>> good evening, everyone. our big story tonight at 6:00, federal investigators want to know how a foot-long hole opened up in the top of a southwest airlines plane. >> that plane carrying 126 passengers from nashville to baltimore had to mage an emergency landing in west virginia. jayne miller live at b.w.i.-thurgood marshall tonight with the latest. >> passengers say they could both hear and feel the impact of the hole suddenly opening. they give a lot of credit to the crew in this case a and say the whole thing unfolded just as those preflight instructions spell out. >> southwest inspected all of its 737-300 planes overnight while investigators from the ntsb and f.a.a. focused on the 15-year-old plane that had to land last evening in charleston, west virginia. a foot-long hole suddenly opened on the top of the fuselage causing the cabin to lose pressure.

>> i turned around and saw skylight shining through the plane. >> he was among the baltimore-bound passengers that got into b.w.i. late last night on a different plane. this woman won't soon forget what happened on flight 2298. >> you heard this loud rush and your ears popped and then we looked back and you could tell that part of the inside was trying to pull out. >> one passenger took his own picture with his oxygen max on. michael cunningham credits the crew with managing the emergency safely. >> as soon as we touched down, as soon as we got to the airport in west virginia, everybody cheered, everybody high-fived the captain. some gave him hugs. but a great crew, great flight crew. everybody just did what they needed to do and everybody was fine. >> investigators will look for signs of fatigue that may have caused cracks in the fuselage. the f.a.a. says they'll check whether anyone recently walked or worked in the area where the hole opened to perform

maintenance. the hole is located just in front of the tail section. a southwest spokesperson said today the plane itself was inspected earlier this month with no trouble reported. earlier this year, southwest airlines paid a fine of more than $7 million for failing to adequately inspect planes for fuselage cracks before flying them. >> baltimore city police are investigating a shooting that left a woman in grave condition. it happened just before 3:00 this morning in the 500 block of south register street in fell's point. officers say that's where they found the woman lying in the street. right now she has not been identified. police have no suspects or motives. if you have any information on the case, you are urged to callle baltimore city police. police are also investigating why a car crashed into a store in cockeysville. sky team 11 was over the scene just after 4:00 this afternoon in the 10000 block of york

road. fortunately, there are no reports of any injuries. >> baltimore police are investigating the circumstances after a body of a d.c. councilman's aide was found in the inner harbor. 30-year-old desi deschaine was last seen on sunday. his body was found this morning. john sherman is live in canton with the latest on that. >> police say foul play is not suspected in this case but the circumstances surrounding it are certainly questionable. >> the search of the inner harbor this morning found a body 15 feet under the lighthouse point area. >> the body found in the inner harbor in canton this morning is 30-year-old desi deschaine, a d.c. resident who works for longtime d.c. city councilman jack evans. but the math involved in the case leaves many unanswered questions. >> there were four other friends on the boat that reported him missing. >> five people go out. four come back. >> i don't know the specifics

of what they were doing but there is no foul play involved. >> he was last seen by his friend at 10:00 p.m. sunday but they didn't report him missing until 10:00 a.m. monday. >> mr. deschaine was reported missing yesterday morning, last seen sunday night at 10:00 p.m. we immediately executed a citywide canvas. our aviation and marine division. >> this morning, sonar led police to the body. >> just be careful drinking and boating. that's the bottom line. drinking and anything impairs your judgment. accidents can happen. we encourage people to come down, enjoy the harbor. just be safe doing it >> it is still unclear why it took his friends 12 hours to report him missing. jack evans issued a statement saying desi deschaine was a bright, bubbly, enthusiastic and wonderful person who you just could not help but love. >> a maryland high school softball coach says he's been fired for violating a school alcohol policies.

walkersville coach brad young says a parent brought beer to the team cookout at his home last month. but frederick county school policy says alcohol is prohibited at any school function. young says he didn't know that the cookout at his home was violate the policy. he is appealing the decision that bars him from coaching for three years. the matter is being investigated. tomorrow the date for a murder trial could be set for members of the suspected cult. nearly a year after knowing charged with starving a 1-year-old boy to death, the defendants still don't have lawyers. 41-year-old queen antoinette and 21-year-old trevia williams, members of the former one mind ministries, told the judge today they want to represent themselves. prosecutors say they denied the boy food because he wouldn't say amen after meals. his mother, ria ramkissoon, pleaded guilty to child abuse leading to the boy's death last march. she web sentenced in august. a baltimore grand jury has hand up an indictment against the

man police say killed two women last month in their northeast baltimore home. mark floyd is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of the women. their bodies were found june 10 in the 4000 block of citizen lane. floyd faces realignment on august 4. >> senators got down to business in the sotomayor supreme court confirmation hearings today. grilling her on a wide range of legal issues, they also pushed her to explain remarks critics say suggest ethnic and gender biases. washington bureau reporter laura laura has details. >> in hearings today judge sotomayor tried to persuade critics she'd be an imparticle justify. for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor, day two of her confirmation hearings meant tackling controversy about her record. >> here is your chance. you tell us what's going on here, judge. >> at issue -- past remarks that critics say proves she brings bias to her job.

>> you've repeatedly said this. i wonder whether achieving the goal of impaaschiality is possible at all. aren't you saying there that you expect your background and heritage to influence your decision-making? >> my record shows that at no point or time have i ever permitted by person views or sympathies to influence an outcome of a case. >> but she distanced herself from our wise latina comment calling it -- >> a rhetorical flourish that fell flat. >> senators grilled her on issues including government powers post-9/11, gun control and abortion. sotomayor gave a carefully worded answer about roe v. wade. >> that is the precedent of the court and settled in terms of the holding of the court. >> she also defend her ruling against white firefighters in a discrimination case saying she based it on precedent. the supreme court has since

overturned that ruling. the firefighter who brought that lawsuit, frank ricci, will be the star witness later this week at the confirmation hearings in spite of tough criticism she is expected to be confirmed. >> the naacp is going high-tech in the fight against crime. during its nationality convention, the organization unveiled its new rapid response system. the president says it is part of a wider criminal justify strategy. >> it will allow anybody with a cell phone, an iphone, a blackberry, to videotape an incident of police abuse, email it to the naacp, it will always be in the server in the naacp. >> in 2002, more than 26,000 reports of police abuse were filed with state and local law enforcement agencies around the country. >> students and parents will

once again gather at towson catholic tonight to demand answers as to why their school is closing. 11 news reporter kerry cavanaugh is live outside the school. she has a preview for us. >> the archdiocese says it all boils down to declining enrollment putting the school $50,000 in the red. the meeting tonight is to help students find new high schools. that doesn't sit well with families forced to switch schools with less than two months until class are set to resume. many question why they didn't get more warning and an opportunity to help bail the school out of its financial hole. a new website called save towson catholic is leading a fundraising push. it credits one alumni with raising $15,000. immediately after the news broke, a spokesperson says even if they raised $1 million tonight it wouldn't be enough

to keep the school open because it does not address the ongoing challenge of slumping enrollment. the meeting getting started at 7:00 tonight. we'll be inside to bring you all the latest tonight at 11:00. >> a pennsylvania family whose daughter suffers from an immune disease is reaching out to other children in need. 9-year-old katherine chenille was diagnosed with a disease. today she came back to the ronald mcdonald house where she lived for many months. that's where she gave out dozens of air purifiers to children who may need them. she wants to give more but she needs your help. if you want to help katherine help other children, go to wbaltv.com. it's under news links. click on katherine's gift. >> stay with us. there's much more news ahead on 11 news at 6:00.

>> adam jones gets set to play in his first major league all-star game. >> cooler and drier. not as muggy as you might expect in july. we'll see if any of that typical july weather is on the way. right now it's 82 at b.w.i.-marshall and 83 at the inner harbor. announcer: during the autobahn for all event, you can get great lease deals. i love it! i just want to know it's the right move. me? thirteen days in the future. you get a deal on the car you always wanted. scheduled maintenance is included, it's all good. what's the future like? you love your new jetta. and the suit? you like it? no...i love it!

>> baltimore city began its new one plus one trash pickup this week. one day trash, one day recycling. some residents like the new program. others say it won't work. today 11 news reporter rob roblin took a firsthand look at how the program works. >> today baltimore city started something new. once a week trash pickup. while city officials are confident in their new trash pickup schedule -- >> they should know their trash

collection day, when to put out their trash. that is basically what we require residents to do and the rest is up to us. >> some city residents aren't so sure. >> it's not going to work at all. >> it's going to be trash problems everywhere. kids ain't going to be able to play outside because there's trash everywhere. >> i think it will cause rat infestation, you know, other pests. >> today was the first day of the once a week trash and once a week recycling program. >> you don't need to sort. just keep a container for your recycling. it doesn't have to be a yell bin. it can be a box or a bag. it can be an old trash can marked recycling. we'll pick it up. >> sanitation crews were out early this morning. while the city says trash must be in cans with the lids on tight, we found plenty of instances where that wasn't the case, making even some sanitation workers say this

will not work. >> that trash going to be build up. it's going to be more rats in the street than ever. >> you pick it up on friday. the next time is another friday? trash going to lay for a whole week. i don't think it's going to work. >> but some residents are willing to give the new schedule a chance. >> once for recycling and once for regular trash. i think it will work. >> i've been a recycler for a long time and i've got a lot of stuff in my house that i want to recycle and i always seem to miss the alternate wednesday. >> rob roblin, wbal-tv 11 news. >> to find out your scheduled days, we've posted a link at wbaltv.com. be sure to click on news links. >> some picture-perfect summer weather across the region. even the pollen count

cooperating. the only glitch is it's starting to get a little too dry. we're actually about an inch below normal rainfall for the month of july. but the tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, all coming in low. not even a count for the weed pollen today. the temperatures still short of the normal 87. only 84 today at the airport. 86 at the inner harbor. the morning low 58 degrees at b.w.i.-marshall was good enough to tie the record low set back in 2001. we tied that reading even though it was much milder in downtown baltimore. look at all the cool 40's and 50's to our north and west. much warmer on the coast or right near the bay. comfortably cooler in the mountains as well. satellite imagery shows clear skies across the region. other than a few fair-weather clouds, it will be another

clear, cool night. the dew point number is the measure of the moisture in the atmosphere. the lower the number, the drier the air. you usually don't see numbers like this in july. we could have the dew points in the 75 to 80-degree range. but right now we're in the 40's across the region. that means very dry air and these temperatures tonight will fall quickly through the overnight. that means the possibility of another record low. the record for tomorrow morning is 57 set in 1999. many of the outlying suburbs i think will reach the low or mid 50's. so cool and comfortable again. clear skies stretch from ocean city through baltimore right up through lake erie and into eastern canada. the area of high pressure wiping out the clouds will hold tonight and most of tomorrow in this next system kicking up storms in minnesota. that front approaches us thursday morning. tomorrow maybe a little warmer and more humid but still a very nice day. just partly cloudy skies. thursday scattered showers move east of the mountains. we need the ravenlt only a few spots are going to get it,

though. even though we'll see clouds here friday, it looks like the rain on friday will be significantly fart to the south. tomorrow partly cloudy skies. about normal for temperatures. after a cool, comfortable morning, southerly breezes will make it feel warmer and more humid in the afternoon. south wind at 10 to 15 knots with waves running one foot. we'll heat it up a touch thursday, triggering a thunderstorm in the morning. clouds in the area friday. a scattering of storms in the area saturday. then back to the cooler, dry weather for sunday, monday and tuesday. >> tonight in st. louis, the o's center fielder adam jones draw attention to the birds' path while trying to give hope for the future. he becomes the youngest orioles to play in an all-star game since 26 years ago.

the 23-year-old has become a regular in this game. of course, the orioles on course for a 12th straight losing season. you can understand the fans who need more than one player to get excited about the future. but for the moment, adam jones want to soak up the special atmosphere he'll step into tonight in st. louis. >> i'm not the youngest to ever go. if i was, that would be different. at age 23, i'm pretty happy. i didn't think i'd go this early. hopefully it can be the first of many. >> now that most golf tournaments end with tiger woods as the main story line, it should come as no surprise that most start that way, too. especially the british open. he missed last year because of his knee surgery. he arrives fully recovered with momentum almost as strong as the winds that blow across the course. two weeks ago, woods won his

own tournament. the challenge this week becomes making the british open look like his tournament, too. >> i think winning any third tournament back was that emotion you're just describing to get it so soon, that helped. that certainly has set up the rest of the year. >> kansas city chiefs quarterback mast castle proves patience pays off. in this case to a whopping total of $63 million. chiefs signed the new quarterback to a six-year, $63 million deal with $28 million guaranteed. here you see him in a new england patriots uniform. because in the off-season the patriots traded castle to the kansas city chiefs. but prior to last season, castle, who did start last year for the patriots, filling in for the injured tom brady. but prior to that he didn't start a single game in his first three years in the nfl. before that he spent four years at u.s.c. as a back-up, didn't start a single game in college.

not the typical path to a pot of gold. but here he is going into his fifth nfl season $28 million guaranteed with one season as a starter. >> you know he earned his way there. >> as we like to say, only in america, my friends. >> wow. tom is up next with a look at the forecast. pa

>> president obama is calling for an infusion of money at community colleges. >> we'll fund programs to connect students looking for jobs with businesses that are looking to hire. >> tonight, the multibillion-dollar effort the president is proposing to teach and train more people for jobs in the future. and a maryland high school coach fired for violating a school alcohol policy. tonight, why some parents

believe the school may have gone overboard. these stories and much more when you join us tonight right here at 11:00.

>> perfect temperatures and humidity. >> fantastic stuff out there. another cool night tonight. 50's in the suburbs and 60's downtown. the record low is 57. we'll be right near there tomorrow morning. the winds shift to the south tomorrow, so it will get a little more humid. that leads to scattered thunderstorms for the first part of thursday. with precip running an inch below normal for july, we'll get some needed rain thursday and maybe again on saturday. >> "nbc nightly news" with brian williams coming your way next.

announcer: during the autobahn for all event, you can get great lease deals. i love it! i just want to know it's the right move. me? thirteen days in the future. you get a deal on the car you always wanted. scheduled maintenance is included, it's all good. what's the future like? you love your new jetta. and the suit? you like it? no...i love it!