one person in maryland now dead as a result of west nile virus. what you need to know about the symptoms of this virus to keep yourself and your family safe. and it's a big weekend for racing. we've got live reports this morning downtown in baltimore, getting you ready for the second ploor grand prix. and gas prices may be high, but that is not -- that has not stopped you from moving on. what you can expect to pay at the pump as you head out for this labor day weekend. it is friday, august the 31st. good morning, maryland, i'm charley crowson. megan is off today. let's get a quick check of that forecast and say good morning now to meteorologist lynette charles. >>reporter: good morning, charley. good morning, everyone. check out what's going on on maryland's most powerful radar this morning. we are dry and we are going to stay that way even as we go into the afternoon. it's going to be an awesome day. if you like the hot weather, those temperatures are going to soar into the 90s.

this is what we're looking at this morning, iamsville 63 degrees. the temperature in fredrick at 64 degrees. with those temperatures and the dewpoints being close together, we are looking at some patchy dense fog, less than 1/4 mile in a lot of spots this morning, so take it easy as you head out and about. let's get that hour-by-hour forecast, for fredrick, as you look at 72 degrees, as you head through the morning hours, lunchtime, 83 degrees already and then we still will be seeing plenty of sunshine and hot temperatures as you head into i'd say about 3:00, 4:00. let's get a check now of the abc 2 time saver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. >>reporter: good morning, lynette. if you are heading into the city, do expect heavy delays. it's all due to this weekend's grand prix race. many roads are already shut down. 395 is closed, so traffic is being diverted onto mlk. other roads affected include pratt street and light street, conway street also closed. and for a complete list of all of the closures, you can go to

abc2news.com, use public transportation if you can. there's even just -- or just avoid downtown if at all possible. if you are using 95 right now, here's a live look at 395. and you'll notice everything will be up to speed. this is actually a look at eastern avenue. no significant delays traveling through that fort mchenry tunnel. the harford tunnel will also be in great shape. and if you are heading out to 695, you're looking at an 11- minute ride on the outer loop from 95 all the way up to 83. now, traffic is just starting to pick up over on the west side of the beltway, but you're still looking at a 12-minute ride right now on the outer loop from 795 down towards 95. charley, over to you. the cdc has confirmed the first death of west nile virus here in maryland. abc 2 news' sherree johnson is here with more. what do we know about this this morning because this is really a problem nationwide? >>reporter: yes. well, not very much at this time, charley. you know, the department of health and human services will only say a person died sometime between july 1st and now. they're not releasing any other

information. they released the news yesterday. this is the first person to die of the disease so far in maryland. there have been 12 cases of west nile in maryland so far this year. compare that to 19 in 2011, nationwide more than 1500 people have gotten the disease, six of them have died. most people infected with west nile don't show symptoms, but those who do experience a fever, a headache, body aches and fatigue. and in very rare cases, the virus causes a serious neurological infection. now, texas has been the most affected this summer with an outbreak of west nile that has sickend 300 people and left 30 dead. you can head to abc2news.com to learn more about the virus. there's also a link to a special section on our home page. >> you mentioned texas. we know dallas was trying to do aerial spraying to do the best they could to stave off those mosquitoes. what are we doing locally? >>reporter: we're trying to be proactive here and the department of agricultural is planning to spray the milford

mills area for mosquitoes on thursday night to help prevent the spread of the virus and to try to keep people safe. >> sharree johnson, thank you so much for that information. live look on interstate 95 north of maryland 100. this is in the colombia area of howard county. going to be a very busy stretch of roadway across much of maryland. more than 650,000 people are expected to be traveling for this holiday. that's according to aaa. and if you're heading out for that weekend, you can expect to pay more when you fill up. isaac now having an impact on gas prices. marylanders are paying about a dime more in just a period of one week. this all due to the possibility of some refinery closures. it happened down in the gulf as the weather was hitting that area and that region. aaa says those higher prices, though, are not stopping you from hitting the roads. >> it seems marylanders are resilient when it comes to traveling. they want to get away, especially for many, this is the last trip for the summer. >> aaa says on average the price of a gallon of regular unleaded is going to be around $3.79 here in maryland. there's now a new effort

to combat distracted drivers among teens. we're learning about a news conference today at the baltimore convention center. 25 professor race car drivers are going to be there wearing anti-distracted driving messages on their race suits. cars taking part in the grand prix will also display anti- distracted messages as they make their way around the track. maryland already bans texting while driving. beginning today, ohio is doing the same. for six months police and state troopers will just issue warnings, but after that it's going to be a ticket of around $150. once again, that's beginning in the state of ohio. well, the tough job market out there, many people going to extremes now to find work. a man in toledo, ohio has found a creative way, he's helping his wife to try to find a job. now, his wife, holly, just lost her job at the university of toledo a year ago as a result of budget cuts. she's been searching ever since. >> i felt a sense that she was going to be a little frustrated, but not losing

hope. i just wanted to do something to help lift her spirits if nothing else. >> he decided he was going to advertise her skills on a billboard. holly has business experience, academic experience and an mba. those billboards are going to run about a week and it's going to run them about $700. well, it looks like gtl may be gone for good. mtv now announcing the final season coming for "the jersey shore." what is snooki going to do? and there are hundreds of millions of dollars richer. today we're going to meet the michigan couple that recently took home the big powerball prize, that's coming up later today. for now, you're watching "good morning maryland." we're back in a bit.

thanks for staying with us. in just a matter of hours we're going to find out who won that $337 million powerball jackpot. michigan lottery officials, they're introducing the winner. the drawing was held august

15th. that winning ticket was bought in a town just north of detroit. it's the third largest powerball jackpot in the game's history. some disappointing news this morning for fans of "the jersey shore." mtv says the popular reality show about a group of partyers is now coming into its final season this fall. that show introduced america to snooki and the situation, and we are forever grateful for that. it's also mtv's highest-ever rated show. the group's final summer season begins on october 4th. there's a big show set for tonight at the maryland state fairgrounds in timonium. victoria justice will be putting on a show for young adoring fans and a louisiana girl getting creative while getting ready for hurricane isaac. the lengths she went to to protect some of her best friends. it's the last day of august and it's going to feel that way. i'm going to tell you how hot that temperature is going to get as we go into the afternoon. i'll have those details coming up.

>>reporter: and you will want to expect delays heading to downtown baltimore. it's all due to this year's grand prix race. i'll have more on the closures coming up on "good morning maryland." [ harry umlaut ] that's one creamy muller.

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time now for your abc 2 news to go. i'm charley crowson. as we get to weather this morning, want to let you know the queen anne public schools on a 90-minute delay. sharee, do you know why? >>reporter: i sure do not. >> it's because of fog. we'll get to her in just a second. let's get over to lynette. >> i raised my hand, charley. i was, like, i know, i know. we do have patchy dense fog along the eastern shore this morning, reduce today about 1/4 mile or less. so be careful as you head out and about. maryland's most powerful radar is nice and dry this morning. and check out these temperatures, 66 degrees in elkton, good morning to you. jessup at 69 and 69 in mount airy. let's take you outside in mount airy where we're looking nice, beautiful sky, beautiful sunrise this morning. that's going to continue even as we did into the afternoon. let's go ahead and get that forecast for mount airy, as we take you hour by hour today. 8:00 mild, 72 degrees, mostly sunny skies and hot by

lunchtime, coming in right around 90 degrees, and even hotter as we go into 3:00 with 94 degrees. it's going to be a hot day on tap. let's get a check now of the abc 2 news time saver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. >>reporter: good morning, lynette. we do have several accidents you'll need to watch out for. trouble on 95 up in harford county where there's an accident along the southbound lanes of route 543. unfortunately problems persist out on the jfx where we're dealing with an accident right along the northbound lanes at reductionton road. if you are heading into the city, grand prix closures, 395 is now shut down, so traffic is being diverted onto mlk. several other roads affected including pratt street and light street. for a complete list of all the closures, go to abc2news.com. as we check in and take a live look at the west side of the beltway here at liberty road, outer loop just -- inner loop just fine up to pikesville. the outer loop will be slow as you make the drive down towards route 40. here it is in parkville. no problems on the inner loop down towards 95, but that outer loop a little sluggish all the

way up towards providence road. charley, over to you. now to a developing story, the body of a missing boater has been found in middle river. sherman walden died while trying to save another person and this morning abc 2 news' sharree johnson is here with more on how a community is now working to remember this hero. >>reporter: well, charley, they have big plans for tonight, that's right. several hundred people are expected to turn out for a vigil tonight. sherman walden spent his life on the water and died trying to help someone else. a friend jumped off the boat and started to struggle. 57-year-old sherman walden wasted no time going in the water to try to save them. his body was recovered two days later after he went under the water. an autopsy will determine what was the cause of his death. his family says this is not the first time he was a hero. years ago his son remembers his dad pull a person out of the ocean and performing cpr. in 1997, he and a friend ran into a burning home in harford county. it was just the kind of person -- that's just the kind of person he was. he never backed down from danger, but it came at a cost, this time as he tried to help a

swimmer in distress. >> if it was his way to go, it would be saving somebody or at least on the water. we want to celebrate his life and let him know that we remember him for the good things that he did. >>reporter: now, the vigil to honor sherman walden will be held tonight at 7:30 on wilson point road in middle river, not far from where his body was found. >> and, sharree, the heartbreak for this family just mounts because they've recently lost a mom. >>reporter: that's exactly right. yes, very sad. we've also learned that there are plans to hold a memorial service for both him and his wife. she died about three weeks ago from a stroke. >> sharree johnson this morning, thank you so much for that story. it is service day now for state employees, and on days like this, the state significantly reduces operations for those not working for agencies providing 24-hour service. the service reduction day are in an effort to save the state money. do you have the need for speed? if so, the downtown baltimore area grand prix is the place to be this weekend. the grand prix of baltimore, second year going, starts

today. and abc 2 news' linda stow is live from the track this morning. and, linda, we're about an hour away from those engines starting up. >>reporter: yeah. they're going to be practicing, so you'll get to see that. and to tell us more about what's going on all this weekend, tim curley, general manager of the grand prix. you've been busy telling me you only got about two hours of sleep yesterday. it's exciting, it's finally happening. >> it is. we're very excited. we're going to put on a great show for the fans. we have all the roads still open. a few delays around here which we're working with the city and department of transportation, but track is 99.9% of the way there. we have another hour to go before we start practice. we're very excited. about 100 people on track putting things together, another 1,000 people around the circuit putting things in place for the fans. so we're going to have great fun. >>reporter: so people coming out today, what can they expect? >> well, today is two-fold, or two things. basically there's the practice for all of the 5 series that we have, the indy cars, the le

mans series and all the sport racing. and then this afternoon it ends with the american le mans series qualifying session. >>reporter: so the big race is tomorrow and sunday? >> that's right. the american le mans series is saturday and the i glp zod indy car race is on sunday. they'll be going 180 miles an hour down pratt street. >>reporter: for somebody who wasn't come out here, tell us why they should come out and what can they expect? >> well, for people who are car people, this is obviously the place to come. we've got the fast cars, we've got wonderful technicians who are putting them together. you can go down into the paddocks and see that going on. for people who are just here for fun to bring their family down, we've got the family fun zone, we have the bouncy cars, the rock wall climbing, those kinds of things. again, this is downtown baltimore, it has great attractions all the way around the inner harbor. people can take the time to go to the national aquarium, come back in, enjoy the racing. lots of fun for everyone. >>reporter: thanks for joining us this morning.

it all starts at 8:00 this morning. that's when they'll be out here practicing, so come on out. reporting live in baltimore, linda stow, abc 2 news. more tough times for "good morning america" host robin roberts. her mother has passed away. this happened just hours after robin said good-bye to gma audiences to take a leave for bone marrow transplant. she apparently developed a condition after undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. that's what her mother had. some big names filling in while roberts is away. one name thrown out was oprah, also chris rock and rob lowe are also going to be making appearances. you know, most of us don't get enough of it and we're talking about sleep. now a new study says the lack of sleep could have a link to breast cancer. researchers looked at more than 400 post-menopausal breast cancer survivors and found that women who got six hours of sleep or less each night had a higher recurrence of teurps. they also -- tumors. they were also unable to find a link in pre-menopausal women. speaking of free, college

students, you may want to listen up, getting some extra sleep is key to maintaining a good gpa. college health officials are starting to take a look at helping students coming back to college to get more sleep. some schools are even giving students ear plugs, sleep shades and napping lessons. officials say more students suffering academic suicide when they don't get enough sleep, so the big push now for the new school year is helping everyone get a couple more hours of sleep. they're children, they look up to you and they like to copy the things you do. you may not be aware of it, but they're watching, even when it comes to exercise. chances are if you exercise, your kids will do it too. researchers looked at families who wanted to increase their physical activity. they found that when parents exercised more, the kids folled. but if parents didn't meet their goals of what they set out to do, well, the kids fell short too. >> if families just get outside and have fun together, take a bike ride, play a family game of baseball in the back yard,

go swimming, everyone wins. >> researchers say parents can lead by example and get the entire family up and moving. five things you may want to know on this friday morning, the reverend jesse jackson is speaking today about a high- profile murder case. milton hall, a mentally ill man was shot and killed by police in michigan two months ago. the reverend will be speaking today. a ruling is suspected in the racial profiling civil suit against the sheriff of arizona. joe arpaio is accused of discriminating against latinos. the plaintiffs claim they were victims of racial profiling by deputies under arpaio. close friends and family of neil armstrong are going to be in cincinnati today for his funeral. he died last week after complications from heart surgery. armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon. he died at the age of 82. and 15 years ago today princess diana died in a car crash in paris. she was in a car with her boyfriend, dodi fayed and her bodyguard. the driver was trying to outrun paparazzi.

only the bodyguard survived that crash. and a major northern california wildfire could be contained today. more than 1700 firefighters will be out there trying to put out the hot spot. the wildfire threatened hundreds of homes and led to a massive evacuation. we say our final good-byes to the first man who walked on the moon, neil armstrong, we'll be witnessing a blue moon. this doesn't happen very often. it happens once in a blue moon, that's where it comes from. it's when we see two full moons in one calendar month. the next time this is going to happen is 2015, and, no, the color of the moon does not change to blue, it's two full moons in one calendar month. a little girl has made sure her stuffed animals knew exactly what to do if isaac hit her louisiana home. she left a set of instructions for those stuffed animals to use a buddy system to go to the bathroom and stay calm while she and her parents were away. also the little girl said no parties. they can mess up her bedroom and in turn she would get in

trouble for the parties they were throwing. lynette. >> i love it how she said stay calm because that's so true. we're still talking about tropical depression isaac now, bringing lots of flooding rains into arkansas and pushing into missouri. and this will begin to move in our direction as we head to the end of the weekend and beginning of next week. so labor day could be on the wet side, a few scattered showers. now, we're also dealing with another active tropics out there because we are looking at hurricane. this is hurricane kirk right now, and then we have tropical storm leslie. but the good news is this will be moving away from the united states, so we don't have to worry about that. let's go outside in urbana this morning where we are dealing with a little bit of patchy fog there, and that will continue through the morning hours, and then that will burn off nicely. it's going to turn out to be a lovely day on tap. already seeing some sunshine out there, but we are getting a little patchy dense fog in some spots. now, high pressure is going to continue to build in as it slides to the south, and we do have that cold front that's going to move through. this is basically what's going

to turn tropical depression isaac's remnants towards us as we go through the end of the weekend and into the beginning of next week. that's why we do have the chance of some wet weather in here which is a good thing. but the timing is just so-so. it is going to be hotter today with the temperature coming in right around 94 degrees, 90 on saturday and then maybe some wet weather as we go through your next several days here. so let's now get a check of the abc 2 time saver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. >>reporter: good morning, lynette. we are dealing with several accidents. trouble on 95 up in harford county where there's a crash right along the southbound lanes at route 543. and we're dealing with another accident on the jfx. now, this one has been confined to the shoulder of the northbound lanes near ruxton road. the delays have really started to dissipate as well. now, if you are heading into the city, we are dealing with a lot of grand prix closures. 395 is shut down and traffic is being diverted onto mlk. other roads affected include pratt street, light street, conway street is also going to be closed. for a complete list of the closures, go to abc2news.com. here's a live look at the west

side of the beltway at baltimore national pike. outer loop a bit sluggish here, jammed back towards liberty road. and here's a look at the beltway in overly, no problems to report here at bel aire road. it will be an easy ride all the way up towards towson. you can take the kids to the state fair tonight to see victoria justice. she's the star of the nick loadion series. you can watch the attempt to make the world's largest crab cake. they're wanting to beat the previous record of 253 pounds. they hold that record too. the fair aps up on monday. 250 pounds of crab cake. >> yummy. i want some of that. >> sounds good. it could feed our entire newsroom. so much going on this weekend. it's going to be a great, great weekend. >> it is going to be a great weekend. start today because today is to be hot, nice, also saturday, but as we go into sunday, things go downhill, more clouds out there and also a chance of showers later on. coming up we'll keep you up to date on the roads and the weather.

we're back in 25 minutes with the weather, news and traffic. until then go to abc2news.com. it's grand prix weekd. it's labor day weekend, and the o's are in new york for a three- game series. stay tuned for "good morning america."