brian kuebler is live with more. >> reporter: the fire department says he was found too late. this happened on the south beach of sandy point state park at around 8 this morning. fire officials say once parents realized the boy was lost state workers jumped into action to try and find him. >> the park immediately took control of the situation, formed a chain of personnel in the water and did a sweep of the area and immediately recovered the child once someone realized that there was someone missing. >> reporter: rescue crews arrivedong the scene and they did administer cpr but it was too late. the child was pronounced dead at an area hospital. officials urge people to keep a close eye on their children whenever they are near any kind of water. brian kuebler, abc 2 news.

>> our state is on path to break a deadly record on the water. we have been seeing more boating deaths this year than all of last summer. so the coast guard has been out making sure you have your life jackets on and urging boaters to drink responsibly and be aware of your surroundings. we are working to keep you safe out on the water. we have a list of boating safety tips on the website, abc2news.com. click on the spot light section on the right side of the home page. there will be fireworks tonight in fullerton, annapolis, bell air but the big daddy at inner harbor. we go live to christian schaffer. can you feel police presence? >> reporter: they always say they bring out the uniformed officers. there will be officers here tonight not in uniforms. we are starting to see some of the festival goers getting into

the inner harbor l. has been music playing since noon today and that will go on right up until the show starts at 9:30 tonight. the actual fireworks are about a mile to our south in curtis bay and will be flying over us when the show actually starts. that is where two barges have been stacked up. you look for different kinds of fireworks. it is the 30th anniversary of the national aquarium. they are deploying jellyfish shells. we'll see what those look like. we're talking about half moon shells. in all more than 1400 shells going to go up in the show that is 18 minutes long all synchronized to music. they say it is going to be a great show and also a safe one. >> safety is our number one concern. we always do everything above and beyond safety requirements that are laid out for us.

we are safety conscious in everything we do. it is very safety oriented company. >> reporter: there is no exact figures but there will be hundreds of police officers here tonight providing security. of course, you might have heard there was a shooting last night at a parking garage on water street. we are going to hear more about that from the police commissioner later this evening and talk about it at 6:00. it is going to be a great show here. we are hoping the weather opens up. we are live in harbor, christian schaffer, abc 2 news. we are having mugginess and hazy sunshine tonight most of us have stayed dry. a little different in western maryland. people that went out towards garret county are getting wet weather in there. you can see skies clearing near baltimore. a couple of storms west of

hagueers town. temperatures around 90 right now. it is muggy, steamy and the rest of this evening we expect it to stay that way. warm and muggy as we fall slowly through the upper 80s. we'll talk more about your 4th of july night and look ahead to this shortened work week coming up. now the severe weather. we want to show you thunderstorms in the dc area are to blame for one person dying. a 56-year-old man was riding in montgomery county when he was struck and killed by a falling tree last night. the storm pounded the area with heavy rain, damaging winds and lightning. >> the huge storm came and blew our tents away and we sat down. >> the entire national mall had to be evacuated delaying the dress rehearsal for tonight's 4th of july concert and the storm sent this tree crashing through the living room of a

historic arlington home. ial 4th is a day for americans to celebrate their independence from the british. today the american citizenship population grew by 38 people. >> the constitution. >> reporter: as the annapolis town crier welcomed all to the naturalization ceremony 38 anxious people awaited the moment when they would become american citizens. >> congratulations. >> reporter: the ceremony was held at a significant location for our country's independence. these people became american citizens at the home of the former signer of the declaration of independence. mecca was one of four marylanders to sign the declaration of independence.

on the day when everybody holds the american flag close to your heart whether you are an american citizen or not this ceremony will stir patriotism. he came to watch this ceremony and was moved. >> it is inspirational. it gives me a greater appreciation for being a us citizen, a patriot and a vietnam veteran. >> i am happy to be a part of this country. >> reporter: she couldn't think of a better day to do this. >> this is the best 4th of july you can think of. it really is great. >> reporter: jeff may have had the easiest path. he is from canada. learning for -- learning the exam for citizenship was a breeze. >> i knew all of that digging down to my middlal school days. >> reporter: for most of us july 4th means independence day

in 1776 but for these people july 4th means their independence day, 2011. i'm don harrison for abc 2 news. right from there they tween the curve to see the parades. people celebrating the 4th in grand style l. are parades all over town. the annual parade celebrated the tradition of the men and the women who sacrificed their lives. >> they had the planes fly over showing the strength of america. and knowing that what a great country it is. we are the only country where people come from everywhere here. the melting pot. >> absolutely. we have the celebration like this. here we are. it is never a quiet 4th of july. george has been running this parade for the past 14 years. he has some pull like the national guard flyover. they are moving on over to get

to their lawn seats right there in time for the fireworks later on tonight. great time. and then look at this. nathan's hot dog famous for its july 4th tradition that goes back decades. today the competition introduced its first ever woman's race. you can see the contenders downing dog after dog. world record holder sonnia thomas grabbed the belt after stomaching 40 hot dogs. she is the manager of the burger king at andrews air force base and walked away with a $10,000 award. joey chest nut walked away with the mustard yellow champion belt after swallowing a whopping 62 dogs in ten minutes just six shy of his world record. this marks his 6th win. his main competitor didn't

participate again. another contract dispute. casey anthony's fate is now in the hands of a florida jury now. and things turned pretty ugly over the weekend. why a judge threatened to throw a prosecutor off the case. and crews are scrambling to look at the damage of a river after a pipeline burst spilling thousands of barrels of oil. ever dream of working for the president of the united states. find out the perks of working at the white house.

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say they will file a slander complaint against the writer. he has been released from house arrest and is free to travel within the united states. the murder trial is in the final phase at this hour. jurors are now deliberating the fate of casey anthony accused of murdering her two year old daughter caylee in 2008. prosecutors say the girl was suffocated with duct tape. the defense says it was an accident. abc's dianna tonight with both sides saying they are waiting right down to the wire. >> that duct tape on caylee anthony's face came from the anthony home. it's there because that's where casey anthony put. >> reporter: point by point prosecutors kept coming back to one theme that the entire case comes down to science. >> anyway you slice it or put it together casey anthony is

guilty of murder in the first degree. >> reporter: the state's rebuttal closing arguments stretched through the morning as they sought to sway the jury casey anthony was guilty of capital murder. calm prevailed after disorder in the court on sunday. the judge forbade the defense from mentioning casey's claims she was molested. >> there is absolutely no evidence that the defendant was sexually molested. >> reporter: at one point defense attorney jose baez pointed out prosecutor ashton smirking. >> this laughing guy right here or myself. >> objection. >> reporter: the judge halted the proceedings. there were tears from the usually stone faced defendant, casey anthony overcome as prosecutors describe what they believe happened. wince prosecutors wrapped up the defense anded for a mistrial and the motion was

denied. the case is now in the hands of the jury. now, maryland's most powerful doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> come on over here. i know we are watching it. it is 4th of july weather. the most important day of the year. >> it is, my friend. we were so worried that we would have thunderstorms for fireworks. it seems like every year we have that. this year it came last night. so far this has been very far in western maryland, south of us. good stuff for us. >> all clear though? >> let's get into it. let's show you sights across the state. you are looking at live images out of a very crowded inner harbor. no question about that. that is going to kind of continue to be the theme here throughout the rest of the evening. temperature 87.

humidity 50%. we'll continue to keep the steam rolling in. show you a little bit of the skies across the state today. it was hazy sunshine. that was the deal as anticipated. muggy in annapolis and we found just hazy sunshine. even out this far west things stay dry. you had to get out towards garret county to find thunderstorm action. a little closer to home here cool sky shots. good times. you ahave to have the crabs. katie and bj's party. two bushels. looks like one down and one to go here. >> you got to stay cool. maryland's most powerful radar. there are a couple of showers and storms mainly west of hagueers town. overall the theme is more muggy air. 87 baltimore. ocean city upper 80s.

a steamy scenario to be sure one of the shirtless nights, i guess. 67 in annapolis for a dew point. that gives you an idea of how muggy it is. you can make out it is interesting bell air north it is not that muggy right now. further south in the state the steam really is in place l. will be storms in virginia tonight but i'm optimistic that for baltimore and areas north of baltimore we should stay generally dry. there is a little bit of wet weather out over the western part of the state. we could see a couple of isolated showers and maybe a thunderstorm in here tonight. can't rule it out. most of this is staying just south of us and that should make for a pretty good trend. let's zoom in. i want to show you our future cast and kind of give you a look at things over time. i think tomorrow another day where most of the storms will be south of us. that begins to change as we go into wednesday. i think by wednesday evening pretty good round of showers

and storms could be in here by 3 or 4:00 and even mess with your evening commute. things looking pretty good. the chance for a few storms. and then tomorrow your 2-degree guarantee. a little less humid through the day. the humidity is probably going to come back up and move north tomorrow night. 69 and muggier. 7 day forecast the outlook here just about what we always expect in the first full week of july. temperatures around 90 right through next weekend. the chance for a few storms. now to a developing story. more than 200 people in montana had to be evacuated. as many as 1000 barrels of oil have flowed into the yellowstone river. exxon mobile says the damage was limited but montana's governor says it is way too soon to tell how bad the damage is. >> reporter: cleanup crews are scrambling to limit the damage

to montana's yellowstone river after an ex on oil pipeline ruptured. the spill started when a pipeline started to leak. exxon mobile officials say a change in pressure was detected. >> we do not know the recons. we have a large amount of oil entering the water. >> reporter: exxon mobile officials estimate that oil spilled before the leak was stopped. cleanup crews are trying to soak up the oil and prevent it from spreading. sheens were reportedly seen up to 100 miles from the leak. exxon mobile said most of the damage was limited to a 10-mile stretch near billings. montana governor said the company was down playing the effect. the river had been surging for months pushes high water flu

farmland. now the water is mixed with oil. >> from what i'm looking at there is oil all over the top soil. i don't want my animals eating that. >> reporter: the environmental protection age said the fast flowing water could reduce the damage. the concern now is stopping the oil before it flows any further. karen traverse abc news. alabama's gulf shores wildfire burned just about everything in its path but a mother alligator and at least nine babies managed to survive. >> they road out this fire storm in the mud hole here. >> the orange beach fire department filled the muddy oasis with water to keep the gators alive while they wait for relief. we have a possible link between antidepressants taken by moms and childhood autism. why researchers say some of the

drugs can increase the risk of autism. if your child is a late talker could it mean behavioral problems down the road? the results of a brand new study. i love to eat. i love hanging out with my friends.

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new research suggests there could be a possible link between antidepressants taken by moms and childhood autism. researchers looked at this. 298 of the kids had been diagnosed with autism. 6.7% of those children's moms had taken antidepressants the year before they had their

babies. and a pregnant woman's use increases the risk of autism in her child. if you are a parent you know that stages in a child's growth is very important but kids develop differently such as when they begin to walk or talk. a new study finds up to 18% of children are late talkers. researchers looked at whether language delay at age 2 could be linked to other behavioral problems. children who were late talkers had more behavioral and emotional problems than tots who were already talking. study authors concluded these findings support a wait and see approach for late talkers. may help smokers try to shake the habit but they may face a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. researchers found that they had a higher risk of a serious cardiovascular event. ifieser said the study was too

limited. people all across the country are celebrating the nation's independence with parades, picnics and barbecues. we are going to find out why some parts of the country are scaling back. and the world's largest low rise office building. did you know it is also the best place to watch fireworks. we'll explain coming up on this july 4th.

now, abc 2 news at 5:30. we are celebrating america's birthday on this 4th of july. nothing better than being on the curb here. starts early. on to liberty. always a great start to your 4th of july. more than just physical recovery that has to take

place. they have to recover physically, emotionally and socially with their families. >> we honor the men and women who make the ultimate sacrifice. a push to make sure their homecoming and recovery is successful. americans are celebrating with parades, picnics, fireworks. us service members overseas also held events. in some parts of the united states fireworksvise been cancelled over concerns they could spark wildfires. >> reporter: happy 235th birthday america. all across the nation americans celebrated the 4th of july with parades, picnics and pyrotechnics. in the nation's capitol thousands lined up along the national mall. for some the celebration got underway early. gat lanburg, tennessee boasts of having the nation's first 4th of july parade