is not the time. i have more work to do on my recovery before i can serve an elected office. >> before she left, giffords cast her final vote as a congresswoman. it was a bill she sponsored, a bill that would crack down on illegal drug smuggling. it passed unanimously. >> you will be missed in the house of representatives, but your legacy in this congress and your leadership in our nation will certainly endure. in washington, kristin fisher, 9news now. >> congresswoman michele bachmann said she wants -- the minnesota republican announced that decision after the failed run for the white house. today the remaining republican presidential candidates took aim at president obama one day after his state of the union speech. randall pinkston takes a look at their attacks and the president's road trip to promoting plans. >> president oh bam many

obama -- hoping to show how his plan to change tax laws would benefit business owners. >> we have to reward companies that are doing business here in the united states of america. >> the republicans running for the white house insist the president's policies have failed. they are taking aim at his call to raise the tax rate on people earning more than a million dollars a year. >> this is a president who is turning america into a welfare style state, like europe. >> i'm for lower taxes and smaller government, obama is for higher taxes and bigger government. >> latest poll numbers from florida show newt gingrich's message is winning over voters. he is tied with mitt romney, who once held a double digit lead there. rick santorum is running a distant third, and ron paul is just behind him. all four gop candidates meet in

jacksonville for a debate. randall pinkston, the white house. >> you can add the national park service to the list of people opposed to making the district's world war i memorial a national one. we told you about that proposal, making its way through congress. rededicates the district's memorial as one to the city and to the national world war i memorial. city leaders call the plan an insult to the district and residents. now the examiner newspaper reports the national park service representative says it has serious concerns about that proposal. >> the senate oversight committee held a hearing on progress. the army now made at arlington national cemetery. the cemetery was rocked by a scandal over mismarked graves. unmarked graves, and people buried in the wrong spots. the widespread problem triggered congressional inquiry and criminal investigation. >> the reports provided to congress reveal that much work remains to be done. arlington must be put on a

course that will ensure no tragedy like the one we saw unfold in 2010 is ever again reported to veterans and their families. >> senator mccaskill thanked the force with making great advancements. a virginia woman is back home tonight after spending time kidnapped in somalia. jessica buchanan and a dutch colleague were rescued in a daring nighttime raid by navy seals. >> now these aide workers were kidnapped. the sense of urgency really started to heighten this month. what was contributing to that? part of it was the deteriorating health of jessica buchanan. so on monday, president obama authorized the rescue mission and on tuesday, the military pushed forward with it. special operations teams, which included navy seals came to the compound there in somalia.

we're told that there were nine kidnappers holding the two hostages, all nine of them were killed in the assault. we're also told that those kidnappers were armed and had explosives nearby. the team was able to get the hostages, get them on the helicopter and get them out of sew somalia safely. >> the man charged with murdering lauren giddings had a court date today. steven mcdaniel is accused of killing the law school graduate, and dismembering her body and placing it in a trash bin at her apartment building. today, prosecutors notified the judge that if they get a conviction, they will speak the death penalty for mcdaniels. a funeral was held today for joe paterno. they gathered for the service. thousands of others had a chance to pay their respects during a two-day public viewing that ended this morning. and thousands are expected there tomorrow for a final

memorial that will be held at the campus basketball arena. >> a bizarre selection by a would be robber in port washington today. the man entered the elementary school in oxen hill and tried to rob the front office. happened around 2:30. students were still in school, but something scared that thief and he ran off without any money. >> and it's ridiculous. somebody in there who has the money. >> you worried about pedophiles and you worry about the robber, the rapist, and then you have to worry. another thing that they shouldn't have to deal with. >> while they search for the suspect, they don't know if he was armed or they don't have much of a description, either. microsoft now teaming up with the d.c. government to bring increased technology and computer skills to city residents. 9news now visited one d.c. school where microsoft will be

making its people available to the students and teachers. >> our kids are the same kids at every school in d.c. >> every student lucky enough to get in has a computer in the classroom and a computer that goes home with them. >> our students come to us performing at the bottom. they leave us performing above the national level in all core subject areas. >> it's also a charter school. it sits here in the middle of the howard university campus. 300 students inside there, another 200 on a waiting list trying to get in. >> we think this is going to be something that will be replicated throughout this country. >> it came out today during the press conference that the howard university, middle school of math and science is getting a big partner. the microsoft corporation. >> the investments that they are helping us make at this stage will be looking for jobs, you know, in 2020 or 2030. >> it trains will begin here at the middle school level and seminars for educators.

>> so we can develop curriculum that is going to meet students where they need to be. >> technology camps for students and it careers down the road. >> research shows that in these exposures, at these middle grade levels, help close the racial achievement gap and take lower income minority students and put them on a path to high end success. >> microsoft says other components will include helping small businesses with work force development and helping the employment services department identify jobless people who still need basic computer training. >> talk about having an impact. >> absolutely. major skills they will need for sure. coming up tonight on 9news now at 7:00. the swarm, thousands of birds turning day into night and causing a flock of problems in one small town. frustrated residents are bringing out cannons to try to get rid of them. i'll have more on that story tonight at 7:00. >> still to come in this half hour, famous chef takes a stand against those speed cameras so

many of us love to hate. top. >> well, temperatures in the 40s today, but you know, still a nice day. here are the numbers. above average. 39, 46 goes in the books. record low 75. we'll come back and tell you when you will need your umbrella and for how long. one of our viewers think this is a cheap shot at chef paula dean. we'll tell you what it is coming up next.

outrage from one of our viewers viewers tonight about this ad in today's washington examiner. mike stern says he found the copy from washington sports club to be quote, horrible. it reads, paula, you made a fortune off of fat. call us if you want to be around to enjoy it. stern believes the ad is taking aim at celebrity chef, paula dean, who just announced she

has diabetes. we are working to get a response on this ad. we are hoping to have it tonight at 11:00. new york city's health department is confirming a report in the "new york times" that it used photo shop in a new ad campaign about diabetes. this is the poster being put up around the big apple. it warns about the dangers of portion sizes and potential amputations. here's the problem. the man in the picture has both his legs. the city says finding real people and real consequences is not always feasible. for the first time in 15 years, school lunches are getting a makeover. >> that's right, first lady, michelle obama went to park lawn elementary school to help announce the changes. nay include less salt, more whole grains, and fruits and vegetables. >> the makeup artist, the eaters, the cell phone users. now one part of our area wants to make it all illegal while you're driving.

we talk, we text, we do all

kinds of things behind the wheel. distracted drivers are one of the things that other folks on the road love to hate. another one, speed cameras. and tonight, both are making headlines in some very different ways. >> i'm surae chin where in virginia, it's against the law to text while driving. but some lawmakers want to go a step further saying putting on makeup and eating your lunch would all be against the law. >> whether scarfing down a burger, some kind of salad, or determined to hold on to that french fry. >> they are dangerous, that's all. >> popcorn anyone? or maybe a banana. >> every human being gets distracted. >> texting while driving has become an epidemic. costing lives and serious accidents. >> we are all guilty of violating at some point in time. >> virginia delegate wants to take the law a step further and make anything you do that causes a distraction while driving a crime. >> generating more of a traffic hazard on our roads and taking people's lives. >> how would you enforce it?

eating behind the wheel. that would be the hardest to give up. >> you might want to rethink the next time you reach for those fries. in alexandria, surae chin, 9news now. >> when it comes to speed cameras, you know that sinking feeling? you know it's happened. and it happened to one local chef so many times along the road. he is ready to take a stand. i'm bruce leshan in northwest d.c. where a brand- new speed camera here on fox hall road caught a famous chef three times in three days costing him $425. now he is planning to hire a guy to stand down there and warn everybody else with a big sign that says, speed camera ahead. >> from one of my cooks or busboys, they have to work ten or fifteen hours to pay $125. i'm okay, i can afford it, but

it's a lot of money. >> the camera only started issuing tickets last month. tons of people are still unaware it is there. >> i just talked to three of my guests who all got tickets. you can buy a lot of food for $150. >> d.c. police just sent me an e-mail saying a, speed kills. b, the cameras work. c, neighbors ask for this camera and d, chef jeff is doing exactly what everybody should do. slow down. in northwest d.c., bruce leshan, 9news now. >> drivers who were ticketed in the district for speeding or parking violations before january of 2010 are running out of time to clear their name. the city's ticket amnesty program ends on friday. that means you can pay the original fine and not all the other penalties that have added up over the years. bruce. lesli, another day, another threat to bail on plans for metro's silver line. the washington business journal

reports tonight, loudoun county's board of supervisors is considering dropping out of the project. that would cancel the last two stations on the line. of course, we'll keep you posted on what happens. overnight, storms left parts of the dallas area under flood waters. most of the dallas, fort worth, metroplex has 3 to 4 inches of rain by daylight today. several more inches are expecked to fall by this evening. they closed several roads due to the high water. remnants of the solar flairs have blasted past earth. despite concerns, the satellite networks and such, no major problems have been reported. the radiation passing through the earth's magnetic field created spectacular light shows like these recorded over norway. >> did you see any outside? >> i looked a couple times and didn't see anything. >> i didn't see anything, either. >> which is why we have video. >> thank goodness, right? >> yeah. we are looking at rain

tomorrow, but nothing heavy. there's no cold air in place. not a question of what it's going to be. let's start with a live look outside with our live weather cam. live shot of the white house. temperatures actually had gone up in the past couple of hours. it was 47 at 5:00. it's now 47. pressure has gone up a little bit. 30.27. it is mostly cloudy with calm wind. some cancellation -- consolation. they are into western sections of louisiana. they had flooding and our showers tomorrow. but flooding and severe weather in texas. i know they had too much rain, but they needed that rain. dallas had that hot, dry summer. this will help the reservoirs and their water table. clouds coming in now, a couple sprinkles out to the west. for certain, the showers will get into the mountains after midnight before they get into the metro area. 45 right now in bethesda. that's pretty uniform.

46 toward beltsville and 47 in rockville as you head up 270. locate the umbrella. chilly tonight. the commute tomorrow morning will be wet. especially in gaithersburg and frederick. by the evening, everybody is going to have wet roads. and thunderstorms are possible overnight on thursday. midnight tonight, some showers north of town. certainly back into the mountains. some of this will be reaching the ground. we race eastward. and then by 7:00, maybe a couple sprinkles south of town, but nothing organized. by lunchtime, larger area of showers, but light. we get into the evening hours, over into leesburg and up into frederick. but still, nothing heavy. until we get these line of thunderstorms blasting through on friday morning early between 4:00 and 6:00. good news is, they'll blast through and leave us with a nice day friday afternoon. tonight, mostly cloudy and

chilly. a shower possible by dawn. low 35 to 39. by morning, some showers. mostly cloudy. temperatures in the 30s and 40s. winds southeast at 10:00. by afternoon, mostly cloudy with some more showers. cool, nothing crazy cool. high temperatures 45 to 50. winds southeasterly at 10 to 15. picking up a little bit in the afternoon. that wasn't sports music, was it? 56 on friday. your eyes do not deceive you. we salvage the back half of friday with temperatures in the mid 50s and then we raise temperatures over the weekend. we are 51 on saturday. near 50 on sunday. cold day now is monday. notice we go back in the 50s tuesday and wednesday. cold for one day, then that's it. >> we don't have high expectations. we just want him to make the wizards watchable again. >> make the rest of the season bearable to watch. but he says they start with a clean slate, so we'll see what happens. the wizards hoping for that fresh start after getting rid

of flip saunders. why isn't randy whitman too happy about the new gig? plus, maryland, duke, and the return of that fist pump. gary williams. all that and more coming up next. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

now, 9sports with kristen berset. the best sports in town. >> a new, if not temporary era of the washington wizards begins tonight. randy whitman will lead the first game since he became the interim head coach. flip saunders was fired after a dismal 20 point loss to the 76ers dropped them to 2-15 for the season. he was an assistant and the two are close friends. this promotion is a tough one for him to digest. >> i'm not real happy about this. but i am here today because i believe these guys are better than what they are. >> play hard and dot right things. made the right decision to move on. >> alex ovechkin takes a lot of slack for his decision not to play in this weekend's all star game. he wasn't deserving of the honor, but andy mcdonald called him out, calling his sitting

out classless. all right, maryland terrapins players and fans have had tonight circled on their mental calendar. duke and coach k. coming to. comcast center. students have been lined up for hours for the university's first sellout of the season. that's not the only reason to tune in tonight. before the game, the hardwood will officially be renamed, gary williams court. in honor of the former coach and the legacy he left behind. williams became the winningest coach before retiring last year. some of his former players are honored to be there to witness history. >> we got the place of coach williams. it's like coach is out there coaching for us and we don't want to let him down on his big night. >> great to have the opportunity to play for him and play in the game that is being put on the court. >> nationals enter deuce the newest member of their ball club. signing off on a $42 million

deal. the most significant offseason acquisition for washington. >> when i put the jersey on, that's when it hit me the hardest. it's changed. now i'm representing a new team, new city. finally, i get to settle down and get ready to bring championship in october to the nationals. >> all right, time now to vet for this week's high school game of the week poll. here are some of your choices. blake, girls undefeated and poolsville at seneca valley. go to dchighschoolsports.net. lots of new faces and exciting games to watch going on today. lots going on. >> all right kristen, that is it for us. the cbs evening news is next. >> and at 7:00, anita is here with the area's only local newscast. join andrea, mike, howard, and monica tomorrow morning. >> and as always, wusa9.com is

always on. have a go ahead night.