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tv   Eyewitness News at 5  CBS  April 30, 2012 5:00pm-6:00pm EDT

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by the first amendment. but prosecutors call them illegal, dirty politics. >> we made the calls. >> reporter: julius henson admits he wrote the now infamous robocalls made to predominantly blacks in prince george's county. before polls even closed, it hint today came from democrats, suggesting "we are winning," there was no need to go vote. >> we're okay. relax. >> reporter: it never mention today was -- never mentioned it was come bob ehrlich's office. state law say its has to. >> he's already scored a conviction against ehrlich's campaign manager. but henson's attorney says the case is not about voter suppression, but politics. >> this is the case involving who won the election and why they won it, and why people will stay in power. >> reporter: he points out the state prosecutor was appointed by ehrlich's opponent,
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democratic martin o'malley. and hints that they are being unfairly targeted by those in political power am. >> my client certainly thinks that. >> reporter: the decision to charge henson was not political. >> every case comes along, we try to make an independent judgment whether it merits prosecution. >> reporter: henson must convince the jury the calls were not intended to hinder voter turnout. >> live at the courthouse, derek valcourt, wjz eyewitness news. >> derek, thank you. defense attorneys for henson and for ehrlich campaign manager, paul schurick, have promised to appeal. a teen files a multimillion- dollar lawsuit. >> reporter: the 18-year-old is seeking $10 million from the montgomery county police
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department. rico richardson was a front- seat passenger in this toyota, when it slammed into a tree, following a high-speed chase with officers in chevy chase, killing three other teenagers. now, richardson alleges in the suit that a police cruiser rammed the car, causing it to crash fire. a police spokesman says the department believes no police cruiser ever came into contact with the vehicle. mary? >> denise, thank you. officers were chasing the car because it had been reported stolen. one year after the death of osama bin laden, his assassination is becoming a controversial issue in the presidential race. tara mergener reports for wjz. the united states also remains on high alert for a possible revenge attack. >> reporter: the fbi and homeland security department warn americans need to be on alert, ahead of this week's one- year anniversary of osama bin laden's death. >> we don't see any active plot that is under way. but we are maintaining our guard. >> reporter: counter terrorism advisers admit, alchida likely want-- al qaeda likely wants
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payback for the killing of its leader. but u.s. officials say they are no longer capable of carrying out the attack. >> we have taken off the other leading operatives. >> reporter: the anniversary of osama bin laden's death, comes in the middle of the presidential campaign. republicans argue that democrats are trying to use it for political campaigns. >> reporter: the obama administration released this video raising the question of whether romney would have made the decision to raid the compound in pakistan. >> he took the harder and more honorable path and the one that produced, in my opinion, the best result. >> reporter: republicans say the video crosses the line. >> it took something that was a unifying event for all americans. and he's managed it turn it into a divisive, partisan, political attack. >> reporter: president obama's campaign says the ad is fair game. >> osama bin laden no longer walks on this planet today because of that brave decision and the brave actions by the
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men and women in our military. and quite frankly, mitt romney said it was a foolish thing to do a few years ago. >> reporter: but both candidates agree, more still needs to be done to prevent any future attacks. tara mergener, wjz eyewitness news. >> counter terrorism advisers say the biggest threat to america appears to be al qaeda, in the arabian peninsula, an affiliate in yemin. that group is believed to be behind the failed attacks on a plane christmas day of 2009. higher taxes or cuts to vital services. that's at the heart of the fight over whether there should be a special session. wjz is live downtown. political reporter pat warren says there's a lot riding on what happens next. pat? >> reporter: that's right. that session would mean a tax increase to avoid millions of dollars in budget cuts. for some, it's a matter of public benefit. for others, it's a question of just how heavily marylanders should be taxed. >> for or against a special session, it's all about suspending how much taxpayers
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should spend for k through 12 for education. how much taxpayers should spend for higher education. how much should be spent to keep state agencies running and programs funded. >> so many people who are poor, who are powerless, are subject to the winds of these three elected leaders. >> reporter: those leaders, the governor, senate president, and house speaker are also taking heat from those who don't want a special session. >> it's becoming almost unaffordable to live in the state of maryland. >> reporter: the maryland chapter of american prosperity has something posted on its website. today, a coalition in favor of a special session, urged them to bring lawmakers back. >> get back together. get it resolved and do it quickly. >> reporter: but that resolution is expected to including an income tax increase to include $512 million in cuts. americans for prosperities say thousands of americans are signing their online petition against it. >> and just people were going in and signing that petition, just telling governor o'malley,
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we can't afford another billion dollars in spending. we can't afford new taxes. and a special session is not the answer to get maryland's economy moving. >> now, the governor has said he will not order a special session, until he's sure there's a consensus between the house and the senate and, of course, himself. reporting live, i'm pat warren. now, back to you. >> all right, pat. thank you. the budget takes effect july 1st. a benefit for bge customers, according to state energy regulators, bge's new standard electricity price, will decrease bills by $54 on average, over the year from june of this year, through may of 2013. customers will receive a $100 credit from constellation energy's merger with exelon. cooler weather is here for the final day of april. outside tonight, the skies are pretty cloudy. but at least it's dry for now. wjz is live with first warning weather. meteorologist bernadette woods and bob turk are update being our temperatures. we'll start inside with bob. you can see that sun just popped out around here in the
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city. it's going to warm temperatures up, particularly tomorrow. look at radar. there are shower activity to the west of us. and eventually, overnight tonight, probably pretty late. and into your tuesday morning. look for some scattered shower activity. maybe thunder early in the morning. but temperatures tomorrow are going to shoot back up to summertime readings. right now, we're at 62 degrees around the area. to the west, a lot warmer. cumberland at 72. oakland at 78. pittsburgh, close to 80 degrees right now. now, tomorrow, with that warm front going through the region, we look for those showers, primarily to the north of us. but warmer air is definitely headed our way. bernadette has a look at just how warm it just might get this week. bernadette? >> that's right. tomorrow is part one of the warmup. as you were saying, it's already 83 degrees in pittsburgh. that is going to spread our direction. looking down to our south. not just 80s. but in between some of those 80s, there are 90s across the deep south. that's the kind of air moving in our direction. and take a look when part twoof
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this warmup comes our way. this second half of the week. we are talking about temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s. we'll have that forecast coming up. now, back inside. >> thanks, bernadette. optimism is riding high as the birds fly into new york to face the yankees tonight. sports director mark viviano has a look at what has been a surprisingly start -- good start to the season. >> they have their best record in seven years. but there's a cautious side to that news. it's only april. >> reporter: o's fans aren't too concerned what the calendar says. sure it's early. but their team so far is awesome. nothing stirs the excitement like a 9th inning comeback win, doing it with drama sunday. william benna meet's home run, lifted them to a 5-2 win over the a's. the players and manager are delighted to deliver something fun to fans who haven't seen a winning season in 15 years. >> we have a beautiful crowd and a beautiful day like this, i feel glad. you really want them to enjoy
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the day and want to come back and be part of that again. >> reporter: how long is the oriole euphoria likely to last? we put the question to our panel of opinionated experts. >> weekend sports anchor stan saunders here. unfortunately, the orioles season is a marathon, not a sprint. so amid growing pains and maybe steady but low progress, they'll probably wither. >> reporter: for the o's to keep up this momentum, the test begins tonight. yankees swept us. this is the first test in a while. they're playing great baseball, great of against good teams. we're all excited. it begins tonight in new york. this is steve davis from 105.7, the fan. i think the next three to five days are crucial. check back with me may 23rd. and we'll see if the orioles really are for real. it's been about starting pitching. the pitching has been very good. you get good starting pitching, you win. and the bull pen has been terrific. keep getting the pitching and
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the orioles might make the summer interesting. >> scott garceau, rounding out our opinions there. new york is tied with tampa bay for first place. that is a game and a half ahead of the yankees for now. kai? >> the orioles are back home, one week from today, when they open up a nine home-game stand. we're following breaking news right now in southwest baltimore. sky eye chopper 13 over the scene. captain mike perry above with more. captain mike? >> hello, mary. we are in southwest baltimore, along frederick road. near the city-county line. apparently, an armed carjacking, occurring in the western district. police spotted the vehicle. they chased it down here to frederick road, where two suspects bailed out of this minivan. one was apprehended close by the scene. the second ran into a wooded area. if mark will pull out, that's going to be the wooded area that is down to the right of where mark is looking right now, with city police, fox trot helicopter, and other units responding to the area, they were able to take the second suspect into custody.
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now, police are searching the area for a possible gun that was used in reference to this event. both suspects in custody, have been taken to the western district for debriefing. right now, police, as you can see, remain on the scene. a portion of frederick road, is closed as they begin their investigation. back to you. >> thank you, captain mike. thank you. still ahead on eyewitness news rat 5:00. an historic day in new york city. the milestone at the new world trade center. and what it means to 9/11 survivors. meet baby cruise. one of the first babies inside the brand new maternity ward. i'm jessica kartalija, at the new johns hopkins hospital building. that story coming up on wjz. and just two years, millions of people have hot dogs for a free ride. i'm monique griego. coming up, where the circulator is expanding to. warmer weather is coming our way. don't miss the updated first warning weather forecast, with bob. ,,,,
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it is hardly sunny, 62 degrees in central maryland right now. the complete first warning weather forecast is coming up. last summer's earthquake damaged buildings up and down the east coast. now, one of the most historic is about to be repaired. the baltimore basilica should be used to scaffolding by now. >> six years ago, baltimore's basilica, circa 1806, underwent a massive historical restoration. the changes were supposed to last a lifetime. but whether you call it an act of god or mother nature, the east coast earthquake left its mark here. >> you can see the cracks there. >> reporter: and one look up, and you can see dozens of cracks visible throughout the basilica. none of it is serious structural structural damage. so the archdiocese was able to wait until now to begin the
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repairs. >> we've seen it now start to expand. just for health and safety reasons. and also for the stewardship and maintenance of the basilica, we thought the time was right to address that. >> reporter: the repairs will cost between $3 to $5 million. but the basilica had insurance coverage to cover the cost. >> reporter: during the renovation, daily mass will shift down here, to the undercroft, a space many people have never seen. >> reporter: also, impacted, the tours of the basilica. they will be limited during the renovation. each year, nearly 100,000 visit. >> like some of the people i've seen before. but it's so beautiful. bright and airy. >> hope the repairs are completed by ash wednesday by february of next year. if you're waiting for someone to get home from work, let's check on the traffic with kristy breslin. plenty of traffic there.
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northbound 95, we still have that accident at northbound route 100. the delays stretch back to 175. as far as the harrisburg expressway goes, busy in that northbound direction. delays from shawan to belfast. the west side inner loop, stop and go there, from security boulevard to 70 boulevard. but after that, traffic does break free. on the north side inner loop, heavy traffic there from dulaney valley road to providence road. the delays should only take you about 10 minutes to get through. accident includes scott's level at milford mills road. and windsor mill at thistle blown avenue. let's now take a live look. as you can see, things a bit heavy on the beltway there, at dulaney valley road. and we'll take a live look at the expressway. you can see things are slow on the right-hand side of your screen. that's coming out of downtown, well past 28th street. this traffic report is brought to you by accord restoration f. your property has been damaged by fire, flooding or storms, you can trust the restoration experts at accord. visit their website at accord restoration.com. back over to you.
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>> all right, kristy, thanks. it's official. the new hospital building at johns hopkins is up and running. wjz is live. jessica kartalija explains how the transition into the new hospital is working. hi, jess. >> reporter: well, kai, as you can imagine, moving everyone out of the old building and into the new building is quite a process. >> reporter: amanda gonzalez has been a mom for just three hours, when nurses at johns hopkins hospital tell her it's time to go. after the official grand opening of the 560-bed facility, patients like amanda, must be moved from the older rooms to the brand new building. >> finally done, years of planning in the making. and so much training. and everyone says it went so well today. >> reporter: in labor and delivery, the nurses had over 20 hours of training. just to make this move possible. >> it was very choreographed. >> amanda and her new son, cruise, are among the first
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patients in the maternity ward, where there are three operating rooms, 35 obstetric rooms and 10 private labor and delivery rooms. >> all of the rooms here in the new building look a lot more like the hotel room in the hospital. they're all private. they have state of the art television networking. they have hard wood floors. not a bad place to be. >> it's gorgeous. and we tried to wait until 9:00, so that we could be the first baby delivered in this ward. and we got to be the last one delivered in the old wing. and then the first ones in our new room here. so we got the best of both worlds. >> reporter: hospital administrators say the facility now matches the science of johns hopkins. a hospital of the future for the next generation. and hopkins says that all of the new designiers catered around the patients. the rooms are large enough for extended stay, to have families stay with the patients while they're being treated. live at johns hopkins hospital,
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i'm jessica kartalija, wjz eyewitness news. >> thanks, jessica. the $1.1 billion hospital was funded largely through private donations. >> what a process to get all of the patients moved. i bet they'll be happy when it's done. >> amazing. we have warming temperatures already. jumping up to 62. southeast winds at 10. barometer rising. come back and take a look at a big warmup this week after this. [ female announcer ] with xfinity,
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outside right now, there it is. the sun. we have been waiting. >> hello. there you go. >> proof is in the picture right there. the sun did come out. and temperatures are beginning to jump up tomorrow, big difference from today. a normal high now is up to 70. tomorrow, we may get up to 80 degrees. yeah. take a look at temps right now. very pleasant actually. 66 in washington. 70 in oakland. cumberland, just jumped up to 72. off the ocean, ocean city, still only at 58 degrees. but locally, temperatures generally around the 60-degree mark.
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once again, our normal high now has jumped up to 70. now, this morning, extreme northern sections of carroll, baltimore, harford, cecil county, and southern pa, had some widely scattered frost. with temps in the mid-30s. we won't see that again hopefully this spring. so i think it's probably -- probably safe to put out those tender annuals that you have been waiting to get into the garden. southeast winds now around 10. but not real strong. they really won't be strong overnight or during the day tomorrow. but there's a front to the west. shower and thundershower activity this morning. from oklahoma to the chicago area. it's beginning to weaken somewhat, as it approaches the mountains and portions of the ohio valley. but we may see some shower activity here in the baltimore, maryland area. mid-atlantic region. late tonight, tomorrow morning. maybe a rumble of thunder. the time suggest is -- timing is not best. thundershowers, pretty common. some of these showers reach maybe after 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. through the morning hours.
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and probably breaking into sunshine. afternoon, very warm temps out here. temperatures in west virginia and ohio. in the low 80s. right now, as we speak. so that warm air, moves in for the next few days. front is going to move through. actually, very warm air coming in. temperatures in the southern portions of the ohio valley. in tennessee, and georgia. in the mid- to upper 80s. that should be in our region. now, there will be a slight chance of a widely scattered shower or thundershower wednesday. maybe thursday. and probably a better chance friday night, as a front comes across the area. there will be slight chances of showers this week. but although a very, very warm week. west winds to be diminishing. the bay temp, around 58 degrees now. it's coming up a little bit. tonight, showers overnight. 53 and into tomorrow morning. maybe a rumble of thunder or so. temperatures, eventually, with the sun back out. 75 to 80 degrees tomorrow afternoon. >> we will take that. >> wow. that's a first. >> that's a transition.
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exactly. thanks, bob. still ahead on eyewitness news tonight. invasive security. the unique plan to protect the summer olympics. and why it has homeowners extremely upset. solved. i'm mike hellgren, with new agreements on -- developments on a string of murders in the nation's capital, including a tourist. the maryland connection. how did it happen? a car plunges off a highway, straight into the bronx zoos. a new focus of the police investigation. ♪
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it's 5:29. 62 degrees and partly sunny. good evening, thank you for staying with wjz eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. the rare murder of a tour ist stuns the nation's capital. the killing is part of a series of attacks in washington, d.c. now, one of the survivingvilles is -- victims is telling his story. wjz is live. mike hellgren has new details on the 19-year-old arrested in connection with the violence. >> reporter: washington, d.c.'s mayor says he believes he has a mental illness. and police are still working to connect him to all of these crimes. frightening crimes that had many on edge. >> the randol -- random attacks terrorized the neighborhood. five people were beaten with a hammer. one, a tourist, died from his injuries. his skull is crushed. now, a survivor who does not want to be identified is speaking about the ordeal. >> he walked on my side, with a smile and said, how are you doing, sir?
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before i could even turn, i was hit with something, some type of object. >> he hit me around my ear. and also my lip. >> reporter: police arrested michael davis for the crimes. >> touchdown. >> reporter: he is the brother of former university of maryland terps standout, vernon davis, who is close to his loved ones in d.c. >> you have family who just wants to come see you and chill with you and things like that. >> reporter: vernon is now a tight end for the 49ers. his brother, daunte, is now a defensive end. >> my son is innocent. and my heart goes out to the family. i know my sean didn't do it. >> reporter: vernon davis attended the white house correspondence dinner over the weekend and earlier tweeted, just got a disturbing call earlier in washington, d.c. a good day gone bad. hopefully he wasn't involved. he once said his younger brother michael was not as talented as he was. >> those are good kids over there.
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good kids raised by good grandmother. i can't make anything of it. because i don't believe it. >> reporter: now, michael davis faces the rest of his life behind bars, if convicted in these vicious attacks. >> reporter: and nothing was taken from any of the victims. kai, back to you. >> all right, mike. thank you. davis has another court appearance, may 11th. an anne arundel county man is behind bars after a home invasion in brooklyn park. the homeowner said he woke up to find brian wright inside his house on church street. police say white tried to run away, but they caught up with him. he now faces charges, including theft and burglary. police in new york are trying to determine what caused a deadly crash that spilled ondot grounds of bronx zoo. vic is in the newsroom to explain the focus of the investigation. >> the medical examiner rules the death accidental, this comes one day after their suv flew over a guardrail on the bronx river parkway. the vehicle tumbled more than 50 feet to the ground below, landing in a wooded area on zoo property.
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police say the driver was speeding as she bumped into a concrete barrier. investigators planned to examine the height of the guardrails. this is the second time a car has fallen off that same stretch of a bronx river parkway in the past year. kai, back to you. >> among the dead are three children, ages 7, 3, and 10. an historic day in manhattan. one world trade center becomes tallest building in new york city, surpassing the empire state building. manuel gallegus reports for wjz, with reaction to this milestone. >> reporter: the recovery in lower manhattan, reached new heights with the placement of this steel beam. the first column of the 100th floor of one world trade center, now stands at 1271 feet high. 21 feet taller than the empire state building. >> it's inspirational. and it's going to make a lot of people happy. >> reporter: it took a while after september 11th, for construction to get started. but eventually, at a rate of a new floor every week.
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the tower started to alter manhattan's skyline. locals and tourists marveled at the structure. the milestone comes close to the 1-year anniversary of osama bin laden. >> you're not going to stop america. we're going to rebuild and keep going. >> it sends chills up and down your spine, when you think about what happened. >> reporter: from here on the 171st floor of the building, you get a real sense of just how massive this structure is, and how tall it is. take a look at this panoramic view of new york. >> reporter: something that is noticeably different from the twin towers is that the building is all glass. windows, floor to ceiling, all the way around. the tower is one of several buildings under construction at this site, which is also home to the national september 11th, memorial and museum. >> it's been an act of passion. and an act of patriotic duty. >> reporter: the skyscraper isn't expected to reach its full height for another year, when the needle is added. the tower will top out at 1776
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feet. making it the tallest building in the united states. in new york, manuel gallegus, wjz eyewitness news. >> and the tallest building in the world is in dubai, standing at 2,723 feet high. the public will soon be able to read some of osama bin laden's final words. west point military academy will display a trove of documents the navy seals gathered when they raided the compound in pakistan last year. the documents include a handwritten diary that shows how al qaeda works. and evidence that bin laden was plotting new attacks on american targets. lawmakers are suing new york city over its treatment of the wall -- autopsy wall street potestors. they claim that they used excessive force. the lawsuits alleges police conduct is so bad that the nypd needs an outside monitor. london is planning to keep
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people safe during the summer olympics. it victims placing missiles on top of apartment buildings. moppic -- monica villamizar has the latest. >> reporter: the surface to air missiles on these apartment rooftops during the summer olympics. they say this is the best way to protect the skies over london during the games. residents received leaflets, notifying them that they will be conducting tests this week. >> i still can't get through my head that they used a residential area. >> they can put missiles on private property? >> reporter: residents worry that these locations could become targets for terrorists. >> generally, in this country, the military don't just announce that they're going to occupy private property. it puts us at risk. >> reporter: authorities insist, the missiles are not a hazard to residents and will only be used as a last resort. security experts say the plan
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is necessary to prevent a 9/11- style attack. >> it is all about deterrents and control of the air space. the government has an obligation to the international olympic committee to protect over 100 heads of state who will be visiting and all. athletes remember. >> reporter: if the defense plan goes forward, it will be the first time since world war ii that missiles are deployed in london. >> in london, monica villa villamizar, wjz eyewitness news. >> more than 13,000 troops will be deployed during the summer olympic games. a missing girl heads south of the border. the video shows five people leaving a nightclub near the home of 6-year-old isabella sules, around the time she disappeared. meantime, mexican authorities are checking hotels and bus terminals near the tucson border for any sign of isabel. in tonight's healthwatch, a new study highlights the staggering price of obesity in the united states.
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researchers say obesity costs an additional $190 billion in medical spending. that is nearly double the cost ofs smoking. those extra costs come in higher form to taxes and higher taxes to support medicaid. more teens are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. and at the same time, the disease is getting harder to treat. bigad shaban has a report with a look at the discouraging research. >> reporter: 21-year-old sarah chernoff watches her weight, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 16 years old. >> it's definitely been a struggle. no doubt about it. >> reporter: a new study in the new england journal of medicine finds the standard drug treatment for type 2 diabetes, metforman, is not effective for teens. the study of overweight and obese teens recently diagnosed
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with diabetes, including sarah, including a combination of met forman and avandia, was better for keeping diabetes in check. treating diabetes in children and adolescents, appears to require in many of the children, two drugs, right off the bat. >> reporter: but the drug avandia has been linked to heart disease and stroke. doctors are not sure why it is so hard to change in young -- control in younger patients, but say changing hormones may play a part. >> reporter: sarah was managing her diabetes with just medication until about a month ago. now, she needs insulin injections. >> the insulin is helping me regulate my blood sugars even more. >> reporter: she's also trying to make healthier choice -- to keep her diabetes under control. >> and the study also shows that dieting and exercise do not provide any more benefit to
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teens taking the drug metforman. the drug alone provided the same results. time for a quick look at some of the stories that you'll find in tomorrow morning's edition of the baltimore sun. a former first daughter, jenna bush, and a former oriole, neither of whom still live in the city, are receiving homestead tax credits on their former residences. a local institution will be providing ethics training to the secret service. and a sudden departure from the basketball team. remember to look for the updated forecast from wjz's first warning weather team. well, getting around downtown. and are the hot spots is getting a little easier. monique griego has more on the new route to charm city circulator. >> reporter: since sitting the streets of charm city two years ago, more than 5 million people have hit the city bus. >> i believe in public
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transportation very strongly. >> it's very, very popular. >> reporter: this is why the mayor said the city is announcing another bus is going to run. >> this will provide service from downtown baltimore to fort mchenry. >> reporter: this will start running on june 4th. and robertson says its goal is to decrease congestion around fort mchenry, while opening up more access to the historic site. >> it's going to allow all of these visitors and of course, the residents as well, enjoy fort mchenry, as we move into the bicentennial celebration. >> reporter: when they first hit the roads two years ago, city leaders had several goals in mind. >> reporter: the objective of the charm city regulator is to take vehicles off the street and reduce pollution in the central business district and actually reduce the city's carbon footprint. >> the bus has already run west to east through baltimore. and several hot spot areas, including the harbor, fells point and mount vernon.
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and for many, fort mchenry fills in a missing void. >> i think a lot more people will be using public transportation because of that. >> reporter: monique griego, wjz eyewitness news. >> the expansion and new buses were paid for by $1.6 million from the department of transportation. still ahead on eyewitness news. straight from japan. more debris from this tsunami is washing ashore. the incredible discovery in canada. i'm alex demetrick. coming up, disaster calling. if you've got a cell phone, you've got early warnings. that story as eyewitness news continues. bob turk, first warning weather center. some summer heat this week. i'll have the exclusive first warning five-day forecast. and here's today's report from wall street. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,
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starting in may, if you have a mobile phone, you will get early warnings of dangerous weather. to get the alerts, it's as simple as turning your phone on. >> it's carefully tracked by the national weather service,
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which issues warnings. in maryland, those warnings will soon go out to cell phones. >> there's a specific tone that you'll hear, and then the alert will pop up right on your phone. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> reporter: the alerts will come as text messages for widescale stretches like tornadoes or more localized tairnlgs dangers like this flash flood in baltimore county. >> water just came rushing rushing in. and she was up to her head in water. >> sent a broadcast signal out to every phone in the area. if you happen to live in baltimore but happen to be in baltimore, you'll get baltimore's alerts. you won't get california's alerts. >> reporter: that means a school bus driver can get the warning before this happens -- [ engine stalling ] >> reporter: links internet to the cell phone towers of internet providers. all westbound seconds. >> reporter: there is nothing to do to sign up for the alert. and no fees will be charged. >> at&t, sprint mobile, verizon are all up and running.
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>> reporter: giving people a chance to get out of the way. alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> besides warnings for the dangerous weather, they will issue amber alerts and major announcements made by the president. our weather tonight is cloudy but calm. and it feels pretty cool for the last day of april. so when will warm air return? meteorologist bernadette woods and bob turk have the answer. >> it's coming as early as tomorrow. here's the forecast tonight. temperatures really aren't dropping all that much. chance for a couple of showers, maybe even a thunderstorm overnight tonight. and as we head into the day. still a continued shower or pop- up shoarm. but sunshine will start to peek out. and temperatures start climbing. by tomorrow, it is still warm out here. then even warmer air comes our way later in the week. looks like a very warm week, compared to what we've seen recently. close to 80 tomorrow. yeah, morning shower. maybe a thundershower or two. again a chance of a shower wednesday. looks like a drop, to 77. but look at thursday and friday. mid- to upper 80s. there will be?
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clouds. maybe a widely scattered shower or thundershower. particularly, i think, friday night into saturday night. but still very warm. end of the week, temperatures running 15, almost 20 degrees above average. mary? >> love it, bob. in today's energy saver, your porch light or lamp post is one of the highest fixtures in your home. cfls are coming in a variety of shapes and sizes. you can also install a motion sensor that turn its around. for more information on how you can be an energy saver, scroll down the right-hand side of the page and click on our special section. debris from japan's tsunami is washing ashore in canada. a beach goer is discovering a harley-davidson. the bike washed up in british columbia, inside a white container, thought to be a moving van. well, the foreign van was made of foam that floats, which helped keep the motorcycle in one piece. the u.s. is trying to avoid a diplomatic crisis. it's believed american
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officials are protecting a well- known chinese dissident, in beijing. as danielle nottingham reports, the negotiation for his freedom is causing tension between the two nations. >> reporter: at a joint press conference, with japan's prime minister, president obama would not talk about chinese human rights activists, chen guan chong. >> obviously i'm aware of the press reports on the situation in china, but i'm not going to make a statement on the issue. >> reporter: chen is reportedly under u.s. protection in china, after escaping house arrest. it is believed the two countries are trying to negotiate a deal that would give him asylum in america. >> what i would like to emphasize is that every time we meet with china, the issue of human rights comes up. >> reporter: the blind lawyer was imprisoned for several years, after he exposed forced abortions under the country's one child policy. friends say chen had help escaping house arrest last week, climbing over walls and even crossing a stream.
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he later made a video, asking the government not to hurt the family he left behind. >> reporter: my wife, mother and children are still in the guard's evil hands, he says. >> reporter: negotiations for chen will be difficult for the obama administration. officials must try to persuade the chinese to release the man they consider a criminal. >> reporter: later this week, secretary of state hillary clinton and other u.s. leaders will arrive in beijing for talks on trade and the economy. chen's friends say the activist wants wants to stay in china, to fight for human rights and does not want to go to the u.s. but he may not have another option. at the white house, danielle nottingham, wjz eyewitness news. >> chen's supporters believe a deal for his release will get done before clinton arrives in china. also in china, a little girl survives a dangerous accident after a large truck nearly slams into her. take a look. this is tough to watch. the close encounter happened as
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the girl ran across the street. luckily, the truck swerved at the last second, avoiding the girl and slamming into a traffic pole. she escaped with only a few bruises and scrapes. the driver also survived that accident. check in with eyewitness news at 6:00. for all new stories coming up, denise is in the newsroom with more coming up. cold case cracked. two decades later, police find the body of a howard county woman, charging a husband with murder. the new twist, involving robert jarrett's wife. a carjack being and police pursuit ends. the latest on the arrest of two suspects. check in for these stories and all the breaking news. coming up at 6:00. now, back to you and kai. the bear is caught wandering around a neighborhood. wildlife officials were called in after owners spotted the tree00 -- 300-pound bear. drought concerns mean more bears could be heading into towns. in the warmer months, they plan to release the bear back into the wild. >> here in maryland, we'll get
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a little black bear. in colorado, you get a grizzly bear. >> that is a big bear. still to come tonight on wjz eyewitness news. lost in the woods with a broken leg. how this woman survived, days without food. and how she was finally rescued. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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questions remain in a deadly collapse. the 58-year-old man died when structure came down due to crashing winds. more than 100 people came down, following a tent at a baseball game. the structure did pass inspection, two weeks ago. >> a tour of downtown chicago, comes to a crashing end for a group of train buffs. their chartered train derailed, causing a system shutdown for several hours. passengers had to be helped from cars and then walked along the tracks to safety. there were 40 people on the train. none of them were injured. the special tour was a museum fundraiser. well, a hiker survives four days lost in the woods with a
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broken leg, and no food. 59-year-old victoria grover planned to take a short day hike in garfield county, utah. but didn't make it back to her car before dark. she got lost, spent the night in the wilderness and broke her ankle after jumping on her leg. she used a walking strick to make a makeshift splint. and crawled to water. >> i jumped about 3 to 4 feet. and there was a rock under the sand and it hit my leg and i had a broken leg. my leg went this way. so my knee was right here. but my foot went that way. >> grover said she survived by laying in the sun during the day and staying awake at night. she battled hypothermia and hallucinations, but luckily, a search team managed to save her. she seems like she's in good spirits. but what a story. >> incredible. still ahead on eyewitness news. the controversial robocall case, heads back to court. i'm derek valcourt at the
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mitchell courthouse. where attorneys for the man on trial, say the whole thing ought to be thrown out. ought to be thrown out. i'll explain why coming up on ,, i should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind.
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[ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. ♪ but, it turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs. even plant food that feeds them for up to 6 months. you get bigger, more beautiful plants. guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-gro? uh, this gal. boom! everyone grows with miracle-gro. coming up right now on wjz's eyewitness news at 6:00. round 2, the second man accused of the location day scandal goes on trial. the case the defense plans to present. her young life cut short. killed by a drunk driver. i'm adam may. the offender serves only one year in jail.
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now, a probation violation. he's caught drinking again. what is the punishment this time? that's coming up. solved. i'm mike hellgren, with new developments on the brother of two nfl players, arrested for a string of murders in the nation's capital, including the murder of a tour ist. the maryland -- tourist. the maryland connection. a cool start to the week. now, more rain may be moving this way. check in for these stories and all the day's breaking news. >> wjz eyewitness news at 6:00 starts now. controversial case. a new trial in the election day robocall scandal. >> tonight, why the defense for julius henson urges a judge to throw out the case.

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