next few days. look at the radar. most of the rain activity is offshore. maybe a couple of the showers around ocean city and into a delaware. west of the bay, the skies had cleared. moon.obig old we are in pretty good shape. we want to check the wet roads with sarah. >> not too bad at the moment. still moving as usual at the moment in parkville. so far so good to the j.f.x. into the construction zone. 61 on the west side. so far so good on 70.

five minutes to go south on 95 from the 895 split down to the fort mchenry. 10 minutes to travel south on 95 down towards 32. this is 895 as you make your approach to the harbor tunnel, so far so good. problem free at the harbor tunnel. the fort mchenry tunnel is looking good at the moment. outer loop traffic as a volume begins to build at providence and over towards 795 even more volume. give yourself a few extra minutes. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> and a certain point i concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and a firm that i

think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> president obama changes course and declares his support for same-sex marriage. >> many americans are evenly split on the issue. tara mergener has details and reaction. >> good morning. president obama is actually the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage. it is a controversial move that could impact the election. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> that announcement on wednesday. this is a reversal for president obama who has supported civil unions but said marriage was between a man and woman. >> i have been going through an evolution on this issue. i have always been adamant that

gay and lesbian americans should be treated fairly and equally. >> this is good news for gay- rights at -- activists but it is not clear how this will play out with other voters. half of americans support same- sex marriage. 48% do not. >> i don't favor marriage between people of the same gender and i do not favor civil unions. >> this could help mitt romney with conservatives but hurt president obama in southern states, including north carolina where voters just approved a ban on gay marriage. >> north carolina and virginia are the linchpins of president obama's strategy. you don't want to be on the wrong side of the issue, particularly high-profile issues like this. >> the shift will have no impact on current policies and that

marriage is an issue best decided by the state's. >> law was the reaction to the announcement on capitol hill? >> democrats applauded it saying it could help recapture some of the excitement of the campaign back in 2008. republicans say the president is playing politics and taking his eye off of the economy. >> tara mergener, thank you. the remarks add new life to the same sex debate in maryland. supporters and opponents say the announcement will push voters to their respective sides. >> maryland there's thing for themselves and react on their own volition and not because of somebody saying something no matter how popular they might be.

>> another strong supporter. to have the president on our side along with the governor and members of the house of delegates and a lot of people across the state. it shows the momentum is on our side. >> that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. how do you think the president support of gay marriage will impact maryland's potential referendum on the issue? you can share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> a pedestrian is hit and killed overnight in southwest baltimore. it happened this morning at russell street. the victim was found on the scene not breathing. no word as to who was at fault. a debate between some council members and a fire chief. the budget proposal includes closing some departments for

good. it would end the daily rotating closures we have seen. 65 firefighters will be reassigned. this will not have a negative impact on response times. but not everybody agrees. >> we have to identify where in the city we can cover the best. >> i think we cannot afford not to. it is not that much money. we can pay to protect the taxes. >> the permanent closures are slated to go into effect on july 1. >> junior seau will be laid to rest tonight. >> the fbi is looking for a tennessee man.

>> this is the beltway at providence road. as a fashion blogger,

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>> good morning. 5:09. 59 degrees downtown. baseball was washed out yesterday. we had over a half an inch of rain. that rain is moving out of the picture. still some clouds on the eastern shore. the skies are clear and you can see all the way back into nebraska and the dakotas.

that bodes well for us as far as the weather is concerned. temperatures in the 50's this morning. we will see plenty of sunshine today. >> and accused kidnapper charged with murder mason of the fbi's most wanted list. police say he kidnapped a woman and her daughters from tennessee. authorities identified the body of the woman and one of her children earlier this week. police say he has altered his appearance. occupy chicago will announce its plan of action for the upcoming nato meeting in that city. there'll be a preview of the protest with information on

each day's activities. nato policies trickle-down to every community in chicago. >> a private funeral for former nfl player junior seau. he is best known for leading the chargers to the super bowl back in 1994. a public memorial is planned for friday night. >> mother's day is inching closer and closer. yet?ou have a gift to >> we can deliver a nice commute. not tracking any problems

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. your thursday morning in shaping up to be a nice ride, despite the fact that the roads are a low wet. -- are a little wet. moving well on the j.f.x., even through the construction zone. 60 on the west side approaching 70. so far so good on 70. 95 running smoothly down into howard county. same goes for 295 heading southbound to the capital beltway. 95 at the fort mchenry, southbound traffic looks good at the moment.

harbor tunnel traffic equally smooth. this is 795 at franklin boulevard. more of volume on the southbound side. take your time. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. good morning. >> good morning. a smooth commute so far on the marc trains. no delays on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines. light rail on schedule. construction continues on the light rail line. metro subway is on time. the 20 bus has a delay. i'm kurt kronke. now back to john collins. >> good morning. thank you. the rain is moving offshore. west of the bay, it is clear. we're on a good trend. west of us, no rain.

the inner harbor hit 78 yesterday. we had almost 2/3 of an inch of rain yesterday. some of never reds had some shower activity. a trace of snow was measured on this date. we were above the high yesterday. we'll be short of the mark by a few degrees. elkton, 55. parkton, a 52. 40's out in western maryland. they had more time to dry out. on the eastern shore, still some clouds. the rain has moved offshore. all of the rain this morning in new england. slightly cool air is moving in. high pressure covers the eastern

-- over half of the eastern part of the nation. there are some weather disturbances out west. we have a good run coming as far as the weather is concerned. it is clear. we will pick up a few scattered clouds. it is below breezy, 15 to 25. small craft advisories because of the gusty winds. the wind will be from the northwest. rain will be moving out of the picture. most of the rain will be out in the mountains if it occurs at all. dry on saturday. we begin to see some clouds early on sunday. by sunday evening, we might pick up some precipitation. 67 today. 70 on friday.

most of sunday looks fine. into tuesday, more rain chances . >> the u.s. postal service is backing off a previous plan to close at 13,000 rural post offices. the agency plans to force of thousands of employees to shift to part-time hours. 92,000 trampolines are being recalled. walmart. sold at the netting can break. mother's day is this sunday. if you haven't got your mother

is the perfect gift, this may help you out. they birthed us, raised us, and loved us unconditionally. it is not surprising what they want for mother's day. many are content with the simplest of things. >> i want to have my family together. >> mothers are good at speaking their mind. >> no cigarettes or cigars. >> and appliance. >> one time my husband got me a border piwater pic. >> i do not like getting gift certificates.

there's not a lot of thought put into it t. >> besides time with you, what do mom's really wants? >> manicures, pedicures, massages. closthing. >> roses, flowers. >> i like roses. >> you can never bear wrong with flowers. >> we are so in trouble. we do not have any idea. "just leave me alone." facebook is rolling out something new for us. jane king has the bloomberg business report. i know you have a gift picked

out right. >> good morning. facebook plan to roll out an online store, letting users download software applications. you should see this in the coming weeks. this comes at of the anticipated facebook ipo. executives from t. rowe price taking a stake in the social networking company. they have one of the biggest holds in facebook. futures this morning are flat. we do have the weekly jobless numbers that come out every thursday. stocks continued their declines yesterday. new video of the late steve jobs comes to us from a former

apple employee. the video is set to the tune "ghostbusters." the video meant to fire up the apple sales team. another a video of his 30th birthday. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. back to you. bloggers taking over the internet? >> nothing new to the web. mac users may be booking nicer hotel rooms than pc users. >> 5:22. 55 degrees on tv hill.

what you'll probably see more police when the casino opens. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. how do you think the president's support of gay marriage will impact maryland's potential referendum on the issue? you can share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> the maryland casino will open next month and you might notice more police on the scene. >> police will step up patrols around the casino at but not on the inside. it still must be approved. >> we will work with the budget office and do we have to do to fill in any overtime need.

>> state police say there will supplement the department's efforts with traffic patrol and dui crackdowns. maryland >> casinos are seeing big profits. maryland saw some of the biggest gains during the first full-year of operations. revenue jumped to $155.7 million last year. 5:26. 55 degrees on tv hill. >> people accused in the st. patrick's day beating now face fewer charges. >> president obama takes a stand on gay marriage. >> the fire chief gets an earful

about plans to close firehouses. >> the rain is moving out of the picture and we will see sunshine today. >> that is good news for your morning commute. we have a disabled vehicle on we have a disabled vehicle on th v i'm more of an absentee plant parent.

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developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. >> 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. this is clean up your room day. >> i like that idea. >> every day is a special day but that day is extra special. terrible day to be in your room cleaning up. we had a lot of rain yesterday.

marius had 2/3 of an inch -- some areas had 2/3 of an inch. the rain is clearing out. nothing is happening out west. that is a good indicator that the next few days will be a nice shot. i am done. >> sounds good. >> some changes by the end of the weekend. >> i was going to say to clean up your room. the roads are a little bit wet. we have a disabled vehicle on the bay bridge taking up the right lane. 295 looking pretty good, 62

miles per hour. 59 on 97 through the glen burnie area. 53 on the j.f.x. through the construction zone. so far so good on the west side. this is 50 at maryland 8, westbound traffic not showing any delays. hopefully they will get that disabled vehicle clear. no problems at padonia road appeared light volume heading down to the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> president obama becomes the first sitting u.s. president to endorse gay marriage. >> it is a decision that may win him some votes. tracie potts has the latest. >> one day after north carolina

became the third state to ban gay marriage and after two key members of this administration adores to come out president obama went on record. >> i have concluded that for a personally it is important for me to go ahead and confirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> he called a personal decision. the president has said his views are evolving. there was quick reaction. >> i don't know that it took too long but i'm glad he has taken the moment to step forward. >> the announcement is sure to have political impact. mitt romney quickly reaffirmed his position. >> my view is that marriage itself is the relation between a man and a woman and that is my own preference. >> is the president taking a political risk? >> there are risks that are not

quite there yet. this is a big issue in the african american community and with a working-class whites. >> it could mobilize angelico's against him in november. the decision has been called deeply saddening. the president set each state has the right to make its own choice. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. how do you think the president's support of gay marriage will impact maryland's potential referendum on the issue? you can share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. andrnor martin o'malley state house officers say they have reached a deal on a budget plan. it raises income-tax is on people who make more than

$100,000 a year and a joint filers that make more than $150,000 a year. >> no additional spending and making cuts. >> the maryland legislature will return on monday for a three day special session. >> councilmembers are turning up the heat on the fire chief. jennifer franciotti is live with the details. >> 7 councilmembers are not happy about these closures. there will take effect in less than two months. several council members are turning up the heat on the council chief on the budget plans for the fire department. >> we are at bare bones and cannot afford more closings.

remember that? that statement made? >> i believe that. >> what has changed? >> the plan would end the daily rotating closures. there will be no layoffs. the fire chief says this is a real allocation of resources that would increase stability within the department. >> we have to identify where in the city we can cover the best, and a fight a company and take it out of the system. >> one council member agrees that rotating closures should end. >> i think we cannot afford not to. it is not that much money. we can pay to protect the houses that were just lowered the taxes for. >> the permanent closures are set to go into effect on july 1. >> state prosecutors dropped

more than half the prosecutors against the four in the st. patrick's day beating of a tourist. 13 of the 24 charges were dropped in all. suspect was accused of first- degree assaults. >> the jury continues deliberations in the trial against julius henson. prosecutors asked jurors to convict henson for writing the script for the call. some blames paul schurick -- julius henson blames paul schurick. the quality of treatment for a stroke patients could be affected by the way they are treated. >> plenty of people are using social media these days.

there might be a biological reason that people like to post. >> word of a new accident. >> this is the olympic torch lighting ceremonies this morning in greece. they lead up to the olympic they lead up to the olympic games in greece which real big deals of the week. or how to keep from driving all over for the best deals. you don't need to run around. safeway gives you real big club card deals each week. right now, a sweet price on honey nut cheerios, just $1.88. starbucks coffee is only $7.77. that's less than a quarter for a great cup of coffee. and fage greek yogurt is just a buck. real big deals this week and every week. only at safeway. ingredients for life.

♪ [ male announcer ] at southwest airlines, we're always looking for new ways to make you happy. and we know what really makes you happy are new places to fly. now you can fly southwest airlines' new nonstop service from bwi airport to atlanta. book all of our destinations only at southwest.com. ♪ >> good morning. 5:39. some clouds often the distance. a little bit of haze. 59 degrees downtown. turning out to be a pleasant

morning this morning. we don't have a baseball game yesterday because of the brain. we have a double header this afternoon. there is a look at the racetrack. look at the tents going up. it will be breezy. by the end of the double header, temperatures will begin dropping into the 50's and we expect a generally dry with a bang for baseball. big double header. -- generally dry weather for baseball. >> a new study found patients treated at hospitals with stroke

centers are more likely to receive clot-busting drugs within the recommended two-hour window. a lot of people use social media sites like twitter and facebook. >> do you wonder what people post the need to post almost everything? t makes them feel good. -- it makes them feel good. the feeling subsides when nobody responds to those posts. >> there are people that post everything. 5:41. 55 degrees on tv hill appeared at the washington capitals live

want to play another game 7. >> john says it will be a sunny day today. sarah has your latest traffic updates.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. there is an accident on the west side on the inner loop just past 70. right now not tracking any delays. 70 looking good in towards the beltway. so far so good on the outer loop. 50 miles per hour on the j.f.x. into the construction zone. not tracking any delays. 66 on southbound 95 in howard county. this is 50 at maryland 8, not

seeing any delays. the disabled vehicle has been cleared from the westbound span. this is frederick. inner loop traffic. no sign of a slowdown approaching 70. we will keep you posted. outer loop traffic looking heavier. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. good morning. >> good morning. moving along nicely on the buses with the 20 bus operating with a delay. a diversion at washington boulevard and monroe. light rail is on schedule with shuttle buses between the timonium and hunt valley station's as construction continues. metro subway is operating on schedule. we have a brunswick delay 10 to 50 minutes late.

penn and camden trains on time. >> it will get to be windy day today eventually. things are nice and quiet at the moment. that is important for ava marie. she will be ballooning. good morning. >> the wind will be a factor today. we had the cold front move through. it is a little breezy. we're starting to get the balloon set up. i'm here with a pilot. i understand you're quite a bit of a champion. >> i am at 5 time national champion. >> what do you enjoy about flying hot air balloons? >> the calmness.

it is calm and quiet. >> i agree. we're starting to get the balloons set up. is that your balloon? ours.e purple one is hou the first thing we do is check the direction of the wind. then the balloon is laid out and we put the basket together and we put the burners on. burners' get tested and we put the balloon on. >> that will be exciting. that is a loud noise. >> there will be a nice warm kick to it. >> we will not have any rain this morning. you said wind is a factor. >> this morning the wind will be

too much to fly. to get the balloons on the ground, this will be ok. 10 knots to 12 knots is ok. >> maybe we will delay tether ride. getting a cited for the hot air balloon festival -- getting excited for the hot air balloon festival. watching those balloons go up. we will go back to john. we will continue to show you the process. >> did i hear you say that you might be tethered? >> we're hoping to get a little bit up in the air. we'll get into it as much as we can. >> we will look forward to that.

thank you, ava. the skies are beginning to clear on the eastern shore. the temperatures have fallen a little bit. we will give you an idea of what the readings are. still cloudy in ocean city, a 56 degrees. 40's out in far western maryland. there was a cold front that is offshore now appeared that was the rain maker yesterday. we had up to 2/3 of an inch of rain. there is some stormy weather out west. it will play in our whether but it may take a whole weekend -- it will play in our weather but it will take a whole weekend to get there. most

areas art dry. still some rain chances up in new england. denver, 83. seattle will be dry today. partly cloudy skies locally. we will pick up a few scattered clouds this afternoon. the northwest winds, a 15 to 25 . the last of the precipitation is moving out. there could be a shower out in the mountains. clear into sunday. clouds drifting in on sunday and may be a rain chance. 67 today. 70 on friday. morning low's will be chilly.

40 on 70. back into the 50's with a range chance late on sunday -- with a chance.anrain >> an update on the injury to terrell suggs and how long he thinks he will be off the field. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers.

>> time to get to your answers to our watercooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- how do you think the president's support of gay marriage will impact maryland's potential referendum on the issue? keep sending us those responses. we will read more of your responses in the next hour and post all of them on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. >> good morning. we begin with the stella cup playoffs. you don't have to love hockey to appreciate the nhl playoffs. unbelievable and intensity and the capitals and rangers are going to a game 7.

the caps beat the new york rangers. the capitals in red. alex ovechkin sets the tone. 1-0 caps. jason chimera, 2-0. the caps would hold on. great job by braden holtby. the caps win 2-1. game 7 will be a saturday night in new york. the ravens will hold their first minicamp of the spring beginning tomorrow. the latest draft pick to sign. terrell suggs said the surgery went well. he said it is not as bad as some thought and it was as he expected, not bad. the rehab expected to be four to

six months. he is expecting to play at some point this year. pretty soon we will be heading out to the pimlico. i'll have another is the horse to beat. he exercised yesterday. i'll have another is not staying install 40 but still 17 of barn d, to give him a little more peace and quiet. the orioles were rained out last night but will play a doubleheader today. >> with the same sex marriage law when to go into effect, president obama's support of the issue hits close to home.

>> it seems more and more mothers are taking less and less time off for maternity leave. >> even orangutans are jumping on the tablet trend.

>> planned fire closures not sitting well with some council members. >> president obama affirms his support for same-sex marriage. more on the potential political implications are coming up. >> do you think his position will impact maryland's struggle with the same subject? >> rain is moving out of the way. way.