that's what's making news in america this morning. stay it's going toen an exciting session and we have plenty of work that remains to be done. >> day two of the session and already one issue has people talking this morning. why it could be better to shop in delaware. it's been a year and-a-half since that crash that left her with brain damage. the sentencing continues today for the driver accused in the crash. and get ready at m&t m&t bank stadium. coach harbaugh on how to defeat the houston texans. we're purple for you this morning. thank you for watching "good morning maryland." breaking news from north carolina. a tornado cuts through the

western area of that state last night. three people were injured and dozens of homes and buildings damaged thus far. this new video into the newsroom overnight. let's get right to meteorologist justin berk with a check of our weather because as you forecast yesterday storms throughout much of the region. >> we got the storms in the south, we're getting residual rainfall pushing our way and still have big changes over the next 24 hours. our rain will end this morning, it will be windy and warm, then overnight tonight there will be a burst of rain to snow with the arctic boundary. there's a possibility that some of the region could get a quick inch before sunrise tomorrow as the freeze comes in here. normally we would be down to 24 and high of 41 degrees. it looks like it's anything but a real normal day. rainfall, light to moderate around the region but this band of heavy rain between baltimore and dc, especially down towards howard county and pushing across route 100 and up 29, looks like it heads back in. we have heavy rain to deal with

for the next little bit. the rain then ends -- these temperature are wrong. these are right. 50s with variably cloudy skies. the roads are wet. let's check the traffic with angela. >> good morning. you are correct, the roads are wet so prepare for a commute that may involve extra travel time if it's possible this morning. slippery conditions and puddles on the roadway. first live look at u.s. 29 at maryland 108, very light volume but again be prepared for spray and standing water. beltway, west side of 695 at baltimore national pike, our south view showing very light volume but still plan for extra travel time if you can this morning. first day of the 2012 legislative session kicked off and already a hot button issue for debate, there's talk in annapolis about another sales tax increase. and abc2 news sherrie johnson with more on how why this could be necessary. >> reporter: today during the

legislative session lawmakers will look at education, health and environmental affairs as well as other things, but governor o'malley suggested 7 cents on the dollar could be the solution. the plan is to cut the multimillion-dollar deficit. maryland sales tax went from 5 cents to 6 cents after a special session in 2000 seven. the governor told radio hoaflt mark steiner leading up to the session there's been talk of the increase in the gas tax, a move also opposed by republicans. they say the idea of a sales tax increase may be an attempt to provide political cover for the gas tax. >> $500 to $700 million depending on the forecast. all of which can be addressed and for the greater part in the future by a one-penny sales tax. >> the leaders of the house and senate were saying no general tax increases. >> reporter: senate president

mike miller, also a democrat, says the sales tax increase is not going to happen. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> we want to know what you think. on our facebook fan page we got more than 75 comments so far. it's exploded overnight. brittany says -- i'm only 21 and ready to move out of the state and don't get to start on the toll prices yet. a lot of people probably weighing in with similar thoughts. today there will be sentencing for the drug diver that killed a university professor and seriously injured her son. it happened outside of cleveland, ohio, august, 2010. corrine redmond with more on what is expected in court. >> reporter: it's been a long and emotional road. that left his wife dead and two sons injured. one is wheelchair-bound. the fight has gone to capitol hill to try to get tougher laws passed against how long truck drivers can stay on the road.

fatigue and negligence led to the deadly crash in ohio in which his wife, a professor at stevenson university was killed, the truck driver was driving a triple trailer at the time of the crash he's accused of falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into the back of the slattery family car. he will be in court in ohio today. he wants to pass the law to increase rest time for drivers. but slattery has been a long time critic of the process. >> if the american people knew what the hearings were i think they would be more angry than now. >> the truck driver was charged by a grand jury with one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault to which he pled guilty to. we're getting word of a condition of a man in a wheelchair left trapped in a baltimore subway train. medics rescued him yesterday in downtown baltimore at the

lexington market station 3:00. it's not yet clear how the man ended up there. authorities say the man suffered cuts and bruises. time now for a little sports. we're getting new reaction from ravens head coach harbaugh about the sunday showdown. baltimore is a 9-point favorite in sunday's game. the ravens worked out yesterday and coach harbaugh says they are counting now on the 12th man. >> fantastic. our fans are loud, passionate. you don't see very many opposing colors in our stadium ever. we appreciate that as an organization and as coaches. >> they did have some fun yesterday. the new if fu man chu look in honor of joe flacco. jamie costello and scott garceau will broadcast live

from the press box tailgate near m&t bank stadium yesterday as we get you ready to watch the ravens first home game in baltimore in five years. it starts sunday morning at 9:00. breaking news -- coming up out of north carolina. the latest on where a tornado touched down and new images just coming into the abc2 news room. we'll bring it to you. and new developments after a pardon of 200 people. who is now being kept in prison? and ladies, are you tired even after eight hours of sleep? the danger that is now becoming what doctors call an epidemic. this is our nation's capital in dc. justin has the weather close to home and the commute too.

how many ever seconds it took, shral nell flying in there, i thought we were dead. i thought it was it. >> breaking news out of north carolina where we're still getting new images and reaction from what is believed to be a tornado that hit the western part of north carolina yesterday. the national weather service will confirm in a few hours. usually after daybreak, if in fact it was a twister. that storm left three injured and countless homes and businesses damaged. as we get ready to look at the forecast here, generally, when the national weather service goes in they look at debris patterns and twisting patterns, correct? >> that's right. how far scattered -- well, you know, you've been in tornado country, that is what they are looking for. it's one thing to see it on doppler. it's one thing to take pictures of damage as they investigate to see how strong it is. for documenting and insurance purposes especially. leading the charge, mount airy middle school, an inch and-a-half of rain with this storm event.

an inch and a quarter in dundalk. i'll be there later this morning talking to the our lady of mount carmel lower school. a weather talk today. 48 degrees, the numbers down there in southeast baltimore county. look at the radar pushing through, moderate rain through the region. next one to two hours are wet and then we dry out. maybe another shower into the afternoon with that system. then this arctic boundary, look at this, blizzard conditions in the midwest. that slides our way. that could get a quick inch of snow by daybreak tomorrow. 45 to 50 with the rain ending, a mostly cloudy afternoon after some breaks of sun. then look for showers returning later. 4:41. let's go back to the roads with angela. >> on the roads now looking pretty good as far as incidents go, we're dealing with the wet slippery conditions out there. so let's get our first live tour of i-95, south of baltimore. 95 at maryland 175, moving well especially for those southbound motorists heading towards the dc region to i-495. let's go up north to cecil

county, i-95 at the tydings bridge, no reported trouble there despite the overnight construction. we are blocking a southbound lane at the bridge there but 95 moves well continuing through harford county and further south, just north of maryland 43 in the rosedale region, good all the way to the fort mchenry tunnel. the final batman movie doesn't reach theaters until july 20th even though tickets for the i'mas showings have -- imax showings have already gone on sale and some shows have sold out. new york is one of the place that's already sold out. the tickets sold through fandango. a university trying to fix its reputation after accusations. the meeting that became tense. >> do you have trouble sleeping at night? i'm linda so. why if you're a woman you might

have a hidden condition you don't know about.

4:44. 45 degrees. restaurant week begins today. 36 restaurants will be taking part. dishes run from $10 to $35. it lasts until january 21st. vice president joe biden will be in the swing state of ohio later today. he will be talking at a high school later this morning. arnie duncan will be in attendance as well. and wrigley field, the chicago area gearing up for eight inches of snow expected to fall in the next 24 hours. later this morning a winter weather advisory goes into effect at 9:00 a.m. wind gusts could go to 35 miles per hour. the city council will rename nine blocks of an avenue as

dr. martin luther king avenue. james earl ray met him in 1968. martin luther king is monday. and live pictures from tokyo. the treasury secretary tim geithner is paying a one-day visit to japan. he has meetings with the finance minister and prime minister of that country. did you get a good night's rest? linda so has more to tell us about hidden problems many women may not even know they have. >> reporter: it's because this condition is usually associated with men. sleep apnea but more and more women are being diagnosed like kathy rossi, she tossed and turned for hours, wasn't able to get good sleep and was constantly exhausted. it took six doctors and six months to be diagnosed because she didn't have the typical symptoms, that is usually the case with women. that is why so many go undiagnosed. for example, women may not snore, the trademark red flag

in men. once kathy was properly diagnosed she slept with a machine, that pumps air to the airways keeping them open. she was able to sleep soundly at night and no longer dealt with the pain of exhaustion. >> it hurt, i want to die. i was on one interstate and the next thing i knew i was on another road and i had no idea where i was. >> reporter: at night, look for irregular breathing or gasping. during the day, if you have a dry mouth, headache, exhaustion or mood changes, it can be a sign of sleep apnea. linda so, abc2 news. a mississippi judge is nor forbidding -- now forbidding more prisoners pardoned by outgoing governor haley barbour. he approved a pardon for almost 200 people including 14 convicted murderers. five convicts released sunday. the attorney general says the governor violated mississippi's constitution.

>> how is the state of mississippi better off? how is the country better off? the guys won't stay in mississippi. they will be all over the united states. >> a court hearing on the matter is set for january 23rd. the story is remaining a talker. weigh in on facebook with this. we had this story yesterday. many of you weighed in throughout the course of wednesday. continue this conversation today. what do you think about what is going on in the state of mississippi? new reaction from the penn state alumni about how the university handled the sex abuse allegations against jerry sandusky. penn state's university president got an earful from a crowd of 600 alum wednesday in pittsburgh. many expressing anger over how the school handled the sex abuse scandal. >> what you did to coach paterno is unconscienable. >> i feel as a university we turned our back on joe

platania, it seems to me that the board of trustees should step down and a new one created. [ applause ] >> the statement submitted on-line drew a 30-second applause. other meetings are planned in suburban philadelphia and new york. mitt romney is campaigning now in south carolina hoping to confirm victory for the race for the republican presidential nomination. he won the new hampshire primary tuesday and captured the iowa caucus last week. the gop front frontrunner is talking about increasingly about his plans for challenging president obama in the fall, not his primary challenger. newt gingrich's campaign is portraying romney is a a gordon gekko-type character, you remember him from "wall street." more on the new tv ad. mr. gingrich has a 30-minute documentary that is planned to air coming up soon. washington authorities say

a woman 18 miles the wrong way on the highway thursday morning, hitting 100 miles per hour she scared a number of drivers. troopers say the driver topped 100 miles per hour during an 18-mile trip all going the wrong way. >> police say the woman has no prior convictions. she bailed out of jail late wednesday morning. a man who answered the door at her home says she doesn't remember a thing. newstime 4:50. a woman near denver has damage to her mini van and a vehicle after sliding into a car yesterday. the snow arrived at the worst possible time, right around rush hour. slick roads meant lots of accidents as the morning commute turned into a nightmare

for many motorists. if you've ever been caught in a situation like this, oh! >> you look for the breakers. got to keep moving. that's what we're missing. snow lovers, that image is what we're missing, right? i put up something on facebook about an hour and-a-half ago, like 3:00. i was quoting a matchbox 20 song. i'm amazed by 18 people that responded and 22 people that liked it. what are you all doing up at this hour? i know there are overnighters and early workers. thank you for joining us. a couple of shout outs. 50 in baltimore, 55 easton. justin snyder is watching this morning, colin is in pasadena wishing it was snow. jeff, thank you. we have a couple of other people here. in fact scott saunders at preston in 2:00 was pretty sure thunder woke him up. caleb moved to annapolis from texas saying where is the snow? they are getting more down

there than up here. bel air is about to get hefty rains. cordova's snow in alaska, would be nice if they shared it. heavy band of rain, the last one with the system swinging through. there's a little spin starting to swing through now. we have ourselves a look on back towards the south and west. again, a look towards arctic air back towards the west. it's not the zoom i wanted to show you. this is probably what is going to show up now. look at the heavy snow in parts of the new england. great for the ski resorts, they may go to rain and then back to snow. blizzard conditions in the midwest sweep through chicago. what's wrong with this thing? we'll have to adjust our maps for you. i want to highlight while we may get warm winds there may be a brief band of rain then going to snow. could be a quick inch for some of you this time tomorrow morning. winter tries to come back in

earnest but today a warm day, upper 50s and the rain ending in the next couple of hours. let's check the traffic. it will be slow early on. >> you are correct. it will be slow out there, a lot of standing water, puddles everywhere. and a problem reported in monkton, fire activity at old york road near sutton drive. plan for reduced speeds. 29 at maryland 108 northbound and southbound moving well through the clarksville region through the dc area. i-83 for those coming from monkton, i-83 at 45, york road, north and southbound moving well through the parkton region. as you continue through cockeysville, 83 southbound at shawan road clear all the way to 695. he was the prime suspect in the disappearance of american natalee holloway. now this morning, joran van der sloot convicted of a murder of a peruvian woman. two years ago today a massive

earthquake killed thousands in haiti. now there's even a larger problem this morning. you're watching "good morning maryland." we're monitoring what is going on in north carolina.

joran van der sloot pleading guilty wednesday to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old peruvian woman. he met at a lima casino, who was killed five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance of american teen natalee holloway. he remains the prime suspect. this morning holloway's father is speaking out about joran van der sloot's plea. >> the we'll see what kind of sentence he gets. i don't think he's sincere to be honest. >> a judge will sentence him tomorrow. holloway, an alabama teen

disappeared during a high school graduation trip to the caribbean island of aruba. where van der sloot grew up. two years ago today, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck haiti, sending an already struggling nation into a tailspin. organizations estimate more than 3,000 people were injured, nearly 5,000 schools damaged or destroyed and 1.5 million people left homeless, according to u.s. aid the quake affected 1/3 of the country's population. the housing crisis remains one of the largest issues this morning for the still plagued haiti. several thousand people marched through the capital port-au-prince wednesday protesting against what they say is a lack of new housing. the marchers chanted and waved signs for faster building and more local development and control. one in four have the health care and food many think they need.

there's talk of another sales tax increase coming up in annapolis. i'm sherrie johnson, a look at how much you could be paying coming up. >> i'm corrine redmond. a housekeeper in bethesda is assaulted after a home invasion. two suspects are on the loose. details coming up. >> we all need sleep but many women aren't getting it. i'm linda so, the hidden condition keeping us from a good night's rest. it's thursday, january 12th. good morning, maryland, i'm charley crowson. it's a wet start to this thursday. we have breaking news out of north carolina where a tornado is believed to have touched down in the western part of that state. locally, what can we expect in look for an answer from meteorologist justin berk. >> energy pushing through with heavy rain. let's start with maryland's most powerful doppler radar. in fact i'll stand on this side, and focus on central and eastern portions of the state. i want to highlight that in the last hour lightning just being indicated around the middletown area, newington.

this heavy stuff pushing through southeast pennsylvania near philadelphia but definitely heavy boomers, heavy rain in cecil county and about to ease up a little but it's really coming down now along i-95. bel air is about to get this round. this is pushing up i-95 so whitemarsh about to get really heavy. watch what is coming from the west. mount airy down through silver spring and laurel and pushing on towards annapolis and all of anne arundel county. glen burnie, severna park, pasadena, green haven, it's going to get wet and it's going to come down and be loud at least for the next half-hour to hour. dundalk, at one point -- i'm going to check on this 3 1/2 inch mark in fallton. me may have -- they may have had a heavy burst. 45 to 50, rain ending the next couple of hours but it will be warm, 58. there could be snow though this time tomorrow. we'll talk about that. right now traffic with angela. >> on the roads if you're tt