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president obama took care of important business this morning. he announced he is backing federal reserve chairman ben bernanke for another term. alexis c reports that wall street likes the move but not everyone is celebrating. >> reporter: president obama wants to keep ben bernanke at the helm of the federal reserve. >> the gentleman next to me has led us through one of the worst financial crisises this continental as ever faced. >> the approach to financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom with bold action and out of the box thinking. it helped to put the brakes on our economic free fall. >> reporter: during the height of the meltdown, bernanke took fire for unconventional lending program. but with the economy starting to emerge from the recession he is widely credited for unlocking credit and

stabilizing the financial market. by choosing bernanke to lead the fed for another four years, president obama is trying to reassure the world and wall street that the u.s. will be sticking with this approach. the markets like the news. >> he's reasonable doubt really done a great job keeping the market performing. there's no question about it. >> reporter: the senate is expected to reconfirm bernanke but he has his critics who say he may have saved wall street but not millions who lost their homes to foreclosure. >> our objective remains con substantial, to restore a more stable, financial and economic environment in which opportunity can again flourish. >> reporter: that won't be easy. bernanke will have to fight inflation and unemployment. 10% of americans are expected to be out of work by the end of the year. alexis christoforous, cbs news, wall street. >> let's check the numbers on wall street. this dow, nasdaq and s&p are up across the board.

maryland wants another slice of the stimulus pie. the state requested $360 million in federal funding to improve marc rail service and speed up amtrak . trns inia asked for $75 million for similar rail work. sky 9 was over the scene of a crash involves a u.s. park police officer along the baltimore-washington parkway this morning. the roads are now reopened, but at 8:00 this morning the southbound lanes of the parkway were closed near route 197. a driver, struck a park park police officer who was conducting a traffic stop alongside of the road. his injuries are not life- threatening and officials are investigating what happened. sky 9 was over the scene of a sinclair elementary school in manassas. police say they have arrested and charged six african- american students with vandalism. the students are accused of drawing the letters kkk along with a swastika on school

property. work could begin by next month on a wal-mart supercenter near an historic civil war battlefield. the board of supervisors agreed tt the plan this intevovote was lefield. that's where generals lieu less seize bas. grant and robert e. lee t fothfors inti in lettba. they called it hallowed ground. they pointed out the ttarea had two strip ll e and fast food restaurant and it will be bring jobs to the area. governor o'malley wants the state's budget cuts to -- and says they could affect its response to an h1n1 flu outbreak. here in the washington area, the government wants construction on a flu vaccine sped up by a month. health and human services secretary believes the virus could peak in the early fall.

the cdc deputy director believes that the spread of the flu will be worse among children. >> when school starts again, there will be the likelihood that those folks that are most likely to get h1n1 the school- age population will be back together and you will start to see an increase. >> reporter: the secretary believes closing schools pre- emptively would not be the answer to stopping a flu outbreak. two northern virginia congressman are holding meetings today and you are vine ited. the first begins at 1:30. it is hosted by gerry connolly and it will be at the green spring retire community in springfield. and then tonight, congressman jim moran and dr. howard dean will lead another meeting at 7 p.m. at south lakes high school in reston. a zoning dispute in poolesville is pitting neighbor

against neighbor. it all started when the couple who live on the left side of a pipe stem driveway received permission from the town to open up optometry offices in their home. their neighbors, don and linda barnes say the tail part of the business, selling contact lenses is flooding the street with too many cars. >> made it clear to them i did not want their business customers coming down a driveway. it would impact the sellability of our house, increase our risk and liability to accidents, et cetera. >> reporter: the barnes say it is against zoning rules for the neighbors to operate a retail business out of their home and a judge decided -- sided with the barnes but the town is appealing the case. the president is calling for the creation of a special unit of terror investigators based out of the fbi. the move comes as the cia faces

more questions over questionable interrogation techniques, detailed in the report made public yesterday. samantha hayes reports. president obama in a departure from the bush years is calling for a new interrogation group to be based out of the fbi. >> we will bring together the different elements of the intelligence community too get the best intelligence possible based on scientifically proven methods and consistent with army field manual. >> reporter: the new arrangement brings to an end in the cia's key role in interrogating high-level detainees. the change is receiving harsh criticism from a top lawmaker on the senate intelligence committee 0 who calls the move a bizarre vote of no confidence in the director of the cia. >> the cia is obviously -- has obviously an important role to play as it relates to interrogation. >> reporter: the president's decision came on monday amid

release of a 2004 report from the cia inspector general, detailing questionable cia interrogation techniques used after 9/11. according to the report, interrogators scared detainees with a gun and electric drill and threatened to kill family members. francis, a former homeland security security adviser to president bush. >> i don't think there is anybody in any administration that would defend interrogators who went beyond what was legally authorized. >> attorney general eric holder has called for an investigation to determine whether those cia tactics were illegal, but stopped short of saying that any prosecution would be likely in washington, i'm samantha hayes. still to come when 9 news now continues, we have a warning for users of a popular over-the-counter drug that could cause severe liver damage and why charges could be filed against michael jackson's doctor. we'll be right back.

the results are in from a food and drug administration investigation. the only government approved over-the-counter weight loss aid. the government says it received 30 reports of liver damage from people taking alli or the prescription strength version. both drugs block fat absorption in the intestine and

gastroenterologist says that could contribute to liver disease which is already more common in overweight people. >> well, these drugs don't just block the good fat. they indiscriminately block fat absorption. the bad and good fat the essential fatty acids and they are called essential for a reason. >> glaxosmithkline, maker of alli says its safe has been shown in 30,000 patients. the los angeles coroner ruled that michael jackson's death a homicide according to the associated press. newly released court documents show the pop star was given a mixture of drugs were before he died in june. >> reporter: jack yak was having so much trouble sleeping the day of his death his doctor gave him several doses of drugs. that's according to a los angeles police department search warrant.

the newly released document shows his personal physician, dr. conrad murray told investigators he gave jackson doses of valium and other medications throughout the night in an intravenous drip because the 50-year-old entertainer could not fall asleep. when he was still awake at 10:30 in the morning he gave him propofol normally used for surgery in hospitals. he said that jackson repeatedly demanded it and feared the pop star was becoming addicted to it. he said after he administered it the fell asleep and he stepped away two minutes and when he returned jackson had stopped breathing. he had been monitoring him with a pulse oximeter that was keeping track of his pulse and oxygen levels they found prescriptions from three doctors on jackson's bedside

table. most to be used for insomnia. a law enforcement official tells the associated press the l.a. coroner ruled his death a homicide. dr. murray has been keeping a low profile. putting a message out on youtube thanking his supporters and putting his trust in god. in a statement, the jackson family would only say they look forward to the day when justice can be served. new controversy concerning convicted ponzi schemer bernard madoff. does he have cancer as the new york post and "washington post" are reporting or is the he in good health. the new york post says that madoff has been telling other inmates he does does not have long to live. madoff was sentenced to 150 years behind bars. still to come on 9 news now, the cash for clunkers program was a big hit. now there's a new program in the works to get new energy efficient appliances in to homes across the country.

and kim has our forecast. >> good afternoon, j.c. i will let you know how long the beautiful weather will stick around and i'm keeping an eye on the tropics. show you the allergy update. so far the main things we have been dealing with mold and also some of the weeds are in the moderate category. ragweed is one of them. back on the other side of the brk. u are e watching 9 news now. g

ic get ready for another tax incentive from the federal government. this is for big appliances. it is all part of the economic stimulus plan. the government will offer rebates to people who buy energy efficient items and the rebates will range from $50 to $200, depending on what you buy. shoppers, like carolyn brown say it sounds good. she is interested in a new washing machine. >> the cheapest ones i have been running in to are 400, $450. that's brand new. 200 there's will cut it in half. >> the rebate plan is in the planning stages right now but should be available later this year. nasa will try again

overnight to get the space shuttle discovery in to orbit. the launch planned for early this morning was scrubbed with just minutes left to go. a lightning strike five miles was the deciding factor. nasa will try tomorrow morning at 1:10. springfield, virginia native pat forester is actually a part of that crew. >> south korea is joining the space race. this morning it launched its first rocket from its territory in to orbit. south korea's calling this a partial success. the rocket went normally, but its satellite payload failed to enter the direct orbit. >> oh, man. >> unfortunate. >> that's a bummer. >> but kind of neat. good afternoon. >> supposed to be a nice, warm day. >> warm day and low humidity. >> that's good. >> doesn't get much better.

hey, everybody. great to see you at 12:18. i'm here to help you with the weather forecast and letting you know you can follow the weather the next couple of days. on the week we will be heading in to unsettled times. look outside and show you the sateite radar sa. radar loop. no trouble. da to wall sunshine. i was just on the weather odgo l alrigood outside. all right. we will take a step toward to the 90s. close to it today but without all the summertime humidity not too bad. a looks at the numbers. 82. 81 gaithersburg. 80 annapolis. western suburbs, high there and hello. 70s in the eastern panhandle of west virginia. that's the case as we head out to western maryland. look at the time line in the title. this is microcast. we help to give you the forecast down to your neighborhood and it will show you the weather forecast the next couple of days. tomorrow especially and then as we head to thursday you will notice something from the north

and west. our clouds will be thickening up and also out to the ocean are clouds will be thickening up. we are calling it the squeeze play. we will watch the nice weather. squeeze out of the picture and replace the sunshine with rain drops probably by friday and in to saturday. tomorrow, though, ahead of that little system from the west. it will get hot. this means lower 90s in our neck of the woods, around 93 and then prance a late-day thunderstorm, especially clouds to the northern suburbs on thursday. so, we have some time between now and then. we are safely away from this batch of moisture in the ocean. it will be a front from the north and west. we will be watching some interesting stuff going on in the tropics. about 200 miles northeast of the leeward islands, we have tropical waves but forecasters at the tropical prediction center think over the next 24 to 36 hours we could see this grow in to a tropical storm. it gets the name of danny if it

does. we will watch how it may impact our weather. in the time being high pressure is in charge of the forecast and there's the front from the north and west. that will be sneaking down to deliver us perhaps late-day storms on thursday and certainly on friday. of course the redskins are at home again. 72 tonight. tomorrow a trip to the 90 again. the next seven. here we go. friday's pretty wet day. saturday in between systems and then another round of thunderstorms and showers sunday afternoon and in to early monday. and the latest computer guidance shows next week we could be flirting with autumn like weather. that will be a nice change of pace. we're not done with this show. we need you to stay with us. we'll be right back on the other side of this break. you are watching 9 news now. just as we promise 100% fresh produce...

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well and land. >> 1899 per person. now, you get your flight, your airfare, and what else do you get? >> you have international airfare from i don't know or dulles, internal flights. you have your transfers, you have four nights in capetown with a choice of hotels staying at the president hotel, looking out on bantry bay or the victorian where the shops and restaurants are. luxury hotels. breakfast every day and breakfast in south africa, the standards in south africa are so high you get a lovely breakfast. it will hold you until 5:00 in the afternoon. >> and then a chance to go on is a farry. >> in capetown you have four days to see the magnificent sites the history, the culture, the mountains. you can be busy or relaxed and then fly up and go on is a farry and safari you have a choice of lodges, as well.

i have you have ivory tree lodge, kazuka tree lodge. all of these choices. are in nonmalaria areas. you don't need malaria tablets. you don't need a visa if you are an american citizen. once you get on board your vacation begins. you have extra seats, room between each seat in economy. you have complimentary south african wines. you have your meals, a great crew and you are in cape town by lunchtime the next day. >> you can go shopping. >> you can shop because of the rand against the dollar it is based on the dollars to you can wine, dine and shop. we have other specials, south africa in style which is 1999, which includes hotel and spa and a winter style which is a special for december 1 to 15 and it is with lion sands.

so if you do your home work you will know these are unbelievable packages. >> the one you were telling me about, the nine day package, the price that is 1899. you need to book that by december 15th. >> right. but breaking news. >> january, february and march, 1999. so we have valentine's day, spring break. >> okay. >> i'm ready to go. thanks for joining us. come back at 5:00 cncn ów