, even thefts of cars, now we may have some good news for you. your stolen property may have been recovered by police. let's take a look. more than 100 cell phones, 7 ipads plus countless play stations, cameras, gps units and dvrs have been recovered in a three and a half week sting of about a dozen unlicensed carryouts and corner stores. police also seized drug paraphernalia from these store

owners who we're told were buying stolen property from these criminals off the streets to resell to the public in their stores. police used union formed and undercover detectives to carry out the bust. here's what the chief had to say. >> we also used modern technology and good old fashion cash for tips to help us get where we are today. >> the district of columbia is a place of law and order and neither i nor chief lanier will tolerate any crime on our streets. every single d.c. resident has the right to walk our neighborhoods with safety and confidence. >> reporter: they have countless of these electronic items and this sting is not over yet. so likely they will find many, many more. the chief said they've even recovered 1,000 items from one store alone. they busted 12. many more to come. they think 20 to 25 people may be involved is he how can you recover your stolen property? tune in in my next half-hour

report. i'll tell you how you can find out coming up. back to you. >> thank you, delia goncalves reporting live from police headquarters. a northern virginia woman who caused her son's death will not do any jail type. karen murphy left 2-year-old ryan strapped in his car seat in her minivan for seven hours when she went to work during the summertime. the bristow woman originally faced child negligent charges but pleaded guilty to a couple misdemeanor charges. disturbing new details about exactly what fairfax county police found last week inside a vacant home in alexandria. 9news now obtained the search warrant and learned they found an explosive device which had similarities to the kinds of bombs used by terrorists overseas. it was about 12 inches by 8 inches long with 12 red sill lynn cal -- sill behind cal

devices inside. a cleaning crew found the device after being sent to the house by a realtor. so far no one has been charged. just about 5:05 now. the maryland state senate has preliminary approval to a new antismoking bill. it would make it illegal to smoke if there's a child under 8 years old in the vehicle while you're driving. supporters say secondhand smoke is harmful to children of all ages. she also say it will be easy for police to monitor this because children under 8 are supposed to be in a car seat. opponents say this is too much government intrusion into your personal space. 5:05. time for the latest your money report this tuesday morning. >> headline time. good morning, jessica. >> good morning. stocks have been up for four days in a row. whether or not we hit 5 today, that could depend on greece. the country just wrapped up the biggest detroit down in -- debt right down in history clearing the way for a second bailout. it's helps to lift stocks modestly around the world. the do you stands at 12,959,

added more than 37 points in trading yesterday. nasdaq was off by 5. the s&p 500 was essentially flat on the day. washington, d.c., is apparently a pretty good place to start to run a business. in a new study we ranked eighth in the entire world. the report was commissioned by city and ranks the most competitive cities globally for their ability to attract capital, business, talent and tourists. d.c. ranked very high for smart workers, for its global reputation as well as itzhak says to capital -- as its access to capital. these are really good things for us. >> if you can't get a job, start your own business. what do you have for us in the next half-hour? >> five ways not to save money. we'll take a look at little things you might be doing that short circuit your plans to save. >> thanks, jessica. >> you've got it. a judge blocks an attempt to bring a quick end to the

virginia tech wrongful death lawsuit. that story coming up. the republican candidates are in the deep south. and the redskins strongly deny any wrongdoing aft n.f.l. docks the -- after the n.f.l. docks the team $36 million in salary cap space. we'll be bam. -- we'll be back.

we're still looking at a few showers south and southeast of town but they'll be pulling away in the next hour or so we'll have a pretty fine day till mid- to late afternoon when another chance of showers and storms. yes, thunderstorms will be possible around here. as we look at the day planner, by 9:00 we should be at least partly sunny, 61. noontime what a great lunch hour. 70 degrees. southwest winds about 11:00. mid- to upper 70s, maybe 80 in spots for a high. still a chance of storms. let's go to monika santami live with time saver traffic. >> reporter: thank you so much, howard. on the northbound side of 395 between the beltway and 14th street bridge, all lanes are open. no problems on the potomac and anacostia river crossings. in my next report we'll take a look into maryland at 5:15. making news now at 5:09, the judge in the virginia tech wrongful death lawsuit denied the defense motion for

dismissal. the parents of two students killed in the april 2007 mass shooting want the school to account for its actions. the defense says the university didn't act immediately because the first shooting in a dorm room appeared to be an isolated incident. the defendant in the rutgers university web cam spying case will not be taking the stand. the lawyer arrested his case. the student committed suicide days later. alabama and mississippi hold their presidential primaries today and hawaii holds a caucus. new polls from cbs news and "the new york times" show most voters think mitt romney will eventually be the republican nominee but they also show president obama would beat any of the four g.o.p. candidates. are you inned mood for a bargain? we have a list of them coming up for you. today's daily deals at 5:40. we'll reveal at 5:22 the --

rather the maryland women find out their first opponent for the ncaa tournament. at 5:14, howard's forecast.

it's 5:13. tuesday morning. we're dragging this morning. i've got to admit. i don't like tuesdays.

but you may like howard's forecast. it's a warm one. >> average highs are in the mid- 50s right now, about 55 for this time of year. we're going to run 20, maybe 25 above that in spots. >> three above it right now at 5:00. >> tomorrow looks nice. thursday looks nice. friday some showers. even the weekend. i've got 70s. incredible warmth. here's a look at the bus stop forecast. got a couple of showers still out there south and southeast of town but they'll be pulling away i think over the next hour or so. i pulled those showers out of the bus stop forecast. partly sunny, mild, 50s and 60s to start. today is going to be a very warm day for march. not a record. records are in the upper 80s but by noon we'll be around 70, southeast wind at 11 miles an hour. this afternoon at 4:00, can't rule out we're going to have a passing sthowr or thunderstorm -- shower or thunderstorm coming through at 77 degrees. by 8:00 back down in the lower 70s. there's enough warmth to the atmosphere that we could get a couple of hefty thunderstorms to come through. we'll show you what's happening

on our doppler over the last couple of hours. heavy stuff, the heavier showers are south and east of town. we still have some stuff right down 95 now coming in toward fairfax, southern fairfax county. you get south of burke and annandale, you're seeing some of that, right down through stafford, prince william toward fredricksburg and back toward maybe lake anna and down toward colonial beach. newland and reedville, jan reporting some rain in reedville toward leonardtown and st. mary's city. you're still seeing it up to cambridge. this is the last of the heavier stuff. we just got to get through the lighter stuff. that may take an hour, 90 minutes before we settle down for at least the next six, seven hours. we're looking at temps this morning very mild. upper 50s and low 60s rockville 60. columbia 59. even out to the west are normally cool spots like leesburg not that cool, 57.

looking good out there. cloudy skies but good visibility. a temperature of 58. with a south wind at 8 miles an hour. dew points in the 50s now. we've got this area of rain. this is pulling away. back here a little boundary producing those showers and across ohio into western new new york state, that's what we're going to have to watch for this afternoon. when we look at the future cast, you see how quickly those showers pull away. by the middle and latter part of the afternoon, see this line of showers that could be coming through? that's what we're going to be standing by for later on. till then pretty nice day. upper 70s today. the threat for some afternoon showers. tonight upper 40s to low 50s. a beautiful wednesday. 74 degrees. perfect tomorrow. just about the same on thursday except a tad warmer, 75 to 80. on friday better chance of showers, upper 60s but i think most of the showers are gone now. by the time we get to the race on saturday morning for the big marathon and half marathon that

we're broadcasting here, 72 on st. patrick's day with a slight chance of a shower in the afternoon and then sunday 72 and monday again looking at high temps low to mid-70s. what a stretch of weather. let's go live to monika santami at fairfax county with time saver traffic. >> reporter: i am. i'm at the interchange of 495 and i-66. the reason i'm here, we're going to be giving you an update on the 495 express lanes project that's been going on since 2008 and they're heading into the home stretch. let's talk traffic. the beltway, no problems to report all around town. let's zoom in to 66 on the inbound side. lanes have been open. traffic moving well between manassas and centreville. a live look at route 50 where you request see things are also -- you can see things are also moving well in fairfax. northbound i-95 in springfield all right from dale city to this point on to 395 and we'll go up a little further north to the 14th street bridge, looking good into the district.

coming up in my next report, we'll take a look at maryland roads in a few minutes. back to you guys. the redskins deny n.f.l. charges they abused the salary cap rules. the wizards get off to a good start as they try to avoid a 12 state loss. highlights coming up in sports. we want to take another look at the question of the day. there is 25% less of this in classrooms today compared to just ten years ago. is it a, books, b, chalk, c, animal dissections. >> a look at one of the responses from jessica. i would say books. everything is going electronic nowadays. >> log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page. leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour.

it is a 5:21. even though the rains we had overnight, most of them are leaving now. you still want to keep the umbrella handy because of a threat later this afternoon. quickly everything pulls away by 8:45. up to 60 degrees then. still some mid 50s toward the north and west and we'll continue to push all of this out of here. 70 by lunch time. in the middle of the afternoon, look how the showers start to pop. by 3:00 we're 76. these are going to come through in the afternoon and evening hours, especially south and east of town. by 6:00 p.m. these may be passed us already. still about 75 and nice, warm

day. the wizardses are now losers of 12 in a row. >> san antonio last night. a slam coming up right about here. mcgee les the wizards 21 points. good night for him. the spurs, however, took a double digit lead coming into the second quarter and kept it. tony parker had 31. wizards fall. here's kristen berset with the rest of your morning sports. good morning, everybody. just hours after redskin nation was shocked with the news that their team would lose $36 million in the salary cap, team officials are doing damage control. it was reported all day yesterday the league will punish the redskins for fronds loading large bow -- front loading large bonuses. that will include $15 million to deanglo hall. by doing that the redskins freed up cap space for future seasons but it goes against

what the league asked them not to do. for now red scints general -- redskins general manager jim allen says it's simply not true. he said the washington redskins have received no written document station from the n.f.l. -- documentation from the n.f.l. concerning adjustments as reported in various media outlets. every contract entered into by the club during the applicable period complied with the 2010- 2011 collective bargaining agreement and were approved by the commissioner's office. the lady terps last night found out where they're going to be dancing. they got the number two seed and will face navy at 11:15 on saturday. this is the eighth time brenda frees has taken her team to the big dance. that's going to abbig game. n.f.l. free agency begins today at 4:00. we'll have complete coverage for you tonight on 9news. that's going to do it for your

morning sports. have a great day. the wizards lost 12 on the road straight. they did beat the lakers. can't forget that. many money saving tricks are actually coming you to waste some cash instead. we'll explain coming up. plus, we'll have more on the police busting up a theft ring that targeted personal electronic devices. we're going to take a live look at the beltway at colesville road. no problems to report on the utter loop leaving the 95 interchange at college park into silver spring. more on area roadways and we're going to be talking about the 495 express lanes at 5:29. stay with us.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now on this tuesday morning. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck.

it is a warm one. thanks for joining us this morning. monika is going to have traffic us for in a moment. she's live on the road. howard, 58 degrees here this morning. >> we're probably going to rise 20 from that before the day is over. >> it is still march. >> keeping a umbrella with you. i don't think you need a jacket. shorts, t-shirts. i think they can get away with it at the bus stop. weather wise this morning, we are looking at those showers south and southeast of town for another hour or so. they're going to leave. we'll be partly sunny by 9:00. by noon 70. by 5:00 mid-70s after topping out about 78. there will be a couple of showers and storms developing this afternoon as well. this morning's rain is quickly moving off toward the south and the east. we'll switch it to live doppler 9000hd. heavier stuff the northern neck but in fairfax county south, 95 now, we get outside the beltway

from springfield here, back almost to around burke or so, woodbridge, quantico, this is moving into southern prince george's county as well. we'll watch this last little bit of light showers. this stuff is pretty light. temperatures before you head out the door, upper 50s to about 60. winchester, the cool spot. can you believe that? at 55. easton 54. let's go outside live. monika santami, the beltway at 66, monika? >> reporter: yes, i am. i'm in a safe spot. don't worry. you hear all that traffic behind me. yes, that's the beltway right here at the interchange of 66. we're talking about the 495 express lane project this morning. we'll do that in just a minutes. first let me tell you how traffic is doing around the beltway. no problems to report. we're doing well. a little bit of slow traffic forming in the usual spots. let's zoom into 270 where you'll find the brake lights forming at route 80 in urbana off and on through clarksburg and then you'll be okay to where the lanes divide. the american legion bridge west

side of town, traffic is moving well across the river here into tysons corner. we'll also take a look all the way on the east side of the beltway and again no problems to report in new carrollton, the entire prince george's county stretch of the beltway is doing final. once again we're here at the 495-i-66 interchange talking about the 495 express lanes project. with me is jamie and she is the vdot megaproject spokesperson. i hope i got that right. thank you so much for being with us early this morning on the beltway. >> good morning. we are standing here in the express lanes. for those who haven't had a chance to get to know the project, we have unzipped the beltway, pushed the regular lanes out and adding two new lanes in the center portion of the beltway for a 14-mile stretch starting from the springfield interchange to just north of the dulles toll road. >> reporter: this has been a huge project that began in 2008. give us a brief reason why they decided to do it this way on the beltway. >> well, we really had a lot of congestion that was building on the beltway. we needed a regional solution.

we have many hov facilities at the end of the beltway and it was time to add that added benefit to the beltway. we will be adding hov to the beltway and also have an option for folks who want to pay a toll to get into the lanes. >> reporter: we'll be talking about the tolls a little later this morning. we're here for a reason at the 66-495 interchange. this is one of the most complex areas of the entire construction project. you're building a lot here. >> yes, you are correct. we have a huge scale of work here. we're working to build over ten bridges so that's ten new bridges in this interchange. we are looking to bring a lot of improvements the spinning and summer. we -- the spring and summer. we ask people to be a little more patient with us. we will deliver this project for opening in december of 2012. >> reporter: one of the things you're doing at interchanges like this is going to make it easy to access those express lanes. >> that's correct. we have a lot of benefits, especially at this interchange. we have new access for the express lanes but we also have new ways that we're bringing

general purpose traffic down on the beltway. one of those is as you exit eastbound in the morning and head to 495 north, you used to come down on the left side of the beltway and had to quickly merge over to get to 7 and 123. gone is that. we brought traffic on the right side of the beltway. we're extending lanes so much better traffic for everyone in this interchange. >> reporter: we'll be talking about how the tolling is going to work in the next half hour. thank you very much. with that we'll send it back you to. >> thank you, monika. turning to politics. two more states in the deep south hold their g.o.p. primaries. >> three republican presidential candidates made lots of stops in alabama. mississippi also holding a primary. voters in hawaii will be caucusing and a new poll from cbs news and "the new york times" says most primary voters believe it will be rit mom any who will be the g.o.p. nominee eventually -- mitt romney who will be the g.o.p.

nominee eventually. >> i do not believe the other two candidates can beat obama and i believe this race is the most important in our lifetime. and i will not leave the field. >> whether he pulls out or not, whether does he go from here? we go next to illinois and he's sitting at 10% in the state of illinois. we're at 31%. >> rick santorum was talking about newt gingrich's chances coming up in illinois. supporters say newt gingrich should drop out so the conservative republicans can rally around one candidate. ron paul did very little campaigning in alabama and mississippi. it appears a police effort to stop a wave of robberies in northwest washington has paid off. >> last night city leaders announced investigators have broken up a theft ring that focused on electronic devices. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is live at d.c. police headquarters with a pretty involved story here. good morning, delia. >> reporter: absolutely. good morning. three and a half weeks so far and the investigation is

ongoing. the goods netted so far in this bust, 13 search warrants, 16 arrests and countless electronics. let's take a look at some of those electronics. cell phones, ipods, dvrs, gps units and several notebooks all recovered from unlicensed corner stories and carryouts in the district. the owners were also picked up with marijuana and 500 packages of k2 spice. the owners worked with these robbers often putting in requests for specific items and then resold that stolen property in their stores. how can you find out if police recovered your stolen electronics? well, police are telling us they will set up a website. listen to the chief. she fills us in on the rest. >> you'll be able to go online and look at those items and see if you have anything that's unique to identify your property. a lot of people have unique stickers and things like that on their property. we can return that property to you. you have to have some way of

identifying it. >> reporter: the chief recommends for folks who save the serial numbers or receipts of all their electronics just in case, coming up in my next live report, find out what other stolen items were also being resold in these stores that could affect countless children in the district. mike? >> thanks, delia live at police headquarters this morning. well very more in just a little bit. the man accused of setting a fire that seriously injured several d.c. firefighters is expected to plead guilty this morning. half a dozen firefighters were hurt battling the flames in the district last april. one of them was in the hospital for two months after this fire. police arrested 26-year-old maurice thuse three months later. it appears he will be plead guilty to arson charges and sentenced in the same hearing. he faces up to 25 years in prison. this year's series of 9 wants you to know reports on teen drinking profiled one particular store. this morning that owner of town square market is due in d.c.

superior court. he was arrested last month on a charge of selling alcohol to a minor. this came after our report showed video of underage customers buying alcohol there. some teens told our andrea mccarren they had little or mo trouble buying alcohol at the store in northwest. although when andrea confronted the store owner, he denied it. time for another your money report now. >> jessica doyle is back with the ways we short circuit our own efforts to save money. >> this is a lot of fun. i usually spend lots of time saving money, talking about those kinds of things. now we're going to talk about ways not to save money. these are tried and true ways you think you're being frugal but you're actually getting yourself to pay more for stuff. interesting point from consumer reports here. don't grocery shop with a hand held basket. you think you're limiting your purchases by grabbing something small but a study has found people who carry a basket are

more likely to toss in candy ander impulse buys so grab that cart instead and you're more likely to stick to your shopping list. another big one here. don't exclusively buy items on sale. you might find a product you want at 25% off but off of what? if the original price was marked up, you could find regular prices online that are even lower than the so-called sale price so again do your research. rule of thumb here. don't spend your airline miles on things other than flights. other products offered through reward programs generally are not the best deals you can find. another one. don't think that the cheapest choice is the best way to go. we're talking tvs, vacuums, grills, grass seed. if the product is inferior, it's going to break on you and you'll have to buy the thing all over again. here's a weird one coming from me. don't get addicted to the daily deals site. we do present our favorite deals every day and there's

great value but do not get into the habit of buying for the sake of buying. if you don't need the product or the service, you're growing your money a-- throwing your money away, even at 90% off. i know i'm crazy -- it's crazy i'm saying this because in five minutes i'm going to be bringing you the daily deals. you say i can use socks for 90% off but if you don't need socks. >> jessica will be back in just a few minutes with today's daily deals you don't want to miss. >> we have free money today. >> well, you definitely don't want to miss that. plus, prosecutors have reached a plea deal in the case after notorious boston mobster. that story still ahead.

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and starting at only $24.97 a gallon. still a few showers south of town at this hour but they'll be gone in the next 60

minutes or so we're looking at 9:00 a.m. partly sunny, 61. great lunch hour. 70 degrees. but the warmth this afternoon is actually going to help pop some shower and thunderstorms. over to you. >> thank you, howard. we've been combing through the day's daily deals, e-mails and retailer websites to find you some deep discounts and here's some of our favorites. american express, new promotion with twitter. it's free money. they are offering $10 statement credit when you spend $10 or more at best buy online or in stores through march 31. you have to sync your amex card to your twitter account and i'm putting instructions on that on wusa9.com. target's daily deal is for a dvd player and hd tv combo norm really $249.99 for $179.99. you're getting free shipping.

and offers.com reached out to me with a number of deals for st. patrick's day. e-bay is taking 66% off st. paddy's day tees and free shopping. merchandise that was $29.50 is going less than ten bucks. if you have an offer you've seen or you're a local merchant with a deal for our viewers, i'd love to hear from you on facebook. >> sounds good. thanks a lot. your quality of life after hip replacement surgery may depend on what those replacement parts are made up of. more on that story next. as we celebrate women's history month, we'll introduce you to some female pioneers in the field of medicine and science. birthday time now. let's see who's celebrating today. singer-songwriter neil sedaka is 73. achoo! nasal allergy symptoms

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5:46. women come-- welcome back to 9news now. yes, it is 58 degrees at 5:46 in the morning. >> there are some areas in the 60s right now. feeling like may, not march. >> if you like that, tack 20 more on. >> yeah, we'll be in the upper 70s, maybe 80. culpeper could be 80 this afternoon. we also run the risk of some showers, even a couple of thunderstorms this afternoon. there's going to be enough energy around to pop some storms. don't be surprised it's a

little rocking and rolling outside. here's the bus stop forecast. should be pretty good this morning. we still have a few sprimp r sprinkles -- few sprinkles south of d.c. the heaviest stuff on the eastern shore is pulling away. 50s and 60s at the bus stop. through the day we're going to see sunshine. we're going to be 70 by noon. 73 at 1:00. mid- to late afternoon is when we've got that threat for some thunderstorms. high 75 to 80. still 76, though, at 5:00 p.m. a bit of a breeze out of the southwest at 10 to 15. here's a look at the radar, the doppler radar. it's quickly pushing east. down to the south we have the heaviest stuff. this is live doppler 9000hd. we're fairly quiet but as you go down south of town down route 1 or 210 outside the beltway down route 5, you're going to run into some of these showers in southwestern areas of prince george's county. actually from around national to alexandria now, clinton. this stuff is really light, probably intermittent wiper type light. down in southern maryland over toward the eastern shore, this

is where we're looking at some of the heavier stuff. around st. mary's city, south of lusby toward cambridge got some hefty showers going on as well. back tort newland and fredricksburg some -- toward newland and fredricksburg some lighter stuff. temperatures are warm. 58 in town. 61 in culpeper. it's 59 in hagerstown this morning. southern maryland 57 degrees with some of the rain still at the pax river naval air station. good visibility but cloudy on our michael & son weather camera. dew points have risen into the 50s. the air mass is becoming more and more moist and warm. it will support some thunderstorms. just want to show you this storm here. this is bringing snow to the oregon coast. high winds. it's springtime. some big changes and big storms. we've got one we'll be dealing with in a few days. 78 today. chance for a couple of storms. tonight we're down in the 50s, upper 40s. beautiful wednesday and

thursday. mid- to upper 70s. friday some showers, 68. i think the bulk of the showers will be gone for the race so we should be in pretty good shape for the marathon. you can watch it right here from 8:00 to 11:00 on wusa. let's go to monika santami live in fairfax county with time saver traffic. >> reporter: thank you so much, howard. good morning, everybody. we're first going to take a look at the beltway on our maps which looks pretty good around town. no major incidents to report. we're going to zoom into the north side. it's pretty normal this time of the morning. we're going to take a live look into college park on the outer loop at route 1. the brake lights will begin further west after the 95 interchange as you head for silver spring. then it breaks loose over to 270. 270 is running well, just a bit slow out of urbana into clarksburg and you're used to that this time of the morning. live on the northbound side of 95, delays from the prince william parkway in woodbridge as you head toward the occoquan

river. then beyond that a little slow again as you head into springfield with the lanes open. coming up in my next report, we'll take a look at 66 at 6:00. back to you guys. >> thanks, monika. making news now at 5:50, afghan and nato forces are on alert for a retaliatory attack. an american soldier is in custody for sunday's shooting spree which left 16 people dead, including 9 children. cbs news reports the suspect is a 38-year-old army staff sergeant who is on his fourth combat tour. the long-time girlfriend of reputed boston mobster james whitey bulger is making a plea deal. 60-year-old katherine greg will admit to helping him evade capture for 16 years but won't have to testify against him at his trial. bulger is charged in connection with 19 murders. british experts say doctors should stop using metal on metal hip replacements because they fail much more often than parts made from plastic or ceramic. five years after getting hip replacements those with the

metal variety were four times more likely to need surgery to fix or replace the metal parts. you may not know this but march is women's history month. and this year's theme is women's education, women es empowerment. -- women's empowerment. two women will be honored this weekend. dr. healey and her colleague vivian pin who received the organization's first award. dr. healey was the first woman to lead the significance institutes of health and the first physician to lead the american red cross. she died of cancer. she's recognized for promoting women's health as the high -- as a high national priority. it's fitting that the first recipient is her colleague. >> i was so surprised and just

felt so honored because bernadine healey was a real star to me and one who really helped make this part of my career possible. >> reporter: this part of dr. pin's career was as the first full-time director of the then newly created office on women's health. >> it's considered pretty much within the realm of ob set cal and gynecological work. >> reporter: she said it wasn't till the 1990's that scientific community acknowledged the scientific differences between the sexes and research was conducted and clinical trials designed. >> research was the foundation for how health care is practiced and therefore to really make a difference in women's health, research was the key to changing public health standards and public health practices. >> reporter: she retired from n.i.h. last fall but has spent the past month packing up nearly a 50-year career as a medical doctor, educator and research scientist. the lynchburg, virginia native

keeps busy as a role model and career mentor. it's the role her dad filled for her as she faced discrimination to become the only woman and only african- american to graduate uva medical school in 1967. >> whether it's mentoring, counseling, advising or friendship or just support of being there is one of the most important things for advancement and career success regardless of what field you're in. >> in 1987 congress officially declared march as national women's history month. to learn more about how it all began and the national women's history project, go to nwhp.org. well deserved award. police in d.c. say they busted a stolen electronics ring where some victims had their device snatched away right on the street. that story is coming up. in today's hero central

report, a group gives back by making some home repairs for those who can least afford it. tax season is bringing some unpleasant surprises this year. what you need to know about the latest i.d. theft scam coming up at 6:06. you are watching 9news now. so strike while the iron's hot. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open.

how would you like it if a team of skilled workers came to your house and made all the repairs you needed done for free? that's exactly what a great organization called rebuilding together does. jc hayward introduces us to the program and this hero central

report. expwhrr rebuilding together of washington -- >> reporter: rebuilding together of washington, d.c. makes free repairs for homeowners, especially veterans, disabled and they serve their target population. >> we perform free repairs at community facilities all around the city. many of them focus on services to the homeless community like the one we're working on today. we're homeless -- where homeless families are served. they have a place to wash their clothes so we got them a new washer and dryer. we're f.b.i.ing the kitchen cabinets. >> reporter: -- we're fixing the kitchen cabinets. >> reporter: today they're working at shirley's place a homeless hospitality center that offers showers, food, and a comforting environment. >> this is something we look forward to every year. we do this once a year out in the community. we really get a lot of personal satisfaction out of doing this type of project.

>> reporter: skilled workers are building shelves, installing cabinets, and even adding a play area for children. walls are being painted and shirley's place will have a fresh, new look. >> i'm really glad they're doing a lot of restoration, even though it's a beautiful place in the beginning. i'm really excited about the children's area and i'm sure my daughter is going to be really excited too. >> reporter: she comes here every day. soon she hopes to have a place of her own. you or your organization can actually sponsor a project. just assemble a group of volunteers to do the work and rebuilding together, a washington, d.c. will work with you. they'll match you up with a needy homeowner and guide you step by step. i can assure you it will be a meaningful volunteer experience. >> thank you. i can now stay in my home. there's no place like home. it doesn't matter how humble a

home. this is where people want to stay. they don't want to be removed or go to a nursing facility. they want to stay in their house. what we do allows people to stay. >> reporter: i'm jc hayward, 9news now. >> it's a great organization. i volunteered for it before. if you'd like any more information, go to jchayward.com. thank you for watching 9news now at 6:00 a.m. good morning. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. we're glad you're here. the lovely monika santami is not sitting next to us this morning. she's live on the road with time saver traffic. howard bernstein is right here with us. he has our weather first. >> we still have a couple of sprinkles south of town. that will be ending shortly. then a nice day till 3:00, 4:00 in the afternoon when a couple of thunderstorms could be rolling through. here's a look at our day planner n. is a weird day for -- this is a weird day for march. our average high is 55. right now we're 58. we have a couple of sprinkles going on at reagan national.