>> he's accused of killing six people and hurting a number of others including former congresswoman gabrielle gifford. tonight why he may be ready to tell the world he's guilty. scare in the air days after an incident we'll tell you about today's close call involving commercial airplanes and billions have already been

spent so why are they so concerned about seven minutes of the journey in coming up next. >> and we begin with breaking news tonight. firefighters on the scene at an apartment fire. we're told one person had to be rescued. we do have a crew on the way and we'll update you if we get any more details. turning to our other top story tonight. word that accused tuscon shooter will plead guilty this week. according to a report in the los angeles times love anywhere who police say killed six people and wounded 13 others including former congresswoman gab rel gifford will enter a plea. that's the same day psychiatrists are planning to tell the court he is competent to understand the charges against him. the "l.a. times" citing two sources with knowledge of the case. there is renewed hope tonight

for a family that's been looking for answers in connection of their murder of their daughter for a decade. live from the news room with today's announcement. >> the sheriff used the first ever child victim awareness day event to educate parents and children how to not become a victim of crime. >> it's been a horrible nightmare. >> erica smith was 14 when she left to meet a friend. she never came back. 11 days later her body was found in a shallow grave. >> the pain and the anger is still there. each and every day i'm living it and it's not easy. >> the closure is what we're looking for right now. the emotional closure is something that we're going to struggle with for the rest of our lives.

>> despite the vigils and rewards, the case grew cold. a full ten years later her parents are still waiting for justice. >> it is a huge glimmer of hope now. >> hopeful because their little girl's case is getting a fresh look. family and friends were at a crime victim awareness event. posters asking for information are up in store windows tand sheriff announced a new cold case unit will start from the beginning hoping to find her killer. >> we want to take a look at this and several other unsolved cases and explore any possible lead that we could and that we are using today's forensic capabilities. >> they're doing the best that they can right now and they're putting it in the hands of the detectives and the lord jesus christ. >> and the unit will be looking at 17 death investigations classified as cold cases. anyone with information is

asked to call the sheriff's office. >> thank you very much. and now to a square in the air just days after a close call involving three planes at reagan national airport. it's happened again this time in detroit. this involved two planes on approach to the airport. >> it was too close for comfort in detroit last night. during landing at the detroit metro airport a delta 737 and a small regional jet came within two miles of each other horizontally. >> it's really scary. that's lives at risk and whether miscommunication or whatever, they should definitely be on top. >> the problem? the air traffic controllers head set jack wasn't fully operating so the pilots couldn't hear air traffic instructions. the pilots were aware they were too close and never at risk for

colliding. both planes landed safely and the f.a.a. is investigating. but the incident comes just three days after a similar scare local will. on tuesday, a miscommunication led to a near miss of three planes flying too close. travelers at national said even though officials say the planes weren't in danger of colliding the news is still concerning. >> if safety requires that a higher then we should be paying the higher price instead of crossing our fingers when we get on the plane. >> but many said it's a risk they're still willing to take. >> it's not going to deter me from flying. >> now for a developing story. wild fires are burning in areas around oklahoma city. crews did manage to get one fire contained about 30 miles northeast of the capital. this afternoon the governor

toured the charred remains of one neighborhood. >> heart breaking because you know that families are losing their homes they're losing their precious pictures, their memories. and the most important thing to these families is that they have their family members. and thank goodness we didn't have any loss of life. >> police are investigating these fires as arson and are looking for a suspect. so far 56 homes and buildings have been damaged. firefighters are having a tough time putting the fires out. here in our area, after a hot and muggy day like today what will tomorrow feel like and could we see some storms? let's check in. >> it was another scorcher outside looking at what's going on temperaturewise. our temperatures today up to 96 at reagan national airport. this is the third day in a row that we have hit 96 degrees. 94 dulles temperatures now

have cooled but still very warm for 11:00 in the evening it's 85 degrees at the airport, 82 in southern maryland. satellite and radar quiet and dry across the mid-atlantic for right now but things are going to change as they move through the day tomorrow. we have a cold front that's going to move across the mid-atlantic and that's going to bring us a better chance for some strong to severe thunderstorms late in the day. talk about the timing and what to expect coming up in just a few minutes. >> we'll check back in with you. the heat and humidity didn't stop some people from spending the day outdoors. nearly 25,000 fans descended on the park for fan appreciation day. it was a long hot trek from the parking lot to the field where all of the activities were taking place and some refreshments there for sale but savvy fans came prepared. >> we got water and sodas and chairs and we're ready to go. >> we've got sunscreen. we'll drink plenty of water and

when we start getting overheated we'll go home. >> and tourists on the mall also did their best. some picked up frozen treats while others dipped their feet in the fountains. the heat didn't stop hundreds of mothers and their babies from descending on capitol hill today. they were there to participate in a movement known as the where mothers breast feed their babies in public at the same time for one minute. participants are hoping to break the record while raising awareness. >> the longer women breast feed the less chance of overpb cancer and breast cancer. we know about the health benefit of babies. so this is a step saying it's better and we need to support that. >> the events were held in nearly 600 cities in 23 countries. the people waited in long lines outside the lego convention in chantilly today.

you can see the long lines there. turns out the fire department had to step in at one point to limit the number of people inside because the facility had reached capacity. coming up, the search for two missing girls police believe could still be alive is ramping up tonight. why this race car driver was asked to help and why they'll be sweating it out on a project that cost billions. and a birthday party. coming up next.

>> nasa's mars rover curiosity is making its way to the planet as we speak. despite the journey it's already taken scientists are particularly worried about seven minutes. to say that nasa folks are nervous is a bit of an understatement. >> this is such a daring

landing and there is so much at stake. so far the word is the weather on mars is cooperating as we take that next step to answer the age-old question, are we out there alone? >> after an eight-month, 32 5 million mile journey through space, it is expected to land early monday morning. the one-ton rover will hit the atmosphere at some 13,000 miles per hour. >> we're about to land a small compact car on the surface with a strunchingload of instruments. >> and the rover has to hit a specific spot, a place nasa thinks could have hints of past or present life and requires a precision landing. on one side a mountain on the other side a crater wall. the amount of time it will take it to come through the atmosphere and either crash or land safely. >> a whole bunch of stuff has to work right for us to make it to the surface. >> i am rationally

i am emotionally terrified. >> every component of curiosity was tested over and over. the project has been in the works for a decade but still a gamble. a $2.5 billion gamble. >> if we're not successful, we're going to learn tomorrow this. we've learned in the past. we've recovered from it. we'll pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and do something again. this will not be the end. >> this is all scheduled to happen around 1:30 monday morning. nasa will have a live prod cast starting at 11:30. we're told there won't be much to see but you can follow along on twitter and facebook. >> talk about a huge success or a heart-breaking failure. taking a look at news around the nation, a nascar driver is helping to spread the word of two missing girls. he put the pictures on the top

of his car. the girls disappeared july 13 while riding their bikes. the native says he didn't hesitate to help in the search effort. >> we had some room left on what we call the deck lid and so many things made sense and it's a perfect opportunity to take the situation as horrible as it is and hopefully make something good come out of it. >> nascar drivers also feature the girls' faces when they race in pennsylvania tomorrow. a pregnant mother and her two children had a close call after a terrifying accident in southwest washington state. these pictures were taken as their car went off the road and fell 75 feet. passers bi were able to get the children out of the car but firefighters had to rescue the mother. all three were taken to the hospital. there's no word on their conditions or what led to the accident. today marks the end of a week long celebration of president

obama's birthday at the wax house. events honoring the commander in chief. the president's actual birthday is today. president obama turning 51 years old. >> steve ruden also birthday boy today. >> yes. a little bit younger than that. >> happy birthday. >> beautiful birthday weather. >> not so bad for today and i think tomorrow is going to be a different story in terms of a chance for severe thunderstorms. quiet drive right now looking downtown. lincoln memorial washington monument. beautiful evening to go for a stroll. a little humid and temperatures still in the 80s. 96 degrees third day in a row at reagan national that we've hit 96. average for the day.

earlier in the day in western maryland they had about a quarter of an inch of rain. they've culed down to 7 degrees. 84 in the district and alexandria now 83 after a high of 98 degrees. temperatures cooler to the west thanks to the shower and cloud cover. cooler drier air off to the north and west of us. only 71 degrees in minneapolis, strong storms moved through chicago earlier in the day. the concert, they had to evacuate 80,000 people. satellite and radar quiet for us right now but we're watching a line of storms across northern and central ohio and things are going to remain quiet but the storms really beginning to pick up a little bit of steam as we head from

detroit and that's where the heaviest activities are located right now. these storms will sizzle out and remain well to the north of us for tonight. stronger line of storms expected later tomorrow afternoon. this is tropical storm ernesto now on track moving toward the west at around 20 miles per hour winds at 60. across the peninsula and reemerges into the gulf of mexico with a category 1 hurricane. definitely keep an eye on this one forms by afternoon into the evening hours and behind it slightly cooler and drier air for the day on monday. temperatures in the 70s. may see patchy fog, night or daytime highs tomorrow around 95 degrees. here's the extended outlook calling for our temperatures in the upper 80s on monday back into the 90s on tuesday, wednesday and thursday. tomorrow you can head over to wjla.com and track the storms

in your neighborhood using your mobile device. >> all right. thank you very much. from the 25,000 fans that headed out to red skins park might have liked a little bit of rain. >> it was just a spectacular day though. even dan was out there. >> made a rare appearance. >> so we have much more the parade rolled through asburn we have a recap and there were fireworks in d.c. tonight. coming up.

>> all of a sudden that substantial leap started to dwindle. a loss to the mar lins and braves win would leave them for

with a one-game lead. it helps when zimorman is on the mound. so here we go. bottom of the sixth. there you go. lodges one to deep right center his second out of the game. his 23rd on the year. and how about this when he gets back he gives his son a little hug. now moore line to single to right. and comes around to home to tie it up at sixth. next batter says what slump? i've got something for you. goes to deep left center. bryce harper also adds another solo shot and the nationals win 10-7. >> we didn't play very well but we persevered. that's the makeup of this club. it was fun. he crushed that ball.

>> and the redskins fan appreciation day may be the biggest thing to happen to ashburn for about the entire year. fans showed up to get a glimpse of this man right there. it really was mayhem out there. the fands were trying to get past the barricade that's how much they wanted to shake his hand and talk to him. of course all the other players were there as well showing their appreciation for the fans like they get all season. >> try to go out and play hard each and every week. not disappoint my fans and teammates. >> this has been a dream for me to be part of this team for this long i'm so thaffle that everyone's been with me. >> you can see how many people waited until after practice some people out here three four hours and they're still in line getting autographs. so it's great to see.

>> a few scuffles actually broke out at practice today one fight act thri throwing some punches. the coach stopped the practice to talk to the players for a little bit. but calmly said to us that happens. overailt was a very positive day. the usually reclusive dan snider was in teapedance. he talked to the media. >> this is a top pick in the draft highsman winner quarterback big deal for everyone. we're excited to have him and with coach, we feel good about the future. >> and alex beat sam in the semi-final match today. and meanwhile in the first semi-top seeded marty fish took on tommy haas both are good friends even neighbors in los angeles but only one could come out on top and fish was upset by the 34-year-old veteran.

and to golf. tiger woods finally saw some light. he had three birdies om one bogey finished his round with a two under 6. still trailing. across the n.f.l. the denver broncos estimate about 40,000 people showed up to their fan appreciation day. looks like manning mania has quickly replaced teebo mania. >> but we've got mania here that would put both of them to shame. it's going to be crayy. we'll be

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>> our meert ologist and goat man here is back with a check of your forecast. >> take a look at our extended outlook. tomorrow very hot day very humid. late in the afternoon thunderstorms some may become strong to severe with some watches and warnings more than likely we will see the storms continue through sunday night into early monday slightly cooler on monday tuesday and wednesday we're back into the 90s. nighttime lows will hover in the lower to middle 70s. today was our third day in a row at 96 degrees at reagan national airport. >> we need some of the rain. >> we don't want severe weather. >> thanks for joining us. saturday news extra