too close to call between mitt romney and rick santorum. >> it's really remarkable. and yet, five polls out today averaged the five polls, dead even. here in the state of ohio. >> ohio voters know no republican has won the presidency without winning ohio. >> mitt romney can win ohio and he does well in places like georgia and tennessee and oklahoma. well, i think it will be tough to deny in the nomination. >> former house speaker needs to win his home state of georgia to stay viable. >> if gingrich doesn't win georgia, even his ego might force him out of this race. >> we're going to carry georgia by a big margin and do much better than people expect. >> ron paul may not have wins tonight, but as he told us at a rally last week -- >> guess what? we're still winning a lot of

delegates and that's what counts. >> with so many states in super tuesday, including alaska, political junkies may have to wait until wednesday. >> this is not just about names on a ballot. >> tonight when the official counting takes place and republicans try to figure out if they have a front runner, then it is about those names on the ballot and the numbers on the tally sheet. back to you. >> we know you'll be watching it all night and joining us at 11:00. in virginia, only two of the four candidates are on the ballot, which had lowered the significance of the primary there. even though newt gingrich and rich santorum live in fairfax county, neither pulled in the signatures needed to get on the ballot. the choices, mitt romney and ron paul. there's been an upsurge for ron paul, but political analysts say it is likely he will win the old dominion. >> some winner take all, 49 votes will go to the delegates,

but let's look at that in relationship to georgia, tennessee, the other southern states that are in place, maybe even oklahoma, which has a southern tinge in many ways. it needs to be seen in the bigger picture, that's for sure. >> turn out in virginia expected to be pretty light and consistenting mostly of party activists. however, today's primary has no baring on the commonwealth role in the general election. where it's expected to be a highly sought after swing state. >> 1,114 delegates are required to win the nomination. and the candidates have beat up on one another so far. former first lady says this is the worst campaign she's ever seen. >> i just hate it. i hate the fact that people think compromise is a dirty word. it is not a dirty word. >> mrs. busch made the comment yesterday at southern methodist university. barbra bush is backing mitt romney, but she toned down a

recorded message on its behalf that criticized current president barack obama. jobs and the economy expected to dominate the focus of the 2012 election and recent trends could be good news for president obama. economists surveyed by the associated press say the unemployment rate will solve down to around 8% by election day. industrial output jumped in january to its highest level in five years. consumer confidence is at its highest point of the year expefn the housing market is showing signs of turning around. however, only one of the 19 economists surveyed says president obama deserves a lot of credit for that turn around. >> the president held his first news conference of the year today and acknowledged all the positive economic news as of late, but called on congress to help americans in other ways. >> this congress should once and for all end tax breaks and use that money to reward companies that are creating jobs here in the united states.

i put forward a proposal that does just that and there's no reason congress can start acting on it. >> less pricey for borrowers while mortgages backed by the federal housing administration. lesli. >> a hazmat team took samples as they try to identify the mystery illness that killed three family members in less than a week. health and school officials in calvert county have sounded the alert. >> the u.s. centers for disease control are involved in this medical mystery investigation. >> whatever it is, investigators are worried enough about it to don hazmat suits before going in to investigate. it's deadly enough to kill three of four family members since march 1. >> we have a large family. everybody is concerned. >> relatives identified the victims of ruth blake who died

first. her 58-year-old son, and her 51- year-old daughter, vanessa, succumbed yesterday. another daughter has been critically ill and recovering. all were assisting and caring for their dying elderly mother. >> i think this is highly unusual. and that's why it's clearly newsworthy, but i think what we want to say now is that as far as we can tell at the moment, this has been confined to these four individuals and we have no evidence this spread beyond this family group. >> doctors at washington hospital center where two victims died and one is recovering said they have identified influenza a in two of the cases. but the cause of death is not di fintive. school officials in calvert county alerted parents, though no children have been exposed. and for now, this extremely deadly illness appears to have remained confined to the

unlucky people who lived in this house. in lusby, scott broom, 9news now. >> prince georges georges county police issued another ticket. after she was stopped two weeks ago for going more than 100 miles an hour on the beltway. at that time, only given a ticket by making lane change. perhaps given some preferential treatment. today, the police chief released the findings of an internal investigation, which shows the officer acted properly given the circumstances. >> the only way you can actually charge for speeding, you either have to pace an individual and to do that, you have to have a certified calibrated speddometer. he didn't have the probable cause to charge for speed. >> that carries a $500 fine

and put six points on her license. montgomery's county council just unanimously passed a bill this afternoon to install traffic cameras on school buses. joining just a handful of jurisdictions around the nation, going high-tech to help protect the kids. bruce leshan has that story. >> they already have stop signs and flashing lights, but people blow past school buses anyway. so, what is it going to take them to stop? the montgomery county council figures a $250 fine from a school bus traffic camera might finally get people's attention. >> i had one september, 123 cars that i had recorded with tag numbers and turned it in. >> but now the bus driver's dream of a way to stop the cheaters has finally come true. the montgomery county council authorized new automated high def cell connected cameras that

will shoot video of lawbreaker's license tags. send the images to police who will send the cars owner a $250 fine, but no points. >> if you pass a school bus, you're going to be caught. you're going to be fined. and we're going to stop this dangerous act from occurring. >> the automated $250 fines are actually significantly less than what you would get from a police officer. a police officer's fine, $507 and a judge can bump it up to $1,000. in rockville, bruce leshan, 9news now. >> so the hope is to get several of these school bus traffic enforcement cameras installed before the start of the next school year. coming up tonight at 7:00 on 9news now, gas golf

guzzlers. coming up in this half hour of 9news, a team that features opponents off the field comes together for an unusual alliance in our area. topper. >> well, if you thought today was cool, you are correct. we'll take you out with the numbers. 49 and 29 will go in the books. average is 53 and 35. only the 21st day we dip below freezing. we'll come back and talk about milder air and the next time you might need your umbrella. >> plus, prices at the pump actually drop today. we'll be right back.

state senators in maryland have unveiled a doomsday budget. the plan would cut $750 million if agreements can't come to on the budget proposed by governor

martin o'malley. prince georges as well as baltimore would be hit the hardest by this doomsday budget. o'malley calls the plan irresponsibility. we have some welcome news at the gas pump. for the first time in 27 days, gas prices actually dropped today. that ended a streak of price hikes that began on february 8. no big drop, nationwide average price slipped to $3.76 a gallon. gas already tops the $4 at california, alaska, and hawaii. despite today's one-day drop, experts predict gas prices will continue to go up over the next few weeks. >> still ahead, one slightly used diner rings you'll be surprised where you'll find it.

a unique group of isreali girls is visiting washington this week. half are jewish, the other half

muslim. 9news now shows us how these girls are proving people of different religions can coexist through a program design to break down barriers. >> the conflict between arabs and jews runs deep. the violence and hate. these girls who are muslim and jewish live in israel and live through that conflict every day. >> it's confusing, because we want -- >> it's my first time and to have contact or connection with arab girl. >> the sport program is part of the press enter for peace and brings these girls together to play soccer twice a month. they play under a coach, but no referee. so they learn to communicate and resolve any conflicts between each other. >> these girls from israel live in villages minutes apart. they even go to separate schools, but through this soccer program, they are able to learn about their differences and make friends. these girls share their

stories, explaning how they were nervous to make friends with each other at first. >> we need to have a better society. that respects and can acknowledge and embrace the other. and those girls will be -- >> during their one week stay, local jewish families host the girls as their friendships, their sisterhood grows stronger one goal at a time. >> secret about my life, everything. >> when i first met her, she hugged me. and teach me so much. words in arabic and i love her. >> in bethesda, 9news now. >> a tour of our nation's capital is partially funded by the jewish federation of greater washington. >> for sale, one slightly used restaurant available immediately. capital city diner in northeast d.c. is on ebay.

the owner says he is going online to cast a wider net since he was forced to close about a month ago. he lost a lot of business because a national chain breakfast restaurant moved in recently. if you have a burning desire to open a restaurant, it can be yours. the current bid, $20,000. >> diners rock. >> we just say that. >> always good stuff. >> it wouldn't come with a chef. >> oh, there's that, the cooking part. and the staff. that's just the price of admission. >> literally. >> okay, 49 today, a little cooler than average. just be patient, because warmer air is going to roll in tomorrow. might hit 70 on thursday. let's take a live look outside brought to you by michael and son. there is the capital. and if you're looking at clear skies, temperatures mid 40s already. 46 downtown. winds out of the south at 13. that's a good sign that's going to keep us from falling like a rock tonight and drive in

milder air tomorrow and south, southwest winds will drive in warmer air on thursday. that's a good thing. temperatures 45. already 43 in gaithersburg. temperatures will fall far pretty fast until midnight and then they will level off a little bit. 46 in great falls. 45 in reston. 45 also in leesburg. 47 when the warmer readings this college park and 45 also in beltsville. so here's the deal. warming back up. not as cold tonight. now it's still going to be chilly at the bus stop tomorrow. it will be a mild day. we'll have a mild finish. a cold start, so kids will need coats in the morning. and warmer on thursday. again, some folks could hit 70 south of town. for tonight, clear skies, breezy, not as cold. 1 to 2 blanket night. winds out of the southwest at about 10 to 15. that will keep temperatures up a little. in fact, inside the beltway downtown, we don't think you'll make it below freezing. but 31 in gaithersburg.

37 downtown, maybe 33 in college park and bowie. even though a south wind is a warm wind, you factor in the winds with temperatures in the 30s and it will feel like it's in the 20s. drive that home to the kids, it's going to be 60 in the afternoon. it's going to be cold in the morning. 32 in sterling. 30 in leesburg and 31 for a low tonight in manassas. tomorrow morning, mostly sunny, breezy and chilly. temperatures in the 30s and 40s. winds southwest at 10 to 15 and by afternoon, those winds will pay dividends. mostly sunny, breezy, and milder. highs 60 to 65. winds out of the southwest 10 to 20. gusty. even our friends in oakland will be 55 tomorrow. 58 in cumberland. sunshine from the mountain to the coast. 60 in winchester. 61 in warrenton and 60 also in leesburg. downtown, low 60s. 62. 63 at andrews. 63 for annapolis. for some reason, there's not a small crave craft advisory tomorrow.

don't understand that. it's going to be windy wednesday night and thursday. if you're on the water, be advised. your break down, 30s to start. kind of cold and mild by noon. 55 to 60 and 59 to 64, even milder still by evening. all right, next seven days. almost 70 on thursday. 68. showers thursday night and also in through parts of friday. may clear out early on friday morning. bright, but brisk again on saturday. kind of like today. highs around 50. weekend is 47 hours long. have to get over it. move your clocks ahead one hour as we go today light saving time. showers possible on sunday. we're back up to 60. >> we're staying in the 60s. are you seeing this? >> trying to act like he's excited. you can call it bounty or bonus, but more players are coming out to speak about this. >> current and former players. joe gibbs saying he did pay players for big hits, but it was a bonus system, not a

bounty system. hear what he has to say. plus, breaking news about peyton manning coming up next in sports. ♪

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now, 9sports with kristen berset. the best sports in town. >> more current and former redskins speaking up about bounty gate and whether gregg williams paid during his time in washington. we heard plenty from both sides. joe gibbs saying he didn't know anything. george stark is saying that is completely false. but in an interview with the nba network, linebacker, london fletcher said what happened in new orleans didn't happen here. >> i play for greg in washington. he was my head coach in buffalo. my defensive coordinator in washington. i known him for over ten years. never did he get in front of us as a group and say i'm going to give you x amount of dollars to injury our player. >> and it seems peyton manning's 14 year career with the colts has come to an end. just moments ago, chris reported that the announcement will come at a news conference in indianapolis on wednesday

with both manning and owner jim in attendance. manning is being released because he is due a $28 million roster bonus on friday. his release means the colts are off the hook for the cash and he will become a free agent. blash has been on the court, but fans are letting them know how they truly feel. showering him with boos every time he touches the ball. and it's starting to mess with his head a little bit. every time i touch the ball, iamb second guessing. trying to avoid the boos. trying to play a perfect game so i don't have to hear it. >> former georgetown hoey yay has been chosen for the college basketball hall of fame. a much deserved honor. the 7-foot center led the hoyas to one national title. now his ail ma matter who will go dancer again this year is prepping for the big east tournament. led his hoyas since 2007, but

this squad is looking for its first big east championship. >> there's no tomorrow. you win today, you stay. you lose today, you go home. we don't want to be in that position. >> nobody has won a big east championship. championships are something you want to win. so we aren't going to participate. we are going to win games. >> and they now know they will face pittsburgh tomorrow at 2:30. pittsburgh beat st. johns today 73-59 in the first round. the hoyas had secured a first round bye so they get pittsburgh tomorrow. should be a good game. >> they are being considered the sleeper of the big east tournament. >> good stuff. >> could win it all. >> they could. all right, that's it for us. the cbs evening news is next. >> and derek is back at 7:00 with our area's only local newscast. don't forget to join andrea, mike, howard, and monica tomorrow morning every weekday morning starting at 4:25 a.m. >> and as always, wusa9.com is always on. have a great night, everybody.