shot but never arrested. that decision sparked protests and calls for justice from around the country. angela corey is the special prosecutor in the case and says none of that influenced her decision. >> we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. we prosecute based on the facts of any given case. >> reporter: george zimmerman faces life in prison if he's convicted. manuel gallegus, cbs news, sanford, florida. >> okay, to give you a rundown this is how the martin case unfolded. the shooting was on february 26th. march 9th his family made its first demands for the release of the 911 tapes during the arrest they were hoping this would lead to an arrest. march 16th those tapes were released and two days later the family called for a federal investigation. on march 22nd, the sanford police chief and local prosecutor both stepped down. and the governor appointed a state attorney to handle the investigation. march 26th, report started to

surface that martin had beaten zimmerman and slammed his head against the ground. then on march 28th zimmerman's father claimed that martin threatened to kill his son. zimmerman's lawyers were stepping down from the case this past sunday. he apparently has new counsel now and tuesday after they withdrew their legal counsel they put it out he wasn't making any contact with them. don't forget you can always go to wusa9.com for the latest developments on the trayvon martin case. d.c. police raided a northwest d.c. apartment they believe was a meth lab. the apartment was in the park east building on summit place. because of the nature of the chemicals used to make it, d.c. firefighters were also part of last night's search. police arrested one man but they aren't releasing his name. all of the material inside the home was removed safely. police in prince george's county need your help. they're trying to find a man

who sexually assaulted a woman in hyattsville on a washing trail. talk a like at -- walking trial. take a look. the suspect is hispanic and believed to be from el salvador. it happened march 27th along the northwest branch trial. if you have any information on this suspect please call prince george's county police. lawmakers on capitol hill reportedly are investigating an alleged case of discrimination at the library of congress. a man who was an analyst at the lie blare has filed a -- library has filed a complaint with the equal employment opportunity commission. peter traver complained he was discriminated against after his boss learned he was gay. he claims one e-mail had texts which ready versety? let's celebrate it but included a picture of an assault rifle. president obama wanted to do to for the whole nation.

he called on congress to pass what he says is a more balanced tax code. one that was proposed by billionaire warren buffett. >> members of congress are going to vote on the buffet role. it is simple. if you make more money, more than $1 million a year, not if you have $1 million but if you make more than $1 million a year, you should pay at least the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle class families do. >> and as he making his remarks -- he was making his remarks president obama was surrounded by millionaire and a billionaire business owner who agreed the rich should pay more in taxes. prince william county executive stuart launched the campaign to become the next lieutenant governor of virginia. he has made headlines with the efforts to crackdown on illegal immigration in the country. the office is currently occupied by bill bowling.

along with state attorney general ken cup nellie. get ready to pay more the next time you hail a cab in the district. the city's commission unanimously approved raising the mileage rate to $2.16 a mile. that's up from $1.150. the base charge will still be $3, these changes take effect april 21st. wildfires are now burning more than 14,000 acres of land in virginia. the virginia department of forestry says firefighters are battling several large wildfires and some small ones in several counties. in paige county, the fire now spans 5.5 miles. in shenandoah county many roads and trails are closed in the golf gap area. the biggest fires remain in alleghany and craig counties. three different blazes have burned almost 8,000 angers in the george washington jefferson national forest. investigators closed down many

roads in the area as well. a deadline for u. n. brokered cease fire in syria has passed without any reports of major violence. yesterday the syrian government said it would stop its military operations and also said it has aright to defend itself against terrorists. the government has backtracked after agreeing to a previous peace plan. north korea is expected to launch a long-range rocket as early as today. it was injected with fuel yesterday and north korea says it's simply sending a satellite into space. but critics argue they're violating a ban on nuclear activity and doing work on their program. it is 4:35. john edwards is preparing for his criminal trial. jury selection is expected to get underway. the former democratic presidential candidate is charged with violating campaign finance laws. edwards is accused of

improperly using money to hide his pregnant mistress during the bid for the white house in 2008. edwards faces 30 years in prison if convicted. earthquake hit from the coast off the united states to indonesia yesterday. one quake hit off the coast of oregon but it was centered deep about eight miles below the earth's surface. another earthquake hit another area in the mountains of western new mexico. people there in mexico city felt it but no major damage from these. a tsunami watch was lifted for the indian ocean after the 8.6 magnitude quake and powerful aftershocks struck off indonesia's western coast. the tremor sparked tsunami warnings across the indian ocean sending people fleeing to higher ground. 230,000 people died across south asia eight years ago after a 9.0 earthquake struck closer to shore. there were no reports of any major damage in the quake. it is 4:36. jessica doyle is with your money too and we'll be right

back.

4:9 and this thursday morning we have got some 30s and 40s out there so a chilly start. generally clear skies and be 47 by 9:00. breezy again today. northwest wind at 10 to 20 miles an hour. gusts 25 do 30 with highs this afternoon anywhere from the upper 50s to low 60s looking pretty good for baseball today here in the nation's capital. your seven day forecast with a weekend warmup just ahead. right now monika with timesaver traffic. we're going to take a live look here at the inbound side of i-66. @ length coming in from the manassas to 123 and the beltway all lanes are open and volumes are light. coming up in my next report, we'll take a closer look at the west side of town at 4:47. thank you monika. it is time for the first your

money segment of the morning. >> it is indeed and here's jessica doyle with today's ted lines. >> hello, a little sunshine after a couple of terrible days on wall street. stocks bounced back after the biggest selloff of the year. a surprise profit from alcoa gave investors hope the earning season won't be as weak as expected. checking the numbers -- last month's pullback in hiring may prove to be temporary. that's what the federal reserve has concluded in its latest assessment of the economy. the survey showed that each of the feds' 12 bank districts grew at a modst pace from mid- february through early april. the survey also found that hiring was steady or increased in the country. the justice department filed an antitrust against

apple in new york yesterday. it says the company and five major publishers conspired to fix prices on electronic books and also complained that apple stipulated it received a 30% cut on each e-book it sold. the conspiracy started around the time apple launched the ipad. the move was made to limit competition allegedly by rival retailers like amazon. there's a glitch in nokia's new smart phone. the company says a software bug could cause a break in its data connections and it will compensate users with a $100 credit at at&t. the cell phone maker also warning that stiff competition from the iphone will hurt the first and second quarter results. not so good. >> so interesting about the whole ereader thing because amazon was big bully in the room for a long time and that was their way to get in on it. >> we've got to say again these are allegations. you know this is -- the beginning of the investigation. so we'll see where this heads but they are very significant. >> it was eye-opening that's

for sure. thanks jess. well, rick santorum's presidential campaign raised national awareness about a rare genetic disorder called trisomy 18. >> coming up the story of one family who deals with the impact of this disease every day. but first we're back in two minutes with your weather first.

good morning, welcome back to 9news now. it's 4:44. thursday and it's opening day for baseball. but i think you may need a little jacket at the park? >> yeah, but remember last year with the cold -- yeah i know. >> we still had a great time. >> yeah but this year is going to be a lot better than last year's opening day -- >> little sunshine right? >> lot of sunshine. jackets and sunscreen. you get a sunburn if you're not careful. wide brimmed hat and sun gene and maybe a smoke or two. you got to enjoy yourself right? >> or three if mick's case -- in mike's case. >> and a lot of coffee.

the bus stop forecast isn't bad. you definitely need jackets out there with temperatures in the 30s and 40s. the cool spots in the mid 30s. we have some areas well west of washington under a freeze warning in far american maryland and parts of the central and southern shenandoah valley and the mountains of west virginia. otherwise clear and chilly this morning with sunrise at 6:35. the day planner calling for a good deal of sunshine. we may see a few fair weather clouds from time to time and another breezy day. northwest winds 10 to 20 and could be gusting to 25 and even 30 this afternoon as we'll see highs from the upper 50s to low 60s. average is 66 and rainfall, we're 4.4 inches below normal since january 1st. first pitch today with the nationals and reds, 1:10. the northwest wind at 15 and pack the jacket or sweatshirt or something and i have the red tie on not just for the nats but the caps have their game tonight up in boston. they open the playoffs and yeah wear your red today.

wear it proud. 43 culpeper, while gaithersburg one of the cool spots at 36. down at the tappahannock airport 38. locally we've got the mid 30s in gaithersburg and bladensville. 41 for lovettsville and leesburg. centreville is 39 and we got a 41 for baden and fort belvoir. in town, pretty good looking michael & son weather camera out there this morningment notice the flag still standing with northwest wind at 12 miles per hour under partly cloudy skies at reagan national. and the dew points in the low 30s so the air is still dry. had a couple of sprinkles here and there. officially .01 fell at national. that's not enough to do it. and this morning well we're looking at a storm system spinning off the southeastern coast of new england. other than that, it's quiet. got that northerly flow so the cool air still with us. maybe a few fair weather clouds and oh i suppose not impossible that we get something to pop in

northeastern maryland as an isolated sprinkle. otherwise quiet tonight in the 30s and upper 40s and tomorrow we start the warmup. winds turn southerly and a lot of sunshine here on friday and on saturday with some high clouds, main weather is going to be north of us. so it's southwesterly winds we're shooting into the 70s on saturday. i think we're shooting into the 80s sunday, monday and maybe tuesday as well. it's going to be a rather warm stretch here for a few days. here's yours forecast. today, 61. tonight we're going to be back down in the 40s 234 town and maybe some upper 30s to around 40 in the cold spots. mid 60s on friday. milder winds turn southwest. not breezy for a change. real nice on saturday. 73. and then check out the warmth coming. sunday 82. monday 84. and i'm smelling a listening weekend for quite a few -- long weekend for quite a few. wednesday our next best chance of showers or storms even with highs in the upper 60s.

it is 4:47. here's monika samtani with timesaver traffic. looking forward to that. thank you howard. if you're planning to go outside, well, he's something to look forward to. not much to talk about in terms of big incidents. things are looking great. all that overnight construction pretty much cleared up for the night -- for the day. no problems to report out of dale city on 95 up to woodbridge and springfield. a live look further north here at 395 at shirlington circle and you can see how quiet it is heading for the 14th street bridge and into the downtown area. we'll go back to the maps this time to the west side of town. 66 is incident-free out of centreville. no problems as you head in toward fairfax and the beltway. that construction on the toll road westbound should be cleared up pretty much. we'll take a live look at the dulles toll road and here's what it looks like at route 28. coming out of dulles. no problems on the toll road as you head all the way over toward the beltway. now there's good news and bad news this week about the dulles rail construction. the good news first, tuesday, fairfax county confirmed their

commitment of close to $500 million for the second phase of the expansion past dulles airport into loudoun county. bad news is it could be delayed if loudoun and the commonwealth pull out of the station due to cost concerns. i spoke with secretary of transportation ray lahood who is optimistic the that work will go on with the money virginia has committed. >> when the assembly passed the budget -- passes the budget. they will be contributing $150 million. that's not insignificant. that's a very strong commitment from governor mcdonnell and the commonwealth because they believe in this project. >> loudoun county is expected to kick in $260 million for the extension but it says it expected more money from the state and without that extra money, drivers may have to pay higher tolls to cover the construction costs. the virginia general assembly is expected to make their budget decision next week and loudoun county has until july to commit to its share and mike i've heard numbers as high as

$4.50 one way for the tolls next year sometime. sowell just have to it --we'll just have to wait and see what happens. >> thanks a lot. former gop presidential candidate rick santorum drew some attention to trisomy 18 during his campaign. santorum's 3-year-old daughter bella has this rare genetic disorder. >> dick brennan talked with a family whose child is also living with this disorder. >> reporter: little livia plays with her mom who treasures every smile and every moment. she just celebrated her first birthday but doctors didn't think she would come this far. >> they said even if she makes it to birth, don't expect her to make it through birth. >> reporter: when bethany was pregnant tests revealed something was wrong. she has trisomy 18. >> i had doctor after doctor telling me you need to plan a funeral for your doctor before i even met her. >> reporter: children with trisomy 18 have three copies of chromosome 18 instead of two.

>> extra copies of those genes leads to very significant abnormalities of brain development, and in particular abnormalities of heart development. >> reporter: most pregnants involving trisomy 18 end in miscarriages or stillbirths and less than 10% of babies that are born alive make it to their first birthday. those babies struggle with heart, lung and immune issues that con standpointly threaten their -- constantly threaten their lives. >> children with these conditions have a very high risk of just stopping breathing during episodes of viral illnesses, colds or flus. >> reporter: doctors told her family she might not survive even a single day. >> we can't imagine not having her. >> we have days where you always want to do is cry. but i think for us, having her brings so much joy that it kind of erases that. >> reporter: they hope their daughter can keep defying the odds. dick brennan for cbs news, new york. >> trisomy 18 occurs in one out

of every 10,000 births. for more information, log on to the trisomy 18 foundation website at trisomy18.org. we have a link on our website. wusa9.com. so you just waking up right now? hopefully you have a good night's sleep. there's more evidence poor sleep increases the risk of diabetes and obesity. they shifted the sleeping times of 18 volunteers and didn't allow them to sleep more than six hours. after three weeks their metabolic rate slowed down. and their blood sugar levels increased. >> okay. let's take a nap right now. but first british researchers are questioning whether over the counter remedies can help the pain and itch of insect bites. a new report says there are new studies which show steroid creams and tablets are effective against bites. doctors say simple insect bites usually don't require treatment and will go away on their own. it is 4:52 and time for the question of the morning --

log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during our 6:00 hour. we'll be back.

welcome back. 4:55. your weather first on this thursday morning. needing jackets, we've got clear skies but chilly terms. some 30s as well and a breeze once again. we have got a windchill this morning but by midday we'll have highs in the -- temperatures in the mid- to upper 50s and then we're going into the low 60s this afternoon for a high some spots north and west in the upper 50s but the winds again could gust 25, maybe 30 miles an hour. monika samtani, good morning. good morning and it is a

good morning. no problems to report on 270 southbound out of frederick past here at 121 down to the point where the lanes divide. i'll have more on maryland roadways coming up once again at 5:01. local leaders and some special guests held opening ceremonies for the 150th anniversary of the d.c. emancipation day. the national archives is marking the occasion by showing off some rarely seen original records. that pertain to d.c.'s emancipation act. president lincoln granted freedom of 3100 slaves in the district. the museum is also showing a new video called "d.c. emancipation act -- 150 years." it's part of the ongoing inside the vault series. a display of some red shoes is expected to attract big crowds at the national museum of american history. dorothy's ruby slippers from the "wizard of oz" is the featured item in a new exhibit

called american stories. it's a u.s. chronology of u.s. history from the first encounters of europeans and native americans to the 2008 presidential election. >> we want to first of all be inclusive so that we tell many stories known and unknown. the powerful, the everyday americans. and to find objects that really do tell their stories. that's -- that's our way of telling stories. you tell it on television another way, the movies, the books we tell it through stuff. >> the exhibit features iconic stuff from pop culture along with objects dating back to the pilgrims' arrival in 1620. they include kermit the frog, boxing gloves and bob dylan isletedder jacket. it's the first major exhibit with a spanish translation. >> looks like a lot of fun. lionel richie is reinventing himself. you may have seen him on "cbs this morning." and he's doing it with the help of some country music's biggest stars. >> alexis christoforous sat

down with the legendary singer/songwriter to talk about the latest album and his southern roots. ♪ >> reporter: lionel richie has gone country. and it's paying off. ♪ >> reporter: the r&b legend has teamed up with some of nashville's finest to put his country twist on 13 of his classic hits. named after the hometown in alabama, tuskegee debuted at the top of the billboard's country album charts. >> it feels so good to go back and kind of give praise to the town that before the commodores, before we made it around the world, there was a town that said you guys keep going. you're going to make it. >> reporter: five grammy's and nearly two dozen top ten hits later, richie says making it was the most fun he's had in the recording studio. >> what started out as just a group of talented people ended up to be the best friends i'll have for a very long time.

my brand new old friends. >> reporter: some of the friends recently joined him on stage in las vegas for a concert that's set to air an cbs this friday. he's dancing on the ceiling with rascal flatts and sailing on with tim mcgraw. ♪ >> it's full circle and it feels so good because it gives me a chance to reflect on you know, what this has aliments. >> reporter: at 62, richie is happy to return to his southern roots. alexis christoforous, cbs news, new york. all right, and it a great album. it really is good. thank you, good morning for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. this thursday morning. i'm andrea roane. >> thursday's here, that means friday is close at hand. i'm mike hydeck, hey monika samtani. opening day nationals park. howard's got the weather for first pitch. >> yeah, looking pretty good. we're going to have temperatures in the upper 50s and lots of sunshine and a little briesy once