with a background perspective of being in the mayor of a large city with high crime. >> does the death penalty work as a deterrent, a prevention to violent crime? is it an effective use of taxpayer dollars? no. 3, is the death penalty consistent with our values as people? >> committee members peppered him with questions. how can justice be served if the punishment for the most heinous criminal acts is a life sentence? those in opposition include police, crime victims' families, and prosecutors. >> we need to keep the death penalty for the worst of the worst. >> it is widely believed that one senator is the swing vote that could launch the bill today committee on the floor.

an appropriations bill could be petition to referendum. death penalty supporters as the attorney general to send an opinion on that. >> this one said that it seems that even though the appropriation. but the senate president said they could take away the appropriations aspect of the bill by simply carving out the funding. this piece of legislation appears to be on the fast track in the senate. a voter is expected in committee as early as a week from today. david collins, wbal-tv 11 news. >> former anne arundel county executive john leopold request for a new trial has been shot down by the state. he was found guilty last month of misconduct in office, using on duty police officers to do campaign work and county employees for personal business. court officials say they see no need for a hearing on the motion -- the real -- resigned

after the conviction. >> wahlbergers city police have released the identity of the officer involved in this week's training accident that put a trainee in great condition. authorities say 46-year-old officer william s. kern mistakenly used a gun with live ammunition in the exercise. according to sources, he was supposed to be using a training weapon but mistakenly grabbed the wrong gun. the victim remains in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. we are told it was a trainee for the university of maryland police. an in-depth investigation is now under way with the maryland state police. >> a deadly crash this morning in anne arundel county. upon arrival, crews discovered that an suv and a cement truck had collided. authorities say the woman operating the suv died from her

injuries, though no one else was reportedly hurt. there were about 60 crashes in the county during two hours this morning. icy conditions were suspected as a factor. three people including two children recovering after an apartment fire in harford county. the flames broke out this morning in aberdeen. authority say to young boys aged two and four were taken to johns hopkins children's center with first and second-degree burns. a 26-year-old was taken to johns hopkins bayview. because of the fire remains under investigation. >> will the real ray raice step forward? he says an impostor used a fake version of his facebook page to try to pick up young girls. lowell melser joins us live from the newsroom with more on this developing story. >> a quick look around facebook and you can see there are a number of different fake ray rice pages.

this is his official page. you can imagine how serious this situation was, that it could not only did the attention of ray rice but that it would force him to do something to get that page removed. you may think you know ray rice on the field, but on facebook, it is a totally different story. >> there are several fake ones out there. some of them appeared to be just people being silly and having fun. others, like this one, are a real safety concern. >> according to his publicist, he was very concerned for the safety of his fans. rice says he recently began receiving messages on facebook from a fan claiming that a man started a page using his name, even using pictures of his child, and that the person was using the page to try to pick up women and girls under 18.

>> we had one girl that responded to this person, saying that she was going to maryland like casino that evening. an hour later, he checked in on his facebook page at maryland like a cino. >> the challenge with a celebrity is, everybody knows who he is, and when his personality starts doing something on the internet, it can really ruin his image. >> authorities said the person doing this has not broken any laws so far. there are obvious signs that the ke.e is bakefa for everyday folks, it should be a wake-up call to protect your personal information. >> the average citizen has to be cautious about how much of their personal information they are putting on the internet.

>> since we file the report, facebook has removed the imposter site. ray rice banking wbal and reminding parents to talk to their kids about online safety. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> the record theater is soon to be no more. the owners have decided to convert the space. >> it will soon be this base of a new nightclub in towson. rob roblin will explain why the owners are making the switch. >> the owners say it is quite simple. times are changing, and they are changing with the times. the theater has been in that family since the 1950's. at first it was a movie theater, but since the 1990's it has been a music venue here in towson, a favored place for many to see a concert. >> i had the opportunity to see some acts there and i did not

have to drive so far. >> they have decided to remodel the theater and turn it into a nightclub. he said they could not compete with the bigger venues. >> we knew it was going to happen. it was just a matter of time. it is like the walmart syndrome. we would throw out bids that were huge, and the bigger venues just come over the top and out trump you. >> some folks think the change was because of an incident that happened in the fall, when a crowd got out of control. brian says that is not the case. >> there were some problems in the fall. >> is that the reason you are changing? >> no, not at all. we had discussed this years ago. it is just that it was time to change. we are getting pushed out because of our size.

not anything else, it is just we cannot compete with the big dogs. >> concert fans we talked to today in towson are disappointed that the theater will be closing. >> i will miss it. we will not come to electronic dancing, but we will miss being held to come and listen to the concert. >> time marches on. >> if everything goes as planned, by september the old theater will be a nightclub. rob roblin, wbal-tv 11 news. >> in tonight's education alert, baltimore county may be a step ahead of president obama in implementing educational proposals. he wants the state to offer preschool programs for low and moderate income families. a program at lansdowne allows

high school students to earn it, college credits. for some students, it is a perfect fit. >> i just really like kids, and i want to be a teacher when i grow up. i figure that will give me enough experience to be able to do what i want to do. >> the preschoolers to enroll in the program get to learn the art, language, math, music, and science. >> it could all happen if congress cannot reach a budget agreement and soon. more on the sequester shock factor, coming up. >> the ravens quarterback position got plenty of attention after the super bowl. all the details later in sports. >> much more mild day coming in tomorrow and then a blast of arctic air and snow for the weekend.

next lawmakers on capitol hill are looking for ways to stop billions of dollars in spending cuts. >> it/is everything from military to education, housing, and homeland security. nikole killion has more on how it could impact most of us. >> even though the cut would affect the federal government, the ripple effect would be felt by almost every american.

security wait times of up to four hours or more, a traveler's nightmare that could soon become reality. >> it would not only cause thousands of miss passenger connections, thereby be severe economic consequences. >> janet napolitano was one of several cabinet members to testify about the effect of automatic spending cuts on federal agencies next month. >> it will have a big effect on our uniform people. it would cause significant damage to our nation's housing market. >> dear teachers on staff, larger class sizes. >> under the sequester, $85 billion must be slashed across the board. >> it does force us to deal with budget cuts. >> senate democrats offered a fix with smaller budget cuts and new tax hikes, including one on millionaires.

>> it is a political stunt. >> republican leaders dismissed it as a stunt. >> the sequester is there because the president insisted it be there. where is the president's plan? >> why are we leaving when we should be staying here to work this out? >> the house and senate are set to adjourn by freddie -- by friday for the presidents' day weekend and will return the last weekend of february. that only gives them a few days to work everything out before that march deadline. >> the congressional budget office estimates 750,000 jobs could be lost this year if the sequester takes place. >> now, your insta-weather forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> this time yesterday we had some rain and snow moving across the area, getting a little sloppy out there. in the west -- snow in the west,

rain in the east. mainly rain in southern maryland and the lower eastern shore. by 1:00 in the morning it was gone, and it was long gone by the morning rush hour but all the sludge that was left behind froze up, causing eyespots this morning. -- causing icy spots this morning. the next chance for precipitation will come tomorrow night into saturday morning. that could be another messy mix of rain changing too early snow. 49 degrees, a milder than normal afternoon with the average time for valentine's day at 45 degrees. outside right now is 43 in parkville. columbia, 43, western maryland in the mid-30's. it will not be that cold

tonight, with a little cloud cover coming in and allied, southerly breeze developing. just above freezing in downtown baltimore with clear to partly cloudy skies. in the western maryland mountains there will be a sharp change from friday into the weekend. 20's for high on saturday and teens on sunday. yeah plans to spend a weekend of an ounce, prepare for arctic cold. the rain will hold off until evening and then change to snow early saturday morning. unseasonably mild february day tomorrow, 55 degrees, and then the arctic front rows across the ocean city area on saturday with the rain and snow mixed. temperatures dropped into the 30's and around chicago. the leading edge of the arctic front is headed our way. tomorrow will be mild and head of the front, but then the temperatures are falling rapidly tomorrow night. partly cloudy skies until 3:00

or 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. as the front makes its way toward the coast, an area of low pressure along the front will be generating snow and rain. it will change to all snow going into saturday morning. we might get some accumulation on the front. expect much colder air for the weekend. tomorrow, enjoy the temperatures in the low 50's in many areas. partly cloudy skies turning mostly cloudy in the afternoon. precipitation coming in after sunset. we will see rain and snow changing over to all snow later friday night. out on the bay, southwesterly winds with waves about 1 foot. we will see that big change in temperatures from 50 tomorrow to 30's 4 highs on saturday and only around freezing on sunday.

a few inches of snow are possible on saturday, especially in the morning. a few lingering flurries with gusty winds on sunday. sunny skies on monday and a chance for rain next tuesday. >> this is 11 sports. >> a year ago, the orioles did not know exactly what they had with jason hu they acquired from colorado. it looks like he will be the opening day starter. they avoided arbitration this past off-season. while hamill's stock in salary continue to rise, services comfort level. he sees this opportunity with the orioles and a far different light. >> i am definitely comfortable. the guys let me in and treated

me really well. they had my back from game 1. obviously this year i have some work to do. i have to get back to work on the things i was working on before i got here. >> last season he had a 8-6 record. and the injury sidelined him in july and again in september. his ability to play for that injury helped carry him through the playoff series with the yankees. >> the philadelphia eagles won a quarterback that can get him -- can get them to the super bowl. dixon played college ball in oregon. he will get a chance to compete with michael vick for playing time on the field. he has not seen any game action in two years since he played with the steelers and play against the ravens. in his first four years, he

twice went to the super bowl with the steelers. five years in the nfl, and he has played on three super bowl teams. it would frequently put in practice time as the mobile quarterback. a south african paralympic and caught the world's attention for his successful fight to compete in the summer olympics. now is down the spotlight again, this time accused of murder. he is charged with the murder of his girlfriend. he is not to his fans as the blade runner because of its high-tech, artificial legs. now he will likely face the witness stand. the situation is far more serious. stay with us for the forecast, straight ahead.

>> an afternoon set back of further delays have for the crippled cruise ship. more details on how the

passenger door holding up and how it could have a ripple effect for the entire industry. who will lead anne arundel county after john leopold's exit? exit? those stories and

>> did you have a valentine? did you remember to get them something sweet? it is the busiest day for area

flores, working to meet demand. dozens of pounds of chocolate strawberries will be sold, and is not valentine's day without flowers, except for some of us. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> of 50-degree day tomorrow. rain coming in tomorrow night, changing to all snow with light accumulations possible saturday morning. some rain around tuesday of next week. >> a gorgeous day to day. >> thank you for joining us, everybody.

we will see you back here tonight.