snow flakes we added in the seven-day. stop talking already and vote. that's what iowa republicans will finally do in about two hours from now. they are the first votes of the presidential year and we voted to have gary bring us up to date. he is keeping an eye on the race from the satellite center. hi gary. >> good afternoon. well here's how some of the candidates are describing some of their rivals today. one is a liberal, one is a liar, and one is disgusting. those are the three leading the poll. >> mitt romney is spending most of his time attacking barack obama. >> but former speaker of the house and former front runner is attacking romney as a liar. >> you're calling mitt romney is liar? >> well, you seem shocked by it, yes. he's not telling the american people the truth. is this like his pretense that he's a conservative. >> questioning in iowa, ron paul has a label for fast

rising rick santorum. >> why wouldn't he be a good republican nominee? >> he is very liberal. >> rick santorum is liberal? >> have you looked at his records? go look at his record. >> why is he a liberal? >> he spending too much money. >> and san santorum has called him disgusting. >> i want to abolish the tax code and do away with it. >> now at the back of the pack, rick perry sounds like the guy at front of the pack, mitt romney. >> this election is about stopping a president of the united states and his administration that is abusing the constitution of this country. >> final polls have romney with a small lead over paul with santorum polling third. >> we are going to win this thing with all of our passion and strength. >> so if the polls are right and the candidate descriptions are right, someone who is

discussing, someone who is a liar are going to be one, two, and three. we should point out that the thomas jefferson campaign, that he had, quote, a hideous character which has neither the force or firmness of a man. the adams campaign responded by calling jefferson a mean spirited, low-lived fellow, the son after an indian, and quote, there is plenty of time for the 2012 insults to get better. new hampshire is only a week away and here's the part the bosses want me to say. results tonight at 11:00. >> definitely that is what we will have. >> all that name calling, i feel awful now. gary. >> we'll have the results tonight, thanks. now from des moines is u.s.a. today political reporter, susan. thanks for talking with us this evening. we know this is going to be the beginning. could tonight be the end of the road for somebody? >> you know, it could be the start of a sprint.

if mitt romney has a good night, then wins in new hampshire and does well in south carolina and concludes in florida in good shape, we could have a fast finish. we could have a process that goes well into the spring. >> romney, he spent much of his time hammering president obama, not his republican opponents. if he stays in the 20% range tonight, that mean there's a really strong anybody but mitt scenario out there? >> we think mitt romney will get about 25%, maybe above that tonight based on the late breaking polls that we have seen. you know, that's what he got four years ago when it was a big loss. this time the not mitt romney vote is fractured among several people and that's been the recipe for success for him. >> just mentioned the not mitt romney support. it has been around one name we haven't heard about, that's rick santorum. how strong is his support and are they having a fling with

him the same way with herman cain and all the others? >> timing is everything, so we have seen this big surge for rick santorum as we saw for herman cain and rick perry and michele bachmann at previous points. but there has been time to bring him back down to earth. he seems to have perfectly timed it to do well tonight. >> there are three tickets out of iowa. is that still true this year? >> you know, traditionally, three tickets out of iowa, we have never had a nominee that hasn't come in the first three slots. we think the first three spots will be ron paul, mitt romney, and rick santorum in some order or the other. one of those tickets is going to ron paul, we think that means there may be a fourth ticket out of iowa and we see newt gingrich and rick perry battling for that fourth place spot. normally not a place you want to be. but compared to fifth place, it may look good. >> we thank you for your time.

it looks like virginia republicans will completely control the evenly divided state senate during the general assembly session. lieutenant governor said today he will use his tie breaking vote on both bill and organizational issues. virginia democrats had sued over the vote saying he should only break ties on certain types of legislation. and not on the makeup of senate committee. judge threw out that lawsuit last month. tomorrow the d.c. council will vote on emergency legislation. aims to address some of the problems that flagged district politicians as of late. the measure's sponsor and council chair are hoping this will help close a very embarrassing chapter in d.c. politics. >> we were just very pleased to take through the council, comprehensive ethics bill and tomorrow what we'll do is move an emergency that will put the law in effect immediately. >> my number one objective is to win back those residents

that feel the distractions took the place of getting things done for them. >> we also found out councilman harry thomas will have to pay more than $17,000 in outstanding student loans. the federal judge unsealed that order this afternoon. thomas is also under investigation by the fbi and irs. they are also looking into allegations that he diverted more than $300,000 of city money for his personal use. we have a most unusual robber to show you now. he is called the bandaged bandit. he struck most recently at a cvs pharmacy in maryland. that's where scott broom is standing by to tell us more. >> as the name implies, this guy commits his crime all wrapped up in bandages and in the case of the hit on this cvs on christmas eve, he was after drugs, not money. >> the bandaged bandit comes off looking like a mum mummy. face completely wrapped in bandages wearing a sling and

gloves, but this appearance at the montgomery county village, where he threatened pharmacists he had a gun. and he wanted drugs. >> he was looking for prescription medication. he received an undisclosed amount of oxycontin. >> i think that's very scary and crazy. >> i think that is shocking and very clever and scary. >> police say the bandaged bandit is a white man in his 20s who could be as tall as '63 and weighing up 6'3". >> the bandaged bandit hasn't been seen since, even worse for this cvs store, this store has been hit twice by a man carrying a shotgun. he is also on the loose. in those cases, that suspect was after money, not drugs. live in montgomery village, 9news now. >> that store has had some

tough luck, scott. thanks. tension continues to grow tonight between iran and the united states after a new threat against a u.s. warship. the commander of iran's army warned the navy today, saying a u.s. aircraft carrier did not come back and that iran will quote, not repeat its warning. the threat comes as iran wraps up military drills and missiles test in the straight of hormoose. the bold warning shows the country is in a position of weakness. >> it's the latest round of iranian threats and confirmation that tehran is under increasing pressure. >> tensions have been building since president obama signed off on new sanctions against iran. those make it harder to sell the oil and meant to punish it for their nuclear program. the u.s. says threats are assigned the sanctions are working. tension continues to mount. >> a young mother faced with a frightening decision. just days after her husband passes away, forced to fight for her life and that of her

newborn babies. her terrifying story coming auto7:00. >> we have all seen it. a guy goes down op one knee at a basketball game asking the love of his life to marry him. but this didn't end the way you like it to. we'll show it to you later. >> but next, the new year has just started and so has metro's latest track work. whose ride is going to be affected up next. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪

just three days of 2012. we have a commuter alert. trains will share a single track. the same things happens tomorrow. crews are working to replace a track circuit. cleaning up the chesapeake bay may be good for the environment, but it could be good for the economy. that's according to a new

report by the chesapeake bay foundation. storm water and sewage plant upgrades could create jobs. that includes positions in engineering and construction. the bay foundation commissioned report to dispute critics claims that the restoration project would end up costing local jobs. >> new restaurants and stores could pop up around joint base andrews in maryland. today the west gate reopened for pedestrian use for the first time since the days following 9/11. there had been concerns that the gate could be a security risk. the newspaper reports business leaders are looking at redevelopment possibilities in the area. >> coming up next, a website allowing people to post secrets for years get pulled from a popular smart phone. we'll tell you why when we come back.

the unit 1 nuclear reactor at north anna power station should be back at full power soon. crews had it partially shut down after a leak was discovered yesterday. they restarted it this morning after making repairs. it's the second partial shutdown in the last six months. both units were taken offline after august's earthquake in nearby louisa. the nuclear regulatory commission says there is no evidence this leak had anything to do with the damage from the earthquake. he's been collecting people's secrets for years. posting them online on a site

called, post secret. when this blogger created an iphone app that did the same thing, it backfired. lindsey mastis has the story of a popular application killed off by bullies. >> i want to join the army to serve my country. the weird thing is, i hate my country. >> it's a secret written on a postcard send to frank warren. he has been posting ten a week on post secret.com since 2004. and the blog got so popular he decided to create an app. >> the app was a way where using your smart phone, you could photograph an image and type your secret over that image and share it out. >> it launched just a few months ago. >> people were sharing around the world 40 to 50,000 secrets every day. >> just like the postcards, the people that created digital secrets remained unanimous. unfortunately, bullies started harassing users and even uploaded horrible images.

>> beyond pornographic or showing gruesome images. >> moderators tried to screen every secret submitted on the app, but it was impossible. >> people were submitting secrets almost every 2 to 3 seconds. >> a few bad apples spoiled the app. >> we felt the right decision was to shut it down. >> the bullies won this battle, at least for now. >> i think it's great potential for another post secret app and i have ideas about how to make that possible, but i'm not ready to pursue it right now. >> in germantown, maryland, i'm lindsey mastis. >> these online bullies made direct threats to a family. the iphone app has been pulled and warren ended plans to launch a similar one, but he will continue to update the secrets website. citi bank customers can use facebook. the bank has launched an app that lets users team up to use their points whether for

charity, group gifts, or personal goal. the app builds on a service that citi introduced last year. after getting some positive feedback, the bank decided to expand the project. was it real or was this one staged? we're talking about a marriage proposal a few days ago that hit the internet big time. the missile toe cam stopped on one couple, a young man got down on bended knee, pulled out a ring and asked for the young lady's hand in marriage. she sat there a moment and shook her head, got up, and walked away. >> oh, how uncomfortable? real or fake, maybe there is a lesson there. a jumbotron is the last place you want to pop the question. >> that can be hard even if it's just the two of you. imagine all those people reacting. >> you think it's fake? >> i think so. >> she doesn't look like she is really shocked.

>> upset, and here's the thing. if a guy proposes, you think he has a good chance. she would deal with it later in private. >> all right, we have windchills in the teens. it's going to move out. i want to show you radar. i just zoomed into this snow shower out to the west. pretty impressive if you are headed out 66 right now. this is going to continue to move across 66 and will look impressive for a while and will accumulate because temperatures are now in the upper 20s. so keep that in mind. if you know somebody heading out f 6 or out 50, it's showing up clearly on radar. and here's why it's going to stick. well, windchills in the teens and temperatures in the 20s. feels like it's 13 in gaithersburg and 14 downtown. so, winds diminish tonight. although not until after midnight. early flurries are ending. even colder tonight temperature

wise. and still cold tomorrow. we're not talking about blustery conditions, but temperatures in the mid 30s. good news, chilly on thursday. pop back into the 40s. so for tonight, early flurries or snow shower and partly cloudy. lows 14 to 24. winds become northwest at 10 after midnight. they will still be 10 to 20. lows tonight, we're talking plenty of teens across the metro area. arlington, maybe low 20s. downtown, maybe low 20s. 17 in rockville. these are not windchills, these are temperatures. 18 in college park. 17 in reston and fairfax and sterling right around 16. 15 in leesburg. manassas and middleburg. one of our colder nights. one of the coldest nights so far. partly cloudy, very cold. you'll need a coat and sunglasses. temperatures in the teens and 20s. a couple good news here. winds out of the southwest. only at 10. you can deal with that.

by afternoon, partly cloudy, still cold. a couple flurries possible again. highs around 35. winds pick up a little bit, but still, out of the southwest at 10 to 15. that is a little milder direction. all right, talk about the zone forecast. west of the divide by mid afternoon. 28 for oakland. 32 in cumberland. a little bit above freezing. 33 in hagerstown. looking at 36 in culpeper. only 34 in warrenton and all these folks east of the mountains will run the chance of a shower or snow shower or flurry. 35 downtown. 35 into southern maryland. 36 for annapolis. with those winds, there's a small craft advisory until 9:00 a.m. on wednesday. we'll break it down. 50 to 59 to start. and 30 to 35 by evening. a couple snow showers or flurries possible. not windy, but plenty cold. all right, talk about the next

three days. 35 tomorrow. we are back in the 40s on thursday. in fact, we gain 10 degrees each day. mid 50s on friday. a gorgeous day. partly cloudy skies. now next seven days. weekend a little bit unsettled. we had this in yesterday. still 52 on saturday. we will stay above freezing on saturday night. but the system looks more potent. may draw some colder air. may end up being a colorful storm. cold sunday and monday, but then boom, back in the low 50s on tuesday. >> okay. not bad. >> thanks. >> caps are getting back a key player and they're on a roll. >> something we haven't seen since the beginning of the season. they seem to be doing something right, and he's back. mike green expected to return to the ice tonight. can he help his surging team keep on rolling? plus, the hokies looking for a big win. that and more coming up next in sports.

now, 9sports with kristen burset. the best sports in town. you can call them surging. you can call it a fluke. the capitals are doing something right. since they reunited, the caps are 3-0 out scoring opponents 11-4. tonight they'll add a much missed piece of the puzzle. mike green expected to return to the ice. he missed the last 23 games with a strained right groin and

although he's not expected to log a lot of ice time, for green, he's ready to compete again. >> this will be a great day for me, but you have to ease yourself in. i don't think i'll be jumping up and all over the ice or whatnot. it's important for me to get my game back and it's better i try to do that slowly. >> we have to monitor him. hopefully he'll do a good job. >> all right, there have been exciting high scoring bowl games the past couple of weeks. tonight, virginia tech gets their chance to impress and to quiet those critics that blasted the selection of the hokies to the sugar bowl, even though they lost one game and launched their first 12 win season. some didn't think they deserved the honor. now the hokies haven't faired well in bowl games. an 8-10 record. not too bad, but they are amped up for the big one in the big easy. >> approach every game as if

we were playing appalachian state or michigan. i'm honored to be able to play against a great player like him. >> play a great program, really good football team. >> time now to announce this week's high school game of the week poll. we got some basketball, boy stone bridge, stone wall jackson, girls blare at sherwood, vote at dchighschoolsports.net. wizards take notice. check out this four-year-old baller. i love the head fake he has going on. this kid is impressive. the ball is bigger than his head, but he is amazing. >> maybe we could get him for a minute in the game. just a minute. >> he has about 11 years until he can play. >> that's all for 9news now at 6:00. the cbs evening news is next. derek is back at 7:00 and we are always on at wusa9.com. >> we'll also have caucus

results for you tonight at 11:00. the fire and from the bedroom you coe that work me right up. and it was absolutely terrifying. we got out of there as quickly as we could. i'm watching the house burn up and i'm sitting there saying, there goes everything. these days you don't have to lose your house in a fire to know what it's like to be left on the edge in the cold. the shelter gave us a place to stay. and citizens energy helped the shelter with heat. i'm excited to finally have a place of my own. citizens energy is helping us with the oil. citizens energy was created to help the forgotten ones keep warm. we asked the big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. only citgo and the people of venezuela said yes. and this year, in spite of soaring fuel prices, congress cut home heating assistance nearly in half. while people need help more than ever. for the last seven years, citgo has helped families and homeless shelters in good times and in bad. thanks joe and thanks citgo.