in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road, lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens.

this is wjz tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com, baltimore. >> from the city to the counties to your neighborhood, now it's complete coverage. it's wjz, maryland's news station. getting ready to race. construction now under way for the baltimore grand prix. the big changes this year to prevent the head aches of last year. hello, everyone. here's what people are talking about tonight. indy car racing return toss baltimore in five weeks, but there's a lot of work to be done. with the grand prix comes road construction, traffic, and big crowds. organizers are making key changes changes to improve the process. we have more on the activity that's just gun tonight. >> reporter: that work has definitely started. check it out. you can see the orange cones

here along conway street. grand prix organizers say they're trying to minimize the effects on traffic by doing most of their work overnight. the need for speed starts with a crawl. construction for the baltimore grand prix is under way. >> last year it took about 45 days to build the racetrack. we've crunched that down to 30 days. >> reporter: 22 million pounds of concrete block and 2200 metal panels all need to go in. >> having this come up is going to make it really hectic. >> it's impossible to get in and out of the garages. it really is a mess getting if and out. >> reporter: organizers plan to build in sections, the busiest inters saved for last. the race is under new management trying to make it friendly for drivers and businesses. the cars will cross this finish

line a little bit earlier this year. races will end around 6:30 to push crowds to eat at local restaurants, something that didn't happen last year. >> we hope it will have a greater, positive impact on our business. >> reporter: they hope it remains a fixture on the schedule. >> the streets of baltimore have provided the most difficult circuit for us to race around. half the track is really bumpy and half the track is really smooth. >> reporter: they're counting on smooth sailing after a bumpy smart. the westbound lanes of conway street will be shut down overnight through friday from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. >> thank you. organizers have not yet announced the schedule for street closures for race week. a chain reaction crash, you can see the wreckage over clearview avenue and harper road. six vehicles were involved and

one even landed in the yard of a home. no one was seriously injured. a gas line burst spewing natural gas into the air forcing day cares and homeowners to evacuate. we talked to bge about what went wrong. we have more on the chaosment. >> reporter: more than 1000 people were evacuated from homes and businesses in locust point, including the under armor headquarters after a crew hit a gas line. it took three hours to repair the leak. children from a day care center were among the evac evacuees. >> we have to make sure only pure gas is going back into the system. that sometimes takes several hours. >> it smelled like a gas leak. you could taste it in the air. it was pretty bad. >> i heard about the gas leak and i rushed home because i was,

cxsgsuflike, freaking out. >> reporter: eyewitnesses say not only was the smell intense but also the sounds of the leak. >> it sounded like water, actually, when you turn your bathtub on, it sounded like a really loud wooshing noise. >> reporter: in addition to closing off streets, some people were told they could not turn on their gas appliances or their cars. >> right there where the window boxes are, that's 1141. that's me. i had fairmen walking up and down telling people there was a gas main break and we needed to evacuate the houses. >> reporter: people crammed on to the streets, many waiting for answers as emergencies crews stopped the leak that disrupted routines. the gas service is back, but repairs are on going. >> no one was injured in the incident. tonight, the colorado movie

massacre suspect is is charged with 24 counts of murder. holmes heard the formal charges against him today. two murder counts for each person killed. 116 attempted murder counts. charges were also filed for the explosives used to boobie trap his apartment. he could face the death penalty. controversial cameras. questions about the new police technology. some say it violates privacy. we are live and we have more on the cameras in question. >> reporter: to be clear, we are not talking about traffic cameras that will give you a ticket for speeding or running a red light. we're talking about cameras that scan your license plate and record and store information about where you've been. they're called auto mated license plait readers. they scan the license plates of passing cars checking them against registration violations,

warrants, and criminal databases. >> your tags have come back suspended. >> reporter: there are 360 machines across maryland and transmit the information back to the intelligence center that stores the information in a database for one year. the aclu asked law enforcement agencies to ask tough questions about the information that cameras collect. >> the data increases over time, you get an ever more detailed picture of marylanders movement and that is information that the government has no business having or knowing absent some particular individual law enforcement needs. >> reporter: state police operate 44 cameras. they call the information collected invaluable. >> investigators can use that information to determine where a homicide suspect, a rape suspect, a major crime suspect was at a par the tick lar time during that period.

but again, it's only held for a year and it can only be accessed for specific law enforcement purposes. >> reporter: some call it an invasion of privacy, some don't care. >> i have nothing to hide, so i'm really indifferent to it. >> reporter: no laws on the books in maryland regulating the use of those readers. so private companies can and do use them on behalf of local governments working on transportation projects. back to you. >> thank you. so far, only two states, maine and new hampshire, have enacted laws limiting the use and scope of license plate readers. police in ocean city investigating sex assaults outside of bars. a man has targeted several women who seem drunk and are walking alone. he forces the woman to the ground and tries to sexually assault her. women should walk in well will-lit areas and never alone. bge customers still reeling

on days without power. bge says they need the money for equipment upgrades. >> reporter: mary is already battle scared. but when the loss of electricity meant a trip to the hospital who rates bges performance on a scale of 1-10. >> 0. >> reporter: the bge asked for a rate increase. >> we'll let them decide if the performance was good or bad or needs improvement, but apart from that, the infrastructure is infrastructure. >> reporter: a typical bill of $100 includes $70 for the energy, $29 for taxes, distribution, and fees, and $1

goes to shareholders. >> people have a misconception that we have a lot of money we're sitting on. >> reporter: which is what this customer thinks they should do. >> find the funds from within their company. >> we're forced to pay for it, but we don't get anything for our money. >> reporter: they say it should factor the performance into the rate request. >> they're supposed to be the watchdogs, not the lap dogs. they're not watching out for the people of maryland. >> reporter: there are customers who understand the need for upgrades. >> if they upgrade it and we get our delivery like we need it, i'm happy. >> reporter: this is the second time in 20 years they've asked for money for infrastructure. >> we're not going to the public service commission to ask them to allow recovery. >> reporter: if it's approved, you'll see the increase in your bill in february. now back to you. >> the proposal amounts to an

average increase of $12 a month. business is booming at bwi thurogood marshall airport. 2.1 million passengers flew through the airport in june. that's the busiest june on record. airlines have added new flights in recent months. coming up, left hanging. a dozen roller coaster riders stranded 150 feet in the air. how they made it to safety. a police officer shot at close range. what led to the violent gunfight. dozens of guns and marijuana plants found inside a home just a block away from a high school. why the suspect says he's done nothing wrong. just ahead on wjz eyewitness news. what will the first two days of august bring? i have the complete forecast coming up next.

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. partly cloudy, 74 degrees in central maryland right now. the complete forecast coming up. a bizarre scene on a highway in china. a truck carrying 37-tons of cotton stops on a ramp and its load begins to tilt. the family tries to warn the driver, but all of a sudden, the truck falls on to its side.

the woman is able to pull her husband and small child out of the way of that truck. no one was hurt. superman is grounded in california. that's because an investigation is under way because dozens of passengers were stranded for two hours. a crane with a large bucket was used to rescue all of the riders. the one of a kind roller coaster just opened last month. police officer in indiana survives after a suspect opens fire on him. the close-range encounter was caught on the officer's dash cam. the officer was saved business his bullet resistant vest. he suffered injuries to his face and arm. police say it started after he fled a traffic stop. he was shot and killed after he continued to fire on other officers. the statue of joe paterno has been replaced with a row of

freshly planted trees. the likeness of the late football coach was removed eight days ago. residents say it became a lightning rod of controversy after an investigation concluded that he covered up allegations of the sex abuse scandal. guns and marijuana plants were found and the man at the center of the drug raid says he's done nothing wrong. >> reporter: police say neighbors led them to this gambles home where inside they found 24 guns, including an a k-47. saturday they arrested the homeowner nicholas dominick. >> it is a lot of weapons to have in one individual's possession. >> reporter: but dominick tells

wjz the marijuana was for her medical use. >> i had surgery on my neck. i have a lot of pain. i can't take medications and pain pills and stuff like that. >> all of the plants are between 4-6 feet tall. a large amount of marijuana. >> reporter: and the suspect's house was just right across the street from a high school. being in a school zone makes charges against him more severe. police say there's no evidence that he sold drugs to kids. neighbors say they're surprised by the discovery but still consider the area safe. >> it's a quiet street. that's why we like it here. >> none of it ever left the property. >> reporter: he's been charged with seven felonies and two misdemeanors. if convicted, he faces up to 25 years behind bars.

police say of the suspect's 24 guns, only 10 were registered. an expensive car at a bargain price. try cook county, illinois. an auto theft ring moved $4 million in cars. they were stolen, resold for as little as $10,000, including cadillacs, land rovers, and bmws. the long island expressway isn't the best delivery room, but that's where these twins entered the world. they ended up being born 9 minutes and a few miles apart. the parents pulled over and called 911 when it became apparent they weren't going to make it to the hospital. >> i'm looking in the back of the ambulance. i'm like, baby number two is coming. come around this way. i screamed it's a boy. >> they're perfect and amazing,

absolutely overwhelming that they're here. >> the parents are thinking giving the boys southy and w-3. >> that really worked out for them. >> he was probably going 80-90 miles an hour and hit a traffic jam. let's take a look at the weather. today's weather is going to be kind of like it will be the rest of the week. 84% humidity. barometer is rising. right now, a pleasant cool 64 in oakland. ocean city, 76. there was a shower, even a thundershower just south of the city between 7-8:30 tonight. a couple spots picked up a third of an inch. the airport, three 100ths of an

inch. 74 in bel-air. 87, 69 today. the average high is 87, the average low 67. right now, a bit of an east wind kept us from getting really hot today. tomorrow, southeast wind might bring moisture in. there's a chance for widely scattered thundershowers tomorrow. i think a better chance on wednesday. this low pressure is moving out and another weak one. the front is going to die out. it will help bring that moisture up and just enough chilly air. you may have some pop-up shower and thundershower activity. some areas got a little bit of rain. most areas didn't see much. to the west, this batch of showers here, that's going to

help move moisture into our region. over the next couple of days, temperatures in the mid to upper 80s, rather humid conditions, and a risk of a widely scattered shower. bay temperature around 82 degrees. for the overnight, an isolated shower still possible in a few spots. partly cloudy, upper 60s. 87 tomorrow, possibly an afternoon thundershower. 89 on wednesday. pretty much the same kind of forecast. it will warm up and dry out for thursday. 92, 93. still a slight chance of a thundershower. it depends how much chilly air comes in and reacts with the sun. we're going into august. by the weekend, our normal high drops to around 86 degrees. it's going to feel a little feel warmer than 92-93 as well. >> thank you. coming up, news of another

injury for the ravens. training camp just getting started, but the bumps and bruises are adding up. ,,

mark's here now with our fan sports report. the players, the trainers, and the medical staff are getting a work out already. >> the goal of every nfl training camp is to get ready and avoid getting hurt. but the injury bug bit the ravens at practice today. suffers what's believed to be a broken bone in his hand. he will undergo further examination to determine the extent of the injury, but he could miss the rest of training camp. this is him today catching passes at the start of practice. he was injured about an hour into the work out. mckenney has been restored to the roster.

he was fined for missing four days of work outs. he finally reported yesterday, not yet able to join the team on the field, though. >> he and i had a long conversation, a very good conversation. like i've said many times, i think the world of him. i think he's been working hard, but he's not ready to practice yet. >> nada yet to practice. he's still recovering from a hamstring strain. in baseball, the orioles open a series against the yankees in new york. that's usually a daunting assignment, but the os are a better road team than they are at home. a full moon over the bronx tonight. strong start. he pitches until the 7th inning, he strikes out nick swisher. career high 8 strike outs for

gonzalez. 7th inning, two out, two on. canantania comes around to score. jim johnson has struggled and lets a couple on. it's a nail biting 5-4 victory over the first-place yankees to start the series in new york. there are multiple reports that the orioles are negotiating a trade to acquire joe blanton from the phillies. a potential roadblock is his salary. watch for the updates tomorrow.,

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cab driver should get a gold medal for ingenuity. he turns it into a hotel at night. your wake up call is the engine starting up. he says he already has several nights booked for his relax-a-taxi. today is the day to celebrate cheesecake. it happens during the summer olympics. history tells us the ancient greek olympians ate cheese pounded into a portable cake form. it was supposed to be a great form of energy. [ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen

in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road, lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows

just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens.