>> reporter: the chief said there was no choice. firefighting was out of the question with a man wielding a knife in the dark. that man is seen here on his my space page. a man with a domestic violence history according to maryland court records. they say he lived here with his mother and there was an argument last night. >> she confronted him with some missing medication and i guess the confrontation became aggressive and the mom felt unsafe. >> reporter: unsafe enough that she left the house. shortly thereafter an alarm company alerted firefighters. investigators said he had made good on threats to burn the house down. he was subdued by police officers waving a taser he injured himself badly with a knife and held off firefighters until it was too late to save the house. >> reporter: in the end the knife wielding man is held in the hospital for a mental evaluation and treatment of his injuries. arson charges against him are

expected. in leonardtown, scott broom, 9 news now and wusa9.com. and that house has been a ts now the other top story, they break in and out. crooks are cleaning out homes in herndon.ad y.ca hol loand ready. local schools have mapped out their plan to combat the flu and texting tips it is a new era of crime fighting. i'm audrey barnes. montgomery county police have a new crime-fighting tool. it is text messages and they sc have already gotten onpre im suspect. convicted sex offender david cane moved from frederick to poolesville without giving his new address to the state's registry. thanks to an anonymous text to montgomery county policing detectives tracked him down. >> we were able to do an investigation and try to get a warrant and arrested him the same day. >> reporter: beside the text a tip program, residents can make anonymous tips on-line and by

phone. hundreds of leads have called in already. h a lot of times we ca criminals that way through community members and citizens. i'm bruce leshan in fairfax county. a new school year and new federal guidelines on swine flu. if just a few children are sick, the school should stay open. if a lot of children are sick, it may want to close. >> you need to keep the schools open. you need to keep kids in school and learning the impact for kids and their parents is huge. >> i think it is a crazy idea. often with children and don't know how many children are sick there. >> reporter: the feds say sick children can return to school 24 hours after their fevers break. one issue is the timing. most schools will reopen in september and the vaccine is not likely to be ready until mid october. and even then, you may have to get two shots for it to really work. >> i'm surae chinn in herndon

where indian americans are taking down their garland. the crooks know which house to hit because of the ornaments in the door. it represents good fortune and prosperity. >> i'm wondering what is going on. >> reporter: she nearly came face to face with the thieves before they got scared and ran off. the thieves are mainly stealing jewelry but why are they targeting indian americans. >> they are targeting jewelry because indians definitely try to invest more in to gold and so they are targeted. >> reporter: the burglars took $20,000 from this family. she is mostly upit is because a lot of it came from her late mother. >> those are the most precious things we have for memories. >> reporter: arlington county police need your help in identifying a burglary suspect. police say the man is connected to several larcenies from office suites in the boston area. he is also expected of stealing credit cards and raking up the

charges. here's a side profile of him. anyone with information can call crime solvers or direct to 911. another case of horrific animal abuse. a cat named gabrielle fighting for her life tonight after set on fire. she has lost much of her fur and flesh. this abuse happened ten days ago and witnesses say some young men were hitting the cat with stones and bricks. >> after they did that, they caught her and poured a liquid on her and then set her on fire. and she panicked and was rolling around and got the fire out, and they picked her up and set her on fire again. >> people just can't put the link between what they will do to a cat, what's going to stop them from doing it to a person or a child? that's what we have to stop. we have to get the people who start with the animals first. >> it is totally unacceptable to us in this community for this to happen. >> reporter: gabrielle was found in baltimore. a group calling itself recycled love has agreed to temporarily

adopt the cat and pay for the veterinary care. vehicles were torched in white plains. look at the sky 9 video of the scene at the charles county auto air on. the blaze spread to five other cars. investigators say the neon was a repo. nobody arrested but the fire marshals office says they have several leads. a former miss maryland pleads guilty to obstruction of justice. tia shorts will be sentenced in montgomery county. she is charged with possession and distribution of cocaine and drug possession. a federal appeals court has upheld moment's conviction. you in the him, he was sentenced to death in 2003. and he and his accomplice were convicted of killing ten people in 2002 in the sniper case. malvo was sentenced to life. if you thought the dc gun battle was gone done you were

wrong. it is back in court. time allen is challenging regulations prohibiting gun owners from carrying their weapons in the nation's capital. it challenges the gun laws that the city passed in the wake of that supreme court ruling. those laws allow registered guns to be kept at home for self defense only. a followup to a fire that destroyed a mansion on chain bridge road last week. firefighters couldn't get enough water to fight. it. dc officials today confirmed that. >> the hydrants do not put out enough water to be able to combat a fire of that size. >> reporter: the mayor says there are some other areas of the city with similar water pressure problems, but officials aren't quite sure where those all are. they will test neighborhood by neighborhood to find the trouble spots. and tony man pan, the weatherman is here and no trouble spots today. >> nice day today, derek. a beautiful friday evening if you are going out on the town

or whatever, humidity in the ng% th d d anan low 80s. just oup ndto thtop urhour, 70 winchester, 77 bwi. 81 at national. everybody will settle back down to around 60 degrees by tomorrow morning. so a pleasant night. the humidity will go up tomorrow along with the temperatures and there's a slight chance of a couple of showers and thunderstorms on saturday, but the major weather headline will be our mini heat wave coming in on sunday and monday. temperatures in the mid-90s with a heat index around 100. we will talk about that and check the seven-day forecast when i come back in a few minutes. ahead it is the protection we all need. we will tell you about new software to track all the cool gadgets you have. and desperate times mean desperate measures. what a pregnant woman is auctionifor money. b@b@b@

avoid atm fees. in tonights "living $mart" focus, atms are supposed to be a convenience for you and withdrawalling money from an atm not associated with your bank can be pretty darn costly. you can save on those surcharge fees if you use these e esbs . itype yoyo ur zip code, at l al point and you will find free atms near you and they will even provide directions on how to get there. laptops are a favorite item for thieves and the fbi says one in ten are stolen every year. one man, though, has developed software to help to catch those crooks. ken beston's invention is

called mac track. it where the comp uter where the computer d isan the first time it goes on-line after being stolen it comes up. if it is camera equiped it will take a picture. the success stories out of brooklyn. a tattoo own shop owner bought the laptop. >> they recovered that mac and found two other laptops in different cases. they didn't have our software on it but as a result of our software we were able to solve other crime. >> reporter: for more many information, go to wusa9.com and click on this story. it is right under "living $mart." shoppers in virginia will save $4 million starting today through sunday. virginia's fourth back to school sales tax holiday is up and running and if you purchase any school-related item like supplies or uniforms you don't have to pay the 5% tax. even people who don't have children in school can save money because retailers can choose other items to down if they would like. >> 47-inch tv.

>> nice. tax free. >> tax free but that is on school supplies. >> you can learn a lot from a tv. >> tv is a school supply to me, too. though virginia will not get that unpaid tax money, lawmakers say the program is worthwhile because retailers are expected to pull in an extra $100 million. dc and maryland did away with back to school tax holidays this year to save money. have you been slapped with a parking ticket in arlington? now you can contest it without going to the police department. all you have to do is complete an affidavit on line or call 866-219-4912 to get one mailed to you. once that affidavit is completed and mailed back, a hearing notice will be mailed to you. you can down load it from our website at wusa9.com. just click on this story under the virginia news. guess what, speed cameras are going statewide in maryland. october 1st a new law goes in to affect authorizing the statewide cameras. metro gearing up for track

repairs on the blue and yellow lines. a spokesperson says the transit agency needs to replace an entire switch in the tracks at pentagon city over labor day weekend. those repairs will require prep work that will slow down trains after 10:00 p.m. starting on sunday. coming up nurse betty is busted and it is fast becoming a delicacy. it is called chocobacon. s e can your taste buds kethha it? tony has the full forecast. keep it right here. b@

welcome back. here's one that sent a shock wave around our newsroom. a autopsy shows cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed billy mays back in june. the 50-year-old bearded tv personality died of a heart attack many his sleep after going to bed at hi home in tampa the night of june 27th. the examiner's report came out today and it said he may have used cocaine days before he died and that contributed to his heart disease. a lot of us drink soda to wake up but now there is one that may put us to sleep. some say it is doing more than. it is compared to marijuana. here's lindsey mastis. >> it is called drank and it is rolling its way this to controversy. some bloggers call it cannabis in a can. >> it contains no cannabis but the question is does it make you feel the same way marijuana

does. we went the expert to find out. >> i'm with the marijuana policy project in washington, d.c. and i use marijuana. >> reporter: we had him try it out. >> it tastes like an energy drink. >> the can contains a warning label for drowsiness. some ingredient include melatonin, rose hips and valerian root but this dietitian question other ingredients. >> the second and third ingredient in the drink are two forms of sugar. >> the ceo of inive beverage defended his drink. >> it is defined -- designed t not get you high but help you relax at the end of the day and not reach for a beer or a glass of wine. >> reporter: now back to this man t after ten minutes he says he dunn feel high or drowsy. >> i'm not tired. ready to work through the rest of my day. >> reporter: in washington, lindsey mastis, 9 news now and

wows wows. >> so he said. drank is sold in area convenient stores. it is also sold on-line by the case. it costs about 1.60 a can. nurse betty is busted. betty is charged with pretending to be a nurse at a doctor's office. investigators got turned on to her after a patient was turned off and complained about it to the state board. the connecticut woman even went so far as to stage a dinner, honoring herself as "nurse of the year "from the connecticut nursing association. that is bold. that's how she got her job at the doctor's office. if the doctor checked he would have found out the connecticut nursing association doesn't really exist. the fake nurse betty faces five years in prison for recklessen danger and criminal impersonation. going once, twice, sold. in arkansas a woman is so desperate for cash she is auctioning off her unborn baby's name on ebay. i guess the right to name the baby. she has six kids already and a

year ago her life was good but her husband suddenly walked out and their six children and number seven on the way and there was no money. so she had to get creative. >> it came to me to try something different. i did not expect any type of response. i thought this is crazy. no one is even going to look at it. but i prayed for a miracle. i just prayed for a miracle. >> it seems the prayer maybe being answered. the bidding started at $100 and up to 3,000. the boy is due on september 16th. check out the new snack that is a big hit at state fairs. it is called chocobacon. i know you are skeptical about the chocolate covered bacon on a stick. i know what you are thinking, maybe gross, right, certainly fattening, but don't be quick to judge. at fair outside of milwaukee, wisconsin they cannot make enough of this stuff to satisfy demand. >> it is pretty good. it doesn't really taste like bacon. >> i like chocolate and bacon.

>> i love salty and sweet and it hits the spot. >> good, chewie and bitter. >> reporter: i will pass this around to friends and let them try the rest of it. >> chewie. >> two good things, chocolate and bacon. like the commercial with the peanut butter and the chocolate. >> very inventive. you see weird things at state fairs a lot. i saw my first battered candy bar, the deep fried candy bars. we know everything deep fried is good. that's my point, you can deep fry and put chocolate on anything and bacon is in that category. tony's weather forecast even tony's weather forecast if it was dipped in chocolate you may enjoy the three day forecast but that's about it. a i know a lot of people are missing summer but we will crank up the heat by the

weekend. tomorrow is the transition day as we go from comfortable weather now to the big heat. sunday and monday 95 with the heat index around 100 both days. it is not going to last long. the seven-day forecast in just a second. enjoy a beautiful friday night, clear to partly cloudy skies, no humidity. the temperatures will drop in the upper 50s by tomorrow morning. mid-60s in the city. sunset at 12 minutes after 8:00. during the day tomorrow the humidity goes up and the winds shift to the south and a chance of a shower or thunderstorm, not just in the afternoon. could be a couple in the morning, as well. the high temperatures between 87 and 92. sunrise at 6:16. here's the weather setup right now. high pressure moving in from the northwest. that's bringing the mild and pleasant conditions here this evening. the dew point is only 47 at national airport. that produces a relative humidity of 29%. very nice for this time of the year and temperatures elsewhere upper 70s and low 80s. doesn't matter which direction you go it is nice. 77 winchester, same thing at

bwi. things will begin to change and you can see the change off to our west. a big dome of heat building in the midwest but notice the temperature drop off from kansas city to chicago. there's obviously a boundary in there and along that boundary we have seen thunderstorms flare up. some of those could roll through tomorrow morning. after that the jet stream will lift to the north it is going to be a short visit. not going to last long. the jet stream will zip through the carolinas by the middle of next week. but for now the heat stays for a couple of days. 95 on sunday and monday and then a cold front on monday night with scattered showers and thunderstorms and that will cake care of the heat. high temperatures in the mid- 80s by wednesday. so tonight, outstanding weather and then we turn up the heat on saturday. and then we get in to it on sunday and monday. >> we can take it. two days after a fantastic summer i think is tolerable.

>> definitely. >> thank you, tony. >> see you in a minute. >> we want to hear what you think, send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag. the at&t is bailbag@wusa9.com. we'll be right back. ysi= fab@

in the mail bag tonight, cash for clunkers. the program was reportedly on its death bed. that is until congress voted to revive it with an extra 2 billion of your dollars. pete from maryland says there is a reason the program was in trouble. petes that a good point like you put your car on the internet and you get 40 call the first hour and think i

priced it too low. the program is it got so popular it was tough to do anything but vote in more money and hope it satisfies anyone and then john in chantilly, virginia. he says there is such a thing as too much president obama. you know, i hear you, john and i surmise from your past e- mails you are not a big president obama fan, i hear you there. think of this, however. that speech was going on live during our 7 p.m. newscast. we didn't know what he was going to say but as you yourself point out when the president is talking down the street in mclean it is worth covering and if we have the chance to go live, please you

know that is going to happen. i'd like to count on your e- mails, as well. send them to mcginty's -- send them to mcginty's mail bag@wusa was. we are always on wusa9.com. see you then. bye-bye.

this is "entertainment tonight" in high definition. was michael jackson's brain reunited with his body? >> i'll reveal why the king of pop can finally be buried. but, is there still a family battle over michael's final resting place? >> can't you say, hey mom -- >> i'm the only one, larry. debbie rowe's new public outing with "e.t.." >> there's my girl. >> her first one-on-one since michael's death. then -- >> the man lived in never-neverland. >> his own crippling addiction to painkillers. is there a difference between a dr. feelgood and a drug pusher? >> no, there's no fference. is this john edwards' love child?