. >>> the old statehouse museum in it little rock tells the story of arkansas' history. we caught up with the curator for a preview on an upcoming exhibit on civil war battle flats. >> we're located at the collection management storage facility for the old statehouse museum in little rock, arkansas. >> what do we have behind you? >> this is what we call our mobile storage unit and we have stacks. we have everything from in our collection from an electric chair, two electric chairs, to johnny cash's guitar. so this is where kind of the heart of our collection at any given time, there's less than 2% of things on exhibit, so this is where we keep them, this is a controlled environment of the temperature and humidity and light levels are all controlled to make sure the artifacts are safe. >> and this is one of the electric chairs? >> these are two of the electric claires. t chairs. the older one is what they called sparky 1 and 166 inmates were executed in that chair. and this one, only one was executed because lethal injection came in shortly after this one was constructed.

will be in maryland former house speaker newt gingrich will be in annapolis planning a visit to statehouse and will meet with business owners on main street and is scheduled to hold an event in salisbury. his rival mitt romney was in arbutus and maryland's primary is april 3rd. 37 delegates are up for grabs. >>> this evening we will learn more about plans for maryland's primary and director of elects -- election that will be a speaker at a meeting at union baptist church. in addition to maryland's primary armsted jones will be expected to talk about the efforts to increase overall voter turnout. >>> this morning, doctors at the university of maryland medical senter will discuss a facial transplant done on a 37- year-old man. that 36 hour procedure took place at shock trauma last week. the hospital is the second in the nation to perform a face transplant and will learn more about that today. >>> today in annapolis, hundreds of students will rally for education tax credits a bill considered would allow businesses to receive a credit on their state taxes for donations to organizations offerin

people of the state, and that could be historic as well and this is, again, the hallway at the statehouse in annapolis, between the house and senate chambers and governor o'malley should be signing this at about any moment. i am looking here and i don't see him just yet. he'll be appearing soon, shawn and laura. >> and as we wait for the governor to appear, i know a version of the bill went before the house and the senate last year, the senate passed the bill last year and the stumbling block was the house. why was the governor able to get it passed this time? >> he put hit his political power behind it and, ven the senate president, thomas mike miller, who represents prince georges and parts of charles county, said he voted against it and that he knew he was on the wrong side of history. it took a lot of work on the governor's part and that is why this is such a significant thing for him personally, to sign this, and there were enough people in the house convinced this was the time. and we're about to see history in a moment, we believe. >> as soon as the governor takes to the podium, we

but his initial slut comment really came from a war on women's health, raging in statehouses all across this country and in washington. today republicans in congress celebrated women's day by debating a bill to roll back abortion rights. also today, we're learning we're on a track for another record year for abortion restrictions. a spokesman for the guttmacher institute says we are looking at about 430 abortion restrictions that have been introduced into state legislatures this year which is pretty much in the same ballpark at 2011. and 2011 was already a record-setting year for the anti-choice laws. we saw 92 laws passed in 24 states. it's a huge jump from what we saw passed in 2010 and far more than we've ever seen in one year since the '80s. but the fight is on. in virginia, governor mcdonnell just signed a mandatory ultrasound bill into law. ignoring that more than 1,000 protesters came out to oppose that law over the last month. right here in alabama, protesters came out today in opposition to a similar law making its way through the statehouse. and last night, lawmakers in georgi

will make maryland the eighth state in the country to legalize gay marriage and again that is the statehouse in maryland in annapolis where we await governor martin o'malley who is supposed to step down those stairs, sit down and begin the signing ceremony. we also understand before he signs the bill he will speak and we'll bring that to you live when it happens. a neat it a? >> reporter: i'm on the -- anita? >> reporter: i'm on the weather terrace and many people have worried this extra warm weather could cause our cherry blossoms to bloom early before the festival. today the national park service announced their annual blooming forecast and kristin fisher joins us from the tidal basin with predictions on peak bloom. >> reporter: the cherry blossoms will be blooming early but not too early. the best weekend will be the last weekend in march to see them and that's about a week earlier than average, but you can see why. i'm not going to touch them, all right? but you can already see that the green is starting to peek out of the buds. >> there's been a lot of speculation about the warm weather

here protesters are outside the statehouse in boise. this was the second big protest against the forced ultrasound bill in the next couple of weeks, in boise. did i mention that? inside the statehouse today, anti-abortion activists were performing ultrasounds on pregnant women before a live audience, under the banner, voices from the womb. but tonight, breaking news. the spokesman review newspaper is reporting that the ultrasound bill is either dead or nearly dead. the spokesman review reporting that a committee hearing scheduled for tomorrow on the bill has been canceled. the chair of the committee telling the par, "we are still looking for some more information on the bill before we proceed, if we do." unexpected. this move in idaho tonight actually follows a little bit of a pattern that i had not seen coming, but seems to be happening all at once. a pattern of governors on a whole host of different issues on which they were becoming nationally famous backing off from those things. backing off of things that they could have done becau

." >> to the statehouse. the general assembly passed emergency legislation that may have far-reaching impact. it repeals a court of appeals decision to provide attorneys to poor defendants at their initial hearing. doing so could have cost taxpayers $60 million. it also put language into the bill for putting people into jail in the first place. people that are guilty of possessing marijuana will be given citation -- taught caught smoking marijuana will be given a citation. >> we think we can save money by avoiding incarcerating people unnecessarily. >> the house version does not include the citation option. a conference committee will be made to hammer out a compromise. >> opponents of the state's death penalty brought in a national expert to help lobby for her cause. sister helen prajon which later inspired the book "dead man walking." david collins has that story. >> sister helen prajon is a tireless opponent of the death penalty. she became a spiritual advisor to a louisiana death row inmate and a witness

. >> to the statehouse now where the general assembly has passed emergency legislation that may have far-reaching impact on the state's judicial system. the measure repealed a court of appeals decision to provide attorneys to poor defendants at their initial hearing. doing so could cost taxpayers more than $60 million. the senate also put language in the bill to reduce the number of people going to jail in the first place. people caught shopping shoplifting would be given citations with the expectations of showing up for court. >> we provide representation for individuals and critical parts of it. we -- but not all. and we think we can save money by avoiding incarcerating people unnecessarily. people are not a threat to themselves or public safety. >> as everyone records a vote -- >> both the house and senate passed the emergency legislation. however the house version does not include the citation version. >> opponents of the state's death penalty brought an international expert to help lobby for their cause. sister helen prejean borough "dead man walking." >> in 1989 she they became

preliminary approval in the statehouse thursday clears the way for a wind turbine farm off the coast of ocean city and requires consumers to pay a surcharge each month to subsidize charge. the fee will not go into effect until 2017. a final vote is set for sometime today. his the last weekend of campaigning before voters in wisconsin cast ballots in the gop primary. >> rick santorum is not even on the ballot in d.c. he is focused on wisconsin. >> why would we vote for someone that is just like obama? >> in 20 years, santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times. >> if we are looking for the reagan conservative on the economy, there is one clear choice. >> gop hopefuls are ready. >> i have a big day next tuesday with elections in wisconsin, maryland, and the district of columbia. >> mitt romney is on a roll. in d.c., he is expected to coast to victory. >> thank you for walking me -- welcoming me here. the biggest prizes wisconsin. >> we will be working hard in wisconsin. >> this could be the less chance for santorum to stop romani. >> on the heels of formal endorsements from the b

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don harrison tells us more about newt gingrich's visit to the statehouse. >> reporter: former house speaker news gingrich made a visit to maryland's senate chamber today. he picked a good day. first graders were there singing. >> reporter: mike miller paused to thank gingrich for stopping by. after a brief tour, gingrich spoke with the media. he has based some of his campaign on promising to get gas down to $2.50. he showed his displeasure with the addition to the gas tax. >> there's a talk about the increase in the gas tax. given everybody's concern about the price of gasoline to have an effort made to praise the price by as much as 25-cent as gal -- 25 cents a gallon strikes me as being hasn't working american. >> reporter: he took a tour of annapolis and stopped to shake hands. he stopped by chicken ruth's and had a crab cake sandwich. some are glad he is still in the campaign. >> i don't think anybody should throw in the towel yet. there are a lot of people undecided. it makes a big difference that he makes himself known and that he's still in the race. >> reporter: in annapolis, don ha

gingrich started at the statehouse where he addressed members of the senate and house of delegates and stopped in a jewelry store. during his visit to annapolis gingrich made a point of criticizing the governor on his plans to increase the gas tax. >> also, there's talk here about an increase in the gas tax which i think shows as much political insensitivity as you can imagine. >> gingrich will be able it talk about his plan at an event that will be held in salisbury on the eastern shore. tomorrow cloning man ron paul -- congressman ron paul will be at college pancht the event will take place at the ritchie coliseum. you must preregister to get if early and get a seat. >> a bill to exspand gambling to table games passed and there will be more. it passed the state senate overwhelmingly, 35-11. the bill would not allow games like craps and blackjack to be put. it would increase the amount revenue they can keep. then lawmakers are frustrated tonight. >> we went through the whole process and we got video, at arundel mills. >> the house moves on to the house of dation. it must past the hous

representative which means they can carpool, although i believe kyle makes her drop him off a block from the statehouselaughter ] embarrassing. jones has a firm grasp of the law. for instance, he supported the repeal of a law requiring that state workers get a guaranteed 30-minute lunch break by arguing, quote, "if i was to deny one of my employees a break, i would be in a very bad position with the company's human resources representative. if you consider that this is a very easy law to follow in that everyone already does it, then why do we need it?" exactly! you don't need the laws that everybody follows! that's why we don't need laws against cannibalism. [ laughter ] if i eat a co-worker, i know i'm going to hear from human resources. cathy will make me watch that boring corporate video about not eating people. even though it's kinda funny because it was shot in the 80s and the corpse has a perm. and then i gotta sign the stupiç form again that says, "i understand that cannibalism is against company policy." so bravo representative jones, for trying to get rid of unnecessary laws. should you make i

were there any protests either outside or inside the statehouse this afternoon? >> reporter: not at all. it was all good spirits inside. though there are a number of church leaders who are opposed to this. however, the law as written does not require them to marry any couple they don't wish to. >> thank you for the latest tonight. >>> to virginia where a controversial bill requiring ultrasound exams for women seeking an abortion is one step closer to becoming law. the house of delegate overwhelmingly approved the measure it. includes a senate amendment to exempt victims of rape and incest. the bill now heads to governor bob mcdonnell who is expected to sign it. >>> another big story, police still trying to identify a man struck by a hit and run driver, happened yesterday on route 198 in laurel. now tonight this key piece of evidence could help in the investigation. fox 5's maureen umeh is live in laurel with the latest. maureen? >> reporter: well, tonight laurel police have been canvassing the area looking at homeless shelters and missing persons reports trying t

. >> hundreds of gay rights supporters were on hand at the statehouse today for the bill signing ceremony. they erupted into applause as soon as the bill was signed. the celebrating might not last long. opponents are promising to make gay marriage a referendum on the ballot in november and most polls show that marylanders are split pretty evenly on the issue of gay marriage. so keep in mind this battle is far from over. >> matt, polls show the same thing across the country. so it will be a battle. thanks. >>> right now eight states and the district do allow same sex couples to get married, but licenses are not available in maryland and washington state yet because both states may have referendums on the issue come november as we just heard. five other states do allow civil unions and then there is california where the fate of proposition 8 is still in limbo. that measure eliminates the rights of same sex couples to get married. >>> in the midst of what some describe as a recent political war on women from richmond to capitol hill they are logging a victory tonight in the senate. randall p

the governor is hosting sccool ppincipals this morning for a breakfast in the statehouse.ut how to make school acceesible to students. hh is also expected to announce the expansion of a program to deliver school breakfast puriig nstructton time. a basketball legend ii getting into the sport of baseeall... as an owner. ownnr.magic johnson is part a group of investors that has boughttthe los angeles dodgers. johnson won an auction to buy the team. the price?two billion dollars. another former n-b-- star is facing poosible jail time. dennis rodman faces up to twenty days in jail for not support to his ex-wife.al rodman's attorney ays in famer is ... quote ... broke" and "extremely sick"... though the exact illness was not described. aaythinggbut... nd thhs dunning look easy.makes - eesy.tiny is the 7-foot 8-inch guy in the blle jersey... wwtch as his feet barely leave phe floor as he makes barely barely leave the floor as he makes a slam dunk.tiny's real name is paul sturgess... he went to college at wess virginia's mountain tate niversity... and plays for the harlem plobetro

. >> protesters literally drove their concerns to the statehouse steps. [honking] a small but loud caravan of protesters literally drove their message to the state house. get your hands out of my pockets. taxed enough already. no new budget taxes. some delegates left their seats to watch. capitol police diverted the road rally toward north street a block away but they stopped one driver to give him a $60 traffic citation. >> i could run around here and scream. maybe that is still legal in this state. we chose to use our horns instead because it is hard for them to hear as. >> the court of public opinion also tried to make its case on the house floor. >> tax and tax and tax and tax. when does it stop? the house voted against several amendments. one would have reduced funding to last year's level. >> two hundred thousand here, 200,000 there, pretty soon it adds up. i would suggest to you that this is supposed to be a work product of the house, not just the committee. >> at the end of three years, local jurisdictions would play -- would pay one third of teac

because at the statehouse, actually, the statehouse because really they don't have anything else to do the cale because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder whaother questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choo prego. >> shepard: about six months ago a woman won a million dollars from the michigan lottery game show. now the state has just taken her off its food stamp program. 24-year-old amanda clayton recently confirmed she was still claiming $200 a month in taxpayer aid and said, quote: i thought officials would cut me off but since they didn't, i thought maybe it was okay because i'm not working. she went on to say i have no income. i have bills to pay. i have two houses. clayton's mother reportedly defended her saying she didn't break any laws. but authorities confirmed yesterd

assembly today at the capitol in virginia, 31 people arrest ford refusing to leave the steps of the statehouse as they protested recent anti-abortion legislation, but today some lawmakers expressed outrage at the images of s.w.a.t. teams and standoffs with those demonstrators. fairfax-- >>> today aol became company no. 8 to cut ties with the rush limbaugh show. the he's been hemorrhaging advertisers ever since calling a georgetown university student a slut last week. limbaugh has since apologized for those comments after fluke testified on capitol hill about contraception. >>> 10 states including virginia get the campaign 2012 spotlight tomorrow, but ohio is considered the super tuesday prize. today mitt romney and rick santorum spent their days in the buckeye state. newt gingrich is focused on georgia and tennessee and ron paul campaigned in idaho. >>> 437 delegates are up for grabs in tomorrow's super tuesday contest, 49 right here in virginia. we sent our peggy fox to find out what awaits voters when they reach the polls. >> reporter: virginia doesn't act like it's holding the presidential

. >>> a noisy protest outside the statehouse in annapolis today. angry drivers honk their horns to rally against proposed tax hikes. the lawmakers may not have heard it, but all that has attracted the attention of police. one driver got a $60 ticket for using his horn in a nonemergency. >>> rues uncovering new damage at the baltimore facility and it takes significant repairs to fix it. our media partners at the baltimore sun reports of damage to the churches dome was discovered after last august's earthquake. the building will be closed weekdays starting in june but should still be open for sunday mass. eight month project could cost as much as $5 million. >>> a bizarre theft ring broken up by police in maryland. tide laundry detergent sold on the black market. these have been cleaning out stores across the country. >> reporter: across the country, thieves are targeting laundry detergent and other store items. in dc it was no clean getaway. these thieves were caught. >> reporter: laundry detergent is the key product in a major theft ring. police se

now a package at the statehouse in maryland has a hearing set for friday. lawmakers are concerned that a casino at national harbor would threaten business at rose kroft raceway in the county. penn national gaming bought the track last year and reopened it last year with racing with hope it is would expand gaming there in the future. >>> a federal grand jury wants to find out more about relationships between d.c. elected officials and businessman jeff thompson. federal agents raided thompson's home and offices earlier this month. we've learned that council members yvette alexander and jack evans were subpoenaed. council member vincent orange says he has not gotten one. however, he was forced to explain campaign contributions from people with ties to thompson. he spoke with our bruce johnson yesterday. >> what you would look at, there may be ten and the serial numbers are all running the same sequence. >> reporter: meaning they were probably bought at the same time? >> bought at the same time. however, the name may have been from georgia. so that would raise

he plans to go to the statehouse and meet with business owners on main street. he will be visiting one week before the state pry parry set for april 3rd. after annapolis he is going to an event at salisbury university scheduled for three today. >>> today we will learn more about the man who received a full facial transplant at the university of maryland medical center a team of physician completed a 36-hour procedure last tuesday. that transplant was the most extensive performed to date. and the hospital says that it is the second in the nation to perform a full face transplant. >>> today in annapolis pushing for a bill to help students and offer businesses some money. that billion allows businesses to receive a credit on their taxes in the state for donations to organization offering financial assistance to kids attending nonpublic and public schools. there will be a rally for lawyers mall at 9:45 and students will sing maryland my maryland on the senate floor. >>> it's been a month since 17- year-old trayvon martin was shot and killed in florida. so far no cha

governor o'malley host a number of state educational lead force breakfast set for 8:30 at maryland statehousewill promote the first class breakfast initiative looking to make breakfast a priority in maryland schools. >>> the circus ins in town so have -- is in town so have lunch with an elephant. they will dine at world's largest vegetarian buffet lunch kicks off at noon at lexington market. >>> and marking the 20th anniversary, for one night only, you can watch whitney houston 1992 movie "the body guard" in theaters. the anniversary is more than month after she was found dead in hotel. show times in hanover and columbia. >>> rocker aerosmith will hold a press conference discussing the upcoming global warming tour. it kicks off june 16th in minneapolis and the wapup is in tacoma washington in august. it's the first tour in two years. >>> stay with us this morning. >> much more coming up in the 6:00 hour of "good morning maryland." how some parents are able to tell if their child is showing up for class. >> you may have some -- see new deliveries in your mail. how the post office plans to hand

that is happening at 2 this afternoon at the statehouse. >>> white house says eric holder will outlintlegal framework for the use -- outline the legal framework for the use of force for targeted killings overseas. and how the obama administration reformed the military commission and obama and bush administrations successfullyed use civilian courts to convictsentence terrorist. >>> here in baltimore cardinal o'brien celebrated mass and talked about his new leadership role in rome and what's next for catholics in baltimore and the search for his replacement is continuing. >> i am hoping and praying that the new appointment comes soon so people can stop rumoring and worrying and the new archbishop can have his own program in place. >> cardinal says he has submitted three names to replacehim but wouldn't say if any are from baltimore and says the pope will make the final decision. >>> big congratulations to brenda freeze and ladythorps won the acc beating georgia tech 68-65. alisa thomas scored 29 points and this is maryland's 10th tilt and second in four years a week from today they will

gary shar covers the statehouse and state politics for the houston chronicle and san antonio express news. the ruling seemed to focus on the large number of registered voters in texas that don't have driver's licenses. how difficult would bit for them to get those alternative i.d.s? >> it all depends on where they live. there are 81 counties in texas that have no department of public safety driver's license offices. so if you are living in some of these remote areas and you have no transportation, it's going to be very hard to travel to another county that might be 100 mile or 125-mile round trip. or in the metro areas, houston or san antonio, for example, there might not be a dps driver's license in your neighborhood, and it might require ten or -m driver's lice the complaint right now in texas is that the waiting lines to renew a driver's license might be two hours long. and so it will be difficult for some people. >> the texas primary is just weeks away, april 3rd. what does this ruling mean to voters in texas? no i.d. needed? >> actually, the primary got changed to -- it's now sc

he will be in annapolis on tuesday and will go to the statehouse and meet with business owners on main street. his visit is just one week before the primary which is set for april 3rd. >>> it's supposed to help keep children out of covers and hazardous items. why the push to get snap cabinet locks are recalled. we have details ahead. and a -- details ahead. a spring snow not all that bad news for residence at the zoo. we will look at how they are enjoying the snow. >>> there's no rain on maryland's most powerful radar right now. big changes are in store. >> reporter: you can run into a little bit of patchy fog on your friday morning commute. got a couple of accidents. we will let you know where coming up next. [ molly ] wash your paws, mr. man! [ female announcer ] think your kids are getting a dependable clean -in the bathroom? -[ gasps ] [ female announcer ] think again. try charmin ultra strong. for a clean that passes inspection with fewer pieces left behind. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable versus the ultra rippled brand so it holds up better for a more dependable

signed the civil marriage protection act of 2012 into law just after 5:00 in the rotunda of the statehouse with hundreds on hand for the bill signing ceremony. >> for a free and diverse people, for a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all. >> reporter: in this audience scores of same sex couples, some married in other states. >> this is unquestionably exciting. tonight we're celebrating our 15 year anniversary. >> reporter: over the past two weeks the maryland house and senate voted to legalize same sex marriage. delegates had failed to do so just last year. >> it was just a matter of time. some people came around. it's a process where people have to look with inside themselves to figure out what's right and in this case enough people did and we've got a great day to celebrate today. >> this is amazing. it's kind of like a family reunion of sorts and we're just really hopeful that this is a good day in maryland, a good start for us and we know that there's more

he is hosting a breakfast at the statehouse. the purpose is to stress the importance of school breakfast and discuss ways to make it more accessible to students. governor o'malley will announce expansions to the first class breakfast initiative provide being funding to 20 maryland schools. >>> 15 parents in baltimore will receive new computers today. it's part of the barbara bush foundation for family literacy. they completed the ged and preged course work and financial literacy class and parenting class and a class how to teach children about computers. >>> a jetblue pilot undergoing a medical evaluation after passengers and the crew members on the flight had to wrestle him to the ground. >> this happened on a las vegas bound park from jfx airport. it made a emergency landing in west texas. passengers say the unidentified pilot seemed disoriented and jittery. >> we new yorkers have been through so much worse that we were incredibly call with the exception of a few people who started to cry. and a few people shouting what the he

the former house speaker will be in annapolis and plans to visit the statehouse and meet with business owners on main street. this visit is scheduled for tuesday. >>> all right. it's 8 minutes after 6 this morning. the highly anticipated movie the hunger games has come out across the nation at theaters admit night and fans stayed up late to be among the first to see it. abc2 news charley crowson didn't see the movie but we sent him out there live to get reaction. good morning charley. >> reporter: hey, megan, the show has just wrapped up. the 3:15 showing wrapped up around 15 minutes ago and one of the questions we asked for you this morning on facebook was the violence of the movie because it does pit children against children in a one survival competition reality series. we have a family who just finished wrapping up the 3:15 showing and they are from glen bernie and thanks for hanging around this morning. >> thank you. >> reporter: you told me not to talk to you first. what did you think of the movie?you are not going to tell me? what did you think? >> i thought it was sad when they

more spie he civiccally the state -- specifically the statehouse. he will meet with business owners on main street. >>> and new developments from annapolis that are going to facet you, -- affect you. those that earn more than 100,000 your income tax is going up. lawmaker in the house debated 9 straight hours on the budget package and any difference between the house and the senate have to be worked out by april 9th. >>> and now to the budget battle in baltimore citych city fire department is looking at closing three-- city. the city fire department is looking to close three fire departments at a saving of $3 million each. they are look to increase the workweek to 56 hours and offering firefighters a raise. police are eliminating 16 unfilled positions and merging the 911 sent wert city call center 311. >>> law makeers in washington are fighting-- lawmakers in washington are fighting huge drug maker problems. a closer look at who is affected locally. >>> the east coast is enjoying warm temperatures but what pros and cons are we suffering from with the

outside the statehouse supporters gathered to witness the bill signing but same-sex couples still have a long way from walking down the aisle. one group says it's printing the petition forms and will start collecting the 55,726 needed to send the issue to referendum. >> i have in my hand a pencil and it has an eraser on the end. they might as well have signed that bill. reporter: the bill allows the first gay marriages to begin happening next year. if those signatures are collected by may 31st it will go on the november ballot. 49% of marylanders are in favor of same-sex marriage and 47% oppose it. linda stow, abc 2 news: news time 4:33. four people in baltimore are accused of taking part in a cocaine ring. officers say the suspects bought it and then sold it in the ool toon a, pennsylvania leader. investigators say about five pounds of cocaine have been sold a week which is around $2 million total. we've learned this morning that nearly 2000 people could have jobs in western maryland. the maryland petroleum council says western maryland could be home to more than 350 natural gas wells

governor male signing the same sex marriage bill into lawp it will take place at 5 tonight at the statehouse. the law would go into effect next january. but there are efforts underway for a referendum to be on the ballot they have 56,000 signatures by june is to make it a he reality. >>> we could be paying more when it comes to gas and an increase for your income taxes. all part of the budget debate going on in the state capital and sherrie johnson is here with more on the proposed increases. sherrie, what have you learned. >> reporter: this morning law makers are looking at a lot of options. governor o'malley is trying to close a budget shortfall of more than a billion dollars. one way is with new tax revenue. the general assembly has a month left to finalize the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. proposal cause calls for a -- calls for a increase in the gas and a potential replacement would be the income tax. supporters say it's the best way and opponents feel the people have been asked to do enough. >> we spend money like a drunken sailor and it's not his money to spend. it's the money

governor o'malley was joined by lawmakers as he signed the bill into law last night outside the statehouse supporters gathered to witness that bill signing. but opponents are vowing to get the law erased. the maryland marriage alliance says it's printing a petition and will start clepghting the 55,726 signatures needed to send the issue to referendum. some lawmakers took jabs at the governor's intentions. >> he's doing this really for his own political gain, for maybe national office later. it makes no sense. he's just doing it, stirring a lot of controversy. reporter: the bill allows the first gay marriages to begin happening next year, but if 1/3 of those signatures are collected by may 31st and the remaining by june 30th, it will go on the november ballot. a recent poll shows 49% of marylanders are in favor of same-sex marriage and 47% oppose it. linda stow, abc 2 news. >>> an update to a story we brought you yesterday morning on "good morning maryland." a woman says she was denied communion at her mother's funeral because she's a lesbian. now the arch diocese of washington has issued a

outside the statehouse reporting live, derrick ward, news 4. >> thanks, derrick. >>> and prince george's county now, a man accused of killing a pregnant teenager for $600 in cash and some marijuana today was found not guilty on all counts. his name was jarvis tyler and he was facing charges in the murder of 17-year-old stacey seaton. it was in a bowie park seven years ago that she died. prosecutors have previously turned down a plea deal that would have given tyler 30 years in prison. he is now cleared of the crime and cannot be charged again. another defendant, mcdonald abraham, pled guilty to second-degree murder. he said he hired tyler to kill seaton because he thought she had stolen drugs and money from him. > >>> the so-called aspen hill rapist got an additional three life sentences today for a series of rapes in the '70s and '80s. timothy joseph busby is already serving more than two life sentences at a state prison in cumberland. most recently dna evidence was used to connect busby to four additional rapes in the wheaton and rockville areas between 1977 and 1980. b busby pleaded g

outside the statehouse supporters gathered to witness that historic signing. same-sex couples have a long way from walking down the aisle. >> i have in my hand a pencil and it has an eraser on the end. they might as well have signed that bill in layad. reporter: the bill allows the first gay marriages to happen the beginning of next year. but if 1/3 of those signatures are collected by may 31st and the remaining by june 30th, it will go on the november ballot. a recent poll shows 49% of marylanders are in favor of same-sex marriage and 47% oppose it. linda stow, abc 2 news. >>> an update now to a story we brought you yesterday on "good morning maryland," a woman says she was denied communion at her mother's funeral because she's a lesbian. now the arch diocese of washington has issued an apology. but barbara johnson says that's not enough. johnson's family wants the arch diocese wants to remove the reverend saying he provided her mother with an indignified funeral mass. >>> officers say suspects bought coke in baltimore city and then sold it in allatoona, post

outside the statehouse, supporters gathered to witness the bill signing, but opponents are vowing to get the law erased. the maryland marriage alliance says it's printing the petition form and will start collecting the 55,726 signatures needed to send the issue to referendum. some lawmakers took jabs at the governor's intentions. >> i have in my hand a pencil and it has an eraser on the end. they might as well have signed that bill in the lead. reporter: now, the bill allows the first gay marriages to happen beginning of next year. if 1/3 of those signatures are collected by may 31st and the remaining by june 31st, it will go on the november ballot. a recent poll shows 49% of marylanders are in favor of same-sex marriage and 47% oppose it. linda stow, abc 2 news. >>> and all new this morning, video just released from a hit and run in laurel. police say they've not identified the driver just yet, but this video we're showing you this morning captured by a metro bus says they're going to help track down this driver. the victim was hit wednesday on route 1 nay. the white pick-up truck h

it was truly an incredible scene at the statehouse today and an incredible battle getting to this point assembly just barely approving the gay marriage bill last month despite governor o'malley making it the focus of his

. >> and for more on what is happening in ohio we are joined by karen kessler, the statehouse bureau chief for ohio public radio and television. >> well, karen, it is still so close, give us some sense of the areas where we are waiting to hear from. >> well, right now, it looks like a typical map of ademocrate mitt romney is winning in the areas of cleveland, columbus and cincinnati the big urban areas and rick santorum is winning in the rural areas which is the rest of ohio, we still have some rural counties that are not reporting right now, i don't know wit if there is going to be enough votes in those counties though to make a difference for rick santorum, it is really close and one of the things that cost him tonight apparently is a loss in hamilton county which is the home county of cincinnati, that went big time for mitt romney and that could end up being one of the things that costs rick santorum ohio. >> what is the word on voter turnout? and enthusiasm today? >> voter turnout has been pretty low, we have been early voting here in ohio for several weeks and even early voting

stuff that happens in communities and stuff happening in statehouses is not getting the attention it used to, and it's hard to think about who are the natural financial allies, who will advertise and help support the correspondents who are covering that stuff? it's a big concern. so some foundations, for instance, have stepped in and sicivic-related information and coverage because they understand where newspapers in particular struggle at the local level. the other people that brad makes is an interesting one. as the eco-system changes, there are more partisan voices and people determined to promote their point of view, their team in this environment. it's harder to find neutral sources or sources like the sources we try to be at u.s. news where you're sort of independent and you sort of take account of all points of view. you don't cheer for one side as posed to another side. even the most strike thing happening with audiences is even though organizations try to live by those traditional cannons of journalism, a lot of people watch news now thinking they're rooting for somebody. th

this morning the gooernor wwll host school principals for a breakfast in the statehouse. em breakfast programs more accessible to students. he is also exppcted to announce the expansion of a program o deliver school breakfast during instruction time. p3 republican presidential caadidate ron paul will be ii maryland today. is scheduled to attendda town hall meeting at the universitt of maryland this evening. paul is currentty in last place in the race for the republican nomination. one week befooe maryland's primary ... g-o-p presidential hopeful newt gingrich visits annapolis.the former house speaker shook hands with students and lawmakkrs... and evee had some crab cake. gingrich also weighed in on a &pbill to raise maryyand's &pgasolinn taa... calling it ááolitically insensitive.á (gingrich) "given everybody's concern about the price of gasoline, to have an effort made to raise the priceeby as much s 25 cents a gallon strikes me as being very, very anti-working american." american." &pmaryland's primaay is next ttessay... april third. a new ccn-n -o-r-c internationallpol

across the stater heading to the polls to vote in everything from the gop presidential race to statehouse contests in the republican presidential race there are 54 delegates at stake polls are showing that mitt romney has a double-digit lead over rick santorum mitt romney spending his days in the chicago-area attending fund-raisers he'll have his election night party at the renaissance schaumburg hotel rick santorum is spending time in his home state of pennsylvania today he campaigned in illinois yesterday including a stop at ronald reagan's home town of dixon the other two gop presidential contenders newt gingrich and ron paul are not campaigning much in illinois newt gingrich is spending the day and louisiana which hold its primary on saturday and ron paul is in los angeles and will appear on the tonight show with jay leno the early balloting. indicated low voter interest in today's primary in illinois nancy loo has our report >>officials are saying that the turnout may be at or below 20% and in spite of the good weather there was just a trickle of voters at the polls ... they opened i