i'm jim handly. >> i'm eun yang in for pat lawson muse today. senator kennedy is comed to brain cancer late last night. yet, he didn't let his 15-month battle with the disease keep him from pursuing his passions and promises as a dedicated publicer is zblant after his diagnosis, kennedy championed the push for health care reform legislation. completed a memoir and became an instrumental onti pecfn ode election of president barack obama. that was only a small part of a long distinguished career that was at times controversial but ultimately respected and admired by supporters and opponents alike. >> surviving members of the kennedy family, dynasty, american politics, are seeing an outpouring of sympathy from around the world. colleagues plan to honor his colleague by working on cause most important to him. live coverage from michelle franzen. michelle? >> reporter: good evening. hyannis port, and the family's compound here, a place for senator kennedy loved to come and recharge. at age 77 he was the patriarch of a dynamic family dynasty that's ca

. >> i'm jim handly. a tense rnteafoon in our skies thisternafoon. fire jets a helicopters were ra d mbscthleis afternoon to p tn cr ly-fonno ze around z the strict. officials tell us that small plane was spotted southwest of bwi airport. controllers attempted to talk to the pilot but got no response. the plane was intercepted by coast guard helicopters and escorted to the montgomery county air park. that's in gaithersburg, maryland. u.s. secret service agents are interviewing that pilot. they tell us he is a student pilot who took off from the gaithersburg airport this afternoon. >>> a shock for shoppers and workers in a mall when a small plane landed in the parking lot. onboard, an instructor and student that walked away from the crash with slight injuries. the plane had just taken off from a nearby airport when the pail on the reported a rough running engine. he landed on a road leading to the mall parking lot away from buildings and cars. the plane struck several trees and lost a wheel before spinning around and landing on its nose. no one on the

i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. northeast police officer shot and killed a man early this morning at an area gas station. this happened in the 3300 block of benning road. that's where a man reportedly armed with a gun was banging on the cashier's window. police say that the man ignored an officer's order to drop the weapon and that's when one of

. >> i'm jim handly. a look at the top stories we are following for you at this hour. government officials are calling on u.s. businesses to help manage swine flu this fall. new guidelines issued today encourage companies to get vaccines to vulnerable workers and allow liberal time for sick leave and telecommuting. employees are all encouraged to stay home if they have any symptoms. >>> on the eve of presidential elections in afghanistan, voting equipment is being delivered into the country's rural areas. some of it being delivered by donkey. the elections tipped president karzai against his foreign minister and the race is expected to be a close one. >>> some of the new credit card rules take effect tomorrow. rules meant to give credit card users more information and stop policies many consider abusive. the new rules give consumers more notice when changes are being made to their accounts. and tools to say no to higher rates and fees. >>> there are new and growing concerns about the federal cash for clunkers rebate program there yet some car dealers are pulling out of

i'm jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse.re are some of the stories making news at the bottom of the hour now. the man convicted in the 188 bombing of pan am flight 103 is a free man today. scottish authorities have released abdel basset ali al megrahi on compassionate grounds. he has terminal prostate cancer. wheept back to libya to die. family members of the flight victims are outraged. the obama administration is denouncing al meg had a rahi's . >>> most of the violence took place in southern afghanistan. the more peaceful north and west millions of people lined up to cast their ballots. plame nary results are expected saturday. >>> a wild house party is being investigated by authorities in anne arundel county. turns out that the organizers did not own the house. they borrowed the house without asking. and they left aoo big mess behi. the house is vacant and it is up for sale. news4's chris gordon. more on this wild story coming up on "news4 at 5:00." >>> thank you, pat. president obama says the public option should still

. >>> i'm jim handly. a look at some of the top stories we are following for you this hour. >> in jurnlg a husband and wife their dumfries home. police say it appears it may be a murder/suicide. there is word the couple were facing foreclosure and were due to be evicted today. >>> the housing mark set showing signs of recovery this evening. existing home sales rose more than 7% in july. largest monthly increase in a decade. experts credit the government incentive program that's meant to attract first-time home buyers. still some economists question how long the rebound will last and as another government incentive program that cash for clunkers comes to an end. >>> preliminary resul of the presidential election in afghanistan may not be available until tuesday. afghan officials say it is too early for anyone to declare victory but both of the leading candidates say they are ahead in the count. if neither candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff. >>> well, with the kids heading back

i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger.e watch on theeaonvens tight ast pnsar of ouarldea cou be facing some serious floinsghi c tevening. let's go to

i'm wendy rieger. >>> jim handly. our top story tonight. a woman's car tires flattened near the charles county courthouse. now it is possible a judge, a judge, is being investigated in connection with the incident. it happened at the courthouse monday. the scene was record order someone's cell phone camera. tracee wilkins joins us with the latest on this story. >> reporter: we are looking for the video. it appears that one of the officers here was actually responsible for recording that. it looks that what happened here is that since they started doing construction over this way, it made parking here at a premium especially for folks who are coming out at

i'm jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. shriver died in a massachusetts hospital this morning surrounded by her family. she was part of one of the most famous families in the world. bt she was un tdifopehengci sal founding the special olympics. kimberly suiters has more on how eunice kennedy shriver is being remembered. >> reporter: >> no question in my mind. eunice kennedy shriver is as much a hero of every one of these athletes as she is of mine. >> reporter: at the olympics headquarters in washington, photographic tributes to the woman who believed there is no limit to the human spirit. >> what more can you be doing? that is a phrase i take to my heart every day and wake up and say what more can i be doing? you know, i take that in my personal life and work life and i hope that that phrase people will take and think of whenyhe t approach lifehe m whatwhore can you be doing? >> reporter: after her death his morning the shriv dsae said this. e o tha cnge the world c sto chang use and she did that and more. she fndedathe th

. >> i'm jim handly. the eagles' job comes just weeks after michael vick was released from federal pris. he served 18 months for his role in running a dogfighting ring. >> a news conference today, vick expressed remorse for his actions and he acknowledged that some people will never forgive him. kristen dahlgren has the story. >> just months after walking out of the federal prison, michael vick sat before the cameras as a philadelphia eagle. >> i made poor judgment. ions in my ad life, you know. and i had to reach a turning point. and prison finitely did it for me. >> reporter: the name convicted in a dogfighting role was apologetic. >> to this day i can't understand why i was involved in such pointless activity. >> reporter: while his new team and recent mentor, tony dungy, explained their decisions. >> feel like mike is going to help their football team and be a weapon for them. but they also stepped out to give a manning a second chance. >> vick! >> reporter: will fans be as forgiving? so far reactions

i'm jim handly. >> glad to have you with us tonight. i'm live at arlington national cemetery where that graveside service just wrapped up a few hours ago. it marked the end of a very public day of remembrance, a day that began in boston and ended here in the nation's capito i'll have more on that part of the story in just a moment. >> ted kennedy was buried tonight alongside his brothers john and bobby. today's ceremonies in many ways reflected the man larger than life. brian mooar begins our coverage tonight. >> reporter: on a day both somber and celebratory, senator ted kennedy tookis place alongside the brothers he idolized. in the end, he was an icon in his own right and thousands lined the streets of nation's capital to say good-bye. >> i'm conservative republican but i'm here to pay respects. >> his last journey took him to the u.s. capitol where he was saluted by those who served with and for lim. >> he knew he was only great because had he great people supporting him and he knew the value of good staff, and that's why he was so

i'm jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. breaking news where the senate confirmed sonja sotomayor to the supreme court. sotomayor will be the nation's first hispanic supreme court justice. she will be sworn in saturday morning. a vigil is planned for tonight in pittsburgh in memory of the three women killed in tuesday night's shooting at a fitness club. elizabeth began none, heidi obermayer and jody billingsmeyer were killed by sodini. he then turned the gun on himself. tomorrow virginia kicks off its annual tax-free shopping weekend. customers don't have to pay that 5% tax on school supplies and scloeting. supplies that cost $20 or less and clothing and foot wr that cost $100 or less qualified. >> in the control room now, the united states is still trying to secure the release of three merican tourists being held in or feganll ially crossing the llrder. abin rnoreage riou tsts were i tstouse wer doranianut atiho authoritiesri edck them up near iraq's kurdish border. richard engel has that story. >> reporter: iran remained s

here's jim handly. >> good morning and welcome to "reporter's notebook". i' jim handly. let's start with our panel and run through maryland, virginia and d.c. a lot to talk about this morning. let's start in the state of maryland. governor o'malley planning on furloughs, major cutbacks, layoffs, too. this is all to make up for a big budget gap. this is going to impact a lot of things, road construction for one, health care for another. >> yeah. they weren't anticipating as long a recession as we've had, and so they, of course, made projections much lower than they came in. now they have to go for the jugular. everybody is going to be hurt. you are going to see layoffs. you're going to see furloughs. one of the things that i question and some people are questioning are, are the lawmakers, are the top senior officials going to take a pay cut or lay off, take a furlow? like peter francho said he would give up ten days. as long as everybody is feeling the pain it will make it a little bit better. my worry is that at a time when we're going through all this debate about healt

i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. jim and doreen are off this evening. tomorrow with a deadline, the senate is racing to complete other action, as well. >> reporter: good evening. up here on the hill today, the outcome of the sotomayor confirmation balloting was not in doubt, but this was still dramatic in the senate. the final vote looked like history in the making. senators standing to say yes or no. >> the yays are 68 and the nays are 31. >> reporter: confirmed as a supreme court justice sonja sotomayor 57, raised poor in new york, parents from puerto rico, a brilliant student, a prosecutor, a federal judge for 17 years. nominated by presidentobama, sotomayor will be the first has panic to sit o the supreme court. every democrat heaped on praise. >> she is extremely intelligent and she represents the american ideal that at the end of the day race and ethnicity and class aren't supposed to predetermine anything. >> reporter: nine republicans voted yes. >> judge sotomayor's decisions, while not always the decisions i would render, are not outsid the leg

i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. there are at least eight fires burning throughout california. jay gray is in southern california with more. jay? >> reporter: hey there, wendy, jim. yeah, and you talked about the state of emergency declared by governor arnold schwarzenegger. at this point even the firefighters saying this is far more than an emergency. conditions here are dire. and they're only getting worse right now. the attack continues from the air and on the ground. >> it's like a war zone. >> reporter: but after six days the army of firefighters working around the clock is still losing the war against mother nature. >> there's really no opportunities to go in there and draw a line to stop this fire so we're trying to contain it best we can but we're really -- this fire is burning wherever it wants to go. >> reporter: some of the most graphic evidence that the fire is in full control is here in tujunga canyon. cinders and ash replacing just yesterday was a community. >> this is usually very green and so it looks like a desert. very sad. this would happen. >> reporter: it's

i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. jim and doreen are off this evening.the president held a town hall on the issue today. it was much quieter than we have seen in others. steve handelsman has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: thanks. good evening. this obama health care town hall is open to the public. tickets by lottery and there sure was the expectation of disruption. but it didn't happen. president obama went to new hampshire to reformulate his health care pitch. this taking a beating in the latest sxols town halls. >> health insurance reform. >> reporter: insurance reform is the new you obama spin. >> getting a good deal from the

. >> i'm jim handly. a look at the top stories we are following for you. 14-year-old southeast washington girl is recovering today after being shot in her home overnight. someone fired a gun outside of her family's townhouse about midnight. nine bullets entered the house. two hit the girl in the back. police are searching for suspects. >>> columnist and tv commentator robert novak died this morning following a yearlong battle with brain cancer. novak was born and raised in joel yet, illinois and became a familiar face on several washington political talk shows. the family said he died at his home in d.c. he was 78 years old. >>> more people will soon be able to use their phones on metro. wireless carriers, at&t and t-mobile, verizon, too, and sprint all are going tune stall new hardware that will let riders make calls, send texts and surf the web inside of 20 different metro stations. customers should be able to use their phones on trains by october 16th. >> pretty cool. >>> like many cities and countries in our area and across the country, chicago is faci

. >> i'm kimberly suitors in for jim handly. >>> ferocious flames that have destroyed dozens of flames. >> now 80,000 acres have scorched across southern california. jay gray has the latest now from lake view terrace. >> reporter: the attack continues from the air and on the ground. >> it's like war zone radio and but after six days the army of firefighters working around the clock is still losing the war against mother nature. >> there's really no opportunities to go in there and draw a line to stop this fire so we're trying to contain it best we can but we're really -- this fire is burning whenever it wants to go. >> reporter: some of the most graphic evidence that the fire is in full control is here in tujunga canyon. just yesterday w a community. >> this is usually very green and so it looks like a desert. very sad. this would happen. >> reporter: it's happening across a huge section of california right now. governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency. >> there are fires everywhere. we have eight large fires around the state of california right now. >> reporte

wendy rieger joins jim handly next. >>> police arrested a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old in connection with the robbery and murder of a man in charles county, maryland. >> new video of the man who opened fire the at a health club on tuesday night killing

i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. clinton portis has talked about his birthday gift.ow to keep charges off your account. >>> but our top story at 5:30, police investigate an immigration scam as the motive for the murder of a local pizza shop owner. a prince george's county woman is behind bars tonight. police tell us his attempt to get his brother citizenship may have led to his murder. pat collins joins us live northeast with the latest on this investigation. bizarre story, pat. >> reporter: indeed it is, jim. bizarre money for manage plot that ends in a case of murder. >> reporter: shahabuddin rana killed because he cut off cash money payments to a woman for marrying his brother. this according to court documents obtained by "news4." mr. rana found murdered inside his pizza martstore back on august 18th. one police officer said it was the bloodiest scene he's ever encountered. according to court documents, mr. rana had 14 large lacerations to his head. multiple skull fractures. nine lacerations to his left side. and there was an apparent attempt to set him on fire.

. >> i'm jim handly. coming up in this half hour, game time countdown. skins kick off just hours away. we have more live team coverage. plus, skinny magazines. not the models. we are talking ad cash. school schedules. much more than just a computer glitch. >> we begin with an act, alleged act of retaliation that came to a tragic end. thdor was stolen endomet pom f t ir f amerot poen frocks, maryland. then tossed over a bridge >> they say it happenedft ia fnt with m a on a cell phone. the dog, a teacup chihuahua, named zoe is now gone. pat collins has been following this story all day for us. he joins in the studio with more. >> reporter: tonight we hear from the little dog's owner and man accused of tossing the dog off the bridge. s owr. with e' >> she was m io anmpcon, family companion. shnt vwecompion. she went on vacio sh avd woo otr.el se would travel to the store ts th. i often had her in my purse. >> reporter: like a member of the family. >> absolutely. .ere a .tug >> >> reporter: to lose to lose feels le i lost a child in my family. >> reporter: s

now at 5:30, i'm jim handly. >> i'm eun yang. coming up in this half hour, stay connected. more metro riders will cell phone service, pay to play. the washington nationals sign an expensive rookie. lunch one lindsay. >>> we begin this half hour with our top sty. a maryland state delegate sta as police raid in the name of love. delegate john cari didn't came up with an elaborate plan to propose to his girlfriend. >> here's the problem. it was never cleared with the top brass in the police department. chris gordon has the story. >> reporter: it happened on a boat in baltimore's inner harbor. the police helicopter circled ominously above. making it look like a real raid. 39-year-old maryland state delegate john cari didn'din, co the elaborate scheme to give his girlfriend, maik megan home other, an evening on the water she would never forget. it was friday, august 7. while police officers pretended to search the boat, focussing on a box they inferred contained contraband and according to one report, were about to put handcuffs on megan, cardin opened the box. it contained an e

and first news on the weathe join jim handly with me. >> i'll make sure the wife is watching that. >> yes. >> you know we had stories about men having their chests stripped. >> maybe this is a story. >> not me, no. i stay away from that one as well. >> okay. waxing won't work for keith. >> you have us wanting to watch now, that's for sure. >> tom would never do that. >> it hurts. >> ouch. >> we had a rapid rise in our humidity and the temperatures are now climbing into the 80s. we'll peak in the low 90s this afternoon. it's going to be a steamy day with hazy sunshine. also poor air quality by mid afternoon. then tomorrow, might have a morning shower, greater chance of afternoon thunder showers. less humid thursday and friday and a bit cooler but oppressive heat moves into the weekend. see you tomorrow morning. >> okay. thank you, tom. have a great day. >>> finally, many people have stories about the one that got away. >> one colorado man can talk about the big one that did not get away. mike stone caught a 35 pound catfish while fishing at the aurora reservoir. the fish was so big it

. >> i'm jim handly. coming up in this half hour of federal reserve chairman, tyson's corner cheateder. "wednesday's child." backup quarterback. redskins fill-in speaks tout night about the season. >>> we begin with our top story of the day honoring senator ted kennedy. he is remembered as a master statesman that once said the pursuit of the presidency is not my life. public service is. kimberly suiters takes a look back. >> reporter: edward kennedy grew up in the shadow of two brothers that became american icons but his decades in stuchlt senate established him as a political legend and in his own right. >> undermine the medicare system and next will be social security. >> reporter: left with family wealth and fame, he was devoted to helping those less fortunate. massachusetts voters sent him to the senate in 1962. two years after brother john f. kennedy won the white house. >> the torch has been passed. >> reporter: heady days of camelot cut short by tragedy. jfk's assassination in 1963. followed by rob

. >> i'm jim handly. coming up in this half hour, texting behind the wheel. graphic video of the deadly consequences. massive cuts for workers in maryland. they are starting to lose their jobs today. plus, mega-millions countdown. the rush is on tonight to get their hands on that $252 million jackpot ticket. >>> we are going to begin this half hour with our top story. city of alexandria names its first black police chief. earl cook took over today as the new head of the alexandria police department. replacing former chief david baker. who resigned last month after being arrested on idudu charges. >>> cooke is 30-year veteran of alexandria's police force. he had interesting ties to the community. julie carey joins us from alexandria to tell us about him. >> reporter: the new police chief is a life long alexandria resident. he grew up in public housing just down the street from city hall. went on to football fame and today achieve ad life long goal. >> join me in presenting the chief's badge to my new police chief. >> reporter: it was history making moment as e

i'm jim handly. >> and i'm wendy rieger. >>> cash for clunkers is great fehr dealers but not for charities. >>> first, a fraternity party flap involving d.c.'s mayor. >>> mayor adrian fenty is telling "news 4" tonight that it was mistake for his office to spend $37,000 in taxpayer money on a party monday night for his national fraternity. that fraternity is holding a convention here. the mayor says the fraternity has repaid the money. tom sherwood is here with more on the story. >> reporter: the mayor said a mistake like this won't happen again but it's still unclear how city taxpayers wound up paying for the party. kappa alpha si is honoring its members and community work they do. monday night at the historical society's carnegie library downtown they held a lavish reception but at the request of the mayor's office, city taxpayers paid for it. two bands, open bars, tables of food. >> there are some things in life where u o want tspeak clearly in saying, you know, this was just a mistake. >> after the party, fenty asked attorney general nichols to review the payment and nicholls said it wa

i'm jim handly. >> i'm eun yang. coming up, the $100 million, the redskins albert haynesworth goes one on one. senior living middle-aged man takes a look into his future. furlough controversy. lots of jobs could be cut in prince george's county. first an update on severe weather. bob has the latest. >> on the severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect for folks in st. mary's county. southern parts of st. mary county. many reports of large hail and some reports of funnel clouds. so far no confirmed touched down. tornado warn sing not in effect anymore but a severe thunderstorm warning. you can see it is moving right through st. mary's city. you folks there, about to see it move through but it is on now on a track that will take it. that's storm right through the very tip of st. mary's county. kitty acres, hays beach. from here it will continue to move out over the bay. officially there's still that severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 6:00. the next seven days, one agai tomorrow afternoon, we may be see some

i'm jim handly. >> i'm eun yang. coming up in this half hour, big day for the nats. fans meet a new rookie and new gm. and campaign push. race for governor is picking up with one candidate, launching a major offensive. and hurricane bill makes waves. >>> we begin now with a look at the storms in our own area. some heavy, heavy rain earlier today. we continue to watch the skies. we go straight up to bob in the storm center for the latest. hi, bob. >> we are getting a couple more forming. as a matter of fact, while officially the severe thunderstorm watch is now down, that means that there are warnings now. the warnings have been issued for folks out in the berryville area. there you can see the storm. it indicates that it may be producing hail. it is -- issued for hail. it is moving -- moving along 25 miles an hour. winchester right now and berryville. so danger from the storms which are coming out of the mountains of west virginia. we will keep an eye on them as they continue to move into the shenandoah valley and then cross the blue ridge. other areas around dale ci

. >> i'm jim handly. coming up in this half hour, when to die. new grim website calculator. modify your mortgage. liz joins with us a special guide for homeowners. >>> i-95 shut down the construction project that may be a traffic nightmare. >>> we are going to begin with our top story. apology from a top educator about a school scheduling snafu that affected thousands of kids. it is not the way the parents and students of prince george's county wanted to start the new year. thousands of kids unable to go to class because they didn't have schedules. today the superintendent of schools offered an apology. keith garvin joins us to tell bus this. hey, keith. >> official was the school system said they knew they had a problem a week before school started and had scheduling issues in the past. this year the number of issues was doubled. today they addressed how to move past an unwelcomed glch. >> good afternoon. thank you for joining us. >> school system's top man got right to the point. the scheduling mix-up in prince george's county had been frustrating for families and embarras

i'm jim handly. >>> i'm wendy rieger. coming up, a warning for drivers as local police investigate an increase in break-ins. we will meet a virginian getting ready to make his third trip into space. local grocery stores are battling it out for your business. that could mean lower prices at the checkout. >>> first, she's not a household name. when disaster stwriks debbie has been the public face for the federal government. relaying critical information about crash investigations. she's handle ad number of high-profile events, including june's deadly metro crash and this past weekend's deadly collision between a hicopter and small plane in new york city. she has been with the safety board for the past four years. she was confirmed as its new chairman at age 39. she is the youngest person to ever hold that job. >>> there is a lot more to debbie story. pat collins had a chance to sit down and talk wit her today. pat joins us now with more. pat? >> reporter: i spent time with debbie today. you know, she has a license to drive