from manassas and through the area between tysons corner and 66. that construction is now gone. let's take a live look outside and show what you it looks like if you're planning to head here on the beltway near the american legion bridge. as i said things are nice and light really between 270 and tysons. let's back over to our maps. this time we'll head over to the other side coming in on the bw parkway from greenbelt, route 50 from annapolis. everything is final. the last live look at the beltway in the new carrollton area at route 50. this is a good example of the prince george's county side of the beltway. i'll be back with more traffic at 5:09. it could take a while for investigators to figure out what went wrong in that deadly train derailment. as we now know two young women died when a csx train went off the tracks in ellicott city, maryland. >> they were just 19. that derailment caused a huge mess. crews are going to be cleaning up that street for days now. ken molestina hoss mar from the his tore -- has more from the historic town. >> reporter: crews continue to work to clean up the mess. cranes, fronds loaders and handful of workers could be seen up and down the tracks clearing it of spilled coal and wrecked train cars. >> we only live a couple of miles from here and just wanted to see it for ourselves, see how bad it was. >> i knew it was bad. i heard where it was, you know, right by the street. >> reporter: one of the reasons why this cleanup effort will take so long, you can see behind me large pieces of debris. in this case a rail car that has been flipped over. these things weigh tons and crews are moving them slowly little by little. elizabeth nass and rose mayr both 19 were killed when the train derailed. they posted this picture on twitter moments before it happened where they're seen sitting off a nearby bridge. investigators don't know if the teens' presence near the tracks may have led the conductor to slam on the brakes in turn causing the train to derail. ntsb officials will only say a broken airline caused an automatic brake to trigger. >> the three crew members on board i've reviewed their statements. all their statements indicate that they felt nothing and they saw nothing before emergency braking occurred in their train. > reporter: jim southworth from the n.t.s.b. says the train was traveling at 25 miles an hour. a data recorder was recovered. meanwhile these ellicott city residents are left with heavy hearts over the two teens killed here. >> it's a sad situation that they were there at that time. why they were up there i have no idea. kids will be kids. >> reporter: the ntsb says they hope to have all that information from the data recorder downloaded by wednesday. at that point we expect to hear a lot more and learn more details about this derailment. we're in ellicott city, ken molestina, 9news now. an amber alert issued last night for a maryland boy is over. prince george's county police tweeted that the 1-year-old caesar martinez was found unharmed. the man seen with the infant is the suspect. he's in police custody and charges against him are pending. maryland governor martin o'malley has ordered flags to be flown at half staff until services are held for prince george's county police officer adrian morris. morris died monday afternoon when his patrol car crashed on i-95. yesterday police confirmed morris who was thrown from the car was not wearing his seat belt. morris and his partner were in pursuit of two men suspected of trying to steal a car from a gas station. investigators say they've now arrested one of those two suspects. what caused a town house in upper marlboro, maryland to go up in flames? investigators are trying to find out this morning. fire shot out of the roof of the building last night. one person suffered minor burns on their arms and the flames at one point got so intense inside the building, firefighters had to go outside to battle the fire just for their own safety. coming up on 5:05, time for the latest your money report of the morning. >> let's check the numbers with jessica doyle. >> good morning. saw a little bit after pullback yesterday and the s&p 500 just reach add four-year high, too. we'll have to see if we can get back there today. checks the numbers now, the dow stands at 13,203. fell 68 points in trading yesterday. nasdaq down by 9. s&p 500 was down by about five points. this is bad news for federal workers. president obama has extend add two-year pay freeze for federal employees until at least next spring. the freeze will stay in effect until a spending plan is passed. but the presidential campaign make it is unlikely that's going to happen bft start of fiscal 2013 on october 1. who are the richest people in congress? representative michael mccall, a texas republican holds the top spot thanks to his $290 million net worth. he was followed by democratic senator john kerry of massachusetts, almost $199 million. california republican representative daryl issa slid to third place. democratic congressman -- [ inaudible ] -- and mark warner of virginia round out the top five. republicans did nominate the list. 31 members of the g.o.p. made the top 50. >> interesting list. trying to give back by serving. what are you going to have for us in the next half-hour? >> who's single on that list? >> no. >> we're going to look at the most stolen cars in america. the bachelor on the hill. >> thanks, jess. still ahead, secret service swoops in on a man accused of e- mailing threats against the president. more on that story next. >> the congressman who made the legitimate rape comment is standing up to his fellow republicans. >> head in sports, the nationals play a long ball against the braves, going, going, gone. but we will be right back. grz it is 8 -- it 18 after 5:00 on this wednesday morning. we'll have sunshine, a few clouds and then this afternoon the threat for an isolated storm or two. temperatures by noon will be running in the lower 80s. again a good deal of sunshine with 85 by 3:00. topping out about 86 with a 6:00 p.m. temperature of 83 degrees. we have a slight warming trend headed our way. i'll have the details in our seven-day forecast in about five minutes. right now we go to monika samtani who is watchingtame saver traffic. -- timesaver traffic. construction has been cleared up route 1 kenilworth avenue. cleanup continues in ellicott city. more on traffic coming up once again in a few minutes at 5:16. here's what's making news now at 5:09. he's accused of e-mails threats against the president and now a washington state man is going to be in federal court today. secret service agents arrested 31-year-old anton caluori last night. his neighbors were also evacuated while a bomb squad checked his home. investigators found no explosiveses though. congressman todd akin did in the heed calls from other republicans to drop out of the senate race. he says too much is being made of his comment about a woman's body and a legitimate rape. diana nyad is on dry land now after her attempt to swim from cuba. she's dealing with jellyfish stings and hypothermia. they're usually focused on our future in space, but a discovery at a local nasa building has scientists looking back tens of millions of years. that story is coming up at 5:57. >> a case of adding injury to injury. that's when it comes to maryland's football team. >> next at 5:15, howard has a return to the 90s in his seven- day forecast. good morning. welcome back to 9news now. 5:13 on this wednesday morning. we welcome back howard. hope you enjoyed your time off. >> yeah, it was busy. down in atlanta for a family gathering. >> weather similar to ma what we're having -- to what we're having here? >> a little warmer but not bad. upper 80s. i've been in atlanta in august when it's been 100 degrees. not bad at all like our weather. pretty nice. we've got sunshine. cool nights reminding us that fall not that far away. we are looking at again another seasonably warm afternoon. we start with the bus stop forecast back in school i believe up in washington county. it's their first day of school and st. mary's and a few others starting today. partly cloudy with patchy fog. we will see the sunrise at 6:29. we have a ways to go still. temperatures anywhere from the upper 50s in the cool spots to about 70, 72, even toward annapolis and southern maryland. our day planner features a good deal of sunshine. by noon 82. so we're looking good for recess. winds northeast to easterly at about 5 to 10 miles an hour with 85 at 4:00. forecasting a high of 86 at reagan national today and an 8:00 p.m. temperature still comfortable at 88 degrees. tonight we'll dip back into the 60s for most of us. this morning we're 64 in haymarket and leesburg. gaithersburg 63. fort belvoir 62 along with crofton. bowie 63 with 65 in alexandria and 63 in laurel. outside all is quiet this morning. you're looking at wisconsin avenue here in fort west washington. 68 degrees. partly cloudy at reagan national with a light north wind at 5 miles an hour and our humidity 81%. so this is a good feeling morning. in fact, much of the country in the central part of the country, the great lakes all quiet and feeling good there but the humidity, the moisture, the storms across the southern u.s. florida seeing plenty of showers and storms and even along the carolina coast. for us the frontal boundary which came through a couple days ago still not that far away. we end up with these isolated showers and storms kind of like what we had overnight although they've rained themselves out. perhaps a little more sunshine north and west through the morning hours. this afternoon we're going to pop up some showers and storms just with the daytime heating in a few areas. clear to partly cloudy tonight. tomorrow again the isolated afternoon storms can't be ruled out, although i think rain chances tomorrow are even less than today. as we head toward friday, yes, we'll pop a few more afternoon showers and storms in a couple of spots but generally dry. this is isaac, by the way. going to cause problems for maybe the u.s. behind it this could be -- the j storm is escaping me. i don't know if it's jees fiend -- josephine but isaac could be coming toward florida next monday. we'll have to watch that very carefully, as a hurricane. we've got 86 today. looking pretty good with that isolated storm possible. 60s tonight. 87 tomorrow. another good day, a warm one. 88 on friday. again the isolated afternoon storm. the weekend upper 80s to around 90. we're looking 90, 91 monday and tuesday. the front tuesday could give us a couple more sporms by then. tap -- storms by then. monika samtani, traffic still moving along smoothly? it is. we have a minor problem on metro. l'enfant plaza. escalators are out at the 7th and d street entrance. you should be able to get through the metro station easily i think. let's go over to the northbound side of i-95. no problems to report as you come up from dale city to woodbridge, across the occoquan river here into springfield. you can still see all this green and that means you're good to go if you're headed out the door early this morning. we'll take a live look in springfield. you'll see the volume increasing right now. no big deals yet to 395 which is why we'll go now on the northbound side of duke street. this is still looking very light. both main and hov lanes headed for the 14th street bridge. back over to our maps and this time to the north side of the beltway. looking good here as well. outer loop heading west to bethesda. in with good shame. we'll take a live look -- shape. we'll take a live look. nice and light down to the point where the lanes divide. i'll be back with more traffic at 5:23. >> see you then, monika. the stephen strasburg shutdown is on. clinton portis will be in costume for a big announcement this week. the question of the morning time now. a recent medical study suggests that consuming too much of one of these things can actually lower your iq. is it a, cotton candy, b, wine, or c, french fries. >> facebook fan kathy wrote, i hope it's not french fries. log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page. leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour. >> i just had a bucket load yesterday. it is 5 be 20 on this owe 5:20 -- it is 5:20 on this wednesday morning. in the 50s to 60s right now. mid-70s along the bay. lunch time not bad at all. we'll be pushing the 80-degree park. this afternoon mid-80s. maybe upper 80s, isolated but also isolated showers or storms popping. not too much. again the high about 86. andrea and michael? >> thank you, howard. a well known redskin is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow. >> will he wear a bow would? -- boa. the nationals have already won their series with the braves even though there's one more game left. david owens has the highlights in your morning sports. good morning, everybody. somebody in the nats dugout, stop the rain dance. two-hour rain delay on sunday. 56-minute rain delay on monday. enough is enough. maybe this is davey john s.o.p.'s plan to conserve stephen strasburg's innings. just wash his games away. unfortunately for atlanta he did pitch last night. how much reaction time do you have to hit a strasburg 98 mile an hour football? don't ask atlanta because they couldn't figure it out. there's the 50-minute rain delay from last night. when strasburg came back, 10-ks in six innings for strasburg. the nats 27 hlg 12 since the all -- 27-12 since the all-star break. if he stays on track, he'll reach 170 innings on september 19. by the way, a very important game. los angeles dodgers in town. the regular season ends october 3. second most productive back in redskins history is calling it quits. clinton portis will announce his retirement thursday. he's known for his antics in the locker room. he was a heck of a player. finally what's going on up in maryland. they claim another knee injury. first of course cj brown. now kenny tate. he injured his knee yesterday. he's being evaluated to see how serious that is. also andre monroe projected starting defensive end also squaring his knee yesterday as -- injuring his knee yesterday as well. he's out for season. i'm dave owens. have a great wednesday, everybody. if you want the new iphone 5, it may be time to ditch your current model. that's coming up in the next your money report. >> plus, a change in army regulations means soldiers who need therapy dogs may not be able to get them. we'll let you know why. a quick check of the commute now. >> thank you so much. on the inbound side of i-66 things look great as you travel from centreville toward fairfax and the beltway inbound on i-66 all lanes are open. i'll be back with more traffic at 5:28. you're watching 9news now. good morning. welcome back to 9news now on this wednesday morning. i'm andrea roane. the gang is all here. >> to have the tv family back. i'm mike hydeck. thanks for joining us. good morning, monika samtani. >> good morning. >> howard bernstein is back from vacation. good to see you. >> we're good this morning like we have been the last couple of mornings. comfortably cool in spots. low 60s and a few especialer 50s well -- few upper 50s well west of d.c. we're going to have a good day today. 82 at noon. you don't see any storm symbols on here but there will be some isolated thunderstorms this afternoon with a 5 p.m. temperature around 84. our high today forecast for 86. still quiet dark. sunrise not for a while. 6:29. a few clouds streaming in from the southwest this morning. we did have some showers overnight. there they go. they have really fallen apart. they came out of west virginia through the northern shenandoah valley. they got to loudoun county and just really have collapsed. 59 winchester. cumberland is 57. school starts out in washington county today. st. mary's county as well. patuxent river 66 degrees. la plata 62. and on the bay in annapolis we are at 70. this is about average for this time of year for highs. 86 in washington. 86 in leesburg and 82 in winchester. it's 5:28. monika samtani is in now. she's got timesaver traffic. we've been doing good so far this morning. >> we have been doing well. there are no major problems to report. there is one accident i'll tell you about in just a minute out in manassas. let's start with the north side of town where we're looking good as you travel on 95 and route 29 headed for the beltway. no issues to report but remember in ellicott city, old ellicott city, main street is still closed for a stretch with the cleanup from yesterday's terrible accident. other than that, 95 and 29 as i said are open and they're doing fine to the beltway. let's go there live right now in college park and take a look here at route 1. no issues to report in that overnight construction -- and that overnight construction has been cleared up as well between route 1 and kenilworth. back over to our maps. this time to the insides of the beltway. no problems on 395 as you cross over the 14th street bridge. just want to let you know, though, in manassas lamond drive is close between route in and 28. looking good into the downtown area. back with more traffic coming up at 5:39. a frederick, maryland family is mourning the loss of their loved one in afghanistan. >> 24-year-old army sergeant dave williams died last week in kandahar. the military says the cause of williams' death is still under investigation. he had received numerous army awards for his service in afghanistan and in other posts around the world. the number of american troops suffering from post- traumatic stress is growing and the suicide rate for active duty soldiers is nearly one a day. some soldiers experiencing depression have been benefited from psychological service dogs. the dogs are trained to recognize fear or panic in their owners and to newsle or bark in response. but -- nuzzle or bark in response. some dog providers say they've not been able to give dogs to soldiers who have requested them. federal investigators will now try to determine the cause of a deadly train derailment in ellicott city, maryland. two 19-year-old young women died in this crash. crews are in the midst of trying to clean up all the spilled coal and mangled rail cars there. kristin fisher is live at the scene with more. goodorning, kristin. >> reporter: good morning. it's been just over 24 hours since this deadly train derailment. you can see that main street in ellicott city is still closed. it's going to stay that way for several days because this cleanup is expected to take such a long time. cleanup crews worked through the night to clean up the overturned rail cars. they're also trying to clean out all the coal that spilled out that was inside of those rail cars. that cleanup is expected to take severadays as is this ongoing ntsb investigation. what we know as of this morning is that 21 out of 80 rail cars overturned right around midnight yesterday. this derailment crushed cars, damaged parts of downtown, spilled coal everywhere and killed two teenage girls sitting on a bridge right near the tracks. the big question has been did their presence near the tracks le the conductor to possibly slam on on the brakes causing the train to derail. as of right now n.t.s.b. investigators will only say it was a ruptured airline that caused an automatic brake to trigger that ultimately led to this derailment. investigators say they'll be looking at information on a data recorder. they've got video footage mounted on the train they're going to be looking at. they'll also be interviewing the crew on board that train when it derailed. they're hoping all three of them will be able to provide some sort of clue as to exactly what happened. >> the three crew members on board i've reviewedtheir statements. all their statements indicate that they felt nothing and they saw nothing before emergency braking occurred in their train. >> reporter: when that emergency braking occurred, rose mayr and elizabeth nass were seated on a bridge with their backs to the tracks. investigators say when the rail cars overturned, they were buried in the coal that spilled out from inside one of those rail cars. the two girls were friends, just 19 years old. 2010 graduates of high school. nass was a junior as james madison university, mayr at the university of delaware. they were about to head back to school for the start of their junior year when this tragic accident took place. what makes this whole story even more chilling is the fact that the two girls were posting tweets on their twitter account just moments before this accident took place, including pictures from what appears to be the two girls up on top of the bridge right before that train came cruising through downtown ellicott city. so we're going to show you some of those tweets coming up in just half an hour at 6:00. back to you good such a sad story. thank you, kristin live in ellicott city this morning. here are some of the other details on that train that was derailed. according to ntsb, two location moifers were pulling 8 -- locomotives were pulling 80 coal cars. the train weighed about 9,000 tons, was 3,000 feet long which is more than half a mile. it was going 25 miles an hour at the time of the derailment and more than 20 cars out of the 80 came off the tracks. today lawyers for a former university of virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend will ask a judge to grant a new trial. a jury convicted george huguely of second-degree murder back in february. his ex-girlfriend was found dead in her off campus apartment in may of 2010. huguely's lawyers say prosecutors made a series of errors before and during the trial. huguely's sentencing is set for august 31. vincent gray will be on hand for the installation of the first taxi smart meter system devie. now cab drivers could have to pay for those new $500 smart meters according to a notice by the d.c. taxicab commission. it was sent to drivers. the district had a $1.3 million deal in place to pay the costs but last week councilman marion barry filed a disapproval resolution on the contract which puts it on hold for 45 days. the taxicab commission is now looking for alternate funding. time for another your money report. >> jessica doyle is back and she's watching your money and your air quality. is it as sunshiny and bright as your jacket? >> there were some new rules on the table to potentially reduce the certain smog we all breathe in every single day. the rules have hit a pretty big bump in the road. a u.s. court of appeals has thrown out guidelines to control air pollution in parts of the eastern u.s. this is a letdown for the obama administration and environmental groups. they had wanted to stop the sow called upwind states from spewing possibly unhealthy levels of toxins into the environment and across state borders. they're among the most popular vehicles out there. are they in your driveway? the top national insurance claim bureau's list of most stolen cars. for the fourth straight year the honda accord takes the number one spot. the 1998 honda civic and 1994 acura top the top ten. no models after 2006 made the list and car thefts are at a 44- year low. that's pretty good news. the rumors are growing. the iphone 5 could be released early next month. if you must have the new version, experiments say unload the old one right now before everyone else decides to do so. the reason why? you're going to get more money for your trade-in. most companies will guarantee the price for three to four weeks but all it takes is just two weeks for an iphone to lose its trade-in value in a market saturated. so you'll have to go without a phone for a couple of weeks. you could buy a burner. you can buy one of those disposable ones. >> or write to someone. >> write a letter, people. well, there is a new photo out that may provide answers to the 75-year-old disappearance of amelia earhart. more on that story coming up. >> a landmark on the national mall is just days away from reopening after a massive rehabilitation program. we'll tell you about that when we return. stay with us. it is 5:39 this wednesday morning. very comfortable out here. we're in the upper 60s with light winds. a nice morning and where you are probably even cooler than that. we're looking at sunshine today. you're going to see -- oh, here's the bus stop forecast a little earlier with temperatures now running in the upper 350s in spot -- 50s in spots to low 70s. we'll see a lunch time temp of 82 and a high of 86. just a stray thunderstorm in a couple of spots. i'll have the full forecast in a few. here's monika with timesaver traffic. metro red line experiencing track problems between noma gallaudet and fort totten. no train service through that area. we'll keep you posted on the situation and traffic coming up in a few minutes. back to you. i've been combing through the day's daily deals, e-mails and retailer websites to find you some deep discounts. pancakes on the cheap or maybe crepes with nutella. pay $5 and get $10 to spend at the ihop in columbia heights for 50% off. this deal is available through living social. then you can work off those pancakes at home instead of the gym. target.com has a pro form treadmill with an lcd display and built in audio system. it's 20% off and they're going to ship it right to your house for free at $479. ban fan take-- bananarepublic.com has 50% off some items. this deal ends today. if you're a local merchant with a deal for our viewers, i would love to hear from you on facebook. over to andrea. >> thank you, jess. experts are looking at new evidence in a 75-year-old mystery. they're hoping to unravel exactly what happened to aviator amelia earhart. a photo from the 1930's shows an island which was a few miles off her flight plan. now an expedition team has revisited that island and found what appears to abdebris field under water off -- to be a debris field underwater off the coast. after almost two years of renovations, the reflecting pool in front of the lincoln memorial is about to reopen finally. crews are now refilling the landmark on the national mall. they spent about two years working on this massive project trying to repair the cracks and the leaks in and around the reflecting pool. the redesigned pool should be full and open to the public by this weekend. some military moms are expecting got treated to a megababy shower. virginia's first lady maureen mcdonnell hosted the shower for 100 new and expecting moms yesterday in springfield. the author of what to expect when you're expecting teamed up with mrs. mcdonnell with operation home front d.c. metro to hold the event. >> president obama is trying to bring a new edition to the 2012 campaign. curiosity about to set off on its first ground expedition of mars. >> is it your birthday? you share it with some celebrities. norman schwarzkopf is 78 today. she starred on several hit sitcoms. valley harper 73. 60 minutes journalist steve kroft is 67. >> she directed the play crowns actress regina taylor is 52. he's on modern family, ty better rel is 45 -- ty burrell is 45. if it's your birthday, happy birthday to you. good morning. welcome back to nine fine now. -- to 9news now. howard is here. the forecast has changed while you were aware. been in the 80s. >> with the occasional afternoon thunderstorms. it's not going to change much the next few days but as we head to the weekend, we poke up to the lower 90s. we have to see where isaac winds up because that could bring us substantial rains. the track may be more on the east side of florida than the west side of florida. they'll get some rain in tampa. miami, the upper keys seem to be where isaac may be headed. let's talk about our weather with your day plan other this wednesday morning. again not too much change from where we've been. lunch time temperatures in the lower #s on with sunshine -- lower 80s with sunshine. the isolated afternoon storm today. highs in the mid-80s with the winds northeast to east at 5 to 8 miles an hour. not a lot of wind. your temperatures are down in the 50s out west. it's 59 in winchester. 57 in cumberland. laurie 58. please -- luray 58. pleasant morning. mid-60s in southern maryland. fredricksburg 64. tappahannock also 62. in catlett in fauquier county, charlie calling in with 61. sunrise not until 6:29. just a little bit of light there in the eastern sky now here at 5:47 with 68 degrees under partly cloudy conditions. our winds are north at 5 and the humidity 81%. with the high humidity by the way, down in orange virginia there was some fog reported and southeastern virginia the fog is dense but that's really williamsburg and norfolk down there. we have the high clouds streaming in from the southwest. isolated showers southwestern virginia. want to move more east or northeast, i suppose if they hold together they might get to southern maryland in a couple of hours but that doesn't look like a high likelihood, just a slight chance there. we'll see some sun and clouds mixes, isolated afternoon storms today. most of us i think are going to miss them. tonight quiet, clear to partly cloudy. tomorrow again in the afternoon we'll pop a couple of storms here and there. i think rain chances today 20% to 30% tomorrow. even on friday we'll see that isolated afternoon storm. we spoke about isaac briefly at the top of the weather cast here. this is isaac getting a little bit more organized as it's tracking towards the islands there. looks like it might go over guadalupe or just north of martinique with winds currently at 45 miles an hour. this could become a hurricane and potentially be a category 1 or stronger near south florida next monday. today green. in fact green days the next few days with 86 this afternoon. the isolated storm very isolated storm tomorrow. friday 88 with the isolated afternoon storms. the weekend, our final weekend of all, upper 80s there with partly sunny skies. there are your low 9 otion early next -- 90s early next week. it's 5:48. here comes monika samtani with timesaver traffic. looks like things are picking up in a bad way. a little bit. we have a couple of issues to report. i'm going to start off with the big picture and let you know the beltway looks great. no problems all around town. i want to keep you posted on a situation that's going on with metro's redline and show you on a map what is going on as well. there is no service right now because of track problems between noma gallaudet and fort totten. they have requested buses. we have some suggestions for you. from brooklyn and noma take route 80. from rhode island avenue d8 to union station or h8 to columbia heights and transfer from there. we'll keep you posted on this situation. no train service right now on the redline from noma gallaudet to fort totten. let's take you to a live picture and show what you it looks like outside. if you're planning to head over on the inbound side of i-66 no problems from centreville all the way to the beltway in fairfax you're going to be absolutely fine. all lanes are open. on 270 you can see volumes are just picking up but no delays yet from route 121 down to the point where the lanes divide. i'll be back with more traffic once again at 6:00. making news now at 5:50, the wildfire situation may be getting even worse in northern california. winds have pushed the ponderosa fire torgd a fourth town -- toward a fourth town. the number of destroyed buildings has jumped from around 10 to more than 50 structures and most of those are homes. the drought inned midwest is confusing many trees. around chicago leaves have started to change color and fall off the trees and there's still a month of summer left. today the mars rover curiosity will take its first test drive. the first venture out from its landing spot is only scheduled to go about ten feet. mitt romney's running mate paul ryan will be back in virginia today. that's the third time since he's joined the republican presidential ticket 11 days ago. the wisconsin congressman will speak this morning in roanoke. he'll go to raleigh this afternoon. >> president obama is changing his focus on his latest campaign trip. the president is putting the economy on the back burner to talk about education. >> reporter: president obama campaigns in the swing state of nevada today. focused on a crucial group young voters. it's the second day the president is talking education. he says mitt romney wants to make it harder for students to get loans and grants. >> this is his plan. that's his answer to a young person hoping to go to college. shop around and borrow money from your parents if you have to. >> reporter: but the president says he understands the struggles students face. >> i want you to understand i speak from experience here. we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago. >> reporter: the romney-eyian team he -- ryan team says during that time did student no, sir favors. too many americans are suffering from higher costs, more debt and lack of good jobs while they graduate. while the romney campaign would like to stay focused on the economy and medicare, controversial comments about rape by congressman todd akin are keeping abortion in the spotlight. >> the statements were outrageous. i don't know anybody who would agree with that. rape is rape, period, end of story. >> reporter: romney has spent very little time talking about abortion on the campaign trail. his belief in allowing abortions for cases of rape and incest goes against many in the republican party. >> mitt romney is at the top of the ticket and he will be president and he will set the policy of the romney administration. >> reporter: at next week's convention, republicans will vote on a party platform that includes a constitutional ban on all abortions, even in cases of rape. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >> mitt romney will hold a rally in iowa today. vice president biden will be in michigan. question of the day time. a recent medical study suggests consuming too much of one of these things can actually lower your iq. is it a, cotton candy, b, wine, or c, french fries. >> terry wrote, i'm sure glad corn dogs aren't on the list. nothing better than going to a local fair and having a corn dog, but i will guess a, cotton candy. just don't believe wine or french fries will lower your iq. >> i don't share the corn dog thing. log on to wusa9's facebook fan page. we'd love to hear what you think. repairs on the washington monument are completed. that story coming up. a big story at a local government facility. jess in n. >> some bad news for the paychecks for federal workers. i'll tell you what's going on at 6:07. you're watching 9news now. 5:56. pleasant morning out there now. temperatures mostly in the 60s. by 9:00 we'll be climbing into the low 70s. a mix of sun and clouds here at lunch time, 82. watch the afternoon. the isolated thunderstorm. i wouldn't cancel any plans. i know there was a rain delay at the nats game last night. slight chance we'd get it again. highs mostly in the mid-80s. nasa may be occupied with today's test drive on mars but a recent discovery has scientists also looking closely on the dirt on the earth specifically in greenbelt, maryland. a dinosaur expert walks us through a find he made. >> what a found is the back print of a large dinosaur. they had big nodes and protective items across their back and even sometimes on their shoulders and sometimes even by the side of the head. >> this is really quite a rare find. these tracks aren't often found. there are some out west and british columbia and canada. we don't have a whole lot of them in the u.s. n. is one of the few i found in maryland in the eastern united states. it can be red, dark colored or when it gets water into it, it can be yellow and gold. according to other people doing track work, maryland's tracks are the most beautiful dinosaur tracks color wise that have ever been found anywhere in the world. the most thrilling thing about founding this one, what really threw me about this one is because i found it at goddard space flight center. space scientists may walk along here and they're walking exactly where this big, heavy armored dinosaur walked maybe a 110 million, maybe 112 million years ago. i think what all of us need to be aware of preserving this wonderful past of this beautiful blue planet of ours. if we don't preserve it and a don't look down and spot these things, they could be torn up by machinery and so on. i ask people to consider themselves custodians, do the right thing, notify someone at a museum, someone that would know and can help and see that it contributes to the scientific knowledge if it has that capability. >> this isn't the first big find in maryland. a 41-acre plot joust south of laurel -- just south of laurel is recognized as a dinosaur park. fossils found there are said to be more than 60 million years old. thank you for finding and watching us on 9news now. i'm mike hydeck. thanks for joining us. good morning, monika. >> good morning. >> howard? >> i'm well. it's a nice morning, pretty morning. just looking at our weather camera, check this shot out. a couple of clouds out there. nr