hello, welcome to 9 news now at noon. there are indications that president obama is willing to give up the so-called

government option in his health care reform package. the possible shift is the result of widespread opposition to government run health insurance. joel brown explains. some of president obama's top aides are signaling he may be willing to give up his fight for a controversial part of the health care reform plan. as he wraps up his sweep in the west, his deputies are opening the door to a proposal that does not include the government- run insurance plan. >> the bottom line for the president is we have to have choice and competition in the insurance market. >> reporter: the move to give up the public option has angered liberals. >> do a little insurance reform. the kind other states have done, including ours 15 years ago and tackle health care reform at another time. let's not pretend we will do it without a public option. the president has to convince

conservative members of his own party as well as republican senators. >> i think a lot of the proposals that the president has talked about and some of the democrats have talked about are in deep trouble. the american people are figuring it out. >> one key conservative democrat is proposing a system partially funded by the government but run independently either by nonprofit organizations or a group of states. the white house is willing to look at that option. but president obama and his top aides insist they are not backing away from the argument that the time for health care reform is now. joel brown, cbs news, the white house. new survey says consumer confident dense about their health care dropped over 5% last month after having risen slightly in june. prince georges county police are trying to sort out what led to the stabbing death of a man in college park. two men were found bleeding next to a 7-eleven convenient

store in the 8900 block of rhode island avenue. the discovery was made just before 4:00 a.m. one of the men later died at the hospital. prince georges county police say the stabbing appears to be a domestic isolated incident. maryland's bucket deficit will lead to a lot of belt tightening because governor o'malley tells county leaders they will receive a quarter of a billion dollars less in financial help than in previous years. montgomery county executive ike leggett said residents will not be taxed to make up if that are loss. however, he said every other cost-cutting option is on the table. >> it's not going to be easy. i anticipate we will have to have additional layoffs and reduce programs and services. at this point in time i have not sped tied what those programs and services will be but that is what it is coming down to. >> maryland is facing an

impending state deficit of $700 million. county leaders should learn how much they are going to lose later this month. well, we are less than three months from election day in virginia. a new poll shows that a majority of commonwealth voters are still making up their minds in the race for governor. the "washington post" survey finds that 47% are backing the republican, bob mcdonnell and 40% are supporting the democrat deeds, with 13% undecided. however, overall, 52% say they have not yet definitely selected their candidates. maryland republican bob erlick is considering a campaign for government according to the top gop fund- raiser. so far dollars two announced candidates planning to challenge o'malley in 2010. washington metropolitan airport authority wants your input on raising rates on the

dulles toll road. airport officials plan to hold three hearings on whether to increase the tolls next year by 25 cents with additional hikes coming in the future. they are accepting comments on- line at their website through september 14th. and also you can find a link to that by going to our website at wusa9.com. just look for the story under virginia news. commuters are being forced to change their ways in the tysons corner area this afternoon. vdot shut down the ramp from the inner loop on to 123 north going to mclean. our 9 news now digital correspondent armando trull has more from the construction scene. >> reporter: as part of the hot lanes construction project they will build a new bridge for 495 and chain bridge road. in fact, that is making holes that will make poet posts and

those posts will support the bridge but that means there are details you need to know about. >> reporter: the next month and a half if you travel southbound 495 you can no longer exit the northbound chain bridge road because exit 46-b is closed. instead you will be detoured to the dulles access road, 267. once there, you will be able to get to chain bridge road by taking exit 19-a, if you are heading to tysons, or 19-b if mclean is your destination. also be aware, if you travel eastbound 267, you can no longer cut across 495 to get to chain bridge road. you will also have to continue to 19-a or 19-b. it will take six months to finish building the bridge. that means if you are driving in this part of 495, especially in the overnight hours between 9:30 p.m. and 5:00 in the morning expect lane closures. in tysons, armando trull for 9 news now and wusa9.com.

here's a closer look at the beltway hot lanes project. it will add four new high occupancy toll lanes in the dulles toll road to the springfield interchange. the project will cost $1.4 billion and should be completed by 2013. we'd like to focus on our hero central project again. because this afternoon, we are recognizing a good samaritan whose good deed landed him in the hospital. tom barrett is the mayor of milwaukee. he was with his family at the wisconsin state fair on saturday night and walking back to his car he heard a woman screaming for help. as he went to help, a man attacked him hitting him with a metal pipe. the mayor suffered some serious injuries, but his brother says he will be okay. >> i have talked to him personally. he's still got his good sense of humor. and he's a great brother, and

he's in good shape. he'll be fine. >> reporter: well, the woman, and the 1-year-old grand daughter she was protecting they were both unharmed. the attacker the was arrested. police characterize the incident as a domestic dispute. you know, you don't have to go far to be a hero in our community. a good place to start is the hero central page located on our website at wusa9.com. that's where you can learn about people who need assistance and highway you can help. if you want to highlight someone doing good in the community send us an e-mail. our address is heros@wusa9.com. still to come, michael vick talks about his life in prison in hid first televised interview with james brown. >> there's no way of you know, explaining the hurt and the guilt that i felt.

and that was the reason i cried so many nights and that put it all in perspective. >> reporter: we will have more on the 60 minutes interview. also, back to school. getting a good grade for retailers will be a challenge this year, and l we'ly. we'll explain wh y. we'll be right back. ?ñ?? most for headaches.

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the philadelphia eagles quarterback is speaking able his experience in federal prison and the impact it has had on his life. vick talked to former channel 9 sporter james brown on 60 minutes. >> the first day i walked in to prison and he slammed that door, i knew the magnitude of the decisions that i had made. and the poor judgment and what i allowed to happen to the animals. you know, there's no way of explaining, you know, the hurt and guilt that i felt. >> reporter: vick blames himself for landing in prison and said he deserved to lose that $137 million contract that made him the nfl's highest paid player. you can watch the entire interview by going to wusa9.com. students reporting to howard university for the fall semester are finding something

new, heightened security. over the summer, kansas police upgreated security and added new features, including a notification system. police have added emergency call boxes which will be equiped with cameras later this year and students can sign up for guardian service, giving police access to their cell phones' gps if in case they go missing the new school year is days away for some people in our region but that doesn't translate in to a profitable august for retailers. notebooks, pens and brand new sticks of glues. it is time for back to school supplies and for many impromptu lessons in finance. >> these are 36 cents. >> too much money and we don't have enough for that. >> reporter: the national retail federation estimates the average family will spend 8%

less on back to school purchases this year. >> i watch very carefully because, you know, in this tough economy it is -- everything is tight. >> reporter: the economic outlook is actually rosier than in months with him proving corporate earnings and a steadily rising stock market but retail sales is where the ruber meets the road. consumer confidence drives 70% of the economy and although stores are doing all they can to an 'tis -- to lure shoppers it is expected to be the most dismal back to school season in a decade. disappointing retailers. back to school is like our christmas. if you go to, to toys r us during cyst past mass and it is freescy and crazy there. that is what back to school is for us, our christmas.

>> reporter: >> in terms of the recovery it is slow growth recovery. it will take longer than people expect. >> but analysts.out until the employment picture improves people will feel more comfortable saving than spending. >> all of this week, every night at 5:00, 9 news now will have tips for you on sang u if yomissed our l yo report, you can watch them again inthe morning ndm. aa. or 7ndm.a. or go to r website at wusa9.com. still to come on 9 news now at noon, the first named storm of the year comes ashore in the florida panhandle. we're going to check in on claudette. howard has the forecast. >> not just claudette. we will tell you the latest about hurricane bill. getting hot now. a hot start to the week. i will tell you where it is going in the next seven days.

a look at the allergy update. everything is low but the mold spores even though they are low they are on the high ofend low. the full forecast when 9 news now returns. ♪

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tropical storm claudette has been downgraded to a tropical depression. it made land fall just before 2:00 this morning but even before that it brought plenty of rain to the florida panhandle. thousands near florida -- voluntary evacuation order this weekend. local residents weren't taking chances. >> make sure my vehicles are full of fuel and i have panels and everything i kept from previous storms stored if i put them up they are not coming down until thanksgiving. >> the first hurricane of the season named bill is lurking in the atlantic ocean. we have ana over the weekend but it is a tropical depression and going over the mountain. it is a strong tropical wave and may bring rains to florida

toward the weekend but not expecting anything big and bill we will talk about bill in a moment. if you are going to the beach, bill may not impact us directly by and direct from that will be felt in the form of rip tide and heavy surf. hot around here. today and tomorrow. but not as hot on wednesday with a better chance of thunderstorms. now, clouds this morning have slowed the warmup but i expect 90s this afternoon with 10% chance of a thunderstorm. one starting to develop in the west virginia mountains. 94 tomorrow. again, a slight chance of a thunderstorm but wednesday a better chance of scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms with the temperature near 90. partly sunny, quiet hot. low to mid-90s not out of the question with a stray thunderstorm. winds 5 to ten miles an hour and the sunsetting at 8:00 on the nose. clear to partly cloudy overnight. 65 west of town. in the low 60s in culpeper and warrenton this morning with a

touch of fog. 75 down by the bay. and south winds at five and sunny and hot with isolate storm tomorrow. low to mid-90s. southwesterly winds five to ten miles an hour. right now 84. so 87 this morning when i was making the forecast but other temperatures in the 80s. frederick and leesburg, take them with a grain of salt, run hot run hot but 83 from the naval academy. fredericksburg up to t 1. we have a heat index with a dew point at 70. it is thick outside. a heat index up to 89 already and a light southeast wind at three miles an hour. some kind of hot. the firing are burning in california and no relief in sight for them. this is what is left of claudette. down gridded to a depression. no more advisories which you can see the heavy rains in this

gulf trying to lift now. in to western florida and parts of alabama and around here, high pressure controls our weather. we sit in good shape. this front what is left of it gets close to us on wednesday, thursday, friday and saturday where our thunderstorm chances will be increasing. i want you to look at this satellite imagery. this buzz saw here coming through the caribbean. hey these are the islands bar pecos dose and the south. and good news about bill while it is impressive looking with winds of 90 miles an hour and gusts to 115. the track of bill takes it to the north and northeast of the islands by a good margin. you'll get some surf but not a direct impact from that and this may affect bermuda more than us. here's the seven day. low to mid-90s today and tomorrow. better chance of storms toward the middle of the weekend of the week as temperatures cool to the 80s and watch out this weekend at the beaches for possible rip tides with heavy surf from bill coming up to the

atlantic. >> oh, bill. >> thank you. still to come on 9 news now at noon, major league fun without the major expense. we'll take a look at how minor league teams are. we're shopping for car insurance, and our friends said we should start here. good friends -- we compare our progressive direct rates, apples to apples, against other top companies, to help you get the best price. how do you do that? with a touch of this button. can i try that? [ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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at the ballpark is usually a hit but take parking and concessions for major league outings can cost the family hundreds of dollars. >> ticket prices will continue to go up and i don't think it is fair to the fans. >> reporter: at this minor league bark in woodbridge, virginia. >> the most expensive seat is $13 five feet from the first baseman. >> down the road from the major league team says they are seeing more come come to seethe them play. >> up 7 to 8% for us which is huge for us considering the economy right now. >> reporter: a majority of minor league circuits have seen attendance go up in the slumping economy. overall minor league baseball has brought in 30 million fans this season with the average ticket $7. farm teams are a steal compared to the majors where the average cost of admission is $27. >> i'm retired. on a fixed income, and

budgeting becomes pretty important. >> reporter: concession promotions create another draw for value hungry fans. >> we have dollar mondays at the ballpark. dollar ticket an hot dog. very cheap day for a family. >> reporter: so are chances to get close to the players even if they are far from the majors. >> i don't think they care if it is the nats or someone -- a minor league as long as they are up close and get t. s iee >> report i: erin rtesest washington, nicole collins for 9 news now and wusa9.com. all right. here's some of the promotions orminor league teams are using to draw families and their entertainment dollars. form night the frederick keys have guaranteed a win night. okay. if the keys lose, you get a free ticket to another weekday game. the double a team in bowie has baysox for a buck night. one dollars general admission with a coupon from the team's

website for the game on august 26th and the blue crabs in waldorf hold family night campout saturday after the game. camp out on the field. you get food and a chance to watch a movie. isn't that wonderful. >> i thought you had to be a cub scout or something like that. that's cool. >> thanks for joining us. back tomorrow. >> bye-bye. i think, for the most part, traditionally men have ruled the world. i think that they're in control. women rule the world. men are just here for the company. really? ask ur wb@e.if rape b ndnd.e. for women and men.

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