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unraffling support, anne arundel county firefighters join police in expressing no confidence in their leadership. what this means for the county executive who's facing a scathing misconduct indictment. hi, again, i'm ky jackson. here's what people are talking about today, the firefighters union voted overwhelmingly that they have no confidence in their chief. the leader cited the indictment of county executive as a major factor. wjz stays on the investigation. mike has new reaction from the fire chief this noon. mike. reporter: ky, that fire chief says he has no plans to leave the union vote broke down this way, 396 members said they had no confidence in him. only 14 said they did. support for indicted anne arundel county executive john leopold and his department heads continues to unravel with firefighters voting no

confidence in their chief just days after two police unions voted no confidence in their leadership, including mr. leopold. >> leadership starts from the top. it is apparent with the indictments that are currently slated against the county executive, he is a failed leader of anne arundel county. it is time for him to step aside and his department heads also have failed the citizens of anne arundel county, and they too should step aside and allow people that can come in and, again, put this ship right back on its course. reporter: the fire chief issued this statement to wjz, it would be inappropriate for me to discuss specific labor- related issues as we are in the middle of the labor negotiations process. this commission is dedicated to delivering world-class service. >> we need to let them know what's going on in anne arundel county government. reporter: the indictment says leopol pold he kept files on his political enemies. leopold denies wrongdoing.

>> i'm confident when all of the relevant facts are known, we will prevail. reporter: his office said the indictment is no distraction, showing this picture as a business-as-usual event he attended last night. in keeping with business as usual, mr. leopold announced a new public access television show called "the department" which would keep the community informed about county services. that indictment came down one week ago today. reporting live, mike helgren. >> mike, thank you. john leopold is scheduled to be arraigned later this month. an investigation is undergoing in calbert county after a baby is found in the trunk of a car. it happened in prince fredrick. police say a person cleaning the trunk discovered the child's body and called police. the baby's body has been taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. so far no charges have been filed. a man is in critical condition this morning after a shootout with montgomery county police. just after midnight officers

responded to a call of shots fired in the 8100 block of eastern avenue in silver spring. that's when an unidentified man opened fire on them. one officer was hurt. that officer was treated and released from the hospital overnight. controversy at a local university this afternoon after racial messages are plastered across the campus. ron mets is live in the newsroom with more. reporter: hi, ky. the messages were written by the controversial student group youth for western civilization. the messages talk about white pride and were written in chalk on sidewalks. hundreds gathered yesterday to speak out against the actions of the organization. the group's president says they don't promote hate, they support traditional values. officials hope the meeting opens a dialogue to bring the campus back together. ki, back to you. >> ron, thank you. the university says it's looking into whether the chalk messages violate school policy. the key bait over medical marijuana takes center stage today in annapolis. in less than an hour maryland lawmakers will begin debating

three medical marijuana bills in the house of delegates committee. the governor is expected to veto the legislation because of conflicts with federal laws. one proposal would allow the drug to be prescribed to ease the suffering of those with debilitating conditions. also in annapolis, state lawmakers move ahead with a tax increase on cigars and smokeless tobacco. it's part of the governor's plan to raise or cut more than $1 billion from the state budget. the same committee also approved a plan to transfer some teacher pension costs from the state to local governments. employers continue their hiring spree in february, making for three of the best months since the end of the recession. allison harmilin reports for wjz, the numbers were better than expected. reporter: the line stretched down the block at this job fair in new york. earnest climber has been unemployed last year and is right now hoping for a break.

>> right now i'm looking for anything. i need a job in this economy, so right now anything would do. reporter: the odds are getting better as employers continue hiring at a steady clip. the economy gained 227,000 jobs in february, the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 8.3%. a sign that people that have given up are sensing new optimism and starting to look for work. >> the signs are positive for the marketplace and positive for the economy. reporter: it's a sign employers are confident about the future and willing to beef up their payrolls. hiring was up in most major industries, manufacturing, healthcare and professional services like accounting all added jobs. overall job growth over the last six months has been the best since 2006. all good news for president obama as he runs for reelection. >> it's the -- if the momentum continues and there's solid proof behind the improvement, i think it'll bode very well for the administration. reporter: nearly 13 million

americans are still unemployed. >> we've been looking for work for almost a year now for both of us. reporter: but as the hiring trend continues, the jobless rate is at its lowest level in three years. on wall street, allison harmilin, wjz, eyewitness news. >> the labor department also revised the figures for december and january showing 61,000 more jobs than originally reported. it may be evident when you drive around the city, but a new report confirms a number of homes in baltimore are still vacant. according to our media partner the baltimore sun, new estimates from the census bureau say one in nine homes sat empty last year. but that number isn't the worst part of it. baltimore tied with chicago and pittsburgh with the 26th worst rate. dayton, ohio came in at number one with a vacancy rate of nearly 17%. turning to our weather, a bit breezy, but nonetheless still another gorgeous day outside. let's take a live look out there right now at the inner

harbor. there are some clouds in the sky, but the sun is still shining. how high will those temperatures get today? we have complete first warning weather coverage for you with marty bass and the weather center. good afternoon, marty. everybody is asking how do we go from a day like yesterday to a day like today. >> it's because water will find its own level, nature will correct itself. 76 yesterday, four shy of 80 downtown and we still didn't set the record. but today, let's go ahead and take a look at the current temperature. we are frankly at our normal daytime high. we went from exceptional to only back to normal at this noon hour and it's going to be above normal this afternoon. now, that 50 to be honest is 18 degrees chillier than this time yesterday. and, again, as ky mentioned, there's a bit of a breeze around and that's going to temper what's going to be a high of 57 degrees. just as we start talking about some chill today and tomorrow, there's going to be another significant warmup early next week. folks, we're going right back to the 70s. we have those first warning

details coming up here shortly. now ky, we'll throw it back to you. >> yes, sir, thank you, marty. lady gaga, beyonce and nicki minaj dominate the pop world today. and soon students at the university of maryland will learn why. the university women's studies department has announced a class devoted to the three singers. the professor says students will study the cultural obsession with the stars' clothes, fashion and performances. the class will be offered to 35 students next semester. that's nikki minaj. still ahead on eyewitness news at news, a chirp's campaign, a look at the video that's gone viral. lighting up the night, a solar storm boosts a miraculous display in minnesota and it's shaping up to be a fabulous afternoon. marty will be back with your full first warning forecast. stay with us. [ dog growls, barks ]

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a psychiatric clinic at the university of pittsburgh is open again today following a shooting that left two people dead. authorities say the gunman who has yet to be identified was armed with two semiautomatic handguns when he shot seven

people. he was a western psych employees who was later shot and killed. extra security will be patrolling the hospital today. a charity organization's video about children in war- torn uganda is now one of the most watched videos on the internet. but it's also generating controversy. the half hour video titled "coney 2012" has been viewed 50 million times. it focuses on warlord joseph coney. now, he's the leader of the gerilla group lord resistant army and has captured 65,000 children. the organization is hoping the video will help put him behind bars. >> we are going to make joseph coney a household name, not to celebrate him, but to bring his crimes to the light. >> not everyone supports the documentary. a watchdog group says the invisible children organization spends only 1/3 of its donations on programs in central africa. a giant solar storm didn't disrupt technology, but it did cause a dazzling display in

minnesota. take a look. it's a time-lapsed video of northern lights in st. cloud. you can see the sun kicking out solar flares. experts had predicted the solar storm would cause disruptions in gps, satellite systems and power grids. still ahead on wjz's eyewitness news at noon, looking ahead to the weekend, find out what's in store weather wise. the full first warning forecast just 2 1/2 minutes away. first, here's a look at midday stocks and last night's winning lottery numbers. ,,,,,,,

this dog has caused such a disturbance in this building. you have no idea. this is gandhi, he's a chow, chow and when he's an adult, he's going to be a 60-pound ball of fur. >> i think we should change the name from gandhi. amy says gandhi, but i think we should call him furball. >> we're going to have to get the men's club together to discuss if there's enough testosterone in that one. weather wise, you tell us, is this a market correction today, marty? >> this is a market correction, as a matter of fact. gandhi is 8 weeks old and he's

loving this weather after that 70 degrees yesterday. he's a chow chow shepherd mix. one of the nicest dogs we've had. >> he's at the maryland spca. if you can provide him a good home. but, seriously, remember, it's going to be like a 50, 60-pound ball of fur. >> you have to be prepared for that, right? >> you have to be prepared. how many dogs do you have? >> i only have one, it feels like nine. that's our scarf, compliments of our friday sponsor mr. basement who believes that with us and together we can make a difference for pets that need a home. look at this hard anchorman, ky jackson. big weekend coming up. not only is gandhi getting a home, this is the weekend we spring forward. we go back to daylight saving time from railroad standard time and also make sure you

change the batteries in all the detectors in your home. that's going to happen, of course, saturday night as you're going to bed. you wake up sunday morning to a little bit of a different view at about 7:00. it will still be light at night. conversely at 6:30 in the morning, it's still going to be dark. welcome daylight saving time. let's talk weather here. here's this breeze/medium wind that we've been talking about at 13. barometer is 30.18 as high pressure builds into the area, we'll lose the wind. normal high is 51. 50 hagerstown, 48 cumberland. 38 degrees in oakland. westminster 45, bel aire close to 50. 50 colombia, 49 in annapolis. sneezy weather scenario. frontal system dove through the area overnight. skies will slowly clear out today. believe it or not, these are some flurries up in central pennsylvania. they'll stay in the laurel highlands and not make it down to the mason dixon line. high pressure is going to build into the area, and as it slides offshore tomorrow night, we're

going to see quite a warmup begin and sunday just a two-day little normalization in temperatures, ky. 57 today, 32 overnight. the normal is 51 and 31. tomorrow is going to be a bit chilly but sunny. 48 degrees is going to be your high. wait until you see this five- day forecast. it just looks great. >> marty, thank you very much. still ahead on eyewitness news at noon, everybody, the hiv virus, what group says -- what it's affecting the most here in our area. and also wjz13 is always on. here are the story from wjz.com at this hour. for all the day's updated news and the latest forecast, log copd makes it hard to breathe, so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure.

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in today's wjz health watch, hiv remains an ongoing crisis in parts of the united states. researchers studied six areas where the virus is known to be more common. they found the hiv rate among african-american women is five times higher in those regions than in the general population. the study looked at women right here in baltimore as well as atlanta, washington, newark, new york and raleigh-durham. be sure to check in with wjz eyewitness news today at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. losing support, wjz continues to follow the developing story in anne arundel county ronald reagan county executive john leopold receives another no- confidence vote. an innocent bystander, a woman is killed when two cars drag race down a busy road in

montgomery county. the emotional plea from her husband. join us for these stories and all the day's breaking news today at 4:00 right after "dr. phil." stay with us, the five-day forecast is coming up. ,, ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours?

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it's not my fault. >> we were at 76 at the airport, -- 76 downtown, 74 at the airport. >> that's incredible. >> 65 monday. these temperatures could be a couple of degrees warmer. i'm going to round it up to 70 tuesday, maybe 74. look at sunday, 62 is 11 degrees above normal. >> wow! incredible. >> tomorrow a little bit brisk. >> marty, thank you. by the way, don't miss tonight's cbs prime time lineup, at 9:00 it's another episode of "blue bloods," stay tuned for eyewitness news at 11:00. finally this noon, she's been popular for more than half a century and today she's celebrating her birthday. we're talking about barbie, the iconic doll turns 53. barbara mill roberts reports shows it was introduced at the new york toy fair on march 9th, 1959. the creator of barbie ruth handler wanted to show young girls women could do anything. >> i didn't know she had a last name, millicent.

i think barbie has done everything over the last 53 year. >> do you think there's been angelaorwoman barbie, weather woman barbie? i don't know. thanks for watching at noon, everybody. see you back at 4:00. >> have a great, safe weekend. medicare. it doesn't cover everything. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card --

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