and baltimore. >> a noble mission that comes with a cost. is it worth it. we want to know what you think about these controversial billboards about animal testing here in baltimore. a local mom overcomes some unimaginable challenges to earn not just one agree but three college degrees. it's a video two kids fight in front of a crowd of adults and other kids. folks say children fighting appears to be a pretty big problem. kids as young as 8 and 9 square off. roosevelt leftwich joins us with more. >> reporter: county police detectives are looking over the video to see if there is in any wrongdoing. no one has been charged but the fight has focused neighborhoods attention on kids fights that appear to be getting out of hand. it's a case of a kids fight caught on tape. but some in this labor day say

it's a common sight on their street. >> mostly all the time. i think it's just boredom or it's just, i don't know. it looks like they have don't have nothing to do. >> these are little kids pretty much. >> we're talking about what ages? >> 8, 9, 10 years old. >> reporter: the mother says her son is being bullied by the other kid. they started fighting again and her son got knocked to the ground again. while all this was going on witnesses say dozens of people kids and adults alike were watching apparently egging it on as the two boys fought. the mother telling her son to fight the boy she said she was trying to get the bully to leave her alone.

she had talked with an attorney. with all the adults teens and kids watching and egging on the fight folks in the area say this just can't happen again. >> the whole neighborhood was down there, and it was adults also. everybody kept saying, pull them apart, pull them off of them. stuff like that. and the kid was getting hurt. but you know it's got to stop because i have younger kids. shane went through it. and it's just parents got to step up. >> no one has been charged with any wrongdoing but police are investigating. roosevelt leftwich abc2 news. thanks a lot rosie. tonight about 90 minutes ago police made the call. felicia barns death has been ruled a homicide. the medical examiner also determined the cause of death but police are not releasing that information because they say it's a very important part of the investigation. the teen from north carolina's body was found about 2 weeks

ago in the discuss question hanna river. she disappeared while she was visiting family in baltimore. this news comes the same day we are learning about her funeral arrangements. a private service is set for saturday in georgia. it can be viewed online at the springfield baptist church's web site. a memorial service for barns will be held may 14th at mount pleasant church here in baltimore. tonight anne arundel county crossing guard is suffering some life-threatening injuries after she was struck by a school bus near point pleasant elementary school. now according to county fire department 40-year-old woman is in serious condition at a baltimore hospital. a spokesman says the bus driver and four students were on the bus but they were not hurt. counselors met with students and several others who were walking nearby when the accident happened. it's been a relatively cloudy and much cooler day out there. no question about that. we've seen a couple of showers

pop up on maryland's most powerful radar. let's show you where they are right now. most of the action just north of the beltway a little bit of rain pushing may get a little downpour. lutherville cockysville tracking out towards owings mills a little bit of shower tracking in there. but just really not much rain. cloudy conditions across the state right now. and that's going to be the story the rest of the engine. generally cloudy couple of isolated showers but not much. 61 at the inner harbor 60 annapolis we're down to 50s in d. c. and cambridge. a cool start tomorrow and a climb rebound temperature wise to 67. so we trend milder and we trend sunnier tomorrow but that will change somewhat for the weekend. we talk about your friday to sunday forecast coming up. thanks, wyatt. a warning tonight for folks living in anne arundel county. a glen burnie woman was robbed at gunpoint by a man posing for

a utility worker. he showed her an i.d. card indicating he was a utility worker. she let him in and that's when he pulled out the gun. police are warning residents that utility companies will not show up to homes unannounced. the retrial for two brothers accused of setting a dog on fire has been rescheduled for july. travers and tremayne johnson were expected to go to trial today. they were accused of setting that pit bull named phoenix on fire in 2009. the two brothers are charged with animal cruelty and mutilation of the animal phoenix later had to be put down because the injuries were so severe. well, today one of the fastest growing companies in the country opened its doors to our cameras. it's based in owings mills. medi fast develops, produces 70 different weight loss meals, including maryland crab soup has its headquarters in baltimore county. forbes magazine has ranked medi fast it's number one small

company in america growing its business by $90 million last year. the company's board chairman has resisted wall street critics it could save money by shifting its plant elsewhere. >> other people think it's better breakdown things go to the lowest cost manufacturing they think technology should go to technology centers that you can splice this out. and add to the bottom line. >> medi fast provides jobs to 350 people. it claims its partnership with johns hopkins stevenson university mccormick spice. new tonight, thought provoking billboards that put a big decision in your hand. a picture of a little girl. the question is who would you

rather see live. they are paid for by the foundation biomedical research promoting animal testing. the debate won't be going away anytime soon. >> it's a new discovery to happen we really have to discover them in a living system. >> reporter: the practice of animal research is controversial. >> there's a lot that goes on you weren't want to experience if you were that animal. >> reporter: it's also big business. >> i don't think people have an idea of the vastness of the field. >> reporter: tens of millions of animals across the country are used each year for medical research, chemical testing and education. in baltimore alone thousands of animals are used. most of them at johns hopkins university. >> the work we're doing will save people around the world and in baltimore. >> reporter: vice proper vote of research at johns hopkins says a majority of research has to do with human health.

that means finding cures or developing new drugs for hiv and multiple sclerosis. >> we don't suffer diseases we would have suffered after animal research. >> reporter: there are 30,000 mice making this type of animal the most commonly used animal here. it's not all rodents. researchers also use zebra fish, dogs rabbits pigs and monkeys. >> monkeys. alternatives for animal testing is in the same building as john hopkins and funds studies that don't involve living creatures. he says animal research will likely change in the next decade, but he's skeptical the use of animals will be completely abolished in his

lifetime. kristin volt abc2 news. that is tonight's hot topic. we want to know how you feel about animal testing and if you think these billboards are effective in getting a message across. log on to abc2news.com/facebook and tell us what you think about this hot topic. obstacles in the road of life are nothing for one local mom. she's overcoming one challenge after another to become a college graduate why not just one but three degrees. a new weight loss trick and all you have to do is place the strip on your tongue. but there's a catch it doesn't dissolve. in fact it has to be season on. 62 degrees at bwi today. not quite our average. normally we're at 70. we granted you 60.

we're back with your weekend forecast right after this.

. five anne arundel county schools are expected to reopen tomorrow after downed power lines caused a power outage. five schools included chesapeake high school chesapeake bay middle school bod kin and lakeshore elementary schools. we're also told that four baltimore city schools closed early there afternoon because of another power outage. no word yet if they will reopen

tomorrow. new data from 2009 analyzed by the organization child trend shows overall the number of teen moms is down nationally. but that number still varies from state to state. mississippi, new mexico and texas have the highest teen birth rates while massachusetts and new hampshire have the lowest. maryland had the 13th lowest teen birth rate. >> a new way to lose weight has some doctors a little concerned. >> it involves stitching a tiny patch on to the tongue. the placement of the patch makes it uncomfortable to eat solid foods so patients follow a liquid only diet. the man behind the patch dr. nicholas. he says it provides adequate nutrition but restricts calories to 800 a day. one woman who tried it lost 20 pounds in three weeks. >> your tongue does feel if you want to chew it will get

stuck. so you won't be able to eat it. >> but other doctors are concerned stitching the patch to the tongue could pose a risk of infection and nerve damage. also question the possibility of blocking the airway if the patch falls off. the doctor denies any such complications have ever occurred but he also has patients take an antibiotic just in case of an infection. >> reporter: springtime means the end of school is near with graduations and new ventures on the horizon. the path we take can vary widely. don harrison has the story of one student who faced many challenges and overcame them all. >> reporter: marie jean has faced struggles in her life. >> i ended up going out when i was very young. >> reporter: 17 different foster homes. she was in a car accident and ended up having 38 surgeries.

she had to relearn how the read and write evidently she learned well. >> she's a remarkable woman. >> reporter: a remarkable woman and model student. >> she is the most enthusiastic student i've ever met. she is very, very bright, and bit by bit she's shared pieces of her life with me which have made me realize how remarkable she really is to be here. >> reporter: and soon marie jean accomplished a goal so big she couldn't even dream it. she'll be graduating from howard community college why not one, not two, but 3 degrees. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> reporter: this is just the beginning of the celebration. today marie received an award for outstanding academic achievement and now a degree in sociology criminal justice and conflict resolution days away, she reveals her secret to success. >> we have a problem with that story but we want to tell you

that marie is also a single mother of three girls, two 12- year-old twins and a 16-year- old daughter, and she says they are the ones who inspired her to do hard work. he's only 15 years old and he is already a hero. today baltimore county honored charlie knifely the third for helping his grandmother and younger brother escape from a burning home on dorsey avenue in essex last month. >> for my grandparents to get up from upstairs. by the time he came back up he went down to the basement by the time he came back up it went up and had to get my little brother out and my grand ma out. my little brother jumped off the roof and i caught him. >> when fire crews arrived on the scene the home was already fully involved. without charlie's help and quick action, that fire would have been deadly. it was cloudy and kind of

ugly through most of the day but we're getting late day clearing going and temperatures have rebounded out of the 50s at least. we're 60 at bwi and winds are west northwest at 7. throughout the afternoon it was tough to find much sun early on. then finally some sunny breaks happening to the west here roland park, murky through most of the afternoon some late day clearing and last check for you here in annapolis where we finally see things clearing off late in the evening but then a couple of more bands of cloud cover. we're going to see gradual clearing overnight. in the meantime there's still renegade showers out there. one rogue shower moving toward parkville, towson and back through perry hall. in fact, i'd say if you're going shopping in white marsh in the next couple of minutes you're going to find some brief raindrops coming down. it won't last long. it's not a huge shower it will

quickly move out. rock haven and hampton getting hit with some rain right now. wind gusts they have been a little blustery at times today. gusting to 25 or so. temperatures's west 50s east baltimore hanging on to 60 at the moment. neighborhood by neighborhood we're going to bounce back pretty noose list 68 or so in hampton and federal hill i think will probably touch 70 but that's still going to mean most of the day will be down in the 60s. further south and west. howard county woodstock 68 laurel to around 69 or so. clouds drift to the north. widely scattered light shower heavier downpours into west virginia and our main storm line well off the coast right now. weather set to steadily improve. i think there's one area of rain right now it's a current track going from northwest to southeast south of our state. so there will be some rain down into virginia but i think we'll miss out on most of that and high pressure settling in tomorrow will gradually continue to clear the skies allow temperatures to bounce back a little bit at least into

the upper 60s versus what we had mainly upper 50s today. our future cast cloudy tonight. hit or miss shower this evening not much and then drier tomorrow. a sunny looking cinco de mayo. but then as we go into friday clouds roll back by midday and possibility of a round of showers here friday night perhaps as early as saturday morning. overnight 40 clearing skies much cooler. tomorrow we'll go 67 with sunshine returning, and just a breezy but somewhat warmer day. tomorrow night down to 43, mostly clear, as perhaps a few more margaritas or observed. kelly 7-day forecast the weekend looks nice a dry for the most part. again a lit or miss shower is going to be possible, but temperatures bouncing back to the 70s, and then friday we're talking about again that friday night scenario where we could seed a little rain. this has been a late april early may pattern. it's been showers every day or

two. it's going to happen. >> some days we've had 80. back and forth. >> but i saw you smiling when i said a dry cinco de mayo. >> not excited as you. >> i like all the holidays. thanks a light wyatt. each night at 6:00 we work for you by finding creative ways to save you money. this month the focus is use this for that. we found flu ways to stretch the use of some common household products. so tonight we're talking about rubber bands. it's a little nicer out you may be considering a painting project which we all know can get kind of messy. here's a way to get the excess paints off your brush. wrap a rubber band around the paint can from top to bottom, then as you're working, just tap the brush against the rubber band there will save you from paying extra money for a special paint can attachment. if you got some creative ways to use rubber bands just let us know. you can put all your ideas on

this or any other money saving tips on our facebook page. abc2news.com/facebook. new at 11:00 tonight here's what's coming up. a local high school is in the middle of writing its own success story. the student body has gone from underperforming to exceling in just a few years. tonight we talk to the scholars who say they can feel the difference and meet the man who's getting a lot of credit for the turnaround. plus it's a dilemma, more and more moms are facing these days. do you sacrifice time with your family in exchange for higher paying job or take a pay cut and get more time with your kids. results of a new survey just might surprise you. those stories and much more plus wyatt's forecast on abc2 news at 11:00. let's take a look at how the drive home is going tonight. take a look at that shot. it's not going. 695 providence bumper to

bumper. you're waiting for somebody to come home you might be waiting for a little while. we'll be right back. ,@

. one shower toward white marsh and and perry hall but most of us staying dry right

now. tomorrow a drier day and sunshine. >> we're back at 11:00. thanks for joining us. have a great night.