at sea for more than a week. good evening, everybody. governor arnold schwarzenegger has issued a state of emergency for several counties. i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. there are at least eight fires burning throughout california. jay gray is in southern california with more. jay? >> reporter: hey there, wendy, jim. yeah, and you talked about the state of emergency declared by governor arnold schwarzenegger. at this point even the firefighters saying this is far more than an emergency. conditions here are dire. and they're only getting worse right now. the attack continues from the air and on the ground. >> it's like a war zone. >> reporter: but after six days the army of firefighters working around the clock is still losing the war against mother nature. >> there's really no opportunities to go in there and draw a line to stop this fire so we're trying to contain it best

we can but we're really -- this fire is burning wherever it wants to go. >> reporter: some of the most graphic evidence that the fire is in full control is here in tujunga canyon. cinders and ash replacing just yesterday was a community. >> this is usually very green and so it looks like a desert. very sad. this would happen. >> reporter: it's happening across a huge section of california right now. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency. >> are thereires everywhere. eight large fires around the state of california right now. >> reporter: the biggest is the massive station fire. it scorched more than 85,000 acres andestroyed dozens of homes and businesses. with at least 12,000 homes still in jeopardy more than 2,000 firefighters are struggling to protect what they can. battling, not only the flames, but now their emotions as well. >> prayers for that family of our two brothers that we lost. >> reporter: two firefighters were killed when their vehicle

rolled down a mountainside in the middle of the intense flames. >> every californian is grateful for their bravery and for their great service and of course they're my heroes. >> reporter: heroes lost in a blaze that continues to burn out of control. and there are concerns now the conditions here could get even worse. forecasters say the santa ana winds still to this point could begin to fan the flames later this evening. live in los angeles, i'm jay gray. wendy, now back to you. >> unbelievable pictures. thank you, jay. some firefighters from our area have ut west. o a -m20rembe teamng emncludingdi rangers from the maryland forest service were recently dispatched to utah and then onto caialirnfo. e'v put out tshopots and helped along the fire lines. local officials say they're usually busier here in the springtime which allows them to lendheir resources to places out west during this time of the year. firefighters from our area acknowledge they don't usually encounter blazes of this

magnitude consuming hundreds of miles of territory but they say the skills they have can be put to use anywhere. >> no matter whether it is a small fire that you'reta ti sng he in-state or a l fgeire, the structure of how you fight a fire is the same whether it's here or someplace in the country. >> are on stand-by. right now the search is on for a driver who hit two women in maryland dragged them severai iowpiieve v aenu ngtol view avenue in sp . inspring. in evening, both of the women hit remain in the hospital. chris gordon is live in rockville with more on this story. chris? >> reporter: here at pole headquarters, we are told that the victims are expected to live, but they have massive injuries. and they will be hospitalized for some time. their families say they have no idea how they're going to pay these huge medical bills. meanwhile the person responsible is in hiding.

the fam let's of the victims came from the hospital to police headquarters where they spoke through an interpreter. 22-year-old maria was hit, dragged 113 feet and run over by the feet that fled the scene. >> translator: we are suffering very much because we never experienced my sister to go through such a bad experience. >> reporter: 21-year-old has two children and a husband. >> translator: i think the person made a really bad judgment to hit somebody and just run away. i think it was something really, really bad for this person to do it. >> reporter: this is the best evidence police have. the grill that fell off the suv at the scene of the hit and run saturday. police have tentatively as it coming from a toyota four-runner. 199 8 and '92.

>> we ask the driver to come forward and contact police and if any witness knows about this driver or the vehicle to call the police nonemergency number. >> the women were cleaning offices and homes. they parked on leavy avenue and crossing capitol view avenue in the walkway when they were hit and dragged by the toyota. >> well, it's terrible. i hope that you guys find the person who did this. i guess i'm just so sorry that it happened to them. >> the victims of this hit and run are both from silver spring. they work for home services enterprises. its owner hopes that the hit-and-run driver surrenders or is turned in by someone noticing a toyota missing a drill. >> we are looking for that person and hopefully we'll catch the person and if they have the conscience and if they are listening please turn themselves in. >> reporter: montgomery county

police are asking anyone with information about this hit and troun call them at area code 301-279-8000. they say all callers can remain anonymous. the latest from the police headquarters in rockville. back to you. >> a horrible story. chris, thank you. wendy? in the race for governor in virginia republican candidate bob mcdonell is facing his first campaign crisis of sorts. comes from the discovery of the a 20-year-old thesis that was written by mcdonell. julie carey joins us in the story. >> reporter: former attorney general and longtime. but today these campaign leaders say the spotlight on mcdonell's writings give them sudden new momentum. bob mcdonell wrote these nis 1989 at the age of 34 when t a egree at regent university. t i he suggests thattngkior ki women and fe amnastsre ls a cites, to the famil also

cohabitators, homosexuals and fornicators as threatso families. a 15-point action plan. today called the thesis devastating and charged that it governing.ll's blueprint said adviser eleithee, it will give reason to concern. statements of support from women backing the republican and in a late afternoon conference call with reporters mcdonell says he was tempered his beliefs since he wrote that paper and he called the thesis an academic exercise adding that he no longer believes much of what he wrote them. i'll have more from both campaigns and get an assessment from a local political analysis coming up tonight at 11:00. >> thank you, julie. going to the polls in mid-january to choose a successor for the late senator

kennedy. it'sing to be held on january 19th. kennedy died last week after a long run with brain cancer. governor patrick said his death has left a void that needs to be filled. >> from health care reform, to jobs, bills, climate change and education, the congress is debating some of the most historic and significant legislatn in decades bound to affect all of us for decades. >> governor patrick also said he wants to fill the position to an interim basis until this special election and says he has spoken to kennedy's widow vicki if she wanted that drive and she told him he's not interested. one of the issues that senator kennedy fought so hard for is health care reform. five versions of reform are circulating up on capitol hill, however none of those is president obama's bill. today republican bob dole had some advice for president obama. steven handelsman has our report. >> reporter: back from vacation

on martha's vineyard president obama is still on vacation in washington making no major rules on health care as the debate rages on this was afl-cio headquarters here in the white house today. former senate majority leader republican bob dole says barack obama's got to do are. >> he ought to pick up the mantle of a and go with it. i mean he is the president. >> reporter: in an opned today's "washington post" dole says mr. obama ought to come up with his own specific plan now. with the public option or not. with a tax hike or not. specifics. the obama health care reform bill. >> many think he's trying to duck and then if it fails he won't be held responsible because he didn't have a bill. well, that's not leadership. >> reporter: dole says the ruckus in town hauls that are giving cold feet about big change would die down. >> the president's introduction of his bill, the obama bill,

would trump everything. >> reporter: the whi house reacted to dole's criticism. >> characterize the role that the president is playing as inactive would be inaccurate. >> reporter: but if the polls are accurate the president's public support is down to 50%. >> the opponents of health care reform are united and attacking anything that moves on capitol hill. whereas the supporters, the proponents don't have a single bill to rally around. >> reporter: a single health care reform bill that bob dole says barack obama needs to get out and get behind. dole, who says he favors reform and wants the president to succeed says former senate majority leader, democratic tom daschle got touch and says he agrees with bob dole's advice. i'm steve handelsman, "news4," capitol hill. participate in a conference call in frida to discuss health care but nothing is expected to be resolved until next week when

congress returns and the affect of those town hall meetings can be assessed. still ahead in our broadcast a woman who has been represented for a murder that happened at a d.c. pays shop. court documents show it was part of a money scheme. coming up in sports, roger federer serves it up in the first round of the u.s. open. also a college football coa gets emotional defending his coaches and here at the redskins. the redskins' two kick verse one final preseason game to battle it out for the top job.

police in california tonight are looking for evidence that the man accused of kidnapping an

11-year-old girl and holding her sionfospe blronfoe ol mu murddo was arrestedilpliaras wr lastek .we he aedusna kgppidinnaidpping ja eaeed ugar jaycee dugard 18 years po pow klice want to know w if he linked to any other crimes? kristen dahlgren has our story. >> reporter: for another day investigators dug for clues in theext n t next to where philli garrido is accused of imprisoning jaycee dugard for the past 18 years. >> phillip garrido had access to that property. he used that property. >> reporter: but what did he use it for? officers are looking for evidence of any other crimes including ties to some of the area's unsolved murders. >> we're just trying to see if there any's link, any possible link between poposen ca bndses, those open cases, but at this point it's just too early to say. >> reporter: but we are learning more about what life was like for jaycee dugard, kidnapped at age 11, kept in this backyard

network of tents. police say she gave birth to two children by garrido. >> she never had a chance to be a teenager. she never had a chance to be anything but his property. >> reporter: some in the community are now shocked to learn garrido was sentenced to life in 1977 in another kidnap and rape case but led out on parole 11 years later. >> the system failed more than anybody, more than any other person, the system itself -- it failed. >> reporter: as police now expand their search to see if garrido had any more victims. kristen dahlgren, "news4." >> police say it's still too early to tell if garrido has ties to any other cases. he and his wife have pleaded not guilty to more than two dozen criminal counts in the dugard case. we are hearing for the first time a family member's call for help after he found his relatives murdered inside of a mobile home park in southeastern

georgia. found the bodies of seven people insisted mobile home. two victims were clinging to life. one died sterday. this morning police released the 911 call that was replaced from relative, guy heinz. >> how many people are there? >> there are six. my whole family's dead. >> okay. >> it looks like they have been beaten to death. i don't know, man. >> police arrested the caller, guy heinz, on the scene on drug and other charges but police do not believe he is a suspect in the murders. they won't say houtvictims died and will not provide any other information on suspects. the lone survivor of the stackin critical condition this evening. a grim benchmark tonight is being observed in afghanistan. 47 american troops were kled there in august. ng kima this the deadliest month for u.s. troops since the war ki began in 2001. july was the second deadliest month for u.s. troops with 44 killed. membe

the latest casualties come as the top commaerfgn andhanistan delivers his initial review of the war to the pentagon and nato. general stanleycc mnhrystal is calling for a full overhaul of the military strategy. he recommends an approach that focuses on making the afghan people feel safer. meanwhile, the people of afghanistan are still waiting to find out who won the presidential election. more partial results were released today. ane incumbent hamid karzai is retaining his lead. ballots have now been counted in almost half of the country's polling stations. karzai has nearly 46% of the vote while top challenger abdullah abdullah has about 3. karzai needs 50% to avoid a two-man runoff. but complaints about voter fraud have surged in the past several weekr days. election officials say they have received more than 500 complaints that are serious enough to affect the outcome of this election. officials in the uk are disputing a report in london

sunday times that suggest the lockerbie bomber was released because of oil interests. abdelbaset al megrahi is the only person convicted the bombing of the flight panam103. jack straw fought to keep megrahi's name off of list to prisoners who might be transferred to libya. negotiations for a major oil deal were stalled at the time. strawed back down. the deal went through. he says the matter is academic now since megrahi was freed on compassionate grounds. megrahi report lead has terminal prostate cancer. he returned to libya ten days ago. yesterday a british tv crew was invited into his hospital room but they were told he is too sick to answer questions. coming up on our broadcast students in montgomery county heading back to school today. new policies here in year. walt disney family's getting

larger. a major deal for the company. veronica is back with the check ofoor recast

woke up to a touch of fall out there, veronica. >> you like it? >> i do. >> it's a mood improvement. >> it is. here we are, too, with all of the kids back in school now. going to stay that cool weather for them as they get through the first week. no troubles weatherwise. there you go. this flower was. mandavela. not sure if it comes in different colors besides pinks and reds but i'll have to look

that one up. temperatures across the area because we did see our low temperature reh closer to:00 this morning. dip down to 64 degrees. 76 was the high and that was before 4:00 p.m. today and in fact our coolest high atiner soies gcees since going e way back to june 6th. now let's talk about the readings across the area. there you can see we've got partly sunny skies. not a bad day. light winds throughout area and some awfully low humidity. it's pretty much white clean that humidity. temperatures again this morning started out in the 60s here. 50s up in buffalo. alba albany, too. western adirondack. up in michigan this morning, spots like gaylord and around muskegon dipd down to 41 degrees. record low starts. a little early that taste of fall. 72 the temperature here and now 78 atlanta, georgia. not too bad there.

high pressure continues to move in. so it gives us the dry air. the clear skies. the calm winds and what warmth we get radiates back out at night. meanwhile we've got one weather syst that's parked right along the coast. southeastern virginia down to the carolinas. that'sing to be moving away. our next chance of rain not till the end of the workweek. readings around the area, damascus maryland, 53. 54 degrees. everywhere a little cooler tonight. a few showers down south. those are pretty much gone and the radar stays quiet for a while but not the radar. in this area. this is around the baja peninsula. a major hurricane. it's jimena and it's moving north/northwest ward. those fires that are burning up

in california that track starts to make a north and i think in a northeasterly turn probably taking most of the moisture into arizona by the end of the week. only a slight chance they think that california could pick up some of that moisture. destructive winds for the baja peninsula and possibility of heavy rain and flooding for that location. out in the atlantic what could be erica, a strong possibility that this big mass here, about 500 miles east of the lesser antilles could be upgraded to a tropical depression and again take on the name erica. so there is the lesser antilles. greater then a 50% chance that that could happen so we're watching that storm very carefully. probably not until we get to the end of the week and weekend that it could move close to the eastern seaboard. for now though high pressure moving in. that'll wipe the skies clean. lots of sunshine i think throughout the day tomorrow as high pressure continues to move in. all of the white and i think

that's kind of overdone. most of the clouds down through the carolinas. temperatures dropping from the low 60s -- or from the low 70s to the upper 60s by tomorrow morning. a lot of spots starting out in the 50s. even well again across western portions of maryland. maybeven a couple of 40s. 50, 61 the range. call it refreshingly cool across the area. let's go ahead and take a look at your forecast then for tomorrow because tllnkhi withnk nrveheig uds across the area atermp higher teboatut a 77 about 77 toio ng pleasant day coming up tomorrow and we'll take a look athat "7-day" in a few minutes. can we play hookie tomorrow. >> across, yes. >> yes all of us. >> just don't tell anybody. coming up next at "news4," please have reason of theed a woman in case of a murder at a district pizza shop. new information about how the victim and the suspect knew one another. a 9-year-old boy leads police on a chase through two counties.

why he said he did it. also ahead a bear causing tense moments for children heading to their first day of class today. > and the story of three fishermen who were rescued after spending more than a very bad week lost at sea. coming up in sports. ng

and we're back with a look at some of the stories that are making headlines tonight. those wildfire continue to rage in southern california threatening tens of thousands of homes. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in four counties. morehan a dozen homes have already been destroyed. two l.a. county firefighters died yesterday in the middle of one of those massive blazes. >> a special election will be held in massachusetts on january 19th to choose a successor for the late senator edward kennedy who died last week. the governor of massachusetts says he wants to fill the

position on an interim basis until that special election and asked kennedy's widow vicki but told him she's not interested in the position. the families of two women who were run down over in silver spring are calling on the driver involved to come forward. both women suffered serious injuries. one was dragged 83 feet. the other 113 feet. police say a grill fell off striking the vehicle. they believe it belongs to a black toyota four-runner. coming up this half hour of "news4" at 6:00, we'll tell you about three fishermen who were rescued after spending eight days stranded at sea. a 9-year-old boy leads police on a high-speed chase through counties. we'll hear why he did it and back to school today for students in montgomery county. police have arrested a woman in the murder of a man who was found dead inside his d.c. pays shop. this happened august 18th pi ..cza onmartou fhrt street in h on fridayicole p arrdterr 26-year-old shanika robinson.

pat collins has our report. >> reporter: shahaba budin rana murdered. according to court documents mr. rana had 14 large lacerations to his head. lacerations to his head. multiple skull fractures. nine lacerations to his left side. and there was an apparent attempt to set him on fire. his back was scorched and burnt matches were found lying on his body. the suspect identified as 26-year-old shanika robinson.

the motive, money. according to documents, rana paid robinson $500 a week to marry his pakistani brother so his brother could eventually become a u.s. citizen. en the brother found out that robinson had sexual affairs with others, rana cut off the payments. robinson vowed to get rana. according to the documents the plot was hatched at this home on addison road in capitol heights where robinson lived. this is where they say they got the box cutter knife they used in the crime. >> that's scary. you wouldn't think that something like that would happen that close to home and it just makes me nervous. >> reporter: on august 18th, robinson and two male accomplices went to the pizza mart. there was an argument, there was a fight, there was murder.

so bloody was this murder they say when the suspects got back to the house, they burned their clothes in a barbecue in the back. so bloody was this murder they say when they got back to the house, they scrubbed out the getaway car with bleach. tonight shanika robinson held without bond. her two accomplices they're still at large. i'm pat collins, "news4" washington. >> police say the suspects took about $2,000 in cash from the pizza martalong with some cigarettes and cigars. police in ana rundel county tonight are searching ifwoen t m ob robed a womana at iv ro rdre-tha ugt h drive-through m.at it hpene d friday around159: masks masks of of l elhe t t sn hi k ndbehe she says one o fakeul a a gun nd fake gun and demanded her money.

colied and t the two men ran away police don't have good descriptions of the suspects. police say it appears the bus rear-ended the car between old columbia pike and fairland road. no students on the bus at the time. the driver of the car was injured. investigators still trying to figure out the cause. well, it was the first day of school for tens of thousands of maryland students and for montgomery county, it was especially busy today. the state's largest school system has 2,000 more students than just a year ago and some very lofty goals for those students too. jane wattrel has our report. >> reporter: it was forwarded march into the new school year as students were greeted by school superintendent who has high expectations for these young people.

>> poverty shouldn't be any excuse and mobily should be an excuse and race certainly shouldn't be an excuse. >> reporter: considered to be college-ready by the end of the year. a daunting declaration for many students in it leaves me kind of nervous. >> reporter: parents couldn't be happier. >> i think that's excellent. i think that's a wonderful goal. i definitely want my son in college. still montgomery county school continue to gather accolades. documents the system's successful efforts tolose the achievement gaps among all students. >> it's a pretty accurate reflection of what our employees are able to do if you have high expectations you actually lead for equity. you don't let race or socio-economics become an excuse

but you really start aiming at the right north star. getting kids college-ready. >> reporter: college-ready with great expectations being set for the youngest of students early and often. jane watrel, "news4." >> montgomery county expects to have more than 140,000 students enrolled this year. everything is back on track at prince george's county. all of their students now have full-time schedules. when the school year began last week more than 8,000 students were without one. administrators blame the computer glitch but the school system's new superintendent says there's no excuse for the problems. we'll have more on this story tomorrow morning at "news4 today." prince george's county's superintendent will be appearing on our program. we'll ask him about this scheduling mix-up. two world famous civil rights leaders are weighing in on a dispute about tennis in the district. author maya angelo and veteran leader dorothy height are seeking a mayor with adrian

fenty. is threatening to dismantle the southeast tennis and learning center. that's southeast d.c. fenty said that cora barry's business papers were not properly filed. a city eviction notic is set to take affect on september 13th but core barry says the corporation papers were a minor error that has since been corrected. sources confirm to "news4" canceled a meeting with angelo and height. both have been active in the youth program and are still seeking a meeting with mayor. still ahead at "news4" at 6:00, we'll hear from one of three fishermen who were rescued after spending eight days lost at sea. he led police on i chase through two counties and he was ni years old. some kids getting their first day of school this morning got quite a scare when this bear showed up in the neighborhood. .

veronica johnson here. the skies may be clear enough to pick up the great red spot in our night sky. that's jupiter's red storm. three times the size of planet earth. jupiter and the moon in the southern sky you should be able to pick that up spot at about 8:06 with a good pair of binoculars. another chilly start after a cool night. skies starting out and clear tomorrow and then we may see a few clouds coming through. the high tomorrow 77 degrees so about two, three degrees higher than today. close to 80 on wednesday and then we might hit 80 on thursday with a few more clouds moving in but dry most of the workweek

with chance of rain on friday. back to you. we're following some breaking news out of the district. police say four people have been shot in the 900 block of hamilton street northwest. police initially arrived, found two victims inside the home and other victims outside. the extent of their injuries is not known at this time. we will bring you dates on this story as we get it. an incredible ending for three texas fishermen who were missing for eight days. they were last seen 75 miles off the shore in the gulf of mexico. the coast guard launched a massive search but called it off friday without finding them. the next day a sports fisherman spotted the missing men 180 miles from the coast. one of the fisherman describes how he survived. >> we managed to salvage two bags of chips, six pack of crackers and three gallons of water and that's what we lived on for the eight days. >> finally a reunion most

thought would never come to pass. the captain the boat who found them says he was just in the right place at the right time. well, there's something memorable for this firstay of school. as the students who encountered in one connecticut neighborhood today a bear. he sent the kids and their parents scrambling as they were waiting for the school bus. police and animal control officers arrived but kids ended up boarding the school bus but the bear still nearby. kind of roamed around neighborhood for a while and then headed back to the woods. >> let's just say that indiana police were a bit surprised when they caught up with an erratic driver last night. this is some dash cam video of that pursuit. officers thought they were following a drunk driver. the person behind the wheel turned out to be a 9-year-old boy. the chase lasted 20 minutes with the youngster even going against traffic a couple of times. it ended when he drove the car into a ditch.

fortunately no one was hurt. police say the boy was angry with his parents before taking off with the family car. he was taken into custody then released to his parents for a whoopin' or something. he's in hot water. >> whatever happened to, i hate you and slam the bedroom door. that always worked for me when i was 9. >> the keys, yeah. coming up in our broadcast, we're going to take a look at how hotels in the district are getting ready for their business -- busiest time of the year. and lindsay, what do you got coming up? >> the redskins' kicking battle is still up in the air and also serena williams in action at the first round of the u.s. open. and nfl fans, did they show creativity or what?

let's head back to lindsay and talk more than clinton portis' birthday suit. >> i am, wendy. yes, exactly. but it was much more interesting. today out here at redskins, getting ready for the jackonson jaguars play on thursday. notes real quick, defensive tackle albert haynesworth wasn't out here at the park today because he's still getting over a stomach illness that he suffered yesterday too he missed practice so jim zorn says he will not be playing. rogers still sideline. this game coming up it's not about the starters at all, it's about fighting for rosters spots and not just rookies, the

kickers, rayner and shaun suisham. they had a kicking competition. each guy his to hit seven field goals from different distances out. suisham missed one and rayner missed two. it will really comes down to what happens thursday. back to the tape that we have that ran in this last preseason game. kicker dave rayner was brought in in the off-season. brought in friday against the patriots made a 25-yard field goal and two extra-point attempts. now as for the incumbent, kicker shaun suisham, number 6 the hockey-loving guy from montario. he made a point after kick but his 52-yard field goal attempt went wide left. both players are trying to downplay this next game. >> it's football and as a kicker it's very easy to evaluate my position. it either goes through the uprights or it doesn't. obviously the kicks are

important. i feel very comfortable. i feel very good and i'm looking forward to this year. i haven't put any extra stress on myself other than what i am normally trying to do is make a field goal. >> i wish him luck and i'm sure he wishes me luck. it comes down to business. one guy can make it, one guy can't. every kick is so important in a kickoff kind of competition. but yeah i will go in and try to obviously get some reps in games more than short ones and i hope we both get multiple reps so we can really find out who isoing to win the job. >> reporter: talk about the life of a kicker that's dave rayner and if he would be able to unseat shaun suisham his six different team in the nfl. another team in the nfl remember former denver broncos quarterback jay cutler. got upset, demanded a trade. almosts ended up here with the redsence but landed with the chicago bears. last night the bears went back to denver to face jay cutler's

former team and the fans didn't treat him warmly. back to video. check out the fans in denver. dressing up as babies and then look at this one t-shirt, "crybaby, cutler." there he is. denver punting the ball away. chicago's devin hester. this guy's always a threat. he fields it at the 42. hester hits the holes. he's a speedy guy. returns it 54 yards. all way down to the 4 yard line and the bears with that would be in business. devin hester can turn a game upside down on his own. two plays later, cutler hands it off to matt forte. forte takes control, goes up and over for the touchdown. the bears take a 10-3 lead. just before halftime the bears threatening. listen to those boos from cutler. he's cool though, cool, calm, collected. tla threads the needle to matt forte.

143 yards passing in that touchdown. the bears beat the broncos 27-17. i think that if you took a poll of all of the coaches in the nfl and if anybody asked who is the least to crack it would be bill belichick head coach of the patriots, that's because he's always steadfast and strong. you don't think of him as somebody that gets emotional but today he did. he almost broke down when he was talking about one of his prize players tedy bruschi and how he's retiring from the nfl. take you back to video. 36-year-old linebacker tedy bruschi called it a career today. he and bill belichick began with the patriots in the same year. bruschi suffered from a mild stroke in 2005 and managed to come back and play just eight months later mean played on all three super bowl-winning teams. bruschi will be missed by his fellow teammates and especially his head coach bill belichick. >> over my career i worked so hard to have this day more of like a celebration.

more of like a celebration because this would be so much harder for me if there was more they wanted to accomplish. >> i'm proud of everything that he did and the path that he's paved for all of us going forwar i don't want to say we're missing him because i know he' going to be and going to be around. i know he's always a part of us. we'll still miss him. >> a rare sight from the usually stoic belichick. he walked over and gave tedy bruschi a big hug and wishing him well. a controversy brewing at michigan. say that their head coach rich rodriguez had them practice longer than the guidelines for which the ncaa states. today rodriguez denied the claims speaking out for the first time. >> the perception sometimes that was out there that we did not care as much for our players students -- or player's welfare. and that -- that is

disheartening. to say that is misleading, inaccurate and goes against everything that i've ever believed in coaching. >> michigan football coach rich rodriguez, michigan by the way had its worst season since 1967 last year when their record was 3-9. to tennis now the u.s. open opened in today new york. and roger federer made it look very easy. let me take you up to flushing meadows. federer looking to make it 35 matches at open. federer serving in the far court and after britain's return there you go. beat britain for the winner. third set now, federer in the near court. federer remaining cool. rips the forehand. for the winner. federer won easily 6-1, 6-3, 7-5

defeating devon britain. serena williams taking on alexa glach. serene in the far court. serena williams uses her backhand for the winner down the line. serena williams cruises 6-4, 6-1. looking for her fourth u.s. open title. so again out here at redskins, news of the day, albert haines worth, carlos rogers not practicing but again, guys, this game coming up on thursday is all about those fighting for roster spots. >> you continue. >> a lot on the line.ne

disney cast of characters is expanding. walt disney is buying marvel entertainment. worth $4 billn. disney will have full ownership of some 5,000 characters including iron man, spider man, the fantastic 4 and x-man.

the hotel industry here in washington is doing better than other cities and some hotels are even hiring. tom sherwood reports. >> reporter: the poor national economy has taken a bite out, out of the industry. but the hotel industry here is faring far better than other places. at the jefferson hotel reopening downtown, the 99 room luxury hotel is bringing back worker sideline during a 30-month multimillion dollar makeover. longtime jefferson workers are happy to be back full-time. >> i've been working at the hotel and the city. you know all of your co-worker and the staff. so it's like a family affair. >> reporter: hotel managing director frank arnold says the recessionary climate is not holding back hiring plans.

>> we starting now. yes, with approximately 120 employees and we will be giving up and ramping up approximately 135, 140 employees in the next -- in the coming two months. >> there was a little cutback in the year. i think people were reluctant to fill some positions but i think that they realized we're not being hit as bad as most cities. >> reporter: emily head of the hotel city association says 26,000 people are employed by city hotels. the obama administration and national political issues are helping to boost occupancy rates and jobs. >> it's all across the board. it's entry-level jobs all way up to management jobs. >> reporter: while the top 25 markets in the nation are down this year. d.c. hotels are only down 7% this year. the overall national rate is down 18%. >> reporter: tom