cause respiratory problems. the levels in the family's home were over four times over the limit. >> bottom two floors, we took them down to bare concrete. we threw away everything, we did everything we could to clean it up in the bottom two floors. so by the time we found it in the kitchen, which i have no idea why it's in there or the upstairs, we had to give up. >> reporter: the problems with the house has drained their savings and put them in horrible debt. that has meant the family of six spends some of its nights sleeping in the family van. their church is helping them with a hotel, but they need more. they need a home. >> i couldn't get anybody from the health department to come out and say and either retest the air or find out for sure what is going on, or to do something. >> reporter: the officials say there is little that they can do. there are no state guidelines about mold in the home. they can only require landlords to fix things like leaks, but it's the homeowner's responsibility to take care of

problems. the mold has eaten through walls, their savings and their piece of mind, and they're stuck with a home that they simply can't use. roosevelt leftwich, abc 2 news. >> and again, rosy says the family is getting some help from their church. however, if you would like to help, you can contact st. joseph catholic church in eldersburg, 443-920-9191. five teenagers in anne arundel county are facing armed robbery charges tonight. police say just after midnight, they were called to the town community in glen burnie. the victim told police three young men pointed a handgun at him and took his ipod, cell phone and wallet. the three men then ran to a waiting car. they got away, but not for long. police found the suspects speeding nearby. they were pulled over and arrested. >> don't know what the motive was at this time for the robbery. the investigation is ongoing. certainly concerning to our agency any time you have

juveniles involved in violent crimes such as these. >> and we're told all of the teens will be charged as adults. and now for a look at tonight's top story. baltimore mayor sheila dixon says she will not tolerate violence at the inner harbor. police believe saturday night's shooting grew out of a dispute between rival gauges. earlier this year, mayor dixon called on police to crack down on groups of youths after random assaults at the city's popular tourist area. now the mayor says she and police commissioner bealefeld will work together to improve inner harbor security. one man is dead and another is hospitalized after a stabbing in college park. police found the two men lying in a 7-eleven parking lot along rhode island avenue around 4:00 this morning. they believe the victims were actually stabbed during the domestic fight in a nearby home and drove themselves to the store where they collapsed. the men have not been identified. a statewide search continues tonight for a prisoner who escaped from howard county sheriff's

deputies last week. there is now a $5,000 reward being offered for information leading to the arrest of devon champagne. police say he escaped while he was being transported to the howard county detention center thursday night. champagne is considered dangerous. well state officials are in a krabi mood after failing to buy back two thousand limited crab catcher licenses. the state offered to buy the licenses to prevent a spike in commercial crabbing. crabbers were given a option to name the price, however, 3/4 were rejected because the prices ranged from $30 to as much as $425 million. state official says the higher prices were a form of protest. the state is now offering $2,260 per license. across the area right now, some very warm temperatures. but it depends on where you are. take a look at the temperature at ellicott city. not too bad. with humidity of 59%, it feels

a lot warmer than that. it's 86 at anne arundel community college in hanover. umbc at 86. 82 at summit ridge in mount airy with 52% humidity. the forecast for the next couple hours partly cloudy, warm and humid. temperatures holding in the mid- to upper 80s for the next couple hours. and then things are going to cool off just a little bit. but heat returns again tomorrow. we've got the complete forecast, coming up. >> all right, thanks, norm. now the lightest on the wildfires in california. firefighters are gaining ground on some of the blazes despite tinder-dry conditions. hundreds of people have evacuated the santa cruz mountains in sierra nevada foothills where one fire has burned 11 square miles. that fire we're told is about 65% contained. land is good news in southern california where most residents have been allowed back home near a massive forest fire east of santa maria. the mayor of milwaukee is recovering tonight from a broken hand and head injuries after he was beaten with a pipe

leaving the wisconsin state fair. mayor tom was walking to his car after spending the evening at the fair when he heard a woman call for help. police say a 20-year-old man was drunk and causing problems because he couldn't see his 14- month-old daughter. barrett was with his two youngest children, sister and niece. according to investigators, hen the mayor tried to intervene, the man beat him with a metal object. >> my niece was there and stood there while this was going on, and got on the cell phone and was calling 911, and saying to the guy, the cops are coming, and ultimately, he came and came towards her, but essentially took off when he heard the sirens. >> he is somebody the police department is familiar with as one of their local knuckleheads. and tonight he was a violate

and vicious thug. that's how he behaved. >> after a 13-hour search, police caught up with the suspect. police say the man has a lengthy record. no word when he'll face new charges. closed for business, at least for the day. why city employees in chicago had to take the day off with no pay. and just in time for back to school. a debit account that lets mom and dad see what their college kids are spending money on. but first, we'll get a check on the weather conditions. head over to cromwell elementary school in towson where it is 87 degrees. stay with us. we're right back. what's that smell? take control of trash odors with glad odor shield. special technology embedded in the whole bag neutralizes odors. your kitchen stays fresh. glad odor shield. what smell? now available in lemon scent. (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving

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rough start to the week on wall street. concern over the economy sent the dow down more than 186 points. the s&p was off 54. i'm sorry, the s&p was off 24. the nasdaq was off 54. chicago's big shoulders sagged under the weight of the recession today as the windy city paused to catch its breath. government offices were closed and silent witness to the budget crisis that ko'd most municipal services for the day. abc's diana avellar is there. >> reporter: the doors were locked at chicago libraries monday. piles of garbage lined city streets. and city hall was silent.

only emergency workers such as police, firefighters, and 911 operators were on the job. it was the first of three scheduled reduced services days in an effort to save the city $8.3 million. >> at the end of the day, we're going to run out of money. the tax revenues that supported the state and local governments are not going to come back any time soon. >> furloughs are working their way to city and state budgets across the nation. michigan wants to save nearly $22 million through six unpaid days. in colorado, furlough days may be accompanied by pay cuts as well. but nothing compares to california, where more than 90% of state workers will be off on the first and third friday of each month until june of 2010. >> my loan company is not going over and going oh, yeah, i heard you have 15% furloughs, we're going to give you a break and lower your payments 15%. >> reporter: with chicago predicting a $300 million

shortfall in 2010, the money saved through forced furloughs won't go far. but many residents say the alternatives are far worse. >> you don't want to conserve it, but you don't want to increase taxes. >> chicago mayor richard daley himself is taking 15 unpaid days. something he says all politicians, including president obama, should do as well. diana avellar, abc news, chicago. free money? you know what they say. if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. a fake check that has people losing lots of dough. and where you can find the best selection of school supplies for just the right price. explain.

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a dull metal clanking sound. bear groans. ♪ ominous music ferocious growling. roaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!! ♪ whistling bluegrass tune well, here is something that may spike car sales. it's a compact car from general motors with a price tag of only $4,000.

now the bad news. u.s. consumers may not be able to get one, at least not right away. gm hopes to build the tiny cars in asia and sell them in developing companies first. there is no word when production might actually begin. just in time for back-to- school spending, pay pal is out with a new debit card service to help parents and students better manage their budgets. it works like a regular pay pal account, but the parent's account receives all transactions. that way parents can see what their child is buying and set restrictions on spending and online purchases. and the popular red box kiosk where customers with rent movies for a dollar a night can soon offer video games. customers in reno, nevada can already rent games for all major systems for just $2 a night. con artists have heard all the scams, and in this week's scam alert, joce stermman has more of the new trick they're

trying to get your money. >> grant scans are all the days with con artists claim thanksgiving can get you cash to fix your car, pay off your debt and even more. we've warn you'd about this, but scammers are trying something new. >> i think this very smart scam artist, people are falling for it. >> reporter: people falling for a fake check that ends up costing them big bucks. according to the better business bureau, in this scam, consumers get what looks like a legitimate check for nearly $4,800. the scheme call it a grant. free money they tell you to deposit. all they want in return is a finders fee. but instead of wiring the cash, these guys want it on a green dot card. that's a reloadable debit card sold in drug stores and gas stations. >> your instructs are to take the green dot card and load up 10% of the check's value, and that would be approximately $475. load it up and send it to them as their commission or their

brokers fee. >> reporter: the scammers quickly drain that card. the only problem is the check they sent will bounce. so you'll lose that $475, and potentially thousands more, becoming the victim of a scam that has got con artists turning to the green dot card to get even more green from you. joce sterman, abc 2 news. >> the better business bureau says the checks seem coming from an active, verifiable account so there won't be any red flags. that means the money slow up at first, but within a few days or weeks, it will bounce, and you'll be left holding the bag. don't forget to check our page to get more details on how crooks are pulling off the scams. now the forecast certified baltimore's most accurate, here is chief meteorologist norm lewis and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> i was indoors most of the day today. so i missed it. what did you do today? >> it was pretty nice day, but little on thsticky side,

temperature-wise, humidity wise. not too bad. it wasn't like last week. last week was a cooker. >> how this morning? >> it got cool, but it was very moist. a lot of humidity out there. we'll see the heat and humidity combined to give us a chance for shower activity, starting probably on wednesday the way things are looking right now. take a look outside your shot from harbor cam, overlooking the downtown area. the flag up on federal hill, getting a little bit of action. not too bad. our temperature right now 87 degrees out at bwi thurgood marshall. the humidity 45%. wind urnly from the southeast at 5, and the pressure 30.14. temperatures across the region, in hagerstown 92. 89 up in york. 87 in downtown 86 in pax river. 90 in philadelphia. atlantic city 87. and 88 on the boards in ocean city. hurricane bill. that's where bill is right now, out in the middle of the atlantic. it's basically right now 2 -- i'm sorry, 2,369 miles east-

southeast of miami, moving towards the west northwest at 14 miles an hour with winds of 90 miles an hour. where is bill going? this is where the national hurricane center thinks bill is going to be tracking, on towards the north and east, and then taking a turn up by the island of bermuda. and by saturday, that's where bill should be. so we should see some clouds and some precipitation out of bill by saturday. but right now it's too soon to tell exactly which way bill is going to be going. but we will be watching this potentially big storm. as far as our satellite picture throughout the early morning, we had a few little light clouds around. but for the most part, a pretty nice day. a couple of scattered showers down here. and western portions of virginia and also out over western maryland and into west virginia. but they should stay out there for the evening. now tomorrow they get a little closer and a slim chance for a shower. tomorrow here in the baltimore area. but the best chance is going to be coming on wednesdayful right now nothing showing up on montana's most powerful radar. nice clear scan out there. temperature-wise in westminster 85. gaithersburg at 85.

85 in emmitsburg. elkton right now at 83. 87 in middle town. and churchville right now currently reporting in at 84 degrees. the forecast for tonight. the showers that are down over western portions of virginia will stay there for tonight. we're watching moisture flowing northward from the remnants of claudeette. an that's going to start to spread some shower and even some thunderstorm activities this the region by tomorrow. and again into wednesday. but most of the activity, again will, hold off until wednesday and thursday. so here is your forecast. for tonight, the overnight period partly cloudy, humid, 72 for the overnight low. during the day tomorrow, look for partly cloudy, hot and humid day with a high of 90 degrees. now your extended outlook, the 90 tomorrow followed by the shower and thunderstorm activity on wednesday. a little cooler. thursday and friday, again cooler temperatures, scattered showers. we'll take the best chance for shower activity is going to be coming on friday and saturday as far as the more regular showers. and then on sunday, things start to clear up a tiny bit with cooler temperatures.

but the next couple days definitely on the hot and humid side giving rise to the shower and thunderstorm activity. we'll be back at 6 with more on the weather. >> thanks, norm. if you haven't finished your back to school shopping, raise your hand. all right, put them down. put them down. i wanted to make sure that you don't miss this next story, because it concerns which store giveious the best selection of school supplies for the lowest prices, so you don't waste your money. >> reporter: with the economy still in recession, many stores are advertising super low prices on back to school items this year. but who really sales the most more the least? i went shopping to find out where the best deals are. like a lot of families, beth and her kids are back to school shopping, warmed their teacher's list. >> crayons, washful markers, pencils, glue sticks. >> reporter: where should she shop? i went undercover, swapping my suit for some casual digs. i grab admin any hd camera and started to shop.

first stop target, where i found crayola crayons just 20- cents a box, washable markers for $1.50. my next stop was wal-mart. the back to school section was smaller and less organized but low prices. folders for just 15 cents, and spiral notebooks for just 35 cents. the crayola washable marketers that were $150 at target were 75 cents here. my final stop was staples with aisle after aisle of supplies. while staples had a few loss leaders like spiral notebooks for just 33 cents, most of the items were slightly more expensive such as 24 crayola crayons for 89 cents. the low price winner? wal-mart, no surprise. target was next. staples was the most expensive. but most families don't shop by just price alone. so our winner for best selection was staples. target took second place for select and price.

so our winner for best back to school shopping experience is target. two last targets. one, don't forget dollar stores which often have the lowest priced supplies even though they not have the selection many parents need. and number 2, if you don't have kids, this is the best time to buy paper marker, notebook, dry erase boards, all that, and you don't waste your money. i'm john matarese. now with a look ahead to what is coming up on abc 2 news at 6, a new move to get abandoned vehicles off the streets of baltimore. what the city is planning to do. and we'll take you to the grand reopening of annapolis street. why the mayor there says there is more than one reason to celebrate. now a preview of what is ahead on world news at 6:30. >> coming up on world news, can there be real health care reform without a public option? president obama calls afghanistan a war worth fighting. and then the growing controversy over allowing guns in places that serve alcohol. explain.

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a former republican party majority leader will join 15 entertainment and sports celebrities kicking up their heels on the new season of "dancing with the stars." the lineup for the 9th season of the popular prime time show was unveiled on abc's "good morning america" today. abc's lindsey davis tells us who is going to face the music. >> reporter: this dance floor is not for the faint of heart. >> fun of the samba. >> reporter: get ready for the 9th season of "dancing with the stars" as a new cast gets ready to shimmy, shake their way into checks canment. >> we'll lose about half of our cast within that period of

time. it will be a bloodbath. >> reporter: among the nail- biters, four singers -- macy gray, donny osmond, aaron carter and maya. >> she is one of those people that is going to fall into the category of has danced before. she took a lot of training. >> reporter: of course, there are athletes. nfl hall of famer michael irvin, snowboard champion louis vito, natalie coughlin and ultimate fighting champion chuck liddell. >> lights out liddell. that's one guy you don't want to make mad. you want to be nice to him every time he dances. >> reporter: the biggest dancing cast ever includes actors ashley hamilton, melissa joan hart and debbie mazar. kelly osbourne will give ate whirl this go-around as will mark decascos, who is hoping his slice and dice skills in the kitchen will cut it up on the dance floor.

models diana crupa and kathy ireland will show off their moves, and finally former house majority leader tom delay. if his dance moves follow his political persuasion, she he is not likely to show up with two left feet. lindsey davis, abc 2 news. >> tom delay, can't wait. well, a maryland man accused of snooping into the passport files of celebrities. details on abc 2 news at 6, which starts few. >> now abc 2 news at 6. >> a double shooting at the inner harbor over the weekend sent visitors scrambling for safety. and now city leaders are searching for ways to combat the violence. good evening. i'm marybeth marsden. police cracked down after random assaults at baltimore's major tourist center earlier this year. and now as jeff hager reports, the city is once again looking for help from annapolis. >> reporter: vacationing in baltimore, the cox family narrowly missed the shooting at the light street pavilion saturday by a matter of minutes. >> we were down here until about 9:30