good tuesday morning. 9:00. thank you for joining us. i'm megan pringle. >> i'mame james. a lot of medical stuff to talk about. >> c-sections, more and more women getting them over the past 10 years. there are pros and cons. there's one thing doctors want to talk about. if you are going to have an elective c section you have to make sure you don't do it too soon. that's when it becomes a risk. at-home births. but with someone there who is a professional. that is what we're kind of steering you to. we'll explain what that means here coming up in a couple of minutes. the author of a brand new magazine, single parenting 101, "single parent." beautiful. in the back it says what happened with my parents happens all the time. you fall out of love with the person you fell in love with. just remember you're trying to rebuild yourself, your children trying to cope as well. it's a real how to get through the tough times and how to be a single parent. >> it's great. >> it's right on the market. "single parent 101". and dr. lisa masterson is going to be here. >> great. that will be exciting. then dr. tom, a regular on our show. he has our elder care segment. talking about the myths with dementia. a lot of times it's misdiagnosed. >> is it just me or is there a phone ringing? >> i hear it it. >> that was in our computer room. i thought it only dialed out. i would be curious to find out what the actual number is. good morning. we've had a beautiful morning in baltimore. true story by the way. the numbers to dial out. we're looking at clear skies downtown baltimore. a beautiful 73 degrees. watch the clouds from the north. you're going to start to see clouds in the area. that may halt the progress on the thermometer but we're trying to jump up in a hurry before we cool down 80s by lunchtime. partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies. we should try to aim for 85 this afternoon but if you're watching news northern baltimore, harford, cecil county, that cold front trying to move through you may stay in the upper 70s. we'll talk about the front for the rest of the week in a bit. 9:02. back to you. >> baltimore police say a johns hopkins student used a sword to defend himself against a burglar. this is exclusive video from our overnight photographer pete "on the street" o'neill that you're look at now. this was the scene near east university pay and university place near the hopkins campus. happened 1:30 this morning, police say earlier in the night a burglar broke into the home of several hopkins students and stole things, two laptops, a playstation. a few hours later the home was broken into again. when the students heard a noise one of them confronted the suspect in the backyard with a samurai sword. the suspect's hand was cut off, also an upper part of his body, we're told an ear, he died at the scene. the students were i can at thatten in to for questioning by homicide detectives. it's not clear now if they will be charged or if it was considered self-defense. first he was a victim. then an off-duty baltimore city police officer turned the tables and his done on the suspect. authorities say the off-duty cop was unlocking his own door at his own home when a 19-year-old suspect came up and put a gun in his back. he then told the officer to step inside and lay on the floor. when the officer reached nor his own gun the suspect took off, starting a three-block chase that included gunfire. two bullets hit gina mckinney's house. >> it's done some damage. >> yeah, furniture shot up, an two holes in my walls and both bullets are in my house and they can't get to them. >> she was not home at the time. investigators say they found one shell casing from the suspect's gun. we understand the suspect is in the hospital in critical condition. the officer wasn't hurt. it's happened again. another motorist died on a dangerous stretch of route 32 in howard county. now residents are appealing to the governor for help. this happened on the three-mile stretch of road running from i-70 to the carroll county line. as abc2 news jeff hager tells us the crash produced a third death there in many months. >> reporter: he has come to collect his brother's belongings but wayne emery first stops to look at the spot where his brother lost his life. >> i hope he didn't die in vein. >> reporter: dr. brian emery died trying to make a left turn into his neighborhood [somebody wasn't pay attention and rear ended him. then pushed him into the other lane where an oncoming pickup truck t-boned him. >> reporter: on this day a howard county police officer is running radar. when erin simonetti warns the officer one of her cars is precariously parked in one of the so-called killer lanes. when county executive ken ulman learned of another death along route 32 he sprung into action. >> was tremendously saddened. i was out of town visiting my family and immediately placed a call to the governor, talked to him that night and said hey, we've got to do everything we can to get this made safer immediately. >> reporter: the state cut road improvement money for the county to help balance its budget. in addition to you -- ulman's plea a community action group here is appealing to the governor to make this a budget priority. >> please, martin o'malley, do whatever to cut through the red tape and get this fixed. >> reporter: dr. emery's death comes on the heels of another crash in the same place two weeks ago. a young woman survived an accident when her car was back-ended here in june. just down route 32 at river road a teen and his mother died when a tow truck struck their mini van as they pulled out of their neighborhood in july. in howard county, jeff hager, abc2 news. residents plan to appeal the maryland transportation secretary for changes to the road during a meeting thursday. that meeting will start at 7:00 at the howard county board of education which is on route 108. new studies are coming out that show that many people with h1n1 may be able to spread the virus for a week or more after symptoms first pop up. that is longer than some experts had originally told us. health officials have been telling all of us to avoid contact with others for a day after your fever goes away. the new research suggests that you may be -- may have to be careful for even longer and that coughing is a more accurate sign of how long you can spread the germ. meanwhile, the university of maryland says more than 500 students have come down with flu-like symptoms since classes began last month. a university spokeswoman says the number indicates there are suspected cases of swine flu but ailing students are not routinely tested for the virus. after nearly a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer patrick swayze died. his publicist says the 57-year-old actor died we had -- with his family by his side. carla wohl looks back at the life and career and the man who gave us the time of our lives. >> reporter: patrick swayze will best be remembered as the sexy dance instructor johnny castle in the film "dirty dancing." >> nobody puts baby in the corner. >> reporter: perfect for the hunky one-time ballet dancer. audiences were attracted to his sensual moves and handsome looks. >> last month, i mean, juju bees to keep alive. this month women stuffing diamonds in my pockets. >> reporter: the film was a hit and producers eager to give him roles. >> why don't you explain it to me? >> >> he often played charismatic fighters but feared he would be type cast. >> think of it this way, you'll go to heaven. >> reporter: in 1990 he landed the lead in "ghost" playing a murdered man who returns as a spirit. >> if i could just touch you once more. >> reporter: the role earned him critical acclaim and coveted spot on "saturday night live." many of his films became favorites. in "point break," a he played a surfer and bank robber >> one wave before you take me. one wave. >> reporter: in "to wong foo thanks for everything julie newmar" he transformed into a vance vet tight. >> i want you to believe in yourself. >> reporter: still, swayze became disillusioned with stardom and turned to alcohol. he eventually sobered up only years later to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. >> i'm scared, yeah, i'm angry. yeah, i'm, why me. i'm all this stuff. >> reporter: swayze kept working but the cancer took its toll on the actor "people" magazine once named the sexiest man alive. he was never impressed with his looks once saying good-looking people turn me off, myself included. needless to say his fans did not agree. carla wohl, abc news, hollywood. >> tonight tune to a barbara walters special on the life and career of patrick swayze. it's called "patrick swayze's last dance" airs tonight at 10:00 on abc2. the political world is also mourning the loss of this man. known as among the most trusted advisors to president jimmy carter, he's died. jody powell died of a heart attack monday at his home hope on maryland's eastern shore. he was 65 years old. if you're pregnant and thinking of getting a preplanned c-section, hear what doctors have to say. >> why some are saying no to early elective c-sections. we away the pros and cons. some woman don't want to give birth in a hospital. would rather do it at home. some women take the risk of having no professional help at all. and we sit down with lisa masterson, talks about the show and how she and her colleagues will answer 100 of your health questions today. hey, i'm worried about mrs. lowenberg next door. why? i don't know, she's running around the lobby, yammering about fios tv, internet and phone all for $79.99 a month? seems crazy... actually, fios customers get that price for 6 months. it's like getting three services for the price of two. so am i the one that's crazy? no? (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet and phone for only $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus a free multi-room dvr for three months. record shows in one room-- watch them in up to six other rooms. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v before september 19th, and get fios tv-- ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction by j.d. power and associates america's top rated internet-- now even faster, and crystal clear phone service. all for just $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus, a free multi-room dvr for 3 months. that's an overall savings of $240 dollars. hurry, it's your last chance to get this incredible deal. 3 great services, for the price of 2. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v today this is fios. this is big. you can tell when a salad's fresh express... ...and when it's not fresh express. fresh express is america's #1 choice for great tasting salad for good reason. first, we harvest every tender leaf at the peak of freshness...then they're fresh chilled... ...so all the natural goodness is captured in our exclusive keep-crisp® bag... ...designed to lock in all the freshness... ...and flavor... ...with absolutely no preservatives. it's no wonder fresh express is guaranteed to be fresh and delicious every time... ...right out of the package, or your money back. and with more than 30 varieties to choose from... ...it's easy to see why, for so many people, it's the crisp... ...goodness of fresh express... ... or nothing. fresh express. consistently, deliciously fresh. check us out atfreshexpress.com/freshoffers. welcome back to "good morning maryland" at 9:00. dr. edward coza from united health care joins us. in the last decade a number of c-sections performed in the united states has nearly doubled. experts will tell you there are pros and cons to that, but there's a definite con when performed too early? >> yes. united health care is reaching out to obstetricians and moms-to-be in our area to make sure that they are aware of the potential adverse effects of having an elective c-section prior to 39 weeks gestational age. studies have shown when a baby is delivered at less than 39 weeks and it's an elective c-section that the babies are twice as likely to suffer adverse health consequences which result in emission to the neo -- admission to the neonatal intensive care unit. >> the message is not necessarily the cons but doing it past 39 weeks. >> yeah. the message is to really be aware of the gestational age and to realize that if it's done at less than 39 weeks that there is this potential for an adverse health care consequence. in a study that was published in the new england journal of this year 35% of the elective c-sections were performed at less than 39 weeks gestational age. >> would would somebody do that if -- why would somebody do dothat if there's developmental concern there? >> not sure. there's many reasons why people might want to have control over the timing. i know when i talked to my friends who are obstetricians, they are happy to get this message out so that they can be in control of when the timing is going to produce the best health care consequence. >> so you mention that there are some risks there. can you kind of go through a list of what they might be? >> the -- really, the reason why there's a risk is because the baby is continuing to develop. so, for example, one of the things that's very important, that's developing is lung function. that continues to develop up through 39 weeks. and so that if the baby is delivered prior to that their lungs might not function well and that's the most common complication that the baby has, that requires the neonatal intensive care unit admission. >> it kind of seems like a no-brainer if you're going to have an elective surgery, to schedule something like this you would do it after that time period. i guess, there any research into why a doctor would do it before? >> i think that part of it can be making sure that the gestational age is really taken into account. it is possible to have it done electively prior to 39 weeks and have it done safely but in that circumstance the american college of obstetrics and gynecology recommendation is that a test be done to make sure that the baby is mature. >> there's been a lot of debate with more and more women doing elective c-sections whether or not it's a good idea. do you think it's just part of the discussion that needs to be obvious with the doctor and patient, now that this is something that is more and more common? >> at united health care we definitely believe in active, activated, informed health care consumers. we definitely are in favor of giving information to moms, discussing that with their obstetrician and come to what's the best decision. >> dr. coza, thank you so much for coming in. certainly an important message. there are all sorts of options including at-home births and that's why we're sending it to jamie. >> we love the stories of having a baby on the highway or getting the cable guy to deliver the baby because mom can't get to the hospital but those stories are a little different from those of the mothers planning at-home with no nurse in sight for the delivery which jennifer coniglio, from the bay area mid-wifery is not a fan of. >> it's not a good idea. >> you can do this at home? >> you can. in maryland certified nurse mid-wives can deliver the baby at home, they will monitor the pregnancy and when but into labor you call them, they come to you. there are options, you can go to a practice like ours where we can deliver you in the hospital or free-standing birth center. >> what's a birth center like? >> it's like your home only you leave all the mess with us. people call us when they are in lane, we'll evaluate how things are going with the dilation and heart rate. as long as everything is normal they stay there, have their baby and then go home about four hours later with the baby. >> i know you talked to the moms. what do they tell you why they want to deliver at home with no one in site? >> moms either have had a bad experience with the first birth or afraid of intervention. that is the one thing we hear is i'm afraid of intervention in pregnancy. i'm afraid i'm going to go into the hospital and have a c-section. the world health organization reports that optimally 5% to 10% of moms, if you have the c-section, 5% to 10%, that's probably ok. currently in maryland the rates in hospitals are rising to 44%. it's concerning to moms to know, they are going to walk into a hospital and there's a 44% chance of having a c section. >> at home you don't get the drugs. >> we promote relaxation techniques. moms have practiced this, they are aware of what they can do naturally to ease the pain of labor. >> how about insurance? >> insurance covers both home births and free-standing birth centers. if people don't have an insurance we can work with them so they can still with the birth they want. safely, less risk of bleeding. >> it almost happened? >> yesterday, we had a mom, coming in, second baby, her first labor was about 20 hours long. she went into labor at 6:00, at 8:30 she called the office saying she couldn't get there, 97 was shut down both ways. she actually called 911 because she could see the police, they had landed a helicopter and said the baby is coming. they said get to a hospital. she said i'm trying but 97 is shut down. she was dilated and had her baby within five minutes of walking in the door. >> how many do you see at one time? >> usually three in a day but they go home in four hours. you're not there long enough to stack up. >> four hours they are out? >> that's right. have your baby, go home. >> man. that is great. >> it is great. they do great. there then they go to the hospital of course? >> they go home. >> if they want to? >> they go home. >> all right. jennifer, great stuff. give me a web site where people can get more information. >> www.bayareamidwifery.com. >> get those roads open again. >> sounds like a nightmare. glad it turned out ok. yesterday was beautiful. today looks like it's going to be the same but could our sunshine be ending? coming up, justin berk will look at the much cooler and possibly wet forecast for the rest of the week. and, just a reminder, cup of joe is our segment, if you have a business, charity, whatever and you want a flee shout out on the air, we'll be happy to give it to you. sipped your mugs -- send your mugs, a little background information and we'll give you a shout. we'll be right back. blue skies. this is our vantage point. 69 degrees with 81% humidity. if you turned the view around which we did at the top of the program we have more clouds from the north. we'll show that you time lapse in a couple of minutes but 69 baltimore. 70 philly and new york. we're looking northbound for the next weather system. in fact we're actually going to get the squeeze play from the in order and south but -- from the north and south but it's this system here, typically weather systems in this part of the world move from west to east. the cold front slides down from the northeast and drops to the south and southwest. there's our frontal boundary as high pressure pushing in through eastern canada and eastern new england and this one, ooh, that's not baltimore. we're actually dropping in that wind that will actually shift directions and we're looking at this frontal boundary that will be responsible. there we go. for bringing in the cooldown and bringing in showers. once we get that wind out of the northeast, that's going to drop our temperatures at least odegrees by tomorrow. then we look for a wave of low pressure to ride along that boundary, that will be responsible for keeping us wet for the rest of the week. watch the flow of moisture coming off new jersey bringing on in through central maryland. by lunchtime tomorrow the chance of showers will continue throughout the afternoon. watch that little band of moisture actually push itself in towards the mountains. another wave of low pressure not showing up on the screen will come back at us as we head through the afternoon and thursday and through friday. that is why we expect to it stay wet for a couple days. so enjoy this afternoon, partly cloudy skies, 85 in baltimore but again the clouds beginning to roll in from north-to-south. on the north side when the clouds come in a little earlier it will cut their temperature rise in aberdeen to 81. 79 in cecil county. and elkton. tonight we expect things to cool down, after 85 in easton you may have fog, and down in the middle 60s. the chance of showers especially tomorrow afternoon with a high of only 72. check the extended forecast in the next half-hour, or you can do it now on abc2news.com. on the weather page. weather graphics at the bottom of the screen. 9:25. back to you. does your older relative not seem like themselves, maybe even forgetful now? >> stay with us. many of the elderly diagnosed with dementia, you've heard that before but we'll tell you why that diagnosis could be very wrong. and one of four doctors ready to answer your tough questions. we sit down with lisa masterson when "good morning maryland" comes back. ♪ ♪ when morning comes in the middle of the night... rooster crow. ...it affects your entire day. to get a good night's sleep, try 2-layer ambien cr. the first layer dissolves quickly to help you fall asleep. and unlike other sleep aids, a second dissolves slowly to help you stay asleep. when taking ambien cr, don't drive or operate machinery. sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully awake with memory loss for the event as well as abnormal behaviors such as being more outgoing or aggressive than normal, confusion, agitation and halluciations may occur. don't take it with alcohol as it may increase these behaviors. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath, swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and in rare cases may be fatal. side effects may include next-day drowsiness, dizziness, and headache. in patients with depression, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide may occur. if you experience any of these behaviors or reactions contact your doctor immediately. wake up ready for your day-ask your healthcare provider for 2-layer ambien cr. is there a doctor in the house? yes, in fact four of them will be on your tv at 4:00 this afternoon. one is on the tv set now. dr. lisa masterson, star of "the doctors" is here. good to see you. >> happy to be here. >> you're on at 4:00 this afternoon. >> i'm off right now. you got my attention. >> today's show could top it. >> this is our best week ever. we're going to tackle 100 questions in an hour. >> have you seep the 100 questions? >> we've answered them. it's fire away. we do a whole different format. it's very exciting but they are questions everyone wants to. know. you have to watch. >> you've been traveling back and forth from l.a. h1n1. is the vaccine going to reach us in time. are we going to be able to wash our hands and stay clear of it? >> it's just like the flu. you got to get the flu shot but you need your special h1n1 vaccine and especially for pregnant women. the cdc has really said that pregnant women, any time of the pregnancy have to get the flu shot, flu vaccine and h1n1. so that's extremely important for pregnant women because pregnant women get a lot sicker from the flu and from the h1n1. there have been women who have died. >> you think it will reach us in time. >> i think so. it's coming out earlier than predicted. >> tease us a little. give us some of the questions. of the 100. >> you have to watch some are about the women's body, female body, especially mine. some are about general health. i mean, it's 100 questions, incredible we do that in an hour. there are so many different formats, it's really interesting. there's ticker tape. it's really exciting. it's a different format for us. you just have to see it. >> i think the audience was confused, when they watch at 4:00, when does she have time to practice? >> i practice two days, we tape two days a week, three shows a day. i practice the rest of the week because i'm on call. i still deliver babies and till do gynecology and do everything i've always done. >> tell us about the charity work. ? i travel to africa and india to help mothers stay alive because they are dying in other countries. pregnancy used to be the number one mortality for women a long time ago. in u.s. we have much better health care but in other countries women still die from bretiony. -- pregnancy. >> that is really your background? >> mm-hmm >> what do you see in this country. >> women die a lot because, the number one killer of women is actually heart attacks and strokes. breast cancer is a really big issue. my mother actually passed away from breast cancer. october, breast cancer month coming up. everyone needs to do their part to try and share this disease, affects one in eight women. everyone knows someone, everyone is affected by someone, mother, sister, best friend, hero in my case who has been affected by breast cancer. anything you can do to help that. is important. >> you're trained as a dr. you're a dr. you're on tv now. you can't get away from it but you love it. i can feel the passion. >> absolutely. you have to love it. it is a passion. >> how is the tv show? >> it's a unique set. we actually help people on the show as well as people can come to our web site. thedoctorstv.com. you can actually help produce the show, your questions actually get on the show. i do my practice as well. i have the best of it all right now. >> take my pulse. how much will that cost me? >> quite a bit. >> i know. watch "the doctors" coming up today at 4:00. 100 questions. >> 100 questions in an hour. >> 100 answers or just stick around and watch this doctor, dr. tom. he's here to talk about something that happens a lot. an elderly person often diagnosed with dementia, considered senile and it might be something else, is that right? >> that's right. it's surprising that people don't know that the literature shows between 10% and 50% of people who have been diagnosed with alzheimer's or dementia actually don't have it. they actually have something that in most instances is treatable. these are conditions like depression, somebody who is depressed sometimes doesn't answer questions, they don't feel like doing anything. so they look like they can't remember anything, they are unmotivated, etc. and people say, well, they are old. depend -- they are dependented or senile. they wind up in a nursing home or assisted living and really never get an evaluation. the point is if somebody looks like they've got alzheimer's don't just believe it off the bat. get them evaluated, it's very important because their life can be turned around. i just got a call a couple of months ago where -- a similar situation. i put the gentleman on antidepressants and the family called me and said you gave me my father back. those are the kinds of things that make my job great. i mean, i just love it. but there's so many other causes out there. medications really big cause for confusion and what looks like delirium and comment dementia. if you stop the medication -- i'm not saying stop medication but you have to talk to your doctor and say all these medications here, let me be sure i need to take all of them. sometimes one doctor will give one medication, another doctor will give another. like my mom used to say, it will fight in your stomach. here it will fight in your brain. the important thing is, this is a win/win situation because if you look at the people who are put in the nursing homes or assisted living and they really don't have alzheimer's but we kind of say that they do, they are kind of stuck there forever. they rarely leave. so what happens is that you've got maybe as many as 10%, 20%, 30%, but let's say you only had 10% of people in nursing homes who we could take out because they could have this evaluation. what happens is that we can save somewhere around 14 billion a year nationally if we got these people evaluated. it's a win/win situation. your mom and dad get better and everybody's savings money. >> you go so far as to call it the deadly myth of aging. is that -- why would that be? the deadly aspect of it? >> if you have alzheimer's and -- i mean, basically people consider this is it for you. there's no hope, there's no future. etc. and that could be far from the truth. particularly when you have a very treatable medical illness. >> i got to tell you, though, a misdiagnosis of any kind, i think people always wonder how does this happen and something this severe, how does it happen? >> first of all, a lot of these people don't even get to the doctors. sometimes, there are different places, rural areas or whatever and people just look at them and say, well, you know, they are like aunt tilly, she was just like this and she's got alzheimer's so dad's got alzheimer's. they don't even get to the doctor. sometimes when they go to the doctor's, doctors, nurses, we do have some ageism. we do have that bias where we think, well, they are 85 and maybe they should be like that. maybe they shouldn't. >> right. >> that's not the case. >> that's not the case. on my web site, geriatricadvisoryprogram.com i list a number of areas in which you can get evaluated and their lives can be turned around. that's why it's a deadly myth because we figure this is it for them. >> it's so sad to put that label on anybody, on anyone when it might not be the case. good to know. >> it's a really important thing. i think people, you need to check with your doctors and make sure you get the proper evaluation. a good evaluation costs between 2,000 and $5,000. that's less than a month in a nursing home. you would be saving a lot of money. >> and possibly saving somebody's life. >> yes. >> thank you, dr. tom. always great to see you. a year ago we were watching the markets plummet in our hard-earned savings vanishing. next, the beginning of the credit crisis. a year later, feeling a little more confident about the economy? and if you're a single parent you probably could use a little help. how a local magazine is reaching out with advice and help. 9:37. this is what we were talking about. if you look north, you're going to see more clouds, as we actually watch this time lapse from this morning. a beautiful sunrise shot. we're toll watching those clouds from the -- actually watching the clouds from the frontal boundary creep in from pennsylvania, new jersey and new york. still a beautiful morning here. we're going to have a warm day this afternoon. we'll talk about the cooldown and chance of rain after this. hey, i'm worried about mrs. lowenberg next door. why? i don't know, she's running around the lobby, yammering about fios tv, internet and phone all for $79.99 a month? seems crazy... actually, fios customers get that price for 6 months. it's like getting three services for the price of two. so am i the one that's crazy? no? (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet and phone for only $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus a free multi-room dvr for three months. record shows in one room-- watch them in up to six other rooms. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v before september 19th, and get fios tv-- ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction by j.d. power and associates america's top rated internet-- now even faster, and crystal clear phone service. all for just $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus, a free multi-room dvr for 3 months. that's an overall savings of $240 dollars. hurry, it's your last chance to get this incredible deal. 3 great services, for the price of 2. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v today this is fios. this is big. september 15th and wall street is open for business. early on in the game but this is how it's looking now. dow up 17. nasdaq 6. s & p just over 2 and the reason why, they are saying retail sales higher than expected in august. we'll see what happens at the end of the day. we'll let you know on the evening news tonight at 5:00. it's been a year since the demise of lehman brothers and the beginning of the credit crisis. the question is now do you feel like things have gotten any better? do you have enough confidence to maybe buy a new home or take out loans for a new car or possibly even go back to school. as abc2 news roosevelt leftwich tells us, faith in the system could be the key to everything. take a look. >> reporter: it was the biggest corporate bankruptcy in history, the fall of lehman brothers came close to completely collapsing the world's financial markets. shift the foundations of the corporation which in turn stomped all over the little guy creating layoffs, furloughs, foreclosures, tight credit, reduced 401k and scared normal folks. it sent these ladies back to school. >> it seems like a good time, for the economy, to go back to school. because there's notma many jobs available. >> hopefully i'll be able to get a job once i graduate. it's a three-year program so hopefully things will turn around. that is the plan anyway. >> reporter: worries about credit, jobs, finances in general, all these things come into play here because if people aren't confident in their future, about whether or not they can buy something like a new home the economy won't get better. there are signs that things are getting better. heavy government investment helped ease credit among institutions. the market may move money around but the agrees on the skids is -- grease on the skids is trust and confidence. >> i isn't understand this is a -- i understand this is a really master scheme of international intervention, policy intervention, force-fed money, $700 billion, what are we going to do? the fact is we can't deny whether we look pack and say this is a fat measure or not the confidence is gradually coming back. >> reporter: what will make consumers confident again? the collapse of the financial markets killed easy consumer credit. folks now have to think more about how they use credit. tax credits like the $8,500 home buyer credit is designed to get people back into the housing market but can it create trust? >> the seller is going to put this money down, commit to the house, you want to be sure you're comfortable in your job, future income and everything else it's a good sign but again let's see what happens. >> reporter: but credit from banks is moving slow and if the tax credit isn't extended consumers need to move quickly to get a shot at the government cash. with the lessons learned from lehman brothers folks will now have to think more carefully if they can do a deal or not. in baltimore, roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. stay with us because many of you are cybil parents and you probably think i wish i had extra help. >> a local woman came up with a idea to put out a magazine to help you single parents. "breakfast doesn't really start until the grands are on the table" grands biscuits. would it really be breakfast without 'em? for money saving coupons go to... pillsbury.com. that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm, flaky, pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two bonus box tops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. i know you know when you have children you know there's no manual to refer to, no how-to guide, all trial and a lot of errors. natalie slater is here and she saw a need to help single parents. she started a brand new magazine called "single parent 101". how did you see the need? >> through friends and family and just people that you're in contact with. also, i'm a single mom. the publisher is a single dad. we knew first hand the need for some resources and help for single parents. >> the need in maryland, listen to this, according to the census, 200,000 single parent households in maryland possibly for 424,000 children. >> yes. >> 63,000 children are being raised by grandparents now. in 2007 approximately 40% of all births here in the united states were to unmarried women. so single moms need a lot of help. what do you help them with? >> single moms and dads. both need a lot of help. we help them in many different ways. that we are getting requests for financial help. advice. we have financial advisors and planners that can help them with financial, budgeting, what do i do now? >> secondhand shopping? >> yes. >> you have day trips and activities for the family. >> a lot of fun things to do, inexpensive. >> and you had a whole addition on health? >> yes. this issue we focused on yoga. and the benefits, how it helps reduce strength -- reduce strength? build strength and reduce stress. >> the latest cover -- tell me the story of this man. >> that is andrew lookwood and his little daughter hanna. he was -- we asked if he wanted the first copy of the magazine. at first without seeing it he said no, he would not be interested. then when it came out and we actually did give him the copy he read it and was very excited and wanted to be part of magazine and passed it out, asked for more copies. we did a story about him. >> what gets me and natalie will say this, everybody who is writing in this magazine, they are doing it for free. >> yes. >> they want the message to get out. >> yes. >> what's next month? you're dealing with those serving in iraq. >> yes. it's our holiday issue. it's how to survive the holidays. to make it joyful and sometimes it can be lonely, for everyone. for many different reasons. particularly single parents. and just how to cope. and the shopping. then also a single mom who served in iraq and she has three little poise and her mom -- boys and her mom helps her. >> she's from fort meet? >> yes. >> you'll talk about remarriage. >> yes. and taking care of yourself and educating yourself so that when you're ready for a new relationship. >> i see a lot of how to feel good about yourself. >> yes. >> in a lot of these articles. i guess it's the toughest thing. you feel alone, you're out there only the plank alone, you're the one making the mistakes, with the successes, it's all on you. >> yes, as a single parent it's all on you but we have many resource partners that have support groups and have programs that can help so that you're not alone. the parenting center from anne arundel community college has a lot of great programs that you can take on weekends or evenings. >> look at the support groups listed on the one page here. >> yes. we're continuing to add all the time. as they come to us. >> where can we get this? >> you can go to owb we are site, www.singleparent101magazine.com. and sign up. our first three issues are free. our send one is out -- our second one is out, we can send it to you. >> it has to be helping people. >> it's definitely giving back. it feels great. >> natalie, thank you so much. justin, how about this? >> good stuff. very cool. we're also looking at something else cool. that would be the turn of the temperatures. 69 and a nice morning in baltimore. the clouds beginning to roll in across the northern half of the sky. a sign of the change to come. we've got this backdoor cool front sliding from pennsylvania, clouds already beginning to roll in. i believe we'll have the wind shift as we head through the evening and overnight hours. and really, there's not a lot of moisture with it. i don't want to overplay this and make it seem like we're going to get soaked out of this particular front. not the case. this is just a cold front. this is the shift in the wind. there's actually showers there on the slopes in the east coast of maine but as far as we're concerned this is just going to shift the wind, bring us that marine layer and maybe even pile in some drizzle in the morning, keep the clouds around, drop the temperatures and maybe some showers. the wider view, however, this slow-moving system across the deep south, heads in our direction. that is the one that may get stuck here for cumof days and that is the one that is probably going to give us the best chance of rain rolling on in through thursday and maybe into friday as well. this has been sitting there for five days across the deep south. we'll see what happens when it gets here. once we start cooling things down. everything starting to gang up on us after today. 58, already the increase -- 85, already the increase in clouds. could be the warm day of the week. tonight, mid-60s. again, could be fog and maybe drizzle in the morning. just because we're piling in the moist east wind off the bay and off the atlantic itself. we're in the prime location for it. 7-day forecast, showers and tomorrow 72 degrees. looks like we'll drop even lower, mid-60s on thursday. again, watching that slow-moving wet pattern with the best chance of a wave of low pressure increase in the wind and rainfall by thursday afternoon and evening, could linger through friday. both days mid-60s to near 70. we'll try to break the pattern and keep us dry over the weekend with temperatures back in the low 70s and developing sunshine. catch us on line at abc2news.com. it's 9:52. back to you. time for our featured events. this is when you e-mail us, call us, let us know what is going on in the community. we tell everyone. this is a no-brainer. everybody knows about the baltimore book festival. i love it. it's coming up the weekend of the 25th through the 27th. in mount vernon. if you've never been it's awesome. used books, signings, cooking demonstrations, you name it. if you're a book worm, even if not, it's great. and amy writes in about the first ever canton wine and asfestival coming up -- jazz festival coming up on saturday. that is saturday, september 26th, 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the square in caton. you want to correct that? go ahead. put it in there. for your wedding gift i wanted to whip up the bench on the square and give it to you. >> why didn't you? >> they wouldn't give it to me. the board of public works wouldn't let me. >> i would like to see you try though. >> can we do that? get the bench where she was proposed to on the square in canton? >> i like it staying where it is. if we go and have dessert there, we go out, we can sit on the bench and reminisce. >> then put it back. >> we'll be right back. hey, i'm worried about mrs. lowenberg next door. why? i don't know, she's running around the lobby, yammering about fios tv, internet and phone all for $79.99 a month? seems crazy... actually, fios customers get that price for 6 months. it's like getting three services for the price of two. so am i the one that's crazy? no? (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet and phone for only $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus a free multi-room dvr for three months. record shows in one room-- watch them in up to six other rooms. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v before september 19th, and get fios tv-- ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction by j.d. power and associates america's top rated internet-- now even faster, and crystal clear phone service. all for just $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus, a free multi-room dvr for 3 months. that's an overall savings of $240 dollars. hurry, it's your last chance to get this incredible deal. 3 great services, for the price of 2. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v today this is fios. this is big. welcome back. today's top five. we were talking about births, why not do the most popular names? we'll do boys today. according to the social security administration. number five, daniel. >> my brother. number four, joshua. >> number three, ethan. >> number two, we have michael. >> and most popular name from last year, jacob. dave mccune's son is named -- >> he's not telling anyone. >> i just believe in, keep it in the family. when the baby is born - >> we'll make suggestions. >> no, we have the name picked out. all right. our producer, dave, his wife is due the same -- within a week of my wife. it will be interesting to see who -- we should have an office pool, dave. who can go first? >> love it. >> time, delivery, the name. >> it's on. you can e-mail in to us. that's all the time we have. thank you for joining us. >> we'll be here tomorrow. >> absolutely. hey, i'm worried about mrs. lowenberg next door. why? i don't know, she's running around the lobby, yammering about fios tv, internet and phone all for $79.99 a month? seems crazy... actually, fios customers get that price for 6 months. it's like getting three services for the price of two. so am i the one that's crazy? no? (announcer) now get three amazing fios services for the price of two. tv, internet and phone for only $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus a free multi-room dvr for three months. record shows in one room-- watch them in up to six other rooms. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v before september 19th, and get fios tv-- ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction by j.d. power and associates america's top rated internet-- now even faster, and crystal clear phone service. all for just $79.99 a month for 6 months. plus, a free multi-room dvr for 3 months. that's an overall savings of $240 dollars. hurry, it's your last chance to get this incredible deal. 3 great services, for the price of 2. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v today this is fios. this is big.