>> good morning. >> thanks for joining us. we will get a quick on weather and traffic. it is slick and the roadways. >> we had some heavy downpours less night. -- last night. a chance of showers and storms today. there is a flash flood watch for northeastern maryland and on the eastern shore. the 70's of the eastern shore. they got significant amounts of precipitation yesterday. today's forecast, some people will not even get a shower.

we will be well below normal consistently. >> we will take. >> there was enough rain to create a problem, the harrisburg expressway. it was blocked, but now it is open. the tractor-trailer is cleared. be careful as the roads are slick. no major delays to report and no other incidences. you drive * look good. here is a live look at traffic. no problems to report what you get to the j.f.x. and everything running smoothly. not much is happening at the fort mchenry or the toll plaza. the harbor tunnel looks good. back to you. >> thank you. our big story this morning, a

community activists struck by a stray bullet was sitting in her home. >> she is using her shooting to say she has had enough. >> nobody wants to get involved or say anything. it is never going to stop. >> the incident has drawn the attention of a city commissioner. >> a five year-old girl was struck in the head with a stray bullet. our reporter has more on what can be done to stop the violence. >> experts we spoke with say residents live in these violent neighborhoods need to be outraged. for those who do not live there, they need to care. >> daylight.

five year-old raven wyatt was shot in the crossfire. during the gunfire, people are standing nearby. they never flinched. violent culture of the city as a>> we sat down with a doctor who is a former fbi agent. he grew up on the streets of west baltimore. he says it is not so much that people are numb to the senseless violence, they have no way to escape. >> they adapt. they do not like it or accept it. they are not numb to it. where do they go? that is what we have to change. >> he says communities have to get outraged about the culture of violence, even when it does not directly impact you. >> good people have to be aggressive and say this is unacceptable. that has not happened yet. >> we have to intervene before 5-year-olds get shot.

>> this doctor applaud the efforts and says more needs to be done. we need to make sure that children know that education is>> it is the people who are traumatized who have to live in those environments and have to growing up into the environment. >> it deal has been made so they can build a casino near the m&t bank stadium. the entertainment group planned to build a small casino in a less visible location. but they are changing their minds. consolation energy is taking part in the cleaner greener initiative in the city of baltimore. it has released a $500,000 investment plan. consolation officials hope that baltimore would become a model for the country. >> we can make baltimore one of

the most advanced, as margaret initiatives in the country. we have applied for this. -- smart power grid initiatives in the country. we have applied for this. >> the program will last nine months. officials and are setting to expand to other initiatives to create jobs and efficiency. >> and an ocean city conference is raising some eyebrows. many are gathering and some are reducing the size of their attendance because of budget concerns. >> the opportunity is invaluable. everybody has to do it with an eye on how to manage it in a

fiscally be possible manner. >> at some point you have to say, why are we doing this? what value does this have to the people that are serving? >> they canceled at $12,000 reception this weekend. other parties are still on the schedule. >> more news is due out today on the economy. the federal reserve as had the most upbeat assessment in years. does this mean the recession is over? our washington bureau reporter has more on project economy. >> many are optimistic, but there is still reason for caution. stocks soared on the news. economic activity is leveling out. we have had the worst budget crisis in decades. the president was upbeat earlier this week at a town hall. >> the jobs picture is beginning --to turn.

that does not mean that we are out of the woods. >> economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time. it is starting to pull back some of the emergency rescue in programs. it is keeping rates near zero to spur growth. there are more job losses. >> for the last year, or people have been fired then hired. as states, we probably need to add more than 100,000 a month. >> little relief in the housing sector. laos and lower wages are partially expto blame for more foreclosures. -- layoffs and lower wages are partially to blame for more foreclosures. unemployment in retail sales are also affected. wbal-tv.

>> that brings us to our watercooler question of the day. do you think the nation is emerging from a recession? email us your repsonse to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> coming up, some encouraging news during the medical alert. there is a decrease in mortality rates of some cancers. >> and help one number could be shrinking that affects babies. >> we learned about a disabled bus in one area.

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now. we will see some cloudy conditions. some thunderstorms developing later on. a four degrees is the high. -- 84 degrees is the high. battle of the beltway. a slight chance for some thunderstorms around. not a bad night to see some football starting up again. that is it for now. more coming up. >> a new report finds cancer deaths have gone down. researchers say cancer deaths have declined in all age groups over the past 30 years especially in young people. 25 percent per decade of a decrease. >> according to new statistics,

women are waiting longer to have their first child. the most recent report shows the average age of a first-time mothers went from just over 21 years old in 1970 to five years old in 2006. massachusetts had the highest average. it will influence how many children she has based on the first time she has her child and at what age. >> you are looking at a live picture of for downtown baltimore. we will update weather and traffic up next. stay with us. you are watching "11 news today. "

>> we are checking on a morning commute. one problem at moore's lane. the speed sensors are up to speed looking very good and the major roadways. some leftover rain making the roads slick. be careful. travel times of looking good. a five minute ride on 95 as you make it to the fort mchenry split. here is a live look at traffic. this is pulaski highway. everything moving well on the east side of the beltway. area bridges are checking out fine. here is a live view of traffic at liberty. that is the outer loop heading down towards edmondson. no word some problems there.

here is the latest on the buses and the trains. >> good morning. a smith commute on the rails. light rail is on time. metro subway is also on time. on the bus is right now, the three best as a diversion at hopkins place due to construction. the 21 bus diverting due to construction. actress sandra shop. >> -- back to sandra shaw. >> top of the morning to you. flash flood watch in effect for the eastern shore and the northeast corner of the state such as cecil county. the clouds will thicken this afternoon. some showers and storms.

an upper level low is the cost for the pop-up showers and storms statewide. 75 degrees in the upper elevations. 83 degrees in of the high for charm city. a good chance of seeing some strong storms. they will not be widespread around the area. 82 degrees on the shores of ocean city today. just a big bay is forecasting winds of the northeast. 1 foot or less waves. 99 degrees is the record high. 54 degrees is the record low. the forecast tonight is a normal up to 67 degrees.

a slight chance for some scattered storms. the battle of the beltway is tonight. 7:30 kickoff. though ravens. notice the high pressure to our west. this will build in as the upper level low washes out with the front. it is been very persistent this week. tomorrow a better day. temperatures will not be bad. 85 degrees tomorrow. some pop up on thunderstorms late in the afternoon. not really a problematic thing with any strong storms. the second tropical depression is weakening this morning. it is in the atlantic. we are monitoring, but it is not posing a threat. i have more for you coming up. >> thank you.

the city of baltimore is cracking down on illegal dumping. public works is not the only one who has to worry about it. >> federal agencies are also concerned. our reporter has more on the story. >> here is a delivery number. >> he is digging through trash, taking pictures, and canvases the neighborhood to find out who is behind the illegal dumping in southwest baltimore. >> do you know when this was? >> late at night. around 3:00 in the morning dumping trash. >> they are more likely to talk to you about who is dumping then people selling drugs on the corner. >> on the back of his truck --

it flies off. then they take off. >> this is part of a special unit cracking down on illegal dumping in the city. it is answered to a hundred complaint calls since it started. illegal dumpers face jail time and a tent -- and/or a $10,000 fine. >> we have seen other crimes in relation to that that we have come across. >> some of those charged brought their trash from out of town. one from howard county and harford county. one was caught because some personal information was dumped along with his trash. >> then we found his prescriptions for niagarviagra. >> be careful what you dump and where.

if you hire someone to call for you, they must be licensed. if not, you could get fined. to report illegal dumping, called 311. >> some people are trying a new approach to keep the bears out of their trash in their lawn. one bear spent some time in a puool. -- pool. some towns in the area are testing their resistance to trash barrels. a traffic officer is making the rest are more entertaining. she has a funky dance moves and entertains motorists. it helps to pass time and gets the attention of the drivers. she even puts a smile on some of the commuters in new york.

that is no easy feat. >> we have heard the phrase, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. this will take it to a whole new level. these x-rays show what you can see when one person accidentally swallowed the whole spoon when he was trying to be moved a fish bone from his teeth. >> i got it. that looks a little uncomfortable. >> yes. >> he is all right. much more is ahead on "11 news today in." here is a look at last night's

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>> take a look at some of these dogs. they are offering doggie dna tests to determine their makeup. it is a non invasive procedure. >> we take a cotton swab and rotate it around in their mouth. >> if you have behavior issues that does not make sense to you, you find out that your dog is

hyper because it has a certain breed in it. >> they can help determine certain characteristics and diseases that certain breeds are carrying. >> we ask if you thought we are starting to emerge from the recession. >> all aspects of the economy and the economic community has to be working together if we are really out of a recession. that is what one person rights. everything has to be working together as a team of people we can truly say we are out of a recession. keep emailing your responses. we will read more the next hour and post all of them on the front page of our website. >> here is a look ahead at the next hour of "11 news today." >> will tell you about an unusual crime. >> how one county plans to deal with overcrowding at local

schools. >> and a woman's windshield is cracked when another animal's lunch falls of the sky. i have to wait for that at 6:20. >> you never know what is going to fall of the sky. we had some heavy downpours system. i will tell you more about that and today's forecast up ahead. >> we were doing fine on the road until just a few minutes ago. we have some accidents to updat. updat.

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