. every time we post something about the dream act on our facebook page, you blow it up with comments. so get this, the in state tuition for illegals in maryland may not be a done deal after all. and you get to vote. also ahead tonight. >> it was a rocket. >> only on 9 on the eve of the final space shuttle launch, we

take a very personal journey. our own reporter kristen fisher shares what it was like growing up with astronauts as parents. and for years, the dc government fought to rid the district of handguns but soon it may be the one selling it to you. this is 9news now. but first we have late breaking news for you out of prince george's county. right now part of the northbound lane of the vw parkway in laurel shut down because of a very serious car accident. you are looking at a live picture from sky9. it went down from route 197 and 198 around 10:30. at least four people are trapped inside a vehicle. we'll bring you an update as soon as we know more about it. now, get this. after years of fighting gun ownership in the city, the city itself could soon become a licensed gun dealer. that's right. the idea is reportedly the brain child of a city councilman who is trying to protect the city from lawsuits. matt jablow is following this incredible story and he's following us live with all of

the details. matt. >> reporter: derek, there are twists of fate and then there are twists of fate that are twisted like a pretzel. this story is one of those. >> i was introduced. >> reporter: for years, the dc government did everything it could to uphold the city's ban on handguns. then three years ago the u.s. supreme court overturned the ban, ruling that dc residents have a constitutionally right to bear arms. now they may propose that the city itself become a firearms dealer. an irony some would call cruel, others ridiculous. >> no way. >> reporter: here is the deal. because right now there are no licensed gun dealers in the city or anybody licensed to transfer out of state guns, the city could very well be violating resident's right to bear arm an could be exposed to lawsuits. >> i'm flabbergasted. >> reporter: so phil is said to be considering proposing making the district itself a licensed

firearms dealer for the purpose of transfering out of state guns. >> no thank you. >> reporter: dc residents we talked to did not like the idea at all. >> take your guns and go to maryland or virginia. >> reporter: nor did city council member marion barry. washington should never under any circumstances be in the business of dealing guns. >> if you propose that the dc government is going to become a licensed dealer, that's craziness. >> reporter: we were unable to reach councilman mendel tonight. the city council could take up the amendment next week. we will keep you posted. >> thanks. we have more late breaking news for you. this time it is out of grand rapids, michigan. right now a man holding one person hostage after going into two homes, killing seven people,

including two children. the suspect's name roderick danceler. he led the cops on a high-speed chase before breaking into another home and we have a standoff. now, officers say he shot two other people during the chase. they're expected to be okay. new at 11:00, one of the victims hurt in a violent crash on 495 and college park has died. now, you saw this first as late breaking news at 7:00. the man had pulled over on the shoulder trying to change a flat tire. and that is when another car came by and crashed into him pinning him in between the two vehicles. then a third car came by and slammed into them. emergency crews took two children and two other adults to the hospital. their injuries described as non-life-threatening. well, never mind the legislature and the governor. marylanders get to vote themselves next year on whether or not to grant in state tuition to residents who are not u.s. citizens. a petition drive by opponents of

the plan was ruled -- gary nurenberg with more on that. >> reporter: it's been a fight all year. the legislature passing and signing a bill allowing in state tuition for students that are not united states citizens. >> no one is getting a free ride. no one is getting free tuition. and you have to show that you've been paying taxes. you have to show you live in maryland. you have to show that you want to become a u.s. citizen. you're committed to the united states. >> reporter: the legislation was meant to become law july 1st but a successful petition drive puts it on hold until a state-wide referendum next year. >> it should be an issue that shouldn't be ramped by the legislature by three votes. it should be something that the taxpayers and citizens should be allowed to say. we will be subsidizing the college tuition for someone ho that's no legal presence in the united states while there are 25-26,000 students that are put

on the wait list or told there is no room at the university of maryland. they can't get in. but we're going to allow illegal aliens to come in and then foot the bill for that. >> reporter: proponents describe the beneficiaries differently. >> this is about the kids who live in our neighborhoods, who goes to church for us who have ties to maryland who are marylanders and pay taxes. >> reporter: the issue will be on the ballot next year means a 15-month campaign for and against that will not be gentle. >> the other side is going to come in and be outside money, outside agitation. >> reporter: in a campaign that has already begun. gary nurenberg, 9news now. and we still have big storms brewing up in our part of the world now. topper is here with more on the storm alert. >> we have flood warnings in effect and some storms out to the west. let's get right to live doppler 9000. the flash flood warnings continue for a little longer in

howard county and anne arundel county. and these flood warnings out to the west in west virginia and also frederick county virginia go until about 1:00, 1:30 in the night and early nighttime hours. so we're not done with the storms yet. in fact, these storms out in winchester has prompted the flood warnings. the storms are drifting very slowly off to the east headed towards charlestown, upperville and front royal in the next hour. what about wake up weather? some of the storms could be in here in the morning. 70s to start. 60s and 70s by 7:00 and 70s by 9:00. humid across the board with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. a flash flood watch goes into effect tomorrow. we'll tell you who is covered and when it goes into effect when we return. >> thank you, topper. if you play with fire, you will get burned. tonight an accused serial arsonist behind bars. >> mayday. mayday. mayday. >> police say 26-year-old maurice timothy dues of northeast dc set at least three

fires in the city and he's expected in several others. one of the fires landed six firefighters in the hospital. that one happened back in april in the 800-block of 48 place northwest. officers started to zero in on dues after he called in to report all three of the fires, including multiple calls to 911. >> i think everybody was more than pleased, to say the least, and it's certainly going to be a good feeling to notify the firefighters and families injured in the fire. >> when one individual decides to start burning places to get a reaction, it's a good reaction to put handcuffs on him. >> he has called in to report fires in dc and maryland at least nine times since 2009. he's been seen at fire scenes drinking, taking photographs, even videotaping the fires. of the firefighters injured in the april incident, three were seriously hurt. thankfully all of them survived. however, two are still recovering. well, considering all of the

public outrage, casey anthony might just be safer behind bars. but new tonight, she is now due to be set free a week from sunday. that is a change from a bit earlier in the day when florida authorities had said she would be released next wednesday. anthony is a florida mother found not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter caylee. but she was convicted of lying to the cops about the girl's disappearance. and for those lies, the judge today sentenced her to the maximum four years behind bars. but with the time she has already served, plus good behavior, she will walk in a week and a half. well, since that not guilty verdict came down, web pages dedicated to anthony's demise have been popping up all over the place. on facebook alone, there are at least five pages created with names like casey anthony should die. i hope someone murders casey anthony and casey anthony, i hope someone shoots you and you bleed to death. the i hate casey anthony page already has more than 2400 fans. well, president obama

apparently wants to make both sides unhappy in those debt ceiling talks. he's now put on the table possible cuts to social security and medicare. and that is certain to drive democrats crazy. then there is the idea of raising taxes, which sends republicans up the wall. the president says talks failed today did lead to progress, but he's calling everybody back for this sunday. >> nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. and the parties are still far apart on a wide range of issues. >> the white house says if the congress fails to raise that borrowing limit soon, this country will default on its loans next month and that could send interest rates sky high making it a lot more expensive to buy a house or finance that new car, among many other financial problems. well, tonight a story of survival. one man's will to live carried him through a 22-hour or deal. it all happened last thursday night when justin hippel wrecked

his brother's motorcycle. he landed in some woods. his back was broken, along with most of his ribs. nobody could see him because he landed in a ditch. now, hippel could see his cell phone. the only problem was, he couldn't move to reach it. >> he barely could see his phone. he used the stick. and he did it the whole day. until 9:00. and he got it over to him. >> the patient was laying in the gully right there. >> again, after 22 hours of struggling desperately to reach that phone, he finally gets a hold of it. justin's first call is to his brother. then he reaches out to 911, emergency crews rescue him within minutes and they airlift him to a hospital and he'll be there for another ten days. still ahead tonight, the shuttle's final liftoff. our kristen fisher shares her experience growing up with both parents as astronauts. mom was the first mother to travel in space. only on 9, a very personal look

inside the golden age of the space shuttle. that is coming up.

waiting for anything can be hard. waiting for the end can be even harder. and that is exactly what is going on at cape canaveral where rain in the forecast is threatening to delay the final space shuttle launch.

here is a live picture of shuttle atlantis. a lightning strike near the pad caused a brief flurry of concern. but nasa engineers have concluded the space shift is fine. this will bring to a close nasa's 30-year space shuttle program. kristen fisher is live and it seems tomorrow's launch for you, kristen, is a bit of a family affair. >> reporter: seeing a space shuttle at night. the smoke, the lights, it's just difficult to describe. but there is an unwritten rule among the astronauts that you have to go and see the space shuttle on the night before you fly. and i know this because both of my parents did just that. nearly 30 years ago. >> kristen, you're going to go bye bye on a jet. jet. >> reporter: it shouldn't be too surprise ing that my very first word was jet. then came -- >> space shuttle. rocket. >> reporter: for christmas, at just 17 months old, i got a toy

airport set from santa. >> it's an airport. >> reporter: and for halloween, i didn't stand a chance. i was going to be an astronaut whether i liked it or not. [ crying ] >> reporter: my apparent torturers are the first astronaut couple and they couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to wear a space suit. >> by golly, you're going to be an astronaut. >> reporter: my dada plied to be an astronaut when -- dad applied to be an astronaut when he was 12 years old. this is the rejection letter which nearly 30 years later he flew in space. >> lift off. >> reporter: but it was my mom who got the first flight. >> three weeks and counting. >> reporter: she was about to become the first mother in space. >> mommy is going to go in the space shuttle. this is our last night home. and i love you more than anything in the whole world. >> welcome to our pre flight

crew press conference. >> reporter: november 1984, it was the golden age of the shuttle program. the challenger was still two years away. my parents new the risk. that's why they made the movies. if they didn't come back, at least i would have this. >> say mommy, have a good launch. >> she is up for it. why not. >> 3, 2, 1. lift off. lift off of discovery. >> reporter: it's the first and only shuttle flight to retrieve two satellites. once mission accomplished, they got a call from the president. >> i couldn't help but wonder if you recommend careers of an astronaut to your daughter kristen. >> that i would, mr. president. the experience is just everything i expected and even more. seeing the world below us, it makes us realize just how we're all part of this world.

it's a truly incredible experience. and i'm going to recommend it to her highly. >> reporter: so i know you're probably wondering what happened to me? why didn't i become an astronaut? you know, i don't know the answer to that question. i think the astronaut gene just skipped me. i can tell you this, i am honored and excited to be here. and let's just keep our fingers crossed that we are a go for launch tomorrow morning at 11:30. i'll be here watching. >> all right. thank you so much for that. and we're glad to have you with us for a journalist, because that means we got to see all of that tremendous footage. incredible. >> incredible stuff. >> the phone call from ronald reagan. >> would you recommend that. >> how did she turn that down? >> i don't know. we're looking at a couple of thunderstorms tonight. kind of lingering. but tomorrow is going to be a different story. we're going to be rocking and rolling. let's start with the live doppler 9000. you can access this on our website at wusa9.com. around the immediate metro area

it's pretty quiet. but there are some storms. some getting hammered all night. frederick county in a flood warning and hampshire county in west virginia. these are the storms that are still west of i81. it's a big storm too between hagerstown and martinsburg. this will produce incredible amounts of rain. so you already had heavy rain tonight and don't cross the street by car or by foot if it is flooded. where will these go in the next hour? they're generally going to go off to the north and to the east. and this is going to hold together, the one that is going to go through hagerstown. the rest weaken a little bit as they cross i81. but because they're going to cross i81, some of our western suburbs will have kind of a wet commute tomorrow morning. just a residual moisture. satellite picture, radar combined, we'll go down to the gulf. this could be the next tropical system. not terribly well organized but it's hammering florida with rainfall. that's good. they've had a hard time getting rain on the west side of 75 and earn naples and now they're -- around naples and now they're

getting it. the rest of florida has been getting good rain the rest of of the week. we'll move northward. the main focus is going to be this main frontal boundary. it's going to sink southward as it goes through tomorrow. as it does so, it's going to create some big time thunderstorms. so here is the deal. storms more numerous tomorrow than they were today, although we had a few. a few were severe. we talked about that. those that developed can be hefty. flash flood watch goes into effect tomorrow afternoon through late tomorrow night. again, the storms could be heavy. they could be severe. and they will have heavy down tours with them. the cit -- downpours with them. the critical hours 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. we'll do the future cast for you. generally we get a break in the morning. 6:45. except for the residual moisture. now you walk into lunch, you still may have a shower south of town. then we get into the evening hours and a lot of showers and storms now developing across most of the metro area. it's about 6:00, 6:15.

and then we see a tremendous line of showers and storms. now we're getting red and orange and that is going to be tomorrow night about this time. once that rolls through, the front sags to our south and we have what should be a pretty decent weekend. overnight we'll keep the chance of a shower and thunderstorm. muggy. 68-74 for temperatures. by tomorrow morning, a chance for a shower or a thunderstorm in the morning. 70s and 80s. but more numerous in the afternoon. and late in the afternoon and evening it could be rather heavy. flash flood watch goes into effect. highs about 85. next seven days, once we get through tomorrow, we're in pretty good shape. really showers or clouds on saturday morning. especially south of town. and then pretty nice. 89. 90 on sunday but not humid at all. pretty comfortable. it gets toasty on friday. a second front comes through us monday night and tuesday. that could be hefty and we'll cool off tuesday and wednesday. just in case you were thinking that the nats had become really, really good. >> i thought i was watching a tape of the nats from three

years ago. >> oh. >> for one night only they looked like the nats of old, making an 8-run lead disappear like they were 25 dunk innings. plus it could be the eagles want albert haynesworth? and the latest installment of the good the bad and the ugly.

it's time for 9 sports with brett haber, the best sports in town. >> all right. allow me to be peter positive for a second. in order for the nationals to blow an 8-run lead, they actually had to score eight runs in a game. and with the lowest batting average in the national league, they haven't done that this year. that said, the nationals blew an 8-run lead tonight and johnson looked like he wanted to throw up in his hat. nats looking to sweep the cubs. great beginning for the game. this one is off the wall in right field. ryan zimmerman scores. 8-5 lead in the 4th. and -- 8-0 lead in the 4th. levo hits the big french fry.

makes it 7-6. two-run shot. lead vanished. we're tied in the 8th. tony coming around. that is say stinker that is wofting throughout the whole city tonight. 8-0 up. 10-9 loss. o's at fenway tonight. and they'll be treating poor pedro viola for whiplash. josh reddick. and then jarod back-to-back to back homeruns for the sox. o's fall 10-4. they've dropped nine of ten. have you ever heard of tateana malick? she is the 174th rank tennis lair in the world. that is one -- player in the world. that is one spot ahead of serena williams who is 175 due to injury. serena making her debut for the washington nationals. for once she was not the most

powerful woman in the room. the first lady along with sasha and malia checking out the match. she did play well enough to win all three of her events. women's doubles, mixed and then to finish it off with the singles in a breaker over vandaway. castles win 25-10. they're now 3-0. football news one man 's trash is another man's treasure. the eagles want albert haynesworth badly. shanahan is holding out for a second round pick. he will not cut haynesworth. >> they must not want him that badly. >> nobody wants him that badly. let's do our weekly look at the excellent and not so accident. the good, the bad and the ugly for july 7th. we start with the good. best commemoration of a catch. the orioles scott commits grand

larceny to rob matt halladay, so the next day they mark the scene of the crime with luke's outline complete with his number 30. that's an awfully long arm. >> with the glove kind of reaching over. >> that can't be to scale. best exception to the five second rule. this young man you see he drops his ice cream there. now, if you're a hard liner on the five second rule, his time is clearly alas. but grandma is in charge and he says, oh, mom is never going to see this. go ahead and eat it. a ballpark floor. that is pretty sanitary. >> i think i see some black things in there. >> that can't be good for you. let's go to the bad. worse driving. this is on the european lpga tour. the rule official comes out to make a ruling and after he's done he hops in the golf cart and drives directly into the tree. [ laughing ] >> someone needs to give him a ruling on which one is the gas pedal and which one is the brake. >> and look at the woman dodge out of the way. >> you need to get out of the way. most comical base running, the

indians this is what happens when we ask american league pitchers in inner league play to hit. it's actually kind of funny. although it wasn't really that funny because he got hurt. it was pretty funny. i have to admit. here is the ugly, our managerial meltdown of the week has to go to butch hopkins. so intense about getting called that he not only pulled first base out of the ground, he takes it over to the side, autographs it and gives it to the woman in the front row. thank you and good night. he goes out in style. >> you have to wonder if someone went up to the stand a lady could we have that back. >> yes. i think they have extras. but perhaps in the minors you don't. >> we got to go. you're going fo get to first base. what makes the sleep number store different?

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that's 9news now for tonight. don't forget we're always on at wusa9.com. watch her man next. we'll see you tomorrow.

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