>> president obama pivots now to the general election. the latest is coming up. >> a dramatic twist in the case of two brothers accused of beating up a teenager. the victim is refusing to testify. >> the forecast as we continue. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> do we need an umbrella? >> i would take an umbrella. the current temperatures in the upper 40's and mo 50's. take a jacket. it is kind of cool. the rain is sparse.

i think the rain will pick up in coverage. the might be a thunderstorm this afternoon. high temperature of 63. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. -- there might be a thunderstorm. >> in little sluggish out there. leave early if you can and avoid this accident at 140. they crashed further south at patapsco avenue. the rest of the major roadways are doing pretty well. 55 on the west side. so far so good on 70. the rest of the major roadways in pretty good shape. they are wet. 10 minutes to travel south on 95 from the beltway down towards 32. eight minutes on 895 down to the harbor tunnel tolls. an update on 70 west of the

beltway. more volume in the eastbound direction. 97 at 100, problem free at the moment. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> breaking news overnight. police made an arrest in the murder of phylicia barnes. >> this comes as welcome news for family. kim dacey is live with the late- breaking details. what can you tell us about the suspect this morning? >> we don't have a lot of details. police did confirm that michael johnson was arrested in connection with phylicia barnes' death. he is the ex-boyfriend of her older sister. she went missing while visiting her sister in baltimore in december of 2010. her body was found in the susquehanna river a few months later. her death was ruled a homicide.

the attorney for michael johnson confirms his client was taken into custody late last night. johnson was allegedly the last person to see felicia alive. the family held a vigil in 2011 on the one-year anniversary of the day she went missing. police indicated they were making progress on the investigation but wouldn't be specific. the family expressed hope that her killer would be found and brought to justice. >> it was around this time when we were calling and crying. we didn't know where she was at. we still don't know what happened. we're just praying and we have faith that justice will be served. >> michael johnson has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of phylicia barnes. the prosecutors will make an announcement and releasing more information later today. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news.

>> thank you. police closed off its tire block of downtown baltimore overnight after a large fight erupted. officers arrived on the scene just before to ilium this bordick and called for additional backup as the flight crew larger. no word this morning on what prompted the brawl or if any arrests were made. police all looking for a suspect in a deadly late-night shooting. authorities found the unidentified victim just before 11:00 p.m. on wednesday night on harlem avenue. he was taken to shock trauma or he died about 30 minutes later. the baltimore boy is in serious condition after being hit by a dirt bike. the child was standing in a field on wednesday evening when dirt bikeof the

struck the child. the rider is an african american and has braids in his hair. anyone with any information is asked to call city police. >> the woman accused of stabbing her daughter will be in court for a bail hearing this morning. 29-year-old kenisha thomas is charged with attempted murder and weapons charges after allegedly attacking her daughter with a butcher knife. she complained about the level of care at her daughter was receiving just prior to the attack. profit weapon into social services. >> it is been a diet of cuts over the last 10 years that is cutting the amount of people doing the work that needs to be

done. there will be lapses in things such as security and oversight. >> we're told the child is in fair condition. the search continues for two men who walked into a barbershop and shot an employee. they walked into the a-line barbers and open fire on the victim. the suspects fled the scene. >> police have nabbed the fourth and final suspect. shatia baldwin is the fourth suspect in the case and was arrested early wednesday morning. she's seen wearing a red hat. investigators say tips from the committee helped them make the arrest. >> a dramatic day in a trial of

two brothers accused of beating a teenager. the judge excused the alleged victim from the courtroom. much of the afternoon was spent in recess as the lawyers argued how to proceed. we will bring a the latest at noon, 5:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. >> president obama is about the headline his first reelection reaallies. tara mergener has more on the story. good morning. >> good morning. president obama shifts gears toward the general election. more republicans are rallying around mitt romney. a. current challenger may be next. with mitt romney on track for the republican presidential nomination -- >> together we're going to win

on november 6. [cheers] >> newt gingrich winds down his campaign. he appears ready to stand behind the presumptive nominee. >> i am committed to this party and to defeat barack obama. will find ways to try to be helpful. >> the race is all but an official mitt romney-barack obama matchup -- the president is hitting the road. a formal complaint from the national committee -- using taxpayer dollars to fund the general election efforts. a claim the white house denies. >> we go by the book with regards to payments depending on which events are campaigns or political and which are official. >> critics say that events like the ones this week, president obama -- >> it is good to be back in iowa.

>> is more like candidate obama. >> you have to be heard, you have to be counted. your voice matters. >> the first round is set for may 5 in ohio and virginia. >> does it cost taxpayers anything when a president campaigns? >> yes, it does. airforce want flies whether a it is official business or campaign is at the cost of $180,000 per hour. you have a lot of money and that adds up. the incumbent is supposed to pay the company backed. the taxpayer still foots most of the bill. >> this has been every president has sought reelection. >> absolutely. all the presidents have been criticized for this, not just

president obama. >> tara mergener, thank you. >> 52 degrees on tv hill. looking for a summer vacation deal? >> a teenager said as her prom was ruined because of her dress. being excessive rise right now as we get ready for the vip shopping at harborg

>> good morning. this is a live view from the skycam. 55 degrees. we're starting with some rain showers. i am live in harbor east today. this is one of the stores that will be participating in the vip shop crawl. what are you dressed in? layers.s all about the playe >> the top is by jessica heart.

there is a bracelet and day rap. the bag is the newest leather line. >> handbags in the city is also participating. you start at 6:00 p.m. it is a complementary event. there'll be different discounts. >> we are offering 20% off your entire purchase for the evening and a giveaway for three gift cards. >> more information online and you can find all the stores participating. rain showers are exiting off to the east but more rain showers are on the way. i'm having too much fun.

>> does anybody get a personal entourage to help them shop? >> all of the stores are essentially boutiques. you get a personalized shopping experience. >> thank you, va. she is having too much fun -- thank you, ava. not a lot happening around baltimore. heavy thunderstorms are missing us to the south and west. we might get clipped by some of the heavier stuff later today. take an umbrella with you. the clouds are pretty thick. it will be difficult for the temperatures to move today. upper 40's demo 50's. 54 at the airport. -- upper 40's and low 50's.

off and on rain showers and maybe a thunderstorm. high temperature between 60 and 65. wave heights two feet if you take the boat out. behind this storm, it will be breezy and cool tomorrow with a high near 62. the rain comes back for the beginning of the weekend. scattered showers on saturday. i don't think it will be an entire washout. it will be chilly. high temperatures in the 50's. the average high is 68. 6:16. here is sarah without her entourage. >> you can do something for me. the roads are a little wet. here's one accident along 140 long liberty reservoir bridge.

watch for a crash at patapsco avenue. down to 46 miles per hour on the west side outer loop beginning at edmondson. so far so good to the construction zone on the j.f.x. this is the northwest corner approaching 140. this is 83 at padonia road. we may have a disabled truck onto the side of padonia road. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> thank you. protesters demonstrated outside the u.s. supreme court as the justices consider a controversial immigration law. allowing police to detain anyone on site. immigration law is there a jurisdiction in arizona.

emergency legislation will give the postal service and infusion of cash. it halts the closure of 100 mail processing centers. the tennessee high school student caused a stir at her prom. she said she wore the dress because she thought it was cool. she was sent home. she said the decision was unfair. last year issue or a camouflage dress to her junior prom. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think a high school was within its rights to bar a girl from wearing a confederate flag dress to her prom, or did they go too far? you can share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> burger king has made a

whopper of a promised to be cage free within five years. burger king uses hundreds of millions of eggs every year. becoming cage free is part of a movement towards more humane treatment of animals. see world is taking a stand against plastic bags. jane king has the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. people are putting off getting married because of the cost. people put off weddings most when the economy is lousy. times people wait --some times people wait more than two years.

sites like facebook and twitter will help you find promotions on everything from air fares to hotels. have been exclusive deals on twitter -- there have been exclusive deals on twitter. a trip to sea world and busch gardens are getting greener. the theme parks are eliminating plastic shopping bags at gift shops. expect to see banks made from 100% recycled paper. plastic bags and that in the ocean and in danger while life. stocks rising with the nasdaq breaking its losing streak. the bloomberg maryland index rising. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> 6:20. 52 degrees on tv hill.

an accident is slowing things down for commuters in reisterstown. >> coming to rest in a different destination this year. keith mills has highlights from the caps-bruins game. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we have several problems right now. the wet roads are contributing. there is an accident in reisterstown. another one in fallston just past pleasantville road. watch for police activity. another crash at shell road and patapsco avenue. a disabled vehicle is taking up eight toll lane -- a toll lane. watch for a delay as you make d.c. way down towards the this is the northwest corner of the beltway. so far so good at 140. the disabled truck is off to the side and not impacting traffic. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony has a check on your forecast. >> we have some light rain to

contend with this morning. a bit harford and cecil cannas, you might contend with some of that is to drive into baltimore harford and cecil counties. maybe a thunderstorm later this afternoon. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. here is keith mills, the man. >> thank you. good morning. the man at last i was jason hammel as -- man last night was jason hammel. the orioles did not allow a run. hammel pitched another outstanding game. he struck out seven. johnson was the first in the first. bases loaded in the fourth

inning. jason hammel gets him. big hit right here, wilson betemit. he runs out of room. 2-0 orioles. adam jones, down the line. nick markakis scores. pedro strop gets the save. the birds go for the sweep tonight. the capitals are moving on to the second round of the stanley cup playoffs. last night game 7 in boston. braden holtby and the caps are moving on. they beat the bruins last night. matt hendricks with the goal. 1-0 austin. tyler seguin.

1-1. mike knuble shot was blocked. joel ward for the rebound. the caps whenin it. all games in this series were decided by one goal. nfl draft. 32 players invited to night to new york. they visited the new york stock exchange yesterday. there will be at radio city music hall for a round one of the draft. 29th.vens picked 29t what a moment for those guys. >> 6:27. bi break in a high-profile cold case. >> police have made an arrest in the phylicia barnes case.

>> a maryland woman hits the jackpot the second time around. jackpot the second time around.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. i'm stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. april showers -- >> the may flowers are just around the corner. hit and miss a light rain showers. i think the rain will pick up in intensity. temperatures in the upper 40's and low 50's. we should sneak into the low 60's of this afternoon. there could be a thunderstorm later in the day. will check the seven-day forecast when we come back in just a few minutes. >> late breaking news. >> there has been an arrest in the case of phylicia barnes. kim dacey has more details for us. good morning. >> we don't have a lot of details. baltimore city police did

confirm that michael johnson was arrested in connection with phylicia barnes' death. he is the ex-boyfriend of her older sister. she went missing while visiting her sister in baltimore in december of 2010. her body was found in the susquehanna river a few months later. medical examiner's say her death was ruled a homicide. the attorney for michael johnson confirms his client was taken into custody late last night. johnson was allegedly the last person to see phylicia alive. the family held a vigil in 2011 on the one-year anniversary of the day she went missing. at that point, state police indicated they were making progress on the investigation but wouldn't be specific. the family expressed hope that her killer would be found and brought to justice. >> it was around this time when we were calling and crying. we didn't know where she was at. we still don't know what

happened. we're just praying and we have faith that justice will be served. >> michael johnson has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of phylicia barnes. the prosecutors will make an announcement and releasing more information later today. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> police arrest a high school student for allegedly assaulting a teacher. he's charged this morning with second-degree assault and disrupting school activities after reportedly punching a teacher. the teacher was treated at the school's health room. police looking for a man that allegedly exposed himself to women and a park on tuesday appeared the woman noticed a man riding circles around them on a bicycle.

he is an african american male about 6 feet tall and 107 5 pounds and was wearing a sweatshirt. >> police are looking for a suspect who made off with $650 of the tory secret lingerie -- victoria's secret lingerie. no word on a description of the suspect. >> officials are preparing for the worst in anticipation of a loss of millions of dollars in state aid. are plans to cut 92 positions from the police department. >> we need more public-private partners. we need more assistance. we're dealing with the new normal. we cannot find everything that we did when we had a year of

surplus. we have to do things differently. instead of stating the obvious of saying we need more money for other things, we have to figure out how we're going to get there. >> the budget director is confident the governor will come through by calling for a special session. it has been a hot topic since 2010 when the city wanted a more permanent problem not. committee members threatened a lawsuit -- a more prominent promenade. >> a woman is $1 million richer this morning. she hit the jackpot. what does she plan to do with her new-found fortune? >> pay off my house. i will wait until things calm down.

>> participates have to mail their tickets and they are notified via telephone or mail. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we are dealing with wet roads. several actions. there is one in reisterstown at the liberty reservoir rich. bridge. a problem along coldspring lane at the j.f.x., the effective traffic lights will back up traffic is -- defective traffic lights. delays on southbound 295. and nason still clearing -- an accident still clearing but it is off to the side.

avoid 295 this morning if you can. delays forming heading towards the construction zone on the j.f.x. they begin around the 41st street bridge. ava marie is that harbor east and she is going shopping. ag forund the perfect beg fo tony. >> i have done and other war broke change. i'm supporting some clothing you might find at south moon under as well as urban chic. this is a complementary event. just show up. the first 100 guests will get a free good bag.

some of the bags will have umbrellas or t-shirts which you get just for showing up to the shop crawl. we have city's sports and urban chic. you can find more information at harboreast.com. be one of the first to get one of these fun shopping bags. let's check the forecast. temperatures in the low 60's this afternoon. a chance for showers. maybe even some thunder later today. a chance for rain as we head into the weekend. back to stan and mindy. >> she is having a ball.

52 degrees on tv hill. an unwelcome guest. >> it is a jungle out there. we are still taking your answers to our water cooler question of the day. do you think a high school was within its rights to bar a girl from wearing a confederate flag dress to her prom, or did they go too far? you can share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> a polar bear cub has a new lease on life after he was rescued. can that guy -- look at that guy. his fate was unclear. his new home will be any question is russian zoo. he's so cute. >> take a look at this. there were about to file a live report when a bear and three cubs appeared. this became an indoor segment. the bears decided to stick around before they wandered off.

>> maybe they messed up the forecast. >> got out of hibernation early. >> 6:42. >> is why tony stays inside. the morning commute is getting busier. >> that is why we send ava out. she is faster than all of us. she can get away. that is a live shot from pimlico. it will be a sloppy track today. it will be a sloppy track today.

>> welcome back to 11 news today. 6:44. the woman accused of stabbing her infant daughter at a city social services office will be in court later today for a bail hearing. kenisha thomas is charged with attempted murder and weapons charges after allegedly attacking her daughter with a butcher knife. level of about the care of her daughter was receiving in foster care. her daughter is in fair condition. police all looking for it suspect after a deadly late- night shooting. the victim was found just before 11:00 last night on harlem avenue. he was taken to shock trauma repast way about 30 minutes later. air quality is improving.

air quality in the most polluted cities is not the cleanest it has been in more than a decade. those numbers don't hold true for the entire area. baltimore city gets a c for ozone quality. this area ranks 13th in the nation for air pollution. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we are tracking several problems. this one is god in reisterstown. 140 is now open. a problem in fallston. there is an accident wrapping up. coldspring lane in the city, the fact of traffic lights. on to the j.f.x., you'll start to see delays down towards the construction zone. slow spots on the west side

outer loop down towards edmondson. southbound 295, an accident. east about 32, watch for a crash at 98 -- eastbound 32. an accident for the south at the capital beltway. very slow down towards 197. this is the j.f.x. work delays are in place down towards the construction zone. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. ava marie joins us live. she has been decked out morning and shocking. >> we're having too much fun. you may notice a familiar face. the owner of urban chic. the chop crawl is -- the shop crawl is happening tonight. these are hot neon jeans.

>> we are working with all of the trends of the season. we have neon. the color of the season is coral. itself find genes -- lotos of fun jeans. we have bags and handbags in the city. 15% off some jean. we have shorts, denims, bells, and all the colors you see on the girls. >> coral is the color of the season. >> it works well with all the bright colors. >> it starts at 6:00 p.m.

tonight and it is 8 complementary event. there will be specials on food. the first wonder people will get these fancy gift bags -- the first 100 people. they're more showers on the way. we will go back to tony. do you think you could pull off n jeans? >> i didn't know that coral was the color of the season? >> this is from south known under. >> oh, orange. why didn't you say orange? i'll take your word for it. you're having too much fun.

hey, lindsey. daughter.ndy's this is the coolest part of the show. is this coral? you're wearing the hip color of the day. thank you. i didn't mean to embarrass you. [laughter] >> she will be having nightmares now. thanks. >> ask your mother to go on the shop crawl. most of the heavy rain is missing us to the south. some of that will probably catch up to us later today. it will be difficult for the temperatures to move. upper 40's and low 50's.

47 in parkton. take a light jacket with you along with the umbrella. scattered light rain showers to start today. maybe some scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. high temperature between 60 and 65. tomorrow, the storm pulls off but it will be chilly and kind of breezy. in the 50's over the weekend. another chance for some rain on saturday. showers may linger into sunday morning. high temperature of only 59 degrees. monday and tuesday look better. >> time now for a last look at one of our big stories. and overnight arrest in the murder of phylicia barnes. kim dacey is live with that story. >> we don't have a lot of details. but baltimore police did confirm that michael johnson was arrested in connection with phylicia barnes' death.

he is the ex-boyfriend of her older sister. she went missing while visiting her sister in baltimore in december of 2010. her body was found in the susquehanna river a few months later. her death was ruled a homicide. the attorney for michael johnson confirms his client was taken into custody late last night. johnson was allegedly the last person to see phylicia alive. prosecutors will be releasing more information later today. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> is there any indication from police there were new developments in this case? >> on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance, police did indicate they were making progress in the case but were not being specific about the investigation. >> kim dacey, thank you. 6:52. >> coming up, we'll take a last look at weather and traffic

together before you head out to start your day.

>> time to get to one of your answers to our watercooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- do you think a high school was within its rights to bar a girl from wearing a confederate flag dress to her prom, or did they go too far?

>> we will post more of your answers on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. all right. >> if you were what -- if she wore what lindsay was wearing, she would be ok. >> you know she is laughing. >> right, right, . >> nice to have you here. >> we have a few accidents. the fact of traffic lights at coldspring lane at the j.f.x. -- defective at traffic lights. the southbound 295 delays from

175, down towards 32. the j.f.x. is filling up quickly down towards the construction zone. use those alternates. >> i think we have a better chance for a steadier rain this afternoon. this is enough to affect the drive time. take an umbrella with you. some thunderstorms my popup this afternoon. high temperature only 63. we will struggle to get out of the 50's of this weekend. i did not think it will snow like it did on monday. it will be on the 50's with a chance for rain. it should clear up on sunday. maybe not the entire washout. >> thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> we will be back with a live update at 7:25. do you want to say