league hujdzs. lawsuits mounting against a former johns hopkins gynaecologist accused of video taping his patients. tonight what's ahead for the victims. a lot of lawyers taking on cases. good evening everyone, and thanks for joining us. more attorneys prepare to file lawsuits in the growing scandal surrounding a johns hopkins gynaecologist who police say secretly video taped his patients. derek valcourt is at the medical center where that doctor once worked with the latest for us tonight. >> reporter: at the heart of this case the same basic question that all of these women are now asking themselves am i

in one of those videos? from full page ads to town hall style meetings to tv commercials. >> call now no matter how long ago you were patient of dr. levy. >> reporter: this gynaecologist apparently took his only life amid allegations that he secretly recorded patients while exams. >> i can't believe tfrmths this is shocking. >> reporter: attorneys for this woman have filed among the first of what promises to be countless lawsuits against his estate and the hospital he worked for. >> because i would like first and foremost for all of his patients to receive some sort of compensation. >> i think this is something that johns hopkins is going to want to do everything they possibly can to put it behind. >> reporter: attorney william buoy iii says the case poses league challenges including which of the patients were

recorded and then proving to a judge, jury, that any of the patients suffered because of it. >> i'm sure that the way the lawsuit will go will be that the patients will simply argue at end of the day when they can prove they're on videotape or not is the mental anguish and pain that was caused simply by potentially being one of these individuals that was video taped should be good enough to entitle them to compensation. >> reporter: for its part, johns hopkins hospital declines to comment on specifics. they say any time a patients's privacy is invaded it is intolerable. police confirm they are investigating whether any of the recordings taken by that doctor were posted on the internet. a young boy is in the hospital tonight recovering after his dirt bike collided with a van in ann arundle

county. the 12-year-old was riding his bike when he turned into a van. he fell off the bike and it became lodged under the van. dirt bikes are illegal to ride in the county. police are investigating. celebrations and questions in the world of nascar. a woman makes history in the daytona 500 while dozens of fans recover from a serious accident. in the 55th running of the great american race, jimmy johnson took the checkered flag for the second time, danica patrick led briefly, the first woman to do so, she ended in eighth. the talk of the speedway was yesterday's pile-up. >> everybody injured in the grand stands. >> reporter: cars collided heading into the final turn. carl larson's car went airborne flying along the flexible safety fence before it exploded. >> this is a dangerous sport.

we assume that risk and it's hard when the fans get caught up in it. >> reporter: large debris including a tire shot through and over the 22 foot fence and into the stands. 30 spectators were hurt. 13 of them seriously enough to be hospitalized. >> our fans are first and foremost for us, to have an exciting and safe experience at the track, that's what we're going to continue to look at. >> reporter: daytona international speedway plans to remodel its grand stands. the new investigation will determine if safety improvements are enough. >> by the way baltimore's ravens linebacker ray lewis was the honorary starter at the race. a shooting killed a rapper and two others. amar harris is wanted for the shooting. his range rover was found at an apartment complex just east of the vegas strip.

here in baltimore a huge eyesore finally comes crashing down. bge implodes that old natural gas tank that a lot of people see when they drive up and down i-83. that will help bge update its system. >> reporter: not many northwest baltimore neighbors saw this implosion of a gas tower this morning. [ explosion ]. . >> reporter: but most of them heard it for sure. >> boom, boom, boom. >> reporter: for years drivers have seen the tank. now it's gone for good. >> that tower has been there you know, since i was a kid. it's been this for many many years. >> reporter: 80 to be compact. some neighbors like michelle cha recorded the implosion for them -- clay recorded the implosion for themselves. >> it went to the right and then came down, very cool. actually, i've never been that close to it. >> reporter: bge says it was time to get rid of the old gas tank, just sitting around hem ti

was costing the -- empty was costing the company. >> it's expensive for the upkeep of the building so we're putting money into a building we're not using. >> reporter: bge coordinated with the police and fire dependents and sent notices to neighbors. the company said it didn't want the blast to take anyone by surprise. >> when was it at? >> reporter: these two women didn't hear a thing. they slept through the blast. there's a good reason why. >> we went to two birthday parties so -- >> you missed it. >> we missed out. >> hard to miss that sound. bge says upgrades to the regional natural gas system back in the 1990s made the tank obsolete. the march 1st deadline for the fiscal crisis approaching for lawmakers to reach a deal to avoid $85 billion in spending

cuts. there will be cuts to military, the cdc will lose $300 million airport security had take a big hit also. maryland's governor spoke about the effects on face the nation. >> it will wipe out a lot of hard fought job gains in virginia and maryland. we understand this is an economic threat. >> republicans and democrats disagree on how to cut the deficit and debt. republicans say taxes are off the table but the president says new revenue is a must. we're tracking big news out of cuba tonight. raul castro announced plans to resign in 2018. he said he will step down in five years that's when his second term as president is set to end. the announcement came shortly after the country's national assembly reelected him to a second term. he was elected in 2008. in 2018 he had be 86 years old.

an emotional day at the vatican. catholics watched pope benedict give his final sunday address. [ cheering and applause ]. . >> the pontiff delivered his final blessings to tens of thousands from his apartment overlooking st. peter square. he says he's retiring to spend his final years in prayer. he's stepping down on thursday, the first pope to do so in 600 years. and cardinals from around the world are now arriving in rome to elect the next pope but the decision will be made amid scandal italian media is saying some priests are being black mailed. the vatican says the scandal is false. the academy awards was hosted by sets mcfarland. a lot of people talking about the fashions on the red carpet

arrivals. a lot of people talking about ann hathaway's dress there. the film amour was honored for best foreign film. when we get the other winners we'll pass them on to you on eyewitness news. also to come tonight a big blanket of snow, colorado is covered, drivers feeling the pain. what forecasters are predicting tonight. oscar pistorius isn't the only one in his family accused of killing someone. the stunning new charges against his brother. plus, crash and burn, a helicopter turns into a fire ball. hear from the oklahoma man who came to the rescue. . beautiful but dangerous. i'm tim williams with why this is a ban on sky lanterns in maryland. another day of sunshine coming your way before another storm system moves our way. all of that coming up in your first morning forecast.

. well it is getting cool out this. clear and 33 in central maryland right now. at least we're not getting this. white out conditions sparking crashes on the interstate in colorado. creating a big mess for folks out there. the high winds and heavy snow made many roads impassable. a foot of snow or more is expected to fall in the area before tomorrow. now to afghanistan where police officers gunned down a would-be suicide bomber targeting european embassies. a man was shot in a vehicle fuld with explosions. the driver was killed. it took police hours to defuse all the explosives in that vehicle. as olympian oscar pistorius faces murder charges for killing his girlfriend his older brother

is also charged with killing a woman in south africa. police say carl pistorius killed a woman in a traffic accident five years ago and the charges were just upgraded to homicide in the last few days. now, the case is unrelated to the valentine's day shooting that left oscar pistorius's girlfriend dead. a man recorded this video on his phone as he was waiting for police to arrive. one man was pulled from the wreckage before ems personnel arrived at the scene. >> i held his hand and told him to hang in there they were on their way and about the time i said god please, they showed up. >> that man remains in critical condition tonight. two other people on board the flight were killed. the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

a group of volunteers launch a program in newtown, connecticut, to archive and respond to the thousands of condolence letters. nearly 175,000 letters were sent to newtown since the tragedy. now volunteers are archiving all those letters and writing as many thank you notes as possible. the volunteers are bringing their own stamps to mail those thank yous. they're used for celebration and tribute but now maryland has banned the use of aerial luminaries known as sky lanterns. ted williams was more on what they are and why they're banned. >> reporter: you anything night inflate them, and they take the skies as lighted tributes or celebrations. but maryland is expanding its ban on sky lanterns. >> they have used the term of sky lanterns as being an

amendment to the code. >> reporter: the devices like these seen here are typically constructed with oil rice paper on a bamboo frame. they are released into the atmosphere. because the lanterns rise upwards and go away uncontrolled they can go distances and return to earth without the flame being extinguished. >> if they make contact with paper trash goods out which the sidewalk for pick-up or next to the garage, the potential is there for an uncontrolled fire. >> reporter: sky lanterns are considered fire balloons and in the same category of aerial fireworks which are illegal in maryland but are readily available in stores which is the reason for the ban. >> these are uncontrolled devices in the air and could

control a fire. now for more information on fire safety, hook for a link to -- look for a link to the story on our web page. gas prices continue rising but this could be good news on the horizon. analysts say the price of crude oil dropped this week and that could mean a lower price at the pump nationwide. $3.80, is the cost of a gallon regular. up 56 cents. lost months a gallon of regular was $3.37 a gallon. >> in a month. >> in a month. >> you want to talk about crazy weather. oklahoma, part of the severe

thunderstorm warnings and some snow warnings. we don't have that going on here. >> we haven't had any snow. >> not much at all. >> maybe what, a possibility in the forecast? >> more of what we've been seeing. maybe a wintry mix before changing to rain on tuesday. >> and more grey skies i would assume. >> that is coming also. >> today was sunshine. >> bring on the gloom berne. our average is 47 so we were above average and tomorrow we're going to up 48 degrees so once again above average. now, 33 in baltimore right now hats off to a cold 19 in oakland. 30s for most of the rest of the state. the northwest wind is dying down. the clear skies are taking over for tonight. a couple of fleuries earlier coming in on the northwest winds but those are settled down. getting rid of the storm that moved in two days ago. here is the next one moving our way. in between we have high pressure

in control and that will make for a nice day tomorrow. the clouds come in tomorrow night and the next storm arrives on tuesday. coming up from the southwest and marginally cold air, warm air behind t we are going into the 40s and by wednesday we'll be in the 50s. in western parts of the state it's a different story. cold air had hang on longer and that is why there's a winter storm warning. not in effect yet but will go in to effect. but then eventually that will get out of here which wednesday. on the waters north winds at 5 to 10 knots. tonight, we're going down to 26 degrees. and then 48 tomorrow. that's sunshine. then here comes the gloom again. storm on tuesday, and then wednesday is one of those interesting days where we start off with the clouds, the sunshine comes n we jump up to

the 50s, but then the clouds come back in and the cold air really takes over thursday and friday. going to see maybe a couple of rain or snow showers with that initial push of cold air. then on friday mostly cloudy to start out march at 43 degrees. >> we'll enjoy tomorrow. check in with don and marty tomorrow starting at 4:55 a.m. meanwhile coming up next in sports the orioles off to a good spring training start. stan has highlights from the diamond up next.

. we this is a sign of things to come for the orioles. >> good start. our masn sports report, the birds winning again today over a

toronto blue jays split squad. burle brought to toronto in his debut. then ford and then this guy, pierce who got into the swing actually lou had a single and here's the two-run home run out of the park to make it 2-0 birds. great defense here from flart flarerty. one run in two hits over a pay of information and the birds win 5-4 over toronto. moving right along today's daytona 500 following yesterday's horrendous turn of ill fated events. nothing of that magnitude today. not long afterwards your winner was jimmy johnson. danica patrick eighth. baltimore's adopted son ray lewis waved the flag today in

the winner's circle with jimmy johnson. women's college hoops hawkins 16 points, 9 boards not enough on this given sunday for number eight maryland against number five duke in college park. in the second half, elizabeth williams of duke was a force to be reckoned with. she led with 16 points. just a cold shooting afternoon for maryland who loses 75-59 men's lacrosse from johnny united stadium towson university. tigers against mercer leaning on the skills of rod. his teammate thomas scored the game winner late in overtime. towson are now 1-3. and i've got to get this last note on for everybody tonight. ravens wide receiver, kick

returner the super bowl rvp jones will be dancing with the stars. there's a hitch, though. >> what is the hitch? >> this may be a conflict of interest with his offseason ravens workout. but we'll have to follow this, but you know all his wild dances after touchdowns. >> it has been a big story. everybody is talking about on twitter tonight. that's what people are more excited about that than the oscars. >> yes sir. he's good dancer. >> this is a different venue now. >> can he hand that will? >> i bet you he can. >> he's a raven. >> awesome news. still to come on eyewitness news a homeless man gets more than he bargained for when he asks for change.

. a 100 year old man is finally retiring from marathon running. today singh has raised more than $160,000 for charity but he admits he's just no longer in his prime. the 101-year-old runner finished his final 10k just about an hour and a half ago. he was not exactly thrilled saying he used to finish 10ks in half that final. well wishers are sentding donations to a homeless man in kansas city. a woman dropped her diamond engagement ring in her cup. when she realized it she went back and the man told her he had been keeping the ring safe for her and he gave it back to her. she was so happy she set up an online fundraising site to help him. so for that site is up to $88,000. that is a really incredible story. stay with us, we're going to

have an update on who is winning the oscars right now after the break.

. update you on the winners in the oscars tonight. adopted screen play was argo. the original screen play was