years to just 8 years. and that will make kevin coffee eligible for patrol next may. the fathers of the victims in this are furious. >> callahan. it sends a message that this kind of excessive, willful, and reckless conduct is more acceptable here in montgomery county, maryland. >> go out to the county borders, prince georges and the district and howard and frederick and put up a little addition to the sign. drunk drivers welcome. montgomery county. because that's what we just heard. our children's lives meant nothing. two years is nothing. so if you're out there, and you want to drink and drive, come here, because you'll get away with it and you will get away

with murder like this kid is getting away with. >> the three judge panel agreed that there is a culture of recklessness of excessive teenage drinking in this county and across the country. but they said that kevin coffee cannot be forced to pay for that epidemic. coffee tearfully asked the families for forgiveness. his sister says he feels terrible remorse, that he cannot sleep at night. feels terrible remorse for killing his three friends, he is just a shell of the happy go lucky young man that he once was. but the victim's family say that kevin coffee's life will go on and their three children are gone. derek. >> bruce, was there any reaction from coffee's family to this change in the sentence? >> you know, i went up to them afterwards and said, are you up to this or can you speak to us at all? and his mother burst into tears, turned away from me. his sister was next to her.

she comforted her. but i looked very closely as well as kevin coffee, as this sentence was handed down and his face seemed to brighten a little bit. he stood, he looked right at the judges, but it was not clear what his reaction was. what he was feeling in his heart. there was no reaction in the courtroom from the families of the victims in this horrible, horrible crash. but you heard their anger once they came outside. >> the anger born of so much pain. bruce leshan, thank you for that. george zimmerman, the man accused of murdering trayvon martin will soon be out of jail. a judge ordered him freed on bond and randall is in sanford, florida with all the details on the hearing, including what zimmerman had to say on the stand. >> derek, for the most part, it was a routine bond hearing. the defense attorney called character witnesses for george zimmerman. he attempted to probe weaknesses in the prosecution case against zimmerman tar

killing trayvon martin, but then the shocker. he put zimmerman out witness stand. a shackled george zimmerman offered a surprise apology to the parents of trayvon martin who were in the courtroom. >> i wanted to say i am sorry for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was a little bit younger than i am, and i did not know if he was armed or not. >> the apology happened at zimmerman's bond hearing. they testified by phone because they have been threatened. >> i have never known him to be violent at all, unless he was provoked and then he would turn the other cheek. >> in the end, circuit judge granted zimmerman a $150,000 bail. far less than the $1 million bond requested by prosecutors. >> if you have any comment? >> martin's parents left quickly without speaking to reporters. >> it was devastating that he

got to serve an apology to help get a bond. they were very outraged at that. >> zimmerman asked it meet with martin's parents before the hearing, but the family's lawyer said it was not the time. cbs news learned that zimmerman could be out of jail in the next 24 hours. he and his attorney are working to come up with the bail money. >> i think he is happy to be back with his family and be out. >> the neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old trayvon martin during a confrontation in february. zimmerman claims it was self- defense. once the bail bond money is posted, lawyers say it could take 6 to 12 hours for zimmerman to be released and hale have to pay $8 a day for the use of that gps ankle bracelet tracking device. i'm randall, back to you, derek. >> so there we have it, a very interesting day in court to say the least. so, to give us more insight on

what today might mean, we are joined by jeffrey. he is the head of litigation at mccarthy, sweeny, and harkaway. first of all, welcome. >> thank you. >> thanks so much for being here. the most eventful bond hearing i've ever seen. first of all, we heard a lot more from zimmerman than i have heard from a defendant at a bond hearing. >> it's rare, if ever, a defendant will testify at a bond hearing. clearly his testimony was limited and dealing with certain issues. but he made a number of statements, which could be used against him at a trial. >> give me an example. >> by admitting he shot him. by talking about what happened. by talking about whether he had a gun or not. these are issues that the government is not aware of yet unless, you know, they did interview him afterwards. >> we know he shot him. >> but frequently a defendant will not want to admit to anything until it comes time for trial. whatever he testifies to is a surprise. >> now let's talk about that

apology. that's making the most news tonight. the lawyer for trayvon martin's family called it a self-serving apology to get a bond. it didn't sound like the most heartfelt thing. what's your impression? >> that's a good question. my impression is, it's clearly all schemed by his attorney, all drawn up by his attorney and he said what he thought he had to say to get out on bond. >> you thought it was strategic move to apologize? >> absolutely. >> he did ask to see the family in private. could that have been a more heartfelt apology? >> we don't know that. it's not clear. people do not know who zimmerman is. he feels, he should feel remorse about what happened and so wanting to speak to the parents, that's a whole different story. >> let's talk about the bond itself. $150,000 they are supposedly going to get this together in the next couple of days. should he have been granted bond? >> $150,000, it's 10% of it with a bondsman.

he has to get $15,000 together. it is unusual to be granted a bond. in florida, the courts have a very strict legal standard to be held without bond and the government has to prove its case before the case even goes forward. >> all right, jeffrey, thank you so much. great information tonight. we appreciate it. new york police and the fbi are now digging up the basement of a manhattan building all in the hopes of finding some clues about the disappearance of six- year-old aton pates. pates went missing in 1979. he was on his way to his school bus. the basement being search second-degree located down the block from where he was last seen. it was also used by a handyman who used to pay the boy to do small chores. investigators focused on that basement after an fbi dog picked up the scent of human remains there. >> for anyone that went through that in the beginning, it lingers 30 years later. >> i remember hoping that i

would find him. >> that handyman's name, miller. family has insisted he is innocent. his disappearance drew national attention and his picture was among the first to ever appear on a milk carton. the secret service investigation into that prostitution scandal cost three more agents their jobs. multiple media outlets are reporting that the three were forced to resign today. they were among the team called back from columbia with suspended clearances. two of them have been named and one, david cheney, lives right here in the d.c. area and suray chin paid a visit to his neighborhood. >> reporter: the media has been camped across the street from david cheney's home. no one has been seen coming in or out of the house here in ashburn, but neighbors are talking. >> it's sad that they don't have a higher self-standard of themselves. >> i don't believe it. they are the greatest neighbors

you would hope to have. >> gad neighbors is the same person implicated along with ten other secret service agents in the sex scandal. the new york daily news, the first to post a picture of one of the prostitutes, cheney is one of the initial three removed from the agency and was allowed to resign. >> as a wife and mother, i feel that, you know, you should behave better than that. >> cheney posted on his own facebook page a picture with sarah palin during her vice presidential bid. he commented, i was really checking her out, if you know what i mean. cheney followed in his father's footsteps. george cheney passed away in august and had a long career in secret service during lyndon johnson and john f. kennedy's presidency. the devoted friend and family man. >> i was going to psychological in middleburg. they are fantastic people. i really hope there's no

involvement on his part. >> it's been reported that some of the secret service agents say they didn't know the women were prostitutes. but the agency has taken action with a lie detector test and firing some of their own. in ashburn, suray chin, 9news now. >> the second of the three ousted is greg stokes. he was fired from the agency. okay, folks, let me ask you this. are we making too big of a deal about this? these guys did not break any laws and the president was not even in the country yet. could you say this was morally wrong? sure you could. could you also say there's an aspect of boys will be boys in here somewhere. you're always good about telling your thoughts to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. st gl still ahead, there are 58 of them and this weekend, they are all free of charge. we'll tell you why the national park service is waiving the fees at its most popular attraction. but first, the hallowed halls

of the u.s. supreme court could soon be filled with the sound of spit balls. really? yeah, really. we'll tell you about it.

today is april 20, or 4/20. people all over use this day to celebrate marijuana. students at university of colorado usually hold an annual marijuana smokeout. last year more than 10,000 people showed up, but this year

school administrators are trying to crack down on this sort of thing and doing it with fish fertilizer. the school sprayed it all over campus and let's just say it does not smell great. students haven't said if they are calling the event off. spit wads in the supreme court? that could happen if the justices choose to hear a case of a student from spotsylvania county. andrew was suspended from spotsylvania high school for shooting pellets at other students during lunch. school administrators said they constituted violent conduct and possession of a weapon. they disagreed and appealed, that was rejected by virginia's state supreme court, now they are asking the nation's high court to ask his case. michael's actions were not criminal and his right to due process was violated. just beautiful out there to wrap up the week, but get ready to break out your umbrellas. topper has a wet one coming our way. but up next, a firefighter

injured in the line of duty gets a very warm welcome as he gets to go home. we'll tell you about this story.

a hero's homecoming for a volunteer firefighter in prince georges county. the 7th and final firefighter injured in a river dale house fire last february is out of the hospital. kristin fisher was at the hospital as kevin o'tool thanked the staff who nursed

him back to health. >> 22-year-old kevin o'tool walked out of med star washington hospital to the applause of his fellow firefighters. this is the first time he's been outside in 55 days. >> it is the first time i'm outside the hospital. so really good feeling. >> he's had ten surgeries in two months. >> my knees, my calfs, my stomach, my sides, both my arms, my shoulder, and my hands. >> he was one of seven firefighters injured while fighting a house fire in river dale two months ago. the cause, arson. but when asked if he was angry or upset about what happened. >> i would rather not comment. when they rolled me in that night, i made a commitment that this wasn't going to take me. i'm going to fight my way through this and get back to who i was. >> i have 38 years in the fire service and i have never seen

anybody in my entire life or career that has had the stamina to drive forward and just say that, you know, tomorrow is a new day. >> every day is a good day from now on. >> whoever started that fire has never been caught. this is still a very active investigation. but at least now all seven firefighters injured that day are home safe. at med star washington hospital center, kristin fisher, 9news now. this sunday marks the 42nd earth day and commemorate the event outdoors, the national park service lifted the entry fees at all of it parks. that includes includes harper's ferry. it starts tomorrow and lasts all the way to sunday, the 29th. the park service is also inviting visitors to take a picture of themselves and post it on the park service website and it's a good thing this thing lasts all week, because saturday and sunday aren't

going to be the best days to hit the national parks. >> you can hit them early on saturday, but don't stay too long. and the nor'easter on sunday. and you know we talked about this earlier. you know what i wish? i wish it were january. it would be a good storm. >> it would be 50 degrees. >> that's true. >> you are correct, sir. all right, let's have a live look outside. temperatures are still hovering around 70 downtown. 60s in the suburbs. a very nice evening. winds out of the south, southeast. pressure is still falling. 29.85 inches of mercury. satellite picture, radar combined. this is going to be the frontal boundary that will roll through tomorrow, producing showers from detroit back into west tennessee, west kentucky, and also big storms rolling through little rock. we're okay tonight. stay dry and we're okay tomorrow morning in the immediate metro area. most of the showers and storms get in here in the afternoon.

temperatures still 70 in rockville. 67 in bethesda. 68 in arlington. 68 in springfield. 67 alts in reston. but still 71 in college park and also in beltsville. really a nice evening. so, we do have big rain on the way. milder and dry tonight. early tee time tomorrow, you're fine. pups at the park tomorrow, you're probably fine. 1:00 game, 1:05 first pitch. showers may hold off until after 4:00 at nats park. go to our website and click on my blog and there's more information about that. good event. and big time rain on sunday. i would say 1 to 2 inches through sunday night. this map only goes into sunday everyoning about 48 hours from now. even 48 hours from now would be over an inch in gaithersburg. and over an inch toward easten and cambridge and that's where the drought is and a good bulls eye here of two to three inches between georgetown and sullsberry.

the track is not in stone, but the storm is going to develop. partly to mostly cloudy tonight. and then for tomorrow morning, a slight chance of a shower or storm west of town and late in the morning, 50s and 60s and by afternoon, partly sunny, still warm tomorrow. enjoy the warmth. showers and thunderstorms. high temperature 74 to 78. next seven days. we have the wind driven rain on sunday. only 58. mid os on monday with some showers. upper 50s on tuesday with showers. we crawl back into the low 60s on wednesday with a shower or thunderstorm. maybe we hit 70 on thursday with a shower or thunderstorm. we cool right back to the mid 60s with showers on friday. i believe we have rain every day. >> yes, you do. >> i guess we are about to get payback. >> exactly. we need rain. >> thank you. >> we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's

mail bag. 9news now will be right back.

are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers.

in the mail bag tonight, reaction to george zimmerman. the man who killed trayvon martin ask his surprise apology in his bond hearing today. zimmerman told martin's family that he was sorry, he thought trayvon was perhaps older and he didn't know whether or not he was armed.

sam writes us to say, he's not buying it. i really think that the only reason he's trying to say sorry now is because everybody is on his case. but him saying sorry isn't going to bring trayvon martin back, so i believe he still needs to get locked up with no bail. as you probably already know, that is not what happened, but stephanie goes on to say it's a bit late for i'm sorry. there is nothing zimmerman could say to trayvon's parents that would be acceptable. if he was truly sorry, this would not be news and trayvon would be alive. how do you possibly tell grieving parents you're sorry for hunting your child down in cold blood? it's pretty tough to do, even tougher to hear. on the wusa9 facebook page, tina murphy offers a different perspective. in his mind, zimmerman felt justified. do i think he was sincere? perhaps. it cannot be easy to know a person is no longer know because there was a rush to cast judgment because he looked suspicious. whether he is sincere or not is for him and god to know and him

to live with the knowledge he killed someone. indeed. i would also point out that george zimmerman did want to apologize in private. i would have wondered if it would have sounded more heartfelt than what was in court. well that is our broadcast. we'll see you again tonight at 11:00 along with anita brikman and topper shutt. we'll see you later. bye bye.

tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. what really killed dick clark? new questions tonight. >> the two surgeries just before he died, was it too much to take? plus, his cremation, where his ashes will be spread, as close friend barry manilow opens up about dick clark's darkest days after his stroke. >> somehow he just would not give up. and -- ♪ >> how dick took on the grammys with his american music awards. ♪ >> bringing the biggest stars in music all together. >> they told me to hurry up. >> and keeping it unpredictable. >> jenny, is there a problem? then, "dancing with the stars" confidential. >> come on. >> at home. in the dressing room.