>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> you are looking live at the stadium where folks are already gathering to start tailgating for tonight's game. they start early. good afternoon. the ravens officially kick their season off later tonight here in baltimore. well football is certainly on

the mind of every raven's a fan, there will be more on their mind. it to be the first time the place since the death of martin o del. fans came to pay their respects to the original raven's owner who died last week. there will be several attributes, including a moment of silence. coaches will wear pins wearing -- bearing his name. the ravens players are ready for the new season. ray lewis says he has taken a big step this season. >> he is more vocal because he is more loose. he is working with payton. i think he gets a lot of flexibility. now he can take control of the offense. >> the ravens take on the bengals' tonight. you can listen to the boys.

in the meantime, michael phelps will be honored at today's game. other olympic athletes for maryland, live with details. >> you should stop by the inner harbor here. they're going to put on quite a presentation. this grand, recognition ceremony to honor all of the 2012 olympians and paralympians. government wreckage -- government representatives for the city as well as governor will attend. there will be streamers and the overture played by the high school marching generals you can attach the presentation live at 4:00 p.m.

live at the inner harbor. wbal-tv 11 news. >> it looks pretty nice of there. will it be nice in terms of weather? let's check in with meteorologist ava marie. >> is just beautiful and sunni out there. quite comfortable as well. we have -- quite a sunni -- quite sunny as well. expect temperatures to be in the upper 70's between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. not indicating any sort of precipitation. 74 degrees at 6:00 p.m. it will be a little chilly as people head to the game. as a drop in to the 60's by the end of the game with mostly clear skies. let's talk about those overnight temperatures when we come back.

>> orioles fans were looking to celebrate, but a back and forth weekend ended the wrong way for the o's. they started fighting back in the fourth inning yesterday. it was all the yankees from there, including a home run. 13-3, taking back the lead. a fitting tribute for a former student. the high school dedicates its field in honor of the former lacrosse player. she played lacrosse and field hockey and went on to play across the university of virginia. yardley's name and class colors will keep her memory alive. her mother and sister both attended last night's dedication. >> this would be something that she would love. now she has it.

>> i am sure she is looking down with a smile on her face. >> her killer was convicted in february and sentenced to 23 years in prison just two weeks ago. a shooting that happened that shortly before midnight. police tell us that two men were shot. one critically. we were told a gas heater was also hit in the shooting. a man is dead after a single car accident. it happened just before 1:00 this morning on the ramp to west street. a man died at the scene and a female victim was flown to shock trauma. maryland police say that speed was a factor in that crash. topping the $1 trillion mark. the question remains, how will

college graduates start to pay it off? tonight, the team tackle the issues and goes after the biggest private loan companies around. >> college graduate knew that her massive student loans would come calling, even though she had not secured a permanent job yet. she just did not know it would come calling so aggressively, she says. >> i get the loans. we will give you all this money. but then in the long run, they are acting like loan sharks coming after you. >> she gets calls from the mega private student -- private student loan lender, sallie mae, as many as 25 times. all to collect a loan totaling more than $146,000. >> you like you're being a bully? >> yes. >> getting out of student debt and avoiding this trap in the first place. i am deborah. >> still ahead on 11 news at noon, planning a fall vacation?

we'll tell you how to find the cheapest air fare. first, chicago in protest. how many students are affected and what the teachers are demanding. first, a tragedy. what a police officer was doing right before he waswç%y

>> a florida police officer is dead after being struck by a pickup truck. a 20 year veteran was preparing to shut down the west palm beach highway to allow the motorcade to pass through when he was struck by an approaching vehicle. so far, no charges have been filed against the driver. thousands of teachers are expected to cross the picket lines before the day is out. dozens are picketing and chanting at the schools after talks failed to reach an agreement to 11 hour. the union announced they would strike. this is the first time in 25 years the chicago teachers have walked off the job. more than 400,000 students are affected by the strike. >> from london, a final farewell. the closing of the 2012 paralympic games.

the event included a dazzling fireworks show over olympic park. it also features performances by musicians like cold light -- coldplay, rihanna, and jay-z. the u.s. won 98 medals altogether. coming up next, an annoying of virus spreads easily. we are talking about pinkeye. how you can best protect your child from getting it on the medical alert. >> looking at the forecast for the evening and the rest of the workweek. things will be quiet. details coming up. let's give you a live looked at the stadium. getting ready for the home openers early on. 71 at the airport.

>> gas prices continued to climb long after the labor day holiday. they jumped $0.80. there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. refineries slipped to cheaper blend of gasoline. planning a vacation, fare compare has the cheapest cities airfare wise for the fall. san antonio, chicago, colorado springs, and fort lauderdale miami. if you're going international, the best light deals are germany, ireland, spain, and

london. but >> now your 11 insta-weather plus forecast with a blubbery. >> we are enjoying some weather in the east. -- with ava murray. >> we are enjoying some weather in the east. we have leslie, a tropical storm traveling up towards the north. we also have michael, a weak hurricane at this point, continuing to decrease in strength. it basically decreases as the tracks north. fortunately, these to not have any direct impacts. the east coast and a pretty large storm system has been kicking up some rough surf -- a serf, rather. we do have some serf thrifts. now, there is one more thing we have to watch out for.

at least it would first become a tropical storm. watch these last couple of friends in the satellite picture. you really start to see some organization here as it becomes more circular and take on that counter-clockwise rotation. that is what we'll be watching as it makes its way west to africa. now we'll go back to our area where it is unbelievably quiet. hardly a cloud in the sky. just a couple of indications. they do not indicate any precipitation. the consumer of those clouds up in pennsylvania. large area pressure control will dominate our weather for the next couple of days. with that high pressure system, we have seen much cooler temperatures. 70's as we head out towards the atlantic. that is what we will see for the majority of the week.

ocean city, 73. dew point temperatures have dropped into the 40's as well. for today and even into the nighttime hours. if you plan to go to the reagans came, lookit that. we are expecting pleasant conditions at 7:00 p.m. starting off at in the low 70's to the upper 60's. by the end of the game, if you plan to add to the stadium, grab a jacket. you may need it towards the end, especially tonight. maybe even some upper 40's for the low temperature. it is the type of gear that is surprising when we walked out. beautiful weather and the sunshine eased every day. >> thank you. the post convention push is under way. president obama is hoping to

ride momentum on the campaign trail, but mitt romney's camp is claiming its own uptick. holley jackson has the story. >> it was not just as a burly pizza shop owner giving the president a lift -- literally. the president also got a leg up this weekend in several polls showing that he pulled ahead of his gop challenger by as many as five percentage points. but romney is hoping to close the gap and talking up more popular parts of the health-care law that he would keep. >> i'm not getting rid of all of health care reform. of course, there are a number of things that i like that i will keep in place. if one is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions would get coverage. >> the gop challenger attended church yesterday and proud for the presidential debates, but he is back on the campaign trail in ohio. >> the have the same plan that they have had for 30 years.

tax cuts, tax cuts, got a few regulations, and then give some more tax cuts. the president call the bad math. what is setting up? campaign contributions on both sides. both candidates raised more than $100 million in august. >> in today's medical alert, with the kids back in school, to not be alarmed before many of them are sent home sick. one of the top reasons they miss school? pink eye. it is extremely contagious and can be spread through coughing, sneezing, or touching. child care workers say that preventing the transmission of the illness is common sense. >> the main thing, make sure they washed their hands. but still, wash your hands. >> parents should be on the

lookout for red or pink dye when the child wakes up four islands that are stuck together. most cases of think i can be treated and last only a few days. experts say it's important to keep kids isolated until the condition clears up. training can have a positive impact on baby and moms health. researchers followed children who were asleep trained as infants, meaning around seven years old, the parents use special techniques to get them to learn to fall asleep on their own. they found that they slept better after completing a sleep training program. they also have better health. a new study reveals the key to teen happiness might have nothing to do with the latest gadgets are fashion. teams that are -- are more positive are 15% more positive with their lives and those who

are on grateful. grateful teams are also less likely to use alcohol. while it was linked to happiness, teams were less grateful had higher rates of depression. a very interesting. before sending your kids off to school, here is something you need to know. there is growing concern about a subject there not being taught. >> when it comes to people managing money, or should i say mismanaging it, sounding the alarm. >> it is my opinion that we have a national financial illiteracy epidemic. >> this it was a major contributor to the financial crisis. that is why there is a new push to get children -- parents to push their children basic finance. and to start while they are very young. >> children can really start to understand financial concepts as early as kindergarten. and why not lay out coins and teach them the value of each one

as they get to five or six? open up a savings account for them. let them watch as you open that account. teach the difference between needs, wants, and wishes. >> how much two things cost and what you have to do? you have to work? >> as soon as children start school, they start noticing the difference that money makes. >> keeping up with the joneses and a star when you're 25. certain york 10. you see things and you want them. do not understand why you cannot have them. >> the nonprofit even has downloadable material to help children make the most of their money. and wbal-tv 11 news. >> important lessons there. coming up next, your maryland lottery numbers. and we will look at the insta- weather plus forecast with ava.

first, how anncr: this casino's in west virginia. but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a...

world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative... services, hundreds of millions for our schools. while saving taxpayer money by cutting casino subsidies. question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia.

>> it has been a busy campaign season for both candidates, including plenty of handshaking. one supporter swept the president off his feet. scott wanted a chance to prove

he has a sensitive side. what better way than with a bear hug? he says he is a registered republican who voted for the president in 2008 and plans to do so again this year. tonight on 11 news at 5:00, michael phelps will be live to round the big ceremony and then at 5:00, a play-by-play of all the special moments. as excitement builds for the kickoff, eleven stores will be live on the sidelines. it is time to get pumped. find out what american express is suing gerry, the man accused of killing the traveling partner. these stories and more. and now, you're maryland lottery pick three and picked four numbers. >> the maryland lottery celebrates a special purple monday with purple drawings.

>> happy purple monday. let's start with your pick three numbers. your first number is a 1. followed by another 1. your last number is a 9. making your pick three numbers, 1-1-9. winners automatically when $5,000 plus $1,000 for every raven. ready to go. your pick for game numbers. we have a 5. the next number is another 5. followed by, that is a 1. the final number for your pick for game, we've got a 2. making your numbers 5-5-1-2.

>> it is beautiful for the rest of the week. thank you for joining us 0