and keep in mind, california's primary is now just four months away. the state has 17 million registered voters. >>> if you ever needed an example of how hard work could pay off all you have to do is look at oakland's new fire chief. why her selection today is also a major milestone. >> she will be the first african american woman to lead a major fire department in the united states. >> reed also becomes the first female to lead oakland's fire department. she retired as the assistant chief from san jose. >> i did start off as a firefighter. i was a driver which i thought was a really food job. i work as an numberer, a company officer. >> reed is a long time oakland resident and says she will work to make the fire department more efficient. >> this is a real joy to me to be able to come and work in oakland. oakland is beautiful. i love the city. >> reporter: city officials also welcomed howard jordan who was referred to as hojo by fellow officers. he worked his way up the ranks and was turned down for the chief position before. >> i'm fortunate because

ac transit will get 29 million. >>> state of california halted construction at valley santa monica center. santa county replaced an inspector but the new one did not have approval. the building plans keep changing. >>> in san francisco, police are looking for the thieves responsible for beating two dogs and then stealing their puppies. officers say four three -week-old puppies were taken on tuesday from a home at the bay view district. police say the puppies parents look like they were beaten with some type of blunt object. anyone with information on this crime is urged to call the department's bay view station. >>> looks like oxcicodone. >>> what we found when we >>> the illegal sale of prescription drugs is a growing crime in san francisco. we hear from one man who's accused of trying to sell his own medication. >> reporter: the city by the bay attracts people from around the world to its sites. but one site you won't found advertise. >> steve: the -- advertised is the tenderloin in san francisco. the drugs in question require a prescription. >> right next to this building is a pharmacy

. >>> affirmative action on california's college campuses. the court case igniting the debate. >>> . >>> the home of the nightclub owner the woman had stayed here before. >> i'm not getting into the facts of what happened or what didn't happen other than to say she was not raped. >> he said the woman was a friend of his client. he said she had been at the area on the night of the alleged rape and asked security to take her to the home when the nightclub closed. the lawyer said throughout the night the wife and daughter were also in the home, in court papers the alleged victim said she went to sleep in a guest bedroom and woke to find her clothes being pulled off and was raped. >> so many of the outrageous allegations made by this woman are a complete farce. >> reporter: he is free on $100,000 bail. the sheriff's department has revoked his concealed weapon's permit. arraignment is scheduled for thursday. his lawyer said he will plead not guilty. live in san jose. >> the wife of the san francisco sheriff has apparently decided she wants to test

. >>> california's ban on same- sex marriage is unconstitutional -- oakland mayor jean quan called it the best valentine's gift for the lgbt community. the decision signals progress toward equality. >>> and it's a valentine's day tradition that creates a huge mess of feathers. at 10:40 we take you to the middle of tonight's massive pillow fight and tell you why some folks said they had to quit. >>> and we'll tell you where the investigation of whitney houston may be headed. >>> and back here >>> new at 10:00, mountain view bars and restaurants try to stop a new law. >> reporter: just 90 minutes ago the mountain view count till voted 4-3 to ban smoking within 25 feet of outdoor patios and door ways and windows of workplaces. tonight we found smokers in a patio of the molly mcgee's bar on castro street. >> we'll all have to be outside in the parking lot and none of us want to do that because we're aware that smoke bothers some people. >> reporter: but the owner of the restaurant next to the bar says he's all for the ban. >> the people they see places in the bar or the patio say let's qu

, so a warm front as high pressure takes back the area that is basically dominated off the coast of california. the frost in the morning, that will slow you down. so you get up in the morning, you have to warm the car up, scrape the windshields, you will notice temperatures starting off in the 30s. they're going to end up, at the end of the day in the 60s. so warmer than it happen. friday, this system comes in, not going to do much. it will increase the clouds, and a chance of a sprinkle. this is not what you expect this time of year, you expect the storms to have a little bit of juice and they really don't. computer model lays out like this. there's friday, right? you get into friday, light night and early saturday morning. that's it. you get into saturday afternoon, something going on in the mountains, saturday morning in the mountains. we get snow up there, and then saturday afternoon. it's just sort of a nonevent. as we head into sunday, a few more clouds. forecast highs tomorrow, cold when you start out. then it warms up quite a bit. look at these numbers, 68 in santa rosa. 66 in novato.

. >> reporter: gingrich was in southern california hosting an asian american leadership forum. in michigan mitt romney was talking up his roots there while campaigning. he also gained an endorsement from governor schneider. romney grew up in michigan and his father served as governor. >> this president is not interested in my opinion, he is interested in providing benefits. he's interested in redistributing wealth. >> reporter: gop presidential candidate santorum spent at a luncheon. santorum is now leading the republican field there in michigan. his surge continues after he won three contests earlier this month. michigan's primary is set for february 28th. >>> and we've got a few clouds out there right now. we're headed to a big holiday weekend. a few more clouds in the forecast. these were the highs from today. significant, 70 degrees in santa rosa, upper 60s in the napa area and out toward antioch, in fairfield it won't be this warm tomorrow. temperatures will come down into the mid-60s. forecast model tomorrow mortgage at morning at 7:00 a.m. it's nice. then the clouds incr

that freed up the thinking of people here at mohabe airport in southern california. virgin galactic seems to be the first to take tourists to space. >> actually starting to build the following vehicles at the space company. that's really an example of things that are happening across the industry. >> reporter: for $200,000 a ticket, virgin spaceship two will carry two tourists to an altitude of 368,000 feet space, for all inat the in -- for all intents and purposes. but how can a spacecraft be approved for space so quickly? >> we're going to achieve an equivalent level of safety. >> there are rules that these vehicles are licensed to operate. we need to meet those rules. >> reporter: by order of congress, the faa requires the safety of all people and property on the ground. for space tourists congress has set a different standards. >> and so they've asked us to use something called informed consent where the launch operators are going to need to thoroughly brief their perspective customers on all the hazard, all the risk, on all the things that can go wrong. the fact

tony marcowits drove up from vacaville who says he did not want to wait until california's caucus. rick santorum will leave the state tomorrow to campaign in missouri. in reno, ken pritchett. >>> stay with ktvu for continuing coverage. ken pritchett will be reporting from nevada tomorrow and saturday as voters make their decision. >>> prop eight the same-sex marriage plan will not be seen by the public. the court of appeals voted against releasting that video. it said doing so would undermine the authority of the court. >>> new at 10:00, firefighters are calling a man from oakland a real hero for rushing into a burning building today to try to save a disabled man in a wheelchair. eric rasmussen live on the scene of that fire on international boulevard where he talked to the man about his daring rescue, eric. >> reporter: frank it's incredible, before this guy could get into the burning apartment. he had to jump this fence and climb a wall back there. somehow he made it up tot second floor balcony where this disabled man was already crawling out of his wheelchair. tonight this good

the former head of the california republican party says accomplished gop leaders do not feel santorum is a candidate they want running against president obama. >> i think the feeling is he's just not electable given his positions and his conduct in the last few days, they feel he's gotten away from focus. >>> a scathing report reveals the u.s. government september $15,000 in checks to people who are diseased. the $600 billion was sent out over the past five years. some congressional leaders want to create a so called do not pay registry. but one taxpayers group says the solution is much simpler. >> this is not rocket science. this is saying, this person no longer is alive. they should not be getting a pension. so this is not something that you need to have a committee hering, you don't need -- hearing, you don't need to have all those metrics just stop what you're doing. >> it has recovered $100 million out of that 600 million that was improperly paid out. >>> neighbors say it's a nuisance, a ranch in the middle of bay area that's home to hundreds of roosters. ktvu investigates what w

romney polled better with younger california voters who live on the coast and who are men. while santorum polled better with those who are born again christian, associated with the tea party and are women. >> seems like republican voters would prefer a new candidate. democrats thought kerry has the best chance to beat bush so the democrats got behind kerry but never really enthusiastic about it. >> it's anybody's race at this point in my head. >> reporter: don't count out candidates such as ron paul. >> he could come in second and third in each state. but he can amass delegates each time around. he could end up with more delegates than any of the front runners right now. >> reporter: maureen naylor, ktvu. >>> more details from the ktvu field poll. it shows more voters have grown less satisfied with the gop. you can see the numbers from last september, that's when 66% of california republicans were satisfied with the field of candidates. and 27% were not. >>> wall street hit a major milestone today as the dow jones industrial average briefly crossed the 13,000 mark. it show

in 20 minutes, president obama's approval rating among california voters and how he fairs against each of the four gop candidates. >>> bay area temperatures shot up today, reaching record highs for the date in cities. it seems we will far short of normal precipitation. we begin outdoors in oakland. the lack of rainfall sets up a trouble scenario. >> reporter: while many people were out enjoying today's sunny warm weather in tank tops and shorts, running around here, just down the street, water officials watched another day go by without any rain. ♪ [ music ] nothing but blue skies and sunshine across the bay area today. margarita was soaking up the oddly warm weather in oakland. >> this is unbelievably beautiful. it's so nice. >> reporter: but the nice weather comes at a cost. >> we're very watchful. it's been an extremely dry winter. >> reporter: charles showed me tonight the latest reservoir levels and snowpack ratings. thanks to last year's tremendous snowpack, the reservoir is at 84% of capacity, but this winter's meager snowpack could deliver a real blow to the reservoirs for su

here in california, gas prices have gone up 23-cents in just the past week. republican candidates are blaming president obama. the president said he wants to open new areas for exploration. he also pointed to the millions of the dollars the government gives companies in the forms of subsidies. >> right now 4 billion of your tax dollars subsidied the oil industry every year. $4billion. they don't need a subsidy. >> reporter: there are several reasons for the spike in gas prices in the west. the tesoro refinery in martinez has been shut down longer than expected for maintenance. also a fire shut down another refinery in washington. plus there are the tensions with iran which is a major oil producing company. >>> more details on how much prices have gone up. aaa says a gallon of regular sold for four -- for $4.14 in oakland today. >>> maryland is about to become the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. m. maryland's legal house of maryland passed the legislation today. governor o'malley passed the bill. >>> and coming up at 10:45 tonight. an emotional nig

he did 16 same sex weddings when such marriages were legal in california. the censor doesn't carry other penalties. >> a legal settlement mean that the sextape of john edwards and his mistress will be destroyed. she had been in a legal battle over the tape for go year was a former aid to the canter candidate. the tape is to be destroyed in 30 days, john edwards is still facing trial in june for alleged campaign finance violation that involved her. >> some wind out there right now. temperatures definitely cooling off. they will be cooler tomorrow. you will notice the cool off. a few clouds. let's pick up the wind by martinez. winds gusting to 22 miles an hour. have you clouds just south of concord. they will be back in the forecast but not in a big way. they won't be rain clouds,of, there will be clouds filtered by sun. cooler and -- in -- cooler and -- sunny as you go in to the bay area weekend or mostly sunny. next week chilly with a slight chance of showers, in the showers will show up on wednesday. here is how the system breaks out. this is the system to

the crash happened about 3:30 sunday morning at california and battery street. >> the bay area customers of the failed home savings of america bank were relieved to learn their money was sent out this morning. a representative greeted them to give them information on the bank closing. the bank based out of minnesota was closed by regulators last friday. no other banking institutions was willing to absorb it. >>> it was another day of close but not on wall street. the dow was around the 13,000 mark but fell. it closed down a little more than a point. the nasdaq was up two. >> thousands of city dollars spent elsewhere. the fraud case that led to a ban on official business a hardware store. >> and back here i have the cheer model lined up and ready to go. i have rain drops, snow in the mountains. . and . >>> aloin time store is banned from doing business with the city because of a fraud allegation. kohl has four stores in san francisco including one on cole street. the da said an employee was involved in a conspiracy with city employees. they would bill the city for supplies that went for e

the california public utilities commission will make the ultimate degrees -- degrees sis -- decision on who ends up paying for the plan. >>> students who make a habit out of skipping school in contra costa county can now face big fines up to $500. eric rasmussen explains it's part of a tough new daytime curfew approve bid county leaders today. >> i'll do whatever it takes to get a kid to school. >> reporter: finding students who lost their way is a job for john. the unified school district is one of the unincorporated area new daytime curfew. angel says 50% of the absences here are unexcused something one recent grad can attest to. >> seems like a lot of people skipping out, i was one of them. >> would it make a difference if you would get fined a couple hundred bucks. >> definitely. i would not skip. >> contra costa county d.a. mark peterson says the new curfew is another crime fighting tool but the sheriff's office warns enforce m ent might be limited. >> we don't want to give any -- >> reporter: los angeles city leaders recently reduced crimes for daytime curfew violations after a

through it all the couple has been the face of same sex marriage in california. >> we are very aware of the responsibility that we have taken on but at the same time we know we are one couple and thousands of couples that would have done the same thing. . >> reporter: whatever tomorrow brings the court battle will not end year. >> obviously we hope that the court will up hold the vote of the people. >> we are getting closer to the final step. >> that step over the broom tow iding bells. i was in the courthouse last year when the three judge panel was hearing the appeal. at the time legal experts saying you can clean where they were leaning based on their line of questioning to the attorneys. it seemed they were leaning toward striking down proposition 8. that doesn't mean they will continue tomorrow if in fact that is their ruling as there are a lot of legal roads still ahead. reporting live. >> more details now the appeals court is set to rule tomorrow on possible conflict of interest by a former judge vaughn walker. he ruled proposition wasn't constitutional and then revealed he is

based on california's ban not the bigger debate. california is the only state to grant gay's the right to marry and then rescind it. >> i think they are going to affirm this ninth circuit ruling. >>> that's because today's ruling heavily sites opinion by kennedy. the needed swing vote on a divided supreme court. rita williams, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and stay with ktv ktvu for continuing coverage. when today's ruling is appealed we will bring you the latest developments on air and online. >>> today we're getting a clearer picture of how san francisco prosecutors are shaping their case against sheriff mirkarimi. an ex-girlfriend of mirkarimi, cristina florez says she dated mirkarimi back in 2008. she describes mirkarimi of extreatmently volatile. mirkarimi's attorney called florez claims false. >>> also in san francisco, a juror in a triple murder case is off the case tonight. the judge excused the juror after she fell asleep during testimony yesterday. she's been replaced by an alternate. ramos is accused of killing anthony bolonia

at&t. >>> the seventh annual amgen tour of california. the elite bike race begins on may 13, and wraps up may 20 in los angeles. the first three leagues are here in the bay area. riders will visit several cities, including san francisco, san jose, and livermore. for the first time, riders will be peddling up mount diablo. the race heads northeast to seattle, big bear lake, and beverly hills. >>> mark joins us now. it was a rough night tonight for the sharks. >> i don't think it's anything to get too worked up about. the sharks at this point of the season, topping the standings, headed for the playoffs, but they go into these little funks. they played with no urgency at all tonight. there's a guy that played relentless, and reckless style. owen nolan. once again game started, he did not bring a lot of luck. they had to come from behind all night. joe thornton to the other joe. pavelski. now a 2-2 tie. in the 3rd, hat trick game for him. bad turnover by the sharks. and a real shoty play right there. it cost them dearly. 4-3 final. san jose

. >>> california attorney general camela harris said california is getting the lions share $18 billion of the $25 billion settlement. >> $12 billion is a commitment for reduction of short sale. along with a pot of money that will be available for restitution and also for refinancing. >> nationwide the settlement will help about 1 million households that are under water. but about 11 million homeowners are in that predictment. some 750,000 homeowners who were foreclosed upon improperly will get about $2,000 each. those foreclosure abuses happened between 2008 and 20111. who here in the bay area will benefit from today's settlement? tom vacar breaks down the numbers and tell us why three out of five troubled homeowners won't qualify. >> reporter: this mother is in bankruptcy court trying to save her home. she said she had to do that because having to deal with bank of america has been what she calls a two yearlong horror. >> i've submitted two application, currently we're in a review with the investor phase. >> reporter: 400,000 californians will get some sort of relief. >> it is not a c

. >>> union workers walked picket lines today at kaiser hospital across california. the labor dispute include 1,500 workers who provide medical care. thousands of other nurses joined in sympathy. >> what's this about? >> patient care. >> reporter: the strikers mentioned patient care for especially patients with mental health issues. >> many of our patients have waited six weeks or more to get into more return visit appointments. we find this inexcusable. >> reporter: the hospital counters. >> we provide excellent care for our members. we've been recognized by the office of patient advocates for delivering four star care. >> reporter: both sides acknowledge money is at issue. >> we won't accept these cuts that they've decided that they're going to visit upon us. >> the claim that we're cutting their benefits is not true. we have an offer on the table. we have a long history of providing market leading salaries and benefits to our employees. >> reporter: both sides are powerful entities yet both refuse to reveal the contents of their proposals saying they don't want to

. >> doctors at the university of california say they found a way for patients to use their own stem cells to repair heart attack damage. here is a picture of stem cells beating in a culture. doctors say this offers a better thans chance of lower rejection. they have taken stem drels cells from five human patients. so far tests on mice are promising. >> we see more blood vessels forming and much less damage to the heart. >> if all goes well, clinical studies where stem cells will be re-injeblingted back into a patient -- re-injected into a patient's heart will begin next year if all goes well. >> currently the number of procedures yum -- currently procedures jumped by 5%. procedures like chemical peels rose 6%. breast augmentation and nose reconstruction were the most popular. a procedure most popular with men, getting that strong chin. chin augmentation doubled in 2011. >> proud parents beyonce and jayzee are releasing pictures of their beautiful baby, and she is gorgeous. >> first, here's a look at events going on around town this weekend. >> one of the most popular exhibits is bac

the 23-year-old was born and raised in northern california and has an economics degree from harvard that up until two weeks ago he was afraid he would have to use. >> can you believe this is happening to you? >> no. >> now he has the highest-selling jersey and he's moving into a fansy two-bedroom apartment in new york. a bit better than the couch at his brother's house. before starting what may become the lin dynasty. chris clackum, wbal-tv 11 news. >> although, i must say, an economics degree from harvard is a good fallback. >> see, there he goes. 5:55. 35 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead to our next hour of tv 11. >> george huguely's fate will be in the hands of 12 jurors. >> and stars stay -- say a tribute to -- pay a tribute to whitney houston adds life. >> we'll talk about how the forecast will be impacted when we come back. in all case yess of commeft domestic violence, there are warning signs. women's that find themselves in these volatile. if you know someone is in trouble, you can help. to find out more about steps you can take to stop domestic violence, we invite you to

there are rain showers from southern maryland to california. rain showers right now for the southern part of maryland and then basically snow hours back in virginia. you see a lot of white on the radar? none of that reaching the ground. that is snow in the atmosphere that is evaporating before it hits the ground. we are expecting mostly cloudy skies. rain possible south of baltimore. maybe minor accumulations in the southern part of the state. we'll talk about those accumulations in the seven-day forecast. >> it was the nation's first peace-time all black redge -- regiment in baltimore county. yesterday they were honored for their sacrifice and commitment. the theme of the event, maintaining the legacy. today they mark the occasion to continue a leader's legacy. >> this is black history month. we can be proud of a lot of what has happened. today we will celebrate some of the veterans and what they have done to build this great nation. we also want to make sure we follow dr. martin luther king's dream of that road to recovery. >> congress establ

several of these teams will travel to california for the world robotics championship this april. cool. >> coming up, ben & jerry's "lin-sanity" ice cream. >> why they are apologizing for a new flavor in his honor. >> they survived at georgia tech. plus crime has stopped in north baltimore county via basketball. the droid razr by motorola, now with amazing tools like the hd station. share your pictures, stream hd videos and movies. all on your tv. or connect your 4g lte droid razr to the lapdock and unleash its massive computing power. even seamlessly video chat. all powered by the 4g lte droid razr. droid razr by motorola, just $199.99. and back for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. >> if the maryland terrapins wanted to move on, they would have needed to win, however that did not happen. sean moseley had a great first half. knocking down that basket. that gave maryland the lead of the game. later in the half, there is moseley. four triples in the first half. that capped a 12-2 run. maryland by 5. stoglund. terps up 1, but under a minute to play.

. >> several of these teams travel to california for the world robotics championship this april. joining me now, elizabeth warner who just came back from the zig toy store. >> thank you. huge international toy fair. thousands of new toys. >> show us the latest and greatest. >> this is always absolutely huge. now he has a bunch of new buddies, whether it is ernie, or adorable little singing, these guys are going to sing along. they have technology that allows them to sing and interact with one another. >> wow. so this never goes out of style it seems. >> absolutely. >> this is called tranquil turtle. it is right in front. he admits really cool light. you see there? it goes along the wall and ceiling, creating an underwater look. as their policy, your child will look up and see there in the ocean. it is beautiful and even has calming sounds. >> it is not going to free them out? >> there are no shots are a thing -- you know what i'm saying? it is just the water. >> this is popular. can outlast her with a disney version, which i love. i will wear this and ask you a series of question

police in california are searching property where they believed they will find the remains of the least 20 people. officers inspected an underground well and have found a portion of a skull as well as shoeless, jewelry, and the woman's purse -- as well as shoes. >> the world is honoring the memory of whitney houston. >> this morning we asked -- what is your favorite memory of whitney houston? >> we want to thank all of responses.hose great keep them coming. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. we do have a problem on southbound 83. an accident taking up one lane. you can see the latest extend back prior to york road. in dundalk, we have an accident coming in. another in colombia at patuxent parkway. northbound 97 just past 50, an overturned vehicle. you can see all the red. we will keep you posted. delays forming on westbound 50. this is 83 at york road. those delays in place prior to mount carmel. fire activity blocking 213 in cecil county. all lanes are closed. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11.

she died on saturday in california and a hott a hotel. >> under fire for poor working conditions at their factories in china, apple says they will conduct inspections of the plant. there has been an audit of conditions of plants in china that make most of apple's product. the plant has a high suicide rate among workers. a warning before you pucker up your lips. your lipstick could contain lead. the worst offender was maybelline pink petal. limits should be set for lead levels in lipstick. the lead level does not pose a risk. a chocolate shortage may be upon us. jane king has the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. sales of the greatest hits for whitney houston sort to the top at amazon and itunes. sony took the venice of this and hiked prices in the u.k. just one day get to the singer's death. sony apologized. a report says international demand of chocolate is soaring and manufacturers may not be able to keep up with it. whether you like your orange juice sweet or tart, pepsico wants to water down your juice. some consumers prefer the jews with a taste that is less affected -- som

. >> a federal agent is dead and another wounded in the case of workplace violence in long beach, california. one agent shot another during an altercation, would begin. a third agent drew down on the subject and wounded him. no word on what prompted the violence. a short-lived victory for gay marriage proponents in new jersey. the bill pass but not without some heated opposition from conservatives who want to see this sent to voters as a referendum issue. chris christie and has promised to veto the bill. governor christie is defending his position to lower flags at half staff in memory of whitney houston. she will be laid to rest tomorrow. critics say lowering flags should be left to those who wander this state. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think it's appropriate to lower state flags to half staff to honor celebrities like whitney houston? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> the government wants car makers to put the brakes on- board technology to help reduce distracted dialin

two pilots have been taken to hospital after a small plane clipped a helicopter over the air in california. this was 7:00 p.m. on sunday near oakland and sacramento. the faa is investigating. family and friends said a final farewell to whitney houston on sunday. she was laid to rest next to her father in a new jersey cemetery . >> gas prices continue to rise. average retail gasoline prices in baltimore have risen 1.2 cents per gallon in just the past week, averaging $3.57 a gallon. per gallong 49 cents more compared to last year. the largest supplier of apple ipads at the center-right sweatshop scandal has announced it will raise wages. there is reports the companies were under scrutiny for questionable practices. base pay gems to over $3 a month -- base pay increases to over $300 a month. we have business news in this morning's the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. people are trying to figure out who america's next president will be. you might want to just look at the stock market. a new study out says forget about those political platforms and even the economy and job creation.

this was the california roll. we spread the rice on to the seaweed. then we flipped it over and added the fillings. then came the tricky part, rolling the sushi. the role was corners with ginger and wasabi. it was time to be critiqued. if this came back, would be turned away/ >> absolutely. be some more crab next inside -- maybe some more crab mix in side. >> i would say i passed the taste test. >> i can vouch for how good it tasted. there are classes here at ra s ushi. >> ninja weather. you have to think about a different dimension. you have to think about how looks. >> it takes a lot of work. >> colophon, becoming a sushi chef -- how fun. 42 in catonsville. 37 degrees parkton. significant and warmer than yesterday. these are not rain-producing clouds. the precipitation is off to our north, in pennsylvania. there's a slight chance we could see some rain showers pop-up. otherwise, a mixture of sun and clouds. high temperatures between 55 and 60. the record is 74. that is an old record. partly cloudy tonight. temperatures drop back into the 30's and 40

a california man was prosecuted under that law. he said his client was nothing more than an expression of free speech. >> that brings us to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- do you think it should be illegal to lie about a military medal or is it free speech? >> we will post more of your answers on the front page of wbaltv.com. >> lawmakers in annapolis are discussing life and death as the question of the death penalty laws comes up for debate. jennifer franciotti is live with more on that story. >> religious opponents signed a letter urging the repeal of that law. it was a letter that was circulated to all members of the general assembly. >> we shall appeal to your heart and your conscience. >> a coalition of clergy urged legislators to repeal the death penalty law making life in prison without parole the harshest punishment. religious representatives from catholic, jewish, presbyterian, and episcopalian communities all gathered on lawyers mall. they presented the assembly with a let

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 -- >> end 100 years of subsidies for an industry that's rarely been more profitable, and make sure that we're doubling down on clean energy. >> i think a lot of people will disagree deeply with barack obama over the idea that we should wait around until he grows e

. >> an entire elementary school staff is fired in california. we will explain why. >> the maryland zoo is celebrating valentine's day. >> we are checking on your morning commute. we will check on an accident in at the westminster >> good morning. it is 43 degrees downtown. we're warming up into the afternoon. i am live at the mansion at the maryland zoo. we're getting ready for valentine's day. nothing says valentine's day like a skunk. enrichment. special in richmo >> you have to keep them occupied at the zoo. >> we try to give them as much stimulation as possible. paul bears spend a lot of time walking in the wilds, and elephants as well -- polar bears. we try to keep them stimulated. >> lots of activities involved on saturday. what kind of activities do you do for skunks? >> we were having some issues with him. we leave them out overnight and let them run around in the reptile room. he catches any straight crickets -- stray crickets. that keeps him busy. >> the event is happening at this saturday at the zoo. it is a half price of admission to

california's ban on same-sex marriage has been ruled unconstitutional. this upholds the ruling made by a federal judge in august of 2010. more fallout from the recent susan g. komen planned parenthood controversy. a vice president who supported cutting has resigned. she said komen should have stood by the decision. $600,000 was pulled in funding from a planned parenthood. it was restored days later after public backlash. >> if you're thinking you could cut some costs by buying a used car, the average price for it secondhand vehicle is up -- the average price is almost $12,000 . among the reasons -- people are holding onto their cars longer so there are few are for sale. a new edition to the shops at harborplace. mccormick and company will launch a new shop. there will have a cooking demos. an opening date has not been saiet. magical profits at walt disney. jane king has the bloomberg business report. >> good morning. some good news for the walt disney company. more people are visiting their theme parks. they are also optimistic about their cruise ship bu

he is heading to california this weekend to raise money. >> these last couple weeks have been frankly the best two weeks we've had at the campaign fundraising-wise. >> meanwhile, newt gingrich was in ohio, working toward a rebound, his second straight day of campaigning in this super tuesday state. >> i like the idea that the world's counted us down before. we're just regrouping. >> the maine gop will announce its caucus winner on saturday night. kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> what the pundits saying/ >> for a state that doesn't have an impact, the results could this time around. a win by anyone other than mitt romney will add to the narrative that he just cannot win. >> kate amara, thank you. some >> maryland lawmakers are pushing to change the way the state deals with similar cases by targeting those who turn a blind eye to the abuse or fell to take appropriate action to see it stopped. everyone has a civic duty to report suspected child abuse and neglect. however, the state doesn't have the power to prosecute when the law isn't followed. harford country republican senator nancy ja

and peter angelos have of lawsuits in california where facebook and another firm involved are located. the attorneys claim facebook violated the privacy of their clients by tracking their cyberspace movements even when they were not on the site. facebook officials say they believe the case is not what we did believe the case is without merit. greg an ohio man paces possible -- faces possible jail time for referring to his wife as an evil and vindictive woman. the court ruled the comments and violated the civil protection order against him. he must now post an apology every day for 30 days or go to jail for two months. >> i have been told that i cannot say what i want to say on facebook, and now i am also being told that i must say something they are telling me that i have to say. its pre written apology. >> he said he posted a comment out of frustration over his upcoming divorce and child visitation. he must also grant friends that to his wife or someone she chooses to monitor his page. the former mistress of john edwards has one ownership of a sex take. his former aide andrew young a

on the west coast, a storm is developing, it's shifting into northern california, that storm looks like it comes in the middle of the week for us, that will be a rainmaker, not a snowmaker. 49 today the high, 48 is typical so a normal day temperature wise. even the lows were close. a little above freezing, 33 and 37, typical low is 29 degrees. we're going to do the seesaw act here for a while. in the past week, we've been up, we've been down, back up again tomorrow, then we go down again, then we stabilize. the whole winter has been like that. we go into march, march starts on thursday. we go into march with rising temperatures. this evening, 41 degrees at indianapolis, 32 at cambridge. parkton, 33. westminster 37. down into the 20's in frederick. 27 degrees. 30's and 20's in far western maryland as well. no clouds around us at all. you have to go way to the north that disturbance is going to move through the great lakes and next as the snowmaker is well off to our north. a big area of high pressure sitting overhead. one more night of chilly conditions. with this weather system to the w

. >> the ban on same-sex marriage in california was ruled unconstitutional. supporters cheered today's decision by a panel of three judges. ruled that the ban serves no purpose other than to lassen -- lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians. they hope to get the issue before the supreme court. gay couples will not be able to get married immediately because they have to allow time for appeals to be heard. >> don't count out rick santorum. he is leading the race in colorado tonight. steve handelsman has the latest on the caucuses in tonight's commitment 2012 coverage. >> rick santorum's comeback came in the caucus state he focused on instead of florida. shooting for colorado and minnesota's delegates. >> let me thanks god for the grace to persevere and through the dog days. >> nbc news projected him the winner in minnesota. >> ron paul 11. >> rick santorum is the projected winner of the primary, his first win since i will. president obama has handed santorum and his rivals and issued they could become a general election firestorm. the new rule

passage comes a day after federal appeals court declared a game marriage ban in california unconstitutional. washington joined six other states and washington d.c. and legalizing same sex marriage. washington's governor is expected to sign the bill sometime next week. >> rick santorum is already cashing in on his trifecta win last night. this campaign netted $250,000 overnight, the cash he says he needs to challenge mitt romney. he is in second place with the total of 69 delegates, just 38 behind romney. >> who probably heard about big super pac, pouring a ton of money into the 2012 political races. there is another big player that wants to count your vote. unlike the super pac, their money and trail is hidden. jayne miller has denied its commitment 2012 report. -- has tonight's commitment 2012 report. >> for partisan politics she has volunteered on campaigns and is active with her local party in virginia. she knows what makes politics takes. >> money is everything in political races. it gives the candidate an opportunity to get on the air. >> there is no hiding her allegiance. she gave to

zuckerberg, who is now 27 years old, will take it public and get a great big light from headquarters in california as well as from analysts who say it was inevitable. >> it has taken the place of a lot of personal e-mail lang, a lot of other social interactions. >> facebook has become a treasure trove for advertisers. virtually no the website can claim so many people are coming to it and staying so long. >> part of the appeal of facebook is that they have really detailed information on who is using the service. every time you interact with , you leave kind of a digital fingerprint. >> it provides -- every time you interact with facebook, you leave kind of a digital fingerprint. generally it is institutional investors to benefit. >> talking about ipo's, if you are a really large investor, you generally don't have access to them. >> the stock goes on sale probably sometime in may. >> a terrible story of egypt tonight, where unrest -- at least 70 people are dead and 1000 more injured after a stampede. the story ahead as we cover the world. >> in one of the worst cases of sports violence in decades, a

he included the developments in california and washington state. >> it is not right or just that these children should of lesser protections under the law than the children of other families in our state. nor would it be right to force religious institutions to conduct a marriages that conflict with their own religious beliefs and teachings. >> with the governor's desk that commanded attention. they approach the issue differently, profoundly come and arguably convincing. >> of bear denied certain rights because they engage in behavior that some only to be a moral and an affront to marriage, and why not also denies certain rights to those heterosexuals who commit adultery, have been of divorced, had had an abortion, or bothered children out of wedlock under the pretense that it would shrink in marriage and family? >> he said he believes marriage is a christian union between one man and one woman and will refuse to marry same-sex couples. >> every person has the right to choice, quality, and freedom under the law notwithstanding my personal belief and faith traditions. i can support the

of course, they are used to these things in california. that is not huge, but a moderate sized earthquake a couple of hours ago in northern california. temperatures this morning reflect the retreating arctic air. 14 below zero. seven down around augusta maine. 20 atbwi marshall. in charlotte, temperatures were in the teens this morning. now, with a decent warmup for the afternoon, tempters managed to get well above normal. steven zell -- stephensville is 43 degrees. western maryland has several inches of snow on the ground. that keeps temperatures near freezing. overnight tonight, we will see clouds increasing. with the blanket of cloudiness, it will not be that cold tonight. low temperatures will hold in the upper-20's-low-30's for most areas. we might get a brief snow shower west of baltimore in advance of the next system that is out in the middle of the country right now. it is showing signs of weakening as it approaches us, but weather advisories cover good parts of the mississippi river valley and western ohio valley, even in two part

santa cruz, california was number three, bloomington, ill., was no. 2, and ann arbor, michigan, topping the list. they looked at average household income plus the cost of living and the cost of 89. experts say university council or more likely to receive a higher rank. baltimore's public school buildings are in bad shape, but there are questions in the mayor's plan that differ drastically from that of these schools chief. >> valentine's day means big business for flower shops. we'll visit one, coming up. ♪ [ female announcer ] gross -- i'll tell you what's really gross: used dishcloths. they can have a history that they drag around with them. for a cleaner way to clean try bounty extra soft. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty extra soft leaves this surface 3 times cleaner than a dishcloth. it's super durable too. it's the cleaner way to clean. bring it with bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. and try bounty napkins. >> blair companies were very busy today, making valentine's day deliveries. -- flour companies were very busy today. kim dacey visited one local flower shop that will

. >> he is born and raised in northern california and as an economics degree from harvard and he was afraid he is going to have to use it. >> can you believe this is happening? >> no. >> but now his is the hottest selling jersey. he finally has a guaranteed contract and is moving into a fancy two-bedroom apartment. better than the couch at his brother's house. before starting what may become a dynasty. >> i love the story. >> that is a fun story. that is all for us at 5:00. >> a top aide to bob ehrlich is set to be sentenced tomorrow. why he now wants to question the boyfriend of a key witness. >> another day without gas for baltimore city residents. a live report coming up. >> the commonwealth of virginia rests its case in the george huguely murder trial. i will have a live report. >> live, local, late breaking-- this is wbal 11 news at 6:00. >> due to be sentenced tomorrow for election fraud, a former aide to bob ehrlich says a new witness these to be heard. a former aide claims he deserves a new trial. >> he says prosecutors in the case failed to tell the whole story about a key w

. >> a california company will seek fda approval for its diet drug. it was rejected by the fda in 2010 because of safety concerns. the drug maker is coming back to the fda with additional data. early documents indicate fda advisers are still concerned about possible links to heart problems and birth defects in women who become pregnant while on the drug. visits by a health care worker to the homes of children with asthma can dramatically cut their hospitalization. the community as the initiative targeted close to 300 asthmatic kids in boston's poorest neighborhoods. the helped to identify triggers of the tax and how to eliminate them. they also provided them with a vacuum with special filters. after the first year, asthma- related emergency room visits dropped 68%. parents must work 50% less often. millions get headaches. how do you know when the head is more than just a had a -- just a headache and a sign of something more serious? >> the primary care doctor sees many patients complaining of headaches. >> often is just a headache. every now and then,

lying about military honors is against california law, but should it be? >> doctors told him he would never walk again. this maryland man beat odds. how he did it, and what he's doing to help inspire others. >> city auditor slammed the inefficiency of the city's water billing system. all of the problems coming up a 6:00. >> if someone lies about being a war hero, are they suspect -- are they protected by the first amendment? this case focuses on a california man who lied about being a marine and receiving the congressional medal of honor. his attorney says allies should not be against the law. >> there needs to be armed associated with the allies in order for it to be are protected under the first amendment. the justices are asking tough questions of both sides come up focusing on whether a light is protected by the constitution. justice elena kagan as oked whether they go after lying politicians. >> mitt romney has a new poll showing him rising to or virtual tie in his home state of michigan, which will hold the primary on tuesday. he made news today when

colorado and california are expressing widespread activity. 20 states report local activity. the viruses circulating this year are similar to those from last year so more people may be immune. the mild winter weather could also be playing a role. >> your 11 insta-weather plus forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> unseasonably warm weather in maryland. temperatures made it into the 70's. the front never got here. it is in the warm air were the severe weather has been throughout the afternoon. the warmer temperatures, the more unstable the atmosphere. strong thunderstorms are lingering down in st. mary's county. the activity has been tracking east. it looks like it will continue in that direction moving off the coast. closer to ocean city, there is a line of thunderstorms that prompted a tornado warning. there was a tractor-trailer overturned by gusty wind. it may have been associated with the line of thunderstorms. on the back side of this comes the cold and wind. not a lot of rain in baltimore. if you check temperatures, you will see 60 at ocean city right now.

. >> a major decision tonight by the appeals court in california on the state's controversial marriage ban. has it been shot down -- same sex marriage ban. >> if you noses running, your eyes et more than usual, stick around. the role this mild winter is playing on early onset allergies. >> and tim to live in the 11 news room. how the district is going about how the district is going about finding a [ male announcer ] for a better-looking tomorrow. vicks nyquil cold & flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. [ deep breath ] ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪ >> tonight the california same sex marriage ban has been declared unconstitutional, paving the way for a showdown on what is known as proposition 8. the measure passed with 52% of the vote back in 2008, outlawing same-sex unions just five months after they became legal in california. couples sued to overturn the ban and said they would appeal to the supreme court if they did not receive a favorabl

. >> he grew up outside of stanford in california but he went to harvard, but he can play. there was a sellout crowd of 20,000 in toronto and before 75 members of the media. orioles and pitchers and catchers go to sarasota for spring training. the orioles will have all the players' side including adam jones who agree to a one- contract last night. that makes a lot of people happy. he wanted $7 million and the team offered $5 million so they split the difference. he is only 26 and in the prime of it career. buck showalter lows adam jones. -- loves adam jones. that is a good move. spring training three days away. i'm going in march, st. patrick's day. >> get any work done? >> still ahead, the gas tax isn't the only revenue-raising measure on the governors to do list. how the flat tax could cost you. >> reducing overcrowding in laurel hits the road blocked. ties were cut with a school. >> only one dog and went best in in show.n best >> we will show you the seven- day forecast in just a few minutes. >> we have some closures we are tracking in parkville and in the city. i traine

a breezy day in california. talk about tearing up the course. he hit the flag is so hard it ripped the cop out of the ground. that is tearing it up -ripping- the cup. a birdie on number four. the defending champion, a bogey on number 12. the first round was suspended by darkness. towson and hopkins in college lacrosse at 5:00 p.m. tonight. >> we are live from the that again with a live preview of the elevation ceremony for edwin o'brien. >> how the team is working to keep joe flacco as their quarterback. >> this man walked into the store in the buff. >> how can i top that? there is no in the forecasts -- air is snow in the forecast. >> have a closure of northbound 95 in harford county. >> debate in annapolis over the same sex marriage bill. >> a former ravens store draws a penalty from police. why jermaine lewis is waking up behind bars this morning. >> he was convicted of trying to suppress the african-american vote. the controversial punishment for paul schurick. >> will or will it o