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: 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. reporter: are you demanding or asking for his resignation? >> i expect to receive it. reporter: the fbi and irs agents raided thomas' northeast home late last year. allegations were that thomas used the stolen money to buy an suv, a motorcycle and take lavish vacations and spending sprees. federal authorities say beginning of 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 just reelected to office 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 in just over 140 days to fill out the remainder of his term. washed 5 residents. >> i met him -- ward 5 residents. >> i met him. he's a really good guy, power and greed and lost his perspective. >> he came on big. he was going do this and that and did he it for himself. he doesn't care about us. reporter: bruce johnson, 9 news now. >> calls to harry thomas' lawyers have not been returned. the u.s. attorneys office is withholding comment until after the hearing tomorrow just after 11 a.m. in u.s. district court. we will follow that. a day of downsizing at the pentagon. emily schmidt looks at what major budget cuts will mean for the military's future. reporter: one look at where president obama outlined his new military strategy showed its significance. he spoke at the pentagon. it was unprecedented. >> as i understand, it's the first time a president has done. this. reporter: his high profile appearance announced a paring down of the military after

months of study on tightening budgets. the president said capacity will be smaller but shifting resources. >> we will strengthen our presence in the area pacific. budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region. reporter: the announcement comes as u.s. troops left iraq and scaled back in afghanistan. but iran has tested missiles recently. north korea has a new leader and china's military continues to grow. many republicans in congress and military advocates say this isn't the time to change a long time strategy of being able to fight two wars at once. >> we have to be very careful before we start shedding missions and asking our military to do less. reporter: those specific cuts aren't outlined yet. defense secretary leon panetta insists they won't change military readiness. >> the cuts may not impact military readiness, but they could have a distinct impact on our region. our partners at this week in defense news joined us earlier to talk a bit about that.

>> i think over the long term there will be regional impact. obviously 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 a region as military and contractor heavy as ours is 6789. >> join them for more. is. >> join them sunday morning on wusa9 for more. despite the cuts u.s. troops are still deployed overseas, families saying a tearful good-bye to loved ones headed to afghanistan. 83 soldiers are going on a security force mission with the d.c. army national guard. raquel powers' husband leaves her nearly eight months pregnant with a 1-year-old daughter to care for at home. >> it's really saddening to me. he's going to miss our son's birth, but i mean he has to do

what he has to do and i'm proud of him. >> they mean everything to me. that's why i'm ready to go over here, do my job for my country and i'll be home. >> the soldiers are expecting to come home in one year's time. he's only 20 years old, but today a maryland man was sentenced to double that in prison, but then the judge suspended 20 years of that 40 year sentence. andrea mccarren was in the courtroom when kevin coffay learned his fate. >> 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 fled the scene and never called for help for his dying friends. >> 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 victims' 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 datt's father described it as a scab that has begun to heal and is rimmed off and starts to bleed -- ripped off and starts to bleed and from haeley mcguire's brother, i am filled with rain and hopelessness. kevin coffay is -- rage and hopelessness. kevin coffay is an irresponsible coward who left my sister to die at the side of the road in the wreckage. kevin coffay will be eligible for parole after serving five years. turning to campaign 2012, for the second time this week a republican presidential candidate is making pointed comments about blacks and welfare. slate magazine reports during a campaign appearance today newt gingrich promised the crowd if he is elected, he would go to the naacp convention and tell

the african american community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps. other online reports say the race reference was not prompted by the question gingrich was asked. you may remember earlier this week rick santorum said this. >> i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and their families. >> we asked the santorum campaign monday why he singled out blacks in the comment. we are still waiting for a response. add virginia governor bob mcdonnell to the chorus of voters opposed to having to take a loyalty vote before they can vote in the commonwealth's march primary. the republican committee's rule has got a lot of attention. the oath is set to be reviewed in two weeks, but tonight we're learning it's not the only virginia group with such a plan. the ode street tribune blog brought our attention to the

fact the democratic committee will ask for a similar oath before a selection in march. voters there will choose a new member of the county board. what do you think? should voters have to pledge loyalty to a certain party being allowed to vote in a primary or special election? bear in mind virginia's presidential primary is open, but it's really just the republican presidential nomination that's up for grabs. share your thoughts on all this with mcginty's mailbag at wusa9.com. not quite such a biting chill today, topper. that felt really good. >> it did. had the light jacket on. temperatures managed to make it to 50. that's a far cry from our high of 34 wednesday. currently temperatures are on the chilly side. it's 43 downtown, but a lot of 30sed in burbs, 30 in ma -- 30s in the burbs, 30 in manassas, 40 in hagerstown, 41 in martinsburg. really a pretty nice night, partly cloudy, cold, plenty of 20s in the burbs, 25 to 32

downtown and winds out of the southwest at 10. we'll come back and talk about the south wind that will increase tomorrow and bring much milder air, let you know if that mild air will last through the weekend. well, the cold hasn't been keeping protesters out of mcpherson square. now the city's health department wants to take a closer look at some other visitors that may be there. up next this weekend brings a big step toward a smoother commute for thousands of drivers in our region. we'll talk about how right after the break. 9 traffic now is brought to you by geico.

back now with the commuter alert that could make your drive a whole lot easier. this weekend the d.c. department of transportation expects to open the second span of the 11th street bridge. the outbound span will carry drivers over the anacostia river. a third span is scheduled to open this summer. tonight general motors is asking the owners of every chevy volt sold in the u.s. in the last two years to bring their cars back to the dealership. the company wants to strengthen the structure around the car's batteries. this comes after three batteries caught fire following side impact crash tests by the federal government. those fires happened between seven days and three weeks after the crashes. a 5-year-old girl ended up asleep and alone tuesday on a frederick county school bus. the child's mother says when her little girl woke up, the bus was parked outside the driver's home. the child knocked on the door

and asked to be driven back to school. a spokeswoman for the school system says the driver failed to check the bus after his last stop and didn't realize it wasn't empty. the matter is being investigated. still ahead topper is back with a look at the forecast as we inch closer to the weekend. but first there is shock and sadness for the owners of a local animal rescue after somebody apparently came onto the property uninvited. we'll explain what happened.

there is disbelief tonight from the owner of a frederick county animal rescue after a puppy was found shot to death on the farm. reporter: i'm scott broom in middletown, maryland. who shot the puppy is what investigators want to know on this 52-acre farm dedicated to dog rescue? the 7-month-old golden retriever puppy's name was heidi. >> i'm sorry. i thought we would have to go through this. reporter: lynnette coffman is beside herself. coffman points up to one of her fields where heidi was found mysteriously shot to death wednesday afternoon apparently by a dress passer on this fenced in farm -- a trespass other this fenced in farm. >> someone is malicious. i no longer feel say. reporter: coffman and friends run a rescue operation for abused or unwanted golden retrievers like molly, the dog recovering from statement cord surgery. frederick county animal control is investigating with the

sheriff's department and a reward fund has been launched by a pennsylvania-based retriever rescue organization. scott broom, 9 news now. near fredericksburg hunters are getting the go ahead to shoot to kill coyotes. the freelance star is reporting king george county officials encourage residents to shoot any coyote that wanders into their sights. a wildlife biologist with the virginia department of game and inland fisheries agrees saying if you have a safe and ethical shot, you should take it. in downtown d.c. a whole other set of four-legged friends are causing some concern. bruce leshan takes us to the occupy d.c. encampment at mcpherson square where there are signs of rats. reporter: occupiers cleaning camp. >> we're looking for the garbage truck to take this debris away. the city said they'd be here two days aching. reporter: after at least one informal complaint to the

health department that the mess is attracting rats. >> the trash truck is here. bring your debris! reporter: 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 in the night. that's the time when the rats come in and we've seen evidence of it and there are the rat manifestations 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 kiffin

after i've done washed all the dishes -- kitchen after i've done washed all 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. >> until i finish doing what i need to do and then i'll start cooking tomorrow. reporter: long time occupiers say if you any a sanitation controversy will close the catch down, you can think again. -- camp down, you can think again. >> we're here to state. reporter: d.c.'s health director denies this is any kind of pretense to kick the protests are out of mcpherson square. i says they have a constitutional right -- he says they have a constitutional right to be here. he just wants to keep them safe. bruce leshan, 9 news now. >> topper is here now let's talk temperatures. >> it was 50 today. that's a huge improvement over 34 just yesterday. that's going the right direction and as warm as it was today, it's going to be milder closing out the week. let's graph the temps. monday wasn't that cold, temperatures in the upper 40s. that actually was above

average. average is around 42, 43, but tuesday and wednesday we were in the deep freeze, a two-day span of arctic air. we held to 34 both days. then today we were 50 and it looks like friday we're going to be in the mid-50s and we'll probably hold into saturday 6789 so well above average. now temp -- saturday. so well above average. temps aren't tanking but falling relative quickly. 37 in college park and bethesda, 41 arlington, 43 downtown, but plenty of 30s out toward great falls, 32 in sterling and 36 out toward laytonsville. turning milder, but you need a coat tonight, breezy and milder tomorrow and still mild saturday. a cold front will move through saturday and it will cool us off a bit sunday but nothing dramatic, no great temperature swings coming our way. for tonight partly cloudy and cold, a one, maybe two blanket night, low temperatures 25 to 32, southwesterly winds at 10.

if you're inside the beltway or downtown you're talking low 30s tonight, 31 arlington, 27 rockville, 26 gaithersburg, 28 college park and bowie. i may review some of these lows for 11:00. right now we'll say 27 in reston, 26 sterling, 25 in leesburg for a low and also in middleburg and manassas. tomorrow morning partly cloudy, breezy, cold. you'll need a coat and sunglasses, 20s and 30s. winds start to pick up southwest 10 to 15. at least that's a filed wind. southwesterly winds are generally mild -- mild wind. southwesterly winds are generally milder. highs around 55, winds out of the southwest 10 to 20. the sun is now sitting at 5:00, no longer those 4:52s, days getting a little longer finally. we'll talk about the zone forecast. all six scopes are on our website at www.wusa9.com. 48 in oakland tomorrow, 52 cumberland, even hagerstown, martinsburg and winchester will

be in the low to mid-50s. 56 culpeper, mid-50s, 54 warrenton, leesburg, manassas and also frederick. downtown we're looking at mid- 50s, even up in the gaithersburg mid-50s and into southern maryland and by the bay. right now not a small craft advisory posted, but boaters need to be aware of a pretty strong southwesterly wind tomorrow afternoon. 25 to 32 to start. that's cold but milder by noon, 49 to 54 and 51 to 56 under partly cloudy skies by evening. the only thing that would make tomorrow better is if it weren't breezy. it will be a little breezy. next three days, warm saturday, 54, cooler sunday, upper 40s but not a big temperature change. it will get a little colder monday with the seven-day. light rain, light snow, a mix monday, still possible, lefortes, but right back in the low 50 -- low 40s, but right back in the low 50s tuesday and a monstrous rainstorm

wednesday. it may rain as far north as rain and we're in the 50s and 54 thursday with sunshine. >> lots of precipitation coming our way. >> liquid, though. >> got it. still to come tonight talk about a big payoff, meet the local winner of that big new year's raffle in virginia. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag, mailbag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

get a home for free? it's possible in prince george's county. we'll tell you what to do to get in on this great deal. day. you lie to your insurance company? why 10% of us -- do you lie to your insurance company? why 10% of us do. >> see you friday morning. a local became a million dollars richer today thanks to winning the virginia lottery new year's raffle. as peggy fox reports, he's not the only one celebrating. reporter: warner ashby of rockville purchased about 30 new year's raffle tickets for 20 bucks each. this is the one that turned that $600 investment into a million. >> wow! 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 combs of the

ticket and then i said -- copies of the ticket and then i said oh, my gosh. >> at that time i was calling everybody to say hey, the store won a million dollars of. reporter: the owner of the 7- eleven in great falls was just as excited because his store is where ashby purchased that winning ticket thanksgiving day. 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'll keep his chauffeur job for at least a year. >> i like my job. i like the people 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 out, you know. well, i kind of think they might. the virginia lottery folks give advice to new winners helping them not blow all the money they just won, 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. maybe i can turn it into 2 or 3 million. who knows. reporter: peggy fox, 9 news now. >> sounds like a good strategy. congrats to him. that is our report. i'll be back here at 11:00 tonight. we'll have more reaction to today's comments by newt gingrich on african americans and welfare and we're keeping a close eye on any new developments in the harry thomas, jr. story. don't forget. you can find us any time at www.wusa9.com.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. did jada hire a divorce attorney? are arnold and maria back together? >> people thought, maybe, she's putting her wedding ring back on. the new anatomy of a hollywood rumor. how they get started and how the gossip spreads. plus, the latest rumors burning up the web. are justin and jessica engaged? did demi have an affair with a real housewife? whatever happened to the homeless man with the golden voice? >> we'll be back with more right after these words. >> one year later, we tracked down ted williams. his amazing story today. >> "entertainment tonight." george, brad and angelina. tina fey, sofia vergara. how the stars are getting ready for the golden globes. >> you tell me that 's