happened. i only wish could i have done more. i'm not a hero, just a football coach and study hall teacher. the law enforcement, first responders that came to our aid that day, they are the heroes. >> charges were filed yesterday in juvenile court against the 17-year-old suspect. it's the first step in proceedings that could see him charged as an adult and possibly face life without parole if convicted. police in leesburg are commending a student whose actions might have prevented some violence at school there. >> that student attends simpson middle school. he told his parents a classmate was considering some sort of violent act. police investigated and determined the classmate in question was in need of psychiatric help. that child is now set for a mental health evaluation. maryland's governor has signed a measure legalizing same-sex marriage. the law is scheduled to take effect in january 2013.

however, opponents are expected to petition the law to a referendum on the november ballot. organizers need to collect nearly 56,000 signatures to put the measure before voters. maryland joins seven other states and the district that allows same-sex couples to get married but licenses aren't available in maryland and washington state yet. both may have referendums on the issue come november. five other states allow civil unions and then there's california where the state of proposition 8 is still in limbo. that ballot measure eliminates the rights of same-sex couples to marry and could end up before the supreme court. most of the g.o.p. hopefuls will be campaigning today in states up for grabs on super tuesday next week. >> rick santorum is challenging the awarding of delegates in michigan saying mitt romney's state changed the rules to give him an edge. >> santorum's campaign says it will get some momentum this weekend. >> reporter: rick santorum told

supporters in spokane, washington they'll help energize his campaign during its caucuses tomorrow. >> we're excited about our chances here in washington state. we think we can surprise a lot of people. >> reporter: he lost to mitt romney on tuesday. michigan republicans gave romney an extra delegate saying there was confusion over new rules in february and a correction was made on wednesday. >> the good ole boy network. have to change the rules after the game so they can win. that's pathetic. >> reporter: santorum is leading romney in the polls in ohio. they'll both campaign there today. ohio is a priority because it's a swing state in the general election. while campaigning in north dakota on thursday, romney said he's the candidate who can win in november. >> if i become the nominee, i'm going to beat barack obama and take america back. >> reporter: romney is looking to extend his lead in the race in the g.o.p. nomination next week. ten states and more than 400 delegates are up for grabs in

super tuesday. newt gingrich admits there's a lot at stake in georgia, the state he served in in congress. >> i have to win georgia i think to be credible in the race. >> reporter: while the g.o.p. candidates battle to become the republican nominee, president obama is stocking his war chest. he spent thursday fund raising in new york and his campaign expects to raise a billion dollars for this election. >> ron paul did not campaign yesterday. today he'll be in washington state where caucuses are held on saturday. folks on both the political right and left are remembering andrew breitbart. the conservative media activist collapsed late wednesday night and died thursday morning in l.a. he was only 43 years old. he helped build the dredge report website and was instrumental in investigating the sexting scandal that forced new york congressman anthony

wiener to resign. aaron thomas only admitted to a crime after complaining that a police sketch failed to depict him properly. thomas was in a manassas courtroom yesterday for a preliminary hearing where a judge found him fit to stand trial. authorities believe the 40-year- old is responsible for rapes and other attacks on 17 women from virginia to connecticut over a ten-year period. four courageous women confronted the man that raped them. timothy buzbee, the so-called aspen hill rapist terrorized montgomery county during the 1980s. yesterday four of his victims got the chance to tell buzbee how much pain his actions caused them. >> i'm an 18-year-old lifeguard that you raped. that guy doesn't define me. he didn't and he doesn't. >> buzbee was already serving two life sentences after admitting that he raped more than a dozen women in maryland

back in the 1970's. but he was eligible for parole when new d.n.a. test on old evidence tied him to five more attacks. yesterday a judge sentenced buzbee to three more life sentences. that judge looked buzbee in the eye, too, and told him he's an evil man who should spent the rest of his days behind bars. she's a public official. >> she's not seeing anyone today. >> ma'am, it's 105 miles an hour warning appropriate? >> are we seeing a pattern here? there are new questions this morning about karen toles, the prince george's county council member under jiewt nye for -- scrutiny for allegedly speeding more than 100 miles an hour on the beltway. police are investigating whether officers gave her special treatment for that high speed incident last week. now we've learned toles might have received nothing more than a warning last summer as well police will conduct a radar speed enforcement on route 4 in

upper marlboro. she was spotted approaching at a high speed before she slammed on the brakes and pulled over. she allegedly told officers her car was having mechanical trouble. police did not ticket toles because they never got a solid speed reading on radar. time is 4:36. howard is up next with the weekend forecast and monika keeping an eye on the road. plus, i'm keeping an eye on your money. find out how at&t's decision to change the unlimited data plans could affect you if you're a customer. keep it here.

it is 4:38 on this friday morning. rejoice for that we start

sunny. upper 40s by 9:00. some 30s, too. by noon we're in the 50s. clouds start to roll in this afternoon. by the middle of the afternoon west of town could see some showers. i think for the drive home it's a wet commute with a 5:00 p.m. temperature back down to 56. the full weekend forecast coming up in the next five minutes. right now monika is in with an early look at time saver traffic. commuters are enjoying an easy ride with the exception of one area on the westbound side of route 450 just west of the bw parkway. it's closed with a water main break. you might want to use route 201 back on to route 1. more on area roadways at 4:47. time right now 4:39. i am watching your money. again we're going to have to see if we can end the week at 13,000 for the dow. stocks started the new month with modest gains. better than expected reports on jobs. crude rallied above $110 a

barrel for the first time since may. checking the numbers, the dow starts this morning from 12,980, added 28 points in trading on thursday. the nasdaq was up by 22 points and the s&p 500 was better by 8. apparently there are limits to everything in life, even so- called unlimited data plans. at&t is changing its unlimited plan that long-time customers have been grandfathered into. the company will no longer let customers use a set amount of data each month without penalty. customers will get a text message when their usage approaches 3 gigs in one billing cycle and slow speeds for the rest of the billing cycle. the new york yankees want to scale back their record payroll. the co-owner says he wants to lower the team's player payroll to $189 million over the next few years to avoid paying baseball's luxury tax. the yankees payroll this season is projected to be about $210

million. that is the most in the majors. hard to think that that's like limiting it to $189 million. >> wow. the time right now is 4:41. howard is up next with your weekend forecast. monika is keeping an eye on the roads for you. plus, we're going to have some of your questions to -- answers to the question of the morning. wait for them, people. they're great. we'll have that when we come back. ♪

pierre! your fashion is so "right now," but your banking is so last season! earn more with high yield free checking at capital one bank. instead of some unfashionable rate, your checking could be earning five times the national average. and free atms anywhere. five times the interest? that's hot. oooooo! let's catwalk! you want more interest? open an account at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet? does this make my tuches look big? it is first weather time. howard bernstein along. yelled was a gift from mother nature. >> 750 was the high. -- 70 was the high. >> out running. there is a reddish tinge to the cherry blossoms. >> march 24 to the 31st would the peak bloom period.

that's pretty early. if it came earlier than that, i would not be surprised. i'm not going to second-guess. they're the experts. the when we have chill coming for sunday and morning, very more 60s next week even on the seven-day. meteorological spring began yesterday. while we may get a couple of flurries over the weekend, winter stick a fork in it. tree pollen has come down from high to moderate as of yesterday. the mold spores, over 21,000, that is considered high. these are grains per cubic meter. at the bus stop this morning, it is clear. it is chilly. we've got temperatures down in the 30s and 40s this morning. sunrise at 6:38. then as we go through the day today, well, we start nice. that's the good thing there. no problems getting out the door or work this morning except the chill. by noon, though, 56.

southeast winds 11 miles an hour. you're really going to notice the clouds quickly increase i think after the noon hour. by 4:00 i would not be surprised if we get a couple of showers south and west of town, maybe toward d.c. by 4:00 and some rain around here this evening. going out tonight, got friday night plans, think about what you're going to wear because waterproof. not going to be wearing the suede boots. that's always the question from my wife. what to wear. plan for some rain. charlestown 31. we have 32 in manassas. bowie 35 with upper 30s toward prince frederick, la plata. fredricksburg here 37 degrees. locally springfield 37. down to freezing in laytonsville. columbia probably got some frost at 33. centreville this morning 35 degrees. even out west we'll take a peek. haymarket coming in at 32. clear skies, good visibility on our michael & son weather

camera. 53 at reagan national with calm winds or no winds. winds reported as calm and the dew point up to 34. nationally another big storm moving out of the rockies and the plains into the mississippi valley. this is going to be probably a really bad severe weather outbreak later today. this morning we've got one severe thunderstorm watch across parts of missouri. look what's happening east of that across kentucky. look how the storms are starting to fires at upper level winds come across a lot of low-level moisture. toward nashville the couple of -- last couple of hours. that's what's headed our way. this is where the risk of severe weather is. it's greatest in the orange area. that's a moderate risk from around columbus back through lexington, indianapolis, cincinnati. large hail, tornadoes, damaging wind gusts all possible. we may get a couple of strong storms in here late tonight well out to the west as the storm system moves toward us and here comes the clouds. after noon the showers to our west by 2:45.

by 4:45 we've got rain here. got any good news for you i think most of the showers and storms will be done by noon tomorrow. 58 today. dropping to about 50 or is tonight. low 60s saturday with the morning showers and storms. sunday colder, upper 40s. could be some late flurries or another shower sunday night into monday. monday a chilly day, # 2. by -- 42. by wednesday we're back to 60. monika, have the shorts and the warm stuff as well. you need it all. >> don't pack anything away yet. if you're planning to head around town, things are looking great. no problems on the beltway all around the district. we'll zoom in first to 270. i-70 and 270 are final. if you're planning to head to the boyds area, there was flooding and it caused the shutdown of barnesville road. be aware of that in boyds. otherwise 270 is fine to the point where the lanes divide. we'll look at the beltway near georgia avenue. nice and light on the outer loop as you head into silver

spring leaving 95. back over to the map all the way down south into virginia on the northbound side of i-95 again lanes are open moving very well leaving the occoquan river up into springfield and 395. we'll take a live look at the wilson bridge. springfield northbound 95 looking great and over to the wilson bridge. if you're planning to head across the bridge span between alexandria and oxon hill, it's looking like n. another look into virginia at 4:55. >> thank you very much, monika. many people have been worried that the recent nice warm weather could cause the cherry blossoms to bloom early before the festival. >> don't be so worried. things will be okay. the national park service announced their annual blooming forecast. we have the predictions. >> reporter: the blossoms are going to be blooming early but not too early. looks like the best weekend to see them will be the last weekend in march. that's about a week earlier than usual but you can see why. just look up here and you can already see the green is starting to poke through some

of the buds. >> there's been a lot of speculation about the warm weather. that speculation is create. >> reporter: rob has been predicting the cherry blossoms peak bloom for the last ten years. >> i've been right 16 out of 20 times. >> reporter: with that kind of record people pay close attention to his annual forecast. >> sometime between march 24 and march 31. >> reporter: it's the first time in his entire career that his peak bloom prediction hasn't gone into april. in fact, it's so spring like around the tidal bay sane that many people came here thinking the blossoms might already be out. >> we came out today hoping we would find some. we live in kazakhstan because we work for the government there. it's minus 20 degrees there today. we're taking full advantage of the gorgeous weather. >> we drove into the city and

did see some flowering trees. we thought well maybe the cherry blossoms might be starting to come out a little bit but i guess they're not quite there yet. >> reporter: but in just three weeks they will be and this year marks 100 years since the first planting of the japanese cherry trees on the tidal basin. >> who would have thought 1912, a gift of friendship would have endured such things as pearl harbor and hiroshima and we're still enduring that friendship today. i didn't understand the significance of this gift of friendship when i took this job 20 years ago, but i do get it now. i really do. >> reporter: the festival has been expanded from two weeks to almost six weeks because of the centennial. without a doubt these trees are going to be blooming at some point during that period. the only danger is that these blooms may already be gone for the last few weeks of the festival. at the tidal basin, i'm kristin

fisher, 9news now. we have a reaction to a story you saw first only on 9news now. we told you about the violent matt problems. the third grade teacher who handed out the homework is now out of a job. the math homework problems dealt with morbid and horrific topics like death, terrorists and putting people in ovens. the c.e.o. of center city public charpter school says instead of using the resources provided, the teacher downloaded them off the homeschoolingparadise website. >> it doesn't follow anything we do. i found them to be violent and racist. >> the teacher claims she was told to give the students the assignment but the school says that was not the case. and even if it was, it's an order she should have disobeyed. a modesto, california teacher left his wife and kids and quit his job to move in with his 18-year-old former

student. 41-year-old james hook resigned as a teacher and club leader at james eknox high school after investigations were launched into his relationship with a former student. she's a senior and used to be a student in his class. the situation has cast a dark cloud over the school where one of hooker's daughters is a student. >> he's 41 and she's 18. >> it's definitely wrong for him to have pursued her in any way while he was still a teacher. >> hooker tells a local tv station he started dating powers after she turned 18 but the teen's mother believes the relationship started while her daughter was underage. police are investigating. no charges have been filed. if you've ever been told playing computer games will amount to nothing, you can tell those naysayers they are wrong. a group of young entrepreneurs are out to prove that you can cash in pretty heavily doing

just that. we explain. >> reporter: a quick look around this place and you'll think you just stepped into a frat house the pizza boxes line the walls and beer paraphernalia serves as decorations but it won't take long to notice this home turned lab is the birthplace of what could be the next big thing in the virtual world. >> oh, my god, now we've got to get back on our grind because it's growing faster than we expected. >> reporter: he's talking about grocti. they've assembled a team of partners and taking they've come up with virtual currency that is earned by playing video games. you play the games and earn the points. the points get redeemed for real life products for food and merchandise at establishments that signed up with grati. >> people are spending real world money to buy virtual

goods. we said, you know, let's flip that. what if there's a way to use virtual currency to buy real world goods. >> reporter: the theme of virtual currency has even been the topic of tv shows like "the good wife." >> we spend a lot of time doing this. >> reporter: the tech savvy bunch have jumped on board with the latest web side coding trends and social platforms. their push behind gratii is giving traditional currency a run for its own money. >> i think this is the closest thing take could eventually take that over but i wouldn't say we're quite there yet. >> again, that was ken molistini reporting. if you want to start earning gratii, head over to our website and we'll give you the promo codes you need. time for the question of the morning. according to a recent study, it takes around 20 dates before

couples do this. what is it? sleep over, kiss, exchange house keys? >> a lot of people are already weighing in on this. steve king is taking the high ride. thank you, steve. he writes none of the above for good christian, christ seeking couples. we'd like to hear what you think so drop us a line on our facebook page. we're going to share more of your answers in the 5:00 hour. keep it here.

welcome back. 4:57. your weather first on this friday morning. looking good early. we've got sunshine but a chill in the air. 30s and 40s. maybe a little frost on your wind child. by noon mid-50s -- windchill. by noon mid-50s. for the afternoon showers.

for the ride home the high approaching the 60-degree mark. no problems to report in any of the corridors downtown or potomac and anacostia river crossings. in my next report we'll go to virginia coming up at 6:01. justin bieber gets whacked and lindsay lohan looks for laughs. we have those stories and more in today's eye on entertainment. >> reporter: lindsay lohan says she's ready to get back to work. the actress says she's clean, sober and willing to make fun of herself. lohan will host "saturday night live" tomorrow night. her stintsz may include joke abouts her past problems. justin bieber is celebrating liz 18th birthday with wax. madam tusseau has rolled out a new wax feature of him. it features his signature hairdo and comfy sneakers.

fans say it's almost like the real deal. >> they don't actually get to see him in person so this is the next best thing. >> reporter: fans were invited to sign a giant birthday card for the pop star. hallmark is launching a line of bieber cards next month. freeman is shutting his restaurant. he says it hasn't turned a profit. >> she loves trees. >> reporter: out in movie theaters today, dr. dr. seuss's "the war axe." betty white is one. the voices. >> they asked me to do it and it was such a beautiful story and nature, all the things -- the environmental things that i'm interested in. how can you say no to that? >> reporter: the environmentally teamed movie follows a boy trying to win over the girl of his dreams by finding a real tree. >> did you chop down this