[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you are looking at a live picture of the state house where the 2012 session is about to get under way. legislators have a full plate as they grapple with budget problems, the issue of same-sex marriage, and expanding coverage. we have more from annapolis says. >> this is turning out to be a challenging legislative session. in just a few minutes, michael bush is expected to be elected speaker of the house. this will make him the longest serving speaker in maryland history.

>> i have appreciated the support of a lot of great people. >> i think that speaker bush has done a very good job leading a diverse maryland house of delegates. you look at the diversity of interests geographically in maryland and the eastern shore, even prince george's and montgomery. each of those could be in five different states but they are all here in this state. mike busch has handled himself with a candor and honesty. he has been a very capable an effective speaker. >> i say congratulations, and one way he should be congratulated, another he is a poster child for term limits. >> the senate president is joking. until today, he had been the longest serving president in

senate history. fasten your seat belt, this is expected to be a roller-coaster ride for the next 90 days. >> mitt romney 1 at the nation's first primary and he is hoping back-to-back victories in iowa and new hampshire will build momentum. the gop nomination race shifts to the south with south carolina in 10 days, florida in 20. his opponents will be trying to convince voters that romney is not conservative enough. "from the merge with a convincing win in -- >> from the merge with a convincing win in new hampshire. he is hoping to win in new hampshire. he captured 39% of the vote,

winning and of conservatives to claim victory while the other candidates cancel each other out. >> if i can get that going for me, i would be in a good position to get the nomination. >> ron hall grabbed second place. >> jon huntsman finished third. -- ron paul grabbed second place. >> rick perry, new gingrich, and rick santorum are looking for victory in the south. >> i don't believe we can defeat obama if we have someone who was inarticulate, moderate, or has no record of achievement. >> romney is counting on conservative split in their vote and opening up a path to the nomination. romney is leading the polls in south carolina and a win there would make him all but unbeatable. >> good afternoon.

we have been watching the storm system approaching. you can see the leading edge passing towards the southern edge of the beltway. a lot of that is not reaching the ground. the air has to saturate and fill up with moisture before the air can reach the surface. we are expecting that to push in from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.. maybe an inch of rain along the eastern shore. this should taper off parent to we could talk about what could be in store for the future. >> thank you. a man is behind bars charged with tossing a yorkshire terrier off of a balcony. neighbors reportedly saw him throw the dog of of a town house

balcony. the dog was treated for its injuries and is in the custody of animal control. the man is being charged with animal cruelty and mutilation and held on bail. >> occupy wall street protesters are back in business. the barricades that were in place cents last month were taken out early this morning. protesters began to fill up the space but police have refused to let people set up camp. the occupied baltimore protesters come to the aid of a woman and who was at risk of losing her home. they gathered to prevent the eviction. organizers say the widow had unsuccessfully tried to modify her mortgage loan which is more than $50,000 in our readers. they say that she was still

scheduled for position despite a pending appeal. officials did decide to postpone the eviction. -- they say that she was still scheduled for the fiction despite a pending appeal. home game means not just additional money for the ravens' but all the bars, restaurants, hotels in the area. let's not forget the houston fans traveling for the big game. >> there are a lot of fans from texas. they will lose, they will go home disappointed but they will have an impact on local businesses and hotels. >> probably about $20-$25 million in economic impact. >> this is the first time the playoffs have come through baltimore and five years. take a look at this crew at

capt. larry's bar and grill. one lawn painting simply took off. you can share your pictures on wbaltv.com. struggling to help your child with his or her adhd. many advocated changing the diet of but that might not be as helpful as once thought. -- but that might not be as helpful as once thought. >> you can see pretty much my whole room. >> wait until you hear this. 18 takes matters into her own hand when she finds things missing from her room. an emotional surprise reunion in gaithersburg. the real

>> oh, my god. >> a double surprise for twin girls. their mother came home early from afghanistan and surprised her daughters. they had not seen the girls

since june. the fast-food chain gave them both $20,000 college scholarships. what a great story. a northern california girl could probably give the folks that law and order a few tips. she caught a thief red handed with her camera. she set up the camera to catch her sister who she thought was stealing things from her room. instead, it was a real-estate agent that her parents had hired. >> i saw my chair move. i saw him come to my room and looking through the drawers. >> he is a former real estate agent formally convicted from stealing from open houses and selling the goods on ebay. good news for the crab industry. white male crabs will have their

picks of the females this winter. -- why male crabs will have their pick of the females this winter. >> rain is heading towards baltimore. we will talk about how much we will see and when it will end.

>> there is a population boom of blue crabs going on in the day. thanks to tougher harvest regulations, the number has exploded to the point where there are nearly three females to everyone mail. maryland and virginia and posed

harvest restrictions which focused on saving the female crabs. the population is rebounding. that is good news. >> if you do all of your shopping with a debit card, you might want to carry some cash. many merchants are enacting $5- $10 minimum purchases as they cope with new fees. recent consumer protests have stopped banks from imposing various fees for debit card use. here is something you can do for free this weekend. to celebrate the martin luther king holiday, all the national park into these are waiving part -- park admissions. special events will be held to mark the holiday. a new store opens today and is

located right off of i-95. this is the 40th to open the state of maryland. this is all part of a plan to expand throughout the baltimore area. it features the newest design prototypes and a specialty beverage area. >> a kitchen where customers can see food prepared. >> officials tell us they are looking to open half a dozen more stores in the city. "now, your insta-weather forecast -- >> now, your insta-weather forecast. >> we have been tracking the storm and now it is finally are rising. you will see the chance for rain increasing. this front edge is basically not reaching the ground. this is having to saturate the

atmosphere. you can't keep adding water until you can bring it out. -- you can keep adding water until you wring it out. current temperatures, 46 at b.w.i. marshall and the inner harbor. the temperatures are able to hover above the freezing mark. this is no longer a concern. not so much the case out in the mountains. they are close to freezing, some of this will come in as a winter precipitation. 37 in frederick and 45 in westminster. this will show the rain is pushing through the afternoon beginning after 1:00 p.m. basically, everyone across the state will get the soaking rain and the heaviest could fall along the eastern shore.

the rate should taper off by tomorrow morning. -- the rain should taper off by tomorrow morning. this storm clears out towards the east. we have all of the clouds build thin as all the moisture comes in from the south. the actual area of low pressure is still down in tennessee and kentucky. we do have to keep our eye on the next cold front here that you see pushing towards the planes. this could be our next potential for any snow. you look at the national temperatures, it is pretty chilly behind the latest front. 12 degrees as you had in too late falls. the mile there is in place. -- told degrees as you head into lake falls,

there could be a burst of snow on the backside. we see the first of cold air coming and that could push some lake effect flurries in baltimore. heavy rain tonight, tapering off tomorrow morning. the low tomorrow is 57. very cool on friday. temperatures will stay chile through the weekend. we may see more snow on sunday for the ravens' game. >> people with dementia are admitted to the hospital more frequently than those without the condition. they have more hospitalization after they were diagnosed. the average admission rate for those with dementia was almost twice those without it. the sheds light on the need for early detection among these patients. even a healthy diet might help

improve the behavior of children with adhd. special diets have become a popular method in preventing symptoms. researchers at northwestern university reviewed a number of studies and found little evidence that this was beneficial. they did have some improvements when their overall by it was beneficial. going back to work after having a baby can be stressful enough but for some mothers, finding a place to pump can also be a hardship. the affordable health care act provides for women having a mummy room -- mommy room. >> with my milk supply, i have to pump relatively frequently. >> she is a newborn mother and the thought of telling a new employer of her needs terrifies her.

>> i like this job. i don't want to tell them right afterwards that i need something. >> she paid at the physical and emotional price like so many other moms. >> things like pumping in the car. >> the u.s. department of labor is cracking down on that challenge for working mothers. the law requires the companies of more than 50 workers to provide a private room and enough time for breast-feeding mothers to pump. >> we are standing in a mother's room right now. you don't need a lot of space. this is very generous. we actually have three chairs and we have breast pumps and a sink. not all of this is demanded. there has to be room for them to be comfortable, a refrigerator. >> the dr stresses that there is widespread research on the

benefits of breastfeeding for baby and mother and now it is the law that your workplace support that. >> the body does not work that way. if you stop breast-feeding during the work day, your local disappear. >> not a bad idea. -- if you stop breast-feeding during the workday, your breast milk will disappear. >> a look at how wall street is performing at this hour.

>> she may practically fit into your hip pocket but a tiny terrier is making a big splash. this dog is a record holder for the world's tiniest dog appeared to rescue from a shelter. she brightens the days of folks at rest homes and hospitals in new jersey. her owner says she has no idea that she is small, often challenging cats and the odd rottweiler that comes her way. police in carroll county believes that one man is behind two cases of school vandalism. new surveillance photos virtually catch him in the act. more crime after a terrifying case last week when a man was

held at gunpoint at different atm's. no questions, americans are stressed out but a new report finds that we're getting better at dealing with it. now, your maryland lottery pick three and picked four numbers -- pick 4 numbers. >> for starters we have 2 followed by 9. 5.'re less number is pick 3, 2-9-5. you can turn your dollars into cash drawings. like us on facebook to receive a promo code. here we go, 4 followed by 3.

your next number is 8. your final number is 2. 4-3-8-2. the maryland lottery, let yourself play. >> i guess we had better hold on for a weather roller-coaster. >> it will be a bit messy this afternoon. in some places, maybe an inch of rain. this could taper off tomorrow morning. we will be warming up. the roller-coaster heading down to 42 on friday, 30's at best this weekend. some accumulation at some spots. >> ok. thank you for joining us. be sure to watch tonight at 5:00. have a great day. here's a friendly reminder.

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