. this is 9 news now. welcome to 9 news now at noon. i'm j.c. hayward. they are finally home. we are talking about the two american journalists jailed for months in north korea. they landed in california, just a few hours ago. former president clinton

accompanied the reporters back to the los angeles area airport. manuel gallegus was there for the emotional reunion. >> reporter: they are back in the arms of their families, euna lee and laura ling are now on u.s. soil. >> 30 hours ago, euna lee and i were prisoners in north korea. >> reporter: euna was reunited with her husband and 4-year-old daughter and laura with her mother and sister. they thanked president clinton 0 who brokered their pa pardon with kim jong-il. >> we saw, standing before us, president bill clinton [ applause ] we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. >> reporter: president clinton did not speak at the homecoming here but issued a statement saying he's happy the two

journalists are reunited with their families. the reporters were working for al gore's tv venture when they were arrested for illegally crossing the border. after north korea indicated they would be open to a deal with clinton, the former vice president and the reporters ' families asked him to make a trip. >> this has had a happy ending. >> reporter: no one is happier than lee and ling who were serving a 12-year sentence. >> the past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart wrenching time of our lives. >> reporter: the women say they could feel the love of americans all the way in north korea and it kept them going in their darkest of hours. manuel gallegus, cbs news, los angeles. >> reporter: defense and foreign policy expert josh rogan was on 9 news now this morning and he offered remarks on the release of the release of the journalists and how north korea will use it to

their benefit. >> this is a country that has tight control on the information they use and receive and kim jong-il can spin it whatever he wants for his own political purposes. >> reporter: for continuing updates on the journalists go to our website at wusa9.com. a prominent acrannian lawmaker says three americans detained in that country could be charged with fines. shane bauer, his girlfriend sara shourd and josh fattal were arrested in iraq. security officials say the trio of backpackers simply got lost hiking in the mountains where the border is not clearly marked. opposition groups in iran are calling for protests to coincide with the inauguration

of president mahmoud ahmadinejad. several blogs and websites encourage demonstrators to gather in front of parliament where the iranian president was sworn in for a second term earlier today. the pro reform movement claims that he stole the june election. sky nine was over the scene of a school bus crash that injured seven small children in vienna, virginia. their conditions were not serious, but this was the scene this morning when an suv collided with a fairfax county school bus at maple avenue and courthouse road. children were on their way to a summer program when this happened. so far neither the driver involved, any of those drivers have been charged with anything. well, senators are moving in to a second day of debate over the woman that president obama has selected to serve on the supreme court. most republicans insist that

judge sonia sotomayor is the wrong choice for this job, but democrats are holding a majority in the senate and they have picked up the support of a handful of republican senators. so, her confirmation is virtually assured. joel brown has more. >> reporter: republican senators are lining up to criticize sonia sotomayor. president obama's choice for the supreme court. >> my fear is that she was unable to separate her personal belief system from that of the letter of the law. >> reporter: nearly three- quarters of gop senators will vote against sonia sotomayor. but that won't be enough to block her confirmation. a handful has joined the democratic majority in favor of confirming the judge to the high court. >> i'm perplexed by why the vote on her nomination won't be unanimous. >> reporter: barring any major surprises, sonia sotomayor will be the first hispanic woman on the supreme court. the 55-year-old from the bronx

is not expected to shift the courts ideological balance, but republicans insist she is a judicial activist that will bring bias to the high court. they pointed where she ruled against gun rights, property rights and claims of discrimination for white employees. >> the judge gave me her assurances she would stick to the letter of the law. her judicial record indicates otherwise. >> reporter: democrats argue her record also shows that in 17 years on the federal bench, she's often reached the same conclusions as more conservative judges. >> the breadth and depth of judge sonia sotomayor's experience makes her uniquely qualified for the supreme court. >> reporter: the senate is slated to wrap up debate and vote by thursday. democrats are already working on plans for a victory rally. joel brown, cbs news, washington. >> reporter: a plea for help from metro general manager john catoe. the head of the region's

transit system says it needs $150 million in federal funding for capital projects. our 9 news now digital correspondent armando trull has more from metro's fort totten station. >> reporter: metro is seeking $7 billion over the then next ten years order to make capital improvements needed to maintain safe, reliable service. >> i think they can get everything they can get because it has been really rough. an hour each way and a lot of repairs need to be done. whatever congress will give them they need. >> reporter: metro's general manager is hoping a big chunk of change will come from uncle sam. >> bring it on. because it is such an important part of our city here in dc and most of the people are federal employees that ride it so it is helping everybody. >> reporter: catoe has asked them to approve the senate's lead and approve $150 million for next year. the amount will be matched by

maryland, virginia and the district. the meeting with three senators from the transportation subcommittee lasted 75 minutes and a good deal of the discussion centered on june 22nd fatal crash of what steps could be taken to prevent similar accidents in the future. >> that is most people's method of transportation. so safety is important about and with all of the things that have happened with metro you would think that this would be a good thing. you know, if it is for safety. >> reporter: mr. catoe told the senators even though lack of money did not cause june's fatal accident it did contribute to damages because the series 1,000 cars were not replaced because of a lack of money. armando trull for 9 news now and wusa9.com. the fight to connect montgomery and prince georges counties north of the beltway is far from over. but we now know that metro's proposed purple line, connecting the two counties, will be a light rail system. it would be an above-ground

trolley system, similar to the one used in cities like artttte and san francisco. there's still a long way to go, however, before the rail becomes reality. the next step ng gtiet the federal transportation administration to help to ti1 l bethesda tonecarrollton. as you look thicas map, you can see the route runs close p train. that is drawing some opposition. you can see that side of the story by going to our website at wusa9.com. still to come when 9 news now returns, three people are dead after a gunman goes on the rampage inside of a health club. they are asking why today. plus, see how a columbia- based organization is helping our fighting men and women get the medical we l beat ne. we'll be right back. having the right tools is crucial

to being able to manage your diabetes properly. it's very important for me to uh check my blood sugar before i go on stage. being on when i'm feeling low can be like a rollercoaster. it does at times feel like my body is telling me to do one thing... and, my mind, my heart is telling me to do something else. managing my highs and lows is super important. with my contour meter i can personalize my high/lo settings so it really does micromanage where my blood sugar needs to be. i'm nick jonas and never slowing down is my simple win. there's no skating around the fact that my perdue perfect portions fresh chicken breasts are perfect. each piece come individually wrapped, so you can cook what you need and easily store what you don't. and they're perfectly sized to cook quickly and evenly in only 10 minutes.

it's the perfect answer to your dinner routine. (announcer) perdue perfect portions. also in a variety of all natural seasonings. right now a community near pittsburgh is trying to make senses of a deadly shooting in a health club. a man shot and killed three people before taking his own life last night. withins say the gunman burst in to an all-women's exercise class at an l.a. fitness center and started to shoot. police say the gunman fired 50 shots during the rampage.

witnesses described what they saw. >> just bang bang bang bang bang bang bang. >> i was working out and heard a bunch of gunshots and seen everybody run. we all headed for the hill. >> she kept saying he is going to kill me my exboyfriend. >> witnesses believe the gunman may have been targeting one particular woman in the class. the gunman killed himself and also three women. at least nine other women were injured. police say they are having trouble identifying everyone since most of the victims left their identification in their locker room and in their vehicles. we now have a followup on two stories we told you about last night. u.s. park police are investigating a fatal pedestrian accident on the baltimore-washington parkway. this happened near route 450. according to police, a man was struck by a vehicle as he tried to cross the highway. it is illegal for a pedestrian to be on that section of the parkway. there's no word on what the victim was doing on the

parkway. coming up next, howard has the forecast. stay with us. i'm watching some showers to the west. we will look at live doppler hd. watching heat in the southwest. it will head this way in the seven day and we are watching the allergy update. today in the moderate category is where the mold is in. yesterday it was in the high country. trees, weeds and grass all in the low category. the full forecast is coming up next.

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a 2-year-old report is raising questions about the dc water system and how it could adversary affect firefighting efforts. the problems were brought to light last week when firefighters lost water pressure and could not get water on a fire which destroyed the home of rm er hoolsc arbod president. it turns out the rertpoone in 20in07 sa id condition of a itur system intrfrreucas lys gheshiquabtion tiledue to age anndd n.coioit however, it was never presented

to the dc city council for action. >> the washington-based columbia light house for the blind has been around more than 100 years, but in january, the nonprofit launched a new program to help veterans who have lost their vision. right now, it is only in the pilot phase, but as 9 news now digital correspondent kristin fisher reports, this new program is already making a difference in the lives of some local heros. >> reporter: printing a document from a computer sounds simple but try to do it if you are blind. it took irving anderson two months. the vietnam vet lost his sight 28 years ago. >> it was a scary feeling at first. but then i learned to live with it. it was more scary then because i didn't know what i was going to do to make a living. >> reporter: that's when the bridge to work initiative comes in. a new program by columbia lighthouse for the blind

training veterans to work, even after they have lost their sight. >> i think they bring a refreshing optimism. >> reporter: willis is in charge of teaching them the four steps to digital data scanning. >> just like in the military, you adapt and overcome. so they bring that to the work place. >> reporter: but the best part of the program is after three months of training, you are guaranteed a job. >> the training is one thing. the independent living skills and orientation but the job is really important for these guys to get back in our society. >> it is becoming more important as a growing number of troops return from iraq and afghanistan. >> we think 12 to 15% of veterans returning have vision impairment or blindness. >> for anderson he is happy these heros can come home to the bridge to work program. >> i think it is an excellent program. i guess i had started to feel sorry for myself and they gave me an opportunity to say, hey, man, if you go up and do it is

out there. >> reporter: kristin fisher, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> congratulations to them. it will be another sticky day i think. >> one thing with the west winds and we are worried about the showers heading to the humidity but the west winds have dropped a little bit right now. it is not terrible yet. stickiness comes in the second half of the week. they are going up big time. let's get the forecast for the next three day outlook. 87 this afternoon. there will be some showers and thunderstorms. later on we get in the afternoon, the next few hours looking quiet around here. and then tomorrow, i have actually have temperatures down a bit. cloudy with a shower or two, only 83. the average is 8. by friday, still comfortable. i'm using that word comfortable because by the time you get to the second half of the extended, you will see what is going on. for this afternoon, partly to

mostly cloudy. scattered thunderstorms developing later on. right now some light showers, 85 to possibly the 90s. west winds five to ten. tonight, showers and thunderstorms will be likely off and on. 65 to 70. some showers around early and then mostly cloudy and coomer day today, 80, possibly 85. so kind of nice for august. northwesterly winds at ten miles an hour. this is what we have going. things are moving west to east. and showers to the south. notice this area of charleston south heavier showers here. in northern virginia a few sprinkles. this is live doppler hd. it is picking up west of new market and falling apart in luray. hardly anything out there but other than that t iomuch until things actteatlae r. talk aboumpesteurat, lathteerat mid-80s in town. same in southern maryland. easton and cambridge 82. 70s in hagerstown and winchester over to cumberland and fredericksburg right now the warm spot with 86 degrees.

national at 84 with a heat index of only 85. the dew point has come down just a tad and a westerly wind at eight miles an hour. big thunderstorms we may see a few later on. we are watching a cluster of storm that hit memphis pretty hard. it is shrinking. you notice it is a little thin here in eastern kentucky. this will be moving to the east. as it gets closer to us, i expect more showers and thunderstorms later on this afternoon. might not be until late this afternoon or this evening but here's a front. there's some energy. we have heat and humidity in play. i think we will see it. here we are this afternoon. the front getting closer to us. as we look at microcast nine showing the rain coming up overnight in to tomorrow morning. here at 8:00 indicating showers here. heavier stuff to the eastern shore and throughout the day on thursday. likely staying with a good deal of clouds but not much in the way of shower activity. southern marand could see a sprinkle in the northern neck

of virginia. the seven-day forecast, temperatures are cooling off tomorrow in the low 80s. we recover by saturday to 92 and i'm still thinking mid-90s on sunday and monday with a chance of a few afternoon thunderstorms. stick around. 9 news now at noon will return m after this. ♪ i am stuck on band-aid® brand ♪

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special nonprofit organization for me because i servedded on the board for 30 years. the president is here with us and there are so many hospices in the metropolitan area but talk about why hospice caring is so special. >> we are unique because we're the only nonprofit, nonmedical hospice that provides all of the variety of services that we do at no cost to the recipient. >> reporter: what makes it incredible to me it is made of volunteers, all volunteers. >> our success that we have enjoyed all of these years is because we have hundreds of trained volunteers that go in the community and work with the children and the adults that help us with our fund-raising events and do all of these things. they make certain that what we do is be able to provide services at no charge to the recipient. >> and the families are so grateful for the service that

hospice caring provides, aren't they? >> indeed because we have volunteers that go in the home, they sit with them. take them to the doctor. they take their children where they need to go in an emergency situation. so we all, we have people that say i'll respond, no problem. where and when do you need me. they make it happen. >> you don't think of that until you have a loved one that is terminal and then you say, where do i go? and this service is being provided to residents in montgomery county, upper montgomery county, and it has a long history of success. we can't even get in to all the success stories, but you have some important dates coming up. september 12th the butterfly release. >> a butterfly release where individuals can purchase a butterfly to honor or to memorialize somebody they care about. contact us. they will go in to a tent. the butterflies will land on them. at the end the butterflies will be released. >> i will give the number 301-

869-hope, 4673. if you would like to release a butterfly in honor of someone who has passed on, call that number. it is area 301. thank you for being here. come back and join us at 5:00. have a great day. bye-bye. (announcer) now skating...jim perdue.

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