moving smoothly. for the fort -- for the full story of what transpired, we will send it down to the ground. >> traffic is moving freely again on the beltway. the roads open up about 2:30 this afternoon, it just about a rush hour. the cause of the fire is still in -- under investigation. call it the beltway blues. the cause -- hay. >> agricultural products are towed up and down our highways every day. >> and man driving a pickup truck hauling a trailer with over 160 bales of straw late

thursday morning. all of a sudden, he noticed motorist trying to get his attention. >> i am waving at him. i noticed that the straw was on fire. he was able to pull his truck away. they tried to put that out with a fire extinguisher. the fire department responded. >> baltimore county fire crews sent 11 engines, tankers, and other equipment to the scene to battle the blaze. motorists stopped for 3.5 hours in traffic. >> once firefighters are able to put out the flames, the highway administration arrived to clean up. no injuries were reported. the cause of the unusual plays -- blaze.

>> we hope that it was not just a cigarette been thrown out. we have no evidence of that right now. >> the state highway will return to the beltway after 8:00 this evening to finish the cleanup. >> we have been monitoring this collision in baltimore county. it happened about 4: 40 this afternoon. the vehicle crashed into a home and a 60-year-old man is reportedly injured. we cannot confirm whether the man was driving the vehicle or inside the home. the extent of the damage is still unclear. >> cloture today on an abuse case that shocked many in baltimore county. the judge threw the book at a man convicted of sexually abusing a disabled man in his care and videotaping it. we are live at the courthouse. >> police and prosecutors, but

the success of this case to a tremendous detective work. the abuse discovery came in the course of a child pornography investigation. 40 years in prison for 57-year- old toni chestnut. he was sentenced in baltimore county circuit court for sexually abusing a developmental disabled man. >> today, attorney chesnutt was sentenced to 40 years in jail for two counts of a sex offense. >> the judge repeatedly called the case absolutely outrageous. >> that is the best description of this case. it was a caregiver taking advantage of a physically and mentally challenged individuals. >> prosecutors explained how and white checks not targeted this of the dump.

he was an employee -- prosecutors explain how and why it chestnut targeted at this victim. the victim suffers from severe mental retardation and optimism. prosecutors say he picked the victim because he was on able to talk and he is the most vulnerable resident. >> it was more than a sex act. it showed that the victim did not understand what he was doing or how to do it. defendant had to physically make him do it. that is what stuck in my mind. >> chestnut family left without any comment. they pleaded with the judge for a second chance. he took the stand at the sentencing hearing today and said he was sorry. hear what else he had to say, new at 6:00. >> u.s. army private bradley

manning will be back tomorrow following an afternoon of hearings on the wikileaks scandal. he arrived at the military court room this afternoon already charged with aiding the enemy. today, prosecutors identified the enemy as al qaeda. defense lawyers say it manning was a troubled soldier who should have that back -- and should not have had access to classified material to begin with. >> baltimore police say they are enforcing some strict changes in their program following the shooting death of an officer. the changes follow an independent review. the officer was killed, along with a civilian but the biggest change for the public, at any time you are dealing with and on duty officer, they will be wearing clearly marked a tire. >> at no time as a member of this agency, to or in a plane

close idec -- capacity, take enforcement action. >> in another change, you may be seeing more of the city police. they are working on increasing communication with the public. the report showed a break in communication with police dispatch at the crime scene last year. >> higher gas prices have become a big talking point in the 2012 presidential campaign. president obama is defending himself. he says he has been pushing for alternative energy. he insists there is more oil drilling going on presently done when president bush was in office. -- -- >> skyrocketing gas prices are pulling down president obama's poll numbers. >> we are drilling. under my administration, america is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years. [applause]

>> he is accusing his republican rivals of placing -- playing pump politics. " they start asked -- acting like they have a magic wand. >> newt gingrich is promising to $50 since gas if he is elected. >> you will create more american jobs. >> he claims drilling on federal land could mean it trillions of dollars for the u.s. government. will prices are being driven upward by speculation. a showdown with iran would choke off supplies. saudi arabia has already promised to step up production. the white house shooting reports the united states and united kingdom have already decided to tap their emergency oil reserves. >> the reports of any kind of agreement or timetable associated with an agreement related to a course of action is just wrong.

>> there is no denying that gas prices are looming large on the campaign trail. one analyst predicts that within the next month, the national average will go above the all- time high set last july. >> a wide range of weather across the small state of maryland. chilly along the coast, warm and the west. a frontal boundary came down from new england. a little warmer to our south and west. 70's and 80's just to the west of baltimore. the frontal boundary, the division triggering some scattered showers and a few thunderstorms. there are drifting slowly to the east. those activities will continue to drift slowly. we stand the chance of a shopper

or thunderstorm in the next few hours. i think you'll like the insta- weather-plus forecast. >> we are hours away from the march madness debut. the bands are ready to go. >> some of them are on their way. ncaa tournament gave loyola university 150 tickets. those lucky students are on their way to pittsburgh. there will be able to see the game tonight. >> on campus today, many loyola university students were enjoying the great weather and getting ready for tonight's big game. >> one of the biggest events in

a long time. it is going to be hard tonight, but no matter what, we have faith in the team. >> maybe we can pull off an upset. >> the greyhound said that a great season, they are still a huge underdogs in tonight's match up with a high estate. anything is -- ohio state. >> but anything is possible. >> it is one of the great events. >> loyal fans think that way, too. >> they are the underdogs, but they are doing really good this season. >> if they played defense, they might have a chance. >> shortly after 3:00, three buses showed up that will carry

150 students to pittsburgh for tonight's game. even this tall fellow is going. >> this is steve. >> biggest loyola fan. >> since 1994. this is a good experience for us. >> once in a lifetime for us. >> for the students you are going to the game, they will be able to see the game in pittsburgh, they will be able to watch it on campus on big screen tvs. >> pete gilbert has courtside seats. you can take a look at his pictures from pittsburgh on our website. >> we have all heard of mystery meat. how about pink slime?

>> the usda is cracking down on hamburgers in schools. >> michael phelps is homeless. ok, not really. his condo is up for sale. >> graphic new campaign for smokers to kick the habit. does it go too far?

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>> this is to be home for michael phelps. now it could be yours. it has three bedrooms, up 3.5 bathrooms, and quite the view. more than 4000 square feet. the exact asking price is not confirmed, but records show he bought it for $1.6 million back in 2007. the archdiocese of baltimore confirms it is closing and other catholic school. st. ambrose catholic school will not reopen when the new school year began its. they're pointing to a financial difficulty and the work enrollment. back in 2007, there were 225

students. right now, there are only about 120. families are being encouraged to consider a new catholic school. >> just last week, the u.s. surgeon general called tobacco use among teenagers an epidemic. now the federal government is launching a $54 million anti- tobacco media campaign. the harmful effects of smoking. those advertisements are designed to get attention. we hear they're pretty graphic. >> they are. this is the first national ad campaign from real smokers. some of these images are quite graphic. >> i am mary. >> her voice featured in a

dramatic new ad about the dangers of smoking. >> i will be this way forever. >> she showed us the hole in her throat from a tracheotomy. after being diagnosed with head and neck cancer. >> i was up to three packs a day. i found out i had a tumor. >> it is not stopping the north carolina resident from speaking out. >> a hard-hitting ads like these work. but the center for disease control launched a $54 million ad blitz. some question if it goes too far. >> we are not interested in scaring people. we do think that it is important that people had useful information about the

consequences of smoking. >> consequences that she continues to overcome. >> its is the single most preventable -- if i can quit, they can quit. >> even some tobacco companies stick quitting is the best thing to do. federal officials hope this new effort can convince abbey's to 50,000 people to stop smoking. -- at least 50,000 people to stop smoking. >> very powerful images. school districts across the country will soon be able to choose what type of ground beef they serve in their lunchrooms the usda made the announcement today as controversy grows over an ammonia treated beef filler. schools will be able to choose between hamburgers made with its work without it. >> kids are growing.

we do not know what can happen with long-term effects. >> the usda it buys about one- fifth of the food served in school cafeteria. getting kids out of the classroom may be a good idea. kids pay better attention on test right after exercise. the study is in the march issue of medicine and science and sports exercise but physical activity helps kids do better by increasing the blood flow to their brain. it releases good hormones. your insta-weather-plus forecast. >> we see a few lightning strikes. especially down to our south. there were a few lightning

strikes to the west of us, but they have sensed diminished. all this activity developing on a boundary. you notice the lack of rain around baltimore and the eastern shore. temperatures are more stable along the coastal areas. 60's on the eastern shore. 70's and parts of central and northern virginia. temperatures have warmed quite a bit through the afternoon. that boundary triggering the shabazz and storms. we will take another look at temperatures -- showers and storms. 52 in ocean city. 78 degrees in hagerstown. frederick, for a while, was up around 86 degrees. there is that cool air sliding and from the north and east, pushing back into the warm air. that triggers the storms.

it looks like those storms will be drifting east, but weakening as they get into this more stable air. we've all got a chance for a shower. you might kill a little bit of stunt -- a thunder. -- he might hear a little bit of thunder. 48-58 overnight tonight. 69 degrees right now at the airport. it is part of that storm that dumped some snow in northern maine. we were talking about that yesterday. we got into that cool air on the eastern shore and coastal areas. it is much warmer to our west. 79 in chicago right now. all of this -- this will be sliding toward us tomorrow. we will continue the chance for a couple of pop up showers. another unseasonably mild day. that is moving east into the

mid-atlantic tomorrow. temperatures will continue to run well above normal. this would get some of the warmer air. more clouds and sunshine and the possibility of a shower or thunderstorm tomorrow. in western maryland, thunderstorm chances running 40%. on the eastern shore, the chances are a little bit more minimal. a mix of clouds and sunshine on saturday on the shore. on the coast, a significant sea breeze. the beaches are a whole lot chillier. we will see if they can get to 65 tomorrow and about 60 on saturday. it looks like a cloudy finish to the weekend down at ocean city. here is your seven-day. we are still running well above

normal the next seven days. 73 tomorrow, scattered storms. sympatric stick, partly cloudy, 72. -- st. patrick's day, partly cloudy, 72. >> do not feed the homeless outside. >> why the mayor says beating them will benefit the hungry. -- speeding -- feeding them will benefit the hungry.

>> philadelphia's mayor is banning feeding large groups of homeless or hungry people in certain parks throughout the city. >> philadelphia mayor says the move will encourage homeless outreach groups to distribute food indoors. the outdoor feedings do not help

the homeless with sanitary conditions. >> this is an issue about food safety. and public safety. and public health. >> the new rule would not apply to family gatherings. violators would receive up to two warnings and and $150 fine. >> that is matched with some controversy. a lot of you are already making comments on facebook. some people like the idea. he writes -- others disagree -- >> the weather channel is granting states on how they fare when it comes to tornadoes. >> merrill lynch is right there in the top 10. -- maryland is right up there in the top 10. >

as more women are opting to have babies that, rather than hospitals. details, straight ahead.

>> live, local, latebreaking. your insta-weather-plus forecast. 11 news at 5 continues now.

>> protesters are part of a group demanding change in annapolis. their goal, more midwives in maryland. current state law requires a midwife to be a registered nurse. >> a bill under consideration in annapolis with recognized certified professional midwives to legally practice in the state. we are following these developments. were quite a sight. moms are opting to have babies at home rather than the hospital. dozens from people in the august community -- amish community joined others to rally. >> the big deal is that we have a right to birth at home. to make it safer, it would be great to licensed professional midwives.

we are using them anyway. i birthed my last two children at home. >> maryland law requires a midwife to be a licensed registered nurse. the measure establishes the safe board of midwives within the health department. >> the training process, testing process is a national standard. the organization is accredited by the same organization. >> the bill had bipartisan support. the state health department favors the measure, but believes there should be a study done. >> motivations around in the choice between a hospital and a hong. the panel will conduct a review of current legislation in the

other states. the worker board review available evidence regarding the safety and outcome of births attended by certified professional midwives. " we probably turn away as many women as we serve. >> there is nothing illegal about having the baby at town. this is about safety. -- a baby at home. this is about safety. >> interesting debate. here is a look at some of our other top stories. the senate has passed a balanced state budget and sent it over to the house this morning. the spending plan includes income tax increases. it also extends the sales tax to internet purchases. the plant closes loopholes that governments have used to pay education. traffic is moving again after a

mount up straw caught fire while traveling on the beltway. the delays extended about 10 miles. it took nearly two hours for baltimore county fire crews to clean up the mess. no injuries were reported. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. u.s. army private problem manning will be back tomorrow following an afternoon hearing on the wikileaks scandal. he arrived this afternoon in the military court room charged with aiding the enemy prosecutors publicly identified the enemy as al qaeda. manning is expected to learn the date of this trial tomorrow at the hearings continued. >> the taliban say they will break all talks, accusing the u.s. of being erratic.

afghan president karzei is demanding nato troops immediately pulled out of rural areas. we have the very latest. >> the u.s. exit from afghanistan just got more complicated. after a meeting between leon panetta and present karzei karzei's office issued a statement calling on all u.s. and nato troops to withdraw from afghan villages and pull back major u.s. and nato bases in this country. that was never part of the plan. never part of discussions, according to a senior u.s. official. that official told me this could be a karzei moment, or an attempt to address a domestic constituency, try to placate the people in this country. many are angry after a series of

incidents. what u.s. officials are saying will happen is a gradual transiti to take place over the next two years with u.s. troops continuing control until they leave in 2014. >> the tsa is relaxing its rules when it comes to a certain group of people. >> we will tell you which procedures senior citizens will be exempt from, and why. >> who is to blame for high gas prices? there is a lot of finger- pointing.

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>> the tennessee titans are putting their financial future on the the line into when the patent manning sweepstakes. they offered a contract for life to join the team. peyton manning has a meeting with the head coach.

the future hall of famer has visited the denver broncos, the arizona cardinals, and the miami dolphins. the indianapolis colts released their quarterback last week after he sat out all left -- last season. >> the tsa is about to change the way they handle security screenings. anyone over the age of 75. rep say passengers were 75 and older or less of a risk. they will not be able to keep on their jackets and shoes. even though senior passengers will be granted privileges, they can still be searched. >> if they are going for the technology, alarms, and we will need to resolve that. >> the program is only in the pilot phase right now.

>> relatives of the 28 people killed in a bus crash in switzerland are facing the heartbreaking challenge of identifying the bodies of their loved ones. they were driven to the side of the crash. the bus was passing through the tunnel after leaving a ski vacation from the swiss alps. most of the victims were children. >> terrible accident. would you albert throat $40 and the trash? -- would you ever throw $40 in the trash? >> wait until you hear how much through the average person wastes in the year. >> this is a two-year-old and she is only now getting better.

>> track in a few showers. a few isolated thunderstorms on doppler. in baltimore, 69 degrees at the airport. 72 at the inner harbor.

>> a bit of pushing and shoving in annapolis today. members of the senate try to fine-tune the budget. a man was sentenced for sexually abusing a disabled man in his care. what he has to say for himself.

girl: i want to tell you about my friend. his name is ben. ben learned about a homeless boy who had an infected tooth, and the boy died. that made ben really sad. he wrote a law so every kid can see a dentist. we have special dental van that goes from school to school. he even helps make sure we learn how to brush our teeth. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i approved this message.

>> have you noticed your pets scratching more? area veterinarian say flea and tick season is here, and it never really left. >> this two-year-old people is doing much better now, but she was what sick little dog two weeks ago. she was found infected with ticks. >> she was very sick. we were worried that people and might not be interested in adopting her. a wonderful family day for a home. >> her family is making sure she is getting the medical treatment

that she needs. >> she is doing great. the difference has been tremendous. >> she may have not gotten sick if she had preventative medicine. but it is a common story. >> lyme disease is what most people have heard of. >> because of the mild winter, flea and tick season never stopped. >> mid-december, even in january. we had a very mild winter. they are definitely out there. >> it is important to check your pets regularly for fleas. prevention is the number 1 defense. >> there are a lot of good treatments out there. make sure you are picking a high quality wine. there are -- a high quality wine. one.

there is so much you can do. do not go to the doctor when you have a problem. go earlier. >> your pet will thank you for it. >> we may not be the windy city, but a weather expert is naming maryland as one of the nation's top-ranked for tornadoes. maryland is one of the smallest states in the nation when it comes to area. they're pointing to our geographical circumstances. number what was florida, number 2 kansas. we all know that statistics can be manipulated. >> i do not get that. >> i do not get it either. >> in this small area, we get

quite a few. they tend to be much weaker than kansas. if you broke it down and look at the list, deadly tornadoes, we are in the lower half. we do not get the big ones. we did the little ones are frequently. >> you should be a salesman. you really sold that. >> if you look at the radar today, there are some showers, even some thunderstorms. florida is the thunderstorm capital of the world. to our south, these thunderstorms are developing some more muggy air. you see lightning strikes in virginia. they will move into some more

stable air are run baltimore and the eastern shore. the old and that -- the almanac in baltimore shows nothing in the wake of rain. 73 at the work -- at the airport. we could get to 80 degrees, but the wind shifted to the east. it kept us only 20 degrees warmer than normal. just to our west, it was almost like summertime. a couple of hours ago, a frederick was 86 degrees. 78 in hagerstown right now. some warmer air off to the west of us. cooler air from the coast. that boundary is what is triggering the storms. overnight, a chance for a shower. you could hear a rumble of thunder. otherwise, it will turn cloudy.

sunset at 7:14. tomorrow, we will still be in an unsettled weather pattern. another one is approaching from the chicago area. temperatures are still running well above normal. we will be in this air mass tomorrow. chances are, we will see a few showers reached baltimore. 70 to 75 tomorrow. southwest plans on the bay. if you are going up into the mountains, the storm chances are there tomorrow and might bring their into saturday as well. -- linger into saturday as well. saturday looks like a nice day for the eastern shore. what were eastern shore,

tomorrow, scattered storms. saturday, partly cloudy. it will turn overcast along the coastal areas sunday and monday. heading toward st. patrick's day, temperatures state milds. it will be a little stormy in spots tomorrow. mostly cloudy on sunday and monday. >> subaru is recalling more than 275,000 suvs to fix a problem with the seat belt. the recall affects foresters from the 2009, 2012 model years. the seat belts may not hold a child's car seat in place securely, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. dealers will begin replacing the seat belts free of charge.

the former vice president of goldman sachs says the investment giant has been ripping off clients and putting profit ahead of customer interest. it is all in black and white in the "the new york times." he calls the company morally bankrupt. >> five years ago, 10 years ago, you could not get a former employee to say anything. now they do. that tells you that he is onto something. >> the company vigorously disputes the allegations. in an internal e-mail, lloyd blankfein suggested smith was disgruntled. so far, all the criticism has not seem to hurt the firm where it matters the most, keeping clients. goldman sachs is still number

one to determine the top player on wall street. according to aaa, the latest gas prices are up another penny. this is the sixth straight day of increases. the national average is now at $3.82. that is up 16%. we have seen worse. the average price was $4.11 a gallon on july 17 of 2008. those high prices to have drivers making some changes to their lifestyle. 84% of people had already changed the way they do things. combining trips. the survey also found rising gas prices led to nearly 16% to purchase or lease a more fuel- efficient vehicle. >> how much food would you guess you let go to waste? probably quite a bit.

experts in chicago said an estimated 30 to 50% of the food produced in the world goes uneaten. $40 worth of food a month in the trash. in the year, that means 400 pounds of food. that is the wake of an ult male gorilla. the next state budget cleared another hurdle after some heated debate. it includes a tax increase and some changes to school funding. >> we would walk -- we want to talk about how the greyhounds are preparing for their big game with the ohio state.

girl: i want to tell you about my friend. his name is ben. ben learned about a homeless boy who had an infected tooth,

and the boy died. that made ben really sad. he wrote a law so every kid can see a dentist. we have special dental van that goes from school to school. he even helps make sure we learn how to brush our teeth. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i approved this message.

>> we are hours away from the big game for loyola university as they prepare to take on the ohio state in pittsburgh. that is where we find pete gilbert. he has been traveling with the team. >> we almost had the first ever -- in tournament history. syracuse held on. it does have to inspire loyola a little bit.

>> there is the n.c.a.a. tournament experience. the coach craves to share his knowledge about everything. this morning, a trip to the candy warhol museum. -- andy warhol museum. >> remember, this is what he created, being famous. i have a painting of him in my house. i knew about him for a long time. >> he always teaches culture. he tries to teach as other things besides basketball. >> everybody in the future will be world famous for 15 minutes. that famous quote from aandy warhol.

they aren't injuring their time on the national -- they are enjoying their time on the national stage. >> we will keep exploring. >> that is the tour, fellows. >> this is not a typical. you have to take advantage of the opportunities as best you can. should they win tonight, they will have to find some other museums to check out in pittsburgh. they would place saturday. >> thank you. that is all for us at 5:00. >> a word that came up

repeatedly during a sex abuse sentencing today -- outrageous. >> 150 students are on their way to pittsburgh for tonight's game. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at 6. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> here is the scene on the outer loop of the beltway. hours ago, the traffic backed up the on the belief of anyone. that is our big story at 6:00. many of you were stuck in one spot for about two hours due to a fire. >> a truck pulling a trailer with 460 bales of straw burst into flames. authorities are not sure what caused the blaze. >> we hope that it was not a careless cigarette thrown out of somebody's