your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. comments@captioncolorado.com looming storms tonight maryland is caught between two weather systems that are expected to bring lots of rain and possible flooding. good evening, and thanks for joining us. i'm adam may. weather is the big story. we have lots of it to tell you about. tonight hurricane bill is threatening the east coast, ocean city and rehoboth beach closed due to surf conditions, waves felt from here in maryland and also down that in bermuda. we have complete first warning weather coverage. let's begin with meteorologist bernadette woods tracking all the storms, not just bill. there is a lot of other action.

>> we are going to start out with flooding threats in our area immediately . i want to show you first warn doppler radar what we have going on very heavy rain moving into the state. and you can see it's pivoting around a point in here so all of these bands of bright red are moving up from the southeast. they are swinging in from the eastern shore and under the bands over an inch of rain per hour and because of that not only a flash flood watch which is in effect for almost all of our area through late tonight, we have flash flood warnings in effect for caroline county. you can see the very intense rain right now coming down in annapolis and aa county, also a flash flood warning in effect for anne arundel county. queens town heavy rain and in addition to all of this, we also have a flash flood warning in effect for calvert and pg county. calvert until 11:30, pg until 10:45. taking you on a tour you can see everyone getting rounds of this just intense rain. let's switch it over and show you. flash flood watch is the darker green that we have. the lime green flash flood

warnings in effect through again 10:45 for pg county. in addition to all of that we are dealing with hurricane bill just offshore. look how close it gets to the united states but it's hitting the front that's bringing us all the heavy rain kicking it out to sea but the latest statistics it is losing strength to a category 1 storm making its way off to the north-northwest eventually off to the northeast. and it really is starting to pick up speed. ocean city high current risk through sunday evening. seas peaking out tonight into tomorrow morning nine to 12 feet that's why they have closed some of the beaches, breaking waves between 6 and 8 feet. in addition to everything else, i want to tell you that astronomically speaking the tides are higher than usual and it will flood overnight. thank you. our first warning weather continues, coverage continues

with pat warren who just filed this report from mount washington. >> reporter: hurricane bill sends a calling card. >> rough. really tight. >> it's very rough. roughest i have ever been in. >> reporter: ocean city swimmers were getting smacked around. >> they have to use common sense especially this weekend because of bill even though he is going to be 500 miles offshore, we are not going to see any effects. wind or the rain, the strong rips and the high wave action will be here. enjoy the view but use common sense and stay out of the water. >> reporter: swimmers in bermuda didn't have to be told twice. >> some people were nervous about coming out here even but i don't see any flying palm trees so this is just a windy day but it's incredible just to, you know, take it in as an experience to see what nature provides. >> reporter: this storm caused flooding on the island and cut power to thousands. >> we have no electricity. >> fun to watch but you wouldn't go into it. would you go out to sea. >> reporter: the danger is getting caught in a riptide that can suck you out to sea.

>> the lifeguards are staying on top of things. we keep in contact with the weather service and with our communications center. so we will, you know, upgrade our restrictions on the surf as needed. >> reporter: here we have potential danger without the beauty of the beach. flooding along the jones-falls and other low-lying areas may create real problems heading into the rest of the evening and tomorrow. >> and in fact right now pat is over there monitoring the jones- falls. we'll have the latest from her on eyewitness at 11:00 and meteorologist woods will have an update on all of these storms coming up here in about 10 minutes. all weekend long we're tracking hurricane bill. you can log on to wjz.com for instant updates, the storm's track and our special hurricane section. now, meanwhile three women are recovering tonight from what may be a weather-related accident at around 3:00 this morning. a car lost control on baltimore and conklin streets striking the women. none of the injuries are life- threatening but meanwhile that wild lightning overnight

started a huge fire in prince george's county. 7 people were evacuated from an apartment building that went to two alarms, damage a half million dollars. from the eastern shore this weekend police are investigating a multiple shooting. five people between the ages of 18 and 25 were hurt late friday night all standing here in the parking lot of the pemberton manor apartment complex. right now police are looking for the gunmen. none of the injuries are life- threatening. an update on the story of an expensive damaged highway sign. police have now charged alvin hall for knocking that sign loose above i-70. the glen burnie man hit the sign and drove o the cost of removing and replacing the sign cost the state $100,000. and it was quite a mess for highway crews in northern baltimore county. a tractor-trailer jackknifed on interstate 83. this is right near belfast road. state police tell us that the truck fell over on top of an unattended vehicle that was

left on the shoulder. that caused some of fuel to spill on the road and triggered a clean-up that closed traffic for hours. a lot of people in the market for a new car are rushing to dealerships this weekend. tonight, jessica car tally reports that the government's "cash for clunkers" program will end soon on monday night. >> a good example of what can happen if the government does right. >> reporter: jerry and betsy mason turned in their clunker for a brand-new toyota sion. >> taking all these terrible cars off the road they are getting rid of them. >> it's the government initiative where they want the gas guzzlers off the street and replace then them with ecofriendly vehicles that get better gas mileage and safer. >> reporter: the $3 billion that the government spent has boosted private spending. >> i think whatever they need to do to stimulate the economy, great. >> reporter: dealers are having a hard time keeping cars on the lot.

but come monday, this popular program comes to an end. >> we're advising motorists and consumers interested in taking advantage of the program to do so over the weekend as quickly as possible but to be mindful of what they are doing in pursuing a bargain. >> reporter: if you are turning in your clunker you may be eligible for up to $4,500 discount. but before you head to the dealerships, there are a few things you need to know. >> they must have owned their car in their name for the last year. the car must be insured in their name, as well. and obviously, the car must run. so those are important things that they must know to even be eligible to participate in the program. >> all we have to do is follow the details of the program and the consume her get the full benefit. >> reporter: happy shopping. now, some dealers are concerned about getting the paperwork filed in time and they are planning on pulling out of the program early. so if you do have a car in mind you want to go ahead and call that dealer ahead of time before making that trip. well, two big stars made

waves at the inner harbor today. michael phelps and shaquille o'neal announced that they are going to meet in a face-off swim meet. the race between the olympic squirm them will be at loyola college tomorrow. they had choice words for each other. >> whenever you're ready, let's go. that's all go out say. nothing else. >> michael, i just want to thank you for the opportunity. you're a great athletes. you're the best. it's a honor for me to know you and uhm i wish you well because you're going to need it. >> yeah. we are going to see about that. so anyway, depending on the results tomorrow, which i'm sure a lot of are you assuming that shaq is it going to lose, he is going to wear a pink hat and bottom. coming up, some bloodshed behind bars. a violent prison riot in kentucky. amazing video there. and the healthcare half-truths. today the president sends out a

strong message to people who are spreading lies about the reform effort. it's the last weekend of the summer before some students head back to class. coming up, the goals and challenges for some school districts. i'gigi barnett. that's coming up in the eyewitness news school watch report.

a riot in a kentucky

prison and buildings set fire, trash cans and other items also set fire inside the prison causing the building to catch on fire with huge flames shooting out. the damage was so severe that many of the 1200 prisoners were taken to other facilities. eight inmates were treated for minor injuries along with eight staff members. the fbi now expressing outrage against scotland official for the release of the lockerbie bomber. fbi director robert mueller says it gives comfort to terrorists across the world. the minister responded by saying that his decision was based on compassionate grounds. the bomber was allowed to return to his home in libya after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. the 1998 airplane bombing killed 207 people most of them americans. president obama today asking critics to stop making phony claims about healthcare proposals. he says he is glad that a lot of americans are getting involved in the debate but also is concerned about the growing number of false statements being made and circulated out

there. in his weekly radio address he debunked some myths. >> let's start with the false claim that illegal immigrants will get health insurance under reform. that's not true. they wouldn't be covered that. idea has never even been on the table and as every credible person who has looked into it has said, there are no so- called death panels and offensive notion to me and the american people. these are phony claims meant to divide us. >> now, president obama also addressed the option of offering a public healthcare insurance plan. he says that those people who prefer their private insurer would not be forced to switch to any sort of a public plan. the new school year is about to begin. but retail sales are not benefitting. retail stores across the area are still reporting a downward curve in sales with consumers still pinching their pennies. back-to-school shoppers are buying only the essential items causing major sales to slump at

stores. experts believe that the economy cannot recover until americans start spending more. this is the last weekend left for many students and the new school year is just days away now. tonight gigi barnett explains in tonight's school watch report that one school district is carefully reviewing its goals and challenges. >> reporter: the clock stick on summer fun for maryland students but for many school leaders, the work of going back to school has already begun. like this retreat for baltimore county school board members. one challenge for the school district, its growing diversity. the message for teachers is clear. >> use the talent you have to structure classrooms where learning is exciting. >> reporter: while enrollment is where it was last year at 100,000 students in baltimore county, the diversity is increasing. there is an influx of blacks and immigrants.

>> we need it make sure we teach children where they are with with regards to their learning preference, learning styles and certainly many students come to us at different levels of readiness. >> reporter: while the look of baltimore county schools is changing, school leaders say the standards of achievement shouldn't. that's by using cutting edge technology. and one way to do that is with a virtual classroom like this one at chesapeake high school in essex. the computer program teaches students how to combine real- world science, math and technology to solve problems and to get them career-ready. >> i hope we'll be able to replicate what we learn at that school in the virtual reality realm of teaching because i think that's where we're going to be in the next decade. >> reporter: but for now, students play and the countdown to school is on. i'm gigi barnett, wjz eyewitness news. thank you, gigi. all the state school districts

will head back to school before labor day weekend. the last ones to go back are allegany county starting school on september 1. sorry, kids, it's coming to and end. meteorologist bernadette woods tracking storms. last night the storms were so strong and i'm just guessing with all that rain we got overnight and this rain, hence the flash flood issues that we have right now. >> just the amounts from last night ending through this morning, we had a round yet again this morning, we are looking at some amounts coming in over 2" in annapolis, almost 3" in carroll county near sykesville and that's adding to that over 3" in montgomery county. we do now have some new flash flood warnings that have just come out since even the top of the show so we want to keep you updated on that. queen anne, kent, cecil, caroline counties until 10:00 p.m. aa calvert county until 11:30, pg county until 10:45. we'll have the complete forecast coming up shortly coming up.

. welcome back. everybody. okay, we are going to get right to it. first warning doppler radar show you what's going on right now because we have a lot of heavy rain in the state. as we were just talking about before the break a lot of heavy rain yesterday, even rain this morning and take a look at this batch right now. notice all of these reds and these oranges. in some cases, over an inch of rain per hour with these. that's on top of the two to three inches that we got last night through this morning. chestertown down to annapolis, really getting pummeled now. shady side we are going to take you farther south but as you can see this completely fills in the entire screen. prince frederick. we also see elliott, heavy rain and now it's spreading toward the beaches which have pretty much avoided it most of the day. snowhill a thunderstorm around, heavy thunderstorms coming in right now and if we're not showing you, you're still getting a lot of rain unless you're an incredibly western parts of the state

basically from hagerstown west and because of that we have a flash flood watch in effect through late tonight for everywhere from hagerstown eastward. flash flood in warnings: orange is a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 7:00 p.m. tonight but it looks like the bigger threat, but rain and flooding is a threat for everyone. we have a cold front coming in from the west. it's gotten very stopped up because of hurricane bill offshore. you can see the bands here. that's hurricane bill. it's not coming in even though it's closing storm of the beaches because of incredibly high tides and also the huge risk for those riptides. and we're also seeing some bands of it starting to make their way into cape cod but the thing is it won't make landfall because of the front that's bringing us the flooding rains. so this front is going to

eventually deflect bill, back out to sea. as you can see it's still making its way to the north- northwest right now at 24 miles per hour but it eventually will turn more northward and then to the northeast. winds have come down but still 86 miles per hour. and it's looking like it's losing some strength but still a very strong storm out there. so as it continues on this track eventually it's going to leave the united states. but tonight for some up and down cape cod this is going to be a rough night out there. temperature-wise, we have been down all day because of everything going on. but notice the dew points. in the low 70s. that's the amount of moisture in the air that pinned this area for the area for the few days. we'll have thunderstorms today and tomorrow. this front eventually will go out to sea as soon as bill leaves us. and even on monday a lingering thunderstorm is possible but we'll be quieting down by monday. drier air starting to come n we have a few e-mails about possible storm surge. we are not seeing much around

here. winds turn northwest tomorrow eliminating any threat of that. tonight we are going down to 69 degrees with heavy rain. tomorrow rain and thunderstorms around. then over the next five days, we are going to see things starting to calm down, warming up but losing that high humidity. >> thank you. we'll dry up soon.

weeks and weeks of band damage, blood, no tears from ravens players now that their 2009 training camp broke in westminster. in the second camp under second year coach john harbaugh nothing significantly different from the first according to the coach but the second time around easier than the first last year depending how ask.

>> our thoughts unofficially leaving here tomorrow. that's my thought. this is a good camp. i think having a year to go through it makes a difference. i think this year guys are more comfortable with the program and how it works and you can tell how we performed on the field. >> okay. i think what he is talking about is that big win over the redskins 23-0. last night in minneapolis, preseason debut for unretired one more time quarterback brett favre. he is with his brand-new team the minnesota vikings against kansas city. he threw four passes, only one was completed for four yards. rusty at best. vikings won by the way. 17-13. baseball the orioles made it two straight wins last night some unaccomplished in the last two months. guthrie struck out jermaine dye. guthrie allowed just one run. floyd now with the white sox brought his a game. but brian roberts burned him

with a solo home run in the third. that tied the game at one all. fast forward, roberts versus floyd again. in the 8th advantage roberts again. another big fly swatted out of the park. two homers in one night for brian roberts coming off a grand slam at tampa bay night before last. two wins in a row they beat the red sox -- white sox, pardon me, in chicago 5-1. can they make it three consecutive wins? find out tonight when they play the white sox here tonight on wjz at 7:00. moving right along, up the road in aberdeen, harford county, the cal ripken little league world series -- sorry, that's the wrong video. forrest hills of florida did beat mexico by the final score of 7-6. moving right along, they say what that's all for sports? signals a little mixed up there. >> i can't believe the orioles first time they have won two consecutive games in two months. >> in two months. >> that's not a good statistics.

>> don't talk about it too much because they are going for three tonight. >> let's hope so. >> thank you, stan. coming up tonight at 11 on wjz's eyewitness, some new developments in the investigation surrounding the mental health records of the virginia tech gunman and the pittsburgh area health club where a gunman killed three women is also trying to make a new start at 11:00. be sure to watch without a trace at 10:00 p.m. followed by eyewitness at 11:00. finally tonight, contestants in finland are showing off their best skills at the world air guitar championships last night. take a look. you cannot air guitar in