welcome to 9 news now. i'm angie goff in for j.c. hayward. the rush is on right now to get home for the thanksgiving holiday. the aaa estimates a million people in the area will travel 50 or more miles over the holidays. here's the view on i-95 near woodbridge. traffic is moving but looks like a good amount of volume. to maryland we go. traffic appear to be at speed crossing the american legion bridge. that despite the rainy weather we have been experiencing. so far so good heading in to virginia over the bridge. and looking west, here's the view from 270 near the montgomery village avenue exit. where traffic there seems to be doing okay this afternoon, as well. shifting over to the airport, here's a live look at national. we're told there are hundreds of more parking shot spots this year compared to last year. thousands of spots were still available. parking was plentiful at dull lens and bwi. it is busy at union station where people are boarding trains this afternoon down to hampton roads and up to new york and boston. amtrak expects 155,000 passengers today. before you head out visit wusa9.com. our traffic page has the latest on the road and delays at the major airports. you can follow my traffic updates all morning long every morning at twitter. oh my goff is my i.d. to to follow. one of the questions on everyone's mind will we be dealing with the rain on turkey day? howard bernstein is in the weather center right now and you are going to make it all better, right, howie. >> slowly better. tomorrow the rain chances are fairly slim until late in the day. this morning we have been dealing with fog, drizzle, some mist, a soggy morning out there. you don't see much. you see the showers in pennsylvania. you see some stuff in seen virginia but not around here. the drizzle in a few spots and you see on the visibilities to the west up to ten miles in winchester, manassas and kwan coe. to the east, baltimore 3/4 of a mile and annapolis a mile. we have the follow and drizzle east. slow improvement west to east and that's the case again this afternoon. by the bay probably a little worse than as you head further west. temperatures have climbed slowly in the low to mid-50s. maybe we get a couple more degrees out of this. turkey day is looking better and the weekend is even better than that. a front is on the way. i will have more coming up in 14 minutes. now back to angie. >> we have a developing story now out of north arlington. a worker was killed at the site of a large water main break this morning on old glebe road. 9 news now reporter dave statter is joining us live by phone with the latest details. what have we learned. >> one of the workers who was adjusting a light boom or a mast at the scene of the water main break, that mast came in contact with the power lines. the one worker was killed, was dead on the scene and another was critically burned and is at the burn unite now at med star being treated in critical condition. one arlington county worker dead, another injured. the power was shut off in the area to make sure that the firefighters and medics could get to the injured person and deal with the person who was killed on the scene and conduct the investigation. so power is shut off for a large area around glebe road and old glebe road. that was the site of the water main break the other day. the water has actually been repaired. that's the good news from the scene but they have to close up the hole and finish the investigation in to what happened today. it so will be a while before the power is restored and the area is open. part of north glebe road will be reopen, at least the lanes going from chain bridge to lee highway and that should happen shortly if not already. the rest will take a while longer. that's the situation at the scene. it will be a while longer before the power is restored, we are told, but it should happen this afternoon. >> dave statter, thank you for that update. we will have more at 51 o. check out wusa9.com for further updates. the transportation department says toyota motors will replace gas pedals on 3.8 million vehicles in the u.s. the move is meant to address problems with sudden acceleration because the pedal becomes jammed in the floor mat. toyotas will have the dealers shorten the length of the pedals while the company develops replacements. they will be available in april and some will have brake override systems installed as a precaution. the white house says president obama will address the nation on his new strategy for the war in afghanistan on tuesday night. the president will appear from the u.s. military academy at west point. he's expected to lay out his plan for expanding the number of troops involved in the afghan conflict and ultimately ending america's management role. the washington area is mourning the loss of abe pollin. the 85-year-old owner of the wizards died yesterday from a rare neurological disorder. pollin bought the bullets in the ' 60s and moved them to washington. the built the capital center in landover and the verizon center in chinatown. the arena revitalized the region and improved the quality of life in washington. abe pollis survived by his wife and two sons and two grandsons. he was the longest serving owner of an nba franchise. david stern issued a statement saying in part -- the capitals owner has the option to buy the franchise and the verizon center. he meant a lot to one class at seat pleasant elementary. he promised to pay their college if they graduated. 55 of them did including tiffany nelson. >> it was a defining person in my life. the person i couldn't imagine going up to a complete stranger and say graduate from high school and i will pay for you to go to college. i couldn't imagine doing that and i don't think most people could. it is life changing. >> reporter: she graduated from the university of maryland and owns a law firm in upper marlboro. they kicked off the 2005 drive at union station. firefighters throughout the region will be participating in the toys for tots campaign which is sponsored by the united states marines. president obama's first state dinner is being called a huge success. it featured oscar winning entertainers, hollywood moogs and powerful washington insiders. nancy has more. >> reporter: a listers like steveing spielberg and depack chopra streamed in to a tent adorned with hand leers and flowers to enjoy a night of luxury on the white house south lawn. this was the obama's first state dinner, considered a showcase for the first family's sense of tradition as well as style. >> let our two great nations realize all the triumphs and achievements that await us. >> reporter: the menu featured fresh vegetables, grown in the white house's own garden, presented on china from the eisenhower, clinton and second bush administration. while the entertainment began with the national symphony orchestra, the obamas brought acts from their hometown of chicago to end the night. >> jennifer hudson and curt elsing performed last night and it shows the obamas bringing midwest charm to the white house. the first lady's dress was from an indian american designer who made dresses for beyonce, carrie underwood and jennifer lopez among others. still ahead, just in time for black friday, a price war between two major retailers. the story is just ahead. and plus tables are set for holiday meals. we will have advice how to get the best out of your holiday after thanksgiving comes the so-called black friday. and stores are wasting little time trying to get in to your wallet. in fact, a price war is underway between two retail giants. kelly walls has more on that. >> two retail titans sizing each other up. in one corner wal-mart, slashing the price on the address bake often to $18. the opponent amazon.com, the king of on-line retailers. it's followed, matching the wal- mart price. from steven king's latest novel to dvds like julie and julia, the two retailers are offering nearly identical prices. >> what we are seeing is a skirmish, a skirmish in a much longer battle here. >> reporter: while retail store sales are projected to drop by 1% this holiday season, on-line shopping sales are expected to grow 8%, which is why wal-mart decided to take on amazon. >> i think for a lot of retailers they have said this channel is really important and we're not going to let others to take our customers from us. we want our customers to stay with us. >> we're looking to help holiday shoppers, too. we invite you to check out wusa9.com. we have a special black friday section. we have compiled deal and sales from the biggest stores to save you money and today we will put up floor plans from a few stores. that will help to save time. go to wusa9.com and click on the black friday icon. the "washington post" will close its remaining u.s. bureaus in new york, los angeles and chicago at the end of the year. the move is an effort to save money. the paper says it's also part of a strategy to focus on covering the nation's capital. six correspondents are being offered jobs here in washington and three news aides will be let go at the end of the year. there are tough times for a dozen schools in the catholic archdiocese of washington. declining enrollment and potential phase out of the dc school voucher program are largely to blame. at saint augustine school near adams morgan, nearly half of the students are on vouchers. >> very content. >> and you are, too. >> the pastor at saint judes in rockville says he is not closing his cool despite declining enrollment. the redskins estimate they gave away more than 135,000- pounds of food yesterday. their annual thanksgiving harvest will help hundreds of people in our region. players, along with owner dan snyder handed out the food baskets. this year's giveaway was limited to people living in prince georges county, home of the fedex field. finding yourself in turkey trouble this year? butter ball says it will have 55 experts to field an estimated 11,000 calls on thanksgiving day. the annual turkey talk is year round but tends to get busier this time of the year. the experts have degrees in food science, nutrition and home economics. and if you missed the number we have it on our website at wusa9.com. howie? >> speaking of turkey. >> thanks a lot. we are putting the umbrella away as the drizzle is just about over. how long is that going to last and there's some sun in our future as a cold front is coming. i will have the forecast and a look at the weekend and the seven-day outlook when 9 news now returns. ? you can head downtown now if you want to get in to that christmas spirit. patti labelle was on hand to light up the windows at macy's near metro center. holiday themed windows are on display along 12 and d streets northwest and also two bands from our area. they are participating in the macy's thanksgiving day parade. we are excited about that. howie? >> that's right. ballou marching knights thereby there and a lot of great stuff for the parade. so watch them there. let's talk about weather. we have some issues to deal with in the form of the drizzle, the sprinkles. the fog that's been going on and right now that seems to be abating. let's show you the forecast first for the next three days. today, we're making it to the mid-50s. we may make 56, 567 today or tomorrow but in the mid 50s as the drizzle is letting up some on us. tomorrow mostly cloudy day. mid to late 50s. and a rain drop may hold off until after dark in a few spots but don't be surprised if in the afternoon a few showers return. a front will come and change everything. bring in northwesterly winds and in the mountains several inches of snow. could be advisories posted and the highs on friday only in the 40s. this afternoon, a few areas of drizzle and patchy fog mainly by the bay. cloudy and school cool. the sunset 4:48. cloudy, more drizzle and fog is possible. and then tomorrow, mostly cloudy and chance of showers later on in the afternoon with highs in the mid to possibly upper a 0s. northeast and northwest winds at five. the latest visibility is picking up. although baltimore is struggling with three-quarters of a mile. dc jumped up to 7 miles visibility. a lot of ten plus to our west under the cloudy skies. a lot better than this morning. up to 55 for hagerstown, frederick, winchester and dulles. 55 in cambridge and southern maryland. fredericksburg, 57. while culpeper in the low -- well, culpeper, come on, fix your thermometer, folks. 55 manassas and quantico. in town 54. the winds have been so light all day. that's why it was tough to mix out the low moisture and all of that drizzle was falling. some areas had one to two tenth of an inch of rainfall from the mist we have had. he humidity is high at 94%. look at the satellite and radar. clouds are streaming from the southwest. some of this moisture will clip out to norfolk. if you travel there in southeastern virginia this may get to the delmar sla watch for a few showers there. and the storm system is spinning and bringing rain in to chicago. if you have a late flight there could be delays with that as the weather has been unsettled in the upper midwest. we have three areas things we are looking at. in the northwest you see that? a little rain there in the higher elevations. across florida an area of low pressure developing. and then the middle of the country , the northern plains this is what we are looking at. the time here is wednesday at 8:00. here we go. put it in motion and we go to tomorrow morning. spinning in the great lake and low pressure coming up the coast. oh, yeah, behind me a few showers in the northwest. that low pressure will mainly pass far enough east of us to not give us much in the way of problems. but if you are traveling up to pittsburgh you run in to late showers. we may see a late shower and across michigan. then as we get this to the overnight period on thursday night friday morning the rains spread an perhaps a little snow across the high country and west virginia and pennsylvania. much of the rest of the country is quiet until you get to the northwest and then as we head in to friday evening some snow showers on montana and idaho. look at all the unsettled weather with the winds. windy and colder behind that for friday with snow continuing across west virginia. i think snow shoe to canadian valley will be seeing snow off and on on friday. look at the seven-day forecast where things will be getting better. today, mid-50s. drizzle, almost over. tomorrow mid to upper 50s with a late shower. in to friday morning with the rain shower possible. flurries and snow showers possible in the mountains. next chance of rain after tomorrow and friday will be on tuesday. >> thank you. as you know this is wellness wednesday and our focus is on the health of seniors this afternoon. stuart rosenthal, a familiar face is here with some important advice and here we will are with the beacon. is november's issue and we are talking about headlines in december's issue. the seasonal flu is on everyone's minds and seniors are not as protected as we originally thought at first. >> the original note from the cdc is seniors should be last the last in line to get the vaccine because they seem to have immunity to the disease but when they get it are more likely to die. the message is if you come down with flu symptoms take it seriously. it doesn't mean it is hard to get. >> stattens, this is something your article focuses on as well an how this could improve and boost immunity of a lot of older adults. >> this is surprising. the cholesterol lowering drugs lipitor and sow core common stattens appear to have a protection for people who have the seasonal flu. if you are hospitalized with a serious case and you are a regular statten user you are less likely to die. that ties in with studies that they are goth good at protecting people who have pneumonia or serious bloodstream infections and they think it is because they reduce inflammation in the body. >> do people not take advantage of it because they don't know about. >> they are not sure if a person should take it because of the flu or once you get the flu you can take stattens. there is a federal study looking in to the matter. >> we have 45 seconds. how is google good for the brain. >> it is a good way to stimulate the brain. the complex reasoning in the frontal lobe. it stimulates more than reading. people are told to use their brain to avoid dementia later in life. >> they differ studied older people working on the internet. >> and did funkal mris and found strong level of internet searches. >> we have that brain gap they call it between young generation that do this every day and those trying learn it. >> it is a big thing now. brain games and having people learn languages and instruments later in life. all very good things to do. >> thanks for joining us. thank you for joining us for the news at noon. back here at 5:00. and you can get all of the holiday travel information at wusa9.com.