>> that was stunning. >-- funny. we had a lot of activity to our north and south yesterday. we are very warm right now. we are tracking this warm, moist air mass. scattered showers and storms this afternoon. 76 degrees downtown. 73 on the eastern shore. up to 92 degrees downtown today. very warm and humid and partly cloudy. a good chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. hurricane bill is now category 3. we will be following that coming up. let's check in with traffic. >> the traffic picture is looking pretty good overall. westbound i 70 there is a truck

fire. we will continue to follow that to let you know of any lane blockage. no problems to report on the 83 this morning. the j.f.x. and the harrisburg as best we are looking good. -- expressway and are looking good. here is a live picture of the beltway at i-70. that is the latest on traffic. back to you. >> a big story this morning, a fire least 30 people without a place to call home this morning. >> it occurred shortly before 10:00 last night. our reporter is live at the scene with the details. >> the fire near here affected 16 units in all. some have a fire damage is here. the lack of power is why many

people could not get back inside. heavy smoke and fire was coming from unit 24 and the adjacent apartment. this person says the whole thing is his fault. he followed his normal routine last night and fell asleep with a lit candle. the candle was knocked over in his bedroom went up in flames. >> you see it all the time of the news. men's has an apartment around the corner. they will put the people over there for one night. >> everybody was able to make it out ok. the red cross help families find shelter for the evening. 21 adults and nine children were affected. wbal tv 11 news. >> thank you. baltimore city police are investigating two nighttime shootings. the victim was shot in the

chest and taken to a local hospital. the condition is unknown. another man was shot on one street. the details are limited. he was shot in the back of the leg. no word on a suspect or a motive in either case. >> nobel for the sex offender accused of beating an elderly person yesterday. he is a member of the white supremacist group. he allegedly beat a 76 year-old man while he and his wife were packing up from a fishing trip. police are looking for the other two suspects. the victim is in fair condition at shock trauma. >>police have charged four people in connection with an identity theft scheme. about 100 victims have had their personal and financial information stolen. some people discovered some suspicious paperwork.

they learned that residents in colombia and some other areas were victimized. they were not the only ones. >> lawyers from sheila dixon are looking for information regarding her indictment. an abuse of the grand jury system could be at stake depending on the use of certain information. >> and education alert this morning. the start of school is right around the corner. there are many back-to-school questions for lots of parents. there is a call center that is going to help ease the concerns of parents. transportation concerns will also be addressed. >> that are tucked away on the third floor of this area.

staff members said answers to many of your back-to-school questions. >> is there any more information i can give you at this time? >> we a people from academics, students support, nutrition, transportation. this is a team effort for the district. any issue that a parent has, we hope that someone can answer that question. >> around this time of year, telephone calls seem to come in by the hundreds as students get set to return to the classroom. what is on the minds of people so far? >> everyone wants to know about transportation. parents with students who have special needs want to know about special education. what school of the going to? >> those who help run the call center have the mission to give a timely and accurate response.

>> from that we will give them up-to-date information. >> there is a level of confidence. are you ready for a lot of calls? >> we are more than ready for a great school year. >> we want as many calls as possible. >> tim tooten wbal-tv. >> if you have questions, and you can call this number. lines will be open from now until september 4 from 7 a and to 5:00 p.m.. you can also e-mail them. you can log onto our website at>> what is on the minds of wbaltv.com the address and more information. >> one man was license -- was

sentenced to life in prison for a bombing. he is terminally ill with cancer. he is expect -- expected to be sent back to libya on compassionate grounds. the obama administration and the parents of the victims are curious about the decision. >> [unintelligible] i think they will stimulate him as a hero returning home. >> there will be complete coverage on the "today show." that brings us to our watercooler question of the day. do you think a scottish court shouldrelease the man convicted of the 1988 pan-am bombing, so he can die surrounded by his family? email us your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> coming up, the university of

pittsburgh denies a gift from someone. >> and one man who tried to take his own death as largest state. >> here is a live look at traffic. in this fine on this thursday morning.

>> quite small and skinny downtown. will be in the low 90's around the harbor. there is activity running through the area. some upper level waves that we are writing out ahead of. they will make it here sunday morning. some scattered showers and thunderstorms. papa i have more on your seven- day forecast coming up. >> thank you.

one mandate his own debt to flee from financial ruin. he will spend 51 months in jail and three years' probation. he pled guilty to taking his death but crashing a plane when he got out safely over alabama. he will have to pay more than $900,000 in retribution to the coast guard for its search efforts and the company owned the plane that he destroyed. he will be transferred to a federal prison in indiana where he faces more charges with this failed business dealings. >> a donor left his all modern money in his will. the school turned it down. he opened fire at a health club in pittsburgh before turning the gun on himself. several people were killed. the university spokesperson rejected the gift.

>> still ahead, social networking scams are on the rise. we will tell you what to look for. >> we will visit a restaurant to see what a boss has to say about a man's cooking. >> fire crews are still on the scene of a fire on on

>> welcome back. it was wonderful. >> there is one problem on

westbound i-70. there is a truck fire there. crews are on the scene. that is our one problem this morning. our speed sensors show everything is moving well in this hour. here is a live view of traffic. this is said white marsh boulevard. it is building in volume just a little bit. here is a live picture of westbound at i-70. just past 29 watch out for that truck fire. let's get the latest on the buses and trains. >> welcome back. there is a police moved commute on the buses. the 50 bus diverting due to construction.

some other bosses may be diverted around 9:00 this morning due to construction. the light rail southbound has a 20 minute delay. the brunswick is running a few minutes late. about 30 minutes late. back to sandra shop. -- sandra shaw. great job yesterday. >> thank you. we are taking a look at whether this morning. we are looking at a very strong area of squall lines. this will not come until sunday morning for us. we are stuck in this warm air mass. some strong afternoon showers and thunderstorms. and warm, daytime high up into

the 90's today. 77 degrees downtown. 73 degrees at the airport. your forecast for today calls for a good chance of scattered showers this afternoon. 88 in southern pennsylvania. 88 in ocean city. on the bay, a little bit of volatile with the potential for some sours -- showers. waves will be 1 foot or less. our record high was set back in '83. our normal an 63. the record low -- we will be nowhere near that tonight. winds will be at of the south.

there is high pressure, the classic bermuda high that is going to help here. hurricane bill is away from the u.s. mainland. 3 that is a input -- it is a category 3. it may pick up some more strength. it is to the southeast of bermuda. it will be steered by that bermuda high. it looks like it will get close to canada and stay away from the u.s. mainland. 40% chance of afternoon showers. she made today. a bit unsettled.

>> phone scams are on the rise. state officials say they are getting more complaints about bogus calls about foreclosure or credit-card debt. there are more than 100,000 complaints received a month. that is an increase since last year. a spokesperson said the calls are coming from that actors in the industry. some hackers are stealing information on facebook and using the information to extort money from relatives. they e-mail relatives sang in the account holder has had an accident and asks them for money. giese passwords that contain characters that are upper case -- use passwords that contain characters that are uppercase

and and have numbers. >> now we have the bloomberg business report. >> the leader of the government of a task force may be taking on the manufacturing industry. bloomberg news says the obama administration may elevate one person to a job that means crafting u.s. manufacturing policy. he helped gm and chrysler through bankruptcy. it is part of the government's rescue of the auto industry. the fdic continues to lose money. the failure of several banks is draining it. the delta as low as level since 1992. it has until september 30 to impose additional fees the banks would be required to set aside in the third quarter. as for the markets, stocks rising for a second day yesterday helping out the

markets to deal with losses triggered by china. today is the first day of the credit card reform law. it goes into effect. it gives cardholders 45 days to reject proposed rate increases. rates are about 20% higher now than they were back in december. a good time to let get all of those statements. that is business news at the new york stock exchange. reporting for wbal tv 11 news. back to you. >> thank you. a local chef is competing on the bravo series. >> she is not allowed to speak with us since it has not here yet. our reporter caught up with the owner of a restaurant where she works. >> she has been cooking for this

restaurant since it opened nearly two years ago. she is now competing for the title of top shelf. it is one of the top shows. >> she is a very talented chef. and she has a wild side to her. >> she was excited when his executive chef told him that she was taking six weeks off to compete on the show. she is back at work now but has to keep silent. >> she cannot tell me anything about it. >> they take away the cell phones and the contestants. he only got one call from her during the taping. what happened in las vegas did not stay there. >> it was a great experience for her. in that to me people from around the country. she came back with eight

different attitude and approach in the kitchen. >> she is looking forward to showing her stuff on national tv. he is sure she will make baltimore proud. wbal tv 11 news. >> we wish her best of luck. >> and the season began last night. >> still ahead, another look edger whether commute with traffic and weather together. >> you expect to see plenty of up the take at a ratings trimming -- training camp. we saw a lot of fatigues. we will tell you why. >> do not forget to e-mail us your water cooler question of the de anza. bridgett question answer of the day. do y

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>> ravens head coach -- in the outreach program with the military in iraq. the coach and the team extended their appreciation to more than 500 military members as part of training camp. one player wants to honor his late friend. and other player is working on the sidelines. -- another player is working on the sidelines as he tries to nurses hamstring back to health. linebacker suggs may not be on the field. no matter who plays on monday night, the coach wants to see some more military-like

precision on the field. he does not want to say more penalties like he saw in the last game. >> some we can live with. you have to find out where the the blocks in the back and the penalties, we cannot have that. we are working hard on it. monday night as the game against the jets. you can see it right here on tv 11. i hope your day is often a fantastic start. >> it is hard to take the jets when rex ryan is the head coach. >> yes. coming up in the next half hour of 11 news today. >> a fire in a six displaces two dozen people. the details are next. -- a fire in essex displaces two

dozen people. the details are next. >>