at sandy point state park. jeff hager spoke with her today and raising concerns about what happened this weekend. jeff. >> this was the first time michelle allowed her children to go to the beach without her and she wants this to be the last time any child drowns there. thousands of marylanders headed for the beaches on the fourth of july and when michelle's children were invited to go along with family as she worked that day, she finally gave her consent. >> kept begging, mom, please, please. i said okay, you can go. keep an eye on all of my babies. >> the family arrived early at sandy point state park and caution the children not to enter the water as they set up to spend the day there. when the young boy tossed one of their balls in the water, her six-year-old relatives ignored their pleas to wait for

an adult to retrieve it. >> that's when he couldn't swim back. >> the children watched as he disappeared beneath the water's surface. by the time the other people arrived entered the water, forming a human chain to find him, it was too late. >> how long was he in the water before they found him? >> ten minutes. >> his mother who lost her eldest son in a shooting and her mother to cancer within the last year openly questions how such a tragedy could happen in a state park? >> i don't understand this. this is the beach. where was the life guards? i mean, if the beach wasn't open, why did they let people on? >> sandy point opens at 6:00 in the morning, the park only provides life guards from 11:00 until 6:00 at night. there should be warning signs or even barriers to keep swimmers from entering the

water at their own risk when the children lives are at stake, like that of her son. >> people kept on saying, it's god willing. this is not god willing. i'm not going to accept that. god wouldn't take him away like that. >> funeral services will be held on wednesday at the march funeral home at 11:01 east north avenue. the wake will begin at 11:30 followed by the funeral at noon with his burial after its conclusion. jeff hager, abc2 news. abc2 is working for you right now. we have tips on how to stay safe in the water. the american red cross is giving us these tips and if someone is missing, you check the water first. if the person appears to be drowning, you throw a floatable item to the victim to keep them safe until help arrives. most importantly, call 911. and get involved in a red cross water safety and cpr courses and be prepared just in case. >> john mackey would rip the

rings off of his fingers, tell you to put them on, and then he'd say there, you played in a super bowl and you made the hall of fame without taking a hit. before todd heap or shannon sharp, there was number 88 who really invented the tight end position as an offensive weapon. it was his refusal to accept his hall of fame ring in indianapolis. he said he never played there. he played in baltimore. so was to be baltimore where he got his ring from former coach. after his playing dais, he became the first labor leader for all the players. >> there are few leaders, i think in the history of football that could ever match a man like john. and while he suffered from a number of degenerative conditions over the past few years, i will always remember john as someone who was a

tremendous, emotional, eloquent, brilliant leader. >> and in the end, we learned what all the hits did to this great man. the punishment wore him down. but what we saw was a great love affair for his wife, sylvia, who made sure the league knew what these sunday warriors were going through. sylvia said last year she would donate john's brain to boston university to study brain injuries in athletes. john mackey dead tonight at the age of 69. a witness to a stabbing death in the inner harbor on july 4 talks exclusively to abc2 news. he died on monday night just as the city's fireworks display was ending. the man we're talking to didn't want to use his name or face to be shown and he told abc2 that although he didn't see the actual stabbing, he was within a few feet of when the incident started. he says calo tried to stop his brother who shouted a racial slur and went after a man who

claimed hit him in the head. when calo came back seconds later, his throat had been cut. he was bleeding badly. the scene was chaotic and made worse by people crowding in to look at the victim. >> poor guy was dying. these people walking by and they are watching this and it's like, hey, come on, get out of here. come on, go, move, move, get out of here. come on, you don't have to see this. take your kids, take your family. they were going by and they were watching it and they wanted to see it. >> now city police have a person of interest that they are looking for in this case. the picture that has been floaten around for a couple days. we'll have more on this exclusive interview coming up at 6:00 tonight. friends and family said a final good-bye to a young pregnant mom and her four-year- old daughter found murder.

funeral services for alicia avery and parker were held at the is the alabama are abraham baptist church. casey anthony has been sentenced to four years in jail for lying to investigators, but she's going to be a free woman next week. abc's diana alviar with the latest. >> just six more nights behind bars and casey anthony will be free. while the judge faired no effort to give her the maximum sentence allowable. >> i will sentence you to one year in the orange county jail, all four counts to run consecutive to each other. >> and fine her $1,000 for each count. official release date, july 13. where casey will go is unclear.

in an exclusive interview with barbra walters, jose biaz said he is concerned about her safety. >> i am, and i'm afraid for her. and i don't think it's fair. >> anticasey sentiment was on display. some taped their mouths with duct tape. others held signs calling for a boycott, for fear casey would profit from her circumstances. >> only way we can get justice for caylee is so casey doesn't make money. she won't get her bella vita life. >> as for the release of the names of the other jurors in this case, the judge said he believed there should be a cooling off period before their identities are made public. diana alviar, abc news, orlando. that trial held many of us in its grip and it's prompting

a nationwide movement for parents who don't report the death of their child. here in maryland, nancy jacobs says she has gotten two dozen e- mails since the verdict came down. they asked her to review maryland's laws. >> it's an extremely emotional issue because people have been following this trial for months and months and months. i would say the great majority of people feel like an injustice has been done. this mother obviously had something to do with the death of caylee and should be getting a lot more than just punishment for failing to report. >> well, because of those e- mails, she decided to propose a bill making it a felony for a parent, a guardian, or caretaker not to notify police if their child dies. elizabeth smart is going to be joining abc news as a commentator, focusing in on missing persons and child abduction cases. smart was kidnapped at age 14

by a salt lake city street preacher. now she could be on the air within the next couple weeks. a spokesperson says the music student wants to use the media position to create awareness involving cases with missing children. back in may, brian david mitchell was sentenced to life behind bars. in 1991, jaycee dugard was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years by a paroled sex offender. in 2009, she was found and sunday night, abc news will air the dianne sawyer special. that will run from 9:00 until 11:00. and weather wise, it has been one hot, hazy, humid day. man. just oppressive humidity out there and there are storms firing up around the state line right now. maryland's most powerful tray dare. right now one storm sneaking

around the border. a little tough trip up the northern i-83 corridor back into pennsylvania and then we have another storm flairing up north of belle air. watch out for lightning in this vicinity. but other than that, things relatively clear for the rest of the evening around baltimore and points south. but scattered showers and storms will be the case going north. talked about how those storms will affect us tomorrow straight ahead. >> all right wyatt. the latest on the british tabloid at the center of a phone hacking scandal. it will be shutting down james merdock. the 168-year-old newspaper will publish its last edition coming up on sunday, the scandal cost the paper prestige and also advertisers. the shutdown of 295 near bwi for hours yesterday when the attacked a mobile speed camera. those traffic headaches you went through and sat through may have helped police. tonight we have a better idea of who they're looking for. after more than three decades,

nasa's shuttle program is about to end. what will happen during the final mission and when atlantis could make its final launch if weather delays aren't happening. >> and remember -- she may be cracking your child's knuckles for not getting his key strokes right. we'll explain.

all right, the final countdown is on after dozens of liftoffs and landings over three decades. we could be hours away from nasa's last shuttle launch if weather doesn't get in the way. jim has the latest for us. jim. >> reporter: from the first mission over 30 years ago, it comes down to one last launch. despite concerns about weather, nasa is preparing the shuttle

atlantis for liftoff friday morning. >> we finished our final preps and checkouts. they all went well and completing all of our final inspections as we make sure those are con figured and ready for flight. >> reporter: so far in 134 missions, the five shuttles have taken 355 astronauts into space. traveling over half a billion miles, building the international space station, and turning the heroic into the routine. the final mission will take four astronauts. all shuttle veterans into space for 12 days where they will deliver supplies to the international space station. >> we are delighted to be here after a very tough training. >> reporter: a new vehicle capable of taking astronauts deep into space is being planned, but it could be years before it's built and longer before it makes its way to space. in the final hours with the

preparations, there's also some reflection. >> it's a way of life for us, and yeah, it's emotional, but it's also part of history. i think that's what you are seeing from a lot of folks down here. >> nasa is expecting thunderstorms friday morning, there's only a 30% chance that atlantis will be able to take off. if not they'll try again saturday. at kennedy space center, i'm jim spellman. >> and when atlantis lifts off, you'll be able to watch it live on your computer on abc2news.com. we'll stream it live and find a link on our home page. now let's take a look at severe weather. we'll go over to china to see torrential rain. it's causing big problems. the rainy weather forced 170,000 people to evacuate. mud slides damaged a bridge, the heavy rain affected traffic in some areas are expected to get even more rain. check this out, look at these clouds hanging over colorado. heavy rains, hail, beating up adams county, leaving a trail of ice balls and water puddles

alongsides of the roads. cold front moved in earlier this week setting the stage for severe summer storms. >> now, maryland's most powerful doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> jamie, one of those days you sit on the deck, ac, you have to go where the ac is. 92 degrees right now, but the humidity is off the chart. the dew point values are up around 70. sticky, sticky conditions out there. no question about that. hazy sunshine the story most of the day here in charm city. a few clouds bellow up later in the afternoon. for the most part, we stayed clear out the frederick way, just more of that hot, hazy sunshine and similar scenario in annapolis. let's take a look at maryland's most powerful radar right now and bottom line, you can see the deal here, big storm flairing up moving through

jarrettsville. all of hartford county. one north and east of belle air. another north and west of belle air. this cluster about to move through the northern part of belle air up towards the south of delta there and on into cassel county. i think the storm will hold together. it's a big one, but not severe. it does contain dangerous lightning. other than that, there's not a lot of activity here on the radar. much of the state sitting clear, again for hartford county. in fact, i-95 northbound commute may be tough here later on this evening. 92 out at the airport. 95 in easten. earlier today, we were up around 100 and you throw in the humidity, that's exactly what it feels like, near triple digits. oppressive humidity. there will be a change in this later this weekend, but for now, we are spieling what feels like 100 degrees plus out there. i don't have to tell you that if you've been outside at all today. the weather much more active. up in southern pennsylvania

right now, widespread showers and thunderstorms into philly. and more action in the deep south. we're in a dry slot right now, but that doesn't hold up tomorrow. the whole system will continue to shift slowly, painfully slowly to the south, should be right on top of maryland by midday tomorrow and an area of low pressure is going to spin up along that front and that could mean possible downpours that could generate flooding as we go into tomorrow evening. you have to be aware of that come late tomorrow, tomorrow evening, low lying areas. you could get caught in a brief flooding situation with these downpours that come in tomorrow. our computer model doesn't really indicate a tremendous amount of rain. it puts the bulls eye further into virginia. it's tough to pinpoint where these downpours will be. that summer pattern will be driven by the heating of the day. this is saturday, a little bit of scattered rain possible. it may be closer to the beaches by saturday. calling for a mainly dry weekend, especially across the

baltimore area. 72 overnight. real steam bath, muggy, stagnant. there may be a shower or storm north. clouds increase for showers and storms on and off. some could spark low lying flooding. muggy and murky. a few degrees cooler because this system pushing through should drag in some slightly milder air from the midwest, jamie. but still going to be plenty warm. >> we'll keep an eye on the skies tonight. >> especially tomorrow afternoon. >> all right, listen. our kids will be spending plenty of time at the pool and beach, but have you taught them how to react in case of an emergency? and also, we have a story about stem cells and it could help people with heart problems. what doctors discovered when they injected people with the cells. storm gear and promotional

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let's take a look at health news. promising news tonight. the treatment of angina. this occurs when the heart doesn't get enough oxygen rich blood. may be an alternative. there's a new study out. you had one group, they were given a heart with stem cells. the second group got the same injections only a lower dose, and the last group was given a placebo. patients in the groups that received the stem cells had fewer attacks than the placebo group. all the stem cell patients were able to exercise longer before experiencing any sort of chest pain and researchers attribute the benefits to an increase in the blood vessels and greater blood flow to the heart. >> would you be able to

perform cpr right now in an emergency? some kids do and others can be taught. sometimes heros come in small sizes, like nine-year-old trysten segan who saved his sister after she fell in the family pool. >> i told my grandma to call 911 and then i ran back outside and i did cpr on her. >> how about that? child safety experts say most children can be taught to handle an emergency. the first step is to call 911. the american red cross says instead of jumping into water, if someone appears to be drowning, tell your child to throw a floatable item to help keep them safe and young people can learn cpr in three easy steps to help when someone isn't breathing. first, instruct them to put the heel of their hand on the victim's breastbone right in the center of the chest and second, they should put their other hand on top and interlock their fingers. and press down into the chest

100 times in one minute. well the nation's checking account is running low. lawmakers have a few weeks to decide if they're going to increase the nation's credit limit. what each side is looking for before allowing the country to do and go into further debt. and the final harry potter movie hits theaters next friday. how the legacy is going to live on. [ female announcer ] welcome to busch gardens virginia, where baltimore goes to get away.

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now abc2 news at 5:30. tonight an armed man who took out his rage on a mobile speed camera is out on the loose. why maryland state police have a better idea who they are looking for. >> pet owners, you love to pamper your dogs, but they can be expensive. tips to save on your vet bills to your food. and tracking your spending, what it can do if your bank

sells your information to retailers. all right, did you take it nice and slow today? heavy traffic was back. that's normal. abc2 news went back to give us a closer look at the speed camera car that was beaten up in yesterday's attack. >> yesterday this mobile speed camera jeep was attacked by an armed man along i-295 south near interstate 195. you can see where the hammer struck a windshield twice, causing plenty of damage. you can also see where police were able to get some fingerprints. police are still in the area looking for the suspect. they are also reviewing any security camera footage that may show the man involved in the attack. just behind me is where the car that was attacked was located. as you see, the person who did the attack could have easily made it through the woods, gotten to the car and left or escaped on foot. and police say