office after federal prosecutors charged him today with stealing more than $350,000 from a youth baseball program and then he failed to report all that income. according to sources, there has been a plea agreement between harry thomas' attorneys and prosecutors and that deal appears to reflect the two felony charges filed in a federal information document today. the ward 5 councilman is charged with stealing more than $350,000 from a youth baseball program, then failing to pay taxes on that income. >> it's a very sad day for the district of columbia. reporter: mayor vincent gray and council member muriel bowser say thomas should resign immediately. >> 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. reporter: council chairman kwame brown stops just short of demanding a resignation. >> i have not yet received his resignation, but i expect to. reporter: are you demanding or asking for his resignation? >> i expect to receive his resignation. reporter: the fbi and irs

agents raided thomas' northeast home late last year, a signal that charges would be forthcoming. allegations were thomas used the stolen money to buy an suv, motorcycle and take many lavish vacations and spending sprees. federal authorities say beginning in the year 2007 after he was elected to the council, thomas failed to report some $25,000 in income. it jumped to an astounding 278,000 in unreported and untaxed income in 2008. and then $43,000 in 2009. so how much time is councilman harry thomas looking at? he's telling friends two to three years. that's probably a result of the plea bargain because if you look at those two felony counts, he's looking at possibly 13 years. >> what happens to his seat if and when he resigns? >> it becomes vacant. there's a special election after some 140 days to fill the seat. he was just reelected last year. he's got three years remaining on the term. saying the country is

turning the page on a decade of war, president obama announced billions of dollars worth of cuts today at the pentagon. details and reaction. reporter: president obama says the time has come to trim the u.s. military, a big turning point after a decade of war. president obama made a rare appearance in the pentagon press room to defend massive budget cuts to the u.s. military. >> so yes. , our military will be leaner, but the world must know the united states is going to maintain our military's superiority. reporter: the president is cutting $450 billion in spending and hinted at cutting troops. pentagon officials promised the troops that remain will have the best technology at their disposal. >> 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 of. reporter: with the war over in iraq and fewer troops in afghanistan, pentagon officials say the focus now is on asia and the pacific region where new challenges exist. the president is slashing the defense budget because congress ordered billions in cuts in a budget deal and the pentagon may have to chop another 500 billion starting next year. the new budget plan also looks at new ways to deal with the growing cost of military healthcare and retirement benefits. >> as our newest veterans rejoin civilian life, we'll keep working to give our veterans the care, the benefits and job opportunities that they deserve and that they have earned. reporter: president obama knows he's going to face criticism for his cutbacks, especially from republican presidential candidates who have questioned his commitment to national security. >> the new strategy also emphasizes improving u.s. capabilities in cyber warfare

and missile defense. defense spending may be shrinking, but troops are still being sent overseas. 83 soldiers with the d.c. army national guard have been deployed to afghanistan. there was a bittersweet sendoff at the d.c. armory in southeast this morning. most of them are with the guard's 273rd military police and three are with the 121st criminal investigation division. >> i'm going to be fine. you know, i have 79 other soldiers i'm going with to take care of me. so i'll be fine. >> any parent you're going to worry about your child because they're going to war. so just want him to be safe. >> the soldiers' deployment will be for one year. reactions to the shooting of a golden retriever puppy on a fenced in rescue farm in frederick county, maryland have been swift and emotional. the dog named heidi was shot apparently by a trespasser late wednesday morning on the farm of lynnette coffman in middletown. now a retriever rescue organization is working online to raise money for a reward

fund while coffman and friends that help her run the farm say they are afraid. >> i've always been comfortable. i no longer feel safe. valerie came over last night and we took the dogs out and i was petrified someone would take a shot at us. >> there's dogs, cats, a rescued goat and donkey and this is their home and nobody is safe. >> a bullet was recovered from the puppy's body. it has been handed over to investigators. frederick county animal control says there are no suspects. the city paper once dubbed him mayor for life and now it looks like he may be trying to add councilman for life to his resume. marion barry made it official. he's running to represent ward 8 again. this will be the third time in that office for the colorful 75- year-old democrat, but it could be a little different this time around. barry has told the washington post he might not serve the entire term if elected and hopes to transfer his seat to

his son christopher. d.c.'s health director thinks the occupy encampment at mcpherson square is attracting rodents. he toured the encampment late this afternoon and said there are signs of rats all over the square. the protesters have temporarily shut down their tent kitchen for now. the health director says he's just trying to keep everybody safe. >> i haven't seen myself during the day, but i'm sure people do during the night. that's the time the rats come in and people have seen evidence of it and there are the rat manifestations, you know, all around the place. >> d.c. struggles to control rats in the best of circumstances and the protesters say there were plenty of them in mcpherson square long before they arrived. an incredibly emotional day in court fold as 20-year-old kevin coffay was given one of the -- today as 20-year-old kevin coffay was given one of the stiffest sentences handed down. coffay was responsible for the death of three friends and the injuries to a fourth after a terrible car crash in olney

last may. venezuelan mccarren is live from the courthouse -- andrea mccarren is live from the courthouse. reporter: there was no joy, no celebration after the 40 year sentence was announced. kevin coffay will serve 20 years in prison. the judge suspended the other 20. >> 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, johnny hoover, spencer datt and haeley mcguire who struggled for her life in the wreckage for four hours. kevin coffay flit scene and never called for help for his dying friends. >> the kids get out. they drink, they drive and someone dies and yet we've cut out all the dare programs in the schools of. 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 do the's father described it as a scab that -- spencer datt's father described it as a scab that begins to heal, is ripped on and starts to breathe and from haeley mcguire's brother, kevin coffay left my sister to die in the wreckage at the side of the road. he's a coward. reporter: andrea mccarren, 9 news now. coming up tonight at 7:00, welfare seems to be becoming a hot top nick campaign 2012. tonight one -- topic in campaign 2012. tonight one candidate is raising eyebrows with his comments targeting one part of that population. we'll talk about that at 7:00 on 9 news now. later in this hour he drives a car for a living, but will he much longer? peggy fox introduces us to virginia's newest lottery millionaire. >> much milder today and even milder air is on the way.

we'll tell you what goes in the books. we hit 50 at national today, low temperature much better unanimous 17 yesterday, low only 30, average -- than yesterday, low only 30. average is 43. we'll come back and talk about how mild it can get and if that comes with showers. first it could be the beginning of the end for some of the gop presidential contenders, the very latest from new hampshire straight ahead. 9 traffic now is brought to you by geico.

now an update on the race for president. the nation's first primary is five days way in new hampshire and the republican leading in the polls there apparently feels confident enough to campaign somewhere else. we're talking about mitt romney. today he left new hampshire to campaign in south carolina, but before he left he took a verbal shot at president obama and his economic policy. >> it's killing jobs.

this president is a cronie capitalist. he's a job killer. >> newt gingrich is campaigning in new hampshire tonight and so is rick santorum who was a razor close second to romney in this week's iowa caucuses. absent from the campaign trail are ron paul and rick perry. the numbers for perry are discouraging, but he says he's not given up the race. coming up on 9 news now taking a chance pays off for one rockville man. we'll hear from the newest lottery millionaire. you're watching 9 news now. downsizing the military, the president announces a change in the way we will fight war. we'll tell you what the potential risks may be to american troops and to the country tonight on the cbs evening news.

a local chauffeur became a million dollars richer told thanks to winning the virginia -- today thanks to wing the virginia lottery -- winning the virginia lottery. he's not the only one celebrating. reporter: warner ashby of rockville purchased 30 new

year's millionaire raffle tickets like this one for 20 bucks each. this is the one that turned that $600 investment into a million. >> this could be a good day for me. so i looked through my numbers and there it was. i was flabbergasted. i looked through it a few times, made a few copies of ticket and said oh, my gosh. >> at that time i was calling everybody at the store and everybody to say hey, i won $1 million of. reporter: the owner of the 7- eleven in great falls is just as excited. now he gets $10,000 for the retailer prize. >> i wish i had the whole thing, though. reporter: warner ashby plans to spend some of his million on his favorite thing, his grandchildren and he might go to hawaii, but he says he'll keep his chauffeur job at least a year. >> i like my job. i like the people that i work with. i'm not ready to give that up.

they're an emotional attachment i have. reporter: you're going to share some of this with them, right? >> no. absolutely not. i just hope they don't find pout. reporter: well, i kind of think they might. >> oh oh. reporter: the virginia lottery folks give advice to their new winners helping them not blow all their money, but warner ashby being the businessman he is seems to have a good handle on that. >> i'm going to talk to my financial advisors and we'll see what happens. make i can turn it into 2 or 3 mill -- maybe i can turn it into 2 or 3 million, who knows. >> ashby says one thing he doesn't think he'll do again is play the lottery. after all, the odds of winning big again are pretty low. arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords will return to tucson this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary of the january 8th massacre. still recovering from her wounds, she will attend to remember the others who were attacked.

jared loughner is still behind bars. another kennedy could be heading to washington. joe kennedy, iii is forming an exploratory committee to replace barney frank from massachusetts who is retiring. the 31-year-old kennedy is the son of former representative joseph p. kennedy, ii, and a grandson of the late robert f. kennedy. it marked the first time in 63 years there was not a kennedy serving in elected office in washington. at least 10 people are being treated for injuries they received in this massive pileup today. 40 vehicles were involved in a crash near port arthur, texas. that's about 90 miles east of houston. local news reports say fog and smoke from nearby wildfires may have caused this chain reaction. what a mess. >> looks nice now, but often the case is it's always clear when you have fog developing and it burns off into a very nice day. >> none of those problems today here. >> we have very few problems. >> i know you don't like it. we are not complaining.

>> we like a little bit of snow. topper, i would like a little bit of snow. >> on a weekend maybe, 3 inches. >> not much. >> my dad said his favorite kind of snow stuck to the grass and trees but not the road. >> we like that, too. >> let's start with the satellite and radar picture combined, a few high clouds pushing through, a little lake effect snow in upstate new york. it's pretty quiet across the entire country, no big storms, no arctic air. temperatures 45 college park, 39 bethesda and still kind of a sprinkling of 30s now, 37 laytonsville, 36 gaithersburg, 39 great falls, mid-30s in retton and sterling and upper 30s towards -- reston and sterling and upper 30s towards leesburg. turning milder, you'll still need a coat tonight, breezy and miler friday, still mild saturday. a -- milder friday, still mild saturday. a cold front will go through on saturday making sunday a little

bit cooler. tonight partly cloudy, cold, a one to two blanket night maybe, 25 to 32, winds out of the southwest at 10. that is a mild wind direction. lows inside the beltway low 30s, plenty of 20s, 27 rockville, 26 gaithersburg, 32 downtown, upper 20s college park and bowie. waldorf 29 or 30, certainly in the 20s in reston and fairfax, sterling 26, 25 leesburg and also out toward middleburg down towards manassas. tomorrow morning partly cloudy, breezy, cold. you'll need a coat, sunglasses, 20s and 30s, winds southwest 10 to 15, again a mild direction. by afternoon the winds pick up a little bit, southwesterly 10 to 20 and gusty but still a great day, partly cloudy, breezy, milder, you bet it's golfable, high temperatures around 55. that is closer to an early to mid-march average high temperature for us. friday zone forecast, all six zones are on our website at www.wusa9.com remember.

48 in oakland tomorrow, be very close to 50, 52 cumberland and in the low 50s in hagerstown, martinsburg, winchester about 54. look at culpeper 56. this is with a fair amount of sunshine tomorrow, too. mid-50s in warrenton, manassas and leesburg. downtown mid-50s, even as you go up 270 we're talking mid- 50s, frederick 54. we're looking at mid-50s down into southern maryland as well out toward the bay. right now there's not a small craft advisory posted just yet. break it down, 25 to 32 to start in the morning, 49 to 54 by noon, milder and 51 to 56 by evening. now the next three days still mild saturday, 54, a few clouds with a front and then cooler sunday but still nice, high temperatures in the upper 40s. next seven days, we're going to keep monday on the cold side, low 40s, showers, sprinkle possible, maybe a wet snowflake. that's just about it. then we go back into the low

50s tuesday. looks like a big rain wednesday, but mid-50s and then mid-50s in the wake of that thursday. >> golfable indeed. >> yes. >> can you guarantee good golf? >>. >>. >> no, no, never that. we're talking about the redskins and there's a lot of controversy about matt flynn amongst even people sitting here at the desk. >> he's better than what they have now. redskins look to forget this dreadful season towards the bright future, rumors flying about a possible new addition to the coaching staff, plus their qb situation. plus the terrapins are streaking, but now the real test begins, more coming up in sports.

i'm anita brikman with this health alert. flu season is about to kick into high gear. people are con tables 24 to 72 hours after -- contagious 24 to 72 hours after catching it and stay contagious five days after the start.

>> this health alert sponsored by cancer treatment centers of america, care that never quits.

now 9 sports with kristen berset, the best sports in town. >> former redskins head coach joe gibbs addressed the redskins problems today to the radio saying the key to a team's success starts at quarterback. i think we'd agree, but that should also be the redskins a priority this offseason but at what cost, though? if they address it in the draft, their best opportunity is to get baylor's robert griffin, iii, but it could cost dearly in draft picks and personnel to trade up and get them. also raheem morris met with skins officials to talk about a possible coaching job perhaps of the defensive. after last night's debacle

in orlando mo evans reportedly called a players only meeting today saying the sense of entitlement is the worst of any team he's been on. at least they're trying to do something about it. the maryland terrapins somehow found themselves on a seven- game win streak and i say somehow because they tend to find a way to blow a huge lead only to pull off the w in the final moments. nonetheless it's a seven-game win streak and comes at the perfect time. the terps open acc play this week starting with nc state saturday playing just one good half of ball won't cut it now that deshawn howard is back, alex lynn is inserted into the lineup. the terps say they're prepared to keep this win streak going. >> we just want to work to be one of the best teams in the acc. we've got a lot of work we need to do, but we feel we're one of the premier teams. >> we know we got to get better as a team and practice. we got tephra a lot who harder than -- to practice a lot

harder than we normally do. >> there have been some high scoring bcs bowl game this season, but i think west virginia takes the cake. last night mountaineers offense, unstoppable putting up 70 points, 49 in the 1st half. that is the most points scored by any team ever in bcs bowl games. now is your chance to vote in our game of the week poll. stone bridge at langley, chantilly at westfield for the guys. girls, blair sherwood. go to www.wusa9.com sports to vote. watch this. the goalie kicks the ball out of, it bounces over the goalie's head and in. 100 yards from goal to goal. it just bounces over. he can't reach it. >> tim howard of the u.s. national team, what a light on tim. fa. >> that is crazy. that is it for us. -- tim.

>> that is crazy that. it it is for us. have a great night.