ng it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. hello, thank you for joining us. i'm j.c. hayward. we have just learned that minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann is ending her bid to win the republican presidential nomination. that's according to one of her campaign advisers. bachmann came in last in the

iowa caucuses. we have also just learned that texas governor rick perry is continuing his bid for president. he said in a tweet here we come, south carolina! randall pink ston has more how on how this affects the field of candidates. >> reporter: michele bachmann is dropping out of the presidential race. >> the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so i have decided to stand aside. >> reporter: the minnesota congresswoman came in sixth in the iowa caucus getting just under 5% of the vote. texas governor rick perry announced he's going back to texas to figure out his next step after finishing fifth last night. >> on to new hampshire, let ate get the job done. an upbeat mitt romney is looking forward to new hampshire, happy with his razor- thin victory in iowa. >> to come up with a strong finish is something that obviously is very encouraging. >> reporter: romney beat a surging rick santorum which

just 8 votes. >> thank you so much, iowa. you have taken the first step of taking back this country. >> reporter: ron paul finished strong in third place. >> we have tremendous opportunity to continue this momentum. >> former utah governor jon huntsman is pinning his hopes on new hampshire. he skipped the iowa caucuses to concentrate all of his efforts here in advance of next tuesday's primary. >> you have to be on the ground, shake hands, you have to have ideas that represent the future of this country. >> still, polls show him way behind former massachusetts governor romney who owns a home in the state. randall pinkston, cbs news, manchester, new hampshire. now, the campaign moves to new hampshire. the granite state will hold its primary next tuesday mitt romney is expected to win there. it gives him a 27--point advantage. ron paul is in second place in the poll followed by former utah governor john huntsman. huntsman chose to skip the iowa

caucuses. president obama will do a little campaigning of his own in ohio today because he visits cleveland to talk about the economy. last night, the president reached out to iowa voters in a live web chat from washington. he also had ads all over the des moines register web site. well, this morning's bitter cold weather caused some problems for metro commuters. the trains are running now but the intense cold weather caused tracks on metro's red line near takoma's metro station to crack. metro faced the same problem along the yellow line as it crosses the potomac river. both lines were reduced to just one-track as crews made repairs. so, there were delays on the red, yellow and blue lines. the question is how much longer will the cold weather last? our meteorologist howard is here with our forecast first. howard? >> j.c., we're in the core of

the cold. the next 12, 24 hours, the arctic air will leave. we'll feel the milder temperatures by tomorrow. in fact, tonight won't be nearly as cold as what we have this morning. as temperatures drop into the single digits in winchester. of course, they had a couple of inches of snow on the ground. no school for garrett, virginia. we get down to 17. coldest morning of the season so far with many areas in the low to mid teens for lows. right now, we've managed to barely get into the upper 20s here in town. still only 21 in hagerstown. annapolis, 27. very cold ground. we're watching the threat for some flurries and maybe a period of light snow this afternoon for the first part of this evening. radar is picking up some echos in pennsylvania but the stuff we're worried about is out toward ohio right now. live doppler 9000 hd, there is the pennsylvania flurries and snow showers up toward harrisburg. we're all quiet. late this afternoon, early this evening as temperatures barely get above freezing, barely get

above freezing, we'll have that threat for the light snow which could leave a coating and it doesn't take much. yesterday, we had numerous accidents. just a little bit of snow. we'll watch this carefully for you for the rest of the day. 40s tomorrow and warmer by friday. i'll be back with the full 7- day forecast. j.c.? >> thank you, howard. >> embattled d.c. council member harry thomas jr. could resign at any moment. his impending departure is part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. it was alleged that thomas spent thousands of dollars from a youth baseball program. delia gonsalves joins us now and she has the latest information. delia? >> reporter: j.c., the council is in legislative session right now. according to our colleague who is inside, harry thomas is a no show. our sources tell us thomas is expected to plead guilty to one felony charge and he will soon resign from his post as council member for ward five.

terry thomas' plea deal could land him in jail for three years. he's accused of taking $300,000 in city money to pay for his own lavish vacations and luxury vehicles. about a month ago, the fbi and i.r.s. raid the his northeast home. i was the first reporter to speak with council chairman kwame brown as he arrived to work and i asked him about this situation. he said that if this indeed is true, he said at this point, it is only just speculation and rumor but he says if indeed this is true, that there will be a special election to replace harry thomas on that ward five council seat. that special election will take place soon after the resignation which we're told will happen in the next coming days. they have to replace harry thomas jr. within 114 days after he resigns. j.c., that's the very latest. back to you. >> delia, thank you very much. d.c. mayor vincent gray and

some council members will go to new hampshire to make their case that the district should become the nation's 51st state. it is part of a new outreach effort in which statehood advocates will be asking state legislatures to pass resolutions supporting that cause. the chair of the d.c. city council wants every high school student to take a college entrance examination. even if it means forcing them. kwame brown is proposing that each student be required to take either the s.a.t. or the a.c.t. before graduation. and to apply to at least one vocational school or college. brown's proposal would create a workshop to teach students how to apply to schools and also how to get financial aid. his office says that this would cost between $300,000 and $400,000. d.c. police are investigating the city's second

homicide of the year. it happened last night. the 1500 block of 45th street northeast. when officers arrived, they found a man with several gunshot wounds to the chest. police have not released the man's name or any information on possible suspects or a motive. hundreds of montgomery county students are in new classrooms this afternoon. modernization projects have just been completed for three elementary schools. cannon road also garrett park elementary school and seven locks. the county's new school superintendent along with county executive ike leggett and other local leaders gathered at garrett park elementary school in order to celebrate the openings. prince george's county police need our help! they're looking for 76-year-old of john hawkins. hawkins was last seen leaving his home in temple hills

yesterday. according to police, hawkins suffers from diabetes and dementia and he needs medication. still to come when 9news now continues, wrapped in bandages and demanding drugs, find out where this robbery suspect struck and what he took. and how you can help montgomery county police. we'll be right back. also, we're going to take a closer look at the republican presidential candidates as they set their sights on new hampshire. stay with us.

i'm one on one now with rene jackson. we're going to talk about the close race in the iowa caucuses. those running for a political nomination for the republicans, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> were you surprised by michele bachmann, the fact that she has decided to drop out of the race. >> no. michele bachmann never had a rationale for entering the race. who was her constituent is i and what was her rationale for running. she never established that. it didn't surprise me at all. >> earlier, she was the golden child. >> because she's a fresh face, she's a female. she's fairly attractive. those are the -- what was her rationale for running and what distinguished her from the rest of the field. and other than her and rick

santorum and rick perry, they were all catering to the same vote. so, she couldn't separate herself from the pack. >> all right. now, how important are the iowa caucuses for the rest of the campaign? >> there is no importance to the iowa caucuses at all because iowa does not represent the cross section of america. so, you get bragging rights from winning iowa but that's about it. after today, you won't even hear the word iowa again for the rest of the presidential cycle. >> the attention now is turning to new hampshire. so, the question is how important will new hampshire be? doesn't this give the candidates kind of an idea of how voters are thinking? >> no. because iowa and new hampshire are two of the widest states in the country. and so you'll get a real flavor for where the candidates stand in my view, when you get to south carolina with a 25% black population and florida which has black and hispanic as well as white and south carolina, the black vote is a negligible

part of the republican primary but at least candidates have to talk to more than just a white constituency. >> do you really feel the black vote is going to have an impact in the republican presidential race? >> no, no, not on the republican side but because of the dynamics in south carolina, you're going to have to have a broader message than you would in iowa and new hampshire because those two states are very homogenous populationwise. but when you get -- there are a lot of black evangelicals in south carolina. that republicans are going to have to spend some time talking to. so, that's going to be interesting dynamics. the other thing is south carolina and florida will be the first two states that will give an insight into how romney's mormonism plays in the south evangelical community. >> what about hispanics? now, we're talking about race. >> in south carolina, you have a growing population of hispanics but again, a negligible part of the minority vote in republican primary.

but when you get to florida, that's a different story. remember, after florida, there is the caucus in neveed a da right after that. so, the hispanic vote is going to become more important as well. but republicans make a -- a strategic mistake by thinking let's focus only within the republican party on the hispanic vote because the black vote is just up for grabs as the hispanic vote is but for some reason, the perception is hispanics are more open to a republican message than blacks and that's not true. >> when you say the black vote is up for grabs. you'll have to come back and we'll have to talk about that. >> any time. >> thanks for being with us reynard jackson. when we come back, howard has the forecast. >> it is getting warmer already. 28 degrees in washington. this is going to be a memory quickly but there may be a little snow late today or this evening that could cause some minor issues. here is a look at temps as we go to break. 30 already in college park and

crofton. only 25 in gaithersburg, lovettsville and 27 in manassas. full 7-day forecast looking toward the weekend when 9news now at noon returns.

he's been collecting people's secrets for years and posting them online. on a site that is called postsecret. but when germantown blogger created an iphone app that did the same thing, it backfired. lindsey mastis has the story of

an extremely popular application that was killed off by bullies. >> i want to join the army to serve my country. the weird thing is i hate my country. >> reporter: it is a secret written on a postcard, sent to frank warren. he's been posting ten a week on postsecret.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 then 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. >> reporter: just like the postcard, the people that created digital secrets remained anonymous. unfortunately, bullies started harassing users and even uploaded horrible images. >> beyond pornographic or showing grewsome images. >> moderators tried to screen every secret submitted on the

app but it was impossible. >> people were submitting secrets almost every two to three seconds. >> reporter: a few bad apples spoiled the app. >> so, in the end, we felt the right decision was to shut it down. >> the bullies have won the battle, at least for now. >> i think there is great potential for another post- secret app and i certainly have ideas about how to make that possible but i'm not ready to pursue it right now. >> reporter: in germantown, maryland, i'm lindsey mastis, 9news now. the police also made direct threat -- the app has been pulled from itunes and warren has ended plans to launch an app for android. but he will continue to update the web site. police have released surveillance video of a man who is being called the bandage bandit. he's covered in bandages and he has one arm in a sling. he's accused of walking into a cvs in gaithersburg on christmas eve, threatening to pull a gun on employees. he didn't demand money.

he wanted drugs. he got away with oxycontin, a powerful painkiller and police are hoping that this video will bring them some leads. citrus growers in florida are on edge because of the cold weather there. farmers set up their irrigation lines yesterday in hopes of creating fog overnight by spraying warm water into the freezing air. that should raise temperatures in the groves by 3 to 5 degrees which they hope will be just enough to save this year's orange crop. >> a coating of ice on the crops also insulates them because the ice while it is warming is 32 degrees even though the air temperatures in some cases in north central florida get down to 19, 20, 21, they would rather have the gropes at 3 it -- the crops at 32 rather than at 20. an exceptionally cold night for them. you saw the temperatures this morning. 17 in town. 7 in winchester.

school delays out west. heavy snow showers yesterday. this evening, we may get a period of flurries or a little bit of light snow. that's with a we'll be watching for the next few hours. we start you off with the day planner. between now and 4:00, 5:00, things are fairly quiet. mostly cloudy skies out there. temperatures struggle to get into the low, possibly mid- 30s, 34, 35 degrees. but a southerly wind is going to bring some slightly milder air in here. that's why we're seeing the arctic air go bye-bye after today. by 9:00, whatever is coming through will probably be past d.c., might still have some light snow or flurries on the eastern shore with temperatures about 32. a lot warmer tonight. we'll be 25 to 30 in most areas as opposed to teens and upper single digits. you can see the cloud cover. some light echoes showing up. anything that is trying to come out of the clouds is evaporating. virga is what he with call this. hazy sun has been penetrating the clouds here at the noon

hour. up to 30 in culpepper. still only 21 for hagerstown. bwi26 and in luray this afternoon, 28. wind chills, a little tough still in the teens to low 20s out there. so, clearly, a day to bundle up but we'll be in the 40s tomorrow and 50s by friday. right now, 28. while it is reported cloudy. it is a thin overcast. sunshine through it. wind chill of 19 and a south- southwesterly wind at 10. dew points, 8. it was 5 below this morning. little bit of moisture trying to come back. but there is a 20 degree spread between the temperature and the dew point. the air is that dry. that's why it is not reaching the ground. big storm in the gulf of alaska. the big push of pacific air to the west coast is going to help push the mild air off to the south central part of the country. it will be a kick to get the arctic air out of the middle  east. for us, about 18 hours before we see a nice little change. the cold air is in place now. here comes that little disturbance for this evening.

you'll notice by 11:00, it is past d.c. it may put down a little coating in spots this evening and that could cause some problems with a few slick areas. watch out for that. tomorrow, this pulls away. the sun returns. we've got temperatures tomorrow as i said into the middle 40s. here is a look at the forecast. today, 35, maybe 33, 34 with the chance of some flurries. late snow early this evening. tonight, partly cloudy. 25 to 30. milder tomorrow. mid-40s. nice on friday. mid to upper 50s. still in the 50s on saturday. then on sunday, of some our computer models suggesting perhaps a little snow early sunday. but we'll watch that carefully then monday and tuesday in the low 40s. stick around. we're back with 9news now at noon right after this.

>> we have a winner. the local winner of the virginia lottery's new year's millionaire raffle has come forward. but his name has not been released. the ticket was bought at the great falls 7-eleven. it was one of three tickets drawn for the top prizes of a million dollars. and the store's owner says he didn't believe the news at first. >> at first, i thought somebody was playing with me because it was new year's eve. calling me and playing a prank on me. then i found out it is true. somebody won, actually one of the $3 million. >> the storeowner says that the winner is a regular customer, a special presentation will be held tomorrow at the great falls 7-eleven.

don't forget to go to jchayward.com every day because there is new information being posted. and try to stay warm. >> topper will have the latest on a possible flurry of light snow coming up tonight. >> all right. come back and join us at 5:00. have a great day. bye-bye.