reid. good morning, linda. >> reporter: good morning, jamie. there arep 2 witnesses in the case. jurors are expected to hear from one man who allegedly bought the gift cards. prosecutors say finny bought gift cards on lipscomb's behalf and delivered them to an aide of dixon. prosecutors showed the jury pictures of receipts from purchases they say dixon made using the gift cards intended for poor families. the defense says dixon thought they were given as gifts. we said what we thought during our opening statements, and i'm sure everyone was listening. >> reporter: the mayor is in for another long day. when court lets out this evening, she's expected to attend a city volleyball event at 6:00 tonight. live in downtown baltimore. linda so, abc 2 newsp. in health news, the smoking lamp will soon be out for good. towson will be the first college anywhere to ban smoking anywhere on campus. that also means no smoking outside. students have mixed emotions about the new policy. >> i don't really mind it at all. all my friends smoke, but i don't think it's gonna be that big of a change. they already make people go, i think it's like 30 or 60 feet away from any building to smoke right now. i think being a smoke-free campus is no big deal. >> we're not hurting anybody if we're smoking outside. i mean, there are designated areas that are 30 feet away where we can smoke. so i just don't see the point. >> city officials have discussed the ban since last year holding forums on the issue for faculty, students as well as staff. the survey found a small percentage of students and faculty smoke. she became a supermodel and then a businesswoman. cindy crawford might want to become a lawyer at the latest allegations involving she and her husband. you can see where the water is well over my waist. >> yes, we can see that. the brave reporter in virginia who tried to demonstrate how powerful the latest coastal storm has become. and it is cold, rainy and windy once again for us today. how long is this going to last? well, i'll tell you more coming up in a few minutes. let's see how the roads are shaping up. first, though, here's kim. >> reporter: thanks a lot, susan. traffic is moving nicely here at route 50 and 97. no incidents to let you know about. let's now get a check of the buses and trains. >> reporter: you'll find a heavy volume of the number 35 working with a 30-minute delay. look for the 15, 23, 19 and 27 buses to be diverted at saratoga and howard. construction on the scene there. marc services are on time. for the mta transit team, i'm mark jones. 6:36. former supermodel cindy crawford and her husband are the targes of blackmail. the whole scheme centered around the photograph of the couple's 7-year-old daughter. in this picture she's gagged, bound to a chair and wearing revealing clothing. in a statement, the spokeswoman says the picture was taken by the cup's former nanny without their knowledge. and according to a court filing, the couple paid a friend of the nanny $1,000 to get the picture back what they thought was the original photo. a few days later, he reportedly called back demanding more money. that's when the couple went to the fbi. >> all right. we'll have more on that on "good morning america" no doubt. checking the headlines around the nation. southwest airlines have donated 4,000 turkeys to the denver rescue mission. that is the largest donation it's ever received. turkeys will be sold at the annual great thanksgiving banquet. southwest airlines says employees will be there to help serve the families. the parents of the so- called balloon boy have agreed to a deal that could send them both to jail money richard heene would plead guilty to a felony charge today in court and attempting to influence a public servant. heene's wife, a japanese citizen who could be deported will also plead guilty but to a lesser charge. the parents are accused of pulling off that crazy hoax by reporting their 6-year-old son was floating away in a helium balloon. who says opposites can't attract? newt gingrich and reverend al sharpton would usually be bickering but today they are on the same tied side. let's take a look at the temperatures outside. 51 in york and 50 in hagerstown. we have a windchill out there. feels like we're in the 40s. it will be another cold one for us today. here's the weekend forecast. we'll have more details on how the week shapes up as we come right back. ough and cold strikes... 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(announcer) maybe we could all use... a little more softness. with ultra downy, you're surrounded with softness. the kind you just can't get from detergent alone. ultra downy. feel more. now save a dollar at downy.com. our beach is taking a beating this more thanking. we'll take a picture and show you where the waves will stop punching. >> i'm out here at bush and olney. you can see where the water is well over my waist. >> yes, we can. of course we have to have a reporter out in the elements. we all yell and scream, what are you doing out there? but you know it makes good tv. >> it sure does. a maryland mosque has been seized by the government, a place where the fort hood shooter went before going to texas. all new here this morning, the remnants of ida kicked off the surf. i want to show you ladder peak park. we'll show you the waves that kicked up overnight. of course a lot of sandbags have been put out. there have been flooding. they are ready just in case. >> this story is a different situation along other parts of the east coast. good morning. i'm jamie costello. >> i'm megan pringle. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. we want to show you what's going on. we're not seeing a lot from this storm in maryland. they are really swelling in it in norfolk, virginia. the roadways are flooded. people were forced to abandon the cars and had to be rescued in many cases from the situation. even in the worst of storms, the news reporters must still tell you what is going on. >> you can see where the water is well over my waist. even in some case where's we get good gusts of wind, we get little white caps out here at bush and olney. let me step out of the shot. >> in case you are wondering, he did make it out of the high waters safely. the governor of virginia declared a state of emergency. that generally means people need to stay home unless, of course, you are the news media until the waters subside. remember, we get paid to do that. you get paid to stay home and rest on your days off. take a look at the temperatures right now. we're in the low 50s across the region. we have the wind out there. that's what's really driving the coastal flooding issue that isn't so much our rain as is t. is the -- as it is the winds coming in. you have the advisories in the blue, the gale warning in the purple. so keep that in mind. we're looking at another day of this before things get better for us. the remnants of the storm coming in off the east. what we're seeing is that push of that wind. the winds are so strong. that's what's driving that coastal flooding rather so than the rain amounts for us. we will widen that picture and show you relief is on the way. an area of high pressure will be building in forcing the storm farther out into the ocean. things will be better tomorrow. we just need to get through the rest of today and tonight. for today, 51 degrees, cloudy, windy, periods of rain. then tonight, doesn't look a whole lot better, 47 degrees. as we head no tomorrow clearing in the after moon. sunday, we're all the way up to 67 degrees. let's check out the roads now. here's kim. >> thank you, susan. good morning, everyone. traffic is starting to build around the area in terms of volume. you are looking nice at liberty road. we'll see the inner and outer loops. we have incidents starting to come in on top of the wind warnings already posted at all of the local bridges at the hayden memorial bridge, key bridge and bay bridge still wind restrictions in place. northbound on the bw parkway, the ramp headed towards the beltway, there is a crash that also has lanes blocked. northbound on the harbor tunnel throughway, the ramp has that exit ramp closed at this time. on the outer loop, the ramp to york road, there is a crash reported there. just keep in mind, the roadways are still very, very slick. as we look at the jfx, we don't have any problems to let you know about as you make your way southbound headed towards downtown this morning. jamie and megan, back to you. breaking news out of bridgeport, connecticut this morning. a mother and her three young children have died in a fire. we hate to give you such bad news this morning. firefighters pulled the four victims out of the burning apartment building. the children were 4-year-old twins and a 5-year-old. the cause of the fire is not clear. now to a developing story with a 15 year's life ended in east baltimore. the man accused of killing him is locked up at this hour. jason madison, jr. was found dead inside the closet of his aunt's east baltimore home early this week. sherrie johnson is live right now in downtown baltimore. sherrie some. >> reporter: good morning, jamie. yes. it was quick police work here. they have dante parrish locked up behind bars in connection to the murder of 15-year-old jason madison, jr. this was an all out manhunt. authorities caught up with him last night at 10:00 in east baltimore at a 7-eleven store. the teen was found dead early tuesday morning at a relative's home. he was gagged with a pillowcase then stabbed in the neck and head. authorities say was also raped. a jury convicted parrish of second degree murder in 1999, but was released from prison in january after winning a new trial last year. parrish got out of prison early after serving almost ten years for murder. prosecutors say a judge ordered a new trial for parish based on faulty information in the original case. but two key witnesses could no longer be counted on to testify including one who was locked up. right now, parrish is being held without bail. reporting live in downtown baltimore, sherrie johnson, abc 2 news. now to a developing story. 72 witnesses. that's how many people are on the list to testify in mayor dixon's trial. everyone from a nun to a worker at a best buy are on the lice. linda so is live with that story. linda? all right. here's what we have for you right now. we apologize linda's not there right now. the first witness is expected to take the stand. a man allegedly bought gift cards that are in question. jurors will hear from randall finny. he works at duracon contracting, the same company owned by the mayor's ex- boyfriend ronald lipscomb. he bought the cards on lipscomb's behalf and delivered them to an aide. prosecutors showed the jury pictures of receipts from purchases that they say dixon made using the gift cards intended for poor families. the mayor's attorney argued that dixon used the gift cards because she thought they were meant as gifts. the university of maryland law professor colbert called the opening statements a draw. >> i think what happens is when the prosecutor sits down, people in the courtroom are thinking, there's a conviction here. when a defense lawyer sits down, people are saying, we've got a trial on our handsp. >> the judge released a list of 72 potential witnesses. some of them are big names including congressman elijah cummings and reverend frank reid of bethel ame church. that's the church that mayor sheila dixon attends. we'll stay on top of this story. abc 2 news will take you inside the courtroom during mayor dixon's trial every, single day. we'll bring you the latest details as soon as they become available on the air and online at abc2news.com. 11 minute as way from 7:00. new here this morning, federal agents at several mosque as cross the country including this one have been seized. this is the same mosque that the accused fort hood shooter attended. the mosques are owned by the nonprofit foundation and federal officials say that the group is funneling money to the iranian government. no one at the mosque here in rockville would talk. here's what one leader at a mosque in texas had to say. >> i wanted to make it very clear to people that the islamic education center in houston is a nonprofit organization, an independent organization, not affiliated with any of these other organizations. >> the one in the bronx was also seized. prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit looking to reclaim hundreds of millions of dollars in arrests that they say were sent to iran. michael steele blamed the democratic governor of michigan for the state's high unemployment rate. he was touring michigan and urged the politicians to stop fighting with each other and focus on creating jobs. he says he's hopeful that the state would swing back in favor of republicans. it's now ten minutes away from 7:00. an abc 2 news exclusive right now. we're taking a rare view of the baltimore city police department. it was no secret that some view the police in a negative light in our city, but the department is traying to change that culture by raising what's known as the diamond standard. photojournalist tony marsala takes us inside a first of its kind month long training. take a look. >> move, move, move! [gunfire ] >> as these officers make efforts to build friends -- ♪ [music] ♪ >> we also have a morbl obligation when we effect an arrest to use the techniques and tactics we learned so we can take care of this individual. >> we're talking about building relationships, building trust, and that will take time. >> besides being trapped inside that car and riding around riding from place to mace to place accomplishing very little and changing very little. >> give her a hand. >> there you go. [ cheers and applause ] >> we need to slow down, invest, invest in our people, slow down, and get involved. do something real. >> sometimes people are afraid of change. i think this is such a positive change that they create such a learning environment. >> let's do this. let's do it. let's go live. >> there you go. go, go! >> don't leave her. don't leave her! [gunfire .] >> looks intense. tonight at 11:00, brian keebler and tony marsala explore the diamond standard. we were the only news organization embedded with the training. tonight, you'll get an exclusive look of the new breed of city cop. 6:52 right now. today you can certainly call them an odd couple. former house speaker newt gingrich and al sharpton will come together for a common purpose. the pair is on a listening and learning to find out which education reforms are working. while the pair rarely sees eye to eye, they agree education is the now frontier on civil rights, and their goal is to improve school. national recognition for umbc. this time, an honor for one of its leaders named america's top ten best college presidents according to the latest issue of "time" magazine. umbc's president says it's great visibility for its president. time mag disease says he just jumped out and he's making more of an institution you wouldn't normally think of as one of the great generators of academic achievement. good morning, everyone. i'm meteorologist susan shrack. things are on the dreary side for us. we're looking at 51 degrees for a daytime high, cloudy, windy and periods of rain. so much like we saw yesterday but not quite as much rain as we saw yesterday. it will feel colder than that 51 degrees. the good news news is it gets better tomorrow. we'll be up in the low 60s tomorrow. sunday 69 degrees, monday 63. then it looks good as we head into the rest of the week. so we really only have to get through friday before things start to clear out for us and things get a whole lot better as i said once we hit the latter half of the weekend. back to you. traffic zips along very nicely here on the west side of the outer loop. no problems as you make your way down towards route 70 and the baltimore national pike. wind warnings still posted at all of the local bridges. hayden, memorial, key and the bay bridge as well. we have several crashes to let you know about northbound on the onramp to the beltway. there is a crash there, injury accident that allows the center lane to get by. the ram top lum barred street, that crash has that exit ramp closed. just use caution. the roads are still wet. as we peek here at the jfx, no problems to let you know about as you make your way southbound at cold spring lane. thanks for joining us on this friday morning. here's what we have coming up at 9:00. we'll talk about giving back to kids in need. the holiday season is simple, you guys, as a shoe box. we'll also go green here. baltimore's best sources of eke coe friendly things. i love when they come in. absolutely. when it comes to the ravens this season, you might as well have a sense of humor. we'll see humor and everything. plus, we'll learn about snow and teen crafts. we'll visit dorothy from the wizard of oz. and how many sliders can we eat in a minute? we'll get that all in, in an hour? >> it looks like a great show. i can't wait. >> let's start it now. we'll send you up to "good morning america" and we'll see you, of course, at 9:00. have a wonderful weekend and great morningp. >> hang in there, eastern shore. it's almost over. thanks for choosing "good morning, maryland." for more news, watch "good morning, maryland" at 9:00 or go now to abc2news.com. abc 2 works for you.