trust fund. how much goes to each jurisdiction. >> delegates from counties where slots operate have been approved want to minimize the losses those counties and venues could suffer if a vegas style casino opens in prince georges county. prince georges delegates are eager to seal the deal. >> hopefully we'll come out with something that is fair and equitable. >> the bill would give maryland live the state's largest slot operator an extra 5% of a take in compensation. it would allow it and the other slot venues to add table games and operate 24/7, not enough say some delegates. >> it's going to destroy the gaming industry and the state of maryland. >> it's going to be a while. this bill has to be voted on, and go to the senate for a final look. the governor has to sign it and then finally in november, maryland voters get a final word. at the state house in

annapolis, armando trull, 9news now. >> new republican vice presidential candidate hit the campaign trail in the swing state of iowa today. just so happens, that's where president obama is on the ground touring around, scrambling for votes. the two have not crossed paths. congress member, ryan, came out swinging at the iowa state fair. this is his first solo campaign stop and he wasted no time in attacking the president on the economy. >> you're getting this country back on track. president obama has given us four years of trillion dollar plus deficits. he is making matters worse and he is spending our children into a diminished future. >> the president is taking his shots of the gop ticket while he is touring a farm in missouri valley. there he told supporters ryan is helping to block aid that could provide drought relief. >> if you happen to see congressman ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to iowa in our rural communities.

>> referring to house republicans blocking a farm bill over disagreements regarding food stamps. president obama's campaign is launching an ad assault onthe complete gop ticket. the latest ad, portrays romney and ryan as a threat to medicare. >> it seems ryan's selection is not playing too well with potential voters. a new gallop poll shows only 39% of american adults think ryan is an excellent or pretty good choice. 42% classify him as fair to poor. that is the least positive reaction for a vice presidential candidate since dan quail back in 1988. for the first time if two decades, a woman will moderate a presidential debate. the commission on presidential debates picked cnn as one of the moderators for one of the three showdowns between romney and president obama. cbs's jim lair and bob shaefer will moderate the other two. they are scheduled for month of

october. one man is dead and a police officer is in the hospital after a crash that really tied up the rush hour traffic this morning. it happened about 3:00 a.m. at the intersection of gum street and franconia road. one man who was driving an infinity veered into the path of a county police car. >> that car caught on fire. the driver was pronounced dead on the scene. nonlife threatening injuries. >> investigators spent hours going over the scene. at last check, they had not released the name of either driver. >> we want to warn you about this next story, because the images are graphic. two trucks plastered with graphic photos of aborted fetuses are driving around northern virginia this weekend. today, they hit the streets in springfield and leesburg. as peggy fox tells us, the reason they are here has everything to do with virginia being a critical swing state this election. >> why would anybody want to driver around a truck

displaying pictures of aborted fetuses. >> this is the truth. and the truth isn't pretty. and if this is okay, then it should be okay to put pictures of it out there. >> nicole regrets the abortion she had after being raped while she was serving in the military. the experience led her to work for cvr, the center for bioethical row form and antiabortion organization that uses graphic images. but some say the pictures are too disturbing for public display. on our wusa facebook page, amanda ray says she doesn't want her children seeing this. carrie underwood says it's sick, and barbra sanders says people die horrendous deaths every day, but we do not display this for children to see, does not matter if it's truth or not, do not subject children to your protest no matter what the issue. use some common sense. some opponents think the rolling billboard is a good idea. claire gardner says these pro- lifers are showing the truth of what abortion does. it is tough to explain to kids

because it is the gruesome murder of an unborn baby. most kids get that it's killing a baby no matter what a parent's views are. nicole says the bus tour is part of a voter campaign in the swing states. >> we are focusing on virginia, florida, iowa, and colorado to educate voters about what abortion is. and to raise visibility about this important issue. >> supporters of abortion rights agree that access to abortions needs to be asked of political candidates. but the head of the women's clinic questions the tactics. >> surprises me that you can go ahead and do a donation to this charitable organization even though they are doing political activity, which is totally against the irs code. >> fletcher armstrong, the cvr's director of the region tells 9news, they don't support any political candidate and that their voter education

campaign is perfectly legal. in springfield, peggy fox, 9news now. >> all right, this is one for the mail bag. what do you think about this? too graphic to show in public? supporters point out this is a debate about abortion and this is what abortion looks like. let's not forget our first amendment does not protect us from being offended. we're never offended by your thoughts. >> the u.s. department of agriculture taking another step to help out all those farmers affected by the drought. today, it announced it is buying up to $170 million worth of pork, lam, chicken, and cat fish. that will help farmers who are struggling to afford the high price of feeding all that livestock. of course that price is skyrocketing because the drought caused one of the worst corn crops we've seen in years. the meat will be used for food banks and federal nutrition programs. and as much as we could use rain, you couldn't beat today's

weather. top, you had to look. >> we had a break in heat and humidity. you're right. you know what? radar is quiet, but this time tomorrow night, different story. let's start with temperatures. very comfortable. in the 80s. 84 downtown. 81 in gaithersburg. and 86 in fredericksburg and 84 also over in annapolis and it is not humid at all. satellite picture, radar combined, showing some clouds over to west, showing some showers, too, through ohio and kentucky and that's what we are worried about tomorrow. tonight, no worries. partly cloudy and mild. open the windows. lows 66 to 74 downtown. we'll come back and talk about why we are issuing a code yellow for tuesday. >> thank you, top. still to come, a former montgomery county politician launches an effort to keep your electric bill down. we'll give you the details about the petition against the county's energy tax. but first, a major federal official blasts the airport

authority. some plans for those guys. we'll tell you about it up next.

st. steven's church finally back open again almost a whole year after it was damaged in last august's earthquake. the congregation held a rededication ceremony yesterday at the church. last year's quake caused more than half a million dollars of damage. more controversy tonight for the washington air force authority. ray lahood says he has serious questions about how the inlaws board is operating. all this after a recent audit found questionable spending and contractor deals. the hood tells the washington post he met with the maryland governor, martin o'malley, bob mcdonnell and vince gray about possible changes to that board. >> virginia's attorney general has filed a legal brief in a maryland gun case. that brief is in support of a

federal court ruling that struck down the maryland gun control law. that law grants permits only to people who can prove a good and substantial reason that they face a specific or imminent threat to their safety. argues the maryland law is too restrictive. the state of maryland is appealing the decision that struck down that law. up on capitol hill, the house filed a lawsuit against eric holder. the lawsuit demands that holder produced records related to the botched gun tracking operation, known as fast and furious. holder and the house republicans were sparring over holder's refusal to turn over documents and lawmakers then voted to hold holder in contempt of congress. denying release of documents. 80 degrees, no humidity. that's what you call perfect, especially in the month of august. but can we expect that to stick around? our faith in topper's forecast

in just minutes. but first, the ambulance fee is going forward after they struck a new deal. we'll tell you why the volunteer firefighters are dropping their fight against it. that's up next. [ male announcer ] the choice on debt... mitt romney's plan: huge tax cuts for millionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and corporations

that ship jobs overseas, adding trillions to the deficit. president obama's plan: a balanced approach that asks the wealthy to pay a little more, eliminates tax breaks for outsourcing and oil subsidies, cuts government spending, and reduces the deficit by four trillion. two plans. your choice. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

looks like montgomery county voters will not have the opportunity to directly weigh in on the recently passed ambulance fee. that is because the county's volunteer fire rescue association changed its mind and is no longer seeking a referendum on subject.

today, they announced an agreement on the fee with county executive. and now it's going to take effect january 1 and it will charge for calling an ambulance. county residents won't see a bill. instead, it will go straight to their insurance companies. the county expects to bring in $16 or $18. some will go to fire and rescue staffing or resources. >> the improvements are outstanding. and therefore because we feel this enhancement is going to benefit not only the public, but career and volunteer personnel as well, we will not go to referendum. >> that exact same proposal did go to a referendum in 2010 and the 54% of the county voters rejected it. they could g to decide the fate of the county's energy tax in november. today, community activists and former county delegate submitted more than 14,500 signatures to get the referendum going on that issue. he wants to require a unanimous

vote by the county council to raise that tax. now that comes after a split decision in may extended the 2010 energy tax hike. that petition needs 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot. so, joining me now to talk about that petition is robyn himself. thanks so much for joining us. >> my pleasure, derek. >> you have 14,000 signatures. let's talk about what is at stake here. that tax went up 155% for residents, 60% for businesses. your energy bill may have gone from $92 to $240 a year. the average business bill went from $2700 to almost $4400. these are the county council's numbers. why do you think it's not right for them to keep the tax going? >> they promised before the election that the energy tax increase would sunset in july of 2012. sunset means coming to an end, coming to a close of a period. then they changed their mind

after the election. every parent tells their child, every teacher tells their student, do what you say you're going to do and tell the truth. our county officials haven't learned that lesson. >> in defense of the county, nobody expected our recession to go as long and as badly as it has been. they are making $250 million in revenue off this tax. it's a little bit difficult to get rid of it now. >> their county budget increased 5.5% this year, including the tax increase and county benefits increased 8.5%. they should do what they say they're going to do. and the electricity tax increase was more than 150%. it went from about half a cent per kilowatt hour to 1.3 cents per kilowatt hour. that's an increase of 256%. plus, it's a regressive tax, derek. >> easy to stick around and say you can get rid of tax

cuts. you have to tell somebody hey, we are going to cut this, get rid of that. what would you get rid of to get rid of this tax revenue? >> the first thing i would do was show up at the public hearing where this tax was discussed. only four of nine council members even bothered to do that. then on the table, they announced that they were going to have a 30% increase in the energy tax. it was 60%. later on, they increased it to 256%. >> any programs to get rid of? >> i think we need to cut some of the county benefits. we are paying a lot of people for not working. look at the police disability. we are paying because they injured a finger. >> all right, sounds good, but we don't know. >> we appreciate your time. >> my pleasure, vote for that property tax question. >> it will be on the ballot. >> let's get to topper who has the weather forecast. >> here's a live look outside.

it's brought to you by michael and son. we have some clouds, but very pleasant. dew point up to 65. comfortable. winds out of the southeast at 11. pressure is steady, 29.95 inches of mercury. satellite picture, radar combined, there's a weak frontal boundary and it will roll through tomorrow night. ahead of it, a chance of showers and storms. we saw some heavier storms earlier tonight in through eastern kentucky, and back into georgia. they dispated a little bit. it's dry, just a couple of clouds rolling through, that's about it. and a dry morning commute as well. temperatures, very comfortable. 80 in great falls. 82 in vienna. 83 in bethesda. 83 in college park and 81 in bowie. okay, we're looking at the chance for big storms tomorrow. comfortable tonight. almost hot tomorrow. a little sticky, too. afternoon storms. some could be heavy, some could be severe and the main threat would be hail and strong, gusty winds. tonight, no worries.

open the windows. low 66 to 74. winds southwest at 10. inside the beltway in downtown. low to mid 70s. plenty of 60s north and west. 67 in gaithersburg. 68 in rockville. 68 in reston. 68 in fairfax. and even 68 over in bowie. 70 in college park. now tomorrow morning, i think we'll be dry, partly sunny. 70s and 80s. by afternoon, partly sunny conditions, almost hot, scattered storms. some heavy, some severe. high temperatures near 90. winds out of the sow west at 10. all right, next three days, code yellow because of the potential. 88. isolated storm on wednesday. 88. isolated storm on thursday, 90. we'll go code green wednesday and thursday. next seven days, hot on friday. low 90s. cold front comes through friday night. and that will give us a chance for good storms friday night and set the stage for a nice weekend, derek, low to mid 80s on saturday, sunday, and maybe a sprinkle on monday.

but for the most part, not bad. low humidity, temperatures in the 60s. >> if that cold front comes through slower. >> exactly. we'll be back. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back.

in the mail bag tonight, reaction to last week's interview regarding u.s.a. today's twitter meter, which ranks our presidential candidate based on positive or negative tweets. now as of today, president obama is 36 out of 100. mitt romney is at a 44. it is all a bunch of nonsense. your recent segment on the twitter meter is stupid. if wusa thinks that twitter

trends will prove the one will win, go ahead and preach to the choir, since most of your stories are puff choicefor your chosen candidate. i'm confused since the twitter meter is a nonpartisan thing and candidate rankings go up and down based on what millions of you are tweeting out there. is it stupid? i say the jury is out whether it means anything at all, which is what we said on friday. however, i thought it was interesting. meantime, craig said this about romney's new vice presidential pick. mitt romney needed to reach out to those voters between his positions and beliefs and president obama's. not those conservatives. i see paul ryan scaring those moderate and independent voters away. deja vu all over again? perhaps, but for now i'm taking the wait and see. will he help or hurt? we have to let this play out, but maybe that's just me. you might have your own take on it. i'd appreciate knowing about that, so hit the mail bag.

the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. don't forget to include your name and where you're writing me from. that is our broadcast. i'll be back at 11:00 along with anita brikman and topper shutt. you can log on any time to wusa9.com. enjoy the weather. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most-watched entertainment news magazine in the world. jennifer aniston's engagement. is the timing coincidental? the new brad and angelina wedding rumors. the recent report that janet and justin split. plus jennifer's connection to miley cyrus' extreme new haircut. the new vp candidate's wife, what you didn't know about janna ryan. >> we saw her in a kohl's dress this weekend. plus its first lady weighs in. >> this choice of paul ryan, were you surprised by that? >> kirstie alley back with maks. we're breaking down the explosive new "dancing" all-star pairings. >> and the star of "step-up revolution," ryan guzman. how do you think he'd do on "dancing with the stars" this. >> come on, nancy, i'll kill it. >> sexy for "instyle," j-lo. plusy