is due out today, why it's got the attention of the white house and g.o.p. presidential hopefuls. >> did last night's blustery winds clear out the rain clouds? the forecast, as 11 news today continues right now. >> good morning. happy friday. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> windy overnight. >> it was windy. it was a shame that it was cloudy and rainy last night, because there was a slight chance we could have seen the northern lights this far south. there might be enough that have stuff left over for tonight when the skies clear, but it's an outside shot to see it this far south tonight. but the skies are eventually going to clear during the day today. we're left over with some clouds this morning. it should be dry around baltimore for the morning commute. but we can still see some rain across the eastern shore counties f. you're watching us on the cable and it's raining at your house, it will be moving out pretty quickly. 47 at the airport, mostly

cloudy. northwest wind at 7. the winds are going to kick up as we head into the afternoon. it will be breezy, and obviously much cooler than yesterday after being in the 70's. we're shooting for a high of 57. we'll check the forecast for the rest of the weekend when i come back. first, let's send it over to sarah, see what's happening on the roads. >> good morning. happy friday. let's update what's going on on the roads. 214 closed at loch haven road in edgewater in anne arundel county due to an accident, a vehicle into a pole. if you travel on the west side, so far not tracking any delays. 55 traveling down 295, looking good coming out of owings mills. the rest of the major roadways still looking at light volume. 59 heading southbound on 95 coming down toward the 895 split, 11 minutes is your drive time on the outer loop, northeast side. same thing outer loop. only going to take you 10 minutes to travel southbound 95 down towards 3 . here's a live view of traffic outside. we'll update you on 895 first. we had an accident at the harbor tunnel toll plaza.

that has since been cleared. everything back to normal, both north and southbound. live at baltimore national pike, where volume is picking up going away from us. but so far, no official delay there. and that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> new this morning -- state police in calvert county, sheriff deputies are investigating. police were called after someone reported that the body of a newborn was found in the trunk of their car. it's not clear right now who left the child there or if there's any connection to the owners of the car. the child's body has been taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. maryland senator barbara mikulski will make history tonight as the recipient of a special award. the senator is the first non-african-american to receive the hair yet tubman lifetime achievement award from the maryland african-american tourism council. senator mikulski played a key role in securing nearly $1 million in federal funds for the establishment of the hair

yet tub -- harriet tubman park. the national historical park in auburn, new york, she also sponsored. in this morning's project economy, we'll get a snap shot of how the economy is doing when the labor department releases its february jobs report with roughly 15 million americans out of work. the state of the economy is shaping up to be a key issue on the campaign trail. 11 news washington bureau reporter tara mergener has more. >> economists think the unemployment rate will stay at 8.3%. the white house insists the labor market is improving, but g.o.p. hopefuls are blasting the president's economic performance. the numbers are daunting. 5.5 million americans out of work for six months or more. nearly four unemployed candidates for every job opening in the country. ar thrill millions of americans

who can't find a job. there are millions more who are having a tough time making the rent or the mortgage, paying for gas or groceries. >> super tuesday exit polls show the economy as the number one issue among republican voters. g.o.p. hopefuls are focusing on it to defeat the president this november. >> once we defeat barack obama, this economy will start turning around. >> this is about getting americans good jobs, with rising incomes. >> we could have such a positive future as a country if we got back on track. >> from november 2011 through january of this year, the unemployment rate dipped from 8.7% to 8.3%. >> confidence is up, and the economy is getting stronger. >> but experts say one reason the numbers are down is because many have stopped searching for work. only those who are actively looking are counted among the unemployed. and later today, the president will head to a virginia manufacturing plant, where

he'll deliver remarks on the economy. in washington, i'm tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> in this morning's session 2012 coverage, the general assembly is one step closer to raising your income tax rate. thursday, the budget and taxation committee approved the plan that, among other things, raises income tax for most marylanders by .15%. those making $500,000 or more a year would see a .25% increase. but also, add a sales tax to online purchases, but not online music sales. the bill also includes a plan to increase the wholesale tax on cigars and other tobacco products that is equivalent to the tax imposed on cigarettes. and here's how the proposed tax increase would affect your paycheck. if, for example, you make $50,000 a year, you'd be paying an extra $6.25 a month. incomes over $150,000 a year would have an $18.75 more taken

out of their paychecks. households pulling down $5 hundred,000 or more would come up $104 lighter every month. a new poll is out on the other big issue of this session. same-sex marriage, a poll of 600 voters by marylanders for marriage equality shows 52 percent of maryland voters would support it if the referendum were held today. 44% said they would vote against it. opponents need to obtain 56,000 signatures on their petition drive to put the gaye marriage law on the ballot for referendum. you can stay on top of what's going on with your tax dollars and the laws that could affect you each and every day of the session with 11 news reporter david collins. see his daily session preview on our website, wbaltv.com. just click on sessions 2012. >> well, another no-confidence vote in anne arundel county for public service union members. this time it was the firefighters union who weighed in on fire chief john ray, national standards in some

areas. earlier this week, the police union cast a vote of no confidence in police chief james teare and executive john leopold. >> this sends a strong signal. you're literally saying we don't have confidence in our leadership. they need to step down. that's a strong message for rank-and-file police officers and firefighters to send to their bosses. >> the fire union says these votes prove the county government is dysfunctional. >> a rationally charged message sprawled all over the grounds at towson university is creating tension on campus. 11 news reporter jennifer franciotti live at towson university with the story. jen, what's going on there? >> hey, you're absolutely right, racial tension here at towson university after the words white pride were written in chalk on area sidewalks. last night, students held a for her toum talk about the issue. it was the student youth group, youth for western civilization, that's taken responsibility for using chalk to write their messages all over campus. speaking on behalf of the group, wearing a shirt with a

confederate flag, matt heimbach defended their actions, while another student talked about how it made him feel. >> after black history month, which we respect everyone's right to celebrate their heritage, what would happen if we celebrated our own pride? and there's the answer. our chalkings were defaced, things were said to us, and we're having a huge meeting. >> i come from ruft roughest neighborhoods in baltimore, and to come all the way to towson and feel like this is the most insecure, unstable environment, because i see things like white power. >> the student, matt heimbach, does say that he has had his safety threatened. we'll have more on that at 6:30. faculty is speaking out. reporting live, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> jen, thank you very much. meanwhile, as the budget battle rages on at baltimore city school headquarters, administrators warn even tougher times are ahead. the city school system is facing a $35 million testify

sit. it's due in part to pensions and labor costs. the school c.e.o. warns the city will have to learn to live with less. >> roughly 80% of a district's budget is in teachers, is in person. it's in our custodians, ground crew. it's ball how we're going to pay people to be competitive and manage our budget where we don't get more dollars every single year. >> the system has cut jobs to bridge gaps in the past, but there's no word right now where additional cuts will come from this time around. >> time is now 6:09, 48 degrees on tv hill. still ahead in the bloomberg business report -- some disturbing news about how people are procrastinating when it comes to saving for retirement. >> also, every once in a while everyone needs to let off steam. well, someone has found a way to cash in on that. >> that looks like fun. >> we'll show you more. >> and talk about a close call. see how one family came to a

genuine tragedy on the highway when 11 news today continues. >> i'm sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. if you're heading out in anne arundel county, an accident in edgewater. we'll update closures there and we'll update closures there and talk about any delays.

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12 minutes after 6:00. we have a little cloud cover in baltimore city, but it's dry right now. 50 degrees town downtown at the maryland science center. we had a cold front go through last night that produced rain showers. it's also going to get rid of the 70 degree temperatures. yesterday, wasn't it gorgeous in the afternoon? front's going off the coast right now, and that's going to take the warm air along with it. eventually this cloud cover is going to break up as well. it can turn out to be pretty nice, but it's going to take a while to get there. rain shower activity across the eastern shore counties. if you're watching us on the cable and it's raining at your house, it will take another hour or so to clear up. around baltimore, it's dry. but the clouds are going to be hanging around for at least the next two or three hours. it's going to take longer to clear the cloud cover. it extends all the way back up toward state college. it will be a while before this whole thing drifts down to the south. but eventually it will become mostly sunny as we go through the afternoon. you can see the colder air coming in behind this front. temperatures drop off rather quickly on the other side of the mountain, into the 30's and eventually the teens. it's 18 right now at

minneapolis-st. paul. that's the direction our air is coming from. you can see that on the local temperatures reflected here as well. it's 50 in annapolis, but down to 40 in he will itsburg. cold air invection, we call it. it's going to roll in today. the temperatures will be in the 50's this afternoon as opposed to the 70's like yesterday. we're going to start out with cloud cover, and it will be mostly sunny this afternoon. i think the breeze is going to hold off as well, so it may feel cooler than the 50's. mostly clear tonight, colder, winds will diminish, temperatures will drop into the upper 20's. sun sets this evening at 6:07. seven-day forecast, sunset is going to change this weekend, davelt savings time kicks in. it's going to be a cool start to the weekend, but it will warm up quickly on sunday. we'll make it close to 60. again, before did you to bed saturday night, set your clocks ahead one hour, daylight-saving time begins. the sun will go down a little bit after 7:00. the time is coming up on 6:15. let's see what's happening on the roads.

here's sarah. >> good morning, everyone. the only problem we're tracking at the moment is in edgewater. we have an accident on central avenue, 214, that is shut down at loch haven road. police are detouring new that area. meantime, still at 55 past 795 on the outer loop, continuing to move well all the way down toward 95 on the south side. both 795 and i-70 look good toward the beltway. a nice start here on 95 at 57 miles per hour traveling southbound down towards the 895 split. j.f.x. in pretty good shape at this hour, as well as the rest of the major roadways. we can give you a live view in a couple of spots. we'll start on 9 at white marsh going away from us. southbound traffic still running smoothly. pulaski highway also without delay at this time. and if you want to head out this morning on the harrisburg expressway, going away from us, southbound traffic running smoothly from the maryland line all the way down to the beltway. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. stan, over to you. >> sarah, thank you. taking a look at some of our top stories this morning,

questions still remain after a shooting at a pittsburgh-area psychiatric hospital that left one person dead, several others wounded. officials say the gunman was armed with two semiautomatic handguns when he opened fire at the western psychiatric institute in&clinic. one person was killed, six others injured, including a police officer and a seventh person was also injured, but not by gunfire. officers eventually shot killed the gunman. the mississippi supreme court has upheld a pardon issued by former governor, haley barbour, including the ones that freed four convicted killers. he pardoned 198 people before he left office on january 10. of those, 10 people were in jail at the time, including the convicted killers who had worked at the governor's mansion. in his ruling, the court found that barbour did nothing wrong in the pardons and maintained that his pardon power is absolute. and take a look at this video in mississippi. a couple, awfully thankful toran alive after an enormous log catapulted through their windshield t. happened after a

log truck collide wad car, spilled its load, sending huge logs bouncing across the highway. joseph has a broken arm, his wife had to get nearly 30 stitches in her head, but otherwise, they're ok. the couple says things could have been much, much worse, as they had just dropped off their children just a few minutes earlier. >> in this morning's consumer alert, a new report finds that the number of teens and young adults who smoke has reached epidemic proportions. the surgeon general's report is the first one from the office since 1994. it not only finds one in four american high school seniors smokes, but nine out of 10 current smokers started smoking before the age of 18. the findings also show that approximately 80% will continue to smoke as adults. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. what do you think needs to be done to bring down the rising number of teen smokers? share your response on wbaltv.com, and on our facebook page, or send an email to

watercooler@wbaltv.com. a dallas business has found a new wato help people relieve stress. it has nothing to do with yoga or massage, but instead, appeals to their basic instinct to destroy things. it's called the anger room. for $25 to $75, you can suit up and vent your frustrations on a wide variety of items, from mannequins to televisions to the printer at work that always seems to jam. owners say customers walk in stressed out, but always seem to leave with a smile on their face. i have to admit, that does kind of look fun. there's a program with gerber baby formula to tell you about, and it looks like women really do control all the shopping in the house. jane king has those stories and more in the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. a new study says what you may have already suspected, women make up 51% of the population, but control 85% of all buying decisions. analysts say they also spend about 10% more time on the web than men and are likely to make up a growing proportion of online purchases.

baltimore-based t. rowe price out with an interesting study on retirement and generation x. only 39% of investors between the ages of 21 and 50 are confident they'll have enough money for retirement. most respond ends say they expect to retire around age 62 and have enough to last 22 years. so up to age 84. however, t. rowe price investors should have enough to last them to age 95. all right, wall street gets the february jobs report ahead of the opening bell, and also greece's sovereign debt deal with creditors continues to be in focus this morning. yesterday stocks did turn high air head of the greek debt restructuring. the s&p climbing for a second straight day. the bloomberg maryland index getting a boost on more gains for under armour. lastly, gerber is voluntarily withdrawing a batch of its good start gentle powder infant formula. this is for batches sold in 23-ounce plastic containers with expiration dates of march 5, 2013. gerber says the product is safe to drink, but it has a noticeable odor that may put off some parents. we'll have more details on that on my twitter, @marketjane.

from the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. >> puts off the parents, but what about the babies? >> the babies, right. they have to drink it. 6:20, 48 degrees on tv hill. aurp the teps keep hope alive. any tougher. but to get any further, the keith mills has more coming up in sports.

>> good morning. sarah caldwell with a look at your friday morning commute. let's see what's going on out there. still one accident, a vehicle into a pole right there in central avenue at loch haven road. that's in edgewater. be careful there. detours are in effect. meantime, 64 miles per hour on northbound 97 heading up towards 100. problem-free all the way up to the beltway. we're at 51 on the beltway on the west side right past 795 in the outer loop. 59 still on the north side at harford. still a smooth ride in most of our area roadways. here's a live view of traffic. 95 coming out of white marsh going away from us, southbound traffic building, but no official delay. still moving well down toward the 895 split. i-70, east and westbound problem-free at the moment. and that's the latest on

traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> good morning, everyone. things are quiet now. we had a front go through last night, and there was rain a couple of hours ago, but it's all moving east. still rain showing up, but around baltimore it's dry. just cloudy, and clouds will break up as we head into the afternoon. 50 downtown, it's 41 in westminster. the forecast four today, we'll start with clouds and get sunshine later this afternoon. it will be breezy and cooler than yesterday with highs in the 50's. when we come back, we'll check the forecast for the rest of the weekend. first let's send it over to the man. here's keith mills. >> thank you, tony. good morning, everybody. the season continues for the maryland basketball team today. the terps play north carolina in the quarterfinals of the a.c.c. tournament in atlanta. terrell and maryland rolled past wake in their first-round game. mark has challenged him all year long to be a complete player, and he was yesterday. great feed to alex.

wake is down 10, cut it to five at the half. travis hits the three. maryland up 31-26. but the terps come out smoking in the second half. nick, part of a 25-5 run, 19 points for the freshman from city college, who's had a real good first year. he was the best player on the court points. another seven assists, and the rout is on. maryland wins 82-60. that earns them a spot in today's quarterfinals against north carolina, the top seed in the tournament. the terps played carolina, tough at home last month, but it will be a tough, tough game later today. tomorrow night at the first mariner arena, the blast opened the misl playoffs. they play the rochester lancers in the eastern division finals. the blast fans have turned out all year, so give them a huge home-field advantage. >> they have a great fan club that support us, you know, every year, and i'm just

grateful to have fans like this. we go to a different city, get about 2,000, 3,000 fans. we have about 7,000, 8,000 a game. that's tremendous. >> game time at 7:30. tomorrow night, game two monday in rochester. the orioles go for the third straight exhibition win today in port charlotte against the rays. they beat the rays yesterday in sarasota. this is darren o'day, the side winder, part of an outstanding effort from the pitching staff yesterday. it's part of a 1-2-3 fourth inning. jason hammel, two scoreless innings. jay miller, again, a big game offensively, shot to left. miller picked up from the a's in january, four r.b.i.'s in seven at-bats. orioles win it. peyton manning wants to decide on his new team within the week. miami, the front-runner. >> we'll see. thanks, keeths. the time is 6:26, 48 degrees on tv hill. here's a look at what's ahead in the next half-hour of 11 news today. >> racial tension on the towson

university campus. i'm jennifer franciotti. details are next. >> and a three-month surveillance effort pays off big for baltimore city police. we'll tell you what they recovered in a raid. >> and we'll take a look at your morning commute. volume picking up. we'll let you know if we're seeing any delays, and we'll talk about an accident with closures in edgewater.

>> good morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. i'm stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thanks so much for joining us. meteorologist tony pann has a look at this friday forecast. >> hey, guys. good morning, everyone. we're starting out with murky conditions. we had rain around last night. the clouds are left behind now, but the skies will clear as we head into the afternoon. no rain expected for the morning commute. that's all east of us. by the time we hit this afternoon, it will be mostly sunny, breezy, and cooler than yesterday. yesterday we were in the 70's. today we'll be in the 50's. we'll check the forecast for the rest of the weekend when i come back in just a few minutes. >> some controversial statements sprawled across the campus of towson university stirring up controversy this morning. >> jennifer franciotti is live in towson with more on what was

written and who's taking responsibility for it. good morning, jen. >> good morning. a student group is taking responsibility for writing the words white proud in chalk around the area, and they say that they had enough backlash that they had to have a forum about the issue. >> i come from one of the roughest neighborhoods in baltimore, and to come all the way to towson and feel like this is the most insecure, unstable environment, because i see things like white power. >> hi, everybody. i'm matt heimbach. you all know me. i feel the hate. >> dressed in a white t-shirt with a confederate flag on the front, matt heimbach spoke on behalf of the student group, youth for western civilization. they've taken responsibility for using chalk to write their messages all over campus, and heimbach defended their actions. >> after black history month, which we respect everyone's right to celebrate their heritage, thought what would happen if we celebrated our own pride? and there's the answer. our chalkings were defaced, things were said to us, and

we're having a huge meeting. >> the forum was organized by students with the goal of talking about the messages and expressing their thoughts and concerns. >> as a baltimore city resident, i felt safe in my community. but as i come to towson, i do not. so, when i see things like white power chalks, i don't know how to feel except tears. >> why is it celebrated when i'm proud to be female, but practically criminal to say i'm proud to be white or straight? >> faculty admits campus is a little tense right now, but they hope this forum will open the dialogue. >> this is part of what college is about, because teaching them what is right and wrong in terms of the law, but also giving them an opportunity to discuss, to debate, to learn from each other, and to come to their own conclusions about what they believe. >> matt heimbach, the student you saw in that piece, say and he other members of his group have been threatened. they feel like their safety is

in question. however, there are no reports of any actual violent outbreaks here on campus. reporting live, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> trouble on the campus of an east baltimore high school has left one student injured. we're told the fight broke out between two students inside a classroom at patterson high school thursday afternoon. school officials say after an investigation, disciplinary action will be taken. a three-month investigation into a gun and drug ring has led to a massive bust by city police. thursday, city police executed warrants at four homes in the city, one in the county, and a storage unit. they ended up seizing 16 guns, a large amount of heroin and cash and bulletproof vests worth more thanned pods,000. they also arrested three people . maryland attorney general doug gansler is asking a federal judge to reverse a ruling that the state's current gun permit law is unconstitutional. the law requires residents to show a good and substantial reason to carry a hand gun. the judge argued that the right to bear arms should not be

limited only to the home. the state also asked the judge to make clear whether he plans to file an injunction barring the state from denying permits based on the current requirements. >> baltimore county police are on the lookout for a convicted sex offender who has slipped off their radar. the last time officials knew where xavier higgins lived, it was in the 11,000 block of red lyon road in white marsh. but he's since moved and has not registered his new address as required by law. higgins was convicted of rape in 2004 in harford county. a description was he has a tattoo with the phrase thugged out on his left arm, and one of a girl his right arm. anyone with information should contact baltimore county police. three members of the calvert county family have died from some kind of a respiratory illness they contracted from a relative. this all began back on february 23 when an 81-year-old woman became sick at home. while her son and two daughters cared for her, they developed similar symptoms. while the elderly woman, her son, and one of other daughters

died, the second daughter remains hospitalized. it's believed they died from a bacterial infection of some sort brought on by some strain of the flu. >> all right, here's an update on your morning commute f. you're traveling any time soon, let's see what's going on. one accident that we're tracking is in edgewater. it involves a vehicle and a pole down right at 214 and loch haven road. all lanes are closed at that area. if you want to head out on 295, 59 degrees just past 195, continuing to move well all the way down to the capital beltway. 54 on the west side past 795. we're looking at a nice start there on the north side at 64. 62 miles an hour on the southbound harrisburg expressway from astone i can't down to the beltway. we're looking at a pretty smooth start there on the faceburg. a live view of traffic, and we'll update 95 coming down from white marsh. southbound traffic looks good no. sign of brake lights there.

everything moving well. i-70 equally smooth here in this shot spsm that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> good morning, everyone. we had a little bit of rain around last night. we don't expect any rain for the drive time. clouds are sticking around. it's 47 at the airport. northwest wind at 7. winds are going to become gusty heading into the afternoon. that's going to drop the temperatures significantly from yesterday. yesterday we were in the 70's. today we expect a high of 57. looks like a nice weekend. saturday and sunday both dry. a little chilly on saturday, back up to 6 owe on sunday. don't forget, davelt savings time begins saturday night -- daylight-saving time begins saturday night, sunday morning. don't forget to set your clocks ahead. >> 6:35, 48 degrees on tv hill. usually this strches a few dollars in the drive-thru window, but you'll never believe how much this mcnugget fetched on the open market. we will you just how much and why, when we come back. >> and we're still taking your answers to our water cooler question of the day. what do you think needs to be done to bring down the rising

number of teen smokers? share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send us an email to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> an ohio university student put a hot tub in his dorm room. kevin thought the inflatable tub would make for a new

ambiance, a real chick magnet, so he bought one complete with jets and a temperature-control system. he had it for a month until residential housing asked him to get rid tv last week. they were concerned about student safety and the smell of the chemicals used to clean it. at least he cleans it. kevin says he plans to fight to keep that hot tub. >> rubber duckie going and everything there. you know, you can usually get a mcdonald -- order mcnuggets for just a couple of bucks. but the words of one very special piece of chicken part is far more expensive. three years ago, rebecca was cleaning up her kid's chicken pieces in a stu is he mcdonald's when she noticed one that boar a striking resemblance to george washington. do you see? >> no. >> none of us do. well, apparently she did, so she saved it, she decided to take it out of our freezer recently and sell it on ebay last week to help raise money to send her kids to church camp. initially the nugget fetched an $8,100 bid.

but that person got cold feet. hmm, wonder why. and now rebecca is hoping one of the other bidders out there will continue with the purchase of that mcnugget. >> well, you know, i fond a nugget under my kid's car seat, it was about two years old, and it looked like thomes jefferson. i'll sell it to you. >> check ebail. i'll give you a buck for it. sell it to tony for two. >> tony will eat it. the time is 6:40, 48 degrees. still ahead -- your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> you really don't need to freeze those. they'll be just fine. your morning commute looking pretty good out there. we'll update any problem spots. >> chicken mcnuggets and twinkies last forever, and cockroaches. yeah, weatherwise, things are fairly quiet. we had rain around last night. we expect it to be a dry day.

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>> welcome back. the time is 6:43. in the headlines this morning -- state police and calvert county sheriff's deputies are investigating a gruesome discovery in the town of prince frederick. police were called after someone reported that the body of a newborn infant was found in the trunk of their car. it's not clear who left the child there or if there's any connection to the owners of the car. the child's body has been taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. the general assembly is one step closer to raising your income tax rate. the senate budget and taxation committee has approved a budget plan that, among other things, raises income tax for most marylanders by .15%. those making $500,000 a more a year would see a .25% increase, but also add a sales tax to online purchases, but not

online music sales. another no-confidence vote from public service union members, this time it was the firefighters union who weighed in on fire chief john ray, saying they have no confidence in his leadership. the union says the chief has neglected staffing and safety issues, failing to meet national standards in some areas. earlier this week, the police union cast a vote of no confidence in their chief, chief james teare, and county executive, john leopold. >> february jobs numbers come out later today, and economists are predicting they'll be stagnant, maybe even fewer jobs created than the month before. tracie potts examines how this is playing on the campaign trail. >> economists predict more than 200,000 new jobs were created last month, not as many as january, but still enough to support a robust recovery. the unemployment rate is expected to stay flat. republicans running against president obama don't call that good news. >> i keep waiting to hear something about a fundamental

improvement of the job situation in this country. he just hasn't been age to do that yet. >> creating jobs is the essential issue on the campaign trail. >> it's combonl to argue on a supply and demand basis that an additionaled 800 million barrels would want have an impact. first of all, it would create jobs here at home. >> today, president obama talks about how the manufacturing, an area rick santorum says he can improve. >> we want to you create jobs here in america. if we're going to do that, then we need to have not just a market for the jobs, for the manufactured good here in america, but we want to be an exporting giant. >> all the candidates are focused on upcoming primaries in alabama and mississippi, the southern vote may determine who can capture the party. mitt romney is leading the latest alabama poll and just got an endorsement from mississippi's governor. asked why, the governor says because romney can win. from washington, i'm tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news.

>> good morning once again, sarah caldwell with a look at your morning commute. let's see what's going on out there. the unaccident we've been tracking all morning is in edgewater, 214, central avenue closed at loch haven road due to a vehicle into a pole there. be extra careful. detours are necessity fect. 295 looks pretty good, 49 miles per hour, traveling down from the airport vicinity toward the capital beltway, moving well on 95 as well, coming down toward 32. both the north and west side checking out ok. we're not seeing much in the way of volume-related delays yet. you can see a little yellow there on the west side right around i-70. let's give you a live view of traffic and see what's going on at security. you can see going away from us is outer loop traffic, and that's where things start to get heaviest. we'll switch over to a live view of traffic in the area of the j.f.x. at ruxton road coming toward us. southbound traffic looking very good from the beltway all the way into town. we're looking at a delay-free start there.

that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's see what's going on as far as the forecast. >> good morning, everyone. you can see the high, thin cloud cover on traffic cameras there. that's the leftovers from the rain showers we had last night. we got a little cold front going off the coast. that's going to change the temperatures dramatically from yesterday. yesterday, we were in the 70's. today we'll be in the 50's. still along the boundary, we're still picking up rain showers across the lower eastern shore f. you're watching us down there, skies will clear up for you guys over the next hour or so as well. the back edge of the cloud deck, the thin clouds, all the way up around state college, so it's going take to have take a while. sunshine will break through, and it will actually turn out to be a pretty nice day. winds will stay with us, gusting out of the northwest 10 or 20 miles an hour. you can see how the temperatures drop off on the other side of the mountains. 32 in chicago. 17 in minneapolis-st. paul. that colder air is sweeping in. 47 at the airport right now. it's 40 in emmettsburg. the forecast for today, mostly sunny skies. by the time we get into the afternoon, we'll start out with clouds this morning.

should be a dry morning commute. the high temperatures, instead of 70's like yesterday, will be in the upper fifts. still still above average for this time of the year. we just had sunrise a few minutes ago. overnight tonight, mostly clear, turning colder. we're going to drop back into the upper 20's. sun sets this evening at 6:07. this weekend, it will be a little after 7:00, daylight-saving time begins. it's going to be a chilly start, but dry. high temperature, only 50 on saturday, but make it back up to 60 on sunday and be in the 60's for most of next week. >> time for a last look at one of our big stories this morning. racially charged writings spread across towson university is creating tension there. 11 news reporter jennifer franciotti joins us live from towson with the story. hi, jen. >> good morning. racial tension here on the campus of towson university, as messages written in chalk were displayed all over campus. the messages read, "white

pride." last night there was a student for her toum talk about the issue. they were able to voice their concerns. the group taking responsibility for this, a student-run group called western civilization. it's youth for western civilization. they've taken responsibility for writing these messages on sidewalks all over campus. speaking on behalf of the group, one of the students named matt i'm buck defending their actions, saying this was really in reaction to black history month, february being black history month, and this was a way for them to go ahead and display what they are calling their white proud. they wanted to see what would happen, and they say the result was a meeting last night involving all of the students. there's no word on what the university is saying about this. there was a faculty member that was interviewed last night by 11 news, and she said that this was an opportunity last night for students to get some things off their chest and to talk about it and to talk about what was legal and what isn't. and they hope that this will spark further conversation. reporting live here in towson, jennifer franciotti.

now back to you. >> i'm curious, have the students involved in writing those messages received any kind of backlash from their actions? >> you know, they have. they said that last night, that their safety has been threatened, that they've been told that they would have violence against them. but at this point, there's been nothing that we've heard of that has happened on campus in relation to these students writing messages. >> jennifer franciotti live in towson, thank you. >> time for a look at what's coming up next on the "today" show. here's ann curry. >> good morning. coming up here on a friday morning on "today" -- what can we expect from this morning's release of a new jobs report? how will wall street react? jim kramer will be along to weigh in. also, a member of whitney houston's inner circle who was in her hotel room as efforts be being made to save the singer speaks out for the first time. and a 3-year-old girl who nearly died after swallowing 37 tiny magnets, and her parents didn't know it until they saw her x-ray.

we're going to talk to them coming up this morning. and the man behind the internet's fastest growing video campaign ever, some 50 million hits and counting for kony 2012. will it accomplish his goals, and what does he say to his critics? he'll join us for a live interview here on friday morning here on "today." >> time to get to some of your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> this morning, we asked, what do you think needs to be done to bring down the rising number of teen smokers? >> one viewer says, as a parent, it's a good idea to educate yourself to find why teens smoke. teen smoking can be a way to fit in, others smoke to feel cool, some use it for weight control. you have to say no to smoking, you have to set a good example. >> steven writes, sets the example as parents. also explain how cigarettes are not only a health risk, but a waste of money. one pack a day times 30 days equals $150. people need to be trained on financial management. >> and rick writes on facebook, educate them. show them photographs of

diseased lungs, have school field trips to see a deceased body cause from the smoking, take them to hospitals where cancer patients are, let them see and then leave it up to them. we're going to post more answers on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. >> time is now 6:52, 48 degrees on tv hill. >> still ahead -- a last look at weather and traffic together before you head out to start your day.

>> yay, it's friday! how does it look on the roads? most roads are fine. this is the only problem,

central avenue in edgewater shut down at loch haven road. watch for detours there. it's going to take a little while to clear. 295 looking pretty good. we're at 61 miles per hour southbound down toward the capital beltway. if you want to head out on the north -- i'm sorry, on the north or west side, you can see we're in great shape. no delays, which is rare for this hour. here's a quick live look at traffic at security, where we start to see a delay, about it doesn't stretch back to 795 yet. from the bay bridge, everything running smoothly to and from the eastern shore. >> still a nice day on tap. >> not bad. it's going to be in the 50's today, but not the seventy like yesterday. still above average, though. we'll hit 57 this afternoon. we'll start with clouds this morning, then turn mostly sunny and be breezy. nice weekend. a little chilly on saturday, but back up to 60 on sunday. >> 60's next week. >> we're going to be above average all next week. we're going to keep the trend going as we head probably for the next 10 days. >> very nice. daylight-saving time on saturday night. >> saturday night, sunday morning, yep.

>> thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> we're back with a live update at 7:25. >> have a good one. >> when wbal tv was granted a license to broad cast local

news more than 60 degrees, they made a commitment to viewers to be there in the time of need, time of tragedy, and emergency, a time of great celebration and triumph. but in this deck ace, there's also a need for wbal-tv to be there with news and information when you want it. that's why you've seen our station create one of the most robust news web sites in baltimore, become a real source of mobile information for families on the go. and now, we are adding newscasts when you're available. this week, we launched our 10:00 p.m. news on wbal plus, our digital channel that can be found on comcast, vios, and on 11-2. it's a half-hour, all of the day's most important headlines, weather, and updates. to start your day, we offer a 7:00 a.m. news on our plus channel, an opportunity for you to have more weather and traffic before you head out the door. in no way will these newscasts replace our current lineup on channel 11. instead, we offer you alternatives at convenient times. the information you need, when you want it, and from people you know. if you have questions about our

newscast at 10:00, log on to wbaltv.com and click on hot wbaltv.com and click on hot topics.

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