let's turn to tony pann for the latest conditions. >> record high temperatures the past two days. today the record high is 97, and we will be right in that neighborhood. let's look at the current conditions at the top of the hour. b.w.i., 92, heat index already at 100 degrees. relief is already in sight. a cold front is going to go through this evening. unfortunately, it will kick off thunderstorms. probably a nother two or three hours until the storms brought it will come back in just a few minutes. >> here are a few expert tips to help you be the heat. drink plenty of water, a avoid caffeine and alcohol. keep out to activities to a minimum to wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. and check older and sick family members. find these tips on our website, wbaltv.com. the heat has forced a number of schools to close early and cancel afternoon activities -- sorry, baltimore city schools are operating on a half day, and baltimore county schools will close three hours early. check the full list on the crawl at the bottom of your screen. fire officials urge you to practice is safety. if you are going to be on a boat, experts say make sure you have enough life jackets for everyone on board, keep an emergency stash of food and water, don't forget a sellout or vhf radio. if you're heading to pull, keep an eye on little ones -- to a cool, keep an eye on the little ones. >> a quiet pool is a danger. >> fire officials to encourage parents to have eight pool safety plan. the 20-year-old rodney goggins last spoke with his family sunday night. he did not show up for work on it tuesday. fire officials say that he has the word "family" tattooed on one wrist and "first" on the other. the carroll county sheriff's office is investigating an overnight forklift accident that killed a man did it happen to 3:00 this morning. ronald schlitzer became pinned between the forklift and his shelf as he was moving books at random house. he was pronounced dead at the scene. a suspicious death in northeast baltimore as officers were called around at 4:30 this morning. they found a man partially burned. no word on the cause of death. two brothers are charged with the murders of two men. fredy linares and mario linares are charged with first-degree murder in the death of a dear mo the sea and antonia boozman rankled. the man or a shot outside -- were shot outside the party so italian grill and bar sunday morning. the brothers are being held without bail. the case against a baltimore city police officer accused of murder is under way. defense attorneys said that gahiji tshamba acted in self- defense when he shot and killed and iraq war veteran, tyrone brown. brown reportedly got into a fight with a woman he shot brought to the crowd. >> or they reasonable? >> no question there were reasonable. >> a judge rather than a jury is hearing the case. we will have the latest developments on 11 news at 5:00 and six collected all the marbles and will serve the maximum sentence for setting fire to an apartment building after flying into a jealous rage. but he garcia was sentenced to 15 -- brittany garcia was sentenced to 15 years in prison. prosecutors say she said the fire after learning another woman was inside the house with the father of her child. fixing the nation's debt crisis is the topic at the white house today. house republicans are meeting with president barack obama to discuss spending cuts. house speaker john boehner says that washington has a spending addiction that needs to bonito. the white house is confident that an agreement can be reached -- needs to end. the white house is confident that an agreement can be reached. >> the economic impact of not voting to raise the debt ceiling would be calamitous. >> the treasury department says the debt limit must be raised by august 2 or the government will run out of money and default on loans. history was made at kennedy space center earlier this morning. space shuttle endeavor and its mission. it sits on the launch pad, all waiting the final mission in july. the latest from kennedy space center. >> the image slowly came into view through the early night sky as the shuttle e endeavour finished its final trip home. >> the dedication of every astronaut combat engineer, mechanic and riemer helped it fly. >> the dream now ends after 25 missions and more than 120 million mi. in space. >> this is going to be the last flight. the mission went to great. >> endeavour deliver the first american component of the international space station, and on its final mission, delivered the last. >> space station assembly is complete. >> now that endeavour has completed its run, commander mark kelly will make a trip to houston, were key will be reunited with his critically injured wife, gabrielle giffords. >> i cannot wait to get back there to see her. >> the focus shifts to atlantis and final shuttle launch. thousands of the space center employees line to the path from the vehicle assembly building to the launch pad. the three-mile journey towards the end of the shuttle era. >> that is going to be quite a moment. coming up, love bites, a new show about several relationships that could use extra spice. plus, animals make a great companion, but they can also improve your health. federal regulators take action against the virginia bus company involved [ male announcer ] big news for allergy sufferers. prescription strength allegra is now available without a prescription. same exact medicine, same full prescription strength. allegra. now without a prescription. >> former egyptian president hosni mubarak and his two sons will go on trial in august. he was ousted in february following an 18-day uprising. a court official was quoted as saying he will be tried on charges of corruption and potentially killing -- and killing protesters. if former best friend of the casey anthony is on the witness stand today. this is the seventh day of the florida mother's murder trial. the former best friend was questioned about their relationship, which lasted about five months in 2008. yesterday, the mother gave emotional testimony. she is accused of first-degree murder in the death of her daughter. if convicted, she could receive the death penalty brought the bus company involved in tuesday's deadly crash in a virginia is banned from operating interstate buses. federal regulators say that the company, skype express, has been involved in several accidents the past two years. more than 50 people were injured when the bus ran off i-95 yesterday and overturned in north richmond. investigators say driver fatigue was a factor. the list of auto recalls keeps growing. the problem that forced toyota to recall the popular prius. load-card guides are plentiful, but are they guilty? -- low carb diets plenty of, what are they guilty? in the new romantic comedy "love bites," of the main characters and join us next. >> some of the activity will make its way to maryland. right now it is dry and hot. temperatures already up to 96 downtown. >> another toyota recall. the japanese auto maker is recalling 106,001st generation prius hybrid cars. a nut may come listen cost faulty steering. the model years 1997 through 2003. we have posted information on our website, wbaltv.com. a new leader could emerge in car sales when numbers are released today. hyundai is expected to move to the top when it comes to total auto sales. the korean automaker has seen a surge in customers. >> now your 11 insta-weather- plus forecast with tony pann. >> heat advisory in effect all the way through the evening. the heat index already approaching 100. the actual temperatures are in the upper 80s and 90s. 92 at the airport, 89 and 8 sykesville, 90 degrees in cockeysville. we will add another five or six degrees. when you combine this with the actual temperature, this is what the heat index is at the present time. 105 in edgewood. the closer you get to the water, the more moisture there is. everybody should at least reach 100 degrees this afternoon as far as the heat index goes. there is a cold front on the other side of th mountains, across ohio right now. this is the dividing line between the hot and steamy air mess we are in any cool, comfortable air mass across the great lakes. when it hit two aire mas -- air masses bump together, you get showers and thunderstorms. right now, there is a line of thunderstorms from new york state extending back into pennsylvania. that should make its way down into maryland this afternoon. for the time being, thunderstorm watch is in effect from central virginia into new york state. i suspect a severe thunderstorm watch should be issued here in the next couple of hours. the threat of severe weather extends all the way down to the carolinas. we could see wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, maybe a large hail. around here, large hail, damaging winds certainly possible in the storms that develop. not everybody is going to see that kind of weather. but if you get underneath one of these storms, they could get kind of strong. otherwise, hazy, hot, and humid. heat index, again, will be at or above 100 brought the average high temperature is 79. the record for today is 97. this is an old record, set back in 1895. thunderstorms possible tonight, especially this evening, as the front goes through. then it will turn a little cooler and less humid tonight as the wind shifts of the northwest. beautiful weather coming up tomorrow and friday. less humid, cooler, 84 on thursday, 80 on friday. thursday night into friday morning, temperatures will get into the 50s. you can open windows and let natural air-conditioning in. just a slight chance for a thunderstorm on friday. nice weather on monday and tuesday of next week as well. >> sounds so much better a new romantic comedy begins this week. it is called "love bites," and it follows the relationships of the several couples whose lives are lackluster. greg grunberg joins us. >> lackluster it -- it sounds like my life. this is what i love about doing the show. i was on "heroes," so dramatic, and this is a romantic comedy, and it is so much fun. the "bites" part refers to the fact that there are little mini- stories. one involves a married couple and i am part of the married couple. one involves becky newton trying to find love in the city. we had a blast shooting a deer in the pilot, my character finds himself face-to-face -- we had a blast shooting it. my character finds himself face- to-face with the -- >> you get a pass. >> i am on an airplane with jennifer love hewitt and she asks me to go to the bathroom with her. >> oh, the dilemmas. i when i website at found trivia about you. your dad was a businessman who sold leotards? >> my dad, to make money while i was going to san diego state -- you are so good, sarah. security! i would take the samples and sell them on the boardwalk. here is where it comes full circle. my character on "love bites," a tattoo artist on the venice boardwalk, and we shot on a storefront right next to where i used to sell leotards as a teenager. i cannot get away from this. >> well, unfortunately, i am out of time, but it has been a pleasure. we cannot wait to see the show, and i'm totally stalking you, so look out. >> exactly. i'm watching you. >> you could watch this series premiere at 10:00 on a wbal-tv 11. alert,"'s "medical cutting carbohydrates is a popular weight-loss methods, but adding that the proteins has raised questions about the toll it takes and your heart. dieters should not worry, at least in the short term. >> this may not be a typical male to study hard to help, but that is exactly what researchers at -- heart health, but that is exactly what johns hopkins researchers did. >> we found no evidence that eating at least a single high- fat meal had any adverse effect. >> the challenge was eight part of a larger study on low- carbohydrate diets. how the heart reacts to high- carbohydrate living as a noun. this group was assigned to a low-carb or low-fat diet for months. >> at the end of the day, it is not how much weight they lost but how they achieved that loss. >> the most significant finding -- >> absolutely no differences between the two groups and in terms of the rest of the measure if we look at. -- the vascular measures we looked at. >> what they don't know is whether it is healthy to cut car parts for good -- to cut carbohydrates for good. >> pets are great to cheer us up, and they provide important health benefits. veterinarians say that spending time with a pet can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol and help with exercise. children can turn to their pets for comfort, especially after a bad day. if you are not an animal person, fish are an option at. a study out of the university of pennsylvania found that you can lower your blood pressure just by watching a fish tank. up next, your maryland lottery numbers, and another check of the insta-weather-plus forecast. >> tonight on 11 news at 5:00, another day of extreme heat. how the school system is dealing with it and how it affects parents. and a baltimore city police officer accused of killing a marine. we have the trial of the cgt tshamba. that is tonight at 5:00. now it is time for the maryland lottery numbers. >> i am sarah fleischer from 98 rock with your midday numbers. your pick 3 numbers are -- in a moment, pick four, but first, play black, the rich new scratch-off from the maryland lottery. it is completely black. ask for it by color from your favorite maryland lottery retailer. here are your pick four numbers. the maryland lottery -- let yourself play. >> toni is back, and i glad to hear the heat is going to break. >> any time you make a big air mass change like this, that happens. a thunderstorms will likely develop later on this afternoon. somewhat them will be severe. not everyone is going to get that kind of weather, but there may be wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour and a large pale. another two or three hours before anything develops. cooler and less humid the next couple of days. high temperatures fall back into the low eighties, maybe dipping into the 50s. >> keep it in here for the weather update. >> i am sure there will be storms developing by that time. >> be sure to watch tonight at 5:00 with donna hamilton and rod daniel. >> follow breaking news and weather any time at wbaltv.com, and stay connected with us on facebook and twitter.