>> , local, late breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon. >> good afternoon. this two weeks before his primary in his home state, rick santorum announces he is suspending his campaign. mitt romney steps up as the likely gop nonominee. >> that is mitt romney's first reaction to news rick santorum is dropping his presidential campaign. >> he has made an important contribution to the political process. >> rick santorum that a call from george w. bush after publicly announcing he is

calling it quits. >> while this race is over me and will suspend the campaign affected today, we're not done fighting. >> i really thought and still do believe the biggest thing at stake in the election is fundamental freedoms. >> that leads mitt romney, ron paul, and newt gingrich in the race. could he pulled a conservative backers and clinch the nomination? analysts do not think so. >> it is hard to see him capturing the support that rick santorum left. to go with the major obstacle now gone, mitt romney can focus solely on president obama. the president is focused on boosting taxes for millionaires. >> that is just being there. >> and assigned that the well could become a key issue this fall. -- a sign his wealth could

become a key issue this fall. >> closing arguments are scheduled today in the retrial of the twin brothers better accused of setting up the ball on fire back in 2009. prosecutors rested their case tuesday. the city police sergeant took a stand against the brothers. jurors salt photographs and videos presented by the prosecution, including surveillance video of the dog on fire that were previously disallowed by the judge. the jury also learned inedible substance was found on genes taken from the brothers' home. -- found on jeans. but through agents arrest an alleged gang member for murder in his native honduras. he is accused of killing a man in 2010 with a machete and stealing his wallet. immigration and customs agents arrested him in his home on

monday. officials say he is part of the notorious ms13 gang. a man accused of attempting to sexually assault a boy in the middle school back from has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars. sean thomas was sentenced this morning to life with all but one year suspended. his trial was set to take place tuesday. in 2010 he walked into halliburton middle school, for sickle-year-old boy into a back room and tried to assault him. the incident was broken up when someone heard the boys screaming. a local parish is picking up the pieces after a fire spread to the church. firefighters responded. officials say it started near a shed on church property, spread to the roof, and might have caused some sort of partial

collapse. it took crews nearly four hours to get it under control. >> i got here and that is what i saw. it is one of those things, you know. it does not bother me. aith, and i know the lord has done this for a reason. >> no one was hurt. dry conditions might have caused the fire to spread. >> in just a few months, baltimore county will have a new school superintendent. the school board unanimously approved the doctor tuesday night as the next superintendent. his nomination has been a little controversial given his age and lack of teaching experience. county official says he was selected by two different headhunting firms which produces the were the counted -- can it for the position. -- candidate for the position.

>> today is shaping up to be the coldest day of the week so far. correctly only 49 degrees. it feels even chillier when you factor in the wind. we could see wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour this afternoon. the winds will start to taper down tonight. a slight chance for showers, 20-30% chimps. that means if we seek showers they will be isolated and quick- lived. it is going to be very cold tonight, but a warmup on the way. details and a seven-day. >> two earthquakes triggered back to back tsunami warnings in indonesia wednesday. the first was centered near the capital. so far, no reports of a tsunami or any damage caused by the earthquakes. they were in the same region of the devastating 2004 indian

ocean tsunami. that killed 234,000 people. japan and the philippines are on alert for the north korean plan that locket launched. that starts tomorrow. japan has set up a special task force in order to be fully prepared. the launch expected to take place between april 12-16. and japan and the united states say it will be considered a violation of the resolution prohibiting north korea from missile activity. a korean air lines jet made an emergency landing after receiving a bomb threat. it had just taken off from vancouver when airport officials say someone called to tell them a bomb had been placed on board. the passengers and crew stayed overnight so officials could search the luggage. a similar threat was phoned into another threat earlier this week. no word on whether the threats are connected. still to come, americans are paying more for cars, but the

reason why may surprise you. how used car prices are affecting new car sales and how consumer choice is driving the market. first, this group may look peaceful, but they are stealing from the convenience store. from the convenience store. details on the/ when it comes to gardening, we're, well, inexperienced. is this right? right here, like this? ♪ turn that off! plants can smell our fear then miracle-gro expand'n gro made things a lot easier for us.

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>> an organ convenience store owner has released a video of a robbery of his business last weekend. a group of 20 people walked in and took about $200 in merchandise before running off. the group went up and down the aisles, grabbing what they wanted and forcing the employee to stay away. five army soldiers in washington state are under investigation for smuggling a rocket launcher off base. authorities allege they snuck off base. first they said the weapon was armed with a live rocket. and officials say one of the soldiers girlfriends turn them in. investigators did not think it planned to use the weapon, but are still planning on filing charges. one of the nation's most notorious serial killers is up

for parole today. these are the latest pictures of charles manson. he has been up for parole 11 times before and has been denied each time. still to come, we talk live at to contestants from those that survive last night's elimination on "the voice." dallas is can be hard on patients. -- dialysis can be hard on patience. >> snowing in maryland. we will talk about how long that will last coming up in the forecast. first, a live look outdoors. a few clouds in the sky

>> in today's consumer alert, with graduation fast a fake -- fast approaching, a j.p. morgan is shaking things up here yet they said it will only provide student loans to chase customers. the new restrictions go into effect july 1st of this year. the consumer financial protection bureau says student loans are the largest source of unsecured debt. the portfolio has shrunk 15% since 2009 as bad debt stubble. the and record buying reco prices for new cars. a 6.9 percent signed from a year ago. because the price of used cars is higher, people are willing to pay for a new vehicle with all

the amenities. >> now your 11 insta-weather- plus forecast. >> it definitely feels chilly out there. the coldest day of the week so far. what goes down, must come up. we're expecting temperatures to rise into the end of the week. just a couple of sprinkles trying to form east of hagerstown. we have been tracking snow all day long in western maryland, mainly near garrett county. not a lot of that accumulating, as it is very light in nature. areas of west may see happen inch of snow before the day is done. the radar dry right now over baltimore. taking a look at temperatures real quick. pretty chilly. mid-forties near frederick. check of temperatures in the mountains. 32 degrees at the freezing mark. they have not warmed up much

today. winds are adding to how cool it does feel. winds up to 12 miles per hour in downtown baltimore. even some 20 mile per hour winds along the eastern shore. these could be a little bit strong to the afternoon, gusts up to 25 miles per hour. here is a look at the current satellite picture. just a few peaks of sunshine in between that. the clouds will make it feel chilly through the afternoon. they will stick around through the early part of the night. it is the upper level storm that is still affecting our weather. it is creating the possibility for showers and creating more clouds. high pressure will build -- build in by the end of the week. looks like a win/win situation as we go to the next couple of days. future cast shows a slight chance of showers to the

afternoon hours. that is when there could be a couple of isolated sprinkles. it is going to be very dry out there. we do have this note tapering off as we head through the evening. the entire state dries out with high pressure building in as early as tomorrow. a chance of evening showers. very scattered, if we see anything. and much colder off to the west. if you live in carroll county, we do have a freeze watch out right now. some vultures are likely to get close to the freezing mark. temperatures in the upper 50s tomorrow. could make it into the 70's by sunday. >> the contestants on "the voice" intended to battle it out. joining us of the contestants that made it through last night. thank you for joining us. a pleasure to have you.

last night was full of suspense. the live at rounds came to an end, and now on to the quarter finals. what was it like for you to get past this major hurdle? >> it was like nothing else. so far each round has had its own round of assistance. last night putting yourself at the mercy of america and seeing how you did. it was exciting, but a huge relief once it was over. >> it was like i can breathe again. five seconds later you are like, now i have to do it again. >> do you think about who you are competing against, or just reaching your own personal best at this point? >> that is well-put. i think we are all in pursuit -- we are also different and unique now at this point. i think everyone has their

brand. now it is just a matter of bustbesting cells. >> if you try to compare yourself, you will just lose, because everyone has their own thing. you have to do what you do. >> i know you still have a ways to go in the competition, but what would it mean to be geared you to win it? >> it would be amazing. >> it would definitely feel like the culmination of a life's work. it would be tremendous of course. it would mean a lot of things went right way. >> we congratulate you for getting this far. thank you for joining us. good luck to you both. you can see it right here on wbal-tv 11 monday nights at 8:00

and tuesday nights at 9:00. >> in today's medical alert, a new option for those who have to undergo kidney dialysis. >> for folks in kidney failure, places like rhode island hospital dialysis center are a lifeline. the process removes waste products and toxins from the body. and a visiting nurse used to be a regular. >> three days a week, monday, wednesday, friday for 3.5 hours. it was after i had worked all day. if i got there late, i would have to run up. it took a lot out of me. >> everything changed for her last year. >> you have all of the supplies you need? >> she now does her own dialysis at home, five nights a week for

a shorter amount of time. >> i like the flexibility of doing it at night. do might 2 hours 12 minutes and just go to bed. >> it is covered by insurance. to get started involves a month of training. she is a nurse and chatted in no time. >> i have a man-made at this chulfistula. >> with a home machine, the flow is much lower than traditional analysis. >> it keeps her independent and mobil. >> i have been on several vacations with it. it is great. >> is keeping her going until the call she is waiting for, a donor kidney. >> the perfect candidate?

>> one who is independent and has a good support network. we know this winter and spring temperature fluctuation have left many of us sick, but the elderly are even more susceptible. the results of the studies show more deaths among senior citizens went to cities have large temperature variations in a short time that is because the swings but morris was on the body -- more stress on the body. coming up next on your maryland lottery pick three and pick four numbers. first, a look at how wall street

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