beverage ban, concern over caffeinated alcoholic drinks after a series of deaths across the country and in many maryland. tonight the federal government is poised to make a move. hello everyone i'm vic carter. >> and i'm denise koch. >> we begin with breaking news about those alcoholic caffeinated drinks. the makers of the drink four loko has announced their own

move. >> reporter: this change is announced just hours before the fda is expected to ban four loko tomorrow. the company says it will change its recipe taking out all of the caffeine and that has been the complaint all along. the combination of caffeine and alcohol is too dangerous. a year after putting energy alcohol drinking manufacturers on high alert, the government is expected to put the nation on alert. >> you have a lot of energy, you feel like you can do anything. >> reporter: several tragedies have been linked to four loko. an equivalent of four sodas and five cans of beer. in maryland spurry crashed her truck after her friend says two cans transformed the young girl. >> she changed that night.

she could not remember people's names. she blacked out within 30 minutes of having the alcoholic beverage. >> she died, people will continue to die. >> reporter: four loko and juice are next on his list. >> we're working to ban these products. we're also working with the fda to get them to ban them. >> reporter: the fda is expected to ban the product. >> when you look at this can it looks like an energy drink. i believe they are deliberately marketing this in a deceptive way. at the very minimum there should be warnings. >> reporter: administrators at mount st. mary's university have not documented any problems with the energy drinks. but they are being proactive. >> what we're hearing through colleagues are very serious individual issues, like students who have come close to death from drinking it at a

party and not the whole party was involved with the university students in very dangerous situations. while it is removing the caffeine, the company still stands by its product. comparing it to a rum and coke or irish coffee. the new versions are expected to start immediately. okay, thank you very much kelly. if the fda banned the alcopops, four loko would no longer be banned. and orientation about health benefits and why they won't begin for a month until he's sworn in. his remarks fueled angers from supporters of president obama's health care plan. harris defended his question,

pointing the irony of the government for all her all -- for all americans to have health insurance when the government employees will have to go a month without none. >> reporter: federal authorities revealed new information about their indictment of -- both face conspiracy and extortion charges in connection with the corruption investigation that has already led to the arrest of jack johnson and his wife. family members spoke to wjz about the ordeal. >> is it difficult for you to see her go through this? >> she's my sister, of course it's very difficult but there's no comment. >> thank you. >> they are very hard working

nice people. >> reporter: so who are the melli's and what's their connection to johnson. they immigrated from india and have been working in maryland for many years now building up a chain of liquor stores. >> i find them to be good, honest and true people. >> reporter: they own tick tock liquors. they bribed officers to sell alcohol without permits. >> i think h he knows several of the business people. >> reporter: the melli's company contributed to jack johnson's campaign. the melli's know johnson personally and the feds believe the county executive may have squeezed them into paying

bribes. the government wants to take millions of the dollars in property from both her and her husband. reports from prince george's federal courthouse, mike hellgren. >> stay with wjz for complete coverage of these arrests. go to wjz.com. highway workers make a gruesome discovery along interstate 70, human remains inside a cardboard box. the box was sitting on the side of the woods. it appears to be an adult but they do not yet know the person's identity. the medical examiner is trying to figure out how this person died. a happy ending to a bizarre robbery. live reptiles vanished from a baltimore center in two separate break-ins. weijia jiang explains how police tracked them down. >> reporter: a rapidly unfolding robbery investigation led police to this townhome on the 5,000 home of west

baltimore. investigators say a couple who lives there called 911 after they went home to discover 10 exotic animals inside. the very ones reported stolen from the kerry murray center located just a mile away. >> it's like a movie. you have everybody standing at their doorstep watching as they transported things like it's confidential. >> they need specific heating and lighting, specific food and if they're not given those foods they are going to become sick again and may not make it. >> reporter: police are now questioning two juveniles they found at the house in connection with two break-ins. they say over the weekend someone snatched up four hissing cockroaches and two geicos. on monday night it was two camilions that were taken like this one. >> it was amazing, awful.

>> reporter: the center has been a staple for youth. that's where kids learn about animals and now park administrators are relieved part of that is back. >> nothing is safement you can't have anything nice anymore. this is so your kids and cousins and uncles can come and look at this stuff and learn. >> reporter: police are not releasing any information about the juveniles. they do say charges are pending. reporting in baltimore city tonight, weijia jiang, wjz news. >> we will stay on top of this case. there's a growing message to drivers to put down the phone before someone else gets hurt. wjz is live along the beltway. kai jackson explains how a maryland family is helping put a face to the message. >> reporter: distracted driving isn't like a problem your car, a mechanical problem that you don't know about. this is 100% preventable.

now they are providing compelling stories to help reenforce that message. >> ashley, she was 16 years old. >> reporter: it's called the faces of distracted driving. it's a series of the web that the transportation department is using to help bring attention to the dangers of distracted driving. >> public education works, not always but i think it does a lot. >> reporter: mobile phone use including talking and texting has led to fatal car accidents. faces of distracting driving is a reminder of what distracting driving really is. not just mobile phone use but anything that takes your attention off the active driving. like adjusting the radio. cd player, mp3 player, speeding, putting on make up everyone talking to a pass --

even talking to a passenger. >> it's important to educate people about the dangers of talking and texting. >> reporter: her 23-year-old son dan was driving in colorado using his mobile phone and crashed into a stopped vehicle. he died two hours later. >> he didn't have time to react. those few seconds that he was on the phone or texting were the seconds he needed to put on the breaks in time and he couldn't do it. >> lori kelly's son dan was just graduated by the way from college in colorado. in that accident that claimed his life he was headed to his first job. back to you. >> kai, thank you very much. three stories are running on the website right now but there will be others including lori kelly's. year three at baltimore city schools ceo is unveiling his proposed reorganization plan for the upcoming week.

dr.andres alonzo suggesting closing one school the institute for business and entrepreneurship high. a new name and a new imagine, maryland's college of noter dame will soon be a university. it'll be known as noter dame of maryland university. you can see it spelled out on shirts worn at a pep rally. >> so now we call it ndnu. >> that's what the t-shirts say. an angry bull throws itself into the crowd. she promoted award winning hollywood films now she's been gunned down in her her

mercedes. why police are scratching their heads tonight. it is the engagement that the world has been waiting for. prince william and kate middleton on how he popped the question and the ring. a drive that will be windy on wednesday on tap. i'll have your complete weather forecast coming up next. ,,,,,,,,

my "me time" is when i thought i parked on level 2. or maybe 8? my "me time" is when there's a 10% chance of rain! [ cellphone rings ] my "me time" is when he doesn't get the hint. ♪ my "me time"... [ bang ] is when everybody's takin' shots at me. [ male announcer ] discover you time anytime. mccafé your day with a mcdonald's frappé. smooth and icy caramel or mocha blended just for you

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it is a mild 61 degrees and cloudy in central maryland right now. the complete forecast warner warning weather is coming up. but first, despite the chaos only one person was taken to the hospital. three others were treated at the arena. it is a real life hollywood murder mystery. a prominent publicist is killed following a movie premier. so far there are no motives or suspects but police have seized

computers from chasen's office. three members of a miami family are missing and presumed dead. hoffman had his bond set at $1 million. sarah maynord was found bound and gagged at his home. she went missing along with her mother, brother and a family friend six days ago. police found a tarp and trash bags at the family's home. the bravery of staff sergeant salvatore juta is recognized. he's the first living soldier from the iraq and afghanistan wars that gets the honor. >> i really appreciate them because without their service,

i have nothing. >> in 2007 gunta rescued two soldiers who later died. he said he would give back the medal to have his friends back. and if you haven't heard, prince william is engaged. >> reporter: they've been talking marriage for years. but when prince william finally popped the question to kate middleton. >> it was a shock and very excited. >> reporter: then he produced the engagement ring. the one his late mother, princess diana wore. >> i thought it was fine, this is my way of keeping her close to it all. >> i just hope i can look after it. it's very, very special. >> reporter: kate called princess diana an inspirational woman and says she wishes she

could have met her. prince william says he's confident his fiance will do a great job. william's father charles says he's thrilled. >> we all think he's wonderful and we're extremely fond of him. >> reporter: the pair met six years ago at the university in scottland. they moved together as friends and their relationship blossomed from there. >> reporter: as far as the pitter patter of british feet -- >> i think we'll take it one step at a time. obviously we want a family. >> reporter: but that won't happen until after royal wedding bells ring across britain next year. and prince william says he proposed during the couples

vacation in kenya last month. teachable moment, 3d and lady gaga are among the new words recognized. the blaring horns from -- you have to be careful when you're reading that one. also making the list of the famous words snomagedon which hopefully won't be needed this year. >> a snomagedon is a really rare event. to get two blizzard's back to

back. southeast of us in the eastern shores steadily light rain but the action is to the west. lines of shower and thundershower activity. gusty winds briefly as these showers move through the region. down into the western suburbs of washington. it's all moving off to the east northeast. later tonight, maybe after 1:00 or 2:00 until the morning, some of this will swing from baltimore metro area. later tonight, we'll be shaken by a little bit of lightning and thunder. it's really warmed up tonight. 64 in washington. much cooler out to the west. winds have picked up a little bit. 20 in washington. continue out of the southeast but tomorrow once this low passes our region. the winds will come back out of

the west northwest. it'll dry out very quickly. a lot of wind tomorrow but we'll have a good deal of sunshine. all those showers still have to go through the region. probably going to rain at least for the next several hours. tomorrow it'll be a mild day. probably in the mid-60s. tomorrow night it begins to cool down, friday it'll turn much much colder. temperatures only in your 50 on friday. it'll be sunny for the most part. gusty winds, maybe a gail warning. tonight still showers around but mild and breezy. upper 50s. tomorrow sun and clouds. 65, it's going to feel pretty warm. however the wind can gust to 35 to 40 miles per hour at times. as we enter the weekend turning

cooler. 56, 52, 53 ,, right now, verizon has the new samsung galaxy tab. at just seven inches, it's the only tablet designed for maximum mobility. and it's android-powered and flash-enabled for the best web browsing experience. get yours at verizon.

i knew i needed to find a better way to support my daughter. [ male announcer ] at age forty, greg flowers went back to school. [ greg ] i got a job as a computer applications engineer. [ male announcer ] but now, some in washington want regulations restricting access to career colleges and universities, denying opportunity to millions of people like greg, letting government decide who can go to college. it's my education, my job, it should be my choice. [ male announcer ] don't let washington get in the way.

the ravens return to the practice field tomorrow. today they altar the upcoming schedule. the home game against tampa bay now a 4:15 p.m. kick off moved from the original 1:00 start. sunday's game at carolina a 1:00 p.m. kick off. ravens a 10 point favorite the beat the panthers. it's a game you can see right here on wjz. news on the ravens rival in pittsburgh, the steelers give their kicker the boot. reed out after six seasons. he missed seven field goals this season including that short attempt in the loss to new england a few days ago. they signed sean swisham to replace jeff reed. college basketball now. the eagles across town to

townsend to face the tigers tonight. townsend in the dark uniform on the attack. gets the shooters roll for two. pat kennedy's tigers are playing from back court pressure. troy franklin will get the steal. he will take it all the way to the stop. malcolm delaney, gunning for the upset, delaney will launch a three pointer. delaney lead all points. k state came alive. an alley oop to samuels. no upset in this one. women's basketball top ranked kentucky riding a 79 game winning streak. huskies take on baylor. mia moore led the way, 30

points for her. the huskies regain the lead late. down by one, last shot is short. yukon wins 65-64 80 wins in a row for the two time defending women's champion. roy halladay of the phillies wins the cy young award. got all 32 votes of the cy young balloting. he's the fifth guy to win the cy young in both the american and national league. i'll have update for you tomorrow at 5:00. >> thank you, mark. nobody wants to see dog doo nobody wants to see dog doo in their front ,,,,,,,, [ male announcer ] baltimore.

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