2 people are dead and 9 people are wounded after a gunman opened fire this morning during rush hour in manhattan near the empire state building. good afternoon. i am steve sanders. and i'm dina bair. we welcome our viewers who are watching us america and on the web. a shooting near the empire state chaos and confusion among tourists and commuters. let's go live right now to midtown manhattan where we get the latest from reporter dan mannarino: this is the situation here on 34

st. the area is completely shut down ... police commissioner raymond kelly and mayor mike bloomberg said that 9:00 a 56 year-old gunman identified as geoffrey johnson walked into a store near the empire state building where he was laid off an open fire on his employer shooting him in the face at point blank range killing him inside the business he fled on foot down the block its a busy area of construction workers saw the man flagged down police they followed him he pointed his gun at police officers who returned fire with 14 shots and killed the suspect ... the mayor said that the police officers bullets may have hit innocent bystanders it was the height of

rush hour and lots of tourists are in this area >>he killed one person and nine other people were shot and some may have been shot accidentally by police officers responding immediately and while confronting the suspect fatally shooting him unfortunately there may have been other victims as well ... >>those victims were taken to area hospitals we're told that they are all in stable condition none of them seriously injured by the bullets investigations are underway now to figure out the ballistics ... police have the entire area around the empire state building closed off looking live right now you could see police working the scene they have surveillance video one image shows johnson

turnaround to fire at police and and being struck dead ... the investigation continues we are told that johnson had harassment claims filed against him from his employer when year ago that may have something to do why he was laid off and why he returned one year later to take revenge he has no prior criminal record ... the employer is 46 years old pending family notification we are withholding his identity it's a very chaotic scene here this morning in manhattan lots of stories about how people were ducking for cover inside of storefronts and businesses one woman said that she was going into the starbucks and then she opened the door the gunfire was heard behind her ... that's the latest from downtown manhattan dan

mannarino for pix 11 news in new york prosecutors in the drew peterson murder trial may wrap-up their case today. they've called a sprint nextel employee, and a bolingbrook police lieutenant to the stand so far. wgn's judy wang is live in joliet with details. good afternoon will county prosecutors are calling their final witnesses jurors have heard for more than 30 prosecution witnesses in the past several weeks ... a sprint employee and a bolingbrook police lt. testified today lots of time was spent arguing over what the police lieutenant can and cannot say about the training of drew peterson ... he is on trial for the murder of his third wife kathleen savio

who was found in her bathtub ... prosecutors allege that drew peterson killed her making the drowning look like an accident because he wanted to deny her the benefit of his pension ... a record keeper for sprint nextel was up today ... it was believed that the fourth wife of drew peterson tried to directly reach her husband by a cellular phone ... a pastor testified yesterday that stacey peterson woke up during one night and could not reach drew peterson ... he also said that stacy peterson admitted that drew peterson was coaching her on an alibi for the weekend of the murder of kathleen savio ... the defense argues that the prosecutors are failing to produce enough concrete

evidence ... and they are pressing for a dismissal if the judge rules against the defense the defense says it's prepared to move ahead calling its witnesses it will not say whether drew peterson will take the witness stand ... closing arguments could happen next week but the judge has indicated to the attorneys that he does in one been a situation where the attorneys are making closing arguments at the friday before labor day weekend ... an illinois state police investigator who testified in the drew peterson murder trial earlier this month... takes the stand today in the christopher vaughn murder trial. his wife and three kids in their family vehicle in june 2007. sergeant robert deel will

testify for the prosecution. he is expected to answer questions about bullet casings blood evidence, and other forensics. but during cross-examination, defense attorneys won't be able to ask him about the peterson case, specifically kathleen savio's death. deel faced criticism for the way he handled that investigation. the cause was initially ruled an accident, but was later changed to a homcide. charges are expected to be filed or charges have been filed against two people in the murder of megan boken star from wheaton, who was shot and killed while visiting saint louis university. police say she was murdered during a robbery. as family and friends attended announced that they had arrested two 18 year old men. louis. their names will not be released until they are charged. formally.... now to our top local story... staying on track for the start of school... a new step in negotiations between the city and teachers. wgn's nancy loo has the latest from cps headquarters.

both sides are back at the negotiating table today yesterday produced no progress this morning the union president karen lewis indicated that teachers will not strike on the first day of school september 4th ... the unions information offensive pushed on this morning at the red line stop ... karen lewis and other union members handed out leaflets she revealed she had no plans yet to file the tender a strike notice that means classes will start on time september 4th threw out the chicago public school systems ... there could be a strike eventually ... parents are following the situation closely the teachers happen without a contract since

june 30th and despite 15 negotiating sessions and a contract is not even close ... if there is a strokeike it prevents our kids from learning keeping them out of trouble the mayor is eager to ratchet up negotiations but he's confident with the team at the table now we have to get this done on behalf of the city of chicago stepchildren and the taxpayerchildren and the taxpayers >>you want the impression of the strike in his hometown in an election year >>ultimately if this is what it takes that's what it takes we have a more democratic process

at work it's not like let's make a backroom deal that's not have a process will work both sides do not expect a deal within the next week the mayor will reportedly have more senior levels staffers during the process next week in order to get a deal done a short a short time ago kcbs spokes persia person issued this statement:"...just as our teachers and 140,000 students are already working hard at their desks, we will continue to work hard at the bargaining table... to ensure that every student will be able to stay in the classroom every single day of

this school year ... " coming up next: stripped of his seven tour de france titles...we have the latest after he gave up his fight against the u.s. anti- doping agency. and the man convicted of killing 77 people in oslo norway last year receives the i stepped on the machine, and it showed me the pressure points on my feet and exactly where i needed more support. i had tired, achy feet. until i got my number. my dr. scholl's custom fit orthotics number.

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a sporting great has officially fallen from grace. the u.s. anti-doping agency has stripped lance armstrong of his seven tour de france titles and has issued lifetime ban on him. armstrong denies all claims that he took any banned substances during his career. yesterday... armstrong decided to not fight against the allegations brought by the u.s. anti-doping agency-- an organization he says has treated him unfairly for months. nike said in a statement today that they will continue to support him and the lance armstrong foundation, that lance created to serve cancer survivors. the man who killed 77 people in norway last year has been ruled sane and was sentenced to 21- years in prison. anders behring breivik was charged with voluntary homicide and committing acts of terror... for his politically motivated shooting spree and bombing. breivik said he killed his victims to fight the growing islamic population. he was ordered to serve a minimum of 10 years in prison. the 21-year sentence could be extended indefinitely if it is decided he still poses a threat to society. first lady michelle obama

offers her condolences to the relatives of those killed... in a shooting rampage at a sikh temple in wisconsin. six people were murdered when white supremacist wade michael page opened-fire inside the temple in oak creek before a sunday prayer service. he then took his own life. the first lady said she wants to help the community any way she can. the republican party won't wait for tropical storm isaac to spoil its convention. the party plans to nominate mitt romney as its presidential candidate monday -- two days ahead of schedule. the vote is traditionally held a day before the nominee accepts the nomination. but the current plan is still for romney to deliver his acceptance speech thursday. wgn will have live coverage from tampa starting this weekend. tropical storm isaac continues to build strength in the caribbean... and is headed towards haiti. haiti is still recovering from the powerful 2010 earthquake that killed 300,000 people. 12 inches of rain is forecast for some parts of the country posing danger to more than 400,000 haitians living in tent cities.

all of this attention on tropical storm isaac has many in florida remembering another major storm that struck 20 years ago today. today marks the anniversary of hurricane andrew... a category five storm that killed 25 and caused 26 billion dollars in damage. it remains the third costliest hurricane in u.s. history. andrew brought winds of 157 miles per hour across florida and south central louisiana. still to come this midday: the cost of food is going up in the wake of this summer's severe drought. ....and a deadline is quickly approaching for congressman jesse jackson jr to decide his political future.

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prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. i'm deborah kastroun live from the new york stock exchange with your bloomberg "on the money" report: the country's worst drought in over 50 years is working its way onto store shelves in the form of higher food prices the usda

says that consumers could take 3-4% more for food next year the main feed source for animals will go up 61% ... and rising oil and gasoline prices will pose a news threat to nutrition costs ... if if oil prices keep rising that could have greater impact on food costs and even the drought ... we are making less money now than we had in the recession american income has declined more in the three- year expansion that began in 2009 and during the recession that's according to a sincere research sites ih which cites census bureau data ... the l.a. times says that vehicle downed workers such as sales reps and truck drivers have the deadliest professions last year 680 vehicles along to

workers that died on the job ... as for markets today we see stocks on the rise after fed chairman been burning key said there will be further action to bolster the economy... preventing concussions... duerson's son issues kits to schools to spread awareness. and still ahead: we have live music this midday from the

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now. you'll be glad you did. a teenage girl from southwestern illinois has escaped from a home, where she was held captive for more than 2 years. it happened in washington park, a village next to east saint louis. the girl says she was 15 whey she was abducted and forced to live there. she claims she was beaten, raped, got pregnant and had a baby. she managed to escape earlier this week and went to police. yesterday, swat teams raided the home and arrested a man and his mother. their names have not been released. they also found the baby- who was unharmed. neighbors say they didn't suspect anything. >>it seemed like a normal

family. when we first moved here we did not know anything going on ... the 24 year old man has not been charged. but police believe his mother aided him in keeping the girl hostage. an apparent case of road rage led to a shooting on interstate 80 near gary last night. a woman from orland park told police that a dark- colored truck pulled up behind her tailed her, and then moved to the side of her -- trying to push her off the highway. she says the driver fired one shot into the passenger door of her car, and then exited at cline avenue. the woman suffered a cut on her hand. police are still searching for the gunman. representative jesse jackson junior has an important decision to make by the end of the day on friday... will he or won't he remain on the november ballot? jackson is currently in the race for the second district congressional seat. he faces republican brian woodworth and independent marcus lewis. jackson was unable to campaign this summer since he went on medical leave in june. he is currently being treated for bi-polar disorder at the mayo clinic.

in memory of former bears player dave duerson -- his family is helping high school football players protect themselves from head injuries. the duerson family is donating concussion test kits to school programs around chicago. wgn's julian crews is live with details. >>many concussions suffered during football games are very obvious to trainers or coaches but that's not always the case sometimes there are situations where the signs are not so the obvious ... >>we don't have to rely on intuition we have effective concussion diagnostic tools ... all chicago public high school programs with football programs will receive the test kit thanks to the family of dave duerson it's been a year and have since

dave duerson took his life ... it was determined that the former chicago bears suffered from brain disease as a result of concussions throughout his football career ... the nfl is being sued by many families of former players over this medical issue ... chicago public schools were spurred by the city council to take that had hitting practice out of games and practices this is a reading test where players get tested on the sidelines after a bad head that's come appeared to a baseline test taken be fore the diagnostics and data get matched

cps coaches and athletic directors have already gone through what is known as concussion management training obviously will take time to work these test kits into the programs all 80 programs need that training completed and the first game of the season for many of these schools is tonight it will be awhile before they can deploy the test kits but the hope this it will prevent players from suffering any further harm still to come this midday: tom skilling has your full forecast. i've worked hard to build my family. and also to build my career. so i'm not about to always let my frequent bladder urges, or the worry my pipes might leak get in the way of my busy lifestyle. that's why i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder

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we are at over 90 degrees for the 42nd time this year ... we still have that record in the cross hairs and attainable ... it will get hot again next week we can get close to the record easily ... we have a beautiful day happening ... the humidity has been reasonable. we are heading for higher territory we are all watching that tropical storm isaac. it's moving across the northern caribbean hitting pr going to haiti and the dominican republic the storm system has a at it and wind

field 48 our forecasts showed clearing those islands and that's when it can gather strength over open water ... the storm tracks to the west of florida these winds are blowing counterclockwise that is an offshore flow for tampa the water will pile up on the eastern coastline of the state's the northeastern sector can also produce tornadoes ... here is one of the damaging aspects: prolific green over

haitrain over haiti and cuba ... as the air sinks there is a compression alarming situation warnming system that will produce warm air and bake rain showers here "n" line we are looking at puerto rico ... lots of rain there.

the warm air donna is moving to our areame is moving to our area this will bring us into the 90s by the middle and end of next week 92 degrees yesterday in chicago ... we are also concerned about wild fires to the west the storms will be coming here

sunday ... a significant accumulations of rain we're looking at the long term forecast ... all temperatures above normal we are moving into a warm pattern again here are the local temperatures currently: the mold county is high and there are moderate pollen counts we're looking at the local temperatures for today...

the heat is travelling right up to the lakefront mid-90s for tomorrow. the sunday rain could be substantial i will give you an update on the timing at the end of the broadcast tropical storm isaac is strengthening to 60 mi. per hour wind we could see an isolated thunderstorm later today but it's less likely... tonight will be windy and warmth low 68 degrees tomorrow

sunni breezy, the afternoon with higher humidity sunday will be cloudy and humid the storms will be heavy toward the evening last weekend we had 70 degree high temperatures... time now for today's trivia question: on this day in 1970, the postal rate commission was established to make recommendations for postal rates, fees and services. what was the cost of a first- class stamp in 1970? a. 6 cents b. 10 cents c. 15 cents the answer is ahead in this hour of the wgn midday news.

time for sports: the bears play the super bowl champion giants in new york tonight, and the starters will get their heaviest work-load of the pre-season.

one player who won't be there is running back kahlil bell. the bears asked him to take a $500,000. pay cut, and when he refused, they released him. armando allen and lorenzo booker will now compete for the third running back spot. the biggest position battle will be for left tackle between jamarcus webb and chris williams. they'll try to contain the solid pass rush from the giants. i would think you would rather see this than the little sisters of the poor ... you want to go play against the best it makes you tougher and now you get a chance to evaluate the players and really see where you are ... some of the white sox spent t test. test. test. the seattle m iners who have an 8 game winning streak. game one is tonight, and jake peavy takes the mound against 13 game winner jason vargas. the tigers trying to keep pace with the sox in the central. they're tied with the blue jays in the tenth... toronto hits a fly ball to the gap, but anthony jackson makes a diving catch to save a run.

still tied next inning, and alex avila hits a walk- off single to win it for the tigers. they complete a sweep, 3-2 and trail the sox by a game-and-a- half. meanwhile the cubs host the rockies at 1:00, right here on wgn. that's a look at sports. your live illinois lottery drawing is next. good afternoon ... here are the winning picked three numbersk 3 numbers: 5 5 7

here are the winning pick four numbers: 4 8 4 8 the mega-millions jackpot is $65 million

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in medical watch: high-hopes for fighting hepatitis "c"... ends in disappointment. bristol-myers squibb paid two and a half billion dollars for a drug that targets the virus. but, the company had to abandon its research because one patient died of heart failure. eight others suffered heart and kidney problems. hepatitis "c" can cause liver damage and affects 180 million people across the world.

experts say more than one million people in the united states will have a heart attack this year--- and most will occur with no symptoms. that's why they are researching prevention methods to help identify people at high risk for heart disease. two new studies looked at six screening tools and found a calcium scan is the best. the scan looks for calcium build-up in the arteries around the heart. experts say this test will be especially helpful for the many people who are mistakenly put in the intermediate risk category when they should probably be classified as high risk. we're talking to the band "the fixx" after the break... they're performing live in the studio!

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they have been together for more than 30 years. the fixx formed back in 1979 in england, and they have been rocking together ever since. lead singer cy curnin joins me now...... what do you attribute this long shelf life to ... >>we get along well we've been together a long time ... >>you are out with your 10th studio album ... much to our relief it has been very well received we spent a long time working on it you never know what will come ...

but it's been very well received ... >>you look very good ... >>it's the formaldehyde ... >>are you drinking and? the met is their story behind your hit one thing leads to another >>there was a politician who was caught lying ... >>here in illinois we don't have this problem >>his career went down the tubes and this is about the repercussions of lying ... the fixx will be preforming tomorrow, at skokie's "backlot bash". thanks for coming in what will you be playing ... we are playing the hit from our latest ... anyone else

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i've worked hard to build my family. and also to build my career. so i'm not about to always let my frequent bladder urges, or the worry my pipes might leak get in the way of my busy lifestyle. that's why i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips throat or tongue stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. i've worked hard to get to where i am... and i've got better places to go than always going to the bathroom. so take charge of your symptoms by talking to your doctor and go to vesicare.com for a free trial offer.

time now for the answer to today's trivia question. we asked: on this day in 1970, the postal rate commission was established to make recommendations for postal rates, fees andwhat was the cost of a first-class stamp in 1970? b. 10 cents c. 15 cents the answer: 6 cents. that's amazing ... we are going into the weekend with 90 degree temperatures it is already 90 degrees here in chicago ... we will see rain on sunday into monday ... we have a big triathlon here sunday dina is involved ... no problem through

tomorrow we will be having sunshine throughout the day but tomorrow night the clouds will increase and the showers and thunderstorms will arrive sometime sunday looking at tropical storm isaac rolling into florida sunday... we are tracking through the weekend... sunday will begin without any rain generally through around the area by monday morning the forecast has the rainshowers we're looking at the accumulations... over 1 in. in parts of our area

the biggest rain in five weeks around here ... we will remain in the '90s for the next two days heading toward labor day a big dome of warm air develops will have a cooling off on monday but he will get back in wednesday and thursday of next week... that is a direct result of isaac. 93 degrees tomorrow ... by sunday afternoon the storms will pick up lasting through monday morning it will have sunshine coming for wednesday through the end of the week ... labor day will begin warm but get cooler

have a great weekend ... thanks for joining us today. we hope you have a great afternoon. remember we are back at 5:00 this evening and again at 9:00. we leave you with more music from "the fixx"... they're on stage tomorrow night at skokie's "backlot bash".