chris clackum, nbc news. >> tough to imagine. >>> well, the war of words is heating up between fo and presumptive republican nominee mitt romney. the resu they were in different parts of the country trading verbal attacks. jen jer johnson has more from washington. >> reporter: out of washington and the key battleground state of ohio, president obama held a town hall meeting accusing mitt romney to cut taxes for the wealthy and outsource jobs. >> we don't need a president who plans to ship more jobs overseas. i want to give incentives to companies who are investing in you, the american people, to create american jobs, making american goods. >> reporter: romney attended a fund-raiser in louisiana. the issue of tax curbs won't go away. some conservatives are encouraging romney to just do it. others say to just focus on the struggling economy. >> americans aren't concerned about mitt romney's tax returns. they're concerned about their tax returns and the new taxes that obama is putting on the american people. >> reporter: romney is pushing the same message in this latest ad. 23 million ar

that is bad news for food prices down the road, but as nbc's chris clackum reports, there may be a silver lining right now. >> reporter: contrary to what you may think or may have been told, it may be months before the worst drought in 50 years drives up food prices. in fact, meat prices are headed down. >> we would anticipate in the short term actually food prices for beef, poultry, pork may go down a bit. >> reporter: there's a lot of livestock being rushed to market because there's not enough corn or feed for them to eat, which means meat prices may eventually go up, just not right now. >> this beef today may be $4 a pound. it could easily be $5 or $6 a pound a year from now. >> reporter: however u.s. agriculture secretary tom vilsack is warning consumers about short-term gouging on grocery items. >> and we want to make sure people understand that now's not the time they should see higher food costs. if you're going to see higher food costs, you would likely see them in the later part of the year or first part of next year. >> reporter: he said in no way, shape, or form are increased f

chris clackum, nbc news. >>> well, the race for the whois will move on as president obama campaigned in florida and mitt romney in massachusetts. they had plenty to say on key issues lie health care, the economy, and taxes. nbc's brian mooar has the story from washington. >> reporter: in florida president obama was turning up the heat on mitt romney by reaching out to older and middle class voters in a critical battleground >> it's wrong to ask seniors to pay more in medicare just so millionaires and billionaires can pay less in taxes. that's not the way to reduce the deficit. >> reporter: romney was highlighting an unexpected spike in unemployment claims, blaming the president for not doing enough to help the economy. >> the job he's interested in protecting is his own. the job that should be protected is the job of men and women in this country who want to get jobs, who want to go back to work, who want to have rising incomes again. >> reporter: and as the candidates were hammering away at each other, their supporters were joining in. >> what is it in his tax returns that are so sc

nbc's chris clackum has details. >> reporter: the parched dirt and dry lake beds confirm what forecasters now say. nearly 60% of the country is in some stage of drought condition. >> the heat has been a big factor. the lack of rainfall combined with that have created a tremendous deficit in moisture across a vast swath of the lower 48 states. >> reporter: it's so dry more than 1,000 counties in 26 states have been declared disaster areas, the biggest such declaration ever. mostly farmers are feeling it for now. more than half of the corn crops in trouble and little left to harvest. >> it's probably going to cost more than fuel and oil will end up getting out of it. >> the soybeans, you know, are a little more resilient than the corn. if we can get some rain, they'll be okay. they'll come out and bloom again. the corn won't. the corn is done. >> reporter: it's already threatening to drive food prices to record levels because corn has an impact on 75% of what's sold at the supermarket. >> that doesn't mean that the price at the supermarket's going to go up tomorrow, but it is going to go up

nbc's chris clackum shows us the damage. stoor the storm that ripped through eastern north carolina moved in so quickly a cup until a government cart couldn't get out of it fast enough. they were killed when the tree fell on them. >> the storm came up and blew it on top of them. i was just behind them. nothing nobody could do. >> reporter: nearby a 77-year-old man who had taken refuge in a barn died when a tree fell on the barn. most of the 18 people killed in violent storms over the weekend were killed from falling trees, and most were in virginia, where the lightning was spectacular but winds at 90 miles per hour were destructive. snukd see the rain coming through, trees fall, getting lifted off the ground. >> reporter: more than 200 million people from virginia to illinois were still without pow they are morning, including washington, d.c., where cleanup continues. >> that's one of my cars right there. we have the company coming out doing an inspection so, who knows know knows what the damage will be in the end. >> report

nbc's chris clackum has details. >> the dry lake beds confirm what federal forecasters say. nearly 60% of the country is in some stage of drought condition. >> the heat has been a big factor. the lack of rainfall combined with that have created a tremendous deficit in moisture across a vast swath of the lower 48 states. >> it's so dry, more than 1,000 counties in 26 states have been declared disaster areas. the biggest such declaration ever. mostly farmers are feeling it for now. more than half of the corn crops in trouble and little left to harvest. >> it's probably going to cost more in fuel than what you'll end up getting out of it. >> the soybeans are a little more resilient than the corn. they'll bloom again if we can get some rain. the corn won't. the corn is done. >> it's already threatening to drive food prices to record levels because corn has an impact on 75% of what's sold at the supermarket. >> that doesn't mean that the price at the supermarket is going to go up tomorrow, but it is going to go up next week and it's going to continue to rise for a number of month

more now from chris clackum. >> the dried up lake beds confirm what forecasters are now saying.untry is in some stage of drought conditions. >> the heat has been a big factor. the lack of rainfall combined with that and created a tremendous deficit in moisture across a vast swath of the lower 48 states. >> more than 1000 counties in 26 states have been declared disaster areas. mostly farmers are feeling it for now, more than half of the corn crops are in trouble. >> it will cost more in fuel and oil. >> the soybeans are a little more resistant. if we can get some rain, they will be ok. the corn will mont. it is done. >> it is already threatening to drive up food prices to record levels because corn has an impact on 75% of what is sold in the supermarket. >> of the not mean the price at the supermarket will go up tomorrow, but it will go up next week and it will continue to rise for a number of months. >> by a slight margin, the current drought covers more area than the dust bowl era drought of 1936. as back, but not as bad and then. >> where not to the point of a dust bowl era o

details now from chris clackum. >> reporter: this confirm as what federal forecasters now say. nearly 60% of the country is in some stage of drought condition. >> the heat has been a big factor, the lack of rainfall combined with that have created a tremendous deficit in moisture across a vast swath of the lower 48 states. >> reporter: it's so dry more than 1,000 counties in 26 states have been declared disaster areas. the biggest such declaration ever. mostly farmers are feeling it for now. more than half of the corn crops are in trouble and little left to harvest. >> it's probably going to covet more in fuel and oil. >> the soybeans, they're a little more resilient than the corn. if we can get some rain, they'll come out and bloom again. but the corn won't. the corn is done. >> reporter: it's already threatening to drive food prices to record levels because corn has an impact on 75% of what's sold at the supermarket. >> that doesn't mean that the price at the supermarket is going to go up tomorrow, but it is going to go up next week, and it's going to continue to rise for a n

chris clackum, wbal-tv and of the news. >> insta-weather plus. >> good morning, live at the maryland fair grounds. we are talking about some fun event happens every week and from now, reliving the past and reminiscing about the good old days. you of the superintendent of the fairgrounds but you are also a car collector -- 1969 plymouth roadrunner. she is a duty. >> thank you. >> this is part of the car show that will be two weekends from now. how long have you had your car? >> 10 years. bought it and restored some of the pieces on it, redid the hood. >> walk and talk with me. one of the first thing you did is replaced the bumper. >> yes, it was arrested and the guy who previously owned it had hit another car, so we got a new bumper for it. had the good repainted and new fiberglass. >> a beautiful color. you say it was not the original color, but what made you choose orange. >> a bright, good muscle-car color. >> we want to feature this for the road runner -- the interesting story. >> in 1968, the had a stick figure road runner and the 196090 paid the price for the original cartoon ch

chris clackum, nbc news. >> there you go. >>> coming up next, research discovers two secrets that will weight loss plan. >> coming up tonight on news 4:00 at 5:00, two news 4 exclusives. we will talk to a man who kidnapped his >>> an olympic-sized controversy over team usa's uniforms. they were made in china. ralph lauren designed the outfits that would be worn by u.s. athletes during ceremonies. yes, those hats, berets, they call them. the u.s. olympic committee says unlike most countries, team usa is privately funded and it's grateful and proud of the sponsors' support. some lawmakers on the hill are speaking out about the foreign-made clothing and there was a similar controversy four years ago when team usa's uniforms were also made in china. ralph lauren designed those uniforms, too. >>> our doug kammerer won't be wearing that, but he's getting ready for the olympic asks we sent him over across the pond. coming up at 6:00, doug will have an olympic preview and a taste of london's traditional eats and treats. you can check out his reports all week on news 4 at 6:00. this is the big

chris clackum, nbc news. >> he was, indeed, iconic for sure. carol, what do we have coming up?an all-american sports cast, baseball and hot dogs. >> we like that. >> up next, the nats facing a big test before the all-star break. >>> hello, everybody. i'm meteorologist doug kammerer. new warnings for washington county, extreme northern jefferson county and a new severe thunderstorm warning for frederick county, virginia, and hampshire county, west virginia, as these storms continue to move on down to the south and east. very strong storms here, but we're not going to see widespread damage like we did the other day. we could still see winds upwards of 60 miles an hour, more toward the south. let's zoom in and i'll show you where they are right now, just to the north and west of frederick county right along virginia and west virginia and moving into the panhandle of west virginia towards the haguerstown area. seeing these storms move to the south and east at about 15 to 25 miles an hour. more storms moving in towards faulkier county around warrenon and more back to the west making

chris clackum has the details. >> reporter: about three weeks after jerry sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing boys, the university braced for more bombshells. results will be released online on thursday morning. while nothing is official much of it is expected to be critical of the late joe paterno and what he did or did not do when told by assistant mike mcqueary back in 2001 that he had just seen sandusky showering with a boy in a team locker room. paterno's family is already on the defensive with a statement that says in part joe paterno did not act in any way to prevent a proper gas of jerry sandusky. the school is also bracing to see how the report helps or hurts the slew of lawsuits expected from sandusky's victim ims. >>> illinois congressman jesse jackson jr. is being treated for what his doctors describe as a mood disorder. a statement from jackson's office says he's getting what's called intensive medical care at a residential treatment facility. the state says he's expected to make a full recovery and denied jackson is being treated for alcoholism. however, a family friend

chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> some areas here got a lot of rain tonight. >> other areas misdealt. -- other areas missed out. we saw a new batch of storms drop down out of pennsylvania. by 8:00 they were coming down into westminster and the northern part of baltimore county. then they made their way to the western shore of the day by about 10:00. now the strongest line of storms is impacting southern cecil county, kent, and queen anne's counties. it did drop quite a bit of rain and lots of lightning was associated with the storms. harford county, baltimore city, anne arundel and prince george's county are still under a severe thunderstorm watch until 1:00 a.m., but it should be cancelled and dropped any minute now. we had one badge of showers late last night and this morning and then the second area comes then with heavier rain. the yellow is talking about two or 3 inches of rain that the radar is estimated. you need to look out for flooded low-lying areas in parts of baltimore and hartford county. officially at bwi marshall today, about a quarter of an inch. that does happen as t

chris clackum, nbc news. >>> well, the war of words is heating up between president obama and republican nominee mitt romney. the campaigns and the candidates were campaigning in different parts of the country yesterday trading verbal attacks. nbc's jennifer johnson has more from washington. >> out of washington and on the campaign trail in the key battleground state of ohio, president obama held a town hall meeting accusing mitt romney of planning to cut taxes for the wealthy and outsource jobs. >> we don't need a president who plans to ship more jobs overseas. i want to give incentives to companies that are investing in you, the american people, to create american jobs, make an american good. >> mitt romney attended a fundraiser in louisiana. the issue of whether he'll release more tax returns won't go away. some conservatives are encouraging romney to just do it. others say the focus should stay on the struggling economy. >> americans are concerned about mitt romney's tax returns. they're concerned about their tax returns and the new taxes that obama is putting on the american people.

chris clackum explains. >> the deep discount dollar stores have now become the store of choice. >> savings up to 37%. >> jodie says the popularity of dollars stores is justified. nonprofitrd is part consumer reports organizations and found three out of four women shop dollar stores more often because they are more mainstream in the products they offer. >> they are the same products. >> some has even launched their own brands. this cost on average 29% < name brands. >> they are being made especially for the dollar stores. they have revamped the stores and to try to bust the perception of dollars stores being full of second rate products. >> and opportunity provided by a poor economy. >> chick-fil-a it is going to the cows. wall street turns its attention to jpmorgan chase this morning. jane king has the bloomberg business report. tgif, jane. >> we will be watching jpmorgan chase. they are out with their second quarter results about two hours now. share prices plunged 30% since march. they had a trading disaster that took place last spring. they are being probed over the possible beginning o

. >> chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> more americans are getting ready to take a family vacation. it could be easier to fix mistakes on your credit reports. >> and for more oversight of credit reporting companies and that includes the big three. consumers have been alerting the agencies of inaccuracies on their credit reports. it has been difficult to get those errors fixed. it is a new trading week. a closer look at financial results from citigroup this morning when reports just a few hours from now. stock index futures indicating a little bit lower open. stocks rallied big-time on friday. jpmorgan chase said they are likely to have record earnings. the bidding war over human genome is heating up. blacks goat smithkline -black- smithkline hasace smithkli raised their offer. people are choosing to take more trips with their kids and grandparents. that is your latest look at business. reporting from bloomberg news for wbal-tv 11 news. >> the back-to-school season is right around the corner and deals on the ipad. >> apple does not issue sales or deep price discounts unless there's a

chris clackum has a change in consumer behavior. >> the boom in farmers' markets is still going.eing locally grown food has given us a new word. >> someone who tries to eat food within a 100 mile radius. >> experts blast about whether locally grown is in fact healthier. >> this is the healthier way to .at >> she says the real advantage with farmer's market is the opportunity to talk to the farmer or the rancher who raised the meat. >> you can ask questions about how it was produced and what the animals were fed. >> fresh food is more nutritious and customers find it tastier. >> pete freshets is usually -- >> which makes the sometimes higher price a bit easier to swallow. >> the manufacturing industry is looking to hire more workers in the baltimore area. ellen braitman joins us live with the bloomberg business report. good morning to you. >> good morning. it doesn't look much lower today. percent.are down by a economic growth will slow even more and greece may not meet their bailout targets. stocks were down on friday. poverty may be on the rise here home. the official poverty ra

chris clackum separate fact from fiction. >> driving at constant speed saves gas. so does leaving the air conditioner off. getting more gas by filling up when it is cool outside is just a story. a list of myths about fuel efficiency. >> temperature has will impact on the amount of fuel going into your car. the fuel is stored underground where the temperature does not change very much. >> no-name gas stations are getting the fuel from the same companies. >> maintaining proper tire pressure helps slightly. about those additives. >> epa has tested about 100 different products and has not found one that would work. >> the old smoke wait to save gas is 2 he downgrade the type of car you drive -- the ultimate way to save gas is to downgrade the type of car you drive. jane king has the bloomberg business report. how did you fair this weekend? >> it was hot yesterday. the kids were in the park in the shade. apple continues to outshine samsung. an earlier ruling that blocked tablet.s galaxy there's an patent infringement lawsuit. on wall street, investors get in the latest

nbc's chris clackum has details. >> the dry lake beds confirm what federal forecasters say. nearly 60% of the country is in some stage of drought condition. >> the heat has been a big factor. the lack of rainfall combined with that have created a tremendous deficit in moisture across a vast swath of the lower 48 states. >> it's so dry, more than 1,000 counties in 26 states have been declared disaster areas. the biggest such declaration ever. mostly farmers are feeling it for now. more than half of the corn crops in trouble and little left to harvest. >> it's probably going to