up. >> in belair, live look at the snow still coming down there. during the double dose of winter weather. >> hello, i am jennifer gilbert. >> and i am jeff barnd. live look behind us at baltimore city dealing with a winter blast that keeps on coming. >> keeps on giving us surprises too. >> that is actually thunder and lightning that we have been seeing and hearing all night long. just one more thing this winter blast has brought us. and it is also brought us gridlock. 10:00 at night. evening rush hour is still going on. >> unbelievable. traffic was a nightmare in baltimore for hours. jfx is closed. it was a parking lot. falls road and northern parkway no better. stranded motorists tried to dig or push their way out. >> john rydell sent in these pictures from the intersection of coldspring lane and greenspring avenue in northwest baltimore. people going really nowhere, and they were pushing cars out of the way when they can. >> and take a look at this. live look at 695 and providence road. vehicles moving, but as you can tell, at a snail's pace. snow should not last much longer. >> but that leaves a lot of questions for the rest of tonight and tomorrow morning. in just a few minutes, chief meteorologist vytas reid will tell us when the winter blast will finally move away. >> keith daniels will join us live from one of the hardest-hit areas, belair in harford county. >> karen parks is live in north baltimore where virtually no one can movement karen, how is it going out there right now? >> jennifer you took the words oust my mouth. you mentioned gridlock on 83. many of those commuters are trying to get home. and many of them obviously live on side streets. well when they get here, this is exactly what they have to look forward to. side streets are always difficult to get through during storm storms. as salt trucks hit the main roads first. roads like this one in north baltimore. packed with snow. it is even difficult for me to even walk. virtually impassable. trapping many residents for days. >> i am afraid this is going to totally ice up. >> here in medfield kathy sloan paves the way to get out. >> i need to make sure that my husband has a parking space. >> it is a side street dilemma that hits baltimore city hard. >> i fell out here on the ice and cracked open my head two years ago when we had a ice storm. >> the feeling bad for mrs. sloan, i offered to help. and realized it was no easy job. >> you know, we're out on the street, snow route is activated. you know, we are monitoring 311 lines closely. making sure that we are aware of the problem spots. >> problem spots like medfield. >> last year during the blizzard we didn't get anybody to come down our road either blizzard. >> residents say never get plowed. >> i have to admit i like it better. >> unless neighbors pitch in to clear the street, at the second snowfall, they could be trapped for days. >> i am just going to do what i can do. >> and that, she did. >> now, realistically these side streets may not be clear by morning, which will make for very nasty early commute. so if you don't have to get out, stay home. reporting live here in north baltimore. karen parks, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> thank you karen. >> what about the situation in the suburbs tonight? keith daniels is live in belair, with the conditions in harford county. keith, how does it look? >>well, jennifer, it has been a steady, even at times, heavy snowfall here in harford county. in fact, the people that live in harford county have seen, at least, 6 inches of snow in round one. round two, they expect, at least, five to six, maybe even, seven additional inches tonight. i am stepping forward here. look at my boots. look how deep that is. there was a lot of snow here folks. look over here. this is the street. the street is completely covered in snow. we have seen cars pass by. they are moving slowly. few cars right there. they are moving slowly now. we have already seen, at least, one person get stuck here. we're live at baltimore pike and kenmore avenue. what a difference a few hours can make at this spot. >> the winter blast blew through in the early morning hours. when it was over, harford county was one of the hardest areas hit. people in belair, with snow. by noon people that live in this area had already seen about 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground. with round two, on the way. >> bleak news for people that already had enough. people like betty fleming. >> i really don't like it. >> who peeked out her side door at the snow. >> i have wonderful neighbors that keep my driveway done for me. but i cannot get out or anything. so it is really -- upsetting. >> it is upsetting for her neighbor too. who is digging the way out of snow from round one. making room in his front yard for his pickup truck. >> because they don't want you in the road when it snows, because they have no way to plow it. of course, if you move your automobile, in your yard, if they catch you in the yard, it is a fine. so what do you do? >> with weather like this, you think about driving conditions. the afternoon report clear streets, with road crews having dumped 700 tons of salt on streets, by noon. the main roads are fine. everybody is driving kind of like it is a rain storm. which everybody should probably just take a second and back off a bit. but so far so good. >> people, they get freakish. you know, they go slow most of them. then you get the crazy people that like to speed down the highways, you know. i think it causes things. >> we are back here live. the snow is falling, we have seen the plow trucks. there are a couple of moving in that direction now. they want to keep the traffic moving. but they are saying if you don't have to get out in this stuff, don't. live in belair, keith daniels, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> all right, keith, be careful out there. >> so what's in store for the next few hours weather wise? >> chief meteorologist vytas reid is here with more on winter blasts. >> the good news is the end of the storm is closer to baltimore. but another couple of hours for it to arrive. so another couple of hours of steady, heavy snowfall. still under a winter storm warning through central maryland, northern virginia and eastern shore until four am a.m. as the snow comes down. roadways are very bad out there folks. if you don't have to get out there. do not try to venture out. because you could have a risk of getting stuck. it is bad conditions road wise. looking at the hd snowfall. as far as accumulations in 24 hours. this is what has fallen so far. we see about 10 and a half inches in baltimore. and we're adding to this. remember another couple of inches. two to three on top of this as it wraps through. 10 and a half, 10 and a half towson, ferndale 11. and edgemere. and as you are up near harford county. 13 inches near belair. 12 in perry hall. so heavy amounts of snowfall. dark blue indicates the heavier amounts of snow wrapping in. if you look off to the west. just west of hagerstown and frederick. it is starting to breakup. good news. as low tracks over the atlantic. it is pulling the moisture with it. will start to see it quiet down over the state. over the next hour and a half to two hours. so starting to see the end of the storm. but it continues to push north and affect folks in new england. i will have a closer look to show you how much we got across the region, and what is next, in the forecast. >> thank you, vytas. >> you can be in charge of your own personalized forecast. i-radar is available at foxbaltimore.com. you can use interactive tools to track this storm, and others, right down to your street. go to foxbaltimore.com/i-radar. >> and for the latest now, joining us by attorneys is ed mcnone naof mema. thank you for joining us. we realize you are busy. >> not a problem. good to be here. >> ed, where are the troubled spots tonight. jfx is closed. where are the hot spots. >> scattered all throughout central maryland. you know, either side of i-95. that's, you know, along the two belt ways, and 95, between the two. and then a lot of the side roads off to the side of that. the timing of this storm could not have been worse in terms of snow removal. >> without a doubt. according to the mema with evening commute, it was absolutely unbelievable. now this is a very heavy snow. in your opinion, how does that change your strategy for clearing the roads? >>well, you know, that's state highways -- you know issues for dealing with that. but clearly, you know, bigger challenge is that it occurred, heavy stuff, occurred in rush hour traffic. so some rush hour travelers have not made it home yet. bigger issue from our perspective, with this heavy wet snow, is power outages. we have seen power outages climbing steadily over the last five hours. 283,000 customers around the state without power. but up through the two metropolitan and cecil county, where the forecasters say the heavy snow would be, biggest problems with power outages are. >> you said it cannot happen a worst time. lots of people left after the 5:30 show tonight. and still on the way home. left at 6:15. what do you anticipate for the morning rush tomorrow? >> people will have to wake up early, and watch the news, and get a handle on road conditions. and be prudent. if you don't have to go in early, and the roads are snow covered. do not go in. i know some school systems have already started to make closures. and i suspect we will see more of them, you know, as night goes on. so if you don't have to get out, and fight that, let the highway crews, and mother nature do what she is going to do. i believe it is supposed to get above freezing tomorrow. so that will help. >> face it, snow plows cannot do their jobs as long as there is gridlock. >> that's right, so keep as many people off the roads as possible. were people were stuck today because of coming home from work. they cannot call in sick or take a snow day without much snow this morning. but for tomorrow, you know, anything you can do to let the local and state plows get through the roads would be appreciated. >> ed mcdonogh that mema. appreciate it. we know you are busy tonight. thank you. >> and you can get the latest on school closures, traffic and weather tomorrow morning on morning news. get the information even during commercials on the fox 45 news ticker. fox 45 morning news starts at five a.m. >> in other news now. a man that claimed the movie taken was based on his life, fooled the fbi. crime and justice reporter joy lepola talked to the alleged conman back in september. just before his cover was blown. >> human trafficking. hollywood made a movie based on it. but it is not just hollywood, who made up the story. for the past 10 years, bill hiller has been made as a consultant on human trafficing. >> we spent a fair amount of time with bill here at the ministry, guiding us through an introduction to human trafficking. >> hiller claimed the movie taken was based on his life. and it was his daughter abducted. >> when she first got kidnapped they took her, and a couple of other girlfriends of hers. forced them to have sex 20-to 30 times a day for two weeks. story. >> he said, yeah i consulted with them. very convincing, you know, but i guess if you watch the movie you could put yourself in it if you so chose. >> he is now called a fraud by feds. a scheme that has taken years to unravel. >> something wrong with lying. >> frightening you think you know someone and they are not. >> turns out liler fooled the fbi with his convincing lies. court documents show the federal government paid tens of thousands of dollars to hiller to help train agents. >> giving this guy money, you know, for -- and he is not what he is. i am stunned about the government. i am stunned, and little annoyed, that there was not a better background check. >> shirley wonders why, at least, one of hiller's victims tries her best to find what little good may have come from the suspected crime. >> in a strange way he has made a important contribution, even though it is a little backwards. >> joy lepola, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> in court, hiller asked to be released but tonight he remains behind bars. >> here is another live look at 695, at providence road. not many people on the road there. the jfx is closed. cars are stuck everywhere on that highway. no one is flying out of the area eithera bwi thurgood marshall airport coming up rigafter the break. >> there are 7000 people o n maland's sex offender registry not all following the letter of the law. as john rydell reports that's what is prompting state lawmakers to consider a special driver's license, for violent offenders. >> sarah foxwell's brutal murder on the eastern shore shocked an entire community. but shock turned to outrage when residents learned that thomas legs, the man charged is a registered sex offender. now some local police agencies want more ammunition from the nba to track offenders. a bill would require a special mark on the driver's licenses of all violent sex offenders. >> it would be a code, only identifiable to law enforcement officers, so it would not be like a scarlet letter. hung aroundnon someone's neck. >> eastern colburn is sponsoring the bill. >> if there is particularly, young children, in the car with that person, then you could very well have a problem. >> but opponents believe that special designation makes sex offenders an unfair target. >> when you have a code on the back of a driver's license, what you are really doing is putting a scarlet letter a and giving this person -- i they, a mark. >> senator gladn public defenseer said modern technology makes that special designation unnecessary. >> the police already can pull the record. know that. so there is no reason to put a code on the back of a driver's license. >> but supporters say adding a special code to the driver's licenses of violent sex offenders, would give police a proactive tool to prevent a future tragedy. john rydell, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> few states, including delaware, tennessee, louisiana r already have laws for marking the driver's licenses of sex offenders. tell lawmakers what you think about this idea. their contact information is on our website. foxbaltimore.com/your voice. >> now earlier we asked. should violent sex offenders have special driver's license? so far 85 percent say yes. 15 percent say no. one viewer writes, no it is not necessary. but laurie writes. absolutely. we need to do everything we can to protect our children. go to foxbaltimore.com and let us know what you think. you can tell us on facebook. or send us a tweet at fox baltimore. you can text us at 45203. enter fox 45 a for yes. fox 45 b for no and we will hear more responses tonight on the "late edition" at 11:00. >> daunting task finding jurors in an animal cruelty case where a pit bull was set on fire. but the jury was finally seated today. two brothers, traverse and trueman accused of dousing the dog, phoenix, & with gas and setting him on fire. potential jurors were dismissed. >> basically they listened to whatever happened to the animal. your bias is going to go out the window right there anyway. so it is going to be hard for you to say, oh, maybe he didn't do it, because whatever was done to the animal is going to be stuck in your head. >> the brothers pleaded not guilty. 38 witnesses may be called to testify in this case. >> >> baltimore city employees caught drinking and gambling on the job. myranda stephens tells us how their workplace party was exposed. myranda? >>well, jennifer, acting on a tip, city government investigators followed two workers for several days, to see what they were really doing, when they came to work. >> it is here along eastern avenue in southeast baltimore where two city workers got in to trouble. a report just released from the city's inspector general, said that the two unnamed employees of the department of public works, drank beer, played the lottery and lioi tered in the store for hours. all of that and more while both on the clock collecting a paycheck. >> too much needs to be done. too much work. and the citizens of baltimore deserve better. >> it is disappointing, but, you know, only thing we can do is make corrections and move forward. >> investigators tailed them for days, and according to the report, pair observed several times buying lottery tickets and playing keno. and investigators watched as one of the workers used the city vehicle to pick up and dispose personal trash r. and on another day worker was seen drinking alcohol, and a coworker driving the city vehicle. >> we have taken the lessons from what the ig said, and we will take it, examine it, and do what we need to do to correct the situation like that. >> the report questions management at the department of public works, blaming the situation on inadequate supervision. >> we're in tough times. we have to make every dollar go further. when we see waste, we need to root it out. correct it. >> department of public works director alfred fox would not answer questions about the employees. or a possible reprimand. calling it a personnel issue. myranda stephens, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> thank you, myranda. >> it is our duty to hold our elected officials and government accountable. you can help us to do that by joining our fox 45 waste watch. if you have a story about government waste. call our hotline. you can also go to our website foxbaltimore.com and click on waste watch. >> tonight, we know much more about a baltimore city police officer killed when his cruiser crashed into a fire engine. it happened along route 40 back in october. a report said that thomas portz was going 71 miles per hour. police conclude he was distracted by a crew filming a movie in the area. ports also was not wearing a seat belt. >> seven midshipmen expelled from the naval academy for using or having synthetic marijuana known as spice or k-2. now it is not illegal in most places, but it is considered a banned substance by the navy. >> well don't let the label fool you. >> what looks like bath salt could be synthetic cocaine. jeff abell has the dirt or bath salts. >> in a sea of salt. there are those that bathe the body, and those that poison it. >> these people are coming in, and they are literally going crazey. >> experts are warning about this country's newest drug problem. what is sold under names like ivory wave and vanilla sky may look like bath salt but experts say it is synthetic cocaine. >> young people who are taking these bath salts and snorting them are having hallucinations, paranoia, heart rates jumping up. blood pressure skyrocketing. extremely dangerous. much more dangerous than any of the synthetic fake drugs that are going around these days. >> it is all legal. and is being sold at many smoke shops and novelty stores where sellers insist it is simply salt. >> dilute it in water and use it in the bath. and all of our products are labeled, and it is clearly said on the packaging, put it in the bath. >> at this smoke shop in baltimore today. the product was selling for $40 a pack. but when we walked through the door, clerks removed it from the counter. there could be a dirty little secret about the latest line of bath salts. >> what is next? are we going to see, you know, synthetic heroin? synthetic lsd. >> jeff abell, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> lawmakers in the state of kentucky want to outlaw the product. in the state of louisiana. there was 125 emergency calls about the product, and in only three months. >> well, the things you put online, that could give tips to criminals. >> it is the topic of the cover story, on the other side of the break. >> and i am keith daniels, snow and more snow, but it looks like relief in harford county. the latest from belair coming up. >> on the radar, there is relief. talking about the end of the storm. as we see it @ >> back now, to tonight's top story. winter bl