here. just volume but no real problems as you head toward the 14th street bridge. back out now, this time, we'll zoom into the northside of town. show you what it looks like on the beltway actually south side of town, we got the volume from braddock road. this is the inner loop of the beltway right here heading northbound on 495. it is incident-free. now a look at your travel times on the outer loop of the beltway, or southbound 95 from 216 to the beltway is 9 minutes. route 4 to the wilson bridge is 9 minutes. 295 from the beltway to the 11th street bridge, only 7 minutes right now. another update on the accident coming up next at 6:12. andrea? >> let's get to some of the stories happening today. we're just under 11 hours away from the launch of the space shuttle "discovery." it is the final planned launch for this shuttle. we'll get a live report from cape canaveral coming up at 6:45. a rehab project begins on the historic streets of georgetown today. ceremony is going to take place at hyde addison elementary. crews will be tearing up the old cobblestone to lay a new foundation and they'll eventually replace the service. >> mr. smooth. smokey robinson will be one of the performers at the white house. the president and first lady are hosting a motown celebration. the concert will air on cbs next month. also coming up, a key vote in maryland on same sex marriage. >> state senators in annapolis will give an up or down vote on whether maryland will become the latest state to allow same- sex couples to marry. >> surae chinn joins us live with the latest on this debate that keeps on going. >> mike, it is all but certain that same sex marriage will become law in maryland. a preliminary version of the bill passed by a three-vote margin yesterday and that margin is expected to hold true today for the final passage in the senate. the bill would head to the house of delegates where it is expected to pass and governor martin o'malley said he would sign it into law. maryland would join five other states and the district allowing same sex marriage. debate yesterday focused on fighting back weakening the bill including rights for same- sex couples wanting to adopt. a provision though that did make it into the bill focused on protecting religious groups and churches from performing gay weddings. >> we're for american that includes everybody. >> it is a bad bill, it will be decided ultimately, i believe at referendum. >> now, opponents of the bill have already turned their focus on reversing the measure. conservative leaders want to vote the referendum to undo any same sex marriage law that passes in annapolis, mike. >> surae, we've learned there are other developments on the national level as far as same sex marriage. it has to do with the justice department. what do you know about that? >> president barack obama ordered the justice department to stop defending the defense of marriage act or doma. that defines tradition marriage between a man and woman. attorney general eric holder says this, mike, the defense of marriage act as applied to same- sex couples who are legally married under state law violates the equal protection component of the fifth amendment. essentially saying that they can't defend it constitutionally. now, that letter was sent to senator john boehner. this comes as a win for gay rights advocates who say this could make a huge impact and change the landscape of the political debate but on the state level, that remains to be seen. >> it seems like this debate is going to continue because the republicans say listen, we really need to talk about jobs and the economy and -- >> and equal rights on top of that. >> this will go on if not heat up more. >> andrea? >> while you slept, the ferry evacuating americans out of libya was supposed to leave. but it got stuck in port because of the rough seas and heavy rains. it won't head to malta until at least tomorrow. the u.s. government wants our citizens out as libya moves closer to civil war. reports this morning an army unit has attacked a mosque west of the capital of tripoli. other reports say as many as 1,000 people may be dead. as dictator muammar gadhafi tries to hold on to power. >> also, while you slept, we received new video showing the damage in new zealand. at least 98 people are confirmed dead after this week's earthquake in christchurch. more than 200 people are still missing in hopes of finding them are fading. many were in the ctv building. new zealand's prime minister said he's not giving up hope yet that more survivors could be found. this morning, a commuter alert. plans to bring new commuter parking spaces to prince william county. virginia's transportation secretary says the state will make an effort to ease the parking crunch near potomac mills mall. we told you last week, more than 600 park and ride spots vanished from the mall. it needs the space in order to expand. today's announcement will happen at 10:30. an impressive debut for the intercounty connector highway in maryland. the new toll road which is toll-free for more two weeks saw more than 12,000 vehicles before noon yesterday. the highway connects interstates 270 and 370 with georgia avenue. by comparison, the springfield interchange in virginia handles about 225,000 vehicles a day. >> people live and working in the crystal city section of arlington are asking why. why would someone put hate- filled stickers along the street. this is a story you'll see only here on channel 9. the stickers, antisemitic and racist in nature. they have pictures of adolf hitler and james von braun on them. they were found on parking meters near federal government offices. some federal workers who spotted them made it their job to take them down. >> hitler stickers started showing up about the same time that the gay stickers shopped showing up. >> we're all government workers here. to come and to park and to see something like that on a meter is horrendous. i'm very insulted. >> police tell us detectives are now looking for a pattern as they continue their search on whoever is behind this. >> virginia man who pleaded guilty to threatening the lives of the writers to the it show south park is expected to be sentenced later this morning. zachary chesser of bristol faced up to 360 years for trying to get others to leave fake bombs in public places. he also tried to join a terrorist group linked to al- qaeda. because of his plea, the maximum sentence he faces now is 30 years. the national institutes of health is opening a center to foster the creation of new medicines. the national center for advancing translational sciences will be based in bethesda. scientists will be able to perform early stage research that drug companies don't like to invest in. the new center plans to open in october. you can read more about this story on the where you live section at wusa9.com. it is on our bethesda page. ♪ >> just about 6:08. it is time for our special week-long series on how the other half lives. we've been giving you insight into washington's super rich. >> for the other half, dropping $100,000 on a necklace, no big deal. jessica doyle takes us jewelry shopping. >> any type of necklace, all diamonds that normally has a drop to it. it is dressier. could you wear this to dinner? sure. to a formal function? sure. but during the day, i doubt it. >> this is around $20,000 and this one is around $25,000. >> and for that, you'll get around 12 carats of diamonds to wear with your most elegant ensembles. this type of business is picking up at boone and sons in chevy chase. >> we recently sold a yellow diamond that was 13 carats and it was in excess of $100,000. >> when times got tough, the other half did reign in spending and cut down on diamonds. >> i've seen ups and downs. this last recession was by far, the worst. >> people do feel a little more confident. people are still -- they're stepping up. they're still spending. >> and they aren't scared to spend on engagement rings. stylist tony leinart has helped secure the special purchase with a big budget. >> up to $150,000. it will get you good bling that is for sure! gorgeous. beautiful, beautiful stone. bigger stones. more stones. >> i'm wearing 85 carats of jewelry between these three pieces and it will cost you about $72,000 to walk out the door with them. but nowadays, women are buying fewer of these evening pieces and going for more daytime bling. >> we recently sold a necklace for like $70,000 but she says where am i going to wear it? i told her just put it on and wear it. wear it during the day and see what kind of reaction. she came in like two weeks ago and she had it on with a workout outfit. and it looked phenomenal. it looked great. >> working out in diamonds? just another day for washington's wealthiest residents. jessica doyle, 9news now. >> high end jewelers are recovering well from the recession. by the end of last year, we saw a 27% jump in profits. bulgari's profits rose 21%. >> on the elliptical with a $20,000 necklace. >> why not. i think that sapphire and diamond bracelet, jeans! >> you were saying that. >> you could wear that with jeans. >> ok. sounds good, i guess, if you can afford it. >> tomorrow morning, we'll have the last part of the series, where the other half lives. washington real estate, if you looked at the numbers, it can be pretty ridiculous. >> i can tell from you personal experience. wait until you see what jessica shows us tomorrow morning at 6:05. >> think we'll see mike's new home in that piece. >> yeah, right. >> here is a look at what's still ahead. >> in four minutes, a battle of the sexes when it comes to your wallet. >> why the same services for men and women have very different prices. >> at 6:36, it is tax tip thursday. learn what to do if you don't get your w-2 forms from your employer. >> up next, howard has your thursday forecast. your weather first, 90 seconds away. >> it is cold out there. that is going to change quickly. still some sunshine at 9:00. upper 30s. noon, upper 40s. cloudy, even some showers out west. by afternoon. rains rolling in. highs around 50. here's monika with timesaver traffic. >> thank you, howard. bad news for commuters in virginia. taking a look live at an accident northbound on 95 north of the joplin road where authorities continue to deal with this accident causing delays back in stafford. i'll update you on this and a look at area roads at 6:19. andrea, mike? >> thank you, monika. the mexican government says the murder of an american immigration officer was a mistake. he was killed by a mexican drug gang. >> that's one of the stories making news this morning. six people were arrested for the murder of special agent zapata. mexican investigators say he and another agent were shot after druglords mistook their vehicle for an enemy's. the two americans were unharmed in this. an aid to gabrielle giffords is back at work. this is a picture of pam simon with giffords. simon was wounded in last month's shooting which left six others dead. day three now of the debates of wisconsin state assembly over the governor's point to strip the state's union of their bargaining rights. scott walker calls it a budgity cutting move. democrats say he's trying to bust the unions. >> no fair. >> when it comes to comparison shopping, men have the prices on their side. turns out we women on average pay 50% more for the same products as the guys! >> it really is true. and in this consumer alert, lesli foster has more on what the ladies could do to push back. >> deodorant, shaving cream, products both men and women use. >> it is wrong. it is illegal. >> professor and public interest attorney john and his law students sent out back in the '80s to help level the gender paying field. >> a woman getting a simple clip would pay $40. a guy going to the barbershop for $15. most dry-cleaners would charge women three, four, five times as much as men to launder the same shirt. >> he and his students filed complaints about d.c.'s office of human rights. 50 dry-cleaners settled promising not to discriminate. decades after the efforts of banned, we had two wusa employees take a white dress shirt to the same cleaners to see what would happen. >> hahn cleaners charged our male employee $2.65 for the white shirt. but charged our female colleague twice as much. and at bergman cleaners. >> how much is this man's shirt to clean? >> $1725. >> how much would your shirt? >> $4.99. >> bergman doesn't charge men and women differently. if a woman's shirt can fit the standard shirt press, she gets the lower price. >> men get charged much less. >> he says women should push back against price disparity. if discrimination is clear, one price posted for men, another for women. file a complaint with your antidiscrimination office. in d.c., that is the office of human rights. and before you buy a car or embark on a home service, study up! that way you can be in the know. experts at "consumer reports" say if you skip the gender labeling and just buy the cheapest product, that will truly save you money. until the manufacturers make the sexes equal when it comes to pricing, it may be best to shop like a man. lesli foster, 9news now. that's not fair. >> not fair at all! all right. we'll move on. we'll talk to howard about the weather. >> that may not be fair for some of you later on this afternoon and tomorrow. nice and quiet this morning. it is calm. a really pretty start. take you to downtown silver spring. pretty pictures of the discovery building. cool what they do with the lights out there. hats off to them for keeping the night lights interesting. >> it is so bright. it is like being in new york and the times square area or something. >> it is fun. >> it is beautiful. >> good for them. weatherwise at the bus stop this morning, your momslikeme.com bus stop forecast, bundle up this morning. we've got temps in the 20s and low 30s. it is crisp out there. we'll see at least sunshine to start the day. but as the day wears on, actually as the morning wears on, the clouds will thicken. 37 degrees at 9:00. a good deal of sunshine. midday, we're clouded over. eastern shore, you may still be seeing some sunshine. temps in the upper 40s to near 50. shenandoah valley, even by noon, you could be seeing rain showers. they'll roll in during the afternoon. by 5:00 p.m., we're wet. a slow afternoon commute the way it looks now. temperatures near 50 by 5:00 p.m. a quiet start on the outside story. a wet afternoon commute. we're looking for rain and thunderstorms tomorrow. light risk. some could be strong. some wind gusts could be 60 miles per hour. we may be issuing our severe weather alert day for tomorrow. a little bit later. 25 degrees in leesburg this morning. manassas, 21. andrews, 30. when we talk winds potentially gusting 50, 60 miles per hour. everything blowing around, the problems that caused. we could see a little bit more of that. so, try to get the garbage cans inside. secure loose objects for tomorrow. today, 33. south winds at 8 giving us a wind chill of 26. the clouds and moisture increasing out to our west. some frozen precip, light freezing rain here. look at all of the rain kentucky and tennessee. this is headed our way for the afternoon and evening. in fact, some of it could be here later this morning out in western sections. western maryland, shenandoah valley, even by the lunch hour, wouldn't surprise me if some of the rain is getting toward us. by mid afternoon into the evening, here come the showers, the heavier rain tonight. with this front and some thunderstorms ahead of it tomorrow and the warm air, this is where we could have some stro ngthunderstorms potentially, the gusty, gusty winds on friday and then we get colder. high wind watch has been issued for tomorrow from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. today, 50ish. rain this afternoon. tonight into tomorrow. rain and even some thunder. upper 50s to low 60s on friday. cooler saturday. 49. sunday, ok. then more rain and thunder possible on monday but mild. high around 60. monika? >> you know what? it is a good news, bad news situation. we're going to keep the yellow light going but the accident i've been telling you northbound on 95 is clearing up. let's show you what it looks like live. it is now gone. it was there on the right shoulder. looks like everything moved on. the bad news is delays begin in stafford to dumfries. i'm going to say almost five miles there on the northbound side of 95 at 619 in the morning. not too pretty on the northbound side here. beyond that, you're ok into springfield. let's take you into the district. north capitol street here at k street northeast. there is an accident and police are on the scene. be aware of that this morning. overall, things are looking fine on the beltway. let's zoom into 270 and take a look live. you've got normal volumes from father hurley boulevard all the way down toward montrose road, incident-free. no problems to report on 355 or the great seneca highway. over to the trains, if you're commuting this morning by train, the good news is that metro and marc are on time. but the bad news is vre trains 300 and 302, those are fredericksburg lines, they're running 10 to 15 minutes late this morning. i'll keep you posted on atio >> another look at the district accident coming up at 6:25. andrea, mike? >> thank you, monika. our time is 6:20. still ahead this morning, a crime spike on metro and thieves are going after a huge, specific thing. >> next in sports, mid game trade for the wizards. learn which two players sent pack by halftime. it is 6:23. cold out there right now. generally clear skies. temps in the 20s to low 30s. grab the rain gear. when you come home this afternoon, it will be raining. unless you come home really early this afternoon. looking at the day planner, temperatures starting out in the 20s and 30s into the upper 30s by 9:00 here in washington. upper 40s as we come mostly cloudy if not overcast by noon. this afternoon, the rain rolls in with highs around the 50 degree mark. mike? >> thank you, howard. the nba trading deadline is this afternoon. and we're not sure yet if the wizards are done making deals. >> the team says it is building for the future. when it made the deal it made recently. last night, the whiz took heinrich and -- sent heinrich and armstrong to the hawks. heinrich and armstrong sat on the bench in street clothes last night. they were basically gone by the second half. basically, so were the wizards, too, because the sixers outscored them third quarter, 34-15. wizards lose, final score, 117- 95. they visit lebron james and company and the miami heat tomorrow. >> on the college hoops, the hoyas are up and down this year. georgetown took on cincinnati last night. bearcats snapped a 20-game road losing streak. they beat the hoyas, 58-46. over to the acc, maryland hosting, here's good news. maryland wins. 78-62. a trip to unc comes up sunday. >> an american hosted navy last night. 28 points for au. he led the eagles over the mid shipmen. that's 20 wins on the season for au. >> in about 20 minutes, we're going to florida live for a preview of today's shuttle launch in the space shuttle "discovery." >> what president obama is saying about the unrest in libya and what it is doing to how much we all pay for gas. >> right now, we toss it to monika. quick check of traffic. >> we're looking at an accident here north capital street at k street in northeast with police on the scene. i'll update you on this and other spots in the district coming up next. you're watching 9news now. stay with us. welcome back to 9news now. it is 6:29. this is always the place to get your weather first. let's take a live look at the moon over downtown silver spring. it looks like it was just cut in half. it is a clear blue sky. almost. 32 degrees there right now. >> reminds me of cheese. thanks for starting your day with us. i'm hungry, too, that could have something to do with it. >> i'm mike hydeck. >> i'm andrea roane. howard bernstein is out on the weather terrace with our forecast. >> get the gloves on, it is chilly out here. temperatures in the 20s to low 30s. last quarter moon. another week, we'll get the new moon. clear skies this morning. however, we'll not finish the day with sunshine. grab the rain gear. looking at the day planner, 33 now at reagan national. upper 30s at 9:00. upper 40s at noon. overcast, 2:00, 3:00. the rain will start and by 5:00, you're driving home on wet streets. that will likely slow things down quite a bit. you'll see on the satellite and radar, we've had a little bit of light freezing rain across parts of pennsylvania, new york state with the rain into west virginia. very heavy rains now kentucky and tennessee. that stuff will be moving toward us again later on this afternoon and this evening. temperatures running low 30s in town. lots of 20s in the suburbs. down to 10 north of the border in york, pennsylvania. and a little bit of a warm-up and kind of windy tomorrow. we'll tell you about the unsettled weather for friday in a few minutes. monika has the latest timesaver traffic. >> we've got the yellow light because we have an issue in northeast. let's take you there right now. where authorities are blocking the intersection at north capital street and k street northeast. what i suggest that you do is take first street which runs parallel to north capital street and i think it is really going to mess things up in this area especially if you're trying to head to union station early this morning using the northeast corridor. so, just be aware of that. north capital street is blocked at k street in northeast. i'll keep you posted. let's take you around live in the district right now. first of all, new york avenue at bladensburg road, no problems on this side of northeast. we'll take you live to northwest. constitution avenue at 20th street. which is looking fine in the northwest corridor. no problems to report over the potomac and anacostia river crossings. and now a look at your travel times. we'll start off with the outer loop of the beltway. 95 to 270, still running on time at 13 minutes. 95 from 216 to the beltway is 9 minutes. 66 is 11 minutes right now. i'll update you on that accident in the district at 6:46. andrea, mike? >> we have breaking news just into 9news now. wikileaks founder julian assange can be extradited to swede ton face charges on sex crimes. the ruling came down a few minutes ago. assange is accused of raping and molesting two women in sweden. his lawyers claim the accusations are false and groundless. assange has one week to fight the extradition. >> we're focusing now on the unrest in libya. and the effort to get americans out of that country. >> a ferry that was supposed to bring americans to malta is still waiting to leave. rough seas have delayed the trip until at least tomorrow. >> now, the latest reports say 1,000 people may have died since the libyan government began cracking down on protestors. there are explosions and shootings in the streets. president obama is calling this situation unacceptable. he wants other nations to stand strong against the violence. >> the situation like this one, it is imperative that the nations and people of the world speak with one voice. and that that has been our focus. >> secretary of state hillary clinton is now headed to geneva for international talks aimed at stopping the violence. the biggest impact you're seeing right now from all of this unrest is at the gas pump. oil peaked at $100 per barrel yesterday for the first time in years. and some experts think a $4 per gallon price at the pump is on its way back. look at how much gas prices have gone up just in the last week in the d.c. metro area, aaa says regular gas which averages $3.18 a gallon, that's today, up 6 cents from a week ago. nationwide, the average is $3.23. a jump up 8 cents from just a week ago. >> in other news today, the maryland state senate will vote whether to legalize same sex marriages in the free state. surae chinn is live in the information center with more on this heated debate. good morning. >> good morning, andrea. >> more heated debate is expected today. maryland state senators passed a preliminary version of the bill yesterday by a 25-22 vote in favor of the measure. now, final passage is expected, making same sex marriage legal in the state of maryland. if that holds true today, maryland would become the sixth state and the district allowing gay marriage. in annapolis, much of the debate yesterday focused on fighting back, weakening the bill, including refusing adoption services to same-sex couples and county clerks who refuse to conduct marriages based on religious beliefs. listen to this exchange between senators. >> in other words, we don't want -- that public officials can opt out of doing their job because they have a religious objection. >> this was not part of their job. when they took the oath of office. >> opponents of the bill are already calling for a voter referendum to reverse the measure next year. if passed the bill goes to the house, governor o'malley is expected to sign it into law. andrea? >> surae chinn reporting live from our information center. >> hawaii became the latest state to create civil unions from same-sex couples. governor neil abercrombie, a democrat, signed the bill into law yesterday. it applies to both same sex and opposite sex partners. hawaii becomes the seventh state to grant unions. >> lawmakers plan to announce an investigation into the 800 cancer cases near fort detrick. it is believed that illnesses were caused by the deadly defoliate agent orange. the compound was tested at fort detrick during the cold war and, as you know, it was used in the vietnam war. former security contractor johnny channel says he doesn't know if he was exposed to agent orange or not. however, he insists that fort detrick is the reason he developed a rare cancer and nearly died. >> last year, i came down with carcinoma. >> we're not here to point fingers. we're not here to blame people. we're here to fix the problem. >> the army corps of engineers reports says that veterans have health issues because of agent orange was contaminated with dioxin. it was not used in frederick, they say. on your morning commute, hold tight to your smart phone, especially if you're going on the metro. metro police say 76% of the robberies on the metro system involve some kind of high tech gadget. that means iphones, ipads, blackberries, kindles, thieves are usually targeting people who sit close to the doorway. one rider describes how a group of thieves tried to rob him. >> i was on my iphone. i was typing an e-mail. out of the corn he were of my eye, i say one of the guys signal to another guy pointing at me. i acted like i didn't see anything and i was holding on to my phone pretty firm. as the door opened at chinatown, one of the guys reached for my phone and at the same time, one guy reached for my phone, a guy behind me punched knee across the side of the face. >> he kept a grip on his phone and he actually got up and yelled and scared off the would-be robbers. with the recession, the stock market swings and everything we've seen in the last decade, it might not seem like it but chances are the value of your 401(k) has gone up and chances are it has gone up a lot. fidelity investments looked at people who save continuously for the last ten years. at the end of 2000, their average balance was $59,100. ten years later, it was up to $183,100. >> well, jessica doyle is off today but that does not stop our tax tip thursday. >> just seven and a half weeks until your federal taxes are due. remember the deadline this year is april 18th. to do your taxes, you need that w-2 form. >> the form sent by your job showing how much money you made of course. what should you do if you haven't gotten one yet? here's the advice. talk with your employer. maybe there was some sort of mixup on your address or they just made an honest mistake. also, contact the i.r.s. you'll need to give them your name, your address and your phone number. plus, your employer's name and an estimate of how much you made for the year. file for an extension as quickly as possible. even without that w-2, you need to file for an extension by april 18th. and then, fill out the 1040x form. if you do that, you filed without a w-2 and then you'll get one later. all of the forms are available for download at i.r.s..gov. >> fairfax county residents, you can get your taxes done for free. it is available to families making $49,000 a year or less. this free event is this sunday rather at the falls church skills source center. that's at 6245 leesburg pike in the seven corners area. it runs this sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. being run by deloitte. remember, every thursday is tax tip thursday here on 9news now. jessica will be answering your questions. so, e-mail them to financial 411 at wusa9.com. you can get answers on her blog, the financialista.com. >> we're on our way to a high around 50. coming up next, howard will tell us when the rain is going to start moving in. >> here is a live look at the beltway at university boulevard. it is smooth going. monika's next timesaver traffic report is seven mens away. >> here's what you'll see tonight here on channel 9... somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. good morning. welcome back to 9news now. before we get to howard's weather first, lewistown elementary school students, you have the day off. this is in frederick, maryland. closed because there's no water. however, the staff must report to work. lewistown, elementary in frederick. no school. >> garrett county is on a two- hour delay as well. >> weatherwise, quiet. it is calm this morning. this afternoon though, we've got rain rolling in. that is going to slow things down for any plans you have outside. get them done before the noon hour and just the evening commute. you know when we got wet streets, it is worse than usual. tonight, the rain gets heavy. tomorrow, winds could be a big problem. i'm talking 40, 50, maybe 60- mile-per-hour wind gusts again. high wind watch is up. let's get you going with your look at the momslikeme.com bus stop forecast. not a bad one at all. just bundle them up. temps in the 20s and low 30s. sunrise happening a little while here. 6:52. we'll have the sunset at 5:55 this afternoon. so, that's a good-looking day there. except good-looking morning. clouds roll in by noon. 48. you know, western maryland, you'll be seeing showers here before the noon hour. same with parts of the west virginia panhandle. 3:00 p.m., rainy. 50 degrees. 6:00 p.m., rainy. 49. our high will be about 50. cold as i said this morning. low 20s up north. low 30s. andrews, annapolis, down into southern maryland. eastern shore, easton cambridge in the 20s. 27 at culpepper. charlie calling in with 26. currently, 33. clear skies out there. going to be a pretty sunrise here in washington with a south wind at 8 miles per hour. and our humidity 72%. those south winds will bring in warmer air. in fact, you see a sign of springtime right there. severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 11:00 local time. strong storms out of texas and oklahoma, heavy rains in kentucky and tennessee moving off toward the east. we have to watch this moisture. it will give us a pretty good soaking here later on as we head toward this evening and the overnight period. future cast, we'll put it in motion. clouds are here by midday. here comes the rain mid afternoon by 6:00, rain just about everywhere. rain gets briefly moderate to heavy overnight. a look at the moisture coming in by tomorrow morning especially in pennsylvania, snow up in new york back toward detroit, indianapolis. south of the warm front, this is where we could have strong thunderstorms and gusty winds tomorrow through midday. back from 11:00 to 7:00, a high wind watch in effect. for friday. winds could gust to 60. today, 50. rain develops this afternoon. rain tonight, tomorrow, on and off with some thunder possible. windy, 61. saturday though, we're clearing and 49. a few more clouds sunday. 58. she's going to see bon jovi downtown. 60 degrees. >> thank you so much, howard. unfortunately, i have some bad news. and that's because of an accident. we've got a yellow light. going to take you to a map where right now, k street is closed between north capital street and first street northeast. to get around it, you can take l or h above or below k street. i know that could slow things down especially if you need to get to the greyhound station or union station this morning. give yourself a little extra time here in northeast. otherwise, we'll take a look around town. the beltway is looking fine. let's zoom into 395. one long slow stretch between the beltway, duke street and seminary road then you're ok to the 14th street bridge. we'll head back out to the beltway. this time, zoom into the other side here on the outer loop and take a live look if you're planning to head from 95 to georgia avenue, give yourself a good 15 minutes to get through the stretch into silver spring and now a look at your travel times. traveling on 95 in maryland from 216 to the beltway is 10 minutes. beltway, route 4 to the wilson bridge is 9 minutes. toll road in from hunter mill to the beltway is 6 minutes, all are running on time. another look at the accident in the district at 6:58. andrea, mike? >> thank you, monika. >> we're just about ten hours away from the launch of the space shuttle "discovery." >> this should be "discovery's" last mission. for a preview of this final flight, we go live to the kennedy space center and we say good morning to eric. good morning, eric. >> good morning, mike and andrea. an exciting day here at the kennedy space center. this is the main entrance to the space center, the kennedy space center. we checked with mission managers and all systems are go for launch. 4:50 this afternoon. now, a bit off in the distance, you're going to kind of see what mission managers are dealing with today. we have low fog this morning. but they're confident most of that will burn off and they'll have a high enough cloud level to launch space shuttle "discovery" later today. only about a 20% chance of storms. they're going to go to the international space station, also take a human-like robot on board with them. of course, space shuttle "discovery," quite distinguished in nasa history. flown 136 million miles over 39 missions. they returned after the two shuttle explosions. after took john glenn back to space at age 77. again, mission managers are confident the fuel leak, that delayed it four months ago, they have that fixed. they're confident it will hold strong and we will have liftoff at about 4:50 this afternoon. mike and andrea? >> do you know how long they're going to be up in space? >> yeah. this is going to be an 11-day mission with six people on the crew. and this will be the final one for "discovery." if they don't launch today, they can try again tomorrow and then the next day but the weather is going to get worse so they're hopeful they can get it up today. they'll be back down in just under two weeks. >> eric, thanks for your time this morning. have a great day, sir. >> our time is 6:49. 33 degrees here in northwest washington. >> a check of the news before you go is coming up next. q 99 we've got low 30s. sunny skies now. still a decent amount of sunshine here at 9:00. you'll notice the clouds rolling quickly this morning. cloudy by lunchtime. 48 and rain rolls in after the lunch hour. your drive at home on wet streets. it will slow you down. temperature around 49. mike and andrea? >> it is thursday, february 23rd, here is a check on the news before you go. the maryland senate is expected to approve a bill today legalizing same sex marriages. it would then go to the state house. governor martin o'malley, a democrat, says he will sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk. >> 17 baltimore police officers are now facing extortion charges. they're accused of taking kickbacks for steering car accident victims to a certain auto body shop. wednesday's sting was set up by the city's police commissioner. if you want to see bright carpet this spring, go to hagerstown the nationals announced the rookie outfielder will announce a class a. coming up next, monika has the latest on a hazmat situation blocking north capital street at k street. >> howard will have the seven- day forecast. it is 25 degrees in sterling. 28 in greenbelt and 29 degrees in fredericksburg. we'll be right back! 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[ all ] what's in your wallet? hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. coming up on 6:58. not bad this morning. but grab the rain gear. we've got rain rolling in this afternoon and this evening. looks like a wet afternoon commute. highs around 50. 40s tonight with rain. moderate at times. tomorrow, showers, thunderstorms. potentially some very strong winds. we've got a high wind watch in effect tomorrow with winds gusting 50, maybe 60 miles per hour. that will be problematic then better over the weekend and more rain, potential thunder on monday. that's the last day of the month of february. >> monika? >> well, you know, i don't have good news. there is an accident in northeast. it is closing k street between north capital street and first street. the only thing you can do to get around that into that area, take l or h north or south of that. the greyhound station is right there. union station is right there. i think it is going to take. >> little extra time and if you need to catch a bus or a train, get there early! because of the accident, k street closed between north cap and first street. let's go to the 66 on the inbound side. an accident approaching the toll road in the left lane. 270, it will take you 30 minutes to get from father hurley boulevard and down into rockville. all of the lanes are open. >> finally, this morning, it is going to be a big day for students from the duke ellington school of the arts. they'll perform at the kennedy center alongside earth, wind and fire. >> how cool is that? check out this video from yesterday. the band practiced with the students at the school. you're going to see plenty of music and dancing and of course, lots of smiles. it is tonight at the kennedy center. it was our first cool school. i love that place. so much fun. the students are so talented. their shows are just stunning. >> can you sing, dance or play. >> "the early show" is next. they'll have more on the reaction in libya. with all of the brands of toothpaste, learn which do the trick. >> we'll have a live update on weather and traffic at 7:25. >> check out the new look at wusa9.com. >> see you tomorrow.