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. this is 9news now. >> more white people. i don't blame the district more than that. i blame the government. good evening. i'm derek mcginty. anita has the night off. and whether you subscribe to marian barry's theory or not, the national drug policy shows 90% of bank notes from 18 cities all over the country have traces of cocaine on them. and what's more, dc topped the list where the testing took place with 95% of sample bills testing positive. digital correspondent andrew stack has been sniffing around on this one. andrew. >> reporter: well, derek, i spent most of this evening at a chemistry lab at george washington university and learned firsthand pretty much

everyone has traces of cocaine on their money. if the latest research is correct, this is still the most popular method for ingesting cocaine. not using $100 bills but rather 5, 10 and 20. the doctor said his assistant are hoping to get results inside their chem lab. >> this was a technique that was recently discovered by purdue university. >> reporter: so for the purposes of testing money off the street, i'm going to go into my own wallet, pull out a couple of the retired tens and 20s and give them to you, doctor. >> okay. >> reporter: and tell me what do you find on this money? >> we can do that. >> reporter: while he and his assistant get to work, we take to the streets trying to understand how the amount of cocaine on dc's money has grown by 20% over the past two years. >> the high rollers are using

it. okay. >> reporter: former mayor has a theory. >> from what i can gather from the study, washington is no different than any of the other cities, but it's a shift in drug use. >> reporter: tough times might be driving a rise in cocaine use. but it l might also be getting on -- it might also be getting on money with contaminated bills mixed with others inside the atm. back in the lab my bills are literally under the gun. >> this high voltage drievz the liquid through the -- drives the liquid through the tip of the paper. it gives off ions. and it's the chemicals on the paper. >> reporter: and the results? >> there it is. it is the actual cocaine. >> reporter: and i should point out those bills from my wallet were given to me at a local grocery store. i swear. the amounts of cocaine being found on most of the money around the district is from trace amounts on up to say about 50 grains of sand. about that much. so it's not a ton of cocaine

that we're talking about here. so i don't think anybody is going to be getting any reaction from it. >> all right. but still fascinating stuff. thanks so much. we appreciate that. well, his name is bill and he could be a ril pill. bill is the name -- real pill. bill is the name given to the first hurricane of the season. just moments ago he gained enough strength to become a category 2 store. topper says he expects it to become worse over the next few days. what about bill? >> one thing that troubles us is it's a very large storm. so it's not going to take a direct hit to affect the east coast. let's look at the satellite this isar oge lrgizarge, organid storm. as we mentioned, brand new information. lgote bry two.100 miles a aour.l morehan lik wyecelecome a category three by the middle part of the week. it's going to miss iomtoo lkse k it's going to miss lee ward

island and san juan. in the meantime, let's go back to the computer for a moment and talkbo aut our ownud c ud cloy. lows 65-73. the omwe c sree winds out. flood warning continues for the county until 1:00 a.m. if you followed me on twitter, you knew that. and also we'll talk about what the storm could do to us, even if itsn s d'toe hit us directly, it could provide some rip currents. more on my blog at wusa9.com. we'll come back and talk heat and thunderstorms. derek. >> thank you, top. for years, the outcry from the public has been against those speed cameras. but now one community just sick of speeders barreling through the neighborhood have taken a different tack. brittany morehouse has their story. brittany. >> reporter: derek, pick any neighborhood and you'll undoubtedly find long-term residents who are fed up with speeding cars. it's gotten so bad that neighborhoods are donating radar equipment to police.

from the south side of the city to the north. >> cars will just be flying down this street. nobody really pays attention to the speed size at all. >> my wife is very famous for telling people to slow down because people will go by like 50. >> reporter: in a 25-mile per hour zone. >> you'll catch a few. just watch. they'll be up to 30, 40 miles. >> reporter: over and over again, people gripe at community meetings. >> speeding is actually the number one complaint that we receive fr our neighborhoods. >> reporter: and now those neighbors are throwing money at the problem. >> it's just a way for us to give back to the police department and help them do their job. so that means an officer doesn't have to sit and use valuable time waiting for somebody to come through the radar. >> reporter: the officers doesn't have to because of this radar speed display. four neighborhoods are footing the expense. the machine may not be able to slap a fine but it keeps count, track and time of every speeder. >> it gives us a lower cost, less manpower intensive way to confirm or deny the perception

of speeding in the neighborhood. >> reporter: neighbors are confident their perception is reality. and so they're already pushing for more. >> speed cameras soon will be coming to frederick and that will be an enforcement tool. >> reporter: and that is a positive idea. >> i'm being supportive of anything to slow anybody down. >> the city is already working on legislation to bring speed cameras to frederick. back to you, derek. and, by the way, happy birthday. >> thank you, brittany. i appreciate that. well, the folks at vdot say they have heard your complaints and they're going to try to do better. we're talking about a brand new detour out there. a detour made necessary because the ramp of the outer loop of the beltway to northbound route 23 is closed until november because they're building hot lanes. and some drivers say the signs of warnings for that detour is not sufficient. >> any time we close a ramp or it's a new traffic pattern, even when we open it, it's traffic pattern. >> we take a lot of time ahead

of time to get the word out. not everybody is going to get the word. >> vdot says it will add at least one more beltway sign to give drivers more warning. the metropolitan watching authority wants your in -- washington authority wants your input of raising rates. airport officials plan to hold three public hearings whether to increase the toll by a quarter with additional hikes perhaps coming in the future. they are accepting comments online at the website and you can find the link to that website on ours wusa9.com. just look for this story under the virginia news. tonight the maryland state highway administration plans to close some lanes on i95. it's all partfrf the intercounty connector project. we kwnowy'he tll be closed in bollth the north aou sunbothbod lanes between maryland 198 and maryland 212. and thosere a exits 33 and 29. the work will run through next saturday, august the 29th. the cash for clunkers

program has been a big success ever since it launched last month. but now that program is causing problems for dealerships that accept the clunkers. initially, the government said dealerships could accept to get their federal rebates within ten days, but the cash for clunkers program has been going on nearly seven weeks and several dealers in our area say they only gotxi their first payment last week. digital correspondent kristin fisher takes a look. >> reporter: the cash for clunk er program has been a big -- clunkers program has been a big hit. >> it's been doing really well. we've done nearly 1300 in total. >> reporter: 350 of those clunkers are here. you can pick them out here by these bright orange tags in the window. but the dealership says they're not going anywhere until they get their money from the government. >> it's been an extremely slow process. we got paid for the first one last week and we've only been paid now on a total of close to 30. but we still have over four and a half million dollars outstanding from the government

that the time. >> reporter: it's the same story over at fitzgerald auto maul. >> we've gotten some payments. they started to come in and they seem to be increasing. but it's been a slow process. >> reporter: part of the problem has been too much paperwork and too few government employees to process it. >> frankly it was a pass to get this thing done and they had less than 30 days to do it. >> reporter: but over here they're not sure what the hold up is. >> the reality is we're not hearing any reasons. there is really nobody to communicate with. >> reporter: regardless, both of these dealerships say they'll keep collecting the clunkers. >> we're pretty confident we'll receive the money back. it's just who can manage to have that amount of cash out there. >> and the government is in the process of adding about a thousand new positions to help speed up that payment process. every dealership in the washington area that we talked with today said they will keep

accepting your clunkers. but there are some dealers, especially in the south, that are now opting out. well, tonight the white house is feeling some serious heat on health care reform. but it's coming from the left. not the right. it's all about that so-called public option. the government sponsored insurance program. over the weekend, the white house signalled it just might support a reform bill. now the senator is calling the public option a must and house speaker nancy pelosi says it will definitely be included in the house bill. and today the battle of words for health care reform went on and on. this time where the president was addressing the veterans. but the exchanges were a tad calmer than in recent days. >> the insurance companies changed what they're doing, we have to have that option and i want that. >> get them a voucher to allow them to purchase the health care where capitalism applies and

health care level approves. it's a very simple solution which is too simple for these people to understand. >> talking nice. >> we're less than three months away from election day in virginia and a new poll shows the majority of commonwealth voters are still making up their minds in the race for governor. 47% back republican bob mcdonald. 40% are for deeds. 13% are clearly undecided. however, overyawl 5 #2 over all 52% have not made up their mind. and according to the top fundraiser hud, so far there are. and tonight the state of maryland is facing a shortfall and the governor is warning the state get ready. that means counties will have to reduce their services and maybe

even eliminate their jobs. montgomery county says they're not sure where the cuts will be coming from in the county but he can guarantee one thing. >> we're not going to raise taxes in montgomery county. >> he says the county will do all it can to avoid cuts in education as well as police and fire services. the governor let the -- the governor will let the county know how much money is being cut by the end of this month. ladies and gentlemen, check your credit card statements. the feds have just busted a ring of super hackers. and they're accused of killing 130 million credit and debit card numbers and the corresponding account information. it's looking to be the largest identity theft case in u.s. history. and among the targets, heartland payment systems. that is one of the nation's biggest payment processors. well, meet tina. now, what would drive this man to compete in the sports, well,

mostly contain kids? we'll talk about it. ep w?w;w?

and welcome back. i'll meteorologist topper shutt. here is your forecast first. the next three days stays hot. 93 on tuesday. some storms. 91 on wednesday. even more storms. and 90 on thursday with some isolated thunderstorms. so not as hot as it was this

time last week. but still hot enough. the weekend on either side of me if you're watching hd, we'll start with the forecast in detail. overnight partly cloudy. mild. 65-73. light winds. most of the showers are now diminishing over in the valley. you can access radar via the wusa9.com web. if you have live to be letter and you also have interactive radar. pretty cool stuff. temperatures are cooling off okay in the 70s. 77 in brookville. 77 in belle haven. even over by the bay 77 for annapolis and 76 down towards charles town and edinburgh and 75. they've had quite a bit of rain. partly cloudy. very warm. some areas will kind of flirt with 90 by lunch time. high temperatures 90-95 and winds westerly or west

southwesterly at about 5-10. so fairly lot. let's talk about bill. a category two already. gusts to 121. destined to become a category 3 by wednesday. let me show you this view. this is taking it north of san juan, north of dominican. north of the bahamas and turning it northwestward as a category three. we get into friday. winds and it's south to southwest of bermuda. the models are still very consistent. we're four or five days out. very consistent taking the storm in between bermuda and the east coast. if that were the case, it's bad news for bermuda. the storm is to big it will still provide it with some rip currents and some heavy surf by the ocean resorts. but all the high winds would remain out to sea. we'll watch it carefully. it's going to be a big storm and it's going to interact with the same cold front that sweeps across the east on friday. that slows down, it comes closer to shore. if it speeds up, it goes farther

away from shore. so an interesting forecast to say the least over the next five days. satellite picture radar combined, big thunderstorms out to the west. that front is the same push that will push bill out or pull bill in a little wit. a couple clouds and showers earlier in the day. now dissipated. this is what is left of anna. and for the most part, i think this will kind of reform into just a little depression and move across in between cuba and south florida. and it could produce some pretty big thunderstorms in florida on the west side anyway thursday into friday. as far as we're concerned, a couple of showers back to the mountains. but they are also diminishing at this hour. all right. next seven days, 93 tomorrow. some storms. 91 on wednesday. some storms. 90 on thursday. a few storms. and then here comes the front. back to 89. and behind the front good news. we're back in the 80s on saturday and sunday and monday.

but, again, the strength of the front and the timing of the front critical, derek. if it slows down, bill comes westward. if it speeds up, bill stays way out to sea. >> kill bill. >> i like you're thinking. >> thank you, sir. well, he is 44 years old and he races bmx bikes. and if that seems odd, keep in mind charles has been racing those bikes since 1975. but that is not why we're telling his th story. peanut has had a bit of a mid life crisis and it's not the kind you're thinking about. james hash has his story. >> reporter: bmx is usually thought of as the sport for the young with its thrills and hills, it's more popular with the x game crowds. but older riders who gave up the sports decades ago are coming back to it and a few never left. charles, peanut to his friends, has been racing since 1975.

but the toughest opponent he has ever faced wasn't on a dirt track. he has beaten cancer twice. >> the first bout was a tumor. i went from a wheelchair to a walker to a bike. >> snoo and then he battled the disease again. >> i know a lot of people that beat it once. and there aren't many that beat it the second time. >> reporter: he has even received encouragement from another famous cyclist. >> that told me i could do this. >> reporter: for peanut, every lap is a victory. >> peanut is going to get the second spot. >> every time i take that gate, whether imwinning, losing or -- i'm winning, losing or just cruising, i'm happy. >> reporter: 9news now and wusa9.com. >> and peanut plans to compete in the state championship next month in woodbridge. that's not the kind of

sports we're talking about, huh sara? >> it's nationals over redskins. we're hoping we have some big news in very near future. the nationals to come down to decisions made in the next 40 minutes. we count down that midnight deadline. plus the redskins do noto to be called by their coach. those stories next. /p

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and now 9 sports with sara walsh, the best sports in town. >> the nats could take a lesson from cinderella. she knew if she wasn't out of

that ball by the time the clock struck midnight the charade was up. and we're counting it down for you on the right side of the screen. strasburg won't turn into a pumpkin. the team is prepared to make strasburg the highest paid ever. but that's not good enough for boris. a year ago the nats top pick went unside with 500,000 keeping aside. every report today has this gap reaching millions. the question now is can they close that in the next 35 minutes? we are asking you tonight would you still sport the nats if strasburg wasn't signed. so far folks siding with the team 58.3% say yes. log on to wusa9.com and click on the sports page and cast your vote. so what happens if strasburg

doesn't sign? he can pay either in an independent league or in japan and enter the draft in 2010. if the nationals have the number one pick again, strasburg can deny washington the chance to take him. if you're counting now, 35 minutes to deadline. baseball today, the angels and the orioles, o's trailing 5-3 in the 7th. he is not. takes him deep to left center. the three-run shot would be the catcher. football and when the steelers come to town saturday, jim zorn isn't promising to see the starters on the field longer. but you'll see more of them. hainesworth is one of the starters going to make his debut. it seems clinton portis can put it off no longer. the running back is going to take the fedex field against pittsburgh. >> part of his camp is to get himself game ready. and i think it's hard for a

veteran, any veteran, to think about he's not playing. is he going to play? how much is he going to play? and then he's had to sit and watch or we've held him back because we got to see some of the other guys. >> meanwhile, soft is a good thing when you're talking about cotton balls, t-shirts and little bunnies. but if you're talking about football players, that's an insult and it's one zorn used to talk about his team's play. that's for the rockies and the unproven -- rookies and the unproven guys that he didn't feel stepped up. even if it was said about the guys that are third and fourth string, team leader jason campbell didn't take it that way. >> he wasn't speaking to everybody. but at the same time, if you speak to one, you speak to all. that's the approach we're all taking. we're one group, we're one family. and what we have to do is lift each other up and come out complete. and whether it's pre-season or regular season, go out there and give your best. >> finally, proof the pre-season

can be exciting. last play of the game carolina and new york, the carolina quarterback caught mid air. tommy hill takes it back. new york wins it 24-17. how about that finish. 32 minutes, 56 seconds to get strasburg signed. >> doesn't work for the giants but we liked that. we'll be right back.

b@ finally tonight what is the survey for time magazine. it shows by far more people would rather save 50 bucks per week than have more sex. now, this could be a signal money is really tight these days and every penny counts. on the other hand, it could simply indicate most people are not having particularly good sex and the thought of anymore of it just isn't all that appealing. well, up next on letterman,r tiquenn tarti qu. then an amazing stunt. >> whoa. >> i can do that. that's next after the news. we will explain the naked truth about sell light and what you can do -- celluitelite and what

you can do with it. and topper do you have kick weather look here -- quick weather look here. >> tomorrow and wednesday 90. thunderstorms. bill will become category two to three and we'll worry about that saturday. >> and if you're concerned about the weather, you can check it on wusa9.com where we're always on. >> goodnight. . l-l-l-

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