11 news today continues right now. [captioning made possible by constellation energy] captioned by the national captioning institute -- www.ncicap.org -- >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> i'm stan stovall. >> let's get a check of the forecast with sandra shaw. >> we're going to be nice and quiet. a high of about 92 today. very similar to what we saw all weekend long. no precipitation no. good chance of showers until midweek. high pressure holding up. right now temperatures are mild for this time of the morning. 75 downtown. 70 at the airport. 70 generally on the eastern shore. there you see it, mostly sunny to partly cloudy. 92 in central maryland. winds light and out of the southwest. 91 southern maryland. 88, ocean city. and this is the first hurricane of the season. hurricane bill churning in the far atlantic. we've got details as far as coordinates coming up in your full weather forecast. we have the latest on tropical storm claudette. it looks like the same location with tropical depression anna by later this week.

more on all of that just ahead. right now traffic with sarah. >> good morning, everyone. a little bit busier. we have an accident coming in at whitehall road in baltimore county. if you're heading in and out rosedale, route 7, philadelphia road at middle river. we have downed wires. that's shut downing that area. so just use caution. traveling on philadelphia road this morning. everything looking good as far as our speed sensors go we'll check drive times this morning. 11 minutes on the outer loop. eight minutes inner loop between 79 # and the 83's. let's give you a live view heading out at the ft. mchenry. coming toward us is southbound traffic no. delays at the toll plaza. if any, they are minor. no problems at the harbor tunnel either. a live view of the key bridge. looks very good at this hour. stan and mindy, back to you. >> thank you. our big story, a fight at the inner harbor leads to gunfire. it happened late saturday night inside one of the harbor's

crowded pavilions. >> while police continue to investigate, 11 news spoke to one witness. kim dacey is live downtown with more on what happened. good morning, kim. >> good morning. baltimore police say the shooting happened just after 10:00 here at the light street pavilion, actually inside the pavilion, when someone pulled a gun during a fight. police say a 20-year-old man was shot in the leg and a 17-year-old man was shot in the forearm. they were both transported to the hospital and are expected to be ok. right now police are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage to identify a suspect. witnesses say it was pandemonium after the shots rang out. >> just around the corner. so you could actually hear the confrontation that was going on. then you heard the shots. you see everybody running. they ran past my stand. i followed them pretty much. got out of the building. >> mayor sheila dixon released a statement saying in part, "we will not tolerate the inner harbor as a hangout for those who break the law, intimidate or

create eye nuisance -- a noose answer is of any kind. the commissioner and i will continue to work diligently and swiftly to improve security. if you have any information about this crime, contact baltimore city police. live at the inner harbor, kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. this morning, city police are also trying to get to the bottom of a shooting in northeast baltimore. detectives say they've arrested a man accused of shooting another man in the face early sunday morning. it happened around 8:30 in the 4900 block of harford road. police say the victim is now in stable condition. maryland natural resources police believe alcohol was a factor in a boating accident on kent island. it left four people injured. police say jeff sauter of chester was piloting a boat that ran aground. he was taken to the university of maryland shock chawm i can't in critical -- trauma in critical condition. two women were taken to the hospital suffer from

nonlife-threatening injuries. >> closing the budget shortfall could mean less money for local governments. at the summer conference in ocean city the governor announced his intentions to cut $250 million to local government. yesterday lieutenant governor anthony brown addressed the plan while appearing on "q & a" of. >> a lot tough decisions where you may see cuts to colleges, local health departments, aid for law enforcement. these are tough times not unique to maryland. it's part of this national recession that we're in, a global recession. so we're going to work with the assembly, with local governments. but they're not going to be easy. >> these latest cuts are part of the plan to cut $750 million by the end of the summer. the governor is expected to bring $470 million in spending reductions to the board of public works august 26. the board already approve approved $280 million in cuts last month. all ever this an effort to close the state's $700 million budget

shortfall. now to the debate over the health care reform as president obama wraps up a weekend of town hall meetings. health care remained a high priority on capitol hill. the president is pushing hard for government insurance options. many law makers are offering different solutions. brook hart has the story. >> as he took in old faithful and the grand canyon with his family, president obama appeared newly willing to bridge the nation's divide on health care reform. could he drop the controversial government insurance option? >> that is not the essential element. >> this was president obama saturday in colorado. >> the public option whether we have it or we don't have it is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it. >> the president promoted the so-called public plan as cost competition to insurers. but it's galvanized opponents of his reform push. >> this isn't about republicans and democrats.

>> critics complained private insurers would go bust. >> the public plan is an uneven playing field. it will destabilize private insurance. >> leading senate democrats say the public plan fight's already over. >> the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the united states senate for the public option. there never have been. so to continue to chase that rabbit i think is just a wasted effort. >> north dakota's cenlt conrad promotes a member-run coop system instead. would that win g.o.p. votes? >> we ought to look at it. i think it's a far cry from the original proposals. >> the price could be democrats' votes. west virginia's john rockefeller calls the public plan a must. backers see it as a long-term answer for the uninsured. 8,000 people are lining up for free donated care at the los angeles forum until tomorrow. >> president obama wants health care agreement here next month. today he turns his attention to the nation's veterans, a dressing them at a gathering in arizona. in washington, brook hart,

wbal-tv 11 news. >> one local splition doing his part to make sure residents in the know about health care reform. yesterday morning delegate emmitt burns held a prayer vigil of protection for president obama. you recall last week a man was arrested for threatening the president and his family. also follows a week of high emotions from some passion alt health -- passionate health care reform critics. meantime, delegate burns is planning a forum of his own to clarify any confusing information. >> the politicians on the federal level have been doing that. but we need to do it on the state level. so i'm going to have that here so that we can give the information and get the truth about health care reform. >> that town hall meeting scheduled for september 13 at the delegate's rising sun baptist church. >> an australian man was won a landmark case that will allow him the right to die. christian has been paralyzed

below the neck since a car accident in 2008. he describes his life as a living hell. he argue the his caregivers fed him against his wishes. now a court ruled he understands the consequences of his actions and allowed him to refuse food through a tube. his caregivers will be able to keep him hydrated that brings us to our "watercooler question of the day." what do you think of an australian court's decision to grant a man the right to die? you can e-mail your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> 6:08. 71 degrees on tv hill. coming up, the financial news in the "bloomberg business report." >> also, we have been keeping you updated on last week's accident involving michael phelps downtown. police say the swimming star was not at fault but is not completely out of the woods either. >> we are track the first tropical storm to make landfall. the latest on claudette. >> and not only the first land fall of tropical storm but first

hurricane. details on that and our forecast ahead. >> and we want to detail your morning commute. one accident of note and downed wires blocking lanes in rosedale. yeah, no it's great.

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>> a very good morning. some patchy fog that will be burning off shortly. the sun will be up at 6:21. about 10 minutes to go. any fog should burn off rapidly. as far as h.d. doppler, nothing in here. but tropical storm claudette the first to make landfall this season made landfall before 2:00 a.m. in the panhandle of florida. it will probably be in northeast mississippi. not a terrible impact but it could disump up to 10 inches of

rain. here we're hard-pressed to find any precipitation. we had a nice dry weekend. we're continuing the trend today. 70 in general on the eastern shore today. with the heating of the day surgsurging to a high of 92, nol high 85, we're well above that today. that high pressure will hold up for at least the middle part of the week. it looks like 91 on the eastern shore and 88 in ocean city. want to take the boat out for relief on the chesapeake bay? winds out of the southeast at about five to 10 knots. waves at a foot or less. tonight's forecast keeping us mild. it looks like 65 to 70 degrees. pretty typical for august. next cold front is well to our west. won't be getting into the vicinity until, say, the middle part of the week. then it's going to stall to the northwest. 30% chance of showers by wednesday. still not a great big washout event. a slight chance for scattered showers. will clawed sethe continuing to move to the west-northwest.

it will weaken as it continues to go further overland. the deal with the panhandle this made landfall last night and tropical depression anna in the northeast caribbean by friday, could be making landfall in the same general vicinity in mobile, alabama. the eastern part of louisiana to about the fort walton beach area. however, more concern to us is the first named hurricane of the season. hurricane bill. right now it's more than 1,000 miles to the east of the lesser antilles. it's moving very quickly to the west-northwest at about 22 miles per hour. by the middle part or the latder part of the week a major hurricane is expected to develop. we're talking a category three with winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. right now it's got a classic satellite loop. it's got sustained winds now about 75 miles per hour, expected to go over warmer waters and pick up strength. so bill, as it is in a general direction moving towards the east coast, will be something we will be monitoring throughout.

the latest coordinates, 44.0 west if you are track bill on your hurricane tracking chart. looks like a slight chance of an isolated evening thunderstorm tomorrow. better chance of scattered storms potentially wednesday evening at 30% and 90. and thursday more clouds roll in but we're cooler, unti in the 8. >> a few problem spots this morning. let's start in harford county. threat at whitehall road and norris road. an accident clearing there at the harford-baltimore county line. in the meantime, we have a baltimore county problem. rosedale, route 7 shut down, philadelphia road at middle river road due to downed wires. you can see as far as our speed sensors go we're looking good. up to speed so far. 95, just north of the beltway northeast, not seeing any delay yet. even in the white marsh area. but volume is slowly but surely building. a live view of traffic on the east side at pulaski highway.

looks like we may have a problem in the outer loop but it doesn't appear to be impacting traffic. perhaps just a disabled vehicle. we'll keep you posted on that. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. stan, over to you. >> thank you. taking a look at some of our top stories, the howard county sheriff's department is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of a prisoner who escaped custody. 20-year-old devin champagne was being transported last thursday night when he used his handcuffs to choke a sheriff's deputy before fleeing on foot. if you have any information, call the howard county's sheriff's office. callers can remain anonymous. police wrapped up their investigation into a car accident involving michael phelps. officials say thursday night's crash was not michael phelps' fault. they say the driver of the other car, amanda virkus, ran a red light. but phelps isn't completely off the hook. veal to explain to a judge why police say he was driving o an

invalid michigan driver's license. that also cost him a $40 citation. tropical storm claudette made landfall on the florida panhandle before 2:00 this morning. that makes her the very first tropical storm to hit the u.s. mainland this year. forecasters expect claudette to dump as much as 10-inches of rain in some areas. central and southern alabama are also expected to get hit. forecasters are keeping ab eye on tropical storm bill which is expected to turn into a hurricane later today. >> microsoft says tall peel a ruling -- it will appeal a ruling. the lawsuit was filed in 2007. now a district court judge ordered microsoft to pay $290 million and to stop selling its word program all together. one analyst described this as the ultimate david and goliath scenario. microsoft has 80,000 employees. eye for eye has 30.

college students could get a break on their textbook costs. one of the largest textbook publishers says it's going to rent books to students. they'll pay from 40% to 70% of the sale price to rent and will get immediate access to the books' first chapter electronically. rentals run 60 to 120 days and students can return the book or buy it. investors are pinning hopes of the housing market. jane king has that story and more in the "bloomberg business report." >> good morning. we're expecting more signs of recovery in the housing market. according to economists surveyed by bloomberg ahead of reports this week builders broke ground on new homes in july in the fastest pace in eight months. while other figures may show sales climbing and an improvment in manufacturerring in the northeast. one economist says there's a broad enough stabilization to get a decent rebound but could asia dampen moods? stocks are climbing the most in five months after disappointing

japanese economic growth and u.s. consumer confidence reports. as for the markets, that unexpected drop in u.s. consumer confidence sending stocks lower friday and ending a four-week winning streak. the bloomberg maryland index also falling on the day. meantime, we're watching bethesda-based lockheed martin. lockheed is close to signing a major logistical services contract with the danish shipping company. finally, wal-mart is getting into glam rock. the largest retailer says it will offer a c.d. set with kiss's first new music in 11 years. the deal typically give an artist more money. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. 6:18. it's 71 degrees. another check on weather and traffic is straight ahead. >> and don't forget to e-mail your answer to our "watercooler question of the day." what do you think of an australian court's decision to

grant the man the right to die? email your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> good morning. let's see what's going on out there. a few problems to watch for. ab accident at whitehall road. the harrisburg expressway, we're in the green. that's from the maryland line all the way down to the beltway. if you're heading out anywhere else, we're doing pretty well. as far as our speed sensors go. gut we have a problem involving down wires. philadelphia road shut down at middle river road. take pulasky as your alternate. 11 minutes on the outer loop north side. same on the outer loop west side. a 13-minute ride southbound 95 from the 895 split. a live view of traffic in the

white marsh area. picking up in volume but still looking pretty good. no official delay. we'll switch over to a live view of the east side at pulaski highway. so far looks pretty good. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. sandra, over to you. >> and the sun is officially up. any patchy fog will likely burn off quite quickly. clear scan on h.d. doppler. another dry day today under the presence of high pressure at the s surface. and also the bermuda high that's affecting the east coast. looks like we'll get the warmest starm throughout at 76 downtown. 68 at the airport. 73 in ocean city. surging to a high of 92 this afternoon with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies in the charm city. 91 on the eastern shore. 88 the forecast high in ocean city. tropical storm claudette is still moving over the panhandle of florida. it made landfall before 2:00 am ax with 50 mile-per-hour sustained winds. those winds lessened a bit.

but hurricane bill, first hurricane of the atlantic season is churning far out in the atlantic with 75 mile-per-hour sustained winds. details on how it is expected to intensify and head in the direction of the east coast. that coming up. back to you. >> see new a bit. thank you. hundreds laced up their running shoes for the first annual 5-k rin this weekend. the event was sponsored by nick markakis, his wife and heir foundation. they fowbledded that organization to help improve the lives of distressed children across the state. >> and orioles' second baseman brian roberts held his baseball bash last night. the event benefits the hospital center for children. >> i had open-heart surgery when i was 5. so i understand kind of what the families and the kids are going through in the hospital and their experience. if we can raise money and

improve the hospital or give these kids and their families a better stay, it's very important. >> members of the orioles greeted fans and signed autographs. the team contributed $10,000. very nice. and a positive message and a backpack full of supplies is how rudy a good is sending students back to school. he hosted his own party saturday night. the maryland native and now memphis grizzly star encouraged children to get a healthy start back to school. the students had a chance to win special prizes. >> good morning. keith mills with sports. brian roberts, nick markakis involved with a bizarre orioles game sunday. you can watch sports for a long time and not watch what you watched on sunday afternoon. tiger woods never lost a lead in a major -- never lost a major after leading heading into the final round. lost yesterday.

y.e. yang of south korea wins the prince george's championship -- the pga championship. i'd say he's happy there. 37 years old. the 110th ranked player in the world. then there's the orioles. speaking of stunning. speaking of bizarre. the birds and angels on a hot, humid day. the oriole bird having a good time. and the orioles were having a good time. brian roberts, the home run. number 10. it's 4-1. nick markakis with a home run. his 14th of the year. the orioles had 14 hits and lost the game. it was a brand new game at this point. 7-6 in the seventh. adam jones. we had been watching him do this all year. he takes a home run away from mike napoli. then after the run scores, he almost wins the game in the ninth with a home run off brian fuentes. brian roberts scores the tying run.

juan rivera hauls it in the orioles lose the game by giving up nine runs in the 13th inning. >> what happened? >> nine runs. >> in one inning? >> just imploatded? >> loit crazy hits, the pitchers couldn't get anybody out. before you know it it was 17-8. ravens two workouts today. one at 8:45 and 2:45 open to the fans. >> thank you. >> 6:26. 71 degrees on tv hill. there's much more to come in the next half-hour of 11 news today. >> what happened when two people were shot inside an inner harbor pavilion? i've got details straight from an eyewitness next. >> starting to look busier. we have word of a new accident. we'll update you on that and check on the rest of the major roads coming up. >> a clear scan on h.d. doppler. clawed sethe churning -- claudette is churning. we now have our first hurricane.

>> every time i always think of her. >> a vicious and disturbing case of animal abuse as a family americans and police are investigating. >> and a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. ( sighs ) ( music throughout ) hey bets, can i borrow a quarter? sure, still not dry? i'm trying to shrink them. i lost weight and now some clothes are too big. how did you do it? simple stuff. eating right and i switched to whole grain. whole grain... studies show that people who eat more whole grain tend to have a healthier body weight. multigrain cheerios has five whole grains... and 110 calories per lightly sweetened serving. more grains. less you. multigrain cheerios.

>> told you i would hum us in. >> i'm sorry for that. >> welcome back. i'm stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. sandra shaw has a quick look at the forecast for us. >> melody doesn't ring a bell. as far as our temperature goes today, we're going to be hot. it's going to be dry like what we've been seeing over the weekend. we're in the 70's generally. 76 downtown. upper 60's at the airport. but 70's on the eastern shore. and headed for a high this afternoon of 92 degrees in central maryland. winds light and out of the southwest at about five miles per hour. more on the active tropics and your seven-day forecast in a little bit. back to you two. >> thank you. the inner harbor is usually

known for family fun and attracting tourists. but this weekend it became the scene of chaos when gunfire erupted. >> as police continue to investigate, a witness close to the scene is now describing what happened inside the light street pavilion. kim dacey joins us at the inner harbor with more details. >> good morning. police are searching for clues to lead them to the suspect while others are wondering if this shooting will mean less tourists coming downtown to the inner harbor. >> it looked like a normal sunday evening at the inner harbor. >> a lot of fun. a lot of family entertainment. >> there was no evidence that less than 24 hours before two people were shot inside the light street pavilion. >> it was pandemonium. complete chaos. >> marcus jeter was work at his booth inside the pavilion saturday night. it was just after 10:00 when a fight broke out. >> they were around the corner. you could hear the confrontation that was going on. then you heard the shots and you seen everybody run. they ran passed my stand.

i followed them pretty much. >> baltimore police say a 20-year-old man was shot in the leg and a 17-year-old man shot in the forearm. they were both taken to the hospital and are expected to be ok. right now police are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage to identify a suspect. people visiting the inner harbor are shocked. >> it's really, really unbelievable, to be honest with you. as much as people are visible around, walking up and down. it's really surprising. >> sunday night the police officers were just as visible patrolling the inner harbor area. and the visitors we spoke with say this incident wouldn't stop them from making a trip back to baltimore. >> there's so many people here. i would feel very safe right here. >> i would think that would be random and would happen in any town. it wouldn't stop me from coming. >> mayor sheila dixon released a statement saying in part, "we will not tolerate the inner harbor being a hangout for those who break the law, intimidate or

create a nuisance of any kind. we have a lot of police deployed in ininner harbor. the police commissioner and i. work to improve security." if you have any information, give baltimore city police a call. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. city police also trying to get to the bottom of a shooting in northeast baltimore. they arrested a man accused of shooting another man in the face. it happened around 8:30 in the 4900 block of harford road. victim is now in stable condition. >> we are hearing from the owners of the kitten who came home from vacation to find their pet tortured to death. >> that cat was best cat in the world. she always played with me. we would have a little toy. she would chase it everywhere. >> 10-year-old dylan hooper is mourning the loss of his cat

diamond. dylan's mom left the cat in the care of a family friend. able then invited two friends to the home. police say one put the cat in a microwave, washer and a dryer then tie her by the tail to a ceiling fan before throwing her in the creek. >> i had to come home to burst hair in the microwave, refrigerator as well. blood was -- you could tell where the cat run around. blood was everywhere. >> the heerps have now adopted four new cats, three kittens and their mom to help young dylan overcome his grief. a cat cruelty case in howard county ended with a 74-day jail sentence. that's how long 52-year-old nessie will spend behind bars. police say they found 74 dead cats in her home in 2006. officials responded to the home after neighbors complained to authorities about an odor coming from the town home.

>> efforts to close the budget short fall. at the summer conference in ocean city the governor announced his intentions to cut $250 million to local governments. yesterday the lieutenant governor anthony brown addressed the plan. >> a lot of tough decisions where you may see cuts to community colleges to local health departments, aid for law enforcement. these are tough times not unique to maryland. it's part of this national recession that we're in, a global recession. so we're going to work with the general assembly with local governments. but they're not going to be easy. >> these latest proposed cuts are part of the plan to cut $750 million by the end of the summer. the governor is expected to bring spending reductions to the board of public works august 26. the board already approved $280 million in cuts last month. all of this in an effort to close the state's budget shortfall. >> let's check your morning commute.

we have a few new problems. reisterstown, an accident. police are on the scene. hanover road and butler road. use caution there. 795 looks good so far out of the area of westminster. if you are heading out anywhere else, let's check on some problem spots. whitehall road at norris road. an accident still clearing. 53 miles per hour if you're heading south. our speed sensors not picking up any delays elsewhere. a really nice ride overall. we have down wires to watch for. philadelphia road shut down at middle river. here's a live view of traffic in the white marsh area. slowly building here. we have delays just south of this point as you make your approach to the northeast. so far so good on the west side. we have a disabled vehicle in the outer loop at liberty off to the side. that's the latest. let's get the latest on the forecast. >> we're going to see a mix of sun and clouds today. partly cloudy skies. a typical august high today.

normal is 85. surging above that. a nice dry trend under the presence of high pressure. high pressure that's going to hold up for the middle part of the week. it looks like on wednesday a front will stall to the northwest. it will enhance our chances of evening showers and storms at least on wednesday. thursday, a few more clouds because of that stalled out front. a 30% chance of evening thunderstorms on friday. then over the weekend a more significant cold front does actually make its way through here, giving us a better shot of more rain. that's it for now. details coming up. >> thank you. 6:36. 70 degrees. >> still ahead, tracking tropical storm claudette. how far will she go before slowing down? >> i'm nikole killion in washington. is the president ready to compromise on his health care plan? i'll bring you that story coming up. >> and we're still taking your answers to our "watercooler question of the day." what do you think of an australian court's decision to

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get in touch with your new cfo. pnc. leading the way. >> while youere sleeping, tropical storm claudette made landfall. >> kristen dahlgren is just to the east of that location in panama city where some of the worst rain has been falling. >> claudette came ashore on florida's panhandle with lashing winds. >> we had 55, even 65 mile-an-hour gusts. >> and pounding surf. to the south near fort myers, a tornado spawned by the system ripped into more than 20 homes, all hallmarks of a tropical system. but for many a bit of a surprise. claudette seemed to come out of

nowhere, growing quickly to a tropical storm on this same weekend, the season's first two storms ana and bill also formed. >> why such a slow start in a couple of reasons. high pressure over the gulf of mexico. nothing has normd there. then very few storms off the coast of africa. >> as well as el nino or warm water in the pacific which tends to suppress storms in the atlantic. but that comes with a warning. 1992's hurricane andrew formed during an el nino year and was the first named storm of that season on august 17. >> we're just now getting into the time frame where on average we see our first storm reach hurricane intensity. >> bill is now strengthening in the atlantic. while what's left of anna's struggles, the three systems that formed this weekend have those in the strike zone starting to pay attention. relieved that this season's first landfalling storm wasn't stronger. >> thankfully it passed us by.

>> but well aware hurricane season still has 14 weeks to go. >> claudette's powerful surf may have proved deadly. a man in panama city beach was pulled from the water yesterday. it's unclear what he died from and whether it was a direct result of the storm. but officials say either way people should stay out of the water today. it is still very dangerous out here. in panama city, florida, kristen dahlgren, wbal-tv 11 news. >> wish them the best of luck. 6:41. 70 degrees. coming up, a look at the morning's headlines. >> we're look at your morning commute. a few accidents and down wires to watch for with closures. we'll update you coming up. >> it's not just claudette but also tropical depression anna headed for the panhandle later this week and the first hurricane. hurricane bill. details on that and our local seven-day forecast. it's 68 at the airport. 76, downtown. i've had asthma forever.

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>> welcome back. in the headlines this morning, two state senators have asked important to general gansler to expand his investigation into constellation energy's c.e.o. compensations. the senators say about 30% of constellation's compensation goes to b.g.e. the senators are concerned future costs will fall on b.g.e. and its rate payers. the baltimore racing development will announce what it's doing to get the grand prix to baltimore. officials hope to bring the race to the city during the labor day weekend of 2011. organizers say the race would bring about 150,000 visitors and could inject as much as $100 million into the local economy. the city council is expected to discuss the matter this mom. >> an australian man won a landmark case that allows him

the right to die. christian has been paralyzed below the neck since a car accident in 2008 and describes his life as a living hell. he argued his caregivers fed him against his wishes. and now an australian court ruled he does indiseed deed understand the consequences of his actions and will allow him to refuse food through a tube. his caregivers will continue to give him water to keep him hydrated. that brings us to your answers to our "watercooler question of the day." >> we asked your thoughts on an australian court's decision to grant a man the right to die. >> rick writes everyone should have the right to choose, the right to live or die with dignity. the australian courts got this right. oregon has a similar law. the whole country should. >> who owns your body, you or the government? you should have the right toned your life if you choose. >> and a sane person should have the right to make the choice. a person knows when they have had just about enough and are just tired of fighting. a lost cause. the aussie courts made an

intelligent decision to give a man his choice with dignity. we'll post more of your answers on the front page of our website. well, another day, another town hall meeting on health care reform. several are scheduled this week as members of congress get an earful from their constituents. >> now the white house is signaling it might be willing to compromise on its plan. 11 news washington bureau reporter nikole killion has more. >> this all has to do with the so-called government-run public option. in arizona, the first family takes in the scenery at the grand canyon. but the view from the commander in chief might be changing when it comes to the fundamentals of his health care plan. >> the public option whether we have it or don't have it is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it. >> president obama made no mention of the public option in a "new york times" editorial this weekend. the health and human services secretary says it's not make or break.

>> i think what's important is choice and competition. i'm convinced at the end of the day the plan will have both of those. but that's not the essential element. >> the public option is a key component in the house version of the health care bill. it calls for a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. but critics warn that could drive them out of business. and the senate chairman conrad has an alternative that would run independently from the government. >> there are not the votes in the united states senate for the public option. there never have been. so to continue to chase that rabbit, i think is just a wasted effort. >> conrad says he believes there are enough votes in the senate to support a coop plan but that's not the case in the house where liberal democrats say it would be much tougher to pass in washington, him in nikole killion, wbal-tv 11 news. >> a few accidents to watch for. hanover road and butler road.

police are on the scene. hopefully that will be out there shortly. another crash at whitehall road and norris roads. 53 miles per hour according to our speed sensors southbound 83. still not any major delays southbound towards the beltway northeast. we have a problem in rosedale, route 7, philadelphia road at middle river shut down due to downed wires. not looking at anything major as we check the white marsh area. volume is still building but no official delay. we'll switch over to a live view of traffic on the north side. northeast corner at harford road looks very good. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. over to you. >> thanks. here things are very quiet on h.d. doppler. a whole lot of nothing thanks to high pressure. another dry day intact for us. that will last through midweek. more significantly on our eastern radar, we have tropical storm claudette. made landfall just before 2:00 a.m. continuing to move to the west. when it landed, it made 50

mile-per-hour sustained winds, dumped a significant amount of rainfall. still heavy rains but the winds are diminishing as it continues to move west-northwest. it's moving at a pretty decent clip. other activity in the tropics. first our temperature range. 76 in baltimore. 68 at the airport. 70 generally on the eastern shore. a nice mild start. had a little patchy fog. most of that is burning off right now. it looks like 92 before it's all over this afternoon. about normal. 85 is where we should be. 91 in southern maryland. partly cloudy. 88 on the shores of ocean city. it looks like 91 on the eastern shore throughout today. if you want to take the boat out, you won't have any problems with the winds. out of the southeast, five to 10 knots. weaches a foot or less. the water temperatures are in the 80's. partly cloudy skies for tonight. it looks like 65 to 70 the temperature range. just the winds out of the south at about five to 10 miles per hour. things staying very mild.

actually very quiet thanks not only to high pressure which is at the surface here but that typical bermuda high which is off in the atlantic. cold front not going to get through until it looks like wednesday. it will stall out to our northwest. a better chance of scattered showers and storms. still not anything too significant. there's claudette in the panhandle of florida. it seems as if this panhandle area is a beeline. as we look at tropical depression anna, it's moving in the same direction it looks like that cone of uncertainty includes the panhandle. anna will not be as much of a factor as claudette. still a tropical depression. more importantly, we have hurricane bill. this is the first hurricane of the atlantic hurricane season. it's more than 1,000 miles to the east of the lesser antilles far out in the atlantic. moving alorntion you see it will be likely a category three. potentially as early as wednesday as it's gaining strength quickly. right now the sustained winds

are at about 75 miles per hour. it's a beautiful hurricane. very well defined. no major eye set as of yet. as it moves over the waters, it will pick up strength and is expected to not only be the first hurricane of the season but the first major hurricane of the season. got those tracking charts out. the current coordinants, 13.8 north and 44.0 west. it looks like for the next seven days here we're going to be quiet. chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow. 30% chance of scattered storms on wednesday. more clouds by thursday and friday. >> thank you. police need your help tracking down the suspects accused of shooting two men inside the inner harbor's light street pavilion. kim dacey joins us from the inner harbor with that story. >> good morning. baltimore police say the shooting happened just after 10:00 saturday night inside the light street pavilion when someone pulled a gun during a fight. police say a 20-year-old man was shot in the leg and a

17-year-old man was shot in the forearm. they were both transported to the hospital and are expected to be ok. witnesses say it was pandemonium after the shots rang out. right now police are interviewing witness and reviewing surveillance footage to identify a suspect and are looking for more clues. if you have any information, contact baltimore city police. reporting live at the inner harbor, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. coming up later today on "oprah," inside the notorious bunny branch brothel. why one worker says the word prostitute doesn't define her. then you'll meet the greenest guy in hollywood. and imagine living in a town of 50 people and only being able to get home by boat what life is like in a tiny island town. that's today at 4:00. for what's coming up next on "today," here's matt lauer. >> good morning. coming up on a monday here on today, tropical storm claudette makes landfall in florida. it's the first of the season to hit the u.s. mainland.

and further offshore we're watching hurricane bill. we'll have the latest. then we'll talk to the mother and brother of a woman apparently abducted as she talked to her boyfriend on her cell phone. also ahead what parents need to know about the swine flu as children begin to return to schools all across the country. and you've seen the photo. this morning the couple behind it, literally. they'll talk to us exclusively when we get started on a monday morning right here on "today." >> a star is born. 6:53. 70 degrees. >> just ahead, another look at weather and traffic together before you start your day. stay with us. this is one way of getting vitamins and minerals.

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>> not too much time until kids go back to school so we better enjoy this summer time traffic pattern. >> enjoy it while it lasts. >> i'm going to have to work very soon. aren't i? let's check on what's going on out there. a few problem spots. reisterstown at hanover road and butler road. an accident clearing. also one in the whitehall vicinity. look good on the harrisburg expressway heading southbound, 74 miles per hour. route 7, philadelphia road, shut down at middle river due to downed wires. a quick look at traffic, 95 white marsh. a bit of a delay southbound but nothing major yet. >> a nice-looking day. a warm one. >> if you like this weekend, more of the same. no chance, significantly at least, of any rainfall today. only about 10%. it looks like we're going to stay dry. high up to 92 degrees.

that's good weather to play some little league world series baseball. slight chance for an isolated thunderstorm. better chance of evening thunderstorms late on wednesday as the front stalls out to our northwest. because it will be stalled, more chances of cloud cover on thursday. 88. a better chance of scattered storms, clouds on friday persisting through the weekend. traffic firing up. not only do we have the first landfall but we have the first hurricane. it's an impressive one. >> all you high school footballers are doing those two adays, stay hydrated. >> good grief. >> that's all for us on 11 news today. tune into 1090 wbal radio, traffic and insta-weather forecast together on the 5's. >> we'll have a live update at 7:25.

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