from the first station with news in high definition this is 9 news now. >> thanks for joining us. i'm jc hayward. has it has been 52 days since the explosion that started the massive oil leak in the gulf of mexico and today relatives of the 11 men presumed dead from that disaster will meet with president obama at the white

house. kristin fisher has a preview of the meeting from captiol hill. >> in just about an hour and a half, at 1:30 this afternoon, the president will be meeting with the families of those 11 workers that were killed on the rig back in april. first and foremost, the president will be offering condolences to those families for their losses, but yesterday robert gibbs said the president wants to hear the family's thoughts on those safety conditions and on the possible changes that the government could make to ensure that future deep water oil drilling is safe. right now b.p. is capturing 630,000-gallons of oil through the containment system in the gulf but the scene says that system is quickly reaching its capacity and it is bringing in additional resources that could double the amount by next week. >> the create will be created for long-term containment. we will create a riser pipe that is anchored to the bottom with a flexible hose that comes to the surface so there is more maneuvering for ships on top and larger ships to with stand

heavier weather as we move to the hurricane season. >> the president has announced plans to return to the gulf coast this week. this will be his fourth trip since the oil spill started in april. he will be in three of the four states affected by the disaster. but again today it is going to be all about those families 0, and the 11 victims i killed in the rig last april. kristin fisher, 9 news now. the federal government has given b.p. until tomorrow to come up with a contingency plan to contain that oil if the current operations fail. pentagon officials are trying to figure out if there have been serious mixups at arlington national cemetery. it is believed poor management and recordkeeping have led to some of the dead being buried in the wrong graves. the famous military seminary is the resting place of some 300,000 servicemen and servicewomen.

the revelations come just as the cemetery superintendent announced his retirement. a private memorial service was held this morning for the police officer killed at the holocaust memorial museum. special police officer stephen johns was shot and killed by an avowed racist one year ago today. to honor his memory, the museum has established a summer youth leadership program. >> i think this brutal incident certainly demonstrates that there's a lot of hate in our world, and that what the museum was created to do, which is to confront hate and to confront people who are indifferent to hate, is that our work is more urgently needed than ever before. >> reporter: the museum opened 30 minutes later today so johns ' co-workers could attend the service. right now police in prince georges county are piecing together a shooting that sent three people to the hospital. this happened just after 3:00 this morning along marcy avenue near glass manor elementary

school in oxon hill. the shooting appears to be a drive by. one of the victims was shot in the head, and that victim is listed in critical condition. the other two victims did not suffer life-threatening injuries injuries. in the district police are looking for a gunman. they say he shot at least two people in a drug deal which turned violent. three people were shot last night along 8th street near v street in northwest washington. investigators say that a man shot two people who were selling drugs they are now dealing with life-threatening injuries. another man is listed in serious condition. some of the families of the victims killed in the metro rail crash last year are expressing anger at metro transit. family members want to know why no one told them about a planned memorial. the crash on the red line left nine people dead and 80

injured. the families say they found out about the june 22nd service at the fort totten station from a reporter. >> i think we should have been contacted months in advance. i think we should have been able to have a say in this, not them dictating what they want us to do. >> they want us to come and give us a wreath over at fort totten, okay. and take us out to a luncheon. >> metro says the families will definitely be invited but more planning is still underway. a dog on the loose caused serious traffic tieups on the baltimore-washington parkway this morning. these pictures might be unsettling for some. sky nine was over the parkway near good luck road when a driver actually struck the dog before the dog ran off. well, the dog didn't appear to be seriously injured. u.s. park police are still searching for the dog right now. nearly 400 people have been wrongfully convicted of drunk

driving because of faulty breathalyzers. half were sentenced to jail. dc's attorney general said police improperly calibrated the machines to show the driver's alcohol content to be 20% higher than it really was. the city has since replaced the machines and is developing stricter standards for testing their accuracy. maryland finally has an order to buy slot machines. more than 1,000 machines will be bought and used at a planned casino. it is cost $49 million. maryland controller voted against that contract. he wants to know why officials are asking for the approval of such a large amount of money with so little time for review. the facility in perryville, cecil county, should open this fall. we have good news for general motors employees and also customers. the auto giant has decided to

keep open about 900 dealerships across the country that it planned to close earlier. general motors dealers say company executives realized that down sizing dealerships to save money was not working. the change of mind also saves thousands of jobs across the country. customers like judy are certainly elated. >> well, i'm tickled to death they are getting their dealership back. this is close to where i live and, you know, i'm not 16 years old anymore. so it's easier for me to get here. >> reporter: general motors will have 5,000 u.s. dealers next month. the art of bee keeping is saul abuzz in our area. we will tell you why it is becoming a part of a growing movement. but first, gnu new video released today shows that murder suspect joran van der sloot and his alleged victim just minutes before she died.

there are new charges against joran van der sloot. the fbi was involved in an investigation against him for the murder of natalie holloway at the seem time that he allegedly killed another young woman in peru. ran doll pinkston reports, the prosecutors here in the united states are building their case against him. >> reporter: newly released video from a casino shows joran

van der sloot first meeting the young woman he confessed to killing. police say they have so much evidence against the dutchman in stephanie flores murder they decided to not walk him through the crime scene before they file formal charges. the 22-year-old told investigators he smashed flores ' face and strangled her inside of a hotel room but police don't necessarily believe the story about flores looking up the natalie holloway case on his laptop while he went for coffee. a few weeks earlier, the fbi was in aruba closing in on joran van der sloot in natalie high school low way's disappearance. he offered to tell the family where he buried her body in exchange for $250,000. >> they have a meeting in a hotel room. they have her all wired up and get a subpoena, a warrant to tape. >> reporter: joran van der sloot got $25,000 as a down payment, but no body was found, and no arrest was made. the fbi says the case was not

sufficiently developed to bring charges prior to the time joran van der sloot left aruba. >> you have a law where you can hold him on 180 days without charging him. he should have been locked up by arue ban authorities at that point. >> reporter: instead he made his way to peru and five days to the day holloway was last seen another woman lost her life. randall pinkston, cbs news. >> the senior official says there was no indication that joran van der sloot would commit a crime. adding that the united states had no authority to stop him from leaving aruba since he is not an american citizen. coming up next, howard with our forecast. a beautiful afternoon. it is pet line thursday. got some great little bunnies that we will show you. and i'm looking at the weekend. already breaking out the beach and boating forecast. 9 news now at noon will return after this.

9 news now continues with a commuter alert and a change for everyone who drives in to town on the 14th street bridge because beginning next week, a the construction pattern will change. it's the second phase of the rehab work on the span. the district department of transportation's director dave klein explained it yesterday. he says it will involve one lane being closed and the shifting of lanes. >> northbound drivers will encounter an island of construction on the second from right lane as they approach the potomac river. we will continue to maintain all four travel lanes, but as you can see from the picture, the traffic will be channeled around the barrier separated islands of construction. >> reporter: if the weather cooperates, ddot says lane shift should be in place for the rush hour on monday morning. a group of fairfax county students is getting a chance to send ideas on how to stop the

oil spill in the gulf directly to british petroleum. 4th grade students in alexandria wanted to help. after seeing pictures of birds covered in oil from the spill. so their teacher encouraged them to write letters directly to b.p. and it appears the oil spill is teaching the youngsters something they cannot learn from a book. >> i think becoming citizens that are willing to make a difference and want to make a difference is edge treatmently important. one of the biggest parts of being in school is learning how to be a good citizen and role model for others. >> reporter: the teacher says that british petroleum told her that they would accept the students letter but they needed to be e-mailed and not mailed. she's planning to do both. the oil spill is having a positive affect for east coast resort communities. tourism officials say they are seeing a boost in travelers on the delmarva and outer banks,

and it appears that people are afraid to go to the gulf coast. bookings at rehoboth beach are up 20% compared to last year. our coverage of the story continues on our website at wusa9.com. get a link to watch the b.p. spill camera live and learn more about the government's response. hobby is creating a buzz in the district. urban nature lovers helping to save the honey bee population in their own backyard. karen shows us how it is catching on in our region. >> a typical city backyard with a garden. >> the more you are here the more you see. >> reporter: laura elkins is one of the community urban beekeepers here in washington, d.c. helping the flight of the bee and reaping the steep rewards from their backyard and rooftop. >> you are going to help me grab these. >> reporter: for scientists

studying a dwindling honey bee population it is a welcome trend. >> bees are dependent on us right now because they don't do well in the wild thanks to a number of diseases. so whenever people get involved with bee keeping it helps to sustain the population. >> james barrett set up hives on the roof of the westin hotel this spring. >> with the decline i have family and friends in the area that are farmers and you need bees because the more bees you have the more produce you produce. >> reporter: for now it is all hiving and thriving. >> i figure at peak, within the next month or so there will be 20 to 30,000 through there. >> reporter: thousands of bees have caused a buzz among neighbors but experts say it is safe. >> bees are hesitant to sting and they are used to people. they have been do midwestty indicated for thousands of years. >> reporter: new york and chicago are among other big

cities that allow bee keeping and he says there are no complaints at four seasons. >> no one has made any notion to me that they are upset and i try to do the good will thing and hand out a little honey or hand cream. >> the honey bee population in the united states has been cut in half over the last 50 years. bees are responsible for 30% of food in the american diet including oranges, apples and cherries. let's look at the weather forecast. >> a beautiful day out there. we got a little bit of fog we had earlier. first early this morning and the humidity levels have fallen off. we are in for a nice warm day. another good day for you tomorrow. and over the weekend is when things get hot and sticky once again. the forecast on this fine thursday afternoon. by the way, the allergy update was washed out due to showers yesterday. if my throat and nose are a barometer, the mold spores are in the moderate category.

tomorrow 84 and then hot, little sticky other on saturday. highs around 90-degree mark. the forecast first for this afternoon, mostly sunny and breezy and warm. air quality is code green and highs in the upper 80s. clear and pleasant tonight. one or two spots may see a patch of fog if the winds die down. if they don't we with won't get the fog. had little showers early this morning. those quickly raced to the north. to the south and east and around here a lot of sunshine. a very comfortable day. the dew points have dropped off with higher humidity here. the higher dew points to norfolk but ours are in the 50s and with the sunshine things are warmed up a lot. already 86 at reagan national. 88 fredericksburg. manassas is 82.

83 winchester. cumberland you had fog this morning. you are 81. same with gaithersburg. 85 pax river and jan in reedville said she was in the upper 80s and lower 80s from easton and cambridge. locally, ft. belvoir 85. 87 brandywine and 83 in rockville and reston and sterling. great falls 84 and 83 from springfield. officially, though, it is reagan national that counts. a couple of clouds, west southwest winds at 14 and the dew point is 57 for the humidity 37%. what we are watching the next couple of days is the storms in the middle of the country. big ones here and as these move east they will fizzle a little bit but the pattern for unsettled weather and moisture to our west is working its way east will be the case. we have high pressure built in. look at the clearing, indiana, ohio to us in the mid-atlantic. giving us a great afternoon. the secondary front is helping to reinforce the drier air that

is coming through now and that will be the case. as far as lows tonight in the low 60s with some 50s north and west. and the beach and boating forecast already looking to the weekend on the bay, saturday mid 80s. waves one to two feet and waves southerly and they turn westerly on sunday with a chance of thunderstorms in the mid-80s. on the beach, by the way the blue numbers are the water temperatures. rehoboth 78. 855 on saturday. and mid to upper 80s and southwest winds at ten. the seven-day forecast, looking pretty nice here. upper 80s today. 84 tomorrow. we have celebrate fairfax this weekend. it will be hot, sticky. could be a couple of storms on sunday as we get to 90. early next week we are drying out. temperatures will be dropping in to the lower and middle 80s. yeah, hot and humid weekend ahead. it is thursday at noon. pet line 9, mary ellen white house from bunny lou adoptions from haymarket, virginia is

here with us. and you have some babies. >> yeah. they came in. mom came in from the dc shelter. she had been picked up as a stray and two days after she arrived to us she gave us babies. they are six weeks old and won't be long until they will be spayed or neutered and we are lining up homes for them. >> how old do they have to be before you adopt them out. >> three to four months. as soon as the vet says it is okay to spay and neuter them they will be ready to go. >> any advantage to getting a young rabbit opposed to one that is older? >> actually we truthfully recommend if you are a first timer with rabbits that you don't do a baby. it is like adding a little terrorist in your house. adult rabbits are much better but these are cute. >> how can folks cac you? >> through the mail. maryellen@bunnylou.org. >> or call 703-753-0833.

>> that is on our website at wusa9.com. we'll be right back. if you've got pain?

you need the patch. (announcer) icy hot patches. targeted no-mess relief. icy to dull pain. hot to relax it away. pain's no match for the icy hot patch. we're starting early monday through friday at 4:25. you can get weather, traffic, and the news from andrea, howard and angie. 9 news now begins at 4:25 monday through friday. it was another wonderful night for carrie underwood. she won the best video and performance of the year honors

at the cmt awards last night. lady antebellum won the guest group video award for need you now. keith urban won for best male video of the year. thanks for joining us. come back at 5:00. i'm jc hayward. >> bye-bye.