. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in silver spring -- about security tonight. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in silver spring where police have put a precautionary presence outside theaters after the tragedy in colorado. >> kind of glad they're making sure people feel calm. >> reporter: there was no sign today events in colorado slowed the steady traffic of fans coming to see the dark knight rises in silver spring and producer warner brothers has no plans to suspend the screenings of the film nationwide. however, this trailer for the upcoming release of gangster squad has been pulled. ironically it features a shooting scene inside a crowded theater. >> i don't think it had anything to do with the movie. >> i think people can make a distinction between fantasy and reality. >> reporter: here in silver spring theatergoers acknowledge tragedy, but they aren't stopped by it. >> just coming out it was kind of weird to see it, but in light of what happened yesterday i can understand why. >> reporter: scott broom, 9 news now. >>> now real life similations are the key to making sure emergency respond

and that's where we sent scott broom, who spent his whole day on the road. scott. >> well, i have some pretty disappointing news this afternoon. it's just the number of lights that are still out and the rate that they are being brought back online is really disappointing to a will the of motorists here in montgomery county. mid-morning, the county announced 240 lights were out at intersections like this one at veers mill and broadwood in rockville. 240 right now, they just issued some new numbers. they are down to only 200. they brought 40 intersections back online. they have 90 of them staffed by officers right now. here's how some motorists reacted to coming to these four way stops today. >> i'm a little nervous. >> one go, one go, and i go. but when i go, they still -- >> the lucky ones had portable stop signs standing in. >> do you trust the other guy? >> i guess. >> at 1:30 this afternoon, county police reported 240 traffic lights still out. and only enough officers to direct traffic at 90 of those intersections. >> what is helping is officers out there

scott broom is live in rockville where he was not scared of those roads. scott, how bad was it? >> well, you have to move. people are getting by. i wasn't aware of any major accidents that were related to power outages and the lights being out. derek, you just reported a number that motorists are very disappointed by. 200 intersections still out. there were 240 out earlier this morning. okay, so today, one full workday with good weather, they were only able to restore 40 of these signals here in montgomery county. signals like this one at veers mill and broadwood. in rockville, still out tonight and here's how some motorists are reacting. >> i'm a little nervous. one go, one go, and i go. but when i go, they still -- >> the lucky ones had portable stop signs standing in like this one on veers mill road in aspen hill. >> do you trust the other guy? >> um, i guess. >> what is helping really is officers out there in the boiling sun and they are doing a great job. >> despite endless warnings to treat dark intersections as four-way stops, many motorists simply breeze through intersec

. >> scott broom on oats street in capital heights where survivors of a bizarre wild west style armed robbery on saturday night. described how one of their acquaintances ended up being killed, run over by a car. >> bradford was a comcast cable installer with two children who just got out of his work truck and walked up just as three gunmen had ordered a group of friends to the ground in the middle of an intersection to rob them. as the robbers turned their attention to a woman in a car, she hit the accelerator and fled, running over mccoy and killing him. george coleman was one of the victims on the ground, still this disbelief. >> it could have been me. i don't know why. it happened so quick. and she just panicked and took off and happened to be up under the car. >> mr. mccoy's work van, a marked comcast truck was stolen during the robbery. it was recovered in washington late yesterday. in capital heights, scott broom, 9news now. >> those in charge of what gets built on the mall have given a preliminary okay to an educational center dealing with our nation's military history. the peo

in cabin john scott broom, 9 news now. >>> at last check as we told you the number of customers without power in northern virginia stood at more than 15,000. dominion power views have been getting into residential streets, but even some high priority cases are waiting for power still. consider this high rise building for senior citizens in reston. the new property manager is trying to do what she can in a building where many elderly residents have medical conditions. >> i think we're all frustrated, but looking at the big scheme of things for those people that can't get out and see the damage. >> what sometimes complicates getting power back on for the last remaining customers is crews have to get to homes in remote areas. >>> many summer school programs start back up tomorrow, but some schools are still without power. that means they'll be closed. here's what we know so farful eight schools in fairfax county -- far. eight schools in fairfax county still have no county. all d.c. public schools except vair few hope and winston education campus will -- fairview hope elementary and winston

scott broom, 9 news now. >> now you're about to see a confrontation caught on tape as 9 want to know and tries to get some answers. here's investigative reporter russ ptacek with the maryland official who okayed that order allowing pepco and bge to bill you even while your power is out the first day. >> reporter: are you going to change this? >> we will be glad to look at it. >> reporter: what are you going to do? >> we'll be glad to look at it. >> reporter: but you won't commit? >> i can't possibly commit during the course of an interview. >> reporter: but do you understand people are getting upset? >> eye am not going to say any -- i am not going to say any more than i've already said. >> tonight there is a move to get the commissioner fired, but he told russ as for the billing, he has no regrets. >>> the fcc is looking at another problem stemming from the derecho, the 911 outage leaving more than 1 million people without a way to call through to emergency services. now commissioners hoped to find the cause and some up with ways to make sure it doesn't come up again. verizon has sa

. >> i'm scott broom in waldorf where a former high school librarian and her husband were shot and wounded by her own 33- year-old son. from sky 9 this morning just after dawn, charles county authorities in an armored vehicle prepare to assault the home where the shooting happened. once inside, they found the body of 33-year-old shay proctor, who had apparently shot himself with a handgun after unexplain belie wounding his mother, janice proctor wills and his stepfather. from the suspect's myspace page, this photo confirmed by friends as the family all together in happier times. >> really nice guy. >> neighbors said jeff wills is regarded as an outgoing truck mechanic who has a side business landscaping neighborhood properties. >> great person. great personality, wonderful family. never any trouble around here. >> the dead suspect, 33-year- old shay proctor called himself always real. but rarely showed himself outside of the home and didn't appear to have a steady jobs. so tonight rings the gunman is dead and his mother and stepfather are both hospitalized with serious wounds. in waldorf,

mar ten o'malley is call -- martin o'malley is calling lawmakers back to annapolis. 9news now's scott broom was at the state house for the morning's announcement and on the phone now with more information. what can you tell us scott? >> reporter: j. c, he has called auspicious of the legislature -- a special session of the legislature for august 9th to resolve once and for all the thorniness of expanded gambling in maryland in particular the relentless push to put a vegas style resort at national harbor at the foot of the wilson bridge in prince george's county. the calling of a special session is a signal there's agreement among the big players on provisions of a bill that would expand gambling in maryland to allow a casino in prince george's county and to allow table games and come up with a complex fax formula that would ensure the casinos that are already built will not suffer financially. the hurry to get this done in the heat of the summer is this because this boils down to the need to put this on the ballot in november for a statewide referendum. they approved slots in maryland back

baltimore scott broom, 9 news now. >> doug bazarian said the most recent storm with no name did more damage than hurricane irene last fall. >>> we spent much of date crunching numbers and we'll tell you who had the fastest restoration times in our area and who was bringing up the area. investigative reporter russ ptacek spent time a these numbers. >> pepco sent us new numbers which we haven't had a chance to review yet, but according to our analysis based on the news releases over the past few days, pepco did come in last place in our analysis day after day. they just didn't compare as well as the others. as crews fought through trees and debris, pepco didn't provide data for restorations for saturday and sunday, but according to press releases only 60% of customers were restored by monday, 80% restored tuesday and 89% restored wednesday. pepco was consistently in last place in our analysis of restoration completion when compared to potomac edison, dominion, novk and bge. as crews completed restorations novk reported 62% restored the day after the storm and 99% by the 4th , but it se

in annapolis, scott broom, 9news now. >> now the promoters of gambling raceway promised they will fight to bid against national harbor to be the one and only site allowed in the county. that's if voters approve. >> president obama's campaign says the commander in chief will make a campaign stop in leesburg next week. the news comes the same day as a poll that gives mitt romney a five point lead over the president nationwide. the conservative polling outlet shows the candidates in a dead heat in virginia. >> coming up tonight at 7:00, butt out. that's what new york's mayor is saying to other cities who are calling for bans on chick-fil- a. why the fast food chain's con controversy is none of their business. >> the athletes and the world are ready for the summer olympics. we'll have a look at the pomp and circumstance leading up to the opening ceremony. >> but first, another weekend, another set of closures on metro. the stations you may want to avoid, that's next. [ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go? friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups w

in baltimore, scott broom, 9 news now. >> we should note that utilities have to provide after action reports on their storm responses to the maryland regulators within three weeks. so should pepco get that rate increase they're asking for? emotionally i know a lot of you may not want to pay the power company another dime. however, couldn't that money help the company make the chains and upgrades to keep this from -- changes and upgrades to keep this from happening all over again? the address here is mailbag@wusa9.com. >>> tonight a 12-year-old boy is in custody at a youth detention facility after being charged with murdering a 2-year- old girl in prince george's county. the two lived in the same home in the 1800 block of taylor avenue in ft. washington. police say the 2-year-old girl was a foster child living with the boy and his biological parents. the parents tell police they left the two kids home with their other child, a 15-year- old in charge of them, but when the dad got back, he found that little girl unresponsive and called 911. he started cpr, but she was later pronounced d

scott broom, 9news now. >> what do you think about the penn state sanctions? join the conversation on our wusa9 facebook fan page. >>> 9news now has learned that mayor vincent gray will be meeting with ward 5 democrats this week. they'll be discussing his political future in the middle of a campaign corruption scandal on the heels of news about a $650,000 shadow campaign. this weekend "the washington post" reported gray's 2010 campaign had a date take base -- database of nearly 6,000 public housing residents. they were targeting in get out the vote efforts. the post says it appears to have been an unauthorized use of the private government information. >>> jury selection getting under way now in chicago in the drew peterson murder trial. the former police officer accused of killing his third wife kathleen savio in 2004. he's also a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife stacy peterson three years later. >>> prince george's county police are hoping you can help find a missing man. take a moment to look at picture on your screen right now. leander coope

. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in silver spring, among the places where montgomery county police put a precautionary presence outside theaters after the tragedy in colorado. >> kind of glad that they're making sure people feel calm. >> reporter: there was no sign today events in colorado slowed the steady traffic of fans come to see the dark knight rises in silver spring and producer warner brothers has no plans to suspend screenings of the film nationwide. however, this trailer for the upcoming release of gangster squad has been pulled. ironically it features a shooting scene inside a crowded theater. >> i don't think it had anything to do with the movie. >> i think people can make a distinction between fantasy and reality. >> reporter: here in silver spring near thegoers acknowledge tragedy but aren't stopped -- spring theatergoers acknowledge tragedy but aren't stopped by it. >> reporter: scott broom, 9 news now. >> tonight the national association of theater owners released this statement on the shooting reading in part, "our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this despi

scott broom filed this report from the scene. >> reporter: investigators and rescuers are still pouring over this scene on the 1800 block of candlelight lane here in the fairview subdivision section of owings, maryland, in calvert county. we know there are three people dead. a man, a woman, and a child. and that a 12-year-old child survived this incident and was taken by helicopter to shock trauma in baltimore. it was an apparent explosion of family violence. we know that one of the people who died, one of the adults, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. this occurred after somebody called for help from the house. when the sheriff's department here in calvert county showed up in full special operations mode, and attempted to make entry to the house, there was gunfire that broke out when they finally got inside they found the man and woman dead, a child dead, and, again, a 12- year-old survivor who has been rescued and is battling for his life. in owings, maryland, calvert county, scott broom, 9news now. >> we'll have the latest information, of course, on our website throughout the

scott broom says he uses it because he get their information, no longer has to make telephone calls. i use it because i put the was in out and try to keep people -- put the information out and try to keep people ahead of the storms. >>> we got to get to the weird news because if you don't like your plus mugshot, apparently there's -- your police mugshot, apparently there's a simple way to get it redo an. a georgia woman tanya -- redone. a georgia woman tanya fowler has found pout. if this is a better version -- out. if this is a better version, we don't want to see the other one. apparently tanya called to complain. apparently the other photo didn't capture the real tan why. tanya got her wish with a new -- tanya. tanya got her wish with a new more glorious mugshot. police got her again for misuse of the 911 phone service. >> we want to hear what you. >>> this send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag, the address mailbag@wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back. [ male announcer ] where did all the obama stimulus money go? friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups w

. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in state college where today's ncaa were a new opportunity for outpourings of emotion and self- reflection. >> it hurts because it feels like one of my family members was being slandered and disgraced. >> was she crying because the statue was taken down or because little kid were getting raped? -- kids were getting raped? >> reporter: the statue. >> that's ridiculous. >> i think everybody feels bad because not only victims got a bad break, but kind of all the peoples at this university that bought into kind of its virtues. >> this whole town will pay. >> reporter: on main street where some stores still have joe paterno memorabilia the prospect for diminished football weekends may mean economic pain. >> this town that treated joe paterno like a god, the whole kind of apparatus around him was not to be questioned. i think that all of this just goes to show that you shouldn't worship a human being. >> reporter: at penn state scott broom, 9 news now. >> what do you think about the penn state sanctions? join the conversation on our wusa9 facebook passenger. faceb

scott broom spent the day in loudoun county where we saw evidence on the republican side, they are working hard at it. >> the most powerful republican political lives were here in ashburn, virginia today going on offense. after a rough year on so-called women's issues in the old dominion. a restaurant full of fired up republican women, cheering on the wives of senator george allen, ken cuccinelli, and bill bowling, and key mitt romney adviser, beth meyer. >> it is the women who will make the difference in this election. you look at it at every single poll across the country. whenever we talk about our swing voters, we are talking about women. >> virginia served as a key battleground in the so-called war on women touted by democrats. there was no mention here of the political burn socially conservative state republicans received after pushing a proposal to mandate invasive, vaginal probes for women seeking abortion. instead, these women now blame president barack obama's economic policies for women's unemployment. whatever the party, the facts on women voters are tough to ignore. for instan

scott broom spent the day in loudoun county. >> the most powerful republican political lives were here in ashburn, virginia, going on offense. after a rough year on so-called women's issues in the old dominion. a restaurant full of republican women, cheering on the wives, attorney general, ken cuccinelli, lieutenant governor, and key, mitt romney adviser rs beth meyers. >> it is the women that will make the difference in this election. you look at every poll across the country. it is all, whenever we talk about our swing voters, we are talking about women. >> virginia terved as a key battleground in the so-called war on women touted by democrats. there was no mention here of the political burn socially conservative state republicans received after pushing an insinned area proposal to mandate probes for women seek abortion. instead, these women now blame president barack obama's economic policies for women's unemployment. whatever the party, the facts on women voters are tough to ignore. for instance, president obama won the women's vote in the last election by 56 to 43%. and women turn

scott broom is live with more on this one. scott. >> reporter: well, earlier today, calvert county sheriff did confirm this as just a horrible, murder suicide and arson. among the victims, the man's two-year-old daughter and a 12- year-old boy miracle survivor fighting for his life tonight. both of them attacked by their own father. this is the family destroyed in an unexplainable spasm of family violence. they are seen in a facebook photo confirmed by neighbors. cynthia and her two-year-old daughter murdered. son, 12-year-old frank hayward, iii, rescued but slashed at the neck and suffered burns. frank hayward who killed himself after lighting fires inside the house at about 8:30 this morning. a calvert county s.w.a.t. team broke down the door after getting a 911 call from an adult relative who fled the house about 8:30 a.m. calvert county sheriff, mike evans. >> it's horrible. i have seen a few in my s.w.a.t. team days and these are the worse case scenarios. there was nothing else we could have done. we were very fortunate to

in annapolis, scott broom, 9news now. >> one possible fly in that ointment, promoters of gambling and the cap center at largo promise they'll fight against any bid to make the national harbor the one and only slot site allowed in the county. >>> republicans in maryland's general assembly are criticizing o'malley's decision that minority whip released this joint statement and says, the harrowing pressure cooker of a special session is not the place to debate an issue as complex of the expansion of gaming. more over, the las vegas gambling interests should be chilling to anyone who believes in honest and open government. the special session may serve the interest of the aspirations and new special friends, but does not serve the interest of the citizens of maryland. end of quote. >>> today's hot and humid weather has us under a code yellow alert. we are looking at the possibility of storms. anything popping up, anny? >> just south and southwest of town, derek. so good news is the severe thunderstorm watch has been canceled for culpeper and fredericksburg. it's really far south of town w

tonight scott broom investigates the miss stie fying details. he's spoken one on one with the man who found mrs. ripken still tied up in her car. >> reporter: erik snyder is the neighbor who discovered mrs. ripken, and he found her right under the noses of the police who were looking for her. >> how far away were the police when you found her? >> i would say within 100 yards. >> 100 yards. >> yes, but they were behind a hill and out of line of sight. >> reporter: manning a road block at an intersection, just five addresses down from the ripken family home, where vy ripken, the mother of baseball iron man cal ripken junior had been abducted by a gunman from her garage nearly 24 hours before. in fact, snyder said he made a u-turn when he saw the road block, then he saw something he had not seen moments before. >> i saw someone waving a white sweater out of a car window. i stopped and asked the woman inside if she needed help. she said that her house was really close to her but somebody had left her in the car and that her feet were bound. remember

scott broom reports from river dale park where not one, but two multistory apartment buildings in the 5300 block of riverdale road had roofs torn off. what some residents insist was a tornado. >> it was a tornado. >> seven story park tanglewood tower. cars destroyed by fallen sections of roof torn from two apartment buildings. >> people were outside and they said the wind was swirling around. >> a miracle no one was killed. >> we have to stay here. today, hundreds from two apartment buildings sweated in the hot sun. kids in steaming cars, the power out everywhere. others wandering with belongings. >> it's starting to get hot. you have a carload of kids, what's the plan? >> hotel. >> last night we -- >> the red cross came to the rescue, opening a shelter noter northwest high school. electricity, rest, and worry. >> we have to stay here a couple days now. i have to go to work on monday, so does she. >> this is pretty much it for now. >> throughout prince georges county, traffic lights out, police trying to keep things moving. >> apparently the wind came in from the southwest, took this

. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in state college where today's ncaa penalties were a new opportunity for outpourings of emotion and self-reflection. >> it hurts because it feels like one of my family members is being slandered and disgraced. >> was she crying because the statue was taken down or little kids were getting raped? that's ridiculous, don't you think? >> not only victims got a bad break, but kind of so many people involved in this university who bought into it, you know, kind of its virtues. >> this whole town is going to pay. >> reporter: on main street where some storms still have joe paterno memorabilia the prospect for diminished football weekends may mean economic pain. >> this town that treated joe paterno like a god, the whole kind of apparatus around him was not to be questioned. i think that all of this just goes to show that you shouldn't worship a human being. >> reporter: at penn state scott broom, 9 news now. >> paterno's family released a statement about the decision today reading in part, "the sanctions game the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educ

our scott broom is standing by with the latest information. scott? >> reporter: well, jc, this appears to be an explosion of family violence that happened just about dawn this morning, an explosion of violence that as far as neighbors and acquaintances is concerned is just unexplainable. it was a man and a woman, a couple who were shot by a 33- year-old man who lives in the same home. he is the son of one of the victims, a stepson ever the other. -- of the other. take a look at some of the pictures that were taken early this morning as county county -- charles county sheriff's deputies and other responders came to this location. the victim is jennifer procter wills. they say she is a teacher at roosevelt high school in prince george's county. the other victim, her husband, jeff. they are both in critical condition after being shot and tan away from -- taken away from this location by helicopter early this morning. when first responders came, they found a man had barricaded himself inside the house. they eventually broke in the door at about 9:30 this

scott broom joins us with the latest on the situation still unfolding. scott. >> reporter: well, still unfolding because the husband and wife in this tragedy are both hospitalized tonight and neighbors are actively praying for them. that librarian is 51-year-old janice proctor wills. according to her neighbors and family here in the neighborhood. she was shot by her own 33-year- old son in this unexplained spasm of family violence. from sky 9 this morning just after dawn, charles county authorities in an armored vehicle prepare to assault the home where the shooting happened. once inside, they found the body of 33-year-old shay proctor who had apparently shot himself with a handgun after unexplainably wounding his mother. the suspect's myspace page, this photo confirmed by friends as the family all together in happier times. >> they found a man and a woman. >> the spokesperson says the couple was shot inside the home and fled outside where they collapsed. and left a bloody trail across shocked neighbors yards. >> we saw a lot of police officers running wi

tonight, 9 wants to know where the electric companies stand on this growing issue and scott broom is in college park with that. scott. >> well let's start in this state senator's district and get introduced to him. he has been a fierce critic of pepco just like a lot of politicians over the years. he points out this undergrounding issue has not been studied in maryland for nearly ten years. he also points out, if you happen to believe in climate change, just like he does, a lot has changed since then. >> we have known for years that climate change leads to more frequent, more severe, unpredictable, extreme weather. we may have noticed that here in washington. >> now demanding that the state's public service commission reopen with a new analysis. >> what they haven't looked at, what are the costs to the citizens if you lose $200 worth of food in your refrigerator? if you have to take your mother to stay in a hotel because it is too hot to stay in her house. >> those are all costs that the utilities aren't counting. look at the cost to the public, not just the cost of the utility. >> it

scott broom is keeping up with the situation and joins us live from rockville. scott. >> well, here is one of those intersections. it's frustrating and daunting for some people who aren't used to it. this is broad wood drive and veers mill here in the twin brooks section of rockville. they still have a temporary stop sign out here. connecticut avenue through kensington. every light was out at one point. it has good night somewhat better today. a big breakthrough happened on connecticut avenue just after noon. here, finally, progress. 12:15 p.m. and connecticut avenue southbound was being reopened at veers mill road. 2 1/2 days to clean up this major artery after friday night storm. the damage to utilities along connecticut avenue and north kensington, dramatic, dozens of traffic signals still dead. >> i'm a little nervous. >> all over montgomery county, motorists were left to trust each other at the busy intersections. >> we stop. wait for one to go, and i go. when they go, they continue. >> the lucky ones had portable stop signs standing in. do you trust the oth

reporting live in silver spring, scott broom, 9 news now. >> times, they are changing, thanks, scott. >>> we are hearing some horrifying accounts now of what happened inside that theater once the suspect opened fire. aurora resident jennifer seager says she was just sitting in front of the theater when she came face to face with the shooter. >> i was in the second row in the very front and he came into the right and i was the first person in the aisle and he came in and i honestly thought it was just a part of the show. i didn't honestly think he was a bad guy or anything. he just threw a can of smoke or something and he didn't say a word. he just threw it and it exploded and there was smoke everywhere. everybody just thought it was a prop and then at that point he shot a gun into the ceiling and then everybody knew it was real and they started panicking that the point and from straight from ceiling he took a gun and he pointed it straight to my face. he was literally 3 feet away from me. he was wearing a gas mask and he looked like he was from a s.w.a.t. team or something. i was terr

scott broom is standing by live with more. scott? >> reporter: that's because here in cabin john they're among the 39,000 in maryland that pepco hasn't provided power to. here's a typical scene, big old branch still hanging from the power lines and the neighbors complained. there's a huge communication breakdown with pepco. pepco just told me yes, in fact, their robocall script is misleading and here's some of the reactions of the people i talked to today at that protest parade. in cabin john residents marched with patriotically themed protest signs during the annual 4th of july parade down macarthur boulevard, give me liberty or give me pepco? >> we just got an e-mail saying that the power had been restored in cabin john. half of cabin john is still out. doesn't make sense, does it? >> reporter: nearby in the green acres section bethesda residents have taken to posting signs to direct crews into the neighbor. >> we've been told multiple times it actually is back on and there isn't a problem and there's never been a work crew that's

that's where scott broom joins us live. >> well, that little boy you were talking about, 12-year-old frank hayward iii was rescued by tactical officers from this house behind me this morning. his throat had been slashed. the house was set on fire. all of it apparently committed by his father who committed suicide. from sky 9 this morning, calvert county rescuers converged on the home. where they found the horrors committed by 32-year-old frank hayward, who killed and burned his 31-year-old wife, cynthia, and their two-year-old daughter, natalie, then killed himself. but his son, 12-year-old frank hayward iii had somehow survived the attack from his suicidal father with a slashed throat and burns. after sheriff mike evans said another unidentified adult relative had fled at about 8:30 and called for help. the officers found the house on fire. >> it is horrible. i have seen a few in my s.w.a.t. team days and these are the worst case scenarios. you want to do something to help and there was nothing else we could have done. they are very fortunate. >> it's a sad situation. >> neighbors a

. >> scott broom has a look at how the drought is affecting the mid-atlantic. >> reporter: look around me here in this field in talbott county and you're looking at something no one can remember seeing around here. this is a corn field that was so withered and burned by drought that the farmer here simply threw in the towel and decided to cut it down months early. >> it almost looks like it was hit with a blowtorch which again was that heat. >> reporter: vegetable farmer chip says he's never seen anything like it this early in a summer season. >> there's nothing there. the grain side of the operation which is the majority of agriculture in maryland is a complete disaster. most of our green corn, soybeans and wheat go to the poultry industry. they being our largest customer, we're deeply concerned about what they're going to do to ensure supply. everybody is going to get hurt in the drought and it will take a while but that will come down to the consumer. >> reporter: on his 1600 acres in talbott county, the soil has turned to dry powder. a neighbor's pond is drying up. the only salvage

. >> i'm scott broom in waldorf where a former high school librarian and her husband were shot and wounded by her own 33- year-old son. from sky 9 this morning just after dawn, charles county authorities in an armored vehicle prepared to assault the home where the shooting happened. once inside, they found the body of 33-year-old shay proctor who had apparently shot himself with a handgun after un explain belie wounding his mother and his stepfather, jeff el wills. from the suspect's page, this photo confirmed by friends as the family all together in happier times. >> really nice guy. >> neighbors said jeff wills is regarded as a mechanic who has a side business, landscaping neighborhood properties. >> great person. wonderful family. never have any trouble around here. >> online, the dead suspect, 33-year-old shay proctor called himself always real, but rarely showed himself outside of the home ask didn't appear to have a steady job, neighbors say. so tonight, the gunman is dead and his mother and stepfather are both hospitalized with serious wounds. in waldorf, 9news now. >> an update ton

scott broom is in college park with what the utility companies say about that idea. scott. >> senator jim, college park, says maryland has not revisited this underground issue in nearly ten years. if you're a believer in climate change like he is, he says it's time to look again. >> we have known for years that climate change leads to more frequent, more severe, unpredictable extreme weather. we may have noticed that here in washington the last couple of years. >> rosa is demanding that the state's public service commission reopen the under ground electric debate with a new analysis. >> what they haven't looked at, what are the costs to the citizens if you lose $200 worth of food in your refrigerator? if you have to take your mother to stay in a hotel because it's too hot to stay in their house. those are all costs that the utilities aren't counting and that's what i'm asking the public service commission to look at the cost to the public, not just the cost of the utility. >> in 2003, a legislative task force concluded that under ground electric is not all that it see

in maryland, scott broom, 9news now. >> sounds like a lot of questions are out there. dominik is free on $25,000 in bond. >>> ocean city police are looking for a man wanted of a series of acemented sexual assaults. they reportedly poor lit areas. the latest happened early saturday morning. the victims had been drinking. investigators say they were walking home alone when a suspect confronted them. now at first, he tried to talk to victims, but forced them to the ground and assaulted them. >>> the 2012 summer olympics in their third full day of competition in venues. some fans are fuming because they can't get tickets to watch. olympic organizers are being criticized for letting hundreds of stadium seats sit empty. british officials drafted soldiers to fill in the gap. the tickets were for olympic officials and family and friends who only stay at the game for a short time. >> by all means, let us in. >> we have been waiting outside, asking people for tickets if they have extras. we haven't boughten any. >> organizers say 3,000 of extra tickets will be available for some

more on this close encounter coming up. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in talbot county, maryland, theme weather and how it's pushing some farmers to extremes. the drought is on over here and in at least one case a farmer has simply thrown in the towel and cut down his crops. >> but first the federal government wants to know more about reports of sticking accelerators. we'll tell you what we know so far up next. >>> back with a consumer alert about a sticky situation. the national highway traffic safety administration is looking into reports of gas pedals getting stuck in some fords and mazdas. the agency has received almost 100 complaints so far and reports of one death. the problem may be in 700,000 ford escapes and has dray tributes manufactured between 2001 -- mazda tributes manufactured between 2001 and 2004. >>> an update on the computer glitch that gave some united airlines customers the deal of a lifetime. >> they were able to buy round trip tickets from the u.s. to hong kong for just four frequent flyer miles, but the question now is will the airline honor them? >> reporter: t

scott broom, 9 news now. >> utilities must provide detailed after action reports on their storm responses to maryland regulators within three weeks' time. >>> it is a debate taking place all across our area this week. folks who are fed up and steamed with the power companies after several hot days with no electricity against those who are sympathetic to the crews working so long and hard. it's even dividing married couples like art and donna romano. >> this is ridiculous. i wish we could find another electric company. pepco is just no good. i bet the man who owns the place -- >> well, it's not that. pepco is trying the best they can. >> they're not either. we haven't seen one pepco truck all week. >> well, we have now. i mean these are the contractors. >> big deal. >> okay. after five full days without power pepco finally did get the lights back on at the reromanos home in kensington this morning. >> is it summer heatwave on, i'll let you know when we'll finally get a break from this heat. >> also ahead a horrific story out of prince george's county where a 12 is charged with murder in th

scott broom is live with the story. >> reporter: kind of a new communication strategy by the neighbors because they believe there is a complete communications breakdown. they are trying to get attention. they claim they have been calling and filing reports on the websites and from pepco they get return calls sometimes that seem to indicate the utility thinks the power is back on in neighbors like this one and believe me, it's not. so now residents are resorting to other means to get pepco's attention. >> at some point public utility has got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. >> reporter: the residents marched with patriotically themed protest signs down macarthur boulevard. give me liberty or give me pepco. >> disgusting. >> reporter: they march past brokenniness laters on the ground and beneath -- broken niness laters on the ground and shattered transformers above, damage they believe pepco is unaware of despite endless phone calls. >> we just got an e-mail saying the power has been restored in cabin john. half of cabin john is still out. doesn't make sense, does it? >>

scott broom talks to the commission chair about this whole thing. >>> maryland's chief regulator said today pepco may not get all that it wants. >> pepco had not been maintaining its system to the level we expected. >> reminding reporters they have pepco's number that regulators fined the company a million dollars in december for poor performance. and now that the p.s. e, is considering a rate increase for pep oh, the -- pepco, the real punishment may be yet to come. that is because this commission has the bower to -- the power to dock the rate increase request. to claw back profits from previous increases that should have been spent on reliability. >> we do disallow the portion of that spending we thought was attributable to their historic neglect. >> reporter: even so, some increase is expected, which is bound toen rage customers. decision on pepco's demand for mormonsy due july 13th. meanwhile, he finds it hard to believe that climate change isn't having something to do with all of this. he said mother nature is angry, noting that this most recent storm with no name did more damage

scott broom is live in aberdeen with more on the investigation into this kidnapping. scott. >> reporter: this is just a bizarre case. police told us this afternoon there was no ransom demanded in this case and a close friend and neighbor who was here with cal ripken, the family, when they were reunited with their mother today said they got the impression from mrs. ripken that she thought this attacker had no idea who she was. >> she was shook up. >> gus, himself shaken up by what happened to his close friend, the widow next door, vi ripken. >> he was lighting cigarettes if she would want them, they were just talking in general. >> he demand money or threaten her? >> i don't think he threatened her. he said he was very nice, actually. of course ted bundy was nice, too. >> we don't know what, if any relationship there was between the perpetrator of this crime and ripken family. we know of no ransom. >> aberdeen, maryland, police said ripken was surprised at gunpoint. he forced her into a car and police said he drove apparently randomly throughout central maryland. her wr

scott broom is in talbot county where agriculture is king and where the economic pain is expected to be sharp. >> reporter: look around me in this field in talbot county and you are looking at something now one can remember seeing around here. this is a cornfield that was so withered and burned by drought that the farmer simply threw in the towel and decided to cut it down months early. >> it almost looks like it was hit with a blowtorch which was again that heat. >> reporter: rain and vegetable farmer chip counsel says he's never seen anything like it this early in a summer season. >> there's literally nothing there. >> the grain side of the operation, which is the majority of agriculture in maryland, is a complete disaster. most of our grain, corn, soybeans and wheat go to the poultry industry. them being our largest customer in maryland, we're deeply concerned about what they're doing to ensure supply. everybody is going to get hurt in in drought, but ultimately it will take a while. >> reporter: on counsel's 1,600 acres in talbot county the soil has turned to dry powder. a neighb

in maryland, scott broom, 9news now. >>> now a look at other thing making news now at 4:35. the battle for aleppo is heating up in syria. they have been engaged in a fierce battle for several days. u. n. officials believe up to 200,000 residents have evacuated the city roughly the size of los angeles. rebels claimed to still be in charge of aleppo but government forces have stepped up their attacks to recapture the territory. >>> ocean city, maryland, police are searching for a man wanted in a series of attempted sexual assaults. they say they all took place near bars, and secluded areas. the plaitest happened -- latest happened saturday morning. again this is ocean city maryland. the victims had been drinking in all of the cases. they were walking home alone when the suspect confronted them. he forced them to the ground and assaulted them. >>> at 4:39 howard will tell us just how warm our region will be today and also tell us about possible afternoon showers. >> then at 4:40. the battle for the future of the smart phone. the entry that plays -- industry that plays out in a

scott broom, 9news now. >> now an update on the kidnapping of cal ripken's mother. police released surveillance video of the suspect. it shows the man entering what looks like a wal-mart. he's the fellow who has on the orange cap and a light colored coat. this is the man who grabbed violet ripken from her garage last tuesday. they say he tied her up, put her in the back of the car, and then let her go. so far, police don't know why he did that. >> this thursday marks one year since robyn gardner disappeared in aruba. the 35-year-old was last seen vacationing on the island with a fellow by the name of gary giordano. he was held for months in an aruban jail. they didn't have any evidence, they let him go. gardner's sister spoke with andrea mccarren for the first time. >> robyn gardner's family is convinced she is still alive and wants the fbi and arue aruban authorities to continue their investigation. >> we want to keep hope out there and waiting for her when she comes home. >> that's the sister of 35- year-old robyn gardner. mising in aruba. >> had you heard the nam

scott broom, 9news now. >> now the ripken family released a statement on the abduction. this has been a very trying time for our family, but we are grateful and relieved that mom is back with us safe and healthy. we want to thank everyone for their tremendous support, especially all of the law enforcement agencies that work so hard and quickly. we hope everyone understands we cannot comment further at this time. >>> more than half a dozen people and their pets are alive tonight. all thanks to two prince georges county police officers. those men rushed into a burning apartment building in district heights and they pulled those folks to safety. today, they were commended for it. >> i'm bruce leshan in district heights from blocks away, a police lieutenant sees a column of smoke rising. he and a corporal rush in to this burning building to rescue a half dozen people who have no idea their lives are in danger. >> i think it's human instinct. >> the lieutenant and corporal say they will never forget what they found. >> this is the area right here behind us where the dogs were

they talked to our scott broom outside of beaver stadium about their thoughts on the punishment and the scandal. >> it hurt. because it feels like one of my family members being slandered and disgraced. >> reporter: was she crying because little kids were getting raped? that's ridiculous. this wasn't fair to anyone. that's why everyone is feeling so bad about it. so many people involved in this university who bought into kind of its virtues. >> this town that treated joe paterno like a god, the whole kind of apparatus around him was not to be questioned. i think that all of this just goes to show that you shouldn't worship a human being. >> students and others on campus say the effects of the sanctions will last far longer than the next four years. >>> just about 4:35 now. in other news this morning, protesters met d.c. mayor vincent gray as he tried to welcome visitors to the international aids conference. >> they say not enough is being done to make sure aids patients are treated fairly when it comes to being considered for housing. bruce johnson has more. >> reporter: d.c. mayor gray

scott broom with the late

scott broom is there with the latest on the investigation. >> this is the family destroyed in an unexplainable family violence. they are seen in a facebook photo confirmed by neighbors. 31-year-old cynthia hayward and her two-year-old daughter, natalie, murdered. son, 12-year-old rescued, but slashed at the neck an

scott broom is at penn state with the reactions. >> reporter: here outside beaver stadium where the statue of joe paterno was removed over the weekend the ncaa penalties sting to the point of tears. >> it hurts because it felt like one of my family members was being slandered and disgraced. >> was she crying because the statue was taken down or because little kids were getting raped. >> clearly there was rampant things going on. >> i think everybody is feeling bad about it because there's so many people involved in this university who bought into it, kind of his virtues. >> this whole town is going to paint. >> reporter: on main street where some stores still have joe paterno memorabilia the prospect for diminished football weekends may mean economic pain. >> this town that treated joe paterno like a god, the whole kind of apparatus around him was not to be questioned. i think that all of this just goes to show that you shouldn't worship a human being. >> reporter: the surprise of the day here was the ncaa's erasure of penn state's 109 wins back to 1998, the first year paterno failed to ac

. >> our scott broom is heading to state college, pennsylvania today to get reaction about the penalty being handed down by the ncaa and we will have coverage tonight right here on 9news now. make sure also you can get updates all day long on wusa9.com from your computer or even your mobile device, even follow us on twitter. >>> three people are recovering this morning after a deck collapsed at a home in loudoun county. this happened yesterday afternoon at a home along loyalty road. that's just north of leesburg. authorities say part of the deck swung out towards the ground throwing people off of it. none of the people hurt suffered life-threatening injuries. >>> commuters, metro's ride on bus service is going to run on a modified holiday schedule both today and tomorrow so you might have to wait a little longer for your bus this morning. montgomery county executive mike leggett pulled 23 buses last week after a bus fire. it was the latest of a series of bus offices that use components from champion bus and navastar. the regularly schedule is expected to be back in force on wednesday.

. >> i'm scott broom in annapolis, coming up, a big moment for supporters of vegas- style gambling onhe banks of the potomac river near washington. when i come back, how maryland politicians plan to get there. >>> and up next, different colors add up to different health benefits. how to eat the rainbow. that's next. >>> so if you are sitting down for dinner right now, i have a question for you. how many colors are on your plate? i'm not talking about the color of the dish ware. eating the rainbow for better health. >> we're going to make some fresh salsa using a lot of yellow vegetables. >> knows firsthand the challenges of eating healthy. at one point, jenkins himself, weighed close to 600 pounds. but then he lost 350-pounds and has maintained his new indict for the diet for two years. >> basically you have to keep it as simple as possible. >> the chef's simple suggestion, add color to your food. >> people love white foods like bread, rice, potatoes, but there's not a lot of nutrients in those. >> start with red foods, which help protect from cancers. >> we are going to protect a wat