never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. this is 9 news now. >> thank you for joining us. today former d.c. councilmember

harry thomas jr. was sentenced for stealing more than $350,000 in government funds. this is thomas as he walked into a packed u.s. courtroom. he is expected to address the court. the government wants thomas sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised progression. the defense is seeking an 18 month sentence. his mother asked for the leniency for her son and spoke about the family's service to the community. we hope to have a live report as soon as court adjourns. a federal judge is expected to sentence a government employee for stealing thousands of recordings from the national archives and selling them on e bay. he pleaded guilty to theft of government property in october and will likely spend a year and a half in prison. he says he sold the stolen

merchandise on e bay. a cyclist was struck and killed this morning. it happened in the morning rush hour in olney. this is footage of the scene shortly after the deadly collision. at this point, investigators are not releasing the name of the female victim. so far, police have not charged the driver. this man admits he set a fire in the silver spring apartment. he's 24-year-old abraham. >> the blaze forced more than 100 residents from their apartments. he's been charged with first- degree arson. more charges could follow. two firefighters suffered minor injuries in battling the blaze. former candidates are falling in line to endorse mitt romney. a new poll suggests a contest between president obama and former governor romney is tight

in two swing states. >> reporter: one of mitt romney's former rivals is now in his corner. cbs news has learned minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann will endorse romney. she remains a tea party favorite. that's the group romney has the struggled to win over. president obama will officially kick off his reelection run this weekend with events in virginia and ohio. a new poll shows president obama and mitt romney in a virtual tie there with the president ahead by only 2 points. in florida, romney is ahead by a point. also too close to call. but the president has opened up an eight point lead in pennsylvania. romney now has only one gop rival left, ron paul. newt gingrich suspended his campaign wednesday and said he

will support the former governor. this is a choice between mitt romney and the most radical leftist president in american history. >> reporter: the obama campaign released an ad using gingrich's own words. >> are you calling mitt romney a liar? >> yes. >> reporter: next week voters head to the polls in several states. danielle nottingham, cbs news, the white house. >> president obama is making a reelection push in the commonwealth as well. he'll make another push to halt rising interest rates on student loans. the president will campaign in richmond on saturday. he'll be joined by former virginia governor tim kaine. police say 28-year-old marcus plummer became physical with a customer who tried to reenter r.j.

bentley's after being thrown out. the beating victim is a 23-year- old airman and a member of the honor guard stationed at bowling air force base in the district. he's hospitalized in stable condition. plummer has a hearing later this month. a businessman is now a convicted sex offender. michael gardner -- a jury has recommended sentencing him to 22 years in prison. jurors found him guilty of sexually abusing two girls in his home during a slumber party last june. a third accuser came forward after the first two went to authorities. a tax that is closer to reality is one on food trucks. those trucks have boomed in popularity. if approved by the d.c. mayor, food trucks pay the same 10% food tax as other restaurants. the mayor is expected to sign off on the bill.

fair fax county police hope you've seen this girl. ashley o'brien hasn't been seen since friday. she left her home saying she was going to a friend's house. 5'4", 130 pounds. if you know where ashley o'brien is, contact fair fax county police. still to come, looks may kill but many believe this man's gaze can actually heal. why they're spending good money for the man named roscoe to look their way. >> and investigators have gathered new information regarding the mass shooting near phoenix. a toddler was among those killed.

a 14-year-old california boy is now in custody, accused of shooting his father to death. his father was a u.s. immigration and customs enforcement agent. the shooting happened in carson in southern california. police believe the teenager called 911 after the shooting. no word on a motive. the agent was involved in homeland security investigations. in arizona a former marine with ties to minutemen groups was responsible for a shooting rampage. he later killed himself. he was 39. the victims include a 16-month- old girl and the baby's mother. the chinese activist at the

center of a incident in beijing has made a dramatic turnaround. >> reporter: activist -- wants to leave china one day after being reunited with his family and accepting a deal to stay in the country. he has changed his mind and fears for his safety. his about face surprised u.s. officials. he never mentioned he wanted to go to america. >> he talked with his wife twice. and then made that decision on his own to come out of the embassy. >> reporter: the blind activist has been outspoken against china's forced abortion policy. the situation has created a tense diplomatic standoff between the u.s. and china. chinese authorities accuse the u.s. of interfering in its internal affairs. secretary of state hillary clinton is in china for high

level trade talks and says china must protect human rights. >> as part of our dialogue, the united states raises the importance of human rights and fundamental freedom. >> reporter: chen wants to leave china with clinton. the state department has stopped short of saying whether washington would reopen negotiations. >> reporter: he still in the hospital. the forecast is up next. >> i've already met our beautiful dog. he's a pretty one. and the weather is turning into a pretty afternoon. great lunch hour. we have the allergy count and that's a little bit better. the tree pollen is only moderate. weeds and mold are low. chances for storms and i'll let you know how warm it's going to get tomorrow. the whole 9 yards is coming up when 9 news now returns.

>> we've been going through the e-mails and websites to save you money. need to unwind. a 60 minute massage for $40. the massage usually runs $90. find a deal on google offers, and there's limited availability. guilt city has an idea. a brunch or four course dinner in dupont circle. this starts at $35, a 41% savings. and best buy.com's deal of the

day is for nikon digital camera. 16 megafix els. ten zoom. $100 off and free shipping. if you have an offer you've seen or if you're a local merchant. we'd love to hear from you on facebook. is it possible to heal people just by looking at them. a croatian man is in gaitersburg. we sent kristin fisher to soak up the silent gaze of roscoe. >> reporter: hundreds of people are lined up to see the man with the magical eyes. he's called a healer, a prophet, a guru. >> he is someone who is transmitting the silent power that affects people's consciousness. >> reporter: the true believers say he can heal your mind, body, and soul all through the power of his silent gaze.

>> i came and saw roscoe and three days later, i didn't need my cane any more. >> reporter: this woman came all the way from wisconsin. most people are from the area. >> i'm on a journey, a spiritual journey. >> this is my first time at a gazing event. i'm going in with an open mind. let's see what it's all about. >> reporter: when he walks out. he didn't say a word. he stands, turns, and stares for seven minutes. >> when he gazes at you, he sees the real person and accepts you for who you are. >> i usually feel a lot of heat. >> the love coming out is strong. >> i attended two sessions. and honestly, i didn't feel much of anything. skeptics say i never will. others felt the power of his gaze right away. >> i'd been having problems with my right knee.

and during the session. i had an intense pain there. >> there's something here. there's something here. >> he's in town for one more day at the hilton until 7 p.m. we're saluting seniors to gear up for the innovations in aging expo. in 1943 she moved from chicago to washington, d.c. a defining moment was being present at the false armistice of world war i. now her secret to living 99 years? >> exercising, living, and eating well. and you get to learn more at the innovations in aging expo today may 3rd through the 5th. and for more information. go to j.c. hayward.com. >> that's turned into a in this

case afternoon. it's a beautiful complex. and right now it's good. late this afternoon, might not be so good. we're talking about the threat for a couple of storms. >> we want to break in news about former councilmember harry thomas. the verdict is in on his sentencing. it's 38 months in jail for his embezzlement scheme. 38 months for councilmember harry thomas and bruce johnson. and we'll have more on 9 news. >> much more for the prosecution. we have sunshine and the hotter we get, the more energy there is for storms to be on the strong side. we're looking at temperatures climbing into the low 70s. and we're seeing more sunshine. at 1:00, we'll be partly to mostly sunny. not mostly cloudy. low 80s this afternoon. i'm lowering it a couple of degrees. i thought we might make 84. the clouds hung you have the a

little bit too long. this is going to be comfortable and almost a little humid. we can't rule out the isolated thunderstorms at 9 p.m. what we get might be on the heavy side. going out to the mets. comfortable and a slight chance that they could get visited by a shower and storm. and by midday, you can see how the clouds are really breaking up quickly. we're seeing a lot more sunshine. and look at the temperatures, the difference between the cooler marine air in providence and new york and philly and pittsburgh right now is 80 degrees. and across our viewing area. we have 70s. upper 70s in winchester, mar turnsburg. and petersburg is 83. and still in town but with winds southwesterly, even though they're light, that's going to allow the warmth to move in. it's turned out really nice

right now. 66. national was reporting mostly cloudy at the top of the hour. we're mostly sunny at the moment. the dew points are up to 85. it's a little bit of the humid side out there. an active jet stream on shore in the northwest. it's bringing disturbances quickly, every couple of days, almost every day actually. we have the next one in the northern mississippi valley, the great lakes, and this is what hit us this morning. and there's a flow of tropical moisture coming in from alabama to tennessee. all of this means there's a threat of storms. the biggest threat is in the area of yellow in new york through the midwest. that's from the storm prediction center in oklahoma. winds gusts, hail, maybe an isolated tornado. around here, we've got enough energy and enough upper level wind speed that any storms have the potential to have their own strength of damaging wind gusts or a little hail.

so we're going to watch them. i don't think it's going to be widespread. these that do pop could be on the strong side. and right now they'll pop north and west and work their way towards us. overnight, fewer showers and storms. partly to mostly cloudy tomorrow. and a warm friday. mid- to upper 80s. and the threat for more afternoon showers and thunderstorms. we'll move the clock to 5:45. maybe a greater threat to the west. still we'll watch the showers and storms tomorrow and be cooling down some later on. here's the next three days. today, 82. a chance for that thunderstorm. tomorrow scattered afternoon storms. by saturday, 80 with an isolated storm. sunday and monday drier and cooler with temperatures by then back in the 70s. there could be a few more showers by tuesday and wednesday. we have the animal adoption center here from charlestown,

west virginia. and who is this? >> this is emma. a 6-year-old golden retriever. >> she's beautiful. >> she is. >> how did you get emma? >> her family went through a divorce and we got emma in. >> she needs a home. >> yes. she's wonderful. >> nice healthy dog. >> very healthy. she's overweight. a little too healthy. but she needs to lose 15 to 20 pounds. she's very well trained. her family loves her. she will give a paw. she'll go down. down-- >> there you go. so she knows her stuff. >> we're looking for somebody with a yard and they can work with her and get her moving and losing weight. >> losing some of the weight. she's blowing her winter coat as you can see. and she needs to exercise and walk.

>> all right. how can folks contact briggs? >> they can call or go to our website. >> i got my animal from briggs. and i had a great time dealing with them. go to the pet line section at www.wusa9.com. and stick around. we'll be right back after this. toothpaste is not formulated for cleaning dentures,

the abrasives in the toothpaste actually create those micro fine scratches in the denture, and that's where bacteria can grow and thrive. these are the very bacteria that can cause bad breath. dentists do recommend that you soak your denture in polident.

polident doesn't scratch the denture surface, and it kills 99.9% of bacteria that are responsible for causing bad breath. by using polident and soaking your denture every day you can feel confident your dentures fresh and clean.

we have breaking news. former d.c. councilmember harry thomas jr. knows how long he'll be in jail for stealing

$350,000 in government funds. bruce johnson joins us live by phone outside district court. what's the latest. >> reporter: harry thomas jr, former ward five councilmember has been sentenced to 38 months in the federal prison. the judge could have given him as much adds 51 months. the prosecution asked for 46 months. the judge did give harry thomas jr. credit for community service before and after serving on the council. he gave him credit for admitting and entering the plea bargain. but the judge says there was a major big deal. the councilmember has betrayed his colleagues on the council. he has betrayed the citizens of the district of columbia. the youth he claimed to serve. it's unclear because they're still in the courtroom and i'm on the outside, if harry thomas will be allowed to walk out of

here and report to a federal prison at some time. i suspect that will happen. he addressed the court and told the judge that he was sorry. he had no excuses. he told the court that he had been asking himself since all of this unfolded why? what was his motivation? he concluded it was just a sense of entitlement that he had wrapped himself around once he took the office. he admitted that he betrayed the youth, councilmembers, family. there's no way that his mother, a former d.c. principal, no way that his late father, a former councilmember himself. no way that his wife and children should have to hear these kinds of charges and embarrassment. harry thomas jr. sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for theft of some $350,000 from a youth program. and failing to pay his federal

income taxes. >> all right, bruce johnson with that update on former ward five councilmember harry thomas jr. being sentenced to 38 months in jail. we'll have more on 9 news at 5 p.m. that's it for us at noon. we'll be back at 5:00 with that news and more. check us out 24 hours a day on the web at www.wusa9.com. have a great day. >> bye, bye.