. this is wjz tv, and wjz.com, baltimore. >> from the city, to the county, to your neighborhood, now complete coverage on wjz 13

maryland's news station. hello again, i'm don scott. >> i'm mary bubala. >> the weather is what people are looking out for this noon. look outside right now, it's beginning to look ominous out there and if you look on radar, there could be some severe weather going by us right now. tim williams is tracking doppler radar for you. we have a lot of rain moving into the region. a large chunk of it moved north. a large chunk is still moving in our direction. it's a system extending from the northeast to the gulf. we have a lot of heavy showers that have started to infiltrate the western portion of the state. how this is playing out across the state. some light showers moving into washington county down to

hagerstown, heavier to berkeley springs. as far as watches and warning, we have a flash-flood watch in effect for the cecil county and the dynamics, humid flow into the region, it's drape along the edge of a cold front pushing through. we could see some heavy downpours and winds and potentially some hail through the afternoon. thank you very much. remember, wjz is always on. for the updated forecast and if there are any power outages in the area, go to wjz.com. "cash for clunkers" is so popular it's running out of gas blowing through a billion dollars in less than a week as people trade in old cars for up to $4500 each. it's not dead yet. eyewitness news live in baltimore county.

we have the details on the move to save the program. >> reporter: good afternoon, some uncertainty and some good signs of hope for this program. the white house made assurances that the program will last through i want and tonight and the push to get funds through the house today and people continue to trade in through the weekend. the "cash for clunkers" program designed to provide a boost for ailing car sales in this economy and it succeeded. it raised through the one billion dollar budget. last night the government said they might suspend the program causing a rush on dealerships. now congress is expected to save it with $2 billion in extra funding. >> we're glad to have the fuel efficiency and a cool new car. >> reporter: any new money expected to go fast too. if you want to take advantage of the rebates, react soon.

if your car gets 18-miles a gallon or less, and you own it for a year, you could get 3500 to $4500 towards the purchase or lease of a new car. the old gas guzzlers will be scrapped making a boom to the environment as well as the economy. people have traded in 23,000 cars nation-wide. >> i feel very, very lucky. everything just fell into place. >> the obama administration says all transactions up to this point will be honor. some of the interest was up because honda gave them out beforehand and chrysler is doubling the incentives you get from the government. it was expected to last through november first. wjz eyewitness news. thank you. remember wjz is always on, you can access complete information

on the program and instant updates on wjz.com. a date has been set for the arraignment of a man under a arrest for the holocaust shooting. james von brunn is due for a hearing on september second. the 89-year-old who lived in annapolis is charged with killing stephen johns. an officer was photographed talking on a cell phone behind the wheel. good afternoon, ron. >> reporter: metro officials trying to identify the bus driver many the photo post about the metro system if the drive sir track down, officials say she will be fired making it the first case to fall under a zero tolerance policy. a rider told the blog the driver got out of of the bus to take a call but continued

talking when she started driving again. they know the day, time and route when the incident took place. it's only a matter of pinpointing the driver. >> thank you very much. lye in the news room, zero tolerance policy comes to a string of deadly accidents up and down the east coast. a motor vehicle employee under investigation accused to issue fake driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. 200 were revoke after the employee was fired. that employee is not being named but a new law making it more difficult for immigrants to get licenses. the state public service commission postponing the ruling on an energy deal with a french company. it intends to rule a month after consolation and scheduled closing date. there are ongoing disputes

whether it would hurt customers. the space shuttle "endeavour" is home sweet home they landed safely about an hour ago. a wrap-up of the mission. >> reporter: space shuttle "endeavour" drifted through the florida sky and came home with a picture-perfect landing. more than likely the happennistest of the 7 astronauts to get back, because of several delay, the japanese astronaut had an extended 4- month stay on board the international space station. space shuttle "endeavour" set a record in space when the 7 crew members joined the 6 already on board the station putting 13 people there at one time. >> that's what it was design for, there was room for everybody we could spread out or congregate. >>reporter: it was jammed pack

as astronauts replaced a lot of parts and brought up new ones to the international space station. the biggest task was adding the third and final piece to the japanese laboratory. during the five space welcome walks, they attached the back porch. it allows astronauts to walk outside and perform experiments in space. for the 7 astronauts on board space shuttle "endeavour" they're now focus on being home with family. nasa will explore an unusual study, checking out the underwear that one of the astronauts tested in the mission. it's designed to be odor free even for a month.

>> he worked for six weeks by the way. >> a new dead line, a date of january 1 to ban the apparent record-breaking body suits. it comes in a response from michael phelps and his coach. it will be banned before competition and must be available for six months prior. the baltimore visitor's center is now called visit baltimore. the new name will be more user friendly and attractive to tourists. this weekend, wjz and the orioles teaming up to feed the hungry. we're collecting non-perishable food items for the food bank.

take along a food item to camden yards and members of the wjz family will be collecting your donations at the gate. tonight, look for kye, ron, adam, alex and myself. we're calling it the boys' night out. i hope the weather holds up. >> for guys night out. >> still to come on eyewitness news, was he addicted? what they're saying about michael jackson and prescription drugs. loose in las vegas. you won't believe that sin stires departments are finding. taking a look outside, meteorologist tim williams will be back with the first-warning

weather forecast. complete coverage continues with don scott, mary bubala and first warning weather with marty bass and meteorologist tim williams.

. investigators in michael jackson's death is labeling the

pop star an addict. search warrants targeted dr. conrad murray. they're looking into a manslaughter charge that charges him prescribing to an addict. a new york city man remains remains in a coma while he was hit many the head with a tree branch while walking through central park. crews have been at work checking other tree limbs, the accident is unfortunate. people who live in las vegas think they've seen it all but did not expect a tiger loose in their neighborhood. the tiger escaped from a magic act last night and into a resident's backyard. the big cat animal handlers were close behind and got him

into custody without incident. in a movie out, it's mike tyson's tight their gets loose. >> your forecast two and a half minutes away. here's a look at today's stocks. back

. talking about a very cool noon. >> sunny, that is sonny, he's

a five-year-old mix who we've established a long dog who is heavy from head to tail. you notice the yellow bandanna, that's a pretty yellow bandanna, mr. basement believes together we can make a difference for pets that need a home. >> that's great. >> sonny is the first one to wear said scarf. >> he's doing a great job. >> he may need that to shield himself from the rain. we are looking at rain across the region. light showers and there's some heavy thunderstorms embedded in this system. it extends from the northeast down to the gulf state. many of the areas to the western edge of the state

moving through. we'll see these as they move up in time for the afternoon and we'll continue to see more showers and thunderstorms, some could become severe. as a result, there's two watches to tell you about, one is a flash-flood watch and one is a flood watch in effect, they're cecil and garrett counties. if the rains pick up and any hail reported we'll keep you updated. we're looking at 84 degrees, a lot of moisture out there. the dew point that high means a lot of energy in the atmosphere. 66% humidity, a southwest winden the barometer is falling. temperatures ranging to 90 on the shore. the immediate metro area, temperatures around the 80- degree range. 80 in westminister and the winds from the southwest continuing to bring in the warm, moist flow, we'll see the

showers move in from west to east and moving across the state and this system extends down and tapping into gulf moisture, we're going to see it play out tomorrow afternoon. the front is going to trigger much of this as the afternoon progresses and there's a small- craft advisory on the bay. 86 degrees, heavy thunderstorms this evening down to 70 tonight and again tomorrow looks to be a nice day and the five-day forecast is coming up. just a reminder, the red sox and the birds saturday night at 7:00 here on wjz. >> still to come, the benefits of beer what you could get out of drinking one or two. >> here's the top stories on wjz.com for instant updates on the news and the weather log onto wjz.com. . counting down to the weekend's orioles. wjz and masn, it's part of our community commitment. see you there.

. in today's health watch, more and more americans are turning to alternative medicine to treat ailments. 38million adults visited specialists in 2007 spending nearly $34 billion. experts urge patients to

research alternative medicines and make sure they're safe. the beer summit at the white house meant to strength ties but there could be more benefits. it could lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease. it could strengthen bones. again in moderation, that's one beer for women, one or two for men. there are others including a ritual, babies tossed off of roofs and caught with blankets and the controversy that surrounds the practice. >> unsafe buses and trucks driving on america's highways. find out why. right after dr. phil. that baby in the blanket, wow, stay with us the five-day

. weather specific for the orioles food drive, if you're going to be down there, 7:00 first pitch. everyone the boys' night how before the first pitch. thunderstorms possible. hopefully they will be out of here by the time the game starts. chance of showers on sunday. 90 on tuesday, lows around 70. >> we'll be there as soon as

the gates open. don't miss numbers at 10:00 on cbs and follow by eyewitness news at 11:00. >> that's our report. thank you for joining us on wjz 13, maryland's news station. i'm mary bubala. >> don scott. >> tim williams. we'll keep you posted on my