mike hellgren has the investigation. >> reporter: the 6-year-old hat a faint heartbeat when he was pulleded from sandy point but he just didn't make it. the chaotic theme broke out this morning at sandy point park. his dad rushed in. part of a human chain that formed as the search. >> my dad touched the boy with his leg so he picked him up and say, here he is, here he is. >> reporter: he was then taken away in an ambulance. >> they are well trained to mitigate any type of emergency and immediately call 911 to we can provide immediate assistance. >> reporter: the fourth of july was tainted by tragedy.

>> they should be proactive astay with the kids at all the times, keep an eye on him. >> if there's silence, there's a problem. someone should always maintain a watch, if you can't swim, please wear a personal flotation device. >> reporter: this is the second tragedy on the water this saturday. a life guard was near by and was able to rescue him and he will survive. >> adults should be with them at all times, even if they can swing. >> six people have died in anne arundel county in drownings. >> the little boy was in two designated swimming areas in that almost 800-acre park. divers are once again searching a pennsylvania lake for a missing maryland man. the man went missing over the weekend when a boat he was on

tipped over in pennsylvania. three other people were also on board but they were also rescued. >> i went out on a boat looking for the diver. >> you just kept going down trying to find him. >> i kept going down, i went inside the entire boat and could not find him. >> you went into the sinking boat. >> yes, i did. the investigation into a maryland woman's disappearance continues down in georgia. police believe she was murdered but how and why remains a big mystery. derek valcourt is live in the newsroom with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: lauren giddings disappeared more than a week ago. the howard county woman had just graduated. police believe the body found in her apartment complex last week may have been hers but they still haven't made a positive i.d. because the body was apparently badly mutilated.

officers spent the weekend dusting for fingerprints. authorities say they have two persons of interest in the case. one of those people was later charged with an unrelated burglary at giddings apartment complex. so far police have made no arrest in her apparent murder. >> giddings graduated down in howard county. the count down is on in just a few hour, the skies over baltimore will light up with dazzling fireworks display. wjz is a proud sponsor of the port of america show. wjv is live downtown. jessica cartalia is in the middle of all the excitement, jess. >> happy fourth of july to everyone out there. there's been so much going on at the harbor, it's been absolutely packed with people. the band milk shake performed earlier for the children. people have been coming out, the staking out the best place

to watch the fireworks. >> reporter: hours before the fireworks light up the night sky. the inner harbor is packed with people, kids stay cool and play games as they wait for the big show. >> it is 4th of july, independence day. and the city of brotherly love where it all began. >> not only is the harbor patriotic but your shirt is patriotic. >> yes, i'm in the spirit today. >> reporter: the fireworks show is choreographed to the music. >> i enjoyed it the last time i came with my kids, so i really wanted to be here again. >> reporter: some people say they have the best seat in the house. >> on the boat, you say, why do you think. >> because nobody is in front of you and you can catch the

entire show. >> reporter: again get here early if you're hoping to get a good spot. but really you can see it from any where. it will go on no matter whether rain or shine. and hopefully that won't happen, we're all thinking positive out here. we're live at the inner harbor. >> thank you, jessica. we're of course hoping the weather cooperates. let's go to bernadette woods she's tracking live radar. >> we want it to work, not only here but in all other parts of the state. they are firing over the mountains and moving ever so slowly off to the east southeast. what we're seeing in here is our biggest concern for baltimore. because all of this is moving in this direction. now, if it holds together we could have some issues, but of course we'll keep track of that. take a look though, this batch that was making its way over

the mountains really starting to break apart so that's a sign of some hope for everyone. watching the thunderstorms move in our direction. the biggest threat is going to be southern parts of the state. a thunderstorm watch is in effect tonight for the southern part of the state. >> wjz is proud to be a sponsor of the ports america 4th of july fireworks. we're all hoping for the clear skies tonight while other people are still cleaning up after some wicked thunderstorms. one man was killed and tens of thousands of people lost power in the dc region. andrea fujihi shows us the damage. >> reporter: families are cleaning up after a monstrous storm. >> and ten years i've lived here this was the most violent storm. the wind had the trees literally you know bending.

>> reporter: north arlington between the york town and chester brook neighborhood were the hardest hit. >> it was unbelievable, the wind, the rain coming and the push of the wind was like a tidal wave coming in that direction. >> reporter: the force of the wind sheered trees. >> i ran downstairs and we looked outside and there were trees all over the neighborhood. >> reporter: there was also lightning which downed power lines and blocked roads. it was that lightning that struck the tree near the canal. which then fell on a 56-year- old man riding his bike. he died at the scene. the storm also forced te sackuation of the national mall. as thousands of people showed up for a rehearsal. >> my mom was telling us to get downstairs and when i was going downstairs i saw a blue flash. >> reporter: leaving thousands

of residents without power. andrea fujihi. >> the good news tonight is the lights are back on but just a handful of customers here in maryland. still ahead, in the hands of the jury, 12 men and women deciding the fate of casey anthony. the emotional last minute plea from the prosecution. >> he's probably the last person that deserves what has happened to him. >> baltimore sees its 100 murder of 2011. why this tragedy is especially hard of those who knew the victim. i'm derek valcourt in one of the many parades across maryland, we'll have a look at the fun coming up on eyewitness news. and meteorologist bernadette woods is tracking some possible showers, we're looking at that next on wjz eyewitness news. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

i have a niece that wants to know where her daddy is. >> reporter: friends and fallly hold a vigil for the latest victim of 2011. >> i just want anyone who did this that you left my daughter without a father. you left me without a husband. >> reporter: christopher samuel served in the u.s. military, he did not have a criminal record. >> he always said he was going to be a good father, he was going to take care of his family and was always going to do the right thing. he was never one to get in trouble, he was never one to walk the streets. >> reporter: samuel was shot in the back here in west baltimore. police believe it was a robbery

because he was on his cell phone. >> whoever was on the phone said he said, i don't have any money. so if you're going to kill me, you're not going to get anything. >> he will be missed, he will live on through his family. >> christopher was such a good man. and people are going to miss him so much, including me. he was just like my best friend. >> in all i wanted justice for him and i won't give up until i have it. and funeral services are tomorrow at noon at the march funeral home that's on north avenue. police are interviewing multiple persons of interest in connection with a shooting in a downtown parking garage. investigators say a fight broke out just after 2:00 a.m. this morning in the garage of east lombard street. during the altercation, a man in his 20s was shot the but he will be okay. the department of natural

resources is asking you to keep your eye out on stranded animal s if you're out on the water. bottle nose dolphin, tea turtles even manatees have shown up in the waters. you can call dnr. >> i saw a sting ray over by tenth avenue this weekend. if you're waiting for someone to get home, let's check in with christie brevin. >> it's actually a very easy drive. expect for the fact that we have a couple of accidents to report. if you're traveling out there in the bell air area, we have an accident on south bonn street. also a crash in kingsville at reynolds road. the parade is in full swing. as far as baltimore city, two

accidents to report in that area. let's now take a live look. you can see an easy drive that's 95 top of the north mchenry tunnel. there's a view of the eastern shore, no difficulties in either direction. this track report is brought to you by aaa. trust aaa for an instand quote. visit aaa.com, use it for all it's worth. the grand old flag flying high today as thousands take to the streets for dozens of 4th of july parades. derek valcourt has a look at the excitement. >> reporter: thousands were out celebrating and it was happening in thousands of towns and cities. >> i've been coming to the parade forever, bringing family

down. >> reporter: fire trucks waving flags and waving politicians part of almost any parade. but for many year it's the music that brings home their love of country. >> i'm glad to see them out here. i like to hear the drum, get the stir. >> i love the bands, they are the best. i just love the bands. especially on the fourth of july they make me feel patriotic, they make me want to stand up and cheer for the flag again. it's the best feeling. >> reporter: to kids, parade are patriotism in its most special form. >> it's a day to appreciate the wonderful country we live in and to celebrate the people who protect our freedom. >> it's a great day to be an

american. >> happy birthday america. >> reporter: these parades are pretty expensive to produce. this one in town will cost $30,000. luckily it'll all be paid for with donations and sponsors. we will take a look at more of the celebrations here and around the country in just a bit. seems like some americans aren't exactly sure what exactly we are celebrating. there's a new poll that says only 86% of people know what 4th of july is. >> haven't they seen the musical? >> on the spirit of 76, right. 235 years ago, only 1/3 of people younger people actually knew that the u.s. broke away from great britain. >> oh, no. >> who else would it have been? >> spain. >> if you celebrate the nation's birthday, right here on wjz tonight.

join us for the fireworks spectacular. we'll have a wrap up of the fire work shows in our area. hopefully the fire work shows will get off the ground even though we have some storms out there. >> we have some out there. continue with your plans and we'll continue to check in with the radar and hope for the best. >> do not be alarmed yet. >> no, because not everyone is going to be affected. and right now it's warm, muggy, it feels like a holiday weekend. 87degrees right now, humidity up a little bit out there. and we'll have that forecast when we come back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

so it's pretty right now, but the skies are overcast and there's definitely some thunderstorms out there. they're kind of moving slow aren't they. >> they are, they are very slow movers. this is going to take some time but we're hoping some of them will die down by the time they get to our area. although, that's an if-fy call. we have thunderstorms out there and they're moving off to the east. other than this one that just popped up along the beaches in southern baltimore. that one is moving away but it keeps reforming. a little bit farther to the

west. this is what we're concerned with. all of this is moving east southeast ward. so, over the next couple of hours, if it holds together it will be moving into the baltimore metro area. now the thing that we're hoping for is that sunset to start to die down. it's already happened, the thunderstorms a little farther away from us. there's two different areas we're tracking. the one in the middle part of virginia is heading to northern maryland. there was an air quality alert during the day today because of the high humidity levels. and we might see that reissued as we head through the week here because we're going to stay warm and we're going to stay muggy. not all that extreme. we do have 90 degrees in's ton right now. the dewpoints are up so it's a little bit uncomfortable outside. so far we've hit a high of 80

degrees. it's a little above average because this is the time of year it does get a little warm. this time of the week, we definitely had that part of the story. what we're seeing at this hour is a front. stalling out just to the south. we're going to have a chance for a shower or thunderstorms topping out through the area. but notice as we head through wednesday, a new front comes in from the northwest. that's going to eventually kick this front away from us. as it does it's going to bring another chance of showers and thunderstorms. it's something else we're going to be tracking. all the while it will remain warm. because even behind this front, roost how warm it is. you have to notice, phoenix is 18 a few days ago so that's -- look how warm it is.

you have to notice, phoenix was 18 degrees lower a few days ago. by tomorrow, clouds and sunshine. a thunderstorms is possible as we head through those late day hours. warm and muggy and 90 degrees for our high. we will keep checking that radar for you as we head few the evening hours. >> they say they're going to go on unless there's severe weather. even if there's severe rain -- >> you might have to go inside to watch them. parades, bar-b-ques and fireworks are all part of baltimore's traditions. and one traditional takes place every day, but it takes special meaning on the 4th of july. >> reporter: it's a star spangled holiday all over maryland, the stars and stripes are everywhere. >> it's for family, the getting

together and it's a form of unity. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. >> reporter: in chicken roost, they say the pledge of allegiance every day. that's because he was born on the 4th of july. >> i get the day started at the deli by saying the pledge of allegiance. sure to get my day started right. a welcomed way to start the day in our state capital. especially on this day of independence. >> and it never seizes to amaze me the warm feeling you get after its all over. and how happy the patrons are that we do this every day.

>> thank you and have a very good day. >> chicken roost deli opened its doors in 1965. the pledge is resited every morning at 8:30. >> great place for a late night snack. next on wjz eyewitness news at 5:00. the sexual assault case falling apart. so what's next for the prosecution. debt debate, with less than a month since the government a month since the government defaul[ female announcer ] the , keurig brews more than just hot coffee.

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it's 5:29, 87 degrees with a chance of storms out there today. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. the case captured the attention of a nation now the fate of a florida mother accused of suffocating her young daughter is in the hands of a jury. casey anthony faces seven charges including firstdegree murder. >> reporter: jurors are now deciding if casey anthony murder her 2-year-old daughter caylee. >> who's life was better without casey anthony? there's your answer. >> reporter: it's evident they say that the 25-year-old didn't want to be a mom anymore.

they tried to prove she suffocated caylee with duct tape. >> that tape had to have been on that skull before she decomposed. >> reporter: to get a guilty verdict, prosecutors must convince jurors without a reasonable doubt. and the prosecution has offered the jury an entirely different explanation of the -- and the defense has offered the jury an entirely different explanation of the events. >> there's the pool, that should could easily get outside. >> reporter: and that the grandfather tried to cover it up. >> these photographs tell the truth. >> reporter: but in their final rebuttal, prosecutors pounced. >> people don't make accidents look like murder. that's absurd. >> reporter: if convicted of first degree murder, anthony could face the death penalty. karen brown, wjz eyewitness news. as you see there, anthony sat kind of stone faced during

most of this morning's proceedings. occasionally she shook her head in disagreement. prosecutors say they are going ahead with the trial of the former head of the monetary commission. >> reporter: kahn was accused of attacking a housekeeper. prosecutors now admit the housekeeper was untruthful in the past. and prosecutors say they will continue to pursue the case. kahn was released from house arrest over the weekend after questions of the accuser came to light. a french novelist is expected to file a complaint in paris tomorrow accusing kahn of trying to rape her nearly a decade ago. the clean up continues on

the yellow stone river in montana after an oil pipeline ruptures. exxon estimates a thousand barrels spilled before the spill finally stopped. the company says the oil is now out of the water. the oil has seeped into pastures and that has many farmers concerned. >> there's oil all over the top soil. and i don't want my animals eating that. it's scary, i mean i grew up here. this is my place. i know this place like the back of my hand. >> reporter: it's still not known what caused that 12-inch pipeline to leak. it was temporarily closed in may and in the last year, regulators warned exxonmobil about pipelines in that same line. residents have been allowed

back into the town of los alamos. the blaze started when a power line fell on top of a tree. key republican senators are speaking out against president obama's troop withdraw plan. speaking from native headquarters, john mccain called the strategy too risky. >> my concern is our ability to move from southern part of this country over to rc east and complete the job there. whether there's sufficient number of american troops. >> reporter: the president's plan calls for pulling out 10,000 troops by the end of the year. and another 23,000 by next summer. the withdrawal is set to begin this month. the senate will be back in session tomorrow looking to hammer out a deal on raising the nation's debt ceiling. republicans and democrats still

seem far apart on the issue. >> reporter: the independence day parade made its way through the streets of washington, but the celebrations are not cutting the tensions between the republicans and democrats. >> republicans are opposed to any tax hike, particularly during our fragile economy. >> reporter: key republicans have signaled that they might be willing to compromise but both sides seem apart on a deal. no talks have been scheduled. republicans are insisting the white house get involved with the negotiations. >> and i'm confident that democrats and republicans in congress can find a way to give some ground. make some tough choices, and put their shoulders to the

wheel to get this down for the sake of the country. >> reporter: the treasury says if the debt ceiling is not raised by august 2nd, the nation will default on its bills. since any deal will need time to get to congress, lawmakers wills have to act fast. a plea deal will have to be reached by august 2 to reach a compromise. >> a crisis would occur if the nation defaulted on its debt. a tribute in london to a former u.s. president. a statute of ronald reagan was unveiled. president reagan was honored for being britain's strongest ally during the cold war. that statute now stand next to eisenhower and franklin roosevelt. fireworks will light up the

sky and bring in profits as well. massachusetts and maine are both looking at laws to legalize fireworks. there were two champs at if national hot dog contest. a man and a woman. but the day was not without a bit of controversy. and ronald pinkston reports. >> reporter: it's a 4th of july tradition, who can eat the most hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the annual nathan's hot dog eating contest. >> it's joey chestnut. >> chestnut chewed his way to the top for the fifth top in a row. >> reporter: for the first time ever, nathan has held a separate men and women's event. sonia tomas ate 20 hot dogs and

buns to win the woman's competition. she took part of the contest when it was coed but supporting the women and man separation. >> if i compete with men, that's not fair. don't you think? >> reporter: one of the greatest all time ever hot dog contestant did not show up. kobiashi has a contract conflict with the organizers. but people think otherwise. >> he is scared, he knows they've got him. >> reporter: organizers say this competition is evolving and they will continue to have a men and women's event. so if female eaters get the

attention they deserve. in new york, randall pinkston, wjz news. >> you want aa hot dog? >> no, not right now. as part of our continuing community commitment, wjz is a proud sponsor of the ports of america fireworks show. >> bun or no bun with that hot dog. >> did you see that guy sweating when he finished. >> lay down a while fellow.

and things got off to an explosive start. >> kicking the habit, why hopkins researchers now say a popular anti smoking medication could lead to some serious health issues. and bernadette woods will have the weather coming up from in the weather center. and just a reminder that th,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

we're watching the weather very carefully and making sure it passes for the fireworks and we're going to have an update with we bernadette in just a few minutes. hackers posted fake news updates on the fox account reporting that president obama was assassinated. fox news says the incident is being investigated. the secret service has been alerted about the incident. drama in the courtroom, serbian war crimes suspect is thrown out of his own arrangement. >> the international criminal trial consider. >> reporter: a the judges filed

in this morning, -- first gesturing to his supporters in the gallery. something he was told not to do. then insisting he was cold and needed to wear his cap. an active defiance the judges would not stand for. >> could mr. managi be insisted to take off his cap. under count one, you're charged with genocide. >> reporter: but the former bosnia war general would not cooperate. after repeated interruptions, the judge had enough. >> the court orders that you be removed from the courtroom. >> reporter: residents of the city had bombarded and held under siege for four years are putting up pictures of his

victims. trying to keep the focus they say on them. the court has experience with this sort of thing, former president ran rings around him until he died. the judge seemed to take control over this trial before he does. mark phillips, cbs news london. >> officials are preparing to rebury 600 victims who's remained were dug out of mass graves in the past year and identified using dna tests. a shooting at a downtown memphis hotel leaves two people dead including a police officer. investigators say the officer was responding to a domestic incident at the hotel when the shooting began. he was rushed to the hospital. police believe they have the suspect under arrest. roger clemons is accused of

lying to congressional members about his use of steroids. other well known athletes are expected to testify in the trial and if he is found guilty, clemons could face up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. a new twist in the case against the former seattle police officer now accused in the murder from half a century ago. stacy sacamoto has the story. >> reporter: jack mcnolo's stepdaughters left the room this morning. they'd been expecting him to make his first court appearance. instead they heard the announcement from the judge that mcculla is at the hospital. >> he is at harbor view and will not be brought over. that's jack mcculla. >> reporter: all of it a shock to mcculla's niece. >> there's a little girl who lost her life years ago.

it is awful, okay. >> reporter: the 71-year-old mcculla was arrested wednesday as the suspect in a 1957 murder. mcculla who was then known as john tesyier lived near maria riddle who was abducted from her neighborhood in 1957. it was a huge national news story. president dwight eisenhower and j. edgar hoover asked for daily updates. riddle's remains were found five months later. people who live at the north seattle retirement home where mcculla lived with his wife and worked as a night security guard are stunned. >> i was shell shocked, because he's not the kind of person you would think would do that. >> reporter: police believe mcculla was taken off the force in the 80s after he was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. check in with wjz news with new stories coming up. including a scare at a war reenactment. the problem that sent several

people to the hospital. the key discovery that caught the attention of police in a disappearance case. check in on these and breaking news at 6:00. we're going to go to bernadette and get an update on the radar, bern. >> reporter: still thunderstorms out there. they are making their way toward the baltimore metro region. looks like some of them are starting to break up. outside just cloudy. you can see a lot of people still enjoying a beautiful fourth. we can show you that we have some of those thunderstorms and they are coming down from the west and hopefully they continue to break up. but we will keep an eye eye on that for you. here is what we have going on in the next few days. a storm has stalled just to our south. those chances start to increase as a new storm comes our way. you can see all the while warm and muggy. adam-- >> thanks a lot.

prince william and kate middleton arrived in princeton. this trip is designed in part to broaden the bonds between the monothat monarchy and canada. everybody is talking about her hats. >> she's quite lovely too. on this day, we celebrate the stars and stripes. the orioles celebrated a star the orioles celebrated a star of their own. ,,,,,,

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the orioles can expect fireworks when they play tonight. >> reporter: summer is the time for sizzle. unfortunately the orioles have been mostly fizzled. they continue that road trip against the rangers in arlington tonight. the o's did end a losing streak

last night. but for the first time the orioles have had a 19 game losing streak. wieters has had success of getting out of on base attempts. he talks about getting a start in his second game of the season. >> i don't think you've envisioned what's happened. but it makes you very proud. all the work that you've put in the past has a -- it's a matter of coming to the park every day and grinding and working hard. if i was working hard one day i might be able to get there. it might have happened sooner than i expected but it's still amazing. >> wieters could be joined by teammate adam jones who is in the final five fan vote.

fans can vote online to pick the last five players for the all star game. a busy day for baseball on this 4th of july. we'll take a look at some of the highlights. the game is already completed. that is ahead on sports at 6:00. denise, back to you. in tonight's health watch there are new safety questions about the popular anti smoking door chantiz. a new study shows that healthy, middle-aged smokers who use it increase their risk of heart problems. >> saxophone player calvin wanted to kick his smoking habit so he tried the drug chantix. >> it certainly made my not want to smoke but eventually i relapsed once i was off the

drug. >> reporter: a new study finds healthy smokers who use the drug have a 72% increased risk of a heart attack or other serious heart problems. >> we quit smoking to reduce the risk of cardiac disease not to increase it. >> reporter: this study says healthy smokers will also at risk. drug maker says it highly believes in the drug. >> the cardiovascular events were insignificant. >> around you know one in 28 smokers would have a cardiac event. >> reporter: about 50% of persistent smokers died from smoking, the question is whether the benefits of quits

outweigh the risk of the associated drug. calvin says he is still considering taking it again. >> i talked to my doctor yesterday and he is going to do a little bit of research for me. >> reporter: this time he is trying to kick the habit for good. >> reporter: joel brown, wjz news. the warning on chantix is for side effects including depression and suicidal thoughts. the fda is calling for new research. it turns out those graphic cigarette labels are already doing their job. warning labels will not actually appear on cigarette packs until next year, but they were unveiled last month to help get the word out. still to come tonight on wjz eyewitness news. >> danger on the water. i'm mike hellgren with the latest on two water rescues including one that claimed the life of a 6-year-old. the frantic efforts ,,,,,,,,,,,,

coming up right now, a dangerous day in the water. plus breaking news about another water rescue. i'm with -- >> barbara. >> and. >> bonny. >> and we have the best seat in the house for tonight's fire work show. we are on the inner harbor. coming up tonight, the big spectacular fireworks event

coming up tonight on wjz. we certainly hope this doesn't happen, but could mother nature ruin our celebrations. we're tracking rain in the forecast coming up in weather. >> all you have to do is ask yourself a simple question. who's life was better without caylee? >> making their case one last time. the prosecution's key points as they decide the fate of casey anthony. >> check in with these stories and breaking news. >> wjz eyewitness news starts right now. danger in the water, a little boy drowns on a packed maryland beach. >> tonight the frantic search after he