good morning i am charley crowson. >> i am megan prinkeling. good to be -- pringle good to be back. >> you've been gone since september and the first show back. how is the sleep change? >> it's a process. it's rough and gotten a lot better than in the beginning. >> have you slept since the newborns came into the world? >> not peacefully, but, yes. an hour here and there and they are the best babies in the world. so i feel like if they sleep but it's i don't. >> pictures in bit after a check of the forecast and say hello, to meteorologist lynette charles. >> good morning. we are definitely dealing with wet weather out there this morning. a far cry from yesterday right? well, we take the good with thebad. make sure to grab the rain gear. we are seeing more as a solid shield move in around bel air and baltimore. we can zoom in some of the areas tawnytown in on later -- lighter rain starting to slide. and thurmont is drying out and woodsboro and even into walkersville. we slide down and see mountary

is -- airy is getting in on the action -- mount airy getting in the action. armor rain along laurel. along i-59 odoneton getting on heavier rain and you can see in the yellows. and then as we slide moreover to glen burnie around baltimore, we are dealing with some heavier rain, but i am going to tell you when it's all going to be over and you have to stick around for that. but now a check of traffic with angela. >> reporter: good morning. all in all, it's a good traffic morning as you get ready to head out. we will have a live look at the beltway in a moment. first i want to check on the drive heading into down a town right now. northbound 295 looking good past waterview and 359 coming in from the south it's wide open and coming off 95 to conway street. no reported troubles and all lanes are open for you there. around the beltway on the top side we are looking good as we get a live view of 695 at delaney valley road. also on the southwest side at wilkins avenue, all lanes moving well on both loops of the beltway.

and we had a chance to speak with mark jones of the m-ta. your buses and all rail lines moving on schedule for you this morning. over to you charley. >> mitt romney followed up a digit double digit loss to newt gingrich with a route of his own in florida. abc2 news sherrie johnson looks at the gender gap that came to play in the sunshine state. >> reporter: the exit polling shows gender gap is one reason mitt romney scored a double digit victory in the gop primary. women abandoned gingrich in droves. returns from 98% of florida's precincts shows romney with 46% of the votes to 32% for gingrich the former house speaker. for the first time in the campaign, exit polls showed a gender gap worked in rom neigh advantage e lead 52 to 28 among women votes and was winning man by a smaller margin of 41 to 36. gingrich has been married thee times. only about half of women voters said they had a varvable -- favorable view of him as a

person compared to 8 in 10 in romney. gingrich vowed to press on despite the setback. sherrie johnson. following the florida primary mitt romney look ahead -- looking ahead to nevada winning out 46% to 32% to newt gingrich. others who pulled out of the race are sticking with gingrich's side despite the loss saying that it's very early in the race and we have 46 states to go. >> the fact that we are early in the contest and it's going to take 11 # 4 electric -- 1144 electoral votes i believe the upcoming states and super tuesday will give us more information about whether or not he can hold those demographics. >> catholics around the nation not too please with the president this morning. they are upset with the federal rule requiring catholic university hospitals and catholic based charities to including birth control and other reproductive services in the health care coverage. roman catholic leaders oppose

artificial birth control. >> we pay for the services for people who work for us and we are saying don't do it but giving the money to pay for it. >> cardinal designate o'brien called the decision shocking and disturbing. and he said it would force a surrender of believes in favor of politics. one of the most prominent charities working to prevent and cure breast cancer has cut ties with planned parenthood that believes this decision is political. however, komen said that it's about grant making decisions not politics. we want to know what you think about this decision. if you want to read more, you can. head to our facebook fan page. it's on the website. and yowing can weigh in. head to facebook.com and go to the wmar facebook fan page and check out story and let us know what you think. police in dallas, texas, say a tsa agent is responsible for the theft of ipads from number of checked bags. the agent works in the terminal

not at the checkpoints but out of sight. that's where police say they think clayton dovel has been stealing them. 7 total were found and employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. and here's an interesting story. after a trooper caught the mayor of a south carolina town for speeding, authorities say the mayor hit his blue light looking for a free pass for the speeding charge. the trooper charged the mayor preacher with running 70 in a 55 and second after the trooper hand out the ticket, the mayor made a u-turn and pulled the trooper over. kicker is the mayor -- the kicker is the mayor is former law enforcement. it's unclear if he had the authority a make the stop. preacher will appear before a judge for the speeding ticket. in massachusetts and fbi raid has the agency in hot water a two-year investigation into drugs and weapons led them to the second floor of an apartment building. but they went to the wrong apartment. the feds chain sawed into the

apartment before realizing they hit the wrong spot. the suspect was next door and they got him, but not before scaring a young woman and her three-year-old daughter. in new york, police found 800 marijuana plants growing in a building in the bronx. now apparently the entire floor of the 5-story building was dedicated to the drug operation. three people were arrested a tip from the community led to that bust. it's hard to believe the nfl season is almost over. not over yet but we are starting to think about baseball. 18 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training and the orioles are loading up and heading out to florida. we will give you a preview. and the end of january felt like may didn't it? so what's going to happen with this spring like weather? we will take a look when we get back from new york for this morning's tech bites. >> reporter: good morning. facebook has a timeline for success. today the social network is expected to ask to start selling shares of the stock and

pushing the timeline feature heavily that could help the company's value when shares go on sale this may. sales were good for amazon but the profits plunged more than 50%. that's because the internet retailer is spending a lot of money on the warehouses, technology and kindle and they warn first quarter sales could be disappointing. and here's the design of the upcoming phone of blackberry. it's similar to black bury and playbook tablet the blackberry 10 is expected in stores later this year and we don't know how to put down our phones a. study finds 3/4 of us admishe -- admit we bring the mobile devices when we go to the john. 40% say they serve -- sur of the weep -- surf the web in the bathroom and some make purchases there.

now "good morning maryland." so the warm weather is not only being enjoyed by those of us up right and walking with two feet but in tennessee unlikely animals getting out and enjoying the warmth as well. tortoises you call turtles got a nice treat. they are not usually outside until spring when the temperatures reach at least 60. not so much. the chimps were out also as well hanging out on the rocks and soaking up the sun. warm weather may help an exhibit open sooner. the sun is drying out a muddy construction site and push it be - if the warm weather should stick around it could open earlier. the only one not enjoying the above average day is leopards. you know it didn't just dry out animals but it dries out animals as well. my dog loved the extra long walk. we can see where the rain is and basically texas now starting to dry out. we are starting to see showers

now work their way into tennessee and all this is heading up to the north. and we are getting in on the rain this morning. so, it is kind of moderate in some spots. but then we can see we will get a break. that's some good news. but, the heaviest stuff comes in going through tomorrow morning. it's like two mornings of wet weather out there. but all in all, we will need the rain gear as we go through the morning. and then we can put it away for a little while and we will have to pop it back out. keep it with you and your briefcase and kids backpack heading off to school. right now, temperatures deaf in thely the silver lining out there because we are mild. 52 in baltimore and good morning glen burnie right around 52 as well. and 5 # degrees in to arnold. i am going to tell you how warm -- 52 degrees in to arnold. i am going to tell you how warm it will get. now over to and will with the -- angela with the traffic. >> reporter: we are getting the rain, the roads are still in pretty good shape. we had a look at 795. it's moving well in the southbound direction to that northwest side of the beltway. and if you are heading out on

the harrisburg expressway this is what to expect. southbound lanes picking up of course but still moving at a high rate of speed or a regular rate of speed. no speeding out there so far. and still pretty light especially in the northbound direction. if you are traveling around the beltway right now, we have no reports of incidents inner loop and outer loop on the top side look live at harford road moving well for you between 95 on the northeast corner and i- 83. megan and charley. over to now. >> thanks. superbowl 46 less than a week away. police are looking for all sorts of thing. coming, what's turning up in india and what security are doing to fight back. cot dollar be a thing of the past. a move to drop the paper and make way for the coins. we will explain when "good morning maryland" continues but before going to break a. live look downtown baltimore. domino's sugar plant lit up at locust point.

what do you get when you combine the home depot with this weekend? the cure for cabin fever. because with... get-it-done savings on everything we need... ...we can turn this weekend into a fresh floor... ...or an updated bathroom...

...or a brand new look. so let's hit those orange aisles - and make today the day - we make a big difference - no matter how big our budget. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get more project for your money - like this valencia vanity, now just 199 bucks.

now "good morning maryland." women out there, how would you like to put on a construction hat and strap on a tool belt. linda so is here with what some women are doing that's not traditional women's work and some say it's a man's job.

>> reporter: there's an innovative program in california training women to survive some grueling back breaking work. the reason is because traditional male blue color jobs can may a -- pay a lot more. ironworkers make on average 23 bucks an hour waitresses make just 10. the program teaches safety,timekeeping and how to find work and handle discrimination. if you make it through the grueling ten weeks you can be on are way like donna who was a waitress scraping by on minimum wage and but is an ironworker making twice as much. >> at the end of the day you are dearthy and sweating and don't smell the greatest. and that's fine with me. >> fine fine with me too if you get paid more. progeeked a million construction jobs will be added over the next 6 years and as the economy recovers giving women the incentive to tough it out. linda so, abc2 news. 15 minutes away from 6. other consumer news, be prepared for sticker shock when you go to the store to buy

beef. the agriculture department says beef prices are on the rise. ranchers are keeping fewer cattle. the drought hit corn crops and when corn is expensive ranchers can't afford to feed as many animals. last year prices rose 10% and ranchers say 2012 is expected to be just as bad. it's an issue dividing americans a plan to stop making dollar bills in favor of coins. two u.s. senators are pushing for this. republicans senator john mccain of democrat tom harkin of iowa they say it's going to reduce wasteful spending in the long run. the senate introduced the bill yesterday. last year the government accountability office found using coins saved more than 5 billion dollars over the next 30 years. it feels like baseball weather and today the o's are packing up equipment and heading to sarasota for spring training. first trucks loaded up less thanfour hours ago and pitchers and catchers report in 18 days

opening day sunday april 1st at tampa bay. hope onlier april 6th a friday. catch that again the twins. the superbowl is on sunday. the truth is the ravens season is over and today the team will make it official. the owner and general manager along with the coach will sit down in front of the media for the close out of the season media conference. the annual event will take place at 2 this afternoon in the auditorium off the owings mills practice facility. they will prepare for next season and the first step is going to be the upcoming draft. by the end of the week, prosecutors say they will tell jerry sandusky the names of the 10 men identified as alleged victims in the sex abuse in his case. attorney general's office will turn over time, locations and additional information that will back up the 50 criminal count against the former penn state coach. 5:47. law enforcement in indianapolis trying to get rid of counterfeit nfl gear. a fbi sweep at fort wayne

novelty stores netted bags of counterfeit nfl gear days before the superbowl. at the store official found bags and boxes of items that shouldn't have been on store shelves. >> we can't be everywhere at any given moment in time but again it's consumer be aware. we are out there. we are watching those distributing the counterfeit merchandise. you may get by today or tomorrow but we will find outin. >> in indianapolis it only allows for august eyed stores to sell the real deal. last year they seeed counterfeit merchandise valued at 4 million bucks. it's 5:48. we have all four of us on the set. welcoming megan back and we want to invite you to go to facebook and welcome her back. she is back with twins. >> the twins are not here. >> they are in the car. >> they better not be. >> yes. no. i've been told they are sleeping and doing well. >> how many times have you

checked p. >> more than i want to addid -- checked? >> more than i want to admit. it was tough leave them i want to thank everyone who sent the nicest messages. it's really like a sweet experience because this has been an amazing and wonderful adventure. >> i wonder if you've been overwhelmed i was scared to call because i know everyone was call. >> call and come visit. >> i send messages because i can only imagine but i bet you want to be with them all the time and kiss them and hug them. >> i do. the other day rob is like get out of the crib and i was trying to crawl in there. >> this is a new photo similar to the one you showed 45 minutes ago. >> yeah. this is actually an old one. this is when they were a week old. and it's so crazy looking at this photo because now they are 12 weeks and i feel like oh, remember when. >> are they outgrowing the newborns. >> yes and it's so sad. just the little outfits that they fit into and now they are too big for. but, you know i. guess that's how it goes. they are growing and healthy

and i couldn't be more blessed. so, it's been a wonderful experience. lynette keep the warm weather because i have all sorts of cute spring outfits. >> i know. >> i know it's february. >> if you dress them up today, make sure they have a umbrella with it. a little hat. hike that. so right now, across the middle of the nation, we have cold air in points westward. but the further east you come we are dealing with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. and we will do it all over again for today, this afternoon. the wind definitely aiding in the warmup. as the satellite and radar shows, the rain comes down across the area. but we will get a break as we go more into the afternoon. and the milder air surging in and we are waiting for the cold front to pass overnight. it will drop temperatures down but before it does so we will have another crack at the rain tomorrow early in the morning so rush hour can be a little on the dicey side once again. but then we will be seeing plenty of sunshine roll into the area as we go into friday. for today, that temperature

right around 67 degrees. and mild with showers out there. and by tonight, temperatures coming in at 42 and it will be overcast. we have more showers possible. and then your forecast tomorrow brings a chance of morning rain. temperatures coming in at 53 and it will be cooler and the temperature is still above average. let me remind you we should be at 42, 43 for this time of year and we will stay that way as we go into next week. let's get a check of the traffic with angela. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. good morning. we have quite a few viewers heading towards the capital beltway i-495 and we are pleased to report i-95 will be a good choice for you this morning making the drive through howard county past maryland 175. no reported delays or troubles. coming from i-70, u.s. 29 southbound also a very good choice this morning. not seeing any delays or congestion for you there. now coming in from harford county i-95 we are starting to see pockets of delays especially making your way to the top side of the beltway. here's live look at 95 north of

maryland 43 going to be off and on from this point past the 895 split of the charl hello, and megan over to you. a study reveals the continuing evolving look the u.s. >> we will look at a report of data dating back 120 years ago about segregation in this country. and girl scouts are turning 100. who is scheduled to speak to them later today. that's straight ahead when "good morning maryland" continues on this wednesday, february 1st. news time is 5:52. where is that? >> down in the caribbean. not bad, huh. we will be right back.

ahhh. so soft. time out. sweet. [ female announcer ] with charmin ultra soft, you can get that cushiony feeling you love while still using less. charmin ultra soft is designed with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent and you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ♪ ah. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft.

february marks the beginning of black history month. it's a time for recognizing the central role of being aan americans -- being aan americans in u.s -- african americans in u.s. history. the findings come from census data in 1890. the report found all white neighborhoods are extinct and black pop layings in urban ghettos is on the decline. nancy pelosi will deliver

remarks during a reception commemorating the 100th anniversary of the girl scouts. she will highlight the need for strong women role model and how girl scouts encourages young women to achieve the goals. and first lady michelle obama brings the childhood obesity campaign to l.a. for thefirst time hosting the event in inglewood focusing on new tigs in his and communities. one of the most watched events of the year and security for superbowl 46 is expected to be airtight. homeland security secretary will today address the media about beefed up measures for sunday's game. and if you plan to watch superbowl xlvi or go it will cost. >> coming up from the snacks to the drinks and jerseys and the dent this year's big game is going to take out of wallets. a lawsuit of costa concord yeah are facing after lawyers called the initial offer that

was an insulting offer. alcohol sales are up. what analyst says it has to do with the state of the economy. you are watching "good morning maryland first and only at 4:30.

now "good morning maryland." martin o'malley will state in the state of the state address. how it impacts you coming up. it's an important recall you need to know about this morning. i am linda so. why a popular brand of birth control pills is being recalled. florida's in the rear view mirror and now onto nevada for presidential hopefuls and now a caravan is getting larger. we will explain why. good wednesday thanks for joining us i am megan pringle. >> i am charley crowson we want to welcome megan back who has been gone since september 5th. >> that's when the house arrest started