about it. do you have any pointers on faking it? voila! [applause] this is from molly in rome in new york. have you ever been to rome? italy? geoff: yes. i've got three places there. >> [laughter] craig: dear craig and geoff. my husband always cries way before i do during chick flicks. is that weird? no, not if he's gay. [laughter] this is from caroline in atlanta, georgia. care sideline a soft, fuzzy ti -- caroline is a soft, fuzzy tit. dear craig and geoff. and secretariat. let's go a quick slow secretariat. ready? ♪ [applause] all right. dear craig and geoff. people say your ears are burning when someone is talking about

you. do you think this is rue? [laughter] -- true? [laughter] and finally, this is from matt in trenton, new jersey. have you ever been there? geoff: oh, no. craig: dear craig and geoff. i'm going bald and have recently started wearing a toupee. am i over the hill? no, but you are fodder for children's laughter. we have got to go. good night, everybody.

there are a few moments in life sadder than the passing of your mother but now imagine facing that reality along with the heavy dose of catholic rules that could make someone feel left out. >> that's what one northwest washington woman says happened to her as she was trying to lay her mom to rest. matt dablow picks up the details in a story you'll see

only on 9 news now. >> reporter: its been an extremely difficult week, perhaps the most difficult week of her life. >> i feel very sad. >> it all started on saturday at st. john newman catholic church where friends and family gathered to say goodbye to barbara's mother, who died last week, after a brief illness. >> i was in the first pew in the first seat right next to my mothers coffin. >> just a few minutes before the funeral began, the father presiding over the service apparently learned barbara was involved in a romantic relationship with another woman. >> i am a lesbian. >> a life long catholic and former catholic school teacher, barbara says she hadn't considered her sexual orientation would be a problem with father marcell until she stepped forward to take communion. >> he said i can not give you communion because you live with a woman. >> though shaken by father marcell's action, barbara says she tried to compose herself to give her mother the dignified

funeral she deserved so a few minutes later, barbara began her eulogy. >> at which time father marcell left the altar and did not return until i finished my eulogy. >> according to barbara, the story gets even worse because after first refusing to give barbara communion and walk off the altar, father marcell refused to accompany barbara's mothers body to the cemetary in aspen hills. barbara was told father marcell had suddenly become ill no other family should have to suffer what we did from this man. >> in a written statement the archdiocese conceded father marcell acted improperly saying any issues regarding the suit ability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private pastoral setting. >> the archdiocese of washington has said it exactly right barbara johnson says she's satisfied with the statement though she adds the

damage done both to her family and to her mothers memory could never be repaired. >> we don't get a do over. this was her one moment to pass from this earth. >> matt jablow, 9 news now. >> barbara is hoping father marcell will be removed from parish life. the arch dye o says says the incident will be handled as a personnel issue. new york times david carr reported today the obama administration has been more prone than any add in any separation in history in trying to silence and prosecute federal workers. >> gary nurenberg reports this crack down on whistle blowers is also growing at local governments as well. >> reporter: the disclosures can be big ones about 911 and national security. >> regarding what they could have known or should have known. >> or little ones like local police escorts. >> what we're seeing is intense retaliation against anyone who comes forward to report

misconduct. >> howard county was a senior executive at the national security agency who testified about new snooping software. >> i provided them significant amounts of prime aphasia evidence regarding the massive abuse with a program called trailblazerser which at the time was nsa's flagship program, a multibillion dollar program. >> the government didn't like it when he gave unclassified information about it to a newspaper reporter and charged him. >> i face over 35 years in prison if i've been found guilty of all charges. >> running for president in 2008, president obama promised to protect whistleblowers. >> there have been more prosecutions of this president of whistleblowers and other laws than l of the other presidents combined. >> it's not just the fed's. that local charlie sheen police escort a police commander says he was demoted for talking about it and three other cops are sueing the city because they were retalliated against

for blowing the whistle on faulty dui testing equipment defying order toss shut up on the witness stand. >> it's the right thing to do, whether it hurts or helps the government. >> the government throughout the charge against drake but he lost his high level career and now works in retail. >> completely shattered on a personal and professional level. >> it's bad for the public. the public has a right to know when their government is braining the law. >> the d.c. city government said it has a policy of not commenting on cases that are still in litigation but if those police officers prevail, its taxpayers who pay for the misconduct of those in government who went after these whistleblowers. derek? >> thank you, gary. new at 11, metro riders had their first chance to weigh in on the proposed fare hikes. the transit agency is proposing what amounts to a 5% increase for rail service and folks using pay per fare cards could face a high flat fee, but metro would dump those peak riding surcharges. about 100 people showed up to

voice their opinions. >> i've ridden metro i think 18,000 times and i was delighted when it initially opened. the level of service now is atrocious. >> thanks. >> metro bus drivers would also see fares go up $.10 for smart trip card users and $.30 for those who use cash and the price at the parking garage goes up by a quarter. if you missed tonights hearing you still have five other chances to voice your opinion. go to wusa9.com and we've got a list of all of the dates and locations. tomorrow, a school in ohio will make grief counselors available to help the kids cope with a deadly shooting today. that shooting took place at chardon high school about 30 miles outside of cleveland. police say a teenager opened fire in the cafateria. an education official says the suspect attends a different school, one for at risk youth. one student died in todays shooting. four others were injured, two in critical condition. a teacher ran after the shooter

an act that possibly saved lives. >> one of the teachers happened to chase the shooting suspect out of the building and immediately at that point, our officers entered the building, went to the five injured students that were injured and got ems right behind the door behind them. >> the teenage suspect later surrendered to police. one witness recognized him as an outcast who might have been bullied. at this point police have not released that suspects name because he is juvenile. according to the associated press, a witness to the shooting told reporters the suspect posted to twitter about his intentions to attack and it was ignored but threats like this are not uncommon online. word searches today turned up the following tweets, apparentlyfrom kids. i will bring a gun to class and shoot you, tweeted one user. i really want to just kill everybody at school right now. you're all annoying came from another.

now we ask high school kids locally if they would tell anyone if they saw tweets like that. >> i don't know. that's the thing. i feel like it really depends how well you know the person. >> yes. >> like if you know the person and they're joking around like oh, i'm going to kill all you and joking around, if you know the person well enough to know they're kid yet you're serious, it's okay. >> now, we attempted to contact the individuals who posted those tweets to ask, was it a joke or a real threat? so far, none have e-mailed 9 news back. this is a busy gateway to the georgetown university campus. it's filled with students all the time. emergency call boxes on every corner and despite all of that, someone attacked, beat and sexually assaulted a female georgetown student at 36th street northwest. this happened after 2:00 a.m. sunday morning. tonight that suspect is still out there somewhere but d.c. police say the victim is not cooperating. well then, less than 24 hours after the attack, two other georgetown students were robbed at gunpoint just a few blocks

away. police do not believe the two crimes are connected. the virginia state senate today put off a vote on a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before they could get an abortion. that bill was amended last week to drop a provision that called for an invasive form of that ultrasound. the lawmaker who wrote that bill is under some fire tonight. he's from fairfax county and there's a new political action committee placing him on a hit list. that committee is called women's strike force hoping to recruit candidates to run against the lawmakers who support bills that could be seen as curtailing a womans right to abortion. >> our intent is to help these candidates, train them, and take over these seats. we want to defeat the people who have supported these crazy bills. >> the delegate says he's being unfairly talked about. he points out he's the one who forged the compromise on the ultrasound bill. tonight the non-profit organization connected to former d.c. councilman harry

thomas jr. could be in jeopardy. thomas stole more than $350,000 from the children and youth investment trust corporation. today the administrators of the non-profit were summoned before a d.c. council committee to explain why the group should be allowed to continue. the panelists questioning this, how the non-profit missed the substantial theft, that is, and what they plan to do to prevent something like it from happening again. thomas is expected to be sentenced to prison in may and he faces up to four years in jail. we have an update on the deadly police involved shooting out of culpeper, maryland. gary cook says he is going to sue the town after a police officer shot and killed his wife patricia earlier this month. an officer responded to the reports of a suspicious person in a parking lot. there they say patricia cook drove off with that officers arm trapped in her jeeps window and that's when the shooting happened. investigators say she refused orders to stop but eye witnesses told 9 news the officers arm was never caught in the vehicle.

that officer has not been publicly identified. the coveted nike foam shoes, they cost $200. you go to ebay you might get a pair for $25,000. trying to sale them from someone at gunpoint? well, that just ends up with jail time. police say lamont bennett pulled a handgun on someone and ran off with their tennis shoes. the release of those sneakers caused a problem around the country including in prince georges plaza. the manager of the foot locker called because they were worried about security problems. tonight two firefighters are still in the burn unit of med star washington hospital center after being badly injured in a wind swept fire in riverdale heights maryland three days ago. altogether seven firefighters were hurt trying to battle the vacant house fire. river dale volunteer fire department chief chuck ryan recalls the moment he was seriously burned in fighting a

house fire in northwest d.c. a year ago in april. he says the firefighters recovering from fridays fire will always be reminded of the day that could have taken their lives but they will also remember this. >> the family is and how fast it can all be taken away. every time you go running in a burning building, it doesn't mean you'll come out. >> well fire crews said a car in the driveway lead them to believe somebody may have been trapped inside. they say just eight seconds after they entered a massive gust of wind created a torch- like effect inside the home, a fire ball that blew up the stairwell. so far, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined. still ahead tonight, our explosive investigation into teen drinking continues, and now, local and national leaders join our fight for change. that's coming up. i'm meterologist topper shutt. 64 today was the high. feels pretty mild right now. now here is a wake up weather. you'll need a coat in the morning, 30s to start at 5:00,

30s at 7:00 and 38-44 by 9:00. we'll come back, talk about just how much cooler tuesday will be as compared to today and when y save them. presenting woolite complete. it cleans your jeans, and won't torture your tanks.

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9 wants you to know we've received a national support for our ongoing report about the underage drinking problem. we've heard from educators, paramedics and police and countless others in our community and beyond. andrea mckaren joins us live with more. >> reporter: anita, our reports have also drawn the attention of local and national leaders, including elected officials with the power to affect change. for several weeks we watched and videotaped dozen office teenagers buying alcohol at town square market in northwest washington. >> you can't be a parent to not be outraged and disgusted. >> i've been surprised and a palled. >> that's just some of the growing chorus of reaction to our reports ex policing the blatant alleged sale of liquor

to minors. weeks after our initial report aired, the owner was arrested and charged. >> you continue to sell to minors. >> this man is doing the equivalent of dealing. he's dealing liquor out of his liquor store to children. >> got an id here? >> he didn't id us. >> the buyers, children as young as 14, from d.c., maryland, and northern virginia, but in d.c., selling alcohol to a minor is just a misdemeanor. >> this guy does not deserve to be doing business in our city. >> i think we've got to take a look at the law and if we are going to have people who do this, do it knowingly and willingly and then are able to get a slap on the wrist, it's obvious the sanctions are not adequate. >> local and national leaders promise to scruitinize the existing laws and penalties and push for new legislation where it's needed. >> we have a real serious problem here and i think this indicates to us we need to rethink this and think about how we can enforce it better

but more important how we come up with different approaches. >> the notion we are attracting children from all over the region to come to this one place or there may be others like this and the word gets out this is the play to come, if you want some liquor and you're 14 or 16 that's got to go. >> even montgomery county is on board, despite being one of the most proactive regions in the country when it comes to pedaling underage drinking. >> we are going to look at the concerns that have been raised, make certain we are addressing those concerns in a way that's fair to our community but consistent with public safety and good health and behavior on the part of our young ones. >> in montgomery county selling alcohol to a minor is just a civil offense, not a criminal one. that means it can carry a fine but no jail time. anita? >> andrea, thank you so much. what laws and penalties do you think should be in place to combat underage drinking? we would like to hear from you as well. go to wusa9.com and look for the special coverage banner at

the top of the page and please weigh in. so there was a time when sneakers were the lowest footwear to be worn only when you didn't want to mess up your good shoes. derek is still trying to figure out how and why that all changed. >> you know what, anita, coming from a day when all you needed to be cool at school was a $14 pair of jack purcells, blue tip tennis shoes, all the craziness we see over these new nike foams or jordans, whatever you call them, it's crazy but apparently not to guys like this guy, joey sneaker. he's a self-professed sneaker head and it says "i have over 300 pairs of sneakers, i'd like one for every day of the year, then i'll quit. is this a problem? " well apparently not for a whole lot of folks, mostly guys i'm told who simply love to collect what we used to call tennis shoes, the sneaker heads and they are willing to wait all night in long lines to get them. think of it as art, one of my

younger colleagues said which would help explain the shoe in san diego, the 9,000 square footwear house with thousands of nikes out on display. sneaker heads a big business which is why the shoe companies are in on the deal. they release limited quantities of coveted shoes that drives up the price and you get the idea. turns out this whole sneaker head craze is just like everything else. it started off with a new officials who were really really into the shoes and its ended up with a whole bunch of everyone else who just really really into the money, anita? >> thank you, derek. >> i got chuck taylors for about $14. >> it's crazy. i don't even like to go basketball shoe shopping. okay, 64 today, it will be cooler tomorrow but still a very nice day and then get the umbrella ready because wednesday is going to be pretty wet. let's start with the live look outside. this is the corner of wisconsin and to the left is northbound wisconsin, traffic pretty quiet right now. it's really a pretty nice

night. not that chilly actually. in fact for this time of the year it's pretty nice. temperature 53 downtown, dew points come up to 38 and winds are west southwest at six, now the winds will turn and become northwesterly after midnight. satellite picture radar combined looking at clear skies, a sunny start tomorrow, a few clouds will come in tomorrow afternoon. here is the deal. sunny morning commute, so you know what that means. need your sunglasses, chilly at the bus stop, kids still need a pretty heavy coat in the morning, a little cooler on tuesday, we were 64 today, we'll lose 10 or 12 degrees tomorrow and you will need your umbrella on wednesday, if we're lucky we'll have a dry commute wednesday morning but not so lucky coming home wednesday evening. overnight, clear skies, breezy and chilly, a one maybe two blanket night, lows in the 30s and bids will become northwest at 10-15. tuesday morning mostly sunny, grab a jacket 30s and 40s, winds northwest but only at 10 and then by afternoon, it will be cooler but the winds will be light and make it feel a little

more comfortable and a few clouds come in late, high temperatures in the low 50s, pretty close to average, average high now is 50, so low 50s is pretty close. some areas like arlington and springfield you might make 53 or 54 but 52 in rockville, 52 in college park and now to the west, low 50s in reston and fairfax and sterling and maybe only 51 out toward leesburg, so break it down. in the morning we'll call it chilly, temperatures in the 30s but clear. by noon 46-51 and by evening, cooler and i mean cooler as compared to today, 50-54 a few clouds late in the day. next three days, here comes the rain, showers and perhaps a thunderstorm on wednesday. we do the bolt in there. it would be in the afternoon or evening. temperatures only about 51 and milder on thursday, sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s and march will come in like a lamb. next seven days, friday we're going to be great, in great

shape too and end the week on a mild note. mid 60s, few clouds come in late. we are looking at a wet saturday, rain and showers temperatures around 60 and i kept the two snowflakes in there, flurries possible sunday and monday which is just late march with temperatures in 40s and flurries flying around, it's pretty difficult. >> thanks, top. man, hoyas. >> you know, they were predicted to finish tenth in the big east because they had 10 freshman and 10 sophomores so everybody is saying all the youth with them and now they're third and getting ready to get a double buy, going into the tournament and they've spent all season proving those critics wrong and now they are on the verge of entering a tournament with a huge advantage. >> plus, caps sticking with what they've got. is it good enough to make it

♪ mom, mr. and mrs. bradley got netflix! netflix? it's this cool service that lets you watch unlimited movies and tv episodes instantly. yeah, you can watch netflix on your pc or on your tv through a game console or other devices connected to the internet. whoa, that's speedy! and netflix is only eight bucks a month! pretty cool. let's tell dad. dad! we're getting netflix! dad! we're getting netflix! super... man, i got to lay off the chestnuts. [ mom ] start your free trial today.

at the beginning of the season, georgetown predicted to finish tenth in the always very

tough big east. critics saying this team was just too young to make a run. well they should know, you can never really count out the hoyas. it was senior night tonight for georgetown, henry sims, jason clark honored before the game. big night for the two guys. they combined for 25 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and then here are some senior to senior actions and sims bounced back to clark for the back door lay up, hoyas up 22-16 but the young guys want in on the action too. freshman greg whittington had 15 tonight and georgetown rolls over notre dame 59-41 gets a double buy in the big east tournament. >> it was very big for us, you know? i think we both talked about it before and we wanted to leave with a bang, so we didn't want to go out with a loss. >> this is the last time they get a chance to do it in this building wearing georgetown, and so it's a special day for

them. >> high school with the areas top two ranked high school teams in the final tonight at bender arena, thank you very much for that easy lay up. big man senior james robinson opened down under for two and then peacock to stanford and holding on to win 55-54 beating them for the third time this season and taking the title. >> the capitols place nicholas baxter on the long term injured reserve freeing up cap space ahead of the trade deadline which got some tongues wagging but 3:00 came and went and well caps fans, you've got the same team you've had all season. the capitols didn't make a single move. in fact it was a rather slow day across the league, just 16 transactions in total. according to gm george mcvee, there just weren't any in ticing offers out there.

>> we weren't interested moving anyone out of here and we didn't and we would have added something to the team if we thought it would make us better but transpired today, really there wasn't anything there that would have been a thing for our club. >> and finally tonight the nfl combines still going on where college athletes have a chance to up their draft stock, well this is how we wanted to see it happen. >> oh, no. >> right off the start line. he just tripped on his own feet. >> can you do a do over? >> oh, yeah. >> he got a do over. >> but he did the do over and he got a 4, 6, 3, the next four yard dash. >> oh, topper has his second career coming. >> topper running 9, 5, 40. he's very quick. >> yeah. >> [laughter].