to maryland to help restore power to the committee. one of the staging areas. we'll talk to a worker in a live report. >> a drug company is paying a huge price for some shady dealings. details are straight ahead. willoughby another sizzling summer day -- will it be another sizzling summer day? [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. i am stan stovall. mindy has the day off. >> the humidity went way down. last night, a lot of people were opening the windows. this morning, the humidity will start to go back up.

it will feel a little more on comfortable today. 64 degrees right now at the airport. 30% chance for a thunderstorm. the best chance will be south of baltimore. high temperature of 93 degrees. we will detail the forecast in just a few minutes. first we say good morning to kim. >> we have several problem spots. fire activity at 7 crossroad. traffic lights are out around the area. northbound 29 on the ramp to westbound 70. in westminster, we have a disabled tractor-trailer southbound 27 at nicodemus road. that has been moved off to the shoulder. up to speed on the major roadways. moving fine on the outer loop west side.

80 minutes on 895 southbound between the 95's -- 18 minutes on 895 southbound between the 95's. everything is moving fine in both directions after the tractor-trailer has been moved off to the shoulder. >> the continued efforts to get marylanders up and running with their electricity and their air conditioning. here's a look at the progress within the last 24 hours. 241,000 customers were without power. by 11:30 last night, that number had been cut down to just over 181,000. another 11,000 have gone back on

the grid overnight things to the efforts of b.g.e. cruise and crucial out of maryland who have come in to enter the call to help pitch in and help. nadia ramdass is live of the airport with more on that. >> we're very grateful that they have entered that call of duty. 1300 utility workers as far north as quebec, canada, are here to help b.g.e. restore power throughout maryland. joining us now is one of those workers. straight from southern california. thank you so much for being here and for joining us this morning. how long have you been in town? >> i love saturday at 7:00 and i flew on the right out here and arrived sunday morning at 7:00 and i went straight to work. >> what are you seeing as you try to help out with this

effort. >> a lot of people on the property and on the facility trying to do a lot of practices. quite a bit of work left to do. >> many viewers without power want things done quickly but safety has to be the first priority. >> there are a lot of procedures you have to follow. safety first and a lot of steps in order to energize the circuit. >> we appreciate your help and also for trying to get power back to maryland. we'll be on there all morning. we're told b.g.e. is paying for these workers -- food, lodging, and transportation. a tremendous effort to get power restored back and maryland. nadia ramdass, wbal-tv 11 news.

>> thank you. joining us is rob gould with b.g.e. thank you for coming back in. this is hot, dangerous work. >> they also have a lot of gear that they wear. long sleeves, long pants, and rubber gloves. >> not easy work. >> they're operating in off the wall conditions, just walking the ground -- they're operating . >> let's begin with how many were out as of last friday. >> almost 660,000 customers in total. we're approaching the same numbers we had with hurricane irene.

we have about 170,000 to go. we will make some good progress over the next couple of days. as we get closer to the end of the restoration, you'll start to see those numbers slowdown because we will be going into individual homes better served by one wire or one poll e. ,> let's talk about priorities you go about doing that. >> we identify the downed wires. we have trees down on local thoroughfares. then we will go off in earnest. the biggest blocks of customers, 5000, 2500 that are served by one piece of electrical equipment.

then we'll go into the one to want house engagement -- then we will go into the one to one house engagement. >> it is not efficient to go after those individual homes rather than the bigger blocks. >> our water cooler question of the day comes off of michael greenberger. he says we need to put all these lines underground. >> simply not practical. we're talking about billions upon billions of dollars and that assumes that we can get the right of ways to put those lines underground. it is mandated that those lines come out of the ground somewhere. when they are underground, it takes much longer when they do fail and they do fail, rather

than looking up to the overhead. it is an inconvenience. restoration gets done much quicker when they are overhead. >> you guys are on top of it. good luck to you. some energy analysts say it may be it is time to put the lions on the ground -- but all the put all the lines underground. >> having our electrical wires above ground when we have the snowstorms we're having, the hurricanes we're having, and this new weather phenomenon that we've experienced -- we can put it back up all we want, but it is going to come right back down again in the next severe weather disaster. >> experts call the price tag of a million dollars a mile for

digging trenches prohibited, as you just heard rob gould explains. michael greenberger believes the government will get that back in terms of savings on repair work. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think it is worth the cost to put all of maryland's power lines underground? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. you can get complete coverage of the storm recovery efforts online at wbaltv.com. we have posted additional information on the power outages as well as storm-related closures. if you don't have power at your home, you can connect wirelessly with our free smart phone apps. 6:09. some changes coming to the mcdonald's menu.

what caused a navy fighter to crash into a virginia apartment complex? you might think you would like to crack open a beer or two? we're maryland ranks down in the siuds. >> still dealing with a disabled tractor-trailer in ♪

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>> good morning. this is a live view from skycam. the skies and a mostly clear. 78 degrees downtown at the maryland science center. we're live that mission a barbecue. we have some barbecue in front of us. this is located in glen burnie. this is all about celebrating america. i'm here with steve, the founder. you have travel the country to incorporate a barbecue from all other places. he did not think barbeque when you think baltimore. >> alvar proteins are dry rub --

all of the are proteins are dry rub. smoked turkey breast. baby back ribs. you can put whenever sauce you want on it. >> this sauce is from kansas city. people come here and they want that good barbecue is they want back home. >> you can almost relive everything. we have a memphis belle sauce made with real molasses. >> this all looks amazing. >> this one is our baby back rib rub with brown sugar and a little bit of old bay.

>> we will taste the food and talk about the sides that put the deal altogether. i we teasing you enough already -- are we teasing you enough? >> that is the breakfast of champions. . thankfood connoisseurs you thank you. 68 in rising sun. the dew points are going to start to go up. this front keeps bouncing back and forth. it will come back at us as a warm front. as it gets closer, the dew points will start to go up. the temperature will not change much from yesterday. it will feel more uncomfortable with the dew points. we have seen a few thunderstorms

popping up south of us. all that activity will stay south of us and we will wind up with a dry morning commute. 30% chance for a thunderstorm as we go into the afternoon. a mixture of sun and clouds. slight chance for a thunderstorm. high temperature between 90 and 95. watch out for the lightning and it should be a nice day on the water. a quick preview of the fireworks forecast. kind of a muggy evening with a chance for a thunderstorm. 40% chance for a thunderstorm on the fourth of july. not a washout situation. high temperature of 92. then it will get smoking pot. upper 90 bus with the heat index over 100 -- upper 90's with the

heat index over 100l. 6:17. here is kim. >> good morning. not looking too bad. a few problems spots. seven crossroad, we have some fire activity in gwynn oak. a lot of traffic lights out in the area, especially the city. 97 and cars mill road. a disabled tractor-trailer has been moved off to the shoulder. that could be a messy situation. 63 on 95 heading down towards the city. 11 minutes on the inner loop along the west side. eight minutes on 895 northbound

between the harbor tunnel and 95 on the north side. this is harford road. wide open in both directions. 895 at the harbor tunnel, a disabled tractor-trailer moved off the shoulder. traffic is getting by find in both directions. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> thank you. eight dual engine failure is being blamed for last april's crash of a navy jet into a suburban virginia neighborhood. the engines shut down. both pilots were able to eject safely before the planes crashed injuring seven and destroying 27 apartments. a pharmaceutical company will have to pay $3 billion to settle charges of fraud. scope smithkline committed

it has removeds go smithkli employees who engaged in misconduct for clacks go .mithk >> maryland has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to drinking beer. a list of the states with the highest beer consumption per- capita. topping the list this year was new hampshire. these are the top five. not a lot to do in dakota except drink beer. maryland ranked 47th in the nation. utah ranked lower than our

state. mcdonald's is playing chicken with their menu. jane king has the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. bloomberg says consumers are set to pay the most ever for hamburgers and stake this year. beef prices have been pushed to record highs. american cheese and ice cream has gained nearly 2% from a year ago. mcdonald turning their focus away from beef. looking to drop budget-minded americans with more chicken items which can be priced lower than other proteins. expected seymour's back items with chicken in the future -- expect

to see more items with chicken in the future. some critics say openings can threaten mom-and-pop businesses. we'll get a better gauge from what the automakers are doing when they released their june sales figures. a mixed close for sales yesterday. the bloomberg maryland index getting a boost on gains for the costar group. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> 67 degrees on tv hill. what a trip to the west coast mean a change for the orioles? keith mills will have the late- night action. here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. hope you have them.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. we do have some fire activity in gwynn oak at southern cross road. some traffic lights are out across the area in howard county. northbound 29 on the ramp to westbound 70. a disabled tractor-trailer southbound on 27 at nicodemus road in westminster. up to speed on the major roadways. 95 checking in at 62 miles per hour. 11 minutes on the inner loop.

eight minutes on 895 northbound between the harbor tunnel and 95 on the north side. the topside of the beltway is looking good. this is 895 at the harbor tunnel. the disabled tractor-trailer still off to the shoulder. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> good morning. we're off to a fine start on this tuesday morning. 68 degrees at the airport. 72 in sykesville. the humidity will go up a little bit. high temperature between 90 and 95. 30 disenchants for a thunderstorm. most of the one not see any rain -- 30% chance for a thunderstorm. >> good morning. the orioles and jason hammel took a lead into the seventh

inning in seattle. meant a win.the man to a wualy in the fourth, down 1-0. chris davis -- that is mark reynolds with a strikeout early on. jason hammel deserved better. he pitched into the seventh. his defense is not good. a nice play from j.j. hardy. robert n. d. dropped a bullet later in the game which led to a big inning -- robert andino dropped a billick later in the game. the orioles lost to tampa. jim palmer is about to put some of his memorabilia up for auction. his stepson has autism so he is putting up is three cy young

awards and is gold gloves for auctions to pay some of his medical bills. he hopes to raise up to $250,000. this is in in the world series against the pirates. that is him as an 18-year-old with sandy koufax. good luck to jim palmer and his wife susan. the quarter final set for wimbledon today. the woman's number-one seed lost yesterday. match point right here on her second serve. she eliminates sharapova. jim palmer remarried. >> classic video.

jim palmer corrupt in scotts dale. that is just amazing. >> he is 19. >> 6:28. >> utility workers from all over the country and canada are in maryland to help restore power to the area. we're live at the staging area for these crews. we have the details in a live report. >> millions of americans are ready to hit the road for the holidays. what impact the economy will have on their plan. >> i am sitting down to some good old barbecue. one local company try to give one local company try to give back

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. welcome back to 11 news today. i am stan stovall.

minday has the day off today -- mindy has the day off today. >> it will make it into the low 90's today. we're starting off with some comfortable conditions this morning. it will feel nice. the dew points will go up as we head into the afternoon. a 30 disenchants in the forecast. most of you will not see any rate -- a 30% chance of a shower in the forecast. >> b.g.e. repair crews continue their daunting task of reconnecting hundreds of thousands of customers who have spent the last few days in the dark and the heat. nadia ramdass joins us live where repair crews from across the country are assembly to help

our local crews get the power back on. >> this is one of two stay aging areas. the other is in baltimore county. 1300 utility workers from 15 states and even as far north as a quebec, canada, join the crews to restore power. thank you so much for talking to us this morning. >> early this morning we saw the crews coming in off their night shift. now we have the crews getting ready to get out to their day she appeared here getting ice and water and their food for the day and picnic any material that they need to go out and start restoration work. their meeting up b.g.e. crew guides and giving safety briefings and making sure they're prepared to start work.

>> what is a typical day like for these workers? >> crews are working up to 16- hour days. their day is removing trees and putting up new poles restoring service. >> many are asking when the power will come back on. >> the restoration priorities are for critical infrastructure which are hospitals and 911 centers. that we start to put jobs out that will put the largest number of customers back into service. we are working around the clock. we expect all customers will be back by this weekend. >> thank you so much.

3300 people between b.g.e. and these utility workers are helping to restore power back to maryland. a tremendous effort in deed. reporting live from this staging area, nadia ramdass, wbal- tv 11 news. >> many business owners are hit hard as every day means less income and lost inventory. business owners are dealing with thousands of dollars in losses from dry cleaners to convene stores, gas stations and insurance agencies. >> thousands of dollars we could lose because we cannot do any work. thousands of dollars. >> if we do not sell, we don't get paid but we still have to pay the rent. >> those businesses that have

been spirit outages or have recently regained power are seeing a spike in their sales. hotels are seeing a surge in occupancy. almost as busy our insurance agencies. they are fielding lots of calls from homeowners who have been impacted by the storms. there are some important steps to protect yourself. >> the best way to do is to take pictures. walk around and take pictures of everything that could be damaged on the property whether it is personal property inside the house. >> contact the insurance company. you should contact the company so that they can authorize an odder the repairs. make sure you protect the damage property. a hole in the route should be properly tarp to and covered --

a hole in the roof should be tarped and covered. some people try to take advantage of people in need. need to be wary of those who solicit you enter home and business. watch out for those who use high-pressure sales tactics. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. a pair of accidents in the city. .e'll bring up the map is that pulaski. fire activity at 7 crossroad. traffic lights out around the area.

a couple in howard county on the ramp to westbound 70. a disabled tractor-trailer on nicodemus road. a new crash on glen falls in reisterstown. there are some backups associated with that. we will check on the major roadways. the beltway is looking good in the inner and outer loops on the northwest corner. this is 95 at mountain road. southbound traffic is picking up in volume but no delays to speak of just yet. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. ava some delicious-looking barbecue. our malthus have been watering -- our malthus have been ouths have- our ma

been watering. >> you're giving back through the sale of this cup. >> a portion of the proceeds from this goes directly to the wounded warrior project. there's been a wonderful outpouring of support to the community. we have donated $10,000 to the wounded warrior project. >> giving back to the country and serving up some great food. we will be previewed the food when we come back. temperatures in the nepos, a typical summer day and maybe a 30% chance for storms. towardslking upper 90's the end of the week and then low 90's by the weekend. we will heat things up by trying

back the food when we come back. >> 68 degrees on tv hill. we have heard we should cut the fat out of our diet. fat out of our diet.

>> with the fourth of july falling on a wednesday, many

americans are booking extended vacations. many will hit the roads with the economy and whether weighing heavily on their minds. >> more people will be traveling more but that does not mean there will be spending more. more than 42 million americans will be celebrating the fourth this year more than 50 miles from home. that is more than 2 million people traveling this year than last year. >> we seeing americans appetite for travel and a midweek holiday. >> gas prices are down 22 cents from a year ago. the economy will be driving travel plans. the national retail federation says spending will fall 7% from

last year. but the weather before some to seek relief from home. days after a severe southern storm, nearly 2 million are still without power in the middle of the heat wave. >> we're looking at some pretty hot days ahead. police for this week, we're pretty warm. >> it could be several more days before power is restored in all areas hit by the storm. tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. 68 degrees on tv hill. coming up, a look at today's top stories. >> a few problem spots around the area and will check for delays on the major roadways in. >> we do have some thunderstorms to talk about in the seven-day

forecast. it is a beautiful morning. it is a beautiful morning.

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>> we have heard that cutting fat out of our diet is the way to go, but not all fat is created equal. some fat is good for you. some fat promotes the absorption of vitamins. the key is moderation. >> there can be to much of a good thing. fat has more calories per b

ite than protein. >> you should look for foods that have unsaturated fats like avocados and nuts. the good fat should comprise about 30% of your diet. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. not looking too bad. a couple of problem spots. a few traffic lights around the area. a couple here in howard county. 97, another one to watch for. have a crash in reisterstown. a bit of a delay on route 30. a disabled tractor-trailer in westminster has been moved off

to the side. a live look at some of the major roadways. inner and outer loops are moving just fine. 95 at mountain road in harford county. everything is flowing freely in both directions. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now we go back out to ava who is live in glen burnie. >> we are live that mission barbecue and i'll have a hard time eating all this display. we have a lot of food here. you guys give back a lot to the committee and those who serve the country. many different people. >> let me take you through some of our sides. everything is made fresh.

we don't have a microwave or a freezer. the city smoked beans -- kansas city smoked beans. green beans and bacon. everything is better with bacon. mac and cheese. this was taste tested for year. d c heesegie's mac an heese. fresh-cut fries. >> what kind of special seasoning? >> i cannot tell you that. this is the tall texan. i can hold this for you.

up with coleslaw -- topped with coleslaw. >> how do you eat it? >> go for it. >> wow. they say everything is bigger in texas. that is what is so neat about this restaurant. they traveled the country to find the best barbecue. >> i'm proud of you. use your sleeves. i will do the chicago lean. put it out in front of you so trips back on the floor. but i'm proud of you. ava marie admission barbecue --

at mission barbecue. dew points are in the 60's. the dew points will be going up over the next several hours. this front is inching its way back up towards maryland. we could see a couple of thunderstorms. we have seen a few drifting over southern maryland. that will stay south of baltimore. a mixture of sun and clouds. high temperature between 90 and 95. look out for lightning if you take the boat out. most of the fireworks go off after sunset tomorrow. 40% chance for a thunderstorm.

a better chance for a thunderstorm tomorrow. high temperature of 92. thursday, friday, saturday, the upper 90's. we're hoping a stronger front will break this weather pattern and get the temperature back into the 80's on monday. >> the ongoing efforts to restart efforts to 169,000 marylanders. nadia ramdass joins us live from the beat the staging area at the airport -- joins us live from the staging area. >> 1300 workers from 15 states and canada are in town to help b.g.e. restore power to the area. right out crews are being bused

in here where they are being fed and briefed on what their task is for the day. b.g.e. tells us 169,000 customers are still without power. we have this tremendous group effort from those out of state and those here who are trying to restore power as soon as possible. live at the airport, the staging area for the crew, nadia ramdass, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. 68 degrees on tv hill. coming up, we'll look at your answers to our water cooler question of the day. coming up, we'll take a last look at weather and traffic bgether before you head out to

>> time to get to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. this morning we asked -- do you think it is worth the cost to put all of maryland's power lines underground? and the cost is a lot.

we will post more of your answers on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. a quick check and traffic. >> traffic is looking pretty good. we have some accidents in the city. an accident at pulaski. we have a crash in reisterstown and a backup on 30 because of that. a live look outside. the major roadways are looking good. old court road is looking just fine. 95 at non road, things are looking good. >> it will be hot today -- 95 at mountain road. 30% chance for a thunderstorm today. it doesn't look like a washout. >> thank you. thank you for joining us. [ mom ] to me, chex is not just a little bowl of cereal,

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