it just might not be, you know, definitive. we'll let you know when it happens. it could be any minute. back to you. >> all right, gary, as it happens. thank you. and tonight, police are looking for two men that have been accused of breaking into a house early this morning and tying up three people inside. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in bowie where prince george's county police are investigating the violent couple. authorities are saying at least one of the suspects in this case, they may have known his victims. it happened at 5:45 in the morning. and the attackers, they burst into this home through a rear basement door and tied up a man age 75 in poor health along with his 64-year-old wife and her adopted daughter. they wore black masks, showing a rifle or shotgun. they stole money from the house and made off with the couple's distinctive gold jaguar sedan. >> i'm grateful that they didn't take a life. >> reporter: neighbors are shocked. >> i am completely upset and

appalled by what happened. this is such a nice neighborhood. >> neighbors also say that the couple are known for fostering or adopting young adults. and one called the house like a group home. police sources say that they do not believe that this was a random attack. in bowie, scott broom, 9news now. >> police in arlington are on the lookout for a suspect after a bizarre crime there. someone broke into an apartment in the 3600 block of south state street last friday. according to the blog, the person did not take anything, but they did use the bathroom. and police say that they have no reports of any similar crimes. well, new at 6:00, we have heard a lot from metro lately about wanting to interact with customers on social media. well, last week we noticed a tweet from a woman named janet to metro, asking, "please install security cameras in metro parking garages. this happened while i was at work." she included these pictures of a smashed in window. look at her radio. it's pretty much gone. well, that prompted us to

contact metro. nine wants to know about security in those garages. matt jablo is here with me on more on what we found out -- is here with me with more on what we found out. >> reporter: according to metro, there was a 30% drop last year in crime at parking lots. the last quarter of 2011, there was an 86% decline of thefts in so-called motor vehicle accessories. the reason for all these good numbers, metro says that these yellow postcards, they are partly responsible. >> reporter: the captain warren donald of the metro police station have spent a lot of time tracking down garages. >> most of these are crimes of opportunity. >> reporter: things like coins, gps devices, and cell phones that are left in cars and clearly visible.

when he finds them, they take down the car's license plate numbers. they find the owner's address and then mails them a postcard. telling them what they saw, asking them to secure their personal property in their cars where they can't be seen. >> we started doing this back in october. >> reporter: it's a new crime prevention program started late last year by metro. so far they have sent out a few hundred of these yellow postcards, which they believe they are continuing to help with the declining climb at metro garages and parking lots. >> we have been passing a huge success. >> reporter: according to metro, there are only two parking lots for them for every 1 million metro passengers. and an impressive stat that metro says could be attributed to better policing, better awareness by metro customers. recently to these yellow postcards. one more piece of pretty good advice from metro transit police when parking your car, don't just take off your gps device and put it in the glove compartment. make sure to wipe off the mark that the suction cup leaves on the windshield. because that mark will be a

dead giveaway that the gps device was or is in your car. >> lots of good advice. thank you, matt. >> yes. in virginia, the general assembly is shelfing the bill that would define life as starting at conception. the full senate sent the person hood bill back to the committee today and carried over until 2013. today, the senate committee approved a bill, requiring the external ultrasound exams before the abortion. but that measure did not include the controversial provision, requiring more of an invasive kind of probe. now, the georgetown law student, sandra fluke, finally got a chance to talk to members of congress. she testified today about the obama administration's policy that requires the employees of religious affiliated institutions to have access to health insurance that covers birth control. last week, they rejected democrats and their requests, that fluke testified on the subject. but today, she was the lone

witness at the unofficial hearing, sponsored by a hand full of democrats. >> without insurance coverage, contraceps as you know could cost a woman -- contraception as you know could cost a student over $3,000 for students. that's practically an entire summer's salary. >> the republicans in the house and senate are pushing legislation to let insurance mans opt out of any mandate on contraception coverage if they have moral objections. the battle between rick santorum and mitt romney is heating up on the campaign trail. we've got the latest. >> reporter: mitt romney hit the campaign trails in arizona, ready to hit his chief rivals and their records. now, speaking to a group of builders and contractors. romney slammed rick santorum's votes as senator. >> he voted to fund planned parenthood, even though that's against the principles. >> reporter: romney is trying to take back the lead before next week's primaries. the new poll in michigan shows

romney and santorum, they are virtually tied. santorum, he has launched a new tv ad in romney's home state. it uses quotes from the governor in an attempt to show that he is not a true conservative. santorum, he spent thursday in texas, raising cash at a pair of fundraisers. all four gop candidates went to different corners of the country, after squaring off in what could be their final debate. >> governor romney raised about $700 million in taxes and fees in massachusetts. and i never voted to raise taxes. during your term in congress, the years that you have been there, government has doubled in size. >> reporter: and newt gingrich, he's essentially skipping the next round of contests, focusing, instead, on washington state and the south. and president obama, he has set his sights on the southern state too. now, he visited florida on thursday for the speech on the economy at three fundraisers. the state will be a crucial battleground this fall. for cbs news, the white house. coming up tonight on 9news now at 7:00, we have had a mild

winter. not much snow, but believe it or not, that does equal big savings for local governments. a look at the millions that marylanders have spent on snow removal. we'll tell you about it at 7:00. still to come in this half hour of 9news, it was a great day to step outside for lunch or just about anything else. how long does it last, topper? let's talk about the numbers. it was april-like weather today. it might be more like may tomorrow. 67 and 47 goes in the books. averages are still 38 and 41. not close to the record high of 78, set way back in 1974. when we come back, we'll talk about even warmer air tomorrow and possibly dangerous winds in the afternoon. first, nissan recalls a quarter of a million vehicles. our consumer alert is next.

coming up, we are feeling the pain at the pumps. we are trying to figure out how high the gas prices could go. the fbi tells us that they have discovered the iranian agents are casing potential targets in the united states. john miller is breaking that story for us today. now, we'll have that and all the days news tonight on the cbs evening news.

with or without congress. now, i will continue to do whatever i can to develop every source of the american energy. and so our future, they have not been controlled by the

events on the other side of the world. >> president obama, they traveled to florida today to try to ease the publicking anxiety as the gas prices will be close hadder to the average $4 a gallon. and tonight, we are hearing about some stations in had florida, they are charging almost $6 for a gallon of regular unleaded. we sent our peggy fox out there today to give us an insight into the current spike in the prices at the pump. >> and we all know that we are paying higher gas prices. but did you know that you are paying $0.50 more a gallon than what you paid last year? the bad news is it could keep going up and up and up. take a look at this. now, last year at this time, here in the washington, d.c. area, we were paying about $7.50 a gallon -- about $3.50 a gallon. just last month it was $3.47. today, the average is $3.67. here on the corner of nebraska and connecticut, it is $4.06 a gallon. so what is the reason for these

escalating prices? as we head for the spring. we have higher oil prices. but that is the biggest reason. of course, the tensions with iran. while there is concern about iran's oil, the biggest concern is the oil that goes through the straight here. about 20% of the world's oil, they will be flowing through that area. and if disrupted, we could see the gas line prices go as high as $5 a gallon. i'm peggy fox, reporting on the pump patrol. back to you. >> you can always find the best gas prices in your own neighborhood at wusa9.com. just click on pump patrol. lesli? >> okay. well. i'm suppose to be telling you about this mild winter. you know what, i'm just going to talk to kristin. she's going to talk to us more about the fabulous weather that she got a chance to be out in all day. kristin, take it away. >> reporter: i'm kristin fisher on the basin where washington

residents are enjoying the 70- degree weather in the middle of winter. it's february, what are you doing with your shirt off? >> it's crazy. we try to take advantage of the weather. just look at it. it's beautiful. it couldn't get any better. >> reporter: while most people love the warm spell, the organizers of the cherry blossom festivals are starting to sweat. >> what we have seen in the last month to six weeks is sort of a ping-pong event of the temperatures. >> reporter: it's 70 degrees today, but it's forecast to be freezing this weekend. the back and forth makes the bloom schedule tough to predict. >> the likelihood of them moving along faster is greater this year. >> reporter: most locals don't seem to care if it coincides with the annual festival, as long as the weather stays like this. >> no, i would take this weather every day if i could. absolutely. >> all right, that was kristin fisher taking it all in, talking about the cherry blossoms. boy, not much to talk about or complain about when it comes to

this weather. >> i know you have been missing the snow. a lot of people have. >> yes. quite frankly. here's the deal. it if they are budding, that's okay. if it gets cold when they are budded, that's fine. when it comes out and it gets cold, that's the problem. the earliest it has ever been at peak bloom was march 15, 1990. >> yes. you have heard it here first. >> we can pretty much guarantee that. >> they will tell us definitively next week, but it will be early. take a look outside. it's pretty nice. we're looking at clouds coming in. we do have a warm front to the west. i'm going to keep the chance of the shower in. but by in large, everything will be staying to the north and west of us. still 61 downtown. the winds are light. the pressure is arising. and the dew point stands at 35. so very comfortable air mass for you with relative humidity at 38%. all right, satellite picture radar combined. we have a system that is headed, essentially north of us again. lifting that warm front to us. and then tomorrow, it will be

ushering in the the warmer air. hard to believe, yes. that will be before the cold air moves in tomorrow night. if you leave your house tomorrow for work, what you're planning to do to go out there and stay out there late on friday night. bring a little late jacket. it will be colder. here are the showers back in western maryland and back to cumberland. that will be about it. most of this will stay to the north of us and continue that northeastward trick up to pennsylvania and to new jersey and new york. the temperatures, some upper 50s. 58 in bethesda and arlington. we're looking at 59 in college park and 57 here. but still 61 in springfield. and still 59 in great falls. upper 50s in reston and sterling. and at about 57 here in leesburg. it had is for tomorrow. we have a high wind watch for you. frederick county north and west. loudoun county north and west. under the high wind watch. the perimeters could be 58 miles per hour or higher. we could see that in the immediate metro area. we're going to see the winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour. the high-wind watch, north and

west. you could do some things tonight or early tomorrow before you leave. secure the loose objects. bring in the smaller tables. bring in the smaller light chairs. especially the plastic chairs that will be blowing all over the place and put those basketball hoops on their said that have not been in concrete yet. windy and warm for you on friday. showers, maybe a little higher tonight. high wind watch for you tomorrow. north and west. but again, even in the metro area. the gust is at 40 to 50 miles per hour and then colder over the weekend, which really means just back to average, actually. mostly cloudy, breezy, mild. maybe a shower or a thunderstorm for you tonight. 50 to 55. winds are southwest at 10 to 20. tomorrow morning, early shower is possible. then partly cloudy, windy, mild. we're starting out in the 50s and the 60s. that's crazy. winds are southwest at 15 to 25. and then by the afternoon. here comes the winds. partly cloudy, windy, warmer. we could show you the evening thunderstorm. high temperatures, between 70 to 75. and winds are west at 20 to 40 with much stronger gusts. we'll break it down for you. 50s to start, maybe a shower.

we're at 74, windy. 60s by evening. yes, maybe a passing shower or thunderstorm in the evening. next three days, we have a temperature correction for you. colder on saturday and sunday, but sunshine temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50. now, the next seven days, well, it doesn't stayed cold long. it has not all week or all winter. temperatures will be going back to the 50s on monday. then we're back in the 60s on wednesday and thursday. yes, that is a thunderstorm for you. we might have it again on wednesday. and oh yeah, cooler again. we're in the 50s. burr on thursday. >> yes, it sure will. thank you, topper. friends, we're at the half way mark of the all-star break and the wizards are struggling. >> we haven't done much different. but heading into the all-star break, the wizards no longer have the worst record in the league. bad news is, they have the second worst record in the league. they reacted to the team's show boating last night. plus, a pick of landry or the incredible hulk?

sports is next.

let's get right back to a view in annapolis where the state senate has just voted on

same-sex marriage. gary, what's the outcome? >> reporter: it passed 25-22 just moments ago, making maryland the 8th jurisdiction, statewide jurisdiction in the country to approve same-sex marriage. but as you know, opponents say that they will be taking this issue to the voters in november as the ballot issue, a referendum where they are convinced that voters will be saying no. we'll be following the developments on this and have an update for you exactly what happened here and what the strategies are on both sides tonight at 7:00. back to you. >> all right, we'll see you then, gary. let's get back over to kristin and where the wizards are right now. >> yes, they scored 68 points last night. a season high for points per half, but fell apart in the second. he had 21 at the break, scoring just 12 the rest of the game. nick young, he decided to show boat with the 360. and then this to mcgee, maybe upset for not being asked to be in the all-star dunk contest. plays like those are the reason why the wizards have the second worst record in the league at the halfway mark.

and randy whitman as you can imagine, not happy. >> until our team is committed to playing winning basketball, we're going to be like this. there wasn't anything in that second half that was done to win the game. >> and the capitals are back home after yet another dismal road trip. they lost their third straight last night against ottawa. they have fallen to third in the southeast division. good news is caps play the next seven out of their nine games at home. they are still optimistic that they can gain some ground. >> and there is still an opportunity for us there. and osu, they are playing a little better than decent hockey. we have a chance to play below average. >> it's a good thing, you know, we are right here. we're right in the battle. we just need to win some games. okay, recently tweeted pictures of the redskins, landry, streaming a lot of buzz. he's looking quite large. i thought it was fake when i

first saw it too, but these are pictures that he took himself and sent out over twitter. yeah, those are, i think that those are real. those are real. interesting. a big day for ryan braun, the rainy national league mvp won his appeal of the 50-game suspension after a positive drug test in december. he is the first major league player to successfully do so. he'll report to camp tomorrow. time to vote for your high school game of the week among your choices this week. austin hill at laurel, thomas jefferson at lincoln north. go there to vote. and finally tonight, this one from wakefield in washington lee high school game. watch this to go. a shot from half court. look at that. everybody is off the back board. everyone is going nuts. a high school game. love it. >> that's good playing. that's it for us. stay with us for the cbsevening news next.