>> residents woke up to the sound of gunfire this morning. their street surrounded by yellow tape and police officers. >> one of those things you don't think would happen this close to you and when it does, it's really shocking. >> a witness who does not want to show his face on camera says he heard the gun shots and saw a car drive off. >> i woke up, heard three shots go off. first one went off and two seconds later, two consecutive shots went off. i saw a car drive away and there was a door open with the person's body. >> police say neighbors called 911 around 7:30 this morning in the 8400 block near richmond highway and sacramento drive in mount vernon. police say the woman was shot multiple times in a parked car. mount vernon sense of safety shattered by the discovery of three deaths in the last week. two of them murders. the deaths happened within a few miles of each other, but police say they are not related. >> they are homicides in

fairfax county are so low that any homicide is troubling to us. >> last thursday, police found a man dead in a small pond. police don't suspect foul play. the next day, police say a gang related beating took the life of a teenage boy. police say 16-year-old christian perez died of blunt force trauma to the head and today, a woman shot to death in her car. >> kind of makes you wonder why it's happening so recently and all in this area. >> witnesses say the woman was shot in the face several times. and now police say it could take several days before they identify her. police now are searching for a gold car with a spoiler in the back. in mount vernon, 9news now. >> next at 6:00, a fairfax county sheriff deputy finds himself on the other side of the law tonight. deputies arrested james lee hines. he is accused of engaging in inappropriate contact with a female prisoner. they say it happened when hines

was on duty guarding a 25-year- old female prisoner at a local hospital. the pair allegedly engaged in sex acts at the hospital. hines was with the department for two years. several questions tonight surrounding a violent road rage incident that ended with a driver firing a semi-automatic weapon. peggy fox joins us live in woodbridge with the latest. peg. >> lesli, imagine you're driving in i-95 traffic. you see a guy pull over, get out of his car, and start firing. that's what happened yesterday. and to make things worse, 25- year-old gabriel fired his handgun with his two-year-old daughter sitting there in his jaguar. police say he fired 13 rounds at a dump truck driven by 44- year-old james bringom. the truck hit the jaguar and the road rage escalated. >> the guy in the jaguar may

have been an idiot. you don't do that with kids in the car. >> 13 rounds in traffic at a moving vehicle, the fact that nobody was struck, no houses, no vehicles, is crazy. >> now his charges include attempted homicide and child endangerment. the dump truck driver is charged with reckless driving, he may face more charges. we do know that he hit the other car, what we don't know is whether or not that was intentional. reporting live in woodbridge, peggy fox, 9news now. >> all right, delaware pediatrician accused of molesting at least 100 of his young patients made his first court appearance today. attorneys pleaded not guilty and the doctor was ordered held on $3.7 million cash bond. observers in court included parents of former patients who are not among the doctors alleged victims. >> the doctor was a very good friend of ours. we always trusted him immensely. we never could imagine in our wildest dreams he would do

something like that. >> bradley's attorney says the accused pediatrician wants a jury trial and that is expected to happen later this year. the office has been shut down. police in front royal are investigating a bizarre case of animal cruelty. officers arrested charles woodson for skinning a guine pig. he killed the animal humanely and at worst, he is only guilty of a hunting violation. he could face up to a year in jail and a $2500 fine if convicted. now an update on a frightening dog attack in dc. a 12-year-old girl is recovering after a pit bull bit her in the face. she suffered minor lacerations and a puncture wound to her cheek. police say it happened last night in the 400 block of atlantic street southeast. officials caught the dog a few hours later and sited the owner for the attack. metro has a new device that

should be extremely helpful. police officers showed off their emergency carts that will run along metro rail tracks and allow first responders to get to the scene quickly. transport people from an incident area. all right, here's the good news, test scores for dc students are up, the bad newses, not good enough. plus, a look at a new pill that promises the effects of exercise without breaking a sweat. and topper. >> very nice evening. temperatures are in the 60s. wind still a factor. we'll take you out with the allergy update. if you have been sneezing, a lot of people have. this is the reason why. trees are high, grasses are low, if you go to our website at wusa9.com. click on the weather tab and follow the drop down menu, you'll get the break down. we'll break down the next seven days after this.

no surprise here. delays on a wednesday night commute. >> we are seeing beautiful weather out there, but traffic wise, not so pretty. especially if you are on the inner loop, delays start at 66, continues past american legion, all the way to the spur at inner loop delays, also again at college park. all the way to route 50 without any incidents or accidents right now. a lot of volume this tuesday night. let's switch over to our real time maps. we are tracking an accident here in rockville. this is actually at falls grove drive and west montgomery avenue blocking two right lanes here for drivers. crews are on scene trying to clear this up. in virginia, good evening to you if you are taking this route home. you are going to be factoring in 10, 15 minute extra minutes

to get through this stretch. as you can see, still lots of cars moving through this area and finally, if you are hopping on public transit tonight and metro, not giving you any problems, but right now, dealing with minor delays on the line, about 15 to 20 minutes late. that's a check of your traffic. lesli, back to you. >> by the way, i think i screwed both of us up. it is actually wednesday. >> listen, i don't want to push us even further away from the weekend. we want to stay right where we are. all right. your days of sweating on the treadmills to lose weight could be over. scientists at the university of texas in houston are working on a so-called exercise pill. they say they found two ways to trick the muscle using a chemical and an energy sensor. so far, they have tried the pill on mice, but they say it works and the mice lost weight. they say the pill does not provide the physical benefits of actual exercise. well talk about getting the

surprise of your life. >> please give it up for isea west of the high school. >> why these high school seniors are jumping for joy after the break. but first, here's a preview of tonight's cbs evening news. tempers flair and lines are crossed as vandals make threats against those who voted for the healthcare bill. plus, what will healthcare reform mean for seniors in a special users guide for the cbs evening news? gñññññ [ crowd cheering ]

male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪

turning to healthcare reform, some republicans say they aren't going down without a fight to stop the new healthcare legislation. the senate is working on a companion bill that will correct perceived laws in the one president obama signed into law yesterday. if the gop succeeds in changing one word of that measure, the house would have to start the whole process over again. gop senators proposed several provisions that bans coverage

for viagra for sex offenders. how serious could they be? offering an amendment dealing with rapists? >> today the president signed an executive order to make sure no federal funds can fund elected abortions. dc students while at the bottom in reading and math scores are showing the most improvement across the country. that's according to a national report that measures the impact of the no child left behind law. bruce johnson has a report in far southwest dc. >> so all of your supporting senators, tell me what they are going to support? >> while the students are stuck at a basic level of reading in 4th and 8th grades, there is reason to celebrate on mlk avenue in far southwest. >> proof is in the footing. test scores are going up and there's gold standard of tests both in reading and in path.

>> yes, we are. >> the mayor and school chancellor were siting the reforms as reason for fourth grade reading scores improving by 5%. that still puts dc public ander students at or near the bottom. but it's a surge for dc students and the largest increase nationwide. >> a lot of the reading interventions and strategies that we have been placed with -- the two-hour literacy. >> it's easy to understand the improvements. first year principal, jamal says he has every resource he needs when it comes to reaching his students. >> lots of mental health support for our kids. we have a full-time social worker. we have a full-time counselor. >> the staff contributes $5 each to a fund that goes to a different needy student family each week. not that long ago, city teachers had few resources that went into their own pockets to

buy needed books and supplies. >> so, good things happening inside, but the two schools are blue senior high school and a lot of the parents say they aren't sending their kids to those two schools. they want other options. this is bruce johnson for 9news now. >> bruce tells us that dc fourth graders reading scores went from 197 in 2007 to 202 in 2009. maryland scores went from 225 to 226. virginia scores were unchanged at 227. nine dc high school students have just received the gift of a lifetime. full four-year scholarships to george washington university worth $200,000 each. the school is doled out awards to 125 kids over the last 21 years. they are the best and brightest in dc selected because of their gpa's, sat scores and their leadership skills. >> you know, it's a real symbol of our commitment to the

community that we are so much a part of. >> i have been eyeing this since 11th grade. i have been working really hard, filling out applications, making sure i do the things i do to succeed. >> and it paid off. past scholarship winners are working in many different fields including medicine, law, and the performing arts. president obama declared the snowstorms a major disaster in dc, allowing the district to receive federal funding. the money will go to private organizations. the president declared the snowstorm in december as a major disaster for virginia, maryland, and the district. yup. those were duesies. >> they sure were, but we are moving on. >> 68 today, despite the wind, a very nice day and looking at clouds tomorrow, lesli. we'll stay dry tomorrow and then we have to locate the umbrella. maybe the jacket, too. a chilly rain headed our way. the next three days right out

of the gate. clouds on the increase tomorrow. again, it stays dry. temperatures upper 60s december piet the clouds. a warm breeze, and then rain and showers thursday night, early on friday. looks like a quick hitter. gets out of here friday morning, but back in the mid 50s on friday. even with sunshine on saturday, we are in the upper 50s. okay, viewer pick. brian sent this. brian works here. he was near the appalachian trail, about 2800 feet and there were still patches of snow around the appalachian trail, kind of cool. even though it was 75 degrees when he was hiking. he actually made that snow man. the scale is only about that big, but pretty cool having snow still around after temperatures in the 70s and we are in mid march. tonight, partly cloudy and chilly. winds will become light. they will diminish. temperatures are still very nice. these temperatures are about 7 degrees above average for this

time of year. 65 in arlington, fairfax, reston, 66 in sterling and mid 60s out in leesburg. now, lows tonight primarily in the 40s. some folks will be in the upper 30s, but primarily 40s. 40 in gaithersburg, mid 40s downtown. 43 over at andrews and mid 40s as you go south on 95. 42 in fairfax. 40 manassas. maybe a 39 out in leesburg. now, thursday morning, increase in clouds, but it stays dry. breezy and cool. 40s and 50s. winds turn out of the south at 10 to 15. and then by afternoon, the winds pick up once again. it will be a warm wind out of the southwest at 10 to 20. we stay dry. high temperatures, 65 to 70. despite the winds, that's a good day, actually. showers will hold off here until thursday night. i think if you are west of comperland, you will see showers before the end of

tomorrow. satellite picture, radar combined, the storm is coming out of the rockies. storm is just pushing eastward, big thunderstorms through kansas city, big thunderstorms from oklahoma city back toward dallas and right now, high clouds pushing our way. we'll have high clouds tonight. we'll call it partly cloudy tonight. all right, we'll do the zone forecast, all six zones on our website at wusa9.com. 60 in cumberland. the rest of us have clouds, but mild. 71 in culpeper. 68 in manassas and downtown, we are talking upper 60s. flirting with 70 down toward andrews and toward la plata. st. mary city will be very near 70 degrees. next seven days, upper 60s thursday, breezy, there's your rain and showers thursday night and primarily friday morning. we are back in the 50s though on friday with sunshine, we are back in the 50s on saturday. sunday, another system comes through here, kind of a weak

system. rain and showers sunday afternoon, lingering showers monday and then we rebound very nicely, lesli, because we are in the mid 60s on tuesday and back to 70 next wednesday. >> we are getting into april, which means we are getting out of that transition. >> yes. we'll take it. >> hey, our sports director is down at the verison center for the showdown with their arch enemy, the penguins, brett. >> it's a good one. it's our first post olympic showdown between alex ovechkin and sidney crosby. will alex get payback on his home ice tonight? we'll get you ready for the game plus the latest on the steroid controversy. 9sports live from the phone booth right after this.

it's time for 9sports with brett haber, the best sports in town. >> and welcome back to verison center. when you won the last two mvp

awards, you aught to be considered the best player in hockey, but in the last 12 months, sidney crosby has won an olympic gold medal and a stanley cup, two things alex does not have and we wonder if perhaps the tide in that argument might be turning in sidney's favor. sara walsh has the latest as the two renew their rivalries tonight. >> hockey playoffs are more than three weeks away, but if there's an opponent that can bring an atmosphere, it's the penguins. >> i would be so glad to be in the game. >> it's special to play against them. they are a great team and it's great to see where you are at. >> schedule shows the caps against the penguins tonight. everyone knows that matchup can be broken down even further because ovechkin versus crosby. >> almost like a game within a game. these guys going at it all the time and each one wants to prove they are the better guy,

the better player. >> everybody respect each other over the ice. you know, we play for different teams. >> how is this for upping the rivalry anti, ovechkin and sidney are tied for 45 goals a piece, but not everyone wants to see the league's top two guys playing their best. >> hopefully alex is the only one that has his a game, but i think it's great for the game and you know, fans want to see them compete against each other and it's a little more than just the teams. >> with the capitals. sara walsh, 9sports now. >> tonight's showdown with crosby and the penguins will be played against the backdrop of that steroids controversy that slapped the capitals in the face yesterday after spending monday talking to investigators to their connection to douglas nagel. today, the coaches and players

talked to the media. i talked with bruce last hour and asked how nagel could have had an office in the same building with a sign on the door saying capitals chiropractor without the team knowing about it. >> i don't know what to think. if you look under capitals chiropractors, there's three names and i don't think any of them are guys that we pay money to be the capitals chiropractors. i don't get it. i don't know why it wasn't taken down. i don't know why we didn't address it, but we had nothing to do with it. >> by the way, brooks like will not go for the caps tonight. the centerman got busted up when a puck hit him in the face yesterday. stitches for him. no broken bones, but apparently he is a swollen mess and needs to rest a little bit. the wizards almost snapped their 11 game losing streak last night. they took charlotte to overtime, perhaps, if andre played more than the first seven minutes, they may have won. but apparently andre did not

want to play. andre got subbed out after seven minutes and when the head coach went to talk to him about playing a little better defense, he became defiant and would not listen to the coach. so flip refused to put him back in the game. and after the game was over, the coach went mid evil on his starting center. >> we had coaches go three different times. 15 years, never seen anything like it. he could be mad at me or whatever, but you never leave your teammates hanging out to dry like that no matter what. when a coach wants to teach you something and you think you are above that because you played 16 games. that's ridiculous. i'm the most disappointed i have been in 16 years of a player. >> that is a relationship that is not in good shape. reportedly, they had a heated exchange after the game last night, although the post is reporting that he will not be suspended when the wizards play indiana tonight.

baseball news, steven strasburg pitched for the first time. struck out nine. over 4 1/3. by the way, the nationals resigning mike mcdougal. mike shanahan said that he totally disagrees with albert hainesworth decision to skip otc's. meanwhile, the skins announcing the contrary to rumors, training camp will not return to carlyle, pennsylvania, it will be at redskins park for the ninth year in a row. that is the story from here. the caps have taken the ice for warmup, getting ready for sidney and the penguins. going to be a good one. we'll have highlights at 11:00. we are live at the phone booth. >> all right, thanks for that, brett. he gets to be there to watch that smackdown at least for a little bit. you know it's going to be a great game. >> you are dry coming home from the game and mild. get ready for rain tomorrow night. >> that sounds good. that's it for 9news