in the sky gets stuck right in its grill. the stories and much more coming up but first let's look at the forecast. >> here's justin. >> it's 6:29. good morning. weather and traffic together, our wake-up window at the bottom of the screen. we have temperatures low 70s this morning. we have mostly clear skies, at least at parkville middle at 71 degrees. it's 7 3 in downtown baltimore and mostly cloudy skies after storms rolled through last night. we back up to 12:30, you can see how we've had showers dotting across the bay. kent, cecil county, those actually came through the north and west side during the evening hours. we had a chance to get a little bit wet after most of the storms yesterday afternoon. we're confined to around the bay and eastern shore. we have some this morning but look at the bright clouds trying to push in from the west side. we manage to lose that sun at some point during the morning commute but we'll call it partly sunny this morning and then build up the clouds with a chance of thunderstorms again this afternoon. the chance about 30% and looking for a high temperature, or two-degree guarantee of 89.

the chance of rain may actually go up overnight. we'll talk more about that coming up. 6:30. here's kim with a check of the roads. >> thank you. did you hear that? that's how quiet traffic is this morning as we check around the beltway. we have that earlier crash southbound 95 between caton avenue and russell street exits but that was justed a fender-bender. off to the left now, not causing problems. in owings mills, garrison forest road still closed between park heights avenue and avery hill drive because of the trees down in the roadway. this is 83 southbound, jfx from northern parkway to north avenue, no problems to let you know about there. no problems either at the tunnels, fort mchenry tunnel or harbor tunnel thruways, no incidents. beltway from the west side to the east side, everything is running smoothly right now. this is 95 -- excuse me, 695 at the bw parkway, no problems to let you know about. traffic is flowing nicely in both directions. back to you. not all is quiet at city hall. another round for the second day in a row. we lead off with another round

of indictments. >> cheryl conner is live at city hall where the mayor says she's going to fight on. >> reporter: good morning. mayor sheila dixon went on with her public schedule even after learning about this recent indictment. she would not talk specifically about the new charges but you see her here at the women's business forum last night. the indictment handed up yesterday includes charges that were dismissed from a previous indictment. the state prosecutor says mayor dixon didn't report expensive gifts that her ex-boyfriend ronald lipscomb, a prominent city developer gave to her. according to the new indictment that elements to perjury -- amounts to perjury. the indictment states that ronald lipscomb paid for gifts. and that dixon failed to disclose the gifts on her financial disclosure forms. the mayor says she will stick with running the city. ? i'm not going to stop one beat in continuing with the progress of the city.

that's what the focus is. >> reporter: dixon's attorney, arnold weiner, released a statement saying the new charges are as flawed as those that were previously dismissed and we expect they will meet the same fate. ronald lipscomb has pleaded guilty to charges against him and he's cooperating with prosecutors. a legal expert following the case said that could hurt the case against mayor sheila dixon. you'll hear more from him coming up at 6:45. live in downtown baltimore, cheryl conner, abc2 news. new evidence that h1n1 or swine flu is dangerous to pregnant women. research shows that expectant mothers who get the flu are hospitalized four times more often than others with the virus. the study was published in the british medical journal and doctors say that though pregnant women worry about taking medication they should also need to think about being treated for the flu. >> my biggest concern is that people will disregard the risks of the flu in favor of the

pregnancy. as concerned as we are about healthy pregnancy we're concerned about people passing away from the flu. >> a flu vaccine is expected to be available in october. until then doctors say expectant mothers suspected of having the swine flu should take tamiflu. the cdc says if the swine flu vaccine is in short supply then pregnant women and people with infants are first in line to receive it. health care workers with the direct patient contact are next followed by children 6 months to four years old. here's a story that will have you looking at the fine print of the president's health care reform plan. a doctor near rochester, new york, performed surgery on the wrong knee of not one but two patients. the first time it happened, 2001. the second happened last year. the doctor is being forced to take a continuing education program to make sure he's following the correct procedure. he still has his medical license. don't you hate going to the yard, you know you'll be there for hours and hours? a hospital in cedar rapids,

iowa, found way to help you avoid hanging out in the waiting room. st. luke's hospital will post rate times on its web site for both the e.r. and its two urgent care clinics. patients say this will help them determine where to go and to work doctor visits into their schedule. time now 6:35. organic food might cost more money but london researchers say it's not any better for you than ordinary food. people pay more for organic food because it's supposed to be healthier but the study finds only slight differences in nutritional content. coming up next on "good morning maryland" - >> a controversial firing sparks a first amendment debate at a baltimore university. we know one woman who certainly believes in angels. 6:35. the sun is up in baltimore. it's a little bit muggy at 70 degrees. we have another chance of showers and storms. we'll highlight that with the two-degree guaranteed forecast. right now let's go back to

the roads. is anything stirring up there? ? not much. traffic flowing freely on the major thoroughfares. no real incidents to let you know about. now let's check on the commute with mark jones. >> good morning. for the commute, number 8 bus operating a 10-minute delay. number 17, a diversion at nursery and winterson due to construction. on light rail and the metro subway, on-time service. marc is on time on the camden, penn, brunswick lines. for the mta transit team, i'm mark jones.

what started as a kind gesture turned into a great effort to help save homes for families across the country. in nine months the foreclosure angel has worked minor miracles for more than a dozen families. most recently in texas where a single mom had just been added to the list. without a job and caring for

her sick mother. fay johnston lost her home in foreclosure in may. she reached out to the foreclosure angel foundation hoping to help others avoid the same fate. instead the foundation ended up helping her. finding a man who bought johnston's home at the auction block for $27,000. then the foundation somehow worked an amazing deal. >> he's agreed to sell it back and not make any money off of it either so she can have her house back. >> it's so silly for her to lose it for so little money. it's a good result. in tough economic times it's so important that some people can help other people to make it. >> in this case helping a single mother come back home. if you play golf you know these days having a caddie is a luxury but your clubs will be carried into the golf course in cedar mountain, north carolina by llamas. the pack animals are said to be

very friendly. and they can help to improve your llama line. big hitter the llama. >> trying a "caddieshack" joke. she wanted a puppy. >> instead she ended up learning a hard lesson and wants to share it with you. the white house plans an unusual summit tonight hoping a few cold beers will calm what became a heated racial disagreement between a harvard professor and a police officer. i'm sherrie johnson. i'll have that story coming up.

q 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. 6:44. good morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. thursday, july 30th. it will be steamy out there but before we get to the weather let's look at the top stories. crime and property taxes. they should be the mayor's focus but new accusations may have her a little distracted. we'll find out. she was in charge of the

school newspaper and now she's at the center of a controversial first amendment debate. might quench your thirst but will it cool the heat? the president grabs a cool one for a man-to-man-to-man talk. and our man with the weather, justin berk. >> we're in the upper 80s. temperatures near normal. by the way, you're going to hear about this i'm sure coming up on "good morning america." the pacific northwest has been baking. seattle, washington, set their all-time high yesterday. seattle, 103. why do i mention that? it seems easier to take. 67 in western howard county, one of the cooler spots. we're looking at clear skies this morning in baltimore. 73. feeling like 77, a little steamy. we're dry now on maryland's most powerful doppler radar. the radar will get much more active as we head into the afternoon. watch for the storms to fire up much like they did last night where we had showers in carroll, howard and northern baltimore county erupt after

9:00, 10:00. there's a chance of more showers and storms popping up through this afternoon. and overnight we may improve our chance of rain coming through tomorrow morning and keep that chance throughout the day friday. our two-degree guarantee gets us to 9. just a little -- 89, just a little above normal with the small chance of isolated showers. that weekend forecast coming up in a bit. traffic is definitely starting to heat up. getting heavy in spots especially 95 southbound towards the whitemarsh boulevard area. down through to about the 695 split. we do have just one incident, that lingering accident on the shoulder, that southbound 95 between russell street and caton avenue exit remains on the the left shoulder blocking that at this time. also owings mills, garrison forest road between park heights avenue and avery hill drive remains closed in both directions because of a tree down in the roadway. looking here at the cameras, this is the outer loop at 695 at liberty road. you can see traffic is very heavy moving very slowly. however, i'm just checking

information, i don't have word of any accidents or anything like that, just heavy volume to start the morning commute. back to you. if you live in baltimore city you're getting used to your trash schedule and the mayor being indicted. ? it's happened again. cheryl conner reports live from city hall. >> reporter: good morning. recent indictments include charges that were previously dismissed. it basically brings the case back to where it all began. dixon insists she will if on with running the city of baltimore. the state prosecutor says mayor dixon did not report expensive gifts from her ex-boyfriend ronald lipscomb, a prominent city developer and that led to the recent charges of perjury. earlier this year a judge dismissed perjury and misconduct in office charges against the mayor. the new indictment details several purchases the mayor made on a trip the couple took to chicago and it says lipscomb gave dixon over $10,000 in cash.

prosecutors say dixon failed to include any of those gifts on her financial disclosure forms. lipscomb has pleaded guilty and is cooperating. >> he's probably going to note things that is admissible evidence that hurts her case and helps the state prosecutor's case. >> my reaction is, hey, you know, sheila, stay focused, continue to build on, you know, this and continue to serve the citizens. >> reporter: dixon's attorney, arnold weiner, released a statement saying "the new charges are as flawed as those that were previously dismissed and we expect that they will meet the same fate." the mayor is also charged with stealing gift cards that were intended for the needy. those charges were never dismissed. so, again, this case comes back to where it originally began when that indictment, that first indictment, was handed down in january. live at city hall in downtown baltimore, cheryl conner, abc2 news. the indictments against the mayor comes just one day after

he told you about indictments handed up against the city councilwoman helen holton and promptnent baltimore businessman john paterakis. holton and john paterakis are accused of violating campaign finance laws. the state prosecutor says paterakis gave holton $6, 000 to pay for a political poll. >> he's certainly well respected and i hope his lawyers will do they're job in defending him and the prosecutors will do theirs. the issue will be resolved where it should be in the court. not in the public opinions. >> john paterakis spent millions developing harbor east over the past decade. stay with us on-line and on air as we continue to develop these stories. watch abc2 news at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 and get the latest at abc2news.com. the woman accused of killing her four daughters learns her fate. banita jacks has been convicted of four counts of murder and four counts of premeditated first degree murder. you may remember the

decomposition of her four children' bodies were discovered in her home of january of 2008. the oldest girl was 16, youngest was 5. first amendment firestorms at baltimore's morgan state university. after six years as media adviser denise brown was fired last month. she says the termination is linked to a series of articles and opinion pieces published in the school newspaper back in february. student reporters alleged funds were taken through student government association budget. letters obtained by abc2 revealed that the administration wanted to meet with students individually and examine the evidence. the evidence by themselves speaks or suggests intimidation. once you have me out of the way you'll try to speak to the students. >> we want to stand up to the university and say you cannot railroad the students. >> in june brown was told her

contract would not be renewed until the matter was resolved. a week later she was fired. seeking legal action. college media advisors and even the national journalism board publicly reprimanded the school. meantime, a spokesperson says that brown's firing is a personnel matter and not directly related to her duties as media adviser and that the issues relating and adhering to the state rules are morgan state's policies. this is the equivalent of making the dean's list for baltimore's own loyola college. the princeton review ranks loyola's residence hall second in the country. its athletic facilities ranked 10th and loyola's study abroad program is 14th on the list. the best college list is based on princeton review's survey of more than 1,000 students across the nation. in to september loyola will celebrate its name change, loyola university maryland. arty donovan would order a

sclitz. >> not here. this is not a frat house. it's the white house. can the president, policeman and professor toast to peace? sherrie johnson with more on a beer summit. >> good morning. an odd summit will take place tonight at a picnic table behind the white house. a beer summit, the follow-up in the president injecting himself into the middle of an arrest in cambridge, massachusetts. the arrest of his friend, a black professor at harvard by a well regarded white police officer. the white house hopes a few cold beers call what became a heated racial disagreement. dr. henry gates jr. was arrested two weeks ago at his home. gates forced his way into his home when a lock jammed. a nearby woman called 911 concerned about a possible break-in. the sergeant james crowley arrived at the home and arrested gates for disorderly conduct. the charges were dropped but tensions escalated over whether crowley treated gates differently because he was black. after obama weighed in and said

came bridge police acted stupidly he then suggested the men talk over beers. >> my choice of words didn't ill illuminate but rather contribute to more media frenzy. i think that was unfortunate. >> professor gates says he wants an apology from sergeant crowley. the sergeant says he's not a racial profiler. as far as what they were drinking the president will drink a bud lite, gates will have red stripes and crowley, a whether you moon -- a blue moon. case of puppy love that turned into a long distance ripoff. >> mindy penny wants another yorkie. the georgia woman thought she found one on-line with a man identifying himself's reverend douglas moore. he told her he was in the uk on a missionary trip, could no longer care for his yorkie puppies. for $500 shipping he would send her one of the dogs but with a warning sign that she didn't see. penny needed to wire $250 to

him up front and she did. >> i got home about an hour later and by that time he had already e-mailed me back and he needed the other $250 for the full $500. you feel silly and you're like, why didn't i see the signs? shame on him. i hope god has mercy for him for doing this, for posing as a god-fearing man and ripping people off. >> penny says she came forward to warn others about her experience and also encourage people to adopt pets through legitimate agencies. she said that's what she plans to do from now on. an american airlines flight makes an emergency landing after a bird was pulled into the engine. it happened yesterday in st. louis as the jet was taking off. everybody on board was ok though. saying it's more dangerous than drunk driving, a group of u.s. senators now pushing for a ?acial ban on texting while driving. a recent study shows drivers who text are much more like three to have an accident, keep

in mind 14 states already outlawed texting while driving. maryland's ban takes effect october 1st under the senator's proposal states that do not enact text banning laws could lose federal highway funds. if you're single listen up. your dating life is thriving. >> like something out of "sex and the city" in the baltimore. if you're saying to yourself hardly, hang on. according to "forbes" baltimore ranks 21 in top cities for singles. that is ahead of las vegas, miami. the list is based on coolness, cost of living, job growth, on-line dating participation, night life and ratio of singles to the nearby population of the metro. new york city was at the top of the list. so next week when we take two more singles off that list our rankings may change? >> that's right.

>> eight days to go. temperatures will be cooler at the beaches. low 80s as we jump in through tomorrow. if you're planning a trip to ocean city any time tomorrow some storms but we'll taper off to isolated over the weekend and warming up sunday to 85. water temperature now 72 degrees. planning that trip to the beach. 89 in town with an isolated storm late in the day. more storms possible overnight through tomorrow where we stay near 89 degrees and pull into the middle 80s with just scattered showers over the weekend. 6:56. here's kim. >> thank you. this morning on the beltway we have a lot of volume delays. no real accidents or problems to let you know about now especially on the east side of the outer loop between whitemarsh boulevard and providence road, and if you look here at the full screen you see we still are working the crash on the left shoulder, 95 southbound between caton and russell and garrison forest road in owings mills remains closed in park heights and avery hill because of the downed tree in the roadway. 695 here, a lot of volume there. not moving quickly at this time.

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