surfaced showing acorn workers giving advice on how to cheat on taxes. but the group is fighting back, with a video of their own. abc2 news roosevelt leftwich has more. >> the type of business you provide, let's make sure there's a code for it, ok? >> a code for prostitution? >> reporter: the video of maryland acorn workers giving advice to a couple claiming to be a pimp and prostitute is what prompted the cause for investigation. critics say they spend public dollars and have to be held accountable. >> they can do their own investigations. it's clear who the perpetrators were and who the messengers are here. and you know, don't shoot the messenger, go after the wrongdoing and that's what's very important here. you know, if maryland would -- maryland will become the laughing stock of the nation if our law enforcement officials nowx only on those who expose the wrongdoing within acorn. >> reporter: what will be the scope of the investigation? mum's the word from the attorney general's office.

a spokeswoman says the attorney general has "no comment on an active investigation" but asked what will they investigate acorn's use of public money? or how the video and audio were obtained. she would only say the ag office would "look into the incident and right now we have no idea where it will lead." the governor who authorized the attorney general too look into acorn - >> i did sign off on it. he's proceeding and i think that we need to be guided by the facts as they uncover them. >> reporter: in an earlier statement the group says it welcomes any investigation, on a national level the group has begun to try to fight back by producing videos of its own. this video released on the web site describes an encounter with both o'keefe and giles in the philadelphia office. the video says they called police after they began talking about importing underaged girls from el salvador. >> it appears mr. o'keefe lied to get his appointment. not dressed like he was on the

internet. and we were growing suspicious of the questions he was asking at the philadelphia acorn housing office, we called the police and filed this report. >> reporter: acorn claims o'keefe was turned away in other offices in addition to philadelphia. in baltimore, roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >> the investigation is expected to take several months. tonight police in baltimore county are trying to find out who burglarized and ransacked a church. it happened at st. andrews lutheran church on taylor avenue in the hillendale area. we're told the damage was centered mostly in the church office where two laptops and a hard drive were taken. papers were thrown everywhere and office equipment was tossed around. >> they went throughout the building, there's no doubt about it because of cabinets left open and this is the only place i really see any damage. and the office next door. >> reporter: the president of the church council says he thinks they may have gotten through a window in the office and tore out the alarm system. despite that incident the county executive says there's been an impressive drop in

serious crimes across baltimore county. >> compared to the first six months of 2008 when crime was also down seven of the eight major crime categories have declined this year in the first six months. rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson. >> smith says as evident end of june 2009 violent crime decreased by 2% and total crime in baltimore county decreased by 6.6%. as for solving violent crimes the clearance rate is well above the national average. police in anne arundel county need your help identifying a burglary suspect. authorities say the man pictured here is wanted in connection with a burglary at the odenton sunoco on annapolis road. it happened july 22nd, about 1:40 in the morning. authorities say the man broke in through a garage door and caused extensive damage to the business. if you have any information you're asked to call metro

crime stoppers at 1-866-7-lockup. word tonight a caregiver accused of leaving three blind, deaf and developmentally disabled men alone in a car has been fired. med source community services in frederick says it's severed all ties with 47-year-old brian fleming. fleming is accused of leaving the disabled adults in the locked car for about an hour while he ate lunch at a diner. he faces three counts of neglect and abuse of vulnerable adults. a woman killed in a crash on i-795 north past owings mills boulevard today. authorities say her car crossed the median and struck an utz potato chip truck at 10:30 this morning. we're told 21-year-old amy l. brooking was taken to sinai hospital where she was pronounced dead. the other driver was taken to northwest hospital and is expect toed to be ok. four days after a massive watermain break flood victims in dundalk are battling the threat left behind.

workers in white jump suits could be spotted coming and going from homes in the area where they were spraying disinfectant for potential mold. >> once it gets to a certain point it starts to spread throughout the entire house, gets behind walls and everything like that. >> reporter: taking a lesson from the aftermath of hurricane iswe is -- isabel five years ago the county worked quickly to pump out flooded basements. it's not just flooding damage. still we're told 26 homes in the area still don't have electricity. in light of the watermain break maryland senator ben cardin is calling on the senate to invest more in america's infrastructure. cardin says friday's flooding in dundalk was a dramatic reminder that infrastructure here "is in dire straits." and he says our situation is not unique. cardin and other senators proposed the water infrastructure financing act to provide more than $35 billion in funding for clean safe water

and improving the infrastructure. on the weather front we've had some water from the sky, not a lot but precipitation at times, especially north of the city. in fact on maryland's most powerful doppler radar right now we're seeing some showers that have previously doused i-83 making for a slick commute due north, now making it a little damp as you head toward perryville and even toward delaware, just a little precip coming down in that direction. overall, the big picture, you see a little more shower activity developing over northern virginia. that may cross our area here in the next couple of hours. for tonight, expect passing showers at times. not a heavy rain but there will be showers on and off throughout the evening and a muggy night. only down to 65 degrees. we just started fall 2009 today. and the temperatures are heading up into this first days of autumn. more on that and when we might see the sunshine again, in a few. taking a stand against the tan. howard county could soon pull the plug on tanning for minors.

if health officials get their way. this afternoon county officials and medical experts announced they will become one of the first communities in america to propose a complete complete ban on the use of indoor tanning beds by minors. while there's already oa law on the books requiring concept from parents -- consent from parents health officials say it's not enough. >> as society deemed it not correct or appropriate to have parents to -- we think the same should hold with indoor tanning beds as with cigarette laws. >> some say the impact on the businesses could be devastating. the proposal is being presented to the howard county board of health tonight. do you agree with the tanning bed ban for minors? log on to abc2news.com and look at the right side of the home page to vote in our on-line poll. by next year you could soon be playing slots right here in maryland.

the chairman of maryland slot machine commission says the panel is close to making a decision to approve the first slots license for the ocean downs racetrack on the eastern shore. in fact donald fry says we may hear something tomorrow. once approved fry says slotsz could be approved by memorial day of next year. state prosecutors say they are trying to find the source of mayor sheila dixon's unexplained cash. they say nearly $10,000 was deposited into her bank accounts over a period of about six weeks back in 2004. the mayor is accused of lying about gifts from former boyfriend and developer ronald lipscomb and stealing gift cards intended for needy families. she faces trial in november. first mariner ceo ed hale is reassuring customers after his company gets a cease and desist order from the government. the order found the company had taken part in unsafe and unsound practices but hale says they are already taking steps to correct the issues and meet

the fdic's requirements. he says they are getting rid of their bad debt and using a new york investment firm to raise capital. he's assuring customers tonight they won't see a change in business and that the bank will pull through. you'll have to trust me on that. >> the baltimore-based bank that we are, we can work our way through it and we really believe that. i have a lot of good people that are with me that believe we can do it as well. >> he says the company is selling off its finance unit to raise money and will also be looking at bank branches to assess their performances. as for customers he says they won't see any change in service. all around the country today including here in maryland people pushing for health care reform staged demonstrations. >> hey, united, you've got cash. why are you treating us like trash? >> this was in owings mills.

another one took place today in rockville. demonstrators rallied outside the offices of united health care. they said they want the company ceo to sign a pledge to support real health care reform. among those in the crowd, a doctor who says he had to leave his practice. >> because of the gains, you know, the trouble with billing, the difficulty in making a living, working long hours with all the administrative duties. >> protests are part of national day of action called big insurance, sick of it. 200 protests were planned nationwide. republican robert ehrlich, former governor, has not said whether he intends to run again in 2010. but a new poll suggests that democratic governor martin o'malley would lead in a rematch. 49% to 38% with 13% undecided. the survey has a margin of error of no more than plus or minus three and a half percentage points. this is the first official day of fall which means heating bills aren't far behind.

but help is available. to keep you and your family warm we have the details. more folks are use public transportation. in fact maryland reaches a milestone. ♪ all i want to - >> and does this ravens star carry a tune as well as he catches the ball? you be the judge. >> he's got the moves. i think you're going to save on the heating bills for the next few days at least. we're looking at 77, the official high today on this first official day of fall. and that makes it six days in a row for your two-degree guarantee. that means we have a winner today. hazel hammond terry from baltimore. you'll be getting a abc2 news umbrella. and you may need that umbrella. the next day or two. more on that after this. and that's how verizon fios works.

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derrick mason is a raven fan favorite on the field but today he took center stage hosting a karaoke party at a pikesville assisted living center. the wide receiver had his older fans singing and dancing along with the deejay joe. our photo journalist paul javy takes us to the show. >> we're here doing karaoke at the assisted living home. it's an opportunity for us to come out and have some fun. >> we're going to have some fun today, ok? i'm going to sing a lot of songs, all right? ♪ mama, i'm dependent on you to tell me the truth papa was a rolling stone -- come on, y'all got to sing -- ♪

♪ and forever it will be you and me ♪ >> come on, everybody say it with me, come on. ♪ ymca fun to stay at the ymca they have everything for what young men enjoy you can hang out with all the boys ymca it's such a shame our friendship had to end purple rain

purple rain♪ >> everybody take it on, come on. ♪ purple rain purple rain ♪ >> it was a pleasure and a joy and i really do thank you and appreciate you for allowing me to, my teammates and staff to come here and enjoy the morning with you ladies and gentlemen. >> oh, hurry. i like derrick mason, now i love him. he says he's planning on going to more assisted living facilities to continue his karaoke adventures. that was great. >> i think we have baltimore's hottest karaoke spot suddenly there. >> right there. >> looking good. how do you follow that act? >> reminds you of better times? >> i don't know. tough to say. for everyone watching out there, we have warmer weather to start off fall. good news. doesn't really, you know -- let's keep moving here.

take a look outside now. >> why don't you sing it? get the crowd going. >> yeah. i can't follow that. i can't follow the purple rain. i don't know. i don't have it. anyway -- let's look at the temperature now. 75 degrees. light southeast breeze no big deal at the moment. pretty quiet weather in baltimore. we had a few showers earlier, mainly north of the city but you see a lot of that just really fizzling out right now. you have to really get out on the i-95 corridor and even, not even quite there yet, a couple of light showers in the direction of rising sun. but that is about it. i still hear the karaoke crowd there just rocking out. 78 degrees today. that's where we topped out at. 76 its average. and you'll see the numbers get a little warmer over the next couple of days. low temperatures this morning, in the upper 50s, even in the 60s depending on exactly where you were. so getting back to a milder night here, even as we go into the first days of autumn. wouldn't you like to see some of that golden autumn sunshine? i think it will be several more

days, probably before friday before we see the sun break out again but we'll have the warm weather despite the clouds. south wind bringing up a lot of humidity, also warmer temperatures, 75 now in baltimore. same deal as you head over on the eastern shore. there's that round of wet weather, moving north of the city earlier today. a couple more showers, still brewing, lingering off to the west down towards the dc area. they make douse us with a couple of on and off showers tonight, just enough to make the roads slick and maybe a little dangerous when you get the oil that rises up with the passing shower. just keep that in mind tonight and into the day tomorrow. the east coast now getting much more active weatherwise. incredibly heavy rains in the deep south down towards mississippi, georgia and atlanta getting a break from the flooding. in maryland, mid-atlantic, scattered on and off showers. tonight, cloudy overnight tonight. it will stay cloudy. on and off shower, no steady soaking rain like in the

southland. so on the bay tomorrow look for a foot a chop, pretty decent day but cloudy. not a lot of sunshine until the end of the week i don't think. 65 tonight, cloudy, humid. a couple passing showers. during the day tomorrow, up to 80 degrees, scattered showers at times with the best chances probably coming toward the middle of the day. 7-day forecast, here's the trend, it warms up for the first couple of days of fall 2009. i don't know what that means for winters but it will cool us off. 57 friday. probably only -- 75 on friday. probably only into the 60s saturday. it will feel a little more like autumn. karaoke for me tomorrow, ok? as wyatt says it's the first day of fall, that means winter is not far pointed. so -- not far behind. bge held an expo to help people pay their utility bills. sherrie johnson has the story. >> reporter: tiki johnson needs help with her utility bill, this college student has two kids, finds it tough to make ends meet.

she hopes the energy assistance expo will get her family through the winter months. >> my bge is $2,056. i have a 4-year-old and 6-year-old i'm trying to provide for. i need help. they got to do something. >> reporter: dozens of people headed to the expo at union baptist church on druid hill avenue in west baltimore. bge teamed up with the office of home energy program and the upton community association to help qualifying customers in need of energy assistance. bge wants to be proactive. they want their customers to be ready for the cold weather and not wait until they are in a crisis to take action. workers talked to customers about ways to save on bills and ways to pay it. >> very important in this day and age when prices are high, customers need that extra help to get over the hump. to pay utility bills. we here today to assist them a little. >> reporter: new eligibility

guidelines, to qualify a household of one has a gross income of about $1,500. a household of two, a gross income of about $2,100. a household of three has about $2,600. tiki johnson hopes by applying for help early she can get her family safely through the winter months. >> the recession going on, it's a lot of problems and a lot of families and people can't afford, people losing out on jobs. it's a lot of things that would help provide, like, more food on the table for my children. >> reporter: sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> if you didn't make it to the energy assistance expo you can call this number, these numbers -- 410-396-5555. outside of baltimore city the number is 1-800-352-1446. more people are riding public transportation. in fact last year plairld had the -- maryland had the third largest transit ridership in the nation. we saw a 15% increase here. environment maryland says it

may be due in part to fuel prices and the sluggish economy. the group says increase in transit use not only relieves traffic congestion but reduces pollution and saves energy. >> environment maryland found that marylanders saved the gasoline equivalent of 105,000 cars by using public transportation last year. >> according to environment maryland in 2008 maryland save 60.7 million gallons of gas by taking public transportation. we'll be right back. ñó  ká

does your paycheck reflect this story? maryland is the nation's top earnings state. we'll have details. and new words of warning tonight about the threat of terrorism. local law enforcement advised to be on alert for possible attacks on hotels and sports complexes. we'll have more on that. that's all the time we have for abc2 news at 6:00. i'm marybeth marsden. thank you for joining us. we'll be back here tonight at 11:00. we hope you'll join us then. have a great evening. and enjoy this tune. ♪ hey, papa was a rolling stone -- another break.