time. lots of photographers. very tranquil. at least this week most of the mornings will be in the 50s. sunrise about 7:12 right now. assuming the low clouds don't block the sunrise now. here's a look at our day planner this monday morning. we've got temperatures which are in the 50s now should be in the mid-60s with partly sunny skies by noon. then this afternoon the isolated shower or thunderstorm. mid to even upper 70s west of town. the wind out of the southeast at 5 to 10. those southeasterly winds have been giving us moisture off the atlantic. meantime we've been watching some showers and storms in pennsylvania, ohio and west virginia moving to our southwest. may get a little bit of cloudiness with this. the folks in the lower shenandoah valley if you're traveling down towards charlottesville, much better chance you'll see some of this activity. look at all the lightning with this as well now extending into parts of virginia. but it's south and west of charlottesville. our temps this morning are mainly in the upper 40s to the mid- to upper 50s. it's 5:00 a.m. monika is in now with a look at time saver traffic. we've been telling but this accident on the west side of

town. good morning, everybody. it's in virginia on the inner loop of the beltway just past gallows roadblocking the two right lanes. it's an overturned vehicle and they have half of the roadway blocked off. you want to stay west as you head north on the beltway on the west side of town. we'll stick to our maps. here the bw parkway at route 50 inside the beltway here in maryland everything is final. no problems through cheverly, the northeast corridor or the entire western or eastern stretch of the beltway in prince george's county looks final. we'll go down south to route 4, pennsylvania avenue. right here near andrews air force base you're fine to the wilson bridge. a quick look as well at the american legion bridge. no issues here. an accident in rockville, old georgetown road at executive boulevard. my next report annual update on the -- an update on the accident at 5:09. the tv ads for smoking are graphic. they're meant to shock people

into quitting smoking or not starting in the first place. we're live with some of the clips. they're a little disturbing and we want to warn you. >> reporter: someone who never smoked, it's hard to watch. doctors say this is just a harsh look, a real look at what some of the prices that people pay for a lifetime of smoking. let's take a look. [indiscernible] >> reporter: that's 51-year-old terry hall, a former smoker who's now toothless and bald while she suffers from cancer of the lane next. the most gripping part of the ads is the stories are from real life smokers and the affects of their addiction if cancer to heart attacks to amputation, as you can see there. the ads are designed to get smokers to kick the habit and convince young people to never pick up a cigarette. >> the smokers may commonly think they're going to die just

a few years younger, while it's true that smokers die younger, it's also true that they live sicker. >> for every person who dies from smoking, at least two new young smokers take their place. >> reporter: the ads air for three months only but the cdc hopes to persuade 20,000 people to quit smoking. that's going to be a challenge because according to the cdc, 20% of american adults smoke and that really hasn't changed since 2003. coming up in my next live report, we'll hear from some of those smokers, those who have watched these graphic ads and those who are featured in them. we'll see you in a half-hour. back to you. >> all right, delia. d.c. police are looking for suspects and a motive in a deadly stabbing near catholic university. a 35-year-old man was attacked early sunday morning at library bar and grill nightclub on 12th street in northeast. bystanders were performing cpr when officers got there, but the man later died at

washington hospital center. police have not at this point released the victim's name. call this a case of good timing. an elderly driver was injured after plowing his minivan through the front window of a day care center in northeast. had this not happened at noon sunday, the building could have been full of children. as it was, the van almost hit several people on the sidewalk. witnesses say the man was trying to park parallel when he apparently slammed on the gas accidentally. it is 5:04 this monday morning. time for the latest your money report. jessica doyle is here with our monday headlines. good morning. >> good morning to both of you. wall street really hoping to get back in rally mode today. investors would like to see that as well after pretty much a flat friday. erier last week the dow, nasdaq hit highs they haven't seen in years. the dow was up 2.4% with the nasdaq and s&p up more than 2%. the dow stands at 13,232. closed friday down about 20

points. nasdaq and s&p essentially flat on the day. wall street will be watching shares of apple very closely today after the latest successful product launch for the new ipad. at 9:00 a.m. apple's c.e.o. tim cook has scheduled a conference call. investors hope to hear an answer to the question wall street has been asking for years. does the company plan to share its enormous stockpile of cash and marketable securities. it's worth just under a hundred billion dollars as of the last quarterly report. some are betting the company will announce today a dividend that would reward shareholders and also open ownership of apple shares to a wider range of funds. oj drinkers have been hearing for a while that prices are expected to spike but calm down, people. we can relax. our partners at "u.s.a. today" report that the fear appears to be overblown. orange juice futures hit an all time high on a health scare in brazil and other countries and cold weather in florida but

those concerns have abated and there should be plenty of oranges and juice to go around. >> good to hear. i like that. what do you have for us in the next half-hour? >> starbucks is looking at juice in a really big way. we'll talk about that coming up. >> thanks, jess. it may feel like late spring here, but a snowstorm is causing big problems in part of the country. plus, a different kind of march madness. soccer fans behaving badly, very badly. they destroyed part after stadium. ahead in sports, they did better than last year but the ncaa tournament still ending too early for georgetown. we'll be back.

it is 5:08. we have southeast winds. the fog very little compared to the last couple of mornings. as we look at the day planner, we're going to start off with mostly cloudy skies, that patch of fog. we're in the 50s now. even low 50s in some areas. perhaps jackets needed. partly sunny at times midday into the afternoon. temperatures by 1:00 will be approaching 70. average highs 57. once again, though, well above that. mid, even upper 70s in spots

but a threat for an isolated shower or storm as well with those southeast winds 5 to 10. i'll be back with a mild seven- day forecast in a few minutes. right now over to monika with time saver traffic. finally some good news on the beltway in virginia. inner loop after gallows road overturned vehicle has been cleared from the roadway. all lanes are open as you head north on the beltway west side of town. more on area roadways coming up once again at 5:15. andrea and mike? >> thank you, monika. making news now at 5:09, the syrian government and pro democracy rebels are blaming each other for a suicide bombing. this attack followed three suicide bombings saturday in damascus. the international red cross says the already bad humanitarian crisis is getting even worse. fan is short for fanatic. you can see why at this soccer match in spain. fans set fire to the stands. referees first dedelayed the game but when several bombs went off near the field, they

canceled it. police shut down stretches of interstate 40 in arizona thanks to a late winter snowstorm. several cars slipped off the highway and a few semi trucks overturned in the white house conditions. one victim in those crashes was seriously injured. there's definitely no snow in our forecast. in fact, it's gorgeous and warm but howard is predicting rain as spring begins. the full forecast at 5:14. in sports we'll tell you if the capitals improve their tenuous playoffings at 5:22. at 5:30, we have more on tomorrow's big prize for the republican presidential candidates. keep it right here. we'll be right back. but you're still banking like pilgrims! get high yield free checking at capital one bank. why earn bupkis, when your checking could earn five times the national average!! and free atms anywhere. five times the national average!!! that's new school banking. sign up for high yield free checking at a capital one bank.

what's in your wallet? somebody help me down.

welcome back. it's 5:13. 56 degrees. time saver traffic now. if you're planning to head around the beltway right now, things are looking great. i had been telling you about an accident on the inner loop of the beltway in annandale after gallows road. that's been cleared. it involved an overturned vehicle. it took about 45 minutes to clear thawp. you should be good to -- to clear that up. you should be good to go now. no problems on 270. a live look here in bethesda, old georgetown road and arlington boulevard. there had been an accident old georgetown road at executive boulevard and i believe that's been cleared up for the morning. things are looking great here as well as you can see. nice and light. back over to the maps. this time over to the south side of town. no problems on 95 coming up from the occoquan river right into springfield. you can see it's all green and

that means you're still good to go. light volumes up to the beltway. we'll take a live look at 395 here at shirlington. traffic moving well up to the 14th vote bridge. in my next report, we'll take a look the at beltway at 5:23. howard is here with our weather first. tomorrow the first day of spring. today early summer. >> we've got temperatures this week 70s. we might hit 80 again this week. five straight days in chicago by the way 80 degrees or better. that's the first time they've done that in march in recorded history so they're having incredible warmth there. a lot of the country east of the rockies unbelievable. i know spring officially begins tomorrow morning at 1:14 a.m. but it's been here for weeks. what did punxsutawney phil say? six more weeks? i don't think he got it this year. here's your bus stop forecast. we've got temperatures this morning in the 50s. one or two spots to the east in

upper 40s with mostly cloudy skies and patchy fog, real patchy, mainly on the eastern shore. not nearly as widespread as the last couple of mornings with sunrise at 7:12. cherry blossoms will be in peak bloom tomorrow for the rest of the week. so get down there if you want to see them. temperatures this morning by 9:00 upper 50s. mid-60s by noon. should be a great day to take a walk around the tidal basin if it's not too crowded. winds south to southeast 5 to 10. isolated showers and storms possible this afternoon. isolated being the key with the 5:00 p.m. temperature still at 74. this morning we're watching showers and storms coming out of ohio into west virginia sinking on towards southwestern virginia, south of charlottesville for the most part with temperatures in the upper 50s to even 60 in charleston now. the cool stuff off to the east from southern jersey down through the delmarva along the coast we've got lower 40s atlantic city and ocean city. richmond is 53. locally we're doing better than that although columbia down to 47 degrees. out to the west we've got mid-

50s in centreville at 55. leesburg it's 54. reston is down to 51. arlington this morning you're 54 and in baden in prince george's county an even 50. outside on our michael & son weather camera, mostly cloudy skies but decent visibilities. in fact fog not much of a problem except around cambridge. wind is calm. dew points way up there. humidity at 90%. that's one of the reasons why it's kind of humid. you have the dew around but not too much in the way of fog. i think partly because we had some clouds blow in off of the showers off to the west. let's look at what's going on in the west. following the jet stream coming down the west coast. it makes a turn up here so you have this big upper level storm out west. cold air, unsettled weather, severe weather in the plains and texas and into western oklahoma this morning. but the ridge in the east. when you get the dip in the west, you have the ridge in the east and under the ridge, that means warm, really warm weather for this time of year. as far as the showers and storms, we'll see that cluster sink off to the south.

isolated showers here and there this afternoon. by 5:45, you notice the sploches of green and -- splotches of green and looking at the forecast, 75. fog early. spochy showers, storms -- spotty showers and storms this afternoon. low to mid-70s tomorrow with the isolated afternoon shower. not much change wednesday. a little drier and warmer thursday, around 80. then this weekend could be a shower or storm saturday. more likely we'll see it on sunday with temperatures on sunday cooling into the mid- 60s. still well above average. andrea and mike, back to you. >> thank you. the wizards tie for a second win on their ten-day road trip. >> even though georgetown and vcu or out of the ncaa tournament, there are some local teams still dancing. highlights coming up in sports. but first, our question of the morning. we want to take another look at it. one in five men say they can't go on vacation without packing this. is it a, a hair drier, b, foot

powder or c, video games. >> well, one person wrote on our facebook page, i'm going with the least likely for men to bring which is c, video games. >> log on to the wua9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour. [ female announcer ] there's surprising news about whole grain

and the cereals your kids love. ♪ now all general mills big g kid cereals have more whole grain than any other ingredient. the same great taste they love in cereals like lucky charms and cinnamon toast crunch with whole grain that they need. just look for the white check, only on general mills big g kid cereals, the delicious way to help them grow up strong. now with more whole grain than any other ingredient.

it is 5:20 on this monday morning. we've got some clouds in spots.

temperatures low to mid-50s for most of us. the showers and storms you're seeing in west virginia, they're likely going to stay west. even by 9:00 we're looking partly to mostly cloudy, upper 50s. by lurch time we may see an isolated shower here and there, mid-60s. this afternoon we're going into the 70s again. the spotty shower or thundershower can't be ruled out with highs in the mid 70s for most of us. so still well above average. mike and andrea, back to you. >> thank you, howard. the caps and wizards struggle on the road. the georgetown men and women have different outcomes on their tournament games. here's kristen berset. good morning, everybody. the georgetown hoyas made it further in the ncaa tournament than they have in the last three years. any son sell ration for you -- any constellation for you fans? i didn't think so. every goal is to win the national championship. the hoyas' journey yesterday came to a screeching halt.

j.t.3 and gang, leslie with the steal and throwdown. the wolf pack ended the half with 32. nc state's lead down to four with a minute to go. off the miss. free throw senior jason clark pushes the ball of. he's the desperation 3 for the tie. nc state up jets the -- upsets the hoyas advancing to the sweet 16 for the first time in seven years. >> whenever you get to put this uniform on, i'll never get to lace up these shoes or put on these shorts. it's the last time ever. it's tough to know that this is the last time i'll ever get to shoot and get on the court with these guys. >> to the ladies. the georgetown hoyas taking on fresno state in their first round matchup. mcgee with the steal takes it in for the 2. the lady hoyas

advance with a win over fresno state. alex ovechkin and crew trying to bounce back after losing in winnipeg but the caps find themselves in a 4-1 hole in the second period. a fancy move here. the 30th goal of the year. but in the end chicago beats the caps 5-2. the wizards in the middle of a six-game road trip in memphis. john wall with a big game leading his team with 25 points. one on three here makes the go ahead layup but the next play, rudy gets the lead back with a monster jam. wizards drop this one 97-92. that's going to do it for your morning sports. the lady terps are in action today against louisville. have a great day. can't we all just get along? >> that would be nice. >> that's what mitt romney's wife is apparently saying. we'll let you know what she means coming up. plus, new antismoking ads designed to grab your attention and make you very uncomfortable.

they debut today. monika? >> park police are on the scene of an accident on the northbound side of the bw parkway just after route 450. it is blocking the right lane. coming up in my next report, more on area roadways at 5:28. you're watching 9news now. we'll be back in a moment.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. happy monday. i'm andrea roane. emit's here. the warm -- it's here. the warm t is back. i'm mike hydeck. howard bernstein. we're so degrees above average. this could be the warmest march on record. >> we kept talking over the weekend how this run is warmer. >> we started in the low 50s last marathon was in the low

30s. good race on saturday morning and another pretty decent day and another decent week around here as everything is in bloom. cherry blossoms peak bloom tomorrow through friday. incredible. not the earliest on record. here's a look at the day planner. we have some clouds in spots. the only fog i'm seeing is over toward cambridge in cumberland. visibilities about a quarter mile. cumberland three-quarters. 59 by 9:00. midday sunshine. there could also be spotty showers any time this afternoon with even a couple of thunderstorms. highs in the mid-70s. this morning showers and storms well to the west sinking toward areas in western and southwestern virginia. can't rule out a little of that doesn't get toward us. just want to point out to the lightning in west virginia approaching the state line west and southwest of harrisonburg. some of these showers getting close to romney. petersburg in the mid-50s right now. baltimore one of the cold spots

with easton at 46. we sit at 56. grab a jacket early. again, monika, in the mid-70s around here. incredible. >> it has been incredible. just loving it. if you're planning to head out on the roadways right now, i think you'll love what i have to say. good morning, everybody. the beltway looks great all around town. we're going to zoom in first of all to the bw parkway on the northbound side. so against the rush hour flow. there is an incident after route 450 and it's blocking off the right lane and park police are on the scene there. inbound side of route 50 no problems through cheverly as you head into the northeast corridor. let's take a look at the beltway on the north side of town looking fine at new hampshire avenue. still no delays to report as you leave the 95 interchange on the utter loop and head west towards silver spring. we'll go back over to the maps and this time all the way to the west side of town. 66 coming in from manassas to centreville, a few brake lights forming right now. no big deals to report as you head in towards fairfax on the beltway. northbound 95 in springfield beginning to bunch up just a bit heading for the beltway

here. we'll take a look at the beltway in alexandria near van dorn street. no problems between springfield and the wilson bridge. coming up in my next report, we'll take a look at 270 at 538. back to you. >> thank you. in campaign 2012, another big prize in the midwest is up for grabs tomorrow. >> the polls show mitt romney and rick santorum are locked in a very close race in illinois. mitt romney does have a weekend victory to celebrate. he picked up 20 delegates by winning puerto rico. meanwhile his wife is calling on republicans to end this fight for the nomination. >> it's time for us to get behind one candidate and get the job done so we can move on to the next job which is bringing us one step closer to defeating barack obama. >> this is a primary process where somebody had a huge advantage, huge money advantage, huge advantage of the establishment support and he hasn't been able to close the deal. >> santorum spoke while campaigning in louisiana which holds its primary this weekend. ron paul and newt gingrich have

no campaign events scheduled. in fact, gingrich and his wife were spotted enjoying the cherry blossoms yesterday at the tidal basin. they are difficult images to look at and tough words to hear. today government health officials are debuting a new ad campaign designed to shock people about the dangers of smoking. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is in the satellite center with more on this story. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, andrea. they are tough ads to watch. i've watched them several times and each time doesn't get any easier. they'll run for about three months. they cost the centers for disease control $54 million, but that is nothing compared to the $27 million for one day of advertising by the tobacco companies. let's take a look at some of the ads. >> [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: brace yourselves for these commercials. they are disurking and tell -- disturbing and tell a very sad story of how a life cannot only

be shortened but destroyed by smoking. the centers for disease control today launch unprecedented newspaper and tv ads called tips from smokers. roosevelt smith from virginia appears in the psas talking about his heart attack that he suffered at the age of 45. >> even when i was having my heart attacks, i still smoked a cigarette. like during the heart attack. yes. >> the pictures and all the disgusting graphics just turns me off. i change the channel immediately. i know it's coming. >> reporter: that's a common reaction from lots of smokers. coming up in my next live report, why doctors say these ads alone as graphic as they are may not convince many smokers to kick the habit. we'll have that side of the story coming up in a half-hour. andrea, back to you. >> delia goncalves reporting live from our satellite center. this morning a georgetown man who pled guilty in a hit and run crash on the key bridge is scheduled to be sentenced.

anthony an dissolve admitted he was -- an dissolve -- randolph admitted he was drinking drunk. in the aftermath of the crash, another driver hit and injured one of the d.c. police officers at the scene. the lawyers for former university of virginia lacrosse player george huguely have made a first step in the appeals process in his case. they've asked the judge for a hearing on a motion to have the case retried. last month you may remember huguely was found guilty of second-degree murder in the may 2010 death of his ex-girlfriend ex-girlfriend yeardley love. jessica is back with savings on some are seeing with health reform. >> these savings are going to people with height budgets to begin with. almost four million seniors saved about $2.2 billion through discounts for their

prescriptions medications in 2011. later today the department of health and human services plans to announce these findings. according to our partners at "u.s.a. today." the 2010 health care law required a 50% discount on prescription drugs and the so- called donut hall. that's the gap between traditional and catastrophic coverage in the medicare coverage. the law eliminates the donut hole by 2012. business cards, that's so 1990's. new information shows a link to slumping business card sales in the rise of the internet. analysts say printed cards are giving way to digital alternatives. of course we have facebook, linked in which allows smartphone users to exchange information by bumping their phones together. psychologists say young adults are less interested in tradition as well as carrying paper. a big change for starbucks. it plans to especial its first store in its new evolution fresh juice bar chain today. this is the biggest move for starbucks outside of coffee. it hopes the chain will boost its position in the $50 billion

health food sector. the store is located just east of seattle and if consumers like it, we could all see many more of them in the future, but this will cost you. a full size juice and a salad could set you back almost 20 bucks. what? very fufu. >> organic lettuce, tomatoes, juices. >> organic dollar bills. >> if it takes off it will end up in d.c. >> jessica is also putting the finishing touches on deals, not $20 meals. deals. she'll unveil them coming up. maryland senator barbara mikulski will be honored this week for passing a major milestone. when i get terrible congestion from my allergies,

i power through with the power of claritin-d. when my sinus pressure is at its worst, i've got the best decongestant... claritin-d. when it all hits, nasal congestion and sinus pressure, all i need is non-drowsy claritin-d. nothing relieves allergy congestion faster. get claritin-d at the pharmacy counter. live claritin clear.

welcome back. 5:37. outside on the weather terrace, no jackets required. we're in the mid-50s, a comfortable morning with light winds. the birds singing a happy song this monday morning. you'll be singing a happy song when you see the day planner. clouds around early. isolated showers this afternoon

with a mix of clouds and sunshine. 65 by noon with highs once again well above average, in the mid-70s. average high is 57. i'll be back with the seven-day forecast. right now inside to monika with a look at time saver traffic. no big issues to report right now in maryland thankfully. we're looking great on 270 coming in from frederick and over on the beltway as well here at new hampshire avenue. beginning to pick up a bit on the outer loop through silver spring but all lanes are open. coming up in my next report, we'll take a peak into virginia. back to you. >> thank you, monika. we've been combing through the day's daily deals, e-mails and retailer websites to find you deep discounts. easter right around the corner. here's one to make the day extra sweet. google offers showing a deal. spend $10 to get $20 worth of chocolate, truffles and more site wide at lindt.com. this offer not valid in stores. it's also time for spring cleaning. standard cleaning services wants to do the work for you. you'll find this offer on kgb

deals. three hours of cleaning for studio or one bedroom apartment for $50. the price normally $125. among the other options, pay $89 and you get five hours of cleaning for a home or town house. that service normally $200. finally one for you. shutter bugs out there. a 32 gig compact flash card. you'll find the deal on amazon.com. today it will cost you $51.99, a savings of 42%. if you have an offer you've seen or if you're a local merchant with a deal for our viewers, i'd love to hear from you on facebook. protesters want some changes made to the greatest show on earth. they rallied outside verizon center yesterday. animal advocates have said for a long time that ringling brothers barnum & bailey mistreats its animals. the circus wrapped up a stint at verizon center yesterday. they'll be in fairfax over the next few weeks. maryland senator barbara mikulski will be honored by her

colleagues wednesday. that's because she became the longest serving woman in the history of congress over the weekend. the 75-year-old democrat has served more than 35 years in congress. mikulski was first elected to the house in 1976 and to the senate ten years later. it is 5:40. let's take another look at the question of the day this morning. one in five men say they cannot go on vacation without packing one of these things. is it a, a hair dryer, b, foot powder, or c, video games. >> joyce wilcox wrote on our facebook fan page, i can't imagine going on vacation without anyone that has to have any of these items. my vacations usually involve backpacking for several days or camping at the beach. i travel light and may not have electricity during my vacation. but i will guess c. just don't come along with me. >> log on to our wusa9 facebook fan page. we'd love to hear your

comments. we'll have the answer in our 6:00 how. coming up, we'll have a few ideas for taking better care of yourself. >> plus, authorities are getting people out of the way of some intense wildfires in the rockies. >> who are celebrating birthdays today? we'll let you know. happy birthday if the 19th is your birthday as well.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. howard bernstein is here and on spring eve, what kind of weather do we have? >> very spring like. officially 1:14, that's when

the vernal week knox, the point when the sun's path appears to cross the equator into the northern hemisphere marking springtime us for. remember all that? >> i've committed it to memory. >> weather wise your bus stop forecast, the last full day of winter, believe it or not. we have temperatures going into the 70s. the meteorological winter began march 1. punxsutawney couldn't have been more wrong with six more weeks. patchy fog this morning. temperatures in the 50s. our sunrise at 7:12. we'll get into a mix of sunshine and clouds today. once again well above average. average is 57. we'll be there at 8:00. noontime temperatures in the mid-60s. cherry blossoms forecast to be in peak bloom by tomorrow through the 23rd. 4:00 p.m. temperature 75. some isolated showers and even thunder this afternoon. we're still in the upper 60s at 8:00 tonight. tonight we'll be like this morning. mostly cloudy, patches of fog. had some showers and storms

well out to the west this morning. watching them in west virginia. there's been a lot of lightning and thunder but this is tracking well to our south and west. some of the showers that are north of cumberland might just sneak in toward the shenandoah valley in the next few hours. your temperatures, you may neat a jacket, especially -- need a jacket, especially east of town. upper 40s at the pax river naval air station. 56 here in d.c. have 55 in catlett. even down to the south fredricksburg this morning at 56. visibilities, not nearly as bad as they have been the last couple of mornings. you see a little bit of fog toward annapolis, a mile and a half. there's cambridge. you've been socked in all morning, one half mile. the rest of the area visibilities from four miles in cumberland so a lot of ten-mile readings south and west. there are some clouds out there but nothing horribly low as you're looking at our weather camera. winds are calm. we have mostly cloudy skies and 56 degrees. dew points in the low 50s. there's probably some wet windshields out there, wet

grass, but not too much fog. temperatures tell the story. look at all the cold out west. lots of 30s. 20s in the mountains here. but bismarck 54. minute ap police 65. international falls today could break their record of 62 by 12 degrees this afternoon. it's been really warm in chicago where they're 64 right now. dallas at 70. almost summer like in these places. but the big dip in the jet out west, look at the storms firing this morning in texas and oklahoma, a sign of the upper level winds here that are going south and north and also pretty strong. for us this ridge covers much of the eastern half of the country. so the warmth is here. with the occasional shower or storm coming through, very, very spring like. so our forecast today we're going well up in the 70s once again. will be about 75 in d.c. that isolated shower or storm this afternoon, even tonight. tomorrow some early clouds and fog. then like today after starting in the 50s, we get to about 74. wednesday not that much

different. 76. but thursday you have a day you can take off? take off thursday. partly sunny and 80. better chance of showers and storms and slightly cooler temps over the weekend. 5:47. monika santami, good morning. good morning. it has been a good morning for traffic. things aren't looking too bad around town. you have the normally slow traffic forming in the usual spots but no big deals to report i'm happy to say. on the northbound side of 95 overall you have your delays coming out of quantico through woodbridge and then leaving newington into springfield. we'll go right there live right now on the northbound side of i- 95. the good news is your lanes are open. the bad news sur' going to sit -- is you're going to sit in a bit of slow traffic as you approach the beltway. on 395 this is looking great leaving duke street up to the 14th street bridge on our vdot cameras and no problems to report. main and hov lanes look all right as you head to the 14 rght vote in-- 14th street bridge. all trains are on time but on metro the escalators are out at rosslyn station. in fact, actually, i'm just hearing that the escalators are

back on. so you're okay. the buses have been requested. i think you're good to go at the station. next time saver traffic is at 6:00. back to you. here's what's making news at 5:48. today the attorneys for the army sergeant accused of killing 16 afghan civilians last weekend plans to meet with his client face to face. staff sergeant robert bales is being held at fort leavenworth, kansas now. john henry brown says he'll explore whether bales was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. thords are asking hundreds of people to -- authorities are asking hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in colorado. firms want resident -- officials want residents to go straight to a shelter and stay off the roads because of heavy smoke from fires. pastors at maryland churches that oppose same-sex marriage are asking their congregations to sign petitions for a referendum. that referendum would allow voters to decide whether or not

to overturn the new law that legalizes gay marriage in maryland. otherwise the law would take effect january 1. the message is don't forget about you this week. today is the first day of wellness week. many gyms, spas and other wellness related businesses are offering discounted services and this morning we have the owners of elements diet and fitness with us yvonne and meladine to talk about the importance ever taking care of ourselves and show us a few ideas on just how to do it. melody is on the maps and will be showing us some poses but i'm drinking something i should be doing after the workout, fuel your body. its a recovery shake. why is it so important to recover and just to take good care of ourselves? >> after you workout, your body has used proteins and carbs and you need to replenish those within 45 minutes after workout. what you have there is an antioxidant blast, acai berry and blueberry so you can restore and promote good health. >> it tastes good.

one thing we find out is women usually don't take as good a care of themselves as we should we always take care of other people first. >> we do. >> but we've got to change that. >> we do have to change that i have a couple of poses for you i want to show that will help people relax and restore after that hard workout. >> let's see the poses. >> she's first doing a cat pose where she's stretching and opening her back. a cat does it every time they get up. she'll move back to a child's pose stretching the back, opening the hips. >> people who do yoga recognizes the poses but those of us who have children recognize that one because that's what the doctor tells us to do. >> she's leading with her heart, opening up the chest and coming up to an up dog and breeghtding in -- breathing in, taking in lots of good air, opening the chest and she'll move back to her child's pose. back to her child's pose for

restorative-- >> what we're looking at are poses that it doesn't matter at what age or even at what level of skills you have and exercises that we should be doing and can do. >> correct. it's opening and restoring, waking up the body, and bringing in great antiaging movements. >> so it's exercise. it's diet as well. and just again some of the benefits of doing these as far as heart, blood, cholesterol. does it really make a difference? >> yes, it does. it make as tremendous difference. you'll find people's confidence changes. their posture changes, the way they carry themselves changes. it's great. we see it every day. >> and it works. this is the beginning of wellness week to get us in that frame of mind. again, it should be something that we do 52 weeks out of the year. they would agree. yvonne and melody, thank you very much for being with us and stay well. >> thank you. >> thanks, andrea. is the d.c. council chair

hurting enrollment at udc? some people at the university think so we'll tell you why. plus, researchers at the national zoo say the call of the wild is changing. all thanks to city noise. we'll explain. march madness of course is upon us and this year many employers are no longer fighting the power they earned racing the madness at the workplace. i'll have the story at 6:06. you are watching 9news now.

it is 5:55. cool this morning but not too bad with temperatures running in the 50s. we've got showers and storms in west virginia. they're going to fall apart some as they come into virginia. we'll get some of that cloudiness. partly to mostly cloudy. noontime that doesn't look so bad. we have temperatures in the mid- 60s with a spotty shower under partly sunny skies. this afternoon once again we're going into the 70s. again the isolated shower or storm can't be ruled out, even through the evening with the drive home temperature upper 60s to low 70s. mike, over to you. >> thanks, howard. living in the big city just isn't an adjustment for peep. turns out our population density is also changing the call of the wild. bill plant has more on the differences between city birds and country birds. >> reporter: think.

this as march madness, just a different kind. >> they're kind of cute. >> reporter: it's the march migration of birds starting their seasonal journey looking for a mate. but for birds seeking out to find a partner in the noisy urban jungle, it's tough. even the echoes among tall buildings can confuse the bird's hearing. conservation scientist peter mara has discovered that urban surroundings actually change how birds call out. >> just like you when you're in a bar or out in the street and there's a siren that goes by, you've got to shout or change your own voice so someone else can hear you. >> reporter: working with researchers at the smith sonia, marra found increased noise alters the pitch of an urban bird compared to that of his country cousin. from his office of the national zoo, he demonstrates with the carolina ren. >> let's listen to the rural

song. [ bird chirping ] >> now let's listen to the carolina ren in an urban environment [ bird chirping ] >> reporter: the range of the urban bird is nor narrow and the pitch of its song has gone up. here is the carolina chick dee. >> here's a chick dee in a rural environment. now let's listen to that poor little chick dee in urban environments. >> reporter: the heightened pitch has scientists wondering will city birds be able to find love if their country cousins refuse to mate because they don't recognize calls from the urbanhood. for harrison, it comes down to the adaptability of nature. >> nature simply wants a balance. the birds that live in the city have to achieve that balance. >> reporter: he says more research is in the works to department whether urban birds have simply adapted to the

stress of city living and what happens when mother nature passes down a different tune to future generations. bill plant, cbs news, washington. >> that is amazing. >> it's so interesting. >> oh, my goodness. >> it almost sounded like the bird was smoking. >> and we know that can be dangerous. you're watching 9news now at 6:00 a.m. good morning. i'm andrea roane. happy monday. thanks for joining us. i'm mike hydeck. we're glad you are here. here's monika santami. hi, monika. >> howard bernstein is here. we're glad about that and your forecast. >> spring begins tonight at 1:14, actually tomorrow morning at 1:14 a.m. weather wise it's cool this morning. you may need a light jacket for a little while but once again we'll be in the 70s. average high is 57. we'll be there -- we're there now. 59 at 9:00 with partly to