with the sword. nearly severing the suspect's hand and cutting his body. the suspect died at the scene. >> you should be able to defend yourself in your own home. you should be able to defend yourself anywhere you go. >> all the students were taken in for questioning. two laptops and sony playstation had been stolen earlier in the evening. police are not sure if that burglar was the same one who returned overnight. at this point police are not releasing the name of the student but say he's a junior chemistry major who turns 21 on sunday. as for the suspect, all police are telling us now is that he was 49 years old with a lengthy criminal record. he had just been released from a baltimore county facility last saturday. and the student and his roommate's accounts of the incident may be critical in dearth whether the sword-wielding occupant of the home faces charges. jeff hager has more on the potential legal fallout from this case.

>> reporter: confronted by a student wielding a samurai sword the alleged burglar lost his hand and then lost his life. while the student had left his house and entered a detached garage where he discovered the intruder police say he still may have been within his legal rights to strike that fatal blow. >> people do have a right to defend themselves. samurai swords are not illegal in baltimore city. >> reporter: while it's still early in the police investigation and the case has not yet been handed over to the city state's attorney's office it certainly raises interesting legal questions. as to whether the victim in this case will ultimately be charged or for that matter prosecuted. a university of maryland school of law professor and attorney andrew levy says the law of self-defense balances a person's right to defend themselves without giving them a license to kill. >> people are allowed to use deadly force in defense of their home.

if there's a felony being committed or about to be committed or if they themselves reasonably believe that they or a family member are at risk. >> reporter: levy says the fact the burglar had no weapon should not matter, if he really lunged at the student prompting him to defend himself. police are still matching the witness's statements with evidence found at the scene to make sure there are no discrepancies. >> what our guys are trying to do is make sure the incident happened exactly as it did and determine if there's any criminal intent here. >> reporter: in charles village, jeff hager, abc2 news. >> late this afternoon johns hopkins university has issued a statement. it reads in part "there has been a recent rash of more than a half dozen burglaries in the area. both uniformed and plain clothes baltimore police presence in the area had been increased if response to these crimes. that enhanced presence will continue." a big development tonight in the effort to prevent the

h1n1 or the swine flu. the fda has approved a new vaccine. abc2 news kelly swoope joins us with details. >> reporter: it came late this afternoon, they were not surprised at the university of maryland school of medicine where they participated in the trials. the food and drug administration expects the h1n1 vaccine to be available by mid-october to about 90,000 locations across the country. now, data collected from the university of maryland was used to license the vaccine. data that was collected eight days after the first dose was administered. no major side effects reported. just some soreness and flu-like symptoms. researchers also learned that one dose, or about 15 micrograms of the vaccine was effective in fighting the virus and they say that's good news. >> having to administer one dose of vaccine is far better than two doses separated by 21, 28 or however many days apart. we don't know how many people

would return back for the second dose. one dose is much simpler. >> reporter: hopefully there will be 120 million dozes of the vaccine available for the fall they are dealing with four different manufacturers. initially they will target young children and pregnant women when they become available in mid-october. we've already seen thousands of cases on college campuses. while researchers don't anticipate those who already had the flu will need to get the vaccine. they may be immunized. kelly swoope, abc2 news. president barack obama is pushing his economic and health care plans and today he spoke to auto workers at a gm plant outside youngstown, ohio. he said the economy is on its way back from the brink due to his policies. president obama then heads here. he'll speak at a health reform rally at the universities of maryland college park, starts at 11:00 a.m. at the comcast center. the u.s. house of representatives voted to admonish representative joe

wilson over his you lie outburst to the president. but he's standing by his refusal to apologize to the house. he said the president already graciously accepted his apology. senators cardin and mikulski voted to cut off federal funding to acorn. the community group came under fire after independent filmmakers posed as a pimp and prostitute and secretly filmed or taped acorn employees telling them how they can get away with running a brothel. now, a similar video surfaced at acorn offices in brooklyn, new york. brian kuebler reports on the legal fallout on both sides. >> reporter: the first video shot in baltimore. independent filmmakers getting employees on hidden camera explaining how the couple could pull off an underaged sex trafficking and brothel-type business, profits would go to the alleged pimp's eventual run for congress.

>> >> train them to keep their mouth shut. >> reporter: the two baltimore acorn workers in the video were fired while higher ups went on the offensive. >> we don't know exactly what was said, how it was said, whether it was dubbed, cut, sliced, we don't know. >> reporter: this week another video. the same couple posing with the same story shot this undercover video in brooklyn, new york. >> question, will the new york acorn employees, a, call nypd? b, tell us to get the hell out of their office, or c, encourage us to bury the elicit sex cash in a tin under the grounds in our backyard? >> reporter: the videos have already resulted in the u.s. senate voting to yank federal grant money from the organization. maryland senator ben cardin voted for the amendment, senator barbara mukulski couldn't make the vote but also supported the bill, it passed

the senate and is now on to the house. acorn may not be the only one in trouble here. the filmmaker could face stiff penalties in maryland where it's against the law to record audio without the other person knowing. the baltimore city state's attorney also says because the audio was illegally obtained it's useless to prove anything against acorn here in maryland. >> so the audio portion of the tape that has been seen on youtube can never be used by prosecutors. presented as evidence in court. >> reporter: not in a court of law but growing in the court of public opinion. in baltimore, brian kuebler, abc2 news. tonight, a leading republican is calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into acorn's activities. abc's jake tapper is following the story in washington. he'll have a full report at 6:30 on abc2. we've got a serious accident in baltimore county to tell you about. two people have been sent to the hospital. it happened around 4:00 this

afternoon in fork. just south of the harford county line on harford road. authorities say two vehicles, a pickup and suv were involved and appears they hit head on. the crash is still under investigation. police say it looks like one vehicle crossed the center, both drivers were taken to shock trauma. there is no word on their conditions tonight. maryland's most powerful doppler radar continues to track the scattered showers making their way through the region. right now the shower activity in the process of crossing route 50 and spreading a few showers into the annapolis area. those showers are heading on down towards the southern poreses of anne arundel county. there's also a shower making its way through the frederick region as we speak. our forecast for the next couple hours, look for mostly cloudy skies, a few sprinkles, temperatures falling into the upper 70s from around 80 degrees, for the next couple of hours. rain is in the forecast. we'll show you where, when and how long, coming up. speaking of temperatures, some baltimore county parents are hot under the collar about the temperatures in their children's school.

dozens took part in a demonstration today protesting what they are calling botched renovations at ridgely middle school in timonium. parents and students say temperatures in the school rise well above 100 degrees on some days. they say a renovation project two years ago made things worse and they want the county to correct the problem. >> we're forced to sit in temperatures that are 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperatures. >> i'm, woulding with the school -- working with the school system to address those concerns. consistent with all the other pressures and needs of the entire system. >> county council members say they will look at the budget to see if a special case for funding can be made for repairs at ridgely middle school. it's being called a one-stop center for biotechnology in maryland. today governor martin o'malley joined other dignitaries for the grand opening of the maryland biotechnology center's baltimore office. it's located at the world trade center world trade center. the center will make it easier

for businesses to find out about programs and resources related to the bioscience industry. >> maryland is good for business, particularly biotech, and life science-oriented businesses. we have greater strengths than virtually any other state in the union. >> the center is part of the governor's bio-maryland 2020 plan. he says he plans to move forward with other recommendations to keep maryland at the forefront of the bioscience industry. if you are a customer of blockbuster, no rave reviews here for this news. the video rental chain is closing hundreds of stores. while ravens star ray lewis is opening a business. we'll tell you about his new game plan. and it's superman versus aqua man. previewing tonight's broadcast showdown between shaq and baltimore's own michael phelps. and yesterday i gave you a two-degree guarantee for today of 85 degrees. our high today officially at bwi marshall, 83. so we did hit that two-degree

guarantee. our winner tonight, is from baltimore. mel krilek, congratulations, you scored an abc2 umbrella. mel sent us a postcard and put a note on there. >> we love 2 news. >> congratulations, mel. >> we love you, too, mel. >> we'll get the umbrella out to you and the forecast after this. the new mcdonald's bacon and cheese angus third pounder. before taking it on, one must study it first. rushing in unprepared may prove overwhelming...

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the race is on to find a cure. today the susan g. komen on the go tour stopped by morgan state university. >> what's going on here is the interactive curriculum to teach men and women about breast health awareness. we have a couple of small videos they watch. one is about the african-american community

because african-americans have a higher mortality rate than other ethnic groups. information about how to take care of themselves, know what is normal for them. when to get a clinical breast exam. when to get a mammogram. >> participants also had the opportunity to write on a graffiti wall pledging support or sharing memories of loved ones touched by breast cancer. massage envy clinics around the country are donating $10 from each of today's sessions to the race for the cure. the folks at the massage envy in timonium were all decked out for today's event. >> i'm here to get a massage and to donate the proceeds to susan g. komen which is near and dear to my heart. >> it seems important to me because there's been a lot of research and a lot of progress but i think there's a lot more that needs to be done. >> that sounds like a win/win today. the race for the cure takes place sunday, october 18th in hunt valley. of course abc2 is up with of

the official proud sponsors. i don't know, i think they are expecting some 40,000 participants? etc. huge. >> last year it was huge and it will be huger this year. >> it's uplifting. >> be there october 18th. in the meantime let's talk about the next 24, 36, 42, 72 hours, whatever. got a few showers. looking ugly as we look towards annapolis. they are getting rainfall but not in the baltimore area. at least not right now. our temperature at bwi marshall 76 degrees. 71% humidity. wind now from the east at 5, pressure steady 29.94. there are the tides tomorrow at fort mchenry. low tide at noontime. high tide 5:13 in the afternoon. winds tomorrow from the northeast at 6 and 12 miles per hour. sun coming up at 6:49. sets 7:13. low this morning 61 degrees. high 83, did hit our two-degree guarantee. temperature fell off to 76. 72 york.

ocean city 80. 80 in easton. our satellite and radar picture, sunshine this morning, then by this afternoon some clouds started rolling into the region. even a few light scattered showers. what's going on, we have a cold front -- or cool front through this region there. we're also watching some areas of low pressure that are situated down here. what is going to be happening with the areas of low pressure, once the frontal system passes through bringing in cooler air it will become stationery through here. that area of low pressure, or areas of low pressure, will travel along that front and around that area of low pressure, get counterclockwise circulation of air and that will bring the moisture and cause the shower activity we'll see for a couple of days with the heaviest rainfall coming thursday. right now there's that shower activity that we're talking about down in the annapolis area, crossing over the route 50 region. we did have a few showers come through baltimore county, harford county. we've also got one shower making its way right down 270, making commuting from dc up to frederick and vice versa a very

pleasant afternoon for those people. yeah, right. temperaturewise now, in eldersburg 79. 7 westminster. chestertown 79. 74 kingsville. havre de grace 77. 78 in the downtown area. tonight, cloudy skies, just a few sprinkles. during the day tomorrow, more scattered showers but again not torrential downpours, just scattered showers. heaviest rainfall remaining to the south and east. what we're going to find is some wet weather moving into the region, those little areas of low pressure traverse along that frontal system. your forecast for tonight, mostly cloudy, a few scattered showers, overnight low 67. during the day tomorrow, cloudy, cooler, scattered showers, 73. the extended outlook, the heavier rain will hold off to thursday and linger into friday morning. by friday afternoon starts to clear up. saturday, sunday, monday, tuday, there's the money shot there. lots of sunshine, cooler temperatures on the way. for the weekend and beginning of the week. see you tonight at 11:00. a local giant food store

plans to close for good next month. according to the baltimore business journal the giant food at the tollgate mall shopping center in bel air is shutting down. the closure will affect almost 100 workers will you bill all be given a chance to work at other giants in the area. according to company officials there are no plans to close any other giants this year the bel air grocery store will close october 29th. blockbuster is making cutbacks bigtime. the video rental chain plans to close as many as 960 stores by the end of the year. we have not seen the locations yet. the company has been struggling with competition from netflix and redbox. meanwhile, baltimore ravens linebacker ray lewis is kicking off a new business venture. he and some partners were there for today's groundbreaking for a new family entertainment and dining facility. it's located at the site of the old wal-mart at the hunt valley town center. >> you see the transition from 1996, the cleveland browns

coming to baltimore and not really having an identity but being in this same neighborhood for now 14 years, five minutes down the road, and now i'm walking into an establishment that, manhattan man could never have seen. we're told the new facility will offer upscale bowling, live radio broadcasts, private event rooms, restaurants, a sports bar, even a high-tech golf simulator. mvp entertainment is scheduled to open in early 2010. you might find it hard to get really excited about this but the orioles have announced their schedule for the 2010 season. it's been a rough one so far this year. the os open their season on the road taking on tampa bay april 6th. three days later they make their debut at camden yards facing off against the toronto whether you jays. in june they host a three-game series against the washington

nationals. for a complete list of the games log on to our web site, abc2news.com and look under "top stories" it is the biggest clash of titans baltimore has ever seen. superman versus aqua man. hometown hero and olympic phenomenon michael phelps takes on shaquille o'neal in the pool tonight at 9:00 on abc2. all part of abc's hit reality show "shaq vs." it was back in august that baltimore welcomed shaq when the showdown was taped in front of a sold-out crowd at loyola college. did the olympic hero make his hometown proud? i'm sure he did. tune in tonight at 9:00 to find out. and see the big splash in the pool. let's look live now at our inner harbor camera. it is pretty cloudy out there but no rain so far downtown. right? >> right. >> he's back with the full forecast. ♪ spread a little love today

♪ spread a little somethin' to remember ♪ ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ ♪ need a little happiness to be living the life with me ♪

you can mark this off as one more place you can't light up. avis and budget rental car companies decided to ban smoking in their vehicles. starting october 1st you'll have to use that ash tray for something else or pay the price. the companies say renters will be charged a $250 cleaning fee if they smoke in the car and they are caught. we're just 101 days away from christmas. can you believe we said that? and retailers are already busy. thinking about ways to drive

sales during the crucial holiday season. toys "r" us plans to open nearly 350 pop-up stores in malls and inside babies "r" us stores by early october. on wall street stocks gained ground following news that retail sales jumped in august by the biggest amount in three years. the dow closed 56. nasdaq 10. sp gained three. here's what we're working on tonight for news at 11:00 -- the latest developments following that samurai sword killing by a hopkins student. how is the university responding? and police identify a person of interest in the murder of the yale university grad student. that and more at 11:00. scattered showers around for this evening and doctoring -- during the day tomorrow. a little more scattered shower activity. heaviest holds off until thursday and friday and things clear up for the weekend with cooler temperatures. that is all for us now.

i'm marybeth marsden. we'll see you back at 11:00. have a wonderful evening.