deadly h1n1 virus cranks up. >> one gets sick, the other up with does. we're expecting a third in january so we wanted to cover all bases if we could and keep people as healthy as possible in the house. >> reporter: the nasal mist is free for high-risk county residents. they only needed to make an appointment with the health department. anne arundel county is the first one to hold the clinic. the county decided not to waste time and wanted to get a clinic up sooner rather than later. >> the young children coming in first. we have about 450 appointments already established, but the point is, to take care of the most needy individuals, and right now it's the infants. >> reporter: you can get the regular seasonal flu shot just about everywhere. this cvs, for example, has them everyday. with trickling supplies it may be hard for the general public to get the h1n1 shot at least

in these first few weeks. with the rate of illness slowly growing in places like schools the uncertainties over what to expect from this year's flu season is what made williams grab her two kids out of school and bring them here. since she's a health care worker all three of them, especially the little ones are in a high risk category. >> my 2-year-old tends to get pneumonia every year. it turns into pneumonia and happened to her twice last year. so she starts with a cough, then 104 fever. can't break for a couple of days and then turns into pneumonia. >> reporter: response has been so big that the county thinks it will give out all of its h1n1 flumist by the end of tomorrow's clinic but hope to have more, including shots, sometime next week. in annapolis, roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >> if you are an anne arundel county resident between ages 2 and 49 and are not pregnant or have chronic medical conditions you can call the health department to make an appointment. the number is 410-222-4896.

another clinic will be held tomorrow at the health department as you heard. the flu is not a medical emergency. doctors at howard county general hospital are getting out that message after seeing the highest number of patients in the history of the emergency room. people with very mild symptoms are showing up simply to get tested for the h1n1 virus. but doctors say unless you feel like it's truly an emergency rest at home or go to your primary doctor. >> there are certain signs and symptoms you should worry about, severe shortness of breath, severe chest pain. severe headache, certainly confuse, change in behavior in children, something to be concerned about. >> doctors say the public is on heightened aid lert with the h1n1 because it's new but in most cases the symptoms are no worse than the seasonal flu. there sore many questions about the swine flu and the vaccine. stew sty is working for you, we're inviting you to send us an e-mail with questions or

concerns. we invited a doctor to gin us -- join us in the studio tonight to answer our questions live on the 11:00 newscast. whatever you want to know, send an e-mail to newsroom@wmar.com. join us tonight because the doctor will be in. tonight on "world news with charles gibson," abc's dr. richard besser takes a look at how the cdc is tracking any adverse reactions to the h1n1 flu vaccine. if cases do come up how will the center prevent a panic from spreading? stay with us on the air and on-line on abc2news.com for the latest on the h1n1 and its vaccine. beth-el's web site is reporting that longtime leader of the congregation rabbi mark loeb has died. he led the congregation for 32 years and retired last year. the web site said he passed away last night in milan, italy. he was widely known in the state and deeply involved in

public affairs, fought for civil rights, an end to hunger and last year he served on the state commission that recommended the end of the death penalty. funeral plans have not yet been announced. governor martin o'malley issued this statement -- it reads in part, the rabbi's lobe and good works were an inspiration to our congregation and to our entire state. a purse snatching ends with a car dragging a woman across the parking lot. it happened last night outside the wal-mart store in russet green east in laurel. police say the man grabbed the purse, jumped into a getaway car. the woman ran to the window, refused to release the bag until she had been dragged across the parking lot. >> we advise folks to give into the demands of your suspect, youred a very -- ed a very sear if you will and let police come out and investigate and just give a description of the suspect.

>> paramedics transported the victim to shock trauma with  nonlife-threatening injuries. jury selection is underway in the trial of a man accused of drowning his three children in a downtown baltimore hotel bat -- bathtub. mark castillo is charged with three counts of first degree murder. he faces life without parole if convicted. authorities say he had been involved in a custody dispute with his former wife. baltimore city councilwoman helen holton will face trial december 7th. today a judge threw out motions to dismiss the campaign finance charges against her. holton, a democrat, is accused of having two baltimore developers pay for a political poll on her behalf. we're learning more tonight about the essex man behind bars charged with sexually abusing a young girl who lived next door. for the past 16 years, 55-year-old william davis volunteered as a sunday school teacher and youth worker at

rosedale evan dpelcal church. the pastor says no other church members reported incidents of abuse but he continues to reach out to families. >> as a dad i would like to lock him up for 50 years, as a pastor i would need to offer him grace because it's what god would want me to do. >> pastors say now criminal checks are required for all workers, not just paid workers. looks like the acorn headquarters in new orleans is up for sale. the association of community organizations for reform now has been under fire for quite some time. the group is under investigation in several states including maryland. this comes after a hidden camera video surfagsed including a shot in baltimore. they apparently show acorn staff members advising a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute how to cheat on their taxes. tomorrow is the first of five mandatory furlough days where baltimore city will be closed for business essentially.

this is a sign on southbound 83 reminding citizens of the shutdown. city services like paying your water bill or parking tickets will be closed along with most other city offices. police, fire, trash collection, courts and city schools will remain open and functioning. the shutdowns are an effort to help close the budget gap in this tight economic year. the impact is part of the ultimate plan for the $65 million so we're talking about right now, it's about a $7 million hole that we had to fill. >> the mayor says the furloughs averted 400 layoffs the other city shutdown days will be part of selected holiday weekends through the fiscal year in june of 2010. maryland's most powerful doppler radar continues to track scattered showers making their way towards the maryland area. we're now starting to pick up some rain in the garrett county area. the heaviest rainfall now from altoona down to, well, just

north of morgantown in west virginia. the shower activity will go east and we'll see scattered showers in the baltimore area during the overnight period, but, for the next couple of hours increasing clouds, temperatures will be in the 60s for the next couple of hours. some showers on the way, and will you be able to see the explosion on the moon tomorrow morning? we'll tell you about it coming up. it's a habit many of us are already used to. you shred anything that has your personal information on it. you would expect your nk is doing the same. but that's not always the case. tonight at 11:00, the abc2 news investigators go dumpster-diving at a local bank. it's a tactic identity thieves use all the time hoping to get their hands on your vital statistics and our team found plenty. in just a few minutes of trash picking uncovering social security numbers, yes, that woman was shocked -- bank statements and even more. it was a shock to customers whose documents didn't get shredded.

they just got dumped. >> what do you think? when you see this? >> i don't understand why these things -- they have, you know, shredders. i don't know. i don't know what to say. >> tonight at 11:00 -- we'll show you which bank trashed your stuff and what they are doing for customers whose information got tossed. he's known for handing out plenty of money on tv. now bob barker is doing it right here in maryland. wait until you find out where these millions are going. a story that will warm your heart. while this one should float your boat. especially if you're dreaming of days on the water. >> i would like up with of those, please. our two-degree guarantee for today was 71 degrees. the official high today in the downtown area was 67. it did get to 68 at bwi marshall. so we missed that two-degree guarantee by one degree. the forecast which is on the

west side coming up, as well as information about the moon explosion.

got a few extra pennies? the united states yacht shows are sailing into town. the u.s. sailboat show kicked off today in annapolis. this is a tradition. u.s. powerboat show will be in town next thursday. shows attract thousands of boating especially those yafts from right hand the world every year -- enthusiasts from around the world every year. >> in 20 years i've never seen a show that equals the quality of customers or the venue

offered and i do 120 shows a year. >> the u.s. sailboat show is until sunday. the u.s. powerboat show is from october 15th through the 18th. >> they'll get a chance to use their foul weather gear. >> speaking of that, a good friend won one of your umbrellas, she likes it very much. it has a little button it. >> you'll get a chance to use it. first, let's talk about tomorrow morning. nasa will be crashing a spacecraft into the south pole of the moon. >> kind of interesting. >> the reason they want to do that is to see if it kicks up any water they can possibly utilize in future space missions. but, if you have got an amateur telescope of eight inches or more there's a very good chance you could see it. it will be at 7:31 tomorrow morning and followed at 7:35 by the actual probe itself. but 7:31 tomorrow morning. if you don't have a telescope you can watch it on nasa tv. >> i gather you'll be watching

it. >> i'll sleep out there. >> i believe that. >> believe it. down at bwi marshall 64 degrees. 48% humidity. wind currently from the west/southwest at 3, pressure steady, 30.09. here are the tides tomorrow at fort mchenry. high tide at 10:40 a.m. low tide 4:28 in the afternoon. tomorrow's winds from the south 6 to 12 miles per hour. sun coming up at 7:10. will set at 6:36. as far as our temperatures across the area now, york, pennsylvania at 62. 66 hagerstown. 52 oakland. dover, delaware 62. 68 on the boardwalk in ocean city. 63 in easton. throughout the day we've been watching, well, pretty decent day, lots of sunshine after morning clouds gave way, then the afternoon clouds miewstled -- moved back in because of this system. i originally thought it would move to the south of us and split apart with the heaviest rain to the north and south but it's not going to happen. the heaviest rain will track to

the northwest but we'll still see the tail of it as it makes its way through the baltimore area, for friday and saturday. just take the umbrella because as this area of low pressure continues to spread moisture in the region what is going to be happening as this area of low pressure makes its way this way we have that counterclockwise circulation of air bringing in the warm moisture air bringing the showers but very heavy rainfall is likely through this portion of the u.s. and also the plains states so they could see flooding there. not in the maryland area, we'll just see moderate scattered showers. you can see baltimore here. here's the scattered showers, have already interned western portions of maryland but the heaviest rainfall now southern pennsylvania. monkton 61. 66 edgemere. annapolis also 66. catonsville 64. kingsville 62. chestertown 66. here's your forecast for tonight -- continued thickening clouds, showers, scattered as they will be in the the early morning hours, a chance tomorrow afternoon. but then saturday more gem

rainfall. ---- general rainfall. tomorrow, variable clouds, a high of 79 degrees. the showers continue into saturday. things start clearing up but cooling down on sunday. monday, tuesday, wednesday, sunshine but as you see temperature continued to drop and showers likely thursday. see you tonight at 11:00. local favorite kimmie meissner has withdrawn from two competitions. the figure skater has been bothered by tendonitis in her right knee. she dropped out of the cup of russia and trophy skating competitions. that could keep the bel air native off the u.s. team for the vancouver olympics. lace up the sneaks. the annual running festival is this saturday. we're told 20,000 people signed up to compete. the event will feature five races, marathon, half marathon,

four-person team relay, and kids fun run. there will be runners from 34 countries and every state in the united states. and there's a new environmentally friendly feature this year. >> a t-shirt that is 100% recycled. made from recycled materials, made from recycled plastic bottles. >> the running festle -- festival is that saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. it will finish up near m & t bank stadium. for more information go to abc2news.com. another big race takes place this month. this one to help fight breast cancer. today baltimore county kicked off breast cancer awareness month and the race for the cure. it celebrated the partnership of susan g. komen with baltimore county. organizers also celebrated the accomplishments of breast

cancer research since the survival rate has improved. county executive jim smith presented susan g. komen representatives with a proclamation for the month of october. susan g. komen helps a number of agencies in the area that serves breast cancer patients. >> we're a local organization. we work here in maryland. it's important to get people involved locally in the race so they can support old organizations like ours. >> the race for the cure will be held in hunt valley on sunday, october 18th and abc2 is a proud sponsor. check out abc2news.com and our "think pink" page for details on the race. how the city and state is supporting breast cancer awareness and how you can help. you have to know him from "the price is right, right? legendary game show host bob barker has been in millions of living rooms. he heard about a facility in maryland that will take care of military veterans with brain injuries.

he then shelled out $3 million to make it a reality. barker, a naval aviator during world war ii says he's just glad he was able to help. >> i feel that any young man or woman whose injured in the defense of our country should receive the best possible medical care. and that's what this group, the intrepid group, that's what they are trying their best to accomplish and i might add i think they are well on the way with this wonderful new hospital in bethesda. >> the head of the intrepid fallen heroes fund which is raising money for the hospital says traumatic brain injury affects almost 3,000 american soldiers coming back from iraq and afghanistan. union memorial hospital in baltimore is thanking its doctors and staff for all their hard work and dedication. the hospital hosted a picnic today. recently the hospital is recognized by "u.s. news & world report" as one of the top 50 hospitals in the country.

>> this picnic is to celebrate the achievements of union memorial hospital in being noticed and named as a nationally recognized high-quality health care provider for this community and to thank all the associates at union memorial for the day in/day out work that really results in those achievements. >> abc2 is a proud partner of union memorial hospital and med star health. let's take another live look outside. beautiful sunset happening now over downtown baltimore. norm willing back with the final forecast.

you are looking at a live picture of one smart city. "the daily beast" lists baltimore as the 10th smart city in the nation. it uses census data, book sales, rate of colleges and universities and percentage of voters among other things. in case you are wondering, raleigh-durham, north carolina, ranked number one. to look at the complete list of cities log on to abc2news.com and look under "links mentioned on air." in these tough economic times we're always looking for ways to stretch our dollar. there's an event in howard county to help you do just that. it's called top swap. it's a chance for parents to get rid of stuff their kids have outgrown and make some money at the same time. if you're buying it's a great

place for bargains. >> children's clothing, toys, videos, dvd's, books and everything for kids. being sold here, gently used and new condition. >> the event runs friday, saturday and sunday. located at 9033 red branch road in columbia. for more information log on to abc2news.com. also today, save money and eat better with great choices, you should add to your diet. plus, fantastic deals just a click away with a new money-saving web site. and eight easy projects to dress up your home without spending a lot of money. log on to abc2news.com and click on our "financial survival guide." boy, this could take away some of your money worries. the jackpot for the mega millions lottery climbed to $145 million. that's because no one hit tuesday night's jackpot. the next drawing is tomorrow night. >> want to share a ticket? look at the forecast for the next couple of days. showers make their way into the region. for the first portion of the weekend. then temperatures cooling down for sunday, monday, tuesday,

wednesday. see you tonight at 11:00. >> we're going to be rich. i'm marybeth marsden. see you back at 11:00.