right now things have improved. 39 washington. 45 baltimore. that allowed the snow last night to melt off quickly. as we check the radar things are clear. even though we'll stay clear tonight, into tomorrow and tomorrow night things change in a big way on friday. chilly tonight. clear and cold. we'll have to watch out for icy spots as the slushy snow that melted todayrefreezes. friday and saturday a powerful storm moves in. we'll break it down in a few minutes >> thank you. forecast for another major storm finds maryland's cash strapped county bracing for snow and the additional cost cleaning it up. one more storm will be one too many for one current budget >> reporter: it took this salt truck and 80 others like it along with five dozen pickups and 150 workers to clear the

roads in harford county alone. not the mention the state's fleet. by wednesday morning it appeared their work had paid off. >> i thought they did a great job. >> they did good. you can drive safe. >> yes. >> you think the county does a good job? >> yes. last flight they were in my neighborhood. i saw trucks going around the court >> reporter: in a cangs where government furloughs and buyouts have become common during the recession, the question now is how to maintain the snowfall removal service without bankrupting others. harford county set aside $1.5 million for snow removal. before tuesday night's storm they had gone through most of it with only a balance of $300,000 remaining. the county isn't about to back off on such an essential service. highway superintendant says he's trying to cut costs where

ever he can. >> we try right now to calibrate the trucks on the salt usage. we are looking at all avenues to try to save money >> reporter: that means sending the trucks to drop 200 pounds of salt on every mile of road instead of 600. the county determines it can push more snow than it needs to melt. overtime is another issue. with another storm falling on a weekend it may be unavoidable. >> if they are calling for the snow they are predicting we'll have everybody in >> reporter: harford county jeff hager abc 2 news. >> the additional costs associated with the winter storms will not translate into the additional layoffs. when the budget money is gone the county will shift it from other departments. when we are not bringing you the latest updates on tv you can get them on abc2news.com. you can track maryland's most powerful radar from your moment computer. a home invasion has police asking questions and neighbors

in fear. it happened last night in the 500 block of williamsburg lane. brian keebler is joining us now with what police are looking for and how neighbors hope they find him quickly >> reporter: a 24-year-old man is in critical condition tonight after being shot seven times. a 24-year-old woman was beaten a 70-year-old man was thrown down and tied up. that happened an established neighborhood. police have yet to find a motive. suspects are two men who made off in a silver dodge pickup truck. a fact that has makes in the area -- has neighbors in the area in fear. >> it makes you stop and think >> reporter: ann arundel police can use any information they can get on the case. if you know anything call metro crimestoppers.

a former private school principal from the eastern shore may be spending 18 years behind bars for sexually abusing two girls when they were students. he pleaded guilty back in november after hearing from relatives of the victims the judge sentenced him. they were students and were 14 at the time. he says he wish he could take back his actions. a haitian judge is expected to decide today whether there is enough evidence to try ten american missionaries who were arrested for child trafficking. the missionaries claim the children were orphaned by the earthquake. they tried to take the children across the border into the dominican republic. officials say more than half of the children are not or fans. apparently their parents signed them over after being shown a flier with a big house and swimming pool promising them a

better life for their children. >> i believe we have been wrongly accused of something. i believes the trafficking. which is completely not true. >> because of the disinstruction from the earthquake, if there is a trial it may not be held in haiti. u.s. state department said the location of the trial is going to be up to the haitian government. tonight folks in federal hill will be getting together to help the victims in haiti. missionaries in the area have gotten together with an overwhelming amount of donations to make the benefit happen. they old be donating 15% of the sales to the cause. the family of haitian-born rapper wycliff jean will have a concert to rebuild 7:30. tickets will go on sale. here is a taste of who all you

can see. tickets are $35. you can purchase them at baltimore ax.org or find it under links at abc2news.com. an effort is underway in annapolis to change maryland's law regarding direct wine shipping. better bureau and wine law makes are pushing for the bill to allow wineries and businesses to ship up to 24 cases of wine to customers per year. under state law wine is not allowed to be sold or shipped to restaurants. purchasers have gone through a distributor. air-tran airways is hiring. the second largest carrier at bwi marshall is looking to fill 40 positions. air-tran interviewed 100 candidates today. >> when you do an event like

this people are eager to come out. they put their best foot forward. you can see the group is very well-dressed and professional look. we hope to hire a bunch of good people. >> air-tran is also adding more flights. they'll start nonstop service to jacksonville, florida in may. in annapolis tonight a house committee has shot down a bill >> would prohibit the state from recognizing gay marriages validated in other states and countries. the proposal came before emmitt burns jr. similar legislation has been rejected in year's past. delegate burns hoped to get the measure passed before neighboring d.c. make gay marriage legal. the council approved the agenda in december. u.s. automakers are cashing in on in on toyota's problems.

we'll look at changing fortunes in the auto world >> reporter: for four dealers like this one in chicago, the recession may be in the rear- view mirror. over the weekend this dealership sold a dozen new cars. double its recent business. >> we have a lot of customers really intent on purchasing ford now or in the near future >> reporter: in january customers so scarce last year came roaring back. lead by a surge in smaller cars. >> that really shows that people are switching away from toyota and looking at for 's products >> reporter: ford has also gained from good reviews from models like the fusion, north american car of the year. and from good will as the only u.s. automaker not to take billions in government bailouts >> they could have taken the money and they didn't do it. you have to put your trust in for >> reporter: now ford is gaining share on its rivals

from for the first time in 15 years. irony is the ceo has strived to make ford more like toyota in moving quick all to build cars consumers want. american consumers are look hard. nearly half of them say they are likely to buy a new car in the next five years. tomorrow baltimore county will have a new mayor. tonight we'll take a look back at mayor sheila dixon's time in offers. remember, c mark? the one in harford county? it is closed but there is a new store in its place. the big tarp. we'll give you a look inside and the merchandise it is offering up. cooking with cancer. what chemotherapy patients can do to make their food tastes better.

teen pregnancies are on the rise after a year of decline. that left experts looking for answer here's a new approach to teaching abstinence >> reporter: it could change the national conversation about young people and se researchers say for the first time they have clear evidence that focusing on abstinence works. researchers followed sixth and seventh graders in separate groups. in one abstinence was the sole focus. in the other group they were taught contraception and safe sex. half the students learning about safe sex were now having sex. while far fewer a third in the group focused on abstinence were engaging in sex.

something else was at play. just as important was the way they approached abstinence staying clear of religion, morality and marriage. >> we began by talking to children and trying to understand their motivations. their reasons for engaging in the behaviors from their perspective. >> simply said. wait a bit. sex is serious. it has risk. we recommend that you wait until you are older. >> reporter: for nearly a year we followed this 15-year-old through her pregnancy. we went back to visit her today. she told us she never had that conversation. >> there was never a conversation about abstinence from my mom. we never talked about sex. it wasn't a thing to talk about >> reporter: with these new results away from the home there will be greater impact from within it. >> is that more powerful coming

from the parent? >> absolutely. they might seem like they are tuning us out but they are lisping >> reporter: they are listening. in fact a study shows a full go thirds of the kids that had the conversation to wait, even in a group setting did wait. advocates told me that number goes up when you add in a conversation between a child and their parents. david moore abc news new york. cooking with cancer. susan hendrix explains how to cancer patients can better enjoy their food >> reporter: while cancer-fighting drugs are killing your cancer they can mess up your smell and taste. register dietitian, editor of what to eat during cancer treatment, says patients often experience unpleasant side effects from radiation.

>> nausea. diarrhea: sores in their mouth. trouble swallows. taste alterations >> reporter: food odors can make you feel queasy so eating foods at room temperature may help. snacking throughout the day helps instead of eating three large meals. soft texture in this food helps ease mouth pain and high calories keep people from loosing weight. >> sometimes they cannot taste things at all >> reporter: to help wake up your taste buds this salad recipe calls for strong flavors. ingrediants such as tuna, red peppers and onions. recipes chopped full of key ingrediants are critical for staying healthy while battling cancer. >> you need energy and stamina. eating well helps you do that.

you have been busy. you have earned your paycheck this season. >> storm after storm. we have another one coming in friday and saturday. another one next week. they keep on coming. >> it is february. we are getting a break in the action. >> the calm before the storm. >> thank you. let's take a look at the inner harbor. pretty nice out there. sunshine. 40 degrees today. 39 bwi marshall. humidity 6%. light northwest wind 8 miles per hour. we had decent melting out there today. that was a good thing. i want to show you a couple of spots. first off baltimore through the day. one too bad. we had some nice sunshine. some

of us got three to five inches of snow yesterday. today in baltimore sunshine and clouds. a lot to the snow melting off quickly. when you see temperatures surge up to 40 degrees. morning lows were cold enough to have slick conditions first thing. 28 lutherville. 41 baltimore. again a nice rebound temperature wise. with the sunshine we made it in the 40s. weather bug stations telling us 41 belair. 42 at the maryland science center. rockville up to 40. melting going on. now we are cooling off as the sung heads back into the sun heads into the upper 30s. icy spots come later as. thes drop below the freezing mark. high temperatures today. again not bad. 42 bwi marshall. snow melling quickly, too, because of the

high water content. we think the storm coming this weekend will be a wet storm system. more moisture. we'll talk about that in a second. right now a few fair weather clouds pushing out to the west. focusing on some good news. that's tonight into the day tomorrow. clear weather. nice area of high pressure across the midwest. lit slide east over the next 36 hours. weather good guy. that will keep things calm around here. it is as we go into friday early in the day that we have to watch this. our next power house storm system already beginning to brew down the texas. if you look closely you can see the low getting concentrated back here almost in the phoenix area. just south of arizona. this storm will continue to pick up in intensity.

it is already dragging moisture out of the gulf of mexico. even a little bit out of the pacific ocean. coming into baltimore as a heavy, wet snow-maker. coming into friday and certainly into the early part of saturday. that's the timing. tonight and tomorrow looks great. no problems at all. stock up on the bread and potato chips. whatever it is you like to do before storms. looking good tomorrow. tomorrow night things begin to cloud up. i still think we are dry. friday morning commute should have no problems. as we go into the day on friday, you can see how large the storm s it will emcome pass the south eastern united states. that begins to come in friday evening. it may come in even midday friday. it will last into the middle part of saturday. 24-hour large storm event. we'll be keeping a close eye on

that. tonight no problem. 24 degrees. maybe a few icy spots as things freeze up. tomorrow sunshine. nice day. the calm before the storm. not bad. a few more clouds but still a decent night tomorrow night. it is as we go into the day friday into saturday that's where things take a turn for the winter. 34 high on friday. we may get a little bit of melting with the first flakes hitting the ground. overnight into the day saturday things cool off. we think we are looking at the potential for a foot or more of wet snow friday night into early saturday. this is going to be a large storm. >> you might want to get more than potato chips. coming up, he's one of miwaukee's finest and he's furry and he walks on all four. we'll introduce you to moon and learn what he can do in five hours that would take investigators five days. [ male announcer ] mark your calendar.

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with a look ahead. it will be a new day in baltimore county tomorrow. city council president stephanie rawlings blake will become mayor. before that happens we'll look back at mayor dixon's time in office. designer purses in harford county. low prices. when is the best time to take a number. looking to buy a new

digital camera? how many megapixels is too many? wyatt is tracking a beast of a snow storm headed our wa in manhattan runners from all over the world gathered at the tallest building for the 33rdrd annual empire state run. 300 people showed up to participate. the winner no surprise. thomas gold of germany won for the fifth consecutive year running more than 1500 steps in only ten minutes and 16 seconds. a broadway show called in the heights is coming to baltimore's hippodrome theater. we'll take you inside that tony, award-winning show. >> i think the greatest thing is that we have created this community that we sing about. it is an immigrant story.

it is about the next generation. it picks up with fiddler left off. because of that there is a connection we found. it is amazing to stand back there and watch it happen each time and see so many people discover it. whether or 46th street or in baltimore. >> i think people have a misconception that the tour is a separate entity from the original broadway production. for us it is really not. >> don't miss in the heights from broadway to baltimore tonight here at 8:00 on abc 2. it may be too early at this point for defendant snow totals but we know snow is coming our way. it is going to be ugly.