acl and redo of his previous. it is everybody's hope that due to robert's high motivation he will be ready for the 2013 season. if the recovery time hold true griffin should be able to participate in preseason drills and be ready for the start of the season in september. let's just hope they make the right decision when that time comes. >> of course this is all guesswork because everybody recovers differently in these sorts of surgeries. >> right. we see athletes have the best doctors around them and the best medicine so they tend to recover a little bit quicker, so let's just hope they're 100% sure before he takes the field. >> kristen, thank you for that. acl injuries have ended the careers of many athletes but treatment these days works a lot better and now surgical repair is pretty common. bruce leshan talked with a surgeon who has done hundreds of these kinds of surgeries. the outcome is encouraging. >> dr. christopher mcgee says that over at washington

adventist hospital if anybody has the intensity and motivation to recover from this it is rgiii. >> for the patella in front with the patellar tendon. >> reporter: the anterior cruciate legment lies just behind your kneecap. >> rgiii had a injury to the lateral collateral legment. >> reporter: surgeons often cut the ligament and saw a piece of bone attached at either end, then thread all of that through holes they've drilled to replace the torn acl. >> no, it cannot be replaced. >> reporter: but because rgiii has already had acl surgery in college, team sources say the surgeon was expected to take the patellar ligament graft from his left leg. >> they use the mid portion of the patellar tendon from his opposite knee, so i'm told. i only know what i read. >> reporter: surgeon also had to repair the quarterback's

lcl. >> the lateral collateral ligament, the lcl, stabilizes the side of the knee so essential it prevents the knee from opening up. >> reporter: dr. mcgee says acl surgery can be done arthroscopically through tiny incisions. the lcl is repaired with the bigger cut. >> sometimes a graft material will have to be used to take the place of a badly damaged lateral collateral legment. sometimes it can be sewn together. >> reporter: after surgery, it takes months, simply, for the tough tendons and bone graphs to reattach themselves to the bone. >> do you think he is going to be just as explosive as he was? >> i think if anybody can come back from something like this, it's a player of rgiii's caliber. >> reporter: dr. mcgee says you can have one or 2a c l surgeries, but he is not too hopeful of a good outcome if rgiii has to have another one

after this. so a whole lot of people are praying that this is absolutely the last time. >> let's hope the second time is the charm, and not a third. bruce, thank you for that. so just what is the recovery and the rehab going to be like for this type of knee surgery? anita brikman is live at the national rehabilitation hospital in northwest d.c. with more on that part of the story. >> reporter: i'm joined by dr. carter mitchell, an orthopedic surgeon from medstar georgetown who practices with this hospital as well. doctor, you trained with dr. andrews. >> i did. >> reporter: what's going to be ahead for rgiii in the rehab process? how painful is this to start and what does he do in the days and weeks ahead? >> in the acute rehab process what we want to do is control the inflammation in the knee as well as the swelling and try to get his range of motion back. >> reporter: it hurts a lot. >> it does. the nurses will be taking care of his pain control and be very attentive to him. >> reporter: how long can this take? we're talking about an elite athlete here.

some of them have come back pretty fast. >> after an acl and an lcl we're talking 8 to 12 month. however, it really is dependent on the patient. >> reporter: obviously most people who have these tears are not elite athletes. there are a lot of these, right? >> approximately 250,000 ac tears happen each year. most are in recreational athletes what. we like to do is focus on preventing these injuries. >> reporter: how can you prevent them? >> there are many techniques, mostly strengthening the hamstring and getting young women to land properly so muscle memory and training is very important. >> let's go back to rgiii briefly. a lot of people are wondering can he be at 100%, especially because we're not talk about this being the first procedure but the second and a revision to that. can he get back to100%? >> absolutely. i think there's no reason to believe he won't get back to his previous level. we've come a long way with these procedures. >> reporter: dr. mitchell thank

you for. that at 5:30 we are going to meet a young woman who suffered the same kind of injury, and her physical therapist is going to show aus very cool anti- gravity treadmill that may be used for rgiii as well. derek, back to you. >> we're going to couldn't optimistic, anita. other news. we want to know the answer to a question. what caused a ferry to slam into a pier and send passengers flying out of their seats. that's what ntsb investigators are trying to figure out. more than 50 people got hurt two, critically, when the vessel slammed into a dock near the south street seaport in new york city this morning. dozens of people were thrown out of their seats and down stairs. one passenger said it felt like the ferry was going full speed when it collided with that pier. >> i just went forward, and my face hit the seat in front of me. >> it hit the right side of the boat on the dock hard. like a bomb. >> like a bomb.

and that crash tore a hole in the corner of the ferry, shattered a window. the high-speed catamaran was carrying more than 300 commuters at the time. the coast guard spokesperson said the ferry captain will undergo alcohol and drug testing. in fact, that's routine in accidents like this one. well, another crash in the big apple this one a large crane collapsing at a construction site in queens. the details are still sketchy on this one but 9news has learned that seven people were hurt. this is video from the scene. look at that falling boom lying across the length of the building underconstruction in long island city. closer to home, virginia's general assembly started its 2013 session today with what some are calling the war on women. more bills aimed at curtailing reproductive rights. our peggy fox joins us live with the latest. peg. >> reporter: there are bills that would allow employers to side step federal law that

requires contraception coverage, and there are more bills that would further restrict abortion in the state. >> we want to be virginians for life. >> reporter: hundreds of pro lifers gathered in richmond today. >> give them wisdom, father, for what you have called them to do. >> reporter: to pressure law make inters continuing to pass legislation that limits abortion. last year virginia's governor and lawmakers were bashed on national media for requiring women seeking abortion to get ultrasounds first. it meant vaginal probes would have to be used during the first trimester. >> our legislators felt last year that they took a beating because they were doing what was only the rate and horable thing to do. >> reporter: nearby, a smaller pro-choice group voiced its concern. >> our bodies, we don't need an ultrasound to help us make our decision. we already know what we're doing because we're smart.

>> reporter: they're pushing lawmakers to repeal the law but it's unlikely. this is the same legislature that passed strict requirements for abortion providers forcing them to spend millions in renovation to make their facilities hospital grade. attorney general ken cuccinelli pressured the board into enacting those regulations. >> cuch watch was created, and so the motto is ken cuccinelli is keeping an eye on our vagina, and now we're keeping an eye on him." >> reporter: we are keeping an eye on any gun control legislation that comes up and the governor's controversial transportation plan which would eliminate the gas tax. it would be the first state in the country to do so and also raise the sales tax.

coming up at 6:00 i'll tell you why democrats are saying that's a terrible idea, especially for northern virginia. i'm peggy fox reporting live in richmond. >> so new year, same fight, and a pretty nickname. lawmakers returned for the latest session of the general assembly. in the wake of the sandy hook school tragedy several gun laws are on the table, including limits on how much ammunition a magazine can carry. governor martin o'malley wants to upgrade maryland's aging transportation system. the flu season does not usually peak until sometime next month, but this year's flu outbreak is so bad health officials say we are already approaching the peak levels of previous years, so much so some area hospitals are actually having to turn folks away. scott broom is live from university of maryland research center where they're trying to

figure out the spread and why it's happening so quickly. >> reporter: it is happening quickly. i don't want to make light of it, but tell you what, here at the university of maryland, believe it or not, the twist today is you can get paid to have the flu. there are signs like this all over the place that says, got flu? we'll pay you, with big arrows pointing to this building. it is the university of maryland school of public health, and they will pay you if you have got the flu as long as you're willing to be a research subject. >> lift your tongue up. >> reporter: fever, coughing, body aches, and misery. this lab at the university of maryland school of public health wants you. >> we want to test 200 people this winter. >> reporter: dr. donald milton is the chief collaborator on a major study trying to get to the bottom of exactly how the flu spreads. >> all of the air she exhales goes down the funnel and into this tube here that causes it

to collect the large droplets. the goal is to understand how people catch the flu, how much is it by handshaking or indirect contact through telephones, doorknobs, and how much is by large drop let spray where people actually cough own, on the but and how much is just by breathing the air that other people have been breathing. up until we built this technology, you couldn't get the virus out of people's exhaled breath and culture it and show that it's still there and infectious. >> reporter: what's it like in there? >> it's pretty interesting breathing with your face interest a tube like that. >> reporter: we need to know more about how much is it airborne in order to decide that those are important things to do. answers to those questions are really important. if you get a flu outbreak, for instance, where the virus

doesn't have a vaccine, for instance, public health authorities have to know what to do. do you put air purifiers in buildings? do you close public transit systems? due hand out masks to millions of people? those are the questions they're trying to answer during this flu outbreak. while most of us dread this thing, it's go time for these researchers, and they are trying to recruit people. so if you have got the flu, you can make anywhere from $20 to 300 depending on how sick you are. the information is at www.gotflu.org. live at the university of maryland school of public health, scott broom. the cdc says the flu vaccine does cover 91% of the flu strains out there so perhaps i don't need a space suit but if you haven't gotten your flu shot, it's not too

late. keep in mind it takes couple of weeks to be protected so you might want to go out there today. coming up, eight things you should not touch if you want to avoid germs. one of them is not topper shutt. >> let's hope not. we have a cold front pushing through. we'll tell you what that does to temperatures. you need a jacket if you are headed out. temperatures in the 40s. 48 downtown, 45 in gaithersburg. we'll come back, i'll show you a picture that i shouldn't be showing you for two months. i'll explain. >> reporter: i'm danielle nottingham at the white house. coming up, the vice president calls on victims groups to help craft a plan to curb gun violence.

the judge is now considering whether that case against the accused colorado theater shooter should go forward. the prosecution wrapped up its case today against james holme showing pictures that he took inside and outside the theater weeks and days before the massacre.

there was always photo of guns, armor, and a gas mask neatly laid out on holmes' bed. his lawyers wouldn't talk about it, or declined to call any witnesses, i should say. the judge is expected to rule on friday whether the case is strong enough to go to trial. vice president joe biden says the president is determined to take some definitive action to prevent more gun violence. >> biden's meeting with gun control and pro gun control leaders. danielle nottingham has the latest. >> reporter: vice president joe biden kicked off a round of meetings to tackle gun violence with victims groups. dan gross from the brady campaign was there. >> words like comprehensive and broad don't mean taking guns away from law abiding citizens. >> reporter: that's an approach these two people support. >> we just want some common sense compromise, an approach that our kids can go to school and come home alive.

>> reporter: they are part of one million moms for gun control formed after the newtown shooting. thomas says the group's goal is to honor the second amendment but find reasonable gun restrictions. >> we don't allow people to produce plutonium in order to make their own nuclear weapons. there are limits. the question is what should the limit be now given what's taken place. >> reporter: vice president biden says these meetings are not photo ops. the president intends to take immediate action on the task force's proposal. thursday the vice president will sit down with gun owners including members of the national rifle association. >> we're reaching out to all parties on whatever side of this debate you fall. >> reporter: new jersey's republican governor chris christie says it's important to just not look at guns but the mental health system. >> you look at what happened in connecticut. that young man was obviously mentally ill, and he needed to

be getting treatment. >> reporter: the governor says lawmakers also need to address violent video games. >> in fact, video game producers and representatives from the entertainment industry have also been invited to the white house this week. because of its busy schedule church leaders say it will probably be six months to a year before the first same- sex marriage is performed at the washington national cathedral. the century old church will be among the first episcopal congress grow gaitionz in the country to marry gay and transgender couples. the cathedral has long been a spiritual center for the nation. funeral services for gerald ford were held there. topper, we are waiting for the temperatures to go up and up. >> it's not enough for him. >> it's never enough for derek. but i will be able to deliver on that. here's what's weird. i tweeted about this an hour

thasmght is something i shouldn't show you for a couple months. this is crazy. i'm worried about a false spring because what happens is plants get fooled into growing. this is i don't cubs. they shouldn't be up now, are you kidding me? they should be up in two months. if you planted a tree in your backyard and it starts to push out roots, then it gets cold again and it will die. this is a sign we don't want to see. mike sent this in. if you want to, follow me at twitter. false spring. we've only had four dance in month of december below 32. we're talking low temperatures at national. of those four, only two were in the 20s. we've had four days already in january under 32 at national and just one, just one, has been in the 20s. we've only had one day with highs holding in the 30s since december 1st.

false spring? we're in trouble. we may see a change in the pattern next week. we will keep you posted. 48 right now. this is our live michael & son weather cam. winds southwest at 3. the winds will become northwesterly. when they do you will know the cold front is through. the cold front is kind of a misnomer, because it's not very cold behind it. couple showers in southern maryland and southern calvert county. that's about it. most of us will have a dry commute home. temperatures in the 40s. the clouds did hold temperatures down a little but they're still above average. 45 right now in rockville 45áeur7bgs fairfax, 47 in alexandria, 47 college park, 46 in bowie. pretty good deal. still nice for january. just chilly. cooler tomorrow but dry. you will need your sunglasses tomorrow. mild on friday with a few showers but not a washout. next three days, our 9 weather alerts remain green. 49 tomorrow, a few clouds. 51, mild with showers on

friday. but again not a washout. look at saturday. spring-like, 64. golf, maybe a walk on the canal, i don't know, take your pick. 62 on sunday. showers possible again but not a washout. showers on monday but not a washout. temperatures still around 60. finally, we're in the low 50s with rain on tuesday into wednesday. we actually need a soak rain. we'll take anything. >> upper 60s, my friend. >> you could round that up and make it 70. >> let's break out the grill and have like a barbecue, maybe suntan a little bit. >> look here, it's the size of a dog but it looks like a lion. how this unusual looking animal caused all kinds of confusion in one virginia neighborhood. up next, we'll tell you about the star-studded lineup set up to perform at president obama's swearing in ceremony. i'm in on the action.

hey guys, who needs a brush? this is looking great. how you doing over there, buddy? i'm in on the action.

all across the country, high school students... are joining forces with volunteers of america... and major league baseball players... to create action teams. action teams are a great way... to help people in your community who really need it. we want to inspire the next generation of volunteers. so start an action team at your school. and get in on the action. learn more at volunteersofamerica.org/ actionteam. it will be another star studded inauguration for president obama, the second time around. beyonce will perform the star spangled barn. kelly clarkson will sing, and james taylor will perform

"america the beautiful." it's also been announced that cuban-american richard blanco will be the 2013 inaugural poet. three ground breakings and 15 years after it was first proposed, silver spring transit center is still a long way from actually opening. the latest hang-up, a dispute over whether the concrete flooring is say. the state of the art complex on colesville road is two years behind schedule, and local activists are calling on the council to conduct a hearing and demand some answers. >> and the hope is that it will open in the fall, but it's been going on for four years, and commuters have been commuting from four and five blocks away where the bus stops have been relocated when in actuality a metro station is supposed to have their bus right at the door so it's an easy transfer. >> i remember when there was a metro station right there. when this thing is all done the

transit center is designed to bring transportation options to a single spot. the current price tag, more than he three times the original $35 million estimate. >> today we got an up-close look at plans to replace the frederick douglass bridge. you might know it bert as the south capitol street bridge. the leaders in charge of tabling care of it point out a lot of signs of age and deterioration on the span over the anacostia river. mayor gray says the revital i will sayings of the bridge is key to the waterfront. the city has already started to acquire new land for the project. i'm sure fixing that bridge will mean traffic headaches. coming up, an espn announcer apologizes for his over the top admiration of the college quarterback's girlfriend. this is bruce johnson. mayor vince gray talks about

rgiii and efforts to get the redskins back to d.c. and talks about a possible name change for the team. but up next, we'll go back live to the national rehabilitation center to talk with a patient about what it is like to recover from a similar

d.c. mayor vince gray revealed he's had some conversations with the redskins organization about bringing the

team back to the city. >> if that wasn't enough the mayor went on to say that a name change would have to be part of those discussions. this of course came during his weekly press conference, and a lot of those answers came because of our questions from bruce johnson. >> reporter: mayor gray says there's been no commitment from skins owner dan snyder. but there has been talk. >> reporter: have you had a discussion about bricking the team back? >> i've talked to the teen. we have had very preliminary discussions. >> reporter: mayor suggested the team would have to undergo a name change. >> there's no doubt. >> reporter: native americans and others consider at racial slur. team owner dan snyder has won court battles to keep it. >> reporter: mr. mayor, do you think the name needs to be changed? >> i think hat become a light thing rod, and i would love to be able to sit down with the team, bruce, and i'm happy to do that, to sit down with the team and others who are concerned and see if a change should be made. >> reporter: d.c. councilman

jack evans recently told 9news he would like to see the redskins playing in the district again within the next five years. the feeling being that they would tear down the existing rfk stadium, which is home to the d.c. united and a few concert, and build a new facility here with a domed top. since the 1990s the skins have been playing their home games at fedexfield in landover, maryland, but the team's resurgence under rgiii has d.c. insiders wishing and hoping again. the quarterback underwent surgery today. >> i think if the redskins had won this would be described as a courageous act on the part of the player. >> reporter: many blame team doctors for rgiii remaining on the field and getting hurt. >> probably raises the question, should medical professionals play a greater

row. we've obviously done that with concussions. prince george's county executive baker's office is sticking with the statement given to 9news over the weekend that read in part, the redskins have been a great partner and the county looks forward to a long-term relationship. >> reporter: as bruce just mentioned rgiii is recovering from successful surgery to repair his injured right knee. dr. james andrews released a statement saying, robert griffin iii had a direct repair of his lcl and a redo of his previous acl reconstruction. we expect a full recovery, and it is everybody's hope and belief that due to robert's high motivation he will be ready for the 2013 football season. now, i am live at medstar national rehabilitation hospital where we're here to talk about the fact that it's not just football stars what tear their acl. right next to me on this very cool-looking treadmill is ms. dorothy. hello, how are you?

>> good. how are you? >> reporter: 14, from olney, maryland. when did you tear your acl? >> i tore it august this 13th. i was coming down from a block and a landed on the other player's foot and my knee came in. >> reporter: did it hurt? >> it did, but i wasn't really concerned about. that i wanted to play and i knew it was serious. >> reporter: so you could understand this quarterback not wanting to leave the game. >> i can. >> reporter: how are you doing now after the surgery? >> i'm doing great. recovery is fun, and i love it. i'm doing really well. >> so we were just listening to carly dorsey who had surgery for a similar injury that rgiii had back in september, apparently doing better. >> she's only 15 years old but she said that rehab was fun, it was word she used. i wanted to hear about how difficult or painful it might

be. hopefully we can get back to her. obviously even a very young person can come through. >> she's an athlete herself. >> there you go. espn is apologizing for some of brent. musburger's comments over the girlfriend of quarterback a.j. mckaren. espn cameras repeatedly focused on kathryn web and brent musburger recommended that young people in alabama pick up a football and start throwing so they can land a woman like kathryn web. disgraced cyclist lance armstrong has reportedly agreed to a no-holds-barred interview with none other than oprah winfrey. the "new york times" reports armstrong has told associates he is considering coming clean

about cheating. the interview airs next week on oprah's cable channel. >> want to see that. the san diego zoo is preparing for the latest coming out party for a new panda, of course. the cub, born in july, will take to the world stage and go on public display for the first time tonight it's a male pan dha. is the latest result of a very successful breeding program for the endangered animal at the san diego zoo. he is 18 pounds and almost 16 months old, and his 21-year-old mother has given birth to five other pandas at the zoo. an unusual dog tale from norfolk, virginia. a labradoodle with an unusual haircut. it prompted calls that a lion was on the loose. in the dark you might be wondering if this was the king of the jungle. police even called the norfolk zoo to make sure that their two lions were still in cages. the dog's opener tells people his pet is a labalion.

>> if you sought from far away and you didn't know how far away it was -- >> in the dark. >> you're like, how big is that? i don't know could. be the king of the jungle. coming up, visual evidence that tequila and tree trimming are never a good combination. up next, a florida highway looks more like a rodeo when a bull goes after the sheriff's deputy. coming up in minutes, darrell green and sports writer christine brennan weigh in renewing their debate about whether or not rgiii should have been out on the field tip first place. >> we're always on at wusa9.com. stay right here. we're coming right back. [ male announcer ] now at your neighborhood subway: the big hot pastrami melt.

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watch out! >> a scary moment for a florida sheriff deputy, his dash cam capturing him diving out of the way of a bull that had gotten loose after a trailer crashed.

his sergeant, however, not so lucky. look at the bull run him down out there in the distance. >> the bull was obviously agitated. it had just been through a wreck. i knew when that bull fell and when he stood up, that he wasn't happy. >> an unhappy bull is bad for everybody. four of the 32 bulls on that truck got owment deputies were able to capture three but the one that charged the sergeant had to be put down for the public say. the sergeant had to be treated for bruises to his ribs and knees. a wild bobcat that attacked a massachusetts man and his nephew was rabid. >> so this thing sunk its teeth into the face of 53-year-old roger mondale and the bobcat literally just started clawing his back. he opened the door and says this 26-pound bobcat was just

on him. he managed to wrestle it off but then the bobcat went outside and attacked his teenage negative fiew. his wife retrieved a gun. they had to shoot the animal. all three of the family members are now undergoing rabies treatment. this just in, more proof that tequila and tree trimming is not a good combination. a man was left dangling in los angeles and only his safety strap prevent him from falling to the ground. it took 27 firefighters and a 35-foot lad tore get that tree trimmer down. authorities say apparently polished off half of a bottle of tequila. >> he probably could keep us amused while up there. >> just a little tipsy, that's all. still ahead, should rgiii have stayed in the game and gotten hurt so bald? a look at how the conversation has changed now that we know

just how badly that knee was damaged.

welcome back. the surgery was declared a success. now it is time for the recovery to begin. robert griffin iii is resting

after having his lcl and acl repaired in his right nee. expected recovery is six to eight months. dr. james andrews expects griffin to be ready for the 2013 season. there's a lot of work to be done, and what's done is done, but the debate continues. should griffin have stayed in the game as long as he did? now that we know the extent of the injuries have either of your opinions wavered? >> i think that players go by feeling. he felt okay. now, whether we agree in retrospect, but event okay so when he felt okay, he felt okay, then the coach is going to respond, coaches, trainers, doctors, the and the player. so i'm fine with him as well. >> darrell, i think we have learned one thing. that is rgiii is not a good judge of his health. >> yes, i think. so we do agree on. that.

>> he is not a doctor, he's not good at self-examination. >> but he felt g. >> he felt g. think about this. this is a man who if they had taken him out when we first saw that injury or even after the touchdown, if they take him out, not only does he have a better chance to win the game with curt cousins, as we obviously found out, but you potentially save rgiii from all that he's gone through. i just think unconscionable decision by mike shanahan and by rgiii himself. >> so they're saying six to eight months recovery. with the game play that rgiii has, he needs those knees to be 100%. so if we get to the beginning of 2013 due think mike shanahan and rgiii have learned? >> absolutely. >> you hope they do. >> i believe they've learned but i still would have to say in that the course of that game children, watched on television, i think that -- and you can look at his play calls.

if he thought the kid was messed up, he would have ran the ball. the kid didn't have but 16 carries. he had 33 against the cowboys. so i have to say that shanahan played what he thought, and the kid played what he thought. it's all different in retrospect when you're watching it on tv. >> we were thinking, you know, screaming, wondering why people in the studio -- >> we were watching on tv. >> exactly. but i have to say, if everyone watching knew what was going on, how would it be possible that the coach, who was right there, didn't know what was going on? >> because of that play, he fell back, shanahan didn't see that. >> maybe he needs to come and join us at channel 9, because we sure sought. >> maybe he should watch the game from here. >> seriously, i love you. i listen to what you're saying. this is the man, he's the adult in the room. he's the adult in the sideline. he blew it. he blew it. this is, of course, the

franchise. this is only a human being. rgiii is a young man who we care very much about. he's also the franchise. and you cannot make that kind of mistake. >> i agree. in retrospect, he blew it, and i wish he would say i blew it. i would love that. >> i made a mistake. >> but what he did, i agree w. i just like the retrospect. >> we're taking this on the road. we're going on the road. >> i'm just letting y'all go with. this i wish we had more time. christine brennan, darrell green, thanks for coming in. back over to you guys. >> do you do weather, too? come on over. >> it would be nice to hear from coach shanahan, "i made a mistake." that would be nice to hear. >> or even if coach didn't seat on the sidelines, perhaps someone in the booth saw him hobbling around. >> chances of that happening, zero. let's take a live look outside. temperatures were not super mild but any time we hit 50 in

january that is a deal. our live michael & son weather cam. dew . is up there. not a very dry air mass. winds out of the southwest at 3. winds will become northwesterly at 10 to 15, as we get a cold front through here, but that is kind of misnomer because it is not going to get cold behind the cold front. a few showers now south of leonard town, st. mary's city, moving across the bay so everybody will have seacial dry commute if you haven't gotten home yet. temperatures 43 in gaithersburg, but 45 in the middle in rockville, 43 in fairfax, 48 in arlington, mid- 40s in college park, 45 also in bowie. 49 at andrews. so still nice for january. we have to keep things in perspective here. just chilly tonight, cooler tomorrow but dry on thursday. will you need your sunglasses pretty much full in the morning. then mild on friday with showers but not a washout by

any means. so clearing, breezy, just chilly. 32 to 40. winds will become northwest 10 to 15. now by morning mostly sunny and chilly. you still need a coat, 30s and 40s. winds out of the northwest at 10. by afternoon partly cloudy, some clouds late. a little bit cooler, a degree or two. highs near 50, but that's still seasonably mild. winds north-northeast at 10. the next three days, 9 weather alerts remain green. clouds late friday with showers, 51, but look at saturday. spring-like, 64. good time to go and take a walk on the canal. next seven day, it stays warm. sunday upper 60s but with showers. upper -- well, around 60 monday, upper 50s, around 60 but showers possible. those days are not washout days. more significant rain tuesday and wednesday, perhaps even the rumble of thunder on tuesday. is there any way to avoid what happened last night? complete gridlock for hours on

the key bridge after someone threatened to jump off of it. i'm surae chinn. that story coming up. and the 9th of the month means it's time to call your buddy with a breast cancer check reminder. we're going to tell you how some receive treatment by just getting behind the wheel. ñ??

this year we're celebrating 20 years of buddy check 9 at w usa. on this 9th of the month we

want to focus on the thousands of cancer patients who need a ride to treatment every day but may not have any way to get there. as andrea roane reports, the american cancer society's program is helping to fill that need and could use your help. >> reporter: francis is a wife, mother, seamstress, and breast cancer survivor, but she prefers to call herself -- >> god's work in progress. so when i found out about the breast cancer and got over the shock, i thought, okay, god, if this is one way you are going to get me closer to you, here i am. >> reporter: that was in 20 10. the diagnosis? early stage her-2 breast cancer. that means the cancer can grow faster and is more likely to

spread. doctors prescribed an aggressive regimen of treatment and chem me therapy. this went on for a period of six and a half months. >> there were times when i was dizzy, nausea. there were times when i couldn't drive a car. >> reporter: in order to keep those life saving appointments, francis got a free ride from her home to walter reed in bay they say da thanks to the road to recovery program. >> and the first person who came to greet me was dolores. >> good morning. >> good morning night. like driving. to me, it's relaxing. okay. >> reporter: dolores worked 42 years in the federal government. when she retired, she volunteered to drive for road to recovery after the american cancer society made an appeal at her church. >> i have had patients who prayed for me who have cried with me, who have spanked me, who have called me on the phone

telling me numerous times how much they appreciate me. >> reporter: in two years dolores has logged more than 6,000 miles using her own car, plus foot the gas bill. she's traveled all over the region and baltimore taking 34 local patients to their cancer treatments. but lately because of overwhelming patient demand, she's had to turn down rides to care on a regular basis. >> the need is really critical. we have a few drivers. we always need more. >> reporter: gloria says access to care is the number one priority of the american cancer society, but lack of transportation is a serious barrier to follow-up care. all the medical technology, modern medicine that we have is useless if that patient cannot get there. >> it's always on time, and i am overjoyed of road to recovery. >> i don't know about others,

but for met's satisfying to know that i'm helping someone. i'm helping her, possibly to see another birthday. >> andrea roane, 9news now. >> what a great program. to be a road to recovery volunteer driver, you need to have a car, you've got to have a valid driver's license, liability insurance, pass a background check, and of course, go through a brief training process. if you're still interested we have a link to the program on our buddy check page at wusa9.com. 1 flu-related deaths in the state of massachusetts alone. that has boston's mayor declaring a public health emergency. so far this flu season that city has 700 confirmed cases compared with 70 in all of last season. and today aarp released a list of eight germ loaded things you probably do not want to touch in public places. it includes restaurant menus, lemon wedges, condiment

dispensers, rest room door handles, grocery carts, airplane bathrooms, and just about anything you can find in your doctor's office. of course, that's easy to say and hard to do. we all live in the real world. who is going to avoid eating out? you've got use the menu. when you use the rest room you've got to open the door. the group advises taking a little extra time to wash your hands once you do touch them. as for the lemon wedges, ask your serve tore skip them. we have more information on specific steps at wusa9.com. click on health. here's something interesting. a new study is out that says if you drink lots of sugary beverages every day you are more likely to be depressed, and the likelihood is even greater among those of us who drink diet beverages. coffee drinkers, however, are less likely to suffer from depression than those who do not drink coffee. it is important to note this study did not find any cause

and effect between depression and the beverage of choice. he's out of surgery and tonight robert griffin iii's surgeon says he is going to, or rather he is hoping the redskins' quarterback is going to be ready next season but doctors did find more damage than they had hoped. kristen berset is here to tell us more about rgiii's procedure. >> we know there was damage to the lcl but today's surgery was supposed to find out if more damage had been done to the acl, the one he had hurt in 2009. unfortunately they found some more. dr. james andrews fixed the tarn griffin's lcl and acl. the acl wasn't strong enough for somebody of griffin's athletic caliber. the expected refer time for the rookie, six to eight months, better than we