to d.c. land you're at 78. we're already talking heat indices at 83 right now. it feels like 80 in dover close to the part of the atlantic. and again, we know the excessive heat will be on top of us through the afternoon excessive heat advisory, excessive heat warnings towards the north and the east. there is some good news and it's going to come in the form of a cold front situated just towards the west of chicago. you go 800 miles to the west some pretty nasty thunderstorms about 20 miles away -- hours away from us and that's going to come through and bust through the heat and humidity. 79 around lunchtime and already up to 91 degrees, triple digit heat and we're making a run for a record that was set back in 1923. if we go over 100 kegs, we will -- degrees, we will have a new record in the books. what to expect over the next 24 and expand that to the next seven days coming up just a little bit. megan? right now on a day like today, a really all summer long, abc2 news will be working for you to remind you of how to

stay safe and right now we have important alerts for all moms and dads out there. you know how hot your car can get but how fast does that happen? well, doctors say in a matter of ten minutes temperatures can rise 0 degrees but they can -- 20 degrees but they can jump 30- degrees in 20 minutes. and for kids just a few minutes can be deadly because their temperatures warm five times faster than adults'. so far this year, there have been three children who have died and other states and last year we saw 33 cases that were reported of children dying in cars. we talk a lot about keeping your kids safe in the heat but what about the pets? we know you are out there taking them for walks and before you go work right now is the perfect time to take care of this since later in the day sidewalks could be up to 163- degrees on the surface. now take a look at the sign of of heatstroke. rapid panting, hot or very warm skin. twitching muscles, a dazed or

confused look or vomiting. wrap your pet in a towel and soaked with cold water and get them to a vet as quickly as possible. as always head to abc2news.com for our hot weather guide. look into the featured stories section and there you will find other ways you can lower the electric bills and also help fight cooling centers near you. all right a lot of you will be cranking the air- conditioning as you head out. lauren? megan, construction is underway on 895 not causing any backups just yet as the harbor tunnel so stick with the fort mchenry tunnel or the key bridge as your alternate route. and if you are headed out to the beltway here's a live look at the west side at liberty road. everything up to speed. just 13 minutes to travel that outer loop from 795 down towardsed 5. it will -- towards 95. it will remain clear on the jfx. no problems through the fort mchenry tunnel just eight minutes to travel from the beltway all the way to the toll plaza. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. the case of jerry sandusky could go to trial or to the jury today. the defense rested wednesday and the child sex abuse trial

of the former penn state assistant football coach without calling him to the stand. ines ferre is live outside the courthouse in bellefonte, pennsylvania with more. good morning to you. a lot of people very critical of the defense. >> reporter: yeah, definitely. and the big question is whether was sandusky was going to take the stand or not and he ended up not taking the stand yesterday. and legal experts had said that had the defense done that, that could have given an opening to the prosecution to introduce evidence that possibly could have been damaging to the defense. charlie? >> now, ines one of the things that people are talking about was sandusky's wife's testimony. that seemed to be the best that was offered by sandusky's defense. did they really think she was in any way going to indict him? >> reporter: you know, you're right and so what the wife

dottie said was basically she didn't see any sexual encounters between sandusky and any of the children that were part of the second mile charity. the charity through which sandusky had met many of the accusers basically. and what -- what the defense tried to do though was especially with the character witnesses besides dottie's testimony, they tried to introduce character witnesses from the second mile people. some people that were -- that had actually known sandusky when they were children and that were not adults. and that -- now adults. and that he had a very good reputation in the community, he was like a father figure to them and also the defense tried to say, look these accusers, what are the motives here? the defense tried to say that some of the motives are financial motives, that there are a lot of lawsuits going on and that these accusers really have physical motives behind --

financial motives behind them. >> thank you for your time. 6:34 right now. the police chief involved in the trayvon martin case is out of a job this morning. chief billlee had been on leave of absence but was fired yesterday. he submitted the resignation back in april but city commissioners voted not to accept it. abc2 is working to help present you. a possible phone scam. they say someone is targeting senior citizens calling and saying they haven't paid the property taxes. well, the call i demands homeowners pay the bill by mail or threaten to send the sheriff to collect the money. the police department is vising people to never give out -- advising people to never give out personal or finance information and never mail money or checks to people or businesses that you don't know. also call police if you get one of the phone calls once again about paying your property taxes. well, you can book your summer vacation without paying the entire bill right away. sears unveiled a new website allowing customers to book 100

prepaid vacations starting at just under $400 and you can put them on laywayway. some fun to the delivery route. >> he liquidus bring some helpers along with him and you might not believe who's lending him a land. >> and singer rihanna is expanding her role as amy rhee star. we're going tell you about the -- a movie star. we're going tell you about it when we come back. pooches and puppies, we are fed up

with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. and a tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest and raise our barks to rally till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii.

and good morning to you. those lives in a nursing home in western minnesota lock forward to getting the mail delivered. >> that's because a mailman often brings some little helpers and boy do they make a lot of noise. take a look at this. the ducklings waddle into action when they're called. they make it into the home a

couple of weeks or so and when they do it really makes it fun. singer rihanna an animated film. the movie is based on adam rex's book it's called "the true meaning of smook day." studio plans to release it in late 2014 and rihanna made the debut in "battleship." a group of new york students could be in trouble this morning, they're accused of bullying. >> check this out though. not a kid they're accused of bullying, we're going to show you what was said. >> also ahead this morning president obama is sending an important message to congress. >> a heat advisory in effect. heat indices going to feel like 110 later today. lauren? thanks mike. well, traffic is really starting to pick up here on 695 in parkville. i'll show you what 95 and 83

look look kimming up in my -- look like coming up in my abc2 timesaver traffic report.

time now for your abc2 news to go. "good morning maryland." i'm charlie crowson. >> and i'm megan pringle, there's a lot going on in this thursday morning. linda so is live this morning with a traffic alert that may affect your morning commute. we have details on that and lauren has your abc2 timesaver traffic. but first we're going to start things off with meteorologist mike masco out live this morning braving the heat. mike? >> we'll call this the air you can wear this morning. just a stifling morning with the heat and humidity combined and this is going to combine forces to create the real feel temperatures we've been talking about yesterday feeling like it's between 110 to 115. let's take a look at the skyline. it's beautiful morning, but the problem the the blue sky is going to open up the door for fullon sunshine today and that's going to let the soars soar. starting out into the 70s to near 80 degrees keeping in mind our normal morning low should be 63-degrees. so we have al solid launching pad for the 100 mark later today. let's take a look at graphics and show you what's going on this morning. and again look at this

statistics, 79% humidity. that is just near saturation so again yeah the air you can wear. you're certainly wearing it this morning. 82 in the inner harbor. you can see 70s and 80s rule across much of the 95 stretch. it feels like in d.c. 83 degrees. we'll see our heat indices raising through the morning hours and that's why the national weather service has put out an excessive heat advisory and excessive heat warnings where those heat indices to the north and east of us could near 115 degrees. now we do have a cold front out to the west. that is going to allow for relief from the heat. and that will have to wait until at least 20 hours and we're pinpointing the cold front arrival into tomorrow afternoon. and unfortunately these storms could test severe weather limits as we head into tomorrow. we're on the way for 1 money and we're on the way for breaking a record that was set back in 1923. where were you in 1923 in i don't think i was a thought. more about the forecast in a

just a little bit. hey lauren. if you are using the entering no problems totem you about from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street and that will be clear on the northeast corridor of 95 if you are in the whit marsh area. from problems from 43 to the beltway. here's what it looks like in parkville at harford road. everything up to speed on that inner loop so an easy ride down to 95. the outer loop starting to pick up though. that will continue all the way to loch raven boulevard and here's a look at the west side of the beltway. that's going to be right at old court road so do expect some congestion as you travel you're looking at a 13 minute ride from 795 down towards 95. and major construction is underway on 95. just south of the harbor tunnel. linda so is in south baltimore this morning toilet us know. good morning -- to let us know. >> reporter: we're told crews are right beyond the harbor tunnel. right now are the southbound lanes heading into the tunnel. past the toll plaza is where the construction is.

they have it narrowed down to one lane. crews are resurfacing that steel bridge just south of the harbor. one lane will be closed for the next eight weeks and then in august things will get worse. one lane in both directions will be shut down. that means you should expect major backups going both ways. so your best bet avoid the harbor tunnel instead you can take 695 and the key bridge or 95 and the fort mchenry tunnel. again, things running smoothly right now but as the day wears on and maybe for the evening commute, things could back up and when we get into august when they shut down one lane in each direction transportation officials say things could be backing up through the tunnels. so avoid this area. we're live at the harbor tunnel, linda so, abc2 news. you can be the first to know about breaking news, traffic and weather alerts, just download the abc2's free app by texting wmar, the number right there on the screen is 46988. happening today the city council is going to vote on amendments for the mayor's $2.8

billion budget. the council comes up with proposals to cut about $2 million from the budget from they would restore funding to keep rec centers open. the council vote is scheduled for 4:30 this afternoon. a vigil head e held tonight to remember a teenager who died last week. his name is christopher brown and he's 17 years old and he was killed after an off-duty county officer chased him down. they got into a fight. the vigil is tonight from 7:00 to 8:00 at the randallstown high school. the officer is on leave. and detectives will go door to door this morning hoping to find out more about the shooting death. they say 19-year-old vernon williams was shot on june 8th near green mount avenue and 21st street in baltimore. they need your help. they're going to be handing out flyers to people living in the 3400 block of -- 400 block of east 21st street around 11:00

this morning. that bullying on the bus is nothing new and greece, new york witnessed it firsthand. she was bullied while riding with a group of middle school students. they hit her and teased her about the weight. one student even made a comment that her family ignored her because of her weight. >> this might help other people. that's what i'm really hoping. >> police have yet to decide if those students are going to be charged and stool officials are -- school officials are pondering how they can possibly punish the four students. well, it is 6:49 and a work group has fail today reach a consensus now on gap energy maryland. >> that sixth casino will not be recommended for prince george's county. so abc2 news sherrie johnson joins us here in the studio with more on what this means. >> reporter: opponents and supporters are sounding off about this. not going to happen for the mgm

in prince george's county. a work group could not reach a deal on gambling expansion. after a three hour delay on wednesday on the start of the group's final public meeting, the group of lawmakers and advisers to governor o'malley admitted that a consensus of the 11 members could not be reached. the glove nor said he could call a special session for next month if lawmakers could reach a consensus on special issues. they were weighing whether to allow table games at five already authorized casinos. now this would bring in 4,000 jobs and $200 million for education in maryland. now here's what opponents and supporters had to say -- >> compulsive gallening is comparable to becoming addicted to crack. >> talking about $347 million a year in revenue and $181 million of that from out of state? that's some money we can really use to help build up the schools. >> reporter: now even if the work group comes to a deal, two

more things need to happen. it needs to pass legislation and also needs to pass a state referendum. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. time now for five things you need to know on this thursday morning. the announcement of who won egypt's presidential election has been delayed far few days. it was supposed to happen today and there have been accusations now of fraud by a number of parties involved. president obama is set to deliver remarks today about student loans. he'll continue to press congress to stop interest rates on the loans from doubling on july 1st. it is opinion day at the u.s. supreme court and it will announce its ruling on some cases it heard wan the past year. -- within the past year. it's not clear yet if they're going to have the decision about obama care or arizona east immigration law. and baltimore's homicide count has hit 100. authorities lacking suspects in the two most recent cases, an 18-year-old was found with a gunshot wound and a 36-year-old man was shot yesterday morning. both died. former member darrell jones is expected to be released from a south carolina prison later

today. he lost his seat after being convicted of failing to file a tax return. jones served five months behind bars. well, we're in for another scorcher today and if you're hoping to beat the heat by going swimming you will have to wait a couple of days. they're not scheduled to open until this saturday. the only facility that is open now is the baltimore's meadow brook swim club. we know this weather makes for a bad hair day and here are some quick tips. skip the makeup or go light on it this morning because you need to let the skin breathe. of course pull your hair back off of your neck but not too tight in a ponytail. that will not allow the scalp to have air circulation. another tip with washing the clothes this summer? skip the fabric softeners because they make it harder for the clothes to absorb sweat. mike i know these are all things you're dieing the know

right now. >> how's my makeup this morning? charlie teaches me how to put it on. ocean city looking beautiful this morning. and the sunshine is going to come out oh look at this. 76 already. that's a launching pad for the 100 mark later today. downtown 82 degrees, 78 d.c. and cambridge checking in at 72 degrees. again heat and humidity making it feel like it's into the upper 70s to around 83 down in d.c. already. we do know that these heat indices will launch between 105 to at least 115. we have excessive heat alerts all the way up and down the coast. through the evening going into tonight. so high pressure in control over the eastern third but you notice there's some showers and gusty showers and thunderstorms working over parts of the midwest or from a line around chicago back down into oklahoma city. this comes at us by tomorrow afternoon. and this again could become some ferocious storms. storm prediction center out in norman, oklahoma that monitor these storm events, well they're saying that we are

under the risk. under the gun friday afternoon, friday evening for the potential of maybe a gusty shower and perhaps a severe storm. so 100 for today. hot and humid. that 100 feeling like it's 110 to 115. still tonight 74 degrees eventually. i think hold on the to 90 through the 8:00 hour but falling back to 74 and your seven day forecast shows 100 today. another very hot day for friday but the showers and storms can clouds will get here right after lunchtime hour. three in a row makes it an official heat wave. saturday still pretty mild and yet low humidity. 90-degrees a pair of 8s on sunday and a couple of widely scattered showers for monday around 86 but the theme to the seven day forecast is certainly going to be lower humidity as we head into the weekend. but more of that dry heat lauren so we'll be talking more about less humidity eventually. thank you mike. well if you are heading out on the roads the main story this morning is going to be 895.

major construction began last night and it continues this morning. fortunately not causing too much of a backup at the harbor tunnel but that will change later in the day. stick with fort mchenry tunnel or the key bridge as the alternate route. the jfx nice and clear, just 11 minutes from the beltway downtown to east fayette street. traffic picking up on 95 and white marsh at route 43 all the way down to the beltway and once you get on to 695, here's a live look in parkville at harford road. traffic just starting to pick up in this area. the outer loop will remain slow all the way up to loch raven boulevard and the delays extend to the west side. liberty road really packed right now. so do we figure out -- the orange deal? >> i know mike is -- we've been having this whether his shirt is orange or pink. >> or salmon. >> i have to say upon further review i looked closely, it's orange. >> this picture is going to actually help solve the mystery here. it may be difficult to see. lauren, this is posted on the facebook page just a few

minutes ago. we're going to come back toyota. >> i love this picture. i did find this one on the facebook friends shared it with me and it's as you can see two ears of corn. one says hot outside and the other one says shut up because it has burned and popped in the hot heat. we have very, very warm temperatures. >> keep this up if you would because you see the wall? >> that's orange. >> that's orange. >> that's orange. mike masco's shirt? might be a salmon. >> if you would please. you see the dress lauren is wearing today? >> orange. >> orange. >> if i wore that okay mike thanks for your time here at channel 2. the door is over there. >> please don't wear my dress. >> you know i defend you. i defend you. >> you do. sir. >> salmon. >> all right, all right. it's salmon. >> shade of orange. >> all right. even a little pink in there. >> thank you. i'm going go go all pink tomorrow. tie, suit everything. >> perfect. >> look like dumb and dumber. remember with the tuxedos -- >> what are we wearing tomorrow? you tell me what we're wearing tomorrow.

>> plan this. >> stay tuned tomorrow morning. >> abc2news.com. let's go to new york now for "good morning america." back with weather, traffic and news in 25 minutes. [ captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com ]