next on fox 45 early edition. it's just somebody that didn't do on a spree that night. a series of car fires in baltimore county, how they could be connected to a serial arsonist. she is accused of paying somebody to kill her husband, why she would have done it. this woman's heart stopped. the miracle machine that is keeping her alive. good morning. it's friday, march 12th. i'm patrice harris. it's friday and that means it's

your turn to sound off on our facebook page about anything you want. let us mow what is on your mind as we head into this weekend and your response could air in our facebook feedback segment. we want you to start off the weekend right. the first two fans to post the code word on our facebook wall. will win a prize. go to facebook.com fox baltimore to become a fan to join the conversation. this morning the conversation is all about the rain. meteorologist steve fertig is here to tell us what we can expect. all about the rain. >> it's the first thing i heard when i woke up this morning. >> it's not snow, but we do have flooding concerns. check out, patrice, we have throughout the entire area a flood watch. we are expecting 2, 3, 4 inches of rain, localized areas could see higher amounts than that. this is not a definitely not a laughing matter. we have heavy rain.

we see the hd regional radar indicating that the rain is sitting over us with copious amounts of rain. and even to the west rain there. we do have a watch throughout the area through tomorrow night. 51 degrees the temperature. at least it is plain rain with the mild temperatures. 51 in washington d.c. and 51 in salisbury and hagerstown. here is what we're headed to. while we have rain today, it will be on the moderate side picking up a half an inch and tonight when the rain gets heavy we will pick up an additional 1 on 2 inches. look at the winds picking up 15-20 miles per hour gusting to 35. now let's if you're heading out the morning, here is candace dold with the traffic edge. >> reporter: the weather is going to be playing a role in

your the morning commute. a crash on the southbound lanes on 95 at 195 near the airport. let's check in on the area and show you exactly what the area looks like and you can see indeed a slick ride there, so please use caution as you head out there this morning. as far as delays, no significant ones, but it's going to pick up. so just allow yourself a few extra minutes as well. that's a look at your morning travels. patrice, back over to you. 5:03 on fox 45 early edition. he is known as the joker up north setting cars on fire and leaving behind his card. it appears that criminal could be operating here in baltimore county. megan gilliland is joins us live with more. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning, patrice, take a look at the scene here parke here charred rf two cars. that is all that is left. the flames were so intense that it melted the siding on nearby homes in the area.

investigators think that all of this could be the work of the joker otherwise known as the carsonist. a criminal well known up north. police crossed the mason dixon line to talk with authorities in pennsylvania. in some cases we're told cars were left at the scene. pennsylvania authorities say one read -- >> he decided to go on a spree that night. i think it's kids who watch too much t.v. and get these crazy ideas. >> baltimore county authorities will not say whether cars were left behind at the latest targets, but they're closing very closely with detectives in pa. authorities are on the look out for a red 2 door vehicle, they believe might be connected to this case. megan gilliland, objectio fox 4y edition. toyota's troubles could lead

to new safety standards for all cars in the u.s. david strickland says his agency will consider a brake override system for all cars that would help to prevent car run away incidents like toyota has had. he may recommend black boxes for all cars like those required on airplanes but critics their concern is that the agency is too lax on car makers. >> i don't see toyota as an indicative example of failure. i see it as -- >> strickland says his agency may just need more power. they get 30 complaints a year but only has 37 employees to investigate potential problems. it's illegal to send text while driving in maryland, but it's not illegal to read them. that could soon change. house delegates voted 135 to 2

yesterday to ban reading text while driving. last year lawmakers outlawed writing and sending text while behind the wheel. regardless of the proposed law, some texter says there's ways around it. >> most people try to hide it and text down below, so -- i mean they're taking their eyes off the road ta way. >> i can text and not look at phone. >> the measure now looks to the senate. if it passes, anyone caught reading a text would be guilty of a misdemeanor and could face fines of up to $500. criminal records for some youths could be wiped clean once their punish th punishment on o. the house of delegates approved the matter. critics worry and it would only apply to youth whose cases were transferred to juvenile court for 10 sensing. baltimore city police investigate a double shooting in

east baltimore. it happened before 6:30 last night in the 600 block of north lucern avenue. both victims were taken to the hospital to be treated for nonlife-threatening injuries. there's no word on a suspect or motive at this hour. the search is or two men wantedded in the armed robbery in the bank of harbor east. police says the suspects entered the harbor bank in the 1,000 block and they managed to get away with an undisclosed amount of money. anyone with information leading to an arrest in the case could be el eligible for an award. for a limited time only people wanted by police in baltimore could turn themselves in and face fewer consequences. safe surrender is a program that is being tried in baltimore. the program involves people only wanted for traffic violations simple drug possession offenses. people who turn themselves in,

will get favorable consideration, meaning it's unlikely they will go to jail. police say it's about giving offenders a second chance. >> to finally get to take that warrant off of the record. you get an opportunity and you can go for a job, and get a driver's license. you can't get a driver's license if you have a warrant on your record. >> the stat safe surrender prog, runs june 16th through june 19th. police are working on where offenders can turn themselves in. it looks like the push to bring slots machine to an anne arundel mall will be put to a vote. opponents have been circulating a petition. and the county board of elections say they have enough signatures to put the zoning law necessary on the november

ballot. the signatures still need to be certified. that process could take several weeks. as democrats struggle to come to an agreement house care reform hearings are on hold. house speaker nancy pelosi requested to put the hearings off so democrats can meet and regroup on their plan. president obama wants the house to vote on the bill by march 18th. individual lawmakers say they want no part of president obama's healthcare plan. they passed a bill saying residents would not be required to buy insurance even if federal law says they do. the governor says he will sign it into law, however, it would be a symbolic move, because federal law supersedes state law. >> it makes a tremendous amount of sense whether they can sustain is or not. you need to ask yourself, what have they got to lose? they don't lose anything. it's not against the law to take a position even if the position

is politically trump. >> others have filed or proposed a similar bill. back when jimmy carter was still president and cal ripken junior was in the minor leagues, professional indoor soccer came to baltimore. the year was 1980 and two years later, the baltimore blast is still entertaining thousands of fans every winter. joel d smith is live at the a rein this morning with the state of the team and more of what you're up to tonight. good morning, joel. >> reporter: good morning, patrice. i'm practicing all morning long for something i will be doing tonight. i will tell you about that in a second. we're down here with jonathan who is injured right now. where is the team now on the standings. how are you doing. >> we're at 97 and in second place. >> reporter: not bad. there's agai been a lot of championships in the past. you have been here how long? >> i have been here for two years. >> but you have been in the

league for a while. you have been to places where it didn't work. what is the difference. >> definitely the fans. for me the fans bring a huge impact on the team. we call it the 6th attacker. an extra guy and when they guy it's unbelievable, we can score anytime. i don't think that any other team and league that i have been in do that, represent or give respect to the past players in that way and that is fantastic. >> reporter: yeah, they inducted a couple of more players to the hall of fame this year. when you look at it what is about the sport itself that is so attract tive t a attractive. >> it's a lot of action, and it's similar to hockey and it's a fan pleaser. >> reporter: you play outdoors, too? >> i do. >> reporter: we got to get you healthy. and patrice, i shouldn't be holding this. today is a celebrity game, megan is playing and i will be on her

game. a lot of media celebrity playing. in this game. i'm getting extra practice today. >> getting ahead of the game. what is your soccer background, joel, have you played with this before. >> reporter: i work with the blast for four years. i did pa announcing for them. i play soccer like most kids up until 12 or 13. i was okay z w. >> we will see what you got tonight. thanks, joel. >> reporter: i will be practicing. >> you do. coming up on the early edition, spendings tens of thousands to learn how to safe. >> the officials say it was worth it. and moderate rain right now moving through the area, but this is only the first batch. there's a lot more to come when we have flood watches to tell you next on fox 45 morning news early

thers no better time than the present to visit sugar lift ski resort in maine.

herb stevens the skiing weather man has more. >> reporter: march is the snowiest month of the season. they just got 5 feet in the storm that came in february. the past years, sugar loaf stay open until may. make plans for the signature event reggae in mid-april. bryson in virginia have enjoyed an amazing snow and all of that snow is acting as an insurance policy right now. the base steps are still solid at the winter green and you will find a granulear surface on all of their runs. you will find snow in canaan valley. you will find tons of the snow at liberty trail where a span skiing contest is on for saturday. the snow of february, is paying

off dividends in snow mountain. it's been wet in killing ton and smuggler in vermont. a couple of light snows helped to maintain pack snow and utah got heavy snow last weekend with lighter snow the past few days. for a bit of a damp week the mountains of the central and southern appear lashians will pick up snow showers this weekend. i'm herb stevens, the skiing weather man. we're talking about serious rainfall coming our way for not just today but through tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. take a look. this is an indication that we're expecting so much rain. an aerial flood watch is in place for the entire viewing area through tomorrow evening. so be prepared for the potential of flooding in the streams, and creeks and even some of those smaller rivers. we're going to keep an eye on things for you. again, you want to check with us, every moment you can through the weekend.

you can always check online. look at the sky hd radar. you can he is the heav heavier n to the south and east. take a closer look at where the rain is falling heaviest. to the south more moderate rain, lighter rain to the northern part of the beltway. heading up to i-95, corridor areas of heavier rain indicated by the yellow up toward ab better deny anaberdeenand movin5 corridor. south and east seeing heavier rain as well. the yellow indicating the heavier rain this morning. we will see that turn orange as we move overnight tonight into tomorrow morning meaning heavy rain still. you can see the indication down here avenue the heaviest rain down in florida. a lot of that rain is going to move to the northeast. and what you see northeast, coming our way. we are not done once it's out of here. the future scan showing us that is what is bringing us the showers. the secondary low which will

come up the coast will continue to bring us increasing chances for roin rain that wil rain tha, the rain coming later through tomorrow morning. the low pressure center moves to the east and as it does, it brings some relief, but lighter showers still remain. the heaviest area of rain around the low pressure center and up toward pennsylvania, if you're traveling you want to be aware of that, because of the heavy rain, the snow melt all a concern. here is a look at the predicted rainfall on the future scan model. look at how much rain it's showing us. 3-4 inches of rain through the baltimore area through sunday morning, with more adding up but not a whole lot after this period. 5 inches of rain possible in d.c., and we're talking heavy, heavy rain, when the snow melts out to the west a western conc r the flooding. we will see the temperatures stay where they are and warmer

for the eastern shore. another thing will you notice the winds picking up later this evening and overnight into tomorrow. the winds start gusting. 55 degrees for the high temperature today, 10-fitch-mile-an-hour winds with a gust to 25. further points west we will look for a high temperature there of 54 degrees, a little cooler because of the clouds and the rain. tonight 49 degrees with a 15 to 20-mile-an-hour wind. and tomorrow eaf even hearier h. 54 on sunday with left over hours. gower o54 on monday. 55 on tuesday, and mostly clear and sunny with high temperatures of 58 degrees both days. it's daylight saving time on sunday morning 2:00 a.m., we put the clocks forward one hour. iradar is available at foxbaltimore.com. you can use fox 45 powerful doppler radar to track incoming

storms. the tools will let you see when rain or snow will be over your house. go to foxbaltimore.com and click on iradar. now for a look at had a could be a difficult commute this morning. here is candace dold with the traffic edge. >> reporter: that weather is playing a role into this morning commute. we have slick roadways out there. as far as the actual speeds we're at 53 miles per hour on the beltway through catonsville, and 57 traveling near security boulevard. so let's check out the scene on 95 this morning moving through baltimore at 395 near the stadiums. here it is, you can see it. it's going to be a gloomy morning, and you know the deal on friday morning, and we have the rain expecting a difficult commute this morning. as for now we don't have the incidents as the rain that we have to deal with. on 95 farther up moving through the baltimore county area, checking in through whitemarsh. here it is, getting busines bush the northbound and southbound lanes down through the beltway.

once beltway moving at harford road, we don't have problems to get in the way. we can see the reflection on the roadways a significant issue for us this morning. please use caution and leave a few extra minutes early. that's a look at the morning travels. patrice, back over to you. thank you, candace. still ahead, imax is experiencing a boost in popularity. the movie that helped to increase ticket sales. it seems a bit steep for me.

the report is in, and so is the bill. jeff ables tells us just how much the city spent on a report about how to save money. >> reporter: for the city of baltimore it's the question with the $92,000 answer. >> it's one more unnecessary expense at a time when the city has no money to spare. >> reporter: the city has long struggled to cut costs in its pension program, which covers fire and police department retirees. last summer it solicited help from a task force of experts. 20 investment experts from the greater baltimore committee performed the study and volunteered their services, but

it was the accounting costs for the report that wound up costing the city some $92,000. >> it seems a bit steep for me. >> reporter: the city insists it will save millions by spending thousands. >> it will be a good investment. the report itself is just paper. we have to do something with that information and i intend on working with my partners in government to make sure we implement some of those good ideas. >> reporter: but critics say those good ideas could have been uncovered with good research. >> it's simple. you don't have to pay thousands of dollars to get that information. >> reporter: despite the sticker shock even the president of the fire union admits the city got its monies worth. jeff ables, fox 45 morning news. the city is expected to decide which recommendations to adopt at the end of the month. coming up later on the early edition, a machine that is keeping one maryland woman alive. if this hasn't been

invented, i wouldn't be here. find out how it works.

congress shifts its focus on toyota to the auto agency charged with overseeing vek safety standards. the regulator was quick to

defend its role in the handling of the toyota defect. another toyota hearing on capitol hill this time congress grilling the national highway traffic safety add ntio admnistr nitsa. that agency saying it's out dated when dealing with the technology of cars. the s&p gaining. and quarterly sales doubling beating fox's avatar flicks. and imax forecasting a strong quarter. the federal reserve saying it still has to climb 21% to get back to precession levels. key losses but never lost his sense of humor. conano brian starting a tour, is calling it the legally prohibited from being funny on television tour. that is business. i'm sharyl casoni.

coming up a baltimore county woman accused in the death of her husband heads to court. how she claims the situation spiraled out of control. he is known up