not getting the full story and we were not going to just go away quietly. >> reporter: immediately after the verdict virginia tech released the following statement. "we do not believe evidence presented at trial relative to the murders in west ambler johnson created an innate danger to the campus that day. we will discuss this with the attorney general, carefully review the case and explore all options available. the heinous crime was an unprecedented act of violence no one could have foreseen." meanwhile the state of virginia immediately appealed the $8 million award. state law in virginia caps awards in wrongful death lawsuits against the state at $100,000 per case unless the governor waives that cap. we'll see what happens. >> we will indeed. thank you, matt jablow. . we move on, shot and killed by her estranged husband, her body dumped out of an suv right into the middle of a bizs i street. a lot of questions surround --

busy street. a lot of questions surrounding the circumstances of two deaths yesterday in montgomery county. >> a woman was shot in the head yesterday morning on connecticut avenue in kensington and ended with the suspect killing himself inside a home in the college gardens neighborhood of rockville. tonight people are wondering did the system fail heather mcguire? >> she'd gone to court for help, but judge barry hamilton set an unsecured bail and philip gilberti was back on the street. bruce phillips live in rockville with the terrible story. >> reporter: one of the really sad things here is heather mcguire did what she was supposed to do faced with these multiple threats, alleged threats, by her husband to kill her. she went to the authorities, but when her case went before a judge at district court, the computers were down and the judge did not see gilberti's long, long criminal record, violent criminal record, that goes back for decades.

heather mcguire's murder caught on tape, although you can barely make it out. she and her husband were headed to another court hearing tuesday morning when he shot her and dumped her body out on the street at the corner of connecticut and knowles in kensington. police later found the former professional boxer dead in a rockville home from a self- inflicted gunshot wound. mcguire had a protective order against him. she said he had told her i don't need a gun. i can just snap your neck. authorities arrested gilberti twice over the weekend for violating the protective order, but each time he got out. the last time the judge released him on a $57,000 unsecured bond. >> the judge who made the ruling in this case, he is a good judge. unfortunately it's come to my attention that apparently the computers in the courtroom were down. some of the criminal history

this guy was not available to the judge. >> reporter: gilberti's criminal history stretches back decades, assault, drugs, steroids, seven years in a nevada prison for allegedly trying to kill another girl friend. >> for a very long time i've been very aware of mr. gilberti. >> reporter: mcguire had a long criminal record, too, with arrests for assault and confining an unattended child. the two were about to give up their three young children in the midst of their divorce. authorities moved those children to a safe house after gilberti killed their mother, but it was, of course, too hate for her. >> did the system fail heather mcguire? >> i will say that heather mcguire did everything she needed to do. >> reporter: now authorities say that the very last message that they really want to go out to women, battered women from this case is, that the police cannot protect them. they say the sheriff says that

the data very, very clearly show that women who go for help are far safer than women who try and tough it out alone. anita? >> so hard to hear that the computer system was down that fateful day. bruce, thank you. yvette cade knows all too well the scars caused by domestic violence. she nearly died when her husband poured gasoline on her and set her on fire seven years ago. peggy fox talked to her today about this latest incident. i don't think anyone here will forget that chilling video literally seeing him chasing her pouring the gasoline on her, setting her on fire. it was awful. >> yeah. it's horrendous and yvette today wishes that she could have reached heather mcguire. she feels like she could have helped her, connect her to organizations that could have saved her because as yvette cade believes, the court system never seems to do enough. >> i totally understand what she was going through.

>> reporter: yvette cade sees parallels between her life and heather mcguire's. like mcguire cade tried to keep her husband away by filing a protective order. >> she took all the steps of getting help, but it was just a piece of paper. the protective orders are a piece of paper. >> reporter: in cade's case the judge lifted the protective order against her estranged husband, roger hargrave, three weeks before this 2005 attack caught on surveillance video at cade's workplace . hargrave poured a plastic bottle full of gasoline on her, then set her on fire. she was burned over 60% of her body. the physical injuries have weakened her immune system and she struggles with anxiety, ptsd and constant fears. >> since i was set on fire with gasoline it took me -- well, it still every day is a thought of being set on fire in my kitchen. >> reporter: her daughter who

was 12 at the time is now 19 and the mother of twins. the babies bring cade enormous joy. children of domestic violence are her main priority in speaking out. >> our children are left behind. they don't know what to do. so in school they can be taught and groomed how to carry on relationships properly. >> reporter: surprisingly cade has compassion for the perpetrators. >> they need the support from their family saying we'll be there for you, but you have to stop acting like this. you have to stop being a perpetrator. >> reporter: cade's husband received a life sentence, but he could be out on parole in just nine years. lesli, recently roger hargrave had her back in court about a lawsuit, a civil suit that, she had against him to keep him from making money on any book deals or speaking engagements about what he did. she thinks she finally got the

judge's signature to keep that from happening, but it was a very difficult day for her to be in court and to see him there. >> absolutely. just amazing. she survived. that's a victory for yvette cade. >> she's always out speaking about this and also talking about bullying and trying to get to children, keep them from getting into any of this. >> thank you for sharing her story again. we've got some resources on our website, by the way, a list of resources where domestic violence victims can turn for help. just go to our website www.wusa9.com. right now we're also tracking several breaking news stories from across other parts of the country. a school bus collided with a tractor trailer in rockwood, pennsylvania. you can see it there. 15 people were injured, eight sent to the hospital via ambulance, the others being transported by bus. details still coming in on all this, but from the video it looks like the bus collided with the truck on what looks like a rural highway there in pennsylvania. we'll continue following this story. in columbus, ohio, four men

have been stabbed near a technical school. three victims are in critical condition, another suffering minor injuries. a police officer shot the suspects. he's also listed in critical condition. also today gunshots rang out near a courthouse in beaumont, texas. at least one person reported dead, three others wounded and the suspect is in custody. he was wounded in the shooting as well. investigators say the gunman was in court with his family when he opened fire. a witness says the shooting happened during the lunch break. emergency personnel were called to the scene and the courthouse was locked down. a hero's welcome in rockville this afternoon for a germantown family that's been released from the custody of immigration officials but is still very much under the threat of deportation. the price of 19-year-old montgomery college student -- the plight of 19-year-old montgomery college student

jorge acuna has caught the attention of the community. >> reporter: we're on route 335 hungerford drive in rockville. these are friends of jorge steven acuna, a lot of friends. he's a guy who has been in the country since he was 8 years old, his family from colombia but they never managed to make it legal and his college career took a big detour last week when he got hocked up by -- locked up by immigration. 19-year-old jorge steven acuna and his family just released from a maximum security holding facility on maryland's eastern shore pending deportation proceedings last yesterday. and they've come home to a hero's welcome. >> fighting for justice! up with education, down with deportation! >> reporter: friends from montgomery college where acuna is carrying a 3.95 gpa hastily started a campaign last week to get him and his family freed went viral. >> there's future cases that can still happen if we don't

manage to turn this around. >> reporter: surrounded by supporters this afternoon, the family seemed in emotional shock. >> you're brought to this country by your parents and all you're willing to do here is, you know, get an education, have a dream, set some goals. >> reporter: but not everyone is a supporter. >> if you come here illegally and you don't do the right thing, i don't care if you get grade grades. it's good for you, but it's the law. we deport people. >> reporter: acuna who lives in germantown was a star athlete at northwest high school, graduated with an a average and friends say he's exactly the wrong person federal officials should be deporting. >> these are the kind of people we want in our country, not to deport them or get rid of them because they can impact our society in a positive way. >> reporter: and the demonstration continues here this afternoon on hungerford drive. the immigration status of this family is still in appeal. it's not set and the bigger issue for these folks is

passage of the federal dream act. they think this is the seed that's going to push that over its hurdles. reporting live in rockville scott broom, 9 news now. march madness kicks off in earnest tomorrow with 16 games on the ncaa basketball tournament schedule and tonight the georgetown hoyas are on their way to chum bus for their first round game -- columbus for their first round game against belmont. kristen berset is here to tell us more about the sendoff. >> the hoyas haven't had much success in the tournament. in the last two years they were knocked out in the first round by a lower seeded team. friday they hope to change that streak when they face 14th ranked belmont. these two teams have history. they faced off in the first round in 2007, georgetown easily beating the bruins on their way to the final four. now that the game is so close, the hoyas are anxious to take the courts. >> this is a very good exciting

feeling, you know. this will be played for our season. so i think everybody is going to focus. we're ready to get to columbus. >> it's tournament time now. we are excited to get to ohio. >> this time of year going to the ncaa tournament, if it gets old, it's time for a new job. this is an extremely exciting time, does not get old. this is you work all year to have the opportunity to compete for a national champion and i know and that's what this tournament does. so -- and that's what this tournament does. so this is what it's all about. >> to find out where to watch georgetown play log onto www.wusa9.com. later in the show i'll introduce you to the voice of the hoyas. i'm kristen berset. just ahead on 9 news now an adorable dog abandoned in afghanistan embarks on a new life here in d.c. but first just days after an american soldier's alleged shooting rampage killed 16

afghan villagers an explosion rocks a southern airfield there while defense secretary's leon panetta's plane was landing.

a u.s. military official says an american soldier accused in a shooting rampage has been flown out of afghanistan. >> defense secretary leon panetta arrived in afghanistan to 3 and ease the tensions following the massacre and as we'll hear the report, his arrival was not without incident. >> reporter: secretary of defense leon panetta arrived in afghanistan for what's expected to be a difficult visit. even his landing was tense. the pentagon says an afghan man drove a stolen pickup truck onto the runway, then crashed in a ditch. officials say panetta was never in danger. his trip was planned two months ago but now has new urgency since a u.s. soldier allegedly went on a shooting spree sunday. >> tragic as these events of violence have been, they do not define the relationship between the coalition and afghan forces and afghan people. >> reporter: the u.s. military

says the 38-year-old staff sergeant accused of slaughtering 16 villagers has been flown out of afghanistan to a facility in another country. an afghan official says their surveillance video of the suspect walking to his base, laying down his weapon and surrendering. the taliban has promised revenge. wednesday a bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded not far from a delegation investigating the shootings. the explosion destroyed a building and killed an intelligence official. tuesday an afghan soldier was killed when militants opened fire on government officials attending a service for the villagers. panetta is set to meet with tribal leaders as well as president hamid karzai during his two-day visit. >> the pentagon says no explosives or weapons were found in the truck that raced onto the runway as panetta arrived. authorities are not sure if it was an attempted attack or just

a coincidence. we have a health alert just into the 9 news now newsroom, a government task force releasing new guidelines for cervical cancer screening. it recommends women ages 21 to 65 have a pap smear every three years, at least every three years. women ages 30 to 65 can extend screenings to once every five years if they get an hpv test at the same time as the pap, but doctors say the new recommendations for less screening do not mean women should skip regular annual checkups with their gyn. >> there are many important facets to that visit, many discussions depending on age regarding things like contraception, sexual transmitted diseases, breast health, bone health. >> these new recommendations come from the u.s. preventive services task force in this case the american cancer society and other health groups releasing similar recommendations. so they seem to be on board with one another. you know, it's just hard to believe there's still a couple weeks left of winter in this

area or at least a week anyhow according to the calendar because it's so warm and so nice. top, the cherry blossoms once again they are starting to talk about that date. we've been dealing with this for days. where is it right now? >> we have an update that moves it back or forward, how you want to look at it. they'll bloom earlier. really no surprise. it was originally the 24th to the 31st, then the 24th to the 28th. now it's the 20th to the 23rd. i think you're close to the 20th. >> when does the festival start? >> the 20th. >> that's okay. >> trunks through the 27th and remember -- it runs through the 27th and remember, wind is their main enemy and they can remain on the trees seven to 14 days. it can't be crazy warm or crazy cold. here's a live look outside. we're looking at really a gorgeous evening brought to you by michael and sons, our live weather cam. down to 78 at national, up to 80 earlier, dew point 43, winds

east, southeast at 3 and pressure steady over the past hour, 30.14 inches of mercury. notice the dew point in the low 40s, was around the 50-degree range yesterday. so it's a little drier air tonight. it will be cooler but mild. speaking of mild, 77 at bethesda, 79 great falls, 78 reston, looking at temperatures essentially upper 70s to around 80, 83 springfield, 81 fort belvoir, 80 laurel, 79 in college park. so we are looking at temperatures again over 20 degrees above average. it stays warm. now tonight kind of a treat, tweeted about this. look outside if you're out late between midnight and 1:30 a.m. you can see colored contrails. nasa is launching some rockets to study some phenomena in the atmosphere. it should be kind of cool. they're looping colors again midnight to 1:30. you can look east and then up pretty high. tomorrow will be like june and some record highs are possible

tomorrow and showers possible on friday, a better chance of showers friday than tomorrow. for tonight clear skies, mild, maybe one blanket, maybe no blankets, 48 to 56. upper 40s in the burbs with light wind. tomorrow morning mostly sunny and mild. you will need sunglasses, 50s and 60s and then by afternoon we're looking at temperatures in the low to mid-80s, partly cloudy and even warmer, shower or thunderstorm possible, highs 80 to 85 and winds out of the southwest at 10 that. would be a record, the record highs tomorrow only 81 at national and 82 at dulles. those are in jeopardy. 52 to 60 to start and then 76 to 81 by noon and then 78 to 84, maybe a thunderstorm late between 5:00 and 6:00, but still we'll take those temps and the threat of a couple showers. next seven days better chance for showers friday, temperatures going back to the mid-70s, lose about 10 degrees and on saturday got the marathon, st. patty's day, got a chance of a shower both in

the morning and afternoon, but nothing heavy, mid-70s. nice sunday, mid-70s and we're essentially in the mid-70s monday through wednesday, maybe a shower monday, spring officially arriving tuesday morning about 1:14 and maybe a shower wednesday. so all in all, maybe record highs tomorrow. we haven't had any record highs even though it's been so warm for so long and we hold in the 70s thereafter. >> i'm turning on the air conditioning tomorrow, air conditioning, thank you. coming up the print version of the encyclopedia britannica falls victim to the digital age. >> repairing for repairs, surveyors looking at the washington monument for still more earthquake damage. deal chicken is making hutch day a happy day. check out -- hump day a happy day. check out this deal at the mexican grill in georgetown. sign up for a midweek smile at dealchicken.com.

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a team of government surveyors are spending hours checking to see if the washington monument sank or tilted in the wake of the east coast earthquake. the washington post reports the worst started last week.

the surveyors say they aren't expecting to find any major changes but say their findings could impact repair plans. the monument cracked and crumbled during the quake last august and is expected to remain closed until next year. evacuation orders and tsunami warnings were issued after two earthquakes rocked japan. a 6.9 magnitude quake struck the southern coast of the island of hokido causing a small tsunami. about three hours later a 3.1 quake shook buildings in tokyo. there are no reports of any injuries or major damage including the region's nuclear power plant. the lights are slowly coming back on around boston tonight just one day after a massive plaqueout in the neighborhood known as back bay -- blackout in the neighborhood known as black bay. a fire in an electrical transformer caused that blackout and caused major disruptions for commuters yesterday and today because traffic lights and road signals

were out as well. two subway stops were closed, too. people around back bay were told stay inside because there were concerns about toxic fumes. after 244 years that go to reference for book reports, well, it's going the way of the artifact. this week the encyclopedia britannica announced it will stop printing books and go all digital. the company president says this may be the end of the hard copy, but it's not the end of the company. >> we have been mostly digital for many years now. the company started to have more digital revenues than print revenue maybe six years ago and since then the revenue of our online services actually has grown significantly. >> wikipedia is its biggest online competitor and since their content is free, britannica will have to convince consumers that what it offers is worth the money. well, still ahead polly's

new home, this adorable new herding dog named polly even though it's a guy got a hero's welcome in d.c. >> also ahead teenagers using cinnamon, but it's not a spice. it's just weird what they're doing and it can be dangerous, too. stick around. >> virginia wants to close the northern virginia training center, but parents are fighting back with a lawsuit. i'm peggy fox. coming up we'll take you inside and show you all that would be lost if this place closed its doors.

should medically fragile people with disabilities be moved from institution settings to group homes? that is what virginia agreed to do in a settlement with the justice department. >> the plan involved closing four of virginia's five so- called training centers including the northern virginia train centering in fairfax, but as peggy fox tells us, parents are fighting back with a lawsuit. >> everybody swing your partner right. >> reporter: square dancing is a regular activity at one of the "institutions" virginia wants to close. the justice department says institutions like this take away the civil rights of the residents and the state plans to move them to group homes which terrifies and angers their parents. >> we can't neglect our most severe citizens. >> reporter: mary jane moran's son kevin has the mental and physical capacity of an infant.

he's lived at the northern virginia train centering since he was a toddler. >> he has staff that have been with him since he came in that are still here 30 years later and it's that long term commitment that you have here that you don't see at group homes. >> reporter: 34-year-old adam has severe behavior problems. his mother says they did try a group home, but it didn't work. >> you can't really staff up a four-bed group home in such a way as to give proper support to either end ebb of the spectrum, either -- end of the spectrum, either the medical or behavioral. >> reporter: judith core says it's impossible for group homes to provide all the services found at training centers things like sensory rooms or skills training. >> this is as much freedom as they can handle and it gives them a chance to live their life to the fullest. >> reporter: this is the only one of virginia's five training centers that has a pool and, in fact, the northern virginia training center is much more than a home. it is also a community support

center that provides aquatic therapy, dental services, respite care and behavioral analysis for hundreds of people who live in northern virginia. the parents claim in their lawsuit that the state cannot legally force their children from the centers and they're appealing to the governor and legislature to change course. >> they could have group homes on this land sponsored by the state and these children in the group homes would receive much better care because they'd have state benefits. >> reporter: in fairfax peggy fox, 9 news now. >> the parents say the agreement does not require the closure of the centers but requires the governor to submit a plan to decide what kind of treatment facilities to operate. a 47-year-old georgetown man accused of killing his 91- year-old wife won't go on trial any time soon. today a judge ordered albrecht muth to remain at a mental health hospital for at least another month, this after doctors suggested he is not well enough to be tried. muth is accused of killing his

wife viola drath last august. drath was a journalist and wrote columns for the washington times. a jury is now deliberating the rutgers spy cam case. dharun ravi is accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate while he kissed another man. the roommate tyler clementi killed himself just days later. ravi faces 15 criminal charges including the equivalent to a hate crime. just after starting deliberations jurors asked for a copy of the judge's instructions. the judge said i didn't have a copy but -- he didn't have a copy but he would answer specific questions. an adorable puppy from afghanistan has a new home in nearby alexandria and as matt jablow tells us, it was a really long journey in more ways than one. >> reporter: 8-month-old polly spent a good part of the day yesterday curled up in a ball sleeping. >> he's a good dog. >> reporter: if you would have the day he had, you'd probably sleep as well. >> polly is a teddy bear. >> reporter: the story began a

few months ago when a u.s. security contractor found polly wandering the streets of kabul, afghanistan with his collar digging painfully into his neck. >> was not able to be picked up and just homeless and it was winter there, snowing and starving to death. >> reporter: enter emily jeter, an alexandria resident and friend of the security contractor who started raising the $1,200 she would need to adopt polly and bring him to alexandria. despite the name, polly is a male. >> we all thought polly was a girl at first. >> reporter: yesterday after first being flown to new york polly arrived at reagan national where emily jeter gave him a hero's welcome. >> hello! look at you! it was awesome. we were so excited. >> reporter: polly is by no means the only stray dog in afghanistan these days. in fact, stray animals have become a big problem in that country. since the war broke out there 11 years ago. >> stray animals, stray dogs and cats. they're a low form on the

thought of people over there. >> reporter: emily says she's been amazed by how quickly polly adjusted to his new life and how sweet he is considering all these gone through. >> polly is just an animal that has angels around him. >> reporter: indeed it's not every dog that can make a smooth transition from eastern afghanistan to northern virginia and emily says she considers herself very lucky to have such a wonderful new best friend. >> it just gives you back that you're able to help a little creature that has no chance. >> reporter: in alexandria matt jablow, 9 news now. >> looked like he really enjoyed that, didn't he? polly was brought to the u.s. with the help of an animal rescue group in afghanistan. if you want more information about the group go, to our website www.wusa9.com. click on the afghanistan dog story. the circus sent in the clowns today to try to cheer up some local children with disabilities. clowns from the ringling brothers and barnum & bailey circus visited the easter seals

child development center on 13th street in northwest. the circus opens up tomorrow at the verizon center. still ahead we'll introduce you to a marathon runner and cancer survivor hitting the pavement so others can beat the disease. >> drama at a fast food restaurant next when a would be crook takes a dive through the drive-thru. stick around just for that drive through thing, nothing else. you'll want to see it.

caught on tape, a would be robber makes a dive through the drive-thru. surveillance crams captured the suspect as he launches himself off the hood of his car right into the drive-thru window at a burger king in ft. lauderdale. his goal, of course, grab the cash. he tries, but look at those co- workers. you're not going anywhere, fellow. they put him down. >> when i heard screaming and yelling carrying on, i came up to see what was going on. she had a little problem, so i just helped out. >> they say, of course, never do that. just go ahead, take what you want. that's what they all say, right? >> that's what they say. i don't know where my mind was.

>> officers showed up and arrested 31-year-old edwin walker. police say if not for those workers' actions and their calm under pressure, that suspect would have gotten away. >> no food, no money and now you're going to jail. >> oh, boy, different kind of food in there for you. in china a clumsy robber arrested 12 minutes after trying and failing to rob a guy. >> surveillance video captured the 48-year-old suspect take out a pistol in the bank and demand 1 million yuan and then the cartridge of the gun falls out. people realize it's fake and start running out of bank leaving the suspect walking around in a fluster. workers press the alarm and eventually the robber leaves. he's arrested in his car a few blocks away. an eyewitness captured this video of a police chase that ended with a bang, there it is, in new jersey. a police officer was following this speeding black mercedes when the driver lost control

and rammed into a construction fence. no word on what led to the chase. amazingly the driver hurt even after all that but he is now under arrest. >> nothing like the fast and the furious. still ahead 9 wants you to know local teens are abusing cinnamon in a bizarre game. even a school principal is sending home letters to parents. >> it's what the kids call the cinnamon challenge. we'll show you how it works and the nasty results coming up. >> on monday, february 28th, local and national leaders join together in the studios of 9 news now and they vow change. >> i think we've got to take a look at the law. >> because when our community has a problem, 9 want you to know. >> 9 news now is brought to you in part by your local toyota dealers, toyota moving forward.

video kids, posting on the enter -- kids are posting on the internet shows young people participating in a game they call the cinnamon challenge. they dare each other to swallow cinnamon without washing down with something to drink. problem is that's nearly impossible to do because the spice is so dry to the throat. the reaction seems funny to some kids, but the game can have serious health consequences. in fact, just last friday the principal of red land middle school in rockville sent this e- mail to parents warning them about the dangers of these challenge games including the cinnamon challenge.

>> okay. so we're going to do the cinnamon challenge. >> check out social media uploads and you can find hundreds of videos like this. this cinnamon challenge is an old stunt make being the rounds with a new generation of teens. >> i've seen it happen a few times. i've seen a few kids throw up from it. >> a lot of people throw up. i haven't seen someone try it without throwing up. i think it's impossible. >> the challenge works like this. a person is supposed to swallow a tablespoon of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking anything. the result? usually it looks like this. coughing, gagging, sometimes vomiting and always burning pain. >> oh, my god. >> it tasted very bad. >> this 9th grader who doesn't want to be identified was dared to do it. >> and as soon as i inhaled some of it i coughed it out and it wasn't a good feeling. >> there are no accounts of death by this challenge, but doctors say it's a dangerous dare. it can raise blood sugar

levels, burn the throat and cause long term lung damage, especially in people with asthma. >> if it gets into the lungs, it's absolutely an irritant. it's a foreign body in there. it can give them anything from an asthma attack to pneumonia. >> even this site devoted to the challenge has a disclaimer on its homepage do not attempt the cinnamon challenge. it can be dangerous. >> it's dangerous and i just don't really want to have that feeling ever again. >> all right. let's look at something here, derek. i'm going to put some cinnamon in a bowl of water. as you can see, even though i'm mixing it in, it doesn't dissolve. chunks of it remain. so you can imagine how dry this would be in a person's throat with no liquid going down and i mean it's just -- it makes me cringe. >> it's a horrible thing. i hate to admit when i was a kid, i might have tried this. >> of course. >> it doesn't get you high. it doesn't feel good. why are kids doing it? >> it's just one of these crazy

challenges. no. we have done stories on spices that sometimes kids use to try to get high. this is not it. it's a game, but it can really be dangerous to the airways and kids need to know that. whatever they see on youtube, it's much worse than that. it's really dangerous. >> so don't do it. stay off the cinnamon. lesli? the iwo jima memorial in arlington statute commemorates the battle back from world war ii. today the battle was commemorated. dozens of americans and japanese veterans attended the ceremony on the tiny tear- shaped island located halfway between tokyo and guam. march 14th, 1945, marked the first time u.s. forces landed on japanese soil during the war. nearly 7,000 marines and 21,000 japanese defenders died in the battle. the island reverted back to japanese rule from the united

states in 1968. >> today was the kind of day you might have wanted to put your top down on your convertible, but it was probably too hot. >> you think so? >> you're almost tempted to do this a little bit. >> i called it a challenging day today. it was a challenge to get to work and a challenge to stay inside while at work. >> that's very true. >> as you know, if it's warm or hot somewhere, it's cold somewhere else. >> are you going to show us snow somewhere? on an 80-degree day you're showing snow. >> yes, i am. lake tahoe getting hammered and i think they're going to see snow in the hills around l.a. by the time you get to this weekend. they had 1 to 2 feet and the winds with this storm gusting in places like eureka up to 70 miles per hour. it isn't over yet. it will continue to snow and rain and storm on the west coast through friday it looks like. let's talk about live look outside, another contrast here. this is brought to you by michael and sons, our live

weather scam, 78 here, tranquil, winds light southeast at 3, pressure steady 30.14 inches of mercury. upper 70s to around 80, 79 great falls, 78 reston, 79 sterling. even leesburg is 77, manassas 79 you, 83 springfield, probably the warmest -- 79, 83 springfield, probably the warmest reading we've seen today. it stays warm. a little treat today. look up kind of to the east and high up in the sky, you might see some really cool colored contrails, nasa launching four rockets tonight between midnight and 1:30 a.m. check it out. it's going to be like june tomorrow and some records may fall and some showers friday. in fact, a pretty good chance of showers and thunderstorms. for tonight clear skies, still mild, maybe a blanket if you're in the burbs, upper 40s, mid- 50s downtown. tomorrow morning we start out mostly sunny and mild, really almost warm. 50s and 60s with light winds

and then by afternoon partly cloudy, even warmer, shower or thunderstorm possible and i think temperatures are still going to make it into the low to mid-80s, winds out of the southwest at 10. so again one of those days that's warm but not that windy. 52 to 60 to start and 76 to 81 by noon. so by noon some folks will be in the low 80s and by evening maybe an isolated storm, but 78 to 84. the next three days a better chance for some storms friday. we go back to the mid-70s. saturday we got the marathon, should be okay, got to keep a chance of a shower in, temperatures still in the mid- 70s. if you're running the race, temperatures in the 60s. next seven days nice sunday. we took the shower out. we're looking at temperatures in the low 70s on sunday, mid- 70s monday. spring officially arrives next tuesday, 76 and 76 next wednesday. kind of nice when you can lose 10 degrees and still be in the mid-70s, don't you think? >> it is kind of nice.

when you think about the history of georgetown basketball, there is one man who can really say he has seen it all. kristen berset is here with more on this hoya legend. >> you may not recognize his name, but you may recognize his voice. rich chvotkin has been the voice of georgetown basketball for decades calling out names like alonzo mourning and patrick ewing. dave owens has his story. >> reporter: hours before game time prep work, crabb, it's quiet in his -- camera making, it's quiet in his domain. 38 years running his brain is a machine, rote mem risation of players -- memorization of players, old notes and it's his

style. >> i have it all down to a science. >> reporter: and boy, just imagine the games he's seen. >> the best game that i have to say i've seen is georgetown/north carolina. ewing, jordan. >> reporter: yeah, that michael jordan. chvotkin had a front row view as a young m.j. took the iconic shot for the win. here's how it began. chvotkin used to announce games into a tape recorder up in the stands at local gyms and then he shot them around to coaches. john thompson, jr. was one of them and the rest is history. nearly 1,200 games later chvotkin hasn't missed a season except for half of one. 1990 the military reservist was called to operation desert storm. >> i would listen to a georgetown broadcast on all force radios and i said that's not me. >> reporter: he broadcast solo with one exception, his son evan does stats. >> just from working with him for nine years you know exactly when the time is right to see

that stat. >> reporter: dave owens, 9 sports now. >> thanks, dave. chvotkin is in the top six of active current division 1 broadcasters and top 18 all time longevity in division 1. he says he'll do it till his health says he can't anymore. derek, back to you. >> never listen to georgetown ball the same way. coming up on 9 news now at 6:00 some new info into the federal probe of alleged corruption in the d.c. government. bruce johnson has the followup report. >> citing misconduct by the prosecutor and police, a culpeper county judge orders the release of a man behind bars for a dozen years, more on that story. >> plus the rock and roll marathon is days away. we'll introduce you to a cancer survivor who is hitting pavement so others can beat the disease.

we are now just three days away from 2012 suntrust rock and roll usa marathon. while many people are running to beat their best time, others are running to raise awareness and money for a particular cause. mike hydek introduces us to a cancer survivor who is running so that others can do the same. >> reporter: it's one of the greatest sensations in the world, feeling healthy and alive.

brian lee once feared he may never feel this good again, the day he learned he had leukemia. >> i was miserable every day. some days i didn't feel like even getting up to go for a walk and i'll be running the rock and roll half marathon one year before my four year diagnosis day. i'll be kicking cancer's butt one more time, can't hold me down. >> go team! >> reporter: brian's friends are joining him in that race to beat blood cancer. their leukemia and lymphoma societies in training is raising cash for cure and treatment. a rare leukemia killed blair mclaughlin's 13-year-old brother and she hasn't missed a fundraiser since. >> in a sense i get to keep my brother alive and we're somewhere in the neighborhood of a half a million dollars raised. i'm not a runner, but the reason i'm able to do that is because i'm surrounded by all these people who are doing that for the same reason.

>> reporter: what's a rock and roll marathon without rock and roll? one of brian's best friends, jacqueline faulk, is helping to provide a running soundtrack and sideline report. at first his leukemia diagnosis stunned her. >> you never really think about it at all and one day you get a phone call and you're like oh, yeah, this is life and life can make all sorts of turns, but he's still here. >> reporter: still here because of money team in training is raising and a bone marrow transplant. he's running to make sure other patients can feel healthy and alive again. >> the money goes directly into providing new treatments and hopefully eventually finding a cure. now it's my turn to give back to the leukemia lymphoma society and help them continue their mission. >> and we are your rock and roll marathon station. so join andrea and mike 8:00 to 11:00. they will be anchoring our

coverage. we hope to see you there. this is 9 news now. we begin tonight with new information into the federal probe of possible corruption in the d.c. government, specifically the role of businessman jeffrey thompson as he played in getting big sums of cash into nearly every political campaign in the city. bruce johnson has been on this story right from the beginning and tonight he has a followup. >> reporter: sources tell 9 news now the council member muriel bowser received a subpoena, same for jack evans and also delivered to the campaign. federal prosecutors are seeking information on campaign contributions from businessman geoff thompson. earlier this month thompson's home in northwest was raided by the fbi and irs agents. >> for the most part, no one is really talking to each other about what's going on. >> reporter: ward 6 councilman tommy wells has tried and fa