tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> new details in the plants of a terror suspect whose main target was the capitol building. >> a deadly encounter with an avalanche, still to come. >> this is 95 north of the beltway in the arbutus area. denny's new sizzlin' skillets are here for a limited time. so strike while the iron's hot. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open. >> welcome back. 5:08. 38 degrees downtown. a beautiful shot of the inner harbor. temperatures are on the chilling side and there is a bit of a breeze. it will feel cooler than the numbers i'm about to show you. we have mostly cloudy skies. 34 in columbia. there are a few snow flurries in some neighborhoods. that would be mostly south and east of town. clearing skies as we get into the afternoon. we'll see sunshine with a high around 48. it might be a little breezy. we'll come back and check the forecast going into next weekend. >> an avalanche killed three skiers north of seattle. this is a different part of it were theass the one han avalanche actually occurred. other skiers try to dig them out

tracie potts for us in washington. , thank you. >>> well, the latest research poll numbers size up the republican primary race and the matchups against president obama. rick santorum's support is surging among tea party supporters and white evangelicals. santorum is now in a virtual tie with mitt romney with santorum edging romney by two points, 30% to 28%. the same poll found president obama with sizable leads over the top two republicans. mr. obama leads santorum by 10 points and romney by eight points. >>> and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. protesters dangled from a washington, d.c. bridge monday unfurling a banner calling for a free tibet. four people were arrested, including two who were hanging from ropes and lowered into police boats. their demonstration is one of several expected during the visit of china's vice president. >>> in charlotte, a school bus driver who rescued all of her passengers from an inferno last week was honored. she was at the wheel last wednesday

lynn. >> all right, tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. >>> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. >>> in philadelphia, a driver has surrendered after hitting a 9-year-old girl with her car and then taking off. surveillance video shows the child trying to cross the street on her bicycle and then jumping off the bike and running for it. that's when the car veered toward her knocking her onto the sidewalk. fortunately, the girl sustained only minor injuries. >>> near boston a store clerk is being credited for saving two people from a house fire. he saw the flames and ran down the street and dashed into the burning home to make sure everyone escaped okay. the home was destroyed. >>> in texas, high winds were stronger than a big rig could handle. the semi truck flipped on to its side along i-27. the winds creating miserable conditions tearing into roofs and taking out tree branches and even bending the arm of a railroad crossing. >>> and mardi gras is about to hit fooer -- fever pitch in new or

nbc's tracy potts joins us from washington with those details. >> lynn, good morning. >> reporter: santorum is leading in the polls in michigan right now and hoping to hold on to that for the next week. hoping to focus on that. but, instead, he has been explaining his comments about a phony theology. after a day explaining his phony theology remark last night, rick santorum refocused on an issue hitting midwesterners hard this time of the year, gas prices. >> reporter: the white house announced a deal to drill along the border with mexico and now getting an idea how much the candidates are working with. romney raised $6.5 million last month but told ohio santorum is spending too much in washington. >> when republicans go to washington and spend like democrats, you're going to have a lot of spending and that is what we have seen over the last several years. >> reporter: gingrich earned over $5.5 million, like santorum, he focused on social issues forcing catholics to pay for birth control. >> the president will one religion to break its beliefs ordering another religion to break its beliefs

>> all right, tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thanks so much. >>> the taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in eastern afghanistan early today. a car bomb exploded at the gates of the jalalabad airport. it killed nine people, mostly civilians. the taliban says the attack was revenge for the burning of korans at an american military base a week ago. meanwhile, on sunday, eight u.s. soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack at a u.s. base in kunduz province. and a manhunt continues for a man who shot and killed two u.s. military officers saturday outside an afghan ministry building. >>> now here is a look at other stories making news "early today in america." a thief used a hammer to smash his way into a philadelphia jewelry store window, grabbing thousands of dollars in merchandise there. a store clerk came rushing to the display right as the robber took off. the man carried out the robbery in broad daylight saturday afternoon. he dropped the hammer at the scene and remains on the loose. >>> in new orlea

nbc's tracy potts joins us from washington with those details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. he is likely to get a lot of scrutiny because of that surge in the polls. this is the first debate that we have seen between these candidates in almost a month. let's take a look at mitt romney first who is fighting to win his home state but actually up by by four points in arizona where that debate is being held tonight. four points is within the margin of error so technically you can call that a tie and looks like he is taking a page from the santorum campaign. now focusing on social issues referring to president obama's secular agenda at a town hall last night. in the meantime, rick santorum who has surged nationally and surging in michigan as well, although by not as much, seems very confident saying last night that i always have and i will win the states that matter in this election. michigan is certainly one of them. and to confirm his front runner stats there, ron paul has an attack ad out against rick santorum, one of the most memorable

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. ie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. keep in mind what's at stake here. the 2% you got extra that you got last year, that you got so far this year, runs out at the end of the month in congress does nothing. no one on the hill wants to deal with the fallout of that. negotiators announced a tentative deal last night to keep the 2% payroll tax cut in place the rest of this year for 160 million working americans. >> at the end of the day the more that americans can keep their own money in their own pocket, i think that's better long term. >> reporter: the deal happened after the obama administration went on the offensive and republicans agreed to add the $100 billion cost to america's red ink. tea party republicans insisted this tax break be paid for. >> this is the bottom line. i'm concerned about the pay for raising the fees but its a he a good deal for the american people. >> reporter: the deal also keeps unemployment benefits rolling though the maximum 99 will drop to 73 by yea

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with those details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. those numbers show us that mitt romney is still fighting to win his home state while rick santorum is hoping to transfer that surge in michigan to votes in arizona. rick santorum is the one to watch tonight. nbc's brand new poll out this morning has him in a statistical tie with mitt romney in michigan, behind by just two points in the margin of error but down by 16 in arizona, where tonight's debate is being held. >> i always have and will win in the states that matter to win this election. >> reporter: santorum is now under attack in a new ad from ron paul. >> is this dude serious? >> reporter: focusing on social issues worked for santorum. now mitt romney's looking right, meeting with the tea party tomorrow in michigan and hammering president obama. >> unfortunately, perhaps because of the people the president hangs around with and their agenda, a secular agenda, they have fought against religion. >> reporter: at tonight's debate, santorum w

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. we learned that late last night, the finance chairs on both the house and senate side saying it looked like they have enough support for at least negotiators to sign off on this. so, here's what it means. the 2% payroll tax cut, the average $40 a paycheck we got last year and so far this year, will continue until the end of this year, but it will be paid for, meaning congress will add $100 billion to the nation's debt. unemployment benefits, they will also continue past the end of this month, and that will be paid for by auctioning off mobile spectrum and also by requiring new federal workers to pay more into their pensions. but instead of 99 weeks, the max after may will be 73 weeks, and that's if you're in a state with the highest unemployment rates. then finally, that 27% cut for doctors who see medicare patients, that will not happen. that's going to cost $20 billion, paid for by adjustments to the new h

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. acie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the finance chairs on both the house and senate side said it looks like they have enough support at least among the negotiating group to get this to a vote. it would involve 160 million working americans holding on to the 2% payroll tax cut this year, but the negotiators haven't been able to figure out how to pay the $100 billion price tag. so they are adding it to the nation's debt. after this month unemployment benefits would also continue but they would be scaled back after may instead of the maximum 99 weeks in states with high unemployment, the most you could get would be 73. that would be paid for by auctioning off mobile spectrum and making new people hired into the federal government pay more into their pensions. finally, medicare, no 27% cut for doctors as of the end of this month paid for by adjustments in the new health law. it looks like if they are able to get around the three-day rule that requires the law to be written

tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 6:07. 35 degrees on tv hill. coming up, the bloomberg business report. >> a skiing incident in washington state turns deadly. >> a final farewell to singer whitney houston as she's taken to our final resting place. >> one of the largest craft shows in the entire country and happening this weekend in baltimore. >> good morning. we're back with a live view from up skyteam 11. we have a temperature near 38 downtown. it is a quiet start to the day. we'll get to the forecast in just a minute. i'm preview at a craft show, one of the most prestigious craft shows in the entire country. it is happening in baltimore this weekend. i'm talking to one the artists. good to see you. this is incredible work. >> this is class using a technique. i begin with sheets of glass. these are made in portland, oregon. the pieces are cut into little strips. here's a piece you can see. it is a very meticulous. >> they are beautiful and all different shapes and sizes. >> like gate range right or you can use them as appetizer plates -- like a

tracie potts is joining us with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this was an zernt important debate between the candidates. the polls up in michigan virtually tied now. for that reason the top two candidates went back and forth all night. mitt romney and rick santorum overtalking each other at times over health care, earmarks and tax breaks. >> i never voted to raise taxes. >> you voted to raise the debt ceiling five times without compensating cuts in spending. >> reporter: santorum admitted voting for things he didn't support like no child left behind and family planning. >> politics is a team sport, folks. sometimes you have to rally together and do something. >> while i was fighting to save the olympics you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. >> reporter: santorum accused romney of backing big banks but abandoned auto workers. >> you bailed out wall street and when it came to the auto workers and the folks in detroit he said no. >> i don't want to save any wall street bank. i just want to make sure we don't lose all the banks. >> report

tracie potts joins us with those details. tracie, good morning? >> reporter: good morning. while mitt romney is fighting to win his home state of michigan. santorum is trying to turn his success there into votes in arizona. rick santorum is the one to watch tonight. he soared ahead nationally and in michigan. he still trails mitt romney tonight in arizona where the debates happen. >> i will win in the states that matter to win this election. >> reporter: santorum's now under attack in a new ad from ron paul. >> is this dude serious? >> reporter: focusing on social issues worked for santorum. mitt romney is looking right meeting with the tea party and hammering president obama. >> unfortunately, perhaps because of the people the president hangs around with, their secular agenda, they have fought against religion. >> reporter: at tonight's debate santorum will get more scrutiny because he's the new front-runner, but so will mitt romney. >> he's under the microscope. he's under be pressure. he needs to do well. he needs to re-establish a sense that he's the front-runner in the

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington. >> reporter: good morning. last night, even more comments that raised eyebrows from santorum, who has pitched himself as the most conservative candidate in this rate. critics haare saying his commen over the weekend are over the line. last night, rick santorum seemed to compare president obama to hitler. >> maybe he's not the best guy after a while. you found out some things about this guy in europe. >> reporter: this after another controversial comment saturday. >> it's not about you. it's not about your quality of life. it's not about your jobs. it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. >> he's actually questioning the president's faith. that is a new low in american politics. >> reporter: santorum said he wasn't talking about the president's faith. >> i've repeatedly said i believe the president's a christian. he says he's a christian. i am talking about his world view. >> reporter: republicans came to santorum's rescue, criticizing president's birth control plan. >> he believes he can mandate certai

tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. >>> well, republican candidate rick santorum appears to be gaining on mitt romney in popularity with republican women. even though santorum opposes contraception and abortion, a new poll from "the washington post" and abc news found that santorum is now seen favorably by 50% of gop women. that's a 13-point gain since january. but santorum still trails romney by four points in favorability ratings. >>> well, afghan police are facing another day of angry protests. this morning, hundreds of demonstrators marched toward the presidential palace in the capital chanting "death to america." police fired into the air to try to disperse the crowd. the demonstrations follow the accidental burning of copies of the quran by u.s. troops at the air base north of kabul. president obama has apologized to the afghan people for that incident. >>> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. scary moments for customers as a pickup truck smashed into the front

lynn. >> all right, tracie potts for us in washington.hanks so much. >>> now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a northern virginia woman was nearly killed with a powerful wind brought down a 70 foot tree on top of her home. she was sleeping when it crashed through her roof, pinning her to the bed. firefighters worked over an hour to free the woman. unfortunately, inspectors deemed her house uninhabitable. >>> it year's winter continued on its own bizarre course in atlanta. the mercury dipped into single digits. that caused one fountain to be encased in ice, practically. spectators braved the cold to get a glimpse. that' very unusual for atlanta. >>> finally, over 100 people gathered outside city hall in san jose to scuffle and ruffle some feathers. a massive pillow fight broke out as the clock struck noon. organizers spread the word about the flash mob style fray on facebook and twitter. come on. this is the first year of the event, which was inspired by a similar battle held across the bay in san fra

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with those details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. santorum is leading in the polls in michigan right now and hoping to hold on to that for the next week. hoping to focus on that. but, instead, he has been explaining his comments about a phony theology. after a day explaining his phony theology remark last night, rick santorum refocused on an issue hitting midwesterners hard this winter, gas prices. >> this president is doing everything he can to hurt energy production in this country. >> reporter: with oil prices at a nine month high, the obama administration announced a deal to drill along the gulf border with mexico. and meantime we're now getting an idea how much money these candidates are rourworking with. romney raised $6.5 million last month, but told ohio is an tore vum spending too much in washington. >> when republicans go washington and spend like democrats, you'll have a lot of spending. and that's what we've seen over the last several years. >> reporter: gingrich earned over

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, lynn, good morning. a two-point spread with romney on top is a virtual tie when you consider the margin of error in the polls. that's what we're looking at for michigan tomorrow. rick santorum who has surged there, we are told by sources will now get secret service protection starting today in michigan. mitt romney, meantime is picking up arizona governor jan brewer's endorsement. brewer saying yesterday on "meet the press" he carried the debate in the arizona debate and got the best chance to win in november. romney doing better in arizona, 10 points ahead. santorum says after tuesday it's going to prove that this is a two-man race. mitt romney saying he still thinks he can win the nomination no matter how long it takes. ruffled a few feathers according to what we've been seeing on twitter. over the weekend at daytona 500 asked if he was a nascar fan, romney said i don't follow it closely but i have friends who are team owners. lynn? >> tracie p

tracie potts takes a look. >> this combines a couple of things i like best. cars and sports. i appreciate the spirit of the men and women driving. >> rebecca: it's what mitt romney said off camera that has twitter buzzing. asked if he is a nascar fan he said he doesn't follow it closely but quote have i friends who are nascar team owners. rick santorum has his own race day take on the state's primary tomorrow. >> hang back there for a while, let all of the other cars in front of you wreck. then run hard in the last few laps and win the race. >> rebecca: sources tell nbc santorum will get secret service protection starting today. what he did not get is a key endorsement from arizona governor jan brewer. >> i decided i'm going to publicly endorse mitt romney. i think he's the man that can carry the day. >> that was at the arizona debate. can romney carry the day in michigan tomorrow? where he is averaging a slim 2-point lead over santorum. >> what we believe will come out of tuesday is that this is a two-person race right now. >> i think i can show that i can fight hard and com

tracie potts, nbc news, tampa. >> it's going to get good. thank you very much. >>> time to check in with meteorologist christina loren, see how the weather is looking today. >> hey, good morning, ladies. we've got a really good looking day for the second half. this morning, a little cloudy, a little cool. some showers are passing to the north. onshore flow strong enough for you to use your windshield wipers along the peninsula this morning and right by the water. can you see for the most part the front has pass and it is heading into the central valley. heading throughout the day today, we will see clearing by about noon, clouds breaking apart, the sun shining through. so the second half of the day will be fine for outdoor activities. as we head throughout the day it all works out like this. by noon, 58 degrees. the coast will be at 53. san francisco, oakland, little bit on the cool side for the first part of the day but we'll all be able to make it just about to 60 degrees by the water, then you'll hit 63 as you make your way home from work

tracie potts has the latest from washington. >> reporter: last night rick santorum seemed to compare president obama to hitler. >> maybe he's not the best guy after a while you found out some things about this guy over in europe and he's not so good of a guy. >> reporter: this after a controversial comment saturday. >> it's not about you. it's not about your quality of life, it's not about your job. it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. >> he's questioning the president's faith. that is a new low. in american politics. >> reporter: santorum said he wasn't talking about the president's faith. >> i repeatedly said i believe the president is a christian, he says he is a christian but i am talking about his world view. >> reporter: republicans came to santorum's rescue criticizing president obama for requiring churches to pay for employees birth control. >> he has a political philosophy that believes that he can mandate certain benefits and activities of the american people. >> reporter: santorum is leadings the latest michigan polls by 3 to 10 points, mitt romney unable to c

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. traci, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. here's one area where president obama and the oil industry agree. apparently there is little they can do to affect prices right now. american drivers feeling helpless at the pump. >> takes about $120 for me to fill up my truck. that's not that fun. >> reporter: prices spiked almost a dime in some areas overnight. it hit $5 a gallon in california. analysts say expect higher prices by summer, in part because the economy's improving. that drives up demand. president obama said thursday there's no quick fix. >> there are no silver bullets short term when it comes to gas prices and anybody who says otherwise, isn't telling the truth. >> the silver bullet policy should have been implemented three years ago. >> reporter: the president taking heat for not drilling more. >> on day one, for instance, i'm going to say to the department of energy and the department of the interior, grant licenses to drillers for oil and gas, miners for coal, take advanta

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> 4:36 right now. american airline workers at sfo will go on strike today to protest job cuts. amr, the parent company of american airlines, declared bankruptcy last year. company recently announced plans to elimb mate 13,000 jobs in american airlines. airline workers at 13 airports, including sfo, will stage protests this morning starting at 11:00 a.m. >>> san jose seems to be backing away from a controversial plan to cut its police force. it all stems from analysis commissioned by the city. after analyzing the police and fire departments, ibp suggested ev -- ibm suggests more cuts. >> officers we had ten years ago because of the skyrocketing retirement costs so we can't afford to lose anymore. i don't want to lose anymore, but we can be more efishth and effective how we deploy our officers. >> the fact they would even entertain a report whose main premise is reducing our staffing by 300 or 400 more is ludicrous to me. >> the city auditor and city manager are now reviewing the report. >>> pg&e wants c

tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. mitt romney took a day off campaign speeches to enjoy the daytona 500, where he inadvertently caused a buzz online when asked if he's a fan. >> this combines a couple of things i like best. cars and sport. and i appreciate the spirit of the men and women that are driving today. >> reporter: but it's what mitt romney said off camera that has twitter buzzing this morning. asked if he's a nascar fan, romney says he doesn't follow it closely but, quote, i have friends that are nascar team owners. rick santorum has his own race day take on the state's primary tomorrow. >> hang back there for a while. let all the other cars in front of you wreck. and then run hard in the last few laps and win the race. >> reporter: sources tell nbc santorum will get secret service protection starting today. what he did not get is a key endorsement from arizona governor jan brewer. >> i have decided that i'm going to publicly endorse mitt romney. i think he's th

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, with 59 delegates at stake and michigan polls virtually tied, the top two candidates went back and fourth all night. >> had them voted on the committee. >> reporter: mitt romney and rick santorum overtalking each other at times, with the fiercest exchanges over health care, earmarks and taxes. >> governor romney raised $700 million in taxes and fees in massachusetts. i never voted to raise taxes. >> you voted to raise the debt ceiling five times without compensating cuts in spending. >> reporter: santorum admitted he voted for things he didn't support like no child left behind and family planning. >> politics is a team sport, folks, and sometimes you got to rally together and do something. >> while i was fighting to save the olympics you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. >> reporter: santorum accused romney of backing big banks, but abandoning auto workers. >> he supported the folks on wall street and bailed out wall street, was all for it,

tracie potts takes a look. >> the stimulus for tax breaks. democrats called it our only hope. republicans said it would never work. >> our economy is getting stronger. >> america is coming back. >> this president is not going to get credit for the economy coming back. he will get blamed for taking so long. >> the money goes to washington but it never gets distributed fairly. >> he is interested in providing benefits. >> here are the facts. unemployment is falling. jobs lost -- 651,000. economic growth is down almost 7% then. two and half years straight years of growth. >> the economy keeps moving forward and it will be very tough to beat president obama. >> but there are challenges. the nation's debt is at an all- time high. >> 12 million americans remain unemployed. president obama plans to talk about the jobs today in washington state. you can bet his opponents will be talking about it, too. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we still have a closure on north

. >> today is the official kickoff of super bowl weekend. 11 news reporter trac implet e -- tracie potts>> many unaware they are on camera. high-tech ims -- images. >> they will be -- there's a 30-mile no fly zone. all so fans can have fun. which by the way is not cheap. $3,500 for transportation, food. >> you're probably looking at $3,500. >> we found fans that could enjoy the super bowl without the super price. >> my nephew lives up in giantville. so we'll be staying there. we're here on the cheap. >> for most that will never make it to the game. affordable event statement like the popular $10 zip line. >> this has become a place for people to conjugate. >> tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> $2,000. that's a lot. >> it is. >> stay with us. "11 fitness" is up next. >> fir a look at last night's winning lottery numbers. i'm one of six children that my mother raised by herself and so, college was a dream, when i was a kid. i didn't know how i was going to do it, but i knew i was going to get that opportunity one day. and that's what happened with the university of phoenix. nothing can stop

tracie potts is live in washington now with why this visit is so important.ood morning. >> reporter: hi, jon. good morning. he is going to be here starting here at the white house in washington, they have a pretty heavy agenda. a number of issues. first of all why this visit is important. he is expected to be the president of china come next year so this is sort after getting to know you visit to lay the foundation for stronger relationship. they do expect to talk about china whether it's manipulating its currency t u.s. alleges yes, and wants china to stop. they will likely hit intellectual frot rights something the president talked about a few weeks ago. nuclear threats, human rights, syria, china vetoed the peace plan which would call on president assad there in syria to step down. so there are a number of issues where they have differences. after his meetings here in washington he heads your way to california to southern california, he will be in l.a. and also going to make a stop to iowa to visit a family that he lived with over 25 years ago. >> interest

tracie potts has with what others are saying we need to do to make driving more affordable. >> americanrivers feeling helpless at the pump. >> about $120 for me to fill up my truck. >> price has spiked almost a dime in some areas. expect higher prices by summer in part because the economy is improving. that drives up the man. president obama said there is no quick fix. >> there are no silver bullets short-term when it comes to gas prices. anyone who says otherwise is not telling the truth. >> the president taking heat for not joining more. >> i will set a way to grant licenses for drillers of oil and gas, take evanish of our resources right away. >> president obama says that is a bumper sticker. the real answer -- >> end subsidies for an industry that is rarely been profitable. >> i think a lot of people would disagree with barack obama over the idea that we should wait around until the gross enough ealgae. >> drivers looking for relief might want to consider biking to work. an average price of $4.25 per gallon this summer. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> looking for an excuse to leav

tracie potts reporting. >> keep track of the candidates. you will find the details on the politics page of our website, wbaltv.com. >> 34 degrees on tv hill. the rising cost of gas could have some benefits. we will explain. >> a silent film makes a lot of noise at the academy awards. >> we're previewing student made our worartwork. >> we will detail your morning commute. this is a live view from captain roy. we have a problem in carroll we have a problem in carroll >> good morning. 36 degrees downtown. looks like warm weather on the way. we will get the forecast in just a minute. we're talking about the love your tree campaign. onults didn't run artwork display in towson. reception is being held tomorrow night. this is such a need campaign. i love the connection between body image and nature. >> the campaign has been inspired by the author who wrote "the good body." students are encouraged to make posters that use the tree to celebrate body diversity and promote a positive body image. >> this is all in conjunction with national eating's dis

tracie potts is in washington with what president obama, republican candidates, and others are sayingwe need to do to make driving more affordable. >> american drivers feeling helpless at the pump. >> it takes about $120 for me to fill up my truck, so that's not that fun. >> price has spiked almost a dime in some areas. overnight it hit $5 a gallon in california. analysts say expect higher prices by summer in part because the economy is improving. that drives up demand. president obama said thursday there is no quick fix. >> there are no silver bullets short term when it comes to gas prices. and anybody who says otherwise isn't telling the truth. >> the silver-bullet policy should have been implemented three years ago. >> the president taking heat for not drilling more. >> on day one, for instance, i'm going to say to the department of energy and the department of the interior, i want you to grant licenses to drillers for oil and gas, minors for coal, take advantage of our resources right away. >> but president obama says "drill, baby, drill" is just a bumper sticker. the real answer

tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. developingllowing a story out of alabama where one crewmember is dead after a helicopter crash. this happened during a training mission last night. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. police are investigating a late- night shooting in west baltimore. a man was shot and was taken to a local hospital. detectives were looking for any possible evidence. there is no word on a suspect or possible motive. police are investigating the death of a girl as a homicide. they do have a person of interest in custody. police received a call in northwest baltimore. the young girl was taken to a hospital where she later died. an autopsy was performed. a man will spend 25 years in prison for beating his taller to death. he pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death. he told investigators he found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor. >> gas prices are on the rise and they might get worse. one gas station owner is pushing back. jennifer franciotti has his efforts. good morning. >

tracie potts has the latest. >> after a day explaining his "phony theology" remarks, he focused on an issue hitting midwesterners hard, gas prices. >> this president is doing everything he can to hurt energy production in this country. >> the obama administration announced a deal to drill along the gulf of border with mexico. meantime, we are getting an idea how much money the candidates are working with. romney race $6.5 million last month that called ohio that santorum is spending too much in washington. >> when republicans to washington and spend democrats, they love spending. >>gingrich earned $5.5 million. like santorum, he focused on social issues. >> the president will order one religion to break its belief, can order another religion to break its place and order any american to do anything because they believe they are the center of power and that is wrong. fund-raisings cannodoes not seem to be helping his chances in michigan. >> the battle to make maryland the eight state added lenient to allow same-sex marriage is getting the fast track in the senate today. the legislation

>> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us.nk you. >>> well, the contraception controversy is expected to ratchet up a notch today. they will have only one witness, the woman who republicans refuse to let testify last week. you may remember d.c. delegate eleanor holmes walking out when the congressman refused to let 30-year-old georgetown 30 yorld son draw fluke testify before the hearing. she was the only woman scheduled to testify but he said that democrats submit add name too late. it was to require employers, even those affiliated with religious groups, to provide health coverage that includes contraception. president obama has offered a compromise to have sures pay for it, not the religious organizations. >> and the payroll tax cut extension is now law. president obama signed the middle-class tax relief and jobs act for 2012 yesterday. it extends through the end of the year. 2% tax cut in funds and social security. the wlous says workers making $50,000 a year would continue to take home an extra $80 a month because of this

tracie potts is live in indianapolis now with more. are people still partying out there?porter: i think they are still partying. it's morning for us. good morning. i was inside for the first half of this game for the halftime show. giants fans were excited from the very beginning but quite a nail biter, mvp eli manning the man of the night. let me show you this. did you see this amazing catch by wide receiver mario manningham. he was barely inside when he got both feet on the ground and made that amazing catch. big turning point in this game and then course that last minute literally in the last second, that last minute touchdown that brought the giants to that 21-17 victory over the new england patriots. so, yes, the city is celebrating because they have hosted what most say in terms of reviews has been an amazing super bowl. they had almost a million people, probably over a million now go through their super bowl village. new york and the giants giants fans are celebrating as well. the patriots played a really good game here. i heard one commentator say during the game

tracie potts gives us a taste of the excitement from indianapolis. >> no sign of the indianapolis colts, as the stadium has been transformed with 254 to th -- 254 new seats for madonna's halftime show. >> i want people to be knocked out of their seats from beginning to end. i want to keep that surprise. >> i just hope she keeps her clothes on. >> there will be no wardrobe malfunctions. promise. >> you can start your own wardrobe at the nfl experience. hoosier hospitality is free. >> one at they get the scarf on, we are all on at the same team. >> what is not free is parking. $60-plus on game day. >> i tried to get rich, but you're going to have to park here. >> it is our intention to deliver a new urban model for hosting super bowls, which will be very appealing. >> what is appealing now is the weather. it has been unusually warm here this week. even mother nature enjoys a good game. >> big news out today on this year's preakness concert. you saw it first on 11 news. maroon 5 and wiz khalifa will perform extended sets in the infield. it is saturday, may 19, at pimlico race course. the l

>> tracie potts for us in washington.hanks so much. >>> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a woman in virginia almost was killed when powerful winds brought a tree down on her home. she was sleeping, pinning her to the bed. firefighters worked over an hour to free the woman who suffered life-threatening injuries. unfort analystly the good news end there. building inspectors deemed her house uninhabitable. >>> this weekend the winter continued is bizarre in atlanta. it caused one fountain nearly to become encased in ice. spectators braced the cold to get a glimpse of the rare site. that, of course, is not normal for atlanta. >>> and finally over 100 people gathered outside city hall in san jose to ruffle some feathers. a classic pillow fight broke out. they spread the word on facebook and twitter. come on, buddy. this is the first year of the event which was inspired by a similar battle held across the bay in san francisco. now for a look at your national and regional weather, someone i

tracie potts live on capitol hill this morning.ntil spring or summer, even the convention in august. that's his home state. >> reporter: we could. a lot of insiders are saying he's got to pull out michigan, if not we could be in this for some time. arizona today not the biggest concern, romney has a comfortable lead averaging about 13 points ahead there. he is expected to win. that's a win or take all state. 29 delegates. the 30 delegates in michigan are going to be proportioned so he could get some action santorum could get some. gingrich and ron paul aren't big contenders but they could get delegates as well. the polls have been back and forth. they had romney and santorum up and down, they are tied at this point although the latest polls looking at yesterday and sunday are skewing more toward mitt romney. again, that's what the pundits are saying. he needs to win this. the candidates themselves have been back and forth at each other. romney saying that santorum hasn't had experience in the private sector. santorum pulled out an

tracie potts is live in washington right now with more on whether santorum's recent eyebrow raising comments help the romney campaign. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: it's interesting when you take a look at the very latest polls, i looked at some this morning from sunday and monday. romney may be closing in on santorum in his home state. santorum had the lead in the last couple of weeks, in fact, in the last week specifically. these last two polls show them either tied or romney up by two. that's what's within the margin of error. we'll have to see if there is a trend. santorum and the comment over the weekend about president obama's phony theology has been on the defensive trying to explain that. he was talking about environmentalists, not christianity but not everyone is buying that. he'd rather talk about the fact that he's a front-runner now. meantime, the other big issue in this campaign is money. who's got the money to go the distance. we have new numbers on fundraising, romney brought in $6.5 million. gingrich not doing well in michigan but brought in $5.5 million and the super pa

our own tracie potts has been in indianapolis all week, and she joins us now live. tracie. >> reporter: hi, chris and angie. good morning, everyone. we're just outside lucas oil stadium, where we expect in the next couple hours we'll start to see lots of crowds, just like we've seen all weekend. keep this in mind, just under 70,000 people can fit in this stadium, but hundreds of thousands of people have come to indianapolis to be around the nfl atmosphere. the nfl experience and the super bowl village. and we've seen those crowds. last night wasn't so bad. they've been coming down for free concerts and other activities. but on friday night, it was described as a mob scene. there were 11 people who got injured. fortunately, not too badly. there were 22 people who were arrested. and you know, when you consider hundreds of thousands of people, those numbers really don't look too bad. now, back to today, getting into the stadium. got to have a plan, just like a game plan. you've got to have a game plan to get into the stadium today. traffic is going to be tight around he