today. not a lot happening right now. we're picking up a couple of sprinkles. look on the left-hand side of your screen and you can see some rain over in the mountains. that is moving over towards baltimore. windy and mild with a high temperature of 70 degrees. some storms could be kind of strong with wind gusts 40, 50 miles per hour. we will come back and talk about the big change coming up this weekend. >> good morning. nothing weather-related on the roads. looking good. 56 on the north side. problem free on the west side. 63. traveling on 97, speeds around 55 down towards 100. good east and west on 100. five minutes on southbound 95

down towards the fort mchenry. eight minutes to travel southbound 895 down to the harbor tunnel. 10 minutes on southbound 95 down towards 32. this is the north side at dulaney valley. ops.lem free in both lo southbound traffic, pretty light volume as you make your way down towards owings mills. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> a constitutional vote. >> a big step forward for same- sex marriage in the state of maryland. the senate approves the measure. the senate approved the same sex marriage bill thursday evening. maryland will become the eighth

state to legalize recognize same sex marriage. jennifer franciotti has more details. good morning. >> that senate voted to gain the same legal protections as other married couples. the senate took up the house version of the bill. it was amended and several delegates switch their positions. whether the bill takes effect may be up to voters. the law like to be petitioned to referendum in november. this could be the end of state sanctioned discrimination. >> delighted that this has passed. we feel like all of his god's children can now share in marriage. >> wonderful to celebrate the diversity of creation. this is a great day for maryland. >> the measure goes to governor o'malley for his signature.

this could happen as early as next week. jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> the governor martin o'malley released a statement saying -- "i would like to thank miller for his leadership and for the vote today for human dignity. all children deserve to live in a stable home protected equally under the law." cardinal edwin o'brien wasted no time in issuing his own statement. it was in part -- "the vote is no less troubling for its places -- for placing maryland one step closer to the dismantling --" >> police say a man first exposed by the i-team might be

back in action impersonating police. derek propalis was wearing a virginia state police uniform. he had modified his vehicle to have lights and a siren. he was picked up in 2008 for similar charges. the i-team found that 10 years earlier he was caught with homemade police uniforms and the makeshift firing range in his basement and half a dozen guns. detectors are concerned he may be engaged in illegal police activities. if you have encountered him, contact police. two police officers face jail time. they were convicted. both could receive up to 25

years in prison when sentences. 15 have pleaded guilty in the extortion scheme. police say antwaine wilson left his child inside a running car. he spent about 30 minutes inside a store. the child was released to his mother. >> it is a sprint to super tuesday. voters will weigh in in the presidential process. kate amara joins us live from washington. good morning to you. >> the polls and the campaign rhetoric show that this race is shaping up to be a two-man contest. it is the last weekend to

campaign before pivotal primary. mitt romney continued the attack on rick santorum after santorum defended his senate vote for programs like no child left behind. >> he talked about this about taking one for the team. my team is the american people, not the insiders in washington. >> santorum admitted he made a mistake. >> was a big mistake was all the money that was put out there and that was a huge problem. i admit the mistake and i will not make that mistake again. >> he is hoping to upset mitt romney in michigan. polls have the candidates in a statistical tie in michigan. santorum is trying to tip the balance in a new ad. analysts say a romney loss could open this race. >> there is a chance we could

have a decision making convention where it will go into tampa without a clear majority for one candidate or the other. >> meanwhile, ron paul is also focused on getting delegates in michigan. newt gingrich is skipping ahead and hoping for a strong showing in the south. kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> how is the delegate count looking at this point? >> right now mitt romney has nearly doubled the number of its closest rival. romney has 99 delegates. rick santorum has 47. 518 delegates are up for grabs between now and super tuesday. >> thank you. >> 46 degrees on tv hill. a facebook post might land a man in jail. >> 3500 jobs on the chopping

block this morning after the u.s. postal service announced closing. we will tell you about the maryland locations affected. >> this is the beltway at 146. more on weather and traffic when we continue

>> welcome back. 5:10. we to expect some rain showers to move and later this morning. the average high temperature today is 47. we will soar close to 70 today. we can see a few sprinkles around baltimore right now.

some heavier showers from the mountains are moving east. off and on light rain showers this morning. could be some thunderstorms during the middle of the day. high temperature near 70 degrees. the wind may gust over 40. we'll come back and check the forecast for the rest of the weekend. >> the u.s. postal service is closing some processing centers including at least two in at maryland. this is part of a postal service three-year cost savings plan. processing centers in waldorf and gaithersburg will be closing. one in cumberland will be moving some services to another location. dr. conrad murray will ask a judge to let him out of jail today. he was convicted in november of

involuntary manslaughter in the death of michael jackson. his attorney said he wants to find a job. >> a man faces possible jail time for something he posted on facebook. he referred to his wife as evil and a vindictive woman. the court ruled the comments filed with the civil protection order against him and he must now post an apology every day for the next 30 days or go to jail. >> hmm. >> not a tough decision. >> 46 degrees on tv hill. what is next for one major soda company. >> imagine paying what want for a meal at a restaurant. details in today's consumer alert. >> rain is moving into the are's

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>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. happy friday. we will check your morning commute. the rain is not impacting things much. a nice start in parkville. if you travel south of the j.f.x., problem free into town. speeds around 61 as you make your approach to 70 on the west side outer loop. 62 on 95 southbound in the white

marsh area. the speech continued down towards the fort mchenry and beyond. this is 97 at 100 after the glen burnie area. no delays to report. very light volume. 795 checking on just fine. a bit heavier at franklin boulevard the moving well down towards the beltway. 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. happy friday. good morning. >> good morning. doing very well on the marc trains. no delays on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines. light rail and metro subway on schedule. the 19, 52, 91 buses operating with delays. i am kurt kronke. now back to tony pann. >> thank you. it will be a complicated weather day. we will see a whole bunch of stuff happen.

we're picking up some light rain shower. these are nothing but sprinkles. there is some heavy rain in the mountains that his sliding to the east. the further we go into the morning, the better the chance the rain will catch up to us. we have some snow on the backside, thunderstorms on the front side. a bunch of cold air that is diving down from canada. you have warm air coming up the east coast. with the next together, that is where you have the activity appeared we will see some showers and thunderstorms developing along that boundary. star prediction center brings a chance for severe weather into maryland, just south of baltimore. the storms could contain wind gusts over 60 miles an hour and even a chance for some tornado

activity. the wind may gust 40 miles per hour. the good news is it will be warm. temperatures will be close to 70 degrees. that is not a record but that is pretty good for this time of year. wendy and malt is our forecast with maybe a few thunderstorms. -- windy and mild. high temperature between 67 and 72. temperatures drop back into the 30's tonight. winter will be back over the weekend. breezy and cold over the weekend and a chance for some snow flurries. we will stay in the 40's after the beginning of next week -- through the beginning of next week. >> panera bread made a bet on humanity and so far it has paid

off. this is an effort to help feed the hungry. they list a suggested price for food but people pay what they want or what they can. they usually break-even. pepsi hopes you will choose a pepsi next. this is a new mid-calorie drink at 60 calories a can. consumer protection on the internet is getting a big boost. there is a do not track the feature and a new set of internet privacy proposals. >> most of us except that some of our privacy is not private once we go online. >> i figure there's always somebody watching you. >> businesses have cashed in

over the years, tracking our movement online. >> all these companies are fighting to figure that out. >> a privacy bill of rights beck gives consumers the right to know what information is collected about them online. >> protecting their personal data online occurred just trust in internet commerce. >> do not track, which browser's already offer, but now with a promise for those who do it online tracking. >> you didn't have a guarantee that those provinces would be honored by advertisers. >> the ability to opt out of having your online activity tracked. chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. how concerned are you about

having your online activities tracked by businesses and other groups? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> 1 billick company is posting big profits. -- one bailout company is posing big profits. jane king has the bloomberg business report. it is friday. >> happy friday. the recipient of the biggest taxpayer bailout in history is reporting a big jump in profits, a jump of 77%. the government still owns a majority stake in aig. bp may not be all that popular these days but the government sure seems to like it. they have stepped up purchases making it the biggest, oil fuel supplier following the 2010 spill.

crude oil futures are back up again, $108 a barrel. we do have some better than expected news from weekly jobless claims and that helped boost stocks yesterday. jane king for wbal-tv 11 news. >> a lot of teenagers are probably thinking, what movie to want to see? maybe get a jump on it. >> except this movie is not coming out until march. sales even eclipsing "twilight." i will tell you what movie that is. >> i am sure we know nothing about it. >> thank you, jane. >> 46 degrees on tv hill. this is oscar weekend. that does not mean movies take a

break. >> a preview when we continue.

>> jennifer aniston and paul rudd -- >> we have all of this weekend's major film releases in the box office preview. >> will take care of you. my name is wayne. >> they get a different perspective in "wanderlust." rudd loses his job. they moved away he become human -- they move to a hippie comm

une. "wanderlust" is rated pg. >> her sister has been abducted. picks sister goes on a rampage to find her missing sibling. "gone" is rated pg-13. elite forces go one-night mission in "act of valor." the characters are played by active-duty navy seals. they have to rescue a captured cia agent and they uncovered a terror plot. "act of valor" is rated r. "good deeds." he has a perfect life. he shakes things up when he

encounters a struggling single mother. changes his own life as well. that is the box office preview. >> a good variety of movies. 46 degrees on tv hill. we haven't seen much snow this winter. most of the snow removal budget has been spent. >> the maryland senate passes the same-sex marriage bill. >> fuel prices affecting the airlines. watch your ticket prices soar. >> no snow but we do have some rain in the forecast and some strong winds. >> this is a live view of the bay bridge. looking pretty good heading into the toll plaza.

>> 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. is this the last of the warm days for a while? >> for a while. it will be down to 43 tomorrow. that is a big change. a lot of times you get some active weather and that will be the case today. not a lot happening today. just some light rain and sprinkles. that could affect the drive time a little bit. during the middle of the day, we could see some thunderstorms develop and some could be strong. we will hit seven degrees but the wind could be gusting 40

miles per hour. it will be a little bumpy as we make the change from the cold air to the warm air -- from the warm air to the calold air. >> 61 coming south on 95 out of the white marsh area. moving well on to the north side of the beltway. heading south on the j.f.x., 60 miles per hour down towards northern parkway. 60 on the west side outer loop at 70. looking good on the rest of the major roadways. some light rain could impact your morning rush. we have a nice start at the bay bridge. toll plaza, not a lot in terms of volume. this is a smooth ride although the volume is picking up in the outer loop. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. stan and mindy, back to you.

>> a monumental vote in the maryland state senate. >> lawmakers passed the same sex marriage legislation making maryland the eighth state to do so. jennifer franciotti is live with the details. >> it did pass by narrow imagine. whether the bill takes effect may be up to the voters. the law will be likely be petitioned to referendum in november. supporters are celebrate what they consider a victory. to gain the same legal contentions of father married couples. >> how do we go forward with all the references as it applies to a same-sex marriage. >> my religious beliefs, you don't change those. i'm not changing them today. i believe marriage is between a man and woman. >> supporters resource with handshakes after final passage in the senate. >> it received a constitutional

vote. >> the senate took up the house version of the bill which passed by the narrowest margins last week after it was amended and several delegates dramatically switch their position. the chambers balconies full of spectators honung on every word. >> if i thought i could vote on something that could change god's law. >> we are going to make history because we will take another step, another important step towards embracing every family in the state of maryland. >> that measured net goes to governor martin o'malley for his signature. that surmount could happen as early as next week. >> thank you. keep track of breaking news by subscribing to our alerts on wbaltv.com.

you can see an interactive timeline in the progress of same-sex marriage from 2004 in massachusetts. that is all on wbaltv.com. >> we might be experienced some warmer temperatures outside but it was near 90 degrees inside a baltimore classroom thursday. they try to win support for a bottle tax. they toward patterson high school yesterday. there was a press conference inside patterson were temperatures were near 90 degrees. they hope this will bring more attention to the conditions at some areas schools. >> i believe all classrooms should be equal. same temperature for students to learn in. >> it would take more than $2 billion to fix the dozens of

buildings in need of repair. >> in my think the state is saving money on snow removal cost. it has spent more than $30 million of its $36 million snow removal budget so far this winter. crews must be ready for a storm even if the forecast changes. crews have been called out 14 times this winter. the u.s. is averaging $3.61 for a gallon of gas this summer. tracie potts has with what others are saying we need to do to make driving more affordable. >> american drivers feeling helpless at the pump. >> about $120 for me to fill up my truck. >> price has spiked almost a dime in some areas.

expect higher prices by summer in part because the economy is improving. that drives up the man. president obama said there is no quick fix. >> there are no silver bullets short-term when it comes to gas prices. anyone who says otherwise is not telling the truth. >> the president taking heat for not joining more. >> i will set a way to grant licenses for drillers of oil and gas, take evanish of our resources right away. >> president obama says that is a bumper sticker. the real answer -- >> end subsidies for an industry that is rarely been profitable. >> i think a lot of people would disagree with barack obama over the idea that we should wait around until the gross enough ealgae.

>> drivers looking for relief might want to consider biking to work. an average price of $4.25 per gallon this summer. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> looking for an excuse to leave the house, went ahead to the baltimore convention center? a craft council show get started later this morning. you can find handcrafted goods and the doors open this morning and it goes until this evening. the show runs again on saturday and sunday. tickets are $16 per person per day or you can buy a three-day pass for $30. children are free. under 12 are free.

you are 13. you'll have to pay. we're celebrating black history this month. >> today it will beef joined by dr. martin. >> 5:37. 46 degrees on tv hill. excessive amounts of video games may be adding to attention problems. >> you can have too much of a good thing when it comes to juice. >> rain is moving into the area. >> rain is moving into the area. you may need an ea

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5:40. we have some light rain and sprinkles around baltimore. it is in the 40's around the suburbs. we will make it up to 70 this afternoon. we may have some light rain showing up on hd doppler. this could affect the traffic a little bit. give yourself a few extra minutes. there could be some thunderstorms rolling through today. 40, 50d make the y gust miles per hour with a high temperature of 70 degrees. we will come back and show you the big change as we head into the weekend. >> new research suggests children with attention problems may more likely to be playing videogames. >> more gaming leads to difficulties in children in

general. not just violent games causing these problems. time spent playing these video games was a greater factor for the problem. many children in low-income families are drinking too much juice. >> kids should be limited to 1 servings of fruit juice a day. almost half of children in low- income households drink two are more servings a day. juice could much decay.ute to two ttooth there is a chance for a few showers. the cold weather will make a return.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. let's see what is going on out there. no major problems on 95 coming out of the northeast. 895 looks good at the harbor tunnel. speeds around 53 through the parkville region. 60 on southbound j.f.x. 58 on the outer loop west side at 70. near 100, 62 miles per hour. this is 295 at 175. starting to pick up in volume. we will see some delays shortly down towards 32. this is traffic in ellicott city and looking good pretty good on 29, problem free north and southbound. 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. have a great weekend. >> thank you.

a good commute on the rails. no delays on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines. light rail and metro subway on schedule. the 51 and 91 buses are operating with delays. the 30 bus is diverting at edmondson and swann. >> thank you. good morning. we're starting out with some light rain today. we pick this up on hd doppler and extends from baltimore back into frederick counties. around annapolis and anne arundel county are not seeing anything just yet. be prepared for some light rain to start the day. we have a thunderstorms and snow on the backside. a good snowfall in chicago. cold air on the backside of this storm. you have warm air traveling up

the east coast. with the mix together is where you get the thunderstorms and the snow. this is a dynamic system. there will be severe weather. we're painted in the wrist area for strong thunderstorms. we'll get the sky to clear and we will have sunshine as the cold air moves and and we could see some strong thunderstorms along that boundary. the wind behind this front still 50 milest t 40 or per hour. it could be closer to 60 in the mountains. it will be bumpy this afternoon as we make the transition from the warmer air to the colder air. will make it close to 70 degrees this afternoon. the bad part is the wind. windy and mild today with rain

showers this morning. maybe scattered thunderstorms this afternoon and the high temperature between 67 and 72. the wind will not be a problem this morning. tonight, clearing and breezy and colder as temperatures drop back into the 30's. the wind will diminish a bit. we will chop off 25, maybe 30 degrees temperature-wise over the weekend. 43 on saturday after being near 70 today. it will be kind of when the so it will feel like it is in the 20's at 40's. there could be some snow flurries on saturday. some accumulating snow in garrett county. 40's early next week. >> the awards season comes to an end with the main event. >> there could be an echo from oscars' very first year.

wonthe silent film "wingsg' the equivalent -- 'wings" won the equivalent of the best picture. >> everybody is falling in love with "the artist." >> the storybook fantasy "hugo." but it is "the artist" that is expected to trump academy voters. >> it is the stories of an up and down and it is the start of romance. >> the star is a favorite for best actor, along with george clooney. >> i the what i am happy. >> viola davis and meryl streep.

>> it sounds where to said that meryl streep winning an oscar is an up said set. >> christopher plummer has never won an oscar. octavia spencer. >> they deserve all the words they have gone, including the oscar they will surely when this weekend. >> it could be a network oscar's present recalls its pass. >> billy crystal will be serving as the host for the ninth time but is first time since 2004. have you seen any of the nominated films/ >> i have not. 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.

>> consumer protection act on the internet is getting a big boost. federal trade convention has drawn up a consumer bill of rights. the offers the ability to opt out of having your online activity tracked. >> time to get to one of your answers to our watercooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- how concerned are you about having your online activities tracked by businesses and other groups? >> 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. this time last month the game between the heat and the new

york knicks was not a big deal. that change with jeremy linsanity. it may of been the marquee matchup of the year. jeremy lin, need lebron james. -- meet lebron james. this is a steal and they dona d. jeremy lin had a tough night. he hait one of 11 shotts. miami is 20 games over .500. the all-star game set for sunday. brian roberts is still battling concussion symptoms and he will hold a press conference following today's practice. an outstanding year behind the plate for matt wieters.

he finished the season strong with 22 home runs. he is the best catcher right now in the american league and one of the leaders in the orioles' clubhouse. in golf, from tucson. tiger woods on a 17. hole.birdie to win the whol he needs this to keep the match alive. he misses it. tiger woods is out. the agent for joe flacco will meet with the ravens tomorrow to begin contract renegotiations for joe flacco. >> still ahead, an innocent bystander becomes a shooting victim during a robbery.

what national agency is now getting involved. >> ava marie swims with the sting rays. >> the vatican wants to look at a bible that might be from the sixth century. how much experts think it is worth. >> it will be windy and mild day today. the seven-day forecast in just a few minutes. >> we have skyteam 11 following conditions on the road. captain roy over 395 and so forth looking pretty good. we will have an update on traffic pulse 11.

>> same-sex marriage is approved in the maryland senate. >> police say a man