monster energy drinks saying caffeine contributed to the girl's death. >> many believe they should be regulated and properly labeled. rob roblin has the details. >> they are called energy drinks and are loaded with caffeine, sugar, and diet supplements. but the problem is the caffeine level in these drinks peaks getting larger and larger and larger, because of the combination of your caffeine and the herbal supplements. when you are thinking to plus 2, it is to plus 10. >> the big caffeine energy drinks, while certain legal to sell, can be dangerous. prexy end up with more caffeine than you ever could imagine, well more than the body should have. the way kids are drinking these drinks, they are getting larger and larger and larger. >> i visit the cemetery every day. >> the parents of a 14-year-old hagerstown girl who died in december are suing the makers of monster energy drink, claiming the caffeine levels in the drink contributed to their daughter's death. >> we want to get the word out there so this never happens to anybody else. >> mike believes a warning label should be put on the drinks. >> happen to produce these products without any regulation on the amount they can put in? nobody is watching how much of the supplements, which we know are powerful. we know that -- are going into not only drinks but pills, food , and the whole health food industry. >> monster energy drinks says its sympathies go out to the 14-row girl's family, but it continues to insist it is unaware of any fatalities anywhere that have been caused by its drinks. rob roblin, wbal-tv 11 news. >> the man accused of secretly videotaping to women inside their ellicott city home will not be granted bail as police continue their investigation. michael mckinney was picked up hours after this video was released to 11 news. he is accused of setting up a video camera inside the condominium and keeping it there for several months. a judge decided to revoke his bail. >> a major baltimore landmark is being sold again. harborplace, baltimore's main tourist attraction, is being acquired by a new york firm. jayne miller joins us live from the newsroom with more details on the story. >> not in its 32nd year, harborplace is undergoing big changes from its all local retell character that it started with. the sale will likely continue that transition to a retail center with nationally known brands. harborplace has been owned by the same company since 2004. that is being sold to a firm from new york. general growth began bit more of a mall feel with big national retailers and restaurant operators. the new owner has brought other urban retailers. on its website, the firm says it looks for properties with the potential for increasing cash flow and residual value. the deal did not include the building across the street that houses the gallery. they have announced plans recently to put in a hotel as well as wine and cheese shops that would cater to local residents. the mayor called it a good fit for harborplace. >> 11 news has confirmed northrop grumman is shedding of to 350 employees. the company says there is a voluntary separation program for employees by early next year. most of the eliminations will involve managers and directions, with some of the reduction including non management employees as well. not enough people accept a voluntary reduction, that will start mandating the action bar early next year. >> there is talk of a possibility of tropical storm sandy having an impact in this area in the coming days. however will play out here, we don't know. we will find out what tom tasselmyer thinks. >> right now we think the most likely scenario is for it to state a few hundred miles off the coast. it could still in jackson tropical moisture into the eastern united states. right now the rain chances are well to the north, and pennsylvania and upstate north -- upstate new york and new england. 77 at easton, and the temperatures will stay unusually mild overnight with a little bit of cloud cover and a sprinkle passing north of us. expect a mild temperatures to hang on for a few more days. more details on tropical storm sandy coming up next. >> in the race for the white house, no more debates, and exactly two weeks until election day. barry simms is live in northwest baltimore where local clergy members are saying no to extended gambling here in maryland. we will begin with the presidential race. steve handelsman is in florida. >> good evening from deerfield beach, florida. last night's debate made up some mines and motivated the supporters of both candidates. president obama tried out his closing campaign argument in delray beach, charging mitt romney cannot be trusted. >> everything he is doing right now is to hide his real position and try to win this election. florida, you know me. you can trust that i say what i mean. >> but at the debate, the president's mulct mitt romney concerns about the shrinking u.s. navy. >> governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. >> he keeps taking cheap shots. that is not presidential. >> but mitt romney held his ground. >> i don't see our influence growing around the world, i see it reseeding. >> i think mitt romney had a tactical decision to look presidential, look above the fray. that was obviously an appeal toward moderate women and in general.s >> 1 floridians who said he was leaning toward romney now says he is leaning away. >> it is definitely a coin toss. >> the election looks like a coin toss. mitt romney when the key swing state, nevada. the battleground map still seems to favor obama. they could lose in this day, when ohio, and still win the election. >> wincome to maryland in november, there are a number of important issues on the ballot. some local clergy have been taking a firm stance on several of the referendums. gary sims continues our team coverage with a look at how that will impact election. >> just like other voters, they have various viewpoints. it is the rallying cry of politicians, ministers opposed to expanded gambling in maryland seeking to beat creston 7 on election day. >> we have to stop this silly logic that says we can -- >> for many, it is a moral issue. >> our children don't need a bet, they need an investment. >> the clergy are also taking a stand on the dream act and they are deeply divided on another ballot referendum, marriage equality. >> i am sure that we can work out something where we don't have to redefine marriage for everybody. >> ministers, rabbis, and other religious leaders who have played roles in shaping public policy are taking various sides on civil rights issues. >> the church is divided on several issues in this election, but the only thing i am really proud about on either side is that the church is involved. if you see a pastor saying this over here and another saying that over there, that means you have some homework to do to make sure your are informed. if the person has a track record on that issue, investigate that as well. >> some orders to have relied on religious leadership may have difficult decisions to make. -- some voters who have relied on religious leadership. >> is that the president, is it my state delegate, is it my governor whose opinion i think i should follow, or are they voting specifically from a legislative point of view? >> 1 reverend said it shows that the church and religious leaders are not on the sidelines, they are on the front lines. barry simms, wbal-tv 11 news. >> as investigators sift through thousands of pages in the boy scout perversion files, there is one and you may recognize. >> i am on the beltway heading north bound with my wife. her waterboro. >> a miracle is delivered on the beltway. dad had to jump to the rescue beep-bop-boop-bop boop-beep. [monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today. >> back to breaking news we brought you at the top of the hour. the bay bridge shut down in both directions. skyteam 11 remains above the scene. >> the eastbound lane of the bay bridge remains open. traffic is still backed up from the toll plaza all the way to route 2, ritchie highway. the left lane has not been opened up -- the west bound lane has not been opened up. they are still moving the tanker truck off the bay bridge and they will work relocated to san the. . then there will be able to open up the westbound span of the bay bridge. >> some new revelations about the boy scouts so-called persian files. officials sift through thousands of names listed in the documents of child sex abuse. one of them may sound familiar to maryland voters. have obtained a copy of the link the trove of confidential files released last week. the representative has been flagged by the boy scouts after scandal in the 1980's involving a male prostitute. in 1980, he was charged with attempting to solicit sex from a 16-year-old and a time when he was also on the scouts council advisor -- board. 79 years old now, he denies any official connection to the organization and said any position he held must have been honoraria. >> the governor massachusetts tonight is asking that the license that specialty parlors to that may be tainted steroids linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak be revoked. today, state officials say they found unclean conditions at that facility. cdc reports 11 new cases and 23 deaths. georgia is the newest data added to the list of states with patients -- with cases, which includes maryland. of growing concern for athletes, now pennsylvania firm says they have developed a helmet liner called concussion reduction technology. it was designed by companies that first designed military great safety gear. the lime green padding in helen's is being tested on athletes from a high school level all the way up to the nfl. some who have used it swear by it. >> i have not had any issue since i started wearing it. knock on wood, not to say that is not going to happen. nothing is 100% certain. >> doctors say the test data is encouraging, but it is currently the players' choice whether or not to use it. finally there may be a vacuum for belly fat. researchers at ohio state university have been injecting a tiny heat generating cell into mice. they initially lost about 20% of their belly fat after 80 days of treatment. it developed for humans, the vaccine would probably be used for the elderly or the physically impaired. >> now, your insta-weather forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> we have been in and out of the cloud cover at times today. to the north, there have been sprinkled the light showers, especially up in pennsylvania. you can see the bulk of the activity way to the north, in upstate new york and northern sections of pennsylvania and coming across northern ohio. more sunshine as you head south. we are sitting on the warm side of a front that has pushed up into new england or close to new england. south of there, it is unseasonably mild. college park has been running about 80 degrees for a good part of the day. fredericksburg right now at 77. baltimore right now is well above normal, mostly in the mid to upper 7's 4 highs around the region. clouds will hang around for a good part of the night and clear out at times. 51 in the suburbs, 59 downtown. normal lows are in the low 40's. high pressure to the south is pumping in the warm air. is due to stay in place for another day or so. the year andn of 80's well to ourself. dallas into memphis in kansas city is at 79 degrees. we can break out of the cloud cover early enough to potentially hit 80 degrees in a lot of areas tomorrow. there is cold stuff behind this front. cold, wintry conditions, snow and rain covering much of the pacific northwest and the northern rockies. that may be a help to us. the tropical storm sandy sitting down there, this bright and the surge of cool air in the upper atmosphere might arrive just in time to kick sandy away from the eastern united states early next week. sun and clouds mixed tomorrow and then on thursday we should see a little more sunshine after some early morning fog burns off. friday the east wind develops and that will have to burn off the afternoon to keep temperatures above normal, but i think that will happen. tomorrow, a mostly cloudy day but still quite mild, 77-82 with light westerly winds. the waves will be under 1 ft., with a water temperatures in the low 60's. a chance for a shower in the mountains tomorrow and a lot of sunshine on thursday. eastern shore locations, enjoy the mild weather. almost 80 tomorrow and still in the low 70's after some morning fog on thursday. still above normal, with highs each day in the low 70's. there is tropical depression no. 19, a son of development there. sandy is showing signs of getting stronger. wins have come up to 50 calls an hour. will move across jamaica and it looks like towards guantanamo and eastern cuba as a category one hurricane. a chance for a sprinkle or shower and more the bus tomorrow, almost 80 degrees, and well above normal temperatures until that front arrives over the weekend. >> it is finally here, the long- awaited decline in gas prices has arrived. >> i saw some really good prices today, but how long will it last? a closer look when we come back. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] combine the pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a qualifying pnc performance select checking account and earn 75% more than cards earning 1% cash back on almost everything. >> if you drive, no doubt you have noticed is costing little less to fill up these days. >> jay gray has a closer look this evening. >> the pain at the pump has been easing a bit over the last few days. >> very nice to see it for a change. every little bit helps these days. >> more than 12 cents, that is how much the price of gas has dropped nationwide in just last week. >> the largest weekly decline we have seen since 2008. >> the national average for a gallon of unleaded is still $3.65. >> prices in every state are still higher than they were at this time last year. >> some motorist wonder, since the most dramatic drops have been seen in keep swing states, like ohio, where gas has gone down 24 cents, twice the national average. >> at the end of the day, there is nothing short term that washington can do to manipulate prices. it is a product of international supply and demand fundamentals. >> drivers say they do not care why, they just hope prices keep falling. >> if the gas prices go lower, we will probably drive back to boston for christmas. >> it would give you a little more money to spend for the holidays. >> here is a look at where gas prices stand right now. in maryland, the average price is $3.63 a gallon for regular. in the baltimore area we are paying on average at $3.61 a gallon. >> as we head into the final stretch of commitment 2012, supporters of the marylanders remax say they are gaining momentum. congressman elijah cummings joined forces with the faculty, students, and community advocates, pushing for passage of a referendum that would extend in state undocumented workers. >> our businesses need qualified employees. the way we get them is by train them, but building in growing them. when they are there, they add to our economy. >> opponents of the bill said that children of undocumented immigrants should not have access to in-state tuition rates, especially in economic downturn. a number of other rallies have been scheduled throughout the week. >> a loman goes into labor on the washington beltway. -- a woman goes into labor. >> coming up, mayor: casino owners in west virginia are spending millions against question seven. that upsets me. and that upsets jonathan ogden. you don't want to upset jonathan ogden. ogden: no you don't. mayor: question seven means thousands of jobs and millions for our schools. but these west virginia casinos want to keep it all for themselves. we're not happy about that. ogden: no we aren't. mayor: so join us and vote for question seven. and west virginia, don't make me send jonathan ogden over there. mayor: vote for question seven. ogden: for baltimore. >> live, local, latebreaking. you are watching wbal-tv 11 news at 5:00 p.m. the news at 5:00 p.m. continues now. >> he calls himself mr. mojo and he is on an anti-bullying to work. his real name is travis brown, but he calls himself the americas national anti-bullying coach, bora mr. mojo. tim tooten is here with the story. what was really different about his presentation? >> it is really about self- esteem and self-confidence. it seems to have gone with students at eastern tech high school. >> today i am here because i am on a mission to make sure that everyone of you in here understands that you can have mojo. >> travis brown knows how to connect with young people. >> the message is pretty simple. i am here to teach the kids that you can be a leader, you don't have to stand by and watch as things are happening all around you. we want to teach you to be leaders today. >> some of you have been called up because of pout short or tall you are, how much you weigh or how little you wait. >> it visits about 300 schools a year. >> it is means being able to walk by and tell somebody, you know that is not right, or that is not cool. don't stand on the sidelines. it is time to get up, stand up, and mojo up. >> there are a lot of things going on with kids and bullying and a lot of deaths and stuff like that are happening. we want to get the message got there to stop it. >> school officials say it is a message that will help students make better choices. >> i think our students benefit from the opportunity to hear some other voice at the same thing we have been saying. >> be as confident with that person as you are. >> he also spoke to students at the lanie high school. baltimore city is getting some financial help to try to keep more students in school. it is a $50,000 grant from the city to help put trained volunteers in place to connect parents, teachers, and students. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake helped plan the extra money. baltimore is one of 18 cities to get the educational grant. >> right now we want to go to breaking news we have been monitoring for the last half hour. a hazmat situation in the middle of rush hour traffic on the bay bridge that initially shutdown all traffic eastbound and westbound. captain roy taylor, what is going on now? >> the picture is worth a thousand words. the eastbound traffic is still backed up in this location. i am not sure if it is going all the way back to ritchie highway again or not. they do have the westbound lane opened up now . >> that is being able to relieve all the traffic problem up toward the eastern shore side of the bay bridge. we have video of a propane tanker truck that was eastbound on route 50 approaching the bay bridge when it started leaking product. they called a hazmat situation. there were able to secure its and then it relocated that truck over to sandy point state park where they are working on it at the present time. just slow going for anybody trying to get home to the eastern shore or western shore. >> the parents of a 14-year-old hagerstown girl are suing the maker of monster energy drinks, saying the caffeine in the drink contributed to their daughter's death. experts have been warning people about the dangers of high caffeine drinks and many believe they should be regulated and properly labeled. monster energy drinks says it sympathies go out to the girl's family but insisted is unaware of any fatalities that have been caused by its drink. the juveniles identity is being withheld but he pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter to it that that happened on june 13. it's so small, his head barely reached above the chair where he sat. the judge said she believed the boy did not understand the blows he inflicted on his 2-year-old foster sister. the boy has never been in trouble before. biz's to the family will be restricted. >> some tense moments to a review for a mom, dad, and young son as they raced to the hospital for a delivery. it all happened on the washington beltway. >> 7 pounds, 6 ounces, he let out a good cry when he was born. it is the way he made his grand debut that could make his story one for the box office. stacy was already 39 weeks and schedule to deliver today, but yesterday, baby aaron had other plans. they got in the car and started driving. forcing debt to call for help. -- forcing dad to call for help. >> her water broke. >> there, on the side of 495, it happened. >> and gently wipe off his mouth and nose and like him off with a clean towel. >> is big brother was able to help, too. minutes later, the family was transported by ambulance to holy cross in silver spring. >> you did a great job. >> they sounded pretty calm. >> too bad there is not an app for that. >> a massive pileup on the los angeles freeway. what >> avenue kurt -- in new jersey prosecut says to teenage boys have been charged with murdering a 12-year-old girl. she was found in a recycling container. investigators say it autumn died in a manner consistent with strangulation. she disappeared saturday night after she rode her bike from her home. prosecutors believe the brothers lured the girl to their house where they killed her. no word tonight on a possible motive. with the california highway patrol says a tractor-trailer jackknifed bypass tunnel, setting off -- setting off a chain reaction of crashes. amazingly, there were no other injuries reported. >> another big revealed for apple tonight, the highly anticipated revealing of the smaller ipad mini. >> the roads of washington, d.c. are close to opening up to driverless cars. details coming up in consumer alert. >> and showers are not too far away lex just 14 days until election day and. find out who is ahead at the polls right now. local discussions concerning but questions 6 and 7 on the ballot. mayor: casino owners in west virginia are spending millions against question seven. that upsets me. and that upsets jonathan ogden. you don't want to upset jonathan ogden. ogden: no you don't. mayor: question seven means thousands of jobs and millions for our schools. but these west virginia casinos want to keep it all for themselves. we're not happy about that. ogden: no we aren't. mayor: so join us and vote for question seven. and west virginia, don't make me send jonathan ogden over there. mayor: vote for question seven. ogden: for baltimore. i've always been lucky. flew 37 bombing missions over germany. made it home every time. i'm lucky to have good friends who are all still around, and we're all lucky to have a friend named ben. ben's protected our medicare and veterans' benefits. and he's helping my 13 grandchildren afford college. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i'm honored to approve this message. >> we are still monitoring that situation at the bay bridge right now, a traffic nightmare because of a hazmat situation that started earlier this afternoon. >> we are on the western shore. we just checked to find out how for the backup is going eastbound. you will start hitting your brakes and once you get down to cape st. clare, it is just gridlock. there is no way you are going to get through because of all the heavy traffic. the west down is not so bad. right now they are able to get people going from the eastern shore to the western shore. just slow going at the bay bridge. >> now, your insta-weather forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> mild temperatures across the area today. readings climbed into the 70's in most areas. the normal low is 43 so today's temperatures of 76 and 48 are quite a bit above normal. it may be warmer than this tomorrow, probably the warmest day of the week. 91 was the record high set in 1947. 74 degrees in downtown baltimore at this hour. relatively mild in most locations compared to the average now. even western maryland is an unusually warm this hour. partly cloudy skies overnight, temperatures will drop into the 50's. the sun goes down at 6:16 this evening. all the unsettled weather as far as rain fall staying north of baltimore. there were a few light showers and sprinkles earlier but the bulk of the rain is either in new york state, northern pennsylvania, or back for the great lakes. that is where it will mostly stay. south of there, the really warm temperatures, and north of there is feeling like fall. the front is becoming stationary so it will hold their for the next few days. the front moving off the eastern seaboard could protect us from tropical storm sandy coming up out of the bahamas later in the weekend or early next week. the went on thursday come out of the east -- winds on thursday coming out of the east. 77-82, mostly cloudy skies and unseasonably mild. out in the tropics we have a couple of systems to track, way out in the atlantic. this one starting to show some signs of development but so far it is still august a tropical depression. the one approaching jamaica has winds of 50 miles an hour, tropical storm sandy. sandy is the one we are concerned with. after crosses eastern cuba it gets up in to the bahamas. right now looks like it will be pushed off to the east by the next front coming off the mid atlantic. 79 tomorrow, warning fog on thursday and friday and then some afternoon sun shoul. the front moved through on sunday with highs dropping back into the 50's by early next week. >> a look at home values here in the baltimore area. analysts confirm they are on the rise. median home values rose 1.3% in the third quarter, the biggest gain since 2006. baltimore area home values rose 0.8% during that time. homes are selling for just under $220,000 on average. the recovery is uneven across the country because of local variations and employment. it has been the worst kept secret in consumer technology for the past few months now. a smaller sized ipad. apple officially took the wraps off a product today with not -- but not without a couple of surprises. >> the company that ignited the tablet market grew more gas on the fire today. >> this is an entirely new design. >> the new apple ipad mini is about two-thirds the size of the full ipad and has a starting price of $329. >> the screen is not a really high-resolution display. it is kind of like the first generation ipad. >> its arrival is apple's answer to a competitive smaller companies. the guys who make the seven-inch tablet that is $200, it really feels like a whole different class of device. >> apple caught most tech observers off guard by also revealing a new generation ipad. >> so quickly after the 01. >> of better camera, faster processor, and enhanced wireless network access for the major improvements in what is becoming an extensive array of ipad products. now it is the consumers turn to start it out. >> there is now a smart phone at 4 arlington national cemetery. it is a mass of electronic database, the telling where hundreds of thousands of people are buried at the cemetery. it is available through the cemetery website. it can also be searched by name. the point is to make easier for people walking through the cemetery to locate a loved ones burial place. food markets is voluntarily pulling a package of storebrand double chocolate brownie mix. was discovered it could contain and declared melt. the product was stole -- was sold starting in may. customers may return for a full refund. >> it is creepy and spooky and just-in-time for halloween. smart travel magazine is releasing its top-10 list of the scary is cities in the nation. baltimore comes in at no. 10. fells point has national appeal as one of the best places for ghost hunters. the city named the most haunted in america was san francisco. an ad supporting question seventh starring in the mayor and a former ravens tackle is raising some eyebrows tonight. david collins takes a closer look into why the mayor likes the competition. but first, the students are attending a virtual high school class. i will explain, coming up. i've always been lucky. flew 37 bombing missions over germany. made it home every time. i'm lucky to have good friends who are all still around, and we're all lucky to have a friend named ben. ben's protected our medicare and veterans' benefits. and he's helping my 13 grandchildren afford college. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i'm honored to approve this message. x some students in baltimore or attending classes in a virtual sorts.chool of start >> this might be the quietest high school classroom in baltimore. that is because these students are all taking a different class online. it is part of the new virtual high school program. >> in a small school, we don't have the availability of sending teachers to do extra activities with the students, so this affords our juniors and seniors the opportunity to take classes that we would not be able to afford them by hiring another teacher. >> 20 students are enrolled in a pilot program this year. this is one of 29 schools across the globe and the only one in maryland to join the network. students can take a wide variety of classes on line from teachers all over the world. >> you log in and they give all your assignments for the week. you can do on your own time, which can work for you or against you, depending on your time management skills. >> students are graded like they would be in a normal class. the credit counts as an elective toward their graduation requirements. it allows the students to six or specific areas of interest. it also prepares them for khaled -- for college itself and the new challenges they might face there. >> think it is really preparing us for the future. i think education is going this way. a lot of colleges are doing a virtual classes and this is preparing them for the pitcher. >> it was so successful this year that next to that plan to step -- they plan to expand and nearly double the program. >> that is all for us at 5:00. here is a look at what is coming at new at 6:00. >> the two-week countdown is on, on the way to election day. >> a diversity of views. some religious leaders are trying to have an impact on ballot initiatives. >> you are watching wbal-tv 11. this is 11 news at 6:00 p.m. >> a quick update to a story we first brought about an hour ago. this is bay bridge traffic. has resumed in both the east and westbound lanes. the backup was caused by hazmat incident. the traffic eastbound is backed up for several miles, so there is still trouble there. election day is two weeks from today and the presidential race remains locked in pre much a dead heat. >> both president obama and mitt romney are on a battleground state pushed. >> the pace is really picking up. both campaigns are kicking into overdrive, trying to lock in every possible ". president obama is launching his closing argument for a second