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in fairfax county, bruce leshan, 9news now. >> this is far from the first time that verison failed to route 911 calls through 911- centers. during last year's, 10,000 emergency calls failed to go through in montgomery and prince georges county and the pse says verison failed to tell emergency managers what was going on. >> topper doesn't fail to keep us updated and right now, he has some severe weather to tell us about. >> we had a severe thunderstorm warning earlier. now we are popping warnings closer to town. until 6:45. and some storms that have warnings up to the north. have now prompted warnings into washington county and frederick county in maryland. also until 6:45. we'll zoom in. pretty big thunderstorm from pawpaw, just to the northeast of romney. that is hail. that's one of the reasons they issued the warnings. and big storms toward hagerstown. get ready in hagerstown and get ready down toward winchester. we'll put this into motion over the next hour. this tracks right toward winchester. these weaken a little bit and run into dry air. still, i would get ready for gusty winds

>> well, i think that the solution is not going to be just verison.to take the cooperation of dominion, novek, the other power companies. we all have to put our heads together and assure to be fail safe. but verison cannot be trusted to get the job done and we want some answers. we want to make sure it never happens again. no one appears to have lost their life. we can't depend upon being so lucky next time. >> looking for response from them tomorrow and continue to do so until we get response. chairman of the board of supervisors, thanks for being with us. >> it is something a lot of us mean to do, but time gets away from us. the american red cross is asking for your help. making sure you make donating blood a priority. here is beth parker. >> when you see a sign like this one, you should really give it some thought. because what is happening upstairs in this building could save a life. last week, the american red cross issued a nationwide emergency appeal. >> we are really in a very desperate kind of a situation right now. >> the blood supply was ru

we are live outside the verison center. back to you guys in the studio. >> it is dream team part two. thank you, dave. >>> it's one of the busiest days at london's airport. athletes started arriving today for the olympic games. members of the u.s. and new zealand yachting teams and finland sailing team were among the first of the 16,000 athletes expected to arrive in london under heightened security. >> it's been great. london is obviously ready and excited. >> it's pretty smooth, really. >> it was easy. really quick. don't have to think about anything. >> now an army of 1,000 trained volunteers who speak 20 different languages are on hand to greet the olympians as they show up in london. topper, lesli. >> we were going to talk to you about the weather from outside, but the rain drops -- i don't do rain. >> it's a bad enough hair day. with rain it's really bad. i got your back. we have a couple thunderstorms on radar. we'll start with a live look outside. this is brought to you by michael and son. temperatures are toasty, b

he joins us live from the verison center. hey dave. >> reporter: i tell you what, the men going for gold as well. going through a couple exhibitions just like the women before they head over to london. this being one of them tonight. we have been following this team for the last couple of days, of course, as they practiced over at george washington university. it's also a homecoming for a couple of guys. we heard from kevin durant earlier in the day. here is carmelo anthony talking to guys he knows very well. >> such a huge honor. >> it's a great feeling. a great accomplishment to be playing for my country. >> and some kids from carmelo's neighborhood got a chance to hoop it up today at the skills clinic at the d.c. armory. kids got a chance to try out michael jordan brand equipment. all the things to see if they could fly, too, and see how it works on the court. anthony was supposed to attend, but couldn't because the practice team got moved up. there was a conflict. full highlights coming up. back to you in the studio. it's

. >>> the verison center will be shining brighter down in chinatown. today the d.c. council unanimously approved emergency legislation to allow more animated signs on the exterior of verison center. allows the owners to seek perms to install up to nine new signs and digital displays. ted released a statement in the last hour thanking the council. he says the new signs will improve the arena and increase tax revenue for the city. >>> and the council continued the push to make pepco put power lines under ground today. two council members introduced bills that would require the utility to bury at least some of its lines in the district. kristin fisher has more from the wilson building. >> we're talking about two separate bills that were introduced today. one by council member chay. where to bury the power lines, and how to bury the power lines. they are different, but the end goal is the same. it would start the process of really moving all of the city's power lines under ground. >> ten days after the strong summer storm that left 66,000 pepco customers without power in

we heard some of that from verison today. we'll alsohow can we make sure that the kind of redun redundancy is in place so it doesn't happen again. >> investigators have been asked to reported back their findings. fairfax county will work with federal officials to come up with the plan to prevent a similar disruption in the future. >> following flooding in a northwest neighborhood. it involved more than just water. laura evans is everywhere at 11:00. >> it's a stinky mess. known as the blooming dale neighborhood. the torrential rain triggered flash flooding and a sewage backup in many of the homes in the neighborhood. residents are now asking the city to clear out the storm drains more frequently. but the city says they already do that, saying it's up to the residents to plan ahead. >>> nearly one year since a powerful quake rocked our region and scientists are investigating what triggered that quake. they plan to map the region using a low flying plane to gather information about underground faults. the 5.8 magnitude quake wa

even the verison guy was waiting on a crew. they are showing remarkable patience in the face of adversity. brad lost his home to a tree, so he's willing to offer pepco a break. >> i mean, they are doing the best they can. it's a tough situation. there's a tree on a house. >> is it too early for you to judge their performance? >> it is too early. >> montgomery county council president, roger berliner has been one of pepco's fiercest critics. he's waiting to see on this storm. >> one is their effort to acquire additional crews. when do they make that effort? >> find pepco $1 million for bad maintenance and excessive outages that took way too long to fix. the chairman is withholding judgment, too. >> do you think that they are doing what they need to do? >> we knew it was coming. certainly had no warning it was going to resolve. >> no warning, but there's going to be an after action report. if the pse finds that pepco did not do the job adequately, it will fine it and fine it painfully. back to you. >> mostly the pain is ours righ

>> even the verison guy was waiting on a pepco crew. people across the region are showing remarkable patience. brad's next door neighbor lost his home to a tree. so he's willing to offer pepco a break. >> they are doing the best they can. i mean, it's a tough situation. there's a tree on a house. >> is it too early for you to judge their performance? >> it is too early. >> montgomery county council president, roajer berliner has been one of pepco's fiercest critics. he's willing to wait and see on this storm. >> i think one of those is their efforts to acquire additional crews. when did they make that effort? get other utility systems. >> the maryland public service commission find pepco $1 million for bad maintenance and outages that took too long to fix. but the chairman is withholding judgment, too. >> do you think that they are doing what they need to do? >> we had almost no warning that it was coming. certainly had no warning it was going to resolve in this magnitude. >> now all the utilities in the state are actually required to s

as of half an hour ago, the council had no taken up bills about installing screens outside the verison center or incentives. mayor gray is willing to authorize a special session if the council doesn't get everything on its agenda. the council did table an amendment on regulations for the company. but passed an amendment making the company legal with no new fees imposed. and they discussed two bills that would force pepco to bury lines in the district. >> would establish them for utility districts. >> in light of the cost, a working group would be established consistenting a representatives of the mayor of the council and pepco to determine how to fund the project. >> put the price tag for burying lines. critics say that is just too expensive and won't necessarily keep the lights from going out in the next big storm. >>> meantime, more surprise and anger from customers. 9news now learned state regulators will allow power companies to charge extra when they couldn't connect after those storms a week and a half ago. russ is here because 9 wants you to know if you'll be charged for an outa

turns out, they are out of state tree contractors working for verison, removing trees. both men, a bit shaken, spoke with us here on the scene. let's roll that. >> i slammed on my brakes and jumped out and ran up. hopefully, i was hoping it would hit the backside of the car and i looked in and that's when i seen it. the deceased. >> the tree came straight down on the car. when the tree started coming, they heard something. they slammed on their brakes. that's when the tree came down on top. >> a large tow vehicle with a crane showed up to the scene. they lifted the tree off the car just a short time ago. they removed the body from that car. they put up a blockade, so some of the onlookers couldn't see. let me tell you, those tree workers are experts and a law enforcement official told us that tree was rotten. typically in a storm, you'll see a tree that has fallen with the roots hanging out the bottom. this tree looked as if it was sheered. they say that tree was rotten. here's the concern. there's another tree just like it right next to the one that fell. it's along th

. >>> verison says most of its 911 service has been restored.owever, arlington county is reporting problems with wireless emergency calls. friday night's storm knocked out power to a building and that resulted in dropped calls, along with manassas. the fairfax county board of supervisors says 911 service in the county was disrupted for what she called an unacceptable period of time. >>> a decloration of emergency in virginia helped bring in a thousand extra power line workers. >> but as jessica doyle reports, it is a long slog in the commonwealth. >> cleaning up in falls church, virginia, after friday's wicked storm. at least the power was on at starbucks for the powerless, desperate for that morning cup of joe. the ac was a draw, too. >> my niece and i, we have a small front yard and we took out some blankets and sheets and slept on the lawn. it was great. >> nerves are starting to fray. >> i'm trying not to say bad words. >> morning commuters in fairfax county navigated through darkened street lights at 80 intersections. some treated this spot

. >>> a scuffle outside the verison center put one guy in the hospital today.olice believe he accidentally shot himself in the leg. a second man was taken into custody. the fight apparently broke out early this morning inside a mcdonald's in the 600 block during the morning rush hour. the man who was shot is expected to be okay. >> fire forces 20 people out of their houses. the fire began just after 11:00 last night on kill rush court. that's in montgomery village. you can see flames pouring out of the homes. it spread to three other units. a total of four homes were damaged. now investigators want to know how those flames got started. >> it's being called one of the worst blackouts in more than a decade. a massive grid failure left more than 370 million people without power. widespread outage caused chaos for commuters. trains were canceled, hospital and airports having to use backup generators. and some people blame the government for the power failure. there's been a lack of communication about the government. >>> a dozen riders were stranded on top of stall

. >> one of the first restaurants to open around the verison center is closing for good.arbecue first opened in 1998. the small eatery is credited with helping to introduce texas style bbq to washington. the higher cost of doing business in that area and increased food prices for his restaurants demise. >>> it was bikini day on capitol hill today. that is veggie bikini day. the protesters turned out in bikinis, some made in lettuce to promote a national hot dog month. they prefer national veggie day instead. >>> free slurpees for everybody. offering customers free small. you better hurry, they are only available until 7:00 tonight. >>> coming up, the same federal agency that urges everyone to be prepared in case of the big one is issuing a guide to surviving the big day. >>> i'm meteorologist, topper shutt. we got a break in the pollen. tree pollen is still on the low side. we have grasses up there pretty darn high. weeds are low and mold spores in the medium range. we'll come back and talk about temperatures. we'll tell you when the heat will return. >>> but first, polic

men's basketball against brazil at the verison center. and they ended up on the kiss cam, not once, but twice. look at malia. the first time the president was camera shy, but he got another chance and the second time he puckered up and gave his wife a big kiss. >> and that got us to thinking some of the other celebrity kisses in recent memory. >> there are several to choose from. prince william and kate middleton's royal wedding balcony kiss last summer followed in the footsteps of prince charles and princess diana. >> and who could forget these famous kisses on mtv. michael jackson and presley and britney spears and madonna. >> then there's the mother of all political kisses. then presidential candidate, al gore, planted on his wife, tipper, during the 2000 presidential campaign. >> it was just awkward. >> that is weird. >> it was weird. okay, it may be the most anticipated new movie of the summer. the stars of the dark knight rises walk in the red carpet for last night's premier up in new york city. christian bail, as you have to know b