employees here at the mall. take a listen to what atf agent in charge told reports just a moment ago. >> if you had looked at the rapid response and where the plummet and the man in custody, i challenge anybody saying that they could have done a better job. >> reporter: again, police are still on scene and as well as the atf as you just heard. this man, the suspect they were looking for, he is off the streets. they were searching for him for hours. but prior to his arrest, there was a lot of panic out here and 9news was rolling cameras right after this happened. >> reporter: 9news was inside the mall as they scrambled to get out shortly afternoon today. police searched the mall. and mall security kicked us out. >> you cannot have the cameras

here. >> reporter: witnesses said that the man launched a bottle like what smelled like gasoline on to the food court. >> yeah, it reeked of gasoline. it was a very strong and powerful smell. and there is glass everywhere. >> a lot of people, they were pointing up towards the door. anlooking up, pointing. >> reporter: later, investigators found at least three more of the same devices in a bag left behind by the suspect. >> and people were still coming here to get lunched. it was packed. just the smell of gas or oil. and this is a little strange. so i said the safest thing is to go out and leave. >> reporter: the devices described by shoppers as cocktails, they were never ignited. no one was hurt. but the scare set off a massive response prompting the mall to go into lockdown mode. and once again the latest information coming out of the ballston commons mall here. the suspect, the man believed to be behind all of this is in custody right now, being interviewed by the fbi investigators as well as police

investigators. no idea as to why he tried to do this. something that investigators are trying to get to the bottom of it. ken molestina, 9news. tracking even more breaking news right no. a horrific car accident -- right now, a horrific car accident. the violent collision between the marked cruiser and motorist went down late this afternoon. that's clinton maryland right at branch avenue. and that police car ended up wrapped around a pole. both the officer and the civilian had to be hospitalized. the officer in critical condition. we'll have more information on this one as it becomes available. and also today, 20,000 pages of the boy scouts so- called perversion files were released today over the strong objections of the boy scouts of america. >> the documents show the scouts failed to report hundreds of child molesters to the cop and that the abusers, they sometimes went on to assault more children. bruce leshan has been going through the files all day long with some disturbing details from our part of the woods.

bruce? >> reporter: yeah, derek. the scope of this, it is really troubling. the l.a. times, they have compiled all of this data into a map of the entire country. all of these yellow dots that you see here are molesters. if you scroll through it, you'll get details of where they molested, who they molested and so forth. it is all there. and i got some of the files here. and there are 40 molesters in these documents from virginia. 37 from maryland and 2 from d.c. i loved it. it was awesome. i didn't think that anything bad could happen out. there >> reporter: stories repeated over and over. early and another boy abused by their scout master. early was just 12 years old. >> i felt like i was all alone. just thinking about it, you know, makes me angry.

how could you do that to somebody? how could you bring yourself to do that? they build on details already released. arthur humphreys of virginia, 50 years in scouting, commended by presidents. recommended by scouting executives, despite allegations of abuse. even after confessing, scouting officials promised not to tell anyone about it. humphreys was finally convicted of oral sex on 20 boys. ages 8 to 18. >> we're talking about hundreds, if not thousands of unidentified men who should be registered sex offenders, roaming free in society. >> reporter: the scouts have been keeping the ineligible volunteer files since 1935. and the documents released under protest cover the years from 1959 through 1985.

lawyers are pushing the boy scouts to release more. but the organization insists they have implemented new policies to protect children. >> these policies include insuring at least two adults are present at all activities. >> reporter: victims remain suspicious. >> it is such a loosely-run outfit that i just wouldn't feel comfortable letting my kid into it. >> reporter: and really horrible stories, they just jump out of the documents like the father who spotted -- like the father who spotted the scout master abusing his son. spotted him years later at this jamboree. and they -- there seems to be a legacy of abuse here. one of the young scouts abused by arthur humphreys here in virginia went on to abuse other young children himself. derek? >> so disturbing, bruce. thank you. the trial of the two

prince's county police officers accused of assaulting a university of maryland student is quickly coming to a close. yesterday, baker was on the witness stand. today his co-defendant, james harrison was testifying in his own defense as well saying the force they used on that student was justified. we were in that courtroom all day today. we've got a live look from upper marlboro with more on that testimony today, matt? >> reporter: derek, another dramatic day in the courtroom today here in prince george's county where the second of two officers implicated in a widely publicized case, tried to explain why he did what he did. responding to questions asked by his attorney, officer james harrison said he was initially concerned by john mckenna's bizarre behavior. as the university of maryland student walked down the street waving his arms during the celebration of maryland's victory over duke on march 3, 2010. officer harrison said he began hitting him with his baton

after seeing mckenna bunch the officer in the head with a clinched fist, containing what officer harrison claimed could have been a weapon. but which he later learned was just a cell phone. officer harrison continued hitting him because he refused to drop what was in his hand. despite being ordered to do so. but under cross-examination, he could not fully explain why he made little attempt to see what was actually in mckenna's hand after he and officer baker stopped hitting him. also in a cross-examination, officer harrison admitted lying about his involvement in the incident. telling the police department's internal affairs section when first questioned that he was not one of the officers who hit john mckenna. closing arguments in the case are expected some time tomorrow. afterwards the jury is expected to begin deliberating. derek? >> and we will wait for that verdict. thank you, matt. and so we have a possibility of some storms heading our way this evening.

meteorologist topper shutt is in the weather center. so top, how bad could it really get tonight? >> i guess the threat is, you know, subsided just a little bit. but we'll keep that yellow alert going overnight with the chance of heavy storms and perhaps a couple of severe storms. let me show you where they are now. the good news. we talked about it last night at 11:00 that many folks will get home tonight with the morning kevining commute and be -- morning commute and at bulk of the activity is the front itself and it is still in the mountains. i'll tell you what, a pretty good area of lightning showing up. this is the area that will roll through tonight, pretty impressive for this time of the year. most folks will get home tonight before the main event. we'll come back and track this for you and also let you know if they will bleed into the early morning commute on

friday. >> so when we experienced that earthquake, it was our first earthquake and we didn't know what to do. so this morning at 10:18, students across the area took part in an earthquake difficult they traveled to the county, the epic center of last year's quake for this great shakeout. >> reporter: students in the county may take the drills a bit more seriously than other parts of the region. because the ground beneath them, they shook the hardest in august of last year. in mineral, virginia, back roads and townshops are common places. >> you can drop to the floor, take to the table. and so now are earthquake drills. the students participated in the southeast shake out. during an earthquake, kids dropped to the ground, take cover, and hold on until the shaking stops. >> i don't really like getting underneath the desk because it

hurts my head. >> reporter: the 12-year-old may not like it, but understands how important it is. >> because i didn't know what was going to happen. >> we were scared to death. >> reporter: it brought back vivid memories, emotions too for the school superin-- superintendent. >> it choked me up a little bit to say you know what, we know how to handle ourselves now. >> all six schools had damage in last year's quake. the high school and elementary school closed, forcing students to alternate going to class every other day. the schools have come so far in the last year, but signs such as the high school condemned and demolished, reminding us that they will have a long way to go. high schoolers study in modular classrooms and they can only watch their old school come down. >> i felt sorry for them. >> reporter: so these folks know the drill and some even tremor at the thought that next time might not just be an exercise in safety, but we

know. >> this is serious. the earthquake could cause some damage. everybody pulled together. so we are better than ever and because we are so strong. >> reporter: and at least 8 million people have registered so far this year to participate in the shakeout campaigns. i'm surae chinn, 9news now. >> and actually next week they break ground on a new elementary school. it will be built with current safety and seismic requirements. still ahead tonight, we'll tell you four things you're doing online that could put your family in harm's way. important stuff. new details in the terror plot to blow up the federal reserve bank. i'll have that story coming up. all year long you have been able to count on 9news for severe weather alert. and a nice fall day will return ugly. driving snow, freezing rain, sleet and crippling ice storms will move up the commute and close schools. and that's why 9news will

declare the severe weather alerts. so you know exactly what will be coming so you have time to prepare. severe weather alerts from 9news. anywhere you need us to be.

denver police caught up with three men wanted for killing five people found by the burning bar. all three of the suspects in their 20s. police believe that the motive

was robbery. the fire broke out at the fair oaks bar and grill early yesterday morning. firefighters found four women and one man dead inside. >> the man's family is now speaking out in his defense. the family of the man accused of plotting to blow up the federal reserve bank in new york right over the news of his arrest. the sister of the 21-year-old said he was not involved in the terrorist activities back home, suggested that he is being set up. he came to the united states in january.

>> he came here committing some kind of a gihad in the united states. >> reporter: he tried to use a cell phone to detonate a bomb, but the fbi made sure that the bomb was harmless. a day after the attack, no signs of heightened security at the building, which holds a large reserve of gold. the fbi says that he recorded a video claiming responsibility in the name of al qaeda. >> and he alleged to already have al qaeda contacts from overseas. were they really. did he come here on a self- propelled plot or was he sent? >> reporter: they carried boxes of evidence from his apartment, hoping to learn if more people were involved. >> he faces life in prison. we've got new information for you coming out tonight

about one of the taliban militants suspected of shooting the teenage activist. the pakistani intelligent officials said that the man was detained in the military in 2009 and that he was later released. this as the vigil was held for by the 14-year-old girl held in two women's groups in birmingham, england. tonight they are saying that the conditions remain stable. that they are pleased with her progress so far. the teenager was targeted by the taliban for standing up for the rights of all young girls to get an education. there was a deadly house fire today in northwest washington. not too far from the old soldier's home. the fire broke out early this morning. one man on oxygen was killed. the victim's name has not been released. sky 9 out over the popular virginia resort today where a

fire broke out. that fire broke out around 9:00 a.m. three people were injured and one of them suffering some serious burns. investigators believe that this particular fire was related to gas. apparently they are not going to stay that way, right? >> yes, unless you say that the day is nice. and it will be a different story. we'll keep that alert because of the big storms possible overnight. we'll start with a live look outside. and it is still extremely nice outside. actually fairly mild too. temperatures, 69. that's about average for this time of the year. the dew points in the 50s. we're not going to go very low tonight. it will be a very mild night. the winds will help keep it a little bit on the mild side. now, we will see a pretty good line of showers and storms forming from just south of morgantown and west of elkins. and that it will be rolling on through tonight. and that they will be going on edge for them. and big storms now in the

mountains. and that will be rockville, upper 60s. not too bad. and so now yellow alerts, we'll keep that storm overnight. the morning commute, they could be wet, especially if you come in from annapolis on50 or down from baltimore on i-95 or upper fredericksburg. or lingering showers and thunderstorms. the evening commute will be dry and a very warm finish to the week. friday will be warmer than what it was today. and so looking at the future cast for you right now, just some clouds around, the sprinkles. there is your main event out in the mountains. look what happened. we'll put that in motion. and by 9:00 to 10:00, we'll see the showers just west of culpepper as they kind of slowed down a little bit. now you will see the showers and storms around midnight, up into frederick county. we'll put them back into motion and look what happens here. the tail end of the system that

rolled on through. this is 6:00 in the morning. that's pretty intense. so again prince george's county and east and i-95 corridor, it could be a little bit messy for tomorrow morning as the front rolls on through. after that we'll be left with a very nice afternoon and a great night for the high school football tomorrow night. showers and storms tonight. some heavy, breezes mild. 48 to 58. that's a nice street. tomorrow morning becoming partly sunny, but early showers and storms. as and 6 --50s and 60s. by the afternoon, it will be nice. a slight chance of a shower with a little instability. high temperatures are around 75. i'll put up a 75 for a slight chance of a shower. the next three days, code green. looking at warm on friday, slight chance of a shower, 75. 66 on saturday. cool, but nice. and then cool, but nice on sunday. 67. we've got the homecoming here, the university of maryland on saturday, howard university, and the gold cup on saturday as well out in the plains. it looks nice. the next seven days.

you're really going to like as the temperatures go up week. on monday temperatures will be going into the mid-70s. maybe a shower on tuesday. but take a look at that. 77, 77, and 77. >> yes, lots of7s. >> that's a nice streak. speaking of nice pictures. take a look at this. >> this is a do on the web and -- due on a web and she did a nice job. i tried to explain it before. if you take strains of sign that size, the web will be stronger. >> wow. >> does it say some pig in that web? [ laughter ] >> charlotte's web for you. >> a literary reference. go to our website, wusa9.com, click on the weather tab and do what stephanie did. she us her name and description and location. and it's beautiful. >> thanks, topper. coming up, an airman returns froms overseas, promptly getting down on one knee. >> uh-oh. but first, the teacher's topless photo pops up in class, but you won't believe who is actually in trouble for it.

more details over the weekend. so what else is new, right? starting tomorrow night, 10:00 through closing on sunday. trains will not be running between the big views for you

and the friendship high stations on the redline. and between the east falls church and the west falls church stations on the orange line. there will be buses provided and they will also have the single tracking on the green line. how to deal with all the increased traffic. they report that the planned expansions of nih and walter reed national medical center are the problems. of course, it is congested and now the question is how to keep many of those new workers off those roads. the proposal will call for designating a kiss and ride park. >> three middle school kids have been suspended after seeing a topless photo. it happened when they were in their classroom playing a game on a school-issued ipad earlier this week. and now joshua said that one of the students pressed a button and a photograph with his

teacher's bare chest popped up on the screens. >> in all reality you would think that she would be fired. because that's a nude picture in the school that the students had seen. >> the assistant superintendent admits that the technology use policy was followed and what happened was an accident. but the suspensions are standing. the school district has taken preventive action against the teacher, but they are not saying exactly what that means. there was much more than just hugs and kisses at one homecoming for members of the iowa international guard. that there was a marriage proposal. he proposed to his girlfriend at the des moines airport after coming home yesterday. yes, she said yes. edwards said she was surprised, but knew that something was up when she saw a large banner. >> yeah, no pressure, right?

>> no. coming up, the story behind the viral video that certainly falls under the category of don't try this at home, no. i'm jessica doyle in upper northwest, four things you're doing that you don't realize could be putting you and your family in jeopardy. i'll have the story coming up. and in virginia, coming up, battleground state women talk about the issues on the presidential candidates fighting for their votes.

really? yeah, what a big surprise. >> and particularly honing in on the women voters. and women, they are talking about the issues. >> reporter: they are targets for mitt romney and president obama. >> being a woman is not a pre- existing condition. >> this president has failed their women. >> reporter: he used to work for a fortune500 company and says they don't have a clear picture of romney's physician. >> one issue for me is very important. i think with the regards to the economy that obama has a better plan. >> reporter: this mother of three believes the president's affordable care act will lower cost for women and also concerned about the gop's stand on abortion.

>> it's like an issue out of madmen. are we in 2012? i mean why are we talking about these things right now? this is my mother's generation. >> reporter: president obama still holds a comfortable lead among women in virginia. but the recent polls show romney is closing the gap in battleground states. she believes that the economic plan will mean more opportunities for women. >> i think bringing the academic progress would be the west for them to do it. >> and lily is also happy with the health insurance, concerned about losing it under the affordable care act. >> i think that people don't understand what will happen once the health care is so centralized and focused. especially in washington, d.c. because that will take away choice. >> reporter: both women will see the candidates tried to change their minds over the next 19 days cbs news, for,

virginia. romney is airing a new ad. the obama camp is firing back with their own ad saying that romney is trying to hide the real stance. george allen and tim cain will duke it out in their fifth and final day before election day. both men are vying for a seat. the hour-long debate starts at 7:00 p.m. we'll be streaming it live for you on our website, wusa9.com. and in maryland, a debate here as well in the 6th congressional district. the democratic challenger will be going head to head. now, that will happen at the hagerstown community college in the auditorium at 7:00 p.m. the cost of a college education will hit a record high. that according to one independent non-profit. the institute for college access and success progress said that the average student graduated with nearly $27,000 in outstanding loans last year.

they blame rising tuition, fees, and a tough job market in the regions for so much debt filing up. and 13,000 students and about 800 employees will be directly affected by the university of phoenix shutdown. the country's largest four- profit college will close about -9d0 of their learning centers and 25 campuses all across the country. the apollo group, the company that owns the university says that it is a part of the plan to cut off $3 million over two years. students are being encouraged to continue the studies online or perhaps at other locations. not as cool. that's what the british court of appeals said they upheld that lower court's decision that they did not infringe on apple's right when they designed the galaxy tablet. they ruled that the galaxy computers were not as cool because they did not share the same as the ipad tablets. they would like to publicized it and make sure that consumers are not bias against samsung.

microsoft set up the brand new tablet. the cost is a cool $500. the 32 gb model will put it head to head. they will run on microsoft's latest software, which will be available in stores on october 26. there are a lot of dangers lushing out there in the world. burglars, abductors, the i.d. thieves. you could be opening up yourself to all the potential threats without knowing it. jessica doyle shows you four online behaviors that you may be engaging in right now that will put you and your family in harm's way. serious unintended consequences. >> they will tell you where they were going and where they returned. if someone is stocking them, they could figure out how to say them. >> and now they know when to knock it over in a burglary. >> that's the second thing for you. let me tell you all about my life through the quizzes. >> reporter: this type of the sharing and the online quizzes and service will give the potential hacker all the information that you would need

to steal your identity. >> quizzes, they are soaking up individual pieces of information that may seem completely harmless to you. combine them, it is lethal. >> and another i.d. theft, the free public wifi. >> people will sit in the middle of the public square and they will do their banking. they don't realize that the funny looking fellow over there, he is actually taking as much information as he possibly can by his own antenna. and using it to put together a piece of your life. >> reporter: the last mistake puts the most important thing in life in jeopardy, your children. and it will start with the best of intentions, capturing those special moments on your cell phone. people love to take pictures of their children. they would love to post them on their websites. >> reporter: the problem is that all the smart phone photos

are tagged, embedded with codes to tell them where the photo was taken. >> so now they will know from the website that they have hacked into. the name of your child, the park that your child likes to play in to walk up to your child and basically utter their name to make it sound like they have come from you. >> reporter: there is an easy solution, turn it off for photos on your phone. be careful how you share your pictures of your children online. jessica doyle, 9news now. >> great advice, jess chasm one last thing, you wouldn't leave your keys in the car with the engine on, right? well, don't leave your smart phone unprotected. a lot of people don't have a pin number to lock their phone in the hands of the wrong person it's like giving away the keys to your life. derek? >> scary stuff. thank you, anita. taking care of kids with a concussion. that's a team sport. coming up, a new way to make sure that everybody from parents to principals are working on the same playbook. all right, we are tracking some showers and thunderstorms. still looking at a yellow alert

tonight. we'll show you the radar. the big storms are now in the mountains. when they will roll in here and what it will mean for your morning commute tomorrow. but a bit of an excitement caught on tape at the florida courthouse when the sentenced man says getting the heck on out of here. don't forget we are always on wusa9.com. stay with us. we'll be right back.

caught on tape, a confrontation that happened in tuesday. surveillance video shows a man in a purple shirt take off running after refusing to sign some paperworks in the court case. bailiffs and two tampa police officers gave chase, eventually tackling the guy. you can see them arrested with bond. he now faces charges on battery on a police officer. it seemed like it would have been easier to sign on the dotted line. a stupid stunt in germany. check this guy out. he thought he was going to do a cannon ball, but the pool is frozen over. and apparently he is just not quite fat enough to breakthrough it. in fact, he is not fat at all. oh, that hurts. his friends are laughing at him. fortunately the only thing hurt is his pride. >> that's crazy. [ laughter ]

>> did he really? you have no idea how thick that is. >> he's silly. check this out, a large meteor strike in the san francisco bay area. >> surveillance cameras captured the bright fire ball around 7:30 last night. as they broke up, accompanied by a loud boom that was so loud that some of them said it shook their homes. check that out. one oakland astronomy instructor said it is the size of their car. luckily that thing broke off. and a fiery crash with a truck outside dallas. they sent hundreds of flaming pumpkins sliding across the highway. police say that the driver of this 18 wheeler lost control of the truck early yesterday morning, smashing into a guardrail where he was fine, but the truck was scorched, the pumpkins were fried, which could be a delicacy in some places. it took authorities, however, hours to clean those things up. >> i would like to see it. maybe not off to the right way. >> no. still ahead tonight, plenty of insurance companies require

them, but do those annual physicals actually keep you healthy and well. also up next, women may drink cranberry juice when they feel a certain pain. but find out why the home remedy may not be the right move.

so you have heard of the home remedy using cranberry juice to fight off urinary track infections? the women with the current kidney and bladder infections might have to drink the juice twice a month to prevent one infection. the pills might be slightly more effective, saying research on those supplements should continue. >> it is an alarming statistic. a child sent to the hospital for a concussion every five minutes. the numbers are highest during the fall sports seasons. the recovery from the concussions will take time and a team effort from the parents and the coaches and the teachers. in tonight's health alert, helping everyone to overcome this type of brain trauma. the 14-year-old was hoping that this year will go more smoothly

than last. leaving him with a concussion and his mom in shock about what the recovery would mean for his son. >> i had no idea that he would miss so many sports and so much at school. it was a month of school work that we had to make up. >> reporter: the reaction is not uncommon. in fact, many teachers are surprised that the concussions could linger for weeks. but it's here in the classroom and some feel a team approach to helping these kids that could be effective. >> the educators are the ones to take the reigns on this to really help get those students on through the rough time. >> reporter: to help do that, a team of the specialists sent them to develop this. a comprehensive tool kit with information for parents and coaches, but also for teachers and school administrators. >> we realized that every school has a different resource. so it will help assign roles to each of the members in the process and what their responsibilities are.

>> reporter: teachers could help identify symptoms day-to- day to help make accommodations for kids to help them cope and administrators could communicate between families and school staff to chart a child's progress. i would love for the coaches to know and our teachers to know and people that have no idea. >> if your child suffers a concussion, you need to talk to the school and to let them know to monitor the symptoms closely as they could last a week. >> so every year we as adults are told to get that physical exam by your primary position. researchers out of denmark said that it may not be very beneficial for those healthy. in fact, they may add unneeded stress. and i have to say, now wait a minute, that'll go out the

window, a little bit of the high blood pressure, whatever. you need to get those checks. and yeah we could use them. >> yes, all the things that we need to get done. >> that is a whole other thing for them and that will be physical for them. once we get to break, we will talk about that. oh! [ laughter ] >> as you get older or something like that? >> yeah, i caught that. >> but i was trying my best to ignore that. >> all right. we are looking at showers and thunderstorms overnight. still a big alert. we'll start with the live look outside. the weather cam. the sun is fading, the clouds have rolled in. clouds are showing up to the south. but most of us will make it home before the showers roll on in. the temperatures are very nice at 69. winds are out of the southeast at 11. the pressure is falling a little bit as well. okay, here's the radar. there are the showers and storms. this is a one line that will develop and roll through

tonight. another line may develop tomorrow morning. these are pretty heavy now. entering the county. look at all the lightning strikes. even think it is october, you can hear the thunder. take it seriously and go inside. currently temperatures, in the upper 60s primarily . 69 at great falls. 67 in vienna. 68 over in fairfax and berk. 69 now in college park and 67 over in bowie. so yellow alert for you. storms are primarily overnight. the morning commute could be wet, especially as you come down from new york. afternoon commute, evening commute is dry and a warm finish to the week, even though that they will be going through us tonight, warmer tomorrow than what they were today. all right, 5:00, about where we are now. we'll see the showers here and there. this is where all the action is with the showers and thunderstorms out in the mountains. we'll put it into motion. by 10:00, we'll still see the oranges and yellows. pretty good activity. not quite a solid line. and then that will kind of roll on to the north of us between

hagerstown and frederick and north of leesburg about twelve o'clock to 1:00 in the morning and another area here. trying to develop really just east of town. between about 5:00 to 7:00 in the morning and that's what may slow down the morning commute. especially if you are coming in from annapolis or using i-95 corridor. tonight we clear out quickly. breezy and mild. 58 to 48. winds will be southwest. by morning becoming partly cloudy. early morning showers. 50s and 60s. a pretty nice day in the afternoon. a slight chance of a shower. otherwise partly sunny and warm. high temperatures about 75 with winds out of the southwest at 10. so because of that, 75 tomorrow. we've got to keep that chance, keep it on code green. we don't really care about theseshowers, which will be out of there early on. nice on saturday, cooler over the weekend. mid-60s on saturday and sunday and homecoming for howard university and also the gold cup out in the plains. saturday will be great.

warmer on monday. mostly sunny. back in the mid-70s with a sprinkle on tuesday, but who cares. upper 70s on tuesday, wednesday, thursday of next week. >> okay, topper. lots of 7s there. all right, here we are in the middle of the football season. but today we're talking about a different kind of football. >> yeah. and this team, it has been to the playoffs in recent memories. dave owens has more. >> reporter: what's going on? and this team is on the verge of making it to the playoffs again. we are talking about d.c. united. chris, always a pleasure to catch up with you, man. i know that you are extremely busy. let's talk about this football team here for just a second. and it did not play too well last year with the last couple of years. now you're on the verge. how have you been able to turn it around? >> it's a more mature team. if anything, we are seeing the games better. >> and that will be all about you, right? >> yeah. [ laughter ] but it really

is though. and i think that we turned the corner this year and it has been fun to be a player on a part of this. >> it has been fun though. 12 goals this year. last year a broken leg. that certainly broke into your off season preparation. how were you able to overcome that and have an outstanding year? more goals than you have ever scored? >> it has been tough. mentally it was the biggest thing for me to get back in here as you are scared of challenges and whatnot. but you know, the organization, they gave me the confidence and i surround myself with good people. my friends, they were very confident on what i could do. >> you are doing it to the tune of 12 goals. your coach, i love the guy. he is always talking about overcoming adversity, but you really needed to overcome adversity as you moved to the mvp last year. how were you able to do that. how was our coach impactful in helping you do that? that is not easy to do. >> yes, he is a huge part of our team. everybody knows that. and you know, i still think that we could definitely use

them. but those are some of the things that he had to do and we need to live without it. but the defense is the main thing that stepped up. only allowed two goals in the last five games. that's huge. especially our back line here. they have done a phenomenon job for us. >> people always talk about the redskins nation. and they might not know about d.c. united nations, your fan base. one of the best in the mls. talk about that and how it will be a home field advantage for you or a pitch for you if you will. >> they are incredible. and i think that it will show in our record this year at home. we are 11-4. it's a very good record. they've taken me since 2009 so i thank them dearly -- i thank them dearly for that. >> if you win you'll be headed to the playoffs. 12 goals, that'll be great. guys, i will be out there this weekend hoping for the d.c. united win, back to you. >> yes, so are we, dave.

thank you. still ahead tonight, the federal ruling that could give same-sex marriagers new hope tonight. today marks the 40th anniversary of the clean water act being signed into legislation. coming up, i will tell you about brand new technology that is being utilized for this 40- year-old law. coming up next, school is in session. the cool school that is. and take a look at the local high school students drawing attention for their acts.

awe, there it is, the big yellow bus, a whole new year of the cool schools. if you own a smart phone, you already know that it is the way of the future, whether or not you want the news, weather, direction, googles, the game. there is an app for that. students here at spring brook high, they are not good at just using the app, but they are building them. >> reporter: whether it is gravity ninja. >> you can collect the keys. unlock the doors. it's a puzzle game that requires some actions to go to it. >> reporter: or even macro. >> so this is basically a mix between chess and checkers. >> teach me how to play it. >> reporter: the teams at spring brook high in silver springs already know how to build the apps for smart phones. and this is not just an exercise in class to learn about the big programming language. >> it has been out since april. >> oh no.

>> yes. >> and it has about 600 trial downloads and it has 30 paid downloads. >> reporter: some of the students here in his class are already making money from their creative programming. the work you see here will be on the microsoft's app store. >> so now you've got the frog. >> reporter: it doesn't stop there. >> i think that everything will feel this way. >> reporter: this team wants to make waiting for the school bus and bad weather a thing of the past with the app that they are planning. >> it uses the gps to track the bus to tell you exactly, you know, when it will be at your top. and it is also going to help you find the bus stop because sometimes you get lost. and really it is going to, well, hopefully solve the problems of having to wait too long or coming too late. >> reporter: the students even need to come up with a one- minute sales pitch to convince the potential investors. >> i'm kevin, our goal is to try to revolutionize the school bus transportation. this is matt and ty. >> with the app you'll be able

to know when the bus is coming. this app will be applied to the metrobus as well. >> yes, and we are really making a product for you that will be on out there even better. >> the next time you see them, remember that if they could channel that passion, then it could lead to their future. >> and that will be the next huge thing for them in technology. so i hope to be a part of this movement. >> reporter: mike hidak, 9news now. >> taking cool school to a whole new level. do you have a cool school? we would like to hear from you. send your ideas to us and we could be featuring your school or program in the next weeks. breaking news tonight out of clinton, where a police officer is in critical condition after a crash. it happened at the of branch avenue. these shots from sky 9 show after the officer's cruiser and another car collided, both cars ended up on the side of the

road. look at the crash there. that cruiser hit a light pole. literally looked like it was split in two. someone else in the other car was taken to the hospital, but we have no word on that person's condition. we have a crew at southern maryland hospital centers standing by for a press conference about how this crash happened and we're going to bring it to you live as soon as it begins. we are also tracking a story for you out of arlington where police arrested a man today after he allegedly threw a moll tile cocktail inside ballston common mall. >> reporter: no one was hurt thankfully. a very chaotic afternoon out here in ballston. the fire bombing suspect was arrested not too long ago, able to obtain video of that arrest. take a look. >> reporter: this cell phone video shows the suspect being captured by police with their guns drawn near the arlington county courthouse. he