learn their fate. i'm linda so, how soon a decision could be coming. why attorney for george zimmerman are now doing damage control. and i'm is a rhee johnson live in downtown baltimore with a preview of the baltimore weeds event coming up. we'll have to find out what she's reading this morning. thank you for joining us, thursday, we're almost to friday. i'm megan pringle. >> and i'm charlie crowson. a check of the forecast to say good morning to meteorologist lynette charles. >> good morning charlie, good morning megan, good morning everyone. we are dealing with another round of some showers and storms diving down from pennsylvania as of now. so maryland's most powerful radar is on the wet side this morning and most of the showers and thunderstorms are working their way into morning baltimore county and also hartford county and even cecil county. around jarrettsville heavier rain there along i-83 if you are going up into pennsylvania this morning be aware of the wet weather. more of the same in betterton as of now and also bali that.

more of this as we head through the morning hours and make sure you have that rain gear. also patchy fog across the year once again for today. five miles of visibility in baltimore and 7 in easton. now a check of the traffic with lauren cook. good morning and welcome and how is it that ozzie osbourne that you met? i did. that actually dates back to my days with mtv. i was on a show called "mtv hits" right before college and i interviewed ozzie osbourne, elton john and so many southwesting people. and as you said we have some fog across the region and do expect reduced visibility and on the jfx some construction in the northbound lanes altogether overnight. that's right at 28th street shut down. so this morning one lane is shut down in both directions so falls road or church street is not looking like a bad alternate. 695 parkville, everything up to speed.

11 minute ride from 95 up to 83 and the best side will be nice and clear. here at liberty road traveling up to 83, no concerns and an easy ride heading down the 95. that's a look at your time saver traffic. the fates of two brothers accused of beating an african- american teenager in the park heights neighborhood are in the hands of a judge. >> linda so is here this morning with what's expected today. >> reporter: guys we've learned the judge planned to announce a decision this morning. both sides rested their case. they are charged with beating a 15-year-old black teen while patrolling for a jewish neighborhood watch in 2010. eli took the stand yesterday and told the court he acted in self-defense saying the teen attacked him first with a nail studded board. will he also testified he thought his skills in the israeli military would have helped calm things down during the confrontation. the judge said she plans to

announce her decision sometime this afternoon. we'll stay on top of it and bring you the latest developments both on air and online. linda so, abc2 news. news time now 4:33. the case of the brothers has been of high interest because of implied parallels to the trayvon martin shooting. the man accused of murdering that florida teen while on watch duty is now fighting some tough social media critics. george zimmerman's legal team started new website responding to questions about a former myspace page. there, zimmerman allegedly made disparaging remarks about mexicans and called his former girlfriend his quote ex-ho and refers to two previous arrests. here's a look at the facebook page. the attorneys say the social media history of trayvon martin will be brought up as well. check that out by going to facebook/georgezimmermanlegalca e. more on that to come. details abilities the cockeysville's native's death

will be available in charlottesville. the judge ruled that nonsensitive evidence will go on display may 15th and 16th. the everyday include the photographs -- evidence includes the photographs and the sentencing of george huguely. today, governor o'malley will thank workers for their hard work when her mother stabbed her baby. here's the 911 call. >> a parent came in and she stabbed the baby. >> where is the child right now? >> he's in a conference -- she's in a conference room. she was having a visit with the mother and she stabbed the baby. >> the baby pretty diamond was released from the hospital monday while the mom thomas remains in jail without bond. we're learning more about the son accused of stabbing his mother in westminster. neighbors heard suzanne liem coying out for help sunday night. she was leaning against the wall bleeding and then taken to

shock trauma. investigators say her son erik liem was standing holding a knife when they got there. he has since been charged. the reward for information in a cold case murder in baltimore county has risen to more than $30,000. back in march of 1996 joann lecornu was shot and killed. she manage today drive across york road to the giant food shopping center but got in further. the gunman grabbed something out of her car after she collapsed. her death still haunts her twin sister. >> it -- changed my life completely. i feel i turned into a different person. and i have horrible anxiety. i still do. >> if you have any information about the murder police would like to hear from you. it is now 4:36 and facebook's been doing a lot of changing from timeline

adaptations now to organ donors. >> this morning how most people are sharing their information with everyone and may not even know it. >> and also in case the weather turns severe the new protection they are suggesting you might want to have on hand in your house. you're waking up to what's new in baltimore. a look at the statue cam high atop the statue of liberty. "good morning maryland" returns in just a bit. ñ[=

you're going down! it's all over! no! it's not over yet! sofas that can take anything life throws at them. if your kids ride bikes and they roller blade you've probably already got them. however this season hell melts could be more than just -- helmets could be more than just for sports, they reduce injury and save lives during severe weather as well. when those tornadoes ripped through alabama recently the one child admitted tonight hospital who was wearing a helmet only had minor scrapes and bruises and right now

campaigns promoting helmets started nationwide. 50 big rig trucks covered in water near cincinnati. business owners at the dealership where the trucks were saying the damages could reach up into the millions of dollars. severe rains across much of the midwest that go all the way down into parts of oklahoma, kansas as well as missouri. we dot a little get of a shower yesterday, what's in store for us today? >> charlie, more showers coming in the picture right now and just around the nation, we see areas of unsettled weather back off towards the west we have more up to the north and even in the middle of the nation. down south, but our concern with is the showers and thunderstorms already working their way into our area. around cecil county and also kent county now. we are seeing more showers into carroll county as well and even into baltimore county. sunrise things will start to dissipate a little bit. dry out some and maybe even get a few peeks of sunshine in here

today. yesterday we had the easterly flow. temperatures this morning are above average in the low 50s. a check of the traffic now with lauren cook. all right, before we get to traffic. we want to introduce you to lauren because she's wonderful. new job, newly engaged. the way you're looking at how things get around baltimore and it's going to be changing. >> lauren cook is here this morning giving you a sneak peek of the exclusive traffic system abc2 is ready to unveil. >> well, a brand new traffic system this monday. it's designed to give you the mosaic cat up to the minute -- accurate up to the minute traffic reports and help you avoid all the problems during your traffic commute. it's basically a giant ipad and with a simple touch of the screen you can see what accidents, delays or construction you'll need to get around. the new travel time feature lets you know exactly how long it will take to drive from point a. to point b. and just how fast or slow speeds are clocking in. and of course i'll provide the best alternate routes to help you avoid all the congestion.

for up to the minute time saver traffic reports watch "good morning maryland" beginning at 4:30 a.m.. lauren cook, abc2 news. >> well, we are dealing with absolutely no congestion this morning on 695. here's a live look at route 295. everything up to speed. it will be a nice easy ride coming up to interstate 7 #. and the beltway moving through the towson area also going to be nice and clear. here's a live look at york road at 11 minute ride on the outer loop from 95 up to 83. and we have the construction going on on the jfx and one lane will be shut down in both directions at 28th street. overnight the northbound lanes will be shut down as crews work to repair damaged drainage pipes. stick with falls road or charles street as the alternate routes. that is a look at your time saver traffic. back to you. thanks so much lauren. pastor answering holy questions this morning. >> the comments he made now causing a major uproar about children and sexuality.

>> plus the latest on the jfx closures and it's going to affect your morning commute. those changes, they start tonight. we have details on that. you're waking up to what's new in maryland. we'll be right back. ff [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework [ female announcer ] and best of all,

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you can't use the northbound lanes of the jfx between 10:00 tonight and 4:00 tomorrow morning. this is going to go on through sunday. they are repairing pipes that have previously collapsed. lawmakers are going into a special session in two weeks. they're first hammering out a budget on monday. that's on may 14th. if they didn't the so-called doomsday budget -- doomsday budget would have taken effect july 1st. michele bachmann is expected to back mitt romney today. bachmann suspended her campaign for president after the iowa caucuses. the president and first lady are hosting is cinco de

mayo reception at the white house today. they held a breakfast yesterday at the naval observatory. the holiday by the way is this saturday. how private is your facebook? according to a new investigation by "consumer reports" about 13 million don't use the site's privacy controls. 28% share all or almost all of their wall posts with everyone not just their friends. today people are gearing up for the 17th annual books for kids day. >> the event is sponsored by the baltimore reeds book bank and abc2's sherrie johnson is here with more. >> reporter: we are live here in downtown baltimore at the baltimore reeds book bank. and i got to tell you i am surrounded by hundreds of books here and i have to tell you i used to love the book "ramona." there was this book that i used to love to reed. i'm going to look for it here but listen they are gearing up for the baltimore reads book

event coming up on saturday and this morning, i have mark fiery joining me live here. and he's actually the director here for the book reads program. tell me a little bit what about athis event on -- about why this event on saturday is so important. >> this is where we collect as many books as possible to collect the he sources that are required for children to learn how to read. we've found within a lower income home, children will have only about 100 hours of reading time with their parents whereas in a middle income home they'll have over 1,000 hours. to build that vocabulary they need to have these resources and have the books at home. we put them up on the shelves here and get them into schools and teachers' hands and get them into families much as possible so that these children have the tools they need to be successful. >> reporter: the book bank has been around for about 20 yores here? >> it's our anniversary, 20th anniversary. we've been down here at the

"baltimore sun" for quit while now. over ten years and they've been quite generous. we house about 40,000 to 50,000 books here. >> reporter: saturday new or gently used books. >> any kind of book, we'll take care of it from there. we've got volunteers sorting for us! all right okay and that event it kicks off on saturday, may 5th. starts at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 2:00 p.m. at falls road and coal spring lane in baltimore. the event is open and free to the public. you can help a child. reporting live in downtown baltimore, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. a teacher of the jeer will be announced today. four middle school and two elementary school teachers are finalists for that award. the winner will move on to the state's teacher of the yore competition. the ceremony is going to be held this morning at the board of education building in towson. many students are dreading

the possible spike in stunt loan coasts a new program is offering up something that sounds too good to be true. harvard and m. i. t. will offer five courses this fall on subjects inclouding engineering and humanities. both universities gave $30 million to this project. around the nation this morning a north carolina pastor, his sermon has him facing a lot of backlash. he was talking to children about who may be a homosexualment about 45 minutes? this is what the pastor said. >> that's the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist you walk over there and crack that whip and up. give a good punch. okay? you're not going to act like that. >> now pastor sean harris, his response to the criticism was that jesus often used hyperbole and he was using the same

technique. he litter said that you should love everyone like jesus christ and be nonhomophobic. so what do you think about this? this is the hot topic today. head to the facebook fan page and join in on the conversation. new mexico mom's now accused of putting her 6-year- old daughter in a tanning bed. on wednesday that mom pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges. state law says no one under 14 can use tanning salons and it all started when a teacher noticed little girl's sunburn and she said she'd been tanning with her mom. you got to take a look at this video, thank goodness for protective glass. check this out. this line at the oregon zoo in portland really wanted to get to the little boy outside the exhibit. the child barely noticed what was going on around him but certainly other people did. got the lion's attention for sure. the zoo officials say that lions often interact with the younger visitors. all right, mother's day is just around the corner and ten days away. what are you getting mom? retailers think you're going to be spending a good bit more.

surveys show folks plan to spend around $150 on mother's day. what will people be buying? dinner is the number one most often given gift. they're expected to spend around $3.4 billion on dining out for mother's day. flowers come in second. florists can bring in $2.2 billion. and clothing and accessories also popular picks. what are you going to be getting mom for the upcoming mother's day? >> that's a good question. >> because mom may need relaxing. >> exactly. i will tell you i asked my husband all i want is just to sleep in one morning. >> that's it? >> that's all i want. >> easy to please lauren cook. >> exactly. >> welcome the member of our new morning team. >> thank you, i'm really happy to be here. >> how'd you sleep last night? >> you know i went to bed probably around 9:00 and woke up at a nice and early 2:30. >> that's late. >> that is late. i'm sure i'll start the go to

bed earlier soon but yeah i got some sleep and i was really excited. >> is your family watching? >> yes, my family is watching and i'm sure my fiance -- >> congratulation. >> he proposed actually the friday before i started here at channel 2. so -- >> a lot of changes. >> a lot of changes in my life but all good changes. >> we're happy that you're here. >> thank you, thank you very much. >> weather-wise now things okay. we had a little bit of rain yesterday spotty as it was and that could be the case today? >> yes, some more showers and basically a repeat of yesterday morning. the of course out there, we have -- patchy fog out there, we have the rain showers on maryland's most powerful radar right now and we have the lightning and storms. we can zoom in on some of these areas today. so bel air, yesterday getting some heavier rain passing through the area but the reds that you're seeing that's even heavier rain around kingsville and also perry hall. all this is going to the south. middle river you're going to be getting in on the heavier rain and just a matter of moments. we're also looking at some more

moderate rain around elkton and also chesapeake city northeast. along i-95 getting some very heavy weather and that will continue through the morning and then start to die down a little bit but before we do so another stop. kent county, betterton, galena strong storms right now as well. nothing is severe at this time as we go throughout the day we'll get a little bit more sunshine out there and possibly maybe even some more showers as we go into the afternoon. but visibility it is reduced this morning and we have some patchy fog out there. only five miles that we're seeing in baltimore right now. and temperature in baltimore coming in at 56 degrees. 52 in easton and we're at 54 in york, pennsylvania and we look at the weather pattern and the culprit for this unsettled weather, well, we have the stationary boundary if it works its way back as a warm front these temperatures are really going to heat up throughout the day. scattered showers remain in the forecast even into saturday. now a check now of the traffic

with lauren. good morning, i can't say it enough. happy to have you. thank you so much lynette. it's really nice to be here with all of you this morning. and if you are heading out on the roads as you mentioned we have a little bit of rain and a lot of fog across the region so this morning might be a good morning to turn on those low beams and be extra careful with the resolutioned visibility. everything up to speed on the beltway. a nice easy ride going up to 83 or the drive down to 95. and if you are using 95. the northeast corridor is in great shape. here's a live look right now at route 152 mountain road will be nice and clearment it will remain that way to the fort mchenry tunnel. harvard tunnel is also clear. we have the construction ongoing on the jfx. those northbound lanes are shut down overnight from 10:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. through monday as crews work to repair some damaged pipes. one lane is shut down this morning in both directions at 28th street. falls road or charles street good alternate routes. that's a look at your timesaver

traffic. back to you. city officials are using grants to help with the new avenue on crime prevention. >> stay with us this morning. the new set of cries that will be -- eyes that will be patrolling northeast baltimore. >> also just three months away, the preparations now being made for summer athletes headed the london. what happened overnight. we'll fill you in when we go around the world when "good morning maryland" continues on this thursday, may the 3rd. as we go to break this morning, a live look at the white house down in dc. news time 4:54.

a bouncer at popular bar in college park has been charged with beating a customer. prince george's county police say that marcus plumber a bouncer at rj bentley's choked, punched and threw a patron to the ground over the weekend. police say that this happened after the customer had already been thrown out once and then tried to come back into the bar. plumber had been charged with first and second degree assault. well, in howard county

police have charged benjamin blessing with armed robbery. he robbed a pharmacy by threatening a pharmacist with a blood filled syringe he says was tainted with aids. he was able to take more than $25,000 in ms before leaving. this happened at the cvs at the 3300 block of centennial lane on april 18th. surveillance video helped police find blessing, he has a $175,000 bond and the pharmacists were not hurt. a sergeant from hartford county has been accused of trying to kill his wife and now being held without bond. eugene pettyford jr. is being charged with attempted murder as well as assault. he grabbed her by the throat and found out that another man had left her a message. he lives in the 700 block of linark court in bel air. in baltimore city police are trying to cut down now on crime by adding another set of eyes. 33 to be exact.

new cameras are being installed in different baltimore neighborhoods but it's putting the city's crime camera network at more than 580 total. the cameras are going into parts of northeast baltimore. it's all part of city watch a network of monitoring crime cameras all over the city design today help prevent crime and identify suspects caught on video. time now for news around the world. more than 1500 supporters of protaliban islamic party have now rallied in pakistan condemning the death of osama bin laden. these protests came a day after president barack obama visited afghanistan on the anniversary of bin laden's death. a spokesperson for the parsy says the u.s. flags were deliberately burnt in that protest. a suicide car bombing was planned to coincide with president obama's visit the taliban said. afghan officials say at least seven people were killed by that blast at the complex for contractors and aid workers. obama says he will pull 23,000 troops out of that country by 2014. security tests continue in

london ahead of the summer olympics. four fighter jets are being used to intercept any rogue planes that fly across. it reaches heights of about 55,000 feet. it is the first time that these planes have been deploy since the second world war. it's decision day in the case of two brothers accused of beating a black teen on patrol for a jewish neighborhood watch. i'm linda so. when the judge is expected to hand down the decision. they left annapolis without a budget andless than two weeks lawmakers headed back. details on that on this thursday morning. good morning and thank you for joining us, i'm megan pringle. >> and i'm charlie crowson. let's head right over to the check of the forecast because you need to know how we need to dress getting ready for this thursday. lynette? >> all right charlie, you can take a hind jacket with you but also take the rain gear. that's more important because