washington area were turned away after an attack on a hospital chain's computer system. kris van cleave is looking into this. >> reporter: the crippling cyber attack hit 10 medstar facilities throughout the washington region and prompted the health provider to shut down its computer systems to prevent further intrusions. georgetown hospital. >> yeah, everything's shut down here. so there's paper. everything's by hand today. >> reporter: while the hospitals have stayed open, it's been slow, and some patients reported having their appointments canceled. >> i'm like, okay, but you can still write things down. >> reporter: when the doctor's office tried to cancel on barbara gray's husband, she said no way. >> i just don't think it's to the point that you can't see your doctor because before electronics we wrote things down, write it down. >> reporter: medstar says significant progress is being so far the hospital is calling the virus mal wear but a speakes woman would not deny the possibility it was so-called ransomware, a malicious program allowing hackers to hold a computer system hostage for a price. last month, a california hospital paid $17,000 in ransom to regain access

praying, by tomorrow. >> medstar is not saying whether the hackers asked for any ransom to fix the system. we have tips on how you can prevent a malware attack on the nbc washington app. search "medstar." >>> dulles international airport is back to normal tonight after police had to evacuate part of the main terminal. around 5:00 this afternoon, a police canine found an unattended item in baggage claim. it took about 90 minutes, but eventually, they cleared the bag and let employees and passengers back inside. now, the evacuation affected check-in counters at seven airlines calendar were several flight delays tonight. it's not clear how many of those were related to the security scare. >>> tonight a teenager's being held without bond and is being charged as an adult for killing a 15-year-old boy. maurice bellamy appeared in court today and police say the 17-year-old davonte washington at the deanwood metro station. washington was with his mother and two sisters last weekend when bellamy walked up to him. court documents allege that bellamy asked why washington was looking at him. washington said, "what?" and bellamy shot him twice in the chest. metro security cam

investigating after hackers crippled computer systems at major hospitals network in the washington area. medstar administrators say there's no evidence of compromised information. but a virus stopped doctors and nurses from accessing e-mail accounts and medical records. authorities are trying to figure out if that virus is so-called ran some aware. that's when hackers extort money in exchanges for restoring it wases. >> an american airlines co-pilot arrested at detroit airport for allegedly being drunk on saturday has b authorities say john mcgwire was in the cockpit and acting intoxicated when he was detained. he now faces a misdemeanor charge of operating an aircraft while under the influence. >>> and a kentucky woman is facing criminal charges after authorities in nashville say she breached airport security. they say naja hanes was able to board a delta flight in nashville white house being screened. a delta spokes plan says she was able to access the boeing 737 because she pushed past several airline agents to get on board. >> i don't know, from the beginning to end, they're very strict with

the fbi is investigating after hackers crippled computer systems at medstar hospitals in washington administratorsinformation but a virus stopped doctors and nurses from accessing e-mail accounts and medical records. authorities are trying to figure out if that virus is so-called ransomware >> a co-pilot arrested for allegedly being drunk has been charged. abc's clayton sandell has the details. >> reporter: this american airlines pilot went from having his hands on the controls to handcuffs charged with operating under the influence. pictures snapped by a passenger saturday believed to show 50-year-old pilot john maguire in custody on the detroit airport tarmac, after allegedly failing two alcohol breathalyzer tests. police were alerted saturday morning after tsa officers at a crew checkpoint say they saw maguire and smelled alcohol. >> that one was caught, but what about everybody else? >> reporter: the legal blood alcohol limit for pilots is .04, half the limit for drivers. the faa also bans pilots from drinking within eight hours of takeoff. >> i doubt seriously that there's really any need to

washington area were turned away after an attack on a hospital chain's computer system. kris van cleave is looking into this. >> reporter: the crippling cyber attack hit ten medstar facility throughs out the washington region and prompted health provider to shut down its computer systems to prevent further intrusions. courtney martin works at georgetown hospital. >> yeah, everything is shut down here. so there is paper. everything is by hand today. >> reporter: while the hospitals have stayed open it's been slow and some patients reported having their appointments canceled. >> i'm like okay, but you can still write things down. >> reporter: when the doctor's office tried to cancel on barbara gray's husband. she said no way. >> i just don't think it's to the point that you can't see your doctor because before electronics we wrote things down. write it down. >> reporter: medstar says significant progress is being made on restoring its systems so. far the hospital is calling the virus malware, a spokeswoman would not deny that it was so-called ransomware, a program alug hack tires hold a computer system hostage for a price. last month a california hospital paid $17,000 in ra

our understanding is that the person who was shot by the police officer is being taken to washington medstar health center, and coincidentally, that hospital has just been hit this afternoon with a computer virus that's got the computers shut down there. a lot of hospitals around the country have been having trouble with this, being particular tim. the computers are down until they can try to figure out how to get them going again, but that's the best information we have on the nature of the injuries. >> and that hospital is in the northeast quadrant? . again, these pictures slightly out of focussed, being shot at a distance, because usualf otogsp reporters are not able to get out and about. pete williams correctly reporting that it certainly feels like we're about toll get the. we can also assume that when this is all over, whether we'll ever see them or not, it will be not one. because this happened in such a secure location, it an absolutely massive underground complex. a lot of these were built without disturbing the land above ground at the capitol. you see there again the exterior of t

investigators say it was an attack causing trouble for thousands of patients treated at medstar hospitals in the washingtonthe latest example in a string of such attacks on hospitals with hackers gaining control and then demanding big money to restore computer access. an example of the frustration, one woman says the hospital canceled three days of her husband's radiation treatments. >> there are people worse than my husband, and god love them, i hope they get it faster, get treatment somewhere. >> medstar says now its backup system is returning to normal and that overall patient care has not suffered, they say. >>> coming up, a caretaker caught stealing. and how county officials are cracking down after a terrible case of abuse against the but jamie raskin is the only democrat for congress who's authored landmark progressive laws -- marriage equality, equal pay for women, green maryland act, assault weapons ban, and more. raskin: i'm jamie raskin, and i approve this message. >>> welcome back to "news4 midday." it is indeed a breezy day to be outside t

washington woman was furious when the hospital cancelled three days of her husband's radiation treatments. >> god love him, i hope they get it faster and he gets treatment somewhere. >> reporter: a cyber attack forced medstar health to shut down computers at ten hospitals in the washington area and many patients got this voice message. >> our computer systems are still down, so we need you to bring a list of your current medications. >> reporter: medstar now says with backups it's returning to normal and that overall patient care has not suffered. medstar calls its computer malware but investigators say it's the latest example of ransomware, locking up a computer remotely and holding it hostage. james line is head of research as a computer security firm. >> they are quite literally holding data to ransom on your computer and demanding that you pay money to get access to your data once more. >> reporter: a los angeles medical center $17,000 to get its system going again. a short time later similar attacks on hospitals in canada and just last week in kentucky and two more in southern california. james trainor, the fbi's top cyber crime official says it's spreading. >> last year 2015 we saw a big uptick and t

systems and patient records including georgetown and washington medical center. medstarays it does not appear that any personal information was stolen. >>> should women pay an extra tax just for being a woman? a group of cleveland area women are fighting back against a tax on tampons and pads. they are suing because they say the tax is zrdiscriminatory. >> i think it's an understanding that their necessary products and i think as such they should not be taxed. >> the lawsuit says the state collects about $11 million each year from the feminine hygiene products. >>> in the washington monument, the elevator got stuck about 280 feet up. 19 people were in the they were able to get out. 23 people were on the observation deck, 500 feet up. they were able to walk down about 900 steps, though. this is the ninth time in less than a year that elevator issues have caused that moundment mon monument to close. >> there is definitely a late march chill in the air. on the whole, the weather is not going to interrupt any of your plans, morning, noon, night or even tomorrow. all looking

the medstar hospital chain and doctor's offices around washington, d.c. paralyzed by hackers tonight. emergency room computer screens gone dark. doctors and nurses unable to logon to their computer network. hundreds of thousands of patients in that network. medical treatments are being written out by hand. the fbi is on the case tonight. >>> now, to the race for the white house, and to the war of words, as the candidates now battle for wisconsin. ted cruz blasting donald trump tonight for taking aim at his wife, he says. trump standing firm, going on a radio show today with a host who has acknowledge, he's not for it got tense. abc's jonathan karl with the exchange. and hillary clinton tonight, pivoting to trump, with her new warning. >> reporter: ted cruz in wisconsin today -- >> thank you for your support. >> reporter: -- says this is the state where he will stop donald trump. >> it is neck and neck and together, we're going to win. >> reporter: after dropping in the lunch crowd at the altoona family restaurant, cruz unloaded on trump. >> he yells and s

developing news tonight about a computer virus that is targeting the medstar hospital chain, including the hospital center in northwest washington. right now that computer system is shut down. roz plater has been on the story since it broke this afternoon. tell us about the impact tonight. roz: we are talking about more than a dozen hospitals, of which washington hospital center is one, dozens more clinics and doctors offices. it is a system that has dats ta on thousands of patients. log on tors try to e-mail, they got a message saying they would have to pay to get access. --a statement, medstar said "the i.t. system was affected by a virus that prevents certain users from logging into our system." medstar moved quickly to shut down the computer network. the facilities in d.c. and baltimore remained open, but sources say the outage slowed things down, forcing doctors and nurses to write everything by hand. the fbi is leading the investigation and says it has no evidence information has been compromised. this istell abc 7 believed to be a ransom-ware attack, in which hackers install a virus before restoring it to normal after dem

washington app. >>> right now the medstar health system is trying to recover a malware attack. trying to reboot their i.t. systems and records systems at several hospitals and clinics. >> this is chris gordon at med star washington hospital center which tells me it has made significant progress restoring its clinical i.t. and patient records. it was attacked by malware on monday. it reported the computer virus to the fbi, which is investigating. today, i asked a local cybersecurity expert why hospitals recently have been the target of computer hackers? >> i think they see a weakness and that the hospital doesn't have the ability to handle downtime. they have a business that needs to continue to operate. >> ahead at 5:00, we'll hear from a woman who was worried because her husband's cancer treatments have been interrupted by this computer attack at medstar. back to you. >> well, tonight m last typical evening commute most of us will have for the rest of the week. some of the road closures we've been telling you about, before the start of a nuclear security summit here in washingt

medstar health says that its hospitals in the washington d.c. area are making significant progress toward restoring their computer system. the fbi is investigating the cyber attack on 10 hospitals and thousands of affiliated physicians. medstar says there is no evidence, in the meantime, that any of its patients' information was stolen or compromised. >>> new this morning apple is bringing some new technology to major league baseball dugouts. every team is now being equipped with ipad pros. the idea will allow managers and coaching staff to use all the new analytical data. the information will not be realtime just yet. all the numbers will be preloaded. >>> 6:24. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic. bill evans with the accuweather forecast. >> yeah. and also those tablets are -- you know, they're coded so that the sunflower seeds don't stick to the screen also. >> that's good. >> so what's happening today? sunshine, a beautiful morning here as we look at our camera at the meadowlands across towards manhattan. temper

washington's mother and two sisters. he is charged as an doesn't and held without bond. leon: medstar says it is working to restore the i.t. system after the computer virus crippled the network. they operate ten hospitals in maryland and the district of columbia. med-star is the latest medical provider to be a cyber victim. >> weeks after a hospital paid $17,000 to bitcoin to hackers they won't say if this is another case of ransomware. the f.b.i. is looking into the incident. >> almost all the hospitals in the u.s. have gone digital. they rely on the i.t. systems that they cannot offer it. >> he s budget prioritize the medical services over cyber security. unlike other industries that could close, healthcare lives are at stake and paying a random may be the only option. >> this is like doing a smash and grab. >> there is no indication that the information was stolen but it's no comfort to the patients. >> it's just as important as protecting money in a bank. they don't security the network. mike: in northwest, mike carter-conneen, abc7 news. leon: still ahead on "abc7 news at 6:00" -

and it's important to repeat that medstar is not confirming whether this was a ransom ware attack. that's the latest live in northwest washingtonjim i'll throw it back to you. >> thanks, chris. >> a milestone today for the supreme court nominee merritt garland. he met with a republican senator. garland met this afternoon with senator mark kirk of illinois. leaders in the republican party insist they will not hold confirmation hearings or a vote on judge garland's nomination to serve on the court. however, there are some cracks in the resistance. 16 republican senators now say they're open to at least with the candidate. today, senator kirk went even further. >> we need for rational, adult open-minded consideration of a constitutional process. which judge garland is part of. he's been duly nominated by the elected president of the united states. to fill a vacancy which we know exists on the court. >> senator kirk is in the midst of a tough re-election battle in illinois. merritt garland grew up in a suburb of chicago. >>> it's almost time. nats park sprucing up for this weekend exhibition games this weekend. there are a number o

medstar, the largest health care provider in maryland and washington, d.c., home to ten hospitals, taking care of 500,000 people each year. tweeting monday afternoon, networks temporarily shut down to prevent virus spread. the virus causing mass confusion nonetheless, locking the staff out of their computers and e-mail accounts, leaving them unable to access electronic medical records, some of the hospitals diverting in coming emergencies to other agencies. >> they're typically not as well protected, they're very often running equipment with outdated operating system. >> reporter: they're telling the associated press the fbi is looking into whether the virus is affected by mall wear. >> what ransomware it makes such when the victim is compromised, they're paying money directly to the cyber criminal. >> reporter: in just the last several weeks, hospitals in kentucky, west virginia and canada all coming turned wrath of hackers and just last month, l.a.'s hollywood press by trainian medical center paying money to get their records back. the way to prevent from being a victim of hackers is to

medstar is a $5 billion organization running ten hospital in more than 250 outpatient facilities in the washington area. one former justice department official says with hospitals, it isn't just about patient records. there are potentially life and death consequences. >> the systems actually assisting health care personnel and providing the services, and so systems running heart pumps and other devices may well be connected systems that could potentially be affected by ransom ware. >> it is not just herring. since last june the darrel of homeland security confirmed 29 government agencies have reported 321 incidents of activity involving ransom wear. a string of code in which a hacker can infiltrate, lock users out and hold data hostage. with a simple click by an employee on a link looking like customer explain, that system can be infected. though we're told the agencies involved have not paid any ransom. >> there is been a revolution of the malaware from individual users to business owners. because they're going to make more money, demand more ransom. one of the thing that is really difficult when