fork. i'm megan pringle. let's get you up to date on the top stories we're working on for you today. president barack obama is flying from russia to italy today for the g8 summit of leading industrial nations. what he's looking to accomplish and the issues he's facing this week. an update on the light rail incident that killed two teens. what mta officials have concluded about their investigation. plus, mayor sheila dixon calls for city budget cuts earlier this year. those cuts could affect your family's safety beginning this morning. all the details just ahead in a live report. in the meantime, good wednesday morning. july 8th, thank you so much for joining us this morning. i'm megan pringle. you get your weather and traffic every 10 minutes. here's meteorologist justin berk. >> here's your morning zen, whatever you're doing, stop and come to the tv. randy, want to thank him for sending this shot. the rotation of the earth is just too fast to hold a close

tight shot of this. the moon was officially full last night. you might as well call it full this morning. absolutely gorgeous. we're about 10 minutes from sunrise but over the western sky you can see that full moon there. that is beautiful. of course the kids may be howling today. that is a whole other story. generally we're looking at conditions, 63 degrees, winds currently calm. what an absolutely pleasant july morning. and what an absolutely gorgeous july day we have in store. 66 easton compared to 56 up towards york. that covers the spread across the area. we'll get up quickly between 65 and 70. sunshine followed by a partly cloudy afternoon. and a pleasant breeze with our two-degree guarantee of 82 degrees. 5:31. let's go back to the roads. >> i'm getting word of a road closure, that is in westminster. route 482 at lefters church road. that is closed due to an accident at this hour. as we check around the beltway, things running smoothly on the outer loop, west side between liberty and route 70. still have the road closure in

howard county and carroll county, marriottsville road between driver and henrington road. police on the scene with detours. southbound harbor tunnel closed for construction. should reopen soon. the northbound tube gets by for two-way traffic at this hour. back to you. on north korea, what we saw was very strong unanimity around very strong sanctions that two or three years ago might not have been imposed by either china or russia. we're going to have to see whether a country like russia, for example, is win to work with us to apply pressure on iran. >> plenty of complicated issues await president barack obama in italy today for a g8 summit. among the topics to be discussed, climate change, the global economy, iran's nuclear

ambitions as well. officials in washington say a cyberattack that downed u.s. government web sites has proven unusually lengthy and sophisticated. the attack started july 4th and is still causing problems for some sites. south korean officials say cyberattacks on government and private sites may be related. the latest now on the deadly light rail accident from over the weekend that we've been telling you about. the maryland transit authority now confirms two of the trains did run over kyle wankmiller and connor peterson. it seems the two 17-year-olds were struck from behind while walking on the tracks. abc2 spoke with connor's father who said he's lost more than a son and soon-to-be stepson. he's also lost his best friend. >> what goes through your mind? i lost two boys.

>> the mta says while the accident happened during the day part of the rails are dark and the teens were wearing black. and here's a look at what is happening today -- it's july 8, 2009. maryland controller peter franchot will announce fuel violations for this year. and health officials will launch a discount card program to help people cope with the high price of prescription drugs. and rabbi steven fink and dr. frank reed iii of bethel ame church will discuss how the two communities can work together. that is all happening today. also happening today -- one of the city fire departments oldest ladder companies will be relocated to another location. opponents say this could affect the city's emergency system and how it serves you. abc2 news sherrie johnson joins us now with the details and what is scheduled to happen in less than two hours. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. yes, in about an hour and a half john steadman station in

downtown baltimore will not be the same. one of the trucks at this station and 24 firefighters will be relocated to another area of the city. baltimore city mayor sheila dixon called for budget cuts in almost every city agency. she believes shutting down truck 2 saves money and jobs. firefighters had hoped federal stimulus money might become available to keep the trucks here but that wasn't the case. truck 2 responded to more than 3,000 calls last year and just last week it was the first truck to put water on the steeple of the historic bethel ame church fire. truck 2 covers the central business district along with surrounding neighborhoods and without it crews at other stations nearby will have to work harder and some firefighters say it could affect public safety. >> if it takes you a minute longer to get to a call than thets a minute -- that's a minute longer where someone is having difficulty breathing or someone's house is on fire. >> reporter: two ambulance crews will be placed here to

replace truck 2, and in the meantime truck 2 will be rolled out of here and taken to another fire station on eastern avenue. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. it will sound like an emergency today on the campus of towson university but it's just a test. towson's emergency warning siren and public address system will be tested today so keep that in mind. it's between 10:00 and 10:15 this morning. the system is designed to notify students, faculty and staff in the event of a campus-wide emergency but even though those living near towson university are expected to hear that test today. keep it in mind if you live in the area. baltimore is used to the adrenaline rushing horsepower at pimlico. however, a different kind of horse powers could mean millions of dollars if it races through downtown baltimore. but in the meantime, let's take another live look outside. there's the moon, still hanging in there. slowly slipping in. the sun will be rising and justin is going to let us know what is in store for the rest of the day. let's say good morning to

mark jones. welcome back. how are the trains and buses? >> reporter: thank you. so far so good for the commute on light rail and metro subway. both on time. marc train on time as well. out there on the buses, number 17 with a diversion at nursery and winterston due to construction, number 22 with a diversion at university and 41st, a watermain break repair there. i'm mark jones for the mta transit team. agn?

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welcome back. it's 5:40. yesterday was gorgeous. justin says good days are ahead so let's send it to him with a look at the forecast. >> we're still following that moon. following it down the western sky and what -- yeah, we had a jump of the camera there. what a beautiful shot there though. full moon last night. we can still see it this morning. that is absolutely gorgeous. we're looking to slip that moon over the western sky, over the next half-hour and then we'll watch the sun come up which it's already doing so let's switch it over and show you parkville middle school, 64 degrees. 66 to get that orange glow over the eastern sky and mostly clear in catonsville. jump to 77 by lunchtime. two-degree guarantee 82 with a few clouds mixed in this afternoon. a beautiful day in store.

5:40. let's see what is happening on the roads, here's kim. >> as you make your way southbound on 95 headed to the fort mchenry tunnel toll plaza, you're not going to have any delays or problems at this time. however, we're still dealing with the road closure, that is marriottsville road at the howard county/carroll county line, between drivers road and henrington road because of down power lines. police on scene. expect a detour there. they are wrapping up the construction project at the harbor tunnel but the southbound tube does remain closed, two-way traffic gets by on the northbound side. in westminster, route 428 at leistert church road, closed because of a bad car accident. u till crews on scene because of -- utility crews on scene because of downed power lines. expect delays there as well. a towson high school is closing its doors. call it a sign of the changing economy. >> i'm cheryl conner live at towson catholic high. you'll hear from the archdiocese of baltimore, coming up.

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high has a rich history. it was founded in 1922. nba player carmelo anthony and olympic gold medalist anita nahl are among the notables that graduated here. now the school is forced to shut down. a spokesman for the archdiocese says the economy is to plame as enrollment declined significantly and the debt climbed as well. the archdiocese had planned to tell the students and faculty members before they found out by rumors on facebook and e-mails yesterday afternoon. students, however, are still praying for a turnaround. >> if the student had lost 26 students from one year to the next. this year they lost 81. combine that with the $61,000 in tuition that didn't get paid last year, that they were waiting to have come in over the summer. parents just can't come up with it. >> if they can still change their minds. it would be nice.

if they would save the school. >> reporter: for now we understand that will not happen. teachers will meet with human resources today about job placement and next week students and parents will have a job fair. if students decide to go to another school in the parish we understand they will pay the reduced tuition of $9,500, that they paid here at towson catholic high. cheryl conner, abc2 news. >> here are the schools that are closing -- >> to learn more information we have set you up, we've provided a link to the archdiocese web site at our web site. when you get a chance, head to abc2news.com for that complete story. here are some of the other stories we're working on -- 7:00 this morning one of the city -- city's fire department's oldest ladder companies will be disbanded.

the crews who work on truck 2 are concerned that the change is going to impact public safety. truck 2 covers the central business district along surrounding neighborhoods as well. without it crews at the john steadman station downtown and others nearby will have to work harder and work faster. for the latest on the death of former raven steve mcnair. investigators in nashville say ballistics tests are still pending today in the shooting deaths of his mcnair and his lover. authorities there say they have still not ruled the deaths -- but the tennessee medical examiner says it's likely murder/suicide. they were found shot to death saturday afternoon. mcnair's funeral will take place tomorrow in nashville. southwest airline officials say they don't expect any delays today after one of their flights was forced to make an emergency landing after a bird strike. the situation unfolded yesterday evening around 5:20. officials say that dozens of

small birds were stuck in the engine during takeoff forcing the flight, flight 69 to circle and then safely land back at bwi marshall. none of the 135 passengers on board were injured. some traffic changes to tell you about over the coming weeks for you drivers out there. the maryland transportation authority will switch the traffic pattern at 95 and 895, the split there. instead of directing annapolis traffic left and baltimore traffic to the right, it will be that 695 drivers will merge to the right, drivers on 95 will stay left. keep that in mind. it's a little confusing. the change is part of the agency's $1.5 billion construction project. traffic changes start this sunday. there could be a midwest tradition coming to the big city of baltimore. state and city officials along with racing promoters are looking to bring the indy car race to the streets of downtown baltimore. hard to believe? well, abc's roosevelt leftwich

tells us that the idea has many revving their engines. >> reporter: sometimes when you're driving around downtown it can feel like you're on a racetrack. the rushing cars along pratt street don't have thing on them. right now the city, state and private development firm are looking at the feasibility of bringing a grand prix-style race that would cut through the heart of the harbor from pratt and light streets to russell street and back. >> the estimates are 150,000 visitors, $100 million in economic impact which is generated from the visitors, from the hotels, meals, etc., and also major national television exposure. >> reporter: a race of this caliber would bring more to the city than say lots of tourists and dollars. we're talking about international exposure. millions of people worldwide love this type of racing. however, folks in baltimore hope this type of racing brings something else to the city, a better roadway. you can hear the bumps and

lumps even before you see them up close. race fans worry while the city can present a great tourist package can the city get its roads into track shape? >> i think it would do wonders for the city. clean up the roads. the roads do suck. they are definitely not ready for a grands pre. i was in monaco. that race was amazing. >> i would love to see it. do i think the streets are good for it? no, but i think if the city really wanted it they could definitely flatten it out and make it a good course. >> we'll be looking at the feasibility in terms of the street closures, the conditions of the streets, the ability to close the streets down and handle that kind of a large crowd. >> reporter: but any city or state investment in the roads or any part of this can pay big dividends. four days of racing on the international stage can be a positive road trip of sorts for the city of baltimore. in baltimore, roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news.

5:50. how about just rolling down the window and going for a nice cruise? would be nice if it was the weekend. we have to get to work but a nice day to do so. getting outside, i say just pack a brown bag, go out there and enjoy it pause another beautiful day on tap. 63 degrees in baltimore to start. 50s back in into the mountains. a sign of cool air trying to work back in. we had the frontal boundary push through, still under the influence of low pressure in eastern canada. strong storms across the northern plains will dive to the south but could spread a few clouds our way. otherwise, great weather. computer model keeping us very dry as we head in through today. just a few clouds in the afternoon. watch the northeasterly push, could throw some showers off the coast of the delmarva tomorrow afternoon. maybe clipping portions of the metro area with the chance of a shower. this will reinforce some of that cool air but still relatively pleasant, nothing in terms of real heat to be found. yesterday we hit 88 degrees. today it will feel much cooler, only 82. as our two-degree guarantee,

mostly sunny and just pleasant. tonight, down to about 59 outside the beltway. could be cooler north and west. low to mid-60s doubt and by the -- downtown and by the bay. tomorrow, chance are a stray shower, near 80. and showers and storms possible late friday and into the weekend as temperatures climb to about 85 on saturday. 82 on sunday. let's check the roads with kim. >> thank you. if you're coming from owings mills, southbound 795 is running smoothly with just a little bit of light volume as you make your way down to the beltway. still dealing with road closures in the counties. marriottsville road remains closed in both directions, between driver road and henrington road at the howard and carroll county line because of downed power lines. police on the scene directing traffic there. southbound harbor tunnel reopens at 6:00 a.m., two-way traffic presently in the northbound tube. westminster, route 482 at leisters church road closed because of a bad truck accident

there. back to you. still ahead -- why trading your poorch the right way could get you on tv nationally. and millions claiming they've seen the virgin mary. we'll explain, just ahead.

it's 5:55. a very smart dog from the show me state may soon be showing off his skills to a national audience. we want you to meet cowboy. he's a border collie and his owner, jr kelly says this dog is a genius. every owner feels that way but cowboy is skilled in helping water the lawn, picking up the tools for carpentry projects, even playing basketball. >> he would go with me when i was done with carpentry work, finish up houses and he would carry tools back and forth to me. he learned to bring the hammer, screwdriver, tapemeasure, whatever i asked him to wring. >> did you see the video? the dog was vacuuming. like a dream come true. cowboy's owner says steven got a phone call from dave letterman's producers, i bet, because this dog may be on the show. you see him with sunglasses on. that is not as impressive. he vacuums! come on.

stay with us. before we head to break, our 6:00 show is just around the corner -- but in the meantime it's 58 degrees right now in stevenson. at stevenson university. the winds are calm. justin will let us know if the rest of the week is going to be as beautiful as the first half. we'll be right back. # p+

good morning. i'm megan pringle. last call for a baltimore city fire company. the results of budget cuts, but firefighters say your safety could be the real cost. many area parents are in a mad scramble this morning after learning their children's school is shutting down. we have the latest. plus, he's not only living strong, he shares the lead in the super bowl of psyche lick. the -- cycling. the latest on lance armstrong's incredible comeback career from cancer. that and more coming up. thank you for joining us. it's ju