legislators are now getting a review. >> all right, so why now? is this because of our question? >> well, it would seem because of our questions and the angry response from consumers and now legislators. pepco says it is because of the recent storm. now people's responses are getting action today. customer anger and online comments about pepco and bge, charging you for money they couldn't bill during that outage. they are being heard. your complaints are being heard loud and clear and that could change everything. >> that is so unfair summed it up for many, including maryland state senator, brian for montgomery county. >> it just makes no sense. >> at maryland state house, a year ago, he lost a battle to ban billing for lost storm income. he'll introduce legislation again in 2013 to outlaw charging you to make up for

utilities lost revenue. >> i can't understand why they should collect from me when they are not providing any service. >> a bge spokeswoman says the public service commission should be considering this, not the legislature. that this charge is not profit, but used for services and new equipment, infrastructure in the system. pepco on this particular issue would not comment saying they haven't seen the proposal, but the big news of the past hour, pepco now for the first time reviewing the possible undergrounding of all the overhead wires. >> it's interesting because of all the conversation about how expensive the conversation would be. >> bruce johnson had the president on the set saying why aren't you doing this? and at that point, it seemed they weren't going to consider it. now there's an official review. >> we'll see what happens. thanks so much. back into the studio. >> campaign is getting heated. president obama is linking his rival tax plan to sending

america's jobs overseas as danielle nottingham reports, he layed out his plans while his rival defended his business record. >> president obama brought his campaign to ohio for the second time in less than two weeks. >> hello cincinnati. >> at a town hall meeting in cincinnati, he tried out a new line of attack against his republican rival. the president claims mitt romney's tax plan would ship jobs overseas at the expense of middle class voters like the ones in the battleground state. >> governor romney's economic plan would create 800,000 jobs. there's only one problem. the jobs wouldn't be in america. >> the obama campaign recently launched a tv ad claiming romney did just that as the head of bane capital. the president is brushing off criticism that he is running a negative campaign. >> we have done a whole slew

of positive ads. those just don't get attention. >> romney and his camp are pushing back hard. romney says the president is misdirecting his energy and insists he has his facts wrong. >> so a campaign based on falsehood and dishonesty does not have long legs. >> and romney's fellow republicans are jumping to his defense. >> people are not worried about the details as to when mitt romney left to save the olympics. the details of his assets, they are worried about their jobs and their family's future. >> the former governor headed south monday to raise campaign cash with louisiana governor, bobby jindal. jindal has been mentioned as a potential running mate. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. >> first lady, michelle obama will be back on the campaign trail in virginia. she is scheduled to visit fredericksburg on friday. >> federal officials just announced new safety standards

nationwide and that includes our own metro. these unprecedented guidelines come after a pretty rough weekend for the metro when a computer software glitch left hundreds of passengers stranded. andrea mccarren is live with these new federal standards. andrea. >> after that terrible red line tragedy in 2009 that left nine people dead, 76 injured, the maryland delegation really led the way in pushing for reserious bodily reform and pushing for national safety standards. >> we see ourselves as safety officers. we're going to continue this work. we passed the legislation. >> hard to believe that until now, there was not a single federal safety regulation for metro trains or any other passenger train nationwide. >> since 1964, we have had a gaping loophole in transit safety oversight. >> there was an absence.

this is the nation's transit system. our nation depends upon the metro here. >> among the safety measures, now under consideration, a minimum standard for a train car's ability to withstand a crash. data recorders or black boxes on each metro train, work rules, including hour of service limits so metro conductors can get enough sleep between shifts. >> this is the best advance in transportation system safety in years. >> legislators have done what they needed to do. give the authority to establish these safety standards. it's now up to metro, the operators, and the regulators to make sure that promise is fulfilled. >> now each rail transit agency across the country will submit a safety plan and those who don't meet the new standards will be subject to a loss of grant money or other consequences still to be determined.

reporting live. i'm andrea mccarren, back to you. >> we would note that metro is investigating exactly what might have caused this weekend's computer problem. and it's also trying to figure out what brought the red line to a halt at dupont circle this morning. first, the system tweeted out about a brake problem and at 8:47, a tweet saying the station was shut down. at 8:51, a tweet that the station reopened came out, but 21 minutes later, a tweet that the station was shut down again. everything was back open by 9:22. here is somebody that wants more gambling in maryland. consider your odds about 50/50. that's how the governor sizes it up. today he met with leaders of prince georges and montgomery counties and the city of baltimore. they talked about building a new casino in prince georges county and adding table games such as blackjack at all maryland casinos. the governor says progress is being made toward holding that special legislative session this summer to expand gambling in maryland. new at 6:00 tonight, the

pentagon will be chipping in $180 million to help widen route 1 in virginia. specifically, we are talking about a 3 1/2 mile stretch of the road. that money would help widen the road from 4 to 6 lanes and also improve access at the bases gates. >> tonight, police are hoping you can help them bring a 75- year-old man home. stop for a moment, take a look at this picture. this is oscar henry washington. he was last seen in the backyard of his daughter's home in bowie. he was wear ago green button shirt and black dress shoes. if you have seen mr. washington, please give police a call. more problems tonight for george zimmerman. coming up at 7:00, disturbing new allegations against the man accused of killing 17-year-old trayvon martin. we'll see you at 7:00. >> still to come in this half hour, derek, more than half of the country is suffering from drought conditions. topper. >> we are looking at a couple

thunderstorms on radar. we'll take you out with the almanac. hot today, hotter tomorrow. 96 and 76 go in the books. average is 89 and 72. we'll come back and talk about the prospect of anymore storms tonight and heat coming in tomorrow. >> first, one airline, two problems. we'll tell you why it was a dream come true for some passengers and a nightmare for the rest. that's next.

a big glitch appears to be giving lucky travelers a deal of the lifetime. united airlines posted round trip tickets to the u.s. to other cities in asia for just four frequent flier miles. and the blog says several people not only took advantage, they got on the plane the same day. united says it is looking into the issue, but it's not yet

said if it will honor those fares for the future or not. more than 200 united airlines passengers are back in the u.s. tonight after a three- day ordeal in china. flight 87 was supposed to fly from shanghai to newark last wednesday. first the flight was canceled, then because the new park didn't arrive and then again because the crew ran up against time restrictions. that led to pretty fed up customers to mutiny at one point blocking the jetway to keep everyone from boarding another plane that had been promised to them. passengers, steve beroka gave new jersey.com this video of the pilot trying to calm them all down. they finally flew home on saturday. >> okay, that is one crazy delay. author steven has died tonight. he was 79. he wrote several books that sold millions of copies. now he was badly hurt in a bicycle accident three months ago. we're told he died from

complications arising from those injuries. coming up. after years of debate, some changes are coming to the vietnam veteran's memorial.

an update on what police are calling a deadly hit-and- run over the weekend. it happen saturday night on the intersection of university boulevard. today police called to tell us that upon further investigation, they believe only one vehicle hit a woman who was not in the crosswalk. they are still looking for the older model. four-door toyota that they thought left the scene. they want to talk to that driver because they could have valuable information in this case about what happened. a bizarre accident led to a man being run over and killed in fair mount heights this weekend. >> scott broom on oats street in capital heights where survivors of a bizarre wild west style armed robbery on saturday night. described how one of their

acquaintances ended up being killed, run over by a car. >> bradford was a comcast cable installer with two children who just got out of his work truck and walked up just as three gunmen had ordered a group of friends to the ground in the middle of an intersection to rob them. as the robbers turned their attention to a woman in a car, she hit the accelerator and fled, running over mccoy and killing him. george coleman was one of the victims on the ground, still this disbelief. >> it could have been me. i don't know why. it happened so quick. and she just panicked and took off and happened to be up under the car. >> mr. mccoy's work van, a marked comcast truck was stolen during the robbery. it was recovered in washington late yesterday. in capital heights, scott broom, 9news now. >> those in charge of what gets built on the mall have given a preliminary okay to an

educational center dealing with our nation's military history. the people behind the vietnam veteran's memorial have been pushing for this idea. near the lincoln memorial that would trace to the present and beyond. if all goes according to plan, the new center could be open in two years time. we have breaking news as well. virginia's attorney general refused to certify the new abortion clinic regulations passed by the virginia board of health last month. republican's office said in a memo today that the board exceeded its authority. the memo sites an amendment that struck a provision that would have required clinics to meet the same strict building standards as any new hospital. supporters complained that the standards would force most clinics to close. the regulation still must go to the governor who could order the board to reconsider. the drought this year could impact how much you pay at the grocery store. parts have been hit hard by a

lack of rain, which has really taken a toll on the supply of corn and soybean. it's hard to know how much you'll end up shelling out for everything from milk to meet. some suggest milk and salad dressings could soon see a price hike. it's time to stock up on meat. >> a stark contrast this year from the flooding along the mississippi river last may. this year, water levels are so low that cargo barges are running aground and operators are lightening their loads. that means less money on each trip. >> this really is a nationwide program. >> it is. it is certainly worse in the last 30, 40 years. in fact, a map to show you how much of the country is under a drought. 61% of the u.s. is under a drought. it's the highest percentage in 12 years. get this. over a thousand counties in 26 states are now a natural disaster area. so, you see the yellow.

that's essentially a mild drought, but you see the pockets of red there in the midwest, that's big time drought. on the flip side, we'll take you to japan. this is how weather works. they have flooding. the island in southern japan over 12 inches of rain. 30,000 people have been evacuated. and a lot of fatalities. this is serious stuff over there. and again, 12 inches of rain in a four-day period in southern japan. all right, we'll go back to our drought and put it into local text here. ab normally dry for the entire metro area. grass is probably turning brown. the water table is still okay. 5, 6 inches behind for the year. a moderate drought, especially southern montgomery county, prince georges county, back into southern maryland. and then a severe drought continues over the dell morva, which is troubling. i like silver queen corn and they are having problems. they had a dry spring and dry

summer as well. let's talk about, it's gorgeous here downtown. we have partly cloudy skies. high was 96. here's a live weather cam brought to you by michael and son. showers northerly. pressure falling. zoom into a couple storms. we have been following these all afternoon long. they are hefty. this is a big storm. it has heavy rain around bryan's road. it is pushing off to the south and east. weeker storm south of brandy wine, and eventually toward hughsville. this is a pretty big storm through st. mary's city, all the way down 5 to the tip of the county headed for the bay. again, yellow, half an inch of rain per hour. so that's pretty big-time stuff. we'll zoom back out and put this into motion. the storms will continue to weaken a little bit and move south and east throughout the evening. all right, temperatures.

85 arlington. 82 in bethesda. 83 in fairfax. still 91 in college park. so, it is going to get hotter. isolated storm tonight and triple digits possible tomorrow. afternoon storms possible tomorrow evening and still very hot on wednesday. for tonight then, early thunderstorm, then partly cloudy and muggy. lows in the 70s. we're talking upper 70s downtown. tomorrow morning, hot by lunchtime. 72 to 94 by afternoon. afternoon storms again. some could be heavy. high temperatures near 100. code yellow the next three days because of heat and storms. 100 wednesday. afternoon storms on thursday. 94. even a better chance of storms on thursday. next seven days, front goes through us and friday maybe some storms, but at least under 90. saturday, maybe a left over shower, but we're in the upper 80s. that's pretty good and back in the low 90s on monday. so get ready for some triple digits. i resisted that last week. i said 100.

>> couldn't keep it away. i don't know how many basketball stars you can get under one roof, but i think we figured out how to get them all there. >> what a great team u.s.a. a lot of people comparing them to the dream team. but we have a good chance for gold this year. basketball fans getting a chance for an up close look at this year's mens and womens olympic basketball team. we'll take you live to the verison center where both team u.s.a.'s are playing tonight. plus, are there big changes on the horizon for the university of maryland athletics? we'll address those rumors. sports coming up next.

and now, 9sports. the best sports in town. >> tonight at the verison center, it is all about team u.s.a. both the women and the men's olympic teams are in town playing exhibition matches before heading over to london. the women today taking on brazil. tamika catching. she gets the block, goes for the fast break. she is able to convert with the layup. that puts u.s.a. up by 18. right now they lead by 20. having a good exhibition there. of course after the women are finished, the men take the court. folks have been lining up all day to get a glimpse of team u.s.a. dave owens has been out there with them. he joins us live from the

verison center. hey dave. >> reporter: i tell you what, the men going for gold as well. going through a couple exhibitions just like the women before they head over to london. this being one of them tonight. we have been following this team for the last couple of days, of course, as they practiced over at george washington university. it's also a homecoming for a couple of guys. we heard from kevin durant earlier in the day. here is carmelo anthony talking to guys he knows very well. >> such a huge honor. >> it's a great feeling. a great accomplishment to be playing for my country. >> and some kids from carmelo's neighborhood got a chance to hoop it up today at the skills clinic at the d.c. armory. kids got a chance to try out michael jordan brand equipment. all the things to see if they could fly, too, and see how it works on the court. anthony was supposed to attend, but couldn't because the practice team got moved up.

there was a conflict. full highlights coming up. back to you in the studio. it's a very busy day for you in particular at college park. >> thank you, dave. yes, lots of news coming out of college park. two weeks after making massive cuts at university of maryland. athletic director, kevin anderson, may be on his way out. anderson is in his second year of a five-year deal. according to the san francisco chronicle, anderson is in talks with stanford, university, for the same job. anderson told the washington post today that is not true. anderson took over as athletic director in 2010 inheriting a problem with serious financial problems. we'll of course continue to follow this story and bring you the latest as we get it. >> all right, that is it for us. the cbs evening news is next. >> join derek at 7:00 for the area's only local newscast. >> and don't forget, wusa9.com is always on. have a great night. good night, everybody.