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 show of solidarity. >> what do we want? >> justice. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> hundreds of people demanding justice for trayvon martin. the growing outrage over the shooting and the new clues emerging from this case. hello, everybody. here's what people are talking about tonight. from coast to coast, protesters call for action in the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. we have complete coverage of the florida shooting. there's a large local protest. we report from florida with the outrage there. >> my heart is broken.

>> reporter: she fought back tears as she addressed the commissioners of florida. she's seeking justice for her son, 17-year-old trayvon martin. he was unarmed. zimmerman was not arrested. >> i know i cannot bring my baby back, but i'm sure going to make changes so that this does not happen to another family. >> reporter: the government heard from a who's who of american civil rights leaders who compared to the town to birmingham, ignition points of racial protest in the 1960s. >> if a black vigilante shot a 17-year-old unarmed white child, he would be in jail today. >> reporter: they not only want the arrest of george zimmerman,

they want a repeal of the stand your law ground. it allows citizens to use force, even deadly force in self-defense. >> this law is encouraging people to be vigilantes. >> reporter: martin's father says all the more reason to arrest his son's killer. >> we're not asking for an eye for an eye, we're asking for justice, justice, justice. >> reporter: a special state prosecutor will oversee the case. >> martin was recently suspended from school after traces of marijuana were found in his backpack. we are live downtown with a huge show of support for martin in baltimore. >> reporter: florida is more than 800 miles from maryland. reaction to this story has made a national story a local issue. the streets of downtown baltimore are flooded with

people on monday. sky high chopper 13 is overhead as the nationwide protest comes to maryland. they are citizens and activists speaking out about the killing last month of unarmed teen trayvon martin in sanford, florida. >> we can exert pressure on the system to make change in florida. >> reporter: they say it's the need to end racial profiling. it's endemic of a societal problem. >> a boy died for no reason. >> reporter: this is one rally of many happening across the country. activists believe that happened to trayvon martin could happen to anyone regardless of race. zimmerman claims the shooting was self-defense, but protesters believe he should be charged with murder. >> i'm glad young people are

here. they need to understand that their life is of value, every day. >> reporter: there were other protests in the region today, including in washington, d.c. >> thank you. zimmerman's lawyer says martin hit him first. three canoers are rescued after their canoe capsized. you can only see part of the canoe sticking out of the water. all three were pulled to safety. under oath, the police chief speaks out for the first time as council members demand answers about what he knows about a scandal surrounding the county executive. the chief left many wanting to hear many. >> reporter: the police chief initially refused to appear in front of the county council saying he would defy a subpoena. he did show up tonight to testify, he just didn't provide many answers. >> are you planning to testify?

>> no comment. >> reporter: police chief james tier walks into council chambers. >> i'm hoping he'll give us answers. >> reporter: how much the chief knew about allegations liepold had his security detail dig up dirt on his political opponents using the state database. >> i do want to break the law, so i respectfully decline to answer questions. >> reporter: he says it would be a violation of the secrecy of the grand jury. the aclu disagrees. >> it doesn't mean that the chief of police should be thumbing his nose at the citizens and the council and telling them all to take a hike. >> reporter: despite no confidence votes, the chief testified he's still confident he can do the job. >> i serve with great respect and honor. >> reporter: some council

members aren't happy with the silent treatment. >> i'm sure many citizens out there that have e-mailed us are frustrated as well. >> reporter: those answers may need to wait until the county executive goes to trial this september. we did learn that the chief testified in front of that grand jury on two separate occasions. his lawyer says he'll reappear in front of the council once that grand jury concludes or if a circuit court judge orders him to do so. >> thank you. liepold is charged with four counts of misconduct in office and one count of misappropriation of funds. a maryland state trooper is accused of going on a tirade at a restaurant. he was eating at a ruby tuesday's in prince frederick. a waitress says the trooper got upset because his chicken fingers were undercooked. that's when he allegedly started cursing and hit the waitress with the check holder.

>> he was the worst. let's put it this way, i've never cried because of somebody at the restaurant. he got me to that point. >> state police are investigating the trooper's behavior. he is now banned from that restaurant for life. the supreme court tackles health care. the high court is deciding the fate of president obama's controversial health care law. >> reporter: it's a closely watched legal battle that could have a huge impact on the health care system and the presidential campaign. the debate over president obama's health care law reaches the steps of the u.s. supreme court monday. hundreds protested outside as the nine justices began hearing three days of arguments over whether the law that affects millions of americans is constitutional. the key issue is whether these legal challenges need to wait until the year 2014 when the

entire law takes effect. >> if we agree with you about the correct interpretation of the statute, we need not decide the jury. >> there would be no need to decide the jurisdiction. >> don't you want to know the answer? >> a ruling should come in june, right in the middle of the presidential race. >> i truly believe this law tramples our constitution. i think it's important to come out and support this law. >> they expect the real fire works to come tuesday when they consider the individual mandate. it requires uninsured americans to buy health care coverage by 2014 or pay a penalty. 26 states and a small business group have challenged the constitutionality of the health care law. >> some people waited in line all weekend to get one of the few seats available to the public. another jump at the pump

sends gas prices soaring closer to $4.00 a gallon. another 6-cents a gallon this week. if you think it's bad now, experts think it will jump another 10-20-cents over the next few weeks. this time last month we were paying $3.64 on average for a gallon of regular gas in baltimore. today those prices up almost 30-cents to an average of $3.93 a gallon. you can find the cheapest gas at wjz.com. just click on news. there's a new reward tonight to catch the vandals who trashed a cemetery this new market. someone knocked over, damaged, and smashed at least 20 headstones at the cemetery. a $500 reward was posted. locals began raising money, and tonight that reward has risen to $1245. he is half man, half horse, and he's returning this year.

the maryland jockey club announced pegasus will be the official mascot. race organizers introduced his side kick, uni-carl. he's half man, half unicorn, and he wears a hat. the characters will be there on may 19th. coming up, rick santorum loses his cool on the campaign trail. >> come on, man, what are you doing? >> the question that sparked this heated exchange with a reporter. the bad behavior by pushy parents that ruined this holiday's festivities. camden yards looks more like a construction zone than a ballpark. we'll take you behind the scenes of the new and improved ballpark, next. winter chill is back, but it won't last that long. i'll have your complete forecast coming up next. ♪

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it is 45 degrees and clear in central maryland right now, the complete forecast is coming up. this suv crashing into an ohio jewelry store was no accident. it was part of a brazen robbery. the suspects used the stolen vehicle to get inside.

police say they took merchandise and cash and fled in the same suv. police are still looking for the suspects. they say the vehicle and stolen goods have been recovered. two people in toledo are dead, killed in what police are calling a suspicious fire. the blaze tore through an apartment complex in the middle of the night. in addition to the two people killed, two others were injured, including a woman who jumped from the third floor. officials say this is the fifth fire at the apartment complex in the last 12 years. an emotional outburst from rick santorum. he snaps at a new york times reporter after getting a question about the criticism of front runner mitt romney. >> he's the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> when the reporter asked him to explain what he meant, he shot back by telling him to stop lying. he went on to say the romney

comment was taken out of context. >> quit distorting my words. if i see it, it's. come on, man, what are you doing? >> he explained his remark against romney was on the issue of health care and not a broader attack. he leads the delegate race in wisconsin, washington, d.c., and here in maryland. a stunning blow to the once powerful politician charged with participating in a french prostitution ring. the former chief was released today on bail. this comes just two days before the start of a civil trial in new york. a hotel maid accuses of sexually assaulting her. criminal charges in that case were dropped. an easter egg hunt in colorado springs is canceled because of aggressive parents.

mothers and fathers jumping in and helping their children find eggs. the resulting chaos brought about a major safety concern for this year, so the decision was made to cancel the holiday tradition. big changes will make the ballpark even more fan friendly. >> reporter: the count down is on to the start of a new baseball season. and camden yard is getting a facelift. >> less than two weeks to go until opening day. the 20th anniversary and we want to make sure that the ballpark looks beautiful and a lot of the amenities we want to add are complete. >> reporter: this is what the new and improved camden yards will look like. 7 and 8-foot tall bronze sculptures stand in the bull pen picnic grove. a new roof deck on top of the

batter's eye wall will show off the view of downtown baltimore and utah street. and the flag court has been modified to improve the view for fans. >> we believe that the areas that we're adding are going to create a social environment where fans can see their friends to come visit. it's not as if you're trapped in your seat watching the game. >> reporter: fans are ready for the first pitch. >> it's a mess right now, but it's going to look much better opening day. >> reporter: opening day is on good friday, april 6th. >> and you can catch all the opening day action right here on wjz starting with our pre-game special at 2:00 p.m. next friday and then the game live. it is nutritious and it's delicious. today is the day to celebrate spinach. march 26th is national spinach day. i didn't know this.

popeye made it famous, but it's been around for more than a thousand years. if you missed celebrating, head to lexana kansas, the spinach capital holds its annual pitch an festival in september. >> wow. i love spinach. the salad is very, very healthy for you. >> do that again. it's 45 degrees. look at the dew point. a 10-degree dew point? humidity at 23%, this is truly a canadian air mass that came out of very dry eastern canada. the barometer continues to rise. right now, look at this -- freezing in oakland,32. close to the bay, temperatures will stay rather warm tonight. lots of regions tonight will get

two or below the freezing mark. if you have any tender tender plants out there, bring them in or cover them up. already in the 30s in a few spots. we have the breeze. it feels colder than 40-45. as long as the wind's up, it will help keep temperatures up a bit. now, windchill does not affect plants, only the actual temperature. if the windchill is 32, the air temperature might be 36-37. if the winds die down tonight, which we expect to happen later, temperaturetion will drop. from 3:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, this entire region under a freeze warning or freeze watch as you can see. very likely. temperatures around 30-32 degrees by morning. here in the east, not much going on except the chilly air coming down from canada. on the west side, we have warm air moving into the midwest. on wednesday, we get back up

around 70-72 degrees. wednesday night, look for a chance of a shower or thundershower with a front coming through. it will be turning colder by thursday and friday. wednesday looks like the warm day this week. winds gusting as high as 20 knots. the bay temperature around 53. tonight, we have a freeze warning. 32. downtown about 36. 55 tomorrow, a bit of a breeze, but lots of sunshine. 72 and a chance for late-day or evening thunderstorm on wednesday. cooling down a little bit, 62, 59. partly cloudy, 63 as we start the weekend. >> thank you. coming up, it's monday night baseball for the orioles. we have highlights of tonight's spring training game and a late ,,,,er move, next in sports.

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very close to opening day. >> counting it down to opening day and pearing down the roster, the os chopped nine players including pitcher burgeson and berkin. tommy hunter pitching for the os in florida tonight. hunter was on his game. his best outing yet. six shut-out innings. he struck out five pirates. former oriole eric badard pitched. the os go on to beat pittsburgh 4-1. 11 days until opening day. in football news, the ravens get two extra draft picks next month. they are awarded a fourth and fifth rounder as a compensation for the free agents they lost a

year ago. the new orleans saints have lost their coach for the coming season and bill parcels has been approached to serve adds interim coach for a year. parcels last coached dallas six years ago. college basketball, the women's team needs one more victory to reach the final four. they knocked off texas a and m yesterday. next up is regional top seed notre dame. >> for us, there's no pressure, you know? it's the start of the season. no one expected us to be here, and we're going to go out as a two-seed and we're going to play our hearts out. >> maryland's opponent, notre dame has a stand out player in brittany mowry. terps and irish tomorrow night, winner to the final four.

brittany greiner and baylor are the first to reach the final four. a scuffle on the floor wean the teams. no punches were thrown, but three baylor players left the bench to enter the fray. the ncaa says those players will not be suspended because they did not fight. there's a new number one in college lacrosse. it is unbeaten johns hopkins, voted top spot after the jays beat virginia on saturday. loyola is ranked fifth in the country. we have good lacrosse and basketball around here. >> and they're smart too. talk about a shotgun wedding. wedding. the unusual spot where some,,,,,

wedding. the unusual spot where some,,,,, yeah, well getting your house painted can be expensive, so... so to save money, we just hosted troop 303's team-building exercise... sfx: paint splattering on wall sfx: glass object breaking the dog won't come in the house anymore. there's an easier way to save.

ready, aim, fire, and then say i do. in las vegas, where else, real-life shotgun wedings are being performed. the owner of the gun store got the idea to hold the nuptials at his shooting range. the idea has been on target. couples can choose from a variety of wedding package including one called mister and,

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