the coastguard boats were simulating an attack. that training exercise and the way the media handled it are the focus of much scrutiny. >> they announced this is a drill, an exercise. >> reporter: apparently not everyone heard the radio transmission that the coastguard was only holding a drill on potomac this morning. they picked up radio trackers from the drill and mistakenly thinking that it was real. >> no shots were fired. there was no criminal activity. >> reporter: advice admiral says they were using a radio frequency boaters and others have access to. if it was a real emergency they wouldn't have. the fbi and other agencies scrambled to gets agents and officers to the scene. the faa halted air traffic at national airport for 20 minutes grounding 17 planes while they sorted it all out. >> this is very instructive for us. >> reporter: the coastguard is now promising a top-to-bottom review of the training exercise. >> standing up in the front of their boats with their machine guns. looked like it was a full drill of some sort.

coastguard was not alone. >> hold on. >> reporter: like the coastguard, dc fire and ems respond to emergencies along the potomac river. they train every day no matter what the weather and even if it is a holiday. on 9/11 they are out here. >> today is just another training day. >> reporter: the u.s. coastguard they did not tell other agencies about the drill. they said that is not unusual. >> sometimes they will just seize the opportunity. we may be coming from another engagement and they may decide to pull over. >> reporter: it is not unusual for people to mistake a training exercise as the real thing. especially those listening to scanners. >> we like our training to be as realistic as possible and the media will hear something on the scanner and i will get some calls and they will ask whether we have seven people in the water near the 14th street bridge. but often that is just a training exercise. >> reporter: he says that is why it is so important to verify information before making assumptions. in southwest dc, i'm lindsey mastis, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> so what do you think? who is t

but the coastguard then said oops, just a training exercise.shocked and critical of cnn for failing to verify that report. this afternoon cnnme

. >> fema, federal emergency management agency, is working closely on the ground and the coastguard is supplying those with need. >> reporter: some supplies are arriving but it could be days before it is distributed. water has been cut off in many areas and even rescue crews are having a tough time getting into to search for survivors. >> it struck along the fault line that triggered the christmas 2004 massive tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people. >>> fire destroying a house. flames breaking out in the middle of the night. investigators believe that fire started in a gas line in the basement. they also say it appears that the house was vacant and that no one was trapped inside. damage is estimated at $300,000. >>> police in warrenton, virginia, are looking for suspects accused of stealing walts from grocery store shoppers. after taking the wallet, police say they go immediately to another store so they can spend cash and use the credit cards. >>> a u.s. capital police officer is paying the praise of what was apparently one wild night. 34-year-old thomas mcman. investigators say

emergency management association is working closely with emergency responders on the ground and coastguard is helping to provide immediate help to those in need. >> but the death toll is well past 100 and it could climb higher and many people are missing. >>> still to come when 9news now returns. write being checks at the grocery store could soon be going the way of green stamps. find out why your next trip to the grocery store could be simply cash or credit. >>> texting and driving are dangerous. you'll see how this little device here can help you. >>> and topper? >> i have a coat on. it is going to be rather chilly tonight. a pretty nice day despite the clouds and sprinkles. managed to make it to 70. low was 56. average of 74 and 56. record high. still can get pretty hot. 91 the record low. 38. we will come back and talk about what happens to the weekend. stay tuned. >>> 9news now is sponsored in part by car max. the way car buying should be. what kind of person writes a thesis calling working women "detrimental to the family..." then lies about his opponent to cover up his own record? t

the coastguard located the wreckage and the stranded pilot near a cave.ter a swimmer was deployed that pilot was hoisted up to a helicopter. >>> in california a fast growing wildfire has burned at least 250 acres near vail lake this weekend. about 30 homes have already been evacuated. meantime, air crews are hoping to drench a wildfire still burning north of los angeles. helicopters have been dropping about 80,000-gallons of water on smoldering hot spots. that blaze began last month and has destroyed dozens of homes and caused the death of two firefighters. >>> space shuttle discovery is on a cross-country flight to florida after returning to earth earlier this month. but discovery got a piggy back ride atop a 747. there was a refueling stop in texas. the shuttle will spend the night in louisiana before being delivered tomorrow to kennedy space center in florida. earlier this month you'll recall discovery completed a two-week 5.7 million-mile mission to the international space station. >>> still ahead on 9 news now. a new trans-fat ban for some restaurant

coastguard boats urgently patrol the river, guns clearly visible from shore. the images and the sounds sparked concern and dread, specifically the encrypted radio chat between the coast guard crew members conducting a training exercise. >> somebody said bang bang on the radio. >> the intercepted radio communication, cnn went with the report. >> they fired on a book that came into the restricted space. >> the coast guard maintains the media coverage snowballed a training mission into a chaotic event. the fbi scrambled agents to the river. reagan national airport halted flights, and people across the area feared the worst. >> no shots were fired. there was no suspect vessel. >> they rarely notify other agencies about their exercises. a spokesperson refused to apologize for the timing. >> that makes no sense to me at all. >> people wonder why the coast guard would conduct this type of training exercise at such a sensitive time, the anniversary of the september 11 attacks. >> is silly that they were doing something like that on this day of all days. >> the admiral

. >> i listened to the words myself, and i heard a coastguard person say 10 rounds had been expelled. >> local flights were canceled and the coast guard said it trains like this all the time. >> no, i am not issuing an apology, because although it is unfortunate it escalated to this level, what you are seeing here is the rull of a normal training exercise. >> the scare has brought inevitible comparisons to the air force 1 photo op. >> this is a breakdown in common sense. this is a routine exercise that if it was conducted on september 10 or september 12, no one would have paid attention. >> this is a story that requires the highest level of handling in balancing it against the public's interest and the public safety, you really do have to check it out, or the consequences can be very, very dangerous. >> the white house is standing behind the coast guard saying we're all safer because of training exercises like this. in washington, i'm brian mooar, wbal-tv 11 news. >> we have continuing coverage of the 9-11 attacks on our web site. if you go there you will find sights and sounds from t

reports of the coastguard firing shots on a suspicious vote on the potomac river. it was not true. it was just a routine training exercise. the mixup is raising serious questions. we're live in washington and we will be live at ground zero in lower manhattan, where every year on this night, a tribute fills the skies of new york city is america marks eight years since the attacks of 9/11. sfx: coin drop, can shaking your family has its own rhythm. and its own reasons to save money, save time and save for the future. whatever your reason, regions makes saving simpler. lifegreen checking and savings are a great way to start - featuring free convenient e-services, up to a $250 annual savings account bonus and a free personal savings review. so make the switch today - and get your family into the rhythm of saving. regions - it's time to expect more. boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about ge

the coastguard has confirmed it was a training exercise. i believe that's a coast guard helicopter you're looking at. again, we had heard some shots. okay, we heard what we thought were shots but apparently it was not. it is part of a training exercise. mark? >> thank you very much, erin. >>> this sunday estimated 25,000 runners and walkers will be in central park for the annual susan g. komen race for a cure. it's a 5k race raising money for breast cancer research. yesterday lehman collapsed the day after the race. as a result, many corporations have decreased their donations. one year later how is the charity holding up? here onset is dr. dara richards richardson-heron, affiliate of susan g. komen for the cure. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> donations, how are they this year? >> by and large, they're down. corporation donations are down. but you know, our mission is so important, people are still giving and we're very happy to know that. >> what can we do to get these cheap scapes to open up their wallet? >> i

> as america remembers the events of 9/11, a security scare near the pentagon turns out to be a coastguard the u.s. coast guard appear to be trying to block a boat from entering a restrictive zone in the potomac river today. federal emergency operation centers today say they have no idea about this training exercise. moments ago the chief of staff for the coast guard spoke about the incident. >> before we have very well defined security protocols in the national capital region. apparently what happened is due to press reports and uncertainty generated by press reports, the faa reacted by putting a ground halt on a small number of aircraft at reagan national until they could sort out the information. >> as i once said about the fly-over, the buzz over lower manhattan, it would be felony stupidity if they decided to run a training exercise on september 11th at about the same time the president was at the pentagon. it is unconceivable that any right thinking person in the government would approve a training exercise on this day. >> because of that incident, the faa had to put a ground halt on