hello again, and one again people are talking about the heat today as temperatures are expected to climb well into the 90s once again. and all across our viewing area, it was already warm this morning. in one park a jogger tried to beat the heat and ended up taking a break in the shade. we'll take a live look out now as the bright sun and humidity are again making up potentially a dangerous combination for a lot of you. and eyewitness news is live with complete first warning weather coverage. marty bass will be in the outback. mike hellgren has more on heat putting stress on local schools and power crews. and we have more from bernadette woods in the weather center. good afternoon. good afternoon to everyone out there. want to get to you and show you the numbers for today.

another hot one. 84 in baltimore. 86 in dc. 92 down at the beach. the dew point is at 70 degrees. when you factor that together, it feels more like it is in the 90s already here in baltimore. and the idea across the entire region is that we are probably going to top out in the low 90s to near 100 for our heat index and also the low 90s for our actual air temperatures. i want to show you first warning doppler what we have going on. nothing going on in the area yet. but the thing is just out to the west here is the cold front. there's still storms down to the south. we're going to see more fire up through the afternoon, one or two becoming strong. we'll keep you updated as we head through the afternoon. now for something else that's going on, we usually hear about this early in the season, but it's finally happening unfortunately. let's send it out to you, marty. >> reporter: thank you very much. good afternoon, everybody. you probably guessed we're talking about hurricane season. starting to heat up like the weather in your neighborhood has. let's take a look at the

satellite photo. now just to the west of the azors, we have tropical depression number two. remember, early on back in may, we had a tropical depression form just off of florida. a lot of forecasters thought it should have gotten the name ana but it didn't. tropical depression number two is near the convergence zone starting to move in a westerly direction. and it may get the name ana. we'll give you periodic updates and more news any time we're on the air, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 11:00, of course the morning edition and noon news. back to a more local angle. it's going to start getting quite pleasant here after this hot day. meteorologist bernadette woods with great deals coming up shortly. back to you. >> thank you very much. live first warning weather coverage continues with mike hellgren in baltimore. with the heat in the area, mike has common sense, he's standing in the shade.

good afternoon, mike. >> reporter: good afternoon, don, good morning, everyone. well, t going to be another hot one as we've been telling you out here. fast-moving storm went through last night cooled things down just a bit. you certainly don't want to be outside if you can avoid it. some people have to, though. they're doing a paving project just here behind me in roland park. and there are a few power outages in the area. here's a closer look at what we found today. another humid, hazy day stretches across maryland as the warmest air of the summer has baked the state over the past several days. for those who have to work in it, it's miserable. construction workers braved the high temperatures. this is the scene in charles village. yesterday was the first code red heat alert this year. firefighters also had to take precautions, working under extreme conditions in this heat and humidity. >> heatstroke is a major concern in any fire when it starts. we have a -- what we call 4-14, which is they send a vehicle with plenty of hydration.

>> reporter: in baltimore study, high school prep programs operating in nonair conditioned buildings were canceled today. >> i think it was 98. really hot. >> reporter: student athletes here kept hydrating during practice. skychopper 13 was over a pool where some people recharged with a cooling dip. pge crews stayed on alert, dealing with heat-related stress on the system and a fast- moving storm last night that dumped about half an inch of rain on the area. it caused several power outages, and they already restored power to more than 15,000 customers across the state. the system will be taxed again during the hot weather today. >> we certainly are asking our customers to be prudent with their use of electricity during this heat wave. we believe we have sufficient supply for our customers' demand, but it's always a good idea to conserve. >> reporter: once again back live in roland park, they're doing a little paving project here out in the heat. some of these workers -- as far the power outages are concerned at last check, about 1,200 people across maryland are

still without power, and if you live in the city and you have heat-related concerns, you can always dial 311. don, back to you. >> thank you very much. stay with us for more first warning weather coverage. wjz is always on. the updated forecast and watches and warnings on wjz.com. right now praise is pouring in for the woman who embodied the kennedy family's tradition of public service. president barack obama calling eunice kennedy shriver an extraordinary woman and a champion for the rights of the mentally disabled. here's drew levenson reporting for wjz with more reaction to this maryland resident's passing. >> reporter: eunice kennedy shriver died overnight at cape cod hospital, surrounded by family. the 88-year-old suffered a series of strokes in recent years. her sole surviving brother, senator edward kennedy, who has been battling a brain tumor, said in a statement "though the special olympics will be her enduring monument, in our family, she'll be remembered as a loyal and loving sister, a treasured wife to sarge, and a

wonderful mother and grandmother." shriver is also survived by her husband, five children, and 19 grandchildren. daughter maria shriver's husband, california governor arnold schwarzenegger, called his mother-in-law the light of the family. president obama said that shriver will be remembered as a champion for people with intellectual disabilities. who taught our nation and our world that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit. inspired in part by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, eunice kennedy shriver organized the first special tick olympic in 19-- special olympics in 1968. the stories have long documented sharif's achievements. >> she accomplished something most politicians never even aspire to. she changed the way america faced the moral question -- how it treated the metropolitanly disabled. >> reporter: and shriver's legacy will live on through the work of her children and the special olympics which now has more than a million participants in more than 150

countries. drew levenson, cbs news. >> shriver also received the nation's highest civilian award -- the presidential medal of freedom in 1984 from ronald reagan. until recently she lived in president obama in montgomery county. the heated fight over health care reform makes its way into maryland. sally thorner is live with a raucous town hall meeting that took place at towson university. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. maryland senator ben cardin showed up to answer questions about the health care plan, but he was immediately met with angry resistance. >> i am confident that we're going to get this right. [booing ñ] >> how are you going to keep my employer from stopping offering insurance and forcing me on to the public option if that's cheaper for their bottom line? [ applause ] >> reporter: some made it inside to take part, but hundreds more who wouldn't fit surrounded the area holding their own debate. >> america is not about

government running things and free enterprise matters. >> we have a barbaric system that when somebody loses a job they lose their health care. >> reporter: senator cardin defended the reform saying it will provide more choices when it comes to health care coverage. he told eyewitness news he hopes people will become more informed and hopes to begin a better understanding of people's concerns. don, back to you. >> thank you very much. the senator will hold one more town hall meeting about health care reform tomorrow in hagerstown. a dc metro employee was using drugs when he allowed a train to leave the yard with too many cars in tow. investigators say the green line train left the greenbelt station on july 31 with 10 cars when it should only have carried eight. the dc metro spokesperson says one of the employees who prepared the train tested positive for drugs. he is in rehab and not currently receiving a salary. the parents of murder witness carl lack will continue to push to allow for cell phone jamming in prisons. the man was scheduled to appear in the murder trial of patrick buyers when buyers put a hit on him from behind bars.

police say buyers used an illegal cell phone to arrange the murder. today lackel's parents are speaking at a trade show in nashville along with other cell phone jamming advocates. police say it could reduce the amount of crime organized behind prison walls. still ahead, desperate rescue efforts. military helicopters struggle to pull hundreds of people from the mudslides in taiwan. 230 miles a gallon. that's what g.m.'s first electric car promises potential buyers. is it worth the price? and please take another live look outside.

a rescue mission in taiwan saves 300 people after a mudslide consumes their village. the meafer used helicopters -- military used helicopters to pull hundreds to safety. at least 50 are confirmed dead and dozens remain missing. the typhoon triggered the mudslides and flooding. it dumped 80 inches of rain before moving to china. there's also a report of a rescue helicopter that crashed

during the relief mission. it's not clear if anybody survived or not. as taiwan and china deal with the aftermath of the devastating typhoon, a powerful earthquake strikes japan. the tv station camera shook violently as the 6.5-magnitude quake rocked tokyo and nearby areas shortly after 5:00. police say a 43-year-old woman was killed by falling debris. at least 100 people are hurt. and divers have resumed their recovery efforts today following the midair collision over the hudson river in new york city. police say they're trying to remove one body and locate a remaining person who died. crews are also consulting with the u.s. army corps of engineers about pulling the small plane to the surface. nine people were killed when the plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter, both aircraft then plunged into the river. a unique rescue mission in thailand where crews struggled to free a baby elephant from a manhole or drainage hole. it lost footing as the owner walked it through the streets. rescuers spent three hours feeding it and used a bulldozer

or backhoe loader to widen the manhole to free the elephant. he was unharmed. 230. that's the number of miles per gallon gms battery-powered volt will get for city driving we're told. the volt which is scheduled to hit the showroom next we're will be the first mass produced vehicle in history with a triple-digit fuel economy rating. and that's more than four times that of toyota's preis hybrid. it's expected to cost around $40,000. gm is banking on tax credits to bring down the price in the future. still ahead at noon, in your near future, another live look outside and a reminder that your complete first warning weather forecast is just 2 1/2 minutes away. first, let's look at today's midday stocks.

welcome back, everybody. a nice cloud out there. water looking nice. cooler compared to the air this go round. it's going to be another hot one this afternoon. 86 is where we are now. yesterday we were already at 91 degrees. not quite as stifling as yesterday. still with the dew point at 70 degrees, it is very muggy outside. 93 in ocean city already today. now as far as the heat index goes, when you factor that in with the humidity, it does feel like 91 already in baltimore. and 100 degrees in ocean city. the break being on the

mountains in oakland. hot air on the beaches. usually there's a water influence. the last couple of days the win has been off the land, and it's made it so hot for even the beaches around here. but we do have some relief on the way. and it's in the form of a cold front coming our direction. not much to the front now. as we head through the afternoon hours, we're going to more build-up with the front. scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible once again around the area today. what happens after that is we're still going to be dealing with the front. a new low is forming around down to the south. it's going to pass by tomorrow. there's still a chance of a shower and thunderstorm tomorrow. but on thursday, all this is going to start to move back to the north. so again on thursday, scattered showers and thunderstorms possible. again on friday. really monitoring the progress because it could still hang around the coast as we head into the weekend. that would keep the chances for showers and thunderstorms around. one more thing to update you on. marty talked about it at the beginning of the show. we have a tropical depression. it is way over here, tropical depression actually number two.

it is expected to become a tropical storm as it moves off to the east. if that does happen it would be tropical storm ana. the forecast today, we're going up to about 92 degrees this afternoon. a muggy one with scattered thunderstorms developing. a shower or thunderstorm around tonight. then eventually dying down somewhat. we could see a few more thunderstorms pop up during the day tomorrow. 86degrees. we won't be in the 90s tomorrow. then we'll have your five day coming up in a bit here. >> 86 will feel cool. >> still muggy but cooler. >> all right. thank you. still to come on eyewitness news at noon, fighting the flu. why traditional medicines may not be much of a help. and remember, wjz's always on. here are the stories on our web site this hour. we have updates of all the news and the first warning weather forecast.

in today's "healthwatch," when it comes to fighting the flu, a vaccine may be better than just medicine. a new study finds flu drugs like tamiflu andell aren a got rid of the -- and rulenza got rid of the symptoms only one day earlier than if the person didn't take the drug at all. officials say the vaccination has the added bonus of being a preventive measure. resting may provide an extra benefit for women with a family history of breast cancer. it may reduce their chances of developing it. a study of more than 60,000 women found those who nursed a baby and had a family history of breast cancer reduced their

risk for it by nearly 60%. lots of reasons to check back in with eyewitness news today at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00. back to the newsroom for a preview. sally? don, dangerous unrest and chaos when students clash with police. what sparked the violence. and it's the longest- running soap opera ever. today we go on the set as the crew shoots its last episode. >> stay with us. bloom (male anuncer) if you've had a hearatta caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix,

protection that helps save lives. (female announcer) if you have stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. when taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin, the risk of bleeding may increase so tell your doctor before planning surgery. analways talk to your doctor before taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. if you develop fever or, unexplained weakness or confusion, tell your doctor promptly as these may be signs of a rare but potentially life-threatening condition called ttp, which has been reported rarely, sometimes in less than two weeks after starting therapy. other rare but serious side effects may occur.

okay. we have a cool down. marty? it's all in the numbers. let's lab at how your midweek and mid-weekend is going to square away. i do understand that tomorrow through saturday we'll be dealing with that possibility of an instability thundershower. the fact of the matter is we're moving toward mid august. it's not necessarily an uncommon part of the equation. but 86, 85, 84, 86, and 86 degrees. back to normal as we move again toward the middle of this month. now back inside. >> don't let the truck back over you. i can hear it. coming up tonight on wjz and cbs, the hit drama medium. it will be followed immediately by eyewitness news. and of course you just watched "the price is right" here. now there's an opportunity to be a contestant on the popular game show. you can take part in a contestant search --

♪ [ music ] that would be fun to be on the program. >> one of those moments when you don't want to work here. it would be cool. >> i guess we're not qualified -- >> not included. good luck everybody else. >> see you tomorrow.