tropical moisture owing northward from the gulf of mexico. we will see continued shower activity tonight, and also during a portion of tomorrow. we'll are the complete forecast coming up in a couple of minutes. >> thanks, norm. and when norm is not on tv telling you what to expect, you can always head to abc2news.com to track the storms from your own home. also on the web, safety tips for driving in heavy rain, and how to prepare before the storm arrives. well, it's friday, and for many that used to mean leaving the cooking to someone else. but in this tight economy, many people are cutting back. and area restaurants are starting to feel the pinch. abc 2 news cheryl conner tells us about one popular eatery that has been forced to close its doors. >> reporter: for 26 years, the brass elephant in baltimore's mount vernon neighborhood has offered guests a fine dining experience. now the glasses are empty and the seats are vacant because in recent weeks, business has been anything but fine.

>> don't know what i'm going to do this weekend. i'm used to being here, you know, running around, you know. talking to some of my regular customers. >> reporter: general manager caliph max says the decision to close came sunday when there were no reservations or the the week ahead. 16 employees have lost their jobs, but they say the closure isn't surprising. >> i've known for quite some time we were under distress, because our clients have not been coming in. >> reporter: management hopes to sell the building and reopen the restaurant with a lease from the new owner. next door, mugal garden, the manager has seen sales slip 25%. so he is coming up with incentives. >> we are working on our healthy foods, daytime, evening time. we're trying to give them complimentary advertisers. >> reporter: but the restaurant association of maryland has looked at the 9600 locations statewide, and they say sales are flat. still, they insist restaurants

keep their doors open with customers. michelle says she eats out every day, lunch and dinner, but crunching the numbers, she is considering a change. >> 25, $30 a day times what, well actually times 30. so it's several hundred dollars a month. >> reporter: the chandeliers and the brass will go without any admirers until the brass elephant finds a way to keep this baltimore landmark in business. in mount vernon, cheryl conner, abc 2 news. >> the brass elephant has several outstanding contracts for wedding and rehearsal dinners. management is now looking for a way to honor the commitments. new at 5:30, a web hoax targeted baltimore and mayor sheila dixon. this is the real baltimore city home page. but somebody stole images from this page and posted bogus information attributed to the mayor on a website reportedly based overseas. this morning, the mayor

responded to the cyberfraud. >> i really don't appreciate somebody invading, taking materials, passing it over and trying to degrade the city and to make this kind of nuisance when we have more important issues to address. >> in a printed statement, the mayor says the city's law department is investigating the violation of the website for infingerment or copyright infringement. according to the anne arundel county sheriff's office, a pasadena man has been arrested for threatening a county judge. they say 57-year-old harvey burrows left more than one threatening message on the voice mail of judge paul harris. apparently burrows was unhappy because the judge sentenced his brother to 18 years in prison for burglary and theft. and now for a look at tonight's top story. 21 dogs have been removed from a home in anne arundel county. neighbors say they have complained for a listening time about the smell, and are glad something was finally done. no word yet what if any charges

the homeowner will face. the dogs are now in the custody of animal control. it's two life sentences for a man convicted of kidnapping and rape. 23-year-old kiheem taylor was convicted of kidnapping a pair of teens from the timonium light rail station and raping one of them over a two-hour period. along with the two life sentences, the judge also tacked on 100 years. [ bagpipes ] today mourners in buffalo, new york said their final farewells to two firefighters who were killed in the line of duty monday. the two fell through the floor of a burning building while searching for a victim they thought was trapped inside. more than 5,000 firefighters lined several city blocks to say goodbye. and while we're dealing with storms and heavy rain, people who live in california are coping with wildfires. up to 1500 people have been ordered to leave their wealthy

seaside community of rancho palos verdes. officials say an unknown number of buildings have been damaged by that 100-acre fire. the incredible story now of a woman who was held prisoner for 18 years can has become even more strange tonight. police in california admit they came close to rescuing her several years ago, but apparently failed to connect all the dots. the victim and her two children, who were fathered by her kidnapper, have been reunited with her family. abc's diana avellar tells us the couple accused in the case now face numerous charges. >> reporter: shackled in the custody of authorities, philip and nancy garrido are far away from their bay area home where police say they held jaycee lee dugard hostage for nearly two decades in a series of tents and outbuildings. an ordeal that could have ended nearly three years ago. >> we missed an opportunity to

have intervened earlier. >> reporter: friday, the el dorado county sheriff admitted a neighbor called 911 in 2006. >> there were tents in the neighbor's backyard that people were living in them. and that there were young children. >> reporter: he said there is no indication the responding deputy knew philip garrido was a registered sex offender, and this the visit ended with a warning to take down his tents. >> he did not enter nor request to enter. we are beating ourselves up over this. >> reporter: authorities say garrido fathered the two children glimpsed by neighbors with jaycee. her family worries the trauma jaycee has suffered will leave lasting damage. >> jaycee feels really guilty for bonding with this man. >> reporter: but jaycee's captor told sacramento's kcra he has found redemption through his two daughters. >> every single night from

birth. and never kissed them. >> reporter: and this already bizarre story has taken yet another twist. authorities are searching the garrido's property for evidence in the murder of several prostitutes. diana avellar, abc news, los angeles. big barks without the coupons. >> we have people from all walks of life coming here for the sole purpose of saving money. >> dented cans, crushed cereal boxes. the place some are shopping at in search for bargain prices. also, hurricane isabel left its mark in 2003. the job one man has of protecting thousands of species at the national aquarium should the weather take over.

and a mixed day on wall street. both the dow and the s&p were down. the nasdaq was up a pointment as the economic has tanked, frugal customers have been flocking to so-called scratch and dent or salvage grocery stores there are hundreds spread across more than three dozen states. clayton sandell takes us to one near denver. >> reporter: it doesn't look like grocery stores you're used to. but inside, you won't find the prices you're used to. >> we have people from all walks of life come in here for the sole purpose of saving money. >> reporter: martin palumbo

runs this salvage grocery store near denver. he takes in damaged, dented or discontinued products that grocery stores won't sell. he offers them at huge discounts. >> refried beans, which can sell for up to $1.79 at your conventional supermarket, got a dent right here. selling that one for 75 cents. cake mixes can sell for around 2 to $3 apiece. our price is 99 cents. juices, they normally sell for 3 or $4 apiece. once again, $1.99. >> reporter: there are deals on organic vegetables, dog biscuits, even bug spray. since last year, business at this store up 50%. >> i automatically know i'm going to save on my whole wheat pasta and feta cheese. that was 75% less. >> reporter: you can find almost anything in this store. a can of pork and beans for a buck. some cereal for $1.99. good deals as long as you don't mind how the packaging looks. salvage grocers insist the food in crushed boxes and dented

cans is safe. >> if it's not something i wouldn't eat myself, i would not put it on my shelf. >> reporter: health expert says buyer beware. >> it might not taste quite as fresh, might not be quite as ideal. but in most cases will be safe. if you have a can, obviously any time it's leaking or bulging, it wouldn't any longer be considered safe. >> reporter: customers say as long as you know what to look for and avoid -- >> $50.51 today. >> reporter: the price is right. clayton sandell, abc news, arvada, colorado. well, losing power, but not losing the attention of forecasters. the threat danny is bringing along the maryland and delaware coast this weekend. >> we have a special flood cabinet now. we learned in the past to have it ready. >> and remember hurricane isabel. the man in charge of protecting thousands of species at the national aquarium should a natural disaster strike again. if you're like a lot of people,

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forecasters say danny has lost some of its power over the atlantic ocean, and is barely a tropical storm now. danny has been kicking up big waves all along the east coast, and the system is expected to create potentially dangerous surf conditions at maryland and delaware beaches this weekend. farther north, fishermen in massachusetts say they'll play it safe and stay in port this weekend. >> your life is on the line, you know. so you got to pay attention and don't put yourself in a position like that. >> and while danny poses no real threat to us, especially here in baltimore, we still have fresh memories of the destruction these storms can bring, even in maryland. isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in 2003. she was only a tropical storm by the time she reached us and still caused devastating flooding and wind damage all across our region. and as linda so reports, that's why one baltimore land mash has

preparations in place for whatever mother nature sends our way. >> reporter: they're some of the most memorable pictures from hurricane isabel. a woman being rescued by a boat from her fells point home. >> i don't think i put the plastic quite right. >> reporter: shops in annapolis flooded out. parking meters bobbing in the high water, and the inner harbor underwater. gene taylor with the national aquarium remembers it well. >> september 19th, 2003. >> reporter: gene was in charge of protecting the aquarium and its treasured assets. it's the first time he had to put his emergency plan into action on such a large scale. >> waves literally rolling down through the pier 4 and pier 3. you could have body surfed or boogie board on the street at 4 in the morning. >> reporter: part of that emergency plan involved these floodgates. a total of 38 gates were put up to keep the water from isabel out. if we didn't have those

floodgates, we probably would have sustained more damage. >> i'm in. >> reporter: since then, they haven't lad to use the gates again, but the crew at the aquarium performs a test run every year to make sure they're still in good working order. the aquarium has more than 16,000 animals. so it's crucial to have an emergency action plan in place. that way if disaster does strike, both the people and the animals will be safe. in the days following isabel, the aquarium, unlike their neighbors, was back up and running very quickly. having an emergency action plan benefits not only them, but the city. >> it's important for the workers. it's important for the economy. it's important for the tourists that come to the city. so it's beneficial all around. >> we have a special flood cabinet now. we learned in the past to have it ready. >> reporter: and being ready will certainly pay off as the unexpected were ever to hit.

in downtown baltimore, linda so, abc 2 news. >> boy, i remember that well. i was out there at the inner harbor. >> yeah, to see water on pratt street is entirely different. >> amazing. >> danny is not going to do that. danny has been losing a whole lot of power. but we're still going to have pretty strong storms like we had last night this morning and this afternoon. let's take a look outside right now. your shot from harbor cam overlooking pratt street, where no, they're not surfing. but they are driving on pratt street. our temperature at bwi right now 76 degrees. 88% humidity. wind continues from the east- northeast at 10 miles an hour. the pressure steady 29.96. there are the tide tomorrow at fort mchenry. sunrise and set. tomorrow's winds from theie at 8 to 14 miles per hour. flash flood watch remains in effect for a good chunk of our area, and flash flood warnings do remain in effect for portions of the eastern shore as well as delaware. that goes -- stays into effect until about 6:45 tonight. and then the flash flood watch stays in effect until 2:00 in the morning. that's because of all the water that has come down.

now it's running off into the estuaries, and this could cause some roadways, particularly in some of the rural areas and northern harford and seale seale cecil to accumulate water. we've been watching tropical moisture flow northward. during this afternoon, right now the heaviest rainfall is on the eastern shore, making its way towards portions of new jersey. but the system that is feeding it, that little trough of low pressure, remember we were talking about it yesterday in the northern gulf of mexico continues to pump moisture up the eastern seaboard. right now there is the north side of danny right there. not doing much of anything. as a matter of fact, danny is going to be staying off the coast. the thing that will cause us the rainfall, we told you this yesterday, is going to be that system right there as it makes its way north and east. now a frontal system back here to the west. that's moving in that direction. if the front goes off the coast and continues moving off the coast, we will have a pretty

decent end of the weekend in the first part of the week. but if it gets stuck right there and there is a possible it could, it's going to keep news this moisture flow. and consequently the shower activity will last a little longer. as far as the showers from this afternoon, they have now moved up into pennsylvania. but as you can see right here, just to the east arun of pennsylvania, stretch do you think to just north of the hagertown region. as far as pylesville, they're at 70 degrees. they only had .09 inches of rain. but some places in harford cotythe day today. as far as our forecast, scattered showers with us tonight. and again, this is the ideal situation. it could change. the ideal situation, the way it looks right now is that the showers will pull north. during the day tomorrow, some scattered showers. there goes danny move big the coast. and then by tomorrow things

could change. we'll keep you advised. overnight cloudy skies, a few showers and storms. 72 the low. during the day tomorrow, we're going to see a few showers and storms. but then a chance for gradual clearing as the front moves off the coast, and hopefully it will keep on going. 82 degrees tomorrow for the daytime high. if it keeps on going, we'll have a nice day on sunday. but that could change. but right now it looks like a partly cloudy day on sunday, 79. 75 on sunday. tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and friday quite a bit of sunshine with some cooler temperatures moving into the region. we'll be back at 6:00 with more on the weather. >> all right, thanks, norm. well, everybody wants whiter teeth. but one popular brand of teeth whitener is leaving many customers

a school district in kansas had to cut more than $2 million from their budget, and get this. the first people to get pink slips were 13 custodians. now here is the real twist of the story. at one of the affected schools, some second graders have picked up the slack. all 22 kids take turns every day picking up trash, paper and wrappers, and they dump the garbage too. they wipe down the tables and keep their desk tidy. it's not only putting a smile on the teachers' faces, but mom and dad too. >> i've heard parents say oh, my gosh, they're pickingtheir backpack, or they're putting things away in their closet. and i think what it is making kids feel accountable and proud that they can be accountable, and they have a job. >> i do help with cleaning windows. that's something that is really fun for me. >> yes, he said washing windows is fun. that second grade class may be on to something. more bats are flying around in baltimore city. what is causing the increase,

on abc 2 news at 6, which starts right now. >> now, abc 2 news at 6. >> let's take a live look downtown. we've got ominous clouds in the sky. right now the area is under a flash flood watch. we've got a flood warning on the eastern shore. good evening. i'm marybeth marsden. let's get right to the man in the know. chief meteorologist norm lewis is here with the first forecast. >> thanks, marybeth. the heavy showers continue to make their way towards the north and east. we're still tracking very heavy rainfall on the eastern shore. but we've also got some pretty good shower activity around the baltimore area. let me zoom in just a little bit closer, and we're going to shift this just