for weeks. but in maryland, there are virtually no laws concerning the reporting of disposing of bodies if someone dies outside of a hospital. eyewitness news is live where her autopsy is under way. mike hellgren has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: sally, it's true that if miss cook died of natural causes, no crime was committed. it's not illegal to put her body up in a freezer. but some believe the law should change. >> reporter: 83-year-old doris cook called the country club apartments in glen burnie home, until her death a few weeks ago. police say at that time, for unknown reasons, family members decided to put her body in the freezer. but when her grandson found out, he called police. >> i'm not going to cover up anything, that would be ridiculous. >> reporter: if they find no foul play, there will likely be no charges. that's because in maryland, there is no penalty for not

reporting a death. exceptions include if the person is under age 1 or if they died in a medical facility. you also don't have to report a death if it was a fetus that was stillborn. that caused controversy back in 2007 and an international media frenzy, which police arrested christy freeman in ocean city, dug up her yard and found four fetuses. autopsies showed they had never been alive. so charge were dropped. >> the community has been extremely supportive. and i just wanted to say thanks for everybody giving me a fair shot. >> reporter: in anne arundel rle county -- they want to work together. >> they point to one case wjz covered in august of 1999. it involved little zaira marshall. her father led police to a grave. authorities say he buried her there months before, after she suffered a seizure and died. under the law, he could not be charged. >> why didn't you come to me?

he said he was so afraid. he didn't want to go to anyone. >> reporter: in the freezer case, the woman's grandson said he doesn't want to speculate on why they placed her body is there. >> right now, the family is trying to pull together and figure everything out. >> reporter: police say ms. cook was bed ridden and suffered from many medical problems. reporting live, mike hellgren. anne arundel county police are asking anyone with information about cook's case to contact them. updating the breaking news. right now, baltimore city police are investigating a homicide. it's on east 30th street in the alameda. that's where an adult male was shot in the head. there are no suspects or motives at this time. no more delays. a judge refuses to push back the trial for washington, d.c. mother accuse of killing her father courts. -- daughters. >> police found the bodies of

35-year-old banita jacks' four daughters inside her home in 2008. the abouts were discovered when marshals went to her home to evict her. authorities believe she had been living with the decomposing bodies for several months. one of the girls had been stabbed, arth another two strangled and beat -- another two strangled and beaten. >> reporter: jacks has requested a bench trial, so there will be no jury. around 9:00 last night, anne arundel medical center officials asked police to go to the home and ask for wife. police say they told them to leave. the man shot is being treated at shock trauma for nonlife- threatening injuries. a downtown courthouse is open. around 9:00 this morning, everybody had to be evacuated from the courthouse east on

calvert street. turns out low levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the building. hazmat team found it was coming from a forklift inside the garage. bge customers may get a reprieve when it comes to the high energy bills. eyewitness news is live. jessica kartalija explains, you have to buy into the program before you will see any changes on your statement. jessica? >> that's exactly right. it all sounds great. bge wants to help us save money. first, we would need to start paying into the program in 2010. and we may not see any money coming back to us until 2012. bge now says they have a solution for those sky-high energy bills. >> bge plans to install or upgrade more than 2 million smart gas and electric meters for every home and business in our service territory. >> reporter: the meters will allow bge to record energy usage on an hourly basis. during peak period, bge would notify customers to scale back

consumption. meters would also let bge know when there is a power outage. >> the most important benefit is lowering the energy bill. it is expected to yield more than $2.6 billion in savings over the life of the project. >> reporter: bge says they'll install these smart meters throughout our home for free. here's the catch. we're all going to have to pay a surcharge fee. and we won't actually see any major changes to our bill until 2012. doesn't make any sense to me. i feel like they need to give us a break now. >> we have to pay for it? i don't understand. >> reporter: for the first year, electric only customers pay an additional 38 cents a month. gas customers pay 44ent -- 44 cents. when your monthly bill starts to go down, your surcharge goes up. the company will apply for a

$200 million federal grant to help pay for the smart grid initiative. >> and bge has a pilot program that yielded a 37% decline in overall monthly bills. in baltimore city, i'm jessica kartalija, wjz eyewitness news. >> thank you, jessica. bge hopes to have the meters in place by the end of this year. the road to the supreme court begins with confirmation hearings of sonia sotomayor kick into gear. and even though they were concerned about president obama's pick, her path to the bench appears to be relatively smooth. hari sreenivasan has the latest for wjz. >> so help you god. >> i do. >> reporter: judge sonia sotomayor promised senators if she's confirmed to the supreme court, law will drive her decisions, not emotions. >> my personal and professional experiences help me to listen

and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case. >> reporter: in the first day of her confirmation hearings, lawmakers on both sides, laid out the lines of questioning they plan to follow when they grilled the first hispanic nominated to seven on the high court. >> she appears to believe that her role is not constrained to objectively decide who wins based on the weight of the law, but rather who in her personal opinion should win. in case after case, she rolls up her sleeves, learns the facts, applies the law to the facts, and comes to a decision, irrespective of her inclinations or personal experience. >> reporter: democrats hold the majority. so sotomayor's path to the supreme court will be relatively smooth. >> nlsz you have -- unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to be confirmed. >> reporter: she is not expected to shift the balance of opinion on controversial issues like abortion rights or affirmative action. >> reporter: but the nominee will certainly be asked about

her remark approximate about wise latinas making good judges. she ruled against a group of white firefighters. the high court found they were discriminated against based on race. lawmakers will directly question sotomayor tuesday. coming up new tonight at 5:30, we talked to leaders in baltimore's latin community on what it means to them for sonia sotomayor to become the first latin american woman on the supreme court. here's a live look owz. outside. can we expect the weather to continue like this? meteorologist bernadette woods and bob turk have the updated numbers. >> some of those clouds have produced widely scattered showers and thundershowers. there you see, about three or four of them out there. the first, east of the city now, approaching you folks, just north of chest tertown. -- chestertown. another little batch.

this is stronger south of saint michael's. it's moving off to the east right now. you folks down there, they see that storm. there you go, headed right for trappa. route 50. another batch around central delaware. probably looks like it will stay that way. we have pretty clear skies. and rather dry conditions. speaking of dry conditions. it has been extremely dry the last couple weeks. despite all of the rain we saw earlier this year. bernadette has updated numbers. we started out so dry. then got so incredibly wet. we want to update you on the numbers now. as we've taken you through june, we've rounded out the month, nearly four inches above for the year on our rainfall total. but as we have moved into july now, some of the numbers are starting to change a little bit here. we're already over an inch down for our numbers on the month alone. still puts us at 3 inches above on the year. but we have had a dry streak here. and i think most of us have

enjoyed it so far, after all of the rain we have been dealing with. we want to keep you updated as we head through the season. nasa hopes the fifth time is the charm for the launch at the space shuttle center. here's a look where endeavour is set to blast off. in the past month, it's been delayed because of hydrogen leaks and bad weather. drew levinson has the latest now on wjz on the shuttle's mission. the shuttle endeavour is fueled and ready to go again. it was set to launch a month ago, but was twice scrubbed because of hydrogen leaks. it was delayed saturday to make sure all electrical systems were working, after lightning struck the launch pad. and storms around the pad and in an emergency landing site, once again forced nasa to call off sunday's attempt. this trip to the international space station may be a science mission. but this is a construction job. >> we are crane operators. we're construction workers.

we're going to replace -- elements of the station. install new elements on the station. >> reporter: their biggest chore is adding another major piece to the giant japanese kebo space lab. >> the station recently doubled in size to 6. so it may get a little crowded up there. it's like a big family, already living in space. and seven relatives now coming for a short visit. >> it will be the first time there have ever been 13 people living on the space station. for nasa, it's a real test for its life support systems. they'll try out the recycler that converts urine to drinking water. out of the more than 120, this is considered the most ambitious. >> i will not argue with you at all. it's an extremely challenging, complex mission. >> reporter: nasa hopes to complete the station by next year. at the kennedy space center, drew levinson, wjz eyewitness news. >> stay with eyewitness news tonight. wjz 13 will bring you the

launch of the space shuttle endeavour, as it happens, if it happens at 6:51. couple slain. three men are in custody. after the parents of the 16 are killed inside their home. the motive behind their murders. making medical history. japan overturns a ban that could change lives across the country. coming up, controversy over oyster shells. that story as eyewitness news continues. sunny and warm temps are here to stay. or are they? the updated forecast with bob.

tonight, three men are kemind bars in the shooting death of a wethy couple. robbery may be the motivation. but police are also looking

into other reasons. tips from the public led police to this man. and three men wanted in the murder of a wealthy florida couple. bill and melanie billings were shot in their home near pensacola wednesday. an arrest warrant. they both face murder charges and will appear in court tomorrow. gonzalez' father, leonard gonzalez senior will appear in court today on charges of evidence tampering. police say the 56-year-old tried to paint over the red van spotted on surveillance video, leaving the billings home. police say more arrests are possible and are looking into multiple motives. we have a sort of tie with this family through a business relationship. but to state that the participants in this crime knew the billings' family, we cannot confirm that. >> reporter: gonzalez senior

told investigators he was the getaway driver, and that several other men were involved in the break-in. the billings had extensive surveillance in their house. after the procedure. they each had two children from a previous marriage. and they adopted 12 children with developmental disabilities. >> they opened their home and their fortune to children with special needs. >> reporter: police interviewed eight of the children who were home homeand sleeping when their parents were shot. they're now staying with relatives. >> burt and melab -- melanie billings owned several companies, including a dealership and a finance company. with the exception of the top side of the beltway, we have to pick up one big one. it's going to be causing this jam on the top side inner loop from 83 to york road. york road is where we have the

accident. the accident is on the inner loop at york road, blocking the lanes. we have a reporter en route. southbound accident at 198. and a vehicle into a pole. crash in pikesville. old court at reisterstown road. five more in and around the city. frank ford at radicky. reisterstown at slade. and a water main break blocking all westbound lanes. there's a live look at the west side. no delays there. try the new subway. big chipotle cheesesteak. piled high with toppings. subway, eat fresh. back over to you. there was a time when shells were being used for money. alex demetrick reports, there is a huge reserve of oyster shells in the bay. but using them to restore native oysters is running into opposition.

oyster shells might not seem worth much empty. but it takes old ones to build new oyster bars. for years, maryland has been doing just that, to give native oysters, ravaged by disease, a chance to grow up in safer water. >> the idea is to get enough oysters in there that the natural reproduction is outpacing the mortality you're getting from disease. >> but even the shells are getting scarce. they are asking to dredge up more. >> this is a major source of oyster shell that is critically needed to help restore the ecological oyster function. >> we don't need to try to maybe create one elsewhere. >> reporter: thousands of maryland fishermen fear dredging will kill off one of the north bay's few oyster reefs. >> there's live oysters there, which create habitat, which creates a place for food.

so you're going to find fish, where there's hab tats. -- habitat. >> reporter: unlike past shell products, all will become oyster sanctuaries. off limits to oyster harvesting. >> we've dredged about 840 million bushels of shell in the last years. we have a population that is at 1% of historic levels. >> reporter: some shells will be set aside for commercial aqua culture. but no more planting for wild harvest. only oyster recovery. if the state can convince. >> the benefits will outweigh the costs. >> reporter: and those opposed say that's too big a risk. alex demetick, -- demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> it could take six months to a year before the state knows if it will be allowed to dredge shells. all right. well, let's see. it's july. it's not really an odd month. take a look at conditions now.

peaceful on the water. 86, light west wind. humidity 33%. very dry. barometer holding steady. come back and take a look at the rest of the week after this.

you see the big, dark clouds to the east of the city. here's a look at radar. there's one thundershower or thunderstorm there, as you might want to call it. another over just to the west of millington there. you see just basically one straight line of showers moving from west to east, pretty much. may get to southersville. also, another cluster to the northwest of downtown cambridge, approaching trapp. that's going to be right toward your region about 15 to 20 miles an hour. moving east to southeast at 15 miles per hour. the rest of the city, probably going to stay quiet. but you folks in the eastern shore are getting some yes, much needed shower activity. and the dry conditions with the sun.

the ground is really drying up rather quickly. take a look at the temperatures. it's a warm afternoon. but once again, it's dry. dew point down to 51. oakland is going to be about 47 degrees by morning. baltimore, suburban areas, 54 to 60 by tomorrow morning. 82 in ocean city. around the baltimore metro. right around the low to mid- 80s. very comfortable with a nice little breeze to the west/northwest. cloud cover, down to the south more. just in the last hour, we've seen these showers pop on up. city on west, it's clear, you can see. to the south of us, a lot of showers in georgia, alabama, mississippi, into the carolinas. for us, lookingup stream, it stays pretty dry. several more days of nice weather. by the end of the week and by thursday, more humidity and probably scattered pop-up showers. temperatures might actually get back up to the upper 80s. some spots might even get to

90s. northwest winds at 5 to 10 knots. tonight, an isolated pop-up shower. 58. tomorrow, sun, dry. a nice warm, july day. high of 86 degrees. watch out. serious sun burn tomorrow. we are following breaking news right now. sky eye chopper 13 is live over an accident in baltimore county. captain mike perry has details for us. mike? >> reporter: we're back in a residential neighborhood, sally, in the 6700 block of richardson road. this is? woodlawn, baltimore county. like i say, a private neighborhood. where apparently a parked vehicle was struck by a moving vehicle. the moving vehicle was overturned. there were several people inside. it is not clear how bad these folks were injured. baltimore county police are also investigating. back to you on tv hill. still ahead at 5:00. michael murdered. the latest claims just weeks after the death of the king of

pop. sonia sotomayor's first hearing to be confirmed on the supreme court. liposuction. it can be done while the patient is still awake.

it is 5:30. 86 degrees. and mostly sunny and dry out there. welcome home, everyone. you made it through monday.

here's what people are talking about tonight. history in washington, d.c. confirmation hearings for judge sonya sonia sotomayor are under way. if confirmed, she will be the first hispanic woman to serve on the supreme court. weijia jiang has more on what this means for baltimore's hispanic community. hi, weijia. >> reporter: hi, sally and everyone. certainly the entire hispanic community is celebrating already. because they say the nomination is extremely exciting in itself. and they say her story represents the american dream. >> reporter: on the corner of light and redwood street in baltimore, they're rooting for sonia sotomayor. >> i think that's awesome. >> reporter: it's not just the judge herself who is excited. it's her story. the american story that lives on every corner in every state. >> she understands what that

means to come from. >> a lot of people, i think, can relate to her. we started from zero in our business. >> reporter: sotomayor, a child of the projects in the bronx, is the country's first hispanic nominee to the supreme court. the grueling confirmation process started on monday. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> reporter: this historic nomination marks the first via a democratic president in 16 years. and only the third woman to ever have this experience. in a presidential year, where change defined everything, locals are ready for even more. >> sign of the times, right? >> you want our public leadersers to look like us. >> reporter: more importantly, to relate this tome. -- relate to them. >> it's been a long time coming. >> more powerful. >> she'll get more done [ laughter ] >> reporter: supporters also say if they peel away the race, gender, background, sotomayor's professional experience is enough to carry her to the bench. >> she certainly deserves the nomination. she is a brilliant attorney, a

brilliant jurist. >> reporter: whether or not that juror becomes a justice, at least this corner is undoubtedly living the dream they share together. >> reporter: and everyone we spoke with today say even though they are hopeful, they realize this is going to be a very tough week ahead. and they are thinking about her and wishing her well. for now, we are live in federal hill, weijia jiang, wjz eyewitness news. >> thank you, weijia. the intense questioning of the hearing starts tomorrow. the price of crude oil takes another fall. and it meanings savings for you at the pump. vic is in the newsroom with more. >> reporter: the price of crude oil dropped more than 10% last week. that's the biggest one-week fall. -- in months. wjz pump watch continues to monitor the average price of gasoline in our area. last month, a gallon of regular cost $2.56. today, the same gallon is at $

-- below $2.50. gas prices are down significantly from a year ago, when the price of regular hit a peak of more than $4 a gallon. charges filed in connection with a three-alarm blaze of a 12-unit apartment. two people were treated for minor injuries. and damages to the building were estimated at about $450,000. michael jackson's sister latoya says she now believes her brother was murdered. ben tracy reports for wjz on the latest in the jackson investigation. >> reporter: was michael jackson murdered for his money? that's what the london tabloids claimed his sister latoya told them. michael's father joe jackson has made similar allegations. >> i suspect foul play smmplet. >> the family can never have closure, it seems to me, until

they know when and what happened. >> reporter: just what jackson was like in his final hours depends on who you talk to. his concert promoters say he was appearing healthy. but tmz reports that he was an anesthesia addict. dr. howard samuels has treated celebrity addicts. >> there are celebrities who will have doctors on their payroll for $30,000 to $50,000 a month. and the doctors will come to your home and given you whatever you want. >> reporter: sheriff's deputies found several bottles of prescription bills at neverland ranch. some carried names of his employees, -- even though they appeared to be jackson's. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. after the los angeles coroner, his family ordered a second, private autopsy on the

singer. a ban on organ transplant. japan passed a law there allowing children under the age of 15 who are declared brain dead to donate their organ. the buddhist belief banned organ donation, especially among children. stay federal health officials are expected to approve another billion dollars to buy ingredients to fight the swine flu. also in healthwatch, there's a new way to lose fat use liposuction. as manuel gallegus reports for wjz, the new treatment uses water jets to break up the fat. after three kids, nicole macarlane started to lose her battle against belly fat. >> after each child, it got worse and worse. once i hit 40, somehow that was the magic number that just changed my body.

>> reporter: to get her body back in shape, she chose a new type of liposuction that utilizes the power of water. >> by using water it's a much gentler procedure. >> reporter: with traditional liposuction, doctors rely on force, pushing back and forth to dislodge fat before sucking it out. with this new machine, dr. gerald pittman says the water pick does the work. >> what this is doing is using water to flush out the fat in a more complete way. >> reporter: doctors say there is less bruising and swelling with this new approach and that usually means a shorter recovery time. >> reporter: other methods like laser lipo promise to break up fat in a unique way. but dr. pittman prefers a water jet because it delivers anesthesia directly, allowing the patient to stay awake during the procedure. >> i use it. it's very efficient. shortens the procedure. the results are, they heal more

quickly. >> mcarlane said she started seeing the results right away. >> i couldn't ask for anything better. i feel fabulous. and i would do it again in a heartbeat. >> reporter: the new machine is gaining popularity. but experts say the real key to successful liposuction is making sure you're in the hands of an experienced surgeon. in los angeles, manuel gallegus, wjz eyewitness news. nearly 250,000 americans oopted to get li-- opted to get liposuction last year. trash will now be picked up just once a week, instead of twice weekly. recycling will also be picked up once a week. change went into effect today, in the first trash pickup tomorrow. time now for a quick look at some of the stories you'll find in the baltimore sun. parents of towson catholic students are trying to raise funds and may seek an injunction to keep the school open. will the turmoil in the stock market be a good thing for investors?

and is harry potter and the half blood prince worth the wait? for all of these stories and more, read the baltimore sun. all around london, 30 pianos stood out in the open, inviting people to play them. as sheila mcvicker reports for wjz, they're part of a public arts project that proved to be a hit. >> reporter: four magic words in london this summer. "play me, i'm yours." and guess what. ♪ [ music ] that and 30 street corner pianos are what it takes for the brits to break that stiff upper lip. it's an experiment in urban art. music to break the boundaries of busy city living. and the organizers hope to start a new dialogue. >> it's very easy to start a conversation about a piano. what's that doing there? i don't know. it makes a lovely change from just talking about the weather. >> reporter: and london's famously rainy weather is a challenge. but in the three weeks of

pianos that sat outside museums, in shopping malls and under railway bridges, not one has been vandalized, and all have been played. ♪ [ music ] >> what you need in a credit crunch. you need everybody to realize that the pleasures of life are free. the real pleasures of life are free. one of the things about this is you never know what they will play. maybe just plain old touch it. >> reporter: turns out that london is full of frustrated pianists of all ages, desperate to tickle the ivories, raise the opinions of passerby -- passersby. >> it's quite humbling to watch the piano sort of come alive. >> as they say here, brilliant.

sheila mcvickers, cbs news, london. >> organizers also took the piano project to brazil and australia, where they proved to be equally popular. still ahead on eyewitness news. the search is on. an 11-year-old girl vanishes in california. the latest on the investigation into her mysterious disappearance. push to extremes. what boston zoo may be forced to do in this poor economy. i'm bob turk in the first warning weather center. more nice, july weather headed this way. first, here's today's report from wall street.

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nice looking thunderstorm there. and i'll show you where that is there. right there, over chestertown. beautiful shot there. chestertown. north of southersville. another to the south, from cambridge to crap, out there

south of st. michael's. some folks on the eastern shore, as you can see, are getting these. you folks over there, getting much-needed rain since it's been so dry, the first couple of weeks and months in this first week of july. bernadette has more coming up. >> chances are tonight will be a cool one. we get down into the 50s. upper 50s to low 60s. as we head through the afternoon, warming it up into the mid-80s. sunshine, just a few clouds out there. and the continued low humidity as we head through the evening hours. for the west of the five-day, here's bob. 86 tomorrow. 58 tomorrow. wednesday, 89. pretty warm. humidity comes back. maybe a thundershower. 88 on thursday. drying out again. 85 on friday. and 85 on saturday. no extremes in temperature or humidity really. kai? >> all right, bob.

that's good. flash floods in thailand leave thousands of people cut off from the outside world. it caused many of the roads to be under water. warnings have also been issued for mudslides around many of the tourist attractions. six people are crushed by a new delhi train. take a look at this. a television news camera captured the cranes collapsing. the truck was mounted -- as the truck it was mounted on buckled under the weight of the crane. the people who became trapped suffered only minor injuries. an 11-year-old girl from washington state remains missing after more than two weeks. julie chen reports,. >> reporter: they spent the weekend handing out flyers at a festival, hoping to spark leads

on the whereabouts of lindsay. june 26th, authorities have turned up few leads. >> we're really appealing for the public to help us get in the right direction. >> reporter: lindsay's parents marked her 11t birthday on july 7th, with an appeal for her safe return. >> scott's father, set to deploy to iraq soon. adding emergency and urgency to the situation. >> please, bring me my daughter home before i have to leave. >> reporter: the case has shocked those within the small town of mccleary, with a population of less than 2,000 people. >> this is a small town. these things just don't happen. smalltowns. and yet here they are. lindsay's father is a member of the tennessee national guard. authorities originally thought she may have been running away to live with her dad. daly's vacation home in southwestern michigan. the officer held the inmate at

gunpoint. he recognized him as one of three convicts. animals at a baltimore zoo may lose their lives because of the economy. according to zoo officials, more than 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if they don't receive more state funding. funds were recently cut from more than 6 million dollars to 2 1/2 million dollars. the zoo says it will attempt to find homes for all of the animals if it's forced to close. wjz and the baltimore sun would like to help everyone doing -- during these tough economic times. here's mary bubala with one way that you can ride out the recession. baltimore city has launched the first ever discount card program to help people cope with the high price of prescription drugs. it offers residents an average saving of 20% off the retail price of medicine. it can be used by all

residents, regardless of age, engine -- age income or healthcare coverage. you can call this number to get more information about abtoining the -- obtaining more information. i'm mary bubala, wjz 13, trying to help you ride out the recession. for more recession tips, go to wjz.com and click on our special section on the home page. and check out tomorrow's baltimore sun. check in with eyewitness news at 6:00. denise is standing by live with a preview. cell phones behind bars. it's a dangerous combination. new at 6:00, how a group of lawmakers plan to work together on this issue. top secret intelligence program. former vice president dick cheney under fire for what he did not tell congress. check in for these stories and all the day's breaking news. a new hospital in indiana

opens, and it's unlike any other. therethe renovo orthopedic center in shelbyville operates entirely on wind power. the hospital also installed hundreds of windows to utilize natural light during the day. if there isn't enough wind, the hospital has enough backup electricity generated. a popular marshmallow treat. >> fans of peeps will now have an entire store devoted to the pastel products. >> it will be open in november at the national harbor. the first peeps store will not just sell candy, but also peeps. t-shirts, pillows and pens. the store came as a surprise because no one heard of -- heard a peep about it. i didn't write that. >> no, you didn't. >> i don't like those. sorry, children. i'm just not a marshmallow kind

of guy. >> i don't think you're their target demo. just a feeling. this is mark viviano. the orioles hit the midpoint of the season, feeling good after just a couple of wins. i'll talk to the team about how they stand. and a manager is sent packing. i'll have details when eyewitness news continues.

mark here with actual news about the ravens. >> you have to wonder if the experience is factored into the news that he shares with us today. two weeks from the start of ravens' training camp, their top wide receiver has announced his retirement. derrick mason springs the surprise news through the website, jock life.com. mason played four seasons with the ravens and is one of the top team catchers in league history. he stated he wanted a new deal with the ravens. but that passenger is not

matter now. he was quoted as saying, after 12 seasons, i've seen it and done it all. right now, i'm content with the decision i'm making. all-star week is a time for the baseball teams to take a break. but for the nationals, it's time for them to fire their manager. he gets the boot amidst the nightmare season that has the nationals with 21 wins, 61 defeats last place in the n.l. east. gives way to jim riggleman. o's manager dave trembley, feeling better about his job and his team. taking two of three from toronto. brad burgeson. hope from his fly center. a possible home run. another look plays like this. above his reputation in just a second.

o's also got a boost. o's win, feeling okay. everybody goes into the break positive. you know, we have challenges ahead of us, obviously. but if our pitching shields up and we can get production out of those guys we steel feel should be hitting, i think we'll be doing good. we finished the first half with a win. take a of days, get out of baseball and come out friday and start the second half. while jones is is the lone oriole. still experiencing games like this. hail failed to throw the ball in the second base. more on the surprise announcement. derrick mason of the ravens announces his retirement coming up next hour. >> no question in your mind.

future hall-of-famer. >> i don't know about that. but certainly one of the best ravens of all times. still to come tonight on wjz eyewitness news. i'm jessica kartalija. bge wants to put one of these at your home. it's called a smart meter. and they say it will save all of us quite a bit of cash. but how does it work and who

coming up now at 6:00. a new system to help you save money. how much you will have to pay out before you see any saving. a follow-up to a story we first brought you on wjz. an elderly woman's body found in a freezer. police say the family put it there. but what does the law say when it comes to disposing of dead bodies? complete coverage straight ahead. historic confirmation hearings. judge sonia sotomayor listens to some concerns. stick around for the updated first warning forecast. check in for these stories and allidate's breaking news. >> eyewitness news at 6:00 starts right now.