fog. >> visibility is down to a quarter of a mile in some spots. in some spots, it was almost zero. this is patchy stuff. you will run into some reduced visibility. 39 at the airport with fog. the relative humidity is 96%. it will turn out to be a nice day with mostly sunny skies. we will come back and talk about the possibility for some snow this weekend. >> you will need some extra time this morning. up towards harford county, route 22, all lanes are closed because of a tractor-trailer fire. traffic is being forced off of 543.

there will be some delays in that area. no delays on the north side towards the harrisburg expressway. moving well on the west side despite the fog. 56 on southbound 83. we will update you at baltimore national pike. the west side looks pretty good. more fog near york road around loch raven to dulaney valley. exceptionally heavy that fog. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> watcher people are recovering after a collision in cecil county. this happen before midnight in the southbound lanes in perryville. a car struck a vehicle carrying two children and an adult. the driver was injured but that none of the injuries are

considered life-threatening. >> hydrometers surrounds an issue that is coming down to the last few votes. >> jennifer franciotti is live with the latest details. >> the house attached an amendment to the same sex bill so that if passed it will not take effect until january of 2013. it gives those who want to petition the referendum more time. were several moves to avoid answering questions about supporting the same sex marriage bill. a delegate intends to vote for the same sex marriage bill not long after saying he was on the fence about the issue. a platoon of clergy who are opposed to the bill lobbied hard for its defeat. >> they just wanted to come up

to share their stance on traditional marriage. >> further complicating this vote is that veronica turner is in the hospital for emergency surgery. reporting live, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. an ethics panel recommended ulysses currie be censured and apologize. he should issue the apology and banned from any leadership position under those guidelines. he could only be a member of the standing committee. the governor's office is responding to the injustice suffered by interracial couple back in the 1950's. the couple describe to how they endured despite a lot to keep

them apart. the governor is writing a letter to the couple and said what happened is an example of many injustices that happened in maryland. >> i feel relief. >> they say they look forward to receiving the governor's letter . >> the murder trial of george huguely is expected to resume today followed a brief delay. he's accused of killing his ex- girlfriend yeardley love. jurors were dismissed after his attorney called out sec and put the trial a day behind schedule. you can follow along at wbaltv.com to see all of the reports up to this point.

>> catholics are invited to paint the town red to celebrate the elevation of cardinal edwin o'brien tomorrow. they arrived in rome earlier this week for eight special mass -- for a special mass. o'brien will be elevated to the college of cardinals during a special ceremony at the vatican. rod daniels is the only local tv reporter in rome for the ceremony. to mark, 11 news will broadcast the entire elevation ceremony beginning at 4:30. >> the republican race for the white house now has the candidates focused on michigan. kate amara has this morning's

report. good morning. >> good morning. michigan and arizona are the next states with gop nominating contests. >> it is exciting to see the resurgence of the auto industry. >> less than two weeks left before the michigan primary and this time it is rick santorum that is leading the pack. he took a shot at mitt romney. >> governor romney supporter the bailout of wall street and decided not to support the bailout of detroit. my feeling was that we should not support the -- the government not be involved in bailouts period. >> this is romney's home state. >> i love this state. trees on the right height. >> mitt romney has been playing

up his michigan roots and continued to focus on president obama. >> i understand jobs because i have had jobs. a look at our president and others who are running in this race who have never worked in the private sector. >> newt gingrich is in third place in michigan and arizona. he believes he will benefit from front runners a fight. >> mitt romney is in a three-way fight. >> there will be a debate in arizona next week. kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. 5:07. congress set to vote on extensions to the payroll tax guide. >> funeral arrangements are finalized for whitney houston.

>> this is the beltway at york road. fog out there. stay with us.

>> welcome back. 5:10. you can see some fog in baltimore city. the fog is the big story this morning. it is patchy and visibility may be under 1/4 of a mile. 37 in parkton. it will become mostly sunny this

afternoon with a high temperature near 52. we will come back and check the seven-day forecast and talk about the possibility for some snow over the weekend. >> members of congress are expected to vote on a payroll tax cut extension today. the deal would extend the 2% -- will extend unemployment benefits as lost reimbursement for doctors. president obama said he will sign the deal in the late. >> the final preparations are made for singer whitney houston. a private ceremony will be newrrow in newark, jersey. chris christie has ordered all flags be lowered to half staff to honor whitney houston. the same thing in new jersey did

for frank sinatra. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think it's appropriate to lower state flags to half staff to honor celebrities like whitney houston? you can share your response at page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. 5:11. 41 degrees on tv hill. automobiles have plenty of high-tech gadgets. >> government officials want to limit the number of distractions while you drive. >> problems northbound on 95 in harford county.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we're dealing with some fog around the area and we have a closure of northbound 95 near route 22. this is because of a tractor- trailer fire. that is bad enough to cause that closure. you'll be diverted at 543. from there you take pulaski highway. delays will be forming northbound 95 as the volume picks up. we have a very foggy start. 58 on the outer loop down towards 70. 52 on the harrisburg expressway. fog is very dense in area.

give yourself some extra time. this is 95 south of 543. it looks like traffic is flowing fine. once you get up to 543, you're forced off and not to pulaski highway. be careful out there. 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. good morning. >> good morning. moving along nicely on the marc trains. no delays on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines. we have a few diversions. the one bus diverting at ford and lawrence because of construction. there will be no marc trains or mta commuter bus on monday. paratransit will operate on a regular weekday schedules for presidents day on monday. now back to tony pann. >> good morning. we're off to wait murky start

with visibility down to one size for all of a mile in some places. 39 in the airport. 41 in sykesville. i think this fog deck will burn off quickly. this will wind up being a nice afternoon. we'll have mostly sunny skies. a mixture of sun and clouds. early morning fog and drizzle. high temperatures will climb into the low 50's. temperatures drop back into the 20's and 30's tonight. i think saturday is going to be fine. sunday is the target date with the possibility of some snow. we have low pressure down and the gulf of mexico and called their sliding in from the north. -- and cold air sliding in from

the north. there could be a complete mess for us. most of the tracks take this into the seven parts of virginia. i'm leaning more towards that tracked. i think we'll get into the precipitation for this storm. we will be on the northern fringe of the precipitation shield. i think it will go south of harrisburg. there will be a heavy snow on the topside. still too early to say how much know we will get. it will be a mix of something. that will be on sunday. dry weather on saturday with a high temperature near 50 and a mix of snow and rain on sunday. it to clear up for the holiday on monday with a high of 43. >> the fda has a warrant for

users of a spin brush. users have included injuries that include chipped teeth. you should inspect the spin brush for damage before each use and supervise children or adults that may need assistance. you can send a text message was driving on the highway without taking your phone. all that new technology could be dangerous. not everybody likes that idea. >> four-wheel voice-activated offices. >> you can say a temperature and it will switch to that temperature immediately. >> you can get directions while

driving. but some groups want to put a brake on the electronic extras. asking car makers do disabled certain features that could distract drivers from the road. car dealers say manufacturers already build electronics with safety in mind. >> it is designed to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. if they started making it mandatory to not put technology in order to restrict the use, it would hurt sales. >> there have been a rising number of distracted driving incident. some say the feds not be punishing the cars. >> the postal service is looking to raise the price of the first

class stamp. jane king has the bloomberg business report. good morning. >> another week down. happy friday. the dow is within hitting 13,000 . few jews are flat this morning -- futures are flat this morning. stocks were on the rise yesterday boosted of signs of an economic recovery. strong reports on the jobless claims. the doc is that the highest level in nearly a quarter years. the postal service wants to raise the price of a first-class stamp by a nickel. it is an 11% increase. they could lose $18 billion by

2015. fewer people locally or on food stamps when compared to the national average. 6.6% of the more than 1 million households in baltimore are on food stamps. your city ranks 101 out of the matter 42 cities examined. say goodbye to king's size versions of your favorite candy. mars will stop making chocolate project that exceed to wonder 60 calories by the end of next year -- that exceed 260 calories. i'm jane king for wbal-tv 11 news. back to you. >> people will be buying two of the smaller sizes. facebook and twitter making more changes open their users will like. >> it is all about liking.

facebook making changes affecting athletes and celebrities, people with huge followings. and what twitter is doing to help out small business owners. >> thank you. . don't facebook if you think you're talking to me, that's not me. >> you should get a real facebook page. 5:26. 41 degrees on tv hill. will check the box office will check the box office

it is a fairly common situation in this era of speedskating. what happens if the frogs kissing are heavily armed?

>> we have more in this morning's box office preview. >> i think we should lay down some ground rules. >> let's let her decide. >> super spies go girl crazy in "this means war." they are best friends who cannot seem to get out of each other's way when they both start dating reese witherspoon. they try to take each other out. it is rated pg-13. nicolas cage looks to put out the fire in "ghost rider: spirit of vengeance." he returns as johnny blaze. this is a thankless job. he house to rescue a boy and

gets a chance to save the world and reversed a curse. it is rated pg-13. >> my mother used to tell me stories. >> a boy makes a miniature friend in "the secret world of arrietty." he is a tiny teenager and strikes up a secret friendship with a small boy. "the secret world of arrietty" is rated g. that is the box office preview. >> something for everybody. that is your read. >> change it and did not tell us. 41 degrees on tv hill. police are asking help finding an arson suspect in a brooklyn

neighborhood. >> the battle over same-sex marriage continues today. >> i thought i would zone out, too, just so you don't feel bad. [laughter] >> what does that say right there? mindy. >> we have some snow in the forecast. >> fog will be a big issue for your morning commute. we have the closure of

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> who good morning. i am stan stovall. [laughter] >> it says your name. you talk.

>> i am mindy basara. the fog is thick. >> just be careful. it will turn out to be a nice day this afternoon and it will become mostly sunny. we still have some thick fog out there. becoming mostly sunny with a high near a 52. things will change over the weekend. we have a chance for some snow on sunday. will check the scenarios in just a few minutes. >> we're having in terms of fog around loch raven. and also on the j.f.x. southbound. ense inverywhere and dance some spots. of traffic being forced off northbound 95 at 543 and then

you can get onto pulaski highway. a tow truck is on the scene. on the north or the west side, speeds are ok but fog could be an issue. leave yourself a few extra minutes. 55 on southbound 97. northbound 95. you cannot see the closure but this is south of the closure. 795 at franklin boulevard looks pretty good in the southbound direction down to the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> the same sex marriage bill continues to divide lawmakers. >> the house voted on an amendment delaying the bill. jennifer franciotti has more details. >> the drum up on thursday involves two surprise vote sways.

republican delegate wade kach first asked the state police to block the public view of this seat. avoided answering questions about this surprise decision to support the marriage bill. another delegate did not want to enter questions. the man accompanying him tried to block a news camera for the interview. >> last time we talked you were on the fence. >> will have the debate today. >> will be your decision? >> tends to vote in favor of the same sex marriage bill. if passed, it will not take effect until january of 2013. it gives those who want to petition more time. the battle spilled into the hallways of the house building. a platoon of clergy lobbied hard for its defeat.

republicans leaders say there is opposition to the bill and that democrats remain divided on the issue. while the vote counters are declining to give up the numbers, those on both sides consider the outcome too close to call. bill supporter veronica turner is in hospital for emergency surgery. jennifer franciotti reporting live. >> police say they believe a house fire in the brooklyn neighborhood was intentionally started and they are asking for your help. police released a sketch of a possible suspect last night. is in its early 30's and wearing a gold chain -- he is in its early 30's. he is wanted for questioning. police are asking anyone with information to call the arson unit.

>> a former top aide to bob ehrlich will not spend any time in jail for his role in the illegal robocalls, but paul schurick will spend time on home detention. the packed courtroom was filled with friends and supporters. he has to perform 500 hours of community service. >> in addition to a mistake and a violation of the law and to me, it was a profound personal failure. i have paid and will continue to pay a price for that failure. >> was convicted of election fraud in 2010 and was the top campaign official for bob ehrlich at the time. jermaine lewis was arrested again. he was pulled over for a return traffic stop.

his son did not have a seat belt or a child safety seat. the child was released to his grandfather. >> police say the driver of a tractor-trailer that overturned was driving under the influence. police say the man from new jersey was behind the wheel when the truck overturned near the fort mchenry tunnel spilling a large amount of solution. it took more than eight hours to clean up. b.g.e. officials start restoring power after a gas main breaks. they had to enter each of the homes and businesses affected by the break and turn off natural- gas service. crews have been purging water, removing thousands of gallons of

water to restore the service. if residents were not home, they are being asked to call b.g.e. to schedule an appointment. >> final preparations are being made for the funeral of whitney houston. it will include stevie wonder and aretha franklin. chris christie has ordered all flags be lowered to half staff to water honor her. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think it's appropriate to lower state flags to half staff to honor celebrities like whitney houston? 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. 41 degrees on tv hill. researchers might have find a way to detect autism in children as young as six months old. >> weight training can be helpful for patients with

parkinson's. >> a foggy start to your >> a foggy start to your friday morning

>> welcome back. you can see the low fog hanging over the baltimore city. the fog is much thicker in the suburbs right now. this bill it may be down under a quarter of a mile in some neighborhoods. -- visibility may be down. the forecast for today, it will turn out to be a nice day. sunshine this afternoon with a high near at 52. there is some rain and snow this weekend and we will detail the

forecast in just a few minutes. >> brain abnormalities associated with autism may be evident as early as six months. >> researchers performed the type of mri imaging on babies who had siblings with autism. were significant differences in the brain imaging. could diagnose autism earlier. concerns patients who take weight training classes could improve their symptoms. >> researchers looked at 48 people with parkinson's disease. those who exercise with weights so a bigger improvement in their motor control and had fewer symptoms of the diseased. >> 41 degrees on tv hill.

it is the anniversary of the day president obama signed the stimulus plan. >> this is traffic on 95 at maryland route 543. there are some pockets work it is very foggy. keep that in mind.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. out there in some areas. you might want to leave extra early. northbound 95 is closed at riverside park quiet because of a tractor-trailer fire on 95. there is a tow truck on the scene. all traffic is forced off at 543.

from there you take pulaski highway. hyde park road, we are tracking essex.ident in si here is the closure, 95 at 543. there is a northbound delay developing. this is 97 at 100. a lot of fog to deal with. you can see north and southbound traffic and women start to see some delays. 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. >> good morning. the fog and not affecting the mta systems. light rail and metro subway on schedule. in observance of the president'' day holiday, there will be no mta commuter bus service on monday.

light rail will operate on their regular weekday schedules on monday. i'm kurt kronke. now back to tony pann. >> the fog is the big story this morning. visibility is down to a quarter of a mile in some areas. temperatures are above freezing. 37 in parkton. it will take a couple of hours for this to burn off. we'll get some sunshine this afternoon. by the time we get into the afternoon, it will turn out to be a nice day. a mixture of sun and clouds. the early morning fog and maybe some drizzle in some areas. high temperature will climb into the low 50's. mostly clear skies and chilly, the upper 20's tonight. let's talk about the weekend. we will see low pressure developed down in the gulf of

mexico. that will start to move out of the gulf up to the northeast. cold air will be moving down out of canada. the computer models have been doing two different things with these storms. one has a missing us completely. the other takes that to the southern part of virginia which would give us a chance for some rain and snow. i'm leaning towards this track. if the low pressure comes up to the southern part of virginia, will be on the northern fringe of the precipitation shield. we will wind up with a mix of rain and snow. mostly rain across southern maryland. on the northern part of this shield, there will be a stripe of heavy snow but it will be a narrow band. it is heart to tell where this will set up.

may be harrisburg will miss this completely -- it is hard to tell. i think there will be some snow accumulation especially north and west of baltimore. a nice day on saturday. a mix of snow and rain on sunday with a high temperature of 38. it should clear up on monday for the holiday with temperatures in the 40's. >> president obama signed t stimulus planc three years from today. tracie potts has more from washington. >> the stimulus for tax breaks, and so-called shell already projects to create jobs. republic and said it would never work -- republicans said it would never work.

>> america is coming back. >> this president is not going to get credit for the economy coming back. >> the money goes to washington but it never gets distributed fairly. >> rolley fax -- here are the facts. unemployment is falling. jobs lost -- economic growth is down almost 7% then. two and half years straight years of growth. >> the economy keeps moving forward and it will be very tough to beat president obama. >> 12 million americans remain unemployed. president obama plans to talk

about the jobs today in washington state. you can bet his opponents will be talking about it, too. >> every friday this month, and channel 11 is celebrate black history. will be joined by the ceo of the peanut pratt library -- we will be joined by the ceo of the e pratt library. 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.

>> time to get to one of your answers to our watercooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- do you think it's appropriate to lower state flags to half staff to honor celebrities like whitney houston?

>> 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. college basketball and a big win last night for maryland. the school honored ernie graham by raising his jersey to the rafter. willilams.ith bought williauck nick stoglin on 8 feet from nick faust. he was in a groove last night. terps go on an 11-0 run. second half. terrell stoglin again. he had 24 points.

wins and as a big game on saturday against virginia. pitchers and catchers report in sarasota. the first workout is set for sunday. eddie murray was inducted into the baseball hall of fame. went in with gary carter. gary lost his battle with brain cancer yesterday. he had the big hit in the 1986 world series to keep the series alive against the red sox. one of the best catchers in baseball history. a breezy day in california. talk about tearing up the course. he hit the flag is so hard it ripped the cop out of the

ground. that is tearing it up -ripping- the cup. a birdie on number four. the defending champion, a bogey on number 12. the first round was suspended by darkness. towson and hopkins in college lacrosse at 5:00 p.m. tonight. >> we are live from the that again with a live preview of the elevation ceremony for edwin o'brien. >> how the team is working to keep joe flacco as their quarterback. >> this man walked into the store in the buff. >> how can i top that? there is no in the forecasts --

air is snow in the forecast. >> have a closure of northbound 95 in harford county.

>> debate in annapolis over the same sex marriage bill. >> a former ravens store draws a penalty from police. why jermaine lewis is waking up behind bars this morning. >> he was convicted of trying to suppress the african-american vote. the controversial punishment for paul schurick. >> will or will it o