goo evening. did you caught in this earlier? a long line of storms that came through here, virginia, maryland and dc got socked with strong wind and fierce rain off and on throughout the afternoon. in fact those winds knocked over a tree in northwest dc. no injuries reported. power is still on. just more work for the cleanup crews and check out this damage in carroll county, maryland. the winds tore the roof off of this homement haven't heard of injuries will either. are we in the clear? will things continue to stay calm? tony pann will tell us more. he is in the 9 news now weather center. >> things are quiet right now but these arism pressive storm and the hardest-hit areas in frederick and carroll counties.

in frederick county the whiskey creek golf course which i have played many times the trees snapped off. the weather [ laughter ] to send up a crew to see if there is rotation in the debris to see if there was a tornado that went through. a tornado warning was issued for frederick and carroll county and i can't tell if there is a video from the debris but certainly straight line winds up to 7 a, 80 miles an hour just looking at that from the video. impressive storms especially north of ththe tyci tyt alive doppler whe se att l ear focle mo part from the city north anwest. on. g g goin a roac the the rt nhenoecrnk d utso hern maryland. these are not severe intuhena r t bu na wnngdo e hitcwa ngdown there anot ha lfanhour, 45 minutes foberebeerevythiev ng ae f unpo a few reports of oucl at the beac around oc. n tyci those ms orst arore pushing off

shore, as well. a slight chance we could see development later on tonight, but i think the severe weather threat is pretty much over with. come back and look at the seven- day forecast and see what is on tap for the weekend. >> now to the cleanup after the storm. 9 news now digital correspondent, gary noneberg is joining us from montgomery county where some people will have some work to do. gary? [ sirens ] >> it was early afternoon, a tree fell on two suvs here. passengers in this one had to be extricated by rescue workers. remarkably no one hurt. >> along about 1:00 or 1:30 it got real dark and was very humid outside. the next thing we know the wind got up, leaves started to blow and then there was a heavy, windy downpour like a horizontal rain. almost similar to a mini tornado. >> reporter: late this afternoon, workers began to clear the roads.

a mile away, in frederick county, another tree fell, closing lit road delaying jim. >> couldn't see 10 to 20 feet in front of you at times. >> reporter: it one just northern montgomery county. >> oh, my god. as soon as i crossed the american legion bridge up to 270, a tractor-trailer just dumped. the skies just turned completely black and it was really bad. i could see -- i got on the the cb radio and hollered back to the drivers behind me and said look out. we are driving right in to it. >> reporter: and he did. fortunately no one seriously hurt as far as we know. eric's big concern, the fella you saw his tomato plants in mount airy he is worried they could be damaged. looks like some workers are coming out now and should clean up soon. no major damage but you would expect for july and august thunderstorms in dc. >> thank you for that.

the cash for clunkers program may have just gotten a new lease on life. the billion dollar program was running out of money but the house voted to put $2 billion more in the tank. but still buyers aren't waiting. >> reporter: customers have been pouring in to car dealerships thinking the brakes were being put on the cash for clunkers program. >> when i found out i wasn't going to do it i was so upset but we got here in time. >> dealerships opened the doors thinking it was ending too, but new money could be filtering in. a few hours ago the house rushed to approve $2 billion for the program, approval that happened before mohammad rushed in to get his new car. >> oh, yeah, i wake up at 6:00. >> reporter: it is unclear how many the program will be around, giving customers up to $4,500 rebate for trading in your old car for more fuel efficient vehicles.

>> it is good deal. >> reporter: koons automotive says 290 vehicles have been sold in the cash for clunkers program alone and 100 from the tysons corner area and it has helped to double sales. he didn't want to take chances of being left behind trading his 12-mile a gallon clunker for a malibu chevy that gets 33 miles a gallon. >> i heard a week ago it would be the last but people are trading in and i said, oh, if you are out in the rain, get wet, don't get dry and this is the time. so i came right away. >> reporter: a trade in he hopes that the government continues to keep running. in mclean, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> the senate votes next week but the white house says any deals made this weekend will be honored. dealers say the program is bittersweet. it does wonders for their sales but getting that one-time sale

takes hours and some get rejected because of clerical errors or other red tape. speaking of buying, everything you buy in dc will soon cost you more. today the city council approved a revised budget plan that includes tax increases. here's the rundown, the gas tax goes up 3 1/2 cents a gallon. the cigarette tax up 50 cents a pack and the sales tax is up to 6%. that is more than virginia. the owner of johnson's flowers say people won't probably be concerned about a few extra cents. >> in the metropolitan area, everybody goes so freely between maryland, virginia and the district that i don't think people know what the rate is. >> reporter: in the metropolitan area, everybody goes freely -- i should say, that's what the sound byte was. let me not repeat that. if congress and mayor approve the plan the hikes will go in to effect in november. a metro bus operator has

been arrested after driving without a license. today a metro spokesman explained that motor vehicle officials do not report to the agency when a bus driver is in trouble with the law. >> the operators have to bring us up to supervisors. metro transit police is getting involved as well. >> reporter: the driver in the incident was identified as carletta douglas. she is on administrative leave while they sort out the status of her driver's license. a grand jury has indicted two pros in the shooting death of a witness in the murder of scotty beats. the popular deejay who's real name is raymond brown was gunned down in2006. 20ree week befa refoe . t ree week before the case was seto sego th e the witness, bobby ennels was killedn drive drive by shoin di ctined ma l jain edd an in l and rashad isex connecti wh ithis death using a witness intimidation law. >> the goal of the statute is

to make sure that witness intimidation and violence doesn't prevent juries and ar. es from gettineythh theyneh >>edheo ar. >> reporter: jaisl ne alis ex it atede llwiths erll bobe arraigned inhene xt 30 days the case is expected to go to trial in late december or early january. the trial for chandra levy's accused killer will go on as scheduled. a judge refused to push back the trial. a new witness has surfaced this think case who claims the suspect attacked her on an undisclosed jogging trail. levy disappeared in may of 2001. her body was found in rock creek park a year later. his lawyers will return to court for a status hearing in october. senator chris dodd says he has prostate cancer. the connecticut democrat says doctors spotted the cancer in its early stages during an annual physical exam. he plans to undergo surgery in a few days during congress'

august recess. >> i feel fine and going to be fine. we caught this early and look forward to getting out on the trail and doing my job on behalf of the people of connecticut. >> reporter: again, dodd say he plans to be back at work when congress reconvenes in september. investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire that destroyed the home of community activist peggy cooper. she took family and insurance adjustors on the property to inspect the damage. the roof and portions of the walls collapsed but dc fire and ems says some items parts of the base could be salvaged. >> there are some areas in the basement that, you know have some water and smoke damage but for the most part no fire damage. >> reporter: the fire also exposed a major problem with water pressure in the neighborhood. council member jim graham has scheduled an oversight hearing to look in to the matter. still to come when 9 news now continues, a superstar and

big summer concert, how things are shaping up for paul mccartney this weekend. and talk about music to the ears. how you can get tickets to your favorite team or performer for half price. that's coming up in "living $mart" but you don't need a ticket to check out the redskins training camp, right, bret? >> that's right. good news. the one guy who wasn't here is now here. first round pick brian orakpo. after his one-day holdout. you will hear from the former texas son when we come back in 15 minutes. 9 news now returns in a buck 15.

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in the union carbide disaster killed 25,000 people and warren answerrens was arrested after the poisonous gas leaked from the factory in india. he left the country soon afterwards. it is believed he is now living in new york's hamptons. toxic smoke from a houston- area chemical plant has now cleared and residents are back in their homes. it's believed a welder's torch caused a fire at the fertilizer plant. thousands were ordered to leave town. 20 first responders were rushed to the hospital for breathing problems. they are expected to be okay. an update on a story we brought you earlier this week. a bee keeping crew has tried for the last two days to remove a massive beehive from the garden of a new orleans woman. but the workers say the bees are too aggressive and could go after anyone in the area if they try to remove the whole nest. they are now working on another

plan. in tonight's "living $mart" focus, do you want to rock out with your favorite band or cheer on the home team but a tight squeeze on your wallet has you singing the blues. gold star.com a sells half price tickets. you can become a member for free. sign up and get weekly e-mail listings of upcoming events and the service charge that is averaging about $4.50. next when 9 news returns, mission accomplished. now the crew aboard the space shuttle "endeavour" can rest after a six million mile journey. coming up, our investigation in too whether a major bank is trading sweet heart loans for political favorsat taxpayer expense. we will follow the money tonight. if you're like a lot of people,

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