>> good morning, everybody. will the back to 11 news today. >> thanks for joining us. -- welcome back to 11 news today. >> thanks for joining us. let's get a check on the weather. >> it is going to be warm today. check it out real quick. we are dealing with temperatures in the low 70's across the board. a 73 degrees downtown. mostly sunny skies. sun setting tonight at 7:48. it will be up shortly. >> with the dry heat, there is a dress what that goes along with

it. >> basically. >> we have some accidents. one is blocking 295 pion northbound i-95. -- 295 on northbound i-95. we will continue to monitor this situation and let you know how it develops. we had an accident on 50 on the bay bridge on the westbound direction. that has just been cleared. traffic is going well from the eastern show over the bridge -- eastern shore over the bridge. howard is your alternate in the mulberry area. manhole covers blew off and we are dealing with closures there. that is the latest on tropical 11 -- that is the latest. back to you.

>> senator ted kennedy has died last night after his battle with brain cancer. >> he was devoted to helping with -- helping those who were not as fortunate as he was. thrust into the limelight byhe came to the senate in 1962 to replace his brother the newly elected president. he ran for president himself a decade later but lost to jimmy carter. political career. he never gave up. >> the dreams shall never die. >> he will be remembered by most as a passionate lawmaker who made a difference. the family released a statement saying we always believed that our best days are ahead. it is hard to imagine any of them without him. >> you morning commute could be longer today if you travel downtown. several streets have been blocked downtown after several

manhole covers block. our reporter joins us live from the scene. >> good morning. i do not know if you can hear all the noise behind me. that started at about 20 minutes ago. the crews are working together to resolve this problem. some sort of a gas buildup is believed to be blamed. just before six, four manholes covers were blown off in baltimore. officials are trying to determine a cause. officials believe methane buildup was to blame. >> methane is a natural occurring gas from seward -- sewers. when you have a lot of electric flowing, you could have a spark from that methane gas and cause a situation where a manhole cover would lift up. >> but the covers are conduit covers which are overloaded by gas and electric lines. they were testing to see if the

problem was there. one person with the department of public works says a situation like this is unusual. >> people cannot start fearing walking down the streets. this is not one of those likely strikes types of things. it is very unlikely. we are all working together transportation, the fire department, to resolve it. everything will be back to normal. enjoy downtown. places are open. >> we are back live here at the scene on you saw street. you can see that that is a bge truck making all of that noise. our cost to the company have not been returned. we do not know the exact updated situation here. right now, crews have started this within the last 20 minutes. we know they have been working round the clock to try to get this roadway open for traffic. reporting live, wbal-tv. >> thank you.

woman is behind bars tonight after one of the victim's license plate helped police track them down. most breaks go unreported. now there is a statewide initiative to change that. kerry cavanaugh has more on this. >> every envelope is dated with the time. >> we are able to photograph this. >> this person is equipped to find every trace of evidence when the rape victim comes to this exam room. >> bruising on the skin can be discovered. >> this save program collects specimens for police from that the victim's every month. under the jane doe law, it is also providing a safety net for victims who are not ready to go

to law enforcement. >> some of those who are sexually assaulted know their perpetrators. with that comes the risk of that person knowing all of their vulnerabilities and the things they can threaten them with. they may have to have a further contact through job exchange. >> only 10% of white victims ever come forward. now under the new law that took effect in january, they can visit a forensic nursed within five days of an attack. they can place charges and retrieve the samples from the hospital to make a stronger case. >> it gives people time to get their heads together. they are afraid of creating an embarrassment for their families. they are afraid of not being believed by police. they watch these crime shows were the victim is torn up on the stand. that cannot happen in the case anymore. >> they have already examined

over 100 jane doe's in this area. >> this is the tip of the iceberg. >> kerry cavanaugh, wbal-tv. >> forensic investigators are on call 24/7 to collect evidence. it will help track down the suspect even if the victim is not ready to go to the police. for more information, you can call this number. >> beginning in october, a new law will ban texting mondawmin in maryland. many parents are fearful of these habits especially while behind the leal. -- a new law will band textingmany parents are fearful of the habit especially behind the texting while driving. take a look at this. this video may be disturbing. >> [screams and crashing]

>> this is not airing in the usa but is on youtube. it is airing in britain. they help it will illustrate the true dangers of texting while driving. watercooler question of the day. do you think the psa on texting while driving is too graphic? email us your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. a strong message. >> yes very powerful. still ahead, a drug that can help prevent clotting in the heart may not work for some people. it may increase the risk for serious health problems. >> a woman's biological makeup may mean she is more competition for use in the work force. >> we are dealing with an accident on northbound i-95 with some lane closures. we will update you on that as

>> top of this wednesday morning to you. the sun will be up at 6:30. we will be looking at a high of about 91 degrees downtown by the middle of the day. a few degrees cooler at 70 degrees this morning. today's forecast, plenty of sunshine around. we will have more on changing weather patterns later on in the forecast. >> in the medical alert, biology may play a role in what career choices women make. it is mostly men who work in places like the new york stock exchange, some women choose

careers in that area. one study studied 500 men and women. women with more testosterone were more likely to choose careers in finance. >> and anti-clotting drug clavix is often times prescribe for some patients. but for some, it does not work. researchers at the university of maryland believes that a genetic barrier plays a role in whether or not the body will respond to this medication. >> coming up, we will take another look back at the life of senator ted kennedy. >> here is a live look over downtown baltimore. up next, we will update weather and traffic for your morning commute. stay with us, you are

>> good morning. we have one problem we have been tracking on northbound i-95 near 295. the two right lanes are blocked. it is in the northbound direction. we will keep you posted on when that one clears. we will switch over to a live view of traffic on the west side where volume is picking up. it is still looking good out of the white marsh area. but want to remind you of a problem in the city. if you are headed over towards mulberry on utah street because of the loan manhole covers that are being cleared. it will be a while before it is cleared. the alternate street is howard. . traffic is moving well through the accident scene near fort

mchenry. on the west side, so far so good on the beltway. but it's the latest on the buses in the trace. >> we still have some problems on the bus lines this morning. the 15 is diverted at saratoga and green. diverted due to the manhole cover situation. be prepared for those problems. light rail has a 20 minute delay in the northbound direction. the metro is problem-free. no delays on the brunswick lines. back to sandra. >> i hope you are doing well this morning. a nice, quiet weather pattern this morning. nothing on the hd doppler right now over the state of maryland. a slight chance of isolated storms tomorrow. we will remain dry for the next

couple of days. throughout the weekend, we may have a chance of some good shattered -- scattered showers and storms. los 70's over the eastern show our -- low 70's over the eastern shore. beautiful blue skies again and western maryland is looking good. lots of sunshine in baltimore. up to 90 degrees today. are forecast high yesterday was 85 degrees. we are not dealing with a heat index today. not a lot of moisture on the shores of ocean city today. it is pretty comfortable at 78 degrees. you can get out on a boat today. waves just at about 1 foot. was a record high -- 101 was

the record high. our benchmark is around 62. we will be around 70 degrees overnight. we have more of a westerly flow tonight. a high-pressure is weakening and is still in control. if what is going to approach tomorrow. we will see partly sunny skies -- partly cloudy skies. that front is going to continue to push off to the east which is a good thing. it will be be good to block this tropical system that is trying to form. it is trying to get into circulation, but it is not quite there yet. the system will be moving up along the eastern coast. it should be far enough from us that we will not be impacted very much.

it is subject to change over the next few days. a 50% chance of showers and storms on friday. 30% chance of storms on saturday and sunday. 84 degrees. next week, it will be 78 degrees on monday with low humidity and mostly sunny. >> the senior senator from massachusetts, edward kennedy has died. >> a battle brain cancer for more than one year. our washington bureau reporter has more. >> in a statement from the white house, president obama said he and his wife michelle are heartbroken after learning of his passing and praised him as the greatest u.s. senator of our time. edward moore kennedy was born in 1932. the ninth and last child of the kennedys.

in 1962, he arrived in washington for what would be a half century tenure. he held the senate seat held by his older brother john. >> i want to thank the people of massachusetts for the great trust they have bestowed upon me. >> but his reputation was tarnished by personal sorrow. both of his brothers were assassinated. there was a tragic stand on his long legacy. a trout acquitted of one -- he was acquitted of charges after one of his employees drowned in his car. a failed presidential bid is barely a blip in him and his political career. he offered more than 2500 bills in the senate. health care, immigration and public rights were among his passion. one of his biggest causes was health care.

>> there will be more serious violence if we continue. >> his first marriage ended in divorce. he married in 1992. many say his life became more serene. in his final years, he was the keeper of the kennedy flame. his appearances became aware, his words were always memorable. >> work begins anew. the hope rises again. the dream lives on. >> the kennedy family also put out a statement calling the senator the irreplaceable center of our family and the joyous light of our lives. they think everyone for their support. wbal-tv. >> so much more is ahead on 11 news today. >> we will take a look at one of your answers for the watercooler question of the day.

>> here is a look at the winning lotto numbers,. come on in.

you're invited to the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. because the price on the tag is the price you pay on remaining '08 and '09 models. you'll find low, straightforward pricing. it's simple. now get an 2009 chevy silverado half-ton for under $18,000 after all offers. go to chevy.com/openhouse for more details.

>> time to get to one of your answers to the watercooler question of the day. >> we asked if the psa on testing of driving is too graphic for since the right message. >> one person says that i have

e-mail it to all of my family and friends. i would rather be frightened by the video then be frightened at the more gwen being called to identify a loved one. keep sending us your responses. we will read more of them in the next hour and post all of them on our website. >> one team has been the training ground for a saturday night live. it produced some comedy great. >> second city is -- a second city alum is about to join the cast. >> live from new york, it is saturday night live. >> that is the prestigious sketch comedy show has boosted the careers of many second city alums. people like set myers and -- seth myers and tina fey.

now you can add michael patrick o'brien to the list. he is finishing his five-year second city tour of duty. now up on the main stage, it will be a bittersweet goodbyes. >> i like to do something with second city and saturday night live. it always ends up being a great experience. >> the executive producer of bonds saturday"nightlife -- producer of "saturday night live" did a talent search at second city. michael patrick originally came to be an actor but made the transition to comedy. he is excited about moving forward with this new challenge.

>> he wrote for saturday night live and the simpsons. >> i could. >> nbc news. >> i am sure he is very funny. one woman that more than she bargained for during an up adopt a pet segment. she has become a youtube hit. the dog is loving on her. she cannot get a way. i think she has had enough. she needs to take the dog home. >> that happens a lot. that was pretty tame. >> they have gotten hundreds of calls to adopt the dog. nothing has been finalized yet. here is a look ahead to our next hour.

>> a woman is arrested after she found stopping her brought @ b.w.i. airport. find out what she was stuffing it with. >> a new airport on the americans' consumption of sugar. it puts some in shot. >> we will show you a new bizarre fast-food sandwich offer you will have to see to believe. diabetes and cancer. and they've heard that biomedical research offers hope, that it could control, maybe even cure, their disease. senator barbara mikulski understands the importance of innovative biomedical research, for patients, their families, and our economy here in maryland. call senator mikulski today. tell her, thanks for protecting

the promise of biomedical research and the maryland jobs it provides. it's not just the future, it's life. diabetes and cancer. they've heard that biomedical research offers hope,