temperatures cooling off after enjoying highs in the low 70s yesterday. we'll be in the 40s today. much cooler air moving in overnight. the frontal system that brought us the clouds and rain showers and the threat of thunderstorms and tornadoes yesterday well off the coast. you can see it east of ocean city and the rain showers with it. we are looking at clear skies. that is allowing a lot of cooling to take place. we have temperatures generally in the 0s -- in the 20s and 30s right now. it will feel cooler around here today than it did yesterday. mostly sunny skies, cooler than yesterday. 60degrees your daytime high. we'll look at the temperatures in just a minute. >> thank you. controversy is brewing over the district's suvs. today, councilmember jack evans plans to use legislation that all leased vehicles except the mayor's vehicle must be approved by the council. this comes after a report by tommy wells that shows 42 suvs may be illegal. police are investigating a brutal beating at the suitland metro station. a man stepped into help. he pulled out his cell phone and called 911. he says he lost two of his front teeth in an attack. only four days for congress to stop a government shutdown. it looks like there might be a compromise. the white house says it will agree with the republican bill that make immediate cuts in spending. however, the deal is only temporary and only postpones the shutdown for another couple of weeks. march is coming in like a lion across the country. we get the latest from fox's ainsley earhart. >> everything we have is gone. >> reporter: in ohio, flooding has ushered in a state of emergency. >> grabbed what we could but it is getting higher and higher. >> reporter: also in ohio, fred geyser, after thely named, is -- aptly named, is dealing with a lot of flooding. >> this is the worst i've seen around here in this area at least. >> reporter: with the god saturated, the trees begin to topple. >> it missed her by no more than 10 inches. >> so close to getting hurt. an f-2 tornado shaking up these residents. the storm made a mess of their homes. >> i just can't describe it. >> reporter: desperate times at this waterlogged pet shelter. >> our pig that we had, the water was to his mouth. >> he was completely submerged and had saved himself by crawling up on top of a bale of hay. >> look. lakefront property. >> and spring begins on march 21st. turning to sports now, the redskins have released clinton portis. he leaves washington 648 yards shy of the franchise record held by hall of famer john riggins. down in florida, the nats won their spring opener against the new york mets 9-3. it was a rough day for bryce harper. he struck out in his only two at-bats. plenty straight ahead. we'll take a look at your weather, your traffic and all your top stories and fox 5 morning news at 4:30 begins now. before a traffic alert to bring you first thing on this tuesday, march 1st. you are looking live at the entrance to the southbound third street tunnel. you can see a police car blocking that tunnel. the tunnel is closed right now because of a deadly accident. the tunnel could remain closed for another two hours. thank you for getting up early with fox 5 morning news. i'm gurvir dhindsa. tucker is in with a look at our forecast. things kind of progressing and changing. >> up and down we go and that is typical of this time of year. and this morning, colder in the form of 20s and 30s across the area. our highs will only be in the upper 40s to about 50. after 60s and 70s, that will feel noticeably cooler. let's take a look at the radar. the shower activity fading off the coast and we are left with clearing skies -- clear skies in fact. should be a beautiful day today. a little breezy with winds out of the north at about 10 miles per hour. i'm just trying to give you the highlights of the forecast. other than that, it should be a nice quiet did i today with high pressure building in. you can see not much happening out to the west. it will be a nice day with sunshine for us and some cooler temperatures. 35 at reagan national. ocean city is 42. our forecast today, there will be light breezes here during the morning hours. highs later this afternoon about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. we'll go upper 40s to about 50 but with a lot of sunshine, it will feel pretty good for the first day of march. as we get into tomorrow, more mild air and then more cooler air and then more mild air. it's called transitions. you got it. >> let's check the roads with julie wright. >> a serious crash is what has closed the third city tunnel. if you are coming from new york avenue trying to head into the southbound third street tunnel had will take you out, there is no access to this point. better bet is to stick with kenilworth avenue south and that will get knew southeast. but coming inbound from new york avenue, there is no access into the southbound third street tunnel at this time t remains blocked off. coming from the 14th street bridge out of virginia into the tunnel, your lanes are open. so, again, it is southbound 395 into the third street tunnel that remains blocked off for accident investigation. southbound 270, lanes are open, no problems to report leaving germantown. that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. we have a fox 5 investigation now into alleged pricy trips tape by the president of a local university on taxpayers' money. we spent more than six months going back and forth with the university of the district of columbia trying to piece together a messy paper trail and discovered not only does the president get an expensive car and a million dollar home and a nice salary, he also spent a lot of money traveling to places like egypt and the united kingdom. >> we're here. we want to get answers about the travel expenses. >> okay. >> so we're coming to the board meeting. is the president going to be here? >> reporter: coming up in about 15 minutes, see what happens when fox 5's tisha thompson shows up to the board meeting looking for answers. now, to a fox 5 follow-up on the luxury suv scandal in the district. a new report from tommy wells shows dozens of those suvs may be illegal. sarah simmons is live outside the wilson building with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. councilman wells says he found that actually 42 suvs including councilman brown's may have been in violation of a law passed back in 2003, something that introduced by a former council woman. you may remember her, carol schwartz. she proposed a law to stop the district from leasing or even owning suvs and she said at the time they were a waste of money and used too much gas. it was passed in 2003. it restricted suvs and cars that got less than 22 miles a gallon. but the mayor's vehicle was exempt from that. wells says, at this point, looking at what is going on, it is time to fix this issue for good. here is what he had to say. >> the first thing we have to be sure it is in compliance with d.c. law and the second thing is to be sure we are being good stewards with our funds. >> councilman jack evans is introducing legislation today that would have to make sure that the council gets approval of any leased vehicle for any member of the city council. the mayor would be exempt from that. >> reporter: what is the mayor planning to do about this? >> reporter: the mayor says he has asked the city administrator to look into this but he is trying to distance himself from this as much as possible. metro transit police are investigating an attack at the suitland station. robert joy was with his 12-year- old nephew when he saw a group of teens harassing another young sister. mr.joy stepped in to help. he pulled out his cell phone and called 911. a few minutes later, he was tacked. >> i got sucker punched from the right. when the guy sucker punched me from the right, i got kicked down by two to the ground and that is when they started kicking me as i was down on the ground. >> joy says he lost two of his front teeth, injured his lip and suffered a swollen eye in that beating. the group of teens took his cell phone and ran away. we are continuing to monitor metro. can you send us photos or videos that help tell the story. turning our attention to the economy and the clock is ticking toward a federal government shutdown. congress has until friday to come up with a budget compromise. if it doesn't, government agencies will run out of money. there is a compromise to keep the government running until march 18th. later this morning, the house will begin debating the two- week spending plan. we continue to follow the developments in libya too. details of an overnight gun battle by khadafy forces and the latest on what the united states is considering doing to convince khadafy to step down. we'll get a full report. stay with us. the time now is 4:37. we'll take a break and come back. bree: sis, help me create my oasis. marcy: ok, romantic garden? bree: oh, is there a castle nearby? marcy: no, but there's a charming farmhouse. bree: right next to my posh castle! i'm sensing a theme here. well, i am the queen, dear sister. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪ ...from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste you love. get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check. protesters in libya are holding off an attack by forces loyal to the libyan leader moammar khadafy. government forces failed to retake the city after attacking it from six directions. the rebels are also in control of a town about 150 miles west of tripoli. the international pressure on moammar khadafy is increasing. the white house is moving warships towards libya. as ainsley earhart reports, most americans have now left danger zone. >> reporter: after a bumpy five- hour journey this cruise ship arrived in malta filled with 167 americans. their ferry took three days to leave the tripoli port because of very high waves. >> the very important thing is that that ferry did the part as did the airplane that left a little later. >> reporter: now, with most americans safely out of country, senior administration officials are demanding colonel khadafy's immediate resignation but he says, quote, my people love me. >> it sounds just frankly delusional. when he can laugh and talk to american and international journalists while he is slaughtering his own people, it only underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality. >> reporter: secretary clinton spoke at the human rights council in geneva. >> the people of libya have made themselves clear. it is time for khadafy to go, now, without further violence or delay. >> reporter: the united states is charting the course, ready to send in reenforcements. >> we have some military assets over the hoareize, that if the situation was concerning in any way, we had options. >> reporter: the united states is sending two teams of aid workers to libyan border regions with tunisia and egypt. ainsley earhart, fox news. coming up, a fox 5 investigation six months in the making. your money being used to fund major travel expenses for one local college president. we'll show you what we uncovered. and heavy flooding, people stranded in their car. we'll get an update on this situation being called the worst in one particular area in decades. i'll have the details on the forecast for you and julie wright will have a look at your on-time traffic on this, the first day of march. 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[ female announcer ] grab a box of multigrain cheerios, get a code to a seven-day plan to get going on your summer weight loss. get the box, get the code, get started. that's ever happened to cinnamon. introducing cinnamon burst cheerios. 20% daily value of fiber bursting with the delicious taste of cinnamon. new cinnamon burst cheerios. prepare your taste buds. we are following this breaking traffic news for you this morning. you are looking live at the entrance to the southbound third street tunnel. you can see a police car blocking the entrance there. the southbound tunnel is closed right now and has been since about 12:30 this morning because of a deadly accident. the tunnel could remain closed for about another two hours. severe storms are causing issues in other parts of the country. in knoxville, tennessee, inches of rain severely flooded basements and backyards yesterday. in ohio, clean-up is under way after some of the worst flooding in decades. >> must be spring. >> must be. i talked to my sister in knoxville yesterday and she said this weather is miserable. i'm driving through driving rain. >> well, hopefully the waffle houses are safe down there. >> you just go ahead and do the weather. >> we needed the rain. we got about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch at the airport. 2/3 of an inch at reagan national. let's do temperatures and guess what? it is getting colder out there. yesterday, our daytime high was 72. right now, it is 35. you get the idea of the colder air filtering in from the north and northwest. 4 in manassas. 38 in fredericksburg. off to the east we go. annapolis is 39. good morning to you in southern maryland, leonardtown, 37. most of the area here in the low 30s. maybe some upper 20s off to the north and west by sunrise. we'll see a slow rebound in temperatures today. we are not going to be as warm as yesterday. upper 40s to about 50s for our daytime highs. that is the batted news. there goes our frontal system carrying with it the rain showers. look what is going on off to the west. nothing, very quiet conditions. lots of high pressure means plenty of sunshine for the next couple of days. we will get a weak cold front in here tomorrow night but that will come through dry. we are not expecting any rain around here until perhaps this weekend. there is a close-up look. mostly sunny skies expected today once the sun gets up about 7:00 or so. good-looking day. mostly sunny skies. winds out of the north at five to 10. later tonight, clear skies and cold overnight. 4degrees your overnight low. notice tonight the winds will shift. 34degrees your overnight low. there is the cold front that cool us off for thursday and it will warm up for friday and saturday. maybe some rain showers on saturday. that doesn't look like a washout. let's do some on-time traffic and julie wright has got the latest. >> good morning to you. still a busy ride headed through northeast washington. this fittal crash occurred around 12:30 last night inside the southbound third street tunnel. for you guys coming southbound from new york avenue, massachusetts avenue and trying to work your way into the tunnel, you will find the tunnel remains blocked off at this time. there is no access from new york avenue or from massachusetts avenue at this point headed from northeast trying to work your way over to the southeast-southwest freeway. that remains closed off until further notice. i think we heard it could be closed for the next two hours. that will impact our ride coming from northeast head over towards the southeast-southwest freeway. we do have an alternate for you. if you are traveling inbound from the north to the south, your better bet is to use kenilworth avenue. coming off the beltway to pennsylvania avenue, only about a 12-minute trip. lanes are open. you are at full speed as you continue southbound. this will be your alternate route. that is was saving you time coming from the north to the south trying to work your way into the southeast bridges and making your way across the anacostia. that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. this morning, we have a fox 5 investigation that our special project teams worked on for six months. your tax dollars paying for one official's jet setting lifestyle. last summer, we received a tip from a viewer who told us to take a look at the president of the university of the district of columbia and the money he was spending traveling. we filed a freedom of information request and that is where tisha thompson picks up the story. >> reporter: egypt, london, jackson hole, wyoming. first-class destinations for any seasoned traveler. but we're not talking about a vacation. >> where this is money coming from? >> we are talking about your taxpayer dollars. >> this requires an explanation. >> reporter: we are going to take you on a journey to find out where your money is really going. allen sessoms is the president of the university of the district of columbia. it is a job that comes with a $295,000 salary, a lincoln navigator and gas paid for by the university and the $1. 6 million house in northwest, all experienced paid by udc. documents obtained by fox 5 shows sessoms spends tens of thousands of dollars on high- priced hotels and flights. how much would you pay for a plane tick tote boston? >> from here to boston, no more than $200. >>$350. >> like $400. >> reporter: how about $1,400? that is how much sessoms spent to fly to boston according to his credit card receipts, a relatively cheap trick considering he spent $1,800 on flights for meetings in los angeles. and then there is this $2,200 receipt for a first class ticket for a conference in san antonio where he also spent double the average rate for his hotel room. >> that is a lot of money. >> reporter: this is a udv premier using student loan to pay her tuition. >> we pay a lot of money to go to school and you shouldn't waste money on flying to different places when we're out here trying to get our education. >> reporter: the records also raise questions about possible spending on his family. this car rental receipt lists an additional charge for a child seat for a conference in san diego. and udv shelled out thousands for his entire family to fly to a conference in jackson hole, wyoming over the fourth of july holiday. the most expensive trip, egypt. sessoms had plenty of room to stretch out when he flew to cairo in one. these business class seat beds. the cost $7,900 one way. how many semesters worth of tuition that is fthat is like t >> reporter: the school provided a redacted itinerary. it says sessoms averaged a few hours each day visiting the sister city in egypt. then he went sight seeing and shopping at the local bazaar. >> he wouldn't be getting away with it if there was better management. >> reporter: they may be right because the paperwork udc gave us is a mess. most trip are missing receipts and raise questions like how did sessoms get back from egypt? we know he made a stop in london and spent near lay thousand dollars on hotels and transportation but u dc says the documentation opportunity exist for why he was even in the u. k. or how much he spent to fly back to the united states. >> we are not an atm. >> reporter: d.c. city councilman mary chay says the university president is expected to travel but she says she is dismayed at what we uncovered. >> this is a public university so every time that is spent is a dime paid for by the taxpayers or by the people paying tuition. there needs to be accountability. >> reporter: fox 5 tried for six months to get answers from udc. the university spokesman says sessoms does not wish to conduct an interview on this matter and our questions are still questions. i'm looking for the board room. we went to a board president where sessoms was scheduled to speak. >> he is not in the building, no. >> reporter: he is not coming to a board meeting? >> he will not be here. >> reporter: was he coming to the board meeting before we asked? >> i would assume so. i talked with his secretary and she said that he just a few minutes ago said he won't be here. >> reporter: we've been asking for six months. your statement to us was our questions are questions. we need answers for the taxpayers. >> they are questions in my mind as well. i wish i could give you the answers to the questions. i don't have the answers to those questions. >> reporter: at that moment, in woked joseph skew, sessoms boss. does it concern you that he won't answer questions. >> if he won't respond directly to the press, then that is a decision he has to make. >> reporter: but it is taxpayer dollars. >> everything we do here is associated with taxpayer dollars. we take every expense as very important. >> reporter: will you be talking about this? >> we are in the process of getting the details on this. >> reporter: buried in this was an interesting receipt. it was a copy of a check from allen sessoms to udc for more than $6,000. now, udc did for the want to explain what this check was about along with all the other receipts we've shown you. if you want to take a close look at all the trips he has taken, we've created this time line you can see. there is a lot of stuff on it. when you look at trips like jackson hole, , you cannot only see the receipts, but if you click on this link, it will pull up the actual receipts. this is $838 for seessomes and his wife and his kids. that is the kind of thing you can get only on myfoxdc.com. >> thank you. this story started with a tip so if you have something you want us to investigate, go to our web site and click on the tips button or you can call our tip line. the end of an era for the redskins. clinton portis has been released. that is coming up next in sports. it was no day at the beach for one member of the nats. a rough major league debut. stay with us. we'll take a break and come right back. 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[ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. the redskins have released running back clinton portis. he is just 77 yards short of 10,000 career rushing yards. he leaves washington 648 yards shy of the franchise record held by hall of famer john riggins. to basketball now and a rough night for the washington wizards at home. they were pounded by the chicago bulls 105-77. it is their sixth straight loss. and down in florida, the nats won their spring training opener against the new york mets 9-3 but it was a rough