bronchodilator working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. we had a great day, grandpa! we sure did. ask your doctor how advair helps improve lung function for better breathing. (announcer) find out how to get your first full prescription free at advaircopd.com. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- live, local, late-breaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon in hd. all the sudden, the loudest noise i ever heard can out of nowhere. there is no pot for creek. there was no explosion, just a loud roar. i looked up and there was the

sun coming through the ceiling. >> that is our big story this noon. good afternoon. i am mindy basara. the southwest airlines flight was on its way to be doubly why when they made an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. the plane lost pressure after it developed a hole in the fuselage. >> federal investigators are arriving in charleston today to figure out what happened to the plan and make sure it does not suggest a broader problem. the plan was on its way from natural to baltimore yesterday at 30,000 feet, a football-sized hole tore open in the top of the fuselage, causing a loss in pressure. it landed safely in charleston, west virginia. >> we heard this loud rush. your ears pop. we look back and you can -- you could tell the part of the inside was trying to pull out.

>> i turned around and saw the sky light shining through the plane. >> we will work vigorously with the proper authorities to examine all of the aircraft lost safety records and to try to determine the cause. >> that was a spokesperson for southwest airlines birdie at a a an ntsb are now involved. the airline says it inspected all of its 737-300's no problems detected. this particular plane was built in 1994. there were no previous problems with the plane reported. we are following a developing story where police have identified a body found in the inner harbor baltimore. the body of a 30-year-old was discovered this morning in the water at lighthouse point. police say the man was an aide to jack evans.

he had been drinking alcohol. there is no sign of foul play. police want to know who shot a woman in fell's point. she was found shot in the head before 3:00 this morning. police say she is now in serious condition. no arrests have been made. we will have more tonight on 11 "news at 5:00." the grandson of the 83-year- old says his bed in grandmother died last week of natural causes. rather than call a federal home, he says his and store the body in a freezer. he believes it is nothing more than a case of this and not want to let go of the woman she lived with her whole life. >> my aunt would not have harmed a hair on my grandmother's head. i do not want anyone to look at this as my and being a horrible

person. she is not. we don't know how to handle the situation until we are in it. >> the medical examiner is expected to determine the cause of death by friday. the death is being rolled suspicious. there is no law in maryland requiring people to report deaths from natural causes. stimulus money could be put to use in baltimore to help rebuild the infrastructure the baltimore city council last night passed part of this city as a recovery is on. they could get 45% of the interest of bonds for private projects. another gorgeous afternoon. we will see nice conditions as the afternoon progresses. it is only about 84 degrees for

the projected high. we have mostly sunny skies and it is dry. winds are out of the northwest at 5-10 miles per hour. the sun will not set until 8:33 tonight. if you are ultrasensitive you may have an issue today but for the most part, things are looking good from the eastern shore to west virginia. that has been the trend throughout the month of july. we have been below normal as far as humidity and seeing nice conditions. tonight, mostly clear and dry and 57 in the outlying areas. potentially, 60 degrees. more on your extended forecast coming up. president barack obama's supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor is on the hot seat today. she is trying to explain controversial comments on race and ethnicity. senators are trying to figure of if she will be fair on the bench. we go to washington with more.

>> i just am very concerned that what you are saying today is quite inconsistent. >> republicans are asking judge sonia sotomayor why she told students that appeals court make a lot. >> it is very clear that i was talking about the policy ramifications of president. >> she said a wise latino might make a better decision than a white man. >> i was playing on her words. my plight fell flat. it was bad. the impartiality is an understanding that bill lot is what commands the results. >> you do believe that your background will affect the results in cases. that is troubling me. that is not impartiality perry >> opponents claimed she was biased in a one pair rep ruling against white firefighters who were denied promotions. the supreme court reversed her decision. she says she was bound by ruling

that the court had now changed. >> the supreme court, in looking and reviewing that case, applied a new standard. >> she was hammered again and again on her wise to let in a comment and a clear. >> i want to state up front, unequivocally, and without doubt, i do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. >> had you been saying that with clarity over the last decade or 15 years, we would have fewer problems today. >> she faces questions all day today and all day tomorrow. it will not only be about her hundreds of decisions but perhaps more critically, about her judicial philosophy. there is continuing coverage of the confirmation hearings on our website, wbaltv.com.

you will find a link on our home page. bge says it has a plan to save money. one consumer group says maybe not. lawyers are now pursuing a swim club for discrimination. we will have planted a garden questions answered. you can e-mail your questions at wbaltv.com.

lawyers have filed a

discrimination lawsuit against a suburban philadelphia swim club. it accuses them of discriminating against 60 minority children because of their race. the de kamp had raised for the mostly black and spanish children to swim each monday. swim club officials said they cancel the membership because of safety, claiming there were too many children the pool. the pennsylvania human relations commission is investigating. michael steel is expected to address the nation's oldest civil-rights organization. he is in new york to recognize the naacp 100 years of service. the organization says it is not living in the past, claiming record turnout and increased membership. former and current leaders addressed members yesterday. >> the and the legacy p -- the naacp has not given up on the american dream or the american possibilities and we ask the american people not to give up,

also. we dream big dreams. we pursue them doggedly. when we win, we always win in the and, we win really, really big. >> president barack obama is expected to address members later this week. we have a report from the convention tonight at 6:00. a new study will be in our medical alert. we will have plants and garden questions and you can e-mail your questions to wbaltv.com. >> not a drop of rain to be found on the radar over the state of maryland. it is a nice trend in july that is continuing. is continuing. we will look a get gold bond pain relieving foot cream. maximum strength medicine stops pain fast. gold bond pain relieving foot cream. finally fast relief for painful feet.

new research finds the fatty acid known to boost brain cells may do nothing for people who are diagnosed with alzheimer's disease. we told you about the most get -- a limited-3. -- omega-3. it occurs in small amounts of the body but is abundant fish. a study says there is pain and the news bite women for years swearing distract her brand by focusing on anger, giving you a sense of control. researchers said college students put their hands of a bucket of cold water and students who said they could not swear -- who said they could swear, kept their cool longer than those who could not. bge is unveiling a multi

million dollars mark for the initiative. they say this will bring down the cost of your electric bill. >> bge on build the future of electric and gas monitoring with its new smart meters, part of an overall plan to upgrade the country's grid. if they get the pse's blessing they will distribute these over the next five years. >> these will be part of a two- way digital communications network that will enable us to record energy usage on an hourly basis and to provide customers with more information about the amount and cost of energy they are using. >> b d officials say this will allow the customers to -- bge officials say this will allow you to monitor your usage. there will also issue rebates during peak hours. >> even a small increment of 2% in efficiency gains, would

translate into tens of millions of dollars in energy costs. >> our concern is that bge wants to phase in these smart meters on an accelerated timetable. >> the state director of the maryland public information group agrees we need to upgrade the grid but is concerned about the price tag. electric customers would be surcharged 38 cents per month and 44 cents to start out, rising to an average of $1.24 for electric and $1.52 for gas per month. >> they are proposing to replace the meters before the flight time is up. ratepayers will pay for the meter they currently have also for the new one. >> b g e incests the means will make up for the extremes. >> if we are paying $1.25 surcharge on the bill, we are paying -- we are achieving $10 per month on the bill. the net effect is a savings. >> they hope the pse approve the

program within the month. what the ground up and running by the end of the year. it'll cost of the program is $500 million. they are trying to approach your stimulus money to fund this. your 11 insta-weather + forecast. >> leave your windows open tonight, it will not be humid. it will be refreshing in the upper 50's to low 60's. today, we will be in the 80's this afternoon. there is not much moisture. it is a dry channel of air over the mid-atlantic. in contrast, in the middle part of the country, there are intense thunderstorms throughout the day. the front is to our south and will re-emerge as a warm front later tomorrow. high pressure will move offshore and then we will see a change. in the meantime, enjoyed this afternoon.

on the eastern shore, we are dealing with 77 degrees. we are lacking the intense moisture in the air which is typical for july. 39 degree do. reading -- dew point reading, that is incredible. the trend continues for the next 24 hours. it looks like a high for 84 in central maryland. we are a couple of degrees cooler than normal. we're looking for an afternoon high of 83 degrees on the eastern shore and winds will maintain northwesterly flow. it is easy to in health today. there is a yellow pear quality conditioning. that means that if you are hyper-sensitive to platoons, we are in the moderate range. -- to pull the tents, we are in the moderate range.

pollutants. waves will be up to 1 foot. no problems on the chesapeake. one of one is the record high on this date. -- 101 is the record high on this date. we were enveloped 60's for the historic low. winds are out of the northwest and will continue another day. high pressure continues to influence throughout today. the dividing line is a front that is straight to our south. tomorrow, the height will move offshore and that will allow more heat to infiltrate the area. it will be 87 for wednesday and thursday will be the hottest day of the week. there's a 30% chance of morning showers. we are dry friday and the weekend will be below normal again. the summer season has brought japanese beetles back to

gardens and backyards across the nation some government estimates say that people's cause $400,000 in damage per year. --beetles cause for a thousand dollars in damage per year. we have the plants and garden questions. i have not seen a lot of japanese beetles. >> be careful of the traps. many times you put them in the garden and you draw them in. you want to put them away from the garden. they have not been horrible yet. >> this is pretty. >> this is a new plant. this is a gumdrop begun yet. --begonia. begonias will grow in sun or shade. >> first question, i have tried

trying herbs on screens but they always mold or lose flavor. what is the best way to store and harvest them? >> you need to get them in a room that has air movement. you can also check out some of the herb website. you can also drive them in your microwave. that is an easy way to do it. you used about four times as many fresh herbs as drivers but that is an easy way to do it. >> my azalea bushes did not harm the plans but the like and are dying. what can i do? >> i don't know. i have seen lichen on benches but i have not noticed that on leaves. they are not quite parasitic but i don't know. i will check that out. e-mail me at work at carrie@

valley view farm's.com. >> i can't believe we stump you. my aloe plant appears healthy but when i cut the stalks, it is yellow and smells that. what is wrong with my plant? >> mauling that could be your opinion. -- smelling bad could be your opinion. it can be pretty strong. they don't like to be very wet. they don't like the full sun. they like bright light that they can actually get too much sun. watch that. generally, that is probably just the way it is. do not worry about it. everyone should have at least one aloe plant in their house. >> thank you, carrie. if you want to talk one-on-one, she is doing a web chat at two

o'clock 30. -- 12:30. you can e-mail your questions to plan questions or go to our website wbaltv.com. . up next, your maryland lottery pick three and pick 4 numbers. we will also check the weather again. let's take a look at how wall street is performing at this hour. hour.

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your maryland lottery pick 3 and pick 4 numbers -- >> we have the maryland lottery drawing official, marty strauss.

your numbers are -- 8-7-6 this makes your #876. pick 4 will be in a moment. here is an important message. >> the green balkans good fortune. be on the lookout for an exciting promotion the kids to the chance to win twice. it starts july 20. check out our web site for details. >> here is your pick 4 number -- 2-2-8-7 then make your pick 4 number is

2287. hey, maryland, let yourself play. >> the weather is gorgeous, enjoy. >> thank you for joining us.

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