find professional work. >> in part because of the extraordinarily poor conditions of the job market. >> reporter: the job market and economy are expected to be the key issues in november. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >> newt gingrich and ron paul are still in the race for the republican nomination. paul says even if romney clinches, he still plans to bring his campaign all the way to the convention. opening statements are expected to begin as early as today in the sex abuse trial of michael gardner. he's the husband of the former mayor of falls church, virginia charged with sexually abusing three girls who were at sleepovers at his home with his daughter. >> gartner was first charged -- gardner was first charged last june. peggy fox has the latest. >> reporter: they face disturbing child molestation charges. michael gardner continues to have the support of his wife. the charges stem from two sleepovers for the gardner's daughter at their house on two separate nights last june.

three girls who were 10 and 9 at the time say michael gardner reached into their sleeping bags or bed and fondled their gentles and breasts. >> reporter: how are you going to explain your d.n.a. found on the girl's underpants? >> reporter: gardner's d.n.a. was found on two of the girls' clothing including two underpants but sperm of one of the girls' fathers was found. >> it was transferred, done in the wash. there was isolated sperm probably all over the pajamas. that's what happens when you wash your clothes. anything that might have sperm on it gets distributed, not very much, just isolated spots here and there. that's what they found. >> reporter: peggy fox, 9news now. the sanford florida police chief in charge of the trayvon martin murder case handed in his resignation yesterday. city officials didn't accept it. chief bill lee has been

criticized for not immediately arresting george zimmerman after he shot the unarmed teenager back in february. zimmerman says the shooting was in self-defense. the neighborhood watch volunteer is facing second- degree murder charges. he was released on $150,000 bond. his attorney says he is in hiding because of safety concerns. zimmerman has a curfew and he has to wear a gps bracelet. sanford police chief is now on administrative leave until the investigation into how he handled this shooting is complete. baltimore police have arrested a second person in the st. patrick's day beating of a tourist. investigators say 20-year-old shaona davis was part of a crowd that beat a man from arlington, virginia. police made their first arrest using the video more than a week ago. aaron parsons remains in jail on half a million dollars bail. investigators are looking for two more suspects in the attack. more than 160 metro buses have been fully sanitized after

metro driver was diagnosed with viral meningitis. >> as matt jablow tells us, viral meningitis is normally not that serious but metro isn't taking any chances. >> reporter: metro says the bus driver in question was driving the 52 route and the 54 route in northwest washington last friday between about 7:00 in the morning and 10:00 in the morning. before friday, metro says the driver had been on vacation and they don't believe he exposed any bus other than the one he was driving to the meningitis virus. according to metro the bus in question will be out of service until it's completely sanitized and all 164 buses here at the northern division will be disinfected tonight. >> it can cause fever, headaches, confusion, sometimes light sensitivity. >> reporter: an emergency room doctor at med star washington hospital center says viral meningitis generally does not cause major complications unless it's contracted by

somebody with an already compromised immune system. >> reporter: is it contagious? >> it's contagious like the flu is or a cold is that if you come in contact, you could potentially get the symptoms. >> reporter: metro bus riders we spoke to in northwest washington did not sound overly concerned, but they did seem relieved to hear that metro will be disinfecting their buses. >> yeah, i'm glad that they're disinfecting the buses and kind of reacting kind of massively and comprehensively to it. >> i cannot drive. >> reporter: so you have to ride the buses? will you be concerned? >> no. >> reporter: matt jablow, 9news now. >> the route 52 and 54 buses usually travel 14th and colorado to la fact plaza and back again. viral meningitis can be caused by several diforts virus -- different viruses. the viral form is usually not as severe as bacterial meningitis. it's more of a risk to people

with weakened immune systems and babies under age one. symptoms look nausea, fever, stiff neck and sensitivity to light. the virginia tech police officer shot and killed by a student last december will be honored at a memorial service later this week. derek krause will be the first fallen officer to have his name engraved on the national law enforcement memorial. the. a total of 362 officers who died in the line of duty will be added to that memorial this year. the ceremony honoring them is slated for thursday. controversy growing in quantico, virginia over a new marine base proposal concerning the residents who live inside the city limits. quantico is the only municipality in the country completely surrounded by a military base. the base is proposing i.d. cards for the respect departmentses with their photo and their name on it, part of

getting that would require the base to run checks on each resident. people who live there say it is not needed because they already have a special car decal and they show their i.d. at security gates. a public hearing on the issue is set for tomorrow night. 4:36 now. here are some of the other things making news now. the criminal trial for former democratic presidential candidate john edwards continues today. he's accused of misusing campaign funds in order to hide his pregnant mistress. a former aide is expected to resume his testimony today. edwards says he's done nothing wrong. he faces 30 years behind bars if convicted, though. yesterday a judge ruled roger clemens former teammate will not be allowed to testify at trial. clemens, a seven-time sigh winger accused of lying -- sigh winner is accused of lying to

congress. is it spring or winter? western maryland, pennsylvania, parts of upstate new york all received snow in serious amounts and even more is expected in those areas today. as much as six inches fell in garrett county, maryland. more than they received all winter long. heavy wet snow in pennsylvania and new york brought down some tree branches and power lines in some places, not widespread. as many as 50,000 people were without power in two of the states. parts of new england were placed under a flood watch because of the storm. our time right now is 4:37. when will the cold air leave and those warm temperatures return? howard has a preview coming up in two minutes. >> you know maryland is known as the free state but pretty soon it will have to get a new nickname because it sure isn't free anymore. jessica is going to tell us how much residents can expect to pay if a new tax hike proposal is approved in annapolis. >> pumping iron may just help improve your memory.

we'll have more on that story coming up at 4:51. you're watching 9news now.

it's another chilly one out there with 30s and 40s but it's dry. we don't have rain or snow to talk about. i think we'll see some sunshine at times this morning. then mostly cloudy this afternoon. still breezy and a little milder as highs should make it into the low 60s. we'll be back in a few minutes with the seven-day. looking ahead toward the weekend. always looking ahead toward the weekend. here's monika with time saver traffic. happy to say northbound 95 and 395 pretty much look like this. the length from dale city to the 14th street bridge, no issues from manassas to fairfax. i'll have more on some construction in virginia in my next report. back to you. 4:40. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> jessica is back. good morning, jess. >> good among. the feds, that's the big focus on wall street today. the federal reserve begins its two-day meeting today. it will finish up tomorrow with a press conference and no

change in interest rates is expected. traders will be listening closely to bernanke for any hints about if and when policymakers might possibly enjict more -- inject more still louse into the economy. it's also the first time he'll discuss last week's jobs reports. it comes after stocks finish really lower, a lot lower on concerns of europe's mounting debt. checking the numbers, the dow stands at 12,927 after dropping 102 points. that was actually a recovery from as much as 184 point slide earlier in the session. the government says the bad economy and higher energy prices have made the bad finances of social security even worse. the trustees who oversee social security say the program's trust funds will now run dry in 2033. that's three years earlier than

expected. medicare's finances have stabilized but the program's hospital insurance fund is still projected to run out of money in 2024. if the social security and medicare funds ever become exhausted, both programs would collect only enough money in payroll taxes to pay partial benefits. the trustees said in theirage report to congress that congress should address the programs as soon as possible but no action is likely before the november election. almost 40% of montgomery county residents would see their income taxes climb under new budget plan proposed by senate lawmakers before negotiations scheduled with governor martin o'malley this morning. the washington examiner reports that one proposal would hit single filing taxpayers earning more than $75,000 and adjusted gross income or joint filers earning more than $125,000 annually. under the deal that was negotiated in the legislative session, marylanders earning more than a hundred grand would see their tax rates rising. democrats want to call a special session to avoid more

than $500 million in doomsday budget cuts that would kick in if the legislature fails to pass a complete budget package. big doings in maryland. >> thanks, jess. researchers try to find ways to stop migraine pain before it begins. >> when we return, we'll take a look at some new guidelines for migraine sufferers and in two minutes howard will have his complete forecast. >> it is 4:43. we'll be right back.

. 4:45 this advertise morning. what season -- this tuesday morning. what season are we in? there are people who are shoveling snow still. >> up wrmds of 8 inches -- upwards of 8 inches in pennsylvania. there were foot, foot and a

half totals, very isolated in pa pandz a parts of -- in pennsylvania and parts of new york also. yes, it was an incredible late april snow. for us it's gone. the rain and the snow are gone. we are looking at a chilly start this morning. temps down in the 30s and 40s. a little bit of a windchill, too, so definitely jackets and sweaters this morning with our sunrise coming up here at 6:19. it sets just a few minutes before 8:00. our day planner today, i think we're going to have a little sun mixed in here this morning as temperatures by noon climb into the upper 50s. southwest winds at 15. yes, going to be breezy once again. 5:00 temperature of 60 under mostly cloudy skies. might see a little more sun south with highs in the low 60s. there's your snow this morning. still see it here in northwestern pennsylvania, southwestern new york, even parts of the adirondacks seeing a little snow this morning. that's about it. almost all of the warnings have been dropped. temperatures in the 30s and 40s from new york, pennsylvania,

even down toward charlottesville and richmond this morning. raleigh is down to 38 degrees. so that cold air behind this big nor'easter driven far to the south. locally we've got 37 in leesburg and gaithersburg. sterling over at dulles airport 39 degrees. down to the south springfield is 40 along with columbia. college park is one of the warm spots at 45. in washington as we look outside on our michael & son weather camera, good visibility. you'll notice the clouds at the capital standing stiff. got a decent breeze going on out there now. winds southwest at 8 under mostly cloudy skies. the barometer is going to be coming up at 29.54. if you're sensitive to the pressure changes, this could be a painful day. watching the storm system spinning right here over western new york. the other feature we're going to watch, a nice piece of energy coming out of wisconsin here. see it on the back side? this is going to follow down and around and likely we're going to see a little bit of that late tonight or late this

evening i should say into the nighttime hours. we'll see the clouds increase up north, especially late this afternoon and this evening. here comes a little weak disturbance. a couple of sprinkles possible, mainly in the mountains as we get into the nighttime hours. overnight that should pass us. tomorrow not a bad day at all. sunny skies. temperatures going well up into the 60s on wednesday. then as we head toward wednesday night and thursday morning, look what happens. by thursday morning, showers around. might even get a rumble of thunder. this will pass and still be an afternoon shower on thursday but thursday will feature our next chance for rain. still in a deficit so we'll take it. today low 60s. skies partly sunny to partly cloudy and breezy. tomorrow 67 with the sun. thursday some showers, maybe some thunder, warmer. looks okay for maryland day around 70, slight chance after late day thunderstorm. sunday could be some afternoon showers. monika is in now with time

saver traffic. no notes and a smile. no notes and a smile. i'm happy to say that compared to yesterday. we only have the overnight construction which is pretty much in its clearing stages right now but if you are just heading out the door, you might want to know it was in place on the westbound side of the dulles connector road heading for the beltway. they may still be picking up the cones there on the inbound side of i-66. no issues from manassas into centreville toward fairfax and the beltway. we'll take a live look inside the beltway at the roosevelt bridge inbound i-66 where you should be okay if that's where you're headed. we'll go to our live picture. no problems to order crossing the river here and into downtown. let's go back over to the maps. this time over to the north side of town on the inner loop of the beltway approaching kenilworth avenue. there had been three lanes blocked with construction. i pretty much think they're done for the morning. if you are planning to head there, you should be okay through college park. we'll take a live look at the beltway in silver spring at georgia avenue. looking great both loops of the beltway. lanes are open. in my next report, we'll take a

peek at 270 at 4:55. just about 4:50 now. cholesterol levels morning american adults are dropping. this is despite two-thirds of the country being overweight. the study from the cdc found 13% of adults in the united states have high total cholesterol. researchers say the lower number that it's turned into could be related to the use of cholesterol lowering drugs. more and more children are getting ct scans for abdominal pain. emergency room doctors order the scans to check for apent appendicitis. while the number of scans has increased, the number of patients with appendicitis has not. experts say the ct scans expose children to harmful radiation and that an ultrasound should be the first option instead if the ruts are unclear from that, then the child should go for a

ct scan. when it comes to care for appendicitis, the cost can fluctuate wildly. researchers analyzed closed to 20,000 adults hospitalled in california. the average cost per patient was about $33,000. but some patients paid as little as $1500 while others were charged more than $180,000. researchers say even after taking into account different factors, more than 30% of the cost pluckation just could -- cost fluctuation just could not be explained. older women suffering with memory loss want to start weight training. researchers looked at women ages 70 to 80 years old and found training twice a week with free weights improved their attention span and memory. if you get migraines or know someone who does, you understand how debilitating the headaches can be. you'll appreciate the next story. the american academy of neurology is out with a new list of medications and teepts that can prevent -- treatments

that can prevent the pain before it starts. >> a railroad train running right through you. >> reporter: jessica rodriguez used to get migraines about five times a month but as a mother of twin 4-yard boys, she couldn't afford to let the painful headaches slow her down. >> i used to shut down, go to sleep and shut down for a couple of days. now i can't. >> reporter: jessica's doctors put her on a daily dose of topomax. >> when patients do go on these medications, it decreases the frequency and often the severity of the headache as well by about 50%. >> reporter: along with topomax, other antiseizure medications can be used to prevent migraines. so can certain beta blockers, herbal products and over-the- counter antiinflammatories including ibuprofen and that approximate sin -- and

naproxsyn. preventive measures would help about 40% of patients feel better but very few currently use that approach. however, even over-the-counter remedies can have side effects so consult your doctor before you start any new preventive treatment. jessica says taking topamax changed her life. anita brikman, 9news now. >> doctors say if you have chronic migraines that you leave unchecked, they can continue to become more frequent till they're happening almost every day. at that point these headaches are even tougher to treat. it's 4:53. time for the question of the morning. >> perhaps my favorite question of the morning ever. what is the most popular pizza topping in the united states? a, pepperoni, b, onion or c, chicken. >> i know my favorite. log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during

the 6:00 hour.

. a chilly morning out there. we'll see a mix of sun and clouds. becoming mostly cloudy, especially north of town this afternoon. well warm up into the low 60s, about 10 degrees warmer than yesterday. we'll be even warmer tomorrow. details coming up during 9news now at 5:00. over to monika with time saver traffic. the american legion bridge on the west side of town, no issues to report thankfully on that entire western stretch of 495 between tysons corner and 270. i'll have more on in -- on maryland roads coming up. the first african-american to head the u.s. olympic committee and coach an american olympic track and field team has died. dr. lee roy walker died

yesterday in durham, north carolina. from 1992 to 1996, walker led the u.s. olympic committee. in 1976, he coached the u.s. track team which brought home 22 medals, including six gold. walker spent more than 40 years at north carolina central university first as a track coach. then later as chancellor of the university. walker was 93 years old. >> what a great smile he has. chuck brown, the godfather of go go music is in the hospital now. the 75-year-old musician had to cancel a concert at howard theatre this weekend. the show is rescheduled for june 29. emotional testimony from oscar winner jennifer hudson. >> and a red carpet welcome for judy dench. we have those stories and more in this look at entertainment. >> reporter: jennifer hudson took the stand in the murder trial of her former brother-in- law. william balfour is accused of killing hudson's mother,

brother and young nephew in 2008. the family did not want her sister to marry balfour. balfour has pleaded not guilty to the murders. robin gibb is out of a coma but doctors are revealing the full extent of the health problems. the former bg has advanced colorectal cancer. he's awake and talking. >> he's laughing, joking. he's really happy. he just wants to get out. >> reporter: doctors say gibb caught pneumonia while week from -- weak from chemotherapy and two operations. margie j. bridge is off to the races. she's said to sing the national anthem at this year's kentucky derby. the 138th run for the roses takes place may 5. judy dench's latest movie premieres here in new york. members of the ensemble cast turned out on the red carpet. it follow as group of british retirees who decide to spend their golden years in india.

judy says she has no plans for real life retirement. >> no, i don't want to retire. i don't want to retire and i'll go on as long as i'm asked to go on. >> reporter: the best exotic marigold hotel opens in theaters may 4. good morning. thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. we appreciate the applause. i'm andrea roane. >> we'll take it. good morning. i'm mike hydeck. happy to us to you. here's monika santami. traffic momentarily. howard bernstein talking snow, rain, sun, he's got it all for you. >> the snow and rain are gone for us. they're done. new york state, northwestern pennsylvania still dealing with a little bit of snow this morning. we're going to see some sun today, at least a little bit for the morning. i think more clouds and sun this afternoon and warmer. yesterday we did manage to squeak to 50. i know it didn't feel like it but we got to 50 degrees for a few moments there around 1:30 in the