not around the beltway yet. and though we've been talking about the chance of rain and we've had a few shots of rain over the last couple of days this looks to be the day it's going to be the wettest of the week. 72 degrees in baltimore and easton at this time. 79, very tropical feel in ocean city. and we'll get up to 79 by lunchtime. 82 this afternoon is our two-degree guarantee. and about a 60% chance of showers and storms and some of them could be locally heavy rain producers at any point throughout the day. so rain jacket, umbrella, hope you've have it all week because today is the day most of us will need it. 6:30. the roads are currently dry in baltimore by the way. here's kim. >> we don't have a lot going on at the major roads. a couple of incidents still working in the counties, route 152 at singer road. that crash remains on scene. that traffic light is out there also. expect to see police on scene guiding traffic there. northbound 95 at caton avenue. getting reports of debris in the road and southwestern boulevard at washington boulevard in halethorpe.

that accident remains on the scene there. as we check the tunnels, we don't have a lot going on at either the harbor tunnel or fort mchenry tunnel. that is flowing smoothly. as we check around the beltway from the top side, from the east side to the west side, no problems. everything is running smoothly on both loops. 83 southbound from the pennsylvania state line, it will take you about 22 minutes to make it to the beltway and traffic flowing smoothly there. a quick look at the cameras, 95 southbound approaching whitemarsh boulevard. volume is starting to pick up but no delays to let you know about. back to you. 6:31. the president has been talking to senators and committees and doctors and last night he talked to you. abc2 news diana avillar put this health care debate under the microscope. >> reporter: president obama will touch down in shaker heights, ohio today, to take questions on health care at a town hall meeting and neighbors are ready. >> my mother is about 80 years old and she's on a fixed income. she's always complaining about purchasing medicine and it's always an extreme cost.

>> reporter: the cost of prescription drugs just one of several issues the president says cannot wait. when it comes to health care reform. >> i'm rushtd because i get letters everyday from families that are being clobbered by health care costs. and they asked me can you help? >> reporter: in his primetime speech the president renewed his pledge to provide a public insurance option for the uninsured. said he would not support a plan primarily funded by taxing the middle class. and said they will be protected. >> it will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. >> reporter: the president did draw a line when explaining how washington would pay for such a plan. >> i'm not going to sign a bill that, for example, adds to the deficit. >> you but there may not be a bill to sign. >> the president's best friend in the senate, dick durbin says it's simply not possible to get this through the senate. >> reporter: it looks like the president is more willing

to be flexible about his august deadline. when asked last night he said he just wants to get things done right. diana avillar, abc news, chicago. if you have a cell phone you can avoid long lines at the airport. a pilot program being tested at o'hare in chicago allows passengers to skip boarding passes. a device displays a boarding image and passengers can hold their cell phones to the scanners. it then turns green. the information matches and they can proceed to the gate. if the pilot program goes well passengers all over the country may soon have this option at more destinations. two recent college grads are taking their job search to the streets literally. two guys guy from westmont, new jersey, donned suits and stood in rush hour traffic passing out their resume. they are college graduates and say they are hard workers but job competition is fierce. >> i've walked into places. this is a different angle. i'm trying to find something

different. maybe make myself stand out a little more. >> the boys passed out 150 resumes and received a few business cards. their desperate act has not gotten them a job yet but are hoping the creative approach to the job hunt finds them work and soon. back here in baltimore, tomorrow, 70,000 fans are going to fill baltimore for an international soccer match. with that many people descending upon our city traffic is going to be a nightmare. city officials are encouraging all of you to use the light rail system if you're going for the game the ac milan versus chelsea football club matchup will be at m & t bank system. it's the first time a soccer game has ever been there. at first glance looks like a model showing off a designer wedding dress. the model looks more like rosy from the jetsons than kate moss. it's a humanoid robot in japan. she told the audience how happy she was to be wearing a wedding

dress. everyone from jiffy lube is very excited about now. no we have good news in baltimore. a vegetable harvest that could soon help hundreds of people and a clothing display that has store employees afraid to come to work. we'll find out all about this. 6:35. we're watching a storm off the coast and some rain moving through central maryland. plan for wet weather and we'll have the two-degree guaranteed forecast and maryland's most powerful doppler radar next. here's kim with a check of the roads. thank you. getting word of a broken watermain. that is going to be in the city, erdman avenue and mannasota avenue. use caution if you travel in that direction. let's check the buses and trains with mark. >> that diversion you must mentioned is affecting the number 50 bus at erdman and mannasota. the 150 commuter bus is 30 minutes late. number 17, a diversion at nursery and winterson. light rail and metro subway on time. the marc train looks good. no delays reported on the camden, penn, brunswick lines.

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you may feel you need a drink after a hard day at work. two people in tampa went a little overboard. two thieves stole trucks from a truck yard which had more than 15,000 cases of beer. that is more than 25,000 beers! >> beer is a commodity that everyone wants. those of us that drink. and i think also it's a commodity probably they knew they can get rid of quick low. >> the beer that was stolen was corona and modello imported beer. the tab amounts to a whopping $70,000. lowering a tax, we all agree it's too high, right? >> reporter: one city leader has a plan to lower the tax rate in baltimore. but will it work? i'm brittney gordon and we'll have that story, coming up. ♪

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e-or ...i-can-get-him-a- math-tutor" button. it's my "save-so-much- on-school-supplies- he-can-stop-using-his- sister's-old-backpack" button. it's my "save-so-much- i-can-get-a-binder- for-every-day- of-the-week" button. there's no school on saturday and sunday, genius. don't ruin this for me. (announcer) staples equals savings on everything for back to school. staples. that was easy. here comes the push to "good morning

america" at 7:00. i'm jamie costello. megan is off. in the headlines, -- finally there's word of a possible property tax cut in baltimore city. brittney gordon will tell us all about it. somebody who likes to rob banks needs a tip from you to stop it. and the man who gave a smooth criminal -- well, now it's just plain criminal, over the death of michael jackson. sherrie johnson has that story. that and more in 16 -- on "good morning maryland." rain rolling in across the eastern shore. cambridge over towards easton, looks like parts of caroline county still getting fresh lightning strikes. you'll see that one there. another one pushing through, at least just south of caroline county and the corner. we're watching cambridge and looks like st. michaels crossing the bay bridge, on in through anne arundel county, pushing through shady side,

headed up by annapolis and though the rain is not here yet in the baltimore area the wider view indicates it's rolling from south-to-north. we've been watching this satellite imagery because this system that is sitting off the coast and pumping in this tropical feed does what v a tropical connection. it looks like it's trying to get organized in a hurry. we'll continue to watch this as it rolls up the coast with a tropical-like environment today. very, very moist. periods of locally heavy rain. even thunder and lightning mixed in. our two-degree guarantee is 82 but the best chance all week long that we've had rain, will be today through tonight with a low of 67 in areas of fog. for a check of the roads here kim. >> police are still on the scene directing traffic in afford county. that is -- harford county, that is route 152 and singer road. the crash cleared, however the traffic light remains out, and now the pole is out in the -- down in the intersection. use caution there. a watermain break in the city, erdman avenue and mannasota avenue, it's impacting mta

travel a little. could impact your commute as well. halethorpe, southwestern boulevard and washington boulevard, that crash remains on the scene. sunshine avenue at clayton lane, getting word of a new scent -- accident there. no problems at the tunnels this morning. also on the outer loop, on the west side, liberty road looking good, down through about route 70 on 695. on the east side of the beltway, from about whitemarsh boulevard to providence, things are running smoothly. this is going to be 95 southbound approaching whitemarsh boulevard, we do have some heavy volume but us a see traffic is moving with no delays. back to you. 6:45. there are some of you watching us this morning in baltimore city that pay more in property taxes than those of you paying a year's worth of mortgage living in carroll county. brittney gordon with word of a possible city cut. >> reporter: property taxes in the city of baltimore are the highest in the state. a fact that has rubbed residents wrong for years. but a plan was announced last night that could make living in the city a whole lot more

attractive. chief baltimore city circuit court clerk frank conaway drew about 60 people to a meeting last night. the topic, how the city can lower the property tax rate. those living in the city pay a rate of 2 -- 2.268 cents. it's double the rate of baltimore county and triple what some other counties charge. conaway is proposing a plan to cut the rate down to that of baltimore county. within five years. but the mayor's office is not on board. >> revenues are coming up short. we have to balance our books. very tough right now to attack the property tax rate in this manner. >> reporter: each cent of property tax reduction in the city equals about $3 million in revenue so it's obvious why the mayor's office is not a fan of this plan. instead mayor dixon favors opening a slots parlor in south

baltimore to raise enough revenue to cut property taxes. brittney gordon, abc2 news. a 27-year-old letter carrier pleaded guilty to stealing mail and identity theft. mailman leonard jenkins confessed to stealing more than 100,000 dollars of u.s. treasury checks. authorities say he would steal the checks and then exchange them for cash with his conspirators. those checks would then be cashed using fake id's. jenkins faces up to 20 years in prison. eight other defendants have already pleaded guilty. the fbi needs your help now trying to identify a suspected serial bank robber. we're told the man has already hit six banks since july 2nd. authorities say during the robberies the suspect displays a demanding note and implies he has a gun. a reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. if you know anything call the fbi bank robbery task force now at 410-265-8080. can you believe this?

another carbon monoxide leak at the cove village town homes in essex? baltimore county fire crews were called out there around 5:00 yesterday after a carbon monoxide detector went off. they did find low levels of c.o. but luckily no one got sick. bge crews also responded to try and help neighbors resolve the situation. we're getting new information this morning on efforts to improve the safety of dc's metro system. officials say metro is now working with an annapolis firm to design a backup for the train control system that is supposed to prevent crashes. the ntsb is still trying to find find out the cause of the crash that killed nine people last month but the ntsb has said the current train protection system is just inadequate. the race is on to produce a vaccine for the h1n1 virus before the seasonal flu season hits us. federal health leaders have now selected the university of maryland school of medicine to put one of two new experimental vaccines to the test. so in a few weeks researchers will begin trials on healthy adults here in baltimore to

test the vaccine's immunity. if the trials are successful children will test the vaccine in frederick and annapolis. researchers say the tests are safe and carry few side effects. a thousand volunteers will be needed in our area. you can find information on how to become a volunteer simply by visiting our web site at abc2news.com. an american apparel store's decision to prominently display a pro-gay t-shirt resulted in vandalism and death threats. the stores in silver spring has t-shirts that say legalize gay, repeal prop 8 now. earlier this week someone broke the store's window and employees reported getting threatening phone calls. the caller said why is that t-shirt still in the window? you should take it down or something's going to happen to you. >> just like any campaign shirt or any other kind of apparel that you would wear, if you agree with it you buy it, if not you don't buy it. >> we took down the mannequin for five seconds to move it and move it wack to this window but

we will not take down this display. >> the police are investigating but still have no suspects at this time. joe jackson said it. so did latoya. you better take a look at michael jackson's doctor. abc2 news sherrie johnson with the raid that brings a new twist to this investigation. >> reporter: federal drug enforcement agents raided the office of michael jackson's personal physician dr. conrad murray. agents got the search warrant after preliminary results of jackson's autopsy showed his cause of death connected to a powerful anesthetic. this drug is normally given in hospitals the raid came as a surprise to murray's attorney who says officers were searching for information they believe constituted manslaughter. officers took a computer hard drive and 21 documents from dr. murray's office. investigators found the anesthetic in jackson's home and want to know how it got there. investigators are also taking records from jackson's nutritionist who said he asked her for propofol. >> eventually they will take all their information to the

district attorney's office and they will then rule on whether this is a criminal prosecution or not. >> reporter: the coroner's office is expected to release autopsy results next week more than a month after michael jackson's sudden death. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. while you trusted him to tell you the truth every night on channel 2 and we were a cbs affiliate. today newsman walter cronkite will be laid to rest. he died friday at the age of 92, a service is being held at st. bartholomew's church in manhattan. a larger memorial is expected to take place in the next few weeks at lincoln center. walter cronkite will be buried in kansas city next to his wife betsy who passed away in 2005. the service today will begin at 2:00. a celebration today in baltore. think of it as a harvest for the homeless. right in front of baltimore city hall. gardens will be growing and they've been growing since april. big gardens. now that's going to help feed hundreds of people in baltimore. mayor sheila dixon is scheduled

to take part today as hundreds of pounds of vegetables are collected for our daily bread which serves as many as 800 people everyday. here's the latest on towson catholic high school and the baltimore archdiocese decision to shut it down for good coming up this fall. tonight the alumni association is going to hold a fundraiser and rally for the school at the padonia station. there will be a silent auction, starts 5:00, continues until 9:00 tonight. tomorrow a hearing is scheduled at 2:00 in the afternoon to get a restraining order to block the school's closing. the high school announced it would shut down earlier this month because of financial issues and low enrollment. students, alumni and parents have been fighting ever since to keep the doors of towson catholic open. baltimore city will remain control of the historic senator theatre. it was a brief auction but the emotions ran high. >> sit down and let everyone chill out a little bit and let the auctioneers do what

they've agreed to do. >> clearly this is rigged! this is bull! >> no bids came close to the theater's $950,000 mortgage but one person did offer $800,000 bid. the city ended up repurchasing the mortgage which prevented a foreclosure auction. two welcome centers in our state will close because of budget cuts including one that has a geological museum. sideling hill exhibit center on i-68 just west of hancock is going to shut down august 15th. the bay county welcome center in queen anne's county will also shut down. it will save the city more than $392,000. one full time and three part time employees will be laid off. if you plan on taking a trip down south use the bathroom first. virginia is shutting down 18 of 42 rest stops due to a lack of money. signs on the side of the road are being covered up with new ones. the rest areas are closed because of potential $2.6 billion deficit.

it's about honesty and transprancey. no one has been more exposed to the entire world out here than yours truly. you can bet i'm bring that same thing to running the city as to everything else i do. >> it's official. the naked cowboy has thrown his hat -- and that's all he's got, into the race for mayor of new york. robert burke made the announcement at a press conference yesterday. he made a living strumming a guitar in times square, dressed in boots and tight briefs. his main opponent, incumbent michael bloomberg who is running for his third term. here's video to make you -- look at this. the lion who became an interpret sensation a few -- internet sensation a few years ago when he hugged the woman who rescued him from the circus. turns 10 years old. jupiter, african lion, rescued from a circus where he was malnourished and abused. the woman nursed him back to health and she's the reason he's celebrating his 10th

birthday today. the lion hugging the woman. 6:55. watching some rain. some of you just barely getting clipped briefly. we're also watching some of you getting locally heavy downpours. you're getting clouds now. this does extend on the other side of severna park to glen burnie. the south side of the beltway, looks like it's going to get wet. watch the rain as it continues to stroll in from the south and off the bay. today, only 82 this afternoon. a very humid day but the best chance all week we've had rain because of this coastal storm with a tropical feel to it. 67 and fog tonight. the morning showers tomorrow should give way to some clearing in the afternoon, 86. we'll try to push 91 on the thermometer for saturday but by sunday the next weather system comes in with storms, 87. mid-80s, more rain early next week. here's kim now with the jaw off the floor from the naked -- >> i was telling -- i saw him at mardi gras, he's pretty cute in person. still working the crash, 152 at

singer road, though the crash has been cleared from the intersection, traffic light not working and poll remains in the road. use caution and a few extra minutes of the commute there. the watermain break in the city, erdman avenue and mannasota avenue, impacting the commute. also that crash in halethorpe, southwestern boulevard at washington boulevard. and in harford county, that is -- sorry, baltimore county, sunshine avenue and clayton lane west of bel air road. that crash remains on the scene there. coming up on "good morning maryland" at 9:00 -- a local woman who knows all about disabilities is helping teen girls with self-esteem. we introduce you to one teen trying to help. and 2009, who is the best, the magazine is out. and a local teen giving back. how a simple bar mitzvah project is turning into a program to keep your kids playing sports. see you at 9:00.