the work has already begun here at the dupont circle south metro station.ook behind me, you can see they've erected a wall around this as if you needed any other notice. you may not use the dupont circle south metro station at least for eight and a half months. it will be fairly obvious getting down here. we have video we shot just before the wall went up of the signs going up and what the escalators look like now. they are replacing all three escalators here. this is part of a seven-year plan to replace 94 escalators system-wide. it will take eight and a half months. use the dupont circle north entrance if you are coming or committing the metro at this location. can you also use the farragut north metro station if you want to avoid overcrowding. metro is working with d.c. fire, ems on emergency evacuation procedures. this is a very busy area and with only one area of ingress and egress, they want to make sure they have contingency plans. officers and technicians will be on site at the north dupont circle metro station just to monitor the situation. they've

dupont itself and our portfolio don't have many of those types of product lines. but we simply sell to customer basis. for example, the construction industry, your example, they are local operators with a lower technology mix. but i would -- i would suggest that for the future, even in the industry such as construction, there are opportunities to bring much more technology to the building industry in terms of energy efficiency, to name just one dimension, and for that producer who is feeling the pressure and is being squeezed, i think it's time to innovate. i was asked recently whether innovation costs us jobs. failure costs us job and i would say that to the producer who is feeling the pressure. >> questions? there's one right back here. >> hi, my name is marilyn. my questions are, first of all, as we talk about these advanced industries and the need to put as much as we can behind it, both political will and also the necessary resources, my first question is around quality control. i mean, i think we've seen lately in this rush to roll out products and services,

to tucker barnes, gwen is with us she is here in house this morning because we sent tucker out to dupont circle, with potomac phil a new feature for groundhog day. i think phil predicted six more weeks of winter is that right? >> sure, he saw his shadow earlier we have six more weeks of winter but, we didn't want pennsylvania to have all the fun we have our very first annual groundhog day here in washington dc i am being joined by aaron the organizer of the event down here in washington aaron thanks so much for inviting us down today tell me about what transpired earlier. >> thanks tucker, dupont festival organized today's events we brought potomac phil out and started with a rabbi giving us a blessing and then we carried into the national anthem, and then that quickly lead to the groundhog committee, top hats came over and talked to potomac phil and listened to what he had to say and it was basically, that we

. >> drivers might want to stay far away from dupont circle today. two hours ago? they flipped a switch to turn off power. that's expected to create confusion and will likely last until the evening rush. let's find out what's happening with jummy olabanji. >> good afternoon. it was about 10:00 on the dock when ddot crews started turning off the signals and now traffic officers are directing traffic. traffic has been moving pretty smoothly. many drivers with zero with a couple hours ago said it was a headache. >> it is a little slow. >> drivers trying to make their way around dupont circle today are not having an easy time. >> it is a drag. >> in a circle to allow for installation of the new battery backup system. officials say that the new batteries will help keep traffic lights working if in the event of a power outage. i have an 11:00 meeting in northeast. >> alliance will remain off several hours, meaning traffic will be conducted by transit officers. >> transit officers are working. >> steve really makes his morning commute through dupont circle. >> now i wish

at dupont circle i'm tom sherwood news 4. wendy and jim, back to you guys. >> thanks, tom. >>> spring feev continues, a little cooler than yesterday, it was still delicious out there today. >> we have a case of it, but i think we're going to be getting over it pretty quick. tomorrow's going to be a washout? >> yes, i think so. we need to see the rain. we're going to see beneficial rain across the area. this just in time for everything that's already blooming, just get a little bit of moisture out there. we are going to have to wait until tomorrow, though. out there right now, simply gorgeous. take a look at that shot, we saw tom sherwood out there, not bad outside at all. with the current temperature of 54 degrees, winds right now out of the north-northeast at 7 miles per hour. 54 right now, 58 in laplata, down around the river and the chesapeake bay, look at annapolis, only 49. a little cooler along the water, the rest of us seeing a nice afternoon. nothing as far as rain is concerned right now, that will not be the case tom

reporting live from dupont circle, megan mcgrath, news4. >> what mess it is at dupont circle even when they are not doing any work. >> reporter: i know. they are doing a good job, though. traffic control people, we did have some backups in the very beginning. got a little ugly there at the tail end of rush but right now it is not bad. >> this will be the time to go then. thanks, megan. >>> let's check out other midday traffic problems. danella sealock, anything happening out there anywhere else that we should know about? >> traveling i-9 in virginia, actually looks really good. as you make your way from dale city connecting to the beltway. no issues to report. now, if you are continuing the commute on to 395, we will fly over it together. really good northbound at duke. 55 miles per hour. seminary road you are at 60 miles per hour. no issues as you make your way to the 14th street bridge. live look at the 14th street bridge, nice and smooth as you make your way into the city. but avoid dupont circle. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, danella. turning to the weather now and more seasonab

. >> first tucker is live at dupont circle you have been made an official part of this groundhog day hey, tucker congratulations. >> hey, tony thank you very much you got that right we had it all down here dupont circle our first annual washington dc groundhog day we got cookies, we've had music, did potomac phil see his shadow we will let you know after the break  >> this is quite a sight above manhattan last friday what looked to be three people flying in the air was a marketing campaign for the new movie chronicle about three high school student who learn they have super powers, thing modo developed remote controlled airplanes that looked like humans that is what you see flying in the air. very cool i know if i had seen that i would have thought what? what is that. that is cool. >> what is funny when you see them up close i saw them another picture of them up close they really don't look real at all but up in the air, just the way they are designed. >> what are they again tony? >> what are they? >> yeah. >> little models remote controlled planes made to look like people i w

crews will work on the traffic lights at dupont circle.fic mess for most of the day. news4's megan mcgrath is live with details. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. no doubt about it, dupont circle is a very busy place, and it has a complicated traffic pattern. you've got inner circle lanes. you have lanes along the outer part of the circle. and you also have several traffic signals. those signals are going to go dark for several hours today, beginning around 10:00 a.m. ddot is upgrading the traffic lights to allow for backup power so that the signals will continue to work even when the electricity goes out. in order to do that, however, they must turn off all of the traffic lights to make that switchover. they're doing it around 10:00 a.m. this morning. they hope to cut down on delays by doing it after the rush hour. they're bringing in traffic control workers to direct cars at that hour since all of the signals will be dark. but even so, we are expecting big delays in the dupont circle area. >> we'll have traffic control offic

nearly 22,000 metro riders enter the south dupont circle entrance every day. they will have to find a new route pretty agency says all the escalators at the entrance will be closed through october. >> it will create chaos ban on metro says the closure is to allow for the old escalators to be ripped out so new modern ones can be put in. >> because of the type workspace and for the city of customers and to get the job done faster. >> the project is part of the metro $150 million plan to improve escalator and elevator reliability. riders are happy the escalators will finally be fixed but they are not too happy about the time it will take to get their. >> i think the amount of time they are closing it down is totally unreasonable. >> there is another entrance to the dupont circle entrance at 19th and q but many people or about bottlenecks there. others suggested entering the farragut north center and that that would mean a longer walk for many. >> i may change to sneakers. >> metro says this metro station and the escalators are similar to ones at foggy bottom whic

there have been a lot of problems here at dupont circle if you take the dupont circle metro. particularly if this is where you enter or exit, the south entrance is closed and will remain closed for eight and a half months. that is because the escalators here are being replaced. that is the good news. all three escalators are being replaced. they have had a lot of problems metro-wide. there was that incident back in 2010 in july when the metro station began to fill with smoke. the passengers ran up one of the escalators that was not moving. however, there was no gate to block them from running up the escalator and at the top, they found a gaping hole. passengers were forced to crawl across the partitions to moving escalators. it was a mess. this escalator system here is now being replaced. you can see it is one of several that metro is replacing. this is a multi-year project that will cost $150 million to replace all of the metro escalators system-wide. this is among the first to be done. you can use the dupont circle north entrance or the farragut north metro station. this on

live at dupont circle.id, coming up in a live report. >> seasonable outside today, but >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. there's blood, there's people screaming, and you're just trying to get out. >> we have the very latest on a deadly shooting. >> will tell you what is in state and on today's primary. it is tuesday, february 28. i am steve chenevey. >> i am cynne simpson. the rain could be right around the corner. we're going to check in with adam caskey. first, lisa baden with the roads. >> good news. if you take the rail, everyone is running on a normal service. we will take you out to the highway quickly. moving nicely. the dulles toll road. 28 leaving sterling to had passed the toll road. this is 66 -- this is 95 live in virginia. those headlines moving smartly. the headlines moving out of shady grove road to the beltway at a good pace. now, adam caskey. >> it is a beautiful star. i want to take you out to chesapeake bay by chesapeake beach. what a beautiful picture th

if you need to drive through dupont circle at any time today plan extra time. the traffic lights are going out several hours. >> so much for smooth sailing. crews had to come to the rescue of oh dear...r. oh dear! ohdear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or me on car insurance. man: we need a good night's sleep. woman: which means a little heat to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over-the-top comfort couldn't hurt. d and our perfect dream factory's been built. you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. [giggling] >> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington" with cynne simpson and steve chenevey. this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> taking our top stories. an ohio high school student was shot and killed yesterday and the school will be closed again

el cierre de la entrada sur de la estacion de metro de dupont circle... "se estara reemplazando las 3 escaleras mecanicas y esto es debido a que cuando se instalo las escaleras 1997 fueron hechas a pedido y por lo tanto el fabricante ya no hace esas escaleras y es dificil reemplazar las partes mecanicas..." la unica entrada que estara abierta sera la ubicada al norte es decir al frente de la embajada de colombia... "pues hay que tener paciencia mientras arreglan no queda de otra" "si molesta pero ni modo que le vamos a hacer." el cierre de la entrada ha obligado a que esta hispana camine casi 8 cuadras para llegar a su trabajo "me molesta porque no es practica porque es una de las estaciones que me queda cerca del trabajo , es muy molestoso cuando la escalera no esta funcionando , tenemos que ir bastante hacia abajo... imaginese con la gente bastante mayor..." si la unica entrada de la estacion de dupon circle se malogra, el personal esta listo para mandar a los pasajeros a la estacion mas cercana es decir, faraguth north " estamos recomendando a los pasa

in dupont circle, sherry lee, fox 5 news. >> you can help us monitor metro. if you see something that doesn't look quite right, snap a picture and send it to us at fox5metro@gmail.com. >>> the capitals head north of the border with the great eight back in the lineup following a suspension. >> and the other nba team from l.a. pay as visit to d.c. lindsey murphy is up next with sports. >> keeping a close eye on radar, we've had some showers that have been pushing their way across and rain and light snow. what are we in for for tomorrow? we have more moisture to the south. i'll have the details coming up. i'll be back after the break.  >>> caps back on the ice and so is alex ovechkin. >> good to have him back. it was a span of 12 days since he has been on the ice. he had the all star break and a suspension. >> he didn't play in the all star. >> because of a big hit. we try to be nice to each other, right? >> the capitals ?apped out of the two game funk and it's hard not to think the return of alex ovechkin may have helped in the first of back to back games. th

what you need to know about dupont circle next. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ >>> back now with a commuter alert that could cause serious headaches. plans to turn off all the traffic lights in dupont circle. the signals will go dark at 10:00 a.m. and crews plan to turn them back on. officers will be in the area to help direct traffic during that time. the shutdown will let crews upgrade their traffic control system in dupont circle. >> one day will probably live in a world where cars with send out a signal. maybe we won't have to stop at a light. >> even though we can't regulate our speed to time lights perfectly or get lights to change when we need them, there are innovations that seem futuristic. >> it can turn off your lights in your car. it knows your calendar. but, it can also check your health. it can do a blood suga

. >>> fox 5 monitoring metro is south entrance of the dupont circle metro station is closed and will be shut down for the next 8 months. stacey cohan is there live she joins us with more details. >> reporter: good news bad news sort of story the good news this is repair work the bad news, if you travel through here exit dupont circle south side this will be closed for about 8 months this is the 19th street dupont circle access point. now, you can use the north dupont circle access point or fair gate north they are demolishing and replacing three esculators that have given the system much trouble it is part of a 7 year, $150 million project to replace 94 esculators system wide earlier today metro spokesman, explained to me why this is a particularly difficult project. >> our goal is to keep it to 8.5 months we will do everything we can to meet that schedule it is a tight space this is an entrance designed for two esculators, the third was installed in the 90s that is why they had to use nonstandard esculators at the time which lead to problems in the years since. >> reporter: this is

potomac phil will share his weather and political predictions at dupont circle, at 8:30 a.m., tucker, did you just say you were going out for potomac phil? >> i am headed down to meet potomac phil. >> i am not sure what we are going to get but we will find out. >> i hope it is a groundhog. >> yesterday they were looking for a groundhog so looking forward to it. >>> let me kick off your forecast, rain showers moving through the area, they will be with us for another hour or two gradually we should see it return to sunshine, pleasant temperatures, hd radar, shower activity generally city and south and out to the west, we are getting more showers that are redeveloping out here, front royal, manassas and win chester we have to get rid of that last band of showers the cooler air will start to filter in from the north and west and we should be in for afternoon sunshine. temperatures cooler than yesterday, that said, not bad, 49 washington 50 baltimore, good morning ocean city you are 49 degrees, hagerstown 44 where you are just waking up with cloud cover. showers and clouds to start your da

in dupont circle sherri ly, fox 5 news. >>> we invite you to help us monitor metro. if you see something out there that doesn't look quite right, snap a picture, send it to us at fox5metro at gmail.com. >>> some good news for commuters. broad branch road in northwest d.c. is open. the road was shut down between brandywine and red rose. people can travel through the area problem free. vdot wants to thank drivers for their patience and cooperation over the last 10 months. >>> there will be 15,000 jobs lost as the airlines slashes jobs and end its traditional pension plans and retiree health benefits to reduce overall cost says by $2 billion a year. the company must begin negotiations with its unions. >> feel that we've already had a concessionary contract 10 years, so we're really not interested in taking any other significant concessions in the coming six years, which is what the proposal is of the company. >> we're going to try to reach a consensual agreement, but that may not be obtainable. if that's the case, we'll go through the trial process. >> if american airli

south sfwroons the dupont circle metro station is now closed.is shut down until october so crews are replace escalators there. cynne? >> thanks, natasha. today marks the ninth anniversary of the space shuttle columbia disaster. it was february 1, 2003 that, the shuttle dissint grated over texas and louisiana. all seven crew members were killed. space shuttle flight operations for delayed for two years after that accidents. bernie fine's wife is accused in court paper s of having sex with multiple syracuse basketball players over many years. the alzpwation part of an affidavit filed by robert davis. he is one of the boy who is accused bernie fine of molesting him when he was a child. >> there is growing concern over possible threats to the united states from iran. iran is poised to launch a terror attack on u.s. soil if it feels provoked enough. they testified that iran is starting to unveil sophisticated new weapons and that it is ramping up its push for nuclear weapons. there is also word that the u.s. may release several afghan taliban prisone

we've been lamenting about how tough a town this is to get around, especially dupont circle. we'll tell you how much worse it's going to be. but right now weather today. cooler but good. >> another nice day out there. not going to be in the 60s but we'll take 50s. >> can still play whiffle ball in the 50s. >> get the nice curve going in there. a good slider working all depends how you hold it and snap the wrist there. used to play a lot in my younger days. just last week, right? weather wise-- >> you wish. >> weather wise we've got a good morning out there. a little chilly. 30s and 40s with generally clear skies. did you see that moon and venus and jupiter and mars? five planets were visible last night. cool stuff. sunrise this morning at about 6:43. it sets almost at 6:00 p.m. just a couple minutes before that. today sunny, 41 at 8:00. by noon upper 40s to near 50 degrees. winds will be a little brink this morning. we've -- brisk this morning. we've got some gusts 15 to 20 but the winds will come down this afternoon. look at that light to calm winds at 4:00. 54. high today a

the entrance to the dupont circle metro station is closed. the 19th street entrance overnight so that crews can begin replacing escalators there. our news4 photographer was there early as metro crews blocked the entrance and start the work. the escalators are the longest and least reliable in the system. workers expect the work to last through october. meantime, riders will have to use the north entrance. that's near q street. >>> this morning, mitt romney is the front-runner again in the race for the gop presidential nomination. the former massachusetts governor decisively won the florida primary with 46% of the vote. newt gingrich finished a distant second, 14 point behind romney. rick santorum finished third, and ron paul in fourth place. all of the candidates say the race for the republican nomination is far from decided. but romney also appears to be looking ahead to the general election. >> another era of american crisis, thomas payne, is reported to have said, lead, follow, or get out of the way. well, mr. president, you were elected t

were coming here to use dupont metro station, it is notntly working. right, it is now sealed off by a blue wall and a .ign that says it all metro considers the three inalator's the most troubled the system. breakdown all the so maybe it will improve that. take out oldll escalators and install more durable escalators. until that happens, those who use the south entrance to trek somewhere else. am going to have to find home. way to get maybe i will have to take the somewhere. >> the north entrance is open. few blocks, but some think it is too far to . lk to go the other entrance is way, so iks that think i will get a cab. >> it is sort of a paint. is 8.5 months. not great. >> still crowded on there. very tight squeeze. the revamping of the escalators part of a massive overhaul throughouthe leaders the system. live, stephen she does come abc7 news. cheetah.en the tragic death of an legend. ment what caused don cornelius to take his own life. take of the nation's largest take his own life. take [ male announcer ]rgest this was how my day began. a little bi

will shut off all traffic lights in dupont circle. you're urged to avoid the area for what could be a traffic mess. beginning at 10:00, ddot will turn off the traffic lights around dupont circle to upgrade the system with backup power to keep the lights on during power outages. many people are questioning the decision to turn off all the traffic lights in the middle of the day on a tuesday. ddot says it is simple -- crews don't work overnight. >> we'll have traffic control officers who will be out at dupont circle, all of the intersections currently controlled by traffic signals. the officers will be out to make sure that traffic flows and that there aren't any issues. it's obviously a complicated intersection. >> the outage is only expected to last for a few hours, and everything should be back to normal for the evening commute. >>> a prince george's county delegate says lawmakers may be abusing speed camera programs to bring in extra revenue. according to the "washington examiner," that's what delegate carolyn howard testified befor

. >> dupont circle will be even more complicated tomorrow morning.affic lights will go out at dupont circle. ddot will be upgrading the signals. crews will direct traffic for several hours. they hope to have signaled back on by tomorrow evening's rush hour. >> want to take a ride down there tomorrow? >> i will take a pass on that. consider this our gift to our viewers. it saves me a lot of money. this is beautiful. that is where we are live right now. >> what direction? >> that is heading into the city. >> no, it is not. >> into the city of arlington. you did not say what city. 60's right now. 61 in gaithersburg. a cold front will come through tonight, but it is only going to feature a change in the wind direction. no rain or anything. 64 and 36, the high and low today. the pollen count is still up there. moderate range for tree pollen. temperatures along the east coast are in pretty good shape. we are only going to get a glance of the cold air. clear skies tonight. temperatures in the 30's by morning. no bitter chill in the air any time soon. not mu

. >>> the next eight months might be a big headache for metro riders in dupont circle. the south entrance closed so crews could replace the failing escalators and leaves one way in and out, making things more crowded. sherri ly is monitoring metro tonight. >> reporter: with the dupont south entrance closed, riders will have to walk around the circle to the north entrance or here to-of-a-a gut nort-- to fa one way or another, it's a longer walk. metro calls the escalators some of the worst in the system. constantly failing. before dawn, the walls started going up. to rip out the old and start new. >> repairing them is not an option. they in that kind of . the replacement will yield to more liable service in the years to come. >> reporter: metro completed rehab work on the north escalators to keep people moving and that is one of the transit agencies busiest stations. >> and that is crowd thread. my building is there and that is another 10-minute walk. >> reporter: the dupont north entrance and-of-a-a gut north -- farragut north stop are a few minutes away. metro statione

another round of robberies in northwest d.c., the latest near dupont circle. they have many residents on edge. let's go live now on to the scene of one of those rates. >> a lot of people are worried tonight, specifically around dupont circle because one of the muggings took place just after nightfall on this well-traveled and well lit street. [no audio] >> all lot of people very concerned about what has happened. a number of robberies and muggings around this neighborhood. some people wondering whether there has been a genuine spike or whether it's something just getting a lot of attention. according to the statistics, we have seen an uptick in muggings and robberies. we spoke with one man who was walking down the street when someone came up and grabbed his wallet. this was a fairly minor mugging because he wasn't injured. the police caught the suspect because the victim started waving an unmarked police car but. the victim got his wallet back, but this gentleman considers himself lucky because he wasn't harmed. there are a number of instances around the city

i want to dance with somebody ♪ >> this man sets up this vigil dupont circle to remember her.any people stopped to take pictures, a sing-along, and remember good times. held hours after a death came in her out. authorities say it was a member of her staff that counter in the saturday in her hotel room at the beverly hilton. she was unconscious and under water. prescription drugs were found nearby, but it was not a large amount. authorities say it could be before their release houston's autopsy results. she reportedly did some hard partying in the days before her death. pope said tonight's vigil hope apology -- folks at tonight's vigil, the toxicology report. >> she had a great gift from god. it was amazing. >> several of the folks at the really want to north for whitney houston's funeral. it has been tentatively friday.d for it will be held at the which seatsenter, over 18,000 people. that.nk you for are monitoring the developing from the district. police arrested two demonstrators during a new groupccupy movement. the protesters shot this video of 15th street nw. >> police ar

right now the south entrance to the dupont circle station is closed.nsit agency closed the 19th street entrance overnight so crews can begin replacing the escalators. those escalators are some of the longest and least reliable in the system. work is expected to last through october. in the meantime, riders will have to use the north entrance near q street. >>> in the day ahead, the man arrested for the murder of an alexandria community activist will be in court. police arrested 49-year-old lynnwood johnson for the murder of lenny harris. police say johnson confessed to the murder and that he knew harris. they say robbery was the motive. police got a break in the case when an anonymous tipster led officers to harris' body at the bottom of a well in prince george's county. harris vanished in september. he had last been seen at a recreation center in alexandria. >>> 5:37. today in maryland governor o'malley will deliver his state of the state address. the speech is expected to focus on job creation. o'malley is also expected to talk about the proposed sal

you may want to avoid dupont circle today. why the traffic lights will been out several hours. why the traffic lights will been out several hours. >> [ male annououncer ] for better-lookiking tomorrow.. vicks nyquil cold & flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughi, acaching, fever,est sleep you ever got with aold...medicine. [ deep breath ] ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ [ laughter ] [ male announcer vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪ >> tuesday morning. today will be a little cooler than yesterday but the wind will as gusty and temperatures will be near normal. look at conditions right now. skies overhead. bright sunshine throughout the day. sunny. thingskeeping an eye on west with a storm system that will passed to our north tomorrow. we will be in the raineys on on zone.nyy r it's mostly sunny today, temperatures near average. the average high is 51. be in a low 50's 50's farther south of the metro. from the morning tomorrow afternoon, rain off and on. showersew lingering especially south of the metro. expect around three-quarters of an inch of rain locally. high temperatu

more than one dozen of these creations are hanging on trees and buildings around dupont. the hand and a ballantine there in celebration of the installation. -- the hand kintted valentine's are there in celebration. >> weather-wise, nothing to worry about really. thursday, you may want to have your umbrella with you but no snow shovels. only two inches of snow so far this year at reagan national. friday, sunday beautiful weather to end the work week. into the weekend, there is a slight chance something could happen over the weekend, but we will keep an eye on it. right now looks like a possibility, not a probability. >> thank you for joining us this midday

. >>> fox 5 monitoring metro for you this morning south entrance of the dupont circle entrance is closed and will be shut down for the next 8 months. >> stacey cohan is live and joins us live with details hey, stacey. >> good morning dupont circle, station on the south side of this circle, is closed, i mean you can see behind me, it has got a brand new look in the form of this giant blue wall that has been erected so they can work on the metro, esculators, so don't use this one, use the one on the north side of the circle or fair gate north coming through this area. the reason for this closure is they are completely, demolishing and replacing, the three esculators here, it is part of a system wide project, in which a total of 94 metroest can you lie tores will be replaced over the --est can you lie tores will be replaced over the next -- esculators will be replaced over the next seven years, if you are a commuter, you will have to enter and exit at a different side of the circle if this is the one you are acut tommed to using -- accustomed to using. this is a fairly difficult project. >>

. >>> after a day in the dark, the lights are finally back on at dupont circle. the traffic lights at the busy intersection were out for several hours today while crews made some improvements in the area. just moments ago, the lights began functioning once again. megan mcgrath reports, officers were on hand to try to keep traffic flowing. >> reporter: dupont circle, it's a busy place with a complex traffic pattern. there's congestion on a good day. but turn off the traffic signals and things can get pretty dicey. >> it's ridiculous. >> reporter: ddot is updating the traffic signals, adding a backup power system so they'll work even when the electricity goes out. but to make the change, crews had to take all the traffic lights offline. the work began around 10:00 a.m., traffic control officers guided cars through the busy circle, but it didn't take long for a backup to form on massachusetts avenue. >> i mean, it's terrible. there's nothing i can do about it, so -- >> how long have you been sitting here? >> probably 10, 15 minutes. >> are you late? >> yeah. very. >

will be closed for months. >> this impact commutes are who use the dupont circle station.ll part of a plan to replace the system's escalators. station yes cohan is there live with more details. >> good -- stacy cohan is there wyff with more details. >> i am joined with dan stessel from the communications office. certainly, escalators have been a problem that wave reported for years. what do people need to know. >> the project has begun. it will take about 8 1/2 times. we will be demonthly,ing the existing nontap r standard escalators and preplacing them with brand-new industrial grade units that are standard sized. in the meantime, customers can use farragut north which is about three blocks down connecticut avenue or the north entrance where we suspended all escalator work and will ensure that all three escalate irs there are in service. >> reporter: this is a high volume area. could the two stations handle the offset the volume. >> we believe there will be a fairly even split between farragut north and dupont's north entrance. we will be connually monitoring the north en

the south dupont entrance mike we will not open until october. -- entrance will not likely open until oct. puritan >> i think eight months is a long time, but it is going to be what it is going to be. >> it was originally projected to be a year, but we work with a contractor to get that down eight months. we will work to meet that schedule. >> noon police investigating what led to a crash involving a metro bus in silver spring. news choppers 7 was over the spseen at around 9:00 this morning. the accident was off between attract and a car. the bus had a 15-20 passengers on board. two people had to be taken to the hospital with minor injuries. the roads have not reopened. a northwest apartment building is still evacuated after a small explosion overnight. has not crews were called just after midnight. the team was investigating suspicious materials from a single apartment, also conducting chemical tests. -- hazmat crews were called just after midnight. it looks like february is off to a spring-like start. we're climbing toward 70 degrees. unbelievable. >> it is hard to believe. yesterda

potomac phil appeared in dupont cirqueel this morning.ldn't you think we could get another name? something different. >> and he's different than the others you have seen. tucker barnes has more from the ceremony. >> reporter: the very first ever groundhog day here in washington, d.c. i think it was a big success, and i'm being joined by the organizer here in dupont circle. tell me about the event? >> we were lucky to have a lost people with us this morning to see potomac phil deliver his message. he said six more weeks of winter weather and gave a political prediction of nine more months of political gridlock. >> i could have predicted that one. [ laughter ] >> all right, aaron, tell me about the people that showed up today? we had v.i.p.'s, didn't we in. >> we were lucky to have people from the mayor's office, jack evans, the lieutenant from the area, we had our sponsoring dupont circle hotel, a bunch of friends and family, and we had students from ross elementary, all kinds of people. >> it was a lot of fun and i think that was a good s

tom connelly is senior executive with dupont. and your boss was supposed to be here, but she was involved in a skiing accident. this is the problem with the winter holidays. but we really appreciate your taking the time. and i -- you know, frankly, i think secretary bryson set this up very well. i think he marched us through why manufacturing matters. why it's such an innovative sector. why it has such a dramatic impact on wages and incomes. critical to the middle class. why it's important to the trade deficit, broader fiscal balance of the united states. why it interplays with environmental sustainability, the potential for clean tech. i -- i think he really set this up well, and i think the competes report coming out of the department of commerce does that in the same vein. what i like to do is -- is sort of really from your particular areas of expertise and focus, sort of drill down further. and dominic, i thought i'd start with you. because i think one of the most interesting piece of work coming out of mckinsey, daniel patch

. >>> and new this morning, metro closed a south entrance of the dupont circle station. so metro riders be prepared to walk a few extra blocks for the next eight months. it will be a big inconvenience to riders and businesses, too. news4's angie goff reports. >> reporter: signs about the closure, they have been out for weeks and apparently they are working because i must say it has been rather quite oat this side of the dupont circle metro station. we are at the 19th street entrance which closed today. because crews, you can hear them behind us, they are working hard to repair those three escalato s escalators. the task, it is huge. taking eight months. longest time a station closed according to metro. crews started the process of ripping out three escalators and they already built a staircase and as a way out for workers in case of an emergency. from now, until october, you will have to use the north entrance near q street. this morning, we got mixed emotions from people who use and work around the station. >> definitely going to be a good sign that they are going to re

will shut off all of the traffic lights around dupont circle. work could cause a traffic mess for much of this day. news4's megan mcgrath has details. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, joe. right now everything looks pretty good here at dupont circle. we have light traffic, and as you see, the traffic signals are on. but in a couple of hours, that is not going to be the case. those signals are going to be turned off right around 10:00 this morning. ddot is upgrading the traffic lights to allow for backup power so that they will continue to work even when the electricity goes off. in order to do that, however, they have to turn them off so that workers can make the switchover. by doing it at 10:00 a.m., ddot hopes to cut down on delays. they're bringing in traffic control workers who will direct traffic across the signals through the intersections. but even so, even with those folks directing the traffic, we are still expecting big tie-ups. >> we'll have traffic control officers who will be out at dupont circle and all of the interse

the company said the dupont business was too big a bite for it. that came after better than forecast earnings and a brighter outlook for the year. meantime, yahoo is having a tough time unwinding the ownership of its asian business. shares fell almost 5%. talks between yahoo and chinese search engine alibaba are at a standstill. yahoo has been trying to arrange a $17 billion deal for its ownership stakes in alibaba and yahoo japan in such a way as to avoid taxes while it revamps its business. another company in transition is avon. while the firm is looking for a replacement to long-time c.e.o. andrea jung, it had a disappointing fourth quarter. before unusual charges, earnings came in well shy of estimates. revenues also fell, and the company didn't give much guidance of what to expect financially this year. after seeing some morning selling, shares wound up with a gain of 1.5%. volume quadrupled as investors try to sort out avon's future. it announced layoffs as it tries to stabilize its business, and reassured investors its dividend will be main

the duponts. exactly, it was the dupont brothers who were the big money behind the american liberty league, and it spent about $1 million. peanuts today but very big money for an independent political organization in 1936. although it's the forerunner of modern conservative organizations -- it did not itself survive for not prizing reasons the election of 1936. roosevelt's campaign manager was who? anybody know? very famous name. >> no, howe was out of the picture by this time. i think he had died by this time. very, very familiar name to all of you. james farley, the famous politico of the new deal. he made a famous prediction, right? anybody know what his prediction was? most famous prediction in political history. fdr would win every state except? maine and vermont. and guess what? fdr wins every state but maine and vermont. there used to be an old saying because maine voted first. it was an exception to the election laws to let maine go first because of its tradition. and the old saying was --

that's exactly what we saw in dupont circle. this cyclist seemed to be more interested in showing off for our camera than obeying the red light. 9news photographer strapped on a helmet cam to get a closer look, but check out what we saw from another camera. james stopped at the light and gets past by a daring cyclist whom never stopped. this guy speeds through a red light and darts in front of a metro bus that narrowly misses him. >> this happens all the time, but what is just as interesting is the reason some of these bicycle lists disobey the road rules. >> we are doing a story on bicyclists. did you realize you just ran like three of them? >> i don't pay attention. >> i saw you run that light. do you do that a lot? >> i don't want to talk about it on camera. >> i definitely know the rules and i'm thankful. >> not all cyclists are as unapologetic. in fact, this rider says he makes it a point to be responsible. >> i want to be respected by motorists when they are out driving because they can easily harm and kill me if they don'

fiber one. >>> got a commuter alert to talk about for drivers around dupont circle.elays tomorrow in that area. traffic signals are going to be turned off for several hours starting at 10:00 a.m. so technicians can upgrade the traffic control system. officers will be on site to direct traffic while the signals are out, but drivers are being warned to approach dupont circle with caution. you may want to consider getting to work a different way while the work continues. >> tonight is metro rider's first chance to weigh in on a proposed fare hike. at the regional service center. that's on edgemore lane. metro is proposing a 5% fare hike for rail service and if you use a paper fare card, you'll face a fee. metro would dump the peek of the peek surcharge. see fares go up 10 cents for a smart trip card users. 30 cents if you use cash. they would go up by a quarter. there will be a total of six public hearings over the next ten days and if you need time, date, locations, log on to our website. >> you might want to check the tires on your car to see if they are made by good