abc2 news jeff hager has more now on efforts to crack down on such abuse. >> reporter: a wretched smell led police to this cluttered home on sea breeze drive where they discovered the dogs in various degrees of distress. >> unfortunately there were feces piled up in the house. it was inhabitable for humans and animals. [barking] >> reporter: veterinarians had to euthanize one of the dogs while the other 20 still show visible signs of abuse and neglect it appears they will survive. >> they are doing well. they are progressing nicely. we're treating them for worms andfully -- and flea infestation. many of them came in hairless and they seem to be recovering nicely. >> reporter: police arrested 61-year-old janet taylor, her adult son jeffrey and each facing 42 counts of animal cruelty and inflicting suffering or pain on an animal. they are now free on bail staying in a house next door to their condemned home. a family member says the county is making an example of them. county executive john leopold says that's the point. >> i hope it sends a very strong message that if you treat animals t

as jeff hager reports they are bracing for double duty. >> reporter: from the first closure of some schools in the spring to the return of students and of the h1n1 virus to college campuses just a few weeks ago, the so-called swine flu has infected hundreds if not thousands of marylanders including howard county health officer dr. peter bielensen and his daughter. >> we had almost assuredly h1n1, typical flu-like symptoms, 101 temperature, body aches, cough, lasted for five or six days. >> reporter: at its peak the university of maryland college park had almost 100 students report flu-like symptoms in a single day. but now that number is down to less than a dozen per day. and they are also recovering in a matter of days. >> it clearly is quite widespread but it's nowhere near as severe as people had feared. >> reporter: still on this day the state's deputy health secretary frances phillips is cautioning the public not to let its guard down. >> now certainly like the doctor and many others able to recover very promptly that is great. but you can't tell who it is that is going to have serious

. >> jeff hager went in search for answers as why the cards disappeared leaving the children and the risk. >> reporter: when the parents of children here at bell forest christian academy found they could pay $7 to have picture id's made of their kids many thought it was a small price to pay for their security. >> we got these cards to protect our kids. and our school offered it to us. of course us parents took it because with all the crazy things going on in this world and child abductions - >> reporter: when the cards never arrived david feared his 5-year-old daughter summer's information may have fallen into the wrong hands. >> her height, weight, fingerprint, her picture, her address, i'm not sure if the phone number was on there but that type of stuff. anyone can look at her picture, know where she lives, what she looks right. to the tee. >> reporter: school administrator james harnett says the school has participated in the maryland youth identification program for years but he grew concerned when calls to its phone number went unanswered. >> we've had a good relationship with t

jeff hager has more on the potential legal fallout from this case. >> reporter: confronted by a student wielding a samurai sword the alleged burglar lost his hand and then lost his life. while the student had left his house and entered a detached garage where he discovered the intruder police say he still may have been within his legal rights to strike that fatal blow. >> people do have a right to defend themselves. samurai swords are not illegal in baltimore city. >> reporter: while it's still early in the police investigation and the case has not yet been handed over to the city state's attorney's office it certainly raises interesting legal questions. as to whether the victim in this case will ultimately be charged or for that matter prosecuted. a university of maryland school of law professor and attorney andrew levy says the law of self-defense balances a person's right to defend themselves without giving them a license to kill. >> people are allowed to use deadly force in defense of their home. if there's a felony being committed or about to be committed or if they themselves reas

our team coverage continues with abc2 news jeff hager. >> reporter: workers stem the tide of water flooding homes in dundalk when the governor assured residents help was on the way. >> we notified the insurance administration to dispatch offense to get here. >> reporter: for some help arrived in the form of insurance adjustors while for others - >> they have not even had an adjustor. they come out when they first seen us, wrote a few checks and left, enough for food and some clothes and stuff. >> reporter: a claim attorney for state farm insurance, lawrence richardson jr., says no matter what assurances people may have heard from the politicians the coverage comes down to their individual policies. >> insurance policies specifically among competing insurance companies are not one and the same. some companies have policies that do provide coverage. some don't. >> reporter: the governor agrees contracts will determine the level of help victims receive. but the maryland insurance administration sent representatives door-to-door over the weekend to make sure they are getting what they paid for.

jeff hager, abc2 news. >>> lower fuel prices don't always translate into lower bills. many companies including bge purchase electricity in two-year contracts to prevent major fluctuations in your bill. >>> we woke up this morning, it was definitely cool and will be even cooler the next couple mornings but right now there's no precipitation around the region but tomorrow we could see a brief shower pass through the region, mostly to the north of our area but in the meantime here's your forecast for the next couple of hours, partly cloudy, a chance for sprinkles, north of the pennsylvania line. our temperatures will hold in the mid-60s for the next couple of hours but by tomorrow morning many places north and west of the beltway will see temperatures in the upper 40s and that's only the start of the cooldown. we'll tell you all about it coming up. >>> the naval academy has quarantined 30 midshipmen with flu-like symptoms hoping to cut back on the spread of the swine flu. an academy commander says 170 midshipmen have been isolated at one point this fall but only seven of

jeff hager, abc2 news. >>> baltimore county police are still searching for two additional suspects in the stabbings but say they're not students at dunbar. >>> in anne arundel, two teens are facing hate crime charges. they sprayed the letters kkk on a bus owned by a predominantly black church. it happened on saturday night. the teenagers were arrested earlier this week. investigators used absentee records from a nearby school to find them. >> other incidents in recent history of the county and we want to make a clear signal we're not going to tolerate this kind of activity. >> the two have been released in their parents' custody. they have been charged with misdemeanor property destruction but will be charged with a hate crime. [bell ringing]. >> stocks closed the weeks up, dow gained 36 points. despite the modest gains on wall street the locals closed big. josephe bank was 3% up and under armor was up just short of 2%. >>> anyone thinking of taking advantage of the $8,000 home buyers tax credit, listen up. they're pushing for a six-month extension. >> it's been an incredible stimulus

jeff hager reports, the project comes?esidents making noise of their own. >> reporter: the drilling -- (inaudible.) -- residents like tim don't mind the noise. they've been living next to interstate 83 for decades. >> i was just a child then, there was no noise from the highway back then. >> reporter: now he can't help but notice. when a study was done on this section of i-83 ten years ago, it produced

in downtown baltimore, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> her father, bubba green is a former baltimore colt and among many friends who showed up to support the family in court as well as hall of famer lenny moore. >>> recent cuts to the state budget including furloughs statewide for state workers may not be enough to dig us out of this massive deficit. the governor now says that the state will need to cut another $100 million to $200 million. at this point the governor has no idea where this money will be cut from. so far $736 million in cuts have been approved. >>> baltimore mayor sheila dixon ordered the city's public development agency to award demolition contracts through public bidding. this move follows an acknowledgment by the baltimore development corporation that it gave a no-bid contract for the demolition of a building at the site of baltimore's future casino. the group now says the contract was awarded outside the regular process because the vacant maryland chemical building posed a public safety threat. the demolition of the building cleared space for a proposed $220 million slots

as abc2 news jeff hager tells us the crash produced a third death there in many months. >> reporter: he has come to collect his brother's belongings but wayne emery first stops to look at the spot where his brother lost his life. >> i hope he didn't die in vein. >> reporter: dr. brian emery died trying to make a left turn into his neighborhood [somebody wasn't pay attention and rear ended him. then pushed him into the other lane where an oncoming pickup truck t-boned him. >> reporter: on this day a howard county police officer is running radar. when erin simonetti warns the officer one of her cars is precariously parked in one of the so-called killer lanes. when county executive ken ulman learned of another death along route 32 he sprung into action. >> was tremendously saddened. i was out of town visiting my family and immediately placed a call to the governor, talked to him that night and said hey, we've got to do everything we can to get this made safer immediately. >> reporter: the state cut road improvement money for the county to help balance its budget. in addition to you -- u

in college park, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> while more than 600 students have reported flu-like symptoms at college park university officials say most of them recover in about three days. we're not sure if president obama will be wearing a surgical mask but he's still expected at the university in college park tomorrow. he brings his push for health care reform to college park. the university is setting up for a rally at the comcast center. the rally starts at 11:00 a.m., is open o-to-the public. no tickets and seating on a first come/first serve basis. >>> dc-area serial sniper john allen muhammad is now scheduled to be put to death in november. a virginia judge set muhammad's date with death for november 10th. he was convicted of killing dean meyers, one of 10 people shot and killed during the rampage that terrorized this entire area back in 2002. six others were wounded in the sniper attacks. muhammad's accomplice, lee malvo is serving life in prison. >>> now to exclusive video of a police-involved shooting in southeast baltimore. two undercover officers were the monument street initi

as abc2 news jeff hager reports, with the vaccine still in the works the university is taking a number of steps to keep the so-called swine flu virus from spreading throughout campus. >> reporter: kathryn mcdonald came to the university health center with an injured foot but the freshman from mount airy says she fears leaving here with

as abc2 news jeff hager reports deanna green's family has now gone public claiming no one is willingke responsibility for her death in druid hill park more than two years ago. >> reporter: she had grasped a chain link fence with her hand to stretch before a church league softball game when a current of electricity ran through her body claiming the life of 14-year-old deanna green. her mother looked on helplessly that night and still lives with that memory each day. >> everyday that goes by i think about her. ev

in taneytown, jeff hager, abc 2 news. >> city leaders will take up the issues of speed cameras again next month after they do more research on the potential impact. >>> well the remainer -- the remains of a civil war site will be buried in new york. fragments of bone and a metal button were discover bid a hiker in 2008. the soldier was killed in action at millers corn field during the battle of antid ham. the army national guard will accept the remains taken to new york for a burial with full military honors on september 17th. >>> and now for tonight's top stories. good news for you tonight in the fight against the swine flu. two new studies show the vaccine may take just one shot instead of two and work even faster than expected. it means that doses would be available to inock late twice as many people. the news comes as cases of swine flu just continue to grow. the government predicts the h1n1 vaccine will be available by mid-october. >>> ravens are painting the town purple ahead of sunday's home opener against the chiefs. the cheerleaders got the crowd pumped up and signed autogra

. >> reporter: in northeast baltimore, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> just days after being denied tam flue a -- tamiflu a young girl in texas died from what appeared to be the flu. her parents say it started as a fever. it was confirmed she had the flu, maybe the swine flu, but doctors sent her home without tamiflu since the cdc advises not to give it to normally healthy fever. chloe osbourn got worse. she was told to be watched. by sunday she was in the hospital and died a short time later. >> i was scared for them to put her to sleep. i was afraid -- ( indiscernible ) ---- and she didn't. they just kept telling me it would get better but it didn't. and i wish now that i might have listened to my instincts a little bit better. >> reporter: some doctors say there are red flags parents should look for like high fever, difficulty breathing and not being alert. those red flags mean you should get to the hospital no matter what anyone says. >>> the state of maryland announced today they can begin ordering the vaccine for the h1n1 flu. there are five target populations to receive the vaccine ri

. >> reporter: in downtown baltimore, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> while as many as two million people around the world die from aids each year the mortality rate has dropped dramatically in our area thanks to the availability of life-prolonging drugs. >>> new at 5:00 -- baltimore city fire officials are investigating the death of a man who was trying to get medical help at a city firehouse. authorities say the man suffered some type of medical emergency and went to engine 52 at wood brooke in liberty heights avenue for help but no one was there. fire officials say those on duty left just minutes before to take equipment for repair. someone called 911 and another medic unit arrived but the man later died at sinai hospital. much more on this story tonight on abc2 news at 11:00. >>> an anne arundel county man has been arrested for having and distributing child porn. state police say kevin ferguson surrendered to an investigator with a computer crimes unit. they say a trooper found ferguson's computer on a pier-to-pier network sharing porn videos of children that could be downloaded. troopers sa

in downtown baltimore, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> deanna's father, bubba green, is a former baltimore colt and among the many friends who showed up to support the family in court today, hall of famer lenny moore. >>> a legal setback for an accused killer facing the death penalty. a federal judge ruled prosecutors will be able to use fingerprint evidence in connection with a murder that happened in january of 2006 at security square mall. 25-year-old brian rose accused of willing warren fleming, a mall merchant while trying to steal his car. a judge had thrown out the fingerprint evidence calling it too unreliable for use in a capital case. >>> tonight baltimore city police are investigating a possible fire bombing. the incident happened around 1:00 this afternoon in the 800 block of clintwood court, in the curtis bay area, when crews arrived on the scene they found heavy smoke coming from the first floor of the two-story brick home. >> we understand that this fire preliminarily began due to a domestic incident, involving an adult man and two women. it's reported that a woman threw som

abc2 news jeff hager goes in search of some answers. >>> a manhunt for a convicted killer who escaped from a washington state mental hospital is over tonight. phillip arnold paul who is schizophrenic was committed to a mental hospital in 1987 for the murder of an elderly woman. police say paul was on a field trip to the county fair when he slipped away from his chaperone. investigators say paul tricked a friend into believing he had been released. hospital officials waited two hours before calling police. nurses say they warned their supervisors that paul should not be allowed on the annual outing in the first place. >> i can tell you that there was an extreme amount of anger throughout the law enforcement community that this event even took place. >> this is the second time paul has escaped while on a field trip from that mental hospital. >>> last full day of summer 2009 ends on a mild note. and some nice blue sky for us. picturesque way to wrap up summer. hard to believe it's the last full day tomorrow. we'll start fall. sparrows point high school now, 74 degrees there. feels like 7

. >> reporter: in dundalk, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> the company says the estimated value of the water heaters and hookups is $700 to $1,100. in the meantime we've learned there are still 26 homes without power. they've been in the dark for four days now. >> i don't have a father - talking! your mouth, i'm where are you from? >> gee, i didn't do anything. >> a lot of people saw that. new at 5:00 a baltimore judge threw out a civil lawsuit against a baltimore city police officer. the lawsuit based on that youtube video that shows the officer screaming at a skateboarder at the inner harbor and then putting him in a headlock and pushing him to the ground. that civil lawsuit was filed by the teen's family. according to a police spokesman 17 -- 17-year veteran salvatore rivieri was put back on patrol back in november. there will be a determination if he will be disciplined. to word if the teen's family will appeal. >>> a baltimore county workshop -- woman killed in a crash on 795. police say amy brooking was approaching the owings mills metro station when she crossed the median. brookings s