james holmes. hours before the alleged shooting spree in a colorado theater you will hear about the disturbing images he took of himself with an iphone before police say he attacked movie goers. the best in the country once again. we're going to tell you the distinction that maryland public schools received for the fifth straight year. and lawmakers back in session and already on the table? higher prices for you at the gas pump. we have more on how a higher gas tax could be in the works on this thursday, january 10th. "good morning maryland" i'm charlie crowson. >> and i'm megan pringle. thank you for joining us. the weather might make you happy. >> nothing to be upset about with that lynette. >> especially into the weekend guys, 60 and 65? wow. i'm tell you. lot of people like that a lot of people want the snow. denver itself may see some snow for the game. but for the morning you're stepping outdoor wondering what you will be encountering and encountering temperatures that are cool and well above average especially the 40s in clarksville and also frederick this morning. and we have that 33 in elkton.

this is still above average. as the winds begin to subside, these temperatures will begin to fall as we head throughout the morning time frame. so be prepared for that. also be prepared for some sunshine in here through the tea as high pressure does it thing and the rain will stay away from us. no cold front that's moving in today and high pressure is going the -- taking the place of that. all five sweeps are on scanning and skies and scanning the fact that well we will be partly cloudy as we go through the day. and also mostly sunny skies could get in here as we go more into the 3:00 time frame. high temperature at 52. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. well, we do have a transformer fire right near mount hebron high school. that's near bracken drive and raleigh tamp lane. stick with -- tavern lane. stick with interstate 70 at your alternate route. more problems on 83 in baltimore county. we are dealing with an overturned tractor-trailer all of the northbound lanes are shut down right now at belfast

road. you will want to stick with york road as the alternate route. i will keep you up-to-date on the delays there. and if you are traveling on 695, here's what it looks like in towson. just west of york road traffic moving right along. no delays heading on the inner loop down to 95 and the outer loop nice and clear up to 83. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. news time right now 5:32. the 2013 legislative session is now officially open. and now that legislators are meeting in annapolis, they appear to be looking for ways to get a piece of your paycheck that's even bigger than before. abc2 news sherrie johnson is live this morning with more on the talk of higher gas prices. >> reporter: yes we're live here in towson on joppa road right across the street from a gas station where yes, there's talk already talk of you paying more at the pumps. yesterday governor o'malley suggested the idea of adding a penny to the state's gas tax to help pay for needed transportation projects in maryland. according to published reports, upping the sales tax by a penny

would raise about $700 million a year for needed transportation projects. in the past, the governor and legislative leaders have attempted to extend the state sales tax to gas. during the 2012 regular session lawmakers couldn't agree on the governor's plan to raise the state's 23.5 cents a gallon gas tax. right now, legislators who support an increase admit it's not a popular idea. republicans in annapolis say the majority democrats should not expect help from them on any increase in taxes. >> what we need to do is start spending the transportation dollars on the things they were allotted for. if we do that, we don't need to raise any taxes. >> we may have to be very creative when we look at ways in which we can address dress our transportation issues -- address our transportation issues but obviously something has to be done at some point. >> reporter: now legislators say it is too early to see what that gas tax proposal might look like. reporting live in towson, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. investigators are trying to

figure out what caused a row home fire in west baltimore. it broke out around 7:30 last night on the twitter avenue. it's unclear how many people lived in the row homes affected by the fire. there were several in adjoining loams that were evacuated but thankfully everyone got out safely. the judge overseeing the case against james holmes will rule tomorrow whether there's enough evidence to go to trial. in court yesterday, photos revealed more about what the accused killer did leading up to that theater shooting in aurora, colorado. six hours before holmes busts into that theater he snapped self-portraits using his iphone. there are sketches of the photographs that were shown in court and you can see them right there. wearing black eye contacts holmes smiled while holding a handgun near his face fully dressed in all black gear he later wore into the theater. in another holmes' bright orange hair was seen flaring out of the dark stocking cap and his tongue was sticking out. >> he was smiling and he was

having a hard time controlling himself. but he's not crazy. one bit. he's very, very cold. he's very, very calculated. >> investigators say that james holmes started casing the century 16 movie theater about three weeks before the shooting. he killed 12 people and injured 58 others in that shooting. police in montana are now investigating is robbery and a beating at a convenience store. all of it was caught on camera but we do warn you this morning this is going to be difficult to watch. a man walked up to the counter at the convenience store with an iced tea can couldn't afford to pay for it. the clerk paid for it out of his own pocket. the two men shook hands and the customer walked out. but instead of leaving, he meets three other men standing outside and they plan what happened next. the video shows the three men go into the store with baseball bats smashing everything in sight. the men then hit the clerk repeatedly with the bats as he crumbled to the floor. >> my employee, he was just trying to stay from the -- incident i believe. i want those guys to be behind the bars for the lifetime.

that's what i think because like those kind of people they have no right to stay outside. >> the clerk remains in the hospital this morning. the men who attacked him are still on the loose. well, he's acaused of fighting a police officer while being dressed as a clown. why not hear the same outfit in court? that's what kenneth crockus thought he was going to do yesterday. the judge -- really? the judge ordered him to leave and the court appearance was rescheduled for march. investigators say the scuffle back in november started when a police officer tried arresting crockus. he was responding to reports of a clown standing in street with a toy gun locking traffic. -- blocking traffic. so i guess that was an accurate report. >> we'll have to wait until march to see what he wears to court then. >> now he's dressed up crusty. he was. passenger's valued guitar is destroyed on a flight. >> betold you about the story earlier. furious with delta demanding the guitar be replaced. this morning the happy ending to that man's fight for his prized possession.

>> look at that guitar. >> the fight against breast cancer could become easier for women. a new bra that can help with early detection against the deadly form of cancer. >> as we head to break, look at that. does that not get you in the spirit? purple pride in downtown baltimore. city hall is glowing purple as the ravens get ready to head out west. we'll be right back. like a lot of things, trying to find a better job can be frustrating. so at university of phoenix we're working with a growing list of almost two thousand corporate partners -

companies like microsoft, american red cross and adobe - to create options for you. not only that, we're using what we learn from these partners to shape our curriculum, so that when you find the job you want you'll be a perfect fit. let's get to work.

on tuesday, we told you about a man whose 10,000 gaseous vintage guitar was smashed from a flight from buffalo to detroit. this morning some good news in the story. >> yeah, nice update for you. delta has agreed to pay dave snyder for his prized guitar. take a look because this is what it looked like when he went to pick it up at baggage claim. the staff wouldn't let him bring it on the plane and snyder says delta gave him the runaround before finally agreeing to preplace the i -- replace the guitar. he says gibson the guitar's manufacturer even reached out to him. they offered to pay for the repairs to it and a happy ending. because if you're a music or instrument lover the video tates to look at. >> we travel on a weekly monthly or yearly basis. lynette ever happened to you? >> i lost bags before but they

bring them to me. >> you bet they do. >> so i'm good. all right, let's try and make you good with the forecast for today. because well, we have the clouds out here this morning. but back towards the south, they're dealing with some wet weather. some severe weather possible for today as well. some of that wet weather will make its way in here not today though it won't be until friday that we get in on some showers scattered in nature. the school day forecast looks like this. 42 degrees this morning. it will be chilly with the winds out of the northwest. and cool this afternoon with the high coming in at 52. that's above average still. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. it's -- we're off a busy start up fortunately. avoid 83 north in baltimore county, an overturned tractor- trailer shut down all lanes at belfast road. stick with york road as the alternate. no problems traveling southbound making the push down to 695. we have some trouble in howard county. in ellicott city, a car crashed into a pole and now there's a transformer that's on fire. bge is on the scene but old

frederick road shut down to raleigh tavern lane. stick with interstate 730 as the alternate route. no problems from columbia pike to the beltway there. and here's what 95 looks like. traffic moving right along. no problems from elkridge to downtown baltimore. megan and charlie, over to you. well, technology is making life easier for so many of us and even students they're belting too. >> not so much probably anymore. you're getting the third grader now relying on apple's face time. >> the daily grind can be tough on us but how about where you live? the happiest cities in the united states. we'll look at where charm city falls on the list. is it really living up to its name? softer than ever. proves durable c we can get for less and spread that softness even further.

tu more than we thought we co. because this is the year of doing. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. roll out the new year with free whole home basic carpet installation on three rooms or more. ♪ ♪

♪ grown in america. picked and packed at the peak of ripeness. the same essential nutrients as fresh. del monte. bursting with life.

well, here's a report card we're putting on the fridge. for the fifth consecutive year maryland is the top state when it comes the public schools. the rankings are done each year by the publication education week. maryland was given a b. plus compared to the nation's overall average of c. plus. the state received its highest marks for emphasis on early childhood education and preparing students for college and on for work. well, how early is too early to send the child off to school? some parents in anne arundel

county tea say that catching that bus ten minutes before 6:00 in the morning is too much. they started an online petition to push back the start of the school time to 8:00 in the morning. they say right now, high school classes start at 7:17. and many students board the buses before 6:00. organizers plan on delivering the petition to the school board today. we'll let you know how it goes. the flu is spreading very aggressively and already 2200 people across the united states have been hospitalized. here in maryland, the cases are pretty widespread too. and abc2 news health reporter linda so has the latest on the flu outbreak and how you know if you have it because sometimes linda, people ignore the symptoms and they don't know what's going on with them. >> reporter: right, well if you have the flu, one of the first signs can be a fever as high as 106 degrees. with real bad headaches and muscle pains. by day three expect a sore throat, stuffy nose and a dry cough. by day seven symptoms such as

fatigue and coughing can last for weeks. hospitals across the country in our area have flu patients and doctors are calling it one of the fiercest outbreaks in a decade. it spread to 41 states and 18 children have already died. in boston the mayor declared a public health emergency and many patients had to wait 24 hours to be admitted because the sheer number of sick people showing up at the hospital. doctors say the only way to prevent more people dying from the flu is to get vaccinated. now it's not too late to get your shots. flu season typically lasts until march. and remember, abc2 is working for you. we have a special section on our website. dedicated to the flu with helpful information for you and your family. it's under the featured stories section on the front page at abc2news.com. linda so, abc2 news. well, when it comes to technology you know that kids love it but they may not look it very much after they hear they can actually help them speed up school work. even when they're not in the

building. third grader molly freeland had surgery forcing her to miss a number of school days. now her teacher set up face time with the computer to now interact with the classmates and stay on top of her studies. >> she can hear everything we're saying. and the kids have truly enjoyed having her with us. they miss her and they're worried about her because of her surgery. >> she is expected back in class soon but until then, she can keep up with her students and her studies via the internet. news time right now 5:48. mammography is still considered the gold standard for detecting breast cancer but a company is developing a new tool that is noninvasive and noncompression and very accurate. it's a bra that can detect temperature changes in a woman's breast which could signal cancer. if you wear it for 12 hours once a year. the company analyzes the data and sends it to your doctor. the company hopes to have the bra available for the public to purchase or use next year. we'll keep you posted on how that goes. time now for five things to

know on this thursday. two celebrities now holdingsing a news conference today about a missing persons investigation. actor tyler perry and reverend sharpton have become involved in the case of two men who disappeared years after being being arrested. back to work today for jerry sandusky. his lawyers are expected to argue that they were not given enough time to prepare for his trial last year. now sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of child sex abuse. new rules are expected next year to make sure mortgage borrowers can afford to repay the loans they take out. lendors will be required to verify the financial records. risky loans will be banned. restaurant week in baltimore county starts tomorrow. but today there's a kickoff event and it is happening at patrick's of cockeysville. chefs from the participating restaurants will prepare for sampling. the musical lineup is now set for president barack

obama's second inauguration. beyonce, kelly clarkson and james taylor already performing. others include widow of the slain civil rights activist. looking for a job where you're looking matters as much as the type of job you want. if you're in search in baltimore you will be in for an uphill battle. that's according to a new website out. careerbliss.com. according to that it ranked the best and worst cities for finding a jobment baltimore is the seventh worst on that list. number one on the best list is los angeles. followed by tucson, arizona. all right, well, lets us know what you think about that. we always love to hear your thoughts. in the meantime i think people will be pretty happy with the weather here in baltimore. >> i hope so. it just seems i can't make everybody happy and it really hurts my heart. because i want to you know -- >> don't let it get to you. >> i want them to have the snow and the warmer temperatures. we're still in the thick of things. so let's go ahead and start you out with what we have right now and temperatures coming in above average this morning. ellicott city is at 41 degrees

and we're at 45 in upper marlboro this morning. 43 in ijamsville and 39 norrisville and edgewood 38. 32 rock hall. to put things into perspective we should be at 24 degrees for a low temperature. now as we go through the day temperatures will warm up. we'll stay above average and we'll be in the low 50s but i know you're like lynette. where are the upper 50s and 60s? they're coming yesterday. the clouds got across the area. a little bit of drizzle and that's what held the temperatures down. but for today, this is what we're looking with. we have the clouds out there this morning. but high pressure will begin to build in across the area so we will get some sunshine in here before it's all said and done. we have this area of low pressure that's going to stay off to the north and west. that's what's going to be bringing us the showers in here for friday evening. mild weather moves in here as we go into your weekend. and speaking of the weekend, let's head to denver because that's where the game is. and they're going to be dealing with dry conditions for today. but this is is t forecast for denver -- the forecast for denver on saturday. 19 degrees and very cold with the chance for some snow

showers. looking in the low 50s here's the seven day with the 60s as we go into the weekend. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. 65 on sunday? aren't we in january? >> yes. >> we are. in baltimore county avoid 83 north. we have the of turned tractor- trailer right now at belfast road and you're taking a live look right now at mount carmel road where everything appears to be fine but that's not the case. you will want to stick with york road as the alternate route. here's 95 downtown at 395. you won't have any problems getting through the fort mchenry tunnel. the normal eight minute trip traveling northbound from the beltway tot toll plaza. as we take a look at the other abc2 timesaver traffic drive times, 695 no delays right now traveling from parkville up to towson. going to take you 11 minutes on the outer loop from 95 to 83. and the west side nice and clear. 11 minutes as well traveling the outer loop from 795 down to 95. that's a look at your traffic. megan and charlie, over to you.

so do you want to impress your friends with art but you can't afford it? well, try metro. >> a metro. up next a horse with an interesting talent when it comes to painting.

well, who says you can't teach on old dog new tricks or in this case maybe a retired racehorse. >> metro is now being used for different things. now metro meteor used to be a big shot racer but bad knees forced hemispore time. now in -- him into retirement. now in a farm. there's his owner ron and he searched for something to fill metro's days. he noticed he loved to bob his head up and down and thought painting might be a great option. he trained the horse to hold the paint brush and the magic started to happen. >> he doesn't have a brush in his mouth. he paws at the ground and bites at me. when i mix the paint he's just like give me the brush and let me do it. >> to help pay for his bills they sell his art at a gallery in gaithersburg. they get shipped around the world and like we said earlier if you want a piece of art think about maybe a metro. >> pretty cool of the something

painted by a horsefly -- horse anyway. we're going to tell what you a local sheriff's deputy did to make his kids feel safe at school and how the story is getting so much feedback this morning. >> a skier gets up close and personal with a very angry moose. a moose on the loose. yeah. what was going through his mind as he was running for his life. that moose is not backing down.