focus only on four brands. >> i am excited about getting back in the car business. >> these are tough times in the car business. the company has already suffered decades of market share losses and must now try to win back the american consumer. >> we will work hard to regain the trust in the money that some money invested in at gm. >> a difficult task, even with a fresh start. >> after being out of work for nearly eight weeks, general motors workers are getting ready to a return to full production. about 40 maintenance and material employees return to work today to get the plant ready for startup. >> the struggling economy is putting the state of maryland in the poorhouse. less than two weeks into the new

fiscal year, the state faces a $700 million shortfall. what does that mean for you and what does the governor plan on doing about it? david collins joins us with answers. >> the copper continues to be a decline in income in sales taxes. the governor told his cabinet to come up with a list of budget cuts before july 22. the governor says none of it will be easy. in a letter this week, the general assembly's chief financial analyst warns of a $700 million budget shortfall. funds carried over from last year that were supposed to help balance the budget were wiped out plus he advises the state is experiencing another $400 million decline in income sales tax receipts. gov. martin o'malley has instructed his cabinet to come up with a list of budget cuts. everything is on the table,

including layoffs and furloughs. he is expected to take $300 million worth of cuts. a house speaker characterizes the letter as premature, noting that federal stimulus money is now just flowing into maryland. the state's top budget analyst cites a bigger problem that has so far has not been addressed. the state has an underlying structural deficit of $2 billion. general funds were spent on an average rate of $39 million today, $275 million a week, and $1.1 billion a month. the present course is unsustainable. the magnitude of the problem exceeds circumstances in which a special session of the maryland assembly raises taxes to head off the deficit back in 2007. experts said the housing market will make recovery difficult. sales rose 2% last month, the

biggest increase since 2007, but prices dropped 10% maryland cut funding for a school breakfast pilot program. part of a problem with keeping it a head is that the general assembly adjourns before the tax filing deadline. lawmakers would have a better idea -- or get a battle -- a better fiscal picture and it would not be so out of whack. the governor does not have to cut it all at once. the next meeting is good for july 22, august 5 and 6. >> there are new developments tonight in a bizarre story of a man accused of pushing his own sister out of a car as they travel down the beltway. prosecutors dropped some of the most serious offenses against

rashid hall. charges were reduced to second- degree assault. the state attorney office says the downgrade is appropriate. he remains free tonight on bond. >> howard county police are trying to find the person that gun down a man after a fight on a basketball court. it happened last night in columbia. kim cayce is live and has details on this ongoing investigation. >> the victim, keontae johnson, is in stable condition at shock trauma. some residents say this community needs to come together. the basketball courts and columbia became a crime scene thursday evening. two groups of teenagers for unknown reasons got into a fight

that ended in gunfire. keontae johnson was shot in the side and taken to shock trauma. >> [unintelligible] >> his family does not know much about what happened, and neighbors are upset but not shocked. >> i am not surprised because i have seen a lot of activity going on in the area. the kids around here are seeming like they are not the best kids. >> they say they will keep a closer eye out for their own and children's safety from now on. many of them attend the school near where the shooting happened. >> the community needs to step up and get involved. we don't want situations like this occurring in our neighborhood especially on school grounds. that is where our students play during the school year. >> police believe it was an

isolated incident and not gang related. >> we have increased patrols in the area. there were a lot of people there last night and we want someone who has information to come forward and help with the case quickly. >> police are offering a $1,000 reward for any information that will lead them to the suspect. if you have any information, give the howard county police a call. >> thousands of people gathered last night in natural to say goodbye to steve mcnair. mason couldn't help but to reflect on the horrible way steve mcnair left his family. >> i know your days have been hard. so many things are running through your mind.

steve is in have been saying, thank you, babe. i can't teach you how to fish. i can barely swim. [laughter] i can not love you like your dad did, but i can love you like a father. >> if you missed the memorial service, we are re-bearing it tonight on wbal plus. >> health and education experts are meeting here in baltimore to retool the approach to autism. they want to streamline research is to make it easier for families to find long-term treatment and support. kerry cavanaugh has details. >> the goal is ambitious, to come up with a better way to serve the autistic growing population. leaders in health, education,

and social services are coming together to tackle a common challenge. >> it is somewhat disjointed. >> autism rates are soaring in the state, currently 7500 autistic children in the education system, compared to 1600 in 1999. >> we have this increase in the system when resources are becoming very scarce. >> our goal here is to work on better integration between all of the components of state government and the private sector to be prepared for that demographics wave as it moves forward. >> no one knows why that number continues to build. one in 150 children in the state are somewhere on the autistic spectrum.

>> the best available evidence from all sources is that there is no credible evidence that there is a relationship between the vaccines and the increase in autism. >> this group is focused on early intervention to produce the best possible outcome. >> if we have a child that is identified early on, literally birth to three-years old, we can provide wonderful integrated services. >> this comes on the heels of legislation with the creation of the new group. >> one maryland hospital is expanding its building. >> what is your crabbing license worth to you? >> david trembly opened his

mouth a little bit too much. >> showers and thunderstorms on hd doppler up in the great lakes. they may be heading this way as we go into the weekend pa

>> officials opened their new pavilion today. it features three new 30-bed patient units. the first addition was a parking garage. the last will convert the entire hospital into all private rooms. >> at the end of the day, it is the staff that makes the difference. we look forward to serving the

community. >> the last phase of the project should be completed by the end of next year. >> officials are offering to buy back thousands of crabber licenses. melissa carlson has the details from annapolis. >> they are looking to help out our local waterways and the crabs by asking crabbers to give up something that is very important to them. there is an estimated 6000 crabbing licenses in the state of maryland. now the maryland department of natural resources is asking license holders to voluntarily sell their licenses. >> it is very important for us to continue to harvest crabs at a level that scientists tell us is safe. the one where you can do that is understand how many people are

going to be fishing in a given year. >>when that potential is sitting out there, it is very hard for us to set management that we really know is going to work. > > this crabber says other things should have been done to help the industry. >> they should have done this a long time ago. >> officials are hopeful that licenses will mean a better handle on the situation, and there are telling license holders to name their price. >> what we have asked them to do is think about how much their license is worth if it were going to sell it to their neighbor. then they will submit a bid. >> if you have a license and a

looking to sell it, you can do so until august 15. >> players joined city students to learn with the orioles, a summer learning curriculum for elementary and middle school students. >> as a little kid, when i did activities like this, it made things a lot easier and a lot more understandable. >> he taught fourth grade students about batting. >> now, your 11 insta-weather plus forecast with tom tasselmyer. >> 73 years ago, the hottest day ever in baltimore, 107 degrees in 1936. not only did baltimore set the record high, but the whole state

of maryland did when we hit 109 degrees in both, the land and frederick. -- cumberland and frederick. you know you are in the hottest part of the year when you reach this part of the calendar, but today is not bad at all. that is four below the average of 87 degrees. as a matter of fact, the first part of july 2009 is unusually cool. the average temperature of just 71.4 degrees is below the normal for those first nine days. this 10th day of july continued the trend in the region. clear to partly skies -- clear to partly skies are going to persist during the night. los 70's along the coast down to

atlantic city. cleveland is at 83. the little hand of warmer air that will push across the mountains and reach baltimore tomorrow afternoon. comfortable on the eastern shore. 75 at ocean city right now. 72 at oakland. mid to upper 50's in the suburbs tonight. a light southbury's at about 5 miles per hour. -- a light southbury's at about 5 miles per hour. -- a late selloflight, south bre at about 5 miles per hour. insta-weather plus futurecast show the rain getting into frederick and carroll counties by 8:00 tomorrow evening.

most of central and eastern maryland will stay dry through the daylight hours tomorrow. clearing skies again on sunday. 80's tomorrow, a little more humid. the risk of a thunderstorm is towards the evening. a small craft advisory is on the chesapeake bay. it could get close to the 90 degree mark in southern maryland before the storms arrive tomorrow evening. a comfortable 76 degrees tomorrow and then a chance for a thunderstorm sunday morning with highs in the low 80's on monday. temperatures are holding in the mid 80's through the weekend the main threat of thunderstorms tomorrow night. temperatures almost 290 degrees next wednesday. >> now, 11 sports. >> the orioles are back at home for a three-game series against

the blue jays. dave was suspended for two games because of inappropriate actions leading up to his suspension. in case you missed its -- come on, dave. that is right, he said he did not run hard. he got tossed for the third time this year. what was he so upset? the ball ricocheted off the mound and out of play on this. that is what set him off. that means he will not get to see if jason can do something he has not done in a month and a half -- win. he hasn't tasted victory since.

robert andin o was a pleasant surprise. they said david hernandez to the minors. michael phelps is pretty much a pain in the neck -- two other swimmers. when you swim against him, you do not have a chance at all. now he knows what it feels like. he has withdrawn from the national championship because of his neck, clearly not enough to stop him to set a record last night. he was forced to sit this one out. >> i got out of the water and i could barely move my neck to breathe. we decided it was probably better not to risk anything for

the next two weeks. >> an nfl receiver was released from prison after serving a short sentence from a the you i manslaughter. he pleaded guilty to hitting and killing a 59-year-old man. he caught a break when the family settled a civil lawsuit. he still has to perform 1000 hours of community service and has had suspense

>> there is a warning tonight for swimmers. more fallout tonight from a graveside reselling scheme in

chicago. tonight, learned which iconic figure from the civil-rights era had ]phtpññ

>> insta-weather plus seven-day forecast, temperatures remained at or below normal for the next seven days. it thunderstorm coming through tomorrow night but it clears up in time for sunday. on monday, a slight risk