million dollars punish. baltimore county residents are given the biggest buy out ever. exxon has to pay. >> reporter: jacksonville families burst into cheers when the exxon verdicts were announced today. mike schuh has the record details of the record damages awarded. >> reporter: the jury says

exxon took a gallon leak and by committing fraud turned it into a $1.5 billion judgment. >> this is the way the system should work and it worked. >> reporter: the dream homes here are worth less and no one is confident their wells aren't filled with poisons. >> why did you think that the jury saw it your way that this was fraud. >> reporter: they saw the facts. there was substantial evidence supporting this evidence and we're confident they will be upheld. >> reporter: perhaps no one was more relieved than the jurors who spent half a year in court. the judge choking up when he thanked them. >> just kind, caring, devoted people, all different walks of life and you also had several teachers. >> reporter: cheers broke out at the ends of the trial, the only long faces from those trying to defend what the jury said exxon did. >> we believe that that result is not supported by the facts

in the law. glad that they won, those who suffered still worry about their children. >> i hope that it's over. >> reporter: defendants in cases like these won't say that they're going to appeal. today on the courthouse steps said they will appeal this case. mike schuh, back to you on tv hill. so far the awards range from $300,000 to $60 million. the $60 million went to a bison rancher who lost his entire herd after the leak. fire engulfed the building on lombard street. firefighters managed to keep it contained while it burned out, no one was hurt. we're working out of a story from georgia. authorities are trying to

determine with if a body discovered is that of a law school student from california. her friend at mersa law school called police. investigators searched giddings apartment complex where they did find a body. those remains have not been identified. and shocked neighbors watched a plane land short of the bay area bridge airport. wjz is live. kelly mcpherson is there and talked to neighbors who saw that plane went down. >> reporter: the plane took off and a short time later, the pilot was forced to land in a shallow creek that is filled with boats and docks. the plane ended up in broad creek near ken island thursday afternoon. >> i heard this loud noise and i was like oh my gosh. i looked behind me and it was a

plane, it was like 10 feet above the water and it was just coming into the creek. i know that it was going to crash. i didn't hear anything so it must have been going slow. it just glided in. >> reporter: the bay bridge airport is near by so planes are common but neighbors were shocked by this crash. >> it was like all the neighbor, oh my gosh. it was just we've never seen anything like that here. >> reporter: two men that live near by got on their boat and went to help the pilot. the pilot said he lost power. many around here are surprised that the plane didn't hit anything. >> i was afraid it would hit that man's pier. but it obviously didn't, that's even more amazing. >> reporter: the pilot is frank floriti, he works at the airport and he was not injured. >> he was fine, i saw him walk out of here.

reporting live, kelly mcpherson. kelly, thank you. so one was hurt in the crash. airplane stow away. a nigerian passenger is allowed to take off on a plane without a ticket or being searched. >> reporter: the man was already on board and half way across the country before flight attendant noted he was sitting in a seat that was supposed to be empty. he somehow made it on the plane at new york's kennedy airport with a -day-old boarding pass. >> that could be alerting. >> reporter: he was interviewed and let go. in two days he was the at the

airport again trying to get on board with an old boarding pass. this time he was arrested. >> if he can do it, someone who is not all clicking can do it and really cause a problem. the tsa released a statement, it is important to note that this passenger was subject to the same physical screen at the checkpoint as other passengers. but that doesn't explain the boarding pass. >> the board should have been a ticket for day of pass, so that shows a breech there. >> reporter: some passengers say things need to change. >> it's a false sense of security. and they need to stop having all this lip service and they need to step up. >> reporter: noive is charged with being a stow away and is due in court on friday. authorities say noibe could face up to five years in prison. the screener who let him

through could face disciplinary action as well. opponents of the dream act finished their tally late tonight on a petition to bring the issue to a referendum. they collected 132 signatures though not all have been verified. the law is set to two into effect tomorrow. it is now delayed until at least august. one new law is going into effect tomorrow. and it's likely to impact your holiday celebration. the tax to drink alcohol -- >> there's certainly many mixed emotions about this tax hike. whether people like it or not many will rush into the store to save money before it becomes official. at liquor stores across the state. >> today we've had a big rush and we had yesterday as well. >> reporter: marylanders stocked up on booze. their last chance before the tax goes up on friday.

>> i like to save several dollars when i can. today was the day to do it. >> reporter: maryland schools will get a one time boost of $68 million the first year. and $15 million will provide services to disabled medical patients. >> many of them have much older care givers who are really struggling to care for them at home. they maybe at risk of becoming holeless. there's very dire situations out there. >> so let me put this into perspective, thursday night this order costs $632. once the alcohol tax goes up it would cost $616. a spike in tax will cause a decrease in alcohol consumption. many people we spoke to say they doubt it. >> absolutely not. i'll budget more for alcohol. >> reporter: others disagree, including some in the industry. >> i think it's going to hurt bars, it's going to hurt restaurants. >> reporter: time will tell exactly how much the tax helped

and how hard drinkers feel the hit. >> i have no problem with the tax. if people want to drink, smoke, pay for it. >> reporter: the governor says he's hoping it will help to reduce the number of alcohol -- underage alcohol related injuries and alcohol abuse. weijia jiang, wjz eyewitness news. >> weijia thank you. it's after 11:00, do you know where your children are? start the new message in a baltimore campaign. if they don't, police say parents will be held accountable. >> if your child is continually found to be in violation of the curfew the ramifications are back on the parents. it worked for me, it worked for a generation of kids in the city. it worked for a generation of adults. >> reporter: the public service announcement starts tonight and

runs through the summer. the children's curfew prohibits kids under 17 from being without an adult. if you're single and looking for a good catch, head to townsend. it's been named the 14th best city for the rich and single. over 35% of townsend is single and the median income is $132 million. the top spot for rich singles went to newport california. and the tropical storm system is hitting heart, where they're getting the worse of it. >> a maryland the politician is

pleading guilty. will-lessly will leslie johnson stay in office? how hot will it get? we'll talk about that coming up on your complete forewarn weather forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

it's 67 degrees and mainly clear in central maryland. the complete warning weather forecast is coming up.

this is what drivers in brownsville texas had to drive through. arlene made land fall on mexico's central coast. that's where the brunt of the storm has hit so far. no major damage is being reported. in some areas the rain was a welcomed sight. a boy took his mother's car at 2:00 in the morning and went speeding off with the lights off. the accident investigators say he ran a red light and slammed into another car killing the passenger. the 14-year-old is expected to be charged with vehicle manslaughter. watch closely, a man grabs the french president and pulled him toward the barricade. security guards quickly brought that man to the grown.

the man was unarmed. sarkozy is facing increased criticism. the wife of a powerful maryland politician is facing time in prison after admitting to -- >> reporter: leslie johnson known for her polished outfits and unflappable demeanor didn't have a hair out of place when he showed up to plead guilty to federal evidence tampering. >> i made a mistake for which i today accepted responsibility for my conduct. >> reporter: johnson's husband former prince george's county executive and top prosecutor jack johnson already admitted his role in shaking down wealthy developers and lining his own pockets with the cash.

>> jack johnson and leslie johnson are guilty of a disgraceful abuse of the trust placed in them by the citizens of prince george's county. >> please raise your right hand. >> reporter: leslie was sworn in as a county council member after the raid and refuses to step down. >> i look forward to continuing to serve and making a positive difference in the lives of people in need. >> reporter: the feds say they can't force her out before she heads to prison. by they hope these politicians send a powerful message to people, that -- will not be tolerated. at the federal courthouse, mike hellgren, wjz. sentencing for leslie johnson is scheduled for october. sad news in sad economic

times. eight clerical officials will be laid off. that's according to the baltimore sun. the loss in jobs is being attributed to a transition in an electronic system. a hospital official says they are trying to find a replacement. this scorpion stung a passenger during a flight from seattle to alaska. jeff ellis says he woke up to find the creature inside its shareef. he was stunned but fortunately the scorpion was of the less venomous variety. they believe the scorpion snuck on when they stopped in texas. >> where's samuel l. jackson when you need him. >> "snakes on a plane." >> i think he was more creative in his language. but close enough. >> even after 11:00 we won't do that. >> we sure won't. >> rent the movie if you want. we're talking about a pretty decent weekend.

if you plan on flying any where. the skies should cooperate, the weather should cooperate. just around 86 degrees. the daytime high was 86 degrees, our current conditions much cooler than that now. right on target for today and tomorrow for our normal high of the year. currently we're at 67. very nice humidity. winds are calm and the barometer 89.99 and rising. high pressure still in control of our forecast. we have temperatures in the mid- 60s out in cumberland and oakland. we have 75 haguerstown. everyone in the mid- to upper 50s in the meantime. at vwi marshal at 68.

calm winds around much of the state, what you're seeing though is the beginnings of a shift to the west and southwest. while we had high pressure, it has been allowing for very nice dry cool air to wrap around it. but as a high is starting to settle down and move down to the south and the east, we're starting to see a bit of a flow from the south and the west. that means we're tapping into warmer air that's really going to start building in the west and northwest. we're seeing temperatures heading toward 100 in texas and that's the direction our air is going to be coming from in the next new days. that's how we expect to warm up. we are starting to see a sector of warm weather moving on through. the áf for what that means for us, is while the temperatures are

going to take us to the mid- 80s, we cannot rule out maybe widely scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout the 4th of july week weekend. but these should be highly scattered and should not affect our weekend. 53degrees, clear and nice, very comfortable. overnight lows going down to 53 and starting in the 50s tomorrow. then we'll go up to about 87. another day with low humidity. look for 87 on friday. 90 on saturday, 92 on sunday. look for 90 on monday the 4th. and 88 on tuesday after all that rain moves on out of here. >> thank you. check in tomorrow morning starting at 4:55 a.m. for the latest forecast. and dan has highlights

along with a major roster move,,

stan is here with our wjz13 the fan sports report. you're smiling but not the o's. it's kind of gone in bad to worse. >> but there'll be a break come the all star break. maybe they'll get it together then. a no brainer for o's top brass. mathis yielding a career high in runs and losing his fourth straight game. before 28,000 plus major league fans downtown. mathis was a shining star at the end of last season, but he's dull as dish water so far. that's not good. on a brighter note, crack,

three run homer. look at that contact right there. bottom six. o's score a run off williams to make it 8-5 orioles. but birds lose to st. louis by the score of 9-6. they get swept as kai said in three straight. and they head to atlanta to continue interleague play. both games broadcast live right here on wjz. profootball made the proclamation three months ago, now probasketball lock out. i mean a real lock out. for real, tips off in about 32 minutes or so. despite a three hour meeting with the player's union today. nba owners will lock out players after failing to reach a new collective deal on a contract that expires at weekend. >> we just want to play basketball. at the end of the day we just have to do what's right. we just got a fair deal.

we just want to hoop. >> no we're not closer, i don't think we're closer. it worries me that we're not closer. >> reporter: what is sporting coming to? both sides divided on practically every single issue. maria sharipova dropped the first three games. against wild card sabina of germany. sharipova roared back. she won it 6-3. hasn't lost a set yet in wimbledon this year. there's sir richard branson of virgin. that's sports. see you tomorrow. >> thanks. swimming with the sharks as they say. they say. coming ,,,,,,

that's amazing. you know what else is amazing? how easy it is to save money on motorcycle, boat, or camper insurance with geico.

a group of divers in florida have a once in a lifetime experience and it's caught on tape. it's a shark while, the encounter lasts for about a half hour before the big fish swam away. a soccer tournament in scottland sure got bogged down that's because it was played in a swamp. 40 teams waited for the soft mud for anything that resembled a ball. despite all the mud slinging, the players hat a lot of fun. the real work will be ,,,,,,,,

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from the late show