sports director mark viviano with more on another finish this afternoon. mark? >> how are you doing, kai? >> michael phelps' final individual competition of the london games. and in the end, it is only fitting that phelps stands alone. he wins gold and adds to what is already an incredible career medal total. >> reporter: in a career known for dominance, michael phelps delivers his latest victory with drama, a comeback in the 100-meter butterfly in what could be the final individual event in phelps olympic career. he wins the fly by 2/10ths of a second. with his closest pursuers finishing in a tie for second place. >> reporter: phelps fans at the north baltimore aquatic club cheered the local swimming hero, watching poolside, where phelps trained for many years. >> at first, i wasn't so sure. but then at the end, i saw he was winning. and he won. and i was really excited. >> it was really exciting.

i had a feeling he was going to win the whole time. >> reporter: friday's victory comes one day after phelps won his first individual gold of the olympic games, winning from start to finish to capture the 200 individual medley, making phelps a 3-time olympic champ in both the 200im and olympic fly. already the olympian with most medals ever. his total now at 21. 17 of those are gold. also an olympic record. >> at age 27, michael phelps says this is the last time he will compete in the olympics. if he holds true to that, then tomorrow's relay race, the four- by 100 medley, in which he is a member, will be his final olympic competition and his final chance to add to that incredible medal total. back to you. >> mark, thank you. baltimore county officials are working on plans for michael phelps' welcome home celebration after the olympics. details are to be announced.

breaking his silence and breaking down. cal ripken jr. opens up about his mom's abduction. wjz stays on the investigation. live at camden yards. mike hellgren has cal ripken's first interview. mike? >> reporter: mary, he says this whole abduction is bizarre. and he believes it was planned and said his mom is no longer staying at home, at least for now. >> i struggle with why. so i'd want to know why. >> reporter: calcal ripken jr. want -- cal ripken jr. wants answers. 10 days after a man confronted his mom, vi, with a gun inside her garage. blindfold her up and drove her around maryland for a frightening 24 hours. >> she's still a little shaky. we're all a little shaky. it's quite possible it could be a random act. it's quite possible it could have been more than that. >> reporter: his comments come just days after police released surveillance video from cameras on a suspect. there's some thought given to

it. the materials used to bind what we brought there. so there's a lot of evidence that shows that there was somewhat of a plan. i don't know when she will go back. but certainly right now, she's not back in our house yet. >> reporter: ripken said he didn't even know his mom was missing until someone spotted her car in baltimore county and he drove around himself, looking for her. >> reporter: that was almost 14 hours after she was first taken. >> i actually physically got in the car and drove around. it's like finding a needle in the haystack, i suppose. but that mead me feel like i was doing something. >> reporter: he said her abductor treated her civilly, but wouldn't provide other details while his mom was held against her will. >> we've all changed how we view our own security, her security. and she's affected. no doubt about it. >> reporter: and a few moments ago, police confirmed that that surveillance video was from the wal-mart in glen burnie.

ms. ripken has been sticking to a near-normal routine, going to the beauty parlor, and of course, to see her beloved iron birds. back to you, mary am. >> billboards are now going up with a sketch of the suspect. a reward is also being offered. we'll hear more from cal all new at 6:00. police drop unrelated charges against the maryland man suspected in the disappearance of robin gardner. vic is in the newsroom with the latest. >> reporter: gary giordano is expected to go on. last may, police say they found giordano and a woman naked in a parked car in annapolis. the charge was dropped after his lawyer argued they weren't naked intentionally. giordano was held in aruba for four months. he claims the frederick native was swept out to sea, while the two were snorkeling. >> giordano is suing american express for failing to pay a $1.5 million that he took out on gardner. a diner is rushed to the

hospital after a denny's catches fire in harford county. the one-alarm blaze broke out just before noon today. this photo was sent into a wjz viewer. sky eye chopper 13 was over the scene as firefighters worked to get the flames under control. one person was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation. the state fire marshal's office is investigating. well, the 15th and final baltimore police officer is sentenced in a towing extortion scheme. officer calvin manrich was sentenced today to 41 months in prison. he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and extortion. he, along with other officers, were convicted of taking thousands of dollars from the owners of majestic auto repair for ushering people in car accidents to their shop. a former baltimore raven player caught up in a child support scandal is out of jail and speaking for the first time publicly about his arrest. wjz is live. rochelle ritchie has jamal lewis's story today. >> reporter: well, kai, jamal

lewis is calling this a misunderstanding and says eventually the truth will come out and clear his name. >> reporter: before signing autographs at this year's national sports directors convention, former ravens player jamal lewis opens up about allegations he failed to pay child support. >> i take care of my kids. never been 100% positive. >> reporter: lewis admits he didn't show up in court and says the allegations aren't as serious as they're being portrayed. >> it's not much of an abandonment issue. it's more about me not showing up to a hearing to defend himself. >> reporter: he was arrested tuesday night on misdemeanor child abandonment charges. the arrest warrant says he hasn't seen his son in more than a year. >> a lot of this is totally false. >> lewis has had trouble with the law as well as financial trouble. in 2005, he pled guilty to trying to set up a cokaren deal. that was before he played

professionally for the nfl. >> i made a mistake four years ago, when i was 20 years old, that i'm paying heavily for. >> in one season, he rushed more than 2,000 yards as a raven. >> reporter: and there's been no comment from the ravens camp on whether or not they'll still induct lewis into the ring of honor, despite these allegations. >> reporter: lewis is expected to be inducted at a game next month. he is hoping his fans will continue to respect him as a man, an nfl star and a father. >> is totally not me or whatever. so it will be interesting. the truth will come out. >> reporter: lewis is expected to be inducted into the ring of honor on september 27th. kai, back to you. >> rochelle, thank you. lewis retired from the nfl in 2009. he played six seasons with the ravens. another warm august summer night. it's raining in parts of the state right now. let's go to bob turk, tracking first warning doppler radar. we had not much in maryland. but we had one strong cell that

is over southeastern cecil county. and that's why they had a severe thunderstorm warning for you folks in extreme southeastern cecil county. the rest of the region is pretty quiet. there it is. just to the south of chesapeake city. moving to middletown, delaware. and towson, moving off to the east. just east of earlville. the rest is a little batch there. north of sabillasville and emit. that's moving away from there. the rest of the region. no showers now. mostly the state is just sunny to partly sunny. it's that one cell we're watching over northern delaware and southeastern portions of cecil county. that's going to be moving into delaware once again. now, as far as temperatures go, we have another warm, humid afternoon, just jumped up to 91 at the airport. once again, the dew point is high. because of 91-degree temperatures with a high dew point. it's feeling at the airport, more like 99. only 82 in oakland. and 89 in ocean city. it's going to stay hot and humid all weekend long.

mary? >> bob, thank you. damage from june's derecho storm cost maryland more than $19 million. now, the federal government is stepping in to help. wjz is live. jessica kartalija has more on what this all means. jessica? >> reporter: well, mary, most of that money went toward debris removal and for paying government employees overtime. >> baltimore county, 911. >> it was an explosion. and we could see fire coming up all around it. >> reporter: in june, a 60-mile- an-hour storm, called a derecho, swept through maryland. >> it sounded like the whole house was coming down. >> reporter: the storm forced trees through buildings and power lines. >> now, that the disaster is over and the life safety issues are over with, and now it's the economic impact that we are taking care of. >> reporter: a presidential disaster declaration has been granted. helping counties cover the areas hardest hit. >> there are individual county thresholds, based on certain damage amounts. and there are six areas within the state that have met those

thresholds if you will. and has been awarded declaration by the president. >> reporter: those include calvert, charles, kent, mont good morningry-- montgomery and st. mary county. where damage is $4.5 million. >> we worked very hard during the derecho to make sure we kept copious notes and documents about all of our expenditures. >> the partnership is key here. it's not the federal government coming in and telling a state what to do. >> others are eligible for state funding. once they complete an application process, that will be reviewed and perhaps federal money will be granted to those counties in need. >> reporter: if additional counties are deemed eligible for support, they could receive a check within months. >> between the state of maryland and the federal emergency management. they will look at the process of looking at the damage, looking at the recovery costs. >> reporter: maryland was also

granted hazard funds to prevent any future damage from storms. back to you, mary. >> reporter: all right, jessica. thank you. maryland is the latest state to receive funding, along with virginia and washington, d.c. downtown baltimore is becoming a race track. this is a good thing, though. one street at a time. workers are halfway through the build on russell street. the 12-turn, two-mile circuit will be built in 32 days of crews working through the night. 22 million pounds of concrete. five miles of fencing. and 2200 medal panels are needed to turn baltimore into a race track. the baltimore grand prix runs from august 31st through september 2nd. all right. and still ahead on wjz's eyewitness news at 5:00. there are just people on the floor. a lot of people had bloody faces. double decker disaster. a bus loses control, killing one, injuring dozens. what investigators now believe

caused the crash. hiring waste. a new jobs report shows the jump in employment. what it means for those still hunting. i'm mike schuh, downtown. it is a summer camp like you've never seen or heard before. join me next. and it's friday. stick around. the updated first warning weather forecast with bob coming up. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios

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partly sunny, 91 degrees in central maryland right now. the complete first warning weather forecast is coming up. a new report from the labor department shows it was a hot july on the job market. alexis christoforous has the latest for wjz from new york, where wall street rallied on the news. >> private companies broke a four-month slump and added 163,000 jobs last month. that's the biggest hiring wage since february.

but the overall jobless rate inched up to 8.3%. that's because a government survey showed more people are actively looking for work. the government doesn't count people who are out of work as unemployed, unless they're trying to find a job. the better-than-expected jobs report sent the jobs market soaring, ending a four-day skid on wall street. >> the focus now is on job creation. >> reporter: trader doreen expects the federal reserve to hold off on plans to jump start the economy. >> i think this will give them a reason to wait a little longer before they need to act. >> reporter: all of the jobs created last mont were in the -- month were in the private sector. many were seasonal jobs. the skittish economy were making business owners hesitant to hire full-time workers. >> it's been a season of up and down, up and down. >> reporter: wayne's company makes billboards and ads for businesses and broadway shows. his payroll fluctuates between

a dozen and 20 workers, depending on the economy. >> we have let several people go. you know, hopefully with the fact that they'll be able to get a job somewhere else. but unfortunately, some people haven't. >> reporter: wayne says business is good now. good enough for him to rehire a worker he had to lay off back in 2009. alexis christoforous, wjz eyewitness news. >> and here's the closing numbers on wall street. the dow is up 217, back over the 13,000 mark. s&p up 26. and nasdaq up 58. if you're waiting for someone to get home from work, let's check on the roads with kristy breslin at wjz traffic control. hi, kristy. >> traffic pretty much crawling all over the region. on the west side of the inner loop, we still have a significant delay there from edmopped -- edmondson avenue. york road to perring parkway does break three after -- free after that point. 70 westbound, crawling along. also slowing there in the eastbound direction as you make

your way towards the beltway. northbound 95, that's been a mess all afternoon. the first delay from the southwest side of the beltway, over to the fort mchenry tunnel. and then it slows down again from the 895 split over to whitemarsh boulevard. as far as accidents go, caton avenue at civic there. merric boulevard. tremble. and red pump at route 24. let's now take a live look. as you can see, that doesn't look like too much fun there. traffic moving very slowly there on the beltway, just west of york road. this traffic report is brought to you by medieval times. new show. more action, feast, fun, for the entire family. you can call them at 1-888-we joust. or these them at their website. right now, thousands of kids are waking up early and being shuffled off from one type of summer camp to another. most center around sports. but now, mike schuh takes us to a camp like you're never -- you've never seen or heard before. >> reporter: ask 14- to 18-year-

olds what they're listening to. >> john hill. >> but the teens in this room. >> puchinny. >> moswrarlt. >> mozart. [ singing ] >> reporter: at the lyric, this is not band, soccer or lacrosse. it is opera. [ singing ] >> reporter: and -- [ singing ] >> you have a good voice. >> thank you. >> reporter: audition to be here. a full month for 20 teens in the camp. hard to explain to friends. >> i have to try to tell my friends that. they're like, can i come hang out. and i'm like, no, i have to rehearse my music of -- music. i have stuff to do. i would like to have fun am but upon i'm having a different kind of fun. >> there's nothing else i imagine myself doing. >> do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. >> that's what i tell my mom. she's like, be an engineer.

i'm like, that is a backup plan. that's a backup plan. >> knowing that this is the future and knowing they have pure love for it. when you have been doing it for 30 years like i have, yes, indeed, you think, oh, no, not another rehearsal. but these kids approach it with the pure joy of being what they want to do. >> reporter: who knows, maybe you'll see these kids up on the stage. mike towson, wjz eyewitness news. [ applause ] bravo. they were very good. like what you heard? by the way, tonight, 7:00, the lyric performing arts center. those campers are presenting an opera they created. the cost? well, it's free. >> that is fantastic. they're putting all that practice onto the stage. how many kids interested in seeing an opera? let's take a look at temperatures right now. we're at 91. south/southeast winds the barometer. come back and take a look at the weekend after this. ,,,,,,,,

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county. heading right toward middletown, delaware. moved up to the north. and now it's beginning to head out to the southeast. it's going to be sitting there. and that's why they've had heavy rain in that area. and that's why that warning continues. so a little while longer, over southeast portions of cecil county. the rest of the area, can't find any rain anywhere else in the state at this moment. right now, 91 at the airport because it cleared out. 91 easton. 82 ocean city. and locally, temperatures generally still around the 90- degree mark. it's kind of hard to believe. westminster just up to 94. we just got a report out of parkton with the shower they had, they're down to 79 degrees. which really does cool things down. south winds in the region. southeast winds have kept us in that warm, moist flow. and that will continue all weekend long. quite a bit of activity across the tennessee valley, from kentucky into portions of kansas. and these folks need the rain. they've had just the most ridiculously hot and dry summer. there's also a front to the west. that front is going to move off to the east. may bring us a chance of a

widely scattered shower tomorrow. sort of like today. but a better chance on sunday of more widely -- let's say more general thunderstorms on sunday as the front comes through. right now, clouds and some sunshine around the area. bulk of the activity to our south. so we're not too concerned about more activity tonight. it will tend to die out. but a hot or very warm and humid weekend, all weekend long. sunday night, that front would get closer to the area. and that will help to kick up more thunderstorm activity. ernesto continues to head up quickly toward the west. 21 miles an hour. that is very fast for a tropical system. and it's not really having a chance to ramp up very much. all of the models south of jamaica, by let's say monday and tuesday. and on wednesday, expect it to be maybe category 1 storm, near the yucatan somewhere. after that, kind of hard to tell exactly where it's going to go. most of the models still pretty far south. but a few of them have been making it to the gulf. that's something to watch the middle of next week. south winds on the bay.

5 to 10 knots. for tonight, widely scattered shower possible. 72. tomorrow, back up to the low 90s and maybe a thunderstorm. heading down the beach. water temperatures really pleasant there. around 75. 82 and 82, saturday and sunday. probably no rain until sunday night. maybe a thundershower. looks like a nice place to go this weekend. >> thanks, bob. still ahead at 5:00. water rescue. a boat capsizes, sending a texas family into the ocean. how they survived. i'm alex demetrick. coming up, the drought and where it's going from bad to worse. that story as eyewitness news continues. becoming the next gabby douglas. what it takes for a young girl here in baltimore. i'm gigi barnett at rebounders gym. the details are next. ♪

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it is 5:29. 91 degrees and partly sun i. good even -- sunny. good evening. thank you for staying with wjz eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. as drought tightens its grip on maryland. crop loss is only one in the first stage. in tonight's drought watch report. alex demetrick explains, it's what's coming in the months ahead that will hit farmers and consumers hardest. >> two weeks ago on the eastern shore, heat and drought had already finished off much of the corn crops. >> it's a big concern for us as farmers. but i'm also extremely concerned for our end user.

>> reporter: meet that end user. livestocks from dairy cows to chickens are fed corn. feed, already showing signs in maryland and across much of the south and midwest. >> really curious myself whether there is going to be enough feed out there to feed the livestock throughout the country. >> reporter: scott just works 700 dairy cows. a cow can eat up to 100 pounds of feed. it averages out to 60,000 pounds a day. and farms which can't afford to be fed, usually look to be sold. >> dairy farms are usually not profitable. because they can't afford to feed them. >> reporter: unless there's this. irrigation has saved enough of just's crop to feed his cows. but there's not enough water to save all of them. >> you have one, two, three little kernels on there. >> reporter: they are looking for ways to stretch resources. >> reporter: when scott yowft

takes this, he looks for a by- product. the leaves and husks of sweet corn. >> a lot use it and help stretch their feed out. >> reporter: and if there's not enough to stretch, look for herds to be thinned. meaning higher prices down the road for meat and dairy products. alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> according to farmers in maryland, feed costs for livestock operations have already increased by 30%. and wjz's drought watch coverage continues live with bob turk. he is tracking those important rainfall totals for us. bob? >> all right. let's take a look at the numbers. these are at bwi marshall. not necessarily where you live. at the airport, you can see a deficit still of over 8 inches. that's about two months' worth of rain. now njuly, we've got just about normal rainfall. but you can see, we're still way, way down. and as far as the state is concerned, these numbers as of tuesday. that means no rain this week. south of the baltimore region.

an area above normally dry conditions. eastern shore, generally moderate to severe drought continues on the lower eastern shore. now, once again, some areas north of the city, saw as much as 6 to 8 inches of rain in the last 40 days. but south and east of the area, not nearly that much has fallen. mary? >> all right, bob. thank you. stay with wjz for first warning weather coverage. for the latest on the drought conditions and to see if rain is coming this way, log onto wjz.com. we are following breaking news right now. sky eye chopper 13 over the scene of the accident in baltimore county. captain jeff long is live with the latest for us. captain jeff? >> the crash team is on the scene now, taking pictures of measurements. this is a very serious accident that occurred at 4:30 this afternoon. involving six cars that we're counting. nine patients were transported to the hospital. one of those patients was transported to shock trauma with critical life-threatening injuries. now, this is on north point

boulevard, right at maryland street in dundalk. north point boulevard, westbound lanes are shut down on maryland street. the traffic is being forced to enter into this parking lot of the shopping center. and then they're winding their way around, back to baltimore street. not very far. and they're able to resume. reporting live from sky eye chopper 13, i'm captain jeff long. back to you. >> all right, captain jeff. thank you. gay rights organizations are promoting a national same- sex kiss day. vic is in the newsroom with more on today's demonstration at chick-fil-a restaurants across the country. >> reporter: the idea is to protest comments made by the restaurant's owner when he spoke out against same-sex unions. chick-fil-a president dan kathy said his company supports the biblical definition of the family unit. there is support for him. wednesday was chick-fil-a customer appreciation day. a record number of people

showed up. not all gay groups are protesting chick-fil-a. garden state equality is calling today's demonstrations shallow. >> reporter: the cathy said it has never hidden its southern baptist faith, even closing its doors on sunday. at least a dozen are hurt after a double-decker crash. teresa garcia reports, the cause may already be known. >> reporter: a blown tire is believed to be what caused a fully-loaded, double-deck are mega pus -- double-decker mega bus to crash in litchfield, illinois. the bus carrying 81 passengers were en route from chicago to kansas city, when it went out of control. >> i heard the tire go out. and i just felt a bumpy ride as we're going off of the road. and this -- then just really sudden impact. >> kind of felt like the bus was going to tip. and he eventually regained, the

driver regained control of the bus. and was able to keep it upright. but obviously could not stop in time -- before hitting the master cylinder. >> reporter: rescue crews used ladders to get to the victims, some trapped on the second floor of the bus. that's where zach hall was seated. >> i just kind of came to. and i saw there were people on the floor, a lot of people had bloody faces. >> reporter: 30 ambulances and 10 helicopters were on scene to transport the wounded whose injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to broken bones and worse. >> there were three patients whose injuries are a little more serious. they may need surgery. so they're being transferred out. >> reporter: two years ago, another mega bus was involved in an accident near syracuse, new york. four people were killed. the national traffic highway sa safety administration is already working with illinois officials on an investigation into thursday's crash. teresa garcia, wjz eyewitness news. >> state police say it could take weeks to complete the investigation of the crash.

federal prosecutors want more time to prepare their case against a traveling medical technician, accused of infecting patients with hepatitis c. lawyers say they are not yet ready to indict david caia towses key. and lawyers say they are calling the case complex. he worked at, at least 18 hospitals across the united states, including several hospitals here in maryland. he was arrested in new hampshire last month, where 30 patient his contracted the strain, his strain of hepatitis. in tonight's wjz healthwatch, the susan g. komen organization is accused of using misleading statistics to convince women to have mammograms. an ad campaign stated 98% of women survived five years. when the disease is diagnosed early, versus 23% when it's not. study authors say for every life saved by screening, two to 10 women are misdiagnosed. >> a pack of wild dogs is reportedly on the loose tonight

in st. mary's county. these dogs have been terrorizing a neighborhood. so far, have managed to elude animal control. >> reporter: in st. inego's, animal control officers at st. mary's county, remain trapped. saturday morning, he let his are the dog, gizmo out and never came home. i started looking for it and found it. they had tore his throat up real bad. >> reporter: authorities believe a pack of wild, killer dogs, is roaming this section of st. mary's county. those who have seen him describe large, ferocious animals. >> some say they're pit mixes. some say there's a couple of shepherd mixes. >> reporter: days before gizmo was killed and about a mile away, a pack of bassett hounds. >> we're afraid to let or -- our dogs out to do their normal business, without supervising. afraid to walk out ourselves.

>> reporter: they learned about it last summer. but the adult, most dangerous dogs have eluded. >> we're going to start patrolling later in the evening and try a couple of these night patrols. but it's just catching up with them is the hard part. >> reporter: while the dogs continue to run free. some residents of this rural section say they'll continue to learn in fear. >> you know, they're attacking house dogs, they'll attack anything. >> reporter: authorities say these dogs are smart. they avoid the trap, sleep during the day, and travel and hunt during the day and -- during the late night hours. a woman snaps these pictures when a bear roamed into her backyard this weekend. the bear tore apart a bird feeder. wjz will have much more on this black bear sighting coming up at 6:00. baseball cards make history in baltimore. big name mem robillia went home

-- memorabilia went home with new owners. 37 rare baseball cards from the early 1900s were sold, featuring the likes of hall-of- famer tie cobs, cy young and hoinous wagner. they were sold for $365,000. she is america's newest sweetheart. now, thousands of girls around the country want to be the next gabby douglas and the gymnast in the olympics. gigi barnett reports, many of those girls are right here in maryland. >> reporter: olympic gold medalist, gabby douglas, is the best in the world. moments after gabby got the gold, she became a national inspiration, especially for millions of young girls. some of them are right here at the rebounders gym in timonium. >> like wow. like elated. >> i like to watch all of the olympians, to think that's wai could be one day. >> reporter: for these girls, that's still one year away.

but gabby's beginning started just like theirs, in a gym like rebounders. and coaches spotted her talent very early. they're on the lookout, too. training begins at 3 years old. >> it's grueling. it's tough. and it takes a very tough person mentally, physically. >> i don't push her too much. she pushes herself enough. >> reporter: becky crawford's daughter, caroline, has a taste for gold. she's on the right track. in april, she won the state's all-around championships in her age group. >> on the way home in the car, the conversation went, mom, yes, caroline? we're going to have to move to iowa. and i was like, what is in iowa? i don't think i want to move there. and she said, i need to train with that coach that trained gabby douglas. >> reporter: rebounders has received an influx of calls from interested parents. but now that gabby douglas is the all-around champ, they expect to see even more. >> we anticipate that this fall is going to be extremely busy. >> reporter: and it is all

thanks to gabby. for parents who want their kids to be the next gabby, the gym says do it because your child thinks it's fun first and foremost. because going for gold will cost. a lot of time and money. kai, back to you. >> good point, gigi. thank you. and all of that hard work at the gym is paying off for gabby. endorsements have already started rolling in. she'll be on the box of kellogg's corn flakes this fall. >> that will abe collector. -- be a collector. i'll have to get it. i love that girl. still to come tonight on wjz eyewitness news. two tropical storms slam taiwan. inside the devastation left behind. i'm ron matz. baltimore pol technic institute. a purple swim to remember one of the school's great athletes. the story coming up here on wjz. bob turk in the first warning weather center. any storms this weekend? i'll have the exclusive first warning five-day forecast.

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ron matz reports, the fifth annual purple swim honors the man who loves water. >> they're under way. >> reporter: purple swim baltimore raises money to fight pancreatic cancer. bud beatty was 56 when he died of the disease. >> in 2002, in february, bud was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer -- cancer. and we were devastated. it really is a death sentence. >> reporter: bud's widow joy and her children decided to do something. last year, more than 200 swimmers raised over $36,000. >> all of that money goes directly to research and the patient advocacy that we do. >> nearly die several times. >> reporter: jim eber line is a pancreatic cancer survivor. >> my surgeon said, jim, you're like one out of 100. i expect you to be around for decades.

and ron, i'll tell you, it's -- that's unheard of, with pancreatic cancer. >> reporter: after graduating from poly, bud beatty became the swim team captain of university of maryland. he even qualified for the olympic trials. and on sunday, they'll swim for bud and others, too. >> it's become a community. and all of those people are there. and they're swimming. and we all appreciate what each other have been through. and we're supporting each other. >> reporter: ron matz, wjz eyewitness news. >> reporter: for more information about sunday's purple swim and how you can make a donation, log onto our website, wjz.com. it is another warm summer day in maryland. so how is our weekend weather shaping up? bob has the answer in the first warning weather center. bob? >> we had a few widely scattered showers. same kind of picture for tomorrow. once again, upper 80s to low 90s tomorrow. by afternoon, maybe a pop-up shower in a few locations. widely scattered again. the next five days, 93 on saturday.

93 on sunday. and yes, look out for those thunderstorms late in the day or at night. a little cooler and partly cloudy for monday, tuesday, and wednesday. back in the upper 80s. now, in today's energy saver, wash only full loads in the dish washer and use the shortest cycle that will get your dishes clean. if operating suction is allowed, turn off the dish washer. open the door and let it dry naturally. if you know more information, how you can become an energy savey, go to wjz.com -- saver, go to wjz.com. scroll down the right-hand side of the page. >> not one but two storms strike china. the tropical storms hit back to back. a very rare occurrence. tropical storms have caused serious flooding. and one even struck taiwan. as a typhoon leaving behind significant damage. at least six people have been killed. now issue the east coast is bracing for flooding from those storms. >> reporter: crews in california fighting the salt

creek fire, burning near lake shasta. say it may be sunday before they have it contained. right now, only 20% of that fire is under control. the flames have grown to more than 500 acres. about 100 are threatened. and residents are being forced out of their home. the first report of the fire came wednesday. right now, more than 300 firefighters are battling it. 133 countries joined forces at the united nations to condemn syria. the government is accused of using heavy weapons to crush an uprising that has lasted for 17 months and killed an estimated 19,000 people. manuel tbaleg us reports for wjz. >> reporter: a massive battle is under way in syria. video posted onlane claims to -- online claims to show government forces, raining mortar on towns of alepo. the escalating violence is prompting the united nations general assembly to take

action. 133 states passed a relution reslose, -- a resolution. denouncing syrian tanks for using planes, and war tanks. they're also demanding chemical ask biological weapons be kept out of the fight. secretary general ban-ki moon compared the crisis to past genocides. >> the actual brutality being reported may condition -- constitute crimes against you manty for war crimes. >> russia, china did not support the resolution. >> the draft fails to hold account the terrorist groups like al qaeda accountable. >> reporter: the hope is that an overwhelming show of support for the rebels will force the deadlocked security council to agree on sanctions. >> reporter: but hopes of a diplomatic solution are fading. especially with the resignation

of kofi annan, who was in talks for peace overseas. >> i've been in many talks about the issue. >> reporter: an an said china and russia undermined his efforts. >> and syria's ambassador to the u.n. called the resolution a piece of theater and said it will have no impact whatsoever. time for a quick look at some of the stories you'll find in tomorrow morning's edition of the baltimore sun. courts dismiss a case against the university of maryland medical center, which is accused of filing fraudulent claims for a rare malnutrition disorder. coming back to life online. and continued coverage of michael phelps and the london summer olympics. for these stories and more, read tomorrow's baltimore sun. and remember to look for the updated forecast from wjz's first warning weather team. and check in with eyewitness news at 6:00. for all new stories coming up, vic is in the newsroom.

>> speaking out. orioles legend cal ripken talks about his mother's abduction. and how he hopes it will help police catch the suspect. wild card. dealt by house speaker michael bush am coming up all new on eyewitness news at 6:00. find out what may be in store for maryland and online gambling. check in for more on these stories and the tay's breaking news. -- day's breaking news, coming up at 6:00 now. back to you. a texas family survives a terrifying boating accident. the helicopter got the entire group on the rescue vessel. luckily, everyone was wearing a life jacket. and mark is here live with a preview of what's coming up next in sports. hi, mark. live here at ravens training camp in owings mills. in the news today, a couple of guys with size. haloti ngata, brian mckinney. this was a big day for them. i'll have details when eyewitness news continues. ,,,,,

stir a couple of ravens get on the practice field. wjz is live at the team's facility in owings mills.

sports director mark viviano has more on today's practice. >> how are you doing, kai? the big news today concerns a couple of big guys. both on the practice field for the first time. talking about defensive lineman, haloti ngata. and offensive lineman, bryant mckinnie. both making their debuts after being having missed camp at this point with injuries. and mckinney was held out of mini camp in may and june and was an unexplained absence from the start of workouts last week. he did show up with a bad back. then he passed his conditioning test this morning. now, back to prove he can start at the critical condition of left tackle. and as always, the ravens have drafted young talent to fill in and possibly take over. osomely was their second round draft pick this past april. confident that he could be a starting linebacker if needed.

>> big, athletic, tough, smart football player who will get better every snap he plays. and he's going to keep getting better and better and better for the next three or four years. i would imagine he'll be just like michael. >> reporter: the ravens have a public workout at the stadium tomorrow evening. and the orioles start a road trip at tampa bay. tonight, details on eyewitness news at 6:00. back to you for now. >> mark, thank you. still to come tonight on wjz's eyewitness news. breaking his silence. i'm mike hellgren at hamden yards. why he believes it was premeditated. and how she's doing now. ,,,,,,,

coming up on eyewitness news at 6:00. cal ripken jr. speaks up for the first time about his mom's abduction. his new concerns ask why he thinks it was planned. going out a winner. michael phelps continues to swim his way into the record books. his latest triumph. fema steps in to help marylanders recover from the derecho storm. i'm jessica kartalija. i'll explain just ahead. hot into the week. stick around for the updated first warning forecast. check in for these stories and all the day's breaking news. wjz eyewitness news at 6:00 starts now.