whether he does, is up to you. good evening. tonight in your only local news at 7:00. jubilation as every hour or so another miner rescued from a

half mile down in chile. right now we are standing by for the 29th of 33 miners to get back to the surface. that narrow rescue tube just arrived at the bottom of the mine and as each miner makes it back above ground, more cheers, and more emotional images like these right at scene. but we're also watching another story closer to home. the resignation of michelle rhee and that's where we begin our coverage of what's in the news right now. >> reporter: i'm bruce johnson in the district. michelle rhee walked out of the may flower hotel surrounded by cameras from all over the country. minutes earlier she announced that she would step down as d.c. chancellor. >> the thought of not being in this role any more is heartbreaking, to put it mildly. but i do know that it is the right thing for the school system, and the right thing, most importantly, for the

children of d.c. >> reporter: it wasn't unexpected. not after vincent gray, the presumptive next mayor defeated her boss, mayor fenty in the democratic primary. >> in short we have agreed together that the best way to keep the reforms going is for this reformer to step aside. >> reporter: gray said reform would continue. to underscore the points he introduced the deputy kiah henderson as the interim chancellor. >> i'm excited where we are and i'm thrilled that management has agreed to stay on to continue this work. i'm tie chandler in north korea. most of the miners had been brought to the surface. they had prepared for the worst but so far there has only been celebration. >> reporter: miner after miner, rescuers keep pulling miracles to the surface. by midday more than half of the 33 trapped men had reached safety, embracing loved ones they hadn't seen for 69 days. after the 17th miner emerged,

the door handle on the phoenix rescue capsule broke. crews spent 20 minutes making repairs and sent it back down the narrow 2,000-foot escape hole to load up the next miner. it is a minor glitch in a remarkably smooth operation. >> all chileans and people around the world have learned a lesson of unit of courage. a lesson of faith. a lesson of hope. >> reporter: so far the miners all appear to be in good health, including the oldest, 63-year-old mario gomez. he hugged his wife and then dropped to his knees in praise. all of the rescues men are being taken to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation. i'm bruce leshan at the chilean embassy where everyone will remain just a little bit nervous until the last of the miners is freed from his underground dungeon. [ chanting ] >> reporter: in bethesda,

chilean americans break into joyous chant outside of restaurant valparaiso. >> it's very wonderful. very incredible. really incredible. we're so excited. >> reporter: last night the athe embassy, there was dancing, celebration, and tears of happiness. and now here is mario sepulveda roaring with wonder at the taste of fresh air. the celebration is quieter now, but passers by still stop to watch as one by one the miners are delivered to freedom. >> it's just amazing. and once again, 28 miners now out of the mine. so far rescuers just sent up number 29. his juan carlos aguilar. he's in the narrow rescue tube as we speak. we are streaming the rescues live at wusa9.com and we'll keep that feed going until the final miner and rescuers return

to the surface. well they say he was well liked by his coworkers. still somebody shot and killed larry hutchins on the job. the 51-year-old father and grandfather was working at the d.c. department of public works and he'd been there for 24 years. but around 6:00 a.m., witnesses say a gunman walked into the dbw parking lot on w. street in northeast and fired 12 rounds at two employees. well that second man is recovering. workers say they have complained about the lack of security following several incidence of violence on the property. >> give us the protection we need. >> federal buildings should have security, why do we have to be second class citizens that work for the district. >> the union is demanding more security at all lots in town. police will be present when the workers go back to work tomorrow. and because employees were sent home there was no trash

collection today. residents will have to wait until next week. a kinsington man was arrested and charged with stabbing three underage university of maryland students and another man in a drunkel brawl on tuesday morning. leonardo ramos who is not a student is charged with attempted murder. today david mitchell asked for an emergency hearing from the liquor board to put the thirsty turtle restaurant out of business. that popular bar on the edge of campus is where the fight that led to the stabbing went down. >> what makes the thirsty turtle worst than any other bar in the area is the demonstrated failure to properly card students and other underage drinkers when they go inside. they're admitted, their money is taken, they are served and in many cases they are overserved. >> the owners of the bar have not responded to our request for an interview. police believe the serial

burglar has witness more than 100 houses. the the most recent last night in vienna. the burglar was able to pry open the lock to the garage and then inside the home all he took was a purse. police say make sure to keep doors and windows locked, in your house and your cars to ensure the burglar can't use your garage door opener to get in. for the first time in more than three years the georgetown branch of the d.c. library will open again on monday. that library was seriously damaged in this massive fire back in april of '07. the new library has better lighting, more space and even an out door reading terrace. a contractor working to remove lead base paint started the fire. let's get outside for the rush. patranya in the traffic center. how is it looking? >> we do have a problem west side of town. this is on 495 due to an accident here. we want to take a live shot and

show you exactly where this is. this is over the american legion bridge on the outer loop. let's go back to the maps. okay, now we have it. this is on the outer loop blocking two left lanes here. outer loop moving in towards virginia from maryland. so this is definitely a good spot to avoid. not sure how serious it is. might be out here for a while. and from the key bridge from arlington to georgetown, no big problems to report. nice weather. but also in d.c. we have transformers 3 movie crew still in town shooting the movie. independent, constitution and pennsylvania, avoid those areas because they will be there until 6:30 in the morning. derek, back to you. and topper is here with your 9 forecast. topper, a little cooler but still nice. >> still nice. you don't need this tonight but i would locate this because you are going to need it first. your forecast for tonight, in good shape. clouds come in late. upper 40s to mid-50s downtown and winds easterly at 10. right now if you head out, not

bad. maybe a light jacket. upper 50s in gaithersburg and frederick and 63 downtown and still 61 in manassas. satellite picture, radar combined, we see the beginning of our storm system taking shape, left hand portion of the screen. there is the rain and showers and thunderstorms in western ohio. we'll come back and give you a time table on that and tell you what it means for your morning and perhaps evening commute. well one of the largest churches in our area is mourning the loss of its pastor tonight. betty peebles was the senior pastor at the jerico city of praise in landover. she and her husband james founded that church back in 1969. she passed away at a baltimore hospital. she was 76 years old. imagine selling everything. your home and your business and getting on a sailboat and taking off. i'm lindsey mastis in the chesapeake bay. i'm going to introduce you to a couple that is doing just that. and facing off.

we'll tell you where you can see the latest gubinatorial debate coming up. woman 1 sync: but i didn't know what he's done since he got fired as governor. man 2: ehrlich's raked in millions. man 3: he worked for a wall street bank that took 10 billion dollars from the bailout. woman 3: 10 billion of our money. woman 4: our money. woman 5 sync: and he worked for another bank that collapsed. man 4: costing tax payers 17 million. anncr: tell bob ehrlich big banks don't need help. middle class marylanders do.

9 news now is pleased to be able to bring you the second televised debate between maryland's gubinatorial candidates and i'll be a questioner. and you can e-mail me any questions for the candidates at mail bag at wusa9.com. well we've all got questions about our past. where we come from and what are our family ties. but now jeanneologists have found a connection that will surprise you. according to ancestry.com,

president barack obama and sara palin are cousins. they're not exactly real close. they are 10th cousins but common ancestor was a 17th century massachusetts settler. it is the second 10th cousin for the opposite side of the aisle. last year he was connected to rush limbaugh. you can fiddle with your family tree at wusa9.com. just click on this story under the water cooler section. but still to come, topper takes a look at just whether the weekend will bring a chill or warm-up and whether the rain will stop. but first the price of a mental health day. the latest on gilbert arenas' choice not to play is up next.

bob ehrlich says he wants to fix maryland. but he increased state spending by record amounts. ehrlich raised $3 billion in taxes and fees... including property taxes... and a 40% increase in college tuition. and now he's made over $1 billion in new promises... with no plans to pay for them... except for cutting education. cuts that will lay off teachers and increase class sizes. that's not a budget. and bob ehrlich's not the kind of leader... we can trust.

back now with breaking news on those miners trapped in chile. miner number 29 of the 33, juan carlos aguilar is now back on the surface receiving a hug from someone there, probably a wife who hasn't seen him in 69 days. again, he is number 29 of the 33 miners trapped. only four more to go. and then a few rescuers and this long or deal will be done. well gilbert arenas seems to be moving all right in today's practice. despite complaining that last night he had a sore knee and had kept him out of the team's first preseason home game against the atlanta hawks. today we are hearing arenas is fine, he just made that story up to give nick young, a

teammate, a chance to be a starter. >> well i was trying to be a good teammate. and i know nick wants to play and since we are guard loaded, i thought i would take the day off and i lied to the coach and told him my knee was sore. >> besides the fact that we still don't know why he would ever admit that this happened, he does say he blew it and doesn't think it would be a big deal, however he has been fined an undisclosed amount by the team. and a lot of folks like to take a mental health day so while he does seem to literally need one sometimes, what about the rest of us? should people use a sick day just because you don't feel like going in? isn't that what your vacation days are for? and if you are caught, what should the punishment be? or maybe you shouldn't be punished at all. people say they are your days, use them how you want to. share your thoughts on that with us here at mcginty's mail bag.

the address is mail bag at wusa9.com. so speaking of taking days off. how often have you wanted to quit your job and go on a never- ending vacation. all of us feel like that sometimes. but one local couple is actually doing it. they sold their business and their home. lindsey mastis caught up with the couple as they moved on board a sailboat. that is where they are planning to spend the next three years of their lives. >> kind of fell in love with the sea. >> i thought he was crazy. >> we started planning it a little over ten years ago. >> then he started making a lot of noise about wanting to buy a boat. >> about three years ago we decided that the time was right. >> if he wanted to do, it we were going to do it and we're doing it. >> reporter: peter and his wife leann have been planning this trip for three years. >> we had a house in old town that we sold. >> and i sold my business. >> reporter: along with the trip is their dog mimi and cat. this is their boat to take out

to practice. but heading for the intercoastal waterway. >> we're going to head for st. thomas and bermuda and through spain and through the mediterranean. >> there are places to avoid. >> somalia and the pirates. >> this is a ditch bag. >> reporter: but the biggest problem is space. >> you are limited as to how much clothing and toiletries you can bring. >> reporter: they can convert salt water to drinking water and produce electricity with solar panels. >> the number one question people ask us is what do you do at night? we keep sailing. >> reporter: they can't wait but say they will miss their friends. >> that's more of what we'll miss than all of the stuff. >> reporter: when the three- year voyage is over. >> wherever the wind takes us, we're going. >> reporter: lindsey mastis, 9

news now. >> they said they have a satellite and can stay in touch via skype. fall means falling leaves and leesberg is expected to clean up after the trees. crews will begin their bulk leaf collection october 25th and you can find the schedule at our website at wusa9.com, just click on leesberg in the where you live box right there on the home page. for more stories from where you live, go to wusa9.com and find your community in the where you live section. keep up with what is happening in the hood. if you have a story or tip, we'll take that too. contact us and be a part of the wusa9.com team. it's getting about that time to have the leaves fall and if it's going to rain, that will knock some down tomorrow? >> i -- it will do that and then you can worry about thick roads. but not so much the storm drains. we were 13 degrees cooler than yesterday and still felt nice. the forecast for the next three

days. get ready for rain. heavy at times. low 60s. now behind the system we're okay. windy and bright but brisk on friday. 65 for high school football weather. it will be fantastic. but cool at night and feeling cooler baz of the winds. so grab a sweatshirt. on saturday skill cool, temperatures in the low 60s and less wind. tomorrow 7:00 in the morning, chilly. mid-50s. a little bit of light rain particularly west of town. leesberg, down to fairfax, manassas. by noon everybody gets in on the act. moderate to heavy rain, 59 and moderate to heavy rain by evening, 61, although the rain will be ending from west to east tomorrow. right now, pretty comfortable. 63 downtown. 59 in college park. 58 in beltsville. if you head out now, i would grab a light jacket. 58 in bethesda. 55 in reston. 66 and 63 in leesberg and

toward middleberg as well. tonight increasing cloudiness late, chilly. but dry tonight. tomorrow morning rain develops. so it will effect both commutes, 40s and 50s, winds easterly at 10-15. by afternoon heavier rain and showers. highs only between 60 and 65 and that might be optimistic. rain on the way. rain developing thursday morning. heaviest 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. more north and east, from howard county and toward baltimore. and breezy and chilly on thursday in addition to the rain. so by 7:00 tonight, you want to walk the dog no, problems. just a few clouds. into the early morning hours, clouds are closer, down toward culpeper, but still dry. and by 6:00 or 7:00, here comes the rain. this is light to moderate rain in green and heavier in yellow. that will spread over the metro area late morning and early afternoon and we're thinking maybe an inch to an inch and a half. even at 2:00 heavy rain. by 7:00 wee see the back edge of the precipitation and that

will roll across the metro area so the rain will taper off tomorrow evening. next 7 days. low 60s tomorrow, rain and showers. 65 on friday. windy on friday. kind of brisk. and kind of brisk on saturday too. low 60s. take the dog walk at 10:00 in the morning. 70 on sunday, but if you are going to skin game, chilly. and perhaps some showers on wednesday but not as significant as team. and a bit of a follow-up on the guy who put on a special show for the president in hopes of collecting a cool million dollar bucks. you remember him streaking at the presidential rally because of the website known as battle cam offered a million bucks to anybody who would do that and was seen streaking in front of the president. well the 24-year-old came out of prison claim willing to -- claiming to do the deed. but did the president see it. you see the man does want to

pay up but wanted to confirm the results. he is checking in with the commander-in-chief and president obama has not much to say about that. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. at address at mail bag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

[ male announcer ] martin o'malley sworn in. inherits a billion-dollar surplus, low unemployment. o'malley signs the biggest tax hike in maryland history. raids chesapeake bay fund to cover spending. gives raises to top aides. business climate ranks 45th worst in the nation. now 200,000 jobs lost. o'malley covers up jobs report that proved maryland's economy stalled. if re-elected, o'malley will raise taxes again. whether he does, is up to you. in the mail bag tonight,

deb in arlington watching the miner rescue down in chile. i was rivetted and had nerves on edge during the rescue last night of the 33 chilean miners and yet i think america could learn such a good lesson from this. talk about organization and team work and sharing. though i think that could happen here? no, everyone is split with political agendas and worshiping at the cult of me. i don't know about that. i think we come together during the crisis but it's staying together during the mundane that we have trouble with. and there was passion over the facebook page to the news that d.c. school chancellor michelle rhee is leaving her job. michael ramos writes that's a dang shame. chancellor rhee was the best thing to happen in d.c. in decades. and listen to cook. d.c. is lost. what a messed up city. a example of the emperor wearing no clothes. and from larry, this is a real

shame. it seems like she was making progress. i guess d.c. likes being the laughing stock of the education nation. they spend the most dollars per student and have gotten the worst results. but rob said from what i here she upset a lot of people. you can't make big changes too fast even if it is good. and rob, change as we know is hard. no change in our e-mail address. it's mail bag at wusa9.com. but we do want to encourage you to drop by and comment at the wusa facebook page. that's our report. i'll be back here tonight at 11:00 with anita brickman. don't for guess -- don't forget, wusa9.com is always on.

>> now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment news magazine in the world. >> courtney and david's split. were there signs of trouble? >> new details behind the break-up. >> she said that was an ordeal. >> how they told their little girl. >> she said are you guys getting a divorce. >> the other woman in a bikini, is she out for fame? >> plus, britney. >> a look back at the engagement, their wedding and their goals. >> it says a deal's a deal. let's see if we can stick to it. >> george, all biz with the president. the new shots in our "e.t." slide show. the two stars that just tied the knot. >> the miracle rescue captivating the world. dominating the airwaves.