>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> the big weekend to hit the road, and finally some good news at the pump on your way out of town. good afternoon. i am sarah caldwell. the big story for months has been soaring gas prices. now we are feeling some relief at a weekend at known for pain at the pump. nikole killion has more. >> gas prices have been coming down for the last several weeks, just in time for the holiday

weekend. a different kind of the sticker shock at the pump. plunging prices for the memorial day weekend. >> it is two years in a row that we've seen prices dropped for a memorial day weekend. >> last month, they were hovering around before dollar mark. what is driving them down? >> crude-oil has been dropping the last few months. all of these issues impact gasoline prices and make it cheaper for the gasoline you put into your car. >> not everyone is catching a break. it will cost you less developed your tank on the east coast -- to fill up your tank of the east coast to those out west will face record prices due to supply issues. matter what you pay, aaa expecsays to expect lots of comy on the road. >> 34.8 million americans traveling overall, 31 million americans hitting the road. it will be quite crowded.

>> we could see an additional surge of last-minute travelers because of cheaper gas in parts of the country. >> plenty of marylanders are getting ready to leave town. there are two things you need to keep an eye on, traffic and gas prices. nearly 750,000 marylanders travel this memorial day weekend. the roads may be busier than expected, because some people decide at the last minute to have out. if gas prices fall more, they are likely to do so. where can you find the cheapest gas prices around? >> heading towards dover beach is, the cheapest gas in the state is $3.52 a gallon in salisbury. if you are traveling in ocean city, get your guess what you are down there. >> aaa says that air travel is

on the decline this year, largely because airline fees are on the rise. before you head out, look at the skies. live looked from downtown on our skycam. it has been foggy and cloudy this morning. john collins has a look at the weekend ahead. >> we still have clouds out there, but the sunshine is trying to burn through them. our view from the grand hotel and spa on the boardwalk of ocean city, you can see the trends going down the boardwalk. more folks that we've seen on the beach in a longtime. for today, isolated thunderstorm could crop up. temperatures in the 70's. in a lot cooler in the beach and in line. -- than inland. saturday and sunday, minimal rain chance, lots of sunshine. nice is maybe an understanding for that kind of weather for

this first weekend of the summer season. we will talk about the forecast in a few minutes. >> scare at b.w.i. thurgood marshall airport delayed at least one flight on thursday. a baggage handler reported what looks like a smoke coming from a piece of luggage. they call in fire crews and the bomb squad. they opened the suitcase with the bomb disposal robot officials tell us that the package was harmless. >> it contained an aerosol can which had discharged into the air, producing some spray, which had the appearance of smoke. >> the flight took off a short time later. the tsa has a mixed message about aerosols on its list of permitted items, because aerosols are flammable. hair spray is the one exception. investigators looked at three separate shootings with seven victims at all, all within two hours at three separate places. at least two people died. the most recent shooting

happened before 8:00 thursday night at east preston street. two men and women were found with gunshot wounds. one of the men died, and at last check, the other is at a critical condition. the female is in serious condition. an hour before the shooting, homicide detectives were called to york road in north baltimore, where one man was shot and he also died. sky team 11 was flying over the scene of the third incident in southwest baltimore. two men and one woman were sitting at the porch at west fayette when someone came up and started shooting at them. crews rushed baldry to the hospital. at last check, the woman is in critical condition and both men in serious condition. police are trying to figure out if any of these shootings are connected out looking for suspects. an 11 news update, a downtown robbery at a 7-11.

teenage kids assaulted at the clerk working at the convenience store on light street but it started with the company promotion for free slurpees. the kids became unruly and assaulted the employee. in addition to stealing merchandise, the kids also took a bank deposit worth $6,600. nearly 2000 employees at the nrg steel mill in sparrows point will be out of a job in a matter of weeks. the cuts are not limited to maryland. nrg steel says it is suspending operations at its mills in ohio and west virginia. earlier this week, company officials said and were considering selling those steel mills. as we get to the end of the school year for baltimore county students, one district school will be spending the summer getting a facelift.

construction crews are expected to start renovations to stony elementary school in towson. improvements include air- conditioning, new lockers, and an addition to the 83-year-old building to accommodate the 690 students. classes will be held at george washington carver high school until renovations are completed, which are expected to take about 15 months. his image is one of the most famous in the country. the first missing boy to be on the side of a milk carton. today, a big new development in that case. we may finally know what happened. hundreds of fish and dead. crews were out this week cleaning them up.

switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> history made at the international space station. the dragon capsule is the first privately funded spacecraft to reach the stage and is carrying 1200 pounds of food, water, and clothing for the station's crew. covering and the nation, a new york man will answer to charges today in the 33-year-old murder case. an arraignment is scheduled for 51-year-old pedro hernandez. the new york police commissioner

says he confessed to killing etan patz. patz and vanished while walking to school bus stop 33 years ago today. he was the first missing child to appear on a milk carton. jurors in the john edwards trial are still deliberating. they have been debating his fate for a week. he and his daughter left the courthouse to visit an acc baseball tournament. edwards went to law school at carolina. he is talks with six criminal counts of campaign finance violations stemming from the presidential campaign in 2008. police in oregon are trying to identify three very young children found in a shed thursday morning. they were found in the shed in southeast portland by the owner, who called police. witnesses came forward after word to say that a woman left her children at there. the children are in protective

custody as officials try to find their mother. we are talking about breast implants, but there is any procedure out that would let you go in before breakfast and be back home before dinner. and everybody can take advantage, and though. -- not everybody can take advantage, though. >> weather is unsettled from new england to the atlantic ocean. insta-weather-plus forecast is just ahead. up to 80 at the airport. 85 downtown.

>> trash stemmers hit the inner harbor on thursday to clean up hundreds of dead fish.

the maryland department of the environment says more than 160 dead fish were found near the substation, but they believe more than 1000 i actually dead. officials believe that algae blooms are consuming too much oxygen in the water, killing off the fish. the former president of a baltimore county fire company pleads guilty to investment. she stole thousands of dollars each month from the middle rope fire company to renovate her house and shop online. is that the company to miss -- led the company to miss loan payments and lose its fire truck. in all, they say she stole $122,000. >> what is going to happen is that eventually, depending on where we are with the funds, if we cannot keep enough funds with the company to keep the, the operational, we could close the doors. >> she has already started

restitution payments to the company and will be sentenced in august. fire officials in anne arundel county are trying to figure out what started a massive fire and eklund burnie home. look at these intense flames from sky team 11 estate and tear through the home at ridgewood avenue thursday evening. you can see the black smoke billowing out. if you take a closer look, you can see the furniture melting as the fire burns. fire officials said no one was hurt. cruise out must have a big forest fire on their hands today. this is video from the mexico- arizona border. it is burned 12 palm and 70,000 -- homes and 70,000 acres. high winds are not helping, either. >> now your 11 insta-weather- plus forecast with john collins. >> big weekend coming up. we are looking to see if there's

any rain. a few spotty showers in new england. indication on the radar that maybe a couple of clouds down their around cells. -- saulsbury are producing a sprinkle or two. some think could pop up this afternoon. more on that an eminent. pollen count has been relatively low recently very low for weeks. total pollen count of 21. mold spore count, 41. temperatures, held the smattering of orange dropping into this picture, which means that meetings are beginning to pop into the 80s. around the area, a lot of humanity. -- humidity. here on the satellite, we can see some of these clouds of the lower eastern shore might start to produce a sprinkle. these are some of the isolated thundershowers we could see this afternoon. kent county, south of there, but the clouds with them out around

baltimore itself. -- clouds are sending out around baltimore itself. there is a french stall -- front stalled to around the beaches at there. there is a cool front trying to push in from the west. it will be in the neighborhood and stay off to our northwest, it looks like, over the next day or so. books like we stay in warm and humid environment. what is left of alberto is spinning out over the ocean. south of that point, well, we still have a little circulation, and forecasters are thinking possibly this little area could develop into something topical and head towards the carolinas over the next few days. we will have to see what happens with that. if it gets a name, it will be burl. bud is developing in the

pacific. the hurricane season is off to an early start this time around. partly cloudy is our forecast today. 82 to 87 and the high. south wins, five to 10 knots, 1- foot shot on the open waters of the day. isolated storms or two could pop up. sunday, again, maybe an isolated storms down in virginia. memorial day weekend, and saturday, 88, isolated spot possibility did sunday, 90, mostly sunny. memorial day itself, 91. scattered clouds, hot and humid conditions. we see the warm weather over the weekend, and monday night, tuesday, and wednesday, rain chances. >> according to a new poll, a

majority of marylanders will vote in favor of allowing same- sex marriage in the state. according to public policy poll commissioned by marylanders for marriage equality, 57% of likely voters would vote to uphold the same-sex marriage law, up 12 points from an identical poll taken in march. recently, president obama and the naacp showed support for same-sex marriage, and some think that might have helped the shift. >> this is an example of extraordinary presidential leadership. the president, beginning with the abolition of don't ask don't tell, has taken a leadership role and brought the country along. >> opponents have until next month to get 55,000 petitions signed to get it put on the ballot in november. in the "medical alert," women

undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer should undergo an mri to make sure the treatment is working. researchers found mri images were able to be more accurately predicted of out the tumor was responding to chemo than a clinical exam. experts say that it can show whether blood vessels are forming in the tumor and it is shrinking. a new technique gives women a larger breasts without the long recovery. it is not for everyone. >> to undergo what is called slash breast augmentation, he is one of the only surgeons in the nation performing it. only certain qualify. another big selling point --

>> the procedure happens to be quick because i am not catching up with a bleeding control. >> no bleeding, and no narcotics, or downtime. >> she will be able to go out to dinner with in a couple of hours. >> a quick final check, and into the operating room she goes. we followed right along to witness at all. once under anesthesia, her surgery goes by fast. >> i have not touched the cage at all. >> meaning little to no recovery. the surgery lasted exactly 24 minutes. now the big test, how does she feel, and will she be able to go out to dinner? >> lean back and relax. >> she is a groggy, disoriented, and very sore. >> to us like you went to the

gym and you have not gone for six months. >> it does not even heard. >> three hours later, she is going to dinner. >> i am surprised by myself. >> her jury it pales in comparison to giving birth to triplets. >> pretty remarkable,. in up next, your maryland lottery numbers, and another check of

>> tonight at 5:00, after a violent night in the city and growing concerns over youth months, police have a busy weekend on their hands. the orioles are in serious talks with adam jones. a horrific accident-is one man's dreams of becoming a navy seal, but some signs of hope. >> happy memorial day weekend. i am sarah fleischer from 98 rock with your pick 3 numbers. we would get your pick four in just a moment. strike it features a top prize

of $50,000. you can enter non-winning tickets for a chance to win amazing orioles prizes. drawing official bob diamond all set for your pick four details. the maryland lottery -- let yourself play. >> memorial day weekend looking good? >> summer is here just in time. hot and humid on sunday and monday. typical summer-like weather. >> have a happy and safe memorial day weekend. we appreciate you being with us.

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