what could change is how much snow falls during that time frame of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. you can plan on going out saturday and not worry about anything until sunday afternoon or evening if anything were to materialize at all. 40 knife now downtown, 43 garrett -- 45 now downtown, 43 gaithersburg, 46 fredericksburg. leftover sprinkles crossing the bay toward the delmarva and a couple sprinkles around i-70. for tonight make a leftover sprinkle but partial clearing and chilly, loges 34 to 40, winds becoming north -- lows 34 to 40, winds becoming northwest at 15. congress is hoping to push through that payroll tax cut extension tomorrow, but there's still a few small hurdles. leaders from both parties pledged support for the compromise and hope to vote on it soon, but both house speaker

john boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi are finding some faults with the deal. >> we think it could have been done in a more economic way which was better for the taxpayer, better for our seniors, long period of time paid for by more savings. >> let's be honest. this is an economic relief package, not a bill that's going to grow the economy and create jobs. >> the deal will save americans about $20 each paycheck. that's achieved by continuing a 2% cut in the social security payroll tax. the compromise also extends unemployment benefits for people out of work the longest and prevents a cut in medicare reimbursements for doctors. both boehner and pelosi believe their party members will support it. another big endorsement today in the republican presidential race. michigan governor rick snyder threw his support behind mitt romney whose father served as governor in that state. even so rick santorum is surging in the polls in michigan and nationwide and now both men are on a full out

blitz in the great lakes states trying to swing as many voters as they can in the next 12 days. >> i was born and raised here. i love this state. it seems right here. trees are the right height. >> governor romney supported the bailout of wall street and decided not to support the bailout of detroit. the government should not be involved in bailouts, period. >> while the other candidates are focusing on michigan, newt gingrich is in california. he's meeting with big donors so he can stay competitive in next month's super tuesday connest it. the maryland house of delegates -- contest. the maryland house of delegates could vote as early as tomorrow on a bill that would legalize same sex marriage. passage is far from certain. supporters are trying to get a couple more votes to reach the 71 needed for the bill to pass. last year a similar bill failed in the house of delegates after being passed by the senate. tennessee lawmakers advanced the controversial bill that would restrict some

schools from teaching about homosexuality. several dozen students showed up at legislature in protest and you can see it. they wore purple tape across their mouths to show how they felt about the so-called don't say gay bill. the house education subcommittee approved the controversial measure this week. it would ban tennessee public schools from teaching about gay and lesbian subject matters to elementary and middle school students. >> this bill, if amended, does not prohibit the use of the word gay. it does not change the anti- bullying statute and it does not prohibit a school guidance counselor from discussing issues of sexuality with a student. >> i think this law will just kind of draw more attention to tennessee as a place where it is not safe for lbgt in general to just be themselves and try to live a happy life. >> the tennessee governor's office says they will not take a side on this one. for now the bill continues for further debate in the house. is homosexuality appropriate to talk about with

12-year-olds or even 5-year- olds in school and what about kids who may have gay parents? wouldn't that make school life tough for them? weigh in mcginty's mailbag. two weeks ago our andrea mccarren started taking a clove look at the epidemic of teenage drinking and tonight we're work -- closer look at epidemic of teenage drinking and tonight we're working to get some more answers. we focused on the town square market on macarthur boulevard in d.c. and after weeks of questions from 9 news now we are trying once again to find out why the city has not cited the store for selling booze to underage customers and we reported on many of them. that's where scott broom picks up the investigation. >> reporter: 9 news now first exposed montgomery county teens crossing the city line to buy booze at town square market on macarthur boulevard in northwest on february 1st. since then washington alcohol regulators, the agency called abra, claimed it's tried and failed to do a similar sting.

tonight the store remains open and montgomery county police tell us just last friday they busted two more teens crossing the city line with alcohol from town square market. more underage buying nine days after andrea mccarren's first report. >> we are out there friday night and observed several individuals going to the store and ended up following a car with two people back into maryland and they were two 19- year-olds who had purchased two bottles of liquor. >> reporter: montgomery county sergeant mark white told our ken molestina tonight in december police wrote 36 underage alcohol possession violations to teens who got the booze at town square market and white says montgomery county police reported all those incidents to d.c. police. >> we've communicated to metropolitan police department who was very receptive and helpful. we gave everything we needed. they were going to forward it on to their alcohol commission. >> reporter: abca confirms

they received a phone complaint and told 9 news now that they were investigating before andrea's first report. so why does the store remain open? aren't 36 violations written by a neighboring police agency enough to take immediate action? absa says it's launched an investigation but is prohibited from talking about it or answering our specific questions. abra insists it's still working on it even though montgomery county police have written 36 violations from way back in december presume my with the names and addresses of the kids involved and police say some underagers continue to buy at the store. scott broom, 9 news now. >> we put the offer out. this abra officials -- out there. abra officials can have as much air time as they want to explain, but so far they have declined. prosecutors want former prince george's county executive jack johnson to pay his criminal fine up front rather than installments after he's released from jail.

in december johnson was fined $100,000 sentenced to more than seven years in prison for extorting hundreds of thousands of dollarss in bribes from developers. he's -- dollars in bribes from developers. he's scheduled to turn himself in saturday. prosecutors say he has the money to pay that fine now. the judge in the yeardley love murder trial forced to postpone testimony until tomorrow because one of the defense lawyers was sick today. george huguely is accused of murdering his girl friend yeardley love back in 2010 when both of them were students in uva in charlottesville. the closing arguments could come by saturday. coming up new details majoring in the death of whitney houston, why investigators are focusing on his behavior in the days before she diamond but first the king size snickers uncrowned -- she died. but first the king size snickers uncrowned, why mars candy is cutting the size of its sweets. ♪

[ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. that king size snicker bar will not be king much longer. candymaker mars plans to trim its chocolate bar down. the company will stop selling any that have more than 250 calories by the end of 2013 which includes snickers, milky way, three muskateers and the dove bar. two candies that won't be

affected, twix and m and m's because they're already below 250 calories. the decision they say is to encourage what the company calls responsible snacking. prince george's county executive rushern baker says he supports the building of a high end casino over at the national harbor. baker and his administration hired a consultant to figure out the best location for such a casino in the county and that person chose this site at the national harbor. maryland lawmakers have yet to pass a bill that would allow casinos and if they, do voters would have to approve it in a referendum. baker said if ever approved, that casino would bring in about $49 million for the county. for a lot of folks with chronic diseases, the only way to get their medication is with painful injections, but researchers at mit in boston have come up with a new pain free way to deliver drugs, a microchip implanted directly into a patient's body. it contains the medicine and is controlled wirelessly and can release the drugs whenever

they're needed into the body. >> can put many doses of a drug in this implant. as soon as you send a signal, that opens up a well and out comes the drug in that well. >> scientists tested this implant on eight women with osteoporosis and they say the device administered drugs in accurate amounts and just as effectively as traditional injections all with no side effects. the folks at mit hope this technology will be ready for wider use within five years. our winter roller coaster of weather continues, the warm temperatures, perhaps giving way to snow. topper tells you who will get what in his forecast coming up. but first family, friends and an entire community come together to bid farewell to a beloved paramedic killed in the line of duty.

today a full honor guard, a fire truck covered in black bunting and hundreds of mourners accompanied the body of joshua weissman, the paramedic killed while responding to a car fire on interstate 395 last week. it was a final salute to a brother, husband, friend and colleague. >> reporter: i'm peggy fox in alexandria where thousands of people came out today to pay respects and say good-bye to paramedic joshua weissman who died in the line of duty.

hundreds who never knew joshua weissman stood in the rain and drizzle to honor a man who gave his life rescuing others. 33-year-old joshua weissman lost his life after falling through a 20-inch space between two bridges as he attempted to reach a burning car. >> i'll never forget the moment looking over the side of that bridge and seeing josh. >> reporter: joshua died a few days later. his station's fire truck carried his body from funeral to burial at ivy hill cemetery. >> josh did a fine thing and he did a lifetime of fine things. >> reporter: a fellow paramedic talked about josh with his quirky sense of humor, commitment to the job and his love of life. >> a wonderful storyteller he always made us laugh from the bottom of our hearts. he is not here to do that now. so it is up to us to pass on his stories. >> reporter: peggy fox, 9 news now. more details about the final days of pop diva whitney houston's life are coming to light as the planning is still underway for her private funeral and burial.

shelby lynn has the latest. >> reporter: whitney houston's behavior the days before she died has become a focus of the investigation into her death last saturday. the singer was partying at the bar of her beverly hills hotel the night before her death according to a source close to the investigation. investigators requested surveillance recordings. houston was seen drinking considerable amounts of alcohol in the hotel last wednesday and thursday morning according to a source familiar with her activity at the time. the source says other guests expressed concern about her erratic behavior. the source also says on the morning of the day houston died she was seen drinking at the pool. witnesses said her behavior did not appear erratic. houston's cause of death is not expected to be revealed until toxicology tests are complete which could take weeks. meanwhile new jersey police are establishing a secure perimeter around her hometown church where a private funeral will be held saturday. >> there really is going to be nothing to see here at the church. the best thing to do be with stay home and watch the service on television of. >> reporter: gospel singer and

pastor marvin winens will deliver the eulogy. >> i new mama houston would do it the way she wanted it done. we're going to church and we're not going to be worried about if the world can get in. >> reporter: kevin costner will speak at the service and arete franklin and stevie wonder have -- aretha franklin and stevie wonder have been tapped to sing. the lin-sanity sweeping the country over the new york knicks star jeremy lin is now extending to hair. barber craig logan in atlanta now offering the jay lin fade. it's a fade on one side with finger length hair on the top. logan started the do after asian customers dropped in looking to get their hair cut like lin's and the star could become even more popular. last night lin led his new york knicks to their seventh straight win since he started getting regular playing time. the dude is kind of phenomenal. snow is on the way, but we're still not quite sure how bad it's going to be.

>> we just can't talk accumulations on thursday. we'll try to tell you some bullet points that aren't going to change because once we put a number out there, i found you can't take it away. we put one out there, we want to make sure it's right. let's start with a louvre look outside. most of the sprinkles are over. -- live look outside. most of the sprinkles are over with. temperature 45 degrees, dew point 41 and the wind's out of south at 6. that said the winds will turn and become northwesterly after midnight. here's what we know and for the most part i am looking at conflicting data, but i think these will pretty much stay true. you can keep your saturday night plans. it will start as rain about everywhere and change to snow late morning, early afternoon sunday and the critical times no matter if it's a direct hit or glancing blow will still be between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on sunday. one reason derek and i were talking a minute ago why we aren't going to do

accumulations is because we don't know the exact track of the snow and it may end up snowing with temperatures at 35 degrees and it's very hard to figure out how much will stick when temps are above freezing. we'll zoom out to the four corners. some of the moisture and energy will be that storm. this will dive into the coastal portion of texas and gulf of mexico and move northeastward. good news, though. it's producing rain in west texas, something they've seen very little of in the last 14, 15 months. most of our showers are gone. we're looking at leftover sprinkles. some heavier activity popped up around baltimore around i-70. for the most part it was less than .1-inch in the immediate metro area. temps, 44 out to the west and here's a look at live doppler, very little on here, a couple sprinkles around baltimore. already we're seeing breaks in the clouds. temps uniform, 43 bethesda, 44 beltsville, 46 college park, temperatures same out to the

rest, 43 reston and leesburg and herndon. here's the deal. lull before the storm, maybe. showers end early tonight, still a wet commute home. roads are still wet but breezy, mild tomorrow and mild with fading sunshine on saturday, but saturday will still be a very nice day with temperatures above 50 again. for tonight leftover sprinkle, partial clearing and chilly, 34 to 40, only a one blanning night, just not that cold, not -- blanket night, just not that cold. by morning partly cloudy, breezy and chilly, 30s and 40s. by afternoon we're looking at mostly sunny skies, breezy and pleasant, highs 50 to 55 and winds northwesterly at about 10 to 15. next seven days again saturday is fine. clouds come in. high clouds come in saturday. you might see a ring around the sun, probably get some e-mails about that. looks like a ring around the moon. they're just high clouds coming in and the sun reflecting the water droplets. sunday rain and snow, 40s and falling. brisk on presidents day, dry

and the 50s tuesday, wednesday, thursday and on our website i talk fondly about some old presidents day storms. www.wusa9.com, check it out if you're a snowstorm person. stick around, top. we have an e-mail or two in the mailbag. we'll be back. >> i won't move. >> we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag, the address mailbag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

in the mailbag tonight outrage over that north carolina preschooler we told you about yesterday whose homemade lunch was deemed not nutritious enough by a state employee and the kid was given chicken nuggets instead. bonnie wrote this. how dare any government official interfere with personal belongings of any student in any capacity other than the safety of other students. it's as bad as telling those of us in the state of maryland that we are not allowed to drink raw milk. how dare they and listen to this from debra. pardon me, but have i missed a news flash telling us the government? control of what we is t and while we're at it is -- what we

eat and while we're at it, is this still the united states of america? we're still free, but there are times when the large hands of government just need a smack to keep it out of our business. finally this on the weather forecasting as led by our chief meteorologist topper shutt, brian says i am 48 years old and i know things change, but what the hell? on your newscast and the previous one at 6:00 last night topper clearly stated no umbrellas needed for thursday. it's been steadily raining all day. why in this day in age can't we even get the simplest reports right. it just confounds me. why is it this so? we brought in top to give his side of the story. >> here's the thing. i said low risk of leaving your umbrellas at home. it only rained .09 at national, .2 at dulles and .3 at bwi. it wasn't much rain, but you did need your umbrella and i do

apologize. >> that just goes to show weather is complicated and even a day before. >> you wonder why we're not talking about snow amounts sunday? there you go. >> now you understand, okay? thank you, topper. and that is our report. i'll be back here at 11:00 along with anita brikman and top will have weather for you, too. don't forget you can log on any time to www.wusa9.com and get all that stuff. we'll see you a bit later. have a great evening. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. will whitney houston's "the bodyguard" co-star kevin costner speak at her funeral? plus, new security concerns tonight. >> the six-square-block lockdown, the funeral home memorial. and -- >> she was seen drinking heavily last week. last wednesday and thursday in the morning. >> did a weeklong drinking binge lead to her death? then, her chilling interview about michael jackson. >> i think he was on painkillers at one time. i didn't know how far and how deep it was. plus, her bone-thin performance at michael jackson's all-star tribute. >> this can't happen. and -- >> i'm your fairy godmother, honey. >> you got a problem with that? >> whitney's forgotten fairy tale. beautiful in gold.