still undecided. ron paul and newt gingrich have no campaign events scheduled. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. the lawyer for an army sergeant suspected of killing 16 afghan civilians plans to meet with his client face to face today. staff sergeant robert bales is being held in an isolated cell in fort leavenworth, kansas. he's not yet been charged. his attorney john brown said he didn't know if bales was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the shootings. that could be an issue at trial if experts believe it's relevant. are d.c. council members hurting enrollment. >> they point to chairman kwame brown who takes busloads of college bound students on recruiting trips out of town. as bruce johnson tells us, udc is not on the list of stops. >> reporter: last weekend four busloads of d.c. high school students went on a college scouting trip. most returned with applications to attend college in the fall

out of state. >> some students need to get out of the district of columbia. they actually do. and we should do everything we can do help them. >> reporter: kwame brown is chief sponsor of the out of town college recruitment trips. he's been doing this for the past several years. officials at the university of the district of columbia, they're not impressed. their school is not on the list of stops. >> we've been trying for a couple of years now to really sort of adjust the attitude of how the city views its state university. we've made some tremendous progress over the last couple of years. >> reporter: udc officials are further m.i.t.ed by the fact every one of these students given up to $10,000 to attend any school state elsewhere is part of a tuition assistance program approved every year by the congress only for d.c. public and private high school graduates. >> some people would call it a bribe. i would call it really unfair. i would say that all things being equal, the university of the district of columbia will and can and does compete.

>> this has nothing to do with the university of the district of columbia, more so to do with what students want to do and what they want to be exposed to. >> reporter: you support what the. is doing with this school? >> i fully support the district of columbia. >> reporter: udc has a lot of work to improve its image beginning with a less than 15% graduation rate. it's 49% for d.c. students attending colleges out of state using the tuition assistance program. that's 10% below the national graduation rate. bruce johnson, 9news now. >> as you heard, chairman brown says he does support udc. however, he would not endorse udc's president. d.c. police are looking for a suspect after a deadly stabbing at a bar in northeast right near catholic university. this was early sunday morning. the investigation started at library bar and grill nightclub on 12th street. police say the victim was 35 years old and in cardiac arrest when they arrived. he was taken to med star where he was pronounced dead.

his name is not being released at this point. police are searching for the man they say tried to kill the mother of his three children. this happened more than a month ago. >> we spoke to the victim's sister who is still trying to make sense of it. >> reporter: alone know stone had shown up here in northeast d.c. to pick up her 1-year-old son and that's when things took a turn for the worse. >> just shot twice in the head, once in the ear, and i want to say like four times in the back and twice in the arm. >> reporter: that was back on february 15. desiree ross says her younger sister was gunned down by this man, raymond cook, the father of the three children. those three children the family says were witness to it all. >> those are the ones she knows a lot. she would always say my mommy got shot. my mommy got shot. >> reporter: ross says because

the suspect in her sister's attempted killing is still on the loose, the family is not allowed to know where the 27- year-old is being treated. all they know is she's at a local hospital and she receive daily phone calls updating her progress. >> she still has a bullet lodged in her head and the back of her spine. >> reporter: while the victim remains in critical condition, her suspected attacker is still nowhere to be found. it's been more than a month now and police are asking for the public's help to find cook. the victim's family is looking for answers and hoping cook is taken off the streets soon. >> you need to give yourself up. if you love your kids, if you really care for your kids, you would give yourself up so they can start to live a normal life. >> reporter: take another look at the man police are on the hunt for. he's 27 years old, 6'3", weighing about 165 pounds. he has black hair with brown eyes. he has a scar on his left hand and a tattoo on his left arm.

anyone with information on his whereabouts tonight is being asked to call d.c. police. in northeast d.c., 9news now. 4:35 now. here's a look at some of the other stories making news now. a 29-year-old teacher from harris, pennsylvania was gunned down in yemen over the weekend. al qaeda is claiming responsibility. he was shot while driving his suv. journalists in yemen say they got an anonymous text message from the group says he was killed for trying to convert people to christianity. firefighters are making progress on a wind fueled grass fire sweeping through the plains of northeastern colorado. it's destroyed at least two homes and forced 300 people to leave the town of eckley. maryland senator barbara mick -- barbara mikulski is now

the longer serving female in congress. she joined more than 5 years ago. she was elected to the senate in 1986. at that time there was only one other female senator. today there are 17. on wednesday her colleagues will honor her on the senate floor. the time is 4:36. at 4:40, the parent company of a discount airline files for chapter 11. is d.c. turning into a city of bicyclists? monika will take a look at how the trend is growing. she's doing that at 4:48. we're back in two minutes with your weather first. you're watching 9news now.

4:38 on this monday morning. we've got some clouds out there. just some patchy fog, not as widespread as yesterday morning. by the mimedz of the day we should -- middle ever the day we should get into at least partly cloudy skies. temperatures warming up to mid- to upper 60s by lunch time. this afternoon can't rule out an isolated thunderstorm. highs will be well above average into the 70s. let's check in with monika. >> if you're planning to head on the inner loop of the beltway after gallows road an accident blocking the two right lanes involving an overturned vehicle. northbound on 395 in shirlington traffic is moving smoothly to the 14th street bridge. more on the accident on the beltway coming up at 4:47. it is time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> jessica doyle is here. good morning. >> good morning, everybody. well, we're hoping things will pick up a little bit of steam after friday. friday was a little bit flat, but earlier in the week the dow, nasdaq and s&p hit highs they've not seen in years. on the week the dow gained

about 2.4%. s&p and nasdaq were up more than 2%. the dow stands this morning at 13,232, closed the day down 20 points. it's been doing pretty well. nasdaq was off by 1. s&p 500 was off by one and a half. the parent company of discount airline direct air has filed for chapter 11. the filing comes three days after the airline cut its service, left passengers stranded. court documents show the company has between $10 million and $15 million in debt and less than a million in assets. ticket holders should contact the credit card companies for refunds. >> more pain at the pump. aaa says to expect gasoline prices to continue to climb through made may. the national average for a gallon of regular reached $3.83 last friday. here in the d.c. region, the average for a gallon of regular is above $3.92. aaa says gas prices are headed to the highest level ever to start the season.

more and more people are saying five bucks a gallon before it's over. >> i'm running to a particular grocery store in order to get the bonus. i get 70 cents off my gas. it was 3.59. i thought it was a bargain. thousands were pounding the pavement this weekend at the rock 'n' roll marathon. >> we'll bring you a recap of the race and your weather first when we return in for minutes. -- in two minutes.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now.

it's 43 on this monday morning. does your day start off with fog like the last couple of days? >> a tiny bit. especially the eastern shore. there doesn't seem to be -- it's not nearly as widespread as it was yesterday morning. it's clearly humid out there but we don't have the widespread fog. you'll get the dew on the ground, a patch or two of fog but it's not as bad. we'll take that. it's a good monday morning. hope you had a good weekend. the marathon was a lot of fun. >> we had a blast. >> congratulations to everybody who came out and ran. mrs. bernstein, a great job. great job everybody. the weather was perfect. perfect for it. let's get your weather this morning. your bus stop forecast. it's mostly cloudy out there. we've got a couple of patches of fog. the temperatures are running in the 50s. again another day, another week with above average temperatures. our sunrise this morning at 7:12. daylight saving time.

cherry blossoms are going to peak here in just a couple of days, the 20th through the 23rd. 57 degrees. we made sure we got the cherry blossoms going for our backgrounds. 75 by 4:00 today. there's going to be a chance for a shower or storm this afternoon. still in the 60s by 8:00 p.m. south to southeast winds 5, 10 miles an hour. this morning we've seen showers and storms from ohio moving into west virginia. some of this is getting in toward areas toward kaiser, west of romney but it's fairly light. charleston is 51. 59 pittsburgh. we're still 57. look at the cooler air that has moved in off the atlantic. places like atlantic city, low to mild 40s there. that cooler air trying to work towards us. baltimore in the upper 40s. in town we're 57. 55 in rockville and centreville. and even out toward leesburg 54. down south fort belvoir at 50 degrees with just patchy fog this morning.

good visibility. we don't see that much in the way of low clouds around the capitol this morning with our temps in the upper 50s at 57. reported mostly cloudy at reagan national. very light wind out of the south at 3 miles an hour. now, nationally the big weather story is out in the west. look at the jet stream. it's diving down the west coast making the trip up here. look at the clouds move south to north in the plains and up and over us. with this huge ridge in the east, that's where we have all these warm temperatures. chicago five straight days of record high temperatures. that's severe thunderstorms this morning across the texas panhandle into western oklahoma with snow flying and heavy snow flying across parts of arizona and new mexico. up toward flagstaff. just getting a lot of snow. around here just those showers and storms that we were looking at from western pennsylvania all the way down in towards southwestern virginia. as we look at the future cast, much of that is going to stay south and west. a mix of clouds and sunshine today. we can't rule out some spotty showers or a thunderstorm this afternoon. tonight also the isolated shower or storm.

i know this looks worse than it is but the light green, this is the low level moisture coming back with a southeast wind in the form of low clouds and fog as we head toward tomorrow morning. so another day tomorrow like today with a little early morning clouds and fog and then the afternoon sun. about 75 today. tonight we're back in the 50s. tomorrow 74 with a threat for an isolated shower or storm. about the same on wednesday. perhaps a little warmer. thursday looks to be the warm day of the week up around 80 degrees. still nice on friday. then the weekend looks more unsettled as we head into saturday and sunday. temperatures sunday could be the wetter day, mid-60s and spring officially begins tonight at 1:14 a.m. it is 4:47. here's monika with time saver traffic. believe it or not early, early monday morning we already have an accident. good morning, everybody. it's on the beltway in virginia here on the inner loop. an overturned vehicle right after gallows road but before route 50. the two right lanes are blocked here. of course virginia state police are on the scene. we don't have much information in term of any injuries but

just be aware you're going to need to stay to the left if you're heading northbound on the beltway in virginia west side of town. we'll take a live look there. i was trying to see if i could find a camera that shows you what's going o. this is just past the accident on the inner loop before route 50. so keep that in mind. we'll go back over to the maps this time on the north side of town. no problems to report on 270. we're looking great out of frederick, down past clarksburg to the point where the lanes divide. we'll take a live look right now where there are no problems on 270 as you can see. it's nice and light here at montrose road. no problems on the beltway at the american legion bridge. you may have noticed an interesting phenomenon lately in the district. it's bicyclists in suits and sweats. they are everywhere. in today's extra mile report, the national bike summit is coming to down. agree or disagree, many of our local advocates are on board with this year's theme to save cycling. >> reporter: spring has sprung

early in d.c. and washingtonians are out enjoying the weather on foot and bike. urban bicycling is fast becoming a trendy mode of transportation. for men in suits and fashionable women. wait, can she do it? yes. even in heels. d.c. is becoming what advocates call a multi-- >> whether people choose to use the car or ride a bicycle or walk on their own two feet, our goal is more livable cities. >> reporter: cycle track like this 1.5-mile stretch on 15th street northwest are being constructed at a relatively low cost in the district slowing traffic to safer speeds and getting people to ride a bike. >> studies have shown the advent, the creation, the implementation of bicycling really draws people who normally wouldn't cycle in an urban environment to get on a bike and ride. >> reporter: the u.s. bike craze became quite political in the 1890s giving women a new found sense of independence. and now it seems to be facing

somewhat of a yummy reputation here in --upy reputation here -- yuppy reputation here in d.c. but some of our european residents beg to differ. >> i'm originally from scandinavia from denmark where the most popular mode of transportation is actually bicycling to work in the big cities. so that's something i've taken with me to the states. >> reporter: these students from china find it convenient, too [ inaudible ] >> it really has the potential to make d.c. a bicycling destination and make it easier for us who live here to get around every day. >> reporter: with gas prices skyrocketing, there's a real push to continue funding for pedestrians and bicycle programs like capital bike share. for this advocate and avid bicyclist, it's what he lives and breathes. >> never had a car, never had a driver's license. really can't imagine having to own a car for a normal

function. >> on -- on friday ddot added two more bike stations for the cherry blossom festival. the national bike summit is march 20 through the 22 at the grand hyatt. for more information and a link to the website, log on to wusa9.com. back to you. >> thank you, monika. synthetic versions of marijuana are sending some teenagers to the emergency room. a report in the new issue of pediatrics outlines the warning signs. it says the drug produces a similar high to regular marijuana but there are also more dangerous side effects, like excessive sweating and unusual aggression. other patients have shown up at the hospital cat tonic. synthetic marijuana is a mix of herbs and chemicals and sold at many gas stations and smoke shops around itself country. a study in the american journal shows very few americans follow the recommendations to improve their cardiovascular health.

it includes not smoking, eating right and maintaining normal weight and glow companies and chest -- glucose and cholesterol levels. more than 20,000 people pounded the pavement in d.c. this weekend taking part in the suntrust u.s.a. rock 'n' roll marathon. >> about 24,000 in fact. our delia goncalves talked to some of the runners and those cheering them on. >> reporter: they were off at 8:02 on a cool st. paddy's morning. 24,000 runners for the half and full marathon. nearly 50 tow spectators lined the route to cheer on the runners, some with inspiring stories of their own [ inaudible ] i ran in high school [ inaudible ] >> reporter: if the signs

didn't motivate them -- ♪ >> reporter: -- then the music certainly did. 40 bands on 25 stages entertained as runners pushed through to the finish. leading the pack in the half marathon for women, this woman from kenya. >> overall it was a good workout. >> reporter: another local man no stranger to big wins michael. >> this is a huge win. i've been fortunate enough. i won almost every edition of this race. it's really special. it's close to home. my wife and kids are here. >> reporter: there were also folks running for a good cause. >> my run today was for a dear friend kimberly vaughn and her family. we just want to raise awareness for our military and armed forces and everything they do and all the sacrifices that

they make. >> reporter: to top it off with a couple of wedding proposals and you can say it was a successful race all around. delia goncalves, 9news now. >> both of the women said yes to the proposals. that would have been terribly embarrassing had they done all of that and they said no. but it was a fun morning. >> we really enjoyed hosting it with our race partner mark davis. it was great. we had a huge team out there, 14 cameras, all of the people from our morning show behind the scenes there. it was great. >> it was good. thank you for your support. we'll do it again next year. time for the question of the morning. >> one in five men say they can't go on vacation without packing this. is it a, a hair dryer, b, foot powder, or c, video games. >> our producer is big into video games. i wonder. log on to our facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll have the answer in our 6:00 hour.

we've got moisture in the air. mostly cloudy. a little bit of fog. not nearly as widespread as yesterday but we'll be mostly cloudy this morning. 58 by 9:00. by noon 65. this afternoon an isolated shower or thundershower possible. still very warm with highs in the mid-70s. we'll have more coming up on 9news now at 5:00 with the rest of the week. here's monika with time saver traffic. an accident on the beltway in virginia. inner loop side after gallows road involves an overturned vehicle. the two right lanes are blocked. i'll have more on that coming up in my next report at 5:00. back to you. >> thank you, monika. the weather was nearly perfect this weekend for visitors to the mall and tidal basin who wanted to check out

the cherry blossoms. >> the blooms are about to peak and the crowds are already huge. >> they're completely different every single year. >> reporter: eileen was a born and raised washingtonian and has lived here almost her entire life. >> this is why we live here. >> reporter: still she says she never gets tired looking at the cherry blossoms. >> this is like rejuvenation of the spirit. this is a totally spiritual washington experience. it's nowhere else. >> reporter: she's clearly not the only person passionate about cherry blossoms. even at night and even a few days before the blossoms peak, hundreds of people. >> it's breathtaking. >> reporter: like delaware resident glen had flocked to the tidal basin. >> i was here 20 years ago and got a touch of it and had wanted to come back ever since. i said the heck with it. i'm going today. >> reporter: it marks a hundred years since the japanese government gave the u.s. a gift of 3,000 cherry trees as a result of that and because of the unusually warm weather

we've been having lately, this year's festival could be among the most popular ever. >> just unbelievable how beautiful it is. >> reporter: organizers of the cherry blossom festival say they expect the blossoms to be at their peak from the middle till the end of this coming week. >> they're just clusters and it's only march. >> reporter: not a moment too soon for countless cherry blossom lovers here in the nation's capital. >> this is a miracle every single year truly. >> reporter: mat jablow, 9news now. >> on the weekends leave the house about now and you can get down there without too many crowds. in the meantime we thank you for watching us on 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. glad you're with us. here's monika santami. she'll have traffic. good morning, monika. mr. bernstein, 70s again? >> yes, much of the week in the 70s above average. that's one of the reasons the blossoms are so early. a good week and a half, maybe two above average. if you've never been down there