>> it is shocking. i have lived here for two years and i have always felt safe. >> by the time police arrived, the rapist had vanished. he is described as black, 6 feet tall, two under 50 pounds, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants. >> we understand how a crime like this can bring fear into a community. it is disturbing to the police department. >> they say women in this community should be on the lookout. especially after dark. >> we just need to be more careful and go out maybe in two's. >> police say they will try to develop any forensic evidence that is developed to see if it can be linked to any other crimes. right now, they say this is an isolated case. in lowell, abc7 news. a family and school are mourning the loss of a local high school student who dreamed

of being a poet and going to college. a shooting last night happened of holbrook street in northeast washington. we are live from high school with the story. >> cynne, grief counselors came here and from what we heard they were very much needed. two students were shot in their neighborhood about 1 mile from here. 17-year-old joseph sharps was killed. and number of parents came kids -- came to retrieve their kids when they learned that joseph sharps was dead. >> my whole class, nina, the first two periods were terrible. everyone was crying. >> it happened on holbrook ne. another student was shot in the leg. the family members talk about the pair. perched in the neighborhood, chased, and sharps was shot "--

four times. >> i do not think i can take anymore. >> at home where it was big joe and a little joke, the parents are in grief. >> you think when someone else's kid gets shot, you think given never happen to you. is worse than death. >> he loved life. >> one teacher said he had the students write poetry today. one boy wrote, "who would have thought he would be gone today? let's just say life is short." in a police report says the two students were walking down holbrook street when they were approached by three subjects, one of whom had a handgun, and

started shooting. so far, there are no arrests. reporting live, sam ford, abc7 news. a man accused of planning an elaborate check on the metro system has pleaded not guilty. he was arrested last month in a federal sting. the jury is scheduled for april. farooque will remain in custody until then. and missile mystery of the coast of california. take a look at this video. you see something shooting into the air last night. the pentagon cannot confirm if there was a missile launch or not, and if so who fired it. it does not appear to pose a threat to the u.s. we will have more on this mysterious launch at 6:00 p.m. >> that is really strange. this is nicely strange. sunshine and 60 degree weather. in november? not bad.

we have a first check of the forecast. 60 was the average child today. this has been happening day after day with the same pattern. here is the latest. here is one of the hd cameras. spectacular weather. the sun set just a few minutes ago. the temperatures will quickly fall. 63 in leesburg. 60 in downtown washington. here is the forecast this tuesday. clear skies, cool temperatures. we will be in the mid 50's by 9:00 p.m. we will fall in the mid 30's by morning. how many more days of crystal clear skies and sunshine? you might be surprised. the forecast is minutes away. more than 4000 people are stranded on a cruise ship off the coast of mexico. the coast guard is now in action trying to get the massive boat to shore. we are going live to the satellite center with what happened. >> there was a fire on board the

ship that caused the carnival ships blunder to lose power. -- ship splendor. the crippled cruise ship was left stranded for more than 24 hours 55 miles off of the coast of mexico near san diego waiting for help to come. a fire broke out in the engine room of the carnival ship splendor forcing 3300 passengers to the upper deck while the crew battled the blaze. they were able to extinguish the fire, but it is operating only on emergency power. >> the cruise ship is still disabled. the passengers are being monitored closely. >> it left sunday from long beach, calif., on a seven-day cruise through the mexican riviera. passengers will board and other cargo ships were surprised to hear. >> to hear about safety and what happens. i have no worries.

>> right now, u.s. military aircraft from the uss reagan are preparing to drop supplies. the coast guard assures everyone on board is safe. >> they have water and food. we have no reports of any major distress. >> mexican tugboats are just riding and they will tow the splendor to shore but it will take a few days. carnival says they will receive a full refund and will be offered another trip. reporting from the satellite center, abc7 news. this man is asking for the courts to defend his identity. he is accused of boardings this air canada flight disguised as an old man. he once the media ban from his hearings. he's afraid the information disclosed will become available

to chinese authorities. a woman is missing thousands of miles away from home. she was on a trip with her husband in albuquerque, new mexico. he says they had a fight and she left the hotel wednesday. she has not been heard from since. we are live from reagan national airport with the latest. >> i just spoke with her husband a few minutes ago by phone. he came back to virginia and has packed his wife's bags. she left her clothes in the hotel room. he thought she would be back home. he will be getting on a flight to return to mexico soon with other family members to fall -- to find out what happened. is in person posters with michele's voters are going up in albuquerque, new mexico. the stafford county woman was on the waiting list for a heart transplant and has not been heard from since she drove away wednesday night after an argument with her husband. her son has been notified in

iraq where he works as a contractor. he describes his mother as "very responsible." >> it is really suspicious. >> neighbors are shocked to learn she is considered a missing person. >> you think you know people and then you find out stuff like this. it is really sad. >> two days after the fight, he told authorities that she drove away in the silver buick rental car. investigators are trying to track the on board gps system. her credit cards have not been used. >> we're concerned that there is a disagreement. "she has a critical heart condition. her son said she took her purse and medication. she left her medical alert bracelet behind. >> i do not want to have to come home for a funeral. >> at this point, albuquerque police say that this is a

missing person's report but they have given it a priority. the think there are circumstances that are suspicious. right now, there is no indication of her whereabouts. reporting live at reagan national airport, gil pennybacker come abc7 news. last week, a 21-year-old woman said she was beaten and robbed. a similar report came in a few minutes later. police charged two 70-year- old's and a 16-year-old with assault and robbery. they're being held in the juvenile detention center. a bethesda road is closed because of a big sing cole. take a look from new chopper 7. this is what it looks like from the air. a water main broke triggering the sinkhole. it is closed tonight while crews worked to repair the pipe. cumming and abc7 news at 5:00 p.m., when local county

says this could hurt their bottom line. >> a status update. could criticizing your boss on facebook cost you your job? which one should be worried about more than just a-bill. >> i am greta kreuz. police are now going after the websites that left

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prostitution and human traffic is becoming a growing problem in the montgomery county. >> local authorities are going after websites helping to promote these crimes. greta kreuz as live with the story. >> police say that the internet is the new street corner. instead of going out after the lonely prostitute, they are going up the food chain and targeting escort services and the websites. >> normally it is like $59 per day. i do even like to have sex. >> she is a local prostitute who gets her clients on-line. >> i do not walk the streets or

anything like that. >> what do you do? >> just on the internet. >> there are now going over the websites and web hosting services that allow blatant ads for prostitution. >> we want them just as accountable for being a participant in human trafficking as this so-called "amped" or the girl. >> they're going after the camps -- pimps. most of them rely on the internet. some websites they claim they do not know what is going on. police say it is pretty obvious. nervous web hosting companies have shut down some web sites even though some of them are just using -- moving overseas and out of u.s. jurisdiction. they are targeting backpage.com and eros.com. they are reaching in to those they say are really victims --

prostitutes like tina. >> would you want your daughter to do what you did? >> no. i feel like i am smarter. >> the police say these websites can no longer hide behind the first amendment. contributing to human trafficking is behind -- is a serious crime and it involves underage juveniles here in maryland. that can get up to 30 years in prison. greta kreuz cumming abc7 news. elizabeth smart return to the stand for a second day in the trial of her accused kidnapper. she told jurors months after production that is not like city police detective reproached for the library and ask if he could look under the veil that she wore. he told her he was looking for elizabeth smart. they stop the detective saying her face was hidden for religious regions -- reasons.

she was 14-years old when she was kidnapped from her home. the jurors to sentence a connecticut man to death yesterday are talking about the case. they decided he should kill -- he should die for killing the pettitt's. one of them told "good morning america" about the struggling of sentencing another person to death. >> part of my rationale was our founding fathers gave us this tool and if this was not the case to use this, then we never really did have a case. >> the jurors say they had an emotional meeting in the courthouse and based on the husband and father of the victims. another defendant charged in the case is expected to go on trial next year. many are saying some of our national treasures have been neglected. the interior secretary is signing off on a plan to

restore and preserve the national mall and the monument. this will include dedicated areas for evens to ease the wear and tear on the mall. they also want entertainment facilities and restaurants. if we could have weather like this every day, that would be beautiful. >> is gorgeous. it is great weather to be outdoors. you can enjoy the clear night sky. this is good. i keep enjoying this subconsciously because i know it is only a matter of weeks that we will have a long string of cloudy, windy days. i guarantee it will happen. let's start with a look at one of our brand new hd cameras at barack obama elementary school. here is what this guy looked like all day long from sunrise until sunset. it was a sunny day. not much in the way of the clouds. 60 degrees is the current

temperature in fredericksburg. 59 degrees in alexandria. 54 degrees in brookville. the average high right now is 54 degrees. this morning, 44 degrees at reagan national. 46 degrees in lexington park. at worst of the below average temperatures. we will be right back there again tonight. here is the overnight forecast. clear and cool, 30 in gaithersburg and 44 degrees expected downtown. here are the current temperatures. 61 at the top of the hour at reagan national. 55 in gaithersburg. 58 degrees in annapolis. temperatures are very comfortable. you do not need to go a far distance to warm it up in the 70's. the trajectory of the air is not from down here. this is just about average as we had to the next several days. not really cold or hot.

we do see the warm temperatures staying in place. there is a developing front in the northwest. there is a shot of really cool there. that will affect the rockies. they will get a real taste of winter coming their way. high pressure to the west. a little area of low pressure to the east of us keeping us going. that is bringing sunshine day after day. for the express forecast, short and sweet. clear skies tonight. 40 degrees is the average temperature waking up. 57 at midday. with sunshine come right back into the lower 60's. sun shine, shine on veteran's day. look at this. friday, saturday, and sunday partly to mostly sunny skies. clouds will increase on monday. the computer model suggests a cold front will come for on tuesday that will bring clouds and perhaps a few scattered

showers. >> in has been a great run them. thank you, doug. another celebrity will be sent packing tonight on "dancing stars." stars to go '' bristol ended up on the bottom. >> we did it. >> it is unbelievable. >> i am shocked. >> she is impressive on the dance floor. we will have to see who was going home tonight on "dancing with the stars" @ 9:00 p.m. now, it is your chance to win tickets to one of oprah's final shows. we will give a key word during the oprah show and during our 5:00 p.m. newscast. today's keyword is -- illinois. log on to tbd.com and into the

key word. we will pick a winner live at 5:00 p.m. and they will get two tickets, air fare, hotel accommodations, and they will be going to chicago. coming up on abc7 news at 5:00 p.m., there's an app for that. >> more complaints after a -- about a popular hair straight year. will the fda stepped up? >> i would want someone to do the same for me. >> is a price for a local teenager row. >> caught in the act. drivers busted for busting through crosswalks.

the number of pedestrians hit by cars is skyrocketing. >> they have cracked down in one area where there is a lot of street traffic. >> police said appeared during morning rush hour and in the afternoon around lunchtime. you will not believe how many people still got caught when they could see the police. but they still got caught doing something wrong. just like that one after another. we were there as the drivers got pulled over in arlington today. she was writing this minivan.

she turned into the intersection while people were walking on the crosswalk. >> i was thinking that i was not going to get a ticket. >> but she did. >> did you know what you were doing was wrong? >> no. i am not used to driving in the city like this. with the pedestrians and the traffic lights. >> they are cracking down on these busy intersections because it is dangerous. 78 people were killed in the pedestrian and cyclists accidents. people walking to lunch say they have to watch their back. >> you cannot count on the walk signal. you just have to watch for yourself. >> is not just an issue of the right of way. police say that he ran the red light right in front of them and read before pedestrians were supposed to start walking. do you think this is fair? >> no.

this is a trap. there is construction. you cannot see anything around. >> when i was out here with police officers during lunch time, they said this morning in about two hours. route 33 tickets. this afternoon they wrote probably another 15. they are on foot and could not get to everyone. there were plenty more tickets than they could have written. live from arlington, but russia barrett, abc7 news. -- natasha barrett. one of the closest congressional races in our backyard, today the winners official. >> changes are on the way for montgomery county liquor stores. i am suzanne kennedy. the details coming up. >> the academic gap between black and white students is worse than some educators thought. in fact, the numbers in

>> you are watching abc7 news at 5:00 p.m. -- on your side. a new study suggests african-american students are academically further behind than they thought. >> this details what they call "a national catastrophe for academics." mr. fletcher is in the newsroom and joins us with the details. >> we have another is a disparity between blacks and

whites when it comes to academic performance. what is interesting is it shows the gap has less to do with economics and more to do with community. 17-year-old isaac parker has been accepted to nearly one dozen colleges. life has not always been this good for this richmond high school student. >> i have been to the point where we did not have running water. >> is it has -- isaac has what this study says black students desperately need. this took into account family, community, the justice system, housing, and employment. >> the point of this was producing asset of the inequities that ought to be deeply, profoundly troubling to the country. >> among 43 african-american boys nationally, only 12% can read at the level.

in eighth grade, 12% hit the benchmark. >> we are feeling the kids in so many places. it is always seen at someone else fox a problem. it is a problem we are all sharing. >> he is the public school ceo. >> this is about how the community impact the schools and how the schools and back the community. >> parents we spoke to say that while community is essential that it is ultimately their responsibility. >> the problem starts at home, whether you are black or white. >> this begins at home. the parents can set a good foundation for their children. >> i am hoping that our community, not just with the community but within the black community. >> isaacs says they need to come to gather to set the right example. >> they're calling on the white house to shine a spotlight on

this issue. they think the administration should help marshal talented and brain power to think for a strategy, as a nation, to solve this problem. >> that is definitely a problem that needs to be solved. lisa fletcher, thinking. tonight, the public is invited to the memorial for a slain american university professor. she was found dead in her home. 18 was caught driving her missing car and is considered a potential suspect. the service begins at 8:00 p.m. on campus. the fight is officially over. despite losing by one of these lemons -- the slimmest of margins, connolly will return to washington. >> trees were falling all over the words. this one did not. that means something. >> congressman gerry connolly says this will not affect his

approach to the job. >> i was elected to exercise my good judgment. >> he says it is the economy that turned voters against him. the voters saying that it was him of. >> he, like many members of congress, have their own agendas and they will pursue them come hell or high water. >> he was the tone deaf. i wrote his office. >> connolly will remain a u.s. congressman despite losing by a hair. fimian says he will not pursue a recount. there are some ballots that have not been counted, fimian wrote on tuesday. it is not enough to change the outcome of the contest. according to the latest numbers, connolly led by 981 votes, 0.4% of all votes cast making this one of the tightest congressional races in the entire country. >> he will have to pursue a very moderate approach. questar the campaign, connolly

hit fimian on social issues. he made controversial remarks about gun control. fimian tried to nail connolly on the economy. the 11th district is the richest in the country. connolly was hospitalized with a blood clot after the campaign. he says it will not impact his ability to govern. >> my health is a lot better. >> abc7 news. he will soon be able to buy liquor on sundays in montgomery county. liquor store owners are praising the move, but some other local business owners are concerned. suzanne kennedy is live to explain why that is. cynne, the changes are happening just in time for the holidays. there are some in the county to save this will not be effective toward small business owners who depend on sunday sales to make the bottom line. there are stocking of shelves at montgomery county liquor stores in anticipation for the expanded hours.

starting november 21, all of the two dozen county-wide stores will, for the first time, be open on sunday. >> i think it is a good idea for the county to get more income. >> authorities estimate the sunday sales could generate $2 million per year. two years ago, the county executive was undecided about the idea of the sunday hours. with the county facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, the idea is now moving forward. talbot beverage and ice has been here for 55 years. they fear the impact of sunday hours will have on smaller merchants. right now, they are the only ones selling beer and wine on sunday. >> if you take away what is probably their best day of sales, i think some of them will be forced to close. >> consumers say they like the expanded hours. >> the county stores are much cheaper. >> they should be open on

sundays. it turned into a 7-eleven. >> the pilot program will last six months and begins on the sunday prior to thanksgiving. reporting live from montgomery county in bethesda, suzanne kennedy, abc7 news. a washington, d.c., a postal carrier is celebrating a milestone. he receives an award from the postal service of the 45 years without an accident. he has logged 2 million miles on the road. he was honored in for the families and co-workers. congratulations. way to go. time for a check of the traffic situation. >> we are taking a look at the cameras. we will see some very slow traffic. the darkness has made this very slow. we were moving at posted speeds, and all the sudden we now have a

very slow speeds on the american legion bridge. connecticut avenue is seeing much of the same. the inner loop will slow past the 270 spur. also here is to stem the northbound at 144. -- 270 northbound. here is springfield. this will obviously be slow. you'll see more delays that will continue down to the express lane at merge. that is your traffic. back to you, cynne and leon. coming up that abc7 news at 5:00 p.m., the brazilian blowout is being called a miracle by some. >> fired over facebook. should branson that were you were to be protected? >> a triple disaster.

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from 15 leading brands, including green mountain coffee. it's the way to brew everyone's favorite cup in under a minute. woman: way to brew. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. complaining about your work on line? good to get you fired.

>> according to the federal government, no. we will explain what this is all about. >> labor laws have actually long protected us from being fired for talking about co-workers, about workers, our company, or even your boss. and appears they may just protect us if we do it online. who has not complained about a bad day at the office? >> my employer is angry. i felt like i was treated bad. >> what happens if you-your boss on line? an emergency worker in connecticut thought she learned the hard way when she was fired. in the first of its kind case, they explained. >> the employer's social networking policy were overly broad. >> the general counsel of the national labor relations board

says communicating on facebook is the same as talking around the water cooler. they're people who talk to each other about conditions at work. >> especially if they are not listening to you and it will not do anything. >> this law firm said similar to 11,000 of their clients telling them to take heed. senior counsel chalk -- chuck cohen warns companies to examine their social media policies. >> we want them to know that they should take a look at those policies and make sure that they were not running potentially against the national labor act. >> mocking your boss on facebook could be protected after all. the national labor relations board filed a complaint against the connecticut company. a hearing is set for january 25. employees with social media

policies will be watching. coming up next comment teens who text too much could be at risk for more than just sore thumbs. >> is this putting peopl

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7 is on your side with the controversy around a very controversial hair straight an -- straightener. canadian health officials have issued a recall after finding high levels of formaldehyde in the strengthening solution. gail has more. >> while the fda cannot actually recall the product, members of the environmental working group says the fda should work with manufacturers who voluntarily taken off the market. between blood drying -- >> this is the phase where people fall in love with it. >> a rinsing, blow drying, she

says it is worth it. >> if it's a very unruly. it really reacts to the humidity. >> the solution used for the brazilian blowout is taking some heat beyond the 450 degree flat iron. the fda says they have received complaints of eye irritation, difficulty breathing, and headaches. they say they experienced some irritation, but only at first. >> refer started doing it, i did. i thought i had something stuck in my eye. >> testing from the state of oregon and canada has shown it contains 12% formaldehyde even though the bottle for claims to be formaldehyde free. >> you are seeing steamy and vapors coming off the hair. that is where the formaldehyde exposure is happening.

>> during the two-three hour treatment, salon workers and their clients are being exposed to 60 times the amount considered safe under federal standards. >> house can that is advising people not to use the product. that is our edifies, too. >> they save its own independent salon air quality test shows the formaldehyde levels well below 5 -- federal requirements. they stand behind their product. meanwhile, the doors of this salon are open so fans can blowout fumes. until this is resolved, some customers say they will keep coming in for the treatment. >> is worth the risk. they have all come to the conclusion they will take the risk because it changes your life. it is much better. >> in the meantime, the environmental working group analyzed the ingredients in the at home brazilian products. they did not find any

formaldehyde in those. the company has filed a complaint against the oregon osha saying they disseminated false information. in local spokesperson for the fda says they are still in the collecting information stage. abc7 news. a relationship between excessive texting and risky behavior is shown in a new study. they are more likely to have sex or use drugs and alcohol. hyper texters are teens who text more than 120 horus per da -- hours per day. speaking of risky behavior, if you want to know if you have the nasty, there is an app for that. british health officials say they're working on a fun application that will allow -- a

cell phone application that will allow you to put the samples in. this takes the in bear -- the embarrassment factor out of getting tested. you do not need to touch everyone's phone after that. [laughter] live in the newsroom with the latest. how about i changed the subject? the latest on the missile mastery of the coast of california, the pentagon says they still are not sure. military experts are weighing in. how about president bush on oprah? he is talking about his new book coming up at 6:00 p.m. see you soon. let's check in with the doug to see how long this great weather will last. >> here is a quick look at what is happening weather-wise.

55 degrees in silver springs. 59 in bristow. here is the satellite mapping begin have to go some distance to find any clouds. they're mainly offshore. high pressure is dominating which will keep us in fine shape for the next several days. forecaster the morning hours, some of that 6 ercot 40 5:00 p.m. mainly clear and cool. -- sunrise at 6:45 a.m. to the next seven days, many more days like today with plenty of sun, 60's during the day, 40's at night. that is the very latest. more next hour. back to you. >> what about the skins this evening? donovan make nab wants to get this stuff behind in and get -- mcnabb was to get this stuff

behind him. they were sounding off on the bench in issue. it is still a major topic with the fans and with donny mac. >> when you are in a situation like mad, you want to nip it in the bud. want to make sure you are on the same page. you want to make sure how you feel about whatever situation, communicate with the guys you need to communicate with come and put it behind you. >> and you did that? >> absolutely. show willn mcnabb's air on our sister station tbd. maybe will talk about his future with the redskins. that is all tonight at 8:30 p.m. he has missed the last four games and been out five weeks. after he went through a full practice yesterday, how did that injured groin and reactive to going for a full practice?

will he play against the eagles? will shanahan let him play? >> it is a work in progress, i guess. i worked out yesterday. i think there is swelling today. i have the rest of the week to try to get it right and make sure i will be 100% my stuff on the field. >> meanwhile, snyder was out with portis to promote health and fitness with the nfl pro challenge with brings together players and fans. >> i have kids. they certainly love sports and we are all involved. we want to make a difference in children's party lines and to influence the health of their lives. without your help, we have nothing. >> that is saturday at the harbor, 5k walk/run. >> how about a 5k limp?

>> it is good to see him not in the community. up next on abc7 news at 5:00 p.m. come a new hero gets a surprise at school. >> hear

and 18-year-old teenager runs into the flames and comes out a hero. >> this morning he got quite a surprise. the entire senior class at battlefield high school was in on this. take a look. >> he had no idea this was coming. 18-year-old christopher berger was called out at the assembly this morning. they gave him a true hero's hugs,e with high five's, and handshakes.

it was a reward after he was driving in haymarket and came upon an overturned and a burning car. >> i got out and looked. i was just running towards it. >> he said his heart dropped. someone was inside the car. >> he grabbed the door handle and pulled it off so hard that the handle flew off. thankfully the door also flew open. >> he grabbed the barely conscious driver and told him not to safety. >> there is no doubt he survived this extraordinary event due to the heroic actions of christopher burger. >> after the cheers, he received a certificate from the county fire chief and the praise of rescue workers. >> i just took some on the do the same for me. >> the man who was injured in the incident will survive his

injuries thanks to chris. >> what a great example he sets for all of us. that is it for abc7 news at 5:00 p.m. coming up but 6:00 p.m., a missile mystery. the military launches a massive probe. >> i got the perception that maybe bush did not care. he accused me of being a racist. it is disgusting. cut the former president speaking out like we have never heard him before. his thoughts on katrina and the war on terror. also the fight between the u.s. and the u.n. on the death penalty. live and in hd, this is abc 7 news at 6:00 p.m. -- on your side. the pentagon is watching an investigation into the mystery missiles and off the coast of california. >> its list of the evening sky. we are live from the pentagon with the latest. we are live from the pentagon with the latest. >>