the way. sharon's got traffic after marty's weather. right now we're not low 60s with a lunchtime temperature of 79 going for a high of 84. 78 this evening. you got to understand, the big weather story is hurricane irene. now a cat two going to a cat three and right there, eventually a cat four approaching the coast of southern north carolina. we'll see impact on sunday, the details shortly. don. here's sharon at wjz traffic control. we have a problem if you're traveling on the the beltway at reisterstown road. it does not appear to be affecting feeds. also, watch for fire activity, pleasant mill drive. no major delays so far on the beltway. there's a look at your average speeds. there's a live look at the top side at providence road. no issues. no issues on the harrisburg expressway at shawan road. remember, wjz is always on. you can log on to wjz.com. back to you. here's what people will be talking about, the defueling situation -- developing situation in libya and the local plan caught in the middle of it. >> reporter: matthew van dyke has been missing for the past five months and his family is anxious for an update. sharon vandyke can only wait. >> i haven't been to bode since friday. >> reporter: van dyke heard from matthew march 13th. in april he was counted among the missing americans. two weeks ago libyan officials confirmed that van dyke has been jailed. >> it seems like things are moving so quickly that we will get to talk to him. >> it's a very serious situation in libya. >> reporter: congressman dutch ruppersberger is worried what moammar gadhafi could do next. >> there could be unstable moments because of all of the weapons -- chemical weapons, must guard gas, man pads. >> reporter: gadhafi hasn't been seen in days and two of his sons are now free. one of them, saif ali-islam, appeared outside a tripoli hotel early this morning. >> we broke the backbone of the rebels. we gave them a hard time, so we are winning. >> reporter: there's no guess when the fighting will end and matthew will come home. now congressman dutch ruppersberger is working to bring home van dyke and the other americans. >> it's triggering new calls to put the lockerbie bomber back in prison. mohmet al-megrahi was jailed for a plane bombing over scottland. the two brothers here accused in a murder for higher plot could be in court. the man hired two men to kill jermaine wallace. bacher has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the murder. the murder of stephen pitcairn is trying to keep his legacy alive. for more information go to wjz.com. there's a health alert concerning an amtrak train. kai jackson explains the risk of a measles outbreak. >> reporter: millions ride the amtrak each year. one person was carrying more than a ticket. >> a measles is preventable. >> reporter: a passenger riding train 171 had measles. the passenger board the train in philadelphia and headed south traveling through aberdeen, baltimore, bwi airport and new carrollton and left the train in lynchburg, virginia. measles is a contagious rash caused by a virus. symptoms include a rash, watery eyes, red or watery eyes and a cough. those who may have been exposed should look for signs of the viral infection. >> what we're asking for is people who were on the train and particularly people on the train who were not vaccinated to be on the lookout over the next few weeks for the signs and symptoms of measles. >> reporter: the state health department will not provide specific details about the person infected with measles. if you believe you were exposed, you're asked to contact your healthcare provider. back to you. >> the government said that's been two years since marylands with infected with measles. ford and toyota are teaming up with suv and truck hybrids. they said this will make the hybrid technology more affordable. one of motown's most beloved songwriters has died. >> ♪ we build it up. now it's solid -- solid as a rock ♪ >> nick ashford and his wife valley made up the duo ashford and simpson. the pair wrote songs for others. nick ashford dead from throat cancer at the age of 70. one of the newest baltimore orioles dishes out payback. jj hard made his first appearance. he hit that home run to put orioles ahead has the birds win one 4-1. the maryland football terrapins scott had an impressive showing. he breaks open for a 97-yard run as the giants beat the click bears. their starting corner back, terrell thomas tore his acl and could be out for the season, maybe as long as a year. thursday the ravens have their next preseason gamals the washington redskins come to town. it's live right here on wjz 13. of course, the big weather this morning hurricane irene. the weather for thursday's game looks delightful, but the big weather story is off the coast of the dominican republic. we've got cool video to show you from puerto rico. this is a time lapse of irene. it's a storm about half as intense as it is right now coming through and moving to the area. irene is now affecting the coast of the dominican republic, going to a cat three and eventually a cat four status. eventually, unfortunately, making a run at our neighborhoods. we'll have a discussion coming up. right now it's absolutely beautiful. sunny with a high of 62. it's in the low 60s outside right now. we just mentioned nick ashford. turns out a leal man who became one of the great writers died. he formed the team, a partnership that lasted 61 years. jerry lee, dead of heart failure at the age of 78. interesting if you believe in trifectas, another song write are should be in the -- writers should be in the news. >> two of the greatest songwriters in their individual genres in the hex of music. >> reporter: absolutely. nick ashford wrote great songs and jerry leeber. his mom opened a grocery store in west baltimore. he teamed up with mike stoler. the poet laureate of the '50s and haiti '60s and a member of the rock 'n roll hall of fame. how about that? >> how about that. >> reporter: they originally wrote that for big mamma thornton. okay. we're on west coast spring lane. we're at miss shirley's food truck. check this out, guys. how about some chicken and waffles this morning. oh, yeah, nominated to be america's favorite food truck. we'll tell you how to vote and help others at the same time when the eyewitness news morning edition rolls on. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, we've got an easy forecast. we've been talking about this all morning long. irene will play into our lives. it's in the middle of our forecast. so hang with me. 66% humidity. barely a breeze out of the west, northwest. barometer at 30.02. 13 degrees cooler on tv hill than this time yesterday. tomorrow morning cooler. the low 50s. some areas around cumberland and oakland. almost 60 elkton. 64 degrees d.c. 68 pax river. the mid to upper 50s westminster and bel air. 66 rock hall. almost 70 in annapolis and kent island. our weather in the short term is simple. got this big beautiful dome of high pressure. it will move to and through the area eventually getting offshore and giving us a return of humidity. we'll take a look at the forecast and the five-day. then we'll go back to mid-week. today 82 sunny and nice. tonight 59, clear skies, beautiful very, very comfortable. tomorrow sunny with a high of 86. the increase in humidity with the chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. thursday, 90. there's a cold front. friday humid and 87. here comes this frontal boundary meandering through the region on saturday. let's bring in that computer model and watch how quickly this gets to the coast. it puts the brakes on and stops. that will aout remnants of what could be a cat four hurricane to come into the area. winds right now of almost 100 miles an hour, solid cat two status skirting the coast of the dominican republic. the next stop, the turks of the kay cost and a. you saw it go into a cat four status. look at the spaghetti models. they're starting to agree on that track. that front's going to be laying about right there, remnants of irene get forceed into our region, right near delmarva. we're talking about heavy duty rains with wind swept rains as far west between frederick and hagerstown. we're going to get some direct impact from what will be probably a cat three hurricane striking not all that far away. it's something we have to keep our eye on. we've been mentioning this all morning. we talk about us is a belt the fact of the matter; when the remnants of what was isabelle came up the bay it wasn't strong enough to have a name. we referred to it as isabelle because you got to call it something. there could still be a storm called irene passing south. let ease put it in perspective. we've got to watch this. don, take it away. >> the rush right now from sharon at wjz traffic control. good morning, everyone. so far, one thing to watch out for. it is an accident at reisterstown road. it is not causing major delays. no delays on the beltway or your other major roadways. take a look at 295, the soib lanes at 175 looking good, problem-free. we can say the same thing for harford road. this traffic report is brought to you by your toyota material. toyota moving forward. back over to you. we'll send it out to ron. lots to do in a short amount of time. >> reporter: live west cold spring road. we're in front of miss shirley's, the food truck nominated to be the food truck of the year nominated by the food network. good to see you, eddie. how did this come about? >> the food network announced six to eight weeks ago for nominations to come in for ordinary people to write in and nominate their favorite food trucks. they accumulated a list of 200 trucks. we're the only baltimore truck. there are three other maryland tricks but the only one from baltimore. we're running from big cities and little cities. >> how can people vote for you? >> you get 10 vote as day either from a computer or from your phone if you have a smartphone. go to the miss shirley's facebook page or use your smartphone and you can vote from the phone as well. >> we've linked it to wjz.com as well. you can vote for miss shirley's food truck. you're doing this to help the united way. >> absolutely. there's a $10,000 prize for the favorite food truck. we contacted the united way and said we want to do this for fun and win but let's see if we can help people. the $10,000 goes to the united way. the contest runs through september 12th. >> this is a wonderful thing that miss shirley's is doing for the people of maryland. so get out there land vote for the miss shirley's food truck, so the folks can get $10,000 for the poor and needy in our community. >> reporter: as we like to say, vote early and often. what do we have? >> sweet potato fries with mangos. this is our jalapeno butter. green onions and cheddar waffles. the turkey sandwich with brie, apples and kraut. >> reporter: please vote. guys, we're going to send it back to you on tv hill. vote for miss shirley's. >> and of great food trucks. >> go to wjz.com and check on links and numbers. a memorial, a generation in the making. [ waves crashing ] [ whistling ] ♪ [ webber ] discover all that northwest florida has to offer. seventeen hidden beaches, one revealing destination. and only at southwest.com can you get 99-dollar fares nonstop from bwi airport to panama city beach. [ ding ] a monumental day in washington, d.c. the martin luther king, jr. memorial is open for the first time. >> reporter: they linds up by the hundreds to visit the memorial to dr. martin luther king, jr. which officially opens on sunday but on monday morning it opened to visitors and people were able to come in and take a look. i have an inside exclusive look at the memorial. washington, jefferson, lynn corntion the forefathers of our country look over the monument. >> reporter: the four acre grand tribute to a peace maker a champion of social change. >> what happened the first time you see this. a lump gets in your throat. >> reporter: it is a dream that is decades in the making. as part of the planning i was director of communications and worked closely with coretta scott king. our guide, harry johnson, the president of the foundation. >> this is where everyone starts their tour of the memorial. what are we experiencing here? >> we want people that come here. they walk down and it gets narrower, basically simulating the struggle going through the civil rights movement. >> reporter: two towering pieces of granite. >> out of a mountain of despair. keep walking and low and behold, boom, you look up and there's dr. king here dr. king's image emerges from the stone. the architect said it's both an educational and emotional experience. >> looming large looking over the tidal basin in the direction of fdr and jefferson. >> reporter: after people get over the sheer awe of the massive statue of dr. king, they get to interact with the memorial even more, getting up close. along this wall 14 different of his most famous quotes. >> three meals a day for their body, education, a culture for their mind and freedom for their spirit. >> reporter: that's when he received the nobel peace prize. when people leave this memorial, what feelings do you thy people will have? >> i want people leaving here knowing and believing who dr. king was, what it meant, not just to this country but indeed the world. >> reporter: vic carter, wjz eyewitness news. the foundation is trying to raise the last $5 million for the memorial that's already there. next up -- >> a manhattan judge is expected to dismiss the sexual assault charges against dominique strauss-kahn. i'll have the story. good morning. i'm andrea fujii. jailed in leb -- libya. what's next for the missing maryland man. we continue to follow one accident on the beltway. >> here this is, laura lippman's book and she joins us on coffee with,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it is 6:30, and the sun is up. sharon's got how clear the roads are. marty is in first warning weather. spectacular in the low 60s, going to a high of just about 84, which is normal a beautiful pleasant evening. 78 degrees. the big story has to be hurricane irene. those are the spaghetti models. by the end of the weekend, we've got to be very careful. >> thank you. how about the road conditions? here is sharon at wjz traffic control. we have an update on that accident. it's on the northwest side at the inner loop on reisterstown road. the north lane is blocked. it is starting to cause delays down to 43 miles per hour. as far as average speeds on the beltway we're doing pretty well, 52 on the west side between 795 and 95. the top side, everything is running still at full speed there. looking at 295, you can see everything is looking nice at 175. this traffic report is brought to you by your toyota dealer. toyota moving forward. back over to you. this is the day that dominique strauss-kahn has been waiting for and we thought with happen yesterday. we have the report for wjz. the charges against him may be tossed out at the prosecution's request today. >> reporter: dominique strauss-kahn could soon walk away a free man. today a new york judge is expected to drop all sexual assault charges against the former international monetary fund chief. prosecutors claim they can no longer prove the accuser is telling the truth. prosecutors say 32-year-old nafissatou diallo lied to investigators repeatedly, giving three different versions of what happened inside this hotel. in these court documents manhattan prosecutors described an apparent web of lives. there's plenty evidence to show a sexual encounter did occur but not enough to show it was forced. >> he has not only turned his back on this innocent victim, but he has also turned his back on the forensics, medical and other physical evidence in this case. >> reporter: women's groups are outraged. >> dominique strauss-kahn got lucky. he attacked a woman with a shady past, and all too often in rape cases that's exactly what we see. >> reporter: in new york, reporting for wjz eyewitness news. >> before he was arrested, strauss-kahn was considered a leading contender in france's presidential election. a lot of eyes remain on libya as rebels, earth control. they are flying the rebel flag instead of the one that rep sent the regime of moammar gadhafi. caught in the middle of it, a man from maryland. andrea fujii is live with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. tensions remain high, not just in libya but in maryland as a baltimore mother hasn't seen her son in nearly half a year. sharon van dyke can only wait. in april the u.s. state department counted the freelance journalist month missing americans. two weeks ago libyan officials confirmed that van dyke was being held in jail. his girlfriend is trying it remain optimistic. >> seems like things are moving quickly, that we will get to have him home soon. >> it's a serious situation in libya. >> reporter: congressman dutch ruppersberger is worried. >> there will be still some unstable moments because of all of the weapons -- chemical weapons, mustard gas, man pads. >> reporter: gadhafi hasn't been seen in days and two of his sons, thought to be in the hands of libyan rebels, is free. one of them, saif ali-islam, appeared outside a hotel. >> we broke the backbone of the rebels. so we are winning oar loor there's no guess when the fighting will end and matthew there come home. congressman ruppersberger said he hopes van dyke is in a libyan jail to afford him some protection from all the chaos on the street. >> the congressman said the u.s. state department is working to not only bring van dyke home but all the americans stranded in libya. a search of aruba turned up nothing for the missing woman from maryland, robyn gardner. prosecutors will have to go next week to keep giordano in custody longer. employees at a grocery store turned the tables on a rob bemplet darius cameron tried to fire a weapon. a clerk and others jumped in to hold him until police arrived. starting today people living in baltimore city can get free smoke alarms by calling 311. it's part of a federal funded program. 10,000 tamper resistant smoke alarms are available. late show david letterman returns to work for the first time after jihadists threatened him. he poked fun at it. >> i was coming in saying finally, here comes word about the death threat to the host of the show that has provided us employment 30 years and the message is -- the george lopez show has been canceled. >> the website called the followers to cut out letterman's tongue because of a joke he made about an al qaeda leader in pakistan. the woman on dr. phil found force feeding hot sauce to her son was in court. she said she did it as a croi for help and it get on the tv show. she is currently on trillion for child abuse. another roster shake upfor the orioles. davis played in the big leagues for 25 games. as for the rest of the team this was a good night in minneapolis. won the first time on the mountain. they beat the twins 4-1. that's baseball. we continue to watch what's happening in the caribbean. we have brand-new video from the dominican republic. hurricane irene, a cat two storm has just given a glancing blow to the dominican side, the eastern side of the island of hispaniola, came by as a cat two hurricane with seas 9 to 13 feet above normal. irene's next stop will be grand turk island, 105 miles away from where the pictures are taken. for us it's the beginning. i got a graphic. it's the cone of projection. this is going to go from a cat two to a cat three to right there, a cat four storm coming pay shore as a strong cat three right at the border of north and south carolina. that's going to be early in the weekend. by sunday, your neighborhood is going to be affected. first warning details coming up shortly. but coming up on coffee with after the weather discussion -- that's right, you a thror and spokes model. there you go. internationally known writing sensation laura lippman, getting no respect in her own hometown -- joins us on coffee with. that's her new bach that hits stores coast to coast today. she should be doing signings later on. we have traffic control, first warning weather and more.,,,,,,, 57 degrees. the barometer is at 30.04. the low 50s. around cumberland, some folks are in the upper 40s. but we still have a lot of summer left. mid to upper 60s d.c. and pax river. 64 rock hall. 57 greater columbia. 52 wefted minister. 61 in bel air. our weather is easy until saturday night. got this huge dome of high pressure running the show. it slips offshore. by thursday. it starts to fling humidity back at us with a chance of pan noon thundershower. 82 will be the high this day, absolutely beautiful. about 78 at dinner time. tomorrow another beautiful day with a high temperature of 86. hears' that chance for a thundershower. friday, sunny and 87. here's where the rub comes in the forecast. a cold front will come through, knocking us back to 84 on saturday. that sets us up for the remnants of irene. big, fast moving cold front will come winging in through the area and stop. it's going to stop along the mouth of the chesapeake bay. it's going to be a perfect conduit for the remnants of irene to be forceed into our area. we've been watching this all morning. it's going to go three and four on the saver simpson scale just on the southern tip of north carolina. the spa getty models agree. we're going to have a frontal system just stalled down to our south. so you bring a cat three inland. it still could have heavy tropical properties. we could be looking at a major coastal event with wind swept rains coming as far back west pass between frederick and hagerstown. this is one we really, really have to w567 -- watch. remember, when isabel came up it didn't have a name. we have to call it something. we call it isabel. this may have deeper tropical properties. we'll watch it closely. >> what awaits you on the way to work? here's sharon. not too many problems. it's been a nice commute. just one accident on the inner loop, no longer block the left lane. you can see the closest speed sensors at 57 miles an hour. there's a look at your average speeds. your slowest spot as an average speed with a 12-minute drive time. a live look at 50. you can see everything is looking good. there traffic is still running smoothly on 295 southbound at 175. there's a look at the top side at providence road. you'll find quality cars and trucks. buy right the first time. toyota moving forward. we'll send it back to don, marty and our guest. back to you. >> huge round of applause -- international writing sensation, one of the top mystery writers. >> i go to portland and it's who are you? >> the new book has come down -- the most dangerous thing hits shelves. how exciting is it? >> it's exciting but are in of wracking. >> so after all this time there's trepidation? >> of corpse. i've talked to a number of my friends. now i have to worry about hitting number one. no matter where you are, you're worried about something else. >> we know they research movies. do they have a good idea it will sell? >> it's sort of like you with the hurricane. you can make projections. there's a model. so many markers. they know how many copies will be put into print. we have the new wild card, which is the digital copy. my last book i sold as many digital copies as well as hard cover copies. thats with -- i was one of the first main street writers. digital books are taking off, which is great. they're not just can ni bellizing it. there are new people reading. it does make this so easy to buy a book. >> i they a lot of e readers, they read it like this but go out and buy the hard copy. >> bless them. >> just to hold it in their hands. >> there's some little letters that got me. she is one of the best novelists around. >> that was a nice line. >> doesn't get better than that. >> interestingly enough, we normally have you come in and we tape but we're doing this live for a reason because you have a signing tonight which is great. laura lippman's fans can meet you at the barnes & noble at 7:00. how long will you be there? >> about an hour and a half. why like to read read. most people who come to a book signing don't want to be read to. years ago russell baker said adults don't like to be read to more than five minutes. >> of course you'll be signing. >> i'll sign copies that people buy or bring in. >> if don come in would you write hi don? you could have a couple hundred people and have to move the line along. this was taken on calvert street. tell them what happened. >> paying off a bet? >> last spring national public radio ran a poll asking people to vote for the top 100 thrillers. i made a joke on facebook that oh, if i make this list i'll three am i fans a pizza party. the back came in i think at number 78. i truely did not expect that. i said i've got to keep my word. it took me awhile. in conjunction with the book coming out i'll put the word out and invite people. i had family and friends and neighbors and readers i had never met before. >> it's joined the ranks of -- as one of baltimore's coolest quirkiest pizza joints. >> absolutely. >> to sign tonight -- >> i'll be fine. i wouldn't have 300 people. even if i did, i try to engage with each person as they come through. what's tough is when someone i don't know. if don walks through the line i with have something personal to say. people say writ something clever -- write something clever and you don't know them. just give me something to work with. >> do you have a cash say of -- cache of those in your mind. >> sometimes the title lends itself to something cute. when i wrote charm city i wrote welcome to charm city. but as the books have gotten darker -- this is the most dangerous thing you'll read all year -- it doesn't really lend itself. >> listen, lawyer remarks time has run short. we like this. laura lippman.com. we're very proud of you. >> i'm a baltimore girl. what can i say. >> you keep getting cooler then. listen, have a great time, 7:00, barnes & noble. >> johns hopkins. have a great book tour. >> thanks. i look forward to it. >> all right. we got it take a break. sharon's got wjz,,,,,,,,,, -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? 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[ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ here come your updates from sharon. just delightful. going to a high of 82. now over to sharon gibala, wjz tv traffic control. we cleared up that accident on the beltway. now we have one on 100 eastbound, possibly involving an overturned truck. watch for potential delays. we are hearing some very line for ones on 100 eastbound. minor delays on the beltway 47 miles an hour, 49 on the west side. there's a live look at the dlairks the outer loop of the beltway as we take a look at the providence camera. this track report is brought to you by home paramount. log on to home paramount.com. back to you. a local journalist is still believed to be jailed in libya. matthew van dyke went missing five months ago. ago. prosecutors said a man hired two to kill a blind man. boucher has pleaded guilty to okay straighting the murder. the family of murdered johns hopkins researcher stephen pitcairn is trying to keep his legacy alive. they will match donations made. for more information, go to wjz.com and check on the story. and stay with wjz, maryland hays news station. complete news, weather and traffic ahead. and the latest on hurricane irene. all eyes are on the atlantic and the latest from libya where fighting between rebels and pro gadhafi forces isen tense fying. that's a look at the harbor. you can,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours?