husband. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay w a in a few hours lawmakers head back to annapolis for the start of the session. i'm linda so. coming up, why you could be paying taxes for the work they've done this year. >> and paying respects to man who meant so much to the campus. >> i'm lynette charles. we're celebrating this week. i'm not talking about the ravens, details coming up. >> good morning, maryland, i'm charley crowson. let's check in with meteorologist justin berk. >> 30 degrees in churchville.

the western suburbs with mid-30s. i want to highlight the band of clouds to our south. it's just across the potomac and will be sneaking and creeping in here. we could get a little sliver of sunshine, at least to make for a nice sunrise but the rain knocking on the door stepand a very intense storm system from texas yesterday, that pulls up and heads in our direction with heavy rain later on today. so we start dry but we'll end off wet. bring that rain gear. temperatures stuck in the mid-40s. 4:31. here's a first look at traffic. >> good morning. our first check of the roads, off to a great start for the wednesday morning drive. tunnel traffic checking out ok. if you're traveling on 895 at the harbor tunnel, a first check of 29 making the drive through the columbia elkridge region we're predgood

northbound and southbound there. live look at the beltway, 695 and providence road, inner loop and outer loop moving well on the north side between i-83 and i-95. lawmakers at the 2012 legislative session beginning today. for a preview of what we can expect abc2 news linda so. >> there's going to be a lot of discussion about raising certain taxes. first today will be largely ceremonial. kicks off officially at noon today. it's the typical first day of the session, the meet and greet. the governor is going to address both the house and senate. he's expected to take up some big issues this legislative session. those include legalizing same-sex marriage. that bill didn't get enough support last year in the house but it did pass the senate. the governor says he wants to also raise the state's gas tax to improve roads and bridges.

he also wants to double the flush tax on septic systems. right now that annual fee is about $30 a year. the senate president mike miller says he wants to expand gambling in the state, to authorize table games like black jacques at maryland's five slots casino and one at prince george's county, possibly rosecroft raceway or national harbor. there's a bill also to legalize mike legal -- medical marijuana. the session ends in april. same-sex marriage is also controversial in dc but for another reason. divorce, the dc council is considering legislation to make it easier for gay and lesbian couples in the nation's capital to get divorced. even if they no longer live in the district. currently one member of the couple has too live in dc for six months. in new hampshire, mitt

romney won after taking the iowa caucus a week ago. january 3rd he beat rick santorum in iowa by just eight votes. with this his second win romney's rivals are having to redefine what it means for them to chalk up a win. >> can't break 50% in a state that i think is his third best state after utah and massachusetts. it will be interesting to see how he makes the case he's the presumptive frontrunner. >> ron paul came in second place. rick santorum may finish in the lower half. the next stop, south carolina. that primary is set for january 21st. 9:00 a.m. is the deadline to file for candidacy in the 2012 presidential primary election. the filing location depends on the office you're seeking. all candidates should file at the state board of elections at

annapolis. the 2012 presidential primary election will be tuesday, april 3rd. the general election, again, tuesday, november 6th. newstime 4:34. robert richardson iii in court this afternoon for a bond hearing after accused of killing his father. the 16-year-old is accused of shooting his father to death and leading police on a chase in bel air yesterday. the hearing will be in harford county district court. more on that coming up on abc2 news and abc2news.com. opening statements will begin today in the murder trial of lee steven, charged with killing a corrections officer in 2006 at the now closed maryland house of correction in jessup. the case will be heard at 9:00 a.m. at the circuit courthouse in anne arundel county. the state is seeking the death penalty. two brothers in jail charged with attempted murder on new year's eve. harford county sheriffs' deputies say steven gauge and his brother tim though stabbed two people multiple times in front of a home in edgewood. police found the two victims at different locations.

during police interviews gauge said his brother was also at that scene. people pay respects to a coppin state student. jason islar last week died of cancer. we hear from his mom and get a glimpse at his life. sherrie johnson with what we can expect on the campus. it's a campus in mourning. >> reporter: that's right. we're here in west baltimore at the entrance of coppin state university where a little later this morning, 20 students will board a bus headed to washington, dc for justin's funeral. we introduced to justin in may of 2010. i had the pleasure of interviewing him and getting to know him a little bit. as he was working to complete his degree in sports management. after six years and many medical challenges justin received his degree in december of 2010. that was quite an accomplishment for him. he battled osseo sarcoma, it spreads throughout the body and

attacks the lungs. a few months ago his health went downhill. on january 2, 2012 he passed away with family and friends surrounding him. his mother remembers his last moments. >> i kissed him on his head. i told him, i said mom is proud of you, prouder of you now than i've ever been. but it's time for to you take your rest. you're tired, you've been fighting a long time. it's time for you to take your rest. so, as much as it hurts, it was time for him to take his rest. >> reporter: funeral services for justin will be held today in washington, dc, at new samaritan baptist church on florida avenue. the viewing will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with the funeral service beginning 1 11:00 a.m. again, that bus headed for washington, dc will leave right here from the campus at daly hall at 8:00 a.m. reporting live in west baltimore, sherrie johnson,

abc2 news. >> funeral plans have been made for a local airman killed in afghanistan last week. services will be held next tuesday for matthew sizeler, died from injuries sustained in an i.e.d. explosion. services will be in pikesville. he will be buried at arlington national cemetery. the ravens are not just tackling other teams on the field. listen. >> we don't win unless we work together. >> ray lewis and others in the nfl are tackling crimes in east africa. and controversial acts that led to 200 convicts free in mississippi who did it and why?

welcome back. ravens superstar ray lewis is in a new psa. he and a number of other nfl stars came together to record an ad raising awareness about the famine, war and drought for millions in east africa. as you make your way to work or school you may notice a lot of things like that ravens mascot, also the word "relentless." it started overnight. the ravens birds and cheerleaders, grounds crew were sentenceling, to show purple pride for the big game. keep an eye out. on sunday join us and the team as we get you ready for the big game against the texans. kickoff is 1:00 but our coverage starts at 9:00 a.m. sunday morning leading up to kickoff. be sure to join jamie costello, scott garceau, wyett everhart and more for a show you don't want to miss leading up to kickoff. time to check the weather and justin berk. >> 4:41.

this winter of warm air has been relentless. we're starting to break things down. we already had a cold shot a couple of weeks ago, we have one coming again. this morning, fairly typical, 28 baltimore, 30 easton. 21, clear skies towards york but south is where the clouds are dancing from. the high clouds are beginning in move in. we may be able to catch just a glimpse of daylight, really capture some of the beautiful sunrise across the area. still roughly an hour and-a-half to two hours away. we expect rain to move in. plan for a wet day as clouds move in. sneaking up throughout the morning. the rain develops during the afternoon. then looking for the heavier rain this evening after dark. temperatures in the mid-40s, may actually rise overnight. 4:42. let's check that traffic with angela. >> on the roads now we're still in the overnight traffic patterns, if you're traveling on 95 through the city, through the fort mchenry, two-way traffic pattern, also an additional road crew northbound 95 at o'donnell street, taking

up two left lanes. in the meantime, 95 as you make the drive past 175, northbound lanes all the way to 695 moving well. here's another view of the beltway, the west side moving without incident as you make your way past liberty road, inner loop and outer loop, clear for you at this hour. remember to follow us this morning, we're on twitter at maryland traffic. back to you. people once again have begun to gather in new york at zucotti park. why park officials removed barricades and a number of protesters occupying there again. and the unusual punishment one 14-year-old is receiving for constantly breaking the law and mom is behind this. your watching "good morning maryland."

4:45. 28 degrees. five things you need to know.

in east baltimore today, people will learn volunteer services and commitment in our area. correspondent is through the americorp volunteer project. and elementary schools will be taught about disaster preparation. they are known as the red cross players. and? zucotti park in new york, barricades were taken down tuesday night and more than 300 protesters returned. one tried to put up a tent but that was quickly taken down by security guards. convicts in mississippi have gotten lucky before -- haley barber granted 200 pardons, four men serving life sentences for murder. it also includes a rapist, burglar and embezzler. the ceo of fannie mae says he plans to resign. michael williams will stay until a successor is chosen, he

says. it's a week full of good food, good deals and great company. all of it begins tomorrow. we're talking about restaurant week in baltimore county. for a preview let's say good morning to lynette charles. what is going on? >> reporter: good morning. yes, not a lot going on now but i am in towson. i don't mind being out in the cold weather if i'm talking about food or if i'm actually talking about the weather. today i'm going to be talking about the former. i'm tired of being in the cold now so let's go inside. we're going to talk to the owner of the cafe. this is lisa troya martin. thank you so much for joining us this morning, lisa. i appreciate it. people that don't know about restaurant week, tell us about it. >> restaurant week in baltimore county started two years ago. we have come together, all the restaurants to do 10 days of

three-course prefixe deal. for lunchtime we do a $20, 12-cent lunch, three courses. dinner is $35.12. it's a great opportunity to come out, either try a restaurant for the first time or to come and try new dishes we've created for restaurant week. >> >> reporter: what is your restaurant. where did the name come from? >> it's a family name. authentic italian cuisine. we specialize in italian food. not any particular region but in the authenticity of the cuisine. so the different dishes we have you would find in italy and the recipes that we use are very traditional for that particular dish. >> reporter: perfect. we're going to talk to lisa a little later. she'll be with me all morning

long. my new buddy. i'm loving this ambiance in the restaurant. it's fine dining. we have our check list, fine dining, scrumptious food, check, check. and we'll talk more to lisa coming up. back to you in the studio. i'll take your list a little later because i know you always want me to bring you something back. >> thank you. newstime 4:49. we told you about the announcement yesterday. today we know that governor martin o'malley proposed more than $370 million for school construction for fiscal year 2013. if approved it would be the second highest funding level in state history. it also would bring the o'malley administration to six year school construction commitment to nearly $2 billion. in howard county the school system just received a little more than 20 acres of land. the land will be within the proposed oxford square development in hanover. in adigit to the land -- in addition to the land quit kellogg put money towards the

development of elementary school and middle schools. green bay packers were pulled from a river in wisconsin tuesday. police say michael philbin was with friends sunday morning when he went missing. his body was found in the river in the oshkosh campus. it will be a month before the autopsy can be brought back. a mom in indiana she is at her wit's end with her son. check out this story. what do you think? danisha says the list of her 14-year-old's crimes keeps growing. she thinks he should have more severe punishments. so she's making him wear a sign and stand on the street for two hours. some people say it's overboard. they called police but police say it's unconventional, sure, but here's the kicker. it's not illegal. mom can do what she wants.

a babysitter in north carolina is accused of locking two small children in dog cages. garland locked up the children, ages 1 and 3 first in the basement, then the cages. court documents explain why he was left in charge of the kids. he's due back in court february 17th. in texas a mother and daughter are pushing for toys for young girls. a barbie doll. kaley rider has cancer. so lift her spirits they are working to get a bald barbie. listen. >> kids know that, and it's ok to be bald and you're beautiful even though you don't have any hair. i think it's a wonderful idea. >> people behind the campaign will donate the proceeds to save the children's hospital. you can join the campaign, head to abc2news.com. and click on the facebook page,

you'll find it in the story. time to check the weather. 4:51. looking at the numbers. official numbers 28 in baltimore, 23 in ocean city. freezing richmond, 41 norfolk. the further south you go warmer stuff. these are the high clouds, this should allow the early morning sun to get through for most of us. the clouds will be thickening up in a hurry. don't plan on another nice day like yesterday. clouds spreading on in. we have two things to talk about, this storm system here, spreading heavy rain our way later today, overnight and gone by tomorrow morning. there's the arctic boundary, that catches up behind it. this is going to be the leading edge of much colder air that will arrive on friday morning and there may be enough moisture left over for a quick shot of snow before sunrise on friday. then it's going to start to feel a lot more like winter. our future trend highlights the rain for the commute on the way

home. hopefully the wiper blades are working, you have rain gear and it will feel like a raw end to the day with temperatures rising overnight. there's actually warm air behind the system. heavy rain after midnight, early tomorrow morning. again, rising temperatures, we'll have a warm windy day tomorrow. rain comes to an end for the morning commute. this particular computer model highlights rain maybe with a brief mix. others indicating there may be a quick shot of snow and colder, dry most of the daylight hours on friday and snow showers this weekend. take the rain jacket and plan for rain later in the day even though the start will be dry. here's angela with the traffic. >> no accidents to report so far but we have fire activity causing problems on bon fill street. fire -- bonneville street, near boston street. use extra caution in that area. otherwise, if your morning

commute includes a drive on u.s. 29, we checked out the lanes northbound and southbound, clear between route 32 all the way to i-70. for those of you in anne arundel county traveling on i-97, a live look at 97 and benfield boulevard, good to go from glen burnie all the way to 695. back to you. the cost of fuel is causing uproar in nigeria's commercial district. the drastic action some are taking and how far they say they will go to see the change they want. also, police in greece on the hunt for a valuable piece of artwork. how this and several other items turned up missing. you're watching "good morning maryland." as we go to break, that is a live look at wrigley field in chicago, 39 days until pitchers and catchers report.

around the

world, world joran van der sloot will be back in a peruvian court and sources say he will give a confession. he's accused of killing stephany flores in a hotel room in 2010. >> we are ready for war. if that is what you want. we'll fight you with our last blood! we fight you. >> angry youth showed how upset they are burning a roadblock outside of a luxury home in nigeria's commercial capital. this after the government eliminates popular fuel subsidies causing prices to double. labor unions are also upset over the high cost of fuel and have taken to the streets in lagos. reports say at least three protesters were killed, this is only yesterday. police are trying to find a painting someone stole from a national gallery in athens.

three works total were taken early monday. they tried to steal four but dropped one as they were making a run for it. visitors blocking china's second largest waterfall for a spectacular site. an ice curtain formed after temperatures dropped to minus 15 celsius. what is that in farenheit? the guy is a scientist. freezing, ice crystals, minus 15 degrees celsius. back to work for lawmakers in annapolis. i'm linda so, the issues that could have you paying more in taxes. >> students and faculty come together to remember one of their own at coppin state funeral. i'm sherrie johnson, with more. >> thank you, new hampshire! tonight we made history!

>> he won the first of the nation caucus and now the first of the nation primary. we'll look at last night's new hampshire primary. good morning, maryland, i'm charley crowson, wednesday, january 11th. let's check the forecast, the man always on his feet to answer the questions, meteorologist justin berk. >> i try i believe 5 degrees farenheit. >> that's why you make the big bucks. >> they get mad at me if i talk too much. i'm just a geek. we have a look at advancing clouds to the south. we have rain advancing from basically southwestern virginia through the carolinas. that tries to move in here by the afternoon. temperature 28 offic