as we look at our travel times, up slightly just because of volume. on the outer loop, seven minutes between 795 and 70. 95 southbound picking up as well. four minutes from white marsh boulevard to the beltway. drivers are coming off of 95 from the split to 295, that'll take you eight minutes at this time. >> what may seem like an everyday crime story has far from an everyday twist. police are still searching for a suspect after a liquor store robbery led to shots being fired yards away from soccer players waiting for their game to begin. the coach saved the day not once, but twice. sherrie johnson has the story. >> it's not something you see every day. a girl soccer coach apprehending suspects, that's exactly what happened yesterday afternoon. two men tried to rob a liquor store. it happened around 3:00 at the intersection of loch raven boulevard and northern parkway in northeast baltimore. a security officer fired shots when the men tried to rob the liquor store.

right across the street, the mercy high school soccer team was getting ready for a game. coach doug pryer heard the shots and sprung into action by escorting his team into the school building and ran after the suspects, tackling one of them. >> i did what anybody else would have done. get the kids to safety, secure that area and just make it safe for the kids. >> well, thanks to that coach, one of the suspects was caught and arrested. police are still searching for the other man. in the studio, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. 6:31 right now. topping our look at news around the nation, disturbing cell phone video of a 2-year-old, a 2-year-old smoking a joint. a 21-year-old mother can be heard coaching her in the background. police investigators said the incident happened in august. a person who saw it gave a copy of the cell phone video to the state family services agency. right now the mom is behind bars. if she's convicted of numerous

charges, including child endangerment, she could be looking at 11 years in prison. illegal drug use is at the highest level we've seen in nearly a decade. the government report from the substance abuse and mental health services administration found that marijuana use rose by 8%. that remains the most commonly used drug. researchers say all the attention focused on medical marijuana has sent the wrong message to young people. cocaine abuse is also continuing to decline. 6:32 right now. it's a video caught on police dash camera. it will make you cringe. it led to the firing of one dallas police officer. you can see the crews are following andrew collins on a motorcycle. the cruiser appears to hit the bike and collins falls. that's when you see the two officers jump on him and they start hitting him. this video doesn't even show all of what happened. 22 officers showed up and six

officers actually made contact with collins. collins was hospitalized but is expected to be okay. no word right now on why these officers attacked him. there are religions based on one god, on multiple gods, even on nature itself, but what about a religion based on body piercings? a girl was suspended from her north carolina high school because she had a nose ring, however she says that she and her mom belong to a church of body modification and says her piercings, it's not a fashion statement, but a spiritual statement. >> the purpose of my nose ring is basically, like, it makes me kind of feel whole. >> we believe the mind, body and soul are all one entity and that by modifying the body, um, you can bring the, you know, the mind and soul into harmony. >> that minister says his church is federally accredited and has

about 3500 members nationwide. attorneys for the school district don't believe her nose piercing is necessary for her religion. sending your child to daycare could help their development. >> a new shows how important child care can be. firefighters have a message you can see, but it's really sending a message to the mayor. they've done it once, but what does their latest billboard say? everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same.

if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely. i could wear hats, if i partook in hat type things likeling in rcchirping) ♪ is this my husband? awesome cool hat, mom oh my perfect kids alright fourteen ninety nine i totally wear hats ♪

my commute home to the eastern shore every night only takes an hour but that's more time than congress spends reading massive spending bills, it's crazy. that's why i wrote a law that requires 72 hours to read every bill. i read the big bills and i said no. no to the $3 trillion budget, no to the bank bailout, and no to the health care bill. at home you would never pay a bill without reading it neither should congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message because i'm proud to be ranked one of the most independent members of congress.

6:37 right now. we have health news for you this morning: a new study finds that high quality child care for low income, pre-k kids has a lasting effect on a child's behavior and overall development. children in child care are less likely to get in fights and break rules.

researchers evaluated children 2-4 and 7-11. children were involved in early education programs in the community including daycares, head start and home-based programs. researchers say the study demonstrates the effects of proper child care on overall development in the early years of a child's experience. 6:38. although flu season's not here yet, the thought can be scary for millions of women. new government data shows that due to lastings of swine flu pandemic, health officials recommend that pregnant women return to the usual one-dose vaccine. for more on how to protect your family against the flu, log onto abc2news.com and click on the health tab. it's going to be a close one. but it could be a while before we know who could be baltimore city's top prosecutor. >> reporter: one of the candidates is considering a legal fight. ken holt has an opponent in

the november election. the democratic candidate for the job of baltimore county executive has decided what is the next step for him. plus: if you go to the orioles game on october 1st, you could be benefiting a memorial to a young murder victim. also ahead this morning: if you don't have your tickets to the virgin mobile free step, could get another chance this saturday. cloudy and mild this morning, temperature of 65 degrees. winds out of the east, northeast. if you could stick around, we have just got some incredible hail video. i'm going to leave it at that, but it'll be worth the wait. stick around. you're in no rush, are you? kim brown has the latest on traffic. >> no reason to be in any rush so far this morning, justin. we don't have a whole lot going on on the roadways. just building volume that could slow you up. good morning maryland returns after this quick break.

man: we need a sofa. something i can stretch out on! woman: ooh... that will go with those lamps my mother gave us. or we could get some new lamps. or we could get no sofa. negotiating, eh? you got it! how about a nice home for our tv? how about doors to hide that drive-in theater? how about a cowhide rug? yee-haw! and the snacks? get their own place. let the marathon begin!

6:42. this is your abc2 news to go. i'm megan pringle. >> i'm jamie costello. >> it could be a while before we

know who is this city's top prosecutor. >> it all comes down to the absentee ballots. linda sow is live right now, we'll check with her in just a moment. >> good morning to you, what's happening is clouds in the sky, different view over the last few days. not as chilling for many of us. we're looking at temperatures ranging from 65 in baltimore, 63 in easton. warm, 71 in ocean city. go the other way, they have more clearing overnight. step back in york, pennsylvania to 53. hour by hour forecast shows us partly to mostly cloudy throughout the day. high of 84. small chance of showers popping up. we'll talk more about the better chance of storms tonight and tomorrow in just a bit. here's kim brown with a look at traffic. >> it is beginning to slow down on 95 southbound through the white marsh boulevard area and then it's almost stop and go as you approach the fort mchenry toll plaza. for the most part, incident free this morning. traffic looks good as you make your way around, except for the volume. we'll get a check of your drive

times and see what it's looking like on the harrisburg expressway in a few minutes. megan and jamie, back to you. it is now 6:44. early voting, day of, and now absentee ballots. quite a process to find out who won an election, isn't it? linda sow says the race for the state's attorneys office in the city may not be decided for a while. >> jamie, it still can take a few days, weeks, even months. a spokeswoman for the jessamy campaign is debating the accuracy of the vote. she says a lawyer is looking into reported problems at polling centers on primary day. some polls opening late. voting equipment malfunctioning and other problems. gregg bernstein has a narrow lead of about 1300 votes. both are waiting for absentee ballots to be counted.

there are about 2100 absentee ballots and provisional ballots that have to be counted. jessamy and her supporters are frustrated with the delay. >> this isn't fair to the candidates, not fair to the voters, not fair to the process. the last thing we need to do is take the integrity out of our political process, the process of voting, that is, by having something like this occur. >> now election officials will start counting those absentee ballots starting at 10:00 this morning. we're live in downtown baltimore, linda sow, abc2 news. 15 minutes away from 7:00 right now. after a nasty expensive campaign, kevin kamenetz has declared victory in the primary for county executive. joe bartenfelder called to concede the race yesterday morning. after such a bitter campaign, kamenetz will reach out to bartenfelder and hopefully heel the divide in the party. >> look, there's a, it's the same message i gave to my kids,

there's a winner and a loser in every ball game and, it's not a reflection on either team. someone has to win, someone has to lose, but everyone gave it their strongest effort and at the end of the game, you shake hands and you say good game and you move forward. so uh, my hand is out and extended to joe and when we meet in person i will renew that-- >> kamenetz will now face republican ken holt in the election. new this morning: three people are dead after a deadly crash overnight in prince georges county involving an ambulance. the crash happened around midnight in marlboro pike. that area, an suv slammed into an ambulance and ripped the ambulance in half. officers say the ambulance with emergency lights on and sirens sounding was headed to an overdose call. the ambulance had to swerve to avoid a head on collision. the suv side swiped the ambulance and hit a brick wall

and utility pole. all three men inside the suv died. two medics were injured in the crash. city police are searching for a man suspected of robbing a liquor store in northeast baltimore. it happened around 3:30 yesterday in the marsh shopping center. right there. northern parkway. police say an armed security guard saw two men trying to rob the store. the suspects bolted through the parking lot where the security guard opened fire. >> we heard gunshots. we turned around and looked and it looked fine. we saw people running down the hill. >> main thing is to make sure the kids are safe. things happen in society today. >> one man was caught around the corner and the other suspect still on the loose. mercy high school was placed on lock down for a short time. students have since been given

the all-clear. all right, former baltimore raven shannon sharp's in trouble here this morning. the great tight end and now cbs star on sundays, off the air while dealing with a sexual assault investigation. he was handed a temporary restraining order that sharp forced her to have sex with him. sharp is under consideration to enter this year's hall of fame class. 6:48 right now: a fourth witness has taken the stand in the murder trial of former baltimore city councilman ken harris. jazz club owner keith covington said harris defied the command to step back inside the club and was shot and killed. his companion was cut by flying glass, but other-wise not hurt. a mother makes an emotional plea, desperate for information about her son's death more than two years ago. rudolf turner was in his

millersville home with his brother in september 2008 when someone knocked on the bedroom window. as rudolf opened the curtain, he was shot. one of the hardest parts was when homicide detectives made her leave her son's body. >> i said "i can't leave right now. i said i need to stay here to make sure he's okay." i promised him that i would never leave him. and now i gotta leave. >> the anne arundel county cold case unit is searching for anyone with information in rudolf's murder. anyone with information, call the police. 6:49 right now. baltimore's police union and fire union may continue to let people know exactly how they feel about the city hall pension changes. the most recent blackboard reads baltimore police and firefighters stand by our oath to protect you and your families, despite city hall turning its back on us. the billboard is downtown in baltimore, on the east side of

interstate 83 south. changes in the pension system were put into place last month, the union's have now filed suit in federal court to challenge the legality. the police union and fire union, they previously had a billboard up called welcome to baltimore, city council turns its back on police and firefighters. yeardley love played lacrosse, tickets must be purchased in advance to benefit the yeardley love benefit field. adam jones gets a home run here and brad ferguson pitched a

complete game, one-run jam to secure the sweep over the blue jays. the orioles win 3-1. they have now one nine. how did they last 11 games? the yankees come in for a weekend series. timothy dean is being forced to sell his restaurant in foreclosure. it'll go up for auction today. prime steakhouse on eastern avenue was opened by top chef contestant back in february. $1.3 million in the judgment against dean and his real estate company back in may, setting the stage for today's auction. we have a consumer alert to tell you about this morning. chuck e. cheese is recalling its light-up ring. there have been two reported incidents involving the light-up rings. one involved a child swallowing the battery. another involved a child inserting the battery into his nostril. customers can return these products for a full refund or for chuck e. cheese tokens.

6:52. free tickets for the virgin mobile free pass went fast in july. folks at the free fest held onto several hundred tickets to give away later on. they want people who donate hygiene kits to benefit the youth in baltimore and d.c. to come get these. this saturday, this is how it works. area colleges will hold several drivers to collect kits. the first 40 residents who bring five zip lock bags with five hygiene products will receive general admission tickets to the festival. go to our website, abc2news.com, get what kind of items we're looking for north zip lock bags. now, the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate and maryland's most powerful doppler radar.

>> yeah, have you been waiting for the last 15 minutes for this video? was it worth it? these are results of storms out in kansas on wednesday. storm chasers were out there south of wichita, baseball sized hail smashed their windshield. look at that thing. that's a heavy stone. broke the mirror on the side of one of their cars. several tornados were spotted, what kind of video is better? getting the actual twister? or getting that? it's rare to get that windshield broken. i'm sure they'll make some money on selling that video. i think we just aired it for free though. blowing eastbound in diminished form this morning. line of thunderstorms, part of a cold front extending towards the great lakes. we'll probably see a lot less

sun today. we'll push in warm air, make it into the mid-80s this afternoon. there'll be showers and thunderstorms erupting through pennsylvania and maybe western maryland by this evening. other-wise, spotty showers ahead of this main line. the line of stuff appears to fall apart overnight. probably crossing our region before daybreak. we could have wet roads to wake up to, but most of the rain trying to pull out of here, maybe spotty showers leftover with the slow push of this thing out of the region through tomorrow afternoon. other-wise, we're looking for a pretty decent weekend stacking up. dry weather, warm temperatures behind it. two-degree guaranteed high, aiming for 84. i think we'll take the trade-off with a mostly cloudy sky. just a small chance of a shower, most of the afternoon practices and games are going to be underway without a problem. overnight, we could get showers and a rumble of thunder, especially west of the area. down to 67 degrees. a spotty shower possible tomorrow, 79. we're back to 80 with sun on saturday. lows mid-50s, 83, just down right nice on sunday.

low to mid-80s extend monday, tuesday and wednesday next week. that should be the start of fall. kim? >> justin, it is going to have some jam traffic on 95 southbound between the beltway as you approach the 895 split. also fairly slow going across the top side of the outer loop at harford road. delays start at bel air road and stretch past providence. fortunately no incidents affecting these travel times right now. a lot of people on the roads at the same time. 95 southbound, it's going to be about 12 minutes between the beltway as you approach the fort mchenry toll plaza. no problems on the outer loop approaching 97. that's a nine-minute ride. one accident to let you know about in crownville, 97 southbound at the exit to route 178, we have a single car crash, vehicle off into the woods. no word of any lane blockages at this time but you can expect to

see police on the scene there. when it comes to improving women's sex lives -- sound like an expert? can a sugar pill do that trick? >> not exactly, but a new study did find that women with sexual dysfunction showed significant improvement when they were given this placebo. they'll explain it in detail throughout good morning america here at 7:00. >> sure you got some people's attention. also ahead on good morning america: the royal meeting is about to get underway in scotland this morning between the pope and the queen. pope benedict is the first ever to make a visit to the u.k. the visit not all pomp and circumstances. a lot of controversy surrounding that protest. we'll tell you all about it. we'll see you at 9:00 this morning. don't forget.

everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely. good m