southern maryland, charles county. it was close to us. there was a fine line but we missed it again. nothing going on this morning. there is some cloud cover to start the day. 36 degrees at the airport. there has been a few reports of snow flurries this morning. it will be clearing up pretty quickly and becoming mostly sunny as we go into the afternoon with a high temperature around 48 degrees. we will come back and check the forecast for the rest of the week. >> our big star, maryland is one step closer to legalizing same- sex marriage -- our big story. >> this is not a done deal. kim dacey is live with the details. >> the bill is expected to head

to the senate this week for debate. married same-sex couples would have the same protection under the lot after heterosexual counterparts. getting the bill passed in the house is a big hurdle for advocates of same-sex marriage but they know the fight is not over. some in annapolis strongly supporoppose the measure. >> it is very likely that marriage equality will be on the ballot in november because there are those who say they oppose it and they will bring it to referendum. >> if governor o'malley signs the bill into law, maryland would be the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. would you rather see the same- sex marriage issue decided in the legislature or through a referendum? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook

page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> a georgia pastor is in baltimore to challenge the law on the death penalty. he preached in northwest baltimore yesterday. they strongly believe that human rights and they are challenging the state to repeal the death penalty. we have to wait until wednesday for a decision from the jury in the murder trial against george huguely. closing arguments wrapped up on saturday putting the case into the hands of the jury. deliberations will begin on wednesday. one prosecutor choked up as he recounted the night that

yeardley love died. a local defense attorneys said the jury needs to decide whether huguely meant to cause a lot of harm. -- to cause love harm. you can see reports online at wbaltv.com. >> police continue their search for information after a stabbing death. officers responded to lombard street yesterday and they found one man suffering from stab wounds and he later died. no word as to a suspect or a possible motive. a baltimore boy dies after leaning over a car and being hit by another car. this happened on saturday night. that is one michael trulock reportedly open the door, and fell out, and was drostruck by

another vehicle. friends and families gathered last night to remember the teenager. >> we would play tag in the hallways at school. >> i have lost the only son that i'm ever going to have because they wanted to party. >> police have no additional information but the crash is still under investigation. >> controversial comments -- rick santorum of finance himself on the defense after some comments he made this weekend. tracie potts has the details from washington. >> last night rick santorum seem to compare president obama to

hitler. >> maybe he's not the best guy. you find out he's not so good of a guy after all. >> there was another controversial comment on saturday. >> this is not about you. this is about a phony ideal. >> he is questioning the president's faith. that is a new low in presidential politics. >> he said he's a christian. >> republicans came to santorum's rescue. >> he is a political philosophy that believes he can mandate certain benefits and activities of the american people. >> rick santorum is leading the latest michigan poll. mitt romney and unable to

command the votes in his home state. >> many of us lose our home state. you have a very bad weakened candidacy. >> the president said his faith was attacked in a bitter republican race. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> new details in the plants of a terror suspect whose main target was the capitol building. >> a deadly encounter with an avalanche, still to come. >> this is 95 north of the beltway in the arbutus area.

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>> welcome back. 5:08. 38 degrees downtown. a beautiful shot of the inner harbor. temperatures are on the chilling side and there is a bit of a breeze. it will feel cooler than the numbers i'm about to show you. we have mostly cloudy skies. 34 in columbia. there are a few snow flurries in some neighborhoods. that would be mostly south and east of town. clearing skies as we get into the afternoon. we'll see sunshine with a high around 48. it might be a little breezy. we'll come back and check the forecast going into next weekend. >> an avalanche killed three skiers north of seattle.

this is a different part of it were theass the one han avalanche actually occurred. other skiers try to dig them out but there were unsuccessful. three men are believed to be in there at 30's and 40's. avalanche warnings were issued. families and friends say final farewell to whitney houston last weekend. she was laid to rest yesterday. >> officials say a man arrested had a plan in year. the plan grew to taking out the capitol building. an informant tipped off the fbi and he faces up to life in

prison. >> 35 degrees on tv hill. a warm cup of tea might be the perfect way to which drop on a cold monday. >> putting your parking problems at thease. >> this is 695 west of york road. this is president's day. no school and many people have off from work. the traffic will not be as bad today. another check on weather and another check on weather and

i'm one of six children that my mother raised by herself and so, college was a dream, when i was a kid. i didn't know how i was going to do it, but i knew i was going to get that opportunity one day. and that's what happened with the university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky is the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix.

>> good morning. we missed the storm. it just skipped south of baltimore. there was some snow as close as charles county and some flurries around annapolis. a lot of snow down in virginia around in richmond and back into the mountains of virginia and west virginia. over a foot of snow in some places. we kind of scooted by. some snow flurries left in some areas. we will see cloud cover at this morning. this is how close they came to baltimore. about an inch of snow south of d.c. in charles county. lower eastern counties got some snow. some flurries in baltimore. now will carry of the clouds. you can see the back edge of the

clouds coming into western maryland. that will sweep off the coast and we will have mostly sunny skies. it will take awhile for that clearing process. 38 downtown. 31 in parkton. mostly sunny today. early morning clouds but becoming mostly sunny. it will be a little on the breezy side. mostly clear and chilly tonight with temperatures around 30. the weather should be fairly quiet for the next few days. you can see this system. there could be a 30% chance for a shower on thursday afternoon. another disturbance goes by 2 or number. i think will stay dry on thursday. increasing clouds tomorrow with a chance for a shower. it will get warm during the middle of the week.

upper 50's wednesday and thursday. possibly a few thunderstorms. then it gets colder over the weekend with temperatures into the 40 's. >> a teapot is being recalled because the panel can be too hot handle.o it was sold from december 2011 until this past january. the handles can get extremely hot posing a burn hazard. parkatmyhouse.com matches desperate drivers with homeowners looking to score some cash. this is set to launch early next month in cities like

baltimore and washington, d.c. homeowners can rent out their driveway and the website gets a cut. our gas prices have never been higher this time of year. we could reach a record of $4 .25 oby april. higher gas prices could hurt consumer spending and curtail their recent improvement in the economy. this could cost the economy $35 billion by some estimates. the state would average is $3.61. you can expect to pay $3.59 in baltimore. >> today begins annapolis restaurant week. all the meals come at a fixed

price. two restaurants are having breakfast to the menu. you can get a good deal on energy efficient appliances. the tax-free weekend extends through today. energy star products of our energy efficient which means they offer savings on energy bills without sacrificing performance. appliances include some light bulbs and washing machines. >> the stock market is closed today because of the holiday. >> we have a look at today's business news. >> good morning. people are trying to figure out who america's next president is. you might want to look at the

stock market. a new study says forget about those political platforms and the economy and job creation. the best single predictor of the presidential election results is the percentage change in the stock market in the three years preceding election day. they went all the way back to george washington in 1792. that may mean that president obama will meet reelection because the dow jones is up 60% from the march, 2009 level. investors will be watching the latest on greece and reports on home sales. are you sure you know we your home is? presidents' day is a holiday that thieves target. the busiest day for car thieves

is new year's day. moral day is numbertwo -- memorial day is number two. >> i wonder why that is. >> maybe people are trying to steal those lincolns. >> 35 degrees on tv hill. getting good grades. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. would you rather see the same- sex marriage issue decided in the legislature or through a referendum? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> today marks 50 years since john glenn launched into orbit. he will be honored during a dinner at the john glenn school of public affairs and the college of engineering at the ohio state university. mark kelly will speak at tonight's events. it is really liked their sleep. >> federer bylines recommend teenagers get about nine hours a night. more sleep might hurt your teenagers grades. >> conventional wisdom said a teenager gets more sleep will probably get better grades. we decided to ask the experts. >> i need a lot of sleep.

>> i get about nine or 10 hours of sleep. >> they only average about -- >> 6 or 7. >> i get about six or seven hours of sleep. >> that is the optimum amount of sleep a teenager should get. >> seven hours is fine. that makes them feel better about their teenagers sleep patterns. >> really? that is kind of shocking for me. >> i think my experience is seeing sleep deprived students who have their heads on their desks and the need some cold water on their face. >> study looked at over 1700 students. some students say there would like more sleep.

>> i feel i performed worse when i get more sleep because i get lazy. but when i am tired, i feel like doing something else and not get tired at all. >> there are still some skeptics. >> if i get less sleep, i am dead in the morning. i feel better with more sleep. >> interesting. a couple of primates at the zoo. the area was put on lockdown after some guerrillas escaped -- gorillas. >> if anybody was in danger, the zookeeper's were. >> there was a safety door.

>> they're very territorial and you just do not know. >> the apes were more interested in looking around the building. >> they climbed up the ladder and got out of the exhibit. >> they pushed the latter up so they can get over the retention wall and they climbed up. >> and then the word spread. >> they said, everybody get out of africa. >> they thought it was a joke at first. >> we saw a mother and a stroller and she kind of screamed. >> we were going to take any chances. >> families were moved to save zones. -- safe zones. nobody was hurt.

>> the guerrillas escaped after an enclosures lot was not secured -- gorillas. >> 5:26. 35 degrees on tv hill. maryland is making problems making payments to victims of crimes. >> the same sex marriage debate picks up in the senate this week. >> baltimore's edwin o'brien is part of an elite group. what is next, when we continue. >> a big storm mrs. us to the south -- misses us to the

>> 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. we lucked out with the snow. >> virginia and southern maryland and the lower eastern shore, it snowed at ocean city. >> would like to snow. >> today will be kind of a transition day behind the storm. the 36 at the airport. cloudy skies. reports of a couple of snow flurries. the skies will clear as we go through the morning. it will be mostly sunny with a high temperature around 48. will check the seven forecast when i come back in just a few minutes. >> an audit of maryland's book finds the state is falling behind to make payments to victims of crime.

risk a backlog of $2.6 million. the state approved a $5.2 million and is working to correct the problem. >> it was a close vote but the bill to legalize same-sex marriage passed in the house of delegates. this happened on friday. >> this is a big step for advocates of the legislation. there are more hurdles to jump before this law goes on the books. kim dacey is live with more details. >> the bill is expected to head to the senate this week for debate. supporters are confident it will pass there like it did last year. but they know the fight is not over yet. this couple was married six years ago. but there's still special meaning for them. >> involved in some light in this bill either testifying or lobbying every year since is

been introduced. >> mary same-sex couples will have the same protection under the law aster heterosexual counterparts. state senators are expected to begin debating the bill of this week. they plan to fight. >> keep the pressure on. keep calling and writing and keep testifying. >> one delegate is opposed to the same sex marriage bill and said this is not a done deal. >> this is a vicious political fight, one like i've not seen before and i do not understand how seven people can rule and run this legislature. >> anthony brown supports the bill but knows the fight is not over. >> it is very likely that marriage equality will be on the ballot in november because there are those who have already said that they oppose it, they will bring it to referendum. >> if governor o'malley signs

the bill into law, maryland would be the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. would you rather see the same- sex marriage issue decided in the legislature or through a referendum? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> the national birth control debate continues to be a hot topic. president obama was criticized for having employers cover birth control. >> the president put on a table a principled compromise on this issue, making sure that women would have the health care they need including contraception and making sure that people could pursue their own religious liberty. >> he is a political philosophy

that believes he can mandate certain benefits of the american people which conflicts with a constitutional rights. >> demand faces burglary charges for allegedly stealing shopping carts. witnesses say they saw him from late foodurarts lion. officers found them at . police are looking for an assault and robbery suspect. the man broke into a car and the suspect took off when confronted. the cashier hinted over some money to a man with a gun. if you know anything about either incident, you're asked to call carroll county police. >> a firefighter is recovering this morning. the fire happened last night on

east 24th street. the house next door of fire as well. he was taken to shock trauma and is doing ok. it has been a week since a gas main cause some problems for right baltimore neighborhood. the customer care center is open until 8:00 p.m. tonight and will be open until 4:30 tomorrow evening. residents without heat should visit. >> edwin o'brien is now in an elite group of cardinals. the ceremony took place on saturday morning at the vatican. rod daniels was there as edwin o'brien was elevated to cardinal. >> i thanked him and said i

would serve him completely with my whole heart. >> the cardinal said he will keep a residence in baltimore and will try to get back as often as he can. rod daniels lot more live reports later today and the coverage continues on our website. you can see more videos and the photos following cardinal o'brien from baltimore to rome at wbaltv.com. 35 degrees on tv hill. unlocking the key to long-term health benefits. >> being and a higher risk for abuse -- being at a higher risk for abuse. this is the beltway at 146.

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>> welcome back. 38 degrees downtown. all those quiet. the storm missed us to the south. it will turn out to be a nice afternoon. you may see some clouds this morning. 36 at the airport. 31 in york, pennsylvania. mostly sunny this afternoon and a little on the breezy side with a high temperature of 48. we'll come back and check the forecast going into next weekend. >> children who spend more time

doing moderate activity reaps important health benefits. >> you have to love that exercise. researchers looked at data for more than 20,000 children. those who spent more than 35 minutes a day in intensive activity had lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and smaller waist sizes than kids who averaged less than 80 minutes a day, regardless of the amount of time they spend being sedentary. boys who want to play with dolls apparently faced increased risk for abuse. >> a study examined questionnaires filled up by 9000 young adults. there were asked about the games these to play as well as abuse. those who did not have interest

in games were more likely to be abused, most often by their parents or relatives. 35 degrees on tv hill. it might still feel like winter but spring has sprung down in florida. keith mills has the orioles spring training. >> a crafts show in baltimore this weekend. >> tony says will allow milder weather later this week

>> welcome back. the big storm missed us to the south. the snow was close but no cigar. ay morning to ava

marie, who is doing arts and crafts. >> we're previewing one of the largest craft shows in the country. you were one of the artists that will be at the show. you make nonmettal jewelry -- nonmetal. this is a tiny little beads. this looks like it was made out of metal. >> this is a matter of needle, thread, and good eyesight. it takes a tremendous amount of time. this is one of many different types of work you will see at the show. forever, clothing, wood -- fabric. most is one-of-a-kind or a limited edition.

it is phenomenal. >> this is very prestigious. >> we submit our slides of our work and a group of peers reviews it and based on their assessment, one is in the show or out of luck. i'm fortunate to be displaying my work this weekend at the convention center. tickets are quite reasonable, $16 for one day. you can go online and purchase tickets at a discount. the website -- kraftcounsel.org/baltimore. i want you to talk about your work here. you said you were influenced by the sea.

>> i have two different lines. this echoes seaweed. this is a series of necklaces which is perfect for bridesmaids. this is my circle to stone line. this one is porcelain. this is a semiprecious stone and other captured. >> absolutely beautiful. the craft show runs through sunday. tickets available online. a great time to come out and pick up some incredible work. >> artists from around the country. >> we had some snow flurries

this morning which are basically ending. we still have crash shows back in elementary school. >> you think that is more difficult than using macaroni and popcorn? >> this stuff is so beautiful. >> thank you. we appreciate it. big show coming up next weekend. us. storm just missed the l you can see how close it came. there was some snow showers in annapolis, southern maryland, ocean city, south of dover. we have some flurries around baltimore but the accumulating snow was south of us. you can see some snow flurries still on the radar on the eastern shore counties. you guys may have some snow

flurries for the next few hours. the skies are going to clear. we have some cloud cover this morning. it will turn mostly sunny. 36 at the airport. 30 in westminster. temperatures will make it into the 40's. we will become mostly sunny. a little on the breezy side, at 10 to 15. mostly clear tonight and temperatures will drop back to around 30. we start at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. dry conditions expected. we have a 30% chance for a rain shower on tuesday afternoon. same thing on wednesday. that one will miss us. 30% chance for a shower tomorrow. the big story is the change in the temperatures.

upper 50's on wednesday and thursday before a strong cold front moves in on thursday and friday. the oil and not the temperatures to where they should be this time of year with afternoon highs in the 40's -- that will not the temperatures. >> a tragic accident in washington state. >> there was a deadly avalanche. >> dozens of skiers came down the slope late tonight. a typical evening at stevens pass. >> we lost three amazing people, two who were my friends. >> they were canvassing the fresh powder on a back country slope when it happened. >> right when it crossed over the hill, we notice about a 4 foot fracture about 30 yards to his right.

>> he watched as the skiers were swallowed up, carried almost 2,000 feet down the terrain. >> i could see something was happening. >> the slide buried four people. she activated an air bag to a brief until help arrived. the others did not have that chance. >> the three victims were being dug out and we try to resuscitate them. >> they were pronounced dead at the scene. they have the right equipment. it is not clear what triggered the snow to come tumbling down. >> 3 people are not home tonight. >> how terrifying.

35 degrees on tv hill. the maryland women's basketball team picks up a big win. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers.

>> in the debate over same sex marriage bill which brings us to our water cooler question of the day. >> would you rather see the same-sex marriage issue decided in the legislature or through a referendum? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. we will read more in the next hour and post the mall on the front page of our website. >> good morning. we begin with college basketball the marylandr whein women's team. the terrapins beat duke to raise their record to 23-4. oil university men celebrated their final home game with a historical when.

they beat boston university. he knocks down the three. loyola up. he thinks he will go to the basket and dunk it. getting the job done. loyola win, the 20th win for the greyhounds, first time ever as a division one program that team wins 20 games. two road games left. the orioles just getting started in sarasota. the competition for a spot in the starting rotation is intense. 12 pictures completieting, inclg tommy hunter. he made 11 starts for the birds. he could be the opening day starter.

>> it is tough having to battle against other guys just for a job. going out there having fun and being as helpful as you can because the ultimate goal is to win as a team. that is the ultimate goal and of we have five, six, seven guys who are successful, will group pretty good. >> jeremy lin, his star keeps rising, the new york knicks win. >> he is fun to watch. >> 12 guys going to for five spots. >> some like brian matusz and jake arrieta are kids that the orioles have brought out through their farm system. said it islter you an open competition. >> coming up, social issues are

taking center stage in the race to replace president obama. tracie potts love the details of. >> jeremy lin has been all over the headlines in the past week. a major backlash for espn. >> lindsay lohan hasn't upcoming plead not appearance. where and when she will appear. >> we miss the big storm to the south. ♪

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