to annapolis today. >> they need to learn and now is a good time. >> her son nathan was riding his bike in a bike lane near johns hopkins university. an elderly driver didn't see him and ran him over. the driver was 83 years old. >> an accident took his life, so, yeah, he's gone now. >> today miss cohen wants drivers to be screened when they get older. >> the accident is only about a week away. this happened in 2011 on february the 26th. >> reporter: in the face of this tragedy, she's found a new purpose. >> it's really trying to make sure that a tragedy like this one doesn't happen again. >> it's a rough time for the family but we're trying to take some of that tragedy and put it toward something positive. >> we need that. >> reporter: because of baby boomers, the number of drivers

over 70 will triple in 15 years. >> there's a push to bring maryland in line with other states that have already put procedures in place. >> thank you. i'm so glad i got the briefing. >> having an opportunity to speak to lawmakers and have them hear from national experts, that's a great opportunity and i hope that that will help getting things changed. >> reporter: in annapolis, don harrison, abc2 news. >> some states say when a driver turns 70 they must renew their license every two years. maryland you have to renew every eight years. let's take a look at the state's stance on pitbulls. a bill that would reverse the designation of the breed as inherently dangerous has moved a step closer to being passed. the bill was introduced on the house floor today. another controversy legislation will be put onto a

vote thursday in annapolis. they will hold a preliminary vote on the firearms safety act of 2013. the bill includes a limit on magazine size and assault weapons ban. baltimore veterans will get their claims processed faster. that's allege from maryland senator barbara mikulski. the senator announced new sweeping changes in the way the veterans affairs processes the claims. currently it takes about a year for them to be processed. in fact, mikulski said baltimore had the worst record if the entire va system. she said an entirely new system that will share information eel troncally will help -- electronically will help. >> it will use the best tools of technology that have been tried in other field offices.

by june 10th of this year we'll have a fully automated system that our veterans and those who adjudicate the claims can us. >> mikulski said the budget to help handle veteran claims doubled to $2 billion. the va said they're also bringing in experts from other offices to get baltimore up to speed. >> now you can go to tuhc. towson university is, t.ing the campus to harford county. the school is opening a satellite building across from harford community college. plans are now approved. students can attend at harford community and easily transition to towson. despite the new partnership, that new building is all about towson. >> everything about the building will be about towson university, so while the instructors, the

curriculum, the books will be towson university. >> all right. construction on the towson building is expected to start soon. the project should be finished in team for 2014. it's a company you can call only if your families had been through a tragedy. >> but the family said their grief was amplified pie big bills. >> reporter: losings a love -- losing a loved one to murder or suicide is unthinkable. they are turning to not only heartbreak but sticker shock. we look for crime scene cleanup including one company right here in maryland a baltimore county family called them after losing two loved ones. they signed contracts with no estimates.

then they got hit with unexpectantly high bills for thousands of dollars and had the threat of losinger that home because of the fine print. >> had done it for years. it's going to be $6,000, but if we had to do it it will be $8,000. >> reporter: tonight abc2 news investigators show you amounts of $12,000, even $28,000. we'll tell you what they're doing now to make shower all customers know what they're paying for. >> good report. the price of gas had people seriously thinking about trading in that saturn. we're telling you when some relief could be in sight. google stock reaches an all time high. see what the company is

planning. >> watch this camera carefully in manchester today. some snow on the ground but now you see it and now you don't as everything changes over to rain. the rain clearing out but the cold wind just ramping up. we have the details on the other side of the break.

let's look at the board, a lot of green today. it shows the nasdaq a 12 yes -- 12-year high. the dow also shrunk. get well soon cards are available but now there's a push for end of life cards. the greeting card would be made for people entering hospice care. the widow isg hall mark. she said the cards with kind words stopped coming when her husband entered hospice care. >> reports that google will open their own retail stores sent the stock soaring. google stock reached more than $800 a share. the retail stores will likely sell google branded hardware. shoppers can test out google

products before buying them. experts said google is trying to follow apple's model. hot mail users say so long. after 15 years microsoft is replacing the web-mail service with outlook and spending up to $90 million on a marketing campaign. hot mail users will keep their e address but switch to outlook's interface. the company expects the upgrades to be complete by this summer. massive budget cuts could rock our economy. what's being done. and they are some of the most coveted seats around, the bleachers for the red carpets at the academy awards. find out how to get your hands on one tough to come by ticket. at tyco integrated security, we consider ourselves business optimizers.

how? by building custom security solutions that integrate video, access control, fire and intrusion protection. all backed up with world-class monitoring centers, thousands of qualified technicians, and a personal passion to help protect your business. when your business is optimized like that, there's no stopping you. we are tyco integrated security. and we are sharper.

let's start off with a lack at the weather cameras. rain showers on and off. wet conditions all across the board with the wind gusts wicked and the rain totals up around an inch or so. parkville, again, that weather was whipping with the wet conditions and the same deal in annapolis today. winds beginning to pick up now even as the rain begins to clear out to the east, kind of ugly weather state wide, including in the capital today. all right. let's head back to maryland and show you where the rain s you see one band clearing from west to east. that line will continue to push further north and east as we go through the next couple of hours here. temperatures right now in the mid-40s, so beginning to drop

more and more. we have a 50-degree reading down at patuxent naval air station. winds at 5 to 15, gusting higher and a cold wind chill from baltimore west. we're feeling like mid-30s out there, mid-30s thanks to some of the wind gusts. 25 in baltimore. 21 in dover. for more on scns on the ground, how bad is the wind and the chill. let's head out to meteorologist mike masco. >> the winds have died down. the band will come blowing through. certainly a chilly raw evening. that's going to be the deal all the rain moving to the north and east. still a problem over cecil county. clouds will be in place. the winds will pick up. that front is going to hang offshore. watch what happens. that front will dissipate. that area of low pressure will strengthen. the combination between that low

around nova scotia and hudson bay will create a wind tunnel effect. it's called a pressure gradient. that will allow for the winds to gust not only tonight but tomorrow afternoon. a lot of questions about the pattern. is it going to snow before the winter is out? it could. we'll see the northern and southern jet tied together. what happens, we've got an pear of low pressure over the gulf coast states that typically runs up the state. yes, suggesting maybe a pattern change before this winter is out. that would be good news for your snow lovers. as it snowed in march, yes. it snowed 7.8 inches. 2008 to 2009, so it's possible before this year is all said and done. we'll talk more about this, though, coming up in just a bit.

we'll send it out to wyatt. it's one of those raw evenings. >> the winds will keep ramping up, so wind chills. got to watch out. all right. so some snow showers just north and west into pennsylvania. rain continuing to clear the area but our focus will turn to temperatures and wind here for the next several days. you're going to want to dress warm. baltimore in the mild sector right now. as we go through the overnight that comes to an end. temperatures plummeting, probably in the truer upper 20s by daybreak tomorrow. as we go into the time frame we barely get above the mid-30s. so another cold day at best, upper 30s. tomorrow night temperatures dropping and another day that will be tough to get above 30 degrees on thursday. this system will clear out. as we go beyond the wednesday time frame into thursday we'll briefly get our sunniest day of the week before our next system

begins to move in, bringing the chance for rain and the possibility of a winter mix crossing the country's mid-section. friday night into early saturday morning. in the meantime hour current storm for the next 24 to 36 hours will be north of us over new england. behind that some cold northwesterly winds spinning. winter not done with us. overnight 28, cold and raw. 38. sun and clouds and blustery. tomorrow night we'll fall down into the low 20s as we stay colder. the next few days windy. that is going to be the theme. friday into saturday there it is, rain changing to a wintry mix potentially early saturday. sunday looks relatively dry as you head to your favorite oscar party. slightly milder early next week. the next few days cold and windy. check out the heavy winter

jacket, goose down. >> ever have bacon on a stick at dempsey's? >> there are only 10 days left to act. otherwise billions in automatic spending cuts could impact our money. the president is asking republicans to accept a short-term fix to avoid cuts. the plan hasn't worked out yet. >> these cuts are not smart. they are not fair. they will hurt our economy and add hundreds of thousands of americans to the unemployment rolls. >> republicans oppose the automatic spending cuts but they said the president must come up with cuts. congress is on recess this week. >> speaking of bad news, one year ago we were paying three three 358 for -- $3.58.

>> the lowest we found was at the sam's club. so why the spike? >> reporter: it's tough enough top financed a full tank. gas prices on the rise for 33 straight days. aaa said the average price for a gallon of gas has gone up 40 cents. prices often rise in the spring but this year the rise is happening far earlier than usual. >> actually a perfect storm. there's a confluence of factors. we've had little bit of supply disruption in the wake of superstorm sandy. we've had about a million barrels a day go off line from refineries on the east coast in st. croix. >> reporter: the average price

is three -- $3.74. >> nothing does more damage to the economy more quickly than rising gasoline prices. it's a hit to everybody's pocket books. >> reporter: even those doing what they can to conserve are feeling the pinch. >> hit me too hard in the wallet. >> about $45. i drive a hybrid vehicle to hopefully save. today it was $54. >> i'm hopeful it will go down soon. >> reporter: don't expect any relief soon. the trackers said the national average could be as high as $4.05 by april. >> all right. well, we're working for you to help find the cheapest gas prices. head to abc2news.com/traffic and click on the gas prices tab. coming up all new at 6:00, a

triple shooting feet from her home. the woman describes it. >> a bel air man charged with child abuse. we'll have those stories and a whole lot more coming up at 6. coming up on world news we have a new report that says the chinese army has penetrated computers affecting the water supply. ♪ just one bite opens a world of delight... ♪

♪ dreams of land meet sea, deliciously ♪ ♪ friskies surfin' and turfin' favorites. ♪

♪ feed the senses. as stars walk the red carpet, they're greeted by

hundreds of screaming fans. >> ever wonder how the fans snag those coveted bleacher seats? >> reporter: they are the exclusive seats on the oscars red carpet, but these 700 tickets are very hard to come by. >> i hear someone screaming. >> reporter: just asked this movie fan and his wife. >> if i get a kiss from george clooney -- >> reporter: they won two tickets through the academy's online lottery, beating out 20,000 people. >> i couldn't believe it. i never won anything in my life. >> reporter: seats have also been awarded to fans during the first ever oscar road trip. remember that famous scene in when harry met sally? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: jessica reenacted it so well in new york that she and her husband won bleacher

seats. so did a lucky fan who gave his best rocky performance. >> how do you like that? >> reporter: these bleacher creatures are connecting through facebook hanted sharing their personal stories. >> i've watched the oscars for as long as i could remember. my mother was an old movie stan. >> reporter: you have a chance to win when the online entry opens this fall. >> to get you up to date on alled things oscar, head to abc2news.com/oscars. you can find information about the nominees, presenters and oscar history. days away now. you can watch the 85th annual words right here on abc2. it kicks off february the 24th at 7:00. not quite the oscars but

we're so excited for tonight's body of proof premiere. you can expect to see new faces and you'll see a different side of megan. a little bit of family mystery. you'll see the juicy details. >> you told me. i'll have to watch. it may seem like another fiscal cliff. >> but there are warnings about pay cuts and fur lows. find out who could be affected. sounded like a rocket. >> a woman survived a triple shooting. he shot a classmate on the first day of school. how much jail time.

>> big changes on the way. harsh words as he speaks. >> but we gain with video -- begin with video with rain that's coming down. >> the roads are still really slick. >> let's head over to wyatt everhart. looks like a loot going on. we had snow earlier toward the state line. as we look at the temperatures, we're looking cold. towson 41. 44 in annapolis. when you add the wind gusts up around 20 to 27 miles an hour, that makes it feel colder. as we head back to the radar picture you can see the showers beginning to