news time 4:46. thanks for staying with us. today family and friends will remember ben bonn facciment he died on the family farm in darlington monday. his car was found crashed into a fence on the family's property. visitation held today at the funeral home in abingdon. there will be a mass for ben friday morning at st. joan of arc catholic church. he'll be buried at the cemetery. the family is asking donations to help the deer creek valley in lieu of donations. a phone scam. they say someone is targeting senior siss calling and basically -- citizens calling and basically saying they have unpaid property taxes. pay the bill by mail or send the sheriff to collect the money. don't give out any personal information. try to get the caller's name and number and never mail money or checks to people or businesses that you don't know. if you're planning a getaway a big retailer now hoping to help. sears recently launched a website searsvacations.com. it offers leisure and vacation packages and you can book flights, hotels, cruises and car rentals but there's a kicker. isn't there always? the they're offering the payment plan for the popular retailer you can now put a future vacation on lay away to help finance the trip down the road. the service down charlotte, north carolina is getting the major upgrade. the democratic national convention tapped at&t as the national carrier and the upgrades will be up and running in time to accommodate the 30,000 people headed to charlotte in september. already about 39 digital antennas downtown and 30 more will go up before the dnc. a new list of the vehicles out that look great and won't break the bank all of them under $18,000. the top spot is the damage dart. they -- dodge dart. they brought the dart back larry. how about the hyundai voltser and the mazda 3 is a fixture on kelley's blue book. and rounding out the top five is the chevrolet sonic. here's what's coming up new at 5:00 this morning. it looks like a casino won't be recommended at the national harbor and pg council. we're going to look at what's behind that decision. >> have you ever heard of happy calories? if you're trying to lose some weight you want to hear about this. it's not what you're thinking. >> and also ahead campers are in anne arundel county this week but no ordinary camp. that's coming up in the 5:00 pour. >> the canadian porn actor now appearing through a video link. magnotta pleaded not guilty on tuesday. he's accused of killing a student and then sending the body parts to members of political parties. >> egypt delayed the announcement of declaring a winner in the presidential election. now it's unclear on when it's going to take place. there have been several allegations of fraud by all parties involved and meantime the health of ousted leader hosni mubarak continues improving. that's the word we hear now and reportedly been taken off life support. prince william is turning the big 30 today. he will reportedly celebrate without much fanfare opting for a modest gathering with family and friends. he's going to get a huge birthday gift from princess diana. his late mother. he will inherit about $16 million from her estate. time now start the 5:00 hour. all right, it is thursday morning, thank you for joining us. i'm megan pringle. >> and i'm charlie crowson. heat is going to be the big story today and also traffic delays and we have you covered and we start with meteorologist mike masco. >> good morning guys, yeah we're talking about -- not that. we're talking about the fact that we have a 76-degree temperature downtown. we'll be talking about the heat that will continue today. and 76 outside the studio doors. hey humidity 77%. that's near saturation and we are feeling really sticky. take a look at some of the weather bug sites. 76. 87 bel air and a pair of 7s in bwi. 76 in town. easton checking in at 73 and again the dew point values matching up with the temperatures could be reduced visibility on the roadways. 79 that's what it feels like right now at the represent hour and again heat and humidity this afternoon combining forces and we have the excessive heat warnings and excessive heat alerts this afternoon. showers and gusty thunderstorms well to the north and west from chicagoland back to st. louis. still 20 hours away but this is going to come in tomorrow afternoon and again in the form of a gusty shower or storm. 79 8:00 in the morning, noontime we're going for 91 degrees and going for two degree guarantee of around 100 degrees with the heath indices ranging between 105 to 110. it's going to be a hot one today and we all know that. stay hydrated and stay in the air-conditioning if you can. the heat can certainly be deadly. in fact this is the number one heat related killer. it beats out floods, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined. we did do some searching and to give you an idea of just how bad it can get. check it out. it's a normal year, about 175 people die from the summer heat. but if you remember the heat wave of 1980, more than 1,250 people died. in the chicago heat wave which was back in 1995, more than 700 people died and in 2003, record heat wave in europe that took 50,000 lives. >> with the heat pge's voluntary energy demand program will be kicking in soon but this year we're hoping it's not going to take so much heat. the program pays customers up to $200 to shut down their air conditioners in cycles during peak usage times. last year's customers got little notice of the program. this year the company has sent out letters and offered signups for e-mail alerts and still some customers aren't buying into the program. >> i'm in there. this is 102 outside and my air go off and i fall off and die. it's not worth $200. >> they will use robo calls and abc2news.com has all you need to know to help survive that heat. you can text 46988 to get all of the information right at your fingertips. more on this throughout the course of the morning. now that traffic and say good morning to lauren. good morning charlie. definitely a data you want to crank the air-conditioning. 95 no problems to report in the northeast corridor. and it is nice and clear in the white marsh area. a 15 minute ride from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street. and if you are traveling on 83 here's exactly what it looks like at york road. no problems to report whatsoever. not too much activity in the area. it will be a very easy ride down towards the beltway. once you do get on to the beltway. here's what it looks like in parkville at harford road. everything up to speed. just 11 minutes to travel the outer loop from 95 up to 83. major construction began last night on 895. abc2 linda so is live this morning in south baltimore right near the harbor tunnel. good morning linda. how is traffic looking so far? >> reporter: good morning lauren. things look fine right now. we're not quite into the morning rush just yet. but they do tell us you should expect backups. right now we're right on 895 before the harbor tunnel heading southbound. we spoke with construction crews about 30 minutes ago who tell us just beyond this tunnel and the toll plaza is where the construction is going on. they have the lanes narrowed down to one and crews are resurfacing the steel bridge that's just south of the harbor tunnel. one lane will be closed for the next eight weeks and then in august it will get worse. one lane in each direction will be shut down. that means you should expect major backups going both ways. so your best bet avoid the harbor tunnel instead take either 695 and the key bridge or 95 and the fort mchenry tunnel. again, right now, the 5:00 hour traffic is running along smoothly. but mdta tells us that when these -- they narrow down the lanes in both directions that some days the traffic may be backed up through the tunnel. so just be mindful you may want to take an alternate route. we're live at the harbor tunnel, linda so, abc2 news. >> it's four minutes after 5:00 right now. 11 people could not reach a consensus in annapolis so it is no special session on gambling. this means pg county won't get a sixth casino this year. the group had been thinking of allowing table games like blackjack and roulette at perryville and maryland live. and then building a new site in prince george's county. however, the governor said they could not discuss it if the work group could not come to an agreement. >> real disappointing. really disheartening. they need to get back together and get back in session and make some things happen. >> but the site yesterday -- despite the decision yesterday. mgm looking to build the casino says they're still interested. the baltimore city council is voting this afternoon on amendments to the majoris budget that could prevent cuts to services for children, seniors and families. lawmakers proposed to slash that budget by $6.1 million. the cuts would restore funneling to rec centers and -- funding to rec centers and fire departments that were scheduled to be closed. for information leading to the arrest of a shooting of a 15-year-old boy. he was lying in a field tuesday night with a gunshot wound to his head. investigators believe the teen lives in baltimore county and thinks that he was driven to howard county where he was then shot. good news this morning for those who love extra dressing on the salad. >> the health benefits officials say you can get whatever dressing you use. >> also residents in one missouri town being forced to move toground. take a look at this. damage caused by some massive flood waters. "good morning maryland" continues. wow. >> all right, i'm meteorologist mike masco. hey take a look in town 76 degrees. we're on the way for 100 degrees. your full forecast coming up. >> good morning mike. no delays to tell you about here on 695 at harford road. what 95 and 83 look like coming up in my abc2 timesaver traffic report. 3q hey, i'm joey aragon. see that film? people call me about this every day. my dishwasher must be broken. you know, it's not always the machine. it may be the detergent. add finish power up to boost your detergent and you'll see a huge difference. watch what it can do. look at that sparkle! now that's clean! cloudiness! tough stains! even dishwasher build-up! gone! just like that! so don't give up. add finish power up. wow! see the difference! it's a must have! kids,the constitution our is that forefathers wrote? great? our unified belief in the american dream? yes! those are some of the great things i was thinking of. celebrate america with the tour of america. only at denny's. it's nine minutes after 5:00. duluth, minnesota under a state of emergency. look at this video. it's because of a severe flooding that they're dealing with. more than 5-inches of rain fell in 24 hours. >> wow. >> you're looking at the water churning in the st. louis river threatening to wash away the bridge and the thompson dam. many of the roads there have been ripped apart as the water came rushing through. mike a serious situation there. here we're dealing with the extreme heat. >> yeah, exactly. just impressive video coming out of parts of minnesota. our weather is nothing to do with the flooding concern. it's the heat. and it's the excessive heat. 76 degrees right now. that is way above average. we should be around 64 degrees. so we are starting very, very mild and we're going to go to -- hot later today. we have an excessive heat advisory in effect for the entire viewing area and excessive heat warnings to the north and east of us. 79 degrees around the 8:00 hour and noontime 91 on the way for 100 degrees. here's the deal the real feel. that's what's the dangerous aspect to this heat wave. 105 to now it lookalikes possibly 110 -- it looks like possibly 110. still 90-degrees arnold 8:00. we have the shot of severe weather guys as we go into tomorrow afternoon. we're going to talk about that coming up in just a minute. now a check on the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning mike, if you are going to the west side of the beltway no delays to tell you ant. just 11 minute ride on the outer loop from 795 down to 95. if you are using the jfx, all lanes clear from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street. we have the construction that did begin last night on 895. not causing delays as of yet but that will change later this morning. so you will want to stick with the fort mchenry tunnel or the key bridge as your alternate route. and here's a live look at 95 at eastern avenue. no problems getting into the city. we'll be nice and clear and if you're heading north no delays all the way up to white marsh. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. if you run a red light in this town you could be online. >> there's a new tool police are now using to help catch those who continue to run the red lights. >> and a little bit of happiness can get you adding a dash of favorite foods to your diet. happy foods. megan you said this is not what we think. >> happy calories. >> all good especially the sweets. here's a live look at the inner harbor. we're back in just a bit. well, granite city, illinois have a new tool to help catch drivers mo run red lights. >> they are posting the pictures on facebook. the red light camera was autoat the intersection near the ice cream stand serving kids. there are still people choosing to run the lights and not pay the tickets and once a week they post a video of the camera and post it on the facebook page. >> we had one computer when we first started in the department. so this is all new to most of us. and we're trying to grow with our community. >> the police say in the 40 years the stand has been open, it has been hit seven times because cars have not stopped at that red light. unbelievable. lauren, what do you think? you think that's a good tool? facebook? >> facebook? facebook is always a good tool. yeah. can never go wrong with facebook. >> facebook getting people to pay their tickets though. >> it's interesting though? >> you can always check out our facebook too. if you are going out we have the major construction on 895. it started yesterday. actually last night right around 9:00. not causing any delays as of yet but that will change later this morning. you will want the use the fort mchenry tunnel or the key bridge as your alternate route. and if you are headed out in baltimore county to 795 here's what it looks like at cock keys mill road. absolutely no one out there and it will be a very easy ride to 695. drive times if you're going to the west side of the beltway 11 minutes on the outer loop from 895 down to 95. the jfx nice and clear southbound from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street. 11 minute trip. if you are using the fort mchenry tunnel just eight minutes from the beltway all the way to the toll plaza. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. now here's mike masco with a look at the forecast. good morning mike another hot one how? yes, and by the way i like your orange. >> thank you, coordinated today. >> i don't know what happened to you guys, you didn't get the memo huh? >> pink mike. >> 76 downtown right now. 77% humidity you know what in it's a pretty mild morning out there. you can see the maps showing us into the 70s near 80 degrees and moisture level up to 68- degree dew point. so we combine that too and we get the real feel numbers already feeling like it's into 28s, d.c. feels like 83 right now. for that reason the heat and humidity we have the excessive heat advisory today into the evening. bermuda high placement just over the carolina coastline. you get the southerly wind and that's the hot temperatures but you go back to the south and west look at the thunderstorms boiling up. we're going get some gusty storms in here by tomorrow afternoon. storm prediction center says some of those could test severe weather limits. look at this 70s and 80s near chicagoland. when you go beyond that front, 40s and 50s and some drier cooler air will come into play into tomorrow -- as we head into the weekend that is. so 100 degrees, another dangerous hot day. hot heat and humid day and maybe the isolated storm possible with all that moisture out there. 74 for tonight. very warm and humid again those real feel temperatures feeling like it's close to 90 as we head into tonight. the exclusive seven day forecast, 93 for tomorrow. gusty showers and thunderstorms after the lunchtime hour. then saturday and sunday, much more improved. lower humidity. right around 90 so we'll end the heat wave on sunday. monday, tuesday and wednesday cooling down with temperatures back to near seasonable levels. charlie? all right, in health news this morning, antibiotic free meat. that's what's on america's shopping lists these days. according to a new study some 86% of consumers said they wanted meat raised without antibiotics and 60% would pay more for it. they checked out meat counters and stores in 23 states and found that some chains offer no drug free choices. farmers started using antibiotics in livestock in the 1950s and they are pigs megan. back in the '50s because animals grew bigger fast we are less feed. -- faster with less feed. choosing no fat or low fat salad dressing may not be the healthiest option after all. a new study found that full fat dressings are better at extracting nutrients out of the vegetables in salads. it does help you get more healthy benefits. this doesn't mean you should basically smother the leafy greens with the ranch dressing you love so much. they recommend full fat dressing made from oil bases. if you're counting calories there's a way to indulge and not derail the diet. self-magazine calls them happy calories. a lou 200-calories out of the average basically 1600-calorie diet for your favorite indulgences. try a 200-calorie bowl of popcorn, and olive oil or the ounce of peanuts they say. a glass of red wine is just 125- calories. and on a hot day a light frappuccino is under 200- calories or you can always add a tablespoon of peanut butter to anything. >> more like anything. speaking of the popcorn, we have that one coming up. >> i would not think he's eating a cup of popcorn, i would say many cups. >> big bag. it's now 5:20 and he was criticized for the way his department handled the shooting of trayvon martin. >> the decision sanford city has made the manager there. it's made a difference with the police chief bill lee this morning. >> also they are reacting to the decision of the house committee made against eric holder, why elijah cummings is saying not to fast. here's a look at the big apple. gotham, new york, "good morning maryland" continues in just a moment. çñç?ç?çñçwçñçwç?ó?çwçñó?ç?çñó?çw thank you for joining us. top stories this morning. the announcement of the winner of egypt's presidential election will be delayed but no new date has been given. the supreme elections commission says that the results won't be announced as scheduled because it is looking into complaints presented by rival candidates. the panel of judges has to look into some 400 complaints over voting submitted by both candidates. sanford, florida. police there the police chief bill lee criticized for his handling of the trayvon martin case was fired. he came under fire after the department failed to arrest george zimmerman. he was the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of shooting the teenager. lee has submitted his resignation in april but city commissioners voted not to accept it. today is prince william's birthday. it's the big 3-0. he is turning 30 and now he inherits $16 million from the trust fund his late mother princess diana set up. the prince will reportedly celebrate opting for a modest gathering with family and friends. charlie? attorney general eric holder could be the first to be held in contempt of congress. a house committee voted to recommend that measure yesterday along party lines. they say he failed to turn over subpoenaed documents relating to the botched fast and furious weapons sting operation. as a result more than 1,000 weapons lost in mexico could have ended up in the hands of members of drug cartels. >> we do have to respect the separation of powers here. and so you know, this whole idea, oh everybody what's he hiding? i don't think he's hiding a damn thing. >> full house is now expected to consider the recommendation for holding the attorney general in contempt. that will be considered next week. they were forced out of their homes because of huge wildfires burning thousands of angers of property. >> this morning why some say living in the preevaccuation area was really very stressful and they can't afford to let their guard down now. >> a major traffic alert you need to know about. i'm linda so, why you want to avoid 895 for the morning and evening commutes. >> and good morning, i'm mike masco. we want to show you the brand new app. this is storm shield. one of the many dozen apps we have here at abc2 and again take a look. heat advisory in effect across the area. you can get this on storm shield by downloading the app. you can go to the itunes store or you can text 46988 and we'll give you the app right away. by the way it's free. lauren? >> thank you mike. well, if you are headed out to the beltway. everything is nice and clear here at harford road. i'll show you what 83 looks like coming up in my abc2 timesaver traffic report. stay with us, there's much more to come. . good morning everyone. topping america's money. the fed decides to let the economy twist. chairman bernanke says they are continuing their operation twist program to drive down long-term interest rates and reduce borrowing costs. they acknowledge the economic recovery is slowing. car buyers are giving lexus the highest marks for quality. jaguar and porsche are tied for second followed by cadillac and then honda. and apple store employees are getting raises as much as 25%. sales clerks now make $9 to $15 an hour and tech support people more and that was the major complaint of ring the internal review. finally the ceo of oracle buying an island, almost all of it. larry ellison is paying cash for 98% of the hawaiian island. at last check he was worth $36 billion. that's america's money, i'm paula faris. 5:28 on thursday, june 21st. "good morning maryland," i'm charlie crowson. >> and i'm megan pringle, thank you for joining us. what did you do to stay cool yesterday? >> i stayed outside and burned up the story. that burned up entire day. i didn't get home until 9:00 and i was drenched in sweat. weather is the big story today and meteorologist -- mike masco. >> did she just say kiddie pool? >> dropped that reference. >> careful there megan. look at this we are just about 80 degrees. you know you know it's going to be a hot day when you're pushing it not exceeding 90. look, last time we used this in the 80s take my word on it. near 80 degrees, we are on our way for the 100 degrees. take a look at the graphics and we'll show you the temperatures across the area. pick the town and that's your temperature. d.c. the hot spot right now at 78 degrees. with the humidity feeling like it's 83 degrees. excessive heat alerts up