no apologies. the police officer at the center of a controversial arrest defends himself for the first time. hours after the president weighs in on the debate. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly. >> the apology won't come from me. i've done nothing wrong. >> complete coverage of what happened the night of the, a why the machine arrested wants an apology, and why the officer says he will never get one. >> hello, i'm vic carter. >> i'm denise koch. here's what people are talking about. the talk of the day is about the arrest of a prominent black harvard professor. tonight eyewitness news takes a closer look at the issue with reaction from a johns hopkins professor while the officer of the center of it all breaks his silence. in the front yard of his cambridge, mass which you says home sergeant james crowley appears calm, professional and

silent about his arrest of professor gates. earlier he was talking about tint saying it was gates who was irrational to police. >> there was references to my mother, something you wouldn't expect from anybody. >> the blowup happened when a passerby thought gates was breaking into the house. gates lives there and was wrestling with a stuck door. he was ordered to go outside. he refused, argued with police and was arrested. president obama, a friends of gates, commented. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> to that officer crowley said that. >> i think he's way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts. >> dr. gates is asking for an apology. >> it was the fault of the policeman who couldn't stand a black man standing up for his rights in his face.

>> the apology won't come from me. i've done nothing wrong. >> across the country this i want has been heavily debated. >> i understand police have a very difficult job to do, but the members of the police department, once they realize that gates was in his -- that he actually owned the home they were investigating, they should have been able to let cooler heads prevail is even if gates acted a fool. >> he also says gates' experience is not unlike that with african-american men experience every day. >> ironically officer crowley teaches a course to police officers on how to avoid racial profiling. tonight the coast guard is suspending its search for teaching for the 13-year-old maryland boy missing in the ocean at myrtle beach. this afternoon today witnesses say the boy went underwater and never came back up. a massive search by air and water was launched. at this point the coast guard says they are switching from rescue to recovery mode. we know the boy is from maryland and in south carolina for a baseball tournament.

his name has not been released. that area of myrtle beach has been experiencing rough surf in recent days. strong thunderstorms are creeping into the region. let's go straight to bob turk in the first warning weather center with a live look at radar. >> we've got a bunch of showers and heavy storms from york county, redding, all the way down to the washington area moving right for central maryland, a batch just to the west of crofton, affecting folks near easton, and flooding in southern york county, westminster, even western howard county, taylorsville, finksburg getting showers, moving right through the baltimore region. we do expect this to be in our area the next two hours with some possible heavy, heavy downpours. after that things should quiet down overnight. >> thanks, bob. a threat to an airport put a baltimore county man in trouble with the law. now the maryland transportation authority admits it was wrong. tonight the final cleared wrong says stories like his could

happen to anyone. eyewitness news is live. that man, george spying, spoke exclusively to kelly mcpherson. >> reporter: it's been years for this man fighting with the mdta dealing with depression and tough finances, and tonight he finally gets an apology that he says is long overdue. a bomb threat e-mailed to bwi airport in october 2006 changed this baltimore county jazz composer's life forever, starting with wrongful arrest. >> the lead guy says, you can make this either hard or easy on yourself. did you send bomb threats to the airport? and i said, i don't know what you're talking about. >> reporter: hours later the mdta announced they had found their guy. >> it's extremely serious. it takes resources away from what we should be doing, which is protecting the airport. >> reporter: he says he learned two weeks after the threats at the airport that he was cleared of all charges, but it took until now, two-and-a-half years later, for the mdta to

apologize. he says he still hasn't received his settlement money. >> there's a difference between an honest mistake, which happens sometimes with the police, as opposed to a malicious, you know, prosecution. >> reporter: and you think this is malicious? >> oh, it had had to be, it had had to be. >> reporter: his lawyer says discovery showed the e-mail threat came in at 7:05 a.m. by 9:05, mdta knew the threat came from italy, 20 miles from the vatican, but at 3:00, his arrest was announced, and at 4:00, she says the search warrant was finally issued. for a professional musician, it's been tough working with an arrest on the internet never disputed until now. >> the finances have gone -- i've just been hanging in there. i've had had friends lone me money to help me get through. >> reporter: he believes he was linked to the threatening e- mail through his name on a forum. george/the other, where he

quoted the writer george orwell. mdta would not go on camera to answer what went wrong. they simply say the agency regrets any damage done. >> don't give up the fight. as depressing and hopeless as it seems sometimes. >> reporter: spicka has testified in front of the state legislature along with other people who have been wrongfully accused. he says the only way to resolve this is to clean out the police force with the mdta. reporting live outside, now back to you indoors. >> kelly, thank you. srksz picka and the -- spicka and the mdta settled earlier this year for an undisclosed amount. threes say they were robbing the neighborhood blind. a 41-year-old and his wife are under arrest charged with multiple burglar ree.s the burglaries date back to october of last year and include homes

in westminster, sykesville, finksburg, woodbine, and mount airy. if you were among the victims call police. they may have your property. a baltimore city police officer is object administrative leave after opening fire on a robbery suspect while off-duty. police say the officer shot the man after he and two others tried to rob him in south baltimore. the wounded suspect was treated at a hospital. a second suspect was arrested. the third remains on the loose. a major set-back. congressional leaders tell president obama they will not be voting on a healthcare package by his august deadline, but the president still took to the road to campaign for his overhaul plan. this afternoon he was in cleveland, ohio. the president says he's okay with waiting on healthcare votes as long as congress passes a measure by the end of the year. for the first time in six months the dow jones closed above 9,000. today's surge was driven by better than expected news from the housing mark. the gains continue a rally

that's driven the stock market up 44% since march. here are the closing numbers. the dow closed at 9069, the s & p also up to finish at 976. the nasdaq closed at 1974. the government is giving you cash for your clunker. that's right, the feds have $1 billion, and they're willing to give you a piece of it if you trained your old car for a new fuel efficient one. eyewitness news is live in the newsroom and kai jackson explains. >> reporter: cash for clunkers is designed to help drivers and car dealerships but some say there are still kinks to work out of the plan. the u.s. economy has been struggling, and americans are feeling it. now there may bea silver lining or even a rainbow amidst the clouds of money woes. >> i think whatever they need to do to sometime you arthritis economy, great. >> reporter: meet the government program called cash for clunkers. it gives drivers money to buy new vehicles and struggling dealerships, theoretically,

would make sales. >> in a nutshell, it's a government initiative where they want to take the gas guzzlers off the street and replace them with eco-friendly vehicles that give better gas mileage and share. >> reporter: the government will give you a rebate from $3500 to $4500. you have to buy from july 1st to november 1st. some are concerned, like the mortgage crietsz that buyers may default on loans. >> the fed giving that money, not able to make the car payments, it's okay, but if you cannot deal with the car payments, there's no need for. that. >> reporter: the cash for clunkers program has certain criteria that buyers to have meet. and there's a limited supply of government money funding it. the clunkers must have been built after 1984 and get less than 18 miles per gallon. the new car has to get four miles per gallon more than the old one and must be owned for a year. >> all we have to do is follow the details of the program, and the consumer will get their

full benefit. >> reporter: critics, including many dealers, say the program will generate too few sales and that the criteria to call tie is too narrow. >> thank you, kai. details on which vehicles qualify and participating dealers should be posted tomorrow. wjz is always on. you can find a link on our website, wjz.com. bob was over there taking notes on that. $4500. >> he's got some clunkers. >> late breaking news in the michael jackson probe. what police are saying about his doctor. an amazing rescue caught on tape. james becker is a far different young man today than before he nearly drowned in a pool. his family has now filed a $40 million lawsuit. i'm mike hellgren what. they're doing to make sure every child is safe in the water. more locally heavy showers possible. i'm bob turk. i'll have the complete first warning forecast coming up next.

it's 73 degrees with some showers and storms in central maryland. the complete first warning forecast is coming up, but first breaking news. there has been a helicopter crash in the middle of interstate 70. it happened just about an hour ago in washington county just west of the frederick county line. state police tell us the helicopter hit a set of power lines and then crashed.

we do know that one person is dead. i-70 is shut down at this hour. we want to emphasize this is a private helicopter that crashed. we'll continue to follow this story and bring you more information as it becomes available. well, there was chaos on a california highway leading to an incredible rescue. a young girl is trapped inside this burning vehicle but watch as this good samaritan jumps into action, pulls the girl to say. three people, including a child, were able to get out on their own. new details in the manslaughter investigation into the death of michael jackson. dr. conrad murray is now the target of the probe according to court documents. federal agents seized items from murray's houston clinic and also a storage space he rented in the city. among the items that were a weight loss drug, a muscle relaxant, and two hard drives. the cardiologist was in jackson's mansion on june 25th and tried unsuccessfully to revive him. the los angeles coroner's office expects to have a

completed toxicology report sometime in the next seven days. three mayors, several rabbis, and two state lawmakers are among the 44 people rounded up in a huge fbi bust in new jersey today. the rabbis, as well as the mayors of both hoboken and seacaucus were marched in front of television cameras. the charges include money laundering, bribery, even sale of a human kidney. james becker nearly drowned in a pool three years ago and his parents think it was preventible. >> reporter: james becker can't walk. he's trapped in his own body, and it all happened within minutes after a day at the pool and parkville turned into a nightmare. >> when he was pulled out of the water there was no heartbeat, he wasn't breathing,

nothing. he was dead. >> reporter: his family has filed suit against drd pool management saying they did not properly monitor the pool, that lifeguards were not properly trained, and there was no automated external defibrillator. >> all the complications are a result of they didn't get his heart started for 15 to 20 minutes. >> in a properly equipped pool accidents like this should never ever happen. >> reporter: bill carrier represents pool management and denies that what happened to james was because of their anything he will generals. >> a 15-year-old boy who was underneath one of the lifeguard clarence, the lifeguard was watching him, had a heart attack in the pool. immediately pulled the kid out of the pool, and started cpr. he did survive. in fact, you can make a strong argumenting that they saved his life. >> reporter: this is james before the near drowning. his family says the millions they're asking for will go toward his expensive long-term medical care. >> you can imagine being inside, not being able to

express yourself to. live like that just tears you up. >> reporter: as wjz first reported in an investigation, james' family is fighting for new state laws that would mandate more lifeguards for large public pools and require defibrillators at every one. >> we do not want another family to go through what we've gone through. >> reporter: drb management's lawyers says it's unclear whether a defibrillator would have made any difference in his condition, and that's something that his family does not agree with. mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> the beckers' attorney is prepared for a long legal battle. he says it could be more than a year before this case goes to trial. a final farewell for a legendary cbs anchorman walter cronkite. the service was held at st. bartholomew's church in manhattan. mike ashford of annapolis accompanied cronkite on several

sailing trips. he spoke to eyewitness news about the passing of his friend. >> i'll never have that kind of exciting life. walter said, i want you to know i think of you as the brother i never had. i think i'm lucky. >> a memorial is scheduled for next month at the lincoln center for the performing arts in new york. what's miami got that maryland doesn't? apparently nothing a self- respecting manatee wants. he has been spotted again. this video was taken in the sues we susquehanna river near havre de grace. manatees die if they don't return to warmer waters in the fall. >> since he's -- since she's been back several times -- >> she does come and go. take a look at radar. we've got a whole batch of stuff coming in the region,

right now from southern pa, all the way down to southern maryland. some very heavy downpours and lightning and thunder and some gusty winds to 30, 40 miles per hour. you can see some heavy downpours between now and about 12:30 across the baltimore region, and over the eastern shore, a few more hours, you will see this stuff, unless it dies out, but it's been holding town from southern p.a., now it's east of d.c. and moving off to the east around 20 miles per hour. flood warnings still going on up in york county until 1:45 in the morning. they've had had a lot of small stream flooding up there and some road closures. be very careful if you're heading up to the york county area. in our local area obviously some of these showers are producing half inch or inch of reign 45 minutes to an hour so there could be some heavy downpours. watch out for puddling. let's take a look at temperatures. 73 here, 77 ocean city. 65 in oakland now. they had the rain earlier. 70 dew point.

very, very moist air mass. that's why we're getting these very heavy showers moving through the region. 69 in bel air, showers very shortly there. 70, rain heavy in the westminster, this afternoon and morning had a bunch of showers move through the region. downtown picked up an inch and a half of rain. that was common north of the city. south of the city not nearly that much. right now here's what we're looking at. one more big batch of rain, then quiet. once this moves through we'll probably just moist, maybe not heavy showers, maybe just a few widely scattered showers. tomorrow, out to the west, still a few showers popping up across the midwest and great lakes. so we do after chance, although we'll have a bit of a west wind tomorrow, it should dry things out, maybe enough to give us a widely scattered isolated shower. on the other hand, it's going to get warmer over the weekend and should dry out for saturday, then sunday, another trough of low pressure or front coming through. stays in the warm side but another chance of scattered

showers on sunday afternoon. northwest winds 5 to 10 knots, bay temperature around 78. overnight, some showers and storms and some heavy rain, low of 66, then tomorrow some sun, some clouds, and maybe another thundershower, and still humid, 86 degrees. tomorrow and the weekend, a little warmer, maybe near 90 on saturday, 88 sunday, monday, and tuesday, widely scattered showers for each of those days into next week and still on the rather humid side. denise. >> thank you, bob. coming up, baltimore and the united states put their best foot for word on the soccer field. >> mark has more coming up next

a lot of strangers in town tomorrow. >> to travel the world or just let the world come here, which will be the case. charm city becomes soccer city when 71,000 fans pack ravens stadium in what will be the largest soccer crowd in

baltimore history all gathered for a unique international exhibition, part of the world football challenge. baltimore one of the six cities on the u.s. tour. chelsea takes on milan. chelsea rolled into town today and spoke of the welcome they have received here in the u.s. >> the fans have been great. i think the people have been great. they welcomed us very well. we've been very pleased with the way they welcome us, and we have to go out there tomorrow and make sure we give them a good game. >> chelsea defeated milan in california tuesday night. quick off here in baltimore tomorrow night at 8:00. u.s. fans in force in chicago tonight. semifinals of soccer's gold cup tournament. u.s. taking on honduras. u.s. in white. watch the footwork on the passing. they will get it right in front to kenny cooper junior, son of the former baltimore blast coach. he helped kick the u.s. to a 2- 0 win and a berth in the gold cup final against either mexico

or costa rica saturday at the meadowlands. in baseball a night off for the orioles after getting swept three straight in new york. the birds are in boston to start a series tomorrow night. see the o's battle boston in a 1:30 start on wjz. i will be reporting from fenway park as part of the game coverage. in chicago today, white sox pitcher mark buehrle retired every tampa bay batter he faced for the first eight innings. now in the 9th, gabe kapler with a drive, and they leap to pre seven the perfect game. the reaction from the pitcher, thank you very much. the chicago crowd anticipating the final two outs. jason bar let, ground ball to short. that wraps up a 5-0 white sox win, a perfect game for mark buehrle.

he got a congratulatory call from president barack obama. ravens defensive back dominic foxworth is partnering with local groups and a school will receive an outdoor classroom and playground. he's got the moves. >> some of them are kind of old, too.

it was harvest time at city hall this morning. mayor dixon was helping the gardens -- helping in the

gardens along war memorial plaza. the wet spring brought in a bountiful crop of egg plant, peppers, corn, and spinach. over 1800 pounds of food will

coming up next on the late show with david letterman, sean 'diddy' combs. >> thanks for watching eyewitness news. good night, we'll see you tomorrow. it will be friday. >> oh yeah. ( band playing "late show" theme )