all right, good morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. last july. not the last july, the last day in july. >> are we leading with that story? what do you know? let's look at what we are talking about here. the cash for clunkers program is sitting on empty. how a government program is now being almost suspended. also ahead, a new way to shop at your giant. a high-tech device that could start making your shopping more convenient. the mayor will go about her business again today after getting indicted again this week. first, we send it over to justin for a check of the forecast. >> we are looking at a warm start today, most of us mid- 70s. a few 80s popping up in the thermometer. needless to say it is warm out there. 73 officially here in baltimore. even up towards york, pa.

we're surrounded by 75 west in hagerstown. leer to partly cloudy skies. that is part of of a cold front bumping into the developing storms today. the mostly cloudy sky setup is what we have for the next few hours. large hail, damaging winds, frequent lightning, flowding downpours and the possibility of an isolated tornado. here's kim with a check of the roads. >> reporter: we check from white marsh boulevard due to loch raven bfltd. in howard county, they are in the final stages of wrapping up that crash. another one in clarksville, route 232 at route 108. reisterstown road right near

the mcdonough lane. give yourself a few extra minutes in that direction. looking here downtown, this is near the lexington market. as we look at 695 at the bw parkway, a little bit of volume but no delays. jamie and megan, back to you. cal ripken's foundation is making a big contribution. he plans to build five youth ballparks including one at the site of the former memorial stadium. each will allow at-risk kids to play baseball and other sports. and cam's got a nice ride a big truck. if you want to trade in your big truck because it's a clunker for a brand new car. listen to this. the governor's cash for clunkers program is being reviewed. it's wildly popular and now running low on cash. the $1 billion set aside to

help people replace the gas guzzlers will run out completely. if you already bought a car with the rebate, it will be honored. sometimes at the grocery store, you end up tossing stuff in your cart without a concern of how it will cost. >> but a new giant will help keep those impulse buys to a minimum. >> reporter: it's the noise you are used to hearing at the supermarket checkout. that beep signals every cent you are spending. now you can wield the power of pricing in your hand. >> i love having the remote control at home so this makes me feel i'm at home. >> reporter: the scanners can feel like you are a gadget guy. giant is revamping 100 of its stores and these tools are just one of the upgrades. here's how it works.

you type in injure phone number or scan your bonus card, pick up the flashing scanner and then you just point and shop. you can even bag as you go, keeping an eye on exclusive deals that pop up for scan it users. >> it'll log what we buy and help them to determine what types of things we like in terms of discounts. >> reporter: the scanner keeps a running total so you can see how much you are spending while you shop. if you are pinching pennies that is key. >> if a customer has a set spending amount, they can come down to the penny what they will spend so they don't go overare budget. >> reporter: keeping abuse of your paulette to a minimum. giant is keeping an eye on scan it customers. >> we do random audits. your gun will tell you that you have been selected for a random audit. >> reporter: items you can now scan as you go, holding enough power to make you a supermarket hero at least at the checkout.

joce termen, abc 2 news. >> one other thing to know about the scan it, it doesn't add in the tax so everything gets rea calculated to get you the exact total. if you are looking for something to do for the entire weekend, we have you covered. head to harford county. the far ford county fair kicked off with a prayer service. it is kid friendly, pony rides, fun prizes. >> we have a wildlife adventure on the grounds, which has the snakes and turtles and all things that the kids like there. >> plus they have pigs and giant fruit, too. if you are interested, the fair is going on this weekend. saturday is kids' day. you probable i had have cds by michael jackson for sure, the beatles, maybe even the backstreet boys, but really, pope benedict?

the leader of the ath lick church will be releasing an album. the album will be titled alma mater. the original compositions are performed by the royal philharmonic orchestra. proceeds will fund music education for underprivileged children around the world. it is a great idea. most schools don't allow cell phones in classrooms. >> one school is going all out. and a family gave up any hope of finding their dog but whoa, they got a shocking phone call. big storms could turn severe this afternoon. and the outlook for the beach weather weather coming up. kim? >> reporter: we have building volume as you make your way southbound on the bw parkway. things are flowing freely at this hour.

right now let's look at the buses and traffic with mark jones. >> good morning. the 5 and 8 buses are ten to 15 minutes behind. number 17 still taking a diversion. light rail, metro subway right on time. no delays on the camden, penn, or brunswick lines. for the mta transit team, i'm mark jones. the distance from the field to your table just got shorter.

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.

all right. a dog disappeared from a family's home nine years ago was found alive and well 1200 miles away from home. when the animal shelter was inspecting an animal cruelty call, they found muffy. a microchip in the dog's neck identified her owners. >> i would love to know what muffy's been up to for nine years. i think that's anyone's best guess. she's obviously had some add

vane chores. >> she was a birthday gift for the owner's now 17-year-old daughter chloe. chloe was devastated when the dog disappeared. muffy is now being flown home to the very excited family waiting to see her after nine years. >> way to go, muff. lock at this sign. it says caution zombie stripper. some computer hackers hacked the road sign and drivers were confused. it took the state a few hours to change the message back. you never really expect to see $2 bills. when you do, you are never sure, so what do you do with that. i'm cheryl could beer reminding you to put on your purple. it's time to meet the layers as the first full squad practice

for the ravens gets started in two hours.

good morning, i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. finally, friday, july 31st.

the last day of the month. we'll look at the top stories we're working on for you this morning, what happened overnight while you were sleeping. jackson brown may have said it best. what's going on with the wildly popular cash for clunkers program. >> reporter: thou shall not steal. police need your help to find out who's been breaking into churches. >> and making sure students focus on studies and not cell phones. let's send it over to justin. >> how much would you like to be doing this stroll on the boardwalk in rehoboth. 77 degrees right now. that's rehoboth. while it is warm, we'll get the breeze off the water to stabilize the temperatures this afternoon. 73 here in baltimore. and a steamy one around the bay. even though we don't have rain showers right now, we've had a

couple come through overnight. the big rain back to the west will increase the clouds. yes, the forecast model for the afternoon, we'll develop showers and storms with the threat and possibility of damaging winds. that goes from after 3:00 through tonight. there's 11:00. you'll see it going on tomorrow morning, maybe lingering on the lower eastern shore. 85 our two degree guarantee. 68 overnight. quickly want to show you tomorrow, sun in the morning and afternoon shower 88. planning for the chance of on and off showers for the weekend. wetter on sunday. kim? we have building volume in all of the usual trouble spots. i'm also just getting word of a crash in bel air. that's route 543 at route 1.

route 175 at tamar drive. in garrison, reisterstown ride, that's a crash still there. in ellicott city, route 144. cheeking this is 695 at the bw parkway. jamie and megan, back to you. the cash for clunkers is sitting on empty this morning. the federal government is considering suspending its rebate program for gold gas guzzlers less than a week after it started. it was so popular, cash for clunkers just about ran out of money. $1 billion have been set aside. thousands of sales haven't even been accounted for due to paperwork delays. >> i just got my first one submitted today, which took about five hoursp. >> it's a feeding frenzy out there. >> in six days, more than 19,000 cars have been purchased for the program intended to

jump start the auto tree while also putting more fuel- efficient vehicles on the road. the department of transportation is now looking for many roadways on this program. and president obama's pledge to rebuild the structure. state officials say the quick mandates make it hard to take on extensive bridge repairs that involve years of planning. so that's been less than 1 thrs of the 150,000 troubled bridges are getting attention. now to a story you'll only see on abc 2 news. our overnight photographer pete on the street o'neil is on the scene ever a shooting. a man in his 40s now fighting for his life after being shot in the head. this happened just before 1:00 in the 400 block of east main

avenue. a harford county gym teacher already accused of soliciting sex from a teacher facing more charges. jonathan dick coaches high school lacrosse. he is accused of various offenses that stem from a complaint from a 14-year-old boy made back in march. baltimore mayor dixon could be in the fight for her political future. with the new indictments handed up, the mayor's trial probably won't start before next election cycle. the mayor is accused of accepting gifts from her former boyfriend city developer ron lipscomb and not reporting them on disclosure forms and stelling cards for the needy. >> this could extent her vulnerability into a time period where it becomes really dangerous. >> the mayor says she will remain focused on the business of the city.

and a crime spree targeting churches in the past month. eight churches have been targeted. many of the crimes investigators say thieves broke into the churches thousand windows. the most that's been stolen is about 200 bucks. >> when people have issues and needs and 'help people out. we don't believe the church now is a sacred place anymore like many of us agree up believing. for 15 years, customers of nacho mama's has a statue of elvis had to be moved. supporters are fighting back. the owner of nacho mamas is expected to take a petition

telling baltimore officials, don't be cruel and to let el ris leave the bureau pop it will now be known simply as visit baltimore. >> visit baltimore. >> visit baltimore. nasa has cleared shuttle "endeavour" to come home. touchdown is scheduled for 10:48 this morning. the crew put a new addition onto ott [ unintelligible ] nat national space station. a new report urges regional and federal official to pay more on the chesapeake bay. not enough is known about the long-term effects of pesticides. maryland is considering cell phone jamming in prison but a school wants to jam them in the coos room. >> we a hot of kids get

distracted easily by cell phones. i know i. autopsy the question now is whether jamming is legal. it will be a grand slam muss one for kids in baltimore city neighborhoods. cal ripken's foundation plans to build five youth ballparks including one at the site of the former memorial stadium allowing at-risk kids to play baseball and other spords. get up close and personal. >> the players will come over after practs and sign autographs, jerseys and the like. >> reporter: today's practice lasts about two and a half hours with players offering

autographs at the end. quarterback joe flacco no longer a rookie this year, but earned the name joe cool being posed. derrick nas mason announcing his retirement a short time ago. who will step up to be a leading receiver? coach harbaugh doesn't believe in picking a number one. >> you've never heard us say we need a number one guy, number two guy. we don't put our receivers in that kind of a -- you guys do. we don't. thuy >> last year, i didn't know derrick mason or mark clayton looked like. i don't really care. like i said, last year, i had no idea who i was throwing to so we're in better shape this year. >> and the first round graft

pick signed and we'll be on the field with a full squad beginning at 8:45. the ravens came one game shy of the super bowl last year losing in the afc title game to the pittsburgh steelers. hopes, of course, are high for the team in the '09 season. cheryl conner, abc 2 news. >> remember, abc2news.com is your place for all of the latest news on the havens. you can also upload your pictures. right now we have a web poll question for you. how many games will the ravens win this year? that is the ravens fan page. you can find it on abc2news.com. we have a california businessman that's come up with his own plan to help stimulate the economy, and it involves $2 bills. >> he's given $50 all in those unusual bills. to each of several hundred of

their employees with one condition. they have to small it at -- spend it at small businesses where they live. he has plans to pass out much more. >> one of the principles of our bit is a great way. we have been tracking some of it. when i see the story go from one story to the next and the next. >> reporter: the owner doesn't think the modest effort will turn the economy around but believes it can change attitudes. we want to change your attitude and latitude. take you back to the beach. we did this quick. we're expecting storms to come in later today. 82 in ocean city. tomorrow morning, you could wake up wet out there. another round of storms in the afternoon but midday should be dry, 83. 85 any time throughout the day the possibility on sunday. today we have that severe

weather throat. the rain continues this evening and tonight we're dry tomorrow morning, maybe an afternoon shower, 88. showers make a return sunday and monday back to a high of 86. kim? justin, we're working the crash in bel air at route 1. route 175 at famar drive in -- t after the t -- tamar drive is being cleared. this will be the ja. fx at coal spring lane. traffic is running smoothly. megan, jamie, back to you. do you like ice cream? >> i love it. >> join us on the 9:00 a.m. show, we'll have a mixoff. >> who's coming in? >> cold stone creamery, baby. >> very cool. thanks for choosing "good morning, maryland."

for more news, watch "good morning, maryland" at 9:00. or go now. abc 2 works for you.