speed sensors look pretty good. drive times up to speed. same thing on the outer loop north side about a 10-minute ride from the beltway southwest down to 32. here's a quick, live look at traffic heading out at the beltway, b.w. parkway. and a smooth ride so far as we switch over to the harrisburg expressway just north of the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now we check back in with stan and lisa. sorry. >> she's joking. >> our big story, all eyes will be on capitol hill as confirmation hearings begin in the senate for the supreme court nominee, sonya sotomayor. >> nikole killion joins us live from washington with a preview. >> good morning. these hearings will last most of this week, beginning with judge sotomayor's opening arguments today. >> thank you, mr. president. >> she was nominated more than a month ago.

sonya sotomayor has been making the rounds on capitol hill. just yesterday she got a good luck phone call from the president. >> like spring training, she's getting ready. but the hearings are the ball game. >> with the ball in her court, sotomayor who could become the first latino justice faces the senate judiciary committee where her story has drawn praise from democrats. >> i have seldom in my lifetime seen a story that equals her story. >> and her judicial philosophy has brought scrit criticism from some republicans. >> i don't think we want people on the bench who are routing for one side or the other. >> the court of appeals is where policy is made. i know i should never say that. >> it's comments like these and when she said a wise latino woman would reach a better conclusion than a white male that are expected to generate the most controversy and there's a ruling in a reverse discrimination case involving a group of connecticut firefighters that was recently overturned. >> this is just proof positive

that people should be treated as individuals and not statistics. >> that was a plaintiff in the firefighter case. he's one of about 30 witness who's will be testifying during the hearings later in the week. lisa? >> walk us through the hearings. how is it going to work this week? >> we're look at at least four days here. today will mostly be opening statements that we'll hear from all 19 of the senators on the senate judiciary committee. i believe they'll have about 20 minutes a piece to talk. and, o of course, opening statements from judge sotomayor. we really won't get into the heart of questioning probably until tomorrow. that will continue into wednesday. then we're expecting to start hearing from witnesses on thursday. >> all right, nikole killion live in washington. thank you. >> locally now, the fight this morning for parents and students of towson catholic high school, the oldest co-ed catholic school in baltimore will not re-open this fall. but supporters are not going away without a fight.

11 news reporter kim dacey join us live from towson with more on the story. good morning. >> good morning. towson catholic high school has been educating students for nearly nine decades, but it seems history is no match for this economy. with the decision to close it doesn't sit well with some school supporters. >> this has been my home for the past two years and now it's all gone. i've worked so hard to be here and it's all gone. everything's done. >> students at towson catholic high school still visibly upset by the news their school will not re-open in the fall. and they're taking action. sunday morning students and school supporters stood outside the immaculate conception church and peacefully protested the closure. a spokesperson says the school is financially in the red, that in the last decade the school loin lost 26 students. but in the last few weeks 81 students have left. and with tuition being their only source of income, fewer

students set a larger financial burden. but these protesters questioned the archdiocese. >> if they needed help from the community, they should have asked for it. you don't get in that debt in two months. it takes a while of financial mismanagement to do that. i don't think that's been sceamed because they haven't -- examined because they haven't let us. >> they say the students are following below the monetary bottom line. >> it's causing irreparable harm to those kids who cannot scramble fast enough to find a meaningful experience to live out their high school years. >> the archdiocese says it's working to put these students and staff in other catholic schools for the fall. the protesters say they will meet tomorrow to determine their next course of action. reporting live at towson, kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. our coverage of the controversy to close towson catholic high school continues on our website, wbaltv.com. there you can see previous reports and share your thoughts

about the closure decision. just click on the education page of the website. >> crews from three jurisdiction has to be called out to fight a massive fire in south baltimore. fire broke out around 2:00 yesterday afternoon in the 5500 block of quarantine road. that's in an industrial area in the city. authorities say the fire consumed about three to five acres. most of the planes were confined -- flames were confined underthe brush. it took close to two hours to bring that fire under control. fortunately no one was hurt. attention city residents. your trash pickup is changing this week. tomorrow marks the start of the one plus one waste collection program. a plan the city says will save money and promote recycling. the program includes a revamped garbage collection schedule. >> once a week trash collection, once a week recycling. right now recycling was twice a

month. now it's once a week. we're making it easier. trash is now once a week so we're no longer collecting on monday. we're now tuesday through friday, no longer saturday either. >> so remember no city trash pickup today. instead collection will resume tuesday. to learn your pickup days go to our website, wbaltv.com. >> parents across the country acomplaining about a company that convinced them to buy educational software all in an effort to help their kids do better on the s.a.t. and other tests. tonight at 11:00, mindy basara exposes the alleged scheme. >> every parent wants their child to do well on the s.a.t. and a.c.t. but some parents claim an unscrupulous company is taking advantage of that desire. when a telemarketer called and promised to increase her son's s.a.t. score, she did. >> as soon as she mentioned my son and h education, that was te key right there to get me to

purchase the c.d. >> she tried to return it. >> i still to this date haven't gotten a refund. >> savannah says the salesperson applied the company was affiliated with her son's school. and parents are having trouble getting their money back. and that's not all. tonight at 11, find out why the company's owner is facing criminal charges and what you should do if you get one of those phone calls. for the 11 news i-team, i'm mindy basara. >> a new airline just for your furry four-legged friends is coming to maryland. starting tuesday pet airways will offer flights out of b.w.i. marshall airport for dogs and cats. pet airways will service airports in new york, los angeles, chicago and denver. animals will travel in pet carriers in the main cabin, not in the cargo hold. pet airway owes efficientlies say the owners won't be allowed to fly with their pets but they shouldn't worry there will be a trained pet attendant onboard. that brings to us our "watercooler question of the day." would you pay $150 for a ticket to fly your pet on their own specially designed airline?

you can e-mail your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. i'm still -- >> pets need planes, too. >> i guess so. 5:38. 62 degrees on tv hill. coming up go ahead and pop open that bottle of wine. it could lower your chances of developing dementia. >> it depends how much you drink. results in this morning's "medical alert." >> so far so good on area roadways.

>> a very good morning. it's 72 degrees. the sun up is. we're starting to breakaway some of those clouds. the reason is the passage of a front yesterday which made things a lot more refreshing yesterday afternoon with that nice westerly wind flow and drop

willing the dew point. yesterday morning it was incredibly humid. we topped out at 90 degrees yesterday. one of the hotter days. 86 in southern maryland. maybe a chance for an isolated thunderstorm down there as well as around ocean city. and lower than normal humidity for july. your seven-day forecast in a bit. >> in this morning's "medical alert," it appears more and more people over the age of 90 are being diagnosed with dementia. that's according to a new study. those over the age of 94 accounted for 20% of dementia cases diagnosed last year. this is in contrast materielier study that suggested the number of people with alzheimer'sals and dementia occurred when people entered their 80's and 90's. >> meanwhile, a glass of merlot may be the key in some cases. researchers from wake forest university found alcohol, particularly wine, may either

help prevent dementia or speed up cognitive decline in the elderly. in the study of 3,000 people over the age of 75 they found those without any signs of cognitive impairment had a 40% reduced risk for developing dementia over the six-year study period if they had about one to two drinks a day. however, those who had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study had a faster meme decline if they consumed any amount of alcohol. the more they drank, the more likely they were to be diagnosed with dementia eventually. >> it's 5:42. 62 degrees. coming up, one of the nation's oldest black organizations celebrates its 100th year. tim tooten gives us a preview of the naacp national convention. >> and you're look at a live picture of the downtown area. up next, we'll update weather and traffic pulse 11 for your morning commute. stay with us.

, trying to help you out. who am i?

>> a nametag. >> like we're back in kindergarten. i need that. i'm having a little trouble obviously. lisa, thank you. let's check your morning traffic. it is actually looking pretty good. we're still dealing with a water main break in rosedale. just to let you know. current avenue. just use caution there. speed sensors looking good on the north side and 95 towards the ft. mchenry. mount royal toward howard belonged in advance of artscape. they're already starting those preparations. that will be closed until the weekend. and we're going to get a few more close yours as of 7:00 a.m. we'll fill you in on those. otherwise quite well. all the major roadways looking good. let's give you a live view, 95 out of harford county, mountain road so far very light, heading down towards the white marsh area. that's where it starts to get a little bit heavier. still not looking at any delays. i'll switch over to a live view of traffic at pulaski highway east side. looking good.

no problems at the key bridge either. let's get a check on the buses and the trains. we go to kurt kronke of the m.t.a. i remember your names. >> thank you. we are looking at a good commute so far. diversions clue due to construction. the 17 at nursery. the 22 buses diverting at university and 40th. 22 buses also eastbound diversion at university and st. paul. on the rails looking very good. no delays on the penn, camden or brunswick lines. light rail, metro on schedule. there's a m.t.a. buses or commuter buses in service near to you help you avoid daily parking hassles and added mileage on your car. call the m.t.a. with the m.t.a. transit team, i'm kurt kronke. now back to sandra shaw. good morning. >> top of this monday morning to you. a little difficult to get going. actually weather-wise nothing really threatening out there. no real good chance of seeing showers and storms today. it's not going to be completely

sweltering. the humidity will remain rather low for july. we are seeing a little deck of clouds over the area. the reason for that, a front to our north yesterday has slid to the south. now it's rest offering the dell marvia, extending over southern virginia. where some strong storms are percolating, an area of low pressure centered. we're far removed from that activity. going to be pretty stable with the presence of high pressure building in later on. temperature-wise, there's quite a range out there. warmest location, 72 downtown baltimore. 64 at the airport. where it's typically cooler and where that cooler air has started to settle in, as cro the state line, york, pennsylvania. dew points make it feel pleasant. typical dew point reading, upper 60's for july. right now we're sitting at 51 degrees. so minimal yet again it looks like for the mountains today, mostly sunny, 80. maybe upper 70's in the higher

elevations. we are dealing with some clouds that are passion through this morning so all in all partly cloudy day today. high 86 degrees. yesterday, 90 before the front got through here. 83 on the shores of ocean city with a light northeasterly wind today. as far as the bay goes, winds out of the west-northwest at five to 10 knots. waves only a foot. almost bathtublike water temperatures in the upper 70's. 99, record high, set on july 13, 1966. as well as three other times it was tied. this is the most recent. the record low of 55 set back in 1978. and 66 is where we should be. tonight just a little bit cooler than that. especially in our northern and western suburbs. upper 50's to low 60's. just the slightest chance, especially to the south and the dell marvia, of an isolated storm. there's a presence to the front that will push south of the carolinas tomorrow. that will allow for high pressure. the clockwise flow to build in.

what's going to happen later this week is that front will re-emerge. that means more humid conditions by wednesday. better chance of maybe a late night thunderstorm as the front will start to move from the great lakes through on thursday. still, it's going to die out before it gets here. a 20% chance of a storm. very hot. up to 88 and humid on thursday. 85, pop-up thunderstorms late in the day on friday. for the weekend, can't rule out a passing shower or storm. low 80's. continuing the nice trend for july. >> the naacp, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, just turned 100 years old. >> this week leaders are meeting to discuss a number of pressing issues. tim tooten has moreen the organization's milestone. >> the naacp calls baltimore home. it's now the site of its national headquarters. but the civil rights organization got its start in new york in 1-9d 09 -- 1909. the group says it has not changed its core mission to

fight discrimination on all fronts. >> we'll always be naacp. we'll always be needed because there's always going to be a stepping stone to progress. >> the 1950's baltimore-born thurgood marshall argued and won, the segregation case brown v. board of education. clarence mitchell jr., another baltimoreian, helped lay the groundwork for a number of pieces of legislation for voting and civil rights legislation. >> naacp has been around for a number of years work for the betterment of black people everywhere. opened a lot of doors. >> thank you to my baltimore family. >> last year benjamin became the group's youngest president and c.e.o. at just 35. some supporters call in a strategic move aimed at helping the organization establish a younger member base. >> someone that young being at the helm it basically let's other young people know that can you do this, get to this level.

it just gives them something to look forward to. >> a group is expected of more than 8,000 members. among them, president barack obama who has been invited to address the group on thursday. tim tooten, wbal-tv 11 news. >> and stay with 11 news for continuing coverage of the naacp's national convention. tim tooten will have reports in new york later today on wbal-tv 11 news at 5:00 and 6:00. 5:51. 62 degrees. the o's try to make up for lost time as the team heads into the second half of the season. >> and all-star break time. keith mills will join us with this morning's sports. >> and here are last night's maryland lottery numbers. good luck.

>> all right. time to get to one your answers to our "watercooler question of the day." >> this morning we asked, would you pay $150 for a ticket to fly your pet on their own specially designed airline? >> well, "i would have to check into the price a little more. my cat weighs 32 pounds. they may try to charge me for two seats. " keep e-mailing those responses to watercooler@wbaltv.com. we'll read more in the next hour and post them on the front page of our website. 32-pound cat?

>> she has a cat -- >> no. >> oh, it's not sandra. the orioles try to end the first half of the season on a good note. >> they manage to head into the all-star break with a two-game win streak. keith mills joins us. better toned on a high note. >> heck with that. 32-pounds? the tony saragusa of cats right there. a good end to the first half of the season for the orioles. they beat the jays. win four of their last six games. we will watch number 10, adam jones, head to the all-star game. did he make a tremendous catch in this game? but first, brian roberts. the early lead in the third. up the gap. 1-0. now adam jones. and old-time oriole fans like me will remember paul blair and this baby. takes the home run away from alex rios.

a spectacular catch by the orioles he alone all-star. a well-deserved stand owing racing. brad ferguson. what a first half he had. against former oriole dave delucchi. here's the eventual game winner. oscar salazar. 4-2 the final. adam jones heads to st. louis, talks about the prize of wearing baltimore on the front of his jersey. >> this year as opposed to last year i get to wear baltimore on our chest. i think it's representing the franchise and team. but by saying baltimore it represents every baltimore fan, the city of baltimore. so i'm pretty excited about that. >> he keeps talking like that co-run for mayor. -- he could run for mayor. >> great point. great similarities. in some good company.

>> keep it going. >> absolutely. >> a look ahead to the next hour of 11 news today -- >> senator john mccain speaks out about his former running mate's decision to step out of the political light. what he feels is in store for the future of sarah palin at 6:08. >> it appears to be the battle of the sexes in the workplace. whichender is experiencing more layoffs? >> and they're just downright cute but lady bugs seem to be bugging one town. >> i heard they were good luck. maybe that's a good thing of the as far as the weather, i'll let you know if you're in luck or not today. stay tuned.

>> students, staff and parents are coming together to help keep towson catholic high school open. details in a live report.