good monday morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. thank you so much for joining us. the start of the workweek, monday, july 29th. weather and traffic in a moment. first, let's look at the stories we're working on for you this morning. straight shot to the finish line. only one problem. someone got in the way. >> sarah palin is out as governor but went out fighting and says she will not stop. and it was a busy night in the city for police overnight. 12 people were shot, 2-year-old

girl and pregnant woman. we're going to update you on everything that happened while you were sleeping. and some rough weather overnight. let's look at the forecast for today with justin berk. >> trees down, inch and a half of rain, golfball-sized 45eu8. that was yesterday. could we do it again today? it's possible. we start this morning with an active radar, maryland's most powerful doppler radar showing us that heavy rain on the lower eastern shore. pulling it back a little, you see how they've been getting hit with thunder and lightning in ocean city, even back towards salisbury, cambridge and easton. we have showers around town and coming from rockville, there may be another one clipping western howard county and maybe even back towards carroll and baltimore county as well but overall this morning, this is what we had to deal with in stevenson, a little brief fog you'll see there. we've had a little shower come through. i don't think that 82 is proper. 74 downtown as we look at mostly cloudy skies. and across the rest of the area. 69 on the north side in cockeysville. 70 in churchville. back towards ellicott city.

muggy 74 glen burnie to the eastern shore's centreville. low 70s with most of the showers on the east side. though we've had hits on the west side as well. just spotty this morning but after 3:00 we fire up more storms. some could be strong-to-severe with our two-degree guaranteed high of 87. 6:32. let's go to the roads with kim. >> we have a very busy commute starting off your monday morning with a lot of different incidents around the city. we still have the crash downtown, st. paul street at north avenue. park heights avenue remains closed between greenspring valley and walnut. expect that intersection to be closed all morning because of the downed power lines. westbound whitemarsh boulevard 59 honeygo -- at honeygo boulevard remains closed. try 695 as an alternate. traffic lights out at owings mills, reisterstown road at south tollgate lane. outer loop on the west side, no problems between liberty road down to about the route 70 interchange. the beltway looks good, we have

building volume on the east side here between wienld and harford road -- whitemarsh boulevard and harford road. no problems at the tunnels but i'm getting word that fayette street is closed in both directions downtown, between milton and fayette because of an earlier accident involving a police vehicle. 95 southbound here headed towards whitemarsh boulevard, we have building volume, no delays at this time, just slowing approaching the 695/895 split. back to you. 6:33. drag racing suspected in the death of a cab driver. >> witnesses say they saw two cars speeding down the road and then saw the crash. sherrie johnson joins us with the latest. >> reporter: everyday thousands of people travel on northern parkway and what is so disturbing, it could have happened to anyone. this crash happened about 11:00 last night at the intersection of northern parkway and woodcrest avenue. near pimlico racetrack. witnesses say several cars were racing down the street when they slammed into a cab driver who was trying to make a u turn. police say the cab driver died

insttly from the impact. four other people were injured in the crash and taken to shock trauma. one witness did not want to be identified on camera and she says this accident was a senseless tragedy. >> they crazy. young people just acting crazy. >> reporter: it's no secret reckless driving and street racing has been a problem in our state. in june, 21-year-old mary abernathy and jonathan henderson were killed while watching a drag race near i-70 and woodlawn. last year in prince george's county eight people died when a car plowed into them while watching a street race. in the meantime baltimore city police continue to investigate this latest accident hoping to find answers. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. 6:34. it's been a year since a government scientist killed himself while being investigated for a deadly anthrax mailing in 2001. now the justice department is on the verge of closing this case. bruce ivins worked as a microbiologist at fortdy trick

in -- fort detrick in fredrick county, he killed himself as the fbi closed in on him last summer. officials wanted to close the case last week but government lawyers wanted more time to review the evidence and wanted to decide what could be made public and what couldn't. police say they are confident that ivins acted alone. health officials will gather in maryland today for a summit to discuss the swine flu. they will talk about potential vaccines, new ways to report it and getting ready for an emergency as they get set for the flu season this fall. people selling homes are trying to come up with insevennives for you to buy them. a homeowner in san diego is desperate to sell. buy his house, he'll throw in a $200,000 bentley. the san diego property is more than 4,000 square feet plus an ocean view. listed at the reduced price of

$1.8 million but several other homes in the neighborhoods are also on the market. that is why the seller decided to include the luxury car with the house. on the beach in san diego and you're having trouble selling a house? >> with the bentley? >> wow. your money woes could be hurting more than your bank account. >> a new study says why we're spending a lot less time in bed. and a woman gets a class ring back after many years. 6:36. already watched big storms on the lower eastern shore. we could do another round of strong-to-severe weather this afternoon. our complete two-degree guarantee forecast is coming up. let's see what's happening on the roads with kim. >> as you look at 95 southbound you see we have building volume. keep in mind that eastbound whitemarsh boulevard remains closed at honeygo boulevard so use 695 as an alternate. let's check the commute with mark jones. >> good morning. that fire situation out there is diverting the number 120 bus in the area of honeygo and

whitemarsh, be aware of that. number 20 and 23 diverting in the area of fayette and milton along with the number 40 bus and number 15 bus diverted in the area of prospect and clifton due to trees down. 77, diverting at edmondson and ingleside, a watermain break repair continuing there. this is a typical snack bar. but kellogg saw an opportunity to plus things up. we took out their peanuts... because adding almonds would be a plus.

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6:40. a woman's missing class ring pretty much made a trip around the world to return to its rightful owner. ellie tucker got her class ring in 1958. she got it back on saturday in chicago. a man found it on the beach in england years ago, brought it back to the united states. his friend helped track down the owner. tucker lost herring back in 9 -- her ring back in the 1960s when she was living in england. >> he asked me to look in the

ring to see if i could see initials, i didn't. then i got a flashlight and magnifying glass and they are very hard to read. >> after all this time i imagine it would be. this is the second time the tennessee high school graduate lost herring. she says she lost it in myrtle beach, south carolina right after graduation. it was returned to her a few years later. hopefully this time she'll hang on to it. >> i don't think so. coming up next here on "good morning maryland" - >> a homemade puzzle is getting some international attention. we'll explain coming up. it's july 15th, and i'm erika,

with a recap of the past 24 hours on royal caribbean's liberty of the seas. debbie from rhode island laced up the gloves in the fitness center. brooke molloy floated with friends through jamaica. late night explorers climbed mountains under the stars. and finally, jose rodriguez rocked the house in the karaoke club. that's the news. i'm erika, cruising with royal caribbean. why aren't you?

6:44. good morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. thank you for joining us. we're going to get to weather in a moment. first, the top stories from overnight. reckless driving on a well-traveled road kills a man just trying to do his job. a car going the wrong wear kills members -- wrong way kills family members in new york. and incredible storms

caused major damage in our area. these stories and much more coming up. let's look at the forecast for today. here's justin berk. >> we needed rain, we got some rain. it made for a muggy start. temperature actually bumped up a degree in the past hour, 73 now in baltimore. 60s to the north side. they actually cleared out york county north and west. even patchy fog from there because of the rain yesterday and clear skies overnight but for us, clouds and leftover rain this morning. we'll back it up 12 hours. watch the storms that blew through. the storms that really prompted the severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. the ones that actually dumped about 3/4-inch hail in howard county and about golfball-sized hail in poreses of harford county yesterday. inch and a half of rain, damaging winds, that was yesterday, right? we've got the conveyer belt pumping in more moisture this morning, lower eastern shore. we've had a few spotty showers so far and yes, there's a stalled cold front back there that is going to help to regenerate more showers and this line of storms likely to fire up after 3:00 p.m. that will dwindle down during

the evening. we'll re-fire more around the bay tomorrow, especially in the afternoon. probably just about everyday as we head through this week. two-degree guarantee gets us back to 87, plan for the chance of afternoon storms. tonight we settle back down to 68. morning fog giving way to another humid day. 89 and more storms again tomorrow afternoon. let's check the roads now with kim. >> we have a lot happening out on the roads to start your monday. pretty busy out there in baltimore county as we have several intersections that have the traffic lights not working. that is west padonia road and broad avenue. reisterstown road at south tollgate road, and shawan road, lights not working. treat them as a four-way stop. park heights avenue remains closed between greenspring valley and walnut boulevard because of downed power lines. honeygo boulevard is closed between whitemarsh boulevard and campbell boulevard because of the earlier crash. try perry hall boulevard as an alternate. fayette street cload because of a crash involving a police

vehicle, it will be closed between milton and lakewood. try orleans or fairmount as an alternate. we have building volume on the outer loop between whitemarsh boulevard and loch raven. no problems at the tunnels. outer loop, west side, traffic looks good on both loops of the outer loop and inner loop this morning. back to you. 6:47. speed seems to be what caused the deadly crash on northern parkway. >> sources tell us it may have been drag racing. abc2 news sherrie johnson joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. police say one person died overnight after a suspected street race in northwest baltimore. the crash happened about 11:00 at the intersection of northern parkway and woodcrest near pimlico racetrack. witnesses say several cars were racing down the street when they slammed into a cab driver who was trying to make a u turn. police say the cab driver died instantly from the impact. four other people were injured in the crash and taken to shock trauma. one witness did not want to be identified on camera and she

says this accident was a senseless tragedy. >> they was racing down northern parkway, hit the cab driver. cab driver flipped over as you can see. and he was pronounced dead. the rest of them got away. and the ambulances came. four separate ambulances. >> reporter: it's not the oath case of reckless driving. in june 21-year-old mary kathryn abernathy of columbia and jonathan henderson of la plata were killed while watching a drag race in woodlawn. in prince george's county eight people died when they were watching a street race. police continue to investigate this latest accident hoping to find some answers. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. we had this terrible car crash near new york city kills eight people including four children all in the same family. police say a mini van was going the wrong direction on the at the chronic d -- teconic

state parkway. near briarcliff manor. a woman in the mini van and four of the five children in the car died. they were all under age 3. >> all i see was them coming down the road spinning and the suv hit it hard. that's when the bodies went flying. >> it's very sad. it's a shame when you see something like this happen. >> one child in the van is being treated for head injuries. all three people in the suv died. police don't know why the driver was going the wrong direction on the parkway. time now 6:49. it was a very violent night in the city. police are saying at least 23 people were shot in five separate incidents overnight. city police have a massive investigation on their hands this morning. the first one happened around 9:00 last night, police are looking for suspects in the shooting at a cookout that heard at least -- hurt at least 12 people including a

pregnant woman and 2-year-old. around 9:00 last night police say gunmen started shooting at the crowd of the cookout on the 2600 block of ashland avenue and are still -- investigators say everyone is expected to be ok. police don't have a motive or suspect in the case. another shooting that left two men dead at the corner of fayette and conklin around midnight. police have very little information and say they've not made any arrests in thiscatio case. 11:00, another shooting in east baltimore. this one on east baltimore street. police say it's just a few blocks away from a multiple shooting that happened on ashland avenue. the injured man taken to hopkins. no word on his condition this morning. and two men shot in the 200 block of ascliff before 2:00. one shot in the hand, the other in the leg. both men expected to be ok. a pizza deliveryman was shot and robbed around 1:00 this morning. this happened on harford road but police say they do not have any suspects in this case.

fast-moving storms and high winds hit hard across the area yesterday. more than 20,000 people were without power at the height of the storm. the damage stretches from carroll to harford counties but some of the worst in baltimore county. the reisterstown area especially hit hard. we were there when a woman was being rescued from her car after a tree fell on top of it. >> it was just, boom and shifted my car. yeah, i'm fine. these guys did a good job. >> the national weather service says the storm was not a tornado. thousands of people though still without power this morning. all the debris could take several days to clean up. 6:51. three people still in the hospital after an apparent carbon monoxide leak in essex, it happened at the cove village apartments which has been plagued with natural gas leaks in the past. fire crews rushed to the apartment on barnacle court after 4:00 yesterday afternoon. they traced the leak to a malfunctioning stove. a man and two women taken to

franklin square hospital for treatment. >> my aunt was light-headed and just complaining of a headache. once the detective went up that's when they called 911. >> and they just set her down. >> the names and victims have not been released. abc2 news tried to contact the management but calls were not returned. remember the last time you had a good night's sleep? it seems like a faint memory? you can blame it on the economy. 1/3 of americans are losing sleep over concerns about their personal finances or the economy. that is according to the national sleep foundation. prescriptions for sleep medications are at an all time high. there have even been places open in big cities where you can pay to take a nap during the day. >> i think it makes a real difference, first of all, in my work. i do a better job which means i'll get a better bonus. i'm not going to burn out. >> i would pay for that. according to the study by the

harford school of -- harvard school of public health, a 20-minute power nap three times a week can reduce the rate of heart disease in healthy individuals by 37%. the national sleep foundation found that people who report losing sleep over the economy are more likely to also report being unable to work efficiently, exercise or eat healthy. sarah palin officially step down as alaska governor sunday but left her longterm political plans up in the air. she refused to address speculation she would seek a 2012 presidential bid. in a fiery campaign-style speech palin said she's stepping down to take her political battles to a larger stage and avoiding the unproductive typical political as usual lame duck session of her last year in office. >> in alaska there is much good in store further down the road but to reach it we must value and live the optimistic pioneering spirit that made

this state proud and free and we can resist enslavement to big central government that crashes that opportunity. be wary of accepting government -- it doesn't come free and often accepting it takes away everything that is free. >> here's where alaska stands now. the former lieutenant governor was also officially sworn in as the new governor. palin says she's working on a book but wouldn't address speculation that again, she going to run for president in 2012. a check of world headlines. french president nicolas sarkozy out of the hospital. he apparently collapsed while jogging at the palace of versailles near paris. doctors say he collapsed from the heat and overwork. he's resting at home now. this next story is about a couple -- i guess you can say they have all the right pieces. >> michael and pat smith from northern california. they are getting international attention for making everything fit. you see, the couple, they are

in the puzzle business. they actually make them, handsmade. out of blue though they got a call from the white house, when the president goes overseas he wants to bring a special gift to diplomats and their families. so they thought, a puzzle is a perfect fit. however, a puzzle of what? after some brainstorming the couple decided the presidential pup was it. they are making puzzles of bo and it's been a huge hit. >> we've been doing this 37 years. i don't know if this is near the end, it's a great honor. >> how could you top that? >> yeah. >> turns out the diplomats and families love him and love him at the white house. they have requested 50 more. 6:55. we're looking at a very warm and somewhat wet week. not a washout. i want to make this clear. when you see the rain and lightning coming up on this

extended graphic, doesn't mean it's everyday and that it's going to be completely wet but we're going to be in the environment with scattered showers and storms. there's one shower trying to push through owings mills and reisters now. this afternoon the -- reisterstown now, this afternoon, 87 is our two-degree guarantee. 89 tomorrow. 87 wednesday and thursday. mid-80s friday into the weekend but again just about every afternoon the chance of some showers and storms. kim? no we're working several events around the area. probably the most important that will impact the commute especially in the whitemarsh were area, honeygo closed between whitemarsh boulevard. use perry hall as an alternate. check the crawl at the bottom of the screen for all the road closures and traffic lights not working. "good morning maryland" at 9:00 is after "good morning america." >> so many guests are coming in here today. see you at 9:00. they have alzheimer's and heart disease,

diabetes and cancer, and they've heard that biomedical research offers hope -- that it could control, maybe even cure, their disease. senator barbara mikulski understands the importance of innovative biomedical research for patients, their families, and our economy here in maryland. call senator mikulski today. tell her thanks for protecting the promise of biomedical research and the maryland jobs it provides. it's not just the future. it's life.

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