named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not...that... we'd ever brag about it... turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how did that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine top safety picks like the passat and jetta. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month. 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. face off in the south. republican presidential hopefuls appeal to voters. >> the latest results from the incredibly close three-way race.

hello, everyone. >> here's what people are talking about tonight. >> two extremely close republican races in two southern states. rick santorum is celebrating narrow victories. >> reporter: cbs news projects santorum will alabama. he watched the returns in lafayette, louisiana. >> we did it again. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: looking ahead to saturday's caucuses, he's saying he's the one guy in the race that can beat president obama. >> are your taxes down? don't vote with what the pundents say. >> reporter: he went to alabama and mississippi leading up to

tuesday's primaries. gingrich is fighting for the same voters but says he's helping him by staying in the race. >> there's a certain advantage in having both of us tag team romney. >> reporter: gingrich made a big push here in the deep south. he was the only candidate still in town on primary day trying to sway undecided voters and get supporter toss the poll. some alabama voters say it is time for him to go. >> i don't think he has a chance. >> reporter: so far, gingrich is resisting calls to end his campaign and says he plans to go all the way to the convention. >> and once again, just moments ago cbs news projects santorum has won in mississippi and alabama. stay with us for more on these key republican primaries. sticker shock.

gas prices top $4.00 a gallon at some location stations. this as the governor prepares his final push to raise the gas tax. we have more on the proposal in question. >> reporter: the governor is expected to testify in support of the gas tax increase tomorrow in annapolis, but it's the prices here that could derail any chance of it passing. punishing prices at the pump, $4.05 a gallon. >> it really hurts. i mean, $4.05, that's just for regular. i have to use mid-grade. >> it's killing us. we're working every day and you can't do it. >> reporter: the average cost for a gallon of gas here in maryland, 23-cents higher than it was just one month ago. even where the record-high gas prices, the governor continues his push to raise the gas tax. the governor says the state needs the funding to build better roads and bridges. >> we have not been able to

embark on any new projects and that pattern will continue without a revenue increase. >> reporter: aaa says now is not the time to hit drivers with extra tax, especially since money from the transportation fund has been used over the years to balance the budget. >> we can't support a gas tax without a constitutional amendment or very, very strong protections. >> reporter: that might not happen any time soon. saying tuesday it's unlikely the general assembly will pass a gas tax hike this session. drivers hope to put the brakes on the proposal permanently. >> extra 6%. we can't afford that. i mean, we can't afford these gas prices as it is. >> reporter: the governor is proposing a 6% increase over the next three years. over time, that could tack on an extra 20-cents a gallon. >> thank you, meghan. the last time the gas tax was

raised in maryland was in 1992. dualing rallies. a community comes together to drown out a controversial church's message. people showed up today and held a counter protest against just three members of the west burro baptist church. it's known for its antigay protests. they set up as classes let out. police were ready if things got out of control, but they made no arrests. anger, frustration, and anguish spill on to the streets of afghanistan after the murder of 16 citizens. a u.s. soldier stands accused in the massacre and we're live. the white house is trying to do damage control. >> reporter: it is. the white house is saying right now and president obama is saying there will be a full investigation into the murder of the 16 afghan citizens. at the same time, he says the united states is committed to helping afghanistan.

chanting death to america. protesters in afghanistan burned an effigy of president obama. they are demanding a public trial for the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 people, including women and children. the soldier, a 38-year-old father of two is in custody. president obama assured the afghan people there will be justice in this case. >> the killing of innocent civilians is out rageous and unacceptable. it's not who we are as a country and it does not represent our military. >> reporter: the taliban has promised revenge. militants opened fire on a government delegation attending a memorial service with the victims. an afghan soldier was killed. the white house is considering speeding up the withdrawl. >> i do not believe there's any reason at this point to make any changes with regards to our strategy. >> reporter: this is the third

major headline that's infuriated the afghan people. last month the kuran was burned at a u.s. military base. six u.s. troops were killed in retaliation. in january, video surfaced of marines urinating on the bodies of afghan fighters. back to you. >> thank you. the u.s. is pulling 23,000 soldiers out of afghanistan by september. it's part of the plan to get most troops out by 2014. state troopers shoot a man after he points a fake gun at them. the troopers try to arrest christopher thomas outside his house in northeast when he pointed this gun at the troopers, they shot him in the leg. thomas is wanted on warrants from several police departments. tracking down a potentially deadly threat at the university of maryland. we investigate how police found the student they say posted

disturbing messages anonymously online. we take you inside the police operation. >> reporter: police at the university of maryland, college park believed someone was seriously planning a massacre, but the only evidence was anonymous threats on two social networking websites. within 13 hours they were able to track down the student accused of making them. how did they do it? jeffrey tour is an associate professor of criminal technology. he has decades in law enforcement and explains why no threat is truly anonymous. >> you leave a digital footprint. with that ip address, the police are able to pinpoint a street address. it doesn't typically take the police a whole lot of time to narrow something like that down. this is an every day occurrence across america. >> reporter: they first made calls to headquarters in the california. >> we had to work throughout the

night to actually make that contact. >> reporter: with the clock ticking, the race was on to trace it. saturday night at 9:25, they got their first report of an anonymous threat from a tipster. they identified the computer's ip address, by 6:00 a.m. they identified their suspect, they took him into custody by 10:06 that morning. >> they will meticulously search for evidence. >> if you see something, say something, which was done in this case and led us to the arrest of mr. saum. >> reporter: police searched the home of his parents here in howard county where they recovered his laptop computer. >> and he faces a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum sentence of 6 months in jail. washington d.c.'s tallest structure could be leaning or sinking.

that's the concern for the washington monument after it was rattled by the earthquake last year. a team of surveyors is working to make sure the 555-foot tall obelisk is still straight. they are some of the most ferocious athletes in the country. we see the softer side of nfl stars. tonight the awards were handed out to players like cowboys quarterback tony romo. the athletic trainer made it his mission to help others. and coming up, thieves clean out shelves filled with household goods. why the products are such a temping target. i was shocked and then i became angry. >> crude customer service. the insulting message that baltimore woman received on her

receipt. more like may than march. i'll have the complete forecast coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

girl: i want to tell you about my friend. his name is ben. ben learned about a homeless boy who had an infected tooth, and the boy died. that made ben really sad. he wrote a law so every kid can see a dentist. we have special dental van that goes from school to school. he even helps make sure we learn how to brush our teeth. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i approved this message. let me get that door for you... [ man ] i loved my first car... sometimes the door gets stuck... oh sure. ooh! [ man ] ...and then, i didn't. um... [ sighs ] [ man ] so, i got a car i can love a really, really long time. [ male announcer ] for the road ahead,

the all-new subaru impreza. ♪ experience love that lasts. it is 67 degrees and clear in central maryland right now, the complete forecast is coming up. a fiery explosion rips through a home in nebraska. a 30-year-old man was reportedly making fire works on the back porch when something went wrong. paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he later died. the victim's wife and young son escaped without injuries. crews are cleaning up the mess a plane left behind when it rolled off a runway. a spokesman for delta says the mechanics were testing the engines of a boeing 737 when the brakes gave out.

the jet did sustain some significant damage. a baltimore woman is outraged over a receipt she was given at a montgomery county store. she was checking out of the radioshack when the salesman told her about the 5-cent bag tax in montgomery tax. she said she never heard of the tax before, so she asked for a refund. he gave her a receipt that was riddled with insults at the bottom. >> i was shocked more so than anything and then i became angry. obviously he was talking about me. >> she called the corporate office in hopes of getting the salesman fired. they say they have taken the strongest possible disciplinary action. thieves are cleaning out store shelves robbing them of laundry detergent. a man grabbing several bottles of tide and tossing them into a shopping cart. similar crimes have been caught on camera in maryland.

the detergent has become a form of currency with people using bottles to buy drugs. a ski resort in virginia is closing early because of the warmer temperatures. winter green hoped to keep the list running until april, but they're closing this sunday. officials say they're looking at activities they have planned for the summer months. no snow, no go. >> i feel sorry for them, but really happy for us. >> will it continue? >> they did make snow for a little while, but not a great skiing season around here. rockies, not too bed. northwest, not to bad. very warm night, it's like a summer night. 67 degrees at 11:00 p.m. in march. it's really unheard of. west winds at 45. we had an incredible afternoon

and i'll talk about that in a second. the only cool spot, oakland 66. ocean city at 61 and easton at 61. temperatures in the upper 50s. the coolest spots by the bay. annapolis 54. 80 degrees today. the last time we hit 80 was october 10th. it's been that long, but this month we've already had days in the 70s half the month already. 55 the low this morning. the average is 85 in 1990 and 12 in 1888. the winds come back out of the west, northwest tomorrow. new, dry air mass, sunshine all day long tomorrow. it's going to be a beautiful day. a little bit lower dew points, drier than we saw today. one or two showers that popped up this afternoon. generally tomorrow will be one of the nicest days you can ever ask for. thursday the same thing.

by friday, a system coming down from the north and it may bring you a few showers friday into saturday. if that cool front gets through, temperatures will drop considerably. we're on the line right now. it may get south of us if we get into the cooler air, maybe only the upper 50s. if we stay in the warm air, it could be in the upper 70s. i'm not sure about friday's temperatures right now. a little tough to call. clear, mild tonight. 50 degrees. tomorrow back up in the mid-70s with sunshine all day long. mid-70s on thursday, maybe 80 the next couple of days. a few showers friday and saturday. a little colder and sunshine and 66 here on sunday. spring way early this year. >> i should say thank you. free agents are shopping for new contracts. >> a couple of ravens could be headed to new teams, next in sports. ,,,,

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we have the fan sports report. >> there's a lot of traffic up there. football players to and fro. no signings for the ravens. keeping an eye on the ravens who could be leaving. one to watch is ben grubbs. he's going to meet with the new orleans saints first. he's a five-year veteran drafted in the first round in 2007. cory redding another free agent who could fly the coop. he'll be meeting with the indianapolis colts who was the ravens defensive coordinator. injury updates for the orioles. brian roberts showing progress and nick markakis will play in his first game today. jay miller has been filling in

the for markakis, and he's been good. miller hit a tower three-run homer off rays 8 david price. miller's been the os best hitter this spring. he leads the team with seven runs driven in. college basketball, march madness. we heard from the maryland women, they will play the navy in the turny. they are heavy underdogs against the turps, but these champs are motivated to pull off an upset. >> we have to win. we have to win to keep playing, so i guess that's the motivation right there -- to win, to keep playing. >> now, maryland plans to keep playing all the way to the final four, heavily favored over navy. navy pays a visit to the stadium. goal of the night, navy's pat

tiernan will get his feet inside, watch him go over the shoulder. nimble with the no-look. we'll get another look at it. tiernan's was the first of five straight navy goals. final score 10-6. ncaa tournament gets in full stride tomorrow. >> thank you. coming up, looking for love with a unique twist. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,an is offering the ,,,,,,,,,,,,

a florist offers up an unusual reward. willing to pay a thousand dollars to the person who introduces him to his future wife. he's looking for someone over 50 who's willing to retire in san diego. he has a few quirks, but he thinks he'd make a pretty good husband, and lots of flowers. >> we'll be right back. letterman is coming up with cee-lo green. cee-lo green. >> we'll see,,,,

girl: i want to tell you about my friend. his name is ben. ben learned about a homeless boy who had an infected tooth, and the boy died. that made ben really sad. he wrote a law so every kid can see a dentist. we have special dental van that goes from school to school. he even helps make sure we learn how to brush our teeth. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i approved this message.

and welcome to the verizon 4g lte bracket preview show i'm otis livingston. this is the fordham head coach. thank you for coming in. >> always a pleasure. >> let's break down the eastern bracket where syracuse out of the big east conference is number one seed. do they have what it takes to make it to the final four? >> i believe they. do they are refocused after their loss and going into that as we talked about the losses in notre dame during the

regular season. very special team. >> how will that affect them? they will one of three number one seeds that didn't win their conference tournament? >> in the case of all of those especially syracuse, that special way, i told you so. list on to me and i think they will get their veterans back on track. scoop jarden -- >> and who is the best player in the east bracket? >> i think -- he is incredible at ohio state. back to the basket. you don't see many players do. that every 6'10" wants to face the basket and no one wants to do the dirty work. he can hurt you inside and out and he is a beast around the basket. >> certainly is. what team might be a bracket buster and could surprise the teams in the east. >> iic love st. bonaventure. they won a convince tournament. and they beat some great teams coming throughism remember the name of andrew nicholson. he will be a first round pick. 6'9", 6'10" post player. they shoot the ball well and

both of their front court players are big and skilled. >> when we return, on the verizon gln gln bracket preview show tom will tell you the game to watch in the first round. welcome back to the verizon 4g lte. and coach, we were in the east region and what is the best

first round matchup for you. >> cincinnati and texas. cincinnati and texas is lose or go home two high powered teams. cincinnati is playing so well and texas is a perennial power. and they got the great -- and a perfect world, what matchup would you like to see until the final four? >> i like syracuse and florida state. florida state coming out winning the conference. florida state getting out of this and tremendous success. and guard the basketball playing against the syracuse zone and shooting the ball very well and now florida state is great. >> a tremendous. a confidence coming into this tournament after beating duke twice in the regular season. >> that confidence you don't beat ciewk twice and play carolina the way they did. very good team. >> more coverage, check out the verizon 4g lte bracket preview show tomorr p.m.

eastern time with duke taking on -- >> thank you for watching the verizon 4g lte bracket preview show. we will see you right back here again tomorrow night.