steroid shots for back pain. a specialty pharmacy in massachusetts made the steroid and federal officials are investigating. it was already a tense relationship between japan and the united states, and now it's been strained once more after two american service men were arrested for raping a woman on okinawa. both men attacked the japanese woman sometime tuesday morning. complaints have been lodged with the united states government and military. they are demanding the united states take better preventive measures. the u.s. ambassador to japan says the u.s. military is committed to cooperating fully with the japanese investigation. turning our attention to the race for the white house, mitt romney and president obama will both campaign in new york today. yesterday the candidates focused on women. >> mitt romney told supporters in virginia that women have been particularly hit hard by this economy. president obama told his supporters he doesn't need a binder full of resumes to find

qualified women for his staff. tara mergener have more. >> reporter: they will be sporting black coats and white ties at a charity dinner in new york tonight. it's a chance for the candidateses to have fun and tell bad jokes like this one from president obama during the last election. >> i do love the waldorf astoria. i hear that from the doorstep you can see all the way to the russian tea room. >> reporter: but the jokes are decidedly less friendly on the campaign trail as both men battle for every vote they were focused on one group in particular wednesday: women. >> why is it that there are 3.6 million more women in poverty today than when the president took office? this president has failed america's women. >> reporter: president obama took a jab at romney's debate comment take he needed binders full of women to find qualified females for his cabinet positions. >> i've got to tell you we don't have to collect a bunch of binders to find talented women.

>> reporter: the campaigns are having to tailor their mess alleges to reach female voters because women have different concerns than men when it comes to winning their support. a new gallop poll shows 39% of women say abortion is their important issue. that may be why mitt romney has released a new ad highlighting his stands on contraception and abortion. the same poll shows romney trailing president obama among swing state female voters. tara mrnlg merge -- tara mergener, cbs, washington. >> about 65.6 million viewers tuned in to watch tuesday's debate. 67.2 million watched the debate between the two the first time. more than a thousand puppeteers and supporters plan to march on the mall november

3. they're rallying of course in response to mitt romney's comments he made during the first debate, sort of picking on big bird. he said he would eliminate funding for pbs if elected. that's where you can find the popular show "sesame street" and the puppets. police in silver spring are looking for a hit and run driver. a black pickup truck hit a woman near east wayne avenue. the woman was not walking in the crosswalk when she was hit. she was taken to an area trauma center with nonlife threaten willing injuries. -- threatening injuries. the judge in the trial of two prince george's county police officers accused of beating a university of maryland student has thrown out the most serious charge leveled against the pair. the judge said there is not enough evidence to support a first degree assault charge. both men are still charged with second degree assault and misconduct in office. the case stems from an incident caught on tape in 2010 when

reginald baker and james harrison arrested a maryland student celebrating a basketball win over duke. violent crime is on the rise in the united states for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to the justice department. a national crime victimization survey shows violent crimes rose by 18% last year. that's the first year-to-year increase since 1993. go back to 1993, violent crimes, 16.8 million of them were reported in the united states. and by 2011, that number dropped significantly, all the way down to 5.8 million. again, this is the first year it's gone up in a long time. property crimes were also up 11%. at 4:34, here's a look at some other things making news. a date has been set in the murder trial of george zimmerman. zimmerman shot and killed florida teenager trayvon martin last february but he claims it was self-defense and martin attacked him. martin was not armed. the trial is set for june 10 of next year. former senator george mcgovern is near the end of his

life according to his family. he's in hospice, says he's no longer responsive. mcgovern was the democratic presidential nominee who lost to president nixon back in 1972. he served more than two decades in congress. george mcgovern is 90 years old. lance armstrong has lost two major sponsors after the fallout from his doping scandal. he also stepped down as the chairman of the livestrong cancer fighting charity. he made the announcement on his website saying he wants to spare the foundation and any negatives surrounding his -- negative effects surrounding his case. >> best thing to do was to step away. >> nike, radio shack and anheuser-busch are serverring ties with the disgraced cyclist. nike and anheuser-busch both say they will continue to

support livestrong. the fallout stems from last week as u.s. antidoping report. armstrong has consistently denied doping. he says he and his family will continue their service to livestrong and the cancer community. he plans to maintain his seat on the organization's board. time 4:36. most of the day is expected to be nice but this evening could be stormy. howard has the time line coming up in about 2 minutes. >> another retailer announce plans to enter the tablet wars. >> bad news for wine drinkers. jessica doyle will explain at 4:42. >> we're back in two minutes with your weather first. you're watching 9news now.

4:38. a comfortable morning.

temps in the 40s and 50s. our concerns will be for late this afternoon into tonight where we could have strong to severe storms. i think the bulk will be after dark with highs 60s and breezy conditions. accident reconstruction is taking place where a pedestrian was struck overnight and killed. northbound 95 in newington, traffic moving well into springfield on to 395. more on traffic coming up in a few minutes at 4:47. >> thank you, monika. it is time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> good morning. there are new signs that the housing market is finally on the road to recovery. and that's making investors feel pretty optimistic nowadays. a surprising strong housing report yesterday helped to off jet disappointing profits from intel and i.b.m. the dow stands this morning at 13,557 after squeezing out a five-point gain in trade

yesterday. the nasdaq inched up by nearly two. the s&p 500 was up by about six points. builders broke ground on new homes last month at the fastest pace in more than four years and they requested permits to build even more homes in the coming months. analysts expect record low mortgage rates and more stable home prices will continue to drive construction in the coming months. so many flight attendants accept add buyout offer from american airlines that the company has plans to hire 1500 new ones over the next year. the bankrupt airlines says more than 22 flight attendants chose to walk away in exchange for a $40,000 payment. the parent company amr says it also lost $238 million in the third quarter because of bankruptcy costs. microsoft finally putting a price tag on its new tablet. the surface will start at $499 for the least expensive 32 gig model. it runs on microsoft's latest

mobile software and it hits stores october 26. in the meantime best buy is launching its very own tablet. the android-based insignia flex will enter an already crowded tablet market. it hits stores november 11. best buy's tablet is expected to be priced around $2350 in -- $250 in line with amazon's kindle. bad news, people. it may soon be harder to find your favorite bottle of european wine. drought, frost and hail wreaked havoc on some wine regions including france and italy. the wine grape harvest in those regions is expected to be the smallest in nearly 50 years. that has a global impact since europe's wine harvest accounts for more than 60% of the worldwide wine production. expect prices to go a lot higher. >> domestic wine fantastic. >> absolutely. >> and new zealand and south america. >> drink up. >> cheers. $6 million and nearly a year of construction helps to

improve the commute, at least for some of us in the region. >> we'll have more on that story plus your weather first when we return in two minutes. i don't spend money on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. it's 4:44. good morning to our fans in the queens area of maryland. >> they text me comments. good morning, channel 9. 50 degrees atop haystack mountain in maryland. hello, western maryland. glad you're with us. >> i'm going to la plata later this morning. how are things there? >> they're g. the weather will be fine through the middle of the day. in fact i think late afternoon. it's the late afternoon and evening hours tonight that we'll have to worry about potentially strong to maybe severe thunderstorms. i know it's unusual but a strong fault system coming across the country will spawn the storms later on.

our day planner this morning, it's a quiet one. at the bus stop by the way, 40s and 50s. day planner calling for temperatures by noon into the upper 60s. rather nice. south winds 10 to 15. they'll go southeast 10 to 15. maybe gust 20 or so this afternoon. as the clouds increase late, temperatures upper 60s to low 70s of the then we worry about thunderstorms tonight. 65 by 8:00. we'll be back in the 40s and 50s once again by friday morning. looking at the doppler, it's all quiet here this morning. but out to the west, we see some showers in kentucky and michigan andeanian. heavy thunderstorms, -- and indiana. heavy thunderstorms from birmingham approaching montgomery all the way back to southern louisiana. this is ahead of a front that's driving toward us. these storms aren't going to get us but as the storm producing this heads toward us, there will be new storms we'll worry about this evening. cumberland is 43. atop haystack mountain they're a out that way with 48 at the

tappahannock airport. outside on our michael & son weather camera looking at wisconsin avenue, a little bit of a breeze wrapped around the flag pole there. but we've got a quiet morning out there under clear skies. dew point 52. this has come up a lot since yesterday so it's a little more humid. humidity this morning at 87% and a south wind. that's the key to why we're not as chilly as last night. the south winds have stayed up at 9 miles an hour. here's the big storm system. the center of it spinning across minnesota this morning. we've got some rain, a little bit of snow mixing on the back side. look at all the storms that are lined up again from louisiana all the way back up toward the great lakes. this is tonight's rain and thunderstorms. ahead of it, though, winds are kicking up out of the south. so that's why we're expecting a nice mild day today. and even behind it, we're not going to feel the cooldown until saturday and sunday. there is a severe weather threat from the storm prediction center out of oklahoma for the entire wusa area. if you're going up toward philly you get out of it. this is mainly for late tonight

and tonight with damaging wind gusts in some of the stronger storms. they're the primary threat. let's show you futurecast. we believe it will be fine through midday. even much of the afternoon. as we get into the late afternoon, now we're talking about 6:00 p.m. we've got some showers potentially developing southeastern virginia headed this way with the front coming in from the west. then we get into tonight. midnight. showers and thunderstorms scattered about with us overnight. by tomorrow morning, potentially this will all be east of us with some luck. we'll get through both rush hours late tonight and tonight -- late tonight and tomorrow morning i should say dry with the rain in between. tomorrow turns out to be a decent day. could be a lingering shower south and east but all in all not a bad friday out there. then the weekend, that looks pretty good, too. here's a look at the forecast. we've got the threat for a shower late, 72. storms tonight. temperatures falling back into the 50s in town. some 40s north and west. tomorrow mainly an early shower

with the best chance east, mild, 73. but the weekend cooler, dry both days. mid-60s both days. look at mild temperatures headed our way. the warm-up monday, tuesday, wednesday. temperatures mid- to upper 70s. it is 4:48. good morning, monika. good morning, howard. very some generally speaking good news. on the northbound side of route 1 at huntington avenue, one lane has now been reopened at the scene of accident reconstruction. there was a fatal pedestrian accident over there from overnight on the northbound side of route 1 right here at huntington avenue. so things are beginning to improve in terms of the lane closures. now let's look at 95 on the northbound side. we'll go outied live if -- outside live. if you're planning to head on 95 or 395, both corridors are fine. southbound 95 before the fairfax county parkway, there had been a vehicle fire. that's in its clearing stages as well. let's go back over to the maps. this time we'll head over to the north side of town.

270 southbound looks great out of frederick. no delays as you head down into clarksburg and germantown to the point where the lanes divide. a live look at the beltway university boulevard. all overnight construction should be clearing up shortly on the inner loop before university boulevard. i'll be back with more traffic at 4:55. back to you guys. excuse me. after about a year of work and $6 million, a new and wilder bridge is now open over route 50 in arlington. representatives of the virginia department of transportation joined arlington county officials for the glebe road bridge. the entire concrete deck of the span was replaced. the bridge was also widened by about 27 feet. now back to you, andrea and mike. >> monika, thank you. turns out multivitamins may have an added benefit to go with their energy boosting qualities. >> a study finds that taking multivitamins daily may lower the risk of cancer in men. ed lawrence has more. >> reporter: 52-year-old mark

takes a multivitamin every day. >> i always felt if i could help myself, why not give myself an advantage. >> reporter: a new large long- term study of middle age and older men finds taking a multivitamin daily reduces the overall risk of cancer 8%. researchers say the reduction may sound small but it's significant. >> even an 8% reduction, something as common as cancer could still have a promound impact in terms -- profound impact in materials of our long- term health and longevity. >> reporter: many studies of individual vitamins found they don't improve health and in cases cause harm. multivitamins may help because they contain a combination of vitamins and minerals similar to what you would find eating the right amount of vegetables. >> they may not get it in their diets so extra iron will be important. >> reporter: at least one-third of u.s. adults take a multivitamin regularly. most users are over the age of 50. the only cancer multivitamins did not have an affect on was

prostrate cancer. they hope the study encourages others to take supplements. >> every man should really have the understanding that multisite minutes can -- multivitamins can help. >> reporter: researchers say whether the benefits extend to women and young adults remains to be seen. >> nearly 15,000 male doctors participated in the study for more than a decade. some cancer experts point out that most were healthy. only 4% smoked. the results may be different in a less healthy population. a new study points to a possible breakthrough in the treatment of crohn's disease. researchers at u.c. san diego found a drug used to treater is rye sis can also bring -- treat sir rye sis can also bring treatment for crohn's disease. patients treated saw an improvement as early as six weeks into therapy. bariatric surgery is used

to treat obesity but researchers say it also has a significant impact on preventing heart disease and stroke. a study published in the journal heart found weight loss surgeries can radically reduce risk factors, including high blood pressure and diabetes. the improvement is both faster and more extreme than it is when using drug treatments for managing weight. and for older women recovering from cancer, sticking to a healthy weight is critical. a study presented to the american association for cancer research examined lifestyle habits of elderly cancer survivors. it found women who stayed physically active eat a healthy diet and stick to an ideal body weight lower their risk of death by nearly 40%. 4:52. time for the question of the morning. >> 20% of americans have two of these. 20% of americans. remember that. a, children, b, cars, or c, cell phones? >> that's interesting. log on to our facebook fan

page. leave your response. we'll have the answer during our 6:00 show. we'll be right back.

welcome back. 4:556789 your weather first -- 4:556789 your weather first. -- 4:55. your weather first. 40s and 50s. the high 72 today but late into the evening hours and tonight, we have a threat for some showers and strong thunderstorms. we'll be watching that for you. but today should be okay most of the day. let's check in with monika for timesaver traffic. i'm happy to say in montgomery county here on 270 southbound at route 121, no issues to report. looks like this right from germantown to where the lanes divide and over to the beltway. more traffic coming up at 5:01. >> see you then. fairfax county has a new plan to transform tysons corner into a downtown hub.

the county's board of supervisors approved a 40-year funding plan that sets up a new tax district to pay for roads. under the plan real estate taxes would increase by about 8%. the project would generate about $250 million from land owners over the next 40 years. mark december 6 on your calendar. that's when the national christmas tree will be lit on the eliption. 17,000 ticket -- ellipse. 17,000 tickets are available to the public. they will be given away through a lottery. you can enter starting next thursday. they go quickly. for more information go to wusa9.com and you don't have to have a computer. you could also call this phone number. 1-877-444-6777. a local business honored a former employee who was wounded while serving in afghanistan. he left his job to join the military in 2008. in his last tour, he risked his life to take down a suicide

bomber targeting a fellow troop. he saved the life of a soldier and jurld his leg in the process. despite being honored by his former employees as a hero, he does not think the title fits him. we agree. british police have launched a crackdown. >> officers with tattoos are no longer allowed to expose them. >> reporter: britain's top police force has inked a new policy on tattoos. scotland yard is ordering officers to cover them up. commanders say visible tattoos on the hands, neck or face damage the professionalismage of the department. >> it makes them more threatening than somebody who doesn't have a tattoo. >> reporter: jimmy thorn believes offices have a right to show off their body art. he says he's tattooed lots of police. >> never on their hands or neck but they have large forearm pieces. as people they're interested in

art. >> reporter: the ban applies to all of britain's 52,000 officers. those who already have visible markings are being ordered to tell their managers in writing or risk being fired. chris ozo has plenty of tattoos but believes officers should not. >> i think policemen should be with clean hands and clean neck and face. >> reporter: some police leaders argue visible at trues are a good thing -- tattoos are a good thing because they can help officers break the ice with teenagers in rough areas of london. >> they look at officer's tattoo and they want to talk about the artwork. >> reporter: ian has been a police officer for 25 years. while he doesn't have any tattoos, he says it shouldn't matter if others on the force do. >> people tend to call the police when they need something, when they're -- quite often in a crisis. perhaps the last thing on their mind is whether or not the officers got a tattoo on their forearm or not. >> reporter: but scotland yard says the new policy is permanently etched in the rule

book. cbs news, london. >> wicked tattoo there. good morning. thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. thanks for joining us. hi, monika samtani. >> hi, mike. >> howard bernstein is here with weather first. you'll be good to go through the morning and afternoon. nighttime is a different thing. >> late this afternoon we may get a shower in here by 5:00, 6:00. but it's really going to be overnight tonight is my greatest concern for some showers and potentially some thunderstorms. we even have a slight risk of severe weather according to the storm prediction center out of oklahoma. it's nice and quiet here on wisconsin avenue. not much going on. 55 degrees. noon 67. still partly sunny. clouds increase late. chance of a shower by 5:00. temperature coming down to 70 after hitting about 72 for that high. clouds are well to the west of us and east of us so clear skies