medicaid coverage. bruce leshan was in the courtroom for today's arguments and joins us from the high court. >> deep in the weeds questions of whether the case is even right for supreme court review, but the justices questions seem to indicate it is. one of the few things both the obama administration and its critics agree on is that the court does have jurisdiction. >> we will hear arguments this morning. >> so the court actually had to ask another lawyer to argue that the penalty for failing to buy health insurance is a tax and that under the 1867 antiinjunction act, the justices are barred from reviewing that tax until someone actually has to pay. >> the antiinjunction act imposes a pay first, litigate rule. >> almost immediately, the justices cut into the lawyer's

argument. >> why is this a tax? this is not attached to a tax. it is attached to a healthcare reform. >> congress threw out the bill called the sliding fee for failing to buy insurance the individual mandate a penalty, not a tax. >> unless it's clear, courts are not deprived of jurisdiction. i find it hard to think that this is clear. >> gregory argued the case for healthcare reform opponents. i had a chance to talk to him one on one. >> is it a tax or isn't it? >> the law is crystal clear that penalties aren't taxes and in any event, we're not challenging the penalty. we are challenging the obligation to buy insurance. >> even presidential candidate, rick santorum, one of healthcare reform's fiercest critics declined to predict the outcome. >> what do you think they're going do? >> the government's lawyer

walking a fine line here. the justice said today you're in here arguing that this is not a tax. tomorrow, you'll be back here arguing that it is. great peels of laughter at that, but that is one of the constitutional justifications. that healthcare reform falls within congress' power to tax. at the supreme court, bruce leshan, 9news now. >> it shouldn't surprise anyone that protesters on both sides of this one were rallying outside the supreme court trying to make their voices heard. carry signs, they were chanting and spoke to anybody willing to listen, especially anybody holding a microphone. >> it's important to be out because healthcare is an important right. it's important that people are able to have access to healthcare and not be denied it because they have a preexisting

condition. especially in this economic climate where people aren't working. >> i fear for the direction of our country because if the government can dictate by merely breathing, that i have to buy health insurance, what else are they going to dictate to me? >> oral arguments in the supreme court manner will resume tomorrow and no doubt so will the debate and the demonstrations you're looking at right now outside the building. now a lot of lawyers and legal experts say if the supreme court upholds healthcare, there will be far reaching consequences for the state of our union. joining us now, georgetown university law professor. this first day was all about this right to deal with the tax before the taxes have been levied. if both sides agree, why are we having this conversation? >> the supreme court was interested in that issue, so they were probably thinking of sidestepping the whole case by saying it is premature under this special tax act.

you have to wait until the tax is paid or the penalty is levied. so they were thinking about it. they appointed a special lawyer because neither side wanted to argue that. both sides want this to go forward and the substance to be decided. and the supreme court showed us today in the argument that they probably want to go ahead and decide the whole thing. but you know, just because they are going into arguments tomorrow about the main healthcare act and then on wednesday. doesn't mean that they have decided this issue. they could come back later on a couple months in and say we decided that we don't want to consider this at all. this whole healthcare plan because the tax act is corrected. you have to wait. >> a lot of disappointed people. especially around an individual mandate. why should the government force people to do this? there is a strong constitutional argument that the government can do that. >> that's correct. there's an interstate congress

power to regular interstate commerce. this is 17% of the economy, healthcare is. people are going to go on the public roles if they don't have health insurance. that's an economic commercial matter. it affects all kinds of commerce if people are well or ill. so there is a very strong argument that this is interstate commerce. but the justices are some of them concerned that if you can tell people to buy this, then you can tell them to buy other things, american cars, you can force them to eat broccoli, things like that. >> a lot of people are concerned about this court because of the decision in 2000, in terms of the presidency. how political has the supreme court become? >> well, a lot of issues do divide. democrat appointees on the court versus republican appointees on the court. this issue in part may divide that way, but in the lower court, the decisions of lower court is about the healthcare plan have not followed straight

democrat republican lines. so, there may be a decision that transcends that. it will have something to do with whether the justices think the federal government aught to be able to do a lot in our lives or do just a little. >> we thank you for your time and your insight. we'll have more conversation with you as the case unfolds. right now, the city of sanford, florida, is holding a town hall meeting about the shooting death of trayvon martin. today marks one month since martin was killed. focus all over the country are outraged. martin's parents gathered with supporters outside a church in sanford and they are calling for justice. he was shot and killed louisiana month by a neighborhood watch volunteer named george zimmerman. so far, zimmerman has not been arrested or charged. zimmerman claims it was self- defense and today a lawyer for the martin family admitted the teen had been suspended from school for using marijuana, but he says that is irrelevant.

>> whatever trayvon martin was suspended for had absolutely no baring on what happened. >> they killed my son and now they are trying to kill his reputation. >> a special prosecutor has been appointed to oversee this case in florida. next month, a grand jury will convene to decide if zimmerman should face charges. joining us now to analyze this case from a legal prospective is the law professor who argues that despite all the passion around it, the police may have done all they could do under the law. professor, explain yourself. >> the law says that before you can arrest somebody in a shooting situation such as this, you must have probable cause, not only to believe he shot, which is clear, but he did not have a reasonable belief that he was being attacked. at this point, only one eyewitness, allegedly, who says

he saw the scuffle and according to this eyewitness, as well as zimmerman, martin punched him first and zimmerman was on his back and shot. therefor, at this point there may not be enough evidence to make an arrest. now once they do ballistics, once they get the angle of the shots and everything else, and an audio analysis to see who was crying help, that might change. >> let's talk about the fact that zimmerman was apparently the aggressor. he was the one that followed martin, even though the dispatcher said we don't need you to do that. that would give you probable cause to think, wouldn't it? that zimmerman was the aggressor on this? >> i would have to say no. the mere fact you are following somebody doesn't make you an aggressor. the burden is on the prosecutor to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. so here it may very well be that on this state of the evidence, they can't arrest. the other thing is, everybody is making a big deal about the stand your ground law.

it doesn't apply. >> if that law doesn't apply, then again, don't police have the right to use their discretion, which is wide ranging in a lot of cases to make an arrest, especially when there's a young man dead that is unarmed? >> the florida statute says no. the florida statute says they must have probable cause to believe that he did not have a reasonable belief. the evidence here is that leaning towards zimmerman. once again, when there is more evidence, there may be a change. does race make a difference? does media make a difference? does the fact it is in florida make a difference? yes. from a legal perspective, florida has that unique law. >> thank you for joining us. >> i understand, a lot of folks won't agree with it. we appreciate it, thank you. coming up, appeal denied. a judge rejects the latest

attempts and let homeowners rebuild in the holly acres mobile home park. up next, a simple case of supply and demand after a public outcry over pink slime. the company that makes the stuff starts to pull the plug.

pink slime is getting the pink slip. these products which makes the meat treatment is shutting down

three of its four plants. the company's decision comes amid the public outcry. the beef blend has been used for years and years and regulators insist it is safe. but a half a dozen grocery store chains pulled the product because the public has gotten more and more worried about it. efferent tonight, virginia senators passed their version of a two-year state budget. six members will join six members of the house of delegates to hash out a compromise. both parties are hoping to have the state budget wrapped up by the end of this week. so much for spring, a winter-like night is on tap. when will the warm air come back? topper's forecast is coming up. and up next, draining your wallet to fill up your gas tank. the price for fuel hits a milestone. we'll tell you about that. [ male announcer ] at green giant we know nature

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it is official. the cost of gasoline in the maryland suburbs, $4 a gallon. the news comes from aaa which measures the average in the d.c. metro and is now exactly $4. that is 7 cents more than a week ago and just ten cents shy of the record price, $4.10. that was set back in july of 2008. the price in maryland is still less than in d.c. virginia still the cheapest. the average of $3.84. a week from tomorrow, maryland and d.c. will hold their primaries and make their pick for the republican

presidential nomination. but voters in d.c. will have a chance to show their support tonight. the d.c. republican committee will conduct a straw poll tonight at its dinner and everybody who is there will choose between front runner, mitt romney, newt gingrich, and ron paul. rick santorum who is second did not qualify for the ballot in d.c. the voters will not be picking party nominees for president. they'll choose candidates for the u.s. senate, congress, and council seats and one of the most battles. debate each other over the next two nights. the forums will take place at frederick community college. republican candidates hold theirs tomorrow. they are free and open to anybody. voters in maryland and d.c. can go ahead and cast their ballots now. d.c. had eight early voting centers. one in each ward and open tho the 31st of march. marylanders have two fewer days to take advantage of the early

voting. the state's 46 early voting centers are only open through this thursday. and we have a full list of the early voting locations, plus sample ballot information. click on campaign 2012. the latest attempt to allow people in holly acres mobile home park to rebuild has been rejected. a prince william county judge denied a request by holly acres attorney for an injunction against the county. dozens of homes in the park were damaged or destroyed in the flooding from tropical storm lee and supervisors ruled eight were located in a federal flood zone. holly acres residents have one more hope to move back. they will go to trial in july. that was a bad storm. >> yes, it was. they had a couple down there, actually a. freeze warning, which is unusual. >> not that it shouldn't be

cold, but that there's a warning about it. >> exactly. you are supposed to wait until mother's day to plant. i did speak to john earlier. i got a message from rob black and they are praying the wind stay up because the winds don't stay up, we're in a world of hurt because all the trees have blossomed or in the process of blooming. that's like peach trees and apricots and sweet cherries. normally, this would be the third and second week in april, not this early in the season. the outside story is don't put flowers in until mother's day. these are the average last frost dates. you have to wait until the 23rd of april, not march, 28th of april in fredericksburg and the end of april in gaithersburg. it shouldn't affect any homeowners. we're looking west tonight. clear as a bell. 54 right now. winds are now northwest at 15.

pressure continues to rise at 30.04 and what's troubling me, the dew point. started out in the upper 20s, went to the low 20s, now the upper teens. if the wind dies down, we could fall like a stone tonight. let's hope that the wind stay up. we think it will. 52 in bethesda. 48 in gaithersburg. 52 in great falls and reston. 54 downtown. 56 in college park. so, here's the deal. possible freeze tonight. freeze warning in effect. danger is going to be for the pear trees, the sweet cherries. it's still breezy and that's going to be good. the last hour, the winds have gusted to 30 miles an hour. we need the atmosphere stirring around. that will keep temperatures up. freeze warning in effect for tonight. 27 to 36. winds northwest 10 to 15. we will revisit temperatures and these wind speeds tonight on 9news now at 11:00. hopefully i will not knock down the tent. a real treat.

look to the west. we have jupiter, venus, and you have a waxing crescent moon. you do not need by binoculars. sunglasses a must. 30s and 40s primarily. good news tomorrow afternoon. light winds, mostly sunny and cool. light jacket required, but with winds light, temperatures 55 to 60, that's really going to be a comfortable day. next seven days. it warms up on wednesday. shower or thunderstorm possible. they will be far and few between. and low 60s on thursday. mid 60s on sunday. maybe a shower on saturday, but 70. and 68 on sunday. a far cry this past weekend and 70s next monday. so march came in like a lamb and exit like a lamb also. >> we are glad for it. thank you. >> we'll be back in just a moment. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's

mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back.

i said it before, i'll say it before. best tv theme song ever. to the maryland general assembly decision to the bag tax in prince georges county. a senate committee killed the idea saturday and cheryl gregory says thank goodness. spent $200 at a grocery store and i have to buy bags. it's so unfair. the stores are able to pocket the profits, no report has been made about how much and where the bag tax money is. good for maryland. wonderful people will shop in maryland. they have already put in place a bag tax in montgomery county. it's supposed to go for environmental cleanup. kristen says the tax is all for the good. it's a real shame. people are unwilling to see the terrible impact plastic shopping bags have on the

environment. a lot of these are the same people that refused to recycle because it's inconvenience. i lived in d.c. when the bag tax was implemented. many stores offered free reusable bags. but joan said there were better ways. how about a one cent return fee so they get recycled? i think most people want to do the right thing, they resent a strong on tax rather than the approach of a positive incentive. i don't see the government is interested in the, but only interested in grabbing more of my money for the general of funds. you know what, joan, i read that plastic recycling doesn't work so well for various reasons, but i'd agree. this bag tax is darn annoying and sure it does feel like we are being nickel and dimed by the local government. still, even with all that, kind of hard to argue that it hasn't cut down on plastic waste, which if we are honest about it, perhaps is more annoying than the bag tax itself.

i am never annoyed by your e- mails and comments. that is our report. i'll be back here at 11:00 along with anita brikman. log on any time to wusa9.com. you have a great evening. we'll see you a bit later. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment news magazine in the world. are ashton kutcher and rihanna a couple? what we know about the rumors. >> numerous late night twitss. plus, new george and stacy. katy perry ice male mod l? and is miley cyrus engaged? >> "the hunger games" stars react to the record breaking weekend. >> i'm so excited. >> dancing's heart throb defending his naked photos. >> i saw them a long time ago before you saw them. >> you didn't tell me that. >> we are inside the rehearsal. ♪ >> justin bieber and the story behind his viral video he