what we did is look the moppy with have and act accordingly. cutbacks? baltimore city. the services being slashed to make up a huge budget deficit. this is going to be a long-term effort on our part. millions homeless in haiti. how they're getting help after january's devastating earthqua earthquake. good morning. it's thursday, march 25th. i'm patrice harris.

let's get a check of today's forecast with meteorologist steve fertig. we always like it when it's nice. yesterday it was really nice. >> today. >> not so nice. >> no, it's going to be cloudier and the rain will hold off in the latest but not until the evening. >> we will take that a full day. >> temperatures are going to be on the mild side for one more day. we will start to see them drop, too. 52 degree52 degrees is where wet this day. 50 in hagerstown and we have a lot of clouds beginning to build in the area ahead of what will become a rainier night. if showers will hold off it will take sometime for the atmosphere to saturate. that part does sound pretty good. look for the clouds to increase through the day and the chance of rain that come through the night. we will talk about how much rain

we can expect in a little bit and for how long it will last. we will see what is happening on the roadways. here is lauren cooke, good morning, lauren. >> reporter: rail service is disrupted in koo cockeysville ar thursday's crash. as we take a look at west side othe westside not too many carsn liberty road but that those that are moving fine. if you're traveling on the outer loop, no problems to report as we take a look. there he with go from 795 to 95 you're looking at a 12-minute trip with an average speed of 53 miles per hour. all is clear at the tunnel from the fort mchenry tunnel to the beltway you're looking at an 8-minute trip. and from the harbor tunnel to toll plaza to 295, you're looking at a 2-minute trip with an average speed of 52 miles per hour. let's send it back to you,

patrice. baltimore is facing deep budget cuts and lots of concern over how the city is planning to make up a $121 million shortfall. a preliminary budget presented yesterday calls for $100 million worth of cuts affecting nearly every city agency. megan gilliland joins us now with the latest on the proposal, good morning, megan. >> reporter: with the $121 million budget deficit something has got to give. the mayor says the city's budget has got to be balanced. in order to do that, many priorities will take a huge hit and no one has been spared. the city's department of finance released the budget proposal filled with drastic spending cuts including more than 600 layoffs. the police say the mounted units would be gone. 7 fire companies shutdown, 90 firefighters out of jobs and 29 out of city's 55 recreation centers closed.

>> if the rec centers are closed they have nowhere else to go. the gang leaders look at this as an opportunity to recruit these kids. >> what we did was try to look at the money that we have, look at the priorities and act accordingly. >> now the proposal also cuts down on bulk, trash pickups and dries up funding for the preakness parade and 4th of july fireworks. in order to raise revenue the mayor says they're looking at everything, from a tax on nonprofits on raising energy and telecommunication tax rates. imposing a fee on water and soda bottles and there's a talk of a commuter toll or raising parking fees. again this is just a proposal at this point. the mayor is expected to present her plan april 12. meantime she and other lawmakers have turned down their automatic pay raises were supposed to take effect yesterday. megan gilliland, fox 45 articley edition. as megan mentioned the budget cuts could seriously

affect public safety services. under the finance proposal, nearly 200 positions would be cut from the police department, the fire department stands to lose 100 firefighters and 7 fire companies would close this in a city that is among the deadliest in the nation. >> almost horrified, because the policemen have hard enough job as it is, and the fire department, those two things we have to find money from some places to keep them here. >> the police department would lose its only helicopter under the plan and marine units that patrol the inner harbor would be eliminated under the mountain unit. stay tuned for fox 45 morning news, for continuing coverage of this coverage. we will talk to former police commissioner ed norris. and the president of the fire union will be here to talk about the budget cuts. i will sit down with him during our 7:00 hour. the state senate approves a $13 billion operating budget.

the budget which passed yesterday decreases the original budget proposed by governor o'malley by $120 million. it calls for shifting up to half the cost for teacher pensions to county governments. local leaders say that could force them to raise property taxes or cut services. >> you know, it's hard, nobody wants to do this, but these are hard times and we have to come out with the best and the most fiscally prudent and socially responsible responses to the economic crisis. >> the proposal to shift some the cost of the pension is expected to experience some resistance when it gets to the house. a bankruptcy auction is called off after the parent company of magna entertainment agrees to buy its maryland assets. pimlico racecourse and laurel park were originally scheduled to go up on the auction block

today. now mi development is expected to pay $110 million to creditors and the former owners of the track to erase the debt. the move ensures that the preakness remains in maryland. it still has to be approved by a bankruptcy judge. the anne arundel court of elections is expected to decide if a group against slots has enough signatures to put the measure on the november ballot. the group wants to prevent a casino from being built at arundel mills mall. and voters had been circulating a petition in order to force a referendum. they need 19,000 signatures. president obama signs off on an executive order ensuring no federal money will be used for elective abortions. obama made the promise as part of negotiations to pass the

healthcare reform bill. meanwhile debate began at the senate on the reconciliation to healthcare reform bill. republicans are offering amendments to ban medicare cuts, special deals. any change will force the bill to go back to the house for another vote. democrats say it's a delay tactic. >> we feel confident that they're not serious about helping this bill. >> why have an opposition party. maybe we should go to a cuban system. that seems to be the attitude on the other side of the aisle. >> leaders on the other side of the aisle are prepared to vote on the bill if any changes were made. it will add $50 million to the health care reform plan. they are investigating threats and vandalism against 10 democratic lawmakers. windows have been smashed in congressional offices in three states. he understands that people are

frustrated with democrats, but violence is unacceptable. people should register to vote instead. the state overhaul of the nation's healthcare system will raise taxes over the next 10 over a half a trillion dollars. it includes levies that taxes investment income. it includes a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services. that will raise less than $3 billion over the next decade. based on what i have seen in the legislation, i think they're going to come out with announcements, this is going to cost more than we expected or more people are going to lose their coverage than we expected. you have seen this already. caterpillar announced this will cost them $100 million. >> you can get a look at all of the 2400 pages. law linked to our website, foxbaltimore.com/news links. it's not the world cup or the stanley cup, instead neighbors across baltimore are

collecting cups in hopes of winning a championship. they're collecting anything recyclable in terms of the recyclable competition. with one day to left to go, joel d smith is in it hambden with more and with the score. >> reporter: cups, and bottles, they're collecting everything for recycling and there's something on the line. we will tell you who is on the lead here. she is a recycling coordinator for the city of baltimore. we got a good idea going here. tell me about the idea of trying to make it competitive with these neighbors. >> it's the recycling competition. it's the first time ever for baltimore city. it's come up a couple of times. we want to get excitement going. we didn't want them to die down. we got the neighborhoods to compete against each other. >> reporter: it's working. >> yes, it's working. >> reporter: has it increased

the amount that people are recycling are they trying to win. >> yes, they're trying to win. chess wald and hambden started the contest from january until now. >> reporter: what are they competing for? >> the big item they're winning is a major block party. we're going to preside the proceeds for them to have the hot dogs and sodas. yeah, one saturday we all will be having fun. >> reporter: what is the city benefit when more people are recycling. >> the tonnage goes up. we reduce the amount of waste going into the streets. and the litter going on to the streets. >> reporter: as long as they recycle after the block party. >> yes. >> reporter: doing really well and they're going for the block party. >> they switched to one day of collection and one day of recycling. this is another way to get people used to that and start

recycling. >> reporter: that is what allowed to break it down to neighborhoods. before that they couldn't break it down so they needed that 1 plus 1 to be able to do that. >> very interesting. all right. joel, thank you so much. coming up on the early edition, another elimination on american idol. the person who is going home tonight unless the judges save them. >> the contestant viewers sent packing. clouds are on the increase right now. expect them to lead to some

the nation voted and another contestant left american idol for good. the person who is going home tonight unless the judges save them after the nationwide vote is paige myles. >> paige had the chance to sing for another shot at idol glory, because this season the judges can save one contestant, one time from going home. but before she even sang,

according to simon it didn't matter. >> regardless of you singing, you are going to end up going home tonight. it's got to a point where it's not working. i don't want to give you any false hope here, it's the end. in terms of encouragement. >>now in terms of encouragement, wow, simon. >> let us know what you thought about last night's show. you can post your reaction on twitter page. just go to foxbaltimore.com and send us a tweet at fox baltimore. you can follow candace on her idol blog as she takes us behind the scenes all season long. go to foxbaltimore.com and click american idol under the entertainment section. you can watch american idol next tuesday at 8:00 and wednesday at 9:00. i can only imagine what kind of encouragement he was going to give the you tore the girl down and by the way encouragement.

>> the last memory of you, the wilwillbe the song that got youd off the show. >> why would you want to sing after that. that would be the hardest thing to do. >> our sky hd radar, and look at a dreary start to the day as clouds begin to move in. we are going to look at clouds followed by some showers. it's going to sometime before the showers push off to the east. we have the gulf moisture and that is going to continue to bring us more moisture and cloud cover and the showers because the atmosphere is so dry, will take the time because the earliest into the evening. by degrees a50 degrees at the i. the winds should pick up this afternoon, and 30.05 holds steady at the barometerful here is a look at the temperatures in the region. 47, and pretty mild. and daylight and 39 degrees there and 45 degrees at

hagerstown. we're looking at temperatures to climb again into the mid-60s but it won't be accompanied by much in the way of sunshine as we have a lot of clouds moving in as you can see hd radar. as far as how much rain is coming your way, not heavy amounts of rain, it should be in the neighborhood of .10 and a quarter of an inch and maybe more later on tonight. we will see a chance of rain into tonight and later tomorrow. it will be the cause of the features. we will be in the sector of air before that warm comes our way. it will be mild, before the pressure, we will see the rain moving in later tonight. according to the model, 8:00 for steadier rain. light evening showers possible and then the next cold front pushes through tomorrow morning, and that is going to bring us more rain chances and behind that it's going to feel a whole lot more in the way of cooler air moving in. going to go in the opposite direction. that low by the way is going to be target by us for sunday bringing us more chances late sunday night into monday for another chance of rain then. in between it's going to be dry

but the jet stream is going to dip to the south and bring the chillier conditions. the milder air before the cooler air moves in. 58 for the eastern shore with cloudy skies there. it will take longer for the clouds to move in there. south wind at 10-15 gusting to 30. 66 degrees which we will get for the high which is not bad but a lot of cloud cover, and showers holding off in the evening the earliest. back to the west, look for a high temperature of 54 degrees, shower chances move in the afternoon as the system comes in from that direction. 48 degrees for the overnight low. light showers tonight. it will be mild, though with the 48, southwest winds at 5-15 miles per hour. after today, 66. here is the cool down. 51 degrees for the high tomorrow with some showers early and then we will start to see some clearing later in the day but also look at overnight low dropping into the 20s. it will be a chilly saturday morning and saturday day, 56 degrees on saturday. late showers on sunday into

monday, high temperatures a little better in the upper 50s, 57 and 58, clearing out for tuesday and wednesday, but cooler once again, 56 and jumping back to 56 degrees for the end the 7 day period on wednesday. fox 45 radar is available at your finger tips. you can use fox powerful radar to track incoming storms. go to foxbaltimore.com and click on iradar and once again standing in for candace dold is lauren cooke who is here for the track edge. lauren, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, steve. we're dealing with disruptions to the light rail following thursday's crash in cockeysville. you want to keep in mind there's a shuttle bus available from hunt valley to timonium in both directions. let's look at the main lines. high speeds someone speeding at the west valley where speeds are clocking in at 66 miles per hour. and 56 traveling on the jfx and 95 moving through whitemarsh. as we take a look at the west

side taking a look at the liberty road there's more cars but cars are cruising along just fine. fortunately that will continue as we make our way to the pike valley. checking in and taking a wide look at dulaney valley road. no problems to report whatsoever. it will be clear from bel air road to providence road. if you're using the harrisburg expressway this morning, you want to keep in mind there will be sluggish patches along the southbound lanes just as you pass shawan road. if you're using the jfx, it's going to be trouble free from 695 all the way downtown to east fayett ♪

mmm. ♪ [ female announcer ] oscar mayer deli fresh meats. sliced, packed and sealed at the peak of freshness, they're impossible to resist. ah, you gonna eat all that? ♪ it doesn't get better than this ♪ i love you.

dreams can come true, perhaps if you have a man dressed as a genie by your side. at kathleen karen's report that is what one baltimore county woman experienced as she lived out her dream for a day. >> reporter: under the glare of the morning sun at a towson car dealership they a wade the arrival of mom. >> she has been a lot through the last five years. >> she thinks she is coming here to do media interviews about

cancer awareness. >> we're going to surprise her with a big day of experiences. >> reporter: with one company's promotional mascot. >> our genie. >> reporter: it's a dream day of fun. >> it's time for you to sit back, relax and enjoy because for once you're going to be pampered. >> oh, wow! >> i wanted to do something really nice for her. >> reporter: because life has not been easy. >> i did chemo and radiation and bilateral mas mastectomy and re-construction. i've had it all, and i'm still here. >> reporter: last fall she faced an even tougher battle. >> recently, i just lost my son so that has been really hard. >> reporter: john jaylon died from h1n1 last fall. >> in addition to me continuing to fight the cancer, i loss my

son. that gives me more ammunition to keep on fighting because i am the mother of 4. >> reporter: she has kept her faith in the face of adversity. >> we want to give back to somebody deserving. >> reporter: now the fun day begins in baltimore. >> we have goodies waiting for her as well. >> reporter: besides this day at a luxury hotel, she is being treated to a trip to the aquarium as well as a trip to a health spa where she will spend the afternoon. in baltimore, kathleen karen's fox 45 morning news. the dream day was organized by the smart box corporation, several companies provided their services for free. coming up later on the early edition. updating maryland's drunk driving laws. the changes state lawmakers made to proposed legislation. up next, taco bell is opening its first restaurant i india. the special items on the menu.

baby carries linked to three deaths are recalled. jolly maker smockers closes some of its plants and taco bell make

its debut in india. elizabeth mcdonald has more. >> reporter: housing struggling and new house sales falling dipping by more than 2% in february, hitting the lowest level on record. some good news here, new home prices rising by 5% last month. the dollar hitting a 10 month high against the euro. the euro falling on worries that the greek debt mess will start spreading to other countries. a company called infant ino recalling more than a million baby slings. the government saying that the baby carries could suffocate infants. the slings are linked to three baby deaths. smockers is in a jam. the maker of jelly and folgers coffee cutting four plants and cutting 700 jobs. the move will save the company

$60 million a year. taco bell opening up its first restaurant in india. the location has special dishes for the local population, spicier food and more vegetarian choices and no beef. that's the business. i'm elizabeth mcdonald. coming up a maryland woman to plead guilty in a murder for hire case. how the 67 years old was involved. $100 million worth of cuts to the city's budget. i'm megan gilliland. the proposal that spares no one coming up. >> reporter: