tonight a man tries to rob a taxi driver but his plan backfires. new clues about the alleged

gunman who fired shots inside a christian lobbying group. turns out that wasn't his only target. more backlash against chick-fil-a as students get them banned from campus. our top story tonight, a would be robber killed in a bizarre crime. he tried to hold up a taxi driver using fire as a weapon. but things didn't go as planned. darcy spencer is live to tell us what happened. >> reporter: a bizarre set of circumstances with deadly consequences for that robber. he tried to set a cabbie on fire but instead set himself on fire. the cabbie walked away. this is what is left of an independent cab company car after a man tried to rob the driver. his weapon, a flammable liquid. the robber doused the cabbie with the liquid inside the car and tried to light it. but instead set himself ablaze.

>> the subject attempted to rob him by demanding money, striking him in the head and pouring a liquid on him. >> reporter: the cabbie escaped. >> as he felt the liquid start to ignite he was able to get out of the cab and just suffered minor burns. >> reporter: the cab driver picked up the fair here at the largo metro station and drove him to buoy. the suspect told the cabbie to give him his money pulled out the liquid and set himself on fire. >> the fire department was able to put the fire out. once they did they realized that the deceased was still in the backseat. >> reporter: there were several independent cab cars at the metro station tonight. the drivers say that there is always danger picking up riders at metro stations. >> sometimes they get in the cab

with intentions. that's why we have the present of police here all the time. >> reporter: the fire investigators are still trying to figure out what that flammable liquid was and police investigators are trying to figure out who the suspect was. they say his body was burned beyond recognition. reporting live in bowie, news4. now a to a developing story. three armed robbers tied up a man in front of his house at gunpoint. he lives in the 4400 block of b street. three gunmen forced their way in, tied him up and ransacked the place. it took him two hours to free himself. a heavyweight boxer is killed in a freak car accident just stays after becoming a new dad. police say the victim was on the road when a tractor trailer made an ill league u-turn at the delaware toll plaza.

the truck slammed into his vehicle, killing him. his friends will hold a tribute next saturday. he may have had a second target. that's what we are hearing about the man charged with shooting a security guard in town this week. floyd corkins is accused of shooting a security guard at a group on wednesday. meanwhile the injured guard is doing much better. today he got a visit from d.c. mayor vincent gray. court documents show that corkens worked for a gay rights group and was arrested with 15 chick-fil-a sandwiches in his backpack. the controversy over chick-fil-a is not simmering down. university of maryland students are joining a petition to kick the fast food chain off campus.

>> reporter: the students say that chick-fil-a does not represent equality, a value establishment braced by the university of maryland. >> it didn't sit right with me. >> reporter: morgan signed a petition to kick chick-fil-a off the university of maryland campus. >> everyone has their right to free speech, i don't agree with their stance. >> reporter: students from lgbt support organizations demand ma that it be removed from the food court. the group is outraged at the ceo's views on same-sex marriage. he told a christian radio station he supports traditional marriage. >> we are inviting god's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him when we say we know better than you what constitutes a marriage. >> reporter: more than 580 students and staff signed the

online petition. but some people still support chick-fil-a. >> i'm hungry and it's there. i don't see a problem with eating there. >> reporter: students say more people will sign the petition at the end of the month. i'm shomari stone, news4. rain in parts of the region right here and now. but will showers dampen your weekend plans? >> good evening to you and everybody. rain showers not that heavy in and around the metro area. temperatures have been rain cooled down into the low to mid-70s in most locations. the bulk of the rain is already on the eastern shore on the far side of the chesapeake bay from us. but there are light rain showers in the metropolitan area right now. sprinkles near bethesda over the a river in fairfax county getting light sprinkles now. but the strongest and heaviest of the thunderstorms along 301

down to cambridge and the beaches. what does that mean for your weekend? i'll give you that coming up. pepco is defending its performance after the derecho storm in june. the letters thank people for their patience when the power was out. and outlines the improvements they have made over the past couple years but claims there was no way to prevent problems such as a powerful storm. dozens of college students came out to support an issue on the ballot this november. the measure would provide instate tuition rates for college students who were raised in maryland but brought into the country illegally. the prince george's county superintendent are supporting the dream act but some say it would reward families who break

the law but coming to the country illegally. in politics, newly minted vice presidential candidate paul ryan was in arlington for a private fundraiser. it's one of three events for ryan this week in the commonwealth. steve handelsman has more on the battle for your vote. >> reporter: paul ryan's first week on the race was on display in virginia to promote the choice that republicans say that the voters have. >> a nation going into decline. or, we can get it right, reapply our principles, get us back on the right track. we can't keep spending money we don't have. [ applause ] >> reporter: the day after mitt romney insists medicare under the obama plan will run out of money his revelation about his own money. >> ever year i paid 13%.

>> reporter: he refused an offer from the obama campaign if he released five years of returns, team obama wouldn't ask for more and out came an attack ad on romney and ryan. >> mitt romney's worth $200 million. but under paul ryan's budget he would pay 1% in taxes. >> ryan proposals no tax on capital gains which made up most of romney's income. but romney promised to fix medicare for younger voters put president obama on the offensive and he put up an ad. >> the aarp says that obama care cracks down on medicare fraud, waste and abuse. >> reporter: the white house warns seniors about a romney, ryan administration. >> medicare would be insolvent before the end of their first term. >> reporter: more focus on medicare, money, taxes and

spending. >> i'm steve handelsman, news4. more than 200 movie theaters are back open after receiving a bomb threat. a man left a threatening voice mill at carmike theaters. police searched with bomb-sniffing dogs. no explosives were found. police are taking extra precautions in light of the deadly shooting rampage in colorado. a fugitive on the run for 12 years is found 2,000 miles away. u.s. marshalls tracked him down in central mexico. he was living in an expia. patriot community for years.

a virginia teen just convicted of attacking animals at a petting zoo. the 17-year-old slashes three horses at frying pan park back in april. the animals help children with special needs. a month later a similar attack at the kidwell barn. just ahead tonight on news4 at 11:00. a news photographer finds himself in the middle of a story. how dozens of complete strangers stepped in to pull two women from a burning car. air fairs are skyrocketing again. how much more you will have to pay to travel. virginia's golden girl back home. home. gabby douglas is

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an amazing rescue effort in mississippi after a car crashed. 20 strangers including an associated press photographer jumped out of their cars and rushed to help a woman trapped in a burning car. she was screaming as the car worked to help her. a naval officer realized there was someone else in the car. she rescued the driver's handicapped sister. hope arrived in the form of a huge cement truck with a water hose. >> he was the first one to get water on her to keep the flames off her. >> they got the driver out and she was air lifted to the hospital. the ap photographer waited until he knew she was going to be okay before pulling out his camera.

air france had a strange request tonight. a pilot asked everyone on board for money to help refuel the plane. political unrest in beirut forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in syria. he turned to his passengers for help when authorities said he could only pay in cash. the plane was refuelled without money from passengers. in the u.s. complaints about airlines are on the rise are so are fares. southwest airlines filed a $5 price hike on a third of the one-way fares. delta rolled out an increase on monday but retracted it. complaints about airlines went up 44% in june. most of the gripes are over fees and crowded planes. also on the rise tonight, the cost of gas. national prices soared about 40 cents a gallon since july. the average is $3.93 up 32 cents

from a month ago. it's $3.68 in maryland and 3.57 in virginia. the spike is blamed on an increase in oil prices and refinery problems in regions. the white house may release oil from the petroleum reserve. expect delays on metro this weekend. on the red line the tacoma, brooklyn and rhode island avenue stations will be closed. fort totten will be open for green and yellow line trains. and single tracking on the orange, blue, and green lines. she wants a car. but first she needs a driver's license. gabby douglas has lot to celebrate, we know. she won two gold medals and scored the coveted box on the corn flakes and was on the

tonight show with michelle obama. but gabby has other priorities right now. >> so going to get a license. >> yes. >> and you know what car you are going to get? >> yeah. >> what? >> i want a bentley. but i have to start at something downgraded. >> i want a bentley. >> maybe a bmw or something. >> there you go. >> douglas returned to norfolk last night where she was greeted by a large crowd of fans and family. the airport was decorated with balloons and signs welcoming her home. you can see more of the interview sunday on dateline nbc. >> if she started with the beamer she might have got one of those. she went too high and bmw is a second choice. >> there is nothing but gold for her. >> she as a pretty smile too. just love her. >> a lot of showers out there. the heavy rain is over the bay

and on the eastern shore. that's where most of it will stay for the weekend. but we're not completely in the clear just yet. outside right now, anything but clear at all. full overcast outside with tiny rain drops in a lot of spots on your friday night as you make your plans to get outside for your late night. 75 in washington. the dew point is all the way back up to 70 degrees. winds out of the northeast at 8 miles an hour indicating a weather front trying to get through here. 94 was the high temperature on friday afternoon after a 72 to start. that made it the 48th 90-degree day this year. last year at this time we had the same number, 48, 90-degree days. we had two more going forward last summer. let's hope we have one or two left this year as well. rain cooled 60s and 70s in the

area. not a lot of heavy rain but it is wet roadways all around the capital beltway with the exception of use in walker mill not a lot of rain there. the heaviest of thunderstorms are on the eastern shore going south down to easton and cambridge, maryland. that's where the heavy rain stays overnight. but if you are going to the beaches for the weekend not terribly good weather especially on your saturday. be ready for that. around here, cloudy and damp to get your saturday morning started. starting off in the upper 60s and low 70s. showers likely to continue south and east of the washington area, saint mary's county. so late night rain drops and rumbles of thunder can't be ruled out. tomorrow in the afternoon the

weather front slowing its progress down to the coastline. as it slows down clouds and rain chances linger. not a lot of sun for us tomorrow. but we will see breaks later in the day. sunday will be the nicer day of the weekend for all concerns. maybe a few showers in the mountains late sunday night. on the beaches, stormy tomorrow and shower chances sunday and monday. not the best weekend. overnight cloudy and cooling. showers lingering into saturday morning and most will be coming to an end tomorrow afternoon. tomorrow's high is in the upper 70s to low 80s. ten to 15 degrees cooler than today. it hangs around much of the weekend. but you'll see sun from time to time. a rain chance on monday. and no more 90s on the seven-day forecast. we could put one in but as of now, none. >> we're done with them? >> i was done a month ago. the west nile virus is spreading in our area.

the number of cases in maryland are five. two cases in virginia, none in the district this year. a mosquito expert learned how serious the disease can be. by the time he was diagnosed last year he was having seizures and he was put in a coma to help him recover. >> my wife thought she lost me. i was indtubated and couldn't breathe. >> 80% of people who get the virus never know. it the immune systems fight it off with no trouble. in sport, michael morse and bryce harper go

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the dream continues. the nats back home continuing their winning ways. >> i'm thinking if xfinity is the future of awesome, the nats have got to be the present. >> i like that. >> if you are thinking this is too good to be true you need to get a better natitutde. bryce harper and michael morse tonight were very attractive. desmond went 0 for 4 at the plate but they didn't need his bat tonight. michael morse in the bottom of the fourth, first grand slam by a nationals player this year. third career grand slam for morse. bryce harper at the dish, man on. he has been struggling.

no longer. that is being as sexy as you can. two-run shot. nats go up 6-2. harper's third homer in 165 at-bats. tyler clippard gets the fly out and the nats win 6-4. drama, guys. bottom of the fifth. peralta grounds to third. the throw, mark reynolds. is he out? take look look. ball in glove toes on the bag. out. ump says he's safe. mark reynolds gets thrown out. buck gets thrown out. fielder in the bottom of the eighth. two-run shot. tigers win 5-3 over the orioles. four of those runs coming off

prince fielder. first cut down for nfl teams to get from 90 to 75 is on monday the 27th. you got to think that team shanahan has made up their mind about a couple of folks. now if you're looking for something good from your franchise tomorrow look for rg3 against the bears. look at how he gets in and out of the huddle, managing the clock. that is something that has been lacking for quarterbacks in the shanahan era. for the head coach tomorrow will tell a lot. >> you are trying to evaluate players and find out who the top 53 are. we know who the starters are. there is competition for other positions that could swing either way. trying to find the top 53 and your practice squad with the additional 8. >> you can see the burgundy and

gold take on the bears tomorrow. dan hellie and doc walker pre-game at 7:00 and followed by the game at 8:00. redskins trying to get that going. go[ male announcer ] you paid in to medicare for years.

every paycheck. now, when you need it obama has cut $716 billion dollars from medicare. why? to pay for obamacare. so now the money you paid for your guaranteed healthcare is going to a massive new government program that's not for you. the romney-ryan plan protects medicare benefits for today's seniors and strengthens the plan for the next generation. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

. this video is a parody of

nasa's mars rover mission. the actors look like the mission control team. two members of the mars mission have already posted the video to

homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief, i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. if you want to make a difference, you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i am committed to making a difference, and i am a phoenix. find the program that's right for you at phoenix.edu/beltway i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! my bowl, my spoons! mom, are those my jeans?

[ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios has whole grain and 110 delicious calories. ...more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios in multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. >> jay: hey, allyson, congratulations. world-record sprinter, three gold medals, doesn't get any better than that. >> geez, thanks, jay. you actually reminded me i left my medals at home. i'll be right back. >> jay: wait, you can't -- [ laughter ] >> announcer: it's "the tonight show