>> live, local, late breaking -- this is wbal tv 11 news at noon. >> good afternoon. baltimore city residents could soon pay close to 10% more for water. the department of public works is proposing a 9% hike to get the current system up-to-date. for the average family of four, that is an extra $97 a year for water and sewer bills. dpw says the system needs repair. it has already seen 400 breaks in the city this year, and the

extra funds should help with accurate and timely billing. >> we have had studies done nationwide talking about how our system is among the best in the country. i mean, really in the top tier. to keep it that way, we have to invest in it. >> reports show the city has increased water rates by 9% for 10 of the last 12 years. public works officials to fight for a bill hike, but other city officials give testimony on a bill to ban kids from buying anything from a liquor store. the measure would prevent minors from entering a liquor store without an adult and from making any kind of purchase, even candy, snacks, and chips. it is dangerous for kids to get used to being inside a liquor stores. >> liquor stores are supposed to serve alcohol to the community and market to adults. yet, we find in some of our liquor stores, a lot of our liquor stores, not only do they

sell liquor, but they specialize in every blow popper every bag of chips, directly marketing to our children. >> the bill has broad support from other council members did a city police say a group of about 20 kids as salted a 7-eleven store owner in downtown baltimore before stealing and never of items to the insulted the store owner. the kids entered the store for a free promotion wednesday afternoon. according to police, the kids us all to the honor of your getting their free during installed chips and other small items. police say the owner was n violently hard. city police a looking for two suspects who bailed out of a stolen vehicle wednesday in west baltimore. you're looking at what skyteam 11 shot following the car near west saratoga and north carrollton street. the stolen bmw was spotted in northwest baltimore. the driver sped off, weaving in and out of traffic. then the driver slowed down

enough to let the passengers out and later bailed out of the car near begin homes. baltimore city police are issuing a craigslist warning after a recent robbery. robbers have been preying on craigslist users shopping for coins, jewelry, and dirt bikes. they have lent four cases dating back to august. they say suspects post a fake advertisement online, asking the buyer to meet in the 3500 block of kaleda avenue. they display guns and rob the buyer of cash and valuable -- valuable to -- on -- >> in some cases, there were at least two people at the robbery. we believe the suspect as accomplices. >> no one has been hurt, but police recommend anyone looking to buy an item from a site like craigslist to use a cashier's check in meet -- and meet in the well lit area. >> yesterday was a little bit on

the human side, reminding you of summer. and some isolated thunderstorm activity came up. heavy downpours and lightning. today, the same kind of set up. very much the same situation. partly cloudy skies. he amid. most of the stormy activity is over the los in -- ocean or the west virginia mountains. but something could crop up this afternoon in this unstable atmosphere. we will see how unstable things are as the going to the holiday weekend. >> a tragic ending to a missing persons case. state police have recovered three bodies from a huge manure pit on an eastern shore farm. the family reported the father and two sons missing after they did not come home from work at the kennedyville yesterday. the tractor was found idling next to a septic pond where the three were working. it is unclear what caused them to fall into the pond.

♪ >> the obama campaign is shifting gears and looking to refocus on the president's record. the change comes from backlash for ads attacking mitt romney's time at bain capital. here is the commitment 2012 report. >> the candidates to do agree the election is about the economy, each trying to convince voters he has the know how to fix it. >> sadly, president obama has decided to attack success. >> mitt romney responding publicly for the first time to criticism from the obama camp about his time at bain capital, telling "time" magazine his experience makes him the better man for the white house. >> i spend 25 years in the private sector. that obviously teaches you something that you do not learn if you have not spent any time in the private sector. >> this video accuses the president of trying to distract

voters from a bad economy. >> it is just a feeling of disappointment. >> on the campaign trail, the president is still hammering at romney's record. >> he should be brought of the great personal success he has had as the ceo of a large financial firm, but i think he has drawn the wrong lessons from his experience. >> but switching the approach with two new ads touting his work with veterans. >> it is because of what they have done that we have been able to go after al qaeda and gil bin laden. >> and medicare. >> commitment to medicare as personal as yours. >> the president has to talk about his record, the strength in his record. >> and the president will start the day at another fundraiser in california before heading to iowa. mitt romney talks education in philadelphia. >> thank you. the u.s. naval academy is remembering its first african- american graduate. the academy announced on its facebook page of the death of

lieutenant cmdr wesley brown. brown was a standout student and athlete in graduated in 1949. he was born here in baltimore. in may 2008, the academy named its new field house after him. lieutenant cmdr wesley brown was 85 years old. still ahead, safety concerns regarding a new type of laundry detergent. details in consumer alert. plus, if you plan on boarding a flight earlier because of your children, that might soon change. first, his disappearance changed the way we searched for missing children. now word of a confession in a 30-year-old case. and dr. kim hammond is here to answer your pet questions. you can e-mail your questions to petquestions@wbaltv.com.

>> a semi truck driver is dead after slamming to a home in suburban chicago. it crashed into the home early thursday morning. the trailer flipped onto a car with two passengers inside were not hurt. a passenger inside the semi truck survived the crash. there is no word on what caused the driver to lose control. there are new developments in the case of a new york city boy who went missing more than three decades ago. new york city police say a person who is already in custody

has implicated himself in etan patz's disappearance. the 6-year-old vanished while walking to a manhattan bus stop 33 years ago. officials are not saying much the plan to release more details later today. some dramatic moments in an alaskan courtroom wednesday. the man accused of killing an anchorage barista was in federal court when he somehow broke out of his leg shackles and made a run for it. he jumped over the courtroom railing admitted into the front row of the gallery before marshals could taser him. still ahead, boarding an airplane with your kids could soon become more difficult. we will explain why. plus, the connection between ac section into all the dubie city. why doctors say those babies gain more weight. >> a little unstable today outside. no rain right now, but we will see what happens later this afternoon and for the weekend. the insta-weather + forecast just ahead. a lot of sun. the temperature is up to 78 at

the airport. 82, downtown. >> and dr. kim hammond from falls road animal hospital is here to answer your pet here to answer your pet questions.

consumer alert, no more early boarding for kids on united airlines. the airline is dropping its policy of allowing families with small children to board the plane first. instead, they will have to fly in first or business class ticket that privilege. it is to speed up the boarding process. and a warning concerning the new detergent products. the colorful cubes that hold

high concentrations of detergent could look like toys to kids, and that has safety experts concern. poison control centers are reporting an increase in calls about children under the age of five swallowing these pods. the detergent can cause of vomiting and difficulty breathing. kind of like what i am is experiencing. a long summer ahead for pet owners. it is the peak of flea season, and this year could be one of the worst. some of the prevention products using may not be doing the trick. kourtney talked to the experts. f leas, a five-letter word no pet owner wants to hear -- fleas. >> differently a complete mind sore. >> and it is not along the way soon. this year is a flea season could be one of the worst. >> we are in for a pretty rough season. >> dr. brown says her office sees between 10 and 20 pence each day just for fleas.

>> they are itching. >> this pet owners says for her pug, that aging is a pain. >> he cries all the time. >> vets said getting rid of those pests is a challenge, especially because many products on the market cannot work as well anymore. >> we tend to see the efficacy wear off. >> one treatment the doctor recommends. >> we use a product that is given as a pill. and it begins working within 30 minutes to kill all of the fleas on the dog or cat. >> the trick is year round prevention. she suggests some of these products, like revolution. but is not just about treating your pet. without treating your home, those drugs will keep multiplying by the thousands. >> -- of those bugs will multiplied. >> she is happy to say her dog is free of fleas right now, and she hopes it stays that way. >> cross my fingers.

>> and now, your 11 insta- weather + forecast with meteorologist john collins. >> it is feeling a little more trabuco out there. we had some downpours yesterday. -- it is feeling a little more tropical out there. hurricane season is under way. it officially starts with june. we already had a alberto down south. it was just a small storm off shore. but things are starting to roll along. the national weather service has come up with the outlook -- not a prediction, and outlook of the number of hurricanes and storms that are expected this year. their outlook calls for nine to 15 named storms. four to eight of those becoming hurricanes. one to three of those becoming major hurricanes. a fewer number of total storms + hurricanes and major hurricanes than last year, but is a closer to normal, what would be expected in a normal season.

nine to 15 for named storms. four to aid for hurricanes. one to three for major hurricanes. do they affect anybody? to come on shore? we will see what is happening. we're off to an early start. alberta has already happened. let's look at the weather here. temperatures climbing. humidity has gone up. 76 degrees. borg-warner, 74 degrees. westminster, 71. frederick already into the 80's, 81 degrees. in the mountains to the west, oakland is only 66 degrees. very few clouds right now. kind of partly cloudy skies. cluster of thunderstorms offshore. isolated storms in the mountains out west. even ride on the border there. we may see more stuff around here, too, because the on this year is going to destabilize. this could be the focal point for some activity popping up

this afternoon and this evening, a kind of like yesterday. more organized weather out to the west. a cluster of storms again today of miami. they had some big rains yesterday. looks like another cluster of storms just off miami today. we're a little bit cool here in the east. warm weather in the central part of the nation. downright cool in the northwest. seattle is only 51 degrees. future test for today shows the possibility of some stuff cropping up this afternoon and evening. then it that dissipates. partly cloudy skies. may be an isolated or scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. 78 to 83. we are into the lower range right now. the mix of clouds and a son the rest of the day. into friday and saturday, we did see some afternoon activity popping up, but it will be very isolated. looks like we had a quiet weekend and minimal rain

chances. 81, today. 84, friday. 86, saturday. 88, sunday. a minimal rain chance here saturday and sunday. something isolated good crop up, but not a good chance. rain chances go up by late monday and tuesday and wednesday. ♪ anin today's medical alert, interesting new study shows the connection between how a baby is born and their weight later in life. according to a new study in boston, babies born by c- section are twice as likely to be obese by age 3 regardless of their birth weight or their mothers wait. researchers believe that is because c-section babies are born with more and test all -- more intestinal bacteria. it appears of babies have a lot in common with goldilocks. they both like things just right. babies learn to make sense of

the world using the "golden locks affect," by focusing on information that is not too simple or too complex. they found babies watching videos lost interest when the sequence of events became too predictable or choose to present these findings could lead to methods were earlier diagnosis of attention disorders like autism. coming up next, your maryland lottery numbers. and we will get another check of the insta-weather + forecast with john. first, a look at how wall street first, a look at how wall street is performing at this

and enjoying it less and less?

stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years with a two-year agreement. act now and we'll add a special bonus: $250 back. but hurry, this offer ends june 2nd. unlike cable, fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet plus the best tv picture quality. why keep paying so much for cable? switch to fios for just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years with a two-year agreement -- plus your special bonus: $250 back. save $600 in your first two years. but hurry. this incredible offer ends june 2nd. call 1.877.707.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.707.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. or visit us online to save even more. fios. a network ahead.

♪ >> dr. kim hammond from falls road animal hospital is here to answer your pet questions to the with him is a tramp. >> tramp is a greyhound, maybe schnauzer, mix. a very cute dog and adoptable. we have a number for you to call. 443-465-2372. tramp is an a + +. >> they're going to be a lot of takers. let's get to the questions related to the holiday. this person is taking their dog to the beach. she wants to let her off the

leash because she likes to run, but i am scared of losing her. >> a lot of dogs get lost on the holiday weekend. first of all, get a microchip. it takes half a second. you put it under the skin of your dog's back. if they get lost, they can be found. the second thing to remember is, who do you call if your dog gets away? most dogs will wind up at the humane society or the local palin. that is the first place to call. you call the local veterinary hospitals and you called the humane society. i would you describe a dog like a tramp? hard to describe. but call. >> the next one to my family and i are going hiking and camping with our dog. how do we prevent ticks? >> ticks are horrendous. there was a story on how roughly season will be. the parasites are rough. there are a lot of products out there.

frontline and all sorts of them. this is the one i like. >> ok. have a great holiday weekend and hopefully trample get a good home. if you have a question, e-mail us to petquestions@wbaltv.com or visit our website, wbaltv.com. click on family. or you can send in your questions. now, your maryland lottery midday numbers. ♪ >> the maryland lottery, let yourself play ♪ >> hi there. is the with the maryland lottery. time for those midday pick 3 numbers. 6. 1. final number is 4. 6, 1, 4. next, pick 4. first, play your scratch off

lottery tickets. you can turn red, white, and blew into green. ladies and dublin, -- and gentlemen, pick 4. 7, 5, 0, and 0. 7, 5, 0, 0. the maryland lottery, let yourself play. >> john is back with the memorial holiday forecast. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> rain chances go down friday, saturday, and to send a committee sending isolated. but a pretty good holiday weekend. by the end of the day on memorial day monday, rain chances begin to creep up. >> way to order the forecast perfectly. thank you. thank you for joining us for 11 news at noon.

>> watch tonight at 5:00. ♪ 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. it expands when you water it. and improves your soil. for big beautiful plants that grow up to three times the flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. we were so bad at this before. particularly you. [ laughs ] everyone grows with miracle-gro.