shot. everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules. >> the president working with his chief speech writer on an address that will build on the themes he outlined in kansas last month. like teddy roosevelt and his square deal, the president frames this as a make or break moment for the american middle class. >> building an economy that works for everyone. not just a wealthy few. >> he is likely to outline new plans for housing, for manufacturing, and for educating american workers. >> what the president's belief is, we should have a country that invests in manufacturing, that invests in new energy. that invests in preparing our work force and has american values that are about fairness and equity. >> but a congress with dismally low approval ratings, a congress ha has been torn by partisan fights with the president. republicans are offering bitter reviews. >> it sounds like the same old policies will be seen.

more spending, higher taxes, more regulation. the same policies that haven't helped our economy. if that's what the president is going to talk about, i think it's pathetic. >> republicans complain the goal is not to conquer the nation's problems, but to conquer the gop. >> we don't have to take my word for the facts. >> the decreasing nastiness in the republican primaries and some signs of recovery in the economy has heartened the president's reelection campaign. >> we created more jobs last year than any year since 2005. we are clearly moving in the right direction. >> the president launches a trip tomorrow fight battleground states starting with michigan and detroit where he says his policies have helped save the auto industry. then it is on to iowa, nevada, colorado, and arizona. lesli. >> busy days ahead, bruce, thank you. so what does the president stand to gain with his speech

tonight? i'm joined by a conservative columnist and political consultant and victor, a strategist who worked on more than 100 campaigns. gentleman, thank you for being here tonight. you heard bruce leshan talk about what the president is going to talk about. but what does he need to say tonight? victor. >> i think it's exactly what he needs to say. he needs to talk about fairness, equality, he needs to appeal again to the middle class. he needs to build on that speech from kansas. and what a wonderful day to do it, mitt romney's tax release to show the difference between what one party stands for and what 99% of america is all about versus the 1% america. he needs to give people hope. i think he is very able to do that. >> if he hadn't given victor hope in three years, i doubt there's much more he can say to instill hope in people. he's going to give a great speech. we don't need a speech. we need a plan. and that's what he is lacking.

his plan is not instilled to give people hope, because there's really nothing he can lay his hat on as far as accomplishments in three years and people are going to vote in november based on what the president has done to make their lives better. >> what the obama administration would say, you're not telling the truth. they believe that they have created more jobs since the year 2005. >> which they have. the reality is, he started from such a low place. you have this bickers that has gone on. this fight between the parties, the president and i stand up and read the tell directory and republicans will say, that's not right. there's no willing to give this man any ground. so when you talk about hope, he is giving the american public hope. he's given plans. now we have to see it happen. we aren't going to see a very good congress this year. a very aggressive congress.

because they are too split. the president can only try to reassure the american public that with a steady hand and continuing approved economy, there is hope. >> about the only thing you two agree on is this is an important speech. what does the president need to say to appeal to republicans in this country? independents in this country who may share your view that he hasn't done enough to move the country forward. >> number one, you have to stop this silly argument that if you are wealthy and successful, you should be ashamed of it, with mitt romney's heel. but he should try to encourage more people to be successful, but you can get these entrepreneurs to start businesses when you want to raise our taxes. we are the ones that create the jobs. not the government. and unemployment rate is so high because he created a hostile business environment. >> i can't let you go without this, because you both touched

on this. house speaker john boehner said that some of the president's policies were in his words, quote, almost un-american. >> that's silly. that's ridiculous. >> the race card he's raising again. he is sending a message to a whole group of republicans. when you use the word un- american, you're trying to raise that image that in some way, he is kenyan or muslim. it's a crazy language for a republican to use at this point in time. i have to go back to one thing. for all the money romney made, where are the jobs he created? where are the jobs? there are no jobs with his wealth. >> we could ask the same thing with the president. >> 10% more taxes would mean nothing to him and would help the american public. >> that's a philosophical difference. we earn the money, so therefore, how dare the government tell us we have to pay more. mitt romney is obeying the tax law. if you don't like what he is

paying, change the law. >> certainly the president is going to have a lot to say on both ends. i'm sure you gentleman will have a lot to debate about after the state of the union speech is over as well. and you can watch the full state of the union right here on wusa9 at 9:00 p.m. and streaming it online at wusa9.com. reminder to you, if you are anywhere near capitol hill tonight, there are a lot of streets that are going to be closed. in fact, all the ones you see highlighted will be closed. they will reopen a few hours after the president's speech. we have a full list of all the affected roads on wusa9.com. for months, occupy d.c. protesters have camped out in mcpherson square. today, lawmakers on capitol hill wanted to know why they have been allowed to stay so long. >> this is bruce johnson. if you want us to leave, give us a place to go. federal laws has the occupy d.c. protesters can demonstrate with a permit. they cannot camp out in

mcpherson square. >> camping is defined as sleeping or preparing to sleep at the site. is there sleeping going on in mcpherson square? >> yes, sir, we do believe there is. >> head of the national park service under tough questioning from republicans admitted he has been looking the other way and allowing occupy protesters to camp out in order to help keep the peace. >> if you want to change the rules, that's fine. just let me tell my constituents who want to visit d.c. this summer that they can come to any park they want to and they can bring their tent as long as they say they are protesting. >> national park service director says he'll begin to enforce the no camping law at mcpherson square, but won't say when or how. >> we are not evicting mcpherson, the occupiers under any circumstances unless there's some sort of major health or emergency. you need to make a distinction here. that camping is a violation on an individual persons case. >> bruce johnson, 9news now.

oscar ramiro ortega hernandez is not guilty for trying to assassinate president barack obama. he entered that plea today. police accuse ortega of firing shots at the white house back on november 11. he was arrested days later in pennsylvania. prosecutors argue he harbors conspiracy theories and fantasies of killing the president. ortega will return to court next month. now head's up about construction for those beltway express lanes that could cause big delays. starting at 9:00, virginia dot crews will close the left lane on the ramp from the inner loop to i-95 south. then at midnight, the entire ramp will be shut down. traffic will be detoured, do a u-turn and the ramp will reopen 5:00 a.m. the southbound lanes are still closed between north persian drive and north piedmont

street. crews are working to repair a gas line that ruptured. the northbound lanes just reopened before, about 5:30. >> coming up, a storm is brewing, but not here on earth. we'll tell you how a solar storm can cause some problems. but first, another maryland county looks at installing cameras on school buses to keep drivers at bay. we'll be back.

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there are red light cameras and speed cameras. how about cameras on school buses? today the montgomery county council held a meeting to catch drivers who pass school buses that have stopped to take on or drop off students. drivers who break the law would get a fine of $250. >> the vast majority of motorists in the county wouldn't think of passing a stopped school bus. but others need additional incentive to follow the law. as the potentially tragic consequences for one of our county's children appear to be unsufficient motivation. >> police issue about 500 tickets each year to drivers caught passing stopped school buses. if the council moves ahead with new cameras, that number could skyrocket. >> a virginia house of delegates committee passed a bill that would end the state's requirement for all girls to get the hpv vaccine. it protects against the sexually transmitted human papaloma virus. current law requires all girls

to get the vaccine before the 6th grade. the decision should be left up to families and their doctors. critics say the law allows parents to opt out. the virginia house passed a similar bill last year, but it died in the senate. just a spectacular day outside with temperatures hitting the 50s. how long will our winter warmup last? topper's full forecast is coming up. but first, policy shift. google changes how and what it tracks when you're logged in. we'll tell you more up next. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

we're back with a consumer alert for anyone who uses google and its services. the internet company announced it is changing and merging its privacy policies. now this affects services such as google plus, gmail, google search, youtube, and maps. people who use those will be required to let google track their activities. the company will use that information to improve the user experience. what will it mean to you? information in one service will be used in another. for example, if you do a google search for football, you'll get football video and recommendations when you visit youtube. the change will take effect march 1. the montgomery county council today voted unanimously in favor of using bus rapid transit on the transit way. that's a transit system on the

i-270 corridor. council members outlined what they felt were the advantages of a bus system versus light rail. >> having a bus route to transit will save hundreds of millions of dollars compared to a light rail. and it will likely happen much faster. >> the county's recommendation now goes to maryland governor, martin o'malley. he will make his own recommendation before sending a proposal to the federal government for funding. >> it may have been beautiful outside today, but what if you're in the middle of a major solar storm? that's kind of what we're in. it's when the surface of the sun looks like, that's what you are looking at over my shoulder. those flairs could cause some problems for us here on earth. lindsey mastis explains. >> it happened sunday, but it's affecting earth now. a solar flair eruption so big that it's sending strong radiation our way. >> the biggest eruptions can

disrupt the satellite operations. they can disrupt radio communications. they can disrupt gps. >> nasa research scientist says it can also affect flight. in this case, disruptions are only affecting a certain part of the earth. >> radiation from the solar flair is traveling to the poles of the earth and that is where flights are affected. as for our gps unit. >> in the dc region, this is not going to impact the gps too much. >> some people in places like canada may notice their gps units are inaccurate. >> lower latitudes -- >> the best part about this storm is also happening in canada and possibly states bordering canada. there will be spectacular horas, and nasa flight center, i'm lindsey mastis, 9fuse now. >> what's the best way to see

the northern lights? >> well, we can't guarantee it, it's possible. it's going to be clear. move away from street lights and ambient light and look up. that's all you have to do. they are hurling at 5 million miles an hour. five times the normal speed. flairs are going on constantly, but these were huge. all right, as far as we're concerned, we had a cold front go through today. let's start with our live look outside. this is our weather cam brought to you by michael and son. temperatures are in the 40s just about everywhere. mid 40s downtown after a high of about 54. dew point still pretty high. 38. winds are calm. humidity is 76%. so we're not looking at a very big change in temperatures, even though cold front went through. satellite picture, radar combined. still stormy in the pacific northwest. we're going to zoom into texas and the gulf coast. the reason why, it's going to be our next storm. rain will develop thursday morning, hopefully after the

morning commute. i think it will come in after the morning commute. the rain will linger into friday morning, but good news, lots of rain, showers, and thunderstorms. and they need the rain. we are looking at clear skies right now. a few high and mid level clouds. boom, they are gone. clear skies, so at least in terms of cloud cover and sky conditions, we're going to cooperate in case we see the northern lights. temperatures in the 40s. a 39 now in gaithersburg. 45 in bethesda. 43 in college park. we're looking at temperatures, low 40s in andrews. mid 40s in springfield as you go down 95. and a 39 in manassas. cooler tonight. temperatures rose last night. fall tonight. but chilly. you'll need your shades tomorrow morning. clouds will increase tomorrow afternoon. and you will need your umbrella by thursday. that system approaches. for tonight, clear to partly cloudy. lows in the 30s.

winds become northwest. lows across the metro area, a couple things jump out at you. most everyone is above freezing. well above freezing. 38 downtown. 34 in bowie. maybe 34 in reston. maybe a freezing toward sterling and leesburg and also manassas and middleberg. that's not very cold for this time of year. tomorrow morning, mostly sunny and chilly. and then by afternoon, we'll call it partly cloudy. a very nice day. i mean, some clouds come in late. but really not bad. high temperatures 45 to 50. winds not a factor. northwesterly at 10. all right, next seven days. here comes a rain on thursday. 48. maybe some early showers on friday. even friday afternoon looks great. with temperatures in the mid 50s. scaled back the chance for rain on saturday. a chance, temperatures in the mid 40s. may pass south of us. it will turn colder over the weekend. some flurries, 30s on monday. but then has been the case all

winter, we pop in the 50s. >> a pop up winter. >> it pops up and pops out. that's it for us, huh? up next, the nominations are in. you're going to find out which films and silver screen stars are aiming for oscar gold.

the oscar nominations are out and a few surprise films are stealing the limelight. ed lawrence has the details from hollywood. >> hugo ran away with the most oscar nominations, 11 in all, including best picture and best director. the movie tells the story of the early days of film making. the silent film, the artist, received ten nominations overall. also up for that honor, the descendents, the tree of life, midnight in paris, the help, extremely loud and incredibly close, and money ball. >> text me the play by play. >> wait, what? i don't watch games. >> about the oakland a's surprise turn around in 2002.

its star is up for best actor. >> pit will be up against one of his best friends, george clooney. at the golden globes, clooney won. >> also nominated are gary for tinker tailor soldier spy, and john in the artist. merl streep has her 17th oscar nomination. viola davis in the help. the girl with the dragon tattoo and michelle williams are nominated. >> i don't know what's in there. >> the academy surprised many crickets with jay edgar. >> i heard that same argument. >> hollywood. >> now the oscars are going to be handed out on february 26 and you can find out much more

about all those films nominated and even more on entertainment tonight. that is our report tonight. i'll see you back here at 11:00 after the state of the union address alongside anita brickman. don't forget, you can log on any time to wusa9.com. hope to see you later. have a great night.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. brad pitt's brand-new interview. >> it's daunting. >> opening up about battling depression, the severed head mystery. marrying angie and the kids. >> they know mommy and daddy work in stories and work in movies. then -- >> brad and george head to head at the oscars. >> we're with the new nominees today. >> a bridesmaid is in. but who got snubbed? and why is george playing ping-pong and a ukulele. seal speaks out about his split from heidi. >> we still very much love each other, you just grow apart. >> what will happen to their four kids caught in the middle? plus halle berry in court today, fighting for her daughter, what's behind the new allegation of child endangerment against her ex? why paula deen's pr person just quit.