ññ hello, welcome to 9 news now at noon. just a short while ago, president obama announced that the united states will help victims of the earthquake in haiti. right now as many as 3 million people are in dire need of food, water, shelter and medical supplies. we will get the latest from janet choi in miami. haitians are frantically pulling survivors in port-au- prince. the strongest earthquake to hit the area struck. the presidential palace and the united nations headquarters in haiti both collapsed. the head of the u.n. peace keeping mission remains missing. thousands are believed to be buried in the rubble. american aide worker was buried under a foot of concrete. her husband dug her out. >> we had to pull bricks and bricks and wood and doors and metal away for at least, at least an hour before we were able to get her and her co- worker out as well. >> reporter: international relief agencies are rushing in aid and personnel. a search and rescue team from virginia is gearing up to go and president obama is promising more help. >> when disasters such as this, the first hours and days are absolutely critical to saving lives and avoiding greater tragedy. there is a large haitian population in miami. very difficult to loved ones right now. many are praying for the best, even if they fear the worst. she is worried she may have lost her entire family. >> my mother, my brother, all of my family. >> reporter: thousands who survived the quake are wandering the streets of haiti with nowhere to go. hospitals that were destroyed are innone -- hospitals that weren't destroyed are inundated. bruce johnson is joining us on the set. 9 news now sent bruce and a photographer to haiti in ' 93 to report on the conditions at that time. of course bruce has been on the phone all morning and you have been talking to haitians who live here in our area, contacts that you had to help to set that story up for you. >> absolutely right. we have a significant haitian community here and what they are saying it is not good. there's no good news. as bad as conditions were in port-au-prince when we were there 15 years they are far worse following the earthquake. this is port-au-prince in the mid-'90s. crammed in to a city where the average income is 1 pitch $50 a day. >> how much for a watch? >> five haitian dollars maybe. >> this is the presidential palace then when we reported on the corruption in the haitian military government. everybody we have talked with both publicly and privately tells us this hague government is corrupt like every government before it from the top down. >> this is the partial palace in ruins following the quake. >> what you will notice, though. >> reporter: a translator, a member of a prominent haitian family, mario's parents were killed yesterday when their home overlooking the capital 0 collapsed on top of them. >> the country is broken. it is broken. >> reporter: a relative and former dc resident talked to us from miami. >> she ran an art gallery and her husband was an architect. >> they both died. >> they both died. >> the house collapsed on them? >> the house collapsed on them. >> reporter: they say they need everything. help can't get to haiti soon enough. haitian americans are asking you give to established relief organizations who are trying to make their way to that country. >> and this country is the poorest of the poor. now, you went to an area of port-au-prince. how is that area? >> devastated. it is where the affluent of haiti live. the poor live in what is called a city in sun city. we stayed at the hotel montana. it is devastated and people died there and we will have more at 5:00. >> of course we will be following this very sad story throughout the day and we will have the latest information coming up on 9 news now at 5:00 p.m. and of course you can always go to our website, wusa9.com. search and rescue teams from fairfax county have momentized in order to help the haitians. our 9 news now digital correspondent alex trevino has more on that. >> reporter: members of the u.s. aid disaster assistance response team are loading their equipment at the fairfax county firefighter training academy. >> these gentlemen train all year long. they are certified the positions they fill here at fairfax county and they are experts, preimminent in the field, this the world. and so we are lucky to have them here in the united states and lucky to deploy them on behalf of the u.s. government. >> need to be self sufficient so we have some protective gear here, helmets. we have face masks in there, for respiratory protection, gloves, goggles and keep an mre, a meal ready to eat as well as, you know, just water and some other basic things we may need. >> reporter: saving lives in haiti is the ultimate mission. thousands of casualties already but many are surviving under the wreckage. >> the palace, which was a very solid building, that has collapsed. imagine what happened to the flimsy little houses around port-au-prince hanging on the hills. it's going to be a major catastrophe. >> reporter: the ambassador raymond joseph tells us communication towers are down, making it difficult to communicate with family or authorities in haiti. he hopes the state department steps in to help with that issue. reporting from northwest washington, alex trevino, 9 news now and wusa9.com. several of our neighbors are desperately trying to learn information about loved ones in haiti. one of our former 9 news now employees, jean michelle used facebook to get his 77-year-old mother on the phone. >> our house collapsed. she's okay but there's nothing in the house that is salvageable. my uncle is also in the house, he's okay. and i asked what are they going to do? where are they going to sleep tonight? she said she didn't know. >> reporter: his mother was outside when the quake hit. and she told jean, that several people stayed away from buildings in order to survive the aftershock. haiti makes up the western third of the island of espanol. the rest of the island is the dominican republic where residents also felt that quake. television stations in the capital of san toe domain mingo showed radio of the people evacuating buildings as the rumbling started. however, no major damage was reported in that city. our coverage of the earthquake in haiti continues on our website. get the latest on wusa9.com. plus, we will have more on local relief efforts on 9 news beginning on our evening newscast at 5:00 p.m. and of course katie couric will provide network coverage on the cbs evening news beginning at 6:30. well, the nation's top bankers are facing some tough questions about the cause of the financial melt down. alexis christoforous reports they are already under fire for fat bonuses in lean times. >> reporter: the ceos of four banks are on the hill in opening remarks they looked back on a year of a crisis and admitted to mistakes. >> we didn't see as clearly as i would have hoped the excesses. >> reporter: they are appearing at the inquiry commission. congress created the commission to unravel the causes of wall street's melt down and it comes at a tricky time for the banks, which are facing public outrage over plans to pay executives some of the biggest bonuses ever. but the banks represented at today's hearings have already paid back the government loans that helped them through the crisis. as far as wall street is concerned that means they are free to make their own decisions about payroll. >> they have prepaid the money back for the most part and now the government really has no say in the matter. >> reporter: j.p. morgan chase is reportedly planning to pay bonuses averaging a half million dollarsen average. jamie diamond says he is trying to be disciplined about compensation without driving away the best talent. >> i'm immensely proud of the way the employees continue to serve our customers through this difficult time. >> reporter: the commission has until the end of the year to present its conclusions on what went wrong and while tempers may flare along the way. >> i think these are important matters. >> reporter: that report could be critical in determining future changes of how wall street does business. alexis christoforous, cbs news, wall street. the hospital formerly known as the greater southeast community hospital is in desperate need of money. the "washington post" says the united medical center, as it is now known, is facing a $20 million deficit. this comes after dc leaders provided $79 million to keep the facility open. the dc council is currently looking for a new owner for the hospital. still to come on 9 news now at noon, animal rights activists behind this ad featuring the first lady michelle obama come clean about the campaign. and see why one group says using your cell phone while you are behind the wheel is just as dangerous as drunk driving. we'll be right back. we may be saying good-bye to instant credit cards. you know the ones that stores usually offer as a discount for getting a credit card? it is about to get harder to get a credit card. sweeping industry reforms have just been finalized by the federal reserve. among the changes, we would have to say our income and have to give information about our current debt levels when applier for a credit card. right now retailers quickly approve new accounts based on credit scores. the new rules take effect on february 22nd. well, google is threatening to pull its web search services out of china. the company also decided to stop censoring its search results in the country. the changes come after google learned that hackers had tricked human rights activists in to exposing their e-mail accounts. the change of heart signifies a major shift for the internet's search leader, which has repeatedly said that it will obey chinese laws by censoring some politically and socially- sensitive contract content. it is a triple crown for netflix. because the wii will be become the last of the three major video game consoles to get instant viewing of netflix movies and television shows over the internet. we owners will need a broad band connection and a netflix subscription that costs about $9 a month. coming up next, howard and our forecast. j.c., excited about the fact we have a thaw heading this way, but the weekend is not going to be perfect. i will tell you about it when 9 news now at noon cycycyc;c;ckccoc/c/ xx we have a followup now to a story we told you about last week. people for thetical treatment of animals say that it will pull its ad campaign featuring first lady michelle obama. peta admitted it did not have the first lady's permission for the campaign and of course the white house would not allow that. a new group is announcing its intentions to put a stop to all distracted driving. the national safety council says ten thousand people die from the actions of such drivers and peggy fox talked to some of the people fighting to make distracted driving illegal, just like drink driving. >> hit it so hard that her car like blew up. >> reporter: carrie witnessed a distracted driver kill herself when she swerved off the road two months ago. >> but she kept looking down and then looking up. so, she was obviously looking for something in the car and then as i started to go up the hill, i looked and it was like her car exploded. it was like boom! >> reporter: they are fighting against distracted driving spear headed by focus driven, a few group. the founding members all have lost loved ones because of distracted driving. >> look at that beautiful smile and that beautiful smile, and the x-rays of her teeth are what identified her body. >> she should have graduated this year from college. she should be spending her first year in college. her mother and i should have seen her wed and held our first grand baby. >> so if they see somebody with a cell phone in their hand they are going to give them a ticket. >> reporter: they appeared with the transportation secretary and the national safety council who draw no distinction between hands-free devicing or texting or any distraction. they want every state to pass tough laws against it. >> it has to stop. we have to look at this as a national epidemic that it is and stand up and say this is wrong. >> reporter: peggy fox, 9 news now and wusa9.com. you said it would get warmer. it's a little warmer than yesterday. >> it is all relative. >> but still cold. >> we are already up to 39, yesterday was 35. we will start with a quick map of the earthquake activity from the united states geological survey and the earthquake and the pink dots are 7, and 7.3. all the red dots west of port- au-prince are five or better. so they have quite a few aftershocks that you can see and anything less than five i got rid of. but a devastating earthquake. right there, just off shore of port-au-prince that's why they took the brunt of it. around here, mildest temperatures on the way. last time we were in the 40s on january 1st. last time in the 50s, december 25th. the next three days look like this. 42 or so today. 46 tomorrow and near 50, if not above 50 on friday. if we don't do 50 on friday we will do it on saturday. mostly sunny and not as cold. low 40s and. in the upper 30s in northern counties where the clouds are hanging tougher. sunset 8 minutes after 5:00. clear calm and cold tonight. lows 18 in the cold spots. west of town to upper 20s inside the beltway. winds will be light and then tomorrow, sunny and milder, mid- 40s with a southeast wind of five miles an hour. sun is up 7:25. setting 5:09. these are the clouds up north. they continue to stream in. to the south you have seen a lot of sunshine and even here in washington we have a good deal of sunshine out there. a few clouds as you look to the north. right now sunny and 39. wind chill 32 with a west wind at ten miles an hour and humidity is still dry. 41%. the dew point in the teens. we're at 39. to the south, fredericksburg is 43. upper 30s in southern maryland but where the clouds are tougher, from winchester to hagerstown, low 30. mid 30s in frederick, baltimore and gaithersburg only 34 right now and dulles checking in at 31. all right we have a storm on the west coast. excuse me, you can see it here with the rain and snow in the higher elevations. as this guy moves east the winds will turn to the south and some of those milder temperatures in the middle of the country will head this way and we will get rid of this northwesterly flow that's been around the last couple of weeks will finally abate and so will the snow showers where the snow has been piling up in the mountains. the high pressure, you see it this afternoon here, not too far from huntsville, alabama. that's going to slide east. by tomorrow afternoon, it will be east of us. we'll get a return flow coming in. southeast winds here, and southwest winds will start to push the temperatures up. today we have eclipsed the upper 30s and tonight back in the 20s. it will be chilly. tomorrow mid-40s. as we head to friday we could be 52 and you get the idea the trend is going in the right direction. here's the seven-day forecast. mild weather certainly by friday and saturday. sunday, though, we get wet. system comes at us from the gulf coast, a cold rain and 42. clearing out on early monday. that's the weather. more 9 news now at noon. wellness wednesday coming up when we return. it's wellness wednesday. 13 days in to the new year. are you putting off that new year's resolution to get your body in to action. my personal trainer june thornton is here. couldn't tell she is my personal trainer. she is really good but don't let me disway you and she's going to give us tips on how to get on track. i'm going to get on track. first thing she says is eat healthy. >> that's correct. and first of all, happy new year. all the new year's resolutions, everyone is making, stick with it and first and foremost it takes discipline and perseverance. when you go grocery shopping, go on the outskirts of the grocery store because that's where the healthy food is. >> and all the cookies are on the inside. >> on the inside. eat a lot of fruit and vegetables as well. >> of course exercise. don't have to tell people. that's so important. how much do we need? >> three to four times a week, 30 to 40 minutes preferably but if you can't do that much, 10 to 15 minutes is doable just to get your body going. >> better than nothing. >> there you go. all right. what are -- it is so important, why is that so important? it remennishing and pumps the cell and gets the blood circulating and drink at least half of your body weight in ounces. for example, if you weigh 150- pounds or 120-pounds you should drink 60 sons ounces of water. so half of your body weight in ounces every day. >> getting enough sleep is important. how many hours. >> sleep deprivation is the key issue. people burn the candle at both ends of the stick. get seven to eight hours each day. i know people say they don't get in until late and they have to eat and do home work and what not but try to get at least seven to eight hours a night. >> don't do it for your husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, your wife, do it for whom. >> self. that's the most important. >> can i say hello to corrine who is feeling under the weather and my trainer's mother- in-law. thank you for being here. i'm going to look just like you one day. in my next life. >> keep those new year's resolutions. >> come back at 5:00. have a great day.