degrees into arnold this morning. that will be the scenario as we go through this morning and the hour by hour forecast, by 4:00 p.m., temperature around 46 degrees. don't forget the coat. let's check with the traffic. angela, how is the fog affecting the roads and the ice? >> still seeing a lot of patchy fog especially around the chesapeake bay bridge, also tydings bridge on i-95. we're getting reports of some icy patches. the good news in baltimore county and surrounding counties we have a lot of overnight salting operations going on. but again, use extra caution and plan for the fog as you get ready to head out. i-95, northbound lanes moving well all the way up to i-395 heading into downtown. here's a look at the beltway, 695 and baltimore national pike, not a bad ride at all out there this hour. and a check of mta looking good on the rails, no major problems on the buses as you get ready to head out for the drive this

thursday morning. back to you. the pentagon set to announce the creation of new rules for women in the armed forces and could put them closer to combat. >> reporter: right now women are not allowed to serve in combat units are on the front lines. the pentagon's announcement could make it change partially. the pentagon is opening 14,000 jobs, most in the army that have been closed off to women because of the ban on women in combat. the jobs will include intelligence, logistics and communications in combat units. it doesn't mean you will see women fighting in foxholes next to the men. the pentagon says the first step towards equal opportunity for women in the military, more than 300,000 women served in support roles in iraq and afghanistan with. this policy shift they will have more opportunities. the policy is expected to take effect later this summer. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. in washington, dc today the

nation's largest gathering of conservative leaders and activists will meet for the annual conservative and political action conference. it will last into the weekend and wrap up saturday. and residents can thank mother nature for keeping their heating and electric bills low this season. bge says customers can can expect to pay $120 less this winter. in addition falling commodity prices for natural gas and electricity have been helping to keep the bills low. on average customers are expected to pay 16% less. you will see the change in bills coming from november through the end of march. the auto show is in town. if you think it's just supports cars, it's not. >> linda so is there, you're focusing on the moms? >> reporter: i am. we did the convertible, crossover. now time for the suv. if you're a mom you're going to relate to this. you have your hands full with groceries, stuff for the kids, bags, whatever it is. you get to the trunk, you have to open everything up.

what are you going to do? your hands are full. this is what you do. miking tell us. >> what we have on the new escape, the hands-free lift gate with the quick kick. the lift gate will go up. you can load up all your goods. another kick under the gate and the hatch will close. so give it a kick again. and watch it come down. >> reporter: that is some cool stuff. >> it's great. this is just one technology that we have on the 2013 escape. that we're so happy to debut in baltimore. come on out and see it. it's got wonderful new technologies like the hands-free lift gate. a 1.6 ÷a?zecoboost engine to gi us class economy and fuel leadership. >> reporter: that kick with the opening of the trunk, does any other car have that? >> we are the only vehicle in its class to have this exclusive kick gate as we call it. we're proud to have it only on

the ford escape. >> reporter: of course not any stranger can just come and kick. tell us about having the key, you have to have the key to the car? right? >> it's a great question. you actually have to have the key and it has to be with you. so if a squirrel or ball or anything runs under the vehicle the hatch won't open up. you have to be with the key and it has to be a kick which will open up that hatch. >> reporter: is there a sensor under the car that does that? >> yeah, actually, the technology that ford used, a sensor under the bump they're notices not only the key is not only in your possession but senses you've actually kicked underneath the gate to open up the tail gate. >> reporter: to be specific, it's not a swipe of the leg, it has to be a kick, right? >> that's right. it's a kick. it's not a swipe. but once you give it a kick and you have your key, down you go, hands-free lift gate. great technology. >> reporter: mike, thank you so much. fun stuff. we're excited about that. moms, i know you are too.

this looks great. it's on the ford escape, this year's model. we love the kick. megan, i know it will come in handy for you. >> you have no idea. i'm so jealous right now. i think about the twins and not having any arms. this car may be in my future. >> reporter: you don't need to grow a third arm. just the kick. >> thank you. news around the nation today. oral arguments will take place at the mississippi supreme court over former governor barb prison pardons. the court must decide if 10 convicts can be set free. some of those have been convicted of murder, that happens this morning at 10:00 a.m. and a school open with new staff today after allegations of sexual assault by at least two teachers, maybe even more. the entire staff of the l.a. school were temporarily replaced and the investigation is continuing. it started last tuesday. one teachers is accused of

taking pictures of a student in bondage. a 7-year-old georgia girl is safe after a man tried to abduct her at a walmart. she fought back and ran away. brittany baxter says the man grabbed her and put his hands over her mouth. she started to kick and scream and he let her go. the video not only captured the suspect but the getaway car which was pulled over not far. the man was recently released as a state inmate and charged with attempted kidnapping. in a university, explosives found on campus. the dorm was evacuated for several hours as a precaution. that former student, a 19-year-old has since been arrested. now facing theft and weapons charges. 5:36. ravens fans will have a chance to see one of their favorites today. >> coming up, where you can catch michael oher as he promotes his new book. >> a story that almost turned tragic for one anchor. yes. look at that video.

what led to this? and who is that dog? after we get back from new york and check this morning's "tech bytes." in "tech bytes" -- amazon and your local mall. reports say the on-line merchant who turned brick and mortar retailing on its head may open a store in seattle. it will be a test to see if a chain of stores selling higher-end merchandise will be profitable. verizon and red box are taking on netflix. they will open a video streaming service later this year. it will be available to non-verizon customers as well and will combine internet delivery of movies with dvd's from red box's kiosks. temple run, the indiana jones style adventure game is currently the second most downloaded free app in the i-tunes store. games.com's libby go says it's addictive. >> it's easy to play, difficult to master game, maybe like even angry birds. once you start playing you'll be telling yourself, just got to play one more time. >> those are your "tech bytes,"

i'm paul -- paula faris.

the season may be over but you can still catch the ravens players out and about. michael oher will be at the arundel mills mall doing a book signing. he'll be at books a million from 7:00 to 8:00 this evening if you want to meet him. another football player seen in the snow. a colorado family has been taking tebow-ing to a whole new level. that's pretty impressive. they built their own snow version of the broncos quarterback in his famous kneeling position in front of their yard. >> clearly school was out. clearly. >> i hope so. >> wow.

>> it was impressive. we don't have that here. ground just wet like we just had rain but we saw it falling from the sky. it looked pretty. it's gone now. we're just dealing with the colder temperatures. i'm concerned with a little bit of icing this morning because the temperatures are below freezing. in manchester, around 26 degrees. good morning to you in hereford, around 26 degrees and cockeysville at 29. we are at freezing in pasadena this morning as well as into stevensville. as we look over towards the eastern shore, centreville around 33 degrees. goldsboro around 33 degrees this morning. so you can see it is cold out there and we do have the winds out of the northwest this morning so it's making it feel even colder. we're feeling more like 20s. maryland's most powerful doppler radar is dry as of now. it will stay that way as we go into the afternoon. i will have that running forecast for you, so stick around for that. let's check traffic now with angela. good morning. we have a little bit of patchy

fog and ice. that's the scenario for this morning. >> that is the scenario as you get ready to head out. plan for a little extra drive time. some areas of ice reported out there. of course the patchy fog. so use extra caution. we have one incident to report. if you're traveling in the monkton region on old york road, you may see fire equipment in the roadway on old york between troyer road and monkton road. other than that we're pretty good as far as accidents go. a live look at 695, here at the bw parkway, inner loop and outer loop moving well on the southeast side of 695. here's a live look at 95 at the tydings bridge, a lot of volume. overnight, two lanes closed. it should be out of there momentarily. back to you. would you know what to do if you witnessed an animal being abused? >> lawmakers working to reduce the amount of violent acts taking place against animals in our city.

>> and at home, where can deadly bacteria be hidden? and how to reduce your risk of becoming sick and keep your family safe. >> "good morning maryland" continues in a bit. that's the domino sugar sign at the inner harbor. locust point. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet,

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washington state may soon become the seventh state in the u.s. to allow same-sex couples to marry. on wednesday the state house passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. the state approved that measure last week. that was the senate that approved it. it heads to the governor's desk and she promised to sign it. the law goes into effect in june unless opponents can get it on the november ballot. new reaction from an ad supporting same-sex marriage in our state. >> marriage helps build strong and stable families. we should be doing everything we can to encourage it. >> some leaders are advocating for a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. leaders in the video arguing if the gay and lesbian members deserve the right to be married and under the law governor martin o'malley and the

proposed law would not have to officiate same-sex unions. you won't have to worry about mailing back your jury questionnaire in baltimore city anymore. starting monday all you need to do is fill out the paperwork on-line. then you get a notice from the the baltimore city circuit court. jurors will also be allowed to go on-line and change their report date if they want to do it. this man may be getting a jury in his near future. expensive taste may have landed this annapolis man in jail. kyle brown is charged with stealing more than $100,000 worth of top-shelf liquor over a three and-a-half year period. police say that brown hit several stores in harford county and other areas as well. brown is now being held in harford county at the detention center. funeral arrangements are underway this morning for a man who died while trying to stop a rolling truck in bethesda. it happened a little more 2:30 yesterday. the victim was working as a contractor at a home and that's where officers say his

company's truck began to roll down the street. the victim tried to stop it. a terrifying story of a dog attack caught on camera. an argentine mastiff named max attacked an anchor yesterday morning on kusa in denver. the 85-pound dog bit the leg of kyle dyer. we showed you this video. he was in an icy pond and was there with the firefighter who rescued him. thankfully trained medical staff was on hand to help the anchor. the dog we showed you yesterday was the one rescued from the icy pond. another dog and owner are now showing cuts and bruises in our neck of the woods. officials say the pit bull was likely a bait dog. they are dogs used train to train other pit bulls to fight. police in anne arundel county are looking for the person responsible. this is horrible. a nonprofit rescue group will rehabilitate him and he will

likely be up for adoption. >> stay with us. baltimore's anti-abuse commission partnering with crime stoppers to help stop animal cruelty. this commission remains the only one of its kind in the nation and has grown since its inception. there is an officer from baltimore city, from the police department and representative from the city/state's attorney's office that helps oversee it. it was formed after the burning death of a dog named phoenix that happened back in 2009. >> the kind of brings in a resource to the commission we didn't have. metro crime stoppers is a really good resource to get the information out and to energize the public and provide cash rewards for people who report animal abuse. >> he's working on an ad campaign to get the word out that people can use crime stoppers for animal abuse as well. one day, a new path may be open for treating alzheimer's. a study found electrical

impulses sent to a memory center in the brain helped improve the memory of a small group of epileptic patients. it's not yet known if it will work on a wide range of memory-impaired patients but tests are coming. to decrease risk of getting sick from foodborne illnesses it's good to know where the germs are lurking. and experts say some places make good breeding grounds for bacteria. >> areas that are soft, that are porous. i'll add areas that are at room temperature or higher. these are all things that support the growth of bacteria. >> isn't everything in the house room temperature? >> your entire house is a petri dish? >> exactly. sponges and wet carpets are excellent places for baskets. they should be cleaned -- bacteria. they should be cleaned regularly especially if they begin to smell.

>> if you could see the look on lynette charles' face now you would die laughing. >> that is so disgusting. something more pleasant, the forecast will be a little cold but runners, you know to bundle up, winds out of the northwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour. so making the 30s feel more like the 20s. the satellite and radar, not picking up on a lot this morning. we had clouds earlier but now as it gets pushed to the south we'll get lots of sunshine. that is courtesy of an area of high pressure that is working its way in from the west for today. that system that came in, out in the atlantic ocean now. it's gone, we're not dealing with that. we'll be dealing with the chillier air wrapped around that. and we're also going to be seeing lots of sunshine for today, but we do have another system to talk about. future trend goes into motion for you. things looking good. then we start to see another system trying to work its way ins we go late into friday. i'm going to say overnight

friday into early saturday. so we can get another wintry mix, once again it will be moving quickly and for today temperature coming in, not so bad. i'm going to call it seasonal because it will feel seasonable because of the winds. 46 degrees, yes, that's above average but the winds make it feel more like 42. maybe even upper 30s. by tonight that temperature around 28 degrees. and then tomorrow 50 degrees. we will get sun/cloud mix. the 7-day forecast not looking bad except we're cold as we head into the weekend. bundle up. how are the roads? >> traffic advisory from anne arundel county. heading towards the capitol beltway. got an accident westbound 50 as you approach 495. the capitol beltway. officials say right now they are blocking three of four westbound lanes. they may have to shut it down to clear that out of the roadway. in the meantime, let's check the drive for those of you coming in from harford county. a live look at i-95 moving well as you make the drive past mountain road.

further south, things are looking ok, as more folks are getting out to work. here's a look at 95 just north of maryland 43, again, be prepared for possible patchy ice, even foggy areas possible for the morning drive. back to you. hundreds of college students will have their voices heard today in annapolis. >> stay with us. coming up, the plea students will make for the future of their education. >> and he tried to kill reagan 30 years ago. now john hinckley is asking for more time away from the mental hospital housing him. details coming up. that is sao paulo, brazil, the largest city in that country. they are two hours ahead of us, on this thursday morning, 8:51. that's three hours.

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hundreds of maryland college students are urging lawmakers to boost funding for two-year colleges hit hard the past five years. the governor proposed the modest increase of $13 million in state aid. first lady michelle obama

will today kick off a three-day tour promoting her lets move campaign for healthier schools. mrs. obama says the tour is going to begin in des moines, iowa today. the european financial crisis takes center stage at the white house. president obama will meet with italian prime minister mario monti. they will discuss economic affairs in his country and neighboring greece. closing arguments are set for today regarding whether john hinckley jr. should get more visitation time away in his mental hospital. 55, he's been institutionalized ever since trying to assassinate asas president ronald reagan in 1981. next, what doctors say was wrong with a man and what ended up costing the city of henderson. >> plus, a group of nuns are fighting the opening of a new business. why they say it's bad business for the community. >> and a board takes to the streets in one miami neighborhood. a boar. what neighbors had to do to stop this runaway animal.

testimony continues in the trial of george huguely, accused of killing yeardley love. who takes the stand today. >> and caylee anthony was gone for months before she was ever reported missing. today, a bill in annapolis changing laws about when you report when children disappear. >> i'm linda so live at the baltimore auto show. lots of fun coming up this weekend. here we go. >> oh, boy. good morning. thank you for joining us, i'm megan pringle. >> i'm charley crowson.