before he fell out into the path of an oncoming car. the students readily admit that many drink and smoke. they are downplaying the role that alcohol played in his death, that police shouldn't pursue the person who provided him with the four loko drink. >> it's not person who bought the alcohol drink. he asked for it. it's one of those freak accidents. >> i hope they find who gave him the drink. it wasn't funny. he was only 13 and god help his parents. >> reporter: baltimore county police say they are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to see if michael indeed had alcohol that would be found in his system. once they variety results, three decide if any further investigation is necessary. jeff hager, abc2 news. >> substance abuse experts say

michael's death is an opportunity to get parents to start talking tough with their kids about the dangers of drinking,'s special lilg drinking four loko, which michael's mother said he was doing before his death. we have more about this so-called alco-pops. >> reporter: people may underestimate of the power of the can. just one four loko has the power of four beers. michael's death should ab wakeup call for parents. at 23 1/2 ounces this brightly colored can looks like a super sized beer but it's far more powerful. >> this is not a can of beer. this is four cans of beer. that's what they don't understand. they just know it tastes good. it's cheap and you get really, really drunk. >> reporter: sus stance abuse expert mike gimbal said that's

appealing to kids. >> this tragedy should be talked about at every dinner table tonight with every family. >> reporter: because many families don't know about this dangerous drink and others might like it. >> someone may drink they're drinking an energy drink. it looks to same to me. >> reporter: the energy version was banned in maryland in 2010. after caffeine was removed from the cang, the brand went right back on the store shelves legally with the same amount of boo.z some of the stronger caffeinated cans can still be found and end up in the hands of kids looking to party. >> i don't know if all the parents understand about four loko. they may have heard about it but i don't think they understand. >> reporter: that's why gimbal said parents need to get educated themselves. he said they need to spell out the facts and in situations like

michael's death it paints the reality of what could a and 13 years old. he's dead. it's never too young to start talking about this. >> reporter: he said they need to spell out why it's dangerous and what could happen and that they should role play with their kids so they know how to respond. when it comes to educating parents, we put a lot of the information you need on website abc2news.com. on the home page you'll see my story dangers of alco-pops. in the main part of the section we created a special section called teen drugs section. you'll see the special report about synthetic drugs like spice and k2. you can find out more about four loko and other potential dangers to your teens. it's at your fingerprint --

fingertips. go to abc2news.com. after some active weather in southern maryland last night in the form of snow showers, crystal clear today. the sunshine warming things up. what light accumulations we did have in southern maryland melting off quickly with the sunshine and temperatures well above the mid-40 mark. easton 44. it will be a breezy and barely cool evening, barely crisp. we'll talk about how your complete week shapes up coming up. a day on the slopes turned deadly in washington state this weekend. a group of eight people, all experts fear went skiing. an avalanche came crashing down sweeping some 3,000 feet down a

canyon. there were avalanche warnings at the time. >> i wouldn't be doing it. again, that's part of the thrill on this type of skiing. it was their decision. >> a fourth person was killed in a separate avalanche in washington state over the weekend. experts say avalanches kill about 25 people in the u.s. each year. drivers in the richmond area probably wished they stayed home yesterday and today. virginia state police responded to nearly 1,000 traffic crashes. more than 200 were in and around the richmond area. icy roads made it tough. several vehicles actually slid off the road. now we're taking a look at some of the stories that affect you and your money. gas prices have been rising in recent weeks and it's only february. jamie costello has more. it's getting out of control.

>> reporter: why is it so high? back on january 22nd, we were paying $3.38. now on february 20th, we're shelling out $3.59. global oil prices have hit a new high, about $105 a barrel. partly because iran has stopped exporting. at this rate we could see an average of $4.25 by late april. when gas prices rise, so do prices on everything else, especially deliveries. >> no more dinners, no more movies. if we get a movie, it's once a month. >> reporter: environmental advocates are hoping higher prices at the pumps mean more people carpooling. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich promised that if you elect him, the cost of the gas will be twee -- $2.50

a gallon. just head to abc2news.com/traffic and click on the gas prices tab. you'll find the stations with the lowest prices and even a map where you can find the stations. maryland voters approved slot machines at five casinos, but so far only two location are open. some legislators are not happy with the progress and they're pushing for i believe that games. only about 2300 slot machines are currently operating at the two open maryland casinos. today is your last chance to take advantage of some tax free holiday shopping for energy star products. if you buy a new energy efficient product you will not have to may more than 6%. eligible prds include air

conditioners, washing machines, furnaces. compact fluorescent light bulbs and dehumid fires are eligible. if you have reception problems with your iphone 4, you could be reimbursed. apple has settled a class action lawsuit promising to pay $15 are give a free case to everyone who own as phone. when it came out nearly two years ago it was a huge seller but some owners complain about frequently dropped calls. apple said the antenna is the problem. more than 21 million iphone 4 owners are eligible for this payout. the senator from montgomery county said the gush shale -- judicial committee will take a vote on the same-sex marriage.

it could be headed for a final vote this week. opponents say they will take it to a referendum if it's passed and signed into law. looking to spice things up this week and support local businesses at the same time? a look at what restaurant week has to however this year. students, technology and a little healthy competition, what some local high schoolers are doing with their time that got them an invitation to a worldwide invitation. the yeardley love murder trial has brought attention to the dangers of an unhealthy relationship. what local programs help keep women safe.

so you have the boat shows, the naval academy's graduation week, the 4th of july. it all brings a lot of tourists, but restaurant week is more than

local. don harrison had the difficult job of traveling around town to please the pallet. >> reporter: tonight through sunday is restaurant week in annapolis. this is the fourth year for this. restaurants have lunch and dinner specials. two new rests are giving breakfast special. a two-course lunch for $15.99. >> probably hit up some lunch and some dinner specials this week. >> really get a chance to eat out more than i normally would. gives me a chance to check out some new restaurants. >> reporter: it's sponsored by the annapolis business association. the focus is on local, not the tourists we see all summer. >> the crowds won't be as big.

more importantly, the businesses are open and welcoming. >> it's a great time for the locals to come downtown. >> reporter: dave is the general manager of the restaurant down by the docks, east port and on west street they have specials. the hassles from the summertime are not present. >> plenty of parking, plenty of garages. lots of restaurant to did restaurants to visit. >> reporter: when you're finished, the restaurant sends you on with coupons and a free day of parking in march. it's a great time to discover a new restaurant or hit one of your old stand byes. either way, you have 41 restaurants to choose from in annapolis, don harrison. >> for more information, check out abc2news.com in the featured story section on our home page.

good weather to walk around. >> a little envious. southern maryland, some light slush overnight but it's all gone now. >> yes. and i tell you, we get more and more spring like through the week this week. so here we g bouncing right back. >> all right. sunshine the story and that's going to continue to be the story at least through the rest of the evening and through most of the day tomorrow. current conditions near 50, not quite there today. 48 the current air temperature. humidity bone dry at 31%. winds are northwest at five miles an hour. let's take a lack at some of our weather bug -- look at system of our weather bug cameras. a clear sky over baltimore, over

annapolis where we see no snow on the ground and how about kent island. there was a slushy coating last night. no question about that especially toward the salisbury area. all right. let's get into it. maryland's most powerful radar, all sweeps show clear. right now temperatures running in the mid to upper 40s. 45 in easton. 48 in baltimore. 46 in hagerstown. winds from the north and west around five to 10, so a bit of a cool breeze and very low humidity right now. it's very dry air in place and this is going to kind of, i think, be with us for a couple of days. i want to he is you the neighborhood forecast. we're going to have a mix of sun and clouds. we'll go with low to mid-50s on average. 54 for glen burnie and 53 for reisterstown. as we take a look at the overall pattern it's clear across the east and really not much

happening over the next 24 hours as high pressure sits to our north. that will keep us dry and most of the day tomorrow. there is one little indication on the models we could get some moisture trying to come up the coastline tomorrow during the day. that could mean a few rain showers but this looks like that will primarily be for the beaches and the whole thing stays offshore. overnight down to 30, mostly clear and cold. your tuesday forecast we'll go with 53, breezy and milder. tomorrow down to 36 under a variably cloudy sky. we keep things dry. seven-day forecast looking ahead, finding warmer conditions near 60 wednesday. how about the upper 60s on thursday. chances for showers into the day on provide day. let's head back to you, kelly. >> all right. loving that forecast. science and technology, we all know is the wave of the future. students at owings mills high

school are getting on the bandwagon by taking part in the becks and first robotics competition. sherrie johnson shows us how they are preparing and making a difference. >> reporter: here at owing mills middle school in baltimore county, students are using math, science and tech follow to build a robot. it's called the rebound robot. robots must shoot into baskets at three different levels to get points. it's all part of the first robotic competition. >> it's not just building a robot. you want to see the students grow. you want to take this beyond just what we do here in school. we want it to be something that the students can grow from. >> reporter: the first robotic competition is known as the super bowl of smarts. these students have a limited time to build the robot and get this moving. it's fast approaching in march.

students are ready for the final test and it works. educators say it has been a positive influence on students. >> i think the thing that's been most helpful, it helps you to learn how to look over a problem, figure out the best way of solving it and then getting it done in a reasonable time frame within certain constraints. >> reporter: the high school is also getting in on the action. these students are competing in the world championship competition in anaheim, california in april tment requires teams to build the and program robots to put different size cylinders into goals. it's no larger than 18 inches. >> i try to tinker, put things together. we created an atmosphere of innovation, really, where i could explore what i could do.

the possibilities are endless, really, so this was a great place for me to find myself, what i really wanted to do. >> reporter: educators and mentors say it's a great exercise of hands on learning. >> a lot of what they're learning in class is not applied, and many of the students don't understand why they're taking what they are in school. so this gives them an opportunity to put their hands on something and see what math is really all about. >> educators say that these robotic programs expose students to science, technology, engineering and math concepts for future careers. the goal is the same -- to bring home a win. for these students robotics could be the road for a solid future. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> very impressive. >> now the first robotic

competition is march 9th and 10th. the invitation to the world competition is a big honor but it cost last lot of money. if you'd like to help the students, you can head to our website at abc2news.com and look under the education tab for a link to this story. a disturbing new study reveals how many children live with alcoholic parents. coming up, we'll take a closer look at how that experience can damage children. and moms to be who use a nicotine patch to quit smoking may and up with a fussy baby later on. results of a new study. ♪

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in tonight's medical minute, a new study found that more than one in 10 children live with an alcoholic parent. that amounts to about 7 1/2 million kids. researchers also found children of parents with drinking problems are at a greater risk for depression and anxiety. federal health officials are considering recommending baby berms get a one time blood test to see if they have hepatitis b. experts say deaths from the liver destroying the condition are on the rises specially throws born between 1925 and 1965. one in 33 baby boomers have hepatitis c and half don't know they have it. another study out of the netherlands found mothers who smoke or use nicotine patches are more likely to have a

colicky baby. babies with colic cry every day. the researchers say a mother's smoke or nicotine habit can increase the baby's chance of colic by 30% to 60%. the study was published in the march issue of pediatrics. so far, if you suffer from seasonal allergies, this mild winters a not been good to you. most spring allergies don't start until late march, but the warmer temperatures could extend rag weed season by about 15 days to a month. that's because certain plants and mold grow in full force on warm day. symptoms include sneezing, nasal congestion, mild coughing and sinus infections. just check out the page, you'll find the headlines from today as well as different categories to keep you and your family healthy. it's something you rarely talk about but it affects women

on college campuses across the country. a look at what some organizations are doing to eliminate dating violence. >> it's tax season. it's high season for tax scams. how to avoid some of the biggest schemes going on this year. baltimore has produced a lot of stars but it's time for a look at a few more. a look at the local reality though based right here and that's about to hit the air. i remember the days before copd. my son and i never missed opening day.

but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

getting you up to the minute on some of our top stories. baltimore county police are awaiting toxicology reports from an autopsy performed on 13-year-old michael truluck. he died when he fell out of a moving car and hit by an on coming car. >> had been drinking four loko.