council member leslie johnson has re-signed.

it -- has resigned. scott broom joins us on the phone with more on what happens next. scott, is this effective immediately? >> well, leslie johnson wanted this to be effective on july 31st and as far as we know, she's standing by that. just within the last five minutes, council president ingrid turner called the council back into session and she says that effective immediately, the council is taking away leslie johnson's car and staff and calling for her immediate resignation. that's after about an hour and a half executive session where the entire thing was left hanging this morning. council came in as usual and leslie johnson took her seat shortly after the prayer and the pledge of allegiance, she stood up abruptly and left the room leaving the chair empty. at that point, the county council went into session. leslie johnson issued a statement saying she was going to resign effective july 31st,

the end of this council session. she later issued a written statement to that effect calling on her district 6 to move forward and then just a few moments ago, the council president came out and said effective immediately that council is suspending johnson's privileges to a car and ordering her staff to start reporting directly to the council president effectively taking any resources that leslie johnson has to continue functioning away from her. >> scott, she could have stayed on the council legally until that sentencing hearing. when will that take place and do we expect her to show up even in her own car dealing with her legislative business on her own tomorrow? >> that's a great question. this has all happened in the last three to four minutes so we don't know the answer to that. by state law, she has to give up her seat once she is sentenced and goes to prison. sentencing doesn't occur until october 13th. she, over the weekend, she said

after some heartfelt reconsiderations, decided she would leave on july 31st but it is clear to the council doesn't want that to happen. they want this to be over now. bruce spoke to us a few moments before all of this happened and he said he is in favor of leslie johnson leaving office immediately as well. council is back in session right now, perhaps what tells you what's going on here is the fact that leslie johnson's chair right now is empty. >> all right. this is a fluent story. of course if any other information comes out during this newscast, we'll bring it to you. count on the latest at wusa9.com and on 9news now beginning at 5:00 p.m. in other news, baseball legend roger clemens is in court to face charges that could send him to prison. he's accused of lying under oath about using performance enhancing drugs during his career. >> reporter: roger clemens'

perjury trial begins this week in a federal courtroom in washington. lawyers are filing motions today before a jury selection begins. the seven-time cy young award winner is accuse of lying to congress in 2008 when he said ." >> let me be clear, i've never taken steroids or hgh. >> reporter: but a federal grand jury does not convinced. the former star pitcher faces six felony counts including perjury and obstruction of congress. a parade of celebrity athletes is expected in court during the trial including jose canseco and clemens' former teammate andy pettitte. pettitte testified that clemens said he used hgh but the star witness is expected to be the pitcher's long-time trainer. mcnamee claims he injected clemens with illegal performance boosting drugs at least three times between 1998 and 2001. >> i injected the drugs into

the body of roger clemens at his direction. >> lawyers for clemens are likely to attack mcnamee's credibility. they have called him a congenital liar who made up the allegations to save himself from drug charges. the defense contends that mcnamee is the only person in the world who says he actually saw clemens use performance- enhancing drugs. the charges carry up to 30 years in prison but if convicted, he would likely receive a much shorter sentence because he has no criminal record. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. the trial is expected to last up to six weeks. the debate over raising the nation's debt limit resumes on capitol hill. republicans and democrats remain at odds over how to raise the debt limit. taxes remain the biggest sticking point. democrats say a tax increase is needed while the g.o.p. wants taxes off the table. >> the last thing that employers need is further

disincentives to not hire people. and that is what the higher taxes would mean. >> congress is about four weeks before the treasury department says the government will default on its bills. with time running out and so much at stake, there's talk lawmakers could agree on a short term deal. a wild night for one montgomery county family after an suv barrels straight into their home. it happened just after midnight on aspen hill road in parkland drive in aspen hill, maryland. surae chinn tells us what happened. >> i still don't believe it. >> i hear a loud crash. >> i saw the suv in my dining room. >> keith avery had just dozed off and thought he might be in a dream. >> not every day you see a truck your dining room. >> reporter: early this morning, the driver was coming down aspen hill road, hit the two parked vehicles, a truck and an suv. there's glass all over the road. hit the one-way sign, came through the property of the os aspen hill public library, quite a distance here, went

through the fence before landing right into the family living room. >> i heard my mom scream. >> 12-year-old sebastien was in his room. >> there was a piece of wall flying at me. >> reporter: his main concern was for mom. >> she was bleeding. >> he was in the living room where the car had landed. >> there was all of this stuff flying on her. the car was only a few inches away. >> this close. >> this close to her face. she's lucky to be alive. >> they all are because the suv landed three feet from the main gas line. lucky because mom had thought about taking the dog out in the backyard that very moment. she was buried underneath the rubble as the family dog tried to find her. the 22-year-old driver, crying as police handcuff her. >> i haven't seen anything this scary in my life. it is hard to believe. >> reporter: the family knows it all could have been so much worse. >> i'm glad she's alive.

>> in aspen hill, surae chinn, 9news now. >> police say that 22-year-old driver was driving under the influence. still to come when the news continues, the countdown to the last voyage of the space shuttle "atlantis" is underway. we'll have a run-down of their final mission. but first, details of the latest league skirmish facing former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn. he could spend years in prison if convicted.

today is the first full day of deliberations in the casey anthony murder trial. the jurors who were sequestered got the case around noon yesterday. anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. she could face the death penalty if she is convicted. former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn could be facing a new criminal complaint on sexual charges. this time from a woman in france. as rita nissan explains, why the woman in question waited years before taking legal action. tristan plans to file a lawsuit in paris tonight against dominique strauss-kahn. the french journalist says strauss-kahn tried to rape her during an interview in his apartment in 2003. she was 22 at the time of the alleged attack, talked about it on french tv four years ago but the producers got out the name.

she never pressed charges because her mother who was an official in strauss-kahn's party convinced her not to go to authorities. her lawyer said it was attempted rape and prosecutors will determine if there is enough evidence to file charges. the former imf chief has always called her story imaginary and promises to sue for slander. this all comes as the sexual assault case against strauss- kahn in new york appears to be falling apart. >> thank you, your honor. >> prosecutors are now questioning the credibility of the hotel maid who accused strauss-kahn of attempted rape and reportedly drop the charges altogether. strauss-kahn had been a leading candidate for french president and as the u.s. case crumbled, supporters began plotting his political comeback but the latest allegations could put his future in question again. rita nissan for cbs news. in france, attempted rape charges can be filed for up to ten years after the alleged

crime. howard is up next with the forecast. >> very nice out here, andrea. the sun is shining brightly. we're headed toward the 90 degree mark again today. as far as the allergy update, tree pollen bothers you? good news, no tree pollen reported. mold spores are high. we'll have the full seven-day forecast, talking about some thunderstorm chances for the rest of the week when 9news now at noon returns.

more people in virginia are reporting sightings of our national bird. some some spotsylvania county believe they've's seen a bunch of bald eagles flying around. brittany morehouse takes a look at other facts about our bird. >> boaters passing this can't get enough of these birds. and the sounds they make. they tell me they're bald eagles. i zoom in and realize they're ospreys. bummer! even still, nowadays, you'll hear all kinds of story from virginians who spotted eagles in their yard. >> i saw a bald eagle nest. >> we had one fly over us when

we were kayaking. >> we got to see it from the water. >> a sign of their successful comeback. by 1960, there were only 400 nesting pairs. now, there are roughly 10,000. >> in arizona, they're still on the endangered list. >> one of the many random facts we learn in mt. vernon today when i asked -- >> what do i know about the bald eagle? >> yes. >> it is the national symbol but it is rather a predator. >> pretty good fisherman. >> right, right and right. they are predators at the top of the food chain. they li by large bodies of water -- they live by large bodies of water in 48 states and the strong swimmers are able to lift a 4 pound fish. they can fly up to 10,000 feet and can reach speeds of 35 miles per hour which this woman has seen in person. >> i never dreamed it was so big. >> its wingspan measures up to 90 inches but my favorite fact of all... >> well, i think they mate for life. >> once paired, bald eagles stay together until one dies.

fidelity four founding fathers would admire. brittany morehouse, 9news now. the bald eagle protection act of 1940 outlawed the killing of bald eagles except alaska because at the time, alaska wasn't a state. it was still a u.s. territory. >> we're five hours away from the launch of atlantis, the final planned mission of the program. the four person crew arrived at the space center on monday. it will take atlantis on a 12- day mission. the crew will bring supplies and spare parts to the station. astronauts will spend the next few days training and spending time with family before friday's launch. our kristin fisher is heading to the kennedy space center for this launch. it leads up to the final blastoff scheduled for 11:26 friday morning. when it is done with space travel, atlantis will be put on display at the kennedy space center in florida. here in our region, we'll be getting "discovery." the shuttle will go to the

center near dulles airport. it took its final flight this past february and it is the first shuttle to be retired. nasa is making sure "discovery" is ready for museum life. >> we've taken care of her for all of these years. it will be hard for many people to realize we're no longer responsible for that. someone else has to do that for us. it will be a big change for some folks. >> nasa will make sure the shuttle is free of any dangerous chemicals or classified equipment. no timetable for when it will make its smithsonian debut. >> i'm going to be down there as well. >> kristin has a unique perspective, being the daughter of two astronauts. her mother and father. they flew in the shuttle. you're going back. >> i hope to see it. i tried to see "endeavour." i wasn't successful. the weather could be a problem on friday. 60% chance according to the

local meteorologists. an air force unit. >> mother nature doesn't want the program to end. >> perhaps. as we get into saturday and sunday, the chances for a launch get better and better. so, you won't see me around here for a little while. i'll be trying to track that down. around here today, we have a great day going. bright sunshine. not too humid. a little bit on the muggy side as temperatures shoot toward the 90 degree mark. winds will turn from the north to the south and be fairly light. really 5 miles per hour or less. high today around 91 degrees. spotty thunderstorm. the outside chance to see a thunderstorm and just a couple of areas. by 7:00, 88 degrees. by 9:00, partly cloudy and 84. looking for a low around lower 70s in town. upper 60s north and west. this morning, we had showers. if you were up early especially in southern maryland, you saw that wave of energy that moved out to sea. behind it, we're left with lots and lots of sunshine out there. we're heating up pretty

quickly. we're at 86 right now in washington, areas around frederick. mainly mid-80s at the moment. there is a cold front up here producing showers and storms. they were stronger this morning. the key for us is this front will be moving off toward the south and east over the next few days. ahead of it, it is nice and sunny. a little bit drier especially as you head into pennsylvania and new york. we didn't quite get into the real dry stuff. we did clear out. future cast shows this afternoon, we'll pop a couple of showers and storms. better chance being the farther south you go maybe toward ocean city, we'll see a little bit of rain. down toward fredericksburg, you've got a chance of the spotty storms. better chance here in washington where even at 5:30, we're still not seeing much. isolated storms could pop up orb even a shower pop up with the daytime heating. we'll be fairly quiet.

tomorrow at 12:15, look at the scattering of showers and storms that will be developing tomorrow with the daytime heating. better chance at d.c. and points south and east. north and west, up in frederick, cumberland, hagerstown. you may sneak by tomorrow without seeing anything. parts of winchester, martinsburg. as we head into thursday, as that front from the midwest, the one with the storms, look what happens thursday afternoon. scattered showers and storms and i think we'll see about the same for friday as well before drying out by the weekend. that means temperatures will start to arrive. today around 91. lots of sunshine. spotty storm or two at worse. tomorrow, scattered showers and storms with a better chance south of town, 89. on thursday, scattered showers and storms more widespread again in the upper 80s. about the same on friday. saturday, here's your weekend. got a chance of a storm dropping though 91. here comes more heat and drier air. sunday and monday, low to mid- 90s. we've got some is good

chocolate stuff in the kitchen! i've been sampling it. 9news now will return.

>> we have some wicked treats in our 9news now kitchen to celebrate the return of the tony award winning musical, wicked. we welcome the chef from the kennedy center cafe and roof terrace restaurant. we also have his assistant, ginger. she's not talking. she's busy. she will be doing something we'll tell you about in a little while. i don't remember the witchessen

in wicked in the -- the witches in wicked in the kitchen. >> we're making a flourless chocolate cake which goes along with our high teas saturday and sunday. very simple cake. we've got chocolate, butter, and sugar. >> is that half a pound? >> yeah, just about. >> two cups of sugar. >> then we've got eight eggs with vanilla. whisk that. i'll let you have some fun. >> when you talk about a flourless cake, is it going to be as moist as a traditional cake? is that what the eight eggs does? >> it is very rich. this one is particular. it is almost like a truffle. very, very rich. very good. if you want to add flavor, you can add toffee, raspberry puree. the chocolate will take on any flavor. >> just a few minutes left. ginger is decorating what looks like a witch's hat and this is

successful idea that started with mary poppins. you're doing this on the weekend saturdays and sundays at the matinee performances, 3:00 and 5:00. how do we get involved in that? who can come? >> it is geared toward kids. but a lot of adults come and enjoy it, too. we have the desserts, sandwiches, me helping you guys create your masterpieces. >> we want to let people know there is a charge for this. $20 per person. again, at 3:00 and 5:00 on saturdays and sundays, the weekend matinee shows of wicked at the kennedy center on stage through august 31st. so, once you do this -- then what? >> we're going to incorporate our chocolate with our eggs. >> warm. >> a little too warm. >> it is not cooking. >> we have 30 seconds left in the show. >> then we'll whisk this. >> whisk this altogether. we're going to put it in our cake round for about 30 minutes

then you want to remove it and you want to freeze it overnight. >> this doesn't even go in the oven. on a hot day, it is a great thing to do. that's the finished product. we have a recipe on our web site. ginger, you were marvelous. thank you very much and thank you for watching 9news now at noon. the next newscast is at 5:00 p.m. i'll see you again tomorrow morning starting at 4:25. have a great day!