this is 9 news now. hello. welcome to 9 news now at noon. i'm j.c. hayward. senators are wrapping up their questioning of judge sonia sotomayor. the woman that president obama has selected to serve on the supreme court. once the senators have finished

questioning the judge, they will then hear from witnesses invited by both political parties who will give their views on whether or not she should be confirmed to the high court. among those witnesses the firefighters who are at the center of a controversial case of discrimination. joel brown reports now from captiol hill. >> supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor returned to the hot seat for the fourth day in a row. so far she's avoided any major mistakes, but republicans kept trying to knock her off of they are script during the second round of questioning. >> is there any personal judgment to be relied upon by a supreme court justice in deciding whether or not the second amendment is a fundamental right. >> you hire judges for their judgment not their personal views or what their sense of what the outcome should be. >> reporter: democrats use the session to support her. >> it is my belief that you are going to be a great supreme court justice. >> reporter: once lawmakers are

finished grilling the nominee they will hear from witnesses invited by both political parties. they will testify about why they think sonia sotomayor should or should not serve on the supreme court. among those witnesses, frank ricci, the connecticut firefighter who sued the city of new haven because it tossed out the results of a promotion exam because too phi few minorities passed it. he an a group of firefighters claimed discrimination. sonia sotomayor ruled against them but the supreme court overturned that decision last month. some republicans have argued that the reversal shows that sonia sotomayor is biased in the way she decides cases. despite that she appears to have enough support to be confirmed. the full senate could hold the final vote next month. cbs news, the supreme court. >> by the way, you can keep up with the sonia sotomayor hearings by going to our website at wusa9.com. of course we will have the latest information tonight on

our 9 news now at 5:00. health care is also a big issue in captiol hill today. three health committees plan votes on health care reform legislation today. president obama is working to maintain momentum on the issues with meetings scheduled with a number of senators who could be swing votes. finally good news on the economy. the labor department says new claims for unemployment insurance plunged to their lower level since early january. economists said they expected an increase. the surprising report has granted additional hope that the economy might be in better shape than previously thought. and more good money news because gas prices are down. the national average is $2.49 a gallon. in our area gas prices are down 14 cents a gallon in the past two weeks. a loudoun could youty restaurant owner has gone missing, leaving behind millions of dollars in debt and

confused creditors. opsalm ma al tax ari owned four original steak house and theater locations in maryland and virginia. his creditors are trying to force him in to bankruptcy. an attorney for the creditor says he's locked in to accounts for el atari companies and holdings and there is nothing left. dc councilman bare bier was on cnn this morning and asked about his recent arrest stalking charges. >> i think what makes these charges worse is you are already on probation to file your tax returns. some people may look at this and say, jeez, councilman, can't you stay out of trouble? >> first of all, that word trouble shouldn't be used. i have spent over 50 years of my life fighting for justice and equality. 16 years as mayor. i have transformed washington

from a sleepy southern town to a metropolis. given summer jobs to to everyone who wanted them f. moved contracting from 3 to 46% for african-americans as and latinos and a range of things i have done and those instances where you called it trouble there is over people that have done that. >> by the way, the stalking charges were dropped. u.s. capitol police have not yet identified the man shot and killed by officers yesterday afternoon. officers tried to pull the man over on a traffic violation a few blocks from the capitol but the driver fled going the wrong way on louisiana avenue before hitting a police cruiser and stopping at new jersey an c streets. police say the man got out of a car with a gun and fired at officers. the officers returned fire and killed the man. the suspect in a 24-hour standoff in mclean, virginia has died. police say the man shot his

exgirlfriend on tuesday night and then holed up inside of a home with their -year-old son and another woman for more than 24 hours. officers answered the home when negotiations broke off yesterday afternoon and they found the man with a self- inflicted gunshot wound the chest. the gunman died earlier today. the woman and boy inside the home were okay. the exgirlfriend is listed, however, in critical condition. well, if you are headed near the wilson bridge you need to bra yf ouelrsfor a elw ne traffic pattern because the right lane ofw the outer loop alexandriawill be diverted on to the eisenhower avenue connector. the beltway traffic will be will the connector and it not be open ertoth o vehicles. armando trull has more on the changes. >> traffic on the outer loop in alexandria heading from springfield to the wilson bridge is being shifted as it

approaches the eisenhower avenue exit. >> they will continue to carry two lanes and the third lane is routed down the eisenhower connector ramp and back to the beltway. it is a stretch of three quarters of a mile where you are actually off the beltway. >> reporter: it is part of a wilson bridge construction project. the eisenhower connector bridge is getting much-needed repairs. >> built in the ' 60s and structurally worn out. to get in and do the work you have to push traffic to the left and right and get in and do the work. >> reporter: exit 174 is also closed. >> folks going to eisenhower avenue have to get off at van doren to the west or telegraph road to the east. both are fairly approximate to the eisenhower connector ramp. >> reporter: if this weather cooperates, this new traffic configuration will remain in place through september. armando trull for 9 news now and wusa9.com. by the way, you can always check for traffic updates on the betway and other roads and

you can get information on local airports by going to our website at wusa9.com. click on the traffic path which is on our home page. by the way, aaa says a plan to close 19 virginia rest stops could compromise highway safety. the organization is calling on governor kaine to reverse that decision. the stops are being closed in order to save money. aaa mid-atlantic says it is concerned that drivers who are tired will just keep on driving without a break. the investigation in to last month's deadly metro crash is going to delay commuters again. because once again it is on the red line. the tacoma station is closed until 3:00 this afternoon. that means that you will have to take a shuttle bus between silver spring and fort totten. the station will close again on saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. so add at least 20 minutes to

your commute. a washington landmark made famous by scandal is going to be sold. the watergate hotel is expected to be on the auction block next week. alex cooper auction nears is announcing it will take bids on tuesday on the retail, housing and office complex. let's not kid yourselves, we love to eat. i do. there's a way to eat our way to better health. we'll show you how. plus, the emmy nominations are in. we will see who made the list. stay with us ws. neno w thwill continue in just a moment. w

fresh fruits and vegetables they may be the missing ingredient to give us our healthiest skin ever this summer. our anita brikman checks in with the people who started the chopped salad company to find out how to super charge salads to maximize the skin's beautifying benefits. >> lettuce, richly-colored fruits and vegetables. it is a summertime bounty at the nutritional peak during the warmer months. we asked tony and sean of the chop ' t salads franchise to see if they could tell us how to eat our way to better skin

this summer. >> they are packed in nutrients so they battle free radicals or ancy oxidant and help they taste good. >> reporter: they indicate super foods as nutritional power house items. colin showed us the vegetarian power house salad. he said start with good lettuce, the darker the better. >> arugula, romijn, spinach. have more vitamins and minerals. >> and then add fruit. >> like apples. >> it is a great source of potation yum. >> and meat substitute. >> with edmame you are getting protein and antioxidants and nuts and seeds reduce the signs of aging like wrinkling. >> and look for broccoli, vitamin c and k. little dressing. >> finally a low cal dressing that is high in taste.

he suggests a detox dressing. an item of the master cleanse diet. >> it is made with maple syrup. >> why they think the best way to eat your summer salad is chopped. >> what makes a master chopper, fast skills and able to blend the flavors all together. >> thank you very much. we have more information on our website including why using a guave nectar helps to burn calories. go to wusa9.com and click on living well. turn our attention to entertainment news. the emmy nominations are in. they were announced this morning in los angeles. manuel gallegus has highlights. >> 30 rock leads the pack this year with 22 emmy nominations

including best comedy series and best acting nods for tina fey and alec baldwin. >> thank you for your time. >> reporter: the competition for outstanding comedy series, the office, family guy, how i met your mother, flight of the concords entourage and weeds. >> i wasn't on the other side of the fence. >> reporter: also nominated for his comedy acting, big bang theory's parsons. >> i feel really happy like christmas morning. >> on the drama side the ' 60s retro show madmen leads with best drama series and best actor and actress republic in addition for elizabeth moss. other nominees, big love, breaking bad, damages, dexter house and lost. last year's telecast was the least watched and this year is a new host neil patrick harris who is nominated in how i met your mother.

the nominations were announced in los angeles and chandra wilson from grays anatomy is surprised to learn she is up for two awards including best supporting actress. >> you have been nominated in the best supporting actress for your performance in grays anatomy. >> okay. >> most of the nods are going to cable tv series, not the broadcast networks. manuel gallegus, cbs news, los angeles. >> thank you. you can see a list of the emmy nominations by going to our website at wusa9.com. 40 years ago today america blasted off in to space history. so we will look back at the first mission to the moon and we will show you how you can relive history from the comfort of your home. kim? >> my fiance big ben has competition. move over, ben. meet charlie. he's up for adoption today. that is coming up after the weather forecast. don't ss

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official i say eight or nine pieces of foam insulation came off the eck ternal fuel tank during liftoff and the shuttle was hit at least two or three times. some scuff marks were spotted but mission control says the damage looks less extensive than the damage on the last shuttle flight. the shuttle is going to the international space station where astronauts could awaitress cue if the damage is serious and unable to be repaired. 48 years ago today, the apollo astronauts blasted off on their historic trip to the moon. four days later, neil armstrong and buzz aldrin became the first men on the moon. armstrong's first one small step for man is three feet long and the flag they put on the moon was bought at sears. >> no way.

>> that's right. you can learn more about the moon landing by going to our website at wusa9.com and click on our moon landing memories button. it is there on the home page and you will get the history beat web page. >> we have all kinds of links at wusa9.com. you could spend days in there. click on everybody's blog. >> a lot of good information. >> yep, and a lot of people do this for work on the side, working for wusa9.com. we won't tell our secret. it is 12:20. ready to give you the forecast an the most adorable dog is up for aadoption following my seven day. the pollen count just came in. hot off the presses trees have been low r a while. grass is low but mold is in the yderate category. if aou sneezing aatthmaybe the problem. we have some increasing clouds but the humidity level has really been noticeably higher today. southwesterly winds usually do the trick in that regard

bringing in higher humidity. the dew points have come up to the middle 60s. here's the sat lie radar loop. no rain on the map except south central virginia. a da chance of an isolated thunderstorm today. better odds tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. already at 88 degrees. check out western maryland. cumberland is 90 right now. and that's the direction we are headed. it is 85 at annapolis and patuxent atriver. wndoo andrews air force ba wn the tempature is 89. as we look at the west, winchester is coming in with 86. these temperatures are anywhere from two to about six degrees warmer than where we were yesterday during the lunch hour. you will notice the warmup and the higher temperature. we will work on low 90s today. muggier air. tonight's sleeping weather not so great. friday partly cloudy with thunderstorms especially as we head to the evening and overnight hours and with a little luck we get the rain out of the way for saturday afternoon. so saturday morning might be

wet. if you are traveling to huntsville, alabama, atlanta, northern mississippi, north georgia, good bet you will find thunderstorms there. otherwise around here a return to the muggies and the lower 90s. watch this time lapse of the computer models. the best chance of rain coming our way on friday in to late evening and the night time hours and you are going to see, watch this next loop here. friday at 1:00 a.m. there you go. heavy rain if you are up late and out on the town. let me show you that seven-day forecast. as we head in to the weekend, yep, hopefully we will get rid of the rain. saturday morning might be a little damp. by the afternoon i think we should be good to go. and then sure fire plans for sunday. looking much better. nice and warm and dry. so we should be in pretty good shape for that. all right. it is time again for pet line nine. with us today is harry from all breed animal rescue. look at this adorable dog that you call charlie.

he is two years old. how did you find him? >> he's been in and out of the all breed rescue for a while. the owner he was with originally didn't have enough time to take care of him so she gave him back. >> how can you give this up. this little guy has been sweet. he has been in the studio and we haven't heard a peep out of him. he is really quiet. does he get along with other animals. >> big and little dog and adults. >> and he looks perfect and might make a lot of people who live in apartments, is he an apartment dog. >> he cuddles up in the bed and sleeps under the cover. >> i will pick charlie up. he seems happy and friendly. here he is. if we want to adopt him how can we do it. >> go to all breed.org and fill out a non-binding application and they will contact people who run the organization and. >> this is pretty much a

chihuahua. >> a pure bred chihuahua. >> you are adorable. i need you to come be the referee for my cats. that's a check on the pet line. you can find more at wusa9.com. we will be back for the noon show. don't change that dial. weil fl loou yorn olothe other side of the break. yes, we

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i give patients act restoring mouthwash. act kills germs, restores minerals strengthens enamel. act restoring-- for strong teeth act now. . beautiful today. >> oh, nice. >> getting a little hot. >> it is july. >> that's okay. i'm not going to complain. >> you are not. because you are a good friend and you know i don't want to

hear it. i have a lot on my mind. >> i know we have had great weather all summer. >> and we will get much-needed rain. hopefully when everybody is sleeping tomorrow night but maybe earlier in the afternoon. feeling like summer. have a good one. we will keep you updated on- line. that is right. >> thanks for joining us. come back at 5:00 p.m. have a great day. bye-bye.