have already sold out of someformulations. and it is ramping up next year's vaccines, so they could not produce of anymore this year. across the country, 128 million doses of vaccine have already gone out about 95% of what they were planning to make this year. people, all around the region, they are worried about catching the nasty bug. providers are reporting a big surge in demand for flu shots. they have plenty of vaccines on hand. the giant says that they have a big warehouse in baltimore and that they have just put in an order for more doses. but when you start calling the individual stores, you can run into problems. the downtown on 8th street says that they will be out of flu shots, but they hope to get more in on friday. and the rite aid sate that they just got more in, but at last check there was a long wait.

the giant on arlington in bethesda says to come on in, they have plenty on hand. but metropolitan pediatrics in north bethesda say that it will be out and they could not get anymore. and the walgreens on wilson boulevard in arlington, they are out of stock and they can only hope to get more soon. now, clearly if you call around, you can find it, but it really pays to call around and to do it real soon. >> absolutely. now, there are also shortages of the one drug that can really fight some of the worse symptoms of the flu if you do get it? >> right. that's tama flu. and in this case we're talking about the liquid children's formulation. they said that there will be some delays in producing it. and as a spokeswoman for the company, they say that you can actually take the capsules, the adult capsules, dissolve them in some kind of a sweet liquid and give those to your kids instead if they are just within a few days so you get the prescriptions for it of getting

the flu. >> that's why you need to get them to the doctor's office for the prescription. >> right. >> thank you if the update on -- thank you for the update. guys? >> all right, so the flu, it is now widespread here in washington. and so what happens when you add, oh, a million visitors in town for the inauguration? that's a question that we asked the experts today. and scott broom is at the medstar washington hospital center to talk about the answers. scott? >> reporter: as this graphic photograph shows that it takes just one sneeze to affect everyone about a six-foot radius with this nasty flu virus. and now pack hundreds of thousands of people together at the inauguration on january 21. and consider that up to 20% of the population can be affected by the flu in the course of a

widespread season like this one. and that's likely to make for a lot of sick people. packing themselves on the metro trains and buses, the common inauguration weekend. >> we're seeing the incredible number of patients here. >> and here at the medstar hospital center, they have their fingers crossed, that they all don't end up here. >> we're looking at a million guests. we'll still continue to see that during the time. >> hopefully not so many that local hospitals will be forced to do what the lehigh valley schools have done, putting up tents in their parking lot. they are prepared for that possibility. a room stocked with cots, blow horns, flashlights. it is all needed, though it is not expected. and even so, the doctor, they are asking the d.c. residence with the health issues to think ahead before inauguration weekend. >> for patients in the district

around inauguration, they will travel and that is just difficult. to make preparations to get medications to have those medications, and to contact your doctor if needed before so that you're not running out during those days when traffic, their patterns have changed and you know, you can't get to the hospital, your doctor, etc. >> reporter: and that was scott broom reporting. now coming up at 5:30, we're going to put your flu i.q. to the test. show you how a little bit of knowledge could make a big difference when it comes to protecting your family this flu season. well turning now to disturbing allegations about a man who wears a badge and also has access to the pulpit. he's a d.c. cop who in his spare time was a youth choir director of his family's church. well tonight he's accused of sexually abusing a child, a young church member. the 44-year-old palmer appeared in the d.c. courtroom today, pleading not guilty and surae chinn was in that courtroom. for more on these shocking allegations as she joins us now live, surae? >> reporter: well derek, the

judge also granted a separation order, which means that he will be isolated from the rest of the jail population. palmer was a trusted figure. he was not only a youth choir director, but also a 22-year veteran of the metropolitan police department. authorities say he tested that trust and violated that trust over and over again. the choir director at his family's church was founded by his father and now lead by his brother, allegedly using his position of authority to take advantage of one of the girls. >> do you have anything to say about your church? >> reporter: the family member that came out of the courthouse has nothing to say. but the court documents, they say that he sexually abused a sixth grader who was 11 years old at the time for a period of two years between 2004 to 2006. and one of palmer's neighbors saw a number of police officers at his ft. washington home earlier this week.

>> and the reaction is just shock, you know, that's the first reaction. and then, you know, sadness. >> reporter: police say that most of the incidents will happen during the choir rehearsals and the abuse in the pastor's office at the temple church in southeast. according to the court papers, the abuse happened during the rehearsal breaks when palmer would send the other children to the store leaving them alone. the girl who is now right here. >> your life is fast. and so plan it fast.

ended up saving a lot of lives.

and so he had intended targets, no question. >> the student gunman is in custody. police say that he fired at another classmate in all of this, but missed. the teacher got a minor wound to the head. vice president biden will deliver new proposals to prevent gun violence to the president by tuesday. biden spent the day looking for middle ground with the gun owners and the country's most powerful gun lobbying group, the nra. danielle nottingham reports from the white house. >> reporter: she came to this virginia gun shop to buy her first firearm. she says that the mass shootings in aurora, colorado and newtown, connecticut helped her make this decision. >> if i have an opportunity to

save other people because i have been equipped, then i'm going to do it. and if i have the opportunity to save myself, then i'm going to do that as well. >> reporter: as the vice president sat down with the gun rights groups on thursday, he kept the focus on preventing gun violence. >> and there's got to be some common ground here. >> reporter: but finding that common ground with the nra has been difficult. the national rifle association said that their closed door meeting with biden had more to do with taking away gun rights than protecting children. and the white house, they are looking to ban assault weapons in high capacity magazines. that's a hard sell to gun owners, but there's another proposal that seems to be gaining some traction. >> and there is a surprising thing so far. a surprising recurrence for the universal background checks. >> reporter: currently about 40% of all u.s. gun sales, they do not require a background check. stern and her friend milton bell the background checks for

all gun purchases. on friday, he'll meet with the video game producers. well, the maryland public schools have been named the best in the nation. this is the fifth year in a row. that distinction comes from the education week magazine. governor martin o'malley and other state leaders traveled to the elementary school outside annapolis to mark the big achievement. >> you know here in maryland, we value the teaching profession. and we value the men and women who go into our public schools every single day and do their very best to give you the best

education that they could possibly give to you. >> and now these latest figures show that the students are graduating from the maryland high school at a record rate. the oscar nominations, they are out. and three d.c.-based films are out for best pictures, but one of them isn't even in theaters until tomorrow. we'll have more on the controversy surrounding the countdown to zero dark 30. topper? well, it's mild out here, but if you're headed out, grab at least a light jacket. we'll show you the temperatures. still primarily in the 50s across the metro area. 49 down in bethesda and 50 on the dot here in fairfax. we'll come back and talk about if these clouds are going to lead to showers tomorrow and look ahead for the weekend. you won't believe the temperatures. with the inauguration just a little more than a week away, the company here is now running about 24/7 to get their work done. i'm matt jablow. that story is straight ahead.

employees are working 24/7 trying to meet a critical deadline. >> yes, absolutely. nothing new for the company that has played a vital role in the inaugural parade for more than 60 years. >> it's not a lot of time. >> reporter: he's been counting down the days until president obama's second inaugural parade. >> we do count, not just by days, but by hours. >> reporter: coming as no surprise because fred and a few hundred of his colleagues will largely determine the parade's success. >> they are exciting. they define the company every four years. >> reporter: you see, fred stricland is the executive -- strickland is the executive director here, making floats for the past 17 inaugural parades. going all the way back to the truman administration. this year the company is also named the general contractor

for the presidential inaugural committee. and they added at least 70 parts of the employees to their full-time staff. i mean, higher operations, they are now running 24/7. >> he said despite having worked on 7 inaugurations for the company, it never gets old. >> it is the most proud event we do. >> reporter: not only does he still love the parade. >> yes, absolutely. >> did you have fun? >> yes. >> reporter: he and his hard working employees, they still

love building one. matt jablow, 9news now. >> yeah, a lot of hours to go. according to hargrove, the company will use 60,000 feet of lumber and 3,000 down here for the inauguration project this year. well, it is official. president obama today nominated his chief of staff to be the next treasury secretary. if confirmed, he was considered a top budget expert, but a tough bargainer and closely involved in those negotiations with conges, congress. now, if we don't have any snow around here because the temperature is 75 degrees. we'll take you through it here. >> that's a long way, yes. how pretty is it when it snows in that city? it is kind of like it's snowing in south georgia. >> are those palm trees?

>> yes, sir. those are pretty much palm trees. look at them coming down as that is just beautiful. they had anywhere from one in some spots, four inches. now, that's very nice. look at that. wow. okay. let's take a live look outside. and we're looking down wisconsin avenue towards the southwest. there is the sun about to set. see the clouds have rolled in here. the live michael and son weather cam. we'll show you what happened over the day as we have had a lot of sunshine, in fact, it was pretty much clear as a bell early today. the clouds have come in just in the last couple of hours. take you back to time about three hours. clear skies, really until about 3:00 and the clouds started to roll in between 4:00 to 5:00. temperature wise, it is still 52. and the dew points a little lower. a little cold front that went through. relative humidity is 35%. winds are calm now. pressure is kind of high at 30.51 inches of mercury. all right satellite picture radar combined. here comes the storm. i'll tell you what as you mentioned this yesterday. now, this is like an april map or at least late march. this storm is going to track well to the west of chicago.

it already brought the big thunderstorms to the south. this will throw the clouds our way tonight as we will be dry tonight and clouds will come in. showers will develop tomorrow. i think it will be a little better chance tomorrow too. in the meantime it will be just fine. you'll be dry with the clouds coming in. a light jacket, still a pretty good idea. 49 at bethesda. 51 in arlington. 49 down at springfield. 53 at berk. still 52 at college parks and sneaking in the 40s. 47 over at bowie and andrews. so a few showers on the way. dry tonight. mainly dry morning commute, but the wet roads tomorrow evening. especially north of town, rockville, gaithersburg, frederick, and leesburg pointing west. and then like april over the weekend, we're going to be in a time warp over the weekend. here is our future cast. 6:00 tomorrow, some clouds will be coming in, but no green

blobs or showers, even by lunchtime that you could still audiocassette away by the late evening afternoon hours tomorrow night and showers, heavier activity, heavier rain near frederick and less so down to the south for you folks in southern maryland that you're going to have very little in terms of showers on the increase and chilly. now, one blanket night. winds are easterly at 10. then 64 on saturday. warmer, crazy warm on sunday. of the with some showers. next seven days. okay, we've got a lot on the seven day. stay with me here. showers, still possible on monday. then rain showers, a thunderstorm on tuesday. now, the temperatures, they fall. and more rain and showers on wednesday. 50 and then oh yeah, we are in january. thursday, partly cloudy, high of 35. >> yeah. >> oh my goodness. >> yes. >> it's january, people.

here is our best shot today. it's great too. and this is falling snow on the backyard creek. how pretty is this one? for bowie, maryland. she sent this to us. nice job. let's hope we can get a little more snow before the winter months. and here is what you want to do to go to our website on wusa9.com. click on the weather tab and upload your picture. please include your name, location, and description. and i mentioned it one more time, you know, warm winters. they could trigger the fall springs. not always good. go to the website and i'll tell you why. >> so we go from not needing a coat at all to needing a parka? >> yes. >> okay. all right folks, if you don't have it yet, be sure to download the new ipad apps. get all your news on the fingertips here with hd videos and like the friend topper uses. get it today. see what names people are suggesting if the redskins were to follow up on the need to rename their team. get the free app from the app store. also available. but the kindle fire and the

other android tablets. still ahead on 9news, why the makers of ambient and other sleeping pills will need to lower dosages on the drugs, especially for women. but up next, protecting the potential home buyers. the federal government announces new rules for mortgage loan lending.

mortgage rates remain at record lows. a 30-year fixed rate home loan is at the lowest rate since 1971. they are up from about 2% to 4.6%. now the new rules to protect the home buyers from the lawsuits. those will kick in on inauguration day. these newly created regulations will require you to meet certain financial criteria such as your income, your credit score, of course the all- important ability to pay for your expenses. now, the new rules will be designed to prevent the kind of mortgage mess that will be ruling the recent recession. you may want to skip that cup of joe the next time you

fly. the federal aviation administration, they report several cases where the crew members and the passengers, they were all burned when the hot filters exploded. the contents will then erupt when the filter is not placed right in the container. so they want all of them to add this danger to their training manuals. move over laptops. in 2013 the tablet is king. sales of the devices are expected to outpace them by more than $30 million units. researchers that displace this, they say all the different sizes have created more demand. apple is still the market leader, but smaller tablets will be the bigger sellers this year. >> i believe it. now, the washington chef is cooking up a new venture. >> yeah, he signed a lease to open up a restaurant here in the northwest and the plans call for that one to replace the place known as rivers, which is at the water gate.

after a run of 20 years, he closed his iconic seafood place last year. that used to be one of my favorite restaurants. but the chef says that the new place will feature a big twist on the food that he has been known for. >> it will be great. coming up, the d.c. mayor announces plans to give go-go legend chuck brown a permanent place on our city's landscapes. i'm kristin fisher in washington, the oscar nominations are out. one of the big winners is a film making waves here in washington for weeks. now, they hit theaters tomorrow. i'll have a preview coming up. but up next, we are taking out the flu. the fact from the fiction when it comes to protecting yourself and your families. that's right after the break.

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the flu outbreak sweeping across the country. estimating the virus that will be costing the businesses nearly $10.5 billion. that's in direct cost for the outpatient visits or the hospitalizations, and it doesn't include anything like the cost of sick pay. work delays or the loss of productivity. now, many people, they still choose not to get the flu vaccine, stubbornly believing that it is what could make you sick. but they will tell you that getting the flu from the shot is just not possible. tonight's health alert will tackle many of the common myths that circulate every season along with the virus. >> and how do you guys watch? >> reporter: every flu season,

dennis cunningham spends time talking to kids about prevention. experts on the diseases. saying that there is one group that catches, carries, affects more than any others, it's these guys. >> they are pretty easy to pass around. the flu is only spread by sneezing. in truth, they show you how quickly kids could spread it to almost anything. these toys are dusted with the powder invisible under the normal light. but after sharing the toys with just a few minutes, you can see what the black lights, how much the powderlike a virus has spread. now, number 2 is that you should wait until it is cold outside to get your vaccine. >> it turns out that the people here even in august, they will protect them throughout the entire flu season. and this also includes the elderly who, you know, typically have been in the group that people are most worried about. >> this is the flu vaccine

don't protect you from current strains. but researchers, they work hard to stay one step ahead of the virus. >> every year there is two a trains that will be picked and one b train of influenza. so we're going to be protecting against everything that will be likely to circulate. >> reporter: the myth that you could actually catch it from a flu vaccine. dr. cunningham says that it could leave your arms sore, but it's not the flu. >> the true influenza, someone sick in bed for a high week. high fevers, everything hurts. >> so you know if you've got it. so now the bottom line, the flu is spread by the respiratory secretions. even tiny ones where they send it out a long way, but the close face-to-face conversation, they could also be true. the other root, surface to surface transmissions, which could be through a handshake. recently infected surface that works or almost anything that they touch. if you regularly use sleeping pills to go to sleep at night, you may notice that the future prescriptions are a

little less potent. that's because today, the fda is requiring the lower dosage amounts of ambient and similar sleep aids that they might give you a hangover effect the next morning in impairing activities that require alertness like driving to work. the lower amount is recommended for men, but they are required for women who process the medication at a slower rate. and now gary sandusky was back in court today. lawyers for the disgraced former football coach are appealing his conviction of the child sexual abuse. they claim that they didn't have adequate time to prepare for the trial this summer. no ruling on the appeal yet, but the 68-year-old sandusky maintains he's innocent. a much smoother ride today for the ferry passengers in new york city. one day after a terrible crash. they said that the captain of the commuter ferry that crashed

into a manhattan dock yesterday morning told them that the ferry suffered a mechanical failure. he said that the ferry, they wouldn't go into reverse when he tried to dock it and the enjoy seemed to go out. dozens of people hurt. 11 people seriously. and many of the victims, they were standing and rushing to get off. well, the design of the new tough memorial was unveiled today for the first time. he helped present the plan at the wilson building. the family members and the musicians who played with them were there as well. a big tribute to the god father was designed by the same firm that restored the historic theater. the plans call for the memorial in part to go up in northeast d.c. well here is the sight that redskins fans did not want to see. the official flag of seattle, now flying over d.c.'s building. because the mayor, he lost his battle with the redskins seahawks playoff game.

>> no, we didn't. they are prominently featured on this list of the oscar nominees. including best picture. he plays the 16th president is nominated for best actor. sally field and tommy lee jones got noms as did their director. other nominated films including the hostage filler argo and others. the controversial account for the hunt of osama bin laden. also on the list, the french language drama. the fantasy drama beast of the southern wild. the other jengo in chain. and the loss of sea ventures the life and the romantic comedy silver linings playbook. well, we have heard so much about zero dark 30. >> i thought it was around for a while, but as they tell us,

lots of important people are waiting to see how it will impact the public opinion of the war on terror. >> the best picture nominees for 2012 are zero dark thirty. >> now tomorrow, the public, they will finally get a chance to see zero dark 30. but tomorrow is also the day that many people in the intelligence community and on capitol hill have been worried about for weeks. in the words of the senator, they say that the film, it has the potential to shape the american public opinion into a disturbing and misleading manner. >> i think it is supremely unfair for the men and womens in our military, to label it for a decade to locate osama bin laden to claim falsely that they only succeeded because we used torture. >> they were not seen by the public. not included in the trailer.

these are scenes that have been beaten, water boarded. so for many people, this will be their first time seeing what the enhanced interrogation techniques really look like. >> my intent is not to see it. >> reporter: he's the director of the university of maryland and the center for health and homeland security. >> it is unfortunate that it will be something that has been advertised and inspired by a true story at this critical part of the story that is not right and the people might be mislead as to, you know, what role of torture that they should play in finding terrorists. >> reporter: but the film's director is standing by her film. >> i think that it was important for us to tell a truth story. and it is a part of the history. it's controversial, but a part of the history. >> and the senate intelligence committee is already investigating the contacts within the cia. including some allegations that the cia officials allowed inappropriate access to some classified data, anita? >> derek. coming up next, the couple isn't just puzzled over who

would try to break into their homes, but why this burglar would have his pants down. oh. whoa, okay. now that's a visual. don't forget we're always on wusa9.com. stay with us. we'll be right back.

a courtroom, not a place where you would expect to see somebody clowning around, but the wisconsin man went to court actually dressed as a clown in a milwaukee courtroom yesterday because of a cell phone video catching him at a scuffle with the police officer back in november. and the judge ordered the clown to, listen buddy change your clothes and rescheduled the man's hearing. he's charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. well another interesting fella, a burglar caught with his pants down. >> yeah, literally. todd and diane woke up on sunday morning to someone trying to break into their homes in spokane, washington. when they went to check the video from the home security camera, that this is what they saw and that it was not all that cute. >> we were just shocked when we saw them. and that there was actually someone there with their pants down around their ankle. everyone that had seen this

said it is not real, right? and yes, it's the real shot. we wouldn't make this stuff up. >> no, you could not make it up. following the man's tracks in his snow and discussed that he posted more than a dozen homes. a couple days later, they arrested a half naked man. investigators say they are fairly confident it's the same man. not a same man, but the same man. still ahead tonight, new information about the impacts of all the blows to the head to the late nfl star. how they could have pushed that there to take his own life. a new study finds the amount of food that people throw away is staggering. in london, the story is coming up.

did your mom ever try to get you to clean your plate by reminding you how many people around the world were starving and would like to have that much food? a new study finds in this country and around the world as a matter of fact as much as half of the food being served, it is actually going to waste and as they reported, it may have started at your house. >> reporter: the amount of food

that's ending up in the landfill is staggering. a report from the institution claims up to 50% of the food produced around the world every year gets thrown out. >> it's very difficult to keep track of the fresh fruit and vegetables in the fridge. >> reporter: they say in someareas, poor agricultural practices, properly storing and transporting food is a problem. even in the united states and britain, they find that shoppers toss up to 50% of the food they buy. >> you've got the cultural issue that is good to overprovide for your guests or your family to have only the very best and to throw away the worst. >> reporter: the study found here in england that people threw away $16 billion worth of food from their homes last year. and much of it was still perfectly edible. researchers blame stores that encourage consumers to buy more than what they need because it's cheaper. another problem, used by and sell by labels which are just

estimates. >> it's a way to tell people when it is no longer edible. you need to guess on what date you put on there. >> would you ever eat something that goes over the date? >> depends on what it is. you know if it looks okay, i would still eat it. >> reporter: consumers, they also have to be less fussy and choose fruits and vegetables based on quality, not appearance. >> now the study's author says that changes need to be made now in order to ensure there's enough food to go around as the global population gets bigger and bigger. expected to reach $9.5 billion by the year 2075. today the federal communications announced they planned to put mandatory rules in place to try to avoid problems with the emergency services, like the ones we saw last summer during the show here. you might recall that verizon customers were unable to get through the 911 after the storm because the system failed.

today, the fcc ruled that the failures by verizon and other telephone companies, they were to blame. and what happened during the show and after the show, the lack of service and the lack of communication that must never happen again. and i consider the ruling today a real validation. >> today the metropolitan washington council of government issued a statement praising thefcc for their ruling, calling on the agency to put new laws in order. got to learn from what went wrong. >> it's a good plan, but remember that the widespread winds, they are just tough to make sure that it works. >> this is what you said a once in a lifetime deal. >> no kidding. 57 today, it is not too much like january. >> it was awesome. >> we need to be 42. our low downtown should be in the 20s. take a live look outside. it will be mild. a little blitz to talk about though. this is our live weather cam.

looking at the washington monument, very nice. 52 still. the dew point is lower. and it will be cooler tonight. now winds are calm. and the pressure is rising a little bit, 30.51 inches of mercury. that's a pretty high barometer. all right satellite picture and the radar combined. we are looking at some showers off to the west and all showers off to the west. i mean look at the showers. cincinnati, st. louis, chicago, minneapolis. this is all rain. it's like april and big thunderstorms down in through mississippi and headed to the north and west tennessee and even into st. louis area with a rumble of thunder tonight in st. louis and you might hear the rumble of thunder tomorrow north of town. we'll zoom in, just some clouds rolling in right away. nothing to worry about. dry conditions and we will stay dry at least through tonight and probably most of tomorrow morning. temperatures, 48 in bethesda. 51 in arlington, 49 in fairfax. 47 in springfield.

51 at college park and 46 over in bowie. so the temperatures are still well above average for this time of the year and the day. now a few showers are on the way. dry tonight. mainly dry for the morning commute. there will be some wet roads in the evening. and especially north of town. rockville, frederick, going up that way. and certainly out towards leesburg, more to the west too. and a rumble of thunder is not out of the question yet. like april over the weekend, we'll be caught in a time warp over the weekend. future cast is 6:30 in the morning. no green blobs. clouds are increasing by lunchtime. but still you probably still walked to lunch, but then showers back to the mountains, twelve o'clock, 1:00, then this time tomorrow. we'll see showers rolling on through. most of the showers are unusual to see them pop up here. that's pretty heavy rainfall. again maybe just a little view as this rolls on through it tomorrow night. you're south of town, even less of a chance to see a shower or

a thunderstorm. tonight increasing clouds and just chilly. low temperatures in the 30s. one blanket night. the next three days, we'll keep tomorrow green and still mild with showers late. warmer on saturday, 64. yeah, crazy warm on sunday. of the with some showers -- 69 with some showers. a better organized storm on tuesday and wednesday. maybe a thunderstorm on tuesday, 48. showers are coming in on wednesday and there are some signs that we will be back in the 30s next thursday. junior former star linebacker for the san diego chargers, they had the generative brain disease called cte when he committed suicide last may. the national institutes of health study at their family request and said today that he had chronic traumatic, a syndrome linked to a repeated blow to the head. brain tissue degenerates as a result, leading everything from memory loss to paranoia and

depression. well the redskins, they may be out of the playoffs, but the ravens are hoping for their push on the super bowl is just getting started. >> this weekend they're on the road for a very tough matchup against the broncos. dave statter is here with a pre- - dave owens is here with a preview. >> let's go back to the weather for just a second. the forecast in denver calls for 19 chilly degrees and a chance of snow on saturday. a month ago the ravens were avalanched by the broncos in their own backyard. diane roberts on how baltimore is trying to avoid the big chill once again. >> reporter: this week's preparations at the reigns practice -- raven's practice facility is getting them ready for the game against the broncos. >> a double move on the far side, placing the sector for the touchdown. >> reporter: that was lead by joe flacco a month ago. and the team, they will not soon forget. >> trying to catch out there as they won't get there. >> they are still fresh in our

minds just a little bit. they're a good football team and we're a good football team. >> reporter: but that was a regular season. this is the post season. win or go home time. >> you know i had an old coach that used to always say if all of a sudden you have to do something different in the post season to get ready to play, that means you have not been doing the right thing during the regular season to get ready to play. >> reporter: baltimore would love to get some payback for the week 15 loss by shutting down manning. one of the greatest passers in the game. >> that's where that chess match comes in. you give him what you want, he beats you. and i think that's the way that the game always plays out against us. and so you know we're back to one of those classy games again. >> they have a tight record over the regular season. the teams have only met once in the post season with the ravens coming out on top and that was in their super bowl year.

diane roberts for 9sports. >> you can watch that game right here on wusa9. saturday kick off at 4:30. we'll have live coverage from denver throughout the weekend. guys? >> it'll be an exciting game, dave. still tonight, the vice president's task force sits down as virginia weighs in on some of the proposal that the group is considering. now could this dumpy old warehouse become the official headquarters for the fbi? how virginia officials are putting out a force to win the spot. up next how local schools stack up against the rest of the nation. one middle school shows us a fraction can be fun. that's saying something.

maryland leads the class when it comes to the rankings of the nation's school system. education week will rate the school first in the country. now, they received the highest grade of the b plus. virginia, they came in 4th in the nation with the b and the district rates 45th with the c minus. the national average is the c plus. >> math matters in this week's cool school. time to fall off the bus at the middle school where their love for video games is making fashion much fun. how is that even possible?

mike hydeck explains. >> vinny, your problem? >> reporter: fraction, a big part of math in the sixth grade. >> teach me how to multiply one half times 7/8. >> all right, one times seven is seven and two times eight is 16. >> all right. >> reporter: what's cool about this lesson is how they got to this point. >> here's what we're going to do. >> reporter: they're not only learning fractions in the math class. >> take care of the other ones. >> reporter: but the computer programming class has a big role in fractions too. >> any time you hit the wall makes an option. >> reporter: it starts with their love of video games. >> i love angry birds. >> reporter: the catch is that it has to include fractions. >> and when a fraction hits this view, it will get destroyed, but the fractions won't. and so it is kind of like that. that's what i like. >> that's the best way the kids learn. >> reporter: this team is

teaching approaches, something that you could expect to see more and more of in schools because it works. >> reporter: absolutely. all the research shows that the kids, they don't learn in isolation that the curriculum and the instructional strategies, they need to be integrated that it's the way they get a good depth of understanding. >> reporter: it really helps us. because what i find out is that they are used to seeing a process. they are used to seeing okay, i need to do step one, step two, step three, but they don't understand why. so having that reenforcement helps them to see okay, i know one half is the same value as 2/4. i'm not making the bigger, but it's the same value. >> reporter: not to mention that the skills they are learning now could be the beginning of the career some day. >> this is what we're trying to do to teach them to become digital producers to make their own games. and almost without realizing, the sixth grade math, they get easier with a fraction of the stress. >> going into both of those.

>> reporter: mike hydeck, 9news now. >> i'm having the serious commondenominator. but when you get them on the same page, it helps to drive the lessons home. then you add it in, making it fun and you get great results. if you want to make it fun too, send it to mike at an e-mail here. i'm committed to him, i would have these recommendations to him by tuesday. >> reporter: the vice president joe biden makes a promise to the president about finding common ground on gun control. today was the second day of meeting for the vice president's task force on the issue and as they report, today, that team met with the national rifle association and other gun right groups. a set of antigun violence recommendation is set to be on the president's desk as