>> so just how much more could you be paying this year? our scott broom breaks down the numbers. >> okay. they gave me the marker, the white board. so let's do the numbers. the income tax is not the only tax they're talking about in maryland. they're talking about a gas tax, a flush tax and an online shopping sales tax. how much is it going to cost you? under the governor's proposal on the income tax side he's talking about individuals at 100,000 in income, doubles at 150, by reducing the personal exemption, that is going to cost those families $191 a year. let's talk about the gas tax. there are proposals to hike that as high as an additional 15 cents per gallon. if you've got two cars in your family, 25 miles per gallon, we're talking about potentially as much as $144 in additional taxes if that passes. then there's a flush tax. this is a wastewater fee we pay too protect the environment. the governor is talking about

doubling the current -- to protect the environment. the governor is talking about doubling the $2.50 fee which would cost an additional $30 a year. the governor thinks he might be able to raise $20 million a year in revenue by taxing online shopping. that's $10 per household for a grand total in potential new taxes in maryland of $375. that's a lot of money. in the newsroom scott broom, 9 news now. >> as you just heard, marylanders could indeed be digging a bit deeper to feed the state government this year, but how much is too much? former montgomery county delegate robin ficker has some ideas on that one. he is not a friend of new taxes and he's running for the sixth district congressional seat. good to have you with us. the governor says he hates to do this but thinks it's the only fair way to help close that budget gap. what do you say? >> he's a tax increase

specialist. this year's operating budget is 8% larger than last year's. this year's operating budget is 1/3 larger than that of 2006 despite having the deepest recession in 70 years. he needs to control his spending. in 2002 and 2008 he increased the top level income tax bracket 52.6% increasing it in both of those years. that's too much and people who are job creators are moving out. >> we're talking a billion dollars deficit. he's already dealt with billions in spending cuts the last few years. he said this balance, spending cuts with 300 million in tax increases, what would you do to fix the problem? >> i think he needs to look at -- >> okay. give me a specific program you'd be willing to get rid of that would save a billion dollars. >> i think we need to stop giving large pensions to people who are retiring in their 40s and 50s. we can't afford to do this

anymore and that's a large hunk of this budget. >> you make a good point. one big problem is teacher pensions. he wants to shift a lot of that responsibility to the counties. part of this increase is to put the money in there for that transition. you say do what instead? >> we just had a large increase in teachers pensions right before the election, too. doesn't mention that. he needs to control his spending. for instance, he wants to make the state gasoline tax twice that of the virginia gas teen tax. that's a tax on our -- gasoline tax. that's a tax on our hardest working citizens, people going to work. the jobs will go across the river. >> what controlling spending means is somebody not getting became every time you try to do that in maryland the protesters line up, the people with government jobs line up and you can't get that done. >> he's been controlling spending all right. over the last six years the transportation budget has not increased at all because he's been raiding the transportation trust fund, but health and

mental hygiene budget has increased 50% over the last six years. >> that will have to be the final word for our conversation tonight. thank you so much for your time. moving on to the gay marriage and dream act, two other major political issues in the state of maryland this year. a new poll shows voters in the free state are very divided about both. governor o'malley said gay marriage is one of his legislative priorities this year, but only 49% of maryland voters support the measure. 47% are against it. as for the dream act, which would allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition for college, just 48% agree, 49% are against it. voters will have their say on the dream act in a referendum on the november ballot. immigration was the hot topic in baltimore today with a rally at the steps of the federal courthouse. reporter: i'm kristin fisher outside i.c.e.'s headquarters in baltimore where today thousands showed up to support the 59-year-old grandmother who is about to be deported.

these protesters are fighting for the release of josefina rodriguez-vega, the 59-year-old grandmother of four first arrested last june for driving without a license. last week she was taken to an immigration detention facility in ocean city. >> she is a grandma. she does have u.s. citizen family and a significant deep tie to her community. reporter: what some say is this directly contradicts the new policy of homeland security that supports deporting criminals, not 59-year-old grandmothers. >> we have limited resources and we want to focus those on deporting serious criminals of. reporter: criminal or not, the fact is josefina has been living here illegally the last six years. still her family is asking i.c.e. to reconsider. in baltimore kristin fisher, 9 news now. >> so far i.c.e. has declined our requests for a comment.

a spokeswoman said i.c.e. will issue a statement shortly about josefina's case. that was a few hours ago. we get, it we will pass it along. tonight police are looking for two men who are not only robbing the elderly, but using young children as pages while carrying out their crimes. we spoke with -- pawns while carrying out their crimes. we spoke with one victim, an 84- year-old woman who thought she was helping a mother and children in need. a woman approached her with her children in a parking lot. the victim drove the first suspect to a nearby bank and then things turned ugly. the suspect threatened to shoot the elderly woman if she didn't withdraw several thousand dollars from her own account. >> i'm sure somebody else is getting the same thing done to them right at this moment somewhere and i hope they get caught today. i just hope they get caught. >> prince george's county

police say this is a clear surveillance picture of the suspect and they want to hear from anybody who may know this woman, can help identify her, help catcher. tonight yet another guilty plea -- catch her. tonight yet another guilty plea in the corruption case of councilman harry thomas, jr. this time from a well known golf pro james jimmy garvin. in court today garvin admitted he helped thomas steal thousands of dollars from youth programs. garvin faces up to three years in prison. no sentencing date has been scheduled. right now he's free on his own recognizance. anybody missing winter may have gotten a taste of it today. topper, it keeps getting colder as the day goes on. >> it sure does. last night we were 57, now we're in the mid-30s. we'll start with temperatures. really some of the suburbs are lower than that, 28 in gaithersburg, straight temps, 30 frederick, 32 manassas, 36 in fredericksburg and start going west, 19 for our friends

in oakland. for tonight clear skies, cold, a two blanket night, lows in the 20s. winds will become light. they're brisk now. we'll come back and show you wind chill temperatures in a few minutes and look ahead to the weekend. we made some wholesale changes. coming up students sent home hungry after a school system gets rid of lunch, but the parents say it's not the school's fault. we'll tell you why. but first a new poll shows mitt romney is leading south carolina -- romney's lead in south carolina is shrinking. numbers are up next. ♪

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the republican presidential race in south carolina teams to be tightening up a bit and we've got three days till the primary. a new cnn magazine poll those 33% of the voters in the palmetto state support mitt romney just 10 points ahead of newt gingrich, the second place candidate. rick santorum comes in third. remember less than two weeks to go romney was up by 18 points in south carolina. today newt gingrich was trying to build on that momentum by continuing his attacks on romney. the two traded jabs on the campaign trail today. romney mocked gingrich's claim he helped create a million jobs. the former house speaker fired back criticizing romney's income tax rate the last year and insists he has the best chance of beating the former massachusetts governor. >> if conservatives come together, we beat romney

decisively. if conservatives are split, he might squeak through. >> maybe he squeaks through. the republican candidates will have final debate to build support before saturday's primary. that one is scheduled for tomorrow night. voters in virginia's republican primary won't have to take a loyalty oath, after all. the state gop asked the elections board to remove it from the party's primary ballot. the virginia republican party made the decision after a poll of its governorring board. the oath would have required the voters promised to support the nominee in the general election no matter who it turns out to be. >> we can all tell it by going outside the cold made a comeback, but how long will it last? topper tells us if there's any chance that weekend warm-up could come around. but first website goes dark in protest of controversial regulation that would regulate some internet content. we'll explain what that law would do. that's coming up.

it is hollywood versus silicon valley with washington caught in the middle and today a number of websites got together to protest anti-piracy legislation by going dark. they say that legislation amounts to censorship. here's what's behind the web blackouts you may have encountered today of. reporter: wick media, red, it boing boing, gone dark for the day -- wick media, red it, boing boing, gone dark for the

day, a protest against what the tech industry calls censorship. >> we do believe copyrighted material should be protected from piracy, these two pieces of legislation are far too overreaching. reporter: the two bills dopped sopa stop online piracy act and the pipa aimed at downloading streams of copyrighted movies and tv shows, the primary targets sites overseas. the legislation had been expected to move quickly, but republican leaders said wednesday there's still much to be discussed. >> pretty clear to many of us that there's a lack of consensus at this point. reporter: tech leaders argue sites would be exposed to too many lawsuits potentially discouraging innovation. >> you are creating a scenario that is merely untenable for large sites, but totally untenable for the next facebook. reporter: supporters say it's crucial to protect copyright material and with it american

jobs. >> but the point is at a time like this when jobs, jobs, jobs, that's all we're hearing about, just remember this, there are people as we are talking who are stealing content and putting at risk american jobs. reporter: social network sites facebook and twitter oppose the legislation but did not join the blackout, though sopa was a hot topic among individual users wednesday. >> most media companies support the sopa legislation. now an update on the frederick county school bus cameras issue. the frederick news post reports county commissioners want to expand the program and start issuing fines for people who pass a stopped school bus. the county installed 11 cameras on its buses the past school year but have never been authorized to issue fines. now a proposed ordinance would allow a $250 fine to drivers who ignore the school bus stop signs and flashing red lights and add cameras to another 30

or 40 county buses. there will be a hearing sometime next month. now to a school district near cleveland that's taken a big hit in garfield heights. because voters rejected school levies, the schools are running out of money. starting this week no more art classes, no music classes, no gym, no library and not even lunch. what's more, the class day has been shortened. kids are now being sent home at just past 1:00. >> what are they going to do with that big window of time when their parents are still working and all that idle time that they have to do god knows what? >> as for the kids who qualify for the free school lunches, they did get one today. they were sent home with a baloney sandwich, appear and a pickle. school -- apple and a pickle. school systems across our country are hurting for money, but is cutting lunch the best way to meet the bottom line? school officials say they're doing the best they can when parents have decided they don't want to pay anymore. feed your thoughts into

mcginty's mailbag at wusa9.com. >> all right, top. >> 58 yesterday, my friend. >> i like it. >> i know you did. >> 55 now. >> and the weekend? >> not exactly stellar or chamber of commerce. we made some wholesale changes on sunday, but let's start with our live weather come brought to you by michael and son, another shot of the capitol. the flags are still rolling. that's because of the wind. they'll be breezy through the evening till about midnight. if you're medded out, do bundle up -- headed out, do bundle up. it's 35, dew point 12, winds out of the north, northwest at 10 gusting to 15 miles per hour, humidity 39%. again that means the indoor humidity is probably running around 12%, so your skin may crack a bit the next 24 hours. you may shock your brother or sister. temperatures, look at this, 31 in bethesda and rockville, 28 gaithersburg, 31 great falls and reston and sterling. temperatures even to the east,

32 in beltsville, 30 in laurel, 33 andrews and 35 officially at national. so much different air mass. now let's factor in the wind which isn't that strong, but it feels like 27 downtown, primarily feels like mid-20s across the board, gaithersburg to manassas down to fredericksburg. to the west it feels like it's 14 in oakland. a big, big wholesale change between yesterday's air mass and today's. now it's going to be chilly through the weekend, not crazy cold, much colder tonight, fading sunshine tomorrow and then slightly brisk friday, perfectly acceptable january day. you will need yourism vertebral la for saturday, no doubt about that. -- your umbrella for saturday, no doubt about that. tonight clear skies, cold, two blanket night, lows in the 20s, winds will become light after midnight. in fact, lows, we're talking low 20s in the burbs.

gaithersburg and rockville, reston, fairfax, low to mid- 20s, downtown closer to 28, 24 college park and bowie. tomorrow morning partly cloudy and cold. bundle up, temps in the 20s and 30s. winds turn and become southwesterly at 10 because a cold front is approaching. by afternoon those winds pick up, southwest 10 to 15, clouds picking up as well. we could see an evening flurry, but primarily north of town especially in the maryland and p.a. border and certainly west of the divide you'll have more snow for the ski resorts. we'll break it down, 20s to start, 37 to 42 by noon, breezy and 39 to 44, clouds coming in by evening, just a little on the chilly side. next three days sunshine returning friday, chilly temperatures in the low 40s and a chilly rain on saturday with temperatures in the low to mid- 40s. now the next seven days here's the whole sale change. we'll keep rain in the forecast sunday, temperatures in the low 40s, but it will get mild. we promised you mild air next

week, 52 monday will do, it maybe a morning shower, maybe a morning shower tuesday, back to the mid-40s, but right back up to 50 next wednesday. >> it gets cold for a minute and just can't stay there. let's get to our weird news file because this is a bizarre sad story you might call a cautionary tale or you might not to. thailand where main just got married to his girl friend. problem is his girl friend is dead. she'd been his girl friend the last 10 years. sadly she was killed in an auto accident. devastated by this the man decided to combine the funeral services with a wedding ceremony actually placing a ring on the dead girl's finger. the motivation apparently was guilt. she'd wanted to get married but he wanted to focus on his studies first and now he's trying to make up for it. the thing is poor annie is beyond really caring about any of this and the rest of us are just a little creeped out.

>> we want to hear what you them send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag, the address mailbag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back. >> 9 news now is sponsored in part by the slocum law firm.

in the mailbag tonight burger king taking the fast food show on the road. the king is experimenting with delivering meals to your front

door. wusa9 scott boom put that new service to the test yesterday and the fries were hot and crunchy, the burger was good, but jim in strasburg, virginia, is not sold. delivered fast food really? walk down the street in your town, usa and observe the average girth of most of the residents. we're already lazy because we don't have to get out of our cars to get our weekly ration of fat in one meal. i suppose it's not much different than having pizza delivered. we got similar sentiments from rich in hagerstown. i think the burger king delivery is ridiculous. come on, people, can't you see? when people continue to get bigger, who's going to take responsibility? burger king? i don't see the delivery being a great idea. it only means americans will get more lazy thus gaining more weight. guys, i'm with the king on this one. burger king says it's all a matter of choice and as is often the choice, everybody is so anxious to tell other folks that they can't handle some choice or the other when the reality is we're all grown-ups.

let us make our own choices. besides if it's not burger king, does anybody think the china dynasty or pizza palace are serving up health food at your address? my address is mate bag at wusa9.com and don't -- mailbag at wusa9.com and don't forget your name and city. i'll be right back here at 11:00 with lesli foster. log on any time to www.wusa9.com. we'll see you later. bye bye. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

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♪ now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. the modern-day "titanic." dramatic new details. >> the search for survivors. the captain under house arrest. plus, was celine dion's "titanic" theme song playing as the ship as it ripped into the rock? >> that's the scariest thing that i have ever experienced in filmmaking. did kris jenner cheat on robert kardashian with this man? his first interview. >> it was a passionate relationship. we both very much in love. >> a handsome pro athlete. a torrid affair? >> i did have a pet name for kris. >> what happened when her daughters found out. >> is johnny depp's relationship with the mother of his two kids over? and why katherine heigl nearly quit hollywood for good.