accused killer george zimmerman is given bond ... but not before making a surprise courtroom statement in florida today. good afternoon. i am steve sanders. and i'm dina bair. we welcome our viewers who are watching us america and on the web. wgn's jae miller is live in the newsroom with the latest. the judge set bond at 150- thousand dollars. during the bond hearing george zimmerman addressed trayvon martin's parents...with an apology. under the condition of his

bond...zimmerman will be under gps monitoring and is ordered to have no contact with the vicitm's family, no possession of firearms and no use of any controlled substances. he also must contact authorites every three days. several witnesses testified on his behalf including members of his family by telephone because they feared for their safety ... >>his face was swollen quite a bigt.... there were two gashes on the back of his head. >>any evidence that conflicts are witnesses anything that

conflicts with the contention that mr. trayvon martin assaultive first ... >>other than what was told to us there are no contradicting stories to the judge did allow zimmerman to leave the state but says that needs to be worked out with law enforcement officials.

the driver of a car crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed into another car -- killing one woman in the englewood neighborhood. police say alcohol played a role in the crash. it happened just after two this morning at 71st and south halsted. the driver of a grand am that crossed lanes is hospitalized. police say he hit a car with three women inside. one of the passengers was thrown from the car and died at the scene. the driver of that grand prix and another passenger are in critical condition no charges have been filed yet. chicago police have made another drug bust .... and arrested 10 suspected gang members in the process. police superintendent garry mccarthy says officers went undercover for two months ... and bought heroin and crack- cocaine from dealers on the west side. investigators also confiscated guns, cash and stolen cars. what is really important about this is what you see here today the use of city services partner in with the community to eliminate the narcotics market that existed here and the crimes

and the quality of life issues that were affected by this mccarhty says the investigation was launched after someone was a man was attacked in a robbery on the near north side. the man was walking east on erie street, near dearborn street early this morning. he was talking into his android phone when someone snatched the phone out of his hands. a second person hit him in the head with what the man told police felt like a brick. he was taken to the hospital in need of stitches. police said nobody is in custody. police issue an alert to people on the near west side.. after a u-i-c student was knocked unconscious and robbed tuesday night. the male victim was walking on the 400 block of south green street, less than a block away from campus. he was approached from behind by someone demanding money. although the student handed over his wallet.. the robber hit him in the head anyway and knocked him unconscious. no one is in custody --- anyone with information should contact u-i-c police. "l" riders - get ready for

some temporary route changes. for the next seven months ... workers will be replacing old tracks and ties in the loop .. on the weekends. from friday night until 1:45 saturday ... orange and pink line trains will be running counterclockwise on the outer tracks. and from four a-m saturday to four a-m monday ... the inner and outer tracks along wells and van buren will be closed. all trains will operate along the wabash and lake sections of track during that time. the c-t-a will offer shuttle buses on some weekends to make up for gaps in "l" service. parents of children at a near north public school are hoping playground problem. some students call their rooftop play area .. the cage. wgn's nancy loo reports on the controversy. that protest was postponed because of promised action by the school. is not good weather today for an outdoor recess but when it is children have to go to the rooftop playground because of the set up here some of these kids dread recess. it almost looks like a prison yard

but it is actually a playground built atop the ogden international school that opened last fall. parents say there's limited outdoor space and that's an oversight in such a $60 million project ... this man whose home overlooks the school says that his fifth grade son has complained from day one >>there used to be a baseball diamond and a playground once had access to and now they just have this cage >>it's just like a big metal cage its black if they sealed off the two ways you could get and it really would beat a cage >>it is not like you can play hide and seek their >>it's not to fund. all you do is like run around and you can't really slide down anything parents are pleased that school officials are willing to address concerns and children look good chance to sound off in school

today and they could hear some of the things that the parents have been hearing all year >>they are looking for alternative someone to come up with answers >>maybe they could do something about reconfiguring the rooftop area just more variation in with these kids can do besides just running around ogden academy is not the only city school with such space ... but they are willing to work with the park district on a solution up next: the fbi says it feels optomistic it will solve the case of a new york city boy who disappeared more than 30 years ago. a virgina teacher is arrested after he lines up his students.. and fires blanks from a gun at them. and what a secret service agent says he was really doing in this picture... and why its another black eye for the already embattled agency.

of a child missing since 1979 -- is underway in manhattan right now. the f-b-i and new york city police are looking for remains of etan patz after a police dog identified the scent of a human body in the basement of a soho apartment. etan was 6 years old when he left his home to walk two blocks to school.

the basement was used as a workspace by a handyman inthat man was picked up and questioned by police and is back in his home today. jose ramos, the boyfriend of the babysitter, was found liable in the boy's disappearance and death... but he was never charged with a crime. the boy's picture was one of the first to appear on a milk carton. a teacher in virginia is several students. the weapon was loaded with blanks. 60-year-old manuael ernest dillow allegedly lined-up 12 students in his welding class... and pulled out a "blank firing handgun." police say he fired the gun in the direction of the students as many as 10 times. no students were hurt. he is facing 12 counts of pulling-out a firearm on school property, and is free on bond. there may be another round of resignations today at the secret service... over an alleged prostitution scandal. three agents have already left the service. one of them... david chaney... once made an inappropriate joke on facebook about sarah palin. chaney said he "checked her out"... while he protected her during the 2008 presidential campaign. chaney is among 11 secret service employees linked to the

scandal. all are accused of bringing prostitutes to a hotel in colombia... ahead of president obama's visit last week. one of the women got into an argument over how much she was paid... blowing the case wide open. wisconsin's controversial governor is in the chicago area today... touting his policies for reducing his state's budget deficit. republican scott walker is at the illinois policy institute in the loop this noon. then this evening, he'll address a g-o-p fundraiser in lincolnshire. walker gained national attention... for leading the charge against union rights. he signed a bill that greatly reduced the collective bargaining rights for government employees. walker faces a recall election in june. illinois labor groups are expected to protest at each of walkers' events today. a world war two veteran, whose congressional gold medal was stolen, will be given a replacement today. 93-year-old quentin smith was one of the tuskegee airmen --- the first african-american air unit in the u-s military. he received a congressional gold medal in 2007. but it was stolen during a burglary last summer at his home

in indiana. officials call him "an american hero." they will present him with a replacement award in a ceremony at his home today. you are looking live at a news conference with governor quinn who is discussing the $85 million in debt pension system >>... it is very very important for confidence that businesses would have in the state of illinois with respect to their growing here. just yesterday we had good news from the bureau of labor statistics that the state of illinois has a lower unemployment rate this month than it did last month at 8.8% we still have a long way to go but clearly we are making significant progress growing

jobs many new jobs have been created in illinois during this recovery. there is lots more to do here. but we have important reforms like pension stabilization. this is important because we have one of the biggest of all time for any state investments in capital and for infrastructure ... our state of illinois is investing $43 billion in roads and highways tollways railroads water systems schools etc. so it's important said that when we issue bonds there is confidence and decent ratings for those we have to understand that addressing the pension issue and stabilizing it is important for the economy and

the budget and future investments. we don't want to squeeze out the investments we make in education for our young people because of a massive retirement pension system ... we will be investing $5.2 billion this year in the illinois pension system that is triple what it was in 2008 only two years ago. clearly this demands action, bold action ... we can tell you what the governor will be proposing: he will ask state employees to pay more into their pensions and expect accept smaller cost-of- living benefits and it raises

coming up next we have today's top business stories and the situation with the blackhawks and the playoffs ... and we look are going to be

with today's business headlines ... u.s. airways is closer to making a takeover bid for american airlines saying it reached agreements with the major unions on contract terms giving the airline leveraged on merger talks american said it had no comment on the situation at this time the feds are trying to decide whether or not the crunch on overdraft fees went far enough they're deciding on new rules

the agency is taking a closer look at nine banking systems and marketing tactics convince banks to have their client sign up for overdraft programs mcdonald's is raking in the profits as customers go for those new menu items ... sales are up as well as restaurant openings stocks are in the green up slightly earnings continue to come in strong ... good signs for the economy this hour we are hearing buzz about the next i-phone already when will

it be out? >>that's likely in october steve that's according to analysts saying that there will be a new body design and new integration with wireless networks there is more money on its way to victims on the second anniversary of the horrific bp oil rig explosion in the gulf of mexico the explosion killed 11 workers because one of the worst environmental and economic disasters in that area and that the government says that bp must have an additional $64 million in compensation to residents harmed by that spell the justice department says an independent audit shows many claims with bp were shortchanged or wrongly denied the money was ordered to be dispersed and the next week to 10 days for those of you boycotting

starbucks over the red dye made from crushed bugs it has been using you'll be happy to know that the coffee company is phasing out that at the tip of the company will reduce the buck extract as a food coloring and its products this change comes after the company received numerous complaints from customers among the products affected are the strawberries and cream frappucino and the strawberry banana smoothly changes are expected by the end of june an american sports treasure turns 100 today fenway park in boston hosted its first game on april 20th 1912 today the red sox mark the centennial celebration with a game against the same team that it played back and its main rival the new york yankees fenway park has undergone several renovations over the years field wall was painted green in 1947 becoming what is now early famed green

monster chicago mayor rahm emanuel lasalle impressed with found ways of grades that he says he would like the chicago cubs to use a similar blueprint for wrigley field coming up ahead we have the medical watch but first you know him from the bozo show and we have live music to get you dancing this midday they are known for their post ponca soulful sound we have the uptown sound with jc brooks does aspirin even work on my headache? aspirin for pain? aspirin is just old school. people will have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. that's why we developed bayer advanced aspirin with micro particles. it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. we know it works. now we're challenging you to put it to the test. we're giving away

one hundred thousand bottles absolutely free through april 25th. so you can try it yourself and tell us what you think. visit fastreliefchallenge.com to get your free bottle.

one of "chicago's very own" is being honored tonight for his

role as a chicago television pioneer. marshall brodien - bozo's wacky wizard wizzo- is being inducted into the national television academy's silver circle. and as wgn's dean richards reports...you may be amazed at the things he can still doo- dee-doo-dee-do! most magic tricks are easy once you know the secret ... it's one of his signature lines ... and thanks to those commercials this is the house those magic cards built ... look at this ... his basement is a many museum there some much hocus polkas going on it's hard to know where to look ... magic can happen at any time ... he got us interested in magic we had to be part of that scene there are so many of us from the

1970's ... they all could not help the part of this ... he fell into his first professional show in 1952 at riverview park on the north side of chicago he graduated to stage shows in night clubs around town he performed at the magic lounge in cicero he had just done a bird cage track in front of members of the mom when all of a sudden ... >>the guy said he wants to know where the cajun lent ... i told him it was magic ... and he

pulled out a gun and i quickly produced a cage the biggest break came in 1962 on the wgn show bozo circus he appeared as himself ... this is when he hypnotized comedian bill cosby on the mike douglas show ... that was the first costume i had ... and "wizzo" was born his wife mary met him in the mid-1990s while writing an article about the end of his bozo days ... you can just follow the laughter

and you will find him ... it is tricky being married to a magician ... not every wife is asked to climb into a blade box there are so many memories ... the silver circle award recognizes people like marshall brodien who have made significant contributions to television over a period of 25 years or more. he joins other wgn legends bob bell, ray raynor, and roy brown for the honor. you can learn more about the

winners present and past at our website, wgntv.com. we will be right back with the weather forecast

my son just sent me a text message telling me he was on his way to wrigley field ... i hope he stays dry and warm ... the good news is is that the rain is moving out ... there is still a bit of a misty drizzle along the lakefront is probably not heavy enough to cancel that camegame... things will improve

as the weekend it moves forward ... we may get a bit warmer. there may be some sunbreaks later today. there is some vest over at wrigley field but the crowd is showing up it is called out there 45 degrees at o'hare 44 degrees at midway. it feels like it is in the 30's with the wind chill factor and the wind is strong along the lakefront 20 mi. per hour.

the numbers will not improve much today. it is in the '70s in cincinnati and toward the east coast but that's not happening here we will get more cooler air this weekend but it is looking better it will be as dreary we will get some sunshine in the next two days there is a strong cold front sweeping across this area. things will begin to dry out behind us we have dry air but we will have overcast skies. there is a storm system and cold front moving east with high pressure building we will have a cold

night tonight. we will see one of those alberta clippers' coming across this weekend we may get a sprinkle saturday night just more cold northeasterly wind there will be a storm system better in new england perhaps snow in the region's interior this weekend. tonight there is a possibility of frost in the north and northwest suburbs but not here in the city of chicago or to the southern suburbs it will be cool along the lakefront we will be in the forties mar night we will be in the '50s on sunday the wind will continue with gusts over 30 mi. per hour ... less windy conditions by sunday. for

this afternoon cloudy cold and blustery with a patch of drizzle ... the high temperatures only 48 degrees. tonight decreasing cloudiness it will be cooler with the low temperatures dropping to the 30's 40's along the lakefront. watch out for the frost to the north. tomorrow we have morning sunshine increasing clouds cooler but a better day sunshine later a sprinkle overnight sunday will be better with temperatures in the '50s some portions of new england could seek a midseason snow event it's time now for today's

trivia: what is the boss souped

time for sports. fest'sthe blackhawks are making a habit of forcing overtime in the playoffs, but now they're on the brink of elimination. in game four at the united center last night: hawks were down a goal with a minute and a half left... empty net, and michael frolik knocks in the rebound to tie it at two. early in their fourth straight overtime... nick leddy misplays the puck in the neutral zone and mikkel boedker's soft shot somehow gets past corey crawford. hawks lose 3-2, and face elimination in game five tomorrow in phoenix. it's a tough road ahead of us we want to look at these smaller picture and pick ourselves up after tonight go to phoenix tomorrow and get excited again we are certainly disappointed

and not happy with the way we played certain guys have to pick up their game the bulls and heat getting chippy in miami... dwyane wade receives a flagrant for shoving rip hamilton in the third. later, lebron james sets a hard pick on john lucas the third... the bulls did not retaliate, but could not keep pace without derrick rose. heat up in the third when james drives for two of his game- high 27 points. bulls lose 83-72, and now lead the heat by only a game- and- a- half. the cubs just put kerry wood on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue. they lead miami in the third when greg dobbs doubles in two runs off of jeff samardzjia... he did not make it out of the fourth, and gave up five runs on eight hits. cubs lose their fifth straight, 5-3... they host the reds this afternoon. dayan viciedo corraled a four- year-old who ran onto the field at the cell yesterday. the sox were down a run to the orioles when adma jones hits a two- run homer to left... gavin floyd gave up all five runs for his second loss.

5-3 the final, as the sox struck out 16 times... they visit seattle tonight, right here on wgn. your live illinois lottery drawing is next. good afternoon here are your midday winning lottery numbers ... here are the winning picked three numbers: three numbers: 0 1 3

here are the winning pick four numbers: 0 3 5 8 the mega-millions jackpot is now $65 million [ host ] mary switched to allstate and saved $326.00 on her car insurance.

john switched and saved $263.00! drivers who switched to allstate saved an average of $336 a year on car insurance. and allstate will send you two bonus checks a year every year you stay accident free with our safe driving bonus. when i switched to allstate my savings amounted to $436 a year. when i switched from my old insurance company to allstate i saved over $800 a year. want more? call now and get one hundred dollars off your deductible the day you sign up with deductible rewards, and another hundred off every year you don't have an accident. down to zero! you'll be dancing too! let the good hands people give you great protection and a great rate. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

in medwatch -- an alarming study on the number of americans who don't have health insurance. as the supreme court decides the fate of healthcare reform, a new study shows one in four working age americans went without insurance at some point in 20- 11. the study was conducted by the commonwealth fund. it found 26% of non-elderly adults -- about 48 million people -- went without insurance. some of the reasons included job changes and unemployement. it's been more than a decade since doctors said the measles was eliminated in the united states... but now health officials say the virus is back. the c-d-c says measles cases hit a 15-year-high last year. they reported 17 outbreaks nationwide with 222 people infected... more than triple the usual number. all patients survived. there have been more than 25 measle cases reported so far in 20-12. experts say the virus is usually introduced by people who have traveled internationally and those who are not vaccinated are at a much higher risk. it turns out that bad gums may

not lead to a bad heart after all. researchers looked at about 6- hundred studies over a three- year-period and found no proof that poor hygiene leads to heart disease. the american heart association says while keeping teeth and gums healthy is important... linking it to heart attack and stroke is the wrong message. they say the link between poor gums and poor heart health is circumstantial...both are related to diabetes...smoking... and an unhealthy diet. experts say patients should focus more on these risk factors in the prevention of heart disease. we are cooking with super foods in the lunchbreak up next hi, anne. how are you doing? hi, evelyn. i know it's been a difficult time since your mom passed away. yeah. i miss her a lot but i'm okay. wow. that was fast. this is the check i've been waiting

for. mom had a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy through the colonial penn program, and this will really help with the cost of her final expenses. they have been so helpful and supportive during this time. maybe i should give them a call. i really could use some more life insurance. is it affordable? it costs less t that's pretty affordable, huh? less than 35 cents a day? that's less than the cost of a postage stamp. so, you said it was guaranteed acceptance? yes. it's permanent coverage with guaranteed acceptance for people ages 50 to 85. there's no medical exam or health questions. you can't be turned down because of your health. it fit right into mom's budget and gave her added peace of mind. you should give them a call or look them up online at cpdirect.com. i definitely could use more coverage. i think i will give them a call. man: are you between the ages of 50 and 85? or know someone who is? do you think that quality insurance at an affordable rate is out of your reach? for less than 35 cents a day,

you can get guaranteed acceptance life insurance through the colonial penn program. you cannot be turned down because of your health. there are no health questions or medical exam. your rate will never go up and your benefit will never go down due to age-- guaranteed! these days the average cost of a funeral is over $7300, and social security pays a death benefit of just $255. don't leave a burden for your loved ones. since 1994 over 6 million people have called about this quality insurance. there's no risk or obligation. call about the colonial penn program now. you'll be glad you did. for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms caused by acid reflux disease. osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels have been seen with nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist.

talk to your doctor about nexium. four seasons hotel has us cooking with super foods those the special foods that helped give you energy to help get you through the day and you are here to tell us about a special event next sunday ... and you have brought the stuff here directly from the farm as you do at the restaurant ... this is our super food super healthy salad this contains

baked kale. i told you before that i believe that this green leafy vegetables could be a bit better at timesitter at times.. there are some that you can eat raw and some varieties are best cooked ... both the kale and sweet potatoes come from an urban local farm ... we have a base on the plate of pureed

sweet potato ... and we have the recipe on our wgntv.com web page ... this is a 500 cal meal ... it's three courses we have asparagus as the first course and then we have grilled salmon with beet quinoa for the main course lots of flavor and beautiful color. the third

course 99% pure chocolate sorbet. we still have availability in the restaurant for mother's day it's an old fashioned a lavish brunch buffet your new restaurant concept launched february 15th ... it is chicago food that is healthy ... but we also have some

balance for the indulgence crowd we have a wonderful charcuterie menu. the event next week is something called cochon 555 where chefs are given as a heritage paidig and need to come up with several dishes and there's a team of judges ... wow there are lots of the events there at the restaurant at the four seasons ... thank you for

coming today. go to wgntv.com/midday for recipes and more information about those events and the restaurant careful, pringles are bursting with more flavor. [ crunches ] mmm. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] pringles... bursting with more flavor. [ crunch! ]

c'mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn.

[ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! and now the answer to today's a trivia question: the boss suit is spades...

we are looking at the big east coast storm that will be dropping some snow in the interior of new england ... we will have a cold weekend here in chicago but nothing like that ... we will be remaining cooler mainly dry with some sunbreaks we won't have a warm up until the middle of next week thank you for joining us today remember that we are back here again this evening at 5:00 and again at 9:00 ... we hope you have a great weekend we leave you with more music from jc brooks and the uptown sound they will be

playing the metro next friday ... ÷ñspxññ