questions about the topic, but also about hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to an outside company to play damage control. today's hearing was also about big money and gsa travel and stolen property. >> the house oversight hearing exposed new trips. >> my anger and frustration have gotten to a boiling point. >> regional commissioner who organized the now infamous las vegas convention with 2400 square foot hotel suites for vip's took more trips. congressman den m called off the trip. >> we found that there were about 115 ipods missing. >> inspector general exposed a theft report and identified $20,000 in missing ipods, again, leading to jeffrey. >> the subpoena from apple told us that his daughter had been down loading itunes and

that sort of thing. >> are some of you aware of what's being reported there? >> timothy sited our 9news investigation during the hearing. >> again last night here on wusa about the health risks that are being reported by gsa members. >> the inspector general said he identified uncovered by the 9 wants to know investigation and determined at the agency's kansas city regional headquarters, mismanaged environmental risks. >> risks of bad pr. they spent more money on the risks than the environmental risk. >> that is a fair statement. >> we have crossed between skeptical to cancerous cynicism. >> many of the sick believe toxins to be the cause. although that's never been proven. we also found that in 2010 alone, the agency issued $26 million in bonuses and there are still two more hearings scheduled on capitol hill. >> and again, about those

toxins, not proven, but again, a lot of people believe those environmental risks are what caused illnesses. >> epa investigations, never found a direct link to those illnesses. >> all right, thank you for your investigative work. back to you guys. >> we have breaking news for the third time this year. the state's budget proposal has died in the senate. without a budge approved, the state of virginia runs the risk of having to shut down many government operations within a matter of weeks. you can count on us to keep track of that. >> you heard him. from the young and the old to be heard from woodbridge all the way to green belt and just about everywhere inbetween today. the space shuttle discovery did three laps around the region on its way to the dulles international airport. kristin fisher was there when it touched down and joins us live with more and it's still

there, kristen. >> reporter: it's still there. you can't miss this thing. believe it or not, the flyover was actually the easy part. now nasa is going to have to remove the shuttle from the 747 and do it using these huge cranes. there's a problem. right now the winds are just too high right now at dulles. so they'll have to wait a little while, but the hope is that they're going to have it all finished and ready by thursday's big welcome celebration and you know, it's pretty amazing. the shuttle can withstand temperatures up to 2,000 degrees. right now, it's still stuck on top of a 747 because of some high winds. after 39 missions in 27 years, discovery made her final victory lap as champion of the shuttle fleet. >> the smithsonian requested discovery by name because in our view, it's the champion of

the shuttle fleet. >> it's flown more missions and traveled more miles than any other shuttle. it orbited the earth nearly 6,000 times. >> it has flown every kind of mission that it is designed to fly. it does embody the space shuttle era of human space flight. >> and discovery has the battle wounds to prove it. these dark spots are burn marks from the 39 times that discovery reentered the atmosphere. compare that to the enterprise. it's perfectly clean because it's never been to space. enterprise is being shipped off to new york to make room for space shuttle discovery. >> i hope that people who come here in 50 years or 100 years will either be charmed or awed by this space shuttle. they may be charmed because it's relatively primitive to whatever is flying in 100 years or they may be awed that at one time the united states flew

such a large spacecraft. >> now once the space shuttle has been removed from the 747, it will be towed to the oud vair hah udvar-hazy center. the 747 will be gone because that is exactly what this shuttle has looked like when it lands from being out in outer space. they wanted to keep it looking as true to life as possible. derek. >> no cleanup for the shuttle. thank you, kristen. >> crusten sees it now that it's on the ground, but people lined the steps of the capitol looking up at the sky as the shuttle passed overhead. they stood on the roof and gathered near the base of the washington monument. >> i'm bruce leshan up on the roof of broadcast house in northwest d.c. the space shuttle came roaring right over here three times. perhaps even more remarkable was watching it down on the

national mall. >> you see something that has been out of this world, literally. gives me goose bumps. >> the first pass down the potomac by this ungainly beast was just a tease. >> we ran down a block. >> then it was out over the white house, saluted by construction workers. >> i should have brought some tissues. >> and there it is. wow. it looks like it's coming right back towards us. >> then, two long passes right up the mall to shoot over the capitol. so many people took their children out of school. this was like a national holiday, but it was better than the fourth of july. a thunderous salute to american ingenuity. and a bittersweet good-bye to america's space shuttle program. in d.c., bruce leshan, 9news now. >> and people waiting for

their own flights at reagan national airport got a glimpse of discovery. our photo journalist was heading out on the flight and got some video looking back at the folks plastered against the windows of the terminal. people even stepped outside the tower to get a good view. so what happens to the rest of the shuttle fleet? kristen mentioned earlier the space shuttle enterprise will head to the museum in atlantic city. it will stay in florida and the shuttle endeavor will retire to the california science center in los angeles. now that the shuttle fleet is retired, we have heard a lot of questions about the future of nasa. and the answer to that question we posed today to former astronaut and kristin fisher's mother, dr. anna fisher. it's going viral on the internet. >> any advice for ethan? >> study russian. >> right now, all travel to and from the international

space shuttle is being done by russian rockets. a lot of people hoping that will happen. tonight at 7:00, stopping the speculation. president obama proposes harsh penalties for oil speculators he is hoping to take down gas prices. >> still ahead in this half hour, the battle against snakeheads. what's being done in maryland to stop their spread. top. >> well, 12 degrees cooler, but still a very nice day. here are the numbers. 77 goes in the books as the high. 66 is the low. just a trace of rain today. we'll come back and talk about a better chance of showers tomorrow and even a bigger chance over the weekend. and we'll have much more on discovery's last journey today. here's a look at the pass over of the national harbor. people gathered on the pier to see it pass over the river. not far away, ruby wilson posted on our facebook page. just witnessed history fly over my head in the hood of oxon hill, maryland.

what a gorgeous day to see such a beautiful sight. we'll be right back.

we bring you back now with another view from a viewer. jim is the director of the sierra club. shuttle framed by two flags. that is great. you can see the escorting jet alongside to the left. so well composed. all right, the university of maryland center for environmental science has issued its latest report on the state of the chesapeake bay and it's not good. it rated the health a d plus. that grade is the second lowest since the reports were first issued in 1986. the center says heavy spring and fall rains last year washed pollutants and sediments into the bay and a hot dry summer led to lower oxygen levels. >> another concern for maryland waterways, the

snakehead. also known as the frankenfish. these nonnative fish have become so troublesome for the second year in a row the maryland department of natural resources is sponsoring a snakehead fishing contest. fishermen can post their catches online and three lucky anglers chosen in a random drawing will win prizes including a $200 gift card. still to come, the social shuttle shuffle on a day when more than half a million tweets were sent out about discovery will share some of the 150 photos sent to us via social media from viewers just like you. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪

well, the shuttle shuffle caused quite a roucus at our building. this was on discovery's first loop. it came right over our front door and that was after a group

of us had thought we had seen all there was to see. it became apparent that was shuttle was making more loops, so we dashed up to the roof to see those second and third passes. you see our colleagues trying to capture it all and renee snapped this photo of some of us up there. it was like a fire drill. i had never been up at the roof. i've been here more than ten years. we are dashing up there. yeah, we're going to see it coming back and it was worth it. >> it was so much fun. >> we did get a lot of people sharing their photos with us through facebook and twitter and wusa9.com. anny hong is in the weather center monitoring that material and has a personal story. hey anny. >> it was a special moment today. had so much fun and we have been with some amazing photos. e-mail, facebook, and twitter. st was a shared experience. here are the highlights.

arthur sent in these pictures. one showing how low it got at times. giving people amazing views. here's another one he took of everyone. eyes glued to discovery. then dan monahan from old town alexandria. he captured this closeup. stephanie brewer captured this shot of an adorable boy. just ahead of it. tom took this photo from his office rooftop right across from dulles international where the shuttle safely landed. and shared this video on facebook and youtube. he blogged about it for northern virginia magazine. nice job. and there were too many amazing photos, so we put them on a photo gallery on our website, wusa9.com. amazing photos. >> absolutely. all the big activities surrounding the arrival get underway on the ground out on

thursday. the ceremony to officially move the discovery into place begins thursday at 11:00 a.m. that's when we'll be able to see discovery and enterprise sitting nose to nose. then the shuttles will start being moved. and we'll be there to bring it all to you on thursday. back on february 28 when the smithsonian started announcing plans for this huge shuffle and the flyover and all that, they had one plea. nice weather. >> do you remember what you said? >> sort of. partly cloudy, i don't know, 70 something. >> let's see what you said. >> partly cloudy, 72. >> i think they can work with that. >> i think they can. >> and what was it today, my friend? >> the high was 77, but during the shuttle, it was 68. >> you did good. >> he's going, i'm so glad. >> yes. >> no kidding. all right, we are looking -- i saw a couple shuttles take off, and it's fantastic stuff. all right, let's talk about

rain. our lack of rain fall because we may be able to put a dent in this. not so much tomorrow, though showers in the forecast. over the weekend, 5.7 for the year. down almost 5 inches for the year. and looking at rain fall deficit of about 1.60 for the month of april. so, this is not water table trouble for us, it's just very dry vegetation. again, weekend maybe it will put a dent in that. a great looking shot live from broadcast house. you're looking northeast now up wisconsin avenue. brought to you by michael and son. temperatures 73. clouds, right now kind of on the wane. they will be in late tonight. winds north, northwest at 12 and the pressure is 30.19 inches of mercury and rising. satellite picture, radar combined. we saw some showers. good time if you haven't. down load our weather app and search for wusa radar.

72 in rockville. 71 in arlington. 69 in reston and 74 in college park and 73 in beltsville. so, we are looking at the chance for a few showers. not so much tonight. clouds return. a few showers tomorrow. especially south of town. milder on thursday. gorgeous on friday and warmer on friday as well. all right, our future cast, 7:30 tomorrow morning, maybe we see a couple showers in montgomery county. a lot of clouds, yes, but a dry commute for the most part. trying to take lunch outside. you're okay in the immediate metro area, but showers will be creeping up to the south and west of us. and then by evening, by this time tomorrow, we could see some showers, especially south of town. but again, nothing is going to be heavy by any means. for tonight, increasing cloudiness, lows 46 to 52. winds will become northerly and settle down a little bit. next seven days, 68.

temperatures go right back up and mid 70s on friday and saturday and some showers and storms late saturday. i tell you what, sunday looks really good for widespread rain, showers and storms. left over rain and storms on monday. low 60s. and that would include the whole metro area and the delmarva. >> that is good. >> i know it's the weekend. >> thanks, top. >> fans are disappointed and they may be more disappointed with what you're about to share. >> maybe their star player might be gone. nicklas backstrom facing a suspension. we'll have the latest on that. plus, the coach comes to his defense, and a big night regarding the redskins. sports is next. ♪

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now, 9sports with kristen berset. the best sports in town. >> capitals fans woke this morning, they realized they weren't having a nightmare. the caps actually lost last night, giving the series edge to boston. it's what happened in the final seconds of the game that has people talking today. the nhl is reviewing this cross check by nick backstrom. it earned him a match penalty and a possible one-game suspension. but his teammates and coach are supporting him on this one, saying the bruins have been gunning for backstrom's head. >> i think he was trying to protect his face. as you look, the stick is in

his eyes. it's a dangerous play. he comes out with no helmet on. he gets blocked to the head by thomas. he is protecting his head. he just came out to 40 games, and you know, you have to protect your head. >> and that cross check was one of several fights in last night's game. you can see the tensions rising each time. 16 penalties total. 35 minutes. the caps welcome of discipline hurts their chances to lead the series, but last night's let down just added fuel to their fire. >> it makes us more motivated, more determined. we knew it was going to be a tough series and you know, we have been in all three games. very tight game. but we are right there and we are going to get some rest and have a good practice come back ready to play. >> steven made his home debut last night, just over 16,000 fans showed up. an all-time low for a start. whether that was because of the caps game or end of opening

weekend or because they already facing the astros, you can decide that one. but fans that did go and tune in saw another good outing from strasburg. two runs, striking out five. the nats won that one 6-3 and tonight, game two is a matchup. still looking for his first win. rodriguez gets the start for houston. tonight, we find out who, when, and where the redskins will play this season. the full nfl schedule will be released tonight at 8:00 and we'll have it for you an wusa9.com. time to take a look at your choices in this week's high school game of the week poll. lots of choices to choose from between boys lacrosse softball and soccer. go to d.c..highschoolsports.net. that is it for us. stay with,wusa9 and derek is back at 7:00. >> wusa9.com is always on. >> we leave you today with

some of our favorite moments of today's flight. >> you have a shuttle on top of a massive 747. oh wow. that is awesome. it's huge. and it is flying just so low to the ground. bigger or smaller than you thought? >> huge.