>> he liked sponge bob and soccer mostly. >> the family's grief is drenched in anger at 22-year- old victor aldona. he is charged with dui manslaughter, dui maiming, wreckless driving, and no operator's license. >> brian's grandmother says she knows victor aldona. not only do they live in the same apartment complex, but she spoke to him at the place he used to work and the place he has been working. the kfc. the manager and coworkers say he was a good guy and a hard worker. they say they never saw him drunk. >> when he's here, he works hard. he looks out for people. he takes care of business. >> you're very surprised to hear what happened? >> definitely. i was. >> no one is more shocked than brian's family. >> he was here on saturday. she took care of him on saturday and there's a candle

right there where he was sitting. >> peggy fox, 9news now. >> brian's mom said the fairfax hospital, she has a broken pelvis and two broken legs. she only remembers being hit, not anything that happened after that. they also say they have been told not to talk to her about what happened to her son until she is better. now, a followup on the abandoned baby girl who died after being left on a stranger's doorstep in d.c. the chief of d.c.'s police department has stepped into the front of the microphones asking the mother or someone who knows her to please come forward. >> really important to us that we try and locate the person who delivered this child. one, we believe that she may need some medical attention. >> a neighbor spotted that baby wrapped only in a towel late sunday night. it was about 28 degrees outside at the time. that child died a few hours later at the hospital. police chief lanier says the baby could have been anything

from a newborn to as much as a month old. at this point, it is impossible to know if the mother was aware of the city's safe haven law. that law permits a parent to leave an unwanted newborn baby at any city hospital, no questions asked. well the man arrested in a series of sexual assaults and home invasions has confessed. his name is kevin ray. and today, he faced a judge for his first court hearing since being arrested over the weekend. now in that hearing, prosecutors said ray admitted to detectives that he invaded homes and raped women last week at locations in wheaten, bethesda, and temple hills, maryland. the judge ordered ray held without bond. rescue crews found five more bodies today as they continue to search the wrecked cruise ship off the coast of italy. that brings the total number of people killed to 11. dozens of others are missing. controlled explosions were used to blow open holes for the rescue crews still searching the costa concordia. they're looking in the water and inside the ship for anybody

that may be alive. but today, search crews found only two more victims. >> we hope that in this way, we can reach all the places that haven't been inspected yet. >> new audio of the call between the ship's captain and the coast guard was released today as well. in it, captain francesco schettino was heard arguing about returning to the wreck after he abandoned ship. he is now under house arrest and he faces charges of causing a ship wreck, manslaughter, and abandoning ship. this time is running out for all those republican presidential candidates trying to win the support of south carolina voters. mitt romney holds a comfortable lead in every poll for the primary which happens on saturday. and today, the other gop candidates took aim at perhaps unseating him. they are criticizing his policy views and pushing him to immediately release his tax returns. it's all in an effort to convince south carolinaens that romney is not the right guy for

them. >> he needs to step up and do the right thing and stop playing dirty politics. >> you have my back on saturday. >> candidates square off in a debate one more time before primary day. it is scheduled for thursday night. rick perry is running out of options if he wants to get his name on the virginia primary ballot. a federal appeals court rejected his request to be added to the march 6 primary. the three judge panel unanimously agreed with the lower court ruling from last week. that rule except perry and three other candidates that waited too long to challenge the laws. democrats announced that president barack obama will accept the democratic nomination in charlotte, north carolina, next september. north carolina is one of those so-called battleground states that the president won back in '08. the convention will kick off on labor day. then, it moves to the bank of america stadium while the president will accept his nomination. a grand jury formally charged a man with trying to

assassinate president obama. we're talking about oscar ramiro ortega hernandez. he was arrested a few days later in pennsylvania. now ortega says he will plead not guilty to all the charges. congress is back in session and just like last year, lawmakers are debating about the debt ceiling and whether or not to extend that payroll tax cut. however, today some protesters tried to push their own agenda to the top of that list. >> lindsey mastis on capitol hill. members of members of the occupy movement came here to be part of occupy congress. >> occupy boston. >> people from across the country came here to make a point about congress. >> all of them have bought into the appropriate scheme. there's not a single representative in that building right now that is not taking corporate money. it doesn't matter whether you're a republican or

democrat. you are taking the corporate money and part of the system that corrupted our democracy. >> they are occupying the line. the capital police are keeping the sidewalk off limits. a few protesters taunted police and even crossed through. some of their efforts resulted in arrests. protesters are spending the rest of their evening marching to the white house and the supreme court. on capitol hill, i'm lindsey mastis, 9news now. now next week, these occupy protesters will be the topic in congress, but for a whole different reason. the house oversight and government reform committee will hold a hearing about the occupy d.c. encampment down at mcpherson square. the national park service as well as d.c. police will brief committee members about the camp and the conditions at the park. well police arrested 14 protesters outside the supreme court today. the group was demonstrating against the use of the death penalty in this country. their protest coincided with the 35th anniversary of the execution of gary gilmore.

he was st first person to be executed. the protesters arrested today will be charged with illegal demonstrating at the high court. our weather doesn't want to make up its mind. yesterday freezing, today close to 60. now it's going back to the cold again. >> it is, but not for a while. i'm out here without a jacket. temperatures still in the upper 50s. the temperatures haven't gone down much. we have a strong south, southwest wind which is holding temperatures in the upper 50s. 57 in gaithersburg and leesburg. and still 61 in fredericksburg. even jump the divide, it's only 46 in oakland. you know things are warm. live doppler 9,000. most of the showers are over. a couple showers in prince georges county and howard county and also as you head up 95. everything is light and most of those are diminishing very rapidly. a shower possible and just breezy and cold. lows in the 30s. winds will become northwest, but until such time, it is going to remain mild.

headed out for the next few hours, it will remain mild. when we come back, we'll tell you how cold it will get. >> thank you, top. coming up, burger king deliver to your front door? we put the fast food chain's newest service to the test. and long awaited road improvements. we'll have details on what he wants to do. that's coming up in a minute.

federal workers who use their cars for interest will

not see any increase. the administration announced it will keep the mileage rate at 51 cents per mile. the agency does say it will monitor the cost of fuel and make adjustments if necessary. and drivers in montgomery county could soon find it a bit easier to get around clarksburg. the county executive has proposed using county funds to finally complete three roads in clarksburg village. the intersection of 355 and brink road were supposed to be built years ago, but homeowners that were supposed to pay for it never implemented and canceled. letting the road sit there unfinished is not an option. >> we'll have frustrated citizens who are looking for roads and i don't think that's accounted for for long-term interest. >> proposed using $15 million from his capital spending plan to finish those roads. the plan is awaiting approval

from the county council. northern virginia lawmaker wants to lower how much virginiaens pay in the car tax and he wants to do it at the cost of smokers. introduced a bill in the general assembly this week and it calls for a five fold increase in the cigarette tax. 92% of the money brought in would go toward lowering the personal property tax on vehicles, but virginia republicans say that bill is dead on arrival and call it a new tax on virginia. i hope you like the warm weather, because it is not sticking around. top tells us when the temperatures will start to plummet. full forecast coming up. but first, a frayed and tattered flag for the second time in six months. what's going on here? i'll tell you about that coming up next. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios

are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ flags across the state of maryland flew at half staff in honor of matthew. the 24 imleerld served as an airman in the air force's explosive disposals squadrant. he was buried this afternoon at arlington national cemetery. only on 9, afraid and tattered american flag. this is the story we first told you about last summer and the national park service replaced it the very next day. last week, we got an e-mail from a viewer who said the flag was once again in bad condition. so, we sent kristin fisher down there to the park in georgetown to take a look.

>> four days before the fourth of july, this frayed flag was flying above the very monument to the man who wrote the star spangled banner. >> the ends are frayed and the individual stripes are starting to tear from each other a bit. >> national park service admitted it was their fault. one day after the story aired, a new flag was gallantly streaming. but just six months later, we got an e-mail from a viewer. an army captain who wants to remain unanimous. he informed us that once again, the flag at francis scott key park is frayed on the top edge and flying in a disrespectful manner. >> very important to show respect with a new flag, not an old tattered flag. >> i have never noticed a problem with the flag. i see it every day. at the same time, if there is a problem with the flag, this is certainly one that got great symbolic importance. >> part of the problem is this flag is not your average american flag with 50 stars. this flag only has 15 stars.

just like the flag that inspired francis scott key to write our national anthem. not only are they harder to come by, but this flag is constantly exposed to the wind. the national park service says the staff of rock creek park deeply regrets the condition of the flag and recommit our effort to regularly monitor it. sure enough, just 24 hours after we notified the park service, the flag was replaced. but the army captain says he e- mailed them weeks ago, he says it doesn't seem like a flag honoring keith should be frayed. >> we should know that a flag only flies during the day and good weather will last an average of 930 days. that flies day, night, rain or shine, which is why those flags are wearing out so quickly. burger king is testing out a new delivery service and picked ten local burger kings to be part of that test. one is in gaithersburg.

we went up to walnut hill and we treated those employees to lunch. the food got there 42 minutes later. >> very good. >> did it pass the fries test? >> it did. the fries are hot and crunchy. they taste fresh. i didn't expect it to be nice and hot like it is, but it's good. >> it's good. really good. >> it's convenient having it delivered as opposed to running out to the store. >> convenient indeed. scott broom saw it in action. the delivery fee, $2, and the tip, well that would be up to you. so, do we really need fast food home delivery? does it show how lazy we have become or is it meeting our need? not to mention the fact that fries are always good. mcginty's mail bag is mailbag@wusa9.com. top, we have been and keep talking about this weather

roller coaster, it doesn't stop. >> good news is, it doesn't get cold for very long. it is constantly changing. upper 50s today and be lucky to make 40 tomorrow. and looking at colder air by the end of the week. let's start with our live weather cam brought to you by michael and son. it's a very nice evening. the only, i guess, downside to tonight is the wind. but it's warm. it's a warm wind. 58. the winds are going to be gusty. this cold front won't go through until after midnight. pressure falling at 29.74 inches of mercury. temperatures have not budged. 57 in great falls. reston 57. to the east, we're looking at 58 in beltsville. this is 59 in college park. and 57 over toward andrews. so temperatures, you know, almost 20 degrees above average. a cold front is on the way. we'll keep a shower in, at least until 9:00.

and somewhere between cold and chilly, between now and friday. all right, for tonight, shower possible before 9:00. then breezy and cold. lows in the 30s. winds become northeasterly at 10 to 15. that will be after midnight. even though the cold front goes through, temperatures are going to be above freezing, which is unusual for january. 36 in gaithersburg. 38 downtown. 37 in college park. and in bowie. now tomorrow morning, well, partly cloudy, breezy, and cold. probably should dress for the 20s. that's windchill values. temperatures in the 30s and winds will continue northwest. by afternoon though, very nice day, mostly sunny and colder. high temperatures around 40. that actually average for us this time of year. the winds calm down, too, out of northwest at 10. so break it down. tomorrow morning, breezy to start, 30. 36 to 41 by noon. sunshine, and 37 to 42. mostly sunny skies by evening

and breezes should die down or diminish just before noon. now the next three days. well, it's going to be chilly on thursday. a little system passes to our north. maybe a flurry or sprinkle by evening. temperatures low 40s and back in the 30s, mid 30s with sunshine on friday. but the seven-day, another roller coaster. saturday we're just chilly with rain developing. temperatures in the low 40s and then it gets warmer again. maybe an early shower on monday and in the 50s next tuesday with rain developing late in the day. >> wow. in our weird news today, next time you hear someone say beyonce is fly, that's not a fly way of saying she's hot. beyonce is a fly. a previously unnamed species of horsefly, beyonce. because he says it is the all- time diva of flies. check out that glamorous golden cover. this fly was first discovered

in 1981. that was the year beyonce was born. the researcher says he has not heard from the singer who just gave birth, but he is hoping she takes it as a compliment. i don't think she's going to like it. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back. ♪

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in the mail bag tonight, some of the most interesting and thoughtful reaction we have had in a while to a story out of detroit. a sixth grade class were to pretend they grew up a slave and write an essay. one student's mom was offended. one of the main reasons to teach history is learn the mistakes and the successes of the past. what works for society and what doesn't. we can apply it to the future. the teacher probably wants the students to feel what it would have been like living in the slave's footsteps. no different than an assignment on what it would have been like as an immigrant or jewish prisoner. but she does not believe that

assignment will do much good. i'm not against children learning about slavery, but these children can't understand what a slave went through. i think the teacher should have come up with a better assignment. have a real slave actor come in and perform. but teresa would beg to differ. about being from ireland and coming to america to be treated like dirt, or about how the native americans were butchered, would that be offensive? maybe. but the child is missing out on an important lesson. that is prejudice in any form is wrong. it affects real people and it hurts everyone. you can't teach that in a book. it has to be felt to be understood. you know what, teresa, i like that. i thank everyone who joined in that conversation on the facebook page. like i said, very thoughtful responses. you can also send your responses, thoughtful or other to our e-mail address.

mailbag@wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be back here tonight along with lesli foster and don't forget, you can log on any time you like to wusa9.com. have a great evening. we'll see you a little later. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. the real-life "titanic." >> the night vision cameras. passengers lining up. jumping overboard. scrambling to survive. plus -- how a "modern family" star's aunt and uncle got out of line. and the underwater photos. reminders of "titanic." how this sinking cruise ship nightmare mirrors one of the biggest movies of all time. >> hold on! the golden globe moments you haven't seen. brad. george. new ballroom photos. plus -- red carpet bloopers with a blind date gone wrong. >> you're going out with? that would be called a blooper. j. lo and marc anthony side by side.