>> very good stuff. a strong, deadly and coming towards us. we're tracking sandy all morning long and bringing you everything you need to know preparing to stay ahead of the storm. every 51 minutes, that's how often someone dies in an alcohol-related crash. and a six month old puppy abused. animal cruelty. an exclusive for you on this friday, october 26th. good morning. it is a story that everyone is going to be talking about today and continue as it develops over the next 48 hours. people up and down the east

coast bracing for sandy. >> so far she is to blame for 21 deaths in the caribbean. the storm has caused problems in jamaica, cuba, dominican republic and haiti. look at this coming in is morning. people there are dealing with the rains and flooding and some gusts more than 100 miles per hour. and downed lines. >> we'll show you a live picture down in florida so you can seize what they are dealing with, the winds packing up quite a bunch even though the storm is hundreds of miles from the area. this storm, which is expected to creep up the east coast, is now being dubbed franken storm. the question a lot of you want to know, will it hit us and how bad will it be. >> with a check of the forecast this could be days away but we need to be prepared. >> we need to get prepared. we can see sandy you saw the visual where it was close to

miami. this is it on the radar. and we just enhanced the cloud tops you look at the reds. that's where they are getting lots of rain coming in. it is lashing florida and it will move up the coast as we go through the next couple of days. this is the track of sandy. you can see that it was a 1, 2, and a 3. we move it back to a 1 as it goes along the coast and finally we see change in this for today. we can see this will take that turn off towards the west and look at where that is now. virginia up to. anywhere between there this could hit. let's say it does not hit but to the north, that is what we want but we're going to be impacted. we're talking about beach erosion and flooding. we're talking about rain fall.

some people are not taking chances as far as sandy goes. >> many making preparations getting ahead of the storm should mother nature deal us a harsh blow. sherrie johnson is standing by. >> reporter: people are out getting ready and prolonging the power. here at this lowe's store they graped generators and there were empty shelves. after the storms this summer with the outages, larger generators attached to your home were a worthwhile investment. they hope to get a shipment in as soon as possible. they come and they are trying to get ready. >> i was sold out by lunch.

>> reporter: bge is getting ready for outages. they are taking advantage of the storm being a few days away by getting people in place. sherrie johnson, abc 2 news. and right now 434 and soon there will be a new bridge. this on 295. but for the crews to install the first two, there will be closures and detours to keep in mind. we'll show you a live look of 695 at bw parkway there. that's where the construction will start. >> the crews will work on the road that's a gateway to the districts. now drivers should use the alternative routes. and. that's something to keep in mind. how the roads are looking. we'll go to lauren. >> if sandy brings in a lot of rain and flooding that

construction on 295 will be canceled. keep that in mind. there are no delays right now nice and clear from the beltway down to fayette street. and as we check in and take a look here at 695, everything is moving along and in parkville this what it looks like. that's a look at traffic. this weekend you may notice an enhanced police presence. they will be looking for drunk drivers and linda so is live in white marsh. linda, what is this about?

linda. >> we'll get to linda and that live snot a moment. and an exclues that i is going to make you give your pet extra love before you head out today. this is another disturbing case of abuse that happened in baltimore city. control officers brought in a six month old pit bull puppy and into the bark shelter and south baltimore. they named the puppy molly and bite wounds on the face, paws and they are deep and infected and skin missing from both sides of the body causing the areas to bulge out. now there is a chance that molly is going to survive her injuries. the dog was found in an abandoned home which is not far from the shopping center. a contractor found the dog tied up in the basement.

>> i get upset thinking about it, i don't know how someone can do that to a dog. >> we have more video of molly, it is posted at www.abc2news.com. officials are hoping that someone will see the story and feel compelled to come forward with information. other stories this morning, not guilty, that's how a judge found the adults facing charges related to a crash on route 50. four people and three teens re debby and josh were franco were accused of giving them alcohol. statement from witnesses and police on the scene of the crash did not match statements heard in court. we hope our children are comfortable talking about anything, whether it is good or bad f that's not the case there is a place your child can turn to if they are having suicidal thoughts.

and the first lady will attend the opening of a peer counseling hotline and a call center for any teens having problems. we're keeping an eye down to the south as sandy makes her way up the seaboard. a live look now. this is west balm beach florida. we showed this yesterday, because can you see the palm trees and blowing. >> if you listen to the reporters they say the wind was an issue. they are getting prepared to take -- prepared to take a beating. >> how can it affect us. we need to be prepared for a beating but we will be affected by the storm. we're not sure where it will make landfall but we have the general area and again that is between virginia and new england. around new york and maine. and there is a bullseye.

if it doesn't make a direct hit in maryland, we will be feeling the effects. why? >> look how big the storm is. tough step out to see how charge the storm is. this is just the storm acting by itself now. and it look to the north and west. we have another system that will be working in here as we go through the weekend. so you couple it with the strong cold front pushing to the east. put it with sandy and you have a monster of a storm that we're talking about. now is the time to have your preparations in store. let's turn our attentions to what you are dealing with today. right now we have patchy fog. be prepared for low visibility. enjoy the day. we have the calm before the storm. again that timing for the storm we're looking at conditions probably saturday. but again the storm is so big you will see a couple of rain bands, clouds. saturday night it will happen and sunday we could see some

heavy rain across the area. we work into monday, tuesday, that's when we'll see the worst of the conditions. by wednesday, things will improve. breezy as we head throughout the day. temperature wise today. you are stepping out, another mild day on top. you don't need the heaviest coat. after leaving a trail of destruction. sandy the big story obviously today is turning towards the united states. how many are preparing in case the hurricane should reach our shore. one person is dead after a shooting at a mega church. who is responsible for the attack on worshippers. and megan and charlie. everything is up to speed here south of the beltway. we'll let you know what traffic looks like on 83 coming up on good morning maryland.

now she is setting her sights on the east coast. it has been down graded to a category 1. don't threat fool you. she is packing a punch for us leaving 21 dead. sandy in virginia beach people are preparing and tying things down. and all provisions they need and store owners are worried about a loss of business. >> like i say on tuesday. >> and crews are working and the company has started calls to other states across the midatlantic. contractors are in the maryland

dc area to improve reliability and later today bge will let us know about preparations they have in place for sandy. and it made a promise to the customers they will start being more proactive in times like this. we'll bring you up dates throughout the morning and the day. you can be with us on your smart device as well. up load the app so you can stay ahead of the storm with everything that you need to know. voters will head to the polls in less than two weeks. starting tomorrow early voting starts in maryland. can you vote at centers in the county where you live. they will be open monday through saturday from 10 to 8 and on sundays from noon to 6. it 4:44. it is not only the president

but there are other initiatives in maryland on the ballot and same-sex marriage. today the new york city mayor will join the governor and baltimore city mayor and this is for a news conference on question six. the mayor donated 250,000- dollars to the marylanders for the equality campaign f the passes sameson sex -- same-sex marriage will be legal. and the candidates are rallying supporters and giving interviews. now something that the president said after one of the interviews is getting a lot of attention. we have the details on what it is. >> reporter: there is no shortage of heated exchanges between the president and mitt romney. and now the president is drawing fire from the romney campaign for a comment he made following an interview with rolling stone magazine. the editor passed along a message to the president. she said can you do it

referring to his reelection bid. the president's response was this. you know kids have good instincts they look at the other guy and say that a bull something. the other guy he is talking about is romney. the pain put out a statement saying the president is rattled and on the defensive. he is running on empty and nothing left but attacks and insults. and it is unfortunate he has to close the campaign this way. and they tried to explain what the president meant. >> he was referring to a practice of sliding around and trying to change positions. >> reporter: the historian who interviewed him for the article said today that this shows in the election cycle the candidates don't seem to have a relationship of mutual respect. another big story we'll

update you on is the storm that we're looking at, that's sandy. we know it will be bad. >> this morning on good morgue maryland -- good morning maryland, we'll show you how bad things are and how they will be for us in the days to come. >> everyone has been asking questions. here we go. >> let's break it down the track of sandy that's what people want to know. you can see what is going on, can you see the stats there. the winds at 80 miles per hour but it is a category 1. it is moving to the northwest. and we are going to continue the movement for a few more days but our biggest concern now to show you the change, look how it comes in across the right along the middle there. this is the line that we tell you to watch. and it comes across our area. and that's what we're looking at now. let's say that it stays more

off to the south or north. we'll have a better chance and not so much flooding but even if it doesn't stay to the north of us, we're going to get flooding across the area and get beach erosion and we'll have impacts from the storm. the tropical storm force winds in the picture for us. we'll have widespread power outages across the area. get your preparations. let's talk about the tracks for this. we have been looking at this hoping that maybe it will go out to sea. we had this track in there. we're watching with this. winds sustained 567890-mile per hour winds, that's basically above tropical storm force then gusts to 65 miles an hour and more. the rain will 5:00 to 8 inches and coastal flooding inland snow potential. we'll talk more about this all morning long. don't go anywhere. start getting yourself ready. let's gate check of traffic

with lauren cook. we have fog to talk about. >> it is causing reduced visibility. turn on the low beams and sandy could cause a lot of flooding. you will want to be careful this weekend. stay with us as we bring you all of the latest information. if you are traveling in howard county there is nothing to get in your way over to 695. and everything is moving right along. no delays as you head to 95. this what 83 looks like in hunt valley. everything nice and clear. not many cars out there. that's a look at your time saver traffic. over to you. 449. and a lot of fun. halloween night can bring health issues for kids. what parents need to know so the little ones don't end up with an emergency.

and ahead. and keeping safe in kuwait. and the welcome that is planned for this gal. get out your mobile device if you want to track sandy. off the coast but it will be tracking to our area. what you want to do is go to the app store. down load it. don't go anywhere, we'll be back. we'll show you pictures from west palm beach.

out at key west the sun is not up as you expect. but can you see making out some of the wind there off the shoreline. these are shots that we'll have for you. making its way along the coast line and live reports.

a hero's welcome, sarah has been in kuwait keeping the troops safe. this is a picture of her and her handler. they spent time together overseas and be reunited. she will arrive around 9:00. and an arrest has been made following a shooting at a mega church. floyd palmer was arrested after a manhunt. he walked in and opened fire and a prayer service. things you -- things you may want to know. and a 31st thanksgiving dinner and there is a turkey drive. can you donate turkey, canned

goods, stuffing, they need it. those are the foods they need for the meal. the center will be open all weekend accepting donations. the tigers have their work cut out for them. the giants took the lead after the shut out last night in san francisco. game 3 is set for saturday night in detroit. and the annual zoo boost will start. there will be trick or treating, food and the music. and it starts at 10 a.m. each way. all the candy that kids want but can be harmful. parents should let their kids pick some of the candy and store the rest away. always make sure this they brush their teeth after eating candy. we heard this for years. >> we still