captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- a condemned woman. in just days, virginia is scheduled to execute its first woman in nearly one century, in one decision that could save her life. we begin with a case that is making headlines across the country. later this week, the virginia woman is said to be executed by lethal injection. the circumstances surrounding her case, are creating quite a controversy, and they have filed with the u.s. supreme court. richard reeve is live. >> the attorney for her once the high court to take a look. it is a fascinating case of murder for hire dating back to

2002. the death row inmate has just days to live now. she is scheduled to die by lethal injection on thursday. but she is as evil a person as i have ever met. -- >> she is as evil a person as i have ever met. >> she is accused of masterminding the death of two people. >> i am sorry for all of the people i have heard. >> authorities say she planned the killings in order to collect $250,000 in insurance money. she talked about her request for clemency and life sentence. >> how sorry i really am. this happened to people i love very much. >> she did not shoot the two victims. still, she paid a woman and an accomplice money to fire the fatal shots. >> the death penalty should be

reserved for the worst of the worst, in she is nowhere near that. >> -- and she is nowhere near that. >> one man who later committed suicide said it was he who wrote -- he who planned the murders. >> she certainly was not motivated to score high and accurately on tests. >> she is scheduled to die at 9:00 on thursday night. the high court could grant a stay that could last for several months but has so far not said they will look into the case. reporting live, richard reeve, abc7 news. >> all right, thanks, richard. a 61-year-old man is being held tonight at the loudoun county detention center, steven combs-lafleur.

the woman died at the scene, and her husband is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond. and a frederick man is dead after police were called to a domestic dispute on market street. police say that they were warned that the man had left the house with a rifle. when officers arrived, they say he fired a round, and they fired back. he died from gunshot wounds. police are now investigating whether he died from the fire of officers or from a self- inflicted gunshot wound. a hostage situation in fairfax county is causing some major headaches. these are pictures just in to the abc7 news road. this is little river turnpike. a trucker got into an accident. another tanker was sent to the location to offload the fuel, and there is no word on when

that road will reopen. and we are tracking hurricane igor tonight as it is expected to make landfall in bermuda in a few hours. people are bracing for the worst. we are live with mike in the satellite center. >> there are already hurricane force winds and 15-foot waves, and they are using sandbags and stacking up on supplies, as public safety officials say the storm will be long and punishing. >> we hope for the best. >> this hurricane is heading straight for bermuda. most tourists have evacuated, but many of the 65,000 residents on the island are staying put, using bottled water and other supplies. >> i have been here 45 years. with this one, i feel very, very nervous. >> the airport was shut down and boarded up this afternoon after

the last flight departed. >> you need to be out. >> meanwhile, thousands of cruise ships passengers have been diverted. how disappointing is this? >> not much. , we get to see boston in new york. >> igor is one of three hurricanes this week, the result of warm weather in the atlantic. >> this could be considered the new normal over the next 5 to 10 years as the ocean remains on the warm side of normal. >> meteorologist expect the category 1 hurricane could drive major coastal flooding with rain. many are being urged to take shelter. in 2003, one hurricane killed four people as it hit as a category 3 hurricane, and residents said they were relieved when this one was downgraded to a category one last night, but they are still feeling very anxious about its

arrival. reporting live in the newsroom, mike conneen. >> in the belfort furniture weather center, we are tracking this on our storm notscan. we have been tracking this since september 8. this has settled down now. take a look at what is going on as we look at our lives storm scan. conditions for hurricane igor. massive sustained winds at 80 miles per hour with gusts as high as 100 miles per hour. by this time tomorrow, it should be well to the north of bermuda. they should be in the clear. here is what is going on closer to home. 82 degrees in fairfax, 83 in leesburg, a cold front to the west, which will gradually make its way to our area over the

overnight hours. cooler and less humid tomorrow, but are you ready for the heat and humidity? i have the bill for a weather forecast coming up in just a few minutes. .-- i have the weather forecast coming up. >> thank you, steve. the woman who was forced to resign from the usda was here in northwest washington today. she served as the inaugural speaker for the new series at that church. she was asked to resign after a conservative blogger reposted -- posted comments that were made to look racial. coming up on abc7 news, a group was found alive to who had been feared dead. i will tell you where. >> we are not spies. >> back home and speaking out.

sarah shourd holds her first news conference after being released from a jail

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.yesterday note -- praying in a park in palmdale. parents contact authorities yesterday. the b.p. oil well has effectively been killed. it exploded, with a 11 workers being killed. the explosion caused the worst spill in u.s. history, dumping more than 200 million gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico. president obama in his family went to church and st. john's episcopal church right across the street from the white house. -- president obama and his family. this is the fourth time that he has attended services at st. john's. some have questioned the president's face. .some wrongly believe he is a muslim -- some have questioned the president's faith.

sarah shourd is having her think about the internet. growing, evolving, literally transforming our lives.

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sarah shourd ist back in the united states after being released from prison in iran. >> looking strong and healthy, she thanked the iranian government for release, and she appealed for the release of her and friend, and ahmadinejad is here for a u.n.

general assembly. the long ordeal of the three americans began in july of last year, when they were arrested for allegedly crossing the border. they were accused of being spies. if convicted, bauer and fattal could spend up to 10 years behind bars. >> i cannot imagine that. >> she said she left the country with her spirit bruised but not broken. she did not elaborate on the conditions she endured in the evin prison. the iranian president hinted in an interview that the americans could be released in exchange for iranians held prisoner in the united states. >> it would not be misplaced to ask the u.s. government to make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians.

>> that raises concerns the two american prisoners are being used as bargaining chips and may not be released any time soon. still, some hope that one humanitarian release will be followed by others. the nationals are away, and it is time for the opera to come in and play. thousands jammed in nationals park. that is our very own cynne simpson. she hosted the event. there was a live opera, performed in italian, but subtitles' were projected on the scoreboard. >> gosh, the jumbotron. >> a mixed crowd out there. >> yes. we are looking at a weak cold front moving in from the north and west. it would change the wind

direction tomorrow. looking great. look at this as we take a look at our sky camera. a beautiful night and had come in we are going to look for our son said in another half hour, so the days are getting shorter. we are losing -- we are going to look for the sunset in another half-hour. we are losing about two minutes of light per day. at the tuckahoe elementary school, currently 79 degrees after a high of 86. our final stop will take us to the boardwalk, rehoboth beach, 70 degrees after a very comfortable high of 72. temperatures for the most part are holding in the 80's. the high was slightly above average for this time of year, 85, with normal highs near 78 degrees, and that is where we are heading. 84 degrees in d.c., and the cold

front is north and west, in chicago and detroit, 67 degrees. temperatures in the 90's in tennessee today. alabama, mississippi, he and humidity, which will eventually make its way to our area, -- heat and humidity. a few very light showers beginning to pop up across the highlands, and that is not going to amount to a whole lot. no rain at this time. no threat in the immediate metro. there will be cooler, drier air for tomorrow and tuesday, but by wednesday and thursday, get ready for highs near 90 degrees. here is a look at our forecast. partly cloudy tonight, temperatures in the mid 50's to lower 60's. temperatures will go into the 70's, and by afternoon, 80

degrees with lots of sunshine and a difference in humidity levels. here is the extended outlook. the sunshine is trying to hold on with summer, but thursday is the first day of autumn. wednesday, thursday, and friday, we'll be close to the all-time high this summer if we are near 90, as far as temperatures around 90 degrees. >> three more days to hit 67. >> yes. >> he will check on that. in the meantime, good football weather. >> yes. nfl action on sunday afternoon. the dallas cowboys, another disastrous

well, the redskins were opening at fedex field, and they are in the fourth quarter against houston, texas, and they are on top, 27-20, with houston driving. also, albert haynesworth is not playing. the cowboys are losing at home to the chicago bears. there was this, a pond to a rookie who knows how to run. -- a punt. 7-3, dallas. .the bears, are on top.

then, look at this. he snags this one with one hand, and that puts the bears on top, 17-14. in the fourth quarter right now, j. cutler. an easy touchdown. 27-20. the eagles and the lions, second quarter action. hill. he finds the hole and explodes through it. a 75-yard touchdown, the lions are up. to the fourth quarter, the eagles looking for a chance to extend their lead, because they came back. he gets it, and he is gone. 46 yards, a touchdown eagles, and the eagles came back, the eagles win, 35-32. the ravens in a battle this afternoon with the cincinnati

bengals, the bengels up, and joe flacco on the sidelines, that is a touchdown. they were holding the bengals to five field goals, but joe flacco was ticks off several times. baltimore loses korea and the steelers still with doug ben roethlisberger wrote -- baltimore loses. and the steelers still without ben roethlisberger. in baseball, a great afternoon for the phillies. they win in the bottom of the ninth. right here, jayson werth, and the phillies win, 7-6. philadelphian independence. two overtimes, no score, and then in the 120th minute, rodriguez's scores, and they beat washington, 1-0. .the notre dame michigan state

game last night on abc 7. they went into overtime hot, and there was a call on a fake field goal that led to a touchdown and a michigan state way. after it, the coach suffered a heart attack and had to go into surgery. he is not expected to return to his team anytime soon. and we are tied right now. >>

a quick look at the extended outlook, it could hit 90 degrees wednesday, thursday, friday, and

we are just one day shy for the most 90-degree days

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