ground in northeast baltimore. mike? >> reporter: well, mary, unlike straight line winds, the trees here are scattered in all directions of the compass. but the people who live here will tell you they really don't know what it was, but they do know it was powerful. it was crazy. >> reporter: northeast baltimore has never seen anything like this. >> we have not had an instant like that as i can remember. when you have a total of 359 units and everybody has to move out at one time, that's devastating. >> reporter: men and trees. trees torn from the earth. metal everywhere. before the cleanup, police check ids. and only allow residents near these buildings. >> [ inaudible ] >> while she got her medicine, laura dixon got something even better. >> i was asleep. felt like a freight train coming through.

>> everybody says that. >> it does. it shakes, literally shakes. >> reporter: but the next second, her roof is gone of. >> as soon as i walk up -- woke up, i just looked up. >> no roof? >> no roof. >> reporter: you can understand why her positions aren't that important. >> god is still good. i'm still here. no one got hurt and i'm safe. >> reporter: the pictures don't begin to capture when you feel when you are here. even the mayor is surprised. >> it is a true miracle. and i want to take a moment to thank god for sparing lives yesterday. >> reporter: in all, 54 units were condemned. the city has found housing for everyone but those who live in 14 of those units. reporting live in northeast baltimore, mike mike schuh, wjz eyewitness news. >> people in baltimore county think it could take weeks, even months to recover from the storm. derek valcourt is in parkville with their story. >> this is no small storm.

it was powerful enough to uproot and knock down pretty large trees like this. 100 of them, in fact. on their way down, hitting houses, cars, and even power lines. >> the mess in dennis boyd's yard has him convinced of what happened early wednesday morning. >> it's definitely a tornado. i was in my bedroom when it hit. >> reporter: tornadoes down. shingles on its roof missing. and windows shattered. >> how long do you think it this going to take before you're back to normal? >> i think it will be weeks, actually, maybe a month. >> reporter: others agree. maybe it follows the hard work. others need a little help. >> still waiting to hear from the insurance companies. >> reporter: next door, it's more of the same. >> that tree just came right down. and that's what you're looking at right there. >> reporter: these neighborhoods are a gold mine for contractors who know storms like this are good for business. >> i counted 40 houses damaged in westfederal. -- westfield and over here,

about 15. >> reporter: in some cases, this is not small. some of the roof on this garage blew away. >> lucky i got laid off, so i can help my parents. they can't do this stuff. >> reporter: family and neighbors, pitching in, knowing there's plenty of work to go around. >> reporter: takes a while for a contractor to clean up some of the trees. there's still a lot of them in this neighborhood to come out. meanwhile, county officials say it's some 92 homes here in baltimore county that were damaged by the storm. three of them so bad that the county had to declare them uninhabitable. we're live in parkville, derek valcourt, wjz eyewitness news. >> okay, derek. thank you. so. was it a twister? we are still awaiting the official word from the national weather service. meteorologist tim williams explains why it's so difficult to determine. tim? >> reporter: well, mary, you might think it is simple to determine what alwaysed the problem. -- caused the problem. the bottom line is the damaging wind, it is still going to be a damaging wind. now, at the height of this

storm, some winds were clocked at 80 miles per hour plus. and there could have been gusts higher. destructive straight-line wins, though, are created when winds come straight down. you hear us talk about microbursts come down and hit the ground. and they will follow the terrain. so they can pick up speed across the field, across roadways. and whatever they hit, they're going to tear apart. they really splinter off from a jet stream. they come down quickly. and that speed is picked up when they hit the ground. the tornadic wind, still with the same type of force, you're talking 80 to maybe 90-mile-per- hour winds. create moderate damage. it can be roofs damaged, trees knocked around. those are things the trees are -- the national weather service is looking at. we are expecting official word from them sometime in the 6:00 hour. and stay with wjz for first warning weather coverage. remember, wjz is always on. for live doppler radar, log onto wjz.com.

moments of terror. a hostage situation takes over a randallstown neighborhood. tonight, the gunman who started it all is dead. wjz is live. suzanne collins watched it unfold. suzanne? >> reporter: well, kai, it's very dramatic. a woman is shot multiple times. a frightened child runs to the arms of police. and this tense situation goes on in randallstown for hours. [ dog barking ] >> reporter: a s.w.a.t. team races to randallstown. an armored car is brought in, all for an armed man barricaded in his home at 9:30 this morning. a medivac chopper flies his wife to shock trauma. because she is shot multiple times in the face. >> the child is out of the house. and the child is safe. right now, we're making every effort to make contact with the subject in the house. >> reporter: police had to rescue an 8-year-old boy who ran from the home. a kings park neighbor watched the drama. >> i saw him run through the woods, back here at the house.

and the police carried him off to a secure location. >> reporter: police say this domestic situation could have been brewing for days. they were called here on tuesday, because neighbors heard such loud arguing coming from the house, they thought they should call 911. >> reporter: for four hours, people living in the area could not get in or out. people were kept inside their homes while the danger of flying bullets remain. >> i pulled in. they stopped me, sent me back. i've been waiting about two hours. >> they don't have any idea of how long it's going to be before we're able to get to our homes. >> reporter: terence williams' family members wait in an empty building throughout the standoff. there is much emotion when they are told that he is dead. >> reporter: police need to investigate fully, but it does appear on the surface that the husband shot has wife and then killed himself. back to you on tv hill. >> all right, suzanne. thank you. now, wilson's wife has not yet been named by police. she is in critical but stable

condition in shock trauma. police are calling a case a homicide investigation. jocovo vasquez near washington, d.c. was found dead near braddock heights. an autopsy determined he was shot dead multiple times. now, this man, marvin palensia is wanted in connection with the killing. he is considered armed and dangerous. if you see him, call police immediately. a heartbreaking find. baltimore city police uncover a possible dog-fighting ring. wjz is live at barks in southwest baltimore. weijia jiang explained, all of the dogs could not be rescued in time. >> reporter: that's correct. and right now, they are treating the dogs that did survive. they say all of the injuries point to dog fighting. >> and as you can see. >> debbie raul can't believe 5- year-old charlie is alive. >> he's got bite wounds all over his face, on his legs, on

the side of his belly. he's missing teeth. he has teeth that looked like they were filed down or broken off. >> reporter: she is the manager at the facility where charlie and five other pit bulls were taken friday night. investigators say they found him on the 1600 block of payson avenue. answering a fight was in progress. >> that's gruesome that people would stoop to that level. >> police say feces and urine were scattered throughout the house and a 7th dog was found. its body badly abused. >> the officer who responded to the scene wrote in the report, he believes the fighting happened in a room on the third floor. inside, he found a large amount of blood on the walls, the bed and the floor. >> you could just see them barking. it's a real bad odor from the house. when you walk up close to it,

you can smell it. >> we're hoping that in cases like this, they bring charges and they show that this is wrong and the people are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. >> she says she is certain charlie was used for fighting. and two puppies here were in training. she urges anyone who suspects dog fight being to report them. >> police have questioned people but have not made any arrests in this developing investigation. we're live in baltimore tonight, weijia jiang, wjz eyewitness news. >> we'll continue to follow if the dogs will be held at barcs throughout this investigation. after that, the staff hopes someone will adopt them. a 20-year-old hero. police say they have another suspect in custody. vic is in the newsroom with more on why this case is far from closed. >> reporter: well, kai, it is a very active investigation. police say this murder investigation is far from over. sean anthony johnson faces

murder charges for his role at the pizza and wings. he was one of tower men who enter --a four men who entered. police are still looking for two more. back to you. >> vic, thank you. again, anne arundel county police say this investigation is active. anyone with information should call them at 410-222-3453. pretty dramatic pictures out of baltimore county tonight. that's where a tree trimmer was rescued after being hit by a tree limb. sky eye chopper 13 was over the scene. the worker fell down an embankment near 835. baltimore county firefighters were able to pull the man to safety. he was taken to shock trauma with injuries that are not believed to be life- threatening. >> dangerous work. we're glad he's going to be okay. mystery in ohio. the new evidence that could turn a missing persons case

into a murder investigation. no need to say "i do." the shift in how americans view marriage. you don't have to live with chronic pain when there are new ways to treat it. up next, ask the expert. call in your questions now. i'm alex demetrick. coming up, fighting wint or the runways before it starts to snow. that story as eyewitness news continues. recovering from a wild storm. bob is tracking the weather. for the rest of the week. ,,,,,,

♪golden morning family's smiling♪ ♪gonna be a special day anncr: for the perfect start to the perfect day, i always choose land o'lakes all-natural eggs. from hens fed a rich, whole-grain diet with no added antibiotics or hormones. ♪pure and simple always natural♪ ♪our best eggs say land o'lakes♪ land o'lakes all-natural eggs. where simple goodness begins. another scare at an airport. armian police are investigating a scare that came out of munich. an air berlin flight landed

safely in munich after a bomb scare in africa. authorities found a bomb wired with a clock. but no fuse or explosive. police in namibbia are still trying to determine who the bag belonged to. also investigating a report the bag could have had a label indicating it was a police security test. the incident comes a day after germany stepped up. they say that intelligence is warning an attack could happen toward the end of the month. >> reporter: this woman says she is frightened and afraid. concern over cargo on international flights has been high since last month, when two mail bombs were found on flights from yemen, bound for the u.s. one device went through a german airport before

being discovered in britain. german police are headed to africa, to investigate the latest suspicious packages. in london, charlie d'agata, wjz eyewitness news. investigators say all passengers on that munich flight had to identify their bags and that every bag had an owner. we continue to follow breaking news right now in abingdon. sky eye chopper 13 over the scene of a serious accident. captain mike perry with an update for us. >> reporter: we reported this, about 15, 20 minutes ago. fire officials cause -- called to the scene of an injury accident. a sport utility vehicle departed and ended up upside- down in the woods. the driver has been pinned in his vehicle about 45 minutes now. they have been aggressively working, trying to get that driver out. they have called for a maryland state police medivac helicopter to come to the scene, one they do get the driver back, they will transport him. but as you can see, firefighters are frustrated,

trying to remove the driver from this tangle. >> let's check in on the rest of the roads with sharon gibala, live at wjz traffic control. well, that accident in abingdon is definitely the most serious accident we have out there. we have a few other problems, including hampstead at maple grove. also one at severn. 95 northbound, you're looking at jamup from moravia road to the beltway. five minutes there. 895 also a five-minute delay. approaching the 5-minute merge. and you're also looking at eastbound sluggish conditions approaching the west side of the beltway. there is a look at your drive times. as your average about a 37- minute drive time. significant delays on the top side between 83 and 95. we could take a live look outside, at the roads. that is spaghetti junction. you can see traffic moving pretty well there on the west side of the beltway.

we have a little more volume on the west side. this traffic report is brought to you by hh greg. hh greg has over 100 flat-panel tvs. watch the most exciting games. hh greg. price and advice, guaranteed. back to you. little did we know last year at this time, we were exactly one month away from our first blizzard. alex demetrick reports, this coming winter is very much on the minds of those who plow the runways bwi thurgood marshall. tis the season at bwi marshall to break out the hardware in case another hard winter is coming. >> have to remove all of the snow. >> reporter: last winter, three big storms left a record six feet. that meant round-the-clock plowing when possible. >> reporter: sometimes, you just kind of follow behind the next guy. and you try to stay as safe as you can. >> reporter: staging equipment

on a nice day still takes training to master the landmarks and direction signals. not always easy when working around active runways and aircraft. >> aircraft always have the right of way. >> procedure. checking 28. clear across runway 22. >> at bwi marshall, maintenance crews practice on this simulator. >> we digitized every sign, every light, every paint marking on the airfield, into the simulation. >> and then they covered it all up to practice in snow. day and night. >> gives them familiarization, without actually being on the airfield. >> clear across runway 422. holds short of runway 5. >> keep their eye out for aircraft. and they follow the directions of the air traffic controller. it's absolutely critical. it's life changing. >> reporter: and they're ready for winter. alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> bwi marshall has 75 pieces of equipment on hand to deal with snow conditions, which we will have none of this year,

right? none. [ laughter ] >> we got it all over with. >> yeah. hope so. >> statistically. it just won't happen again for a long time. we could get one big storm now. for sure. no snow around. west/northwest winds at 9. barometer way back up. come back and look at the friday weekend after this. ,,,,,

all right. some clouds. beautiful sunset. those clouds are going to clear out late tonight. and get a little chilly. and tomorrow will be a little cooler than it was today. how warm did it get today? slightly above our average. take a look at this. 58. our normal high is 55. or average high, 55. last night, 38. average low now is down to 34. by next week, it's freezing. record 78 and 20. that's chilly, 34 degrees. 52 in d.c. dew point is dropping.

>> much, much later than it's been. >> out west. a little system down across portions of southern indiana to northern alabama. across through the appalachians in the afternoon. this kind of fell apart completely. not much to it. at least this afternoon. gone. a few sprinkles in the mountains. maybe a snowflake or two in garrett county. that's about it. two showers and very light stuff across pennsylvania. that's also moving to our north. though we're not going to see that. we have clouds. they'll be clearing out late tonight. and followed by cooler temps tomorrow. on saturday, actually a little milder air coming in. ahead of another front which will come through sunday. and drop temperatures a little more on sunday. but all in all, a nice, dry, sunny to partly sunny weekend. not bad at all. considering how late it is in november. west wind 5 to 10 knots. tonight, the bay temp around 54.

tonight, it will clear out later on. down to 36, which is still close to where it should be. and tomorrow, we get into some sunshine. and yes, we'll have cooler temperatures. tomorrow's high, 52 degrees. so a nice end of the week. it will be dry. and a nice start to the weekend. >> sounds good. it's a procedure that is becoming more commonplace and is a lifechanger for many. mary is in studio b with our ask the expert panel. >> that's right. we're here with dr. michael jacobs. it's going to tell us about the approach of anterior hip and hip resurfacing surgery. these are two terms we hear about sometimes, but tell me. >> and tell me about it. >> how is it? >> it allows the surgeon a

fantastically -- fantastic approach to the hip joint. and gives a remarkable recovery, which frequently has them walking without any assistive decis -- device in as little as two weeks. >> that is amazing. typically the old times, the old type was -- >> frequently, you're on walker or cane for six weeks. and. >> and you've seen people under 60 who are much happier with this procedure. because we live active lives. >> the biggest beneficiary is we need to get them out of bed. so they're sometimes robust. kai, we'll send it back to you. >> if you'd like to ask the experts about painment, give them a call. still ahead on eyewitness news tonight. a d.c. principal murdered tonight.

new dwimentds in the case against the suspect. taking a national lead. economic up. baltimore teachers talk about their new contract. donald trump for president. why he is prepared to run.n.,,,,

it is 5:29. 51 degrees with clouds. what are they playing there? lacrosse? lacrosse probably or soccer. but looks like lacrosse. nice night to do it, though.

good evening, everybody. thanks for staying with wjz eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. a new contract puts city schools ahead of the curve. a groundbreaking contract ties their performance to their pay. >> reporter: new contract, new confidence. >> as a parent of students in the baltimore city public school system, i'm excited about the contract. and i think other parents will be excited, too. >> reporter: pay raises or step increases, traditionally based on teachers' tenure and degrees comes to an end. it will eventually be tied to student performance evaluation. >> tara barnes is a teacher. >> this is a great career letter for teachers. and hopefully parents and families will see that as such. >> it's a 3% agreement.

it includes an automatic pay raise. >> it's going to attract talent. >> reporter: it could lure talent like ryan, who is the teacher of the year. >> doesn't weaken teachers positions by any means. doesn't weaken tenure, nobody is being pushed back to a lesser title than they have this year. >> reporter: the principal sees it as a benefit to the students. >> in order to determine what kind of job we're doing for the school and educators, we need to see how the school is doing. >> is the city of baltimore already boasts great kids and great schools. now, by all indications, it has a great teachers contract. reporting live, i'm pat warren. back to you on television hill. >> the state board of education still has to work out the guidelines for the performance- based evaluations. scandal forces a new editor out his job. jay montgomery cook stepped

down from his job. he allegedly resigned amid allegations he sent sexually explicit video. cook was at the sun and left that position to work at unc. the search is over as three busies were found in a rural area. just a short time ago, police confirmed the bodies of tina herman, her son, and a friend were found inside a hollow tree. they went missing eight days ago, along with herman's daughter. she was found bound ask gagged in the home of matthew hoffman. hoffman is currently in custody. in cold blood, a popular d.c. principal shot dead. tonight, a plea from one of the men responsible. denise has more here. >> the principal of shaw middle school was found dead in his silver spring home back in april. tonight, another suspect is admitting his role in the

botched robbery that led to bets' death. shariff lancaster pleaded guilty to robbery and use of a handgun during the felony. last week, another defendant in the case, alandra saunders pleaded guilty in the case. jurors have begun a second day of deliberations in the chandra levy murder trial. ingmar guandique. her story made headlines when she was romantically linked to congressman gary condit. prosecutors say the pattern of her death fits the crimes guandique committed. convicted bernie madoff. fellow board members were charged with multiple counts of security, security fraud. falsifying documents and tax evasion.

if convicted, the women could face maximum prison sentences of 75 years. the congressman convicted this week on a number of ethics violations, learned his fate today. a house esethics lawyer has the most serious. >> what do you hope? >> he arrived at the hearing, serious and sullen. convicted by a congressional ethics panel of 11 violations. congressman charles rangel was here to learn his fate. >> mr. rangel ask k no longer blame anyone, other than himself for the position he now finds himself in. >> the chief lawyer. >> his conduct served to undermine public trust in this institution. >> he suggested rangel be censured by congress.

more serious than a reprimand. but short of an expulsion from the house. >> reporter: it would be a significant but embarrassing procedure. it would mean he would receive a public rebuke from the speaker. >> rangel ran a campaign from his subsidized apartment. the congressman said he was careless, but not corrupt. he admitted he made mistakes. >> no matter what you decide in the sanctions that you put in there that charles rangel never sought personal gain. after the ethics manual makes its decision, the full house will vote for or against the punishment. for this 80-year-old political giant. in washington, joel brown, wjz eyewitness news. >> rangel had no attorneys present for today's proceeding. but he did bring his fellow

congressman, john louis, who spoke to the committee about rangel's character. could donald trump be the next president? he thinks so. the real estate mogul says he doesn't actually want to run. but says he is worried about the country's future. trump has shown interest in the past for running for president in both 1998 and twbd 2000. is marriage becoming obsolete. a new study associated with "time" magazine, shows nearly one in three american children is living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never married. researchers say more people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a family. surveys show about 39% of americans are saying that marriage is becoming obsolete. wal-mart plans to open stores. they plan to open four stores in washington d.c. and hire

1200 employees by 2012. wal-mart already has stores in virginia and maryland. but never a store in d.c. they are in neighborhoods where retail options are limited. general motors got a warm welcome on wall street. the company's stock offering could end up as the nation's largest ever. alexis christoforous has more from the new york stock exchange. >> it was general motors day on wall street. there were even special sound effects. gm's public offering started at $33 a share and closed over $34. plus, it triggered a broader rally that boosted the dow, 170 points. >> great day are for not only detroit. not only for wall street. but for main street. because gm definitely transcends everything. >> reporter: and perhaps most

important, gm's return as a public company, seems to be reassuring its customers. the evans were on the verge of buying a japanese car, until they heard about gm's success on wall street. >> we were trying to decide whether we were going to go hyundai or toyota or whatever. and after this, we said, no, we're going back to chevy. >> from the dealerships to the shock stock market, gm's public stock offering is a big deal. and a big boost for taxpayers. >> americans are now looking to make more than my administration invested invest gm. >> i think north american car industries it probably the healthiest. >> was today a good day? absolutely. absolutely. >> during the darker days, gm's shareholders were wiped occupant. the company is promising this time, it will be different. alexis christoforous, wjz eyewitness news.

>> generalgeneral motors' brupt estate was promised stock. the stock is worthwhile about $5 billion based on today's price. dow was up. nasdaq up 38. time now for a quick look at some of the stories you'll find in tomorrow morning's edition of the baltimore sun. a good sign is the number of maryland homeowners behind on their mortgage dropped for the first time since 2006. a preview of baltimore blast indoor soccer season. for all of these stories and more, read the baltimore sun. remember to look for the updated forecast from wjz's first warning weather team. we are getting closer to wjz's annual mammoth manic monday meltdown.

finalist number 4. they appeared back on august 16th. please welcome. harbor hospital 7. >> it's just another manic monday ♪ i wish it was sunday ♪ because that's my fun day ♪ >> oh, oh, oh ♪ >> my i don't have to run day ♪ just another manic monday. [ cheering ] >> awesome. >> reporter: just four days left until the 2010 mammoth manic monday meltdown. the winner will take home -- >> the coveted valentino. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it very much. four days. the voting continues here at wjz wjz.com. get your votes in. it's very close. now back to you. [ laughter ] >> heavy. heavy. the coolest photog we've

got. don't forget to join don, marty and ron for the 12th annual mammoth manic monday meltdown this monday at jimmy's restaurant in fells point. come on down. and you can see it all here on wjz 13. heavy, a good man and a man of few words. >> he is. but he's always cool. >> he is. still ahead fast food foul. what one man found on his receipt from burger king. fog. no special effect. no special effect. we'll tellll,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ♪

♪ [ dad ] yeah! [ cheers and applause ] [ male announcer ] achievement gets points for living life. earn pnc points for your credit and debit card purchases. ♪ find out more at pnc.com/getpoints. pnc. for the achiever in us all.

dense fog on the west coast. take a look at this. this is dense fog in southern california, los angeles. this is not san francisco where you'd normally expect it. visibility was so poor, you couldn't see some of the large buildings. motorists were told to use their headlights and leave prenty of distance ahead of them since road was very slick. beautiful picture there. amazing. let's take a look at tomorrow. a lot of sunshine on your friday. the week, 36 in the morning.

back up to 50, 52. generally sunny all day long. how is the weekend shaping up? >> we start another gradual warmup. let's take a look at saturday and sunday and beyond. temperatures up around 58 degrees on saturday. then 61 monday. 63 on tuesday. approaching mid-60s for the travel in time for thanksgiving. now for your energy tips of the day. we're addressing setting your thermostat back. approximate for every degree you put it back, you cut your heating bill 2%. for more on how you can become an energy saver, go to wjz.com and click on the special section on the home page. back inside. missouri, parents waiting with their children at a bus

stop, were witnesses to a deadly crash. an suv collided. investigators believe he crossed the center line. the bus driver and five children were taken to the hospital with minor juries. a barn fire lights up the skies in north carolina. and police find out it was intentionally set, according to investigators. this is how it looked at the overnight hours, when the flames could be seen for miles. hay was stored inside the barn. and it took several hours to bring it under control. firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to other buildings. two burger king employees in southern california are fired after profanity is present printed on a receipt. a customer asks for a hamburger to be cut in half so she could share it with his mom. then he noticed a profane phrase typed on his receipt. burger king fired the cashier and the store's manager and said they will personally apologize to this customer.

vic is standing by with a preview. tonight, a wjz exclusive in the scandal at st. joseph's medical center. dozens of new lawsuits were filed hours ago. who is behind them. and what the hospital is saying about the legal action against them. somber day. remembering iris. a first of her kind. check in for all of these stories and the breaking news. still to come on wjz eyewitness news. it's a blast of the past. a former raven will play against baltimore on sunday. >> mark has the surprising details coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

we all like a cinderella story. and the ranks will be in the presence of one on sunday. sports director mark viviano joins us. the ravens do not want to see this fairy tale play out, do they? >> they do not. we have been telling you this week how much the carolina panthers have been struggling. well, they're hoping for a miracle quarterback. today, they named their starter. it's a guy who earlier this week wasn't on any team. and he was at home, changing his infant son's diaper. ravens fans might remember him.

he was brian st. pierre. he was a backup with the ravens in 2005 and 2006. he never played in a regular season game for baltimore. but as seen here, he did play in some exhibition games. st. pierre has also been with pittsburgh and arizona. he has thrown a total of five passes in his eight-year career. he will start against the ravens on sunday. at practice in owings mills today, ravens look. the speedy receiver was used on a couple of end-of-round runs. stalworth glad to be involved. even if it means running the ball. it was fun. the guys did a good job of blocking. and it was fun and exciting as the week goes on. i could go out and have more, rals of what it is.

coach john harbaugh says stalworth is a candidate to serve as punt receiveir. it's something he hasn't done, though nfive years. david reed will return kickoffs to the ravens. you can see the clash from carolina, here on wjz. coverage tick kicks off at 1:00. coming up next hour, welcome news for maryland football coach, ralph friedgen. i'll tell you why he feels secure tonight. plus, baseball awards its top pitcher. and i'll have all of that hed in sports at 6:00. bernie madoff made the biggest headlines with his $65 billion ponzi scheme. butta all over the country, smaller scans -- scams have caused similar problems across the country. in new jersey, a grandmother is strug lin to pick up the pieces. -- struggling to pick up the pieces. >> reporter: nancy obagi worked hard, saved her money and expected to retire on the jersey shore. but now, her house is in foreclosure, and all of her

money is lost to a scam artist. >> i said, well, where is my money. and she said, you don't have any money left. >> reporter: she was the woman obaggy trusted with her money. zena martin. they met at church. and she eventually handed over her mod evaluate pension and her husbands. she received statements every month, showing impressive returns, 15% and more. but those statements were false. prosecutors say martin spent the money on herself. and it didn't stop there. >> and i got a call from a bank, saying, you're in default of your mortgage. and i said, you must have the wrong number because my mortgage is paid. >> reporter: yobagi hired an attorney who said zena martin forged the paperwork on two mortgages, worth about $700,000. then she let them go into default. >> she caused this house to go into foreclosure. nancy has lost every cent of every dollar she's ever worked

for. >> reporter: yobagi raised four children and lost two of them to cancer. she said she'll survive this tragedy, too. >> i'm sad because i was foolish. [ crying -- i was foolish to trust her. >> reporter: zena martin pleaded guilty to robbing investors of just under 1 million. she's serving a 10-year prison sentence. but that doesn't bring back the money and retirement is now an impossible dream. >> reporter: alexis christoforous, wjz eyewitness news. >> if you're looking for financial advice, ask friends and relatives for information. but don't stop there. check with the national organizations that issue credentials to financial advisers. tonight in wjz's healthwatch report, a promising new treatment for people who cannot get their blood pressure under control. a minimally invasive treatment zaps a nerve near the kidney that spikes blood pressure. they saw blood pressure

readings fall an average of 33 points. that's a lot. and scientists have discovered a genetic mutation that causes eye cancer. exparties say the findings lead to future treatments. take a look at this cub. there are only about 11 giant pandas in the united states. and 1600 living in the entire world. >> it is amazing. it will become so big. it's very cute. still to come tonight on wjz's eyewitness news. 350 units infected.

350 units infected. 354 condemem,,,,,,,,,,,,

coming up on eyewitness news at 6:00. long recovery ahead. what will happen to the people who are now homeless? a child escapes a baltimore county neighborhood lockdown. how it ended. i'm mike hellgren, with the wjz exclusive. dozens of new lawsuits have

been filed against st. joseph's medical center, over unnecessary surgeries. what is at stake for the doctor who performed them. and why they were filed now. >> check in for these stories and all the day's breaking news. >> wjz at 6:00 starts now. the aftermath. hundreds of homes and apartments damaged or destroyed. >> tonight, the growing cleanup efforts and help for those now homeless. >> hello, everyone. i'm vic carter. >> and i'm denise koch. here's what people are talking about tonight. it's going to be a long time before things get back to normal for people living in the area slammed by the storm. the extent of the damage