up so it is probably having some effect of the patterns and it is working in our favor. >> doesn't feel like mid july. >> absolutely. the last couple days the forecast has been terrific, low humidity, comfortable temperatures with below average readings. 87 is the typical high but we have not been close. this morning a couple isolated showers in southern virginia and that will dissipate this morning. the big storms are out in the upper midwest showing up on radar. it is a clear sweep, just gorgeous. some changes are coming for the weekend. humidity and temperatures go up a bit so there is a rain chance. we want to check the traffic now with sarah caldwell to see what is happening. is it as nice as the weather? >> it is, looking good so far. we haven't had a lot in the way of volume so we are not dealing with any delays. we have a problem from yesterday. camp meade road the ramp is closed due to a sinkhole. otherwise, speed sensors good.

belair road on the top side 68 miles an hour, up to speed on the west side. j.f.x. and harrisburg expressway checking out fine. white marsh where we normally see delays later but so far looking good toward the beltway northeast. live view of traffic in the area of the harrisburg expressway right where it meets the beltway problem free. back to you. >> our big story this morning it was a sad farewell in nashville the sendoff of one of the most talented players of the nfl steve mcnair. keith mills is live with more on the service. >> ravens wide receiver derrick mason among the more than 4,500 family, friends and former teammates who gathered in nashville to pay tribute to steve mcnair. it was an emotional ceremony marked by the appearance of mcnair's wife michelle. pete gilbert has more.

>> fans arrived early willing to bake under a tennessee sun for their chance to say goodbye. for the purposer teammates poured in remembering what made steve mcnair a gridiron legend and their friend. eddie george inspired by his father in thinking of steve wrote a poem. >> so, walk with your head held high that the golden light knowing you have done your very be best, wrong or right. release, let go and embrace the flight, to a place where warriors go. thank you. >> derrick mason spent 10 seasons with become narrow and he was a family friend. he spoke from the heart. shouldered the way with pride of representing steve. >> michelle, trent and tyler, the baltimore ravens organization, owner and the city of baltimore sends their love and prayers to you. >> mason recognized the

horrible way steve left his family. >> michelle, i know your days have been hard. so many things running through your mind. but take comfort in that steve is in heaven saying thank you, babe. to trenton and tyler i can't teach you how to fish, i can barely swim, and i can't love you like your dad did. but i can love you like a father. >> jeff fisher shared his thoughts about moving forward fr for the mcnair family. >> make sure the boys are fine. i will take them fishing sunday. we will get off to the healing process on the right foot. >> that is jeff fisher. the funeral service will be held tomorrow at southern mississippi university in hat chrtiesburg.

ozzie knew some, ed reed and sa marri rovl will attend. the first time we have seen michelle since the murder and an emotional time for her and fitting words from derrick mason. >> sounds like she has a lot of good people behind her. there is continuing coverage of the memorial on our website, wbaltv.com. there you can listen to fan reaction to his death. you can hear more of the moving tributes by former teammates that is all on wbaltv.com. a baltimore area soccer team coach is charnldz with soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl. baltimore county police want to know it there are other victims. kerry cavanaugh is live with more. >> he was known as mr. chuck to his players. now police say the 32-year-old volunteer soccer coach is a sexual predator. charles friedel is charged with

sexual solicitation of of a minor and distribution and possession of obscene material all linked to overtures which police say he made to a 14-year-old girl by cell phone. all while he was a coach volunteering for the greater baltimore soccer club. charging documents say the girl told her parents that he sent naked pictures of himself and asked her to send hers. under cover officer posing as the child lured him to an essex royal farms store on the pretense of sex where he was arrested. >> this is a person who betrayed that trust of the parents and actually tried to exploit a girl who he wasn't even coaching but of the sister of one that was coaching. >> freed sexual free on $250,000 bond and police want to hear from any parents or children who believe they may have had inappropriate contact with him. back to you.

>> the two men convicted of one of baltimore's most notorious witness intimidate statiion cas sentenced. marcus pearson to 35 years and ronald williams received 25 years. both played roles in the murder of carl lackl who was gunned down before he was to testify against patrick byers. byers was convicted of orchestrating the murder. pearson helped plan the murder. williams drove the shooter to lackl's home. a drug suspect remains in custody this morning after fleeing police and running inside a southeast baltimore elementary school. it happened just after 10:00 a.m. keon earl was picked up outside the william paca school on suspicion of selling drugs. he ran inside the school forcing the evacuation of nearly 200 children. after a six-hour search he was found hiding in a classroom cabinet. it is unclear how he got in the

school since school doors are supposed to be locked on the outside. an update to a police-involved shooting in carroll county. the suspect has been charged with assault. police say bryant justice found a woman lying on a road on baltimore street in tawneytown after a confrontation with wolf late wednesday night. when he got out to help the suspect began accelerating toward the officer and woman. authorities say wolf didn't stop when ordered by the officer forcing the officer to shoot him in the arm. he is charged with first and second degree assault. the woman was taken into custody on unrelated charges. a new tv ad in california touts tax revenue from the sale of marijuana. the ad is sponsored by a group whose argument is the fiscal disaster could be helped with legalizing and taxing marijuana. >> you say let's legalize

marijuana to make money is the wrong direction to go. >> it is estimated marijuana is california's largest cash crop at $14 billion a year. that brings us to the water cooler question of the day. what do you think of legalizing marijuana to fill in a state's budget gap? e-mail us at watercooler@wbaltv.com. it is 62 degrees on tv hill at 5:08. the possible race discrimination of several minority day campers has caught the attention of a local politician. and three grave diggers at a historic black cemetery face felony charges. the scheme they used to pad their]phtpññ

>> it is 5:11 and a friday morning in downtown. there is the picture. 66 degrees right now with clear

skies. another beautiful morning. very comfortable, low humidity. on radar in central and southern virginia there are a few low clouds. maybe a couple of sprinkles weak between roanoke and richmond. we are clear. the moon is evident. and our forecast calls for partly cloudy skies today and will be in the 80's again. but below normal temperatures and very comfortable humidity. more in a minute. >> covering the nation, prosecutors in illinois have charged the manager of an historic plaqblack cemetery in scheme to resell burial bloplot. bodies were dug up and dumped and the plots resold to unsuspecting mourners. it could be months before they fully understand what took place. burr oak is the final resting place for emmitt till and blues

legend dina washington. arlen specter has called for an investigation into the dismissal of 65 minority children from the philadelphia swim club. the children were swimming at the valley swim club about two weeks ago when they were suddenly kicked out. club members complained about the kids and some overheard racist comments. the club president initially issued a statement saying there was a lot of concern they would change at complexion and atmosphere of the club but issued another statement saying the allegations of racism are untrue and they underestimated the capacity of their facility. it is 62 degrees on tv hill at 5:12. even in this recession there is one summer essential most americans are not giving up. and, men, listen up. if you didn't lick shopping before something might change your mind. your mind. how you can score brew with youa

capturing the beauty of nature. sharing what i see. that's my vision. and i'm living it. every day, transitions lenses are there to help care for my sight. announcer: transitions lenses adjust to changing light to reduce glare and help protect your eyes from uv damage so you can see better today... and tomorrow. ve your vision. transitions. healthy sight in every light. transitions lenses are available

at an america's best location near you.

>> so far so good typical friday morning? >> yes, i thought i would keep you company. want some coffee? >> please, can you. >> i will take care of it. pretty uneventful start which is good for a friday. one problem spot, camp meade road a sinkhole blocking the ramp so a bit of a delay. otherwise we are doing quite well. 11 minutes on the outer loop northeast side as you make your way toward the 83's. seven minutes from the 95 merge to the harbor tunnel toll. west side about 11 minutes on

the outer loop. not bad. live look outside at the fort mchenry coming toward us southbound traffic looking very good into the toll plaza. we are looking at a problem-free ride on the west side. hopefully it will remain that way because volume has been light. that is the latest. now let's get the buses and trains with kurt kroncke. >> good morning, sarah. smooth is the word on the m.t.a. no delays to report on the marc trai trains. light rail and metro subway on time and we have a couple of construction diversions on the buses. 17 bus diverting at nursery and winterston due to construction and 22 bus diverting at university and 40th. i'm kurt kroncke. back to john collins. good morning, john. >> thanks, kurt. good morning. clear skies around baltimore. to the south charlottesville,

richmond and back to roanoke some low clouds, a few sprinkles. but that is all moving to the southeast, not coming our way. let's look at the statistics that we accumulated yesterday. typical high is 87. yesterday at the airport and inner harbor we only were 82. same in the district of columbia. everybody's high was around 82. morning lows yesterday, 56 and 67. we are in that range again this morning. no precipitation because yesterday we had all of that sunshine with scattered clouds. from time to time it looked like one of the clouds might do something but didn't happen. the air is too dry. today we will be really having a repeat. 57 in easton. salisbury 56. ocean city 69 with a good forecast today. annapolis 65. york 61 and frederick 64. big area of high pressure over us kind of a gray smudge.

that is the cloudiness to the southwest over virginia that is producing the sprinkles but it is not really a weather system that will dissipate as the atmosphere heats. the only unsettled weather is off the georgia coast and upper midwest. this system out here is not too well organized but that will be the next rainmaker and that comes in during the day tomorrow. but today the high pressure keeps pus great shape and gives us another terrific forecast. partly cloudy by this afternoon, very pleasant, meaning low humidity again and below average temperatures with highs in the upper 70's to low 80's. east-southeast breeze five to 10 miles an hour. the future cast, indications of some of the cloudiness to the southwest but generally we stay dry during the day. watch the time line and look out west as we move into saturday. we see some rain with a cold front coming our way. so, by saturday late afternoon into the evening hours that front moves through and we have a chance of scatter shower and

thunderstorm activity. but into sunday it will be dry once again. the seven-day forecast, 81 today, partly cloudy by afternoon but this morning sunny skies. low humidity again. more humid tomorrow, 86 the high. evening shower or thunderstorm wouldn't be out of the question. then sunday looks dry again, partly cloudy skies, 84. more rain chances monday. hot and humid on wednesday with thunderstorms. >> in our consumer alert people are holding on to hard earned dollars but cutting back on spending but many are heading to the beach and other summer fun spots. a chase card service poll shows they plan to spend on regular vacations. but to do that many are cutting back on using air conditioning, doing home repairs and maybe vacati vacationing closer to home. businesses are starting to hit

men where they will pay the most attention, taste buds if they like beer. some stores are pouring them free alcohol if they come in shop. one offers upscale bourbon for gentlemen to drink as they shop. also an attempt to turn around the averse many men have by putting for the a little liquid courage. home sellers slashing prices. michelle steele has a look at that in the bloomberg business report. i say that last story was sexist. how about wine for women when we shop? >> i'm all for that. especially on a friday. good friday morning. talking about the housing market first this morning. can i just tell you, it is a buyer's market out there. you probably already know that. recession taking a toll on prices. u.s. home sellers reducing prices more than $27 billion as

the economy slows. according to research one quarter of u.s. homes for seam as of july 11 reduced by an average of 10%. with homes more than $1 million taking 13% off. stock index futures indicating a lower open for us on wall street. but that is after some positive territory yesterday for the market thanks in part to a bank rally and rebound in natural gas lifting the energy producers. and general motors is expected to drive out of bankruptcy this morning but ford is looking like the winner. surpassing general motors to be the top selling auto maker in the u.s. for the first time since 1931. they say ford may get the upper hand as the new g.m. emerges with just four lines down from a previous eight. that is business news at the new york stock exchange. i'm michelle steele, bloomberg

news, reporting for wbal tv 11 news. back to you. >> we will see you back at 6:15 for the next report. it is 5:22. coming up we will get another look at the morning commute with traffic and weather. >> coming up in sports a mutiny by the players in the lfrjs pga tour -- lpga tour. >> don't forget to e-mail us the answer to the water cooler question of the day. what do you think about legalizing marijuana to fill in a state's budget gap. e-mail us your response to

discover a light yogurt like no other. activia light! delicious, fat free, and above all... the only one that has bifidus regularis and is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. activia light. ♪ activiaaa! julia tolbert, tell me your story. well, my irregularity was only occasional. i honestly thought it was just a part of life. what made you first try activia? i saw this ad, and i said, ok, i love yogurt. and it worked. ♪ activia

>> in the bitter irony department it is supposed to be the biggest week of the year for

the lpga but they are embroiled in controversy as the commissioner is being forced out after a mutiny by the players. they are in the first round of the u.s. woep yesterday. lorena owe choi was off to a hot start. she is one back at minus two. the lead is held by nayen choi. she fired a 68 including a chip-in for birdie and she is at minus three after the first round. don't be surprised if democrats and republicans take a page out of shane victorino's book in the next election. he was a finalist for the last spot on the national league all-star team so the folks in philadelphia went on a campaign trail. he went door to door with a mayor campaigning on monday. it was a radio station promotion where fans sat in the press box lounge and voted 52 straight hours. he got 15.6 million votes and,

yes, he made the all-star team. that is how to stuff the ballot bogs. that is it for sports. >> 5:26. coming up in the next half hour of "11 news today" -- >> a married soccer coach is accused in a sex scandal. >> president obama meets the pope and goes to africa in one day. that story is coming up. >> clear skies this morning. temperatures in the low 60's. nice and pleasant. we will see what the day turns out like with the forecast in a minute. >> aside from the sinkhole from yesterday we are looking at a pretty clear ride on the area roads. we will update what is going on

>> good morning, welcome back to

"11 news today." i'm sarah caldwell in for stan stovall. >> you are in a new position. >> i'm jennifer franciotti for mindy basara. we all have different hitters in for everyone else. >> i'm in for sandra. kerry is in for me. mixing it up on a friday. >> musical chairs. >> good to see you, john. how is the weather? >> it has been a very nice week. >> nice not to see any rain. >> no record heat. we want to talk about the current situation, get you out the door. the skies are clear. earlier this morning big moon out there. just past a full moon. there are a few clouds in virginia producing a couple of sprinkles but the big storms are in the midwest and that will be more of a concern tomorrow than today. we will detail today's forecast and the weekend forecast coming up in a minute. now we want to check out the traffic. >> actually, it is a pretty nice ride.