law be the first flash point between the district and new congress? thanks for being here. i'm derek mcginty. >> i'm jan jeffcoat. now that the gop will control both the house and nature in 2015 some wonder if the marijuana law will actually take effect. bruce johnson has our story. >> district residents really took the lead here in moving the conversation forward on marijuana reform. >> reporter: d.c. will join colorado and washington in legalizing recreational marijuana use unless the congress uses its congressional authority to block the law. >> in the district we're seeing it is a civil rights issue. >> reporter: because of the disproportionate number of african americans who are arrested? >> absolutely. >> reporter: republican senator rand paul says he's against selling d.c. citizens they cannot grow and smoke weed, but maryland congressman andy harris has a different take and threatens to use congress' authority to kill the measure. >> it's harmful to teenagers and young adults, probably the last thing d.c. needs in a high

unemployment, problems with the education system already. last thing you need is legalized marijuana. >> reporter: mayor elect muriel bowser voted for the marijuana initiative yesterday and today she said as mayor she's looking forward to signing a bill that will enable the city to tax the sale of marijuana. council member muriel bowser the day after her 20-point win in the d.c. mayoral contest arrived at the national press club today surrounded by her new metropolitan police security detail. as mayor elect, she now gets around the clock security. >> i see no reason why we wouldn't follow a regime similar to how we regulate and tax alcohol. >> reporter: but she won't risk going to jail if congress overturns the marijuana law as she did years ago when demonstrating for full voting invites for d.c. how far are you prepared to go and how far should the mayor go in fighting for this initiative that the voters approved? would you be willing to get arrests again?

>> i'm not in the business of getting arrested. i didn't really expect to get arrested the last time. i didn't enjoy it very much. >> reporter: today she begins putting a transition in play. she takes office in 58 days. >> the initiative was approved by a 64-28% margin. senator mark warner is ahead but not much. nearly 24 hours after thpolls closed in virginia there is still no clear winner. >> peggy fox is live in fairfax where the vote canvassing has begun. >> reporter: across the state more than 2 million votes were cast in this race. warner has about 12,000 more votes than ed gillespie, less than 1% and within a possible recount, but some elections experts believe warner's lead will increase because of provisional ballots. here at fairfax county 507 people cast provisional

ballots. 100 were people that did not have proper photo id. experts believe these provisional ballots tend to lean democratic. when and if those people come in to prove their votes should count, like five people did today, their votes are going to count. >> we take additional security precautions. >> reporter: a guard stood watch over fairfax county's vote tallies as canvassing began for yet another razor thin election. >> we do this every year every election. >> reporter: once again just like last year's attorney general race where mark herring squeezed out the win, lawyers are scrutinizing the tallies in the virginia senate race. >> it's the tiny transcription and arithmetic errors that a 15, 16 hour days in the polls it cause. our goal is to make sure we get it right. >> i am 100% certain senator

warner will be sworn into the u.s. senate for a second term. >> reporter: today warner's election experts seemed more confident than the k himself -- candidate himself last night. >> well, it was a hard fought race. it went a little longer than we thought. >> reporter: the unexpected close race gave warner only about 12,000 more votes than republican ed gillespie, less than 1% of the total which means -- >> unfortunately some campaigns last longer than others. >> reporter: -- gillespie can ask for a recount, but democratic observer john farrell doesn't think he will. >> right now the difference is between a half percent and 1% and mr. gillespie would have to pay for that and that will be very expensive. >> reporter: but republicans are keeping their fingers crossed more counting errors will be uncovered. >> we have high hopes numbers will change and maybe we'll be able to pull something out. >> reporter: republicans are hoping that warner's lead

narrows down to at least half a percent because if it does, then the state will pay for a recount, but if it's just under 1%, between 1% and half percent, gillespie can request it but would have to pay for it and a recount would cost millions of dollars. he cannot ask for a recount until the whole vote is certified. that doesn't happen until the canvassing finishes here and it goes on to the state board of elections and they certified it november 25th. we've got a few weeks to find out what happens in this race. in maryland republican governor elect larry hogan called his upset victory over lieutenant governor anthony brown surreal. hogan credited his victory with staying focused on getting rid of high taxes and promoting job growth for maryland. >> we set vote goals that were nearly impossible to attain in every single county in the state and we blew past every one of them. so we've never anticipated.

this is the biggest man date for change since 1951. >> hogan appointed a transition team and promised a historically diverse and bipartisan administration. tonight republicans are trying to figure out how they will use the momentum they took after taking control of the u.s. senate last night and president obama is talking about how all this will impact his final two years in office. >> as president i have a unique responsibility to try and make this time work. >> the democrat who counts is the president of the united states. >> that was senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who will soon be the new majority leader or probably will be. the gop picked up seven senate seats and at least 10 house seats and with several races unsettled they could add to those numbers. police are looking for the mother who left her newborn child on the streets of beltsville this morning. prince george's county police say somebody left this little girl near a house along shoal

creek terrace. a neighbor heard the baby crying just before noon, called the cops. doctors believe she was born hours before they found her. she's in good health. police want to hear from anybody who can help track down the mom,. parents are upset the principal of john t. baker middle school waited nearly a month to inform them a contractor working at the school was arrested for inappropriately touching a 12- year-old girl. today more allegations are coming to light from the damascus school. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone in damascus where parents at a middle school and high school are learning troubling facts about a contractor who worked at the school. this is the man who police say groped a tween at john t. baker middle school last month, 44- year-old john edward epps, jr. the contractor was hired by a temp agency for a company called net com worked on security cameras, the same ones police say caught him touching a 12-year-old girl's buttocks as she walked past him, an act that ended in both assault and

sex assault charges. the school waited nearly a month before informing parents and held a meeting today. >> they said it was an isolated indent. how do you know? >> reporter: wusa9 is learning it may not be. today the principal of damascus high school sent a letter out saying one of her students may have been touched inappropriately by epps during a visit to baker. we did a quick search and found epps was arrested for sex offenses and other charges in 2001 and 2010. he pled guilty to a second degree assault charge in 2010. he is not listed on maryland's sex offender registry which would have prohibited him from working in the school according to maryland law. >> just a few minutes ago we got word of another unrepeated problem at baker middle school. the relative of a staff member there has been diagnosed with tuberculosis. the employee is not at work as

a precaution. breaking news in montgomery county where a crash closed the main lanes of i-270 northbound in gaithersburg. the two-car crash was at route 117 known as west diamond avenue area. we are told one car overturned. there's flashing lights there. police do say injuries are minor but traffic obviously pretty backed up. if you're waiting for someone, they may be late. if you're going out heading that direction, you probably want to avoid it. coming up when the news continues. >> reporter: the arlington fire department has a message for its community as the neighborhood now mourns the life of a

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tonight neighbors of a mother and daughter killed when a fire ripped through their home are trying to come to grips with the tragedy. >> stephanie ramirez returned to the burned out home in arlington where fire officials hauled away evidence that could help determine how the blaze was started. >> reporter: when crews arrived, there was fire blowing out of every window on the first floor and part of the second floor. fire marshals are moving pieces of evidence as they continue to investigate what could have caused this fatal fire, but for authorities the focus isn't just here. it's just as important to talk about how there were no working smoke detectors inside. >> this is a horrible

situation. my heart goes out to the family and we want to take this moment to remind people to have working smoke alarms in our home. we can prevent this from happening just by getting the word out. >> reporter: neighbors tell us mary barks and her daughter died in the fire early tuesday morning. mary's sister joy chadwick spoke to wusa9 over the phone saying according to her brother- in-law, the fire spread too quickly and near the stairwell trapping mary with her two daughters upstairs. the father used a ladder and got the oldest daughter out. >> you're in shock. you don't expect to lose your sister or 7-year-old niece. >> reporter: neighbors left flowers for the young girl and mother. >> emily was a strong little girl and her and mary were extremely close. so i'm thankful that emily didn't leave without her mother. >> reporter: that family member told me amly's sister sarah suffered burns to her

arms and is still treated at a hospital but is expected to be okay. topper has designated tomorrow a yellow alert day. coming up find out

the only station with weather alert days, wusa9 first alert weather. >> tomorrow looks to be one of them. >> yellow alert tomorrow. i would maybe set the alarm five minutes early for a commute tomorrow morning. it looks like a wet commute to work and a wet ride home as well. let's start with a live look outside, our live michael and son weather cam, high temperature 68 despite the clouds, pretty nice. it's still pretty nice, 63, relative humidity 53%. that is not -- 56% rather -- no, 58% there, you go. once i get close enough, i can read it. wind north, northwest at 6. headlines, showers develop tonight primarily north of town, 10:00, 11:00. bus stop temperatures 50 to 60, but take an umbrella if you're walking to the bus stop. yellow alert thursday rain and showers, ran out of room here, maybe a thunderstorm. the atmosphere is just unstable

enough. blustery friday but mainly dry, looks okay for high school football, but bundle up. temps will fall to the 40s during the game, especially late games. so 10:00 tonight a couple sprinkles west of town. if you walk the dog early, you'll be okay. then if you walk him late, you'll get wet. tomorrow morning we all get wet, showers and rain, nothing crazy heavy. it's still mild, 53 in gaithersburg, 54 in leesburg and manassas, 57 downtown. we get to 8:00, showers moving eastward. still have light showers between d.c. and baltimore and almost down to fredericksburg, but notice to the west we get a bit of a break. then notice the yellows, some of the reds showing up now down to the south. they cross the northern neck and some yellow and orange showing up around culpeper, maybe a rumble of thunder even around gaithersburg across into poolesville. by 4:00 everything pretty move much -- pretty much moves out

quickly. by 6:00 a couple sprinkles are still possible. by 7:30 it's still not bad, 58 downtown, clearing skies to the west. tomorrow night 9:30 it's still 50 in gaithersburg, 53 in frederick, la plata, 56 downtown. late tomorrow night, yes, we'll see temperatures back in the 40s, 48 in leesburg and gaithersburg and 49 in manassas. it's not like arctic air is coming in behind this system. tonight mostly cloudy and mild with rain and showers developing, temperatures fit to 55, generally -- 50 to 55 generally before midnight. tomorrow morning yellow alert, mostly cloudy, mild, rain, showers, perhaps a late morning thunderstorm, temperatures 50 to 62 and by afternoon mostly cloudy, breezy and mild with rain and showers ending and perhaps a thunderstorm. high temps near 65, winds northwest at 10 to 15. showers in oakland 50, which is not bad for you folks either,

58 cumberland, upper 50s hagerstown, martinsburg, 60 in winchester, 64 culpeper, low 60s, still average this time of year in leesburg and warrenton and manassas and fairfax probably 62 or 63, 64 downtown and gaithersburg with showers pretty much in the morning and a break and more showers late afternoon. we break it down on the day planner, 52 at 7:00 with showers, so again wet at the bus stop, 56 at 9:00, 60 at 11:00 and 64 with showers still at 1 p.m., although less numerous. friday okay, passing shower but 56, blustery, breezy and cool saturday, but not bad day, upper 50s, get stuff done. early november that's really nice and for sunday that's really nice for the ravens game, near 60 with sunshine, mid-60s monday, near 70 veterans day. then some cold air takes aim on

now wusa9 game on sports with kristen berset brought to you by xfinity. >> reporter: welcome back. we are live at the verizon center less than two hours from a rematch between the indiana pacers and the washington wizards. as we know too well last season, the pacers knocked the wizards out of the playoffs in six games, but the tides have changed for these teams. the pacers are on their brink of the worst start in nearly 20 years, while the wizards at 3-1 is their best record to start the season since 2005. this is their fourth game in five nights. it's been a tough stretch, but the wiz have navigated this well. while revenge may not be the main thing they're thinking about, it's definitely in the back of their minds. >> obviously we still remember what they did to us last year.

yeah, i think the biggest thing, not that it's indiana, but that it's a home game. we want to protect our home court. >> there's no revenge. that comes in playoffs. we ain't going to do it now. now we just want to win basketball games. >> reporter: one of the big surprises in this young season is otto porter. he has proven to be a vital part of this team. porter put up 22 points last night against new york, averaging 10 1/2 points a game. we'll see what he can do tonight. >> we all knew he was going to be a solid player. that's why we crafted him no. 3. there's a reason why we picked him, the intangible things that he does. he does a little bit of everything. >> reporter: on the ice alex ovechkin made history last night breaking the point total record on an assist to nicklas backstrom. the record now stands at 827.

he had two assists last night. ovie did it in 691 games. in new york city nfl commissioner roger goodell was urge the spotlight today, the first day of the ray rice appeals hearing. goodell testified under oath almost three hours in the offices of former federal judge. ray rice and his wife janay arrived around 9:30 this morning. of course, he is appealing his indefinite suspension after video surfaced of the elevator incident in atlantic city. ray and janay are expected to separately testify tomorrow with ravens president dick cass. it's been a roller coaster season for the redskins between a three-win season, quarterback controversy and reports of alienation, the bye week couldn't come at a better time. the next five days the players can do and go wherever they want to clear their minds and return refreshed.

>> focus on spending time with my wife, get some time away from the game, get back, ready to go, get on a roll. >> take some time off, allow to us have some time off. our mindset is we're trying to win out. >> reporter: your friendly reminder to vote in our high school game of the week pop, a couple rivalry games to choose from. text the code of the game you want to 25593 and we'll highlight that game on friday, game on varsity. again a big rematch here tonight between the wizards and pacers, tip-off 8:00, the pacers looking to end a three- game skid, the wizards going for revenge and their second straight homesick by. we'll have highlights tonight at 11 -- victory. we'll have highlights tonight at 11:00. >> got to love it when the home team gets on a roll. >> need some good news for teams. >> isn't that the truth. we have some breaking news.

do we still have that? in the meantime why don't you show us the forecast. >> yellow alert tomorrow, wet commute to and from work tomorrow, temperatures mild, 65 and blustery on friday but dry. the weekend looks okay, too. >> okay. we are following breaking news from montgomery county. here's a live look from sky9 where a crash shut down the main lanes of i-270 northbound in gaithersburg, a two-car crash at route 117 also known as west diamond avenue. we're told the car overturned. state police say the injuries are minor but traffic, well, that's major, a real tie-up. if you're waiting for somebody, they could be late. that's our broadcast.

>> pelley: tonight, the president says the voters sent a message. >> they want us to get the job done. >> pelley: but can they? >> maybe there are some things we can agree on. >> pelley: bob schieffer, nancy cordes, major garrett, and anthony mason on the power shift and the road ahead. baseball star alex rodriguez on performance-enhancing drugs. >> did you do any p.e.d.s? >> no gleld jim axelrod on new court documents on what reportedly tell a different story. anna werner on what's becoming a cheap, dangerous alternative to pain pills-- mexican heroin. and mark phillips on war and remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice a century ago. >> it just brings home the number of lives that were lost, m