reporter: the kia minivan was perched in the median early this morning scorched from the inside out. whoever was driving appeared to be heading east when something happened that caused the car to burst into flames. it looked like the outside was intact. it was dark, everything was burned on the inside. reporter: maria works the early shift at this gas station right next to the scene. she watches this intersection every morning, and says this doesn t look like it was an accident. around here it s very not something that you see around here. it s a pretty affluent neighborhood. that is something like that suspicious, it s just not normal. reporter: firefighters didn t originally know someone was inside the car when they responded to the fire. although burn marks are still evident along bradley boulevard, it s hard to tell if there is any other damage to the van, other than that caused by the fire. we don t have direct evidence of foul play at this stage of the inves
from the first moments of the incident that led to the arrest of henry louis gates. a woman who worked in the neighborhood was walking to lunch when another elderly woman approached and asked her to call 911. reporter: from the outset, the caller raises the idea that the men may not be robbers but pushing through their own front door. reporter: the caller, a woman named lucia whalen, wants to stay out of the spotlight, but today she had her lawyer tell reporters whalen was a concerned citizen, not a racist. it s really been very difficult because she s been characterized as kind of the racist spark that got the controversy going. and nothing could be further from the truth. now that the tapes are out, you can hear for yourself. reporter: that s true. in the call that sparked a heated national debate about racial profiling, whalen doesn t mention race at all until the 911 operator asks her for a description of the men breaking in. reporter: another tape released by t
wind and rain from a thunderstorm roared through the reisterstown area. and then we lost visibilityault. visibility altogether. it was a whistling sound. i saw the trees across the street lay down. and i knew something wasn t right. it was horrible. this is probably the most damage i have ever seen from a storm in my lifetime. thinking for sure it was a tornado. but i understand it was just some high winds. reporter: while tornado was the first thought of many, the national weather service called it a straight-line wind, shortly after the storm hit. basically, it s an intense thunderstorm, where you have a downdraft or a down burst that produces very intense winds. they said sometimes from 60 to 100 miles an hour. but they re very certain that this was not a funnel cloud. reporter: but it was still strong enough to damage the roofs of some homes and crush cars under the weight of fallen trees. this one not only landed on a car. it brought live power lines onto i
welcome welcome to world news. tonight, surging sales. new home sales rise by the largest margin in nine years. people have begun to buy. police call, recordings of a 911 call give new insight into the arrest of henry louis gates. weighty matter. new report puts the cost of obesity related health care in america at $147 billion a year. test of faith. a female episcopal priest creates a controversy and pays a high price by becoming a muslim. and the movie that is so bad, high price by becoming a muslim. and the movie that is so bad, it s become a classic. captions paid for by abc, inc. good evening. normally the monthly report on new home sales might occasion a yawn or two. but now, economists, government officials, even reporters awaits each month s report with anticipation, looking for some sign the housing market has turned and recent miserable economic conditions may be ending. well, today we got a burst of good news. sales of newly constructed homes shot up 11% in j
it the highly anticipated michael jackson toxicology report expected anytime now. what will it tell us about the demise of the king of pop. plus, new reports his mother, ex-wife, very close to striking a deal on the kids. could there be a break-through in the custody dispute? and right now, an intense search for an 8-year-old boy last seen at his apartment playground. cops are frantic, draining a pond. where is little robert manwill. you re a huge part of the show. call in, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. you can e-mail us cnn.com/primenews or text us at hlntv. start your message with the word prime. your chance to be heard. controversy, opinion, your point of view. this is prime news. welcome once again. mime mike galanos. new reports coming in on the ugly fight over michael jackson s kids it . we ve talk board of directors it for weeks. the rumors the family may have made a $4 million payout offer to debbie rowe. everyone s happy. no money in the deal. we re talking a