texas, others have confirmed cases. 26 have died and those numbers just scratch the surface. from that you can estimate as many as 12,000 have been sickened by west nile virus. it's in 43 states. half of the cases are in texas. the reason it's so bad, the winter wasn't bad enough to keep the mosquitoes from breeding. the people who tend to get it are 50 and old are, active, spending time outside. the young handle it well. >> reporter: in dallas where more than a dozen people have died, they will attack it controversially from the air. some worry it mae be more toxic than the virus. the best way to fight the bite is to avoid being outside at cuss -- dusk and dawn, use

insect repellent, cover your skin rand remove standing water. people will have neurological problems and those are the cases that worry doctors. a second case of west nile viruses had been reported in maryland. the new case is in the washington metro area but did not give an exact location. 70-year-old patient who suffered from swelling of the brain. the first brain was reported in july. that patient is recovering after suffering from feverish type symptoms. experts say it is normal to have one or two cases this time of the year. definitely a beautiful day. we're looking over ocean city. jamie costello has a special program on surfers to help autistic children. right now no complaints, beautiful temperatures, low

humidity. >> a tough assignment hanging on the beach. take a look. the stage is all set up. here's what's going on temperature wise, 87 in town. full on sunshine in salisbury. you're sitting at 90. nothing really happening, but, again, we're focusing on a storm system that's just about 17 hours outside of town. in the next 17 hours going into tomorrow afternoon we could address the chance of scattered showers, gusty storms. some have been tested at tornadic levels over parts of the northern and western suburbs of indianapolis. we'll be watching that storm and time it. here's your forecast through the rest of the evening, 80 degrees, comfortable, going to bed around 74. it's a beautiful start to your friday morning but will feel muggy. that humidity will allow for

scattered showers. again, we're going to time it out. we'll give you a beach preview going into friday and saturday and now the forecast coming up. do you skype or use those video chats. there's a warning from the fbi about the hackers that are trying to control your web camera. the most common victims, young women. what you can do to make sure no one is watching you. >> reporter: the majority of newer laptops have built-in cameras. you may have never used yours but odds are it's there. >> it just comes with the future. >> with the web cam comes the opportunity for people to use software to control that web cam. >> reporter: you heard right, control your web cam. >> many laptops have 3g or wireless capabilities built in. so being portable, they can be used anywhere. put in places that are private,

places people might not want to be seen. >> reporter: imagine someone tapping into that web cam to watch you. >> there is malicious software that can turn on the web cam, turn it off. can turn off the light that indicates it's on. >> reporter: with the light off, you have no idea someone pass watching. it's happening all over the world and a crime that's growing according to the fbi. >> it can grow exponentialally. they don't have to be a computer programmer. >> reporter: a quick search on google will reveal all kinds of information for people looking to hack a web cam and not just your computers, any web cam from security cameras to daycare cams. youtube videos give them a step by step how-to. what can you do? make sure your firewall is turnedded on and your anti--

turned on and your and the mal ware. >> put a poster over it. >> reporter: the fbi calls it cyber terrorism. if it happens to you, they advise getting help fast because chances are you are not the only victim. >> parents should keep their computers in open areas of the home and have a conversation with kids on what they should do if someone contacts them saying they have been watching them. vernal announced a -- verizon announced a deal late last year. the deal would have the long-time competitors marketing each other's products.

the department said the changes are necessary so competition won't be hindered for the consumes. coming up, a dog owner in colorado leaves his dog on the side of a mountain to die. how a group of men rescued the injured animal after it went for days without food and warning. a 70-year-old chose a wild way to celebrate his birthday. find out why he chose to sky dive 70 times for his 70th.

a dog in colorado survived for eight days with no food or water. the owner tried to carry the dog down the mountain and help couldn't. there was a storm approaching, so he left missy arrived. the dog was rescued by a group who carried missy down in a backpack. >> this may be an animal welfare case than a property case. this is about an animal's welfare. it may come down to what the best interest may be. >> the local sheriff's department is looking into who

should keep the dog. missy was taken to a vet. a young boy in china learned the lesson the hard way. you can't slip your head in through the guardrail. he slipped his head in easily. when he tried to back out, he got stuck. crews had to bring in the jaws of life to free him. he is doing just fine tonight. swirls at cape cod beaches are staying close to the shore this summer. here's the latest shark sight. local experts say it's a great white. it's about 12 feet longhand weighs an's -- long and weighs an estimated 1,000 pounds. a michigan man celebrated his 70th birthday by jumping out

of a plane. he didn't do it once. he made 70 jumps. he said he's been sky diving for 46 years. 10 years ago he marked his 60th birthday by sky diving 60 times. he raises money for a charity called leader dogs for the blind. coming up five lucky kids from west baltimore are getting the opportunity of a lifetime. how the cal ripken foundation is giving kids a chance to get away. several retailers are joining forces to make it easier for you to shop. [ male announcer ] the emotional burden of debt.

not everyone can understand it. the worry. the endless collection calls. we know what it's like... to be in your shoes. we're the providers of careone debt relief services. bernie dancel, who created careone, has been in your shoes. he once had his own battle with debt,

which motivated him to start what is now the nation's largest brand of debt relief services. so call right now to speak to someone who understands -- and get your free customized plan. our certified personal finance counselors have helped over 5 million people just like you. it's not a loan. it's not bankruptcy. it's debt consolidation with a payment you can afford. and we stand by our service with a 6-month money back guarantee, so there's no risk to you. we've been there. and we can help. call us right now for your free customized plan. or, visit us online. careone. we know what it's like to be in your shoes.

it can be hard to stay active and involved for kids.

but five young men from a city is headed for a week long adventure that might change their lives. >> reporter: ricky lions, deanne tai thorn and others live on the west side of baltimore. it's a tough hear to grow up in, but they still manage to have fun and they're smart enough to seize an opportunity. >> get out the community, which most people won't get a chance to. >> reporter: the city and the cal ripken foundation have joined hands to give these boys a week of overnight camp. >> teach kids about life, things like work ethic and sportsman ship and how the decisions you make can impact things down the road. >> reporter: they're ready for the entire challenge. >> we make friends.

>> you get to know people better and get more information about them. >> reporter: for parents it's about more than just baseball. what do you want? >> to be different. >> reporter: neighborhood leaders here set realistic goals. >> it gives them the opportunity to see the other side of life, something they may not see otherwise. we're thinking we have a chance, if not turning them all to turn at least one of them around. >> reporter: now to the serious matters. >> i'm on a question. what time are we going to be on tv? >> reporter: in west baltimore, tim rutherford. >> five, forks three, two, one -- cut. >> reporter: abc2 news. >> that's cute. may have a reporter in the

making. >> later this year they will take part in another baseball camp, this one at the old site of memorial stadium. more than 100 volunteers helped in the build today. they assisted in turning an outdoor area into a playstation for kids. the hope is the hub will help address obesity. they will hope wellness education classes for families. what a beautiful day to be outside. anywhere and everywhere was beautiful. we have big storms. we'll talk about them coming into play for friday. the weekend, we got to talk about it. we will do a time plaps

photograph -- lapse photography. bel air, showing a few of those high cumulus clouds bubbling through. it was all about that wind direction, that westerly wind bringing in that dry feel. here's the shot downtown. as we approach the 6:00 hour we're talking temperatures right around 87 degrees. the real story is this humidity level at 37%. dew point below where we have been for the last several months. usually we're talking dew point values around 70. so that's comfortable. westerly wind ushering that dry air. 82347 town. 86 easton. cooler up toward the north. hagerstown around 83. dew point values running between 58, 60. that is comfortable numb brmt visible satellite showing a mixture of stars and few high clouds. 74 around 11. wake up to 68.

a little more of that muggy field. high pressure is slowly being eroded as it drifts off to the south and east. let's focus to the west. there are ferocious storms stretched from chicago to st. louis, some big storms. let's switch it over. i put a distance tracker. here we are. you go 17 hours toward the west and you find these watches, warnings close are. terre haute, you can see them going tornadic. they will be strong as they move to the west. the question is when will they come into play and how strong will they be. i think the time frame will be around 3:00 to 4:00. here's the cold front. this slides toward the east. we got cooler air for the weekend. there could be a spot shower for saturday and going into sunday. temperatures on our future trend showing us around 11:00, 12,

upper 60s to 70. tomorrow afternoon we'll segue from the 70s to the 80s to close to 90. notice some of the storms popping up. the front comes through. we'll she clouds and a mixture of sunshine going into the weekend. here's tropical storm gordon moving to the east, northeast at 15. this will be near spain. here's the beach forecast. mostly sunny skies. watch for those afternoon showers and storms, temperatures ranging 87 to not no 67 for the overnight. humid afternoon showers and storms developing. here's baltimore's most accurate forecast and your seven-day, 81 by saturday. 80 by sunday. the week will feature more

clouds. monday at 83 and average temperatures over the next several days. kelly? >> happening right now, we want to show you a live picture. folks are lining up for the dream act clinic. this helps undocumented immigrants fill out the necessary paperwork to get a vie visa -- a visa and work permit. they have to have entered account before they turned 16, have a high school diploma, be enrolled in school, no criminal record, quite a line. we'll have much more coming up at 11. let's shift gears to democracy 2012. ever since mitt romney chose paul ryan to be his running mairkts the focuses -- mate, the focus has shifted from the economy to medicare. the only thing they agree on is

that the other guy is wrong. >> reporter: right now there's this battle between mitt romney and president obama over medicare but here's a breakdown of what's true and what's false. >> the president's plan has a dramatic impact on today's seniors. >> they want to voucherrize the medicare system. >> reporter: behind the rhetoric are few details. today romney, armed with his white board, said he supports some elements of paul ryan's plan which would give seniors the ability to choose their own med chair. >> standard, a fee or a private medicare. >> reporter: the ob campaign said under this system medicare would be flooded by the sickest seniors and ultimately doom the program but that's not a certainty. arguing that romney would and the program is a stretch. as for the president's plan here's one of romney's problems with obama care. >> no change for current see --

seniors and 55 and over. his plan $716 billion in cuts. >> reporter: he said medicare spending would increase by that figure but if it's in the repealed there's no guarantee that $716 billion would be saved. >> i have made preform that is have saved millions of seniors with medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs. right now both candidates are trying to use medicare to scare voters back to his side. until an actual plan is put into place there are many questions that will be unanswered really. >> all right. tory dunnan live from d.c. we'll stay tuned for that. the white house is hosting a state dinner on monday, but it's a twist. it's not actually a dinner but a luncheon. it won't feature politicians or

dignitaries. it will feature children. it's part of the first lady's let's move campaign. coming up tonight at 6:00, police say an armed man tried to kidnap a woman in annapolis. where the investigation stands now. and they lost a daughter and sister in a crash in the city. the latest on their public battle with the company that ensured her. we'll have those stories and a whole lot more coming up on abc2 news at 6:00.

stocks plunged to a new low today after a ban preventing

early investors from dumping shares was listed. it freed up about 271 million shares. it is not yet known whether any of those stocks were the ones sold. investors just may be dumping them in anticipation of a decline. facebook has lost nearly half of its value since it debuted in may. if you're having a difficult time finding a job, your marital status may be the blai. unemployed married people are having a harder team than singles. 5million single machine and women lost their jobs but 90% are back it work. of the 600 million who lost their jobs, home 22% have done back. they said the reason for the disparity may be that married couples have more freedom to take the team to find a new job. several big named retailers

are teaming up to create a company to allow customers to make purchases using smartphones. walmart, best buy and target have formed it. it a's mobile app for every smartphone. that sounds dangerous. the o's are having a great season and the ravens are on the verge of one. how cheering for your favorite team could be bad for you. that's coming up on abc2 news at 6:00 which starts right now. people say he was helping her with her groceries. >> he tried to kidnap a woman and her child has they got off a city bus in annapolis. he is accused of a horrifying crime but he's still