this is fox 5 news at 10:00. right off the top tonight, an american woman saved from somalia pirates from seal team six. how they pulled off the risky rescue. police in the district are working a violent crime tonight. someone grabbed a woman off the street and sexually assaulted her. and a storm system responsible for fierce flooding in texas takes aim at our area. sue is tracking all the trouble. >> but we begin tonight with a top secret seal team six mission. thanks for joining us, i'm shawn yancy. >> and i'm brian bolter. bringing home an american being held by somali pirates. bob. >> brian, the tuesday night raid near the somali town was authorized by president obama 24 hours earlier. in a statement today, the president said the united states will not tolerate the abduction of our people. the hostages in somalia to help clear land mines were kidnapped in october. >> eight months ago, they raided a compound in rural pakistan and killed osama bin laden. tuesday night, members of the same navy seal team six dropped out of the night sky over somalia and within a matter of seconds, rescued jessica buchanan and a danish colleague, flying the former hostages to a base. >> they could have been local bandits for all we know. stood and fought, there was a fire fight. >> we are told all nine hostage takers were killed. none of the americans were hurt. >> clearly, the government made a decision that the female hostage was in distress. physically and mentally. they had the best opportunity to affect a rescue. these decisions are not made lightly. again, high risk, high reward. >> you can hear him congratulate leon panetta at the state of the union. >> good job tonight after the speech, president obama called buchanan's father in ohio telling him jessica was safe. >> we have a very robust special operations component and they can have great global reach and they can do this anywhere, any time. >> a former navy seal. vietnam veteran, and author. we spoke to him via skype from colorado. >> most of these things are conducted at night because we operate very well at night and we can -- certainly to our advantage and to the disadvantage of those on target. >> and there's word tonight that a few of the somali hostage takers were captured during tuesday night's raid. >> was there any reason for the timing of the mission? why now? >> we heard that one person mentioned, the cia negotiator, there were concerns for jessica's health. she is 32 and some reports say she had some kind of infection in the past that could lead to serious kidney disease. >> all right, bob barnard tonight. new tonight, neighbors are on edge after a woman was violently assaulted. john hanrahan has been working the story. he's in the newsroom with all the details. >> what surprised a lot of neighbors about this incident that started on q street northwest is the fact that there are a lot of people walking in that area because many of the stores are open late. that didn't stop the lone gunman. d.c. police are closely paroling part of the shaw neighborhood. sometimes in cruisers and sometimes on foot because of what happened here late tuesday evening. it started on the 400 block of q street northwest at 11:25 at night. a woman walking alone was grabbed by the neck by a man who also put a gun to her head, police say the man forced the woman to walk down an alley to a second alley behind the residences. with a gun to her head, the man threatened i will is shoot you if you don't do what i tell you. he then sexually assaulted the woman and stole her purse, briefcase, and backpack before walking off down the alley. several residents told us their shocked that the assailant was bold enough to commit the crime on the street that all pedestrians use at all hours. >> do you feel free to walk at 11:00 at night? >> i go by the safeway. if i'm going to walk that way, i walk and no one grab me up. i walk to the side streets to get to my apartment building. but for her, be safe. >> we encountered mindi walking down the same alley. >> will you do anything differently knowing this happened? >> you know, i'll probably stick to p street for a while. >> yes. yes, i will. until maybe the hours get lighter. >> d.c. police describe the suspect as a black man about 25 years old between 5'8" and 5'10". he weighs between 150 and 170- pounds. late tuesday night, he was wearing a black coat, black hat, dark pants, and a checkered scarf. police say he could have been carrying the woman's purse down the street. they haven't found it yet. don, d.c. police are hoping someone will pick up the phone. >> thank you. a big scare at fort foot elementary school. a man walked in this afternoon, tried to rob an employee. the suspect did not show a weapon. he was scared off before he was able to take anything. the school was placed on lockdown. the suspect got away. very wet weather pattern is moving our way. you can see what the system did in texas. heavy rains, high winds brought flooding. a lot of damage here in college station. there were three reports of tornadoes. the system that was apparently going to hit us tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening, question, of course, for sue is going to be as bad here? >> we aren't going to see rain like they are seeing in texas. that's been out of control. you think of texas, they had an eighth month long drought, they had 3 to 6 inches of rain as the system was stationary over them. we are going to get showers, but not that heavy. take a look at radar. tonight, our sentinel radar will show we are beginning to pick up on showers. in a couple of cases, maybe there's a wet snow flake mixed in. for the rest of us, we won't worry about anything frozen. as we put this composite radar picture together, it's raining over d.c. the air is very dry. nothing hitting the ground yet. but as we go through the morning hours, some light showers expected. of course, this is the big batch we're talking about that affected texas. it is now in louisiana. about five reports of tornadoes down there and that very heavy rain. we will be tracking that system as it gets closer to us. most of the day tomorrow, the rain that we get will be on the light side. our temperature right now, 41 degrees. we don't have any concerns locally that any moisture that sneaks in overnight is going to end up being freezing drizzle. it will be too warm for that. tonight we will call for a couple hit or miss showers. the best chance mainly north or west. our temperature will stay close to 40 as we go through the overnight. i do see a period in which we could have heavier rain. i'll talk about that for you and look ahead when i join you upstairs. >> you can have the forecast at your fingertips. search for d.c. weather or text fox5 weather to 29473. a sad day on the florida house of representatives today as congresswoman gabrielle giffords turned in her resignation. the democrat survived an assassination attempt last january and spent the last year fighting through pain, surgery, and rehabilitation. craig boswell has what's next for the arizona congresswoman. >> moving slowly down a hallway, she walked hundreds of times before. hugs and well wishes for arizona representative, gabrielle giffords on her way to the house floor. because this time is the last time. it follows an emotional reunion with president obama at the state of the union speech last night. last january, a shooting rampage changed her life for ever. a gunman shot her in the head during a meeting with constituents. now more than a year later, her full-time job is working on her recovery. today, handing in her letter of resignation. >> every day i'm working hard. i will recover and will return and we will work together again for arizona and for all americans. >> in what has been a congress divided, a moment of unity. >> gabby's courage, her strength, and her downright fortitude are an inspiration. >> following their formal good- byes, giffords joins house members in voting for a bill she introduced just before the assassination attempt. it passed unanimously. finishing the work she started more than a year ago. giffords husband, mark kelly, says the decision to leave was hers. >> thanks for coming, everybody. >> when asked what's next, giffords mother says it's on ward and upward. giffords says she will return. arizona will hold a special election to fill gabrielle giffords seat. in washington, craig boswell, fox 5 news. dna evidence cleared one d.c. inmate and now we know whether other innocent people are sitting in jail tonight. an unusual accident snarls traffic on the beltway. the story behind these pictures next. >> and outside your home right now and an attractive target for thieves. we're tracking an expensive crime spree in montgomery county. on the news edge at 11:00. the inner loop is wide open tonight after a snag with the highway sign during the morning rush. a dump truck hit the sign around 11:00 a.m. fortunately, no one was hurt when the sign came crashing down. the beltway was closed until the sign could be removed. >> two years after dna exonerated a district man for 1981 murder, a federal task force is found no other defendants convicted under similar questionable circumstances. donald gates spent 28 years in prison after a jury found evidence. fox 5's paul wagner has the story. >> shortly after donald gates was released from prison in december of 2009, michael, a prosecutor in the u.s. attorney's office was asked to examine cases that may have been tainted with faulty evidence and testimony provided by the fbi. according to an affidavit filed on january 20, 229 cases had been examined and the task force has not identified any other defendant with a viable claim actual innocence. donald gates was sent to prison for the murder of 21-year-old katherine schilling who was killed on the banks of rock creek as she walked home from work the night of june 22, 1981. police say she was raped and shot. there was no dna back then, but gates was convicted by testimony of forensic evidence so strong the prosecutor said in an e-mail to the defense, the hair match was the key. without the hair testimony, i doubt we would have gotten the conviction. gates maintained his innocence from the very beginning. and was exonerated after d.c. detective found dna evidence at the medical examiner's office. >> mr. gates is fighting to prove that he's innocent of this crime since the moment that he was arrested. as in court in 1988, the judge ordered dna testing, but the technology was too primitive at the time to get results. >> in a court filing, defense attorneys -- filed the lab report on gates and testified against him. writing, michael p. malone has been exposed as a liar, who testified falsely, who fabricated results, who testified outside of his expertise and laboratory notes did not support the conclusion he offered in court. as for the murder of katherine schilling, in the same affidavit, the case is still open. still being investigated. and at this time, there are a number of suspects who may or may not eventually be charged. paul wagner, fox 5 news. 10,000 tickets gone in minutes. the event that thousands of people were trying to get into. also ahead, your child's school lunch is getting a makeover. find out what they will now have on their plate. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. fireworks on capitol hill today during a congressional hearing about battery fires in the chevy volt. investigating the risk since the electric cars batteries caught fire. the risks weren't made public until november. now republicans are asking if the government's partial ownership of gm created a conflict of interest in the investigation. >> knew you were investigating this vehicle was asked the question about the safety of the vehicle and says it's fine. yet that was given -- that answer was given six weeks before you formally said it was fine. >> the secretary knew of all the facts and details as whether they pose -- >> don't you think that's unusual? >> no, it wasn't unusual. secretaries ask questions like that all the time. he did it for toyota. >> the government entered its investigation last week, concluding the volt and other electronic cars don't pose a greater risk. >> for the first time in 15 years, your child's school lunch is getting a makeover. first lady, michelle obama and tom vilsack visited elementary in alexandria today. the first lady went to the lunch line and ate with some of students. less sodium, more whole grains and a wider selection of fruits and vegetables. >> for many kids whose families are struggling, school meals can be their main or only source of nutrition for the entire day. so when we serve higher quality food in our schools, we're not just fighting childhood obesity. we are taking the important steps that are needed to fight child hunger as well. >> along with the first lady, celebrity chef, rachel ray was at the school to encourage healthy eating. >> they work for the federal government, but don't feel like they have to pay any taxes. an eye popping new report next. and an incredible story of survival after an avalanche buries a snowmobiler. probably feels invincible now. all caught on camera. >> and if you see a story we should cover, send your tips to fox5 tips and give us a call. 202-895-3000. how much do you pay in taxes? the hopefuls have been in the headlines for their high salaries. released figures that many federal employees don't even bother to pay taxes. karen explains. >> it really boggles the mind. i pay my taxes, you pay your taxes. at the end of 2010, nearly 100,000 federal workers did not. and they owed more than $1 billion. we're talking all kinds of federal government workers from congressional staffers to people who work in the white house. and some legislation aimed at firing federal workers who are severely delinquent doesn't seem to be going anywhere. some of the worst offenders, 467 employees in the house owed $8.5 million. 217 senate workers owed $2 million. more than 25,000 postal workers owe $270 million. over 12,000 army employees owe $105 million. 11,000 plus veterans affairs workers owe $151 million. >> no executive agency or independent agency is spared. it even extends to the court system. there are four people at the u.s. tax court on the irs list as owing taxes. you expect in the federal work force where people are in a position of responsibility to the rest of the citizens in the country. a higher standard of behavior. >> the irs has plenty of information out there aimed at educating tax laws about how to get on a payment plan if they think they can't afford to pay their taxes. dave over at au says bad news doesn't get better with time, so if you owe money on taxes, better to contact the irs than pay boat loads of interest and penalties later. back to you. >> speech is over, now it's time to sell it. president obama on a three-day campaign swing, pushing his blueprint for american. the republican candidates who want his job started pushing back right away. >> fresh off his state of the union address, president obama headed out of washington to cedar rapids, iowa. >> last night in the state of the union, i layed out my vision for how we move forward. i layed out a blueprint. >> much as he did tuesday night, the president layed out his case for tax reform aimed at increasing taxes on the most wealthy. now, you can call this class warfare all you want. when asking a billionaire to pay as much as a secretary in taxes? most americans would call that common sense. >> while the gop candidates are not shy about attacking each other, they showed unity in their criticism of the president's speech. >> a very clever political promise that we aught to make sure that everybody who earns a million dollars pays at least 30% taxes. which sounds terrific on the surface and perfectly classic left wing demagoguely. >> while newt gingrich slammed the white house's plan to tax the wealthy, mitt romney says the president talked a good game, but doesn't follow through. >> he's attach frd his own reality. his words and his actions are so different, it's sometimes hard to believe. >> analysts say the big question is not whether republicans in the president disagree over the state of the union, but who the voters agree with. >> i think there's a lot in that speech that republicans can agree with. there's some that they will push back on it. >> it was clearly a campaign speech. you know where he's going to go. >> and the president appearing fully engaged in campaign mode, the political warfare between both sides may just be getting started. tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> the second time in recent weeks, house democratic leader, nancy pelosi hinted she knows dark secrets about newt gingrich. in an interview last night, gingrich is not going to be president because something she knows about him. >> i think if she knows something, she aught to say it. if she doesn't know something, she aught to quit saying it. this is bologna. i don't think any republican is going to be threatened by nancy pelosi and frankly, i would rather have her threaten me than endorse me. but if she asks something, bring it out. >> pelosi hinted she knew a lot about gingrich because she served on the ethics committee. she was referring to material already in the public record. >> welcome to the gary williams court. we are taking you to the ceremony held tonight. and idol goes to colorado. the good, bad, and the ugly. but first, her husband may be headed to the super bowl, but it's gezelle worth the big bucks. here is neil. >> the head of the nation's central bank hoping to keep interest rates on mortgages and other loans pretty low for a pretty long time. saying the federal reserve has no plans to raise its key rates until at least late 2014. a bumpy ride for boeing. the defense company making more money last quarter, but lowering expectations for the rest of the year. and net flicks netting some gains. the movie rental company adding 600,000 new u.s. subscribers. it lost 800,000 earlier in 2011. after announcing higher prices. and about to become the top model when it comes to sheer money. her lingerie brand expected to go global is here, making her the world's first billionaire model. that's business, i'm neil. if you're like me, you care about the food your family eats. i was pretty confused by everything i'd been hearing about high fructose corn syrup. so, i did a little research to find out what independent experts like doctors, dieticians and nutritionists had to say. i learned, whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. sugar is sugar. ♪ and that's one less thing to worry about. [ squeals ] [ female announcer ] learn more at cornsugar.com. thousands of alumni, residents and students lined the streets for the late joe paterno. a private funeral was held today. those who weren't lining the streets waited in line all morning long to pay their respects to joe pa before the private service. >> it doesn't deter me at all. i'm here to pay my respects to this man and i can't say enough. because joe dedicated his life to this university and football team and i just want to pay my respects. >> public memorial is scheduled for tomorrow. took seven minutes for the 10,000 public tickets to sell out. >> gary williams is credited with building the comcast center. tonight he was honored with a lasting tribute. dave feldman is here with more. >> gary williams purposely kept some distance from the maryland basketball program this year. as he told me last night, it's mark's program now and he needs some space to make his own. while that is a class act thing to do, gary is going to be with the program no matter what. from now on, they play on his floor. williams made one last emotional walk into comcast center this evening, giving later what he said was his final fist pump ever in the building. >> the lights went out. and the courts lit up. gary williams court. honoring the alumni who spent 22 years at his alma mater. won more games there than any other coach that coached in the college park and led them to a college championship in 2002. quite a journey for the former point guard from new jersey. >> obviously this is something special to me. it's a big thrill. when i left here in 1968, i never thought anything like this would ever be possible. i never thought i would be back here as a coach to start with. so it's been a great ride, a will the of great people out there, assistant coaches, players. it's all about the players that determines your success. not just their ability, but their character. >> great to see gary again. williams staying active with broadcasting work. he's an analyst for the big ten network and locally on radio for espn980. >> priceless art lost for decades. the stolen masterpiece that is finally headed home. plus, dozens of homes over something that is easy to rip off. and could rock groups help nasa find future astronauts? how the space agency is reaching out to the next generation at 11:00. what makes the sleep number store different? the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. and now, the company that redefined sleep is redefining memory foam. save $400 on our all-new memory foam bed. and at our white sale, stock up and save on our exclusive bedding collection. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. today was a pretty nice day. the sun was out. it was nice and warm. >> amazing how warm that sun feeling. that nice angle in the sky. tomorrow, not so much sun. i went out and sat in it. get ten minutes of sun every day. tomorrow that will be a tough process because the clouds are going to be around and showers coming in. you'll be the first to know about it if you down load our free weather app. have we mentioned we have a weather app? >> it's free, too. >> and guess what? even on the floor here, our beloved mark says this is a good app and he knows his apps. check it out. a lot of you had. we have had 30,000 down loads. temperature right up there in the corner and you can get an hour by hour forecast, ten day forecast and send us your pictures, such as phil did of this beautiful sunset that you'll see as we go over to the weather map. oh no, the sunset went away already. actually, i can go back one. there it is. a little button. i can do anything with this thing. sunset over the city and it is pretty. the clouds, the first indication that some showers are on the way. the clouds are thickening tonight. a few showers to our north and west. before we talk about the rain that is coming, i did want to touch on the fact that it's been so mild. d.c.49, that's above average. but close by as raleigh, it was 64 degrees today. atlanta 68. and i don't know if you can see brownsville, 86 degrees with new orleans coming in at 79. texas had a new record at 87. that breaks the record going back to 1914. look at the severe weather. the cold air and warm air bumping up together and tomorrow it looks like the storms will be out of texas. some of those showers are heading in our direction. we have showers during the day. another mild day for us, but clouds and some showers. anything we get during the day tomorrow appears to be light. when do we get the bulk of the rain? thursday night into friday morning. there looks to be a line of strong downpours and embedded thunderstorms coming through 6 or 7 in the morning on friday. temperature on friday, 57 degrees. should be out of here by the noon hour, if not before. and then saturday, not bad at all. it's 52 degrees. so that's how the next three days are looking. let's check in with temperatures right now. 41 degrees and it's important to check this. we have light moisture around. we are not anticipating any problems with frozen precipitation tonight. there could be a sleet, pell let, or isolated snow flake out to our north and west and that's the only place we are finding light moisture at this hour. it's possible that spotty stuff could come through overnight and during the morning. as we look at this composite radar, which is multiple radars, it's raining and raining hard over d.c. i assure you, it's not. we are starting to see some moisture aloft. not getting down to the surface yet, but the air is getting moistened up and that will lead to some scattered and lighter showers tomorrow. this is the heavy stuff. we've had a number of reports of severe weather. in particular, this has been able to drop 3 to 6 inches of rain. especially across texas. notice how it is moving over the same area. so they are concerned in louisiana tonight about a lot of flooding. this rain is moving in our direction, but tomorrow we get the showery part of it. that will begin maybe as early as the morning. but it looks like the bulk of anything holds off until the evening and into friday and the first part of friday as a matter of fact. as we look at our model predictions, this has been increasing as we have gone through the day. with d.c. points south and east. looks like it will pick up between thursday and friday a half inch. i note tonight that the models are trying to slide that 1 inch amount of rain closer to us from washington off to the north and west. perhaps you're going to get a significant soaking. i want you to see the future cast. conclude 8:00 in the morning and the heavier stuff gets in here. lighter showers, nothing terribly heavy. nothing that would cause flooding. at 7:00 in the morning, we get the bulk of it through heavy downpours. by the time we get to noon, 1:00, the sun will be back with some snow showers in the mountains. here's your five-day forecast. interesting forecast the next couple of days. showers tomorrow, maybe a period of heavier rain tomorrow night and into friday. we clear it out again. saturday, i think looks like a nice day. sunday is a cooler day after a front comes on through. it gets windy on us. but that's not bad at all and monday is the first day in a while that we have been below average. >> we are almost to february, can you believe it? >> our average max is starting to come up. >> turning the corner. >> we might be. i certainly wouldn't want to project that. >> president day snowstorm. >> we had march snowstorms, too. >> president's day already over? >> still coming. there's still time. >> and ground hog day still to come too. >> all those days we don't get off. demi moore is hospitalized in california after being rushed there. tmz.com is reporting that moore was inhaling nitrous oxide. her friend called 911. she anownsd she was divorcing ashton kutcher following rumors he cheated on her. week two of american idol got underway and the judges handed out more golden tickets to hollywood. it's not always easy standing in front of those judges. sarah frazier is in the web center with someone who knows the feeling all too well. >> it was another round of american idol auditions tonight and a man who knows the process so well, what it's like to be auditioning is our very own marcus canty. how are you? thank you so much for joining us here tonight. >> thank you. >> you do know the process about auditioning in front of simon and paula on x factor. you were top four, by the way. >> yes, i do know the process. very sten ewous. you strenuous. >> i have been too busy trying to get in the studio. trying to get everything right. >> you're working on your own major career and moving to l.a. tomorrow to pursue that. >> yes, i am. i am moving to l.a. tomorrow and i'll be there until the album is finished. >> we can't wait. >> your family has been amazing. they said one of the biggest things was the support they got. i know you are very supportive of your fans. is there something you want to say to them? >> i want to say to everyone out there, thank you so much. honestly, i was in california so i didn't know how many people were supporting me. >> there were like 75 people down here every day clicking away. >> i mean, honestly, it means a lot to me knowing people were out there voting. >> two questions really quick. melanie won x factor. how are the chances of her career? >> oh gosh. well, melanie is an amazing singer. she has an amazing voice. i'm curious to see what she does, just like everybody else. >> would you do a duet with her? >> definitely. >> of course, we'll take the money. of course, you signed with epic records, can you tell us the first single that will come out? >> i cannot tell you the very first single, but i'm telling you, it's a surprise. it's something so beautiful, so sweet, and memorable. >> great, we can't wait to continue following your career. we're going to drag you on the chat. back upstairs to you guys. >> marcus, we wish you all the best. imagine watching your friend snowmobiling when an avalanche swallows him up. we'll tell you how the snowmobiler's friends rushed in to save his life. >> the agency hitting the air waves hoping to use rock to recruit the nation's best and brightest. details at 11:00. it is a terrifying phenomenon that every skier and snow boarder fears. for one skier in washington state, it was nearly deadly. jeff has the story of how he was buried in seconds and how he survived. >> a fun weekend of snowmobiling in stampede pass nearly took a tragic turn. >> the hillside broke free. i was running down the hill and i could hear him yelling. he was saying get out of the way, i can't steer. >> john swanson was in the path of an avalanche. >> i thought the snowmobile was on top of me. it wasn't until i was totally undug and look back at the hillside to realize the whole hillside gave away. >> he was buried in seconds. >> it's like being in concrete. i guess i had always figured you could move somewhat. a wiggle here and wiggle there, but there was nothing. the snow just filled my mask in. >> john was suffocating. >> every time i tried to inhale, it was inhaling ice balls. >> his fellow snowmobilers clawed and dug at the snow to save him. >> he was yelling, where you at? he stepped on my head. >> seconds later, he could breathe again. >> we got his head. >> once they got my arm free, i said quit digging and pull and get me out of here. >> john watched the video several times, reliving the experience, and knows he is one lucky guy, one that has learned a lot. >> i'm sure everybody will be a lot more aware and safety gear and if nothing else, this is a good, hopefully it saves somebody down the road. gets caught in a similar situation. >> fox news. >> incredible story. the news keeps coming. >> a busy wednesday night here on the news edge. maybe seal team six versus pirates, guess who won? plus, priceless art fell after decades. and helped save a maryland woman's life. we are going to begin the news edge in maryland with a copper theft crime spree. laura evans is working on that now. >> gold specifically, but copper? downspouts off the gutters around your home, they are the target of thieves more often than you might think. especially lately in montgomery county. >> this is video a homeowner captured of thieves in action, stealing copper downspouts off of his home in silver spring. these guys were caught, but now montgomery county police had their sights set on new suspects who have been doing the very same thing. >> basically pull up close to the house in their pickup truck and then they use their tools and cut the downspouts and cut the gutters off of the home. >> strange. you know, never thought that anybody would try to steal my downspouts. >> daisy lives right across the street from one of the homes most recently hit in bethesda. she says the thieves pulled three downspouts off the back of the house when no one was hurt. then, she noticed part of her downspout missing recently. >> i'm wondering if maybe they started to take mine and they got spooked, something happened. >> since november, we have seemed to have a rise in the amount of copper thefts. >> nearly 30 thefts in bethesda, potomac, and rockville. the copper has a high resale value. no one has been hurt in any of the incidents. >> we are pretty well lit and fenced in backyard. i feel safe. >> the thieves are striking at night and during the day, police say. a couple of times the suspects have actually been confronted by the homeowners, they claim to be doing work for a gutter company and take off. of course if you have any information, you think that help in the investigation, give police a call. brian. >> laura, an ex-marine from alexandria expected to plead guilty to charges he fired shots at a handful of military. due in court tomorrow for a plea agreement hearing. they have evidence linking him to the 2010 shootings. another big story we're following tonight. first bin laden, now pirates. the same team that took out the al-qaeda leader is bringing home an american who was being held by pirates. fox 5 has more on the mission now. bob. >> it was a middle of the night rescue mission, half a world away. given the green light by president obama monday night in the white house residence. steal team six came in and within minutes have the job done. >> it was a special forces operation, much like the one last may that ended with the killing of osama bin laden. in this case, a 32-year-old american missionary, jessica buchanan and danish aid worker kidnapped by somali pirates in october, were rescued tuesday night. all nine hostage takers found sleeping at the compound were killed. clearly pleased, president obama congratulated defense secretary, leon panetta after delivering his state of the union address tuesday night. viewers heard that before knowing what the men were talking about. moments later, still at the capitol, the president called buchanan's father in ohio to let him know jessica was safe. >> there's an awful lot of planning that goes into it. >> former navy seal says he's not surprised the same team that got bin laden was sent on this rescue mission. >> all of our seal teams across the board indeed, all of our special operations components operated at this same high level. it's just that some elements within our seal and special operations community are very good at this particular type of operations. >> a little more about jessica now. she was a student in pennsylvania. >> i don't know if you would say that africa grew around her heart or her heart grew around africa. and she could hardly talk about africa without tears in her eyes. >> tonight, president obama is praising the troops that rescued jessica and the dane and promises the u.s. quoting here, will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and bring their captors to justice, brian. >> those two the only hostages there? >> well, at that campground area, yes. there are other westerners being held captive, including an american journalist kid napped over the weekend. he's a california man that