looking at maryland's most powerful doppler radar, it's going to be a very, very stormy day with periodic rain events and maybe even some flash flood to be expected at some point. a lot of moisture in the atmosphere. from frederick to mount airy we have ourselves rain. it's coming out of northern virginia where we have pretty heavy rains coming west of the dc beltway. it looks like it's starting to fall apart heading into the local area but just showing that the atmosphere is prime. look at the lightning strikes here in southern new jersey just over the last half-hour. also north of hagerstown in through southern pennsylvania. we've got a lot of energy in the atmosphere. that means the chance of showers and storms have increased that through midday and into the afternoon and evening. so at any point in time keep that umbrella handy and an eye to the sky for dangerous lightning. 82 degrees, below or two-degree guarantee this afternoon. let's see what's happening on the roads with kim. traffic remains quiet. however, i'm getting word of a disabled vehicle blocking the center lane on the westbound span of the bay bridge. that will cause minor delays, not too much but keep it in

mind. around the beltway, no problems to report on either loop on the east side between loch raven and whitemarsh boulevard. things running smoothly and liberty road and baltimore national pike, no problems to report there either. this is 95 southbound approaching whitemarsh boulevard. a little bit of building volume but no delays at this time. this traffic report brought to you by baltimore's country station 93.1 wpoc where you'll find great music from stars like taylor swift, kenny chesney and keith urban. back to you. in washington now -- one of the republicans who voted against sonia sotomayor says it will be a good thing to have a hispanic on the supreme court. senator lindsay graham of south carolina says he would not have chosen sonia sotomayor but can see why president obama did. sonia sotomayor is expected to cruise to confirmation during a senate vote next week to fill the seat vacated by justice david souter. 5:31. this news is going to rattle the inner circles of baltimore. >> john paterakis, who built the bread business into an

empire has been indicted and he's not the only one. abc2 news sherrie johnson has more. >> reporter: new charges have been filed against baltimore city councilwoman helen holton and yes, a prominent developer. the person responsible for building harbor east. the new charges have been filed against developer john paterakis. he's charged with one count of conspiracy to violate campaign finance law. the charges stem from a poll conducted for councilwoman helen holton. according to the indictment paterakis paid for part of that poll. holton faces two counts of conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws, she could face a year in prison and a $25,000 fine on each of those counts. another developer, ronald lipscomb, admitted his role for part of that. he's already pleaded guilty and in doing so court documents show he implicated paterakis. in a statement holton's attorney says he's confident the new charges against her

will be dropped as well. a spokesperson for mayor sheila dixon says she will not comment on the new indictments. coming up, we'll also hear from a close personal friend of paterakis, in the meantime we want to hear what you think. head to abc2news.com and tell us what you think. reporting live at harbor east, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. 5:32. on the heels of a violent weekend in baltimore with a record 21 shootings in just six hours we have some good news on the crime front to tell you about. baltimore police are going to be hiring dozens of new officers in the coming months. we're told the new recruits will be assigned to foot patrol in the eastern district. >> i can see more than one officer in the car. >> he has been really terrible around here. and i think we need more police officers. >> if they go to the right places i think that's better and not focus on where there's no crime but focus mable on where there is crime. >> the officers will be hired thanks to $10 million in federal funding. after the two-year grant

expires the city must come up with the funds. the mayor says they can meet that challenge with the anticipated retirement of some current officers. abc2 news caught up with the brooklyn park beauty sal ron owner whose shop was vandalized over the weekend. sharonda brown says she's not going anywhere even after thieves broke in, spray-painted racist graffiti on the walls and stole electronics. >> i was a little standoffish. i'm not going to say that i'm leaving. if they want me gone, they won. my sister says where are you going? i don't have to car. i'm not justing going to leave them hanging high and dry. i'm going to stick it out. i've been here two years. i'm going to be here. until god tells me it's time to move. >> a reward is out for information leading to an arrest.

to leave a tip call 1-866-7-lockup. july 29th, did katie o'malley takes part in a wall quality study. the -- water quality study. the workshop in crownsville, to provide tools to farm programs. and a significant boost for baltimore county's $300 million agricultural industry. officials will join about 100 farmers and advocates to mark the official start of the construction. are you looking for a hero? >> we're going to introduce to you a 12-year-old boy who is. plus, hear how he's already a step closer to achieving a lifelong goal. let's take a look outside now. 75 degrees. justin will be right back with his forecast. and in the meantime we're going to send it out to the trains and buses. here's mark jones with a report. >> reporter: good morning. had an earlier delay on the marc train system briefly. that is cleared up.

we're good for travel on the camden, penn, brunswick lines. out there on light rail and metro subway, looking good. the number 17 bus working with a diversion there at nursery and winterson due to construction. outside of that, just a heavy volume on the 7, 13 and 5 bus lines. i'm mark jones for the mta transit team. oh, what's this? breakfast. it's kind of early, buddy. you've got to need to take some cholesterol off you.

honey, have you been reading the cheerios box again? he got that off the box. (announcer) cheerios is made with 100% natural whole grain oats to help lower your cholesterol. that was very thoughtful of you. very early, but very thoughtful. (announcer) cheerios. good for the heart.

ah, the walter sondheim is officially open at the inner harbor. sondheim was a former baltimore city schoolboard president, played a major role in the revile re -- revitalization of the harbor. there are water jets, colored lights and music. he would be very humbled by this. >> it looks like fun. here we go with our weather, here's justin berk. >> 5:39. taking a look outside. a couple of things to factor in this morning. number one, temperature. warm. currently 7 a degrees. that is not a -- 75 degrees, that is not a downtown number, that is the airport. 75 easton. 81 ocean city. let's factor in the humidity. what does it feel like? 79 to 80 around the bay.

that's before the sun comes up here at 5:39 in the morning. feels like 87 in ocean city. we've got the real humid weather in place and mostly cloudy skies. showers passing to the west side. we've already had a few overnight and likely to have a few more throughout the day. at any point in time you could develop heavy rain-producing thunderstorms, so look for the dangerous lightning, listen for the thunder and definitely be on the lookout for the possibility of some localized flooding with the heavy rain-producing storms this afternoon. our high temperature today 82. let's see what is happening on the roads at 5:40. here's kim. as we check both the harbor tunnel and fort mchenry tunnels, no problems to let you know about. however, we have a crash on southbound 95, that is going to be between o'donnell street and keith avenue, that's blocking the right two lanes. use caution approaching that. also, a crash in the city, north franklintown road at west fayette street and bel air road and nicker avenue. expect the left lane to be blocked because of emergency utility work. not sure how long it will last.

i'll keep you posted. this is 95 southbound as you approach whitemarsh boulevard. you have building volume and a little bit of slowing but no major delays at this time. back to you. one of baltimore's most prominent businessmen is facing criminal charges. >> baltimore city councilwoman helen holton has been indicted yet again. this time another developer goes along with her. we're talking about john paterakis. i'm sherrie johnson. i'll have that story, 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? because at safeway, there's always... freshly picked produce at great prices. it's 100% guaranteed to be fresh and ripe, every time. so hurry in for delicious goodness, all right down the street. that's ingredients for life. that's safeway. right now, get sweet blueberries -- just 99¢ a pint with your club card. safeway just lowered the price of summer. when you first smell the incredible scent

of gain laundry detergent, time stops. ( ♪ ) your heart races. ( ♪ ) your eyes close. ( ♪ ) and you realize you're in love... earl! stop your time-wasting. with a laundry detergent. ♪ take my breath away gain. to smell it is to love it. what are you waiting for? new spray n' wash bright and white is your safe bleach alternative. it does the job... stop-- don't do that! without the accidents. itawityour detergentu/aheliten r gets rid of stains. trust spray n' wash bright and white. finish jet dry rinse agent ensuring perfectly sparkling drier dishes. finish jet dry. amt qndard

5:43 this may be the biggest catch in the prosecutor's office yet. >> an ongoing city hall corruption probe. one of baltimore's biggest names in business has been indicted. abc2 news sherrie johnson live at harbor east. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're talking about a prominent businessman in baltimore. a bigtime developer. actually, he's responsible for harbor east where we're standing this morning. along with councilwoman helen holton. they both have been indicted. the indictments come just two months after similar charges against holton were dismissed. john paterakis owns h southbound s bakeries and developer of harbor east and now a grand jury indicted paterakis. the state prosecutor says he gave councilwoman helen holton $6,000 to help pay for a political pull. earlier this year holton was indicted on charges of bribery and perjury. a judge dismissed the charges in may and this time the

charges that she violated campaign finance laws. as for john paterakis, a close friend told abc2 news he can't believe the state prosecutor chose to target him. >> he said that -- but i'm quite confident that mr. paterakis will be exonerated of any wrongdoing. >> reporter: helen holton's attorney released a statement saying in part "miss holton is innocent, there was no conspiracy and she's confident this charge will meet the same fate as the earlier one." council president stephanie rawlings-blake, she has actually removed holton from the acting chair of the taxation finance and economic development committee. and in the meantime, the mayor, mayor sheila dixon says that she's not going to comment on the new charges. reporting live at harbor east, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. meanwhile, a baltimore county councilman pled guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations. a judge sentenced kenneth

oliver, a randallstown democrat to 15 hours of community service. he'll also pay a $2,500 fine. the councilman did acknowledge writing two checks for himself from his campaign committee checkbook. the other top stories -- prosecutors say a baltimore city police officer has been convicted of second degree assault. a judge sentenced 31-year-old joseph bannerman to three years in prison with all but 10 days suspended. he was arrested in may after his girlfriend said he punched and choked her at their home. a reisterstown woman pled guilty for her role in the baltimore county-based sex trafficking ring. leah bell and byron thompson i cued of -- accused of prostituting a 17-year-old and two 15-year-old girls. they were in washington, dc and new york hotels. officials trying to learn how a pipe bomb was planted in ocean city. near 40th street, they say a person stumbled upon the device

and the device was disarmed without incident. 5:46. separation of church and state. an issue that is brewing in one part of howard county. the glen mar united methodist church in ellicott city is asking the county to approve a tax-free loan of an expansion project but some residents say it crosses the line. church members say the constitution of the construction project would allow more community outreach but people opposed say this is not the county's responsibility. >> i think that the county should not be in the business of church expansion, period. >> we did not build a sanctuary so it's not like we have this holy place that, you know, is only dedicated to worship. >> the project costs abou stein -- about $10 million but with the help of the county the church would save money. a final vote is not likely

until september. you want to talk about a web gem? one texas ranger fan could very well be the best father and catcher to hit the scene. look at this game last night in texas, between texas and detroit. the ball foul, goes into the stands. watch the guy holding a baby, reefs out with his left hand -- reaches out with his left hand, makes the catch! gives the baby to mom. mom says give me the baby right now! the baby is a little upset. dad has the ball. give it -- that's the way to do it. great catch. what do you think of this? >> i don't know whether to be impressed or appalled? maybe a little bit of both. put the kid down. there's a young man in utah who is getting an early start on his driving practice. >> police say the 7-year-old led officers on a car chase because the pint-sized driver didn't want to go to church. one witness says the boy even ran a stop sign but police don't plan to prosecute or even issue a ticket since the driver

is so young. >> didn't want to go to church. so he takes off driving. >> he needs to go. >> now, right. closer to home -- a quick-thinking 12-year-old being hailed a hero. >> brady wants to be a fire marshal. just last weekend he got some real-life future on the job training. terry owens tells us the story about brady. >> reporter: brady was doing one of the things he loves most saturday afternoon, hanging out at the long beach marina. he was walking along pier a and noticed a woman who seemed to be having difficulty getting out of the boat >> i asked this girl if she needed help getting out, she didn't answer. >> reporter: brady was about to walk away when the woman apparently lost her balance. >> she fell backwards, hit her head back here. straight through the back. >> reporter: next came the splash. >> her feet went first, then her head came out. her eyes rolled back in her head. and that's when i -- asked

someone to pull her out. i couldn't. >> reporter: with a friend assisting, brady took off for a nearby volunteer fire crew. >> we're looking at a hero. gave us the details, told us what we needed to do and we did it. >> reporter: the 12-year-old enters the seventh grade at fallston middle school this fall. before then he plans to join the junior firefighters. >> got a big heart like that. always trying to help somebody. >> reporter: thanks to brady the woman made to it a local hospital. while he doesn't consider himself a hero he clearly understands the important role of first responders. >> i'm happy. i hope she makes it >> ought to call it brady's quarters volunteer fire department. he'll be publicly thanked for his actions. great job, brady. see the confidence in the kids' eyes. i think we have a future chief. cool.

anything but cool outside. 75 degrees. 7 7up towards philly. most of the east coast in a steam bath. overnight and early morning showers pushing through. a lot of the energy is to the west side of baltimore. and passing through central and western maryland. at any point in time we're really charged with this atmosphere that is going to give us the chance of showers and more storms as the energy extends all the way back to the ohio valley and back to the deep south. our forecast model indicates the fact that we have a good shot of showers even through midday and this afternoon. and some of these could be locally heavy rain-producing storms. also be on the listen for thunder and the lookout for the lightning because there could be some danger with any one of these storms at any point in time throughout the day. also the possibility of some of these locally heavy rain producers could drop flash flooding. as we head through this evening we're looking at more rain coming out of the mountains and pushing through the area. that is going to keep us through the evening and parts of the overnight hours. you'll see tomorrow not as active but there will be the chance of rain extending

tomorrow afternoon and on in through friday as well, when you check out the temperatures you may understand why. today, i'm actually pulling this back lower than our last two-degree guaranteed forecast. 82, i think is the best we'll get considering the showers and clouds and storms around. tonight, back to 71 with fog. notice we're back close to 90 thursday and friday. mid-80s with a chance of storms each day through the weekend. kim? have an update on the earlier crash, between o'donnell avenue and keith avenue exits. a crash involving a passenger vehicle and box truck. that now has the three right lanes blocked, only the left shoulder gets by. you might want to hop off on 895 southbound, use that as an alternate to avoid that mess. a crash still in the city, franklintown road and west fayette street and becker road and mickler avenue, the left lane blocked, emergency crews are performing emergency utility work. give yourself extra time there. looking at the cameras, this is

95 southbound approaching whitemarsh boulevard. you kind of see what i'm talking about. we got delays and volume building because of that accident between o'donnell and keith avenue. like i said, try 895 southbound as an alternate. back to you. get the seltzer ready for this baby. camden yards hotdog have nothing on this monster. a three-foot frank. >> a whole jar on pickles on top. new at 6:00 on "good morning maryland" -- a teenager thought he escaped the long arm of the law but his facebook faux pas gets him into hotter water. we'll explain when we come back. ( sighs )

( music throughout ) hey bets, can i borrow a quarter? sure, still not dry? i'm trying to shrink them. i lost weight and now some clothes are too big. how did you do it? simple stuff. eating right and i switched to whole grain.

whole grain... studies show that people who eat more whole grain tend to have a healthier body weight. multigrain cheerios has five whole grains... and 110 calories per lightly sweetened serving. more grains. less you. multigrain cheerios.

it's never too early to take a look at this. this is a 3-foot hot dog. my goodness. the next time but down to the midwest make sure you check out the gallery restaurant. this is in wyoming, michigan. now where that is? ---- you know where that is? it's a custom made german weiner. if you eat the whole meal complete with the toppings, including fries an drink you get it all for free. that's easy. >> are you kidding me? i hope they throw in some pepcid ac or something. that looks serious. >> give me a challenge.

>> i bet you couldn't. exclusive weathernet. and then we'll start the 6:00 news. >> let's head outside and check the temperatures, in the inner harbor, downtown baltimore. 77, 81 -- it feels like. 79% humidity. more when we come back.

good morning. i'm jamie costello >> i'm megan pringle. it's wednesday, july 29th. we're halfway through the week before we get to justin's weekend forecast, let's check the top stories. a man who made a fortune in the kitchen is now really feeling the heat. more on the indictment of john paterakis. who is brian singleton? jimmy nicholas, roslyn mohammed? frank tyson? police believe they were all aliases used by michael jackson to get medical care. we have not said this this in four years. michael phel