drop out rate in half. jeff hager with details on how. >> reporter: the doctor said it's not just him. with the help of his principals, teachers and parents the system seeing hundreds get diplomas who in the past would have gotten the boot. is this isn't your normal school and these students are anything but average. >> i would be double my -- [inaudible] and major in premed. >> i see myself working for the cdc. >> reporter: they are some of the best of the best many the baltimore city school system and perhaps the best news lies in the rest, since a doctor arrived four years ago the graduation rate has climbed more than 19% while the drop out rate has dropped 55%. in 2007, more than 1400 african american males quit school

compared to just 600 last year. >> we will not be happy until that number is zero but the impact to families, to kids of being able to stay in school, to graduate, to be able to plan for their future in different ways is once again i think immeasurable. >> reporter: the key to the success is his idea that no child is disposable. it's trickled down throughout the system. >> you don't get to walk out on us. we are not going to back out on you so the goal at the end is you have to have a diploma. >> reporter: and the system has closed ineffective schools while giving those that remain more flexibility to reach out even if if means knocking on their doors when they don't come. > people getting shot,

stabbed, raped, kidnapped and they -- being here in this school where there is people here that will help it really inspired me. >> reporter: since he came on board 87% of the students going into high school have have graduated. >> thank you. coming up at six we will take a look at the statewide assessment test, find out how they are keeping more students in school around the state. and the united states senator said he wants to take a look at baltimore's public housing. he spent a letter requesting documents from the united states department of housing specifically on how they used $67 million in stimulus funds. they have come under fire for refusing to pay nearly $12 million from lawsuits filed by those exposed to lead paint. >> it looks good out there.

we thought we would have something but no, the clouds started to roll in but it's still dry. i can't promise it'll stay that way. as we look at the satellite and radar we are seeing the clouds moving in and seeing rain showers off to the south now into virginia. as we go through the rest of the evening there is a chance for showers to move in but we are looking at temperatures and they aren't so bad, around 73 degrees, still a little above average, inner harbor, dc into 71 and the mid to upper 60s into hagerstown. here is that forecast. 70s, mostly cloudy and a stray shower is possible. the weekend forecast, all that coming up. >> all right. thank you. don't forget you can down load the weather app for the i-phone or the i-pad. you can track storms, get the hour by hour forecast or the seven day forecast in the palm of your hand. join the weather app crowd so you will know if you need the under armor for the ravens

game. just go to the website, you will find the link. now if are you planning to head to the eastern shore this weekend expect delays, because of this weekend's nascar races in dover delaware. we want to show you a live look at the bay bridge that transportation officials said will see a big boost in traffic volume. two way traffic will be used on the westbound span when necessary to cut down on delays. people are being urged to travel during expected off peak hours, between ten tonight and seven tomorrow morning and after five tomorrow and before 11 on sunday morning and after ten sunday night. remember you can plan your trip with the latest traffic information and traffic cameras throughout the area on the website,abc 2news.com/traffic. one person was killed and a second seriously hurt in a crash that shut down belaire in kingsville. an 85-year-old was killed when her cadillac hit a honda.

she died at the scene. the other driver was taken to bayview with life threatening injuries. according to police she was trying to turn left onto belaire road when she was hit. baltimore county firefighters were called to put out a fire at the spiraea point steel plantt. was on the roof of a tin mill buildings. one plant working was trapped but was able to get down on his own. nobody appears to have been hurt. the cause of the fire is unknown. a military panelist found a midship man guilty of raping a female classmate. patrick edmond raped her last october. he testified it was consenual. funeral plans have been announced for former baltimore raven orlando brown. he was found dead in his condo a week ago. i funeral will be held next

friday in clinton maryland. he will be buried in south carolina. now to new developments in the killing of an american born radical cleric in yemin. he was killed in an air strike by a cia drone. he was considered the most dangerous terrorist and -- perhaps a more immediate threat to the united states than bin laden was. >> reporter: he is perhaps the most high profile al-qaeda figure to be killed since the death of plan plan back in may. he was never charged with any crime so there is controversy. today the white house is under fire to explain the legal reason for the assassination without any trial. united states officials considered him to be the world's most dangerous man. now he is the latest high profile terrorist target taken out by the cia and the united states military. the american citizen was the head of al-qaeda in yemin. he was killed in a drone

strike. >> the death marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al- qaeda. >> reporter: officials say he will been pushing for al-qaeda to do attacks aimed at the united states and recruiting terrorists online. >> never underestimate the power of fear, especially when the enemy --. >> reporter: officials say he was in contact with the fort hood shooter in november. officials say he also personally adviced the underwear bomber before his mission to blow up a plane over detroit on christmas day. >> he was the main recruiter. much more dangerous than bin laden and he was obsessed attack the united states. >> reporter: the united states had been trying to kill or capture him for two years but he was never charged with a crime. today the white house refused to explain lieutenants reason for the assassination without

any trial. >> i'm not going to speak hypothetical, or about the circumstances. >> reporter: what comes next? united states intelligence and law enforcement say they are concerned about revenge attack for the death. they say the government remains in a state of high alert and security overs haven't been reduced since the scares about the 9/11 anniversary. >> now the latest from washington where engineers have finished inspecting quake damage at the monument. today they went down the monument to remove loosened pieces of stone and mortar the priority to keeping anything loose from falling hurting anybody. they stressed its sound. now to a remarkable story of are you verial in southern california. a man was found alive after crashing his car and spending six day s alone at bottom of a

ravine. it was his family that found him. >> we stopped at every hill and ravine. we kept screaming we heard him say help help and there he was. >> reporter: it's an amazing story. he survived by eating leaves and drinking water from the creek. he asked for a chocolate heck shake. he broke a few rib. another car and a dead man were found nearby, apparently an earlier victim of the same road. and a day after it was announced boa would add a 5- dollar debit fee the website crashed. the home page went down this morning and again this afternoon. many users said they couldn't access their accounts after logging on. even those who tried to use the smart phone app found a message saying it was unavailable.

bank of america said they are charging the fee to some because of congress's decision to limit debit card transaction fees. one of the most closely watched trials, the appeal of amanda knox. it could come to a close. we will have details. and. >> it's unbelievable that the energy that you feel, to hear them talk about it. the bravest verses the finest. they are duking it out in the ring. the mma match you have to see. it's not safe to talk documents with your personal information in the trash. a safeway to get rid of it.

. the coast guard cutter eagle has docked in the inner harbor. you can see it right there.

it's visiting at the end of the fall training cruise. it'll be open for tourists tomorrow and sunday from ten until seven. the eagle is the only active square rig net united states government and the largest tall ship. firefighters and police officers have always respected each other but they have also had a brotherhood type rivalry and tonight they will take it to the ring for a good cause. how they are laying all out for fallen comrades. >> reporter: at the mma gym in forest hill firefighters and police officers are throwing punches and taking each other down. training in an effort to lift up their fallen. >> they are excited about it, the morale has increased, it's unbelievable that -- the energy that you feel just listening to them talk aboutt.

>> reporter: city homicide detective robert walsh put it together. the match pitting city firefighters against police officers in 18 bouts in canton. a grudge match for a good cause as all the proceeds will go to the extreme cage wars foundation a nonprofit helping fallen or injured firefighters and police. >> it was a -- definitely a deciding factor. >> reporter: the cause was the main sale shaun edwards who has been training for six months. >> the excitement of doing the event, of being involved, all the police officers, and then plus raising the funds for the officers in need or firefighters in need. all that together just kind of combined for let's do this. >> reporter: and about 40 cops and firefighters are, for officers like theresa rigby who was knocked off the jfx in

june. she will be there to receive a donation with money race from this fight helping her fight or own way back. not just for the fighters but for a nearly packed house. this is the first mma match of it's kind here in baltimore and it's already success before the first punch is even thrown. >> you are hoping for a big turn out. >> huge. we are three quarters sold out. i'm getting 20, 30, calls an hour on tickets. >> reporter: a demand for friday night fights helping some of baltimore's finest and bravest battle back. in baltimore. >> ladies have to love that one. the detective hope itself could be a yearly event in baltimore and with all the interest the fights will be moved to first mariner arena next year. doors open tonight at six in canton there. will be about 18 bouts and if you are interested in attending you can contact detective ross

at 443-857-0132 or log onto the website for more information. >> now, maryland's most powerful doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> all right. how much does -- i will focus and do my weather, wow. i will try. i will give it my all. they can it out -- we are looking at clouds and that will be the name of the game through the rest the evening and from those we could get a bit of rain. i will talk about that. we are dry, temperatures coming in around 69 degrees thank humidity at 55%, much dryer today, the winds out of the north northwest at five miles an hour, in baltimore today we started out with plenty of sun. it looked like it would be a good day but then the clouds started rolling in. maryland's most powerful radar.

we are starting to see showers, especially as we look back down to the south here. we will see more rain as we go mainly through the overnight. if you are going to be out and about have the rain gear. we will do it all over again through tomorrow and sunday. right now temperature wise, elsewhere we are quite chilly into oakland. around 46, i guess i may as well give you the news now. as we go through the overnight there is a chance we could get snow showers into western maryland. it's cold, the higher elevations, the ski resort will be getting snow across the area as well. temperature wise for tomorrow action it's going to be much cooler than what it was today. check out federal hill around 58 degrees. the chance for showers in the forecast, we are seeing more of the same to fell's point around 57 degrees. that's 20 degrees cooler than it was today. the satellite and radar not picking up on a lot. just some cloud cover. we can kind of see that spin,

the that counter clockwise spin. we had that upper level low. that was pretty much gone. now another one that's dropped in its place and we are looking at that to be on us through the rest of the weekend. we are waiting for the cold frontt. will slide through the rest of today and then we will have that upper level low drop in and it'll be like an unwanted guest. quick look at the tropics, we have felippe and ophelia. they -- both stay away and that's how we like it future trend, going into motion and you can see the wet weather through the overnight. we can see more into saturday but it won't be a wash out. we will see that rain off and on throughout the day. the overnight around 50, showers, breezy, chilly. we will get it over again tomorrow but it'll be a lot cooler and more wind to contend with. that temperature tomorrow will be around 46 degrees and here is a look at that seven day

forecast. we are dealing the cooler weather. a lot of people like it with you the big story i'm going to say is the game on sunday and you know, during that game we can drop down into the 40s. >> that's not okay. >> it's football weather. >> i'm not ready. i will do what my neighbors do which is buckle down at home, get the blanket, you can talk about snow all you want because i'm going to mexico. abc2 is working for you to help you protect your identity by destroying important documents. each year we collect over 13,000 pounds of paper to shred. if you want a chance you can go to the branch on baltimore national pike or northern parkway. it happens nine until noon. snoot cdc said some are more likely to smoke than others. how can you tell?

they say it's based on what you do for a living. who they say is more likely to light up despite all those health warnings. and exercise is good for your physical health but what about your mood? ñññññññññç/ ñññññññññç/

. in health news people are still lighting up. can you guess who profession has the most? a new report finds that miners and people in the hotel and food industry smoke the most often. also are people in construction. the report found those in the education field are the least

likely. we all know that exercising makes us feel better can lighten your mood. a new study found women in menopau se had better moods with exercise. they exercise. the website is your place for all the health news you need. log on and check out the page. you will find the headlines as well as different categories you knead to stay healthy. all eyes on the appeal of amanda knox. soon the chapter could finally close. more from the italian courtroom that's become a familiar scene to people around the world. and three people are dead including one marylander. tainted canteloupe is to blame.

. now abc 2news. >> he is very tense, losing weight, can't eat. >> it's the latest trial of the century and we are taking you inside the courtroom for the latest on amanda knox. the lysteria outbreak has people throwing out fruit but is it something local farmers think you should be worried about? first, the appeal of the american convicted of murder in italy. 24-year-old amanda knox is hoping a judge will hit her out

prison. we may know as soon as monday. >> reporter: he is either innocent caught up in the italian justice system or the sex starved she devil who killed her roommate. a jury is about to decide which version is the real one. >> she is very tense, losing weight, can't eat. >> reporter: her family flew from seattle to hear the closing arguments in the appeal. her lawyers trying to overturn murder conviction. >> think there was a rush to a conclusion. it was very unfortunate. >> reporter: thea pal hinges on disputed dna evidence. when the murder happened the victim's throat slit after prosecutors say a sex game turned ugly the prosecution used dna evidence to place knox and her then boyfriend at the