there is some heavy rain this morning. give yourself a few extra minutes if you can. i don't think we will see any thunderstorm activity. you can see the bright colors. that is not good. that means heavy to moderate rain around howard county and colombia appeared be prepared for that. today, rain likely off and on through the day. it will be breezy and cooler than today with a high of 67. we will come back and check the forecast going into the weekend. >> that rain may impact your morning rush. not tracking any serious issues. we have some of fire activity at pennsylvania to tell you about. other than that, looking pretty good. 52 miles per hour at baltimore national pike. 70 moving well in towards the beltway. no delays on 95 coming down

towards 32. a pretty smooth ride aside from the fact that it is wet. six minutes on southbound 95 getting you down to the fort mchenry. 12 minutes on the outer loop west side top to bottom. this is liberty. you can see the roads are wet and it will be awhile before all that rain clears out. moving well at york road. no delays on the north side. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> in east baltimore neighborhood is out race after learning of a purported rape of a 13-year-old girl. jennifer franciotti is live with the latest on the investigation and our residents are responding. >> the 13-year-old girl was walking to the store and she was halfway there when she was allegedly attacked.

police have put out a sketch of the suspect. he has a mustache. they are hoping crime camera footage will help with his identity. the girl was walking past a house alone when she spotted a man on the sidewalk. he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her until she fell 8 feet into a cellar. panic screams were heard blocks away. he felt sick when officers arrived soon after. >> the police came around like 9:30, an hour-and-a-half after come asking if we saw anybody because a young woman just that got raped. >> they say the attackers or raped her and beat her. police are asking anyone with

information to please call them. jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> a man is waking up behind bars this morning. michael fisher is accused of stabbing a man on tuesday night. police say dominic miller suffered a stab wound to his stomach. his condition is not known at this time. authorities have not said what may have let up to that attack. the trial of elisas curry continues today. steny hoyer took the stand yesterday -- the trial of ulysses currie continues today. currie is accused of using his influence to benefit shoppers food warehouse well on the payroll as a consultant. >> redistricting may of been the intention for the special discussion. martin o'malley's administration

is linking an increase on the gas tax. the tax would increase by 15 cents a gallon, up 5 cents each year for the next three years. the maryland chamber of commerce all support the proposal. >> we're putting construction workers back to work. we're putting hands on shovels and dollars in the pocket. >> i don't think it is a straight line that we will create new jobs. >> that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think maryland needs to raise the tax on gasoline to spur job growth? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. the state senate did approve the

plan to redraw the congressional map. all 12 senate republicans voted against the plan. border say the proposed map shows the changing map of the suburbs. some say it favors party politics. and now goes to the house of delegates. >> the contest to choose the republican rival got heated last night. kate amara is in washington with highlights. >> in this age republican debate, the front runners faced attacks from the rest of the field. >> and this is one night when i hope what happens in las vegas does not stay in las vegas. >> last night and the candidates came out swinging. >> i want to hear somebody willing to cut something.

>> herman cain took the brunt of the early attacks for his 9-9-9 plan. is rivals called it a tax increase. >> are you saying the state sales tax will will go way? >> field also fired shots at mitt romney. >> your plant was the basis for obamacare. >> he said he would repeal the health-care law. >> i have said time and again that obamacare is bad news. >> the idea that you stand here before us and talk about that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy. >> mitt romney denied the charge. >> i don't think i have ever hired an illegal in my life. >> jon huntsman skipped the

debate. kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> our coverage on politics continues on our website. you can check out who is looking to run against president obama in the 2012 election. it is all on wbaltv.com. click on politics. >> sure williams will pay out $507,000 for alleged violations -- sherman williams will play out a fine for alleged violations. >> the trial of a man charged with the decapitation of his son is delayed. >> officers are out searching for lions, tigers, and therbear. >> this is the bel air at old court road. there's some of fire activity in the city this morning.

>> welcome back. reining in baltimore city. aining ees downtown -- reinin in baltimore city. heavy rain just north of cockeysville and into the northern parts of harford county. you guys will see the heaviest rain to start today. it will decrease in intensity as you head towards the city. off and on rain showers today and the possibility of a thunderstorm into this evening. it will be a breezy and cooler day with highs in the 60's. we'll come back and check the seven-day forecast into the weekend. >> the father is waking up any mental health facility after being found unfit to stand trial

in his son's murder. he is charged in the decapitation of his son which took place in august. a status hearing is set for january 31. five central ohio school districts are closed because of wild animals on the loose. dozens of animals escape from a nearby animal preserve. the owner was found dead. residents have been sold to stay inside. so four new entries have been reported. >> a boy in new hampshire is found s andaf afe. disappeared earlier this week. he did not wander too far. he was found underneath his neighbors bed eating ice cream.

they say he slipped into an open garage on monday and said he would be worried because he was sneaking away so we hid. his mother is happy he was found safe and sound and eating ice cream. >> 5:11. the smart fought application inspired by the occupied wall street movement. >> how and when you can take advantage of deals offered by southwest. >> we have some rain around the area. we will update you on how it is impacting your morning rush. impacting your morning rush.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning to you. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. the roads are wet. we have some of fire activity along a fair amount. that is no longer an issue. speeds around 53 miles per hour near baltimore national pike. 51 and southbound 95 coming down towards the 895 split. no promise to report at the harbor tunnel. a nice start a jamaica way south on a three -- no problems to report at the harbor tunnel. -- a nice start on your way south. rain will be an issue. you should be ok if you do not rush. no delays to report at liberty. the north side is looking to ok it aside from the rain.

that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. the morning. >> a very smooth commute. the rain will slow the buses up here right now, a few diversions including the 22 bus at university and 33rd. on the light rail and metro subway, we have on time service. no delays on penn, camden, and brunswick lines. i'm kurt kronke. now back to tony pann. good morning. >> a lot start -- a wet start on this wednesday morning. you can see the bright orange and yellow shadings in baltimore and harford counties and new the pennsylvania liene, and heavier rain. some heavy rains around d.c., as well. this rain will stay with us until the drive time and off and

on into the afternoon and evening. what you see is what you get for the rest of the day. the rain will come back of it does leave for awhile. there are two parts to this storm. one is back in ohio and another coming up the coast. these will wrapped into one big storm in ohio tomorrow. the whole process takes place and we will be in the soup today. claude is skies and the rain and an east wind setting up, it will be hard to get the temperatures move all that much. 63 at the airport right now. atll take it 5 to 6 degrees this point. rain is likely and temperatures in the 60's today. breezy and cooler than yesterday. rain is still possible tonight. mostly early. into late tonight, it will taper off. temperatures in the 50's. it does get better for this

weekend. a slight chance for a shower to mark with a high of 63. upper 50's and low 60's on friday and saturday. the temperatures this weekend will likely dip into the 30's. it will warm up a load on sunday, back up to 66, which is average for this time of year. >> the u.s. post office increases price. it is tacking on 1 cent to the price of a first-class stamp. the post of was lost more than $8 billion in fiscal 2010. that loss will likely be worse when final figures for 2012 will be released next month. the price hike goes into effect in january. southwest and airtran has ruled

out super low prices based on travel distance. travelers pay $35.10 way for flights of 450 miles or less. -- travelers pay $35 for flights of for under 50 miles or less. there are some rules. all flights must be booked by 2:59 eastern time tomorrow. travel dates are limited. telling people you have been arrested -- there is an after that -- there is an app for that. is cents a predetermine message to a set of preselected cell phone numbers. it came after the girlfriend of

the company's president was arrested during one of these protests. there is an app for everything. >> google is rolling out something new for an droid users. jane king has the business in the bloomberg business report -- new for and droid users -- android users. >> apple posting results that missed analyst estimates. customers held off on buying iphones in anticipation for the latest model, which was not released until last friday. apple did sell 70 million iphones in the most recent quarter. they said the upcoming quarter will be their best yet. google has something new for its droid fans. they just offered a new

operating system called ice cream sandwich. it has facial recognition feature so on register people cannot use it. it has an offline search for e- mail and support for mobile payments. you can see it rolled out next month. stock futures are flat this morning. we have reports on inflation and quarterly results from pnc financial and ebay. yesterday stocks soared. financials were leading the way with bank of america posted better than estimated results. more americans want to escape politics this halloween. expect to see more rollers dressed up as smurfs or

captain america. i'm jane king reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. >> i understand it starbucks is rolling out something new. >> they have been focusing out on food lately. how about a new coffee? we will have details on that. >> thank you. >> 5:22. 62 degrees on tv hill. the brand of tourist being at the occupy wall street protest. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. do you think maryland needs to raise its tax on gasoline in order to complete construction projects and spur job growth? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> we have been reporting on the growing occupied wall street movement. >> it is attracting its own brand of terrorists, especially in new york city. get the economy on track ♪ >> there's always something to see and hear. >> we decided to come down here and see what is going on. >> will they -- what will they see? lots of marching, for one thing. they might even run into someone who came in from all i want to spend a few days. >> i brought yogurt and a sleeping bag, like a map that you sleep on.

>> good thing her friend casey can show or where things are. the medical tent, library of books, a choice of think tanks to join and observed. >> we want to see how everyone can communicate and how much longevity something like this can have. >> ♪ i will buy would you are selling when i get my money back ♪ >> 5:26. 62 degrees on tv hill. a man accused of killing a girl and an 18-year-old arrested for vandalizing a speed camera. >> a 13-year-old is brutally attacked. >> possibly a tragic end in the search for an 11-year-old.

>> we will check the seven-day forecast in just a few minutes. >> you might want to leave some extra time for yourself. we will update you on

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. i'm stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thank you for joining us this morning. >> this is -- who thinks this is a good morning to sleep bin? give yourself a couple of extra minutes if you can. it will be with us off and on today. through this evening and into early tonight, the rain will stick around. there's some patches of heavy rain, mostly south of baltimore and coming out of montgomery county and into howard county. most of the was the least some rain under way to work.

off and on rain. it will be a breezy and cooler than yesterday. today will stay in the 60's. i do have better news for the upcoming weekend. >> saved the weekend. >> slipping in right now -- you have to get out there early. >> that was just an idea. >> it out there early because the roads are wet. 50 miles per hour and jamaica you make your way south on i- 95. a pretty smooth ride so far on the j.f.x. 54 miles per hour on the harrisburg expressway at shawan road. 49 miles per hour southbound at 100 in the glen burnie area. this is the key bridge. so far running smoothly. it is a little tough to see in that area. this is traffic get warren road,

the harrisburg expressway. southbound traffic looks good. no delays from the maryland line all the way to the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> disturbing news involving the reported rape of a girl. >> residents are upset. jennifer franciotti it is live at city police headquarters with more on the investigation. >> the 13-year-old victim was on her way from a friend's house to the store. she was allegedly attacked when she was halfway there. a girl was walking past this house when she spotted this man on the sidewalks. >> should try to speed past him and he drags her in. she got there and he pushed her down. >> there is no stepped into the building. you drop. he pushed her. >> until she felt about 8 feet

to the cellar floor. this man said he heard panic screams. he said decries stop before he could figure out what was happening. he said he felt sick when officers arrived. >> the police came around 9:30, asking us, did we see anybody, because a young woman just that rgot raped. >> the attack left the victim battered and stranded in the cellar. once the rapist climbed out of a house, the girl escaped to get help. >> these predators out here at. >> police put out this sketch of the alleged rapist, described as a black man between 40 and 50 years old.

they hope crime camera footage may help identify him. he could strike again and there is more concerned about how the 13-year-old will consider. >> we have to be strong for her. we will see that she gets this help. >> a lot of frustration from residents and from those who knew the victim. police are asking anyone with information to please come forward. jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. the definition of rape in baltimore could soon change. the change would expand the number of crimes that local authorities report as rape. is to be the first change in more than 80 years in how sex crimes are reported. investigators made a discovery yesterday. jane mcquain was found dead last

week. this morning, her estranged husband is charged in her death . >> a montgomery county stepmother is way to get behind bars come arrested in the death of a girl. officers say david hang is stores in first-degree murder of jessica nguyen. an arrest in baltimore county. police say the camera was damaged. one man faces charges of trespassing. two students face similar charges. a chain or rope was attached to the bows and the entire assembly was yanked down by a pickup truck. >> the topic of the state gas tax seem to take center stage in annapolis. the ministration is linking a proposed increase on the tax to

job creation. is expected to come up during the 2012 session. the tax would increase by 15 cents a gallon. it is supported by the greater baltimore committee and many local elected officials. opponents say there other impact the need to be considered. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think maryland needs to raise its tax on gasoline in order to complete construction projects and spur job growth? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. there is word that the baltimore grand prix to not do as well as predicted for the economy. patrons spent $25 million, which is less than the $70 million that was projected. >> u.s. claims that iran is

behind a claim. the foreign ministry spokesman called this a diversion from wall street demonstration. they said the u.s. is trying to cover up its own financial problems. they had foiled a plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the u.s. libya's transitional government continues its attempt to solidify its grip on the country. there have been weeks of fighting. the new leaders of libya say they will not start the transition to democracy until sirt is under control. many believe muammar gaddafi is trying to hold on to that city. much of thailand is threatened by flood waters this morning. traffic in bangkok is affected by the rising waters. the flooding is a result of

monsoon rains and overflowing reservoirs north of the capital. so far the city's defenses have been able to hold back the water. this is the worst flooding in half a century. in other parts of the country, more than 300 lives have been lost. 62 degrees on tv hill. the newly developed vaccine beckett save thousands of lives in africa. >> facebook has an impact on your brain. >> the rate making for a bit of a slow start as you make your way around the area appeare

>> welcome back.

5:40. we have some light rain in baltimore city. some of you will see a heavy rain on your way to work or school. look for the bright orange and red. this goes back into howard county. towson and colombia and getting a pretty good right now. some of you a lot more rain than others going into work and school this morning. the further north and west you go, the letter the precipitation. off and on rain showers and maybe a few thunderstorms this afternoon. high temperature only 67. we'll come back and check the forecast for the upcoming weekend. stay with us. >> thousands of children's lives could be saved in africa. a group of researchers say the have succeeded in making a vaccine to prevent malaria. are more than 20 million cases of malaria every year. the new vaccine was tested on

15,000 children. the to % effectiveness is not as high as resistors want but they say it will still have a major impact. it should be used with other tactics like mosquito nets and indoor spraying. >> something to think about. the more friends who have on facebook, the larger certain areas of your brain. the study looked at brain scans for more than 100 college students who were all facebook users. those with the most friends had more gray matter in areas of the brain that handle the motions. facebook does not cause the brain to grow. you might get a big head with all those friends but it does not cause your brain to go. >> 62 degrees on tv hill. the ravens problem for monday's match up. >> keith mills will join us with what the coach is credit for the

team's recent success. >> this is 83 at warrant road. wet roads may result in some issues this morning. sarah was check out current conditions.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. aside from the rain, we are not deal with any promise. a bit of a slowdown on many of the area roadways. 295 so far checking out ok. a bit slow on 95 the coming out of the northeast. the fort mchenry and harbor tunnels looking good so far. speeds around 52 on the west side outer loop at baltimore national pike. 70 moving well in towards the

beltway and problem free so far on 795. we check the key bridge and so far not tracking any delays. the roads are slick it is a little tough to see. problem free on the harrisburg expressway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. >> 8 few bus delays. the 51 bus operating with delays. a diversion at ritchie highway. the three bus diverting southbound at cathedral and a monument. on the marc trains, on time service. light rail and metro subway on schedule. i am a kurt kronke. now back to tony pann. >> it will be a wet commute. give yourself a few extra minutes. first we say good morning to ava marie. she decided to go to the library

this morning the >> good morning. aren't i studious? we are talking about a big event that involves food and alcohol. we are at the library. i'm here with the director and this is your biggest event -- [no audio] >> it is a very exciting year. we are celebrating our 65th anniversary. we have done many events and activities of this year. this is a sapphire supper club, the first saturday in an november hearing abington. to the library. -- welcome to the library. we have special martinis and fabulous food. we do many important things with the money that we raise.

we used to spend the money to support the summer reading program. we have over 18,000 children and teenagers who participate each year. it also supports the winter reading program. we're developing an early literacy activity center in our bel air library largest branch. >> it sounds like such a big event. you also have a silent auction -- >> ava. rds.stepping on the cou swiss and over to hd doppler. -- switch it over to hd doppler. we have some heavy rain into howard county. around towson and bel air, ellicott city, you guys will probably have some heavy rain to start the day today. the further north and west from

baltimore, the rain and tapers off. if you're driving from out there into the city, you have the heavier rain. st. think into annapolis. not a great start for us on this wednesday morning. -- same thing from annapolis. there are two parts from the storm. the second part is back in ohio. these will merge into one big storm. the hemisphere will become more unstable this afternoon. we could see a few thunderstorms pop up later this afternoon. probably not a lot in the way of sunshine. you combine the thick cloud deck with the rain and will be hard to get the temperatures to move. upper 50's near the pennsylvania line and made 60's down south. significantly cooler than yesterday. yes it was a very nice day. rain likely today. maybe a few thunderstorms this

afternoon. sunrise at 7:20. tonight, mostly cloudy skies. a chance for some rain showers again. we drop back into the 50's. tomorrow, that storm will stall at the great lakes, giving us a chilly north west follow. we should stay mostly dry. high temperatures will be below average going into the weekend and perhaps we could get our first frost of the season either friday night or saturday night. temperatures may dip into the 30 plus. 63 tomorrow. the best chance for rain on thursday it will be on the mountains. it will be dry on friday, saturday, and sunday. the overnight lows will be in the 30's and 40's. there is a chance we could get some frost. some of us like it will warm up into the afternoon with highs in

the mid 60's. >> thank you. 62 degrees on tv hill. coming up, will get one of your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers.

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>> redistricting may been the

focus of the meeting right now, but they talked about the state gas tax. a proposed increase on the tax to job creation. the proposal is expected to come up in the 2012 session. it would increase the tax by 15 cents a gallon, and 5 cents each year for the next three years. aaa, maryland chamber of commerce, and many local officials all support the proposal. >> we're putting construction workers back to work. we're putting hands on shovels and dollars in the pocket. >> i don't think it's a straight line saying it will raise the gas tax and create more jobs. other impacts have to be considered. >> opponents claim the cost to transport food could also rise if the gas tax is increase. that brings us to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- do you think maryland needs to raise its tax on gasoline in order to complete construction projects and spur job growth?

>> keep sending us those responses. we will read more of your responses in the next hour and post all of them on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. >> good morning. the ravens with an extra day to get ready for the jaguars. the ravens will play them on monday night. they begin preparations later today. the ravens have been impressive so far. there are some concerns, especially when it comes to protecting joe flacco. he took a beating against the taxes. ss right there to ed dickson. sometimes he waits until the

last possible second to throw the ball. keeping joe healthy. >> we do not want joe to get hit like that. sometimes he was losing a battle. sometimes we misidentified the protection. but things were not all that complicated. i think we can do -- everybody will agree we can do a better job. i thought we did a better job by the end of the day. we don't need joe getting hit like that. >> the ravens are 8-point favorites. the washington capitals have started the season a perfect 5- 0. they should not the panthers' last night down in d.c. capitals in red. good feed. talk about a good feed. a great pass to alexander semin.

3-0, the capitals win. the world series begins tonight. the texas rangers and the st. louis cardinals. the temperatures expected to be in the 40's. i like the rangers, which means the cardinals will win. >> help people will honor steve jobs later today. -- how people will honor steve jobs. >> the latest on the fight against the sometimes deadly drug nicknamed bath salts. >> find out who won that contest. >> we have some rain to deal with. we'll check the seven-day forecast. >> that rain mccaw's some problems for your morning commute. we're tracking one accident

reported on 95. an update is coming up.

>> the search is on for the alleged rapist who brutally attacked a girl. details are next. >> the vigorous debate complete with fireworks last night. -- the las vegas debate. >> in nearly week-long search for missing boy appears to have come to a grim end. police say they found william mcquain's body. >> a f