these are firms, living social, which is becoming the largest employer in the district of columbia. they hire three people, average of three people day in the district of columbia. they were about to move out of the city and we worked with them so they would stay. we are now working in permanent quarters so they will be part of the city's efforts. the one in the lower right-hand corner, this was an amazing story. they were in sterling, virginia, about to sign a lease in early december to located in arlington, virginia and we were able to work with them to get them to come to the district of columbia. we gave them a one hundred thousand dollars in incentive. they located the district of columbia. they are an accelerator. there an incubator of technology firms. they now have about 10. they already signed on. they are located in the city. they found their headquarters. this is as good as it gets. you see where the word is? there is the district of columbia flat. that is as good as it gets. if we could get the rest of the folks to do the same kind of thing we will really go. the last wom

the district of columbia as the protest site is a particular set against and importance. the district has a history of posting some of the most significant protests activities of the modern era. accordingly, in 2011 there are over 600 first amendment activities on our national park lands. i find it curious that this particular demonstration has risen to the levels of congressional hearing. the occupied d.c. movement has not encountered widespread arrests and in a concentrated area. the district receives funds for the reimbursement annually for such activities. further, the discretion allowed the park service allows for the reasonable approach of compliance. then enforcement. i believe going forward the occupied d.c. movement should continue to be closely monitored to ensure proper safety, health and sanitation. interaction and cooperation of the various agencies to monitor the site should be encouraged. however, this protest in its current form does not rise to the level necessary of congressional intervention. this subcommittee should refer to the discretion of the nation

i've lived here 47 years and i want more power for the district of columbia. i want the district of columbia to have the same rights of citizens as everybody else and when you have things like this happening where somebody steals from the city, then the people that wish us ill, all they'll do is point to these examples and say see, you don't deserve democracy. well, that's not right and it's not valid and shouldn't be said, but that becomes the political reality. >> even the tone from with all due respect kwame brown who was just 10 feet from me here he said three times it's time for the healing process to begin. >> no. kwame brown has serious problems. there's a cloud over him. it's alleged and charged. there's been no conviction. there's been no -- he's denied it, but that i siphoned campaign funds to his father and to -- he siphoned campaign funds to his father and brother and i hope it's not true, but the point of it is here you have the chair of the legislative body who is under investigation and the chair -- and the mayor, the chief lect active officer un

it should look at where there have been objections made and the role of the district court and the district of columbia is where the question whether there are frivolous claims and note motions to dismiss any of the claims in washington d.c. based on frivolity. >> so the texas court should automatically accept every district that the challenge has been raised? >> it should not accept any of the districts that have been challenged. but the difference in terms of -- >> i don't mean to interrupt but i didn't follow that. so long as the district has been challenged in d.c. the court in texas should not accept it. >> it should make a determination either way and it didn't. in those districts it didn't adopt the plan that were put forward by the plaintiffs or the challengers in washington d.c.. it looked at the benchmark plan. >> could it look at the difference and say it respects county line that follows the rivers and look at it for that reason? and rely on the legislative judgment of a sound judgment that the river runs through here and the county line and so forth? it seems to be the difficulty was sayin

it should look at where there have been objections made a dent the will of the district court of the district of columbia is the question of where there are frivolous claims that have been made. and there have been no motions to dismiss any of the claims in the washington, d.c. based on -- >> so the texas court cannot -- should automatically accept all that the challenge has been raised in the d.c. circuit. >> it should not accept any of the districts that have been challenged, but i think the difference in terms of -- maldon assuming a violation. >> i don't mean to interrupt, but i didn't follow that, so long as a district has been challenged in d.c., the court in texas should not accept it? >> should make a determination either way and didn't because in those districts it didn't adopt the plans put forward by the plaintiffs or their challengers in washington, d.c.. it looked at the benchmark plan. >> but couldn't look at the district and the respect of the county line it's got room can and will get it for that reason? and rely on the legislative judgment it's making a sound judgment that the river runs

introduced a bill that would ban the abortion of fetuses 20 weeks or older but only in the district of columbia. >> if he believes that abortion should be a crime prior to 20 weeks, then he should introduce it for the entire country. but to introduce it only for the women of the district of columbia is an act of cowardness on his part. >> reporter: terry o'neill is the president of the national organization for women. this bill is nothing more than an attempt to challenge roe verse wade. >> we are deeply concerned that they will reach out and deny woman our fundamental rights if they have the opportunity. this congressman is simply trying to give the court one more opportunity to do that. >> reporter: to reverse roe ver cess sus wade. >> reporter: the mark is a key cutoff because that's when they believe a fetus can feel pain. >> the doctors rip babies apart. that's what it is. it's murder. >> reporter: but terry o'neill isn't buying it. >> there is no scientific evidence to support that. that is a false claim that's been floating around. are you ready for this, since the 1970s. >> reporter: no

i was surprised to hear that issue involving slavery and in the district of columbia was part of the compromise legislation. so if you can elaborate on that, i would appreciate it. >> well, clay said, slavery in our time cannot be solved. for one thing we've had it too long. and with the american people -- and this i think is interesting. what they've been doing year after decade after decade, it's hard for -- even though it is not to their benefit, it is hard for them to give it up. in fact, it's impossible. and another reason is there was so much money invested in slavery. and producing the goods that were sold around the world. you have to recognize the south has a real argument in that the government is not helping us. but slavery is immoral, isn't it? what are you going to do? and what seems to be the impossible issues the solutions that face us today and what's going to happen. iran with a nuclear bomb what are we going to do about that. do we attack it? well, i don't mean to create problems. where am i? on this side. >> can you go through eight parts -- or at least those that

the court papers indicate those items were purchased with funds taken from the district of columbia. if thomas does resign, we're told a special elect will be held in ward 5. i talked to the board of elections and they say they have been planning and preparing the last week or so, expecting some type of resignation to come their way. and this is not going to be cheap, brian. we're told at minimum, the special election here in ward 5 will cost at least $300,000. >> and the s. >> couple chairman expects to receive harry thomas' resignation soon and showed concern about his coworker. >> and right now, i pray for harry thomas and his family. right now, he will focus on the family and do what is best for the family and the city. that is probably the best thing to do. >> reporter: mayor gray told us he is calling for thomas to step down. >>> couple men thomas came to our studios last summer to defend him. we posted that introduce with the latest developments on www.myfoxdc.com. >>> and a bittersweet sendoff for national guardtrops this morning. family and friends gathered at the armory in s

joe dejenova, former district attorney for the district of columbia, excuse me, joe, i pronounced youre wrong. did i get it right? >> you got it right. >> let me get your credentials here. you're a former u.s. district attorney for the district of columbia and a current attorney specializing in white collar crimes. thank you very much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> we want to you put on your former prosecutor hat first. many people thought since harry thomas jr. worked out the deal a few months agofo pay back the d.c. government for the money, that would be the end of it. explain what elevated this to the federal charges? >> when you steal $350,000, it's not going to go away with a civil settlement. the u.s. attorney had all of this handed to him on a silver platter by the d.c. attorney general, who did the civil case and it was inevitable that mr. thomas was going to be charged or plead guilty and it's evidence since the information was filed today that mr. thomas will plowed guilty, and of course, he's going go to prison and is not going get probation. >> let me ask you. you say

>>> moving forward, working and earning the trust of the residents of the district of columbia, we passed a conference we have a new code of conduct for the council and new training manuals, nothing can take the place of having good ethical standards and i think the commitment from all of my colleagues is to continue to move forward to earn that trust from the residents of the district of columbia and work hard to make sure not only we increase our numbers but let people know what we are doing and what we are going to continue to fight for. >> council chairman brown, thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >> thank you bruce now just 30 minutes ago the monthly meeting of the dc democratic state committee wrapped up at the wilson building where matt got reaction and continues our team coverage live to tonight's announcement of this resignation. matt. >> anita, most of the people i talked to tonight all long time members of the dc democratic party and long time friends and or associates of harry thomas junior declined the talk publicly about thomas out of respect for thomas and his family but o

other people who are down in the 15, a $20,000 range colleges and area like the district of columbia, almost impossible to deal with. and then one of the biggest areas for us is tourism. we have about 16 million people to come to the district of columbia each year, which is phenomenal. in terms of the problem for us the unemployment rate is huge. until about september we have an unemployment rate if we have been working assiduously on this through some of our folks call i director of business development, david, our work force investment of be happy to talk about it more in the aftermath, but we're trying to reorganize ourselves on refocusing and repackaging our efforts. by the end of this year, by the end of december through a number of offers that we have made and some of the things that probably serendipitous, our unemployment rate has dropped. ages the awaiting the data. the reality is our unemployment is concentrated in three areas. five, seven, end date. the rate is 14%. nestle of the largest areas of public housing developments. the unemployment rate is 249 percentage. believe

district, taxation without representation. it's just unfair. reporter: the bill in front of the state federal relations and veterans affairs committee would express support for admitting the district of columbia as the 51st state. it was council member david catania who worked with new hampshire lawmakers to get this bill introduced. >> we are here asking for something we are entitled to by birth. we are americans. we pay our taxes. we work hard. we swear allegiance to this country. i'm asking on behalf of the 620,000 people i represent bring us into the family. reporter: committee members asked the delegation a number of tough questions from gun control to local funding, even about the crime rate in d.c. >> new hampshire is the safest

in the district of columbia. we have placed 1500 people who were unemployed prior to becoming part of this effort and into employed. and we have another 314 who are in the queue. to over the next several weeks we could be approaching 2000 people who were unemployed, now will be in kashmir now be employed. what kind of companies? bank, 7-11. some of our construction firms, marriott, cbs, bed bath and beyond, our universities, some of the security firms, safeway. and, of course, our own mattresses and. one of the things we found out is our metro system that serves the city principally, only 40% of the people who worked for metro actually lived in the district of columbia. so we have now worked with the metro system. they are 360 vacancies a year in the bus system. so we now were, entered into an agreement with them to help recruit and train bus drivers so that we can increase our market share of people who are employed in america who live in the district of columbia. 70% of people who we worked with, who we refer to

fairfax, arlington counties, upper teens in the district of columbia. we've got a clear sky. thankfully, the winds are much calmer this morning. they're only around 5 to 10 miles an hour. that's enough to bring the windchills down to single digits. that's the day planner. we'll have some sun this morning. clouding up during the afternoon. highs reaching the low 30s this afternoon. this evening cloudy. that should keep it a bit warmer. we should be hovering around 30 during the evening. we have a warming trend on the way the rest of the week into the weekend. danella, how's traffic? >>> traveling i-95 in virginia, fairfax county hitting the brakes. you are slow. your first set of delays start at prince william parkway. they continue as you head towards the occoquan and stop and go as you make your way towards fairfax county parkway. choppers over i-66 at route 28. delays start eastbound at sudley road, and they continue as you make your way towards the beltway. no accidents to report. 66 east or west, but lots of delays eastbound. now back to you both. >> thanks, danella.

. >> district of columbia may be in the best fiscal shape of any major city in the whole country. mayor vince gray announced the district has a $240 million surplus from the fiscal year 2011. but bruce johnson tells us that money does not appear to be going back to you, the taxpayer. >> many areas the city is on a roll, 16,000 new residents, office space in high demand, the federal government with all its workers and billions of dollars to spend. >> remember estimates were made, economy was in a very bad shape. >> cfo revealed today the district ended the last fiscal year where $240 million more than he had projected. mayor gray wants to keep the surplus. >> it isn't as if the surplus represents money that we will get every year going forward. >> the mayor sites the hiring and spending freeze, underspending by agencies as reason, but others point to higher fees and fines. a tax increase on businesses and high end income earners. >> it is very tough to do business in our city. it is very expensive. >> two of the most influential council members say the taxes and fees should be reeva

move forward, we continue to do a better job restoring the trust of the residents ever the district of columbia and that is -- of the district of columbia and that is what my colleagues and i will continue to focus on. >> it is one thing to be inept. it is another thing to be corrupt and stealing from them. there is a presumption of innocence and i'm going to go with that. kwame brown has a cloud over him. the mayor is being investigated by the u.s. attorney. >> be sure to stay with myfoxdc.com for continuing coverage. we'll bring you live coverage of thomas' hearing set for 11:15 this morning. >>> new this morning, a grandmother convicted of murdering her granddaughter at tysons corner will find out her punishment today. carmen de la rosa is due in court this morning. she tossed her 2-year-old granddaughter off a pedestrian walkway at tyson's. her lawyers tried to prove she was insane at the time but a jury rejected that argument. de la rosa is expected to get 35 years in prison. >>> a public school bus turns into a party bus apparently for some chantilly middle school students. authorities ca

they include california, indiana, massachusetts, south carolina, virginia, and the district of columbiat of columbia. >>> on the "cbs moneywatch," congress is close to banning its own members from insider training. >>> and a toilet-proof phone? ashley morrison is here with the latest on that. we definitely need an explanation on what that is. >> you certainly will get one. it is an interesting one. good morning, betty. well, stock markets in asia rallied this morning. tokyo's nikkei finished a fraction higher, ending a three-day losing streak, while hong kong's hang seng gained more than 1%. investors will get an increase. wall street started on a flat note. the dow dropped 6 points while the nasdaq dropped 4. >>> 25 of the 27 european nations are signing onto a european treaty that imposes strict budget discipline. german chancellor angela merkel lead the way to the agreement, which calls on members states to adhere to deficit limits and blapsed budgets. britain and the czech republic were the only eu members to reject the plan. >>> more trouble for mortgage lender freddie mac. accordi

. >>> up next a crushing defeat for the district of columbia, mayor gray and city council made their case for state's rights and fell short, what this means for the future of the fight. >> now listen, we may have a shower or two this weekend, but that doesn't mean it's going to be all bad, complete forecast weekend and beyond coming up. >>> check out some of the other stories on the rundown. news edge at 11:00 will be right back. >> this is fox 5 news edge at 11:00.  >>> a major setback for the district, today a new hampshire house committee rejected a resolution to recognize d.c. as the 51st state. , this after mayor gray and council members traveled hundreds of miles to testify. matt ackland went with them and has more from manchester. reporter: this was a crushing blow for those who have been fighting for d.c. statehood. the decision came town right around 5:00 -- down right around 5:00, an 8-3 vote against the resolution. this came after hours of testimony in concord, new hampshire, including the mayor and several council members. the delegation arrived at

digital applications, like music, apps, ex-books and other online goods. 24 states and the district of columbiacharge a digital sales tax. >>> gary williams name will now forever be part of comcast center. the basketball court at the university of maryland arena was named after the retired hoops coach before last night's game between the terps and blue devils. williams retired after last season. he is the winningest coach in history and is the only coach to lead the terps to a national championship. unfortunately the night did not end as well as the night began for terps fans. maryland fell to duke 74-61. that kept things quiet along route 1 in college park. police were prepared for potential riots which sometimes after half duke games. extra police were around just in case things got out of hand. >>> here is a proud thursday morning boast, the washington wizards are no longer the worst team in the nba. seems like a new coach may have been what they needed. they got the win in whitman's first game at the helm. they beat the bobcats last night 92-75. good way to start. >> one step at a time. >>

. >> the people of the district of columbia deserve better. >> a dark day for d.c. government. a city council member headed to federal prison for stealing money meant for kids. prosecutors called the guilty plea by harry thomas jr. a lightning quick conclusion to a corruption case. >> no one believes it is the end after the details of thomas' stealing were made public. he started stealing taxpayer fund meant for children in the district as soon as he took office in january 2007. he would steer grant money to nonprofits. they would turn around and kick the money back to thomas according to authorities. among the thing he's bought with taxpayer money. a victory motorcycle, audi, suv, airline tickets. clothing and meals at restaurants. all totaling more than $350,000. tom sherwood is here with more on what happened and, more importantly, what's ahead for the city. tom? >> some one said, one down, two to go. the thomas case is ending. two major investigations hang over the city. guilty as charged. harry thomas jr.'s response to federal judge john baits. thomas sentenced may 3rd and

and in fairfax county, southern montgomery county right near the freezing mark as is the district of columbia, prince george's county, southern maryland. over the northern neck, many locations there are around 40 degrees, as well as the eastern shore. sunrise at 7:21. by 9:00, much of the fog should be gone. any freezing threat will be gone then, too. light rain, though, moving in. and moderate, even briefly heavy rain during the afternoon with thunder and lightning even. and that -- by then we'll have temperatures into the upper 40s, near 50. we'll hold steady in the mid 40s through the night with the rain tapering off and ending. sun back tomorrow, into the mid 50s on tuesday. all this snow and ice will be gone. and then on wednesday, partly cloudy and then clouding up wednesday night. could get rain on thursday. and maybe lingering rain friday morning, then drying into the weekend. pleasant weekend, looks like now. and danella, how's traffic? >>> good morning. checking the roads, not seeing a lot of issues as far as accidents or construction. a lot of grown in our area, traveling around th

and introduce a resolution allowing -- supporting district of columbia, becoming the 51st statewe want to start in new hampshire but go to other states, getting the word out ifs time to have representation here in district of columbia. >> before we let you go you talk about things you were able to accomplish last year if you can prioritize it what is first on agenda. >> keep this city fiscally responsible and making sure we rebuild a fund balance here continue education reform, education is the way out of poverty we can't talk about poverty if people aren't educated we can't talk about getting them a job if they don't have training you can't be train first-degree you don't know how the read, write, add, subtract. it goes hand in hand in terms of lifting residents out of poverty but make sure our neighbourhoods develop in a way we move this city forward we will spend an incredible amount of time raising the expectation of our students and parents. >> happy new year. >> happy new year good to be here. >>> it is now 8:25 a.m. thursday morning over weight kids this is a touchy subje

thomas has just done a phenomenal job and dedicated her entire life to the residents of the district of columbiaery sad that this had to come to. this. reporter: so you're a tax accountant. that is your professional job. are you surprised it took you and not some ethics commission or someone else to uncover this scandal? >> i think no. it was so blatant and open being a tax accountant, you know, i know tax laws. i know taxation. i don't know nonprofit stuff and it was easy. really all it takes somebody with a computer and a little bit of common sense to be able to look at public record information and see that there's misappropriations. reporter: so you think this is just the tip of the iceberg, his guilty plea? >> absolutely. this is an ethical cancer and we have to remember cancer spreads fast if it's not addressed and if you look at the council right now with the issues with gray, with brown, what has happened to former council member thomas, our cancer is spreading. cancer kills us if we don't address it. this is just the beginning. >> one big question being asked is whether more people will

. >> the "washington post" recently reported that a program by the district of columbia government and local community groups to subsidize mortgages for first time home buyers in the district of columbia resulted in mortgages that many buyers could not afford. i know they meant well, but the article found that nearly one in five borrowers participating in the d.c. program are now behind on their mortgage payments. do you believe that the lending practices used by nonprofit entities, although meaning well, that helped put consumers in mortgages they cannot afford, are within your purview? and are you looking into this particular program? because, i'm not saying it's abusive, but maybe it's lack of, i don't know how you define all that, but lack of judgment, because you want to help people, but sometimes if one out of five is failing, they've got to be reviewed. is that part of your deal? or is that not in your purview? >> that's the first time the program you mentioned has come to our attention. >> sure. well, it's -- >> -- local d.c. programs. but i will say we had a lot of problems in

the district of columbia and areas just to the south of washington, these are just sprinkles.ng to continue here for perhaps another, oh, couple of hours or so and may let up a bit. some more coming in later today. grab the umbrella as you head out, we're in the 40s from the mountains to the atlantic beaches. low 40s now in montgomery, prince george's, arlington, fairfax, and the district. and we will have -- as temperatures hold steady through the morning hours, these are the areas of the potential rainfall. the dark blue ridge. they could get up to an inch and a half of rain. the green area, a half inch of rain. this tapering off and ending by later this afternoon. and this whole system will be out of here by later this evening. and to be followed by much colder air moving in. for the rest of the day today, we'll have temperatures into the 50s by noontime. actional rain. periods of rain to the middle of the afternoon. by then, near 60 degree. then the cold air begins to move in tonight, near 50 by midnight under a cloudy sky. and then pie dawn tomorrow, near 40. it will drop

until and continue to peak sure we communicate the work we're doing for the residents of the district of columbia even through these tough economic times. >>> the company also named in the agreement can now step up and make a payment. if that does not happen after 10 days, the district can go after thomas' perm property. we'll get more insight when we talk with mark plotkin in the 7:00 hour -- the district can go after thomas ' personal property. >>> a heart break fore virginia tech in the sugar bowl. hokies fell to the michigan wolverines 20-17 in overtime. virginia tech had a 37-yard field goal in overtime and then brendan gibbons drove one from the same distance to give the wolverines the win. >>> the washington caps won again last night as mike green return to the line-up. the caps beat the calgary flames last night 3-1 for the fourth straight win. >>> on the hard court, the maryland terps won their seventh straight game last night beating cornell 70-62 the terps begin acc play sunday at nc state. >>> we still have plenty ahead. fox 5 morning news at 4:30 starts now. >>> it is wednesday, janu

. >> the district of columbia memorial the people of the district of columbia. >> it was constructed for decades. the memorial foundation is pushing to nationalize it some more people will visit and suggests politics have gotten in the way. >> some people try to link this to the d.c. statehood in the voting rights issue. the next thing you know, they have the public in their support. >> used to be an honorary trustee for the project and the d.c. council unanimously supported a rededication nationalizing the memorial signed by then chairman, now mayor, vincent gray. >> i cannot imagine staying with a position because you took it in the first place. you learn more. >> they'll learn how the residents raised money and they supported not nationalizing it. the meeting is sent for tomorrow and sunday sea groups will show up to oppose it. on the national mall, sam ford, abc7 news. >> that's it. abc7 news at 5:00. the next at 6:00. >> fans and alumni continue to gather to remember joe paterno. i'm jay korff. that's coming up. >> early voting going on under way. who has the advantage? wait unt

just a little bit of light rain falling in the district of columbia. loudoun county. fairfax, and montgomery and northern prince george's county and howard county. that's heading off to the north and east. we are going to have some of these waves from time to time and little bit of light rain into the afternoon. then heavier rain farther to our south will be arriving late tonight. right now in the 40s all around the region from the blue ridge to the bay and eastern shore. farther to the west it is in the upper 30s. and the view from space showing all this cloud cover and storm system changes over to sleet here up in pennsylvania. changes to snow up into new york state. as we go forward this moving color, this is all rain, potential rain showers coming through. this area of yellow and orange is some of the more heavier rains may be coming in by dawn friday. and then friday afternoon we should clear out and maybe some snow showers out of the mountains there. during the day friday, we will get sunshine back here tomorrow. blustery wind will be turning colder too. for the

and the role of the district court and the district of columbia is where the question of whether there frivolous claims have been made. and there have been no motions to dismiss any of the claims in washington, d.c., based on frivolity. >> the texas court cannot -- should automatically accept every district that the challenge has been raised in the d.c. circuit court? >> ited you -- it should not accept any of the districts that have been challenged. a i didn't mean to interrupt but i didn't follow that. so long as a district has been challenged in d.c., the court in texas should not accept it? >> it should make a determination either way, it didn't. in those districts it didn't adopt the plans that were put forward by the plaintiffs or the challengers in washington, d.c., it looked at the benchmark plan. >> could it look at that district and say it respects county lines, follows a river? could it look at it for that reason? and rely on the legislative judgment as making a sound judgment that the river runs through here and the county line is there? that seems to me the difficulty with

south of the district of columbia and points south, circle that to make it easy. even some lingering stuff near hagerstown. it's all showing up as a rain as the temperatures go up. another mild day, 57 at the airport. way above average for the season. the record for the state was 4.3 inches. green and blue with temperatures in the '50s. we are around 50 degrees and that falls into the 40's. west of us, you will see that temperatures tumble as the system goes through. it will warm up front right through us. it turns to snow in the great lakes with breezy conditions. once the front comes through, we are going to drop the temperatures. the wind will kick in and of the wind chill will be a big factor. showers will be ending and someone may get clipped by a flurry to the west. during the day tomorrow, partly cloudy skies. it will cloud up a bit and will be signed. somebody could catch some flurries to the northwest. stronger gusts and 40 to the high tomorrow. west wins at 15 to 20 miles an hour. a small craft advisory for boaters in the bay. the one area of rain will b

look at the district of columbia. for years people here did not know that there were unacceptable levels of lead in their drinking water. here in the nation's capital. so what is the problem? why do you think that these corporations continue to rule us? by what authority? as richard grossman said in so many ways around the country, who gave these artificial entities, we are not talk about employees here, who gave this artificial entity the same constitutional rights as uni as young beings. why should artificial entities who are given limited liability, given perpetual life, it can go bankrupt and get rid of the letter claims and a creditor claims and the tort claims and bounce right back. can pick one government against another through these trade agreements and other maneuvers including bribery. the wto, nafta, who can, in effect, strategically plan every aspect of our lives to make sure that none of these aspects challenge their domination. that is what corporations do, don't they. they are strategically planning our

we hope to have answers for the residents of the district of columbia >> any fear there may have beeninal wrong doing? >> again that is where we as the chair of this particular committee thought it was important enough to refer to see. there may not be. that is why we have these entities to do that checking to see if there is any criminal activity we hope not but i can't express enough this has been going on quite some time again probably during the fente administration possibly back to the williams administration. >> let's talk about the trip you and councilmembers and the mayor took to new hampshire pushing for state hood, why new hampshire why there why not start in maryland or virginia. >> if you are wondering if it is really 32 or 36 degrees out here it is it is cold just so you know tony what we wanted to do, we have a full 50 state strategy we are going to go around the country, new hampshire happened to be the first state we wanted to make sure we start to get our message out what we learned friday there are a lot of myths and misinformation about what this great city is, how

it's the main road from virginia into the district of columbia. it's the route i traveled. any of us could have been on that bridge. when flight 90 came overhead. if you listen to the survivors, they will tell you, they saw roger, a man who said i have to do something, jumped into the icy river and swam out there. he could have been a victim himself. that gave them hope. the other, of course, is arlin williams. i couldn't see him, but to hear that story, he kept passing the life raft, and now it is named after him. >> the disaster response could have been disastrous, given the fact that nobody could talk to each other. >> not just talk to each other, there was no real strong disaster response plan for the region back in 1982. and that was an issue. they did a good job, but arlington and d.c. weren't sure who was in charge. they were both saying we were in charge. they acted some progressive thinkers and came up with a strong mutual aide plan. just what a third a mile away at the pentagon. >> do you think about this every time you go across the 14th street bridge? >> i always

district is still fighting for voting rights, a cause that gray believes dr. king would actively support if he were alive today. >> why is it that the people of the district of columbiahould pay federal taxes every day and have no representation of votes in the congress of the united states? why is it that the people of the district of columbia can't decide for ourselves how to spend our own money? >> reporter: and looking live back here at the parade, you can see that folks are starting to come off of the st. elizabeth's grounds. that's where they were staging. they're stopped at the moment, but the first ones out of the gate there, they're making their way down martin luther king avenue. this is a mile and a half, this parade route. keep in mind if you're traveling through the area in the next several hours, you're going to run into some road closures. they've got 200 groups that are participating this year. angela, back to you. >> glad to see the parade is back. thank you. >>> well, the first family is honoring dr. king's legacy by taking part in a day of service. this morning the obamas volunteered at the brown education campus in northeast washington. tonight th

. >> 26 states in the district of columbia have adopted similar laws. montgomery county just went into affect three weeks ago. he says the proposed tax would hit him hard. >> in my mind i am always calculating figures of money. when i go into the store i figure out how much money i will spend. now i will have to figure out how much a bag will cost. >> there will be exclusions in virginia. backs for items like ice cream meat fish, and poultry would not be taxed. some see the benefits to the environment. >> i think it is a great idea to be an incentive to remember to bring your back in. >> this is not the first time a state wide bag tax has been proposed in virginia. with neighboring jurisdictions proposing similar policies, they hope this is the year it becomes law. >> we ask you on facebook what you thought of the 20 cent per bag fee being proposed. and the% said he thought it was expensive -- excess of, the rest do not mind. >> next at 6:00, another dose of winter weather is causing issues in the pacific northwest. >> we may have some nasty weather head

taxpayers and the district of columbia became his personal bankers. his piggy bank. >> the government plans to sell thomas' chevy tahoe and his motorcycle that they seized last month to pay back thomas' debt to d.c. meanwhile, the courtroom was packed as thomas admitted his guilt. family members, supporters, members of the media, but also his former colleague who said this. >> it's very devastating when the first council member in history steps down because of, you know, criminal violations and to hear a former member say guilty as charged, that's devastating. it's very painful to sit through that. >> the u.s. attorney made it clear today that this investigation continues, but would not elaborate on others who might be involved or could possibly be charged in the future. thomas was ordered back to court on may 3. that's when a judge will decide on that sentencing. we're hearing it would be 3 to 4 years, but once again, it's up to the judge to make that decision. >> matt acklin, thank you very much for keeping us up to date. a special election will be

attorney through the district of columbia and says if thomas resigns, it will be of his rosen making. >> there are dog guide -- of his own making. >> there are dog guidelines that have -- doj guidelines that have permitted his resignation to be offered freely and without coercion as part of a deal in order to encourage a prosecutor to either reduce the charges or to reduce the fine or something. reporter: thomas was not home when we stopped by late this afternoon. his wife later told me off camera she had nothing to say about her husband's possible resignation which ward 1 council member jim graham says saddens him greatly. >> it was all there. he had important committees. he had an important future. he was very much involved in key decisions. all of that is lost as a result of the wrong things that he apparently did. reporter: thomas represents ward 5, a seat on the city council once held by his father. >> what's the latest with the civil case? he owes an awful hot of money. >> indeed. though -- lot of money. >> indeed. though he admitted no wrongdoing council member thomas agreed to

i think there will be one state for sure -- well, the district of columbia,a, but other than te district of columbia and the dispute in virginia, we will be on every ballot and have delegates to fill the slots. as i said the other night, game on? speaking of game on, senator mccain has some pretty tough words fur. are you going on team up with newt gingrich or are you the junior partner? we'll get to that when we come back. we will have much more with rick santorum and we will go over the polls as our election countdown continues with the latest from new hampshire, south carolina and a preview of the whirlwind weekend ahead for the g.o.p. candidates, preparing for debates, both on saturday, tomorrow, and sunday. [ male announcer ] in bli, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. whee wheeeeeeeeeeeee! wheeeeeeeeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! pure adrenaline. whee whee w

the district of columbia may have their own online by march. >>> iphones, ipads, maccomputers, apple t companies out there. >> reporter: in the last three months of 2011 apple sold a scorching 37 million iphones. investors loved it sending apple's stock to an all time high. it is the most valuable company in the world edging past exxon mobile. it turn add whopping $13 billion profit during the quarter, one of the best for any u.s. company. it wasn't just iphones that boosted the number. it's also worth noting that this is the company's first profit report since the passing of co-founder steve jobs. but the results would have made him proud as apple continues to invent and improve propped ducts -- products. reporting from new york. >> there's a backlash against net flex that's coming to an end. the company found that its fourth quarter earnings beat wall street expectations. netflix has strulged since september when it announced plans to split the video streams and dvd by mail service which would have meant a big price increase. customers left the company in droves. >>> well, coming up

only six states have approved same-sex marriage, and the district of columbia. maryland will not become the seventh. >> reporter: that feet starts in about an hour at a planned rally. we will have much more on that rally and the soon to be introduced bill coming up at 6 and again at 11. >> thanks a lot. now we have the very latest on an attack during a feet outside broadneck hospital. the 18-year-old is still in shock trauma. on friday the 18-year-old was approached by a 15-year-old. the two got into a fight off of school property. >>> a former mass mass dentist was sentenced to a year in jail for using paper clips instead of stainless steel in root canals. michael clair was charged with several charges. clair now lives in crofton and was suspended by medicaid in 2002 but continued filing claims by using the names of other dentists in his practice. >>> an ex employee at a queen anne's grocery store takes out his cooler by bleaching meat. 57-year-old john waskey poured bleach into the meat case, contaminating pork and chicken. he turned himself in and was arreste

i'd like to now introduce the district of columbia mayor, vince, to welcome us to his city. right from the start of his term, mayor gray's been an active mayor of the u.s. conference of mayor. mayor, thank you for your support and your leadership. please, come up. [applause] >> good to see you, sir. thank you very much. good afternoon, everybody. i am delighted to be here. thank you, mayor via ri goes saw, for your leadership. it has been a wonderful experience for me for this past year to be a part of the u.s. conference of mayors, and i look forward to continuing to work with you, to work with all of our colleagues out here as we grapple with some of these very daunting issues that we face. first of all, let me welcome you to the district of columbia. we're delighted to have you here. i probably should have said welcome to the state of new columbia masquerading as the city because we hope the day comes when we are the 51st state in the nation. [applause] but if that were to happen in the foreseeable future which is unlikely, i'd still be a member of the u.s. conference of m

the district of columbia memorial belongs to the people of the district of columbia. >> reporter: congressllocated $7.3 million in stimulus money to restore the monument. those renovations were completed in november. >>> there is a change in leadership at the smithsonian institution. purdue university president france cordoba was installed today as chairwoman of the governing board. she is an astro physicist and previously served as chief scientist at nasa. she plans to maintain her post at purdue as she oversees the largest museum and research complex in the world. >> i think she can do it. with all those credentials. >> yes. >>> still to come on news 4 at 6:00 -- >> reporter: i'm julie carey in richmond, virginia. last year's tragic suicide of a fairfax county student following a discipline probe could lead to statewide reform. i'll tell you what the general assembly is proposing coming up. >>> people around the >>> welcome back. meteorologist veronica johnson here in storm center 4. you aren't going to need your umbrellas this evening but you will need your coat because it is going to b

and the district of columbia bereft of any voting rights in the congress has an example of that. we've had that documented many times and we've seen how much damage it's done to the self-realization of people here in the district. now, the question is, not how much we know in order to be upset with the concentration of power in so few hands, where the few decide for many and the few called the plutocracy ruled by the wealthy control our government and turn that into an oligarchy and that's what franklin roosevelt meant when he sent a message to congress in 1938 to establish a temporary national economic commission to study concentrated corporate power. he said, and i paraphrase him quite closely, whenever government is controlled by private economic power, that is fascism. that is 1938. that's the control of government by concentrated corporate power. now, we have a very matured corporate state now. i'm sure franklin delano roosevelt would be astonished as well as our founding fathers as to how much of the power of the people has been sucked away into a few hands whose principal