welcome to 9 news now at noon. i'm j.c. haywar. a plane carrying the freed lockerbie bomber has left scotland inbound for libya. many americans were killed in that ' 88 attack.

and the victims see aye families are outraged by the move. the only man found guilty of the air disaster that killed 189 americans is a free man. >> our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available. >> reporter: scotland's justice minister released him because the libyan is dying from terminal prostate cancer. after being on the run for a decade, the served only eight years of a life sentence. 270 people, mostly americans, died in the pan am flight 103 bombing. the plane exploded over lockerbie scotland in ' 88. many relatives of the victims live here in new york state and they are outraged at his release. the white house says the united states deeply regrets the decision. >> we have just released a man convict of massacring 270

people. we have given state sponsored terrorism a victory and the families have to watch this, 20 years later this is the last sad chapter this odyssey. >> reporter: scotland says it was bound by scottish values to show mercy. >> no compassion was shown by him to them. but that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his familiar in his final days re. >> reporter: he says he may die sooner or later but it will happen in his home country of libya. cbs news, new york. secretary of state hillary clinton released a statement today saying she was deeply disappointed by the decision to release the lockerbie bomber. we have developing story from southwest washington. the health and human services building was evacuated this morning voluming a small explosion. -- following a small explosion. a fire department spokesman

calls it precautionary because the building in the 300 block of independence avenue is without air conditioning. there are no injuries reported. a preliminary investigation finds that the explosion was in an electrical room and it was contained to the immediate area. employees are now back in their offices. there was some high anxiety for window washers in northwesta shington this morning. because one had to be rescued from scaffolding in the atrium of a building in the 1100 block of connecticut avenue. the first call came in to e fire department around 7:30 a.m. across the country and in this particular case, for whatever reason the scaffolding did have a malfunction but fortunately they had the safety gear, safety harnesses in place so no one was injured. >> reporter: the employees were checked and they did not require hospitalization. after a half century on the

drawing board work is on full swing on the intercounty connector in maryland but the eventual gain for commuters is causing pain. our digital correspondent, armando trull explains. >> this is maryland's most controversial highway project, especially for homeowners living next to the construction. >> it is just an eyesore for us. >> it is also an, pensive eyesore, the most expensive highway in maryland. the 19-mile long intercounty connector will cost $2.6 billion. the pace has sped up in the last few months with bridge abutments, trestles and sound walls going up at record speed says this spokesperson for the project. >> we are over 50% finished with this road and the design has been put to bed a while ago. >> reporter: the construction has begun to disrupt traffic on existing roads such as i-95 where as many as four lanes at a time are being closed overnight to continue work on the icc.

when complete in 2011 it will stretch from i-270 in montgomery county to route 1 in prince georges county. we have more information for you on the intercounty connector. it will be a toll road without toll booths. money will be taken using e- zpass transponders or cameras taking shots of your license plate. when it is finished it will be called maryland route 200. all right. turn our attention to virginia. we told you work will be delayed on the i-95, 395 hot lanes. well, now, arlington county is suing to stop work from ever starting. officials want a more thorough environmental impact review. county attorneys also say that the lanes will impact surface streets. jason blare is back in the news. the former new york times reporter resigned after fabricating stories is now a life coach in northern

virginia. the scandal also cost two top newsroom executives their jobs. the director of ashburn psychological services says he took an interest in blair after seeing him lead a group of people with bipolar disorders. blair has been working as a life coach the last o years. newly discovered records show that the virginia tech gunman cho denied having homicidal thoughts 18 months before the massacre. his family agreed to release the details of the files. the records were discovered a w agwes s eko s at the home of the school's former counseling director. cho killed 32 student and faculty on the campus in april of 2007 and then committed suicide. former new york giants plaxico burris pleaded guilty this morning to a weapons charge after accidentally shooting himself at a manhattan nightclub last winter. under a plea agreement, burris

agreed to a two-year prison sentence and two years of supervised release. he faced a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years if he had been convicted during the trial. his sentencing is set for september 22nd. a judge says that police and fire department furloughs in prince georges county were unconstitutional, but the ruling could mean layoffs for both. county officials say they will appeal that decision that would force them to refund $17 million to 5900 employees. in the meantime, the county is threatening massive layoffs. however, the head of at least one union, representing prince georges county workers, says the county has money in reserves, and is using layoffs as a negotiating threat. an indiana money manager who tried to fake his own death by cashing and crashing his airplane in florida was sentenced to more than four years in prison this morning.

authorities say 38-year-old marcus shrinker wanted to fake his own death so he could avoid precipitation for -- prosecution for defrauding investors. last february he parachuted from the plane and the plane eventually crashed near some homes in the florida panhandle. no one on the ground was injured. now to the streets of san francisco. perhaps the most famous streets. lombard street was turned in to a real life version of the kids ' game candy land. the steep curvey street was decorated that way to correspond to the 60th anniversary of the board game. still to come on 9 news now at noon, senator edward kennedy is attempting to lay the ground work for his successor. we'll explain when we come back. afghanistan chooses a president today, but the taliban, doing all it can to joel brot wn athe el brown at t house coming up.

it could be edward kennedy's last stand. he wants a change in the law allowing the massachusetts governor to appoint an interim u.s. senator immediately. it is for -- if the post becomes vacant. >> reporter: senator edward kennedy maybe ailing but in a poignant letter last month the continues to fight for change as well as his passion, health

care. while suffering from terminal cancer he is asking the governor to change state law so menanamed quickly. kennedy writes, it itis val fors this commonwealth to have two voices speaking the nes s citizens and o in initizens and two votes the senate during the five months between a vacant seat and the election. the senior senator is concerned if his seat is open for months it could hurt president obama's chances to overhaul health care. there's been speculation kennedy's wife vicki wants to succeed her husband in washington but family aides say she's not interested. the letter once again has many wondering if the end is near for kennedy. but aides insist there is no change in his condition since being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor more than a year ago. still the 77-year-old has rarely been seen lately. he was not at last week's funeral for his sister you know

nice or or inbound washington to receive the highest award given to a civilian, the medal of freedom. president obama presented it to his daughter cara. as he battles brain cancer, health is at the top of his agenda, the health of others. drew levinson, cbs news. >> kennedy was first elected to the senate in ' 62. he is the third longest serving senator of all time. the cia spent several million dollars on an unsuccessful program to kill top members of al-qaeda. that's according to a new report in the new york times. the private military contractor blackwater usa was reportedly hired to help plan, train and conduct surveillance for the program. the government officials say the program failed to result in the capture or killing of any terrorist suspects. current cia director leon pan net that eliminated that program last june. the polls are now closed in

afghanistan's presidential election. and workers have started to count millions of ballots. officials say 26 afghan civilians and security forces were killed in election day attacks. joel brown reports. >> reporter: across afghanistan, security forces checked voters for weapons before they could cast their ballot. polls were kept open an extra hour for the country's second ever presidential election but it appears many stayed home, fearful of the taliban. for days, militants have intimidated voters and today launched scattered rocket and bomb attacks. in one province, 14 polling sites were targeted and several police officers were killed. u.s. troops spent the day hunting taliban militants and helped to deliver presidential ballots, but afghan forces are hands security at the polling places. >> more than anything it is probably a matter of national pride for the afghans. they see their own government providing security for their

elections. >> reporter: the white house is watching the election closely. president obama hasn't endorsed a candidate and knows whoever wins will have a major voice in the u.s. mission in afghanistan. >> no violence. >> reporter: incumbent president happened karzai is expected to win, but low voter turnout in the south where he is favored could hurt him. his main challenger, abdullah abdullah applauded those who voted. since election workers now have to count millions of paper ballots, initial results aren't expected until saturday. joel brown, cbs news, the white house. >> by afghan law, the winner of the presidential elections has to win more than 50% of the vote in order to avoid a runoff. still ahead, on 9 news now, a pet segment and a new show goes to the dogs. we will have that story just ahead. pour yourself a big glass of lemonade and find yourself a

spot in the shade today. i have got your forecast coming up next. i'll let you know when those thunderstorms will rumble through. you are watching 9 news now and we'll be right back. just as we promise 100% fresh produce...

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isn't this love, people. i love ginger. i love you, ginger [ laughter ] >> you don't have any makeup left. >> oh, okay. okay. >> i know all about that. puppy kisses. oh, my goodness, there are two of them. looked t. we are talking about puppy love. this is on a canadian newscast. and the dogs really just took over. look at them [ laughter ] you can see one person got involved and licked all of their makeup off. >> dogs love makeup because my dogs like to lick. >> how cute was that? and i love the forecaster there with her centigrade high

temperatures of 12. even though it was canada. it is just about 19 minutes past 12. it is pet line thursday so we have an adorable chow puppy for adoption. we have some thunderstorms that will be working their way here. the witching hour between 5:00 and 8 p.m. okay. look for a couple of isolated s to todeunrmtos to come line through again between about 5:00 and 00. on the map right now, not too many. we have a few brewing to the west across west virginia but other than that it is hot and it is humid outside. this is our time lapse tower cam showing the cloud cover that we have been having. and the murky conditions out there. where it is 82 and southeast winds are blowing at 12 miles an hour. the temperatures are moving up. we are 82 and already 91 leesburg and working toward 90 or so today.

i am talking about pollen. the trees the grass, the weeds all low but you know what is sneaking in, ragweed. this is what it looks like under the microscope. if you are sneezing that could be one of the factors. hurricane bill is what we are talking about next in the atlantic ocean. it is a category three storm. winds of 120 miles an hour. notice the path will be turning more northernly as we head to the weekend. bill has plans like this, staying away from the u.s. but rough surf and bad rip tides likely. if you are heading to ocean city, be mindful. you have to plan for that if you take a dip in the atlantic ocean. here's a check on the next seven. we'll keep it stormy later today. tomorrow and right in to your saturday. after saturday a front will blast through. and that is going to drop the humidity and the temperatures on sunday. so the good news is we will get

sunshine back for the latter of of the weekend as you make plans outside. so we were just watching kelly, this adorable video of these dogs licking tv anchors. they were so cute but i'm sorry our puppy here is just adorable. tell us who you have. >> we have exercise ya. she is a chow mix. >> she's very fluffy. >> she wandered in to a man's backyard and they couldn't keep her. and we need to find her a good home. >> you say chows condition independent. what thursday that mean. >> when they want to explore their environment in any capacity they are going to do it. whether you want them too or not but they are smart an because of that they eevery cu ouainable. very curious and play you have and loves everybody. if you are interested in adopting our chow mix puppy dog about six weeks old. you can let your fingers do the walking at wusa9.com. i seem to be boring her.

oh, look at that little belly. you are just such a cutie pie. we will take a quick break and be back with more 9 news now. don't change that dial and consider adopting this little dog. yeah. ?ñ??

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how do we capture the last exciting moments of summer? >> most of the tourist have gone and getting ready for the school year so they are not coming back to washington and that's when we should take advantage of it. in fact, it is a good time, fun on the mall, go to the museums. take the children and get them ready for learning. >> so many museums. >> 19 museums ten square blocks and then you can venture off, take a shuttle and catch a tour of anacostia for free. >> for free. >> you can go to frederick douglas house the anacostia museum and you are touring anacostia you may not be comfortable driving because you don't know it. the tour bus is free and owned by the smithsonian institution and speaking of the anacostia museum, the founding father john kinnard passed away and they are honoring him at the ame church. you can call me. it is at 4:00 at cochran and

14th street northwest and a lot of folks will come because the city is honoring him. imagine a gentleman founding a museum that the smithsonian adopted and made part of their museums. >> he and his wife are such an integral part of the washington area so this is wonderful. the fact they are having the tribute to him. the address is at 1615 corcoran street northwest. it begins 4:00 p.m. and they are honoring john kinnard, the founder of the anacostia museum. it is interesting that you bring up we should go to the mom. because many of us who live in the metropolitan washington area don't get a chance to get to the mall. we have friends that come in and they go and we work. but now is this time to take a moment and go down to the mall and visit all of those fabulous museums. and before we go, we want to show that little pretty dog

again. look at the dog. >> precious. >> oh, is exercise ya sleeping? during my newscast. exercise ya, exercise ya, wake up. i'm about to go off. you are going to miss it. thank you, busy bee juanita for being with me. (announcer) now skating...jim perdue. there's no skating around the fact that my perdue perfect portions fresh chicken breasts are perfect. each piece come individually wrapped, so you can cook what you need and easily store what you don't. and they're perfectly sized to cook quickly and evenly in only 10 minutes. it's the perfect answer to your dinner routine. (announcer) perdue perfect portions. also in a variety of all natural seasonings.