welcome to 9 news now at noon. we will begin with details of the fire that destroyed the

home of former dc school president. city officials have released a report on last week's chain bridge road fire and our 9 news now digital correspondent armando trull is reporting life from northwest with more information. >> a week and a half ago the fire and a week later you can still smell the smoke. the mayor said it had think complications of a four alarm blaze. those included low water volume. a 75-year-old eight-inch water main was unable to supply enough water to the two closest hydrants and there was location and topography. there are 16 hydrants near the area there were no side streets to access them. so firefighters had to connect

thousands of feet of hoses down two hills and the elevation contributed to low water pressure. also the size of the home, 15,000 square feet. the fact that minutes after the firefighters arrived, 80% of that first floor of the home was gone also complicated things. the mayor promised a six-month joint investigation between the fire department and water and sewer authority to deal with low water volume and hydrant issues in vulnerable neighborhoods. >> there are some challenges here. we have to figure out both what systemically we can do about it. we do know that by having, by edifieding such an area as a low-flow area at the minimum the fire department, if there is ever another fire in this area can come through with the water supply trucks, water supply engines and that will make a tremendous difference were there to be another fire. >> reporter: and that is essentially how the fenty

administration and the fire department will deal with those issues until that six-month report is concluded and they find other ways to address the low water low volume issues. reporting live in northwest dc, armando trull. back to you at the information center. >> thank you very much. a followup to a story we told you about in may. the dc fire department has ruled the explosion that killed a man in his own home was an accident. vernon mccoy died in the blast at 1126 46th street southeast. investigators think that a furnace malfunctioned causing a gas leak. when he opened the door to his basement, fresh air, mixed with gas and the explosion occurred. >> well, with schools across the country set to open the government is getting ready for the expected spread of the h1n1 virus. officials expect a vaccine to be available by mid october. and they want schools to be the

principal site for getting flu shots. however, when it comes to closing schools, that decision will be left to local authorities. we're also developing and sharing mitigation measures, a huge range of strategies to help to limit the spread of the flu from encouraging people and children to wash their hands frequently, stay home when they are sick, to advising communities on how to respond to outbreaks. >> well, the government also says that schools should only close this fall if large numbers of students have someone flu. -- swine flu and youngsters could return 24 hours after a fever is gone. the economy could be recovering faster than expected. the government says job losses were less than anticipated in july. and the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped. >> the employment picture is looking brighter but christophe

miller is running out of time. >> i never mced i would be out of work this long. >> he lost his job nearly a year ago and now running out of options he is packing his new york apartment to join his family roofing business. >> this has completed changed my life. i have never been to texas before. >> reporter: it could be the turning point. 240,000 jobs were cut. a lot of layoffs but the smallest number in a year and the unemployment rate dropped from 9.5 to 9.4%. that decline took economists by surprise. they are seeing it as a signal that the long recession could be grinding to an end but it will take some time to get the unemployed back to work. >> people out of a job will have a tough time for the next six to nine months. >> reporter: the job picture improved across the board with fewer cuts in manufacturing, construction and financial services, all areas hit hard by the collapse in the housing and banking industries but for people like christophe job hunting hasn't gotten easier.

>> the problem is when i go on those rare interviews i'm competing against 40, 50 people for the same job. >> it could be like that for a while. the obama administration has warned that unemployment could get worse, possibly climbing over 10% before the end of the year. >> let's take a look at the big board. it seems to be are having a positive impact. right now the dow, the nasdaq and the s&p are all in positive territory. a career firefighter in montgomery county is facing charges for trying to solicit sex from what he thought was a teenager girl. according to police, 44-year- old wayne mothershed answered an ad posted by a female police officer who was posing as a 16- year-old girl. mothershed has been suspended from the fire department with pay. he faces up to ten years in jail if he is convicted.

the gunman who killed three women in a pittsburgh area health club bought accessories for a n sgufrheom tsame firearms dealer who sold the gun to the virginia tech gunman. officials say that 48-year-old george sodini bought his weapon legally and thale erdeo wh sold the accessories is cooperating with investigators. george sodini committed suicide after the shootings on tuesday, as did the virginia tech gunman who bought a .22 caliber handgun from tgs com in february of 2007. that was two months before he killed 32 people at virginia tech. four philadelphia police officers fired for a beating caught on tape in may have now been cleared of abuse charges by a grand jury. the district attorney says the suspects were resisting arrest. although they are seen on the ground at the time of the may 5th incident. the fraternal order of police

will now work to get those office evers reinstated. still to come on 9 news now, a top taliban leader is reportedly killed by american forces. coming up next how this could make a big difference in turning things around in afghanistan. the cash for clunkers rebate program gets a fuel injection on captiol hill. i'm nicole colins in washington. details ahead. fa

a top taliban leader in pakistan was reportedly killed in a cia missile strike on his farmhouse along the afghan border. a u.s. intelligence official says there are strong indications he is dead and the taliban is confirming it. richard roth reports now from london. >> reporter: it's not think first time the leader of the pakistan militia has been killed but first time there is so much support for the claim. believed to be in his 30s and not often photographed he had a $5 million bounty on his head. capturing or killing him as been a top priority of u.s. counterterrorism efforts and as one american official has put it, the world would be a r safe place without him. it is said massoud was among those killed in an american missile attack on wednesday in a remote village in the tribal area of northwest pakistan.

the claims backed by u.s. and pakistani intelligence officials, although they say they have no physical evidence. but two of mass organization ud's lieutenants have echoed the claim he was killed. the west blames him for the 2007 assassination of former prime minister bhutto and a wave of violence in pakistan. his death will leave a leadership hole in a faction linked to allocate and responsible for a string of suicide bombings and other attacks but with several deputies reportedly vowing to succeed him it probably won't be empty for long. coming up next, howard will have the weekend forecast. talking about perhaps the hottest temperatures of the summer moving to the mid- atlantic over the next few days. but today delightful and the allergy update, like yesterday, everything is low but the mold spores. still re mode.

re news on the impending heat when 9 news now returns. ale an) if you've had a hearatta caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. (female announcer) if you have stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. when taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin, the risk of bleeding may increase so tell your doctor before planning surgery. and always talk to your doctor before taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. if you develop fever or, unexplained weakness or confusion, tell your doctor promptly as these may be signs of a rare but potentially life-threatening condition called ttp, which has been reported rarely,

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approved an additional $2 billion for the cash fo clunkers program. the program has been popular with more than 184,000 deals submitted for approval. there's been a spike in car sales and manufacturers are rushing to meet demand. nicole collins has more. >> reporter: car for clunkers gets a fillup. >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: the united states senate voted 60-37 to pump $2 billion in to the rebate program which blew through the initial $1 billion in funding in the first week. >> the reason we were able to succeed is because consumers and the american people really like this program. >> reporter: this california toyota dealership estimates nearly 300 cars sold over the past two weeks. >> it is not going up. >> it is estimated it should be enough to keep the program running through labor day. >> this will be a great weekend to go out and buy an automobile. >> reporter: buyers should keep the following in mind, you can get up to $4,500 for trading in

a gas guzzler, but you are required to put that money to the purchase of a more fuel efficient vehicle. trade ins must be less than 25 years old and there can be no liens on the title. >> pick you up and get your car gas. >> reporter: the program maybe wildly popular among consumers and auto dealers but some say it is not fair to help one business over another. >> it is not bad for the government to try to help the economy but to pick certain industry, what about other industries? >> reporter: president obama is expected to sign it in to law as early as today. reporting from washington, nicole collins. >> president obama is still hoping to get a vote on health care reform. and several members of congress are hearing what their constituents think of the plan while they are home for the august recess. in oxon hill, representative

donna edwards held a town hall meeting last night. it wasn't as dramatic as similar forums across the country was investigation -- very emotional. one parent of a special needs child spoke out about her family's financial struggle. >> we have to make sure we have health care for her because we have had times that i have had to stop working so i could be her primary health taker. >> and another asked about tort reform. he says if she is insere about cost control tort reform should be part of the bill. >> a little publicized america for city workers urn the scope of gaithersburg new city manager. angel jones wants to know more about the property deal between the city and some of its workers. one example, a custodian living rent free in a building owned by the city. another is a public works supervisor who is renting a 700

square food home on dogwood drive for $350 a month for nearly 30 years. >> it was done with a hand shake to begin with. this guy has been living here almost as long as we have. >> if we are offering properties at below market value then that is considered a benefit. and as such, we how about treating it that way. >> reporter: jones says she is launching an investigation in to the property. she says she hopes to report her findings to the city council by the first week of september. and crews are cleaning up after a 12-inch water main break in manhattan overnight. more than a dozen buildings were flooded. the water was up to four feet deep. and the flooding lasted for hours as crews dug to reach the broken pipe. the broken main dates to the 1800s. >> it is not just dc,j.c. >> no, it is not and it will be hot this summer. >> little sad right now.

>> little sad. >> i am. my intern's last day is right now. >> my intern jessica brown's last day is today also. >> jason and jessica, we wish you the best of luck. but making up for it, the weather today. >> it is beautiful day. >> it is a beautiful day. but it will be getting really hot by the time we get to sunday and monday, especially. the next three days, we start the weekend really nice today. 85. maybe 86. sunny skies. a few high thin ones out there and comfortable humidity levels. on saturday we shoot up to 90. could be a late day storm but rain chances less than 20% and on sunday the ridge moves in. 95 and maybe hotter than this. partly to mostly sunny. pleasant this afternoon. mid-80s. northwest five to ten.

sunset 8:12. clear to partly cloudy. comfortable overnight. 52348 the cool spots. most of us in the low to mid- 60s and 58 in the bay areas and downtown. around 90 tomorrow. southwest independents at ten. a slim chance of a stray thunderstorm. it was a beautifully cool morning today. in me mid 50 at martinsburg and une air park in montgomery co, tydown , to 55. manassas 57. andrews 59 and manassas 61 degrees and look at this. lot lot of sunshine. tygr vieat sibility here. we're in august and just looks wonderful outside. temperatures 79. dew point 55. the relative humidity right now 38%. and a north wind at nine miles an hour. other temperatures 81 for one of the warmer spots in frederick. 77 on the eastern shore. 79 manassas. for those watching in winchester, hello to you, 76. cumberland this temperature is 79 degrees. look at today's highs.

kansas, denver, kansas city, memphis. we have the coolness from the lakes east. this warmth will spread east. it is thanks to a big storm system in the northwest. temperatures in boise in the 60s thanks to this low spinning here with the showers and thunderstorms around in to montana, as well. but that storm system at the same time will kick that heat. in think southern part of the country east and northeast. we will be joining that in a couple of days. right now high pressure, southern ohio in to west virginia. as the high pulls away the winds turn around and temperatures come up. 85 today. 70s to the north w-9 0s south. tonight in the 60s. upper 60s downtown and 50s north and west. tomorrow, yeah, we are pushing 90. comfortable buffalo over to boston. look at sunday. temperatures shoot up to the mid, maybe even the upper 90s. going to raleigh, 100, norfolk 96 and even richmond well in the 90s. only boston stays in the 70s.

85 beautiful degrees this afternoon. we have 90 tomorrow. 95 at at least on sunday and monday and by thursday, maybe we will cool down in the 80s. that's weather. have a great weekend and stick around. 9 news now at noon returns ea after this. ♪ i am stuck on band-aid® brand ♪ ♪ 'cause germs don't stick on me! ♪ only band-aid® brand plus antibiotic waterproof... has antibiotic ointment directly on the pad. and now it's 100% waterproof. one-step infection protection from the brand you trust. ♪ 'cause band-aid® helps heal me! ♪ ouch! ow! oops! it's neo to go!® ready. aim. protect.

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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.

i want you to meet sharon cummins.

she is part of a nonprofit organization she started a year ago for young girls so they can grow and learn how to be young women. why did you start this program. >> i started the program because i noticed a lot of young ladies are falling in to bad habits. they are not reaching their goals and their full potential an i believing to we -- together we can make a difference and teach them critical thinking and build self esteem and help them to be a better them. >> that is wonderful. you have 50 girls ins the program. >> yes, we do. >> and it is free. it doesn't cost anything. >> it doesn't cost a dime. >> and they meet once a month. >> you utilizing the library system in prince georges county and we cover topics ranging from entrepreneurial every defers to learning how to manage money. tomorrow we have a workshop on living by example and we are talking about building healthy relationships, recovering from bad habits and the importance of volunteering. >> and you are looking if volunteers to be committee

chairs because you are starting a program called green team. tell me about that. >> i'm really excited about that because we are working together to build greener community and we want to help our members look in to career opportunities and environmental studies. we just want to help the world be a better place. >> i salute you sharonings for your work. this is a fantastic program. i'm really in to young girls working with them, mentoring them, standing by them, giving them encouragement. so i salute you for your work. we will have all of her information on dvmourtime.com. her website will be there. congratulations. >> and thank you for being part of my show today. >> thank you for having me. >> let's go back to what howard and look what this forecast. >> the hottest weather though season so far coming in. not today. today is gorgeous. 90 tomorrow. look at sunday and monday, mid and upper 90s in spots and cooler by thursday. >> remember the name of the

organization's teen circles with an s. thank you for being with us. come back and visit us at 5:00. have a great weekend. see you on monday. r42rpp

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