dr. dorothy heights should have been at her 98th birthday today. instead, she's recovering in the hospital. we'll havethe latest on her condition next. >>> and the postal service is looking to plug a budget nightmare and the move could mean scaling back delivery to five days a week. how would that effect you? we'll take a closer look at 5:30. >> president obama is flooded with mail every day and some of those letters reach him personally. the white house correspondent's office said president obama gets about 25,000 letters, 1,000 e-mails and 12,000 phone calls per week. of those, he reads and writes personal responses to 10 of them. >>> civil rights icon dr. dorothy hyde is in the hospital right now in the washington area. >> her 98 birthday celebration went on anyway and with her blessing. people gathered at the national council of negr on, women. john henrehan is in the studio with more on the celebration. >> reporter: she was born in richmond on today, march 24th, way back in nobody 12 and told friends party on? >> happy birthday. >> reporter: a

dr. dorothy hite remains at howard university hospital. her friend took her to the hospital after thinking she and tired. a party to celebrate her 98th birthday went on yesterday at the national council of negro rim where she served more than 40 years as president. >>> a last-minute save for a texas death row inmate. why the execution was stopped and what he believes ill clear his name in a triple murder. have you mailed the census form back yet in you are not alone. hear why that is not such a bad thing, at least for the government. do you know what in your spread ? in land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil, there are just three natural ingredients. delicious sweet cream, canola oil and salt. nothing hidden, nothing artificial. spread pure, natural goodness straight from the fridge. discover land o' lakes spreadable butr with canola oil. land o' lakes, where simple goodness begins. >>> making head lines, a texas man convicted in a triple murder came within moments, just minutes of dying. the u.s. supreme court stepped in and dela

dr. dorothy height is reported in intensive care. according to the "washington post" dr. height is at howard university hospital. she turned 98 years old yesterday. >>> robert koch, the star of the comedy adventure series, i spy, has died. he starred on the show with bill cosby and starred on the greatest american hero in the ' 80s. culp collapsed outside of his hollywood home apparently from a heart attack. robert culp was 79 years old. >>> still to come when 9 news now at noon returns, a close call for commuters and a pilot after his plane stalls while in flight. >>> and more proof that hard work pays off. nine dc school students are heading to college on full scholarships. we'll be right back. >>> first thing is to try to get the engine restarted and flying again. >> a pilot cheated death after landing his plane on a california highway this morning. john finley says he's thankful that no one on the ground was injured. he says the engine stalled shortly after takeoff. he says he found a space between some moving cars and merged in to traffic. >>> we have new information

dr. dorothy heights is getting get well cards and birthday wishes. dozens of people gathered at national council of negro women today to celebrate her birthday but she wasn't there. her friends thought she looked tired so they took her to howard university hospital. she insisted the party go on so her 98th birthday was celebrated in her absence. >> they say she went there kicking and jeeping, okay. this was -- and screaming, okay. this was in the a happy moment. >> she needed a rest to be very honest. she was just plain tired. >> dorothy height remains in serious condition. meanwhile the people at the party made home video messages wishing her a happy birthday. >>> rather larry platt's song about pants on the ground some now one virginia student is using those lyrics to change his school's bad habits. >>> plus, a bandit breaks into cars at a metro parking garage. wait till you hear how he was caught. >>> two former presidents in haiti. but something about this video getting an awful lot of attention. >>> brian, the weather sure got a lot of attention

dr. dorothy height has been a civil rights advocate and educator for more than 75 years. >> what a treasure. we wish her well. >> speedy recovery. >>> still ahead, they were involved in last june's deadly crash. now metro wants to replace some of its oldest railcars, but what will the new cars cost the cash-strapped agency? >> a warning if you like to chat on your phone behind the wheel. we'll tell you about the most recent states considering banning driving while back to the right? no, back here. how about over here? n-- let's go back to the left. waffling is back at dunkin' donuts. for a short time only, enjoy the return of the delicious oven-toasted waffle breakfast sandwich. america runs on dunkin'. >>> it is time for weather and traffic on the ones. od morning, at 5:11, a chilly 47 in washington. in the low and mid 40s in the suburbs and rural areas. temperatures will just be climbing into the 50s by midmorning. we ought to get to 60 by this afternoon. a little sunshine in and out. but overall quite a bit of cloudiness this afternoon after a partly sunny morning. tonight, rain is likel

dr. dorothy hight remains at howard university hospital.er friends took her to the hospital last week saying she appeared tired. still a party to celebrate her 98th birthday yesterday. dr. height is in serious but stable condition and she's been sedated so she can rest. >>> diplomatic tensions between the united states and israel are deepening and that is clear following a less than harolded visit by benjamin netanyahu. just ahead this morning, we'll take a closer look at the dispute over housing construction in jerusalem. >>> plus spring is in bloom and so are millions of allergies. why they sprung up so early this year. >>> and as we head to a break, we'll give you a live look outside. traffic looking pretty good there. 395 at route 27. at least on one section of the road there. other areas look like morning rush hour is in full bloom so to speak. we'll be right back.  >>> we're back. time now is 7:30 and tucker barnes said today should be a decent day. >> near 70 today. clouds will increase and yesterday was beautiful with bri

dr. dorothy hite remains at howard university hospital this morning. her friends took her there last week saying she looked tired. still, a party to celebrate her 98th birthday went on yesterday at the national council of negro women where she has served more than 40 years as president. dr.hite is in serious but stable condition and has been sedated so she can rest. >>> coming up next axe piece of living history passes at 105 years old. he'll may johnson vowed to travel to washington to see president obama's inauguration. she did it but that is not the only thing she was known for. >>> also ahead, more help for haiti. president obama hoping to send more than $2 billion in aid to the earthquake-ravaged country. we'll be back.  hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in othat? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carri

dr. dorothy heights has been the civil rights advocate and educator for more than 75 years. >>> our time right now is 11:10. new threats against americans. coming up, what a new audiotape from osama bin laden says about putting the self-professed 9/11 mastermind on trial in the u.s. >>> plus, this morning, defense secretary robert gates has announced new guidelines for how the pentagon carries out the 1993 law banning gays from serving openly in the military. >>> and scientists have been flying over southern iceland to evaluate whether a volcanic eruption is now safe for nearby residents. we'll have the spectacular pictures. stay with us. >>> al jazeera has aired an audiotape purportedly from osama bin laden. the authenticity of the tape, however, can't be independently confirmed by nbc news. the man on the tape says it would mean, quote, a death sentence for americans captured by al qaeda if mohamad is executed. that reference to mohamad is to khalid shaikh mohammed in u.s. custody, the mastermind of the september 11th terror atabs. there is a debate under way whether he and four allege