now, abc 2 news at 5:30. today's top stories, 40 people out of their homes after a fire, a the country meadow apartments. the fire destroyed 20 out of 24 units, while fire investigations search for a cause, neighbors believe it was a pro pain tank that was to blame. and the bodies of three boys, 12, 11 and 6 were pulled from a creek. they were last seen playing basketball next to the creek saturday evening and somehow they ended up in the water. the boy's parents say none of them could swim and they are rallying around the family to put together funerals for the boys. it was a rainy start to a monday, the rain caused a few problems with the morning commute to work, but right now take a look outside, the skies are clear, although storms

could be with us this week and the good news, remember those triple digit temps, those could be behind us. let's get the forecast from wyatt everhart he's in the storm center with a look. >> it's so nice to feel this break from that intense heat that we were dealing with for weeks on end. now a break in the action, the heat has shifted south and so has the storm pattern, the only pattern is the extended scan toward the virginia and north carolina border. this is south of richmond but all clear back the baltimore way, and that cool air funneling in from the north and east, 84 at bwi after going to nearly 104 in spots in the state just two days ago. that is a huge improvement. 80s with partly cloudy on the mild side, we'll talk about the rest of the week coming up. toadies the day that two -- today's the day that two city n%

fire departments were disbanned, another truck scheduled to be disbanned in october, we'll tell you more about that but the city fire department says they have the city covered but the fire union doesn't think us sew. >> reporter: with two fire companies gone and four others being reassigned, they say this will make the department run a lot smoother but they have to convince the fire union and the public about that. the truck is still in the fire house on eastern avenue but as of 7 fire crew 11 is now more. it's going to be reassigned to other houses and some of the folks in the area think that's a shame. >> i passed out here in the middle of the woods, and they came and brought an ambulance for me and came and saved my life. >> reporter: she says the crew has helped her many times. other folks in the area say the same thing. >> the government would need to look somewhere else to cut the

budget than to mess with the fire department. >> reporter: by disbanding squad eleven, the city says it's making better use of its resources, it will be able to stop the rotating fire closures that have been going on since 2009 and be able to provide better coverage. the chief says the fire response time is quicker than the national average and the changes won't jeopardize the safety. >> what this does for us is helps us with operation stability, what this means is that every single day, 24 hours a day, we know exactly where each and everyone of our fire companies are whether they're in the station or out of the station. >> right now the chief has chosen money over safety. >> the changes being made in the fire department put lives in danger. he says by taking truck 15 and scad 11 out of service, hoffman says they're losing added protection of having ladder trucks covering the crews on

the ground. >> i'm not giving up. i'm hoping to get a meeting with the mayor this week to go over some things. no, i'm not giving up. if councilman belches proposal if that comes to fruition, if the mayor is saying that, you know, we're going to give truck ten a chance to see if it works, i say let's go, you know. >> reporter: hoffman says that i will monitor to see if service suffers in the city because he says firefighters took an oath to serve and keep the public safety and they want to make sure the city does its job as well. the department says a new technology spot a potential water main filler, it involves a 54-inch main the ashford water, it may occur near

wooster and the dpw expects minimal water disruptions. >> beginning this week, we will begin testing water systems adjustments, redirecting flows which will last for approximately 48 hours. this is to ensure that we can provide adequate supply of water for all our customers when we begin repairs. we're calling on citizens to conserve water. >> if you experience disruption in the water you're urged to call 311 if you're in baltimore city. well, we were just over a week out from those severe storms that knocked out power to more than a half million people, finally getting around to cleanup, and then another storm last night. if you live in baltimore county the bad news is you probably have a lot of debris all over place and the county knows what you're going through and has a

plan. there are dumpsters and three permanent drop off facilities, one in white marsh and one in the hail thunderstorm area. the black market is going green. thieves are making big bucks steeling oil from sidewalks and it's happening right here in maryland, too. susan shows us why this business is so lucrative. >> reporter: it's 3:00 a.m., and a man emerges from the red rooster are restaurant, he wears an official vest but instead of unlocking padlocks, he snaps them off. what's he after, believe it or not, cooking oil. >> does somebody just come up and do that sort of thing. i don't know why anybody would want to mess with that nasty stuff. >> reporter: this alleged thief messed with them before.

the restaurant surveillance camera caught him in action. >> the worst thing is they cut the locks off. >> reporter: the cooking oil rip off came before the monthly greece pickup. >> anything we cook on the slack grill goes into a drawer and we dump it into a bucket, the same with the chicken fryer and barbecue. >> taegu is used to make bio diesel fuel, a great deal for honest businesses, but thieves also are cashing in, ripping off the waste oil and selling it on the black market for $500 a pickup. the refining industry says it's a nationwide problem. >> pretty much a hundred percent profit for them if they steel it and sell it. >> reporter: it's a similar situation for recycled card board. estimates are hard to tell

recyclers from thieves since the card board left on sidewalks is up for grabs. >> for somewhat obvious reasons doesn't make it a high priority, so the risk of getting caught is low and then the penalties are low. >> reporter: ron is looking to change that. >> it is a serious problem. we're here to help. >> he's petitioning new york city council to stiffen those penalties. after all thieves can make hundreds of dollar a night with a truck and a late night hunt for card board. >> it's a bad economy so people are looking to hustle to make money. >> reporter: siphoned from a green economy. susan candoti. you never know what's going to happen in a courtroom, and this is not a good way to start your week, where this brawl broke out. and we're 3800 water guns were loaded and fired all in an

effort to break a world record. don't forget you can follow the local weather anytime, any where with our storm shield, baltimore weather or our abc 2 news app as an outstanding weather page where you can check out those cooler temperatures. we're back with abc 2 news at 5:00 straight ahead. [ horn honks ] ♪ oh, those were the best of days ♪ ♪ i still feel the summer rays ♪ that graced our backs as we went down the lane ♪ [ horn honks ] [ male announcer ] when your car is more than just a car to you, the right insurance matters. are you getting the coverage options you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage or visit travelers.com.

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just coming in the news room we have breaking news where county executive john leopold will now have a trial date. a judge denied all the motions filed in his case today including one to dismiss the charges and set a trial date for september 4th. he's charged with misconduct in office, accused of misusing a protection squad, the allegations include having officers drive him to the parking lot so he could have sex with another county employee. caught on tape now, a brawl erupted outside a florida courtroom after a hearing involved the states sandra brown law was canceled. the controversial law allows people to use deadly force if there is a threat of death or serious injury. wow. officers stepped in and arrested several people including one man who left on a stretcher. there were shooting for a

world record in arizona, the world's largest water gunfight. more than 3800 participanted beat the record, but they still have to verify with the guiness book of world records. getting a little extra on your paycheck brightens your day, right, but some people are getting extra in their unemployment check. were you able to get online today, have you checked your computer at home, we're going to have more on what's behind this monday, coming up. [ snoring ]

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it could still go dark because of malicious software called dns charger, it was discovered last november by the fbi from a ring of hackers, it affects pc and mack users, now, that backup system is gone leaving you on your own if your computer is still affected you will not be able to get online and will have to call your internet service provider to get help. after weeks of lower gas prices, the lowest rise at the pumps is not a welcome site. if you filled up today, gas is up a few cents in baltimore the average is about 3.37, still below the national average of 3.41 a gallon, so how would you like to pay nothing at all the next time you fill up for that family get away, we're giving up $600 in gas cards each week all summer long, all you have to do is head to

abc2news.com/contest and look for the abc 2 news gas give away, that's where you'll be able to enter to win $600 in gas. the next winner will be drawn friday at noon. now, maryland's most powerful doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> the heat breaking today and the storm action pushing further south, that's where the heat line is, big storms flaring leer and a severe thunderstorm watch south of richmond, had a brief shower here south of the ocean city area, that is now pushed off floor, and again, the main storm line remaining to our south, well to our south, in fact current conditions now, bwi84, winds east at 9. it is a cooler easterly draw, not that nasty hot humid scenario we had all last week. it was early cloud cover and

sunshine breaking through, but temps holding in the 80s, cloudy early on but watch the sun come out over the mighty chesapeake bay, and how about a look at frostburg, one of the cool spots in the state in the 70s out leer at the university. -- here at the university. temperatures running mid- to upper 80s but a solid 20-degree cool down from 48 hours ago, this time saturday relentless heat, and now none of that. winds from the north and east drawing in cooler air and less humid air, dryer air out of the north and east, we'll show you the pattern across the east. you can see that stationary front, storm focus to our south, pouring in out of the north and east, we think this pattern is going to hold up a few days, the hot air is still there over the deep south but none of that for us, the hot air should stay in the front,

which technically does no remain stationary. it still shifts but does not sweep across the country as a true cold front, we think it will shift tomorrow. no big move, baa move further away from us. and the storm threat stays south, the nasty hot air stays south as well, right through wednesday, we like that, the big storms burglaring, east texas through new orleans, a real tough travel in the airports tonight. tomorrow, your 2-degree guarantee, just 86 degrees, seasonallable, even a little cooler than average, we like it that way. tomorrow night down to 67, partly cloudy, maybe an isolated storm, here is your 7- day forecast as the numbers remain in the upper 70s and 80s, the bottom line is we probably don't get back to 90 or some intense heat until

sunday into next week with luck that looks to be a shorter lived heat event and it probably will heat up again the week after this. >> 80 is good. >> we like the 80s this week, it's a good week to go on vacation. and 2012 news tonight, after ending bush era tax cut two years ago, president obama is making his message clear today when he called for an extension on tax cuts, again, this time only for the middle class, tory dunning is live in washington with what the candidates have to say about the taxes. >> reporter: this is a battle of the middle class, and an issue president obama says he'll bring with him on the campaign trail. >> president obama is calling far one year extension for the bush year tax cuts but only for people making less than 250,000

a year. >> many american families including these good looking people behind me could see their taxes go up by $2200 starting on january 1st of next year. >> romney's team is calling this a massive tax increase and under obama's proposal it would expire under those on 250,000 a year. unlike president obama, governor romney understanding that the last thing we need to do in this economy is raise taxes on anyone. >> so get this, the obama campaign responded to that statement with a statement of their own, there's a lot of back and forth when this comes to this issue on the campaign trail. thanks for that live report from washington, we'll see you tomorrow. also in politics, the first openly gay member of the congress has tied the knot, barney frank married his long time partner over the weekend

in massachusetts, the congressman recently praised president obama support of same sex marriage, he says it's a sign that things have evolved.n in the water and could not swim. that's what we're hearing from people in frequent rick'sburg after three boys drowned in a creek. plus you've heard a lot about it, college debt, the average debt graduates of our local colleges are going to have when they are forced out into the job force, right now let's take a look at what's coming your way on world news tonight. tonight, if there were your olympic, what would you do -- living room, what would you do. >> are you as prepared as you think, we put real families to the test, to

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well, just one business day after disappointing jobs report, the numbers on the stock market fell today. the dow jones dropped, and the nasdaq fell just under 6 to 931. s and p500 fell just over two points. in tonight's consumer alert, people who have been receiving unemployment benefits could be asked to pay some of it back. apparently the government overpaid $14 billion in benefits last year, and whose making the errors and what the government is doing to fix the

problem. >> reporter: the u.s. justice department estimates that an extra $14 billion was paid in flynn that's 11% of all the -- and that's 11% of all the unemployment checks, those who aren't actively searching for jobs, those who continue to file claims even though they found a job, all of those circumstances make a person ineligible for benefits but they can still get checks if there's an administrative error made by the government, the employer or the worker that makes it hard to track and stop completely. there are cases of fraud but those are rare. some people could get out of repayment if they're in financial distress, in some states, recipient can be taken to court. they can have their wages garnished or their tax refunds taken. despite the efforts the

government fails to recoup the money. toyota's camry came in first as the most american made car. it beat out the ford f150, this makes the fourth year that the camry tops the cars.com list, toyota, honda and gm have the most cars on their list, it's ranking is determined by u.s. sales and if the car is made in the u.s. if you haven't logged onto your computer just get, there's still some harm that can be done. joe see has an important warning, and you can check that on abc 2 news at 6 which starts right now. >> now abc 2 news at 6. after an unprecedented heat wave, finally relief today but how long will it last. >> it's a tragedy, and they need to do something. they need to do something. >> new information on a triple