to house the grand prix event. >> it is refreshing that a name like andretti motorsports is coming in and teaming up with local businessmen to deliver a second grand prix. >> and they will arrange sponsorships, hospitality and ticket sales. there also responsible for the track and grant them out. >> i think it's a good thing. it can be a good thing for the city, but i do not think it is good for the taxpayers when schools are crumbling if we're putting taxpayer dollars into this enterprise. >> this new agreement have more built-in protections for the city. under the terms of a grand prix will be conducted each year in baltimore for the next five. a 10% amusement tax will be placed on at each ticket sold and the money will be placed in an escrow account. and a $350,000 fee will be given to the cd, to increase 20% each year. and $50,000 each year in

community impact fees, which will include cleaning and green. and the base return of $1 million each year for the contract. and the city may audit their records at any time. >> is an exceptional deal with a really good promoter. >> you have a legitimate chance of success at this point. >> it includes j.p. grant of columbia brand management, and baltimore's bmw construction specialist. this is the third agreement the city has struck for the grand prix. the first agreement failed to pay $1.5 million in taxes and fees. the second group was plagued by internal tor morelle. now comes andretti sports marketing and a new message, downtown baltimore and its surrounding neighborhoods will be open for business. >> we are making changes with the gates to ensure that people get out and are able to go to places like little italy and harbour east and other places. >> the pricing the, the races

biggest cheerleader, stephanie rawlings-blake, declined to comment beyond a written statement, saying in part that is as has been a difficult process, but they will have what it takes to move forward and make this world-class sporting events successful for baltimore. it goes before the full board for approval may 16. >> a plan is put into place to search for a new baltimore city top cop. city officials said they will be using a panel of experts and an outside firm to hire a replacement for outgoing commissioner fred bealefeld. he made an announcement this month saying he would like to spend more time with this family. -- with his family. he will be involved in the search for the person who best fits the position. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake expressed confidence today that plan. >> this is a search in earnest. we're looking interleague and an externally. i'm looking for taking advantage -- internally and an

externally. i'm looking forward to taking advantage of what we can do with this position. >> the mayor said she would like to see a replacement chosen prior to bealefeld's departure, which is slated for august. he held the position as top cop for five years. >> jury deliberations have ended for the day against julius henson, a man accused of using robo calls to suppress the black voter turnout in the previous election. >> in the first robo call case in december involving ehrlich campaign manager paul schurick, the jury deliberated about four hours. not this time around jurors in this case deliberated yesterday and went home all -- and all day today and what how without reaching a decision. julius tenzin is accused in four different election law violations. he is the author of the robo

call in 2010 that prosecutors say tried to suppress the black voter turnout. at the time, he was a consultant to the bob ehrlich campaign. paul schurick was convicted in december on similar charges. in deliberations today, we did hear from the jury one time. they sent out a question just before lunchtime saying they wanted to get a copy on the instructions on all the charges. the price -- the judge provided them with that after lunch. they did not hear another word until they said they were ready to go home and will be back at it tomorrow. >> in the high-stakes election year with polls putting the economy as the top concern among voters, the issue of same-sex marriage has dominated the political combat -- conversation. this comes in the wake of president obama's public endorsement of gay marriage yesterday. >> political strategists say the

president's endorsement of same- sex marriage is a risky move, one that may or may not pay off or may not pay ormo off for him politically. >> same-sex couples should be able to get married. a new ad.ng a new i'-- romney is steering clear of the issue and as directly at odds about it. he said when it -- directly asked about it. when asked, he said the president is the one moving the country back to the past. >> this concept is a throwback to the liberal ideas of the past. >> republican strategists say the move was dictated in part by polls showing the president is losing independent voters. because of its inability to turn around a lousy economy. >> he is going down the list of people who put him in office in

2008 and trying to hit them up. we have an issue on student loans for the youth. and now we have an issue on game marriage for the gays and lesbians. >> the president did not do this as a political calculation. >> and it is by no means, some say, apolitical slam dunk for the president. he is losing support in some key states. >> i think it shows moral leadership, courageous leadership, and something that was not easy to do. and i think americans can relate to the difficulty of the position. >> house speaker jon boehner weighed in today same jobs and the economy should be the focus of the election. and for the most part, both sides agree that the economy and not social issues will decide who will be the next president. >> a recent gallup poll shows americans are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage. >> medicare reportedly paid billions of dollars to more than

2000 pharmacies, including some locations in baltimore with so- called questionable billing. questionable, as in billing medicare for 1000 prescriptions a single year for one patient in kansas. they pinpointed more than 2600 pharmacies, identifying them as extreme dollars. smaller drug stores are more vulnerable to fraud, adding that may be because medicare does not require seniors to report suspicious billing patterns. >> there was a huge marijuana bust in howard county. police say a man was growing pot in the basement of his home. >> he once worked for the baltimore city police department at the crime lab technician. >> police confiscated 341 marijuana plants from a town house. the plants were being grown in the basement. cracks in a howard county jail

cell, police laid out what they found at home. the marijuana plants are worth over half a million dollars. there also growing lands, dehumidifiers, drawing tables, and other equipment. >> we see now a pretty sophisticated row operation. he had high-intensity lights, air filters, a water pumping system, ventilation system. this is what we consider to be a sophisticated grow operation that has been going on for some time. >> police found a growing operation at this town hall, acting on an anonymous tip. they arrested the 30-year-old and charged him with possession of marijuana and numerous other charges. >> the quantity of the drugs indicate that a charge for intent to distribute would be appropriate. it is certainly not for personal use. >> city police say he work for the police department at the crime lab technician, non-

police. he separated from the agency in 2005. >> our investigation does not end here. it begins here. we have made this arrest and we do not have other address for this particular grow operation, but our investigation will continue into what happened with those drugs after they left this residence. >> his bond was set at $25,000. >> two women are facing prostitution charges for their involvement in a business working out of b.w.i. thurgood marshall hope -- airport hotel district. asocial media bulletin board led police to arrest them. -- a social media bulletin board led police to arrest them. life behind bars for the man convicted of shooting and killing an off-duty state trooper. police say it will be without parole, plus 20 years. he was sentenced today for the june, 2010 shooting of trooper

was the brown. he was working as a part-time security officer at applebees in forestville when williams shot him, after being thrown out of the restaurant earlier the -- that evening. >> more construction on a section of the beltway. maryland transportation fast -- officials tell us that for most of the day on saturday, they are shutting down the ramp on the outer loop to a northbound exit 8. the right lane approaching exit date will also be close. crews will be performing bridge work on the overpasses and lighting repairs on the ramp. that will be from 5:00 a.m. until noon. >> coming up, the event that is kicking off preakness activities. >> including bubba gump shrimp company that opened its doors today. >> cheers to camden sports. we will show you why later in

sports. >> we will show you the seven- day in just a moment. a nice look outside.

>> a new restaurant open this afternoon. the bubble gum restaurant opened its doors. -- buuba gump shrimp co. opened its doors. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake

shows it shows the harbors ability -- says it shows the harbors ability to change with the times. >> we have to find new ways to attract visitors, but also our residents, to make this a year- round destination. and by bringing in a nationally recognized restaurants and amenities, those are the things that will continue to help us to grow and attract people. >> i think i saw forest, forest gump. also, a new tenant is expected to be announced for the vacancy left behind in all about -- in lockwood place. >> lodging this year's hot air balloon festival leading up to priebus, 2012. two days of bluhm related activities. -- beaulieu and related activities. -- balloon related activities.

conditions have to be right saturday morning. >> 630 a m lunch? >> i've gone to that many times when the kids were little. it is great fun if you do not mind getting up early. >> if you never have done it, it is the coolest thing you'll ever do. the weather will be fine on saturday morning. today would have been way too windy. they would have ended up over the atlantic. here is the chesapeake going to the south through the carolinas. . cool air out of southern canada. the high today was 60 degrees. we should be in the low 70's. -- the high today was 68 degrees. we should be in the low 70's. it is in the 70's and 80's all the way up to the canadian border. we will get a slice of warmer air on mother's day weekend. it is 59 in westminster.

61 at parkton. 62 at rising sun. 65 at the airport. it should be settling down after sunset, but a nice breeze still right now. the winds at 16, gusting to 22. you need three things to get the temperatures to drop off overnight. you need a column winds and dry air and clear skies. we have two of those. just across the line in pennsylvania, it was unstable enough to produce some rain showers. you can see some of them trying to cross the state line. up north there, you might have had a spring glad your house this afternoon. all of that will be dissipating this afternoon. tonight, chile, but not as cold as it could have been. -- tonight, cold, but not as cold as it could have been.

tomorrow, mostly sunny skies, and continued cool, especially in the morning. by the afternoon, the lower 70's. northwest wind at 10-15. it will be a bit choppy your taking the boat out. a small craft advisory is in effect. northwest wind at 10-20. the wave height is 2 to 3 feet. the seven-day forecast calling into mother's day weekend, a beautiful day on saturday. lots of sunshine, no wind. the high-temperature, 77. on sunday, a friend coming in from the northwest. a 30% chance of showers late in the afternoon. most of the day will be fine. the best chance of rain in our seven-day forecast is monday and tuesday of next week. >> from the south and the banks sports center, this is 11 sports. >> the orioles play the texas rangers at the yard, you definitely want outfield the o's

opened today's front end of the double header with three straight home runs. part of a five-run afternoon so far. hamilton in the first. striking out. flaherty is going to right field. and it is gone. a leadoff launch of coley lewis. 11 strikeouts, but gave up her five home runs. j.j. hardee, his eighth home run season -- of the season. to-0. next batter, nick markets. three-zero orioles come back to back-to-back runs. the new have and that -- nfl collective bargaining agreement has completely changed the landscape of getting rookies sign. it's getting a lot easier.

courtney al-shaab, a linebacker from alabama -- courtney, the linebacker from alabama, he is expecting to get a lot of playing time. sixth round draft pick remains the only unsigned. the ravens draft pick. that deal looks like it will be done in the next day or two. the ornate -- doug o'neill, the country's attention in nationally televised. race -- pre-race interview where he looked at the camera and said, look, mom, i was a "c" student and i'm at the grand prix. he watched his horse on the track at pimlico.

jack van berg at hollywood park in california, he traded two priebus winners. his advice, do the work and -- preakness winners. his advice, do the work and enjoy the ride. >> i'm having a blast. i'm back home and i did the jim rome's show. i did all of the school interviews. i was at the laker game the other night and they interviewed as, mario and died. it has been an absolute dream. -- morelle and i -- mario and i. it has been an absolute dream. we are soaking it all up and enjoying every minute of it. >> the countdown clock leading up to this summer's games, for some reason it does not work today. today in greece, the official lighting of the olympic caldron, they did it using the sun and a mirror.

runners will carry that torch across greece over the next eight days before it makes its way to england. by the way, using an old- fashioned wall calendar, you can calculate the games will begin

x here is what we are working on for 11 news tonight. held at gunpoint, police say a man claims two men forced him to empty his pockets and then cleared his bank account. we will show you one local

county program that is a first county program that is a first in maryl

>> apparently, i need a new wall calendar before we get to the weather.

72 days? >> you said the clock is not working. there is an online clock. 77 days, 22 hours, 33 minutes and six seconds. >> on thursday, i said mother's day was today. -- on monday, i said it was today. weather goingice into mother's day weekend. 72 tomorrow. 77 on saturday. maybe a little bit of rain on mother's day. >> thank you for telling us what day it is. >> and how many days until the olympics? >> 77. >> if you do not calculate into the exchange-rate of the pound to a bureau, which i did. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> we will see you at 11:00 p.m. ♪

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