nbc's chris clackum has those details. >> reporter: scientists say july was the hottest month ever in the lower 48 because for much of the country, it was also the driest month ever. >> temperatures are warmer. it dries the soil worsening the drought, and the drought, in turn, increases the temperatures. >> reporter: triple-digit heat was commonplace in even more places. contributing to the drought that's become the largest natural disaster ever, coving 63% of the contiguous u.s., draining rivers and lakes nationwide. >> we're losing about a foot a day. we really did not expect that we would be out of business the end of july this year. >> reporter: they say it was the heat more so than the drought that fueled wildfires that consumed 2 million acres in july. while agriculture continues to suffer the most, analysts expect the smallest corn crop in years. >> we've had droughts before, but really not this much heat. >> reporter: brice's crop in virginia started out promising but looks like this now. >> the heat came at a time when the stalks were green, and it was starting to pollinate.

chris clackum has details. >> these new crash tests focus on a different type of head on collision andse some of the safest cars available. the insurance institute was baffled by a question. >> y so many people still die despite the fact that vehicles are performing well in the government's crash tests. >> they modified their task to address what they say is happening in about a fourth of these collisions. only a corner of the car slammed into a structure. they found greater risk of serious injury to those inside. it is the part of a car that needs more protection. >> there is some strong interaction that helps absorb the energy of the crash before these forces reached the occupant. >> cars were tested. only three earned a good or acceptable rating. the lexus models along with audis and mercedes c class were all rated poor. the spokesperson for mercedes disagreed with the results and said the small frontal crash test replicates an unusually severe and correspondingly on common accident scenario. chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> teenagers are still relying on peer pressure when it com

chris clackum reports. >> obviously we're in love with watching a movie through streaming video. a recent survey found 52% of us are watching this way. >> that was more than people who visited a movie theater or watched a blu-ray disk or dvd. >> the competition that got the video streamed to you has grown too. led by industry giant netflix. who is said to be pumping out a billion hours of online video every month. >> it's a great deal -- people gave it good marks for value. you pay $8 a month, it's an all you can eat subscription. >> there's also amazon instant video, apple itunes and voodoo which rated higher than netflix in customer satisfaction in the survey because of a customer selection issue. >> they started looking for the content they wanted. recently released movies and tv shows. they didn't find what they were looking for. >> jim wilcox says in reality all streaming video services are faced with limited selection. because with new releases, hollywood distributors prefer the more profitable pay-per-view over subscriber-based services. >> so if you're looking for streami

chris clackum, nbc news. >>> living in the shadows of the greatest of all-time cannot be easy.e life for ryan lochte. >> he declared this would be his time. but in the end it is still michael phelps making more headlines. anchor raj mathai caught up with lochte celebrating something that didn't have much to do with swindling, did it, sflaj. >> happy birthday, dude? >> thank you, big 28. >>> you're here, you wake up, win five medals in london and it's your birthday. >> things are going really good. this is the first time in like ten years where i get to celebrate my birthday and i don't have to swim. >> sho us your gold medal. two goelds, two silver and a bronze here. what does it mean to you? you've gone through so much inside and outside of the pool. what does it mean to you? >> it definitely means a lot. yeah, i wanted all gold. i mean, who wouldn't? but you know, i'm coming back to my country with five olympic medals. i'm really proud of that. >> what are you going to do throughout the summer and this year? >> i'm going to take a vacation. >> as you should. >> i haven't had

chris clackum, nbc news. >>> new details now on a story we first brought you last night. the prayers of parishioners at a catholic church in campbell have been answered. the four-foot tall statue that was taken from st. mary's church has been found. a tip led officers to an area near hamilton and 3rd avenue where they found it safely wrapped up. it's now back in its rightful place. police are thinking the community and the media. they said without the story getting so much attention, the statue might never have been found. still, no answer on who stole the statue and why. >>> the number of empty seats at the london games continues to be a problem for olympic officials. tickets sold out minutes after going on sale but many empty seats can be seen at the events. some of those seats have been held for sponsors and committee members who aren't using them. the tickets are given to organizations to sell internationally, but aren't returned if not sold. >> every empty seat disappoints me, because we need every seat filled to radiate the support from the british public, who are p

chris clackum, nbc news. >>> well, to politics now where republican presidential candidate mitt romney is expected to announce his choice of a running mate any day now. and as that decision comes down to the wire, nbc news political team believes the romney campaign has now narrowed it down to three choices. nbc's claire is live for us in washington with more on that and the latest from the campaign trail. good morning to you, claire. >> good morning to you, lynn. yes, a lot of intrigue surrounding this vp choice, but the good news is, the list does seem to be getting shorter. the mitt romney veepstakes has shifted into high gear this week. >> you're going to help me win in iowa. we're going to take back the white house. >> reporter: romney is getting ready for a four-day bus tour this saturday across the swing states of virginia, north carolina, florida and ohio. it could be the perfect time to roll out his running mate. >> and they say, so goes colorado, so goes ohio, so goes the country. >> reporter: ohio senator rob portman will join romney on the tour when it rolls through his sta

details now from nbc's chris clackum. >> reporter: these new crash tests focused on a different typend used some of the safest cars available because the insurance institute for highway safety was baffled by a question. >> why so many people still die in frontal crashes despite the fact vehicles are performing well in our crash tests and they're performing well in the government's crash tests? >> reporter: so the institute modified its test to address what they say is happening in about a fourth of these head-on collisions. instead a full frontal impact, only a corner of the car slammed into a structure. what they found was greater risk of serious injury to those inside because it's the part of the car that offers the least but needs more protection. >> when these crashes begin, there is some strong interaction that helps absorb the energy of the crash before these forces reach the occupant compartment. >> reporter: 11 2012 midsized cars were tested. only three, the acura tl, volvo s-60 and infiniti g earned a good or acceptable rating, while the lexus is and es models along with aud

chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> the daily is jobs in america just might surprise you. -- the deadliest jobs. jane king has the bloomberg business report. >> happy friday. today is a big day for apple. the international trade commission is scheduled to announce whether apple devices in french on motorola will billy's patents and whether it will stop them from importing them into the u.s. and asia. some companies including intel have urged such a step. phos copieddroid iphone features. a lot of worry about european leaders. they are not making progress in solving their debt crisis. fewer people are saying "can you hear me now?" verizon ranks highest among carriers. they shelled out nearly $3 billion in maryland, d.c., and virginia. is your job killing you? among the most hazardous professions were farming and ranching. vehicle bound workers have the deli is professions. we're talking about truck drivers and sales reps. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. to remakee's trying itself into an after hours club. >> used to be eating good in the n

. >> chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> at&t spent millions to upgrade its network here in maryland.me setbacks for apple and their iphone. jane king has the bloomberg business report. tgif, jane. >> a possible setback for apple. sharp has not started mass production screens for apple's next iphone. they had planned to start shipping screens by the end of the month. there have been manufacturing problems. a different story in japan. apple lost a patent lawsuit in japan with samsung. the saga continues. they are still disputing patents on four continents. ben bernanke is in wyoming and delivering his annual speech on monetary policy. futures are a little bit higher. there was a down day yesterday. you may be experiencing fewer dropped calls if you are an at&t customer. that money when into activating new cell phone towers and improving connection speeds. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. >> 5:23. 68 degrees on tv hill. >> a new company is trying to make your life a little easier in baltimore. >> the grand prix is already

chris clackum , wbal-tv 11 news. >> i could do that if i didn't have kids. it is all about jobs on wall street today. jane king has the bloomberg business report. tgif. >> happy friday. july jobs report comes out in just a few hours. maryland lost 11,000 jobs in the month of june. unemployment rate in maryland stands at 6.9%. job creation is a key issue in the upcoming election. yesterday we did see stocks continued to tumble. the president if failed to reassure investors to fix the crisis in europe. facebook shares dropped another 4%. they disclosed as many as one in 12 of their accounts could be duplicates or fakes. one navy veteran said he was told his wake time would be 4116 minutes before he could speak to an actual person. he wanted to talk about a contract. lawmakers say this is an example of the problems veteran business owners are facing. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> it has been an interesting week for chick-fil-a restaurants. supporters and protesters gathered at the restaurants to voice the

chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> do you want to decorate your dorm room or house with pieces from thelympic villages? now is your chance. jane king has the bloomberg business report. good morning, jane. >> after buying out motorola mobility, sources tell us that google is shutting down about a third of its the silly. about 20% of their work force will be out of work. google has let go about 40% of the vice presidents. whoever is president after the 2020 election, may get a new air force one jetliner. there will buy a replacement airplane for use a decade for now. futures this morning are a little lower. we did see a higher day on friday. talk about the ultimate back-to- school shopping spree. we have close the books on the 2012 summer olympics. now is your chance to get pieces of the olympic village. everything from athletes bedroom sets on sale at their sites. you may be able to buy it bedframe that michael phelps slept on, 150 bucks. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> e-readers cannot get a deal at barnes and nobles? >> if you want

chris clackum, wbal tv-11 news. >> a new study from the c.d.c. ranks the most obese states in the country. we will find out where maryland sits on the list. >> and doctors have performed a full face transplant. isther medical institution hoping to follow in the footsteps. >> introduce you to hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios cleaning better, doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac. >> in this morning's medical later, johns hopkins hospital will soon start performing face transplants. hopkins will be the second hospital in baltimore to do the surgery. shock trauma p

here is more from nbc's chris clackum. >> reporter: anti-bully advocates are looking for messages like this, urging those who witnessed bullying to do something. at a bullying prevention summit that wrapped up in washington, that was also the message the white house wanted out. >> so many people observe bullying and look the other way. you don't have to look the other way. you can actually do something. >> reporter: it attracted bullying victims like this 17-year-old from utah. >> i get punched, kicked, black eyes, bruises and i lied to my mom and said it is nothing. i fell down. >> reporter: another bullying victim, superstar lady gaga whose mother described relentless bullying she suffered as a teenager. >> everything from her locker being defamed at school. she was actually put in a trash can at one point. >> reporter: cynthia helped with her daughter's own anti-bullying foundation. >> some pretty empirical evidence that shows bystanders can actually do something to help stop, prevent bullying. >> reporter: her involvement is what experts say other parents should do. >> all of us, a

nbc's chris clackum has those details. >> reporter: scientists say july was the hottest month ever inower 48 because for much of the country, it was also the driest month ever. >> temperatures are warmer. it dries the soil worsening the drought, and the drought, in turn, increases the temperatures. >> reporter: triple-digit heat was commonplace in even more places. contributing to the drought that's become the largest natural disaster ever, covering 63% of the contiguous u.s., draining rivers and lakes nationwide. >> we're losing about a foot a day. we really did not expect that we would be out of business the end of july this year. >> reporter: they say it was the heat more so than the drought that fueled wildfires that consumed 2 million acres in july. while agriculture continues to suffer the most, analysts expect the smallest corn crop in years. >> we've had droughts before, but really not this much heat. >> reporter: brice's crop in virginia started out promising but looks like this now. >> the heat came at a time when the