okay folks, and andrea mccarren is inside the courtroom right now. both families are inside as well. we will of course keep a close eye on this and derek, we're going to continue to monitor all of these details as they are happening. >> ken, if you could ask your legal expert, what is the difference between premeditated murder and the second-degree murder. >> the difference between first degree and second degree murder and then the difference in the penalty now that she could face. >> and that is life without parole versus 30 years and she would have been eligible with the second-degree murder, the maximum statutory penalty is a mere 30 years. she would have been eligible for patrol in 15. it was an extreme important verdict for the prosecution and for the family of jayna murray. >> i think a lot of people agree that they expected this to come back so soon. because you saw that the judge didn't dismiss people for the day. like how he has during the past couple days here. everyone stayed. so that was probably one of the first signs that this verdict w

andrea mccarren is monitoring the situation from our satellite center. what's going on? >> derrik sweeney is a georgetown junior. he has been spending this semester abroad. the three young men lined up against a wall looking scared. 19-year-old georgetown student, derrik sweeney is on the right. >> he believes in democracy. he believes in standing up for what you believe in. >> egypt's interior ministry says the three american college students were throwing bombs at security forces. this cell phone video shows them wearing scarves across their faces during a demonstration. >> are we surprised he would stand up for what he believes in? no. >> arrested with sweeney were luke gates, an indiana university student and 19-year- old, gregory porter. on gate's twitter page, he writes of tear gas being fired

our andrea mccarren joins us now from rockville with more information. andrea? >> j.c., right now, the jury is looking at some of those gruesome color autopsy photographs depicting the 331 injuries suffered by victim jayna murray. the medical examiner testified that jayna murray was alive for all of those injuries. her heart was beating. she had a pulse. blood was flowing to her wound. it was a stunning decision, j.c. by the judge this morning, despite defense objections to allow the jury to see any of those autopsy photographs. ultimately, he had decided that the jury would see nine of the 37 that the medical examiner took during the autopsy. joining me now is our legal analyst jeanie cho with more on that. the extreme impact, i'm sure. >> andrea, my nearly 20 years as a prosecutor and defense attorney, i've never seen photographs that were that savage, that were that evil. >> i must say as well that the murray family, for the first time since this trial began, actually left the room. the norwood family, it was brittany norwood's -- both of her parents as well

a motorist flagged down our photographer thomas james and reporter andrea mccarren and asked them for help. andrea tells you what happened next. >> an erratic driver in a green suv traveling in the wrong direction on university boulevard. frantic bystanders flagged us down and asked us to call 911. >> i don't see -- >> despite two flat tires, the driver crossed the median, hit the curb, straddled the center line and passed out behind the wheel. we called 911 and flagged down a police car. >> university boulevard. >> remarkably, he came too and kept driving another block before being intercepted by police and paramedics. they said the man suffered a medical emergency and they don't believe alcohol or drugs were involved. andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> we have a health alert about a topic being debated for years. violent video games. playing video games could affect the way the brain functions. researchers at the university of indiana studied 22 healthy guys ages 18 to 29. after one week, the men who played the violent games showed less brain activity. the studies author say they hope t

andrea mccarren, 9fuse now. back to you. >> thank you so much, andrea. meantime, the man accused of killing a woman and her son is back in maryland tonight. curtis lopez was transferred from a north carolina jail this morning. he is charged with the murder of jane mcquain inside her germantown home and the body of her 11-year-old son, william, was found in the woods a week later. matt. >>> attempted abductions in northern virginia have residents and police on alert. the latest happened at the intersection of kings hill court in the mt. vernon section of alexandria. >> i'm delia in alexandria. police are looking for a man they say tried to abduct a girl just steps from her front door. >> i don't want to lose her. you know, kind of scary. >> fear has set in. now that kelsey shaw realizes she was this close to losing her friend who ran from a would be abductor waiting for her a couple doors down from her home. >> she's very worried. she's wondering what her mom would say. but she's okay. >> it was early friday morning in this quiet alexandria community. a 1

andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> and new at 6:00, the department of defense is ponied up $180 million to widen the stretch of road that really could use it. it is a piece of route 1 that serves fort belvoir. four lanes will become six lanes. an estimated 56,000 vehicles use that stretch of road each day. we begin a big push at wusa9. >> every fall we ask for your help to feed families leading up to thanksgiving and with the way the economy is going these days, even more people need your help. >> our colleague, anita brickman is live at the food bank tonight with more on how to get yourself involved. anita. >> there are so many ways to help. the capital area food bank is the largest nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the area. first founded in 1980, it is distributed nearly 30 million- pounds of food to more than 478,000 people. but as the seasons change from summer to fall, the food bank gets easy and they are making sure that everyone has a solid meal on the table for the holidays. they run out of space here and needed to expand. that is how much this food bank has gro

ann degree andrea mccarren spoke with one victim this afternoon. >> it was sickening. >> j.c. derek's reaction, detailing the stunning allegations against jerry sandusky. >> sexual predators flourish in the dark like roaches. they just spread and the only way we can combat this is to shine a bright light on their operating space. >> derek has broken his silence. from the age of eight, he was molested by a relative. >> it wasn't until i became an adult that i understood how i had been taken advantage of. >> in a phone interview, he said he is innocent. >> i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them and i have touched their legs. without intent of sexual contact. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys? to under age boys? >> am i sexually attracted to under age boys? sexually attracted, i enjoy young people. >> a long pause. you shouldn't have to pause to answer that question. the predators oftentimes aren't liars. they are dilutional. they don't understand what they are. >> andrea mccarren, 9news now.

andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> what would you walk 240 miles for? for about one dozen marchs, the answer is to try and change the world. about two dozen left manhattan nearly two weeks ago and half of them in a bunch of brand-new supporters marched right here into d.c. today. >> besides the rain, it's great to be here. we have been walking and i hope to get some recognition and have our president. we are not happy. americans are not happy. maybe congress is, but we're not. >> the marchers are headed up to capitol hill right now, they are hoping to convince the supercommittee. they are late for that. the committee crashed and burned yesterday, but they are hoping to ring out their voices when congress gets back from its thanksgiving break. >> zach johnson will spend a long time in jail. the u.s. attorney's office submitted a sentencing recommendation yesterday and it asks that jackson johnson get 14 years in prison. the former prince georges county executive and his wife pled guilty to corruption and extortion charges this year. she faces up to 18 mo

andrea mccarren, 9news now. >>> while she was watching us, the fbi had their eyes on her. today the feds released surveillance video of russian spy anna chapman dubbed the sexy spy. she was one of the 11 sexy spies busted in new york last year. one of the surveillance tapes shows chaplain in a coffee shop where she was sending off coded messages. others show her hiding money in weeds and handing off documents in tunnels and walking with the children. the spies were traded with four russians convicted of spying for the west. >>> the judge has found a dc woman guilty of trying to poison stray cats in the neighborhood. she is nico dauphine. she left rat poison out. call it ironic, but she is a researcher at the national zoo. she studied how domestic cats can harm wildlife, including birds. >>> well, tonight some college students in maryland have their fingers crossed to be able to move into their new place, a cruise ship. in the meantime, some 240 students will be living on the ship but they have been forced out of their dorms at st. mary's college because there was mold. cle

in dupont circle, andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> two other men were shot. and released from the hospital. one of the three

i'm andrea mccarren. the story live from rockville next on 9news now. >>> the lawyer for the prime suspect in the disappearance of robyn gardner has now quit. michael lopez was representing gary giordano in aruba. now casey anthony's lawyers have taken over the case. gary giordano claims robyn gardner was swept out to sea while snorkeling. the police don't believe. it. >>> the 24-year-old driver pleading guilty to the crime. andrea mccarren with details on what happened today. >> reporter: while the victims' relatives sobbed in court kevin coffee took responsibility for the fatal crash pleading guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of fleeing the scene of an accident involving death. >> he is devastated. and obviously not any more than those families and parents and brothers and sisters. it is just an awful, awful thing. >> reporter: kevin coffee's blood alcohol level more than three hours after the crash was .16, twice the legal limit. >> it was an horrific accident that affected

andrea mccarren, 9news now. >>> at 4:34. here's a look at other things making news now. across the northeast many residents are facing another day without electricity or heat. millions are still without power following this weekend's snowstorm. forecasters do expect temperatures to rise melting the snow and helping clean up efforts. the snowfall is also blamed for at least 21 deaths including one in canada. at the height of the storm more three million people were without power. >>> five people are dead after two attacks near a united nations in kandahar. first an inurgent drove a pickup truck loaded with explosives through a check point and then they touched off a gun battle with afghan and nato fors. that losted -- forces. that lasted more than two hours before they were killed. on saturday a suicide car bomber killed 17 people in kabul including a dozen americans. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton canceled a trip to london and turkey because her mother is ill. she was scheduled to depart monday for a conference. a state department official says she will remain in

andrea mccarren is live to show us what she found and how annoying it can be for those that fly. andrea. >> reporter: isn't that the truth, derek . well, we thought this get away wednesday would be the perfect opportunity to take a look at that carry on bag dilemma. of course, as you know, congress may soon consider a bill that would either limit or do away with those high checked bag fees. >> wall lets, camera, my daughter bought it for me. it's a man bag. >> reporter: he shares the frustration of millions of air travelers. >> everybody carries everything on instead of checking it. so instead of paying 20, 30, $100 bag fee, they lug it all on the airplane. >> reporter: all of that carry on luggage is doubling the wait time for security screening. and the tsa now says it needs another 260 million of your tax dollars to process all of those extra bags. >> yes. i try not to push the limits too much. but something like this, i feel like i can squeeze down and get in there. >> reporter: we used a digital scale to find out just how much carry on travelers plan to stuff under the seats

live from rockville, andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> too big arrests to talk about. thank you. >>> gary giordano is back on u.s. soil after his release from prison last night. but he has not yet returned to his home in gaithersburg and we're hearing a lot of the neighbors are not looking to have him back there either. our own scott broom has been following this story for us and they are not rolling out the welcome wagon for the guy. >> he's not home tonight. he is in new york tonight. he is expected to meet with reporters there tomorrow and tell his side of the story of the robyn gardner disappearance. >> gary giordano seen in miami's airport on his way to new york's jfk after leaving prison last night in an suv with his lawyers. late today, an appeals court upheld his release order. giordano now free after aruban prosecutors failed to charge him in the disappearance of traveling companion, robyn gardner. >> i'm really concerned about kids in the neighborhood. >> now neighbors in gaithersburg anxious about giordano's homecoming to the big house here. with video camer

andrea mccarren is joining us live with an explanation of what really is going on. >> reporter: well, anita, talk about striking a nerve. some are calling this the dumbing down of america. others say that sports are an essential element of a child's education. >> when i went to school if i didn't have a good gpa i wasn't playing. they sat me down. >> reporter: starting november 15th prince george's county student athletes will be allowed to fail one class and still stay on their sports team as long as they maintain a 2.0 grade point average. >> if they fail the class why should they play on a team if they fail the class? >> reporter: maryland's board of education is considering a state wide minimum academic standard of a 2.0 grade point average for students who want to play sports. prince george's county already had that policy in place and it was even tougher if an athlete failed a class, they didn't play. that's all about to change. >> i don't think their schoolwork and their education should suffer for the sake of being on a sports team. >> i have a grandson and he loves to play sp

our andrea mccarren has been following this developing story that has pretty radical issues. >> when he made that bizarre videotape it gives us a glimpse into his state of mind. he uses profanity. talks about gang life. and talks about how he believes the united states is bullying other countries for their oil. >> i feel like i am the perfect candidate to get casted onto your show. >> reporter: oscar ortega- hernandez begs oprah for a job. >> i am the modern day jesus christ that you all have been waiting for. so i ask you, oprah, better yet, i'm begging you, oprah, please cast me onto your show, oprah. >> reporter: the video was shot in september at idaho state university by a student he met at the gym. >> my reaction was just like, what is federal -- what is going on in this guy's head? he is off his rocker. he is not there. >> reporter: court documents reveal he wanted to kill the president. investigators wrote he will not stop until it is done. he allegedly called president obama the anti-christ and made odd comments to an idaho businessman about missing children. >> he goes, the

andrea mccarren joins us from u.s. district court in rockville with the latest. there andrea. >> reporter: hey jessica, well, david mcgill a montgomery county police shoe point examiner, testified that he and others at the crime scene made what he called vigorous attempts to locate a third and fourth shoe type among the bloody footprints the bloody tracks all across the lululemon trial. clearly they were working on the theory that there were two victims and two suspects in the case but police only found two different shoe types among the track. a size 7.5 belonging to brittany norwood's shoes and a men's size 14. joining me now is our legal analyst with more on the significance of the testimony. what jumped out at you? >> on the footprints we even learned a new fact today. they were able to establish that one set of footprints were left before the second set. one open top of the other -- on top of the other. and this feeds into the defense which is showing the amateur nature of this setup. the -- professional testimony stands in stark contrast to what they found.

andrea mccarren has the latest developments. >> reporter: the board of trustees told an overflow crowd it would work to rebuild trust and restore confidence in the university. the board has launched its own investigation into what sex crimes former football coach jerry sandusky may have committed andia no one reported them to police. >> my heartaches for the victims and their families. and my mind searches for answers like millions of areas across the nation. >> reporter: late today penn state's interim president said he had appointed an ethics officer and would reorn reorient -- reorient the university. >> we urge everybody to not be afraid. >> reporter: the grand jury indictment details the alleged molestation of eight young boys he met through the second mile charity he founded. it allegeds that jerry sandusky preyed on vulnerable boys from broken homes over a period spanning 15 years. >> penn state's interim president said he was heartened so many student groups on campus have planned a blueout tomorrow. that will be raising awareness of child sex abuse. our colleague scott broom i

. >> andrea mccarren, live at national airport, thank you. >>> less li. >> amtrak says today is traditionally its business est travel day of the year -- busiest travel day of the year. they set a record last year on the wednesday before thanksgiving, and this morning crowds at union station made it look like today would be just as busy. amtrak is serving all passengers on the long distance routes a thanksgiving meal that includes turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. one other travel note for you. if you're planning to use metro tomorrow, the system will be running on a sunday schedule. >>> let's get a check on how the roads are doing lesli with beverly farmer. beverly. >> reporter: anita, a whole lot better than we were an hour ago and a whole lot better than this time last night. right now volume for you right now on the trip across the bridge pace has been so much better for folks. the inner loop headlines towards you, still some sluggish traffic off and on to get up to the 270. the outer loop much better heading in towards tysons corner. the trips for folks heading int

live from rockville, andrea mccarren. >> the so-called east coast rapist appeared in court for the first time in virginia this morning. 40-year-old aaron thomas appeared through a videoconference during a hearing that lasted five minutes. thomas is accused of raping 17 women, over a span of more than a decade in locations along the east coast. thomas was extradited to prince william county yesterday. that's where he is accused of attacking three trick or treaters on halloween in 2009. a preliminary hearing is set for january 25th. >>> gary giordano is expected to board a plane for the united states today. the gaithersburg man suspected of killing his traveling companion, robyn gardner, was released from an aruban jail last night. a judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to hold giordano. prosecutors are expected to appeal that decision. >>> the man let out of a prince george's county jail on a clerical error is back behind bars. 24-year-old frederick scott turned himself into police. he was mistakenly released on a $75,000 bond earlier this month. scott is accused of murdering a

andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> that murder trial gets going again tomorrow morning. the state medical examiner is expected to be one of the first people on the witness stand. >>> tonight, police are investigating a string of shootings that happened on halloween. last night, six people were shot in five different locations from georgetown all the way to southeast. first, someone shot a 17-year- old near the four seasons hotel in georgetown. he was critically wounded. despite halloween celebrations celebrations in that same area, that shooting and others had absolutely nothing to do with halloween. >> october is always one of our more challenging months. when the weather changes and the coats and jackets and baggy clothing starts to come on, it's easier to conceal a handgun. >> another shooting took place at georgia and decatur. a teenage boy and young woman were hurt. another young woman was shot. now there have been no arrests, but police believe those two shootings are related. >>> turning now to campaign 2012. upon further review, republican presidential hopeful, h

. >> i'm andrea mccarren in prince george's county where high school athletes with a 2.0 grade point average will soon be able to fail a class and still play sports. >> when i went to school if i didn't have a good gpa he wasn't playing. they sat me down. >> reporter: starting november 15th prince george's county student athletes will be allowed to fail one class. and still stay on their sports team. as long as they maintain a 2.0 grade point average. >> i don't think their schoolwork and their education should suffer for the sake of being on a sports team. >> i have a grandson and he loves to play sports but i'm always telling him you need to study because you are going to need your education in case something goes wrong. >> reporter: not everyone agrees. >> well, education is not just in the classroom. it is also out here on the athletic field. self-esteem. discipline. time management. >> reporter: kicking an athlete off a team has not worked as an academic incentive. >> the state of maryland only requires the students make progress towards graduation to be able to play sports. the

andrea mccarren has been in the courtroom. joins us live now with the murder victim jayna murray's family. andrea. >> reporter: well, derek, the courtroom was utterly silent when that verdict was read. i'm live now with jayna murray's family. i want to introduce everybody. we've been with them all week. phyllis murray, jayna's mom, christie her niece. jayna's brother and sister-in-law. derk is jayna's other brother. an emotional up and down. what was it like when you heard the words guilty of first degree murder? >> i questioned it. i thought did i hear it right? i was so afraid it could be anything but that. but yet at the same time, i was so concerned that i didn't catch it right. and then my husband had a deep sigh and i knew it was right. i knew it was right. >> reporter: and, phyllis, i interviewed a juror right after and he said that your compelling, courageous testimony yesterday clinched it for him and the other jurors. wow. >> wow. because i did not feel -- that's not my comfort zone. and i basically just identified ja

. >> i'm andrea mccarren in rockville where the jury watched a police interview with brittany norwooddais before her arrest. >> she asked if there was any good news referring to the investigation said montgomery county police detective. he's a veteran homicide investigator with a soothing voice and a reassuring style. the lumulemon murder was to be his last active case assignment before retirement. you're one of the best sources because you were there, he tells norwood on the police video tape. norwood had been called

our andrea mccarren and scott broom have our live team coverage all over this top story. we begin with andrea monitoring developments coming into our newsroom. >> reporter: several philadelphia media outlets are now reporting that two cinder brooks were thrown through the window at the home of jerry sandusky today. this violent act comes as school officials scramble to do damage control. the fallout from the scandal is growing. an internal investigation is now underway to try to determine exactly what sex crimes former football coach jerry sandusky may have committed and why they were never reported to police. >> we are a university that will rebuild the trust and confidence that so many people have had in us for so many years. >> reporter: the graphic and disturbing 23-page indictment details jerry sandusky alleged rape and molestation of eight young boys whom he met through the second mile. that's the charity he founded to help troubled boys. one which gave him access to plenty of victims. >> as far as how his interactions were among young people it wouldn't set off any

andrea mccarren continues our team coverage. she hit the streets today to find out what you had to say. andrea. >> we suspected taxpayers wouldn't be happy about this. what we didn't anticipate was their level of anger at what they see as inexcusable incompetence. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> pretty disgusting, actually. >> how do taxpayers really feel? >> we barely making it as it is right now. >> dependent on medicare, which could face $9 billion in cuts. >> i'm scared to go back to work and do myself more injury. >> a moderate washington think tank calculated what cutting $110 billion a year over the next decade could mean. $54billion in annual defense cuts. roughly the cost of six months in afghanistan. federal law enforcement could lose 3700 agents. federal prisons could lay off nearly 7,000 corrections officers. 1200 fewer faa air traffic controllers could lead to more flight cancellations and delays affecting more than a million air travelers. >> playing games with people's lives and people don't have much respect for co

andrea mccarren has more from the courtroom. >> reporter: this case and another last week in which a gang member was sentenced to life in prison for prostituting a 12-year-old girl have both shed new light on a dark issue right in our area. and we do want to warn you, some of the details are both graphic and disturbing. >> these young girls were forced to have sex in the back of gas stations. at construction sites. at motels across the area. >> reporter: in northern virginia motel rooms in false church, woodbridge and alexandria, girls as young as 12 years old. shopped around as section slaves in 7-eleven parking lots. men like these preyed on the vulnerability of the girls many run aways and applied them with alcohol and drugs. >> the damage that can be done to a young person is both physical and psychological and can take years to overcome. >> reporter: not an ms13 member but an associate who offered the girls free of changes to full fledged gang members to improve his standing. >> they take advantage of victims. anything a gang member can do to raise a dollar they are going to do

andrea mccarren is here. >> child sex abuse survivors around the country are reliving their painful pasts and in some cases, no longer staying silent. >> there was a couple of times i thought i might throw up. it was that sickening. >> jaycee derek's reaction to the grand jury indictment, detailing the allegations. >> sexual predators flourish in the dark like roaches. they just spread and the only way we can combat this is to shine a bright light on their operating. >> from the age of eight, he was molested by a relative. >> obviously eight years old is not nearly enough to make a decision like that. and that was something i really didn't understand for more than a decade. it wasn't until i became an adult that i understood how i had been taken advantage of. >> in a phone interview, sandusky said he is innocent. >> i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them and i have touched their leg. without intent of sexual contact. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys? to under age boys? >> am i sexually attracted to un

live from manassas, andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> very sad story. thank you. derek. >> well, he is not dropping out, at least not quite yet. herman cain told staffers he is re assessing. he will decide whether or not to go on, after a 13 year affair with the former republican front runner. bruce leshan is here with the latest. could this be the end for the pizza man or does it matter? >> it could be the end and it's a spectacular flameout. cain has another campaign speech. his numbers are collapsing. it seems irrelevant whether he drops out or not. >> herman cain leaving a hotel after telling staffers on the phone that there may now be such a cloud over his candidacy that he'll lose any remaining support. he admitted knowing ginger white and helping her financially, but unequivocally denied a sexual relationship. >> was this an affair? >> no, it was not. >> there was no sex? >> no. >> ginger white says she expected that response. >> i can't imagine him actually confirming. it's the name of the game, i guess. >> she says it was a sexual relationship that she kn