wealthier citizens. individuals who make more than $100,000 or families making more than 150,000 would loose deductions and exceptions, forcing them to pay more. the governor would shift many of the costs of maintaining teacher pensions and benefits for the counties to the tune of about a quarter billion dollars a year. >> exercise in popularity, it's not a matter of greasing the weather vane, it's the best decisions to make on behalf of the families we serve. >> reporter: he said the tax hike would cost a family of four making more than $150,000 a year about $190. we will hear from critics on what it could cost in the classroom at six. >> all right. thank you. howard county police have found a woman wanted for questioning in connection with a town home where 40 dead animals were found. about half of them were found in a freezer, the other half

deprived of food, water and heat. a person of interest used to work for the aquarium but police haven't released the name. there are still 20 people missing in the wreck of a cruise liner but the effort to find them is on hold. we have the latest. >> reporter: here is the latest. the captain is under arrest right now after apparently refusing orders from the coast guard to go back on board when he abandoned ship. with rescue operations suspended the ship is shifting dangerously on the rocks and fresh worries tonight the ship may start leaking fuel. it's captain is offering a new reason for disappearing. the captain is quoted in a paper saying when the ship tilted he tripped and fell into a life boat. that's why he escaped while passengers and crew members fought for their lives.

his lawyer says the captain is grief struck ken stricken and. the night he told a coast guard captain you realize it's dark here and we can't see anything. the official yelled back and so what? you want to go home? italian coast guard captain surrounded by media as he goes there to the prosecutor's office. that coast guard captain who told him to get back on board is being called a hero in italy, the captain remains on house arrest facing possible charges of manslaughter in abandoning ship. prosecutors want him brought back to jail and say three others could also face charges. this video could support part of his story. it appears to show the same boat in august, passing even closer to the island, he claims he hit uncharted rocks and was not taking a risk steering close enough for a salute.

there are still more than 20 people reported missing including americans. one woman who had been on the list turned upa live in germany . >> thank you. the national highway traffic safety administration needs improvements. the academy said they were right to rule out electrical problems as a likely cause for the acceleration in toyotas but say the administration shouldn't have needed outside help for that. sciencists and nasa were called into investigate. toyota recalled millions of vehicles for problems related to the pedals and floor mat. your friends don't need to know about every song you hear on the radio. at least that's the position pandora has toward a new facebook feature. it lets you post songs they listen to and videos they watch and articles they read to their profile. the music site believes some may feel violated.

they have supported many of facebook's efforts in the past. >> every time we take a breath it posts how the breathing went. >> getting close. >> pulse rate. take a look to the west. we have got basically just some light snow showers out toward garret county and we had a few creep in as close as carroll earlier today. windy situation, gusts in to the 25 and take a look at some of the temperatures in the mid- 30s to upper 30s now. it feels colder than that with that wind now. windy the rest of the evening. we will talk about when the winds pick up. >> thank you. a westminister company that makes brakes and doors for passenger rail cars is expanding and that could lead to more jobs. they had a ground breaking ceremony today. right now they employ about 230 people. the expansion could add 60 jobs

by 2016. the expansion will let them meet the rising demand for safer rail cars. they helped get 450 million in federal funds for safety upgrades after the metro crash that killed nine people in washington in 2009. more fall out today about mitt romney's tax returns. while he hasn't produced them yet he did say that he taxes close to 15%. since that gingrich has already come out saying that he pays a much higher rate, like the majority of americans. >> we can confirm that i pay 31% and all -- let me be clear, the 21st century contrast with america has an optional 15% flat rate for every american. so my goal is not to raise mitt romney's taxes but to let everybody pay his rate and so i'm not going criticize him, just say shouldn't we all have

thing of a flat tax at the same rate? >> he is a pealing to voters ahead of the primary in south carolina, where he is hoping to get a boost. sarah palin has endorsed him. the ravens are taking onto patriots in the afc championship this sunday. how the team is preparing to kick some butt. and it's an effort to keep baltimore city student in school off the streets. how extending the school day is making a difference. and controversy brewing over the episode of modern family tonight. why there are calls to pull it.

. more than one third of

students in urban schools drop outputting them in a path of low wages and unestablish jobs. a new initiative offers a longer school day. it's a public private initiative of the after school cooperation could expanded. we have visit hilton elementary to learn more about the program. >> reporter: students at hilton in west baltimore are part of a new initiative called expand ed. it offers partnerships between schools and community organizations to expand learning time and options. >> i think what it is trying to do is not separate after school on one side and school day on the other side. how do we join together the effort of both so that if you are looking at how can what we are bringing -- how can that reinforce and really start to establish what is going on in the school day. >> reporter: the program is about three hours longer than

normal schools. there is more time for quality instruction and mentoring today students learning how to play the violin, they can also learn science, debate and dancing. >> we get time to actually have fun. like activities that you can do. i am -- i'm in dance, art and debate. >> reporter: hilton is one of three schools reaping the benefits of the longer school day. >> we are extending the opportunities for students for academic achievement, for social, emotional growth. we are looking for more well rounded students overall. >> reporter: the program is offered in schools in disadvantaged communities. the goal is to close the gap in opportunity and achievement. >> we are looking for more enhanced lifelong learnerring, students to be more competitive in the work force, more college

ready students, more career ready. >> reporter: they help students socially and emotionly against lives filled with hardship and hopefully put them on the road to academic success. abc 2news. >> expand ed schools started in three schools in baltimore, new orleans and five in new york city. 170 participated in the program. the family league of baltimore city incorporated helps with the program. >> now maryland's most powerful radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> all right. take a look out there. it's one windy day and the winds are much different than the warm breezes yesterday. today the winds out of the north and northwest, and definitely putting a chill on federal hill. 36 at pwi and northwest wind at eight miles an hour. take a look at some of the weather through the day.

we just lot of the annapolis camera. we will go to manchester and sunny skies giving way to a few clouds passing by. on the whole a nice day. in carroll snow showers earlier today, a few flurries, same deal in federal hill. windy day but a lot of sun throughout the afternoon. helping to take a little bit of the edge off that january chill in the air. maryland's most powerful radar showing all sweeps cleart. should stay so in to the next couple days. temperature wise mid-30s now and below freezing. winchester, out toward deep creek lake, way cold and that will settle into central maryland and earn shore because it's all headed our way. that cold air mass and you see that steady northwest wind around ten to 15, gusting to 20 or 25. the wind chill factor is relevant and feels like the mid20s in spots with that wind especially if you are standing outside in the shade. all right. take a look across the area right now.

not a lot of activity here. the few snow showers we had, carroll county westward, a bit of a spinoff of the lake effect snow streamers that have reached all the way down from lake eerie through southwest pennsylvania and west virginia and even into the western half of our state. cold, windy conditions, that's the story. high pressure out of the west and you can seal leading edge that dropped the temperatures. it's way off shore and we are left with winds that will lighten up through the evening. less windy later tonight but also temperatures dropping with that, and a cold start in the low 20s tomorrow. tomorrow will be an interesting day because we will start off with sun and cold starts, warm it up into the low mid40s. a new weather boundary pushing it out of the west will bring the chance for a few flurries as we go late tomorrow night and into early thursday morning. brief shot and then out of here and then friday looks like the sun back in to the picture before we get another

disturbance into saturday morning. they keep coming, one after the other. overnight 24 degrees. less windy, that's good but colder. the two degree guarantee tomorrow 42, a little bitl mildler and without the wind this will probably feel a noticeable amount warmer than what we had today. by tomorrow night temperatures down around 30, clouds on the increase. yes, breezy with flu flurries as that disturbance blows through. friday afternoon, we clear it out but friday night to saturday morning looks like a rain system that could have some snowflakes mixed in early saturday morning. brief system, doesn't look like a lot but we will watch that and right now we trended the weekend temperatures down as sunday we have down to the low 40s, we still think a burst of warmer air monday into tuesday. that's how things shape up for now. >> you just don't know which way to turn. changing by the dame. >> yes indeed. >> all right.

>> thank you. is it the best way to stop online piracy or is it censor ship? it has the potential to affect all of us who use the internet. we have the latest. >> reporter: they are credited with helping spark the air of spring. now social media sites the frontline in a different revolution >> speak up before the internet dies, speak up before the internet dies. >> reporter: they are fighting the stop online piracy act. . >> people are stealing, off shore criminals are stealing american jobs and content. everybody says we should stop that. >> reporter: supporters including the motion picture association of america, the record industry and disney the parent company of abc say the bills will crack down on copy

right infringement and piracy. others claim it'll kill the internet. >> it's a shoot first investigate later approach. it'll do little more than kill innovation and kill the tech factor. >> reporter: we just don't know the consequences of saying you have to block sites. >> reporter: in protest wednesday at midnight wikipedia went dark, did hundreds of other sites. click the black banner on google and you will reredirected to contact your representative. the backlash is working. the white house said it won't support either bill in it's current form and even the co sponsor is back pedaling, wednesday he and two others said they are pulling their names the bills. the house was set for a test vote next week. that may not happen, now that a

growing number of representatives are asking for more time to study the measure. abc news. >> tomorrow is the birthday of one of baltimore's most loved citizens, edgar allen poe. for decades a mysterious man left a rose and cognac on his gravestone. after he failed to appear two years in a row fans plan one last vigil tomorrow before calling an end to the yearly tradition. and now to tonight's hot topic. an anti profanity crusader asked abc to pull tonight's episode of modern family. apparently tonight a toddler appears to use a curse word that is bleeped out. a 2-year-old shocks her parents with her first curse word. the child aboutly said fudge

when the show was taped. abc hasn't commented. we want to know what you think. is the episode inappropriate or just funny? head to the fan page and air in. modern family airs tonight at nine. there is progress in the fight against obesity but not everybody is winning the battle. what groups saw an increase in rates. and you never are to old to learn. how mental exercises help seniors.

. in tonight's health alert it's no secret that drinking alcohol while pregnant can lead to birth defects. a new study looks at when that

damage happens. researchers looked at the driving patterns of nearly a thousand pregnant women and found the second half of the first trimester tended to be the first time that babies started developing problems like low weight and head and facial problems. babies showing the signs were born to both heavy and light drinkers. researchers say the findings show no amount of alcohol is safe to drink while pregnant. the country is making some progress in the fight against obesity but it's not all good particulary for boys. two reports find that about one in three adults and one in six children and teens are over weight. the rate among boys climbed 29% passing girls for the first time. health experts say the national effort to reduce obesity, particularly among children and teens isn't working. however maryland eva have and

dc all have adult obesity rate that fall below the national average. that's good news. head injuries and e sessions weight are a bad combination for former professional football players. researchers compared over weight retired nfl players to those of a normal weight and found that the over weight player has less blood flow to key areas of the brain. that means they are more likely to have dementia. and the red cross is ordered to turnover $9.5 million after inspectors found hundreds of safety violations in almost off of their collection centers. they included ineffective donor screening failure to road new donors within effected blood to the national list of deferred donors. the fda said the violations

shouldn't compromise the nation's blood supply. the red cross is addressing the issue movement seniors who ice their minds are more open to new ideas and experiences. a study looked at 183 adults over the aim of 60. half why given training sessions and home work to help improve under their mental function. they did problem solving taxes like reading a bus schedule, it followed for 16 weeks. every seven days the group in training gave in their work and got new material that was more difficult each time. by the end of the study those that had been challenged scored higher on the test this tended to think more creatively and set up new and challenging experiences more than their peers who didn't have that extra training. one of the interesting stories you will find. that's the place for you'll the health news you need. log on, check out the page, lue find the health headlines and different categories to help you find information that you

and your family need. coming up the doctor treating nearly a dozen new york teens said he knows why they can't control their behavior. what he says is the mystery illness behind their symptoms. and southwest is making big changes. what they are planning when you can expect to see the results. and the ravens, we all know this just days the afc championship. how they and their fans getting ready.

. the governor releases hid spending plan showing he wants to rely on taxes to make up a

deficit. the plan doesn't mention raising the sales or gasoline tax but it does include a possible shifting of the cost of teacher pension back to the county. the search for 20 people still missing in the wreck of that cruise ship that ran aground has been suspended. the captain under house arrest is offering a new explanation for his actions. he is a accused of abandoning the ship but said he tripped fell into a life boat and that's why he escaped as passengers struggled to stay alive. ? anyone hoping to do research on wikipedia had to look elsewhere. the site that went black in protest of anti piracy legislation. all right. we know the afc championship is sunday and the ravens are getting ready to roll. today the team talked about their prep and positive attitude that will lead them to victory over