a thanks for joining us. the crucial midterm elections are only three weeks away. hanging in the balance is the house and possibly the senate, with key races across the country. the president is packing his calendar with political events between now and election day. >> in philadelphia, potus and vice potus. forget the fact that the president did not even support joe sestak.

today, they came together to get out the vote. >> the success of our mission is at stake right now. on november 2, i need you as fired up as you were in 2008. [cheers and applause] because, because we have got a lot of work ahead of us. >> the former white house speechwriter peggy noonan talked about the lives of americans. >> there is a certain off point -ness. they have been talking about a, b, and c, and he is somewhere else in the alphabet. >> races throughout the country remain closed. today, -- throughout the country

remain close. >> what do you really think when you see some of that going on? told by your own husband to, i think, bark like a dog. >> bark like a dog! >> i think you elected to go to a movie, so i am a proponent. as far as wwe, women are really powerful. >> we were talking about the midterms and how they are shaping up. jessica, thanks for shaping -- joining us. one week, it is the republicans. the next week, it is the democrats. who has the momentum heading into the midterms? >> it is a little bit towards the republicans towards the end of the week.

the democrats had good polling numbers over the weekend. towards the end of the week, huxley several housebreakers have become even more competitive, and one of the things that we're going to see in a three-week stretch, we are going to see president obama out on the campaign trail more, and democrats know that it is crunch time and that the house is in play and that in the senate, the numbers there are starting to look a little fuzzy, as well. >> what are they stressing on the campaign trail? >> it is the economy and jobs, and that is one of the hardest messages they can hit home. democratic leadership and especially nancy pelosi, there are advertisements going up, more and more demonized. i was down in the carolinas, and they were definitely sort of

demonizing and vulcanizing nancy pelosi. there was even a dunk tank. >> he was normally a likable guy, spratt, easily collectible, but not this year. >> he has done a lot for the district in the 28 years that he has been there. tying him to nancy pelosi, a senior member of the democrats who voted for cap and trade and the economic stimulus, that is not favorable for democrats, especially in rural, republican- leaning districts. >> he was so energized out of maryland that we have people dropping like flies, 36 people dropping due to heat exhaustion, and according to politico, he is

going to be hitting the road every day between now and the midterms, either in person or via the computer, but it looks like he has got a big itinerary, massachusetts, nevada, pennsylvania, oregon, and others. he just wrapped up in philadelphia today with vice president joe biden there. philadelphia still remains favorable. we are going to be seeing them hitting the campaign trail. tomorrow, he is going to a state where he can help the candidates. >> something that i saw happen in our own backyard, he gives dissertations to these voters, these swing voters, and they really have to hone in on a message. >> where he can be most useful is with these large rallies. it is very reminiscent of the

campaign trail of 2008, and he is winning to mobilize especially the independent voters and the youth voters to get them to the polls with this message he had of hope and change. he wanted to tell voters that it is not over yet. especially with the economy, this takes time to turn around. these economic problems are not ours. they are the bush administration. >> all right. in other news in our region, a court hearing is scheduled in the case of a maryland toddler who got ahold of a gun and accidentally shot himself. he apparently found a pistol under a bed. a girlfriend is charged, and that there will be a case to determine whether the two teenagers will be transferred to juvenile court. now, to the top race in maryland. tomorrow, governor martin

o'malley will square off against former governor bob barlick. they will address five topics of the course of one hour -- against former governor bob ehrlich. it will be the first of three debates for the candidates but the only one which is televised. a large building that is 30 stories high. permission was granted, and construction will begin it and go until early 2013. coming up on "washington weekly," a unique town hall with the president. plus, a senate race all eyes are watching. the delaware contest between herstine o'donnell and opponent. >> tomorrow, some breaking records may be with highs in the >> tomorrow, some breaking records may be with highs in the mid

♪ which caused a trend alert ♪ and everyone ♪ saw everybody ♪ tell'em all ♪ tell'em something, where to go and what it's all about ♪ ♪ tell them how to feel when ty shout it out ♪ ♪ tell everydy else

♪ and everyone ♪ tell everybody else

and now, for a look at stories that will make headlines this week. a conversation with president obama, taking questions from 250 people along with questions via twitter this thursday at 4:00 p.m., and then later this week, the delaware senate race debate. will squaredonnell

off against were opponent, -- against her opponent, chris coons. the dalai lama will give a lecture on leading a compassionate life. he will also visit atlanta, georgia, and leave the u.s. on october 19. and there is a highly anticipated movie starring hilary swank about of a woman trying to free her brother who was wrongly convicted of murder. eventually, she gets into law school. "conviction" begins this friday. and a film crew is getting ready to transform tankan d.c. and some drivers' -- to transform downtown d.c. and some drivers'

commutes. closures will begin tuesday evening and continue through thursday due to the movie "transformers 3." to the redskins' stay home welcome the indianapolis colts. that is a sunday night game, and it starts at 8:20 p.m. the new york islanders are coming to town, and the capitals had to nashville to take on the predators. still to come on "washington weekly," a firefighter killed in the line of duty. plus, what will the rest

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from his frere jacques... [ speaking french ] [ mom ] ...so he decided to study in paris. ♪ to see french masterpieces with his very own eyes. we even linked our citibank account to his so when his account ran low we just transferred funds. i just hope the language isn't a barrier.

bonjour. [ mom ] my ryan can be very shy. [ male announcer ] from linked accounts to citi mobile we make it simple to manage your finances. what's your story? citibank can help you write it. looking at our top stories tonight, two men are killed after crossing a busy intersection in bethesda. the victims have been identified as rory weichbrod and adam hosinski, and alcohol could possibly be involved. but six officials say a 20-year- old firefighter fell off of a truck while on his way to a blaze -- officials say a 20- year-old firefighter fell off of a truck. it is not clear why he fell. and a thrilling overtime win for the redskins against the

green bay packers with a 33-yard field goal to win the game at fedex field, the score 16 to 13. >> what a game. >> i agree with the players when they say the next time will tell. waiting until the fourth quarter to polish off. an interesting change tomorrow, we could be looking at record heat for parts of the area. dry in quiet for the overnight. a few clouds will seep into the region, but they will not give any rain at least not until tomorrow night or maybe tuesday. our weatherbug stops, 67 in gaithersburg, and our final stop in delaware, fenwick island, a high of 72, currently 68. cool and dry overnight, record he tomorrow, especially for dulles international airport. the record was set back in 2001. cooler air on the way by friday,

daytime highs and only in the 60's throughout most of the area. 69 degrees at this hour at reagan national airport, the dew point around 60, winds out of the south at 9 miles per hour. martinsburg at 79, hagerstown 74. we have warmer air to the south and west of us. the daytime highs tomorrow around 85 degrees. that is about 16 degrees higher for this time of year than the average. 66 degrees in pittsburgh be a clear skies on the satellite and radar, not a whole lot of action -- 66 degrees in pittsburgh. clear skies on the satellite and radar. off to the west across the great lakes, and they are getting ready for a cold front that will eventually move into our area in the next couple of days. there are showers that moved through earlier this morning. then they fizzled out as they

went closer to the bay. here is the futurecast for the next 48 hours. an increase on monday, and on tuesday, some hit-or-miss showers, and some thunderstorms may be early in the day, nothing expected to become severe. our forecast for tonight, scattered clouds, lower 60's, and tomorrow, 82 to 87 degrees. it will feel like summer. at dulles, we are looking for a record tomorrow. here is the extended outlook. even colder on wednesday and thursday, mid 60's on friday and saturday. in the mid 40's by the end of the week. it will feel a lot like autumn. another few days, but tomorrow, columbus day, a lot of folks have the day off. >> the sprinkler in the front yard and let the kids go crazy.

all right, thanks, steve. still ahead can a smartphone be its own guardian angel ? can it keep an eye out for itself, literally show and tell you where it is when you don't even know yourself ? droid can with lookout mobile security, one of thousands of free apps for the droid x and droid 2 by motorola. available on the ever-expanding android market. when there's no limit to what droid gets, there's no limit to what droid does.

my dad is the supervisor of a train station and my mom's a teacher. my dad's an auto technician. my mom's a receptionist. i'm not sure i would have been able to afford college without the tuition freeze. while tuition in other states is rising out of reach...

governor o'malley made the tough choice to freeze tuition. he made my dream of going to college into a reality. i'm the first in my family to go to college. my brother and i never would have been able to afford college. even though times were tough... governor o'malley kept his promise. there's never a doubt... there's never a doubt whose side he's on. martin o'malley... moving maryland forward. some alerts for people trying to get around the area. some closures at metro will continue for the columbus day holiday. workers are taking up tracks and installing new tracks. the farragut west and mcpherson

square areas will be closed through monday. there will be shuttle buses. services resumed at 5:00 a.m. on tuesday. and some major traffic alerts for people driving on the beltway. all four lines of i-495 will shift left at chain bridge road, 123. then, all will shift back to the right. these traffic patterns will be in effect for up to two years as part of the beltway hot lanes project. some restaurant owners are not happy. we have this story. >> whether you like your sandwiches cuba or vietnamese, your tacos mexican or korean,

there is a truck for you and a long line to take you there. >> i am in a long line for a taco, but i am not sure that is what i will get. >> new gourmet food trucks are rolling into the d.c. area. >> more people are getting into the situation. it is actually gourmet food that you can get now. >> one of the newest has been open for just about three weeks. >> every time we start our injuns, we have about another 20 followers on twitter. -- every time we start our enginees. -- engines. >> at a minimum of 100 feet away from any food establishment. >> one idea on a list of projections from the adams morgan district. one restaurant owner says the group supports its fellow

entrepreneurs but feels the playing field should be leveled. >> all of that business at the time, it is not fair. >> the group also limits any spot a food truck is in to 30 minutes. the lines are endless, and some say so is the future of food trucks. abc7 news. >> thank you. coming up,

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i love this story. some students got a surprise when actor johnny depp showed up in the classroom dressed as the character pyrite jack spero from "pirates of the caribbean" -- character pirate jack sparrow. he was only too happy to oblige. pretty cool. if i were a teacher, i would not mind if johnny depp walk in. -- walked in. a record breaker at dulles, no records expected at bwi and national. tuesday, a chance of showers. dryer on wednesday. a look at friday and saturday, if you were wondering where follette, there is, -- if you

were wondering where fall when ient. and i will be doing my