this is wjz tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com, baltimore. from the city to the counties to your neighborhood. now it's complete coverage. it's wjz, maryland's news station. ship abandoned. an italian cruise liner capsizes, dozens lost in the water. >> audio tapes reveal how the captain resisted coast guard orders. >> search crews off the coast of italy find the bodies of more cruise passengers but no more survivors. suspicions swirl around the ship's captain. >> reporter: controlled explosions blew open holes for rescue crews searching the coasta concordia. >> we hope we can reach all the places that haven't been

inspected yet. >> reporter: they're looking in the measuringy water and interior of the ship for anyone that could still be alive, but search crews only found more victims tuesday. captain francesco is under house arrest. in a call with the coast guard right after the wreck, the captain says he's in a lifeboat during the evacuation. the coast guard yells telling the captain you get on board, this is an order. the captain says, but you are aware it's dark and we can't see anything? the official replies, get on the bow of the ship and tell me what can be done. video shows some of the passengers had to climb down the side of the ship using rope ladders. now there's a new problem. the wrecked ship contains 500,000 gallons of fuel. the water around the island is a protected marine life sanctuary. crews have placed booms around the coasta concordia in case of a spill. officials say the risk of a leak

is increasing. engineers are standing by ready to start the delicate process of extracting the fuel from the ship. that could begin as early as wednesday. >> the ship's captain could spend 12 years in prison just for the charge of abandoning ship. city firefighters race to stop a house fire before it spreads to other homes. flames and smoke poured out of the house near highland avenue this afternoon. firefighters quickly got it under control, no word tonight on what caused that fire. a battle is blewing if baltimore county over transgender rights. his plan is meeting tough resistance. we are live and have both sides of the argument. >> reporter: critics say what seems like a well-intentioned idea is misguided. the video tape beating of a transgender woman inside a rose hill mcdonalds last year spotlighted the issue of violence and bias. >> you don't have to explain

yourself to nobody. >> reporter: two girls, one 19, the other 14 were charged and later convicted for the assault. >> it's hard to believe that in today's society that, that type of behavior was allowed to happen. >> reporter: tuesday night, the baltimore county count sill addressed the case. proposing a gender identity, antidiscrimination bill. >> we're an open county, we welcome everyone. >> this is about discrimination, about getting a job or keeping a job. >> reporter: it would have language who would allow those who are transgender to freely apply for jobs and use public restrooms. that's where opponents draw the line. many fear sexual predators may disguise themselves to get into private areas. >> some sexual predators will take advantage of this bill and not just them coming in here, but the predators are going to come in and hurt people. >> reporter: council members stressed this was a first

reading of a bill. it's not etched in stone and there's still room to craft it. >> i think it's a very dangerous bill because it opened the doors for those that would want to perpetrate crimes against females. >> reporter: council will have another discussion on this issue, again before any final decision is made. >> thank you. last month, the howard county passed a historic bill protecting those of transgender. sheriff's deputies returned to the bel-air home where robert richard son is accused of killing his father. someone ransacked the house twice after richardson was arrested. detectives say he confessed to the murder. breaking news in washington, d.c. the secret service briefly puts the white house on lock down. agents stepped up security after someone threw a smoke bomb over the fence. more than a thousand protesters

gathered outside the white house. president obama and the first lady were out at dinner during the lock down. 24 hours after six occupy members were arrested, police make another show of force. we spent the day at the scene and we have new video of the confrontation and what's next for the group. >> reporter: troopers made their presence known sitting in cars inside the massive vacant lot where they arrested six occupy baltimore protesters just hours before. >> you need to go this way for me. >> reporter: new video shows police telling media to get out before dismantling the group's tent and tearing down the make-shift schoolhouse they built on state land. dozens of officers lined the area in riot gear. occupiers say they're not intimidated. >> just because the city is trying to stop our efforts to organize a mistake they're making doesn't mean we're going to stop. >> reporter: police say the property is private and they

only arrested protesters after repeated warnings. the group plans to be back here all week and police are maintaining a constant presence. mike mcgwire was charged with trespassing. >> politically, hopefully it's a threat. we're keeping this agenda in the public radar. >> we want to protect their right to express their views. it remains to be seen if tensions will boil over again or if relations with police will be peaceful like last month. those arrested and charged on monday night are now all free. reporting from east baltimore for wjz eyewitness news. >> one person was arrested during a demonstration against corporate greed at the u.s. capital. wearing headphones while walking. it is proving to be dangerous and deadly. a new study by a maryland doctor

says the number of people injured has tripled in recent years. >> reporter: since 2004, 116 people have been injured while walking and wearing headphones. annana marie, just 15 years old when she was hit by a train and killed. the middle river teen never heard the train coming because she was wearing her headphones. it was her death in 2010 that prompted dr. richard litchinstein. >> this may be the next thing people need to be aware of. >> reporter: in 2004, 16 people in the u.s. were injured while waking and wearing headphones. by last year, that number had tripled to 47. of the 116 people hit in the past seven years, 81 died. >> if you're plugging up your

ears from alarms, sirens, and horns, you're going to put yourself at risk for injury and death. >> reporter: more than half the accidents involve pedestrians hit by trains. according to the study, it's not just the noise that's the problem. it's the distraction of using the device. despite the dangers, pedestrians we spoke to say they still do it. >> i have tunnel vision. when i walk around, i like to block things out. >> reporter: though some try to be safer. >> i only use one ear sometimes so i can hear what's going down. >> reporter: bumping down the volume could save your life. and the majority of those injured are males under the age of 30. reporting live for wjz eyewitness news. >> thank you. more than a quarter of the injury cases, the train or car sounded an alarm or horn to try to alert the pedestrians before they were hit. a spat at city hall. fires back at a critic of the

baltimore grand prix. the mayor asked city council president jack young to return his tickets to last weekend's ravens game. young had two tickets in the city sky box. he ruffled a few feathers last week when he said the city should spend more money on residents and not the car race. the city is getting fired up for the afc championship game against new england. wjz is your home for complete coverage of the ply offs. the ravens will paint more stencils like this one around town. the only catch? they will be gold. if you see one and you take a picture and send it to the ravens facebook or twitter pages, one lucky fan will win a trip for two to this week's game against the patriots. we put up a link on wjz.com. click on the news tab. you can only watch the ravens play the patriots right here on

wjz. it kicks off sunday at 3:00. don't miss our live championship special friday night. get team updates and a hometown send off. watch it live friday night at 7:30. >> they're going to be stenciling these things on the street tonight. >> yes, overnight. >> on our way home we could -- >> spot the gold. the dramatic way this baby boy made his entrance into the world. >> everyone just looked at it each other. we couldn't believe it. >> a missing hiker found alive. the drastic measures he took to stay alive in a blizzard. what authorities found inside this columbia home has sickened neighbors here. i'll tell you about the startling discovery coming up on eyewitness news. cold air knocking on our doorstep. i'll have the complete forecast coming up next. [ male announcer ] get ready for some deli-style delic-ious-ity:

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it's 57 degrees and partly cloudy. the complete weather forecast is coming up. a freak january storm leaves a path of destruction in lieuville. the twister uprooted trees, caused chaos on the highway.

more than 20,000 people were left without power. no deaths or major injuries were reported. a massachusets man comes to the rescue after a car crashes in his front yard. these photos show the vehicle engulfed in flames. he ran over and found the 87-year-old driver trapped inside. he broke a window and pulled her out before the car exploded. police say she lost control and careened through the grass and hit a tree. the driver was not injured. police in los angeles say the iraq war veteran accused of murdering four homeless men planned to kill more people. he had already picked out his next victims when he was arrested. he's facing four counts of murder. he stalked the homeless men and then stabbed them. his family says the 23-year-old came back from iraq a troubled man. he's being held under a 24-hour watch. a disturbing odor results in

a troubling discovery. dozens of dead animals are found inside the columbia home along with a few surviving ones. police are looking for the woman who lived there. >> reporter: neighbors broke out their cameras as police began pulling the bodies of 40 dead animals from inside this house in columbia. >> my wife was, she was going to throw up. she was disgusted. >> reporter: birds, rats, cats, guinea pigs. two cats, a bearded dragon lizard, and a gerbil were found alive but sick. >> rumors were they come at weird hours. >> reporter: the renters living there hadn't been seen in weeks. the property owners came to check on the house after getting complaints of a nasty spell. >> he walked in and walked right out. nobody could stay in long. the odor. >> reporter: right now, no one lives in the house to the left.

in the house to the right, a neighbor has just moved in only a few weeks ago. she told me she did not notice any foul odors. neighbors say the renters were involved in some animal rescue organization. police believe they know who to blame. >> we're working to find out where she is so we can interview her. >> reporter: meantime, animal-loving neighbors are sickened. >> how could someone love animals and rescue them and leave those animals to die? >> if you can't take care of the animals, then you shouldn't take on that responsibility. >> reporter: so far, no arrests in the case. police say the person or persons responsible will likely face animal cruelty charges. in howard county for wjz eyewitness news. >> anyone with information in this case is urged to call howard county police. an experienced snow shoer is rescued. he says he stayed warm by running in place and burning the money in his wallet.

he was leading a hiking group when he fell down a slope and became separated from them. they found him in such good shape he didn't even need to go to the hospital. they boarded a new york-city bound train as a couple and left the train as a family. the expectant parents thought they could make it to the manhattan hospital in time for the birth, but the son wasn't waiting. the little boy was faster than the speeding train. he arrived safe and sound before they even got to the station. >> people stopped and observed that. other times they won't look at anything. >> that i think would get a new yorker's attention. an unbelievably warm night. i had to double check. 57 here after 11:00 on this january night. pretty amazing. the southwest winds still in the area at 13 miles an hour. now, in about an hour or two

they'll shift to the northwest and temperatures will begin to come on down. right now it has dropped to 34 in oakland. the chilly air is just west of that region and is moving in our direction. the warm air was with us all afternoon long with sunshine coming out there. 61 n at kent island. these are the normal temperatures for the second week in april. amazing here in this portion of the country for january. 59 was the afternoon high today. 39 with the rain early this morning. the record is 68 and 7 below 0. 1982, that was a cold one. oakland just shifted to the west at 16. the wind gusts up in the mountains could get to 30-40 miles an hour. we'll see strong winds late tonight, tomorrow morning. but they'll be out of the west,

northwest. that will drag the cold air in with the rain this morning. quickly moved away from the area. saw that bright sunshine. the front to the west of us now. essentially i think we're going to look for partly cloudy tonight. snow showers breaking out along the great lakes. that will be in garret county by late tonight and tomorrow. nothing here until maybe thursday night. maybe a few snow showers with the next front coming in with cold air. friday into saturday, a warm front will begin to approach. it may produce some clouds and light precipitation late friday night. maybe cold enough for a little period of snow, sleet, and a mixture and then just some light rain here on saturday. looks like friday night and probably very late early sat morning could see a little wintery precipitation in the region. 25 knots in the bay. tonight what's left of it, we

have partly cloudy turning much colder. only 40 tomorrow with a breeze and sunshine. it will feel a lot colder and 43 on thursday. friday night may be a little snow mixture. 44 on sunday and if you're going to watch the football in foxboro, here's what we expect this weekend. 41, a lot of clouds for foxboro. that will be considered mild. coverage begins here at 3:00. controversial comments. >> joe flacco is criticized by a teammate.

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well, it's bound to get tense. >> we thought just fans called

radio shows and complained. players get in on it too. maybe it's ed reed's version of a motivational speech. he used a national satellite radio show to broadcast his comments, critical of joe flacco's performance. in an interview on sirius xm, he described him as rattled by the houston's pass rush and says he didn't look like he was in control of the offense. he said flacco can't play like that against new england. he was sacked five times on sunday. he said the offense needs to fix some things. coach harbaugh addressed his game yesterday. >> i thought he played very, very well. in a lot of situations in this game when under duress, he handled himself well. there are plenty of things he could have done better, but you try to get better and you try to play winning football no matter

what position you play. that's what we value around here. >> qb controversy five days before the biggest game of the year. reminder, you can see joe flacco and the ravens taking on tom brady and the patriots coming your way sunday at 3:00. basketball tonight, maryland leaves the comfort of college park on the road to florida state to face the seminoles. coming off a big home win over north carolina. stolen finds space. he led everybody with 27 points, but maryland's lead lasted a few seconds. florida state on a scoring binge. luke wilds from long distance, a three pointer part of a 9-0 run for the seminoles. big game for bernard james. he'll take it in for the stuff. 17 points for him. rough road game for maryland.

they fall 84-70 at florida state. next game is at temple on saturday. baseball news. remember the pitcher who was robbed of the perfect game because of a bad call two years ago? he's bound for baltimore. he has agreed to a minor league contract with the orioles according to reports in his native venezuela. he was with the tigers for that infamous game. he pitched for arizona last season. i'll have the latest on the ravens tomorrow and we'll be reporting live. >> thank you,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

among the most popular duos in china. tigers put on public display for the first time. they're not camera shy at all.

they're a major boon to the endangered species. they're growing fast and learning how to play together. one of america's most beloved comedians celebrates a milestone birthday. >> happy birthday to you! >> the cast and crew of hot in cleveland celebrated betty white's 90th birthday today. they presented her with a cake before a live studio audience. >> she shares a birthday with first lady michelle obama who celebrated with the presi,,,,,,,

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is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories.