about the surprise. >> are we almost through with the gray skies text and what about the weekend? [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. >> and i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> tony pann has a quick look at today's forecast. >>e are looking forward to the weekend. >> we have that temperatures in the 50's. a marked improvement as we head toward the weekend. it will be nicer compared to yesterday. 50 degrees at the airport. it will turn mostly sunny today. we're shooting for a high temperature of 71. yesterday we hit 59. you will like 10the for cats -- you will like the forecast

for this weekend. >> most of the roads are looking good. in harfordroad, county, we do have an accident. that is our only incident of note. there is a water main break in havre de grace. eastbound traffic is getting by alternating on the eastbound side. on any of the other major roadways, the beltway looks great. 50 towards the west side. no problems on 70 moving in towards the beltway. 11 minutes on the outer loop northeast side. same thing on the west side. this is a live view of traffic. things continue to move welfare. this is not old court. it has been switched. i believe it is 70. 95 is picking up in volume out of white marsh. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11.

now back to you. >> thank you. an outrageous protest at the soldier's funeral for years ago is now a matter of debate. >> it is a case that pits two of the freedoms in the bill of rights at odds. jennifer franciotti has more. >> the supreme court will decide whether the first of them a pretext for yearbook protesters for inflicted emotional distress on the family of the deceased. supporters of the westboro baptist church were outside yesterday, including children. this case may be a landmark decision. it could create a new standard. members of the westboro baptist church staged a protest regarding the u.s. policy on gays in the military. they demonstrated 1,000 feet from the funeral of matthew snyder.

they maximize publicity and posted a video of the defense online. the question is whether the first amendment protects the protesters from civil claims. albert snyder won a claim. however, it was overturned. >> there is a civilized way to express an opinion in america, but it does not involve intentionally inflicting emotional distress on others, intentionally harming a private citizen and a private funeral. >> speaking of the constitution, mr. snyder believes this is not about free speech or the first amendment. this is about harassment. reporting live, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> today marks the beginning of the 10th year of war in afghanistan. president obama wants to bring

it to an end next year. tracie potts has more. >> president obama marked the ninth year of war by honoring 24-year-old staff seargeant rob miller, who died two years ago defending his comrades against insurgents in a cold afghan valley. >> they heard his voice. he had been hit. but still he kept calling out enemy positions. >> his parents said miller believed in the mission. >> he believed he was working for a good cause. >> but nine years and 1,200 lives later, critics say it is time to refocus america's $100 billion-a-year investment away from insurgents and back to al qaeda. >> we can start to not be spending money again on the war. >> the white house reports pakistan's military is backing off direct conflict with the taliban and al qaeda. now there is word the taliban is in talks with afghanistan's government, possibly to end this war. the u.s. pullout is supposed to

begin next summer. the beginning of year 10 offers a new opportunity. >> now is the time to give the strategy one last chance. if it does not work, it is time for a backup plan. >> but what is that plan? a letter from presidenet obama says for now, there is no reason to change the war strategy. the big problem is getting supplies to u.s. troops. militants have attacked dozens of nato supply trucks just this week. from washington, i'm tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. nine years later, has the u.s. involvement in afghanistan accomplished anything? you can e-mail your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> the family of the latest maryland tragedy in the war of afghanistan is speaking out. lance voglar was killed.

his parents spoke of their grief for his brother. >> everybody has not met him because if you met him, you would understand there is not a lot of words. you just cannot -- it doesn't mean the same. it will not describe plans. >> sgt vogler leaves behind a wife and two children. george huguely is charged with killing yeardley love last may. he has been in jail since his arrest. love was from cockeysville, maryland. >> a woman was sentenced to life in prison for the shocking murder of an expected mother. korena roberts will spend the rest of her life behind bars for

the murder of heather snively. the mother-to be met roberts through craigslist on the presumption of buying baby clothes. >> i felt this was the best punishment for her because she will never get out. >> after the murder, roberts tried to convince neighbors and police that the child was hers. the jury will deliberate for the fifth day in the trial of the three men accused of murdering ken harris. charles mcganey, gary collins, and jerome williams are accused harris.ng accusedharridown they face murder charges. >> 3 people are recuperating from injuries they sustained in a crash in woodlawn at yesterday morning at security boulevard

and rolling road. police say the officer was not responding to a call at the time. the accident is still under investigation this morning. >> it is 51 degrees on tv hill. coming up, the morning's financial news in the bloomberg business report. >> a blast from mother nature does plenty of damage in arizona. >> a shocking discovery in a cemetery. police say there is nothing they can do about it. >> i am hanging with my bully bodies this morning. i have duncan, annie, and ronnie. >> too cute. we are looking at a nice ride for the most part. one

telling us "maryland is moving forward," "and moving maryland forward" this jobs report tells the truth maryland's economy stalled "we face an uphill struggle in trying to regain the jobs lost" o'malley attempts a cover-up, falsifying the jobs report to help his campaign. "whatever we can do to make it disappear, we need to do it. that's coming straight from the top" martin o'malley, first he makes stuff up, when caught, he covers stuff up. we need a governor who tells the truth.

>> a very good morning to you. 54 degrees downtown. we are warmed up with some believe bodies. we were talking about the all american pit bull. -- with some bully buddies. this is an event used to educate you from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. all about the pit bull breed. we have ronnie here who is up for adoption. he is a sweetheart. we also have done again. he is 10 months old. he has is halloween in gear -- we have duncan.

at little orphan annie. she is not quite old enough for adoption. she is six weeks old. tell us about duncan. >> he was surrendered about four weeks ago. he has a sweet disposition. a lovely dog and he is available for adoption. >> there will be a raffle, education. >> we are having a woman that has a training program that specializes -- she does very good work with pitbulls. she teaches them to focus on their parents and they're walking abilities and brings out their intelligence. we're going to have a demonstration and a great presentation. >> lots of fun on saturday.

i'm having so much fun. the area of low pressure that was giving us the rain showers is moving on alpert is a great date to take a walk and to take -- and to have a good time. annie, duncan, and ronnie are all hanging out with me. >> you know you'll get a lot of phone calls. happen people contact you? >> we have different organizations here. we have the maryland spca and mid-atlantic believe buddies. the best thing -- they're all different ones. call the station and we will try to get the information for you. >> excellent. those dogs or too cute -- those dogs are too cute.

the big storm is finally pulling away to the northeast. there is some heavy rain in new york state. they'll all list out. i think we will get some cloud cover. you can best see that in northern maryland. it will become mostly sunny. the temperature right now, the upper 40's and low 50's. we should be able to sneak into the low 70's later today. a quick update on the tropics. this is otto which has sustained winds of 60 miles per hour. we expect otto to drift into the open atlantic and not bother anybody. at this point it does not look like there will be any trouble from otto on the east coast. breezy and mild this afternoon with a high temperature around 71 degrees. not bad when you compare it to

59 degrees that we had yesterday. outstanding forecast for the upcoming weekend. sunshine friday, saturday, and sunday with temperatures in the mid 70's all three days. if you are going to see the ravens on sunday, you picked a good one. that is a look at the seven-day forecast. let's check the roads. >> we have a new crash just coming into us so watch at that intersection. we're seeing a little slow down southbound 95 as you approach the beltway northeast. 47 miles per hour. 49 on the west side. nothing major on the j.f.x. we do have an accident and this water main break is still giving you some problems in havre de grace.

traffic is alternating of the eastbound side. this is 70 west of the beltway, moving smoothly. this is 95 at white marsh and you are seeing some brake lights as delays start to develop southbound. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> texas governor is calling on the mexican government to step up its efforts to solve the murder of a u.s. citizen reportedly shot and killed there. a woman said her husband was attacked last week by mexican pirates. his body has not been found. officials are doing everything they can to solve the case. residents in arizona are picking up the pieces after a tornados ripped through their neighborhood last night. this happened on wednesday. at least 15 homes are being

called on in habitable. the state has been hit by several powerful storms over the last several days. clear weather is expected for the rest of the week. a cemetery owner is facing the wrath of the committee over remains. piles of human bones litter the cemetery. the remains come from bodies who were donated by medical research. the practice of the cemetery is disturbing, it is not illegal. >> more changes for the world's most popular social network. facebook is changing the way you deal with your friends, allowing you to group certain people. it will allow you to streamline and target who gets which of your posts. people do not need permission to

add you get to a specific group. a major hotel owner is finding ways to make some big money as the economy tries to recover from the recession. jane king has that story and more in the bloomberg business report. >> the spell lot on marriott international. there coasting -- they are posting a boom. over forger $50 million loss during the same time last year. they plan to open 30,000 rooms this year. we had a mixed close yesterday. private companies lost about 45,000 jobs last month. you may finally be able to have an iphone and verizon service together. verizon will start selling and iphone, ending an exclusive deal

apple now has with at&t. sysco wants to move to your living room, setting up competition with skype. it costs $600. you will be able to video chat on internet-connected televisions. this pink diamond will be auctioned off next month. it comes from a private collection and has not been seen in public in over 60 years. it is valued at over $38 million. that is business. i'm jane king reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. >> that is a great point. >> that would be too much bling for my hand. she did say guys if you are looking for something for christmas. >> another check on weather and traffic when we come back. >> the baseball playoffs are off

to a miserable start. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. hope you have them so you can buy stan that diamond. two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first.

i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. the real andy harris. his past attacks have been called deceptive, his new attack, false. harris voted for deregulation increasing our electric bills by 72% it's not surprising, harris always sides with the big guys. he opposes cracking down

on wall street and supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. harris even opposed making big insurance cover cancer screenings. andy harris' extreme ideas will cost us. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. there are a couple of accidents to watch for. no significant delays yet.

we have an accident. speed sensors, you can see a few slowdowns. 45 miles per hour on southbound 95. watch for an accident that has st. mary's road completely blocked. there is a water main break, closed at legion drive. eastbound traffic alternating. 70 west of the beltway looks pretty good. 95 at white marsh and we're picking up in volume there. so for a nice start to your morning commute. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. i just thought keith mills yawn during my report. >> he always pays close attention to my weather report. we expect much improvement in the weather conditions.

sunshine and temperatures in the 70's this afternoon. it is 50 or not at the airport. it will turn mostly sunny. kind of breezy but nice with the high temperature near 71 degrees. but first, here is the man, keith mills. >> sarah picked up my ty this morning. i was not yawning. it is not often that you hit a homerun in the playoffs and get upstage. that is what happened to mark teixeira last went as the yankees beat the twins last night. it did not come close to matching what roy halladay did last night. halladay paced the second no- hitter in postseason history. he had eight strikeouts and he drove in a run. carlos ruiz scores.

trauma -- drama building. in the ninth, two outs. brandon phillips was the better. he loses his fitting but still throws a strike to ryan howard. roy halladay has a no-hitter. >> it has been a lot of fun for me. you want to share things like this with family and friends. my family is here. i feel like my friends are on the team. in makes it special for me. >> no question about that. don larsen pitched the other no- hitter, a perfect game against the brooklyn dodgers. the anniversary of that game is tomorrow. sunday, it is the ravens and broncos. fans are still buzzing about sunday's wind against the steelers.

ray lewis sealed the deal with this diving interception. is the 29th of his career. and now the defense takes aim at a very good denver offense. the broncos throw the ball more than pittsburgh does. ravens' defense will be ready. >> they may catch some balls. you have to get them and stop them and hope that will limit the run and things like that because of baseball playoffs resume today. hard to top what happened last by. >> thank you. 51 degrees on tv hill. much more to come in the next half-hour of 11 news today. >> the supreme court is on the verge of making a decision that could further define the first amendment. details are next. >> the performances were not the only thing drawing gasps last

night. it's a story you do not want to mess. >> getting kind of busy. the richest in the one in the city. we'll update you. with threenging out bullet bodies this morning. bullet bodies this morning. there is a

i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college. so i worked for a $2,500 tax credit to help pay for college. fought to get pell grants expanded and insisted that college loans go directly to kids instead of through banks. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message. because it's not about the next election,

it's about the next generation. right? yeah!!! >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back. i am stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thank you for joining us this morning. tony pann has a quick look at today's forecast. >> good morning. today will be much better day than yesterday. we only had 59 degrees yesterday. there is a cloud cover and it will become mostly sunny. a very nice thursday on tap for us. i think you will like the seven- day forecast. >> thank you. a dramatic battle between freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. >> there was a protest and is being heard by the nation's highest court.

jennifer franciotti joins us live with more details. >> the supreme court evaluate the limits of the first amendment, the snyder family believes this is about harassment. ♪ >> the snyder vs. phelps case may become a new standard for first -- for free speech and assembly. there was a protest about gays in the military. they demonstrated 1,000 feet from the marine fear of matthew snyder. they chose this site to maximize publicity for their cause. the question before the high court is whether the first amendment protects the protesters against civil claims. albert -- albert snyder won a

claim, but was overturned. >> there is a civilized way to but it does not involve intentionally inflecting emotional distress on others, intentionally harming a private citizen at a private funeral. it's not the constitutional right. >> the attorney for westboro baptist church -- >> the mere fact that you take offense at words is not enough to shut up the speech. >> reporters asked whether the family ever consider the snyder's family's feelings. goingou are straight to hell ♪ >> that is our answer to

feelings. >> albert snyder is trying to honor his son. he brought a keepsake to court. he did not say what it was for privacy reasons. he feels this is about harassment. jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> martin o'malley will get some help from some friends down 95 president obama will join the governor at an event focusing on jobs. the president lent his voice to .he radio ad in fac >> the rematch between frank kratovil and andy harris is a statistical tie.

15% remained undecided. the district has republicans outnumbered democrats. days after pleading no contest to campaign finance violations, helen holton is going to florida. the spending board approved her attendance at a conference in palm beach. stephanie rawlings-blake voted in favor of the expenditure and was asked if the trip should be approved. >> i do not think they are related. she is a working councilwoman with a budget. >> jack young abstained from the vote. >> an army sergeant back from iraq of stage the cast of the show last night at the hippodrome and received eight standing ovation when he

delivered an unscripted surprise. ♪ >> you never know what will come away at a performance. dancing acrobatics is all part of the illumination spectacular. but wednesday night, when members of the audience made the show even more memorable. philip clarke made a plan to propose to is a girlfriend of one year. >> i wanted to do something special. i contacted their website and asked if we could do this. they were able to set this up picket they sure they were picked for a skit called on a couple to shaken and shimmied -- to shake and shimmy on stage. clark asked the question. the cloud -- the crowd

applauded. >> he must really love me and want to marry me. >> we got to check out the ring backstage. >> how do you top a proposal like this? >> we will have to find a way to get to the moon. >> clark is stationed at fort meade. she is a recent college graduate. he even flew in her parents to be here for the big moment. kerry cavanaugh, wbal-tv 11 news. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. there are some things to watch for. several accidents in fact. there is one location to be careful. washington in the city come out one accident at the mlk. 25 miles per hour if you travel

on the outer loop. the west side is starting to back down down towards seven. there are two accidents in pylesville. one more thing to remind you of. legion drive is closed because of water main repairs. traffic is alternating on the eastbound side. 14 minutes on the outer loop west side. delays developing on the area of white marsh on 95 down towards the beltway northeast. you can see we had a bit of a delay on 95 coming out of the white marsh area. now sandra shaw joins us was so adorable pitbulls. >> we're talking about give pitbulls a chance. it's a big event and taking place on saturday from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

this is the home of the baltimore blast. the captain of the blast is here. in your arms you have little orphan dunannie. >> she is adorable. it is a need you guys support events like this. >> this is another great cause. >> it is nice to see a less competitive side of yours. we also have ronnie, who is up for adoption. duncan.onni >> the advanced gives us a chance to have an entire kid zone. there will be arts and crafts activities. the kids can decorate their own bandannas picric all of the local rescues are coming together.

peoples are with different groups. go to mid-atlantic bully buddies.org. seven-day forecast shows a beautiful weekend ahead. 70's with plenty of sun. we will try out and clear out beginning today. >> so cute. i just love that ronnie god. -- dog. >> speaking of adorable, this little guy may not look different from your average tiger cub, but the zoo officials in germany are very excited. >> we are still taking your answers to our water cooler question of the day. nine years later, has the u.s. involvement in afghanistan accomplished anything? e-mail your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> a big surprise for a zoo in germany. listen to that war. the little tiger cub -- listen to that roar. little cub was born weighing just over two pounds. they are raising hurt by hand because her mother rejected her at birth. >> forget the-books. a publisher has unveiled the largest book in the world. look at this. it took him a month to produce this atlas. it measures 60 feet by 9 feet.

it is one of the 20 feet. two have been sold to museums. the last book close to the size was an alice in the 17th century. it was a foot smaller. good luck trying to fit that into your glove compartment. >> or by your bed size. >> or in your house. [laughter] >> 51 degrees on tv hill. >> we're checking your morning commute. lots of incidents to report. we have some delays to add to the mix. >> we have so much better news in the seven-day forecast. first of the debt sunrise. 50 degrees right now

>> welcome back. the former university of virginia lacrosse player accused of murdering his girlfriend will be in court today. george huguely is charged with killing courtney love. -- chars of killing yeardley love. love was from cockeysville, maryland. a jury will deliberate for a fifth state in the trial of three men accused of killing ken harris. charles mcganey, gary collins, and jerome williams are accused of gunning down harris back in 2008. they faced 29 charges each including conspiracy charges. today marks the beginning of america's 10th year of involvement in the war in afghanistan. the taliban is in talks with the government, possibly to end the

aggression in anticipation of a u.s. pullout next year. 1200 americans have been killed and more than $900 billion has been spent. >> that brings us to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- nine years later, has the u.s. involvement in afghanistan accomplished anything?

>> we will post more of your answers on the front page of wbaltv.com. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. we have a closer look at your morning commute. getting busy in terms of delays. one location that is looking at delay because of an accident cleanup. washington and mlk, there is an accident. 23 miles per hour on the outer loop west side beginning at 795. that will back up traffic on southbound 795. harford county, an accident location. st. mary's road in the pylesville area, another accident location. legion drive is closed in havre de grace. keep in the eastbound side. everything is alternating

without major problems in havre de grace. volume picking up but warren road. we switch over to some significant delays in white marsh. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. sandra shaw it is showing us some adorable pets. >> this is called give pits a chance. will orphan annie -- little orphan annie is waking up from her now. she is with bully buddies. you can adopt these dogs. these groups are joining together with the spca. ronnie is also up for adoption. we also have duncan. he has the bandana on and is ready for halloween. what is the premise of this event? >> this is a community-building

event about the growing people problem in baltimore city. there has been local coverage about the cruelty and all of the different things that have gone with animals. we are trying to get the committee together to learn more about them and learned that they are not to be feared and that they are not scary. obviously. so it is -- family-friendly. we asked -- is a freak event. do not bring your own dog. -- is a freak event. we will have adoptable dogs. -- it is a free event. >> we have been below normal in terms of the temperatures. a nice rebound today, near 70. we will be milder as we head

into the weekend with plenty of sun. i have had a blast out here this morning. >> they are very cute. that event will draw a lot of people and hopefully all of those dogs will find a new home. the whether it should be fantastic this weekend. -- the weather should be fantastic this weekend. we will begin a transition into a more quiet regime as far as the weather is concerned. we can still see some rain in new york state. that is pulling away from us. you might see a little bit of cloud cover, especially up in northeast maryland over the next couple of hours. it will be mostly sunny today. we will wind up with a nice afternoon. 50 at the airport right now. 49 degrees in rising sun. we should be able to sneak into the low 70's later today.

a quick trip down to the tropics. we have a sub-tropical storm. this is otto. do not expect otto to cause any problems for the u.s. or the islands. o i do will-- i don't think otto cause any problems except for the shipping lanes. upper 60's and low 70's today. a beautiful sunrise this morning. kind of chilly tonight, temperatures drop back into the 40's. good stuff for the weekend. sunshine friday, saturday, and sunday. low to mid 70's. you picked a good one if you are going to the ravens game on sunday. monday and tuesday, there could be some rain. it will cool off as we head to

wednesday and thursday. >> thank you. the protest of a funeral for a fallen soldier has drawn the attention of the supreme court. jennifer franciotti joins us live with more. >> the supreme court is trying to decide if the first amendment protects funeral protesters against inflecting emotional distress on the family of the deceased. it was back in 2006 that members of the westboro baptist church staged a protest regarding the u.s. policy on gays in the military. they demonstrated 1,000 feet from the funeral of matthew snyder. they chose that site to maximize publicity. the posted video online. the question is whether the first amendment protects the protesters against civil claims. albert snyder claimed emotional distress.

his claim was overturned. he says this case is about harassment. reporting live, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. it was a landmark case. find out what one woman sued her won.and for millions and on that is today at 4:00 p.m. here is meredith vieira for a look at what is coming up next on the "today" show. >> good morning. rare tour notice -- we're tornadoes -- rare tornadoes and we have the latest. a female student listed encounters and is posted online. the secret writings of marilyn monroe that the public has never seen. >> it is 51 degrees on tv hill.

>> it is 51 degrees on tv hill. >> we will check weather and two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first.

>> we have a handful of accidents. lansdowne road, is an accident. another one at washington and mlk. 31 miles per hour on the outer loop west side. that delayed falling into place. we're looking at two accidents in pylesville. in the meantime, this water main

break continues in havre de grace. traffic alternating on the eastbound side. this is 95 at white marsh. there are lots of bright lights as those delays start to fall into place. >> finally the what we have been waiting for. >> it was only 59 degrees yesterday with cloud cover. we will make it up to 71 per it will turn mostly sunny. a nice day. look at the forecast. temperatures in the low to mid 70's this weekend. tune into am 1090 to get weather and traffic on the fives all day long. >> thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> we will be back with a live update at 7:25. >> follow breaking news and weather any time at wbaltv.com, and stay connected with us on facebook and twitter.