good morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. tuesday morning. thank you so much for joining us. july 28th. almost to august. >> almost. >> let's get right to the top stories. before we send to justin with the weather. officials tell us we will be ready for the h1n1 flu. >> and those of you who love the supersized meals, well, it's costing us all a lot of money. we'll explain. a surprise visit to iraq to see how our troops are faring and what the future might be. that and more coming up as we lead you right up to "good morning america." first, here's justin with a check of today's steamy forecast. >> we're covering from the bachelorette pick last night. it's true. he was really -- had his money on the other one. we're looking outside this morning, a little sticky as temperatures 73 degrees, comes with some humidity and a little bit of sunshine to come up and fight off the early morning clouds. 6:30 and 73 degrees, also coming up with maryland's most powerful doppler radar

currently dry. that is good news and all the fun really happens in the afternoon when we can really act on some of the heat and humidity to combine for storms. today, isolated, our two-degree guarantee gets us to 89 but that could put some of you into the lower 90s and just a small chance of thundershowers popping up near the bay to increase the chance of rain though total. 6:31. if you're just waking up and you have not heard yet kim brown, our traffic expert. it's her birthday. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. i'm happy to be 21 again. 10th year running. we don't have much going on on the major roads. just traffic lights out in the baltimore county area, at the baltimore national pike and ingleside, franklin boulevard and church street and west padonia, treat those as a four-way stop. no problems at whitemarsh boulevard and harford road, just building volume same on the west side between liberty road as you make your way down south or east around

the route 70 interchange, traffic flowing freely at this time. this is going to be 695 at the bw parkway, those are the southbound lanes on 295 on the far side. everything flowing freely at this time. back to you. "2 your health." officials from across the state of maryland are gearing up to attack the h1n1 virus also known as swine flu when class gets back in session next month. now, local school superintendents, helicopter officers, they all -- health officers, all attended a flu summit yesterday. they were talking about when they could close schools or notifying parents and how students should be isolated when contagious. >> i am more concerned about the flu this year because of the epidemic last year and i just want to make sure my kids will be in a safe environment. >> school officials say they are also looking at ways to continue teaching children if schools are forced to close because of an outbreak. we want to you know and we want to hear from you, about the flu. your thoughts, so go to our web

site. we're asking, are you more likely to get a flu shot this year because of the h1n1 flu scare? to take part in the on-line poll log on to abc2news.com. when you get there look on the right side of the home page for all that information. for those of you watching us here this morning on a treadmill, continue to work out because the government, the government on capitol hill discussed your weight yesterday. it reveals that obesity is costing the united state stein 147 -- $147 billion a year. the study indicates an obese person costs $1,400 more per year in health care than someone of normal weight. >> the only way to show real savings in health expenditures in the future is efforts to reduce the prevalence of obesity and related health conditions. >> the bottom line -- a federal tax on soda is among the suggestions to help offset the rise in medical costs related to obesity. supporters say just a 3-correct 3- --

3-cent tax could generate $4 had 00 billion a year. there's a push to get more police on the streets. >> after violence over the weekend. shootings dotted the landscape overnight. sherrie johnson has more. >> reporter: good morning. governor martin o'malley asked for it and he got it. today the governor is headed to philadelphia to learn more about federal money baltimore received to keep more police on the streets. the announcement actually will come later this morning from vice president joe biden and attorney general eric holder. with the violent weekend in baltimore where more than 23 people were shot this money could not come at a better time. it's part of the community-oriented policing services program or c.o.p.s. over 7,000 cities applied for it. baltimore is one of over a thousand cities actually selected to receive the money. the obama administration will give out $1 billion in aid to help cities and states keep police on the street during these tough economic times. for every dollar delivered

another $7 in requests will unenanswered under the grant program. each state selected is entitled to at least $5 million in c.o.p.s. money. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. police officers could soon have a more effective weapon to subdue out of control suspects. taser international has unveiled a new stun gun that can be used three times before its reloaded. stun guns currently need to be reloaded after one use. [no audio] it's expected to be available to law enforcement officers starting late next month. we'll let you know what happens. no taser needed for this next suspect. a suspected carjacker and robber who clearly didn't have a concealed weapon. the woman accused in a two-piece crime spree in mississippi.

an alleged bikini bandit. police say the woman for reasons we don't flow carjacked a vehicle and tried to rob a nearby business claiming she had a gun. employees saw right through it and tackled her holding the woman down until police arrived. >> we've arrested bikini-clad suspects before but never one in the commission of a carjacking or robbery. so this one was a little unusual. ask the woman was evaluated at a local emergency room. no word on the results of that evaluation. we talked about volunteering just a few moments ago. >> coming up, we're going to introduce to you a little girl who is going above and beyond to help her community. a shocking new study to make you think again before texting behind the wheel. warm and humid and we'll gradually increase our chance of storms over the next couple of days. we'll talk about that with the two-degree guaranteed forecast. now back to kim with a check of the roads. >> no problems to let you know about as you make your way srbd on the bw parkway. just a little building volume but right now let's check the buses and trains with mark jones. >> reporter: good morning.

for your commute you'll find the number 77 bus working with a diversion at edmondson and ingleside. watermain break repair there. 17 diverted nursery and winterson for construction. light rail and metro subway on time. and the marc train system looks good. no delays on the camden, penn, brunswick lines. carol!

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if you need a smile how about packing one up in a box? 10-year-old emily light, from dallas, texas, calls them smile boxes. she's responsible for this assembly line you see there. the smile boxes go to children in hospitals. this started when emily's brother jude had a stroke and suffered brain damage. through it all she sat by him and supported him in the hospital. >> i've learned firsthand that hospitals can be very boring and sad. >> i think it's very important and very therapeutic. she's with her brother's

stroke, things have been difficult for her and difficult to overcome. we've really seen her grow from this. >> here's how it works -- each month emily chooses a new hospital and comes up with a goal for the number of boxes that she hopes to provide. great. >> great idea. if you have a son or daughter you're going to send off to college, imagine hearing this - >> your kid's school number one, for partying. that is not the oath category in this -- only category in this report card. stay with us. how some maryland schools ranked. we'll be right back. fiber one. i'm looking for some fiber.

this bar is an excellent source of fiber. there's no fiber in this. tastes too good. there is fiber. [ chuckle ] no. i can't taste the fiber in this chocolate. they have 35% of your daily value.

hmm. oh, samples. hmm. autobahn. wackenschdol. fiber one chewy bars. cardboard no. delicious yes.

"good morning america" at the top of the hour. good morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. the last name is about to change. here are the top stories we're working on -- the latest on the death of michael jackson. why his personal doctor is under fire this morning. nearly 24 hours after an extremely violent night in the city some money from the stimulus package couldn't come at a better time. plus, disturbing views about the dangers of texting and driving. why you really should not be doing it at all. those stories and much more coming up. first, let's check the

weather. >> 6:44. 60 seconds to tell you this, this, it's humid. 60 degrees this morning but slipped back to 59 in altoona. clear skies are working in. even though we're on the edge of this line of storms that erupted yesterday and did erupt to the east, not on top of the bay, that is good news but we've had a flare-up of storms yesterday and it dumped 2/3 inch of rain in westminster and passing through northern baltimore county. we're working in sunshine now. today will probably be drier, looks like just isolated showers popping up around the bay. because we do have the humidity in place. we'll have sunshine pushing our temperatures close to 90. tomorrow, a wave of low pressure will increase our chance of rain as we head through the day. that will continue on in through the rest of the week. today's two-degree guarantee 89, putting some of us in the low 90s. just an isolated shower in the afternoon. we'll settle back to 73. then we'll push mid-80s with more storms tomorrow.

for a check of the roads here's kim. >> i'm getting word of downed trees at the dulaney valley road at manor road. use caution if you're in that area. also traffic lights still not working in baltimore county. they will be on the blink probably throughout the duration of the morning, at baltimore national pike at ingleside avenue, another in reisterstown, franklin boulevard and church road. in cockeysville, west padonia road and broad avenue. the traffic signals not working at this time. this is going to be the jfx, southbound, running smoothly from the northern parkway area down to about north avenue. also the tunnels are checking in incident-free. no problems around the beltway but we have heavy traffic us a make your way southbound on 95. that is going to be heavy from about the whitemarsh boulevard area through to about the 695 split. to give yourself a little extra time. back to you. investigators turned their attention to one of the victims of a mass shooting in east baltimore on sunday night. 12 people including a pregnant woman and a 2-year-old girl were shot during a cookout in

the backyard of a home on ashland avenue. police have not released the names of the victims except for one of them. steven blackwell. 25 years old and no stranger to police. he faced charges of attempted murder in the past. police say the shooting was possibly premeditated. the police commissioner announced a large-scale increase of police deployments in east baltimore. police still have no suspects in connection with the violence that happened last night. and that shooting was just one of many in the city from sunday night well into monday morning. >> it was a busy night but the governor now in philadelphia today hopefully getting some much-needed help from the federal government. it couldn't come at a much better time. sherrie johnson joins us now with more. >> reporter: good morning. yes, governor martin o'malley heads to philadelphia as baltimore receives federal aid money to keep more police on the streets. this announcement is expected to come from vice president joe biden and attorney general eric holder. in light of the violent weekend in baltimore city where more than 23 people were shot this

money comes through at a really good time. it's part of the community-oriented policing services program or c.o.p.s. over 7,000 cities applied for it. baltimore is one of a thousand cities actually selected to receive that money. the obama administration will give out $1 billion in aid to help keep police on the street during these tough economic times. for every dollar delivered another $7 in requests will ununanswered. each state is entitled to $5 million in c.o.p.s. money. four major cities including new york and pittsburgh were denied funding. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. relatives remember a mother of two shot and killed this past weekend. last night hundreds of family members and friends gathered in the parking lot of the clubhouse bar here on erdman avenue in east baltimore. police say 27-year-old shonte ellis was shot while sitting in the driver's seat of her parked car. relatives tell abc2 that ellis was texting when the gunman walked around to her open door

and shot her. repeatedly. she leaves behind a 3-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. >> he say grandma, they didn't have to do this to my mother. they could have put her in the hospital for a couple of days but they didn't have to kill her! >> whoever did not have to shoot her 10 times in the chest because i could never imagine in my wildest dreams what could she have done so wrong they never even gave mera chance? ---- her a chance? >> police are still looking for the gunman. a columbia couple filed a $5 million lawsuit in connection with a police raid on their home. kevin and lisa henderson say they were assaulted and their constitutional rights violated. they say that police also shot and killed their dog during the raid. this was in january of last year. the lawsuit indicates police had a warrant related to suspect drug dealings and gang activity.

the hendersons, though, were acquitted. no comment from howard county police. also this morning anne arundel county police say they are looking into at least 10 car break-ins happening overnight in the areas of severna park as well as arnold. here's a look at the two men police are calling suspects this morning in the crimes. they say the men either broke the windows or got into unlocked cars. stole gps units, cell phones, chargers and credit cards. if you have any information that could help police you're asked to give them a call. metro crime stoppers, the number is 1-866-7-lockup. to find out about crime in your area, you can check the crime checker section of our web site, abc2news.com. 6:50. plietion concerns and possible lawsuit, the focus of a town hall meeting tonight in edgemere. state and federal agencies entered into a agreement with bethlehem steel in 1987 regarding the sparrows point

steel mill. the town hall meeting is tonight at the north point fire hall, 7:00 tonight. a new study about texting and driving that not only confirms common sense but a bit of shock. a study at virginia tech reveals you're 23 times more likely to crash when you're behind the wheel texting. that makes texting while driving even more dangerous than previously thought, even more dangerous than drunk driving. that is according to this study. and the latest now on the investigation into the death of michael jackson. the lawyer for michael jackson's personal physician says that dr. conrad murray will not be commenting on rumors he gave the king of pop a powerful drug to help him sleep at night. police believe that the drug caused jackson's heart to stop but a toxicology report has not been released yet. murray's lawyer says the doctor didn't prescribe or administer anything that would have killed michael jackson. a harvard scholar and police officer at the central of a racial controversy are expected to have a beer with

the president on thursday night. officer james crowley arrested henry louis gates after being called to his home on a suspected burglary call. police didn't find a burglar and the situation quickly escalated into a heated exchange with gaitsz eventually being handcuffed. the president drew criticism when he initially said police acted stupidly. he later said both sides overreacted. u.s. defense secretary robert gates arrived in southern iraq for an unannounced visit. gates is getting a firsthand look at what the u.s. military mission in iraq is supposed to become. he's going to the u.s. command post in southern iraq to visit troops serving mainly as advisors now to iraqi forces. gates is also expected to meet with political leaders. a split second decision leaves a store produce manager a hero but also unemployed. troy schaefer was at work when

he heard a woman cry her purse had been snatched. he chased the 15-year-old suspect out of the store and into the field for about a half mile until police showed up. her purse was returns outside of the store. he was hailed a hero but it was another story when he walked back into work. he was fired. store managers say that a policy prohibited schaefer from chasing anyone out of the store that is suspected of a crime. >> they told me that i could reapply in six months. by then i will have lost everything. >> schaefer said he did what he thought was the right thick to do. more workers are getting pink slips. verizon announced today it will be cutting 8 thousands jobs after posting a lower second quarter profit. the layoffs will happen before the end of the year. the chief operating officer says large-scale hiring will be on hold until it's clear the recession is over. you had your chance to buy the palm prix phone for 50% off

but guess what, best buy madison a mistake -- made a mistake. it's usually $199, over the weekend a few customers bought it for $99. the confusion started when the picture of an in-store banner promoting a weeklong special was posted on-line. it turns out it was a mistake. best buy admitted it on twitter. those who bought it on the cheap will be allowed to keep it. >> oops. you want a champagne glass used in a beyonce video? how about a space egg pod from "austin powers"? pretend you're howard hughes and get the desk from "the aviator"? the list goes on. the props in north hollywood closing its doors. they are auctioning off the collection of more than 93,000 pieces. run away production forced the guy that owns this to call it a wrap. many say it's a devastating loss for the industry but eager

shoppers say it's a deal to get a piece of hollywood history. besides an impressive football history penn state students have something else to brag about even if their parents aren't too happy about it. >> penn state was named the nation's number one party school by princeton review. they outpartied last year's winner, the university of florida to take the title for the first time. we feel bad they keep showing joe pa, come on. clearly we don't have a lot of -- university of mississippi comes in third. for the 12th straight year byu, they are the most sober school in the nation. keep that in mind. then maryland's college, the st. mary's, they come in ninth for the happiest students. university of maryland college park comes in fifth for packing a stadium and having school spirit. that is not hard to believe. >> joe pa. >> we should all look

that good at that age. we got ourselves a humid week coming up. you'll notice it this morning. we've cleared a lot of the clouds out, making it to 89, as our two-degree guarantee this afternoon, a lot of you could reach low 90s with more sunshine and isolated storm. we stay in the low 70s and push the air conditioners tonight, 85 tomorrow, more clouds and storms. back in the upper 80s to near 90s thursday and friday. there's not much variation with the average high of 87. just above or below. chance of showers continuing into the weekend. 6:56. one final check of the roads from the birthday girl herself, kim brown. >> thank you. getting word of trees down in the dulaney valley area, that is dulaney valley road at manor road. that also has a light out at the intersection of dulaney valley road and east timonium road. and check the bottom of the screen for the crawl for more outages. now to new york for "good morning america." have a great day.