economy. >> you put that has a higher priority than our economy and as a result we've had 40 straight months with unemployment above 8%. >> reporter: romney has consistently attacked. obama's economic policies. now the white house is hitting back especially on romney's record on jobs. >> you have to give romney credit. he's a job creator in singapore, china, india. he's been very good at creating jobs overseas. >> reporter: there's some evidence the attacks may be working. a new "wall street journal" poll shows more americans view romney's business background as a negative than a positive. >> we don't need another rich person running this country. >> reporter: but the president doesn't fair much better. many voters are unhappy with his handling of the economy. >> we need to turn the economy around so the young people can do better in the state of iowa. >> reporter: you think romney can do that? >> that's right. >> reporter: that's why romney is in a virtual tie with

president obama. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >>le "wall street journal" paul has president obama leading romney but the lead is within the survey's margin of error. republican and democratic leaders in the senate say they've agreed on a plan to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling july 1. the extension will cost about $6 billion over the next year. according to "the washington post," it would be paid for by raising premiums on federal pension insurance. the university of virginia's popular president has been restored to her position. >> after weeks of outcry and protests over her ouster, uva's board of visitors voted unanimously to reinstate teresa sullivan to her post. peggy fox has more from charlottesville. >> reporter: i'm peggy fox in charlottesville where the board of visitors take a unanimous vote reinstating president teresa sullivan. >> i am not good enough or wise enough or strong enough to do

everything that needs doing at uva on my own. but you have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that i am not alone. >> reporter: after two weeks of turmoil, there's resee the controversy -- relief the controversy is over. >> it was fast and it us with just great. >> i'm glad i can start worrying about what matters which is going to school. >> reporter: the executive council of uva's faculty senate stood for 16 minutes, a minute for each day since sullivan was ousted. >> we see no sudden change in circumstances since the hiring of president sullivan that justified such an unexpected and rs duptive removal of -- disruptive removal of a popular and effective president after such a short time. >> reporter: minutes before the unanimous vote of 15 board members channel 9 shot this exclusive video of teresa sullivan and helen dragas walking into the rotunda together, a sign of

reconciliation. dragas was seen as the mastermind for sullivan's removal. in charlottesville, peggy fox, 9news now. >> virginia governor bob mcdonnell release add statement about the board's decision. it reads in part, quote, i want to thank the members of the board of visitors of the university of virginia for their conclusive action. the past few weeks have not been easy for the university and all those who love it. there's been too little transparency, too mut vitt roll, too little discussion, too much blame. with today's board action, the time has come for mr. jefferson's university to move forward. some travelers at reagan national airport will soon be given the v.i.p. treatment, at least when it comes to going through security. the tsa announced the expansion of its tsa prechecked screening program. that means certain frequent flyers, the ones who spend the most money will be able to pass through security without a patdown. precheck is the centerpiece of

the tsa's risk security initiative. high heat is providing plenty of fuel for wildfires burning in colorado. a fire near colorado springs is threatening parts of the air force academy. tens of thousands of residents have been forced to leave their homes, including several homes on the academy's campus. a few hours away near boulder, a new fire has started. the flagstaff fire has quickly grown to more than 220 acres. officials have already evacuated 26 homes and put thousands more on preevacuation notice. residents in florida are dealing with the exact opposite problem. debby has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression, but she's still dumping a lot of rain as she moves slowly across the state. more than 26 inches of rain has already fallen in parts of the state and the storm is expected to be around for at least another 24 hours. the city of stockton, california is said to become

the largest american city to ever declare bankruptcy. mediation with creditors has failed leading the city to declare for chapter 9 protection. it has been hit hard by the recession. one in five residents is unemployed and the city's tax base has fallen dramatically as a result. today the first african- american men to serve in the marines will be awarded one of the country's top honors, the congressional gold medal. the men are known as the monthford point marines, it comes from the only place they could do basic training in camp lejeune where they were separated from whites. carol braxton, a manassas native will turn 88 next month and says today's ceremony will be bittersweet. >> i'm missing my buddy. i wish more men could be here

to accept this. >> that was master gunnery sergeant carroll braxton, one of the montford marines who will be awarded the congressional gold medal. >> you see him proudly wearing his marine insignia but they made it clear they did not want blacks in the marine corps. we've come a long way but have a long way to go. the time is 4:36. the warm air returns today. at 4:38 howard will let us know just how long warm it will get. a popular hotel chain is now the target of a federal lawsuit. >> and a growing number of families in our region are relying on free summer meals to help feed their children. at 4:50, we'll take a look at one of those programs. >> we're back in two minutes with your weather first. keep it here.

it is 4:39 on this wednesday morning. it's pretty comfortable, especially when you get away from the water areas. we've got temps in the 50s in spots. we're going to warm up much more quickly than yesterday. low 80s by lunch time with highs today in the mid to even the upper 80s. still not too humid and a little bit of a breeze. we're talking a big time heat wave returning when i see you in five minutes with the seven- day forecast. monika is in to talk about time saver traffic. on the northbound side of i- 95 in springfield, volumes are light but you cannot access the outer loop of the beltway with overnight construction. you'll either continue north to 395 or exit at route 644 to get back over to alexandria. coming up in my next report, another look at area roads at 4:47. back to you. >> thank you, monika. the time right now is 4:39. i am watching your money. please, sir, can we have some

more? it was an up day on wall street despite news that consumer confidence is at a five-month low. investors were encouraged by news that home prices rose in most major cities in april. checking the numbers the dow starts today at 12,534. it climbed 32 points. the nasdaq was up by just about 18 points and the s&p 500 was better by 6. gas prices haven't been this low in five months. aaa says the national average is just below $3.40 for a gallon of regular. the price already below $3 in south carolina. that's a tough drive though to get those gas prices there. experts predict prices will fall along with crude oil because of uncertainty about the global economy. authorities say two dozen people have been arrested in the largest ever international sting targeting cyberfraud. the arrests were made in the u.s., europe, asia and australia. federal investigators say hackers exchanged stolen credit

card and bank information in private internet forums costing consumers hundreds of millions of dollars. f.b.i. agents posed as hackers on those forums during the agency's two-year investigation. the federal trade commission is suing the windham hotel chain over an alleged data breach back in 2008 and 2009. the ftc says windham's fail hour to safeguard's customers' personal information led to half a million credit cards being compromised and more than $1.5 million in fraudulent charges. windham operates several hotel brands including days inn and super 8. the psychological trauma of war can last long after members of our military return to their families. >> this morning a rally is being held in the district to help bring more awareness to the invisible wounds of our troops. >> we'll let you know when the recall -- where the rally is being held and your weather first in two minutes when we return. you're watching 9news now.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. it's 4:44 on this wednesday morning. still a very lovely day outside. you know, you're always saying you're from the south. you understand heat and humidity. what we don't have in the south is breaks like this. it goes on and on till october. >> the cold fronts don't make it to the gulf coast. a beautiful day yesterday. still very nice this morning but the heat is going to return in a little snippet tomorrow. more of a snippet tomorrow and full bore on friday with triple digits. hang in there. it's going to be serious heat because it's not going to be a couple days n. could last four, five, six days, high 90s near 100. this is big time heat. let's get you going this morning. we've got a beautiful start to this wednesday morning with generally clear skies. i changed the background.

we have a congressional country club backgrounds. we have the pro am kicking off today, the at&t national. >> is mike in the clubhouse right there. >> mike's in there. i think he has a mint julim or something. -- julip or something. winds brink 10 to 15 miles an hour -- brisk 10 to 15 miles an hour. 88 by 4:00 p.m., the high for the day but low humidity. it's not going to be a sticky 88. then by 8:00 we're still in the 80s. winds will turn westerly at 10 miles an hour. temperatures when you get away from water really drop off. 50s gaithersburg, culpeper, luray. 61 in winchester. but by the bay, we have 61 at the pax river naval air station. it was in the upper 60s to near 70 in annapolis and reagan national right now. 70 degrees. as you look around locally, what a difference here. alexandria 67. college park 66.

but we've got 57 laytonsville. 57 upper marlboro. dulles is 16 degrees cooler than national right now and a temperature of 54 degrees. outside on our michael & son weather camera, clear skies, good visibility. got an even 70. humidity still way down at 41% and a west, northwesterly wind at 10 miles an hour. it's going to be a hot day middle of the country. temperatures in central kansas could be near 110. 101 kansas city. oklahoma city 102. i'm showing you this because i want you to see how this expands eastward as we go into -- expand eastward as we go into thursday. detroit 96. st. louis 105. this is the air mass headed in our direction for friday and the entire weekend. big ridge of high pressure there. debby by the way downgraded to a tropical depression and starting to move now. this is good news. we can shut down the rains maybe in north florida where the flooding has been tremendous there. in the northeast maine still has the rain here going back

into eastern new york state. this is what's keeping us protected from the heat at least in the short term. this is going to pull away. the heat will roll in and the stretch of weather we've got coming will be a very hot one or maybe some record setting heat here by friday. 88 today. still a good day. low humidity levels. tonight we're back 60s to about 70. for tomorrow mid-90s. a little bit more humid and then even hotter on friday. in fact, straight thunderstorm in the heat going to put a yellow alert out on friday. i think it's going to be hot enough where we'll at least have a heat advisory and potentially that will impact your plans for friday and the entire weekend as temperatures through the weekend will be upper 90s, maybe even lower 100s with the isolated afternoon storms. let's go to monika samtani at 4:47 with time saver traffic. >> we're good to go around town with the exception of the overnight construction being cleared up, i think we're fine heading on 270 southbound out of frederick. no delays yet. all lanes are open as you leave

frederick down into clarksburg and rogville. we'll take a live look at the beltway north of town at university boulevard. traffic moving well on the outer loop heading westbound leaving the i-95 interchange past university boulevard toward bethesda and 270. let's go back over to our maps and this time to 66 on the inbound side. there are -- all lanes are open coming from centreville. there was construction on the inner loop of the beltway here in the an dan nail area -- annandale area but that should be cleared up by 5:00. we'll take a live look outside once again. this time on the inbound side of i-66 in centreville where you can see the lanes are open and volumes are still very light. coming up in my next report, we'll go over to the east side of town at 4:55. >> thank you, monika. today is national h.i.v. testing day. pretty soon you might be able to get a free h.i.v. test at your local drugstore. the centers for disease control announced it is conducting a $1.2 million pilot program to find out how many people would be willing to get tested at pharmacies.

the tests are already available in seven locations, including to walgreen's in d.c. and east pine pharmacy in riverdale. 17 more locations are still to be chosen. the test involves a swab of the inside of the mouth. the results are ready in about 20 minutes. the invisible wounds u.s. troops suffer during war will be the subject of a rally this morning in northwest. at 10:00 a.m. a rally called visible honor foin visible -- for invisible pounds will take part at the upper senate park at new jersey and constitution avenues. it's to recognize how post- traumatic brain injuries, depression and survivor's guilty can wound our veterans as much as roadside bombs or a sniper's fire. in particular the focus is the military now is on the tremendous loss of our veterans to suicide. coffee lovers, drink it if you've got it. drinking coffee in moderation can actually reduce the risk of heart failure. new research from the american

heart association suggests that by drinking coffee, people develop a tolerance to caffeine and that may lower the risk of developing high blood pressure and heart failure. researchers say moderation is key meaning about two cups a day. excessive coffee drinking defined as five to six cups may actually increase the chances of heart problems. women who use adkins style diets to lose weight may be at greater risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart disease or stroke. a study in the british medical journal followed 43,000 women. among these on low carbohydrate, high protein diets, researchers saw a 28% increase in the number of cardiovascular cases. their conclusion is the potential harm from these diets outweighs the benefits of wait loss. health regulators are taking a closer look at metal hip replacements. doctors have used the implants on half a million americans. in about 6% of patients, the implants had to be replaced in less than five years even

though they're supposed to last for at least ten. today the food and drug administration start as two-day meeting to investigate the problem. summer vacation has expose add sign of hard economic times, even in some of maryland's wealthiest suburban communities. >> some schools which you might think are closed for summer are open to feed neighborhood kids. scott broom has more on what this means. >> reporter: rolling terrace elementary school closed for the summer. but 5-year-old george and his 10-year-old brother jose showed up for lunch anyway and they got fed. mom explained through an interpreter that her husband has been unemployed and the family is struggling to afford the extra meals with kids home for the summer. [foreign language] >> now they're home we're spending more money on food. >> reporter: montgomery county public schools launched its summer meals program this week feeding at least 9,000 kids at 114 different locations,

including ten schools like this one where families can walk in off the street, no questions asked. dr. joshua starr is superintendent. >> we know of course hunger doesn't take a vacation. we know that the summer food service program is an absolutely vital link to providing nutrition to students when school's out. >> i think it's a moral issue. i think we have to do everything we can for the kids. >> reporter: principal jennifer conners says she deals with families year round who struggle to feed their kids and the statistics show the economic stress. demand for food stamps in montgomery county has risen nearly 12% in the last year. i bet you didn't know it but the federal government in maryland alone spends $15 million every year feeding hungry kids in schools. it's one of the biggest antihunger programs around and it goes on all year long. in tacoma park, scott broom, 9news now. >> montgomery county is among the top 15 wealthiest counties

in the country, but the 33% of its kids in public school actually qualify for school lunch. it is 4:53. it's time for the question of the morning. >> 55% of americans say they keep this in their car. what is it? is it a, a flashlight, b, toilet paper, or c, candy? >> log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page. leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour.

welcome back. 4:55. your weather first on this wednesday morning. still very nice out there. we've got 50s and 60s even though it's 70 in d.c. away from water it's very pleasant.

82 by noon. a little bit after breeze out of the northwest -- of a breeze out of the northwest. highs mid- to upper 80s. got some heat coming by tomorrow. more on that in a few minutes. right now here's monika with a look at time saver traffic. on the beltway outer loop side between the little river turnpike and braddock road, the three left lanes were closed overnight with construction still causing a bit of a delay. coming up in my next report, another look at area roads at 5:00. back to you. the washington capitals once again digging into their past in hopes of helping their future. the team has hired former capitals captain adam oats as their new head coach. he's never been a head coach in any league. he worked as an assistant with new jersey the last two years helping guide them to the playoffs this season. oates will officially be introduced at a press conference today at 3:00 p.m. >> congratulations on him being in the hall of fame. one of our area's most popular museums is offering a deal which could be hard to

refuse. starting this sunday the newseum will offer free admission to anyone under 18 years old, a saves of $12.95 per child. the deal runs through labor day. the entertainment world is mourning the loss of one of its own. >> the spice girls reunite for a new musical. manuel gallegus has those stories and more in this look at entertainment. >> reporter: nora ephron died tuesday of leek keep ya. best money -- leukemia. best known for the films sleepless in seattle and you've got mail, she wrote and directed 15 different movies. she was 71 years old. the spice girls appeared together on stage in london to announce details of a new musical based on their song. the show called viva forever is the story after girl band that enters a tv talent show. >> to have our songs being performed night after night in

the theater is an honor for us. >> i think we're going to be introducing a whole new generation to girl power. >> the '90s pop group sold 75 million albums world wild before breaking up. viva forever will open in london in the fall. next month's comic con just got a little racery. the author of the ear rottic trilogy 50 shades will be signing books at the san diego convention center july 12. the three books have sold 16 million copies since coming out in the u.s. this spring. universitial studios bought the movie rights. >> hello. tyler perry tries something a little different for his latest movie tyler perry's witness protection. >> i do a bernie madoff character. >> eugene levy co-stars as the businessman on the run from the mob. that's your eye on entertainment. i'm manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. good morning. thank you for watching 9news

now at 5:00 a.m. is it madillo or the strippers? >> i actually have plans to go see the strippers on friday. >> there it is. i'm andrea roane. >> my wife is going out with the girlfriends. they already have a date. these guys have some moves on them. >> magic mike. >> i'm jessica doyle. mike is on assignment. we were just talking about that. yes, he does have the magic. >> monika has traffic in a moment. >> save us, howard. >> i'm sure he has some moves. weather wise -- i don't know if i'm saving us. nice out there this morning. we have a very pleasant atmosphere in place. unfortunately the heat willing rolling in here over the next couple of days. we're down to 69 degrees in washington with noontime temp at 82 but not humid again today. it is going to be warmer. yesterday we only got to 82. today we'll get to about 88