we've seen pretty heavy storms. but they're moving off into the ocean. so we're concerned mainly about this particular cell. west of the city. as it moves off to the east there. going to be affecting the beltway. randallstown area. rockdale, very, very shortly. look out. could be heavy rains. gusty winds, maybe even small hail. bernadette joins me now with a look at the rest of the advisories that will affect the region this afternoon and evening. >> reporter: that's right. the biggest ones being the severe thunderstorm warnings that you just went over. and those are for carroll. and those are also for frederick county -- excuse me, for montgomery county -- excuse me. howard county. i had that wrong. for carroll and howard counties until 4:00, 5:00. severe thunderstorm warnings until 8:00 tonight. we do have some action going on. more thunderstorms are firing. and of course, if any more warnings come out, we'll pass those along to you. back inside. the death toll now stands at 117 in joplin, missouri, after a tornado wipes out a third of the city. search crews are still looking for traps. >> where the cars are. >> there's nothing left of melissa mccoy's home. >> i don't know where to begin. >> sunday's massive tornado. terrifying moments. >> i shut my eyes as tightly as i could. and that was about it. just kept screaming, please god, please god. >> mccoy is severely bruised and has three stitches. but she's thankful to be alive. >> felt like i was airborne a couple of times. >> is this everything you had? >> oh, yeah. yep. >> her home is about one of about 2,000 buildings, demolished in joplin. this is the deadliest tornado to hit the u.s. since 1950. with dozens of people still missing, search teams are using rescue dogs as they pick through debris. >> reporter: construction crews are using heavy equipment to remove some of the larger peaces of rubble. >> reporter: we're hoping to find more folks. that's why we're doing everything we can to find everybody that is still in the rubble. >> reporter: mccoy is a nurse and her hospital, st. john's medical center, also took a direct hit. >> hopefully i'll be back to work. i'm sure not there. >> reporter: she's now living with her brother, as she tries to figure out what to do next. in joplin, missouri, joel brown, wjz eyewitness news. >> reporter: forecasters are predicting thunderstorms, more of them in joplin later tonight. and there's a possibility of another tornado. president obama will visit joplin sunday, after he returns from europe. >> a laurel man is facing charges of assaulting a police officer. anne arundel county police say charl main jones assaulted two officers during a domestic incident. both officers were hospitalized for minor injuries they sustained while trying to subdue jones. he's charged with false imprisonment and resisting arrest. new rediction in crime. violent crime reduced 3 1/2%. murders were down. but there's still a long way to go. baltimore had the fifth highest murder rate in the country. a pit bull attacks a young boy in the country. and now, they make a ruling on the dog's fate. >> reporter: last month, a pit bull attacked a 5-year-old in an alley. leaving the boy with more than 100 stitches. witnesses say the dog escaped the fence. but the dog's owner said the neighborhood children often tormented and teased the dog. today, the court ruled that the dog was vicious and can't be returned to the owner. the dog will now be euthanized. >> the dog's owner still has 30 days to appeal the decision. >> updating the breaking news we brought you first hour. crash happened just after 4:00 on i-83 near cold spring lane. one car flipped over. but so far, no word of any injuries. we'll bring you more information as it becomes available. a new push is under way to help the economy through more efficient cars. environment maryland is calling for more hybrid cars and trucks. the group says that standard would save the average maryland family more than $500 this summer alone. the obama administration has already set new efficiency standards for cars built over the next five years. this friday kicks off the start of the summer for most of us in this memorial day weekend. it's going to feel like most of user the road. alex demetrick has a look at what we can expect if you're planning to get away. >> reporter: ocean city's first big weekend of summer is expected to bring big crowds, based on the number of room reservations. >> it's going to be a busy weekend. you know, we're going to be expecting, you know, 225, 250,000 people this weekend. >> and according to triple aa a's annual survey. >> nationwide, we are expecting 34.9 million travelers over this holiday weekend. >> reporter: maryland's share of that exodus will top 719,000. most travel will be by car, with 659,000 marylanders hitting the road, following a national trend, more will be flying, nearly 61,000 have booked tickets for their holiday destinations. and more than 14,000 will travel by train and bus. and those numbers could go higher, as gas prices drop. >> this is the first time that we have seen gas prices go down, go down before memorial day. >> reporter: but triple a's survey finds filling a tank is still going to be less spending on vacations. >> other ways to cut back. spending a little less on dining. a little less on other recreational activities. in fact, going to national parks and beaches. >> reporter: while most people have the weekend off, it will be more work than usual for police. >> we will be targeting speeding violations, drunk driving, aggressive driving. >> reporter: and standard advice applies. get out of town early. alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> if the bay bridge figures into your plans, the people who collect the tollsay thursday, before 2:00 p.m. is the best time to cross. on friday, the earlier, the better, of course. the national football league is closed for business, with a lockout in place. but the ravens players gathered for their own workout in towson today. sports director mark viviano joins us with more reaction. >> reporter: 27 prayers-- players, less than half the roster, came together for what some admit was as much possible public relation as it was private access. they are coming together on their own, during a league-wide shutdown. >> reporter: a chance for teammates to get reacquainted after being locked out for more than two months from the team facility in owings mills. so they gathered at johnny unitas stadium, at towson university, where they began three days of informal workouts that are more fitness than football. they playfully exchanged what little contact was involved. for some, the session gives them something to do during the quiet off season. >> regardless of the violence. it felt good to say, you know what? i'm going to practice. and we take it that serious. >> i want you to close those gates. >> ravens fans were kept out. and the media was allowed in for the first day only. for rookies like tory smith, the practice was a first for nfl players. for veterans like joe flacco, a chance to get some work in with his teammates and take his mind off the lockout. >> tried to pay a little attention. but at the same time, you don't want to crowd your mind with it. i'm kind of going in and working and doing my thing. when we get the call, we get the call. >> while they achieve comradery, some still have serious doubts of what's ahead, in terms of when the deal might get back to business as usual. >> the way it's looking, i can't see anything happening, not this month. not next month, which is june. and we're talking maybe july. and that's a maybe. so, you know, hopefully, we, you know, can put everything aside and get a deal worked out so we don't miss football. >> and on this day, as ravens players gathered, the league officially canceled the annual rookie symposium, held each year to give new players an introduction to the league, the ongoing lockout prohibits the symposium from taking place. kai? >> nfl owners met in indianapolis today. mark has details on their lockout coming up. still ahead alt 5:00. volcanic eruption. a massive cloud of ash is drifting toward europe. but will it cause widespread chaos like we saw last spring? a children's party planner or pedophile? the shocking story police are telling about this baltimore attorney. i'm derek valcourt, that story coming up on eyewitness news. we're keeping an eye out for more severe weather in some parts of the state. bob is tracking live first doppler radar. ,,,,,,,,,, a baltimore attorney whoa doubles as a magician for children's parties. is under arrest. wjz has details on the arrest. police say howard scott kaelin of essex thought he was arranging sex with a 14-year- old boy. in reality, he was online chatting with an undercover detective. >> reporter: news of the arrest of 47-year-old howard scott kaelin spread rapidly through the essex neighborhood where he lives with his wife and two teenage sons. >> i couldn't sleep last night. i have not slept all night. >> reporter: according to these court charging documents, kaelin told undercover police that he had seriously thought about having sex with what he thought was a 14-year-old boy. on monday, he flew to florida, bringing a basketball as a gift and a box of condoms. kaelin operates fun house condoms. on the company's website, they advertise clowns, magicians, and other entertainers for children's parties and events. he himself is listed as a balloon artist and magician for funhouse. >> reporter: when we showed up today to ask questions, we were told that the office was packed up and vacated in a hurry this morning. all signs for funhouse entertainment has been taken down and no one is answering their phones. >> reporter: last night, police confiscated their computer and other evidence from his home. family members today did not answer the door. neighbors worried about their own children. >> i've been very upset. the first thing i did was talked to my little ones this morning. >> makes you stop and think. i got four grandkids. and they're usually down here in my yard on the weekends. makes you stop. and now you gotta worry about keeping an eye on all of your neighbors. something wrong with him. >> reporter: kaelin under arrest, made his initial appearance in a lake county, florida, courtroom this morning. he faces a number of charges. bail has been set at $400,000. derek valcourt, wjz eyewitness news. >> direc, thank you. -- derek, thank you. baltimore county police say they are aware of the charges. they ask anyone with concerns about the case to call their crimes against children unit. that number is 410-853-3650. we have a couple of problems on the roads. let's check in with christy breslin and wjz traffic control. we have that situation in harford county, in the madonna area. we have a closure there. because of the overturned vehicles, holding wires still down. jarrettsville pike road. between schuster road and route 23. as far as the jones falls expressway goes, in the northbound direction, the accident has been cleared. but the same. north side inner loop, heavy there from harrisburg expressway to harford road. and the outer loop, not doing too much better. still slow from york road to charles street. moving, bumper to bumper there. normal delay on 70 westbound, from 29 over to marriottsville road. back through baltimore city. accidents include bel air road at white avenue. also, moravia road, at cavon avenue. let's take a live look. you can see, not a bad drive there. and there's a look 95 at 395. this traffic report is brought to you by bill's carpet, hardwood and laminate, too. you can call them at 1-877-75- bills. back to you. environmental hazard. a new study uncovers some serious health risks, along parts of the patapsco river. wjz is live in dundalk. mike hellgren has a look at the disturbing findings and who is most at risk. mike? >> reporter: mary, you can see a lot of people use this water here. and the study looked alt a very small portion, what's called coke point, near sparrows point. and they found a cancer risk that was at least two times what's normal. >> reporter: long-term exposure to toxic chemicals in the pacaps -- patapsco river can increase your risk of cancer. a new study also found eating crabs and fish caught near coke point carries a health risk. all of that concerns cox. >> this has been our livelihood for 30 years. it's foremost in our mind, the water quality. >> reporter: for the chesapeake bay foundation, it's the unknown that is frightening. the group is calling for testing of waters, where more people fish, swim and boat. >> should they freak out if they get water on them? no. but again, what this says to us is that we really need to have a clear understanding so those residents have a better sense of what the risks are to them. >> reporter: the new research found carcinogens in the sediment. state environmental officials say it's no cause for panic. but health risks are only for those with years of exposure. >> these risks are projected out to 30 years of exposure. >> someone who is just recreating in the area in general, should not be concerned about this. >> reporter: bill plumber toes recreational boats -- toes recreational boats. cleanup is coming but could take several years. it's snarled by several lawsuits on who should pay for it. >> reporter: and many of the pollutants came from more than a century of steel production at sparrows point. reporting live along the water, mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> okay, mike. thank you. the port administration will hold a public meeting next week on these findings. >> showers have collapsed. take a look at conditions now. a little light rain coming on in some areas. north winds center. barometer holding center. come back and take a look at that live radar after this. you're the best, mr. snuggles. [ thinking ] another pet name? all right, i'm smart enough to notice that my favorite fresh-brewed mickey d's sweet tea is now on the dollar menu, so i'm smart enough for this. you're the best, too... sweet tea... pie? aww, chipmunk. [ male announcer ] sweet tea and the mcdonald's dollar menu. look at that. the pride of baltimore coming in. >> and we're proud of the pride. >> yes. >> welcome home. >> so far, pretty quiet out there. a couple of sprinkles at the inner harbor. that's about it. that's a beautiful shot. >> it is. >> nice little breeze. it's really, really pretty. let's take a look at radar around the region. there may be a few light sprinkles. but most of the storms had weakened considerably this afternoon. right now, around the city, one little cell, between owings mills and randallstown. on the beltway to liberty road. around the city, just light shower activity. south of towns and heavier stuff moving off across the bay. and it's weakened considerably. south of the area, just offshore from shimpg teague. -- shing teague. we still have that severe thunderstorm watch in effect southern portions of the region. just extreme portions of maryland. let's take a look at temperatures around the region now. this is before the rain hit the air. 83, 73. 86 and 87 down across the south. pretty warm afternoon. and humid. dew points mid-60s right now. 79 cumberland. and a cooler 73 in oakland, up in the mountains. 82, bel air. last report. and even annapolis. 84 degrees. warm and rather humid afternoon. yes. west winds now. northwest winds now, may bring in slightly dryer air. chances for showers are not as great as today. if we get showers tomorrow, most of them should be hopefully out to the west of us and probably will escape it. down to the south, severe thunderstorm watch in effect until officially 8:00 tonight. here in the east, lots of clouds, showers and thundershower activity breaking out. the big batch today was over kentucky and west virginia and southern virginia. they have tornado watches out for extreme southwestern virginia. you can see the stuff moving into that region. could be severe weather way down to the south. this front may get through the area tonight. it's actually a cool front. dryer air to the north. hopefully getting into a bit of a break tomorrow, as the winds go back to the north. eventually coming out of the southeast. and tomorrow may not feature as much for the southwest region. hopefully that will last until thursday afternoon. then the warm front is going to go through to get back into the warm and soupy weather for thursday afternoon, friday, and probably into the weekend. right now, the extended outlook for memorial day weekend is pretty warm temperatures. they get to 90 here over the weekend or monday. northwest winds becoming southeast at around 10 knots. the bay temp around 69 degrees. sunrise, 5:45. tonight, any showers early on, rather cloudy, 64. tomorrow, warm, still rather humid with a mixture of clouds and sunshine. high of 84. that's about where we were this afternoon. i don't think it's going to be quite as humid tomorrow as it was today. and the risk of showers, not nearly what it was today. maybe a break tomorrow. >> thanks, bob. getting lessons in architecture. in this wjz school watch report, andrea fujii shows us how fifth graders are putting their passion for drawing toward a career possibility. >> any questions about our friend? >> reporter: from planning to designing to construction, these 16 elementary schoolers are learning what it means to be an architect. >> this seems like a good job you could have fun with and still get work done at the same time. >> reporter: this is the second year for the careers and design program. in which they have teamed up with beach field. >> they didn't know what planning was. they didn't know what landscape architecture was. and things they were interested in, they can take that. >> this culminates the six-week course in which architects take students who design the dream house. >> i made a laser room. >> only 2% of architects are in this. and this program hopes to change that. >> encouraging creativity and teaching them their talents can be a career many of them never knew existed. andrea fujii. >> the students who decide to continue on this path can transfer to the baltimore design school this year. that's a new school specializing in design, architecture. coffee costs. why you may have to shell out more cash the next time you want that caffeine fix. new law to allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state prices at universities. i'm ron matz at fells point. and it's time to celebrate soft shell crabs in baltimore. the story coming up here on wjz. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it is 5:30. 83 degrees and cloudy. good evening and thank you for staying with wjz, eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. maryland's new law, extending in-state college tuition, to undocumented immigrants could be headed to the ballot. leaders to the drive to put it on next year's ballot, say they are close to clearing the first hurdle. political reporter pat warren has the latest developments in this controversial issue. pat? >> reporter: thanks, mary. it's been decades since a state law has made it to a ballot. but supporters think this is the issue that could do it. >> reporter: voices raised during the 2011 legislative session convince lawmakers to rewrite the rules and to allow undocumented students as legal residents of the state. >> this will allow us to have a more highly educated work force in our state, which is good for all of us. >> reporter: we have been waiting for this moment for the longest time. >> reporter: but supporters of the drive say it's not right to extend in-state tuition to those who can't prove this. >> it's bad policy. it's bad for legal citizens. >> reporter: casa demaryland says it is not focusing on the petition. but organizers say they are close to getting the required s