this incredible? this mind of columns, taking metro out through dulles, out through tysons, all the way out to dulles. but one of the scores and the scores of questions that the tristate oversite committee has is slow down just a minute. or are you doing enough as you build this line out towards dulles? are you doing enough to detect weapons of mass destruction? and even common criminals? >> reporter: every three years, the independent committee surveys metro, to try to figure out if they are doing everything that they can to keep the workers and passengers safe. this latest audit comes after that horrible crash in northeast dc. that killed eight passengers and an operator. >> i they it is safe to say there has been a real speed change. >> reporter: perhaps most comfortable to everyone, the oversite committee, saying that since their-report, metro has dramatically changed its reactions to safety complaints.

they have made a lot of progress, even in june. >> reporter: but investigators, they still found a top of problems, including one case of attracting the inspector, waving the train through, while he was, "fouling the rate." >> following the rail. meaning that someone was on the rail while he had an active track. >> reporter: and metro says that they are training employees right now. on a worker protection plan. they hope that they will set the standard nationwide. >> are you sure that it is not going to happen again? >> can i ever be sure? you know, i would say we're doing our very best. >> reporter: they also see problems with escalator and elevators. they are only getting about half the preventive maintenance that they are suppose to. but metro, they say that they are adding nearly a dozen new mechanics and creating rapid response teams. >> i'm personally committed, you know, to improving and enlancing the safety at metro

for all of our riders and customers. my number one priority. >> yes, absolutely. >> reporter: now, back to the security questions on rails to dulles, the audit says that the design guidelines, they are to include things like, you know, intruder detection systems, as well as alarms with weapons of mass destructions. saying they should also have the video cameras and the digital recorders. but the airport authorities, which is in charge of building rail out to dulles says that this is the first time that they have heard about any of these concerns. and despite a whole lot of meetings that they have been holding. lesli? >> so bruce here is your question. are we going to get those security systems or not? >> reporter: well, according to the airport authorities, there's a little bit about this that because it is a security kind of question that has to remain a secret, but the airport security says that it is meeting all the design guidelines both for metro as well as from the federal transit administration. and the overnight committee, they admit that it might be

just a question of the paperwork as opposed to getting those systems into place. >> all right, bruce leshan reporting, thank you. giving us the highlights if you want to read more, go to our website on wusa9.com. you'll find that metro audit under the extras tab. round two of the debate between governor martin o'malley and former governor, bob earl lick. a lot of finger pointing and the former republican governor, bob earlic -- ehrlich in an early appoint. >> reporter: yes, absolutely. the double digit poll numbers have been out there. obviously he felt like he had to at least try to score a knockout so he came out swinging. o'malley, of course, taking those chances still. we did get to see the fire because let's face it, there are just a lot of things that they do not see eye to eye on. >> and they disagree on raising

taxes. the incumbent admitted that it could happen as the final resort. but bob ehrlich, no matter what happens, he's got the furlough workers for ten weeks. i'm not going to raise taxes. does that make sense? >> the $32 million budget. we don't raise taxes. and both insist that he will be the man to create more jobs. but that really began to show through when we got to immigration. o'malley, the champions of the citizenship. >> satly, a political football. and there is this nativism rising up and this desire to blame the americans, for the problems in our economy. >> and it is not the nativism. it's not nativism. excuse me, you have to move onto following the questions. it must mean something. >> and that brought us to the question of race. was he calling ehrlich a racist in their last debate when he accused the former governor of using the coded language. and referring to kids in urban schools. and i surely was not going to put off with that car being

plagued by a major, to a-- mayor, to allow hundreds, if not thousands of african americans in baltimore.

>> as for o'malley, they never would say whether he actually meant to play the race cards. >> the moments that i found interesting, anyway, came along the light-hearted debates. and theyed asked, could either men give the other guy credit for doing something right while in office? >> and o'malley, reluctantly said that the flush tax on the septic tanks was a prettied good idea. ehrlich would not or could not come up with one specific thing that he thought that they had done well. >> wow. >> will and i want to go back to that race question. it is always a tricky thing and always delicate. and is there much to do without nothing? >> that's my sense of it. i think that o'malley brought up the so-called race car. because he didn't want to deal with some of the questions involved. so if he turns it to that and it becomes a different discussion. would you work very well in becoming a different thing? >> so it will be interesting to see if these two men meet up again before the november election. >> i think that would likely happen. thank you for that. >> to see the entire debate again, you can watch it tonight at 7:00 on our digital channel, 9.2. in other news, the defense is calling it underhanded and unethical. the suspect in the murder case, apparently had a prison pen pal. but it wasn't the relationship that they thought. it was actually police, trying to coax the confession from him. and he said that they go on trial next week for the 2001 murder. and today, his defense, tried to use this to get his case dismissed because he had invoked his right to remain silent. there was nothing wrong with the pen pal roots. the judge agreed. we've got more details about a chilling carjacking last night that involved a little boy. that's the 4-year-old, who was reunited last night with his mothers about an hour after the car he was sleeping in was stolen from her while she

gassed up. it started on the road on suttland around 9:30. it's likely that the carjacker had no idea that the little boy was in the backseat. and the car was abandonedded about a mile away. that little guy, apparently slept through the whole thing. >> yeah, the kid was asleep the whole time. never realized what happened. >> mom is a little shaken up, but she and the little guy will be okay. next on 9news now, burglars on the prowl. what'sing wrong with this picture? what is wrong with this picture? i'm peggy fox, coming up, how to make sure that your home isn't an easy pray for the serial burglar. first, why this might be the right time to refinance your home. and topper is checking out the forecast. >> yeah, the rain has stopped. winds are picking up. i'll take you out there on live doppler. a couple of showers popping up

between frederick. and back down here. we'll come back and tell you where those were headed and talk about the end of the week, your morning commute, and a look ahead to the weekend. woman 1 sync: i knew what bob ehrlich did as governor. man 1 sync: raised my property taxes 60 percent. woman 2 sync: let utilities hike our rates 72 percent. 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. 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. when it comes to the housing market, it's a tale of two stories. on one side, the mortgage rates are continuing to drop. the national average for a 30- year mortgage is down to 4.19%. that's the lowest level in decades. the average rate for a 15-year fixed loan is down to 3.62%. but here is the second part of the story. more of our neighbors, they are losing their homes than ever before. and for the first time ever, more than 100,000 homes were taken over by banks in just one month. >> we won't be able to work through these prices. and that means the economy is really taking in the attraction. >> there is no sign to the

housing market that has hit bottom. here's a deal though. we found it on jet blue. starting now, airfares on tuesdays and wednesdays, between boston and washington, they are just $7 each way. that's right. $7 going, coming, $14 round trip flights. and you won't find many of those. valid november 1 through december 15, but there's a catch. november 23 through the 27 around thanksgiving, well, that's blacked out. checking neighborhood news. the roots and shoots program. that the cub-run rec center is going to be hosting a free cd collection event on saturday, october 23. those seeds are going to be bagged and tagged in the news for the reforest stations along the potomac river. for more stories on where you live, just go to wusa9.com. find your community in our where you live section. keep up with what is happening in your neighborhood and if you've got a story, or a news tip, we want to hear from you. so contact us and be a part of

the wusa9.com team. up next, neighbors fight to take back their community from burglars. we're back in just three minutes. sensitive skin runs in the family.

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fragrance free gold bond ultimate soothing. (together) this stuff really works! we're talking about more than just locking your doors. so tonight at 7:30, the great falls citizens association is holding a crime prevention meeting that's going to be held at the grange at 9818 georgetown pike. the meeting starts at 7:30. but first, peggy fox, joining us with some of the things that you could do right now to protect your homes. peg? >> reporter: well lesli, you might not think about landscaping when you think about crime prevention. but you really should. take a look at this bush right here. just a few steps. and i'm completely hidden. and so what you need to do is to get out there and trim your bushes. clear out that bottom part of all your shrubs and trees if it is thick like that. crime prevention specialists say at nighttime when it is dark, you should turn off your

lights at home, come outside and take a look at it. that's what a burglar sees. for starters, close your garage door. we were surprised to see so many garage doors wide open. he also did a security survey at a woman's home, finding several items needing improvements. >> the biggest thing, no matter what you have that are more important, the screws that hold this in place. a lot of the times, the builders and people don't realize that they are using small screws to anchor in the plate. you want very long screws that get into hopefully into a wall or a stud. >> reporter: now, that's real advice, because a woman i talked to yesterday who said she was hit by the burglar, well, he got in because she had one of these little locks.

he got into her garage and broke through another lock like that. so yesterday, she called the locks smith so he would install the dead bolt locks. remember, to get those three- inch long screws that they could not be compromised easily be were your burglars. lots of things to do and you can find that of course on our website. police officers a they will come out and give you a survey on their home. back to you. >> with all of these robberies across northern virginia, you've got to wonder that they are teaming up, doing the neighborhood watches of their own. >> that's right. they have crime prevention programs. and you can sign up for the neighborhood watch programs. they are not going to give you a sign. and you have the programs. they want neighbors to get to know neighbors. and so they could call each other and they will have to be

patrolling. all right, community is what it is all about, especially at times like this. >> exactly. thank you for that. >> we'll switch gears just a little bit and check on the evening rush hours. >> hey there. it is after 6:00. and we're seeing a lot of traffic out there on i-66 right now. you will be factoring in the extra time. check out the travel time in maryland for you. and 495, right now, still looking pretty nice. and it was pretty jammed up for 15 minutes ago. and to i-95, going to prince george's county, also going down in the travel times there. and in maryland, 216 to 495, about 11 minutes. not too bad out there. lesli, back to you. >> all right, thank you, patranya. topper, we got a little rain today. much cooler today. >> yes. >> over an inch and a quarter,

actually downtown. and over an inch in dulles. a pretty good soaking. >> had we're catching up. >> yes, to reach behind now. and really, the rain is departing. we're going to need to talk about the winds for the next couple of days. here is your forecast first now. the next three days out of the gates. well, sunshine tomorrow. and temperatures, only about 65. the 65 with the wind is going to seem a little bit cooler than it actually is. and 65 for saturday. still rather windy. and then we're looking at 69 on sunday. milder, but if you are going to go to the redskins game, you'll need a sweatshirt. you really will. because it will cool off quickly at night. let's talk about the friday break down here. 49 to start. and so, you'll need a jacket in the morning no doubt. and shades. only 59 by lunchtime. 63 by evening. still windy across the board. you're going to go to high school football, take a sweatshirt. it will be a little brisk. these winds will continue. gusting to 22 now at andrews, gusting to 18 in leesburg and 22 miles per hour wind gusts up in martinsburg. generally with the arrows out of the northwest. remember, the wind direction is

the direction of the origin. not the direction of the winds that is blowing. satellite picture radar combined. the big storm that will just hammer new jersey, new york, heart r ford, providence, boston, over the next 24 hours. the heavy rain is gone. we'll show you the live doppler. bad news, a couple of showers are hanging on here. we'll go up to 270 to frederick, over towards these counties. you'll see just a couple of showers, over to this side. you'll essentially move down to 270 to the south and the east. in fact, the next hour, you're going to push very quickly to the south and the east. and nothing heavy. nothing severe. but don't be surprised if you see a shower in clarksburg over the next hour, gaithersburg. and even down to rockville, even down towards the split within the next hour. all right, back to the computer. for tonight though, we'll see the clouds windy and chilly, evening shower possible. northwest winds at 10 to 20 for the win. and even downtown, we're talking about the 40s. 48 in national. 47 in rockville. 45 in gaithersburg.

and a 45 in sterling. 44 in leesburg. now, tomorrow morning, a chilly start, windy. 40s and 50s. partly cloudy. by the afternoon, still windy and cool. not a bad day. but the 65, they will feel a little cooler. temperatures, between 60 to 65 across the border. next seven days. a pair of 65 tomorrow and on saturday, get the dog walk at 10:30. 69 on sunday. and then some showers are possible on monday and tuesday, but not a big deal. nothing real heavy. that next week, it looks like next thursday, we could see some of the coolest days of the season with the showers and the temperatures holding in the 50s. >> burr is right. all right, there is more warmth today for albert haynesworth because he was coming back to be around the team after a significant loss. >> had that's right. he lost his brother. as i said on sports plus this weekend, the same way that the politics ends at the water's edge during the times of the war, i think with albert. and the grudge, it has to end at a time of the personal tragedy and it has with the redskins. it's been a polarizing figure,

but not this week. they rally around albert as he returns to practice today. where we play. and plus, the turns and them, they open up the practice tomorrow. we'll hear from gary and j.p. and why john elway walks around denver wearing a john elway jersey. 9 sports is playing next.

[ 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. albert haynesworth might

not play this weekend. it's about his heart. and the fact that it is broken as you probably know, haynesworth, he lost his brother last friday in a motorcycle accident. he has spent the last six days with his family in tennessee. returning to practice for the first time today. and on this matter, albert's coaches and teammates, with some of what he is heated this time of the year are squarely behind their wounded brother. >> obviously, once they are tough for the six days, but they had a good conversation with them. they went from practice today and that will be a game-time decision, you know, from our standpoint where he is at, both mentally and physically and making a decision right before the game. >> meanwhile, left tackle,

trent williams, returned to practice today. he should be go to go on sunday and the gift awaiting for him, the most dominant defensive end of all of football, the colts. and the wizards, they will play their final pre-season home game tonight. he has not announced yet if gilbert arenas will play after the whole fake injury stunt on tuesday night. although sources, they report that gilbert will play and he will come off the bench tonight. i imagine when he does, he will be booed. the only problem with maryland's new basketball season beginning tomorrow is that we kind of want the old one to keep going. do you remember that the turns finished last year. they want to share the title. and they beat duke in march, who, of course, went onto win the national championship. the question is, now what for maryland? as they pose for their team photo tonight, only six players returned from last year's roster. the star, vazquez, now a guard for the memphis grizzlies. but they believe that jordan williams, leading the way, they could contend again. >> last year, we weren't very good in november, but as time went on, we became good enough by the middle of february, we could beat anyone. i think when you put yourself in that position, you a chance at the end of the year to do a lot of great things. >> similar questions, hovering around georgestown as they get set to take on their season. they made the final of the big east tournament. but they got bounced in the first dance by ohio university. with their big stunt now gone in the 7th pick of the detroit pistons, they will rely on awe tin freeman and st. john's product, chris write, to lead the show. >> there are two kids that have come in, working their hearts off.

it's their team. >> we still have a chance to leave our own legacy. we don't want to be in the shadow of the people that come before us and even after us. now, the toyota dcf high school sports play of the day. >> the play of the day coming from bishop high school in alexandria, moses web, taking the screen pass and turn -- webb, and taking the screen pass turning it for a 116 yard touchdown. for more highlights, log onto dc.highschoolsports.net. finally tonight, john elway released something bizarre. obviously a huge star in denver. he can't walk around town without getting mugged for autographs. how does he go out? well, he wears his own number 7 denver bronco's jersey. when you go to the mall in denver, you see a million guys in the john elway jerseys that he could hide in plain sight. if you're at the mall in denver and you see a guy in a john

elway jersey, it mite just be john el way. >> you want to remember the magic years. that's it for us. the cbs evening news is next. we'll see you at 7:00.