from the cities to the counties to your neighborhood, now complete coverage on wjz 13, maryland's news station. >> charm city corruption. >> new life in the investigation which goes all the way up to the mayor. what will happen next. >> hello, again, i am don scott. >> and i am mary bubala. >> here is what people are saying today. the scandal that rocked city hall is not going away soon as more charges in corruption are filed. all going in the ongoing probe of mayor dixon. lawmakers and taxpayers are reacting. mike hellgren live outside city hall. good afternoon, mike. >> reporter: good afternoon, don and everybody. the board of estimates even

approve a little more than a half a million in funding for a harbor east streetscape project, the area closely associated with john patterakis who was indicted yesterday. congresswoman holton has been stripped from a powerful committee position. new reaction from the city council president and the mayor, the state prosecutor also snagged prominent developer and mayor's former boyfriend ron lipscomb with a guilty plea for violating campaign finance laws. and now he's got a new, even more well-known target in his corruption investigation into baltimore city hall. baking big wig john patterakis sr. he is well-connected and wealthy. mr. paterakis is charged with campaign finance violation. he they say he wrote a 6,000 check and that it was a back- door deal after a private

meeting and never went through holton's campaign. the amount is beyond campaign contribution limits. >> we don't have any information and i certainly haven't read the indictment so i wouldn't have any further comment, but he is certainly well-respected, and my hope is that his lawyers will do their job in defending him and the prosecutor also do theirs. and issue will be resolved where it should be in the courts and not in the public opinion. >> reporter: the prosecutor's biggest target of all is mayor dixon. she is charged with stealing gift cards meant for the needy and faces trial in december. the mayor has declared her innocence and earlier in the investigation called it a witch hunt. >> i won't respond to that, my reaction, period. >> reporter: those were the mayor's latest comments on this. we will have more on this at 4:00. councilwoman holton was charged with campaign finance violation. she was previously indicted on perjury and bribery charges but a judge threw those out a now months ago.

mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> thank you, mike. stay with eyewitness news for complete coverage of the corruption probe pop for any new developments and background on the storge to wjz.com. a baltimore city police officer has been convicted of beating his girlfriend. 31-year-old joseph bannerman has found guilty of third- degree sexual assault. he was sentenced to three years in prison but will be end served three days. his girlfriend said he punch and choked her at her home. a man is killed when he falls out of a second-story window. sky chopper 13 was over the home in crofton moments after the fall. the man was declared dead from the scene after falling 25 feet on top a basement patio. they are trying to find out what happened. right now it is considered accidental. a baltimore man missing since sunday has been found dead in edgewater. clinton wallace was discovered in the south river near mayo beach park. police say wallace went missing after jumping into the water to

cool off. his body will be taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. a dangerous find in the sand in ocean city as a man steps on a pipe bomb at the beach. the man was walking along the 40th street beach with his family when he stumbled on the bomb. police rushed and took the bomb away. it never detonated. they are trying to figure out who put the device there. not the kind of weather that will have you thinking of the beach on the western shore. take a live look outside. clouds are covering the area and they brought some rain already and will bring some storms apparently. eyewitness news is live with complete first warning weather coverage. marty is the first warning weather center. good morning. >> good morning, everybody. i want to you hang with me here because a really interesting, facinating scenario setting up for this afternoon. go to first warning doppler weather radar. we have had indeed since don and i were doing the morning show and mary with us at 4:55, we had shower activity pressing through the area. i want to you look at our watch, warning and advisory graphic because of rain that

has fallen on the susquehanna water shed and more action later a flashflood watch in effect for the susquehanna and i-95 corridor. we are looking at a i-95 event. rain area wide but we are thinking little rattily from i- 95 to south and east thunderstorms with hail, torrential rain and damaging winds. why are we calling this a i-95 event? check some temperatures. the western shore, easton, pax river, ocean city. the sun is out in a lot of locations or has been. partly sunny. and we are heating up pretty good. 79 in hagerstown and d.c. 77, baltimore. 72, cumberland. come back here. the cold front to the west starts punching into this unstable air mass where it is really unstable over on the eastern shore, that is where we are going to see these towering cumulus form and we could see some really deep storms if you

will. but baltimore, you are right on this line. it is going to a touch-and-go situation through the afternoon and we will be covering it online at wjz.com. suffice to say that the next few hours will be wet and or interesting. back to you. >> i am now awake and paying attention, marty. thank you. new stimulus funding from the federal government. this time it is dishing out a billion dollars to support police departments all across the country. that includes many here in maryland. sally thorner is live in the newsroom to explain this for us. sally, good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon, mary and everybody. eight police departments across the state will get funding with the majority to prince george's county. each will get $10 million enough to hire 50 police officers, the funding will only sustain those positions for three years. after that the police department also have to come up with a way to keep the spots funded. baltimore city police commissioner fred bealefeld says he doesn't think funding will be too much of a problem saying the economy should be better by then. let's hope so, mary. >> the federal government

decided which cities to fund based on crime rates and the budget problems. good news on what has been a dismal housing market. it appears we have reached the bottom anyway, and as alexis christoforous reports for wjz, the road to recovery will likely be rocky. >> reporter: bargain-basement prices seem to be bringing out the bargain hunters, putting the brakes on the housing market slide. after a disastrous three-year dive, home prices postedded an increase in may. price increases in eight cities with cleveland, dallas and boston topping the list. linda henning just bought a new home in chicago. >> i would love to say that things are going to turn around. i really hope they do. >> reporter: home prices stayed flat here in new york, but a market so bad any place where prices aren't dropping looks good and other bright spots. existing home sales rose in june for the third consecutive months and new home sales climbed by the largest percentage in eight years.

real estate agents say low- interest rates and $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers are luring people back to the market and they are stirring home for the wider economy. >> housing brought us into this crisis. so the first signs of stablelation are seen as a very good, big picture indicater. >> reporter: but no one expects a speedy recovery. overall, home prices are still down 17% from a year ago. and in sunbelt cities like phoenix and las vegas. they haven't stopped falling. a third of the existing homes that are investigate foreclosures, and thousands of americans struggling with record high unemployment continue to lose their homes. alexis christoforous, wjz eyewitness news. >> and mortgage insurer pmi group says home prices in this area have a 92% chance of continuing to drop through the year 2011. still to come on eyewitness news at noon, jackson drug bombshell. as many as a dozen doctors could be charged in the superstar's death. a new timetable for u.s.

troops in iraq help in could be coming home sooner than first thought. what is behind this change. another live look outside. the complete first warning weather coverage is still ahead.

. open for business. the two hotels targeted in deadly terrorist bombings earlier this month are back open, but security is tighter than ever at the five-star hotel the jakarta. the ritz-carlton and marriott hotels were targeted back on july 17. it killed many and injured others. the group claiming responsibility is al qaeda. defense secretary robert gates said there is a chance a brigade can come home ahead of schedule because security is going better than expected. but speaking to reporters gates admitted that there is a lot of work left to be done. >> we have a number of important milestones to achieve, including fair elections, international government, and drawdown of u.s. forces leaving to our change of mission in august 2010. >> american combat forces are

to be withdrawn from iraq by september of next year with 50,000 troops staying behind until 2011. the investigation into how michael jackson died is heating up again. jackson's personal doctor conrad murray remains in the spotlight. cbs news has learned that medical records were removed from his home and could prove that he gave jackson the medicine that killed him. tmz.com said murray may not be the only one charged. >> this will open up a massive investigation into what authorities believe could be gross fraudulent prescribing practices and there are a lot of people who are very nervous in beverly hills and west l.a. right now. >> dr. murray told investigators he gave jackson the anesthetic propofol the night he died. tmz reports that jackson had been using for more than ten years as a sleep aid. you know him as one of the greatest game show hosts of all time, but now bob barker has a new pitch and not about your pest. he is focusing his energies on

north carolina pressing a band of indians to close their bear pits. they have been said they were imhumane because they are stressful to the bears. a live look outside. marty will be back with n two and a half minutes with your first warning weather forecast. >> first a look at your midday stocks and last night's mega millions numbers.

a little while ago i showed you loaning radar. i call it local radar. in other words, we just kind of concentrated on our immediate portion of the i-95 corridor. >> right. >> i am on display now that takes all the radars available and compiles them into one dramatic picture. take a look at that. now that -- that gets your attention, doesn't it. i am telling you folks. we are in for a really, really interesting afternoon and just -- let me put this in motion for you. just a fascinating scenario setting up. since it has not been raining. as a matter of fact, at times sunny, partly sunny conditions on the eastern shore. here in baltimore and out to the west, we have had gray skies and, again, temperatures are down. look at the current state temperatures. this will be the driver all afternoon. it is cause and effect. temperature front moving our way. unstable atmosphere. 77 degrees. 84% humidity. the winds barely moving from the south-southwest at 7 to the

northeast. barometer at 29.86. it will be falling through the afternoon. again, let's take a look at these temperatures. ocean city, 87. 84, easton. 82, pax river. 80 degrees in elkton. get over here where it is gray and damp. 79 in hagerstown and d.c. 77 here in baltimore. so now we have the stage set for the afternoon. i am calling this an i-95 event because hey, the last time i checked i-95 right next to elkton. the severe dynamic once now set up out to the east. it does not want to set up here on the western but that will change. 80, kent island. 81, apes. 75 westminster. 77 degrees in columbia. now we have this front that has this moisture, this warm humid flow moving southwest to northeast out ahead of this advancing new air mall. and that's where the problems begin, the timing is like now through, let's say eight, 9:00.

the front eventually washes itself out and stays warm if not hot and humid. there are going to be severe thunderstorms around this afternoon. as we showed you the top of the show no watches or warning and the flashflood watch. 82 today. 70 overnight. clouds break overnight. tonight hot and humid with a high of 90. real quick. why only the going to 82 degrees. the umbrella effect of those clouds. we saw you the statewide temperatures, but above us, the late july sun is beaming down over the cloud tops and the party is getting ready to -- >> to rock there. all right. wjz is teaming up to feed the hungry and we need your help. during the home stand against the boston red sox. take nonperishable foods. the wjz family will collect your donations right at the gate. >> on friday be on the look out for me, kai, ron, adam, stan

and alex. >> on saturday, gigi barnett, vic, kellye and kelly. suzanne and mark and weija. all part of our continuing commitment. a new warning about the silver fillings that many of virus. it may be harmful to our health. some of the stories we are following at this hour. for constant updates of today's news and the first warning weather forecast, go to

the next time you go to your dentist, your procedure may come with a warning label? kellye lynn will explain in health watch. >> hi, you might get a little note from your doctor or at least a talk from your doctor in eyewitness news health watch, the fda places tighter restrictions, regulations on the use mercury dental fillings, the agency now says that the silver color fillings are indeed safe for patients, but they add that they are considered moderate risk devices since some people are allergic to them. the fillings will now have to carry new product labels warning a dentist to use adequate ventilation and avoid using them in patients who have mercury allergies. speed limit changes have led to a jump in fatalities on u.s. roads. higher speed limits caused more than 12,000 additional deaths on the road between 1995 and 2005 according to a study.

the biggest rise in deaths due to increased speed limits with states with a 55 miles per hour in 1995 and increased it to 65 miles per hour and states that kept the speed limit the same, the number of deaths and fatal injuries went down. >> wow. >> something to think about. >> thank you very much. >> sure. be sure to check in at eyewitness news at 4, 5 and 6. sally is live in the newsroom with the story. an alabama man is tased and pepper sprayed by police at a local dollar store. the unusual reason why he didn't obey the officers. rich wanted for real. thousand tries to spellbound a uk business owner. join us for these stories at 4:00 after "dr. phil." >> sally, thank you. stick around, the five-day

all right, welcome back. we already discussed today. if anything fires up we will have it for you at wjz.com. tomorrow, a chance of a lingering thundershower in the forecast. high of 90. friday, another wave come at us with additional thunderstorms and 90. it will clear us out for the wokeend. drop humidity just a little bit and temperatures down a few degrees. >> okay. thank you for watching eyewitness news. i am mary bubala. >> don scott. >> and i am marty bass. you all have a great afternoon

>> kevin: how's it going, man? >> daniel: (sighs) don't ask. >> jana: god, i wish i could give you a hug, but i think "smiley" over there