john hendrin, abc news, the white house. >>> ocean city and parts of the eastern shore are getting pounded, the question is, same system headed to us? >> it will skirt us. we've been on the edge of it the past couple of days. we've been fortunate. i thought we would see extremely heavy rain. we had heavy rain but it's been just to the east of the baltimore area, mostly on the eastern shore. tonight we're going to see scattered showers, we're going to see breezy conditions but nothing like the 50 mile-per-hour gusts they had at ocean city today. with almost two inches of rain and it's still raining over there. let's look outside now. your shot from harbor cam, overlooking the light street pavilion, temperatures at bwi marshall now, very cool, employment, 68 degrees, 55% humidity, wind currently from the northeast at 18 miles per hour. and picking up throughout the day, the pressure rising 30.29. coastal flood advisory remains in effect for the counties in southern maryland, also around the dc area. we've also got a gale warning in effect for chesapeake bay and also all along the eastern sea

john hendrin, abc news, washington. >>> 6:15. much more tranquil conditions here, around the mid-atlantic, mid-50s and mostly cloudy skies. 56 baltimore, new york, philly, norfolk, 58. we're watching showers in through western pennsylvania. even western maryland. we watched some actually pick up here, some hint of at least a few sprinkles up across york county heading over towards perhaps north side of lancaster and up towards allentown eventually. if you're heading in that direction you may get a little wet. otherwise we have the clouds dominating, all in response to this upper level low pressure system still spinning across eastern canada and dragging in chilly air. we have one more disturbed area in the atmosphere to produce clouds but eventually we're clearing things out and eventually we'll squeeze the chilly stuff out of here. but we have two more days of the chill to deal with. in thenorthern plains they are having a hard freeze in some spots. it will modify by the time it gets here but we still have a round of cool air to

john hendrin with more on the president's plan. >> for their - >> reporter: president obama delivered an unusually impassioned argument for health care reform >> i'm not the first president to take up this cause by i am determined to be the last. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: he noted the work to be done. >> while there remains some significant details to be ironed out - [ laughter ] >> reporter: drawing chuckles for his understatement, repeated support for a public health plan. >> by making a not for profit public option available in the insurance exchange. >> reporter: he quoted a letter from the late senator ted kennedy. what we face, he wrote, is above all a moral issue. >> reporter: and he heard a rare heckler beneath the capitol dome. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> reporter: speaking to cnn's larry king a fellow republican called that inappropriate. >> totally disrespectful. no place for it, in that setting or any other and he should apologize immediately. >> reporter: the heckler, congressman joe wilson late

john hendrin, abc news, washington. >>> a couple of days after the university of maryland says it suspects nearly 200 cases of the h1n1 on campus and a harvard study suggests our nation's workplace is not ready for an outbreak the government is now going on-line to slow the spread. it's posting web casts for parents and child care providers featuring ways to reduce the spread of the so-called swine flu. the cdc also wants to avoid an anti-viral shortage and asking doctors to give prescriptions ahead of time to high-risk patients. >> if you're a young child, if you're pregnant, if you're elderly or if you have underlying medical conditions then seeing your doctor and starting treatment early is very important. >> the swine flu vaccine is currently undergoing clinical trials. the first 40 million doses or so should be available by mid-october. as for those web casts they are available on-line at flu.gov. >>> thursday, september 10th, with we should be 59 in the morning, up to 80 in the afternoon. remember that. we've been in the 70 all week, 64 this morning, an above normal start but doesn't

john hendrin, abc news, washington. >> how the day will play out -- the president will take the stage at the comcast center in college park in just under two hours. it will be a different crowd, though. it will take in his health care message and the pitch. the comcast center opened a few minutes ago. anyone who wants the hear the president speak is invited. white house leaders have pushed for bigger venues for the president to speak in to give it a more campaign rally feel to it. and the president spoke last weekend to a crowd of about 15,000 in minneapolis and today he'll speak for the people who helped him get into office last fall. young voters. >> i'm hoping to hear, just the various reasons that health care reform needs to be passed now. and just the urgency of the situation, because i think the people don't realize that -- so many uninsured americans need to be covered. >> again, the rally will start 11:00 this morning. open to the public. there will be no tickets and seating will be on a first come/first serve basis. >>> before the president even speaks the republicans are off

but before he speaks to congress the president spoke first to abc news, abc2 news john hendrin has more on the president's new plan to persuade us. listen. , tonight president obama makes a high stakes pitch for health care reform. in an exclusive interview with robin roberts the president outlined his rare joint address to congress. >> the intent of the speech is to a, make sure that the american people are clear exactly what it is we're proposing. b, to make sure that democrats and republicans understand that i'm open to new ideas. >> reporter: among most republicans on capitol hill the verdict is already in. >> i have deep concerns about most of the provisions in this bill and i think we need to get back to the drawing board. >> reporter: congress is back and crafting rival versions of health care reform. abc news obtained an outline of the health care bill drafted by senate finance chairman max baucus. it would require individuals to have insurance by 2013 or pay a fine. levee $6 billion in new taxes on insurers and tax so-called cadillac insurance plans. that plan doesn't include a

john hendrin looks back. >> reporter: president obama delivered an unusually impassioned argument for health care reform. >> i'm not the first president to take up this cause but i am determined to be the last. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: he noted the work to be done. >> while there remains some significant details to be ironed out - [ laughter ] >> reporter: chuckles for his understatement. he repeated support for a public health plan. >> by making a not for profit public option available in the insurance exchange. >> reporter: he quoted a letter from the state senator ted kennedy. >> what we face, he wrote, is above all a moral issue. >> reporter: and he heard a rare heckler beneath the capitol dome. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! [jeering] >> reporter: speaking to cnn's larry king, a fellow republican called that inappropriate. >> totally disrespectful. no place for it. in that setting or any other and he should apologize immediately. >> reporter: the heckler, congressman joe wilson later called the president to

he'll be taking his message to the people both in town halls and prime time tv but as abc2 news john hendrinls us the president is going to congress with a state of the union-style primetime speech. >> reporter: president obama is taking to the bully pulpit on health care reform >> now it's time to close the deal. >> reporter: in a rare address to a joint session of congress next wednesday the president will make his strongest case hoping to cut through the shouting. >> health care! >> when do we need it? >> now. >> and against it. >> reporter: the white house says he'll outline how health care reform will be paid for, what an optional health care plan would do and how both the uninsured and insured would benefit. >> what they are going to see is the president of the united states make a very strong case for what we have to do and why we have to do it, at a pivotal moment in this debate and pivotal moment for our country. >> reporter: it's a last resort. the president had wanted congress to approve reform bills by the august recess. but of four bills on capitol hill none has passed. republic

john hendrin sets the stage for us. >> reporter: today president obama warns heads of state of the growingeril of nuclear proliferation. >> if we fail to act we will invite nuclear arms races in every region and the prospect of wars and acts of terror on a scale that we can hardly imagine. >> reporter: the president, the first ever to chair the united nations security council emerged from a meeting with russian president medvedev booed after saying sanctions against iran might be inevitable. >> several sanctions remain a possibility. >> reporter: the american delegation walked out after ahmadinejad took the podium. later today president obama joins world leaders of the g-20 nations for a test of his international clout. >> what will make it a defining moment is it's the first time the ball is really in obama's court. >> reporter: in pittsburgh, they plan to grapple with the aftermath of the worst global downturn in generations. >> how to live after the crisis. how to exit the forces and how all of us carry on the fiscal stimulus or when we exit and on what conditions. >> reporter: they'll