from the first local station with news in high- definition, this is 9news now. good evening i'm lesli foster. the president's promise to overhaul the country's health care system was a cornerstone of his campaign but it appears he has a long way to go before congress will make that happen. tonight the president will attempt to retake control of the debate by speaking directly to you. >> i want the american people to understand i have no interest in creating a bad bill. that doesn't serve me. and it certainly doesn't serve the american people. >> the president is pushing for lawmakers to get the health care reform legislation passed before they leave for recess next months. change was a great slogan on the campaign trail. it seems to be a tougher sell when it comes to governing. polls suggest support is eroding to the proposed changes to the health care system.

digital correspondent bruce leshan has more. >> reporter: at the rock spring medical campus in bethesda. >> health care is vital for everyone. and it is unfortunate a lot of people can't afford health care. >> reporter: you don't have to walk far to hear an opinion. there there be a lot of hoops people will have to jump through. long waiting lines. americans are just not used to that type of health care. >> reporter: support for the president's handling of his health care has slipped by americans. >> i have been a nurse for over 25 years and quite frankly i think the system is really in a lot of trouble. >> america still has the best health care in the whole world. i'm afraid with obama cares that that will leave us no place else to go. >> reporter: what a lot of people don't see what we are paying for health care now. it is about 20% of our economy. $15,000 a year per household. that is double what it was just 20 years ago and about $6500

more than most other industrialized nations. in dc the director says a quarter of the patients have no insurance at all. she thinks the health care debate has focused far too much on protecting the insurance companies and far too little on the kind of preventive care her clinic offers. >> if they didn't have access to that preventative care they would end up in a diabetic coma. if they are uninsured the hospital bears that cost and passes it back to us. >> reporter: bruce leshan, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> again, you'll get to hear from the president tonight. you can see it live right here at 8:00 p.m. on wusa9 or at wusa9.com. mr. obama held an earlier news conference this afternoon and this one focused on iraq. after meeting with iraq's prime minister the president said the united states will stick to its

troop withdrawal schedule and that means removing all u.s. troops from iraq by the end of 2011. virginia's two u.s. senators backed a gun control amendment that failed in the senate. the two senators were among 58 senators who voted on wednesday in support of the amendment. it would have allowed a person with a concealed weapon permit in one state to carry that weapon into another. families of the virginia tech victims lobbied against it. >> it concerns all of the virginia tech families because our emphasis has been on keeping guns out of the hands of the wrong people and this amendment would have made it possible for people passing no background checks or very minimal checks to bring concealed weapons into virginia with impugnity and that is not good for the commonwealth. >> before the vote he said is a

strong supporter of the rights. metro ridership appears to be holding steady in the wake of the june 22nd tragedy that killed nine people on the redline. scott broom is following that and other developments on the rails. he is live near fort totten with the latest. >> reporter: the electronic systems, system wide are very much alive in the tragedy. it is not showing up in rider confidence. john cato talked about the issue today saying people are still using the trains in big numbers even though the trains are on manual control and there are continuing delays as the investigation continues to unfold. >> in fact, over the last week we had the 11th highest ridership day in our history. there has been initially some loss of ridership but not significant loss. the people realize this is a

critical system. >> cato also reconfirmed today that increased scrutiny on the automatic train controls is turning up glitches system wide. but he compared those glitches to little blips on a heart monitor. perhaps a reason to look for something more but not an indication of a heart attack or something serious. nothing detected he says has remotely even come close to the failure that is suspected of happening here where centers may have failed to detect a train sitting on the tracks allowing it to crash into another train. >> cato also announced today he has hired an engineering firm called air inc. to fast track design of a backup electronic system to detect problems in the existing automatic train control system. that is something the ntsb has recommended in the wake of the june 22nd tragedy that killed nine. reporting live on the red line tracks near fort totten, scott broom, 9news now and wusa9.com.

>> thank you. a senator has gone public saying he will support judge sonia sotomayer for the supreme court. we are talking about lindsey graham of south carolina. he says he backs sonia sotomayer because she is well qualified and has a main stream record. graham becomes the fifth republican senator to publicly announce support for the nominee. still to come when 9news now returns. federal agents raid the office of the doctor of michael jackson before he died. seemed like a great idea selling an entire shark to a sea food restaurant. don't tell that to police. topper? >> we have a new product for our web users. go to wusa9.com. pretty easy to find. you can findtht hoonfae page or go the weather tab. click on the weather tab. m nortto the h noown. raine dot

just just west of winchester. we will come back and check doppler and talk about a limore bit more heat and humidity. that's next. (announcer) illness doesn't care where you live... ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition"

become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on. defense attorneys are expected to -- begin presenting their cases in the dc trial of a mother accused of killing her four girls. audrey barnes has been following the banita jacks trial since it began. >> reporter: prosecutors say they have just two more witnesses to call. those who took the stand today told a sad story of four little girls who fell through the cracks. when the social worker from the charter school visited the

jacks home on 6th street she wasn't allowed to see britney. she was so concerned about the two sisters that were there she launched a campaign to try to get a check on all the girls. a sergeant went through three days later and said the kids were fine. he only saw three of the girls and didn't find out until january 9th that banita jacks actually had four daughters. sergeant, are you still haunted by this case? the sergeant says he no longer works in homicide telling his supervisors seeing that much death was overwhelming. he doesn't have the heart to do it any more. prosecutors plan to call just two more witnesses before the defense takes over. banita jacks has rejected an insanity defense in this case. she faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if she is convicted. lesli, back to you. >> all right, audrey. thank you for that. now more on the investigation into what killed michael jackson. today authorities searched the houston clinic of the singer's

doctor. at this point dr. conrad murray is not considered a suspect. he left jackson's los angeles mansion when the star suddenly went into cardiac arrest last month. >> i can't talk exactly about what specifically they are looking for at this point but what i can tell you is that the d.a. diversion squad, we have a number of people from the unit assisting here in the clinic. >> turns out no prescription drugs were seized but agents did walk out with several of the doctor's files. toxicology reports oniacson will be released soon and it is believed those results could shed some light on how he died. shifting gears to liling n befu you to you is go icaevl ilen n fuf even if someone else gave them n. a those recreation items likeli caers, boats anto a gehu coat can herustlpments can heyokeep onmore mey.

crafters can join a swap and get free supplies. if ekse reseek out reclaimed sa enfe sa tone. money to. for mo 9.sawum coango wusa9.com and click on living smart. next when 9news now continues. newly discovered mental records could shed some light 9.on what drove the virginia tech gunman to kill 32 people. plus, president obama makes a prime time plea for health care reform as some members of congress rail against his plan. he is promising to control costs, cover more people and provide more choice. we will have a reality check tonight only on the cbs evening news. 9news now is sponsored in part by your local toyota dealer. qqx qqxx

to help avoid dental problems i give patients act restoring mouthwash. act kills germs, restores minerals strengthens enamel. act restoring-- for strong teeth act now. there is a new push to expand an investigation of ward 8 dc councilman marion barry.

the washington post reports a council member wants to know more about barry's role in securing a $300,000 earmark for the national association of former foster care for america much the head of the nonprofit is accused suheng t fu misusing the ns. barry says he has done donothing wrong. the missing meantal health rd res cofor inrgtevi iach gunman have been d. unfo virginia governor tiunm e kain made that announcement this morning. he killed 3 # people this april of 2007. the woes campus killing in u.s. history. a former worker at the school's councilling center had the records. tim kaine says they will be released as soon as possible. a report released today identifies some problems with the u.s. government cyber security workforce. the report says the federal government does not have enough cyber experts. it also outlines problems with the government's long and complicated hiring process. our defense relies on hiring people with the know how to

protect the nation's secrets. >> if we can't protect it from intrusion then we won't be able to to the job of government. we have to find people who have skills, very specific skills to help us deal with it. >> the report makes several recommendations including making it easier for security experts to get into top position. update now on a crash tahas an off-duty secret service officer fighting for his life. this was the scene around 11:00 a.m. this morning along clara barton parkway. investigators tell 9news now that the motorcycle crashed with an suv and trapped that unidentified officer. you're looking live now at interstate 270 and route 118 and a plan to widen i-270 a little further north in frederick county is causing a bits of an outcry among environmentalists. the state's proposal would widen 30 miles of highway along with a new transit line. environmentalists say widening the highway would only

encourage more traffic jams. right now miami police are trying to track down two men attempting to sell a shark to several fish markets. here is some surveillance video of the men lugging a six-foot long shark around town. it should help investigators. officials say the shark is probably spoiled since the men have been trying to pedal this thing for the past few days. one restaurant owner says the guys just wanted $20 for it. >> i said, guys, you need to get out of my property. this is ridiculous. not to mention i have customers that are walking in. >> and the smell probably. >> florida wildlife officials are involved in the investigation. the men could face charges when they are caught. fear and excitement spread throughout asia as the moon fully eclipsed the light of the sun earlier this morning. millions stayed indoors giving doors. but for scientists and nature lovers this was a chance to view the longest total eclipse

of the 21st century. >> the next one is not until 2132. so that's a ways off. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> i think we missed our shot, topper . >> i think we did. a couple of showers and thunderstorms west of town. cumberland a storm took a tree down in a yard. we got a call about that. next three days, forecast first. 86 tomorrow. showers and thunderstorms. pretty good bet now between about 4:00 p.m. and 8 or 9:00 p.m. clock. 86. a thunderstorm is possible on friday but less of a chance. then we kind of heat up over the weekend. it will be 90 on saturday. we will keep the thunderstorms down for now. for tonight partly cloudy. a little bit muggy. isolated shower or thunderstorm possible. lows 66 to 72. and winds light southeast at 5 to 10. but for the most part the showers once again are west of town and for the most part west of i-81. let me show you live doppler 9000. we have seen a couple showers just in the last half hour.

kind of springing up just to the west of frederick and up into the pan handle of west virginia. most of everything is on the west side of i-81. and they have had some pretty big storms. severe thunderstorm warns in warnings in garrett county. movement is primarily north- north east. they will move along through winchester up through 81 and on into haggers town. we will zoom in and these kind of popped up really in the last 45 minutes just north of frederick and west of frederick. nothing too heavy. whether i will shower over toward middleton and over toward jefferson on the west side of 70. and we will put this into motion. our future cast. we will take these storms also up to the north east through sharpsburg in the next hour. temps very nice. mid-80s. 84 in vienna, alexandria. 83 over at st. michael's.

to the west. a little bit cooler. 80 out towards west virginia. 82 in woodstock, 82 in winchester. tomorrow morning, partly sunny, warm. we will keep the morning dry. temperatures in the 60s and 70s to start. winds southeast at 10. by afternoon, though, partly sunny and warm. showers and storms a pretty good bet. i'm tempted to take out the word possible and go categorical tomorrow. winds easterly tomorrow at about 10. microcast. 9 microcast. we will put it into motion. pretty quiet tonight. thursday pretty quiet. a line will develop thursday. this will roll through tomorrow afternoon. been pretty emphatic about developing this line of storms and we are looking at a pretty good line from frederick all the way to fredericksburg rolling into tomorrow morning at 4:00 p.m. and will take until 10:00 p.m. to get through it. tomorrow is our best chance. all six zones on our website at

wusa9.com. mid-80s pretty much across the board. you go down toward dump dumphries. 84 in prince frederick. we were looking at 88 heading down into charles county. good chance for storms here in this area we are looking at storms more likely in the evening and early nighttime hours. satellite picture radar combined. a lot of storms in through much of the ohio valley. the front will get close enough to us tomorrow to produce some of those storms. next seven days. 86 thursday. 86 friday. then kind of hot over the weekend. we will be flirting with 90s saturday and sunday. we will keep saturday dry, thunderstorm possible on sunday. and then we get into monday, tuesday and wednesday. temps again right around 90 and a few storms are possible each day but those days will not be washouts. >> i tell you who will be hot. fans will be hot.

if nats don't get the steven straesburg done. >> there will be a revolt in the streets. they have got to do it. it is not a question -- whatever he asks for, just pay it. >> pretty much. >> it doesn't matter what it costs, just sign the kid. give us a reason to care. we will update the precarious negotiations between the nats and straesesburg. toughest climb of the tour. what did lance do? we will show you on 9 sports coming up. fafa

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and now, 9sports with brett haber. emmy winner for outstanding sports anchor three years running. all right. if you think nats fans are disgruntled now great until you see what happens if they don't sign steven strassburg. they will have to pour boiling oil off the stadium to keep the angry mob of fans at bay. the nats are not on pace to sign strassburg by the august 17th dead line and offered him just a standard minor league deal. of it reported not to be accurate and the discussions are ongoing with scott boras. nats an mets go again at the ballpark tonight. nats coming off a 4-0 shutout last night looking for their first two-game win streak or any win streak since june 20th. craig stamen against mikee pelfrey. little day baseball this afternoon.

a-rod and yankees wrapping up their series against the os. little dibbleler from robinson dribbler from robinson cano. sweeping the os 6-4. one week from today the redskins report to training camp in ashburn and i would hate to be on the receiving end of the first pass that jason campbell throws because if it is fueled by the disrespect he suffered this off season it could break the sound barrier. campbell had to endure the team's flirtation with jay cutler and mark sanchez. in the end he kept the job. what has that done to his confidence? i asked 9sports analyst brian mitchell that very question utah. >> jason is a guy that doesn't let many things bother him. he wants to go out an prove to everyone that he is a very good quarterback. i anticipate a very good year. if jim zorn takes the bubble

wrap off and let's him go out and play. >> take the bubble wrap off and let him do his thing. >> we will be live in ashburn for wall-to-wall training camp coverage starting next thursday. >> can't wait. >> we will be there all week. wizards second year center mcgee has been invited to mini camp with team u.s.a. later this month. he averaged four points for the wizards in his rookie year. he wants to make the american squad for the world championships in turkey next year. if you are a lance armstrong fan holding out hope the american could somehow come from behind to win his eighth tour de france this year those hopes were officially dashed today. armstrong could not keep up with his teammate and tour leader alberto contador in a 17- stage climb through the alps today lance finishing fifth in the stage and dropping to fourth place in the overall standings nearly four minutes behind alberto contador now. lance hoping just to make it to the podium in paris.

>> i'm going to do my best. it would be nice to get to be on the podium so i will go as hard as i can and go as fast as i can and see how it goes. >> the podium is either first, second, third for finish. do or die for your washington castles tonight. if they win they are in the playoffs and they will host new york in the eastern conference finals on friday. if they lose they are done. finally tonight the nats worked out with a bunch of 10 to 14-year-old kids today and right here is where you insert the joke about the nats taking pointers from the kids. for one we will hold the jokes. they worked out about 100 kids from dc and howard county as part of the play campaign. play stands for promote a lifetime of activity for youth. it encourages healthy living through sports and fitness and teaches the dangers of obesity. gave kids the chance to be on a

big league field. forget about all the fitness stuff. when i was 10 to 14 to be in a major league dugout that is super cool. >> nats dugout is really nice looking. >> less cool that an actual major league dugout where a major league plays. >> >> it means your family. >> all right. here is a quick look at the seven-day. 86 home, 86 on friday. much better chance of storms on thursday as opposed to friday. right around 90 saturday through next wednesday and afternoon storms are possible sunday through wednesday. >> love how the heat comes back just in time for the family gathering in ashburn. >> it is always that way. >> jump in an ice bucket and you'll be fine. >> that's it for us on 9news now. the cbs evening new with katie couric is next. derek will see you for the area's on