was a close call as to who would take the arizona and michigan gop primaries. tonight, mitt romney has won arizona and has managed to eke out a win in michigan. i am rod daniels. >> michigan was important. it is mitt romney's home state. to win in arizona means he pockets all 29 delegates there. the latest from detroit. >> mitt romney had to win michigan are faced the collapse of his campaign, and he did win. after losing the lead and then gain it back. >> we did not win by a lot, but we won by enough. that is all that counts. i will deliver on more jobs, less debt, and smaller government. >> he went two for two. rodney gets all of arizonas delegates. the primary was winner take all. not michigan's primary today. santorum wins delegates in michigan. he claimed tonight he won more.

>> a month ago, they did not know who we were. they know now. >> santorum bows to fight on into super tuesday. that is when ron paul hopes to grab delegates. that is when newt gingrich makes his stand, next tuesday in georgia. georgia is think rich's home state. that is why mitt romney, going and raised in michigan, had to win tonight. wbal-tv 11 news. >> our coverage continues on line. you can keep track of the polls and finding it late-breaking details on politics. wbaltv.com. >> lawmakers in washington demanded answers about the progress of the war in afghanistan and the recent violence that followed the burnings of copies of the koran. senator barbara mikulski made comments about the death of a major from baltimore. the national guardsmen and father of four is one of two

american military officers killed over the weekend. >> my question is what do i tell his family? what do i tell his family today? was it worth it? because they are angry. >> i could never justify the death of any one person. but i can with a clear conscience say the work we have done their has made america a safer, and has created the possibility for a better future for the afghan people. >> the obama administration insists afghanistan will be ready to stand on its own, and u.s. troops will be out by the end of 2014. >> and 18-year-old girl who was one of those shot in the chardon high school rampage yesterday has been released from the hospital. three others died in hospital. a student admits to firing the shots at students in the cafeteria. the latest from chardon. >> thousands gathered for a

memorial at st. mary's church, mourners spilling out of the century and into the parking lot, just a few blocks from the high school, the day after the deadly attack, seemingly miles from what is normal here. >> i saw the families. it is a horrible thing to have happen. >> as this grieving community struggles to work through its pain, newly released 911 calls provide a glimpse into the chaos inside the school cafeteria the morning shots rang out. >> we have shots fired at the high school. multiple gunshots. >> when the shooting stopped, five students had been hit. two were fatally wounded. two others seriously injured. victims targeted randomly by the alleged gunman. >> he went into the school cafeteria and fired 10 rounds into students sitting in the cafeteria. he stated he did not know the

students. mourners to not know why it had to happen here. >> we are not any old place. this is every place. as you have seen in the past, this can happen anywhere. >> but it did happen here, and it is going to take a long time to heal. >> wbal-tv 11 news. >> new tonight, the death of a 5-year-old girl is ruled a homicide. few details are being released right now, but baltimore city police say they have a person of interest in custody. late monday night, police received a call from the 400 block of callaway avenue in northwest baltimore. the young girl was taken to a hospital, but later died. police said an autopsy has been performed. a baltimore man will spend 25 years in prison for beating his toddler to death in 2010. tyrone hamburg pleaded guilty in october to child abuse resulting in death in the killing of two- year-old melanie.

he told investigators he found the child unresponsive on the bathroom floor. a hospital security guard is being held without bail, accused of sexually assaulting a female patient at john hopkins bayview medical center. 47-year-old kevin porter was arrested and charged with attempted rape, assaults, and false imprisonment. the patient was a victim of a hospital clinic. porter allegedly attacked her in the stairwell. he will appear before a judge march 20. a family of four displaced after a fire ripped through their home. it was shortly after 1:00 this afternoon in the 500 block of middle street in chesapeake city. it took 50 firefighters. no injuries were reported. the red cross has stepped in to help the family. >> right to own storms -- stores often lure customers with the incentive of paying a little over an extended time. predatory interest rates and complex contracts often leave

customers spending a lot more time and money than the items are worth. our reporter kicks off our coverage. he is live in south baltimore with a proposed bill the would help protect rent-to-own customers. >> the city of baltimore has the highest number of rent-to-own stores in the state. consumer advocates want to make sure folks have the knowledge to protect themselves from unfair practices of these businesses. >> i was shocked at how much they take advantage of the consumer, and particularly people who seem the least able to pay. >> elizabeth rice and her family needed a room washing machine for a few weeks. she decided to check out a local rent-to-own stores. during the application process, she noticed red flags. >> there was an extensive contract that had a lot of extra fees, a lot of legalese, a lot of things that were not written

in favor of the consumer. >> rice said there was a clause in the contract that would have required her to sign away her legal rights, and she would have ended up spending a lot more money on the washer. >> in the first three months, you can pay a cash price for the washer, which ends up to be about 1.5 times the cost of retail. >> according to the maryland consumer rights coalition, is unfair practices are happening in 79% of state jurisdictions, with prince george's and baltimore county having the highest number of rent-to-own stores in the state. rice and many others have contacted the consumer rights coalition. the coalition teamed with delegate mary washington to introduce a state bill that will protect winters -- renters. >> they can provide a service for consumers. we want to make sure consumers know what they are getting into and it is not the kind of lending we would not allow in

the state. >> there will be price caps on what stores can charge, and there will be a requirement that stores be transparent with prices in their contracts. consumers would be able to cancel contracts or have more time to reinstate them. >> i am grateful to the consumer rights advocates for this bill and i hope they will pass it. >> this was debated in the house. a vote could come later this week or sometime next week. when our live tonight in southwest baltimore. wbal-tv 11 news. >> the maryland motor vehicle administration says a new license plate which would bar u.s. military veterans is too much of a hassle. the bill requires them to design and distribute a tag which says "maryland supports veterans." the money would benefit the maryland veterans trust fund. but in a letter to the house committee, officials called the plate and administrative and operational burden. they point out there is not enough storage space for the plates. >> the mva says there is no room

to store these plates. to that i say "empty closet and clean off the shelf. make room. >> the new plates would cost $20 more than the chesapeake bay and agriculture license plates that are currently available. we have had a lot of comments on facebook. the majority are in favor of the tags, like this one from robert. "did someone really say there is no room? are you kidding me?" and tracy said, "should have done it sooner, but do it." another point of view, "want to buy a license plate? go ahead and give your heart- earn money to the government." >> the city delegation at its peak had 44 members, which amounts to a lot of political muscle. but that number will soon be down to 15 with baltimore pick dwindling population. what this means in terms of bringing home the bacon to baltimore. >> the baltimore city delegation

will have to work harder, smarter, and be more creative when it comes to horsetrading in annapolis. the shrinking population means less political muscle in annapolis. baltimore is currently represented by 17 delegates in the house. that number drops to 15 by 2014. >> 82. when i first came here, there were 27 of us. prior to that, there had been 40 of us. going down to 15 certainly is a concern. >> the new legislative boundaries became law friday. districts are drawn based on population. in the past 10 years, the 44th lost 25,000 residents. the city loses two seats and will have to share a senator with baltimore county. >> which are pitted against each other in the 44th. >> that means delegate mitchell and delegate south will have to compete for one seat. delegate haynes will move to the 40th district.

this comes at a time when the city needs all the influence it can muster. mayor stephanie rollins blake said she will play the cards she is dealt with. >> i did not want it to happen. we worked to retain as many seats as possible. it could be worse. we will work with what we can and do the best we can. >> the legislative wish list is several pages long. the city delegation always introduces crime-fighting initiatives unit to baltimore. this year's list also includes liquor licence changes to benefit the planned casino, reauthorize and 40% of the hotel tax to appropriate for tourism, preserving funding for the enterprise zone tax program, and changes to the law to leverage more school construction funds. >> the delegation has to be a lot more creative in terms of our legislation and our boats, saying here is what we need for baltimore city, and a lot of give and take as relates to the political process.

>> the silver lining? the city keeps six senators, and the house delegation retained the chairmanship of two powerful committees. >> tonight, the state board of education is showing interest in changing state regulations on student discipline practices. it released a report reviewing the changes that are needed, including being more timely and open, providing educational services, in the definitions of expulsions and suspensions. in addition, board members what suggestions from the public. those will be accepted through march 30. you can find more information on your part and a link to where you can submit your input. log-on to wbaltv.com. gas prices are on the rise, and they may get worse if the proposed gas tax is approved in annapolis. >> one maryland gas station is pushing back, collecting more than 1000 petition signatures from maryland drivers. that story.

>> the gas tax legislation aims to generate $600 million for the state, but for customers here at this hess gas station, they hope their petition signatures will help fight it. >> i am trying to give our customers a voice. >> the owner is doing more than just selling gas. he is taking petition signatures from customers against the proposed tax hike. >> a lot of people do not buy anything. they see the sign and stopped to sign the petition. >> he has gotten "hundred signatures at oak ridge so far, and another thousand elsewhere. the proposed 6% increase over a three-year time will hurt his business and his customers, he says. >> they portray this as a jobs bill. this is going to increase jobs in the state. but really the people that are going to need jobs are the people driving their cars, because they are going to pay these extra fees and taxes. >> governor martin o'malley and

gas tax supporters say the bill will lead to 7500 new jobs and road and public transit improvements. >> there is only so much money here. last time i had to take my wife to dinner -- >> i think it is horrible. it is already a hard commute to and from work. with gas prices going it up, it is making it harder. >> other gas station owners are collecting signatures. they say they have collected at least 20,000 signatures in the past three weeks. plan to deliver the signatures to lawmakers in annapolis. >> this gives them an opportunity to express how they feel. we are taking their signatures and addresses to the legislature. there will be boxes of these. >> the date for the first legislative hearing in annapolis has not been scheduled. the gas station owner collecting the signatures are part of the washington maryland dealers association.

>> the question we put to baltimore housing officials to provide dozens of employees a valuable park, take-hong cars, at the taxpayers' expense. jane miller with who is driving what and why. >> la plata is more than 60 miles down route 301 in southern maryland. but each day, mr. phillips makes a trip in an suv provided by the taxpayer. he is the inspector general for the baltimore housing authority. her job is to investigate fraud and waste. >> you have a take-home vehicle because we are on call 24 hours as the inspector general. >> phillips lives so far from the job she pays for her own gas. >> who pays for the maintenance, repair, where and care? philips is one of 37 housing employees in baltimore who get to take home vehicles. most are suvs or trucks. the housing commissioner gets a

ford explorer. a deputy commissioner has this jeep and a prime parking space at the front door of housing headquarters. the head of construction gets a jeep cherokee the head of the authority gets a dodge durango. he drove it to our interview and argued it is essential for taxpayers to pay for employees to have the vehicles and commute back and forth. >> it is responsible for us to have vehicles available for key employees who have a responsibility of dealing with any properties in the city. >> do you get called out in the middle of the night? how often? >> not so often thus far. >> 16 of the vehicles are used by employees who live in the city. most are driven back and forth to suburban locations, including five to hartford county and one to westminster. and the inspector general lives all the way down in charles county. everyone else gets their gasoline paid for by the taxpayer. at $3.65 a gallon, we estimate a

weekly cost of $854 just to cover the cost of fuel for commuting. housing experts say that is enough to pay for housing vouchers for for low-income families of every month. >> is there any policy that suggests to an employee who has this benefit "if you are going to live x amount of miles away and you have a long commute, you may have to pay for that"? >> we do not have a policy i am aware of. >> executive director anthony scott said there is no accounting for need. how many times an employee uses a take-from vehicle to respond to an emergency. the inspector general had a hard time remembering the last time she was called in. when was the last time? >> what is this, february? gosh. it could have been december last year. december.

>> budgets are tight. has there been any recognition that maybe we should do without? >> if we do without, how do we serve our clientele? >> the housing authority in los angeles is doing without. it has far fewer taken vehicles than baltimore, 18. last month, in the middle of a spending scandal, it took back 16 of them and reassigned them to the motor pool to be used for agency business. the los angeles authority serves 100,000 people, almost twice as many as baltimore. wbal-tv 11 news. >> today, the hollow ludicrous was being some on wall street, with another sign -- the halleluia chorus was being sung on wall street as the dow closed above 13,000. the average appeared last tuesday, but fell back at the close, but not today.

-- your insta- weather plus forecast. "temperatures went down a little bit. yesterday, mid to upper 60's. we took 10 degrees off the highs today, but still ended up way above the high of 48 for the 28th day of february. tomorrow will be leap day. normally, on the last day of the month, are high is just over 51. that will probably change as we had to the next 24 hours and temperatures off of will bit. we see now temperatures mostly in the 40's. of across the area, it is likely are temperatures will stay comfortable tonight, compared to last night, especially in baltimore. in the east, where clubs are still thin and, we are seeing cooling temperatures as expected. 32 degrees at seoul's parade

this hour. it is likely those spots will be the coolest hours -- will be the coldest overnight. the rain will stay in the mountains tonight. the morning rush hour will be mostly dry. we may catch a little bit of a shower toward the end. most of the rain will be well to the west of baltimore. not much sunshine. covey in chile. east wind at 5. the storm system coming our way is impressive. it keeps swirling in northern nebraska. the v shape and bright white clouds. we have blizzard warnings on the north side and tornado watches. do you see the red doppler for the tornado warning in the north east corner of kansas? winter on the north side. spring on the south side. all of it gradually making its way east. for our region, that means rain, moderate to heavy as we get to

the evening. it will push of the customer on night and clear by thursday. as the system moves in, it will be wet and cool, 40's in baltimore most of the day, 50's to the site and east. when will be out of the southeast's most of the day, weighs about a foot. 53, raining lightly in the mountains tomorrow. breezy on thursday in western maryland. eastern shore locations, rain by midmorning continuing into the evening, moderate to heavy until it clears up at thursday. there could be thunder by late in the day. been close to 70 with sunshine and a brisk west wind on thursday. the forecast to the next seven days features a little spring, a little winter. 40's tomorrow. 60's with gusty winds on thursday. the next storm approaches friday. friday may lead to a saturday with more rain. that could be followed by coal barge air and a chance for some showers sunday and monday. >> coming up in sports, the

n.f.l. plans to do something at the start of next season the we have not seen since before this country have 50 states. come back and bring a long memory.

first story second story [512]wbal1090 live "solidly good people of the nfl

season arrives, it will start with a game in the middle of the week. this year, the lead will move from thursday to wednesday night kickoff and, september 5, 3 new york giants and a yet to be an opponent fat and that life stadium. the selection is to avoid a conflict with president obama's speech at the democratic national convention and on september 6. the game will take place -- the last time the nfl play wednesday game was 1948. the terps traveled to trouble hell to face north carolina. maryland still has not pulled off -- they hope to get maryland a large bid in the n.c.a.a. tournament. he wants his players to learn how to finish, one thing they still cannot control. >> my thing is how much better can i make these young kids

before the season and sex that is all i am trying to do, and make them -- before the season and setbacks that is all i am trying to do, make them more competitive, make them be a better team. that is all i am focused on. >> the men's basketball team is the only division 1 men's team in the state with a 21-win season. loyola will play in the conference this weekend in springfield, massachusetts. you have to win the conference tournament for a trip to the barracks. the greyhounds coach won a national title in maryland a decade ago. he has brought success and an amazing atmosphere to loyola. he wants players and students to experience the thrill of showing up on every office pool in the country. >> it is good for the school. the school is such a great school. i want the extra recognition of

what a great university we are around the country. >> you win or go home. that is the model for every tournament. it is something our coach preaches. survive and valence. being a senior, this is my last chance. now or never. >> 123 is the capital's reverses the islanders. caps did not score until 3.5 minutes in regulation. brower with a point-blind backhand closing the gap. 26 seconds left in regulation. brower again extend the game to overtime. one minute 35, a shot. three goals in more than five minutes. the win puts the caps back into eighth place. that is the final playoff spot in the eastern conference. the orioles have more questions

about their pitching staff and greece has about its economy. there is another conspicuous absence -- the lack of power hitting over the past three seasons. nick markakis has become a hit for average rather than hit for power guy. on a team without an obvious leadoff hitter, driving in more runs becomes everyone's job. >> i expect myself to be a leader. i might not verbally be as loud as other guys on the team, but you can lead by example and through other ways, just go about your business, work hard, and play the game the right way. hopefully people look at you that way. >> you have heard of ubaldo's four seasons. next,

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fly nonstop from bwi airport to panama city beach. book all of our destinations only at southwest.com. >> there is your seventh day forecast. maybe some snow showers over the weekend. >> four seasons right there. >> see you tomorrow.

>> announcer: it's "the tonight featuring rickey minor