thunderstorms. 50 degrees at the airport. much cooler up north and much warmer than down south. we should make it into the 50's today. rain likely this morning and maybe a thunderstorm. things will settle down this afternoon. we will come back and check the seven-day forecast. here is sarah with the commute. >> we are dealing with fog this morning and some drizzle. 295 approaching 197, reports of an accident. you might want to take 95. ravenwood avenue, we have some fire activity. the j.f.x. looking good into town. a little slow but all that weather related this morning. so far so good out of the owings mills area. 60 on southbound 95 out of the

northeast. the fort mchenry and the harbor tunnels are looking good. wilkins avenue looking good. this is 95 at the beltway itself less. a smooth ride. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> time for one more final face- off by the four republican candidates before this weekend's florida primary. >> the gloves came off. kate amara has more on this morning's report. >> good morning. mitt romney used the latest debate to come out swinging against newt gingrich. >> the republican candidates for president of the united states. >> the 19th republican presidential debate was a battle between mitt romney and newt

gingrich. they traded barbs on immigration. >> the position i took which you attacked was that grandmothers and grandfathers will not be successfully deported. >> my father was born in mexico. >> the dew point front-runner attacked each other on investments. >> governor romney should tell us how much money he has made on households that have been foreclosed on his investments. >> you have investments that invested in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> these gentlemen are distracting from important issues by playing petty parted 6. >> there was a discussion for a call me on the moon. >> i do not think we should go to the moon.

maybe we should send some politicians up there. >> the also took questions on cuba and their wives. >> a reversal of fortune in catonsville. antonio martinez changed his plea to guilty in federal court. he tried to detonate what he thought was a car bomb outside the armed forces career center. >> he went an armed the bomb on his own. he drove the car and parked the vehicle in front of the building so he could see the effect of what happened when he activated the bomb. he did not do that until after he was informed that the war of least seven soldiers in the building. >> prosecutors have requested he

be sentenced to 25 years in prison. >> he pleaded guilty to murdering another person in november. three other teenagers are charged in that case. >> the same sex marriage debate gets underway in annapolis. the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender committee received a show of support. nadia ramdass joins as worthy lgbt convention continues. >> ben jealous talked about his transgendered brother and talked about that this was close to its heart and he said it was time to end this stimdiscrimination and

violence everywhere. others say it was a coincidence that the conference was held in maryland. stephanie rawlings-blake and maryland's first lady shared their support with attendees and spoke about the likelihood of lawmakers passing a marriage equality bill. >> a do you think it is close. that is why there is a big lobbying effort. hopefully people will see this is about families. this is about getting over prejudice and making sure we protect families. >> i'm just hopeful. i do not know what the actual numbers are. i stay out of that. but i hope and pray that the good people of maryland will come together around this issue and vote for tolerance in marriage. >> opponents of marriage

equality site previous warnings of the bill in their opposition to the bill. nadia ramdass, wbal-tv 11 news. >> if a baltimore gets is lawmaker, the city will regain control over the school system. a bill would appoint the control to the mayor. it is time for that to change, says mitchell. >> this is not a knockout and dr. alonso or on the current school board. it is a way that the baltimore city can control the school system and continue to progress and move forward. >> the mayor favors more funding for city schools. a new discipline policy being

considered is looking to reduce the number of student suspensions. minority and special ed students could benefit the most from the change. expulsions could be done away with a loss a student is caught with a firearm. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think the state's school discipline policy needs to be reformed in order to reduce the number of suspensions handed out? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. 51 degrees on tv hill. i cast member of a popular sitcom has passed away. >> she has been part of the political landscape for two decades. she shares her plans for the next four years. >> there is some fog out there so be careful.

>> welcome back. 5:10. we have some light rain and fog. the temperatures are mild. scattered light rain showers. look at the temperatures. a wide range. upper 30's to low 40's up north, to near 60 around d.c. everybody should make it into the 50's this morning. rain likely this morning. we will come back and check the

seven-day forecast taking this all the way into the weekend and into next week. >> a man convicted in a home invasion will learn his fate today. he will be sentenced in new haven superior court. a jury recommended a death sentence for his role in the murder of a woman and her daughters. the doctor that was beaten with a baseball bat will address the court prior to sentencing. secretary of state hillary clinton says she is ready to sit out the next political cycle. she refuted speculation about the next turbot if president obama wins reelection. a sweat hog has passed away.

he died in the new jersey hospital after suffering cardiac arrest. he continued to act after "kotter." he was only 60 years old. he was very funny. you remember that. 51 degrees on tv hill. are women better and buying cars that maen? >> something going

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. happy friday. it is foggy out there. keep that in mind. northbound 295 is the one accident we are tracking. fire activity along bel air road. speeds around 45 in the outer loop. looking pretty good on the harrisburg expressway. it is tough to see out there. you can see the fog in this shot. no delay thankfully. there may be a delay in the northbound direction at 197. this is the area of providence.

it is tough to see on the north side. the other major roadways leading up to the beltway are cooperating. 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 vanetta brooks of the mta system. >> we have a few bus diversions. a diversion at fort and lawrence. the 47 line diverting at bel air for construction. light rail and the metro running problem free. the penn, camden, and brunswick lines reporting no delays. i am vanetta brooks. now back to tony pann. >> there is some pretty thick fog to start the day and some light rain. most of this is sprinkle activity. i do think it will pick up in intensity in a couple of hours. you can see a stronger line of showers and some thunderstorms

west of hagerstown. that steadier rain will work its way over towards baltimore later this morning. it will help to mix up the atmosphere. we have pre thick fog -- we have pretty thick fog. 50 degrees at the airport. the wind direction is out of the east. this warm air from washington, d.c., will spill north into baltimore. 63 in college park. 39 in frederick. that is why we have the fog, because of the temperature contrasts. rain showers this morning and may be some thunderstorms. it will turn partly sunny this afternoon. temperature around 53 in the northern suburbs to around 60 degrees in the city and south of town.

temperatures drop back into the 30's tonight. dry tomorrow with a high temperature around 48. 10 degrees colder on sunday with a chance for some snow flurries. in the 30's on monday. back into the mid 40's by the middle of next week. >> a super deal on the super tv for the super bowl. the best prices may be seen on the shelves right now just-in- time for the super bowl. many of the current deals are the best ever. november and december had a record low prices on tv's. january approved be even better . -- january may be even better.

female buyers asked different and more probing questions than men when purchasing a car. 67% of women include a in an inspection. women were more inclined to inquire about safety performance. mac world is in full swing. the trade show has changed. >> there's hardly any snow in the mountains. you can see someone doing double somersaults as they shoot a video with your iphone. >> i can record things with my phone. this is how i keep track of my life. >> the iphone is the reason most

people are here. >> there are is headphones. >> this is the new face of what was called mac world. orld had to beol part of the name. >> everything is going mobile. >> this is half the size it was three years ago. this is the biggest crowd to show since then. it has been turned into a trendy playground. >> this is a change the way we put this into an event so the public can enjoy it. >> you might like this by phone music stand. or a case with a wide angle

lens. there's even a case with a bottle opener. would you open your beer with a phone? the show runs through saturday. >> i think i will buy one of these. >> they just may have sold me on the iphone. "you can call on it, too?" prices on the way up for colgate and pall mall the products but they could be easing at starbucks. malive.ate and pall mall jane king has the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. colgate-palmolive says it is facing higher commodity prices

for raw materials. they make everything from toothpaste to dish soap. an average of half a %. some people may not even notice. starbucks may be done for price increases. the ticket vanished in a recen drop in coffee prices. investors get quarterly results from t. rowe price and legg mason. futures are flat for the start of things today. an unexpected decline for new home sales last year. the pentagon laid out its budget for saying they are facing as much as $1 trillion in cuts. big defense contractors are turning their focus outside the u.s. to boost sales. japan is now a big market.

more businesses are looking to recruit members of the military including harvard. they have an outlook on leadership. i'm jane king with wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. >> 5:23. 51 degrees on tv hill. some new faces in the crowd at this year's westminster kennel this year's westminster kennel dog

>> it is the super bowl of dog shows at the westminster dog show. >> 6 new breeds of dogs will get

their shot. >> say hello to the new pups on the block. they're hoping to be named top dog. there will be six new breeds. there's the american english coonhound. he was a little camera shy. this was from new jersey. he had to make a cross-country trek from colorado. the owner said he digs the spotlight. >> he enjoys showing off. >> a hairless breed from mexico. a dog that is double jointed and sports six toes.

will have what it takes to take best in show? >> it is a tough road for these new breeds. they will show the world what they are all about. >> hickory has some advice. >> make sure you have the social secretary lined up. >> very interesting. >> 51 degrees. >> a sweeping makeover on the johns hopkins medical campus. >> how does the ncaap plan to fight equality a marriage? >> we have some fog and some light rain this morning. >> that makes for a difficult commute. commute. we are tracking

>> 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. it is smiled and foggy. -- it is mild. >> it is 60 down and d.c. most of the rain is light. it will pick up in intensity. it is 50 at the airport. an east wind of seven. that warm air will rush into baltimore. ms. 60's to the man 50's up north and west. a strange day weather-wise. most of the day will be wet.

>> we do have fog warnings at the area bridges. northbound 295 approaching 197, we have an accident. another near arundel mills boulevard. you may start to see some delays. in the city, watch for fire activity at ravenwood avenue. volume is on the light side. 50 miles per hour as you approach 795. so far so good on the harrisburg expressway, 50 miles per hour. this is 295 near 175. northbound, you may see some delays because there's a right lane closure. this is the north side at providence. problem free at the moment. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11.

>> we're following breaking news. fire crews are on the scene of a house fire in northeast baltimore appeared the fire broke out just before 4:00 a.m. this morning on ravenwood boulevard. an adult was taken to johns hopkins bayview. we have a crew heading to that scene. the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community received a show of support. >> nadia ramdass joins us this morning. good morning. >> naacp president benjamin jealous talked about his transgender brother and said that the concerns of the lgb community are very close to his heart. he said it's time to end discrimination and violence everywhere.

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates are meeting in baltimore to discuss the best way to fight for equality. organizers say titi a coincidence the conference was held in maryland. stephanie rawlings-blake and maryland first lady shared their support with attendees and also spoke about the likelihood of state lawmakers passing a marriage equality bill. >> i definitetly think it is close. but that is why there is a big lobbying effort. and hopefully people will see that this is about families. this is not -- it's about getting over prejudice and about making sure that we protect families. >> i think very good chances of passing. i'm just hopeful. i do not know what the actual numbers are because i stay out of all of it. i just sort of hope and pray that the good people in the state of maryland will come together around this issue and

vote for tolerance and equality in marriage. >> naacp ben jealous was the keynote speaker. he spoke about his transgendered brother. >> deeply vested in the struggle. the leader of an organization with strong connections to the fight for lgbt rights. >> he drew the biggest applause when he vowed to help the community. >> a non-profit sector in the state of maryland will be there to make sure that the gender identity and anti-discrimination bill is passed. [cheers] >> martin o'malley will be speaking at the conference sunday morning. nadia ramdass, wbal-tv 11 news. >> barney frank is getting

married. the democrat will marry his longtime partner. the wedding will take place in massachusetts where same-sex marriage is legal. frank announced he will retire at the end of this 16th term. >> president obama will pay a visit to maryland later today. he will speak at the democratic retreat in cambridge this bordick as part of his three-day tour which kicked off in iowa. >> construction is completed at the new patient care facility at johns hopkins hospital. officials offered a tour of the children's center at the hospital. the new building sits on 5 acres with 33 new operating rooms and

a full array of imaging equipment. it meets the ever changing needs of patients and their families. >> as a parent, you were scared to leave your child. with these new amenities come you have a bath from located in your child's room. you could nafud bring brought to you so you do not to leave your child -- you can have food brought to you. this is the soon-to-be new place of work for hundreds of social security workers in baltimore city. it will replace the current facility located at metro west. city officials hope the construction will spur construction around the reisterstown mature station.

>> a new discipline policy is looking to reduce the number of student suspensions. minority and special ed students could benefit the most from such a change. local school systems would be required to come up with ways to reduce nonviolent offenses. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think the state's school discipline policy needs to be reformed in order to reduce the number of suspensions handed out? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> 5:37. 51 degrees on tv hill. could autism be detected long before a child shows behavior symptoms? >> fog warnings remain in effect at the area bridges. willthe 2-4-6-8 value menu's

got the everyday value slam, classic burger, build your own chicken wrap, cheese quesadilla, chicken parmesan, all you can eat pancakes, cordon bleu melt, the new cookie skillet a la mode. whew. so many choices, so little airtime. the 2-4-6-8 value menu. only at denny's.

>> welcome back. 53 degrees downtown. we have some fog and light rain this morning. let's look at hd doppler. we have some light rain. mostly scattered light rain showers. it will pick up in intensity in a couple of hours. 37 in hagerstown. 63 at the bethesda naval air station. 50 at the airport. a good chance for rain this morning and maybe a thunderstorm. clearing up this afternoon. it will be on the breeze is side. the seven-day forecast is coming up in just a few minutes. stay with us. >> children's brains may show

early signs of optimism during infancy long before any behavioral symptoms are notice. they looked at pictures of faces looking at an away from them. babies who were diagnosed with autism or more likely to have different brain responses to these social interactions then those who were not autistic. these findings may be a first step in predicting autism. scientists have come up with a test to find those with early stages of lung cancer. they had a more accurate prognosis than conventional methods. by predicting the odds of death, doctors can guide a patient's treatment and have them survive longer. 5:41. 51 degrees on tv hill. he has been out of this service

for decades but a marine it's long overdue honors.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. a few things to watch for. it is foggy. northbound 295 we have an accident that is now off to the side. avoid that if you can. 95 looks good. no problems on 97. eastbound 100, we have an accident. 5397 south through the glen burnie area. we are still up to speed despite the fact it is tough to see -- 53 on 97 south.

no sign of delays. but volume is starting to build in the southbound direction. this is traffic in the area of 95 coming down from harford county. problem free at mountain road. moving well down to the fort mchenry. 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 vanetta brooks of the mta system. good morning. >> still showing a few bus diversions as the 47 bus is diverting at bel air. watch out for the 36 bus. that bus is not stopping at washington and monroe. light rail and metro o reported no problems from end to end. i am vanetta brooks. >> we just have some light rain and drizzle to start the day. there is a possibility of some thunderstorms showing up. just some light rain along

interstate 95. you can see some showers and thunderstorms off to the west. the storm is just to the southwest of dc. these have turned severe. we're talking about severe weather. very unusual. the storms travel up towards washington, d.c., and into southern maryland over the next several hours. as far as annapolis, you could see some severe weather this morning. look at the difference in the temperatures. we have a warm front coming across the state. 63 in college park. look at the temperature contrasts. that is why the fog is out there. visibility may be down to half a mile. 50 degrees at the airport. we are waiting for the warm front to go through. right now the wind is moving from the east.

the wind will shift from the south. everybody will be able to jump into the 50's. a very complicated forecast. rain showers this morning. maybe a thunderstorm. some pretty thick fog to start today. it will clear up this afternoon. high temperatures will be in the 50's this morning but they could fall off into the afternoon hours. a complicated weather day. temperatures drop back into the 30's tonight. dry tomorrow and cooler but still above average with a high near 48. sunday looks to be the colder day with a chance for some snow flurries. we will stay in the 30's on monday. in excess of snow and rain on tuesday afternoon. >> he wanted to grow up and

serve his country. a california man is getting a much cherished promotion. >> he knew at age 05 he wanted to be a marine. he remembers that moment he saw the color guard marching in a parade. >> it went by and looked up and my mother. i said, that is what i want to be. >> he put on the uniform at age 19. his official service was cut short. he was rescuing the wounded marine. >> i put him on my back and started down the hill. up.rtar shell blew us >> he is a hero in so many ways

it is impossible to describe them all. >> he would have been promoted sergeant.y sg he has had extraordinary service in korea and legendary service at home as a volunteer instructor. >> 17 straight years, not getting paid. he is teaching different compact techniques. >> it was my honor to do that. it took away the hurt of having to be retired at the age of 23. >> he also served three terms as a mayor and has been married to the same woman for 63 years. she will be by his side when he

receives his promotion. >> i am overwhelmed. i will try to hold it together. it is just exciting. >> the rank of gunnery sgt well earned and long overdue. >> he is an impressive guy. >> well deserved. >> 51 degrees on tv hill. coming up, we'll look at 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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>> time to get to one of your answers to our watercooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- do you think the state's school discipline policy needs to be reformed in order to reduce the number of suspensions handed out?

>> that is from james in owings mills. 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. remember a couple of weeks ago when ray lewis and terrell suggs were selected to the pro baowl? they said they want to skip it and go to indianapolis bestead. the contingent is down to four. next pror hisest 13th pro b bowl. you can see it right here on wbal-tv 11, home of the super bowl. ray is the elder statesman in

the pro bowl. chuck pagano's arrival in indianapolis is bittersweet. he was introduced as the new coach of the indianapolis colts. a major challenge for chuck. the colts won just two games last year. the thrill of its first head coaching job. >> i thought for sure i would be coming to in the to play for world championship. -- i would be coming to indy. that is what i thought i would be coming here for a not as the next head football coach of the indianapolis colts. >> the ravens schedule is not

out but they know the play tom brady and new england at m&t bank stadium. a little empty feeling. >> with all the ravens players who were selected and not going to play, i'm not sure i'm going to watch the game. >> word is race is going to be a daddy -- word is ray rice is going to be a daddy. ar fetched. this court fetch a pennsylvania school -- popular ugg boots are being banned as a security risk. >> today will be an active day. >> that is impacting your

morning rush. some accidents on major roadways.

>> baltimore's mayor and the first lady have thrown their support to an activist group meeting in baltimore. >> another night of newt gingrich and mitt romney trading barbs. >> alternative punishment. the proposal to lower suspension rates and who officials say they could benefit. >> plus a look to win the market weather - -murky weather