>>reporter: one week after the tornadoes hit our area, cleanup continues. i'm linda stow live at the falston pharmacy. the challenges some people are facing with the cleanup. and this is the scene, cleanup continuing here in falston, one week after a dozen tornadoes confirmed here in maryland. a live -- live reports throughout the morning. the search is on this morning for the source of a deadly e. coli outbreak. what states are affected and details on this story straight ahead. it is friday morning. thank you so much for joining us here on "good morning maryland." it's like ladies night without charley. >> i know. >> 5:30 in the morning. >> i'm sure he misses us. >> yeah, right. >> we're excited that it's friday, we love it's friday. then i'm going to throw in the fact the weather is going to be awesome. >> great. >> everybody get out there and

enjoy it, do what you gotta do this weekend. it is going to be a hot one, though. let me talk about what's going on on maryland's most powerful radar because we are pretty much dry, all five sweeps are on and we will stay that way as we go through the remainder of today. we are looking at some cooler temperatures this morning once again. they are coming a little bit below, especially walkersville coming in around 53 degrees. 56 degrees right now in norrisville and shadyside at 60. the winds were light and felt good yesterday. we'll still see more of the same for the most part today. maybe a little bit more breezy. those winds out of the northwest about five to 10 miles an hour. we do have visibility issues, but we are starting to get better. so the last time i showed you winchester, they weren't at 10. we want to stay at the 10 number, but we look back off towards culpepper and they are at four. so if your travels are taking you into virginia this morning, just be prepared for some reduced visibility. let's get a check now of the abc 2 time saver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. how are those roads? a few accidents clearing and they come back, what do you have now? >>reporter: we are dealing

with a serious crash in fread -- fredrick that have shut down the i-70 west lanes at patrick street. stick with 144 as your alternate route. closer to home -- actually, let's first take a look at interstate 70 at colombia pike. as we check in and take a look, you'll notice it's not causing any disruptions as you make the drive into howard county. that will remain clear as you make the drive over to the west side of the beltway. as we check in and take a look at 695 at liberty road, everything up to speed. just 11 minutes on the outer loop from 795 to 95. if you are using the jfx to get into the city, a 11-minute drive from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street. speeds will remain high traveling through the fort mchenry tunnel and the harvard tunnel. that is a look at your abc 2 time saver traffic. megan, over to you. it's been one week since a series of dangerous tornadoes touched down throughout the state of maryland. in hartford county, the community of falston is still picking up the pieces this

morning. abc 2 new' charley crowson out live with the cleanup efforts going on. >>reporter: megan, good morning to you. the national weather service has now confirmed a dozen tornadoes touched down in maryland last week, anywhere from ef-0 to ef-1. one of those tornadoes was here in falston. i want to show you the path here. earlier this morning we talked to jeff stoalts and he was in his office here at bippers automotive when the storm hit. you can see the tops of trees have been sheered off, the path of damage right here, this truck a complete loss. as many of the week has gone on, many of these businesses have been out of business for the last couple of days picking up the pieces, leaving piles of debris right here. right over here, we're going to walk and talk with you right now, want to show you how things are going right now. this has really stalled these businesses across parts of falston. also this morning, want to show you this really quickly, keith matthews, this was his detailing shop right here, completely gone. but we can report he is in rehab this morning, recovering

well. i talked to his fiancee last night right before we came in today. she said he's doing well, recovering well, but they have a donation set up right now at bb and t bank. also fundraisers are set up for the rest of the week. we'll have details op that as they become available. about a quarter mile up the road here on route 1, linda stow is standing by right now with an interview. linda, who do you have? >>reporter: we're here at the falston pharmacy here in falston on route 1. you can see the damage done to the roof, the tarp still covers the building. this storm caught a lot of people off guard. this is something we usually don't deal with in part of the area. you hear about tornadoes in the midwest. to tell us more about the response effort, joining us this morning is ed hopkins with mema. ed, how did you guys prepare for this storm? the midwest, they're used to this kind of thing, here not so much. >> fortunately for us earlier in the week last week we'd had a lot of contact with the national weather service who told us to expect some severe storm weather later that week. it allowed us to get prepared,

it allowed us to start our social media mess a.m.s to get the news out so the public could be prepared. >>reporter: did you find a lot of people, like, this is scary, i've never been through something like this before? >> absolutely. people tend to see these storms in the midwest and they don't expect to see them in maryland. the fact of the matter is they're happening more and more frequently, the severe storm pattern suggests we could see more of these in the future. people do need to understand what they see across the country could happen here. >>reporter: moving into the future, let's say something like this happens again, a good way to plug in is social media. a lot of people found out that way. >> absolutely. that's key for us because much like the earthquake from last year, since this is new to a lot of people, by sharing comments about what happened last week through the news media and social media platforms, people are now more inclined to understand this can happen and to be better prepared next time. >>reporter: let's talk about the falston area specifically because it was badly hit during the storm. pretty scary. you mentiond this is a commercial area.

>> right. from behind us and around us, it's all commercial, but behind that commercial it's all residential. it's heavily populated and heavily traveled road. this storm hit deurlinging the peak of rush hour on two major arteries that service baltimore county and hartford county. the damage was intense, since it was so close, the damage was more heavier because of all the close proximity to the buildings and, of course, the other was the risk to the citizens who were driving. many people didn't know what to do because they were caught in the heavy downpours and rains and high winds. >>reporter: ed, thanks for joining us. ed hopkins with mema. he'll join us in the 6:00 hour as well. the tips he gives for the future, a good way is to plug in with social media, updates going on, mema updates their social media hourly, just by the minute and that's really what helped during the storm last week. that's a good tip to keep in mind moving forward into the future. linda stow, abc 2 news. >> thanks. speaking of social media, you can always get abc 2 news right

on your phone. all you have to do is download the app. if you want to look at storm coverage and the cleanup efforts, head to abc2news.com, click on the weather tab. the nation's disease detectives right now are hunting for the cause of a mysterious and a deadly new outbreak of e. coli. a number of states are already affected and there's concern this morning about this outbreak, that it's going to spread. those cases have been detected in georgia, florida, alabama and louisiana. a really sad case in new orleans. there a 21-month-old died from the disease. >> we're racing against the clock because we want to figure out what the product is and get it out of the market before it sickens or kills anyone else. >> this time of year experts tend to look at undercooked ground beef. however, there's no indication that that is the source of this particular case at this time. thwarning for parents about those over-the- counter gels and liquids used to soothe pain in teething children. the fda says that the active

ingredient in the product can cause problems. it's a local anesthetic that the fda says can lead to a condition that can be deadly. parents should try using chilled teething rings or maybe a jenltle massage of the child's gums instead. good businesses want to be memorable, no doubt about t. one local restaurant chain is getting some attention after a pretty bizarre incident. an employee of a boston market who was dressed as a chicken when a man ran up from him and stole his american flag then flew the coupe. the chicken was not hurt and even had his picture taken with a police officer who wrote out the report. well, police in one area, they are looking for a burglar in idaho who may have had a huge bump on his head after this. the security video shows it all. you can see the burglar jumping down from a vent that he smashes face first onto a table and then falls down. although bruised, he basically took a tire iron out and began to work on the restaurant. he grabbed a large amount of cash before taking off.

coming up your job could be to blame for the clothes getting a little snug. we're going to run down the worst list of jobs for weight gain and tell you where your career ranks. plus arlington national cemetery going high tech. the new app that can make it easier how to pay tribute to a loved one. details when we come back.

5:42 right now. thanks for joining us. listen to this, your job could be responsible for those snug clothes. some jobs worse than others when it comes to your waistline. among the worst fattening careers, travel agents, judges, teachers, even doctors. police officers and firefighters appear to have a higher incidence of weight gain. about 54% of respondents attributed their weight gain to sitting at a desk for most of the day. fathers get ready to kick out a little more for your baby girl when she plans to tie the knot. new research says these days the average wedding costs about $27,000. that covers the bride, the groom and an average of 138 guests. the couple pays at least part of the bill, about 17% of the

time. it could soon be easier to find loved ones buried at arlington national cemetery. the cemetery is expected to roll out a new smart phone app this fall. that will make it simpler to navigate the cemetery's 250,000 plus graves. the app is expected to use gps technology. the new system will let you see any grave site online, allowing for virtual visits as well. it is freebie friday and our free sample mama working hard to save you some money for you and your family. all you have to do is text this number, it's 46988 to get our mobile app and get freebies right to your phone. there you can find out more about free smoothies from mcdonald's and free sample of iced tea and a whole lot more. you can also find it on abc2news.com under the lifestyle section. no horse has taken the title in 34 years, and i'll have another is certainly ready for the challenge. as the excitement builds for the belmont stakes, will your favorite take home the big prize? >>reporter: and after four years of hard work, a hartford

county woman gets the key to her dream. hear the reaction as the final touches are put on this house by habitat for humanity in aberdeen. it's friday. i know a lot of you are heading to the beach. i will have that forecast coming up. >>reporter: everything is nice and clear here on 895 at o'donnell street. i'll tell you about a major construction project planned later this summer for the hartford tunnel coming up in my abc 2 news time saver traffic report.

pull on those gardening gloves. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with the home depot certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that keep our budgets firmly rooted... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. ...and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. beat the bugs with ortho bug-b-gon max spray or concentrate just $7.97.

you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework [ female announcer ] and best of all, it keeps getting better. no wonder more people choose xfinity over any other provider. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪

5:47. thanks for joining us. a big day for two families in harford county. habitat for humanity will present them with the keys to a new home. and abc 2 news' sherree johnson joins us with this story. >>reporter: amazing. this morning hab toot for humanity will hold a special ceremony to present the new homeowners with the keys. in just a few hours, two families can step into their very own homes. habitat for humanity susquehanna and richmond homes teamed up for this build. more than 30 volunteers from electricians, contractors and air conditioning specialists help today build a duplex in just four days. beverly cotton is one of those homeowners. her job transferred her to maryland in 2007. she fell on hard times and she was homeless at one point.

for four years she volunteered with habitat susquehanna and completed all the requirements. and now she's able to receive a new home. >> from volunteering before and just seeing everybody work together and the pride that they put in like it's their own house is really wonderful. >> now, once again, habitat for humanity susquehanna and richmond american homes will host a key ceremony as they dedicate the new home to the owners this morning. sharee johnson, abc 2 news. also happening today, the start of the special olympics maryland. 1400 athletes are going to compete in five events such as aquatics and softball. the events are set to get under way tonight. it's set for 7:30 in talson at talson university. good luck to the athletes. the orioles are playing in camden yards coming off a shutout loss with the boston red sox. they fell 7-0 last night. tonight the three-game series with philadelphia kicks off,

and expect some big crowds for that. first pitch, by the way, 7:05. i'll have another is going to try to race into history tomorrow. it's happening at the belmont stakes. he and his trainers hope he will become the next triple crown winner. we have not seen a horse take that title in 34 years. there have been matter -- there have been many other horses in recent years that won the kentucky derby and the preakness but failed at belmont. tomorrow's race 6:40. high school graduation, students in new jersey won't soon forget a funnel cloud looked like it was forming off in the distance. meteorologists say it was actually a super cell thunderstorm that creates large hail and can produce funnel clouds. clearly no one was concerned at the graduation. the graduates finished the ceremony, tossed their caps up into the air and hopefully ran for cover because even if that wasn't a twister, lynette, that still looks very ominous. >> supercells are the one that is can drop those tornadoes down because they have more

energy to work with rather than that long line of thunderstorms coming through. it's like an ice skater, they put their arms together and they get more spin in the atmosphere. we look right now across the nation and we're looking pretty good across new jersey, across the northeast, working their way all the way up into new england, but we are looking at some severe weather possible as we head across the upper midwest for today. and we're looking at a few showers once again down south around the gulf coast states. closer to home we are nice and dry and a great trip to ocean city today, pain if you're going to be head -- maybe if you're going to be heading out to the beach, plenty of blue sky, a beautiful sunrise out there. i'll have that forecast for you in just a second. check out these temperatures this morning, quite cool, especially in talson, only 49 degrees, 48 in ellicott city. the last time i showed you ellicott city, it was 49, so temperatures have dropped a bit. 59 degree ss where we should be for this time of the year. high pressure doing its thing for today. it's going to keep those clouds at bay and sunshine will prevail as we head through the next several days here.

it's going to be a great day to get out and enjoy, a great weekend to get out there and enjoy because we're not really seeing too much. 86 degrees is what i'm going for today. yes, a little bit above average, but no complaints because this is what you've been waiting for. look at the beach forecast, 81 degrees for today, partly cloudy skies to mostly sunny. mostly sunny as we head into saturday. and then it gets hot at the beach as we go into sunday with that temperature coming in at 91. but we like it, just get in the water, that water temperature right around 67. let's get a check now of the abc 2 time saver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. >>reporter: good morning, lynette. well, some good news in fredrick where a crash has just cleared from interstate 70 at patrick. it briefly shut down the roadway in both directions. but the delays have really start today dissipate, so it will be an easy ride as you make the drive over to the beltway. if you are traveling the top side, a major milestone in the charles street bridge construction. now, the construction crews will be replacing the roundabout with a traffic signal beginning at 7:00 tonight. do expect some closures and detours in the area, but major,

major progress. and as we check in, there it is, york road, no delays to talk about. it will be an easy ride up towards 83. as for 95, here's what it looks like south of the beltway, no problems to report. whether you're traveling down towards 495 or headed north up towards the tunnels. and if you are using the jfx to get into the city, just 11 minutes from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street that. is a look at your abc 2 news time saver traffic. megan, over to you. lawmakers and anti- abortion activists are coming together. details on what they're protesting, a healthcare mandate by the white house that has caused a lot of controversy. rick santorum may be done with his run for the white house, but he does have other plans. details straight ahead.

get your cash back! oh, hi. which cash back booth looks better to you, chase freedom or the largest cashback card? oh, i'll try the largest. oh, that is too bad. apparently you don't know chase freedom guarantees you 1% cash back. 4 times more than the largest cash back card, which only gives you a quarter percent until you spend $3,000 every year. but have fun. bob and weave once you're in there. don't get short changed. get your cash back. chase freedom.

former presidential candidate rick santorum expected to announce today his plans for the future. he'll be speaking at the conserveitive political action conference that's happening in chicago. sources say he's preparing to form a political action committee. we'll keep you posted. several u.s. lawmakers are gathering at capitol hill today for a rally that they're calling stand up for religious freedom. they're protesting the white house to mandate to make

employers offer health insurance that for contraceptive treatments. the new york giants are going to the white house today. the team will be honored by the president during a ceremony on the south lawn. this is the second time in five years the giants have gone to the white house to celebrate a super bowl win. there's a fight brewing in baltimore city between the fire chief and city council. the confusion about what this all has to do with three firehouses slated to close on july 1st. plus trees down, houses damaged, the cleanup that is taking place right now this morning. it's happening following those powerful storms. and we do have some areas of patchy fog this morning. i'll show you where and tell you when it burns off, all that coming up. no delays to talk about here on the beltway at hartford road. i'll let you know about a major update in the charles street overpass construction coming up in my abc 2 news time saver traffic report. you're watching "good morning

maryland."

>>reporter: cars smashed, trees downed and emergency responders answering calls. a live report this morning on more of the cleanup efforts here in hartford county. >>reporter: still a lot of work to get done here at the falston pharmacy and all the other medical offices in this building. i'm linda stow. why they're