[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon in hd. >> good afternoon. i am mindy basara. today we remember our real trailblazer for the disabled, a maryland resident, and the

matriarch of the kennedy family. eunice kennedy shriver passed away at the hospital surrounded by her family. tracie potts looks back at her life. >> a couple of a member of the kennedy family, eunice kennedy shriver war the mantle of public-service largely out to the public eye. unlike her siblings, john, bobby, and ted. her life's work was inspired by another sibling, rose mary, who was born mentally retarded. she founded the special olympics in 1968, inviting people with mental disabilities to showcase their abilities. >> each time you run and jump, you will save others everywhere , "come to our world, where we are free, free to choose our sport." >> her husband, at sargent shriver, co-founded the peace

corps and ran for vice president with george mcgovern in 1972. pearse son-in-law, arnold schwarzenegger, is governor of california. she produced a television special on religious faith, binding the kennedys through generations. she focused on the story of mary and jesus. >> that kind of a lesson, "if i had a faith, i can change the world of." >> another time to turn to prayer and each other. >> president obama has released a statement saying that she will be remembered as "i checked in for people to intellectual disabilities and as an extraordinary -- a champion for people with intellectual disabilities at an extraordinary example that note barrier can restrained the example of the human spirit."

tonight at 5:00, we will have a reaction from the special olympics in maryland. on our website, even read more about her work and at the kennedy family. the national debate over health care reform to a head in maryland last night. residents gathered at towson university for a town hall meeting with senator ben cardin agreed more people showed up at expected 3500 people were allowed inside and hundreds were gathered outside. inside, the senator had to occasionally shout his way through the meeting to be heard. people sometimes angrily voice their questions and concerns. >> we are not putting in terminating people scare at the end of life. we are not going to include those who are not documented in the system. >> you wanted to be more efficient and cheaper, so you want the government to do it? katrina, medicare, medicaid, anyone? >> so many people showed up last

night that the senator is thinking of holding an additional meeting in central maryland. today, president obama is holding his own town hall meeting. he is going to portsmouth, new hampshire. brooke hart tells us what to expect. >> before leaving for mexico, president obama acknowledged that passions on health care are hot. could the president faces own town hall fray? this was virginia last night. it is not just democrats getting food. -- booed. the south carolina republican is against the public option but wants reform. at his town hall, he urged to quit listening to right wing bostick glenbrook -- right wing host glenn beck.

worried it is losing the message war, though white house launched a new web site to deduct rumors. >> one of the worst i've heard is that this bill is going to force euthanasia. >> democrats to propose an of life counseling for those who wanted. -- 52-of-life counseling for those who want it. >> what the country wants is an honest discussion about what the problem is. we are going broke on health care. >> it is the cost of change that worries critics. >> taxpayers are worrying, we need to pay for all of this. >> his group is mobilizing protesters to show up. 70% of people got tickets by random lottery, so it could get boisterous. it could be rallies and counter rallies as critics and backers

see today is a high-profile opportunity to get the message across. >> the first truck to develop a safe and effective the swine flu vaccine -- first trial to develop a safe and effective the swine flu vaccine is under way. young people and seniors lined up a theater receipt of maryland school of medicine to receive the vaccine. if they prove to be effective, the vaccine should be made available to the general public. >> we will come away from this understanding how much vaccine, how many doses, how quickly they can develop an immunity. >> if it saves hundreds of lives around well, i can say is part of it. >> it is hoped that the vaccine will be available by the fall. >> it is another hot one for us. temperatures in the mid-80's.

we will probably get into the low 90s this afternoon. we are going to see a good chance of thunderstorms as well. scattered thunderstorms and showers this afternoon. the cold front is still to our northwest. 92 at 93. this will be the end of the very short heat wave since sunday. 30% chance of showers and storms overnight tonight. we are staying mild. as we head throughout the day tomorrow, improvement. slight chance for an isolated thunderstorm. i have more on the extended forecast in just a little bit. >> a warning for consumers by door-to-door salesmen. what you should know about a scam taking advantage of the folks looking for added security. divers are back in the hudson river searching for clues into this weekend's deadly plane crash. why could take awhile before we know what happened.

>> you want me to tell you what my husband thinks? my husband is the secretary of state. i am. >> the question that prompted such a sharp response from secretary of state hillary clinton. and john purdue from valley view farms here to answer the plant and gardening questions, which you can e-mail to

>> diapers are back in the hudson river looking for the last person killed -- divers are

back in the hudson river looking for the last person killed in the crash over the weekend. when people were killed saturday when a helicopter and small plane -- nine people were killed saturday when a helicopter and small plane collided. >> it was so quick. he was being overtaken by the other aircraft. >> i do not know who made the mistake. that is for the ntsb to decide. what i do know is that nine people are dead. >> investigators say that because the wreckage is so spread out, it could be awhile before we learn what went wrong. i he to the moment for secretary of state hillary clinton in the congo yesterday. a student asked what her husband, former president bill clinton, thought about an international financial matters, and the nation's top diplomat had this response. >> my husband is not a secretary of state. i am.

so you ask my opinion, i will tell you my opinion. i will not be channeling my husband. >> state department officials say the student approached clinton afterwards and said that he had meant to ask what president obama, not bill clinton, thought about the matter but a senior aide says that she assured this did not to worry about it. you can eat all your pledge questions to at -- e-mail your plan questions to plantquestions@wbaltv.com. >> there is not a drop of precipitation yet, but that is likely to change. as we had to break, it is 86 of the airport and inner harbor.

>> hundreds of soldiers returned to cheers and kisses last night. more than 700 oklahoma national guard soldiers were welcomed with open arms after a 10-month stay in iraq and kuwait. in kentucky, more than 200 soldiers returned to fort knox after 15 months in iraq. in the consumer other, investigators in baltimore county are warning residents to be aware of what they called unethical salespeople selling alarm systems door-to-door. lowell melser explains. >> it is a simple pitch -- a young, clean-cut man comes to your door selling you an alarm system, but what are they really selling? >> they are either giving you a weaker system than you had come or not doing much at all, just taking your money and going away.

>> baltimore families have fallen victim to the salesman, selling so-called three-alarm systems, only to find out that they have signed multiyear contracts that they cannot get out of, or keep their current alarm system and sign a contract to also be built for another alarm company. in one case, a salesperson offer to put up $100 of his own money to pay for the customer's first two months in order to make the sale. door-to-door salespeople selling alarms need two official documents. >> you need a permit, and to do anything technical and all the burglary alarms, you need a license from the state. >> this year, there have been over 900 inquiries on alarm companies. >> the greater business bureau has been bombarded with concerns about the sales since the summer started. the complaints all say the same thing.

>> high-pressure tactics, abeyance which -- bait and switch. >> bbb warns consumers to watch for the stands. if you make a purchase, make sure it did you get everything in writing. >> police also said that if you are uncomfortable with a salesperson at your door, don't hesitate to call 91, or if you of a fallen victim to a stamp, call the maryland consumer protection division. >> now your love and insta- weather-plus forecast with sandra shaw. -- your 11 insta-weather-plus forecast with sandra shaw. >> isolated storms late yesterday. we are looking at a quiet scan on hd doppler. this front will be moving through later on this afternoon. not getting full -- not getting

through fully until late tonight. that is what we are looking at later on this afternoon. 86 downtown, 86 at the airport. ocean city, 93 degrees already. in the mountains of western maryland, they are getting relief today. only the upper seventies and the upper elevations. we are on our way it may be and 90 to 93 degree high depending on your location on the day. winds are generally out of the northwest at 10 per hour. ocean city, already at 93 degrees. the record was way back in 1900, a very hot summer. the record low in 1972. we will remain in this general the city tonight.

-- general vicinity tonight. looking at the surface features, affront to our west moving through here. this will close down in full force tomorrow. we will only be up to the normal high of 86 degrees. so much more pleasant in contrast to yesterday, when we had 94 at the airport. take a look at this -- this is the next tropical depression. we're looking satellite imagery. 280 mi. in excess of that. this is moving in the direction of the eastward movement. as it does so, it will be taking up strength and could be the next tropical storm. we do have tropical depressions to talk about as we are entering the peak of the season. 86 degrees is the forecast high for tomorrow.

slight chance of showers and storms in the afternoon. slight chance of a storm to the eastern shore. >> john purdue from valley view farms is here to answer the plant and gardening questions. hot day to the outside gardening. what do you have here? >> i brought in some butterfly weed today. it likes full sun and drier conditions. >> right up my alley. is not really a week, though. what a great choice for your backyard if you want but of eyes to come and visit. let's go to the first question. >> you don't want to cut back drastically. if you want to trim and a little bit to get it under control, that will be ok.

>> the butterflies really do love it. my neighbor has one of the butterflies. >> yes, go ahead and put it in the ground. it is a perennial and will come back to you every year. it likes sunshine are part shade. >> is there anything i could do to prevent a pine trees from getting bagworm? >> not really. but once they are there, you want to either pick them up by hand, or if you need to treat the plant, a nice systemic chemical that will go into the plannet. >> what does the bagworm look like? >> it is in a little, that looks

like a pine cone. -- little cocoon that looks like a pine cone. >> if you have a plant or gardening question, you can e- mail it to -- up next, the maryland lottery green ball double draw, with two chances to win on pick 3, and another check of the insta-weather-plus forecast. first, a look at how wall street is performing.

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>> coming off on "oprah," it is another house call for dr. oz. you do not want to miss this one, coming up at 4:00. at 5:00, your diet and exercise could significantly impact your risk for alzheimer's disease. and renting a home vs. buying -- which is right for you? that is tonight at 11 news at 5:00. and now the maryland lottery numbers. >> it's a green ball double draw, a new promotion from the maryland lottery, now through august 16. >> now you of a chance to win on the two pick three drawings

with a green ball double draw. it agreed ball comes up, we will draw a bonus set of pick three numbers. your pick three numbers today are -- and now it is time for the green ball double draw. for today's drawing, eight white balls remain. if a green ball pops up, we will do a bonus pick three drawing, giving you a chance to win on both sets. it is a white ball. before the next drawing, we will remove one white ball, taking your chances for green ball even better. now here are micki and roz with an important message. >> collected these at mdlottery.com/ravens.

>> you could win a season tickets for life and so much more. >> moving right along to pick four, your numbers are -- i am shari and this is marty and we are seeing a, maryland, let yourself play. for details on the green ball double draw, visit your local retailer or mdlottery.com. >> it will be warm, but at least not exceeding what is normal, which is 86. that is what we will be down to tomorrow, thanks to our front moving through this afternoon.

some showers and storms scattered around. a very bleak high, thunderstorms rolling around in the afternoon. -- variably cloudy, thunderstorms rolling around in the afternoon. pretty typical august pattern. >> be sure to watch tonight at 5:00 with donna hamilton and stan stovall.