scott broom has been digging deep into the details. he's now here to explain. >> reporter: just one reason you are still stuck riding 35 year old rail cars that the ntsb warned years ago should be taken off the tracks. when trains collided last week it was the 1000 car that folded up and where # 9 people died. >> the federal government. >> report: these lease back deals from senator -- a long time critic. it turns out metro doesn't own those old rail cars. they were sold in deals insured by aig who leased them back to metro. it sounds like nonsense until you realize that as the banks get older the -- cars get older the banks can depreciate them. the longer they run the more the banks get. and if metro tries to get out of the deal it pays those same banks a penalty of at least a quarter billion dollars. it all came to light after a 2004 accident at woodly park. the ntsb -- put in a quote, is con trained by leases which require that -- now it's senator grassley who is shooting back in a letter to colleagues. it appears ramada >>> grassle

scott broom joining us live with more. scott? >> reporter: lesli, a malfunction going undetected for a year and a half does not sound good but today metro officials said there was no evidence that the malfunction reveal today led to what everyone has been looking for which is trains being missed by controllers. >> they are not saying this is a definitive smoking gun, this might be a piece of that puzzle. >> reporter: metro general manager facing tough questions. why were the 18 months of malfunctions in a train detection circuit discovered after the tragedy on the red line that killed nine and not by metro beforehand? one answer, the malfunctions apparently weren't bad enough to cause an actual system failure. >> it had some fluctuations in it. like the lights in this room or the lights in your house at times they might glow a little brighter and a little dimmer. they have not been able to find any evidence that that particular -- the new one, the one since december 7th has failed to detect trains. >> reporter: he has ordered an

well, that is exactly what happened to our own digital correspondent scott broom and he joins us to talk about it. i can only assume because you are here things worked out okay. >> everything worked out okay. it is such an irony because rabies exposure happened here in the united states. here is a map that shs ere wh she was. a small village called >> no phones, en kya phones, no anything? >> no anything. the maryland department of health notifies my wife on monday your daughter has been exposed to a horse in harford county. there she . you can see how close her hands to the horse's mouth. rabies transmitd by saliva. that horse has been euthanized. >> people think you have to be bitten. not true? >> well in this case the close contact exposure was enough to sound all the alarms. >> you get the alarm. what next? >> we have to contact her and the department of health here in maryland went to town. of course, i'm making all these phone calls as well. but they called the department of state, the statedcaatllment o called embassy inembassy in kenya. woe embassy in kenya goes to nd arkin ds th

reporting live at prince george's county police headquarters, scott broom, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> thanks, scott. >>> there's been a hiccup in the cash for clunkers program. some car shoppers say their trade-in vehicles qualified for a rebate last week but those same cars don't qualify this week. what happened? well, the epa made some last- minute changes to how it is judging the fuel economy rating of the old gas guzzlers. thanks to those weeks, '86 models became eligible but 78 others are not leaving some dealers to back out of sales they have already made. >>> still to come when 9news now returns, shock and heart break grip a new england town after a pregnant woman is murdered for her unborn child. >>> and later, see how a group of brave boy scouts save their troop glleader intre. we'll be back. >>> police near boston have a grisly murder and kidnapping to solve of the they are looking for someone who tore a fetus from its mother's womb and stuffed the woman's body in a closet. a neighbor called police after she smelled a strong order coming from darlene haines' apartment. >> t

in frederick, scott broom now and wusa 9.com. >>> on to what turned out to be the controversy of the week. president obama is trying to mend fences with police organizations around the country that were calling on him to apologize. it's about the words that he used wednesday to discuss the arrest of a harvard university scholar. the president said police acted stupidly by arresting henry louis gates for disorderly conduct in his own home and he linked it to racial profiling. on friday he telephoned the officer that made the arrest, sergeant james crowley. >> i unfortunately gave an impression that i was may lining the cambridge police de artntmend sergeant crowley spif. ically olice later dropped >>the charges against gates. mr. obama said gates and the police probably overreacted during the heat of the incident. he invited both of them to join him at the white house for a beer. he said he hopes the public debate can be instructive for the nation. >>> the fate of the president's health care reform plan is up in the air. the head of a group of fiscally conservative democrats says nego

scott broom 9news now and wusa9.com. >> neil booth left behind a family, including two teenage sons. >>> the national transportation safety board is examining the helicopter. eventually it will be taken to the agency's facility in delaware so investigators can take a closer look. right now they're focusing on three possible factors, bad weather, power lines and the pilot's history. >> the wires that were struck were about 70 feet off the ground. so that gives you a sense of at a what height the helicopter was flying. we also know one of the witnesses reported that weather was clear low to theryve foggy u got. >> jeff nordaas de delayed the take why you have for two hours because of the weather. just click on our stories right on the head plienz. >>> new tonight, police are investigating how a car ended up in the front of a store in arlington. it happened on columbia pike. police were called to the scene just after 9:30 this evening. it looked like two cars were in an accident and one ended up in the front of a framing store. one person was hurt. >>> well, now for a story 9news now br

scott broom is following that and other developments on the rails. he is live near fort totten with the latest. >> reporter: the electronic systems, system wide are very much alive in the tragedy. it is not showing up in rider confidence. john cato talked about the issue today saying people are still using the trains in big numbers even though the trains are on manual control and there are continuing delays as the investigation continues to unfold. >> in fact, over the last week we had the 11th highest ridership day in our history. there has been initially some loss of ridership but not significant loss. the people realize this is a critical system. >> cato also reconfirmed today that increased scrutiny on the automatic train controls is turning up glitches system wide. but he compared those glitches to little blips on a heart monitor. perhaps a reason to look for something more but not an indication of a heart attack or something serious. nothing detected he says has remotely even come close to the failure that is suspected of happening here where c

reporting live in district heights, scott broom, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> i bet the neighbors really appreciate it. scott, thanks for that. >>> a new report finds the dc area is number 2 in the nation when it comes to wasting time in traffic you probably knew that already though. the transportation institute study finds we spend 62 hours in rush hour congestion every year. we are second only to los angeles. atlanta dropped down to third followed by houston. but that study finds that nationwide drivers are spending less time stuck in traffic and the reason is higher gas prices and the recession are keeping people off the roads. but you probably wouldn't guess that from the rush hours around here. read the entire study at wusa9.com. just click on news links. >>> some alexandria residents got to fill up for free today. insurance company all state footed the bill for the gas give away at a shell station at 4670 duke street. the offer ran from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. it is too late. don't run down there now. people that drove away with a free tank of gas, they were feeling pretty good. >>

scott broom, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> great idea. how does your garden grow?ith caution tape it grows well. >> i love it. i didn't know you could buy it. >> yeah, i have seen that, but wow. >> it is not crime scene tape. >> it is caution. >> like when you have some cement work and put it across. >> got it. >> off and running. a tip or two for you. it is 5:46. about to be 5:47. hope you are having a great morning. grab b@your coffee. i'm here to help you with the weather forecast. 72. we have 59 up the road in gaithersburg, boy, is it nice. if you follow me on facebook that's another place i put out a forecast every morning. we have michael scott, linda gayle mueller, we know who she is ant lindo at my chat room. how about the weather today? a partly sunny afternoon. -- and a dry day. upper 80s. this is the average high, 88. air quality is moderate. patchy clouds right now and 72 degrees. stationary front across southern virginia. that's allowing some clouds to hang here us. generally speaking the northwest flow will be kicking in and that will help to drive do

scott broom, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> the driver is identified as carletsta douglas of oxon hill. >>> the district will get $182 million in stimulus funds. the money from the american recovery and reinvestment act will help to fund transit improvements in washington. metro will use its portion to buy 47 buss, 74 vans, upgrade rail stations repair tracks and replace the southeast garage. >>> you heard it first on 9 news now. today with no opposition the city council voted to increase the sales tax. , gas tax and cigarette tax. as digital correspondent reports the council decided to raise the taxes after making cuts to every agency. >> reporter: every purchase you make in dc will soon cost more. the dc city council voted to raise the sales tax a quarter to 6% and the gas tax up 3 1/2 cents a gal and the cigarette tax up 50 cents a pack. >> anytime they raise taxes on anything people use, all they do is quit using it. it does not work. >> reporter: while raising taxes gets people upset, others accept it. >> our government needs money so they will find a way to get it. it is one way,

it all went today in wheaton, and that is where scott broom has been following developments throughout the day. >> reporter: this morning, also news broke that the victim who fell right here on the pavement had died on wednesday night. the arrest, good news in this neighborhood, but the confirmation that a well-known gang was involved in this attack has badly shaken people here. >> we see this kind of stuff. >> there's so much fear here now that this man would not appear on the camera and took the day off work to stay with his terrified family. >> now we find out it's gang related. they might want to come and look for the witnesses and find out who saw and heard something and retaliation and shoot up my house or whatever. >> reporter: the attack began in front of this home according to police. a 21-year-old neighbor walking by exchanged words with some girls who lived here, and quickly young man began pouring from the house cornering the victim at the intersection. at least seven were involved. >> there was so many of them. >> this has now become the 6th homicide that we have had year.

digital correspondent scott broom has the story. metro's red line shut down again today while investigators used equipment to document the blind curve at the site of the deadly metro collision june 22nd. investigators want to know what the operator of the oncoming train may have seen and when she saw it. as the investigation continues to focus on possible faulty electronic sensors in the track that may not have detected a train sitting on the blind spot there was a major announcement issued. the agency will create rules to require all railroads to use so- called positive train controls. electronic systems that automatically detect trouble and stop a train barreling down the track when darren is imminent. how the proposed rule may affect metro is unclear. the fra does not regulate metro and the system already has positive train control but the control system has been on manual override since the tragedy. while metro consults with experts to develop a fail safe backup to comply with an urgent recommendation from the national transport

scott broom is following development from annapolis. >> reporter: while, maryland kids have been playing out doors all summer, swine flu has not taken a vacation. with 766 cases reported in all regions of the state and four deaths. >> i'm nervous. >> and the health secretary says with good reason. >> it spreads as easily as regular flu does. we know there is not a natural immunity to it and that's why we are seeing it being spread at a time of the year when one does not expect to see the flu. >> reporter: today health officials talk to school administrators saying it is likely a vaccine, requiring two doses maybe ready by october in addition to the regular flu vaccine. >> so you need three shots to remain flu free this fall. >> in prince georges county, the health officer says the key to preventing school closures will be how quickly parents react and cooperate. >> the school nurse will be the underground person. does the child have a fever, who's going to contact the parent and say your child has a fever could you please pick them up. >> some say though the flu has been mild so far that

smwn toli po csti onl wnto politics issue our scott broom is following tonight as it unfolds. >> it's a complete eyesore and it's leaking oil. >> reporter: forest heights mayor andrea mckutchen lives here. thetown councilmember lives two blocks away. the cars and a boat down by the mayor's place belong to mclauren. they're here, he says, because he can't park them up by his house anymore. not since a forest of signs reappeared this spring in a long-running battle over the number of cars surrounding mclauren's house. >> la can be no parking. >> we didn't have a code enforcement officer for about six years. >> reporter: fellow councilmember jacqueline goodall says the town is tightening up after years of lax enforcement. >> we've had approximately seven mayors in the last 10 years. >> no one here is above the law. >> more than 10. >> reporter: but mclauren says he's being singled out. >> they changed the rules to suit themselves. >> reporter: the parking rules on his alley were changed with no formal vote with violation of the public meetings act. caught in the middle of the local volun

digital correspondent scott broom is following the developing information. >> she led the girl scout troop since my daughter was the first grade and pta president last year and it is heart breaking. >> stunned friends, mourned the loss of 48-year-old kim felix. >> gave so much to people. >> reporter: nearby the family of neil booth gathered to remember an adventure with a commitment to helping others. he was the director of the advance helicopter youth foundation, a charitable enterprise found by the owner of advanced helicopter concepts in frederick which operated the chopper that crashed. booth and the company were working to organize a flight of helicopters to raise money to assist families of at-risk youth. kim felix was a well-known community leader here. she was married with three daughters. >> president of the pta. did things for the children. >> booth was married with two sons a management consultant pouring heart and soul in to the new foundation and aviation. also killed 24-year-old flight instructor and pilot jeffrey noordis and george tutor junior. >> the director of adva

. >>> i'm scott broom in fredericks airport where victims are remembered for their involvement in a new foundation to help at-risk youth. >> she led the girl scout troop and was pta president last year. it is heart breaking. >>> stunned friends mourn the loss of 48-year-old kim felix of new market who gave so much to people. nearby the family of neil booth gathered to remember an adventurer with a commitment to helping others. he was the director of the advance helicopter youth foundation. a charitable enterprise founded by the owner of advanced helicopter systems in frederick which operated the chopper that crashed. they were working to organize a formation flight of helicopters raise money to assist families of at-risk youth. haveen be victims in this have been idenhafied idasflight instructor. orje n ffasthdas waase pilot an instructor last night. showe tkeugh ts ugother via the telephone and his brother odd hathmo rean 600 service hours inside of a helicopter. 43-year-old thilooom bfr new market, maryland a management consultant married with two sons and kim felix a wifeand mother,

. >> i'm scott broom at the fire house at capitol heights where the mayor of this town, they are asking the residence to step up and be volunteers. as paid firefighters, they are being asked to step out to save money. talking about being aggressive in the town and bring more volunteers. >> it is a tough cell for them to come to work and where they are really busy with the 6200 calls per year. >> and there will be no reduction in service. and they will be able to be covered by the surrounding companies. they will still cover the emergencies here, just from a mile and a half further away. up in northwest washington at the burned out home where the former school board. >> it is a shame to make a mistake. a home out there and a shame that they have lost. >> but who made the mistake to allow the mansion to burn out there because of the low water pressure? unlike in 2007, when there are similar problems in the apartment building out there. this time, d.c. fire, they are not pointing fingers. >> i think that it is good to make sure that we're on the same page. >> an earth to test that and the

. >> reporter: i'm scott broome in wheaton where the specter of gang violence has terrified a neighborhood. >> we found out it's gang related, they might want to come around and look for the witnesses. >> reporter: the attack began on this road, a 21-year-old man walking by exchanged words with some girls near here, and at least seven men poured from the house and cornered the victim. >> there was so many of them nobody could get a punch in until people moved out of the way. >> the people we have arrested have identified themselves as gang members of the latin kings. >> reporter: 21-year-old jose vas wes of wheaton is accused of doing the stabbings. the suspects range in age from 16 to 21. >>> metro has reversed its policy, and it's getting much tougher on texting. >> nothing wrong with that. >> this operator received a five-day suspension for an incident last month that was posted on youtube. in the future, metro says 30 tolerance, they will not give warnings for using cell phones or other electronic devices. >> people's lives are at stake. >> reporter: metro says it is still investigatin

in oxon hill, scott broom for 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> worth a try. some biologists believe the deer population in this region is actually higher now than when colonist arrived. >>> when it comes to weather vanes they don't get more impressive than this. this is old jake weather vane in west virginia. six feet high and dating back to 1850. you can get a close look without having to climb on a building to see it. the charlie ruth fire house is displaying it in winchester. pretty cool. and pretty spectacular, tony pann in this weather department. >> the weather is awesome. i was going to say a lot of people collect historic weather vanes. it is a big collectors item so that would be worth plenty of cash for those collectors. weather wise, there is really not much to say. it is gorgeous. for this time of the year. >> time for you to do the forecast. >> it is easy, nice and people enjoy it. so that makes me smile, yeah. it is going to change a little bit over the weekend. some rain in the picture but i don't think it will be a washout. start with the thre

. >> reporter: that interview was conducted by scott broom. as of late this afternoon, prince george's county police say there's nothing new to report in their investigation. >>> now to the bonita jacks murder trial and something unusual happened in the courtroom today that forced the judge to take a break and catch his breath. digital correspondent audrey barnes has been following this case since it started last week. she joins us live with more. >> reporter: assistant medical examiner wayne williams testified today about the autopsy he performed on brittany jacks. he ruled the manner of death homicide, based on evidence suggesting that she'd been stabbed at least three times. that and everything else he saw at the house on 6th street. because of the high profile nature of this case, assistant medical examiner wayne williams went to the scene himself. he said the body of 16-year-old brittany jacks was so decomposed "it looked like she was melting into the wooden floor beneath her." prosecutors believe bonita jacks, killed her first and the th

. >> i'm scott broome on the metro system where passengers are reacting to revelations that the computer control systems that are supposed to keep riders safe and trains separated are malfunctioning. in the wake of the june red line tragedy. >> it is taking an extra 30 minutes. >> here's one reason why. metro employees stationed along the station of track where the tragedy occurred. human fail safes to be sure one train at a time is on the rails between fort totten and takoma park. >> i am scared being on the train, you know, this is the redline. >> all of this because the computer system separates and controls trains mysteriously continues to fail in the area of the crash. even after replacement of suspect switches. metro general manager held the first meetings today to shop for a solution. costs and time frame, still unknown. >> i'm lindsey mastas. police are searching for diana. she had been indicted in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme. >> we estimate she walked off with slightly over a million dollars. >> she is accused of falsifying documents so homeowners would get bigger mortga

. >> i'm scott broome on capitol hill where the first congressional hearings in the wake of the metro red line tragedy took place and general manager, john kato said it's time to get new electronic track controls immediately. >> we have already contacted venders. we have meetings scheduled tomorrow morning in my building to begin the process of developing the system. >> john doesn't know what the price tag will be for new electronic controls, but he does know the ntsb recommended an upgrade. in the wake of the red line tragedy, investigators have learned the existing electronic track control systems may not have detected a train stopped on the track before it was hit by another train killing nine. meanwhile, the union representing rail operators says trains should stay under manual control until the electronics system is resolved. >> i would rather they operate in manual for years than to lose another life. >> and a short time ago, the city council approved a resolution authorizing an investigation of council member, marion barry. the legislators appointed an attorney to look at contr

on the metro system, scott broom, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> meanwhile, the latest estimate of losses to insurers due to losses is up to $100 million. that's according to bloomberg.com. >>> police are searching for a loudoun county real estate agent indicted in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme. police say 42-year-old diana used her job to target people with bad credit. she is accused falsifying documents. then she would accept larger commission. victims defaulted on those inflated loans and mortgage companies lost millions. >> the sad part about it is, their credit is ruined, they are bankrupt. they are foreclosed and that's the way it worked. >> the mortgage companies that are out $50 million as well. that's something that gets passed on to anybody that owns a home. whether it is insurance rates that go up. >> police say more people could be involved with the scheme and they e continuing to investigate. they believe she fled the country and working to try and locate her. >> now after weeks of trying and trying, we are taking you live to florida state canaveral and now shuttle ende

. >>> i'm scott broom on metro's red line which was shut down again today while investigators document the blind curve at the site of the collision on june 22nd. and as the investigation continues, the railroad administration issues a major announcement. the agency will create rules to require all railroads to use so-called positive train controls that automatically detect trouble and stop a train when danger is eminent. the fra does not regulate metro and they already have positive train control. but the control system has been on manual override since the tragedy. while they consult with experts to develop a safe backup to comply with an urgent recommendation from the safety board in the wake of the accident. >> well, the system that ntsb is recommending isn't something that dc metro can just pull off a shelf. it's something that is going to require some research and development. >> now, we've got an update for you on that shooting at the capitol yesterday. police have now identified the man killed yesterday. he was 27-year-old kellen white from maryland. now, as we told he yesterday

reporting live from capitol hill, scott broome, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> thanks for that. we are still waiting to learn more about the death of a female masailor fort meyer. he wdybo foasund yesterday after she failed to show up for an overnight shift. the naval criminal investigative service is looking into her death. so far, there's no indication of foul play. >>> supreme court nominee, sonia sotomayor is answering critics on capitol hill. on day two of her confirmation hearing, the judge delivered the answer everyone was waiting on. her legal opinion on abortion rulings. >> the court's decision in planned parenthood, reaffirmed the court holding. that is the precedence of the court and settled in terms of the holding of the court. >> judge sotomayor testified that her personal feelings would not decide cases if she was confirmed to serve on the high court. >>> teenagers have gone into the district to drink alcohol. fairfax county officials say it's a growing problem and they are blaming the dc government. right now, under age drinking is a civil offense in the district,

. >> reporter: i'm scott broom following developments on the metro station.t was explained about new electronic blips in the system. he said at least half a dozen electronic glitches detected on four of five metro lines in the rake of the june 22nd tragedy are like blips on a heart monitor.

reporting live from near port totin station, scott broom. >> metro says it won't have to close the tacoma station because they won't be working at the site. it is unclear when investigators will return to the tracks at tacoma. >>> a young girl was spotted by friends at the bottom of the upton pool on wilson boulevard. four jumped in, pulled her out and life guards performed cpr. by the time paramedics arrived the girl was conscious and breathing and is being treated right now at an area hospital. >>> a follow-up to a story we told you about earlier this week about two u.s. supreme court rulings that are jeopardizing criminal dui prosecutions in virginia. tim kaine announced he is calling lawmakers into special sessions to address the issue. >> in the aftermath of both of these decisions by the court most states have been wrestling with, okay, how do we make sure that court proceedings that are now going forward in which this kind of evidence needs to be used. >> the session will be held august 19th. now back in june the supreme court ruled prosecutors must make forensic examiners availabl

scott broom, nine news now and wusa9.com. >>> the death comes after a week of the 13-year-old sisternother player was killed in a car accident. >>> emergency personnel in montgomery teamed up with the federal agencies for an antitear exercise today that is. the drill was aimed at testing how well both local and federal first responders worked together. and to prevent and detect any threat at a metro station. police in federal air mall sals, joined crews from montgomery county at exercise at the silver spring station. such as the police department. stpwhr the antitear exercise began at six it this morning and it runs until 7 tonight. if you were riding the redline, you may have notice that increase. >>> they are considering a -- $177 million rehab project for them. that would be done between the stations. that is the site of last month's deadly crash. under the plan, public address and closer television systems, they would be upgraded. but the suspected cause of the crash, a malfunctioning trash area and the data transmitter would not be addressed. >>> and now, the county, they became

scott broom, 9news now and wusa9.com. >> thanks so much. >>> president obama's pick for the u.s. supreme court insists she has no racial bias. senators grilled sonia sotomayor on day two of his confirmation hearing on capitol hill. and as harry reports, she answered everything from a case she ruled that was later overturned to her views on abortion rights. >> supreme court nominee, sonia sotomayor did not share her views on abortion rights, but it is settled law. >> the court's decision reaffirmed the court holding. that is the precedence of the court and settled in terms of the holding of the court. >> sotomayor was grilled on the second day of her confirmation hearings and much was made of the judge's past comments that a wise latina would have better comments. >> i do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. >> the top ranking republican wasn't buying it. >> you do believe that your background will affect the result in cases and that is troubling me. >> my record shows at no point or time have i ever permitted my personal views or

in largo, scott broom, wusa now. >>> investigators met with the profilers twice and they plan on at least one more meeting. >>> and police believe the man responsible for murdering a coil -- couple in languageley park has -- langley park has committed suicide. a man and woman were found stabbed to death in their apartment on saturday. the stove was left on and the smoke was coming from burning food. later that morning in d.c. a 53- year-old man jumped to his death from a building under construction near union station. the lease for the langley park apartments was if his name. >>> a d.c. teenager isisin custody tonight for allegedly shooting five people including a 10-year-old girl. the shooting happened last weekend -- week in southeast washington. metropolitan police arrested 18- year-old derek phillips. one of the victims remains in critical condition. the others including the girl are expected to recover. >>> montgomery county prosecutors have dropped conspiracy charges against the two students accused of that bomb plot out at spring brook high. originally police saidthe sapa planned t

broom... with a new dirt grabbing texture. the all new swiffer sweeper... cleans better or your money back, guaranteed. . >>> this is wjz and wjz.com baltimore. >>> good morning, maryland, now, don scott overhead. kind of sticky out there. >>> looking at first-warning doppler, we