[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon. >> good afternoon. i'm sarah caldwell. the world's biggest lottery jackpot ever just got bigger. we just had word that officials bumped it higher. rob roblin has the latest. >> i am here with the director of the maryland lottery. it just got really big.

$640 million. is that right? >> the jackpot was reset to $640 million. it was already the largest jackpot in the history of the world, but it has gotten larger. >> this is unbelievable. >> it really is. the reaction, it is something we have never seen before. that is part of the challenge. we do not know how people will react. >> is it set for tonight? is this the highest it will get? >> we are not talking again. we are going until the jackpot is polled. >> you take it in one lump sum. how much real money are we talking about? >> after taxes, the most recent

calculations are $307 million in the bank account. cracks that as a lot of money. -- >> that is a lot of money. >> for some of us. >> you can still buy tickets. people will be. >> you can buy tickets at all over -- at over 4200 retailers in maryland. >> thank you. once again, the mega millions jackpot is at $640 million. reporting live, rob roblin. >> unbelievable. there is only one place in baltimore to watch the drawing live. his the largest rise ever. we will have the drawing live at 11:00. new, a startling suspected rape crisis -- case.

a masked man broke into a home on frisby street last night. the victim says she was resting in her bedroom when a man broke in and assaulted her. >> we have clouds this morning after a chilly morning with a couple of readings near freezing or so. we have a tough time warming up because of the cloud deck. radar is showing a few sprinkles are trying to come down. it is not significant rain shower activity. you can see one batch. i have circled the beltway. to the east there is one area, and to the west in howard county, parts of carroll county, that is another area you might see some sprinkles. it is not the main part of the weather we expect later tonight

and tomorrow, where rain chances will increase. tonight, the chances go up, and i will detail all of that with the insta-weather-plus for test. >> howard county fire crews respond to a train derailment just after 2:00 a.m. officials say they collided on dorsey run road. five cars derailed, bringing down telephone wires, but there are no reports of power outages or disruptions. city officers responded to a standing in west baltimore last night, investigating the stabbing of a 50-year-old woman. after one year of delays, the jury has been seated in the trial of twin brothers accused of setting a please stand by on -- pit bull on fire.

travers and tremayne johnson were behind the fire according to officials. the first trial ended in a hung jury. for the first time since taking office, governor martin o'malley has communicated -- commuted two death sentences. tamara setlles was convicted of felony murder in the slaying of a man her boyfriend killed during a robbery. preliminary approval in the statehouse thursday clears the way for a wind turbine farm off the coast of ocean city and requires consumers to pay a surcharge each month to subsidize charge.

the fee will not go into effect until 2017. a final vote is set for sometime today. his the last weekend of campaigning before voters in wisconsin cast ballots in the gop primary. >> rick santorum is not even on the ballot in d.c. he is focused on wisconsin. >> why would we vote for someone that is just like obama? >> in 20 years, santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times. >> if we are looking for the reagan conservative on the economy, there is one clear choice. >> gop hopefuls are ready. >> i have a big day next tuesday with elections in wisconsin, maryland, and the district of columbia. >> mitt romney is on a roll.

in d.c., he is expected to coast to victory. >> thank you for walking me -- welcoming me here. the biggest prizes wisconsin. >> we will be working hard in wisconsin. >> this could be the less chance for santorum to stop romani. >> on the heels of formal endorsements from the bush family -- >> we are very proud to endorse and support our old friend, mitt romney. >> another high-profile endorsement from paul ryan is set for today. newt gingrich and ron paul are on the campaign trail in wisconsin. >> thank you. president obama returns to the campaign trail today, attending fund-raisers in vermont and the

state of maine. 300 members of the maryland international guard are on their way to afghanistan. members gathered last night. their 90-day deployment is to support combat operations in afghanistan. >> everyone is familiar with what is going on, and i think we are at a critical juncture in the war not -- fight against al qaeda. i think what you will see it is -- in this deployment is crucial. >> the group left after midnight, following a decision -- visit from major-general james atkins. we just got some good news on the jobs front. maryland seems to be doing better than the rest of the country. why do people care so much about the lottery? doctors say it is in our heads.

>> new at noon -- more jobs in maryland. the state added 8000 jobs in february. that means we have been growing for six months. the unemployment rate is at

6.5%, nearly two points lower than the national average. a new report predicts an increase in the student body at the university of maryland over the next decade of 20%. increases in tuition and room and board are expected this fall. >> there has to be the high- demand degrees that will let us build the economy and continue the prosperity of america -- maryland hasn't enjoyed. >> -- has enjoyed. >> the board will vote on the proposal next month. still to come, dreaming of millions. the lines are long across the country. what is driving some many people to play the lottery? a quick lesson in the psychology behind the mets' best straight ahead. >> clouds and sprinkles right now, but more precipitation is off to the west that could

effect our forecast.or

>> hundreds of people turned out on the campus of morgan state university in solidarity, but many dressing in a hooded sweatshirt like that one -- worn by trayvon martin. the rally is the latest in a nationwide series of protests calling for justice. >> all of you are proud students, and that is why i am here, to send a message that we are not suspicious. >> one month later, police have

not decided to file charges against george zimmerman, who shot and killed martin. the supreme court justices will take it private first vote on the health-care case. there is time for them to change their mind. they have been hearing arguments. it is highly controversial with people can't outside of the court the in support and in protest. some have been waiting in egypt for hours to buy cooking gas. nearly every city in the country has been hit hard by the shortage. authorities blamed black market traders. new details this noon -- french

police arrested 19 suspected islamists. >> french president nicolas sarkozy had ordered a crackdown on radical islamists after the series of cold-blooded attacks in france left seven dead. let's not, they're arrested at least 19 individuals believed to have ties with militant groups. nicolas sarkozy said there would be more raids and some of those arrested would be deported. >> i do not know if they are terrorist networks. we have precise questions to ask to a number of people, and what happened this morning will continue. >> police sources are saying there is no direct link between these raids and the killings in

toulouse. the large -- the gunman, the 20- year-old frenchman was killed last week. many of those arrested were reportedly part of a band islamist organizations still operating inside france. despite allegations that the gunman had been trained by al qaeda, investigators say he was more likely acting outside of any organized terror cell. >> now, your insta-weather-plus forecast with meteorologist john collins. >> before we get to the weather, there is our polar bear watch camera at the exhibit at the maryland zoo. one guy is sleeping there, and join the nice cloudy, cool

weather we have had so far. i circled some of the clouds around the baltimore area, and you can see some sprinkles move in west-to-east across the area. the real rain chances of something more substantial will be overnight tonight. it was kind of chili this morning. it was freezing in some areas. the coldest reading was 27. it was 32 at westminster and frederick. 37 was the low here on tv hill. 43 was a lull in annapolis. -- was the low in annapolis. current temperatures, 48 in annapolis. it is not warming up that much. a lot of clubs in this area. it is 43 at westminster.

the sunshine is doing a better job to the south. 54 in salisbury. ocean city is 50. la plata, 56 degrees. is the clouds thin out, we might bump the temperatures up, but we might be cooler in the northern half of maryland than the southern half. the pollen tom -- lower than yesterday, -- account -- lower than yesterday, but still in the three-range. here is the cloud deck. it thins out. that is why it is cooler appear. the clouds stopped at the maryland/pennsylvania line. we will put in the main weather features. even though the clouds are trying to produce sprinkles, there is no front nearby. the main whether maker is in

northern illinois. most of the rain is up in the great lakes. clouds, a sprinkle in the area today. 4g evening, rain chances will pick up -- toward the evening, rain chances will pick up. we should be able to make the 50's, but we are stuck in the 40's. if it stays this cloudy, we might not make it to 50 degrees. there is a small craft advisory in effect this afternoon. the insta-weather futurecast shows these sprinkles across the area with more substantial rain tonight and tomorrow morning. by sunday we are dry, but by the evening, and into monday morning, something could drift through. there's a lot of rain in the seven-day forecast. the chances are substantial on saturday.

today looks all right. sunday, late-day, early-monday. then, late tuesday. the warmest day is tuesday in the 70's. >> you heard from rob roblin, them by the mollen -- mega millions jackpot is up to six and $40 million. we spoke with a dr. the vix explains the psychology behind lottery buzz -- a psychologist that explains the psychology behind the lottery bus. >> this is the winner right here appeared >> hundreds are snatching up tickets. >> high-tech pay the lottery because it is a -- i play the lottery because it is a dream that might come true someday. >> this doctor specializes in the psychology of money. he says humans are wired for

hope. >> we secrete that adrenaline. we have transmitters. that goes up. that makes us feel good biologically. >> i am dreaming the big time. i am going to take off work, go on vacation. >> i would buy a big house, a big car. >> the doctor says some are more laudable than others and set themselves up for an emotional fall. >> even though they can enjoy the ride, they need to be prepared that it is not going to work, for almost all of them. >> it will be a big night. hopefully we will have a winner in maryland. up next, your maryland lottery numbers, and you want to take a look at wall street to

♪ the maryland lottery, let yourself play. ♪ >> good afternoon. we have a six-word number. 6 6 4. mega millions is about to make history.

the jackpot is an incredible $640 million, the largest in history. we are set. pick 4. 7 0 3 4 7034 -- the maryland lottery, let yourself play. >> remember, tonight's mega millions jackpot is now off to $640 million. you can watch the drawing live tonight at 11:00. how was the weather? >> kind of cool. rain chances will be higher tonight. they get higher saturday. sunday, mostly dry, but monday night into -- sunday into monday [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more...

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