>> new information on trayvon martin. why he was suspended from school and did he beat up the man who killed him? a freeze alert. topper's tracking a dip in temperatures. but first, the future of health care in america hangs in the balance. it is one of the most important supreme court cases in many years, and ultimately, it will affect the way every american gets their health care. >> the court today started three days of arguments over

the constitutional ti of the affordable care act passed by congress two years ago. the main object of contention, whether the government can force you to buy health insurance. gary nurenberg is there. >> reporter: talk about a tough ticket. the show at the verizon show is sold out, but you have a much better chance of getting a ticket to that than of getting a seat tomorrow at the supreme court where the health care arguments are being held about the constitutionality of that act. on a night where topper is predicting temperatures in the 30's, we're looking at people putting their own health in jeopardy by staying up all night to hear the health care arguments. >> it's been a long, cold night. >> i arrived on friday at 2:00. and i've been here ever since. >> reporter: because: >> this is probably the most important supreme court case in recent years and maybe ever. >> reporter: monday only 110 members of the public got in,

leaving outside enthusiastic demonstrators. >> we love obama care. >> reporter: on both sides. >> i truly believe this law tramples our constitution. >> reporter: whether it does is the big issue for tomorrow, when the focus is on the law's individual mandate that requires nearly all americans to be covered by health insurance by 2014. opponents are convinced. >> the federal government does not have under the constitution the power to force americans to purchase a private product like health insurance. >> reporter: and the poll shows 51% of americans oppose the mandate. those who favor the law argue the constitution's commerce clause allows congress to impose that mandate. and that is tuesday's big fight. monday, the question was whether the court has the jurisdiction to decide the case. justice kennedy asking. >> don't you want to know the answer? >> reporter: well. >> the supreme court i think though kind of showed us today in the argument that they probably do want to go ahead and decide the whole thing. >> reporter: a decision is

expected in late june of this election year, prompting one presidential candidate to do a court photo op with the notsurprising conclusion. >> this is the most important issue in the election. >> reporter: in fact, a poll release would earlier this month show 62% of respondents call health care an important issue. 82% say the economy is an important issue in this election. the interesting information in the poll out earlier today, although most people do not approve of the law, there is big support for elements of it. for example, 85% approve of the requirement that the insurance companies cover preexisting conditions. 68% like letting kids stay on their parents' insurance until they're 26 years old. the key question is whether any of those benefits can survive if the individual mandate, which brings money into the system, is struck down. and it is that individual mandate, the requirement that you buy health insurance, that will be the focus of the big

arguments here tomorrow. eric and anita? >> thank you, gary. as you just heard from gary nurenberg, gop presidential candidate rick santorum believes this is a very important issue for this election and it may befor him as well, as he's trying to draw distinctions between himself and mitt romney. listen to what happened when a reporter asked santorum about his attacks on romney. >> you said mitt romney is the worst republican in the country. is that true? >> what speech did you listen to? >> right here. >> stop lying. quit distorting our words. if i see it, it's bleep. come on, man. >> santorum clarified his remarks saying what he meant was romney could not take on obama when it comes to health care. in the weather center we're talking about potential for freeze in the d.c. metro area.

>> i got off the phone with robert black in the kentucky mountain orchard. he's down to 39 degrees. and we're kind of concerned about the folks up there. >> you've been saying all along, we shouldn't have been lulled in with the warm weather to start putting things in the ground. >> we wouldn't have had a freeze warning except the plants are three weeks ahead of schedule. consequently the entire metro area under a freeze warning. you're not going to have any problems, as far as a homeowner is concerned, you shouldn't have planted anything anyway. it's the orchards we're concerned about. 46 downtown. 41 in gaithersburg. 41 in frederick. 39 in hagerstown. the good news, the silver lining are these winds. 18 miles per hour winds at gaithersburg. 31 miles per hour wind gusts downtown. if the winds stay up between 10- 15, i think it will save all the fruit trees. that's what we're worried about, the pears and plums and

apricots that are blooming. tuesday morning, 29 to 38 the start. 26 to 36 by 7:00. by 9:00 just chilly, 35 to 45. a jacket is a good idea. we'll come back and talk about when the warmer air will return. >> thank you, topper. we are following late- breaking news out of phoenix, arizona. a flight bound for reagan national airport had to make an emergency return to phoenix because of a problem in the plane's hydraulic. this was flight number 42. the plane landed safely back in phoenix. no injuries were reported. a plane had to go back, an emergency return. a washington residents take to the streets today in support of trayvon martin, the florida teenager shot to death last month. >> today more information about what may have sparked the shooting. matt jablow is following the shooting and has new details out today. mat ? >> we want justice. we want justice. >> reporter: 800 miles from sanford, the central florida

city where trayvon martin was shot and killed, a few dozen washington residents gathered tonight to pray for martin's family and to call for justice. >> this has affected you? >> yes. it could be my son that got shot. >> reporter: as many people know by now herself the 17-year- old martin was killed late last month by george zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who claimed that he shot martin in self-defense under florida's controversial stand your ground law. >> i've had similar instances, not being shot, but i understand the outrage. >> reporter: the fact that zimmerman has not been charged with murder has galvanized thousands of people across the country to call for his arrest, saying the 28-year-old zimmerman killed martin in cold blood for no reason at all. >> i'm thinking had it been any of us, right away we would have been locked up under the jailhouse. >> reporter: today, details of zimmerman's version of events were confirmed by sanford police who say zimmerman claims

martin punched him and repeatedly slammed his head into the sidewalk just before the shooting. it was also revealed today martin was recently suspended from his high school in miami after traces of marijuana were found in his backpack. at a rally today, martin's mother said his suspension from school had nothing to do with the fact that he was murdered. >> he killed my son, and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> reporter: also today, a bizarre development. members of the new black panther party offered a $10,000 bounty to anybody who captured george zimmerman. apparently ignoring the fact that zimmerman has still not been charged with a crime. derrick, anita. >> matt, thank you. new at 11:00, some parents in prince william county got a call about a possible gun threat. officials contacted parents after someone found graffiti on a bathroom stall that indicated a student was planning to bring a weapon to school tomorrow. the school says as of now there's no evidence this is a credible threat, but additional

officers will be on patrol at the school tomorrow. d.c. police arrested a woman in the shooting at an ihop restaurant in northwest, a shooting that's being reviewed as a possible hate crime. that gunfire back on march 11, police say a loud argument broke out with a group of people using antigay slurs and a 31-year-old gay man was shot. he is expected to recover. council member graham considers the shooting clearly a hate crime but police say at this point they're not quite willing to go so far. >> in the beginning of this whole incident, before this happened, there was some epitaphs used by people involved in this group. all of those things will be considered going forward. >> under arrest, 27-year-old lashawn carson charged with aggravated assault while armed. an attack on a teenage girl in fairfax county. this is a sketch of the suspect. police believe he's between 20 and 40 years old, has short black hair and weighs 170 pounds. he was last seen driving a

white four-door honda accord. investigators say the man grabbed and assaulted the 16- year-old girl last monday afternoon while she was walking home from woodson high school. after a brief struggle, the man ran away. the young girl was not seriously hurt. always check to see if your microphone is on. it is the hard lesson. president obama learned while in seoul, south korea for a nuclear summit. he was speaking with outgoing president when he was overheard describing how he would deal with issues like missile defense after the november election. >> after my election i have more flexibility. >> white house says the president's comments reflect political reality, adding that domestic issues are keeping the president from addressing long- standing problems with russia. during the summit, the president stood firm on his call for iran to give up his nuclear ambitions and warned north korea to back down.

two days after former vice- president dick cheney received a heart transplant, lots of questions. some people are asking is there any chance he was moved to the top of a waiting list over younger patients. the medical director was talked with. he does not believe cheney received preferential treatment. >> i can't imagine anybody trying that, particularly if you have a high-profile person why you know you'll get audited on it. >> the former v.p. underwent his transplant at a heart and vascular institute at age 71. he is older than most heart transplant recipients. the doctor says medical advances have made it possible for older, otherwise healthy people to be good candidates. in montgomery county, are they breaking the law with the speed cameras? that's going to be up to the court to decide. they agreed to hear a lawsuit involving the speed camera ticket fees. you see, for every $40 fine, the private contractor of those

cameras gets $16. the people bringing the lawsuit says that fee is a violation of state law and encourages the financial incentive to issue more tickets. still ahead tonight. >> she gave into that peer pressure and within seconds, she dropped dead. >> 9 wants you to know huffing helium isn't funny. it can be deadly. >> it took someone as innocent as her. >> tonight the story of a teenage girl who tried it once and died. that's coming up next.

have you ever seen someone suck helium out of a balloon as a gag out of a party? the high-pitched results may sound funny, but the consequences are not. 9 wants you to know inhaling it is dangerous, even helium. just ask parents from oregon who came to washington with a terrible story to tell. >> this was the first time she ever tried helium. >> justin lost his 14-year-old daughter, ashley, last month. it's still too emotional for her mother to talk about what happened that night. the parents thought their teenager was going to an

innocent slumber party. instead they say ashleyexperimented with booze and huffed helium from a tank. >> there were older men there who said it won't hurt you. it will just make you laugh. it's just funny. she gave in to that peer pressure. >> she died as a result of a gas bubble that blocked blood flow to her brain. such deaths are rare, but the problem is very few people realize it can happen at all. they warn huffing helium either directly from a tank or even balloons is dangerous. the coalition also worries about the images kids say that portray huffing helium as harmless fun. they cite this 1999 superbowl ad. >> that's better. >> we need to avoid

glamourizing inhall laboratory use, be it -- inhalant use. >> these days, kids surfing the web can come across gina, a helium huffing giraffe. while the coalition is contacting these directly to change the message, they say the most urgent warning is aimed at parents. >> if parents know what to talk about to their children saying this is dangerous, kids will understand. >> what's going on, guys? >> want to get out there, because right now it's portrayed as just something funny to do when it's really not. >> according to the nipc, it can cause an embolism as the person inhales too deeply. in addition, gas from a pressurized tank is the most dangerous, can actually cause the lungs to rupture. right now it's the hottest ticket in town. if you can get one you can see the high court dot arguments on

the future of america's health care system. the court has a potential audience numbering in the tens of millions and it's about time to let them in. >> reporter: yeah, anita. we want in. six hours of unprecedented testimony of a case that could change the face of america's health care system and americans will not see one bit of it unless of course you have the time and inclination to camp out over the weekend for one of just a few dozen tickets or you are one of a select group of reporters who have to cover the court with pen and pad. there's no electronics allowed in, no smart phones, no laptops. the good news is the court will release a tape of these day's hearings. the bad news is, this is the year 2012 and since cases just don't get any bigger than this, americans deserve a virtual seat in the courtroom live, not a tape that's already hours old. according to gallop, 72% of us favor tv coverage of this week's argument, so what is the

problem? it's the court itself, largely shielded from the public's will and slow to change, the justices routinely turn down traditions to allow tv coverage. but americans deserve to see how they operate and it's hard to see how more transparency could be the bad thing. ladies and gentlemen of the court, it is time to let us in. anita? >> too late for this case, but we shall see. with you ready for a little chilly night here? >> not really, but i think it's a reality check that we kind of have to -- very early. >> we're talking about a freeze warning, not record lows. only reason we're talking about a freeze warning is because the fruit trees have blossomed. that's the problem. that's what we're concerned about, especially in a place like thurmont and into the valley. this is wisconsin avenue. see the flags? they're still blowing. that is good news. if the winds keep up a little bit tonight, that will keep the temperatures from really

plummeting. winds west/northwest at 22. pressure rising. dew point now 12. that's what's troubling. if the winds go calm, we could be in the teens. thankfully they're not going to do that. i hope you saw a little moon and jupiter and venus after sunset. it was spectacular. look to the west tomorrow, you can see it, 46 in college park. 44 in arlington and bethesda. a couple of 30's out toward gaithersburg. temperatures already in the upper 30s and below 39 in some -- downtown, no problems. i know you're under a freeze warning but not going to affect anything. you shouldn't have planted any flowers just yet. a cold start no doubt about that. you'll need sunglasses and a coat on tuesday. especially shade. good news, not windy. it will be kind ever cool on tuesday. 40 miles per hour winds today. winds tomorrow will go light in the afternoon. >> a little breezy in the morning. breezy and warmer on wednesday. temperatures on wednesday will

be 10 degrees above average. so it's not going to stay cool very long. overnight clear skies. a freeze warning. breezy and much colder. lows 26 to 36. winds out of the northwest at 10 to 15, which is good. we want the atmosphere stirring up a little bit. that will keep the temperatures from falling. tomorrow morning sunny with a cold start. sunglasses a must. primarily 30s and 40s. some 20s very far north and west and very early in the morning. winds northwesterly at 10. by afternoon, winds go calm. mostly sunny and cool. light jacket required. but high 55 to 60 is really a pretty nice march day. it's just we've been kind of into april and may-like weather of late. high temperatures some areas may flirt with 60. maybe waldorf. but 57 in rockville and 56 in gaithersburg. 58 in college park for a high and 57 in bowie. out to the west, no doubt in

the 50s in fairfax and reston. 55 in leesburg and manassas and also back up toward middleburgh. all right, 28 to 38, clear skies to start. 50s by noon. cool. and then 56 to 61 by evening. the good news, light winds tomorrow. next three days like this. we'll warm up on wednesday. temperatures around 70. a slight chance of a thunderstorm. kind of few and far between. very nice on thursday. back in the low 60s and sunshine. next seven days, we stay nice on friday. we're in the mid-60s. saturday, a little milder, maybe a shower. not a big deal though. upper 60s. get into next week, sunshine and 72. sunday i believe is april 1st. that's going to mean march will exit like a lamb. >> nice and gentle. >> didn't even come in like a lion. >> got it. love it. we thought this whole thing

we could stop talking about it. >> no. if you know the nfl, investigations are never over. as the nfl owners gather in florida, the discussion turns to the favorite thing, bounty gate. the redskins find out why they may not be in the clear just yet. the wizards look to break out after three-game slump. can they do it? sports next.

after the nfl punished the redskins and the cowboys for front loading contracts in 2010, dallas said they wouldn't challenge the loss of the salary cap money, but they seemed to have done an about- face. they joined the redskins in filing a grievance with the nfl trying to get back the $46 million they lost. commissioner roger goodell confirmed it. no date has been set for the hearing. the topic turned to bounty gate. owners agreed with the harsh penalties handed out to the new orleans saints, but goodell also announced the investigation into the redskins involvement is still ongoing. when it comes to the wizards, no lead is safe no matter how big. they blew a 22 point lead

against indiana, one against atlanta, both at home, both against playoff teams. tonight they faced the lowly pistons and it was deja vu all over again. michael phelps in attendance tonight. game tied up in the second. wizards down 2 after blowing a 13-point lead. a jumper to fall to tie things up, but the pistons weren't done. stuckey brings the ball up the court, shoots a high arcing jumper and that was it. wizards lose 77-75. >> got to put teams away. when you've got teams down second half, fourth quarter, you've got to put teams away. you can't go off on your own. we've got to put them away. this is three straight times. and we haven't learned that yet. >> nick was back on the ice this morning going through his first workout with the whole team since january 6th.

he said afterwards he's not 100%, but definitely getting there. the nationals heading down the stretch of spring training. beat the astros 7-4. wilson ramos two for four with an rbi. just hours before he took the mound today, landon found out he will be the national fifth starter. davy johnson has so much confidence in him retiring 12 of the first 13 batters this afternoon. finally tonight from this past weekend arnold palmer invitational, you know tiger won. shot in the third round, he hits his tee shot out of bounds. this family thinks, photo opportunity. that photo might be worth a lot of money some day. obviously, they can't take the ball home with them, but they thought a great photo op. good for them. tiger won the masters. >> feeling good for tiger. we'll be back in a minute.

well, tonight, our colleague shared an event celebrating the performing arts in d.c. >> the event was called golden gala, a glittering night of america's musical theater. proceeds is community engagement programs. you are looking great. those programs provide underserved students with exposure to the arts. >> very nice job. >> we didn't get an invite. that's all i know. >> we're working. what are you going to do? >> that's true. >> good night.

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