the coroner in california has ruled that michael jackson's death was a homicide. good evening. >> the revelation of the coroner's ruling coincides with an affidavit made public today that shows just what drugs michael jackson had in his system. and as stephanie reports tonight, it explains why authorities have zeroed in on jackson's personal doctor. conrad murray. >> reporter: after week of speck laying, nbc news has confirmed that the los angeles county coroner considers the death of michael jackson a homicide, and the lapd is pursuing a manslaughter investigation against the pop star's personal physician, dr. conrad murray. investigators searched murray's texas clinic last month. the search warrant affidavits unseal monday showed jackson had "lethal level of the powerful anesthetic propofol in his blood the day he died. >> when we're talking about manslaughter, we're talking about a departure from

acceptable medical standards, that is more than just what we call ordinary negligence. it is criminal negligence. it is extreme negligence. it is beyond the pale of what a reasonable doctor would do. >> reporter: according to the affidavit, dr. murray told investigators, he had been giving jackson propofol intravenously every night for insomnia but was worried, jackson was becoming addicted to the drug. murray tried to replace propofol with other powerful sedatives, a couple of nights before he died. but finally administered propofol when jackson begged for it that morning. >> these drugs would be appropriate if this was someone in an intensive care unit, b to just give to it someone who has trouble sleeping is really kind of amazing tme. and disturbing at the same time. >> reporter: murray's attorney did i puts many of the police statements made. meanwhile, the jackson family made a statement commending law enforcement and saying it is looking forward to the day

justice is served. nbc news, los angeles. the first murder investigation of the year in hour county maryland includes an unlikely victim and suspect. a 91-year-old man was killed. a man charge with the killing is an 87-year-old world war ii veteran. jackie benson has our report from an assisted living community in columbia, maryland. >> reporter: the attack happened one week ago at harmony hall, an assisted living facility in columbia, maryland. >> he began to strike the victim about the head with his fists. at which point, some of the staff of the facility stop the assault and call the police. >> reporter: 87-year-old earl wilder was arrested at the scene. victim james w. brown was 91. >> they transported the victim, who was 91 years old by medivac to laurel regional hospital. he later entered into hospice care and he died on saturday, five days after the attack. >> reporter: the nursing home released a staumt that says,

this is a sad, tragic andunprovoke event. ownehip and manage many did everything they could when mr. whiler attack mr. brown, including intervening quickly. sadly, there were no indicator of any sort of problem prior to the incident. there was no history to indicate mr. whiler had any signs of aggression. the two men had no prior association, good or bad. the suspect is a world war ii veteran fellow vet did not call the attack tragic. >> it's terrible. i think it is horrible. what we're supposed to stand for, what we did. it looked like it is all eless. >> reporter: because of his advanced age, 87-year-old suspect earl wilder was ordered held in a special care facility, rather than in the county jail. this was the first homicide in howard county since october of 2008. in columbia, jackie benson, news 4. a registered sex offender is accused of trying to snatch a boy from a restroom inside a

store. he approach a 9-yearld boy in the bathroom atduk's sporting goods on columbia pike saturday afternoon. the boy will his father that a man tried to trap him in the bathroom. police say they usedtore surveillance cameras to identify him and arrested him yesterday at his home in companion rhea. late news from the white house. ben bernanke will be no, ma'am the natd by president obama for a second term as federal reserve chairman. bernanke is widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last fall. the associated press reports that mr. obama will announce the nomination tomorrow during a break from his vacation on martha's vineyard. the cash for clunker's program officially ended tonight with many scrambling to get their vehicles traded before time ran out. but it wasn't the last-minute rush that had dealers sweating.

darcy is live to tell us about it. >> reporter: one dealer described this day as a nightmare. the computer system crashed for hours, and some people who waited until the last minute ended up having to keep their clunkers. >> give me a call. thanks. >> it's down. >> reporter: it was the last day for the cash for clunkers program. but for six and a half hours, workers at the fitzgerald auto mall said the government's computer system was down. the deal stacked up, waiting to be entered before the 8:00 p.m. deadline. >> we're up. hallelujah. >> reporter: around 6:00 p.m., they were back in business, unpressure from dealer, the government extended its dead line to give them more time to file their paperwork. >> they only gave us until noon tomorrow. we probably have here about 50 or 60 deal. it takes 10 to 15 minutes to process it. >> reporter: they said the program was the victim of its own success. >> you have all these dealers

across the nation trying to pump all these dmeelz and getting them in at the last minute and the system was eats overloaded or something else externally but it apparently fail. >> reporter: gail was among those trying to get a last-minute deal and got stuck with his clunker. >> we ran out of time. we couldn't get everything together. we started kind of late, like last week. >> reporter: hundred of thousands of people traded in their clunkers for up to $4,500 in rebate money. many dealers are still waiting to get that money from th government. are you glad it's over? >> we're going to miss it. it has been an historic experience and it has been a lot of fun to participate in it but i am looking forward to a break. >> reporter: so again prg deadline extension only involve the dealers, allowing them more time to get that paperwork through the cash for clunkers program. it is officially over. hundreds of thousands of vehicles like the one behind me will never be put out on the

road again. now the dealers wait t get paid. reporting live from jerl antown. thanks. coming up, mayor fente' sons rent rolled in school. and a special prosecutor to look into cia interrogations. and later, a man trying to outrun police tries on foot instead. we've had a nice break in our humidity. with the rain, that mean also, it is hay fever season. rag weed today, high. a nasty season for that. coming up in sports, the nationals scored first. could they hold the lead? the ravens' defense scores twice against its former coach. and head coach jim zorn gets hit with questio

thousands of studentsn prince george's county started the school year without classes to attend. everything went off well but nearly 8,000 high school students received incorrect or partial schedules. school officials blame the scheduling problem on a computer glitch. they expect the system to be fix and they want all students to report to school tomorrow. theay m horas made good onot issc the but the is the tnstionquwi the tnsenbe enwied hroe llbeav elementary in the arhein t neighborho. in the ily lives with un esdaboth orief west school. s. it is not unusual for students to apply tsc idetshe sloo tirtsr hoors. the spokesperson for theoray mho olhoscch oice, or howgot in in o itgon in order torotte t twins' privacy. andrew and matthew fenty

previously attended a montessori school. and the swine flu could affect half the population causing 90,000 deaths. maryland's governor says budget cuts couldffect the ability to fight that virus. the vaccine is expected out in mid-october twoflt million marylanders are expected to get it. martin o'malley hope the federal dollars will help maryland effectively combat the scene with flu. seven marylanders have died from it. the latest death during just today. >> the greatest responsibility that any of us here in public life have is the protection of the lives and the health of our people. it is something that we'll have to continue to do, even in these difficult budgetary times. because there will be a time on the other side of this recession when we're actually able to do in a much more impactful and broader way the things that we're laying the foundation to do now. >> maryland has received more than nine million to combat swine flu. the federal government is paying for distribution of the swine

flu vaccine. comi up tonight, police made yet another discovery in the case of a reality show contestant, accused of murdering a model. new warning out about stadium lights. several have come crashing down on bleachers. and bob is up with the forecast.

police say they have identified a woman who may have helped a reality tv contestant who has been charged in the murder of his wife, a swimsuit model. her name was jasmine fiore. her mutilated body was found in a trash bin last week in california. her ex-husband ryan jenkins kill her, went to canada, then kill himself in the motel room in calgary. police are now iestigating the woman who helped jenkins check in that motel. she is not being identified. police say she is not a threat to the public. a special prosecutor was

appointed today to look into allegations of abuse against terror suspects by cia interrogators. this come on the heel of a newly released report that describe the tactics as unauthorized and inhumane. still, the attorney general says there is no guarantee the charges will be filed. brian moore has our report. >> reporter: attorney general eric holder today appointed a federal prosecutor to examine allege prisoner abuse by the cia as the bush administration was ramping up its war on terror. the announcement came as the justice department was forced to release internal cia documents, as the result of a lawsuit by the american civil liberties union. these heavily redact cia papers reveal that interrogators threaten to kill the children of 9/11 mastermine khalid shai mohammed. the suspect in the uss cole bombing was threatened with guns and a power drill. this investigation could reopen the books on prisoner treatment

from abu ghraib to guantanamo bay and focus on conduct of american ranging from cia contractors to senior officials in the bush white house. it is a political scab president obama did not want to scratch. >> he thinks we should be looking forward, not backward. he does agree with the attorney general that anyone who conducted actions that have been sanctioned could not be prosecuted. i think we have to look back. >> reporter: senator jack reid of rhode island said it is critical to know what that and why. >> if we forget the lessons of the last eight years, not immediately but in the future, we could be in the same predicament. >> reporter: meanwhile, the obama administration is confirming the president has created an elite multiinterrogation unit reporting directly to the white house. news 4. good news from greece tonight where firefighters say the massive while fires near athens have receded.

firefighters there are crediting a multinational effort for the success so far. those fires have scorched more than 50,000 acres, and they have damaged 150 homes. all systems are go for the overnight launch of the space shuttle diovery. it is fuel, ready for lift-off at 1:36 in the morning. and he is part of that crew. the astronaut will deliver new equipment including a treadmill to the international space station. there have been storms in the area this evening. things are expect to clear in me for the launch. >> exciting to see a launch at 3:00 in the morning. lighting up the sky. >> beautiful. beautiful out there. really a gorgeous nigh >> after all the heat and human, we got a little break. >> yes, indeed. our crescent moon is still out there. a nice clear night, except as i mentioned, that pollen. the polyen count will be getting higher. rag weed season, allergy

sufferers. 76 degrees right now after a high of 87. this august, right now, is much, much hotter than it was in july. right now, our temperature, our high temperatures today, 87 degrees. look to our south. you got friends in texas. not only are they enduring a terrible, terrible drought but the temperatures, day after day, corpus christi, 100 degrees today, tied the record high. they've gone now almost 50 days. 50 days with 95 degrees every day for 50 days in a row. here we are, 76 degrees. look at the cool air out in the mid part of the country. that old weather front that was responsible for some of those torrential rains over the week, still off the coast. ocean city, friends out there. they have a pretty good week coming up for the beaches. this was the nasty one. that was hurricane bill. now it has just become a mean old storm in the north atlantic. and i wanted to show you the

track of bill. because i also wanted to show you how accurate the forecast was. this was back on dnesday. there was the cone of uncertainty if you will, or that uncertainty with the forecast to three days and even out to five days. the forecast now from the folks at the hurricane center, much, much more accurate than 20, 30 years ago. as a matter of fact, the five-day forecast is about as accurate as the three-day forecast was about 20, 30 years ago. and we'll to have keep our eye on this. i think that could become tropical storm danny. it may be a dough pregnanstorm. high pressure in on us. some nice dry air, less humid air. temperature tomorrow will be into the mid to high 80 but the comfortable mid to high 80. with the dry air we have, tomorrow morning, temperature in some spots may be in the high 50s, low 60s for you folk in the suburbs. once again arresting few clouds

out there but a lot of sunshine. youngsters heading out to school, lather out up the sun block. it will be a very sunny day, as it will be on wednesday with still comfortable weather. that thundershower on friday, nothing from any tropical system if we do see anything, it would be late saturday and sunday. a long, long way away. it hasn't even develop. the next few days, delightful. coming up, a warning about light poles. they crack and then crash. one suspect's bone headed plan during a police chase. in sports, the ravens. dense.

often a fascination. with a back-up. >> exactly. nobody know what will happen in the preseason. the redski have been talking about that, how it really is anybody's game. in this case interesting third string quarterback for the re skins. colt will get a lot of teem and he knees to make sure that he makes the most of it. after what chase daniel did saturday against the steelers, jim zorn has a very tough decision to make when it come to the number three quarterback. daniel threw three tz while brennan had a touchdown. remember this? competing for the number two spot. the competition is really between he and chase niel. he hasn't had the best number this camp. he was pick off saturday night. his second of the preseason. but coaches say they know his potential. he showed what he can do. now noon, chase daniel, the

undrafted heisman trophy contender with missouri, a long shot to make the roster until he threw two touchdowns. scrambled like a champion. and now coach zorn that there is a bone fido over. >> the competition is for the number three spot. and chase is making a statement about that. that he is willing to compete at that level. >> that's how it is in the preseason. you only get so many shots to impress people. unfortunately, my two first glance haven't been the most productive. i two games to go and knowing what i've accomplished, how much better i am this year, i'm excite for the next two game. all it is is to get people excited, kind of prove yourself. >> he is ready to fight for his job friday night against the patriots. tonight was monday night preview acbetween the jets and the ravens. all anybody was focused on was mark sanchez. the fifth overall draft pick,

making his first start. the question, could he play well enough to make a move on the starting spot? he was roughedp tonight but did he show resilience. we're in baltimore. the redskins talk to mark sanchez, but tonight he made his first start. didn't go so well. we're in the first quarter, sanchez gets hit. defensive tackle picks it off. look at this guy go. 345 pounds. rumbling 25 pound. sanchez though did throw a touchdown in the game. rex ryan, now the head man for the jets, still in theirst quarter, the ravens in the red zone. joe flacco, you'll like this one. the statue of liberty takes the pass. he digs it in for the three-yard score. very impressive, expected to be the starting tailback. clemens fighting for the starting job. but this pass, not going to help him. mcclean with the interception. the ravens beat the jets 24-23.

for the nationals, it was a tale of two extremes for the pitcher today. against the brewers, he struck out a career high six batters in five innings of boring. however, it didn't last. he gave up four run in the six in the national 7-1. let me take you to nationals park. third inning, up 1-0. in a bases loaded jam, he strike out alberto gonzalez looking. gonzalez, a little heated up. colin ballister cruising. that's when ryan braub takes it deep up into the stands. a 2-1 blast. ballister would give up four runs. the brewers beat the nationals 7-1. >> you know you wanted it back. >> exactly. he said i know where that's going. >> coming up, a man

consumer product safety coonsiwais is inoog sch ils and others aut stadium light sefeiv stadium light les. om canypanine lights om cny bednas i texas have fallen in the pastever al years. one of tmed sshmahroushgh the roof of a high school gym. so far, there have been no injuries. they are recommending that any school with these light poles

get them inspected immediately. new video released today shows an unexpected turn during a police chase in georgia. the driver of a toyota took off after a recent traffic stop and after risky moves, the driver decided to jump out while moving. you can see him skid and then get to his feet. here we go. and there he -- whoa! and he's up. and off. but not for long. they caught him as they do. and they also took his passenger into custody. a suspect drunk driver in central florida ran into the wrong backyard. >> while trying to elude police couple of believe that? we're both so excited about it we have to share on this one. they've been chasing this guy for several hours. 18 years old, he was. the sheriff's chopper finally spotted him. this was a former bouncer. he saw the guy, went outside, took him down, held him down. he said dude, just be still. you don't even want to go there.

zmxt that's our broadcast for tonight. "the tonight show" is next. >> andy: fro