men. they say give me your camera, give me your money. he says what? that wasn't the answer they were looking for. they knock him to the ground they begin kicking him and beating him. they stab him a number of times in his stomach. things wouldave gotten far worse, had it not been for some people driving into work blasting the horns of their cars, scaring the suspects away. >> i think they deserved it and broke it up. i don't know if he wouldn't have been injured more if someone hadn't stepped in. >> the honking of the horns of the people ming to workforced them to stop beating on this man? >> that's correct. >> this woman was tking to a co-worker right there on the scene. she asked not to be identified. >> my co-worker calledme and said she was in the alley behind the shopping center, and that two men were beating up on an older gentleman. i said, i'm going to call 911. >> i talked to mike by phone. he's the shopping center

property manager, he came to the aide 69 victims. >> what did he say happened? >> he said that he was attacked by two young men and at first he didn't realize he was stabbed. then gave them his -- they took his camera, his cellphone, and he gave them the cash that he had. >> police say tonight the victim is in the hospital in stable condition. one suspect still at large. the other suspect was captured minutes after the attack. poce say he's 15 years old. said he goes to high school around here. they say he didn't go to school today. pat, back to you. >> thank you. baltimore police travel to virginia today looking for clues that cou have helped them prevent last week's deadly shooting at john's hopkins

hospital. the gunman lived in arlington. police searched his home and found another gun. right now there are no signs the crime was premeditated. he shot a doctor before he killed himself and his sick mother. the shooting is also prompted baltimore police to review emergency plans at hopkins and other area universities and hospital today police met with security offici officials at surrounding hospitals. all hadmergency planin place, but more work needs to be done to improve communications between those institutions and city officers. > a young political hopeful from our area who was hit by an suv over the weekend has died. police say natasha pettigrew died early this morning. she was riding her bike when an suv hit her. the driver told police she didn't realize she had hit a person until she got home and found the bike lodged beneath

her vehicle. at this point the driver has not been charged in the case. >> today families of people injured or killed by distracted drivers are among those gathering here for a national summit in washington. the goal is to raise awareness about the growing problem, and come up with ideas to stop it. nbc's tom ctello has more on that. reporter: the question is whether money will talk and force states to adopt zero tolerance policies on texting while driving some states are banning handheld cell phones in a car including maryland next month. as the injuries and deaths from the accidents continue to mount. >> we're probably going to need an ambulance for sure. >> the tractor-trailer jus slammed a couple cars behind me. looks really bad. >> within minutes, rescuers would learn just how bad. a 61-year-old truck driver texting whiledriving had plowed into eight cars at 65 miles per

hour causing horrific injuries. and klling two women. among them, 26-year-old heather heard on her way with her fiancee to et a walt disney world wedding planner. >> in four or five seconds it cost my daughter her life, and the family will never be the same. >> there wasn't a doubt that that was 100% preventable. no one should have to lose their life by somebody texting. >> the government reports distracted driving led to 448,000 traffic injuries and claimed more than 5400 lives in 2009. 16% of all traffic fatalities. the same percentage as in 2008, and up from 10%n 2005. and it's not justine agers. of those drivers involved in fatal ccidents, the 30 to 39 aged group had the highest proportion of cell phone

involvement. a portland bus driver reading s kine as he drove, steering with his elbow while he turned the page. the transportation secretary calls it a national epidemic. >> people have been so accustomed to having that cell phone in their ear or texting and driving. an while you're punching a number in your cell phone or texting somebody, and you go a little more than 4 seconds in a 3,0 pound vehicle, you drive the length of a football fld without looking at what's in front of you. >> reporter: secretary lahood has already gathered big names, including oprah to join his crusade against distracd driving. 30 states and d.c. now ban texting while driving. eight stes and d.c. ban handheld cell phones. >> because o texting, i won't be able to do a lot of things, walk my daughter down the aisle. or even hear her giggle again. >> after the accident, kim and russ went home to maryland and helped push through a top no

texting law there. their ultimate goal, a ban on everyell phone, pda, anything that can distract. >> that would be our goal. no phones, no texting. drive. >> here's the irony, florida, where heather was killed still has no law prohibiting cell phone use or texting while driving. virginia by the way, bans texting while driving, but it's a secondary offense there. police have to pull you over for something else first. i rode with fairfax unty police recently. and one of the officers express frustration. they would see somebody texting while driving but they couldn't pull them over because it's a secondary offense there. they had to get them on something else first. >> they're helpless otherwise. >> yes. >> and the kindle behind the wheel of a bus, isn't that atrocious? >> come on. authorities are reopening streets that were closed while investigating a suspicious

package. a pharmaceutical company received an unexpected package that was leaking an unknown liquid. hazmat teams determined the substance was not dangerous. the rematch between martin o'malley and former governor ehrlich appears to be neck and neck with six weeks to go until the general election. a new poll in the governor's race shows either candidate can win. chris gord season here now with this story. >> reporter: governor o'malley has a slim leadn the new poll, but when you te into account the statistical margin of error, it's up for grs. as of today,ds for the candidates will begin on washington tv stations as the campaigns battle for voters in the maryland suburbs. bob ehrlich is getting a boost from the new poll taken by the rasmussen reports. it shows martin o'malley at 50%. ehrlich at 47%. with a margin of error of 4%.

>> an incumbent in theluest of the blue state in a dead heat is in trouble. >> reporter: jennifer duffy, senior editor says the poll has something good for both candidates. >> 50/47, it's a three-point split. essentially the race is tied. if i'm the o'malley campaign, one of the things i take as positive out of that poll, he is at 50%. that means that ehrlich needs to chip away at his support. but this is notan uphill race. this race is tied. >> reporter: martin o'malley has raised a lot more money than his republican opponent and now is launching his first tv ad in our area, focusing on his commitment to education >> we've doubled the number of arter schools and froz college tuition for four years in a row. >> ehrlich's campaign is saving its mon for tv ads later in the campaign. the republican governor's sociation has bought tv time on his behalf, to compete for

the voters in the maryland suburbs arnd the belt way. >> martinwe maltly, higher taxes, fewer jobs. moving maryland backwards. >> that ad for ehrlich is called backwards, it's an attack on o'malley's theme, moving maryland forward. the ads show how contentious and costly this election could be. pat, jim, back to you. >> all right. it's just getting started. chris gordon, thank you. more sunshine on the last full day of summer, so when is it going to start feeling like fall? >> not just yet. doug kammerer is keeping tabs on the temperatures that are about to take off on us. >> they really are. many of you woke up this morning to temperatures in the 40s this morning, some areas around mt. airy, damascus coming in at 41 degrees this morning. that's definitely fall like over the next couple days, summer willry to make a big return. outsi right now, plenty of sunshine, bright blue excise, just a gorgeo afternoon.

all across the area. hagerstown maryland coming in at 77 degrees, 75 in baltimore, down toward culpepper, virginia. quantico and frericksburg coming in at 79 degrees. now, over the next few hours, we're going to see nothing but sunshine continuing. and clear skies tonight. a great night to get out and about, and we're going to see some chang. 73 by 9:00, 70 by 11:00. waking up tomorrow morning, temperature of 64 degrees. then we culd see a bump of 30 degrees tomorrow afternoon, say hello to the 90s. i'll show you how hot it gets coming up in my full forecast a little later on. >> we'll see you then. >> enough to make you sweat. >> it is, indeed. still ahead, it's not in a home this time or an office, you won't believe where bed bugs have shown up this time. >> we'll creep you out after the reak. a warning on the web, your personal information is being collected and traded online with every key stroke, and you may not even know it.

all cell phones emit radiation. how much is coming out of your phone? my story is coming up.

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we're following breaking news at this hour in greenbelt maryland. >> jackie benson is live on the scene with details of a woman shot and killed. what have you learned? >> prince georges county polce are here on the scene. homicide investigators are here, as well as crime scene technicians. this woman may have been shot in the parking lot, there is an extensiveection of this parking lot at this complex here in the 8500 block of greenbelt road. an extensive section, yellow taped off by police. we understand the woman collapsed inside that building.

we're told she's in her 30s. and the medical examiner is hre on the scene. this incident may have been witnessed by tree trimmers passing through the area at the time. i don't know if they were working here, but a numbe of them are being questioned by police. police are hoping they saw the gunman, the asail an in the this case who has peared -- is not here on the scene. i believe at is time, police are trying to figure out if anyone can describe this man. if they saw a vehicle -- if it is indeed a vehicle. if they saw a vehicle associated with this, anything. this investigation is in its preliminary stages, what we can tell you about, 2:30 this afternoon, a woman described as ing in her 30s was shot to death in broad daylight here at this apartment complex in the 8500 block of greenbelt road. back to you. >> thank you, jackie. doug joins ups now with word on our weather, and we are about to see a dramatic shift in degrees? >> big time. and if we hit 90 degreeshree days in a row, and i think we have a chance of doing that, it

would be another heat wave, only one day shy of the record. so, mother nature's trying to hold on to a little bit of summer. fall begins tomorro night at 11:09. moter nature is not taking that she's just saying, let's hold on to a little more summer. if this could be the hottest summer ever in the district. why not keept going, as we look out right now, a gorgeous day, a beautiful morning, this morning. a lot of you liking the temperatures on the cooler side. we saw temperaturesn the 40s this morning. temperatures right now, up to 80 degrees across the region. heat index up to 79 degrees. winds out of the south at 9 les an hour. once again a fabulous afternoon out there on this tuesday. 81 in frederick right no winchester, virginia coming in at 82 degrees. salisbury coming in at 76 degrees. look at the heat down to the south and west, 97 in memphis, 92 in cincinnati. that's theeat that's moving our way. this is record break heat in

this area. i don't think we'll set records higher, it's going to be quite hot. nothing but sunshine right now. that front is going to try to move through tomorrow, as it moves on down to the east. that's going to kick up a southwesterly wind. that's why we're going to get so hot tomorrow. it will be warm on thursday, and really hot, potentially on friday, with some areas potential getting upwards of 95 degrees. it's going to be a very hot day on friday, but the front will eventually move through on saturday, helping us cool off for the weekend. 52 to 63 degrees when you wake up tomorrow morning. temperatures will definely be on the hot side. not expecting ch humidity, it will be hot like july. 88 to 92 as you make your way out and about during the afternoon. here's the 4-day forecast showing 91 on thursday, 93 on friday. we may be warming than that, saturday coming in with the temperature of 80 degrees, we've been so dry, we really need to

see some rain. watching the system sunday into monday that could bring us a lot of rain. >> that's what w need. >> we do. >> thank you, doug. >> thanks, doug. ever since extreme phones became a necessity and not a novelty thereave been conflicting opinions about whether the radiation they emit is harmful. >> a u.s. city wants retail stores to post the amount of radiation again rated by the phones they sell. liz crenshaw joins us now with more on her exclusive story. most people have no idea that their cell phone has a special number. no, i'm not talking about your phone number. this is a number that measures how much radiation your phone emits. san francisco wants consumers to know that number before they buy a phone, which raises the uestion, what's the number mean, and do i need to worry about it? >> i tend to get some anxiety when my cell phone is taken away from me. >> we're a cell phone addicted society. >> i do text a lot at work, i wish i could stop, it's hard.

>> we spend hours on our phone, texting, e-mailing, teting. most experts agree, there is no conclusive evidence that cell phones are dangerous to our health. cell phones do emit radiation. >> the cell phone radiates energy in the form of an electromagnetic wes. >> reporter: cell phones emit the same kind of radiation that your microwave oven uses to cook food. what comes out of your cell phone is much less powerful than a microwave. >> a cell phone transmits on the order of -- up to about a watt of power, a microwave uses thousands times that much energy. >> reporter: the amount of radiation the phone generates is quantify quantified. the number is the maximum amount of radiati that a person's head will absorb whle using the phone. the federal communications

commission ss the sar must be below 1.6 watts per kilogram. why would the fcc have a top limit for this number? >> by limiting the amount of energy that is penetrating into your head, you limit t aount of temperature increase that you might experience as a result of using a cell phone. >> cell phone manufacturer's say as long as the phone meets fcc standards, there's no reason for concern. >> there's no safe, safer, safest that any device at 1/6 or lower is considered sa. there's no relative difference between them. >> others disagree. scientists say the main concern is for children. >> what this means for their health, they'll be using phones for all of their life. that's where all the questions are. and that's where scientists are most concerned. >> if you want to limit your

exposure or your child's exposure, experts say there are a few simple things you can do. use an ear piece for long conversations. text instead of talking. that keeps the phone away from your hd. limit phone use when your signal is weak. better reception means the phone doesn't have to gerate as much energy to reach the tower. >> if i took your cell phone away, what would happen? >> i would probably have a mini-meltdo. >> you can find your phone's sar number, but it's not as simple as looking for a big number on the packaging. manufacturer's list them on their websites. i found mine buried in my owner's manual. the fcc has some of the sar numbers listed on its site. take a look if you'd like to. >> very interesting. learned a lot there. thank you, liz. when we come back, the battle of the bulge now comes with a hefty price tag. why being overweight is taking a toll on your wallet and health. it's not a bird, it's not a

plane, is a homemade flying machine. and the local librarians singing the budget blues. we'll show you the youtube sensation getting a lot of national attention. diabetes testing? it's all the same. nothing changes.

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here we go. boston considers banning the sale of sodas in all city buildings. pigeon takes on technology. and thrillseekers head to china to test their homemade fly

ing devices. a ban were passed, you could still drink a soda in a city building, but you would have to bring your own bottle. call it the power of flight, a pigeon carried a computer memory chip across britain faster than a computer could upload it. it w erased to drive home the rural broadband problems in the u.k. activists released birds carrying a memory chich a five minute video. they tried uploading it to you tube at the exact same time. the pigeons won. and only a quarter of the video ever uploaded. aviation enthusiasts tried out their homemade contraptions in china today. the machines had a chance to stay in the air for a few moments. there were 40 conttants, the

winner managed to travel more than 200 feeteforehanding in the water with belly flops. up next, bed bugs creep into a local library. see what's being done to get rid of the pesky problem. the fda is deciding whether to improve genecally modified salmon. would grocery stores be allowed to carry fish injected with growth hormones without your knowing abo it. the top 100 communities in americ

a fast forward through the headlines, baltimore police were in arlington searching the home of the man accused in the john's hopkins hospital shooting. he wounded a doctor and killed his mother and himsel last thursday. police found a handgun in their search today. so far no clues that the shooting was premeditated. a young political hopeful from our area has died after she was hit by an suv over the

weekend. police say natasha pettigrew was riding her bike nea prince georges community college when an suv hit her. the driver who said she didn't realize she had hit a person has not been charged. hazmat official notice district have issued the l clear and have reopened streets that were closed during the investigation o suspicious package today. fire officials say a pharmaceutical company located at 950 f street got an unexpected package that was leaking an unknowliquid. has matt tams determined the liquiwas not dangerous. mother nature is trying to do a little rewind. rewinding back to the middle of summer, where we saw those temperatures in the 90s. we have more 90s on the way. 80 degrees out there, with plenty of sunshine, humidity only 37%, winds out of the south at nine miles an hour. nice night, 63 in washington.

fredericksburg coming in around 59 degrees. as we look to the highs tomorrow, a lot of areas with a forecast temperature of 92 here in the district. it gets even warmer tard the end of the week, and then chance of rain. i'll show it to you one more time coming up in my full weather. >> thanks, doug. a maryland community is on alert after bed bugs turn up in a likal library. >> it happened in urbana. where a worker discovered the bed bugs in a children's book. >> reporter: the creepy discovery happened saturday morning. they quickly sealed off that part of the building. in the urbana library, insects are popular, from the giant ladybug on the children's section wall to the movie, "a bug's life" now there's a sign warning patrons of a bed bug alert. >> i had a friend th said

you're crazy going there, they have bed bugs. >> reporter: a staffer noticed some unwanted insects turning up inside the book drop. >> incredibly fortunate that our sta member used to work in a hotel, and received training what to look for for that kind of bug. she knew what it was right away. >> reporter: library officials quickly decided they were no match for beg bugs. pest control experts told them to take the books and put them inside this van. the van was parked a short distance from the library and locked with about 200 books and the bed bugs inside. experts say they plan to bake out the pests. >> we're told the temperature needs to rch 120 degrees for 30 minutes, and we have installed special temperature gauges in the truck. i'm not sure if we've reached

that yet. but i know we're close to it. >> reporter: in the meantime, the library has been fumigated twice as a precaion, with patrons unconcerned about the small scale infestation. >> they had an exterminator, they showed me what they did to find out the problem ad erradicate it. >> the stink bugs are bad enough. i hope they have them all gone an it was just a freak thing. >> reporter: library officials hope it's a freak thing too. they did call the patr who dropped off the book with the bedugs inside to let them know there was a problem. they've had a pest control company to treat all facilities and theook mobile delivery truck to make sure the proem stays isolated. >> thanks, jane. police have made a second arrest in a string of robberies that have plagued the university

of maryland. andrew hillaks turned himself in in connection with a robbery. he can be seen toward the back of the store wearing a blue shirt. last week police arrested 19-year-old karner jaw. one more man still at large this afternoon. news for your health tonight, the fda is deciding whether grocery stores will have to flag genetically modified fish it if it goes up for sale. it's possible stores will start carrying salmon injectedwith growth hormones without customers knowing. fda rules require no label if the agency decides salmon has the same material make-up as conventional salmon. a federal advisory committee decided yesterday more testing is needed. carrying too much weight can take a toll on your alth and your wallet. obese women will spend more than $8,000 a year in added expenses. that's according to a new report

by george washington university on the individual cost of obesity. overweight men will spend an extra $6500 annually. the costs are associatedith things like medical care, disability, missed work and insurance. three local communitieses have been named among the best inthe country for young people. america's promise alliance put alexandria on the list for its programs that engage children a teens, including thecity's youth council and mentoring partnership. prince william ounty's ted for its investment programs. calvert county, maryland made the list for its strides to improve educatn. still to come tonight on news 4 at 5:00, the next time you surf the web, consider this. how some websites were able to track your moves online, and sell it to marketers without your pmission. and it's a story of

survival, folks, local librarians put a musical spin to tackling budget cuts. and it's already paying o

in historic studio a, we have a special presentation taking place right now. the heritage essay contest is about to be made. ts is to highlight the beauty and importance of diversity in america. this is the tenth year that temundo and nbc 4 have partnered in this project to sponsor the essay contest. there are ten students all here tod with their parents and teachers and judges. d the judges have whittled the field down to five finalists, the finalists are in the process of reading their essays.

they put their own experiences in america into words. our partners, general manager of telemundo of washington, d.c.. nicole, this is a wonderful experience always for the kids. you got to read a lot of the essays? >> i did. i got to read the essays, it's a wonderful gift for me, it's very refreshing to see that while all our studts were not hispanic, they came from all walks of life. they do understand the importance and significance of hispanic heritage month. that was wonderful. this is something everyone understands and takes part of. >> are you willing to present the grand prize winner momentarily? the students are excited and all the essays are good. would youay they're ambassadors of diversity? >> i'm super excited simply, because programs like this really encourage students to celebrate their culture and elevate it.

it's importantthat they position themselves. i think programs like this create pride and diversity, courage diversity. we're super excited to be able to partner with nbc as we have for many years, i can't wait and i look forward to the grand prize winner. >> that winner looks forward to the presentation too. thank you, lisa and nicole. in a few minutes, we'll find out who the grand ize winner is, and get a chance to ta to them. it's a wonderful program and an opportunity for the students to learn what it means to write and be a leader. >> big day nxt door. nice rnout too. jim vance joins us with a peak of what's coming up aat 6:00. >> a long time teacher at a d.c. private school will not have to go to scale after facing sexual abuse charges. a group of d.c. kindergarteners proved it doesn't have to be black htory month to celebrate

their heros. those stories and more coming up. we'll be right back.

right here in this neighborhood, i grew up learning strong families and hard work means opportunity. and that starts with good schools. it's a tradition here in maryland-- and why in these tou times i've put education first. we've made record investments in our classrooms... doubled the number of charter schools.. and we've frozen college tuition for four years in a row. and it's working. experts say we now have the number one schools in the nation. when it come to expanding opportunity in every neighborhoo i know that we must do even better.

it started with budget cuts in stafford county and turned into a youtube sensation with an unlikely group. >> they're getting attention for their music parody that pokes fun at how they're dealing with less funding. this is something, john. >> their book budget this year is the lowest it's been in ten years. with more patrons cing in who could use their services they felt like they were being stretched thin and moral is running low. they created a funny music video you have to see to believe. >> another day at the library, huh? ♪ >> reporter: these are librarians like you've never seen them before. >> people havehis image of

librarians, we're not like regular people. but we are. we don't usually dance on e tables but -- >> after hours, w knows. >> reporter: carolyn and her co-workers put together this over the top remake of gloria gayner's "i will survive." ♪ >> reporter: but this goofy rendition has an underlying message. libraries around the country are having todo more with less. >> how are we goingto get through this? we've had cuts to hours, our book budget has been slashed, we're busier than ever? how will we survive? and it just came to us, we will survive. so far so good. >> reporter: this was intended to be moral booster at an

upcoming training event. >> it's easier than you might eect. the librarians i work with are amazingly professional. but they're also very personable and enthusiastic about their libraries antheir jobs. >> reporter: the librarians are hoping the powers that put the budget together for next year seat video and will understand their frustration. if you'd like to take a look at the entire video, come to our website and seach libraries will survive. >> that's just too funny. they oughtto charge for the downloads, a lot of ople watching. >> that's so catchy. turning now to sports. >> lindsay sits down for lunch with nick backstrom. >> alex ovechkin is the obvious superstar on the capitols ross sister, but backstrom is really the glue for the team.

after his first 100-point season last year, the caps signed him to a ten-year $67 million contract. backstrom immediately gave back to his parents who helped nurture his hockey career while growing up in sweden. as for his life in d.c. he's adjusting quite well. he met me for lunch at cafe milano. ♪ >> reporter: you're from sweden, but you sa it feels like you're coming home to d. you've only been here a few years. you really like the city? >> yeah, i do. especially when i signed a contract for ten years, i have to feel like home. no, it's good. i like it here, i like the people here, the whole city, so -- >> howifficult is it to get over the language barrier?

you speak very well, i know it wasn't that way for you when you first got here? >> no, it was hard. it was hard. we have english in school, but i wasn't that good. >> really? >> i was kind of ke, it wasn wasn't -- was embarrassing to come here the first couple times, i didn't speak. it's something you have to get usedto. you're an american, and all the cultures and everything speak english, if you want to understand them, have you to speak english. >> how did you learn it? >> i just tried to pick up a few wordsvery day. the guys in the locker room. >> do not try to adjust the picture. there is nothing wrong withour tv. >> any certain shows you watch? >> i watch all kinds of shows, like -- i don't want to tell it on tv it's embarrassing. >> like what?

>> girl shows. >> jersey shore. >> that's not embarrassing, a lot of people like that. >> "two and a half men." >> as lng as you're not saying "sex and the city" we're good. >> i actually watched that show too. >> i love that show so i'm not going to knock on you. you are a guy that everyone sees that makes your teammates better, there are a lot of people that think you're the core of this capitals team. do you like that role? you're kind of understated, you know? >> yeah, i mean -- i mean, somebody tel me i'm that guys, i mean, i'm okay with it, i'm just trying to do my best out there. andelping the tm.

everybody wants to win, you have to g together as a group. >> he's a big timeoal scorer himself. he feeds ovechkin so he can make the big plays. backstrom is so interesting, i wish we had 30 minutes with him. he's building a gorgeous house in sweden, he has a lot going for him. and one heck of a personality, we'll see more of as the years role on. >> as long as he doesn't pick up a jersey shore accent. >> exactly. >> tha's unlikely. >> i loved it when he watches sex and the city. i could watch that showll day. >> who knew. >> thanks. your personal information is floating in cyberspace for everyone to see. >> how some companies are able to track your trail online.

you may not realize, but every time you're online, someone is watching you. >> garvin thomas reports on how every cyber step is tracked all in the name of marketing. >> reporter: you would never know it by looking at colin that he recently moved tohe bay area from montana. you wouldn't know it, but there's a company that does. >> yeah, i'm from great falls, montana. >> reporter: that same company also knows colin's hobby is fly fishing. and he's thinking of buying jewelry. they also know greg two tables over likes motorcycles as well as a thing or two about jessica

usefi. this is going to tell zblefrg in the market for video games? >> yes. >> reporter: just one company amon many, involved in the growing business of tracking what you buy, what you search for and sometimes simply what you look at online. the website allows you to see what it has collected. the information is then packaged up and auktsed off to internet advertisers looking to better target their adds. meaning if colin happens to be looking at jewelry one day, and a jewelry ad pops up a day later, it's likely not a coincidence. >> it's weird to have my information out there what i'm looking at on my computer. >> reporter: how do companies get this information? well, according to a recent wall street journal investigion just by visiting the 50 most popular websites more than 3,000 pieces of third party tracking technology are downloaded on to a user's computer. some of it simple, some of it

very complex, almost all of it withou the user's knowledge. >> it's very unusual to find sites that don't have this kind of third party tracking embedded in them. >> i think that most people have no idea this is happening. and when you show them evidence the information that's been checkeded about them, their jaws drop. it's quite hoer fig rrifying to that someone who you've never heard of knows all this stuff about you. >> no one really knows just how much information is collected. how long it's held or who's buying or selling it. >>here's a benefit to online tracking. it could bring you ads that you care about, or products you care about. and it may even help sa should money. pros and cons there. >> yeah. >> that's it for news 4 at 5:00. news 4 at 6:00 starts right now.

an appraiser was robbed and stabd at a strip mall while he was just trying to do his job. housing starts were up a bit last month. it may not be enough to prevent another recession. nine american troops killed in afghanistan. we begin tonight with the senate's refusal to repeal the law that bans gays from serving openly in the military. good evening. >> the vote to end the measure known as don't ask don't tell stalled in the senate today. it came down to a partisan vote. seate republicans blocked the bill 56-43. democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed. steve handlesman jos us from capitol hill with a fight that's not over. >> reporter: