start of top kill. katherine. >> reporter: that's right, anita. ahead of his trip, president obama is insisting while bp is responsible for the oil leak, the federal government is solely in charge of containing it. > engineers are optimistic their top kill solution will put a lid on the worst oil spill in u.s. history. bp says the risky procedure, a mile under water seems to be working. president obama said stopping the leak and containing the catastrophe has always been his top priority. >> the american people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort. >> ahead of his second trip to the region since the rig explosion, the president announced tougher offshore drilling safety standards and a freeze on new deep water drilling permits. >> the oil industry's cozy and sometimes corrupt relationship with government regulators meant little or no regulation at all. >> government teams now estimate this spill is bigger than exxon. scientists calculate anywhere from 19 to 39 million gallons already spewed into the gulf at a rate double the previous estimate. thick, brown oil is washing up along 100 miles of louisiana's coastline. >> we certainly have been frustrated by the response to this spill. we said there's been often too little, too late. we started taking matters into our own hands. >> i am angry and frustrated as well. >> president obama is promising to do everything necessary to protect and restore the gulf coast. while demanding bp pay every dime for the damage. and the coast guard spoke a few moments ago. the top kill does seem to be working and no more oil is seeping into the gulf, but they reiterated there is a long way to go before anyone is ready to declare this a success. >> at least they are talking about making progress. thanks for that report. dogs are mysteriously dying in fairfax county and police are looking for what appears to be a serial pet killer. two dogs were found dead in centerville. another was targeted, but survived. lindsay joins us from the neighborhood where this is happening. are these pets being killed by poisoned meat? >> that's exactly what police say. they say it happened around 5:00. the dogs ate poison meat and it happened at three different homes that are all within 1,000 feet of each other. police are trying to spread the word, because it could happen again. >> why would they do this? why would they harm a puppy like that? >> annie, a 5 month old was found dead yesterday after police say she ate a poison meat ball. >> we have three homes in close proximity that had the meat balls deposited in their yards. >> annie and the others ate the meat balls around 5:00 yesterday. >> they had seizures or just lying there. had some blood coming from the mouth. >> i went downstairs and found the puppy dead in my mom's room. >> annie's owner didn't want to show his face on camera and could barely talk about what happened. >> my brother found these poison meat balls in the backyard. >> veterinarians at the animal hospital tried to save one of the animals. >> the dog was not able to fully recover, so unfortunately, we had to euthanize the dog. >> the hospital is sending out e-mails, warning others about the poison meat balls and police are canvassing the neighborhood. >> i am floored by the whole thing. >> peggy anderson is worried about her dog, and immediately checked her backyard. lucas says she'll be keeping her dogs indoors. >> why would i try to take them outside? what's the matter with these folks? >> no one complained about any of the dogs and they are worried that the poison meat balls could also harm humans. >> kids pick up and put in their mouths just about anything, especially small ones. >> the dogs are undergoing an autopsy-like procedure and police are waiting to figure out exactly what type of poison was used. for right now, they just want dog owners and people with small children to be on the lookout. lesli. >> it's hard to comprehend. do police have any leads on who they think is responsible? >> police don't have any leads yet, but this was a malicious act. it was premeditated and that whoever did this could face felony charges. reporting live in centerville. i'm lindsey mastas. police are investigate a fatal accident in bethesda. the driver of a car lost control on a ramp and crashed into a pole at old georgetown road. the driver of the vehicle was killed. there were no passengers. we have some important metro information that is just coming into the newsroom. minutes ago, metro's board unanimously ordered its staff to move ahead with the largest fare increase in metro's history. if approved. peek rail boarding charge would increase from $1.65 to $1.90. this is going to happen. the maximum rail fare would jump from $4.50 to $5. the proposal also increases a rush hour surcharge. as for metro bus riders, the base boarding charge would jump from $1.25 to $1.50, and the weekly bus pass would increase $4. right now, metro and am track passengers are seeing a big show of force at union station. metro transit police are being joined by authorities for a counterterrorism drill. patrols were beefed up from new hampshire to virginia. it includes bomb sniffing dogs and increase random bag checks. the exercise was not in response to any particular threat. the trial of a murdered dc attorney has gone hollywood. today, prosecutors in the ron juan case brought in a forensic expert. the defense tried vigorously to keep that expert off the witness stand. audrey. >> that's right, lesli, because douglas' testimony goes to the heart of the prosecution's case, that these three defendants tampered with evidence, that four years later, still hasn't been solved. >> forensic expert returned to dc superior court this afternoon prepared to finally give testimony in the robert juan case. court watchers have been blogging about the unsolved murder for the last 18 months, say prosecutors illicitted key evidence in the tampering and obstruction case about blood found on a knife on the bedside table in the guest room where robert juan was stabbed to death. >> i think what the prosecution's contention is, the way the blood got on the knife is not from robert's chest wounds or the wounds from his abdomen, it was smeared on the knife from one of defendants. >> dedrick, and about 6,000 others also ran tests on the bloody, william and mary t- shirt the victim was wearing. >> it might be enough for the prosecution to hang its head on. it could be. i'm sure the defense is going to go after it hammer and tong. >> sean wu, who has been working to blog daily about the case, says his testimony turned the day around for prosecutors, who received several tongue lashings from the judge over preparations. >> i think it's been fair, but tough. >> no long weekend for the lawyers on both sides involved in this trial. court will be in session tomorrow. lesli. >> audrey, when is the defense expected to take over? >> lesli, because of the memorial day holiday on monday, we don't expect the defense to get a chance to take over well before late next week. back to you. >> audrey barnes, thank you. a popular fairfax county teacher is found not guilty of molesting one of his 12-year- old students. the jury needed ten minutes before acquitting sean lanigan. he was the physical ed teacher in centerville. his main accuser admitted to having a grudge against him. more than two years after eastern market nearly burned to the ground, we have an update on what investigators say caused that fire. dc fire chief says an electrical malfunction sparked the blaze on 7th street southeast. according to the final report, an electrical fire started all of this. sky 9 was over the scene of a fire in gaithersburg. the flames caused heavy damage to the house. residents of the homemade it out okay after calling 911. the cause is being investigated. >> a tight squeeze in maryland today where an 18 wheeler hauling some whisky got stuck under a bridge. this happened on route 75 near new market. the railroad overpass is a tough spot for big rigs and police say the truck lost some of its load. hot lane construction continues in virginia. the department of transportation there shifted the westbound lanes of the new braddock bridge over i-495. work is underway at 12 interchanges inside the hot zone on the beltway. when it comes to rules of road knowledge, drivers in the district of columbia are the third worst in the nation. that's according to a new study. now it comes to this conclusion by examining questions pulled by department of motor vehicle exams. maryland drivers placed 20th in the survey, while virginiaens were 28th. >> well, we know somebody who ranked number one when it comes to filling us in on the evening rush. dave calhoun is in the traffic center. >> number one, i won't claim that. it's a mess out there this afternoon, but we are going to get you through it. as you heard earlier, the georgetown road is closed for police investigation. delays on the outer loop stretch from i-95 on and off all the way around the road in virginia. inner loop, not much better. delays from route 7 around to pass central avenue. looking at the graphics now. northbound, baltimore, washington parkway, you are jammed up to and beyond route 32. southbound delays stretch from route 32 to powder mill road, where we had an earlier accident. moving into virginia, southbound i-95, several spots of delays from the beltway to newington, from wood bridge, and again from dale city to and beyond tri yang l, triangle. back to you. we arrested the wrong guy, the story of mistaken identity is coming up. plus, the controversy over this toddler who smokes two packs a day and his parents know all about it. >> plus, topper is tracking the potential of severe storms. they are headed our way tonight. we'll be back with all of that. we have breaking news in montgomery county, where police are trying to figure out if a man was pushed from a parking garage. >> andrea joins us live from the scene with the latest. andrea, what do you know? >> reporter: lesli, this is a bizarre story. i have to tell you. take a look behind me. that is a four story metro parking garage. around 2:00 today, a 911 call came in, a passer by saw a man on the ground. by the time police and fire and rescue personnel arrived at the scene, he was in a seated position in the grass below the parking garage. what he told rescuers was that three people forced him to the very top deck of that metro parking garage and then forced him to jump off. remarkably, when fire and rescue personnel arrived, they said they found no obvious broken bones. the victim allegedly complained of abdomen pain, chest pain, and was then taken to suburban hospital's trauma unit. what is also remarkable is he was conscious, he was alert, he was oriented, and again, no other obvious injuries. they have no reason to believe at this point that he was not telling the truth. they do believe he came down from that fourth story parking garage, a distance of 50 feet. he is now in stable condition, we're told, at suburban hospital. one thing that is unusual is two days ago, the same location, there was another incident here. apparently an assault. we don't know yet at this hour whether those two incidents are related. we'll have more news as it becomes available. for now, reporting live from wheaten, andrea mckaren, 9news now. >> thank you. talk about a steamy day, wow. >> you know, 91 unofficially and a record high is 95. >> it felt warmer than that. >> humidity was. the heat index was 95. it is thursday. we have nothing immediately threatening the metro area. we are going to show you our best shot. this is a great picture from a national weather service headquarters employee. took it a couple years ago, and if you notice it cranes over the bridge, you know how old the picture is. you capture lightning strikes. and, it is just a spectacular picture, and douglas, you did everything exactly right. and remember, lightning, five times hotter than the surface of the sun. okay. remember, go to our website, wusa9.com. click on weather, and just follow the drop down menu. you'll see how to submit your best shot. you have to include your name and hometown. i'll kick it out. okay, we'll go the next three days. tomorrow, the clouds will hang tough. 75. maybe a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm in the morning. but i want to emphasize the threat of severe weather is over after tonight. yup, clouds hang tough on saturday. 74. maybe a shower on sunday. 84, but not a bad day. the weekend looks okay. not exactly chamber of commerce, but okay. covers the entire metro area and the threat may linger a little past 9:00. satellite picture and radar combined, we'll zoom in. we'll find tremendous thunderstorms. we actually have a back door front and if you notice the showers and storms aligning themselves and moving north, almost due south, that's the way the front is oriented right now. and, again, the big problems are to the west of us, but notice these haven't moved much. they are on the west side of 81. west of harrisonburg. they are sitting there. there are warnings out for these storms, but well out of our area for now. we have one little storm that popped up, just south of town. it has actually become intense. this is u.s. 1 and this is south of 1 headed down, and could have some hail. could have hail just on the east side of u.s. 1 as it moves off to the south and east. we'll put this into motion and you can see it's going move almost southwest, almost down one, crossing back over the river on the east side of 95. so, that one could have some small hail in it. there's not a warning out on that. as it moves further south, it will increase in intensity over the next 30 minutes or so. back to the computer we go. tonight, severe thunderstorm watch until 9:00. thunderstorms, some severe. low temperatures in the 60s. winds south, southeasterly at 10, unless you are in one of the big storms. look at the temperature. 88 in bethesda. 90 in college park. 90 in beltsville. and in the 80s out toward fairfax and reston, and sterling is checking in at 91. tomorrow morning, mostly cloudy, cool, showers, maybe a thunderstorm. severe weather ends tonight. 60s and 70s and by afternoon, mostly cloudy, cooler with showers, isolated thunderstorm possible, highs near 75, winds out of the southeast at 10. next seven days, weekend is okay. showers tomorrow, showers on saturday, primarily in the morning on saturday. maybe a shower on sunday. but we started going into the 80s on sunday. upper 80s for memorial day. low 80s on tuesday. a better chance for storms and in the 80s wednesday and thursday. coming up here shortly, we will have the hurricane outlook. hurricane forecast for the season. and of course, we have celebrate fairfax coming up june 11, 12, and 13th. go to our website, wusa9.com and click on to find tickets and to volunteer. they need some volunteers. >> yes, they do. of course, you are going to be outdoors, don't forget the sunscreen. tomorrow is national don't friday. everyone is being encouraged to protect themselves from skin cancer. that includes slipping on a shirt slopping on spf15 or higher. slapping on a hat, and wrapping on sunglasses. make sure to reapply that sunscreen to your kids. >> thank you, lesli. >> now if you are cooking out, is this what you want to know to stay on a budget. you can snag a grill for $70. topper, if you like the taste of hickory smoked barbecue, then home depot, and giant foods are stocked with specials on seafood, meat, and poultry. early friday morning is the best time to shop. you wait until the weekend, it is going to be swamped. to see more of their bargains, go to our website and click on living smart. up next, a new application for your cell phone that can take away the temptation to answer it while you are behind the wheel. and coming up new at 6:00 -- >> family of the second grader who told first lady, michelle obama, her mother does not have papers is stepping forward. coming up, what the government is doing to help the local family. 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[ normal voice ] you're welcome. get a free quote at progressive.com. you're driving and you see a text, you know you shouldn't pick it up, but sometimes we do. as angie goff shows us, there's a new application to take away that temptation all together. >> no matter how many times she drives with her teenage daughter, she can't help but think the same thing. >> we are constantly telling them, do not answer your phone. >> her daughter, megan, is honest enough to say that doesn't always happen. >> nothing is going to stop us from answering our text messages or phone calls unless we simply aren't getting our text messages or phone calls. >> we asked them to try this. it's called izop. >> this is green when you are unblocked. a call can come through. >> a software application that uses gps technology. when you are driving more than 5 miles an hour, the phone is disabled. >> this icon should turn red and it should be blocked. >> all incoming calls go directly to voice mail, text messages are saved in a file to look at later. technology that the maker says is overdue, considering distracted driving kills nearly 6,000 people a year. many of them new teen drivers. >> yeah, i hit a mailbox and almost knocked off my whole right mirror because i was texting while driving. >> i didn't know you were texting. >> i was. >> there is an emergency button that can be pressed if you need to get 911. and it goes a step further. >> of course you can dial 911 and if you do, the account holder, a parent or fleet manager in the case of a business of an employee would receive not only an e-mail and text alert, but google map pinpointing the location of the accident. >> i'll be getting it. it seems like a no brainer, why wouldn't you put something that easy on your phone that could phone issuely save your life? >> there's another way you can make a commitment. go to our website, wusa9.com. here you can take our great hangup pledge to curb your use of the phone while behind the wheel. i'm angie goff, 9news now. coming up next new at 5:30. >> authorities say they're sorry for putting an innocent man behind bars. i'm suray chin. i'll have that story coming up. ñwçwçyyob right now, new at 5:30. a man arrested for a crime he didn't commit. a story of mistaken identity. campus crime, we'll tell you how the local universities stacked up. plus, we'll tell you how 40 of the most popular medicines have been pulled from store shelves. but first, many of you will be packing up your cars and getting ready to head out of town for the long holiday weekend. according to triple-a. 185,000 washington area residents will drive 50 miles or more from home to celebrate memorial day. that is a 6 1/2% jump in people compared to hit the road last year. why, you ask? triple-a credits the increase in travel to the current drop in prices at the pump. the latest numbers show regular grade gas in our region averages $2.82. in ocean city, it's $2.73. get this, along the jersey shore, gas averages $2.66 a gallon. on the outer banks, expect to pay $2.81. it's no secret that in our region, the beaches are th