tara mergener has more now from washington. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning to you, michelle. a task force is going through the documents which will be avaltable later this week. this is a continuing war over bin laden's death. the u.s. government says osama bin laden's death was a crippling blow to al qaeda that is still being held today. >> they're struggling to attract recruits. al qaeda is losing badly. >> reporter: on the evening of may 1st, the navy s.e.a.l.s launched a. they stuffed the bagful of documents and videos. it provided insight into bin laden's operations. he was particularly worried about drone strikes. >> in documents we seized he confessed to december aster after disaster. he even urged his leaders to flee their tribal regions toonld go away from aircraft, photography, and bombardment. >> reporter: ahead of the anniversary, a political battle ensued when the obama campaign launched a web ad. it suggested mitt romney would not have ordered an attack on bin laden. romney is firing back. >> you wou

tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning to you, michelle. that's right. that violence a year to the day after the death of osama bin laden and just after president obama vowed to end america's longest running foreign war. a series of explosions hit kabul just hours after president obama left the afghan capital. a taliban spokesman tells cbs news, the terrorist group deployed bombers once they learned of the president's visit. they say the attack was meant to show that the taliban is still strong and still a threat. the president made a surprise visit to spell out america's future involvement in afghanistan. >> we must finish the job we started in afghanistan and end this war responsibly. >> reporter: combat troops are scheduled to pull out of afghanistan in 2014, but some american forces will remain behind. president obama signed an agreement with president hamid karzai to help train local soldiers and provide support in counterterrorism efforts. >> our goal is to destroy al qaed

tara mergener is in washington with details. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning to you, michelle. well, economists do believe that job growth was up in april, but they say the pace of hiring is still too slow to make a real dent in the unemployment rate. when the government releases the jobs report later this morning, economists believe up to 168,000 people will have found work in april. and the unemployment rate will hold steady at 8.2%. analysts are eagerly anticipating the numbers, because the march report was well below the previous three months. they are looking to see if that was a one-time dip or the start of a trend. this man was unemployed for several years. he worked up to 60 hours a week, sending out resumes and applying for jobs. >> it was frustrating at times, definitely. >> reporter: but after several years of taking temp work to make ends meet, his search for a full-time job paid off. >> i'm in disbelief. i walk around this office, am i really working here? >> reporter: the april unemployment report is important but the no

tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. that's right, two more key endorsements for mitt romney and another could be coming, this as pthe obama team ramps up. >> thank you so very much. >> reporter: mitt romney is getting the support of some of his former rivals. cbs news has learned michele bachmann plans to endorse the former massachusetts governor during an event in virginia this afternoon. >> thank you, everyone. >> reporter: bachmann was once a presidential hopeful herself. she is a tea party favorite, a group romney has struggled to win over. this comes one day after newt gingrich dropped out of the race and pledged his support for romney. >> this is a choice between mitt romney and the most radical, leftist president in the american history. >> reporter: the former speaker of the house, wanting georgia and south carolina, but was never able to gain support beyond the south. >> i have to thank the voters of south carolina and i have to apologize to them. we will have broken their tradition of always picking the nomine

tara mergener has more. >> >> reporter: when the government releases the jobs report this morning, officials believe 168,000 people found jobs in april. and the employment rate will be steady at 8.2%. the march report was bell below the previous three months and they're looking to see if that was a one time dip or the sign of a trend. he was unemployed for several years and worked up to 60 hours a work sending out resumes and applying for jobs. >> it was frustrating at times definitely. >> reporter: but after several years of taking temp work to make ends meet his search paid off. he now works for seamless.com. >> i'm in disbelief. am i really working here? >> reporter: the april unemployment report is important but the november numbers may be critical to who wins the white house. and both sides have been talking about 8% as the key figure. >> he doesn't want to talk about his own record and his own failures. >> reporter: during a campaign event in virginia yet. mitt romney slammed president obama for not being able to keep the unemployment numbers lower. >> he'll have all sorts of things, h

tara mergener is live with the details. >> good morning.he city of joplin has come a long wait in a year thanks in part to the federal government, volunteers, and the persistence of people. tracing their determinants -- >> the road has been hard and the day has been long. >> president obama told the high school class of 2012 to use their experience. >> that is the spirit that allowed all of you to rebuild the city. that is the same spirit we need now to help rebuild america at. >> a monster tornado came through a year ago, shredding homes and businesses and leaving the worst death toll in six decades. >> not just for today but for the long haul. support the city of joplin. >> the white house released a statement saying since the tornado struck, the government approved more than $20 million to help victims. and $40 million in low-interest loans for businesses. >> it will come back bigger, stronger everything. it will take a mountain of time. >> and it has. many businesses are not fully operational yet and hundreds are living in fema trailers

tara mergener has this report. good morning. >> good morning. point most national polls show mitt romney and the president running neck and neck. it may be the economy that tips the scale in november. the latest jobless numbers have given president obama -- >> we're making progress. >> and mitt romney plenty to talk about. >> president obama is out of ideas and out of excuses. >> the unemployment rate still hovering above 8% and 340,000 americans giving up the search for work. >> that is a terrible number. >> job creation numbers fall for the third straight month. >> vice president joe biden fireback. >> what is he proposing? he is proposing going back to the last policy of the last administration on steroids. >> president obama on saturday officially launched his campaign asking crowds to look ahead. >> we have to move forward so the future we imagines in 2008. >> the latest gallup swing state poll shows more voters think mitt romney would do a better job handling the economy over the next four years than president obama. >> this is a time when

tara mergener has details and reaction. >> good morning. president obama is actually the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage. it is a controversial move that could impact the election. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> that announcement on wednesday. this is a reversal for president obama who has supported civil unions but said marriage was between a man and woman. >> i have been going through an evolution on this issue. i have always been adamant that gay and lesbian americans should be treated fairly and equally. >> this is good news for gay- rights at -- activists but it is not clear how this will play out with other voters. half of americans support same- sex marriage. 48% do not. >> i don't favor marriage between people of the same gender and i do not favor civil unions. >> this could help mitt romney with conservatives but hurt president obama in southern states, including north carolina where voters just approved a ban on gay marriage. >> north carolina and virginia are the linchpins of pr

. >> i am at tara mergener. a new round of campaign ads as the campaign heats up on the economy. >> the issue of same-sex marriage is an issue on the campaign trail. >> keep the umbrella handy. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> another rating morning. >> we have some heavy rain north of baltimore into baltimore county. the heaviest rain is represented by the orange and the red. from 83 into baltimore county, at some heavy rain and some thunder. this is moving east. light to moderate rain all around the beltway. all the railways getting hit with rain this morning. i think it will taper off later this afternoon. cloudy, muggy with a high near 75. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. here is sarah. >> not exactly the best recipe

tara mergener has more. >> good morning. of president's endorsement gay marriage is still drawing strong reaction from both sides. it will likely be the economy that makes all the difference on election day. six months before the general election, americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy. a new poll shows 52% of those surveyed are disappointed with the president's handling of it. during a campaign stop in seattle, president obama urged voters to keep the faith. >> we're making progress. are we satisfied? of course not. to many of our friends and our families are still out there looking for work. >> mitt romney is using the president's vulnerability on the economic to his advantage. >> we don't have to bump along the bottom. we don't have to settle in america. >> they both realize the economy is the number-one issue. hoping to galvanize supporters, a new ad clement mitt romney's stay as against gay marriage would turn the country backwards. mitt romney is apologizing for actions in his past. the report says he

tara mergener has more on what to expect. >> good morning. brace yourself. there will be a half million more drivers on the road this memorial day weekend. some are making some adjustments. nearly 31 million drivers will brave the memorial day traffic to reach their destination, according to aaa. but this time that many are thinking harder about the trip request based on the price of gas. >> the economy -- you have to weigh that against everything. >> gas is expected to average 8 cents more per gallon this summer. many will travel anyway. >> for the 10 cents a gallon, i'll just keep doing what i do. >> it is an unprecedented to see 150,000 miles that people are traveling. we think people will be staying closer to home. >> those who do stay home will be cutting off food and entertainment spending to cut cash. >> looking for ways to save money doing things like cruising and doing things with family and friends. american travelers will get creative this year. >> motorists are not the only one dealing -- feeling the pinch. air travel is expected to be down 5.5%.

tara mergener has more. >> good morning. president obama is actually the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage. it is a controversial move that could impact the election. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> that announcement on wednesday. this is a reversal for president obama, who has supported civil unions but said marriage was between a man and a woman. >> i have been going through an evolution on this issue. i have always been adamant that gay and lesbian americans should be treated fairly and equally. >> this is good news for gay- rights activts, but it is not clear how this will play out with other voters. the latest gallup poll shows half of americans support same- sex marriage. 48% do not. >> i don't favor marriage between people of the same gender and i do not favor civil unions. >> this could help mitt romney with conservatives but hurt president obama in southern states, including north carolina, where voters just approved a ban on gay marriage. >> north carolina and virgin

tara mergener joins us live with our report. good morning. >> good morning. the obama team is targeting mitt romney's corporate record. he is firing right back. a corporate titan who got rich by cutting jobs. >> mitt romney is a job destroyer. >> he is going to run the country the way he runs his business, i would not want him there. >> part of a 25 million-dollar campaign aimed at countering republican claims that mitt romney has the biz's know how to fix the economy. >> when others shied away, stepped in.s team >> it is incredible. when i started with close to 4000 employees and now we have close to 6,000. >> ron paul said he will no longer actively campaign for the nomination. obama and mitt romney are in a dead heat. it is clear the election will turn on the economy. >> it doesn't matter what they call mitt romney or what they say about his record. people will give him a good strong look. >> today mitt romney heads to i want to talk about the federal debt. joe biden is an ohio campaigning tomorrow. tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you very much. >

tara mergener telesis will we can expect. >> good morning. there will be a half million more drivers on the road this memorial day weekend. some are making some adjustments. nearly 31 million drivers will brave the memorial day traffic to reach their destination, according to aaa. but this time, many are thinking harder about the trip based on the price of gas. >> planning where we go. >> the economy -- you have to weigh that against everything. >> gas is expected to average eight cents more per gallon this summer. the economy is still shaky and household debt is high. many will travel anyway. >> for the 10 cents a gallon, i'll just keep doing what i do. >> it is unprecedented to see 150 miles that people are traveling. we think people will be staying closer to home. >> those who do stay home will be cutting down on food and entertainment spending to save cash. >> looking for ways to save money doing things like cruising and doing things with family and friends. american travelers will get creative this year. >> motorists are not the only one

tara mergener is live in washington with details. >> good morning. this weekend includes a pair of high-stakes international summits. one is focus on the troubled world economy and the other on the war in afghanistan. global economic recovery will top the agenda at the g-8 summit at camp david where president obama will address europe's debt prices with world leaders. >> the united states has a significant stake in the outcome of the economic discussions in europe. the european union is the largest trading partner of the united states. >> the possibility greece will exit the 17-nation years then, the president is expected to encourage stimulus measures like the ones he introduced in 2009 in hopes of jump starting the u.s. economy. he will then head to chicago. >> to pursue oil and all these other countries. >> where protesters are gathering. afghanistan tops the agenda as the president meets with the heads of states of more than 62 countries. >> the next up towards a responsible and the of this war, towards our achieving our goals in this effort in a

tara mergener near has how the alliance plans to map out the in game. >> good morning. nato is set to declare the next stage of transition, which includes turning over the combat lead. world leaders are working on a timeline to transition security. the challenge is to implement it effectively. >> there'll be great challenges ahead. the loss of life continues in afghanistan. there will be hard days ahead. but we're confident that we're on the right track. >> the strategy for a gradual exit from afghanistan will be formally endorsed today at the nato summit in chicago. >> there'll be no rush for the exits. ourl stay committed to operation in afghanistan and see it through to be successful. >> negotiations are also set to start on how to support the afghan forces after the 2014 withdrawal deadline. the president expects a decade of transformation in afghanistan at a cost of more than $4 billion a year. >> we're here to fight nato. we're here to protest against the war in afghanistan. >> protesters clashed with police blocks from where more than 60 world leaders ware meetin

tara mergener joins us live with more details on the story. >> happy friday. this weekend includes a pair of high-stakes international summits. one is focused on the troubled world economy and the other on the war in afghanistan. global economic recovery will top the agenda at the g-8 summit at camp david, where president obama will address europe's debt crisis with world leaders. >> the united states has a significant stake in the outcome of the economic discussions in europe. the european union is the largest trading partner of the united states. >> the possibility greece will exit the 17-nation zone, the president is expected to encourage stimulus measures like the ones he introduced in 2009 in hopes of jump-starting the u.s. economy. he will then head to chicago -- >> to pursue oil and all these other countries. >> where protesters are gathering. afghanistan tops the agenda, as the president meets with the heads of states of more than 62 countries. >> the next step is for a responsible end of this war, towards our achieving our goals in this effort in afgh

tara mergener joins us live with our report. good morning. >> good morning. thanks to looser campaign finance laws, super pacs will have a big voice in the presidential race, waving a limited amounts of cash to support their candidates. less than six months before the general election, the race is predictable down and dirty. >> republicans have found a nominee for president who has promised to rubber-stamp the agenda if he gets a chance. >> people who weapon hurt are the american people. that is why we will get him out of office. >> starting today, an independent group ups the ante, launching a 25 million-dollar campaign targeting president obama in tenant dollar grant states. >> president obama made a series of promises that he was going to do it that we believe he has not delivered on and somebody has to hold them for account to account for these failures. >> the president has a major super pac in this corner, too. >> we're trying to talk to all voters so that people have a sense of who mitt romney is and where he comes from. >> it would note to scoop up su

tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. 64 degrees on tv hill. the waiting game continues in the john edwards trial. >> a storm tracer heads towards a tornado in kansas. we will take a closer look when we cover the nation. >> this is the beltway a greenspring avenue. you can see the water droplets on the camera. >> welcome back. 5:10. 67 degrees downtown. most of you will run into some rain today. a pretty good idea to take an umbrella and give yourself a couple of extra minutes. it is scattered rain at the present time. i wouldn't call a heavy rain. monarch rain in some areas. off and on rain showers. even a slight chance for some thunder this afternoon -- moderate rain in some areas. we'll end up around 73 later today. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. >> the fate of john edwards remains in the hands of a jury. jury deliberations will resume today about whether edwards broke campaign finance laws. jurors made request for more evidence. if convicted, he faced up to 30 years in prison. a man will be sentence

the president campaigns in colorado. >> thank you, tara mergener. >> 6:09. the 21st century boy scouts are going high-tech. >> keeping the family together will cost you more if you fly on some airlines. >> atypically quiet suburb in or got becomes the scene of a grisly crime scene. .etails on the murder-suicide >> ava marie exploring the oregon trail. we'll have details after the break. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. this is the fort mchenry toll plaza. we will let you know where you might find some delays this morning. >> good morning. we're starting you out with a live view from skyteam 11. a cloudy start to the day. very warm. 70 degrees downtown. we're talking about today -- where live at the harford county public library where we're talking about the latest exhibit from the smithsonian. i'm with the foundation director of the library. what a neat concept for an exhibit especially if kids are getting at of school. >> we're thrilled to be hosting the exhibit here at harford county. it is a fabulous partnership with the smithsonian ins

here is tara mergener with the latest. >> reporter: the u.s. government says osama bin laden's death was a crippling blow to al-qaeda. >> they are struggling to attract new recruits. morale is low. >> reporter: on the evening of may 1st, navy seals launched a daring raid into osama bin laden's compound in pakistan. they stuffed big bags full of documents, computer drives and video. the information provided insight into bin laden's operation. he was particularly worried about drone strikes. >> in documents we seized, he confessed to disaster after disaster and urged his leaders to flee the tribal regions and go places away from aircraft, photography and bombardment. >> reporter: a political battle ensued when the obama campaign launched a web ad suggesting that mitt romney would not have authorized the attack on bin laden. romney is firing back. >> would have you gone after bin laden. >> of course. >> you would have given the order, governor. >> of course. >> even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> reporter: in 2007 romney said senator

tara mergener has this "commitment 2012" report. >> new campaign ads are coming out in battleground states and the messages from both sides are tough. super pacs take aim, one in and you advertisement climbing of voter disappointment with president obama. >> how will my kids pay that off when they cannot find jobs? >> another it showed a woman who lost her job at a factory after it was bought by an equity firm co-founded by mitt romney. >> i had no health care. that is scary. >> it is the latest in a string of attacks from the obama camp taking aim at romney's tenure at bain capital. >> at no more qualifies you to be a president than being a plumber. >> on the one hand, americans like free enterprise, and if you make big money like been investments did, how can you false that. on the other hand, americans hate big business. >> several polls show the candidates locked in a dead heat, with their fate expected to turn on the economy. >> obama wants more spending and taxes. >> no matter the twists and turns the campaign brings on the way to election day. >> it is impossible to overstate how im

tara mergener for cbs news, washington. >>> some good news even if just a little when it comes to the scandal at the secret service. homeland security secretary janet napolitano says there is no evidence agents were involved in wrongdoing while in el salvador last year. the allegations were made last week by an anonymous source who spoke with a television station in seattle. several agents have lost their jobs because of that prostitution scandal during a visit to colombia last month. >>> the washington nationals honored one of their own last night for his heroism. andre hawthorne is an usher at the ballpark. two weeks ago we covered it here on the news he fought off two large dogs who were attacking a group of kids in his northeast d.c. neighborhood. hawthorne was severely beaten friending off those dogs and -- and he fended them off with a kitchen knife. >> i had to sacrifice myself. i'm no hero. it's just something i had to do. >> mayor vincent gray declared yesterday andre hawthorne day in the district. he also received an autographed jersey from the team. >>> 6:37. jessica doyle

tara mergener reports for wjz from the white house. >> reporter: president obama marked the 50th anniversaryf the vietnam war this memorial day with a visit to the famous wall. >> you're often blamed for a war you didn't start. when you should have been commended for serving your country with valor. >> reporter: actor tom selleck, himself a vietnam-era navy veteran, led the ceremony. >> today are i join with you to again dedicate myself to the memory of my friends whose names are on this wall. >> reporter: in a day full of remembrance, the president also laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns at arlington national cemetery. >> these 600 acres are home to americans in every part of the country who gaver their lives-- gave their lives in every corner of the globe. >> and the president is promising veterans that they will get the benefits they deserve. the nine-year war in iraq is over. and combat troops are out of afghanistan by 2014. >> reporter: republican white house hopeful mitt romney was in san diego, attending a memorial service. romney calls for the country to continue building a st

. >> i am a tara mergener error appeared a new round of campaign ads as the debate heats up on economy.adenomy.ade >> we will c [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> it feels like we have had so much rain yesterday. >> we're still about four or 5 inches behind at the airport. inches behind at the airport.

tara mergener reports. >> reporter: mitt romney is getting the support of some of his former rivals. cbs news has learned michele bachmann plans to endorse the former massachusetts governor during an event in virginia this afternoon. >> thank you, everyone. >> reporter: bachmann was once a presidential hopeful herself. she is a tea party favorite, a group romney has struggled to win over. this comes within day after newt gingrich dropped out of the race and pledged his support for romney. >> this is a choice between mitt romney and the most radical leftist president in american history. >> reporter: the speaker of the house won in georgia and south carolina but was never able to gain support beyond the south. >> i have to thank the voters of south carolina and apologize to them. we will have broken their tradition of always picking the nominee. >> reporter: newt gingrich hasn't always been a mitt romney fan. the obama camp reminded voters about what he had to say about romney during the campaign. obama's team released a web ad using gingrich's own words. >> are you calling mitt romne

tara mergener for cbs news, washington. >> mitt romney will be in new york today with former mayor rude ji giuliani and a -- rudy giuliani and a group of firefighters to mark bin laden's death. >>> the associated press says the united states military is under reporting the number of times afghan soldiers and police have fired on americans and other foreign troops. an ap investigation, the associated press investigation found nato reports every time a coalition soldier is killed by an afghan in uniform but it doesn't report the number of times an afghan soldier or police officer wounds a u.s. or a nato troop or even misses his target. just last week two u.s. soldiers were wounded when afghan policemen shot at them. both afghan policemen were killed in that incident. but it was not reported to the international coalition. >>> the white house has confirmed what we've known for years. the united states military routinely conducts bombings on terror targets in foreign countries, including pakistan and yemen using unmanned drones. the white house counterterrorism says the targets are chosen b

tara mergener for cbs news, washington. >>> virginia governor bob mcdonnell will also be at the romney event. mcdonnell is reportedly one of the people being considered as a vice presidential candidate with mitt romney. >>> a new poll shows that mitt romney trails president obama in virginia even if romney were to pick governor bob mcdonnell as his vice presidential candidate. the poll was released this week by public policy polling. the service suggests 51% of virginia voters would choose president obama on voting day. 43% would choose romney- mcdonnell ticket. >>> new information about the secret service sex scandal is being revealed. it deals with the lie detector test taken by the 12 agents implicated in the scanned arl. according to new york representative peter king, three of the acts refused to -- agents refused to take the test. nunn of the remining nine agents failed the test. >>> hillary clinton is in china for economic talks but so far most of the attention has been centered around chinese activist chen guangcheng. china's president said china and the u.s. must respect each

tara mergener for cbs news, washington. >> at least six people were killed in that taliban attack. >>> secretary of constituent hillary clinton is in beijing for some high level economic and strategic talks with chinese leaders. chen gawng change -- -- chen gawng chang is believed to have escaped. no comment by either side of the government. >>> protesters took to the streets protesting economic equality. >> protests turned violent in some cases. a group of hooded demonstrators in seattle vandalized local businesses. dozens of people in new york and oakland were arrested for disrupting traffic. >> protests here were a lot calmer than in other parts of the country. >> reporter: about 200 protesters from the occupy d.c. movement were on the move again on d.c. streets marching toward the white house. they chose may day as a symbolic day to once again sound off for the cause of the 99%. >> the overall message is income disparity. people who have massively lost their homes, their jobs. >> reporter: it coincides with the one-year anniversary of osama bin laden's death. now these occupier pr

tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 6:08. 65 degrees on tv hill. details on it price hike at disney. >> the landing is a good landing. technically this would be a good landing. this pilot is not making any friends. >> and historic launch that took place while you were sleeping. >> i am about to preside over a jousting match. >> we will check on your morning commute. sky tim 11 is a flying south of the fort mchenry tunnelun >> welcome back. this is a live view from sky team 11. 67 degrees downtown. i am live inside a castle today. i'm inside medieval times and we're getting ready for a jousting match. what is a jousting? >> this is the kind of thing that people think of when they think of the middle ages. >> let the jousting begin. >> each time they would score points and they get points on horsing. >> what a sight while you're eating. >> this is what we're most known for, hour jousting and our horses. >> i thought jousting was a duel to the death. >> it was used more as a sport or toward a man. it was not used to kill the opponent but to win the jo

tara mergener has the latest on the story. >> good morning. officials say the plan took shape last month and was orchestrated by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. another airline bomb plot bordered by the caa >> this was a nonmetallic bomb that never made it onto a plane but it was intended to go on an american plane. >> agents step down before the bomber picked a target or bought a ticket. this device said to be an upgrade of the one that failed to dent todadetonate. >> it is being analyzed and tested. this could be significant if they not metallic bond could make its way through our metal detectors without being spotted. >> the white house and the department of homeland security -- the whereabouts of the alleged bombers are not clear. authorities believed the bomb was made by the man responsible for the first under were bomb and two others built into printer cartridges in 2010. >> what this incident makes clear is that this country has to continue to remain vigilant against those that would seek to attack this country. >> u.s. officials ins

i am tara mergener. >> steny hoyer says he has shifted his position from supporting civil unions to a full-fledged endorsement of same-sex marriage. said it will not undermine the institution of marriage. >> 6:09. tires for mom on mother's day? >> sterling statistics when it comes to retirement --still early statistics. >> a controversial cover hits the newsstands. >> a cold front is moving offshore. we have clear skies moving in for the weekend. >> we will detail your morning commute. we will update you on at progressive, you can bundle your home and auto policies and save. don't worry, tiny people. flo is a gentle giant. bundle home and auto at progressive.com. >> welcome back to 11 news today. 6:13. 53 degrees downtown. we have a school closing to announce. beach field elementary school in baltimore city is closed because of a water main break. the kids get a day off. let's look at the temperatures. 40's at the airport. 43 in frederick. a few areas are waking up to some chilly temperatures. we have the sunshine out. no major problems with the win ds. mostly, down towards hagerstown

tara mergener has the latest details. good morning. >> good morning. this is a dramatic twist on the plot to bomb a u.s. plane. the person al qaeda was counted on was actually working with the cia. a spike infiltrates a terrorist cell and gets his hands on a bomb and delivers it to u.s. intelligence. the person al qaeda thought was a suicide bomber was a double agent working with authorities and a corporate with the united states. >> our adversaries are very creative and determined and persistent. that requires us to always be thinking proactively and not just reactive fleet. branch wasa's yemen planning to blow up a u.s. plane. >> it was more advanced than the christmas day bombers, the underwear bombers dear. >> this new design is said to be made with a different chemical formula would dueled detonation systems that make it easy to set off. the foiled plot is a major coup. there are concerns that too much information has become public. >> this has not in any way become declassified by the cia and the administration. it is unfortunate this has got now

tara mergener joins us live with more details on the story. good morning. >> good morning. officials say the plan took shape last month and was orchestrated by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. another airline bomb plot thwarted by the cia. >> this was a non-metallic bomb that never made it onto a plane, but it was intended to go on an american plane. >> agents stepped in before the bomber picked a target or bought a ticket. this device is said to be an upgrade of the one that failed to detonate abort eight detroit-bound plane on christmas day in 2009 and expected to be hidden inside somebody's underwear. >> it is being analyzed and tested. this could be significant if a non-metallic bomb could make its way through our metal detectors without being spotted. >> the white house and the department of homeland security -- bombers are not clear. authorities believe the bomb was made by the man responsible for the first underwear bomb and two others built into printer cartridges in 2010. >> what this incident makes clear is that this country has to continue to remain vigilant ag

tara mergener joins us live to explain. good morning. >>>> good morning. this is a dramatic twist on the plot to bomb a u.s. plane. the person al qaeda was counting on was actually working with the cia. a spy infiltrates a terrorist cell and gets his hands on a bomb and delivers it to u.s. intelligence. report, theair person al qaeda thought was a suicide bomber was a double agent working with authorities and cooperating with the united states. >> our adversaries are very creative and determined and persistent. that requires us to always be thinking proactively and not just reactively. >> al qaeda's yemen branch was planning to blow up a u.s. plane. thanre using a new device the one involved in a similar plot to bring out a detroit- bound jetliner in 2009. >> it was more advanced than the christmas day bomber, the underwear bomber's bomb. -- gear. >> this new design is said to be made with a different chemical formula with duel detonation systems that make it easy to set off. the foiled plot is a major coup. there are concerns that too much information has

tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 6:07. 56 degrees on tv hill. relief at the pump. >> murder mystery at churchill downs. a body was discovered inside a barn. >> has been a police officer. now a doctor? >> we are live and getting ready for the women's housing coalition big fund-raiser on monday. >> a new problem in dundalk. some road closures. some problems elsewhere because some problems elsewhere because of fire department >> good morning. 59 degrees. there are a few clouds in the skies. we could see more sunshine today. we're talking about the women's coalition -- women's housing coalition fundraising happening on monday here at nick's fish house. it is located on the patapsco river. you're a board member with the housing coalition. this began as a grass-roots effort to provide housing for women that are homeless. how big of a need is it in baltimore? >> there is a lot of homelessness in baltimore. people think of homeless people as only men and there are a lot of women and children out there. we have a variety of houses that women and children

tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 6:08. 64 degrees on tv hill. the makers of skechers may have to shell out some cash to their customers. >> a raging fire in phoenix. >> a close call for it firefighter that is caught on tape. >> a spectacular sunrise right now at pimlico. we will check the forecast for preakness day and check with the assistant trainer to all have assistant trainer to all have i'llher -- i"ll hav >> good morning. this is a beautiful shot of sunrise at pimlico. temperatures around 65 downtown. preparing for the big day on saturday. i am live at the preakness stakes barn where a lot of the horses are waking up and heading to the track. i'm here with the assistant trainer to i'll have another. you have been for a couple of weeks. you have been working hard to prepare for preakness and you have been having some fun in baltimore. >> we got our work done and would like to enjoy ourselves. fortunate to be here. >> your at the baseball game and visited the hospital. fantastic to see the children. we went to the boys and girls club yester

i'm tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 65 degrees and muggy on tv hill. the head of the secret service will speak about the scandal and colombia. >> a plane makes an unscheduled stop. >> this is the beltway at greenspring avenue. more on weather and i'm thinking of asking carlina to have dinner at my place. she's italian... and you can't cook. ♪ that's all the horses sir. ...and the men? all the king's men are here too sir. it doesn't look good. ♪ >> welcome back. 71 degrees downtown. there is some fog in some neighborhoods. we have very little rain around baltimore. you can see the thunderstorms coming out of the mountains and then dissipating. there is some rain around washington. we should stay dry bang for the morning commute. this afternoon, the thunderstorms will redevelop. take an umbrella with you. high temperature of 79 or 80 degrees later today. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. >> secret service director mark sullivan will deliver a statement today to the homeland security committee on the agency said sex

tara mergener joins us live from our washington bureau with this story. >> good morning. j.p. morgan chase was thought to being among the safest u.s. banks. now it admits to a terrible mistakes. lawmakers are fighting over industry regulation. an apology from j.p. morgan chase after a $2 billion loss. the ceo says it's the result of sloppy strategy to manage financial risk. >> we made a terrible, a grievous mistake. almost no excuse. >> it is a strategy that experts say is similar to what caused chaos in 2008 and led to the passage of wall street reform lost. -- laws. this reignited a debate over stiffer regulations aimed at restricting proprietary trading by banks. >> tens of billions of dollars went to this bank before and we don't want that to happen again. that's why the regulators have to be strong. >> but critics of the rules say regulators are still gathering facts. >> i think we need to give them an opportunity to do that job before we reach any conclusions about moving forward with additional regulations which could make it more difficult for financial institutions to

. >> reporter: at the white house, tara mergener, wjz eyewitness news. >> a new gallup poll finds americans lining up behind mitt romney. >>> a massachusetts politician is making headlines after shocking words. representative barney frank spoke at darkness commencement yesterday. he told an african american recipient of an honorary doctorate, quote, now you've got a hoody you can wear and no one will shoot you. the audience gasped. and some did chuckle. it appears he was referencing the trayvon martin incident. so far, frank has not commented on what he said. >>> a corruption trail that reaches to the top of the vatican. the pope's personal butler has been charged with illegal possession of secret documents. tonight, allen pizzey reports for wjz, this could be just the beginning. >> reporter: there was no hint at pentecostal mass that pope benedict xvi is facing perhaps the biggest crisis of any pope in modern time. his personal butter, pap low gab real is under investigation. accused of leaking secret documents, including papal correspondence to the press. this is at the highest levels of

. >> i am tara mergener