>> reporter: derek mcginty, 9news now. >> it's been around for 123 years.t one time, there was a home for unwed pregnant girls. but since 1983, the group has been decidedly proactive on that situation. for a link to this organization, just to find out more information about any of the charities that we have been profiling, just go to our website, wusa9.com. click on the hero central link. >>> coming up, we'll take a look at sports plus. >>> we're just a few minutes away with a preview. what can we do about michael vick tomorrow night? >> last night they knocked him out. i mean, they could knock him out again. it was an excellent solution last time. i don't know though because he has been playing lights out against everybody. if it wasn't for the bye week, donovan mcnabb's whole thing would be ancient history now. instead, we had two full weeks to talk about it and talk about the multiple explanations that mike shanahan has given for it. do you hear that? i had a little thing there. but tomorrow, we'll see what laughing impact, if any, that they had on the o

. >> reporter: derek mcginty, 9 news now. >>> >>> good morning. welcome to 9 news now. today

house gop leadership figures it has a mandate to shrink the immense tide of federal red ink but as derek mcgintyto tight the keyword there is "supposedly." >> reporter: anita tonight unfortuntely a prediction. no matter what they do to the federal paycheck, two years from now our federal spending will still be out of control. how so you ask? it's simple. there's only two ways to balance the books. there is spending and i'm not talking the penny stuff like earmarks or bridges to know where. no. i'm talking real money. defense, social security medicare. problem is those huge programs have huge constituencies that will scream like a movie monster from the 50s if you try to make real cuts. now, you can always raise taxes but again, well, that guy. that's why voting in new people won't help much. it's not them. it's us. if we americans were really so worried about soaking up the red ink, why would be buy into this nonsense of solving the problem by cutting wasteful government spending? you know what everybodies personal definition of wasteful government spending is? it's something you need that i don

but in tonight's lets be real, derek mcginty explains why it's just part of the game. >> well, anita,irst of all, you don't have to be a football fan to just love watching this play. take a look. the quarterback takes the snap, walks to the line and then makes a run for it for a touchdown. for all those who say that's not in the spirit of the game, i'm going to argue it is exactly in the spirit of the game where deceiving your opponent is your real intention is the object on most every player. and, guess what, this play, this idea is not new. it's years old. here is a look at a very different version of the same play from some time ago. take a look at this. the kid takes the snap, walks towards the sidelines and then waits for it. waits for it. go. all the way down field for a touchdown. all the kids are completely fooled. and take a look at this one. it doesn't always work out that way. this kid tries to pull a fast one but one kid is not falling for it. he runs into the backfield and makes the play. okay. so look, if this was an every day sort of thing, i would be worried about the

derek mcginty, 9news now. >> we also learned of the 588 escalators in the metro system, 10% have recently had brake problems. in fact 50 had major problems. 40 needed brakes completely replaced. 10 had leaky brakes, and 16 are out of service completely because they're waiting for new brake pads. d.c. councilman jim graham says there could have been 50 more incidents like the one at the plaza october 30th. that's when the brakes failed on an escalator, sending 16 people to the hospital. the agency will start doing monthly maintenance instead of quarterly. >>> two prince george's county police officers acouped in the corruption scandal there might have to spend thanksgiving in federal custody. the hearings for the two have been postponed. the two are accused in an alleged scheme to smuggle untaxed cigarettes and alcohol for langly park convenience store. none of the officers would talk. but the brothers spoke to reporters and criticized the police chief. >> upset with the police chief, throwing all three under the bus. >> why do you think he threw them under the bus? he convicted them right

derek mcginty shows us in this week's friday heros. >> reporter: calling bread for the city of food pantrys a bit like calling wal-mart a grocery store, not exactly wrong, but hardly the whole story. >> it's kind of a one-stop shop for low-income residence here in washington, d.c. >> reporter: bread for the city executive dior

. >> reporter: derek mcginty, 9 news now. >> and becoming a teacher could pay off in another way.s has passed a law for the income-based repayment program. it would forgive tuition debt for those who teach for ten years. great incentive. >>> an engaged couple took many of the top honors at the country music association awards. >> on her 27th birthday, miranda lambert took home album of the year. blake shelton had two trophies. one of the cohosts, brad paisley got the coveted entertainer of the year award. >>> and coming up, a fashionable new dc photo exhibit features models on four legs. >> very cute. plus, one of four friends returns to tv after his short live attempted spin off. shopping for a new credit card that treats you right and gives you great rewards. i have a list of the best ones out there and i will tell you what they are. you are watching 9 news now. [ female announcer ] introducing pillsbury sweet moments bite-sized brownies layers of brownie and caramel, dipped in chocolate ready to eat sweet moments new from pillsbury. in the refrigerated section [ female announce

in our friday's hero's report, derek mcginty takes us inside the services of greater dc. >> reporter:hese senior girls from dc's a.c. woodson highs have a b-line on their goals and dreams in part because of what they don't have. kids. >> nobody has got a kid. >> no. so can we safely say that this group helps keep that from happening? >> most definitely. >> reporter: the three girls all say they owe a debt to the services program which they have been taking part in for years. once a week at school lunch hour a program coordinator gathers groups of high school girls to talk, to share, to learn. job 1, keep the kids from having kids. >> so we do a lot of work around that particular subject in talking to the girls about contraceptives, about proper family planning. >> reporter: while hopefully inspiring them to transsend their circumstances. >> you're going to study what? >> forensic anthropology. >> how did you even hear of that. >> we take them to colleges and universities to expose them to something different. trying to expose them to different cultural things. >> reporter: it is helpi

derek mcginty joins us with more. >> reporter: i'm joined by former son of sam prosecutor and now defense attorney jim shal lick to talk about about what he sees here. first of all, you heard the facebook responses. i have seen a washington post web poll that say almost half the folk says they got the wrong guy here. what's your reaction. did they get the right guy? >> well, the jury said so, so we have to say yes. i was skeptical of the evidence but apparently the cell mate that testified that gaundique admitted it to him was fabulous. they couldn't shake him. they couldn't show that he was lying to get a good deal. he was -- they say he was the key. >> so he was the piece of evidence that you think turned the tide for the prosecution in this case. can we play monday morning quarterback here for a second? did the defense make any key mistakes that you saw? >> from what i know and heard, the defense did an excellent job but they had a big mountain to climb because of all the emotion, the sympathy was on the side of the government. it is a horrible crime. everybody's emotions and sympathy

. >> as derek mcginty shows us in this week's "fridays heros" this organization gives much more than the staples. >> reporter: bread for the city food pantry is a bit like calling wal-mart a grocery store, not exactly wrong, but hardly the whole store. >> kind of a one-stop-shop for low income residents here in washington d.c. >> reporter: the executive director george jones. >> it's very common for people to come in because they've heard about our food pantry, whether it's a holiday helpings campaign or throughout the year. they also find out we offer healthcare here, legal services, social services. >> reporter: and when you consider the average bread client only makes about $7000 a year, the one-stop-shop becomes even more critical. >> oftentimes folks arrive on the bus and are getting -- or getting friends to give them a lift over. we can accomplish a lot as one center. >> it's very disheartening if you have to go here and another door is halfway open and you have to go here to open another door and run you around. it's very discouraging, it'll turn you around. here i was able to