on it. >> to tart the day with us. how cool is that? >> there. >> reporter: more than 80,000 students and educators in baltimore. >> good morning. >> reporter: they marked a fresh beginning. >> i'm freaked out a little bit. >> reporter: the head of the city schools says his challenging include improving attendance and test scores. >> the math scores went up and they need to go up more this year. >> reporter: this high school underwent the biggest transportation, a $30 million renovation for the students in the medical field and they were addressed today. >> you have a bright future, you have a tremendous brain, you have one of the best facilities in the united states. >> we're going to continue to make investments in the schools. it's critical, if we'll create

the sort of work force we need to compete, we have to invest in modern classrooms. >> reporter: we spoke with the head of the second largest teacher's union who made baltimore a stop on the tour. >> you see, in the greatest recession since the great depression, the ability to have the facility for the kids. it's saying, education counts. >> reporter: she's saying that the baltimore schools are in a renaissance. >> after all we're here for success. >> reporter: optimism stretched from cross country elementary -- to wolf street academy. >> we'll learn so much -- >> reporter: and beyond in this new school year. >> reporter: and we'll see more projects like that done bar renovation in the budget crunch. thank you, mike. coming up new at 5:30, the school bell range at county school and weijia jiang has a

look. and prosecutors in the case against mayor sheila dixon says they didn't abuse the process. >> her lawyers say that subpoenas were improperly issued. she's charged for stealing gift cards. maryland state prosecutors says that the office has done nothing wrong and issued the subpoenas to gain evidence for a new indictment against the mayor. they say they don't need the seen gentlemans since -- subpoenas. >> >> an accident claims the live of two and leaves a police officer in critical condition. tonight, a vigil will be held to remember the teens killed. mike schuh has more. >> reporter: in less than an

hour, the family and friends of the two teens will gather here to remember, by all accounts, they were good kids, taken too soon. >> reporter: michael jones was a football player and his girlfriend was in the car, returning to baltimore with michael and hissed, a cop -- and his dad, a cop. on i-81, the car went off of the road and she died and michael at a hospital later. the 41-year-old father was flown from a pennsylvania hospital here at shock trauma. he's in serious condition. >> i'm devastated, i don't know -- i have no words. that was my baby. >> reporter: for her family, it's a collective nightmare. >> i feel like it's a bad tree, i can't believe she gone. >> reporter: they met here and the principal liked them both.

>> she had substance, you couldn't be around her and not know -- there was something pretty neat about her. they're children that you want to know and she was one of the children that you want to know. >> reporter: her family has been to visit with michael's dad. >> he didn't look so good, he told us he was sorry about the loss and put his head down. i know he's in a lot of pain, he lost his son, too. and i know that, you know, my daughter and his son loved will each other very much. i know, he's hurting a lot. i wouldn't, you know, i'm not blaming him for this, because it was an accident. >> reporter: her family says she was to start college today, she didn't have insurance and her family is scrambling to pay the $7000 in burial costs.

the school is taking up a collection to help the costs. back to you now. >> her funeral will be on saturday at 11:00. arrangements are pending for michael jones jr.. the first of two teens accused of the killing of a crofton teen is going on trial tomorrow. the 14-year-old was beaten to death while riding his bike. the trial begins tomorrow and the 16-year-old is also charged with manslaughter and he's charged as an adult. an investigation continues after a boating accident in anne arundel county. one man died and two others are thankful to have been rescued from the waters. derek valcourt has more. >> reporter: even more sad, the part of the story, both of drivers of the boats were friends with one another. >> the shores of marley creek

calm today. a far cry of what happened last night. >> one of the boats went over the top of the other one. >> reporter: the victim was a long time resident, a father of four of a friend of everyone in the neighborhood. >> everyone was shocked to hear that. you don't expect that to happen. he's been around here on the water his whole life. he's known the creek like the back of his hand. it's just, that was a freak thing. >> reporter: the two boats were coming from opposite directions and may not have seen each other until the last possible minutes. >> reporter: and an accident more heart breaking, the driver of the other boat and his 13- year-old were friends with the martin's family. they survived with minor injuries.

>> and it's ironic that -- that that's how, you know, that's how ricky came to pass, he loved the creek and he would often joke about how he owned the creek and that was his creek. >> reporter: his friends at the beach bar may never come to grips with the loss. >> it's a tragic thing. i can't understand it. he's been around for so long and everyone's going to miss him. >> reporter: the police are going to look at whether or not speed, drugs or alcohol could have played a role in the crash. derek valcourt, eyewitness news. >> he was in the middle of organizing the fishing tournament for the neighborhood in october and the neighbors want to carry it on in his honor. cathleen kennedy town send is speaking out about the legacy of ted kennedy.

>> sense then, mourners lined up to pay their respects to him. he died of brain cancer. she says that her uncle never gave up. >> what we saw over the last few days is that people said ted kennedy, i don't know how you got to be senator, but, when you were there, you did more than anyone in history. >> reporter: speaking out about the family's heart ache and tragedy, she says he was an inspiration that kept fighting. well, we're kicking off the workweek with cool and great looking skies. let's check in with bob turk. bob? >> boy, you can see for miles out there, it's a clear, beautiful clean day. it's comfortable and it will be cooler and the next few nights, in the 40s and 50s and low 60s

and 72 right now and north winds at 5 and the only rain, a few showers going on and east of ocean city at around salisbury. the winds are moving light around the next hour or two and they'll be gone soon. most of the region, having partly sunny skies and a beautiful, fall start to september. thank you, bob. california governor arnold schwarzenegger issued emergency declarations for four counties as massive wildfires forced thousands from their homes. here's a look at the fire north of los angeles and teri okita has the latest. >> reporter: massive wildfires are devouring california from sacramento to los angeles, the largest is close anything on a vital communication center for l.a. and threatening tv transmitters and 12,000 homes. >> we have a lot of smoke and flames within about one mile of the transmission towers on top

of mount wilson. >> reporter: two firefighters died when their vehicle went off of the side of the roads. >> the worst part is the waiting part. is it going to burn your house or not. >> reporter: the landscape is particularly challenging for the firefighters. some of the brush is burning for the first time in 60 years here. >> it's your stuff, you don't want to leave it. >> reporter: and 30 miles from l.a., she wanted to stick around to protect her property and changed her mind when faced with a 75-foot wall of fire. >> we jumped in the tahoe and ran, literally, honestly, we ran for our lives and i wouldn't advise staying. >> they couldn't believe their house was there and the firemen who saved the home are heroes and with so many fires raging, the destruction is far from over. cbs news, californiaful.

and 6600 homes are under amandatory evacuation and 2500 firefighters are working to control the fires. still ahead, shots ring out and two are wounded and the police are getting closer to taking a suspect in custody. it doesn't matter if you smoke a little or a lot when it comes to heart disease. >> reporter: you'll never get a better deal. i'm pat warren and coming up, that's what many are saying about the state's tax amnesty plan and not everyone agrees. and are the cooler temperatures to stay. we'll have the forecast, coming up.

we're following breaking

news now. we have a fire in north baltimore county. >> reporter: hello, we're in the 2000 block of frames road, that's off of lynch road in the north point area of baltimore county and a middle group town home is involved in smoke and flames. a neighbor saw the fire coming from the kitchen area and you can see heavy thick smoke overtaken both the second and first floors and the firefighters are going in and there's no word on whether or not anyone's inside and we'll stay on top of the situation as it develops. thank you, captain mike perry. and out door diners duck for cover in hampton and tonight, there's a suspect in the case and two victims including a pregnant woman are recovering. >> reporter: gloves line the

gutter and yellow crime tape still dangle in the area. >> everyone ran inside and they got to the ground. but, you know, it was a period of confusion. >> reporter: the owner of the pasta bar says that three weren't hurt, but witnessed it from their table. a woman, 6 months pregnant shot in the arm and a male in the leg. >> and the suspect drove into the block while they were standing outside and rolled down the window and brandished a gun and without warning, opened fire and the suspect fled to an unknown location. >> reporter: the suspect went into this bar and ordered a beer prior to the shooting and the police returned to the bar and pulled finger fingerprints -- they're not releasing the name or motive of the suspect. >> at this point, the relationship of the victims and suspect is unclear, once we get the suspect and we're able to question him, we'll have more

answer. >> reporter: the pasta bar is moving down the street and the crime has nothing to do with it. >> i think that this neighborhood is very safe. i think that the people, the people in the neighborhood are great. >> reporter: and grateful that the suspect will be brought to justice. >> reporter: both of the victims were treated and released from the sign nigh hospital. if you're waiting for someone to get home from work let's check on the roads now. >> hi, everyone. we have delays on the beatway system, if you're traveling on the northside of the inner lupe, it's stop and go and as for the westside, we have an accident to watch out for on baltimore national pike. and as for delays on the westside, they have extended to security boulevard and 95 northbound, it continues to crawl along, that's from the freeway up to the beltway on the north eastside and we have

three accidents to update you on. bellwood and hard mother -- and that's before the delay and here's to the westside. this is brought to you by carpet one. they're having a labor day sell through september 7th. call 1-800-carpet one to locate the showroom nearest you. back to you now. if you owe state faxes -- taxes, you could be in luck. for you can now pay without penalty and half the interest. pat warren explains, it's an incentive to get more into the state. >> reporter: april 15th is a state that sticks in your head. the folks handing off the tax returns remember it. >> nothing like the thrill of a dead line. >> reporter: miss the dead line, tomorrow, there's no

penalty. >> and there will not be a better deal. >> reporter: governor o'malley declares amnesty. >> we're announcing the start to have the forgiveness period from september 1st until october 30th. the last time that we did one of these, it yielded 39 1/2 million dollars. >> reporter: the announcement outside of this cafe drew a mixed reaction. she paid on time. >> everyone is responsible for making taxes -- paying taxes and yeah, there should be penalties for those who don't. it's not fair to the people that do pay. >> reporter: the tax collector agrees. >> my concern all along is we're sending the wrong message to the taxpayers that pay on- time. we're saying to the people that cheat, come on in, cheat on the state and we'll give you, you know, a get out of jail free card.

>> it wasn't up to the controller to decide, the general assembly did it. >> it enables working families to get well and the small business people had to make tough choices to help themselves out of this difficult period by ridding themselves of penalties and interests and basically, it's a win/win for everyone. >> he agrees. >> we have this thing about people not getting off of the hook. but the state really needs money. >> reporter: the period allows you to set up a payment plan and you have to have your account cleared by december 31st 2010. i'm pat warren, back to you now. all right, wjz is always on and for more information on qualifying for the tax amnesty, go to wjz.com. million dollar forecast for us, bob. >> i love the weather. take a look at the temperatures.

we have a few clouds, 72 and northwest winds and holding steady

we're at 72 degrees right now. the normal is at 82 degrees. up in oakland, around 2000 feet, it's 67 and this morning, 49 and tonight, they'll get down to around the mid-40s in oakland. 77 cumberland and 72 here in hagerstown and ocean city. and cloudy and showers early on. they've moved from the ocean city region, just clouds left over. 72 here and 23469 bell -- 69 in bel air and d.c. at 73. a little nice wind around the sound and so comfortable, a perfect day and a perfect way to start school. and the clouds moved to the

south and south east and we had broken clouds and you can see, a few to the west of us. that's clearing up nicely and we'll have mostly sunny skies. a front down to the south and low pressure moving to the carolina coast and that's moving away from the region, we can see showers in south east virginia and they're beginning to move to the east. and north and west, clearing conditions and high pressure building in and pleasant temperatures and cooler nights and sunny days. by the end of the week, as this moves off, we'll have a bit of a return flow, warmer and maybe a few more clouds. right nower we al stay rain free, it's looking like. i'm not guaranteeing that though. north east winds at 10 to 15 knots and the bay temperature at 79 degrees. tonight, clouds from time to time and otherwise, clear and sun and clouds, upper 70s,

normal high tomorrow, september 1st. that's officially and unofficially, the beginning of, well, it's the three months of the year of autumn. summer, officially ends at midnight tonight, that's a meteorologist talking. >> and feels like it. we have a few hours of summer left. still ahead, a mass murder. police in georgia are searching for the killer of eight people. hear the frantic calls to 911. and it's the first day of school and teachers are noticing a difference in students that's straight ahead. on eyewitness news. i'm ron matz, it's the wattable -- it's the battle for the paddles. cbt1cbt1t1

here are the stories that people are talking about tonight. tens of thousands of students are heading back to school today. as weijia jiang reports, the tough climate is affecting academics. >> reporter: it was the first day of school for students and teachers and the county leaders

who spent all day in the classroom. >> reporter: students across maryland traded in the hazy days of summer for the hectic process of the first day of school. >> you see them coming in full of vigor and excitement. >> reporter: it's an excitement that's appealing. >> well, at first, i thought, well, we have to go back to school and when you get there, it's like, like, that animosity we felt before goes away. >> reporter: howard county and baltimore county visited several schools. >> students are engaged already on the first day of school. >> reporter: and part of the first day of school tour for the leaders included a stop at this virtual learning center and they're using the same technology that's used to train astronauts. >> it's imperative to work together. >> the system works with any

subject and students use the controls the find out what happens. >> you fly to the lake and take stud disand you return to base and analyze it. >> reporter: the leaders say that the new technology offers a competitive edge. it's a one up that's crucial. >> reporter: and sobering attitudes, with regards to the children and they're understanding that there's something different and unique with the economy quite frankly. there's a seriousness and a purpose with regards to the workers and teachers and employees. >> reporter: and baltimore county is the 26th district in the country and today, more than a 104,000 students went to school. i'm weijia jiang, eyewitness news. >> the virtual classroom is the first among its kind in america. >> >> and a sex offender is charged with attacking a woman.

she was found bruised and bleeding and she told the police she was held hostage and beaten by this man. and also, the police are serging for two suspects. this woman was robbed while sitting in her car. the suspects had on white masks and the victim gave them cash and her cell phone. the two fled the scene on foot and they couldn't be located. >> after the death of a superstar d.j. an autopsy was performed. well, results of the autopsy are inconclusive. he was found dead friday night and a crack pipe and drugs were found near him in the

apartment. he was a recovering drugged a dick -- addict. >> he survived a plane crash last week. he just finished filming an intervention reality show nor m&tv. -- m&tv. and police are looking for the killers behind the murder of eight people. >> everybody's dead. >> reporter: on the 911 call, a man describes a horrifying seen. >> my whole family's dead. they've been beaten. >> reporter: he says he came home early saturday morning to find nothing but dead bodice. >> how many people? my dad, my mom, my uncle, my cousins. >> reporter: after taking a closer look, he notices one of

the cousins is alive. >> michael's still alive, he's breathing. >> reporter: the police found two clinging to life. a 19-year-old later died at a hospital, the loan survivor remains in critical condition and besides him, they're not releasing the names of the victims and they're closely guarding the details of the case. >> this is difficult and we're doing all we can do in order to find those responsible and find out what happened. >> reporter: my whole family's dead. >> reporter: after the 911 call, he was arrested for suspicion of tampering with evidence and possession of drugs. he's not a suspect, but they're not ruling him out. the neighborhood is on edge fearful that those responsible is on the loose. >> they're nervous until the killer, killers are located. >> reporter: the police aren't discussing the motive and hopes that a reward will help get

them answers. joel brown, wjz eyewitness news. and the victims include children and adults. the world health organization is warning of a powerful form of the h1n1 flu virus. it goes straight to the lungs and requires hospital treatment. and some countries report as many as 15% of patients have the more potent form of it. new research suggests a connection with death and weight. individuals deep in debt are less educated and more likely to be depressed or a smoker. also, it's documented that smoking causes health problems for those who light up and tonight, as hari sreenivasan reports, those around those who smoke are at risk of death.

>> reporter: she's taking a break from work to light up. >> i try to smoke less. >> reporter: he has a ten cigarette a day habit. she smokes five. i'm not going through 20 a day. >> reporter: it shows that less than three a day is too many and increases the risk of heart daze by 64%. everyone knows that it's bad for you. these statistics are enormous. >> reporter: the reason it's damage rows, in-- dangerous, it -- the study looked at the habits of a million adults. >> for those of you that smoke a hundred a day, it's a hundred% increased risk. >> reporter: air pollution and

secondhand smoke increase your risk of cardio vascular disease by 30%. it's something this dad wants to do. >> reporter: i need to stop smoking, i want to be around to enjoy my kids when they get older. >> reporter: researchers hope it's evidence for smokers like him. and last week, another study showed that ride anything a car with a smoker is just as dangerous as taking in secondhand smoke in a bar. and for summer, it's coming to an end and officials in ocean city hope that marylanders will travel to the beach for a perfect end to the summer. ocean city's mayor visited the area today. >> labor day weekend is a good weekend. there's a lot of salt lake city

-- vacancies. it's a good time to come, if you haven't visited and if your kids aren't in school yet, it's a great time to come to ocean city. >> reporter: if you decide to visit, there's an arts and crafts festival and a free beach side concert. >> time for a look at the stories in the baltimore sun. and more on the virtual classroom and how you can check the health of your local bank and a look at the tight end for the ravens. for more, read the baltimore sun and look at the updated forecast. well, it's more grueling than the iron man, five men and one woman are going to kayak 166-miles for charity. ron matz has more.

>> reporter: the kayaks are ready and the route's mapped out and it's the battle of the paddles and the owner of this store and this owner here -- >> it's, well, it's great, it's a lot of fun, it doesn't feel like exercise. accept, around the 30th mile, then, it's exercise. >> reporter: it's an exercise in helping others. they're raising money for baltimore based believe in children, national foundation. >> they provide housing for families with critically ill children. >> they start in virginia and down to point lookout. >> come all the way up the bay to the chesapeake beach and stopping here for a day and we'll come back out and head back up to here. 166 miles. >> reporter: they'll have tunes for the rifle rifle-- ride.

and he's already done it twice. this time,the money raised will help children of military families. >> it's fantastic to be involved in this. i'm proud to be a part of it. >> the challenge will end here and they're hopeing to raise $100,000 for believe in tomorrow. >> that's, that's why we're doing it. the real winner in this, it's not who comes in first, it's the families. >> reporter: ron matz, wjz-13 eyewitness news. well, the battle of the paddles will take five days. they'll go fast. if you would like information and to make a pledge, go to wjz.com. that would be so cool to do. >> yeah, but i would rather watch. can you imagine the shoulders when you're done. >> i would need 16 heating

pads. >> and don't miss the news with katie couric tonight. >> a trial opened today in louisville spotlighting kids, football and tough coaching. a high school coach charged in the death of one of his players. that's coming up tonight on cbs evening news. and looks like a great week heading our way and we'll have the forecast, coming up. and here's a look at the

you'll love the next few days. take a look at the forecast. sunny and partly cloudy, most of the day. really, really pleasant and 50 to the low to mid-70s, that's it, awfully nice temperature and the next five days, we'll get to 80, wednesday into saturday. and under partly cloudy skies. look at the nighttime lows and 50 to 60 and the normal high

tomorrow, 82 and the normal low, 61. enjoying the first days of september. three texas boaters are rescued after enduring a week of hunger and blistering heat. a vessel spotted them in the gulf of mexico over the weekend. three men were on a fishing trip and their boat took on water and they captized. they were out there for 8 days surviving on chips, crackers and bubble gum. a child took his parents car and hit the gas peddle. he reached speeds up to 80 miles per hour. >> oh. >> and the police used strips on the road to stop the car and they discovered it was a pint sized driver and luckily, no one was hurt. new details emerged about the life of jaycee lee dugard. she was kidnapped by a man from a bus stop when she was 11. customers of his printing

business say she worked as his assistant and assumed she was his daughter. >> >> and a trial of a former football coach accused in the death of a player is underway in kentucky. as we report, the charge is wreckless homicide. >> reporter: outside of his home, dozens of supporters rallied on the eve of the head coaches unprecedented trial. across town at a local sunday football game, teams debated and parents debated. >> the coach drive them hard. there's not a lot of kids that will stop and ask for water. >> reporter: a year ago, this month, a sophomore died of complications and the player's father blames the coach for his

15-year-old's death. >> it was totally preventable. he was in charge. >> reporter: he has denied being wreckless. >> one thing you can't forget is i lost one of my boys that day. >> reporter: even after he collapsed, other players asked for water and the coach called them cowards. >> this is about an adult responsible for the health and welfare of a trial. >> reporter: he faces wreckless endangerment and his lawyers will argue that the death was an accident and nothing more and this is going to put the culture on trial, whipping a team into shape. cbs news, louisville, kentucky. >> he has the support from a dozen coach's organizations contributing to the defense fund.

>> disney is purchasing marvel entertainment for $4 billion. they'll acquire some famous quarters. iron man and spider-man. there will be changes to the company and disney may bring their lesser known comics to the big screen. those are great movies. check in with all new stories at 6:00. new developments in the slaying of ken harris and why they want them to hand over the entire file. i'm alex demetrick and a major cleanup of the back rip -- river has lead to a disappointment. back to you now. and thank you, vick. there's a new kind of party to destress. it's called a cuddle party. it's a new phenomenon. they were created to help

adults rediscover touch and afaction -- affection. it's strictly nonsexual. no one has to touch or be touched if they don't feel comfortable. well, all right. we're live over an accident right now. and this is on eastern boulevard and captain mike perry has more. >> reporter: it's been a nasty day for the accidents in essex area. this is a four vehicle collision at eastern boulevard and earl's road at the eastern regional park. and you can see the vehicles have severe damage with people trapped inside. one, we can't see, one is up into the woods and this truck, laying on its side, now, it's not clear how this occurred and the police have closed eastern boulevard in both of the directions there. we'll stay on top of it for

you. all right, mike, thank you. and eyewitness news sports is live at camden yards. >> there's a buzz in the ballet park -- ballpark and the ravens make a roster move. news on

will, bummer, the summer has come to an end and the yankees are in town. >> well, they're showing the best record in baseball and they're a power house. they're heading to the play offs and the best push is coming from this guy that signed with them before the season started and he's paying huge dividends. this was his 32nd home run this season and he's the american league's most valuable player and meanwhile, the orioles are younger and less experienced and in last place and they're trying to build to be a contender in the future. felix is trying to back matusz

and the orioles won yesterday. and he talks about the team's upswing with a month to go. well, i think it's overall improvement from the young guys and if you get the pitching, you don't have to get 12 outs out of the bullpen, you have a chance to put yourself in the position to win the game. jeremy guthrie gets the start and his improvement includes victories in the last two starts including one run in each and the o's will face pettitte and the yankees won the last seven meetings against the o's. >> and let's talk football now. we were in owens mills yesterday and the ravens dropped three players from the roster yesterday and they made room by putting samari roll on the physically unable to

perform list. he'll have additional surgery and hopes he'll be able to play, but he'll miss the first six games at least. >> he'll be on pop and that's the noncounting version of it and he's going to have more work done in the neck and try to shore it up there and i think, when the time comes, we'll be safer than we are risk oriented. if there's risk at all, he won't play. terrell suggs missed a lot of practice and he came back today. harbaugh says he could play in the preseason finale thursday. oh's and yankees at 7:05, more on eyewitness news at 6:00. we'll see you then. >> that's always possible, they could win. well, you never know. >> well, we'll see.

doubtful, but possible. >> still to come tonight. a baltimore city police officer is here at shock trauma after a wreck that

two boats crash and it leaves a neighborhood grieving. and new developments in the case against mayor sheila dixon. and back to class, i'm mike hellgren with the school watch coverage of the challenges ahead. we'll talk to the top education leaders and students and parents. >> and boy, you'll want to call it the great cool off. it feels like fall, will it last? we have the weather forecast and eyewitness news at 6:00 right now. tragedy among friends. two boats collide and kill a glenn bernie man.