in? >> and dog tv is only available in san diego. but hopes to expand. >> that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." thanks for watching. the same-sex marriage bill taking things to a whole new level after one delegate receives a threat. that story coming up. and the defense wants to do more to cut down on distracted driving. proposals to the way your car is built. plus anyone who has tried to adopt a child knows how difficult that process can be. but more and more couples are finding the key to smooth adoption, social networking. more on that just ahead. good morning, maryland, i'm charley crowson. >> i'm megan pringle. how was 70 for snu >> couldn't see a thing.

>> parts of 70 were bad, 690 not so bad. how long will this hang around? let's get the answer from lynette charles. >> good morning, everybody. we do see some dense fog out there and also we will be having this advisory in effect until about 6:00. i'm going to show thaw in a second. but the sunshine will return as we go through time here throughout the day. temperatures will be in the low 50s. and check it out, rain and snow is on the way. i can say that for sure now. dense fog advisory is in effect until 6:00 a.m. basically for anne arundel county. that's where you're dealing with the dense fog. patchy fog everywhere else. to the south, though, around pg county and elbert county, getting dense fog advisories into that area as well. check out the visibilities, goose eggs, baltimore, also d.c., along the eastern shore coming in right around zero. talking about that rain and snow that's coming in for the weekend. right now let's send it over to angela. she has a check of traffic. you're going to have a busy morning, i can tell. reporter: you can tell, lynette. you're right, i saw fog coming in as well.

we'll get to some pictures in just a moment. a situation on i-95 up in hartford county, northbound 95. overnight we had a tractor- trailer turn over and burst into flames. of course that's caused some problems. northbound 95 has been shut down. we're diverting traffic right now at 5:43. but according to state police, hopefully we'll have that out of your way before the rush hour is over. here's a look at those foggy conditions outside. this is a look at 895 just north of child street as you make your way to the harbor tunnel. traveling through the city, a look at the jones falls expressway. again, foggy conditions for the friday morning commute. charley and megan, over to you. the same-sex marriage debate is eating up in annapolis. so much so -- >> we found out one man has been threatened after changing his vote. sherree johnson is in the interactive news center with the latest on what you need to know. reporter: we have learned that delicate wade catch has received a credible threat and received police protection.

the maryland republican says he was going to support gay marriage. he says his deal could hinge on advocates to change the bill. it change the date from october to january 2013. if his amendment fails, catch says he will probably not vote for the measure. a final vote is expected today. catch says his amendment will provide a better opportunity to bring the bill to referendum in november. maryland delegates say they are prepared to consider hand fulls amendments to the bill designed to legalize gay marriage. >> if i win or they win, we are still divided. we've got to come together and compromise a solution. >> maybe they're going to do some more arm twisting and vote counting. the whole process i think shouldn't leave a bad taste in voters' mouths. reporter: several delegates committed their support for the bill this week, but advocates say they are still looking for a couple of votes to reach the 71 to pass the measure. sherree johnson, abc 2 news. a bill to legalize same-

sex marriage is on its way to governor chris christie's desk. he says he'll veto it. right now it looks both chambers lack the 2/3 majority needed to override a veto. legislation will be on christie's desk today. meanwhile, a morning hearing on the president's contraception mandate ended with a protest. democratic women members of the house, they walked out of the hearing protesting an all-male panel of witnesses. and it wasn't just the women who were actually voicing their opinions. a baltimore lawmaker was there as well. >> i think everyone understands what is going on here today. chairman is promoting a conspiracy theory that the federal government is conducting a war against religion. witnesses who agree with his position. he has not invited -- >> there was an afternoon session that included two women of the panel, minority leader nancy pelosi said that the issue is reproductive rights not religious liberties

opponents seem to think. in other new, the trial date has been set for dr. nicole oreilly. she faces first-degree murder charges. there will be a june murder trial in elkton. she's accused of performing late term abortions that led to the deaths of several fetuses. the trial of the man accused of murdering yeardley love is expected to pick back up this morning after being postponed yesterday. that trial was originally delayed and then postponed due to one of george huguely's attorneys being sick. his defense team is expected to wrap up their testimony. instead they're expected to take care of that today. the charlottesville attorney gave some insight into what he expects to come next. >> stands to reason there would be perhaps at least one more expert along the lines of the cause of death and it very well could be there are friends, witnesses of the defendant who might be in a position to testify as to what their

understanding was state of mind was the night. state regulators are expected to make a decision on the proposed constellation exelon deal. yesterday nuclear regulatory commission they approved the proposal moving forward. now, the nrc says the deal worth about $7.9 billion should not change operations or leadership with either company. and bge will be back at it again at 7:00 this morning trying to get the gas restored for people in southwest baltimore. the gas has been out since thursday at millington avenue after a pipe burst. crews have been trying to restore the gas in the 300 block to the 900 block that people have lost. new this morning, the federal government is once again turning their focus to distracted driving. >> and this time they're now proposing recommendations to car manufacturers and with a breakdown of what's going to be

suggested, we turn things over to abc 2 news' linda stow. linda, what do they want? reporter: charley, we've learned the guidelines will affect electronic devices in your car at the time they're manufactured. it's any kind of device that requires visual or manual operation by drivers. it could also mean that drivers are not allowed to text or dial numbers while the car is moving. the national transportation safety board is proposing these guidelines. they also so drivers won't have to look at the device for more than a couple of seconds to operate it. these guidelines visual text me phone dialing and navigation displays that display too much information. now, the agency is also considering additional voluntary guidelines that could affect electronic devices not built into cars like smart phones and electronic tablets. linda stow, abc 2 news. parts of europe are still experiencing some bitter cold

temperatures. >> the damage the cold weather has done to this historic building and the work that it's going to take to restore it. also how the city of new jersey and the country plans to stay a final farewell to pop diva whitney houston and tomorrow's funeral procession. we'll have that coming up in just a bit. megan, take us to break. reporter: one of my favorite cities, new orleans, a live picture, looks like things are -- that's new orleans, boubon street. we'll be right back.

. it looks picturesque, but just a few days ago rome's 2000- year-old coliseum was covered with heavy snow, so much it was actually force today close down the historic arena. bits of the wall actually started to crumble under the weight of all the snow. time now for a check of our forecast. things could be changing our way come the weekend. but today the big story is the fog. >> i know. it was kind of nasty out there. is that going to be something

we'll see all day long? >> no, we will not see that all day long, megan. we'll see that this morning and then it will burn off and we'll have plenty of sunshine in here by this afternoon. things will be looking up. 43 degrees into manchester. easton around 41. baltimore at 37. the fog the big story this morning. you can see that the humidity is 100%, so that means that the air is saturated, it just cannot hold any more moisture and once you have that, well, the air condenses and it forms the droplets and that's why we have the fog this morning and that's what we will be contending with. dense fog advisory in some areas this morning mainly across anne arundel county and points southward. maryland's most powerful radar is not picking up on anything right now and it won't do so throughout the day, but we have that big storm to talk about and that is coming up. let's check out traffic now with angela. good morning. the fog impacting the roads. reporter: the fog certainly impacting the roads. if you're headed out in the next few minutes. we'll show you live shots in just a few minutes. an accident on i-95, again, we are shut down northbound

diverting traffic at 543, that's up in hartford kointd. if you're traveling in the city, you may see a fire investigation. abc 2 news was on the scene of a business fire overnight at west lafayette and dukeland street. in the meantime, here's what you're dealing with out on the roadways, foggy conditions 695 at the bw parkway. we're okay as far as volume is concerned but no accidents or delays to report. here's a look at u.s. 50, traveling across the chesapeake bay bridge. those dense, foggy conditions, fog advisory in effect. megan and charley, back over to you. 4:42 right now. angela just mentioned that fire. we have more details on that new this morning. fire gutted most of this downtown baltimore business this morning here in the 2800 block of west lafayette street. now, investigators had been on the scene since a little after 2:30 this morning. the fire started inside the pride grocery and liquor. no cause yet, but be sure to avoid north dukeland as angela said and west lafayette this morning until that scene is all cleaned up. for the second time in six

months former ravens germaine lewis who has been arrested. >> who was in the car with him. plus did you know the first president was an entrepreneur? what the former president did for a living. we have details on this. what you may not know this morning just ahead.

news time 4:45. former ravens super bowl hero jermaine lewis has been arrested for the second time in six months. he was pulled over because police spotted his 4-year-old son in the front seat not buckled upment lewis said he needed to get food for his son. after two years, the man known as the underwear bomber has learned he will spend the rest of his life in prison. during the sentence, farouk abdullmutallab yelled god is great. rick santorum will be in michigan for a rally and then off to ohio.

rop paul is -- mitt lawmakers are expected to vote today on the extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. it is a $152 billion measure. the deal does not include a 2012d cut for medicare doctors. new jersey flags will fly at half staff on saturday honoring the legacy of whitney houston. the singer will be laid to rest tomorrow. we have a preview of that ceremony coming up in two minutes. it is friday. that means it's time for a freebie for the week with the help of our local woman known as the free sample mama. we've compiled a list for you to check out today. let's head into the inc where megan is standing by with a look at the day's deal. >> everything from free food to free baby formula which is so expensive. something for everybody. what we want you to do is head to abc2news.com, our website. when you get there, click on the link that says free mama sample deals for the week.

free tickets to the 2012 oreos game for your birthday. this is definitely a great deal, but you do want to read all the rules and regulations, for example, you can't go for a prime game. if they're playing the yankees, that's not going to count. check that out. another great thing, how about a free breakfast, who doesn't like that? ikea is offering that from saturday to monday. check it out, it's all on our website, abc2news.com. you'll see the free sample friday link. click on that. it'll give you all the information that you need to know. charley, i know you're all about a free breakfast and a baseball game, so there you go. >> can't complain. another thing i am all about, classic toys, megan. classic toys are making a comeback, things like the g.i. joe, easy bake ovens and remember this one? my little pony. i didn't have one, but my sister did. hot wheels outshining some of the new high tech counterparts coming out this summer. big wheels being launched is going to cost $30 to $50, so why are we reliving the past? toy sales have been slipping so

now toy manufacturers are sticking with toys that have upped sales in the past. anyone trying to adopt a child knows how challenging or heartbreaking that process can be. more and more couples are finding help with the use of facebook. melissa and seth adopted their son noah through facebook after no luck conceiving. a private adoption left them at a standstill, seth posted their adoption flyer on facebook. a friend reposted it and hooked them up with a friend that wanted to put their child up for adoption. >> the internet is changing adoption forever in historic ways. >> a friend of john's who john hadn't spoken to in 20 years saw the flyer, and she said, you know, i work with a couple, and i know the woman doesn't have a plan for her baby. would you like to talk to her. >> lawyers drew up the papers and in a matter of weeks the adoption was under way. 4:48 right now. a warning for parents this morning, researchers have found unacceptable levels of arsenic in some organic toddler formulas. now, arsenic had been found in

some organic cereal bars and energy foods. the arsenic is linked to organic brown rice syrup, the syrup that's also used as a replacement for high fructose syrup. you need to check in your cabinets for the two highest levels of arsenic were babies only organic dairy toddler formula and soy toddler formula. both of these products are made by nature's one. something to keep in mind. final preparations are under way today for whitney houston's funeral tomorrow in new jersey. fans have been kept far away from the church, but the entertainment world's elite guest, well, that has now been leaked. attendees include janet jackson, mariah carey, even denzel washington. anyone without an invite is being kept away. actor kevin costner will also speak. that funeral is closed because of houston's mom. she didn't want a large service, just a private memorial. you're looking right now live at the new hope church. this is where she grew up, this

is where whitney houston sang and this is where friends and family will be saying good-bye tomorrow. we've learned recently that investigators have found no evidence of criminal activity or any reason to believe that whitney houston was looking to abuse prescription drugs. that is the latest information we have right now regarding the investigation. but, again, that was a live look from new jersey. fans will get a glimpse of the service. the funeral will be streamed online live. you can check it out at our website, abc2news.com for all the latest information we have so you can see exactly what you need to know. and as a reminder tonight, 9:00, the "20/20" special "one moment in time." again, that is tonight 9:00 to 11:00 and hang around for abc 2 news at 11:00 with jamie. that's coming up tonight. today a local radio station, magic 95.9 and 92, they're hosting whitney houston karaoke. it will be from 7:00 to 9:00 at the cityview bar in glenn oak. that's a chance for listeners in all ages to celebrate the

life and the music of whitney houston. the event, by the way, is free. she did the right thing. [ indiscernable ] >> but despite what her son thinks, one mom is in trouble for making her son walk to school. the school suspended borders' bus riding privileges for yelling, so his mom valerie ordered him to walk to class, almost five miles from her home. a security guard saw the boy and called police. ballard will be in court later this month on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor. one school is making news after students were hospitalized due to a drug overdose. seven students in cleveland, texas got sick after taking "little white pills" two were rushed to the hospital because they were vomiting. just two weeks ago ambulances were called to the same school where about 16 students felt the side effects of what turned out to be an antianxiety drug. an electrical worker was

hurt in nashville after an underground electrical blew. the worker was injured but able to climb to the surface before the firemen arrived. he was up and conscious and moving around just moments after the blast. firefighters remained on the scene as a precaution for those around. police in long beach, california met with private plane on the tarmac after it was forced to land by air force fighter jets. the plane was in restricted air space and that was closed due to the president's visit. now, if that wasn't bad enough, 10 kilos of marijuana found on board. the secret service said the pilot wasn't a threat, so they turned the case over to local police. the pilot got lucky. a pilot who violates presidential air space usually loses their license. as president's day approaches, you've -- you probably thought you've heard as much as you need to know about glawsh it george washington. a new hobby has come to light after leaving office. the president actually took up

whiskey brewing. it was the largest disstiller in the country at the time. it's a little known fact about the first president and historian dennis probe said he was pretty good at the whiskey brewing. >> by 1799 which was the last year of washington's life, they made almost 11.000 gallons of disstilled spirits. >> the original disstillery burned down in 1814. washington sold to merchants in barrels, not bottle bottles. whiskey was sent to washington's home as well so he could occasionally enjoy it on his own. >> he's gotta taste what he made. >> absolutely, you gotta be a customer of your own product, right? >> absolutely. sure, i'll be a customer. >> it's a little early about that. >> i'll talk about the weather if i must. fog out there this morning. >> i'd rather hear about the weather. >> we're not doing that, megan. we're talking about the fog this morning. we do have a dense fog advisory until 6:00 a.m. for anne arundel county, patchy fog everywhere else. we see a couple of sprinkles picking up on the radar this morning, a lot of mist out there as well.

but all in all no type of downpours. we will be seeing plenty of sunshine as we go through the remainder of today. it's going to be a good looking day outside, but let's talk about the elephant in the room, right? so we have a storm that is poised to move in here as we go into your sunday. now, i'm showing you back out toward the west here. you see a little bit of energy around the four corners and then some showers into texas right now, also into the gulf coast. this is where the storm is going to originate. it's going to get its act together i believe somewhere around louisiana and also into mississippi. then it will track off across the carolinas and then up the coast and that's where we're going to be seeing some rain, some snow. the question marks still remain of the track of the storm and how much cold air from the north will wrap around on the back side of this system. so that's still the iffy part. once again, for today we will have high pressure building in across the area. future trend picking up on what's going to be happening, we'll see lots of sunshine in here. but check it out, we can see

our storm trying to make its way in as we go into saturday, and then we will see if we get more snow in the forecast or if we'll be seeing basically just a mixture as we go into time. but it's doing a good job of try to go move in here. again, you can already start to see some of that snow around west virginia. today's temperature coming in right around 53 degrees. let's get a check now of that traffic with angela. good morning. lot of fog to talk about. reporter: lots of fog to talk about and we've got a traffic diversion for you on 95 in hartford county. we are asking you take u.s. 40, pulaski highway in the bel aire region. tractor-trailer accident, 95 diverted at maryland 543. the big story is the fog, reduced visibility in several areas. it is patchy fog. here's a live look at the beltway, the west side of baltimore national pike, very light volume, no -- no incidents to report for you. here's the patchy fog on 50 at maryland 8 just east of the bay bridge. megan and charley, back to you.

now on the lookout for a new suspect. >> stay with us, the new clues police have as they try to solve the murder of a florida woman. details just ahead. why a trip to niagra falls will prove to be quite dangerous. we'll have that as we take a look around the world. "good morning maryland" continues in a few moments. that's a live look at the new hope church in new jersey, the site of tomorrow's funeral for pop icon whitney houston.

the vote was 137-12 with 17 abextensions. it was enough to approve a u.n. resolution backing the arab league's plan to call for the syrian president to now step down. it's hoping for a a transfer of power to syria's vice president. the resolution condemns the violence that has killed more than 5,000 people. today in thailand police are searching for a man seen on

surveillance camera leaving a hotel -- the hotel room of a woman shortly before she was found dead. 51-year-old wendy albono was an interior designer. she's from florida. she was on a business trip in bangkok when she was found stabbed and strangled to death monday in her hotel room. police say the man they're looking for shared a room with albono. after four months from being cleared of charges for her roommate and days after an appeal was filed for her release, amanda knox is moving forward with a member war. she reportedly reached a deal with publisher harper collins. that will earn her $4 million. the book is set for publication early 2013. one man will attempt a very dangerous stunt this summer. he's going to attempt to walk across a tight rope over niagra falls. given permission on wednesday, he is part of what's called the flying rolindas. the family of the circus of acrobats, so the crossing will take place at least 30 minutes on an 18oo