Skip to main content

tv   9 News Now at 5pm  CBS  July 6, 2011 5:00pm-6:00pm EDT

5:00 pm
doing speed enforcement inside. >> said that the individual went to the rear window of the jeep and began tapping on the rear window with the shotgun. he said the individual then came around to the front of the truck and began striking the front windshield with his hammer. he said the suspect was yelling inco-herently and walked back into the wooded area. >> you're kidding? >> no. >> wow. >> so is he a loose cannon. >> thousands inconvenienced by the closed records, the suspect then slipping away. >> i want to get back to work. >> reporter: the speed enforcement camera vehicle was among a fleet now operated by the maryland state highway administration to slow down drivers in construction zones so far collecting $22 million in fines. the damage today included a
5:01 pm
broken windshield and a very frightened worker. notice we said worker inside that speed camera vehicle. unlike in washington the vehicles here that are operated by the state highway administration have civilians inside. they are actually operated by contractors. here is the description of the suspect they are still looking for tonight. they said is he a man in his 50s or 60s with grey hair. about 150 pounds. he was wearing a red and blue checked shirt and blue jeans. again carrying a hammer and a shotgun. he is still on the loose somewhere near vwi airport the authorities think tonight. reporting live near vwi, scott broom, wusa 9 news now. >> thank you for that, scott. tonight a bristow mother charged with felony murder after leaving his 2-year-old strapped in his car seat all day long. karen murphy is out on bond after making her first appearance in court. peggy fox was there. peggy.
5:02 pm
>> reporter: her face was filled with grief and pain as she sat in the courtroom this morning waiting for her name to be called. the 40-year-old mother of three is a veterinarian but on her way to work one day last month she made a deadly mistake and forgot about her little boy in the back seat. >> we know the community has been very supportive to you. is that going to help? karen murphy and her husband answered no questions as they walked quickly out of the judicial centre. slee is charged with felony murder, child neglect and abuse after accidentally leaving her 2-year-old son ryan strapped in her honda odyssey. she forget to drop him at the daycare before going to her vetrinary hospital. the child was left in the minivan for more than seven hours. at the end of the day she drove home until her husband called and wondered why he wasn't at
5:03 pm
daycare where he was supposed to pick him up. >> i'm surprised that the prosecutor elected to bring these charges literally within two weeks after the death of the child. the family hasn't really even had a chance to mourn. >> reporter: the defense attorney called karen murphy a wonderful mother who is devastated after making such a tragic mistake for which she is already facing the most severe of punishment, the loss of a child. >> we will do everybody we can legally to keep this family together and to keep the prosecutor and legal system from tearing this family apart because of what was obviously a very tragic accident. >> reporter: the commonwealth's attorney says because of the evidence she had left her child strapped in his car seat once before that influenced his decision to pursue charges. >> i don't know that she is going to be any better or worse from prosecution but it may be a wakeup call for people that may be inclined to not take
quote
5:04 pm
care of their children. >> reporter: paul eastboundert said the other incident happened last january saying she only left the child in the car for half an hour but the daycare called karen murphy on another matter and it reminded her about the child in the car and that did influence him. the maximum she faces is 40 years. >> thank you, peggy. a laurel family is grieving tonight after receiving some devastating news. investigators have determined that a body found last week in macon, georgia, is that of 27- year-old lauren giddings. she had just graduated from law school studying to take the bar and a neighbor described as a person of interest is now in custody. not guilty verdict in the casey anthony trial is triggering a public outcry. one juror said the prosecution did not prove its case. karen brown is in orlando, florida, where it is possible casey anthony could walk out of
5:05 pm
court a free woman tomorrow. karen? >> well, lesli, the jury is still not talking today so really this alternate juror is our only window into why they made the decision they did and what he says is he did not believe the prosecution provided a motive. he absolutely did not believe casey anthony killed her daughter because she didn't want to be a mom. people are already lining up to get a seat for casey anthony's sentencing. many can't believe she was cleared of murdering her daughter caylee. >> she probably going to take this to her grave. maybe some day she will wake up and realize i've got to come forward. >> reporter: an alternate juror -- >> it was the right decision. >> reporter: he says the prosecution did not prove caylee was murdered. >> they didn't show us how caylee died and that was important. no one could answer that. >> reporter: heckler believes there was some sort of horrific accident. >> overall i think the family knows a lot more than what they
5:06 pm
came at the trial. >> reporter: the judge will sentence casey anthony on four misdemeanor charges of lying to police. she has already spent nearly three years in jail. many legal experts predict she will be set free for time already served. >> she will be taken to a location and apparently her designation in central florida. >> it is not clear if anthony's parents will help her daughter. >> this is a girl who doesn't have a car or a pair of shoes or anything. where is she going to go? everyone hates her so much. >> anthfully's lawyers implicated her father in caylee's death saying he staged a coverup when she drowned. her parents released a statement that said the verdict was fair but have yet to speak to their daughter. >> reporter: according to the anthonys' attorney casey anthony is not speaking to her parents at this point and here at the courthouse things have been much quieter today. there are people still lining up to see if they can't get in
5:07 pm
the courtroom tomorrow as we all wait for that crucial sentencing hearing at 9 a.m. reporting live in orlando, i'm karen brown. lesli, back to you. >> karen, thank you. now casey anthony was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators each count carrying a maximum sentence of one year and since she has been in custody for already three years she could walk out tomorrow a free woman sentenced to time served but casey anthony's legal drama may not be over. coming up at 5:30 p.m. we will talk to a local trial attorney about what casey anthony could face in the coming months. we did have a little rain earlier. now though just hot and rather muggy. >> yeah. will we see more storms before the night is over? meteorologist topper shutt coming back in with the forecast. hey, top? >> muggy outs here. we have sunshine in northwest des. most of the storms are south and east of town. live doppler. most of the storms across southern maryland and south of
5:08 pm
fredericksburg so if you're planning to go to the nats game, we will get to the forecast. temperatures 85 downtown. 91 already in leesburg though and 84 in manassas. with this sunshine this is as warm as it has been all day. partly cloudy for the baseball game. thunderstorms should stay south. above 500 too. temperatures 80 to 85 during the game time. and winds southwesterly at 10. for us tonight muggy early thunderstorms possible mainly south and east. lows 68 to 74. we will come back, we will talk about a cold front and we will tell you if the cold front actually makes it south and east of us. >> thank you, topper. an update on a shooting at the caribbean festival. >> 43-year-old foster robert jr. was an innocent bistandser when he was shot and killed last month. three other people were hurt but they survived. the driver in last may's
5:09 pm
deadly tour bus accident in virginia pled not guilty today to four involuntary manslaughter charges. 37-year-old cheung admitted he was asleep when the sky express bus overturn on i-95 north of richmond. a trial is set for september 12th. metro is hoping to relieve the expected traffic nightmares stemming from those base realignments in virginia. the transit authority said it is increasing its bus service to key locations this summer. so new routes will be added to the mark center in alexandria and fort bellvoir areas. an estimated 20,000 workers are coming to the fort where there are no public transportation options. metro hopes to have those buses in place by august 8th. a very special birthday celebration right here in the nation's capitol. the dalai lama turned 76-year- old today is the first day of
5:10 pm
his buddhist ritual for peace. he did receive thousands of birthday gifts. >> reporter: this is the dalai lama's first trip to the nation's capitol since stepping down as tibet's head of state. he has come here to washington for a series of religious teachings and his followers have come from all across the world. with the enthusiasm of youth. >> it is very special. >> reporter: and wisdom of age followers of the dalai lama celebrate his holiness' birthday. >> it is an important event. it is full of meaning. >> reporter: traveling from italy. another from spain. >> he wants everybody to be in peace. >> that's a gift for my
5:11 pm
birthday is the people here. make a pledge to now on follow nonviolence. >> reporter: his 76th birthday. 11 days of prayer meditation highlighted by the construction of the circular colored mendala. >> it is an exercise in the furtherance of world peace. >> reporter: and in the name of peace some chinese natives celebrate his holiness even though is he a controversial figure in communist china speaking mandarin our intern helped translate for us. he says we have maintained a relationship with the exile tibet government and we celebrate the dalai lama's birthday every year. >> it is going to be an exciting week. >> reporter: continuing until july 16th. a free event will be held saturday morning right outside the capitol. at the national mall, delia
5:12 pm
gonclaves, 9news now. >> thank you, delia. as you heard there is a free event down there, but that's not the one at the verizon center. that ceremony will cost you $45 for one day. it will be $500 if you want to go to all 11 days. the dalai lama and entourage is staying at dupont hyatt hotel and he plans to meet with several members of congress during his visit. another spiritual leader. the reveered hugging saint is down at the hyatt regency. born into the hindu faith. her hugs consist of very long, tender compassionate em probations. it is estimated she has hugged more than 30 million people in her life. that is some hugging. >> we could use a hug. >> we could use a hug around here. >> yes. still ahead. outrage in great britain. politicians, celebrities and citizens call for a thorough investigation into the phone
5:13 pm
hacking scandal involving a british tabloid. matt? recent increase on online videos showing police to use force to lock people up raises the question is it legal to videotape police during an arrest? we will have the answer. beth! hi.
5:14 pm
looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. lawyers are pressing prosecutors to drop sexual
5:15 pm
assault charges against dominique straus-khan. prosecutors are considering whether they can go forward after finding his accuser lied to them. defense lawyers called a meeting with the prosecution today "productive." the army psychiatrist charged in the deadly fort hood rampage will face the death penalty. this after the base commander determined that major nidal malik hasan will be saying it was more costly and time consuming. james bulger pled not guilty to 19 murder counts. that plea in a boston federal court came 16 years after bulger fled the city when a federal agent warned him that there was an upcoming indictment. the 81-year-old bulger and his girlfriend were caught living in santa monica, california last month.
5:16 pm
lesli? >> thank you, derek. video cameras have become an increasingly important law enforcement tool in recent years capturing people committing all kinds of crimes but what happens when police are on the other side of the lens and the images of them making arrests are posted online. well, sometimes as we have seen a lot recently it leads to quite the controversy. matt jablow is joining us now with a look at the issue. >> the long lens of the law has indeed been used to great effect in recent years to catch criminals but lately cameras are being used increasingly by private citizens trying to catch police miss using their power. there seems to be a new one every day. >> we are moving, man. >> reporter: a video posted online of somebody being arrested often with force. just in the past few months here in washington we have the five people arrested by u.s. park police at the jefferson memorial for protesting a ban on dancing. the man in a wheelchair
5:17 pm
arrested by metro transit police. and now a man being arrested by dc police after appearing to challenge one officer to a fight. the videos often get a significant number of views online but the question is are they legal? >> we do feel strongly about it. >> arthur spitzer is suing the dc police department for arresting a client simply for taking pictures of a traffic stop in georgetown last july. >> he is a young man who is a very avid amateur photographer. >> reporter: he says the law is clear with very few exceptions anybody can take pictures or videos of anybody else including police on a public street. >> we are not against the police here. we are in favor of the first amendment. >> the idea that we are stopping people from videotaping us, taking pictures, it is absurd. >> reporter: head of the dc police union agrees that videotaping police making arrests is perfectly legal
5:18 pm
unless it interferes with the arrest. >> they take pictures and videotape us. >> reporter: they often end up online and not always an accurate portrayal of what actually happened on the street. >> while a video may show certain events it is important that you collect all the other facts before you make a decision and rush to judgment. >> reporter: he said a lot videos posted online are edited specifically to make police look bad and unfortunately the truth often ends up on the cutting room floor. >> you could look at the videos and maybe assume that excessive arrests are on the rise. you are a former baltimore police spokesperson. is that what you saw happening back then? >> i think when i worked for the baltimore police department there was a bit of a perception versus reality problem. i think these videos because they often do look bad have a bit of a magnifying force. some people in dc might think there is a problem with excessive force. the police department gave me
5:19 pm
their most recent statistics that show that use of force by the dc police this year compared to last year is down 19%. excessive force complaints from the public to the police department are down 16%. >> all right. so it would suggest. >> there might be a gap between perception and reality. >> derek and topper are out enjoying the rather thick weather out there. >> i was going to change that word. enjoying. maybe in the eye of the beholder. i went on a bike ride. it turned into a long wet bike ride. >> that's dangerous. >> it can be. mostly it is uncomfortable. >> you've got system video? >> not on the thunderstorm side. the opposite. a dust storm in phoenix. this was yesterday. and it drastically reduced visibility. it canceled and delayed flights. and we don't get these here but look at it just kind of roll in. shut off the air conditioning before it got into it because that would be a mess.
5:20 pm
also produce or cause some accidents. for us live doppler first. we have showers but all of which are south and east of town. in fact, down into st. mary's city, st. mary's county. little bit of calvert county. southern bay primarily. nothing super heavy here. we will put this into motion. over the next hour it kind of stays into southern maryland for a little while. this is leonard town. that's where the showers are setting up at this hour. let's go talk about temps. now, muggy outside but in some respects it is as nice as it has been all day right now. most sunshine anyway. 85 at national. 84 in manassas. temps starting to reflect this too. 90 in leesburg. 90 in winchester. 91 in martinsburg. our summer pattern will continue. muggy with possible storms tonight. hot and humid again tomorrow. afternoon storms and showers possible tomorrow. we think thursday night and
5:21 pm
friday even more storms probably the best chance of thunderstorms with the front. we have a cold front. not going to lower temps, it will kind of stall right over us. looks like thursday and friday. muggy with early thunderstorms possible. mainly south and east. lows 68 to 74. temps tonight inside the beltway and downtown. not that comfortable. low to mid-70s. 73 in arlington. 74 downtown. maybe you get to 69 in rockville, maybe you get to 69 in fairfax. now, thursday morning becoming partly cloudy and warm. 70s and 80s. you need your sunglasses for the morning commute. by afternoon again a few thunderstorms developing. those that do could be heavy. some of the heavy ones could be severe. high temperatures in the low 90s. in fact, highs tomorrow 90 in rockville. 91 arlington. 90 in bowie and 91 also in fairfax. so we will break down tomorrow in the morning. kind of muggy. 68 to 74. 80s by noon. and 87 to 92 by evening with
5:22 pm
some thunderstorms beginning to pop. now, next seven days. cooler on friday. just because of more clouds and showers and storms. 85. maybe a morning shower on saturday 90. we think the front then goes south of us. leaves us alone for a while. doesn't cool us off any. low 90s on sunday. mid-90s on monday. perhaps more thunderstorms again tuesday and anything that develops next week would be rather hefty as well and low 90s on wednesday. >> you come back and bring the heat. >> bringing the heat. >> that's right. >> that's what i do. >> thanks, topper. coming up next on 9news now. phone hacking scandal in britain has reached new levels. now the government is getting on. i'm charlie d'agata in london w will have the details coming up.
5:23 pm
5:24 pm
5:25 pm
some big news from facebook today much the social media site teaming up with skype to roll out video calls. facebook also launching a group chat feature in which users can quickly message a small group of their friends. now, the ceo mark zuckerberg said every day facebook's users
5:26 pm
share more than 4 billion photos, links and status updates on that website. tonight people across britain are shocked and outraged over the widening phone hacking scandal. >> so here is what happened. a newspaper is accused of hacking into the phones of missing children and terror attack victims and as charlie d'agata reports from london now lawmakers there are getting involved. >> reporter: a british tabloid may have hacked into the phones of a missing 13-year-old girl and suicide bombing families. investigators are looking into weather journalists listen into desperate conversations families had with police after the 2005 london attacks. the tabloid also allegedly tapped into the account of a missing 13-year-old not only listening to her voice mail but deleting messages from frantic relatives. the activity on the phone gave her family hope she was still alive. she was found dead six months after she disappeared in 2002.
5:27 pm
>> this is disgusting, disgraceful. there are no words to describe how awful this was. how awful it is to the parents. >> reporter: the new hacking allegations are infuriating the british public prompting an emergency government session and calls for an immediate investigation. >> we are talking about murder victims potentially terrorist victims having their phones hacked into. it is absolutely disgusting. >> reporter: the targets were mainly celebrities when the story first broke like mick jager and hugh grant at the center of the controversy is rebecca brooks who headed up the tabloid newspaper for years and is now in charge of murdock's british news corporation. she says she will continue to lead the company despite for calls for her to resign. charlie d'agata, london.
5:28 pm
>> police are already begun to look into evidence that the newspaper paid officers in return for information. coming up next. new at 5:30:00 p.m. casey anthony could be spending her last full day behind bars. we will talk about what's next for the florida mom acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. president obama reconnects with young voters in his first twitter town hall. i'm danielle nottingham at the white house. i'll have that story coming up.
5:29 pm
5:30 pm
5:31 pm
>> the charge for first-degree murder. we the jury find the defendant knot guilty for count 1. so say we all. orange county, florida. shocking the nation and dividing core spectators. tonight an alternate juror says he feels compassion for the young woman and hopes she will get assume help. russell says anthony can no longer live a life of dishonesty. he was not involved in the jury deliberations but he spent every day of the trial in court listening to the testimony and he says the jurors likely felt the prosecutors did not meet their burden of proof because they never established a motive and they never knew how caylee actually died. joining us is an attorney. good to have you back. >> thank you, derek. >> what they say seems to echo
5:32 pm
what a lot of people are saying is that the jury didn't see enough evidence. >> it was a circumstantial case. we talked about it yesterday. and they didn't have the reason for the death. they didn't know why or how the child died and they couldn't prove it. >> let's take a little bit about the fact casey anthony may get out of prison tomorrow. yesterday you suggested the fact that her lawyers did not move to have her released immediately may have been a mistake, maybe an oversight but later on in the evening we talked to others that thought program it was a safety issue, so much anger maybe somebody might go after her. >> i don't see the safety issue because if she is released tomorrow it is the same safety issue and what she will be facing probably is an avalanche of lawsuits against her. >> really who is going to sue outside of somebody in the family? >> she could write a book an make a million dollars. what will happen is you have the nanny will sue her, people that will sue her saying she misspoke, she defamed them and people will be running after her. >> okay, what about the possibility of civil suits like
5:33 pm
what happened after the o.j. simpson case. >> that's right, except in the o.j. simpson case you had a murder and the family coming forward. the family was well funded and the family went after o.j. and ultimately he was found liable. >> let's talk about marsh clark, the prosecutors in the o.j. simpson case. what happened to the prosecutors who lost this case. >> i don't think they will be joining marsha clark in any kind of show in the near future. they will be back in the office. they will probably go their merry way. and they have lost a major murder case. >> okay, but does it hurt their career? are they damaged? >> i think it certainly hurts their career. many in the country thought she was guilty and she was acquitted. >> in your experience even after an acquittal like this one, will casey anthony ever be anybody but that woman that everybody thinks got off. >> remember the statement where do i get me reputation back? here is a situation where many people think she did it. she was acquitted. obviously 12 people think she did not do it. >> at least they couldn't prove
5:34 pm
it. >> or couldn't prove it. she did spend three years in jail. she probably will be released tomorrow and she will probably move and go somewhere else and try to start a new life. >> all right. thank you for your time today. we appreciate your insights. lesli, back to you. >> all right, derek, thank you for that. president obama hosted his latest town hall meeting online using twitter to answer questions from voters. now, most of the questions were about jobs, the economy and of course the debt ceiling but the president's critics also jumped online and used the opportunity to hammer away at his policies. danielle nottingham reports from the white house. >> president obama took his town hall meeting to twitter. he joined twitter co-founder jack dorsy to tackle questions sent in by the popular social media website. >> i think i have done this properly. >> inviting 30 of the twitter followers to be part of the live audience. it chose eight journalists to select the questions.
5:35 pm
>> from renegade nerd out of atlanta. will you raise the debt ceiling? >> i don't think we should even get to the constitutional issue. congress has a responsibility to make sure we pay our bills. >> reporter: twitter users asked tens of thousands of questions hours before the event including republican lawmakers. they used tweets to challenge the president on the economy and the deficit. >> this is speaker john boehner. >> there you go. >> after embarking on a record spending bing that left us deeper in debt where are the jobs? >> over the last 15 months we have actually seen 2 million jobs created in the private sector. >> reporter: top white house aides say the president sees social media sites like twitter to connect with people outside washington especially younger voters who were key to his win in 2008. he will need their support again next year in his run for
5:36 pm
reelection. cbs news, the white house. >> this was not the president's first social media town hall meeting. he has taken questions before through twitter and facebook. there is a new top cop in prince george's county. the county council has approved mark mcgaw as the new police chief. is he a 27-year veteran of the department also serving as deputy chief and as a narcotics commander credited with improving moral on the force by giving lower level supervisors more responsibilities. prince george's county has seen 60 homicides so far this year compared to 48 from the same time last year. we have been following a high profile case involving three metropolitan police officers under investigation for their alleged role in a beating outside a dc nightclub. the assault took place june 10th at lotus lounge and that case made us wonder just how often police officers are investigated for alleged misconduct in our area and then of course how often they are
5:37 pm
disciplined. andrea mccarren who we call the mighty mack around here obtained these records under the freedom of information act. you're here with some details and i think it is interesting before you even get into this that what you receive from the police department was 224 discipline cases. >> right. >> what the city council received includes 287. so you didn't get everything you requested? >> well, it is interesting. part of it is the word you by i think all of this provides a very interesting behind the scenes look inside the metropolitan police department who is getting disciplined and for what alleged offenses. as lesli mentioned, this is what we received from the metropolitan police department under the freedom of information act. 224 disciplinary actions against mpd personnel but these are the very same records that the department sent to the mayor and dc council again for the same year. last year.
5:38 pm
2010. 287 cases. so a significant discrepancy between what we received and what the mayor and council received. of course, lesli, we are still trying to figure out exactly why the numbers are different as well as some of the contents. >> of course we want to talk about what some of the things are that police were disciplined for, of course. in one of the set of documents it is much more specific than in another set of documents? >> exactly. the official freedom of information act response shows us a wide range of offenses. drug use, lying, falsification of records are among the more serious offenses and go all the way to improper paperwork, use cell phones but as lesli and i were discussing, some of these show some really interesting what the mayor and city council received and some very interesting detail you and i just found an officer who was disciplined, a detective involved in a brawl while at a bar off duty and intoxicated. conduct unbecoming to a crowd during a snowball fight.
5:39 pm
>> i'm getting the cue we need to move this along real quick. what kind of punishment are these folks facing? >> one day to firing then coming up tonight at 11 p.m. again what, has become the most controversial about all of this. who is getting punished and why. and tonight at 11 p.m. you will hear from the police chief lanier and chairman of the dc police union and again they have very different takes on this issue. >> we will be watching. thank you. coming up next, the host city for the 2018 winter olympics have been revealed and we will take you to today's announcement. don't forget we are always on at wusa9.com. stay with us. we will be right back.
5:40 pm
5:41 pm
5:42 pm
>> the olympic games are awarded to the city of pyeongchang. >> south korea. after narrowly missing beads for bids for 2010 and 2014 the 2018 games were awarded to them. the first city in asia outside of japan to ever host the
5:43 pm
winter games. real outdoor adventure for the duke and duchess of cambridge arriving on a lake in the remote northwest territory ies paddling a canoe. the newly weds are on their seventh day of a nine day trip to canada. the space shuttle program sadly coming to an end. still ahead the vital role local engineers they will have on this the final shuttle mission. topper? >> we have a breeze but it is pretty muggy outside. we have got sort of a break on pollen. everything is low except for mold spores in the medium or moderate range. we will come back and talk about temps heading back to the high range and about our prospects for more storms. >> but first a new study
5:44 pm
suggests where pilots live could have a direct impact on how safe you are on your next flight. ú
5:45 pm
5:46 pm
freshening breath? that's easy. keeping teeth strong? that's tough. so our dentist recommended act. [ male announcer ] act mouthwash restores enamel
5:47 pm
and makes teeth up to 2 times stronger. act. stronger teeth and fresher breath in every bottle. we are used to paying for checked bags and snacks and even those pillows on flights but it turns out a few frequent fliers would be willing to shell out even more money just to avoid long security lines. the u.s. travel association survey finds 45% of people who responded said they would pay as much as $150 a year to undergo background collects and zip through those airport security lines very fast. a new study is raising concerns about pilot fatigue. researchers with the national research council found that one in five pilots live at least 750 miles from work. congress directed the council to study the issue after a 2009 crash killed 50 people nearby buffalo. that flight's co-pilot had commuted overnight from her
5:48 pm
home near seattle to the airline's base in newark to make the flight and the ntsb said it was likely that both pilots were suffering from fatigue. >> weather could delay the final launch scheduled for this friday. >> the mission will last 12 days and deliver supplies to the international space station and as surae chinn tells us the space center will have a critical role in the programs' final mission. >> three, two, one. >> i do status of the networks 9 minutes before launch. >> reporter: he will be overseeing communication of shuttle atlantis from greenbelt maryland at the goddard space center. >> they would not be able to speak to the astronauts, they would not be able to launch without it. >> passing along our congratulations. >> reporter: goddard is the life line. they have made it possible for all communication, data and astronaut's speaking with the
5:49 pm
johnson space center throughout the shuttle program. goddard is also hitching a ride on atlantis putting its robotic refueling mission pay load. >> just this whole cubicle is a big cube. >> reporter: essentially a big hardware box the size of a washing montana that will fly on the shuttle and dock on the international space station. its purpose is to service future satellites. >> starting on friday i will have my team in here. so automatic going to be doing that 55 minutes into the flight. did everything work good? >> all eyes on the final mission with goddard and a special role. >> i can't believe this is the final space shuttle mission. just a magical piece of hardware. amazing thing. we will lose it. >> reporter: weather permitting this friday's launch into orbit will be the 135th blast off and the shuttle's last mission. >> will be sad to see it all end. >> the shuttle has cleared the tower. >> reporter: at goddard space flight center surae chinn, wusa 9 news. >> the world's first reusable
5:50 pm
space shift. our kristin fisher is heading off to the kennedy space center and she will have live reports later this week as we get closer and closer to the launch of atlantis. now, if everything goes to plan and that apparently is a fairly big if, the takeoff is scheduled for 11:26 friday morning. >> the better day seems to be saturday, right? >> there will be some storms around. they might be able to make it. >> let's hope so. >> let's hope they do. >> a few storms around now south of town which is actually a good thing especially if you're trying to go to the nats game. >> we will start though with live doppler. can always access this on our website wusa9.com. everything is well to the south. it is still raining albeit light to moderate rain and showers into southern maryland and lower bay and also across the northern neck down here. but that's really it. everything else it is muggy outside but we at least have sunshine. 85 downtown. 90 in leesburg. 89 in haguetown. 91 in martsinsburg. only 81 in fredericksburg as you head down 95 south. our summer-like pattern will continue. muggy with a few storms
5:51 pm
tonight. afternoon storms tomorrow a better chance of thunderstorms thursday night and into friday. so for tonight we will stay muggy early thunderstorm possible more south and east. 68 to 74. the game should be fine. winds out of the southwest at 10. tomorrow morning becoming partly cloudy and warm, 70s and 80s. i don't think we will have any morning showers that we had today. winds southwest at 10. by afternoon though, partly cloudy and hot. more thunderstorms. some heavy. a few of those could be severe. high temperatures in the low 90s. winds east-northeasterly at about 10. winds actually turned a little bit. so 91 downtown. 90 in college park. rockville. 91 in fairfax. next seven days. temperatures drop on friday. primarily because of the chance for more showers and thunderstorms. 85. then we kind of stay hot. maybe a morning shower on saturday. the rest of the day looks nice. nice on sunday albeit hot. low 90s. mid-90s on monday. and another chance for showers and thunderstorms on tuesday.
5:52 pm
back in the low 90s on tuesday and partly cloudy on wednesday and temperatures still in the low 90s. the front just won't cool us off but it will spark some showers and storms through the week. >> we are looking at friday morning as the most likely time. >> yes. >> thank you. >> this is supposed to be the summer break but you have got to tell that to some young people who are starting to question that, right? >> i'm just saying when i was a kid it was cool to be lazy. right. i know you, topper, right, isn't that the whole point? >> basketball is what i was thinking about. >> i was going to go pro as a matter of fact. i had a scholarship. >> award winning killer. >> hanging out if you had asked me at age 16 what my chief summer vacation activity was that was it. hanging it out. clearly i was not part of the super achieving generation go getter group of teenagers who is running around today for summer breaks seems to have no
5:53 pm
break. kristin berset found their leader poolside. >> some have a knack for teaching. finding that knack and he is only 16 years old. >> i just really wanted to pass on my love for swimming. >> reporter: his love began at six years old and like he has done every summer since gabe starts his mornings with an hour and a half of practice. only now he devotes the rest of his day to his swimming lesson business. >> i started three summers ago and every summer it has been a bigger and bigger production. >> reporter: he is completely booked. >> awesome. >> reporter: 6-year-old thomas started taking lessons from gabe a few weeks ago. his mom kathleen says he is a best teacher her kids have had and apparently word is getting around. >> the first week we started taking lessons i would say two or three lessons into it we would see -- we would get my son out of the pool and there would be parents lining up. >> people have really enjoyed my lessons. >> aside from all of his swimming duties, gabe is also a
5:54 pm
certified emt and serves as one of the youngest volunteers with the montgomery county emergency response team. so how does he juggle it all? >> it is tough. it is tough. but i find the time each week to do each thing and it works. >> reporter: and while summer vacation usually translates to, well, vacation, gabe says that's not necessarily the case any more. >> everybody finds their own niche in high school. all of us are all proud of what high school kids are doing these days and the uniqueness of everybody's interest. >> reporter: a stroke in the right direction. kristin berset reporting from chevy chase, 9sports now. >> if that wasn't enough, in addition to being a swim teacher and certified emt he is now training to be a volunteer firefighter in silver spring. i have one word for him. slacker. what a total slacker. >> he could really learn a lot from you, brett. >> really?
5:55 pm
i agree. summertime is for kicking back and chilling. >> chilling. >> thank you. >> we will be back. bad news for people that suffer from allergies. up next we will tell you why people are suffering longer and what you can do about it. >> coming up new at 6 p.m. the latest metro report card. i'm lindsey mastis in northwest. that story is coming up.
5:56 pm
5:57 pm
5:58 pm
. how are your allergies doing? typically we think of springtime as being allergy season. in tonight's health alert anita brikman explains that these days all that sneezing and wheezing is lasting longer. >> reporter: for allergy sufferers it is not getting easier. >> i think that my allergies have gotten worse. >> reporter: vincent isn't imagining things. the america academy of allergy and asthma immunology saying allergists are seeing springtime allergies starting earlier and lasting longer. some suggest a rise in temperature and carbon dioxide is to blame.
5:59 pm
>> we are also seeing an increase in the conditions that can present with seasonal allergies. conditions such as asthma even hives. >> reporter: prescriptions and over the counter products can help. >> desensitize the body to what the body is allergic too. >> reporter: it also helps to minimize your time outdoors. >> pollen is usually at its highest in the early morning. usually between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. >> reporter: how can you tell the difference between a summertime cold and lingering allergies? cold season lasting a couple of seasons at the most. with the allergies they tend to stick around. anita brikman, 9news now. >> thank you and thank you for joining us at 9news now at 5 p.m. 9news now at 6 p.m. starts right now. this is 9news now. "this broadcast realtime captioned by becky lyon." >> frustrating. frustrating especially when you are trying

191 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on