not a cloud in the sky. and as you can see behind me, the fans are standing and waiting. any moment they're going to open the gates, just an hour and a half now in the kickoff before the battle of the beltway, pitting the ravens against the redskins. in this tough economy, so much to worry about, many are excited just to see the ravens back in action. >> we have all kinds of shirts. we can offer you anything you want. >> reporter: seven hours before game time. vendors like ben were shaking off a seven-month wait for ravens fans and their money to return to action outside m&t bank stadium. >> ravens fans are crazy. they will spend money. and as long as you spend money, i'm a happy man. >> reporter: just a hail mary away at a historic fire station on ridgely street, retired firefighters with the local 734 lad been up since the wee hours of the morning, preparing the pit beef for sandwiches that will raise money for charity in this down economy. >> it's something we started. we've been together our whole career through the fire

department. and we continue to do it. >> and you got it down by now. do you make the best pit beef in maryland? >> we do. let's see. 12 games, 800 pounds. i think we have a little bit of experience. >> and this is our beef fundraiser that we have. the majority of our money that goes into the widows and/or fans fund comes from the tailgate party. and we do pretty well with them. have a been over the years. >> reporter: back live looking at fans as they're waiting as the gates are supposed to open here at 6:00. initially, they're supposed to be starting to take tickets. we've had tailgaters out here really for some five hours now. and tough times or not, you recall that about a month ago when they put single tickets on sale, there were a thousand of them for the regular season games. they were sold out almost instantaneously. so poor economy or not, people certainly excited to see the ravens back out on the field. one last footnote that pit beef sandwich we were talking about earlier, if you're wondering.

$6 for ravens fans. we're told $30 is the going rate for redskins fans. jeff hager, abc 2 news. >> thank you, jeff. a terrible discovery in baltimore turns into a homicide investigation. a local business owner has died after being found bound by zip ties inside his canton vending business. constantine dino frank died after being taken off life support on tuesday. he was found facedown and bound july 29th in the vestibule of precision vending in canton. police say he managed to get one hand free, but apparently suffered a stroke during his struggle. >> the investigation revealed that there was some money taken out of a private safe of his that was located in an office. right now we have no suspects, no people of interest. but we are getting good intelligence from the family and from employees. >> frank's death is being jointly investigated by the homicide unit, and citywide robbery. he also owns pool halls and shopping centers in baltimore county.

an autopsy is being performed. a former band director at howard county high school has been sentenced for molesting a female student. robert johnston taught at mount hebron high for 35 years. he pleaded guilty in april for abusing the student over a two- year period. johnston has been sentenced to nine years behind bars, with all but 18 months suspended. johnston has also been placed on probation for five years and will be placed on the state's sex offender registry. a bicyclist remains in critical condition at shock trauma after being hit by a van in anne arundel county. shamika fanny baker of annapolis was hit while driving on college parkway in arnold on tuesday night. police say charges are pending against the driver of the van, and police are investigating whether alcohol may have been a factor. now the latest on the investigation of that deadly metro train crash in june. federal investigators have changed their story a bit about when they learned of past problems with the automated safety system used to prevent crashes. it turns out the national

transportation safety board knew about a march failure of the safety system the day after the june 22nd crash. previously, the ntsb claimed it found out about the march incident only last week. maryland health officials are reporting the state's sixth death associated with the h1n1 virus, or swine flu. health officials say the patient was an adult with underlying medical problems who lived near the washington, d.c. area. health officials say they expect more flu-related deaths, and they are urging people to take advantage of vaccination programs once they do become available, which probably won't be available until the fall. and now to a developing story out of washington, d.c., a large-scale emergency response, all because of bee stings. authorities say 14 children were stung at the rock creek nature center this afternoon. none of the kids suffered any allergic reacts to the stings, andly the are all being treated at the scene. family, dignitaries, and special olympians remember

eunice kennedy-shriver in massachusetts tonight. thousands attended a public wake early this afternoon at a cape cod church. shriver was the sister of president john f. kennedy and massachusetts senator edward kennedy. she of course founded the special olympics, and helped change the way americans and people around the world treat the mentally challenged. she died tuesday at the age of 88. a hollywood-style casino, hotel, and shops. it's all part of a plan to bring slots to perryville in cecil county. abc 2 news linda so toured the proposed site, and has details on what officials hope will become the next big slots destination in maryland. >> reporter: this open field in perryville is where penn national gaming hopes to build its next big slots casino. >> it does provide the opportunity for expansion. >> reporter: the 36-acre site is located right off of i-95 near the toll plaza and the prime outlet. the first phase of the plan is to build a hollywood-themed casino with 1500 slot machines.

>> it recaptures the golden era of hollywood. so we have some art deco designs, and very classic theming, hollywood back lot sets, and central park theme with trees thughout the facility. >> reporter: there is also plans to build a hotel and bring in shops and restaurants. penn national hopes to start construction this fall. they're waiting for approval from the state slots commission. >> our goal is to make a determination either to move forward on a specific project or not. during the fall of this year. >> reporter: when it comes to jobs, penn national says this will create hundreds of new opportunities. they're looking to hire about 550 construction workers. once the construction is over, they'll be hiring about 600 full-time employees to run the casino. >> and these are jobs that pay on average $40,000 annually, including benefits. so we're really excited about that. we hire locally, and we're going to be -- should we be fortunate enough to receive our license, setting up local job

fairs. >> reporter: those who already travel to surrounding states like delaware and west virginia to play slots say the perryville location would be convenient and closer. >> when we go down the shore on the weekend so, we would stop there. we go to baltimore, we're passing there anyway. it would be a stop, something we could check out. >> it would bring in money i think for the community. and it will hopefully bring more revenue for people. >> reporter: in perryville, linda so, abc 2 news. >> the slots commission held a public hearing on the proposed perryville site this afternoon. if a gaming license is approved by this fall, penn national hopes the casino will be up and running in a year. baltimore's board of estimates has approved a deal that could give the city a bigger slots parlor than first expected. the deal replaces ray lewis' long-planned sports plex project south of m&t bank stadium with a gambling complex run by the baltimore entertainment group.

the russell street property gives the casino operators a more visible location and more room for up to 3700 slot machines. a glen burnie couple has been arrested for burning down their pasadena home, allegedly. it happened may 29th in the 7600 block of lake drive. maryland state police say carl covert and his wife deborah started the fire in the living room of their home. they're being held in the county detention center, charged with arson. we have seen how tempers have flared at the town hall meetings on health care, but yesterday's event in hagerstown with senator ben cardin turned into a criminal matter involving the first family. authorities turned over a man to secret service because he was holding a sign that said "death to obama." the washington county sheriff's department said the sign also read "death to michelle and her two stupid kids." secret service agents took the 51-year-old man into custody. on the weather front, we had the rumble of thunder, some heavy downpours in downtown baltimore. but this particular storm site,

you see it moving south, from baltimore with love headed down to d.c. and right now we're looking much better downtown. i'll zoom in just a little bit here. but basically, this whole thing is now getting well south of the airport. in fact, toward odenton and laurel, getting showers toward bowie, maryland right now. other than that, i think we're going to stay pretty clear out there, as we broaden out the view here for just a second, you see there is not much coming in out of the north. and that's the pattern right now from north to south. so we're looking pretty good right now. it look like for kickoff tonight, as the ravens head into dominate the redskins, we hope. take a look at the visible satellite pictures. you see things are clearing off nicely. we've got a lot of sunshine right now downtown to help dry out the stadium. here it is for you overnight. 67 degrees. mostly cloudy. we'll keep the chance future a stray shower in there. but i think we've gotten most of that out of the way, at least as we look toward the game. more on the full forecast, and the big heatup coming your way, straight ahead. >> thanks, wyatt. an amendment lot at howard and madison streets in baltimore could be the site of a new six-story apartment

building. the $17 million would be called m on madison. rent for a one bedroom would start at $642, and $800 for two- bedroom apartments. developers hope to get the design approved in time to begin construction next june. apparently johns hopkins is not only one of the best hospitals in the nation, in the world, it's also among the best- looking johns hopkins has been named one of the 20 most beautiful hospitals in the nation. winners were chosen based on factors including architectural style and distinctiveness. listen to this. an ocean pines family has its 5- year-old chihuahua back after it spent 36 hours in a canal. peanut's owners say he ran out the backdoor with his leash and harness on, and the next day they found that leash wrapped around a piling on his dock. days later, a family who was crabbing saw something bobbing in the canal. it was peanut. the pup is fine, just has some swollen paws. well are, you ready for

some barbecue? coming up, we'll show you about a sizzling showdown this weekend. the state barbecue championship. hmmm. >> sounds tasty. >> yeah, it does. and we know the girls are being fired up, tailgaters. and we have weather from today. somebody is getting the bobblehead because of 83 -- >> the lucky dog! >> exactly. we hit 84. thomas bartnick from baltimore, congrats. you're going to get an exclusive northern lewis bobblehead. not many can say they have one of those, marybeth. your forecast coming up. >> watch abc 2 news any time on channel 1 with comcast on demand. ♪

doctor says i have to lower my cholesterol. here you go, mr. noran. (announcer) trying to lower your cholesterol can be a challenge. but with the help of honey nut cheerios' sweet taste,

lowering your cholesterol is a non-challenge. get your free sample online at non-challenge.com this is really good!

you're watching baltimore's station that works for you. now abc 2 news at 6. >> if you love some good

barbecue, you might want to head to bel air this weekend. the maryland state barbecue, the 8th year for the competition held in the state house courthouse parking lot in downtown bel air. 52 chefs will compete in a barbecue cook-off. >> they cook four different categories. they cook chicken, pork ribs, pulled pork, and beef brisket. and we have prizes for each of the individual categories, and then a grand champion for the overall and a second place reserve champion. >> event features food and craft vendors from across the country. admission is free, and the party starts tomorrow at 4 and goes until 10 saturday from noon until 10. and if you missed baltimore's restaurant week, don't worry. it's been extended for an extra week. now you have until august 23rd to go to the restaurant that you thought was too expensive. don't wait too long to make your reservations for a fixed price great meal. head to abc2news.com and go to links mentioned on air to pick out your top dinner choices for

the weekend, or maybe even tonight. now the forecast certified baltimore's most accurate by weather rate. and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> with the exception of a little bit of rain out there, it's a really nice night, right? >> things have cleared out. the clouds have parted. the birds are singing, and we're looking good. i love this time of year, because you're combining the barbecue of summer with the football coming in. got to love that. >> what's not to like. >> exactly. our little slice of paradise right here. let's take a look at the stadium. this is m & t. the sun is out right now. 'twas not the case an hour ago. seeing the one benefit to the shower, even if you got caught it in, and even though the seat mace be damp at the moment, it cooled things off. we're at 75. we dropped 7 degrees. right now on the radar, we're not seeing much inbound toward downtown. however, we are still tracking what is left of that particular shower that tracked through

downtown earlier today. you see it on the loop there. that is now moving well off to the south. in fact, this is going to become more of an issue fothe d.c. area in short order here. u.s. route 50 probably getting a little wet right now across the bowie area. so people tracking in that direction, keep an eye out for a few wet roadway there's. also watching out for the threat for too much wet weather as you head toward the eastern shore. we've got a flash flood watch up through midnight, at least, watching out for any downpours that do develop. a pop-up thundershower would be all it takes because the ground is so saturated on the course. the very flat eastern shore, and watching out for the potential flooding there. that is not the case here on our side of the chesapeake bay. temperature-wise. 75 right now at bwi. that is, again, much cooler in the wake of the passing shower. we were at about 81, 82 degrees. at one point today, we were up to 84. right now most spots that have not gotten that are circling the baltimore area. 81 york. 82 easton, 83 pawtuxent. areas where they didn't get the stray shower just a bit warmer,

but still not bad by early to mid-august standards. and again, high temperatures today, we did top out in the low 80s. bay forecast. that's going to be a nice day to be out on the chesapeake tomorrow or across the harbor. a high tide at 1:00. low tide comes in just before 7 p.m. light east breeze all day long tomorrow. not a lot of wind. and it will be muggy out. anything you do to cool yourself off on friday afternoon, probably a good idea. satellite and radar pictures. again, widely scattered precipitation well off to the east. and really, just that one shower. of course, it had to go over the stadium and our tailgaters just about an hour ago. again, that is tracking south. and not much behind it. a couple of really isolated showers north of the pennsylvania border. now across the east coast right now, most of that active weather is actually offshore. stalled out frontal boundary over the atlantic ocean, keeping ate little rough for boating interests out that way. but back behind that line, you just don't see much active weather. it's going to be relatively quiet as we go into the rest of the weekend.

so your forecast in detail here. just the slight chance of a shower this evening. and a couple of pop-up showers late tomorrow afternoon in the heating of the day. we see that so often in the summer. overall, though, i think it's a dry pattern into the first half of the weekend. and eventually we're going see more heat around here. i think we'll start to push close to 90 as we go into sunday. 67 tonight. looks like a great night for football. not too hot. we're 75 now. we'll probably continue to drop off pretty quickly this evening. through the day tomorrow, another humid day. we'll be a bit hotter. i think 84 degrees with early sunshine. and just a partly cloudy scenario, possibility of a scattered afternoon shower storm. your seven-day forecast, keeping it pretty dry on saturday. i think for the most part, a better chance of a scattered storm sunday. look how hot it begins to get toward the beginning of next week. pushing up 90. still not extreme heat, but it will feel hotter into sunday and the first part of next week. [ closing bell ] investors managed to shake off disappointing news and push

stocks higher for a second straight day. wall street's major indeck has finished higher led by financial technology and energy companies. the dow ended up 35 points. the nasdaq up 10. s&p six points higher. abc 2 news -- well, the housing picture rather seems to be improving for much of the nation. foreclosure hearsay in maryland rose last month, and we're higher than the national pace. according to the foreclosure research firm, retailly track, foreclosures jumped 66% from june to july here in maryland. the state also saw a 66% jump in defaults from this time last year. and abc 2 news is working for you in these tough economic times with our financial several survival guide on abc2news.com today, you'll find a warning about lying listings if you're looking to buy a home. watch out for phrases like recently updated and light and bright, which does not really describe the property. plus, if you have a child headed to college this fall, how to save money on buying a computer. let's take another live

look at the inner harbor downtown. wyatt will be back with the final forecast, and the temperatures from baltimore right here at the station, 79 degrees. didn't go far for that one. explain. oh yea, well for 6 months, customers get all three:

fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month. oh, all right, see... you're just moving your fingers, aren't you? i gotta cut my nails. (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet, and phone for only... for the first 6 months. it all adds up to one incredible deal from fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v unlike cable, fios brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home, for razor sharp tv, america's top rated internet-- now even faster, and crystal clear phone service. all for just... for 6 months. it's like getting 3 services for the price of 2. that's a $180 savings over six months for the best in home entertainment. don't miss this unbeatable value 3 great services, for the price of 2. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v this if fios. this is big.

pa announcer: final boardinges call... all passengers... day. each with an average speed of 590 mph... almost as fast as you. nothing's gonna hold you down. grab your bag . it's on™west so our low fares stay low. ( ding ) book now at southwest.com.

does a bear tweet in the woods? bear hunters do. the maryland department of natural resources wants to reach them. the agency has decided to use twitter to keep bear hunters informed during the season. only 60 to 85 bears can be taken during the season, and the hunt ends when the tally enters that range. huntlers get tweets as soon as

they have to pack way their guns. last check of the weather for you. and we did have some heavy downpours briefly there in downtown baltimore. it's tracking out of the area. maryland's most powerful radar. we're looking good at the moment, and i think that's going to continue to be the case, because again, as we look to the north, there is just not much going on. of course, the one big shower we had had to go through and douse all our tailgaters. but that's okay. sun is out now. we're in the 70s the rest of the evening. down to 68 by daybreak tomorrow. and sheer the rest of the seven- day forecast. you got to like this. with temperatures looking reasonable for the weekend by august standards, and dry saturday for the most part. maybe a better chance for a thundershower on sunday. marybeth? >> thank you, wyatt. that's all for us on abc 2 news at 6. i'm marybeth marsden. thanks for joining us. we'll be back here tonight at 11. we hope to see you then. the purple is back! remember, the news continues on abc2news.com. good night!

switch to what works for you. abc 2 news at 11 and marybeth marsden. energy, experience. >> good evening. i'm marybeth marsden. >> breaking news, fast, and first. >> we were the first to bring to it you. >> reports saving you money, keeping you safe. >> lucky enough to land a job, what can you do -- >> marybeth marsden. >> we're the reason more of baltimore is moving bedtime to 11:30. >> abc 2 news at 11 works for you. switch and you'll see. explain.

oh yea, well for 6 months, customers get all three: fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month. oh, all right, see... you're just moving your fingers, aren't you? i gotta cut my nails. (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet, and phone for only... for the first 6 months. it all adds up to one incredible deal from fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v unlike cable, fios brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home, for razor sharp tv, america's top rated internet-- now even faster, and crystal clear phone service. all for just... for 6 months. it's like getting 3 services for the price of 2. that's a $180 savings over six months for the best in home entertainment. don't miss this unbeatable value 3 great services, for the price of 2. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

this if fios. this is big.