eastern shore, 3 miles north of stevens bill. sville.ens bil the pink shaded areas are where the severe thunderstorm watch is in effect, all the way back to frederick county. conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms. with the torrential rain we have had in the past 24 hours, flood warnings in effect all around baltimore metro and the flood watch down to the coast. roadways could be covered with water in many locations. there is some improvement in the weather in the forecast for the upcoming weekend. more on that in a couple of minutes. >> one of the hardest-hit areas in baltimore county was dundalk. barry simms has more on how residents are dealing with a clean up there. >> alan stone removes small branches from the front lawn of his dundalk home. as baltimore county crews used chain saws to remove large limbs knocked to the ground after lightning struck a tree.

stone and his wife joanne were inside their home thursday evening when the heavy rains, high winds, thunder, and lightning struck. >> we heard the lightning popping all around, and when i looked out, a lady was standing on my porch. >> it turned out to be a neighbor struggling to get home in the downpour. >> she said she had been standing under our treat when lightning struck that tree extending under a retreat. it scared her, so she came up and stood on our porch. >> is loud, dangerous, and that poor lady was scared, but thank god she came up on our ports. >> the storm toppled other trees and damaged roofs. >> all i know is that it started raining and hailing, and we looked out the window and the roof fell down. then the flooding started.

>> angela and her neighbors had to evacuate. at the same time, her 7-year-old daughter had an asthma attack. >> it was very scary. just a lot of loud noises, then the flooding came. it was very traumatic. >> tarps now cover the roof damage. american red cross volunteers are assisting displaced families. at the height of the storm, roadways became a small streams and cars stalled. in cockeysville, flooding from a stream damage to a bridge and the service of a private road, devastating some businesses. >> we have a hair dresser who has 2 feet of water in his salon. a restaurant called side street cafe has about a foot of water. there is a vacuum cleaner repair store that has about a foot of water. >> water levels rose high enough to cover cars and wash portable sheds downstream.

back in dundalk, alan stone takes all of the damage in stride. >> that was barry simms reporting. the red cross says they have helped about 40 people in the dundalk area. these are some of the photos sent to ulocal. howard county police have charged demint with attempted murder and arson in an elkridge house buyer. -miner and nzalese edvin reyes are being held without bond. >> firefighters and harford county to the better part of the night to balladry alarm fire that was first spotted just before 2:00 a.m. in a single- family home on norrisville road.

part of the roof collapsed before crews got it into an -- under control about 90 minutes later. a kingpin in the bail industry in maryland is on his way to prison tonight. he was sentenced to more than four years in prison for filing a false tax return and defrauding a company at the port. he operated for ace bail bonds. his son was put on probation also for tax violations. >> there is new information in connection with that very bizarre hammer attack along eye- to 95. state police are still trying to identify a suspect but they have turned up some leads -- along i- 295. >> investigators have a least two things going for them. more witnesses are coming forward, and the suspect may

have left something behind. the hood of this the caribbean " may yield evidence of who is responsible for attacking the jeep with a hammer and taunting the operator by tapping a shotgun against the vehicle. the bridge were found. investigators believe the suspect have leaned on the vehicle during some point of the attack. >> witnesses have said he was striking the vehicle. >> some witnesses actually stopped to watch the attack. they have helped authorities develop a better description of the suspect. he is described as a white male, 60, 200-220 pounds, wearing a red and blue plaid shirt, blue jeans, and carrying a black backpack. this became operator told authorities he yelling incoherently just before striking the windshield with a small hammer, and then he left the same way he arrived.

if the suspect acted on impulse, as many people who heard about the attack their rise, then he was unbelievably lucky to find a direct route to the cheeks as those who heard about the attack their rise, he was lucky to find jeep.ect route to the dee >> there is no definitive suspect being looked at. investigators are continuing to review surveillance tapes and trying to find witnesses to interview. >> the suspect close to a portion of the parkway for nearly three hours and disruption for a lot of businesses for just as long. police say there is no definitive information regarding the motive of this attack. anyone with information is urged to call the state police glen .urnie bararack

>> a lot of us were glued to the side of the last shuttle headed into space, and an estimated one pitt -- 1 million people gathered around cape canaveral to witness the historic lift of in person. it is the beginning of the end of the shuttle program. >> they are moments we have seen for years, but today was different. the atlantis astronauts took the final steps of the shuttle program. they were hoping the skies would clear for one final look at the iconic spacecraft as it raced into orbit. after those words from the commander, atlantis, the only remaining space shuttle, lifted off from the florida coastline for the very last time. >> the space shuttle spread its wings one final time for the start of a sentimental journey into history. >> atlantis is carrying a 30- year legacy.

>> the hubble space telescope, magellan, ulysses, galileo, the probes. the shuttle open up space. >> after 135 launches and more than 20,000 troops around the earth, the final shuttle flight marked the end of a program that for three decades brought america incredible highs, and twice united as an overwhelming tragedy. on this day, close to a million gathered near kennedy space center, there is raised skyward, but for many, their hearts heavy . heartstheir eyes -- their eyes raised skyward. in the end, atlantis soared into history. of course, atlanta still have some work to do on this mission, delivering spare parts and

supplies and scientific experiments to the international space station. when it returns here, it will be placed in the visitor center for torres to get an up close look. -- for taurus to get an up close look. tourists to get an up close look. the video and more pictures of the launches are on our website, wbaltv.com. >> i will have to check that out later. >> kidney donors and recipients in a triple transplant meet for the first time at the university of maryland medical center. coming up, details on how doctors paired them up when they discover the scheduled owners did not match. .> an increase in swimmer's ear

in tonight's medical alert, tips on how you can avoid that painful infection. >> some teenagers getting a firsthand lesson in how dangerous distracted driving can be. i have that story coming up.

>> the kidney donors and recipients and a triple exchange trends let met for the first time today at the university of maryland medical center. each came with a donor who turned out not to be a match. they include a pair of fraternal twins from harford county who were surprised to learn there were not compatible. >> i came out of the surgery with nothing but a band-aid. i cannot believe it. i still look at my belly button every day and is no different. i have no scars to show. >> university of maryland is the first hospital in the state and only the third in the entire country to offer the single

incision donation technique for living kidney donors. >> in tonight's medical alert, researchers have developed a new tool as they can predict which women are more likely to suffer a miscarriage. experts in the -- in the u.k. predicted pregnancies that ended in miscarriage 77% of the time. the test also predicted which pregnancies progressed 94% of the time. the study included over 100 women between 6 and 10 weeks pregnant. summer is the season of fun, and for many that means a lot of swimming, but a painful ear infection can leave you high and dry. the cdc says every year swimmer's ear leads to visits to the doctor, but there are ways to prevent it. >> year nose and throat specialist dr. stephen sanger is

treating his teenage patient friend out reared in--- and dr. peter infection known as swimmer's ear. b.j. an outer ear infection. >> swimmer's ear is going to be an infection of the year canal itself. >> if your child is spending a lot of time in the water this summer, here is a simple test parents can do if there is a year painter >> if the mother or father can take the year and just wiggled the year -- wiggle the ear, it will calls a significant amount of pain. >> swimming in the ocean or lake is more likely to clear an infection -- to cause an infection. dry your tears after swimming or showering. while dr. singer uses a special instrument, here is an easy thing you can do at home. >> you can put some out of a

cotton ball, chilled the child's head, and slowly drew it in the year and then raise up. >> he also recommends blowing warm air from a dryer into your ear to get the water out. if years becomes swollen, painful, or have fluid draining, you need to get to a doctor for prescription drops. >> i keep a little squeeze bottle of alcohol in my bathroom and use it every time my years get wet. a lot of people think swimmer's ear is a milder condition that goes away on its own. it does not. the cdc says moeller -- more than half of reported infections are in adults. health insurance companies racked up billions of dollars in an needed administrative costs every year. the report analyzed 2 million electronic claims earlier this year. commercial health insurance had an average claims processing

error rate of or were 19% this year, an increase of 2% last year. >> now, your insta-weather forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> the rain moved back in this afternoon, heavy at times, and it continues to fall in many locations. hd doppler picking up on a ribbon of storm's track the -- tracking just these of baltimore and on to the eastern shore. south of us some very heavy downpours, right up 95 into harford and cecil counties. some heavy rain coming down, eastern shore locations getting hit hard with some heavy rain as well. all of this will gradually taper off as we head for the evening. over the past two hours, the rain has tapered off to the west and now the worst of the weather

will be south and east of baltimore. yesterday's rain and today's heavy downpours produced phenomenal amounts of rainfall in some locations. these bull's-eye locations in baltimore county and downs in extreme northern anne arundel getting 5 inches of rain if not more in some locations. you can get some very heavy downpours and most of the region now showing up in this area, up to 3 inches of rain in the course of the past 24 hours or so. the national weather service continues to have flood watches any effect. the blue shaded area from the coast back to frederick county under the watch the evening hours. the baltimore-washington metro is under flood warnings. flooding is ongoing right now for small streams and creeks in low-lying areas. you could still have some damaging wind gusts.

that little red box then area is a tornado warning of the new jersey. we are vulnerable to severe thunderstorms, heavy downpours, and some flooding at least 3 9:00. look like things will rapidly improve as we head for midnight. southern delaware and the lower eastern shore still nearer 90, but it has cooled in the north and northwest. that will settle in after some early evening thunderstorms. look for clearing skies after midnight. overnight lows 65-72. once this front it's a little farther south of us, you can see the sky clear. lots of sunshine in northern ohio, and behind this front, it turns a lot less humid. this tropical moisture will be pushed out of here and a pretty nice weekend is shaking up once the front clears the region. by tomorrow morning, the showers are just on the beach moving

away. by midday tomorrow into the afternoon, beautiful sunshine returns and it looks like a gorgeous day on sunday. it will feel a lot less humid. even with temperatures near 90, the humidity levels come down and most folks will enjoy a nice looking saturday tomorrow. on the bay, how the winds will average 5 to 10 not and if you are heading into the mountain, you picked a good weekend. sunshine tomorrow and sunday. less humid, highs in the upper 70's. if you are headed to the beach, a nice looking beach weekend. maybe a little shower around dawn tomorrow but it will clear up in the afternoon. sunday and monday look beautiful. the forecast from baltimore, the temperature state of near 90, but with less humidity, a sunny, dry weekend is looking good. the next chance for storms arrives late monday night and lingers into tuesday.

>> for nasa employees, this day is as sad as it is exciting. many of them gathered for a watch party. tim tooten is live tonight with more as folks watched the launch of the atlantis. >> this is certainly one for the history books as nasa closes a chapter on 30 years of a space program. >> the key challenge here -- >> the sophisticated robotic system is a key part of the payload aboard atlantis. >> we fly up to the satellite, maybe we have another servicer with more fuel in, and we can pump this fuel from the servers are into the new satellite. >> satellites in space. the equipment will be mounted on

a platform also designed and developed in maryland. employees were not the only ones on hand. >> my heart stopped. i was holding hands with those next to me. but we have to do our jobs. we have our moments. >> lift off. >> the crowd included an oklahoma educator who called it a teachable moment. >> the reason i wanted to work at nasa was the space shuttle. i had models in my bedroom and pictures of the astronauts in mike -- on my wall. >> it was really good. >> what was the most exciting part? >> when the rocket launched.

>> i grew up with the shuttle. i think was 10 or 11 when the first one went off. it became second nature for a while. >> coming of new at 6:00, more reaction from persons here who worked here for many years, and more about what is in that payload. >> with so many launches, i guess we did take them for granted after a while. coming up, hollywood stars are clamoring to meet william and kate as they head to california. >> and worse than expected jobs report, and what washington is doing to get america working again. that story is coming up. >> and a heartbreaking story out of texas. a baseball fan false to his death trying to catch a ball right in front of his young son.

>> in california, residents are used to seeing famous people, but royalty makes jaws drop still even in the golden state. >> the duke and duchess of

cambridge arrived there today after zero wally successful trip to canada. >> the royal newlyweds' first official trip to the united states begins today. >> i have not really heard of royalty coming to america, so i think it is kind of exciting. >> you cannot walk down hollywood or go to certain places and say there is william and kate. it is a special occasion. >> their first stop is the beverly hilton in beverly hills, home to the golden globe awards. they will attend the venture capital and new media summit to help promote british trade and investment. promoting british interest and international relations is what they have been doing for the past nine days in canada. the prince and princess wrapped up their canadian tore this

afternoon at the calgary stampede, where they dressed like the locals and mingled with vip's right up until their flight for the u.s. southern california is not their only stop during their three day visit. they will stay at the british consul general's mansion in the historic hancock park. tomorrow, prince william place at a charity polo match in santa barbara and then they will meet with hollywood royalty at a party for the british academy of film and television arts. nicole kidman, tom hanks, and jennifer lopez or among the celebrities who will be at that party. they will go into a job fair for veterans before they fly back home on sunday afternoon. >> it sounds like they are covering all the bases.

>> coming up, we will look at today's top stories, including the rest of a man accused of burning home with nearly a dozen people inside. >> residents are reeling from a dely shooting rampage that killed nearly -- that killed seven people. >> i will let you know how some teenagers are getting a firsthand look at how d

>> live, local, late-breaking. 11 news at 5:00 in hd continues

now. >> in 2009, their respective 500 car crashes caused by distracted driving. teen-agers are the most likely to be killed in a distraction related accident. this morning, some baltimore area teenagers got a taste of the consequences of texting are talking wall behind the wheel. >> kim dacey has tonight's report. >> this 17-year-old is trying to concentrate on driving. >> they are distracting you every which way. the music is loud and they are throwing things back and forth and it is hard to make it through. >> she is learning firsthand how hard it is to drive all distracted. she is taking part in a safe driving challenge. teen-agers go for an obstacle course without any distractions. then as they tried while talking

on the phone are being distracted by others in the car. >> a lot of kids think there are great drivers. it is one of those things they are not cognitively able to do. the hope is that they go home and tell their parents and friends about the dangers of distracted driving. >> statistics show it can be just as dangerous as getting behind the wheel after three or four drinks. >> i was more concentrated on what i was typing and not like what i was steering through or anything. >> i am still shaking, because it was freaky. >> russell knows better than anyone what consequences can come from distracted driving. his daughter heather was killed in an accident caused by a distracted driver. >> we know each and every day what is like to go through life without our daughter. we are hoping to help another family never have to feel the pain of what we went through.

>> these teenagers say after the experiment that they will change their ways. >> i am not going to use my phone at all. >> organizers hope the practice will catch on. >> the organizers of the state driving challenge are advocates of the stand-up act, a federal bill that would require all teenagers to get graduated licenses where they get them in stages and not all at once. to find out how to get that bill passed, we have a link on our website, wbaltv.com. >> heavy showers and thunderstorms prompting warnings across the region this afternoon and early evening. the storms are making their way onto the eastern shore the worst of the weather is. you can see some heavy rain just to the west of center bill read thunderstorm is tracking at about 20 miles an hour -- just

to the west of centerville. the trend is good for us. you can see the line of storms making steady progress self and east of baltimore with drier weather moving into western maryland. that is what is headed north way into the upcoming weekend. improving conditions expected for both saturday and sunday. >> here is a look at some of our other top stories at this hour. howard county police have charged two men with attempted murder and arson. they allegedly conspired to kill and solace -- on solace -- .onzalez-miner's wife >> 54-year-old milton tillman was sentenced for filing a false

tax return. his son was put on probation, also for tax violations. firefighters in harford county spent the better part of the night battling 83-alarm fire in gerunds bill j --arrettsville. part of the home collapse before fire crews got it under control 90 minutes later. >> today in washington, the latest jobs numbers paint a discouraging picture of the economic recovery. employers added only 18,000 jobs in june, a fraction of the number expected. it pushed unemployment to 9.2%. brian moore has the story from washington. >> u.s. employment virtually stalled last month, a net growth of just 18,000 jobs. that nudged the unemployment rate to 9.2% and raises some serious recovery concerns. >> our economy as a whole just

is not producing nearly enough jobs for everybody who is looking. >> president obama blamed economic headwinds, natural disasters, sky high gas prices, and government budget cuts that slashed 39,000 jobs. despite an early morning rain in louisville, kentucky, people began lining up before dawn for 1800 jobs at a plant. while the economy added 6000 many factory jobs in june, that is a drop in a very big bucket. >> it is lousy. >> congressional leaders were callback to work on saturday. democrats and republicans are united on one point, they don't like what they are hearing so far.

>> there is no agreement in private or public. as the president said yesterday, we are this far apart. >> the white house is lowering expectations for sunday's meeting, predicting bottom lines, but not breakthroughs. >> new information tonight after a small plane comes crashing into a california hospital. >> m&t bank stadium is getting prep for a battle of a different kind of monster jam, were you will see the biggest and baddest trucks around.

export people were killed, including two children, after a small plane crashed into a hospital in california.

the single-engine plane came down shortly after takeoff. officials are not sure what caused the crash, but witnesses say it took a nosedive before crashing into the building. no one on the ground was hurt. for people in lambing -- in wyoming. the motive behind a shooting in wyoming is still under investigation. drexel horrifying day in grand rapids, michigan, after a gunman killed seven people, including two children. there was a chase through grand rapids before three people were taken hostage inside an apartment. the hostage made out safely, but the gunman took his own life. >> it makes no sense to try to rationalize it or figure out what the motives were.

you cannot rationalize why someone would take seven lives for a totally senseless purpose. it is extremely difficult. >> police still have no motives for the shootings. crews say everyone made it out safely after a massive apartment fire in fort myers, florida. the flames quickly spread, but authorities said the quick actions of a resident who went around door to door help everyone get out safely. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. >> coming up, summer is just getting underway and already some retailers are in back-to- school mode. >> has the volatile housing market is causing problems for those looking to rent a place to live. >> a day at the ballpark turns tragic as a man falls to his death in front of his young son, trying to catch a ball. >> the the thunderstorms and

flooding rain through -- moving through the central and eastern maryland, but will it hang around for the weekend? right now is wet. winds are light, the roger is fall

>> space history was made right here on earth. coming up, space shuttle atlantis blasted off at nasa's final launch. we are live with a look at today's historic lift off. strong storms left a lot of damage in baltimore county. you'll hear from people cleaning up the mess and how the red cross is also helping out. these stories and the forecast, when you join us right

>> it was just a simple toss of a baseball into the stands, something done thousands of times, but this time, the fan who tried to catch the ball fell to his death, right in front of his 6-year-old son. this afternoon, texas rangers president nolan ryan held a press conference about the tragedy. >> we are about making memories, about family entertainment, and last night, we had a father and son at the game and had a very tragic incident. it just drives it to the core of what we are about, and the memories of -- that we try to make in this game for our fans. >> it was the second fatal fall

at a major league stadium this season. >> even as talks continue to try to end the lockout, a federal appeals court in st. louis ruled that the lockout can continue. the eighth circuit court of appeals overruled another judge's order lifting that rule. a number of players argued that the lockout was illegal. >> we are not the only ones dealing with severe weather. look at what has happened in denver, colorado after a powerful thunderstorm flooded streets throughout the entire city. several inches of rain or dumped in just a matter of minutes. several stranded motorists had to be rescued, but there were no reports of any injuries. >> it looked like that coming home from work last night. in some areas the rain is still coming down. the good news is, the weekend gets a whole lot better. the forecast is very promising. the heaviest of the rain is

south and east of baltimore, moving through the d.c. area. the folks on the eastern shore are getting at the same thing. the heaviest of the rain appears to be counterparts of queen anne's county right now. that marker indicates a potentially severe part of the line of storms. 1.5 miles west of centerville, and a lot of lightning associated with that storm. those showers are tracking off to the south and east and will continue to impact the eastern shore locations for the next hour or so. the heaviest of the rain will be out of here in the next couple of hours and the dry weather out west will invade our region just in time for the weekend. flood warning still in effect all around the baltimore metro. low-lying areas, small streams

and creeks have taken on a lot of rain in the last few hours. the watch does not extend back into washington county, an indication of the drier weather coming in. the watch goes all the way back to frederick. the rain has pushed east of here so i would expect the weather service will start canceling this severe storm watch over the next several hours and the baltimore area. 87 degrees at the airport,, -- only point to inch of rain. a record amount of rain, over 5 inches in some areas. 97 in delaware, but look how it cools off to the west of us. the winds shift to the northwest tonight at 5-10. a cool front moving through, triggering showers and storms. it should be more accurately labeled a dry front because the

temperatures will not cool off dramatically. the atmosphere behind the front is drier so tomorrow it will feel a lot more comfortable, even though it could still get close to 90. it will feel better when the humidity drugs quite a bit. sunday should feature drive, -- bright, sunny skies. a 7-92 tomorrow, but the lower humidity and northwest breeze will make it feel very comfortable. waves around 1 foot tomorrow and bake temperatures up to 83 degrees. bay temperatures up to 83 degrees. upper 80's lower humidity and sunny skies. the lower eastern shore including an ocean city, maybe a shower around daybreak and in clearing in the afternoon. sunny skies for both sunday and

monday. a beautiful summer weekend around baltimore, very comfortable with the lower humidity. a chance for thunderstorms again monday night into tuesday. staying warm through tuesday and then cooler weather coming in through the middle of next week. >> internet providers are trying a new tactic on illegal down loaders. they will provide warnings to users they suspect of stealing content. the warnings will have progressively harder consequences and ultimately the customer's internet connection will be slow down to a crawl. in today's volatile housing market, many americans do not think buying a home is a safe investment so they are choosing to rent. prices were pushed higher this year.

>> they waited out in the rain for hours. >> i am praying that i get an apartment for me and my daughter. that is my goal. >> hundreds of hopeful renters where this a permit building offered appeal units at subsidized prices. with home prices now in the double dip and mortgage availability difficult at best, rental divan is skyrocketing. apartment vacancies saw a huge drop in the first three months of this year, bigger than any first quarter on record. that is pushing rent prices higher. >> it is to be that everybody should on a home, and now is more if you have the desire to own a home and take on the responsibilities of owning a

home, and you are credit ready, go for it. >> while 87 percent of americans think owning a home is superior to renting, according to a new study, just 66% think a home is a safe investment, thanks to the housing crash. in 2003, 83% thought owning a home was a safe bet. in some markets, renting is more expensive than owning a home. it does not make a lot of sense when there are so many great deals out there, especially if you buy foreclosed properties. what is the tipping point? when home prices finally settled and confidence comes back. >> believe it or not, some stores are already in back-to- school mode. walgreen's has back-to-school items available and target and walmart have either started

their sales are planned to start them by sunday. >> time marches on. >> some residents are still cleaning up from yesterday's storm. >> coming up, a look at their progress and if there is any more severe weather on the way. >> one of 16 trucks at this week's monster jam at m&t bank stadium. details are next.

>> where are told it will be a monster jam like never before in maryland. >> one of maryland's own will be behind the wheel. jennifer franciotti has the story. >> i have not been able to drive since to years ago, but i look forward to the hometown crowd. >> travis is fired up to drive nitro circus in saturday's monster jam at m&t bank stadium. he says it is the most fun sport. >> this is my biggest event every year. i just came home for the month of july to start training.

i will be starting a nationwide debut in nascar. i have a big month coming up here. >> on saturday, m&t bank stadium will come alive with the sound of monster trucks with names some will recognize. >> we have 16 of the biggest trucks you can ever seen -- you have ever seen. >> ryan anderson is sung at -- the driver of son of a digger. adams says to make a monster truck monster, it is the tires. >> they are 66 inches tall, 43 inches wide. >> each truck weighs a minimum of 5 tons and cost no less than $250,000, and can go up to one ordered miles per hour. saturday you will see elimination competitions,

followed by a freestyle event. >> that is where you see all the action, the crafted it is crashes and collisions. >> the ravens just put down new turf last season. is being protected by 6000 pieces of plywood and four hundred tons of dirt. there will be a pit party friday to take photographs and get autographs. >> everybody becomes a fan during the show. >> i drove one of those a few years and at and is really a blast. here is a look at what is coming at new at 6:00. >> severe thunderstorms and flash flooding across the metro area. i- the suspect in the