roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news where are you cheering on the ravens? we want to see you, your family and pets decked out. share your purposed pride. upload your pictures to the abc2 news fan page. the abc2 news team rerelentless with the coverage st get ready for the game was. join us on st until 2:00 sundays afternoon with the second special, we call it way to indy. abc2 news jamie costello and scott garceau will be live in new england and we have crews live out and about with fans in baltimore. the show airs from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. let us know what you are doing on twitter using the hash tag way toindy. >>> stopping what he calls rat trafficking. he is introducing legislation known as rat trafficking act preventing rats from being transported and set free here in maryland. it is a reaction to a law passed in washington dc, that's called the wildlife protection act. it requires pest control people, government agents or anybody who catches rodents to relocate them somewhere else. he thinks that means maryland and virginia will be at risk for a rat inva

roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >>> a bit of a breeze out there.t direction than game day sunday -- out of thexd south. thl wexdÑi fallñrçóxdxdÑixd toñrÑi . >> where is the precipitation, toward garrett county. some wintry showers here. these will be changing to rain. in the baltimore area we got nosmght late -- nothing. you can see sleet, wet snowflakes before it goes to rain. that is going to be the scenario. you can see statewide we are in the upper 30s after topping out near 40. dulles and patuxent river holding on to 40 -- 40 plus. temperatures will fall close to freezing. south winds will mean a warming trend, still, in the short wind it mean as wind chill factor. that will overcome yergt --Ñit( weather. mai%dv upçóçó thro+7z central %9me1y-91ñÑi westçó centralñr pennsylvania. çó ofçóÑiÑi itçóçó afte:]t( theñrxúsl)jt e. it will initially encounter cold air. all right east coast view, you see the old setup. high pressure bubble cold and dry. then a rain pushing in to the western part, mild air coming in with the rain. the bottom line is on th

we go to roosevelt leftwich. >> reporter: it was the first court appearance for robert richardson the third. he's accused of shooting to death his father. his half sister and mother were in court to show his support but they had nothing to say. the 16-year-old will remain in jail. the judge felt richardson would be a flight risk. he shot his father last monday and dumped his body in a pond. a pretrial hearing has been set for the 17th in harford county circuit court. reporting live in harford county, roosevelt leftwich. >>> we have an update on the dog that was thrown off a balcony sunday night from two stories up in owings mills. today we checked in on the dog. he was taken to the fall lts road an -- falls road animal hospital. animal control said the dog has a fractured eye socket, contusions and serious bruising. >> it will be several weeks before he's fully recovered. once he is fully physically recovered, we'll look at where he will spend the rest of his days, whether he's made available for adoption, that's the outcome of legal proceedings as well as his medical conditions. >> g

roosevelt leftwich has more on these hidden dangers. >> reporter: a kentucky family is on a mission to warning people about the dangers of not securing furniture. they want to save other children. >> as i was walking toward the bedroom, i heard a crash. >> reporter: that's the second a will forever be embed in their mind. >> we feel like it's our responsibility to spread the word and tell people these things happen. even though that tv is huge and heavy, it can budge. >> reporter: it did to their 4-year-old son cole who has autism. at times they wondered if their blue eyed boy would ever bounce back. >> we were in the hospital and the surgeon said -- i remember looking at my husband thinking his face is going to look the same, but it does. what do you want to do with presents? >> christmas. >> christmas tree? >> reporter: now they are back home. cole is in the process of getting the holiday that he missed. the durhams made sure there were certain changes made in their home. >> we have this very sturdy. this flat screen right here we have anchored to the wall. there's a strap behind her

charlie roosevelt leftwich has more. >> reporter: the details are unsettling. if the teens managed to pull it off, they could have killed hundreds. the plot was designed to set off explosives during the school assembly when the school would have been filled. the teens were prepared with maps of the school including the security system and thousand logging -- logging thousands of flights on a flight simulator. >> people he cared about he said if i told you not to go to school on this day, would you not go. >> reporter: another text read i had been planning to get back at the school. roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >>> some of the passengers who survived the italian cruise ship wreck are rejecting the offer of less thafn $15,000. the company said it's to come pep say the passengers from lost baggage and emotional trauma. a class action lawsuit is in the works. 16 people were killed in the wreck. another 16 are still missing but presumed dead. >>> although there were four candidates on stage at last night's debate in florida, most of the attention was focused on ju

roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >>> we're paying attention to this one out in california.em has to do with car or booster seats. children under the age of eight are now required to ride in one of those seats. right now it's out in california. the big question is whether this could be coming to maryland. the new booster seat law also spells out what happens to parents caught not using them. the booster seat law in california is just the latest. 30 other states have similar laws but so far there's no word on whether maryland will join them. the law stems from research from safety experts who found that children who don't ride in car seats have a greater risk of organ or spinal damage in an accident. the reason for the age recommendation is height. in young children standard car safety belts sit too high hitting a child's neck instead of the chest. >> as long as it keeps them safe, it's a little bit more work but we do it. >> legislators estimate 1 million kids in california will be subject to the new law. if parents are caught violating the law, they will be ticketed $470. t

reporting live from harford county, roosevelt leftwich. >>> junior achievement of central maryland ishing students about financial literacy. the organization focused on helping 20,000 students in the baltimore area learn to make and budget their money. this program is making a difference for students. >> reporter: students here at patapsco middle school are learning firsthand what it takes to make it. it's with junior achievement of central maryland. >> the young are we start exposing these students to financial skills, i think, is really, really important. it's a difference between a want and a need and what that means to them and building through a lifelong process. >> reporter: through online programs students learn how to balance a checkbook, and survive off of a livable wage, all things they have to know to make it in society. >> it's teaching them about money awareness. they're learning through doing. they're finding that they need to start at the beginning to develop the basics of money management skills and they build on those skills. >> reporter: junior achievement is a nonpr

roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news.ide ban preventing grew bringing your favorite bottle or wine if they have a liquor license. state restaurants and lawmakers are hoping to end the law known has corkage. it failed in the jeanl due to -- general assembly. so this year's bill would give restaurant owners the choice of participating or no today the governor told a state senate hearing that legalizing same-sex marriage in maryland is about protecting our children. abc2's don harrison was there has the issue was officially put on the table. >> equity and equality for everyone. >> reporter: people on both sides of the same-sex marriage issue gathered in maryland. there were clergy against the same-sex marriage bill. maryland clergy who sport bill met for breakfast this morning. >> i believe that marriage quality is very porchlt -- important. everyone should be treated the same way. >> it's not right. >> reporter: this afternoon the lawmakers got a glimpse at the bill supporting same-sex marriage at the senate judicial meetin

roosevelt leftwich is here with more on ravens fever. they are feeling it. >> the team is taking the weekend off after a tough week of practices. for the staff at stores selling ravens gear, it's one of the key times to rest as excited fans and hysterical fans head out with the hard earned cash, hoping to get something to cheer the team on. >> it's been pretty steady since they clinched the division. you know, everybody is excited. it's the second christmas now. >> i'm very, very excited. i might be the number one fan. >> a love them. thatry doing a good job. i'm proud of them. >> i think her daughter is the number one fan. all of the ravens number one fans will get the chance to show the team how proud they are when they take the field sunday january 15th at 1:00. fans will have to watch to find out who will face the ravens. >>> a lot of people whether fans are not are planning playoff parties. we want to know what recipes would you work in to your playoff party menu. we headed out and they gave us a lot to think about. easy stuff like

roosevelt leftwich tells us the plan. >> reporter: it's an initiative between lawmakers and facilitieso hire as many young veterans in many different fields. finding employmenti]çó is diffit m5 >> reporter: today health care providers signed a pledge to hire at least one veteran a day month 230 skilled nursing facilities that crisscross the state. >> none of the resounding cultural -- one of the statements that sticks is service before several. as i think about employing people in the future, those are the kinds of people that i would like to represent cherry lane in terms of what we provide to our residents and our patients. >> reporter: hiring veterans just makes sense. they have skills like security, nursing and administrative skill that is they need. he served three tours in iraq and just got back from afghanistan. his employers said he could more than handle security. he's optimistic this pledge will get a lot of veterans new careers. >> if they can hold up to their and of the deal and hire and train these individuals, that's the bottom line. if they're willing to hire us and trai

roosevelt leftwich reporting. >>> students in baltimore county have been working hard in the classroom and this has paid off. sandalwood won the award. recognition is given for closing the achievement gap sherrie johnson has more. >> reporter: students are hard at work. the school was selected as the 2011, 2012 school. it's an honor that students and staff are proud of. >> i think it's awesome. it shows all the hard work that we've done and our teachers are proud of us for helping us get the award for the school. >> we find success. the next thing you know the expectations for both students and teachers are raised. >> reporter: the scores were up 20% in math and up 15% in reading. >> the teachers collaborating. this is a family environment, not just a job. everyone works together. we analyze student data, analyze their strengths and look at their needs. >> reporter: 6% of the students -- 86% of the students have free or reduced lunch. they work hard to improve academics. the wife of a sandalwood's principal also won the award last year. he picked up a few tips from his wife. >> a lot o

. >> that was roosevelt leftwich reporting.isode comes on tonight on the food network tonight at 10:00. >>> first a woman in queen anne's county thought this was missing. now they're looking for her ak47. >> i'm opposed to same-sex marriage. >> the issue over same-sex marriage remains heated. why those against the bill are coming to annapolis. >>> counselors met with students

roosevelt leftwich joins us with more. >> reporter: when firefighters got to the scene just after 1:00, they immediately pulled the second alarm. the fire was moving very, very quickly. the brightly colored christmas decorations stood in stark contrast to what was left on middle meadow road. they said they were awakened in the middle of the night by a loud noise and then there were several more. >> i noticed the garage was engulfed in flames. so apparently something had ignited, and it just took off. >> i asked what happened. he said the neighbor's house was on fire. >> reporter: the house was so involved that the fire started melting the siding on the house near it. >> dealing with the different gases that could be involved, oil and so forth and also trying to combat the flames. when they got there, there was heavy fire, heavy smoke. >> at this point firefighters don't know what touched off the fire. investigators are going over the scene to determine the cause. >> everybody got out from what i understand, sherry and dave and the two boys and their pets. i just watched. it it was horr

roosevelt leftwich reporting. >>> an owings mills home destroyed by fire. firefighters had difficulty fighting the fire on bridgeton court because of all the trees in the area. the woman inside the home at the time of the fire says at first it started quickly and she barely got out before the kitchen windows blew out. >> it got so hot so fast. that's how long it took the fire department to get here. this was like everybody thought it would explode. >> investigators say the home is a total loss. you can see it for yourself. now they're trying to see how it started. >>> here's the latest on a body washed up on shore. maryland natural resource police identified cordery. a man and a woman were rescued but the man later died. he has been missing since this boat overturned. >>> the harford county 16-year-old accused of killing his father last week appeared before a judge. robert richardson waived his right to a preliminary hearing. outside we caught up with supporters, several bel air moms and teens believe richardson is a victim rather than a murderer and they'r

he says the money would go for roads but roosevelt leftwich joins us with more. >> reporter: it usually has some of the cheapest gas in the area. but with the price going up about 30-cents since christmas, the talk of the state raising the tax is, well, unwelcome. >> this is not a good time. >> reporter: if you want to know something about trying to make ends meet, just ask a spij mom who already spends $60 to $70 a week to fill up her car. it's a balancing act, but she said her governor should noted a more to her burdens. >> there are people out here struggling already and paying for high gas i don't think it's fare. >> reporter: the governor said it's needed for this. he said funding highway construction and improvements is necessary to maintain the state's roads to help cut down on congestion. the state would add about 2% sales tax each year for the next three years until the current sales tax was reached under current prices that would add about 90 cents per tank. by 2014, that whodd about $1.95. that's already on top of the $23.05 that's already on gas. >> if they want to fix the r

numbers today show the unemployment rate dropped last month to its lowest level in three years, roosevelt leftwichis here with more on what that could mean. >> that's right. 200,000 people had a good december and got a new job. that was job, a real job. not just a job at the mall for the holidays, 200,000 people got new full time jobs last month. the number of new jobs was better than expected expected and the unemployment rate fell. it's a fourth month in a row unemployment dropped. >> we need to have jobs growing at 200,000 per month. it's nowhere near enough to make up for all the ground we lost in 2008, and 2009. >> the labor department says the positions that were added were mostly in manufacturing sector. the white house says they are pleased with the numbers saying it's further evidence that the economy is starting to heal. >>> good news for anyone looking to buy a home or refinance soon. the rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage fell to 3.19%. economists say it's the sign the coming year will be a buyer's market. qualifying will probably still be difficult. >>> more than a month after a dundalk

roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >>> whether you are headed to new england to cheer on the ravens or here and watch them at home, we want to see your purple pride. upload your pictures to the abc2 news facebook fan page, abc2news.com/facebook, share your pictures. >>> in the abc2 news news team, we arer lentless with the raven coverage, special sunday afternoon, join jamie costello and sports casting hall of famer, scott garceau as we broadcast live and here. the way to indy starts sunday at noon. >>> as we've told you, more than 500 steel workers are returning to work next week after layoffs at sparrows point. tonight rg steel is breaking silence on what had them shut down in the first place. jeff hager joins us with detail. >> since the heyday, sparrows point spent workers home each winter, this time different, they shut down the furnace and laid off 700 workers with no mention of when they might return. the ceo revealed how close the company came to closing down for good, if not for a last ditch appeal. we need help, everything the government and labor can bring to save rg steel. we di