campaign trail for the past several days after his three- year-old daughter was in the hospital in northern virginia. so far, he has not said if he will back the republican front runner, mitt romney. what is next for the romney campaign and for the race to the white house? david hawkings and bob, a republican adviser and lobbyist, both are here to weigh in. let's talk about rick santorum. he outlasted with people like names, michele bachmann. >> he started with nothing. he came out of nowhere. he basically moved to iowa, put all the eggs in that basket and won iowa, everyone though that night he wasn't the winner. he appealed to a poor constituency, conservative evangelicals. something romney has not connected to. he ran to the right of romney. there's a big base there and he did well. he run out of money and lose his home state.

>> it's my sense that rick santorum campaign went south as it were after the debate. in the debates, he was blue collar rick rather than no contraception rick. >> that's right. he did well at the debates. he started out on the fringe. he got closer and closer. people started paying attention to what he had to say and in the end, an amazing fact is that every place where evangelical voters were more than half the vote, he won the state. where they were less than half, he lost. he was more than the last man standing, he spoke to a crowd that now, as you say, rick santorum and mitt romney needs to get ahold of. >> he did not mention mitt romney in that speech. we will keep on fighting and take back the senate and beat barack obama. mitt romney's name never came up. >> it's interesting that a few minutes later, the senior social conservative senator

endorsed mitt romney. i thought that was an interesting move that pat came out and endorsed mitt romney as soon as rick santorum left the stage. >> several governors endorse the santorum -- mitt romney today. we were talking earlier about all those other guys. you're going to see santorum is going to endorse, it's a matter of time. he wants to put a space and it's to romney's advantage to wait a little bit, have another press conference, show the parties uniting around mitt romney. it's going to happen. >> as you mention, mitt romney has to be breathing a sigh of relief, but he still has some pivoting to do to the center. as you mentioned, the evangelicals are going to be looking over his shoulder the entire time. >> frankly, a little unorthodox. mitt romney is viewed as a moderate is going to help him in the general election. i talked to a lot of people.

i travel every week and there are moderate democrats and independents that i talked to that believe that romney is a true pragmatic problem solver. i think that's going to be to his beef fit. >> benefit. >> even though he -- >> they don't believe him. maybe the moderates don't believe him either. let's talk about newt gingrich. why is he still hanging around? >> he wants to write books. free media is good media and as long as it lasts, it's better for his business. >> has he positioned himself for candidacy in 2016, this was his one shining moment? >> yes, and yes. most everybody who is the first runner up one time for the nomination comes back and tries to run four years later, but the bench is very deep. very, very deep for 2016. mitt romney is not the president in 2016, tons of other people will be ahead of him. >> i agree with that, if he

gets a high profile cabinet position or something else like that, that could propel him. if he goes back in the private sector, he's done. >> thanks, guys, great conversation. we appreciate your analysis. we move on to a metro train operator charged with murder who is now back on the job. metro officials say they allowed ronald gerald pinkett to return back to work. as bruce johnson tells us, that decision has the victim's family up in arms. >> reporter: metro tells 9news now that ronald pinkett, a train operator is innocent until proven guilty and therefore allowed to return to work even if the charge is murder. >> he is going back to routine of living. my daughter is buried in the ground. >> vanessa was shot and fatally wounded in march of 2011 in her home on b. street in southeast. >> is my daughter gone? i have had peace of mind. >> her live in boyfriend,

gerald ronald pinkett was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. since 2007, pinkett had been a train operator for metro in good standing. he was placed on leave with pay. that was until last week when metro allowed him to return to work despite the murder charge. >> metro spokesman wouldn't do an on camera interview, but points out that pinkett was released by the court. he says his case was reviewed. he was evaluated and decided that picket could return to work, but he couldn't come in any contact with the public. he worked with one of the rail yards. >> vanessa mcgee's stepfather is livid with metro. >> i want metro to back down. you are supporting a murder. >> the victim's mother, cheryl clark, also wants pinkett off the job. >> he needs to be locked up. >> metro says pinkett is considered innocent pending the outcome of trial. and the washington examiner points out that allowed a

station manager to work for ten months while he was facing a negligent homicide charge for a bus crash. the newspaper says that employee was fired just last week. after pleading guilty two weeks ago. ronald pinkett was unavailable for comment. his attorney is not returning reporter's calls. this is bruce johnson reporting from southwest washington for 9news now. >> big developments today in the trayvon martin shooting investigation. george zimmerman, the man who shot and killed the teenager is now without legal representation. his lawyers withdrew from the case they say it would be unethical to continue. they also claim they have been trying to contact him for the past two days, but so far, zimmerman hasn't called them back. zimmerman has not been arrested for any crime, but special prosecutor is investigating the case and could still file charges. an update now on a story you saw first right here on 9news now. we have uncovered more memos that give the appearance of a ticket writing quota system for officers with the arlington county police department. that's just like the one that

required officers working in overtime shift to catch people speeding and write five tickets an hour. today, chief douglas scott told us he never saw any of those memos, but he says he is making sure nothing resembling quotas will go out again. >> from the highest level of the organization, we're not about quotas. i don't expect it. i won't tolerate it. >> last month, the 9news now investigation uncovered an internal memo at the police department that appeared to detail a a quota system, even dui charges. after our report, chief scott called that memo a mistake and much like he did today, he denied any allegations of a quota system. if you see a teacher trading in their crow la for corolla for a bentley, you probably spotted a lottery winner. all three wish to remain

unanimous. they had pooled their money together to buy the tickets and they'll each get $35 million. apparently, however, they do not plan to quit their jobs any time soon. all of them indicated they would continue and the teachers said they all plan at this point in time to remain public schoolteachers. not just to complete this school year, but going forward. >> you have to know they plan to spend some of that money. one wants to backpack through europe, another plans to tour italy, another will pay for his daughter's college education. join the fight to stop smart phone thieves, but first, the battle of the maryland budget rages on as the general assembly adjourns with unfinished business.

yet, another twist in the battle over the state budget in maryland. the leaders of the house of delegates are ready to start their special session, but the governor hasn't said whether he'll call for one. o'malley, senate president, mike miller and michael bush addressed the issue at today's bill signing ceremony. lawmakers agreed on a budget last night, but they failed to pass two measures needed to actually balance it. >> really a shame. pretty much the low point in my experience here. we had the ability and i think that the people of our state

had the will, but our leaders weren't able to come to the consensus necessary to protect education. >> now those two bills to balance the budget would raise taxes and shift teacher pension cost from the state down to the counties and if they are not passed by july, the doom's day budget kicks in and that would cut spending by $500 million. in virginia, the governor wrapped up his review of bills passed this year by the general assembly. he ended up vetoing seven and amending dozens of others. most notably, the voter id bill. more discretion in counting ballots cast with people without the proper identification. the general assembly will meet. from sunny and windy to chilly and rainy. our weather may be taking a turn for the worst this week. topper has some dreary news in his forecast. that's coming right up. but first, the new head man at the general services administration speaks out as

the fallout over the agency spending scandal keeps on getting bigger.

more fallout at the spending scandal. the house oversight and government reform committee is going to hold a hearing. that as the new boss faces the agency today. he called the las vegas spending completely unacceptable. he did not face reporters, instead, the general services

administration issued this video news release. >> those responsible violated rules of common sense. the spirit of public service and the trust that america's taxpayers placed in all of us. >> last week, the gsa's administrator resigned when an investigation revealed an $822,000 conference with $44 breakfast and 2400 square foot two story hotel room. a former d.c. leader appoint todd replace her said he lost an agency wide review. eight agency employees have been put on administrative leave over that scandal. a potential breakthrough in a nasty and increasingly violent crime epidemic. the cell phone industry just announced today a new data base that would help turn your stolen smart phone into a brick. that's a worthless piece of junk. bruce leshan reports smart phone strong arms now account for more than 1/3 of all robberies in d.c. >> smart phones these days can

run $600 or so. about the price of a pretty darn nice flat screen tv. but a heck of a lot easier to snatch and run off with. >> i'm livid. >> 89news now forecaster, anny hong, among the victims. >> someone went in the live truck and grabbed it out of the live truck. broad daylight on the title basin. >> she was able to track her $650 iphone to a home in silver spring, but she never got it back. >> it's too easy for these thieves to steal a phone, wipe it clean, unlock it, and try to sell it again on craigslist. >> busted one ring and recovered hundreds of stolen phones. the robbers often violent. >> a woman pushing a baby stroller on capitol hill and a person coming up and punching her in the face and breaking her jaw. >> a big national news conference announcing a potential solution. the big cell phone carriers all agreeing within 18 months to put the identification number

of every stolen phone in a data base blocking the device from ever again being used in the u.s. >> carriers with the push of a button will be able to take highly prized stolen instruments and turn them into worthless pieces of plastic. >> the carriers had resisted, claim the technological hurdles were too high. the thieves could just take the phones overseas. >> we moved extremely quickly. >> companies so come to pressure from police chiefs and the fcc. >> i said shame on you. so today, i think i have to take that back. >> oh, i would love if my phone could self-implode. >> it's a federal crime to tamper with the vin number on a car. and he is planning to do the same thing with the unique identifier number on your cell phone. in hopes of staying out ahead of these guys. tamper with the number on the phone? go to prison for five years.

at that point, stealing a phone might be as valuable as stealing an empty wallet. in d.c., bruce leshan, 9news now. >> we can only hope it works out that way. some of these phones end up in mexico and south america and the fcc says it's going to encourage other countries to sign up for this data base. the carriers are going to urge people to lock phones with passwords and down load apps. they can lock, locate, and wipe phones clean of that. all right. so top, when you were away, we had some nice weather, all of a sudden, it has become windy and cold. >> it's not cold yet. we actually had some cold nights last night. and the winds are going it be with us much of the week. much like last week. >> i'm trying to put the blame on you. >> and more like march tomorrow than april. and that's okay, because it was more like april. payback is fair. let's start with a live look outside and brought to you by michael and son. this is at wisconsin avenue

from broadcast house. you're looking to the southeast. a little post office across the street here and we're looking at clear to partly cloudy skies. 62 downtown. winds are still a factor. north, northwest at 15. look at the dew point. 22. relative humidity 21%. if it were calm, if the winds were calm, temperatures would fall under the 20s. the winds will do us a favor by keeping temperatures up. make it feel cooler. here's a look at the radar and satellite. we have showers sp sprinkles out in the panhandle of maryland. west of the divide. i think all of the showers will stay to the west of us and continue wently, we are under a fire watch until 8:00 tonight. i think this will be reissued. i'm showing you this for a couple reasons. one, we don't see any big time rains headed this way. see the humidity is going it stay low. this is going to be dangerous. look how large of an area it covers. new jersey, all the way down into florida. so, please be advised it's dry.

temperatures, 57, 59 in reston. 59 in manassas. 61 in college park and 59 in beltsville. so, a bit more like march for a while. breezy and cold tonight. high fire danger continues. and breezy and cool on thursday. for tonight then, early sprinkle possible, mainly in the mountains. 34 to 42. winds northwest at 10 to 15. we have a freeze warning west of us. in fact, in the mountains for cumberland. there, the winds will keep temperatures from doing any real damage. lows tonight will be plenty cold, but well above freezing. 41 arlington. but 37 in gaithersburg. 39 in college park. 39 in bowie and looking at 37 in sterling and maybe 36 in leesburg, manassas, and mildburg. tomorrow morning, partly cloudy, breezy, and chilly. make sure the kids have one at the bus stop. they like to fight you because it's nice during the day. temperatures in the 30s and 40s. some of st windchills could be

in the 20s. by afternoon, partly cloudy, windy, maybe a sprinkle. high temperatures only 54 to 59. with winds northwest 10 to 20, it's going to feel colder than that. next seven days, 60 on thursday for the nats home opener. should be pretty nice. breezy though, a little chill in the air and low 60s on friday. weekend looks warmer. low 70s on friday, 80 on sunday. a couple showers possible. don't change your plans. better chance of showers and storms next tuesday. it's going stay dry for a while. >> we need some rain. >> it worries me with our summers when we go into summer dry. not a good thing. we'll be back in just a minute. 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.

in the mail bag, we showed you fancy proposals for fixing up our national mall and tonight, phil from alexandria writes and says maybe the mall is not broken. keep the national mall simple. do we really need to borrow more money from china for unneeded frills? i think the simplicity of the mall is beautiful. you know, phil, i feel you on that one, but i'm wondering if we like the keep it simple option. imagine a place where you can actually find a bathroom and your restaurant options go beyond guys selling hot dogs out of trucks. admit it, there is some appeal

to that. meantime, over on the wusa9 facebook page, major league reaction to the baltimore lottery winners. where's that crazy woman now who claims she won? i want to see her on tv now. oh, now you want to see her. before everybody was saying we gave her too much attention. lisa abrahams writes that mirlanda wilson needs to be called to account. i believe the woman who claimed to have won should be held accountable for the police security that had to stand outside of mcdonald's. well, yeah, except does she have any money? let's be real about that. as for the actual winners, three public school workers. they have been getting a lot of praise for pledging to stay on the job and remain unanimous, but hold on just a second, now that they are situated for the rest of their lives, maybe they would want to give up their position to others who need jobs? just saying. well, perhaps, but these folks

seem pretty smart so far and at this point, the smartest thing is to avoid making any rash decisions, like quitting your job. just saying. if you have stuff to say, we have the place for it. it's called mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be back at 11:00 along with anita brikman. don't forget, log on any time to wusa9.com. we'll see you a little later on. bye bye. i style everyone. my family, my home... my boyfriend. i can't help it. i'm a fashion stylist! at t.j.maxx, i get designer clothes... all on trend. and, everyone and everything looks good. even my bank account! fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you. this nonstop fashionista is definitely a maxxinista. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you.

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