an arlington man opens fire killing his mother and wounding her doctor. you'll hear from the gunman's brother. >> a big storm hits the big apple. find out what draws the city to a stand still coming up. >> and is more rain in the weekend forecast? "good morning washington" at 5:00 a.m. begins right now. >> good morning washington. thank you for joining us. it is 5:00 today. >> great to have you here with us. we begin with your traffic and weather every 10 minutes. here is adam caskey. how is this friday shaping up for us? >> still a little damp outside. we had the rain showers last night. the clouds hung around. it is going to take a while for the clouds to break up. we're still a little damp. take a look at some of the rainfall totals.

you can see myersville had almost .08 inch of rain. some beneficial rain. most of us has under .2. >> we have lanes open on the belt way. we're in good shape to start the rush hour from college park to bethesda. the crash that occurred after 10:00 last night has now been cleared away. lanes are open once again. the beltway is open to traffic. on the interloop, there were no issues there related to this. that's in good shape. 270, 66, 95 and 395, interloop ramp to go north to college park, a crash along the left side.

>> our top story this friday morning, a murder/suicide. police say a distrouth man shot his mother and doctor after hearing her diagnosis then barricaded himself in her room before turning the gun on himself. >> the doctor collapsed just outside the doorway. after three hours of a terrifying tactical situation, the incident became an investigation into a mysterious murder/suicide. >> my wife was in there. >> doctors were just informing paul pardus that his mother would likely never walk again. >> it is scary knowing that there was a man with a gun. >> he pulled out a semiautomatic hand gun and shot the doctor in the stomach and then bare indicated himself in his

mother's hospital room. a tactical team found him on the ground and his mother dead on the bed. family members agonized. >> i called on the phone. she said we don't know what's going on. >> the injured doctor, david cohen underwent emergency surgery and is expected to survivor. >> the wounds do appear to be survivable wounds. >> now, only on 7 this morning, the family of the suspected gunman speaks out. the brother of paul pardus opened up to abc 7 about what may have driven his brother to kill. good morning, courtney. >> good morning. paul pardus lived here at this small home in arlington, but his family is from birminghamton, virginia. that is where we caught up with his brother who caught up with

us exclusively who said he believes his brother did this because he felt so bad for his mother. he believes his brother, the infamous johns hopkins shooter did everything because he couldn't watch his mother suffer anymore. >> he tried to be with her and do as much as he could. >> gibson said for the last few years, chronic back pain kept his mother, jean davis in and out of hospitals. pardus was the one to take her to specialists for her pain. >> the operation was unsuccessful and i guess he thought she probably wasn't going to be able to walk again. >> gibson and pardus' neighbors say he was not a violent man but rather a devoted son going to

medical school at one point to help. >> he wanted to stay with her as much as he could. >> in the end, pardus was with his mother. leaving gibson to cope with the loss of both. >> i've lost my mom and my brother. >> pmp ardus worked as a metro assets driver driving around the elderly. his family told us they were aware he had a hand gun but did not think he would ever use it in this way. >> thanks for that report. coming up we'll hear from a patient of the doctor shot in baltimore. >> now we turn to the latest on the oil disaster in the gulf of mexico, the damaged well that spilled millions of glance of oil into the gulf could soon be plugged forever. the government said a relief well has intercepted the blownout well. crews will pump mud and cement into the damaged well. the work could be finished by

sunday. new york city will clean up after a storm that brought 100-mile-an-hour winds and torrential rain and in ohio officer are going door to door searching for victims of a tornado that touched down there. >> just as rush hour hit new york city thursday afternoon, so did a fierce, fast-moving storm. >> i thought it was the end of the world. >> tornado warnings went out around 5:30. at least 30,000 people lost power as lightning filled the sky. >> all the doors on my house flew open. the air-conditioning crashed in. the windows crashed in. >> trouble for commuters trying to get home. new york's busy station closed. it was so packed after winds knocked down power lines on train tracks. drives didn't fare much better either. >> it was like a giant human car wash.

everything just started spinning. >> one woman died when a tree landed on her car. others wondered how they survived. >> i didn't know what hit me at first. am i live. r one of those things, maybe an act of god but doesn't make it any easier for us. >> meteorologists will confirm today if the city has now survived tornado number nine. >> unbelievable. >> so unusual for the city. >> it is 5:07. still ahead on "good morning washington," comedy and politics collide on the national mall. >> first, a sneak peek at the droiiiid.

what this droid does will change how you do web connections. this creates a mobile 3g hotspot, powerful enough to fuel multiple devices at will. putting you at the center of your own world wide web. introducing the new droid x. the next generation of does.

>> we'll find right flavor to tempt your pallet. >> good morning. 5:10. temperatures in the 60's. 64 in rockville. 62 in leesburg. 65 in waldorf. .20 of an inch in reston. i mentioned you'll notice the

humidity. look at the dew point numbers. it is not uncomfortable outside but you'll notice a little bit of mugginess in the air this morning. that is going to change later today. damp and clear. the sky will gradually clear this morning, becoming sunny this afternoon with lower humidity levels. high temperatures in the low to mid 80's. a warm weekend with high temperatures in the 80's. a little added cloud cover on sunday. the dry weekend and dry next week. we're in good shape now. we had an accident early this morning on the belt way in bethesda, but it has now been cleared and all lanes are open. you can see the traffic going towards the bottom left of your screen. that is the outer loop. there is a little bit of sand on the beltway where the accident was so you may find a brief delay getting through there. now we go to 270. no delays there. 66 is good.

9 5, 395 in virginia off to a quiet start. >> 5:11. now we turn to hurricane karl which is really making a mess in mexico. it dumped rain on the yucatan peninsula flooding streets and knocking down trees. karl had been upgraded to a category 3 storm. >> we have 68 degrees. still to come this morning, a news faceoff in the heart of washington? we'll tell you more about >> first the latest from the pope's historic trip to the united kingdom.

>> welcome back. our top story at 5:15. investigators say it was an

arlington man who opened fire at johns hopkins hospital yesterday. paul pardus shot the doctor and then killed his mother and then himself. he became distraught when being briefed on his mother's condition. a woman was killed when a tree fell on her car. the storm brought torrential rains on the commute home. the pope is in london on his second trip to great britain. he spent yesterday in scotland where he held an outdoor mass and met with queen elizabeth. >> news that metro may backtrack on plans to lower the cost of a smart trip card. they thought those cards would cost $2 to make but it turns out to actual cost of the card is $3.40. metro considered selling the cards for just $2.50 but they

say they will lose a million dollars a month from that. some drivers say they are getting a lot of tickets and city officials acknowledge if you pay by phone with a credit card, your license plate and location then go into a database. people writing tickets then have access to the information via hand held devices so they get an update on when a meter is about to expire. the bridge will close this weekend so crews can perform some work there. it will be shut from 8:00 tonight until 5 monday morning. the chain bridge will also be closed during the first three weekends in october. it is 5:16. jon stewart, steven colorado bare are -- colbert will hold dueling rallies in oshe.

the rally to restore sanity. colbert calls his the rally to keep fear alive. >> to draw more people. >> i know, everyone is getting in on the action. >> ok. in today's tech bytes, the power of talk and an email upgrade. >> yahoo! is upgrading its mail and search sites. they gave a sneak thursday ahead of their fall launch. yahoo! mail runs faster. searches also have a cal sewell with key information about requests and topics. all four major wireless carriers say they will sell the wireless tab. it runs on google's android software. none of the wireless companies said exactly when it would go on

sale or how much it would cost. we all know talking on cell phones drains the battery but the opposite may soon be true. in korea, scientists have come up with a new technology to charge phones. it will generate electricity from passing cars. those are your tech bytes. >> it is 5:18. time now for traffic and weather. 68 degrees. a tiny bit warmer. feels a little humid compared to yesterday. >> low moisture around because of the light showers we had pass through. luckily a few downpours. northwest of town. that's where they needed it the most. the rain showers really were beneficial. we'll take what we can get. let's break down some of the totals for you yesterday in myersville, look at that, almost .80 of an inch.

cumberland had almost .70. these were the exceptions. most of us had significantly lower accumulations, especially closer to the metro area but we don't need the rain as much as they do further north. waldorf, almost .10 of an inch. temperatures, you do feel the humidity a little bit. the dew point numbers for the most part in 60's. manassas, 68 degrees. gray skies today. still a little damp out there. let's go to the almanac data. yesterday a hot one, 91 degrees. remember the record for -- is 67. still below that. only .03 inch of rain in the

bucket at reagan national. here is the latest drought monitor updated yesterday. still in extreme drought. severe drought in much of central virginia. that's where we needed the rain the most and that's where we got the highest accumulation, mainly because of the remnants of those storms and they had gentle showers yesterday. cloudy skies this morning. clearing by midday and afternoon becoming mostly sunny. around 83 degrees. i think we could be a few degrees higher than that locally later on this afternoon. warm this morning. still pleasant but very dry through the middle and end of next week. warming up more wednesday and thursday. now let's go to jim with our commute. >> good news on the beltway. the outer loop reopened. the earlier truck accident that occurred last night.

there is still some sand across the beltway lanes on connecticut aver to absorb the diesel fuel that was spilled in the crash. let's go to 270. a little bit tougher getting through highianstown. expect to find the northbound side of 95 running without incident. fairly heavy traffic with all lanes open. >> 68 degreest outside on this friday morning. your time is 5:21. coming up a taped interview with clinton portis and how not a word was spoken. that's coming up. >> later today, one of oprah's all-time favorite guests makes her wildest dreams come true. ♪

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and the 100% natural whole grain oats treat your heart sweet. because they can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. ♪ you're sweet to me bee happy. bee healthy. >> that will do it! >> the seattle storm basketball team is the new wnba champions. they beat atlanta 87-84 last night to claim the title in a three-game sweep. >> seattle absolutely stormed through the postseason going a perfect 7-0 in the playoffs. >> no one is predicting the perfect season for the skins, but hey, we are undefeated for

now. >> this was clinton portis' day yesterday to talk with the media and take comments on those questions about women in the locker room. instead, reporters got this. >> a taped interview. por portis held up his note pad saying no comment, god bless you, thanks for coming. it left everybody smiling. on a serious note, one of the best matchups on sunday will be rookie tackle trent williams against williams. >> going up against a different type of defensive style. every week it is going to be tougher. he understands that. he knows that. i definitely have confidence in trent and the things he has been able to do. >> there is a look at your

sports. have great day everybody. tgif. >> happy friday. the news continues with "good morning washington" at 5:30. >> another high profile resignation. >> live in arlington, more information on the shooting at johns hopkins yesterday as well as an exclusive interview with the brother of the gunman. >> we needed the rain ye america needs clean energy, and america needs jobs. wind power can deliver on both - but only if the senate encourages investment

by passing a strong renewable electricity standard. with a strong res, we can keep 85,000 wind power workers on the job, and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, too. jobs that america could really use right now. for american jobs, tell your senators to pass a renewable electricity standard today.

>> he was real close to my mom, also. i guess he felt that she was suffering a lot. >> straight ahead this half-hour. horror at johns hopkins. only on 7 we're hearing from family members of the hospital shooter. good morning washington. thanks for being here with us on this friday, september 17. thank you for joining us. >> we're going to have more on that story in just a moment let's begin with your traffic and weather every 10 minutes. we're heading on to the weekend. shaping up to be a sticky, humid morning. >> yeah, it is. luckily we have a cold front moving in as we speak and that is going to drop the humidity throughout the day. it is going to be a nice day. pleasant day and a good weekend. >> we have been experiencing a little bit of rain. >> beneficial rain. let's take a look at the totals on our weather bug network. they have so many rain gauges.

luckily we had a few embedded downpours from the midwest. that gave myersville .80 of an inch. martinsburg, .5 inch. herndon, .16 of an inch. bethesda, .13. a little muggy outside. that is going to change. here is our forecast. high temperatures in the low to mid 80's. 80's downtown. lower 80's in outlying areas. a fair amount of sunshine this weekend. highs in the 80's this weekend but dry again. 5:30. let's go to jim with traffic. >> we're looking at heavy traffic getting through interchange at route 109. springfield, 95 coming out of fredericksburg. this looks good, heavy getting past route 109. the beltway is in good shape. the lanes are open again after

an accident. there is no delay getting through that stretch. you get by through college park now, single file to the right. >> our top story this morning, two people dead. a third wounded after a shooting inside a baltimore hospital. police say a man opened fire on a doctor before barricading himself inside his mother's hospital room. shortly after he turned the gun on her and then himself. this all played out on national tv inside the renowned johns hopkins hospital. mike, good morning to you. >> good morning, alison. we have definitely seen an increased police presence. security guards milling about. doctors and hospital staff are returning to work today. some had left the building with yesterday's chaos.

it was a frightening experience. >> the doctor collapsed just outside the door way. >> after three hours over the terrifying tactical situation, the incident became an investigation into a mysterious murder/suicide. >> my wife was in there. >> doctors were informing paul pardus that his mother would likely never walk again. >> it seems the gunman could not handle the news. >> it is scary. >> police say the 50-year-old man became so distraught and pulled out a semiautomatic shotgun and shot the doctor in the stomach and then barricaded himself in the hospital room with his mother. >> we had all of the stairwells coughed. >> the team found pardus on the ground and his mother in bed both shot in the head. >> she said oh, we don't really know what's going on. there are injured doctor,

orthopedic surgeon david cohen underwent emergency surgery and is expected to survive. >> the wounds do appear to be survivable wounds. >> hospital security officials say they used hand-held metal detectivors on patients or visitors deemed high-risk. they say with 80,000 visitors a week it is just not realistic to instaal metal detectivors and guards at every entrance but now they say they plan to review their security plan. >> we're hearing from family of paul pardus. he said he loved his mother so much, he couldn't stand to see her suffer. >> paul pardus lived here at this home in arlington and worked as a metro assess driver

driving the elderly around the area. we spoke with his brother who lived in recommendington driver. >> he believes his brother, the now infamous johns hopkins shooter, 50-year-old paul pardus did what he could because he couldn't watch his mother suffer anymore. >> he said his mother's back pain kept her in and out of hospitals. pardus was always the one to take her to the hospitals. her last surgery did not go as planned. i guess the operation was unsuccessful and he thought she would not be able to walk again. >> neighbors say he was not a violent man. rather, a devoted son, at one

point actually going to medical school to help. >> he wanted to be with her as much as he could. >> leaving gibson to cope with the loss of both. >> i lost my mom and my brother. >> and according to gibson, he says that the family was aware that pardus did have this gun. they just never thought he would use it in this way. reporting live in arlington. >> thanks, courtney. a party of the doctor who was shot is -- a patient of the doctor who was shot is praising his expertise. she had a degren rative disk. >> he was my knight in shining armor. that's why i was so

devastated. to hear of his -- the horror that happened to him. i want him back on his feet as soon as possible. he certainly got me back on my feet. >> after the doctor was shot, susan posted a message on her facebook page urging her friends to pray for him >> for more stories from the scene in baltimore, be sure to log on to our website, tbd.com. >> we are hearing more about the people who were taken hostage at discovery communications in silver springs. two of the hostages spoke on yesterday's open "oprah winfrey show." >> i had an email. i responded. i always knew i was blessed but you never -- you hate that it is something like this that really makes you appreciate what you really have. i have not wasted a moment since

then. >> four hours into that ordeal police shot and killed the gunman. >> 5:36. looking at the day ahead, the white house is fighting g.o.p assertion nass the economic stimulus package is a failure. the administration will release a report outlining 100 prompts creating jobs and aiding the economy. it includes building new highways and factories and paying for medical research. congress has news to help small businesses create new jobs. creating a $30 billion fund to increase funding for small businesses and cut taxes and boost federal loan programs. the bill now heads to the house. still ahead right here on this friday morning edition of "good morning washington," taking a test to give a tour. why the plan isn't sitting well with everyone. plus backtracking on metro. why passengers may not get a price break on smart trip cards

after all.

>> hi. i'm megaan at the national zoo. are you eating a healthy breakfast? good morning, washington.

>> 5:40. cloudy outside. still a little depramp the hours that we had yesterday. half an nitschke some spots where we needed it the most. still not enough to put a big dent in our drought. we're in the 60's pretty much everywhere. king george, virginia, an exception at 70. let's go to the maps. cloudy skies this morning. the rain showers that moved through yesterday are well off to the east. high temperatures in the low to mid 80's and this weekend, warm but fairly sunny with a little added cloud cover on sunday. not a cloudy day. partly cloudy with highs in the mid 80's. that's it for the weather. >> good news on the beltway, the early morning accident is gone. lanes open once again. no delays getting through there. there is a closure on 95 and college park, closed ever so often. we had an accident there. every so often the ramp is shut

down to try get a car back outside. we had a problem earlier with traffic signals out. pamela, alison, back to you. >> thank you. 5:42 is the time now on this friday morning. 68 degrees. >> coming up, the first lady under fire and the white house on the defense. we'll tell you why. >> plus metro's price cuts might not happen after all. >> firsten an acid attack on a

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>> good morning once again, everybody. 5:45 is the time on a friday morning. investigators say an arlington man was the gunman at the shooting at johns hopkins hospital. paul pardus was being briefed on his mother's condition when he

pulled out a gun and shot dr. cohen and then killed his mother and himself. the doctor is expected to survive. the president and some democrats want to keep tax cuts just for the middle class but republican and other democrats want to keep all of the bush tax cuts. investigators now say a washington state woman who claimed another woman threw a cup of acid in her face made up the entire story. police say bethany storry admitted she did this. they don't know why she made up the story. >>the chair said the card is more expensive than previously thought. initially they thought it costed around $2 to make the card but the actual cost is $3.40. metro considered selling the cards for just $2.50 but metro said they would lose a million dollars a month in

revenue. police are searching for two men in connection with a deadly shooting of a teenager. a teenage boy was shot shortly before 7:00 last night in hyattsville. police believe two men fled the scene. there is no word on their 80's. we are learning more about a deadly crash sbeen an s.u.v. and an ambulance. you can see the s.u.v. seconds before impact. it is on the wrong side of the road and going so fast, you can only see a flash as it travels across the screen. all three men in the s.u.v. died at the scene. everyone in the ambulance survived. despite six days of early voting, turnouts for the maryland primary appears to be the lowest on record. about 24% of voters cast their ballots. officials say about 22% voted on election day and about 2.5% took advantage of early voting.

montgomery had a low turnout. peter nichols says he does not plan to work for vincent gray and his administration should the democratic nominee win in november. nichols said he plans to resign at the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition for d.c.'s next mayor. questions are being raised about whether michelle rhee will remain on the job. the d.c. school chancellor fired hundreds of teachers to reform the school system. rhee campaigned for fenty and called the election result devastating for d.c. schoolchildren. >> it pains me to be in a situation where i very shortly could be leaving. if i can somehow, in some small way make a dent in this for some group of kids somewhere, i will do it in a heartbeat. >> he says he won't make my personnel changes until after november's general election. >> as the constitution marks its

223rd birthday, there is some interesting news about its impact this morning. a survey tuned in 86% of respondants recognize the importance of the constitution. but only 1/3 have read the entire document. it also found that 18-year-olds to 24s understand it much less than older people do. >> time now for traffic and weather every 10 minutes. adam caskey is with the latest on what to expect today and into the weekend. >> we have been dominated by dry conditions. we had a few showers yesterday and where we needed it the most is where we got it. virginia. how did mother nature know? >> i hate it when moms do that. >> ok. take a look at some of the rainfall totals on the right-hand side of your screen.

myersville, almost .80 of an inch. rockville about .16 and waldorf only .09. my backyard in arlington, i potential picked up .004. yesterday not only was it a hot one, 91 degrees the high temperature according to the almanac. yesterday was our 63rd 90-degree day so far of the year. the record for the year is 67. here is the latest drought monitor. yes, we are dry locally but we still have that extreme drought going on in parts of west virginia and northern shenandoah valley and parts of maryland as well. thunderstorms pushed through last night, around midnight and

gave it a little tip in the rain gauge and that helped out as well. we're starting the day a little on the muggy side. dew points in the 60's. that is going to change. dropping humidity throughout the day. the cold front is moving through. we will clear out as well. significant cloud cover this morning but becoming mostly sunny this morning. highs in the mid 80's. mid 80's this weekend. mostly sunny to partly cloudy conditions. still remaining dry and unseasonably warm. >> the beltway in montgomery county reopened after connecticut avenue's last night accident. the lanes open. you may still find some sand across the roadway where crews had to absorb some fuel spilled. the beltway off to a good start. look a little further east at university boulevard, you'll see the traffic here cruising along close to the speed limit. 27 0rks heavy traffic getting past 109 in hyattstown.

back to you. >> we appreciate it. thank you so much, jim. the white house denies the claim in the new book written about france first lady carla bruni. the book claims michelle obama called life in the white house hell. the remarks cavepl came during the white house dinner. they are denying that the first lady ever made that comment. sarkozy distances herself completely from the book. >> casey affleck is now admitting what a lot of people had suspected. his documentary about joaquin phoenix was a folks. -- was a hoax.

>> [laughter] >> the film "i'm still here" followed the oscar nominee as he planned to launch his career as a rap star. it followed a bizarre appearance he made on the letterman show. he said he never wanted to trick anyone. he was experiencing with gonzo film making. >> now we know it was all just a hoax. >> it was barely given a one. >> anyone who has ever said their i dos knows that marriage can be a roller coaster ride but not usually on the very first day. there was a lot lot of screaming and yelling at this wedding. they did it with a smile. the washington state couple tied the not on a roller coaster at the local fair and decided to take the plunge after dating for four years.

>> i know that sound. >> what else is out there? >> it is 5:53. we have 68 degrees on this friday morning. you're watching "good

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requiring tour guides in d.c. to pass a test on the city's architecture and history. >> it is for the segway tour. the own filed a lawsuit yesterday asking a judge to invalidate this new requirement but some people think a test is necessary. >> i probably do think that is the case. otherwise, you'll get a lot of -- people just giving guided tours. how does the tourist know he is being told the truth? >> i'm a college graduate. i have learned a lot of history following my tour guide today. >> the new requirement applies to all kinds of tour guides, not just the guys on segways. it seems they would be able to pass it if in fact they do this regularly. it shouldn't be hard to pass. >> shouldn't be a problem, you

wouldn't think. >> more american families having frubble making end it is meet and for some the nuzz is worse. >> securit0