morris and his partner arrived, the crooks had left. they started looking at this surveillance video. police say pictures, who still at large. you can see the car drive away as the owner chases after them. it's at this point while looking through the video is when gil sees the suspects, returned to their gas station looking for more victims. >> 100%, that was it. >> he has a very good mind for remembering things and he remembered exact details about the car and he told them, that is the vehicle. >> police say the officers go after the suspects and give chase. police say the suspects in the stolen car were speeding down 95 and laurel, crossing all lanes of traffic, putting other lives in danger. >> the citizens traveling on the beltway, obviously make driving manures, braking, changing lanes, to avoid colliding. >> chain reaction causes

officer morris to lose control. his crews are flipped several times. police located the stolen car in southeast d.c. and after hours of surveillance, arrested 25-year-old kenneth clark mitchell of northeast who police say was the passenger during the fatal pursuit. questions have been raised about guidelines, but police are addment. >> officer morris is doing his job. in my opinion, he was trying to catch a criminal. >> a sad scenario. cops are trying to do their jobs. couldn't ask for finer officers to come in. >> here's another good look at kevan darnell neil. he has a star tattoo on his face. there is a $25,000 reward. he is wanted on a felony car theft. no funeral arrangements yet that we have learned of officer

morris. we also have learned pg county police tweeted out there will be a moment of silence at the preseason redskins game this saturday. back to you. >> thank you. derek. >> an suv plowed into a line of people waiting outside a local food bank late this morning and four people were injured right near the intersection of 14th street and columbia road northwest. peggy fox was on the scene and she reports hours later there is confusion over who was behind the wheel. >> oh my god, that was terrible. >> more than 100 needy people, including families and children were standing in line this morning waiting to receive free produce at the nonprofit organization, change inc. suddenly, this black suv barreled up on to a curve and slammed into four people. knocking the shoes off one person. >> a lady stood up and the car spilled on her. >> one of the injured had been talking to these women and left to get in line for food. >> there was a lot of impact.

a lot of hollaring. what i did, i walked around it. when i walk around, she was laying on the ground. >> fire and rescue officials say one of the four people transferred to hospitals had a serious injury. a broken femur. metropolitan police are investigating the crash. witnesses say the woman wearing black was given a field sobriety test and appeared to pass it, but no charges have been filed yet. >> the woman driving the suv was not alone. she had two small children, a little boy and little girl inside. there were three adult women in the vehicle. the woman in black, a woman wearing shorts who appeared to be the children's mother, and a woman with a cane who appeared to be blind. she was escorted away from the scene. witnesses say they have seen the driver here before. >> give some kind of signal or something that let people know that she's coming through. >> she comes anyway. >> in northwest, peggy fox,

9news now. >> the director of the nonprofit change inc, which distributes that food and she tells 9news, she is hoping the police department will help slow down cars or prohibit them. that's when people are standing in line waiting for food. investigators in ellicott city, maryland, tried to piece together what remains of twisted rails at the scene where two young women were killed by a coal train that ran off the tracks. scott broom is in ellicott city where federal investigators revealed additional facts, but draw no conclusions about what unfolded. >> that's right. no conclusions, but the facts have been released so far point to the possibility that these two 19-year-old college students who died here were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. from sky 9 this morning, a heart shaped memorial appeared in the river near the scene of tragedy. rose mayer and elizabeth nass

tweeting photos, hanging their feet from the historic railroad bridge in ellicott city, when a midnight coal train passed and mysteriously derailed. their bodies were found still on the edge of the bridge buried in tons of spilled coal. >> one in a million. >> residents like steve pointing to the open stone staircase that seems to invite those on to the historic bridge. >> it's not very secure. >> the national transportation safety board is working the case. >> what i know from the recorder is that the air brakes were not applied from the engineer. >> investigators say the train was traveling at an authorized speed of 25 miles per hour. an engineer trainee was at the controls. when an emergency brake system engaged automatically as an air rose ruptured. a sign the train was derailing, but not an explanation why. >> we will begin the recovery of the rail and actually put it

together, reconstruct it, rebuild it. >> none of this explains whether the presence of the two victims had anything to do with the derailment. >> the bottom line is, don't go up there. >> howard county executive promised a review of safety here, where historic fences block access in some places, but not all. and where one such fence is the sight of a makeshift memorial to the two young women killed nearby. nass was a student at james madison university, mayr was a nursing student at the university of delaware. there will be funeral arrangements for saturday at two separate churches here in ellicott city. the cleanup continues, csx, the owner of the railroad says it expects to be pushing trains through here within the next 24 hours or so, but the heavy equipment and cleanup down on the street pushing all the coal around is going to take another two days to clean up, so things are disrupted, especially traffic here in old ellicott

city. until then, reporting live from ellicott city and howard county, scott broom, 9news now. >> a long cleanup, a long investigation still ahead. thanks, scott. a judge in charlottesville denied a request for a new trial for george huguely. the defense claims the former university of virginia lacrosse player was entitled to a new hearing because of numerous errors. huguely was convicted on second- degree murder charges for killing his former girlfriend, yeardley love. he faces up to 26 years in prison when he is sentenced next week. d.c. police are investigate a deadly stabbing. officers responded to a home on 13th street near alabama avenue. just after 4:00 in the morning. medics rushed a 29-year-old woman to the hospital with critical stab wounds, but she died a short time later at the hospital. police are still looking for a suspect and a motive in the cas >> the weather has been quiet out there much of the day. some early morning rain showers are starting to show up out there and on topper's radar.

not on the weather terrace where topper is right now. top. >> very nice on the weather terrace. but we are in good shape, however, that said, let's go to live doppler 9,000, because well, we still have a shower or thunderstorm in the forecast. our odds with in the nats, braves game tonight. there is a chance. right now, we have one up near charles town. and heavy little cell just kind of popped up, right on i-66 between manassas and chantilly. that is moving to the northeast, heading toward irfax county. so that said, we have a chance for a shower and temperature wise, it's a bargain. temperatures in the low 80s, winds out of the southeast at 10. we'll come back and talk about isaac, where isaac is headed, if it could affect the u.s. mainland and when. >> okay, topper. britain's prince harry stirring up controversy again. this time in sin city. >> you always get in trouble there. tmz posted this naked photo of

the prince taken during a private party at his las vegas hotel. monica reports from london. >> reporter: prince harry was on his best behavior at the olympics, but within days, the prince went wild, partying in las vegas. tabloids are slashing photos of the prince drinking cocktails with young women at the pool. he raced olympian, ryan lockte. >> i think naked sounds good. >> he's the party boy. nothing unusual, really. >> palace officials confirmed it is harry in the photos, but the royal family is asking the media to respect the prince's privacy, saying he was in a hotel suite and not in public. >> prince harry's grandmother, the queen, is not amused. others say let harry be harry. >> for god sake, he's a young man, let him have some fun. >> it's not the first time the

party prince has been snapped in a moment of indediscretion. he once wore a nazi uniform to a costume party. he has taken on more responsibility. he stood in for her majesty. >> he does all these things beautifully and he puts his foot in it, which happens to real people in real life. >> and his latest escapades could spell trouble for harry when he resumes his military duties. the 27-year-old is learning, what happens in vegas doesn't stay in vegas. >> and tmz reports the photos were taken after the prince and a large entourage invited women up to his room. the prince says advisers reportedly were locked in meetings all day about how to best handle these rather scandalous photos. derek. >> nothing you can really do. this is a case of life imitating art. he plays a special agent on tv.

now l.l. cool j. nabbed a real life bad guy. he caught an intruder this morning and police say they had a knock down, dragout, throwdown and l.l. cool j., well he did most of the knocking out. >> the suspects sustained enough injuries to the point he was taken to a local hospital. >> intruder's jaw was broken. he hold the suspect down until lapd got there. he will be arrested on suspicion of burglary. that's after he gets gets out of the hospital. one year after an earthquake hits the nation's capital. what experts are saying about the damage done to the washington monument. >> also ahead, tap water versus bottled. which one do you prefer? your answer could affect your health and wallet. we'll take the taste test. >> the wild fire sent thousands evacuating, but more

people are sleeping outside than inside. i'm in redding, california, we'll explain coming up.

crews are finally getting the upper hand on that wild fire. firefighters say the flames burning north of sacramento are now 50% contained. >> but thousands of people are still in evacuation centers waiting to go home. the latest from redding, california. >> reporter: firefighters say

they are making progress, containing a wild fire burning in northern california. they are building 30-foot buffers around 200 homes still threatened. >> we are treating it. air tankers are flown. the crews have removed the vegetation from the houses. >> the fire has already charred more than 24,000 acres. destroyed 50 structures and forced thousands out of their homes. many are coming to shelters like this one in redding. but the red cross says more people are sleeping outside than inside to stay with their pets. don and sandra turned their car and the shelter parking lot into their temporary home. they couldn't bear to be without their dogs, chucky and scruffy. >> we love them so much. we wouldn't leave them with anyone else. >> even if it meant you had to sleep outside? >> right. >> it's okay for a couple of days, but anything longer than that, it's rough. >> thinking about the strain on his family and finances leaves don norwood in tears.

>> just everything. it's just hard. >> firefighters say some of the people forced from their houses could be allowed back home over the next few days. cbs news, redding, california. >> california's governor declared a state of emergency for three counties impact by the wild fires. they can now receive more state aid and resources to fight that fire. anita. >> tomorrow marks one year since the east coast earthquake rattled our area and there's some good news to report. the washington monument, it's not sinking. a government report says the quake didn't cause any change in the base or depth of the monument. the monument sunk deeper into the ground. it weighs about 90,000 tons and sitz on a base made mostly of clay, sand, and gravel. they are surprised the quake didn't force a shift in the base, but the upper portion of the monument did sustain large cracks and it will likely be closed for repairs until 2014.

a news conference will be held tomorrow on the grounds of the washington monument to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. representatives from d.c., maryland, virginia, fema, the u.s. geological survey and national park service will discuss the lingering effects of this quake that we all remember. progress on rebuilding and recovery as well. the current earthquake threat and likelihood of future east coast quakes and the announcement of a shakeout, earthquake drill. the 5.8 magnitude quake not only closed the washington monument, but caused extensive damage to the national cathedral. and $75 million in damage to virginia where it was actually centered. in the year that past since that day, there have been more than 1,000 aftershocks. but only about 200 of those were felt by people near the quake's epicenter. research teams are on the ground trying to understand and map virginia's geology. >> and what they were able to

learn is that the main earthquake and most of the aftershocks occurred on an unnamed fault. it runs through eastern louisa county and over here in the west, we've got another fault running through here and the earthquake occurred between those two faults. >> until last year's quake, the frequency of measurable earthquakes was averaging about one every 16 months or so. geologists say there's a good chance there will be an east coast quake that will be larger than the one we had last year. but there's no way to tell when or where. remember that day, guys, wow. >> that was something. >> my big question remains, it weighs 90,000 tons, but how can you know this? can you weigh? >> better question, maybe, how can it be supported by clay? >> well, that's interesting. a small environment. >> you think it would be moving down. think about that next time you go up. >> don't do that.

don't do what topper just said. >> beautiful sunrise. sky 9 captured this. just a little color, just enough cloud cover. >> that is nice. >> isn't that nice? it's pretty nice. i tell you what, we're looking at the same pattern again tomorrow. you'll have a nice sunrise and a few afternoon storms, nothing crazy. want to switch gears now and talk about the tropical storm isaac. this is isaac right now. it's going to pass south of antegua. we have hurricane watch in effect and hurricane warning in effect for the dr. here's the track, winds are still 45 miles per hour. not exactly a power packed storm. about 365 miles east, southeast of san juan. models in good agreement until it gets to the eastern part of cuba and the models converge. the national hurricane center compromise and taken the storm through key west up the west side of florida. could impact the republican

convention next week. right now, it has it forecast to be a category one storm next monday with winds of 80 miles an hour. all right, live doppler 9,000. again, you think the odds are with us tonight. there's one little storm that just popped up, literally in the last 45 minutes. and it is pretty heavy. right into the north. that state highway 620. and that is north of springfield. we see the reds, that's pretty good rain fall and this could be hail, too, right to the north. we'll widen it out and put the radar into motion. the odds are, you think you would be dry at the stadium, but we'll put this into motion and watch the storms weaken a little bit, but they head toward the stadium and this storm stays out toward chantilly. so, there's a chance tonight, but who cares, we're playing the braves. got to beat the braves. live look outside, brought to you by michael and son. temperature 82. dew point 63.

pretty comfortable. humidity around 50%. winds light and the pressure 30.03 inches of mercury. 83 in springfield. 84 in college park. those are nice temperatures. now, here's what we are looking for. a few showers and storms. isolated shower or storm tonight. odds in favor of the nats. we are going to go three for three. if we went three for three, we could for rain delays. comfortable again, with lows in the 60s. now the next three days, green, green, and green. 87 tomorrow. isolated storm, and a shower possible friday and saturday. temperatures also in the upper 80s. now the next seven days, looks like this. we are looking at temperatures in the mid 80s to upper 80s over the weekend and i tell you what, a drop there, but i also have the word nice because the drop of showers will not affect your plans, you can do whatever you want. keep your tee times. we are flirting with 90 sunday

and monday. and upper 80s monday and tuesday. so, that's the latest on isaac. it's a good time to go to our website and down load our 9 hurricane tracker. it's free. >> yeah, it's free. >> that's the best price of all. all right, coming up, a u.s. open headline that has nothing to do with play on the tennis court. a long-time referee is arrested in new york city accused of killing her husband. >> but up next, a lawyer for penn state's former president on the attack against lewis' report on the university's sex abuse scandal.

as former penn state coach, jerry sandusky, sits in jail waiting to be sentenced on child sex abuse charges, the university former president is fighting allegations that he covered up sandusky's crimes. in an investigation led by the former fbi director, lui free, it is alleged that graham and the late coach, joe paterno, worked to cover up sandusky's crime to avoid the bad publicity it meant for the school. today in philadelphia, the attorney publicly refuted the findings of that report. >> i know the difference between a balanced, fair, and judicious assessment of evidence on the one hand and a

flat out distortion of facts so infused with bias and inuendo that it is quite simply, unworthy, of the confidence that has been placed in it. >> not facing any criminal charges, however, sandusky can spend the rest of his life in prison when he is sentenced later this year. a washington state man is accused of making an e-mail death threat against president obama. the secret service says anton brandished a shotgun at officers at his home outside seattle. they were able to take the weapon away as well as a gun. a woman identifying herself says he is a good person, but he did a stupid thing. a long time tennis referee and coach is awaiting extradition to los angeles where she will face murder charges. 70-year-old lois goodman was boarding a bus for a u.s. open match in new york when she was picked up by police. prosecutors in l.a.

say she killed her 80-year-old husband by striking him with a coffee mug. earlier, goodman claimed his death was an accident. >> the story of him falling down the stairs, although it may have occurred, it just didn't fit the evidence that was at the scene. >> the coroner's report determined that 80-year-old goodman was murdered by his wife. he is due back in los angeles in the next ten days. a young ohio basketball star looking at a much different life ahead. he looked on in disbelief and then just collapsed after learning that he had gotten three years in prison as a sentence. he remained on the ground briefly, but the deputy pulled him back to his feet. farmer is accused of threatening his exgirlfriend. the judge may review the sentence after 180 days. >> you may notice something different the next time you get into a d.c. cab.

coming up, the city shows off its next taxi smart meters. >> did you tell the difference between bottles and tap water? you might be surprised. i'm anny hong in northwest d.c. where the city wants a challenge to this surrounding d.c. tap water.

we drink a lot of water here in our newsroom, but can you tell the difference between tap water and some that comes

from a bottle? >> that is the challenge d.c. water is putting to residents in the city. >> anny hong went out to one of its weekly test challenges to find out what the results would be. she is live now in the kitchen and we want to know, what's the deal, anny? >> i'll be testing you guys soon just after my story, so get ready. now i do admit that i am a water bottle drinker myself. my friends were telling me the water may not be the safest, but that's a myth that d.c. water is trying to dispel. >> oh, i was spot on. the water, you can tell the difference. >> it tasted really fresh, like it left a good taste in my mouth. >> the d.c. water taste test challenge pits tap water against bottled water and the results are mixed. >> i was right. i tasted one that had a bit of an aftertaste and tasted plasticky. >> water tasted similar, but

living in southwest and drinking tap water often, i was able to determine the difference. >> i was wrong. i thought the sample that was actually bottled water was the tap water. >> d.c. water has an uphill battle to change the perception. it stems from reports of ten years ago that lead levels in water from certain lead pipes exceeded the environmental protection agency standards. >> we continue to meet or epa standards. it's not as regulated as we are. we feel that yeah, we are the better choice. >> d.c. water kicked off its water taste test challenge on wednesday, a program that will go to each ward every week to educate the public about the safety and advantages. it is clearly a challenge because some people are still skeptical, like janice jones. >> when you do, yeah. >> i will honestly continue to

do the same and drink filtered water to do the same, because i don't want to drink straight tap because you don't know what's in tap water. >> okay, so we're back here live in the kitchen. i have all you guys here. so on the left is sample a. on your right, sample b. take a sip of sample a. i got them mixed up. all right, try sample b on your right. this is water here. all right, so which one do you think is the tap water versus bottled water? >> a is tap water. >> i couldn't really tell the difference. >> the left one. a is tap. >> we think a is tap. >> and b is bottled. you're right, yeah. i got them mixed up, but they tasted better. >> both are fine. >> they both taste fine and it's good to see myths

dispelled. >> exactly. saves a lot more money. >> that's for sure. all right, there you go. good job, guys. speaking of saving money, well, high grocery prices have not stopped many of us from literally throwing away our money. according to a natural resources defense council study, 40% of the food we buy gets thrown into the trash. the data shows that an average family of four tosses out more than $2200 a year in food. fruit and veggies are followed by grains, meat, and milk. senior citizens lose more than $140,000 in financial schemes, unsolicited e-mails and fraudulent investment products. the free lunch seminar. to inties seniors to participate, crooks market it as an educational luncheon when it's a sales pitch for some investment products with

misleading claims. t-mobile is jumping back into the unlimited data plan for smart phones. sounds good, but there's a catch. customers cannot link there devices to a computer or use it as a mobile hot spot. that 4g plan will cost between $70 and $90 a month. t mobile joins sprint as the only large national carriers to offer those unlimited data plans. whole foods has some plans to triple the number of stores to 1,000 locations. the health food grocer will open markets in under served areas, including the south side of chicago and in the city of detroit. and after shopping for groceries at whole foods, you will soon be able to pull up to the bar for a nice cold brew. whole foods is building a pub that its virginia store. the beer room named the arlington pub will offer local draft beers, wine by the glass, and an organic coffee bar in a

pub-like atmosphere. whole foods' beer pub is scheduled to open september 20. president obama says he is extending a pay freeze for federal workers until next spring. the move is a result of congress' failure to reach an agreement. the pay freeze has been in effect for two years already. federal workers can still receive raises upon promotion as a performance award or as they advance up the steps of their pay grade. you may notice some changes next time you hop into a d.c. cab. there's going to be new meters that allow riders to pay by credit card and that's one of the things it can do. this is part of a package of taxi cab reform. praised the arrival of this new taxi technology. >> it's a classic situation of change. this is a change, and frankly, it is long overdue in terms of a change. we're not going to hurt drivers in the course of this. >> the credit card readers and gps devices will be required,

and taxis will be asked to adapt a color scheme. the smart meters will allow riders to view the news and weather reports and contact the cops or medical personnel in case there is an emergency. it weighs nearly 5-pounds and only four copies can sit on a rack. coming up, the record breaking magazine issue that is now hitting newsstands. top. >> we are tracking a couple showers and thunderstorms on live doppler. we'll show you one of them. it could head towards nats park. we'll track that for you and talk about the prospect of storms on and off and the latest on isaac. but up next, an amateur photographer has a whale of a tail to tell after a truly close encounter off the california coast. and don't forget, we're always on at wusa9.com. stay with us, we'll be right back.

caught on tape, a whale of a tail out in california. following a disappointing day of birds. it was a group of humpback whales feeding very close to shore and just a couple of feet away from the boaters. >> thousand pelicans would go

to a new spot. it was a big massive bait fish and the whales would come up through that mass. >> wow, experts say it is common, especially around this time of day. but it is rare to see them coming out of the water and a dramatic fashion. >> incredible pictures. kayakers had another close encounter with a whale further north. this one in santa cruz, california, where the birds and a humpback feasted on tiny shrimp-like critters. one of the kayakers pulled out his camera and captured video of the feeding frenzy. all right. a rather heavy, substantial fashion statement for vogue magazine. >> a new issue of the magazine weighed nearly 5-pounds. the fashion magazine broke its old record of 840 pages by 76 pages in this issue, facing lady gaga. it is the 120th anniversary

issue and it is so thick that newsstands are lucky to get four copies to iraq. i know i have it in my house, it's big. it's really big. >> we can use it for arm weights after that. >> i don't know. i subscribe. >> nothing wrong with that. >> the nats going to the braves. >> as we head into the heart of hurricane season, a new tool designed to help us understand those walls of wind.

tropical storm isaac has not hit land yet, but it is having a big impact. puerto rico's governor declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard and the pentagon is canceling all pretrial arguments at the u.s. naval base. that includes the trial of mohommed for his role in the

september 11 attacks. twenty years ago today, hurricane andrew slammed into the bahamas, then it dealt a devastating blow to south florida. as john lennox reports, today researchers are still looking for ways to keep people safe when the next big one looms on the horizon. >> flashbacks in 1992. the deadly storm flattened entire neighborhoods. homes reduced to piles of rubble. fast forward twenty years later and there's a big project underway at the hurricane research center to help make homes, buildings, and bridges stronger. the university has been using these old fans to produce hurricane forced winds, but now, they are trading up. and talk about a big upgrade. here's a look at the new system, the wall of wind here on the campus. it is composed of 12 different wind turbines, each one with a diameter of six feet.

here's a wind test right here. the winds gusting at anywhere from 15 to 20 miles per hour. the wall of wind, as it's called, can create category 5 strength winds of 157 miles per hour. the demonstrate the power of the new fans, two homes were built. the first home to the building codes in place before hurricane andrew. the second demo built, that are in place today. you can see a category 5 winds just like in hurricane andrew topping 160 miles per hour. more of the shingles, the preandrew home. the post andrew home, the roof remains more in tact. >> this facility allows you to see a head and she behaved in a category hurricane. >> this wall of wind, they can make structures stronger and keep catastrophic scenes like this one from hurricane andrew from happening again in cities and countries around the world.

>> we have come a long way after hurricane andrew. we have changed the building codes. with this system, we can test those building envelopes, the roof and the wall and the windows and to see again the weak links. >> and top, you tried something similar, right? >> we have. it has the wind tunnel on the university of maryland, first built in 1947. they are can crank the winds up there. so, it's mind opening and blowing. >> intense. all right, we are looking at a couple showers and thunderstorms across the metro area. they are few and far between, but they are in important places, as it were, like over nats park. but i have been thinking about this. we had two rain delays in a row. we have two winds in a row. so this is live, kristen is down there getting ready for game three of the nats, braves series, and it is pouring again. it might be okay. just might be all right. let's take a live look outside.

we have turned the camera toward the south and this is a storm i'm going to show you on radar in just a second. looks a little threatening down there. nothing severe right now. temperature 81. dew point 63. winds out of the north, northeast at 8. pressure rising. here's the storm we're looking at. showing picture of as we turn the camera. and these are heavy. nothing severe. one near the mall headed towards nats park. one northeast of annondale. and one toward dulles out the toll road. we'll widen the radar out and put the radar back into motion and over the next hour, creep along. put them into motion. they do kind of fall apart a little bit, but they broke eastward. they'll cross 95, go by the airport, and eventually cross over toward nats park and kind of sit on top of nats park for a little while. so maybe a rain delay is good luck for us. temperatures, 80 in bethesda.

82 in vienna. 80 in arlington. 82 in springfield. warm spot 85 over in college park. okay, headline, well just a few showers and storms tonight. they will be isolated. odds are in favor of the nats, but they are quickly not being in favor of the nats and comfortable. low temperatures will be in the 60s. so for tonight, shower or thunderstorm possible. but still comfortable. lows until the 60s. winds light. and by morning, grab your shades, partly cloudy, pleasant. 60s and 70s. air quality forecast to be orange, unhealthy. if you have respiratory problems, you should limit your time outdoors. by afternoon, partly cloudy and warm. highs in the upper 80s. next three days, good news. green, green, and green. 87 on thursday. 89 on friday. 87 on saturday. we got a shower possible friday and saturday, but not enough to change your plans. and the next seven days, a shower on sunday, too, but a

nice weekend. maybe a storm monday, maybe a storm tuesday. we'll flirt with 90 and back in the upper 80s on wednesday. so, yeah, the nats are having tough luck in terms of weather. >> yeah, they are on a roll. >> indeed. >> if they pull this off tonight, it's a three-game sweep of the mighty braves. >> kristen berset is live at nats park. hey kristen. >> hey guys, it is coming downright now, just running over here to the dugout. i got soaked. you know what? the last three games, there's been a rain delay for the nats and they won all three. maybe once this passes up, that means it will be good luck for them. a big game tonight, a victory not only gives them a sweep over the braves, but it also gives them an eight-game lead in the nl east. pretty big, but we seen it happen before, where a team can take this kind of lead into the season and collapse. the braves, prime example, they did it last year. i was asking the nats about it

and they said there's no room to be complacent. >> i had l.a. walk us down in september one year when i was over in arizona. and it's not a good feeling. you can feel them coming and you know, those guys ended up walking us down and ended up in the playoffs. >> we were in great position. but we understand how this game works and how they can fold back and our bad spot, too. we need to keep moving forward and take small steps. >> joining me now to talk about this game tonight and this series, dan from masnsports.com. i mentioned how the game would mean a sweep, but we were talking before, there's still a lot of baseball to be played. >> there's still a lot left. we have six weeks left in the regular season. that would be huge to pick up this sweep. it would be a demoralizing loss for the braves to come in here and lose three straight. it's not the end of the road. they need to keep their foot on the throat over the next six weeks and put this thing away.

>> dayy johnson started off by asking the media, do you have any ideas how to keep strasburg pitching into october? that's most likely not going to happen. his role will be elevated. is he is a guy that the nats can rely on? >> he has been lately. he has been pitching lately. he throws in the mid 90s and a will the of people are starting to realize players and managers starting to realize how good ross can be. he's been rely on his fastball more. he's going to become that number four starter when strasburg goes down. still a young guy in terms of major league experience, but he is coming along and he'll need them. >> the team is full of young guys that don't have a lot of post season experience. you think they can handle the pressure down the ?rech. >> stretch. >> these are meaningful.

so, it's another factor, i think they are ready for it. they have been preparing for it and doing a good job of treating every game like it's the same, regardless if it's the braves or any other team. >> well, we've got this big game and they are going to face the braves one more time on the road this season. hopefully, we'll get this game in tonight. you can see, he is wet on his shoulders. it is coming downright now. sitting out in the rain. so i'm going to let you guys go, dan, thanks so much. we'll get this game underway as soon as the rain clears up. i'm kristen berset. back to you guys in the studio. >> you go dry off, kristen. thank you. and still ahead tonight, the battle for virginia in campaign 2012. a look at who is in the commonwealth today and who is coming next week. then later on, people donated thousands of dollars after video of her being bullied went viral on the web. find out what the now retired bus monitor is doing with all that cash. >> but first, a potentially

historic year for a deadly virus. the new numbers are up next in our health alert.

west nile virus tops tonight's health alert. this may be the worst outbreak since the virus was first detected in the u.s. 13 years ago. here are the latest numbers out today. they show infections in 47 states, a total of 1,118 cases in people with 41 deaths.

also, this year, more than half of the cases have been more serious. progressing to infections of the brain and spinal cord. today, d.c. health officials announced mosquito testing found west nile in several samples, but there has been one confirmed human illness, which was not fatal. it's estimated as many as 7.5 million americans have psoriasis. the treatment for this painful skin disease might have beneficial side effects to the heart. >> 4 1/2 years ago, painful red spots showed up on nancy's arms, back, and legs. >> i actually had people stop and ask me if i wore a pair of shorts or something like that, you know. have you been burned? it's that severe looking. >> her doctors suggested an antiinflammatory drug that is a tnf inhibitor. it cleared up her skin almost right away. >> i needed to dress professionally and i mean, you can do that with pants, but

still, it extended the wardrobe. >> new research medical center shows this same treatment has another major benefit. >> patients who are given an inhibitor or about 50% less likely to have a heart compared to patients who receive other medications. >> people with psoriasis are at higher risk of heart disease because it causes inflammation. >> it brings out diabetes and heart attack. >> the dnf inhibitor lowers the risk. it is an easy treatment that takes her less than a minute once every two weeks. it helped her become less self- conscious about her psoriasis. >> to have something simple like a skirt and sweater. and you feel more professional anyway. so it was a definite plus. >> kaiser permanente funded the study. the drugs are already used, you see they are injected with pens

to treat auto immune diseases. this is 9news now. >> who was behind the wheel and said she had been there. that is the question tonight after an suv hit four people along 14th street in the district today. peggy fox has more on the investigation. >> oh my god, that was terrible. >> more than 100 needy people were standing in line waiting to receive free produce this morning when suddenly, a black suv plowed up on to a curb and slammed into four people. the victims were taken to a hospital and witnesses were left shaken. >> a lady went through the wall and a car spilled on her and people bleeding and another lady, two other ladies laying down on the ground. >> and left to get in line for food. >> next thing i know, a lot of impact, it was a lot