from the cities to the counties to your neighborhood, now complete coverage on wjz 13, maryland's news station. >> just in time. rare relief from high energy rates. >> maryland's largest utility provider comes up with a plan to help your wallet. how does it all work? hello, again, i am don scott. >> and i am mary bubala.

>> here is what people will be talking about today. new relief should be in sight for bge customers finding it difficult to pay their utility bills and we are told the cost savings should be tremendous. eyewitness news and jessica kartalija is live downtown where a new initiative has been announced. good afternoon, jessica. >> reporter: good afternoon, don. this is called a smart meter and they tell eyewitness news they want to put 2 million of these in customers' homes and they say it could save all of us quite a bit of cash. >> reporter: bge unveils its smart grid initiative, a plan they say could save gas and electric customers almost $3 billion. >> bge plans to install or upgrade more than 2 million smart gas and electric meters for every home and business in our service territory. those advance meters will be part of a two-way digital communications network enable us to record energy usage on a how hourly basis and provide customers with more on the amount and cost of energy they are using. >> reporter: bge says they will

install the smart meters on homes, reducing peak electricity usage by a third. they are asking for $200 million in federal fund to pay for it, and customers will have to pay a surcharge fee that will be add to their bill. >> the most important benefit is lowering the energy bill. it is expected to yield $1.6 billion in savings over the last of the. >> we are supposed to pay for it. it is supposed to be a reduction? i don't understand it. very unique opinion start an investigation to find out why. >> reporter: all right, so you knew it was coming. here is the catch. bge customers will have to start paying that surcharge fee in 2010 but we won't see any major changes to our bill until 2012. live in baltimore city, jessica kartalija, wjz eyewitness news. >> thank you very much, jessica. bge is maryland's largest gas and electricity provide we are more than a million electric customers alone. baltimore city's new

controversial trash program is officially in effect. the program cuts trash pickup in half to just one day per week, but it increases recycling pickup to once per week. some people living in the city say reducing trash pickup also make the rat population soar. now people are being asked to get an air tight trash can so rats and other animals stay away. the changes were made to save the city millions of dollars. a downtown baltimore courthouse has been evacuated after a strange odor was reported in the building. the fire department just moments ago traced that problem on courthouse east to an overcharged battery in a forklift. not clear when anybody will be allowed back in. medics are on the scene to treat anyone who is ill. the woman accused of killing her four daughters and living with their bodies for months goes on trial today. sally thorner is live in the eyewitness news room with what is expected in court. good afternoon, sally. >> reporter: good afternoon,

don. bernie at that jacks is accused of beating her daughters to death and strangling the other three. the discovery was in her home in january 2008. after her daughters were killed, she lived with the decomposing bodies for nearly seven months. in court she has gone beyond her attorney's advice asking for a judge trial instead of a jury. jacks repeatedly refused to meet with attorneys to discuss the case. back to you. >> the defense will challenge whether it was indeed jacks who killed those girls. the body of a 62-year-old man has been found floating in a marina in anne arundel county. the man was found sunday afternoon in the ship right harbor marina a half hour south of annapolis. the maryland natural resources police are now investigating and are trying to locate the man's family. meantime the body is being sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy. two murder cases with very similar circumstances are not related. that is the word from the fbi this noon.

back in january, karen lofton and her 16-year-old daughter carissa was found shot to death inside their house in largo, prince george's county. two months later, less than a mile away, doris dewitt was found dead inside a burning car with her 20-year-old daughter, ebony. the fbi said these two cases are coincidences and they are looking for two different suspects. history on the making on capitol hill. the supreme court hearings for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor has begun. she is expected to sail throughout hearings, but republicans say they are not about to just roll over. here is hari sreenivasan ? with the latest for wjz. >> reporter: president obama's pick for the supreme court is ready for two days in the hot seat. >> will you please introduce the members of your family. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i will limit myself to just my immediate family. >> reporter: the confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor are under way. democrats have a big enough majority in the senate so that the first hispanic nominee to

the high court doesn't face any serious road blocks to confirmation. but republicans still have some big questions about what she said in speeches and how she has ruled on the bench. >> do i want a judge that allows his or her social, political or religious views to change the outcome? or do i want a judge that impartially applies the law to the facts? >> reporter: democrats say with all of her years as a federal judge, there is little mystery what she will do on the high court. >> she has been a judge for all americans. she will be a justice for all americans. >> reporter: sotomayor is sure to get questions on a case the supreme court overruled her on last month. the justices sided with a group of white firefighters who claimed they were victims of reverse discrimination. the nominee has spent days with administration attorneys preparing for today, even taking part in mock confirmation hearings. legal analysts state key is not to make waves. >> the only thing standing between her and confirmation is herself. >> reporter: the first of four days of hearings.

each lawmaker on the committee and sotomayor will all make opening statements today, the questioning begins tomorrow. at the supreme court, hari sreenivasan, wjz eyewitness news. >> and maryland senator ben cardin sits on the judiciary economy and will have a chance to question judge sotomayor. just moments ago sotomayor named the woman he wants to be the next u.s. surgeon general. she is dr. regina benjamin who is well-known through the deep south. this is video from just moments ago as the president was making the announcement. the president says she will be a fierce advocate for patients' rights. the nomination still requires approval from congress. outraged lawmakers are pressing for answers today into exactly what former vice president dick cheney told the cia. over the weekend, several prominent newspapers reported cheney ordered the agency not to tell congress about a secret program. the "the wall steet journal" now reports the program was secret plan to kill or capture al qaeda operatives, but the paper reports the program never

became fully operational. leading lawmakers are suggesting that cheney broke the law. will the fifth time be the charm for space shuttle endeavour. nasa hopes to. technical problems and stormy weather has delayed the takeoff. there is 60% chance that storms will move in and delay the launch once again. no bad storms in our area or any time soon, we hope. a live look outside, you can see we have lots of clouds, but they are outside. blue skies as well. the important thing is it remains pretty comfortable. eyewitness news is live with complete first warning forecast. marty is in the outback. >> a few clouds. i am reaching for the spf, that's for sure. >> good ... i think. bernadette woods in the first warning weather center. >> hello, don and everybody. first warning, nothing going on. the front that moved through over the weekend is down to the south where we are seeing more showers and thunderstorms and

that is where they are going to remain. i wouldn't be surprised if something isolated popped up on the eastern shore this afternoon, but very isolated. overall the main trend for the next couple of days that the comfortable weather will continue. for more on what will happen later later in the week is marty. i want to you go whoo! and be surprised because a couple of deer snapped their head up -- can you give it to me one more time. [ laughter ] good afternoon, everybody. let's go ahead and jump into a graphic. comfortable out here right now, but believe it or not, in a first time in a long time, we see a bit of a heat bump off to the south and east. i wouldn't be surprised if you see humidity go up and temperatures approach 90, but only for a couple of days. believe it or not, as you move into the weekend you get comfortable again. meteorologist bernadette woods with those details coming up shortly. now throw it back inside. >> i am not sure who scared the deer, him or bern. marshmallow peeps are not

just for easter anymore. the first-ever peeps store will open right here in maryland. at the national harbor in oxen hill. they will sell peeps-inspired items touch as t-shirts, peeps pillows and the yummy peeps themselves will be sold too. >> they are way too sweet for me. do you like them? >> i dream of them all year and i have half a one and it is too sweet. >> what color? >> yellow. >> i know they all taste the same, but i go for the pink. >> they are for all seasons. still to come on eyewitness news at noon, a caring couple murdered. police release a motive in a case that has shocked the nation. a grave problem. investigators are back at a illinois cemetery trying to determine why workers dug up bodies in the name of profit. another live look at the sky conditions outside from sky chopper 13. stick around, your complete first warning weather forecast is still coming up.

we are learning more about the murder of a florida couple known for adopting children with developmental disabilities. police arrested two men and they are due in court on murder

charges. they originally went in to rob the home hand no prior relationship with the family. the couple had 16 children, 126 them adopted. investigators are beginning to comb through a cemetery outside of chicago after hundreds of graves are dug up there. police say four workers at the historically african-american graveyard dug up old graves and resold the plots. a pile of remains was found at the edge of the cemetery. 300 of the 1,000 graves have been dug up. a quiet maryland community is shattered by a teenager's death. police blame gang violence for the death of christopher jones. a major wake-up call for crofton in anne arundel county. here is preview of what you will see tonight on eyewitness news. police say gang members cornered christopher on his bike. they beat him and he died trying to get away. >> if they see something that is going on in the neighborhood, don't just drive by because you will be late for your nail appointment. stop and get involved because you can save somebody's life. >> reporter: a month before the deadly attack, christopher's

parents pulled him out of anne arundel high school, fearing he was in a dispute between two rival gangs that he did not belong to. >> reporter: did you know your son was in danger and that he was being bullied at the school? >> that is why we pulled him from the school. his administrators told us his life was in danger. >> you can watch my report tonight at 11:00. still ahead on eyewitness news at noon, as you take another look outside, please stick around, your complete first warning forecast just two and a half minutes away.

welcome back, everybody. here is how we are warming up today. already up to 8 to degrees outside. 82 down in the ocean. hanging out to 70s in the mountains, and the dew points are still very comfortable down in the 50s. the winds have been light today and will continue to be light and they will be all over the place pretty much because of high pressure on top of us. this high that will dominate the forecast for most of us and keep the storm off to the south. and you notice some clouds mixing in during the overnight, but mainly off to the south right now and could see a couple of showers scoot their way up to the beaches here. southern beaches because of that front off to the south. you get a belter view of it on this larger picture. -- a better view of it on this larger picture, the low off to the east and then off to the northeast but generally staying away from us. tonight into tomorrow morning, the slight chance for a couple of showers the farther south

you go. the rest of us will be pretty quiet and pretty comfortable out there. high pressure is bringing us that comfortable weather tampa it gets out of here on wednesday, and when that happens, temperatures will start building up, and also with the warmer air comes higher humidity and a chance of a couple of thunderstorms wednesday night into thursdays that next front crosses the area. for the forecast, it looks like for today we are going up to 87 degrees. but with low humidity, and that slight chance later today the farther south you go and on the eastern shore there is just the slightest chance of a shower or thundershower. comfortable overnight. tomorrow, mostly sunny, continued low humidity and we will start to see heat and humidity later in the week. we will have that five-day coming up in a bit here. >> we won't know what to do with ourselves with the humidity. >> seriously the july weather. still ahead on eyewitness news at noon. gearing up for a fight, the federal government takes action to protect americans from the swine flu. >> wjz 13 is always on. the top stories on wjz.com right now. for instant updates on all of the day's news and updated first warning weather forecast,

. we are following some breaking news in randallstown where baltimore county police have been called in on a suspicious package. sky eye chopper 13. captain mike perry. what do you have? >> hello, don. the 3900 block of deer run circle in the franklin precinct of baltimore county west of liberty road where baltimore county police were called around 11:30 this morning for a

destruction of property to an automobile. apparently a woman went to her car and as she was surveying the damage to her vehicle, she saw a suspicious electronic device inside. at that point she called baltimore county police. they have come and officers have evacuated a portion of the neighborhood and called the bomb squad. we will stay on the scene and keep you updated throughout the afternoon. back to you. >> captain mike perry live over randallstown in baltimore county right now. in health watch, the federal government is gearing up for a fight against the h1n1 flu. lawmakers are expected to approve another $1 billion to buy components for a h1n1 vaccine, the news comes as new projections show the virus will hit the nation -- the nation hard. a study commissioned by the pentagon recommends a complete ban on tobacco for anyone in uniform, including combat troops, the defense department is studying the report and has

not yet decided whether or not to follow the recommendations. lots of reasons to check back in to eyewitness news at four, five and six. sally is back in the newsroom. >> was michael jackson murdered. the latest allegations, this time from one of his sisters. the controversy in pennsylvania where a group of children were barred from the club some say because of their race. join us for these stories and all the breaking news at 4:00 after dr. phil. don and mary. >> thank you very much. stay with us the five-day

welcome back, everybody. a beautiful shot right now. more will happen over the next few days, marty in the outback. >> let's take a look at the numbers. earlier we had mentioned that midweek we were going to indeed see a warm-up. there is that 89 and 898 wednesday and thursday and i got to be honest could be 90 degrees both day. a wind shift moves some heat and humidity out here and sets us up for another gorgeous weekend with sunshine. temperatures back in the mid- 80s. now back inside. >> thank you very much. >> unbelievable. it is monday so another "csi" night on cbs. another episode of "csi miami" today by eyewitness news at 11. that's our report. thank you for watching eyewitness news on wjz 13, maryland's news station. i am mary bubala. >> don scott. >> for marty bass, i am bernadette woods. have a great day, everybody. see you back here at 4, 5 and

6. >> enjoy that weather. >> yeah. ♪ [ music ]