>> got to love colbert. >> can we see newt gingrich in the tank top again? >> trying to forget. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> a multi-million dollar project for a local draw bridge could affect your morning commute. sentencing today for the man convicted of murdering a teenager nearly three years ago. what was never found and what's expected this morning. reporter: one look at this house in colombia, you're going to wish it was the holidays all year round. i'm linda stow, how this one house could make howard county schools $100,000 richer. it is friday, january the 6th. good morning, maryland, i'm charley krauss. the weekend now in sight, so let's get a look at the forecast and say good morning

to n.j. burkett. >> charley -- to justin burk. >> a little push of clouds. there will be a disturbance we have to contend with and you'll notice just east of the mountains, that's an indication of some wind flow here. while we don't have a major system in place, we will have ourselves the influence of some of the upper level winds that may help to carry some clouds our way. we're 27 this morning in baltimore and we're going to be in that general 25 to 30-degree range. overall variable clouds, may be mostly cloudy at times, partly cloudy to others. 50s by lunchtime. in fact, we are going to surge past ray lewis' number for the day to our guaranteed high of 56. a mild day, a cool dowp and a lot of active weather next week. we'll talk about that in just a bit. now let's get traffic. reporter: good morning, much. starting out for the friday morning commute, we hope it'll be a nice easy one for you. an earlier situation on 95 south of 395. they've cleared that out of the

way for you. tunnel traffic, checking out okay even with the overnight maintenance crews on the scene. let's get a first look at 29 and maryland 108. we're looking pretty good north and southbound as you make the drive through elkridge coming from i-70 and our early travels around the beltway, 695 on the side outer loop and inner loop clear to i-83. of course we have a big project coming up op the roadways, going to start tomorrow and you're going to need your patience cap on. sharee, it is going to be very busy for those on the east side of the beltway. >> it's actually going to go all the way into springs. patience is definitely important. starting on saturday, the first phase of a 14 -- $14 1/2 million project will start to the curtis creek draw bridge. the inner loop will be shut down to replace the decking and steel support beams. this means drivers can expect

one lane of traffic in each direction on the outer loop. the speed will be reduced from 55 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour. the inner loop bridge opened in 1977 along with the opening of the key bridge. the outer loop draw bridge opened two years later. >> they've been there for approximately 35 years. this is the first time that the bridge decks will be replaced on those draw bridges. >> so it'll take about 10 weeks to finish the work on the inner loop and then work begins on the other side of the bridge. the entire project is expected to be completed by early spring. sherree johnson, abc 2 news. traffic could be much safer now at the intersection of wabash and hillsdale road in northwest baltimore, the scene of many accidents and finally one woman's voice was heard. for years cynthia larkin watched and was fed up with the number of accidents outside of her home, so she continually called 311. she called every time there was an accident, so many calls, in

fact, the dispatcher told her to stop and someone would be out there eventually to assess the traffic situation. larkin's relentlessly resulted in now a new traffic light. >> my father would have loved to seen it because he was the first president of the arlington improvement association for 10 years and he tried to get a light and it didn't happen. so i'm the daughter, only child, made it happen. >> officials are now urging residents to call 311 for nonemergency situations. as for cynthia's story, there is proof that the system can sometimes work. organizers for americans pore prosperity will be in three places in the baltimore area tomorrow, trying to get the word out about the proposed gas tax increase. one place is going to be here at york road and sem nair avenue. dr. martin o'malley wants to hike the gas tax 15 cents a gallon during the next three years. >> we can't afford 15 more cents to pay for gasoline

during a recession. it makes no sense because people don't have that extra money and we can't afford paying for more goods and services that are dependent on gasoline. >> more locations there for you including bel aire road at joppa road and route 40 east on river road. events will be tomorrow from 11:00 in the morning until 1:00. today sentencing will be taking place for jason dwroas. he's the man convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of rochelle battle. she went missing in 29. she was never found. pieces of her clothing were later found and led to gross' arrest. he was convicted by a jury in october. he'll be sentenced today in county court, set for 9:30. steve brigham and oreilly are seeking contempt charges. the doctors have been charged with performing late-term abortions here in maryland. now the indictment is asking to be unsealed so the clients can know the details.

also they're wanting to old the cecil county state's attorney in contempt for allegedly disclosing the contents of those documents. a 64-year-old woman is recovering this morning thanks to firefighters who rescued her from a burning apartment building. all this happened at the tall pines apartments in glen burnie around 3:30 thursday afternoon. a group of good samaritans knocked out the windows of the building before firefighters arrived. investigators think an unattended cigarette may be the cause. two others were taken to the hospital. they had minor injuries. a different result from a fire thursday morning claiming the life of an 84-year-old woman. this was on bitle street. she was known as miss mary and she was a teacher. she has no family or children but took care of many in the neighborhood, checking in on them and was an avid church goer. now teddy bears hang on her doors and it says i am loved on that sweater. >> i knew she was in there. i was very concerned about them getting her out of there.

the policemen wouldn't let anybody go in there. and by the time the fire people got here, the fire was very strong, and i knew from that kind of a fire she wouldn't have a chance if she was going to be in there much longer. >> it was a somber night, the east baltimore neighborhood was seen paying their -- respects to the woman many called a good teacher and a great person. saying good-bye to another baltimore great, a public memorial honoring the life of radio host ron smith has now been arranged. according to wbal radio, a special tribute has been scheduled for tuesday, january 17th. it's going to begin around 11:00 in the morning. smith died last month after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. we're just getting started now and doing his part to help out with the sluggish economy. what you're not going to be paying more for for the winter season. you got your thin mint,

your samoas, your peanut butter patty and now the girl scouts are adding a new cookie. details on that coming up in just a bit. you are watching "good morning maryland." we are first and only at 4:30.

welcome back on this friday morning. you know we've seen city hall turn purple and mass cots scatters the streets. now it's talson's turn. they will show the purple pride today when the courthouse dome gets lit up in purple. there's no specific time set. pretty good chance it's going to be after dark so you can see it in its full purple hue. today is purple friday. we want to see you decked out in all of your ravens finest like this little ones here, joe flacco's youngest fans. and this one, dave says pennsylvania loves the ravens. we want to see your pictures as well, just log onto our website and upload your pictures to our wall. check this out, you can

put down the cheerios and bring out the cookies. the girl scouts are now celebrating 100 years with a new lemon cookie. it's called savannah smile and it's described as a cool and crisp look with just a number of lemon chip. so another cookie to choose from. i'm personally a fan of the samoas. let's go inside to the weather center for justin burk and see what is his favorite girl scout cookie. >> thin mints which are anything but thin. >> i'm very disappointed with our producer who put off this cookie story and we have no samples to help give you an idea of what it might taste like. she's yelling at me in my ear like it's my fault. you put the story up, we're supposed to help, reporter engagement. look at this. we had some snow on the sidewalk that quickly melted yesterday in bel aire. turned out to be nice warm afternoon with the sunshine. a lot of places really did surge into the 40s, some hitting near 50 degrees and we're going to do even better

today. 31 northeast this morning in churchville. 23 currently in talson. i gotta check on that number. i think that's a little bit colder than most of the surrounding areas. 30s by the bay. fredrick there at 24 degrees this morning. while we're watching this band the clouds enhance across our region, the main storm track is well to our north. we'll be in the benefit of some mild air. temperatures back into the mid- 50s this afternoon and we'll talk about that weekend outlook in just a moment. here is angela with traffic. reporter: on the roadways for your friday morning, drive in baltimore and around the city off to an excellent start for the most part. got a problem on the east end shore, but we'll get to that in just a moment. first let's get our first live look at traffic flow on i-95. we're at 95 and maryland 175 and we're good to go both north and southbound making the drive down to the capital beltway or northbound heading up to 695. here's i-97 in glen burnie, 97 traffic moving freeley here at route 100. we may have some rubbernecking if you're coming in on 50

eastbound from the eastern shore. this is 50 at route 8, but the problem is at 50 and the 301 split in the westbound lanes. got a lane closure for an incident. again, you may have some rubbernecking, so be prepared for just a short tap of the brakes there. follow us on twitter this morning at maryland traffic. now back to you, charley. the wegman's food chain now doing its part to lessen the blow of high-priced groceries. they've vowed not to raise the products on 50 items through april 28th, they include the house brand, ground beef, orange juice, turkey breast, ham, paper towels and chicken breast. remember, this is for their house brands mainly. also a new wegmans is going up in colombia for more shopping options coming down the road. no skinny people welcomed here. you heard that right, no skinny people. what one health club is saying what they want to do and who they will and will not let in the door. she thought they were just tall weeds growing in her back

yard. after police showed up, she had no idea how right she was. you're watching "good morning maryland," what's next for you on this friday, everything you need to know to get your weekend started just right. we're back in just a bit.

news time 4:45, 27 degrees outside. five things you need to know before going out today. president barack obama will be at the consumer financial protection bureau this morning announcing his pick for the agency richard cordray. that will happen this morning at 10:30. gop hopefuls now have all of their attention focused on new hampshire, that following mitt romney's victory in iowa. they're campaigning in the granite state all weekend, this ahead of tuesday's primary. and on saturday there'll be a debate for the candidates. you can see it right here on abc 2. and congressman elijah cummings will be honored today. he'll receive the house leadership award. that ceremony is set for 9:00. and governor martin

o'malley is now saying okay to doubling, even tripling the flush tax. right now the flush tax runs $2.50 a month for sewer customers and $30 a year for homes with septic tanks. environmental groups want to see that tax raised to $90 by the year 2015. and the trial of van der sloot will begin today almostle seven years after he became the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway. she still has not been found. he will be tried now for the murder of a peruvian woman. you know you've probably taken down those holiday decorations by now, but there's a family in howard county that's saying no way, not yet and they're doing it for a great cause. abc 2 news linda stow is live in colombia right now to tell us why. linda. reporter: well, charley, this homeowner here could really use your vote. i'm just going to step out of the way. look at these lights. this display is just amazing. this house is in a contest right now. if they win, howard county schools gets $100,000. let's talk to the guy behind this amazing piece of work.

charles daniels, this is just incredible. >> thank you. reporter: 12 years you've been doing this. >> 12 years. i've been retired 12 years, so it gives me the time to, let's say, decorate over the top. reporter: people really could use your help because this house is in a contest. if they vote, howard county schools benefits? >> that's correct. reporter: tell us about the contest. >> well, the contest started back in december where everyone in the state of maryland had the opportunity to vote in and i was chosen as the representative for maryland, and i won $500 for my effort. and it's just super. it goes to pay my electric bill. that win allowed me to be one of 24 finalists throughout the nation, and so on the deckthehousepatch.com, you're able to go on that website and vote for me, and if i win, my

school district here in howard county receives $100,000. reporter: that's just incredible. we were talking about this before, you see so many holiday displays that are gaudy and tacky, but this is not. elegant, classy, just wonderful. >> thank you. i try to incorporate a little artistic talent and i'm an engineer, so i try to figure my display, so it's somewhat different than others you see in the area. reporter: charles, we'll come back in 30 minutes. stay with us. we have so much to show you. when he flipped the switch, literally, all of us, our jaws just dropped. it is beautiful out here. reporting live in colombia, linda stow, abc 2 news. in health news, johnson and johnson has some explaining to do after a washington couple says that company is responsible for their son's death. the parents allege their 2-year- old son was killed after taking defective children's tylenol that had been recalled. the incident was back in 2010 and according to the suit the parents gave the boy the medicine for a fever 30 minutes

later he was spitting up blood. he died the next day of liver failure. johnson and johnson says the recalls were not related to "serious adverse events." a new report out this morning says the government is beginning to crack down on company who do not provide an adequate place for breastfeeding mothers to pump breast milk. a law went into effect two years ago and under that law a bathroom is not considered a sufficient area. the huffington post reports 23 companies have been cited for failing to follow the law, including mcdonald's and starbucks. well, a gym in chicago is now making a headline with one and only one rule, no skinny people allowed. the gym is called downsize fitness and if you want to be a member, you have to be 50 pounds overweight. the owners say their goal was to create a place where people wouldn't be intimidated, so they started the rule and even fogged up the windows, had those installed so those outside couldn't see inside. the owners says once the client loses the weight they're allowed to stay on as a mentor

to new and incoming clienlts. a recall to tell you about this morning, target is now pulling 55,000 six-piece l.e.d. flashlight sets. when turned on, the flashlights can heat up, smoke or even melt. there have been four incidents, two where the victims suffered minor burns. ikea is now recalling the antelope high chairs due to a falling hazard. the restraint buckle can open unexpectedly, allowing the child to fall. eight incidents have been reported, three of the children suffered minor injuries. the high chairs were sold in red, blue and white from august 2006 to january 2010. news around the nation this morning, a gift from a stranger could have lanlded a great grandmother behind bars in pennsylvania. she says a man gave her what she thought were flower seeds. what popped out of the ground was marijuana. so when the police showed up, she was charged with possession and manufacturing of a controlled substance. thankfully on tuesday she was found not guilty. she says she has learned not to trust anyone. and a scary situation for one mom on the road with her

children. her suv hit a slick spot on the road and flipped over. luckily all of her children but one were strapped in, and her son ended up underneath the suv but mother nature had a hand in this. the soft and muddy ground allowed the child to sink in and also chopped up corn stalks provided just enough cushion to keep the weight of the car off of the child and thankfully this morning miraculously even everyone is doing fine. justin. >> that's amazing. chopped up corn stalks. that is amazing. maybe we can -- no, forget that idea. 4:52. let's check it out this morning. an enhancement of cloud cover, disturbance east of the mountains. you can see that flareup with clouds. that may impact us, at least holding our temperatures from dropping much lower. it is january, we're back to near normal, 27 degrees. but we're really not in a cold environment. in fact, we're going to be back up above normal as the main storm track is well to our north. one of the highlights in the future trend here and show you there's not much action, just

variable clouds going by. this will take us through sunday. what we really need to start looking at are the winds, the winds out of the southwest today, that helps to push up some warmer air, that's why we expect not only this afternoon but tomorrow afternoon to be in the 50s. then we really start shifting those winds. a weak boundary comes through, but not much moisture, temperatures drop back into the 40s. today not icy spots, for some reap that has held up. for some reason the old graphics are on the screen. follow the bottom there. 56 degrees is what we expect today. tonight we're back down to 35, and as we work our way on into the weekend, i wanted to point out some highlights here, nice stuff as we head on in through tomorrow. with a mix of sun and clouds, we'll get all the way up into the mid-50s, lows mid-30s, not as mild, but still above normal on sunday with a high of 47. it is 4:53 on the clock. here's angela with traffic. reporter: thank you, justin. good morning, everyone. as you head out for that friday morning drive, got some goo good news for you, especially those heading to annapolis on route 50, 301 at the split now

all lanes are open, westbound 50 at the split, no delays to report in the area at this time. let's go ahead and get a live look at traffic flow on 29. northbound 29 is a good route right now from elkridge making your way up to i-70, 70 eastbound moves well all the way over to 695 where we're looking live at the west side of 695. here's what you'll find passing baltimore, national pike, no early congestion on the outer loop, as you continue passing wilkins avenue. we are moving well to 95 on the southwest side and even over to 295 the bw parkway. back to you. we are just getting started here a few minutes before 5:00. the month-old argument flares up again on what was supposed to be a secret mission. was information leaked about the killing of osama bin laden and was it leaked to makers of a new movie. also we'll show you the most expensive tuneup to hit the auction block. you are watching "good morning maryland." we return in a moment with another look at your weather and traffic.

that's coming up in three minutes. we're back in a bit.

headlines around the world on this friday morning, officials at the pentagon say they will investigate whether defense officials leaked secrets to a new movie about osama bin laden. the decision comes after questions were raised about a "new york times" article that claims filmmakers were given classified information as they were making the movie. this is the same crew that made the movie "the hurt locker." they're now working on "the hunt for osama bin laden." that film is set to be released next december. china is now seeking to improve military ties with pakistan. chinese premier welcomed in the pakistani army chief in beijing for a six-day visit. there were promises for stronger military exchanges and cooperation. the army chief says developing a china/pakistan partnership is key to the foreign strategy for both countries. and in tokyo, a giant blue fin tuna went on the auction

block. the 754-pound fish was caught off the northern coast of japan and sold for just under $400,000. that's roughly $527 per pound. now, expensive sushi, it's more than $90 per piece. a baltimore county man will be sentenced today for the murder of a teenaged girl. i'm sherree johnson with more on this case after three years. a memorial service now set for ron smith. when you can pay your respects to the former iconic radio host. plus a protest planned over the proposed new gas tax increase. details on where you'll see those on your street coming up for the weekend. it is friday, january the 6th. good morning, maryland, i'm charley krauss. a bit of a warmup out there, more like early spring. let's get some answers here because, justin, it's january. >> it is january. it hasn't felt like winter. we had a little taste of it this week. oh, there will be a lot more. and, by the way, the local ski

areas are doing pretty well. we'll see if we can show you at least some of the slopes throughout the morning. we are looking at this 6th day of january that would normally bring us a 25, that's where we are, 41 the typical afternoon and that is not going to be the situation today. we start off this morning with a range of near freezing by the bay, churchville at 32 degrees, 28 up towards northeast and back towards the airford zone. if you're back to the west, if you're making the trip from mount airy to silver spring at 38. you'll miss out on the cold stuff. part of that is because of a little band of cloudiness that developed east of the mountains, trying to spread in through the beltways from d.c. to baltimore. probably more clouds this morning, but we are dry, maryland's most powerful doppler radar hovering between the mid-20s to 30 for most of us. we will make our way to 56 this afternoon. there's the warm stuff. but there is some winter just looming over the horizon. it is 4:59. let's check out that traffic again with angela. reporter: thank you, justin. on the roadways this morning, taking i-95 through the city, all lanes just reopened