security in this instance and the answer was no. >> reporter: sullivan has prepared a full defense of his agency in remarks for the hearing he said clearly the misconduct that took place on april 11, 2012 in cartagena, colombia is not representative of our core values or the high ethical standards we demand. but not everyone on capitol hill is convinced the scandal was an isolated incident. senator susan collins issued a statement saying the numbers involved as well as the participation of two senior supervisors make me believe that this was not a one-time event. rather, the circumstances unfortunately suggest an issue of culture. >> i'm in san salvador. >> reporter: last year agents partied nightly at a strip club while preparing for the president's visit. some allegedly hired hookers as well. director sullivan will tell congress today the agency fully investigated the claims but

found no evidence supporting the report. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >> according to "the washington post," four of the employees dismissed in that scandal are now fighting the decision. they claim the secret service has tolerated this misbehavior for years and the agency is making them scapegoats in the wake of the scandal. mitt romney is about a week away from securing the republican nomination. romney swept the kentucky and arkansas primaries last night. he needs 1144 delegates to win the nomination and with no serious opposition left, he's expected to cross that threshold next week when texas holds its primary. three harness racing drivers are recovering this morning after they were injured during a seven-horse pileup last night at rosekroft raceway. late in the fifth race they got tangled up and crashed on the track. three drivers were injured and medevaced to a local hospital. the other drivers involved walked away with only minor injuries. >> reporter: do you know how serious the injuries are?

>> we've not received a progress report on them at this point. the medical staff that was here on the scene, we have medical staff here. they responded immediately and then pg was brought in to transport. >> the horses involved in the wrong were not injured. the conditions of the drivers remain unknown. jerry giordano is linked with indecent exposure. he was alasted last friday -- he was arrested last friday. a parking garage manager called to report possible sexual activity in a vehicle. the report says when police arrived this found him and a woman naked in the back of his suv. a former campaign aide to d.c. mayor vincent gray is facing at least a year in prison. gore admitted in court yesterday he illegally funneled

campaign funds to sulaimon brown. a judge has found richard kim guilty of selling alcohol to a minor. kim owns town square market on mcarthur boulevard in northwest washington. nine nine now had been investigating the store since december. nine -- nine 9 witnessed dozens of alcohol purchases of underage patronessed. >> governor martin o'malley sign add bill into law. the $260 million tax increase passed last week by the special session. it affects earners of $150,000. the bills will keep the state from having to cut almost half

a billion dollars in state spending. maryland lawmakers, looks like they could be in for a special session. gambling would be the focus of this one. governor o'malley is planning it for the week of july 9 but it will only take place if prince george's county leaders can reach a consensus on whether or not they would like to bring a casino to national harbor. this may not come as a surprise but the public perception of congress isn't good. the law making body has a disapproval rating this week of 78.4%. >> wow. there is evidence their low approval rating could be connected to what happens when members of congress open their mouths to speak. gary -- gather gather has more. >> reporter: back in the day? >> we looked at the declaration

of independence which is at a 15th grade level. the constitution is at a 17th grade level. >> reporter: this congress a tenth and a half grade level. does it mean they're dumber? >> not necessarily. there's no value judgment placed on using big words or speaking in longer sentences. >> reporter: from the washington area, maryland representative ross company bart -- rosco bartlet is one of the lowest levels. but so what? the historic i have a dream speech? >> is about a ninth grade level. >> reporter: the gettysburg address? >> 11.2 grade level. >> reporter: president obama's state of the union address. >> coming in at about an eighth grade level. historically it has been about a tenth grade level. >> reporter: but he's a great or tore. >> he -- orator. >> he may be an effective

speaker. the most conservative republicans speak at the lowest grade level. the most liberal speak at the lowest grade level compared to the more moderate democrats. >> reporter: the downward trend has been consistent for the last six years. if this trend continues, are we going to be at a kindergarten level in 30 years? >> if it continues we will be at a kindergarten level in 30 years but i don't expect it will continue to that level. >> reporter: one could always hope but remember, because there are fewer -- certain certain -- doesn't -- there are now with words as with federal spending a more -- [ indiscernible ] it was seen that soaring oratory it perhaps making it easier to do business in more understandable terms. remember, the shorter the words and the shorter the sentences, the lower the grade score. and remember, you're watching television news where the most

preqent -- frequent sentence is "back to you." egyptians are going to the polls today in what many consider to be the country's first free and fair presidential elections. the race is heating up [ inaudible ] the new york city hotel maid accusing former international monetary fund dominique strauss-kahn of trying to rape her has amended her lawsuit. it claims the alleged attack was gender-based violence which is banned in new york. strauss-kahn says the encounter was consensual. the f.b.i. says a french passenger on a

north carolina-bound plane had -- never had a device as she had claimed. the passenger passed a note to a flight attendant indicating she had a bomb surgically implanted inside of her. so the plane was diverted to bangor, maine. the passenger was removed from the plane. the other passengers and crew were questioned. the plane took off three hours later and was bound for charlotte, north carolina. our time is 4:38. prepare for another overcast rainy day. at 4:39, howard will let us know if this will be the last rainy day of the week. at 4:41, another major setback for facebook on wall street. >> aaa releases its memorial day weekend travel predictions. we're back in two minutes. you're watching 9news now.

good wednesday morning. 4:40. we have some showers. they're diminishing from the earlier heavy rains we had overnight. 75 by noon. there may be some showers but sunny breaks. this afternoon more storms develop. some sunny spots. highs near 80 with a drive home temp back down in the mid-70s. that full seven-day forecast, we're turning on the heat. here comes monika now with time saver traffic. thank you so much, howard. no problems to report on the inbound side of i-66 coming in from are inville but in prince william county, want to watch out for high water on corn baker at nokesville and carriage ford at aden. i'll have more information coming up at 4:47. it is 4:41. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> let's look at the numbers with the lovely jessica doyle. >> thank you g. morning to both of you. they're back, concerns about greece possibly dropping out of the euro. markets are down again today. as for wall street we saw an

early rally sizzle by the closing bell, better than expected home sales sent stocks higher but then closed lower on the news that greece is considering leaving europe's common currency. the dow is at 12,502. the s&p 500 managed to rise by about half a point. dell is one stock to watch after reporting lower than expected earnings. the pc maker also calling this a challenging environment for its businesses. in the upside, moodies raised its debt rating to investment grade for the first time in seven years. that allows ford to reclaim its iconic blue oval logo. and facebook fell again. stock now down 19% since going public on friday. investors responded to a report that analyst at morgan stanley which was the lead injured writer for facebook --

underwriter for facebook's stock offering cut -- [ inaudible ] crude oil has slipped below $92 a barrel on fears of a slowdown in the global economy. oil prices at a seven-month low. drivers can expect lower gas prices this memorial day weekend. gas nationwide will average $3.60 for a gallon of regular. >> that sounds good. >> a great way to start the summer. i like that. thank you. more former n.f.l. players file a suit against the league and one of the latest players also happens to be one of the greatest running backs in n.f.l. history. >> we're back with that story and your weather first when 9news now continues in two minutes.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. northern virginia still having water concerns, excess amounts of water. >> had another round of thunderstorms last night that came in from the west. hit the mountains first.

gave enough rain to raise the water levels which are already high. >> just parked in one place. >> for the second night in a row prince william county got hammered with heavy rains. that's why we have glad warnings with them -- flood warnings for them till 10:00 this morning. still damp out there. there are areas east of town going what rain? they haven't seen any rain in consume of days. other areas have had four, five, six inches the last two days. we have spotty drizzle, patchy fog. a few showers around. the showers are reigning at this hour -- are waning at this hour. probably not too much more in the way of showers toward 9:00. 70 degrees. midday a couple of sunny breaks, 75. maybe an isolated shower but as we get into the afternoon and evening hours like the last couple of days i expect more showers and storms to develop in spots potentially west of town may have a better chance than east of town. 77 by 4:00. we're going to top out near 80

this afternoon. there's our flood warning till 10:00. covers central, southern, prince william county and manassas till 10:00 a.m. talkier, lou -- fauquier, loudoun, they're not in it. things came out of the shenandoah valley and slowly moved to the east. we've seen the activity diminish except for down south where new storms over toward the northern neck. here's a look at live doppler 9000hd. light to moderate rains across central montgomery county from potomac across the river now into great falls over toward mclean, route 7 by tysons seeing some of that rain this morning coming in toward arlington and northwest seeing a little bit of it. some of the lighter showers have also crossed into southern maryland down into western, southwestern prince george's county barely into charles county now as it's weakening coming out of fairfax and lower prince william and as you look down toward the northern neck, reedville, some showers.

maybe some thunder might be coming out of this as it tracks to the east, northeast and may clip southern st. mary's county. our temperatures are on the muggy side, in the 60s, upper 60s in town. lower 60s for winchester and hagerstown. 67 at the pacs naval air station. on -- pacs naval air station. prince frederick, we have decent visibility. light sprinkles at national. humidity once again high at 84%. we've got the upper level low here, all the moisture in place. you know, a little has changed from the other days, last couple of days so expect more showers and storms at times for the afternoon. here's a look at the forecast. temperatures today about 80. maybe stopping in the upper 70s if the showers get building a little earlier. 82 tomorrow after starting out in the mid- to upper 60s with again the threat for some afternoon showers and storms. a little warmer friday, mid- 80s. again the threat for some afternoon showers and storms. then we're going to turn up the

heat. we're reduce the shower and storm chance. 88 saturday. we could have our first heat wave of the season beginning sunday. looks like at least 90 sunday, monday and tuesday. so a hot memorial day. let's go to monika santami. speaking of hot at 4:49 on this wednesday morning. >> thank you, howard. things are looking great all around the beltway. no problems to report with the exception of the rain coming down out to the west as howard just said. we've had the flooding issues as well out in prince william county and some parts of loudoun as well. for example, on old church road at park gate and little river road at loudoun-prince william county line, no problems on 66. it's not affected coming from manassas into fairfax. water at horn baker and nokesville. some examples for you this morning. let's take you outside live. if you're planning to head over to the southbound side of i- 270, this is doing fine.

no problems to report coming in from frederick down into clarksburg and the point where the lanes divide. let's go back over to the maps this time south coming north on i-95. looks great from dale city into woodbridge all the way up into springfield. we'll go over to our chart cameras on the outer loop of the beltway at st. barnabas road just out of this camera shot. an accident and debris all moved to the right shoulder. in my next report, we'll go over to the bw parkway at 4:55. but first, if you are planning to head over into -- to the beach today, an estimated 900,000 of us are expected to drive to our memorial day destination this weekend. aaa released its annual summer forecast near the bay bridge yesterday. the auto club projects the memorial day holiday getaway will bring out the largest numbers in five years. expect plenty of traffic on thursday and friday. plan to leave early or very late to avoid the brake lights. part of the new 11th street bridge is scheduled to open tomorrow.

the new crossing will accommodate two-way local traffic. it will include a temporary walkway for pedestrians and cyclists and the bridge is scheduled to be completed this fall. >> thank you, monika. another former n.f.l. player is now suing the league. they're trying to get compensation for head injuries. hall of fame running back eric dickerson is the latest n.f.l. alum to come forward and claim years of suffering and pain related to his playing days. >> concussions, depression and in some cases even suicide. are they all connected? time and more research will tell us that, but dave owen spoke with some former players who say the brutal nature of their sport has an impact long after playing days are done. >> reporter: andre waters, dave, both good players during their respective careers, suicidal in retirement. junior seau same story. circumstances that led cato

june to react this way. >> man, another one. i think this is the fifth guy that i know of that's taken their life in this manner. >> reporter: disturbing numbers and more and more the question is being posed, what role do collisions like this and subsequent concussions play in the equation? the palm beach post reported waters stopped counting his concussions at 15. when i asked june how many he sustained, he says hard to say. >> the way we look at concussions as football players, i was out of it. i don't -- you know, i may have went to sleep. i would say a lot of guys probably had a lot of concussions, you know, even though they may not be documented. >> reporter: the medical community seems to be putting a full court press on the issue. where does that leave players

like jacobi? a state of limbo. >> were we told everything at that time? what i know is that there are guys that are in serious health that need some answers. >> reporter: dave owens, 9news now. in other health news the centers for disease control says death rates among diabetics dropped 23% from 1997 to 2006. doctors believe new treatments have made it less likely heart disease or stroke will kill diabetics. researchers say people with diabetes are still more likely to die younger but that gap is narrowing. an experimental vaccine is helping patients with pancreatic cancer live longer. the drug uses the body's own immune system to destroy cancer cells. ohio researchers gave the vaccine to 70 patients and most were disease free after one year. larger studies are now being planned. pancreatic cancer is difficult

to treat and about 95% of patients do not survive. it is just about 4:54. time for the question of the morning. >> a recent survey found that waitresses get better tips when they do this? is it a, flirt with male customers, b, return to a table every 10 minutes or c, wear bright red lipstick. >> log on to our fan facebook page. the 6:00 hour we'll have the answer.

welcome back. 4:56. your weather first. showers are weakening quickly as they approach d.c. this is dying quickly. i don't think it will last much

longer. your temperatures today are going to rise back into the 70s to 80. more showers and storms this afternoon. could turn hot by the weekend. those details coming up. right now monika santami with time saver traffic. on the northbound side of i- 95 things still looking good from dale city to springfield and on to 395. that's light to the 14th street bridge. in my next report, we'll focus on maryland at 5:01. back to you. washington, d.c. apparently has set a new tourism record. tourism officials say 17.9 million people visited nation's capital last year. that surpasses the previous record which was set in 2000. statistics from the tourism bureau also show visitors spent about $6 billion here in 2011. without that money the average washington household would have to pay $2400 more in taxes each year. well, brad pitt flies solo

in france. >> whitney houston's daughter is under investigation in las vegas. teresa garcia has more in this look at entertainment. >> reporter: brad pitt arrived at the chasm film -- cam film festival without his wife to be. he said they are preparing for a role and announced their wedding date has not been set. >> we have no date. we actually really truly have no date. it's just something that made sense to us. date wise it's a rumor and i'm still hoping we've figured out our marriage equality for the states. >> reporter: his new crime drama which he produced and stars in opens in september. nevada regulators are investigating whether whitney houston's daughter gambled at the mgm grand resort in las vegas. the legal gambling age is 21.

she would face misdemeanor charges and the resort could be hit with fines. carol burnett is writing a new book about her daughter kerry hamilton who died of cancer in 2002. it comes out next april. kristin bell and toby keith are hosting the cmt music awards in nashville last month. carrie underwood is among the artists who will perform and leads the pack with five nominations. the awards will be given out on june 6. that's your eye on entertainment. teresa garcia, cbs news, hollywood. good morning. thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. boy, i love carrie underwood. >> i'm a number one fan. i really am. >> here's monika santami. >> and here's howard bernstein. water water everywhere in some parts of our area. >> prince william county once again taking the brunt of it, around that fan sas as well. more hef -- manassas as