. we have breaking news to tell you about. metro is investigating death of a pedestrian. the person was struck by a

train about an hour ago on the red line. metro says that riders can expect delays. farragut north remains open with trains single tracking between the judiciary square station and dupont circle. we will have more information when it becomes available. anticipation is growing for tonight's second presidential debate. president obama says he didn't do too well in the first debate, so he is promising a more spirited performance this time. randall pinkston reports now from hofstra university in new york. >> reporter: the pressure is on president obama when he takes the stage tonight. republican challenger mitt romney out performed him in the first debate and reenergized his campaign. democrats expect a livelier president this time. >> he needs to be energetic. >> reporter: romney will try to build on gains he made at the

first debate. his supporters are expecting him to deliver another strong performance. >> i think he's turned the election around after the first debate. now he has to -- just keep the momentum going. >> reporter: romney's surge has spread to female voters. a new poll shows him just a point behind the president among likely voters in key swing states. tonight's debate will use a town hall style format. 80 randomly selected uncommitted voters will be in the audience. 11 of them will get to ask a question on foreign or domestic policy. >> both can dots have done -- candidates have done well in town hall settings and both have done poorly. it will just depend on how they operate in the time in the moment. >> reporter: both can expect questions from moderator kathy crowley. she said she didn't sign on to abpot the plant. the obama campaign says the present is ready for questions from all comers.

randall pinkston, cbs news, hempstead, new york. >> even though many people thought that mitt romney won the first debate, one poll shows a majority of people expect president obama to win tonight. 9news now is teaming up with our sister paper "u.s.a. today" for tonight's debate. and beginning at 9:00 p.m., "u.s.a. today" reporters will be live blocking about what the candidates say. you can see that live on wusa9.com. keep your television tuned to channel 9 to watch the debate which begins at 9:00 p.m. and also log on to wusa9.com. then you can join derek and anita a 11:00 p.m. as they fact check what the candidates say, what the "u.s.a. today" fact checking team -- with the "u.s.a. today" fact checking team. first there was a rescue. next comes the reunion. two missing hikers from virginia neal peckens of herndon, virginia and jason

hiser of richmond, virginia are due back home after they were located in the rugged back country of glacier national park in montana. the families of the two veterinarians reported them missing on friday after they failed to catch their flight home. rescue teams spent the next three days searching for them. it was terrible weather. there were high winds, limited visibility and lots of snow. but they were found about 4:30 yesterday in the national park. >> it's just a great feeling to know that they're out of the back country, that they're safe and their we with their families-- >> they're with their families. >> these pictures were taken shortly after the rescue. both men are 32 years old and married. jason's wife by the way is eight months pregnant. by the way, the two met at the virginia-maryland regional college of veterinary medicine and over the years they have taken several hiking trim --

hiking trips together. they were relatively experienced hikers. but something went wrong and rescue teams were sent out to look for them. we expect to learn more about their ordeal later today and we'll bring it you to of course on our website wusa9.com. we're glad they're safe. police say a frederick, maryland man has been arrested in connection with a rape that occurred this weekend. 23-year-old montrelle bowie was chased by friends of the victim until he was cornered in a convenience store yesterday in the 100 block of south market street. police say that he raped a woman in the same location a day earlier. she managed to jump out of her car following the assault. bowie faces several charges, including first degree rape, carjacking, and kidnapping. prince george's county police are looking for a suspect who used a shotgun to rob a gas station. this happened on sunday at the shell gas station located in

the 13800 block of annapolis road in bowie. the suspect fled after the robbery. there were no injuries. police are offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest. four people are be treated for injuries they received in an accident that occurred in clarksburg, maryland. a crash happened this morning near the intersection of seneca parkway and route 355. two juveniles were airlifted to children's hospital. two adult patients, one of them with life-threatening injuries were rushed from the scene in ambulances. police are still investigating exactly what happened. rescue crews were called to another accident, this one occurred in anne arundel county. a total of seven vehicles were involved in a crash on route 3 near the intersection of annapolis road. one vehicle overturned and caught fire. the location is near crofton,

maryland. a spokesperson says that self people may have been injured but we'll give you more information on our website when it becomes available. still to come on 9news now at noon, a progress report on the pakistani school girl who was shot by the taliban. that's coming up. >> plus, secretary of state hillary clinton moves to distance the white house from the attack that killed the libyan ambassador chris stevens. details on these stories and more in just a moment.

secretary of state hillary clinton is speaking out about the deadly terror attack in libya that killed ambassador chris stevens. she says ultimately she is responsible for embassy and consulate security and not the white house. secretary clinton is addressing the controversy after

republicans criticized the obama administration for a lack of security at the consulate. danielle nottingham has more. there's still little information about who i tacked the u.s. -- who attacked the u.s. consulate in benghazi. just weeks before the presidential election, secretary of state hillary clinton says she alone is responsible for keeping u.s. diplomats safe. >> i want everybody to know we're going to get to the bottom of this and when we do, that information will all be public and people will be able to draw their own conclusions. >> reporter: three separate investigations are under way to find out what happened. republicans are accusing the obama administration of a political coverup. >> either they are misleading the american people or are incredibly incompetent. >> reporter: the obama administration blamed it on protesters outraged over an american made film mock be the

muslim prophet muhammad. >> we do not have information at present that leads us to conclude this was premeditated or preplanned. >> reporter: later the administration said terrorists were behind the planned attack. clinton says in the fog of war, there's always going to be confusion. >> everybody had the same information. i have to say i know there's been a lot of attention paid to who said what when but i think what happened is more important. we were attacked. >> reporter: a group of republican senators issued a statement praising clinton for accepting responsibility but say blame rests with the president and his national security team. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. former senator and presidential candidate george mcgovern has been admitted to a hospice in south dakota. the democrat is best known for his unsuccessful 1972 campaign against richard nixon. mcgovern's family issued a statement saying they appreciate everyone's well wishes and they request

privacy. george mcgovern is 90 years old. former senator arlen specter will be laid to rest today. the former pennsylvania senator died of nonhodge skins lymphoma on -- nonhodgkins lymphoma on sunday. he was a moderator who was -- moderate who was often at odds with republican leaders. he aggressively questioned anita hill during clarence thomas' hearing. vice president biden will attend the funeral and president obama has ordered u.s. flags to fly at half staff today at the white house and at other public buildings. doctors in england say the pakistani girl shot by the taliban is making good progress. insurgents say the teenager deserved to die because she defied the taliban's ban owed indication for girls -- ban on education for girls and supported the biggest enemy of islam the united states.

and also president obama. we have more now from england. >> reporter: sciewrgt is extra tight at queen his beth's hospital -- elizabeth's hospital in new england where malala yousafzai was transported. >> we don't believe there's any sort of threat to her personal security. we think it's probably people being overcurious. >> reporter: doctors say they're impressed with the strength and resilience of the 14-year-old activist. >> she is not out of the woods yet. there's plenty that could go wrong but at this stage, we're optimistic that things are going in the right direction. >> reporter: doctors say malala has a team of medical experiments around her. they're starting to plan for reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to her brain. a taliban gunman shot malala last week as she rode home on her school bus. she paid headlines for her outspoken support of girls

education. taliban fighters claim they did not attack her for that. they say she deserved to die because she spoke out against them and supported barack obama whom they called the biggest enemy of islam. insurgents say if malala recovers, they'll try to kill her again. back home in pakistan, thousands are praying she will get better. those who know her say she's incredibly strong. >> i fell in love with her the day i first met her. she is articulate and vary boast and courageous. >> reporter: doctors hope that courage will give her the strength she needs to pull through. cbs news, birmingham, england. medical teams airlifted the girl from pakistan to england yesterday so that she could get the specialized care that she needs. coming up ahead on 9news now, i'm going to be joined by my montgomery county police chief tom manger. we have several issues that we want to discuss. of course, howard has full details on the forecast. >> jc, it's been a cool morning

out there turning into a cool fall like afternoon. some of the winds have gusted over 20 miles an hour and a quick look at temps before the break. most still in the 50s although we're now up to 60 here in d.c. and also college park. the full seven-day forecast when 9news now returns.

residents in montgomery county have been bombarded by ads about that gambling referendum that's coming up, but there is another initiative on the ballot. it is question b. it hasn't

received the kind of attention that the gambling referendum has. let me tell you it deals with collective bargaining for police officers. now, union activists say they oppose question b. i have my police chief tom manger here. you disagree. tell me what it is about. >> it's a very narrow scope of bargaining. it's called effects bargaining. the county council last year calmly passed allow restricting it. we ask people to support public safety and accountability and vote for question b. >> vote for question b. you have something else coming up on friday. there is a blood and can food drive that the police department is having. what do you want to happen? >> we're celebrating our 90th anniversary. the police department has been in existence for 90 years. we want 90 people to come to police headquarters and give blood. the police headquarters is the new headquarters on edison park drive in gaithersburg right off route 28. we're hopeful we can get -- i'm

going to donate blood. we're hoping people can bring food and donate blood. >> canned food for the needy families. >> that's correct. >> you had an officer involved in a shooting recently. tell me about that? >> it was in silver spring. a man showed up at a home where his girlfriend was baby- sitting, banging on the door in the middle of the night. she won't let him in. he calls 911, says he's going to kill himself. we get there and he's got -- he's armed with a handgun, what we believed to be a handgun. it turned out to be a replica handgun. it looked exactly like a real gun. officers talked to him to hours pleading with him to drop the gun. he came up, confronted the officers, pointed his gun at him and several officers ended up having to shoot him and unfortunately we killed him. >> again, i want to remind our viewers for the blood drive and the can drive, this friday. >> friday morning. >> you say you only want 90? come o let's do 900.

>> that would be great. that would be terrific good have people come out, donate blood. this is the time of year we really need it and of course canned goods for needy families. i want to say congratulations to my chief, because he is going to be inducted into the montgomery county human resources-- >> it was great. it's -- i'm just honored to be with the folks being inducted including you. >> i am, too. >> it's a real thrill. >> but you deserve it. i don't know about you. >> i'll tell you, we're with good company, that's for sure. >> before we leave, i do want to touch quickly on the bank robbery that occurred in montgomery county. >> we had a bank robbery. i think viewers are looking at it now. we think the same man who just robbed this bank in rockville robbed the same bank a year ago. these are two different pictures of him. one from a year ago. one just occurred last week. any help we can get from the viewers in identifying this suspect, we're asking them to call our tip line. >> that phone number is? >> crime solvers phone number.

i should know it off the top of my head. if they go to our website, it's right there for them. >> all right. call if you have any information about that photo. i'll see you on sunday, october 28, when you're inducted into the montgomery county hall of fame. so nice to have you. always a joy and a pleasure. >> thank you. >> let's go to howard and get full details on his forecast. jc, the drier air moved in behind the showers yesterday afternoon and evening with a cold front. we're feeling it but also feeling a little bit of a breeze this afternoon. we've had gusts 20, 25 miles an hour. northwest winds about 14 sustained. we are going to warm up to the mid-60s by 3:00. back down to 64 by 5:00 and by 7:00 we'll be 60. so we are going to see temperatures drop off. sunset about 6:35. by 9:00 we'll be in the 50s, going into the 40s tonight in d.c. with some upper 30s north and west. been watching the clouds, especially in the higher elevations persist as we head into the afternoon now, they've been in the mountains here and seeing a few of those clouds

which have been coming across the district, especially east of town. south and southwest seeing a lot more sunshine but under those clouds, temperatures are holding in the 40s, even upper 30s in garrett county. pittsburgh right now 49. you'll notice the low 60s to our south and east, closer in look at these temps. we've got 57 in frederick. 359 in easton. we're finally out of the 30s. now 41 in oakland in garrett county. it's quite chilly there with manassas 61 and culpeper 63 degrees. the winds, i said they've been gusty. they're still gusting up to 24 in baltimore. 22 martinsburg. we have gusts now at 23 miles an hour. as we look outside on our michael & son weather camera, we're in tysons corner looking off toward the west. you'll see just a couple of puffy clouds. no big deal. kind after pretty sky with an even 60 at reagan national. that wind north at 17. the humidity only 47%. we really have seen the air drying out after some of the very heavy showers we had yesterday. i know not everybody saw them.

they were a little hit and miss. some folks had close to half an inch of rain. others not even a tenth. there goes the front with the showers. it's in eastern maine now seeing a few of the showers left over from what we had yesterday afternoon. behind is the sunshine, clouds persisting north and west. we're watching a few more showers up across wisconsin and across the northern tier states. what we're going to watch is a storm system developing out in the northern plains. eventually like late thursday, it's going to throw some moisture our way. so between now and then on the future cast, it's nice and quiet through this evening. nice and quiet overnight. we'll see a few clouds wednesday morning with even a few sprinkles up toward columbus and cleveland. but that's generally going to be passing well north of us tomorrow. so other than a couple of clouds mixing in on wednesday, no weather problems. in fact tomorrow after the chilly start 30s and 40s, i think we're going to make a run toward 70 degrees in the afternoon. then on thursday we'll be in the low 70s. but watch what happens late in the day on thursday. 5:00 we've got some showers

approaching hagerstown, winchester, martinsburg down toward charlottesville. looks like this will become even more widespread as we head into the evening hours so by 10:00, could be kind of a wet evening into the first part of the night here on thursday. and hopefully we can scoot this out of here by the time we get to the friday morning commute so that friday ends up with only a slight chance of a shower. that's going to set the stage for what i think is going to be a pretty nice weekend around here. check be out the forecast, 66 degrees this afternoon. a little breezy at times. tonight about 48. that's at national. some spots, though, upper 30s north and west. i think most of us low 40s. tomorrow up to about 70. a mix of sun and clouds. thursday a late shower, probably going to hold off till after dark for a lot of folks. highs in the low 70s. friday isolated shower chance, best chance will be north of town 70. there's your weekend. got a lot of charity walks going on saturday. it will be fine. 64 in the afternoon for the terps game. sunday sunny and 70. back to 75 on monday. stick around. we'll be back with 9news now at

noon right after this.

don't forget to go to jchayward.com. thanks for being with us. we'll see you at 5:00. bye-bye.