eli. >> hey, thomas. thomas is actually one of the letter writers who is featured in the book. pretty exciting to have you call in. >> thomas, go ahead and turn down your sound. we do want to hear your story. >> caller: okay. hit mute. >> thomas, you want to tell a little bit? >> caller: i'm on. we're hitting mute right now. great. eli, i actually have you on my computer. so it kind of flags me when you're where every you're at. i saw this and thought wow, this is a perfect opportunity to get on the radio and talk to you. >> what is your last name, thomas, and what is your story? >> caller: thomas ritter. i wrote a letter to the president kind of just -- i was kind of angry. and the health care debate was kind of a tough deal. and i didn't like how it was just rammed down the throats of the american people. my classmates are laughing at me. and so i just, you know, kind of vented some things that i thought, you know, were happening with that whole process and how it kind of needed to just take a step back and let's make a really good health care policy that maybe everybody woul

many believe that harry thomas, jr.'s political career is over. >> that is the end for harry thomas, jr. the mayor is right. he does have a wonderful mother who is widely respected and his father was a city councilman. she is beloved. but harry thomas, jr.'s political career is over. there is no marion barry-like phoenix return. he is done. >> reporter: now, yesterday, thomas' attorneys pressed for a lighter sentence. they are accusing federal prosecutors of stretching the facts and ignoring the ex- councilman's contributions for the community. he could have received a 13- year sentence in all for the crimes he pleaded guilty to. but they agreed to knock that down to a maximum of four years for him to plead guilty on. we will find out what the judge decides when that hearing begins here in federal court at 9:30 this morning. >>> we we'll be watching. thank you. >>> also making headlines this morning, one of the parents convicted of child abuse in bristow, virginia will be sentenced today. christina moore admitted to nail

councilmember, harry thomas junior. he pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of tax dollars intended for kids in the district. megan mcgrath is live outside the courthouse with the latest developments for us now. megan, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, barbara. harry thomas junior is inside a federal courtroom right now, waiting to learn his fate. the sentence has not yet been handed down. let's take look at some video that was shot earlier this morning. when thomas arrived here at the courthouse. he did not stop and speak to reporters. he simply entered the courthouse, passed through security and then went up to the courtroom and waited for things to get under way. we are getting new information in terms of what this case involves. the judge says that thomas actually stole $446,000, not $350,000. that's something that we have not heard before. this is something new that's come out during the sentencing hearing. now right now, thomas' elderly mother is speaking on behalf of her son. thomas' supporters have

harry thomas jr. was sentenced for stealing more than $350,000 in government funds. this is thomas as he walked into a packed u.s. courtroom. he is expected to address the court. the government wants thomas sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised progression. the defense is seeking an 18 month sentence. his mother asked for the leniency for her son and spoke about the family's service to the community. we hope to have a live report as soon as court adjourns. >>> a federal judge is expected to sentence a government employee for stealing thousands of recordings from the national archives and selling them on e bay. he pleaded guilty to theft of government property in october and will likely spend a year and a half in prison. he says he sold the stolen merchandise on e bay. >>> a cyclist was struck and killed this morning. it happened in the morning rush hour in olney. this is footage of the scene shortly after the deadly collision. at this point, investigators are not releasing the

the tax accountant ran against thomas in 2010. he's hoping that his label as whistle blower will urge residents fed up with scandal in local governments to vote him in office. >> since that time till today, so to years, i have continued to work on corruption and not just outing people but about flaws in the system and positive corrective actions. >> reporter: there is not front- runner in this race, another young person in the race who ran against thomas in 2010. we made numerous attempts to reach out to him and his folks on his campaign in order to do a profile only and be a part of this story. however, we never received a phone call back. but you can log on to our website wusa9.com for a full list of all the candidates and you'll get a profile of each candidate there as well. you can just look up special election on that website. we're told by the d.c. board of elections and ethics more than 2200 residents have cast their ballots already in early absentee voting for ward five. the polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close tonight at 8:0

you about last july when i went this is came forward after seeing firsthand the brutal beating of thomas outside of a bus station but today new evidence is brought forward in the case against these officers and this provides more audio and visual details about what exactly happened that night now if you remember ramos was first encounter with thomas was after he suspected the homeless man a vandalizing cars but things quickly escalated between the two of them. there. now the video confirms the initial claims that ramos put on his latex gloves and a menacing manner before announcing to thomas that he was going to quote him up but he also confirms the rest of the encounter this is a thirty minute video clip that was captured on surveillance cameras and combined with audio recordings worn by the police officers now we've shortened the video but here you'll see where thomas was pinned to the ground sat on beaten and taste repeatedly. well. we count of the taser being used for at least thirty seconds straight during this incident while there were six full grown men on top of thomas now prosec

harry thomas jr. rushed past reporters into federal court to be sentenced for his theft of more than $350,000 in city funds and filing false income taxes for three years. prosecutors had sought a 46-month term. thomas had asked for 18 months. the judge said 38 months. >> i think today's sentence sent an important message that public corruption will not be tolerated in our city. harry thomas will now serve more than three years in prison. >> reporter: but first thomas's mother, a prominent political figure in her own right told judge john bates i humbly and passionately plead for mercy for my son. thomas himself said what is wrong? i broke the law. i humiliated my family. i humiliated my mother. he said i took this money because it was a sense of entitlement. my needs ahead of everyone. thomas pleaded guilty in january to two felony counts after several years of siphoning city money intended for youth programs he championed. he also resigned the council seat his father once held before him. judge bates

>> are you talking about harry thomas jr.? >> yeah. >> that's the end of harry thomas, jr. the mayor is right. a wonderful mother. widely respected and his father was a city council member. she was a principal. she is beloved. but harry thomas, jr.,'s political career is over. there's no marion barry like phoenix return. he is done. >> all right. fox 5 political analyst, thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >>> fox 5 is monitoring metro tonight in the stalemate that is threatening phase two of the silver line to dulles. the showdown is over union labor and its role in a warding of the phase two construction contract. bob is here now with today's developments. bob. >> the obama administration's senior transportation official used the power of his office and nearly a billion dollars in federal moneys to call a high level meeting of the key silver line players to get the project back on track. >> this project will move forward. >> a cautiously upbeat u.s. transportation secretary, ray lahood after hosting the meeting at dot headquarters in southeast. >> the metro system is amer

harry thomas jr. will learn his sentence are taking money that was supposed to go to youth sports programs. we were live at u.s. district court this morning with the details. >> good morning. prosecutors want harry thomas jr. to go away to prison for four years. his defense attorney would like him to only go to prison for 18 months. they say some of the claims made by prosecutors were unjustified. later this morning, harry thomas jr. will listen as the judge tells him how long he is going to prison. earlier this year, thomas admitted to embezzling more than two of depicted thousand dollars in government money that was supposed to go to youth sports. prosecutors have also asked the judge that thomas be on parole for three years after his release. they also recommend he be forced to pay more than $350,000 in restitution. he resigned in january after the charges were filed. harry thomas jr.'s lawyers say they want him to face a lighter sentence because of what they say are "positive is." we will have mor

councilman harry thomas, jr. is awaiting his fate. >> a federal judge will hand down his sentence for his part in a corruption scandal. developments are happening now. >> good afternoon. harry thomas, jr. is on the stand right now, as we are out here. he is pleading with the judge to give him a lighter sentence. he walked into court early this morning with his attorneys dressed in a gray suit, very stoic, and a straight face. the prosecutor told the judge that the court has the opportunity to send a clear message that when you steal from those used or to serve, you will pay a high price. they are asking for 46 months in jail, three months of probation, and paying back restitution. defense attorneys are asking for a lesser sentence. it would like him to the 18 months in jail, 16 months of home detention, and 15 hours of community service. they called three witnesses to the stand this morning to talk to the judge about harry thomas, jr., the man, not the councilman. his nephew also took the stand. finally, we also

. >>> coming up, lawyers for harry thomas jr. beg for mercy as the former city councilman awaits 7 tens. >>> and the wife of a former aid takes the witness stand at the john edwards' trial. whether or not why her motives are called into question. >>> and a mother facing child endangerment charges for what she allegedly did at the tanning salon. >>> and thanks, laura. interesting weather day out there and temperatures across the region. we'll show you that and there is some thunderstorms on our live radar. where are they? where are they going? and will we get anymore? the first look at the forecast is coming up. a little hazy out there. we'll have the full forecast and more news. stay with us.  . >>> the trial of john edwards continued with the wife of a former aid retaking the witness stand. sherry young faced questions about whether she has an incentive to lie to hurt edwards. young testified that edwards asked her husband andrew young to issue a statement falsely claiming paternity of edwards' love child. edwa

council member harry thomas, jr. will be sentenced today for embezzling more than $300,000 meant for d.c. youth programs. he resigned after being convicted in january. thomas' lawyers have asked the judge to consider his time spent in public service and believe a year and a half in prison would be fair. >> rather than facing a four- year term on the d.c. council, he will face the prospect of serving three to four years in prison. >> he has a wonderful wife, mom, wonderful family. i extend my heart to them in hopes they will be able to get through this. >> the sentencing hearing will start at 9:30 in federal court this morning. we will be life outside the courthouse all morning long. coming up in 25 minutes, mark blot kip weighs in on whether thomas will go directly to jail after being sentenced. >>> your help is needed to find a 12-year-old girl from fairfax county who has been missing for almost a week now. we'll put her picture up here on the screen. there she is. this is ashley may o'brien. she left her home on oa

harry thomas, jr. admitted to stealing money meant for his youth baseball league to pay for lavish vacations and high priced vehicles. records show he started taking city money just days after he was elected to office. but his supporters have written the judge asking for leniency, asking the judge to consider his years of public service. thomas comes from a long line of activists in ward 5. his father was a long-time former council member for the ward and his mother a school administrator. the mayor was asked earlier this week about whether or not he has spoken to harry thomas, jr. he hasn't spoken to him in the recent past he says. he has spoken to thomas' mother. he says on the record thomas comes from a good family and he doesn't know what went wrong. he says his heart goes out to the family. however, it is this kind of corruption that is fueling the race to fill his vacant council seat. coming up at 5:30, we'll have more on the special election coming up in just a matter of a couple of weeks. back

harris thomas jr.'s father is, of course, harry thomas sr., also a former ward county council member. >> yeah, you know, it was actually my question from the last time that he brought it up from court today and he finally answered it, responding to my question. he said that he wanted to fess up to admit the mistake and take responsibility again. >> that's what they did in court today. thank you, bruce. back to you. >>> he picked up a key endorsement today. this time from one of his former rivals. the minnesota congresswoman, michele bachmann, she made the announcement in virginia where she joined governor bob mcdonald in campaigning with romney. and now bachmann was a long- time favorite of the tea party, but dropped out after finishing sixth in the iowa caucuses. now she is calling on republicans to get behind romney and to help defeat president obama. >> i am honored to be able to be here to introduce not only governors bob mcdonald, but the fabulous governor for the state of virginia and also to lend

harry thomas jr.'s lawyers want something less. later this morning harry thomas jr. will be in federal court and listened as the judge tells him how long he was going to prison. earlier this year, he admitted to embezzling more than $350,000 in government money that was supposed to go to u.s. exports. in addition to four years behind bars prosecutors have asked that he be on parole for three years after he is released. they also recommend he be forced to pay more than $350,000 in restitution. he had been on the d.c. council since 2006 and resigned in january after the charges were filed. harry thomas jr.'s lawyers wrote a letter to the judge on tuesday and we will let you know what is in that letter coming up in 30 minutes. >> thanks so much. also today, a prince william county woman will learn her sentence for barricading her three daughters in a room with dry wall. she pleaded guilty to child abuse charges. she was supposed to be sentenced in january but it was delayed while she sought treatment for

thomas' mother remain thomas pleaded for mercy and leniency as other family members wiped away tears. she told the judge she had lectured her son on the harm he has brought to his family. kelly collins, a thomas supporter, was inside the courtroom. oom. >> i felt that the sentence was fair. the judge did have compassion. they saw the growth in harry thomas. >> reporter: prosecutors even admitted thomas had worked hard for his community before he became a council member, but the court should not show mercy because thomas stole from the people he said he wanted to help, d.c.'s youth. >> there are so many people that are praying for the family as well as harry thomas. so we just want to get him back in the community. there's so much more that we could benefit from by him being in the community than being incarcerated. >> according to sentencing guidelines, the judge could have sentenced thomas to 51 months in prison, but judge john bates said he would not ignore thomas' community service before the crimes he carried out. >> it's a sad day for the district because, you know, there was som

thomas gore is scheduled to appear in court this morning for a rehearing. one of the charges he's facing involves destroying evidence. jummy olabanji is live outside u.s. district court with more on the story. >> thomas gore is also charged with making illegal campaign contributions. it is spelled out in the federal court documents that you see in my hand. these documents make it official that thomas gore is the first person charged in the federal investigation into mayor gray's 2010 mayoral campaign. thomas gore was charged monday with using campaign funds to make contributions to mayoral candidate sulaiman brown. he was also charged with destroying a spiral notebook with records of those payments to brown. brown, who fell out with the mayor after gray fired him from a city job said that during the campaign gray staffers paid him to heckle the adrian fenty during candidate debates. >> he promised me the job. >> thomas gore pay brown at least $535 in money orders. gore is a longtime friend of mayor gray and worked on several of his previous campaigns. mayor

an apology in courts by thomas himself. sam ford is live in federal court with reaction to the sentencing. >> there did not seem to be much glee in the courtroom that they had got him. even the prosecutors said thomas had done good things but admittedly started stealing money intended for their very kids. it was a sad day in court. the last time thomas came to court he was still a combat of politician. and this morning he was mama. what he told the judge was the lowest moment of his life. the prosecutor asked baits for a 46 month sentence pointing to $350,000 he admittedly still from d.c. children programs. thomas's mother asked the judge for mercy. he said he had lost his moral compass and humiliated his family. later he walked out with a 38 month sentence. no date set for when he reports to prison. >> today poses sentence sends a significant message that corruption will not be tolerated in the city. >> a may 15 special election is being held to replace him. >> everybody's lips, you know what i mean? i think that is a litt

>> i believe you've thrown it to me thank you very much we are here with derek thomas of thomas landscapesng. >> good morning how are you. >> doing great. >> a chill. >> yeah, it is. you are again answering questions that you have gotten from people, about spring planting, and fruits and vegetables. >> yes, our little summer vegetable primer, and also, i have to give a shout out t gloria, and her friends they will be doing some planting this week in northeast they were getting somethings together when i was at the garden center i told them i would say hi to them this morning they are loyal views, and they love you. >> wonderful. thank you for watching. now you have some good tips. >> here is what you want to do with your summer vegetables the most important thing is the soil, i've got shredded hard wood mulch, compost and i've got potting mix. this mix make sure you have something that says potting mix not soil this is an organic fertilizer what you want to do is start with one part of each if you are potting up your vegetables into pots mix this together, and you get a really good blend l

he was with us last night for clarence thomas' event.when i talked to father brooks today, he just wants leaders and he felt the college was missing out on being the best institution in the country by not reaching out of getting leaders from all parts of society, women, lacks, whites and asians. i know holy cross has made great strides in diversity. certainly there has been a very strong generation of leaders of women. i met jane roberts who was in the first class and many other women who were there. so when i book today, i think one thing that is interesting is there has been great success, great faith in terms of what has happened with african-americans at wells. some of his classmates, american express and ken frazier at merck, a lot of highly successful men from that generation but i think there were also a lot of disappointments and there's a lot of disappointment at what has happened with the black widow class in this country, what has happened with education in and the version of opportunity. frankly i think what also happened in

you have a good day. >> thomas. >> thomas is still waiting to hear if he got the convenience store job> they do seem eager to hire, but i mean, we'll see what they do here and what they do later. >> visit our website. >> while the 877th was deployed, a new nationwide effort to put veterans to work began. >> definitely send an e-mail to sally with your resume as well. >> job fairs run by the private sector and the military are now taking place across the country. >> i think there are a lot of folks right now that are jumping on the bandwagon. that's a good thing. but they need to not just jump on the ban wagon, they need to report back. >> people are now conscious of hiring veterans. i think that's a great first step. i want to see the next step, which is really what our businesses are doing to really hire veterans and keep them there on the job. >> chase knows, when you hire a veteran you're hiring america's best. >> in a hiring campaign led by jpmorgan chase, 39 companies have pledged to hire veterans. of the 100,000 jobs pledged by 2020, 12,000 have been filled. >> you see a lot of s

now as of tonight, harry thomas jr. is still a free man and he will probably be that way for some weeks. he'll be notified by the bureau of prisons when and where to report and that will probably be to a minimum security facility. and to hear more about his sentencing -- and here to hear more about his sentencing, he could have gotten more months, but he got 48. >> yes, that's pretty stiff. i think that the judge tried to balance his good deeds as a part of his job, but also his really good deeds with kids in thecommunity coming from an iconic family from ward 5. >> we heard from the u.s. attorney who basically wanted to send a message that he thought that the judge sent a message too, throwing the book at him? >> i hate to agree with the u.s. attorney's office, but i think so. i think the judge was sending a message that if you're a public official, if you steal or do wrong, you'll spend time in jail. and three years is a pretty significant time. maybe the first time a public elected official locally has gone to jail p

harry thomas jr. rushed past reporters into federal court to be sentenced for his theft of more than $350,000 in city funds and filing falls income taxes for three years. prosecutors had sought a 46-month term. thomas had asked for 18 months. the judge said 38 months. but first, thomas's mother, a prominent political figure in her own right, told judge bates i humbly and passionately plead for mercy for my son. thomas himself said, what i did was wrong. i broke the law. i humiliated my family. i humiliated my mother. thomas pleaded guilty in january to two felony counts after several years of siphoning city money intended for youth programs, programs he championed. he also resigned the council seat his father once held before him. judge bates, who noted thomas's earlier positive work with young people agreed with prosecutors that thomas led the scam that cheated city children. this is a case of betrayal, the judge said. these programs were to benefit under privileged and needy children. most of the st

. >> when thomas and i get to speak with each other, it's typically, how are you, how are the kids, is everything okay? >> i put a thousand in savings. >> he'll say, did i get paid on time? was it the right amount? did you pay the bills? we have to put the extra in savings because when he comes home, we're not going to have a paycheck anymore. it's going to run out, and we've got to have something to survive off of. >> thomas joined the national guard out of high school. after three combat tours, most of his job experience is military. >> we are ready. let's roll. >> he volunteered to deploy to afghanistan because he couldn't find a steady civilian job. >> he kept getting turned down. he wouldn't get a call back. he said he had that feeling they weren't going to hire him because on his resume, he has put on there the army national guard. he thought they were more afraid of him being deployed again. >> now, the soldiers of the 877th are facing a new mission, employment. >> coming home as a guard soldier, unless you have a job already secured before you left, you're on a man hunt. >> the

as you mentioned 16 months a year and a half is what thomas' attorneys want but the u.s.h more than that, almost four years, so the hearing begins 9:30 a.m., we believe harry thomas will make some type of statement, the u.s. attorney won't be in court he will talk afterwards no word if harry thomas will come out and speak as you know when he did plead guilty to those charges he came out and made a statement basically apologized to his constituents and then moved on from that. one thing that a lot of folks have been asking about, will he -- if he is sentenced to jail will he be taken to jail right away that will likely not happen he will have to report to the clerk there will be a date set up and then, that is when he will have to report to prison now that is if the judge decides, john baits decides harry thomas should go prison is all these questions, still need to be answered. >> right. you hear the words from the prosecutors they used harsh language describing what he did with public money but he does have a lot of support from the community. >> he does over 90 people i

---tease thomas pickets!! 3 3 3 &p mmp--41--cold--northern map a erdict issexpected today in the trial of vi and eli werdes. werdesheim.the rothers are accused of beating a baltimore teen while patrolling for a &pneiggborhooo watch group. group.the last witnesssto testify was eli werdesheim. he told the couut he acted in self ddfense the day he was on encountered a black teen hh was looking in houses in a predominately white neiggborhhod. werdeshiem &ptestified he became concerned walking awwy with a board in his hand. 16658:33 somebody was swinging a board at him with nails sticking out of them and he testiffed that he feared for his ife nd hought that he &pwould have suffered serious physical injury had he not defended himself 58:45 58:45 but in the 9-1-1 call made by the teen... he old the operator he picked up that board for his ownn rotection. ggvernor o'malley signed several bills into law named aftee áphylicia barnesá ... the teen whoodisappearee was later found murdered. mmrdered.relatives of phyliiia

>> reporter: harry thomas jr. had nothing to say to reporters. earlier, he told the judge he humiliated his family and community and said what i did was wrong, your honor, and i broke the law. >> and the citizens deserve leaders who are ethical. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney whose office prosecuted the case, spoke to us not long after thomas was sentenced. >> and i think justice was served. if you engage in public corruption, there will be consequences and you will forfit your ill-gotten gapes but your freedom as l. >> reporter: when asked about other investigations underway and to the mayor vincent gray and council chairman brown, meachum was limited in what he could say. >> and we kate talk about that and understand there is a sense of urgency and we have to do a thorough and comprehensive inquiry. that takes time. >> do you have to be careful when it involves the mayor? >> we're careful each and every day. you have to be careful when you talk about somebody like the mayor or the chief of the council. >> reporter: back to harry thomas. the att

council member harry thomas, jr. will find out his punishment today for embezzling more than $300,000. the money was meant for d.c. youth programs. prosecutors asked the jump for up to four years in prison. lawyers for thomas believe a year and a half would be fair. sentencing hearing will begin at 9:30 in federal court. >>> montgomery county police are on the hunt for a man they believe is pretending to be a police officer. a woman said she was robbed on avondale road in silver spring yesterday morning by a man carrying a bag. the car he was driving did not have lights or a siren. he was honking and drove beside >>> hillary clinton and tim geithner have opened annual talks with china but the meeting is overshadowed by the case of the blind activist who now says he wants asylum in the united states. they are trying to talk to him about his change of heart. he hid in the american embassy after escaping from house arrest last week. >>> michelle bachmann is reportedly endorsing mitt romney. >> newt gingrich is step ago

you will hear thomas being tased and thomas being beaten repeatedly. >> okay. no! no! >> help us! >> he's on something. >> kelly thomas died from his injuries five days later. casey wayhan is following on the details. what we showed is sickening but isn't even the most disturbing part. >> that's right, kyra. you can actually hear kelly thomas saying he's sorry to officers over and over again. you can also hear the officers saying that he was continuing to resist them. and perhaps the most disturbing thing of all, you can hear thomas call out to his father and from the tape, it's very clear that he was afraid he was being beaten to death. >> they are killing me, daddy. >> i don't want to take those off. >> relax. relax. >> daddy. killing me. daddy. daddy. >> that video is so disturbing that there were audible gasps in the courtroom. and at one point, the judge ordered the playback stop ped because he was having trouble concentrating. the end result of that beating, kelly thomas died of asphyxiation, complicated by the injuries he received. these pictures we're about to show of thos

s youth baseball league team thomas.ow it took some time but thomas eventually admitted to stealing more than $350,000 from taxpayers. the tax accountant ran against thomas in 2010. he's honing his label as whistle blower will urge residents to vote him in office. >> we have to let them know i'm not doing this because i need a job. i'm doing this because the people of ward five and all of the district of columbia need a strong voice and advocate for them. >> reporter: although analysts are predicting a low voter turnout so far we're told by the d.c. board of elections and ethics more than 2200 people have cast their ballots in early and absentee voting. polls around the ward open at 7:00 a.m., just a half-hour away. they close tonight at 8:00. andrea, mike, back to you. >> thank you, delia. >>> right now at wusa9.com learn more about all the candidates in today's election. we posted a voter guide. when the polls close tonight at 8:00, we'll post election results right on the front page. >>> a marine accused in the murder

they saw the growth in harry thomas. >> reporter: they admitted that thomas worked hard for his community before becoming a council member, but the court shouldn't show mercy because thomas stole from the people he said he wanted to help. d.c.s youth. >> and there are so many people that are praying for the family as well as harry thomas. we want to get him back in the community. there is so much more we can benefit from from him being in the community than incarcerated. >> reporter: the judge could have sentenced thomas to 51 months in prison. the judge john baits said that he would not ignore thomas' community service before the crimes he carried out. >> it's a sad day for the district. was in some betrayal there and out of betrayal comes forgiveness. >> reporter: when they knew thomas was going to jail, his attorneys then asked the judge if he would consider sipping him to prison in pensacola, florida, or montgomery, alabama. all of that will be decided in the future. meanwhile, coming up at 6, we'll speak to the u.s. attorney about this case and other investigations he's conducting in

>> no, on the contrary, thomas. i think most people don't realize that the dodd-frank wall street reform legislation has not been fully implemented, not nearly. in fact the rules that are being developed by the department of the treasury and the fdic and the other relevant agencies are still being promulgated. not helped by the fact that the republicans have done everything they could to slow down and block president obama's nominees for the staff of the department of the treasury. so it's absolutely the example of why we need to make sure that the reforms that president obama championed and democrats in congress passed are fully implemented so we can strike a balance between ensuring that businesses have an opportunity to thrive, but at the same time that consumers have the protection that they need. and that did not exist before and what's really disturbing is that in part this election is going to be a clear choice between president obama, who wants to strike that balance and wants to continue to champion the pro

it's going to run out, and we've got to have something to survive off of. >> thomas gober joined the national guard out of high school. after three combat tours, most of his job experience is military. >> we are ready. let's roll. >> he volunteered to deploy to afghanistan because he couldn't find a steady civilian job. >> he kept getting turned down. he wouldn't get a call back. he just said that he kind of had the feeling that they weren't going to hire him because on his resume he has put on there the army national guard. he thought they were more afraid of him being deployed again. >> now, the soldiers of the 877th are facing a new mission, employment. >> coming home as a guard soldier, unless you have a job already secured before you left, you're on a manhunt. >> they call him grandpa. at 41, sergeant chris wylie has managed restaurants and small businesses. he's been a tank instructor and supervised a platoon of 50 soldiers. >> i've had a lot of experience before the military. a lot of management experience. i have three children, one granddaughter. one daughter is in college.

when i say thomas supporters, i am talking about his dad, the late harry thomas. but when you look overall at the picture a lot of communities are saying he got a break, and it's not fair because he took money from children and that's the snag there. it really looks bad. >> how strong of a message does it send to political leaders? >> it should send a very strong message that prosecutors in this era of d.c.'s history are not playing. i think they are sending a message that they are going to come after you, and that they are not going to cut you a break. like everybody, we all know, thomas, and many of you have grown up with him and watched him grow up. >> sure. >> but, you know, i don't know when elected officials will learn, that you just can't do this and get away with it. >> it does send a song to the other investigations such as qualmy brown and vince gray. >> thomas promised to work to restore his representation. can he regain his political career or retore that? >> if he gets into community service and tries to pay off -- some way pay off his debt in monetar

councilman harry thomas junior will spend behind bars.ty back in january to embezzling $350,000 earmarked for the youth sports programs. joining us this morning liz farmer who has been covering the trial and other council news. you've written really eye opening articles about what goes on in council chambers. first, let's talk about harry thomas, jr. were you surprised with the sentence? it could have been lower. this judge had some room to make it a lower time, but he didn't do that. >> no, he didn't. and throughout, you know, i could feel myself trying to guess what's it going to be throughout the proceeding. i think a lot of us had the sense he wouldn't go as far as prosecutors wanted, which was almost four years, but would definitely get more than the 18 months thomas's attorneys requested, and he leaned much more towards the four years. it's three years and two months, which is more than twice as much as his attorneys wanted. i don't think it's necessarily a surprising sentence. what was interesting though is the judge's demeanor and

this is a special election to fill the seat of harry thomas jr. the first council member forced out of office, the first council member headed to prison. >> people haven't gotten over it. they are here to pick the best candidate. >> special election is costing $318,000. add to that $353,000 that thomas stole from youth programs and another $100,000 that he steered to an improper inaugural ball. federal and local taxes he failed to pay, we're talking a total of more than $800,000. >> you look at the cost, probably around a million dollars, but it's deeper than that. ward 5 hasn't been paid up for five months. and we don't have an active voice. >> reporter: that $800,000 could have given senior citizens $1,000 each to pay utility bills. 400 families could have gotten $2,000 each to help with college expenses. first time home buyers could have gotten $4,000 each for down payments. >> mr. thomas had larceny in his heart before he was even sworn in. >> reporter: as for the former council member, he is at home waiting as to where he'll be serving that 3

frank thomas. thanks for being here! >>my pleasure.ed there was no warning ... i don't know if he was ejected because the manager and the pitcher went at the same time that i didn't really get anything he said that what got him ejected his typically even tempered i am not sure ... >>this team is no. 1 in the division what are they doing right and what advice do you have going into this next month of june >>robin ventura is so cool is rubbing off on his team but it is a talented team ... the pitching has been outstanding the betting is good they have powerful players is coming together at one time this is a team with a purpose ... i think it death of kevin hickey per has brought the team together ... they have been on fire ever since ... >>and in that moment yesterday you saw the anchor and the eyes of robin ventura when you have all these people coming together isn't it a galvanizing moment? >>i believe he had a right to be met yesterday ... but he said i don't know what i'm doing but it's all happening ... these guys are playing out o

throughout ward 5, voters are going to the polls to try and put the harry thomas scandal behind themect the candidate to take their place. turnout was light with 3,000 ballots cast with the threat of rain promising to keep the afternoon and evening crowds away. ten democrats are vying for the seat, which thomas resigned from after pleading guilty to stealing $353,000 from city youth programs. >> mr. thomas had larceny in his heart when he -- before he was sworn in. >> people are upset to discuss it and turned away. we are trying to bring people back together. i will bring the war together. all sections of this ward because we need some healing. >> there are ten democrats out here today vying to fill harry thomas' seat. that winner will fill out the remainder of his term. the harder part may be mending all the wounds caused by the scandal. this is bruce johnson reporting for 9news now. >> one candidate in colorado isn't promising a chicken in every pot, but he says writing him in for president is a no brainer. this is mike, the headless chicken. you heard me right, headless chicken. t

harry thomas, jr. facing anywhere from 18 months to three and a half years behind bars for pleading guilty to two felony counts of theft. after months of denying the allegations, the disgraced former council member admitted to stealing more than $350,000 meant for kids. he used the money to pay for vacations and high priced vehicles which were seized during an f.b.i. raid of his home. court documents detailed just how he hatched this plot days after election. he set up two end if is, including his youth baseball league. when they got city money, he got kickbacks. hirs first kickback? -- his first kickback? $25,000. it came just months after he took office in 2007. but a possible council investigation to look into how he got this money in the first place and why it never made it to the kids, that council investigation was blocked. we'll tell you why coming up at 6:30. back to you. >> delia goncalves reporting live in northwest washington this morning. >>> 6:15 now. >> this man admits he set a fire in a

. >> reporter: hi, thomas. well, you know, the important thing to remember is the anniversary is not being remembered here as it is in the states. pakistan is a country trying to move past one of the most embarrassing events in the country's history. a lot of questions remain including how did the u.s. manage to breech its borders and how did the terror chief live here for so long completely undetected? pakistan is taking some steps to get to the bottom of some of those questions. they've formed a government commission to look into those issues. that has over 100 witnesses in the last year. as of today, they have no deadline of when to complete their report and no idea what their findings will be. thomas? >> nbc's amna nawaz. thank you very much. a programming note to remind you about "rock center" with brian williams tomorrow night. you'll see a special hour, a long look at the raid that killed osama bin laden. it's called "inside the situation room" airing at 9:00 p.m. eastern wednesday on nbc. >>> the discov

-- is a plea deal by thomas gore.ray reached in las vegas he's not commenting because of the ongoing investigation but many observers have said that there are many more charges and more damaging charges to come. back to you. >> as delia said, not good for the mayor or the city. thank you. delia goncalves reporting live outside the wilson building this morning. >>> a judge could rule later today in the case against town square market owner richard kim. he's on trial charged with selling alcohol to a minor. kim's arrest came after a 9news now investigation that began last december following yesterday's testimony. boat the prosecution and defense rested their cases. kim denied a plea deal that would have give him a suspended 14-day jail sentence. >>> a commuter alert for you this morning. consider this your warning to follow the hov rules today. police in virginia and maryland will be out enforcing the hov laws. expect to see them handing out tickets 066, 395, 95, the dulles toll road, even 270. they'll be out there this

council member harry thomas jr. he stepped down after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $350,000 of taxpayer money meant for children. 12 candidates are running to fill the ward 5 council seat which represents part of northeast d.c. that border the maryland state line. so far election officials say nearly 2,000 people have already voted in this special election with early voting and absentee ballots. >>> new from overnight, virginia lawmaker blocked a richmond prosecutor from becoming the state's first openly gay judge. in a late night vote, the house of delegates only gave tracy thorn-begland 30 votes for judgeship, 51 are needed. thorn-begland was one of two candidates among several nominees not approved. >>> colorado lawmakers rejected a last-ditch effort to give gay couples rights similar to married couples. republicans voted against civil unions legislation. it would have let partners make medical decisions for each other and enhance their parental and inheritance rights. a republican-controlled house com

thanks, thomas.ok at other stories topping the news. day ten in the criminal trial of former presidential candidate john edwards is under way right now. an interior designer who funneled secret checks from a wealthy ha heiress forwarded thm to andrew young, edwards' former aide. edwards is accused of using the money to hide his pregnant mistress rielle hunter. >>> drew peterson is in an illinois courtroom this morning for a hearing on his upcoming murder trial. he's accused of killing his third wife in 2004 and remains under investigation for the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife. this marks the first time peterson has appeared before a judge since 2010. >>> khalid shaikh mohammed the self-professed mastermind of the september 11th terror attacks will be arraigned for the second time in guantanamo bay, as prosecutors look to convict him and four others of the worst terrorist attack on american soil. a trial may be at least a year away. >>> and the new york yankees suffered a major blow when their