funds, but we were unable to. >>reporter: in a letter to employees, hepburn says an ongoing federal lawsuit against medicare -- on medicare billing against his company made it difficult to get another letter. checks bounced, cubicles are quiet and empty. how is that emotionally? >> horrifying. >>reporter: hepburn laid off his daughter who was the company's wellness director. he teared up telling me the employees did the same. >> yeah. >>reporter: doing math, hepburn believes reducing his staff from 661 to 160 people will allow him to pay off $1 million a week and make his company debt free by november. in fact, some of his sales staff is working with no pay just to maintain relationships. >> we hope that this is short- lived, that in three months we'll have the bank paid off and we'll start to call you back. >> and that was abc 2 news' cheryl connor reporting.

hepburn says cuts in staff also mean cuts in patient care. more than 6,000 patients were fitted every month. now hepburn says he'll be able to treat only half of them. testimony continues today in the murder-for-hire trial of carla porter. she's accused of hiring a hit man to kill her husband. yesterday the jury watched a video confession from porter. she told investigators she just wanted the man to kill her husband to rough him up a little. her husband was gunned down outside the gas station where he works back in 2010. he owned the station. porter's attorneys argue that she was in an abusive relationship but prosecutors claim it wasn't the first time porter asked someone to beat her husband up. also happening today, a man convicted of killing his wife will learn whether or not he will be spending the next 30 years in prison. back in april robert jarrett was found guilty of choking his wife to death. prosecutors say that he killed her in 1991 and married her body in the back yard of his elkridge home and built a shed over it. her remains were found last april. two trials happening on the national stage, one an army

major accused of gunning down soldiers at fort hood in texas. nadal hassan is charged with murder and premeditated murder. his trial came to an abrupt end when his lawyers wanted to withdraw from the trial. they say they can't sit by and watch what's going on. hassan is representing himself but allowed defense lawyers to serve in a standby capacity. in the meantime, the jury continues deliberating today in the racketeering trial of james whitey bulger. jurors must sort through forensic images, guns, even bulger's 700-page informant file. the alleged mob boss is accused of 19 murders along with several counts of extortion and money laundering. the jury must decide whether those crimes contributed to a rain of terror in boston. the thieves accused of

targeting female shoppers in anne arundel county are behind bars. the two are charged with multiple theft and credit card offenses. police say that the two would distract female shoppers at grocery stores and then steal their wallets. detectives also say the pair are suspects in similar cases in d.c., virginia and north carolina. a father and son have some brave firefighters to thank this morning. they had to be rescued from the third floor of their apartment when the building in west north avenue in baltimore caught on fire. both were treated for smoke inhalation. right now it's not clear how that fire started, but we'll keep you posted. a lot of money is headed to the u.s. coast guard yard at curtis bay. today senator barbara mccullsky is set to announce $21 million for the shipyard. the money will be used for ship building and repair jobs. the yard is the coast guard's only building facility and employs 500 civilian workers. let's talk about what going on this morning. the slrd picking up -- the satellite and radar picking up on the clouds and a few showers mainly to the south of d.c.

this morning, a rumble of thunder and lightning rolling through the area last night. we're talking about baltimore county, carroll county, severe thunderstorm warnings, large hail, damaging winds. not the case this morning, but we do have that potential once again this afternoon. sticking on the severe weather theme once again, back across the central part of the u.s. and also across the tennessee valley for today, they will have the chance for some more severe weather across that area and also some flooding potential. lots of moisture in the atmosphere once again. we're talking about these dewpoints in the 70s in a lot of spots this morning from ellicott city over to perry hall, down to annapolis coming in right around 71. so we are going to feel very muggy, very humid for today. as you're stepping out the door temperature wise, we're at 70 in manchester, 70 in woodbine and 74 in baltimore city right now. as we plan your day out, we do ventilate potential once again for showers and storms. over to you. as promised, here are the winning powerball numbers from last night's drawing. 5, 25, 30, 58, 59, powerball

32. i didn't hit one of those numbers. right before the drawing the jackpot grew to $448 million. those winning tickets were not sold in maryland. two were sold in new jersey and one in minnesota. >> so you know if you didn't have the winning numbers, neither did i because we had the same ticket. >> i know it. listen, nine young activists dubbed the droo dream nine, they're out of jail this morning and they're with their families >> yeah. they came out wearing graduation gowns and caps. we'll explain why they ended up behind bars for two weeks. wouldn't it be nice if we hit that lotto? well, fortunately you don't have any delays to deal with out on 95 here this morning out on 95. i'll show you what the other main lines look like and i'll have the drive times coming up for you all after the break.

at the live desk this morning we are tracking an out- of-control brush fire in southern california just east of l.a. at least three people have been hurt, two of them firefighters. the silver fire has destroyed more than 6,000 acres and a number of buildings. at least 15,000 people are under evacuation orders. hundreds of firefighters along with helicopters and air tankers are trying to fight this fire still going out of control. the cause is not known and the fire right now is 0% contained. bp will have to pay even more money as a result of that massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico three years ago. the company says the court supervised settlement program has been approving false claims following the spill. they tried to fight it in court, but a judge ruled bp

must continue to pay for the claims. bp has spent an estimated $42 billion on cleanup compensation and penalties since that disaster in 2010. nine mexican immigrants detained in the united states during their fight for an education in this country are free this morning. they were detained for two weeks in arizona. the group became known as the dream nine and they wore their graduation gowns when they were arrested. last month they attempted to cross the border from mexico into arizona. they were protesting the u.s.' immigration policy. >> the risk we took, we didn't know what we were going in to, we knew we were going in, we were going to fight and our purpose was to get home. >> nine activists were released on parole which allowed them to go back to their american homes until they can argue for asylum. the day is finally here, after months of renovations, the ribbon cutting is going on today for the exhibit of the national aquarium.

the space replicates the coral reefs found in australia and asia. 1200 animals live in that tank, including the giant sea turtle calypso. if you have not seen that, that is something to behold. but do you see that? the black-tipped shark, they are the stars. >> we also have zebra sharks, and those shacialgs called woviian sharks. these are all fairly small shark species. they'll grow up in this exhibit and do fine. >> if you can't make it downtown to see the sharks in person, you can watch the action on the aquarium 24-hour shark cam. megan, do you think there's a tie-in with it being shark week? >> i don't think it's a coincidence. there is a change in command happening today at fort meade. kucial brian foley will assume command of the fort during a ceremony this morning. he's going to replace colonel edward rosssky making him the 84th commander. he has served several missions,

including operation iraqi freedom. are you looking for new restaurants in the area? one easy way to do is taking part in baltimore county restaurant week. it officially starts tomorrow, but today there's a kickoff event happening at parish grill. it wraps up august 25th. 51 restaurants throughout the county are offering fixed prices for their lunches and dinner menus. check that out. >> not a bad idea. as you're waking up this morning, perhaps you were woken up in the middle of the night because there were some storms rolling through our area. hopefully we're done. >> are we done with that? >> we are not done with that. i wish we could say we are. for the moment we're done. as we go through the rest of this morning and this afternoon, we do have the risk of more showers and thunderstorms to pop up across the area. right now we look at the satellite and radar, we're pretty much calm as of now. we do still have plenty of clouds around and we do have those clouds at the ground for today. so we are teuking about some patchy fog in -- talking about some patchy fog in spots and back towards the west, they'll be dealing with severe weather rolling across the area.

with that we have the potential as well, especially this afternoon, and the reason why is while we are in this warm sector, so we're very humid once again, we do have a front that's back off towards the west. it's a slow mover. this will get in here probably by saturday, but in the meantime ahead of that cold front we are definitely going to be dealing with the possibility for [ inaudible ] temperatures right now 70 degrees, 70 in mount airy and with this definitely make sure you do weather app.

this will alert you to any storms. if you did it yesterday, then you were waking up to baltimore county and also carroll county, again, it's going to keep you safe when we're not on the air. as we look at the planner for today, lunchtime temperature coming in right around 83 degrees. grab the rain gear as you step out and about. you will need it for today. as we go through the next few days, 88 degrees with showers and storms even as we head towards saturday. let's get a check now of the traffic with lauren. >>reporter: that is a lot of rain in the forecast, lynette. if you are heading downtown, right now getting an early head start, no problems on the jfx. 55 miles per hour along the southbound lanes right at the beltway. it's going to take you the normal 11 minutes to get from 695 all the way downtown to east fayette street. the tunnels are both in great shape. and as we check in and take a live look at the beltway here at perry parkway, 55 miles per hour on the outer loop. it's going to be nice and green drive time wise if you are traveling from 95 up to 83. that stretch will take you just 11 minutes. and over on the west side of the beltway, here's a live drive at baltimore national pike, nothing to get in your

way on the outer loop from 795 down to 95. that is your time saver traffic. before continuing their west coast trip tomorrow night in san francisco. the birds beat up on san diego yesterday getting a two-game sweep, it was a quick series and chris davis back to his slugging ways. big shot there. his 41st of the season. that broke a 3-3 tie and helped the o's go on for the win. j.j. hardy, he went deep too. they remain six games out of first place in the a.l. east, however, baltimore sits one game out of the wrawrd race. and do you remember this scene from camden yards just a few weeks ago? that is when david ortiz unleashed the fury on the dugout. now he's appealing a $5,000 fine, that according to the boston globe. ortiz said he never heard of a fine being that high and said he didn't start the series of events that led to the outbursts, it was the umpires' fault. i'm not responsible for my own activities here, people. it was someone else's fault.

ortiz upset after being called out on some questionable strike calls. folks everywhere cringing around the country. little leaguers are about to invade aberdeen. the world series gets under way tomorrow. this is video from last year's tournament. 16 teams from around the world taking part, including a team from hartford county, the hickory hornets. the world series features kids 12 and under. coming up later on "good morning maryland," the ironman himself, cal will be here in studio talking this event, what it means to the community and how you can take part and come see some great baseball. that's coming up in our 6:00 hour. 4:49 right now. baltimore will say good-bye to colts legend art donovan tomorrow morning. his funeral will be at 11 o'clock at the cathedral of mary on queen street. we will air the event on air and online at abc2news.com. his family is asking that in lieu of flowers donations instead go to the believe in tomorrow campaign or doctors without borders. well, how often do you go

to the bank? chances are it's not as much as you used to because of digital banking. it's become more and more popular. but experts say you still need to be careful. we'll explain why. and looking look -- we're looking ahead to the back to school drive. abc2news.com/school supplies to see a list of all the donation sites and what kids in our area need. we'll be right back.

we're seeing more extrem weather coast to coast.

you see this damage coming out of the state of missouri, all the result of heavy rains. flood waters washed out roads and homes in the lake of the ozarks. some campgrounds in they're had to be closed because of the rising water. according to the national weather service 10 to 14 inches of rain so far have fallen in the show me state since last friday. meanwhile, they're burning up in arkansas. some places feel like it's 117 degrees. not surprising, the pools have been packed. one pool manager in fort smith said he had to cut back on how long his lifeguards uld sit at their posts so they didn't overheat. ems crews have been working overtime responding to more emergencies because of those hot temperatures. we think of a heat wave, we think of temperatures above 90, but in alaska it's 80 degrees. they saw a record number of days break that 80-degree mark. but there's some good news for those who enjoy the cooler weather up there. the national weather service says the high for the rest of the week is only going to be in the 70s and it's not much of a drop, but people there have been looking for some relief from the heat, lynette.

relief from the heat, 80s. i know. i'm shaking my head. i >> i just want you to know, lynette, it's not me giving you a hard time this morning, it's all him. >> i know, megan. you guys, it's not going to be too bad out there, especially as we go into the forecast. i have that seven-day forecast coming up in just a second. getting you out the door this morning, it could be a little bit dicey and it is going to come in the form of fog. as we look over towards the north and west, we can see reduced visibility. dealing with a mile in york this morning, only seven in fredrick, and we are looking bad in winchester as well. as you step out the door, make sure you take it easy and put a lot of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. as we work our way throughout the day, thahigh temperature coming in at 85 degrees. still a little bit below where we should be now for this time of the year. we will have those showers and storms that linger right through tonight and by tomorrow we'll do it all over again. the seven-day forecast brings improving conditions as we head towards next week. let's get a check now of the traffic with lauren. >>reporter: starting off with a live drive out on 895 here at

batea street. a lot of construction in the area, but it's not impacting your commute through the harbor tunnel. 95 also going to be in great shape. here's a live look just south of eastern avenue. it's going to be clear as you do make the push down to the fort mchenry tunnel. here's a look at the latest drive times, six minutes it'll take to travel southbound from the thruway down to the toll plaza. 695 going to be in great shape. you're looking at a normal 12- minute ride on the outer loop from 95 all the way up to 83 and everything will remain nice and calm over on the west side. you're looking at an 11-minute trip on the outer loop from 795 down to 95. for the latest drive times, you can always follow me right on twitter at maryland traffic. a consumer alert for you this morning. u.s. airways admits a security breach has now affected customers with dividend miles accounts. the airlines says a small number of accounts may have been compromised but they're not saying exactly how many. some cases accrued mileage may have been deducted from accounts. those accounts don't contain social security numbers. it's since been deactivated and

u.s. aiways says it's working on getting all compromised restored. online banking now on the rise. a new survey shows 50% of adults bank online. that's up from 46% in 2010. the number of people using their mobile phone for banking is also up. not surprisingly, younger americans lead the way. a study says more people are starting to trust online banking but experts say you should still take necessary precautions like changing your password often. a development project that is getting a lot of resistance, and coming up in the next half hour, we have the details on a baltimore city council's vote on the harbor point proposal and why the decision is making so many people angry. it's not zombies you have to worry about at a cemetery in washington d.c., but ghosts. we're going to tell you why the barnyard animals are setting up shop there for the next few days.

look at this, caught on camera, a wrong-way driver narrowly misses a police officer before crashing into another car. the whole thing caught on camera. it happened on a highway in tennessee. after the car whizs by, the officer tries to call dispatch and unfortunately the driver crashed into another car. police say they don't have any idea why that man was driving the wrong way and he also died at the scene. so used to seeing snakes on a plane, rats on a subway, but sharks, dead sharks too. subway riders snapped this photograph of a shark on a queens-bound train in new york. no one knows how the animal got

there. it is shark week on discovery channel. it's a bad week for fluffy the seal, you know? but they're denying any involvement. this is not a publicity stunt. shark week is all about conservation not publicity. >> sharknado, maybe. restaurant owners still in the heat after she vented about a mess left behind by one family. >> should she apologize or should the mom be sorry? that's on "good morning maryland" at 5:00 that begins right now. it's time for some football tonight. our super bowl champs take the field, it's preseason, but they're going to be playing and you'll be watching. today a big announcement about federal money coming to maryland. how it could help save jobs. those stories are straight ahead on this thursday morning. thanks so much for joining us, i'm megan pringle. >> i'm charley crowson. we had quite a show last night right around midnight, storms rolled through. beautiful start to this thursday morning the domino

sugar sign shining bright. lynette, are we out of the woods? >> not yet, charley. right now we're nice and quiet, patchy fog to contend with this morning. in terms of the wet weather, we do have more showers and storms rolling through here as we go through the morning hours and even as we go into the afternoon. let's start with maryland's most powerful radar. as of now, you can see the showers and thunderstorms that rolled through last night. that's the one you were just talking about. right now we're pretty much dry, not much ahead to the south of baltimore, the south of d.c., heading into st. mary's county this morning, also tintop hill, leonardtown and even brickly and oakwood and bushwood dealing with some light rain showers across this area this morning. so make sure you do grab the rain gear as you step out and about. even if you're not dealing with the showers right now, you could be seeing more as you go into the afternoon. the temperature right now in clarksville coming in right around 55 degrees, and, actually, it's a little bit warmer than that in clarksville right now. as we head over towards stevensville, this is more like it this morning, we are talking about temperatures that are in the 70s, upper 60s. so it's 75 degrees right now in

stevensville. dewpoints in the 70s once again. you know what that translates into, lots of humidity, and that's going to continue right into the afternoon and even tomorrow. glen burnie's temperature right now at 74 degrees with the dewpointcoming in at 70 degrees as well. and our planner for today, well, you're waking up to the patchy fog around 7:00 this morning, around 10:00 temperature close to 80, and by lunchtime more showers and thunderstorms possible coming in right around 83. let's get a check of the traffic now with lauren. >>reporter: on top of the rain, lynette, you did mention we are dealing with quite a bit of fog out there, so expect reduced visibility. might need those low beams. interstate 70, though, nice and clear here at colombia pike. no problems getting over to 695. and the beltway, here's what it looks like right on the west side. this is is actually going to be 95 at eastern avenue, but take my word for it, the beltway nice and clear, nothing to get in your way on the outer loop as you do make the push from 795 down to 95. that stretch will take you 11 minutes. the outer loop on the east side just an 11-minute ride to get from 95 up to 83. and there are no concerns on 95 in white marsh. six minutes from the thruway

all the way down to the fort mchenry tunnel toll plaza. that is your time saver traffic. for the first time since that wonderful night in february, the defending super bowl champions, your baltimore ravens will be in action tonight. the ravens are in tampa to take on the buccaneers. kickoff is set for 7:30. baltimore says their first home preseason game will be against the falcons. they open the regular season september 5th in denver. coming up in our next hour, we're going to go down to tampa to hear what some are saying about tonight's preseason game. maryland is getting money to help keep jobs in our state and today senator barbara mccullsky is set to announce $21 million in federal funding for the coast guard yard at kurtist bay. the money will be using for shipping building repairs and work. the yards in the coast guard is the only shipping building facility and it employs 50 civilian workers. again, that event is happening today.