hello. welcome to 9 news now at noon. i'm j.c. hayward. we are beginning with the passing of broadcast news pioneer don hewitt. he was the creator of the news

magazine 60 minute and drew levinson reports that his career was full of other memorable firsts. >> reporter: don hewitt was a pioneer, helping to create the blueprint for television news. a career that can be described as illustrious began in 1948. that's when he became a director of the first cbs evening news show. the directed many other programs including edward r. murrah's signature show, see it now. >> i can turn to don hewitt and say don, will you push a button and bring in the atlantic post. >> reporter: he took on duties directing the debate between john kennedy and richard nixon. >> i felt like a referee at a fight. i was giving them them last minute instructions before they went to the corner and came out swinging. >> reporter: hewitt advised him use make up bethe declined

eventually losing the election. a couple of years later he became the executive producer of the cbs evening news with walter cronkite. he is credited with coining the term anchorman and creating a look that for decades defined how information news was presented but his greatest reindication is no -- creation was 60 minutes the face of journalism. >> this is 60 minutes a kind of magazine for television. >> reporter: 6 a minutes was the first news program to become a top ten television show. it regularly made headlines with stories ranging from hard- hitting investigative pieces to interviews with the famous and the notorious. the show won every award in the book. >> you're running the piece. >> tell me a story, hewitt would demand. he had an instinct for knowing what the average american likes to watch. he carefully scrutinized every

script. the show remained on top for more than 30 years. hewitt had already celebrated his 80th birthday when in 2004 he officially stepped down as head of 60 minutes. but don hewitt remained in the cbs family, lending his experience and expertise to the search for new ways to cover tv news in the 21st century. drew levinson, cbs news, new york. >> don hewitt died of pancreatic cancer in bridge hampton new york today. he was 86 years old. in other news, the sound of solve chain saw an repair crews are reverberating through a capital heights apartment complex. it is the result of a large tree that was knocked down by last night's powerful storm. the mature oak crashed on a garden apartment building in the 4100 block of southern avenue in capital hehts. there were no injuries, but one

apartment on the top floor was damaged along with some windows. several dozen residents were forced out of their homes until it was determined it was safe for them to return. repairs to a water main break are causing headaches in alexandria today. the 12-inch main opened up around 6:35 this morning in the 100 block of south reynolds street. several businesses, the washington suites hotel and the residential building are all affected. repairs to the water main are expected to last all day and could run until tomorrow. service will be restored once the repairs are finished. prince georges county plans to appeal a court ruling overturning a two-week furlough program. a federal judge ruled that the furloughs of hundreds of public safety workers was unconstitutional. several unions sued claiming the county could have found

other ways to save money without furloughs. prince georges county was attempting to save $17 million by furloughing 5900 people. well, maryland delegate john cardin is apologizing for an ill-advised stunt he admits to using baltimore city police officers and helicopter units to stage a fake raid. around wanted to create a diversion as part of a plan to propose to his girlfriend. at first, august 7th proposal was paid for by taxpayers. the baltimore county democrat says he will now pay for everything. police in upper montgomery county are looking for a fire starter. we first told you about a series of fires in damascus and germantown yesterday. investigators say someone set fire to more than a dozen bales of hay and at least mailboxes.

>> fire can spread to so much more and create so much more damage and you wonder how far are they going to take this? will they start to do it to homes. that's more disturbing. >> we feel pretty safe in our neighborhood. so something like this is a little alarming. >> reporter: if you have any information about the arsonist, please contact montgomery county police. well, the national cold war museum wants to make its prime minister home in virginia. executive director gary powers, junior, says the museum has more than $3 million worth of cold war relics. powers says he narrowed the list of places to the isle of wright, faulkier county and the cities of fairfax and hampton. the museum could share facilities with an existing military museum in more also. powers is the son of francis gary powers, the pilot whose plane was shot down over the soviet union in 1960. turn our attention to

afghanistan now where the taliban is claiming it staged a daring election-eve attack but police are calling today's raid on a bank building a botched robbery. troops stormed the bank and killed the insurgents. authorities have beefed up security in and around the afghan capital of kabul leading up to tomorrow's election. president happened karzai currently leads in those polls. most analysts believe the will win a second term. a string of deadly explosions ripped through baghdad today. the blast targeted government buildings and crowded commercial areas. the attacks are part of a surge of violence that is followed u.s. troops withdrawalling from iraqi cities. joel brown has more. more than 80 people are dead and hundreds more hurt following a string of explosions across baghdad [ sirens ] >> the deadliest is a struck bomb near the foreign ministry outside of the green zone. that blast killed more than 50

and blew concrete slabs off the front of the ten-story building. the impact so strong it damaged buildings nearby. iraqi officials say at least five other explosions tore through parts of baghdad. hitting a police patrol, commercial district and other crowded areas. this is the deadliest day in baghdad since president obama ordered troops to largely withdrawal from iraqicy is cities at the end of june. that left iraqi forces in charge of their own security. this politician says today's attacks show iraqi troops aren't carrying out their duties. he is calling on par limb to hold an emergency session to examine what went wrong. the top u.s. commander in the country wants to send more american troops to northern iraq, an area hit hard by attacks in recent weeks. iraqi prime minister nouri al- maliki has to approve that request before forces can move. he still hasn't said yes. today's blast is the latest in

a wave of violence that gripped iraq since the beginning of august and it is a challenge to iraqi efforts to control their own security. many residents fear it is a sign of things to come as u.s. troops continue to pull back. joel brown, cbs news, the white house. rescue teams are continuing to comb through the rubble looking for possible survivors. still ahead, on 9 news now, baby boomers and drug use. we'll tell you about a surprising report. and plus, emotions are running hot during another town hall meeting on health care reform. we will have details just ahead. just as we promise 100% fresh produce...

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for some baby boomers it is like the 60s never ended. a new report says that the percentage of americans aged 50 to 59 who reported use of illicit drugs within a year nearly doubled between 2002 and 2007. analysts say the percentage went up because those baby boomers continued to use drugs as they got older. president obama participates in a conference call with some space leaders tonight and they will be discussing health care insurance reform. meanwhile, democrats continues to press the case for reform during town hall meetings across the country. congressman barney frank is among the lawmakers running in

to a skeptical public. jim acosta explains [ applause ] >> didn't take long for the shouting to start. >> what's the lie? >> hey, hey, enough. which one wants to yell first? >> before the first question was asked, massachusetts democrat barney frank was swinging back at opponents of health care reform. >> disruption never helps your cause. it makes you look like you are afraid of rational discussion. you drive people away. i'm not here. this is the council on aging, not kindergarten. >> reporter: frank tried to dispel bogus claims about the bill. >> illegal aliens are not able to get protection in the bill. >> some read said read the bill so hi he did and found the

place where it said illegal aliens are not included. >> several audience members insisted reform would bust the budget. >> we will pay more taxes because of you, sir. >> this bill would practically bankrupt the economy of the united states government. >> reporter: time and again frank took that grenade and threw it back. and i do worry about the deficit. that's one of the reasons, not the only one that i voted against the single most wasteful expenditure in the history of america, the iraq war [ applause ] >> reporter: the chairman of the house financial services committee took only a few question questions on reforming wall street. instead he talked at length about his support for the public option. >> i'm not voting for any bill that forces anyone in to anything. it will have a public option. >> reporter: and tried to reassure seniors there were no death panels in the bill. >> this notion that something in this bill would require

people to who are elderly or sick too be denied medical care, it is the single stupidest argument i have heard in all of my years. >> it was that absurdity that this medicare recipient was happy to see put to rest. >> can i tell you i know for a fact they are not going to pull the plug on grandma. >> they are not going to pull it on me, i tell ya. because i will fight to the death. >> reporter: that was jim acosta reporting. advocates in san diego are turning to a familiar character to make their point about health care reform. they are taking health care harry from the famous operation game on a statewide tour. the advocates are calling for plainer, easier to understand language to make comparisons between the reform offers. coming up on 9 news now at noon -- >> i think my life comes to an end and who's going to take

care of my kids. >> a sudden tornado ripped through a shopping center parking lot. we'll explain. kim has our forecast. >> the sun is shining on the weather terrace right now in northwest dc. different story southeast dc down to mount vernon. we have thunderstorms and i'm tracking them for you. don't miss my forecast. it is straight ahead this noon and you are watching 9 news now. having the right tools is crucial

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there it is. there's the tail coming down. >> we are looking at cell phone video of a tornado that ripped through beaumont, texas yesterday. the picture was taken by a fast thinking employee just across the street from the twister. it occurred at a department store. the storm tossed around cars and trucks like they were toys. >> incredible. >> yeah. >> they get the most tornadoes per year. not just because they are in tornado alley but they are also the biggest state so they have eye -- higher eyes. so put them together and that's where you go if you are a twister chaser.

>> watching doppler and some thunderstorms are poppg up this noon. we i ll zoomin for you d anu show you where we have them, mostly on the southern dc, of dc, east st of upper marlboro. threstville just about done wiyou. it is raoving ndin a erwsreair rctotripws to clormsextend to toclin route 3 and just noh rtrt h cok ok. lorton is inthe e clear. alwa dranag alonaior rpanag nati'sth re wat he haanwethat's where we have some so rain still. widen t the picture here. here it is on the satellite- radar loop. a small cluster of storms to the east but the atmosphere is ripe to develop more thunderstorms and you can see them pulling across west virginia. so, our afternoon much like yesterday, will be touch and go everybody. it is great to have you with us. up to 85. 91 leesburg. looking south that's the number in fredericksburg. 84. that will be dropping at

andrews air force base with rain-cooled air. 84 is the number at annapolis. we factor in humidity and it feels hotter outside. in fact it feels like the triple-digits in loudoun county. it feels like 90s across the board from quantico to andrews air force base and 94 frederick. so with the steam in the air you know your body has a harder time cooling off. take it eatcy. find air conditioning and certainly cloud cover and thunderstorms developing could help you out as we head to the afternoon to stay cool. 85 is where we are at. southerly winds at five. humidity 59%. make your plans today, tomorrow and friday. with your umbrella on stand by. count on it still being hot. a frontal boundary is stalling on top of us. not quite ready to die. it will be focusing those showers and storms the latest on hurricane bill. a category four hurricane on the saffir-simpson scale. the latest coordinates to have it is about 642-miles from san

juan, more puerto rico. winds are 135, gusting to 161. you can see the latest plot there by 8 a.m. forecasters have winds around 140 miles an hour. now, let's see where it puts it with respect to the eastern seaboard over the next couple of days, heading to the weekend. you can see bermuda is projected to be east of the forecasted path, which, by the way, has a lot of wiggle room. it is not a sure bet at all. the forecast is to stay in the atlantic ocean off of the east coast of the u.s. and likely generate a lot of surf in our neck of the woods and if you are a beach goer at ocean city be mindful of those anticipated rip currents, too. we will be watching if the path changes to the west. as for the thunderstorm probability we have them ongoing. they will last until the afternoon. the time is in the title. as you go to bed things will quiet down but tomorrow more shower and thunderstorms just

like today. put it in writing. here's the seven-day forecast, everybody. 90s straight in to the weekend. on saturday the front should be passing through earlier in the day. i'm optimistic by the afternoon we will be drying out sunday will be the better day weekend if you are trying to decide between the two and next week we will take a chunk out of that humidity and level things down to 85 degrees. that's my seven-day forecast. you are with us this noon at the channel 9 information center. our show is not over. see you on the other side of the break.

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with me and i'm talking about dr. dorery. she has a new book it is called sex for grownups. big folks, grown ups like us. >> we are going to talk about the bedroom. where do you sleep and how can you make the bedroom more enticing. so let's start with the kids. they are out of the house. they have moved what should we do? >> one thing, until we're our age, that's a real plus, bonus years we don't think of our bedroom and our bedrooms should be our sanction ware for sleep, sex, relaxation, satisfaction, not stress. in these financial times, forget it. >> so what you do in the bedroom. >> you shouldn't talk about all of that stuff. make a nice at ms. fear. it doesn't cost a lot of money. design it for you and your

partner, whatever your design, make it calm. use nice sheets. sheets feel good, against you. make it quiet. you know, as we get older we tend to sleep less. make sure you have nice dark shades, coverings on the windows. don't get addicted to the tv clicker. guys, if you are in love with your tv clicker how are you going to be in love with your spouse? >> that's a good point. you know, people tell -- i have heard before you shouldn't really look at the television in the bedroom. even when you are younger you shouldn't do it in the bed ram because it -- interrupts your sleep pattern. >> some couples feel closeness if they watch a movie or something like that but are you going to feel close if you are watching war stuff on tv. no, it against against your stress hormones so relax it. make it pretty.

think about it. >> make it enjoyable and make it a reflection of you. >> that's a wonderful way. >> the new book is sex for grownups. it will be on the book shelves soon. >> absolutely. >> thank you for coming in. thank you for joining us. come back and visit us at 5:00. l te me what you see.

two little birds wearing a couple little hats. that looks like my windshield... when i made my trip back from phoenix. yeah, that's it. depend brand. for women and men.