authorize further spending after the end of this month, d.c. officials will have to stop spending as well. >> the there's -- there's absolutely no reason to shut down the district of columbia's government because those are our taxpayers' dollars. >> reporter: they advised he and the council would be violating law if they did not close the government down and keep nonessential workers at home. >> they have taken an oath to uphold the law. if you engage in civil disobedience, you have to take the consequences and the victims of the consequences could well be the district. >> reporter: d.c. council vote to declare all city employees essential could come on tuesday. bruce johnson, wusa9. >> district cfo said he will not authorize checks to be written for nonessential city employees during a shutdown unless the city's attorney general says it can be done legally. president obama is back in washington this morning.

he returned from united nations general assembly in new york city. at that meeting the president called for a security council resolution to secure syria's chemical weapons and despite expectations, denot meet with iranian president hassan rouhani. a meeting between the two men would have been too complicated for rouhani back home. gunshots could be heard from guest gate mall in -- west gate mall in nairobi but it wasn't from terrorists. it came from tennian forces sweeping through -- tennian forces -- kenyan forces sweeping through the mall. >> security is still tight and getting tighter here at home as well. >> reporter: a large plume of smoke rose from kenya's west gate mall wednesday morning. security forces report there could still be terrorists or booby traps inside thing about even -- building even though kenyan's president insists all the attackers are dead or arrested. >> we have defeated our

attackers. that part of our task has been completed by our multiagencies security team. >> reporter: dozens were killed in this weekend's attack and four-day standoff and the death toll is expected to climb. three floors of the mall partially clapged during tuesday's military raid. the red cross says there are still 65 people unaccounted for. kenya's president says he cannot confirm yet that americans were involved in the attack, but the al-shabaab terrorist group has had success securing americans and that has security experts here concerned. >> after receiving the training that they were getting some somalia, they might well return and try to conduct similar attacks here in the united states. >> reporter: police in new york decided to deploy counterterrorism units in the days following the kenya attack. >> you know in the back of their mind they're thinking is there a companion piece for a domestic attack here from the same network. >> reporter: minnesota's mall of america is one of many shopping centers that has also

increased security. ko im for cbs news, washington. >> the. of kenya declared three days of mourning for his country starting today. at least 208 people dead, 370 people injured after an earthquake shook up parts of pakistan. this is a big one. 7.8 magnitude hit yesterday afternoon in the district of avran. rs cue operations are still under way right now. six people sit behind bars facing charges in the stabbing death of woodbridge high school football player kenny diaz. among them 19-year-old diandra samuels. detectives say samuels robbed the friend of diaz' earlier this month and then diaz on saturday and his friends showed up at samuels' home looking for revenge. during a fight, detectives says samuels stabbed diaz to death. she is charged with murder and kidnapping. the viewing for kenny diaz

is thursday at the mount castle funeral home from 2:00 until 4:00 and then from 5:00 until 9:00. his funeral will be friday at 1:30 at our lady of angels catholic church. new gun laws go into effect in maryland in less than a week. guess what? applications to buy handguns are coming in at 1,000 per day according to maryland state police. sthat's because you can get grandfathered in under the old law. the qualifications include background checks and fingerprinting and a list of other things. 4:35 now. it looks like a chinese firm will be taking over the world's largest port producer. smithfield foods based right here in virginia is fetching a nearly $5 billion price tag. shareholders approved a plan this week and final approval is expected to come thursday. if the deal goes through, it would be the largest takeover of a u.s. company by a chinese firm. good news for the district

of columbia. residents are winning the battle against h.i.v. according to a new report published, the number of reported h.i.v. cases dropped 46% between 2007 and 2011. the number of people who have died of h.i.v. and aids is also down 41% over the same time period. standing in line at the dmv is hectic. about 800 people have to rescheduled their driving test in d.c. because of a lack of staffing at the dmv in the district. most of the scheduled tests were between september 24 and october 11, all canceled. if your test was canceled, expect to be contacted by e- mail or letter and you can take the test with a third party but that comes with a fee. otherwise if you want to go to the normal dmv, you have to reschedule. drop down to number two for loudoun county falling to the second spot of the richest counties in the country.

that honor now belongs to arlington. >> you don't have to go far. the median family income last year was $137,216. loudoun county's median income is about $10,000 less than that. howard and fairfax counties come in third and fourth on the list. montgomery county is seventh. our time is 4:37. facebook stock owners have something to smile about this morning. how high did their stocks go? that's coming up in jessica's your money report. >> man, you cannot beat the forecast this week. howard is not officially saying you should skip work but you know what? the first alert fore

another chilly morning.

many 40s out there even though 56 in town. lots of fog west of d.c. mainly clear skies now. looks like a sunny and beautiful afternoon after the crisp start and a little warmer, just a few degrees warmer than yesterday, 75. we'll top out about 77. looks pretty dry through the seven-day. details coming up in a few minutes. right now monika with timesaver traffic. there are no issues to report right now on the beptway north of -- beltway north of town. there had been overnight construction on the inner loop near university boulevard. i believe that's been cleared up on the beltway at georgia avenue looking good. both loops in silver spring. back to you. >> thanks, monika. it is 4:40, time for your first -- time for your first money segment of the morning. >> could we snap the four-day losing streak on wall street. we're coming off all-time highs so it's not the worst thing in the world but it would be nice. investors have been concerned about budget talks in washington and a possible government shutdown which we know a lot about here in washington.

in trade yesterday, the dow plunged 66 points. it starts today at 15,334. the s&p 500 was off four points on the day but the nasdaq was the winner. it was up by 3. part of the reason why, do you still own a steak in facebook -- stake in facebook stock? if you do, shares shot up. they're -- there are reports that china may loosen some of its internet restrictions which could pave the way for facebook to enter the country. jpmorgan chase is reportedly in talks with the justice department about a global settlement that includes several pending government investigations. according to "the wall street journal," the bank has offered about $3 billion for this fine but the government is pushing for more. jpmorgan chase faces more than half a dozen investigations, including possible misconduct in the mortgage industry prior to the financial crisis. and a new career builder

survey finds 36% of workers admit they live paycheck to paycheck. that's actually down from 46% in 2008 of the we're seeing some improvement there. more than a third have stopped eating out or drive less to help balance their household budget. 55% of those surveyed say they would not give up their internet connection no matter what their financial situation. >> you need to job search. >> well yeah. it's become such a staple for our lives nowadays. it looks like an oversized magazine rack but it could be the next fitness craze. we'll introduce you to the fit wall coming up. >> i heard about these but never saw one. looking forward to that. >> you like jumping in puddles like my kids? all very to look long and hard to find one. looks like sunshine will be

good morning. welcome back to wusa9 on this

wednesday morning. it's 4:45. another nice day in the neighborhood. are we seeing in i clouds? a little raindrop here and there maybe? >> no. >> good. >> we need some rain. we were talking yesterday about a possible east coast storm here sunday and monday. it will be far enough east that perhaps maine, nova scotia, might clip new england. we don't need some rain but just a little rain to -- we don't need a lot of rain but just some to clear out the air. mold spores are high. tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen is low. if it's getting you to, it's probably the mold spores. here's your day planner on this wednesday. it's another nice looking day. it's chilly now, 40s and 50s. lunch time looks great, upper 60s with 74 by 3:00. forecasting high today of 77. yesterday we hit 75.

a beautiful day. and even this evening looks nice. light east wind 7. down to 67 by 9:00 with partly cloudy skies. there is some chill in the air across the region. water temperatures by the way, a new addition on the map. low 70s off norfolk but the air temperature down there is 55. 46 in pittsburgh this morning. 45 cumberland. to the south and west, we've been watching a little bit more moisture in the air. so these longer nights it's easy to condense it out in the form of fog and vinlts from warrenton -- visibilities from warrenton to culpeper. down to one mile at frederick airport. but the bulk of the fog is west of town. even the shenandoah valley, look at all the quarter-mile visibility from luray to harrisonburg. temps in the low 40s in germantown. 43 along with leesburg. mid-40s -- dumfries 48. barely holding on to 50 at an dues. to our north's east, college park in the upper 40s.

outside on our michael &son weather camera, you see nothing but good visibility here in d.c. partly cloudy conditions, 56. light winds. only north, northwest at 3. the dew point yesterday was 45, 48 today. so still a very comfortable air mass overhead. we're not seeing much change. you do see quite a squirrel off -- swirl here off nova scotia dragging a cold front overrening in. high pressure in two chunks now. one off the carolina coast. the other one south of buffalo and a storm system coming out of the midwest. that storm system would be our chance for a raindrop but it looks like it's going to just run into the high pressure and not really make it across the appalachians. here we're looking at some clouds thrown our way. we'll be partly sunny at times today as opposed to mostly sunny. nice hours down toward knoxville and chattanooga into southern west virginia. as we head into thursday morning, look how the storm sort of falls apart. the energy will be pushed to the south. we'll get the clouds maybe in

the morning but looks like another sunny day with low pressure developing way off shore. that will move toward nova scotia, new foundland. we'll stay with a northeasterly flow the next few days. it's a moderate flow, not a warm one but not ceshably cool today. -- terribly cool today. closer to 50 if not a few upper 40s in the colder spots. just a little milder than this morning. 77 tomorrow. still very nice with a few more clouds here and there. beautiful on friday, 74. that northeasterly wind keeps temperatures from getting too warm, staying in the mid-70s for the most part. just a stray shower possible monday and nice again tuesday, temps in the mid-70s. we might be holding on to this pattern of dry, nice weather through the first several days of october at this rate. monika samtani, good morning. good morning.  we already have a pretty serious crash. we know there are nonlife threatening injuries which men's the person should be okay but branch avenue is closed down in southeast basically between southern avenue and cam

denial. if you're coming in from -- camden. if you're coming in from southern maryland going into the district, branch avenue is shut down between southern avenue and camden and i suggest that you use nailer road instead. if you're planning to head to the beltway south of town, things look good in oxon hill to the wilson bridge. no problems there. let take a live look outside and on the west side of town at the american legion bridge, we're in good shape between 270, bethesda coming into tysons corner and beyond. we'll go back to the maps, this time out to 66 on the westbound side past route 28 in centreville. the two right lanes are blocked with construction. i'm told that that is scheduled to be there till about 6:00 this morning. so watch out for that on the westbound side. inbound is okay coming in from manassas all the way to fairfax. your lanes are open at this point in the morning. we'll take another live look outside in springfield on the northbound side of i-95. no issues coming up from dale city right up to 395 and to the 14th street bridge across the

potomac river. andrea, mike? >> thank you, monika. all right, you've heard about it but not seen t. it's a new fitness program that capitalizes on technology to give you all the carld crow and strength -- cardioand strength training you need in a single 40-minute workout. >> the key is a piece of exercise equipment already being used by pro football players and it might be coming to a gym near you soon. >> three, two. >> reporter: fitness is a balance. take it easy and you won't get enough exercise. push yourself too hard and you could get hurt. but a new workout fit wall aims to keep people safe and in shape. >> what you see in our studios is a 40-minute fitness experience that brings strength, cardio, to bear. >> reporter: you climb, kick, stretch and squat on what looks like a heavy duty server rack. as they work out, members wear a monitor dubbed the peanut strapped around their chest. >> you went from blue to green. we took your heart rate up to 120. >> reporter: the peanut tracks

vitals in real time and transmits the date to an ipad next to their fit wall station via blu tooth. >> it allows you from the comfort of your mobile home or computer at home be able to see how you've done and plan to do better in the future. >> reporter: the company has earned some high profile attention. fit wall is being used by u.s. military and special forces, olympic training centers and the pittsburgh steelers. >> go back to that top position. >> reporter: classes begin with dwe compressive -- decompressive moves such as squats and goes on to fundamentals. sessions end with sprints. >> this is where we're starting to go fast. >> reporter: short but intense bursts of activity. >> priming our pump. i can see your heart rate starting to climb. >> reporter: does it produce results? >> it's like the longest 15 seconds of my life. >> reporter: let's say it left me sore for three days. >> if you'd like to try t you have to go to san diego, the only location so far.

new studios are expected -- this looks like a ladder on a wall with a heart monitor. new studios are expected to open up near california and possibly new york over the next year. >> we figured this one out, right? 4:52. british researchers analyzed nearly two dozen studies and found people who take antidepressants are more likely to have type 2 diabetes. this is only an association and not direct proof the drug causes the disease. many with low testosterone may have a slightly higher risk of heart disease. researchers in belgium who conducted the study say they don't know why. they also say giving these men testosterone replacement doesn't seem to reverse the risk. all the supplements you take when you work out, do they help? apparently a new study says yeah. it finds calcium supplements improve bone health in older women but vitamin e supplements may not. new york researchers say women who get enough vitamin d from their diet will not benefit

from taking any more of that. it's 4:53. good morning if you're just waking up this hump day. question of the morning now, according to an ask men survey, if the united states were to ban a fast food, which one of these did men say they would miss the most? >> is it a, chicken gug nets, b, -- nuggets, b, the big mac or c, the big whopper. with or without onions? i don't know. log on to the wusa9 facebook page and tell us what you think and why. we'll have the answer in our 6:00 hour. don't forget, we are always on at wusa9.com and the wusa9

4:56 areas of fog we'll see mainly high clouds coming across the region at 9:00. 50s to about 60. lunch hour partly to mostly sunny with upper 60s to around 70 and then a beautiful afternoon staying partly to mostly sunny with highs generally in the mid-70s. monika? if you're planning to head here on the beltway through oxon hill, you're in good shape to the wilson bridge leaving 210 but branch avenue heading north into the district is closed down between camden and southern avenue in southeast. you'll want to take nailer road instead. back to you guys. >> thank you, monika. gas prices are falling just like autumn leaves. right now they're on a 23-day slide.

the national average is $3.46 a gallon. the lowest average since january and gas prices are 35 cents less than they were this time last year. record high refining in the u.s., shrinking consumer demand and slumping crude oil prices are reasons behind the fall according to gasbuddy.com. drivers are also getting a break because gas stations have switched from their summer blend to winter grade which is about 10 to 15 cents cheaper. good news. ah, miss piggy and kermit will finally be together next to the frog she loves. the famous puppet will join kermit the frog at the nantz mao see -- national museum of american history. miss piggy will be put on display within the american stories exhibition coming up in march. and there's miss piggy and this is the american history museum, correct? >> no, that looks like-- >> that looks like the air and

space museum. the henson collection will be the american museum. they already had a nice group of pup mets there, the muppets. a controversial new romeo and juliet is about to hit the big screen. and bono gets a laugh from former president bill clinton at his expense. >> a back street boy comes clean. suzanne marquez has those stories and more on n this intie on entertainment. >> reporter: youtube -- you 2 -- u -- [indiscernible] the rock start warmed up the crowd when he imat a timed the former. talking about their first meeting. >> i felt like the rock star on that occasion. >> reporter: bono then introduced bill clinton as david letterman. >> i must be really easy to make fun of. >> reporter: back street boy nick carter has a new tell all out about his addiction to

drugs and alcohol called "facing the music and living to tell about it." >> you drink till you pass out and wake up the next day and you don't know who you're with. >> reporter: carter credits his band mates for saving him. star cross lovers walked the red carpet here in hollywood for the world remere for a controversial new romeo and juliet. it's a new azap teague that does not -- adaptation that does not use shakespeare's words. >> when you have a play, you -- [indiscernible] >> reporter: romeo and juliet opens in the u.s. next month. >> what is that over there? >> reporter: and miss piggy is moving into the smithsonian. jim henson's family is donating some of his original muppets to the museum and that's your eye on entertainment. suzanne marquez for cbs news, hollywood. >> the story bears repeating. good morning. thank you for watching wusa9 at

5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. favorite muppet. do you have a favorite? >> i have to say miss piggy or maybe kermit. kermit. >> two old guys in the balcony. >> give me one of those old guys. beautiful again this morning. we'll get to "sesame street" later, guys. weather wise we have a chill in the air once again and fog, especially south and west of town. that may slow you down with visibilities in the shenandoah valley about a quarter mile. day planner looks good once again. going to be another beautiful afternoon after the chilly start. temperatures by the middle of the day, boy, a great day to be outside for lunch or recess. temps in the upper 60s. 71 at 1:00. on our way into the mid-70s in most spots. about 77 for the high today in washington. yesterday we got to 75. some high clouds coming in from the southwest this morning, especially in our southern and western suburbs but all in all a nice quiet morning. we're down in the low 40s now in