different approach. abc2's jeff hager has more. >> reporter: the leaders of this effort said they could try to police children's health but they are hoping children will make healthier choices themselves to cut out the extra calories. we consume it by the truckload. the average american puts down 46 gallons of sugar sweetened beverages each year. with the help of their parents they are shifting away. >> only drink one a week. >> do you miss this? what was your favorite? >> all of them. >> reporter: more than 200 students at this middle school have signed a pledge to wean themselves on their own, cutting out soda for 30 straight days. the cochair of the regional

wellness committee said it's a more effective way to reach kids than the proposed ban on super sized drinks in new york. >> i don't think it's useful. for one thing you can get around the amount by buying four drinks. it lefthands to the nanny state. i believe educating the public will push the market. >> reporter: getting companies to shift from sugar laden drinks to water or healthier options may take time, but so will this campaign. you can tell kids they drink 40 pounds of sugar a year in their drinks, but it's not always as simple as you think. in fact even hauling off the

cold drink machine doesn't mean the one in the teacher's lounge will go. >> lots of parents are trying to do this but it's not just parents telling them what to do but demonstrating it themselves. >> reporter: you may wonder why health advocates are targeting sodas. there's no other production, bur burgers or potato chips that contribute like sodas do. new york city's mayor michael bloomberg is banning it. bloomberg said large sugar packed sew das are a -- sodas are a large part of the obesity problem. many say your mom can tell you

not to have too much sugar but your government is not your mom and never should be. >> people should have the mindset to know that certain amounts of sugar in large quantity tipples aren't good for you. it causes health problems, obesity, especially in children. >> i would say that it is kind of encroaching upon our rights, but i don't know about a business providing. >> bloomberg's administration has been successful in getting france fat -- transfats. this is a hot topic. what do nutritionists think? that's coming up on abc2 news at 5. some fast food kids meals are also packed with sugar.

some menus that advertise that are healthy are high in salt and fat. chick-fil-a's nuggets contain as much cholesterol as a big mac. and sonic's junior burger meal has twice the amount of sugar has two twinkies. burger king's contained as much cholesterol as six slices of pork bacon and more sodium than the children should eat at breakfast. for much more on the soda ban pledge in new york and information about sugar and soda and what it does to your body, head to our home page at abc2news.com. just check on the story called

sugary drinks and your health and it will send you to this topic. taking a live look downtown at the harbor. let's see if we can hit the repeat button over and over. for the most part it's been pretty nice. wyatt's in the storm center. most marylanders see a partly cloudy sky -- sky. it crosses the estate line into southern delaware and through montgomery county. still a healthy thunderstorm coming down the i-270 corridor. it will impact travelers heading into the d.c. area. it could be a bigger headache than normal. you can seat rain shower -- see the rain shower. partly cloudy skies, the rule

with a couple of pop-up showers on a hit and miss basis. we'll keep the chance for scattered showers in the forecast. much hotter by the weekend. we've got those details coming up. the nfl has come under fire for how it has handled injuries to players and head injuries. jamie costello joins us with the details. >> reporter: i'm thinking of two players, bill pellington and john mackie. silvia said john's playing in the nfl led to his passing away. a complaint joins 80 pending lawsuits against the nfl. hard knocks are part of the nfl and it has made football the nation's most popular sport. it's the nfl taking the hit.

players are suing the league in a landmark class action lawsuit claiming that the nfl misled them for decades. >> there's no more focus on the most important part of your body which is your brain. >> reporter: he played full back for the philadelphia eagles. he believes he suffered long term brain damage and is one of the former players filing suit. >> this action is about the retired players getting the help that they need. >> recently the nfl has come under fire for the handling of concussions. down your seau committed suicide in his home. >> now we're hearing about the dark side. >> reporter: the former players say the nfl promote's the game's

violence and deliberately and fraudulently concealed the links between the game and brain damages. they're asking for a monitoring system. go to abc2news.com and you'll find the concussion resource guide. we're the people web site with this resource. the phone apps. we're taking a look at the football helmets f you have kids playing football, kids and concussions, is the top story. right now at abc2news.com. jamie costello, website woab

abc2 -- abc2 news. >> the maryland live casino opened with massive crowds. how drivers handled the trip today. take a look at this, where this little guy was spotted when we come back. n

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french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover. new tonight, the department of transportation unveiled a new strategy to fight distracting driving. this comes one day after a landmark verdict in massachusetts that sent an 18-year-old driver to jail for a crash he caused by texting and driving. >> reporter: allison holden said her life was interrupted by a tiny cell phone being used by distracted driver who slammed

into her car. >> my life has been changed every day. my brain is still damaged. >> reporter: after a three jay yea recover -- three-year recovery, she's still in pain. dawn is only left with memories of her dad. yesterday in a landmark verdict, a jury in mass mass found aaron devoe guilty of vehicular manslaughter. records proved that devoe was testing -- texting before he hit the car. >> to think they can use them behind the wheel of a car and drive safely and yuch can't do that oar today transportation secretary ray lahood called it an epidemic.

it called on states without text and driving laws to join the others and promise as partnership with driver's ed programs. >> we need to teach our kids, or the most vulnerable drivers that texting and driving don't mix. >> reporter: secretary lahood hopes that this will lead to a decrease in distracted driving. all right, pretty quiet across most of the state. we got a breeze here. it's calm here a breeze with the flag. 77 degrees right now. that's fairly comfortable and the humidity is sort of moderate to low right now. that's lessening our thunderstorm risk but we did capture a pretty good one.

thunderstorm passing overhead and pushing out over the chesapeake then from kent island to hemingway, there comes that thundershower and clearing up with sunshine in behind it. there has been a mix of clouds and sunshine. maryland's most powerful radar showing one of the thunder showers north of the d.c. belt way north of silver sprifnlgt oth -- spring. other than that, most of the state sitting quiet a couple of storms are moving toward hagerstown. we'll keep an eye on. that winds from the west now. humidity not so bad. look at some of these spots where they a rain shower. 68 in east ton -- easton. you get an idea that our thunderstorm potential today was held back by the fact the air is

not that humid. we don't have that fuel in place for vying dpoar -- vigorous thunderstorms. the rain shower is possible right into 9:00, 10:00. across the east coast, other than the scattered showers in the northeast we're look good. high pressure bubble will mean more clear skies than anything and steadily getting hotter with that high pressure getting hot are over the west. we clear out nicely for your friday. realize temperatures are set to rise mid-80 by tomorrow. saturday in the upper 80s. we're probably talking about 90 plus. overnight 56 with the showers ending. we'll say 85, split the difference right down the middle and tomorrow down to 60 under generally clear sky.

seven-day forecast, there it is, as temperatures push up close if not at 90 degrees. >> mob the -- maybe the wild weather had this out. two bear spottings. carol manor elementary school delayed school by 20 minutes because of a bear sight. no word if animal control plans to capture them. to ban or not to ban soda. how much is too much. it's become a national debate. now the idea is being tossed around right here. we're joined by a dietitian. robin, we've had many conversations about this. did you ever think we would get to this point? >> it's not surprising. every once in awhile we change our focus to one single knew tri

went. everybody puts their energy into that. it takes away from the general message to eat well and sugar is the classic example of empty calories, calories that don't bring knew triyets with them dosh knew r--- nutrients with them. so that's one problem and because people drink a lot. in a study of 17,000 people, one of the major sources of weight gain over a 20-year period is sweetened beverages. >> you think soda is fueling it? >> it's part of it. the other thing is portions, to limit portions and whatever one's thought is about the relationship of government to banning. when people start thinking

32-ounces is a reasonable serving, that as a des -- distortion, portion distortion. when we pick on one nutrient, we forget we're trying to watch out for healthy fats. we want to include fiber. so putting our attention on sugar means people will say oh, this beverage doesn't have sugar in it. so and the thing people don't realize how much sugar is in tonight. the american heart association said women should not have more than section and a half teaspoons of sugar a day. >> we'll stick around and talk with you. we'll talk to moms at brick body about how they're cutting sugar out of their kid's diets.

all women want to have healthy babies. how new research will detect genetic disorders. your child might be at risk for developing brain cancer. ct scans may be the cause of that. we'll be right back. i stepped on the machine, and it showed me the pressure points on my feet and exactly where i needed more support. then, i got my number. my tired, achy feet affected my whole life. until i found my number.

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guaranteed. we were so bad at this before. particularly you. [ laughs ] everyone grows with miracle-gro. a possible breakthrough in detecting genetic disorders. researchers at the university of washington have mapped out the genome of a baby in a womb and may allow the testing for 3500 disorders. researchers took samples of a

woman who was pregnant and saliva from her partner and mapped the dna. it could eventually replace am neosen tee sis. oosh. repeated radiation from ct scans could increase your child's risk of leukemia and brain cancer. kids under age 15 with two or three ct scans had a higher risk. at least 4 million kids undergo those ct scans every year. researchers said one third are unnecessary. >> gonorrhea may soon become incurable. that's what the world health organization is saying.

for years, it has fought the diseasement now several countries are reporting that it's -- the antibiotic is ineffective. you know about the morning after pill. it's taken to prevent pregnancy after unprotected se. the new york times is reporting the scientific evidence shows the pill doesn't work the way many people think it does. labels say they block fertilized eggs from implanting in a woman's uterus. abc2news.com is the place for all the health news you need. just log in. you'll find interesting health categories to make sure you and your family get all the

information you need. >> it was a large turnout for maryland live! and how drivers coped with it. the coverage continues on the big soda debate. how moms are cutting back on how much sodaer that kids drink. and families getting keys toker that new home.

the -- students at one school pledged to cut sodas out of their diet. more than 200 students have trade off soda for healthier is under major fire

for having handled concussions. more than 2,000 former players are suing the league. the players claim the nfl led them for decades about the risk of long-term brain injury. they said -- the allegation is that they thought to mislead players. maryland's newest slot casino is in its second day of business. last night's grand opening through 10,000 people. good news for the casino. bad news for people trying to get around arundel mills mall. >> we had very few issues. >> that's the opinion of the general mana