that has happened in florida as well. then everybody gets smart an figures out a way with the highway patrol to make the interstate one way so people can get out. what is your experience with other states doing what texas and florida have done? >> i will risk arguing with you just a little bit here. my background is in hydrodynamics and i can say for hurricane rita you only have so much road bed available on which to put vehicles. if you have an overevacuation that occurred, as did occur during hurricane rita, we had 22 2.7 million people over a short time span decide to get on the roads out of houston. there is basically no solution. you can start with 0 lanes of traffic heading outbound and 20 miles down the road they will be six lanes. where do you want the cloak to flow. do you want it back toward the city where you have resources to take care of the people or just let them go out into the countryside and sit out there several hours? again, without the built infrastructure to take care of that in terms of transportati

hopefully, two in a row against the florida marlins.d rob dibble have a live play of play-by- play. afterall, ray and i will dissect the nationals, game two against the marlins. enjoy some baseball tonight, everybody.  now at chili's -- welcome to chili's. start your three-course meals with a shared appetizer. for a second course, choose two entrees from over 15 chili's favorites, like our big mouth bites -- the mini burgers with giant layers of flavor. or a half-rack of our triple-basted baby back ribs. then save some room to share a decadent dessert. a lot of bold flavors, for a limited time only. chili's --

." >>> we begin with breaking news out of florida. tonight the possibility of a shocking new motive revealed in a double murder that stunned the country. melanie and byrd billings, parents of 13 adopted kids were shot to death in their home earlier this month, killed by intruders dressed like ninjas. authorities say they were the victims of robbery. there's more. the state attorney's office believes there was more than one motive beyond robbery, telling cnn the billings were a target of a contract hit, that the crime was a part of a murder for hire plot. sheriff david morgan leading the criminal investigation is responding to that report. david mattingly with the news. >> reporter: sheriff david morgan confirming publicly that a murder for hire scheme is a possibility they're looking at in the murder of byrd and melly billings. they have been looking at this possibility since the beginning. following up on what he called uncorroborated information. now, all these weeks later, they are still working on it and not ready, yet, to rule ou

this in southern florida. according to local reports, 23 homes in cape coral were damaged. >> and the power was out. we couldn't close the garage door. stuff was flying in the granl and sucking out of the garage. it was crazy. >> as everything swirled, things from over there are over here. this is not my stuff. >> now, three fires were also reported and blamed on lightning strikes. two caused minor damage, but one house had more serious damage apparently to the attic. >>> and the white house is apparently going to change the way people sign up to get its e-mails after some complained about getting unsolicited updates about health care. the white house says it will work on stopping advocacy groups from signing people up for the e-mails without their permission. some groups were putting people on the e-mail list if they did something like sign a petition. >>> we do have some positive news to give you on the global financial crisis. japan's economy is showing some signs of improvement. the world's second largest

not quite up to florida thresholds just yet. usually they're 70 or higher for thresholds this time of year. plentyumid for folks who grew up in maine. beautiful day to enjoy the sunshine. had to be heat tolerant, carry your extra bottle of water with you and you were going to be all right. georgetown waterfront tonight, beautiful night for going out and sitting on the dock of the river. 92 as i mentioned. that was our high today. now we're down to 78 degrees. dewpoint close to the 70-degree mark at 67. heat index of 80. light south breeze at six miles per hour. the very latest on tropical storm claudette, 68 miles east-southeast of pensacola, florida. maximum sustained winds at about 50 miles per hour. this storm is going to weaken considerably as soon as it comes on shore. the forecast from the hurricane center has it on shore by about sunrise tomorrow morning, then moving into alabama and eventually raining itself out. could be a lot of rain in southern portions of alabama and georgia not to he thinks the western part of the f

." >>> we begin with breaking news out of florida. the shocking new motive revealed in a double murder that stunned the country. melanie and byrd billings the parents of 13 adopted kids were killed by intruders dressed like ninjas. our source says the state's attorney's office believes there was more than one motive. the billings were the target of a contract hit the crime was part of a murder for hire plot. sheriff david morgan is respond og to that report. david mattingly joins us with the breaking news. >> reporter: for the first time sheriff david morgan is confirming a murder for hire scheme is a possibility they are looking at. they have been looking at this possibility from the beginning following up on what he called uncorroborated information. all these weeks later they are still working on it and not ready to rule out the billings murder was a hired hit. >> let me state emphatically that at the onset of the billings investigation the escambia sheriff's office was in receipt of uncorroborated information to lead a person to b

the governor of florida, a republican, the senator from florida, mel martinez, who has been in office years, originally from cuba, has served in florida more than a decade. the question was, well charlie crist a point himself? it is widely believed that he has wider aspirations for politics. he says he will come up with someone, but there is no short list or wallace and his getting a lot of recommendations. if you are a republican, you can get a place holder, as chris wallace described a moment ago, as a caretaker for that seat until the election comes up. the other way to think about it is, you appoint a person who might be your strongest candidate. because senator martina's is leaving his job early, that person would run as an incumbent of sorts, someone in the public eye. so, we shall see what happens in florida. in a balance of power world, is important. mel martinez says he wants to spend more time with his family and go and the private sector. charlie crist says he will not appoint himself, so his future is very much a matter for future speculation, and there will be much more o

florida legislature should protect her.till cast your vote at foxnews.com. stay with us, also, because we will talk about breaking details as the case takes place. also, if the legal panel is weighing in on whether florida had any jurisdiction in the first place. trace: president obama is talking about afghanistan, but health care is still on the agenda. tom daschle was brought in to help the white house put together a senate deal, with the theory that he knows the players and what makes them tick. let's bring in bill, our washington managing editor and vice president of news. we started the week with the health and human services secretary saying, well, the public option is not essential. now we are back to having this in full flower. this is a rasmussen poll that says without that option, 12% is the number of democrats that would strongly support reform. today you have nancy pelosi saying there will be no bill without a public auction. option. it is a standoff. >> august is been a cruel month to president obama,, was enjo

it made landfall, cing ashore on the florida panhandle. claudette has kicked up the surf and caused some minor flooding. experts say the last thing people should do is to underestimate the storms because it's been a slow season. they point out that hurricane andrew, a devastating storm to hit florida, didn't form until this day back in 1992. >> we're just now getting into the time frame where we, on average, see our first storm reach hurricane intensity. >> as for claudette, the storm's already weakening over land. the winds topped out at 50 miles an hour. forecasters predict it will dump between 3 and 6 inches of rain. stay with news 4 and nbcwhington.com for the very latest on the tnbpical storms in nte laatic. just visit our website and chseeather. >> the search continues t s. morning for the person who walked up to a crowded bus stop in northeast washington and opened fire. it happened near the minnesota avenue metro station on saturday. investigators say at least one gunman opened fire and sho seven people. many of the people standing

days later, it became a category five devastating florida. as for damage from claudette, it appears there is nothing major. as soon as we get some video from florida, we will show it to you. matt brock, abc 7 news. >> thank you. >>> investigators are looking for a group of men who attacked a graduate student at union -- at george washington university. the victim was waiting for a bus. the man suffered minor injuries. it appears to be a random attack. >>> police are looking for a suspect in an afternoon shooting. a male suffered a graze wound but is expected to be ok. >>> 7 people were shot on saturday. the victims were standing and a bus shelter when somebody opened fire. it may have spilled over from an argument from a nearby block party. >>> police major help to solve the death of a manned found lying in the woods. he was found near oak grove road. demand appears to be of hispanic descent. please call poli if you have information. >>> new information about a legal immigrants who were arrested last year. there is a report to it says the fas

florida. are the parents expected to attend this hearing? >> yes. mohammed bary and his wife are expected in the orlando court room. outside right now, a few dozen christian activists are in support of his daughter. they do not want her going back to his household because they believe that her life is in danger if she does. he calls it nonsense and nothing but, the result of brainwashing by blake and beverly lorenz with who rifqa bary has been staying since she came to florida from ohio. gregg: experts think she will end up in ohio. i disagree. i think the court can and will take jurisdiction and they can announcer as and emancipated minor, thus an adult. but is the decision expected today? >> it is not certain. by no means do we think this judge will absolutely get a ruling today. they could take a narrow focus and say that this is a jurisdictional hearing on a missing persons case originating in franklin county, ohio. the judge could say, look, i will not even deal with her claim. there is n

packing heavy rains, the storm makes landfall in the florida panhandle. >>> reform wrangling. compromise could be in the works on a key public option provision of the obama healthcare plan. >>> and tiger's pain. y.e. yang pulled off an amazing upset at the pga championship. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle guillen. >>> claudette made landfall in the florida panhandle early this morning, the first named storm to hit the u.s. main land this year. claudette moved onto the shore at ft. walton beach as a tropical storm with maximum winds of 50 miles per hour. the storm dumped heavy rains in some area but is expected to weaken over land and is not expected to cause significant damage. forecasters have been watching two other storms over the weekend. ana, headed toward the gulf of mexico, is dying out. bill is farther away but potentially the most dangerous of the three. hari sreenivasan has more. >> reporter: claudette came ashore less than a day after forming over the gulf coast. ana is already weakening, but bill has forecasters watchi

where the east coast of florida ended up heading west and causing all types of problems.eople spent the night in parking lots and were more vulnerable because we've really don't know ultimately exactly where the storm will make land fall so when we work with consumers which is our primary interaction and we have as you know and experience right now at epcot at disney world where we bring guests through more than half have come through virtual storms and engaging in a game played to do decision making around good decisions for structure and different aspects of this whole question of hurricane safety and when we do that we find is people do not know there are differences in building codes with respect to how things are built. their expectation is a would be built probably in the first place. a very common question we received either the notion of the roof shape could be more aerodynamic but they could be braced. people come everyday and say why and do we build a house that isn't aerodynamic shape on the roof if we are in the windel and? why would we do that in first place

winds combined to the coastline of florida. about 30 to 45 miles per hour possible there. across the midwest severe weather possible from chicago stretching through st. louis, kansas city, towards denver. the primary threat from these thunderstorms today going to be from large hail and damaging wind. we also have the threat for some flooding mainly across missouri. one to two inches of additional rainfall possible here. of course, we want to talk more about air travel and let you know how this mess sorts itself out in just a bit. robin. >> it looks like a wet one. thank you very much. appreciate it. >>> keep an eye on wall street and your 401(k) today. the markets around the world are sharply lower, and it doesn't look better for wall street. the dow futures index shows triple digit losses. they say he after months of waiting for a turnaround investors are looking for good economic news to set up less bad economic news. >>> the biggest bank fiasco this year could affect you whether you're a customer of theirs or not. you hear h

and some pretty excited kids in florida. you're watching "early today." >>> good tuesday morning to you. in hit valley, you have a chance of strong storms today. keep an eye on the sky. ohio, indiana, down into kentucky. the southeast should be relatively dry and hot. the northeast, new england, a mini two-day heat wave with areas near 90 two days in a row from boston to d.c. get ready finally. it only took two months. if you're watching on wpxi in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, enjoy the sounds of some of the city's finest jazz musicians at the katz plaza. >> thanks so much. here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. he may have been a hit in national treasure, that hasn't stopped the nation from coming after nicolas cage's personal treasure. he's been hit with a whopping bill from the arizonirs. >>> california governor signed up soccer star david beckham to promote california around the world. >>> don't look for ryan o'neal to hang out with estranged daughter tatum o'neal any time soon. he'll never forget her for spill

tropical storm claudette coming ashore on the florida panhandle.tained winds at 40 miles an hour. a rainstorm right now. not a huge event. but 2001 take notice that it is the first tropical event to make landfall this season. >>> how is the rush hour? here is joy. >>> we're still mopping up some problems. we're experiencing some delays in baltimore county. reistertown butler town, still some problems. use route 40. route 23 coming into norrisville road, watch out for delays there. heavy and steady on the right side of your screen. stop and go forming below i70. back to you. >>> you still see rod woodson's jersey in the stadium. you could wear it ten years from now and it would still be relevant because he's in the pro hall football -- the pro football hall of fame. welcome to baltimore. how is it going? >> it's great. thanks for having me on. >> congratulations. well done. >>i appreciate that. >>i got to tell you something, we'll get to madden. but you speaking for art row zell took great strength below the belt. way to go. thanks for representing?

nbc's kristin dahlgren joins us live from panama city, florida, with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hey there. right now just some light rain here, light winds in panama city. but we are expecting heavier band looking at the radar to come through in just a short time here. some places can expect to get up to 6 inches, even more locally. so the rain really going to be the signature of this storm. but claudette's lasting impact may well be a reminder of how quickly a hurricane season can change. claudette came ashore on florida's panhandle with lashing winds. >> 55, 60, even 65-mile-an-hour gusts. >> reporter: and pounding surf. while to the south near ft. myers a tornado spawned by the system ripped into more than 20 homes. all hallmarks of a tropical system. but for many, a bit of a surprise. claudette seemed to come out of nowhere, growing quickly to a tropical storm on the same weekend the season's first two storms also formed. >> why has it been such a slow start? high pressure over the gulf of mexico. nothing has formed there. very few storms coming of

south florida has a chance to make waves with games against florida state and miami.tant are those games to the bulls in terms of recruiting? >> 13 years ago, jim leavitt started the south florida baseball program in a traylor. they did not even have mailboxes. 2 years ago they rise to number 2 in the nation. since then it's been a mess. a losing roar in the big east. the perseption is south florida has the losing left overs and this is their grand opportunity. they were not picked to win the big east. in today's coaches poll, there were not one big east team in the conference. anybody can win the big east conference including south florida. they probably have the 2 most recognizable players with the quarterback and the defensive end. it's a great opportunity. can they get it done? most people think no. >> we did not mention him. >> don't say it! >> he is joe schad. >> good job. >> thank you very much. >> jay cutler and kyle orton, 2 quarterbacks learning lessons about their new fans. details ahead on espnews >> how has your experience been with 20,000 people? >> we h

. >>> tropical storm claudette is battering part of florida's gulf coast tonight. while claudette hits land, florida is watching for bigger problems out on the atlantic. >> reporter: it's been a calm tropical storm season until now. residents along the florida panhandle are basing for claudette, the first tropical storm this year to hit the mainland. in some areas threatening up to 10 inches of rain. residents cleared store shelves of emergency supplies. the gulf is more crime than unusual for intensification this year. tropical storm ana, then bill. >> i think bill is going to be a great hurricane. anywhere between the carolinas, and the canadian maritimes, you'd better keep an eye on it. >> reporter: it's not often the first storms came this last. it has happened in 1992. andrew formed late, and within days it became a category 5 hurricane. devastating florida. >> it just takes the one hurricane to make for a bad year. >>> yeah, we are watching the tropics big time. also watching some hot temperatures around here today. we topped out at 90 degrees or so. you see

veces se negó esto, el senor así lo confirmó el viernes. >>> por 12 años he servido al pueblo de la floridagó el momento en que quiero retirarme. >>> agradeció el respaldo y decidió que era otra etapa la que tiene que comenzar. >>> martínez renunció un año antes de cumplir su tiempo en el gobierno, el gobernador de la florida reconoció sus logros. >>> es un gran amigo, y ha servido bien al pueblo, es un mbre que se comportó con mucha integridad. >>> no existe una lista corta y larga, martínez ganó su puesto en el2004, y fue una de las figur figuras. >>> votó en favor de la nominación de sonia sotomayor, y la base nuestra estaba en contra de eso, pero la mayoría de los hispanos tienen un cariño por mel martínez. >>> y el senador permanecerá en su h@tú]qgbptjkph@ que el goberr designe un nuevo representante. >>> vamos a hacer una pausa, pero enseguida, asesinan a una modelo en méxico. y la muerte sorprende a unos mineros. tú]qqkph@h@tú]qgbrqfkpcp ♪(música) >>> el veterano periodista josé pardo murió en cali, libró campañas en contra de la corrupción enh@ cuba, ejerciciól periodismo casi hasta

i was down in florida. i was visiting my brother and happened to go over to boca, and she seemed to be okay. she was definitely a very pretty girl, but, um, she tended to cater to mike, too, at times. >> this woman spent hours and hours every week, getting the perfect body, the perfect look. she meets this guy. within six months, they're headed down the aisle. within six months after that, she's hiring a hit man to rub him out. we are taking your calls live. let's unleash the lawyers. joining me tonight, susan moss, john burk, and lauren lake. sue moss, weigh in. >> the six-month itch, it's a witch. i can't believe it took her six months and already she's trying to rub out her husband. there's no defense in this case. the fact that she asked her friends about a hit man means that there's no entrapment because the government wasn't involved then. there is no defense. >> there's a lot of funny stuff going on. i overlooked a lot of things. you know, you try and look -- see the best in people, not the worst. i

that's the latest from pensacola, florida.or cnn, reporting live, back to you. >>> let's go east of pensacola, to the vacation getaway destination destin, florida. the mayor, craig barker, join us on the phone for an update. how's it looking where you are? >> it's actually not been too bad so far today. we've had a few of the tropical bands that have come through already. and that has brought a lot of rain, some gusts. but it's starting to get a little darker now. we are expecting to have sustained winds up to 50 knots and with gusts, higher than that, so we are getting prepared for it. >> we hope you guys are safe and please keep it safe and hope there's no destruction there because i plan on being there in september with my family so -- >> we look forward to having you. >> thank you very much. would you believe told's weather forecast for parts of california included the term "scattered smoke"? there are currently 11 wildfires burning. the most serious maybe this one. it's the lockheed fire. it has charred some 10 square mil

it was slow going in florida with torrential rains, but florida is keeping watch on a stroppinger stormed tropical storm ana. ana is spinning out in the atlantic, and forecasters say ana could hit florida by thursday. jim? >> that's right. by thursday. of course that rain you saw there now has turned into a tropical depression which has a potential of turning into tropical storm claudette later this afternoon and striking florida as a tropical storm this evening. here at home, it is pretty comfort kwlabble -- comfortable. 65 degrees at the airport. 73 downtown at the harbor. 97% is our relative humidity. a few people still seeing a little patchy fog. it will start to move off rather quickly though. in the satellite we see a clear sky all the way up and down the eastern seaboard from virginia back to indiana. looking for sunshine for our day today. a few 70's further down to the south. our temperatures will be reaching back into the upper 80's and low 90's. 73 downtown. 66 in westminister. 64 in cambridge. 69 in ocean city and 68 out toward cumberland. high pressure is in control. with t

it has made landfall in florida. it is bringing niportions of th maximum sustained winds, 40 miles per hour. hat umt onthat one. be the ana look like it may move over land and that would not aid in its growth. however t f. it stays farther out to sea, it could turn into i tropical storm. we'll watch it. on the right side is hurricane bill. as steve was report, it is possible it could become a major hurricane later on this week so we'll keep our eyes on that. closer to home, right now here in degrees. reaturmp 3degrees. relati humidity at 84%. the wind out south at five miles per hoon. th rie re has been the rise. a look at our own satellite- radar, we he w fecs loudaout lo there making if a very pretty sunrise. there may be an area or two of f fog as our humidity has been up there during the overnight hours. your day planner for today. we are looking for lots of sunshine today. we'll call day partly sunny day. another hot an humid day with above normal temperatures. high into the low 90s. our high will range from the

but this is why florida was buzzing about it earlier. it keeps it as a depression into the gulf of mexico. but the gulf is so hot, the water is so warm, that you have to be careful. and tropical storm bill may be a major hurricane by thursday. could a cold front come and turn it and take it out to sea? that is possible, but it's n a guarantee at this point so we're watching that one closely. forecast for monday, a lot of sunshine. by noon we're pushing 90 and by 4:00, 92 degrees. and it looks once again -- like once again it will be a day free of storms with the exception of isolated thunderstorms that pop up along the ridgeline. tuesday more the same, 92 degrees. and then by wednesday when we have a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, unrelated to tropical weather, you'll be saying woo hoo. 91 degrees, this is from a front coming. could that catch a little bit of claudette's range, that could happen but right now we think it's thunderstormed from the front. we'll have new updates tonight at 10:00. we'll see what happens tonight. >>

approximate with the exception of florida, the southeast will be dry. if you're watching us in tampa, florida, take a roller coaster ride off into space at the planetarium of museum of science and industry presents earth's wild ride. fitting for the shuttle launch. >> very true. >>> here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. in terms of typecasting, robin williams may be entering interest uncharted territory. t he claims he's been asked to play scottish singing sensation susan boyle. no word yet on what susan boyle herself thinks about the plan. >>> actress melanie griffith checked into rehab. a spokesperson said it's part of a routine plan designed by griffith and her doctors. >>> john clees, financially stung by a recent divorce settlement reportedly earned $1 million for one scene in the latest shrek movie. >>> reality show celebrity heidi montag wants a second breast implant operation because she fels her active lifestyle made her shrink. i dance a lot, i work out a lot, i don't know what happened. yeah. >> is she trying to m

made landfall this morning in florida, then weakened. what's left of tropical storm claudette is expected to dump as much as ten inches of rain on parts of the florida panhandle and alabama. forecasters are also watching two other storms. bill which became a hurricane this morning in the atlantic, and ana a tropical depression. >>> fire is the problem out west

islamorada in the florida keys to a great weekend get away. >> reporter: a unique destination in florida's upper keys. the waters around it are home to some of the world's most coveted sports fish. >> it's unusual because of our location every fish that actually swims in this hemisphere can be caught from these shores. >> reporter: guided boat tours of the indian key state historic site are a chance to catch a glimpse of the past. >> this is the last known resting place of the founder of indian key. >> indian key very interesting to visit. what's interesting there are old european ruins. >> reporter: or rent a i could acor canoe and explore on your own. accommodations range from old florida style with budget-friendly prices. >> -- one of the destination resorts we call here in the keys. >> reporter: to secluded luxury. >> wanted to truly create the keys, the haydays of the keys and it's a great place. >>> more photos being released of the air force one flight over new york city. remember that? it caused quite a panic three months ago. well, the air force released these pictures of the inci

i'm going to get out of the way after i pointed there is florida there is the eastern seaboard.s what is left of ana right there. but bill is hiding right behind our abc 2 logo. here comes bill churning as it makes its way towards the east over the past 24 hours, still making its way towards the east. it is gaining a lot of strength. bill right now has winds of 90 miles per hour. there it is right now, a category 1 storm hanging there right just to the left of our abc 2 logo. moving towards the west northwest. 14 miles an hour. now here is what it looks like bill is going to be doing. it will intensify. it looks like to a category 3 storm. and then start a turn northward. and by saturday, it looks like it's going to be about 4 to 500 miles off the coast of the carolinas, continuing to turn on to the north and east. but we'll keep a real close eye on bill as it makes its way across and towards the caribbean. as far as our satellite picture throughout the day today, a pretty nice day. a few light clouds. a few light showers broke out in western portions of virginia. but for the mo

of the florida panhandle could get up to 10 inches of rain.nd tropical storm bill is churning over the atlantic, getting stronger and heading east. it could make it to hurricane strength today. also, tropical storm ana, still causing worries for the caribbean as it moves westward. forecasters say it may hit haiti or the dominican republic, but they can't say if it will reach the u.s. >>> milwaukee mayor tom barrett is recovering after being beaten with a metal pipe. at last word, he was in stable condition at a hospital. now, we don't know the extent or type of injuries he received in this attack, but police say he was alert and talking when he arrived last night. police are now searching for the man responsible who they believe is a known criminal. they say barrett was leaving the fair with his family when they saw a woman struggling with a man and heard her shouting for someone to call 911. the mayor began dialing 911 and that is when the suspect apparently stopped attacking the woman and began beating the mayor with a pipe. he then fled the

his wife found him dead in their florida condo. >>> the federal government is giving new advice to schools about how to deal with the swine flu. it's advising people who get sick to stay home and cover their nose and mouth when they're coughing or sneezing. the government is also telling administrators they don't have to close schools if there is an outbreak. yesterday's guidelines came ahead of the new school year when officials fear that the virus could re-emerge. the vaccine against it should be ready by october. >>> the st. louis police can no longer sport their tattoos. a ban on visible body art took effect last week. it's already caused some problems for some cops who have been sent home because their ink was showing. the police association says the whole ban is unfair and there should be some leeway. >> folks should be grandfathered in. we had folks who came on board and got tattoos because the department didn't object. >> the tattoo ban also affects city and civilian employees. >>> we have been saying investigators think th

, florida in a political quandary.ez announced earlier he will be leaving his seat, and he will be doing so just as soon as florida governor charlie crist can find his replacement. crist wants that senate seat and he's actually favored to win it. that will be in 2010. that's the sort of dilemma that martinez wants to remove himself from so he can spend more time with his family. >> so today i'm announcing my decision to step down from public office effective upon a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of my term. i have enjoyed my time in the senate immensely. i have the most difficult time of all in leaving the great friendship that's i have developed with wonderful people that serve this nation and the united states senate. >> florida's governor could theoretically appoint himself to replace martinez right now. at a news conference, though, kr crist's indicated he's looking for someone else to fill in for martinez, saying he takes the search seriously. >>> president obama is pointing to a new employment

the residents in florida taking no chances, stocking up on supplies. this is the first real delete from a storm. sue palka has more. >> it has not come on shore, just a few hours away, but the effects were felt, heavy rain along the panhandle. and it will be a long night with power problems. this is not going to be the worst storm they had, but when the people of florida wento est tot,bed last night, it did not even exist. we'll show you more, it is l tosceran closer to landfall, i'll show you the warnings, they're worried even all the way up to montgomery, alabama, with the storms, three to six inches of rain to the east of this storm, a slow mover, what i did, clicked on here. at 9:00, the water temperature was so warm down here. 85 miles per hour, they're rain, strong eavy winds, 78 miles per hour, out here, gusty winds up to 27 miles per hour. but we do know around here, they, e setting records in terms of daily rainfall, already about three inches of h r e. t and unfortunatof po ofpo a drowning near panama city. true view showing tropical storm cl

so it is about time the nats took care of florida.ate inning bullpen collapses the second weekend of the season where the marlins came in here and swept. marlins misses up high. at home the nats are 20-33. on the road, the marlins are 26- 24. that ball is ripped down the right-field side. elijah dukes can't cut it off. he might be thinking three now and he should. he'll be there standing up. the lead-off triple. and willie harris had to rescue an airport throw by elijah dukes. -- errant throw by elijah dukes. and nick johnson will step in with a chance to drive in a run against his former team. >> rob: j.d. martin has already thrown pretty much his entire repertoire, fastball, curve ball, changeup. he gets behind 3-2. he has to come in with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball and coghlan races it down the right-field line. >> bob: nick is warmly received by the nats' fans. he hit .295 here. some of them are standing. the last connection at the major league level to the montreal expos, nick johnson, who came to montreal from the yak yankees in

this is from florida state. there's the great lakes and there's the west. there's florida.n see that. there goes the storm right there on the later part of the model. there it is there getting very close to north carolina and then, in fact, getting right up to the coast of maine and the bay of fundy. that's going to happen? well, chuck, you never know. we'll have to figure it out as it comes on. there are all the other computer models right through there. most of them not hitting the u.s. it's going to have to make that big turn, you know, at least bill made the turn, will danny make the turn? i don't know. doesn't sound very threatening, hurricane danny, but, you know, but, you know, it is what it is. we'll see. >> that's the best freehand map of the u.s. i've ever seen. >> it's hard to see. >> no, man, it looked great. >>> a former citizen of the soviet union said every night his family reserves an empty chair at the dinner table for senator ted kennedy. how the late senator stuck his neck out to save their little girl and change their lives forever. >>> talk has already

let's go to an ney florida. what's your question? >> caller: well, i have a comment, first of all, i don't know what good a restraining order was going to do. it's not hike like she was going to send someone to do it. who's to say that she can't get on the phone and call somebody else. after seeing her with police i'm waiting for someone to say and the oscar for best actress goes to -- >> annie, you have good comments. do you know an investigative reporter is right well in florida. it's very true she wasn't going to do it herself. don't you know that police were watching any move and monitoring phone calls she's made. >> she's under close scrutiny right now. michael dippolito and attorneys have expressed concerns about her being out on bond at all even prior to the agreed adjust ams to the terms of her release and clearly, they're concerned that this is someone who remains a danger if not to the community at large, then certainly to the man that she's alleged to have wanted to have killed. >> and there's word they may go to court for

there are now three storms out there, and the florida panhandle is going to take a direct hit tonight> a possible change of plans. the obama administration sending signals today that it might back down from a key part of its health care reform plan. >>> bad habits? the vatican's controversi investigation of american nuns. have nuns here strayed too far from church doctrine? >>> and, star crossed. one of the world's biggest movie stars, the tom cruise of india, held for questioning at an american airport. he says it's because he's a muslim. it's become an international muslim. it's become an international incident. captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> good evening. for people in florida, and all along the atlantic and gulf coasts, this has been a quiet hurricane season. since june, nothing. but now, all of a sudden, there are three storms out there, and they are allaining strength. tropical storms ana and bill have formed in the atlantic, and opical storm claudette is poised to hit the panhandle of florida tonight. abc's jeffrey kofman is there. >> reporter: what a different a day or two

you can see it made landfall acrropos tionssof florida, northern tiflorida, western florida, we'll callly this morning about 1:00 this morning near fort walton. wind are now at about 40 miles per hour but it is not so much the win but the heavy rain that will cause problems here. this will lead to flooding in some areas. rainfall amounts will vary depending on how fast the system moves. you can see right now are pence coal as dry. panama city and elsewhere, even in tallahassee being they are seeing some rainfall right now. the bulk of the rain has yet to move onshore. i'll show you the rest of the tropics in a moment. first, let'stake a look at what is happening close to home. our temperature says 74 degrees here. we have some readings saying 7 # degrees at this hour. 69 up in baltimore. winchester, virginia is at 65 degrees. here is a look at the tropical map. tropical depression ana is closest to us but we are not expecting much because of winds at 35 miles per hour. what we are looking at is bill. bill no longer a tropical storm. bill is a hurricane now, just became a hurricane a sho

it have widespread impact from florida all the way to new england.ve to keep a close eye on bill. >> mary, thank you so much. >> in northern california, hundreds of residents have been allowed back home now that the immediate fire danger has passed. about ten square smiles have been blackened around the community of bonnie doon. officials say that one fire was started by a camp fire used by marijuana growers. >> president obama appears to be ready to compromise on the so-called public option, one of his key demands in the health care debate. over the weekend the president continued to call for a government-run plan to give private insurance companies some competition but his health secretary backed away from that on a sunday talk show. >> i think what's important is choice and competition and i'm convinced at the end of the day the plan will have both of those but that is not the essential element. >> the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the united states senate for the public option, there never have been. to continue to chase that r

what is causing people to leave florida -- phil keating is at our florida bureau. >> a lot of floridiansnd jobs. at the high point, it was 1000 people per day moving to florida, and many of those where in their 20's and 30'sç for jobs çin real estate and tourism industry, but those jobs have dried up. compounding the problem, the study suggests, of people retiring in florida may have lost a lot of their nest eggs, over the last years, and they may be having difficulty coming year. jon: is there any upside to this? >> aside from everyone who has driven up and down the quarters, they know that fewer people creating congestion on that interstate system, but when you have a recession that has led to cut services, raise fees, and lay off workers, now having fewer floridians in the state will be fewer tax dollars, and that means a lot of big projects may have to be delayed until the economy turns around, but the florida sunshine does remain abundant. jon: i remember it well from when i lived there. phil keating, thanks. at fort jackson, south carolina, women account for only about 5% of the n

here in florida, 27% of florida's population is without health insurance. the numbers here in florida are the fourth high ners the country. we've got a huge number of kids that are without health insurance. i was at the town hall meeting that was hosted by a local state representative and one of our congress members, kathy cast for, a tended a few weeks ago, and the big question from the protesters outside is we want details. we want an explanation, and they got no explanation. i think some people there were, were there to disrupt it. but some had legitimate questions. they want president obama to give more details about what he was proposing, and i think people want to have that discussion and they feel like they're not getting it. >> brown: are you seeing something like that where you are? >> well, certainly there are these town hall meetings being held by members of congress all across the state, and the one i attended was raucous, to say the least. and people do want details. the people i saw at the meeting i went to was in a republican district, and i