>> in order to focus his full time and attention on his situation at this point, i think it's probably time for him to step down. >> i'm just disappointed. reporter: d.c. council chairman kwame brown seemed to stop just short of demanding a resignation. >> i have not yet received his resignation, but i expect to receive it. reporter: the fbi and irs agents raided thomas' northeast home late last year, a signal to most charges would be forthcoming. allegations were thomas used the stolen money to guy an suv, a motorcycle and take many lavish vacations and spending sprees. federal authorities say beginning in the year 2007 after he was elected to the d.c. council thomas failed to report some $25,000 in income. it jumped to an astounding 278,000 in unreported and untaxed income in 2008. then $43,000 in 2009. d.c. councilman harry thomas was reelected last year.

he's got three years left on his term as representative from ward 5. if and when he resigns, there will be a special election and just over 140 days to fill out the remainder of his term. >> i met him. he's a really good guy. power and greed probably and lost his head. >> he came on and he was going to do that and do that and did he it for himself. he doesn't care about us. >> the first time we hear from d.c. councilman harry thomas will probably come at that court appearance tomorrow. calls into marry thomas' attorneys have not been returned. -- harry thomas' attorneys have not been returned. the u.s. to end office says they have no comment today -- the u.s. attorneys office says they have no comment today. 13 years if you look at the two felony charges he may be facing, but it's probably going to be a lot less than that, but there's no doubt, nobody saying he will not do prison time. even he is telling his associates he expects to go to

prison. a fifth sentence handed down today to the 20-year-old olney man responsible for the drunken driving crash in may that killed three of his friends and injured a fourth. a judge gave kevin coffay the maximum allowed under the law, 40 years. andrea mccarren is in the montgomery county courtroom and joins us live from rockville with the details. andrea? reporter: kevin coffay will serve 20 years in prison. the judge suspended the other 20 years of the sentence and credited him with time already served under home detention since last may. does the sentence help in any way? >> i don't know, can't bring three lives back. reporter: the olney crash in may broke the heart of a community. >> there's no winners in this. the whole community is hurting. we need time to heal and hopefully this will bring closure. reporter: among the dead john any hoover, spencer daft -- johnny hoover, spencer daff.

kevin coffay fled the scene and never called for help for his dying friends in. court he described it as pure shock and terror. i can't believe i didn't stay at the scene. through tears coffay told the courtroom words cannot do justice to the shame and guilty feel every day. this is doing nothing but eating me alive inside. >> kids get out. they drink. they drive and someone dies and yet we've cut out all the dare programs in the schools. reporter: the judge made her decision after heartbreaking pleas for justice from the victim's family members, from johnny hoover's mother. my heart is broken. i can only feel rage and despair. he has taken everything from me. spencer daft's father described it as a scab that has begun to heal and is ripped off and starts to bleed and from haeley mcguire's brother i am filled with rage and hopelessness. kevin coffay is an irresponsible coward who left my sister to die in the wreckage at the side of the

road. >> when something like this happens, it's not an accident. it's a crime. reporter: state's attorney john mccarthy said the sentence delivers a strong message. >> it's criminal behavior and there will be consequences to criminal behavior. reporter: coffay will be eligible for parole after serving five years. his lawyer told me this afternoon that the coffay family is numb and in shock and has been since the crash. live from rockville andrea mccarren, 9 news now. >> so many lives altered, thank you. president obama insists hundreds of millions of dollars in defense budget cuts will not weaken the u.s. military. he announced them today in the pentagon press room. the president is cutting $450 billion in spending about. he also hinted at reducing the number -- spending. he also hinted at reducing the number of troops, but the united states will keep its military edge around the world. >> yes, our military will be

leaner, but the world must know the united states is going to maintain our military superiority. >> the reality is you could face a land war in korea and at the same time face threats in the straits of hormuz. we have the capability with this joint force to deal with those kinds of threats. >> the president is slashing the defense budget because congress ordered billions in cuts in the federal budget deal. so what will this deal mean for our military? from our partners amount this week if defense news. we're here to -- in defense news. we're here to break it down. good to see you. $400million is obviously a lot of money even over 10 years. what do we lose? >> the whole trick is obviously the president is trying to pry serve as much military capability as possible. the big question now is all eyes are on the budget that's going to land to congress in about a month's time. the president's budget requests when we're going to see what programs and what will be cut. for the time being this strategy is the very beginning.

it's the overall template and to warm up the political debate, get fema couple offed to some of the ideas that will be in that -- people accustomed to some of the ideas that will be in that budget. >> some say this marks the end of the two-war philosophy. true? >> i think originally the idea was the overall sizing concept, the requirement to be able to fight two major wars simultaneously drove a lot of the size of the military and the capabilities, but the administration is saying these wars will not be as large, but we will still have the capability to fight and win multiple conflicts at the same tape, not as large. there is a strategic -- same time, rant as large. there is a strategic presence regarding the middle east and pave on the towards asia.

china's -- a pivot towards asia. and the united states has committed to increase its footprint and presence in the region and reduce its presence -- its long time presence in europe is how that's being interpreted. >> in our last 20 seconds, a lot of people in the washington area dependent on military dollars. should they be concerned? >> i think over the long term there is going to be a regional impact. to be be on as tens of thousands of troops are cut from the ground forces in particular, they're going to be a lot of contractor jobs that depend on that spending. there's no way to take $450 billion out of a budget and not have some sort of impact, particularly in the region that this military is as heavy in contractor as ours is. >> thank you very much. you can see more sunday morning at 11 a.m. here on wusa9. the news of the defense cuts comes on the same day as 83 soldiers from the d.c. army national guard will be deployed to afghanistan. surae chinn was at the d.c. armory for the emotional sendoff today. reporter: it was an emotional day for both the soldiers and

their families and many of them as you know for the soldiers, they're leaving experience loved ones behind, those they haven't even met yet and those who mean the world to them. a bittersweet good-bye. one last order before leaving u.s. soil. >> take care of your families. love up and hug up on them. >> so proud, hurting but proud. reporter: patricia mcnair gives a tearful sendoff to her only daughter of six children. >> she's the bravest. i'm helpless right now, but she's brave. she's going to do it. she's a fighter. reporter: 80 of the army national guard's 273rd military police and three of the 121st criminal investigation division are heading to a security force mission in afghanistan. >> i love you, mommy, and i'll call you and write all the time. >> i love him and i'm proud of him. reporter: raquel powers is nearly eight months pregnant and has a 1-year-old daughter.

>> it's really sanding to me. he's going to miss our son's -- saddening to me. he's going to miss our son's birth. >> they mean ready to me. that's why i'm ready to go over and do my job for my country and eyeball home. >> he has to do what he has to -- and i'll be home. >> he has too do what he has to do and i'm proud -- to do what i has to do and i'm proud of him. >> my heart hurts. >> that's patrice mcnair's mother saying now she has to learn how to skype and all this technology. she says she's going to make sure to send those girl scout cookies to her daughter. >> i'm sure they'll all appreciate that. it was a great sendoff. reaction to the mysterious shooting of a golden retriever puppy on a fenced in dog rescue farm in frederick county have been swift and emotional. tonight animal lovers are logging on to contribute to a reward fund. as scott broom reports, investigators need all the help they can get in solving this shocking attack. reporter: the 7-month-old

golden retriefer puppy's name was heidi. >> i'm sorry, we thought we would have to go through. this. reporter: and lynnette coffman is beside herself. >> i just don't understand any of this. >> right to there is where we found her. reporter: coffman points out to one of her fileds where heidi was found miss -- fields where might did i was found mysteriously shot to death -- heidi was found misteachesly shot to death on the farm. >> someone -- mysteriously shot to death on the farm. >> valerie came back over last night. we took the dogs out and i was petrified someone would take a shot at us. reporter: the 57-acre farm near middletown is called golden acres where coffman and friends run a rescue operation for abused and unwanted golden retrievers, like molly recovering from spinal cord surgery. >> there's dogs, cats, a rescued goat and donkey. this is their home and nobody

is safe. reporter: frederick county animal control is investigating along with the sheriff's department. investigators know heidi was shot three times, but there are no suspects. coffman is now living in fear behind locked gates while news of the incident has spread and a reward fund has been launched by a pennsylvania-based retriever organization. this case even has a csi kind of element because mrs. coffman was able to recover a bullet from the dog's body and that bullet is now in the hands of law enforcement investigators. in middletown frederick county, maryland, scott broom, 9 news now. >> the link to the reward fund is on our website, www.wusa9.com. sky 9 flew over the scene of a terrible crash today on a busy northern virginia roadway. it happened during the morning rush along route 50 near the loudoun county parkway in south riding.

the crash involved a car and tractor trailer. medics airlifted the driver of the car to the hospital. the good news is the driver is expected to survive, but they are still trying to figure out the cause of this crash. coming up the smell of a rat or is it? what the city health inspector found at the occupy d.c. camp. that's at 5:30. >> beginning of our warm-up, not that cold out now, temps in the 40s. a little bit above average, 47 downtown, low 40s in the burbs. we'll come back and talk about even milder air on the way. if that means the showers are on the way as well.

after months of hiding casey anthony has surfaced on youtube her attorney confirms the woman seen in recordings are that of the elusive mother who is accused of killing her daughter kay lie. elizabeth cordon teems us what

anthony had to say. >> so this is my first video diary. it is october 13th, which is a thursday, 2011. reporter: this is the first the world has heard from casey anthony since she was acquitted of murdering her daughter last july. in this recording posted on youtube anthony says she purchased a new computer and received a web camera as a gift. >> we're extremely excited that i'll be able to skype and obviously keep a video log, take some pictures and then i have something that i can finally call mine. reporter: anthony has changed her look. her hair is shorter and lighter. she did not disclose where she is in the recording but says she plans to leave her location when she can. >> whether it's six months or it's a year from now or year from middle of august, i don't know. it's just been such a blessing in so many ways of.

reporter: she's even adopted a dog. >> just a little unreal how much things have changed since july and how many things haven't changed. the good thing is that things are starting to look up and things are starting to change. reporter: back in august anthony was ordered to remain in florida to deserve a year long probation for check fraud. >> anthony's attorney released the following statement about the video recordings. "casey has maintained notes and memoirs for personal counseling. she did not upload or release this to youtube. she doesn't know how the video got on youtube. she did not authorize it and therefore it had to be obtained illegally." d.c. councilman marion barry is up and running for reelection. 75-year-old democrat has already served two terms representing ward 8. the former mayor says he's running in order to continue his ministry of helping people.

among bayer's challengers, jackie part -- barry's challengers, natalie williams and darrell gaston. now to the race for the republican presidential nomination and most candidates are now in new hampshire where the nation's first primary will be held on tuesday. rick santorum and newt gingrich both held multiple events in the granite state today. they're trying to catch up to mitt romney. the former massachusetts governor has a comfortable lead in most polls in new hampshire. in fact, it's so comfortable that romney left this afternoon to campaign in south carolina and is focusing his attack on president obama. >> this president is a cronie capitalist. he's a job killer. >> these are truths. >> the other candidates have four more days and two debates in which to catch romney before the primary. virginia's governor bob mcdonnell is calling on the state's republican party to

rescind a loyalty oath requirement for primary election day. the oath would require voters to sign a statement saying they intend to support the party's nominee whoever that is before they're allowed to vote in the primary. mcdonnell says he understands the reasoning, but he says such a loyalty oath would be unenforceable. check out this frightening scene around mount aetna in sicily. the volcano erupted for the first time this year. so far the lava is flowing in a sparsely populated valley. fortunately there are no reports of injuries. it also appears nearby airport traffic is not affected. the eruption started early this morning. >> don't want to be near, it but it is magnificent to see. >>y to both those things. i -- yes to both those things. >> i like that it's sparsely pop lated, so it's still headed for somebody's house. >> we managed to make it into the 40s today. >> i could tell a huge difference. >> tomorrow we're talking mid- 50s which is more like mid- march. is this going to be the winter without a winter?

i certainly hope not. anyway let's start with the temps because this is the headline. temps back in the upper 40s. this is above average. our average high now is 42. so we're looking at temperature 47 downtown, even mid-40s in rockville, 39 in gaithersburg, 41 toward laytonsville, 43 in great falls, low 40s in reston, still in the mid-40s in sterling and low 40s toward leesburg and herndon, so well above average. we're turning milder, breezy and milder tomorrow. you still need sunglasses and a light jacket. still mild saturday, weak cold front goes through saturday evening, a little cooler sunday, but there's just no arctic air anywhere in the 48 contiguous state. the snow cover across the country is about half of what it should be this time of year, not very deep. partly cloudy tonight, cold, a one to two blanket night, low temperatures 25 to 32, winds light southwest at 10. so if you're downtown inside the beltway, you're probably in the low 30s tonight.

that's almost average. 31 arlington, maybe 32 downtown, 20s in the burbs, 27 in rockville, go farther north 26 in gaithersburg. upper 20s in college park and bowie, 30 in waldorf and brandywine, 31 in arlington, but in the 20s to the west, upper 20s in reston, fairfax, maybe 26 in sterling and herndon and mid-20s in leesburg, middleburg and manassas, still not that cold. friday morning partly cloudy, breezy and cold. you'll need a coat, sunglasses, 20s and 30s. winds pick up out of the southwest 10 to 15. kind of bad news/good news. southwest winds are filedder, but 10 to 15 will add -- milder, but 10 to 15 will add a little chill. highs around 55 in the afternoon, more like mid-march and winds southwest 10 to 20. you play golf, i would add a club, probably a one club, maybe two club win. here's the zone forecast. even across the divide, our friends in oakland will be in the upper 40s.

they want snow. low 50s in cumberland, 54 warrenton, leesburg and manassas and 54, 55 in fairfax, 55 downtown, mid-50s into southern maryland out toward the bay. right now there's not a small craft advisory posted for the bay, although i'm not so sure why. boaters need to know winds tomorrow 10 to 20 and gusting. tomorrow 51 to 56 by evening. that's just flat out mild. now the next three days again mild still on saturday, 54, clouds coming in with the front, a little cooler on sunday, but heck, upper 40s, i think we can live with that. all right. next seven days, monday we'll keep the chance of a light rain or a little light snow mix, temperatures in the low 40s, but temperatures rebound again quickly, low 50s as we get into tuesday, looks like a good

soaking rain wednesday with temperatures in the mid-50s. that's only about 23 degrees and 54 on thursday. >> you're just dreaming of it, aren't you? >> a winter without a winter. >> it could be. there was a summer want a summer in new england back in 1860. i forgot to mention. this this is a great shot. on new year's day, it was unusually warm. the water was nice and call and sunt was bright, pretty nice -- the sun was bright. pretty nice. kate did everything right. go to our website at www.wusa9.com and click on the weather tab and please include your name, location and a little description. i don't care how long you describe. whacked to be a house looks more like a -- what used to be a house looks more like a flaming pit. but first a unique parking

shot, how this driver ended up on the roof of the garage. >> honey, i'm home. deal chicken is working hard. savor a delicious 50% off ribs, pizza and more from pizza pan in alexandria.

a driver in fresno, california, hit the roof literally this week. take a look at where this car

landed, right on top of an apartment building. police say the driver was speeding and missed the turn. the car slammed into some rocks and a tree stump, then went airborne. the family inside called 911. the driver ran off, but police caught him a short time later. investigators are now checking to see if he was drunk or on drugs. the driver suffered a broken leg. >> he was only wearing those little boxer shorts, so clearly something wasn't quite right. there it is. for the buzzards it was a perfect place to roost, but it's a different story for homeowners around charlottesville. dozens of them perched on one house yesterday. animal control experts say it's actually not unusual. they say the birds -- >> i find that hard to believe. >> they're just looking for a nice place to roost. they want sun and the buzzards are actually attracted to some of the materials on the roof and the shingles. police in bell gardens, california, are asking what was this guy thinking? a carjacking suspect believed he found a perfect parking

spot, but the 23-year-old man was caught red handed after wedging a stolen car between two patrol cars, no kidding. at the time police were arresting somebody else on an outstanding warrant. they were stunned when they realized the car sandwiched between her cruiser was stolen once they ran the tags. one of the officers said the suspect gets an award for parallel parking, but that's about it. >> in between two cruiser, okay. coming up a somber scene as friends and family say good-bye to the family killed in that christmas day fire in connecticut. plus one local store puts a price freeze on some everyday grocery staples. d.c.'s health director warns occupy protesters that the way they're looking and storing food may be attracting rats. i'm bruce leshan, the story coming up. >> 9 traffic now is brought to you by geico.

a rat infestation at the occupy d.c. encampment, you don't want to see that. the city health director personally inspected the pretest zone at mcpherson square and says there are signs rodents are thriving on the food and garbage from the outdoor kitchen. with winterseting in he's also worried about fires and -- with winters setting in he's also worried about fires and hypothermia. >> bruce leshan is live at the

camp now did. you see any rats? reporter: thankfully i did not, but rats hide during the day and when you store food outside that clearly is a risk and the city's health inspector says there are signs of a rat infestation all over this enrampment. occupiers cleaning camp. >> we're looking for the garbage truck to take this debris away. the city said they'd be here two days afghanistan. reporter: after at least one informal complaint to the -- two days ago. reporter: after at least one informal complaint to the health department that the mess is attracting rats. the city struggles to control rodents in the best of times and the city's health director touring the encampment says he is worried the scores of occupiers living, cooking and eating outside may be feeding the population of rats. >> i haven't seen myself during the day, but i'm sure people do at night. that's the time the rats come in. we've seen evidence of it and

there are the rat manifestation all around the place. reporter: occupiers deny it. >> i haven't noticed any upsurge. i was in this park before occupy began and we had rats all the time. reporter: the unofficial occupy chef has voluntarily shut down the kitchen for now. he's been trying to lay down some rules for a movement that celebrates its lack of leaders. >> on a regular basis people will sneak into the kitchen after i done washed the dishes and went to bed and they will make messes in there. reporter: he refuses to serve another meal until he gets things cleaned up. >> till i finish doing what i need to do, i'll start cooking tomorrow. reporter: long time occupiers say if you think a controversy over sanitation will close the camp down, you can think again. >> we're here. we're here to stay. reporter: the health director denies that this is any kind of

pretense to kick the protesters out of the square here. he says they have a constitutional right to be right here, but he does say he wants to keep them safe. back to you all in the studio. >> that sounds i have reasonable. bruce, thanks -- very reasonable. bruce, thanks a lot. no charges filed, case closed. that's the latest on the d.c. police investigation into the accident between a car and occupy d.c. protesters. it happened in november outside the convention center. five protesters were hurt, but all of their injuries were minor. now occupy d.c. claims the driver intentionally plowed into the demonstrators, but d.c. police chief cathy lanier says that's just not true. >> we have interviewed 14 or 17 additional people who said they were witnesses to this event since the original accident report was taken and tickets were issued. at this point there is no evidence to support writing citations to anybody else.

>> last month d.c. police said the car was trying to get through a small gap in the crowd when the protesters moved in front of it. just a heartbreaking scene outside a new york city church today. the funeral for three little girls killed in a house fire in connecticut. until this morning their mother ad executive madonna badger called the fire that killed her children and their grandparents incomprehensible. investigators say a bag of discarded fire embers started the fire christmas morning. about 1,000 people attended today's funeral. elsewhere a close call for a family in upstate new york this week. a contractor working at a home in schenectady pierced a gas line yesterday. the house was evacuated just in the nick of time. someone called 911 just before the house exploded causing a fire that spread to a neighboring house. a nearby building was damaged. no one was seriously hurt. frederick city leaders are on a crackdown on skateboarding in the town's historic district. police say now judges are not

enforcing city law when it comes to the state borders and reckless cyclists under the age of 18. so there's a push to find straighters and make their parents more accountable. >> what we propose to happen is actually we'll end up citing the parents. it will still give us the ability as we had in the past toasters the skateboard or bike if there is -- past to seize the skateboard or bike if there is an offense and the parent can retrieve the property with the juvenile and will be issued a citation. >> one area that's seen damage is carroll creek linear park. the proposal calls for fines between 40 and $100. we've got a roundup of news you can use in tonight's consumer alert. food costs eat up a big part of your budget, but wegmans just announced a price freeze on 50 things families use the most. they'ring with man brand items only and include bread, soup, fruit, cough and coal over the

counter medication. you'll -- cold over the counter medication. it's not a formal recall, but gm wants volt owners to bring their electric dealers to the dealer. the auto company wants to shore up the battery's structure. three caught fire after some side impact crash tests. the fires occurred about seven days to three weeks after those tests. the problem is blamed on a coolant leak that caused an electrical short. gm says it will reach out to owners. kodak may be facing a fuzzy future. the film manufacturer's stocks plummeted 27% after the wall street journal reported it may file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. kodak has been seeing buyer -- speaking buyers rather for thousands of its patents to try and forestall the move and say the deal could generate as much as $3 million. our redskins insider tells us what moves the team needs to make. but first to infinity and

beyond, local teachers take orbit in this week's cool schools report. don't forget we're always on at www.wusa9.com. stay with us. we'll be right back.

thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59.

we're headed to the airport for this week's cool schools report where teachers are taking their love of science to new heights. >> in fact, they're going so high they'll all know what it is like to be almost weightless. mike hydek takes us aboard the big yellow bus. reporter: for every action there's an equal opposite reaction. you've heard newton's theory of motion, but have you ever felt them like this? 30 teachers got opportunity of a lifetime, experiencing zero gravity, and their students are pumped. >> they're excited for me. they just want to see me do flips and crawl across the

walls. they're fired up. reporter: to inspire the next generation of scientists inspire those who teach them. that's the motivation behind north rum you go man foundation sponsoring -- northrop grumman foundation sponsoring weightless flight discovery. >> you are truly the heartbeat of this nation. you take the time out for our young people every day and we're just very excited to be able to offer this opportunity. reporter: this boeing 727 is exactly like the one you would fly on to go on vacation. so how can it simulate zero gravity? >> at a specific angle they'll push over and as they start to push over you're going to float and then as they come over the other side you'll float for about 27 to 30 seconds. reporter: and so will the experiment the teachers bring on board. >> i'm actually going to try to put some static charge in a small balloon to see if i can actually move some water and

move some things in the geogravity element. >> we're dropping these different balls of different masses to see how weightlessness affects the speed of it falling. >> all right. here we go! reporter: then there's the fun part. >> whoa, now that is cool! reporter: teachers get 12 chances to feel weightless during the nine-minute flight and when they get back on earth, getting back to the classroom is the first thing they think about. it doesn't get much cooler than that. >> one moment you feel helpless and the next minute it's an adrenaline rush. everything is awesome. >> more than anything i just want them to be excited about science and see that it's cool and they really should consider science as a career. reporter: mike hydek, 9 news now. >> that that sure is cool. you have a cool program at your school, e-mail mike at mhydek at wusa9.com. coming up local charities came up to make sure d.c. kids

are warm this winter. >> temperatures a little above average. in fact, what a difference a day makes. we made it to 50 today, 34 yesterday. hear what's going on right now, 47 still downtown, some 30s in the burbs, 39 frederick, 46 manassas. we'll come back and talk about milder air and grab the temps this week. you might be surprised. first artifacts from the most famous ill fated cruise ship ever placed on the auction block, a preview of what's up for grabs from the titanic next. >> cool schools is sponsored by capital one bank.

from the bedroom you could see the fire and 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. so if you need help staying warm this winter give me a call because no one should be left out in the cold.

this april marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the titanic and for the first time items from the ocean liner will be sold at auction. here's a sneak peek. reporter: they are artifacts from the titanic, a diamond studded bracelet, a cup from

the ship's cafe, a vest from a third class passenger. >> it was in a suitcase fully packed with william henry allen's clothes for his new life in america. reporter: since the wreckage was discovered in 1985, 5,500 items have been recovered, all from the debris field 2 1/2 miles below the surface of the western atlantic. a silver mesh purse, the white star line china, a luggage tag. the actual ship considered sacred has not been touched. ph narjela recovered many of the delicate items himself. his favorite, a little ceramic souvenir. >> i don't know what it was, but i said oh, i like this object. reporter: on april 11th, exactly 100 years to the day of the maiden voyage of the titanic, all the items will be auctioned off, but there's a catch. everything must be sold to one buyer. a judge ordered the collection estimated to be worth nearly $200 million be kept together to preserve its historic value for the public.

>> it's a remarkable collection. it's an honor to work with it and you really actually sort inform your research start thinking -- sort of in your research start thinking of everyone on the ship as a friend. reporter: researchers hope to return to the debris field. there are countless more items to recover. >> there were 2,223 passenger as board the titanic along with crew when it departed from england for new york city. 1,517 died when the ship sank five days later. folks in columbia heights will get a chance to here the national symphony orchestra this week without leaving their neighborhood. there will be a series of performances at theaters, schools and bars. the performances last through monday as part of the in your neighborhood series. the washington d.c.'s children's charities foundation loaded up to hand out 1,200

winter coats. the money was raised from the annual gala and the basketball tournament. these coats go to kids who really need them, 13 years old and under throughout the d.c. metro area. >> what a nice cause, but nobody needs a coat right now. >> no, but maybe later this month or maybe next month you might need one. >> at some point in there. >> we would think so. we're looking at temperatures well above average today and even warmer tomorrow and saturday. in fact, let's graph the temperatures just because i love numbers. it's turning milder. check this out. it did start on the cold side, 49 monday. then we dropped that arctic air, 34 on tuesday for a high and also wednesday and then today we shot up to 50 and don't look now. tomorrow we'll shoot up to 55 and we'll probably hold right around that on saturday. so our average is 43 and really when you get up to the mid-50s, that's more reminiscent or average of mid-march. 44 now in arlington, 40 be necessities da, 37 in

gaithersburg, 38 -- bethesda, 37 in bathersburg, 38 reston, 45 college park. it's not exactly springtime. at least take a light jacket. turning breezy and milder tomorrow. you'll need sunglasses and a light jacket, still mild saturday. a cold front will move through late saturday. we'll throw a few clouds our way. it will turn us not colder but just cooler sunday. we night lose 7 degrees, oh, my. -- might lose 7 degrees, oh, my. tonight partly cloudy, maybe a one to two blanket night, 25 to 32, winds out of the southwest about 10. downtown temperatures are generally in the low 30s, the burbs talking 20s. partly cloudy, breezy, cold, still need a coat and sunglasses friday morning, temps in the 20s and 30s to start, winds picking up southwesterly 10 to 15. by afternoon really a pretty nice day, partly cloudy, breezy, milder. it's golfable, highs 55. winds increase thing northwest 10 to 20. it's kind of good and bad news.

it will add a little chill to the aircrafts but southwest winds are a milder -- air, but southwest winds are a milder wind. almost 50 in oakland, low 50s in hagerstown, martinsburg and winchester, 56 in culpeper, mid- 50s in warrenton, leesburg, manassas 54 and fairfax also 55 and 54. 55 downtown mid-50s into southern maryland out toward the bay. now there's not a small craft advisory, but i think there will be one tomorrow for the bay. we'll break it down. 25 to 32 to start and 49 to 54 by noon, that's a bargain, and 51 to 56 by 5:00 is really a bargain. next three days, we'll keep it going saturday, still about 54, but clouds coming in. behind the front cooler, but only 48. that's not that bad either. the next seven days it gets a little colder monday, still hanging onto the possibility of

stoplight rain or light snow, not a huge -- some light rain or light snow, not a huge deem we're back in the 50s next week. we -- deal. we're back in the 50s next week. wednesday could be a big, big rainstorm, highs in the mid- 50s. new beginnings, positive outlooks for the redskins, that's so last season. now we're thinking the next season. >> let's do it. let's think positive. for that we bring in our redskins insiders along with kristen berset to see where the team should go next. >> positive thinking, guys. joining me for this postseason version of the double coverage brian mitchell, david elfin, no redskins games this week, but plenty of rumors. former head coach joe gibbs addressed the redskins on esp n 980 this morning saying pretty much the team's success depends highly on the quarterback and saying the redskins, that should be their top priority.

what are your thoughts on that? >> obviously we think they should go out and get a top rookie, but joe won three super bowls without a hall of fame quarterback. you don't have to have a tremendous quarterback, but they need somebody better than rex grossman. >> they need to center a good quarterback. when you -- have a good quarterback. when you look at the leagues in the playoffs, they have top notch quarterbacks. tim tebow maybe the oman out, but you have to have that. >> -- the odd man out, but you have to have that. >> redskins have the sixth pick, how beneficial to trade up for rg3 even though it could be a very high cost for the redskins? >> i think they have to. the problem is if you don't get matt flynn, you're going into the draft and don't get rg3, you're stuck. you do not want to be stuck with rex grossman next year. the brownses have two picks and

already -- the browns have two picks and already get to pick ahead of them. >> if the asking price is it too high, you have to try and go somewhere else, but fit not, you have to have two -- if it's not, you have to have two guys in this draft that may be the next one. >> raheem morris who just got fired was talking to the redskins about a possible coaching vacancy. >> first they don't have a vacancy. they'd have to get rid of steve jackson. he did a good job as a defensive guy at tampa. i'm sure shanahan would like someone like on that on the staff. >> he used to work with kyle in tampa. >> he was there, also, but the whole thing about it, he has defensive coordinator capabilities and i think if another team offered him something like that, it would be tough for the redskins to have him just as a defensive back coach. >> it's a playoff edition. just tell me what team you guys want.

start with saturday, cincinnati houston. >> the bengals have playoff experience. >> houston, running game. >> foyt and new orleans. >> new orleans has too much -- detroit and new orleans. >> new orleans has too much offense. >> who dat? >> real quick giants and atlanta sunday? >> giants. >> atlanta. >> and tim tebow hosting roethlisberger and the steelers. >> steelers going to kill them. >> thanks so much guys. winner plays baltimore. that's our double coverage. back to you guys. >> thanks, kristen. coming up next on 9 news now at 6:00. >> dynasty could be heading to washington. we'll tell you about new plans for joseph kennedy, iii. this store and ticket adds up to more than a million dollars i'm peggy fox. coming up i'll tell you about two lucky winners. a new way to turn back the hands of time, a different type

of botox is now on the market. we'll show it to you in our health alert.

it's the new year and a lot of us want to head into 2012 with a fresher look. there is now another wrinkle relaxing twist available that entered the cosmetic field in the last couple months. take a look. >> one side of the family gets the wrinkles this way, you know. everybody has the lines across

the forehead and the other side of the family is frowning this way. so i got the scrunching and the frowning. reporter: so for the last 10 years 53-year-old kristen cofield has been getting botox, a diluted form of the botch lynn intox in that ferrell lies facial muscles -- paralyzes facial muscles and the expressions they cause. >> it's really refreshing kind of youthful looking. reporter: now this mom of three is ready to try the latest competition of botox which just arrived on the market. it's called xeomin. >> i'm going to see if this doesn't have either a longer effect. reporter: this dermatologist is one of the first in the d.c. metro area to test and use xeomin. it works just like botox and another brand disport with a few key differences. >> no. 1 is for the operator you don't need to refrigerate it. so that makes it easy for storage. there's no protein attached to

the xeomin molecule. so it's more pure and you have less chance of developing an allergy. reporter: kristen is happy to follow the doctor's suggestion to try it and continue to get the smooth wrinkle free look seen in these pictures. >> you develop a little bit of tolerance for botox, it doesn't give you quite the same results i used to get from it. some people hike to switch and there's no reason -- like to switch and there's no reason why you can't. >> the doctor is charging the same price, typically 3 to $600 depending on the areas on the face treated and the amount of injectible used. this is 9 news now. >> our top story at 6:00, d.c. councilman harry thomas is due in federal court tomorrow where he's expected to enter a guilty plea in connection with embezzlement and tax fraud charges. bruce johnson first broke the story tuesday night and joins us now. >> the councilman is going to end up in prison he's telling associates and tonight there are calls for d.c. councilman harry thomas to resign