good evening everyone. bruce is off tonight. thanks for joining us and happy 4th to all of you. new developments tonight in the shooting death of former nfl quarterback steve mcnair. sports director here now with the very latest. brett, bring us up to date. >> as recently as two years ago he was the ravens starting quarterback. as recently as six years ago he was the nfl's most valuable player. tonight he's gone and the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. the news of steve mcnair's death shocked people in nashville in particular where the quarterback spent most of his nfl career. >> i can say this has got to be the saddest day in the history of the titans. >> he was one of the greatest people i've known. he's done so much for this community. he's incredible. even recently i've heard more stuff. he would do things and wouldn't

want people to know about it. >> reporter: nashville police say he was found in a condominium along with the body of a female. both dead from gunshot wounds. police had been dispatched after a call of an injured person saturday afternoon. >> and it was his girlfriend who was there with him. in fact it was the girlfriend's condo in downtown nashville where both the bodies were found. >> reporter: mcnair had been married to his wife michelle since 1997. they had four sons. he spent 13 seasons in the nfl. the majority with the tennessee titans. his last two in baltimore. he was the league's co-mvp in 2003. he retired from the ravens at the end of 2007. >> late news within the last half hour from nashville police confirming that mcnair was shot multiple times. the 20-year-old woman shot once in the head. meanwhile reaction to the death is pouring in from around the nfl tonight. ravens general manager saying

tonight that he was one of the nfl's best players over the last 20 years and that the ravens were lucky to have him. we will have more on the tragic death in sports. we'll check back in just a few moments. thank you. a huge crowd tonight at the national mall for the annual fireworks display. we were there right now where the fireworks seem to go off without a hitch. >> reporter: the fireworks have been over for quite a while. but it doesn't mean that people are home just yet. it did take quite a while to clear the national mall. eric is a crowd counter. he's keeping track of the number of people exiting the metro stop on the national mall. >> there's about 7,000 an hour coming through here at this one entrance. >> it is the first time since 9/11 this entrance is open. the reason park police moved the secure perimeter away from here and over to the monument. >> rather than 18 as we have last year we have 11 check points this year.

>> that means families could put their families down without any hassle. while there's a lot to enjoy, some people like too many a from florida instead tried to come up with a plan to get home before the chaos. >> if we go right over here to the metro, sooner or later we're going to get a ride back. >> after the fireworks that's pretty much what everyone tried to do. hundreds of thousands of people trying to get on the metro to simply go home. >> i guess for a holiday it's not bad. i thought it would be a lot quicker. >> it was hectic. i have a wheelchair. so i'm trying to deal with that. >> we did see some delays on the red line. metro had said before this 4th of july that it could take people between 30 minutes and two hours to get through the metro system and get to their destination. we didn't see that tonight even though it was crowded. everything was moving along pretty smoothly. and the people who are out here now are simply taking their

time. live at the smithsonian, 9 news now and wusa9.com. all right. thank you. and if you do a bit too much reveling this 4th of july, the washington regional alcohol program will give you a free taxi ride home. the silver ride program runs until 4:00 a.m. just call for a free ride home. a gas explosion in north west washington nearly levels a single family home. it happened around 6:30 tonight. fire officials say they smelled gas when they arrived on the scene. this video is courtesy of d.c. fire and ems. the house was severely damaged. no one was hurt. neighbors say the owners of the house are away on vacation. investigators are still trying to determine what caused the blast. 6,000 people can now call themselves u.s. citizens on this 4th of july. 102 of them took the oath on george washington's lawn at mt.

vernon. gary was there. >> say the oath because that's what makes you a citizen. >> reporter: they came from 43 countries. they're new national anthem hands on their hearts, flags everywhere, some already serving a country that until this morning was not theirs. >> it's what i've been wanting for quite some time. i've been waiting. >> reporter: pledged allegiance to the new flag encouraged to practice democracy in his new country as others like him were born in tehran are being discouraged from practicing it there. >> the united states is the best place in the world. something we need to do. living the american dream.

>> reporter: an audio welcome from the president. corporal for two years an american marine, now. >> the day finally come where i can be called an american. >> reporter: an american who knows why he loves his country. >> freedom, opportunity. will accept anyone once you're willing to work hard to achieve your dreams. >> reporter: dreams today come true. 9 news now and wusa9.com. there were similar scenes nationwide today. more than 50 swearing in ceremonies were scheduled today. two deadly shootings in the district on this 4th of july. police say they respond today a report of a shooting onrd street in northeast and then learned two victims already had been taken to the hospital. 19-year-old brown of northwest washington died at the hospital. surviving victim hasn't been

identified. 21-year-old marcus brinkly with multiple gunshot wounds on the front porch of his house located on third street. brinkly was pronounced dead hours later. other at the national ash dives, hundreds of people gathered to hear the annual reading of the constitution and declaration of independence. a drum corp in full revolutionary era dress were on hand as waving american flags listened to actors portray our founding fathers. the town of industry enin held its first fireworks display in two years. a mishap in 2007 left eleven people hurt when the fireworks shot into the crowd instead of the air. this year the town moved the independence day celebration to a bigger park and brought back the real fireworks display

without any injuries. out west tonight a young man survives a nearly 150-foot fall off a cliff. it happened in colorado springs where search and rescue teams blamed recent heavy rains for collapsing part of a road. the teenager was driving a jeep along the damaged road when it apparently gave way. >> it compacted. can't even tell what kind of car it is. >> just wanted to get out of there. that was his biggest concern. he wanted to get moving and get off. >> it took rescuers just under an hour to bring the 19-year- old back to safety. he has several head injuries and taken to a colorado springs hospital. coming up later tonight on 9 news now, how many hot dogs did you enjoy today? probably not as many as the winner of a coney island contest. michael jackson fans play the ticket lottery. i'm in downtown los angeles.

we'll have that story coming up. ♪ [ music ]

welcome back. south carolina authorities say they've got a serial killer on their hands. so far five people have been shot and killed in the rural cherokee county town. the murders have left streets deserted on what should have been a beautiful july 4th celebrated outdoors. some residents say they're taking extra precautions while others say they're not going to let it alter their lives. >> not going out alone or playing outside with the

children alone. being more watchful. keeping the lights on at night. >> most of the people i talk to just aren't going to let this dominate their life. >> i have my protection in the house. i'm just not going to change. i'm not going to let something like this change my attitude or what i do. >> the latest victim a 15-year- old girl who had been helping her father in the family's furniture store when she was shot. her father als shwa sootted and killed. authorities say the killings began last wednesday and all occurred within ten miles of each other. they say the suspect is a man in his 40s wi thndsa alt pppe r ha out 2"and 0 2020 po eyththink he's driving a silver 199 ford explorer. a reminder of danger of fireworks this weekend. authorities say a car loaded with fireworks caught fire this morning. it happened on the eastbound lanes of interstate 70. fire officials say the man

bought the explosives from a roadside stand. more than 1.2 million people requested tickets to the michael jackson memorial service in los angeles tuesday. only 17, 500 tickets will be handed out. who debts them was determined by a drawing with a lucky few to be notified tomorrow. we're in los angeles with the report. >> reporter: the luck of the draw will decide which michael jackson fans get the coveted tickets for his memorial service. >> if we get the tickets, well, that would be amazing. >> reporter: but scoring a ticket is a long shot. more than a million people registered online for a chance to get into this service on tuesday. only 17, 500 tickets will be given out. the winners will be notified by e-mail sunday afternoon. >> it will be a historic event that people will remember forever. >> reporter: if you don't have a tickets, officials don't want you anywhere around here. they're closing the streets around the staples center and without a credential or ticket you won't get in. >> you might want to consider

watching this from the comfort of your own home. >> reporter: hundreds of jackson's fans are able to share their thoughts and feelings about his death by signing a giant sign outside the staples center. >> michael you're still the king. >> reporter: ray brought along a picture of his grandfather standing next to the performer. >> do you know i just spent my last money to get here. >> reporter: wrote a letter to the singer. >> thanking him. >> reporter: some of jackson's fans have headed north to his ranch, neverland. a memorial is steadily growing outside the front gates. >> fun, love, happiness. nothing negative. >> reporter: jackson held his final rehearsal on the staples stage. some of the networks will show a live broadcast as the world says good-bye. 9 news now and wusa9.com. in other news, the

montgomery county council has delayed voting on new rules that would increase the number of speed bumps on county roads. council members say they want hold a public forum to give the public a chance to discuss all of the tools the county uses to control speeding including speed cameras and speed bumps. you can read the full story in tomorrow morning's washington examiner. and do we need to worry about rain the rest of the holiday weekend? tony is coming up with that answer next. ♪ [ music ] hmmm... well... naaa... yeah!

calculating for getaway. ♪ find your way to a perfect destination at busch gardens... and water country usa... where family-fun surrounds you... and world-class rides astound. start at buschgardens.com. here's one for your skin that's clinically proven. olay professional pro-x wrinkle protocol is as effective as the leading wrinkle prescription brand at reducing the look of wrinkles. that's because olay has teamed with a highly specialized group of dermatologists and created a wrinkle protocol that gives you the results of the leading wrinkle prescription brand, without a prescription. olay professional pro-x.

this is a guarantee you're guaranteed to love. it's the all new sesame street forest of fun... at busch gardens in williamsburg. with four family-friendly rides... and everyone's sesame street friends. ( elmo giggles ) ♪ big and small! there's fun for all! ♪ geico's been saving people money and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar.

where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it? umm fancy a crisp? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. on liberty island, several hundred people made the 354 step climb up the statue of liberty's crown for the first time in eight years. it had been closed since the september 11 terror attacks. among those venturing seven members of the u.s. armed forces, they were sworn in as citizens during a naturalization ceremony. and amid the breathtaking views of the manhattan skyline, one couple got engaged.

[ indiscernible ] >> and one crying baby. >> yes. >> right next to the micro phone. >> park rangers are only allowing 30 people an hour to make the climb. all 14, 500 tickets are sold out through the end of august. >> that's cool. that's reopened. >> i wonder how you had to get those tickets to get engaged on top. >> no kidding. >> did we luck out today or what? >> it looked like it was going to rain today. a lot of people calling the weather office. obviously the rain held off and it was nice out there. a little breeze. no humidity. temperatures in the 70s. this is good by july standards here in d.c. as you know it can be 90 degrees with a heat index near 100 this time of year. that obviously didn't happen. start with the tree day trend first. see what's going to go on for the rest of the weekend. little rain into the picture for tomorrow. emphasized a little bit. i don't think it's going to be

a big wash out for sunday. certainly a couple rain drops possible and high temperature only 77. normal high is 87 this time of year. mostly cloudy skies the rest of tonight. chance for couple showers and sprinkles. no big deal. overall fairly comfortable. i think tonight you can open the windows and keep the air- conditioning off because the humidity is way down. mostly cloudy skies tomorrow. 40% mark on chance for rain. if you have outdoor plans, don't cancel anything. i thinks best chance for rain is actually in the southern suburbs. show you why in a second. highs between 74 and 79 degrees. right now comfortable 75 at national airport with a dew point of only 57. typically this time of year we get the dew points in the upper 60s and low 70s. so 57 very refreshing. northwest wind at 12 miles per hour. dropping back into the 60s in the mountains. 70 winchester. 75 fredericksburg. cloud cover's been thickening

over the past couple hours. that's why the sky looked so threatening. when we super imposed the radar, precipitation coming across the mountains falling apart. that's because the air is really dry in this region. this system coming out of ohio is having a tough time crossing the mountains. i think eventually it will get its act together and some of this rain will catch up to us. it's actually down to the southeast. passing through the southern part of virginia, southern maryland, northern neck of virginia. best chance of rain up around the pennsylvania line you might get by without any rain at all during the day on sunday. showers could stick around into early monday morning. then it will clear up in the afternoon. the high temperature in the low 780s. and first time in a while 90- degree temperature in the forecast. the temperatures will slowly climb to the 90-degree mark by that time and maybe some rain to start next weekend on

saturday. cool day tomorrow. couple rain drops. all in all not terrible for the holiday weekend. we'll take it. an independence day tradition. the annual nathan's hot dog eating contest in coney island, new york. [ cheering and applause ] >> california joe chestnut claimed the title of top dog again chomping down a record 68 hot dogs in ten minutes. that set a new world record and gave the 25-year-old victory over six time winner of japan. >> came out wanting to win. he ate the most he ever has and this is great. i'm so happy about all the support of everybody. >> joe we says he's having salad with ranch dressing for dinner if you were wondering enter so sad to see him at the ends of his career. when an athlete is in decline

it's really hard to watch. if only he could have gone on a great story. >> when he was on top. >> could be a come back. >> not often we get what we wish for but we did today on the golf course. a dream final pairing. get you ready for the tiger-kim show down. plus more details on the tragic death of steve mcnair. fios guy! where ya headed?

ah, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me.

(announcer) switch to verizon fios tv, phone and internet today and get an ultra-sleek compaq mini netbook. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v ...are actually susceptible to irreversible damage. your teeth are no different. everyday acids can cause irreversible loss of enamel. new crest pro-health enamel shield protects against... ...enamel loss by forming a micro-thin shield against acid attack. only crest pro-health toothpastes... ...protect all these areas dentists check most. save your enamel.

once it's gone, it can be gone for good. new crest pro-health enamel shield. also shield with the rinse. well, after tearing up congressional, tiger had just an average third round by his standards. but from the tournament host standpoint, probably smart too. instead of running away with the title, now he has the stage set for a drama filled sunday between him and the kid who grew up idolizing him. round three at congressional today. tiger likes to interact with the gallery at times but maybe not this much. number 11 tee shot jerked left and watch this. it doings the woman in the blue shirt there. she gets an autograph for that.

tiger gets a bogey. what about kim? he started at eight under and did some moving on moving day. 35 feet -- look at this read right to left. how does he figure that out? that got him tied for the lead and that is how he finished tied for the lead. so tiger and kim together in tomorrow's last group. >> that kid can play. he really can. he's not just won two golf tournaments but two great courses too. looking forward to taking the family to fireworks tonight and getting reset tomorrow morning. >> that other golf course was in charlotte. wrap up of the at&t national and 15 minute broadcast with highlights, interviews, feature stories and special chat tonight with the co-leader. right after this newscast in

about eight minutes. meanwhile the tragic story we've been following all day, long time quarterback of the tennessee titans won mvp of the nfl in 2003 and finished his career with two seasons in baltimore is dead tonight having been shot at a national condominium. the 36-year-old was found dead this afternoon along with an unidentified woman who was not his wife. police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting. they have brought several people in for questioning, no suspects are in custody tonight. we have learned that a car registered to mcnair was involved in a dui stop in nashville on thursday. mcnair was not the driver of that car. a 20-year-old woman was arrested that night. it is not known if she is the same woman killed along side mcnair. tonight his fans reacting with a mixture of grief and shock. >> to those of us who really knew him it's not a joyous moment right now. it's not a moment we want to remember mcnair. we want mcnair to still be here. >> he was an icon around here. you say steve mcnair and you

know who that person is. you can see his face. know what he's good for. it's just amazing that somebody would do something so heartbreaking. >> comments also pouring in from around the nfl tonight including players in baltimore where he played in 2006 and 2007. you can read those comments on our website at wusa9.com. back to baseball. adam dunn reached a milestone today from the nationals and he did it faster than all but four players in the history of baseball. he cranked his 300 career home run in knewer than 4200 at bats. babe ruth, mark mcguire, are among them. the thing about big donkey home runs they're not borderline. watch where it lands. almost on the concourse above the upper deck. makes it 3-1. very next inning he was at it again. not a home run but a base knock

to center. nats grab the game and win 5-3. d.c. united and columbus scoreless in the 43rd minute. united can't convert but christian bangs it in. 1-1 tie. still having an excellent month. don't forget tigertown immediately following this program to wrap up everything at congressional today. >> okay. looking forward to it. thanks guys. thanks for watching tiger tonight and tiger town 09 09a isup next. have a great night. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir?

boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

really fresh! come into your local giant today for mouthwatering fruits and vegetables, all at prices you can handle. like whole seedless watermelon, just $3.88 each. only at giant. ckhi, bsck,rganbud ers on the grill. at giant, you'll find fresh, delicious quality meats at prices that sizzle -- like super g split chicken breast, just 99 cents a pound. only at giant.