not know if we don't say anything. i trained my tail off. i am putting my life on the line, but i have to give you an excuse to steady state? when i give you an excuse and i excuses i am studying tape, that is not a good enough excuse? but is wrong for asking for a new contract? come on, man. i still might have to go back in rehab. i want to be there just as much as they want -- i have no regrets at all. i fight for my teammates. that is why i went back out there. that is what we have been successful, because we are a team. we are not a bunch of individuals, we are a team. i don't need the money. they can come and get the money if they want. money did not put me here. >> then why do you still play? >> because i love to play football. i love to play this game. i love sports. if the orioles had a tryout, i would go play for them. >> as far as the text messages, ed reed did not have his cell phone with me to show me those. a high-ranking official from the reagan shows -- denies that he was not given the tapes to review. >> to see additional footage of the interview, go to our website, wbaltv.com and click on sports. >> we have some sad news to tell you about tonight. former ravens fullback kenyon cotton has passed away. he underwent outpatient surgery to repair a torn achilles' tendon. after returning home in louisiana, family members say he then had breathing complications and was placed in a medically induced coma, but had a series of strokes back to back. he was with the ravens in 1997 and 1998. he was only 36 years old. >> a counterfeit ring ended with a deadly police shooting. lowell melser is live with more on the story. >> the shooting stemmed from an investigation by the baltimore county police department and the u.s. secret service, looking into counterfeiting ring that was apparently operating out of the ramada inn hotel here in pikesville. in the early morning hours, detectives moved in to make an arrest. there was a gun battle, and a suspect was dead in the end. baltimore county police and the u.s. secret service get much more than they bargained for after breaking of a major east coast counterfeit currency rink early thursday morning. >> the investigators had a plan where when the suspects came out of their hotel room, that would actually arrest the suspects. >> officers and the secret service were conducting surveillance on three men at the ramada inn, and as planned, they did in fact try to arrest them, but two of the men fled and police say 34-year-old eric stokes pulled out a gun and started firing. the two undercover detectives returned fire, speakilling stokt the scene. >> i heard them cussing, bang, bang, bang. the next thing you know, i heard the cops firing back, and that is when we jumped o the floor. a few minutes later, which came and he doubts the curtains. we were trying to see what we did see, and they broke in the door. that is when the cops yelled, get back in the room. >> the other two suspects were found hiding near the motel and were arrested. police recovered printers, paper, a large amount of counterfeit currency and other items used for counterfeiting in the room. >> is believed that the counterfeiting ring was operating up and down the east coast. >> we made an attempt to talk to family members, but were denied comment. we did find that stokes had extensive criminal past. he had been found guilty of numerous traffic charges, second-degree assault, dui, possession of drugs and distribution, and battery. stokes had also been charged with attempted first and second- degree murder back in 2000, but the case was dropped. as far as the two officers are concerned, they have been paid on -- placed on paid administrative leave. the suspects' names are not being released because charges are still pending. police have a warning for area businesses to look out for counterfeit bills, as this was quite a large operation. >> a manhole cover these is on the loose in east baltimore tonight. he has made off with 17 manhole covers in a six block area of east lombard street. david collins is live with more on what happened. >> the crime is as puzzling as it is dangerous. manhole covers do not fetch much on the black market. a little leaguer first heard the sound of rushing water star. it is a largely industrial section of east baltimore. he traced this down to an open manhole right next to the field. >> their mothers pushing their babies in carriages. schoolchildren lot here, people hike through year, and runners come through here. >> this has been the 17th manhole cover discovered missing in the past few days. all of them are located on east lombard street. the manhole cover bandit appears to be attracted only to the ones found on the side of the road, not in the middle of the highway. >> anyone who would do this obviously has no conscience. they cannot be that stupid that they would not realize that they could be hurting someone, or they just don't care. that really shows the callousness on their part. >> these would need a crowbar to pry them out. this stretch of road is fairly isolated. >> i cannot see some guy just throwing them in the trunk of the car. >> manhole covers weigh about 100 pounds each. the real mystery is, what does someone do with it? the going rate for steel is 7 cents a pound. even if that the got full price, all 17 of the missing manhole covers would only add up to about 100 four dollars -- $104. even if someone wanted to sell this material, that would be hard-pressed to find a buyer. >> we have not bought a manhole cover in 18 years i have been doing this. it is s state law that you cannot sell it anywhere in maryland. >> authorities say that is a lot of work and risk to take for $7. police are investigating this as larceny. it is costing taxpayers 80 new -- $1,800 to replace them. >> there are more signs the recovery may be weakening. ben bernanke was on capitol hill for a second day to give his assessment of the economy. the coal killian has details. >> -- nichole killian has details. >> right now in these difficult economic times, families across this country are cutting every frill and stretching every dollar as far as they can. cracks from the president to the chair of the federal reserve, the reality check on the u.s. economy. a house prep -- panel pressed for answers on capitol hill. >> where is that urgency to get jobs for the american people? but chairman bernanke says government stimulus is still needed to bolster the recovery and bring down unemployment. >> we are ready. we will act if the economy does not continue to improve. >> some lawmakers blame the administration for falling short. >> this administration and the majority of congress have told the american people that this steroid enhanced spending would solve our economic problems, but it has not. >> existing home sales fell more than 5%, signaling a slump in housing market. new claims for unemployment benefits reach their highest level in months, jumping to 464,000. >> what you can see is, the recovery right now is starting to decelerate. you can see headwinds coming up. you combine those two things and it could be a couple of ugly couple of bucks coming forward. >> there is some relief for those waiting on unemployment checks. the house approved an extension of benefits earlier this afternoon. it now has to the president's desk, but many economists say it will provide a temporary boost to the economy. >> here is a look at how stocks ended. it was a strong day on wall street. the dow jones was up 201 points, nasdaq up 58, and the s&p up 24 points. >> there is a warning for b.g.e. customers. while officials say you should get ready for higher bills. >> child immunizations around baltimore city earns some well- deserved recognition. >> coming up in sports, more with ed reed and his relationship with ozzie newsome. >> we will get up to triple digits this weekend. details coming up in a seven-day forecast. forecast. it is 93 at - friend: yeah? car owner: and this is what he had in my budget. friend: oh well, the top is down! car owner: the top is gone! friend: yeah, there's lot's of head-room! car owner: tons of head-room! careful! friend: ow! car owner: that's sharp. friend: cheese! car owner: yeah. sorry. carmax spokesperson: settling for less is not smart. what is smart is getting more car for your money at carmax. guaranteed quality used cars can cost a lot less than new cars, so you can get more car for less money by shopping at carmax. now more than ever the smart choice is carmax. the way car buying should be. >> baltimore city is getting some well deserved recognition for its success in immunizing school-age children. baltimore is one of six cities that dramatically improved its immunization rates, according to a study conducted by the journal of urban help. a panel of medical expert made note of baltimore's success. >> the city learned from international experience of actually reaching children who need immunizations. they did not have the highest coverage levels before, but are from other countries have to bring those lessons back and reached the children in baltimore. >> it was back in 1996 when baltimore increase the number of school-age children be immunized from 62% to 99%. >> there are numerous complaints about horizons land lienes. >> the complaint keep on coming. verizon customers upset about the landline phone service. >> we continue to have issues every time there was rain or high moisture in the air. >> we not only heard from verizon customers but technicians, too. what is the problem? >> they are concentrating mainly on budget issues and not so much on customer service. >> the union says that you are unhappy with your service now, just wait. >> this problem is going to do nothing but get worse. >> tonight at 11, why the local union president think the problem is only going to get worse. what something called the scrubber has to do with that, and horizons response to the claims. >> if you are one of those having problems getting repairs for your land line service, there is a link for you on our website, wbaltv.com. >> awarding tonight for b.g.e. customers. brace yourself, some big power bills may be headed your way. in the ge says that hot temperatures we experience in june and july led to record power usage, which would translate into higher than normal bills. the companies as customers with central air conditioning may find their electrical usage has doubled over the past two months. >> continuing with that thought, the air conditioners will definitely be working overtime this weekend. things are quiet over the state with few clouds out there. it is hot, but not as him it as earlier this week. load 9's on the eastern shore. the humidity is going to creep back tonight and will be in full force tomorrow. the national weather service has issued a heat advisory for all of our area. the eastern shore will likely be just as hot. it will persist until 9:00, and we will likely have an excessive heat warning for a d.c. and baltimore. it is already a code red they declared in baltimore city tomorrow. the index will be in the triple digits tomorrow. we topped out at night for a vote the airport and the inner harbor. the norm is 88 degrees. the normal low is 66. 74-78, clear skies with the humidity inching back after midnight tonight. tomorrow's forecast puts us in the upper 90's. the triple heat index is very likely tomorrow. incredibly uncomfortable with that heat advisory in effect. winds will be south that 5-10 not and waves at 1-2 feet. the bermuda high is a semipermanent high-pressure area in the atlantic ocean with a strong clockwise motion that serbs to pull in all this moisture from the gulf of mexico. that is really going to contribute to the excessive heat we are experiencing. to reiterate, the heat index with all that incoming gulf war after will be anywhere from 105 to 110. the cold front to the west will finally get through here saturday night and things will slowly improve sunday and monday. the tropical depression is continuing to move to the west. it will affect places like nabal'ples. is headed toward the oil spill area between louisiana and texas and maybe as far east as mississippi. we are just contending with the extreme heat. >> now, 11 sports with gerry sandusky. >> ed reed remains one of the most dangerous players in the nfl. recently has become one of the most confusing. he had shared a bed of white and stream of consciousness with the media the past couple of days -- a bit of stream of consciousness. he spoke with pete gilbert. he remains uncertain when he will play this season after off- season hip surgery. he vented about the team not providing him with game take to watch during the off-season. make no mistake, the ravens need ed reed to reach their full potential this season. he needs to get and stay healthy before he can really push for a new contract. and not question his loyalty. >> i want to play football. at the end of the day, ozzie newsome knows that better than anybody. he knows that ed reed loves to play football. that is just it. i want to be here in baltimore. we all have contract issues. there are things you have to discuss, but there is a way to go about that. >> the orioles the lumber have to wonder about when they will see kevin millwood on the mound. he is off the disabled list tonight. kevin millwood has had a disastrous season, but the orioles still hope he can in that second half of the season in starting rotation. tonight he will pitch against the minnesota twins. the twins come to town to 0.5 games out of first in the american league standings. the world version of football arrives and only nine days. they will host two of europe's high-profile soccer teams. manchester city and inner milan this year. we would like to give your chance to win free tickets to next saturday night's game. the deadline for the contest is midnight next wednesday. for the rules and how to enter, click on the link to our facebook page. football, football, football. no matter where you play it in the world, it is football season. >> we have more with the forecast in just ahead. [ male announcer ] achin' for steak & bacon? try the subway steak & bacon melt. tender juicy steak, sizzlin' hot bacon, fresh veggies on a blanket of bubbly cheese on freshly baked bread. and when morning rolls around, the new steak and bacon muffin melt with fluffy egg, melted cheese, and, oh yeah, bacon. all on a fresh toasted english muffin. mmm. guess we should leave you lovebirds alone now. crank up the flavor at subway. >> marylanders step without phone service and waiting for help. more on reagan said the ed reed's return to football. join us tonight at 11.oi >> i just want to know if he can get hotter and humidity can get strong corporate cracks the he is going to increase. it is 94 right now, a true 94. there is not that much moisture out there. tomorrow's 96 will be more like 103 does that make sense? i am going to say 101 on saturday. it looks like we will be in the triple digits, much like at the beginning of the month during those days when we hit 105 and 103. saturday is the worst day, and he advisory is in effect tomorrow, probably for the whole weekend. keep a check on kids and elderly neighbors. >> nbc nightly news is coming up next. next. he inherited a $1.7 billion budget deficit... then an economic crisis. but martin o'malley went to work. cutting $5 billion in waste and government spending, while also making opportunities for middle class families a priority. freezing college tuition four years in a row,