councilman harry thomas jr. today. they also impounded his suv. >> thomas represents ward 5. he's being investigated for allegedly spending $300,000 from a youth program he started to buy an suv and pay for personal trips and other expenses. >> he's maintained his innocence even though he has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit with the d.c. attorney general and repay that $300,000. >> for the latest developments and reaction from d.c. councilmembers about this morning's raid, you can stay tuned to news 4 at 6:00. >>> now let's fast forward to the weather. veronica. >> thanks a lot, guys. another dry day for us. another nice day for us. we got up to 55 degrees with sunshine throughout the area. right now, we've got a clear sky at 54 with a very calm wind. not bad at all out there right now. by tomorrow morning, we dip way down. a big range in temperatures too. 35 to 36 right inside the beltway. look at some of the northern and suburbs. louden county down to 26. starting out around 25 degrees around prince william county. very, very cold to start the day tomorrow morning. little

harry thomas jr.es are looking into allegations that thomas misused $300,000 from a youth program, spending the money on an suv and personal trips. thomas has maintained his innocence, although he's agreed to settle a civil lawsuit with the district attorney and repay the money. >>> al qaeda claims to be holding a rockfeld man hostage. he was kidnapped in pakistan in aug. there was no claim of responsibility until yesterday when al qaeda released a lengthy set of demands to be met in exchange for his freedom. >>> got some good news about the economy today. the unemployment rate is down to 8.6% now. that's the lowest it's been in two and a half years. economists say small businesses are started to hire more. the boost was also helped by temporary holiday hiring. >>> herman cain says he'll make a major announcement tomorrow. he's been reassessing his campaign since monday when a woman named ginger white came forward to say they had a 13-year affair. he says they were just friends, but has also acknowled

neither gray, brown more harry thomas jr. have faced charges. -- nor harry thomas jr.d.c. residents are now calling for thomas to resign. fox 5's bob barnard has reaction. >> i think he's entitled to be innocent until he's proven guilty. >> i'm shocked to have heard about it. i don't know anything more. >> reporter: we caught up with a number of harry thomas' fellow d.c. council members in the hallways of the wilson building. are you still calling for his resignation? >> base on the previous -- what happened with the 300,000 -- based on the previous -- what happened with the 300,000 on the attorney general, yes, but in terms of this i don't have any new information and i have no comment at this time. >> clearly a serious situation. i think there's been a lot of angst in this building that the u.s. attorney proceed with investigation. i'm hopeful that we will get to a closure quickly. >> and there is sternly a time where his effectiveness, you know -- certainly a time where his effectiveness, you know, under this type of barrage becomes questionable, but that's a decisi

mayor vincent gray is speaking out about harry thomas jr.robe is taking a toll on the city as well as thomas' family. tom sherwood reports. >> the boxing capital of the world, washington, d.c. [ applause ] >> reporter: on wednesday, mayor gray was hosting a press conference to welcome a big boxing match to the city saturday joking about the rough and tumble of city politics. >> i get to attend some boxing matches periodically. believe it or not, some are outside this building. >> reporter: the mayor said little, but let the process play out when it comes to the investigation of harry thomas jr. whose home was raided by the fbi and treasury agents last week amid allegations he misspent $300,000 in city funds on his own lavish lifestyle. >> let the justice system move forward and take the appropriate action. >> reporter: now, gray for the first time went beyond the legal niceties to talk about the probe if wrong doing is found. >> assuming it's true, it's a bad situation. again, i can't get into the details of it. i don't know that many detail

fbi and irs agents raided the house of harry thomas jr. today.council member has been under investigation for several months after being accused of diverting more than $300,000 in city funds for his own personal use. >> i'm delia in northeast washington where fbi and irs agents wrapped up a ten hour long raid of the home of council member, harry thomas jr. more than ten hours after the fbi and irs raid began, agents carry boxes of evidence from council member's home, while his attorney emerges from the house to say he is sure his client will not be charged. >> money? you know, money is tempting. >> thomas supporters say there was a misuse of city money. more than $300,000 meant for his nonprofit, but used to pay for his own lavish vacations and this suv. the council member has agreed to pay it all back without admitting guilt. >> other people downtown and you know, they are the ones taking your money. if he admits to paying it back, then he's not taking it out of my pocket. >> for a minute today, for a little while, we thought this raid was going

the fbi and irs raided harry thomas jr.'s home today. they spelt almost all day at the house. jackie bensen outside that house in northeast d.c. >> reporter: the full significance of what happened here today is not yet known but it doesn't look good. after a long day, federal agents finally left the home of d.c. council member harry "tommy" thomas, jr. >> we think at the end of the investigation will the be found that mr. thomas didn't violate any criminal laws. that's what we told the press. >> reporter: federal agents descended on his home. there was a lot of coming and going by fbi agents. items were taken from the home it at one point thomas's motorcycle seen here were towed away. sources tell wrc that the federal government is looking at thomas's use of $300,000 of city money to fund a youth sports program. he returned the money but admitted no wrong doing. >> i'm hopeful it comes to an end quickly and the council can move on. >> i'm sad that it has reached this point. and my feelings i have been thinking about council member thomas and his mother and his family. and how

reporter: the mayor said little but let the process play out when it comes to the investigation of harry thomas jr. whose home was raided last week. thomas misspent $300,000 in city funds on his own lavish lifestyle. >> let us know what is involved and take the appropriate action. >> reporter: gray went beyond the legal niceties. >> assuming that is true, it's a bad situation. again, i can't get into the details of it. i don't know that many details about it. >> reporter: again, for the fist time, he talks sympathetically about the family itself. the history of city and human services. i have known him, his family, his mother, his father. he's somebody i have known. i know his wife. i know their kids. this has to be a very difficult situation for them. >> reporter: gray's campaign for mayor is the subject of a federal investigation. the mayor says all he can do is run the city while that plays out. jim, back to you. >> thank you, tom. wendy? >> a guy who spent 27 years in prison for crimes he did not commit is free. the virginia court of appeals fully exonerated thomas haynesworth. he was convicte

just added a brand- new chapter today as irs and fbi agents raided the home of dc councilman, harry thomas jrhomas is one of three city leaders including the mayor who are the subject of criminal or ethics violations. today's raid lasted for more than nine hours. gary no, on what agents were looking for and what they took. gary. >> reporter: remember, that d.c.'s attorney general sued thomas earlier this year, claiming he diverted for personal use from the thomas charity that runs sports programs for the city's kids. the ag then alerted the feds and today's raid is solid evidence they are taking this seriously. the raid began at 8:30 this morning and lasted until after dark. telling reporter delia goncalves. >> thomas' charity spent money at hooters and paid for personal items for councilman thomas. investigators seized a motorcycle and suv from thomas today as a whistle blower critic looked on. >> clearly they have solid evidence or this would not be happening. >> the scene as investigators carried boxes of presumed evidence from the thomas home is reminiscent of a home on then, prince georg

the full council voted just days after the fbi raided the home of ward five council member harry thomas, jr. tom sherwood has more. >> reporter: this bill makes major changes in the ethics laws but some complain it doesn't go far enough. >> aaye? all opposed? ayes have it. >> reporter: after hours of debate, the d.c. council passed the tougher ethics bill on a voice vote. >> the issue of the public thinks the council members are corrupt or not serious enough do you think this will solve that issue? >> we have been serious about ethics reform. i think the bill reflects that and it's just really important we move forward and get at all the questions answered. >> reporter: the bill debate already was intense but adding to the drama was ward 5 council member harry thomas jr. who was besieged by reporters. even sitting on the council thomas declined to say much to news4 or any reporter. >> my attorneys will address any questions about my case. >> reporter: the fbi and irs raided thomas's home in the northeast neighborhood seizing vehicles and boxes of papers. it has embarrassed council members w

it comes days after an fbi raid of harry thomas jr., under investigation for his use of city funds. tom sherwood joins us live from the wilson building downtown d.c. with the latest on the story. tom? >> reporter: the new ethics bill would have tougher reporting requirements and tougher penalties. for awhile, it looked like the bill wouldn't pass. d.c. ward 4 keown till member muriel bowser worked for months to get it down to one sweeping law. >> this is an issue that affects the entire council. i absolutely support getting it before the full body sooner rather than later. >> reporter: michael brown was threatening to hold up the bill for more discussion. council chairman kwame brown appeared to vote and insisted the bill will pass before january. >> we are going to do what's necessary to make sure that we pass a comprehensive ethics reform bill this year. >> reporter: chairman brown is under investigation for alleged campaign violations and friday, fbi agents in a separate investigation raided the home of councilmember harry thomas jr. chairman brown told reporters he showed up to

privado por alrededor de una hora para discutir las posibles acciones en contra del consejal harry thomas jr del fbi y del servicio de rentas internas, por mas de ocho horas el pasado viernes thomas esta siendo acusado de desviar mas de 300-mil dolares en fondos del buenas noches y bienvenidos al resumen del futbol profesional latinoamericano, lo inciamos en argentina donde boca jrs se en brasil tambien hay campeon. corinthians ganÓ su quinto tÍtulo al empatar sin goles con su gran rival palmeiras y aprovechar la igualdad de vasco da gama 1-1 con flamengo. la consagraciÓn del equipo paulista llegÓ el mismo dÍa de la muerte de uno de sus astros de los aÑos 80, el ex mediocampista y capitÁn de brasil so Ócrates. corinthians no ganaba el brasileirao desde 2005. y en uruguay, el nacional se proclamo campeon al derrotar 1-0 a liverpool. se bolivia se incio las semifinales y en el clasico paceÑo, bolivar le gano 1-0 a the strongest. en mexico santos derroto a morelia y tigres supero a queretaro, tenemos asi es que santos con tigres la final en mexico, los invito a una pausa y al volver tendremos m

. - el consejo de washington con la presencia del concejal harry thomas jr. fue bajo investigación pormbros del consejo de montgomery no aprobaron toque de queda para jóvenes, la medida había sido propuesta en verano tras un incidente que involucra a jóvenes, el ejecutivo del condado defendió la decisión diciendo que los adolescentes de otros lugares son los que causan problemas. - siguiendo el montgomery del consejo de este condado unánimemente elegido este hombre como el presidente y a la latina nancy navarra como vicepresidente, ellos servirán por un año en estos cargos, antes de una vicepresidenta fue elegida para representar el distrito cuatro en una elección especial en mayo de 2009 y fue reelegida en el 2010. le recuerdo que se tiene acceso a esta y muchas otras informaciones del noticiero en nuestro portal en internet holaciudad.com. - vamos otro corte comercial y al volver siguen las protestas en el país, esta vez por el aumento de las hipotecas. ya regresamos. >>sulema: iniciaron las audiencias para decidir la sentencia contra el exgobernador beijin escámez hace seis meses fu

. >> the fbi and irs raided the home of harry thomas jr., the d.c. councilmember is accused of diverting city money to buy cars and pay for trips. >> news 4's jackie bensen has more on the raid. >> reporter: not after long they left the house of the councilmember followed by his attorneys. >> we'll find he didn't violate any criminal laws. that's what we told the press. >> reporter: just after dawn they raided the home, items were taken from the home, at one point thomas' motorcycle seen at the front of the flatbed tow truck and his chevy tahoe were towed away. the federal government and the irs is looking into thomas' use of $300,000 to fund a youth sports program. he returned the money after questions were raised but admitted no wrongdoing. >> i'm hoping they can bring these things to a conclusion quickly and the council and the government can move on. >> i'm sad that it has reached this point, and my feelings, i've been thinking about councilmember thomas and his mother and his family, and how terribly impactful this really must be for them. >> th

last friday morning, the fbi, irs and other agencies raided the home of harry thomas, jr. thomas is accused of funneling $300,000 in city money from a dhairt he runs so he could use the cash allegedly for himself. thomas has man trained his innocence and has agreed to pay back the $300,000. >>> it was a hopeful start to things for redskin fans yesterday. on the opening drive, washington roared right down the field, scored a touchdown, would you please up with a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter. then it fell apart. mark sanchez through a 30-yard touchdown pass to santonio holmes to take a four-point lead. the jerry edwards beat the redskins. dave ross will be in for play monday morning quarterback. >>> two fans were actually injured at fedex field yesterday when an escalator malfunctioned. prince george's county fire officials say an escalator at gate a suddenly stopped working as the crowd was leaving the game. no word on what caused that malfunction. >>> coming up income, a little boost to your paycheck is set to run out soon. congress agrees it needs to be ext

it's still not clear if ward 5 representative harry thomas jr. will attend the meeting. irs agents raided thomas' northeast d.c. home on friday and seized luxury vehicles, financial records, and other items. he is currently under federal investigation for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from a youth charity to pay for vacations and cars. thomas has denied legal wrongdoing but has agreed to repay the fines. sources tell news 4 if thomas does show up, the committee might not even vote on the bill and that he is being urged by other council members to not attend the meeting. d.c. council chairman kwame brown is working to schedule a meeting among the council members to discuss the thomas raid. there are reports brown might remove thomas from any committee to avoid possible conflicts during the investigation. >>> this morning the remaining republican presidential candidates are trying to pick up herman cain's supporters. cain suspended his campaign over the weekend. this move comes amid allegations of a 13-year affair and sexual harassment. cain said he would endorse a

. >>> vincent gray is speaking out for the first time since the fbi and raid on harry thomas jr.'s home. up until now, the mayor has said that the legal process should play out before any action is taken. but yesterday after a press conference to welcome a big boxing match to the district this weekend, the mayor went more in-depth, talking about the toll the probe is taken on the city and on thomas's family. >> assuming that it's true, it's a bad situation. again, i can't get into the details of it because i really don't know that many details about it. i know him, i've known him families for years. this has to be a very difficult situation, you know, for them. >> thomas is accused of using $300,000 of government funds earmarked for a youth charity group for personal use including expensive trips and the purchase of a luxury suv. >>> back behind bars, the latest allegations facing jerry sandusky. >>> new developments in the search for a florida mother who vanished after appearing on a television court show. >>> the rain is gone, but the cold has rolled in for you as you head out t

agents just moved in the hours ago at the house of harry thomas jr.. sam ford was first on the scene. he joins us with the breaking details. >> we are on 17th street in front of the council member's home. a dozen or so the fbi agents are on his property. a tow truck came to take away a motorcycle removed from his home. so far every indication is that thomas is still inside the home. so far, he has not been arrested. it was after 8:00 this morning when fbi and irs agents showed up at the home of harry thomas. they took particular interest in an suv he owned. they collected bags of evidence from his home. he has been under a cloud for some time. question for raised on whether he was using $300,000 in city funds hesitated for sports for his own use. thomas' personal attorney, fred cook came to the home but did not stop to answer my questions. police have blocked access to all of his neighbors. >> i invasion leave him alone. they do not bother anybody else when they steal money. >> you know if he stole money? >> i do not know what he did. i do not think th

council schedules an emergency meeting three days after the search the home of harry thomas jr.. this comes after committee members voted to move ahead with ethics' reform. >> this meeting that was held this morning was split into two parts, in the earlier discussion wrapped up a couple of minutes ago. right after that, reporters followed out the councilman asking if he would reschedule the meeting that was canceled because of all of this going on with the fbi raid. listen to what he had to say. >> will you have a meeting with the rest of the council? >> we will have a meeting. today. >> the chairman brown did not say what time the meeting would take place. all you heard him say is the emergency meeting would take place today. all this comes after this morning session about ethics reform where the committee that was made up of five members that were present here today to discuss moving forward with a bill that was presented by a councilwoman that would make it tougher penalties for members who got in any sort of trouble, any sort of ethics issues. the penalties included less sign

council is expected to meet on monday for what's next for harry thomas jr. the fbi and irs raided his home in northeast d.c. yesterday. he was accused of taking $300,000 that had been earmarked for a youth program. he is repaying that money but has admitted to no wrongdoing. the council could vote to reprimand him or strip him of committee assignments. >>> tonight we have an exclusive for you. georgetown students say they came face to face with an intruder. there were actually two burglaries about 30 minutes apart, one on 36th street and one on o street. the disguise made the experience that much more frightening. >> it was something you would see in a scary movie, like somebody coming out with the "scream" mask. >> reporter: a real-life nightmare for patricia and her roommate. >> i started screaming blood i murder, 911, police. >> reporter: the girls say a man broke in through a back door connected to a bedroom. he then worked his way upstairs, bouncing from room to room, pocketing an ipod and some cash. a chill tipped them off that something was wrong. >>

harry thomas jr. will pay the money back without admitting guilt or fault in the case. they're inside the house. we've seen the lawyer but noneducation that anyone is talk -- indication that anyone is talking so far. j. c., back to you. >> all right, thank you very much. >>> well, we received some encouraging news from the labor department today because the government says the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6% last month. and that's the best showing in two and a half years. danielle nottingham has our report. >> reporter: the unemployment rate dropped to the low isollyl in more than two and a half years -- lowest level in more than two and a half years falling to 8.6% in november. a step in the right direction after being stuck near 9% for most of the year. but one reason for the drop? hundreds of thousands of people have simply given up looking for work and are no longer counted as unemployed. barry heir has not given up. >> you want to be out there being productive and producing and so you know, i have to kind of fight to keep my own -- my head straight. >> re

. >>> harry thomas jr. made a return to the wilson building today for the first time since his home was raided. he sat quietly as the council debated. an ethics bill aims to restrict spending and require disclosure and establishes anthices board. the council will vote on the bill in two weeks. >>> a political aide to bob ehrlich faces up to 12 years in prison for violating state election law. a injury convicted him of conspiracy. prosecutors say he tried to suppress black vote during the 2010 elections by using robocalls. the calls went out the 110,000 people in prince george's and baltimore before polls closed. the calls said that martin o'malley already won. >>> penn state university is trying to revamp its image in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal there. the president want the public to see penn state as a public institution not a football factory and wants a center for the protection of children to help the victims. at least six of former substantiate coach jerry sandusky's alleged victims are ex

council met to talk about the situation with harry thomas, jr. fbi and irs agents raided his house on friday. he is under investigation for allegedly using $300,000 of city money to pay for personal trips and expenses. he agreed to pay the money back. some members want thomas to step down. others want the investigation to play out. >> certainly if these allegations are proved true, it's an outrageous breach of the public's trust. >> reporter: the government operations committee of which thomas is a member, passed a sweeping new ethics reform bill. thomas did not take part in that meeting. >>> a resident of great falls virginia is charged with breaking into several of his neighbors' homes. robert dunne was arrested at his parent's home. he is accused of breaking into ten homes taking jewelry, silver ware, video game systems, money and laptop computers from inside the homes. he is being held in fairfax county on lars and burglary charges. >>> a lot of people are waiting to see whom herman cain will support. cain suspended his came pain over the wee

it's unclear whether ward 5 representative harry thomas jr. will be in attendance after the phish raided his home on friday. federal agents raided his northwest d.c. home and seized luxury vehicles, financial records, and other items. he's currently under federal investigation for stealing more than $300,000 from a youth charity to pay for vacations, personal vacations and cars. sources tell news 4 the committee might not even vote if he does show up. he's being urged by council members not to attend the meeting. >>> the search continues for a wcc worker who disappeared in the reservoir. chuck duckett was last seen at the lake in sandy spring, maryland. he was working for the managed hunt department. he was on his way to recover a deer using a boat. his boat was found about 300 yards from where he launched it. authorities have been searching the woods around the reservoir. so far they see no signs of duckett. duckett's family says they're not giving up hope that he will be found. >> we are not giving up. please help us find him and keep him in

council committee has passed a sweeping ethics reform bill just days after councilman harry thomas jr raided by the fbi and irs. the ethics bill is pieced together from more than a dozen proposals, and council chair kwame brown says it will pass the full council by the end of the year. after the vote, council members met to discuss thomas' situation. some members say they want him to step down while others want the investigation to play out. >> certainly, if these allegations are proved true, it's an outrageous breach of the public's trust. >> thomas is under investigation for allegedly using $300,000 in city money to fund personal trips and expenses. he has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to repay the money. >>> the head of the federal aviation administration has been placed on leave after a weekend drunk driving arrest in fairfax. police pulled over 65-year-old jerome "randy" babbitt saturday night on old lee highway in fairfax. officers spotted him driving the wrong way in the wrong lane. attorneys and faa officials are now under discussions about his employment status. >>> today

harry thomas jr.s committee assignments to avoid formal action to force him off. thomas its a member of the government operation committees poised to vote on a sweeping ethics reform bill tomorrow. on friday fbi and irs agents raided his house. he is accused of using $300,000 of city money to fund a lavish lifestyle. thomas is repaying the money but has denied any wrongdoing. even if he gives up his committee assignments he'll maintain a $125,000 salary and voting rights in full council sessions. >>> jack and leslie johnson sentenced for one of the most notorious corruption schemes in maryland state history. jack johnson, former prince george's county executive accused of taking bribes from developers in xwexchange for favorable treatment. he could face 14 years and extortion and evidence tampering. his wife is a former council member and pleaded guilt yo to destroying efforts and could see 18 months in prison. starting tomorrow the free ride is over on the intercounty connector. the all electronic to

councilman harry thomas jr. has reached a settlement to pay back student loan debt. in loans in the 1980's. the terms of the deal were not disclosed. he is under investigation for allegedly taking a thousands of dollars in city money for his own use. fellow councilman marion barry is facing more tax troubles. there's a report the irs filed a tax lien against him for $3,200 in unpaid taxes in 2010. the agency also filed a lien against hime for more than $1,500 in taxes between 2005 and 2008. he pleaded guilty back then doto not paying taxes on income. >>> a fight outside roosevelt high school in d.c. caught on tape. the mother of one of the girls being criticized for encouraging friday's attack. she works for the school system. lisa small is pictured in the video watching the fight between her daughter and another girl. >> i never told my daughter to attack. when the fight started, i was hollering and screaming and telling my daughter to work her stuff. i admit to my faults. >> the other girl's parents are afraid. both families say the dispute stems from a simmering f

friday, fbi agents in a separate investigation raided the home of harry thomas jr. chairman brown told reporters he showed up to vote to be sure the measure passed without delays. >> i want to make sure we get an ethics reform. councilmember bowser, the staff, have done a phenomenal job. residents expressed an interest in the bill. >> reporter: he's a member of the government operations committee. he chose not to show up for the meeting. councilmembers met privately to discuss the situation. some wanted him to resign, others to take a paid leave of absence. >> what i would say is certainly if these allegations are proved true, it's a breach of the public's trust. >> reporter: sources say councilmember thomas does not want to take a paid leave of absence. maybe if he shows up tomorrow, we'll ask him. tom sherwood, at the wilson building. back to you. >> thanks. jack johnson will be sentenced for a corruption scheme in the history of the sate of maryland. he served as the county executive. he's accused of taking bribes from developers. he pleaded guilty. he's facing u

. >> iter the debate was intense but adding to the drama was harry thomas jr., who showed up and was besieged by reporters. >> sitting on the council thomas declined to say much to news4 or any reporter. >> my attorneys will address any questions you have. >> reporter: the fbi and irs raided thomas's home in the northeast washington area seizing luxly vehicles and boxes of paper. it has embarrassed many council members who want him to take a paid leave of absence and others say she should be allowed to up defend himself. >> i like a lot of this has to do with his own decision making and family's decision making on what to do here in the council. we don't have power to do anything. we can't remove him. and i'm not supporting that. >> reporter: the ethics bill would slark funds available for council members from 80,000 to $40,000. the bill would tighten reporting campaign contributions and an ethics board would have able to fine and investigation council members. >> the bill has to be voted on again in two weeks. watch for some try to make it even tougher. >> thank you, tom. >>> turnin

councilman harry thomas jr. >>> there's new information tonight about the kidnapping in pakistan of a man from rockville. warren weinstein was kidnapped in pakistan back in august. there was no claim of responsibility for that kidnapping until yesterday. al qaeda leader al zawahiri released an internet message claiming weinstein was kidnapped by al qaeda. al zawahiri gave a lengthy list of demands for weinstein's release. sources say al zawahiri is responsible for negotiations for weinstein's release. >>> an electrician from wood bridge, virginia, pleaded guilty to terror charges today. he was arrested after a government crackdown on people who use the internet to promote terrorism. jane is outside the u.s. district court in alexandria with the details on that. jane. >> reporter: well, 24-year-old jubair ahmad did plead guilty, and he is facing 15 years in jail, $250,000 fine, and possible deportation back to pakistan. the 24-year-old wood bridge man admitted he created and posted a recruiting video for a radical terrorist group. it was his five-minute youtube video advocating violent

councilman harry thomas jr. returned to the wilson building in time for a preliminary vote on an ethics reform bill. thomas sat quietly for hours and refused to answer reporters' questions yesterday as the council debated and then passed a preliminary version of ethics reform. the measure aims to restrict political spending and requires more disclosure. it would also establish an ethics board to impose fines on violators. the full council will hold a final vote on the reform bill in two week. >>> today a senate homeland security subcommittee will examine whether the district is ready for natural or man made disasters. it follows the gridlock that followed the 5.8 magnitude earthquake back in august. it damaged several buildings, including the national cathedral and the washington monument. subcommittee members are concerned about coordination between federal and local emergency managers. >>> today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. on the morning of december 7th, 1941, japanese war planes att

council met behind closed doors to discuss the fbi and irs probe of harry thomas jr. council chair kwame brown was the only member to speak publicly after the meeting. he said that some members want thomas to step down while others want the investigation to play out. brown says he will meet with thomas soon to discuss the council's concerns. of using $300,000 of city money to fund personal trips and expenses. he has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to repay the money. >>> breaking news. there have been three coordinated attacks overnight targeting shiites in afghanistan. the most significant one was a suicide bomber which attacked a shrine in kabul. we just learned the death toll has risen from 14 to 54. 150 people have been injured. hundreds of people had gathered there for a festival. two separate attacks occurred around the same time in other afghan cities. >>> right now stock markets across the world are down. this comes as the ratings agency standard & poor's warns it may carry out a mass downgrade of euro zone countries. they placed the ratings of 15 euro zone c

mayor vincent gray is weighing into investigation into harry thomas jr.ome was raided by the fbi and irs last week. up til until now, the mayor hay has said that the legal process should play out before taking any action. but the mayor talked about the toll the probe is taking on the city and thomas's family. >> assuming that it's true, of course, it's a bad situation. again, i can't get into the details of it because i don't know that many details about it. i've known him, i know his family for years, i know his father, i know his father, he's somebody i've known. i know his wife and kids. this has to be a very difficult situation for them. >> thomas is accused of using $300,000 of funds earmarked for a youth charity group for personal use including the purchase of a luxury suv and expensive trips. >>> rick perry is coming out with a new television ad appeal to go christian conservatives. >> you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, when our kids can't ope

action comes as harry thomas, jr., remains under investigation for allegedly using city funds for his own use. the legislation would set up an ethics panel to prevent felons from serving on the council and as mayor and allow the d.c. attorney general to go after elected officials accused of misconduct. >>> for a greenbelt courtroom to a jail cell. sentenced former prince county executive jack johnson to seven years behind bars of he took hundreds of thousands of dollars from developers doing business with the county. ever since that scandal brock last year. the current county executive is making it a priority to improve the county's image and joins us now. so it's always good to see you. >> good to be here. >> i want to ask you first of all just your reaction to the sentencing handed down yesterday from -- for your predecessor. >> i said all along justice will play out and what you saw was thefy until the to that -- finality to that whole episode. it's a sad time for mr. johnson and his family. but for us and the county it's moving forward. >> you -- for people don't know, you had tri

this meeting comes just days after the fbi raided the home of ward 5 council member harry thomas jr. it's unclear whether he will attend today's meeting. sources tell news 4, if thomas does show up, the committee might not even vote on the bill, and he's being urged by other council members not to attend the meeting. federal agents raided his northwest d.c. home on friday and seized luxury vehicles, financial records, and other items. he's currently under federal investigation for stealing more than $300,000 from a youth charity to pay for personal vacations and cars. >>> this morning the search continues for a wssc worker who disappeared in the tridelphia reservoir. chuck duckett was last seen in silver spring, maryland. he was working for the wssc's managed hut department. he was on his way to recover a deer using a boat. his boat was found 300 yards from where he launched it. so far they have seen no signs of duckett. police, dive teams, and sonar specialists will continue the search for duckett at 7:30 this morning. >>> now to decision 2012. former presidential hopeful herman cain

council member harry thomas jr. has reached an agreement with a federal government to repay an outstanding student loan debt. the deal was announced yesterday although it did not reveal exactly how much the ward 5 councilman will pay. >> thomas took out two federally-guaranteed student loans of approximately $5,000 in the mid 1980s and incurred thousands more in interest on those loans. thomas is still under investigation for allegedly diverting more than $300,000 in city funds for his personal use. >> today, the fairfax county school board is expected to approve the use of surveillance cameras in high schools. they would be installed in common areas and cafeterias. principals at 27 county high schools are in favor of the cameras. they made the request after several huge food fights last year. according to "the washington examiner" article, 80% of lie school ptas support this move. >> time for another "your money" report. jessica is off. we still have the headlines. as you scramble to find that last-minute present,

with both council chairmen kwame brown and ward five council member harry thomas jr. facing separate federal criminal probes, thomas' house was raided by the fbi recently. the council for months struggled to write a new ethics law. >> this amendment lays out the procedure. >> reporter: chairman brown tuesday offered the amendment to allow for the first time council members to vote to expel any member in serious ethical cases. ward 5's thomas under grand jury review for allegedly misspending $300,000 in city funds on himself sat quietly as the chairman introduced the amendment. >> let me state clearly expulsion should be used for cases in which the council determines that the violation of laws in the most serious nature including those violations substantially threatens the public trust. >> reporter: council voted to force more disclosure of campaign contributions and funds raised and spent for inaugurations, transition committees, defense funds. and created the three-member ethics panel to investigate and punish ethical wrongdoing. council also voted to reduce from 80

we just learned from tom sherwood ward 5 representative harry thomas jr. was not present. federal and irs agents raided thomas' northeast d.c. home on friday and seized luxury vehicles, financial records, and other items. he's under federal investigation for stealing more than $300,000 from a youth charity to pay for vacations and cars. that's what he is accused of. sources told news4 if they showed up they would not have voted on the bill and was urged to not attend the meeting. d.c. council chairman brown is working to schedule meeting among the council members to discuss the thomas raid. there are reports brown may remove thomas from any committee to avoid possible conflicts during the investigation. >>> jack johnson will learn his fate tomorrow for federal prosecutors call one. notorious collection schemes in maryland state history. johnson, former prince george's county executive, is accused of taking bribes from developers and in exchange for favorable treatment. he pleaded guilty a and faces up to 14 years in prison. his wife, leslie, is a former county council memb

. >> the fbi and irs raided the home of harry thomas jr., the d.c.ht, news 4's jackie bensen has more on the federal raid. >> reporter: after a long day, federal agents finally left the home of d.c. councilmember harry "tommy" thomas jr., they were followed by his attorneys. >> we think at the end of the investigation that we found mr. thomas didn't violate any criminal laws. items were taken from the home.

council expected to meet today to talk about their embattled colleague, ward 4 councilman harry thomas, jrf funneling $300,000 in city money from a charity that he runs so he could use the money for himself. the councilman says he is not guilty, but has offered to repay the $300,000. joining us now, ward 4 council member merrill bowser. good morning. thanks for being here with us. >> thanks for having me. >> on friday, his home raided by the fbi. your thoughts on this with regards to your place on the council. >> certainly we're very sad for the thomas family and the people, really our city. it's a very significant action to happen and puts a negative light on all of washington. so we're anxious the investigation takes its course, gets over where so we can turn to the important business of the city. >> what happens in the meantime with councilman thomas? >> well, he continues to be a member of the council, of course. he's already relinquished his chairmanship on the committee of economic development. we expect to meet with all the members of the council today, i am hopeful of, to talk abou

council member, harry thomas jr. thomas represents ward five.il member, harry thomas. thomas. stbig piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >>> this morning on today's health, natural remedies. 4 of 10 adults are turning to alternative medicine to help with certain health problems, but do they work and are they safe? today nutritionist joy bauer is here with a list of the most effective natural health remedies. >> good morning. they work. >> that's what our grandparents told us. we would hear people pass along great advice and they work. >> some of them do work. the ones we'll go over are natural food remedies. there is no down side. you may as well try them. you can alleviate lousy symptoms you may be having. >> what are the natural concerns we should have here? >> certainly if you have a serious medical condition like diabetes or high blood pressure, first you want to go with your doctor's advice. a lot of times that will involve prescription traditional medications. these are natural food remedies and things