first time in 141 years of record keeping and we'll probably get listen to days of -- 11 days of 95 degrees or higher because of the fact tomorrow and sunday we're forecasted to go well above that and keep in mine last year at this time it -- mind last year at this time it was the hottest month that we had. so what are we expecting tonight? take it easy. clear skies, warm muggy, lows in the lower 70s to low 80s and the winds unfortunately not expecting much of a breeze this evening. we'll talk about tomorrow's heat once again and also the big storms that we're expecting for sunday. we've declared today and tomorrow a severe weather alert day. we'll talk more about that coming up a bit later. back to you. pepco is now down to the final 1% of customers that are awaiting the return of their electricity. >> and the utility also says there are 1,900 field crews working across the area trying to make that happen. andrea mccarren is live in rockville with more storm

horror stories. we haven't used those up yet? >> reporter: no, we haven't, derek. we are on the rockville silver spring line where pepco crews have come and gone without restoring power. in fact, workers told the residents they might be back later tonight. now for everyone who thought that underground lines that we've talked so much about, that they might be the silver bullet, you'll want to consider the north potomac neighborhood of convince orchard knolls -- of quince orchard knolls. there the lines are underground and there is no visible sign of damage, yet their pavers not restored until a couple -- power was not restored until a couple of hours ago. >> today was enough. i just was done today and have been very emotional the whole day, crying and happy and we keep hearing a crew has been here but then a crew is not here and then the wrong crew is here. >> reporter: after seven agonizing days the power returned to this neighborhood,

confidence in pepco did not. >> i explained to them i'm diabetic. i've had to get dry ice three times. i don't want to lose my insulin, but the amount of money i've spent on the dry ice is about the cost of the insulin. so we just wish that they would be honest with us. >> reporter: it has been a commodify roars here starting with the -- comedy of errors here starting with the first pepco crew to arrive two days ago. >> good old boy from georgia was here to survey the damage. oh, they didn't tell me it was underground. so he left. >> reporter: yesterday it happened again. >> four trucks of contractors showed up, walked up and down the street, walked all through the neighbor, spent about an hour and a half here and they said we can't do anything. we're overhead people. >> reporter: then another crew came and said it was simply a blown fuse, but they needed to request another crew for that. >> we're going to get a generator for the next time we have to. i mean just to salvage some of our food. >> reporter: tonight the immediate joy of having power

back is quickly followed by dread that another storm is just around the corner. >> i don't know what we're going to do. it's just overwhelming. i feel overwhelmed. >> reporter: and once again no one seems to have any beef with those 1,900 field crews, the utility workers from across the country who are trying to restore power. as anny hong just reported, it is really dangerously hot out here. now coming up at 6:00 we'll show you some random acts of kindness that have helped sustain neighborhoods like this one as well as quince orchard knolls and we will talk to some more folks who are in that unenviable position of being in the last 1%. back to you. >> andrea, did we get any explanation from pepco why this neighborhood is so had to fix? >> reporter: i have not been able to speak -- so hard to fix? >> reporter: i have not been able to speak to any of the crews, but again there's sort of that overwhelming feeling of

sadness and desparation. the last estimated restoration time these residents have been given is sunday night at 11 p.m. >> oh. >> reporter: we haven't heard anything beyond that, but it's so hot out here and again the people have been incredibly kind letting us into their hot homes when we need to seek refuge, but it's just extraordinarily hot out here. i think i've been in the sun too long. i'm having a hard time speaking. >> andrea mccarren, thank you. shots, tased, beaten with police batons and still the apparently pcpaddled gunman kept going stealing a police car and crashing into a wall it. finally took a dozen police officers to subdue suspect andre mccoy. after that he's now in good condition in the hospital. >> this last time i think he smoked some pcp. >> reporter: antwonette harris did her best to stay calm as her 21-year-old son was going

crazy. >> does he still have the gun in his hands? >> yes. >> can you see it? >> reporter: the 911 call from the house here, the is of arrives within seconds -- the officer arrives within seconds, pulls out his shotgun in the parking lot here and just then mccoy comes out, a .40 caliber handgun in his own mom's back. mom sees the officer, runs for it and then mccoy engages in a kind of running gunbattle with the officer here who shoots him with the shotgun but mccoy keeps going, runs around the block there. >> oh, my god. >> holy [ bleep ] >> reporter: university maryland students were upstairs videotaping the whole thing on abe phone. >> the police officer was standing at the door with his guns drawn. >> we have our second discharge of firearms. >> reporter: police chief kevin davis says neither gunshots nor tasers nor police batons seemed to stop mccoy.

>> at location no. 4 and takes his pants off. it's common for folks under the influence of pcp to disrobe. >> reporter: he tried and failed to escape in one police cruiser and then jumped in a second. he finally crashed into a brick wall at a mcdonald's just a block up from the university of maryland's north gate which is where eight to 10 police officers finally subdued him. >> our only indication right now is that all our officers acted courageously and bravely. they were confronted by a crazed gunman who chose to be under the influence of pcp and shot at a prince george's county police officer. >> reporter: just as heroic, the mom who somehow stayed calm throughout. >> he was shooting at them and they were shooting at him. >> reporter: bruce leshan, 9 news now. >> what an odyssey. authorities charged mccoy with attempted murder of a police officer, first degree assault, use of a handgun in a felony and malicious destruction of property. tonight we've got new information about that 12-year-

old ft. washington boy accused of killing a 2-year-old little girl who lived in the same home with him. maryland's department of human resources is reviewing this case to make sure the rules were followed when they placed the foster child, the 2-year- old, in that home last november. our own kristin fisher has been following this story since it broke yesterday. you're telling me this is not a family anybody expected something like this to happen to. >> not at all, far from it. in fact, actually spoke with the little girl's biological grandmother this morning. she's obviously very upset. she didn't want to talk on camera, but she did tell me she was really very fond of this foster family. she said she'd met the parents on several occasions and really liked them. in the eight months that her granddaughter was living in the home she'd never met their 12- year-old biological son. >> prince george's county police homicide detective charged a 12-year-old boy last night with second degree murder. >> reporter: when police broke the news yesterday afternoon, the boy's friends where he lived on taylor avenue say they couldn't believe it.

their parents wouldn't let them talk to camera, but they told me he was known as the nicest kid on the block, never got in a fight and they certainly didn't think he was capable of killing a little girl, but prince george's county police think otherwise. >> detectives developed probable cause to charge the boy based on interviews conducted with the family. >> reporter: police say the boy beat her repeatedly inside this home while his parents were away. they'd left their 15-year-old daughter in charge. what would drive a 12-year-old to do such a thing? >> i can't speak to a motive. >> reporter: police can't say much because the suspect's a juvenile and the state agency in charge of foster children won't comment citing privacy except to say we will be closely reviewing our case records. all potential foster families must undergo a thorough home study process. that process includes background checks, family observations, interviews with all family members and references including references from schools on all children in the home. that should have been done in this case.

was it? we'll have to wait to find out. either way what happened is rare anywhere, but especially in this county. >> the last time a preteen had been charged with murder in prince george's county was in 2006. >> now this 12-year-old is being held at a youth facility and for now he's going to be charged as a juvenile, but police say that could change because in the state of maryland a juvenile judge can decide to try a 12-year-old as an adult if the crime warrants it. >> it also has to do with the kid's past, right? he has to have some perhaps criminal acts in his past and this young man does not have that. >> at this point in time neither police from what i've been told, nobody has found any sort of criminal history in this 12-year-old's past which makes this alleged crime all the more confusing. >> thank you. back to you, anita. investigators are trying to find the cause of a fire that destroyed a woodbridge, virginia apartment complex. the fire broke out on the top floor of the woodbridge station apartments on eisenhower circle

last night. flames spread to an adjoining building before being brought under control. no one was seriously hurt, but three firefighters were treated for heat-heated illnesses. about 100 tenants are having to stay someplace else. we'll have a live report from the complex coming up on 9 news now at 6:00. coming up next new jobs figures force president obama to defend his handling of the economy. we'll be joined live by the host of face the nation bob schieffer. >> the dangerous heat gets worse, then get ready for the possibility of some dangerous storms after that. i'll have your forecast coming up. >> but up next the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing an unarmed teen walks out of jail for the second time. d grade

dark roast

forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. the man charged with killing trayvon martin is out of jail tonight. this is less than 24 hours after a florida judge set bond for george zimmerman at $1 million. zimmerman's previous bond was revoked after prosecutors presented evidence the neighborhood watch volunteer lied about the state of his finances. earlier trayvon martin's mother sybrina fulton spoke out about the judge's decision saying the possibility that her son's killer may walk free one day really hurts. this extremely hot weather has organizations that run day camps especially concerned.

the fairfax county park authority runs more than 100 different camps for thousands of children and the staff have guidelines to keep the kids safe. our peggy fox has more from one of the county's newest parks. >> reporter: if you've got littles and i want to enjoy the summer -- and want to enjoy the summer, what could be better than this, fairfax county's new spray park. it is free and fun, but a power outage next-door at the lee district rec center caused a major scramble for campers. this lacrosse camp and three others run by fairfax county park authority are supposed to be at the lee district rec center, but a worn out power cable, not the bad storm, sent the facility into darkness and set off a quick change of plans. >> they scrambled, got the school. the school has been amazing helping us out. >> reporter: the kids were borised to forestdale elementary -- were bussed to forestdale elementary in springfield where the kids could use the gym and the lacrosse camp could use the

field, but the hot sun and high temperatures this week have posed a danger for anybody outside, especially those not used to it. >> it's really hot out here, especially play lag cross. it can be really tire -- playing lacrosse it. can be really tiring. >> reporter: the coach jason jeffries tells the campers to take water breaks whenever they need to and they go inside part of the day. >> you do worry, but we take plenty of water breaks. the kids are very good about telling us when they're tired and need a break. >> reporter: have you ever said coach, i need to get in the shade? >> yeah, like every day. >> reporter: really? >> yeah. >> reporter: just go in the shade, go inside? >> yeah. >> reporter: if you're wondering why the kids aren't wearing shoes, that's how american indians played the sport. >> they liked the land. it was a survival of the fittest pretty much. >> reporter: that's why you're barefoot. >> yes. we're replaying it. >> reporter: but if you think having the shoes on is cooler on this field, you're wrong. >> definitely makes me run faster to get the ball? >> reporter: oh, really?

>> yeah. just like really eager to get my feet off the hot grass. it's hop and it's really brutal weather, but -- hot and it's really brutal weather, but as long as i'm sweating, i'm still alive. >> reporter: the power is back on now at the lee district rec center and barring any more storms this weekend, next week campers should be good to go. the latest unemployment numbers have president obama on the defensive this evening. the labor department says only 80,000 new jobs were created in june and that leaves the unemployment rate stuck at 8.2%. the president's republican challenger mitt romney says those job numbers are actually worse than that for a lot of americans. however, the white house says despite the report the economy is still growing. >> the president's policies have not gotten america working again and the president is going to have to stand up and take responsibility for. >> i've got a different idea, by building not from the top down but from the middle class up.

>> the president wrapped up that bus tour to ohio and pennsylvania today, two states that helped him win back in 2008. romney right now is vacationing in new hampshire. two of the highest ranking senators on both sides of the aisle will be this week's guests on sunday's face the nation, arizona republican john mccain and illinois democrat dick durbin. joining us now live is the host, cbs' bob schieffer. romney jumped right on the latest unemployment numbers calling them a kick in the gut attacking the president's current neck policies saying it's time for a change -- current economic policies saying it's time for a change. >> no surprise there and you know what? the numbers that come out in october will be even more important than the ones that came out today, anita. this election no matter the other issues that come and go along the way is still going to wind up being about the shape of the economy and getting people back to work. if it's good, that's going to mean advantage obama.

if those numbers are bad, it's going to mean advantage romney. this one is still too close to call. there will be ups and downs, but one constant we know about, it's going to be mostly about the economy. >> now the president is just wrapping up that visit to key battleground state and the republicans were right behind him shadowing each stop. how crucial is this leg of the campaign for undecided voters? >> well, no republican has ever won the white house without carrying ohio. so that's how close it is and we know that the race is very, very close out there. i think the last polls i saw had the president slightly ahead in ohio, but not enough ahead that he can even feel good about it. he's got to keep working it. this is going to be like it was in '84 and in 1980. you're going to see these candidates going to ohio more than they sleep in their own beds at night. it's going to be very, very crucial. >> it sure is. things are just heating up, as

you said and we're not talking about the weather. bob, wool look forward to this sunday. thanks so -- we'll look forward to this sunday. thanks so much. >> we are talking about the weather, too just for heating up. >> bob schieffer, we'll see you 10:30 sunday morning on wusa9. >> thank you. we, too are talking about the weather. in fact, it's so hot out there today i'm having a bad hair day. it's getting rough. it's going to get rougher. >> it is, yes. tomorrow even a worse hair day for you, derek. so maybe -- what would you do? >> get a wet rag? i don't know. >> all right. so we're talking dangerous heat tomorrow. right now temperatures, check out these numbers. you think it's hot here? normally miami is hotter, maybe house orange but we're actually hotter than they are and temperatures -- houston, but we're actually hotter than they are. temperatures will heat up very quickly tomorrow. we're under an excessive heat warning for saturday 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. for the entire d.c. metro area.

we still have a heat advisory in our area tonight until 8:00. just how hot is it? you factor the temperature and humidity, it feels like 100 in fredericksburg, tappahannock 102, manassas 100, leesburg 103 and winchester is cooking at 102, cumberland 102 and almost up to the 100-degree markdown town for the heat index. our live weather cam brought to you by michael and son, nice shot of the white house, hopefully they've got some really good air conditioning. temperature at reagan national 98, sunny skies, dew points the lower 60s, winds not going to help us out. the radar is showing us quiet tonight, maybe a stray storm. now right now temperatures also really cooking in parts of the midwest and the south. look at kansas city at 103, st. louis and little rock all at 105. so we're all dealing with the heat. now storms above this ridge of high pressure like bismarck and also the upper midwest are dealing with more stormy conditions, but we are also going to see

stormy conditions after tomorrow's heat in the form of some storms and maybe some damaging wind gusts sunday. so even hotter for saturday. then get ready for some storms. heat advisory for us until 8:00. saturday we elevate it to excessive heat warning, record highs likely. sunday is still hot, but then afternoon, evening thunderstorms arrive. we've declared tomorrow and sunday a severe weather alert day. our 9 futurecast and show you the mid-atlantic view to give you an idea how things look, saturday not worried about storms. it is excessive heat we're concerned about which is why we declared it a severe weather alert day and then sunday we'll see more clouds come in. it will still be hot but then we'll see the afternoon showers and storms arriving because of a cold front sinking from the north heading to the south. so i think some of those storms could be strong or severe. here's your forecast for saturday. it is code red alert because of the record heat, 104 the high,

maybe a stray storm. sunday red alert because of the big storms, high upper 90s, scattered showers and storms and monday yellow alert because of showers but cooler, mid-80s. here's your next seven days. so both saturday and sunday ware alert days because of the heat for saturday and sunday for the potential big storms, cooler for monday and tuesday and a little unsettled. i don't think it will be wet all week next week. we have a chance for scattered showers and storms daily starting monday and the relief is there. so just keep checking back with us as we'll update the models and let you know how things are turning out for sunday's storms. >> busy weekend in the weather department. we've got breaking news. check this out. this is sky 9 over the west hyattsville metro station. metro tells us there is the possibility of a train derailment on the green line. metro says that train was carrying passengers, but they've got no reports of injuries.

we'll be on this story and have the latest as soon as we get it, possible train derailment in west hyattsville metro station. coming up a live news report interrupted. see how a cat stole the show. >> up next you need a hug? you probably do after this bad weather. we'll tell you where you can get one and from whom you can get it when we come back.

sky 9 was over germantown this morning where a hiker needed to be rescued and taken to the hospital. the victim was deep in the woods in the 16,500 block of jermantown road when he suffered some kind of injury. a helicopter was sent to the quince orchard parking lot to fly that man to the hospital. it's still unclear how the hiker got hurt. the largest post oak tree in virginia is now history. the tree in arlington's westover village was destroyed during the storm. half of the trunk splintered and crashed into the roof of a house. chainsaws will be used next week to cut down the other half. the post oak was 93 feet tall and more than 250 years old, a loss. after all the storm damage and power outages from last

week could you use a hug? a hindu spiritual leader known as the hugging saint is in town today and tomorrow her name is auma and she's known for her humanitarian work all over the world. folks lined up at the hilton adams mark hotel in grand just for a chance for a hug from this nice woman. >> her message is to selflessly serve others, to help others think more of others than ourself and what she teaches is that our real happiness comes in life from compassion, acceptance and love. >> now auma has given more than 32 million hugs so far. she's got four free events today and tomorrow aimed at alleviating suffering. a mother shows her son right from wrong, but it's a little too late. coming up how she stopped him from robbing a gas station. >> also ahead heatwave, flooding, massive storms, drought, is it all because of global warming? both sides will weigh in on the heated debate. up. >> next after the break the

latest in our attempts to get answers from pepco about the number of linemen they employed these days compared to years past. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

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taking you back to our breaking news on the metro subway system, sky 9 out over the west hyattsville station where metro is investigating the possibility of a train derailmentment on the green

line -- derailment on the green line. that train was carrying passengers, no reports of any injuries. we'll be back to the story when we know more. in the aftermath of the epic storm 9 wants to know the answers we think you deserve and despite days of attempts we aren't getting concrete answers from pepco. investigative reporter russ ptacek is tracking the mystery of those missing linemen. >> well, how many linemen are gone, 20, 50, 100? did you see the video tuesday night? you'll watch it now. the excruciating effort to extract that information from pepco's president. >> i don't know the exact number. >> how many? >> again, i don't know. >> understandably you don't know the exact number, but approximately is that correct? >> i don't know. >> compared to 15 years ago. >> i don't know the number. >> as the president of the company you don't know if you've got half as many linemen now as you've got 15 years ago? >> again, i'm focused on the restoration of 95,000 customers and i do not because it's a

workforce consisting of a combination of union employees and also a contract workforce. >> tuesday on 9 news now a union leader told derek mcginty the staffing of pepco linemen had been cut in half over 15 years but try as we might, our gary nuremberg never got an answer from pepco's president. a specialist says as a monopoly pepco has the responsibility to answer. >> the president of the company ought to know that and be willing to disclose it and if he's not, the regulators whose job it is to extract performance from the utilities ought to demand it. >> right before air pepco issued this statement, so i read it expecting an answer. they told us that the restoration effort now, the resources are actually larger than 15 years ago and tell us they've hired 59 new unit line personnel through 2009, but when i pointed out that still didn't answer our question, what about the missing linemen? they said right now they're focused on getting those

remaining customers back with power. >> so basically these are union claims that these linemen through attrition or whatever have been cut in numbers. do we know, has that happened? >> we've asked repeatedly to get the pepco side of this to give us that confirmation. right now we just have the union information. we've had that several days. pepco won't explain. >> then their comment on the restoring process. >> they are making an effort to restore but not to answer. some sciences are suggesting that our wild weather in recent weeks could be the result of global warming. we've got the heatwaves, flooding, droughts and that epic storm here. >> i'm not a scientist at all or a climate change scientist, but i think there's a pretty clear scientific consensus that global warming is happening. what that means in terms of policy is very complicated and not at the core of what we do

here. we regulate utility companies. >> but there are climate scientists out there and they are quick to point out they cannot attribute any one extreme event to climate change, but in general they say these are the sorts of events that one might expect if there were actually a lot of global warm going on. joining us now to debate the very existence of global warming and whether or not this is it, mike tidwell, director of the chesapeake action network and mark morano. can we extrapolate anything from one really bad summer? >> one bad event? no. you can't claim any one event was attributed to global warning, nor can you claim it wasn't. scientists look at the treens and the trends are over-- trends and the trends are overwhelmly more consistent. more violent weather events with extreme wind, drought and now insurance companies are

calling for policies to get off fossil fuels. >> it certainly feels like that's true, but you say this is not anything in terms of the heat we had back in the '30s. >> no. if you look at some of those records from the 1930s, the drought and temperatures of over 100 degrees dwarfed anything that's happening now. when mike talks about all this extreme weather, weather goes in cycles. there's nothing there. professor judith curry from georgia tech was interviewed by the associated press and was not included in the article and said nothing unusual is happening with our weather going back 150 years. >> it sure feels weird, though. >> some say record drought, record heat, record cold is evidence of global warming. so think pick anything they can. >> so you think they cherry pick? >> sure. >> the george bush administration was never accused of being environmental radicals and three landmark studies during the years of george bush jr. said three

things, global warming is happening, human beings are driving it through the use of fossil fuels and it's accelerating. i side with the george bush administration. this is real. your viewers see tv day. we go from one extreme to the other. 10 years ago this gentleman was saying global warming isn't happening and now he's saying yes, the climate is changing, but it's always changing. what is it? >> he says the idea of of weather event proves the theory. it's nonsense. what trend? >> the post says 2010 through 2011, two hottest summers on record. two of the top hottest four junes on record, 2010 the hottest and 2011 no. 3, hottest june day and tied for second hottest june day this year at 104 and 2010 at 102. there does seem to be a pattern. >> you're not going back to the 1930s and you're comparing apples to oranges when you're looking at national airport data compared to the national historic climate data out in

northern virginia which shows the 1930s were by far across the country by drought and temperature. we're not even close to approaching that. >> here's the problem i have. i would love it not to be true that climate change was coming because as the book calls it it is an inconvenient change. i don't want to change the car drive, but however don't we owe it to ourselves to look very hard in this? >> there's an incentive to believe in it. when you take this as a faith based level, these scientists, the moscow heatwave two years ago they tried to attribute to global warming. noaa said you can't do it. it was a natural event. this is a political opportunity for global warming activists to try to seize on hot weather. he also sees -- >> i've got to get you to stop because i have to get mike in here. >> you notice he's not saying global warming isn't happening. >> we are causing this warming. the bush administration had said it repeatedly. >> since when is the bush

administration an authority? >> i think this is representative of the kind of debate that one has on global warming funded by the fossil fuel industry. the world's leading scientists agree and we're seeing it with our own eyes. the weather is changing, the droughts, floods. the power keeps going out. we know there's a trend and now we need to do something about it and get off the coal industry which funds them, get off the oil. >> quick question, what would have to happen for you to change your mind? >> we'd have to have proof of co2 causing global warming and the fact is an environmental has now recanted and said we thought we knew about global warming 20 years ago. we didn't know. there are hundreds of factors that influence the climate. c02 is but one of them. this is a nonsense debate. we're now at the level of faith- based evidence. >> it's hard to believe this is nonsense, but we're going to stop. >> for man causing it is. >> by oil and coal. >> we'll have to stop. gentlemen, please, thank you. we got to go. they're taking over.

we have more on our breaking news about metro. sky 9 is over the west hyattsville station where metro is investigating a possible train derailment on the green line. there's no reports of injuries. the train was carrying passengers. dan stessel is live on the phone. >> we can confirm this is a derail. this is a green line train inbound at approximately 4:45 this a.m. reported a derail. involving somewhere between two and three cars at the trailing end of the train meaning the rear of the train. there are no reported injuries. that is still the case. we have about 60 passengers who are aboard. they are in the process of being evacuated. in fact, most of them have been safely evacuated at this time. they are in the process of getting the last handful of folks off that train. of course, service is suspended in both directions on the green line. that suspension in service runs from ft. totten on the south end to

prince george's county plaza on the north end. we do have schultz buses at those stations with -- shuttle buses at those stations with more en route to breach that gap on the green line. >> did the extreme weather have anything to do with this? >> it's certainly something we will look at but not even an hour into the incident it's a little bit soon to know that. that is something we will be looking at in the hours and days ahead. >> so those passengers that were on those couple cars, they're being evacuated. what does this mean for other commuters? >> well, actually the whole train is being evacuated and we're down to just the last three or four passengers aboard that train. so most have already been evacuated. the service suspension will remain in effect until further notice. i wouldn't expect to see a resumption in green line service in that area for at least the next several hours. if you're planning on taking the green line tonight and we do have a nationals games, we do want folks heading to that to pay special attention. we are experiencing green line

delays both directions. you will experience crowded trains and longer wait times. an alternate option, i know it's very hot right now, but if folks can use capital south, it's about a 10 minute walk on the orange and blue lines, that will get you off the green line and we'll help you avoid delays. >> dan, thank you. obviously folks need to pack some patience. thanks for the update on the derailment. coming up on 9news we will be right back.

we opened up the blinds and there was a tornado. he couldn't sidestep nothing. it ripped the roof off and the walls came down. he was under the one wall. >> the storm that came through

here was awful. >> dangerous heat on the way. 9 weather alert codes may go from yellow to red. caught on tape a dallas area rapid transit van slamming into cars on an exit ramp. look at the right side of your screen. this is newly released video of the crash on june 29th. two people had to go to the hospital. no passengers were in the van. dallas transit officials say the driver is on paid leave while the crash is investigated. a mississippi man is in jail and has his mom to thank. >> the suspect's mom interrupted his alleged crime by snatching her son's gun away. surveillance video from a brandon convenience store shows a 22-year-old man at counter handing over some cash. then he whips out the gun, points it at her, demands

money. all of a sudden the man's mom walks in, grabs the gun and orders him out of the store. there she goes. now the mom does beg the cashier not to call the cops. she says look here, son, you've lost your mind. let's get out of here. turns out it was a fake gun. still the son does face attempted robbery charges and the embarrassment of being busted by your mom and it's on youtube. >> can we say awkward, yes. >> she knew the gun was fake. up next japan watches with baited breath for the birth of its first baby panda in over 25 years.

oh, yes, they're celebrating a much anticipated arrival in japan. a baby cub was born at tokyo zoo yesterday for the first time since 1988. the cub's parents arrived from china last year after the march earthquake and tsunami. the baby panda's sex is unknown

and it won't go on display for another six months, but you can bet they're waiting. >> you can also bet it is the size of a stick of butter. a washington man facing fraud charges after filing a $20,000 insurance claim on a cat. investigators say back in october of last year the man filed the claim saying his cat named tom died in a minor accident in 2009. he even had a picture of old tom. according to court documents, though, the insurance company got suspicious when they came across the same picture of a white cat on wikipedia, yeah. insurance company officials say the man actually sent pictures of two different cats to the company, neither of which he actually owned. >> sketchy. >> still don't know about the idea of $9,000 worth of insurance on the cat, all right. now to the story of a cat that really wanted attention and knew there was a way to get it. >> check out what happened to this reporter while she was live on the air. >> reporter: celebrating their new title in a very appropriate

fashion later today. i'm live in east town and those details coming up. yeah. >> oh, my goodness. >> grand rapids, michigan, reporter, nicole diginatto was live outside a microbrewery when said cat decided to make a cam joe. after the incident she tweeted learned my lesson, never make eye contact with a cat before a live tease ever again. >> because the eye contact is why the cat did that. >> she handled it well, though. she didn't say anything bad. >> and she didn't grab the cat and throw him away. >> animal cruelty never on live television. >> it would have looked bad. >> speaking of bad, the heat is bad outside. tomorrow it's going to get worse, dangerously worse. temperatures will soar past the triple digit mark saturday and then we're looking at the possibility of some big storms. so a lot to cover. here is a look at our numbers and also our excessive heat

warning for saturday. 11 a.m. till 10 p.m. the warning is for the entire d.c. metro area. we're under a heat advisory tonight until 8:00. today and tomorrow and sunday are severe weather alert days. the heat index, 100 manassas, fredericksburg, leesburg 101, culpeper 103 and you factor in the high humidity in the 60s and 70s. it is oppressive to be outside. our live weather cam brought to you by michael and son hoping the ac on full blast in the white house. they're definitely going to need it. in downtown temperature 98 degrees, dew point in the lower 60s, mostly sunny skies. the winds are not helping us out. we would like a nice breeze to bring down those temperatures. radar is quiet for the d.c. area, a couple stray storms south of us into virginia, but we're expecting storm free conditions overall, maybe a stray storm, but overall we have a minimal chance for that over the next 24 hours. sunday is different.

hotter tomorrow, then storms arriving for the end of your weekend. heat advisory for us until 8:00 tonight. then saturday an excessive heat warning, record highs likely, sunday still hot, but then some afternoon, evening storms arrive. here's a look at the futurecast. overnight things are quiet, not worried about any major storms. tomorrow morning lots of sunshine. we'll heat back up very quickly. take it easy tomorrow. tomorrow night looking pretty quiet as well. now sunday is when we see the changes. we see more clouds come into the forecast area. then a cold front comes through sunday afternoon and sunday evening. what that means for success we can see big storms -- for us is we can see big storms. we're talking strong to severe storms sunday but cooler air comes in behind that cold front. so here's your next three days. saturday 104 the high, red alert because of the roar heat, sunday also red alert because -- record heat, sunday also red alert because of the big storms, still hot upper 90s and on monday yellow alert because of the showers and storms and

temperatures in the mid-80s. it will get cooler. your next seven days cooler for basically all of next week, temperatures near seasonal in the mid-80s tuesday, wednesday and thursday. it's not going to be a washout all those days, but we have a chance for some showers and storms. tomorrow also the air quality is red which means unhealthy for everybody. so really a day to take it easy and stay cool and go to the pool. >> or a good movie day. >> there you go. >> you brought this in here so i could show off my skills. >> go ahead, pele. >> that's right. >> not. i've got a kid who can really do this. they call it the beautiful game. for one d.c. student athlete the soccer ball has been the conduit to big things. you're about to meet jocelin poswon who in two weeks will be representing the dmv in a unique athletic competition and he'll also be honoring his brother.

even with temps in the triple digits his feet never stop. this is his canvas and he's quite an artist. >> as my mom is telling me, identify been playing since the age of 1 -- i've been playing since the age of 1. i've always loved the sport. >> reporter: his hometown is in columbia heights, but he's quickly becoming known nationally. he recently beat out 500 players to punch a ticket to the prestigeous nike camp this month meaning he'll be part of a group of 50 to show off his footwork for some of the sport's premier talent evaluators. if they like him, the multi- talented, multi lingual striker -- say channel 9 is the best in french. [ speaking french ] >> reporter: this has a serious side to the story, too. he witnessed civil war. >> i'm sad because i see my

people are dying. >> reporter: he also lost a brother. >> my mom took him to the hospital and unfortunately he didn't make it back. >> reporter: he arrived in the u.s. at age 12 determined to succeed on the pitch and off it. he has. >> i think he deserves it more than anybody i've ever met. he was always so intensely not only watching what was going on in soccer, but also watching what was going on academically. >> reporter: when he travels to oregon in two weeks, two goals, impress the scouts, honor his lost brother. >> he's also help meg and guiding me. -- helping me and guiding me. he's always with me. >> reporter: good luck. >> 3.77 grade point average. this is a kid who came over, couldn't speak the language, learned how to speak it. he's doing pretty well. coming up next on 9 news now. >> more smokers turn to electronic cigarettes to try to kick the habit. i'm susan mcguiness in washington, coming up what some say you need to know before you

try them.

there's been a big push to stop smoking and millions of americans have turned to electronic cigarettes. advocates say they're a safe and effective alternative to the real thing, but the fda say these cigarettes could be hazardous. susan mcguiness brings us a closer look. >> reporter: justin king enjoys a puff on his lunch break, but he's not smoking regular cigarettes anymore. he's using electronic cigarettes which he says helped

him kick his 18 year addiction. >> i wasn't feeling good. i was overweight. i was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. >> reporter: these cigarettes are battery operated devices, some of which turn nicotine into a vapor that is inhaled instead of smoked. a recent italian study found these cigarettes helped smokers cut the number of cigarettes they smoked in half and many kicked the habit completely. >> i think it could be a revolutionary tool in terms of from a public health perspective. >> reporter: but not everyone is convinced. some groups say more research is needed into the potential risks of e-cigarettes, concerned that they contain toxic chemicals and could cause cancer. >> you should not inhale something into your lungs until it's proven safe. >> reporter: hundreds of websites sell e cigarettes with a variety of flavor quarterings. groups like the american lung association are worried they could -- flavor cigarettes. groups like the american lung

association are worried they could be addictive. >> we are concerned consumers learn what they are inhaling in these products and the impact on health is. >> reporter: manufacturers insist these cigarettes are a healthy alternative to smoking without the health risks. for king it was an easy choice. you think it saved your life? >> yeah, i think it did. >> reporter: this former smoker says e cigarettes have helped him breathe easier. this is 9 news now. >> we've got a breaking news commuter alert. we have problems on metro's green line. the last three cars of a train jumped the tracks at the west hyattsville station. we don't know yet what caused the problem, sky 9 out over it, however. there's the staging area where you can see the fire and emergency equipment lined up. again, though, we have no reports of injuries. they're all this apparently for precautions and perhaps the fact they want to make sure nothing else goes wrong. metro says commuters can expect la