cal ripken opens up about the kidnapping of his mother. >> it was very emotional. i think we were all thinking the worst possible things during the course of time we were looking for her. >> more on her by by sr -- bizarre abduction. the oriole legend says the object juks deft his entire family shaken and reveals the emotional moment he first learned she was missing. live at camden yards. mike hellgren has ripken's first words and new details on the investigation. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. ripken says he didn't even know his mom was taken at gunpoint until some 14 hours after it happened. he said he drove around neighborhoods himself looking for her.

he is glad she is back safe. >> it was the worst feeling you could imagine. >> oriels great cap ripken junior is breaking his silence about the violent abduction of his 74-year-old vi. he was taken from her home. he believes it was premeditated. >> there was some thought given to it. the materials used to bind her were brought there. there's a lot of evidence that shows there was somewhat of a plan. >> his first comments come days after police released video of the man they believe about doesn'ted ms. ripken, showed -- abducted ms. ripken, tied her up and drove her around all day. she said he's not yet staying there. >> i don't think she wants to be effected by this. she wants to return having the same joyous life she had before.

>> police have been tight lipped on this investigation. there's a prominent wal-mart logo in it but they haven't said the store. they haven't detailed what happened to vi ripken during those many hours she was held against her will. neither did her son. >> i think some of those details i can't discuss because they do lend itself to the investigation. i'm thankful that she was always treated pretty civilly. >> authorities say they've gotten dozens of tips. they hope one will help them close this bizarre case. >> reporter: ripken says he didn't know whether the abductor knew who his mom was. she said he's a strong woman and gotten back you -- under her routine. >> rip ken says he's speaking publicically because he want -- publicly because he wants to keep interest in the case high. the fbi is also involved in the investigation. wjz is following breaking

news out of hartford county. firefighters are on the scene of a fire at a denny's restaurant in edge wood. flames broke out an hour ago. this photo was sent to us by a wjz viewer. sky chopper 13 over the scene as firefighters work to put out the flames which are now out. no reports of any injuries. the cause of the fire is under investigation. he's known as the baltimore bullet and the most decorated olympian of all time and preparing to swim in the last individual race of his olympic career. michael phelps will swim the 100 meter butterfly later this afternoon. yesterday he beat out ryan lochte in the 200 individual medley do win his first individual gold medal at these london games. his final olympic race will be as a member of the u.s. relay team tomorrow. another u.s. olympic athlete walked away with a gold yesterday. 16-year-old gabby douglas won the all around competition in women gymnastics

being the first african american woman to win the all around title. the labor department issues a better than expected jobs report. the unemployment rate is still pretty high. >> u.s. employers added 163,000 jobs in july, which was 63,000 more than expected. it was the biggest hiring waive since february. a government survey of households showed more people are actively looking for work. that pushed the unemployment rate to 8.3%. the stock market wasser ner guised by the -- was energy guised by the up tick in hiring. a trader says the job reporter will impact what the federal reserve may do to try to jump start the economy. 100% of the hiring last month was done in the private sector and most of those jobs were seasonal. still millions of people are out of work and struggling to get

by. >> get this sense of hopelessness. >> scott was out of work for more than a year after he got laid off from his job at a company that designs ads and billboards for broadway shows. his wife with lost her job too. scott took the first job he could find. >> it was rough taking a pay cut and doing something you're not enjoying. >> he didn't burn bridges at his old company and was eventually rehired. >> there's still a part of me that's scared having gone through that. i never want to go through it again. >> his advise to others looking for work, never give up. >> investors are encouraged by the july job's report. the dow is up over 250 points, the s and p nasdaq also up. we're learning more about a psychiatrists warning about james holmes. she had concerns about his mental stability before he dropped out of grad

school in june. she reportedly told the school's threat assessment team buzz nothing was done. he faces -- but nothing was done. he faces 24 counts of murder. ann arundel county executive john leopold's trial is being delayed. he'lls accused oh of -- he's accused of his using his police security detail to collect information on his opponents as well as running personal errands for him. the judge decided to push the trail date back to november to give the defense more time the prepare. with marylanders set to vote on the issue of same sex marriage in november a new poll has been released showing a change in public opinion. ron matz is live in the news room with more on this. >> reporter: good afternoon. new poll numbers suggest spovrpters of same sex marriage are gaining ground. the poll -- number suggest supports of same sex marriage are gaining ground. 60% support it now.

analysts say polls may not be a good indicator. it's making head lines nationally after the president of chick fill a spoke out against it. people packed chill fill a restaurants earlier this week to show their support for the company. today supporters are planning a national kiss in to protest the company's position. don, back to you. >> thank you very much. same sex marriage has been voted down in every other state where it's been on the ballot. the president declares the storm that hit maryland a major disaster. hurricane force winds and heavy rain left behind a mess in june. federal funding will be used for repairs. left turns take a look outside -- let's take a look outside from our harbaugh bar come. there's a mix of sun aund clouds over head. tim williams is updated conditions. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. high

pressure is really the do -- the do mant -- of that dominant force. it's the clock wise flow around that high that is allowing for this warm air to move in from the west. the high is itself moving offshore. this is how it's all playing out. our temperatures now are reflecting that warm air moving in from the west and southwest. 88 right now our temperature. it feels more like 95 degrees out there. as that high pressure starting to move away and -- pressure starts to move away and that rain progressing in it's going to bring more humid and hot conditions but also hit or miss showers or thunderstorms into the weekend. we will talk about how that plays out and also talk about tropical storm ernesto, which is now out in the atlantic. how that could impact some u.s. intles.

-- interest. big name memorabilia went home with new owners at the supporters collectors -- at the sports collectors auction. 1900s baseball cards were sold. they were sold for more than $565,000. . >> you got to hold one in your hand. >> it was cool. it was like where can i go with this thing? >> not far. still to come on wjz's ynz -- eyewitness news at noon. what may have caused a fatal mega bus crash. >> are you planning on traveling internationally? u.s. airways is helping ing sat us fie your taste buds for -- sat us fie your taste bud for travel. that's coming up. ,,,,

isfy your taste bud for travel. that's coming up. it's partly sunny and 88 in central maryland right now. your complete first warning weather forecast is come ugh -- coming up. one person is dead hundreds more injured after a packed mega bus crashes in illinois. the bus was filled to capacity.

it swerved into a median and crashed into a concrete support pillar. investigators are trying to determine if a blow tire contributed to the crash. in syria protestors are now chanting against the president. 21 people are now confirmed dead as well after an attack in the syrian capital. activists would not speculate on where the motors came from. vie regime -- regime forces are trying to gain control there. the trial for drew peterson will continue today. they tried for a mistrial yesterday. the judge decided the testimony was not relevant. he's charged with killing his third wife and is the suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife. the prosecution plans to call his divorce attorney to testify

later today. if you have plans to fly internationally, u.s. airways is stepping up your food options for a small fee. u.s. airways is offering premium foods to international coach customers. for about $20 you can get items like citrus chicken, a slice of cheesecake. the deal comes with a glass of wine. >> or a plastic cup of wine. >> wheb remember when you -- remember when you would get decent food but it was included in your ticket. those were the days. still ahead. looking ahead to the week end. find out what's in store weather wise. your full forecast 2 and a half minutes away. >> first let's take a look at last,,,,

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[ sally umlaut ] it's greek-style yogurt. thick, scrumptious, and more protein than those regular yogurts. are those almonds i see in the corner thingy? caramelized almonds i think you'll find. well, who wants ordinary run-of-the-mill almonds when you could have the caramelized kind? if i was this girl, i'd caramelize my whole apartment. weird. this greek style yogurt has style. you can say that again. why thank you. this greek style yogurt has style. okay. stop saying it now. you're sending me mixed messages.

welcome back. we want to introduce you to cody. cody is a 4-year-old lasa -- a lot of word mix. >> say that three times fast. >> i don't want to try. >> he's a 4-year-old male. he came in lost. he's just so long. we were just commenting about the length of him. . >> you can't tell when he's sitting down here. >> here we go. his back legs -- he's kind of souped up, like if you put a dog on 20 inch rims. he's a great little dog. if you'd like to adopt him call

the maryland spca. of course, the yellow scarf is compliments of our friday puppy sponsor, mr. basement who believes that together we can make a difference for pet that is need a home. i want to mention also that there is a program now at the spca, free over 3. if you adopt a cat that's over 3 years old the adoption fee is waived. that's starting today, goes through next sunday. >> cool. >> you've upset cody. he thought it was his time in the spotlight. >> i see. it is a great day to go out and maybe take the pets for a walk. make sure they have water. temperatures afternooned -- around 88 right now. winds coming in from the south around much of the area, bringing in some warmer temperatures. actually getting a southeast flow around the airport. as soon as that changing it's going to start going up. right now we're going to see high pressure sinking down towards our region and off the coastline. with that high

moving to the east it's going to allow for warmer air and humid air to move in. it's going to allow for a front that's going to get here by sunday. that's going to trigger potentially some steady rain and heavy town pours into sunday afternoon. we have a chance of showers every afternoon, tonight, tomorrow and into sunday. we're keeping an eye on ernesto, a tropical storm moving to the west at 21 miles an hour. if you have vacation plans arnold cancun keep an eye on it. our sunset today is at 8:15. no advisories in effect. 94 today . partly sunny and thunderstorms around. tonight 72 degrees. we'll have you five day forecast, a pretty warm up, coming up in just a few moments. don't miss the oriels road trip to tampa this weekend.

saturday and sunday it will be on wjz. you can saturday's game at 7:00 and sunday's game at 1:30 live with the rays on wjz 13. >> whoops, he just slid off the set. >> i'm okay. still to come on wjz eyewitness news at noon. >> the number of americans who smoke cigarettes may be going down. more people are now smoking these cigars. the answer coming up in health watch. >> wjz 13 is always on. here are the top stories on wjz.com. for more instant updates an all the day's -- and all the day's news log onto wjz.com. ,,

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in today ease 's -- in today ease wjsz health watch americans -- wjz's health watch, americans are smoking less cigarettes. cigarette consumption is down 30%. the use of noncigarette smoke in pipes and cigars is up. check back in with wjz's eyewitness news today at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. hear more from cal ripken about the abduction of his mother, vi. michael phelps goes for gold today in what is likely his last professional race ever. join us for these stories and all the day's breaking news today at 4:00 after dr. phil.

>> stay with us, tim is okay and his five day forecast is ne,,,,,,,,,,,,

94 today, 93 saturday, 88, 89 and 89. who knew weather would be full contact. >> we took the wheels off his chair. don't miss the cbs prime time line up. at 10:00 it's blue bloods and then stay tuned

for eyewitness news at 11:00. thanks for watching eyewitness news. i'm jessica kartalija. >> don scott. >> i'm tim williams. we will see you this afternoon at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. at least you will. don and i will be gone. >> i'm going off the set right , that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans,

you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide.