strategy. why does she say that she used the gift cards, the answer is straight ahead. >> the insta-weather plus forecast as 11 news today continues right now. >> >> live, local, late- breaking. this is wbal 11 news. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. >> i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us. >> we still have team coverage across the state monitoring the effects of the weather a. now tony pann. >> the storm is in the same place, but it is starting to get weaker. yesterday when we showed you the doppler it was locked in with heavy rain and steady rain. this morning it is steand light. the wind is coming out of the north, at which will help folks on the chesapeake bay. not as much plotting. it will be in a 50's in western maryland. it should dry out there. at ocean city they are still getting hammered. tropical storm force winds again. there is a debatable whether community -- the weather community is debating what to call this thing. the wind is gusting between 50 and 60 miles an hour. >> if you were going on a boat, i would call this a tropical storm, at least. it's more of a nor'easter. we are dealing with a 40 mile an hour wind at the elect. i checked out some of the weather stations around here. they have a 55 mile an hour wind gusts over the ocean city center. what we are looking at behind may, the service coming into the parking lot at the and linlet. we are seeing flooding because this is a high tide event. flooding as soon as you get off the rte. 50 bridge into the town. you're seeing some flooding around fifth street all the way from -- some really bad flooding in west ocean city where some water has gotten into the homes. we will continue to follow this. another update in the 15 minutes or so. let's check the roads with sarah caldwell. i don't think things are nearly as bad in baltimore. >> that's right. go inside. much better than yesterday on the roads. we got a handful of accidents by the 6:00 hour. we're not dealing with any accident. everything looks good on the north side. if no problems on the j.f.x., 61 miles an hour. the harrisburg expressway in great shape. no problems on 795. 11 minutes on the outer loop north and west bound sides. if you are heading in the area of 95 prior to white marsh, running smoothly. volume is picking up. we want to remind you that the roads are wet. that could be a problem. wind warnings in effect on the area bridges. looks good so far at the bay bridge. that is the latest. back to you. >> thank you. baltimore city police arrest the man is a brutally murdered a 15 year-old boy and then hid the body inside a closet. >> and jennifer franciotti is at city police headquarters with the story. >> late last night they found and arrested 35 year-old dante parrish. accused of raping and then stabbing death of a 15 year-old boy identified as jason mattison. his loved ones say they have no idea what triggered the murder by a family friend. the boy was staying at his aunt's house. >> we had no idea he was capable of anything like that. otherwise, he would never have been around anyone's children. >> he was a convicted murderer. the served time for 1999 murder of a drug dealer. he was supposed to spend 30 years behind bars. how did he get out after serving 10 years both more on that coming up at 6:30. jennifer franciotti reporting. >> baltimore city mayor sheila dixon's legal team admits she used the gift cards, but that is because she thought they were meant for her and not to needy families. the defense attorneys said the mayor mystic the gift cards for anonymous gift given to her by former boyfriend and developer ron lipscomb. >> we are able to show that ronald lipscomb was taking advantage of the mayor and was duping her into using the cards. it seems to me it gives the jury of reasonable doubt. >> prosecutors argued dixon used needy family as a guy's ise to solicit the gift cards and to pass them on the family and friends. the mayor's daughter, congressman elijah cummings, and congressman frank green and others are expected to be there. >> timothy oxendine pled guilty to charges of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 14 year-old markel williams in the stairwell of a middle school last november. lemmel middle school. there were once friends but got into an ongoing dispute. >> there are no winners. the plea as a compromise. >> the defendant decided to do something that was an adult thing. the judges decided this was an adult crime. it is kind of sad. there are no real winners. >> a 50-year sentence but it can be suspended. >> baltimore city homicide detectives are looking for the person who a man in west landfill streville street. they don't know motive. also in another case, a rape suspect wanted in a series of attacks. this is a rendering of a man wanted for an assault that happened before hundred block of north colgan street on halloween. police believe it's the same man wanted for riggleman on central avenue earlier this month. called the rape tip line any time of day if you have information. -- police believe it's the same man wanted for a rape on central avenue. in another case, there was a sex trafficking ring that stretched from maryland to washington dc. from denver and february, the couple rented 100 hotel rooms on behalf of two 15 year-old girls and 170 year-old if so they could have sex with clients they met in clubs, bars and on line. the couple will serve sentences in prison and have to register as sex offenders. >> 260 terry robe led guilty to participating in the black guerrillas gang. she admits to conspiring with three other guards to distribute heroin for over a year. you'll be sentenced in february. >-- she will be sentenced. >> 2000 inmates will get swine flu shot in the state of maryland. there will provide jobs to some inmates and staff. there will be given to pregnant inmates. inmates under 24 with underlying conditions. those ages 25 through 55 with a certain health conditions. as well as staff permanently assigned to the medical units. we are asking our viewers for their opinion of giving the swine flu vaccine to prisoners it. email us at watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> major hasan is accused of killing 12 soldiers and one civilian a week ago at fort hood. investigators believe he acted alone, but they don't know why. he could be eligible for the death penalty. federal officials are attempting to seize four mosques on charges they are operating as a front company for an iranian banks. accused of using the money from the properties to support the iranian nuclear program and brought of its military forces, considered terrorist organizations -- and some terrorist organizations. >> coming up, the financial news in the bloomberg business report. but the parents of the balloon boy will appear in court today. we will tell you what is expected to happen to them. >> microsoft wants you to get in touch with your computer. more on this cutting edge software is coming up in "consumer alerts." >> the cold and wind continued for another day, at least, as well as the wind. >> the wind is an issue at the area bridges. there's an accident at the bay bridge. >> a beautiful scene from our skycam. 52 degrees at the maryland science center. the time is 6:12. >> it looks better than it is. they're keeping unwatchable eye on the western shores of the bag as the nor'easter continues to churn off the coast. >> sandra shaw. >> there is good news on the western side of the shore. the wind has shifted in direction. they are more northerly. they opposed to the coastal flood advisories for these areas. this is really calm on the chesapeake bay. up to 5 inches of rain done there. the ocean city area. in st. mary's county, flood warnings up there and another nearby county, calvert county. in baltimore we're still dealing with wind out of the north. still pretty significant wins. gray skies. intermittent rainfall throughout the day. most of the eastern shore is under the flood warning. there is still significant concern there. hundreds of millions of dollars will be the impact for the east coast in general. yesterday we were dealing with a steady rain. today there will be waves of grain. some will be light. we will see some clearing at times. things are on the upswing in month. but down the shore it is still a rough day out there. now tony pann. >> things are generally improving. it won't be a great day. but as far as the rainbows, we will see things taper off just a little bit over the next couple hours. hd doppler is confirming that. let's look at a wide view of the storm. things are drifting out to see a little. if the center of the storm is still in the carolinas. we're still getting onshore flow in ocean city. they will still see gusts of 50 or 60 miles an hour. as the storm trips away, it will slowly lose its grip on the maryland area. it will be laid in the weekend before completely goes away. borate or ramallah armond at the beaches. -- 40 or 50 miles an hour wind at the beaches. on the open waters of the tessa piech bay the window gust over 40 miles an hour. waveguides up to 5 feet. don't do any recreational boating today. leave it in storage. 24 mile an hour gusts at b.w.i. marshall. 44 miles gusts at the naval air station. 37 mile gusts in ocean city. the wind is still with us even though most of the rain is not. temperatures won't move much. rain showers off and on today. high temperatures in the low 50's. north-northeast wind at 10-25 in baltimore. if possible sali tonight. temperatures in the 40's. the seven-day forecast shows it might be raining on saturday morning. it should clear up in afternoon with a high of 59. high temperature near 70 with sunshine on sunday. staying dry on monday and tuesday. falling back to the 50's by the middle of next week. possible showers tonight. >> a big contrast from yesterday. there's a pretty nice ride out there. but the wind is an issue. if you are heading across the bay bridge westbound there's an accident in the right lane. we will let you know how it impacts traffic leading to the bay bridge on the eastern shore. let's switch to the west side at liberty road. building in volume, but moving pretty well. the roads are slick. take it easy. wind warnings in effect on all the area bridges. no significant delays. 48 miles an hour on 95 coming into the beltway northeast. a pretty nice ride overall. 11 minutes on the audra route miliband west sides. 11 minutes on southbound i-95 from the beltway sw down to 32. >> thank you. looking at our top stories, a colorado judge will see the parents of the balloon boy. they will appear in court today. they pled guilty to charges involving staging a hoax that said authorities chasing after weather balloon that they said carried off their young son. the man convicted of selkilling a little raw journalist -- little rock journalist named anne pressly has avoided the death penalty. his name is curtis vance. in another case, 55 year-old larry kidd is an associate of burrell moler sr. and his sons, accused of sexually abusing several members of their family. no further details have been released. >> it is a civil war within the burger king empire. 80% of burger king franchise owners have joined together to the company. they don't want the parent company setting the maximum price for items on the menu, particularly if the items on the dollar menu. they're losing 10 cents on every dollar for the double cheeseburgers they're selling during the current promotion. burger king has 12,000 stores worldwide. 90% of those are franchises. windows seven users will have software to allow users to buy to a screen computers and let their fingers do the walking. it lets you enlarge, reduce, flip, and most items by moving your fingers. the prices are high, but if it catches on, they should come down. now to jane king in the bloomberg business report. >> walt disney is the stock to watch. the board's largest media company reported an 18% jump in fourth quarter profits, beating analysts' estimates, thanks in part to higher fees for pay television operations to carry espn network. there was a drop in ad sales and falling attendance at theme parks. the revenue and there fell over 4% and profits [unintelligible] stocks are lower. there was a slight gain to the dollar behind the slide in oil futures and other commodities. the bloomberg maryland index has losses. as we monitor the house in march dipped, for still based gym class tallman the filing chapter 11. -- jim craft homes filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. verizon is offering customers signing up for fios a prepaid visa card. i am jane king reporting for wbal-tv. >> 50 degrees on tv hill. another check on the weather and traffic ahead. >> the interview we did not think we would ever see. be good in a few days. the interview between sarah palin and oprah winfrey. we have a glimpse coming up. >> here are the maryland winning lottery numbers. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. the better than yesterday. there's a problem on the bay bridge. it is some degree, but the right lane is still blocked. if you stay to the left, you might be ok. the eastbound span of the bay bridge is checking out fine. there are wind warnings on the area bridges. no significant volume related delays. no problems on the west side of route. looking good on the j.f.x.. on southbound 95 coming out of the northeast there is a little delay. 11 minutes on the outer loop on the west side. five minutes on the southbound i-95 from the 8 lb 95 split from the fort mchenry. that is it for traffic pulse 11. let's see how things are shaping up in the other department. tony pann. >> some improvement in another department. yesterday it was steady. this morning is often on light rain showers. give yourself extra time on the road. heavy rain coming across the jersey shore. that will continue to rotate back towards baltimore later this morning. today there will be off and on rain showers. expect some showers at one point or another. it will be windy, gusting over 25 miles an hour. high temperatures expected in the low 50's. if when we come back we will look at the seven-day forecast to show you something to make you smile on a weekend. >> it's a modern day class of the titans. sarah palin sits down with talk- show empress and obama supporter oprah winfrey. sarah palin is promoting her new book. she taped the interview yesterday, covering the pridie of topics -- covering a variety of topics, including the interview with katie couric. >> was it a defining moment for you? >> i did not see it that way. the campaign told me i was showing my independence and that it was a good interview. i knew it was not a good interview. >> see the interview when it airs monday on wbal-tv. >> if you missed "today" yesterday, despite a moment when deidre shores, age 12, learned she won the kid reporter contest. >> todyou are the winner. >> you are our kids reporter winner. >> stop playing with me. stop playing with me. >> you are the winner. >> stop playing with me. >> oh, my god! [applause] >> you just broke my eardrums. >> she exploded. >> monday she will have her first report on "the today show after 11 news today. >> my ears are still ringing. 50 degrees on tv hill. here's what is coming up next half-hour. >> baltimore city police that the murder suspect that brutalized a young boy. details next. >> i am lowell melser in ocean city. we are still feeling the effects of the nor'easter. we are seeing some flooding this morning. i will have a live report. >> the metro region looking a lot better than howard was in ocean city. i will tell you how the roads are looking, coming up. >> the waters on the bay are significantly colmar all the western shore than those in ocean city, but they're still a biting wind in baltimore. -- the waters on the bay are significantly lower than it those at ocean city. >> we will have terry bradshaw. hilarious police video and >> live, local, late-breaking. this is wbal 11 news in high definition. >> good morning. welcome back to 11 news today. i am stan stovall. >> i am mindy basara. tony pann has a forecas look ate forecast. >> a few scattered light showers. winds gusting close to 30 miles an hour. on the right side of your screen there is a badge of rain in new jersey that will rotate toward baltimore later this morning. often on rainshowers. windy. tetris in the low 50's. -- temperatures in the low 50's. >> city police tracked down a man they say is responsible for the brutal murder of a 15 year- old boy. >> data for franciotti has reaction from the young man's family. >> police got a 35 year-old dante parrish late last night. the victims' families say he was a man they trusted. prosecutors say he got out of a 30 year prison sentence on a technicality. this row house is home to terrible memories for the family of jason mattison. his body was found in a closet after he was killed and sexually assaulted by a family friend. the 35 year-old was a welcome visitor to the cousin's house. >> we had no idea a was capable of anything like that's a, otherwise he would not have been around anyone's children. -- we had no idea he was capable of anything like that. >> there was a technicality on the murder case that he was in jail for. the murder weapon was no longer in evidence storage. >> one victim recanted. he was a prisoner as well. a young female witness recanted her testimony as well. >> dante parrish struck a deal with the state, with a sentence of 10 years. he had already served 10 years in prison, so he walked three in january. >> it is very frustrating. >> the arrest brings some relief to the boys loved ones, still reeling from their loss. >> he did not deserve this. he was a child. children should be protected. >> the suspect had out-of-state ties. police were working with u.s. marshals, but they ended up finding him in east baltimore. >> at 6 named to the list of those in maryland fallen victim to the h1n1 swine flu virus. health officials say all of the deaths happened in the last four weeks. all six are adults with underlying conditions. three people lived in the baltimore area. two from western maryland. one of them from southern maryland. if the total number of deaths from h1n1 is 19 and maryland. >> president obama is in japan this morning, his first stop on a weeklong asian tour. he's meeting with the prime minister to discuss a wide range of issues. nicole killian has a preview from washington. >> white house officials say the president hopes to not only shore up relations with the japanese government also to demonstrate the u.s. commitment to the entire region. president obama arrived in tokyo early this morning. for staub, meeting with the japanese prime minister. >> thank you. >> on the agenda, climate change, reducing the threat of nuclear weapons in north korea. japan as a doorstop on the tour which will take into singapore, a, and south korea. if one dominant topic will be the global economy and opening up trade for u.s. exports. >> it is a strategy in which agents and pacific markets are open to our exports and one in which prosperity around world is no longer as dependent on american consumption and borrowing. >> afghanistan is also weighing heavily on the president's tour as he seeks renewed commitment from partners and contemplates a new strategy. he was greeted by cheers when he visited troops in alaska along the way. more greetings of high expectations. >> this is the first american president who arguably has some major pacific heritage to him, given his life in indonesia and hawaii, going to asia for the first time as president. the expectation in asia are quite high. >> president obama will lay out its asian policy in a major speech tonight. nicole killian reporting. >> traffic pulse 11 and insta- weather plus together. >> good morning, sarah caldwell. breathing a sigh of relief. it's nothing like yesterday morning. the roads are a little drier. we are seeing some rain intermittently. we do want to let you know there's an accident on the outer loop north side near the york rd. on-ramp. a much nicer ride yesterday. 56 miles an hour on the north side approach to an accident scene. 48 miles an hour on southbound 95 approach in the beltway northeast. no problems on the harrisburg expressway or the j.f.x.. let's look at traffic at the bay bridge or leading up to it at maryland 8. there is debris of a westbound spann taking out the right lane. so far so good on the right side. it's windy. good morning, sandra. >> it cuts right through you. but it's better than yesterday. yesterday we had wind and a moderate rain. today we will all have light showers coming in waves across maryland. central maryland. this is still a nor'easter. it's a colossal event. the lower eastern shore, southern maryland getting hammered. 5 inches of rain at ocean city, localized amounts even heavier. they have all morning because of that, a flood warning. the 7 day forecast shows some improvement by the weekend. the second half of the weekend looks really good. lowell meltzer has really been getting hammered. he has worked relentlessly. the has a live report from ocean city. they're getting hammered. >> be were getting hammered. i thinks it has eased up as the wind is still pretty heavy, but the rain has stopped. that is good news for now. this is like what we're seeing, a lot of debris floating around this parking lot and various parts of votes and city. the search has washed up a lot of this stuff. high tides are moving out. there's still little flooding behind me at the inlet parking lot. the flood watch has been released. now we'll have a high wind warning and a high service advisory and the coastal flood warning until about 12:00 noon. it's not as bad as it was when we got here on wednesday. right now we're feeling the effects of the wind. the rain has stopped. that does not mean it has stopped completely. but we will enjoy it for now. lowell melser reporting from ocean city. >> the days are running together for him. hopefully, he can get a break. >> 50 degrees on tv hill. if someone needs to tell this little guy that the beach is that way. more on that in a moment. >> we are still taking your answers to our water cooler question. what do you think of a plan to immunize some criminals but while there's still such a demand in the general i like this one. [ drill whirring ] thank you. excuse me, sir! can you tell me which coffee tastes better? "a," definitely. this one. thank you. in a national taste test, more hard-working americans preferred the taste of dunkin' donuts over starbucks. try the coffee that won. excuse me, sir! thank you. try any of our authentic hot lattes, including our pumpkin latte, for just 99 cents. >> the ripley's believe it or not museum in new york city is getting a big visitor. this is a speed bump, and 18 ft. 250 lb burmese python. the arrived yesterday as a part of their everglades' exhibit. the snake was somebody's pet in florida before he was turned in as part of an exotic animal amnesty program. >> away were a baby seal was in danger of becoming one yesterda speed bump yesterday. he got confused after coming ashore in san joaquin county. a highway patrol officers stood guard until marine mammal center officials arrived. they gave him a checkup and released him back into the pacific. maybe needs a gps device. he's cute. 50 degrees on tv hill parikh coming up, the top stories. >> two accidents affecting major roadways. the latest on the bw parkway, coming up. >> we will still get some rain and strong winds. better news of a weekend. first, this is a look at the downtown. degrees >> a welcome back. baltimore city mayor sheila dixon's legal team admits the mayor spent a gift cards given to her by developers, but they say that is because she thought they were meant for her and not to the families. they said she missed it the gift cards for anonymous gifts given to her by a former boyfriend and the developer ron lipscomb. prosecutors argued she used needy families as a guise and was planning to use them for self and family and friends. in another case, timothy oxendine pled guilty to murder to the stabbing death of markel williams at a middle school last november. the plea agreement calls for 50 year sentence. the judge can spend anywhere from 15-25 years when the sentences handed down in february for the teenager. people continued to line up for hours for the swine flu vaccine. almost 2000 inmates will receive the vaccine. they will provide jobs to some inmates and staff. it will be given to the inmates who are pregnant, under the age of 24 with underlying conditions, and those 25 through 54 with high risk health complications. >> what do you think of a plan to immunize prison inmates against the swine flu while there is still demand among the general population? >> tim from timonium says it will most likely save the state lot of money as the cost of treating the illness would be more expensive. it's a shame that i cannot get my children immunized and felons can get it for free. >> scott says it's ridiculous that is in children are waiting to be protected, yet we take care of prisoners. i agree with the prison workers getting back ioniz vaccines, th. >> another viewer says it would be cheaper to treat the high risk prison population than treating the entire prison later. >> another viewer says those convicted criminals gave up their rights when they committed crimes. >> traffic pulse 11 and insta- weather plus together. >> good morning, sarah caldwell. southbound 295 at the beltway, there's an accident. only the right lane is moving. now they're letting the left lane by very slowly. on the ramp from the beltway is getting busy as well. elsewhere, a pretty nice ride. despite an accident on the north side of the beltway. starting to develop delays honolulu near hartford. this could be due to the accident on on-ramp from york road. 55 miles an hour there. sulzer is in ocean city. sheila bair yesterday as well. yesterday was a busier morning for you. looks like you are doing better today. but we like been blown look. >> we are drier today. i wanted to show you -- we were talking about the debris. this is a piece of a dock at the inlet at ocean city. the serv has brought in a lot of stuff in the early morning hours when a high tide came in. behind me you can see the inlet is still flooded from the remains of high tide. i checked another couple of the weather stations along the boardwalk. what we are finding a that the average winds are probably around 37-40 miles an hour at a couple of the demonstrations. 54 miles an hour at some of them. with ocean city is the worst as far as the flooding is concerned. we have not been able to confirm whether any houses seven washout. a number of roads in the western city area, from fifth street, st. down from route 60 bridge plumas flooded out right now. they're waiting for that to receive as well. we will have another update at the top of -- just before the top of the hour. let's go to sandra shaw. things are better where you are. >> things are better here, just fine here. nothing like what you have been through. there's still a coastal storm out there. it is the consistent pounding, the duration of the nor'easter, which will contribute to the beach erosion, which will cause financial concerns, hundreds of millions of dollars all up and down the atlantic coast ports over. there are still coastal flood watches up. and coastal flood warnings. 5 inches in the ocean city last night. 5 inches of rain. the showers today will be sparse. in central maryland it will be cloudy and windy. not like yesterday. there was moderate rainfall all over. bell was yesterday. i cannot wait for the weekend. we deserve it. >> we have some better news to show youth in the seven-day forecast. for now, the storm is stalled in the same place, but there is not as much rain wrapping around the top of it. there's another batch of rain that's going to be hitting ocean city in the next 30 or 45 minutes. there is rain coming in to the jersey shore. there's not a lot ran around baltimore right now, but it will pick up heading into the morning and afternoon. the storm is to the south and high-pressure to the north. that flow is coming around the top of it. if today the wind is more of a northerly direction. that is why the coastal flooding is not as strong on the western shore of the chesapeake bay. a shift to the wind is helping out. it will be just as strong over the open waters of the chesapeake. wave heights of up to 3-5 feet off especially down to the mouth. recreational boating is not advised today. i just had a gust of 31 miles an hour at b.w.i. marshall. boredom out our guests at the naval air station. the same thing at our station in ocean city. the wind is slacking a little. -temperatures are in the low 50's. it won't increase much from there this afternoon. often on rainshowers today. windy as well. off and on rain showers tonight. -- off and on rain showers today and tonight. saturday it will clear up by the afternoon with a high near 59. on sunday, sunshine and 70 degrees. we deserve it after this big storm. looks like it will stay dry into the beginning of next week on monday and tuesday. >> thank you. the rest of a man baltimore city police say is responsible for the brutal murder of a 15 year- old boy. jennifer franciotti joins us with the story. >> late last night police found 35 year-old dante parrish hiding in east baltimore. this is the man they say raped and murdered 15 year-old jason mattison. the body found stabbed and stuffed inside a closet inside his aunt's house. the victims' families said they never knew he was a threat to the teenager. the suspect was released in january after serving 10 years of an original 30 year sentence for murder. last year he got a second trial based on a technicality and because he had already served 10 years he was able to walk free. >> thank you. time to look at what is coming up next on "the today show with meredith vieira. >> good morning. coming up, the east coast is taking a beating by the remnants of ida . dangerous flooding up and down the atlantic along with high wind. then, a mother accused of pretended to have breast cancer so she could raise money to purchase breast implants. if shocking details. also, a former miss california at miss usa carrie prejean lying about being 17 in the much talked-about sex day. the ex-boyfriend, we will hear from him when we get started on this friday morning. >> 50 degrees on tv hill. >> another look at the weather and traffic together >> lowell melser in ocean city. iran has lifted temporarily. this should be returning in the next half hour or 60 minutes. all want to leave you with a couple of shots of the serv. it is so impressive, the waves anywhere from 10-15 feet crashing in on the inlets in ocean city. we will continue monitoring things throughout the morning here. hopefully, conditions will improve. there's no rain battering me. i deserve a break. >> you do. >> you'll get another dose of it in about a half-hour or so. -- he will. let's look at a seven-day protest. rain off and on today. it will be windy, gusting over 30 miles an hour. highs in the low 50's. clearing up by saturday afternoon. 70 degrees on sunday. >> a couple of accidents. north bound to under 95 at the beltway. at the beltway, northbound 295, the right lane is blocked. let's point out another accident para diyala luque -- the outer loop at the-- >> thank you for joining us. >> a live update at 7:25. .