>> now on the budget table in the senate is a plan to raise the personal income tax rate. the senate is tearing the gornor's proposed budget apart. a new proposal is emerging and gaining some traction. there is talk of an across-the- board increase in the personal income-tax rate, generating more than $500 million. it would replace other, unpopular budget balancing proposals public outcry over the governor's plan to phase in the state's 6% sales that -- sales tax on the price of gasoline has convinced key legislators to take it off the table. technet is just got the time to do it. >> huge crowds reduced to be ignored. not even a hard, steady rain could wash away the frustration. realtors from across the state protested art -- governor martin

o'malley's proposal to phase out the mortgage interest tax deduction. it would start with households making more than $100,000 a year. >> we are concerned about the effect it will have on consumers. >> it will be devastating for everybody. >> it will be detrimental if this passes, because a lot of the people that want to take advantage of getting a deduction are going to be pushed out garrett kern >> their concerns are being heard. legislators are in the process of working on the governor's budget and say the mortgage interest tax deduction is something that would like to keep. >> if your going to reduce that when people are looking at buying homes, that difference may make the difference in whether they buy a home or not. >> teachers, local jurisdictions, and labor unions are pitching a bit about the possibility of splitting the combined costs of teacher pensions and social security. >> is not workable.

it will cause more harm. >> a compromise is in the works. the pension shipped will be phased in in third, over three years. of course, the spending plan remains fluid. there is not anything absolutely in our out at this time. senate president mike miller continues to warn about a doomsday budget that includes 500 layoffs. he says that is if legislators cannot agree on a mix of tax hikes and cuts. david collins, wbal-tv 11 news. >> opponents of same-sex marriage or working to collect signatures to bring a lot to referendum. lowell melser has a closer look at that effort. >> earlier this afternoon, just before the maryland board of elections get approval to the language for that petition, that if they get enough signatures will ultimately end up getting the same sex marriage bill on the november ballot, delegates

from both sides of the aisle who are against same-sex marriage spoke to reporters, telling them in their opinion, they think when it comes to the issue of marriage, the voters can decide. a delegate from washington county tells reporters wednesday he has a bipartisan arsenal ready to spread the word to get the citizens of maryland to voice their opinion on the recently passed same sex marriage bill. >> i believe that the people of maryland are intelligent enough to elect us to office and have the opportunity to have their voices heard on this very important issue. so i do support the petition drive, as to 85% of my district. >> it is indicative of the support in the state that this go to the citizens and that they have the final say on this petition. >> maryland petitions.com have joined forces with the maryland marriage alliance, which also submitted language to the board of elections and effort to

gather the nearly 56,000 signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot in november. >> all we are trying to do is work together across the state, put this thing on petition, and when this issue for the citizens of maryland. >> " delegates submissions need a little proofreading before being accepted. >> if the signatures are met, the referendum will appear on the november ballot. for those who support same sex marriage, they tell us they are still confident even if it does go to referendum, they will be able to get the votes to pass it, simply because it is presidential election, and more voters will be heading to the polls. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> switching gears right now, a disturbing story. of fathers charged with beating his by-year-old daughter to death. police found mya carr unresponsive in hurst -- enter

father's home monday night. they say she died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries. the little girl had tractors on her face and bruises all over her body. police -- had fractures on her face. the father admitted he beat her after she had a bowel accident. but she had fractures in her face, bruises all up and down her body. it is a horrific thing. no child should have to go through something like this. >> matthew carr is now in custody, facing multiple charges including first-degree murder, assault, and child abuse. >> and 82-year-old man is shot with his own gun during an apparent roddick -- during an apparent robbery and monday. it happened in the 1300 block of sleepy hollow road in severn. during an apparent struggle, the man was shot with his own gun. we are told injuries are not life-threatening.

the person police say shot and eastern shore sheriff's deputy is in custody tonight. police said the man surrendered this afternoon after a standoff in cambridge. a u.s. marshal was attempting to serve a warrant when the sheriff's deputy was shot in the arm. it was considered a non life- threatening injury. >> the man is in critical condition after being hit by a truck in laurell. police say just after 2:00, a truck left the roadway and drove onto the sidewalk, hitting the victim. we are told the suspect, a driving a truck, just took off. the unidentified victim is listed in critical condition. it is life in prison without the possibility of parole for convicted murderer lease stevens. he was found guilty of first- degree murder in the 2006 stabbing attack on corrections mcguinn.david guio

>> a lawyer entered a plea for his client charged with murder and conspiracy in connection to plots to kill the former pakistani president and a bomb at a hotel and indonesia. he has been held at guantanamo bay and other high-value detainees. a plea agreement is the second in 25 years. details are being kept under wraps for now. he graduated from owings mills high schools in 1993. a prince george's county officials got a warning for speeding after being pulled over for reportedly doing more than 100 miles an hour in a 55- mile an hour zone. council member karen toles was pulled over last week. the officer reportedly cited her and find her $90 for improper lane change, but she only received a warning for her speak. wbal radio tried to get a

statement from karen toles. she said she was late for an appointment. >> a proposal would limit the number of days a student can be suspended. the maryland school board is requesting that students be suspended no more than 10 days unless school officials believe that keeping them out longer will ensure the school safety. it is part of maryland's effort to cut down on the number of days a student is suspended for nonviolent offenses. the board is seeking public comment over the next 30 days and will introduce changes to legislation -- to regulation in april. >> the old school in the state is still open for business, but there is a good chance that charles kalapana did charles carroll elementary school could be forced to close its doors. -- charles carroll elementary school. >> if a picture is worth a thousand words, here is one to see. this is the office at charles carroll elementary school. this room was condemned just off

the main office. that has not stopped the leaking. there are concerns for the county. the 300 students and parents. >> mainly what folks want is just the chance for the school to continue as is. we have great kids, rates that. get the roof fixed, get the heating fixed, let us soldier on where we are, and then have continued talks about the possibility of other modernization options. >> it may not be that simple for the 90-year-old school, where photographs of the class of 1926 still hang on the wall street cracks the superintendent will make a recommendation on what should happen to the building. closing it is just one of the options. >> there are more than two dozen other problems at charles carroll elementary, raising the stakes even higher. >> one of the options is to

abandon that school and move those students to other schools in neighboring locations. >> a lot of questions for a beloved school with lots of history, and parents who are trying to take it all in very good to have to be realistic when you are talking about the safety of our children. the closure of a school is a very scary thing, but it is a realistic possibility. sometimes unfortunately that decision has to be made. >> obviously whenever anyone in the committee hears that, immediately evokes a really passionate reaction. it scares people. nobody wants to lose this cool. >> not now, not in the future. >> tim tells us that the carroll county commission may have the final say on the future of that school. deceive a feasibility study of charles carroll elementary, go to our website, wbaltv.com, and

click on education alert. >> essentially ran across the area for a good part of the day, and thunderstorms moving in on hd doppler. we will track the latest round of unsettled weather coming up.

x mitt romney reclaim some momentum, winning primaries in

michigan and arizona yesterday. now the race for the gop nomination use forward to super tuesday. sally kidd has tonight's commitment 2012 update. >> mitt romney 1 michigan by a slim margin, so he will be splitting those delegates with his chief rival, rick santorum. mitt romney moved on to ohio, a crucial super tuesday state. >> do you want someone who spent his life in the private sector, who understands for jobs come from, or do you want someone who spent his career in washington? romney narrowly defeated rick santorum in michigan. >> we are out here today heading to super tuesday with some wins at our back. we are going to walk out of michigan with 15 delegates and

he is going to walk out of michigan with 15 delegates. >> tough competition from new gingrich in the south. he is counting on a win in his home state of georgia to kickstart his comeback. >> is a key building block that we have to have to move forward in the presidential campaign. ron paul came home to texas for his wife's birthday. political analysts say romney has the edge. >> we have -- he has the momentum. he is in a position to deliver a knockout blow. >> washington state caucuses on saturday, followed by super tuesday, when 419 delegates will be up for grabs. >> now, your insta-weather forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> hd doppler is switched over to lightning mode and you will

see the lightning stripes to the south and west of us within the past couple of hours. a number of thunderstorms trying to move in. they are reluctant to push into the state of maryland. the storms approach and then fall apart when they hit that more stable air. it is possible we could hear some thunder, but as long as we remain in the cool, damp weather, we are a little bit protected from the violent weather to the south and west. a record-setting day as far as rain goes, of course there are not that many february 29. still over an inch of rain officially at bwi marshall is a record for february 29. it should be warmer tomorrow. very mild air just to the cell. 55 in fredericksburg, virginia, 54 in charlottesville. as the warmer air to the self tries to push a little farther

north, and it's that chilly air up to new england. it looks like the worst of the weather will stay to our south and west. eastern ohio has a tornado watch. southwestern virginia under a tornado watch, and a couple of counties in the far southwest corner of virginia, a possible tornado warning on the ground out there in four southwestern virginia. in the warm air to the south and west, very unstable. here the threat is more floods. an inch or so of rain and more on the way, so flood watches and warnings are up for those locations. we could hear some thunder tonight. cloudy skies toward morning with some fog. temperatures holding just about steady as we go through the rest of the evening. a warm front is just to the south of us trying to get through here. the cold front will come racing through and sweep everything off the mid-atlantic coast and we will get some clearing in the area tomorrow. by friday evening in the next

form will be rapidly approaching and that could bring in some unsettled weather. the sun breaks to the cloud cover by tomorrow afternoon and friday should start with some sunshine in the area. it will be a little chilly in the morning in the cloud in the afternoon with some rain moving into the picture friday night into saturday. it could be another round of thunderstorms and parts of a midlantic on saturday. tomorrow we are in between systems. one is moving off the coast and the other is just approaching. it will be mild, 57-65. a small craft advisory on the .abay more rain arriving on friday. a round here, that system on friday into saturday could bring a thunderstorm as well, but it is strong cold front. 60 saturday, forties' on sunday. highs in the 30's on monday with the chance for some snow showers monday night. >> from the susquehanna bay sports center, this is 11

sports. >> for the men's basketball team, the end of february arrives with a march mind set. if the terps want to extend their season, they have to close out the regular season with a pair of upsets, starting tonight on the road in carolina. they are facing the tar heels. it is a reach, but that is what you do in sports, you reach and stretch. you have to prove he can go farther than most people expect. >> north carolina are 16-1 at home. they have won by about an average of 18 points. we know what we are getting into. my thing is that we can continue to fight and get better until some committee says we are not playing anymore.

>> a crash at the second lap of the daytona 500. jarret johnson probably thought at the start of the season it could not get any worse. johnson suspended his crew chief for six weeks and fined him $100,000. the penalties resulting as part of the johnson team for an illegal c-post giving an illegal aerodynamic advantage. rick hendrick has appealed the nascar ruling. for now he can remain in the pits until the hearing. orioles about redstart's. they did not have a winning -- orioles know a lot about rough start.

competing for playing time in left field. some flash is a power of the last three seasons. now he has to make the most of his best opportunity if he wants but showalter to write his name into the lineup card every day. >> we take the off season very seriously. you get stronger and faster and gain the strength that he lost during the season. that is my motivation. i don't want to let the opportunity get away. i want to take a band of every opportunity i get. >> the pittsburgh steelers have informed 14-year veteran hines ward they will release him prior to the 2012 season. the crown, tom tasselmyer with the wet 7-day forecast, straight ahead -- stick around.

he attended a baltimore county high school, and today he pleaded guilty to helping al qaeda. why authorities call this terrorist of high value detainee. plus, an 82-year-old man shot with his own gun inside his home by a burglary suspect. the search for answers and what

>> rough weather to the south and west with big thunderstorms moving into virginia. it will clear out here tomorrow, another front comes at us friday night into saturday. then a little chilly air coming in, temperatures in the 40's and 30's. some snow showers may stick around here sunday night into monday morning as that weather system goes through. it is trying to become spring, slowly. it will eventually. >> will see back here tonight at

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