conservative justices hinted that the law could stand even if parts of it fail. antonin scalia had a tough question for the opponents' lead lawyer. >> you're telling us the whole statute would fall because the cornhusker kickback is bad. that can't be right '. >> reporter: the cornhusker kickback was a break for nebraska residents designed to win the vote of their skeptical senator. >> of course, this isn't a case about the cornhusker kickback. this is a case about the individual mandate of. >> reporter: and justice scalia seemed to walk his skepticism back suggesting if the individual mandate goes, so should the whole law. >> it's my approach would say if you take the heart out of this statute, the statute's gone. >> the individual mandate looks doomed to me and the whole law is in some trouble. >> reporter: swing vote justice anthony kennedy suggested picking and choosing between sections of the law would dump billions of dollars in additional risk on the insurance companies. >> that it seems to me can be argued at least to be a more

extremer and size of judicial power than to -- exercise of judicial power than to strike it as a whole. >> reporter: the courts liberal went the other way suggesting it would be far more intrusive for the court to throw out the whole law than to leave in place parts that have nothing to do with the individual mandate. >> why in a democracy structure like ours where each branch does different things, why we should involve the court in make the legislative judgment. >> reporter: if the supreme court throws out the individual mandate, it then has three choices, leave the whole rest of the law standing, throw out popular parts of the law like the requirement that insurance companies give insurance to people even if they are sick or throw out the whole thing. at the supreme court bruce leshan, 9 news now. >> so many complex issues to talk about after three days and six hours of historic arguments on healthcare reform.

where does that leave us as americans? joining us now to discuss a rap of all those arguments georgetown university law professor paul rothstein. paul, let's lay out can they leave part of the law and take out the individual mandate which many people consider the core? >> yes. that's right. the liberals on the court, the extreme liberals, said leave everything else alone. just take out the individual mandate that requires people to buy insurance. leave everything else in. the extreme conservatives on the court said well, no. strike everything down completely if you strike down the i have mandate, but there's -- the individual mandate, but there's an in between position which some of them aired which was some of the provisions do have a lot to do with the individual mandate. that's how they're funded like getting rid of preexisting conditions. got to have the money come from somewhere, but some of the provisions of this law, it's a very big, 1,700 pages, it's got a lot of things, got something

in there trying to encourage doctors to go to underserved areas, subsidies to small business for offering health insurance. those may have nothing whatever to do with the individual mandate, the requirement to buy health insurance. so maybe it's possible to figure out which ones have something to do, which ones don't, but the justices felt they didn't want to do that much work or be that interfering with congress. >> right. and the legislative process. now obviously deep divisions here. how does this court in what will likely be a very close vote avoid appearing partisan and avoid that criticism as they have in the past when tackling the issue of healthcare reform in the united states? >> yes. when they decided bush versus gore, they got a very bad name for being partisan and handling the victory -- and handing the victory to bush and all the 5-4 decisions seemed to fall along republican/democrat divides. it's in a a win evidentable in a case where there's equal law,' -- in a way inevitable in a case where there's equal law,

equal evidence on all sides and what the justices think about the role of the federal government and how much power it should have which then gets political, but chief justice roberts who is on the conservative side expressed himself as having a concern about this. that's why i think if it becomes 5-4, justice kennedy who maybe hasn't made up his mind swings it to upholding the healthcare law, justice roberts, even though he doesn't want to, might join that so that it doesn't seem to partisan and also then if he's in the majority, he gets to write the opinion and he might want to write a very narrow opinion that doesn't give the federal government more power in other areas than this area. >> professor, thank you for being with us all these three days to help give us insight into how these legal minds may be thinking. >> it's my pleasure. on capitol hill there are people who will wait in line for you if you're willing to pay top dollar and that practice has been put in the scott light over the last few days outside the -- spotlight

over the last few days outside the u.s. supreme court. anyone who wanted a public spectator ticket had to wait in line overnight unless they used one of d.c.'s professional line standing companies. we spoke with mark gross, one of the owners of these outfits. >> our clients are industry associations, lawyers, lobbyists, anybody who is concerned about what's going on on capitol hill. >> gross says he employs 30 line standers working in shifts to hold about 15 supreme court spots for his clients. the cost, $36 per hour with a two-hour minimum. in case you're wondering, line standers earn 10 to 15 bucks an hour and yes, it's pretty much only in d.c. now to a different kind of line for metro. tonight there are serious concerns that phase two of the dulles rail metro extension could be in jeopardy. members of loudoun county supervisors could be looking for ways to opt out of funding the project. peggy fox has more. >> reporter: construction of

this silver line to dulles airport might just stop right here in reston with phase 1 if loudoun county's board opts out of phase 2. george mason economist stephen fuller says that would be a huge mistake. >> you can't go back and say i wish i had done it, let's do it now. once you don't do this it's an opportunity that may be lost forever. >> reporter: the reston chamber of commerce put on a show force today promoting all the benefits of continuing the project. loudoun chair scott york is trying to muster the votes on his board. >> if we want to continue to grow in loudoun county and our eastern end of the community with businesses wanting to locate there, we have to put the infrastructure in place. >> reporter: if loudoun opts out of rail, it could mean loudoun's future looks about like it is today, with empty fields either remaining as they are or turning into houses instead of major corporations and job centers. >> it makes this county a suburban county with a very high tax cost on residents

because it has no commercial base. >> reporter: opponents of the project say the $3 billion cost for phase 2 is too high. the rail ridership is too low and tolls will be too high and they hate the pla, the project labor agreement that gives a bonus to contractors that use labor unions. >> we've got the pla preference that we need to deal with. we need to deal with ways to get the tolls down and we need to look at alternative funding sources. >> reporter: fairfax county supervisor pat herrity is opposing the project at least until the pla preference is removed. peggy fox, 9 news now. >> if it is completed, there's a new building waiting at the end of the silver line. it's the expansion of the international arrival facility at dulles airport. the floor space has doubled and there are six new baggage carousels. the new building is designed to make it easier for international travelers to make their way to the main terminal. >> we now have over 400,000

square feet undercover that provides ample queuing space, passport control, baggage delivery, secondary inspection so that we can handle up to 2,400 passengers an hour through the facility. >> more than 26% of the travel through dulles voles international passengers. that makes it one of the large -- involves international passengers. that makes it one of the largest gateways into our nation. the cherry blossoms, a blooming explosion is underway, but the early spring has led to another type of overgrowth not so welcome, weeds. we sent our scott broom outside to look for ways a gardener can cope. >> reporter: spring has sprung in the d.c. area at least a month early and that means the battle against weeds is at full pitch. that's earl brown of columbia fighting the only way i knows how. >> they actually grow fast -- he knows how.

>> they actually grow faster than the grass, the weeds. >> this one is called hairy bittercress. >> reporter: at university of maryland extension cooperative home and garden center it's like an experiment gone out of control. >> any time you get spring three weeks early it's a shock. a few days early we're happy. >> reporter: in the case of dandelions you can eat them. >> the main weed people are concerned about is crabgrass. there's still time to put down a preventer. >> you can put it on as long as there are blooms on the forsithia. >> you need to raise your mower deck up 3 inches, come back and overseed your lawn to thick continue up and that will help keep some of those weed problems down. >> in my 77 years i've never known any weather like this before. >> reporter: and here's a last word of advice from the experts. you try to fertilize your lawn

now, you're not helping anything. you missed that boat in the fall. if you do it, you just make the weeds grow like crazy and it's bad for the environment, too. scott broom, 9 news now. >> topper, i think in some patches we have more weeds than grass in parts of our lawn. it's crazy. >> oh, yeah. this is even crazier. these are at disallies. this is a very covered area here -- the azaleas. this is a very covered area on this terrace. i'm kind of worried about any azaleas being left for the masters. we're about a year ahead of schedule. let's talk radar. showers and thunderstorms south of town. if you're north of 56 and north of 60, you're done with showers, but if you're south of there, a couple showers and thunderstorms in the next hour or two. temperature-wise great, 64 manassas, 69 downtown, 72 in gaithersburg, 70 in frederick. tonight we're looking at showers and thunderstorms ending early, then partly

cloudy, breezy and mild, lows around 50, winds becoming northwest 10 to 20 and gusty. we'll come back, talk about just how much cooler air rolls in behind this cold front and look ahead to the weekend as well. still ahead on 9 news now a former tsa agent grounded for allegedly operating a prostitution ring. >> plus charges leveled against a jetblue pilot who had a meltdown mid-flight yesterday. we'll have those stories and much more after the break straight ahead.

in the republican presidential contest for the nomination former president george h.w. bush is said to formally endorse mitt romney during an event in houston tomorrow. his campaign recruited former first lady barbara to record pro romney robocalls ahead of the ohio primary on super tuesday. former florida governor jeb bush, his son also endorsed romney as well last week. turning now to the protest over the shooting death of trayvon martin, the house of representatives was the latest scene of a tribute to the slain florida teen. illinois congressman bobby rush drew the ire of leadership when he two a hoodie as he spoke out against racial profiling. >> just because -- when he wore a hoodie as he spoke out against racial profiling. >> just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum. >> members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor. >> yup, hats are not allowed on

the house floor. representative rush was escorted out of the chamber. martin was wearing a hoodie when he was shot dead last month and it's become a symbol. the accused gunman claimed he acted in self-defense. montgomery county police charged an ex-tsa manager with running a prostitution ring. he's identified as 39-year-old bryant livingston. he operated out of the crowne plaza motel on georgia avenue in silver spring police say. management says he hosted men and women during more than one visit. police reportedly found several people in various stages of undress when they entered a room livingston rented last month. he is charged now with five counts of prostitution. the tsa says it has cooperated fully with the police and livingston is no longer employed by the agency. the jetblue pilot who suffered a complete meltdown during a night to las vegas is suspended tonight. the company ceo says he's known the captain, a 12 year veteran of the airline, and there's never been a sign of an earlier

problem. bigad shaban with more from l.a. >> reporter: jetblue suspended the pilot who caused the midair chaos on flight 191. veteran pilot clayton osborne had a mental breakdown running up the -- clayton osbon had a mental breakdown running up and down the aisle screaming they're going to tail us down. his co--- take us down. his co-pilot tricked him into leaving the cockpit and he became irate. >> he's banging on the door. he's yelling to the co-pilot bring it down, we're all going to die. pray to jesus. >> reporter: when a flight attendant couldn't calm the pilot passengers took action including former law enforcement officials who happened to be traveling to a security conference in las vegas. >> the four of us just jumped up and grabbed him and pulled him from the cockpit door and he started ranting about iraq, iran, they're going to take us down. >> we had no other option but to physically restrain this individual on the ground until the plane was safely landed. >> reporter: the crew brought

an off-duty pilot on board into the cockpit to help with an emergency landing. >> it's an emergency at this time. we're going to need to get into amarillo. >> reporter: jetblue landed safely in texas and osbon was taken into custody. the president of jetblue says he's known osbon for years and that nothing in the pilot's record would indicate he would be a risk on a flight. by go ahead sha pap, cbs news. -- bigad shaban, cbs news. >> passengers have been refunded one way of their air fare and given a voucher for two times of their ticket price of what they experienced. coming up on 9news, brighter days in topper's forecast. >> plus a huge jackpot and the mega million lottery, there's still time to be a player, back in two minutes.

i think i heard you say earlier, mr. shutt, there was a golfable day coming up. >> oh, there's several actually. next monday it will be fantastic. even tomorrow will be okay, cooler behind the cold front but seasonable. we're still in late march. let's start with a love look outside. we're in great shape if you are north -- a live look outside. we're in great shape. you are north of 5th 6 and 50 you are out of -- 56 and 60 you are out of showers tonight. the front itself is still to the north and west of us,

probably won't roll through until around midnight. let's talk about the radar. we have tremendous showers and thunderstorms. we've seen them all afternoon and evening through portions of kentucky and also west virginia and also back into parts of western and southwestern virginia. some areas just north of charlottesville near culpeper have been hit a couple times, but for the most part they've been light around the immediate metro area and now they're done around the immediate metro area. if you're headed way down south into fredericksburg, more showers possible into the northern neck. some showers pulling across 81 southeast of harrisburg. they'll continue to move off south and east, heavy but nothing severe. temperatures 70 in bethesda, 72 rockville, still 73 in college park and beltsville, off to the west in the 60s in reston and sterling, but 72 in leesburg and 64 in manassas, clouds there keeping temps down a bit. we'll dry out quickly, thunderstorms end by 8:00, breezy and cooler tomorrow but seasonable, nice on friday and

then yes, unsettled on saturday. i just checked some new data. it still appears to be wet saturday. showers and storms ending early tonight, partly cloudy, breezy and mild, lows around 50, winds northwest at 10 to 20 and gusty. tomorrow morning partly cloudy, breezy and mild. you still need a light jacket, temps in the 50s to around 60, but with northwest winds it will feel a bit cooler than it is. so just keep that in mind. it will be kind of like a march day tomorrow. by afternoon mostly sunny, breezy and cooler but seasonable, highs 2060 and 65 and winds northwest -- highs 60 and 65 and wind northwest 10 to 15. break it down, 48 to 52 to start, partly cloudy, by noon sunshine, gorgeous, 57 to 62 and by evening breezy, 59 to about 64. now the next three days, nice on friday, nice finish to the week really. a few clouds come in late but mostly sunny the bulk of the day, low 60s. then saturday got to keep it with showers and some thunderstorms, temperatures in

the mid-60s. next seven days look what happens sunday, gorgeous, sunshine, mid-70s. on monday sunshine, temperatures around yet and then we're looking at showers and storms possible tuesday, a little cooler, upper 60s and then next wednesday some showers linger, some snow showers possible in the mountains, and highs only here in the upper 50s so much we're not quite done with a little shot of cold weather and don't plant your flowers yet. >> mother's day, right? >> correct. >> i listen. we will be right back. 123450 we want to hear what you think, the address mailbag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

people with mega dreams of becoming the newest mega millions winner can rest easy. the new jackpot is up to $500 million. yup, half a billion. of course, you don't take all that home.

that's one of the largest totals in the history of the game, though. the next drawing is this friday night march 30th. good luck, but you're competing against us. our floor crew is buying tickets right after the show. that's our report. i'll be back here at 11:00 tonight along with derek mcginty and topper shutt. you can log on any time to www.wusa9.com. i'm anita brikman. see you later.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. christie brinkley versus peter cook. their public bickering goes off the deep end today. >> it was horrible that she could sit and shamelessly lie. >> i also -- i'm sorry, i just want peace. plus, what is rihanna saying about her rumored romance with with ashton? >> will we be seeing mr. ashton kutcher making a trip over here? and find out what our special guest host steve jones knows. angelina, adele, beyonce, sorry, ladies, stars without makeup. >> no mascara, lipstick or concealer here. what your stars look like when they think no one is watching. >>