[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> we begin with breaking news from northeast baltimore. firefighters are on se the scene of a three-alarm fire in the 5900 block of bel air road. flames broke out around 4:00 this afternoon in the rear of a building and spread to several other buildings, two of them collapsed. no reports of injuries so far, investigators are trying to pinpoint the cause of the fire. good evening, everyone. our big story tonight, president obama is back on the stump her if -- for his health care reform plan. but there are questions, namely,

did his comments about racism put the issue to rest or cause a detrimental distraction? tracy is in washington, d.c. >> in cambridge, massachusetts, where president obama said a white police sergeant, quote, acted stupidly in arresting a black college professor in his own home, there are protests. >> i don't believe it's a racist situation at all. they're >> they're trying to put whites against blacks. >> the professor said, in the end, it's not about me at all but about the creation of a society in which equal justice before the law is a reality. crowley avoided questions after president obama's remarks friday. >> to the extent that my words

didn't illuminate but led to more problems is unfortunate. >> will it put -- will a meeting put this to rest? >> what i don't want to see is beer-drinking, back-slapping like nothing ever happened and we put it on the back burner again. >> he talks about health care again. >> we need to get it done this year. >> republicans argue taxing small businesses to pay for reforms could cost millions of jobs. >> it's a prescription for disaster. >> in a report out this weekend, the white house said small businesses would get a tax credit and would be exempt from fees for not providing health coverage. >> even some democrats are against this move and some say if the president can't get his own party on board, the political costs could be huge.

>> yet another reason why president obama wants to get the health care bill pass pa -- bill passed, 46 million people in the u.s. don't have health insurance. the number is even larger for those who don't have dental care. that number is 143 million. that's why the university of maryland dental school gave free dental screenings. they teamed up with companies and nonprofits to help baltimorians in need. >> these are people who are uninsured or underinsured, that's why the health care bill before the congress is so important now. >> congressman cummings said this is extremely important because improper dental care an led to -- lead to other health problems. >> the search continues for a missing girl on the sassafras river. she fell out of a bet yesterday in kent county. we brought you details as breaking news last night at 6:00. sky team 11 flew over the search

team around 4:30. when the girl fell she somehow ended up getting hit by the same boat. searchers resumed their efforts to locate the girl today. the accident is under investigation. day two of searching for a baltimore-area teen in south carolina has turned up empty. a large group of volunteers near myrtle beach lined the shore looking for 13-year-old lonnie hill, who went swimming with friends in the ocean on thursday, witnesses say he went under the water and never resurfaced. he was in south carolina with teammates to may at the big kahuna tournament in myrtle beach. >> if you like the summer-like weather, you were a fan of the weather today. we saw plenty of heat and humidity. now that's fueling some thunderstorms with a slow-moving cold front on the way. you see a few storms moving through hagerstown, they're inching closer to baltimore.

at this point, it looks like they may have enough steam to push their way through baltimore and we may see scattered thunderstorms overnight. a quick look at temperatures right now -- or the satellite picture, rather. clear chis across most of the i-95 corridor with most clouds off to the west. temperatures holding in the 70's and 80's. we'll talk about the thunderstorms and what they'll mean for the rest of your weekend forecast in just a bit. >> at this hour, baltimore city police are investigating a deadly shooting in greek town. a man was shot around 2:00 this morning in the 5100 block of foster avenue. he was shot in the back and take ton bayview medical center, where he was pronounced dead. they have not identified the victim and no word on a motive or suspect. investigators are looking into another shooting case this weekend, it happened around 2:00 in the morning in the parking lot of the clubhouse lounge in

the 4200 block oferedman avenue. a woman was shot several times in the stomach. medic responded to treat her, no word on her condition. you pay taxes and expect certain services in return, but if you have a crash on a state road, your taxes may not cover the state's expenses and they could send you a whopping bill. monday at 11:00, we expose this controversial practice. >> it's called a crash tax. it reaps millions of dollars for maryland drivers each year, yet few are aware of it. russell knows about it, the diabetic passed out and crashed into a telephone pole. he got a bill for $5,000 for traffic control. >> i pay taxes for highway control, yet they charge me for highway control. >> ford and others are feeling

the squeeze, insurance companies are refusing to pay and the state isn't backing down. monday at 11:00, how you could get caught in the middle, and what happens to drivers who don't pay. >> it's not near a beach front but the ocean is being blamed for a tornado that tore through the orlando area this week. the details and a look at the destruction as we cover the nation tonight. plus she hands over the governor's office to her lieutenant governor tomorrow, but is this the last we'll see

>> proof tonight of the power and danger of severe weather. in central florida, residents are cleaning up after a tornado tore through the area friday. 160 homes were damaged, one person was injured by flying glass. >> the roof is completely removed from this house this house would be a four or totally damaged. >> meteorologists say the storm was created when ocean breezes

from either side of the florida coast converged. this is alaska governor sarah palin's last day in office. the she gained fame after running for vice president. she hands over the reigns tomorrow to her lieutenant governor. is this the last we'll see of her. >>s is sarah palin's farewell tour. >> especially with this being my last time to speak to you as your governor, i love you, i appreciate your support, the support you've shown my family. >> a series of picnics across alaska, the one-time vice-presidential candidate is saying good-bye to her constituents and her duties as the state's chief executive. preparing to hand the office over to her lieutenant governor three weeks after the shocking announcement she would step

down. >> it would be apthettoik hunker down and go with the flow. >> how's the fishing? >> it's good. >> since then, she's spent time on the water as reporters fished for answers. >> you're not listening to me as to why i wouldn't be able to finish that final year in office without it costing the state millions of dollars. >> at a picnic in her hometown of what cilla, she offered no more in-- of wasilla she offer nod more insight. >> i won't talk politics today. >> but politics was all anybody else would talk about. >> analysts say a run for president could be a tough road. >> she has very, very high negatives among independent voters and democratic voters. >> but among those who came out to say good-bye or the as governor, palin is still a star. shaking hands, snapping pictures, and looking like

anything but someone who plans to fade from the spotlight. >> tonight, the literary world is mourning the death of e. lynn harris a best-selling authored on frequent guest of 11 news saturday and sunday morning where he'd often pop up to talk about his latest novel he went from sell his first book out of his car to having 10 novels on "the new york times" best sellers list. he was 54 years old. >> even though it's summer doesn't mean education stops seesm how maryland's first lady is reaching out to children. >> you play enough golf, something wonderfully bizarre will happen. what this incredible hole in one earned a relative unknown golfer. >> we're watching showers and thunderstorms inching their way toward baltimore. it's 87 degrees at b.w.i. and

the harbor. more on those storms after the break. oh, what's this?

breakfast. it's kind of early, buddy. you've got to need to take some cholesterol off you. honey, have you been reading the cheerios box again? he got that off the box. (announcer) cheerios is made with 100% natural whole grain oats to help lower your cholesterol. that was very thoughtful of you. very early, but very thoughtful. (announcer) cheerios. good for the heart.

>> baltimore's first lady joined in celebrating maryland's summer reading program. children joined her at the library where she read several books in an effort to encourage kids to continue reading all summer long. last year, 150,000 children and teenagers participated in the summer reading club. it was an unforgettable day on the inner harbor. a group of children with the easter seals hit the water thanks to the annual cruise for kids where private boat owners lend out their vessels for the day. the kids and families were treated to a day and lunch. >> the navy band performs, we come out every year because of our experience here with this. >> today's event was sponsored

by easter seals greater washington-baltimore region which provides services for children and adults with disabilities. >> now your 11 tains weather plus forecast. >> a beautiful day to be outside. we're watching a few rainshowers and thunderstorms push their way closer. this is associated with a slow-moving cold front, it's managed to make its arrival here a little ahead of schedule. hagerstown seeing a few thunderstorms with the first line, that's inching closer to baltimore. a few more scattered showers down south of there let's get an idea of how the storm has been progressing over the last few hours. you can see this one line fell apart over the mountains, began to fire up again in the last few hours, a lot of that courtesy of the heat and humidity. we're going to see the thunderstorms in the overnight hours. this initial line, the intensity of it should begin to wane a

little bit. a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect to the north of us, it includes york and lancaster county, that is until 9:00 this evening and goes up to the great lakes and new york state. the cold front we're dealing with will provide a produce through form and early monday. 're expecting it to arrive around 8:00 monday evening outside baltimore, and 12 hours later it won't have moved much. that means soggy weather. you can see that line there, rainshowers really begin to blossom in the afternoon hours through dinner time on sunday. begin to break apart on monday. by monday afternoon and evening, with the front still drape aid cross the area, we're anticipate manager rainshowers to develop, it looks like a soggy start to the work week. that cold front won't be bringing with it colder temperatures. it will provide a little cut in

temperatures and humidity but not much. the rest of us are in the upper 80's and 90's, we hit 91 degrees at b.w.i. and the inner harbor. for tonight, increasing clouds with a chance of rainshowers and embedded thunderstorms developing late, 68 to 75. we have the bermuda high in place, pumping in all this heat and humidity and providing a lot of moisture. we'll see the chances for rainshowers and thunderstorms again and again and again over the next few days as we head into the workweek. scattered storms for tomorrow, 87 to 92 degrees. winds to the south and southwest, 10 to 12 knotts. down the shore, 89 degrees with increasing clouds. you'll be able to squeeze out a good day in ocean city. everyone dealing with storms throughout the day on sunday. cooler further out to the west. your seven-day forecast shows a stormy pattern beginning to set

up, a more summer like pattern, upper 80's and lower 90's for the rest of the workweek, with a slight chance for scattered late afternoon thunderstorms. >> the orioles annual second half takes shape in boston. the birds drop their sixth and seventh game since the all-star break. but they are competitive. no 30-3 losses. last night, in the midst of a 3-1 heartbreaker, we saw one of the best plays from anyone. two out, single to right, unlishes to the plate, just as impress i, matt weeter hangs on, jacoby ellsbury, marque kiss had no business thinking he could get ellsbury who was running on contact. wow. well played. however, in the ninth, the bases loaded for melvin moore, pap el

bonn's 98-mile-per-hour throw proved too much. guthrie on the mound tonight at fenway. fascinating game in toronto today. alex rios unloading an david price. two-run shot, toronto. bottom four, aaron hill, bombs away. his second homer of the game. blue jays making a mockery of this one, they lead 9-1 but laughing at the end in tampa. rays rally all the way back. jason bartlett, the r.b.i. double wins it. rays stun the jays, 150-9 in 12 innings. a packed house last night saw more action than any of us could hope for. for one player in particular, nerves were extra high. he's not only the first american

player ever for a.c. milan, he went to montgomery county. he was excited and nervous. here, caught in no man's land on defense, chelsea scores to take the lead. gooch had his chance. soaring above the defense, cracked the header, just wide. a penalty instead. he knows his home state has definitely embraced his return. pga stopping north of the border for the canadian border. the exchange rate two for one birdies. calcavecchia, playing well of late, but this was ridiculous he misses, that's amazing because he made a tour record nine in a row before that. he didn't have the shot of the kay. leaf olson at 15, never heard of leif, but look. cue ball off the nine, into the

corner pocket. good for the ace. of course, he can't believe it. spectacular reaction. look at him again when he recognizes what happened. having some fun. but there's more. hole in one earns him a new b.m.w. he'll have to play 36 tomorrow at glen abbey. fred not winning any sports cars, missing a bogey putt. a lovely approach, six shots back, playing decent, though. he's chasing greg norman. third round, this for birdie. 64. one shot ahead of funk. training camp for the ravens begins tuesday, the bills excited to unveil their newest weapon open up practice today.

terrell owens had nothing but praise. he disstracts from the fact that they have four unsigned rookies not in camp. stay with us. pa

>> here's a look at some of the stories we're working on for 11 news tonight. more than $5 million of michael jackson's money is found. who's come forward with the cash and what he says the king of pop wanted to do with it. and more options in the fight against wrinkles. it's becoming more affordable. we'll tell you about the new injectable treatment now available to patients. those stories coming your way

>> storms trying to move in tonight, a lot of storms for tomorrow, even lingering into monday. after that, a summer like pattern. each tai is not a washout derek spite what it looks like on the seven-day. but as we start to see the evening and afternoon thunderstorms develop. >> we know training camp is coming. >> "nightly news" is next here on nbc. we'll see you back here at 11:00.