problems are pullinger that money out of the stock market. but some traders say this may be a needed wakeup call. >> i think this credit rating cut in a preversus way it did this country a favor. >> reporter: u.s. markets have lost well over a trillion dollars in value in just the past 11 trading days. wall street hopes tomorrow's federal reserve meeting will give investors a ren to stop the hemorrhaging on wall street but most traders i talked to said stocks have further to fall before they hit bottom. live at new york stock exchange, i'm alexis christoforous. >> right now maryland still has its aaa bond rating but some are questioning how long that will last. our political reporter pat warrens a more. >> reporter: maryland hasn't feeling the effect yet but the extended outlook could be a little gloomy. tidal wave or repel -- ripple effect. it will be felt in maryland but to what degree. >> what maryland needs to know about our bond rating is we have a aaa bond rating. >> reporter: ratings agencies could put it on a credit watch. maryland has held a aaa rating for years but it also depends on federal spending. in fiscal 2009, 52.4 billion were spent here. >> so it sounds like trouble in the white house is trouble in the statehouse is trouble in my house. >> whether that's maryland, virginia or any other state that has a large federal exposure, then you're going to have question marks about the long-term outlook or the near-term outlook of the state budget situation. >> reporter: governor o'malley is aware. >> we've made the tough decisions. whether they were cuts or things like the penny increase on the sales tax but together we made the tough decisions so we can pay our bills. >> reporter: the president of trend advisers said it could be tough for the state to hold that line. >> we're running a structural deficit of a billion dollars even before this. to the extent we had our own difficulties without this, i think the difficulties would become more magnified with this. >> reporter: of course, this is unchartered territory for everybody. back to you. >> all right. thank you. maryland achieved its rating 10 days ago rand doesn't go back into that bond mar account until february. we're following breaking news. there's a bad accident already causing delays. captain mike has more. >> reporter: accord topping firefighters about 20 minutes ago, a dump truck, a car and sport utility vehicle. the driver was trapped inside the sport utility vehicle. that driver has since died. police and fire are on the scene. the entire outer loop of 695 is closed. this is between security boulevard and baltimore national pike. the all -- all traffic is stopped. the backup is exstensive. there's another accident on the inner loop east of i-70 or actually north of i-70 involving one lane of closure on the inner loop. the entire area is a mess. because this is a fatality, it will involve closure for some significant period of time until they can get all this equipment clear. so expect major delays. we'll stay on top of the story. >> what a mess, captain mike perry. the man charged with attacking a woman on interstate 38 is now in a baltimore county jail. michael hen shaw of pennsylvania has been extradited to m he punched and dragged a woman on the side of the highway all because she insisted on calling police after the two got into a fender bender. the trial is underway for the man charged with murdering a johns hopkins researcher. mike hellgren has been following this case all day. >> reporter: at the heart of the case is a troubled man with a long criminal record and a girlfriend who turned state's evidence. it's taking longer than the judge expected to get a jury seated. john wagner entered in shackles and watched. wagner stands accused of murdering stephen pitcairn, a young johns hopkins researcher as he walked home in charles village almost a year ago. >> if the evidence shows him guilty then i want to see him put away. the last thing i want is him on the street doing this to someone else. >> reporter: wagner's alleged accomplice, lavelva merritt pleaded guilty. she will be the key witness for the prosecution, testifying against wagner. >> it's chilling, the description of the knifing of stephen pitcairn. >> reporter: pitcairn was walking down the street talking to his mom on the phone. she heard the attack. her son was stabbed in the heart. >> what the family desires and what i desire is for everyone to know what a man he was. he was a man of conviction, passion, brilliant. >> reporter: wagner's record has also drawn outrage. he had been convicted of a beating and robbery. prosecutors say this video shows him attacking a man at a gas station, just weeks before pitcairn's death f convicted, wagner faces life in prison. right now they're trying to whittle down the jury poo. coming up at 6:00 i'll tell you how long lavelva merritt will spend behind bars for her role in the crime. mike hellgren reporting. >> the trial is is expected to wrap up by the middle of next week. a man accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of historic documents is out of jail. zen niece? >> reporter: landau's release comes -- he walked out and took a train back to his manhattan apartment. he is ordered to follow the strict conditions of a gps monitoring. he is charged with stealing valuable documents and conspiring to steal from other archives. a judge rejected prosecutor's request to keep him behind bars. police are trying to determine what led a man to kill his wife and her two children before turning the gun on himself. wjz is live. >> reporter: people have been checking out the crime scene leaving behind candles, teddy bears and flowers. everybody seems to be touched by this tragedy. friends say 33-year-old kelly brian thompson would give you the shirt off his back. >> i don't understand. i don't see him dog -- doing this. now they're baffled by news that he killed his wife nina and her twins 15-year-old taishawn and treshawn pugh before shooting himself. police tell wjz thompson's mother receive lad cryptic testimony testimony from her son. when she and police arrived at the home they heard the final gunshot. a neighbor built this cross. he says he and kelly were very close friends. he didn't want to go on camera but he tells wjz he is in the process of planning a memorial. >> never heard argumentses. police were never there. the kids were always quiet and stayed inside. >> reporter: neighbors said thompson recently sold two cars and talked about selling his favorite motorcycle, suggesting the family may have had financial troubles but police said a motive is still unclear. >> she was a wonderful person. she was very kind. she would help anybody out. >> reporter: tonight neighbors will begin hosting a a-- candlelight vigil. they're inviting everyone to attend. we're live in brooklyn park. >> a very sad story. thank you. neighbors say thompson recently started a new job with a trucking company. another drowning. police say justin bell died yesterday in whitemarsh creek in edgewater. he swam to retrieve appeals of trash. the actress who play lad drug gain assassin in hbo's the wire has entered a plea to real life drug charges. the attorney for felicia pear son said she pleaded guilty. she received seven-year sentence with all of the time suspend except for the five months she has already served on home deep things. a warm and steamy start to our workweek. there's still plenty of sunshine but lots of humidity as well. bob turk is tracking the conditions. i know that humidity dropped a bit, bob. >> it's been a lot worse. today was a pretty typical day for early august. we have shower activity to the north. however, most of the activity is beginning to weaken and die out. we'll probably see another batch tomorrow. we're at 91 at bwi-marshall. 73 in oakland. the dew point is down a little bit to 67. when you combine 91 degrees with a dew point of 67, it makes it feel warmer, up to 94. so without dealing with the excessive heat and humidity that we saw a couple weeks ago, but we have real relief headed our way. we'll have that forecast coming up. the ravens are getting a well-known player to back up ray rice. mark? >> sort of a surprise announcement. the high profile ravens player, he is running back rickey williams probably known as much for his off the field activities. ricky williams took an early retirement in 2004 because as a marijuana user he didn't want to be subjected to the nfl rule. he took the retirement, came back and played one game 2007 but played the last three years with the miami dolphins. the ravens offensive coordinator did coach williams for one season. he called william has great addition to this team. he said, no, he's in the perfect, but nobody is but rickey has a good heart and they welcome here. he' agrees to a two-year contract ending the passing of a physical. coming up we'll hear more about him. that's the latest in owings mills. back to you. still ahead on wjz eyewitness news at 5:00, verizon workers on strike. what they're demanding. it's the most dangerous time to be on the year. what maryland drivers should expect. money troubles. how you can help them get the ripken world series. typical hot and humid day. are more storms moving our way? bob is updating the first warning forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it is the most dangerous time to be on the year. every august police see a big jump in fatal car crashes. local police are fighting to keep the deaths down by stepping up patrols. >> reporter: back before the first crowds swarmed to ocean city, police had their plan. >> violations, drunk driving, aggressive driving. >> historically throughout the summer months you see these severe, fatal crashes go up. >> reporter: so a scam any was started in may to enforce seat belt use. >> click this or ticket. >> today in the estate of maryland, not wearing a safety belt is a primary offense meaning the officer can stop you based on that observation alone. >> reporter: in august show by ti checks will be added to the mix. more patrols will roll after sunset. >> these type of serious we call them life altering crashes affect everyone. >> reporter: police want everyone to have fair warning. they're watching. police say the increased traffic volume in august is a major factor in highway deaths. if you're waiting for someone to get home from work, let's check in with kristy. we know there's that situation on 695. >> it's at security boulevard. we have skyeye chopper 13 over the scene. all lanes are blocked at security. the delay is back to 759. as you can see we have a problem with the inner loop. the delay in that direction back to wilkins avenue. so right now the best way to get around this would be to take security boulevard. this is going to be held up for quite some time. as far as the rest of the region, 70 westbound delays. harrisburg expressway is slow. heavy from 32 to 175. baltimore national pike at johnny cake. reisterstown at old court and west pratt at 10 avenue. let's take a live look. you can she another shot 694 at 70, really going to be a serious situation for quite some team. cirque du soleil returns to the first mariner arena. you can get your tickets at cirque du soleil.com, ticketmaster or the box office? a lot of people dream of being in the world series. now some from bel air have overcome all the hurdles to get into the cal ripken world series. >> reporter: ac part of a group like this is part of the summer. they had many highlights game after game. they battled back. >> it's exciting. >> reporter: they kept getting back up. now they're state clam peen -- champions. >> these kids have learned a lot of great life lessons about per serp veerns -- perseverance. >> reporter: new a final set of games. >> reporter: these regional clam -- champs could be world champs. >> it's a one in a lifetime deal. >> reporter: bel air and the seat of the championships in win chest per, virginia, are 120 miles apart. >> parents have been hit hard from a financial standpoint. the boys, for them to play, it's a very expensive cost. >> reporter: in other words, they're broke. they need to raise $16,000 or there will be no joy in mudville. >> aids very expensive thing. what we're hoping to do is raise some money. >> reporter: on wednesday at sixth five guys in bel air are having a fund-raiser. then you can hear them say this first hand. >> donate some money to you. >> reporter: mike schuh. >> the team has a fund set up. it's called the hornets world series fund. they're also look -- working on a web-based donation site. >> we'll get you guys to wen the world series. hopefully it will be cooler. 91. dew point down a little bit to 67. northwest wind today. the barometer is holding steady. we'll take a,,,,,, [ child's voice ] ooh, that looks good. [ child's voice ] can i have some? [ child's voice ] you guys should rock, paper, scissors for it. ok. [ chuckles ] best of three? sure. one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. [ scoffs ] one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. i win! oh, man. [ muffled ] congratulations. [ male announcer ] get your own bbq pulled pork sub at subway®. tender, slow-cooked pork with irresistibly bold barbecue sauce. subway. eat fresh®. it looks typical of early august. that's where the airport is, 91. so far, that's the highest you've -- i've seen all day long. only a very comfortable 88 in cumberland but the dew point has come down to 67. that makes it feel like 94 instead of 91. we're not talking extreme temperatures like we saw last week. 93 in washington. that's the hot spot. upper 80s to -- 90. a pretty nice breeze. 91. 76 there. the hot stuff, dallas. 38th straight day of triple digit days. testify' had 45 this summer. their normal is 18. oklahoma, kansas horrible. to our north, cooler air. as the front comes through tomorrow and wednesday or slow down a bit some shower and thunderstorm activity likely, maybe one or two will produce heavy downpours. right now showers in pennsylvania but they're weakening, but tomorrow a 50/50 chance of getting storms across the region. then cooler and less humid air by wednesday night, thursday and friday are going to be so nice. y forget about it. the bay temp still nice and warm at 82 degrees. clear to partly cloudy, maybe a shower, stream northwestern maryland, 70. tomorrow back up to 91. look for pop-up shower and thunderstorms after 3:00 or 4:00. a few locally heavy downpours. >> thank you, bob. still ahead, a big change coming to standardized tests, how a new plan from the federal government will impact students around the country. killed in afghanistan, 30 americans die in a helicopter crash where the military is focusing its investigation tonight. responsible for rampage. police identify the man who killed seven people in ohio. new details about the motive,,,, good evening. thank you for staying with wjz, eyewitness news. here's some of the news people are talking about tonight. thousands of verizon workers are on strike across the northeast including here in maryland over failed contract negotiations, raising the question, can you hear them now? verizon employees on the picket line in baltimore county, joining thousands of others across the country. in philadelphia workers take to the treat overnight. in boston they walk the line in the rain. in new york they make some noise. negotiations between their union and verizon broke down over the weekend. >> verizon hasn't budged one inch. >> reporter: the president of the local cwa said verizon is demanding concessions. >> it's the biggest gap between the rich and poor since 1929. >> the strikers work for the wireline division and the landline division. >> as our business changes, we need look at hard choices about making -- keeping this company a successful company. >> verizon said it's been preparing for months by training the management and others to fill the roles. the company said there will be some delays and the strike is creating other trouble. police arrested half a dozen strikers for disorderly conduct when a car was delayed getting into the entrance off old court. the union knows the stakes are high. employees cope with the heat on the picket line and at the bargaining table. >> employees have walked off the job before. both of those strikes lasted a couple of weeks. we have an update on breaking news, a horrible accident on i-69 causing major delays in wood lawn. kristy breslin has the latest. let's bring you up to date. skyeye clop ter is at security boulevard. as you can see, only the shoulder is getting by. the accident was a fatality. that's why this will shut down the lanes for stie. as far as the west side inner loop goes, the emergency medical equipment is now on the righthand shoulder but we have significant delays in that hear as well. your alternate is route 0, baltimore national pike or rolling road. we'll bring you more updates as it becomes available. back to you. police have identified the man behind a shooting rampage hoops that left seven people dead in a small ohio town. denise has the details. >> reporter: 51-year-old michae hance is named as the gunman. he died after killing seven others. the violence began 11 a.m. sunday when hance shot his girlfriend and gunned down others. people who knew him described him has quiet and strange. he was involved in an estate dispute. >> neighbors say the victims include an 11-year-old boy and two high school students. officials said the taliban is not gaining strength despite shooting down a helicopter over the weekend. this was the deadliest single incident since the war effort began. danielle nottingham reports. >> reporter: president obama said the latest tragedy in afghanistan will not stop the mission. >> we will press on and succeed. >> reporter: the group claimed it shot down the chinook. the crash killed 30 american troops including 20 navy seals from the same elite unit that killed osama bin laden. >> their loss is a stark reminder of the rift that they take every day. >> the seals were helping a group of army rangers hunting down a taliban leader. the pentagon said it's in the a shine that the taliban is regaining stege-- strength. spencer duncan joined in 2008. the flag is flying at half-staff as the friends comfort each other. >> we can't grip this is real. >> the bodies of duncan and others are expected to arrive at dover airforce base on tuesday. the president says it highlights the risk for servicemen and women as the u.s. begins to wind down its mission and hand over control to afghan forces. washington, danielle, nottingham, wjz, eyewitness news. >> the president's war strait ji calls for some 30,000 troops to least battlefield. the united states will give $100 million for the relief efforts that's deaf stating the horn of africa. 29,000 people have died in the last 90 days a drought is turned into fame min because little aid can reach the nation. >> world markets sank even as the world central bank helped. >> reporter: stocks worldwide went tumbling after the s&p downgraded u.s. credit. asian markets plummeted across the boompletd indian shares fell 3%, their lowest level in more than a year but european markets pulled out of their nosedive briefly. europe's central bank indicated it would buy up spanish and italian bonds it. pushed down soaring interest rates that threatened a financial meltdown. >> it does ease the situation, but it doesn't do the main thing which is to have the country reduce its deficit and make reforms. >> reporter: the european market fell 2% after analysts warned there's so much money left in the pot. >> the european central bank could not fund the italian and spanish government. that debt is way too large. >> reporter: in the past 10 days european stocks have lost or than the combined economies of ireland, greece and pore portugal. they pledge to take all necessary steps to inject financial stability in the market. >> here's another look at the final numbers. the down ended 635 points down. the s&p is off 80. the nasdaq is off 174. the national highway traffic safety administration is looking into safety complaints about two popular cars. customers complained they were unable to get shift gears on the 2011, 2012 mustangs with manual transmissions. the preliminary investigation is of 26,000 vehicles. there are also complaints about leaks in the fuel lines of some jettas. a small plastic tab could rub against a fuel supply line under the hood. a fuel like could develop and lead to fire. schools are about to get a break from the student testing requirement unless the federal no child left behind law. stood education sect arne duncan is announcing a waiver system. it will be howeverred to all 50 states as long as they meet other school requirements. critics say the benchmarks are unrealistic. time for a quick look at some of the stories you'll find in the baltimore sun. a silver lining for maryland consumers and the recent market volatility. meet the latest insect that inspectors are trying to keep out of the port of baltimore and the ravens prepare for their preseason opener. remember to look for the updated forecast from the weather theme. here's one of the stories the cbs evening news team is working on. >> famine has already killed 29,000 children under the age of five. join us for special coverage as the "cbs evening news" comes to you from the center of the crisis. still to come tonight, an unwelcome guest in the skies. what happened to the airplane intruder. >> a rickey rescue. -- risky rescue. a woman and her children taking a plunge to save their lives. navigating today's real estate market is complicated. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process, no matter how intricate. and that's good news, whether you're trying to sell or hoping to buy. because the only sign you really want to see is "sold." nobody sells more real estate than re/max. a typical warm night. there may ab brief shower -- be a brief shower later tonight. some thunderstorm activity in the region and a few isolated spots. then it will start out by wednesday afternoon as things begin to cool down. look at wednesday, maybe a thundershower and down to a more comfortable drier 64. open the windows. only 83. 60 on thursday. 85 friday and mid-80s on saturday. so niece weather ahead. in today's energy saver your porch light or lamp post is one of the highest used places. it's a place to install energy star lights. they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. you can also install a motion sensor. for more information on how you can be an energy saver, go to wjz.com, scroll down the righthand side of the major. the mayor of london cut short his vacation in an attempt to deal with violence, rioting and looting. they are arresting rioters. more than 160 are in custody and about 35 officers were injured. two athletes died after experience problems in the triathlon portion. a woman had cardiac arrest. a new jersey man was pulled out of the hudson river unconscious. police believe he suffered a heart attack. they are now investigating more. jumping for that are lives in michigan. a family leaps from a fourth floor apartment to escape a fire. it happened in detroit. the family was taken to the hospital where they're in stable condition. >> the little girl and the little boy, they hit the cement. the mother hit the cement. the father stayed up there until the fire department went up and got him. >> the fire started in a vai capital apartment. a not sop friendly message for tourists vesting hollywood, california. nearby homeowners want tourists to go home. residents said tourists are invasively entering their narrow streets. there was a scare for passengers on a delta plan. a beard or a bat flew down the aisle. it was eventually trapped in the plane's bathroom, but once the plane landed delta could not find the animal. 14 hours down and two and half days to go, the marathon swimmer is on a quest to become the first person to swim from havana to the florida keys without a shark's cage. hee will stop briefly -- she will stop briefly to eat. in 1979 she swam setting a distant record without a wet suit and that still stands today. >> denise is standing by with with a preview of what's coming up. police are on the hunt for a serial robber. the crime the suspect is accused of. financial fallout after a rough day on wall street. what's next. wjz is next with complete coverage. check in for these stories and more coming up at 6:00. still to come tonight on wjz eyewitness news, sports director mark viviano live at the ravens training complex. hey, mark. >> the ravens he cut a number of veteran players this preseason. today theyed a one. he has an interesting nfl resume. a well-known nfl veteran is on the verge of joining the ravens. mark has more. mark? >> reporter: a number of fans were wondering when the ravens would bring in some reinforcement to the roster give than 10 different ravens from last year's team have signed with others. the ravens are in need of a back up to ray rice. they're bringing in one of the more unusual characters. he is veteran running back rickey williams. williams was a heisman trophy winner in 1998. his career has been an unusual one. three years with the new orleans, most recently with the miami dolphins, but he's probably most known for having taking an early retirement in 2004. he did that because he is a plawrnlg user who no longer wanted to be subjected to the drug testing. that retirement didn't last very long. he attempted a comeback but was suspended for failing a drug test. the last three years he's been clean and playing productive. the coordinator for the ravens, who was with rickey williams in miami said those problems are in the past and they're glad they have him. back to you for now. >> thank you very much. in healthwatch parents often make shure they pack healthy food for their children to take to school but bacteria may be lurching in their lunches. >> reporter: many parents pack their kids school lunches to save money and to guarantee their kids eat healthy. >> today we did soy butter and jelly for a sandwich. >> reporter: a new study finds parents may be unwittingly be packing a breeding ground. researchers examined the lunches of 700 students and found most had lower than normal temperatures. >> they are four times more likely to get serious illnesses from food poisoning than someone who is older. >> reporter: doctors acknowledge most kids don't get sick but this is about reducing the risk. >> use ice packs and insulated bags as much as possible. in particular meats and dairy and raw vegetables. >> reporter: at school, make sure lunches get into a refrigerator. use fruits with peels and food that is not so temperature dependent like peanut butter and talk to the school. >> i will talk to them and see what they do. and make sure they implement a possible. >> reporter: a little food for thought has parents get ready to send their children back to school this fall. in new york, reporting. >> and you should not leave food out of the refrigeratetor for more than two hours. i'm mike hellgren at the mitchell courthouse downtown where john wagner is on trial where john wagner is on trial for murdering a johns h,,,, choosing your own doctor or hospital may be important to you. so take a look at a medicare supplement plan, like an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans let you go to any doctor or any hospital that accepts medicare patients. there are no networks and no specialist referrals needed. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide and learn more about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. all medicare supplement plans travel with you nationwide. so wherever you go in the us, you'll have the freedom of choice. with no networks or referrals needed. and they can help pay some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save up to thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses. call now and learn more about aarp medicare supplement insurance plans, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. get this free information kit, including this medicare guide. you don't need to be an aarp member to call. coming up. stocksstocks spiral. cot -- could the downgrade put the u.s. back into a recession. a johns hopkins researcher is murder. now the murder trial. four days since an apparent murder-suicide. i'm jessica kartalija. police search for answers as neighbors prepare a memorial. it is a sultry monday but storm clouds are looming. the forecast is coming up. check in for these stories and all the breaking news, wjz eyewitness news at 6 starts now. money mess. stocks dive after the credit rating downgrade. >> could we spiral into a second recession? >> hello, i'm denise koch. >> i'm vic carter. >> the dow plummeted. the s&p and nasdaq also suffered major losses. >> stonings went into free -- stocks went into free fall. investors headed for the exits after s&p made the unprecedented decision to cut the country's credit rating. the dow finished the day down more than 600 point, losing more