celebrations in washington streets. >> i'm proud to be an american. >> with pictures of the president landing in afghanistan where he made note of the anniversary as he thanked american troops for progress in the country. >> not only were we able to drive al-qaeda out of afghanistan, but slowly and systematically, we have been able to decimate the ranks of al-qaeda and a year ago, we're able to finally bring osama bin laden to justice. >> the president after midnight afghanistan time, signed an agreement with afghanistan president, karzai, defining in part the relationship between the two countries for the ten years after nato troops leave in 2014. >> the afghan people will understand that the united states will stand by them. >> the agreement says there will be no u.s. permanent basis

and the united states will continue to train afghan troops and target al-qaeda. it promises the united states won't abandon afghanistan leaving it vulnerable to taliban resurgence. >> the president is preparing remarks for an address to the american people, where we'll be carry k live in a half an hour. >> okay, so what are the political implications of the president's trip and this big announcement we'll see in 30 minutes? i am joined by former connecticut congressman and steven, he is the senior research physical low at the heritage foundation. everything is always considered political, but how political is this trip? i'll start with you. >> i don't think it's political. it's the guy leading the country. leader of the free world, leading the country and keeping this campaign promises. he said he would get us out of afghanistan and iraq. he's doing it. you say he's not doing it fast enough because republicans and

democrats wanted to do it faster. but other than that, he's keeping his promises. he has the nato summit coming up in chicago. he's going to look really good there because signing this agreement, it's an important agreement that puts structure, anticorruption agreements with the afghans. it's a good thing. >> it's all happening on the anniversary of the death of osama bin laden and doesn't have have political implications as well? >> of course it does. everything our president does, any president does has political implications. he is the leader of the most powerful country in the free world. and the world watches everything he does and everything he says. and staff would not be doing their jobs if they didn't say boss, this would be a good time for you to visit afghanistan on the anniversary of one of your biggest victories so far. having said that, he's also approaching the nato summit, getting things squared away in afghanistan, is a nato issue. so for the president to go there and talk with karzai and

figure out how they'll go forward, it might be political, but it makes good policy sense. >> now i am interested in talking about the substance of this thing. one thing it doesn't say is exactly what that commitment is going to do after 2014 when the troops are supposed to come home. karzai wants more support, he doesn't want us to be abandoning him. what do you think this all means in substance? >> well, personally, i hope the president doesn't elaborate what it all means because that is frankly not wise. one, the situation can change on a dime and a situation like this, but two, you don't really want to give your whole play book to the enemy. because the enemy can be very patient and they can stand by when they know something is going to happen on a given date. while he has to work things out with karzai and meet our national interests and their national interests, i hope he plays it a little close to the vest. >> let's not treat karzai -- the guy has not exactly been a

good ally and reliable. he resided over a corrupt government. it's about a commitment to the people of afghanistan. he is walking a tight rope here. you could say that this was a courageous act. for him to go and give the person people a reminder that we're going to be there for ten more years after 2014. >> he has to tie a bow to the american people that wish it was already over. >> he's doing just that. the fact that it happens on this anniversary provides a contrast to other presidents. we don't need to mention other names, who shine the spotlight on themselves and use words like mission accomplishments and not in touch with reality. >> steve is laughing about that. you can criticize president bush for that remark and lord knows a lot of people have. but presidents are political animals. president obama going there at this time, it is political. again, i'll give him his due.

it makes policy sense as well. but you know, he wants this claim, the credit for having gotten bin laden. it's tide right now to afghanistan and hopefully to the conclusion of afghanistan, i would not draw quite as big of a distinction. they were both political. >> you have been hammered by the right for making a big deal about getting bin laden. they say he's making a big deal about it. doesn't that very event make it tough to paint him as soft on foreign policy? >> if he didn't take the action he did, it would have been criminal. so, i give him the credit for doing it because if it is something had gone wrong in the execution, he would have taken all the blame. >> and you know better than the two of us and probably everybody watching from your great experience as a military guy. that a whole lot of things could have gone wrong. it was risky and romney says some time ago, he wouldn't have taken that risk. so this is going to be a

conversation in the campaign. >> it is. steve and congressman, i appreciate your time. thank you very much for joining us today and stay tuned to 9news for the president's address. we will carry it live right after 9news now at 7:00. >> moving on, five men now facing conspiracy and explosive charges after investigators say they tried to blow up a bridge right near cleveland. now fbi agents arrested those men today after a six month investigation. the fbi started looking into the men last october. they got a tip. the bureau says the group researched various targets and under cover agents told them inoperable explosive devices. >> they placed them at the base of a concrete pillar. >> the fbi insists the public was never in any danger. all five men are self-described anarchists. investigators say they were trying to make a statement

about corporate america. a jury is now deciding whether or not michael gardner is guilty of child molestation. he is the falls church businessman and community activist accused of fondling three girls at one of his daughters slumber parties. on to an update. >> jury in the gardner case has gone home for the night. it's deliberating the fate of michael gardner who is charged with molesting three girls who were at his daughter's sleep over and slumber party. the prosecutor told the jury to look at the evidence against michael gardner. the dna evidence on an interior crotch of one girl's underpants with a match to gardner of 1 in 20quadrillion and he told the jury to consider the testimony, they came here with no motivation to lie to you. defense attorney, peter greenespun implied that his dna is everywhere. he said that there were 67

inconsistencies in the girl's account. and poor police work. he asked why would michael gardner, who had a good reputation, throw his life away and do this? if gardner is convicted of all counts, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. peggy fox, 9news now. >> on now to a 9news update. some residents in culpeper, virginia, want the police and prosecutors to pick up the pace for their investigation into the shooting death of patricia cook. a culpeper police officer shot cook and according to a preliminary report, that officer was responding to a report of a suspicious person sitting in a car in a church school parking lot. and when the officer asked cook for identification, he says she rolled up the window, catching his arm inside and drove off, dragging the officer down the road and that led to the officer opening fire. a man who claims to be an eyewitness says that officer's arm was not caught in the window.

police continue to investigate, os does a special prosecutor. james jennings started a facebook page and an online petition to keep the case in the public's mind. >> my focus is to ensure that the details, all the evidence, all the testimony, all the reports, all the eyewitness commentary, all of the ballistics information, is all brought out in an open courtroom. >> virginia state police have not given a time frame as to when that investigation will be done. the special prosecutor in fauquier county said it will be the end of june before the grand jury reached a decision. >> the state of maryland wants to put a stop to the court ruling that struck down part of the dna's law. allows police to collect dna from anyone charged with a violent crime. last week, a court ruled that law would justify taking a biological specimen without a warrant and today, doug filed a motion with the maryland court

of appeals to put a stay on that decision. >> may, of course, started off with just about perfect weather, top, it is really nice outside. we love the 80s and just a little chance of rain. >> it's a good tradeoff really. today's high temperature is like early june. we skipped yet another month ahead. let's start with the radar. we have showers and storms. they are well out to the west of us. they are in ohio and some of those are hefty. there are severe watches for ohio. we are okay tonight. at least through midnight. we want to go to the baseball game, you're fine. but as we have this warm air in place, showers and storms are possible for the next several days. 81 in gaithersburg. 81 in leesburg. 83 down toward fredericksburg. for tonight, we're looking at mostly cloudy skies, mild, a shower or thunderstorm possible after midnight and low temperatures between 60 and 65. we will come back and talk about how long we can hang in the 80s and how many showers and storms that will bring. >> thank you, top. coming up next t is may 1, that

means protesters will take to the streets across the world. their message, we'll tell you about it in just a moment.

may 1 is may day. believe it or not, it's the national holiday. a global show of defiance against government. demonstrators held annual may day protests and in many of them, workers were protesting

measures, wages, and of course rising unemployment. on this may 1, a nice crowd turned out for a may day festival in d.c.'s malcomx park. including occupy d.c. the washington peace center, and the metropolitan washington council of the afl. all were there to celebrate may 1 as an international day of recognition for the workers. okay, so the occupy protesters are back, but has their message become stale? most cities have evicted them now and nobody is talking about them anymore or are they managing to continue a much needed discussion in this country? you keep the conversation going in mcginty's mail bag. the address is mailbag@wusa9.com. >> spring has sprung once again here in d.c. and this time we think it's going to be sticking around. topper is here to let us know for sure. but first, it is official. newt gingrich announces he will be dropping out of the race for the white house. what's next for the republican candidate? we got a hint when we come

back.

we want to remind you, we will bring you live coverage. that is immediately following 9news now. he'll be discussing the united states new extended commitment to that country t. will be right here, wusa9, 7:30. newt gingrich is officially dropping his bid for the republican presidential nomination. the former speaker of the house confirmed what has been

reported, he will suspend his campaign. gingrich made the announcement. in it, he thanked them for their help along the campaign trail and pledged to continue helping the republicans in the general election. >> we're going to continue out there in the road, talking, campaigning, making speeches. doing everything we can to help defeat barack obama. i hope you'll join us in this historic effort, because this is still the most important election in our lifetime. >> gingrich will formerly enter his campaign in a press conference tomorrow afternoon. his advisers indicated he will endorse mitt romney. >> and the former massachusetts governor will be here in d.c. area tomorrow as well. romney has two events scheduled for northern virginia. at 10:30, he'll be at the exhibit edge in shantilly along with virginia's republican congress member, frank wolf, and he's going to hold a fundraiser tomorrow night in

pentagon city. so far, neither he or gingrich are expected to make a joint appearance tomorrow. >> in maryland, governor martin o'malley is reaching out for supporters to keep maryland's dream act alive. the washington post reports o'malley sent an e-mail, asking for contributions that money to go to a new campaign to support the law. the dream act was passed last year and allows illegal immigrants to receive in state tuition at maryland university. but it never took effect because opponents successfully petitioned for a referendum on the issue. maryland voters will now have a final say in this november's elections. starting today, any time you're in an area with severe weather coming, your cell phone will give you an early warning of the danger. this is a new program from fema. it's called wireless emergency alert and uses the cell phone towers and networks to deliver warnings to your mobile phone. so anybody who gets one will hear a special tone and then the alert will pop up as a text message.

it is designed to warn people about widespread events and dangers in a very specific area. >> broadcast signal out to every phone in the area. if you live in california, but you happen to be in baltimore, you will get baltimore's alerts. you will get california's alerts. >> all the major u.s. cell phone carriers have signed on. for now, the alerts are limited to presidential alerts, amber alerts, and tornado warnings. the federal government will eventually x up expand it to include flash flood warnings and tornado watches. >> if your phone is off, it won't turn your phone on. weather band radio will. it will turn it on and tell you about the alert. keep that in mind. i turn my cell phone off at night because i don't want people bothering me. you do have one in your bedroom. it's okay, it will wake you up.

you can set it for what you. we are like in june all of a sudden and the chance for showers and thunderstorms. get ready. the trade something for the heat. you are happy, right? here's a look at the live weather cam brought to you by michael and son. temperatures are still in the upper 70s to near 80 and the dew points are comfortable. that's perfect night for baseball. we'll talk about that in a minute. pressure is steady, 29.98 inches of mercury. here's the deal. we have big thunderstorms now pushing into ohio and also into kentucky and just entering west virginia. we do have some tornado watches in effect for much of southern ohio. this will stay to our north, but we run the risk of another shower or thunderstorm, not as severe, but we'll keep you posted. with this kind of an air mass, heavy rain and small hail and strong gusty winds. just a few clouds gushing through. another batch of showers and

thunderstorms down south of richmond. so temperatures still 80 in bethesda. it's still 84 in rockville. 78 in springfield. looking at 82 in college park. 83 in beltsville. it is some kind of warm. 81 right now in sterling. temperatures were 17 degrees warmer today than yesterday. so warm, but unsettled. mild tonight, but a shower or thunderstorm possible after midnight. warm wednesday, but with more showers or thunderstorms. and even more storms on thursday. that will probably be the most activity. great night for baseball. first pitch underway, temperature of 80 to start and only 74 by the end of the game. that's pretty much perfect. not much wind and no showers. bryce harper's home debut. mild, a shower or thunderstorm possible. after midnight, lows between 60 and 65. now tomorrow morning, becoming partly cloudy and warm. a shower or thunderstorm possible. some of us will have a wet commute. 60s and 70s for temperatures.

and by afternoon, partly cloudy and warm. showers and thunderstorms. high temperatures in the low 80s. winds turn southeasterly at 10. we will see a line of showers and storms develop just in time for the evening commute. we'll keep you posted. 60s to start, mild, warm by noon. 76 to 81. and 78 to 83 by evening. again, each period will have a chance of a shower or a thunderstorm. next three days, well, 79 on thursday. a few more showers. and pop back in the mid 80s on friday with yes, some more showers and thunderstorms. next seven days. saturday, a cold front goes through. we'll try to confine the showers and storms to the evening and warm on saturday. temperatures in the mid 80s and gorgeous on sunday. sunshine, dry, lower humidity. mid 70s. mid 70s on monday. shower or thunderstorm possible. more storms possible on tuesday. spl all right, sounds like a great weekend, topper. not bad. >> let's get to our weird news

file, because anybody care to hunt the most dangerous game to the uk? fox hunters -- you see that? not a real fox, in case you are wondering. back in '05, they ban the hunting of the fox, but now they satisfy their yearning for playing predator for hunting people. group of ten armed with paint ball equipment. this is not hunger games, folks, but while some have complained, others are glad for something to hunt that won't get anybody hurt. the big problem, first of all, nobody wants to be caught dead in a costume that looked like that. >> easier to hit, but suppose you got to wear the suit. it's not good. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. mailbag@wusa9.com.

9news now will be right back. [ glass clinks ] [ mom ] i'll take this. it's mother's day.

a day to thank me for all of the little things. like being the only one who knows how to turn on the dishwasher. not saying "i love you" in front of all your friends. and always finding everything for everyone. happy mother's day, family. you love me! you really are the best. i can't argue with you. now join me while i eat cake and receive gifts. [ male announcer ] celebrate mom. buy any kfc 10 pc meal or larger and get a free double chocolate chip cake. what does that ad say? what's in your wallet? this next story may have you taking a second look. a schoolteacher has a warning for all of us as she says she got a bad $100 bill from a bank that she believes aught to do a

better job of detecting fake money. here's scott broom. >> to me, it's unacceptable. >> that's march walker and this is a photo copy of a bogus $100 she says was passed to her at this germantown wells fargo branch last thursday. >> if i go to the back, i expect they will be the authority on giving good money. to go to the bank and hear you are passing me counterfeit money, to me, is beyond shocking. >> here's what happened, that wells fargo is right over there across germantown road, so marge drives over here. she came here to pay a bill and immediately the teller here spotted the bogus $100. marge's question, how can one financial institution spot a bill instantly when another one across the street got fooled and stuck her with counterfeit? well fargo issued a statement saying we have processes and controls in place to detect

counterfeit currency. however, on rare occasions, bills may not be identified in these situations, we work with the appropriate agencies to resolve the issue. marge is lucky because she has been a customer for 22 years and after some strene arguing, they credited her the $100. lots of company have detectors and there's tricks that you can learn. >> i wouldn't know what to look for. >> if her bank got fooled, what chance does she have? one of the latest techniques is bleaching. someone takes a bill and washes the ink out of it and reprints it as a $100 bill. that keeps the paper authentic and much harder for anyone without a trained eye, like a bank teller to detect. in germantown, 9news now. >>