>> whole new respect for batman. very cool story. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for gm grandparents fnlg we won them all. >> that says it all. now that mitt romney is claiming more victories, what's next? reporter: and the last minute scramble for lawmakers to pass bills before the session ends is on. all new reaction on the governor on how they stack up. all new this morning, a salmonella outbreak sickens 90 people. iemed's linda stow. the store that's likely making people sick. good morning to you, april 4th, i'm charley crowson. >> i'm megan pringle. thanks so much for joining us. before we get to lynette, we want to remind you it is donate life and they have a huge campaign in april getting people to be aware of organ

donation. 120,000 people waiting for an organ. they were nice enough to send us in some green ties to wear and a scarf. >> we'll be giving you facts about organ donation all morning long. in the meantime, we'll send it over to meteorologist lynette charles. >> good morning, meg autopsy and charlie. good morning, everyone. let's talk about what's going on this morning. we do have some more clouds out there, but we do have a few showers this morning, maybe a possible thunderstorm, isolated shower this afternoon, but unseasonably mild temperatures today, so we went from the frosty conditions yesterday to above average temperatures for today. we look at maryland's most powerful radar. a few showers getting out of here as of now, but all in all maryland's most powerful radar is dry except if you're heading into york, pennsylvania this morning, you have one shower there and along adams county, that border. temperatures this morning 53 degrees in sikesville, we are above average there. northeast coming in right around 51 degrees. i'm going to have that easter forecast and also the opening day forecast, that's all coming up. but right now let's get a check of the traffic with angela.

good morning. any accidents this early? reporter: yes. we are starting the morning off with an accident on 50. just got an update from maryland state police on that. and for those of you traveling around the baltimore region, just let me tell you that things are pretty good around the city and around the beltway here in baltimore. but on 50 the accident was at 404 and according to police this accident has been cleared. itreported as a fatal. that is not the case. the accident was pretty serious, but fortunately we are open at u.s. 50 and fall forest. we look live here at 895 and odonell street. looks like we're moving well at the tunnels, even in our two- way traffic pattern. shouldn't have any delays to start off the drive this morning. back over to you, megan. we begin this morning with a health alert to tell you about. there is a widespread salmonella outbreak. >> so far 90 people have become sick across 19 states including right here in maryland. abc 2's health reporter linda stow standing by live this morning with everything you need to know. linda. reporter: yeah. government health officials believe the salmonella outbreak

is linked to spicy tuna rolls. investigators are trying to pinpoint the exact source, but right now they're focusing on six clusters of restaurants in maryland, texas, wisconsin, rhode island and connecticut. but the specific restaurants have not yet been named. at least seven people have been hospitalized, no deaths have been reported. officials say the outbreak is growing rapidly, at least 90 people in 19 states, including d.c. have gotten sick. the most common symptoms of salmonella poisoning are diarrhea abdominal cramps and fever. the illness can be life threatening for people with weakened immune systems. right now the fda is working with the cdc and state officials to pinpoint that exact source. the cases were first reported in late february and continue to grow. linda stow, abc 2 news. >> be sure to grab your sneakers as you head out today because today is national walking day. it's sponsored by the american heart association and encourages everyone to get out and walk today. the event takes place the first

wednesday every april. get out and walk. this is a great way for physical activity and to reduce your risk of heart disease. join me in the next step toward that destination of november 6th. >> republican gop contender mitt romney is is thinking finish line with big wins under his belt after tuesday. maryland, washington d.c. and wisconsin, he won them all. romney kept the same strategy, spending a lot of money on television ads and then second rolling out high profile endorsements. rick santorum isn't ready to concede just yet. he is taking his campaign on his home state of pennsylvania. their primary, by the way, is in three weeks. used to protect the president and now he wants to serve the people as a senator and he's going to run against senator ben carden. gino won the primary race last night and he won pretty big against richard douglas. it was a big field of republicans, 10 in all wanted the chance to square off

against senator ben carden in november. >> i'm a real guy. i'm a normal middle class guy from saverna park who got fed up with the system and gave a few key speeches that attracted some really loyal followers. >> he said he's tired of all the speeches, now he's ready for action. be sure to stay tuned to abc 2 news and "good morning maryland," we'll have democracy 2012 coverage. in other news, students in kent county are scheduled to go back to school this morning after being sent home early tuesday because of a bomb threat. investigators are still trying to figure out who posted the handwritten note and said bomb would explode at the public schools in those counties. police evacuated the schools and the board of education. one search team was flown in from cumberland to help out. no bombs were found. we're learning this morning that police have filed additional charges against a student who warned on website he was going to go on a rampage

at the university of maryland college park. local news stations report that 19-year-old alexander seoul was released from the hospital and arrested. he was charged with misusing e- mails, disturbing the peace and other offenses. hehe was later released. he was pulled over just two weeks ago, now batman and the batmobile are back on the road. >> absolutely. we'll tell you who the superhero was today and who's going to be joining him at the event. large tornado on the ground! >> amazing video this morning, sleeks of terror. new video -- shrieks of terror. video out of texas. as we go to break this morning, a live look back in texas. this is austin down on 6th street. we're back in just a bit.

new this morning, people in east texas are waking up to

this, a huge mess after some nasty storms. a batch of severe weather erupted in the dallas metro area, spawning tornadoes and tearing through heavy populated areas. take a look at this. these storms are so powerful that they lifted trucks from the ground and tossed them around like toys, power lines snapped like fireworks. witnesses say they saw debris flying through the air. and, lynette, you know, there's some pretty dramatic pictures coming out of dallas, texas this morning. it's hard to believe that's what they're waking up to. >> i know. it's amazing. i saw that yesterday. it is absolutely amazing to see, very dangerous and devastating for them. the good news is this severe weather threat is now shifting off toward the east. texas will be out of it today, but then you have the bad news because we do have strong thunderstorms in louisiana and also pushing into mississippi, so that's going to be the name of the game as they go throughout the day. maybe a severe weather threat in portions of virginia and also the carolinas, but we will stay away from that severe weather threat. we do have a chance for maybe an isolated or stray shower to pop up as we go into the

afternoon hours, a rumble of thunder out there as well. but right now we are under mainly cloudy skies. that will be the name of the game as we go throughout the day, a few peeks of some sunshine. with those clouds we are quite mild this morning. darlington coming in right around 50 degrees. we should be at 39 degrees for this time of the year. so i'll break the temperatures down, telling you how warm we're going to get for today. but right now let's get a check of that traffic with angela. good morning. reporter: good morning toyou, lynette. good morning, everyone. it's construction zones out there that you'll need to watch for. harbor tunnel thruway 895 on the south side near washington boulevard, the left lane is is shut down with a work crew. so extra caution and be prepared to tap the brakes possibly there. if you're traveling on i-95 here, this is north of the beltway on the southwest side, no crews here, all lanes are open in this stretch as you approach 695. but if you're traveling right here on 95 approaching the spaghetti junction at 395, you will see a crew in the right merge lane at 395. megan, back to you. >> thanks, angela.

it's been a hot topic of discussion among families and in washington d.c. >> today legislators are going to address the drug shortage epidemic. what they're going to do and the top names just ahead. plus trayvon martin honored, the teen gunned down in a florida neighborhood. where it's happening and what they hope to accomplish coming up next. you're waking up to what's new in maryland. as we head to break, a live look at downtown baltimore at the inner harbor. ñ[=

five things you need to know, the president host thing an eater prayer breakfast at the white house. christian leaders from across the u.s. have been invited to attend. first lady michelle obama and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, they will be visiting walter reed military hospital today. they will be having an easter celebration with military families. a man who got pulled over about a week ago in montgomery

county wearing a batman suit will be at the samuelson children's hospital in baltimore today. he will be joined by spiderman and wonder woman to entertain kids at that hospital. barbara mcclos ki is holding a roundtable discussion this morning about the impact of drug shortages. she'll be joined by other elected leaders and medical professionals. it's going to be held at the university of maryland medical center. a new report highlighting the most needed transportation improvements in maryland will be released this morning. that report includes projects to build, expand or modernize state highways, bridges and transit systems. news time 4:44 right now. continuing coverage of our democracy 2012. this morning we do have more on the local republican elections. the top names are nancy jacobs and andy harris. with more on the story, here's abc 2's jeff hager. reporter: packing up the voting machines here at precinct 1504 in middle river middle school, workers look back on a long day that was short on voters. in fact, no one showed up when they first opened their doors. >> we had nobody waiting for

us, and it didn't go through for a long time. we had just periodically here and there, three, four, five people. reporter: even tonight if you expect people to get off work and come, would you see that it happen? >> no, not at all. it stayed mostly 10 an hour. reporter: patricia payne was one of the 370 voters who cast a ballot here. out of the 3400 on its rolls. a republican, payne says even though no gop candidate has locked up the presidential nomination, she still thinks they can unseat president obama. >> it is just what it is. but overall, i think the republicans can do what they need to do. all of the name calling. do your job. i have to go to work everyday and do my job. just do your job. reporter: in a primary short on votes, state senator nancy jacobs didn't mind the turnout, in her bid to take on dutch

ruppersberger. after all she won most of those votes in a runaway victory. >> from now on it's ditch dutch and i think we've got a really good shot at doing that because, you know, as we were coming out of polls today, you wouldn't believe the number of the democrats who were coming up to us and taking literature and saying i'm sorry i couldn't vote for you, i'm a democrat, but i'm going to vote for you in november. >> and that was jeff hager reporting. we told you just a few moments ago about daniel von gino, how does the current senator ben carden think about that. christian shaver has the details. reporter: and it turned into a commanding victory for senator carden winning the democratic nomination by more than 50 percentage points over state senator anthony hughes of prince georges county, here in locust point is where the

state's democratic powers gathered to celebrate. >> my friend ben. reporter: a commanding victory for ben carden who will now have the opportunity to defend his seat in the general election this fall. >> it's about all of our children and grandchildren and what type of country, what kind of world we want to leave for the next generation. i'm working to leave a better place for the next generation, and i won't let anyone turn back the clock on my watch. reporter: in the leadup to the primary, senator carden faced potential republican opponents, accusing the long time state ledge later, congressman and now senator of being a career politician. maryland senior senator responded to that criticism. >> i'm often amused career politician be one. reporter: at his victory party, senator carden told abc 2 news he says he'll focus on the election on things like healthcare and creating jobs as

the incumbent. carden will be be the odds on favorite to win the general election. >> this will be the choice. 24 consecutive months of job growth, or do we want to go back to policies that got us into this trouble? reporter: in the leadup to the republican primary, the attacks on senator carden focused on his long tenure in washington, calling him a career politician. that is very likely to be the focus of the attack over the summer. the senator told me he is is ready for those attacks. he feels he is is the type of politician that can work across party lines and his experience in the end will turn out to be beneficial. we'll see how it goes. reporting live in south baltimore, chris schaefer, abc 2 news. >> for more coverage, head to our website, 7online, everything you need to know. just go to the news tab and click on politics. maryland's legislative session lasts 90 days in all, although work needs to be done

basically throughout the whole session. while many in annapolis say more work needs to be done this week. >> sherree johnson has more on what is being called a last minute scramble. reporter: yes. all new reaction this morning. in less than a week lawmakers will wrap up maryland's 430th legislative session, but there's still a lot on the table. so far only 59 bills have passed. this is compared to 700 or 800 bills each session for the past three years, some big items, deciding whether the state should add table games to slot parlors and how to deal with the recent federal judge ruling that says maryland's right to carry a firearm law is unconstitutional. one of the biggest items, the $1 billion gap in the budget and the possibility of raising taxes. we caught up with governor martin o'malley last night during maryland's primary on this issue. >> the main thing is we hoped we would have perhaps had the budget done early this week. i think the primary election put a bit of a crimp in that

schedule, but hopefully soon here we will have a compromise between the house budget and the senate budget. reporter: right now no one is sure how many bills will get passed before the end of the session, but one thing they are certain of is lawmakers will be very busy until monday night. megan, back to you. >> thanks. a bill to expand gambling in maryland not sitting well with some of the house members. the proposal would basically create a sixth maryland casino to legalize table games. frank turner who leads a subcommittee, he he's concerned about the amount of money the operators are going to make compared to the state. he says it would bring in more however, operators would divide $2 billion. >> that to me is not in the best interest of the state for them to make that kind of revenue and the state made substantially less. >> a vote in committee could come later this week. today students at the university of maryland will host trayvon, tragedy and traumas of everyday, a

community conversation. it's an event to discuss the meaning of the killing of trayvon martin and its aftermath. it will begin at 6:00 tonight at the biosciences research building. a vigil will follow. and talson university was lit up last night for remember twog students who died in one weekend. attendees are mourning the loss of ryan bailey and timothy coyotier. bailey was hit and run -- was run over by a hit-and-run driver. and mccoy was deployed to iraq. >> all the memories in our chapter, he treated us like an older brother. he is always the person we would call on when we needed any help. >> baltimore county police are still looking for the driver who killed bailey. in other news this morning, a suspect in california in a shooting rampage at a california university is is scheduled to be arraigned today. that will take place in oakland. six students and one employee died when a gunman opened fire.

a professor who taught at the school used to brag, he says that the suspect used to brag about violence and that goh was studying nursing at the school. on this day in history, remember martin luther king, jr., it was april 4th, 1968 when he was shot. it's been 44 years since the reverend went down on the balcony of a memphis motel. a nearly one-mile stretch of a street will be renamed martin luther king, jr. avenue in memphis today. more than 900 u.s. cities have streets named after dr. king. time now for a check of the forecast. let's go back over to lynette. >> we are looking at some mild temperatures this morning, 48 degrees in baltimore right now. we should be at 39. we're well above that in d.c., 55 degrees, 48 in easton, along the eastern shore this morning, and we're seeing 50s in york and also hagerstown, winchester more of the same . the satellite and radar has lots of clouds on it and that's why these temperatures are a bit up this morning instead of the

cold temperatures that we had yesterday. we see the clouds in order as we head back off toward the south and west, a cluster of showers and thunderstorms. this will be the focal point for some maybe severe weather as we go throughout the day as well as down south. so we're looking at the future trend and for the most part we should stay dry, i'm not going to rule out maybe an isolated shower or thunderstorm this afternoon. but you can see most of the activity stays off toward the south of us. so that's the good news for us as we head out and about for today. but we will be in the clouds, but temperatures will be able to still bump up a bit. so i am forecasting a high today right around 72 degrees. it is going to be warmer, not going to rule out that chance for that shower or thunderstorm in the forecast for you. but, again, not everybody will be getting wet if we do get wet for today. here's a check of the seven-day forecast because we have lots going on in the next seven days as we will start you out on friday. we do have opening day. awesome. it's going to be absolutely gorgeous out there thursday and friday and that will continue even as we head into your sunday.

as we check out the little easter bunny there, well, things are looking good on easter. hope you enjoy it. let's go ahead and get a check of that traffic now with angela. good morning. how are the roads? reporter: good morning, lynette. still a lot of overnight work zones out there. as a matter of fact, traveling on 95 at the tidings bridge, blocking a couple of lanes in the southbound direction there. also still on 95 at the fort mchenry tunnel, should be out of the way momentarily. in the meantime, let's see what tes like for those of you making the drive on 695 on the southeast side if you travel between curtis creek and i-95. it's pretty much wide open and moving moving freely for you there. if your early drive passes the beltway on liberty road, crews just reopened lane closures there due to some overnight construction, but it shouldn't be a factor as well. and we invite you to follow us for instant traffic updates via twitter at maryland traffic. a man is is being beaten by. >> the motive that sparked the violence. a teacher found dead in a

hotel room. what we know this morning and why the school is so well known. you're watching what's new, now and next on "good morning maryland." we're back in just a few minutes.

police are searching this morning for a group of teenagers accused of severely beating a glen burnie man. the motive a cigarette. it happened in the 5500 block of ritchie highway. this is monday. police say the suspect approached the victim and asked for a cigarette. police say johnson picked up a piece of wood and hit him. at the point other teenager jumped in on the victim and before being run off by a store employee, that man was badly beaten. police are hoping surveillance video will help to identify other suspects. in baltimore coin, police are looking for these three men. they're believed to have stolen a cash drawer from a giant supermarket on wilkins avenue. police say the man in the first

photo distracted the cashier while the other two men used something to open the manager's cash drawer. a witness told police they saw two of the men get into a green suv and take off. police are asking for anyone who recognized these men to call metro crime stoppers at 866-7-lockup. coming up new at 5:00 this morning, how does your favorite grocery store stack up against the others? a new report, they rate the best and the worst. that's coming up at 5:15. plus what medical tests physicians are now calling useless and how to save yourself the time as well as the money. that story you can find at 5:20 this morning. and you can always sport your black and orange, how you can support the orioles wherever you go, that's all coming up new at 5:45. just a few minutes before 5:00. in news around the world, police are trying to figure out what killed a renowned french academic. he was found dead in a new york city hotel room tuesday. police say he was naked and the room was in shambles, but there was no sign of obvious trauma. authorities also found alcohol and prescription meds in the

room, but it's not clear yet what contributed to his death. the institute of political studies in paris is is known for training french politicians, including former imf chief dominic strauss-kahn. 15 people are dead this morning following a warehouse fire in southern moscow. the building was use today house vendors which had construction materials. the bodies were found two hours after that fire started. authorities say the fire could have been caused by an electrical heater. as a result this morning more than 10,000 people are without electricity in japan. it killed two people and injured about 160 others. that storm grounded more than 500 flights and stopped commuter trains in and around tokyo. if you're decorating easter eggs this week with your kids, do you think you can match this? this woman in germany wears a traditional costume to purchase her easter eggs and she demonstrates the wax technique that she uses to create the beautiful wo