i'm gigi barnett in hunt valley. the tasty details are coming up. >>> and here's today's report from wall street. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,, >>> it's 5:30. 80 degrees and sunny. good evening. thank you for staying with wjz eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. the woman who claims years of abuse drove her to hire a hitman to murder her husband continues her fight to avoid jail time. wjz is live at baltimore county courthouse. derek valcourt was in court and has more on karla porter's defense. derek? >> reporter: well, prosecutors are trying to portray karla porter as a cold and calculating killer. but defense attorneys say she is the victim of horrendous obuse. and today, they called psychologists to talk about it. >> reporter: karla porter says after years of physical and verbal abuse from her husband ray, she felt she had to hire a hitman to kill him. and in march of 2010, that's what she did, with help from some of her family members, she arranged for hitman, walter

gigi barnett shows us this major simulation. >> reporter: a casualty is created and actors get in placeured suspect on a farm. >> reporter: rescue workers are called in. [ sirens ]. [ screaming ]. >> reporter: it's a staged emergency that first responders in baltimore county designed to train volunteers and treat victims when the real thing happens. >> a hay ride going on, an atv didn't see the tractor and the hay wagon and cut them off, the hay wagon and the tractor rolled down the hill and we have 16 to 17 injured victims. >> help, my leg is broken! >> reporter: everything is recorded. it's information that could cut down emergency response times and actual life and death accidents. >> it gets us into equipment, familiar with it. mass casualty is not something that happens often, thank goodness. but we want to practice it to make sure we're at top of our game. >> reporter: they wanted a simulation that would be realistic in this area. rural baltimore county, an atv hay ride collision was the choice. >> i have a broken arm. >> reporter: hailey coffey and caitlin volunteered to be victi

i'm gigi barnett. >> and i meteorologist chelsea ingram. thanks for joining us this morning.peratures right now sitting at 70s, mostly cloudy, a little foggy as well. we've had some light winds that will create some fog out there. take a look at current temperatures across the region. 75 in baltimore, 76 in dc. much cooler in western maryland in the mid and upper 60s. 2.62 degrees. that will be him arise but it won't get into the 70s like it was last week. a little rainfall in southern maryland. we are looking good, for the most part, today. most are should remain dry. highs in the mid-eighties this evening temps around 75 degrees. >> the complete first warning forecast coming up in just a minute. but first, here's a look at the top stories of the weekend. >>> new details emerging. a small plane goes down in east haven neighborhood in connecticut. breaking apart and bursting into flames and killing four people. neighbors are absolutely shocked. >> reporter: a horrific scene in east haven, connecticut. a small plane crashes and burns in a neighborhood killing four people. neig

i'm gigi barnett at the naval academy. that story is next. >>> sun is back out. mixture of clouds and rain. will the wet weather return? bob is updating the first warning weather forecast. that's just ahead. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> it is sunny complete first warn weather forecast is coming up. a raging wildfire in southern california. burning 90 miles east of los angeles, expanded to about 2,000 acres overnight. six people had been injured, including five firefighters. the fire has destroyed 26 rural homes and forced hundreds of people to be evacuated. >> nasa satellites are playing a key role in fighting these fires around the world. mary is in the newsroom with more on what that means. mary? >> vic, hotter, dryer conditions are fueling more wildfires. and scientists are worried about the future. >>> destructive wildfires are burning across southern california, with winds pushing the flames into timber and dried woodlands. hundreds flee as fire consumes their businesses and their homes. extended periods of triple- digit temperatures. and dry conditions have fueled

i'm gigi barnett. >> and i'm tim williams. a comfortable morning out there, nowhere near steamy. >> that's why we have averages, sometimes they're up. sometimes they're down. today at least the temperature is down a little bit, so is the dew point and the humidity. it's not as steamy as it was yesterday. if you were out at all yesterday it was very very humid outside. today is less humidity, low dew points and the haze we have seen over the last few days is for now gone. the scan on first warning live doppler radar. the only shower we have is down near front royal virginia. we could see a shower or two pop up, but the chance for today is slim. 61 in oakland, 74 in elkland, 75 in ocean city. high pressure is pushing in that less humid air, and the conditions are drying out nicely. because of that front to our south, we cannot rule out a shower over the next few days. our forecast going up to about 87 degrees, pretty warm but without all the humidity it won't be as uncomfortable. we'll talk about how it plays out into the rest o

gigi barnett did a wonder ful ful story on you taylor and we want to say congratulations to you. >> thank you. >> how does it feel to have an associates degree and high school diploma? >> overwhelming. i'm happy that my hard work took off and everything can see how hard i worked. >> yes. >> it's definitely a pressure -- pleasure to be the first. i can be an example, which is the most rewarding part of this experience. >> how old were you when you started this college program? >> i was 14. >> you were 14? >> yes. >> wow. >> i -- >> i graduated before i turned 18. >> how did you learn about it? >> my father is definitely one of those fathers just in everything. he definitely told me about it. he said do you want to do it. i agreed. he took my first class with me. from there it just took off . >> wow. how many students take advantagf the early enrollment program at bccc? >> we average 150 students statewide. >> any idea what the success rate of them completing the program is? >> course wise, we have about 87% of our students pass the courses with a grade of a, b or c. >> okay. >> a lot of ur

gigi barnett, wjz eyewitness news. >>> drivers in virginia and south carolina continue seeing the lowestrices, while california has the highest at $4.79. ouch. >>> here is a look at what you're paying at pump right nought. the current price, $3.58 that's up a dime from a month ago when you were paying $3.48 at the pump. >>> tax free week began here in maryland today and it lasts through august 17th. the 6% tax is waved for clothing and shoes -- waived for clothing and shoes under $100. back to school shopping so just in time. while the state particulars a hit it's a -- takes a hit it's a great opportunity for consumers and retailers. >>> coming up, daring rescue, flooding mixed with dirt causes big problems in parts of colorado. the cleanup and how one elderly man barely escaped. >>> plus, remembering a young life, a 2-year-old who served as best man at his parents' wedding is laid to rest. the touching ceremony, coming up. . >>> suspicious package, investigators look into a delivery that made several jfk airport employees sick. their finding, just ahead. >>> maryland's ship comes in at

gigi barnett has more on the game that will bring carmelo anthony's team to his hometown. >> reporter: baltimore and sports. from the ravens to the orioles, even soccer. now it's time for basketball at the baltimore arena. the washington wizards announced this week that they'll tip off in charm city against the new york knicks, who celebrate the team's fifthth anniversary. >> it proves, along with the events that we've had that baltimore is a primary market. >> reporter: arena general manager frank blemish worked on a deal to get the game in town. and he's expecting sales to soar. with baltimore native carmelo anthony on the court. >> i think he will be a phenomenal draw. you put the two together. >> reporter: the wizards used to be the baltimore bullets. but the team moved to washington in the early 70s. the last time a team visited charm city was during this game in the late 90s. he says the match will be a mixture of history and basketball. >> a fan of basketball and history itself. i think the novelty of having the wizards play and professional basketball played here in baltimore.

gigi barnett has more on the game that will bring carmelo anthony back home. >> reporter: baltimore loves sports. from the ravens to the orioles, even soccer. now, it's time for basketball at the first mariner arena. the washington wizards announced this week that it will tip off in charm city. against the new york knicks to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary. >>> it proves, along with the events we've had in the capitol and the concerts, that baltimore is a primary market. >> reporter: they worked on the deal to get the game in town. and he's expecting sales to sales to soar. >> i think he will be a phenomenal draw, if, again, the wiz wizards themselves are going to be a phenomenal. >> wizards used to be the baltimore bullets. but the team moved to washington in the early 70s. last time they visited baltimore city was during this game in the late 90s. he says the match will be a mixture of history and basketball for fans. >> they're a fan of basketball and history itself. i think the novelty of having the wizards play here in baltimore, i think it is important. >> it's going to be the

i'm gigi barnett in hunt valley.asty details are coming up. >>> check in with more on these stories and all the day's breaking news, coming up at 6:00. now back to you. >> all right, vic. thank you. >>> it stillade -- still ahead on eyewitness news tonight. crash test results. small cars are a big seller. but are they safe? ,,,,,,,, [ dog growls, barks ] bring your dog to work day. not our best idea. [ dog barking ] george stop it. stop. ooh. it was a nice thought. [ male announcer ] some business decisions are better than others. the best decision is switching to verizon. you're good to go. that was fast. thank you. [ male announcer ] choose verizon fios and get 100% fiber optic fast internet and business class phone both with 99.9% network reliability on an unparalleled fiber network. you'll get consistently fast speeds and unlimited internet usage that's never capped. all for just $99.99 a month with a two year price guarantee. plus get an additional line included. call 1.888.410.4404 to sign up today. it's all ba