headlines in the past, but they have been countered by leopold's other women staffers. >> we have not seen any inappropriate behavior. we are the ones that work with him every single day. and this has got to stop. >> reporter: but carla robinson claims when she complained about leopold, she was transferred. >> calls were transferred to the anne arundel county attorney's office. he tells wjz, the suit is groundless and he will move to have it dismissed. >> the suit is seeking monetary damages of $500,000. growing fears after a string of violent attacks. one of those incidents is being called a hate crime. tonight, members of the hispanic community are coming together to combat the violence. weijia jiang has the latest on the response to these attacks. weijia? >> reporter: kai, there was an emotional gathering here this morning with police and community members who all want to protect hispanic residents. but some disagree on exactly how that should be done. >> the beating death got widespread anger. they say jermaine holly confessed to striking because of his quote hatred of mexicans. >> we don't want this kind of crime. we are going to fight back coming together. >> on tuesday, they joined the family and friends of patterson park. the area where four other hispanic attacks happened in the past three weeks. and on july 24th, police say reyes' nephew was shot and killed. many are terrified, not only of criminals but of police. >> they surround me. and i talk to police or everybody. >> are you afraid. >> of course i'm afraid. that's why i'm not showing my face on the camera. >> he says it's mostly a fear of being deported. >> you have not heard me say one utterance about the immigration enforcement law. simply not a map to dispel the word on the street. now, they are asking for a written policy that promises officers will not check on the immigration status. >> they also have to say, this is our policy. here it is. and people have to know that it's written and it's understood. >> councilman jim crabtree strongly disagrees. >> it's going to go into the whole immigration debate. and that is not what this issue is about. this is about public safety for every person of every color. >> reporter: and as all of the policy talks continue, the reyes family says their immediate priority is raising enough money to send martin's body back to honduras to be burkedded. for more information, click on wjz.com. we're live in patterson park tonight, weijia jiang, wjz eyewitness news. >> weijia, thank you. police are still looking for several suspects in the attacks, including a 13-year- old girl who they say killed a man during a robbery. anne arundel county police are investigating a crash that left a 91-year-old woman dead. sky eye chopper 13 was at the scene of davidson road around 4:15 yesterday afternoon. authorities say the victim was in the buick driven by 94-year- old frank boyd. it was hit by a dodge ram pickup truck. taken to prince george's medical county. he is now listed in severe condition. the driver was not hurt. new word about the economy after another disappointing report about the housing market. vic has more. >> responding almost instantly of news. the national association of realtors says sales hit their lowest levels since 1995. home sales have tumbled since a home buyer tax credit expired. the dow jones industrials average, briefly dipped below 10,000. at the end of the day, the dow is down 134. and the s&p and nasdaq also lost ground. experts say the nation's high unemployment rate of 9.5%, is also keeping sales down. recently, banks have also been selective in giving loans, which could be freezing out many potential buyers. a major announcement from the u.s. department of education today that affects maryland in a very big way. our state is named as a race to the top grant winner and will spend $3.4 billion with washington, d.c. and 8 other states. -- will split this with washington, d.c. and eight other states. >> reporter: 35 states across the u.s. competed for this coveted education money. it is part of president obama's stimulus plan, to improve struggling schools and boost graduation rates. maryland, washington, d.c., and eight other states are the chosen ones to split the $3.4 billion in race-to-the-top funding. i was with dr. nancy grasmick, moments after she learned the news. >> now we feel that we will have the resources to really accelerate our efforts. >> reporter: maryland's share of the money totals $250 million over four years and will be split with baltimore city schools receiving the most. $46.8 million. prince george's county will get 29. baltimore county, 15.4. anne arundel county, 6.1. and harford county, $2.6 million. >> fantastic news. a gift for schools. tremendous for the city. the reflection of a lot of hard work by a lot of people. because of these dollars from the obama administration, we are going to be able to make investments very quickly, including great leaders and great principles to some of our hardest-to-teach areas. >> and it toughens standards to focus on low-performing schools. >> no child is going to have to attend a failing school by accident. for the zip code where that child lives. so the tolerance of continuing low performing schools will just not exist. and we're going to set new standards for our teachers and for our principal. >> reporter: dr. grasmick told me today, students will see changes this year. they will see better technology and classrooms. and they will be exposed to international curriculum. and she says, it will be more rigorous. clouds and cooler temperatures hit maryland. a live look outside right now. shows sky eye chopper 13 with overcast skies and the possibility of some rain. meteorologist tim williams is tracking first warning live doppler radar, as well as the latest on tropical storm danielle. hi, tim. >> hello, kai. good evening. we're looking at cloud cover over our region. but not a lot of rain. take a look at first warning live doppler radar. what we've seen for the most part is a steady flow of wind, coming in from the northeast. that has kept cool are air coming in -- cooler air coming in from the north and off the ocean. it's kept the temperatures down. but building up water on the western shores of the bay. we have a coastal flood advise oar ne-- advisory in effect until 6:00 in the morning. for the western shores of the maryland beaches. -- maryland shore, i should say and the delaware beaches. definitely will start to subside after high tide. of course, we have an almost full moon. and as kai mentioned, we're talking about danielle, which is now, as of the 5:00 update, been downgraded to a tropical storm. sustained winds of 59 miles per hour. still not expected to impact the u.s. mainland. but is expected to restrengthen over the next 48 hours. potentially after moving in. we'll continue to keep you posted on danielle's progression. we'll have the complete, updated forecast. a day of delays. commuters hit with a major headache, after amtrak lost power to dozens of trains this morning. andrea fujii explains, the power is back. but passenger frustration remains. >> hundreds of passengers were stranded here at penn station this morning. but they were the lucky ones, as hundreds of other passengers were stranded on their trains for an hour and a half. >> amtrak lost power at about 7:45 this morning, canceling all service from washington, d.c. to new york. >> the train came to a dead stop, probably just south of ashdean. and --b -- aberdeen. and we sat there for about 90 minutes with the train just dead. >> some decided to give up on their trains. amtrak was resetting the power. >> i'm very frustrated. i had a tour for the white house this morning. and i'm going to miss my booking if i can't figure out a way to get to d.c. >> reporter: amtrak said there was low voltage on the line, forcing them to turn off power. it was restored at 9:00 a.m. meanwhile, dozens of trains were stuck on the train for near -- tracks for nearly an hour and a half. >> they did a good job of keeping us informed. and it wasn't a hot day. so it was fine. >> reporter: some managed to get on mta buses instead. but not rebecca last. >> i just wanted to go back to union station in washington. they were providing buses there. but not coming this way. joors it was deja deja -- >> reporter: it was deja vu for one. passengers were stuck without air conditioning or water for two hours. the next day, another breakdown in odenton, stranding passengers for 45 minutes without power. >> in the last year, there have been quite a few delays, with transportation from baltimore to d.c. >> reporter: amtrak says the cause of the outage is under investigation. they're telling their passengers to expect 20 minutes to two-hour delays today. marc train station will be back on schedule later this afternoon. reporting live, andrea fujii, wjz eyewitness news. >> for potential train delay information, log onto wjz.com, and click the story on our home page. still ahead at 5:00, the campus grieving, just months after one of their own is murdered. students at the university of virginia work to put an end to campus violence. forced out, then asked back. will shirley sherrod return to the agricultural department? the decision she announced today. i'm suzanne collins. researchers are working to come up with a drug that might help with parkinsons disease. i'll tell you about a promising new possibility. up next. chance of rain. and the forecast is coming up. , karen olson and biomarker strategies are pioneering a new approach to cancer research and diagnostics. governor o'malley and the biotech investment tax credit is a big reason biomarker strategies is one of america's top 20 startup companies. partnerships and tax credits for innovative businesses are exactly what our economy needs to grow. we're on the cutting edge of our industry, and thankfully we have a governor who listens and really gets what business needs to move ahead. martin o'malley. moving maryland forward. a hotly contested race for baltimore county executive just got hotter. wjz is live in towson, where the two primary democratic contenders have met. >> reporter: you're absolutely right. this is a big race in baltimore county. the two main candidates are both county councilmen. both are life-long residents of the county. and both agree that getting their message out with a population of 800,000 is costing a lot of money. >> reporter: for the first time, district county councilman joe felder hit the air with an ad. >> one minute i'm dressed like this, and another, i'm farming. just give me a phone booth and i'll change. >> reporter: they met with kevin caminitz. barkenfelder has been outspent by chairman caminetz. -- kamenetz. >> this becomes in addition to knocking on doors. >> reporter: he started weeks ago in his million-dollar plus campaign. bartenfelter has raised $200,000. >> you have candidates, neither are newcomers. so we're both known commodities, known products. we both have supporters who are going to help raise money and contribute money. >> reporter: kamenetz. >> i have had a great response in people. they are interested in my ideas. they know i want to move baltimore county forward. and i want to work with the community. >> reporter: barkenfelder knows people want to know. >> people are scared now. they're worried. they are worried about their future and our future. because they know how serious -- i don't want to say "bad," but how serious the economic situation is that we're in. >> reporter: getting through this economic slump is the high priority on both candidates' list. reporting live from towson, baltimore county, i'm pat warren. back to you on television hill. >> thank you, pat. the winner of the democratic primary for baltimore county executive, faces kenneth holt, a republican. let's check in on the roads now. kristy breslin is live at wjz traffic control for us. kristi. >> your drive home is not getting any easier. taking a look at the north side inner loop. that delay has stretched. it's now from 83 to harford road. heavy to security boulevard. 70 westbound. that's just crawling along from 29 to marriottsville road. and northbound 95, still struggling from 195 to the beltway. taking a look at overall traffic times. 32 miles an hour average. and 19 minutes to get by. now, here's a live look. you can see the disabled vehicle has been cleared. everything moving along just fine on the key bridge. this traffic report brought to you by subway. try the steak and bacon melt. fresh veggies on a blanket of bubbly cheese. only at subway, eat fresh. back over to you. parkinsons disease can cause terrible tremors and make a person's muscles go so rigid, they cannot move. p in tonight's healthwatch, there is word. they have been able to stop parkinsons disease in mice. >> i can't open anything like this. >> reporter: thomas mislin's parkinson's disease make its hard to do simple tasks. he first noticed the weakness 12 years ago. >> i couldn't do things like i wanted to do before. if i wanted to bang a nail into the wall, i couldn't do it. >> reporter: the only drug currently available to the severna park man is a pill that helps curb symptoms for a short period. right after taking it, he can open a soda can. >> it stops the symptoms for about an hour. but then it comes back immediately. and you are really in a daze. >> reporter: now, there is promising news for parkinsons patients. johns hopkins researchers have just discovered two drugs that work to prevent parkinsons disease in mice that were genetically engineered to carry that disease. >> to date, there are no real treatments for parkinsons disease. we can replace the neurotransmitter and blunt some of the physical symptoms. but as the disease progresses, those drugs no longer will work. >> reporter: researchers at hopkins worked two years, coming through up to 200 possible experimental drugs. the results? one drug stops parkinsons disease 100% of the time. >> parkinsons disease is the second most common neurological disorder after this disease. this will not be toxic to people. those who have just been diagnosed will ever get worse. those with a pregenetic disposition to parkinsons may never get the symptoms. >> researchers say this drug works by blocking a mutated enzyme that kills brain cells. back to you. >> this is fascinating science. thank you. >> reporter: the hopkins study is now published in the journal, nature medicine. >> amazing. the only nature medicine i have to offer you is a forecast that looks like it could be pretty nice if you plan on being outside this weekend. >> we'll take that. >> how about that? >> you've spun it well, my friend. >> a little stretch. but i got there. 73 degrees right now. we have been enjoying these september-like temperatures. it does warm up. it will be an incredible weekend. we'll update you also on what is now treerm danielle. -- tropical storm danielle. your complete updated first warning forecast is coming up. [ female announcer ] new real fruit smoothies from mccafé are real fruit, as in strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and bananas, which makes them really delicious. ♪ that's what we're made of. ♪ while taking a look out at a very cloudy shot from sky eye chopper 13. we have not seen a lot of rain today. we've seen to our south in the carolinas, about four or five inches. we have not gotten that. but we've seen the cloud cover and light winds off the ocean. keeping temperatures pretty low for this time of year. our average is 84. 73 that you see there is the highest temperature we've seen so far. at bwi thurgood marshall. but that is not official, not just yet. 75 in d.c. we have 61 in oakland. 70 on the shore. 70 in hagerstown. and dew points, well, 60 degrees. that's not too bad. but we have a lot of moisture out there. winds coming in from the northeast have been presenting a few problems for the western shores of the bay. the water being pushed up against the western shores of the bay as well as the delaware beaches, combined with high tides, could create potential problems for high tide at times through this evening and into tomorrow. our cloud cover, however, has been the key that has kept the sun out. not really a lot of warmup. without the sun and with that flow off the ocean, we've seen wetness in spots, scattered showers and drizzle throughout the day. and the cooler air off the water has really suppressed our temperatures, nowhere near the average high for this time of year. again, western shores will have a coastal flood advisory in effect through 6:00 a.m. this coming morning. and we'll start to see some improvement. high pressure is really trying to build in. and every time we've gotten a bit of a break with the clouds, we have been closer to the dryer air. we've seen some blue peeking in there. it will be tomorrow evening. but this spin in the atmosphere has kept this, wave after wave of light rain and drizzle. this next rain that comes through thursday comes through dry. it will help to clear out some of the moisture. but the cooler temperatures retreat to the northeast. and what we'll start to see is a bit of warmer air building in. and a shift in the wind from the northeast to the south. keeping an eye on danielle now, the 5:00 update. a tropical storm, sustained winds of 69 miles per hour. moving to the west/northwest at 10 to 15 miles an hour now. and expected to make a turn to the west/northwest. not expected to impact the u.s. main land. and expected to strengthen over the next hours. winds from the west now on the bay. it's 5 to 10 knots. 5-to-10 knot winds. and no advisories on the bay. so we're not looking at too many problems as a result of rain moving through. we will see mostly cloudy conditions tonight. and 83 tomorrow. clouds will break. we'll see warmer temperatures still scattered showers around. but for the most part, 83 degrees is your first indication, it's going to be a really nice weekend shaping up. we'll have the five-day forecast coming up. we like to talk about the weekend on tuesday. >> expwrs, we do. still ahead at 5:00. targeting toyota. safety analysts once again 0 in on the automaker. the latest car problems, sparking concerns. take on science. could bring controversial stem cell testing to a halt. putting an end to accidental e-mails. if you have some regrets over hitting "send," how one server says it will put an endnd,,,, [ male announcer ] the new subway flatbread breakfast sandwiches! like the new double bacon & cheese omelet sandwich! they're all new. toasty, tasty, and made to your order. so come and build your better breakfast today, at subway! come on in, and i'll give you a free quote. quote and compare in about 8 minutes. now, that's progressive. call or click today. it is 5:29. 73 degrees and cloudy. good evening, everybody. thanks for staying with wjz eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. as excited college students start the fall semester, the mood is pretty different at the university of virginia this year. it has been three months since cockeysville native yeardley love was found off campus. her boyfriend is charged with her murder. now, the university and its students are make something important changes. whit johnson reports for wjz. >> reporter: as students return to school, thoughts of the tragedy are fresh in their mind. >> it was complete and total shock. >> just for everyone. it's always going to be in the back of their mind. >> reporter: on may 3rd, the bod of uva player yeardley love was found badly beaten. students are now expected to take online training courses courses to combat domestic violences. uva is stepping up efforts to make sure students know about places they can go. yeardley's boyfriend, huguely had a prior record. >> i th