the conference is no longer with the agency. it's not clear if jeffrey neely was fired or resigned on his own. last month he was placed on administrative leave. the scandal led to the resignation of gsa administrator martha johnson, the firing of two top aides and nine others being placed on administrative leave. a former financial advisor to d.c. mayor vincent gray has now pleaded guilty to federal charges that he lied about a scheme to help gray get elected. >> during the plea hearing, howard brooks admitted to breaking several laws while working for gray during his campaign in 2010. >> reporter: mr. brooks, did mr. gray know about the payments? the self-admitted felon howard brooks refused to answer any questions as he walked out of d.c.'s federal courthouse. his lawyer spoke on his behalf. >> i think he hit the point where he realized that, you know, it was time to accept

responsibility for what he had done. >> reporter: brooks entered a guilty plea of making false statements when he lied to investigators over money he then gave to mayoral candidate sulaimon brown. >> he realized he made a serious mistake in the way he had gone about handling it initially. >> reporter: the scheme included money orders. the money was intended to keep brown in the race so he could bash on then mayor adrian fenty. it was supposed to create an easy path for gray to get elected. brooks is expected to plead guilty. thomas gore also pled guilty. brooks is expected to become somewhat of an informant as the investigation into vincent gray's 2010 campaign continues. >> he's agreed to cooperate fully with federal investigators and he's certainly going to hold up that end of the bargain. >> reporter: 9news now.

>> brooks could receive up to six months in prison or probation. the question everyone is asking now is how much of this if any did mayor gray know about. he has repeatedly said he has had nothing to do with any campaign wrongdoings but the investigation is far from over. d.c. council member marion barry is facing more criticism. yesterday he did his best to apologize to the asian american community. his apology came after recent offensive comments he made about asian business owners and filipino nurses. barry met with community leaders at matthew's memorial church in southeast. take a listen. >> when i make a mistake about something, i'm the first to say maybe i could have said it differently but my saying it differently didn't negate the problem. >> today will mark the beginning of an intentional effort on the part of the asian american community in d.c. to make sure diversity is viewed as an asset rather than a

source of conflict among us. >> so the asian community leaders accepted an apology but during that apology, mr. barry used an offensive term to describe people from poland. now members of the polish community are demanding an apology. 4:33. here's a look at some other stories making news now. 51-year-old pedro hernandez is expected to be arraigned in a new york courtroom today for the 1979 murder of 6-year-old etan patz. hernandez reportedly told police he lured etan into the basement where he worked and choked the child to death. he was one of the first missing children to have his picture appear on the back of a milk carton. a stunning reversal of a rape conviction in long beach, california. a judge overturned the case on evidence of a former high school football star who was wrongly accuse add decade ago-- >> accused a decade ago.

>> reporter: 26-year-old brian banks broke down in court when he heard the judge's decision. banks is now legally cleared of a rape conviction he's lived with for ten years. banks was a promising 16-year- old long beach high school football star when he was accused in 2002 of kidnapping and raping a girl on campus. instead of going to usc on a football scholarship, he served five years in prison. then another five years on probation as a registered sex offender. >> i may never get the answers as why i was supposed to go through when i went through but i know that i'm here today and i remain unbroken. >> reporter: during a videotaped meeting at a private investigator as office last year, the accuser waneta gibson admitted the crime never happened. >> derape you? >> no. >> reporter: gibson agreed her sexual encounter with banks was consensual but she refused to

tell prosecutors because she didn't want to give back a million and a half dollar settlement from the school district over lax security. the california innocence project helped banks fight the conviction. >> we thought it was important to bring the truth to light in this case and the truth is that brian committed no crime that day. >> reporter: with his conviction overturned, banks is now focusing his energy on the future. >> this is all that matters to me is my family and my freedom. that's it because it's been a long time coming. it's been a silent ten years. >> reporter: he is training daily and hopes to one day play for the n.f.l. teresa garcia, cbs news, los angeles. >> banks says he pleaded no contest to the original rape and kidnapping charges in exchange for a lesser prison term because he was scared. spacex dragon capsule is scheduled to reach the international space station today. this is the first time a private space craft ever visited the iss. it's carrying a thousand pounds

of food and supplies. nasa is hoping to get a system together to privatize delivery and supplies to the astronauts at the space station so it can focus on the long-term missions like trips to asteroids and possibly mars. several u.s. companies are competing to become that full- time carrier. our time now is 4:36. excuse me. >> you okay? >> more rain is expected today but who cares because this weekend is expected to be very warm. howard will be back in two minutes with a preview of your holiday forecast. >> 4:40. a major wall street firm says it will offer some of its clients some refunds when it comes to that facebook stock debacle. >> at 4:49, researchers say an antipsychotic drug could be the key to treating cancer. >> whetherrer first two -- weather first to minutes away. keep it here.

. 4:39 on this friday morning. looking good. got a little cloudiness this morning. maybe a spot of drizzle out there, but it's a relatively dry morning. going to see some sunshine returning. upper 70s to around 80 for lunch time. mid-80s this afternoon with an isolated thunderstorm or two, but less than yesterday and even fewer storms over the weekend. that means it's getting hot. that forecast in about five. right now monika with time saver traffic. thank you so much, howard. here's a live look northbound on i-95. a bunch of people trying to get to work early so they can get out early for the weekend, but right now traffic is moving smoothly. up to 395 and the 14th street bridge. coming up in my next report, a look at area roads again at 4:47. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> jessica has the digits. good morning. >> how about some checks after the wake of the facebook ipo

disaster. a lot of people are upset. the reason why, morgan stanley -- that's the reason why morgan stanley will reportedly compensate investors who overpaid when they bought facebook stock in last friday's initial public offering. they are the lead investment bank for the highly anticipated ipo. morgan stanley is not saying what amount. i guess the devil is in the details. technical glitches at the nasdaq delayed the stocks opening on friday. shares of facebook lost 14%. u.s. banks have come far since the 2008 financial crisis. bank earnings rose this past winter to the highest level in nearly five years. but the government report shows that many banks are still cautious about lending. as for wall street we're checking the numbers. the dow standing at 12,529 adding 33 points in trade. nasdaq was off by almost 11. the s&p 500 was up by almost 2.

there may be a shortage of parmesan cheese after sunday's deadly earthquake in northern italy. the quake damaged $200 million worth of cheese or 10% of the parmesan industry. we'll still eat it. it's so delicious. that shortfall could mean higher prices at the market which of course we're all going to pay because the spaghetti and meatballs, can't eat it without cheese. united airlines will no longer offer early boarding for families with small children but american and u.s. airways, they already had dropped their family preboarding policy. parents can still pay for the bridge of boarding early. the cost for a family of four is about 36 bucks. that may be the price worth paying because you know how hard it is to get small children on a plane. >> if you have a stroller and diaper bag. >> and sitting -- standing there waiting for them to put all the stuff up. thank you. >> you got it. we are breaking down some

health benefits of eastern spices. >> one very good in breast cancer. we'll have more on that story plus your weather first when we return in two minutes.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. 4:44 on this friday morning. it's a big getaway morning. i thought we'd see more people trying to get away yesterday but traffic was relatively easy to deal with. >> we didn't have too many storms till later. that came up in areas toward the west and worked its way toward metro in the afternoon. today weather should cooperate even more so than itself last few days. -- the last few days. >> beware of the company on the roads. >> don't forget the sunscreen. today is don't fry day. epa does this to remind people we can get the sunburns and they can increase the risk for cancer later in life. >> even that arm dangling out the window as you drive to your destination. >> 1.5 million new cases diagnosed.

>> my dad reminds me every year. we drive to florida. his left arm would be tan. the right arm would be white. let's get you going with a look at the bus stop forecast. don't have to worry about the sunshine early. we've got clouds out there even some spotty drizzle. temps running in the 60s to low 70s so it's rel tiefl mild. -- so it's relatively mild. sunrise happening about 5:49 or so. ourdy planner, 72 degrees at 8:00. 80 by noon. so you want to eat lunch outside today. it's going to be on the warm side with temps rising into the lower 80s. southeast winds at 5 miles an hour. mid-80s at 4:00. i want to point out there will be a stray thunderstorm or two. isolated storms if you will. less activity even than yesterday. and the trend for drying out and warming up is with us for the next few days. 80 degrees at 8:00. so a beautiful evening if you're going out for dinner, maybe make a reservation somewhere on the patio. here's a look at the day planner. we just saw the day planner. let's get you another day

planner later o. we'll move right to radar. last night we had showers and storms that went across the region, went up north. this morning just a lone shower. there it goes in the northern part of the chesapeake bay. that is pulling away. one thing we're dealing with, a little bit of fog less than yesterday right now. visibilities well down toward harrisonburg and toward petersburg, about a half to quarter mile and down south at the tappahannock airport down to 5 at gaithersburg. we're looking pretty good. mild too. upper 60s to low 70s. annapolis the warm spot at 73. we're down to 60 at harrisonburg and luray. 61 degrees. really a nice morning out there except just a little bit muggy. watching a lot of energy across the pacific northwest into the northern rockies. the central and northern plains. this storm system in the great lakes. most of this stays north and west of us through the holiday weekend but early next week we're going to get a front to push through us. one thing we're going to watch, there's a lot of unsented weather off the southeast u.s.

coast. not out of the question that a little tropical spinup could get going over the weekend toward florida or the southeastern u.s. that will likely come back northeast early next week. so in the short term anyway, the clouds will give way to sunshine here by midday. maybe a stray shower making it to the northern neck. then isolated showers this afternoon. don't expect the activity like the last few days and we quiet down tonight and tomorrow best chance of storms tomorrow will be up in pennsylvania, western maryland, west virginia. if you're going to the beach, that looks pretty good. 86 today. 88 saturday. 90 on sunday. looking at the beach forecast, water temperatures are about 65 or so at the ocean city inlet. we're expecting temperatures in the mid 70s at the beach all weekend long. looking great. so as we look at the seven-day, sunday and monday around 90 here in town with mid-80s by wednesday. better chance of storms by then. monika? good morning, everybody. right now i think things are relatively quiet around town. things are definitely going to

get busier as the rush hour progresses and into the noon hour when everyone tries to get away for the holiday. all the green behind me means traffic is running smoothly. here's 270 on the southbound side. it looks great out of frederick into clarksburg. we'll take a live look all the way to the east side of town on route 50 coming in or out toward annapolis. you'll be okay right now bay bridges running smoothly. we'll go back over to the maps and this time over to southern maryland. no problems on route 4, route 5, route 301 out of brandywine to the inner loop of the beltway heading for the wilson bringing. we'll take a live -- wilson bridge. we'll take a live look. you're going to be just fine if you're traveling near eisenhower avenue. i think this is going to get very busy for the rush hour for people who want to get out early for the memorial day and we are heading into one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, memorial day. with gas prices slightly down, a third of u.s. travelers surveyed said they plan to travel this weekend and 70% of

them by car around the country and right here in the district as well. the top local destinations within 199 miles in d.c. are williamsburg, virginia, ocean city, maryland, rehoboth beach, delaware, charlottesville, virginia and coming in fifth atlantic city, new jersey. a reminder that you're probably already aware of police are going to be serious about seat belt enforcement and distracted driving, even just looking down at your phone they're going to catch you. if you're staying in town, different bicycle associations recently ranked maryland as the nation's top ten bicycle friendly states and the district itself as the fourth best bike cities in america. i myself will be on the capital crescent trail this weekend. back to you. it's a trip none of us want to ta. i'm talking about going to the emergency room where sometimes depending on where you go, you can wait for hours before anyone recognizes you there. well, this morning we have some help for you navigating the er.

i'm joined by david seeburg, the president of american college of emergency physicians and he has a little er101 for us. first off, nobody is prepared to go to the emergency room. that's why they call it an emergency. can you put together a kit at your house? >> absolutely. going to the emergency department is stressful for many people. we have created a new campaign called er 101 to help better prepare the public in advance for an emergency. we actually have a website at el101.org where there's a wealth of materials and downloadable forms such as medical forms, checklists of what to bring. there's even a video tour of what to expect in that typical emergency department visit. oftentimes you have to take tests, some sort of health tests while you're there to check out your vitals.

is it possible to get copies of those tests as you move forward through the procedures? >> yes. any patient can ask to get a copy of their tests or their medical record. usually through the medical records system. and there are -- a form that most emergency departments have for you to get release of your medical records usually to your primary care physician, although individuals can also get them. >> so before you leave after you have an emergency room visit and whether you're going for a hospital stay or you get to go home, what are some of the questions you need to ask before you walk out the door or get escorted out the door in a wheelchair? >> number one, you have to have a complete understanding of your discharge instructions. you have to have an understanding of what the emergency physician, emergency care providers did, what your diagnosis is, and you have to have an understanding of follow- up. when you're supposed to return, what symptoms if it gets worse should you return, and where your follow-up appointment is and when. >> some very helpful advice.

we thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. in other health news, scientists believe a drug for schizophrenia may also be able to treat cancer. canadian researchers screened hundreds of drugs to see which ones were effective against cancer stem cells. they found the antipsychotic drug killed cancer cells without the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. doctors are now planning trials to test the drug on leukemia patients. vitamin d may help lower the risk of stroke. researchers at the university of hawaii followed more than 7,000 japanese american men and found those who consumed the least amount of vitamin d had a 22% higher risk of stroke. sunlight is a good source of vitamin d. it can also be found in supplements, fortified milk, fatty fish and eggs. scientists believe they know why a spice found in curry dishes is healthy.

researchers in oregon found true merrick affects a gene -- tumeric affects a gene boosting the immune system. it has been used as a medicine in india for more than 2500 years. time now for the question of the morning. >> who tops the list of the person who received the most mail in the world? is it a, the pope, b, santa claus, or c, the president of the united states? >> it has got to be the pope. i would be surprised if it was anybody else. log on to wusa9's facebook fan page. we'll have the answer in the 6:00 hour.

we have clouds out there. sunshine returns by noon, 80. at 6:00 p.m. we'll be down to 83. looking better for the weekend. here's monika with your friday morning time saver traffic. so far the rush hour looks good on route 50 as well between here, the beltway and annapolis and the bay bridge. everything is running smoothly. if you're getting out for an early getaway. coming up in my next report, we'll take another look at maryland roads at 5:00. >> sounds good. thank you, monika. virginia residents can prepare for the upcoming hurricane season and same some money at the same time. the state is holding a sales tax holiday on emergency items like batteries, flashlights, tarps and first aid kits. it runs today through next thursday. emergency items which are $60 or less will be exempt from the 5% sales tax in virginia. generators which cost $1,000 or less are exempt as well. this is what the holiday is all about, a memorial day

weekend tradition to place -- took place yesterday at arlington cemetery. soldiers planted more than 222,000 small flags at the cemetery. the event marks the start of the holiday weekend. one flag was placed at each grave marker. flags were also placed at the tomb of the unknown. the third u.s. infantry regiment is behind this project. all the flags will be removed after memorial day. a 14-year-old student from texas is the winner of this year's national geographic bee. rahul nagvekar beat other nine finalists. he won by correctly answering the question what bavarian city served as the legislative seat of the holy roman empire? you know, it wasn't on hbo so i don't know about this. the winner gets a $25,000 scholarship along with a trip to the ga lap goes islands.

>> that's a great trip. nicole kidman debuts in a provocative new film at cam film festival. >> teresa garcia has the story and more. >> reporter: nicole kidman walked the red carpet for a screening of her provocative new movie "the paper boy." the steamy southern thriller also stars matthew mcconnay and john cusack. kidman plays obsessed with a death row inmate. >> i've not seen the movie so i may be uncomfortable watching the movie. but, you know, that's my job. >> reporter: the paper boy is the latest film from precious director lee daniels. elton john is canceling three of his las vegas shows this weekend because of illness. the rocket man spent wednesday in a los angeles hospital after coming down with a serious respiratory infection. doctors here at cedar sinai

medical center gave him antibiotics and told the entertainer not to perform for a week. the music legend apologized to fans and said he hoped to be back soon. csi new york actor gary senese rocked it out in martinsville, virginia. his cover band is called the lieutenant dan band named after his character in forest gump. he plays around the country to help wounded soldiers. proceeds from the concert will help build a house for an injured marine. and country superstar tim mcgraw is giving away 25 houses to wounded or needy veterans this summer, one for each stop on his upcoming tour. that's your eye on entertainment, teresa garcia, cbs news, hollywood. good morning and thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. a special good morning to brenda cast toe and her family. they always watch us at this type. she loves you,