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. >> a japan earthquake. >> a pair of early morning

tremors sends thousands of people running for cover. >> good afternoon, i am don scott. >> and i am jessica kartalija. >> we begin with breaking news overseas, earthquakes rock japan no, sir once but several times, mary bubala has the latest on this. >> reporter: good afternoon. the earthquakes hit this morning in the very same area devastated by an earthquake and tsunami one year ago. the quake hit the southern coast of the country causing a small tsunami, several coastal communities were advised to evacuate as a precaution. less than three hours later another quake shook buildings near tokyo. there have been no reports of injuries or serious damage. this past sunday japan marked the first anniversary of the magsive magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that left some 19,000 people dead or missing. don. >> thank you very much, mary. first warning weather coverage continues now with meteorologist tim williams and

a closer look at the earthquakes, good afternoon. >> good afternoon, as you just heard this in the same region where the earthquake last year, that is of course, the one year anniversary was just this past sunday. this is a 6.8 magnitude quake that hit around wednesday evening japan time. of course it caused a small tsunami just off of that island. tsunamid a veers others were issued along the northern pacific coast but were lifted after 90 minutes. now, this also within about three hours triggered another 6.one magnitude quake that shook buildings located off the east coast of tokyo. this was considered shallow, around 9 miles below the surface. this is all in the same region that the tsunami triggered a nuclear crisis last year. we will keep you posted. >> much more on the story

throughout the day and 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. >> officers shoot a gun after they say he pointed a gun at them. troopers shot him in the leg. thomas is wanted on warrants from several police departments. the family of a murdered teenager is pushing state lawmakers to strengthen protection for missing children. phylicia barnes disappearance in baltimore in december -- or disappeared and her body was later discovered in the river. right now her father is attending a rally in support of a law that would require them to oversea local efforts to find missing children. >> with the price of gallon already topping 4 dollars a gallon the governor is about to make his push to increase taxes on each gallon we purchase and here is monique griego. >> reporter: good afternoon, every one, the governor is expected to testify in support of raising the gas tax but

already high prices could derail that plan. punishing prices at the pump. 4:05here. >> it hurts, 5:05 is regular but i have to use mid-grade. >> it is killing us. you can't do it. >> the average cost for a gallon of gas here in maryland 23 cents higher than one month ago. but governor o'malley says the state needs to raise the gas tax to build better roads and bridges. >> we have not been able to embark on new projects and that pattern will continue without a revenue increase. >> aaa says now is not the time, 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 either a constitutional amendment or very very strong protections to prevent that from happening in the future. >> that might not happen anytime soon. senate president mike miller says it is unlikely the general assembly will pass the gas tax

hike this session. he suggests a special session later this year. and drivers hope to put the brakes on the gas tax hike permanently. >> extra 6% we can't afford that, we can't afford these high gas prices as it is. >> governor o'malley wants to raise the gas tax 2% each year for the next three years and in the end he could raise the price of gas by 20 cents, from hamden, monique griego, wjz eyewitness news. >> the last time they were raised at the state level was in 1992. >> conservative gop candidate rick santorum has the wind at his back, he won primaries in alabama and mississippi last year. we have the latest from the white house. >> reporter: rick santorum heads back to the campaign trail after a southern sweep. >> we did it again. >> reporter: the former senator picked up hard fought victories in the alabama and mississippi primaries. >> this campaign is about

ordinary folks doing extraordinary things lot of like america. >> now he says it is time for this to become a two man race. santorum wants his fellow conceivetive newt gingrich to drop his bid for the white house but the former house speaker appears ready to take the fight all the way to the gop convention in august. he says he is staying in because mitt romney is not the right choice for the party. >> frankly, i do not believe that a massachusetts moderate who created romney care as the forerunner of obama care is going to be in a position to win any debates this fall. >> but there is growing pressure on gingrich to call it quits. he campaigned hard in alabama and mississippi. at 1 point predicting he would win both states now he admits he will have to rework his strategy. mitt romney picked up wins in hawaii and america samoa tuesday. now he is fighting to knack down santorum's momentum. >> i am the one guy in this

race who can beat barack obama. >> romney leads in the delegate race, he is counting on that to help him lock in his party's nomination this summer. at the white house, danielle nottingham, wjz eyewitness news. >> the campaign now moves to the west and puerto rico, voters on missouri head on their caucuses on saturday, illinois holds a primary news tuesday. >> a local pulitzer prize winning writer has died, alice steinbalk was the first woman from the baltimore story to receive that award on a story about a blind 10-year-old. she died after battling cancer for several years dead at the age of 78. turning to the weather where there is nothing but good news, a warm sunny day and no matter what the calendar says it feels like spring out there. marty bass in the outbreak and

bernadette woods in the weather center. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon, and yes, we continue to say it, but once again just a gorgeous winter afternoon. look at the temperatures this go around. yesterday we made it all the way up to 80. we are already at 72 in baltimore. 72 in cumberland. look at all those 70s across the south. we are getting closer and show you along the water it is cooler but it has already risen up to 71 in annapolis and 67 in kent island. now we do have a couple of little changes to talk about but overall not a bad forecast. with more on that here is marty. >> good afternoon everybody, let's make it simple, take a look at a graphic. what you see right now, this mild flow continues all the way through frankly the 5 day. there is going to be some fluctuation in it, though and some shower activity moving our way. we will talk about a bit of an up and down temperature -- and maybe some showers during our first warning weather segment with bernadette woods but i am

going to tell you what, overall you looking this you are going to like the extended outback, back inside. >> the good times are almost ready to roll at the new maryland live casino, the first 100 slot machines arrived this morning and will eventually house over 4000 slot machines and electronic table games. >> haggerstown is stepping up its efforts to crack down on speeders, this city's first speed camera is up and clicking away and police say more will be installed. a 30 day warning period is now in effect in haggerstown after that motorists caught driving more than 12 miles an hour above the speed limit will get a ticket in the mail. >> the loyola greyhounds are in pittsburgh today waiting on their opportunity to take on the buckeyes. the coach led the team to 24 wins but this biggest test is tomorrow night against ohio state. we want to invite you to try your hand at the bracket

challenge. you can challenge barney, mark, stan, bob, bern, tim, mary, adam, don, and me, plus radio personalities from 105.7 the fan, find the link under quick links and wjz.com. you know i have to say this weather is phenomenal but are you allergies going crazy? >> i know a lot of people whose are. i don't have them. >> oh, my goodness i am like trying to get through it. >> i think a hear a little bit. >> yes. >> still to come on eyewitness news at noon there is a blackout up in boston, why a major city was left sitting in the dark for hours overnight a crime wave in aisle 3, why police say thieves are snatching laundry detergent. >> lots of sunshine outside as we countdown to the end of winter. stick around. your complete first warning weather forecast is still coming up. >> complete coverage continues with don scott, jessica kartalija, and first warning weather with marty bass and meteorologist bernadette woods. it is wjz, maryland's news station. ,,

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this is this is too soft. too hard. why don't we switch back to where you were. i am so glad to be back. oh, yeah. you can have comfort and you can be in the same bed. there's no debate because you can have it your way and i'll have it mine. so we save a lot of marriages. discover the amazing sleep number bed, only at a sleep number store... where during our semi-annual sleep sale, save $400 to $700 on our most popular bed sets. plus, free standard shipping but only through march 18th! there are 400 sleep number stores nationwide,

a wrongful death lawsuit surrounding the virginia tech massacre is now in the hands of a jury. the families of two girls killed in the mass shooting claim that virginia tech officials botched their response to the rampage that left 32 people dead. both sides finished closing arguments this morning. the parents say their daughters could have survived had a warn

in been issued sooner. >> a smoky fire in downtown boston leaves much of that city sitting in the dark,. investigators say a transformer exploded triggerrering a fire, firefighters were forced to cut off power, leaving 20,000 homes in the dark. it took several hours to get the fire under control but nobody was hurt. [ explosion ] >> in the nebraska a fiery explosion destroys a home, a 30- year-old man was making fireworks on his back porch when something went wrong, he later died. his wife and son escaped without serious injury. >> it is not the item that comes to mind when you think of a heist but police say more and more thieves are tar getting tide detergent. at one store police say one theft ring made off with carts totaling thousands of dollars, police say it can be profitable

for drug dealers. >> i can tell you i want 5 bottles of tide instead, once they go in here and steal those 5 bottles of tide, then they can turn around and give them to me, now i take them to the dirty store down the road and sell them for six bucks apiece. >> tide costs from eight to 20 dollars a bottle, police in prince george's county maryland, say they have arrested 18 people in run ring for stealing the detergent. >> who would have thought that. still a ahead the calendar says mid-march but it feels like may out there maybe past that. your complete forecast is now two and a half minutes away. >> first here is a look at the stocks ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

now first warning weather, your complete forecast and the first warning of severe weather. >> welcome back, everybody. this is just incredible. we have said it many times, i am sorry but we are seeing it again, this is so far above average we are going to stay here for a while and again this is the winter. 72 degrees baltimore, look at all these 70s, 67 in annapolis, kent island but as we get the effects of the water that water is still in the 40 degree zone so those temperatures will drop over the next couple of hours. we do have a northwest wind in effect, normally that is a

cooler wind for us but look at what is upstream? 70 in chicago, 62 in detroit. this is not all that cool so we are still pulling from a new round of warm air. this is how everything comes together. high pressure is in control right now. it is just gorgeous outside. there are a couple of different fronts that move our way starting tomorrow. one is off to the north here, way up here in canada. that is going to come down from the north. at the same time there is one out to the west here. and they sort of converge toward us tomorrow. we will see more clouds mix in. then on friday that northern one sort of gets deflected by this western one and it is behind that northern one that the chilly air is so we are sort of keeping it away as this western one comes in, when it does a chance for showers before that gets out of here. so the forecast overall keeps us with the storm track way off to the north and on the warm side of everything with just a chance of showers, so here are the details.

today up to 78 degrees. just absolutely spectacular. tonight going down to 49. another very mild and a quiet night. then tomorrow we will see more clouds coming in but still 74 degrees again. the average is 53. we just have to keep telling you that because this 20 degrees above average, pretty extraordinary. >> just keep it coming. >> we will see what we can do for you. >> no complaints. bern, thank you. >> what is july going to be like though. still to come losing that spare tire around your waist could end up saving your life. we will explain in health watch. >> wjz 13 is always on. here are the top stories on wjz.com at this hour. for instant updates on the news and the updated first warning weather forecast log onto wjz.com. ,, medicare. it doesn't cover everything.

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in today's wjz health watch, researchers have discovered that losing belly fat allows blood vessels to work better. in a six month study researchers at john hopkins found the more belly fat people lose the better their arteries are able to expand when needed. doctors say being overweight increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially if the fat in the belly is above your waist. and there is new evidence that parenting classes can help disruptive children and their parents. scientists found parents to fellow parents in small groups

were able to improve interaction with their own children. many reported less stress and better kids. >> check back in today at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 for the latest on the wins for rick santorum, will this force newt gingrich to drop out? an internet privacy case, a jury must decide the feat of a rut dpars university student. is he a criminal or just a young man acting like one. join us for this stories and breaking news today at 4:00 right after ,,,,,,,,,,,,

welcome back, i saw a few people out on their bikes, and this is great cycling weather and a lot of things, here is marty. >> great weather as well as those little butterflies all out here just out of camera range here. a temperature roller coaster coming up. my kind of temperature roller coaster averaging 13 below normal. 71, 71, 276 numbers and a 71 to start next week, friday, saturday, maybe a bit of a shower, if you want to get your tan on you can already, sunday here in the mid-atlantic. back inside. >> don't miss the primetime line up. the original csi starring ted dap son and eyewitness news at 11:00. >> finally this noon pretty soon hungry minds will no longer be able to reach for the

newest edition of the encyclopedia britain ka, and encyclopedia britain ka, and will focus ll focus ,,,, 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.